Chapter 7 6.breeze

One morning, when the wind was blowing from the west, Stuart put on his sailor suit and straw hat, took down his small spotting telescope from the rack, and was full of the joy of life and the love of his dog. The fear went out for a walk.He staggered up Fifth Avenue, looking around warily. As soon as he saw a dog in his binoculars, Stuart hurried to the nearest janitor, crawled into his trouser legs, and hid his tail under his uniform.Once, with no janitor nearby, he crawled into a roll of yesterday's newspapers and curled up until the danger passed. At the corner of Fifth Avenue there were several people waiting for an incoming bus, and Stuart ran among them.Nobody paid attention to him because he wasn't tall enough to be noticed.

"I wasn't tall enough to be noticed," thought Stuart. "But I still want to go to 72nd Street." When the bus came they all got on with their canes and briefcases, and Stuart got on with his spyglass.As the seat was too high for him, Stuart hunkered down on a gentleman's trousers, so that he could ride without trouble and without attracting attention. Stuart never had to pay a fare because he was too young to pay a dime for a ride.Only once did he try to pay a dime.When he rolled the dime on the side like a wheel, suddenly the coin rolled to a small slope and was picked up by a toothless old lady.After that experience, he asked his father to make some special small coins for him, and wrapped them in tin foil.They thus become pretty little things, although you'll be hard-pressed to see them without your glasses.

When the conductor came to collect the fare, Stuart took from his tin-foil purse one of his coins, no bigger than a grasshopper's eye. "What did you give me?" asked the conductor. "Here's my dime," said Stuart. "What's this?" said the conductor. "Well, I'll explain it to the car company very well. But why should you pay, you're not much more than a dime." "No," Stuart replied angrily. "I'm twice as tall as a dime. Dimes only go to me." Stuart pointed to his ass. "Besides," he went on, "I don't want to be insulted in this car."

"Excuse me," said the conductor. "Please forgive me, because I never knew there were such little sailors as you in this world." "Live and learn," muttered Stuart tartly, pocketing his change. When the bus stopped at 72nd Street, Stuart jumped out and hurried to the pond in Central Park where the sailing regatta was taking place. ①The wind was blowing from the west over the pond, against which sailed sloops and schooners.Their sails tipped slightly, and their wet decks shone silver.The boat owners, that is, the adults and children participating in the competition, are anxiously surrounding the concrete shore, hoping that their sailboats will not be damaged and reach the other side of the shore in time and safely.There were some little toy boats in the water, too, but they were not so small as you might think, for if you got close to them you saw that the topmasts of the boats were higher than a grown man's head.They are also beautifully built, all neatly parked there ready to go to sea.They seemed enormous to Stuart, and he longed to get into a boat and sail far beyond the pond. (He's an adventurous little guy who loves the feel of the breeze on his face and the sound of seagulls overhead and the big waves rushing close to him.)

As he sat cross-legged on the pond wall, watching the dinghies pass through his glass, Stuart noticed that one of the dinghies seemed particularly good, more beautiful than the others.Her name is Wasp. ② She was a large black schooner sailing under the American flag.She had a streamlined bow and was armed with a three-inch cannon on the foredeck.She's the boat for me, Stuart thought.When she drove over next time, he ran to the boat. "Excuse me, sir," said Stuart to a man beside the boat, "are you the owner of this schooner?" "Yes," replied the man, looking at the mouse in a sailor suit in amazement.

"I'm looking for the best sailing boat," continued Stuart, "and I assure you that you may sign me. I'm strong and alert." "You didn't drink much, did you?" asked the owner of the Wasp. "I'm fully qualified for this job." Stuart replied straightforwardly. The man looked at him critically.But soon he was moved by the beautiful sailor suit and navigator-like brave temperament of this little sailor. "Well," he said at last, pointing to a boat in the middle of the pond, "I'm going to tell you what I want you to do. Do you see the big boat over there?"

"I see," said Stuart. "That's the Lillian B. Worrall, and I hate her with all my heart." "Then I hate her too," cried Stuart faithfully. "I hate her because she always runs into my boat," the man went on, "because her owner is a lazy boy who doesn't know how to sail, and he hardly knows the difference between a squid and a dark cloud." "Or the difference between a rig and a jib," called Stuart. "Or the difference between the outside and the inside of the schooner," the man roared. "Or the difference between the pier and the deck." Stuart screamed.

"Or the difference between the fog and the mast," cried the man. "Okay, that's enough, stop talking! I'm going to tell you what I want you to do. The Lillian B. Worrall can always hit the Wasp, but I'm sure if my schooner is well steered , the story would have ended differently. No one knew how much pain I endured as I stood helpless on the shore watching my wasp be savagely bumped around. How much she Needs hands that will hold her helm firmly. Therefore, my young friend, I will allow you to sail the Wasp in this pond, and if you can beat the most hideous schooner If so, I will give you a formal job."

"Yes, sir!" said Stuart, jumping aboard the schooner, and starting the wheel. "Ready to set sail!" "Wait a minute," said the man, "you haven't told me how you plan to beat that ship!" "I'm going to crack her," Stuart said. "Thanks, don't hit me with my boat," the man replied quickly. "I don't want you to capsize in a high wind." "Okay, then," said Stuart, "I'm going to drive up to her and shoot her hard with my advanced weapon." "This method is too unfair!" said the man. "I want to participate in sailing regattas, not naval battles."

"Okay, then," said Stuart excitedly, "I'm going to drive the Wasp straight ahead and try to keep the Lillian yaw in course." "Good!" cried the man. "Good luck!" he said, leaving the Wasp's bow.Stuart tightened the spinning rigging attached to the rope, and then turned the steering wheel, straightened the sails to the wind, let the bow of the ship advance in a "Z" shape with steam spray, and the stern of the ship swayed gracefully in the breeze. "By the way," the man shouted, "you haven't told me your name yet."

"My name is Stuart Little," Stuart called out as loud as he could. "I am the second son of Mr. Frederick C. Little of this town." "Excellent navigator, Stuart," cried his friend, "take care and bring the Wasp back safely." "That's what I'm going to do," cried Stuart.He was so proud and happy that he was dancing on the sloping deck for a second after turning the wheel, not noticing how narrow the ship's gangway was and how big the waves were and wet the deck. Note ①: Central Park (Central Park), a famous park in New York.I asked a good friend to help me find some introductions about it, but I can't find any more detailed information.The following is an introduction: Central Park was built in 1857; it covers an area of ​​843 acres. 59th Street in Central Park South, which gathers all the most luxurious five-star hotels in New York. In "Love in New York", Nicolas Cage also came here to stay after receiving a bonus of tens of millions of dollars. The scenery in the park is all-encompassing. This is a park completely designed according to the natural terrain; there are hills, grasslands, lakes (which also serve as reservoirs at the same time), and forests.In addition to natural scenery, there are many facilities, such as baseball fields and zoos. With Fifth Avenue as the central axis, New York is divided into East Side and West Side.The East Side is where the wealthy live; the West Side is where Latino immigrants live. In recent years, the West Side has gradually become a favorite area for the newly rich. Later, the city government planned the area from 59th Street to 110th Street as a park and green space. Note ②: In English, when referring to sailing boats, the pronouns are her and she, so I also translate it into "she", the same below. Note ③: The words used in this enjoyable sarcasm not only have similar meanings, but also have similar pronunciations, as follows: squid (squid), dark cloud (squall, actually it should be translated as storm, I just translated it for fun), change jibe, jib, luff, leech, dock, deck, mist, mast.