丑小鸭—The ugly duckling（之二）离家出走

Mother Duck quacked withdelight. “See how nicely he uses those big feet? He is my very own son afterall! Now follow me closely, and watch out for the cat.” The duck family waddledon their way into the yard. The sight of the big grey duckling caused animmediate commotion.

鸭妈妈高兴地“嘎-嘎”叫。“快看，他的大脚多好使呀！毕竟他也是我的亲儿子！现在，你们都要跟紧我了，当心那只猫。”鸭子一家一摇一摆地回到他们的窝里。丑小鸭刚才的表现让他们立马躁动起来。

“How strange heis!” the other ducks said. “Look at his huge feet and his dull grey feathers.We won’t stand for such an ugly fellow in our yard.” And a handsome drake flewover and nipped him in the neck.

“他也太奇怪了吧！”小鸭子们说，“大家看看他那大脚和灰暗的羽毛，我们决不能让一个这样的丑八怪继续待在我们家。”随后一只英俊的小鸭子还向他扑了过来，啄他的脖子。

“Leave him alone!He’s not doing any harm!” quacked Mother Duck. “He’s too big and strange,” thehandsome drake replied. “And therefore he needs a good whacking.”  

“别去打扰他！他不会伤害你们的！”鸭妈妈说。“但他体型太庞大、太怪异了。”这只英俊的小鸭子说，“因此要好好修理他一番。”

An elderly mallard peereddown her beak at Mother Duck’s brood. “Your other children are very pretty,”she said. “But not that one. He’s the wrong shape. It’s a pity you can’t hatchhim again.” Mother Duck was sad. She knew he was big and grey and ugly, but hewas still her little duckling.

一只年长一点的鸭子在鸭妈妈的怀里盯着着她的喙说：“你其他的孩子都很漂亮，除了体型怪异的那个。很遗憾你又不能把他重新孵一次。”鸭妈妈很伤心，她知道他又大又灰又丑，可他仍然是她的孩子呀。

Alas! Life only got worsefor the poor ugly duckling. Every day he was pecked and pushed and jeered andjoshed by the ducks and even the chickens. “He’s too big! He’s too ugly!” theyclucked.

唉! 可怜的丑小鸭！他的生活一天比一天更糟。他每天都被其他的鸭子啄，被他们排挤、讥讽、嘲笑，甚至在鸡群中也是这样。“他实在臃肿了！太丑了！”他们都这样嘲笑他。

Gobbler the Turkey was theworst. He puffed up like a ship under full sail, and gobbled and gobbled at himuntil he was red in the face.

那只土耳其雄火鸡是最过分的。他把自己吹得像鼓满了风的帆船，冲着丑小鸭咯咯叫，直到他的脸涨得通红。

One day the poor uglyduckling could take it no more. He ran far away from home, until he ended up ata swamp where only wild ducks lived.

有一天，这只可怜的丑小鸭实在受不了了。他离家出走了，跑的远远的，最后来到野鸭生活的一片沼泽地里。

“You are an uglyfellow,” the wild ducks told him. “But you can stay here, so long as you don’tmarry any of us.” But the poor ugly duckling wasn’t thinking of marriage. Hejust wanted to hide away in the reeds where no one could see him and mock him.

“你可真是个丑家伙！”野鸭说，“但是只要你不与我们当中的任何人结婚，你留下来也行。”可怜的丑小鸭压根没有想过结婚，他只想躲在这里的芦苇丛中，因为在这儿没有人能看到他，也没有人会嘲笑他。

One day a pair of travellinggeese stopped by. “Hello， friend!” they honked. “You are so uglythat we rather like you. Why don’t you becometravelling birds like us?” They told him of awonderful marsh nearby, full of charming lady geese. “They’ll adore you,”the kind geese promised.

一天，两只正在迁徙的鹅在他旁边停了下来。“朋友，你好！”他们说。“你简直丑得我们都忍不住要喜欢你了。要不你跟我们一样当迁徙的鸟一起飞走吧？”他们告诉丑小鸭附近有一块很好的沼泽，那里到处都是迷人的雌天鹅。“那些天鹅会喜欢你的。”他们善意地向丑小鸭保证。

But just as the three birdstook flight, there was a terrible “Bang! Bang!” of gunshots ringing in the air.The duckling’s new friends dropped down, dead into the rushes, and the waterran red with their blood.

但就在他们三个刚飞起来的时候，空中响起了一阵恐怖的枪声：“砰！砰！”。丑小鸭的新朋友掉进沼泽里，死了，他们的血把水染得鲜红。