《丑小鸭》

丑小鸭

The Ugly Duckling

乡下的夏天美极了。金黄的麦子、绿色的燕麦，还有草地上堆起来的干草垛，看起来都漂亮极了。

It was lovely summer weather in the country, and the golden corn, the green oats, and the haystacks piled up in the meadows looked beautiful.

鹳鸟用又长又红的腿走来走去，嘴里说着埃及话，那是他跟妈妈学来的。麦田和草地周围是大片大片的森林，树林中间还有很深的水塘。

The stork walking about on his long red legs chattered in the Egyptian language, which he had learnt from his mother. The corn-fields and meadows were surrounded by large forests, in the midst of which were deep pools.

在乡下走走，真是让人高兴极了。

It was, indeed, delightful to walk about in the country.

在阳光充足的地方，紧挨着一条深河，有一座舒服的旧农舍。从房子一直到水边，长满了高大的牛蒡叶，在最大的叶子下面，一个小孩子甚至能站得直直的。

In a sunny spot stood a pleasant old farm-house close by a deep river, and from the house down to the water side grew great burdock leaves, so high, that under the tallest of them a little child could stand upright.

那个地方就像茂密森林的深处一样荒野安静。

The spot was as wild as the centre of a thick wood.

在这座舒服隐蔽的小天地里，一只母鸭正坐在窝里孵蛋，盼着小鸭子们快点破壳。她开始觉得有点累了，因为小家伙们过了很久也没出来，而且平时也很少有人来看她。

In this snug retreat sat a duck on her nest, watching for her young brood to hatch; she was beginning to get tired of her task, for the little ones were a long time coming out of their shells, and she seldom had any visitors.

别的鸭子更喜欢在河里游来游去，都不愿意爬上滑溜溜的河岸，坐在牛蒡叶下面陪她闲聊。

The other ducks liked much better to swim about in the river than to climb the slippery banks, and sit under a burdock leaf, to have a gossip with her.

终于，一个蛋壳裂开了，接着又裂开了一个。每只蛋里都钻出一个活着的小生命，抬起头叫着：“哔，哔。”

At length one shell cracked, and then another, and from each egg came a living creature that lifted its head and cried, “Peep, peep.”

“嘎，嘎，”妈妈叫着。小家伙们也跟着拼命嘎嘎叫，两只眼睛看着四周大大的绿叶子。鸭妈妈让他们看个够，因为绿色对眼睛好。

“Quack, quack,” said the mother, and then they all quacked as well as they could, and looked about them on every side at the large green leaves. Their mother allowed them to look as much as they liked, because green is good for the eyes.

小鸭子们发现现在的空间比蛋壳里大得多，就说：“世界真大啊！”鸭妈妈问：“你们以为这就是整个世界吗？”

“How large the world is,” said the young ducks, when they found how much more room they now had than while they were inside the egg-shell. “Do you imagine this is the whole world?”

“等你们看过花园再说吧；从那儿一直往前，还能通到牧师的地里，不过我可从来没去过那么远的地方。你们都出来了吗？”她站起身继续说，“哎呀，最大的那个蛋还躺在那儿呢。

asked the mother; “Wait till you have seen the garden; it stretches far beyond that to the parson’s field, but I have never ventured to such a distance. Are you all out?” she continued, rising; “No, I declare, the largest egg lies there still.

真不知道还要等多久，我可真是烦透了。”说完，她又坐回了窝上。

I wonder how long this is to last, I am quite tired of it;” and she seated herself again on the nest.

一只老鸭子来看她，问道：“喂，最近怎么样啊？”

“Well, how are you getting on?” asked an old duck, who paid her a visit.