木偶奇遇記：Chapter 29

Mindful of what the Fisherman had said, Pinocchio knew that all hope of being saved had gone. He closed his eyes and waited for the final moment. Suddenly, a large Dog, attracted by the odor of the boiling oil, came running into the cave.

漁夫一舉手就要把皮諾喬扔進油鍋，可正在這節(jié)骨眼上，一條大狗跑進山洞來。它是給炸魚的濃烈香味招引來的。

"Get out!" cried the Fisherman threateningly and still holding onto the Marionette, who was all covered with flour.

“出去!”漁夫嚇唬著對狗吆喝，手里仍舊拎著滿身是面粉的木偶。

But the poor Dog was very hungry, and whining and wagging his tail, he tried to say:

可憐的狗實在太餓了，它搖晃著尾巴汪汪地叫，像是說：

"Give me a bite of the fish and I'll go in peace."

“給我點油炸魚，我就不打擾你了。”

"Get out, I say!" repeated the Fisherman.

“我對你說，出去!”漁夫再說一遍，伸出腿來就給它一腳。

And he drew back his foot to give the Dog a kick. Then the Dog, who, being really hungry, would take no refusal, turned in a rage toward the Fisherman and bared his terrible fangs. And at that moment, a pitiful little voice was heard saying: "Save me, Alidoro; if you don't, I fry!"

狗到當(dāng)真餓了的時候，是不習(xí)慣于讓人這樣對待它的。它向漁夫轉(zhuǎn)過臉來，呲起兩排可怕的牙齒。正在這時候，它聽見山洞里發(fā)出一個很微弱很微弱的聲音，說：“救救我，阿利多羅!你不救我，我就要給油炸了!……”

The Dog immediately recognized Pinocchio's voice. Great was his surprise to find that the voice came from the little flour-covered bundle that the Fisherman held in his hand.

狗馬上聽出了皮諾喬的聲音。它覺得最奇怪的是，這微弱聲音是漁夫手里那團沾滿面粉的東西發(fā)出來的。

Then what did he do? With one great leap, he grasped that bundle in his mouth and, holding it lightly between his teeth, ran through the door and disappeared like a flash!

這時候它做了件什么事呢?這狗從地上猛地跳得半尺高，咬住那團沾滿面粉的東西，用牙輕輕地叼著，就沖出山洞，像閃電似地溜掉了。

The Fisherman, angry at seeing his meal snatched from under his nose, ran after the Dog, but a bad fit of coughing made him stop and turn back.

漁夫一心想吃這條魚，眼看它打手里給搶走了，氣得發(fā)瘋，就想去追那條狗?？勺吡藥撞剑鋈豢人缘脹]辦法，只好回來，

Meanwhile, Alidoro, as soon as he had found the road which led to the village, stopped and dropped Pinocchio softly to the ground.

這時候阿利多羅又來到通村子的小道，停下腳步，把它的朋友皮諾喬小心翼翼地放在地上。

"How much I do thank you!" said the Marionette.

“我該怎么謝你呀!”木偶說。

"It is not necessary," answered the Dog. "You saved me once, and what is given is always returned. We are in this world to help one another."

“不用謝，”狗回答說，“你救過我的命，善有善報。要知道，在這個世界上大家應(yīng)該互相幫助。”

"But how did you get in that cave?"

“可你怎么會到這山洞來的?”

"I was lying here on the sand more dead than alive, when an appetizing odor of fried fish came to me. That odor tickled my hunger and I followed it. Oh, if I had come a moment later!"

“我一直在海邊直挺挺地躺著，半死不活的，忽然一陣風(fēng)打遠處吹來了炸魚的香味。這股香味引起了我的食欲，我就跟著它走。要是來晚一分鐘就糟了!……”

"Don't speak about it," wailed Pinocchio, still trembling with fright. "Don't say a word. If you had come a moment later, I would be fried, eaten, and digested by this time. Brrrrrr! I shiver at the mere thought of it."

“別說了，別說了!”皮諾喬又嚇得渾身發(fā)抖，叫著說，“你別說了!你要是晚來一分鐘，這會兒我已經(jīng)給炸熟，被吃掉，消化了。啊!……一想到這個我就發(fā)抖啦!……”

Alidoro laughingly held out his paw to the Marionette, who shook it heartily, feeling that now he and the Dog were good friends. Then they bid each other good-by and the Dog went home.

阿利多羅笑著向木偶伸出右爪子，木偶使勁緊緊地握住它，表示極其友好的感情。接著他們就分手了。

Pinocchio, left alone, walked toward a little hut near by, where an old man sat at the door sunning himself, and asked:

狗重新取道回家。皮諾喬一個人留下來，向不遠的一間小茅屋走去。小茅屋門口坐著一位老人，正在曬太陽。木偶問他說：

"Tell me, good man, have you heard anything of a poor boy with a wounded head, whose name was Eugene?"

“請您告訴我，好心的老人家，您知道一個可憐孩子，叫埃烏杰尼奧的，腦袋給打傷了嗎?……”

"The boy was brought to this hut and now -- "

“一些打魚人把他送到這茅屋里來了。現(xiàn)在他……”

"Now he is dead?" Pinocchio interrupted sorrowfully.

“現(xiàn)在他死了!……”皮諾喬極其傷心地打斷他的話。

"No, he is now alive and he has already returned home."

“沒有，他現(xiàn)在活著，已經(jīng)回家去了。”

"Really? Really?" cried the Marionette, jumping around with joy. "Then the wound was not serious?"

“真的嗎，真的嗎?”木偶高興得跳起來，叫道，“這么說，傷不重，……”

"But it might have been -- and even mortal," answered the old man, "for a heavy book was thrown at his head."

“它有可能造成嚴重后果，甚至死人，”老年人回答，“因為他是給一本厚板紙封面的大書打中了腦袋。”

"And who threw it?"

“誰打傷他了，”

"A schoolmate of his, a certain Pinocchio."

“一個同學(xué)，叫皮諾喬的……”

"And who is this Pinocchio?" asked the Marionette, feigning ignorance.

“這皮諾喬是誰，”木偶假裝不知道，問道。

"They say he is a mischief-maker, a tramp, a street urchin -- "

“他們說是個小壞蛋，是個小流氓，是個真正的小無賴……”

"Calumnies! All calumnies!"

“造謠!完全是造謠!”

"Do you know this Pinocchio?"

“你認識這皮諾喬?”

"By sight!" answered the Marionette.

“見過!”木偶回答說。

"And what do you think of him?" asked the old man.

“你看他怎么樣，”老年人問他。

"I think he's a very good boy, fond of study, obedient, kind to his Father, and to his whole family -- "

“依我說，他是個好極了的孩子，一心想讀書，又聽話，又愛他的爸爸，又愛他的一家人……”

As he was telling all these enormous lies about himself, Pinocchio touched his nose and found it twice as long as it should be. Scared out of his wits, he cried out:

木偶正這樣一口氣地撒著謊，摸摸鼻子，發(fā)覺鼻子已經(jīng)長了一個多手掌。他害怕得叫起來：

"Don't listen to me, good man! All the wonderful things I have said are not true at all. I know Pinocchio well and he is indeed a very wicked fellow, lazy and disobedient, who instead of going to school, runs away with his playmates to have a good time."

“好心的老人家，我扯了一通關(guān)于他的好話，您可全都別信。因為我熟悉皮諾喬，可以保證他真正是個小壞蛋，不聽話，不學(xué)好，不去上學(xué)，卻跟著一幫子同學(xué)去東游西蕩!”

At this speech, his nose returned to its natural size.

這番話一說完，他的鼻子就縮小，恢復(fù)了原來的樣子。

"Why are you so pale?" the old man asked suddenly.

“為什么你整個人白成這樣?”老年人忽然問他。

"Let me tell you. Without knowing it, I rubbed myself against a newly painted wall," he lied, ashamed to say that he had been made ready for the frying pan.

“我告訴你……我沒留神，在一堵新刷白的墻上擦了一下，”木偶回答說。他不好意思承認他被當(dāng)作魚拌上面粉，預(yù)備扔進油鍋里去炸。

"What have you done with your coat and your hat and your breeches?"

“噢，你的上衣，你的短褲，還有你的帽子，你都怎么啦?”

"I met thieves and they robbed me. Tell me, my good man, have you not, perhaps, a little suit to give me, so that I may go home?"

“我遇到了強盜，把我給剝了。您說吧，好心的老人家，您沒有一點什么可以給我穿穿，讓我好回家去嗎?”

"My boy, as for clothes, I have only a bag in which I keep hops. If you want it, take it. There it is."

“我的孩子，說到可以穿的東西，我只有那么個小口袋，裝扁豆的。你要就拿去吧。就在那兒。”

Pinocchio did not wait for him to repeat his words. He took the bag, which happened to be empty, and after cutting a big hole at the top and two at the sides, he slipped into it as if it were a shirt. Lightly clad as he was, he started out toward the village.

皮諾喬不等他說第二遍，馬上拿起這個裝扁豆的空口袋，用剪刀在袋底開了一個洞，在兩邊開了兩個小洞，就當(dāng)襯衫穿。他一下子把腦袋和雙手鉆過那些洞，穿好了，就動身上村里去。

Along the way he felt very uneasy. In fact he was so unhappy that he went along taking two steps forward and one back, and as he went he said to himself:

可他一路上感到心里不踏實。老實說，他是進一步又退一步。他一邊走一邊自言自語說：

"How shall I ever face my good little Fairy? What will she say when she sees me? Will she forgive this last trick of mine? I am sure she won't. Oh, no, she won't. And I deserve it, as usual! For I am a rascal, fine on promises which I never keep!"

“我有什么臉去見我那好心的仙女呢?我見了她說什么好呢?……我又做出這樁壞事，她會原諒我一次嗎?……可以打賭，她不會原諒了!……唉!她準不會原諒我……這是我活該，因為我是個小壞蛋，答應(yīng)好了改過，結(jié)果又違背了諾言!……”

He came to the village late at night. It was so dark he could see nothing and it was raining pitchforks.

他來到村里，天已經(jīng)黑了。天氣很壞，下著瓢潑大雨。他徑直上仙女家，決定敲敲門，自己就開門進去。

Pinocchio went straight to the Fairy's house, firmly resolved to knock at the door.

可是一到那里，他覺得勇氣沒有了，不是去敲門，卻是往回跑了二十來步。

When he found himself there, he lost courage and ran back a few steps. A second time he came to the door and again he ran back. A third time he repeated his performance. The fourth time, before he had time to lose his courage, he grasped the knocker and made a faint sound with it.

他第二次走到門口，還是不敢敲門。他第三次走到門口，依然不敢敲門。第四次他才算發(fā)著抖，拿起鐵門錘，輕輕地把門敲了敲。

He waited and waited and waited. Finally, after a full half hour, a top-floor window (the house had four stories) opened and Pinocchio saw a large Snail look out. A tiny light glowed on top of her head. "Who knocks at this late hour?" she called.

他等啊，等啊，最后過了半個鐘頭，最高一層(這是座四層樓房)才打開窗子，皮諾喬看見一只大蝸牛探出頭出來，頭上有盞點亮的小燈。這蝸牛說：“這么晚了，是誰呀?”

"Is the Fairy home?" asked the Marionette.

“仙女在家嗎?”木偶問它。

"The Fairy is asleep and does not wish to be disturbed. Who are you?"

“仙女睡了，不要人叫醒她。你倒是誰?”

"It is I."

“是我!”

"Who's I?"

“這個我是誰?”

"Pinocchio."

“皮諾喬。”

"Who is Pinocchio?"

“皮諾喬是誰?”

"The Marionette; the one who lives in the Fairy's house."

“是木偶，原先跟仙女住在一起的。”

"Oh, I understand," said the Snail. "Wait for me there. I'll come down to open the door for you."

“啊，我明白了，”蝸牛說，“你等等我，我這就下來給你開門。”

"Hurry, I beg of you, for I am dying of cold."

“謝謝你快一點，我都要冷死了。”

"My boy, I am a snail and snails are never in a hurry."

“我的孩子，我是一只蝸牛，蝸牛永遠快不了的。”

An hour passed, two hours; and the door was still closed. Pinocchio, who was trembling with fear and shivering from the cold rain on his back, knocked a second time, this time louder than before.

過了一個鐘頭，過了兩個鐘頭，可門還沒有開。皮諾喬又是冷，又是害怕，又是渾身水淋淋，因此直打哆嗦。于是他拿定主意再敲一次門，這回敲得比上一回響。

At that second knock, a window on the third floor opened and the same Snail looked out.

聽見這第二次敲門聲，第四層下面一層的窗子打開了，還是那只蝸牛探出頭來。

"Dear little Snail," cried Pinocchio from the street. "I have been waiting two hours for you! And two hours on a dreadful night like this are as long as two years. Hurry, please!"

“我的好蝸牛，”皮諾喬打下面街上叫，“我已經(jīng)等了兩個鐘頭了!這么可怕的夜，兩個鐘頭比這兩年還長。幫幫忙，請您快一點。”

"My boy," answered the Snail in a calm, peaceful voice, "my dear boy, I am a snail and snails are never in a hurry." And the window closed.

“我的孩子，”這小生物不急不忙，十分平靜，在窗口回答說：“我的孩子，我是一只蝸牛，蝸牛都是快不起來的。” 窗子又關(guān)上了。

A few minutes later midnight struck; then one o'clock -- two o'clock. And the door still remained closed!

不多一會兒就敲半夜十二點，接著半夜一點，接著是半夜兩點，門還是關(guān)著。

Then Pinocchio, losing all patience, grabbed the knocker with both hands, fully determined to awaken the whole house and street with it. As soon as he touched the knocker, however, it became an eel and wiggled away into the darkness.

皮諾喬可忍不住了。他氣得抓住門錘，就要用力撞門，讓整座房子給撞得搖晃起來。可鐵門錘一下子變了活鰻魚，打他手里滑出來，鉆到路當(dāng)中的水坑里不見了。

"Really?" cried Pinocchio, blind with rage. "If the knocker is gone, I can still use my feet."

“啊!是這樣?”皮諾喬越發(fā)氣昏了，叫道，“門錘沒有了，我就用腳狠狠地踢。”

He stepped back and gave the door a most solemn kick. He kicked so hard that his foot went straight through the door and his leg followed almost to the knee. No matter how he pulled and tugged, he could not pull it out. There he stayed as if nailed to the door.

他退后兩步，然后沖過去在門上狠狠一腳。這一腳踢得可厲害，半條腳都插到門里去了。木偶想拔出腿，可用盡了力氣也拔不出來。這半條腿像敲彎的釘子似的，牢牢釘在那里了。

Poor Pinocchio! The rest of the night he had to spend with one foot through the door and the other one in the air.

請諸位想象一下這可憐的皮諾喬吧!整個下半夜他就這么一條腿站在地上，一條腿翹著。

As dawn was breaking, the door finally opened. That brave little animal, the Snail, had taken exactly nine hours to go from the fourth floor to the street. How she must have raced!

等到天亮，門終于開了。蝸牛這要命的小生物整整花了九個鐘頭，才下完四層樓，來到臨街的大門口。得說句老實話，它已經(jīng)走得滿身大汗了!

"What are you doing with your foot through the door?" she asked the Marionette, laughing.

“你干嗎把一條腿插在門里?”它笑著問木偶。

"It was a misfortune. Won't you try, pretty little Snail, to free me from this terrible torture?"

“真倒霉。您倒瞧瞧，好蝸牛，看有什么辦法讓我不受這份罪。”

"My boy, we need a carpenter here and I have never been one."

“我的孩子，這件事得找木匠，我可從來沒當(dāng)過木匠。”

"Ask the Fairy to help me!"

“替我求求仙女吧!……”

"The Fairy is asleep and does not want to be disturbed."

“仙女睡了，不要人叫醒她，”

"But what do you want me to do, nailed to the door like this?"

“我整天釘在這門上，您叫我干什么呢?”

"Enjoy yourself counting the ants which are passing by."

“您就自得其樂，數(shù)數(shù)路上走過的螞蟻嗎。”

"Bring me something to eat, at least, for I am faint with hunger."

“您至少給我點什么吃吃，我都要餓死了。”

"Immediately!"

“馬上拿來!”蝸牛說。

In fact, after three hours and a half, Pinocchio saw her return with a silver tray on her head. On the tray there was bread, roast chicken, fruit.

實際上又整整過了三個半鐘頭，皮諾喬才看見它頂著個銀托盤回來。托盤上有一個面包、一只炸雞和四個長熟了的杏子。

"Here is the breakfast the Fairy sends to you," said the Snail.

“這是仙女給您送來的早飯，”蝸牛說。

At the sight of all these good things, the Marionette felt much better.

木偶看到這頓大菜，感到渾身來勁了。

What was his disgust, however, when on tasting the food, he found the bread to be made of chalk, the chicken of cardboard, and the brilliant fruit of colored alabaster!

可等到他一吃，馬上就倒胃口，原來面包是白堊做的，炸雞是厚板紙做的，四個杏子是石膏做好，涂上顏色的!

He wanted to cry, he wanted to give himself up to despair, he wanted to throw away the tray and all that was on it. Instead, either from pain or weakness, he fell to the floor in a dead faint.

他失望得想哭，想把托盤邊同上面的東西一起甩掉，可不知是由于太傷心呢還是太餓，一下子昏倒了。

When he regained his senses, he found himself stretched out on a sofa and the Fairy was seated near him.

等到他醒來，他已經(jīng)直挺挺躺在一張沙發(fā)床上，仙女就在他身邊。

"This time also I forgive you," said the Fairy to him. "But be careful not to get into mischief again."

“這一回我也原諒了你，”仙女對他說，“可你再給我來這么一次，就沒你好的!……”

Pinocchio promised to study and to behave himself. And he kept his word for the remainder of the year. At the end of it, he passed first in all his examinations, and his report was so good that the Fairy said to him happily:

皮諾喬賭咒發(fā)誓，說他要用功讀書，做個很好很好的孩子。這一年下來，他都守住他的諾言。的確，他大考光榮地得了全校第一名，品行總的說來也得到好評，令人滿意。因此仙女十分高興，對他說：

"Tomorrow your wish will come true."

“你的愿望明天終于要實現(xiàn)了!”

"And what is it?"

“你說什么?”

"Tomorrow you will cease to be a Marionette and will become a real boy."

“到明天你就不再是一個木偶，而要變成一個真的孩子了。”

Pinocchio was beside himself with joy. All his friends and schoolmates must be invited to celebrate the great event! The Fairy promised to prepare two hundred cups of coffee-and-milk and four hundred slices of toast buttered on both sides.

諸位沒看到皮諾喬那份樂勁!他一直盼望著這個消息，如今聽了，他那份高興簡直是無法想象的。為了慶祝這件大喜事，明天仙女家要舉行盛大的早宴，把他所有的朋友和同學(xué)都請來參加。仙女答應(yīng)準備兩百杯牛奶咖啡和四百片面包，每片面包都兩面涂上黃油。沒問題，這準是個極其快活，極其美好的日子，可是……

The day promised to be a very gay and happy one, but --

真不幸，木偶一生中老這么可是，可是的，這一來，就把什么事情都給毀了。

Unluckily, in a Marionette's life there's always a BUT which is apt to spoil everything.