The Little Match-Girl 賣火柴的小女孩

It was dreadfully cold, it was snowing fast, and almost dark, the evening----the last evening of the old year was drawing in. But, cold and dark as it was, a poor little girl, with bare head and feet, was still wandering about the streets. When she left her home she had slippers on, but they were much too large for her, indeed, properly, they belonged to her mother, and had dropped off her feet whilst she was running very fast across the road, to get out of the way of two carriages. One of the slippers was not to be found, the other had been snatched up by a little boy, who ran off with it thinking it might serve him as a doll's cradle.

    天氣非常非常冷，雪下得很大，夜幕已降臨。這是舊年最后的一夜——除夕之夜。盡管天氣是那么的寒冷和黑暗，一個貧窮的小女孩，光頭赤腳仍在大街上徘徊。當(dāng)她離家出門的時候，腳上穿著一雙拖鞋，那是一雙相當(dāng)大的拖鞋——的確太大了，那是她媽媽穿著合適的一雙拖鞋。當(dāng)她匆忙橫穿馬路的時候，兩輛馬車飛快地闖過來，嚇得她把拖鞋跑丟了。一只怎么也找不到，另一只被一個小男孩搶跑了。他想，這只鞋可以當(dāng)做玩具娃娃睡覺的搖籃。

    So the little girl now walked on, her bare feet quite red and blue with the cold. She carried a small bundle of matches in her hand, and a good many more in her tattered apron. No one had bought any of them the live long day, no one had given her a single penny. Trembling with cold and hunger crept she on, the picture of sorrow: poor little child!

    現(xiàn)在這小女孩只好光著腳在街上行走，一雙腳步凍得又紅又青。她那破舊的圍裙兜著許多火柴，手里還拿著一小捆。可整整一天誰也沒有向她買過一根——誰也沒有給她一個銅板。她又餓又冷，哆哆嗦嗦地向前走著，這是一幅非常凄慘的景象：可憐的小姑娘！

    The snow-flakes fell on her long, fair hair, which curled in such pretty ringlets over her shoulders, but she thought not of her own beauty, or of the cold. Lights were glimmering through every window, and the savor of roast goose reached her from several houses, it was New Year's eve, and it was of this that she thought.

    雪花落在她那金黃色的頭發(fā)上——長長的卷發(fā)披散在肩上，看起來十分美麗，可她想不到自己的漂亮。從每扇窗子透出的亮光和飄出的烤鵝肉香味，使她想起的只是今天是除夕之夜。

 In a corner formed by two houses, one of which projected beyond the other. She sat down, drawing her little feet close under her, but in vain, she could not warm them. She dared not go home, she had sold no matches, earned not a single penny, and perhaps her father would beat her, besides her home was almost as cold as the street， it was an attic, and although the larger of the many chinks in the roof were stopped up with straw and rags. the wind and snow often penetrated through. Her hands were nearly dead with cold, one little match from her bundle would warm them. Perhaps, if she dared light it, she drew one out, and struck it against the wall, bravo! it was a bright, warm flame, and she held her hands over it. It was quite an illumination for that poor little girl, nay, call it rather a magic taper, for it seemed to her as though she was sitting before a large iron-stove with brass ornaments, so beautifully blazed the fire within! The child stretched out her feet to warm them also, alas, in an instant the flame had died away, the stove vanished, the little girl sat cold and comfortless, with the burnt match in her hand.

    街邊一前一后坐落著兩座房子，形成一個小墻角，她蹲在墻角里，把一雙小腳卷縮到身下坐了下來，可是沒有用，她還是不覺得暖和。她不敢回家，因為她還沒有賣掉一根火柴，沒有掙到一個銅板，她的父親也許會因此打她，況且她家?guī)缀鹾痛蠼稚弦粯永?。那是一間閣樓，雖然屋頂上幾個較大的裂口用草和破布堵住了，可風(fēng)和雪還是不時地灌進(jìn)來，她那雙小手差不多凍僵了。她想，只要她敢抽出一根火柴，在墻上擦燃，就可以暖手，終于她抽出了一根。哧！火柴燃起來了，冒出了火苗。當(dāng)她雙手覆在上面時，它變成了一朵光明、溫暖的火焰，象一根奇妙的小蠟燭。小姑娘覺得自己象坐在一個大火爐旁邊一樣，鐵爐鑲有錚亮的黃銅花邊和底座?；馃枚嗝赐?，多么好?。⌒」媚飫倓偵斐鏊囊浑p腳，打算暖一下的時候，哎呀！這是怎么樣一回事兒？火焰忽然熄滅了！火爐也不見了。她坐在那兒，手里捏著那燒過的火柴，又回到了寒冷和孤單之中。

    A second match was struck against the wall, it kindles and blazed, and wherever its light fell the wall became transparent as a veil. The little girl could see into the room within. She saw the table spread with a snow-white damask cloth, whereon were ranged shining china-dishes, the roast goose stuffed with apples and dried plums stood at one end, smoking hot, and which was pleasantest of all to see, the goose, with knife and fork still in her breast, jumped down from the dish, and waddled along the floor right up to the poor child. The match was burnt out, and only the thick, hard wall was beside her.

    她又擦著一根火柴，火柴燃起來了，發(fā)出了明亮的光。墻上那塊被火光照著的地方，忽然變得透明，象一塊薄紗。小女孩可以看到房間的東西，桌上鋪著雪白的臺布，上面放著精致的瓷碟，還有填滿梅子和蘋果、冒著熱氣、香噴噴的烤鵝。最美妙的是看見了——這只背上插著刀叉的鵝從盤里跳了出來，搖搖擺擺地在地板上走著，一直向這個可憐的小姑娘走來。就在這時，火柴熄滅了，留在她面前的，只是一堵又厚又冷的墻。