松鼠拜金絲鳥為師學唱歌，能成為歌星嗎？
松鼠和金絲鳥聯合舉辦音樂會，轟動了山林。怎麼回事呢？請看惠言童話第12集《松鼠和金絲鳥》。
編輯寄語
受疫情影響，自3月16日起，大紐約地區學校陸續關閉，孩子們在家，除了上網課外，各種活動受到限制。如何幫助孩子們度過這個非常時期的枯燥生活，讓家長們十分操心。惠言先生在徵得參與創作者和組織者同意後，主動向我們編輯部提議，把他正在籌划出版的《惠言童話》18篇繪畫本稿子贈給我們網站連載，可以讓孩子們在網上看到和聽到這些故事，有助於提高他們的中文閱讀和聽力水平。
故事文稿是基於惠言先生前幾年在《世界日報》上發表的故事修改的，中美兩地34個孩子們參加了插畫稿創作，上海五里橋文化中心張煒瑋主任組織「音之魅」誦讀沙龍的語言藝術家們創作了9個朗誦作品。希望這些生動有趣的故事、童趣洋溢的圖畫和美妙的朗誦藝術作品，能伴隨孩子們度過新冠疫情這個困難時期。對此，我們向惠言先生；英文稿的校閱者Jason Kenny先生和趙蒙皓女士；上海五里橋文化中心及「音之魅」誦讀沙龍語言藝術家們；參與畫稿創作的孩子們及其家長表示衷心感謝！
本網站將於5月4日（周一）起，每逢周一、三、五連載推出，每次一篇《惠言童話》故事，大約持續六周，歡迎大家下載收看收聽。
12.松鼠和金絲鳥
The Squirrel and the Canary
文： 惠言
畫： 顏逸如（7歲，圖1-5）；朱靖軒（10歲，圖6-10）
英文校閱： Jason Kenny & 趙蒙皓
中文朗誦： 孫艷霞
英文朗誦： Ava Lin（林伊娃）
12.松鼠和金絲鳥中文朗誦
12.松鼠和金絲鳥英文朗誦
山林里的松樹洞里住著一隻喜歡音樂的松鼠。秋日的一天，一隻金絲鳥落在松樹邊上的櫻桃樹上，跳上跳下尋找樹上寥寥無幾的干櫻桃。
There once was a squirrel that lived in the hole of a pine tree in the mountain forest. He liked music very much. One autumn day, a canary settled on the cherry tree beside the pine tree. She jumped up and down searching for dried cherries.
松鼠熱情問候：「你好，金絲鳥!見到你真高興，你是我最崇拜的歌星，能請你唱個歌嗎？」金絲鳥不耐煩地說：「你沒看到我正在找食？我肚子餓了，不想唱！」松鼠趕緊說：「不用找了，我家存有許多松子和核桃，任你吃。」金絲鳥回答：「我很喜歡松仁，但是松子殼太硬，吃不了。」松鼠笑著說：「不用擔心，我幫你去殼，你吃松仁。」
The squirrel greeted the canary warmly, “Hello, canary! Nice to meet you. You are my favorite singer. Would you please sing a song for me?” The canary replied impatiently, “Don’t you see I’m looking for food? I』m hungry and don’t want to sing!” The squirrel offered, “Please don』t worry about looking for food, my family has plenty of pine nuts and walnuts for you to eat.” The canary replied: “I like pine nuts, but the pine nut shell is too hard and is not easy for me to eat.” The squirrel said with a smile, “Don’t worry, I』ll help you take the shell off, then you can eat the nuts inside.”
松鼠用前爪迅速剝開松果，挖出松子，很快地，一捧香噴噴、油光光的松仁放到金絲鳥面前。金絲鳥吃完松仁，興緻勃勃地展開歌喉，歌聲婉轉悠揚，松鼠聽得如醉如痴。
The squirrel opened a pine cone using his front paws and dug out the pine nuts. Shortly after, he put a handful of delicious and fragrant pine nuts in front of the canary. After eating the pine nuts, the canary sang a cheerful song. The song sounded wonderful. The squirrel enjoyed the song so much that he almost seemed intoxicated.
松鼠想學唱歌，懇求金絲鳥教他。金絲鳥爽氣地答應：「好啊。我唱一句，你跟唱一句。」松鼠連忙點頭。金絲鳥唱出一聲清脆悅耳的「嚦、嚦、嚦」，松鼠跟著一聲尖悅刺耳的「吱、吱、吱」，無論怎樣努力，都發不出動聽的歌聲。
The squirrel wanted to learn how to sing and begged the canary to teach him. The canary agreed right away. “Ok. I will sing first and then you sing along.” The squirrel nodded in agreement. The canary sang a clear and crisp sweet, “Li, Li, Li.” The squirrel followed with a sharp harsh, “Ji, Ji, Ji.” No matter how hard the squirrel tried, he could not sing a beautiful note.
松鼠一臉沮喪：「看來不是誰都可以當歌星的。」金絲鳥說：「其實每個人都有自己的特長，你嗓音不適合唱歌，就不必勉強學歌。我剛才看你剝松果特靈活，你有雙靈巧的手，不妨試試學奏樂器。」
“It seems not everyone can be a singer.” the squirrel said with despair. “In fact, everyone has their own special skills, and your voice is not suitable for singing. You don’t have to learn the songs. I saw you strip off the pine cone with great skill; you have a pair of dexterous hands. You may be better suited to play musical instruments,” the canary encouraged the squirrel.
松鼠喜出望外：「謝謝你的指點。」說完，抄起兩個大松果錘擊樹洞，樹洞發出低沉的咚咚聲，如同鼓聲；再用核桃撞擊各種山石，山石發出高低不同的叮咚聲，猶如琴聲。
The squirrel was overjoyed, “Thank you for your advice.” The squirrel grabbed two big pine cones and banged them near the tree hole. The tree hole emitted a low drumming sound. He then hit all kinds of rocks with a walnut; the rocks emitted a 「ding dong」 sound, similar to a piano.
金絲鳥精通樂理，傳授給松鼠彈奏樂器的全部要領；松鼠刻苦練習，很快成為出色的擊鼓手和操琴手。松鼠召來喜歡音樂的兄弟，將彈奏技藝轉授給他們，組成樂隊一起操練。
The canary was proficient in music theory and taught the squirrel to play multiple pieces. The squirrel practiced diligently and quickly became an excellent jazz drummer and piano player. The squirrel called all his brothers and sisters who liked music, and taught them to play instruments. They practiced together as a band.
這一天，金絲鳥和松鼠決定舉辦音樂會。金絲鳥邀請了百靈、雲雀、畫眉、黃鸝、夜鶯等能歌善唱的飛鳥；節目單上有獨唱、重唱和合唱，配樂就是松鼠樂隊。海報貼出後，轟動了山林動物世界。
One day, the canary and the squirrels decided to hold a concert. The canary invited all the singing stars of the bird world such as: the lark, skylark, thrush, oriole, nightingale, etc. There were solos, duets and a chorus on the program, accompanied by the squirrel band. When posters were published, it caused a stir in the forest animal world.
公演那天，飛鳥明星美妙的歌聲，松鼠樂隊精彩的鼓聲和琴聲，猶如天籟之音震撼了動物觀眾。表演結束，掌聲、喝彩聲響徹雲霄，山林一片歡樂。
On the day of the performance, the bird stars sang beautiful songs and the squirrel band played excellent drums and the piano. The animal audience was moved by the sounds of nature. At the end of the performance, applause and cheers resounded through the sky; the mountain forests were full of joy.
松鼠和金絲鳥 朱靖軒（10歲）
作者簡介
惠言（實名：諸惠昌）
退休水處理專業工程師，退休後撰寫《惠言童話故事》和生活雜記。1946年生於中國浙江省慈溪市，1950年後在上海完成小學和中學。1968年9月畢業於北京清華大學土建系給排水專業。1994年3月在美國猶他州立大學獲土木和環境工程碩士學位。長期從事水處理領域科學研究、工程設計和項目管理。
趙蒙皓
資深跨國教育及文化諮詢師。曾在紐約市舉世聞名的K-12年制道爾頓學校(The Dalton School)任教多年，並曾任美國名校紐約大學（NYU）的客座教授。上海外國語學院，對外漢語系肄業；美國明德大學（Middlebury College），經濟學及日本文學文學雙學士；美國馬里蘭大學商學院（University of Maryland）工商管理碩士。
顏逸如
女，時年7歲，就讀於北京通州潞河附屬學校，暑假後馬上就升入小學二年級了。喜歡畫畫，這次用彩鉛畫《松鼠和金絲鳥》，我在樹林里見過松鼠和小鳥，我想如果它們開音樂會可能就是像畫里那樣的吧，希望大家能喜歡。
朱靖軒
男，時年10歲。喜歡跆拳道，目前獲得藍綠帶等級。也喜歡魔方和樂高積木，激發我的創造力。也很愛學習，無論是閱讀還是繪畫，頑皮的我可以坐上2小時。
林伊娃
英文名：Ava Lin，10歲，Harrison Hamilton School 5年級學生，喜歡閱讀，愛好畫畫和游泳。
