夜莺
这篇故事发表于1844年，收集在《新的童话》里，背景是在中国，但它反映的实质内容却并不限于中国皇帝，而是具有普遍意义：它揭露了统治阶级的愚蠢和无知、庸俗和腐朽。那位皇帝惊奇地说：“夜莺！我完全不知道有这只夜莺！我的帝国里有这只鸟儿吗？而且它还居然就在我的花园里面？我从来没有听到过这回事儿！”他的大臣也从来没有告诉过他有这么一只远近驰名的鸟儿，因此他们养尊处优，脱离实际，无知到了这种程度，竟然把牛叫和蛙声当作是夜莺的歌唱，后来他们听到真正夜莺的歌唱时，他们也不能欣赏，倒喜欢起日本皇帝送来的那只人造夜莺所发出一支单调的“华尔兹舞曲”来。
真正能够欣赏夜莺的是一个“忙碌的穷苦渔夫”和一个在皇宫厨房里干粗活的小女孩。夜莺的歌唱得那么美好和感人，这个小女孩说：“每天晚上大家准许我把桌上剩下的一点儿饭粒带回家去，送给我可怜的生病的母亲——她住在海岸旁边。当我在回家的路上走得疲倦了的时候，我就在树林里休息一会儿，那时我就听到夜莺唱歌。这时我的眼泪就流出来了，我觉得好像我的母亲在吻我似的！”后来那只人造夜莺的发条断了，不再发生作用，皇帝才懂得真正夜莺的歌声，希望把它留在宫里。但那只夜莺说：“您的小小的歌鸟现在要远行了，它要飞到那个穷苦的渔夫身旁去，飞到农民的屋顶上去，飞到住得离您和您的宫廷很远的每个人身边去。”夜莺是属于普通人民的，也只有他们才能欣赏和理解它的歌声。
IN China，you know，the emperor is a Chinese，and all those about him are Chinamen also.The story I am going to tell you happened a great many years ago，so it is well to hear it now before it is forgotten.The emperors palace was the most beautiful in the world.It was built entirely of porcelain(porcelain n.瓷器，瓷adj.瓷制的，精美的，脆的)，and very costly，but so delicate and brittle that whoever touched it was obliged to be careful.In the garden could be seen the most singular flowers，with pretty silver bells tied to them，which tinkled so that every one who passed could not help noticing the flowers.
你也许知道，在中国，皇帝是一个中国人，他周围的人也是中国人。这故事发生在许多年以前。这位皇帝的宫殿是世界上最华丽的，完全用细致的瓷砖砌成，价值非常高，不过非常脆弱，如果你想摸摸它，你必须万分当心。人们在御花园里可以看到世界上最珍奇的花儿。那些最名贵的花上都系着银铃，好使得走过的人一听到铃声就不得不注意这些花儿。
Indeed，everything in the emperors garden was remarkable(remarkable adj.不平常的，非凡的，值得注意的，显著的)，and it extended so far that the gardener himself did not know where it ended.Those who travelled beyond its limits knew that there was a noble forest，with lofty trees，sloping down to the deep blue sea，and the great ships sailed under the shadow of its branches.
事实上，皇帝花园里的一切东西都布置得非常精致。花园很大，连园丁都不知道它的尽头在什么地方。如果有人不停地向前走，他可以碰到一个茂密的树林，里面有很高的树，还有很深的湖。树林一直伸展到蔚蓝色的、深沉的海那儿去。巨大的船只可以在树枝底下航行。
In one of these trees lived a nightingale，who sang so beautifully that even the poor fishermen，who had so many other things to do，would stop and listen.Sometimes，when they went at night to spread their nets，they would hear her sing，and say，“Oh，is not that beautiful？”But when they returned to their fishing，they forgot the bird until the next night.Then they would hear it again，and exclaim“Oh，how beautiful is the nightingales song！”
树林里住着一只夜莺。它的歌声非常美妙，连一个忙碌的穷苦渔夫在夜间出去收网的时候，一听到这夜莺的歌唱，也不得不停下来欣赏。“我的天，唱得多么美啊！”他说。不过当他去工作时，他只有把这写儿忘掉。第二天晚上，这鸟儿又唱起来了。渔夫听到歌声的时候，不禁又同样赞叹，“我的天，唱得多么美啊！”
Travellers from every country in the world came to the city of the emperor，which they admired very much，as well as the palace and gardens，but when they heard the nightingale，they all declared it to be the best of all.And the travellers，on their return home，related what they had seen，and learned men wrote books，containing descriptions of the town，the palace，and the gardens，but they did not forget the nightingale，which was really the greatest wonder.And those who could write poetry composed beautiful verses(verse n.韵文，诗，诗节，诗句，诗篇) about the nightingale，who lived in a forest near the deep sea.
世界各国的旅行家都来到他们非常向往的这位皇帝的首都，欣赏这座皇城、宫殿和花园。不过当他们听到夜莺歌唱的时候，他们都说这是最美的东西。这些旅行家回到本国以后，就谈论着他们的所见所闻。于是许多学者写了大量关于皇城、宫殿和花园的书籍，他们也没有忘记夜莺，这个最了不起的歌唱。那些会写诗的人还写了许多最美丽的诗篇，歌颂这只住在树林里的夜莺。
The books travelled all over the world，and some of them came into the hands of the emperor，and he sat in his golden chair，and，as he read，he nodded his approval every moment，for it pleased him to find such a beautiful description of his city，his palace，and his gardens.But when he came to the words，“the nightingale is the most beautiful of all，”he exclaimed，“What is this？I know nothing of any nightingale.Is there such a bird in my empire？and even in my garden？I have never heard of it.Something，it appears，may be learnt from books.”
这些书流传到全世界。有几本居然流传到皇帝手里。他坐在他的金椅子上，读了又读：每一秒钟点一次头，因为那些关于皇城、宫殿和花园的美妙的描写使他读起来非常愉快。当他看到“不过夜莺是这一切东西中最美的东西，”这句话对，他很惊讶。“这是怎么一回事儿？”皇帝说。“夜莺！我完全不知道有这样一只夜莺！我的帝国里有这只鸟儿吗？而且它还居然就在我的花园里面？我从来没有听到过这回事儿！这件事情我只能在书本上读到！”
Then he called one of his lordsinwaiting，who was so highbred，that when any in an inferior rank to himself spoke to him，or asked him a question，he would answer，“Pooh，”which means nothing.
于是他把他的侍臣召进来。这是一位高贵的人物。任何地位比他低的人，只要敢于跟他讲话或者问他一件什么事情，他一向只是简单地回答一声，“呸！”——这个字眼没有任何意义。
“There is a very wonderful bird mentioned here，called a nightingale，”said the emperor，“they say it is the best thing in my large kingdom.Why have I not been told of it？”
“据说这儿有一只奇异的鸟儿，叫夜莺！”皇帝说。“人们都说它是我的伟大帝国里一件最珍贵的东西。为什么从来没有人跟我提起过呢？”
“I have never heard the name，”replied the cavalier，“she has not been presented at court.”
“我从来没有听到过这个名字，”侍臣说。“从来没有人把它进贡到宫里来！”
“It is my pleasure that she shall appear this evening.”said the emperor，“the whole world knows what I possess better than I do myself.”
“我命令：今晚必须把它弄来，给我唱唱歌。”皇帝说。“全世界都知道我有什么好东西，而我自己却不知道！”
“I have never heard of her，”said the cavalier，“yet I will endeavor to find her.”
“我从来没有听到过它的名字，”侍臣说。“我得去找找它！我得去找找它！”
But where was the nightingale to be found？The nobleman went up stairs and down，through halls and passages，yet none of those whom he met had heard of the bird.So he returned to the emperor，and said that it must be a fable，invented by those who had written the book.“Your imperial(imperial adj.皇帝的)majesty，”said he，“cannot believe everything contained in books，sometimes they are only fiction，or what is called the black art.”
不过该到什么地方去找这只夜莺呢？这位侍臣在台阶上走上走下，在大厅和长廊里跑来跑去，但是他所遇到的人都说没有听到过有什么夜莺。这位侍臣只好跑回到皇帝那儿去，说这一定是写书的人捏造的一个神话。“陛下请不要相信书上所写的东西。这些东西大都是无稽之谈——也就是所谓‘胡说八道’罢了。”