E. B. White

埃爾溫·布魯克斯·懷特（1899年7月11日—1985年10月1日），美國當代著名散文家、評論家，以散文名世，其文風冷峻清麗，辛辣幽默，自成一格。懷特生于紐約蒙特弗農，畢業(yè)于康奈爾大學。作為《紐約客》的主要撰稿人，懷特一手奠定了影響深遠的《紐約客》的文風。懷特對這個世界上的一切都充滿關愛，他的道德與他的文章一樣山高水長。除了他終生摯愛的隨筆之外，他還為孩子們寫了三本文學經典——《斯圖爾特鼠小弟》（又譯為《精靈鼠小弟》）、《夏洛的網》與《吹小號的天鵝》，這些作品同樣受到了兒童與成人的喜愛。

《吹小號的天鵝》講述了一只生下來就有不能發(fā)聲這一致命缺陷的天鵝，克服種種困難和命運抗爭并獲得成功的故事。這只天鵝叫路易斯。為了說出自己的想法，路易斯學會了在石板上寫字，可是其他天鵝是不識字的，路易斯還是沒辦法向它心愛的雌天鵝——塞蕾娜傾訴衷腸。為了幫助路易斯，天鵝爸爸從樂器店里偷來了小號，路易斯練了一遍又一遍，終于用小號吹出了心底深處的歌，樂聲不僅打動了塞蕾娜，也贏得了人們的尊敬與贊賞。生活的道路，在路易斯眼前，越來越寬廣。這是一個關于愛與成長的動人故事。

Walking back to camp through theswamp， Sam wondered whether to tell hisfather what he had seen. “I know one?thing，” he said to himself.“ I'm going backto that little pond again tomorrow. And I'dlike to go alone. If I tell my father what Isaw today， he will want to go with me. Imnot sure that's a very good idea.”

Sam was eleven. His last name wasBeaver. He was strong for his age and hadblack hair and dark eyes like an Indian.Sam walked like an Indian， too， puttingone foot straight in front of the other andmaking very little noise. The swamp?through which he was traveling was a wildplace. There was no trail， and it was boggyunderfoot， which made walking difficult.

Every four or five minutes， Sam tookhis compass out of his pocket and checkedhis course to make sure he was headed ina westerly direction. Canada is a big place.Much of it is a wilderness. To get lost inthe woods and swamps of western Canadawould be a serious matter. As he trudged（跋涉） on， the boy's mind was full of thewonder of what he had seen. Not manypeople in the world have seen the nest of aTrumpeter Swan.

Sam had found one on the lonelypond on this day in spring. He had seenthe two great white birds with their longwhite necks and black bills. Nothing hehad ever seen before in all his life hadmade him feel quite the way he felt， onthat wild little pond， in the presence ofthose two enormous swans. They were somuch bigger than any bird he had everseen before. The nest was also big with anumber of sticks and grasses. The femalewas sitting on eggs; the male glided slowlyback and forth， guarding her.

When Sam reached camp， tired andhungry， he found his father frying a coupleof fish for lunch.“ Where have you been？”asked Mr Beaver. “Exploring，” repliedSam， “I walked over to a pond about a?mile and a half from here. It's the one wesee from the air as we're coming in. It isntmuch of a place—nowhere near as big asthis lake were on.”“ Did you see anythingover there？” asked his father.“ Well，” saidSam， “it's a swampy pond with a lot ofreeds and cattails （香蒲）. I dont think itwould be any good for fishing. And it'shard to get to; you have to cross a swamp.”“See anything？” repeated Mr Beaver. “Isaw a muskrat （麝鼠），” said Sam，“ and afew Red?winged Blackbirds.” Mr Beaverlooked up from the wood stove， where thefish were sizzling in a pan.

“Sam，” he said，“ I know you like togo exploring. But don't forget these woodsand marshes are not like the countryaround home in Montana. If you ever goover to that pond again， be careful youdon't get lost. I don't like you crossingswamps. They're treacherous. You couldstep into a soggy place and get boggeddown， and there wouldn't be anybody topull you out.”“ I'll be careful，” said Sam.

Reading Check

1. What did Sam see on the pond？

2. What did Sam's father warn him about？