“‘Nothing！’I exclaimed.I was quite struck.Truth is not always agreeable，but truth is above everything else，as the old owl said.I thought over all this，and saw quite plainly that if truth was really so far above everything else，it must be much more valuable than soup from a sausage skewer.So I hastened to get away，that I might be home in time，and bring what was highest and best，and above everything—namely，the truth.The mice are an enlightened people，and the mouseking is above them all.He is therefore capable of making me queen for the sake of truth.”
“‘没有丝毫意义！’我说。这使我大吃一惊！真理并不是总使人高兴的事情，但是真理高于一切。老猫头鹰也是这样说的。我想了一想，我觉得，如果我把‘高于一切的东西’带回的话，那么我倒是带回了一件价值比香肠栓汤要高得多的东西呢。因此我就赶快离开，好使我能早点回家，带回最高、最好的东西——真理。耗子是一个开明的种族，而耗子王则是他们之中最开明的。为了尊重真理，他是可能立我为皇后的。”
“Your truth is a falsehood，”said the mouse who had not yet spoken，“I can prepare the soup，and I mean to do so.”
“你的真理却是谎言！”那个还没有发言的耗子说。“我能做这汤，而且我说得到就做得到！”
How It Was Prepared
汤是怎样熬的
“I did not travel，”said the third mouse，“I stayed in this country，that was the right way.One gains nothing by travellingeverything can be acquired here quite as easily，so I stayed at home.I have not obtained what I know from supernatural(supernatural adj.超自然的，神奇的n.超自然物，神奇人物，不可思议的事)beings.I have neither swallowed it，nor learnt it from conversing with owls.I have got it all from my reflections and thoughts.Will you now set the kettle on the fire—so？Now pour the water in—quite full—up to the brim，place it on the fire，make up a good blaze，keep it burning，that the water may boil，it must boil over and over.There，now I throw in the skewer.Will the mouseking be pleased now to dip his tail into the boiling water，and stir it round with the tail.The longer the king stirs it，the stronger the soup will become.Nothing more is necessary，only to stir it.”
“我并没有去旅行，”第三只耗子说。“我留在国内——这样做是正确的！我们没有旅行的必要。我们在这儿同样可以得到好的东西。我没有走！我的知识并不是从神怪的生物那儿得来的，也不是狼吞虎咽地啃来的，也不是跟猫头鹰说话学来的。我是从自己的思索中得来的。请你们把水壶拿来，装满水吧！把它放在火上让水煮开吧——它得滚开！好，请把栓放进去！现在请国王陛下把尾巴伸进开水里去搅几下！陛下搅得越久，汤就熬得越浓。它并不花费什么东西！并不需要别的什么材料——只须搅它就得了！”
“Can no one else do this？”asked the king.
“是不是别的耗子可以做这事情呢？”国王问。
“No，”said the mouse，“only in the tail of the mouseking is this power contained.”
“不成，”耗子说。“只有耗子王的尾巴有这种威力。”
And the water boiled and bubbled，as the mouseking stood close beside the kettle.It seemed rather a dangerous performance，but he turned round，and put out his tail，as mice do in a dairy，when they wish to skim the cream from a pan of milk with their tails and afterwards lick it off.But the mousekings tail had only just touched the hot steam，when he sprang away from the chimney in a great hurry，exclaiming，“Oh，certainly，by all means，you must be my queen，and we will let the soup question rest till our golden weddinggolden (wedding金婚(结婚五十周年纪念))，fifty years hence，so that the poor in my kingdom，who are then to have plenty of food，will have something to look forward to for a long time，with great joy.”
水在沸腾着。耗子王站在水壶旁边——这可算说是一种危险的事儿。他把他的尾巴伸出来，好像耗子在牛奶房的那副样儿——它们用尾巴挑起盘子里的乳皮，然后再去舔这尾巴。不过他把他的尾巴伸进滚水里没有多久就赶快跳开了。“不成问题——你是我的皇后了！”他说。“我们等到我们50年后的金婚节的时候再来熬这汤吧，这样我们穷苦的子民就可以快乐一番——大大地快乐一番！”
And very soon the wedding took place.But many of the mice，as they were returning home，said that the soup could not be properly called“soup from a sausage skewer”but“soup from a mouses tail”.
于是他们马上就举行了婚礼。不过许多耗子回到家来的时候说：“我们不能把这叫做香肠栓熬的汤：它应该叫做耗子尾巴做的汤才对！”
They acknowledged also that some of the stories were very well told，but that the whole could have been managed differently.“I should have told it so—and so—and so.”
他们说，故事中有些地方讲得很好；可是整个的事儿不一定要这样讲。“我就会如此这般地讲，不会别样讲！——”
These were the critics who are always so clever afterwards.When this story was circulated(circulate v.(使)流通，(使)运行，(使)循环，(使)传播)all over the world，the opinions upon it were divided，but the story remained the same.And，after all，the best way in everything you undertake，great as well as small，is to expect no thanks for anything you may do，even when it refers to“soup from a sausage skewer”.
这是批评家说的话。他们总是事后聪明的。这个故事传遍了全世界。关于它的意见很多，不过这个故事本身保持了它的原样。不管大事也好，小事也好，能做到这种地步就要算是最好的了，香肠栓做的汤也是如此。不过要想因此而得到感激可就错了！