雙語童話故事:海的女兒
作者:滬江英語
2022-11-23 18:26
Each of the young princesses had a little plot of ground in the garden, where she might dig and plant as she pleased. One arranged her flower-bed into the form of a whale; another thought it better to make hers like the figure of a little mermaid; but that of the youngest was round like the sun, and contained flowers as red as his rays at sunset. She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful; and while her sisters would be delighted with the wonderful things which they obtained from the wrecks of vessels, she cared for nothing but her pretty red flowers, like the sun, excepting a beautiful marble statue. It was the representation of a handsome boy, carved out of pure white stone, which had fallen to the bottom of the sea from a wreck. She planted by the statue a rose-colored weeping willow. It grew splendidly, and very soon hung its fresh branches over the statue, almost down to the blue sands. The shadow had a violet tint, and waved to and fro like the branches; it seemed as if the crown of the tree and the root were at play, and trying to kiss each other.
在花園里,每一位小公主有自己的一小塊地方,在那上面她可以隨意栽種。有的把自己的花壇布置得像一條鯨魚,有的覺得最好把自己的花壇布置得像一個(gè)小人魚??墒亲钅暧椎哪俏粎s把自己的花壇布置得圓圓的,像一輪太陽,同時(shí)她也只種像太陽一樣紅的花朵。她是一個(gè)古怪的孩子,不大愛講話,總是靜靜地在想什么東西。當(dāng)別的姊妹們用她們從沉船里所獲得的最奇異的東西來裝飾她們的花園的時(shí)候,她除了像高空的太陽一樣艷紅的花朵以外,只愿意有一個(gè)美麗的大理石像。這石像代表一個(gè)美麗的男子,它是用一塊潔白的石頭雕出來的,跟一條遭難的船一同沉到海底。她在這石像旁邊種了一株像玫瑰花那樣紅的垂柳。這樹長得非常茂盛。它新鮮的枝葉垂向這個(gè)石像、一直垂到那藍(lán)色的砂底。它的倒影帶有一種紫藍(lán)的色調(diào)。像它的枝條一樣,這影子也從不靜止,樹根和樹頂看起來好像在做著互相親吻的游戲。
Nothing gave her so much pleasure as to hear about the world above the sea. She made her old grandmother tell her all she knew of the ships and of the towns, the people and the animals. To her it seemed most wonderful and beautiful to hear that the flowers of the land should have fragrance, and not those below the sea; that the trees of the forest should be green; and that the fishes among the trees could sing so sweetly, that it was quite a pleasure to hear them. Her grandmother called the little birds fishes, or she would not have understood her; for she had never seen birds.
她最大的愉快是聽些關(guān)于上面人類的世界的故事。她的老祖母不得不把自己所有一切關(guān)于船只和城市、人類和動(dòng)物的知識(shí)講給她聽。特別使她感到美好的一件事情是:地上的花兒能散發(fā)出香氣來,而海底上的花兒卻不能;地上的森林是綠色的,而且人們所看到的在樹枝間游來游去的魚兒會(huì)唱得那么清脆和好聽,叫人感到愉快。老祖母所說的“魚兒”事實(shí)上就是小鳥,但是假如她不這樣講的話,小公主就聽不懂她的故事了,因?yàn)樗€從來沒有看到過一只小鳥。
"When you have reached your fifteenth year," said the grand-mother, "you will have permission to rise up out of the sea, to sit on the rocks in the moonlight, while the great ships are sailing by; and then you will see both forests and towns."
“等你滿了十五歲的時(shí)候,”老祖母說,“我就準(zhǔn)許你浮到海面上去。那時(shí)你可以坐在月光底下的石頭上面,看巨大的船只在你身邊駛過去。你也可以看到樹林和城市。”
In the following year, one of the sisters would be fifteen: but as each was a year younger than the other, the youngest would have to wait five years before her turn came to rise up from the bottom of the ocean, and see the earth as we do. However, each promised to tell the others what she saw on her first visit, and what she thought the most beautiful; for their grandmother could not tell them enough; there were so many things on which they wanted information.
在這快要到來的一年,這些姊妹中有一位到了十五歲;可是其余的呢——晤,她們一個(gè)比一個(gè)小一歲。因此最年幼的那位公主還要足足地等五個(gè)年頭才能夠從海底浮上來,來看看我們的這個(gè)世界。不過每一位答應(yīng)下一位說,她要把她第一天所看到和發(fā)現(xiàn)的東西講給大家聽,因?yàn)樗齻兊淖婺杆v的確是不太夠——她們所希望了解的東西真不知有多少!
None of them longed so much for her turn to come as the youngest, she who had the longest time to wait, and who was so quiet and thoughtful. Many nights she stood by the open window, looking up through the dark blue water, and watching the fish as they splashed about with their fins and tails. She could see the moon and stars shining faintly; but through the water they looked larger than they do to our eyes. When something like a black cloud passed between her and them, she knew that it was either a whale swimming over her head, or a ship full of human beings, who never imagined that a pretty little mermaid was standing beneath them, holding out her white hands towards the keel of their ship.
她們誰也沒有像年幼的那位妹妹渴望得厲害,而她恰恰要等待得最久,同時(shí)她是那么地沉默和富于深思。不知有多少夜晚她站在開著的窗子旁邊,透過深藍(lán)色的水朝上面凝望,凝望著魚兒揮動(dòng)著它們的尾巴和翅。她還看到月亮和星星——當(dāng)然,它們射出的光有些發(fā)淡,但是透過一層水,它們看起來要比在我們?nèi)搜壑写蟮枚?。假如有一塊類似黑云的東西在它們下面浮過去的話,她便知道這不是一條鯨魚在她上面游過去,便是一條裝載著許多旅客的船在開行。可是這些旅客們?cè)僖蚕胂癫坏?,他們下面有一位美麗的小人魚,在朝著他們船的龍骨伸出她一雙潔白的手。