中英文本

One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited.
一天，男孩回来了，树非常兴奋。
Come and play with me. The tree said.
来和我玩吧。树说。
I don't have time to play.
我没有时间玩。
I have to work for my family.
我得为我的家庭工作。
We need a house for shelter.
我们需要一个房子来遮风挡雨，
Can you help me?
你能帮我吗？
Sorry, but I don't have a house.
很遗憾，我没有房子。

But you can cut off my branches to build your house.
但是，你可以砍下我的树枝来建房。
So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.
因此，男孩砍下所有的树枝，高高兴兴地离开了。
The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn't appear since then.
看到他高兴，树也很高兴。但是，自从那时起男孩没再出现，
The tree was again lonely and sad.
树有孤独，伤心起来。
One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted.
突然，在一个夏日，男孩回到树旁，树很高兴。
Come and play with me! the tree said.
来和我玩吧！树说。
I am sad and getting old.
我很伤心，我开始老了。
I want to go sailing to relax myself.
我想去航海放松自己。
Can you give me a boat?
你能不能给我一条船？
Use my trunk to build the boat.
用我的树干去造一条船，
You can sail and be happy.
你就能航海了，你会高兴的。
So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat.
于是，男孩砍倒树干去造船。
He went sailing and did not show up for a long time.
他航海去了，很长一段时间未露面。
Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years.
许多年后男孩终于回来了。
Sorry, my boy.
很遗憾，我的孩子，
But I don't have anything for you anymore.
我再也没有任何东西可以给你了。
No more apples for you. the tree said.
没有苹果给你…树说。
I don't have teeth to bite.
我没有牙齿啃。
The boy replied.
男孩答到。
No more trunk for you to climb on.
没有树干供你爬。
I am too old for that now. the boy said.
现在我老了，爬不上去了。 男孩说。
I really want to give you something…the only thing left is my dying roots.
我真的想把一切都给你…我唯一剩下的东西是快要死去的树墩。
The tree said with tears.
树含着眼泪说。
I don't need much now, just a place to rest.
现在，我不需要什么东西，只需要一个地方来休息。
I am tired after all these years. The boy replied.
经过了这些年我太累了。男孩答到。
Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest.
太好了！老树墩就是倚着休息的最好地方。
Come here, please sit down with me and have a rest.
过来，和我一起坐下休息吧。
The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears…
男孩坐下了，树很高兴，含泪而笑…
This is a story of everyone.
这是一个发生在每一个人身上的故事。
The tree is our parent.
那棵树就像我们的父母。
When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad…
我们小的时候，喜欢和爸爸妈妈玩…
When we grow up, we leave them,
长大后，便离开他们，
and only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble.
只有在我们需要父母亲，或是遇到了困难的时候，才会回去找他们。
No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could to make you happy.
尽管如此，父母却总是有求必应，为了我们的幸福，无私地奉献自己的一切。
You may think that the boy is cruel to the tree but that's how all of us are treating our parents.
你也许觉得那个男孩很残忍，但我们何尝不是这样呢？
作者介绍

谢尔·希尔弗斯坦

谢尔·希尔弗斯坦，男，美国人，外文名称：Sheldon Alan Silverstein, 1932年9月25日出生于美国芝加哥，1999年5月9日逝世。是一位享誉世界的艺术天才，集诗人、插画家、剧作家、作曲家、乡村歌手于一身。在他的儿童文学作品中，他自称为谢尔比叔叔（Uncle Shelby），同时，他在部分卡通作品中的签名用的是S·S。20世纪最伟大的绘本作家之一，他的绘本作品被翻译成30多种语言，仅美国本土的销量就超过1800万册，全球销量超过1.8亿册。

词语解释

1.treetop n.树稍

Thereupon, it finds a treetop falling behind.
于是，它找到一枝树梢落下。

Come and have tea in my treetop house.
跟我到树顶的屋里喝杯茶怎么样。

2.branch n.树枝；分支；部门

One shows all the balances of a customer at the branch.
其中之一展示了这家分行所有客户的余额。

It became a fourth branch of government, an industry and a circus.
选民倡议成了政府的第四个部门，一个产业和一种表演。

3.trunk n.树干；象鼻；躯干

385 Million b.c. during the middle devonian period of the paleozoic era, a prehistoric fern adds a new growth ring to its trunk, creating the world's first timeline.
公元前3.85亿年在古生代的泥盆纪中期，一棵史前蕨类在其树干上又加了一圈年轮，建立了世界上第一个时间表。

Jabuticaba, or the brazilian grape tree, is a very strange plant native to the south eastern parts of brazil. What makes this plant so strange is that it fruits from its trunk.
嘉宝果，又称巴西树葡萄，原产于巴西东南地区，它是一种非常奇怪的植物，果实直接长在树干上。

4.cruel a.残酷的，残忍的；使人痛苦的

Why did fate played such cruel games with him?
为什么命运和他开这么残酷的玩笑？

Some inflict cruel and unusual punishments on their flocks.
这些教练对他们的会员施加残忍且难以想象的惩罚。