It was really hard that poor Epimetheus should have a box in his ears from morning till night; 可怜的厄毗米修斯，从早到晚都能听到盒子这个词，这对他很艰难；

especially as the little people of the earth in those happy days knew not how to deal with troubles. 尤其是这些小孩子，生活在幸福年代，他们不知道如何处理麻烦。

Thus a small trouble made as much disturbance then as a far bigger one would in our own times. 一个小麻烦在我们时代和一个大麻烦产生的困扰一样多。

After Epimetheus was gone, Pandora stood gazing at the box. She had called it ugly over a hundred times; 厄毗米修斯走后，潘多拉盯着这个盒子，她说了一百多遍这个盒子丑陋；

but in spite of all that she had said against it, it was a very handsome article of furniture. 尽管她说了这么多讨厌它的话，它还是一个非常漂亮的家具。

It was made of a beautiful kind of wood with dark and rich veins spreading over its surface, 它是用美丽的木头制作而成，表面是暗色丰满的纹理，

which was so highly polished that little Pandora could see her face in it. 而且经过仔细抛光，潘多拉很难在这上面看到自己的脸。

The edges and corners of the box were carved with most wonderful skill. Around the edges there were figures of graceful men and women, 盒子的边边角角是用最精湛的工艺雕刻的，边缘周围是优雅的男女雕像，

and the prettiest children ever seen. But here and there, Pandora once or twice thought that she saw a face not so lovely, 还有从未见过的美丽儿童，但零散散落着，潘多拉有一两次都认为她看到了不和蔼的脸庞，

or something or other which stole the beauty out of all the rest. 等等这类脸庞，这让整个画面变得十分不美观。

Nevertheless, on looking more closely and touching the spot with her finger, she could discover nothing of the kind. 然后，她仔细看上去，用手触摸盒子，她看到的不再是美丽脸庞。

Some face that was really beautiful had been made to look ugly by her catching a sideways glimpse at it. 斜视看过去，有些漂亮的脸庞变得十分丑陋。

The most beautiful face of all was carved in the center of the lid. 最美的一张脸雕刻在盖子的中心。

There was nothing else except the dark, smooth richness of the polished wood, 除了暗色饱满的抛光实木以外什么都没有，

and this one face in the center with a garland of flowers about its brow. 中间的那张脸额头上有一个花环。

Pandora had looked at this face a great many times and imagined that the mouth could smile 潘多拉盯着这张脸看了很多次，想象着这张嘴可以微笑，

if it liked, or be grave when it chose, the same as any living mouth. 就像选择任何一个活生生的嘴一样，可以微笑和严肃。

The features, indeed, all wore a very lively and rather mischievous expression. 面容确实都带有和蔼可亲，和有点恶意的表情。