牛津書蟲系列 牙齒和爪子 The Story-Teller 講故事的人

The Story-Teller

講故事的人

It was a hot， airless afternoon. The train was slow and the next stop was nearly an hour away. The people in the train were hot and tired. There were three small children and their aunt， and a tall man， who was a bachelor. The bachelor did not know the little family，and he did not want to know them.

這是一個炎熱無風的下午?；疖嚲徛羞M，離下一站還有將近一個小時的路程?；疖嚴锏娜擞譄嵊掷?。有三個孩子和他們的姑媽，以及一個單身高個子男人。單身男人不認識這個小家庭，也不想認識他們。

The aunt and the children talked， but it was not a real conversation. It was more like a battle with a small housefly which will not go away. When the aunt spoke to the children，she always began with 'Don't… 'When the children spoke to her， they always began with'Why…'The bachelor said nothing aloud.

姑媽在和孩子們說話，但算不上真正的交談，更像和一只不愿離開的小家蠅的打斗。姑媽對孩子們說話時總是用“不許……”幾個字開頭，孩子們對她說話時總是用“為什么……”開頭。單身男人沒有出聲。

The small boy opened his mouth and closed it again. It made an interesting little noise， so he did it again. Open.Close. Open. Close.

小男孩張開嘴又閉上，發(fā)出一種有趣的、小小的響聲，于是他又這樣做了一遍。張嘴。閉嘴。張嘴。閉嘴。

'Don't do that， Cyril，'said the aunt.' Come and look out of the window.'The boy closed his mouth and sat next to the window. He looked out at the green fields and trees.

“不許那樣做，西里爾，”姑媽說。“來看看窗外。”男孩閉上嘴靠窗而坐。他向外面的綠地和樹木張望。

'Why is that man taking those sheep out of that field?'he asked suddenly.

“為什么那個人把羊帶出田地?”他突然問。

'Perhaps he's taking them to another field where there is more grass，'said the aunt. It was not a very good answer，and the boy knew it.

“可能他正帶它們?nèi)チ硗庖粔K草多的田地，”姑媽說。這不是一個很好的答案，男孩知道這一點。

'But there is lots of grass in that field，' he said.'The field is full of grass， Aunt. Why doesn't the man leave his sheep in that field?'

“可是那塊地里的草很多，”他說。“地里全是草，姑媽。為什么那個人不把羊留在那塊地里呢?”

'I suppose the grass in the other field is better， ' answered the aunt.

“我想別的地里的草更好，”姑媽回答。

'Why is it better?'asked Cyril at once.

“為什么更好?”西里爾馬上問。

'Oh， look at those cows!'cried the aunt. There were cows in nearly all the fields along the railway line. Cyril did not look at the cows. He wanted an answer to his question.

“哎喲，看那些牛!”姑媽喊道。鐵路沿線幾乎所有的地里都是牛。西里爾不看牛，他想得到問題的答案。

'Why is the grass in the other field better?' he said again.

“為什么別的地里的草更好?”他又說。

The bachelor gave them an angry look. The aunt saw him. He's a hard， unkind man， she thought. He doesn't like children. She searched for a suitable answer to Cyril's question， but could not find one.

單身男人生氣地看了他們一眼。姑媽看見了他，認為他是一個嚴厲、不和善的男人。他不喜歡孩子。她在思索西里爾問題的合適答案，但是沒找到。

The smaller girl began to say some words from a song：

小女孩開始說歌詞：

'On the road to Mandalay， where the happy children play，'she began.

“在去曼德雷的路上，快樂的孩子在玩耍，”她開始說。

Then she stopped. She could not remember any more words， so she said the first words again， quietly but very clearly. Then she said them again. And again. And again.

然后她停住了，她記不住更多的詞，于是又說前面幾句詞，聲音不大但很清楚。然后她又一遍又一遍地說這幾句詞。

The bachelor looked angrily at the girl， and then at the aunt.

單身男人生氣地看著女孩，又生氣地看著她的姑媽。

'Come here and sit down quietly，'the aunt said quickly to the children.'I'm going to tell you a story.'

“到這兒來安靜地坐著，”姑媽馬上對孩子們說。”我給你們講個故事。”

The children moved slowly towards the aunt's seat. They already looked bored. Clearly， the aunt was not a famous story-teller.

孩子們慢慢挪向姑媽的座位。他們已經(jīng)感到無聊了。很明顯姑媽不是講故事的好手。

The story was horribly uninteresting. It was about a little girl. She was not a beautiful child， but she was always very，very good.Everybody loved her because she was good.Finally， she fell into a lake and her friends saved her because she was so good， and they loved her so much.

故事無聊透頂，是關于一個小女孩的。她不漂亮，但總是非常非常地乖。因為她乖所以每個人都喜歡她。最后，她掉進了湖里，她的朋友救了她，因為她太乖了，他們非常喜歡她。

'Did they only save her because she was good?' asked the bigger girl.Shouldn't we save bad people too， if they fall in to a lake?'The bachelor wanted to ask the same question， but he said nothing.

“他們救她只是因為她乖嗎?”大點的女孩問。“如果壞人掉進湖里，我們就不應該救他們嗎?”單身男人想問同樣的問題，只是沒說出口。

'Well， yes， we should，' said the aunt.'But I'm sure the little girl's friends ran specially fast because they loved her so much.'

“這個，是的，我們應該救，”姑媽說。“但我能肯定小女孩的朋友跑得飛快，因為他們太喜歡她了。”

'That was the stupidest story that I've ever heard，'said the bigger girl.

“這是我聽過的最蠢的故事，”大些的女孩說。

'I didn't listen after the first few words，' said Cyril，'because it was so stupid.'

“我只聽了前面幾句，”西里爾說，“因為它太蠢。”

The smaller girl was already quietly repeating the words of her song for the twentieth time.

小女孩已經(jīng)在第二十次輕聲重復她的歌詞。

'You're not very successful as a story-teller，' the bachelor said suddenly from his corner.

“你的故事講得不成功，”單身男人突然在他的一角說話了。

The aunt looked at him in angry surprise.'It's not easy to tell stories that children can understand，' she answered coldly.

姑媽生氣地看著他，很驚訝。“講孩子們能懂的故事不容易，”她冷淡地回答。

'I don't agree with you，' said the bachelor.

“我不同意，”單身男人說。

'Perhaps you would like to tell them a story，'said the aunt. She gave him a cold little smile.

“可能你想給他們講個故事，”姑媽說。她對他冷冷地笑了笑。

'Yes— tell us a story，' said the bigger girl.

“給我們講個故事，”大女孩說。

'A long time ago，'began the bachelor，'there was a little girl called Bertha， who was extraordinarily good. She always worked well at school. She always obeyed her teachers and her parents. She was never late， never dirty， and always ate all her vegetables. She was polite， she was tidy， and she never， never told lies.'

“很久以前。”單身男人開始講。“有一個小女孩叫伯莎，她出奇地好。在學校她的成績總是很好。她總是聽老師和家長的話。她從不遲到、邋遢，總是把菜吃光。她有禮貌、整潔而且從不說謊。”

'Oh，' said the children. They were beginning to look bored already.

“哦，”孩子們說。他們已經(jīng)開始不耐煩了。

'Was she pretty?' asked the smaller girl.

“她漂亮嗎?”小女孩問。

' No，' said the bachelor. 'She wasn't pretty. But she was horribly good.'

“不，”單身男人說，“她不漂亮，但是她好得可怕。”

'Horribly good. I like that!' said Cyril. The children began to look more interested. The words 'horrible' and 'good'together was a new idea for them， and it pleased them.

“好得可怕!我喜歡!”西里爾說。孩子們開始感興趣了。把“可怕”和“好”這兩個詞放在一起對他們是個新鮮的說法，這提起了他們的興致。

'Bertha was always good，'continued the bachelor.'Because she was so good， Bertha had three medals. There was the “Never Late” medal. There was the “Politeness” medal.And there was the medal for the “Best Child in the World”.They were very large medals. Bertha always wore them on her dress， and they clinked as she walked along. She was the only child in her town who had three medals.So everybody knew that she must be an extra good child.'

“伯莎總是很好，”單身男人繼續(xù)說。“因為表現(xiàn)太好，伯莎得了三枚獎章，分別是'從不遲到'獎章，“禮貌'獎章和'世界上最好的孩子'獎章。獎章都很大，伯莎總是把它們戴在衣服上，走路時它們丁當作響。她是鎮(zhèn)上唯一得了三枚獎章的孩子，因此每個人都知道她一定是個極好的孩子。”

'Horribly good，' repeated Cyril happily.

“好得可怕，”西里爾高興地重復。

'Everybody talked about Bertha's goodness. The king of that country heard about her， and he was very pleased.“Because Bertha is so good，”he said，“she may come and walk in my palace gardens every Friday afternoon.”The king's gardens were famous. They were large and very beautiful， and children were usually forbidden to go in them.'

“每人都談論伯莎的好行為。國王聽說了她，很高興。'伯莎表現(xiàn)這么好，'他說，'每星期五下午她可以來我皇宮的花園里散步。'國王的花園很有名，很大，很漂亮，孩子們一般是不準進去的。”

'Were there any sheep in the palace gardens?' asked Cyril.

“皇宮的花園里有羊嗎?”西里爾問。

'No，' said the bachelor，'there were no sheep.'

“沒有，”單身男人說，“沒有羊。”

'Why weren't there any sheep?'asked Cyril at once.

“為什么沒羊呢?”西里爾馬上問。

The aunt gave a little smile， and waited with interest for the bachelor's answer.

姑媽輕輕一笑，滿有興趣地等著單身男人的回答。

'There were no sheep in the king's gardens，' explained the bachelor， 'because the king's mother had once had a dream. In her dream a voice said to her，“Your son will be killed by a sheep，or by a clock falling on him.” Thst is why the king never kept a sheep in his gardens or a clock in his palace.'

單身男人解釋說，“國王的花園里沒有羊是因為國王的母親曾經(jīng)做過一個夢。在夢里一個聲音對她說，'你的兒子會被羊殺死，或者被掉下的鐘砸死。'所以國王從不在花園里養(yǎng)羊，從不在皇宮里放鐘。”

The aunt thought secretly that this was a very clever answer， but she stayed silent.

姑媽暗自想這是個很聰明的回答，但她沒說話。

'Was the king killed by a sheep， or by a clock? asked the bigger girl.

“國王是被羊殺死的還是被鐘砸死的?”大女孩問。

'He is still alive，' said the bachelor calmly，'so we don't know if the dream was true or not. But， although there were no sheep， there were lots of little pigs running around everywhere.'

“他還活著，”單身男人平靜地說。“因此我們不知道夢是真的還是假的。但是，雖然沒有羊，有很多小豬在里面四處跑。”

'What colour were the pigs? asked the smaller glrl.

“豬是什么顏色?”小女孩問。

'Black with white faces， white with black faces， all balck， grey and white， and some were all white.'

“黑豬長著白臉，白豬長著黑臉，都是黑色、灰色和白色相間的，有一些是純白色的豬。”

The bachelor stopped for a moment， while the children's imaginations took in these wonderful pictures. Then he went on again.

孩子們正想像著這些奇妙的圖畫時，單身男人停頓了片刻，然后他又繼續(xù)講;

'Bertha was sorry that there were no flowers in the palace gardens. She had promised her aunts that she would not pick any of the kind king's flowers. She wanted very much to be good and to keep her promise. So she was very cross when she found that there were no flowers to pick.'

“皇宮花園里沒有花，伯莎覺得很不高興。她向姑媽保證過她不會摘善良的國王的花。她很想表現(xiàn)好，信守諾言，因此當發(fā)現(xiàn)無花可摘時她很生氣。”

'Why weren't there any flowers?'

“為什么沒花?”

'Because the pigs had eaten them all，' said the bachelor immediately.' The gardeners had told the king that he couldn't have pigs and flowers， because pigs eat flowers. So the king decided to have pigs，and no flowers.'

“因為豬把花都吃了，”單身男人立刻說。“園丁告訴過國王他不能既有豬又有花，因為豬吃花。于是國王決定養(yǎng)豬，不種花。”

The children thought that this was an excellent idea.

孩子們想這是個好主意。

'Most people choose flowers，' said Cyril. He looked very pleased.'But of course， pigs are much better than flowers.'

“大多數(shù)人選擇花，”西里爾說。他很高興。“可是豬當然比花好得多。”

'There were lots of other wonderful things in the palace gardens，'the bachelor continued. 'There were lakes with gold and blue and green fish in them. There were trees with beautiful birds that could talk and say clever things.There were also birds that could sing popular songs.

“皇宮的花園里還有很多其它好東西，”單身男人繼續(xù)講。“湖里有金色、藍色和綠色的魚。樹上有會說話、會講聰明事情的鳥。還有會唱流行歌曲的鳥。

'Well， on the first Friday afternoon in May， Bertha came to the king's gardens， the king's soldiers saw her beautiful white dress and her three medals for goodness， and they opened the doors to the gardens at once.

“好啦，5月第一個星期五的下午，伯莎來到國王的花園。國王的士兵看見了她漂亮的白裙和她的三枚好品行獎章，于是他們馬上打開了通往花園的門。

'Bertha walked up and down and enjoyed herself very much. As she walked along， the three medals on her beautiful white dress clinked against each other. She heard them clinking， and she thought：“I'm here in these lovely gardens because I am the Best Child in the World.”She felt pleased and happy and very， very good.

“伯莎來回散步，很開心。她走路時，漂亮白裙上的三枚獎章相互碰撞。她聽見獎章的丁當聲，想道：'我來到這漂亮的花園是因為我是世界上最好的孩子。'她愉快、幸福，感覺很好。

'Just then a very big， hungry wolf came into the gardens. It wanted to catch a fat little pig for its supper.'

“正在這時一只很大的餓狼走進花園，它想捉一只小肥豬當晚餐。”

'What colour was the wolf? asked the children， who were listening to the story with great interest.

“狼是什么顏色?”孩子們問，他們都在非常感興趣地聽故事。

'He was grey，'said the bachelor，'with a black tongue and angrg yellow eges. He had long black claws and big，strong， yellowish teeth. The wolf was hungry. He smelled the ground with his long grey nose. Then he saw Bertha's beautiful， clean white dress and began to move quietly towards her.

“是灰色的，”單身男人說，“長著黑舌頭和發(fā)怒的黃眼睛，爪子又黑又長，黃牙又大又結實。狼餓了，它用灰色的長鼻子在地上聞味。它看見了伯莎漂亮干凈的白裙，開始悄悄地向她走來。

'Bertha saw the wolf and she wished she had not come to the gardens.Oh， why did I come here?”she thought.“All the bad children are safe at home. I wish I wasn't an extraordinarily good child! Then I could be safe at home too.”She ran as hard as she could， and the wolf came after her on his long grey legs.

“伯莎看見了狼，她希望她沒來花園該多好。'哦，我為什么來這兒?'她想。'所有的壞孩子都安全地在家，我希望我不是個好得出奇的孩子!那么我也可以安全地呆在家里。'她拚命跑，狼用灰色的長腿緊追。

'At last Bertha mannged to reach some big， sweet smelling myrtle bushes， and she hid herself in the thickest bush. The wolf walked round and round the bushes， with his angry yellow eyes and his long blach tongue. But he couldn't see Bertha because the bushes were too thick， and he couldn't smell her because the smell of the myrtle was too strong. So after a while the wolf became bored， and decided to go and catch a little pig for his supper.

“終于伯莎跑到了一片散發(fā)著甜味的高大愛神木叢，她把自己藏在了濃密的樹叢里。狼在樹叢周圍走了一圈又一圈，睜著發(fā)怒的黃眼睛，吐著又黑又長的舌頭。但是它看不見伯莎，因為樹叢太密。它聞不出她，因為愛神木的味太沖了。過了一會兒狼厭倦了，決定去抓只小豬當晚餐。

'Bertha was terribly frightened. Her heart beat very fast and her body shook with fear. Her arms shook and her legs shook. Her three medals for goodness shook too. And as they shook， they clinked together. The wolf was just moving away， when he heard the medals clinking， and he stopped to listen. The medals clinked again. The wolf's yellow eyes shone， and he ran into the myrtle bushes， pulled Bertha out，and ate her. He ate everything except her shoes， a few small pieces of her dress， and the three medals for goodness.'

“伯莎嚇壞了，她的心在急促跳動，她的身體因害怕而發(fā)抖。她的胳膊在抖，腿在抖，連三枚好品行獎章也在抖。獎章抖動時便發(fā)出了丁當?shù)捻懧暋＠钦x開時聽見了獎章的丁當聲，便停下來聽。獎章又丁當作響。狼的黃眼睛閃著光，跑進愛神木叢，拖出了伯莎，吃了她。它吃掉了一切，只剩下她的鞋，她裙子的一些小碎片和三枚好品行獎章。”

'Were any of the little pigs killed?' asked Cyril.

“有哪只小豬被吃了嗎?”西里爾問。

'No， they all escaped.'

“沒有，它們都跑了。”

'The story began badly，' said the smaller girl，'but it finished beautifully.'

“故事開頭不好，”小女孩說。“但是結尾漂亮。”

'It is the most beautiful story that I have ever heard，'said the bigger girl.

“這是我聽過的最精彩的故事，”大女孩說。

'It is the only beautiful story I have ever heard，' said Cyril.

“這是我聽過的唯一一個精彩的故事，”西里爾說。

The aunt did not agree.'It was a most improper story!'she said angrily.'You mustn't tell children stories like that!You have destroyed years of careful teaching.'

姑媽不同意。“這是一個最不成體統(tǒng)的故事!”她生氣地說。“你不能給孩子講這樣的故事!你破壞了多年的精心教育。”

'Well，' said the bachelor. He put on his coat and picked up his bags.'The children sat still and were quiet for ten minutes while they listened to the story. And they didn't do that for you.'

“好吧，”單身男人說。他穿上大衣提起包。“孩子們聽故事時安靜地坐了10分鐘，他們這么做不是為了你。”

'I feel sorry for that woman，' thought the bachelor as he stepped down from the train at the next station.'What will people think when those children ask her for an improper story!'

“我為那女人難過。”單身男人在下一站走下火車時想。“當那些孩子讓她講個不成體統(tǒng)的故事時人們會怎么想!”