公主与美洲狮
There had to be a king and queen queen n.王后， 女王， of course.
The king was a terrible old man who wore sixshooters and spurs， and shouted in such a tremendoustremendous adj.极大的， 巨大的 voice that the rattlersrattler n.嘎声， 喋喋不休者，绝顶典型 on the prairie would run into their holes under the prickly pear. Before there was a royal family they called the man “Whispering Ben”. When he came to own 50，000 acres of land and more cattle than he could count， they called him ODonnell “the Cattle King”.
当然，这篇故事里少不了皇帝与皇后。皇帝是个可怕的老头儿，身上佩着几支六响手枪，靴子上安着踢马刺，嗓门是那么洪亮，连草原上的响尾蛇都会吓得往霸王树下的蛇洞里直钻。在皇室还没有建立之前，人们管他叫“悄声本恩”。当他拥有五万英亩土地和数不清的牛群时，人们便改口叫他“牛皇帝”奥唐奈了。
The queen had been a Mexican girl from Laredo. She made a good， mild， Coloradoclaro wife， and even succeeded in teaching Ben to modifymodify vt.更改， 修改 v.修改 his voice sufficiently while in the house to keep the dishes from being broken. When Ben got to be king she would sit on the gallery of Espinosa Ranch and weaveweave n.编法， 织法， 编织vt.编织， 组合， 编排，使迂回前进 vi.纺织， 迂回行进， 摇晃 n.织法， 织物 rush mats. When wealth became so irresistible and oppressive that upholstered chairs and a centre table were brought down from San Antone in the wagons， she bowed her smooth， dark head， and shared the fate of the Danae.
皇后本是拉雷多来的一个墨西哥姑娘。可是她成了善良、温柔、地道的科罗拉多主妇，甚至劝服了本恩在家里尽量压低嗓门，以免震破碗盏。本恩尚未当皇帝时，她坐在刺头牧场正宅的回廊上编织草席。等到抵挡不住的财富源源涌来，用马车从圣安东尼运来了软垫椅子和大圆桌之后，她只得低下黑发光泽的头，分担达纳埃的命运了。
To avoidavoid vt.避免， 消除 lesemajeste， you have been presented first to the king and queen. They do not enter the story， which might be called “The Chronicle of the Princess， the Happy Thought， and the Lion that Bungled his Job.”
为了避免大逆不道起见，我先向你们介绍了皇帝和皇后。在这篇故事里，他们并不出场，其实这篇故事的题目很可以叫做“公主、妙想和大煞风景的狮子”。
Josefa ODonnell was the survivingsurviving 继续存在的 未死的 依然健在的 daughter， the princess. From her mother she inherited warmth of nature and a duskydusky adj.微暗的， 朦胧的，忧郁的， semitropic beauty. From Ben ODonnell the royal she acquired a store of intrepidity， common sense， and the facultyfaculty n.才能， 本领， 能力， 全体教员， (大学的)系， 科， (授予的)权力 of ruling. The combinationcombination n.结合， 联合， 合并， 化合， 化合物 was one worth going miles to see. Josefa while riding her pony at a gallop could put five out of six bulletsbullet n.子弹 through a tomato—can swinging at the end of a string. She could play for hours with a white kitten she owned， dressing it in all manner of absurd clothes. Scorning a pencil， she could tell you out of her head what 1545 twoyearolds would bring on the hoofhoof n.蹄 v.踢， at 8.50 per head. Roughly speaking， the Espinosa Ranch is forty miles long and thirty broad—but mostly leased land. Josefa， on her pony， had prospected over every mile of it. Every cowpuncher on the rangerange n.山脉， 行列， 范围， 射程 vt.排列， 归类于，使并列， 放牧 vi.平行， 延伸， 漫游 knew her by sight and was a loyal vassal. Ripley Givens， foreman of one of the Espinosa outfits， saw her one day， and made up his mind to form a royal matrimonialmatrimonial adj.与婚姻有关的， 根据结婚的惯例 alliancealliance n.联盟， 联合. Presumptuous？ No. In those days in the Nueces country a man was a man. And， after all， the title of cattle king does not presupposepresuppose v.预示 blood royalty. Often it only signifies that its owner wears the crown in token of his magnificent qualities in the art of cattle stealing.
约瑟法·奥唐奈是他们仅存的女儿，也就是公主。她从母亲那儿承继了热情的性格和亚热带的那种皮肤微黑的美。她从本恩·奥唐奈皇上那儿获得了大量的魄力、常识和统治才能。能瞻仰这些才能和品质结合起来的人物，即使跑上许多路都值得。约瑟法骑马疾驰的时候，能够瞄准一只挂在绳上的西红柿，六枪之中可以打中五枪。她同自己的一只小白猫可以一连玩上好几个钟头，给它穿上各式各样可笑的衣服。她不用动笔，光凭心算，很快就能告诉你：一千五百四十五头两岁的小牛，每头八块五毛，总共可以卖多少钱。大致说来，多刺牧场面积有四十英里长、三十英里宽——不过大部分是租来的土地。约瑟法骑着马儿，踏勘了牧场的每一个角落。牧场上的每一个牧童都认识她，都对她忠心耿耿。里普利·吉文斯是多刺牧场上一个牛队的头目，有一天见到了她，便打定主意要同皇室联姻。狂妄吗？不见得。那时候，纽西斯一带的男子都是顶天立地的大丈夫。并且说到头，牛皇帝的称号并不代表皇室的血统。它充其量只能说明：拥有这种称号的人在偷牛方面特别高明。
One day Ripley Givens rode over to the Double Elm Ranch to inquire about a bunchbunch n.串， 束v.捆成一束 of strayedstray v.迷路， 偏离， 漂泊， 漂泊游荡 adj.迷路的， 离群的， 偶遇的 yearlings. He was late in setting out on his return trip， and it was sundown when he struck the White Horse Crossing of the Nueces. From there to his own campcamp n.露营地， 阵营 vi.露营， 扎营 it was sixteen miles. To the Espinosa ranch it was twelve. Givens was tired. He decided to pass the night at the Crossing.
一天，里普利·吉文斯到双榆牧场去打听有关一群走失的小牛的消息。他回程时动身晚了些，当他到达纽西斯河的白马渡口时，太阳已经落山了。从那儿到他自己的营地有十六英里。到多刺牧场有十二英里。吉文斯已经很累了，便决定在渡口过夜。
There was a fine water hole in the riverbed. The banks were thickly covered with great trees， undergrownundergrown adj.发育不全的 with brush. Back from the water hole fifty yards was a stretch of curly mesquite grasssupper for his horse and bed for himself. Givens staked his horse， and spread out his saddle blankets to dry. He sat down with his back against a tree and rolled a cigarette. From somewhere in the densedense adj.密集的， 浓厚的 timbertimber n.木材， 木料 along the river came a sudden， ragefulrageful adj.狂怒的， 盛怒的， shivering wail. The pony danced at the end of his rope and blew a whistling snort of comprehending fear. Givens puffed at his cigarette， but he reached leisurely for his pistolbelt， which lay on the grass， and twirled the cylindercylinder n.圆筒， 圆柱体， 汽缸， 柱面 of his weapon tentatively. A great gar plunged with a loud splash into the water hole. A little brown rabbit skipped around a bunch of catclaw and sat twitching his whiskers and looking humorously at Givens. The pony went on eating grass.
河床上有个水坑，水很清洁。两岸长满了茂密的大树和低矮的灌木。离水坑五十码远有一片卷曲的牧豆草地——为他的坐骑提供了晚餐，为他自己准备了床铺。吉文斯拴好马，摊开鞍毯，让它晾干。他靠着树坐下，卷了一支纸烟。河边的密林里突然传来一声发威而震颤耳鼓的吼叫。拴着的小马腾跃起来，害怕地喷着鼻息。吉文斯抽着烟，不慌不忙地伸手去拿放在草地上的枪套皮带，拔出枪，转转弹股试试。一尾大纲鱼扑通一声蹿进水坑。一只棕色的小兔子绕过一丛猫爪草，坐下来，胡子牵动着，滑稽地瞅着吉文斯。小马继续吃草。
It is well to be reasonably watchful when a Mexican lion sings sopranosoprano n.女高音 along the arroyos at sundown. The burden of his song may be that young calves and fat lambs are scarcescarce adj.缺乏的， 不足的， 稀有的， 不充足的， and that he has a carnivorouscarnivorous adj.食肉类的 desire for your acquaintanceacquaintance n.相识， 熟人.
黄昏时分，当一头墨西哥狮子在干涸的河道旁边女高音般唱起的时候，小心提防是没错的。它歌词的主题可能是：小牛和肥羊不好找，光吃荤食的它很想同你打打交道。
In the grass lay an empty fruit can， cast there by some former sojournersojourner n.旅居者， 寄居者. Givens caught sight of it with a grunt of satisfaction. In his coat pocket tied behind his saddle was a handful or two of ground coffee. Black coffee and cigarettes！ What ranchero could desire more？