一个豆荚里的五粒豆
这个小故事，首先发表在１８５３年的《丹麦大众历书》上。成熟了的豆荚裂开了，里面的五个豆粒飞到广大的世界里去，各奔前程，对各自的经历都很满意。但是那粒飞进窗子“一个长满了青苔和霉菌的裂缝里去”的豆粒的经历，却是最值得称赞，因为它发芽、开花，给窗子里的躺着的一个小病女孩带来了愉快和生机。关于这个小故事，安徒生在手记中写道：“这个故事来自我儿时的回忆，那时我有一个小木盒，里面盛了一点土，我种了一根葱和一粒豆。这就是我的开满了花的花园。”
THERE were once five peas pea n.豌豆in one shell，they were green，the shell was green，and so they believed that the whole world must be green also，which was a very natural conclusion.The shell grew，and the peas grew，they accommodated (accommodate vt.供应，供给，使适应，调节，和解，向……提供，容纳，调和vi.适应)themselves to their position，and sat all in a row.The sun shone without and warmed the shell，and the rain made it clear and transparent.It was mild and agreeable in broad daylight，and dark at night，as it generally is.And the peas as they sat there grew bigger and bigger，and more thoughtful as they mused，for they felt there must be something else for them to do.
有一个豆荚，里面有五粒豌豆。它们全是绿的，因此它们就以为整个世界都是绿的。事实也正是这样！豆粒也在生长，豆荚也在生长。它们按它们在家庭里的地位，坐成一排。太阳在外边照着，把豆荚晒得暖洋洋的；雨将它洗得透明。这儿是既合适，又温暖；白天明亮，晚间黑暗，这本是必然的规律。豌豆粒坐在那儿越长越大，同时也愈加变得深沉起来了，因为它们多少得做点事情呀。
“Are we to sit here forever？”asked one，“Shall we not become hard by sitting so long？It seems to me there must be something outside，and I feel sure of it.”
“难道我们永远都在这儿坐下去吗？”它们问。“我只想老这样坐下去，不要变得僵硬起来。我似乎觉得外面发生了一些事情——我产生了这种预感！”
And as weeks passed by，the peas became yellow，and the shell became yellow.
几周过去了。豆荚变黄了，几粒豌豆也变黄了。
“All the world is turning yellow，I suppose.”said they，and perhaps they were right.
“整个世界都在变黄哪！”它们说。它们也可以这么说。
Suddenly they felt a pull at the shell.It was torn off，and held in human hands，then slipped into the pocket of a jacket in company with other full pods.
忽然，它们觉得豆荚震动了一下。它被摘下来了，落到人的手上，跟许多其它的丰满的豆荚在一块，溜到一件马甲的口袋里去。
“Now we shall soon be opened.”said one，—just what they all wanted.
“我们不久便要被打开了！”它们说。于是它们就期待这件事情的到来。
“I should like to know which of us will travel furthest，”said the smallest of the five，“we shall soon see now.”
“我很想知道，谁是我们之中走得最远的！”最小的一粒豆说道。“是的，事情马上就会揭晓了。”
“What is to happen will happen.”said the largest pea.
“该怎么办就怎么办！”最大的那一粒说道。
“Crack”went the shell as it burst，and the five peas rolled out into the bright sunshine.There they lay in a childs hand.A little boy was holding them tightly，and said they were fine peas for his peashooter.And immediately he put one in and shot it out.
“啪！”豆荚裂开来了。那五粒豆子全滚到灿烂的太阳光里来了。它们躺在一个小孩的手中。这个孩子紧紧地捏着它们，说它们正好可以当作豆枪的子弹用。他立刻放一粒进去，将它打出来。
“Now I am flying out into the wide world，”said he，“catch me if you can.”and he was gone in a moment.
“现在我要飞向广大的世界里去了！如果你能捉住我，那就请你来吧！”于是它便飞走了。
“I，”said the second，“intend to fly straight to the sun，that is a shell that lets itself be seen，and it will suit me exactly.”and away he went.
“我，”第二粒说，“我将直接飞进太阳里面去。这才像一个豆荚哪，并且与我的身份极相称！”于是它便飞走了。
“We will go to sleep wherever we find ourselves，”said the two next，“we shall still be rolling onwards.”and they did certainly fall on the floor，and roll about before they got into the peashooter.But they were put in for all that.“We shall go farther than the others.”said they.
“我们到了什么地方，就在什么地方睡。”剩下的两粒说。“不过我们还得向前滚。”所以它们在没有到达豆枪以前，就先在地上滚起来。可是它们终于被装进去了。“我们才能射得最远呢！”
“What is to happen will happen.”exclaimed the last，as he was shot out of the peashooter.And as he spoke he flew up against an old board under a garretwindow，and fell into a little crevice (crevice n.(墙壁，岩石等的)裂缝)，which was almost filled up with moss and soft earth.The moss closed itself round him，and there he lay，a captive indeed，but not unnoticed by God.
“该怎么办就怎么办！”最后的那一粒说。它射到天空中去了。它射到顶楼窗子下边一块旧板子上，正好钻进一个长满了青苔的霉菌的裂缝里去。它被青苔包了起来。它躺在那儿不见了，但是我们的上帝并没忘记它。
“What is to happen will happen！”said he to himself.
“应该怎么办就怎么办！”它说。
Within the little garret lived a poor woman，who went out to clean stoves，chop wood into small pieces and perform suchlike hard work，for she was strong and industrious industrious adj.勤勉的，刻苦的.Yet she remained always poor，and at home in the garret lay her only daughter，not quite grown up，and very delicate and weak.For a whole year she had kept her bed，and it seemed as if she could neither live nor die.
在这个小小的顶楼里住着一个贫苦的女人。她白天到外面去擦炉子，锯木材，并且做很多类似的粗活，因为她很强壮，而且也很勤俭，不过她依然是很穷。她有一个发育不全的独生女儿，躺在这顶楼上的家里。她的身体很虚弱。她在床上躺了一整年；看样子既活不下去，又死不了。