童声英文版06 The Tale of Tom Kitten

06 The Tale of Tom Kitten
      小猫汤姆的故事

Once upon a time there were three little kittens, and their names were Mittens, Tom Kitten, and Moppet.
They had dear little fur coats of their own; and they tumbled about the doorstep and played in the dust.
从前，有三只小猫，分别叫作米滕斯、汤姆和莫皮特。

他们每人都有一身可爱的小皮衣；他们常常在门口的台阶上打滚，在泥土里玩耍。

But one day their mother—Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit—expected friends to tea; so she fetched the kittens indoors, to wash and dress them, before the fine company arrived.
一天，他们的妈妈塔比莎·特威切特夫人邀请朋友们来家里喝茶。所以，趁她那些优雅的客人还没到，她便把三只小猫弄回家，给他们梳洗打扮一番。

First she scrubbed their faces (this one is Moppet).
首先，猫妈妈给孩子们洗了脸（这只小猫是莫皮特。）

Then she brushed their fur (this one is Mittens).
然后，她为他们梳理了皮毛（这只小猫是米滕斯）。

Then she combed their tails and whiskers (this is Tom Kitten).
Tom was very naughty, and he scratched.
接下来，她给他们梳理了尾巴和胡子（这只小猫是汤姆）。
汤姆很调皮，东抓抓，西挠挠。

Mrs. Tabitha dressed Moppet and Mittens in clean pinafores and tuckers; and then she took all sorts of elegant uncomfortable clothes out of a chest of drawers, in order to dress up her son Thomas.
塔比莎夫人先给莫皮特和米滕斯穿上了干净的罩裙，戴上领布。然后，她从衣柜里找出各式各样看上去很优雅、穿起来却一点也不舒服的衣服，打算把儿子托马斯（译者注：托马斯即汤姆，汤姆是昵称）好好打扮一番。

Tom Kitten was very fat, and he had grown; several buttons burst off. His mother sewed them on again.
When the three kittens were ready, Mrs. Tabitha unwisely turned them out into the garden, to be out of the way while she made hot buttered toast.
小猫汤姆很胖，个子又长高了，好几粒扣子都绷掉了。
妈妈只好把扣子再缝上。
三只小猫都准备好了之后，塔比莎夫人把他们都打发到花园里去了，尽管她这样做并不那么明智。她觉得这样一来，在她做热烘烘的奶油土司时，就不会有人碍手碍脚了。

"Now keep your frocks clean, children! You must walk on your hind legs. Keep away from the dirty ash-pit, and from Sally Henny Penny, and from the pig-stye and the Puddle-Ducks."
“千万别把衣服弄脏了，孩子们！走路的时候，要用后腿。要远离脏乎乎的灰坑，远离母鸡萨莉·彭妮，远离猪圈，远离那些水坑鸭。”

Moppet and Mittens walked down the garden path unsteadily. Presently they trod upon their pinafores and fell on their noses.
When they stood up there were several green smears!
莫皮特和米滕斯沿着花园小径摇摇晃晃地走着。不一会儿，她们就踩在自己的裙子上，双双摔了个嘴啃泥。
等她们爬起来时，裙子上留下了几处绿色的污痕。

"Let us climb up the rockery, and sit on the garden wall," said Moppet.
They turned their pinafores back to front, and went up with a skip and a jump; Moppet’s white tucker fell down into the road.
“我们去爬假山吧，还可以坐在花园围墙上玩。”莫皮特说道。
她们把罩裙前后掉了个个儿，一蹦一跳地往上爬。莫皮特的白色领布掉在了路上。

Tom Kitten was quite unable to jump when walking upon his hind legs in trousers. He came up the rockery by degrees, breaking the ferns, and shedding buttons right and left.
小猫汤姆穿着长裤，根本没法跳。他一点一点地往假山上爬，把身边的蕨类植物都弄断了，身上的扣子也掉得到处都是。

He was all in pieces when he reached the top of the wall.
Moppet and Mittens tried to pull him together;his hat fell off, and the rest of his buttons burst.
等他爬上墙头时，衣服已经面目全非，散落地不成样子了。
莫皮特和米滕斯想帮他穿戴整齐，可是，他的帽子掉下去了，剩下的几粒扣子也都挣脱了。

While they were in difficulties, there was a pit pat paddle pat! and the three Puddle-Ducks came along the hard high road, marching one behind the other and doing the goose step—pit pat paddle pat! pit pat waddle pat!
就在他们一筹莫展的时候，传来了一阵吧嗒吧嗒的声音！三只水坑鸭沿着坚硬的大路走过来，他们一只接着一只，迈着正步——吧嗒吧嗒！吧嗒吧嗒！

Then the two duck-birds, Rebeccah and Jemima Puddle-Duck, picked up the hat and tucker and put them on.
接着，水坑鸭丽贝卡和杰迈玛从地上捡起帽子和领布，穿戴在自己的身上。

Mittens laughed so that she fell off the wall.Moppet and Tom descended after her; the pinafores and all the rest of Tom’s clothes came off on the way down.
“Come! Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck,” said Moppet—
米滕斯笑得前仰后合，从墙上掉了下来。莫皮特和汤姆也跟着从墙上下来了。下来的时候，汤姆的罩衫掉了，别的衣服也都掉了。
“快来，水坑鸭德雷克先生！”莫皮特说道。

“Come and help us to dress him! Come and button up Tom!”
Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck advanced in a slow sideways manner, and picked up the various articles.
“快来帮我们给汤姆穿上衣服！快来帮我们给他扣上扣子！”
水坑鸭德雷克先生慢悠悠地歪着身子走了过来，捡起地上各种各样的衣服。

But he put them on himself! They fitted him even worse than Tom Kitten.
“It’s a very fine morning!” said Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck.
然而，他竟然把这些东西都穿戴在了自己身上！可他穿这些衣服一点也不合身，还不如小猫汤姆穿起来的效果好呢。
“今天早晨真不错啊！”水坑鸭德雷克先生说道。

And he and Jemima and Rebeccah Puddle-Duck set off up the road, keeping step—pit pat,paddle pat! pit pat, waddle pat!
说着，他、水坑鸭杰迈玛和丽贝卡又上路了，依然是迈着正步——吧嗒吧嗒！吧嗒吧嗒！

Then Tabitha Twitchit came down the garden and found her kittens on the wall with no clothes on.
这时，塔比莎·特威切特夫人来到花园，发现她的小猫们坐在墙头，衣服都没了。

She pulled them off the wall, smacked them,and took them back to the house.
“My friends will arrive in a minute, and you are not fit to be seen; I am affronted,” said Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit.
她把他们从墙上拉了下来，揍了一顿，领回家了。
“我的朋友马上就到，你们没法出来见人，这太让我丢脸了。”塔比莎·特威切特夫人说道。

She sent them upstairs; and I am sorry to say she told her friends that they were in bed with the measles; which was not true.
她把小猫们打发到楼上去了。说起来挺不好意思的，她和朋友们说小猫们都得了麻疹，这会儿正躺在床上呢。当然，这不是真的。

Quite the contrary; they were not in bed: not in the least.
Somehow there were very extraordinary noises over-head, which disturbed the dignity and repose of the tea party.
事实恰恰相反，他们没在床上，而且完完全全没在床上。
不知为什么，楼上不时传来非常奇特的声音，动静不小，搅扰了茶会的优雅和平静。

And I think that some day I shall have to make another, larger, book, to tell you more about Tom Kitten!
我想，将来有一天，我得再写一本书，一本更厚的书，才能给你讲完小猫汤姆的故事！

As for the Puddle-Ducks—they went into a pond.
The clothes all came off directly, because there were no buttons.
那些水坑鸭们呢？他们都去了池塘。
他们的衣服一下子都从身上掉进水里了，因为上面一粒扣子也没有。

And Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck, and Jemima and Rebeccah, have been looking for them ever since.
而从那以后，水坑鸭德雷克先生、杰迈玛和丽贝卡就一直在寻找这些衣服呢。