木偶奇遇记 第23期:乞求班主

 Pinocchio, at that heartbreaking sight, threw himself at the feet of Fire Eater and,

看见这种凄惨场面，皮诺乔扑倒在了班主脚下痛哭，

weeping bitterly, asked in a pitiful voice which could scarcely be heard:

用他那小得可怜的凄惨声音开始哀求他说：

"Have pity, I beg of you, signore!"

“可怜可怜吧，求求你了，先生！……”

"There are no signori here!"

“这里没有先生！”

"Have pity, kind sir!"

“可怜可怜吧，好心的爵士！”

"There are no sirs here!"

“这里没有爵士！”

"Have pity, your Excellency!"

“可怜可怜吧，尊敬的阁下！”

On hearing himself addressed as your Excellency, the Director of the Marionette¹ Theater sat up very straight in his chair,

木偶戏班班主—听见叫他阁下，马上在椅子上坐直了身体，

stroked his long beard, and becoming suddenly kind and compassionate², smiled proudly as he said to Pinocchio:

轻捋他的长胡须，突然变得慈祥温和起来，对皮诺乔得意地笑着说：

木偶奇遇记

"Well, what do you want from me now, Marionette?"

“好吧，你到底求我什么事，皮诺乔？”

"I beg for mercy for my poor friend, Harlequin, who has never done the least harm in his life."

“我求您开开恩，放了可怜的花衣小丑！他从没做过什么伤天害理的事。”

"There is no mercy here, Pinocchio. I have spared you. Harlequin must burn in your place.

“这可开不得恩，皮诺乔，我赦免了你就得烧他。

I am hungry and my dinner must be cooked."

我饿了，晚餐一定得做好。”

"In that case," said Pinocchio proudly, as he stood up and flung away his cap of dough³, "in that case, my duty is clear.

“那么，”皮诺乔大叫一声，站了起来，扔掉头上的面包心帽子，“那么，我知道该怎么做了。

Come, officers! Tie me up and throw me on those flames.

来吧，守卫先生们！把我捆起来扔到火里去。

No, it is not fair for poor Harlequin, the best friend that I have in the world, to die in my place!"

不行，让这世上我最好的朋友替我去死，这对可怜的花衣小丑不公平！”

These brave words, said in a piercing voice, made all the other Marionettes cry.

这番话说得慷慨激昂，声调豪迈激昂，在场的木偶听了没有不哭的。

Even the officers, who were made of wood also, cried like two babies.

连两个守卫，虽然也是木头做的，也哭得像嚎啕的婴儿。

Fire Eater at first remained hard and cold as a piece of ice;

吃火人起先一点也不动心，冷得像块冰；

but then, little by little, he softened⁴ and began to sneeze.

可后来，他又慢慢地、一点一点地开始感动了，又打喷嚏了。

And after four or five sneezes, he opened wide his arms and said to Pinocchio:

一口气打了四五个喷嚏之后，他对皮诺乔张开怀抱说：

"You are a brave boy! Come to my arms and kiss me!"

“你是个好小子！过来，给我一个吻。”

Pinocchio ran to him and scurrying⁵ like a squirrel up the long black beard,

皮诺乔马上跑过去，像只松鼠似地顺着木偶戏班班主的大胡子往上爬，

he gave Fire Eater a loving kiss on the tip of his nose.

爬到上面，在他鼻尖上给了他一个最甜最甜的吻。

"Has pardon been granted to me?" asked poor Harlequin with a voice that was hardly a breath.

“那么，您开恩啦？”可怜的花衣小丑问道，声音细得好不容易才听见。

"Pardon is yours!" answered Fire Eater; and sighing and wagging his head, he added:

“开恩了！”吃火人回答说；接着他叹口气，摇摇头说：

"Well, tonight I shall have to eat my lamb only half cooked, but beware the next time, Marionettes. "

“没法子！今儿晚上我只能吃半生不熟的羊肉了。可下一回你就得当心啦，皮诺乔。”

At the news that pardon had been given, the Marionettes ran to the stage and,

一听说开了恩，所有的木偶都跑上了戏台，像开盛大晚会那样，

turning on all the lights, they danced and sang till dawn.

点亮了所有的灯和烛台，开始又跳又舞。他们就这样一直跳啊舞啊的直到大天亮。

1 marionette   

n.木偶

参考例句：

• With this marionette I wish to travel through the world.我希望带着这个木偶周游世界。
• The development of marionette had a great influence on the future development of opera.木偶戏的发展对以后的戏曲有十分重要的影响。

2 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

3 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

4 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

5 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句