甲虫
这篇具有讽刺意味的作品，最初发表在１８６１年哥本哈根出版的《新的童话和故事集》第二卷第一部里。那只甲虫看样子颇具有一点我们的“阿Ｑ精神”。不过它还有足够的世故而没有遭受到阿Ｑ的同样命运：“这个世界仍然不能说是太坏，一个人只须知道怎样应付它就成。”关于这个故事的背景，安徒生写道：“在一些‘流行俗话’中狄更斯（英国著名小说家，安徒生的好朋友）收集了许多阿拉伯的谚语和成语，其中有一则是这样的：‘当皇帝的马钉上金马掌的时候，甲虫也把它的脚伸出来。’狄更斯在手记中说：‘我希望安徒生能写一个关于它的故事。’我一直有这个想法，但是故事却不到来。直到九年以后，我住在巴士纳斯的温暖的农庄时，偶然又读到狄更斯的这句话，于是《甲虫》的故事就不期而至。”
THERE was once an Emperor who had a horse shod with gold.He had a golden shoe on each foot，and why was this？He was a beautiful creature，with slender legs，bright，intelligent eyes，and a mane that hung down over his neck like a veil.He had carried his master through fire and smoke in the battlefield，with the bullets（bullet n.子弹）whistling round him.He had kicked and bitten，and taken part in the fight，when the enemy advanced，and，with his master on his back，he had dashed over the fallen foe，and saved the golden crown and the Emperors life，which was of more value than the brightest gold.This is the reason of the Emperors horse wearing golden shoes.
从前有一个国王有一匹钉有金马掌的马，他每只脚上有一个金马掌。为什么会这样呢？他是一个很漂亮的动物，有细长的腿，聪明的眼睛；他的鬃毛悬在颈上，像一起丝织的面纱。他背过他的主人在枪林弹雨中驰骋，听到过子弹嗖嗖呼啸。当敌人逼近的时候，他踢过和咬过周围的人，与他们并肩作过战。他背过他的主人在敌人倒下的马身上跳过去，救过赤金制的皇冠，救过皇帝的生命——比赤金还要贵重的生命。因此皇帝的马儿钉得有金马掌，每只脚上有一个金马掌。
A beetle came creeping forth from the stable，where the farrier farrier n.蹄铁匠，马医，兽医had been shoeing the horse.“Great ones，first，of course，”said he，“and then the little ones，but size is not always a proof of greatness.”He stretched out his thin leg as he spoke.
甲虫这时就爬过来了。“大的先来，然后小的也来，”他说，“问题不是在于身体的大小。”他这样说的时候就伸出他的瘦小的腿来。
“And pray what do you want？”asked the farrier.
“你要什么呢？”铁匠问。
“Golden shoes.”replied the beetle.
“要金马掌。”甲虫回答说。
“Why，you must be out of your senses.”cried the farrier.“Golden shoes for you，indeed！”
“乖乖！你的脑筋一定是有问题。”铁匠说。“你也想要有金马掌吗？”
“Yes，certainly，golden shoes.”replied the beetle.“Am I not just as good as that great creature yonder，who is waited upon and brushed，and has food and drink placed before him？And dont I belong to the royal stables？”
“我要金马掌！”甲虫说，“难道我跟那个大家伙有什么两样不成？他被人伺候，被人梳刷，被人看护，有吃的，也有喝的。难道我不是皇家马厩里的一员吗？”
“But why does the horse have golden shoes？”asked the farrier，“Of course you understand the reason？”
“但是马儿为什么要有金马掌呢？”铁匠问，“难道你还不懂得吗？”
“Understand！Well，I understand that it is a personal slight to me.”cried the beetle.“It is done to annoy me，so I intend to go out into the world and seek my fortune.”
“懂得？我懂得这话对我是一种侮辱。”甲虫说。“这简直是瞧不起人。——好吧，我现在要走了，到外面广大的世界里去。”
“Go along with you.”said the farrier.
“请便！”铁匠说。
“Youre a rude fellow.”cried the beetle，as he walked out of the stable，and then he flew for a short distance，till he found himself in a beautiful flowergarden，all fragrant with roses and lavender.The ladybirds，with red and black shells on their backs，and delicate wings，were flying about，and one of them said，“Is it not sweet and lovely here？Oh，how beautiful everything is.”
“你简直是一个粗鲁无礼的家伙！”甲虫说。于是他走出去了。他飞了一小段路程，不久他就到了一个美丽的小花园里，这儿玫瑰花和熏衣草开得喷香。小瓢虫在附近飞来飞去，红色的、像盾牌一样硬的红翅膀上亮着许多黑点子。其中一只说：“你看这儿的花开得美丽不美丽？这儿是多么香啊！这儿是多么美啊！”
“I am accustomed to better things.”said the beetle，“Do you call this beautiful？Why，there is not even a dungheap.”Then he went on，and under the shadow of a large haystack haystack n.干草堆he found a caterpillar crawling along.
“我是看惯了比这还好的东西的。”甲虫说。“你认为这就是美吗？咳，这儿连一个粪堆都没有。”于是他更向前走，走到一棵大紫罗兰花阴里去。这儿有一只毛虫正在爬行。
“How beautiful this world is！”said the caterpillar.“The sun is so warm，I quite enjoy it.And soon I shall go to sleep，and die as they call it，but I shall wake up with beautiful wings to fly with，like a butterfly.”
“这世界是多么美丽啊！”毛虫说，“太阳是多么温暖，一切东西是那么快乐！我要睡一觉——就是大家所谓‘死’了一次——以后，我醒转来就会变成了一只蝴蝶。”
“How conceited conceited adj.自以为是的，逞能的，狂想的you are！”exclaimed the beetle，“Fly about as a butterfly，indeed！What of that.I have come out of the Emperors stable，and no one there，not even the Emperors horse，who，in fact，wears my castoff golden shoes，has any idea of flying，excepting myself.To have wings and fly！why，I can do that already.”and so saying，he spread his wings and flew away.
“你真自高自大！”甲虫说，“乖乖，你原来是一只飞来飞去的蝴蝶！我是从皇帝的马厩里出来的哪。在那儿，没有任何人，连皇帝那匹心爱的、穿着我不要的金马掌的马儿，也没有这么一个想法。长了一双翅膀能够飞几下！咳，我们来飞吧。”于是甲虫就飞走了。
“I dont want to be disgusted，”he said to himself，“and yet I cant help it.”Soon after，he fell down upon an extensive lawn (lawn n.草地，草坪，(均匀生长于固体培养基的)菌苔)，and for a time pretended to sleep，but at last fell asleep in earnest.Suddenly a heavy shower of rain came falling from the clouds.The beetle woke up with the noise and would have been glad to creep into the earth for shelter，but he could not.He was tumbled over and over with the rain，sometimes swimming on his stomach and sometimes on his back，and as for flying，that was out of the question.He began to doubt whether he should escape with his life，so he remained，quietly lying where he was.After a while the weather cleared up a little，and the beetle was able to rub the water from his eyes，and look about him.He saw something gleaming，and he managed to make his way up to it.
“我真不愿意生些闲气，可是我却生了闲气了。”不一会儿，他落到一大块草地上来了。他在这里躺了一会儿，接着就睡去了。我的天，多么大的一阵急雨啊！雨声把甲虫吵醒了。他倒很想马上就钻进土里去的，但是没有办法。他栽了好几个跟头，一会儿用他的肚皮、一会儿用他的背拍着水，至于说到起飞，那简直是不可能了。无疑地，他再也不能从这地方逃出他的生命。他只好在原来的地方躺下，不声不响地躺下。天气略微有点好转。甲虫把他眼里的水挤出来。他迷糊地看到了一件白色的东西。
It was linen which had been laid to bleach on the grass.He crept into a fold of the damp linen (linen n.亚麻布，亚麻制品，亚麻纤维制成的优质纸adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的)，which certainly was not so comfortable a place to lie in as the warm stable，but there was nothing better，so he remained lying there for a whole day and night，and the rain kept on all the time.Towards morning he crept out of his hidingplace，feeling in a very bad temper with the climate (climate n.气候，风土，思潮).Two frogs were sitting on the linen，and their bright eyes actually glistened (glisten v.闪光)with pleasure.