chítáng
池塘                                             n. pond
fūqī
夫妻                                            n.husband and wife
xīngfèn de
兴奋       地                                 adv. excitedly
nàme( de)… nàme( de)
那么 （ 的 ） … 那么 （ 的 ） so…so…
shēngqìbóbó
生气勃勃                                 idiom.lively; full of vitality

zàihu
在乎                                         v. care
luànqībāzāo
乱七八糟                                idiom. in a mess
fāpíqì
发脾气                                    v. lose one’s temper
nánguò
难过                                        v. feel bad; upset
wēnnuǎn
温暖                                        adj. warm

Ethel hé Normanlǎo fūqī cóng chéngshì
Ethel 和 Norman 老   夫妻   从     城市 
huídào le tāmende xiǎo mùwū.
   回到  了   他们的   小     木屋 。 
zhège xiǎomùwū zàiyígè piàoliangde chítáng pángbiān.
这个      小木屋     在 一个     漂亮  的     池塘       旁边 。 
Ethel xīngfèn de gēn zhàngfu shuō:
Ethel 兴奋     地  跟       丈夫     说 ： 
“ nǐ tīng, qiánniǎo men zài huānyíng wǒmen huílai!”
“  你  听 ，   潜鸟      们   在        欢迎       我们    回来 ！ ” 
kěshì Norman shuō:“ wǒ shénme dōu tīngbújiàn.”
 可是 Norman 说 ： “ 我   什么    都     听不见 。 ”

The old couple of Ethel and Norman came back from the city

to their small wooden house.

The house is on the side of a beautiful pond.

Ethel says to her husband excitedly:

“Listen, the loons are welcoming us back!”

But Norman says: “I can’t hear anything.”

Norman zǒujìn wūlǐ,
Norman 走进 屋里 ， 
kànkan zìjǐ niánqīng shíhou de zhàopiàn,
看看     自己    年轻       时候   的    照片 ， 
nàme( de) yángguāng, nàme( de) qiángzhuàng,
那么 （ 的 ） 阳光 ，    那么 （ 的 ） 强壮 ， 
zài kànkan jìngzi lǐ de  zìjǐ,
再      看看    镜子 里 的 自己 ， 
tànxī yìshēng: hā!
叹息    一声 ： 哈 ! 
zhège shíhou Ethel zǒujìn lái,
这个       时候 Ethel 走进 来 ， 
xīngfèn de shuō:“ ò,  Norman, zhèlǐ zhēn měi!
兴奋 地 说 ： “ 哦 ， Norman , 这里  真     美 ！ 
suǒyǒu de dōngxi zhèngzài sūxǐng.“
   所有   的    东西       正在     苏醒 。 “ 
Ethel jiù xiàng chūntiān yíyàng, shēngqìbóbó.
Ethel 就   像         春天       一样 ， 生气勃勃 。 
dànshì Norman méiyǒu bànfǎ xīngfèn qǐlai.
但是     Norman 没有        办法   兴奋     起来 。 
tā pà zài shùlín lǐ mílù,
他 怕 在   树林  里 迷路 ， 
pà bèi rén xiàohuà tā lǎo,
怕   被 人      笑话    他 老 ， 
zhǐyǒu kàndào qīzi měilì de liǎn,
只有       看到    妻子 美丽 的 脸 ， 
tā cái gǎndào ānxīn.
他 才    感到     安心 。

Norman walks into the house,

looks at his pictures when he was young,

so cheerful, so strong,

and then he looks at himself in the mirror,

He sighs: hah!

At the same time, Ethel walks in,

saying excitedly: “Oh, Norman, it’s beautiful here!

Everything is waking up.”

Ethel is just like the spring weather, full of vitality.

But Norman cannot get excited.

He is afraid of getting lost in the woods,

afraid of being laughed at for being old,

only when he sees his wife’s beautiful face,

can he feel at ease.

bùjiǔ zhīhòu,Norman yào guòshēngrì le.
不久 之后 ， Norman 要      过生日    了 。 
tāmende nǚér yě yào huílai yìqǐ qìngzhù.
   他们的  女儿 也  要    回来 一起   庆祝 。 
érqiě nǚér de nánpéngyou
而且   女儿 的     男朋友 
hé nánpéngyou de érzi–   Billy yě huì yì qǐlai.
 和       男朋友    的 儿子 – Billy 也 会 一 起来 。 
Ethel dāngrán hěn gāoxìng,
Ethel 当然       很     高兴 ， 
Norman suīrán shuō tā búzàihu,
Norman 虽然       说   他 不在乎 ， 
dànshì háishi zài jìngzi qiánmian
   但是    还是   在    镜子    前面 
rènzhēn de jìshang le lǐngdài.
   认真    地      系上 了    领带 。

Soon, Norman will celebrate his birthday.

Their daughter also will be back to celebrate together.

Also, their daughter’s boyfriend

and the boyfriend’s son – Billy will come too.

Of course Ethel is very happy,

and although Norman says he doesn’t care,

he still stands in front of the mirror

and earnestly ties his necktie.

nǚér dài zhe tā de kèrénmen dàole,
女儿  带  着   她 的    客人们      到了 ， 
Billy shì yígè rènwéi pàoniū hé màrén
Billy 是   一个  认为      泡妞  和  骂人 
dōu hěn kù de 13 suì xiǎonán hái.
 都    很   酷 的 13  岁      小男   孩 。 
guò wán shēngrì yǐhòu,
 过    完       生日    以后 , 
nǚér hé tā nánpéngyou yào qù lǚxíng,
女儿  和 他      男朋友      要   去  旅行 ， 
suǒyǐ  jiùràng          hé Norman fūqī zhù yígè yuè.
 所以      就让  Billy 和 Norman 夫妻  住  一个 月 。 
Billy shuō zìjǐ bèi pāoqì le, méiyǒurén xǐhuan tā.
Billy 说   自己 被  抛弃 了 ， 没有人      喜欢  他 。 

Their daughter guests arrived with her guests.

Billy is a 13-year-old boy

who thinks cursing and picking up chicks are cool.

After celebrating birthday,

the daughter and her boyfriend will go on a trip,

so they let Billy stay with Norman and Ethel for a month.

Billy says he was abandoned, nobody likes him.

dànshì   Norman duì zhège shàonián shuō:
   但是   Norman 对    这个       少年     说 ： 
“ fàngpì, wǒ bǐ nǐ dà 67 suì,
 “ 放屁 ， 我 比 你 大 67 岁 ， 
nǐ zěnme zhīdào wǒ xiǎngyào shénme?
你   怎么     知道   我      想要        什么 ？ 
wǒmen yào qù diàoyú le,     nǐ yàoshi xiǎnglái,
    我们   要   去     钓鱼 了 ， 你    要是    想来 ， 
2 fēnzhōng hòu chūlái.”
2      分钟      后     出来 。 ” 
Billy suīrán shuō búzàihu diàoyú,
Billy 虽然     说     不在乎    钓鱼 ， 
dànshì dìyīcì diàoyú,   tā háishi hěn xīngfèn.
    但是  第一次 钓鱼 ， 他  还是   很   兴奋 。 
zìcóng nàtiān yǐhòu,  Billy jiù xǐhuan shàng le diàoyú,
  自从     那天 以后 ，Billy 就    喜欢     上   了   钓鱼 ， 
suǒyǐ chángcháng hé    Norman chūqù,
  所以       常常         和    Norman 出去 ， 
liǎnggè rén de guānxi yuèlái yuèhǎo.
  两个     人   的    关系    越来    越好 。 

But Norman says to this youngster:

“Bullshit, I’m 67 years older than you,

how do you know what I want?

We are going fishing now, if you want to come,

come out in 2 minutes.”

Although Billy says he doesn’t care about fishing,

he is still very excited about fishing for the first time.

Since that day, Billy has fallen in love with fishing,

so he goes out with Norman often,

the relationship between these two gets better and better.

zhètiān, Norma xiǎng zài bìlú lǐ shēnghuǒ,
这天 ， Norman 想   在 壁炉 里    生火 ， 
dànshì tā chàdiǎn ràng fángzi zháohuǒ le.
   但是  他     差点     让       房子     着火   了 。 
xìnghǎo  Billy hé Ethel gǎnjǐn bǎ huǒ pūmiè le.
    幸好    Billy 和 Ethel  赶紧    把  火    扑灭  了 。 
dànshì  Norman què hěn kèbó de shuō Billy
  但是    Norman  却   很   刻薄 地    说   Billy 
bǎ jiālǐnòng de luànqībāzāo.
把  家里弄     得   乱七八糟 。 
Billy zhǐshì gè 13 suì de háizi,
Billy  只是  个  13 岁 的   孩子 ， 
tā bù dǒng  Norman wèishénme huì tūrán fāpíqì,
他 不   懂      Norman    为什么      会  突然 发脾气 ， 
suǒyǐ tā yòu shēngqì, yòu nánguò.
 所以 他  又     生气 ， 又     难过 。

On this day, Norman wants to light the fireplace,

but he almost sets the house on fire.

Luckily Billy and Ethel hasten to put out the fire.

but Norman would remark Billy unkindly that

he made a mess in the house.

Billy is only a 13-year-old child,

he doesn’t know why Norman loses his temper suddenly,

so he is angry and upset.

Ethel kànzhe tāmen, yě hěn nánguò,
Ethel 看着      他们 ，也   很    难过 , 
tā zhǐhǎo ānwèi   Billy shuō:
她   只好    安慰   Billy 说 ： 
“ Norman búshi duì nǐ fāpíqì,
“ Norman 不是 对  你 发脾气 ， 
tā shìzài duì shēnghuó fāpíqì,
他   是在  对      生  活   发脾气 ， 
tā jiù xiàng yì zhī lǎo shīzǐ,
他 就   像     一 只  老  狮子 ， 
yào tíxǐng zìjǐ   tā hái kěyǐ páoxiào.”
要    提醒   自己 他 还  可以   咆哮 。 ” 
Ethel zǒngshì zhèyàng wēnnuǎn de ānwèi suǒyǒurén,
Ethel 总是        这样           温暖     地   安慰     所有人 , 
ānwèi kǒngjù sǐwáng de zhàngfu,
安慰      恐惧    死亡    的     丈夫 ， 
yě ānwèi bèi zhàngfu shānghài de rén.
也   安慰   被      丈夫         伤害   的   人 。 
tā xiàng chūntiān yíyàng, wēnnuǎn qiě shēngqìbóbó.
她    像        春天      一样 ，    温暖      且     生气勃勃 。

Ethel watching them, is also upset,

She has to comfort Billy and say:

“He is not mad at you,

he is mad at life,

he is like an old lion,

needing to remind himself that he can still roar.

Ethel is always comforting everyone so warmly,

comforting her husband who is scared of dying,

and also comforting the person who are hurt by her husband.

She is like the spring, warm and full of vitality.

yígèyuèhòu  Bily zǒu le.
   一个月后   Billy 走 了 。 
lǎo fūqī hòulái yào qù kànkan nǚér.
老  夫妻   后来  要   去     看看    女儿 。 
liǎnggè rén zhèngzài zhǔnbèi zǒu deshíhòu
   两个   人        正在        准备     走     的时候 
Norman tūrán dǎoxià le.
Norman 突然    倒下   了 。 
Ethel yòu kǒngjù yòu shāngxīnde shuō:
Ethel  又    恐惧    又        伤心地      说 ： 
“ nǐ shì yào zǒu le ma, Norman?
“  你 是   要   走 了 吗 , Norman ？ 
qīnàide shàngdì, búyào xiànzài dàizǒu tā,
  亲爱的   上帝 ， 不要       现在      带走 他 ，
nǐ bùxūyào tā,     tā zhǐshì yīgè lǎowángù.”
你   不需要  他 ， 他 只是   一个 老顽固 。 ” 
zhèshì  Ethel dìyīcì gǎnjuédào sǐwáng,
  这是   Ethel 第一次    感觉到      死亡 ， 
zhèzhǒng gǎnjué ràng tā bùzhīdào gāi zěnmebàn.
      这种       感觉    让    她 不知道     该      怎么办 。 
xìnghǎo   Norman jǐ fēnzhōng hòu jiù huīfù le.
   幸好      Norman 几     分钟     后    就 恢复 了 。 
tā wēixiào zhe gēn   Ethel shuō:
他    微笑    着    跟   Ethel 说 ： 
“ wǒmen qù gēn chítáng gàobié ba.”
“     我们   去   跟    池塘     告别   吧 。 ”

One month later, Billy left.

The old couple are going to see their daughter.

When these two are getting ready to leave,

Norman suddenly falls.

Ethel says with fear and sadness:

“Are you going to leave, Norman?

Dear God, don’t take him right now,

you don’t need him, he is only an old poop.”

This is the first time Ethel feels death,

this kind of feeling makes her not know what to do.

Fortunately Norman recovers a few minutes later.

He says to Ethel with a smile:

“Let’s go say goodbye to the pond.”

fūqī liǎnggè rénshǒu lā zheshǒu zǒu dào chítáng pángbiān.
夫妻    两个       人 手  拉  着 手      走    到       池塘       旁边 。 
tāmen tīng zhe qiánniǎo de shēngyīn,
   他们    听  着         潜鸟   的    声音 ， 
kànzhe měilì de jīnsè chítáng,
   看着    美丽 的   金色  池塘 , 
yōngbào zhe xiāngbàn jǐshínián de bànlǚ.
    拥抱    着         相伴        几十年 的   伴侣 。 
tāmende àiqíng jiù xiàng zhōngguó de nà jù shī:
  他们的      爱情  就    像         中国     的 那  句 诗 ： 
zhí zǐ zhī shǒu, yǔ zǐ xiélǎo.
 执 子 之   手 ， 与 子  偕老 。

The couple walks hand in hand to the side of the pond.

They listen to the voice of loons,

watch the beautiful golden pond,

embrace their partner who has accompanied them for decades.

Their love is just like that Chinese poem:

Hold your hand, and grow old together.