“你决不会相信,有多少成年人希望和我在一道啊!”奥列·路却埃说,“特别是那些做过坏事的人。他们常对我说:‘小奥列啊,我们合不上眼睛,我们整夜躺在床上,望着自己那些恶劣的举止——这些行为如同丑恶的小鬼一样,坐在我们的床沿上,在我们身上浇着沸水。请你走过来把他们赶跑,好让我们好好地睡一觉吧!’于是他们深深地叹了一口气,‘我们很乐意给你效劳。晚安吧,奥列。钱就在窗台上。’不过,我并不是为了钱而做事的。”奥列·路却埃说。哈尔马问:“我们今晚将做些什么?”
“I do not know whether you would care to go to another wedding,” he replied, “although it is quite a different affair to the one we saw last night. Your sisters large doll, that is dressed like a man, and is called Herman, intends to marry the doll Bertha. It is also the dolls’ birthday, and they will receive many presents.”
“对,我不知道你今晚有没有兴趣再去参加一个婚礼。这个婚礼与昨天的不同。你妹妹的那个大玩偶——那样子像一个大男人,名字叫赫尔曼——将要和一个叫贝尔达的玩偶结婚。此外,今天还是这玩偶的生日,因此他们收到非常多的礼物。”“Yes, I know that already,” said Hjalmar, “my sister always allows her dolls to keep their birthdays or to have a wedding when they require new clothes. That has happened already a hundred times, I am quite sure.”
哈尔马说:“是的,我知道这事。不论什么时候,只要这些玩偶想要有新衣服穿,我的妹妹就让他们来一个生日庆祝会,或举行一次婚礼。我敢保证,这样的事儿已经发生过一百次了!”“Yes, so it may. But tonight is the hundred and first wedding, and when that has taken place it must be the last, therefore this is to be extremely beautiful. Only look.”
“是的,但是今夜举行的是一百零一次的婚礼。当这一百零一次过去以后,一切就会完了。正因为如此,所以这次婚礼将会是非常华丽。你再去看一次吧!”
Hjalmar looked at the table, and there stood the little cardboard dolls house, with lights in all the windows, and drawn up before it were the tin soldiers presenting arms. The bridal pair were seated on the floor, leaning against the leg of the table, looking very thoughtful, and with good reason. Then OleLukOie dressed up in grandmothers black gown married them.
哈尔马往桌子上看了一眼。那儿有一座纸做的房子,并且窗子里有亮光;外面站着的锡兵全在敬礼。新郎与新娘坐在地上,靠着桌子的腿,若有所思的样子,而且并不是没有道理的。奥列·路却埃,穿着祖母的黑裙子,特地主持这个婚礼。
As soon as the ceremonyceremony n.典礼, 仪式, 礼节, 报幕员 was concluded, all the furniture in the room joined in singing a beautiful song, which had been composed by the lead pencil, and which went to the melody of a military tattoo tattoo n.纹身v.刺花样.
“What merry sounds are on the wind,
As marriage rites together bind,
A quiet and a loving pair,
Though formed of kid, yet smooth and fair!
Hurrah! If they are deaf and blind,
Well sing, though weather prove unkind.”
当婚礼结束以后,各种家具合唱起一支美丽的歌——歌是铅笔为他们写的。它是随着兵士击鼓的节奏而唱出的:
“如同一阵风是我们的歌声,
来到这对新婚夫妇的房中;
他们站得如同棍子一样笔直,
他们都是手套皮所做!
棍子与手套皮万岁,万岁!
我们在风雨中大声地贺喜!”
And now came the present. But the bridal pair had nothing to eat, for love was to be their food.
于是他们开始接受礼品——不过他们拒绝收到任何食物,因为他们打算凭借爱情为食粮而生活下去。
“Shall we go to a country house, or travel?” asked the bridegroom.
新郎问:“我们现在到乡下去,还是到外国去作一趟旅行?”
Then they consulted consult v.商量, 商议, 请教, 参考, 考虑 the swallow who had travelled so far, and the old hen in the yard, who had brought up five broods of chickens.
他们去请教那位经常旅行的燕子与院子里那位生了五巢孩子的老母鸡。
And the swallow talked to them of warm countries, where the grapes hang in large clusterscluster n.串, 丛vi.丛生, 成群 on the vines, and the air is soft and mild, and about the mountains glowing with colors more beautiful than we can think of.
燕子讲了许多关于那些美丽的温带国度的事:那儿熟了的葡萄沉甸甸的。一串一串地挂着;那儿的空气是非常温和的;那儿的山岳发出这儿从来见不到的光彩。
“But they have no red cabbage like we have,” said the hen, “I was once in the country with my chickens for a whole summer, there was a large sandpit, in which we could walk about and scratch as we liked. Then we got into a garden in which grew red cabbage. Oh, how nice it was, I cannot think of anything more delicious.”
“可是那里没有像我们这儿的油菜呀!”老母鸡说。“有一年夏天,我跟孩子们住在乡下。那儿有一个沙坑。我们可以随便到那里去,在那儿抓土;我们还得到许可钻进一个长满了油菜的菜园里去。啊,那里面是多么青翠!我想像不到还有什么东西比那更美!”
“But one cabbage stalk is exactly like another,” said the swallow, “and here we have often bad weather.”
“不过这根油菜梗与那根油菜梗还不是一个样儿,”燕子说,“而且这儿的天气老是那样坏!”
“Yes, but we are accustomed to it,” said the hen.
老母鸡说:“人们会习惯于这种天气的。”
“But it is so cold here, and freezes sometimes.”
“可是这儿很冷,老结冰。”
“Cold weather is good for cabbages,” said the hen, “besides we do have it warm here sometimes. Four years ago, we had a summer that lasted more than five weeks, and it was so hot one could scarcely breathe. And then in this country we have no poisonous animals, and we are free from robbers. He must be wicked who does not consider our country the finest of all lands. He ought not to be allowed to live here.” And then the hen wept very much and said, “I have also travelled. I once went twelve miles in a coop, and it was not pleasant travelling at all.”
“那对于油菜是很好的!”老母鸡说。“另外这儿的天气也会暖和起来的呀。四年以前,我们不是有过一连持续了五星期的夏天?那时天气是那么热,你连呼吸都感到困难;并且我们这儿还不像他们那样有有毒的动物,另外我们也没有强盗。谁不认为我们的国家最美丽,谁就是一个恶棍——那么他就不配住在这儿了。”于是老母鸡哭道:“我也旅行过啦!我坐在一个鸡圈里走过150里路:我觉得旅行没一点儿乐趣!”
“The hen is a sensible woman,” said the doll Bertha. “I dont care for travelling over mountains, just to go up and come down again. No, let us go to the sandpit in front of the gate, and then take a walk in the cabbage garden.” And so they settled it.
“是的,老母鸡是一个有理智的女人!”玩偶贝尔达说道,“我对于上山去旅行也不感到兴趣,因为你无非是爬上去,随后又爬下来罢了。不,我们还是走到门外的沙坑那里去,我们在油菜中间散散步吧。”问题就这样解决了。
Saturday星期六
“Am I to hear any more stories?” asked little Hjalmar, as soon as OleLukOie had sent him to sleep.
小小的哈尔马说道:“现在讲几个故事给我听吧!”这时奥列·路却埃已把他送上了床。