愛麗絲夢游仙境：第八章 王后的槌球場

A large rose–tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red. Alice thought this a very curious thing, and she went nearer to watch them, and just as she came up to them she heard one of them say, 'Look out now, Five! Don't go splashing paint over me like that!'

靠近花園門口有一棵大玫瑰樹，花是白色的，三個園丁正忙著把白花染紅。愛麗絲覺得很奇怪，走過去想看看。當(dāng)她正朝他們走過去的時(shí)候，其中一個人說：“小心點(diǎn)，老五!別這樣把顏料濺到我身上。”

'I couldn't help it,' said Five, in a sulky tone; 'Seven jogged my elbow.'

“不是我不小心，”老五生氣地說，“是老七碰了我的胳膊。”

On which Seven looked up and said, 'That's right, Five! Always lay the blame on others!'

這時(shí)老七抬起頭說：“得啦!老五，你老是把責(zé)任推給別人。”

'YOU'D better not talk!' said Five. 'I heard the Queen say only yesterday you deserved to be beheaded!'

“你最好別多說了，”老五說，“我昨天剛聽王后說，你該受斬頭的懲罰!”

'What for?' said the one who had spoken first.

“為什么?”第一個說話的人問。

'That's none of YOUR business, Two!' said Seven.

“這與你無關(guān)，老二!”老七說。

'Yes, it IS his business!' said Five, 'and I'll tell him—it was for bringing the cook tulip–roots instead of onions.'

“不，與他有關(guān)!”老五說，“我要告訴他——這是由于你沒給廚師拿去洋蔥，而拿去了郁金香根!”

Seven flung down his brush, and had just begun 'Well, of all the unjust things—' when his eye chanced to fall upon Alice, as she stood watching them, and he checked himself suddenly: the others looked round also, and all of them bowed low.

老七扔掉了手上的刷子說，“哦，說起不公平的事……”他突然看到了愛麗絲，愛麗絲正站著注視他們呢。他隨即不說了，那兩個也回過頭來看。然后三人都深深地鞠了一躬。

'Would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, 'why you are painting those roses?'

“請你們告訴我，”愛麗絲膽怯地說，“為什么染玫瑰花呢?”

Five and Seven said nothing, but looked at Two. Two began in a low voice, 'Why the fact is, you see, Miss, this here ought to have been a RED rose–tree, and we put a white one in by mistake; and if the Queen was to find it out, we should all have our heads cut off, you know. So you see, Miss, we're doing our best, afore she comes, to—' At this moment Five, who had been anxiously looking across the garden, called out 'The Queen! The Queen!' and the three gardeners instantly threw themselves flat upon their faces. There was a sound of many footsteps, and Alice looked round, eager to see the Queen.

老五和老七都望著老二，老二低聲說：“哦，小姐，你知道，這里應(yīng)該種紅玫瑰的，我們弄錯了，種了白玫瑰，如果王后發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們?nèi)嫉帽粴㈩^。小姐，你看，我們正在盡最大努力，要在王后駕臨前，把……”就在這時(shí)，一直在焦慮地張望的老五，突然喊道：“王后!王后!”這三個園丁立即臉朝下地趴下了。這時(shí)傳來了許多腳步聲，愛麗絲好奇地審視著，想看看王后。

First came ten soldiers carrying clubs; these were all shaped like the three gardeners, oblong and flat, with their hands and feet at the corners: next the ten courtiers; these were ornamented all over with diamonds, and walked two and two, as the soldiers did. After these came the royal children; there were ten of them, and the little dears came jumping merrily along hand in hand, in couples: they were all ornamented with hearts. Next came the guests, mostly Kings and Queens, and among them Alice recognised the White Rabbit: it was talking in a hurried nervous manner, smiling at everything that was said, and went by without noticing her. Then followed the Knave of Hearts, carrying the King's crown on a crimson velvet cushion; and, last of all this grand procession, came THE KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS.

首先，來了十個手拿狼牙棒的士兵，他們的樣子全都和三個園丁一樣，都是長方形的平板，手和腳長在板的四角上。接著來了十名侍臣，這些人全都用鉆石裝飾著，像那些士兵一樣，兩個兩個并排著走。侍臣的后面是王室的孩子們，這些可愛的小家伙，一對對手拉著手愉快地跳著跑來了，他們?nèi)加眉t心(紅心和侍臣的鉆石，士兵的狼牙棒，是紙牌中的三種花色。即：紅桃、方塊、草花，英文原意為紅心、鉆石、棒子。)裝飾著。后面是賓客，大多數(shù)賓客也是國王和王后。在那些賓客中，愛麗絲認(rèn)出了那只白兔，它正慌忙而神經(jīng)質(zhì)地說著話，對別人說的話都點(diǎn)頭微笑，卻沒注意到愛麗絲。接著，是個紅心武士，雙手托著放在紫紅色墊子上的王冠。這龐大的隊(duì)伍之后，才是紅心國王和王后。

Alice was rather doubtful whether she ought not to lie down on her face like the three gardeners, but she could not remember ever having heard of such a rule at processions; 'and besides, what would be the use of a procession,' thought she, 'if people had all to lie down upon their faces, so that they couldn't see it?' So she stood still where she was, and waited.

愛麗絲不知道該不該像那三個園丁那樣，臉朝地的趴下，她根本不記得王室行列經(jīng)過時(shí)，還有這么一個規(guī)矩。“人們都臉朝下趴著，誰來看呢?這樣，這個行列有什么用呢?”也這樣想著，仍站在那里，等著瞧。

When the procession came opposite to Alice, they all stopped and looked at her, and the Queen said severely 'Who is this?' She said it to the Knave of Hearts, who only bowed and smiled in reply.

隊(duì)伍走到愛麗絲面前時(shí)，全都停下來注視著她。王后嚴(yán)厲地問紅心武上：“這是誰呀!”紅心武士只是用鞠躬和微笑作為回答。

'Idiot!' said the Queen, tossing her head impatiently; and, turning to Alice, she went on, 'What's your name, child?'

“傻瓜!”王后不耐煩地?fù)u搖頭說，然后向愛麗絲問道：“你叫什么名字?小孩?”

'My name is Alice, so please your Majesty,' said Alice very politely; but she added, to herself, 'Why, they're only a pack of cards, after all. I needn't be afraid of them!'

“我叫愛麗絲，陛下。”愛麗絲很有禮貌地說，可她又自己嘀咕了句：“哼!說來說去，他們只不過是一副紙牌，用不著怕他們!”

'And who are THESE?' said the Queen, pointing to the three gardeners who were lying round the rosetree; for, you see, as they were lying on their faces, and the pattern on their backs was the same as the rest of the pack, she could not tell whether they were gardeners, or soldiers, or courtiers, or three of her own children.

“他們是誰呢?”皇后指著三個園丁問。那三個園丁圍著一株玫瑰趴著，背上的圖案同這副紙牌的其他成員一樣，看不出這三個是園丁呢?還是士兵、侍臣，或者是她自己的三個孩子了。

'How should I know?' said Alice, surprised at her own courage. 'It's no business of MINE.'

“我怎么知道呢?這不干我的事!”愛麗絲回答，連她自己都對自己的勇氣感到驚奇。

The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, screamed 'Off with her head! Off—'

王后的臉氣紅了，兩眼像野獸樣瞪了愛麗絲一會兒，然后尖聲叫道：“砍掉她的頭!砍掉……”

'Nonsense!' said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent.

“廢話!”愛麗絲干脆大聲說。而王后卻不說話了。

The King laid his hand upon her arm, and timidly said 'Consider, my dear: she is only a child!'

國王用手拉了下王后的胳膊，小聲地說：“冷靜點(diǎn)，我親愛的，她還只是個孩子啊!”

The Queen turned angrily away from him, and said to the Knave 'Turn them over!'

王后生氣地從國王身邊轉(zhuǎn)身走開了，并對武士說：“把他們翻過來。”

The Knave did so, very carefully, with one foot.

武士用腳小心地把他們?nèi)齻€翻了過來。

'Get up!' said the Queen, in a shrill, loud voice, and the three gardeners instantly jumped up, and began bowing to the King, the Queen, the royal children, and everybody else.

“起來!”王后尖聲叫道。那三個園丁趕緊爬起來，開始向國王、王后、王室的孩子們以及每個人一一鞠躬。

'Leave off that!' screamed the Queen. 'You make me giddy.' And then, turning to the rose–tree, she went on, 'What HAVE you been doing here?'

“停下來!”王后尖叫著，“把我的頭都弄暈了!”她轉(zhuǎn)身向著那株玫瑰繼續(xù)問：“你們在于什么?”

'May it please your Majesty,' said Two, in a very humble tone, going down on one knee as he spoke, 'we were trying—'

“陛下，愿你開恩，”老二低聲下氣地跪下一條腿說，“我們正想……”

'I see!' said the Queen, who had meanwhile been examining the roses. 'Off with their heads!' and the procession moved on, three of the soldiers remaining behind to execute the unfortunate gardeners, who ran to Alice for protection.

“我明白了!砍掉他們的頭!，王后察看了一陣玫瑰花后說。隊(duì)伍又繼續(xù)前進(jìn)了，留下三個士兵來處死這三個不幸的園丁。三個園丁急忙跑向愛韶絲，想得到她的保護(hù)。

'You shan't be beheaded!' said Alice, and she put them into a large flower–pot that stood near. The three soldiers wandered about for a minute or two, looking for them, and then quietly marched off after the others.

“你們不會被砍頭的!”愛麗絲說著就把他們藏進(jìn)旁邊的一個大花盆里。那三個士兵到處找，幾分鐘后還沒找到，只得悄悄地去追趕自己的隊(duì)伍了。

'Are their heads off?' shouted the Queen.

“把他們的頭砍掉沒有?”王后怒吼道。

'Their heads are gone, if it please your Majesty!' the soldiers shouted in reply.

“他們的頭已經(jīng)掉了，陛下!”士兵大聲回答，

'That's right!' shouted the Queen. 'Can you play croquet?'

“好極了!”王后說，“你會玩槌球嗎?”

The soldiers were silent, and looked at Alice, as the question was evidently meant for her.

士兵們都看著愛麗絲，這個問題顯然是問愛麗絲的。

'Yes!' shouted Alice.

“會!”愛麗絲大聲回答。

'Come on, then!' roared the Queen, and Alice joined the procession, wondering very much what would happen next.

“那就過來!”王后喊道。于是愛麗絲就加入了這個隊(duì)伍，她心里盤算著以后會發(fā)生什么事情呢?

'It's—it's a very fine day!' said a timid voice at her side. She was walking by the White Rabbit, who was peeping anxiously into her face.

“這……這真是一個好天氣呵!”愛麗絲身旁一個膽怯的聲音說。原來愛麗絲恰巧走在白兔的旁邊，白兔正焦急地偷愉看著她的臉呢。

'Very,' said Alice: '—where's the Duchess?'

“是個好天氣，”愛麗絲說，“公爵夫人在哪里呢?”

'Hush! Hush!' said the Rabbit in a low, hurried tone. He looked anxiously over his shoulder as he spoke, and then raised himself upon tiptoe, put his mouth close to her ear, and whispered 'She's under sentence of execution.'

“噓!噓!”兔子急忙低聲制止她，同時(shí)還擔(dān)心地轉(zhuǎn)過頭向王后看看，然后踮起腳尖把嘴湊到愛麗絲的耳朵根上，悄悄地說：“她被判處了死刑。”

'What for?' said Alice.

“為什么呢?”愛麗絲問。

'Did you say "What a pity!"?' the Rabbit asked.

“你是說真可憐嗎?”兔子問。

'No, I didn't,' said Alice: 'I don't think it's at all a pity. I said "What for?"'

“不，不是，”愛麗絲問，“我沒想可憐不可憐的問題，我是說為什么?”

'She boxed the Queen's ears—' the Rabbit began. Alice gave a little scream of laughter. 'Oh, hush!' the Rabbit whispered in a frightened tone. 'The Queen will hear you! You see, she came rather late, and the Queen said—'

“她打了王后耳光……”兔子說。愛麗絲笑出聲來了。“噓!”兔子害怕地低聲說，“王后會聽到的!你知道，公爵夫人來晚了，王后說……”

'Get to your places!' shouted the Queen in a voice of thunder, and people began running about in all directions, tumbling up against each other; however, they got settled down in a minute or two, and the game began. Alice thought she had never seen such a curious croquet–ground in her life; it was all ridges and furrows; the balls were live hedgehogs, the mallets live flamingoes, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and to stand on their hands and feet, to make the arches.

“各就各位!”王后雷鳴般地喊了一聲，人們就朝各個方向跑開了，撞來撞去的，一兩分鐘后總算都站好了自己的位置。于是游戲開始了。

The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo: she succeeded in getting its body tucked away, comfortably enough, under her arm, with its legs hanging down, but generally, just as she had got its neck nicely straightened out, and was going to give the hedgehog a blow with its head, it WOULD twist itself round and look up in her face, with such a puzzled expression that she could not help bursting out laughing: and when she had got its head down, and was going to begin again, it was very provoking to find that the hedgehog had unrolled itself, and was in the act of crawling away: besides all this, there was generally a ridge or furrow in the way wherever she wanted to send the hedgehog to, and, as the doubled–up soldiers were always getting up and walking off to other parts of the ground, Alice soon came to the conclusion that it was a very difficult game indeed.

愛麗絲想，可還從來沒見過這樣奇怪的槌球游戲呢?球場到處都是坎坷不平的，槌球是活刺猬，槌球棒是活紅鶴(紅鶴：Phoenicopterus科，趾間有蹼，因種不同羽色各異，有紅、灰等色。雖稱紅鶴，但與鶴科Gruidae無關(guān)。中國無此鳥。)，士兵們手腳著地當(dāng)球門。起初，愛麗絲很難擺弄紅鶴，后來總算很成功地把紅鶴的身子舒服地夾在胳膊底下，紅鶴的腿垂在下面?？墒?，當(dāng)她好不容易把紅鶴的脖子弄直，準(zhǔn)備用它的頭去打那個刺猬時(shí)，紅鶴卻把脖子扭上來，用奇怪的表情看著愛麗絲的臉，惹得愛麗絲大聲笑了。她只得把紅鶴的頭按下去，當(dāng)她準(zhǔn)備再一次打球的時(shí)候，惱火地發(fā)現(xiàn)刺猬已經(jīng)展開了身子爬走了。此外，把刺猬球打過去的路上總有一些土坎或小溝，躬腰做球門的士兵常常站起來走到球場的其它地方去。愛麗絲不久就得出結(jié)論：這確實(shí)是一個非常困難的游戲。

The players all played at once without waiting for turns, quarrelling all the while, and fighting for the hedgehogs; and in a very short time the Queen was in a furious passion, and went stamping about, and shouting 'Off with his head!' or 'Off with her head!' about once in a minute.

參加游戲的人沒等輪到自己，就一起打起球來了，不時(shí)地為了刺猬爭吵和打架。不一會，王后就大發(fā)雷霆，跺著腳來回地走，大約一分鐘叫喊一次：“砍掉他的頭!”“砍掉她的頭!”

Alice began to feel very uneasy: to be sure, she had not as yet had any dispute with the Queen, but she knew that it might happen any minute, 'and then,' thought she, 'what would become of me? They're dreadfully fond of beheading people here; the great wonder is, that there's any one left alive!'

愛麗絲感到非常不安，說真的她還沒有同王后發(fā)生爭吵，可是這是每分鐘都可能發(fā)生的呀!“如果吵架的話，”她想，“我會怎么樣呢?這兒的人太喜歡砍頭了!可是很奇怪，現(xiàn)在還有人活著。”

She was looking about for some way of escape, and wondering whether she could get away without being seen, when she noticed a curious appearance in the air: it puzzled her very much at first, but, after watching it a minute or two, she made it out to be a grin, and she said to herself 'It's the Cheshire Cat: now I shall have somebody to talk to.'

愛麗絲就尋找逃走的路，而且還想不被人發(fā)現(xiàn)的逃開。這時(shí)，她注意到天空出現(xiàn)了一個怪東西，起初她驚奇極了，看了一兩分鐘后，她判斷出這是一個笑容，并對自己說：“這是柴郡貓，現(xiàn)在我可有人說話了。”

'How are you getting on?' said the Cat, as soon as there was mouth enough for it to speak with.

“你好嗎?”柴郡貓剛出現(xiàn)了能說話的嘴就問。

Alice waited till the eyes appeared, and then nodded. 'It's no use speaking to it,' she thought, 'till its ears have come, or at least one of them.' In another minute the whole head appeared, and then Alice put down her flamingo, and began an account of the game, feeling very glad she had someone to listen to her. The Cat seemed to think that there was enough of it now in sight, and no more of it appeared.

愛麗絲等到它的眼睛也出現(xiàn)了，才點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭。“現(xiàn)在跟它說話沒用處，”她想，“應(yīng)該等它的兩只耳朵也來了，至少來，了一只，再說話。”過了一兩分鐘，整個頭出現(xiàn)了，愛麗絲才放下紅鶴，給它講打槌球的情況。她對于有人聽她說話非常高興。那只貓似乎認(rèn)為出現(xiàn)的部分已經(jīng)夠了，就沒有顯露出身子。

'I don't think they play at all fairly,' Alice began, in rather a complaining tone, 'and they all quarrel so dreadfully one can't hear oneself speak—and they don't seem to have any rules in particular; at least, if there are, nobody attends to them—and you've no idea how confusing it is all the things being alive; for instance, there's the arch I've got to go through next walking about at the other end of the ground—and I should have croqueted the Queen's hedgehog just now, only it ran away when it saw mine coming!'

“他們玩得不公平，”愛麗絲抱怨地說，“他們吵得太厲害了，弄得人家連自己說的話都聽不清了。而且他們好像沒有一定的規(guī)則，就算有的話，也沒人遵守。還有，你簡直想象不到，所有的東西都是活的。真討厭。譬如說，我馬上就要把球打進(jìn)球門，而那個球門卻散步去了;再加我正要用自己的球碰王后的刺猾球，哼，它一見我的球來撒腿就跑掉啦!”

'How do you like the Queen?' said the Cat in a low voice.

“你喜歡王后嗎?”貓輕聲說。

'Not at all,' said Alice: 'she's so extremely—' Just then she noticed that the Queen was close behind her, listening: so she went on, '—likely to win, that it's hardly worth while finishing the game.'

“一點(diǎn)都不喜歡，”愛麗絲說，“她非常……”正說到這里，她突然發(fā)覺王后就在她身后聽呢?于是她馬上改口說：“非常會玩椒球，別人簡直不必要再同她比下去了。”

The Queen smiled and passed on.

王后微笑著走開了。

'Who ARE you talking to?' said the King, going up to Alice, and looking at the Cat's head with great curiosity.

“你在跟誰說話?”國王走來問愛麗絲，還很奇怪地看著那個貓頭。

'It's a friend of mine—a Cheshire Cat,' said Alice: 'allow me to introduce it.'

“請?jiān)试S我介紹，這是我的朋友——柴郡貓。”愛麗絲說。

'I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: 'however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.'

“我一點(diǎn)也不喜歡它的模樣，不過，如果它愿意的話，可以吻我的手。”國王說。

'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.

“我不愿意。”貓回答。

'Don't be impertinent,' said the King, 'and don't look at me like that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.

“不要失禮!”國王說，“別這樣看我了!”他一邊說一邊躲到愛麗絲的身后。

'A cat may look at a king,' said Alice. 'I've read that in some book, but I don't remember where.'

“貓是可以看國王的，我在一本書上見過這句話，不過不記得是哪本書了。”愛麗絲說。

'Well, it must be removed,' said the King very decidedly, and he called the Queen, who was passing at the moment, 'My dear! I wish you would have this cat removed!'

“喂，必須把這只貓弄走!”國王堅(jiān)決地說，接著就向剛來的王后喊道：“我親愛的，我希望你來把這只貓弄走。”

The Queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small. 'Off with his head!' she said, without even looking round.

王后解決各種困難的辦法只有一種：“砍掉它的頭!”她看也不看一下就這樣說。

'I'll fetch the executioner myself,' said the King eagerly, and he hurried off.

“我親自去找劊子手。”國王殷勤地說著，急急忙忙走了。

Alice thought she might as well go back, and see how the game was going on, as she heard the Queen's voice in the distance, screaming with passion. She had already heard her sentence three of the players to be executed for having missed their turns, and she did not like the look of things at all, as the game was in such confusion that she never knew whether it was her turn or not. So she went in search of her hedgehog.

愛麗絲聽到王后在遠(yuǎn)處尖聲吼叫，想起該去看看游戲進(jìn)行得怎樣了。愛麗絲已經(jīng)聽到王后又宣判了三個人死刑，原因是輪到他們打球而沒有馬上打。愛麗絲很不喜歡這個場面，整個游戲都是亂糟糟的，弄得她根本不知道什么時(shí)候輪到，什么時(shí)候不輪到。因此她就走了，找她的刺猬去了。

The hedgehog was engaged in a fight with another hedgehog, which seemed to Alice an excellent opportunity for croqueting one of them with the other: the only difficulty was, that her flamingo was gone across to the other side of the garden, where Alice could see it trying in a helpless sort of way to fly up into a tree.

她的刺猬正同另一只刺猬打架，愛麗絲認(rèn)為這真是用一只刺猬球去打中另一個刺猬球的好機(jī)會，可是她的紅鶴卻跑掉了，愛麗絲看到它正在花園的那邊，在徒勞地向樹上飛。

By the time she had caught the flamingo and brought it back, the fight was over, and both the hedgehogs were out of sight: 'but it doesn't matter much,' thought Alice, 'as all the arches are gone from this side of the ground.' So she tucked it away under her arm, that it might not escape again, and went back for a little more conversation with her friend.

等她捉住紅鶴回來，正在打架的兩只刺猬都跑得無影無蹤了。愛麗絲想：“這沒多大關(guān)系，因?yàn)檫@里的球門都跑掉了。”為了不讓紅鶴再逃跑，愛麗絲把它夾在胳膊下，又跑回去想同她的朋友多談一會兒。

When she got back to the Cheshire Cat, she was surprised to find quite a large crowd collected round it: there was a dispute going on between the executioner, the King, and the Queen, who were all talking at once, while all the rest were quite silent, and looked very uncomfortable.

愛麗絲走回柴郡貓那兒時(shí)，驚奇地看到一大群人圍著它，劊子手、國王、王后正在激烈地辯論。他們同時(shí)說話，而旁邊的人都靜悄悄地呆著，看上去十分不安。

The moment Alice appeared, she was appealed to by all three to settle the question, and they repeated their arguments to her, though, as they all spoke at once, she found it very hard indeed to make out exactly what they said.

愛麗絲剛到，這三個人就立即讓她作裁判，他們爭先恐后地同時(shí)向她重復(fù)自己的理由，愛麗絲很難聽清楚他們說的是什么。

The executioner's argument was, that you couldn't cut off a head unless there was a body to cut it off from: that he had never had to do such a thing before, and he wasn't going to begin at HIS time of life.

劊子手的理由是：除非有身子，才能從身上砍頭，光是一個頭是沒法砍掉的。他說他從來沒做過這種事，這輩子也不打算做這樣的事了。

The King's argument was, that anything that had a head could be beheaded, and that you weren't to talk nonsense.

國王的理由是：只要有頭，就能砍，你劊子手執(zhí)行就行了，少說廢話。

The Queen's argument was, that if something wasn't done about it in less than no time she'd have everybody executed, all round. (It was this last remark that had made the whole party look so grave and anxious.)

王后的理由是：誰不立即執(zhí)行她的命令，她就要把每個人的頭都砍掉，周圍的人的頭也都砍掉(正是她最后這句話，使這些人都嚇得要命)。

Alice could think of nothing else to say but 'It belongs to the Duchess: you'd better ask HER about it.'

愛麗絲想不出什么辦法，只是說：“這貓是公爵夫人的，你們最好去問她。”

'She's in prison,' the Queen said to the executioner: 'fetch her here.' And the executioner went off like an arrow.

“她在監(jiān)獄里，”王后對劊子手說，“把她帶來!”劊子手好像離弦的箭似的跑去了。