Lenny the Flying Inventor1 飞行发明家莱尼

张恒

Once upon a time there was a funny guy named Lenny. Lenny was an inventor. He invented all kinds of contraptions2. His house looked like a mess3， but he had some really cool things.

从前有一个有趣的家伙叫莱尼。莱尼是个发明家，他发明了各种各样的小玩意儿。他的房子看起来一团糟，但他也有很酷的玩意儿。

One day Lenny wanted to fly.

有一天，莱尼想飞翔。

“I am going to make some wings4 and fly，” Lenny told his friend Rudy.

“我要做出翅膀飞起来。”莱尼告诉他的朋友鲁迪。

“Now I really know youre crazy. You wont even get off the ground，” said Rudy.

“现在我真的知道你疯了。你甚至都离不开地面。”鲁迪说。

“Youll see，” said Lenny.

“你等着瞧。”莱尼说。

So he went down to his workshop5 and started working. Day and night， he worked. No one saw Lenny for weeks. Then one day he came out of his workshop with a great big smile on his face.

于是他去工作室开始工作。他日夜都在工作，好几个星期没人见到他了。一天，他从工作室出来，脸上挂着灿烂的笑容。

He called Rudy on the phone. “Rudy， tomorrow I will fly， but I need your help，” said Lenny.

他给鲁迪打电话。“鲁迪，明天我会试飞，但我需要你帮忙。”莱尼说。

“Did you really build some wings？” asked Rudy.

“你真的造出了翅膀嗎？”鲁迪问。

“Yeah and they are really beautiful，” said Lenny. “Theyre a little heavy though. I need you to help me take them to the top of Kill Devil Hill.”

“是啊，它们真的很漂亮。”莱尼说，“不过有点重。我需要你帮我把它们带到屠魔山的山顶上去。”

“What did you make them out of？” asked Rudy.

“你用什么做的？”鲁迪问。

“I made them out of some scrap metal6 from when I built my plane last year，” said Lenny.

“我用去年造飞机时剩下来的一些废金属做的。”莱尼说。

“Metal！Dont you think that will be too heavy to use for wings？” asked Rudy.

“金属！你不觉得用它做翅膀太重了吗？”鲁迪问。

“No， I did all the work. I will be like a human airplane，” said Lenny.

“不重啊，所有的工作都做好了。我会像一架人形飞机那样飞起来。”莱尼说。

Rudy just rolled7 his eyes. “OK， I will be over first thing in the morning and well try them out，” said Rudy.

鲁迪只是翻了个白眼。他说：“好吧，我明天一早就做完最重要的事，然后我们来试试看。”

“See you then，” said Lenny.

“到时候见。”莱尼说。

The next morning they took the wings up to the top of Kill Devil Hill and Lenny strapped8 them on.

第二天早上，他们把翅膀带到了屠魔山的山顶，莱尼把翅膀绑到身上。

“Are you sure those are not too heavy？” asked Rudy again.

“你确定它们不太重吗？”鲁迪又问。

“No， the faster I run， the lighter they will get. The wind will lift me up and I will be flying，” said Lenny， quite confidently9.

“不重，我跑得越快，它们就越轻。风会把我带起来，我会飞起来的。”莱尼非常自信地说。

“All right， I am going to get a running start and take off，” said Lenny. So， Lenny backed up about fifty feet and started running. As he ran， the weight of the wings started to wear out his legs and he got lower and lower to the ground. Just as he got to the top of the hill， his legs gave out and he skidded10 across the ground on his face.

“好啦，我要开始跑了，然后再起飞。”莱尼说。所以，莱尼后退了大约50英尺后开始跑起来。当他奔跑的时候，翅膀的重量开始磨损他的双腿，导致他离地面越来越近。就在他到达山顶时，他的双腿精疲力竭，整个人从地面上滑了过去，脸朝下。

After Rudy rolled around on the ground laughing for about a minute， he got up and asked Lenny if he was OK.

鲁迪笑得在地上打滚，大约笑了一分钟后，他才站起来问莱尼他是不是没事。

“Yeah， yeah， real funny，” said Lenny. “I guess you may be right they are a little heavy， but I know the shape is just right. I will just go back to the workshop and make them out of another material11. Something lighter.”

“没事，没事，真有趣。”莱尼说，“我想你可能是对的，它们有点重，但我知道形状没什么问题。我会回工作室用另一种材料做翅膀，更轻的一种。”

A few weeks later Lenny called up Rudy.

几周后，莱尼打电话给鲁迪。

“Ive done it，” said Lenny.

“我做出来了。”莱尼说。

“Youve done what？” asked Rudy.

“你做出什么了？”鲁迪问。

“I reworked the wings. I made them out of wood and tissue paper12. These things are so light I may get going by just jumping off the roof. Come on over， I need a witness13，” said Lenny.

“我重新做了對翅膀，用木头和纸巾做的。这些东西太轻了，我只要从屋顶上跳下去就行了。过来吧，我需要一个见证者。”

“Im on the way，” said Rudy.

“我在路上了。”鲁迪说。

When Rudy arrived， Lenny was already up on the roof with these funny looking pink wings.

鲁迪到的时候，莱尼已经站在屋顶上了，身着看起来很滑稽的粉色翅膀。

“Pink wings！” laughed Rudy.

“粉色的翅膀！”鲁迪大笑。

“Yeah， this is the thing I had left over from when I invented that large Pig robot we used on Halloween last year，” said Lenny.

“是啊，这是我去年发明万圣节用的大型小猪机器人时剩下的。”莱尼说。

“So you think youre just going to jump off and fly？” asked Rudy.

“所以你觉得你只用跳下来就可以飞起来吗？”鲁迪问。

“Yeah. Here goes，” said Lenny.

“是啊。我来了。”莱尼说。

He backed up a little and took a quick dash14 and a jump.

他往后退了一点，然后快速冲刺跳跃起来。

The wings broke right off and Lenny landed on his head in the middle of some bushes next to the house.

翅膀突然折断，莱尼头朝下跌在房子旁边的灌木丛中。

After Rudy rolled around on the ground laughing for about a minute， he got up and asked Lenny if he was OK.

鲁迪笑得在地上打滚，笑了一分钟后，他才站起来问莱尼他是不是没事。

“Yeah， Yeah， real funny，” said Lenny. “I guess they may have been a little weak15， but I know the shape is just right. I will just go back to the workshop and make them out of another material. Something not as heavy as the scrap metal and not as light as the tissue paper.”

“没事，没事，真有趣。”莱尼说，“我想它们可能有点脆弱，但我知道它们的形状正合适。我马上回工作室用另一种材料做。没有废金属那么重，也没有纸巾那么轻的材料。”

“Sounds like a good idea to me，” said Rudy as he rolled his eyes.

“听起来是个好主意。”鲁迪翻着白眼说。

A few weeks later Lenny called up Rudy.

几周后，莱尼打电话给鲁迪。

“Ive really done it this time，” said Lenny.

“我這次真的做出来了。”莱尼说。

“Youve done what？” asked Rudy.

“你做出什么了？”鲁迪问。

“I reworked the wings. I made them out of wax16 and balsa wood17. These things look just like birds wings. Meet me at Kill Devil Hill， I need a witness，” said Lenny.

“我重新做了翅膀，用蜡和软木做的。这些东西看起来就像鸟的翅膀。在屠魔山和我碰头，我需要一个见证者。” 莱尼说。

“Im on the way，” said Rudy.

“我在路上了。”鲁迪说。

When Rudy arrived， he saw the wings. They did look good！

当鲁迪到达时，他看到了那对翅膀，看起来确实很不错！

“I need you to help me strap them on，” said Lenny.

“我需要你帮我系上带子。”莱尼说。

Rudy helped him strap on the wings. There was a handle18 under each wing out near the tip19 for Lenny to use to move the wings up and down and a belt20 that went around his waist21 so that they would not fall off.

鲁迪帮他绑好翅膀。在每个翅膀下面，靠近翼尖的地方都有一个小把手，是莱尼用来上下移动翅膀的，还有一条腰带绕在他的腰上，这样翅膀就不会掉下来。

“Here we go，” shouted Lenny as he backed up and began running towards the top of the hill.

“我们走吧。”莱尼一边喊，一边后退，接着开始向山顶跑去。

He didnt slow down and just as he got to the edge22 of the hill， he started to lift up into the air. He was flying！

他没有放慢脚步，一跑到山边他就腾空而起。他飞起来了！

YAHOOO！ Shouted Lenny.

哇哦！莱尼大喊道。

He flew and flew just laughing and hooting23. He flew higher and higher. He was really getting high now， and he started to worry. “How do I land these things？” he asked himself.

他飞来飞去，又笑又叫，飞得越来越高。他现在真的很兴奋，接着他开始担心了。“我怎么用这些翅膀着陆呢？”他问自己。

That question was about to be answered. All of a sudden， he saw that his wings were starting to melt24. He had been lifted up so high， that the sun was starting to melt the wax he used to make the wings. Pretty soon he had little tiny wings and he was flying about a hundred miles an hour down towards the woods.

那个问题就要有答案了。突然，他看到翅膀开始融化。他飞得那么高，以至于太阳开始融化他用来做翅膀的蜡。很快，他的翅膀就变小了，他以每小时100英里的速度向树林坠去。

“Boy this is going to hurt again，” said Lenny to himself.

“我这次又要受伤了。”莱尼自言自语地说。

He fell into the woods.

他掉进了树林里。

Rudy ran up. “Are you all right？” he asked.

鲁迪跑了过来。“你没事吧？”他问道。

“Yeah， I think so， but I am surely going to stop trying to fly. This is too hurt on the body，” said Lenny.

“没事，我想还好，但我肯定不会再尝试飞行了。这太伤身了。”莱尼说。

To this day， no one believes25 Rudy when he tells the story of how Lenny flew like a bird. It may be good that they do not believe him， because others would probably get hurt， as did Lenny.

直到今天，当鲁迪讲述莱尼如何像鸟一样飞翔的故事时，没有人相信他。他们不相信他也许是好事，因为其他人可能会受到伤害，就像莱尼那样。

He often tells people， “If people were meant26 to fly， they would have wings！”

他经常告诉人们：“如果人注定要飞，他们就会长出翅膀！”

（英语原文选自：bedtime.com）

【Notes】

1. inventor [           ] n. 發明家;[专利]发明人;创造者

2. contraption [             ] n. 奇妙的装置;精巧的设计

3. mess [     ] n. 混乱，凌乱;脏乱的东西 4. wing [    ] n. 翼;翅膀

5. workshop [           ] n. 车间;工作室 6. scrap metal废金属

7. roll [    ] v. 滚动，（眼睛）转动 8. strap [       ] v. 用带捆绑，用带固定

9. confidently adv. 自信地 10. skid [     ] v. 刹住，使减速;滚滑;打滑

11. material ] n. 材料 12. tissue paper纸巾

13. witness [n. 证人;目击者;证据 14. dash [ n. 猛冲

15. weak [<] adj. 疲软的;无力的;不牢固的 16. wax [       ] n. 蜡;蜡状物 17. balsa wood软木 18. handle [        ] n. （门的）把手;柄 19. tip [    ] n. 尖端;小部件 20. belt [     ] n. 带;腰带 21. waist [] n. 腰，腰部 22. edge [    ] n. 边缘 23. hoot [     ] v. 鸣响;大声叫嚣;轰赶;呵斥 24. melt [     ] v. 熔化，溶解 25. believe [       ] v. 信任;料想;相信;认为

26. mean [      ] v. 注定