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绿野仙踪［美］莱·弗·鲍姆／原著
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

英文中文双语对照双语交替

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Chapter 20. The Dainty China Country

第20章　美丽的瓷器城

While the Woodman was making a ladder from wood which he found in the forest Dorothy lay down and slept, for she was tired by the long walk. The Lion also curled himself up to sleep and Toto lay beside him.

于是铁皮人在树林里寻找木材，开始动手做木梯，多萝茜因为长途跋涉得疲倦了，倒下去睡觉了。狮子也已踡伏着睡去了，托托躺在它的旁边。

The Scarecrow watched the Woodman while he worked, and said to him:

稻草人看着铁皮人工作，对他说：“我想不出筑这一座墙是干什么用的，究竟用什么东西来筑的？”

"I cannot think why this wall is here, nor what it is made of."

铁皮人回答说：“让你的脑子休息休息吧，别再想那么多事儿吧，待会儿我们爬了过去，你就会全都明白的。”

"Rest your brains and do not worry about the wall," replied the Woodman. "When we have climbed over it, we shall know what is on the other side."

没多久，梯子就做成功了。看起来似乎很笨重，但是铁皮人相信它是实用的，并且能够让他们爬过墙去。稻草人唤醒了多萝茜，以及狮子和托托，宣布梯子已经做成了。

After a time the ladder was finished. It looked clumsy, but the Tin Woodman was sure it was strong and would answer their purpose. The Scarecrow waked Dorothy and the Lion and Toto, and told them that the ladder was ready. The Scarecrow climbed up the ladder first, but he was so awkward that Dorothy had to follow close behind and keep him from falling off. When he got his head over the top of the wall the Scarecrow said, "Oh, my!"

稻草人最先爬上梯子去，他爬起梯子来摇摇晃晃，使得多萝茜紧紧地跟在后面，免得他掉下来，当稻草人爬到墙顶露出头时，他喊道：“啊呀！”

"Go on," exclaimed Dorothy.

“快爬上去！”多萝茜高声说。

So the Scarecrow climbed farther up and sat down on the top of the wall, and Dorothy put her head over and cried, "Oh, my!" just as the Scarecrow had done.

因此稻草人便爬上去，坐到墙顶上了。

Then Toto came up, and immediately began to bark, but Dorothy made him be still.

多萝茜探出她的头，并且喊道：“啊呀！”

The Lion climbed the ladder next, and the Tin Woodman came last; but both of them cried, "Oh, my!" as soon as they looked over the wall. When they were all sitting in a row on the top of the wall, they looked down and saw a strange sight.

随后托托也爬了上去，马上兴奋地吠着，但是多萝茜制止了它。

Before them was a great stretch of country having a floor as smooth and shining and white as the bottom of a big platter. Scattered around were many houses made entirely of china and painted in the brightest colors. These houses were quite small, the biggest of them reaching only as high as Dorothy's waist. There were also pretty little barns, with china fences around them; and many cows and sheep and horses and pigs and chickens, all made of china, were standing about in groups.

托托后面是狮子，铁皮人最后一个上梯；当他们两个把头从墙顶伸出时，他们也都喊道“啊呀！”

But the strangest of all were the people who lived in this queer country. There were milkmaids and shepherdesses, with brightly colored bodices and golden spots all over their gowns; and princesses with most gorgeous frocks of silver and gold and purple; and shepherds dressed in knee breeches with pink and yellow and blue stripes down them, and golden buckles on their shoes; and princes with jeweled crowns upon their heads, wearing ermine robes and satin doublets; and funny clowns in ruffled gowns, with round red spots upon their cheeks and tall, pointed caps. And, strangest of all, these people were all made of china, even to their clothes, and were so small that the tallest of them was no higher than Dorothy's knee.

现在他们并排坐在墙顶，他们望见了墙那边奇异的景象。

No one did so much as look at the travelers at first, except one little purple china dog with an extra-large head, which came to the wall and barked at them in a tiny voice, afterwards running away again.

在他们脚铺展开的是一个城市，有一片平滑的、闪亮的、雪白的地板。四处散布着许多的屋子，完全用瓷器做的，漆着鲜亮的色彩。

"How shall we get down?" asked Dorothy.

这些屋子看上去很小，其中最高的，只到多萝茜的腰部。

They found the ladder so heavy they could not pull it up, so the Scarecrow fell off the wall and the others jumped down upon him so that the hard floor would not hurt their feet. Of course they took pains not to light on his head and get the pins in their feet. When all were safely down they picked up the Scarecrow, whose body was quite flattened out, and patted his straw into shape again.

在房子周围，也还有美丽的小谷仓和小厩房，四周环绕着瓷做的篱笆；许多的牛、羊和马，还有猪和小鸡，全都是瓷器做的，成群地站着。

"We must cross this strange place in order to get to the other side," said Dorothy, "for it would be unwise for us to go any other way except due South."

更让人奇怪的是，住在这个瓷器国家里的那些百姓。挤牛奶的女郎和牧羊的女郎，都穿着白底有金黄色斑点的外衣；公主们穿着最华丽的银色、金色或紫色的长袍；牧童穿着淡红色和黄色的短裤，垂着蓝色的绺条，他们有黄色的钮扣的鞋子；王子们戴着用宝石装饰的皇冠，穿着白鼬皮的长袍和闪光缎的紧身衣；还有滑稽可爱的小丑们，两边面颊上点着红的圆点，穿着皱边的长袍，戴着尖顶的高帽子。

They began walking through the country of the china people, and the first thing they came to was a china milkmaid milking a china cow. As they drew near, the cow suddenly gave a kick and kicked over the stool, the pail, and even the milkmaid herself, and all fell on the china ground with a great clatter.

最最奇怪的，恐怕是这些人们也完全是瓷做的，他们的衣服也是瓷的，他们看上去是那样小，其中最最高的，还没有到多萝茜的膝部。

Dorothy was shocked to see that the cow had broken her leg off, and that the pail was lying in several small pieces, while the poor milkmaid had a nick in her left elbow.

最初，只有一头紫色的狗，注意到这几个旅行者，它的头特别大，跑到墙根边，用一种极细的声音，向他们吠着，然后就走回去了。

"There!" cried the milkmaid angrily. "See what you have done! My cow has broken her leg, and I must take her to the mender's shop and have it glued on again. What do you mean by coming here and frightening my cow?"

多萝茜问：“我们怎么下去？”

"I'm very sorry," returned Dorothy. "Please forgive us."

他们发觉梯子过于笨重，根本拔不起来，所以稻草人从墙上跳下去，其它的都跳落在他的身上，这样，不致让坚硬的地面，碰伤他们的脚。

But the pretty milkmaid was much too vexed to make any answer. She picked up the leg sulkily and led her cow away, the poor animal limping on three legs. As she left them the milkmaid cast many reproachful glances over her shoulder at the clumsy strangers, holding her nicked elbow close to her side.

当然，他们的脚不能落在稻草人的头上。否则，那些钉子戳进脚里，可是要受罪的。所有的都跳下来后，他们扶起了稻草人，他的身体被踩了好几次，变得非常扁平了，他们慢慢地拍着稻草，使他再回复原状。

Dorothy was quite grieved at this mishap.

“为了要到达那目的地，我们必须穿过这奇怪的地方，”

"We must be very careful here," said the kind-hearted Woodman, "or we may hurt these pretty little people so they will never get over it."

多萝茜说，“除了向南方以外，不能走别的路，否则是不明智的。”

A little farther on Dorothy met a most beautifully dressed young Princess, who stopped short as she saw the strangers and started to run away.

他们向前走着，穿过瓷器国的街道，他们遇到的第一件事情，是一件挤牛奶的瓷女郎，正在挤着一头瓷牛的奶。

Dorothy wanted to see more of the Princess, so she ran after her. But the china girl cried out:

当他们走近去时，那瓷牛猝然一踢，把那瓷凳子、瓷提桶全踢翻了，挤牛奶的女郎自己也被牛踢倒，和她的凳儿，桶儿一起倒在瓷的地面上，发出清脆的声响来。

"Don't chase me! Don't chase me!"

多萝茜吃惊了，发现那瓷牛断了腿，那瓷桶摔得粉碎，可怜的挤牛奶的女郎，在左肘上出了一个洞。

She had such a frightened little voice that Dorothy stopped and said, "Why not?"

“瞧啊！”女郎愤怒地喊着，“瞧瞧你们做了些什么事！我的牛断了腿，我必须把它牵到修理店去，再胶合好。你们为什么跑过来，惊吓我的牛？”

"Because," answered the Princess, also stopping, a safe distance away, "if I run I may fall down and break myself."

多萝茜回答说：“我十分抱歉，请你原谅。”

"But could you not be mended?" asked the girl.

但是这个美丽的挤牛奶女郎，被激怒了，根本不理睬他们。

"Oh, yes; but one is never so pretty after being mended, you know," replied the Princess.

她忿忿地拾起断腿，牵着牛走了。那可怜的畜生，只好三只脚跛行着。

"I suppose not," said Dorothy.

挤牛奶的女郎走开后，她向这些愚笨的陌生客人，回过头来，投掷了好多次含有责备的瞥视，并且把她的受伤的臂肘，靠紧了她的身边。

"Now there is Mr. Joker, one of our clowns," continued the china lady, "who is always trying to stand upon his head. He has broken himself so often that he is mended in a hundred places, and doesn't look at all pretty. Here he comes now, so you can see for yourself."

多萝茜因为牛奶女郎的不幸，非常烦恼。

Indeed, a jolly little clown came walking toward them, and Dorothy could see that in spite of his pretty clothes of red and yellow and green he was completely covered with cracks, running every which way and showing plainly that he had been mended in many places.

“在这里，我们最好谨慎小心，”善心的铁皮人说，“不然，我们损伤了这些美丽的瓷人儿，我们就永远不能过去了。”

The Clown put his hands in his pockets, and after puffing out his cheeks and nodding his head at them saucily, he said:

走了几步，多萝茜遇见一个穿得最漂亮的年青的公主，然而公主发现了这些陌生人，停了一停，就转身走了。

"My lady fair,

多萝茜看清楚公主，便去追赶她，但是这个瓷女郎喊道：“别追赶我！别追赶我！”

Why do you stare

她的声音极其微弱，使得多萝茜停了步，问道：“为什么？”

At poor old Mr. Joker?

“因为，”公主也停步了，隔着一个相对安全的距离，然后回答说，“你追我便会跑，如果跌倒，就会跌碎了自己。”

You're quite as stiff

小女孩子问：“你可以修补呀？”

And prim as if

“唉，是的。”公主回答说：“但是你应该明白，一个人在修补过了以后，就很难看了。”

You'd eaten up a poker!"

“我也这么想，”多萝茜说。

"Be quiet, sir!" said the Princess. "Can't you see these are strangers, and should be treated with respect?"

“现在，乔克先生就在那边，他是我们的一个小丑，”瓷女郎继续说道，“他因为常常用头站在地上。摔伤了很多地方，他身上的补钉有一百多个，因此他变得不好看了。你可以到那边去看看他。”

"Well, that's respect, I expect," declared the Clown, and immediately stood upon his head.

的确，一个轻松愉快的小丑，向他们走来了，尽管他的红色、黄色和绿色的衣服非常美丽，多萝茜能够看出他身上的裂痕，每跑一步路，都可以显出他有好多地方是修补过的了。

"Don't mind Mr. Joker," said the Princess to Dorothy. "He is considerably cracked in his head, and that makes him foolish."

小丑把他的手插在衣袋里，鼓起了他微红的脸颊，顽此地向他们点头致意。他唱道：“我那可笑的美人儿，你为什么看着可怜的老乔克先生发呆？你这样僵硬而呆板，就像吞下了一根拨火棒！”

"Oh, I don't mind him a bit," said Dorothy. "But you are so beautiful," she continued, "that I am sure I could love you dearly. Won't you let me carry you back to Kansas, and stand you on Aunt Em's mantel? I could carry you in my basket."

“先生，安静一些！”公主说；“你应当看见了他们是陌生的客人么，应当恭敬的接待他们！”

"That would make me very unhappy," answered the china Princess. "You see, here in our country we live contentedly, and can talk and move around as we please. But whenever any of us are taken away our joints at once stiffen, and we can only stand straight and look pretty. Of course that is all that is expected of us when we are on mantels and cabinets and drawing-room tables, but our lives are much pleasanter here in our own country."

“不错，不过我希望这也是礼貌，”小丑解释道，立刻用头倒立在地上。

"I would not make you unhappy for all the world!" exclaimed Dorothy. "So I'll just say good-bye."

“请不要介意这位乔克先生，”公主对多萝茜说：“他的头上有非常大的裂缝，这就使得他愚蠢了。”

"Good-bye," replied the Princess.

“呵，我一点儿也不介意他，”多萝茜说。“但是你是这么样的美丽，”她继续说，“我非常喜欢你，你愿意让我把你带到堪萨斯州去，让你让在爱姆婶婶的壁炉上的石架上面吗？

They walked carefully through the china country. The little animals and all the people scampered out of their way, fearing the strangers would break them, and after an hour or so the travelers reached the other side of the country and came to another china wall.

我可以用我的篮子带走你的。”

It was not so high as the first, however, and by standing upon the Lion's back they all managed to scramble to the top. Then the Lion gathered his legs under him and jumped on the wall; but just as he jumped, he upset a china church with his tail and smashed it all to pieces.

“我会非常不愉快，”瓷公主回答说。“你要知道，这里是我们的国土，我们无忧无虑地居住着，要谈天，要在四处活动，随我们的便。但是在我们中间不论谁被拿走了，我们的关节就会僵硬了，只能够一动不动地站着，供人们赏玩罢了。当然，人们希望我们站在炉架上和橱柜里，或是站在图书室的桌子上，却不知道我们住在自己的国土上，会觉得更加快乐呢。”

"That was too bad," said Dorothy, "but really I think we were lucky in not doing these little people more harm than breaking a cow's leg and a church. They are all so brittle!"

多萝茜急忙说：“不管怎么样，我还是希望你能快乐！所以我只好说声再会了。”

"They are, indeed," said the Scarecrow, "and I am thankful I am made of straw and cannot be easily damaged. There are worse things in the world than being a Scarecrow."

“再会，”公主回答说。

他们小心翼翼地走过这个瓷器国。那些小动物们和所有的瓷人，都在从路上逃开，他们都害怕这些陌生的人，会踏碎他们。

过了一个钟头，这些旅行者就走到了这个国度的另一面边界上，遇到了另一座瓷墙。

这一座却没有前面那一座高，只要站在狮子的背上，他们就都爬上了墙顶。最后狮子并紧了它的前腿，蹲下了身子，跃过了墙；不幸的是，它跃起时，尾巴带倒了一座瓷做的教堂，教堂变得粉碎。

“这太糟糕了，”多萝茜说，“但是我想我们还算运气，只弄碎了一条牛的腿和一座教堂，没有损伤更多的小百姓们。他们都是这么脆弱的！”

“真的，他们怎么会是这个样子，”稻草人说，“我要感谢，我是用稻草做成的，不像瓷器那样易碎。但在这个世界上，竟还有比一个稻草人更脆弱的东西。”