丑小鸭—The ugly duckling（之三）蜕变天鹅

Immediately, hunters and gundogs came splashing through the swamp. The poor ugly duckling was terrified,but there was no time to hide in the reeds. One dog bared sharp fangs right athim and opened his wide jaws. But just as he was about to bite the duckling, hesuddenly turned and ran off.

这时猎人和猎狗穿过沼泽冲了过来，沼泽的泥水四处飞溅。可怜的丑小鸭被吓惨了，她已经来不及躲进芦苇丛里。一只猎狗对着他露出锋利的牙齿，张大了嘴巴，但就在他要咬丑小鸭的时候，突然转身跑掉了。

“I’m so ugly thateven a dog won’t eat me!” the poor duckling thought. He didn’t know whether tobe glad or sad. Winter arrived, bitterly cold. The water froze, and one nightthe duckling got stuck in the ice.

“我太丑了，丑到连狗都不想吃我！”可怜的丑小鸭心想。他不知道自己是该高兴还是难过。冬天来了，天气非常寒冷，水都结成冰了。有一天晚上，丑小鸭被困在了冰里。

He sat there until morningwhen a farmer caught sight of him. He broke the ice with his wooden shoe, andcarried the duckling home to warm him by the fireside. But the duckling wasterrified. He fluttered into the milk pail, splashing it all over the room, andlanded in the butter tub.

他就一直在那卡着，直到早晨被一个农民发现。农民用他的木鞋把冰砸破，把丑小鸭带回家，并把他放在炉子旁边取暖。这下丑小鸭却吓坏了，扑通一声掉进了牛奶桶里，把牛奶溅得房间里到处都是，然后他又掉进了黄油桶里。

The farmer’s wife wasfurious and chased him out into the cold. Back in the swamp he spent a long andlonely winter, struggling to survive.

农夫的妻子非常生气，把丑小鸭赶出去了。回到沼泽地后，丑小鸭度过了一个漫长而寂寞的冬天，艰难地活了下来。

At last the snows meltedaway and the larks began to sing. It was spring, and the duckling unfolded hiswings. They were bigger and stronger than before, and carried him high into theair.

终于春天到了，冰雪消融，百灵鸟开始歌唱，丑小鸭张开了翅膀。他的翅膀比以前更大、更强壮了，他可以在空中振翅高飞了。

Before long he found himselfby a lovely lake, surrounded by lilacs and apple blossom. Three magnificentswans, white and graceful, swam there.

不久，他发现自己来到了美丽的湖畔，周围是紫丁香和苹果花，还有三只高贵、洁白、优雅的天鹅在那儿游泳。

Their beauty filled the uglyduckling with despair. “I am so drab and grey. They will peck me to death,” hethought. “Though perhaps it’s better to be killed by these majestic birds thanscorned and starved.”

他们的美使丑小鸭心灰意冷。“我这么土，羽毛这么灰暗，他们会啄死我的。”他想，“但是被这些漂亮的鸟杀死也比被嘲讽和饿死好得多。” 

He bowed his head in misery.But as he did so he suddenly saw his reflection in the water and got a shock.His ugly feathers were now snowy white. His neck was curved and slender. He hadgrown into a swan!

他痛苦地低下头，但就在这时，他突然看到他水中的倒影。他的倒影让他大吃一惊，他那昔日丑陋的羽毛现在竟然变得雪白。他的脖子线条优美、纤细修长，他已经变成天鹅了！

The other swans glided overto him. Instead of biting him, they stroked him with their beaks. Nearbychildren shouted with joy at the sight of him. “There’s a new swan!” they cried,and threw him some crumbs.

一群天鹅向他游过来，他们没有啄他，而是用他们的喙轻抚他。看到他，附近的孩子们高兴地大叫：“有一只新来的天鹅！”他们还扔给他一些面包屑。

“Once I was anugly duckling,” he said. “And now I am the most beautiful of birds.” Butbecause he knew what it was like to be shunned and bullied, he was never cruelto another creature, and became the noblest of swans that ever lived.

“曾经我是一只丑小鸭。”他说，“但我现在是最美的天鹅了。”因为他明白被冷落和欺凌的感受，所以他从来不会残忍地对待其他生物，他成为了世上最尊贵的天鹅。