The first snow

初雪

The first snow came.How beautiful it was, falling so silently, all day long, all night long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the graves of the dead!

初雪来了。她是多么美丽。一整天，一整夜，静静地落在山岭上，落在草地上，落在人们居住的房顶上，落在沉寂的坟墓上！

All white save the river, that marked its course by a winding¹ black line across the landscape, and the leafless trees, that against the leaden sky now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacy of their branches!

所有的白色拯救了河流和树木。在如画的风景上，一根黑色的线曲曲折折地描绘出了河流的样子。在铅灰色天空的衬托下，落光了叶子的树用她们那错综复杂的枝桠勾勒出了惊人的美丽。

What silence, too, came with the snow, and what seclusion²!

跟着雪花一起，周围是多么寂静呀，仿佛被与世隔绝了一样！

Every sound was muffled³, every noise changed to something soft and musical.

所有的声音都被消减了，连噪音都被改造得柔软了许多，隐约含着一丝的天籁。

No more trampling⁴ hoofs⁵, no more rattling⁶ wheels! Only the chiming of sleigh-bells, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of children.

不再有沉重的马蹄，不再有吱吱呀呀的车轮，只有雪橇上的铃铛，宛如孩子们欢快喜悦的心，在一路唱着歌。