SOUNDING BRASS（CONTINUED）
铜锣响钹（续）
1.To his great disappointment，Gussy Burton was not in his usual place，nor did he make his appearance all day，and poor Dick could hear nothing of his skates.
2.But when school-hours were at last over，he joined the merry party for the pond，and as he reached the ice，sure enough，there was Gussy Burton with his own nice skates just buckled on！
3.“Those are mine，”shouted little Dick，“and I want to usethem myself.”
4.“You can have them if you catch me，”mockingly retortedGussy，gliding by him like an arrow.
5.Dick bit his lips，and thrusting his hands into his pockets，waited till Gussy had gone around the pond once；then he said，6.“Gussy，you may go around three times with my skates，if you will give them to me then.”
7.Gussy laughed loudly.“Very generous when you can not help yourself；I will go round as many times as I please.It is great fun；”and off he shot again.
8.Several of the smaller boys who stood near were very sorry for Dick，but Gussy was so large and strong that they did not dare attack him.
9.Poor Dick stood for nearly an hour gazing on the animated scene，growing very cold，and struggling against the bitter thoughts that filled his heart.
10.The boys were so full of fun，and he did so love to skate！At last，when Gussy came around once more，flushed with exercise，and screamed，“Grandfather，would you like to take a turn on my skates？”
11.Poor Dick said to himself，“Well，I am sure I have suffered long enough；but I must say I do not feel very kind.That verse may do very well for girls，but boys-”
12.Just then came a crash and a shout-
13.“See ！the ice has broken！”“Gussy Burton has gone in！”“Will he drown？”“Oh，the water is too shallow，”“No；it’s deep right in the middle，”“There，he‘s holding on，”“Can’t anyone help him？”“How the ice breaks！”“We can‘t get near him.”
14.“Let me try，”said Dick.
15.“No，he won’t drown；and he‘s so ugly，let him have a good fright，”“He’ll pull you in，too，Dicky，”urged the smaller boys.
16.“Help，boys，”cried Gussy；“I‘m so cold，I can’t hold onmuch longer，and if I stir，the ice cracks.”
17.“Run for farmer Jones，”said one，and a dozen boysstarted.
18.“Oh，I shall die before they get back，”groaned Gussy.
19.Just then Dick remembered something he had read，and running across the pond，he tore，with all his strength，a long board from the nearest fence，and hastening back，laid it carefully across the hole，so that Gussy could reach it.
20.Then，lying down flat on the ice，he slowly crawled up near enough to help the numb，frightened boy upon the board，and with great care he drew him farther and farther，till he was once more upon strong，safe ice.
21.“Three cheers for Dick Melville，”shouted the little boys，as the others returned with Dick‘s father，whom they had met on the road.
22.As the Story was eagerly told，it was hard to tell which blushed the most，poor chattering Gussy Burton，or happy，brave little Dick.
23.But Gussy，as soon as he could speak，made an apology to Dick，before all the boys，and then，in a lower tone，said，“I shall never forget this，Dick，and I hope I shall be a better boy.”
24.You may imagine the happiness of Dick when his father related the occurrence at home.
25.Sam walked up to him in a grand way，and said，“I am proud to shake hands with you，brother Dick.I think I must have been mistaken about that ’sounding brass，‘this morning.”
26.But the best of it was when his mother whispered，“You make me very happy，my little son，and，above all，I think you have pleased God.”
【中文阅读】
1.让他大失所望，谷希o 伯顿没有坐在他该坐的位置上，而且一整天都没出现在教室里，可怜的迪克连自己滑冰鞋的影子都没见到。
2.但是放学之后，他到池塘边，在那里终于看到了谷希o 伯顿，正穿着他的滑冰鞋在冰上滑呢！
3.“那是我的鞋。”小迪克大声喊道，“我自己还想滑呢。”
4.“你要是能抓住我，我就给你。”谷希嘲讽地回答，一边像箭一样迅速从他身边滑了过去。
5.迪克紧咬双唇，双手紧握成拳头插在口袋里，等谷希绕池塘一圈后又一次滑到他身边时，他说：
6.“谷希，如果你愿意把鞋还给我，你可以穿我的溜冰鞋滑三圈。”
7.谷希大笑着说：“你自己抓不到我就这么大方啊。只要我高兴，我想滑多少次就滑多少次，这真是太好玩了。”说着又滑远了。
8.有几个站在旁边的年龄小一些的孩子，他们看到这情景，都为迪克鸣不平，但是谷希人高马大，他们惹不起他。
9.可怜的迪克几乎站了一个小时，一直盯着谷希，站的时间太长了，感觉越来越冷，于是他强压着心头的怒火。
10.同学们都玩得非常快乐，他也喜爱滑冰呀！终于，谷希又一次滑过来，尖声喊道：“老爷爷，你想不想穿上我的鞋玩一会儿？”
11.可怜的迪克对自己说：“我已经忍得太久了，我必须说，我不觉得我该有善心；也许《圣经》那句话对女孩子非常合适，可男孩子--”
12.就在这时，一声碎裂声传来，一声大叫也随着传了过来。
13.“看那里！冰面裂了！”“谷希o 伯顿掉进去了！”“他会不会被淹死？”“不会，水很浅。”“不，中间很深呢。”“看，他正在水里挣扎呢。”“没人去救他吗？”“如果冰面再裂了该怎么办？！”“我们接近不了他。”
14.“让我试试。”迪克说道。
15.“不要去，他不会被淹死；他那么可恶，好好吓他一下。”“迪克，他也会把你拖进水里。”小同学们对他说。
16.“救我啊，同学们，”谷希喊叫着，“我太冷了，我快坚持不住了，如果我再乱动，冰会再破碎的。”
17.“快去找琼斯！”一个人喊道，于是十几个孩子去了。
18.“他们没回来的时候我就会淹死。”谷希呻吟道。
19.这时迪克想起他看过的一本书里说的话，于是他跑到池塘另一侧，然后用全力从最近的围墙处拖回来一个长木板，他小心翼翼地把木板横在冰窟窿上，这样谷希就能够到木板了。
20.然后迪克趴在冰面的木板上，慢慢爬过去帮助已经冻僵且被吓坏了的谷希，用尽力气把他拖离冰窟窿，越拉越远，一直把他拉到了冰面结实、安全的地方。
21.“我们为迪克o 梅尔维尔欢呼三声。”同学们大声喊道，这时跑去叫人的同学们也回来了，还有迪克的爸爸，他们在路上遇到了他。
22.这时，很难弄清谁的脸最红，是可怜的冻得发抖的谷希，还是兴奋勇敢的小迪克。
23.但是，当谷希一能说话，就当着所有同学的面，用低沉的声音向迪克道歉，说：“我永远都不会忘记，迪克，我希望自己会变成个好孩子。”
24.当爸爸把这件事说给全家人听的时候，你可以想象迪克有多幸福。
25.萨姆骄傲地走上前来，说：“我以与你握手为荣，迪克弟弟，我今天早晨说你是铜锣响钹是说错了。
26.妈妈在他耳边说的话最让他高兴：“我的孩子，你真的让我很高兴，最重要的是，你让上帝很高兴。”