The Swallow's Nest　燕子窝

Often in former years the twitter of the birds glittering in the morning sun was the first sound that met my ear during the wakeful hours which frequently accompany illness after the worst crisis has passed,and you are recovering by degrees.The gutters ran beneath my bedroom windows,and I could see the steel-blue backs of the swallows as they sat on the rims of the gutter,twisting their little heads,opening their yellowlined beaks,singing to their hearts'content.Whole families would perch there together,or the young would rest in rows of four or five,according to the nest-broods of each.How delightful to see them fed by their agile parents!How tantalizing to have them almost within reach of my hands,yet not to be able to catch them or give them a kiss,as they would cower in my hollow hands if I only could have got them in there!

前几年，我大病初愈，辗转难眠。每天清晨，耳旁响起的第一个声音就是灿烂阳光下鸟儿们叽叽喳喳的鸣叫，于是身体也渐渐恢复。我的卧室窗下是排水槽，当燕子们落在水槽边上的时候，我可以看到它们灰蓝色的后背。它们扭着小脑袋，张开黄灿灿的小嘴巴，尽情歌唱。它们会全家栖息在一起，有时候，小燕子们四个或五个排成一排，这要看一窝有几只小燕子了。看着它们的爸爸妈妈敏捷麻利地给小燕子喂食，简直太开心了！不过，看着眼前触手可得的燕子，不能抓，也不能亲，别提多难受了！唉！如果我真的把它们捧在手掌里，它们一定会吓得缩成一团的。