丑小鸭（3）

“你们不了解我。”小鸭说。

"You don't understand me," said the ugly duckling.

“我们不了解你？那么请问谁了解你呢？你决不会比猫儿和女主人更聪明吧——我先不提我自己。孩子，你不要自以为了不起吧！你现在得到这些照顾，你应该感谢上帝。

"We don't understand you? Then who does? Surely you can't be smarter than the cat and the mistress—let's not even mention myself. Child, don't be so full of yourself! You should thank God for the care you receive.

你现在到一个温暖的屋里来，有了一些朋友，而且还可以向他们学习很多的东西，不是吗？不过你是一个废物，跟你在一起真不痛快。你可以相信我，我对你说这些不好听的话，完全是为了帮助你呀。

You've come into a warm house, made some friends, and you can learn many things from them, can't you? But you're such a useless thing, being around you isn't pleasant at all. You can believe me, I'm saying these unpleasant words to help you.

只有这样，你才知道谁是你的真正朋友！请你注意学习生蛋，或者咪咪地叫，或者迸出火花吧！”

Only by doing this will you know who your true friends are! Please pay attention to laying eggs, or making soft sounds, or sparking some excitement!"

“我想我还是走到广大的世界上去好。”小鸭说。

“I think I’d be better off venturing into the vast world,” said the ugly duckling.

“好吧，你去吧！”母鸡说。

"Fine, then go!" clucked the hen.

于是小鸭就走了。他一会儿在水上游，一会儿钻进水里去，不过，因为他的样子丑，所有的动物都瞧不起他。

And off the ugly duckling went. He swam in the water for a while and then dove below the surface; however, due to his ugly appearance, all the animals looked down on him.

秋天到来了。树林里的叶子变成了黄色和棕色，风卷起它们，把它们带到空中飞舞，而空中是很冷的。

Autumn arrived, with the leaves in the forest turning yellow and brown; the wind stirred them up, sending them flying through the cold air.

云块沉重地载着冰雹和雪花，低低地悬着。

Heavy clouds, laden with hail and snowflakes, hung low in the sky.

乌鸦站在篱笆上，冻得只管叫：“呱！呱！”是的，你只要想想这情景，就会觉得冷了。

A crow perched on the fence, shivering and calling out, “Caw! Caw!” Yes, just think of this scene, and you would feel cold as well.

这只可怜的小鸭的确没有一个舒服的时候。

This poor little duckling truly had no comfortable moments.

一天晚上，当太阳正在美丽晚霞中落下去的时候，有一群漂亮的大鸟从灌木林里飞出来，小鸭从来没有看到过这样美丽的东西。

One evening, as the sun set in a beautiful glow, a group of magnificent birds flew out from the thicket—birds the duckling had never seen before.

他们白得发亮，颈项又长又柔软，这就是天鹅。

They were brilliantly white with long, graceful necks; these were swans.

他们发出一种奇异的叫声，展开美丽的长翅膀，从寒冷的地带飞向温暖的国度，飞向不结冰的湖上去。

They made a strange sound, spreading their beautiful long wings, flying away from the cold region to a warm land, heading towards unfrozen lakes.

他们飞得很高——那么高，丑小鸭不禁感到一种说不出的兴奋。

They flew so high—so high that the ugly duckling couldn't help but feel an indescribable excitement.

他在水上像一个车轮似的不停地旋转着，同时把自己的颈项高高地向他们伸着，发出一种响亮的怪叫声，连他自己也害怕起来。

He spun around on the water like a wheel, stretching his neck towards them, and emitted a loud, strange cry that even frightened himself.

啊！他再也忘记不了这些美丽的鸟儿，这些幸福的鸟儿。

Ah! He could never forget these beautiful birds, these happy birds.

当他看不见他们的时候，他就沉入水底；但是当他再冒出水面的时候，却感到非常空虚。

When he could no longer see them, he submerged in the water; when he re-emerged, he felt utterly empty.

他不知道这些鸟儿的名字，也不知道他们要向什么地方飞去。

He didn't know the names of these birds, nor where they were flying to.

不过他爱他们，好像他从来还没有爱过什么东西似的。

Yet, he loved them as if he had never loved anything else before.

他并不嫉妒他们，他怎能梦想有他们那样美丽呢？

He felt no jealousy towards them; how could he even dream of being as beautiful as they were?

只要别的鸭儿准许他跟他们生活在一起，他就已经很满意了——可怜的丑东西。

As long as the other ducks allowed him to live with them, he was already very content—poor, ugly thing.

冬天变得很冷，非常的冷！

Winter became extremely cold, very cold indeed!

小鸭不得不在水上游来游去，免得水面完全冻结成冰。

The duckling had to swim back and forth on the water to prevent the surface from completely freezing.

不过他游动的这个小范围，一天比一天缩小。水冻得厉害，人们可以听到冰块的碎裂声。

However, the small area he swam in shrank day by day. The water froze hard, and people could hear the cracking of the ice.

小鸭只好用他的一双腿不停地游动，免得水完全被冰封闭。

The duckling could only paddle his legs incessantly to keep the water from freezing over completely.

最后，他终于昏倒了，躺着动也不动，跟冰块结在一起。

Eventually, he finally fainted, lying still and becoming one with the ice.

大清早，有一个农民在这儿经过。

Early one morning, a farmer passed by.

他看到了这只小鸭，就走过去用木屐把冰块踏破，然后把他抱回来，送给他的女人。

He saw the little duckling, walked over, broke the ice with his wooden clogs, and brought him home to his wife.

他这时才渐渐地恢复了知觉。

It was then that the duckling gradually regained consciousness.

小孩子们都想要跟他玩，不过小鸭以为他们想要伤害他。

The children all wanted to play with him, but the duckling thought they wanted to hurt him.

他一害怕就跳到牛奶盘里去了，把牛奶溅得满屋子都是。女人惊叫起来，拍着双手。

In fear, he jumped into the milk pan, splashing milk all over the room. The woman screamed and clapped her hands.

这么一来，小鸭就飞到黄油盆里去了，然后又飞进面粉桶里去了，最后才爬出来。

Thus, the duckling flew into the butter bowl and then dove into the flour barrel before finally crawling out.

这时他的样子才好看呢！女人尖声叫起来，拿着火钳要打他。

At this point, he looked quite presentable! The woman yelled at him, brandishing a fire tongs.

小孩们挤做一团，想抓住这小鸭。他们又是笑，又是叫！

The children huddled together, trying to catch the little duckling. They laughed and shouted!

幸好大门是开着的。他钻进灌木林中新下的雪里面去。他躺在那里，几乎像昏倒了一样。

Fortunately, the door was open. He darted into the new snow in the thicket. He lay there, almost as if fainting.

要是只讲他在这严冬所受的困苦和灾难，那么这个故事也就太悲惨了。

If we only spoke of the hardships and disasters he suffered during that harsh winter, this story would indeed be too tragic.

当太阳又开始温暖地照着的时候，他正躺在沼泽地的芦苇里。百灵鸟唱起歌来了——这是一个美丽的春天。

When the sun began to shine warmly again, he lay in the reeds of a marsh. The lark sang—this was a beautiful spring.

忽然间他举起翅膀：翅膀拍起来比以前有力得多，马上就把他托起来飞走了。

Suddenly, he lifted his wings: they were much stronger than before, lifting him up into the air.

他不知不觉地已经飞进了一座大花园。这儿苹果树正开着花；紫丁香在散发着香气，它又长又绿的枝条垂到弯弯曲曲的溪流上。

Unknowingly, he had flown into a large garden. The apple trees were in bloom; the lilacs were fragrant, their long green branches hanging over the winding stream.

啊，这儿美极了，充满了春天的气息！

Ah, it was so beautiful here, filled with the essence of spring!

三只美丽的白天鹅从树荫里一直游到他面前来。他们轻飘飘地浮在水上，羽毛发出飕飕的响声。

Three lovely white swans glided from under the trees towards him. They floated gracefully on the water, their feathers rustling softly.

小鸭认出这些美丽的动物，于是心里感到一种说不出的难过。

The duckling recognized these beautiful creatures and felt an indescribable sadness in his heart.

“我要飞向他们，飞向这些高贵的鸟儿！可是他们会把我弄死的，因为我是这样丑，居然敢接近他们。不过这没有什么关系！被他们杀死，要比被鸭子咬、被鸡群啄、被看管养鸡场的那个女佣人踢和在冬天受苦好得多！”

"I want to fly to them, to these noble birds! But they will kill me because I am so ugly that I dare to approach them. But it doesn’t matter! To be killed by them is much better than being bitten by ducks, pecked by hens, kicked by the maid tending the chickens, and suffering in winter!"

于是他飞到水里，向这些美丽的天鹅游去：这些动物看到他，马上竖起羽毛向他游来。

He then flew into the water and swam towards these beautiful swans: the creatures saw him and immediately raised their feathers to swim towards him.

“请你们弄死我吧！”这只可怜的动物说。他把头低低地垂到水上，只等待着死。

"Please, just kill me!" pleaded the poor creature. He lowered his head to the water, awaiting death.

但是他在这清澈的水上看到了什么呢？他看到了自己的倒影。

But what did he see in this clear water? He saw his own reflection.

但那不再是一只粗笨的、深灰色的、又丑又令人讨厌的鸭子，而却是——一只天鹅！

But it was no longer a clumsy, dark grey, ugly duck that was repulsive; it was— a swan!

只要你曾经在一只天鹅蛋里待过，就算你生在养鸭场里也没有什么关系。

As long as you’ve once been in a swan's egg, it doesn’t matter if you were born in a duck yard.

对于他过去所受的不幸和苦恼，他现在感到非常高兴。

He felt very happy now about the misfortunes and pains he had suffered in the past.

他现在清楚地认识到幸福和美好正在向他招手。许多大天鹅在他周围游泳，用嘴来亲他。

He now clearly recognized that happiness and beauty were beckoning to him. Many great swans swam around him, gently pecking him with their beaks.

花园里来了几个小孩子。他们向水上抛来许多面包片和麦粒。

A few children came to the garden. They threw many pieces of bread and barley into the water.

最小的那个孩子喊道：“你们看那只新天鹅！”

The smallest child shouted, "Look at that new swan!"

别的孩子也兴高采烈地叫起来：“是的，又来了一只新的天鹅！”

The other children cheered excitedly, "Yes, another new swan has arrived!"

于是他们拍着手，跳起舞来，向他们的爸爸和妈妈跑去。

Then they clapped their hands, danced, and ran to their dad and mom.

他们抛了更多的面包和糕饼到水里，同时大家都说：这新来的一只最美！那么年轻，那么好看！那些老天鹅不禁在他面前低下头来。

They threw even more bread and pastries into the water, all saying this new arrival is the most beautiful! So young, so good-looking! The older swans could not help but bow their heads before him.

他感到非常难为情。他把头藏到翅膀里面去，不知道怎么办才好。

He felt very embarrassed. He hid his head under his wings, not knowing what to do.

他感到太幸福了，但他一点也不骄傲，因为一颗好的心是永远不会骄傲的。

He felt too happy, but he was not proud at all, for a good heart is never proud.

他想起他曾经怎样被人迫害和讥笑过，而他现在却听到大家说他是美丽的鸟中最美丽的一只鸟儿。

He remembered how he had been persecuted and ridiculed, yet now he heard everyone say he was the most beautiful among the beautiful birds.

紫丁香在他面前把枝条垂到水里去。

The lilacs dipped their branches into the water before him.

太阳照得很温暖，很愉快。

The sun shone warmly and pleasantly.

他扇动翅膀，伸直细长的颈项，从内心里发出一个快乐的声音：“当我还是一只丑小鸭的时候，我做梦也没有想到会有这么多的幸福！”

He flapped his wings, extended his long neck, and from his heart came a joyful sound: "When I was still an ugly duckling, I never dreamed of such happiness!"