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In nothing that he said or did was there any sign that his strength was not what it had been. It was only his appearance that was a little altered; his hide was less shiny than it had used to be, and his great haunches seemed to have shrunken.
他的一言一行没有任何迹象表明他的干劲不如过去。只是外貌上有点小小的变化：他的皮毛没有以前那么光亮，粗壮的腰部似乎也有点萎缩。
The others said, "Boxer will pick up when the spring grass comes on." But the spring came and Boxer grew no fatter.
别的动物说：“等春草长上来时，鲍克瑟就会慢慢恢复过来。”但是，春天来了，鲍克瑟却并没有长胖。
Sometimes on the slope leading to the top of the quarry, when he braced his muscles against the weight of some vast boulder, it seemed that nothing kept him on his feet except the will to continue.
有时，当他在通往矿顶的坡上，用尽全身气力顶着那些巨型圆石头的重荷的时候，撑持他的力量仿佛唯有不懈的意志了。
At such times his lips were seen to form the words, "I will work harder"; he had no voice left. Once again Clover and Benjamin warned him to take care of his health, but Boxer paid no attention.
这种时候，他总是一声不吭，但猛地看上去，似乎还隐约见到他口中念念有词“我要更加努力工作”。克拉弗和本杰明又一次警告他要当心身体，但鲍克瑟不予理会。
His twelfth birthday was approaching. He did not care what happened so long as a good store of stone was accumulated before he went on pension.
他的十二岁生日临近了。但他没有放在心上，一心一意想的只是在领取养老津贴之前把石头攒够。
Late one evening in the summer, a sudden rumour ran round the farm that something had happened to Boxer. He had gone out alone to drag a load of stone down to the windmill.
夏天的一个傍晚，快到天黑的时候，有个突如其来的消息传遍整个庄园，说鲍克瑟出了什么事。在这之前，他曾独自外出，往风车那里拉了一车石头。
And sure enough, the rumour was true. A few minutes later two pigeons came racing in with the news; "Boxer has fallen! He is lying on his side and can't get up!"
果然，消息是真的。几分钟后两只鸽子急速飞过来，带来消息说：“鲍克瑟倒下去了！他现在正側着身体躺在那里，站不起来了！”
About half the animals on the farm rushed out to the knoll where the windmill stood. There lay Boxer, between the shafts of the cart, his neck stretched out, unable even to raise his head.
庄园里大约有一半动物冲了出去，赶到建风车的小山包上。鲍克瑟就躺在那里，他在车辕中间伸着脖子，连头也抬不起来。
His eyes were glazed, his sides matted with sweat. A thin stream of blood had trickled out of his mouth. Clover dropped to her knees at his side. "Boxer!" she cried, "how are you?"
他的眼睛眨巴着，两肋的毛被汗水粘得一团一团的。嘴里流出一股稀稀的鲜血。克拉弗跪倒在他的身边。“鲍克瑟！”她呼喊道，“你怎么啦？”
"It is my lung," said Boxer in a weak voice. "It does not matter. I think you will be able to finish the windmill without me. There is a pretty good store of stone accumulated. I had only another month to go in any case. To tell you the truth, I had been looking forward to my retirement. And perhaps, as Benjamin is growing old too, they will let him retire at the same time and be a companion to me."
“我的肺，”鲍克瑟用微弱的声音说。“没关系的。我想没有我你们也能建成风车。备用的石头已经积攒够了。我充其量只有一个月时间了。不瞒你说，我一直盼望着退休。眼看本杰明年老了，说不定他们会让他同时退休，和我作个伴。”
"We must get help at once," said Clover. "Run, somebody, and tell Squealer what has happened." All the other animals immediately raced back to the farmhouse to give Squealer the news.
“我们会得到帮助的，”克拉弗叫道，“快，谁跑去告诉斯奎拉出事啦。”其他动物全都立即跑回庄主院，向斯奎拉报告这一消息。
Only Clover remained, and Benjamin who lay down at Boxer's side, and, without speaking, kept the flies off him with his long tail. After about a quarter of an hour Squealer appeared, full of sympathy and concern.
只有克拉弗和本杰明留下来，本杰明躺在鲍克瑟旁边，不声不响地用他的长尾巴给鲍克瑟赶苍蝇。大约过了一刻钟，斯奎拉满怀同情和关切赶到现场。
He said that Comrade Napoleon had learned with the very deepest distress of this misfortune to one of the most loyal workers on the farm, and was already making arrangements to send Boxer to be treated in the hospital at Willingdon.
他说拿破仑同志已得知此事，对庄园里这样一位最忠诚的成员发生这种不幸感到十分悲伤，而且已在安排把鲍克瑟送往威灵顿的医院治疗。
The animals felt a little uneasy at this. Except for Mollie and Snowball, no other animal had ever left the farm, and they did not like to think of their sick comrade in the hands of human beings.
动物们对此感到有些不安。因为除了莫丽和斯诺鲍之外，其他动物从未离开过庄园，他们不愿想到把一位患病的同志交给人类。
However, Squealer easily convinced them that the veterinary surgeon in Willingdon could treat Boxer's case more satisfactorily than could be done on the farm.
然而，斯奎拉毫不费力地说服了他们，他说在威灵顿的兽医院比在庄园里能更好地治疗鲍克瑟的病。
And about half an hour later, when Boxer had somewhat recovered, he was with difficulty got on to his feet, and managed to limp back to his stall, where Clover and Benjamin had prepared a good bed of straw for him. For the next two days Boxer remained in his stall.
大约过了半小时，鲍克瑟有些好转了，他好不容易才站起来，一步一颤地回到他的厩棚，里面已经由克拉弗和本杰明给他准备了一个舒适的稻草床。此后两天里，鲍克瑟就待在他的厩棚里。
The pigs had sent out a large bottle of pink medicine which they had found in the medicine chest in the bathroom, and Clover administered it to Boxer twice a day after meals.
猪送来了一大瓶红色的药，那是他们在卫生间的药柜里发现的，由克拉弗在饭后给鲍克瑟服用，每天用药两次。
In the evenings she lay in his stall and talked to him, while Benjamin kept the flies off him. Boxer professed not to be sorry for what had happened.
晚上，她躺在他的棚子里和他聊天，本杰明给他赶苍蝇。鲍克瑟声言对所发生的事并不后悔。
If he made a good recovery, he might expect to live another three years, and he looked forward to the peaceful days that he would spend in the corner of the big pasture.
如果他能彻底康复，他还希望自己能再活上三年，他盼望着能在大牧场的一角平平静静地住上一阵。
It would be the first time that he had had leisure to study and improve his mind. He intended, he said, to devote the rest of his life to learning the remaining twenty-two letters of the alphabet.
那样的话，他就能第一次腾出空来学习，以增长才智。他说，他打算利用全部余生去学习字母表上还剩下的二十二个字母。
However, Benjamin and Clover could only be with Boxer after working hours, and it was in the middle of the day when the van came to take him away.
然而，本杰明和克拉弗只有在收工之后才能和鲍克瑟在一起，而正是那一天中午，有一辆车来了，拉走了鲍克瑟。
The animals were all at work weeding turnips under the supervision of a pig, when they were astonished to see Benjamin come galloping from the direction of the farm buildings, braying at the top of his voice.
动物们都在猪的监督下做婚礼用的萝卜，忽然，他们惊讶地看着本杰明从庄园窝棚那边飞奔而来，一边还扯着嗓子大叫着。
It was the first time that they had ever seen Benjamin excited. Indeed, it was the first time that anyone had ever seen him gallop. "Quick, quick!" he shouted. "Come at once! They're taking Boxer away!"
这是他们第一次见到本杰明如此激动。事实上，也是第一次看到他奔跑。“快，快！”他大声喊着，“快来呀！他们要拉走鲍克瑟！”
Without waiting for orders from the pig, the animals broke off work and raced back to the farm buildings. Sure enough, there in the yard was a large closed van, drawn by two horses, with lettering on its side and a sly-looking man in a low-crowned bowler hat sitting on the driver's seat.
没等猪下命令，动物们全都放下活计，迅速跑回去了。果然，院子里停着一辆大篷车，由两匹马拉着，车边上写着字，驾车人的位置上坐着一个男人，阴沉着脸，头戴一顶低檐圆礼帽。
And Boxer's stall was empty. The animals crowded round the van. "Good-bye, Boxer!" they chorused, "good-bye!" "Fools! Fools!" shouted Benjamin, prancing round them and stamping the earth with his small hoofs.
鲍克瑟的棚子空着。动物们围住车。异口同声地说：“再见，鲍克瑟！再见！”“笨蛋！傻瓜！”本杰明喊着，绕着他们一边跳，一边用他的小蹄掌敲打着地面。
"Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?" That gave the animals pause, and there was a hush. Muriel began to spell out the words.
“傻瓜！你们没看见车边上写着什么吗？”这下子，动物们停了下来，场面也静了下来。穆丽尔开始拼读那些字。
But Benjamin pushed her aside and in the midst of a deadly silence he read: "'Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler, Willingdon. Dealer in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels Supplied.' Do you not understand what that means? They are taking Boxer to the knacker's!"
可本杰明却把她推到了一边，他自己就在死一般的寂静中念到：“‘威灵顿，艾夫列·西蒙兹，屠马商兼煮胶商。皮革商兼供应狗食的骨粉商。’你们不明白这是什么意思吗？他们要把鲍克瑟拉到在宰马场去！”
A cry of horror burst from all the animals. At this moment the man on the box whipped up his horses and the van moved out of the yard at a smart trot. All the animals followed, crying out at the tops of their voices.
听到这些，所有的动物都突然迸发出一阵恐惧的哭嚎。就在这时，坐在车上的那个人扬鞭催马，马车在一溜小跑中离开大院。所有的动物都跟在后面，拼命地叫喊着。
Clover forced her way to the front. The van began to gather speed. Clover tried to stir her stout limbs to a gallop, and achieved a canter. "Boxer!" she cried, "Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!"
克拉弗硬挤到最前面。这时，马车开始加速。克拉弗也试图加快她那粗壮的四肢赶上去，并且越跑越快。“鲍克瑟！”她哭喊道，“鲍克瑟！鲍克瑟！鲍克瑟！”
And just at this moment, as though he had heard the uproar outside, Boxer's face, with the white stripe down his nose, appeared at the small window at the back of the van.
恰在这时，好像鲍克瑟听到了外面的喧嚣声，他的面孔，带着一道直通鼻子的白毛，出现在车后的小窗子里。
