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We had been in England for about six months when old farmer Crawford gave me permission to roam about his immense property. I started hiking there every weekend, up a long, sloping hill to an almost impenetrable stand of trees called Bear Wood. It was my secret fortress, almost a holy place, I thought. Slipping through a barbed-wire fence, I'd leave the bright sun and the twitter and rustle of insects and animals outside and creep into another world—a vaulted cathedral, with tree trunks for pillars and years' accumulation of long brown needles for a softly carpeted floor. My own breathing rang in my ears, and the slightest stirring of any woodland creature echoed through this private paradise.
我们在英格兰住了大概6个月之后，老农场主克劳福德才允许我在他那广阔的庄园里漫步。于是每个周末我都徒步走去那里，爬上一条长长的斜坡，到达小山上一片密不透风的树林，那便是熊树林。这里是我的秘密堡垒，我认为对我来说它几乎是个神圣的地方。从带刺的铁丝网栅栏溜过去，我就离开了外面那个充满阳光、昆虫和动物鸣叫声的世界，渐渐进入了另一个世界——一个拱形的大教堂，树干是它的立柱，地面上有长年堆积起来的长长的棕色松针铺就的柔软地毯。我可以听到自己的呼吸，林地里任何动物的一丝动静都会回荡在这个静谧的天堂。
One spring afternoon I wandered near where I thought I'd glimpsed a pond the week before. I proceeded quietly, careful not to alarm a bird that might loudly warn other creatures to hide.
一个春天的午后，我在树林里的某个地方闲逛，因为一周前我在那附近好像看到过一个池塘。我悄悄地走着，以免惊动鸟儿，那样它们就会惊声尖叫，吓得其他动物都躲起来。
Perhaps this is why the frail old lady I nearly ran into was as startled as I was. She caught her breath, instinctively touching her throat with her hand. Then, recovering quickly, she gave a welcoming smile that instantly put me at ease. A pair of powerful-looking binoculars dangled from her neck. "Hello, young man," she said. "Are you American or Canadian?"
或许就是因为这样，我差点和一位瘦弱的老夫人撞个满怀，她和我一样吓了一跳。她屏住呼吸，本能地用手碰了一下喉咙。然后她迅速回过神来，给了我一个表示欢迎的微笑，使我马上镇静下来。一个高倍双筒望远镜挂在她的脖子上。她说：“你好，小伙子。你是美国人还是加拿大人？”
