“Ah！” he sighed mournfully， as he gazed at the birds singing merrily， or hopping from branch to branch， “they are much better off than I. Flying is a glorious power. Happy is he who is born with wings. Yes， if I could change myself into anything I would be a little lark.” At the same moment his coattails and sleeves grew together and formed wings， his clothes changed to feathers， and his goloshes to claws. He felt what was taking place， and laughed to himself. “Well， now it is evident I must be dreaming， but I never had such a wild dream as this.”
“啊！”他叹了一口气，颇有点牢骚的情绪。他把在树枝间跳跃着的、唱着歌的几只小鸟儿凝望了一阵，说：“它们比我幸福得多。飞翔是一种愉快的艺术。那些生而就能飞的动物真是幸运！是的，如果我会变成任何东西的话，我就希望变成这样一只百灵鸟！”不一会儿他的上衣后裾和袖子就连到一起，变成一双翅膀了。他的衣服变成了羽毛，套鞋变成了雀爪。他亲眼看到这变化的过程，他内心里不禁大笑起来。“唔，我现在知道了，我是在做梦，不过以前我从来没有梦得这么荒唐。”
And then he flew up into the green boughs and sang， but there was no poetry in the song， for his poetic nature had left him. The goloshes， like all persons who wish to do a thing thoroughly， could only attend to one thing at a time. He wished to be a poet， and he became one. Then he wanted to be a little bird， and in this change he lost the characteristics of the former one.
于是他飞到那些绿枝间去，唱起歌来。但是他的歌声中没有诗，因为他诗人的气质现在已经没有了。这双套鞋，像一个办事彻底的人一样，在一个固定的时间里只做一件事情。他希望做一个诗人，他就成了一个诗人了。现在他希望做一只小鸟。但是既然成了一只鸟，他以前的特点就完全消失了。
“Well，” thought he， “this is charming， by day I sit in a policeoffice， amongst the dryest law papers， and at night I can dream that I am a lark， flying about in the gardens of Fredericksburg. Really a complete comedy could be written about it.” Then he flew down into the grass， turned his head about in every direction， and tapped his beak on the bending blades of grass， which， in proportion to his size， seemed to him as long as the palmleaves in northern Africa.
“这也真够滑稽！”他说。“白天我坐在警察署的枯燥乏味的公文堆里，夜间我就梦见自己在飞来飞去，成了佛列得里克斯堡公园里的一只百灵鸟。一个人倒真可以把这故事写成一部通俗的喜剧呢。”现在他飞到草地上来了。他把头掉向四边望，同时用嘴啄着一根柔软的草梗。草梗与他的身体相比，似乎和北非洲棕榈树枝的长短差不多。
In another moment all was darkness around him. It seemed as if something immense had been thrown over him. A sailor boy had flung his large cap over the bird， and a hand came underneath and caught the clerk by the back and wings so roughly， that he squeakedsqueak v.发出尖叫声n.尖叫声， 吱吱声， 机会， and then cried out in his alarm， “You impudent rascal， I am a clerk in the policeoffice！” but it only sounded to the boy like “tweet， tweet.” so he tapped the bird on the beak， and walked away with him.
这一切不过是昙花一现而已。他的四周马上又变成了漆黑的夜。他似乎觉得有一件巨大的物体落到头上来——这是水手住宅区的一个孩子向这只百灵鸟头上抛过来的一顶大帽子。一只手伸进帽子里来了，把录事的背和翅膀抓住，弄得他不得不唧唧喳喳地叫起来。他感到一阵惊恐，大声叫道：“你这个无礼的混蛋！我是警察署的书记呀！”可是这声音在孩子的耳中听来只不过是一阵“唧唧！喳喳！”罢了。他在鸟儿的嘴上敲了两下，带着他走了。
In the avenue he met two schoolboys， who appeared to belong to a better class of society， but whose inferior abilities kept them in the lowest class at school. These boys bought the bird for eightpence， and so the clerk returned to Copenhagen.
在一个小巷里小孩碰见另外两个孩子。这两个人，就出身说，是属于受过教养的那个阶级的。可是就能力讲，他们是属于学校中最劣的一等。他们花了八个银毫把这只小鸟买走了。因此这位录事就被带回到哥本哈根，住进哥得街上的一个人家里去。
“It is well for me that I am dreaming，” he thought， “otherwise I should become really angry. First I was a poet， and now I am a lark. It must have been the poetic nature that changed me into this little creature. It is a miserable story indeed， especially now I have fallen into the hands of boys. I wonder what will be the end of it.”
“幸好我是在做梦，”录事说，“否则我就真要生气了。起先我是一个诗人，现在我却成了一只百灵鸟！是的，这一定是诗人的气质使我转变成为这只小动物的。这也真算是倒霉之至，尤其当一个人落到小孩子手中去了的时候。我倒希望知道这会得到一个什么结果呢。”
The boys carried him into a very elegant room， where a stout， pleasantlooking lady received them， but she was not at all gratifiedgratify vt.使满足 to find that they had brought a lark—a common fieldbird as she called it. However， she allowed them for one day to place the bird in an empty cage that hung near the window.
孩子把他带到一个非常漂亮的房间里去。一个微笑着的胖太太向他们走来。她把这只百灵鸟叫做一只普通的田野小鸟，不过当她看到他们把它带来的时候，她并不感到太高兴。她只让这小鸟在这儿待一天，而且他们还得把它关进窗子旁的那只空笼子里去。
“It will please Polly perhaps，” she said， laughing at a large gray parrot， who was swinging himself proudly on a ring in a handsome brass cage. “It is Pollys birthday，” she added in a simperingsimper vi.痴笑vt.假笑着说n.痴笑， 假笑 tone， “and the little fieldbird has come to offer his congratulations.”
“也许他能逗得波贝高兴一下吧，”她继续说，望着一只大绿鹦鹉笑了一下。这鹦鹉站在一个漂亮铜笼子里的环子上，洋洋得意地荡来荡去。“今天是波贝的生日，”她天真地说， “因此应该有一个普通的田野小鸟来祝贺他。”
Polly did not answer a single word， he continued to swing proudly to and fro， but a beautiful canary， who had been brought from his own warm， fragrant fatherland， the summer previous， began to sing as loud as he could.
波贝一句话也不回答，他只是骄傲地荡来荡去。不过一只美丽的金丝鸟——他是去年夏天从他温暖芬芳的祖国被带到这儿来的——开始高声地唱起来。
“You screamer！” said the lady， throwing a white handkerchief over the cage.
“多嘴的！”太太说，马上把一条白手帕蒙在笼子上。
“Tweet， tweet，” sighed he， “what a dreadful snowstorm！” and then he became silent.
“唧唧！吱吱！”雀子叹了一口气，“她又在大发雷霆。”叹了这口气以后，他就不再作声了。
The clerk， or as the lady called him the fieldbird， was placed in a little cage close to the canary， and not far from the parrot. The only human speech which Polly could utter， and which she sometimes chattered forth most comicallycomically adv.滑稽地， 诙谐地， was “Now let us be men.” All besides was a scream， quite as unintelligibleunintelligible adj.难解的， 无法了解的， 莫明其妙的 as the warbling of the canarybird， excepting to the clerk， who being now a bird， could understand his comrades very well.
录事——或者引用太太的话，一只田野的小鸟——是关在靠近金丝鸟的一个雀笼里，离鹦鹉也不远。波贝所会说的惟一的人话——而且这话听起来也很滑稽——是：“来吧，让我们像一个人吧。”他所讲的其他的话语，正如金丝鸟的歌声一样，谁也听不懂。只有变成了一只小鸟的这位录事，才能完全听懂他的朋友的话语。
“I flew beneath green palmtrees， and amidst the blooming almondtrees，” sang the canarycanary n.金丝雀， 淡黄色. “I flew with my brothers and sisters over beautiful flowers， and across the clear， bright sea， which reflected the waving foliage in its glittering depths， and I have seen many gay parrots， who could relate long and delightful stories.
“我在青翠的棕榈树下飞，我在盛开的杏树下飞！”金丝鸟唱着。“我和我的兄弟姐妹们在美丽的花朵上飞，在风平浪静的海上飞——那儿有植物在海的深处波动。我也看见许多可爱的鹦鹉，他们讲出许多那么长、那么有趣的故事。”
“They were wild birds，” answered the parrot， “and totally uneducated. Now let us be men. Why do you not laugh？ If the lady and her visitors can laugh at this， surely you can. It is a great failing not to be able to appreciate what is amusing. Now let us be men.”
“这都是一些野鸟，”鹦鹉回答说。“他们没有受过教育。来吧，让我们像一个人吧——为什么不笑呢？如果太太和所有的客人们都能发笑，你也应该能发笑呀。对于幽默的事情不能领会，这是一个很大的缺点。来吧，让我们像一个人吧。”