10 Mister Seahorse

《Mister seahorse》     Eric Carle

      《海马先生》

Mr. and Mrs. Seahorse drifted gently through the sea.

Mrs. Seahorse began to wiggle and twist, this way and that.

海马先生和海马太太轻轻游过大海。

海马太太忽然开始东摇西摆。

“It’s time for me to lay my eggs, ” she said.

“Can I help?” asked Mrs. Seahorse.

“Oh, yes. Thank you!” said Mrs. Seahorse 

and she laid her eggs into a pouch on Mr. Seahorse’s belly.

“I’ll take good care of our eggs,” said Mr. Seahorse.

“I promise.”

“是时候生小宝宝了，”她说。

“我能帮忙吗？”海马先生问。

“哦，是的，谢谢你！”海马太太说。

她就把蛋下在海马先生的背心口袋里面。

“我会好好照顾我们的宝宝，”海马先生说道，

“我保证。”

As Mr. Seahorse drifted gently through the sea,

he passed right by…

海马先生轻轻游过大海，他路过了……

a group of trumpet fish hidden in a patch of reeds.

一队藏在海草丛中的喇叭鱼

注：喇叭鱼具有细长的身体，最长约可达到61公分。喇叭鱼经常出现在珊瑚礁区，并伪装成珊瑚或海草，并会将头部的颜色改变成与被捕食的小鱼一样，以便顺利捕食。

ROUGH FLUTEMOUTH（崎管喇叭鱼）

SMOOTH FLUTEMOUTH（平管喇叭鱼）

PAINTED FLUTEMOUTH（涂彩喇叭鱼）

But before long, Mr. Seahorse met another fish.

“How are you, Mr. Stickleback?” asked Mr. Seahorse.

“Delighted,” replied Mr. Stickleback.

“I just built a nest and right away

Mrs. Stickleback  laid her eggs into it.

Now I am taking good care of them until they hatch.”

“Keep up the good work,” said Mr. Seahorse

and swam on his way.

不久之后，海马先生遇到了另一条鱼。

“棘鱼先生，最近好吗？”海马先生说。

“高兴坏啦，”棘鱼回答说，

“我刚弄了个窝，

太太在里面生了卵，

现在我的责任就是好好照顾他们。”

“好好干吧。”海马先生鼓励他，就继续往前游去。

As Mr. Seahorse drifted gently through the sea,

he passed right by…

海马先生轻轻游过大海，一会儿，他路过了……

a lionfish hidden behind a coral reef.

一条藏在珊瑚礁后面的蓑鲉

注：蓑鲉的鳍很大，但不善于游泳，往往躲在礁缝中，等猎物接近时便立刻捕捉。背鳍有毒刺，平常由一层薄膜包围着，当遇到敌害时，膜便破裂，而用毒刺攻击对方。

But before long, Mr. Seahorse met another fish.

“How are you, Mr. Tilapia?” asked Mr. Seahorse.

Mr. Tilapia couldn’t answer. His mouth was full of eggs.

“I know, I know,”  said Mr. Seahorse. “Mrs. Tilapia laid her eggs.

Now you are taking good care of them until they hatch.”

Mr. Tilapia nodded his head.

“You must be very happy,” said Mr. Seahorse

and swam on his way.

过了不久，海马先生又遇到了另外一条鱼。

“最近如何，罗非鱼先生？”海马先生问道。

罗非鱼却说不了话，他的嘴巴里塞满了鱼卵。

“明白明白，”海马先生说，“罗非鱼太太生了卵, 现在你要好好照顾他们，直到他们出世。”

罗非鱼点点头。

“你一定非常幸福。” 海马先生恭喜他，就继续往前游去。

As Mr. Seahorse drifted gently through the sea,

he passed right by…

海马先生轻轻游过大海，他路过了……

several leaf fish hidden among the seaweed.

一群海藻中的叶鱼 

注：从外形看，完全像一片叶。它能适应环境改变颜色，因此它能向猎物实行偷袭。它的口张得很大，可以吞下很大的鱼。

But before long, Mr. Seahorse met another fish.

“How are you, Mr. Kurtus?” asked Mr. Seahorse.

“Perfectly fine,” replied Mr. Kurtus.

“Mrs. Kurtus laid her eggs and I have stuck them on my head.

Now I am taking good care of them until they hatch.”

“You are doing a good job,” said Mr. Seahorse

and swam on his way.

过了不久，海马先生又遇到了一条鱼。

“最近如何，钩鱼先生？”海马先生问侯道。

“完美极了。”钩鱼回答说，“钩鱼太太把卵生在我的头上，我现在要好好照顾他们，直到他们出生。”

“你做的可真不赖。”海马先生夸奖他，就继续往前游去。

As Mr. Seahorse drifted gently through the sea,

he passed right by…

海马先生轻轻游过大海，他路过了……

a stonefish hidden behind a rock.

一条藏在石头后面的石头鱼。

注：行走在印度洋及太平洋礁石附近时，你要留神脚下。石头鱼因其外表而得名，它们很善于伪装，一旦踩上它们，12～14根尖锐的背刺会穿透鞋底刺入脚掌，产生剧烈疼痛和严重的肿胀，并使组织坏死，最后造成截肢或死亡。

But before long, Mr. Seahorse met another fish.

“How are you, Mr. Pipe?” asked Mr. Seahorse.

“Couldn’t be better,” replied Mr. Pipe.

“Mrs. Pipe laid her eggs along my belly.

Now I am taking good care of them until they hatch.”

“You should feel proud of yourself,” said Mr. Seahorse

and swam on his way.

不久后，海马先生又碰到了另外一条鱼。

“最近如何，海龙鱼先生？”海马先生问侯道。

“没法再好了，” 海龙鱼回答说，“我太太把宝宝放在我的肚子上，我要好好照顾他们，直到他们出生。”

“你肯定感觉很自豪吧。” 海马先生祝贺他，就继续往前游去。

But before long, Mr. Seahorse met another fish.

“How are you, Mr. Bullhead?” asked Mr. Seahorse.

“Tip-top,” replied Mr. Bullhead.

“Mrs. Bullhead laid her eggs and the eggs hatched.

Now I’m baby-sitting.”

“You are doing a fine job,” said Mr. Seahorse

and swam on his way.

不久后，海马先生又碰到了另外一条鱼。

“你好吗，大头鱼先生？”海马先生问侯道。

“爽的很，”大头鱼说，“我太太生的卵都已经孵好了，现在我要照顾这些小鱼宝宝啦。”

“干的真棒。”海马先生祝福他，就继续往前游去。

The time had come for the seahorse babies to be born.

Mr. Seahorse wiggled and twisted, this way and that.

At last, the babies tumbled from Mr.Seahorse’s pouch

And swam away.

One baby turned around and tried to come back into the pouch.

“Oh, no!” Said Mr.Seahorse.“I do love you, but now you are ready to be on your own.” 

海马宝宝出生的日子到了。

海马先生开始东摇西摆

终于，海马宝宝纷纷从育儿袋里跌出来，游走了。

有一只海马宝宝却想游回去。

“噢，这可不行，”海马先生说；“我很爱你们，但是从现在起，你要开始自立了。”

Dear Friends, In most fish families, after the mother has laid the eggs and the father has fertilized them, the eggs are left on their own. But there are exceptions such as the seahorse, stickleback, tilapia, Kurtus nurseryfish, pipefish, bullhead catfish, and some others. Not only are the eggs cared for by a parent but-surprise-that parent is the father. This may sound strange but it is the truth. And this is my story about them. I hope you enjoy my story.

亲爱的朋友们，在许多种鱼类中，鱼妈妈产卵之后，鱼爸爸会给卵受精，之后受精卵就被留下来自生自灭。但是也有一些例外，诸如海马，大头鱼，罗非鱼，钩鱼，海龙鱼，棘鱼等鱼类，不仅仅会有一个家长照顾他们，而且更让人吃惊的是，那个家长是爸爸。听起来挺奇怪，但这是事实，我的这个故事就是关于他们的，希望你们喜欢。