Around the fire squatted negroes, driving away the flies with long branches. The savoury odour of the meat made me hungry long before the tables were set.
火堆周围蹲坐着一圈黑人，他们不停地用长树枝驱赶着飞蛾。不等餐桌布置好，香喷喷的味道就令我饥肠辘辘了。
When
the
bustle
and
excitement
of
preparation
was
at
its
height,
the
hunting
party
made
its
appearance,
struggling
in
by
twos
and
threes,
the
men
hot
and
weary,
the
horses
covered
with
foam,
and
the
jaded
hounds
panting
and
dejected—
and
not
a
single
kill!
Every
man
declared
that
he
had
seen
at
least
one
deer,
and
that
the
animal
had
come
very
close;
but
however
hotly
the
dogs
might
pursue
the
game,
however
well
the
guns
might
be
aimed,
at
the
snap
of
the
trigger
there
was
not
a
deer
in
sight.
They
had
been
as
fortunate
as
the
little
boy
who
said
he
came
very
near
seeing
a
rabbit—
he
saw
his
tracks.
The
party
soon
forgot
its
disappointment,
however,
and
we
sat
down,
not
to
venison,
but
to
a
tamer
feast
of
veal
and
roast
pig.
就在忙碌而兴奋的准备工作达到高潮时，狩猎晚会也开始登场了。猎手们疲惫不堪，但热情不减。马儿们大汗淋漓，口吐白沫；那些老马则气喘吁吁，垂头丧气——因为一头猎物都没有打到！每个人都声称自己至少见到了一头鹿，而且曾经距离猎物非常近，然而不管那些猎犬是多么尽忠职守，猎人的枪口瞄得是多么地准确无误，偏偏就在扣动扳机的一刹那，鹿儿倏忽不见了。讲述狩猎经过时，他们幸福得像个小男孩。小男孩不是经常说，他曾近距离地看到了一只兔子——他还看到了兔子的足迹。无论结果怎样，失望的情绪很快就被晚会的欢笑驱散了。我们围坐在一起，根本不提野味的事。总之，我们仍会好好地享受小牛肉和烤乳猪这类家庭美食。
One
summer
I
had
my
pony
at
Fern
Quarry.
I
called
him
Black
Beauty,
as
I
had
just
read
the
book,
and
he
resembled
his
namesake
in
every
way,
from
his
glossy
black
coat
to
the
white
star
on
his
forehead.
I
spent
many
of
my
happiest
hours
on
his
back.
Occasionally,
when
it
was
quite
safe,
my
teacher
would
let
go
the
leading-
rein,
and
the
pony
sauntered
on
or
stopped
at
his
sweet
will
to
eat
grass
or
nibble
the
leaves
of
the
trees
that
grew
beside
the
narrow
trail.
那年夏天，我把我的小马驹也带到了弗恩采石场。我管它叫“黑美人”，这是我刚刚读过的一本书的名字。我的小马“人如其名”，从他油光闪亮的黑色“外套”，到他额头的白色星形，无不俊朗非凡。我在他背上度过了最快乐的时光。有时候，在保证安全的前提下，我的老师也会松开缰绳，于是我的小马驹就会悠闲地在林中漫步，兴之所至，他还会停下来吃草，或者是啃食路边小树的叶子。
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