LESSON 31 The sky-lark
第三十一课 云雀
Sky-larks are plentiful everywhere in Europe, and in winter they fly about in large flocks.
在欧洲，云雀随处可见。冬天，云雀成群结队地活动。
Their summer food is mostly earth-worms, but in winter they are driven to vegetable diet.
他们夏天的食物主要是地上的虫子，但是在冬天却被迫吃素。
We call the wild plants weeds, and the garden ones flowers;
我们把野外的草叫做野草，把花园离的称为花；
but each alike bears its little seeds after its own kind, and each of these little seeds has its own work to do.
但是类似的一点是，它们都含有小籽儿，每一粒小籽都有自己的用处。
We gather the pods of our sweet-peas and our lupines, and store them carefully away till we plant them the following summer.
我们把香豌豆和羽扇豆的豆荚收集起来，仔细保存好，直到第二年夏天拿去播种。
And the wild-flower seeds—does nobody gather them?
野花的种子，没有人收集吗？
Yes; God lays them in his storehouse, and not one is wasted.
是的；上帝将其收入自己的仓库中，没有一粒被浪费。
Some fall to the ground, ready to take root and grow up in the spring-time, but the greater part are for the spreading of the little birds' table.
有些掉到了地上，等到春天来临时发芽成长。但是，更大的部分则成为了小鸟们的盘中餐。

The larks especially feed on these seeds in the winter, and all the cold weather through they come and eat, and are satisfied.
尤其是冬天天寒地冻时，云雀就会来吃，它们这就很满足了。
Everybody loves the sky-lark's song;
没有人不喜欢云雀的歌声；
and sometimes, when people have gone away to other lands, they have taken a sky-lark with them, to remind them of their own old home.
有时人们出门远行也会带上一只云雀，以此提醒自己不要忘了老家。
There was once a poor old widow, who, finding it hard work to get her living at home,
曾经有一个可怜的老寡妇，发现在家乡太难谋生，
thought that she would like to go to the gold-diggings in Australia.
于是决定加入去澳大利亚的淘金大军。
So she crossed the sea to that far-off country.
于是她漂洋过海，去了那个远方的国度。
The only treasures she possessed she took with her.
她所带的身家中，有一个就是她的宠物鸟云雀。
One of these was a pet sky-lark, which had been used to live in a small wicker cage, outside her cottage window.
此前，她将它养在窗户边上一个柳条编制的笼子里。