爱丽丝漫游奇境记

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

   第 7 篇

   CHAPTER VII.

   发疯的茶会

   A Mad Tea-Party

   房前的一棵大树下,放着一张桌子。三月兔和帽匠坐在桌旁喝着茶,一只睡 鼠在他们中间酣睡着,那两个家伙把它当做垫子,把胳膊支在睡鼠身上,而且就 在它的头上谈话。“这睡鼠可够不舒服的了,”爱丽丝想,“不过它睡着了,可 能就不在乎了。”

   There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head. 'Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse,' thought Alice; 'only, as it's asleep, I suppose it doesn't mind.'

   桌子很大,他们三个都挤在桌子的一角,“没地方啦!没地方啦!”他们看 见爱丽丝走过来就大声嚷著。 “地方多得很呢!”爱丽丝说着就在桌子一端的大扶手椅上坐下了。

   The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: 'No room! No room!' they cried out when they saw Alice coming. 'There's PLENTY of room!' said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.

   “要喝酒吗?”三月兔热情地问。

   'Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

   爱丽丝扫视了一下桌上,除了茶,什么也没有。“我没看见酒啊!”她回答。

   Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. 'I don't see any wine,' she remarked.

   “根本就没酒嘛!”三月兔说。

   'There isn't any,' said the March Hare.

   “那你说喝酒就不太礼貌了。”爱丽丝气愤地说。

   'Then it wasn't very civil of you to offer it,' said Alice angrily.

   “你没受到邀请就坐下来,也是不太礼貌的。”三月兔回敬她。

   'It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited,' said the March Hare.

   “我不知道这是你的桌子,”爱丽丝说,“这可以坐下好多人呢?还不止三 个!”

   'I didn't know it was YOUR table,' said Alice; 'it's laid for a great many more than three.'

   “你的头发该剪了。”帽匠好奇地看了爱丽丝一会儿,这是他第一次开口。

   'Your hair wants cutting,' said the Hatter. He had been looking at Alice for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech.

   “你应该学会不随便评论別人,”爱丽丝板著脸说,“这是非常失礼的。”

   'You should learn not to make personal remarks,' Alice said with some severity; 'it's very rude.'

   帽匠睁大眼睛听著,可是末了他说了句:“一只乌鸦为什么会像一张写字台 呢?”

   The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he SAID was, 'Why is a raven like a writing-desk?'

   “好了,现在我们可有有趣的事了!”爱丽丝想,“我很高兴猜谜语,我一 定能猜出来,”她大声说。

   'Come, we shall have some fun now!' thought Alice. 'I'm glad they've begun asking riddles.—I believe I can guess that,' she added aloud.

   “你的意思是你能说出答案来吗?”三月兔问,

   'Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?' said the March Hare.

   “正是这样。”爱丽丝说。

   'Exactly so,' said Alice.

   “那你怎么想就怎么说。”三月兔继续说。

   'Then you should say what you mean,' the March Hare went on.

   “我正是这样的,”爱丽丝急忙回答,“至少……至少凡是我说的就是我想 的──这是一回事,你知道。”

   'I do,' Alice hastily replied; 'at least—at least I mean what I say—that's the same thing, you know.'

   “根本不是一回事,”帽匠说,“那么,你说‘凡是我吃的东西我都能看见’ 和‘凡是我看见的东西我都能吃’,也算是一样的了?”

   'Not the same thing a bit!' said the Hatter. 'You might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see"!'

   三月兔加了句:“那么说‘凡是我的东西我都喜欢’和‘凡是我喜欢的东西 都是我的’,也是一样的喽?”

   'You might just as well say,' added the March Hare, 'that "I like what I get" is the same thing as "I get what I like"!'

   睡鼠也像在说梦话一样说道:“那么说‘我睡觉时总要呼吸’和‘我呼吸时 总在睡觉’也是一样的吗?”

   'You might just as well say,' added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, 'that "I breathe when I sleep" is the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe"!'

   “这对你倒真是一个样。”帽匠对睡鼠说。谈到这里话题中断了,大家沉默 了一会,这时候爱丽丝费劲儿地想着有关乌鸦和写字台的事,可是她知道的确实 不能算多,

   'It IS the same thing with you,' said the Hatter, and here the conversation dropped, and the party sat silent for a minute, while Alice thought over all she could remember about ravens and writing-desks, which wasn't much.

   还是帽匠打破了沉默,“今天是这个月的几号?”他问爱丽丝,一面从衣袋 里掏出了一只怀表,不安地看着,还不停地摇晃,拿到耳朵旁听听。

   The Hatter was the first to break the silence. 'What day of the month is it?' he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.

   爱丽丝想了想说,“四号。”

   Alice considered a little, and then said 'The fourth.'

   “错了两天!”帽匠叹气说,“我告诉你不该加奶油的,”他又生气地看着 三月兔加了一句。

   'Two days wrong!' sighed the Hatter. 'I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!' he added looking angrily at the March Hare.

   “这是最好的奶油了!”三月兔辩白地说。

   'It was the BEST butter,' the March Hare meekly replied.

   “不错,可是不少面包屑也掉进去了,帽匠咕噜著,“你不应该用面包刀加 奶油。”

   'Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,' the Hatter grumbled: 'you shouldn't have put it in with the bread-knife.'

   三月兔泄气地拿起怀表看看,再放到茶杯里泡了一会儿,又拿起来看看,但 是除了说“这是最好的奶油了”,再没別的说的了。

   The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, 'It was the BEST butter, you know.'

   爱丽丝好奇地从他肩头上看了看。“多么奇怪的不表啊,”她说,“它告诉 几月几日,却不告诉时间。”

   Alice had been looking over his shoulder with some curiosity. 'What a funny watch!' she remarked. 'It tells the day of the month, and doesn't tell what o'clock it is!'

   “为什么要告诉时间呢?”帽匠嘀咕著,“你的表告诉你哪一年吗?”

   'Why should it?' muttered the Hatter. 'Does YOUR watch tell you what year it is?'

   “当然不,”爱丽丝很快地回答说,“可是很长时,里年份不会变的。”

   'Of course not,' Alice replied very readily: 'but that's because it stays the same year for such a long time together.'

   “这也跟我的表不报时间的原因一样。”帽匠说。

   'Which is just the case with MINE,' said the Hatter.

   爱丽丝被弄得莫名其妙,帽匠的话听起来没有任何意思,然而确实是地地道 道的英国话。“我不大懂你的话,”她很礼貌地说。

   Alice felt dreadfully puzzled. The Hatter's remark seemed to have no sort of meaning in it, and yet it was certainly English. 'I don't quite understand you,' she said, as politely as she could.

   “睡鼠又睡着了,”帽匠说着在睡鼠的鼻子上倒了一点热茶。

   'The Dormouse is asleep again,' said the Hatter, and he poured a little hot tea upon its nose.

   睡鼠立即晃了晃头,没睁开眼就说:“当然,当然,我自己正要这么说呢。”

   The Dormouse shook its head impatiently, and said, without opening its eyes, 'Of course, of course; just what I was going to remark myself.'

   “你猜到那个谜语了吗?”帽匠说爱丽丝,

   'Have you guessed the riddle yet?' the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.

   “没有,我猜不出来,”爱丽丝回答,“谜底到底是什么呢?”

   'No, I give it up,' Alice replied: 'what's the answer?'

   “我也不知道。”帽匠说。

   'I haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter.

   “我也不清楚,”三月兔说,

   'Nor I,' said the March Hare.

   爱丽丝轻轻叹了一声说,“我认为你应该珍惜点时间,像这样出个没有谜底 的谜语,简直是白白浪费宝贵的时间。”

   Alice sighed wearily. 'I think you might do something better with the time,' she said, 'than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.'

   “如果你也像我一样对时间熟悉,”帽匠说,“你就不会叫它‘宝贵的时间’, 而叫它‘老伙计’了。”

   'If you knew Time as well as I do,' said the Hatter, 'you wouldn't talk about wasting IT. It's HIM.'

   “我不懂你的意思。”爱丽丝说。

   'I don't know what you mean,' said Alice.

   “你当然不懂,”帽匠得意地晃著头说,“我敢肯定你从来没有同时间说过 话。”

   'Of course you don't!' the Hatter said, tossing his head contemptuously. 'I dare say you never even spoke to Time!'

   “也许没有,”爱丽丝小心地回答,“但是我在学音乐的时候,总是按著时 间打拍子的。”

   'Perhaps not,' Alice cautiously replied: 'but I know I have to beat time when I learn music.'

   “唉,这就完了!”帽匠说,“你最不高兴人家按住它打了。如果你同它好, 它会让钟表听你的话,譬如说,现在是早上九点钟,正是上学的时间,你只要悄 悄地对时间说一声,钟表就会一下子转到一点半,该吃午饭了!”

   'Ah! that accounts for it,' said the Hatter. 'He won't stand beating. Now, if you only kept on good terms with him, he'd do almost anything you liked with the clock. For instance, suppose it were nine o'clock in the morning, just time to begin lessons: you'd only have to whisper a hint to Time, and round goes the clock in a twinkling! Half-past one, time for dinner!'

   “我真希望这样。”三月兔小声自语道。

   ('I only wish it was,' the March Hare said to itself in a whisper.)

   “那太棒了!”爱丽丝思索著说,“可是要是我还不饿怎么办呢?”

   'That would be grand, certainly,' said Alice thoughtfully: 'but then—I shouldn't be hungry for it, you know.'

   “一开始也可能不饿,”帽匠说,“但是只要你喜欢,你就能把钟表保持在 一点半钟。”

   'Not at first, perhaps,' said the Hatter: 'but you could keep it to half-past one as long as you liked.'

   “你是这样办的吗?”爱丽丝问。

   'Is that the way YOU manage?' Alice asked.

   帽匠伤心地摇摇头,“我可不行了,”他回答,“我和时间在三月份吵了架 ──就是他发疯前(他用茶匙指著三月兔),那是在红心王后举办的一次大音乐 会上,我演唱了:

   The Hatter shook his head mournfully. 'Not I!' he replied. 'We quarrelled last March—just before HE went mad, you know—' (pointing with his tea spoon at the March Hare,) '—it was at the great concert given by the Queen of Hearts, and I had to sing

    ‘闪闪的小蝙蝠,
     我感到你是多么奇怪!’

     "Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
      How I wonder what you're at!"

   你可能知道这首歌吧?”

   You know the song, perhaps?'

   “我听过一首同它有点像(原来的歌应为“闪闪的小星,你是多么的奇怪…… 帽匠全唱错了。这首歌现在中国有唱片,有些中小学常常播放。)。”爱丽丝说。

   'I've heard something like it,' said Alice.

   “我知道下面是这样接着的,”帽匠继续说,“是这样的:

   'It goes on, you know,' the Hatter continued, 'in this way:—

    ‘你飞在地面上多高,
     就像茶盘在天空上。
     闪啊,闪啊……’”

     "Up above the world you fly,
      Like a tea-tray in the sky.
          Twinkle, twinkle—"'

   睡鼠抓了摇身子,在睡梦中开始唱道:“闪啊,闪啊,闪啊,闪啊,”一直 唱下去,直到他们捅,了它一下才停止。

   Here the Dormouse shook itself, and began singing in its sleep 'Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle—' and went on so long that they had to pinch it to make it stop.

   “我还没唱完第一段,”帽匠说,“那王后就大喊道“他简直是在糟蹋时间, 砍掉他的头!’”

   'Well, I'd hardly finished the first verse,' said the Hatter, 'when the Queen jumped up and bawled out, "He's murdering the time! Off with his head!"'

   “多么残忍呀!”爱丽丝攘道。

   'How dreadfully savage!' exclaimed Alice.

   帽匠伤心地继续说,“从那以后,它就再也不肯照我的要求做了,它总是停 在六点钟。”

   'And ever since that,' the Hatter went on in a mournful tone, 'he won't do a thing I ask! It's always six o'clock now.'

   爱丽丝的脑子里突然闪过一个聪明的念头,她问:“这就是这儿有这么多茶 具的缘故吗?”

   A bright idea came into Alice's head. 'Is that the reason so many tea-things are put out here?' she asked.

   “是的,就是这个缘故,”帽匠叹息著说,“只有喝茶的时间,连洗茶具的 时间也没有了。”,

   'Yes, that's it,' said the Hatter with a sigh: 'it's always tea-time, and we've no time to wash the things between whiles.'

   “所以你们就围着桌子转?”爱丽丝问。

   'Then you keep moving round, I suppose?' said Alice.

   “正是这样,”帽匠说,“茶具用脏了,我们就往下挪。”

   'Exactly so,' said the Hatter: 'as the things get used up.'

   “可是你们转回来以后怎么办呢?”爱丽丝继续间。

   'But what happens when you come to the beginning again?' Alice ventured to ask.

   “我们换一个话题吧,”三月兔打着哈欠打断了他们的谈话,“我听烦了, 建议让小姑娘讲个故事吧。”

   'Suppose we change the subject,' the March Hare interrupted, yawning. 'I'm getting tired of this. I vote the young lady tells us a story.'

   “恐怕我一个故事都不会讲,”爱丽丝说。她对这个建议有点慌神。

   'I'm afraid I don't know one,' said Alice, rather alarmed at the proposal.

   “那么睡鼠应该讲一个!”三月兔和帽匠一齐喊道,“醒醒,睡鼠!”他们 立刻在两边一起捅它。

   'Then the Dormouse shall!' they both cried. 'Wake up, Dormouse!' And they pinched it on both sides at once.

   睡鼠慢慢地睁开眼,嘶哑无力地说:“我没有睡,你们说的每一个字我都听 著呢。”

   The Dormouse slowly opened his eyes. 'I wasn't asleep,' he said in a hoarse, feeble voice: 'I heard every word you fellows were saying.'

   “给我们讲个故事!”三月兔说。

   'Tell us a story!' said the March Hare.

   “就是,请讲一个吧!”爱丽丝恳求著。

   'Yes, please do!' pleaded Alice.

   “而且要快点讲,要不然你还没讲完又睡着了,”帽匠加了一句。

   'And be quick about it,' added the Hatter, 'or you'll be asleep again before it's done.'

   睡鼠急急忙忙地讲了:“从前有三个小姐妹,她们的名字是:埃尔西、莱斯 、蒂尔莉,她们住在一个井底下……”

   'Once upon a time there were three little sisters,' the Dormouse began in a great hurry; 'and their names were Elsie, Lacie, and Tillie; and they lived at the bottom of a well—'

   “她们靠吃什么活着呢?”爱丽丝总是最关心吃喝的问题。

   'What did they live on?' said Alice, who always took a great interest in questions of eating and drinking.

   “她们靠吃糖浆生活。”睡鼠想了一会儿说。

   'They lived on treacle,' said the Dormouse, after thinking a minute or two.

   “你知道,这样是不行的,她们都会生病的。”爱丽丝轻声说。

   'They couldn't have done that, you know,' Alice gently remarked; 'they'd have been ill.'

   “正是这样,她们都病了,病得很厉害。”睡鼠说。

   'So they were,' said the Dormouse; 'VERY ill.'

   爱丽丝尽量地想象这样特殊的生活方式会是什么样子,可是太费脑子了。于 是,她又继续问:“她们为什么要住在井底下呢?”

   Alice tried to fancy to herself what such an extraordinary ways of living would be like, but it puzzled her too much, so she went on: 'But why did they live at the bottom of a well?'

   “再多喝一点茶吧!”三月兔认真地对爱丽丝说。

   'Take some more tea,' the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

   “我还一点都没喝呢?因此不能说再多喝一点了!”爱丽丝不高兴地回答。

   'I've had nothing yet,' Alice replied in an offended tone, 'so I can't take more.'

   “你应该说不能再少喝点了,”帽匠说,“比没有喝再多喝一点是最容易不 过的了。”

   'You mean you can't take LESS,' said the Hatter: 'it's very easy to take MORE than nothing.'

   “没人来问你!”爱丽丝说。

   'Nobody asked YOUR opinion,' said Alice.

   “现在是谁失礼了?”帽匠得意地问。

   'Who's making personal remarks now?' the Hatter asked triumphantly.

   这回爱丽丝不知该说什么了,只得自己倒了点茶,拿了点奶油面包,再向睡 鼠重复她的问题:“她们为什么要住在井底下呢?”,

   Alice did not quite know what to say to this: so she helped herself to some tea and bread-and-butter, and then turned to the Dormouse, and repeated her question. 'Why did they live at the bottom of a well?'

   睡鼠又想了一会,说:“因为那是一个糖浆井。”

   The Dormouse again took a minute or two to think about it, and then said, 'It was a treacle-well.'

   “没有这样的井!”爱丽丝认真了。帽匠和三月兔不停地发出“嘘、嘘……” 的声音,睡鼠生气地说:“如果你不讲礼貌,那么最好你自己来把故事讲完吧。”

   'There's no such thing!' Alice was beginning very angrily, but the Hatter and the March Hare went 'Sh! sh!' and the Dormouse sulkily remarked, 'If you can't be civil, you'd better finish the story for yourself.'

   “不,请你继续讲吧!”爱丽丝低声恳求著说,“我再不打岔了,也许有那 样一个井吧。”

   'No, please go on!' Alice said very humbly; 'I won't interrupt again. I dare say there may be ONE.'

   “哼,当然有一个!”睡鼠煞有介事地说。又往下讲了:“这三个小姐妹学 著去画画。”

   'One, indeed!' said the Dormouse indignantly. However, he consented to go on. 'And so these three little sisters—they were learning to draw, you know—'

   “她们画什么呢?”爱丽丝忘了自己的保証又问开了。

   'What did they draw?' said Alice, quite forgetting her promise.

   “糖浆。”睡鼠这次毫不犹豫地回答。

   'Treacle,' said the Dormouse, without considering at all this time.

   “我想要一只干净茶杯,”帽匠插嘴说,“让我们移动一下位子吧。”

   'I want a clean cup,' interrupted the Hatter: 'let's all move one place on.'

   他说着就挪到了下一个位子上,睡鼠跟著挪了,三月兔挪到了睡鼠的位子上, 爱丽丝很不情愿地坐到了三月兔的位子上。这次挪动唯一得到好处的是帽匠,爱 丽丝的位子比以前差多了,因为三月兔把牛奶罐打翻在位子上了。

   He moved on as he spoke, and the Dormouse followed him: the March Hare moved into the Dormouse's place, and Alice rather unwillingly took the place of the March Hare. The Hatter was the only one who got any advantage from the change: and Alice was a good deal worse off than before, as the March Hare had just upset the milk-jug into his plate.

   爱丽丝不愿再惹睡鼠生气,于是开始小心地说:“可是我不懂,她们从哪里 把糖浆取出来的呢?”

   Alice did not wish to offend the Dormouse again, so she began very cautiously: 'But I don't understand. Where did they draw the treacle from?'

   “你能够从水井里吸水,”帽匠说,你也应该想到从糖浆井里能够吸糖浆了, 怎么样,傻瓜?”

   'You can draw water out of a water-well,' said the Hatter; 'so I should think you could draw treacle out of a treacle-well—eh, stupid?'

   “但是她们在井里呀!”爱丽丝对睡鼠说。

   'But they were IN the well,' Alice said to the Dormouse, not choosing to notice this last remark.

   “当然她们是在井里啦,”睡鼠说,“还在很里面呢。”

   'Of course they were', said the Dormouse; '—well in.'

   这个回答把可怜的爱丽丝难住了,她好大没打搅睡鼠,让它一直讲下去。

   This answer so confused poor Alice, that she let the Dormouse go on for some time without interrupting it.

   “她们学着画画,”睡鼠继续说着,一边打了个哈欠,又揉揉眼睛,已经非 常困了,“她们画各种各样的东西,而每件东西都是用‘老’宇开头的。”

   'They were learning to draw,' the Dormouse went on, yawning and rubbing its eyes, for it was getting very sleepy; 'and they drew all manner of things—everything that begins with an M—'

   “为什么用‘老’字开头呢?”爱丽丝问。

   'Why with an M?' said Alice.

   “为什么不能呢?”三月兔说。

   'Why not?' said the March Hare.

   爱丽丝不吭气了。

   Alice was silent.

   这时候,睡鼠已经闭上了眼,打起盹来了,但是被帽匠捅 了─下,它尖叫著醒来了,继续讲,“用‘老’字开头的东西,例如老鼠笼子, 老头儿,还有老多。你常说老多东西,可是你怎么画出这个─老多’来?”

   The Dormouse had closed its eyes by this time, and was going off into a doze; but, on being pinched by the Hatter, it woke up again with a little shriek, and went on: '—that begins with an M, such as mouse-traps, and the moon, and memory, and muchness—you know you say things are "much of a muchness"—did you ever see such a thing as a drawing of a muchness?'

   “你问我吗?”爱丽丝难住了,说,“我还没想……”

   'Really, now you ask me,' said Alice, very much confused, 'I don't think—'

   “那么你就不应该说话!”帽匠说。

   'Then you shouldn't talk,' said the Hatter.

   这句话可使爱丽丝无法忍受了,于是她愤愤地站起来走了,睡鼠也立即睡着 了。那两个家伙一点也不注意爱丽丝的走掉。爱丽丝还回头看了一两次,指望他 们能够留她。后来她看见他们正要把睡鼠塞进茶壺里去。

   This piece of rudeness was more than Alice could bear: she got up in great disgust, and walked off; the Dormouse fell asleep instantly, and neither of the others took the least notice of her going, though she looked back once or twice, half hoping that they would call after her: the last time she saw them, they were trying to put the Dormouse into the teapot.

   “不管怎么说,我再也不去那里了,”爱丽丝在树林中找路时说,“这是我 见过的最愚蠢的茶会了。”

   'At any rate I'll never go THERE again!' said Alice as she picked her way through the wood. 'It's the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!'

   就在她叨叨咕咕的时候,突然看到一棵树上还有一个门,可以走进去。“真 奇怪!”她想,“不过今天的每件事都很奇怪,还是进去看看吧。”想着就走进 去了。

   Just as she said this, she noticed that one of the trees had a door leading right into it. 'That's very curious!' she thought. 'But everything's curious today. I think I may as well go in at once.' And in she went.

   她又一次来到那个很长的大厅里了,而且很靠近那只小玻璃桌子。“啊,这 是我最好的机会了!”她说着拿起了那个小金钥匙,打开了花园的门,然后轻轻 地咬了一门蘑菇(她还留了一小块在口袋里呢),直到缩成大约一英尺高,她就 走过了那条小过道。终于进入了美丽的花园,到达了漂亮的花坛和清凉的喷泉中 间了。

   Once more she found herself in the long hall, and close to the little glass table. 'Now, I'll manage better this time,' she said to herself, and began by taking the little golden key, and unlocking the door that led into the garden. Then she went to work nibbling at the mushroom (she had kept a piece of it in her pocket) till she was about a foot high: then she walked down the little passage: and THEN—she found herself at last in the beautiful garden, among the bright flower-beds and the cool fountains.

Text from angelibrary.com
Text from wikisource.org
Audio from LibreVox.org