木偶奇遇記：Chapter 1

How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter,found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child Centuries ago there lived--"A king!" my little readers will say immediately.

從前有……“有一個(gè)國王!”我的小讀者馬上要說。

No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood. It was not an expensive piece of wood. Far from it. Just a common block of firewood,one of those thick, solid logs that are put on the fire in winter to make cold rooms cozy and warm.

不對(duì)，小朋友，你們錯(cuò)了，從前有一段木頭。這段木頭并不是什么貴重木頭，就是柴堆里那種普通木頭，扔進(jìn)爐子和壁爐生火和取暖用的。

I do not know how this really happened, yet the fact remains that one fine day this piece of wood found itself in the shop of an old carpenter. His real name was Mastro Antonio, but everyone called him Mastro Cherry,for the tip of his nose was so round and red and shiny that it looked like a ripe cherry.

我也不知道是怎么回事，總之有一天，這段木頭碰巧到了一位老木匠的鋪?zhàn)永铮@位老木匠名叫安東尼奧，大伙兒卻管他叫櫻桃?guī)煾担兴麢烟規(guī)煾?，因?yàn)樗谋羌饧t得發(fā)紫，再加上亮光光的，活像一個(gè)熟透了的櫻桃。

As soon as he saw that piece of wood, Mastro Cherry was filled with joy. Rubbing his hands together happily,he mumbled half to himself:

櫻桃?guī)煾悼匆娺@段木頭，高興極了，他滿意得一個(gè)勁兒搓著手，低聲嘟嚷說：

"This has come in the nick of time. I shall use it to make the leg of a table."

“這段木頭來得正好，我要拿它做條桌子腿。”

He grasped the hatchet quickly to peel off the bark and shape the wood. But as he was about to give it the first blow, he stood still with arm uplifted, for he had heard a wee, little voice say in a beseeching tone: "Please be careful!

說干就干，他馬上拿起一把鋒利的斧子，動(dòng)手就要削掉樹皮，先大致砍出條桌子腿的樣子。可他第一斧正要砍下去，手舉在頭頂上卻一下子停住不動(dòng)了，因?yàn)樗犚娨粋€(gè)很細(xì)很細(xì)的聲音央求他說：

Do not hit me so hard!"

“可別把我砍得太重了!”

What a look of surprise shone on Mastro Cherry's face! His funny face became still funnier.

諸位想象一下吧，櫻桃?guī)煾颠@位善良的老頭兒該是多么驚訝啊!

He turned frightened eyes about the room to find out where that wee, little voice had come from and he saw no one! He looked under the bench--no one! He peeped inside the closet--no one! He searched among the shavings--no one! He opened the door to look up and down the street--and still no one!

他一雙眼睛嚇傻了，滿屋子骨碌碌轉(zhuǎn)了一圈，要看看這個(gè)聲音是打哪兒來的，可他一個(gè)人也沒有看見!他往工作臺(tái)底下看看，沒有人，他打開一直關(guān)著的柜子看看，沒有人;他往一簍刨花和碎木片里面看看，也沒有人;他甚至打開鋪?zhàn)娱T往街上看看，還是沒有人!那么……?

"Oh, I see!" he then said, laughing and scratching his Wig.

“我明白了，”他于是抓抓頭上的假發(fā)，笑著說，“這聲音一準(zhǔn)是我聽錯(cuò)了。我還是干我的活吧，”

"It can easily be seen that I only thought I heard the tiny voice say the words! Well, well--to work once more."He struck a most solemn blow upon the piece of wood.

他重新拿起斧子，在那段木頭上狠狠地一斧砍下去。

"Oh, oh! You hurt!" cried the same far-away little voice.

“唉喲!你把我砍痛了!”還是那很細(xì)的聲音埋怨著叫起來。

Mastro Cherry grew dumb, his eyes popped out of his head, his mouth opened wide, and his tongue hung down on his chin.

這一回櫻桃?guī)煾诞?dāng)真愣住了，眼睛嚇得鼓了出來，嘴巴張得老大，舌頭拖到下巴，活像噴水池里一個(gè)妖怪的石頭像。

As soon as he regained the use of his senses, he said,trembling and stuttering from fright:

等到他重新能夠說話，他嚇得哆哆嗦嗦、結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說了起來：

"Where did that voice come from, when there is no one around? Might it be that this piece of wood has learned to weep and cry like a child? I can hardly believe it. Here it is--a piece of common firewood, good only to burn in the stove, the same as any other. Yet--might someone be hidden in it? If so, the worse for him.I'll fix him!"

“這個(gè)細(xì)聲細(xì)氣叫‘唉喲’的聲音，它到底是打哪兒來的呢?……屋子里可是一個(gè)人也沒有。難道是這段木頭，是它學(xué)會(huì)了像小娃娃那樣又哭又叫嗎?這我可怎么也不相信。瞧，就是這么一段木頭。它跟別的木頭一模一樣，拿來生爐子的。扔到火里，倒可以燒開一鍋豆子……那么，不是木頭又是什么呢，難道是木頭里躲著個(gè)人嗎，要真躲著人，那他就活該倒霉，我這就來跟他算賬!”

With these words, he grabbed the log with both hand sand started to knock it about unmercifully. He threw it to the floor, against the walls of the room, and even up to the ceiling.

他這么說著，雙手抓住這段可憐的木頭，一點(diǎn)不客氣，就把它往墻上撞。

He listened for the tiny voice to moan and cry.He waited two minutes--nothing; five minutes--nothing;ten minutes--nothing.

撞了一會(huì)兒，他停下來豎起耳朵細(xì)細(xì)地聽，看有什么哭聲沒有，他聽了兩分鐘，沒有，聽了五分鐘，沒有，聽了十分鐘，也沒有!

"Oh, I see," he said, trying bravely to laugh and ruffling up his wig with his hand. "It can easily be seen I only imagined I heard the tiny voice! Well, well--towork once more!"The poor fellow was scared half to death, so he triedto sing a gay song in order to gain courage.

“我明白了，”他一面苦笑著說，一面抓頭上的假發(fā)，“那細(xì)聲細(xì)氣地叫‘唉喲’的聲音，一準(zhǔn)是我自己聽錯(cuò)了!我還是干我的活吧，”

He set aside the hatchet and picked up the plane to make the wood smooth and even, but as he drew it to and fro, he heard the same tiny voice. This time it giggled as it spoke:

可他心里仍然挺害怕，于是試著伊伊唔唔地哼支小調(diào)壯壯膽。這一回他放下斧子，拿起刨子，要把木頭刨刨平，可他一來一去地剛那么一刨，又聽見那個(gè)很小很小的聲音嘻嘻地笑著對(duì)他說了：

"Stop it! Oh, stop it! Ha, ha, ha! You tickle my stomach."

“快住手!你弄得我渾身怪癢癢的!”

This time poor Mastro Cherry fell as if shot. When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on the floor.

可憐的櫻桃?guī)煾颠@一回活像著了雷打，撲通一聲倒了下來。等他重新張開眼睛，只見自己坐在地上。

His face had changed; fright had turned even the tip of his nose from red to deepest purple.

他臉都變了色，一向紅得發(fā)紫的鼻尖，這會(huì)兒都嚇得發(fā)青了。