林肯與雛鳥

One day in spring four men were riding on horseback along a country road. These men were lawyers， and they were going to the next town to attend court. There had been a rain， and the ground was very soft. The four lawyers rode along， one behind another； for the pathway was narrow， and the mud on each side of it was deep. They rode slowly， and talked and laughed and were very jolly. As they were passing through a grove2） of small trees， they heard a great fluttering3） over their heads and a feeble chirping4） in the grass by the roadside. \"Stith5）！ Stith！ Stith！\" came from the leafy branches above them. \"Cheep6）！ Cheep！ Cheep！\" came from the wet grass.

\"What is the matter here？\" asked the first lawyer， Speed.

\"Oh， it's only some old robins！\" said the second lawyer， Hardin. \"The storm has blown two of the little ones out of the nest. They are too young to fly， and the mother bird is making a great fuss about it.\"

\"What a pity！ They'll die down there in the grass，\" said the third lawyer， whose name I forget.

\"Oh， well！ They're nothing but birds，\" said Mr. Hardin. \"Why should we bother？\"

\"Yes， why should we？\" said Mr. Speed.

The three men looked down and saw the little birds fluttering in the cold， wet grass. They saw the mother robin flying about， and crying to her mate. Then they rode on， talking and laughing as before. In a few minutes they had forgotten about the birds.

But the fourth lawyer， Abraham Lincoln， stopped. He got down from his horse and very gently took the little ones up in his big warm hands. \"Never mind， my little fellows，\" said Mr. Lincoln. \"I will put you in your own little bed.\"

Then he looked up to find the nest from which they had fallen. It was much higher than he could reach. But Mr. Lincoln could climb. He had climbed many a tree when he was a boy. He put the birds softly into their warm little home. Two other baby birds were there， that had not fallen out. All cuddled7） down together and were very happy. Soon the three lawyers who had ridden ahead stopped at a spring to give their horses water.

\"Where is Lincoln？\" asked one. All were surprised to find that he was not with them.

\"Do you remember those birds？\" said Mr. Speed. \"Very likely he has stopped to take care of them.\"

In a few minutes Mr. Lincoln joined them. His shoes were covered with mud； he had torn his coat on the thorny tree.

\"Hello， Abraham！\" said Mr. Hardin. \"Where have you been？\"

\"I stopped a minute to give those birds to their mother，\" he answered.

\"Well， we always thought you were a hero，\" said Mr. Speed. \"Now we know it.\"

Then all three of them laughed heartily. They thought it so foolish that a strong man should take so much trouble just for some worthless young birds.

\"Gentlemen，\" said Mr. Lincoln， \"I could not have slept tonight， if I had left those helpless little robins to die in the wet grass.\"

Abraham Lincoln afterwards became very famous as a lawyer and statesman. He was elected president and served from 1861 to 1865.

春日里的一天，四個男子騎著馬走在一條鄉間小路上。這幾個人是律師，他們要前往鄰鎮出庭。剛下過一場雨，地面十分松軟。由于這條小路很窄，而且路兩邊的泥濘很深，因此四位律師騎著馬，排成一列依次而行。他們騎得很慢，一路有說有笑，非常開心。在穿過一片小樹林時，他們聽到頭頂有猛烈拍打翅膀的聲音，路邊草叢中還傳來虛弱的鳴叫聲。“嘶！嘶！嘶！”這是從他們頭頂上方茂密的樹枝中傳來的聲音。“吱！吱！吱！”這是從潮濕的草叢里傳來的聲音。

“這兒發生什么事了？”第一位律師斯皮德問。

“哦，只不過是幾只老知更鳥！”第二位律師哈丁說，“剛才那場暴風雨把兩只雛鳥從鳥巢里吹下來了。它們太小，還不會飛，鳥媽媽正因為這事兒大驚小怪呢。”

“太可憐了！它們會死在那片草叢里的。”第三位律師說，他的名字我忘記了。

“哦，行了！它們不過就是幾只鳥而已，”哈丁先生說，“我們又何必費那個心呢？”

“是啊，我們何必呢？”斯皮德先生說。

這三個男子低下頭，看到那兩只小鳥在寒冷而潮濕的草叢里撲騰著翅膀。他們看到鳥媽媽在空中飛來飛去，向它的伴侶哭訴著。然后他們繼續騎馬前行，像剛才一樣有說有笑。幾分鐘后，他們就已經忘掉那幾只鳥的事兒了。

但第四位律師——亞伯拉罕·林肯——卻停了下來。他從馬上下來，用他那雙溫暖的大手輕輕地將那兩只小鳥捧了起來。“別擔心，小家伙們，”林肯先生說，“我會把你們放回自己的小窩里的。”

然后他抬頭尋找它們摔下來之前住著的那個鳥巢。鳥巢的位置很高，遠遠高于他可以夠到的地方。但林肯先生會爬樹啊，他小的時候可是爬過不少樹呢。他輕輕地把小鳥放進它們溫暖的小窩里。那里面還有另外兩只沒有掉出來的雛鳥。四只小鳥緊緊地依偎在一起，非常開心。沒過多久，那三位騎馬走在前面的律師在一汪泉水邊停下來飲馬。

“林肯呢？”其中一位律師問。三個人這才驚訝地發現林肯沒有跟上他們。

“你們還記得那幾只鳥嗎？”斯皮德先生說，“他很可能停下來去照顧它們了。”

幾分鐘后林肯先生趕上了他們。他鞋子上全是泥，身上的外套也被那棵滿是荊棘的樹刮破了。

“嗨，亞伯拉罕！”哈丁先生說，“你剛才去哪兒了？”

“我停留了一小會兒，把那兩只鳥送回了鳥媽媽身邊。”他回答說。

“好吧，我們以前一直覺得你是一個英雄，”斯皮德先生說，“現在我們可算是知道了。”

然后他們三個人都放聲大笑起來。他們覺得，一個身強力壯的男人竟然為了幾只一文不值的雛鳥費那么多事兒，簡直太愚蠢了。

“先生們，”林肯先生說，“如果我任由那幾只無助的小知更鳥死在那片潮濕的草叢里，我今天晚上會睡不著的。”

亞伯拉罕·林肯后來成了一位著名的律師和政治家。他還當選了總統，任期為1861～1865年。

1.James Baldwin： 詹姆斯·鮑德溫（1924～1987），美國當代著名黑人小說家、散文家、戲劇家和社會評論家，共著有六部長篇小說、四部劇本和十幾部散文集，代表作有小說《向蒼天呼吁》（Go Tell It on the Mountain）、《喬瓦尼的房間》（Giovanni's Room）、《另一個國家》（Another Country）等。

2.grove [ɡr??v] n. 樹叢，小樹林

3.flutter [?fl?t?（r）] vi. （鳥等）振翼，拍翅

4.chirp [t???p] vi. 啁啾；唧唧叫

5.stith： 嘶嘶的叫聲

6.cheep [t?i?p] n. 吱吱（或唧唧）的叫聲

7.cuddle [?k?dl] vi. 偎依