海伦·米伦女爵 | 朗读绘本故事《蝌蚪的誓言》

Hello, my name is Helen Mirren. And I’m going to read a story called “Tadpole’s Promise”,  it’s by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross, lovely drawings.

你们好，我是海伦·米伦，我要给你们读一个《蝌蚪的誓言》的故事，作者是珍妮·威利斯，插画作者是托尼·罗斯，非常可爱的绘本。

Where the willow tree meets the water, a tadpole met a caterpillar. They gazed into each other's tiny eyes...and fell in love.

在那柳叶垂落水面的地方，一只蝌蚪遇见了一只毛毛虫。他们凝视着彼此的小眼睛，爱上了对方。

She was his beautiful rainbow, and he was her shiny black pearl.

毛毛虫是蝌蚪的美丽彩虹，蝌蚪是毛毛虫的黑色明珠。

“I love everything about you,” said the tadpole.

“我爱你的一切。”蝌蚪说。

“I love everything about you,” said the caterpillar. “Promise you'll never change.”

“我爱你的一切，”毛毛虫说，“请你发誓你永远不会改变。”

“I promise,” he said.

“我发誓。”蝌蚪说。

But as sure as the weather changes, the tadpole could not keep his promise. Next time they met, he had grown two legs.

不过正如天有晴雨，蝌蚪的誓言自然无法兑现。他们再见面的时候，他已经长出来两条腿。

“You've broken your promise,” said the caterpillar.

“你违背了你的誓言。”毛毛虫说。

“Forgive me,” begged the tadpole. “I could not help it. I don't want these legs... All I want is my beautiful rainbow.”

“请原谅我，”蝌蚪乞求道，“我也无能为力，我不想要这双腿，我只想要我的美丽彩虹。”

“All I want is my shiny black pearl. Promised me will never change,” said the caterpillar.

“我只想要我的黑色明珠。请发誓你永远不会改变。”毛毛虫说。

“I promise,” he said.

“我发誓。”蝌蚪说。

But as sure as the seasons change, the next time they met - he'd grown arms.

不过正如四季更迭，他们再见面的时候，蝌蚪已经长出了两只前腿。

“That's twice you've broken your promise,” cried the caterpillar.

“你已经两次违背你的誓言了。”毛毛虫哭着说。

“Forgive me,” begged the tadpole. “I could not help it. I don't want these arms... All I want is my beautiful rainbow.”

“请原谅我，”蝌蚪乞求道，“我也无能为力，我不想要这两只前腿，我只想要我的美丽彩虹。”

“And all I want is my shiny black pearl. I will give you one last chance,” said the caterpillar.

“而我只想要我的黑色明珠，我给你最后一次机会。”毛毛虫说。

But as surely as the world changes, the tadpole could not keep his promise. The next time they met - he had no tail.

不过正如世界变换，蝌蚪的誓言自然无法兑现。他们再次相遇时，蝌蚪已经没有了尾巴。

“You have broken your promise three times, and now you have broken my heart,” said the caterpillar.

“你三次都违背了你的誓言，现在我的心被你伤透了。”毛毛虫说。

“But you are my beautiful rainbow,” said the tadpole.

“但你是我美丽的彩虹啊。”蝌蚪说。

“Yes, but you are not my shiny black pearl. Goodbye.” She crawled up the willow branch and cried herself to sleep.

“是的，可你再也不是我的黑色明珠了，再见。“她爬上柳树的枝梢，哭着睡着了。

One warm moonlit night, she woke up. The sky had changed, the trees had changed. Everything had changed... except for her love for the tadpole. Even though he'd broken his promise, she decided to forgive him.

一个月色温柔的夜晚，她醒了过来。天空变了，树木变了。一切都好像不同了，唯独她对蝌蚪的爱依然不变。虽然蝌蚪再三违背了他的誓言，但毛毛虫还是决定原谅他。

She dried her wings and fluttered down to look for him.

她甩干翅膀，摇晃着飞下去找他。

Where the willow meets the water, a frog was sitting on a lily pad.

就在那柳叶垂落水面的地方，一只青蛙坐在荷叶上。

“Excuse me,” she said. “Have you seen my shiny black... 

“不好意思，”她说，“请问，你见过我的黑色......”

But faster than she could say “pearl”, the frog leapt up and swallowed her... in one great gulp.

还没来得及说出“明珠”二字，青蛙迅速挑起将她吞入口中，大口咽下。

And there he waits... thinking fondly of his beautiful rainbow... wondering where she went.

然后青蛙继续静静地等待着......思念着他的美丽彩虹......纳闷她到底去了哪里。

The end.

结束啦。