木偶奇遇記：Chapter 18

Crying as if his heart would break, the Marionette mourned for hours over the length of his nose. No matter how he tried, it would not go through the door. The Fairy showed no pity toward him, as she was trying to teach him a good lesson, so that he would stop telling lies, the worst habit any boy may acquire. But when she saw him, pale with fright and with his eyes half out of his head from terror, she began to feel sorry for him and clapped her hands together. A thousand woodpeckers flew in through the window and settled themselves on Pinocchio's nose. They pecked and pecked so hard at that enormous nose that in a few moments, it was the same size as before.

正像諸位可以想像到的，仙女讓木偶由于鼻子長得出不了門，哭叫了整整半個鐘頭，不去理他。這是為了好好給他一個教訓(xùn)，讓他改正撒謊這種極壞的毛病。這種毛病小孩子最容易有。可等她看到木偶臉也變了，絕望得眼睛都要突出來時，很可憐他，拍了拍手掌。一聽到拍手掌，成千只叫啄木鳥的大鳥打窗子飛到屋里來。它們都聚在皮諾喬的鼻子上，開始篤篤篤篤，狠狠地啄他的鼻子，幾分鐘工夫，這個長過了頭的鼻子就恢復(fù)了原狀。

"How good you are, my Fairy," said Pinocchio, drying his eyes, "and how much I love you!"

“您多好啊，我的仙女，”木偶擦于眼淚說，“我多么愛您啊!”

"I love you, too," answered the Fairy, "and if you wish to stay with me, you may be my little brother and I'll be your good little sister."

“我也愛你，”仙女回答說，“你如果想留在我這兒，你就做我的弟弟，我做你的姐姐……”

"I should like to stay -- but what about my poor father?"

“我很想留在這兒……可我那可憐的爸爸呢?”

"I have thought of everything. Your father has been sent for and before night he will be here."

“我都想到了。已經(jīng)派人去通知你爸爸，天黑前他就要來到這兒。”

"Really?" cried Pinocchio joyfully. "Then, my good Fairy, if you are willing, I should like to go to meet him. I cannot wait to kiss that dear old man, who has suffered so much for my sake."

“真的?”皮諾喬高興得跳起來，叫著說，“那么，我的好仙女，如果您答應(yīng)的話，我想去接他!我急著要擁抱這位可憐的老人家，他為我吃了那么多苦!”

"Surely; go ahead, but be careful not to lose your way. Take the wood path and you'll surely meet him." Pinocchio set out, and as soon as he found himself in the wood, he ran like a hare. When he reached the giant oak tree he stopped, for he thought he heard a rustle in the brush. He was right. There stood the Fox and the Cat, the two traveling companions with whom he had eaten at the Inn of the Red Lobster.

“那你就去吧，可小心別走失了。你走林子里的那條路吧，我斷定你會碰到他的。”

"Here comes our dear Pinocchio!" cried the Fox, hugging and kissing him.

皮諾喬走了。他一走進樹林子，馬上就像小鹿一樣跑起來。可他到了大橡樹那兒，就停下了，因為好像聽到樹枝樹葉之間有人聲。他果真看見路上有人。諸位猜得出是誰嗎?……就是狐貍和貓這兩個伙伴。皮諾喬曾經(jīng)同它們一起在紅蝦旅館吃過一頓晚飯。

"How did you happen here?"

“是我們的好朋友皮諾喬!”狐貍叫著，把他又抱又親，“你怎么在這兒?”

"How did you happen here?" repeated the Cat.

“你怎么在這兒?”貓跟著又說了一遍。

"It is a long story," said the Marionette. "Let me tell it to you. The other night, when you left me alone at the Inn, I met the Assassins on the road -- "

“說來話長了，”木偶說，“我趁便跟你們講講?？捎浀媚莻€夜里，你們丟下我一個人在旅館里嗎?我走出來，在路上遇見了兩個殺人強盜……”

"The Assassins? Oh, my poor friend! And what did they want?"

“兩個殺人強盜?……噢，可憐的朋友!他們想要什么。”

"They wanted my gold pieces."

“他們想搶我的金幣。”

"Rascals!" said the Fox.

“真該死!……”狐貍說。

"The worst sort of rascals!" added the Cat.

“該死極了!……”貓跟著又說了一遍。

"But I began to run," continued the Marionette, "and they after me, until they overtook me and hanged me to the limb of that oak."

“可我撒腿就逃，”木偶往下說，“他們跟著就追。最后他們追上了我，把我吊在這棵橡樹的樹枝上面……”

Pinocchio pointed to the giant oak near by.

皮諾喬說道，指指離開兩步遠(yuǎn)的大橡樹。

"Could anything be worse?" said the Fox. "What an awful world to live in! Where shall we find a safe place for gentlemen like ourselves?"

“還有比這更悲慘的事嗎?”狐貍說，“我們是活在怎么一個世界上啊，我們這些正派人，在什么地方可以找到安全可靠的地方呢?”

As the Fox talked thus, Pinocchio noticed that the Cat carried his right paw in a sling.

皮諾喬正這么說著，忽然發(fā)現(xiàn)貓的右前腿受了傷，連爪子帶指甲都沒有了，就問它說：

"What happened to your paw?" he asked.

“你的爪子怎么啦?”

The Cat tried to answer, but he became so terribly twisted in his speech that the Fox had to help him out.

貓想回答，可窘住了。狐貍馬上說：

"My friend is too modest to answer. I'll answer for him. About an hour ago, we met an old wolf on the road. He was half starved and begged for help. Having nothing to give him, what do you think my friend did out of the kindness of his heart? With his teeth, he bit off the paw of his front foot and threw it at that poor beast, so that he might have something to eat."

“我的朋友太謙虛了，因此不愿回答，我來替他回答吧。要知道，一個鐘頭以前，我們在路上碰到一只老狼，都快餓死了，它求我們施舍點什么給它?？晌覀儧]有什么好給它的，連一根魚骨頭也沒有。我這朋友真正慷慨大方，它做出什么事情來啦?……它竟從自己前腿上咬下一只爪子，扔給這只可憐的野獸吃。”

As he spoke, the Fox wiped off a tear.

狐貍一面說著一面擦眼淚。

Pinocchio, almost in tears himself, whispered in the Cat's ear:

皮諾喬也感動得走到貓身邊，在它耳邊輕輕地說：

"If all the cats were like you, how lucky the mice would be!"

“如果所有的貓都像你，耗子可多幸運啊!”

"And what are you doing here?" the Fox asked the Marionette.

“可你這會兒在這里干嗎呢，”狐貍問木偶說。

"I am waiting for my father, who will be here at any moment now."

“我在等我爸爸，他早晚要到這兒來的。”

"And your gold pieces?"

“那你的金幣呢?”

"I still have them in my pocket, except one which I spent at the Inn of the Red Lobster."

“都在口袋里，就少一個，付給紅燈旅館的老板了。”

"To think that those four gold pieces might become two thousand tomorrow. Why don't you listen to me? Why don't you sow them in the Field of Wonders?"

“想想吧，四個金幣到明天就能變一兩千個，你為什么不聽我的話?你為什么不到‘奇跡寶地’，把它們種下去呢。”

"Today it is impossible. I'll go with you some other time."

“今天不行，我改天去。”

"Another day will be too late," said the Fox.

“改一天就晚了。”狐貍說。

"Why?"

“為什么?”

"Because that field has been bought by a very rich man, and today is the last day that it will be open to the public."

“因為這塊地給一位大好老買去了，從明天起，再不準(zhǔn)任何人在那兒種金幣。”

"How far is this Field of Wonders?"

“‘奇跡寶地’離這兒遠(yuǎn)嗎?’”

"Only two miles away. Will you come with us? We'll be there in half an hour. You can sow the money, and, after a few minutes, you will gather your two thousand coins and return home rich. Are you coming?"

“不到兩公里。你要跟我們?nèi)幔雮€鐘頭就到，你馬上種下四個金幣，過幾分鐘就可以收到兩千個，今晚回來，口袋里就裝滿金幣啦，要跟我們?nèi)?”

Pinocchio hesitated a moment before answering, for he remembered the good Fairy, old Geppetto, and the advice of the Talking Cricket. Then he ended by doing what all boys do, when they have no heart and little brain. He shrugged his shoulders and said to the Fox and the Cat:

皮諾喬沒馬上回答，因為他想到了善良的仙女，想到了年老的杰佩托，還想到了會說話的蟋蟀給他的勸告?？墒亲詈?，他就像一個全沒腦筋、全沒心肝的孩子所做的那樣，也就是說，他點點頭，對狐貍和貓說：

"Let us go! I am with you."

“那咱們走吧，我跟你們?nèi)ァ?rdquo;

And they went.

于是他們上路了。

They walked and walked for a half a day at least and at last they came to the town called the City of Simple Simons. As soon as they entered the town, Pinocchio noticed that all the streets were filled with hairless dogs, yawning from hunger; with sheared sheep, trembling with cold; with combless chickens, begging for a grain of wheat; with large butterflies, unable to use their wings because they had sold all their lovely colors; with tailless peacocks, ashamed to show themselves; and with bedraggled pheasants, scuttling away hurriedly, grieving for their bright feathers of gold and silver, lost to them forever.

他們走了半天，來到一個城市，叫做“捉傻瓜城”。皮諾喬一進城就看見，滿街都是餓得張嘴打哈欠的癌皮狗，給剪了毛、冷得直打哆嗦的綿羊，乞討一顆玉米、也沒雞冠也沒垂肉的公雞，賣掉了漂亮的五彩翅膀、再也飛不起來的大蝴蝶，沒有了尾巴、不好意思再見人的孔雀，悄悄地走來走去、痛惜永遠(yuǎn)失去了閃閃發(fā)光的金色銀色羽毛的山雞。

Through this crowd of paupers and beggars, a beautiful coach passed now and again. Within it sat either a Fox, a Hawk, or a Vulture.

在這許多畏畏縮縮的叫化子和窮人中間，不時走過一些高貴馬車，里面或者坐著，狐貍，或者坐著偷東西的喜鵲，或者坐著捕食小生物的猛禽。

"Where is the Field of Wonders?" asked Pinocchio, growing tired of waiting.

“‘奇跡寶地’在哪兒，”皮諾喬問道。

"Be patient. It is only a few more steps away."

“再走兩步就到了。”

They passed through the city and, just outside the walls, they stepped into a lonely field, which looked more or less like any other field.

說到就到，他們穿過城，出了城門就來到一塊僻靜的田地。這塊田地跟其他田地完全沒什么兩樣。

"Here we are," said the Fox to the Marionette. "Dig a hole here and put the gold pieces into it."

“咱們總算到了，”狐貍對木偶說，“現(xiàn)在你彎下腰，在泥地上挖一個小窟窿，把金幣放進去吧。”

The Marionette obeyed. He dug the hole, put the four gold pieces into it, and covered them up very carefully.

皮諾喬照狐貍說的辦。他挖了一個窟窿，把剩下的四個金幣放進去，然后用點土把窟窿重新蓋起米。

"Now," said the Fox, "go to that near-by brook, bring back a pail full of water, and sprinkle it over the spot."

“現(xiàn)在，”狐貍說，“你到附近水溝那里打桶水來，澆在你種下金幣的地方。”.

Pinocchio followed the directions closely, but, as he had no pail, he pulled off his shoe, filled it with water, and sprinkled the earth which covered the gold. Then he asked:

皮諾喬走到水溝那兒，因為沒有桶，就從腳上脫下一只鞋子，裝來了水，澆在蓋住窟窿的土上，然后他問：“還有什么事要做嗎?”

"Anything else?"

“沒有了，”狐貍回答說。“現(xiàn)在咱們可以走開了，你過二十分鐘回到這兒，就可以看到一棵矮矮的樹從地里長出來，所有的樹上都掛滿了金幣。”

"Nothing else," answered the Fox. "Now we can go. Return here within twenty minutes and you will find the vine grown and the branches filled with gold pieces." Pinocchio, beside himself with joy, thanked the Fox and the Cat many times and promised them each a beautiful gift.

可憐的木偶高興得忘乎所以，對狐貍和貓千謝萬謝，答應(yīng)送給它們最好的禮物。

"We don't want any of your gifts," answered the two rogues. "It is enough for us that we have helped you to become rich with little or no trouble. For this we are as happy as kings."

“我們不要禮物，”兩個壞蛋回答說，“我們只要能教會你不勞而獲，發(fā)財致富，就像過節(jié)一樣高興!”

They said good-by to Pinocchio and, wishing him good luck, went on their way.

他們這么說著，向皮諾喬鞠了個躬，祝他得到好收成，就干它們的事去了。