钱猪
这是一则很风趣的小品，最初发表在１８５５年哥本哈根出版的《丹麦大众历书》上。“钱猪”肚子里装满钱，满得摇动时连响声都不发，是一种大人物沉着庄重的样子。但它跌碎了以后，钱都光了，另一个新“钱猪”来代替它，“它肚皮里还没有装进钱，因此它也摇不出响声来”。实际既然如此，“它跟别的东西完全没有什么区别”，因此它就谈不上是什么大人物了。世事就是如此。
IN a nursery where a number of toys lay scattered about，a moneybox stood on the top of a very high wardrobe(wardrobe n.衣柜，衣厨，衣室，衣服，行头，剧装).It was made of clay in the shape of a pig，and had been bought of the potter.In the back of the pig was a slit，and this slit had been enlarged with a knife，so that dollars，or crown pieces，might slip through，and，indeed there were two in the box，besides a number of pence.The moneypig was stuffed so full that it could no longer rattle，which is the highest state of perfection to which a moneypig can attain.There he stood upon the cupboard，high and lofty，looking down upon everything else in the room.He knew very well that he had enough inside him to buy up all the other toys，and this gave him a very good opinion of his own value.
婴儿室里有许多玩具；橱柜顶上有一个贮钱罐，它的形状像猪，是泥烧的。它的背上自然还有一条狭口。这狭口后来又用刀子挖大一点，好让整个银元也可以塞进去。的确，除了许多银毫以外，里头也有两块银元。钱猪装得满满的，连摇也摇不响——这可以算是一只钱猪所能达到的最高峰了。他现在高高地站在橱柜上，看不起房里其他任何的东西。他十分清楚，他肚皮里所装的钱可以买到这里所有的玩具。这就是我们所谓的“心中有数”。
The rest thought of this fact also，although they did not express it，for there were so many other things to talk about.A large doll，still handsome，though rather old，for her neck had been mende(dmend vt.修改，改进，加快，修理vi.好转，改善，改正n.改进，改良，补丁)，lay inside one of the drawers which was partly open.She called out to the others，“Let us have a game at being men and women，that is something worth playing at.”
别的玩具也想到了这个事实，虽然它们不讲出来——因为还有许多别的事情要讲。桌子的抽屉是半开着的，这里面有一个非常大的玩具。她虽然有点儿旧，脖子也修理过一次，但仍然漂亮。她朝外边看了一眼，说：“我们现在来扮演人好吗？因为这毕竟是值得一做的事情呀！”
Upon this there was a great uproar(uproar n.喧嚣，骚动)，even the engravings，which hung in frames on the wall，turned round in their excitement，and showed that they had a wrong side to them，although they had not the least intention to expose themselves in this way，or to object to the game.It was late at night，but as the moon shone through the windows，they had light at a cheap rate.And as the game was now to begin，all were invited to take part in it，even the childrens wagon，which certainly belonged to the coarser playthings.“Each has its own value，”said the wagon，“we cannot all be noblemen，there must be some to do the work.”
这时有一阵骚动，甚至连墙上挂着的那些画也转过身来，表示它们也有反对的一面，尽管这并不是说明它们在反对。现在是半夜了。月光从窗子外面照进来，送来不用花钱的光。游戏马上就要开始了。所有的玩具，甚至属于比较粗糙的玩具一类的学步车，也被邀请了。“每个人都有自己的优点，”学步车说，“我们不能全都是贵族。正如俗语所说的，总要有人做事才可以！”
The moneypig was the only one who received a written invitation.He stood so high that they were afraid he would not accept a verbal(verbal adj.口头的)message.But in his reply，he said，if he had to take a part，he must enjoy the sport from his own home，they were to arrange for him to do so，and so they did.The little toy theatre was therefore put up in such a way that the moneypig could look directly into it.Some wanted to begin with a comedy，and afterwards to have a tea party and a discussion for mental improvement，but they commenced with the latter first.
只有钱猪接到了一张手写的请帖，因为他的地位很高，大家担心他不会接受口头的邀请。确实，他并没有回答说他来不来，只说如果要他参加的话，他得在自己家里欣赏。大家能够照他的意思办，于是他们也就照办了。那个小玩偶舞台布置得恰好可以使他一眼就能看到台上的扮演。大家想先演一出喜剧，接着再吃茶和做知识练习。他们立即就开始了。