书城教材教辅新课标英语学习资源库-雪人
47970700000009

第9章 The Wild Swans(2)

So she put the toads into the clear water,and they turned green immediately.She next called Eliza,and helped her to undress and get into the bath.As Eliza dipped her head under the water,one of the toads sat on her hair,a second on her forehead,and a third on her breast,but she did not seem to notice them,and when she rose out of the water,there were three red poppies floating upon it.Had not the creatures been venomous or been kissed by the witch,they would have been changed into red roses.At all events they became flowers,because they had rested on Elizas head,and on her heart.She was too good and too innocent for witchcraft(witchcraft n.魔法,魔力)to have any power over her.

她于是把这几只癞蛤蟆放进清水里;它们马上就变成了绿色。她把伊莱扎喊进来,替她脱了衣服,叫她走进水里。当她一跳进水里去的时候,头一只癞蛤蟆就坐到她的头发上,第二只就坐到她的前额上,第三只就坐到她的胸口上。可是伊莱扎一点也没有注意到这些事儿。当她一站起来的时候,水上浮漂了三朵罂粟花。如果这几只动物不是有毒的话,如果它们没有被这巫婆吻过的话,它们就会变成几朵红色的玫瑰。但是无论怎样,它们都得变成花,因为它们在她的头上和心上躺过。她是太善良、太天真了,魔力没有办法在她身上发生效力。

When the wicked queen saw this,she rubbed her face with walnutjuice,so that she was quite brown;then she tangled her beautiful hair and smeared it with disgusting ointment(ointment n.药膏,油膏),till it was quite impossible to recognize the beautiful Eliza.

当这恶毒的王后看到这情景时,就把伊莱扎全身都擦了核桃汁,使这女孩子变得棕黑。她又在这女孩子美丽的脸上涂上一层发臭的油膏,并且使她漂亮的头发乱糟糟地揪做一团。美丽的伊莱扎,现在谁也没有办法认出来了。

When her father saw her,he was much shocked,and declared she was not his daughter.No one but the watchdog and the swallows knew her,and they were only poor animals,and could say nothing.Then poor Eliza wept,and thought of her eleven brothers,who were all away.Sorrowfully,she stole away from the palace,and walked,the whole day,over fields and moors,till she came to the great forest.She knew not in what direction to go.But she was so unhappy,and longed so for her brothers,who had been,like herself,driven out into the world,that she was determined to seek them.

当她的父亲看到她的时候,不禁大吃一惊,说这不是他的女儿。除了看家狗和燕子以外,谁也不认识她了。但是他们都是可怜的动物,什么话也说不出来。可怜的伊莱扎哭起来了。她想起了她远别了的十一个哥哥。她悲哀地偷偷走出宫殿,在田野和沼泽地上走了一整天,一直走到一个大黑森林里去。她不知道自己要到什么地方去,只是觉得非常悲哀;她想念她的哥哥们:他们一定也会像自己一样,被赶进这个茫茫的世界里来了。她得寻找他们,找到他们。

She had been but a short time in the wood when night came on,and she quite lost the path.So she laid herself down on the soft moss(moss n.苔,藓),offered up her evening prayer,and leaned her head against the stump of a tree.All nature was still,and the soft,mild air fanned her forehead.The light of hundreds of glowworms shone amidst the grass and the moss,like green fire,and if she touched a twig with her hand,ever so lightly,the brilliant insects fell down around her,like shootingstars.

她到这个森林不久,夜幕就落下来了。她迷失了方向,离开大路和小径很远;所以她就在柔软的青苔上躺下来。她做完了晚祷以后,就把头枕在一个树根上休息。周围非常静寂,空气是温和的;在花丛中,在青苔里,闪着无数萤火虫的亮光,像绿色的火星一样。当她把第一根树枝轻轻地用手摇动一下的时候,这些闪着亮光的小虫就向她身旁飞来,像落下来的星星。

All night long she dreamt of her brothers.She and they were children again,playing together.She saw them writing with their diamond pencils on golden slates,while she looked at the beautiful picturebook which had cost half a kingdom.They were not writing lines and letters,as they used to do.But descriptions of the noble deeds they had performed,and of all they had discovered and seen.In the picturebook,too,everything was living.The birds sang,and the people came out of the book,and spoke to Eliza and her brothers.But,as the leaves turned over,they darted(dart v.飞奔,投掷n.标枪,镖,(昆虫的)刺,飞快的动作)back again to their places,that all might be in order.

她一整夜梦着她的几个哥哥:他们又是在一起玩耍的一群孩子了,他们用钻石笔在金板上写着字,读着那价值半个王国的、美丽的画册。不过,跟往时不一样,他们在金板上写的不是零和线:不是的,而是他们做过的一些勇敢的事迹——他们亲身体验过和看过的事迹。于是那本画册里面的一切东西也都有了生命——鸟儿在唱,人从画册里走出来,跟伊莱扎和她的哥哥们谈着话。不过,当她一翻开书页的时候,他们马上就又跳进去了,为的是怕把图画的位置弄得混乱。

When she awoke,the sun was high in the heavens.Yet she could not see him,for the lofty trees spread their branches thickly over her head.But his beams were glancing through the leaves here and there,like a golden mist.There was a sweet fragrance from the fresh green verdure,and the birds almost perched(perch v.(使)栖息,就位,位于n.栖木,人所居的高位,有利的地位)upon her shoulders.She heard water rippling from a number of springs,all flowing in a lake with golden sands.Bushes grew thickly round the lake,and at one spot an opening had been made by a deer,through which Eliza went down to the water.The lake was so clear that,had not the wind rustled the branches of the trees and the bushes,so that they moved,they would have appeared as if painted in the depths of the lake,for every leaf was reflected in the water,whether it stood in the shade or the sunshine.

当她醒来的时候,太阳已经升得很高了。事实上她看不见它,因为高大的树儿展开一片浓密的枝叶。不过太阳光在那上面摇晃着,像一朵金子做的花。这些青枝绿叶散发出一阵香气,鸟儿几乎要落到她的肩上。她听到了一阵潺潺的水声。这是几股很大的泉水奔向一个湖泊时发出来的。这湖有非常美丽的沙底。它的周围长着一圈浓密的灌木林,不过有一处被一些雄鹿打开了一个很宽的缺口——伊莱扎就从这个缺口向湖水那儿走去。水是非常地清亮。假如风儿没有把这些树枝和灌木林吹得摇动起来的话,她就会以为它们是绘在湖的底上的东西,因为每片叶子,不管被太阳照着的还是深藏在阴处,全都很清楚地映在湖上。

As soon as Eliza saw her own face,she was quite terrified at finding it so brown and ugly.But when she wetted her little hand,and rubbed her eyes and forehead,the white skin gleamed forth once more.And,after she had undressed,and dipped herself in the fresh water,a more beautiful kings daughter could not be found in the wide world.

当她一看到自己的面孔,马上就感到非常惊恐:她是那么棕黑和丑陋。不过当她把小手儿打湿了、把眼睛和前额揉了一会以后,她雪白的皮肤就又显露出来了。于是她脱下衣服,走到清凉的水里去:人们在这个世界上再也找不到比她更美丽的公主了。