丑小鸭（1）

乡下真是非常美丽。这正是夏天！小麦是金黄的，燕麦是绿油油的。

The countryside is truly beautiful. This is summer! The wheat is golden, and the oats are lush and green.

干草在绿色的牧场上堆成垛，鹳鸟用它又长又红的腿在散步，啰嗦地讲着埃及话。

Hay is piled up in heaps on the green pastures, and storks stroll around on their long, red legs, chattering away in their Egyptian language.

这是它从妈妈那儿学到的一种语言。

This is a language they learned from their mother.

田野和牧场的周围有些大森林，森林里有些很深的池塘。

Surrounding the fields and pastures are some large forests, where there are deep ponds.

的确，乡间是非常美丽的。

Indeed, the countryside is very beautiful.

太阳光正照着一幢老式的房子，它周围流着几条很深的小溪。

The sunlight shines on an old-fashioned house, with several deep streams flowing around it.

从墙角那儿一直到水里，全盖满了牛蒡的大叶子。

From the corners of the walls to the water, large burdock leaves cover everything.

最大的叶子长得非常高，小孩子简直可以直着腰站在下面。

The biggest leaves grow so high that a child can stand upright beneath them.

像在最浓密的森林里一样，这儿也是很荒凉的。

Like in the densest of forests, this place also has a kind of desolation.

这儿有一只母鸭坐在窠里，她得把她的几个小鸭都孵出来。

There sits a mother duck in her nest, trying to hatch a few ducklings.

不过这时她已经累坏了。很少有客人来看她。

However, she is already exhausted. Few visitors come to see her.

别的鸭子都愿意在溪流里游来游去，而不愿意跑到牛蒡下面来和她聊天。

The other ducks prefer to swim in the stream rather than run under the burdock to chat with her.

最后，那些鸭蛋一个接着一个地崩开了。

Finally, one by one, the duck eggs began to crack open.

“噼！噼！”蛋壳响起来。所有的蛋黄现在都变成了小动物，他们把小头都伸出来。

“Crack! Crack!” The eggshells sounded. All the yolks had now transformed into little beings, stretching their tiny heads out.

“嘎！嘎！”母鸭说。他们也就跟着嘎嘎地大声叫起来。

“Quack! Quack!” said the mother duck. They followed her and quacked loudly in response.

他们在绿叶子下面向四周看。妈妈让他们尽量地东张西望，因为绿色对他们的眼睛是有好处的。

They looked around under the green leaves. Their mother encourages them to look around as much as possible since the green would benefit their eyes.

“这个世界真够大！”这些年轻的小家伙说。

“This world is really big!” the young ones said.

的确，比起他们在蛋壳里的时候，他们现在的天地真是大不相同了。

Indeed, compared to when they were in their eggs, their world now felt entirely different.

“你们以为这就是整个世界！”妈妈说。

“You think this is the entire world!” their mother said.

“这地方伸展到花园的另一边，一直伸展到牧师的田里去，才远呢！连我自己都没有去过！”她站起来。

“This place stretches all the way across the garden to the pastor's field; it’s quite far! Even I haven’t been there myself!” She got up.

“唉，我还没有把你们都生出来！这只顶大的蛋躺着没有动静。它还得躺多久呢？我真是有些烦了。”于是她又坐下来。

“Oh, I still haven’t hatched all of you! This largest egg is lying there without moving. How much longer will it lie there? I’m getting somewhat frustrated.” So she sat down again.

“唔，情形怎样？”一只来拜访她的老鸭子问。

“Hmm, how’s it going?” an old duck who had come to visit her asked.

“这个蛋费的时间真久！”坐着的母鸭说。

“This egg takes a long time to break!” the sitting mother duck said.

“它老是不裂开。请你看看别的吧。他们真是一些最逗人爱的小鸭儿！都像他们的爸爸——这个坏东西从没有来看过我一次！”

“It just won’t crack open. Please look at the others. They are the cutest little ducklings! All like their father—the scoundrel who has never come to see me once!”

“让我瞧瞧这个老是不裂开的蛋吧，”这位年老的客人说，“请相信我，这是一只吐绶鸡的蛋，有一次我也同样受过骗。你知道，那些小家伙不知道给了我多少麻烦和苦恼，他们都不敢下水，我简直没有办法叫他们在水里试一试。我说好说歹，一点用也没有！——让我来瞧瞧这只蛋吧。哎呀！这是一只吐绶鸡的蛋！让它躺着吧，你尽管叫别的孩子去游泳好了。”

“Let me see that egg that won't crack,” the old visitor said, “believe me, that’s a pheasant egg. I once got tricked the same way. You know, those little ones troubled me a lot; they wouldn’t dare go into the water, and I simply couldn’t get them to try it out. I tried every possible way, but it was no use!—Let me look at that egg. Oh dear! This is a pheasant egg! Let it lie there; you can just let the other ducklings swim.”

“我还是在它上面多坐一会儿吧，”鸭妈妈说，“我已经坐了这么久，就是再坐它一个星期也没有关系。”

“I’ll sit on it a bit longer,” said the mother duck, “I’ve already been sitting for so long; sitting on it for another week wouldn’t be a problem.”

“那么就请便吧。”老鸭子说。于是她就告辞了。

“Well, please do,” the old duck said. With that, she took her leave.

最后这只大蛋裂开了。

At last, this big egg cracked open.

“噼！噼！”新生的这个小家伙叫着向外面爬。

“Crack! Crack!” The newly hatched little one called as he crawled out.

他是又大又丑。鸭妈妈把他瞧了一眼。

He was big and ugly. The mother duck gave him a glance.

“这个小鸭子大得怕人，”她说，“别的没有一个像他；但是他一点也不像小吐绶鸡！好吧，我们马上就来试试看吧。他得到水里去，我踢也要把他踢下水去。”

“This duckling is so big it’s scary,” she said. “None of the others are like him, but he doesn’t look anything like a pheasant! Well, let’s try him in the water right away; I’ll kick him in if I have to.”

第二天的天气是又晴和，又美丽。太阳照在绿牛蒡上。鸭妈妈带着她所有的孩子走到溪边来。

The next day’s weather was both warm and beautiful. The sun shone on the green burdock. The mother duck led all her children to the stream.

扑通！她跳进水里去了。

Splash! She jumped into the water.

“呱！呱！”她叫着，于是小鸭子就一个接着一个跳下去。

“Quack! Quack!” she called, and the ducklings jumped in one after another.

水淹到他们头上，但是他们马上又冒出来了，游得非常漂亮。

The water rose above their heads, but they quickly popped back up, swimming beautifully.

他们的小腿很灵活地划着。他们全都在水里，连那个丑陋的灰色小家伙也跟他们在一起游。

Their little legs paddled nimbly. They were all in the water, even the ugly gray little guy was swimming along with them.

“唔，他不是一个吐绶鸡，”她说，“你看他的腿划得多灵活，他浮得多么稳！他是我亲生的孩子！如果你把他仔细看一看，他还算长得蛮漂亮呢。嘎！嘎！跟我一块儿来吧，我把你们带到广大的世界上去，把那个养鸡场介绍给你们看看。不过，你们得紧贴着我，免得别人踩着你们。你们还得当心猫儿呢！”

“Hmm, he’s not a pheasant,” she said, “look at how well he paddles, how steadily he floats! He is my own child! If you look closely, he isn’t too bad looking after all. Quack! Quack! Come along with me; I’ll take you to the vast world and show you the farm. But you must stay close to me so no one steps on you. And watch out for the cat!”

这样，他们就到养鸡场里来了。场里响起了一阵可怕的喧闹声，因为有两个家族正在争夺一个鳝鱼头，结果是猫儿把它抢走了。

So they arrived at the farm. A dreadful noise echoed because two families were fighting over an eel head, and in the end, a cat snatched it away.

“你们瞧，世界就是这个样子！”鸭妈妈说。

“Look, this is how the world is!” the mother duck said.

她的嘴流了一点涎水，因为她也想吃那个鳝鱼头。“现在使用你们的腿吧！”她说。

A little drool escaped her mouth because she, too, wanted to eat that eel head. “Now use your legs!” she said.

“你们拿出精神来。你们如果看到那儿的一个老母鸭，你们就得把头低下来，因为她是这儿最有声望的人。她有西班牙的血统——她长得非常胖。你们看，她的腿上有一块红布条。这是一件非常出色的东西，也是一个鸭子可能得到的最大光荣：它的意义很大，说明人们不愿意失去她，动物和人统统都得认识她。打起精神来吧——不要把腿缩进去。一个有很好教养的鸭子总是把腿摆开的，像爸爸和妈妈一样。好吧，低下头来，说：‘嘎’呀！”

“Put in some effort. If you see an old mother duck over there, you must lower your heads because she is the most distinguished here. She has Spanish blood—she’s very fat. Look, there’s a red ribbon on her leg. That’s a very special thing and the greatest honor a duck can receive: it signifies that people don’t want to lose her, and both animals and humans must recognize her. Cheer up—don’t tuck your legs in. A well-mannered duck always keeps her legs spread, just like your father and mother. Alright, lower your heads and say: ‘Quack!’”

他们这样做了。别的鸭子站在旁边看着，同时用相当大的声音说：

They did as they were told. The other ducks stood by, watching, while commenting quite loudly:

“瞧！现在又来了一批找东西吃的客人，好像我们的人数还不够多似的！呸！瞧那只小鸭的一副丑相！我们真看不惯！”

“Look! Here comes a new batch of eating guests, as if we weren’t enough in number already! Pfft! Just look at that ugly little duck! We really can’t stand it!”

于是马上有一只鸭子飞过去，在他的脖颈上啄了一下。

Immediately, one duck flew over and pecked him on the neck.

“请你们不要管他吧，”鸭妈妈说，“他并不伤害谁呀！”

“Please just ignore him,” the mother duck said, “he doesn’t harm anyone!”

“对，不过他长得太大，太特别了，”啄过他的那只鸭子说，“因此他必须挨打！”

“True, but he’s far too big and peculiar,” said the duck who had pecked him, “so he must be punished!”

“那个母鸭的孩子都很漂亮，”腿上有一条红布的那个母鸭说，“他们都很漂亮，只有一只是例外。

“That mother duck’s ducklings are all very pretty,” said the one with the red ribbon on her leg, “they’re all very pretty, except for one.

这真是可惜。我希望能把他再孵一次。”

What a pity! I wish I could hatch him a second time.”

“那可不能，太太，”鸭妈妈回答说。

“Oh, that can’t be done, madam,” the mother duck replied.

“他不好看，但是他的脾气非常好。他游起水来也不比别人差——我还可以说，他游得比别人好呢。我想他会慢慢长得漂亮的，或者到适当的时候，他也可能缩小一点。

“He may not be attractive, but he has a very good temperament. He swims just as well as the others—if anything, I can say he swims better. I think he’ll gradually become handsome, or at the right time, he might shrink a little.

他在蛋里躺得太久了，因此他的模样有点不太自然。”她说着，同时在他的脖颈上啄了一下，把他的羽毛理了一理。

He lay in that egg for too long, so he looks a bit unnatural.” She said this while pecking at his neck to smooth his feathers.

“不过，他是一只公鸭，”她说，“所以关系也不太大。我想他的身体很结实，将来总会自己找到出路的。”

“However, he’s a male duck,” she said, “so it doesn’t matter too much. I think he’s strong-bodied and will eventually find his own way.”

“别的小鸭倒很可爱，”老母鸭说。

“The other ducklings are very cute,” the old mother duck said.

“你在这儿不要客气。如果你找到鳝鱼头，请把它送给我好了。”

“Please, don’t be shy here. If you find that eel head, please give it to me.”

他们现在在这儿，就像在自己家里一样。

They now felt as if they were at home.

不过从蛋壳里爬出的那只小鸭太丑了，到处挨打，被排挤，被讥笑，不仅在鸭群中是这样，连在鸡群中也是这样。

However, the ugly little duck that crawled out of the egg was too unattractive and was bullied, pushed aside, and laughed at, not only by the ducklings but even by the chickens.

“他真是又粗又大！”大家都说。

“He really is rough and big!” everyone said.

有一只雄吐绶鸡生下来脚上就有距，因此他自以为是一个皇帝。

A male pheasant, born with spurs on his feet, thought he was a king.

他把自己吹得像一条鼓满了风的帆船，来势汹汹地向那只丑小鸭走来，瞪着一双大眼睛，脸上涨得通红。

He puffed himself up like a sailboat filled with wind, striding towards the ugly duck, staring at him with big eyes, his face blushing red.

这只可怜的小鸭不知道站在什么地方，或者走到什么地方去好。

The poor little duck didn’t know where to stand or where to go.

他觉得非常悲哀，因为自己长得那么丑陋，而且成了全体鸡鸭的一个嘲笑对象。

He felt very sad being so ugly and having become the butt of ridicule among all the ducks and chickens.

这是头一天的情形。后来一天比一天糟。

This was the situation on the first day. Things only got worse day by day.