好心境
这是一篇童话式的杂文，最先收集在1852年4月5日出版的《故事集》里。用童话的形式来写杂文，这是安徒生的一个创造。故事虽短，但它所反映的现实却是既深刻而又尖锐的。
MY father left me the best inheritance，to wit—good humour．And who was my father？Why，that has nothing to do with the humour．He was lively and stout，round and fat，and his outer and inner man were in direct contradiction(contradiction n.反驳，矛盾)to his calling．And pray what was he by profession and calling in civil society？Ah，if this were to be written down and printed in the very beginning of a book，it is probable that many when they read it would lay the book aside，and say，“It looks so uncomfortable that I dont like anything of that sort．”And yet my father was neither a horse－slaughterer(slaughterer n.屠夫)nor an executioner(executioner n.死刑执行人，刽子手).On the contrary，his office placed him at the head of the most respectable gentry of the town，and he held his place by right，for it was his right place．He had to go first，before the bishop even，and before the Princes of the Blood．He always went first——for he was the driver of the hearse(hearse n.柩车，灵车)！
我父亲给我留下了一笔最好的遗产：我有一个好心境。那么谁是我的父亲呢？咳，这跟好的心境没有什么关系！他是一个心宽体胖的人，又圆又肥。他的外表和内心跟他的职业完全不相称。那么，他的职业和社会地位是怎样的呢？是的，如果把这写下来，印在一本书的开头，很可能许多人一读到它就会把书丢掉，说：“这使我感到真不舒服，我不要读这类东西。”但是我的父亲既不是一个杀马的屠夫，也不是一个刽子手。相反地，他的职业却使他站在城里最尊贵的人的面前。这是他的权利，也是他的地位。他得走在前面，在主教的前面，在纯血统的王子前面，他老是走在前面——因为他是一个赶柩车的人！
There，now its out！And I will confess that when people saw my father sitting perched(perch v.(使)栖息，就位，位于n.栖木，人所居的高位，有利的地位，杆，河鲈)up on the omnibusomni(bus n.公共汽车，公共马车，精选集adj.综合性的，混合的，(包括)多项的)of death，dressed in his long，wide，black clock，with his blackbordered threecornered hat on his head—and then his face，exactly as the sun is drawn，round and jocund—it was difficult for them to think of the grave and of sorrow．The face said，“It doesnt matter.It will be much better than one thinks．”
你看，我把真情说出来了！我可以说，当人们看见我的父亲高高地坐在死神的交通车上，穿着一件又长又宽的黑披风，头上戴着一顶缀有黑纱的三角帽，加上他那一副像太阳一样的圆圆的笑脸，人们恐怕很难想到坟墓和悲哀了。他的那张圆面孔说：“不要怕，那比你所想像的要好得多！”
You see，I have inherited my good humour from him，and also the habit of going often to the churchyard(churchyard n.墓地，境内)，and that is an agreeable thing to do if it be done with good humour.And then I take in the Intelligencer，just as he used to do．
你看，我继承了他的“好心境”和一个经常拜访墓地的习惯。如果你怀着“好心境”去，那倒是蛮痛快的事情。像他一样，我也订阅《新闻报》。
I am not quite young．I have neither wife，nor children，nor a library.But，as aforesaid，I take in the Intelligencer，and thats my favourite newspaper，as it was also my fathers．It is very useful，and contains everything that a man needs to know—such as who preaches in the church and in the new books；where one can get houses，servants，clothes，and food；who is selling off，and who is going off himself．And then what a lot of (charitycharity n.慈善，施舍，慈善团体)，and what a number of innocent，harmless verses are found in it！Advertisements for husbands and wives，and arrangements for meeting—all quite simple and natural．Certainly，one may live merrily and be contentedly buried if one takes in the Intelligencer．And then one has，by the end of his life，such a capital store of paper，that he may use it as a soft bed，unless he prefers to rest upon woodshavings．
我并不太年轻。我既没有老婆，又没有孩子，也没有家庭图书馆。不过，如前所说，我订阅《新闻报》。它是我最喜欢的一种报纸，也是我父亲最喜欢的一种报纸。它的用处很大，一个人所需要知道的东西里面全有——比如：谁在教堂里讲道，谁在新书里说教；在什么地方你可以找到房子和佣人，买到衣服和食物；谁在拍卖东西，谁在破产。人们还可以在上面读到许多慈善事情和天真无邪的诗！此外还有征婚、订约会的广告等——一切都是非常简单和自然！一个人如果订阅《新闻报》，他就可以很愉快地生活着，很愉快地走进坟墓里去。同时在他寿终正寝的时候，他可以有一大堆报纸，舒舒服服地睡在上面——假如他不愿意睡在刨花上的话。
The newspaper and my walk to the churchyard were always my most exciting occupations—they were like bathingplaces for my good humour．
《新闻报》和墓地是我精神上两件最富有刺激性的消遣，是我的好心境的最舒适的浴泉。
The newspaper every one can read for himself．But please come with me to the churchyard.Let us wander there where the sun shines and the trees grow green，let us walk among the graves．Each of these is like a closed book，with the back placed uppermost(uppermost adv.在最上，最初，首先adj.至上的，最高的，最主要的)，so that one can only read the title which tells what the book contains，and tells nothing more.But I know something of them．I heard it from my father，or found it out myself．I have it all down in my record that I wrote out for my own use and pleasure：all that lie here，and a few more，too，are chronicled in it．
当然每个人都可以阅读《新闻报》。不过请你一块儿跟我到墓地来吧。当太阳在照着的时候，当树儿变绿了的时候，我们到墓地去吧。我们可以在坟墓之间走走！每座坟像一本背脊朝上的、合着的书本——你只能看到书名。它说明书的内容，但同时什么东西也没有说明。不过我知道它的内容——我从我的父亲和我自己知道的。我的“坟墓书”都把它记载了下来，这是我自己作为参考和消遣所写的一本书。所有的事情都写在里面，还有其他更多的东西。
Now we are in the churchyard．Here，behind this white railing，where once a rose tree grew—it is gone now，but a little evergreen from the next grave stretches out its green fingers to make a show—there rests a very unhappy man.And yet，when he lived，he was in what they call a good position．He had enough to live upon，and something over.But worldly cares，or，to speak more correctly，his artistic taste，weighed heavily upon him．If in the evening he sat in the theatre to enjoy himself thoroughly(thoroughly adv.十分地，彻底地)，he would be quite put out if the machinist had put too strong a light into one side of the moon，or if the skypieces hung down over the scenes when they ought to have hung behind them，or when a palm tree was introduced into a scene representing Amager，or a cactus in a view of the Tyrol，or a beech tree in the far north of Norway．As if that was of any consequence(consequence n.结果，［逻］推理，推论，因果关系，重要的地位)．Is it not quite immaterial？Who would fidget about such a trifle？Its only makebelieve，after all，and every one is expected to be amused．Then sometimes the public applauded too much，and sometimes too little．