钟声
这是一篇具有象征性的童话，最初发表在1845年5月的《儿童月刊》上。“钟声”究竟代表什么，居然能吸引那么多人？王子和贫民都去追寻它。“那个穿着短袖上衣和木鞋的穷苦孩子从右边走来了，他是沿着自己的道路，在同一个时候到来的。他们急忙走到一起，在这大自然和诗的教堂中紧紧地握着双手。那口看不见的、神圣的钟在他们的上空发出声音。”这“声音”也许就是象征“文学创作”吧。它有同样感召王子和贫民的灵魂。安徒生在他的手记中说：“‘钟声’这个故事，实际上像我以后写的一些故事一样，完全是我自己的创造。它们像种子似的潜藏在我的思想中。只需一阵雨，一片阳光和一点土壤就可以开出花来。我越来越清楚地感觉到什么都可以通过童话表现出来。随着时间的推移，我更清楚地认识到了我的笔力，但同时也理解到了自己的局限。”这是安徒生的一段创作自白。
In the narrow streets of a large town people often heard in the evening，when the sun was setting，and his last rays gave a golden tint to the chimneypots，a strange noise which resembled the sound of a church bell；it only lasted an instant，for it was lost in the continual roar(roar n.吼叫，怒号vi.吼叫，怒号v.滚动，咆哮)of traffic and hum of voices which rose from the town.“The evening bell is ringing，”people used to say；“the sun is setting！”Those who walked outside the town，where the houses were less crowded and interspersed by gardens and little fields，saw the evening sky much better，and heard the sound of the bell much more clearly.It seemed as though the sound came from a church，deep in the calm，fragrant wood，and thither people looked with devout(devout adj.虔敬的，诚恳的)feelings.
黄昏的时候，太阳正在缓缓沉下去，烟囱上飘着的云块泛出一片金黄的光彩；这时候在一个大城市的小巷里，人们听到近似教堂钟声的奇异声音。不过声音每次持续的时间很短暂。因为街上隆隆的车声和喧闹的人声总是把它打断了。“暮钟响起来了！”人们说道，“太阳落下去了！”城外的房子相互的距离比较远，而且都有花园和草坪；所以城外的人可以更清楚地看到蓝天的，所以也能更清楚地听到这个钟声。它好像是从一个藏在静寂而清香的森林里的教堂里发出来的。大家向这声音飘来的方向看去，不禁起了一种肃穆的感觉。
A considerable time elapsed，one said to the other，“I really wonder if there is a church out in the wood.The bell has indeed a strange sweet sound！Shall we go there and see what the cause of it is？”The rich drove，the poor walked，but the way seemed to them extraordinarily(extraordinarily adv.格外地)long，and when they arrived at a number of willow trees on the border of the wood they sat down，looked up into the great branches and thought they were now really in the wood.A confectioner(confectioner n.糖果制造人，糖果店)from the town also came out and put up a stall there，then came another confectioner who hung a bell over his stall，which was covered with pitch to protect it from the rain，but the clapper(clapper n.铃舌)was wanting.
过了好长一段时间，人们开始相互传说：“我不知道，树林里会不会有一个教堂？钟声的调子是如此奇异和美好，我们能否去看看是怎样一回事？”于是富人坐着车子去，穷人步行去，不过路好像怎样也走不完。当他们来到森林外面的柳树林跟前时，就坐下来休息。他们望着长长的柳树枝，以为真的已走进森林里来了。城里卖糕饼的人也搬到这儿来，而且搭起了小买摊。接着又来了一个卖糖果的人，不一会儿这人在自己的帐篷上挂起了一口钟；这口钟上还涂了一层防雨的沥青，不过它里面却没钟舌。
When people came home they used to say that it had been very romantic，and that really means something else than merely taking tea.Three persons declared that they had gone as far as the end of the wood，they had always heard the strange sound，but there it seemed to them as if it came from the town.One of them wrote verses about the bell，and said that it was like the voice of a mother speaking to an intelligent and beloved child，no tune，he said，was sweeter than the sound of the bell.
回到家之后，大家都说这事情很稀奇，比他们吃过一次茶还要奇特得多。有三个人说，他们把整个的树林都走完了，直走到树林的尽头；他们总是听到这个奇怪的钟声，不过那时它好像是从城里飘来的。甚至还有一位为这钟声做了首诗，把钟声比成一个母亲对一个聪明可爱的孩子唱的歌——什么音乐也没这种钟声好听。
The emperor of the country heard of it，and declared that he who would really find out where the sound came from should receive the title of“Bellringer to the World，”even if there was no bell at all.
这个国家的皇帝也听到了这件事。他颁布了一道圣旨，说不管什么人，只要能找出钟声的发源地，就可以被封为“世界的敲钟人”——哪怕他所发现的不是钟也没关系。
Now many went out into the wood for the sake of this splendid berth，but only one of them came back with some sort of explanation.None of them had gone far enough，nor had he，and yet he said that the sound of the bell came from a large owl in a hollow tree.It was a wisdom owl，which continually knocked its head against the tree，but he was unable to say with certainty whether its head or the hollow trunk of the tree was the cause of the noise.
这么一来，许多人为生计考虑，就到树林里去寻找钟。不过在回来的人当中只有一个人能说出一点道理，谁也没有深入树林，这人当然也没有，但是他却说声音是住在一株空树里的大猫头鹰发出来的。这只猫头鹰的头脑里装的全都是智慧。它不停地把脑袋撞着树。但是这声音是从它的脑袋里发出来的呢，还是从空树干里发出来的呢，他可没有把握作出定论。
He was appointed“Bellringer to the World”，and wrote every year a short dissertation on the owl，but by this means people did not become any wiser than they had been before.
他总算得到了“世界的敲钟人”这个职位，所以他每年写一篇关于猫头鹰的短论。不过大家并没有因为读了他的论文而变得比从前更聪明。
It was just confirmationday.The clergyman had delivered a beautiful and touching sermon，the candidates were deeply moved by it.It was indeed a very important day for them，they were all at once transformed from mere children to grownup people，the childish soul was to fly over，as it were，into a more reasonable being.
在举行坚信礼的那一天，牧师发表了一篇非常华美而动人的演说。受坚信礼的孩子们都受到了极大的感动，由于这是他们生命中极重要的一天。他们在这一天从孩子变成了成年人。他们幼稚天真的灵魂也要变成更有理智的成年人的灵魂。