木偶奇遇記：Chapter 31

Finally the wagon arrived. It made no noise, for its wheels were bound with straw and rags.

最后車子到了，車子一路過來、一點聲音也沒有，因為輪子上裹著干草和破布。

It was drawn by twelve pair of donkeys, all of the same size, but all of different color.

拉車的是十二對小驢子，它們都同樣大小，只是毛色兩樣，

Some were gray, others white, and still others a mixture of brown and black. Here and there were a few with large yellow and blue stripes.

有些驢子是灰的;有些驢子是白的;有些驢子是斑白的，像撒上了胡椒和鹽;有些驢子是一道一道很寬的黃條子和藍條子。

The strangest thing of all was that those twenty-four donkeys, instead of being iron-shod like any other beast of burden, had on their feet laced shoes made of leather, just like the ones boys wear.

可有一點最奇怪，這十二對驢子，也就是二十四頭驢子，不像其他拉車馱貨的牲口那樣打上鐵掌，卻像人那樣穿著白皮靴。

And the driver of the wagon?

那趕車的呢?……

Imagine to yourselves a little, fat man, much wider than he was long, round and shiny as a ball of butter, with a face beaming like an apple, a little mouth that always smiled, and a voice small and wheedling like that of a cat begging for food.

請諸位想象那么個小個子，橫里寬，直里短，軟撲撲，油膩膩，像一球黃油，蘋果臉，嘴巴很小，老是笑嘻嘻的，聲音又尖又嗲，似貓向主人討吃時的叫聲。

No sooner did any boy see him than he fell in love with him, and nothing satisfied him but to be allowed to ride in his wagon to that lovely place called the Land of Toys.

所有的孩子一看見他就不由得喜歡他，搶著要上他的車，給帶到這個真正的快樂國家去。這國家在地圖上有一個國的名字，叫“玩兒國”。

In fact the wagon was so closely packed with boys of all ages that it looked like a box of sardines. They were uncomfortable, they were piled one on top of the other, they could hardly breathe; yet not one word of complaint was heard. The thought that in a few hours they would reach a country where there were no schools, no books, no teachers, made these boys so happy that they felt neither hunger, nor thirst, nor sleep, nor discomfort.

說實在的，車上八歲到十二歲的孩子都已經(jīng)擠滿了，一個疊一個，活像一堆腌鳀魚。他們給擠得夠嗆，連氣都幾乎透不過來，可是沒人叫一聲“唉呀!”沒人說一句埋怨話。他們感到安慰，因為他們知道，過幾個鐘頭他們就要到一個國家，那兒沒有書本，沒有學校，沒有老師。他們高興得什么都能忍耐，他們不覺得苦，不覺得累，不覺得餓，不覺得渴，甚至不覺得瞌睡。

No sooner had the wagon stopped than the little fat man turned to Lamp-Wick. With bows and smiles, he asked in a wheedling tone:

車子一停，趕車的就向小燈芯轉(zhuǎn)過臉來，做出幾千個怪相，打上幾千個手勢，笑著問他說：

"Tell me, my fine boy, do you also want to come to my wonderful country?"

“告訴我，我的好孩子，你也要到那幸福的國家去嗎?”

"Indeed I do."

“不用說，當然要去。”

"But I warn you, my little dear, there's no more room in the wagon. It is full."

“可我要告訴你，我的小寶貝，車上已經(jīng)沒有地方了，瞧，全擠滿了!……”

"Never mind," answered Lamp-Wick. "If there's no room inside, I can sit on the top of the coach."

“沒關(guān)系!小燈芯回答說，“車上沒地方，我將就點，就坐在車轅上。”

And with one leap, he perched himself there.

他說著一跳就跳上去，騎在車轅上。

"What about you, my love?" asked the Little Man, turning politely to Pinocchio. "What are you going to do? Will you come with us, or do you stay here?"

“那你呢?我的小寶貝?……”趕車的十分客氣地向皮諾喬轉(zhuǎn)過來問。“你打算怎樣，跟我們?nèi)ミ€是留下?……”

"I stay here," answered Pinocchio. "I want to return home, as I prefer to study and to succeed in life."

“我留下，”皮諾喬回答，“我要回家。我要和所有好孩子那樣學習，在學樣里做個好學生。”

"May that bring you luck!"

“祝你成功!”

"Pinocchio!" Lamp-Wick called out. "Listen to me. Come with us and we'll always be happy."

“皮諾喬!”小燈芯說了，“聽我的話，跟我們?nèi)グ?，咱們會過得快活的。”

"No, no, no!"

“不去，不去，不去!”

"Come with us and we'll always be happy," cried four other voices from the wagon.

“跟我們?nèi)グ?，咱們會過得快活的，”車上又有四個人叫道。

"Come with us and we'll always be happy," shouted the one hundred and more boys in the wagon, all together. "And if I go with you, what will my good Fairy say?" asked the Marionette, who was beginning to waver and weaken in his good resolutions.

“跟我們?nèi)グ桑蹅儠^得快活的，”車上有成百個人同聲嚷嚷起來。

"Don't worry so much. Only think that we are going to a land where we shall be allowed to make all the racket we like from morning till night."

“我跟你們?nèi)?，我的好仙女會怎么說呢?”木偶話是這么說，可心動了，開始動搖了。“別去想這種傷腦筋事。你就想一想，咱們要到一個國家去，到了那兒，咱們可以無拘無束，從早玩到晚!”

Pinocchio did not answer, but sighed deeply once -- twice -- a third time. Finally, he said:

皮諾喬沒有回答，只是嘆了一口氣，嘆了兩口氣，嘆了三口氣，最后說：

"Make room for me. I want to go, too!"

“給我挪點地方，我也要去!……”

"The seats are all filled," answered the Little Man, "but to show you how much I think of you, take my place as coachman."

“都擠滿了，”趕車的回答說，“不過為了表示歡迎你，我可以讓你坐到趕車座兒上來……”

"And you?"

“那您呢?……”

"I'll walk."

“我在地上走。”

"No, indeed. I could not permit such a thing. I much prefer riding one of these donkeys," cried Pinocchio.

“不行，說真?zhèn)€的，我不答應(yīng)。我寧愿騎到隨便那一頭驢子的屁股上面!”皮諾喬叫道。

No sooner said than done. He approached the first donkey and tried to mount it. But the little animal turned suddenly and gave him such a terrible kick in the stomach that Pinocchio was thrown to the ground and fell with his legs in the air.

說干就干。他走近第一對驢子里右面的一頭，要騎到它身上去。可是這小牲口粗暴地轉(zhuǎn)過身來，在他肚子上狠狠地就是一腳，踢了他一個兩腳朝天。

At this unlooked-for entertainment, the whole company of runaways laughed uproariously.

諸位可以想象，所有孩子看到這個場面，全都毫不客氣地亂笑一通!

The little fat man did not laugh. He went up to the rebellious animal, and, still smiling, bent over him lovingly and bit off half of his right ear.

可趕車的不笑。他十分疼愛似的走到發(fā)脾氣的驢子身邊，裝出要親親它的樣子，卻一口咬掉了它半只右耳朵。

In the meantime, Pinocchio lifted himself up from the ground, and with one leap landed on the donkey's back. The leap was so well taken that all the boys shouted, "Hurrah for Pinocchio!" and clapped their hands in hearty applause.

這時候皮諾喬趕緊從地上爬起來，一跳就跳上了這頭可憐牲口的屁股。他跳得那么利索，孩子們一下子停下笑，歡呼了起來：“好啊，皮諾喬!”還不住地拍手。

Suddenly the little donkey gave a kick with his two hind feet and, at this unexpected move, the poor Marionette found himself once again sprawling right in the middle of the road.

可驢子一下子又蹦起兩只腿，用盡力氣一踢，把可憐的木偶甩到路當中一堆石子上面。

Again the boys shouted with laughter. But the Little Man, instead of laughing, became so loving toward the little animal that, with another kiss, he bit off half of his left ear.

孩子們又大笑起來?？哨s車的不笑，還是裝出十分疼愛那不聽話的驢子的樣子，要去親親它，一口又咬掉它半只左耳朵。然后他對木偶說：

"You can mount now, my boy," he then said to Pinocchio. "Have no fear. That donkey was worried about something, but I have spoken to him and now he seems quiet and reasonable."

“再騎上去，不用怕。這驢子有點任性，我跟它咬了兩下耳朵，我想它變得溫順懂得道理了。”

Pinocchio mounted and the wagon started on its way. While the donkeys galloped along the stony road, the Marionette fancied he heard a very quiet voice whispering to him:

皮諾喬騎上驢子，車子出發(fā)了?？墒钱旙H子這么跑著，車子在圓石子大道上滾動著的時候，木偶覺得聽到一個很輕很輕、僅僅聽得出來的聲音對他說：

"Poor silly! You have done as you wished. But you are going to be a sorry boy before very long."

“可憐的傻瓜!你要由著自己性子做的話，你會后悔的!”

Pinocchio, greatly frightened, looked about him to see whence the words had come, but he saw no one. The donkeys galloped, the wagon rolled on smoothly, the boys slept (Lamp-Wick snored like a dormouse) and the little, fat driver sang sleepily between his teeth.

皮諾喬有點兒害怕，東張西望，想弄明白這聲音到底是打哪來的?？伤裁慈艘矝]見：驢子在跑，車子在滾動，車上的孩子在打盹，小燈芯在呼呼大睡，趕車的坐在趕車座兒上打牙縫里輕輕唱著歌：“大家夜里都睡覺，可我從來就不睡……”

After a mile or so, Pinocchio again heard the same faint voice whispering: "Remember, little simpleton! Boys who stop studying and turn their backs upon books and schools and teachers in order to give all their time to nonsense and pleasure, sooner or later come to grief. Oh, how well I know this! How well I can prove it to you! A day will come when you will weep bitterly, even as I am weeping now -- but it will be too late!"

車子走了半公里光景，皮諾喬又聽見那很輕的聲音對他說：“小傻瓜，你要記住!孩子不肯學習，一看見書，看見學校，看見老師就背過身子，只想玩兒，結(jié)果都只會倒大霉!……這個我有教訓，我知道!……可能跟你這么說!總有一天你也會像我今天一樣地哭……可到那時候，你就來不及啦!……”

At these whispered words, the Marionette grew more and more frightened. He jumped to the ground, ran up to the donkey on whose back he had been riding, and taking his nose in his hands, looked at him. Think how great was his surprise when he saw that the donkey was weeping -- weeping just like a boy!

木偶聽到這番很輕很輕，輕得像耳語似的話，有生以來還沒那么害怕過，連忙打驢子屁股上跳下來，跑過去抓住驢子的嘴。請諸位想象一下，木偶這時候有多么驚奇吧，因為他看到這頭驢子在哭……哭得完完全全像個孩子!

"Hey, Mr. Driver!" cried the Marionette. "Do you know what strange thing is happening here! This donkey weeps."

“喂，趕車的先生，”皮諾喬對車主叫道，“您知道這兒出了什么新鮮玩意兒嗎?這頭驢子在哭。

"Let him weep. When he gets married, he will have time to laugh."

“讓它去哭吧，到它娶媳婦的時候就會笑的。”

"Have you perhaps taught him to speak?"

“也許您教會它說話了吧?”

"No, he learned to mumble a few words when he lived for three years with a band of trained dogs."

“沒有。它在一群受過訓練的狗那里待過三年，自己學會了咕嚕兩句話。”

"Poor beast!"

“可憐的小驢子!……”

"Come, come," said the Little Man, "do not lose time over a donkey that can weep. Mount quickly and let us go. The night is cool and the road is long."

“快，快，”趕車的說，“別浪費咱們的時間去看驢子哭了。騎上去吧，咱們要走了。夜很冷，路很長。”

Pinocchio obeyed without another word. The wagon started again. Toward dawn the next morning they finally reached that much-longed-for country, the Land of Toys.

皮諾喬沒說什么，馬上照辦。車子重新上路。天亮的時候，他們興高采烈地來到了“玩兒國”。

This great land was entirely different from any other place in the world. Its population, large though it was, was composed wholly of boys. The oldest were about fourteen years of age, the youngest, eight. In the street, there was such a racket, such shouting, such blowing of trumpets, that it was deafening. Everywhere groups of boys were gathered together. Some played at marbles, at hopscotch, at ball. Others rode on bicycles or on wooden horses. Some played at blindman's buff, others at tag. Here a group played circus, there another sang and recited. A few turned somersaults, others walked on their hands with their feet in the air. Generals in full uniform leading regiments of cardboard soldiers passed by. Laughter, shrieks, howls, catcalls, hand-clapping followed this parade. One boy made a noise like a hen, another like a rooster, and a third imitated a lion in his den. All together they created such a pandemonium that it would have been necessary for you to put cotton in your ears. The squares were filled with small wooden theaters, overflowing with boys from morning till night, and on the walls of the houses, written with charcoal, were words like these: HURRAH FOR THE LAND OF TOYS! DOWN WITH ARITHMETIC! NO MORE SCHOOL!

這個國家跟世界上任何國家不同。它全國都是小孩子，最大的十四歲，最小的才八歲。滿街都是嘻嘻哈哈聲，吵鬧聲，叫喊聲，叫人頭都搞昏了!到處是一群群的小搗蛋：有的打彈子，有的扔石片，有的打球，有的蹬自行車，有的騎木馬，有的捉迷藏，有的玩追人，有的扮小丑吃火，有的朗誦，有的唱歌，有的翻跟頭，有的豎蜻蜓，有的滾鐵環(huán)，有的身穿將軍裝，裝戴紙頭盔，騎一只硬紙板做的馬，有的笑，有的叫，有的喊，有的拍手，有的吹口哨，有的學母雞生蛋咯咯叫?？偠灾且黄瑏y七八糟，大吵大鬧，叫人得用棉花塞住耳朵，別讓耳朵給震聾了。所有的廣場都只見小戲棚，從早到晚擠滿了孩子。所有的墻上都可以讀到用炭寫的最好玩的東西，像：“完具萬水：”(應(yīng)該是“玩具萬歲!”)“我們不在要學小!”(應(yīng)該是我們不再要學校!”)“打到算樹!”(應(yīng)該是“打倒算術(shù)!”)等等，等等。

As soon as they had set foot in that land, Pinocchio, Lamp-Wick, and all the other boys who had traveled with them started out on a tour of investigation. They wandered everywhere, they looked into every nook and corner, house and theater. They became everybody's friend. Who could be happier than they?

皮諾喬、小燈芯，以及趕車的帶來的一大車孩子，進了城一下車就馬上投入這種大混亂之中。才幾分鐘，諸位很容易想象到，他們已經(jīng)和所有的孩子交上了朋友。天底下還有誰能比他們更幸福，更快活呢?

What with entertainments and parties, the hours, the days, the weeks passed like lightning.

在沒完沒了的種種玩樂當中，一個鐘頭又一個鐘頭，一天又一天，一個星期又一個星期，飛也似地過去了。

"Oh, what a beautiful life this is!" said Pinocchio each time that, by chance, he met his friend Lamp-Wick.

“噢!多美的生活啊!”皮諾喬每次碰到小燈芯就說。

"Was I right or wrong?" answered Lamp-Wick. "And to think you did not want to come! To think that even yesterday the idea came into your head to return home to see your Fairy and to start studying again! If today you are free from pencils and books and school, you owe it to me, to my advice, to my care. Do you admit it? Only true friends count, after all."

“看，我的話不錯吧?”小燈芯回答說，“還說你不想來呢!還想回你那個仙女的家去，把時間浪費在學習上呢!……你今天用不著再為什么書本和學校傷腦筋了，你都得謝謝我，謝謝我的好主意，謝謝我的關(guān)心，對不對?只有真正的朋友才會幫你這么大的忙。”

"It's true, Lamp-Wick, it's true. If today I am a really happy boy, it is all because of you. And to think that the teacher, when speaking of you, used to say, 'Do not go with that Lamp-Wick! He is a bad companion and some day he will lead you astray.'"

“你說得對，小燈芯!今天我成為真正快活的孩子，全都虧了你?？赡阒览蠋煾沂窃趺粗v你的?他總是跟我說：‘別跟小燈芯這小流氓在一起，因為小燈芯是個壞同學，只會慫恿你做壞事!’……”

"Poor teacher!" answered the other, nodding his head. "Indeed I know how much he disliked me and how he enjoyed speaking ill of me. But I am of a generous nature, and I gladly forgive him."

“可憐的老師!”小燈芯搖搖頭回答說。“我知道得太清楚了，他討厭我，老說我壞話，可我寬宏大量，我原諒他!”

"Great soul!" said Pinocchio, fondly embracing his friend.

“你真是寬宏大量!”皮諾喬說著，熱情地擁抱他的朋友，在他腦門上親了親。

Five months passed and the boys continued playing and enjoying themselves from morn till night, without ever seeing a book, or a desk, or a school. But, my children, there came a morning when Pinocchio awoke and found a great surprise awaiting him, a surprise which made him feel very unhappy, as you shall see.

他們書也不讀，學校也不上，一天天就這樣無憂無慮地玩啊，樂啊，一下子五個月過去了?？墒怯幸惶炱ぶZ喬清早醒來，就像老話說的，遇到了一個晴天霹靂，一下子什么勁都沒有了。