When the ground was partially bare of snow, and a few warm days had dried its surface somewhat, it was pleasant to compare the first tender signs of the infant year just peeping forth with the stately beauty of the withered vegetation which had withstood the winter —— life-everlasting, goldenrods, pinweeds, and graceful wild grasses, more obvious and interesting frequently than in summer even, as if their beauty was not ripe till then; even cotton-grass, cat-tails, mulleins, johnswort, hard-hack, meadow-sweet, and other strong-stemmed plants, those unexhausted granaries which entertain the earliest birds —— decent weeds, at least, which widowed Nature wears.
土地上有一部分已没有了积雪，一连几个温暖的日子把它的表面晒得相当的干燥了，这时的赏心悦目之事是用这新生之年的婴孩期中各种初生的柔和的现象，来同那些熬过了冬天的一些苍老的植物的高尚的美比较，——长生草，黄色紫苑，针刺草和别种高雅的野草，往往在这时比它们在夏季里更加鲜明，更加有味，好像它们的美非得熬过了冬才到达成熟时期似的：甚至棉花草，猫尾草，毛蕊花，狗尾草，绣线草，草原细草，以及其他有强壮草茎的植物，这些都是早春的飞鸟之无穷的谷仓，——至少是像像样样的杂草，它们是大自然过冬的点缀。
I heard some fishes begin to make such a disturbance with each other, that it resounded as far as heaven, and sweet honey flowed like water from a deep valley to the top of a high mountain, and these were strange things. There were two crows which were mowing a meadow, and I saw two gnats building a bridge, and two doves tore a wolf to pieces, two children brought forth two kids, and two frogs threshed corn together.
我听见鱼儿在相互嬉戏，欢叫声直达天空；还听见过一道甜蜂蜜像水一样从一条深谷流到一座高山上；看见过两只乌鸦在割一块草地；我又看见两只蚊子合力建造一座桥，两只鸽子拔一只狼的毛，两个男孩扔了两只羊，两只青蛙在一起打五谷；我还瞧见过两只小老鼠在加封一位大主教，两只猫在把熊的舌头往外拉。
In the meadow with the rows of sweet-scented hay, through which he had ridden the day before, there lay motionless across the rows one soldier with his shako off, and his head thrown awkwardly back.
就在他昨天骑马经过的，摆着一排排芳香的干草的草地上，一个士兵一动不动地横躺在干草旁，不自然地歪扭着头，军帽掉在一旁。
Velvety masculine scent of sweet meadow flowers.
予人柔软及有气质的男仕香水。
She is near to my heart as the meadow-flower to the earth; she is sweet to me as sleep is to tired limbs.
她贴近我的心，就像花草贴紧大地；她对我说来是如此甜蜜，犹如睡眠之子疲惫的肢体；
And yet we did unbend so far as to let our guns speak for us, when at length we had swept out of sight, and thus left the woods to ring again with their echoes; and it may be many russet-clad children, lurking in those broad meadows, with the bittern and the woodcock and the rail, though wholly concealed by brakes and hardhack and meadow-sweet, heard our salute that afternoon.
然而只要有油门在说话，我们就的确无需开口了。最后，当我们划出了人们的视线，渐远的树丛中再次回荡着送别的欢呼。河边宽阔的草地里有着麻鸦，鸟鹬和铁轨。躲在草丛中的一帮穿着黄褐色衣服的小孩，尽管有郁郁葱葱的绣线菊和不时传来的刹车声的掩盖，那天下午，应该也听到了我们这热闹非凡的出航。