愛麗絲夢游仙境：第七章 發(fā)瘋的茶會

There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head. 'Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse,' thought Alice; 'only, as it's asleep, I suppose it doesn't mind.'

房前的一棵大樹下，放著一張桌子。三月兔和帽匠坐在桌旁喝著茶，一只睡鼠在他們中間酣睡著，那兩個家伙把它當(dāng)做墊子，把胳膊支在睡鼠身上，而且就在它的頭上談話。“這睡鼠可夠不舒服的了，”愛麗絲想，“不過它睡著了，可能就不在乎了。”

The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: 'No room! No room!' they cried out when they saw Alice coming. 'There's PLENTY of room!' said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm–chair at one end of the table.

桌子很大，他們?nèi)齻€都擠在桌子的一角，“沒地方啦!沒地方啦!”他們看見愛麗絲走過來就大聲嚷著。“地方多得很呢!”愛麗絲說著就在桌子一端的大扶手椅上坐下了。

'Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

“要喝酒嗎?”三月兔熱情地問。

Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. 'I don't see any wine,' she remarked.

愛麗絲掃視了一下桌上，除了茶，什么也沒有。“我沒看見酒啊!”她回答。

'There isn't any,' said the March Hare.

“根本就沒酒嘛!”三月兔說。

'Then it wasn't very civil of you to offer it,' said Alice angrily.

“那你說喝酒就不太禮貌了。”愛麗絲氣憤地說。

'It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited,' said the March Hare.

“你沒受到邀請就坐下來，也是不太禮貌的。”三月兔回敬她。

'I didn't know it was YOUR table,' said Alice; 'it's laid for a great many more than three.'

“我不知道這是你的桌子，”愛麗絲說，“這可以坐下好多人呢?還不止三個!”

'Your hair wants cutting,' said the Hatter. He had been looking at Alice for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech.

“你的頭發(fā)該剪了。”帽匠好奇地看了愛麗絲一會兒，這是他第一次開口。

'You should learn not to make personal remarks,' Alice said with some severity; 'it's very rude.'

“你應(yīng)該學(xué)會不隨便評論別人，”愛麗絲板著臉說，“這是非常失禮的。”

The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he SAID was, 'Why is a raven like a writing–desk?'

帽匠睜大眼睛聽著，可是末了他說了句：“一只烏鴉為什么會像一張寫字臺呢?”

'Come, we shall have some fun now!' thought Alice. 'I'm glad they've begun asking riddles.—I believe I can guess that,' she added aloud.

“好了，現(xiàn)在我們可有有趣的事了!”愛麗絲想，“我很高興猜謎語，我一定能猜出來，”她大聲說。

'Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?' said the March Hare.

“你的意思是你能說出答案來嗎?”三月兔問，

'Exactly so,' said Alice.

“正是這樣。”愛麗絲說。

'Then you should say what you mean,' the March Hare went on.

“那你怎么想就怎么說。”三月兔繼續(xù)說。

'I do,' Alice hastily replied; 'at least—at least I mean what I say—that's the same thing, you know.'

“我正是這樣的，”愛麗絲急忙回答，“至少……至少凡是我說的就是我想的——這是一回事，你知道。”

'Not the same thing a bit!' said the Hatter. 'You might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see"!'

“根本不是一回事，”帽匠說，“那么，你說‘凡是我吃的東西我都能看見’和‘凡是我看見的東西我都能吃’，也算是一樣的了?”三月兔加了句：“那么說‘凡是我的東西我都喜歡’和‘凡是我喜歡的東西都是我的’，也是一樣的嘍?”

'You might just as well say,' added the March Hare, 'that "I like what I get" is the same thing as "I get what I like"!' 'You might just as well say,' added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, 'that "I breathe when I sleep" is the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe"!'

睡鼠也像在說夢話一樣說道：“那么說‘我睡覺時總要呼吸’和‘我呼吸時總在睡覺’也是一樣的嗎?”

'It IS the same thing with you,' said the Hatter, and here the conversation dropped, and the party sat silent for a minute, while Alice thought over all she could remember about ravens and writing–desks, which wasn't much.

“這對你倒真是一個樣。”帽匠對睡鼠說。談到這里話題中斷了，大家沉默了一會，這時候愛麗絲費勁兒地想著有關(guān)烏鴉和寫字臺的事，可是她知道的確實不能算多，

The Hatter was the first to break the silence. 'What day of the month is it?' he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.

還是帽匠打破了沉默，“今天是這個月的幾號?”他問愛麗絲，一面從衣袋里掏出了一只懷表，不安地看著，還不停地?fù)u晃，拿到耳朵旁聽聽。

Alice considered a little, and then said 'The fourth.'

愛麗絲想了想說，“四號。”

'Two days wrong!' sighed the Hatter. 'I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!' he added looking angrily at the March Hare.

“錯了兩天!”帽匠嘆氣說，“我告訴你不該加奶油的，”他又生氣地看著三月兔加了一句。

'It was the BEST butter,' the March Hare meekly replied.

“這是最好的奶油了!”三月兔辯白地說。

'Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,' the Hatter grumbled: 'you shouldn't have put it in with the bread–knife.'

“不錯，可是不少面包屑也掉進(jìn)去了，帽匠咕嚕著，“你不應(yīng)該用面包刀加奶油。”

The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, 'It was the BEST butter, you know.'

三月兔泄氣地拿起懷表看看，再放到茶杯里泡了一會兒，又拿起來看看，但是除了說“這是最好的奶油了”，再沒別的說的了。

Alice had been looking over his shoulder with some curiosity. 'What a funny watch!' she remarked. 'It tells the day of the month, and doesn't tell what o'clock it is!'

愛麗絲好奇地從他肩頭上看了看。“多么奇怪的不表啊，”她說，“它告訴幾月幾日，卻不告訴時間。”

'Why should it?' muttered the Hatter. 'Does YOUR watch tell you what year it is?'

“為什么要告訴時間呢?”帽匠嘀咕著，“你的表告訴你哪一年嗎?”

'Of course not,' Alice replied very readily: 'but that's because it stays the same year for such a long time together.'

“當(dāng)然不，”愛麗絲很快地回答說，“可是很長時，里年份不會變的。”

'Which is just the case with MINE,' said the Hatter.

“這也跟我的表不報時間的原因一樣。”帽匠說。

Alice felt dreadfully puzzled. The Hatter's remark seemed to have no sort of meaning in it, and yet it was certainly English. 'I don't quite understand you,' she said, as politely as she could.

愛麗絲被弄得莫名其妙，帽匠的話聽起來沒有任何意思，然而確實是地地道道的英國話。“我不大懂你的話，”她很禮貌地說。

'The Dormouse is asleep again,' said the Hatter, and he poured a little hot tea upon its nose.

“睡鼠又睡著了，”帽匠說著在睡鼠的鼻子上倒了一點熱茶。

The Dormouse shook its head impatiently, and said, without opening its eyes, 'Of course, of course; just what I was going to remark myself.'

睡鼠立即晃了晃頭，沒睜開眼就說：“當(dāng)然，當(dāng)然，我自己正要這么說呢。”

'Have you guessed the riddle yet?' the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.

“你猜到那個謎語了嗎?”帽匠說愛麗絲，“沒有，我猜不出來，”

'No, I give it up,' Alice replied: 'what's the answer?'

愛麗絲回答，“謎底到底是什么呢?”

'I haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter.

“我也不知道。”帽匠說。

'Nor I,' said the March Hare.

“我也不清楚，”三月兔說，

Alice sighed wearily. 'I think you might do something better with the time,' she said, 'than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.'

愛麗絲輕輕嘆了一聲說，“我認(rèn)為你應(yīng)該珍惜點時間，像這樣出個沒有謎底的謎語，簡直是白白浪費寶貴的時間。”

'If you knew Time as well as I do,' said the Hatter, 'you wouldn't talk about wasting IT. It's HIM.'

“如果你也像我一樣對時間熟悉，”帽匠說，“你就不會叫它‘寶貴的時間’，而叫它‘老伙計’了。”

'I don't know what you mean,' said Alice.

“我不懂你的意思。”愛麗絲說。

'Of course you don't!' the Hatter said, tossing his head contemptuously. 'I dare say you never even spoke to Time!'

“你當(dāng)然不懂，”帽匠得意地晃著頭說，“我敢肯定你從來沒有同時間說過話。”

'Perhaps not,' Alice cautiously replied: 'but I know I have to beat time when I learn music.'

“也許沒有，”愛麗絲小心地回答，“但是我在學(xué)音樂的時候，總是按著時間打拍子的。”

'Ah! that accounts for it,' said the Hatter. 'He won't stand beating. Now, if you only kept on good terms with him, he'd do almost anything you liked with the clock. For instance, suppose it were nine o'clock in the morning, just time to begin lessons: you'd only have to whisper a hint to Time, and round goes the clock in a twinkling! Half–past one, time for dinner!'

“唉，這就完了!”帽匠說，“你最不高興人家按住它打了。如果你同它好，它會讓鐘表聽你的話，譬如說，現(xiàn)在是早上九點鐘，正是上學(xué)的時間，你只要悄悄地對時間說一聲，鐘表就會一下子轉(zhuǎn)到一點半，該吃午飯了!”

('I only wish it was,' the March Hare said to itself in a whisper.)

“我真希望這樣。”三月兔小聲自語道。

'That would be grand, certainly,' said Alice thoughtfully: 'but then—I shouldn't be hungry for it, you know.'

“那太棒了!”愛麗絲思索著說，“可是要是我還不餓怎么辦呢?”

'Not at first, perhaps,' said the Hatter: 'but you could keep it to half–past one as long as you liked.'

“一開始也可能不餓，”帽匠說，“但是只要你喜歡，你就能把鐘表保持在一點半鐘。”

'Is that the way YOU manage?' Alice asked.

“你是這樣辦的嗎?”愛麗絲問。

The Hatter shook his head mournfully. 'Not I!' he replied. 'We quarrelled last March—just before HE went mad, you know—' (pointing with his tea spoon at the March Hare,) '—it was at the great concert given by the Queen of Hearts, and I had to sing

帽匠傷心地?fù)u搖頭，“我可不行了，”他回答，“我和時間在三月份吵了架——就是他發(fā)瘋前(他用茶匙指著三月兔)，那是在紅心王后舉辦的一次大音樂會上，我演唱了：

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!How I wonder what you're at!"

‘閃閃的小蝙蝠，我感到你是多么奇怪!’

You know the song, perhaps?'

你可能知道這首歌吧?”

'I've heard something like it,' said Alice.

“我聽過一首同它有點像(原來的歌應(yīng)為“閃閃的小星，你是多么的奇怪……帽匠全唱錯了。這首歌現(xiàn)在中國有唱片，有些中小學(xué)常常播放。)。”愛麗絲說。

'It goes on, you know,' the Hatter continued, 'in this way:—

“我知道下面是這樣接著的，”帽匠繼續(xù)說，“是這樣的：

"Up above the world you fly,Like a tea–tray in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle—"'

‘你飛在地面上多高，就像茶盤在天空上。閃啊，閃啊……’”

Here the Dormouse shook itself, and began singing in its sleep 'Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle—' and went on so long that they had to pinch it to make it stop.

睡鼠抓了搖身子，在睡夢中開始唱道：“閃啊，閃啊，閃啊，閃啊，”一直唱下去，直到他們捅，了它一下才停止。

'Well, I'd hardly finished the first verse,' said the Hatter, 'when the Queen jumped up and bawled out, "He's murdering the time! Off with his head!"'

“我還沒唱完第一段，”帽匠說，“那王后就大喊道“他簡直是在糟蹋時間，砍掉他的頭!’”

'How dreadfully savage!' exclaimed Alice.

“多么殘忍呀!”愛麗絲攘道。

'And ever since that,' the Hatter went on in a mournful tone, 'he won't do a thing I ask! It's always six o'clock now.'

帽匠傷心地繼續(xù)說，“從那以后，它就再也不肯照我的要求做了，它總是停在六點鐘。”

A bright idea came into Alice's head. 'Is that the reason so many tea–things are put out here?' she asked.

愛麗絲的腦子里突然閃過一個聰明的念頭，她問：“這就是這兒有這么多茶具的緣故嗎?”

'Yes, that's it,' said the Hatter with a sigh: 'it's always tea–time, and we've no time to wash the things between whiles.'

“是的，就是這個緣故，”帽匠嘆息著說，“只有喝茶的時間，連洗茶具的時間也沒有了。”，

'Then you keep moving round, I suppose?' said Alice.

“所以你們就圍著桌子轉(zhuǎn)?”愛麗絲問。

'Exactly so,' said the Hatter: 'as the things get used up.'

“正是這樣，”帽匠說，“茶具用臟了，我們就往下挪。”

'But what happens when you come to the beginning again?' Alice ventured to ask.

“可是你們轉(zhuǎn)回來以后怎么辦呢?”愛麗絲繼續(xù)間。

'Suppose we change the subject,' the March Hare interrupted, yawning. 'I'm getting tired of this. I vote the young lady tells us a story.'

“我們換一個話題吧，”三月兔打著哈欠打斷了他們的談話，“我聽煩了，建議讓小姑娘講個故事吧。”

'I'm afraid I don't know one,' said Alice, rather alarmed at the proposal.

“恐怕我一個故事都不會講，”愛麗絲說。她對這個建議有點慌神。

'Then the Dormouse shall!' they both cried. 'Wake up, Dormouse!' And they pinched it on both sides at once.

“那么睡鼠應(yīng)該講一個!”三月兔和帽匠一齊喊道，“醒醒，睡鼠!”他們立刻在兩邊一起捅它。

The Dormouse slowly opened his eyes. 'I wasn't asleep,' he said in a hoarse, feeble voice: 'I heard every word you fellows were saying.'

睡鼠慢慢地睜開眼，嘶啞無力地說：“我沒有睡，你們說的每一個字我都聽著呢。”

'Tell us a story!' said the March Hare.

“給我們講個故事!”三月兔說。

'Yes, please do!' pleaded Alice.

“就是，請講一個吧!”愛麗絲懇求著。

'And be quick about it,' added the Hatter, 'or you'll be asleep again before it's done.'

“而且要快點講，要不然你還沒講完又睡著了，”帽匠加了一句。

'Once upon a time there were three little sisters,' the Dormouse began in a great hurry; 'and their names were Elsie, Lacie, and Tillie; and they lived at the bottom of a well—'

睡鼠急急忙忙地講了：“從前有三個小姐妹，她們的名字是：埃爾西、萊斯、蒂爾莉，她們住在一個井底下……”

'What did they live on?' said Alice, who always took a great interest in questions of eating and drinking.

“她們靠吃什么活著呢?”愛麗絲總是最關(guān)心吃喝的問題。

'They lived on treacle,' said the Dormouse, after thinking a minute or two.

“她們靠吃糖漿生活。”睡鼠想了一會兒說。

'They couldn't have done that, you know,' Alice gently remarked; 'they'd have been ill.'

“你知道，這樣是不行的，她們都會生病的。”愛麗絲輕聲說。

'So they were,' said the Dormouse; 'VERY ill.'

“正是這樣，她們都病了，病得很厲害。”睡鼠說。

Alice tried to fancy to herself what such an extraordinary ways of living would be like, but it puzzled her too much, so she went on: 'But why did they live at the bottom of a well?'

愛麗絲盡量地想象這樣特殊的生活方式會是什么樣子，可是太費腦子了。于是，她又繼續(xù)問：“她們?yōu)槭裁匆≡诰紫履?”

'Take some more tea,' the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

“再多喝一點茶吧!”三月兔認(rèn)真地對愛麗絲說。

'I've had nothing yet,' Alice replied in an offended tone, 'so I can't take more.'

“我還一點都沒喝呢?因此不能說再多喝一點了!”愛麗絲不高興地回答。

'You mean you can't take LESS,' said the Hatter: 'it's very easy to take MORE than nothing.'

“你應(yīng)該說不能再少喝點了，”帽匠說，“比沒有喝再多喝一點是最容易不過的了。”

'Nobody asked YOUR opinion,' said Alice.

“沒人來問你!”愛麗絲說。

'Who's making personal remarks now?' the Hatter asked triumphantly.

“現(xiàn)在是誰失禮了?”帽匠得意地問。

Alice did not quite know what to say to this: so she helped herself to some tea and bread–and–butter, and then turned to the Dormouse, and repeated her question. 'Why did they live at the bottom of a well?'

這回愛麗絲不知該說什么了，只得自己倒了點茶，拿了點奶油面包，再向睡鼠重復(fù)她的問題：“她們?yōu)槭裁匆≡诰紫履?”，

The Dormouse again took a minute or two to think about it, and then said, 'It was a treacle–well.'

睡鼠又想了一會，說：“因為那是一個糖漿井。”

'There's no such thing!' Alice was beginning very angrily, but the Hatter and the March Hare went 'Sh! sh!' and the Dormouse sulkily remarked, 'If you can't be civil, you'd better finish the story for yourself.'

“沒有這樣的井!”愛麗絲認(rèn)真了。帽匠和三月兔不停地發(fā)出“噓、噓……”的聲音，睡鼠生氣地說：“如果你不講禮貌，那么最好你自己來把故事講完吧。”

'No, please go on!' Alice said very humbly; 'I won't interrupt again. I dare say there may be ONE.'

“不，請你繼續(xù)講吧!”愛麗絲低聲懇求著說，“我再不打岔了，也許有那樣一個井吧。”

'One, indeed!' said the Dormouse indignantly. However, he consented to go on. 'And so these three little sisters—they were learning to draw, you know—'

“哼，當(dāng)然有一個!”睡鼠煞有介事地說。又往下講了：“這三個小姐妹學(xué)著去畫畫。”

'What did they draw?' said Alice, quite forgetting her promise.

“她們畫什么呢?”愛麗絲忘了自己的保證又問開了。

'Treacle,' said the Dormouse, without considering at all this time.

“糖漿。”睡鼠這次毫不猶豫地回答。

'I want a clean cup,' interrupted the Hatter: 'let's all move one place on.'

“我想要一只干凈茶杯，”帽匠插嘴說，“讓我們移動一下位子吧。”

He moved on as he spoke, and the Dormouse followed him: the March Hare moved into the Dormouse's place, and Alice rather unwillingly took the place of the March Hare. The Hatter was the only one who got any advantage from the change: and Alice was a good deal worse off than before, as the March Hare had just upset the milk–jug into his plate.

他說著就挪到了下一個位子上，睡鼠跟著挪了，三月兔挪到了睡鼠的位子上，愛麗絲很不情愿地坐到了三月兔的位子上。這次挪動唯一得到好處的是帽匠，愛麗絲的位子比以前差多了，因為三月兔把牛奶罐打翻在位子上了。

Alice did not wish to offend the Dormouse again, so she began very cautiously: 'But I don't understand. Where did they draw the treacle from?'

愛麗絲不愿再惹睡鼠生氣，于是開始小心地說：“可是我不懂，她們從哪里把糖漿取出來的呢?”

'You can draw water out of a water–well,' said the Hatter; 'so I should think you could draw treacle out of a treacle–well—eh, stupid?'

“你能夠從水井里吸水，”帽匠說，你也應(yīng)該想到從糖漿井里能夠吸糖漿了，怎么樣，傻瓜?”

'But they were IN the well,' Alice said to the Dormouse, not choosing to notice this last remark.

“但是她們在井里呀!”愛麗絲對睡鼠說。

'Of course they were', said the Dormouse; '—well in.'

“當(dāng)然她們是在井里啦，”睡鼠說，“還在很里面呢。”

This answer so confused poor Alice, that she let the Dormouse go on for some time without interrupting it.

這個回答把可憐的愛麗絲難住了，她好大沒打攪睡鼠，讓它一直講下去。

'They were learning to draw,' the Dormouse went on, yawning and rubbing its eyes, for it was getting very sleepy; 'and they drew all manner of things—everything that begins with an M—'

“她們學(xué)著畫畫，”睡鼠繼續(xù)說著，一邊打了個哈欠，又揉揉眼睛，已經(jīng)非常困了，“她們畫各種各樣的東西，而每件東西都是用‘老’宇開頭的。”

'Why with an M?' said Alice.

“為什么用‘老’字開頭呢?”愛麗絲問。

'Why not?' said the March Hare.

“為什么不能呢?”三月兔說。

Alice was silent.

愛麗絲不吭氣了。

The Dormouse had closed its eyes by this time, and was going off into a doze; but, on being pinched by the Hatter, it woke up again with a little shriek, and went on: '—that begins with an M, such as mouse–traps, and the moon, and memory, and muchness—you know you say things are "much of a muchness"—did you ever see such a thing as a drawing of a muchness?'

這時候，睡鼠已經(jīng)閉上了眼，打起盹來了，但是被帽匠捅了—下，它尖叫著醒來了，繼續(xù)講，“用‘老’字開頭的東西，例如老鼠籠子，老頭兒，還有老多。你常說老多東西，可是你怎么畫出這個—老多’來?”

'Really, now you ask me,' said Alice, very much confused, 'I don't think—'

“你問我嗎?”愛麗絲難住了，說，“我還沒想……”

'Then you shouldn't talk,' said the Hatter.

“那么你就不應(yīng)該說話!”帽匠說。

This piece of rudeness was more than Alice could bear: she got up in great disgust, and walked off; the Dormouse fell asleep instantly, and neither of the others took the least notice of her going, though she looked back once or twice, half hoping that they would call after her: the last time she saw them, they were trying to put the Dormouse into the teapot.

這句話可使愛麗絲無法忍受了，于是她憤憤地站起來走了，睡鼠也立即睡著了。那兩個家伙一點也不注意愛麗絲的走掉。愛麗絲還回頭看了一兩次，指望他們能夠留她。后來她看見他們正要把睡鼠塞進(jìn)茶壺里去。

'At any rate I'll never go THERE again!' said Alice as she picked her way through the wood. 'It's the stupidest tea–party I ever was at in all my life!'

“不管怎么說，我再也不去那里了，”愛麗絲在樹林中找路時說，“這是我見過的最愚蠢的茶會了。”

Just as she said this, she noticed that one of the trees had a door leading right into it. 'That's very curious!' she thought. 'But everything's curious today. I think I may as well go in at once.' And in she went.

就在她叨叨咕咕的時候，突然看到一棵樹上還有一個門，可以走進(jìn)去。“真奇怪!”她想，“不過今天的每件事都很奇怪，還是進(jìn)去看看吧。”想著就走進(jìn)去了。