《大森林里的小木屋》――在大自然中涤荡灵魂.docVIP

《大森林里的小木屋》――在大自然中涤荡灵魂 　　罗兰?英格斯?怀德（Laura Ingalls Wilder， 1867～1957），美国著名儿童文学作家，生于美国中部威斯康星州的拓荒者家庭。罗兰直到65岁才开始儿童文学创作，经过十余年完成了“小木屋”系列。这一系列小说共九部，《大森林里的小木屋》（Little House in the Big Woods）为第一部，其他八部依次为《农庄男孩》（Farmer Boy）、《草原上的小木屋》（Little House on the Prairie）、《梅溪边》（On the Banks of Plum Creek）、《银湖岸边》（By the Shores of Silver Lake）、《好长的冬天》（The Long Winter）、《草原小镇》（Little Town on the Prairie）、《快乐的金色年代》（These Happy Golden Years）以及《新婚四年》（The First Four Years）。该系列小说体现了拓荒者们乐观坚强的生活态度、他们与大自然的艰苦搏斗与和谐相处，以及他们一往无前的开拓精神与创造活力，深受读者喜爱，成为儿童文学史上的经典作品之一。 　　下文选自《大森林里的小木屋》第六章。 　　精彩片段 　　The sun sank out of sight， the woods grew dark， and Pa did not come. Ma started supper and set the table， but he did not come. It was time to do the chores， and still he had not come. 　　Ma said that Laura might come with her while she milked the cow. Laura could carry the lantern. 　　So Laura put on her coat and Ma buttoned it up. And Laura put her hands into her red mittens1） that hung by a red yarn2） string around her neck， while Ma lighted the candle in the lantern. 　　Laura was proud to be helping Ma with the milking， and she carried the lantern very carefully. Its sides were of tin， with places cut in them for the candle-light to shine through. 　　When Laura walked behind Ma on the path to the barn3）， the little bits of candle-light from the lantern leaped all around her on the snow. The night was not yet quite dark. The woods were dark， but there was a gray light on the snowy path， and in the sky there were a few faint stars. The stars did not look as warm and bright as the little lights that came from the lantern. 　　Laura was surprised to see the dark shape of Sukey， the brown cow， standing at the barnyard gate. Ma was surprised， too. 　　It was too early in the spring for Sukey to be let out in the Big Woods to eat grass. She lived in the barn. But sometimes on warm days Pa left the door of her stall open so she could come into the barnyard. Now Ma and Laura saw her behind the bars， waiting for them. 　　M