瓶颈
CLOSE to the corner of a street， among other abodes of poverty， stood an exceedingly tall， narrow house， which had been so knocked about by time that it seemed out of joint in every direction. This house was inhabited by poor people， but the deepest poverty was apparent in the garret lodging in the gable. In front of the little window， an old bent birdcage hung in the sunshine， which had not even a proper waterglass， but instead of it the broken neck of a bottle， turned upside down， and a cork stuck in to make it hold the water with which it was filled. An old maid stood at the window. She had hung chickweedchickweed n.蘩缕（一种鸟喜欢吃的植物） over the cage， and the little linnet which it contained hopped from perch to perch and sang and twittered merrily.
在一条狭窄、弯曲的街上，在许多穷苦的住屋中间，有一座非常狭小、但是很高的木房子。它四边都要塌了。这屋子里住着的全是穷人，而住在顶楼里的人最穷。在这房间惟一的一个小窗子前面，挂着一个歪歪斜斜的破鸟笼。它连一个适当的水盅也没有；只有一个倒转来的瓶颈，嘴上塞着一个塞子，盛满了水。一位老小姐站在这开着的窗子旁边，她刚刚用繁缕草把这鸟笼打扮了一番。一只小苍头燕雀从这根梁上跳到那根梁上，唱得非常起劲。
“Yes， its all very well for you to sing，” said the bottle neck. That is， he did not really speak the words as we do， for the neck of a bottle cannot speak. But he thought them to himself in his own mind， just as people sometimes talk quietly to themselves.
“是的，你倒可以唱歌！”瓶颈说——它当然不是像我们一样讲话，因为瓶颈是不会讲话的。不过它是在心里这样想，正如我们人有时静静地自言自语一样。
“Yes， you may sing very well， you have all your limbs uninjured. You should feel what it is like to lose your body， and only have a neck and a mouth left， with a cork stuck in it， as I have. You wouldnt sing then， I know. After all， it is just as well that there are some who can be happy. I have no reason to sing， nor could I sing now if I were ever so happy. But when I was a whole bottle， and they rubbed me with a cork， didnt I sing then？ I used to be called a complete larklark n.云雀， 百灵鸟， 灰黄色， 诗人， 嬉戏vi.嬉耍， 戏弄， 骑马玩乐vt.愚弄. I remember when I went out to a picnic with the furriers family， on the day his daughter was betrothed，—it seems as if it only happened yesterday. I have gone through a great deal in my time， when I come to recollect. I have been in the fire and in the water， I have been deep in the earth， and have mounted higher in the air than most other people， and now I am swinging here， outside a birdcage， in the air and the sunshine. Oh， indeed， it would be worth while to hear my history， but I do not speak it aloud， for a good reason—because I cannot.”
“是的，你倒可以唱歌！因为你的肢体是健全的呀。你应该体会一下这种情况：没有身体，只剩下一张颈项和一张嘴，而且像我一样嘴上还堵了一个塞子，这样你就不会唱歌了。但是能作作乐也是一桩好事！我没有任何理由来唱歌，而且我也不会唱。是的，当我是一个完整的瓶子的时候，如果有人用塞子在我身上擦几下的话，我也能唱一下的。人们称赞我为十全十美的百灵鸟，伟大的百灵鸟！啊，当我和毛皮商人一家人在郊游野餐的时候！当他的女儿在订婚的时候！是的，我记得那情景，仿佛就是昨天的事情似的。只要我回忆一下，我经历过的事情可真不少。我经历过火和水，在黑泥土里面待过，也曾经比大多数的东西爬得高。现在我却悬在这鸟笼的外面，悬在空气中，在太阳光里！我的故事值得听一听；但是我不把它大声讲出来，因为我不能大声讲。”
Then the bottle neck related his history， which was really rather remarkable； he， in fact， related it to himself， or， at least， thought it in his own mind. The little bird sang his own song merrily； in the street below there was driving and running to and fro， every one thought of his own affairs， or perhaps of nothing at all； but the bottle neck thought deeply.
于是瓶颈就讲起自己的故事，这是一个很奇怪的故事。它在心里讲这故事，也可以说是在心里想自己的故事。那只小鸟愉快地唱着歌。街上的人有的乘车子，有的匆匆步行；各人想着各人的事，也许什么事也没有想。可是瓶颈在想。
He thought of the blazing furnacefurnace n.炉子， 熔炉 in the factory， where he had been blown into life； he remembered how hot it felt when he was placed in the heated oven， the home from which he sprang， and that he had a strong inclination to leap out again directly； but after a while it became cooler， and he found himself very comfortable. He had been placed in a row， with a whole regiment of his brothers and sisters all brought out of the same furnace； some of them had certainly been blown into champagne bottles， and others into beer bottles， which made a little difference between them. In the world it often happens that a beer bottle may contain the most precious wine， and a champagne bottle be filled with blacking， but even in decay it may always be seen whether a man has been well born. Nobility remains noble， as a champagne bottle remains the same， even with blacking in its interior.
它在想着工厂里那个火焰高蹿的熔炉。它就是在那儿被吹成瓶形的。它还记得那时它很热，它曾经向那个发出咝咝声的炉子——它的老家——望过一眼。它真想再跳回到里面去；不过它后来慢慢地变冷了，它觉得它当时的样子也蛮好。它是立在一大群兄弟姊妹的行列中间——都是从一个熔炉里生出来的。不过有的被吹成了香槟酒瓶，有的被吹成了啤酒瓶，而这是有区别的！在它们走进世界里去以后，一个啤酒瓶很可能会装最贵重的“拉克里麦·克利斯蒂”，而一个香槟酒瓶可能只装黑鞋油。不过一个人天生是什么东西，他的样子总不会变的——贵族究竟是贵族，哪怕他满肚子装的是黑鞋油也罢。
When the bottles were packed our bottle was packed amongst them； it little expected then to finish its career as a bottle neck， or to be used as a waterglass to a birdscage， which is， after all， a place of honor， for it is to be of some use in the world. The bottle did not behold the light of day again， until it was unpacked with the rest in the wine merchants cellar， and， for the first time， rinsed with water， which caused some very curious sensations.
所有的瓶子不久就被包装起来了，我们的这个瓶子也在其中。在那个时候，它没有想到自己会成为一个瓶颈，当作鸟儿的水盅——这究竟是一件光荣的事情，因为这说明它还有点用处！它再也没有办法见到天日，直到最后才跟别的朋友们一块儿从一个酒商的地窖里被取出箱子来，第一次在水里洗了一通——这是一种很滑稽的感觉。
There it lay empty， and without a cork， and it had a peculiar feeling， as if it wanted something it knew not what. At last it was filled with rich and costly wine， a cork was placed in it， and sealed down. Then it was labelled “first quality”， as if it had carried off the first prize at an examination； besides， the wine and the bottle were both good， and while we are young is the time for poetry. There were sounds of song within the bottle， of things it could not understand， of green sunny mountains， where the vines grow and where the merry vinedressers laugh， sing， and are merry. “Ah， how beautiful is life.” All these tones of joy and song in the bottle were like the working of a young poets brain， who often knows not the meaning of the tones which are sounding within him.
它躺在那儿，空空地，没有瓶塞。它感到非常不愉快，它缺少一件什么东西——究竟是什么东西，它也讲不出来。最后它装满了贵重的美酒，安上一个塞子，并且封了口。它上面贴着一张纸条：“上等”。它觉得好像在考试时得了优等一样。不过酒的确不坏，瓶也不坏。一个人的年轻时代是诗的时代！其中有它所不知道的优美的歌：绿色的、阳光照着的山岳，那上面长着葡萄，还有许多葡萄园艺工，快乐的女子和高兴的男子，在歌唱，跳舞。的确，生活是多么美好啊！这瓶子的身体里，现在就有这种优美的歌声，像在许多年轻诗人的心里一样——他们常常也不知道他们心里唱的是什么东西。