挑些刺……
"kind-faced and wise in the ways of bears and men”，“men”没有翻译出来。另外kind-faced应该是“面相和善”，而不是长得漂亮。整句话的翻译我也有些拿不准，应该是“面相在男性狗熊里还算和善”，还是“按照狗熊的标准来说，他长得很有些慈眉善目”。
另外，觉得狗熊在中文里面有贬义色彩，何不干脆译为“熊”以及“公熊”？
“被正确地教育了”，“受到了正确的教育”？
整体感觉直译色彩比较重，并不是太符合中文表达习惯。
但那条小径很吸引人，想知道是什么样的考验，加油！
Little Bear and his Friends
小熊和他的伙伴们
By Frances Margaret Fox
1921
Little Bear goes Traveling down Forget-Me-Not Trail
小熊的“勿忘我”之路
Once a traveling brown bear came visiting the Three Bears in their house in the woods. He was an old fellow, kind-faced and wise in the ways of bears and men, but very fond of joking.
一次，一只正在旅途中的棕熊前来拜访住在森林里的小熊一家。棕熊已经不年轻了，他的长相在男性狗熊里还算不错，也够有智慧，而且非常喜欢讲笑话。
When Little Bear had gone to bed and Father Bear and Mother Bear were entertaining the stranger by the cosy fire, the brown bear said he was pleased to see one young bear in the forest who obeyed at once and went to bed when he was told.
当小熊上床睡觉的时候，熊爸爸和熊妈妈正在温暖的火炉旁款待这位客人。棕熊说他很高兴现在森林里还能见到这样听话的孩子。
"Moreover," said the old brown bear, "it pleases me well to meet a young bear who doesn't think that all the bears in the woods should bow down to him because he does a good deed! Young bears like that are uncommon."
“尤其让我欣慰的是，”棕熊感慨道，“他没有因为自己做对了一些事而洋洋自得，觉得整个森林里的熊都要向自己致敬。这样的年轻人实在不多见！”
No one spoke; so the old bear went on: "Today I lost my staff over the cliff, and your son went down and brought it back to me." "Quite right, sir," said Father Bear.
"Even so," agreed the old bear, "but when I wanted to reward him with a few honey-dried blackberries, he ran away and called merrily over his shoulder, 'Thank you, sir, but what I did wasn't worth being paid for! Please forget it!''"
没有人吭声，老熊继续说下去：“就在今天，我在悬崖边弄丢了手杖，是你们的孩子跑到下面去帮我拾回来的。”
“那是非常正确的，先生。”熊爸爸说。
“甚至，”老熊点点头说，“当我要用一些蜜糖腌制的蓝莓果脯来答谢他的时候，他立刻跑得远远儿地然后回过头来愉快地对我说，‘谢谢您，先生，我做的只是举手之劳不需要报答的！请忘了它吧！’”
The old brown bear rose clumsily and began to fill the pockets of Little Bear's trousers with honey-dried blackberries. Soon the trousers, which hung on a chair, were weighted down with the dried fruit.
说完这只年老的棕熊略带蹒跚地站起身，开始往小熊的裤袋里塞那些蓝莓果脯。很快，那条挂在椅背上的裤子就因为果脯的重量而垂了下来。
After that, Father Bear, Mother Bear, and the old brown bear talked about how young bears should be brought up. The old bear said he should like to try to find out how many of the young bears in the forest were learning to walk the right little path while they were young. When he explained his idea, Father Bear said, "Good, good!" But Mother Bear was not so sure. She said she was afraid that even Little Bear might not stand the test suggested by their guest.
接着，熊爸爸、熊妈妈和他们的客人谈论了年轻人该如何成长的话题。老熊说他很想知道森林里究竟有多少孩子被正确地教育了。当他说出自己的设想时，熊爸爸连连附和道“好，好！”但熊妈妈还是有一些担心。她说很可能就连小熊也无法通过这项考验。
The next day Father Bear introduced the brown bear to all the father bears in the neighborhood. They were proud to meet so famous a traveler and gladly agreed to his plan for testing the young bears. And so the next day all the young bears in the neighborhood were called to meet on Little Bear's playground. They came and behaved well. They were so polite that Little Bear almost felt as if he were among strangers. He, too, was very dignified and careful. No mother bears of father bears were present.
第二天，熊爸爸把棕熊介绍给附近所有的父亲们。那些成年的公熊都为能见到这样一位著名的旅行者而感到骄傲。他们非常赞同关于考验孩子们的计划。于是接下来的一天所有的孩子都被召集到小熊家的空地上。他们个个举止得体又有礼貌，以至于小熊都感到得有些陌生了。当然，他也特别小心，希望自己表现完美。这一次，熊爸爸和熊妈妈们都不在场。
The old brown bear made a speech. He said he wished to meet all the young bears in a spot in the wildwood; there he would have swings ready for them, he said, and a pool for them to splash in, and plenty of good things to eat. He was planning a game for their parents, too, that he called, "Find your child."
年老的棕熊首先发表了一篇演讲。他说自己很高兴在此见到森林里所有的孩子，并且准备了许多活动，有一个供大家玩耍嬉戏的水池，还有许多好吃的东西。同样地，也为父母们设计了一项游戏，叫做“找到你们的孩子”。
"If you choose," he went on to say, "you can have a good time, whether you are well behaved young bears or not, for you will be kept safe and well amused; but unless you wish to cause your parents grief, obey their parting words. When I pass in the morning each of you must be waiting at his gate. I shall then whisper in your ear the name of our secret meeting place, and you must set forth at once in a bee line."
“如果你选择参加了，”他说，“那将是一段非常愉快的时光。无论你的行为是否得体，这里绝对安全并且充满乐趣。听爸爸妈妈的话，别让他们失望。当我早上经过的时候，你们每一个人必须站在门口等候。我会悄悄告诉你汇合点的名字，然后请你立即快速地前往那里。”
The next morning Little Bear was waiting at the gate when the traveling brown bear came by, after calling at the other front gates in the neighborhood.
"Meet me at Jolly Park Glen," whispered the old brown bear. "I shall be there before you, because I shall travel by the tunnel route. You go by the bee line. Now, scoot!"
第二天早上，小熊站在门口，看见棕熊正离开邻居家的大门向自己走来。“乔利帕尔峡谷。”棕熊耳语道，“我会比你先到达那里，因为我会走一条地下隧道。而你必须通过露天的途径。现在，快跑！”
Little Bear nodded, waved his hand, and hurried along on his bee-line journey; but he had not gone far in the forest when an old squirrel fell from an oak tree and lost all his nuts. Little Bear stopped to pick them up for him.
"You are kind, Little Bear, and I thank you," said the squirrel.
小熊点点头，摆摆手，然后很快就开始了他的旅途。然而没有走多远，小熊就碰到了一只从橡树上掉下来的老年松鼠，他的坚果撒了一地。小熊停下来帮助松鼠把坚果检起来。
“你真好心，谢谢了！”松鼠说。
Little Bear answered politely, "Oh, that was nothing but a pleasure," and at once forgot that he had done a kind deed; but when he looked over his shoulder to wave his hand he saw a strange sight. The squirrel was planting a forget-me-not.
小熊礼貌地回答道，“噢，能为你做这些我很荣幸！”然后几乎是立刻就忘记了这一切。但是当他回过头挥手告别的时候，看到一个奇怪的现象：那只松鼠种下了一枝勿忘我。
On went Little Bear until he found a lost baby rabbit who was crying sadly. "Where do you live?"asked Little Bear.
"Back under the pink wild-rose bush," answered the baby rabbit. "Oh, carry me home by the ears!"
Little Bear did so, but the mother rabbit did not even say, "Thank you." She spanked the baby rabbit for running away, and then chewed a dandelion leaf tip-end first, rabbit fashion. She said nothing to Little Bear, but just winked and wrinkled her nose. For a minute Little Bear felt cross to think that he had gone out of his way to be a baby rabbit's nurse, and then had not even been thanked for it.
小熊继续赶路，这回他遇到了一只走丢了的兔宝宝，正哭得伤心。“你住在哪里？”小熊问。
“就在那片粉红色的野生灌木后面，”兔宝宝回答道，“请送我回家！”小熊照做了，但是兔妈妈甚至连一句谢谢都没有说。她生气地打着兔宝宝的屁股，然后像兔子们常做的那样嚼碎了一片蒲公英的叶尖。她一句话也没对小熊说，只是在那儿摆弄着自己的鼻子。有那么一瞬间，小熊确实因自己所做的事没有得到感谢而烦恼。
"Never mind," he said to himself and ran merrily on his way. He turned round to wave his hand at the mother rabbit; but she did not see him because she was planting a forget-me-not.
“没关系！”小熊对自己说，尔后又高高兴兴地上路了。当他回过头向兔妈妈挥手的时候，兔妈妈并没有注意到，因为她那时正在栽下一株勿忘我。
Little Bear did many deeds of kindness before he reached Jolly Park Glen, and forgot them all; he let them slide right off his mind. But he could not forget the strange fact that many wildwood folk were busy planting that morning and that they were all planting forget-me-nots.
在达到乔利帕尔峡谷前，小熊做了许多好事，却没有在脑中记下一件，它们就像流水一样了无痕迹。然而令小熊难以释怀的是，在这个早晨，许许多多的森林成员们似乎都在干着同样一件事，那就是种植勿忘我，多么奇怪啊！
Little Bear ran into the glen dancing for joy; he had traveled lightly and happily all the way, and so he was brimming over with good nature when he met the old brown bear again.
"Am I the first one to get here?" asked Little Bear. He did not hear the other bears playing.
"No," said the old brown bear, "your young friends are all here. But they are tired because they carry unpleasant memories."
小熊跑进峡谷，跳起舞来，他一路上都是那么心情愉悦，所以在见到棕熊的时候，浑身洋溢着积极向上的活力。
“我是第一个到这儿的吗？”小熊问。因为他没有听到其他熊嬉戏的声音。
“不，”年老的棕熊说，“你的朋友们都在呢。只是他们太累了，有一些不愉快的事。”
Sure enough, there were the other little bears, sitting around on stumps, all feeling too cross to play.
"What is the trouble with them?" asked Little Bear.
"We were badly treated on our journey," said one. "All the wildwood folk wanted us to work for them, and when we did stop once in a while to help them we didn't get any thanks. When we looked back they were all planting brambles instead of tending to their gardens!"
果然，其他的小熊都在峡谷里，他们围坐在树桩上，垂头丧气没有一点嬉戏的兴致。
“他们怎么了？”小熊问。
“我们的遭遇真是坏透了！”其中一只说，“所有的森林居民都想让我们为他们干活，而我们停下来做些什么的时候，却一句感谢的话也没有。当我们回头再看，他们全都在为自己的花园种植那该死的黑莓灌木！”
Just then the forest band began to play. After an hour or two Father Bear and Mother Bear came into the glen. Each of them carried a huge bouquet of forget-me-nots.
"Do you wish to stay here and play?" asked Mother Bear. She looked into her son's face.
"No, thank you," answered Little Bear. "There is no fun here, even if there are swings and a pool."
就在这时，森林乐队开始演奏。一、两个小时之后，熊爸爸和熊妈妈来到了峡谷中。他们每人手中都拿着一大捧勿忘我。
“你想留在这儿玩吗？”熊妈妈看着小熊的脸，这样问道。
“不想，”小熊回答说，“峡谷一点都不好玩，即使有音乐和水池。”
The old brown bear served honey, berries, and ice cream, and then the Three Bears went home happy. As they left the glen the little bears who were to wait for their parents set up a wail.
"How did you find me so quickly?" asked Little Bear.
"We followed the forget-me-not trail."
"The forget-me-out trail!" said Little Bear in surprise.
"Yes, your footsteps were marked by growing forget-me-nots, and so we had no trouble in finding you."
Little Bear looked thoughtful; then he began to skip and sing as usual.
年老的棕熊拿出了蜂蜜、浆果和冰淇淋，接受款待之后，小熊一家高兴地往回走。就在他们离开峡谷的时候，一直等待着父母到来的小熊忍不住大声问：
“你们怎么会那么快就找到我？”
“我们追随着那条开满勿忘我的小径。”
“开满勿忘我的小径！”小熊惊讶极了。
“是的，你走过的地方都被勿忘我标记起来了，所以，找到你，对我们来说一点也不困难。”
小熊看上去若有所思，但很快他又像往常一样活蹦乱跳唱起歌来。
Later that afternoon Father Bear came in looking worried. "The bears in the forest are all in tears," he said, "because they cannot follow their children.Brambles have grown up in the children's footsteps so high and thick that no one could get through. Oh, why didn't we ask the name of the place where their children are waiting!"
那天下午晚些时候，熊爸爸从外面回来并且面带忧愁。“森林里的熊都在哭，”他说，“他们找不到自己的孩子。沿途的黑莓灌木长得太高太密，掩盖了孩子们的足迹，他们无法通过。噢，我们为什么没有问孩子们等待的那个地方叫什么名字！”
"I know the names!" exclaimed Little Bear. "It is our old picnic place, Jolly Park Glen! And they can all get there easily and very quickly by the tunnel route. Let me go and tell the fathers and mothers about it." Little Bear raced off, and soon there was a tramp of footsteps, slip-slop, slip-slop, slip-slop!through the tunnel leading to Jolly Park Glen.
“我知道它的名字！”小熊叫出声来，“那是我们野营的老地方，乔利帕尔峡谷！他们可以从地下通道走，一会儿就到了。让我们出去告诉那些熊爸爸和熊妈妈们吧。”
小熊跑了出去，很快，在通往乔利帕尔峡谷的地下隧道里响起了整齐的脚步声，悉娑，悉娑，悉娑……
The old brown traveling bear heard the parents coming. "Good night, children," he said to the unhappy, wailing little bears, and hurried away, slip-slop, slip-slop, slip-slop! He left the honey and berries and ice cream behind, but when the father and mother bears reached the glen not a single little bear had tasted a mouthful.
那头老年棕熊听到熊爸爸和熊妈妈们到来的声音，“晚安，孩子们！”他对那些哭泣着的万分沮丧的小熊们说，然后飞快地离开了。棕熊留下了蜂蜜、浆果和冰淇淋，然而直到父母们出现，小熊们都没有吃一口。
The next day came many, many grateful father and mother bears to thank Little Bears for his kindness in coming to tell them where to find their children. "Oh, that was nothing!" said Little Bear, "please forget it." Then politely, but with mischief in his eyes, he stuck a sprig of forget-me-not in his cap and ran away to play.
第二天，许多熊爸爸和熊妈妈都来感谢小熊的帮助。“噢，那没什么！”小熊说，“忘了它吧！”
然后他礼貌又调皮地眨了眨眼睛，往自己的帽子上插了一支勿忘我，快乐地跑去玩了。