[翻译大赛NO.3]醋先生和醋太太

MR. AND MRS. VINEGAR
醋先生和醋太太

MR. AND MRS. VINEGAR, a worthy couple, lived in a glass pickle-jar. The house, though small, was snug, and so light that each speck of dust on the furniture showed like a mole-hill; so while Mr. Vinegar tilled his garden with a pickle-fork and grew vegetables for pickling, Mrs. Vinegar, who was a sharp, bustling, tidy woman, swept, brushed, and dusted, brushed and dusted and swept to keep the house clean as a new pin. Now one day she lost her temper with a cobweb and swept so hard after it that bang! bang! The broom-handle went right through the glass, and crash! crash! clitter! clatter! There was the pickle-jar house about her ears all in splinters and bits.
醋先生和醋太太是一对好人儿，他们住在一个泡菜用的玻璃罐里。屋子虽小，但又整洁又舒适，而且亮堂堂的。哪怕是丁点儿大的灰尘落在家具上，也会像一座田鼠丘那么显眼。醋太太是个手脚麻利、爱干净又闲不得的主妇。她怎么可以容许屋子沾上一点点灰尘呢？于是当醋先生在园子里耙地，种点腌制用的蔬菜时，醋太太就在家里洗洗刷刷、刷刷洗洗，忙得脚不着地。这一天，她跟一张蜘蛛网较上劲了。她想把它扯下来，结果用力太猛，砰！砰！扫帚柄径直向玻璃撞去。轰隆！哗啦！破碎声震天响，泡菜罐屋子只剩下一地碎片。
She picked her way over these as best she might, and rushed into the garden.
醋太太小心翼翼地躲开这些碎片，急匆匆地跑进园子里。
"Oh, Vinegar, Vinegar!" she cried. "We are clean ruined and done for! Quit these vegetables! They won't be wanted! What is the use of pickles if you haven't a pickle-jar to put them in, and—I've broken ours—into little bits!" And with that she fell to crying bitterly.
“唉，老醋，老醋！”她叫道，“完了！什么都没了！别管那些蔬菜了！用不上了！没有玻璃罐放泡菜，还要它们来干嘛啊！我把咱们的罐子——砸成——碎片了！”说完，她放声大哭起来。
But Mr. Vinegar was of different mettle; though a small man, he was a cheerful one, always looking at the best side of things, so he said, "Accidents will happen, lovey! But there are as good pickle-bottles in the shop as ever came out of it. All we need is money to buy another. So let us go out into the world and seek our fortunes."
醋先生是另一种性子。虽然是个不起眼的小人物，但他总是快快乐乐的，凡事都会往好的方面想。他是这么跟醋太太说的：“世事难料啊，亲爱的！不过商店里跟之前那个一样好的泡菜罐多了去了。咱们现在需要的就是攒钱再去买一个。就让咱们到外面去闯荡闯荡，碰碰运气吧！”
"But what about the furniture?" sobbed Mrs. Vinegar.
“可咱们的家具怎么办呢？”醋太太抽噎着问。
"I will take the door of the house with me, lovey," quoth Mr. Vinegar stoutly. "Then no one will be able to open it, will they?"
“我会把屋子的门带上的，亲爱的，”醋先生拍拍胸脯说，“这样就没人可以把它打开了，不是么?”
Mrs. Vinegar did not quite see how this fact would mend matters, but, being a good wife, she held her peace. So off they trudged into the world to seek fortune, Mr. Vinegar bearing the door on his back like a snail carries its house.
醋太太寻思着，这真的有用吗。可是她是个温顺的妻子啊，丈夫那么说，她就那么听了吧。于是，两人就上路了，去寻找他们的好运气。背着门板的醋先生看起来就像是一只背着壳的蜗牛。
Well, they walked all day long, but not a brass farthing did they make, and when night fell, they found themselves in a dark, thick forest. Now Mrs. Vinegar, for all she was a smart strong woman, was tired to death, and filled with fear of wild beasts, so she began once more to cry bitterly; but Mr. Vinegar was cheerful as ever.
走啊走，走了一整天，一个铜板儿也没赚着。天黑下来了，他们发现他们来到了一个漆黑茂密的树林里。醋太太虽然是个聪明健壮的女人，这时候也累得不行了，又想到可能有野兽出没，一颗心怦怦直跳。她又开始哭哭啼啼，而醋先生则是一如既往地兴致高昂。
"Don't alarm yourself, lovey," he said. "I will climb into a tree, fix the door firmly in a fork, and you can sleep there as safe and comfortable as in your own bed."
“别吓唬自己，亲爱的。”他说，“我等会儿就爬到树上去，把门板牢牢地固定在树杈上，这样你就可以像躺在自家床上那样睡个安稳觉了。”
So he climbed the tree, fixed the door, and Mrs. Vinegar lay down on it, and being dead tired was soon fast asleep. But her weight tilted the door sideways, so, after a time, Mr. Vinegar, being afraid she might slip off, sat down on the other side to balance her and keep watch.
说着他就爬上了树，把门板固定好。醋太太在门板上躺了下来，因为累得够呛，她很快就睡着了。可门板也倾向了她躺着的那一侧。醋先生担心太太从上面掉下来，便坐到门板的另一侧，好保持妻子的平衡，并留意四周的动静。
Now in the very middle of the night, just as he was beginning to nod, what should happen but that a band of robbers should meet beneath that very tree in order to divide their spoils. Mr. Vinegar could hear every word said quite distinctly, and began to tremble like an aspen as he listened to the terrible deeds the thieves had done to gain their ends.
正当夜深人静，醋先生也开始打盹的时候，有事发生了!一帮盗贼窸窸窣窣地聚集到醋先生他们那棵树下分赃。他们说的话一句不漏地进入醋先生的耳朵里。醋先生听到那帮盗贼干下的勾当，浑身抖得像白杨树的叶子一样。
"Don't shake so!" murmured Mrs. Vinegar, half asleep. "You'll have me off the bed."
“别摇啊！”醋夫人喃喃地说，她正睡得迷迷糊糊的，“你想把我摇下床啊。”
"I'm not shaking, lovey," whispered back Mr. Vinegar in a quaking voice. "It is only the wind in the trees."
“我没摇啊，亲爱的。”醋先生的声音都颤抖了，他小声地回道，“是树林里的风呀。”
But for all his cheerfulness he was not really very brave inside, so he went on trembling and shaking and shaking and trembling, till, just as the robbers were beginning to parcel out the money, he actually shook the door right out of the tree-fork, and down it came—with Mrs. Vinegar still asleep upon it—right on top of the robbers' heads!
虽然醋先生总是意气风发的样儿，可这不等于说他就是个胆子大的人。他全身还是抖如筛糠。正当盗贼们开始瓜分银子的时候，那块门板刚好就被醋先生从树杈上摇下来了——醋太太还睡在上面——不偏不倚地砸向盗贼们的脑袋！
As you may imagine, they thought the sky had fallen, and made off as fast as their legs would carry them, leaving their booty behind them. But Mr. Vinegar, who had saved himself from the fall by clinging to a branch, was far too frightened to go down in the dark to see what had happened. So up in the tree he sat like a big bird until dawn came.
接下来的情形你可以想象得出，盗贼们个个都以为天塌下来了，连忙抱头鼠窜，落荒而逃，连赃物都顾不得拿了。醋先生在掉下来的时候抱住了树干，保住了小命。可是他太害怕了，四下里又一片漆黑，他也不敢爬下树看看发生了什么事，于是他就像只大鸟一样坐在树上直到天亮。
Then Mrs. Vinegar woke, rubbed her eyes, yawned, and said, "Where am I?"
这时，醋太太醒过来了。她揉了揉眼睛，伸了下懒腰，问道：“我这是在哪啊？”
"On the ground, lovey," answered Mr. Vinegar, scrambling down.
“在地上，亲爱的。”醋先生应着，慌忙地从树上爬下来。
And when they lifted up the door what do you think they found?
他们把门板扶起来，猜他们看到了什么？
One robber squashed flat as a pancake and forty golden guineas all scattered about!
一个被压得像张薄煎饼的盗贼，还有撒了一地的四十个金币！
My goodness! How Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar jumped for joy!
天哪！醋先生和醋夫人高兴得跳起来！
"Now, Vinegar!" said his wife when they had gathered up all the gold pieces, "I will tell you what we must do. You must go to the next market-town and buy a cow; for, see you, money makes the mare to go, truly; but it also goes itself. Now a cow won't run away, but will give us milk and butter, which we can sell. So we shall live in comfort for the rest of our days."
“现在，老醋！”他们把所有的金币聚拢到一起，醋太太说道，“听我说。你必须到前面的市集上买一头奶牛回来。想想啊，有钱什么事都好办了，这是真理！可是钱不经花哪。奶牛不会跑掉，还会给咱们产牛奶和黄油，咱们可以拿它们去卖。这样，咱们往后的日子就会过得很舒心啦！”
"What a head you have, lovey," said Mr. Vinegar admiringly, and started off on his errand.
“你真聪明，亲爱的！”醋先生佩服地说，然后他就带着这份差使上路了。
"Mind you make a good bargain," bawled his wife after him.
“当心点，做笔好买卖回来啊！”醋太太在他身后大声喊道。
"I always do," bawled back Mr. Vinegar. "I made a good bargain when I married such a clever wife, and I made a better one when I shook her down from the tree. I am the happiest man alive!"
“我哪一次没有啊!”醋先生大声回道，“我娶到这么聪明的妻子就是赚了呵！我把她从那棵树上摇下来更是赚了一大笔！我是天底下最幸福的人了！”
So he trudged on, laughing and jingling the forty gold pieces in his pocket.
他一路走着笑着，把口袋里的四十个金币晃得叮当响。
Now the first thing he saw in the market was an old red cow.
市集到了。他首先看到的是一头红色的老奶牛。
"I am in luck today," he thought, "that is the very beast for me. I shall be the happiest of men if I get that cow." So he went up to the owner, jingling the gold in his pocket.
“今天交好运了！”他想，“那就是我想要的啊。如果我能买到这头牛，我就是天底下最幸福的人了！”于是，他走向牛的主人，把口袋里的四十个金币晃得叮当响。
"What will you take for your cow?" he asked.
“你的奶牛什么价钱啊？”他问道。
And the owner of the cow, seeing he was a simpleton, said, "What you've got in your pocket."
牛主人看他一副傻样，就说：“你口袋里的所有钱。”
"Done!" said Mr. Vinegar, handed over the forty guineas and led off the cow, marching her up and down the market, much against her will, to show off his bargain.
“成交！”醋先生说，然后把四十个金币给了牛主人，把牛牵走了。他领着百般不愿的奶牛在市集里到处晃悠，炫耀他做成的好买卖。
Now, as he drove it about, proud as Punch, he noticed a man who was playing the bagpipes. He was followed about by a crowd of children who danced to the music, and a perfect shower of pennies fell into his cap every time he held it out.
正当他得意洋洋地撵奶牛走的时候，他注意到了一个吹风笛的男人。有一群的孩子尾随在他身后，而且还伴着乐声跳起舞来。每次那个男人把帽子伸出去的时候，就有骤雨般的钱币哗啦啦地抛到帽子里。
"Ho, ho!" thought Mr. Vinegar. "That is an easier way of earning a livelihood than by driving about a beast of a cow! Then the feeding, and the milking, and the churning! Ah, I should be the happiest man alive if I had those bagpipes!"
“哇，哇！”醋先生想，“那比赶着这么一头牛好赚多了！不用喂养，不用挤奶，不用搅乳！啊，如果我有那么一支风笛，我就是天底下最幸福的人了！”
So he went up to the musician and said, "What will you take for your bagpipes?"
于是他走上前去，问那个乐师：“你的风笛什么价钱啊？”
"Well," replied the musician, seeing he was a simpleton, "It is a beautiful instrument and I make so much money by it, that I cannot take anything less than that red cow."
“哦，”乐师看他傻乎乎的，回答说，“这是种美妙的乐器，我靠它赚了很多钱，所以我的售价不能低于你那头红色的奶牛。”
"Done!" cried Mr. Vinegar in a hurry, lest the man should repent of his offer.
“成交！”醋先生急忙说道，生怕乐师反悔。
So the musician walked off with the red cow, and Mr. Vinegar tried to play the bagpipes. But, alas, and alack! Though he blew till he almost burst, not a sound could he make at first, and when he did at last, it was such a terrific squeal and screech that all the children ran away frightened, and the people stopped their ears.
于是乐师就牵着红色奶牛走了，醋先生试着去吹风笛。可是，哎呀，呜呼，虽然他鼓足了劲，差点岔了气，可是刚开始一个声音也没能吹出来，总算是吹出点声音了，却是尖锐得可怕。所有孩子都吓得四处散去，人们也纷纷捂住了他们的耳朵。
But he went on and on, trying to play a tune, and never earning anything, save hootings and peltings, until his fingers were almost frozen with the cold, when of course the noise he made on the bagpipes was worse than ever.
可是他又继续吹啊吹，卯足了劲想吹出个调子来，然而，除了轰赶和责骂之外，一个子儿也没赚到。他的手指冻僵了，用风笛吹出来的声音也更难听了。
Then he noticed a man who had on a pair of warm gloves, and he said to himself, "Music is impossible when one's fingers are frozen. I believe I should be the happiest man alive if I had those gloves."
这时，他看到有个人戴着一副很暖和的手套，他对自己说：“手都冻僵了，还能演奏什么音乐呢。如果我有那么副手套戴着，我就是天底下最幸福的人了！”
So he went up to the owner and said, "You seem, sir, to have a very good pair of gloves." And the man replied, "Truly, sir, my hands are as warm as toast this bitter November day."
于是他走向那个戴手套的人，说道：“先生，你好像有一副不错的手套啊。”男人回答说，“是啊，先生，有了它，我才能在这冷飕飕的十一月天，让手像烤面包一样暖和啊！”
That quite decided Mr. Vinegar, and he asked at once what the owner would take for them; and the owner, seeing he was a simpleton, said, "As your hands seem frozen, sir, I will, as a favor, let you have them for your bagpipes."
醋先生一听，心里的想法就更坚定了。他马上问戴手套的人要多少价钱才肯割爱。戴手套的人看他傻乎乎的，就说：“你的双手似乎冻僵了，先生，我就当下好人，拿这副手套跟你换你的风笛吧。”
"Done!" cried Mr. Vinegar, delighted, and made the exchange.
“成交！”醋先生欣喜若狂，立马跟他交换了东西。
Then he set off to find his wife, quite pleased with himself. "Warm hands, warm heart!" he thought. "I'm the happiest man alive!"
于是他就沾沾自喜地启程回去找妻子了。“双手暖烘烘，心窝暖洋洋！”他想，“我是天底下最幸福的人了！”
But as he trudged he grew very, very tired, and at last began to limp. Then he saw a man coming along the road with a stout stick.
他一路走啊走，越来越疲累，最后只能一瘸一拐地走了。这时，他看到从前面的小路上迎面走来一个拿着根粗壮的木棍的人。
"I should be the happiest man alive if I had that stick," he thought. "What is the use of warm hands if your feet ache! " So he said to the man with the stick, "What will you take for your stick?" and the man, seeing he was a simpleton, replied:
“如果我有那根木棍的话，我就是天底下最幸福的人了。”他想，“脚痛得要命，手再温暖有什么用呢？”于是，他对那个拿木棍的男人说，“你的木棍什么价钱？”拿木棍的男人看他傻乎乎的，回答说：
"Well, I don't want to part with my stick, but as you are so pressing I'll oblige you, as a friend, for those warm gloves you are wearing."
“呃，我本来不想割让我的木棍的，可是看你走得这么难受，我就当是做朋友的帮你一把，跟你换你戴着的那副暖和的手套吧！”
"Done for you!" cried Mr. Vinegar delightedly; and trudged off with the stick, chuckling to himself over his good bargain.
“成交！”醋先生高兴地叫道。他扶着木棍继续赶路，想到做了笔那么好的交易，禁不住地傻乐呵。
But as he went along a magpie fluttered out of the hedge and sat on a branch in front of him, and chuckled and laughed as magpies do. "What are you laughing at?" asked Mr. Vinegar.
就在他一路前行的时候，一只喜鹊拍打着翅膀从树篱中飞出来，落在他前面的一根树枝上，咯咯咯地笑起来，喜鹊们经常这样子。“你在笑什么？”醋先生问。
"At you, forsooth!" chuckled the magpie, fluttering just a little further. "At you, Mr. Vinegar, you foolish man—you simpleton—you blockhead! You bought a cow for forty guineas when she wasn't worth ten, you exchanged her for bagpipes you couldn't play—you changed the bagpipes for a pair of gloves, and the pair of gloves for a miserable stick. Ho, ho! Ha, ha! So you've nothing to show for your forty guineas save a stick you might have cut in any hedge. Ah, you fool! you simpleton! you blockhead!"
“当然是在——”喜鹊咯咯地笑道，稍微跳远了一些，“笑你喽！醋先生，你个呆子—傻瓜—笨蛋！你花四十个金币买了头连十个金币都不值的奶牛，用奶牛换了支你一窍不通的风笛，用风笛换了副手套，又用手套换了根可笑的木棍！哎呀，哎呀！哈！哈！你用四十个金币换来的这根木棍，在树篱里随便就可以折下一根来！啊哈，你个呆子！傻瓜！笨蛋！”
And the magpie chuckled, and chuckled, and chuckled in such guffaws, fluttering from branch to branch as Mr. Vinegar trudged along, that at last he flew into a violent rage and flung his stick at the bird. And the stick stuck in a tree out of his reach; so he had to go back to his wife without anything at all.
那只喜鹊就这样一路跟着醋先生前进，她从一根树枝跳到另一根树枝，狂笑不止。终于，醋先生被激怒了。他把手中的木棍用力地扔向喜鹊。木棍卡在了树上，醋先生怎么也够不着。这样，他只能两手空空地回到妻子身边了。
But he was glad the stick had stuck in a tree, for Mrs. Vinegar's hands were quite hard enough.
不过，他很庆幸那根木棍被卡在了树上，因为醋太太赤手空拳打人的力道就够他受的了。
When it was all over Mr. Vinegar said cheerfully, "You are too violent, lovey. You broke the pickle-jar, and now you've nearly broken every bone in my body. I think we had better turn over a new leaf and begin afresh. I shall take service as a gardener, and you can go as a housemaid until we have enough money to buy a new pickle-jar. There are as good ones in the shop as ever came out of it."
事后，醋先生神采飞扬地说：“亲爱的，你太暴力了！你不只砸碎了泡菜罐，差点把我这副身子骨也拆了。不过，我想咱们得朝前看，重新开始。这样吧，我去找份园丁的活儿，你去做女佣，直到咱们攒够了钱去买个新的泡菜罐。商店里多的是跟之前那个一样好的泡菜罐啊。”
And that is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar.
这就是醋先生和醋太太的故事

——选自English Fairy Tales by Flora Annie Steel