木偶奇遇記：Chapter 22

Even though a boy may be very unhappy, he very seldom loses sleep over his worries. The Marionette, being no exception to this rule, slept on peacefully for a few hours till well along toward midnight, when he was awakened by strange whisperings and stealthy sounds coming from the yard. He stuck his nose out of the doghouse and saw four slender, hairy animals. They were Weasels, small animals very fond of both eggs and chickens. One of them left her companions and, going to the door of the doghouse, said in a sweet voice:

皮諾喬呼呼睡了兩個多鐘頭，到了半夜，突然給一陣嘁嘁喳喳的古怪聲音驚醒了。聽起來，這聲音像是打門口空場上傳來的。他把鼻尖伸出木板狗屋的門洞，看見四只小野獸聚在一起商量什么。它們毛色黑乎乎的，樣子像貓?？伤鼈儾皇秦?，是雞貂，雞貂是貪吃的肉食野獸，特別愛吃雞和小雞。—只雞貂離開同伴，走到木板狗屋的旁邊來，低聲說：

"Good evening, Melampo."

“晚上好，梅拉姆波。”

"My name is not Melampo," answered Pinocchio.

“我不叫梅拉姆波。”木偶回答說。

"Who are you, then?"

“噢，那你叫什么?”

"I am Pinocchio."

“我叫皮諾喬。”

"What are you doing here?"

“你在這兒干嗎?”

"I'm the watchdog."

“我在這兒當(dāng)看夜狗。”

"But where is Melampo? Where is the old dog who used to live in this house?"

“那么，梅拉姆波呢?這老狗一直住在這狗屋里，它上哪兒啦?”

"He died this morning."

“他今天早晨死了。”

"Died? Poor beast! He was so good! Still, judging by your face, I think you, too, are a good-natured dog."

“死了，可憐的狗!它那么好!……可看你的臉，我覺得你也是一只客氣的狗。”

"I beg your pardon, I am not a dog!"

“對不起，我不是狗!……”

"What are you, then?"

“噢，那你是什么，”

"I am a Marionette."

“我是一個木偶。”

"Are you taking the place of the watchdog?"

“你當(dāng)看夜狗，”

"I'm sorry to say that I am. I'm being punished."

“真倒霉，為了處罰我!……”

"Well, I shall make the same terms with you that we had with the dead Melampo. I am sure you will be glad to hear them."

“好，那我自我提出個協(xié)議，同我早先跟已故的梅拉姆波訂立的完全一樣，你會滿意的。”

"And what are the terms?"

“什么協(xié)議?”

"This is our plan: We'll come once in a while, as in the past, to pay a visit to this henhouse, and we'll take away eight chickens. Of these, seven are for us, and one for you, provided, of course, that you will make believe you are sleeping and will not bark for the Farmer."

“我們照舊一星期一次，夜里來拜訪這個雞塒，拉出來八只雞。八只雞當(dāng)中，我們吃七只，—只給你。條件是，你聽明白了，你假裝睡著，千萬別出來叫醒農(nóng)民。”

"Did Melampo really do that?" asked Pinocchio.

“梅拉姆波就這么干的嗎?”皮諾喬問。

"Indeed he did, and because of that we were the best of friends. Sleep away peacefully, and remember that before we go we shall leave you a nice fat chicken all ready for your breakfast in the morning. Is that understood?"

“就這么干的。我們和它合作得很好。你安靜地睡你的覺吧，我們走以前，保證在狗屋上留下一只拔掉毛的肥雞，給你明天當(dāng)早飯吃。咱們講明白啦?”

"Even too well," answered Pinocchio. And shaking his head in a threatening manner, he seemed to say, "We'll talk this over in a few minutes, my friends."

“簡直太明白了!……”皮諾喬答道。同時他恫嚇?biāo)频負(fù)u搖頭，好像想說：“咱們走著瞧吧!”

As soon as the four Weasels had talked things over, they went straight to the chicken coop which stood close to the doghouse. Digging busily with teeth and claws, they opened the little door and slipped in. But they were no sooner in than they heard the door close with a sharp bang.

四只雞貂覺得它們的事情穩(wěn)當(dāng)了，就很快地溜到就在狗屋旁邊的雞塒那里。它們用牙用爪子使勁弄開關(guān)住的小木門，一只接一只地溜了進(jìn)去。它們剛進(jìn)去，就聽見小門啪嗒一下，又猛地關(guān)上了。

The one who had done the trick was Pinocchio, who, not satisfied with that, dragged a heavy stone in front of it. That done, he started to bark.

把門又給關(guān)上的正是皮諾喬。他關(guān)上門不算，為了保險起見，還在門前放了塊大石頭頂住它。

And he barked as if he were a real watchdog: "Bow, wow, wow! Bow, wow!"

接著他叫起來，叫得就象一只看門狗：“汪，汪，汪，汪。”

The Farmer heard the loud barks and jumped out of bed. Taking his gun, he leaped to the window and shouted:

農(nóng)民一聽見汪汪叫，馬上跳下床，拿起槍，把頭探出窗子問道：

"What's the matter?"

“什么事?”

"The thieves are here," answered Pinocchio.

“來小偷了!”皮諾喬回答。

"Where are they?"

“在哪兒?”

"In the chicken coop."

“在雞塒里。”

"I'll come down in a second."

“我馬上下來。”

And, in fact, he was down in the yard in a twinkling and running toward the chicken coop. He opened the door, pulled out the Weasels one by one, and, after tying them in a bag, said to them in a happy voice:

真的，就說一聲“阿門”那么點工夫，農(nóng)民已經(jīng)下來了。他趕緊走進(jìn)雞塒，把四只雞肥全給捉住，塞進(jìn)布口袋，心花怒放地對它們說：

"You're in my hands at last! I could punish you now, but I'll wait! In the morning you may come with me to the inn and there you'll make a fine dinner for some hungry mortal. It is really too great an honor for you, one you do not deserve; but, as you see, I am really a very kind and generous man and I am going to do this for you!"

“你們終于落到我手里了!我本可以處罰你們，可我還不高興動手吶!我寧可明天把你們帶到附近一家酒店，那里會剝掉你們的皮，把你們像烤野兔那樣烤得又香又焦的。你們原不配有這份光榮，可這點小意思，像我這樣大方的人卻不在乎!……”

Then he went up to Pinocchio and began to pet and caress him.

接著他走到皮諾喬身邊，拼命撫摸著他，并且問：

"How did you ever find them out so quickly? And to think that Melampo, my faithful Melampo, never saw them in all these years!"

“這四個該死的小愉勾當(dāng)，你是怎么發(fā)現(xiàn)的，梅拉姆波，我忠實的梅拉姆波，它卻一直什么也沒發(fā)現(xiàn)!……”

The Marionette could have told, then and there, all he knew about the shameful contract between the dog and the Weasels, but thinking of the dead dog, he said to himself: "Melampo is dead. What is the use of accusing him? The dead are gone and they cannot defend themselves. The best thing to do is to leave them in peace!"

木偶本來可以把他知道的事情都說出來，本來可以講出狗和雞韶之間的可恥協(xié)議?？伤肫鸸芬呀?jīng)死了，心里馬上說：“何必告發(fā)死者呢?……死者已經(jīng)死了，還是讓它安寧為好!……”

"Were you awake or asleep when they came?" continued the Farmer.

“雞貂來到空場上的時候，你醒著還是睡了，”農(nóng)民繼續(xù)問他。

"I was asleep," answered Pinocchio, "but they awakened me with their whisperings. One of them even came to the door of the doghouse and said to me, 'If you promise not to bark, we will make you a present of one of the chickens for your breakfast.' Did you hear that? They had the audacity to make such a proposition as that to me! For you must know that, though I am a very wicked Marionette full of faults, still I never have been, nor ever shall be, bribed."

“我睡著，”皮諾喬回答說，“可給它們的嘁嘁喳喳聲吵醒了。其中一只走到狗屋旁邊來對我說：‘只要你答應(yīng)不叫醒主人，我們給你一只拔掉毛的肥雞!……’明白嗎，啊，它竟無恥到對我提出這種建議!因為要知道，我雖然是一個木偶，有這個世界的一切缺點，可我從來不是那種貪污受賄、靠不誠實的人來裝肥自己腰包的家伙!”

"Fine boy!" cried the Farmer, slapping him on the shoulder in a friendly way. "You ought to be proud of yourself. And to show you what I think of you, you are free from this instant!"

“好樣兒的孩子!”農(nóng)民拍著他的肩膀，叫了一聲，“這種想法使你受人敬重。為了證明我極其滿意，我這就放你回家。”

And he slipped the dog collar from his neck.

農(nóng)民說著，給他脫掉了狗頸圈。