爸爸在孩子成长的过程中起着重要的引导作用，不知道爸爸们有没有在假期陪着孩子一同玩耍呢？

不是所有孩子都能勇敢坚强，也不是所有孩子都见过野生猫头鹰的哟~阅读本文，见识一下真正的猫头鹰吧！

It was late one winter night, long past my bedtime, when Pa and I went owling.

在一个冬天的晚上，我跟爸爸出去看猫头鹰，那时候已经三更半夜了，我们一直都没睡觉。

There was no wind. The trees stood still as giant statues.

外面没有风，那些大树直挺挺地站着，像一座座高高大大的雕像。

Somewhere behind us a train whistle blew, long and low, like a sad, sad song.

背后远远传来火车的汽笛声，笛音低沉却拉得很长，就像一首歌，听起来好忧伤好忧伤。

I could hear it through the woolen cap Pa had pulled down over my ears.A farm dog answered the train, and then a second dog joined in.

爸爸把我的毛线帽拉低，盖住我的耳朵。但是隔着帽子我还是听得到声音，农场里的一条狗跟着汽笛叫了起来，接着第二条狗也叫了。

And when their voices faded away it was as quiet as a dream.

闹声消失以后，四周静极了，就像在梦里。

We walked on toward the woods, Pa and I.

爸爸还有我一直向树林走去。

Our feet crunched over the crisp snow and little gray footprints followed us.

我们“沙沙沙”地踩着松脆的雪，留下小小的灰色脚印。

Pa made a long shadow, but my was short and round.

地上拖着爸爸长长的影子，我的影子却又短又圆。

I had to run after him every now and then to keep up, and my short, round shadow bumped after me.

隔不多久，我就得奔跑几步才能跟得上爸爸，我那又短又圆的影子，也跟着我跌跌撞撞。

I have been waiting to go owling with Pa for a long, long time.

我盼望跟着爸爸一起去看猫头鹰，已经盼望好久好久了。

We reach the line of pine trees, black and pointy against the sky, and Pa held up his hand.

我们走到了松林地带，在明亮的月色里，一棵棵的松树看起来黑黑的尖尖的，爸爸举手做了个手势。

I stopped up where I was and waited.

我立刻收住脚步。

He looked up, as if searching the stars, as if reading a map up there.

站在原地等着爸爸向上看，好像要找天上的星星，又像在查看空中的一张地图。

Then he called:”Whoo-whoo-who-who-whooo-” the sound of a Great Homed Owl”Whoo-whoo-who-who-whooo-”.

他开始呼叫起来，学的是大角猫头鹰的叫声。

Again he called out. And then again.

他叫了一阵又一阵。

After each call he was silent and for a moment we both listened.But there was no answer.

每叫过一次他就会停一会儿，我们两个都竖起耳朵，细细地听一会儿。但是什么也没听到。

Pa shrugged and I shrugged.I was not disappointed.

爸爸耸耸肩膀，我也耸耸肩膀。我并不难过。

My brothers all said sometimes there's an owl and sometimes there isn't.

我的几个哥哥都说过，猫头鹰是有时候出现有时候不出现的。

We walked on, I could feel the cold, as if someone's icy hand was palm-down on my back.

我们再往前走，我感觉到天气的寒冷，就像有人用冰冷的手掌按在我的背上。

And my nose and the tops of my cheeks felt cold and hot at the same time.But I never said a word.

鼻子上、面颊上，里热外冷，冻得发疼。但是我一句抱怨的话也没说。

If you go owling you have to be quiet and make your own heat.

出来看猫头鹰一定要安静一定要坚强。

We went into the woods.

我们走进了树林。

The shadows were the blackest things I had ever seen.They stained the white snow.

那些树影比我见过的任何东西都要阴暗。遮掩了地上的白雪。

I didn't ask what kinds of things hide behind black trees in the middle of the night.

深更半夜会不会有什么东西躲在黑黑的大树背后呢，我问都没问。

When you go owling you have to be brave.

出来看猫头鹰一定要勇敢。

Then we came to a clearing in the dark woods.The moon was high above us.

我们来到了黑森林中的空地。月亮高高挂在天空。

It seemed to fit exactly over the center of the clearing and the snow below it was whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl.

月光就像对准着空地上的中央照下来，月光下的雪看起来比瓷碗里的牛奶还要白。

I sighed and Pa held up his hand at the sound.

“呵——”我喘着大气，爸爸听见了做手势叫我别出声。

I put my mittens over the scarf over my mouth and listened hard.

我赶紧用手套捂住自己的嘴，我用心地听。

And then Pa called:"Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo.Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo."

爸爸又开始呼叫了起来。

I listened and looked so hard my ears hurt and my eyes got cloudy with the cold.

我全神贯注地听着看着，在这冷空气中，听得耳朵发疼，看得双眼蒙上一层雾。

Pa raised his face to call out again, but before he could open his mouth an echo came threading its way through the trees.

爸爸仰起了脸打算再呼叫一次，但是他还没开口，就有猫头鹰回应的声音穿过树丛传了过来。

"Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo."

Pa almost smiled.

爸爸脸上有了笑意。

Then he called back:"Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo." just as if he and the owl were talking about supper or about the woods or the moon or the cold.

他又回应了一声，然后他跟猫头鹰就像在那儿谈天，谈起了晚餐、树林、月亮和寒冷的天气。

I took my mitten off the scarf off my mouth, and I almost smiled, too.

我松开了捂住嘴的手套，开心得想笑出来。

The owl's call came closer, from high up in the trees on the edge of the meadow.

从草地边缘树丛上面传来的猫头鹰的叫声越来越近了。

Nothing in the meadow moved.

草地上却没有一点儿动静。

All of a sudden an owl shadow, part of the big tree shadow, lifted off and flew right over us.

忽然间一个猫头鹰的影子，从地上的大树影里分离开，向着我们的头顶这边飞过来。

We watched silently with heat in our mouths, the heat of all those words we had not spoken.

我们看着，嘴里发热却不出声，许多想说的话一句也没说。

The shadow hooted again.

飞过来的黑影又发出了叫声。

Pa turned on his big flashlight and caught the owl just as it was landing on a branch.

爸爸开亮了他的大手电筒，正好照在那只刚要停落在树枝上的猫头鹰。

For one minute, three minutes, maybe even a hundred minutes, we stared at one another.

我们跟那只猫头鹰，我看你，你看我，看了一分钟、三分钟，或者足足看了一百分钟也说不定。

Then the owl pumped its great wings and lifted off the branch like a shadow without sound.

后来那只猫头鹰就扇动它的大翅膀从树枝上飞开了，像一道无声无息的黑影。

It flew back into the forest.

它飞回树林里去了。

"Time to go home,"Pa said to me.I knew then I could talk, I could even laugh out loud.

“该回家了。”爸爸对我说。知道我可以说话了，也可以放声地笑了。

But I was a shadow as we walked home.

但是在回家的路上，我却一声不响像一道影子。

When you go owling you don't need words or warm or anything but hope.

出去看猫头鹰不需要说话，不需要温暖舒适，也不需要别的什么，只要心中有一个希望。

That's what Pa says.

爸爸是这么说的。

The kind of hope that flies on silent wings under a shining Owl Moon.

那个希望会用没有声音的翅膀，在看猫头鹰时的皎洁月光下，向前飞行。

SK英国皇家少儿英语