We found a 12)blue jay and a red-tailed 13)hawk. We found a 14)wood thrush, a scarlet 15)tanager and an 16)ovenbird.
我们发现了一只冠蓝鸦和一只红尾鹰。我们还找到了一只画眉鸟、一只红唐纳雀以及一只灶巢鸟。
We started throwing them in the creek. “Not too close,” Bill said. “You don't want to get that stuff on you.”
我们开始将它们扔进小溪里。“别扔得太近了，”比尔说。“你可不想那东西缠着你吧。”
One night I found Bill sitting far away in the truck.
一天晚上，我远远看见比尔坐在卡车里。
“Why are those birds coming here to die?” I asked. He looked at the keys in his hand and then looked at me.
“为什么那些鸟儿要到这里来死呢？”我问道。他看了看手里的钥匙，然后看着我。
“Here's as good a place as any. Maybe there's nowhere else to go.”
“这里和其他地方差不多。也许是没有别的地方可以去吧。”
Everyone stopped going out the birdhouse. Shelby would wait by the bird book and 17)solemnly flip the pages for me until we found the right one.
没有人再去那间鸟屋了。谢尔比守在那本关于鸟类的书旁边，神情庄重地为我翻动书页，直到我们找到鸟儿的正确种类。
The 18)nightingale was the last one I found. I held it in my hand even though I knew it was poison. It was 19)stiff, but the feathers felt soft and I stood there a while and stroked it. After I threw it in the creek, I turned and saw Mother watching me from the kitchen.
那只夜莺是我发现的最后一只。我把它捧在手里，尽管我知道它对我无益。它已经僵硬了，羽毛却依然触感柔软。我在那里站了一会儿，抚摸着它。我把它扔进小溪，回头看到母亲正从厨房那里看着我。
That night, I watched the birds in the trees shifting uncomfortably. As they moved, they left behind faint after-images and the trees 20)flickered with them like Christmas 21)ornaments.
那天晚上，我看见树上的那些鸟儿不自在地换着脚。它们移动的时候，身后留下模糊的余像，那棵树就像圣诞节的装饰一样随着它们一同摇曳。
When the peacock arrived, I knew it was the last time I would see them. It was magnificent. It glowed brighter than all the birds, and its tail feathers were as white and pure as flour. They 22)strobed with electricity as it walked solemnly into the clearing by the blue birdhouse.
那只孔雀到来时，我知道这将是我最后一次见到它们了。它真是漂亮极了，身上散发的光彩远胜其他鸟儿，它的尾羽就像面粉一样雪白纯净。它庄严地走到蓝色鸟屋旁的空地上，尾羽像电光一样闪着火花。
They lifted, one by one, from the branches and slowly circled overhead. I looked over to where Shelby was sleeping. Pale shadows flickered on the wall.
它们一只接一只地从树枝上飞了起来，在上空缓缓盘旋。我抬头看了看谢尔比睡着的地方。苍白的影子在墙上闪烁。
They circled through the trees like 23)constellations. I wondered for a second if I would be lifted up with them and carried off into the woods. But I stayed.
它们像星群一样围绕着树丛盘旋。有那么一会儿，我以为自己也会被它们高高抬起，然后被带进树丛里。但我依然留在原地。
Then they were gone and nothing was ever the same again after that.
接着，它们远去了，从此一切都和从前不一样了。
