FREDERICK by Leo Lionni Pantheon Books, NY 19671.All along the meadow where the cows grazed and the horses ran, there
was an old stone wall.
2. In the wall, not far from the barn and the granary, a chatty family of field mice had their home.
3. But the farmers had moved away, the barn was abandoned, and the granary stood empty. And since winter was not far off, the little mice began to gather corn and nuts and wheat and straw. They all worked day and night. All, except Frederick.
4.“Frederick, why don’t you work?” They asked.
“I do work” said Frederick.
“I gather sun rays for cold dark winter days”
5. And when they saw Frederick sitting there, staring at the meadow, they said, “ And now, Frederick?” “ I gather colours,” answered Frederick simply. “ For winter is grey.”
6. And once Frederick seemed half asleep. “ Are you dreaming?, Frederick?” They asked reproachfully. But Frederick said, “ Oh no, I am gathering words. For The winter days are long an many, an well run out of things to say.”
7. The winter days came, and when the first snow fell the five little field mice took to their hideout in the stones.
8. In the beginning there was lots to eat, and the mice told stories of foolish foxes and silly cats. They were a happy family.
9. But little by little they had nibbled up most of the nuts an berries, the straw was gone, and the corn was only a memory. It was cold in the wall and no one felt like chatting.
10. Then they remembered what Frederick has said about sun rays and colours and words.
“What about your supplies, Frederick” they asked.
11. “Close your eyes, “ said Frederick , as he climbed on a big stone.
“ Now I send you the rays of the sun. Do you feel how their golden glow...”
And as Frederick spoke of the sun the four little mice began to feel warmer.
Was it Frederick’s voice? Was it magic?
12. “And how about colours, Frederick?” they asked anxiously.
“Close your eyes again, “ Frederick said. And when he told them of the blue periwinkles, the red poppies in the yellow wheat, and the green leaves of the berry bush, they saw the colours as clearly as if they had been painted in their minds.
13. “And the words, Frederick?”
Frederick, cleared his throat, waited a moment, and then, as if from a stage, he said:
“Who scatters snowflakes? Who melts the ice?
Who spoils the weather? Who makes it nice?
Who grows the four-leaf clovers in June?
Who climes the daylight? Who lights the moon?
14. Four little field mice who live in the sky.
Four little field mice....like you and I.
15. One in the Sping mouse who turns on the showers.
Then comes the Summer who paints in the flowers.
The Fall mouse is next with walnuts and wheat.
And Winter is last, with cold little feet.
16. Aren't we lucky the seasons are four?
Think of a year with one less or one more!”
17. When Frederick has finished, they all applauded, "But Frederick,"they said, "you are a poet."
18. Frederick blushed, took a bow, and said shyly, “ I know it.”
在那牛儿吃着青草，马儿撒蹄奔跑的牧场上，环立着一圈老旧的石墙。
在离着牲口棚和谷仓不远的墙里面，住了一家爱吵闹的小田鼠。
但是农夫搬离了这座牧场，牲口棚被遗弃了，谷仓也空了。冬天很快就要来临，小田鼠们开始收集玉米、坚果、麦穗以及秸秆，每只田鼠都从早到晚地努力干活，除了弗雷德。
“弗雷德，你怎么不干活？”小田鼠们问。
“我在干。”弗雷德说，“我在为阴冷的冬日收集阳光。”
小田鼠们看见弗雷德坐在那儿，凝神望着牧场，他们问道：“那么现在呢，弗雷德？”
“我在收集色彩。”弗雷德淡淡地回答道，“因为冬天总是很灰暗。”
有一次，弗雷德看上去快要睡着了。
“你在做梦吗，弗雷德？”小田鼠们责问道。
但是弗雷德回答说：“噢，不是的，我正在收集词语。因为冬天很漫长，我们会找不到话题说的。”
冬天来到了。当第一场雪落下时，5只小田鼠躲进了石洞里。
最开始的时候，他们吃着大堆好吃的食物，扯着傻气的狐狸和愚蠢的猫的故事，真是非常快乐的一家子。
但是渐渐的，他们啃光了坚果和浆果，秸秆也用完了，玉米更是早就成了一种回忆。石头墙里面真的很冷，谁也没有兴致再来聊天。
他们记起了弗雷德曾说过的关于阳光、色彩和词语的事。
“你的收集品呢，弗雷德？”小田鼠们问。
“闭上你们的眼睛。”弗雷德说道，与此同时他爬上了一块大石头。
“现在我给你们送去阳光。你们感觉到那温暖的金色了吗……”
当弗雷德开始为四只小田鼠讲述太阳的时候，他们开始觉得暖和起来。这是因为弗雷德的声音呢，还是因为魔法？
“那么色彩呢，弗雷德？”小田鼠们焦虑地问。
“再闭上你们的眼睛。”弗雷德说道。于是当他向他们描述蓝色的长春花，长满嫩绿叶子的灌木丛，开放在金黄麦田里的绛红色罂粟花时，他们见到的色彩犹如刻画在自己头脑里那般鲜明。
“还有词语呢，弗雷德？”
弗雷德清了清嗓子，停顿了一小会儿。然后，仿若身处舞台般，他开口：
是谁挥洒下雪花，是谁融化了冰霜
是谁让天公气恼，是谁让它笑逐颜开
是谁让四叶草生长在六月
是谁让白昼转黑，又是谁将月儿点亮
是四只住在天上的小田鼠
四只小田鼠，就像你和我
春天的田鼠开启了春雨阵阵
夏天的那只跑来涂绘花朵
接着秋天的那个，送来胡桃和麦子
最后是冬天的小家伙，踏着一对冰冰的小脚丫
想想我们多幸运？一年有四季。
真是不多也不少
弗雷德朗诵完毕，所有的小田鼠全都鼓掌欢呼起来。
“不过弗雷德。”他们说，“你可真是个诗人啊。”
弗雷德红着脸，鞠了个躬，羞涩地说：“我知道。”
翻译尝试作。
这是一本经典的图画书，可惜没有找到原书的扫描图。如果谁能找到的话，帮忙发给我吧，谢谢。
找到小时候看的木偶片了，就是看了这个片子以后非常喜欢这个故事的。
