大象女王

And they are ready.
接下来的几周里
For the next few weeks,
水坑将会成为小蝌蚪的家
the water hole will be home to the frogs’ tiny tadpoles.
它们的孵化不会引起雅典娜家族的注意
As they hatch, they’ll go unnoticed by Athena’s family,
但生活在它们下方的
but they won’t go unnoticed
鳉鱼和水龟可不会忽视它们
by the killifish and terrapins living beneath them.
只有最大的水龟能够到巢穴
Only the largest terrapin can reach them.
而它的奖励则是蝌蚪馅的蛋白酥
His prize is a meringue with a soft tadpole filling.
这是米米第一次下水
It’s Mimi’s first time in the water.
所以它从浅水区开始
So she starts at the shallow end,
而且根本不需要鼓励
and she needs no encouragement.
对雅典娜家族来说 这就是天堂
For Athena’s family, this is paradise.
但是除非再次下雨
But unless it rains again,
否则水坑几周内就会干涸
the water holes will vanish within weeks.
雅典娜知道
If that happens,
如果那样的话 它们将不得不离开王国
Athena knows they’ll be forced out of the kingdom.
所以它们一定要利用好资源丰富的时间
So they must make the most of this time of plenty.
公主向妈妈学习如何分辨食物
Princess learns what to eat by copying her mum.
但是宝宝还在哺乳期
But the babies are still on milk,
于是威威就有时间磨练脚和鼻子的配合了
which gives Wewe time to brush up on his foot-and-trunk skills.
但是要想如此控制自如 还需要好几个月
But it will be months before he achieves this level of control.
雅典娜知道旱季将至
Athena is aware that there is a dry season coming.
迎接它的唯一方式就是增重
And the only way to prepare for it is to put on weight.
也就是说 能吃就吃
It means piling it in.
但吃进去的 总要出来
But what goes in… must come out.
对蜣螂来说 这简直是上天给的礼物
For a dung beetle, it is a gift from the gods.
消息迅速传开
The message has traveled far and wide.
其它蜣螂纷纷赶来
And with others homing in,
没有时间休闲地享用午餐
there’s no time for a leisurely lunch.
它需要把粪便滚成球 尽快推走
He needs to ball it up and roll it away as quickly as possible,
因为强盗无处不在
for there are bandits out there.
胜利者要找到松软的土地把粪球埋起来
The victor now has to find ground soft enough to bury his ball
这样才能安宁地进食
so he can feed in peace.
除了喂饱蜣螂之外
Besides feeding dung beetles,
雅典娜家族还为王国
Athena’s family provides the kingdom
提供免费的园艺服务
with a free gardening service.
它们吃下的大部分种子 未经消化就被排出体外
Most of the seeds they eat pass through them undigested,
沿着它们走过的路径 被种在一个个肥料球里
to be planted in neat balls of compost wherever they go.
乌龟在等待邂逅
Tortoise is waiting for someone.
为了实现它的计划
And for what he has in mind,
它需要趁现在多吃点东西
he needs to snack now while he can.
丝毫不见下雨的迹象 气温一天天升高
With no sign of rain, every day is hotter
脾气也变得火爆起来
and tempers start to fray.
象群到达水坑 而自己的孩子还很幼小
With incoming elephants and such a young family,
埃及雁需要保持安全距离
the geese need to keep a safe distance.
但是水位降低 象群又很燥热
But with the water level dropping and a hot herd,
保持距离愈发困难
that becomes difficult.
它们清楚不要理会恶霸的挑衅
They know better than to react to a bully.
于是它决定找鸽子泄愤 挽回颜面
So she decides to save face by taking it out on a dove.
斯蒂芬还是慢吞吞的
Once again, Stephen’s left it late.
它掉队了
And he’s left behind.
这次 它迷路了
And this time, he is lost.
对乌龟来说 幸福就在眼前
For tortoise, life is looking up.
一只雌龟来找水喝
A female has come down to drink.
雄龟可以轻易截住雌龟
He can intercept her easily enough.
但是为了赢得芳心 雄龟必须证明
But to impress her, he has to prove
自己的耐力比得上雌龟
he has stamina equal to her own.
也就是说它们要一起去散步
And that means going for a walk.
漫长的散步
A long walk.
斯蒂芬从未见过这种生物
Stephen has never seen such creatures before.
但是如果它还想和家族团聚
But he’s going to have to get streetwise
就得学会求生的本事
if he’s to stand any chance of being reunited with his family.
斯蒂芬从慢吞吞的
From being last and late,
成长为迷路的幸运儿
Stephen has progressed to being lost and lucky.
雅典娜的一些邻居
Some of Athena’s neighbors drop by
只在草原开始干枯
only when the grasslands start to dry
食物上桌时才造访
and food is on offer.
食蜂鸟只会陪伴雅典娜家族几天时间
The bee-eaters join Athena’s family for just a few days,
此时王国的草蜢最为肥美
when the kingdom’s grasshoppers are at their juiciest.
它们需要象群把草蜢赶出来
They rely on the family to flush them out.
食蜂鸟的友谊
The bee-eaters’ friendship will last
依靠草蜢维系
just as long as there are grasshoppers.
草蜢吃完了 食蜂鸟就飞走了
As soon as they’re finished, the birds will move on.
斯蒂芬和大家一样对蚂蚱有兴趣
Stephen is as excited about grasshoppers as anyone.
它也许能力不足 但是野心勃勃
He might lack ability, but not ambition.
脚下的世界里 蜣螂还在执行任务
Down at toenail height, dung beetle is still on a mission.
看起来它似乎在推着粪球前进
He might look like he’s pushing his ball forwards,
但它其实大头朝下 推着粪球倒♥退♥
but he’s actually upside down, dribbling it backwards.
它看不见路 但它不在乎
He can’t see where he’s going, but that doesn’t bother him.
它的决心远远大于自己的体型
His determination is out of all proportion to his size.
粪球已经到手 它绝不会轻易撒手
Now that he’s got the ball, he just hates to let go of it…
不管对手有多巨大
no matter how big the opposition.
雅典娜队没有得分
Athena’s team haven’t scored,
但它们把球踢出界了
but they have kicked the ball out of play,
于是蜣螂拿回了控球权
which allows dung beetle to regain possession.
有些邻居 雅典娜家族很难见到
Athena’s family rarely get to meet some of their neighbors.
只要听到象群接近
Whenever the terrapins hear them coming,
水龟就会躲起来
they make themselves scarce.
但是暴雨已过去数周
But the storm was weeks ago,
现在水位太浅 无处可躲了
and the water is now so shallow that there’s nowhere to hide.
连鳉鱼都陷入困境
Even a killifish finds himself high and dry.
水坑是它的整个世界
The water hole has been his entire world.
但是水所剩无几 它的生命也接近终点
But with so little water left, his time is almost over.
泳池派对越来越混乱
With the pool party getting rowdy,
它们都有被踩扁的危险
they all risk getting squashed.
所以能离开的 都尽力逃跑
So those that can leave make a break for it.
而这只会引来注意
And that just attracts attention.
大象依赖触觉生活
Elephants live tactile lives.
它们用敏感的鼻子和脚探索新事物
They use their sensitive trunks and feet to explore anything new.
它们并无恶意 只是好奇
There’s no malice here, just curiosity.
大象的社会里 很少见到攻击行为
In elephant society, aggression is rare…
就连来雅典娜的王国
even between bulls
补充盐分的公象们碰面时也一样
when they join Athena’s family at the kingdom’s salt lick.
相反 它们互相打招呼
Instead, there’s a greeting,
默默认同彼此的地位
a quiet acknowledgement of status…
然后分享
and then sharing.
挖掘盐渍地是需要练习的
Mining the salt-rich soil takes practice.
重点是脚和鼻子的协调性 还要控制呼吸
It’s about foot-and-trunk coordination and then breath control.
对威威来说 这是个挑战
For Wewe, it’s a challenge.
如果呼吸太猛
If he breathes too hard,
让它发痒的尘土就会进入鼻子
the tickly dust goes straight up his nose.
不过它在想办法忍♥住打喷嚏
But he’s working on ways to stop a sneeze from getting out.
它专心致志
It’s so distracting,
以至于一时找不到自己的朋友
that for a moment, he loses sight of his friend.
米米似乎总是很饿
Mimi always seems to be hungry,
然而它从来吸吮不了多久
yet she never suckles for long.
只有这时它的姐姐米莉才会插手
It’s the only time her big sister, Milly, gets involved
把威威赶到一边去
and tries to keep Wewe away.
因为玛拉产乳不多
For Mala is not producing much milk…
米米一口奶都不能浪费
and Mimi needs every mouthful she can get.
每一天结束时 大家都很疲倦
At the end of each day, everyone is tired.
斯蒂芬还流落在外 但鹅妈妈对此无从知晓
Mother Goose has no way of knowing that Stephen is still missing.
整个王国里
Throughout the kingdom,
大多数水坑都已经干涸
most of the water holes have already dried,
雅典娜变得焦虑起来
and Athena is getting restless.
它知道它们必须要离开
She knows now that they will have to leave,
可是它担心米米的体格
but she’s concerned that Mimi might not
撑不过这次跋涉
be strong enough to make the journey.
它似乎陷入了大部分象宝宝
She seems to get hung up in situations
走路时会遇到的困境
that most babies would take in their stride.
它的朋友们很难明白它是遇到了麻烦