完全是真的
这篇寓言性的小故事，收在安徒生的《故事集》里。一只白母鸡在自己身上啄下了一根羽毛，消息一传出去，结果就变成：“五只母鸡把她们的羽毛都啄得精光，为的是要表示出她们中谁因为和那只公鸡失了恋而变得最消瘦。后来，她们相互啄得流血，弄得五只母鸡全部死掉。”原先落掉一根羽毛的那只白母鸡，为了表示自己有身份，认为这种现象应该公布，以“教育”大众。“这个故事终于在报纸被刊登出来了……一根小小的羽毛可以变成五只母鸡。”当时的新闻舆论界也可能就是如此，是安徒生有感而发，写了这篇小故事。
“That was a terrible affair！”said a hen，and in a quarter of the town，too，where it had not taken place.“That was a terrible affair in a henroost.I cannot sleep alone tonight.It is a good thing that many of us sit on the roost (roost n.栖木，栖息所，卧室vi.栖息，安歇vt.使栖息)together.”And then she told a story that made the feathers on the other hens bristle up，and the cocks comb fall.There was no doubt about it.
“那真是一件恐怖的事情！”母鸡说。她讲这话的地方不是城里发生这个故事的那个区域。“那是鸡屋里的一件恐怖的事情！我今晚不敢一个人睡觉了！真是幸运，我们今晚大伙儿都栖在一根栖木上！”接着她讲了一个故事，弄得别的母鸡羽毛都根根竖起，可公鸡的冠却垂下来了。这完全是真的！
But we will begin at the beginning，and that is to be found in a henroost in another part of the town.The sun was setting，and the fowls were flying on to their roost，one hen，with white feathers and short legs，used to lay her eggs according to the regulations (regulation n.规则，规章，调节，校准)，and was，as a hen，respectable in every way.As she was flying upon the roost，she plucked (pluck v.拔去(鸡、鸭等)毛，采集n.勇气)herself with her beak，and a little feather came out.
不过我们还是从头开始吧。故事是发生在城里另外一区的鸡屋里面。太阳落下了，所有的母鸡都飞上了栖木。有一只母鸡，羽毛很白，腿十分短；她总是按规定的数目下蛋。从各方面说起来，她是一只很有身份的母鸡。当她飞到栖木上去时，她用嘴啄了自己几下，使得有一根小羽毛落了下来。
“There it goes，”she said，“the more I pluck，the more beautiful do I get.”She said this merrily，for she was the best of the hens，and，moreover，as had been said，very respectable.With that she went to sleep.
“事情就是这个样子！”她说，“我越把自己啄得厉害，我就越漂亮！”她说这话的神情是很快乐的，因为她心情愉快，我刚才说过她是一只很有身份的鸡。不一会儿她就睡着了。
It was dark all around，and hen sat close to hen，but the one who sat nearest to her merry merry adj.欢乐的，愉快的neighbour did not sleep.She had heard and yet not heard，as we are often obliged to do in this world，in order to live at peace，but she could not keep it from her neighbour on the other side any longer.“Did you hear what was said？I mention no names，but there is a hen here who intends to pluck herself in order to look well.If I were a cock，I should despise (despise vt.轻视)her.”
周围是一片漆黑。母鸡跟母鸡站在一边，不过有只母鸡，也就是离她最近的那只却睡不着。她在静听——一只耳朵进，一只耳朵出：一个人要想在世界上安静地活下去，就必须得如此做不可。但是她忍不住要把她所听到的事情告诉她的邻居：“你听到过刚才的话吗？我不愿意把名字指出来。只是有一只母鸡，她为了好看，啄掉自己的羽毛。如果我是公鸡的话，我才真要瞧不起她呢。”
Just over the fowls sat the owl，with father owl and the little owls.The family has sharp ears，and they all heard every word that their neighbour had said.They rolled their eyes，and mother owl，beating her wings，said，“Dont listen to her！But I suppose you heard what was said？I heard it with my own ears，and one has to hear a great deal before they fall off.There is one among the fowls who has so far forgotten what is becoming to a hen that she plucks out all her feathers and lets the cock see it.”
在这些母鸡的上面住着一只猫头鹰和她的丈夫以及孩子。她们一家人的耳朵都很尖：邻居刚才所讲的话，他们全听见了。他们翻翻眼睛，接着猫头鹰妈妈就拍拍翅膀说：“不要听那类的话！不过我想你们全听到了刚才的话吧？我是亲耳听到过的，你得听了许多才能记住。有一只母鸡完全忘记了母鸡所应当有的尊严：她甚至把她的羽毛都啄掉了，好让公鸡把她看一个仔细。”
“Prenez garde aux enfants enfant n.<法>儿童，小孩！”said father owl，“Children should not hear such things.”