第11章 小不点或拇指姑娘 Little Tiny or Thumbelina【2 / 8】

“thank you,” said the woman, and she gave the fairy twelve shillings, which was the price of the barleycorn

然后她回家把它种了下去，立刻就长出了一朵又大又漂亮的花，样子有点像郁金香，但它的叶子紧紧合拢着，好像仍然是一个花蕾。

then she went home and planted it, and immediately there grew up a large handsome flower, something like a tulip in appearance, but with its leaves tightly closed as if it were still a bud

“这是一朵美丽的花。” 女人说，她亲吻了那红色和金黄色的花瓣，就在她亲吻的时候，花开放了，她看到这是一朵真正的郁金香。

“it is a beautiful flower,” said the woman, and she kissed the red and golden - colored leaves, and while she did so the flower opened, and she could see that it was a real tulip

在这朵花里，在绿色的天鹅绒般的花蕊上，坐着一位非常娇美、优雅的小姑娘。

within the flower, upon the green velvet stamens, sat a very delicate and graceful little maiden

她还不到一个拇指的一半长，他们给她取名叫 “拇指姑娘”，或者小不点，因为她是那么小。

she was scarcely half as long as a thumb, and they gave her the name of “thumbelina,” or tiny, because she was so small

一个擦得光亮的胡桃壳给她当摇篮；她的床是用蓝色的紫罗兰花瓣做成的，玫瑰花瓣做她的被子。

a walnut - shell, elegantly polished, served her for a cradle; her bed was formed of blue violet - leaves, with a rose - leaf for a counterpane

晚上她在这里睡觉，但白天她就在一张桌子上玩耍，那女人在桌子上放了一盘水。

here she slept at night, but during the day she amused herself on a table, where the woman had placed a plateful of water

盘子周围环绕着花圈，花茎插在水里，水面上漂浮着一片大郁金香花瓣，这就成了拇指姑娘的小船。

round this plate were wreaths of flowers with their stems in the water, and upon it floated a large tulip - leaf, which served tiny for a boat

在这里，小姑娘坐着，用两根白马尾做的桨把船划来划去。

here the little maiden sat and rowed herself from side to side, with two oars made of white horse - hair

这真是非常美丽的景象。

it really was a very pretty sight

拇指姑娘还能唱歌，歌声轻柔甜美，以前从未听到过像她这样的歌声。

tiny could, also, sing so softly and sweetly that nothing like her singing had ever before been heard

一天晚上，当她躺在漂亮的床上时，一只又大又丑、湿漉漉的癞蛤蟆从窗户一块破玻璃爬了进来，径直跳到拇指姑娘躺在玫瑰花瓣被子下睡觉的桌子上。

one night, while she lay in her pretty bed, a large, ugly, wet toad crept through a broken pane of glass in the window, and leaped right upon the table where tiny lay sleeping under her rose - leaf quilt

“这对我的儿子来说会是一个多么漂亮的小妻子啊。” 癞蛤蟆说，她拿起拇指姑娘睡着的胡桃壳，带着它从窗户跳进了花园。

“what a pretty little wife this would make for my son,” said the toad, and she took up the walnut - shell in which little tiny lay asleep, and jumped through the window with it into the garden

癞蛤蟆和她的儿子住在花园里一条宽阔溪流的沼泽岸边。

in the swampy margin of a broad stream in the garden lived the toad, with her son

他甚至比他的母亲还要丑，当他看到优雅小床上漂亮的小姑娘时，他只能叫着：“呱呱，呱呱，呱呱。”

he was uglier even than his mother, and when he saw the pretty little maiden in her elegant bed, he could only cry, “croak, croak, croak”

“别这么大声说话，否则她会醒来的，” 癞蛤蟆说，“然后她可能会跑掉，因为她轻如天鹅的绒毛。我们将把她放在溪流中的一片睡莲叶子上；对她来说那将像一个小岛，她是如此轻盈小巧，这样她就逃不掉了；而且，在她不在的时候，我们要赶快准备好沼泽下的新房，你们结婚后就要住在那里。”

“don’t speak so loud, or she will wake,” said the toad, “and then she might run away, for she is as light as swan’s down we will place her on one of the water - lily leaves out in the stream; it will be like an island to her, she is so light and small, and then she cannot escape; and, while she is away, we will make haste and prepare the state - room under the marsh, in which you are to live when you are married”

在溪流远处长着许多睡莲，宽大的绿叶似乎漂浮在水面上。

far out in the stream grew a number of water - lilies, with broad green leaves, which seemed to float on the top of the water

这些叶子中最大的一片看起来比其他的离得更远，老癞蛤蟆带着胡桃壳游向它，小拇指姑娘还在胡桃壳里熟睡着。

the largest of these leaves appeared farther off than the rest, and the old toad swam out to it with the walnut - shell, in which little tiny lay still asleep

这个小不点儿清晨很早就醒来了，当她发现自己所在的地方时，就伤心地哭了起来，因为在这片大绿叶的四周她除了水什么也看不到，也没有办法到达陆地。

the tiny little creature woke very early in the morning, and began to cry bitterly when she found where she was, for she could see nothing but water on every side of the large green leaf, and no way of reaching the land

与此同时，老癞蛤蟆在沼泽下非常忙碌，用灯芯草和野生的黄色花朵装饰她的房间，好让它在新儿媳面前看起来漂亮些。

meanwhile the old toad was very busy under the marsh, decking her room with rushes and wild yellow flowers, to make it look pretty for her new daughter - in - law

然后她和她丑陋的儿子游向她放置可怜的小拇指姑娘的那片叶子。

then she swam out with her ugly son to the leaf on which she had placed poor little tiny

她想要拿走那张漂亮的床，这样她就可以把它放在新房里，为她的儿子准备好。

she wanted to fetch the pretty bed, that she might put it in the bridal chamber to be ready for her

老癞蛤蟆在水里向她深深鞠了一躬，说道：“这是我的儿子，他将成为你的丈夫，你将在溪边的沼泽里幸福地生活。”

the old toad bowed low to her in the water, and said, “here is my son, he will be your husband, and you will live happily in the marsh by the stream”

“呱呱，呱呱，呱呱。” 她儿子只会这样为自己说话；

“croak, croak, croak,” was all her son could say for himself;

于是癞蛤蟆拿起那张精致的小床，带着它游走了，留下拇指姑娘独自一人在绿叶上，她坐在那里哭泣。

so the toad took up the elegant little bed, and swam away with it, leaving tiny all alone on the green leaf, where she sat and wept

她一想到要和老癞蛤蟆一起生活，并且让她丑陋的儿子做丈夫就无法忍受。

she could not bear to think of living with the old toad, and having her ugly son for a husband