The Mysterious Lakefront ，神秘的湖滨地带

陶继忠 / 谢绝送花

IV An Accident

I. On her way home one day after her school, the red squirrel saw a flock of big white “geese” swimming on the big lake nearby an edge of the forest.

It was a nice afternoon. The setting sun was as red as a big red apple hanging low above the trees in the western sky. In a refreshing wind, the rippling water was so vivid and attractive, dyed with the golden rays of the setting sunlight. Especially, the water rippling around the big geese waved so interestingly and attractively with circle after circle.

Nevertheless, the red squirrel had no mood to enjoy the great beauty of nature. She wondered why the big white “geese” sometimes could fly in the sky. Never had she seen so pretty big “geese” before. Therefore she wished to go up closer to them，intending to find out what they look like and see them clearer.

When the red squirrel came closer, she was merely standing on the shore of the lake. Looking over a definite distance at the big white “geese”, she found that their bodies were as white as snow, only with orange beaks which were some dark feathers at the ends. But their outward forms were very graceful and beautiful, sometimes displaying the formation of an S, other times, posing styles of lilies with their beaks as long buds drooping, and making the red squirrel very delighted, and, at the meanwhile, envy as well.

She heard them, in pairs, singing a children’s song delightedly:

Swan, swan, and swan

in pairs,

Each other loves and cares;

Happily, happily, happily,

Always we are living

happily！

Admiring was just admiring, but, the red squirrel, pretending to be indifferent, chuckled, irritating them with sarcastic remarks, “Who do you think are you? Now that you are geese, only a bit bigger than others ones anyway, but why do you also sing a song for the swan children? OK, sing as you want! Sing! ” The red squirrel sighed a long sigh, “My dear. Look, you are so happy, so leisurely at ease! From that point of view, I bet you, you don’t always get up with the birds. Is that right? I bet, I’m right.”

Then she asked herself in a low voice, “Who are swans? And what are they? Oh, I have heard of them, but never met them.” She gazed at the “geese” on the lake and mumbled, “Are they swans? But, I never know what swans look like. I bet you, they are bigger and whiter geese anyhow. ” She had to shake her head slightly to show that she was really not so sure. If she had been sure, she must have made efforts to find out. She, however, never tried so. “It’s only a fool that does such a foolish thing like that,” she said.

The red squirrel was such one that felt curious about anything. She nevertheless had only a superficial understanding of what she had been curious about. She never claimed to have made any in-depth study. Taking swans for example, she didn’t want to do a hard but thankless job to make them as clear as daylight.

“Making something clear needs time and energy.” the red squirrel thought to herself. “ But, I bet, how comfortable playing makes me！”

四． 意外事故

一. 一天，红松鼠在放学后回家的路上，走到了森林边，望见一群大“白鹅”在旁边的那个大湖里游泳。

这是一个很晴朗的下午。西落的太阳像个红红的大苹果，悬在树林上方不高的天空上。清新的风吹拂着，湖水涟漪荡漾，在金色夕阳阳光的渲染下，愈加生动、游荡自如。特别是环绕着那些大鹅的水纹涟漪，荡漾起伏，圈圈追逐，圈圈环绕，是那么有趣，那么吸引人。

然而，红松鼠并没有心情来鉴赏大好的自然美丽。她正在心里猜度，为什么那些大鹅有时候能在天上飞翔？而且，她还从来没有看见过这样美丽的大白鹅。所以她就打定主意走上前去，靠近点儿，弄弄清楚、看个明白。

当红松鼠走近了点儿，也只能站在湖岸边，隔着一定的距离望着那些雪白雪白的大“鹅”。 大“白鹅”只有嘴壳子是橘黄色的，嘴壳子的根部有圈黑色羽毛。他们的体态非常优雅，非常漂亮，有时呈S 字母型，有时摆出百合含苞待放、含情脉脉的样子。真让红松鼠非常喜欢，同时也非常妒忌。

她听见他们欢天喜地地、成对成双地在唱一首儿歌呐：

成双成对的天鹅，

相互关爱多快乐；

幸福多多说不尽，

天长地久真快乐！

钦佩羡慕只不过是钦佩羡慕罢了，而红松鼠却装出一副冷漠的样子。

她“嗤，嗤嗤……”傻笑起来，用冷言冷语敲打那些大“白鹅”们：“你们以为你们是谁？既然你们是鹅，只不过比别的鹅大些罢了，为什么也要唱天鹅儿歌呢？好！想唱就唱吧！唱吧！” 红松鼠长长地感叹一声：“哎，看来，你们都那么地高兴！那么地悠闲自在呐！从这点看呀，你们肯定不会经常早起，是不是呢？我敢打赌，你们不会早起的！”

接着，她暗地里问自己：“谁是天鹅呀？他们是干什么的呀？哦，我听说过天鹅，但从来没有遇见过他们。”她盯视着湖上的那些大“白鹅”嘟哝着：“他们是天鹅吗？但是，我从来就不知道天鹅像什么样子。我敢说，他们总之就是大点儿、白点儿的鹅罢了。”她不得不轻轻地摇了摇头表现出来：她确实不敢肯定。如果她多少弄得有点儿把握的话，她就得费点儿工夫才能够弄明白。然而，她从来就不会操心费力去那么干。她说：“只有傻瓜才干那样的傻事呐！”

红松鼠就是这样一只红松鼠：她对任何东西都感兴趣。但是，她对任何感兴趣的事情只不过蜻蜓点水，从来就谈不上深入探究下去，弄出个所以然来。所以，就拿天鹅为例吧，她就不想费力不讨好地去把他们是什么弄个一清二楚。

“弄清楚一件事情就要花工夫呐。但是，我敢打赌，玩耍要多舒服就有多舒服！”红松鼠暗自想道。