彼得·潘(外研社双语读库)(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)


发布时间:2020-07-24 04:36:08

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作者:Sir James Matthew Barrie 詹姆斯·马修·巴里

出版社:外语教学与研究出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

彼得·潘(外研社双语读库)

彼得·潘(外研社双语读库)试读:

CHAPTER 1PETER BREAKS THROUGH

第一章彼得·潘闯进来了

All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!"This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.

所有的小孩都会长大成人,但有一个例外。所有的小孩很快都会知道他们将要长大,而温迪是这样知道的。当温迪两岁的时候,有一天她在一个花园里玩耍。她摘了一朵花,拿着花向妈妈跑去。我想,她看起来肯定非常讨人喜欢,因为达林夫人把手放在胸口,大声说道:“噢,你为什么不能永远都像这样呢!”在这个问题上,事情的经过就是这样的。但是从此以后,温迪就知道了,她终究是要长大的。你通常在两岁以后就知道这一点了。两岁是一个终点,但也是一个起点。

Of course they lived at 14 (their house number on their street), and until Wendy came her mother was the chief one. She was a lovely lady, with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth. Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East, however many you discover there is always one more; and her sweet mocking mouth had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get, though there it was, perfectly conspicuous in the right-hand corner.

当然,他们住在14号(这是他们的房子在街道上的门牌号)。温迪出生之前,妈妈是主要角色。她是一位可爱的女士,喜欢幻想,嘴巴很甜,喜欢逗弄别人。她那喜欢幻想的脑袋瓜,就像是产自神秘东方的小盒子,一个套着另一个,不管你打开了多少个,里面总还有一个。而她那甜甜的喜欢逗弄人的嘴巴,总挂着一个吻,但温迪从来也得不到,虽然它明明就在右边的嘴角上。

The way Mr. Darling won her was this: the many gentlemen who had been boys when she was a girl discovered simultaneously that they loved her, and they all ran to her house to propose to her except Mr. Darling, who took a cab and nipped in first, and so he got her. He got all of her, except the innermost box and the kiss. He never knew about the box, and in time he gave up trying for the kiss. Wendy thought Napoleon could have got it, but I can picture him trying, and then going off in a passion, slamming the door.

达林先生是这样赢得他太太的芳心的:她还是女孩时,身边有好些男孩。这些男孩长大后突然发现他们同时都爱上了她,因此他们全部都跑着去她家跟她求婚——但达林先生并没有这样做,他雇了一辆马车,第一个飞快地到达她家,于是他就这样得到她了。他得到了她所有的一切,除了最里层的那个盒子和那个吻。他对那个盒子从来都一无所知,而那个吻,随着时间的流逝,他也不再尝试着要去得到它了。温迪想,也许拿破仑能得到那个吻。但是我能想象他屡次尝试未果,之后生气地甩门而去的样子。

Mr. Darling used to boast to Wendy that her mother not only loved him but respected him. He was one of those deep ones who know about stocks and shares. Of course no one really knows, but he quite seemed to know, and he often said stocks were up and shares were down in a way that would have made any woman respect him.

达林先生老是向温迪吹嘘说,她妈妈不但爱他,而且敬重他。他是一个有高深学问的人,了解股票之类的事情。当然,没有人真的知道那些事,可他似乎挺了解的。他经常说股票涨了,股票跌了,说得头头是道,似乎能让每个女人都佩服他。

Mrs. Darling was married in white, and at first she kept the books perfectly, almost gleefully, as if it were a game, not so much as a Brussels sprout was missing; but by and by whole cauliflowers dropped out, and instead of them there were pictures of babies without faces. She drew them when she should have been totting up. They were Mrs. Darling's guesses.

达林夫人结婚的时候,穿着一身洁白的礼服。起初,她把家里的账簿记得非常仔细,甚至很愉快,就像玩游戏一样,连一个小菜芽都不会漏掉。可是渐渐地,整堆的花椰菜都漏记了,却出现了一些没有脸的小娃娃的图画。当她应该算总账的时候,她却画上了这些图画。达林夫人猜想着她的宝宝可能要来了。

Wendy came first, then John, then Michael.

温迪第一个出生了,然后是约翰,最后是迈克尔。

For a week or two after Wendy came it was doubtful whether they would be able to keep her, as she was another mouth to feed. Mr. Darling was frightfully proud of her, but he was very honourable, and he sat on the edge of Mrs. Darling's bed, holding her hand and calculating expenses, while she looked at him imploringly. She wanted to risk it, come what might, but that was not his way; his way was with a pencil and a piece of paper, and if she confused him with suggestions he had to begin at the beginning again.

温迪出生后的一两个星期,达林夫妇不知道他们能否留下她,因为她的出生意味着家里多了一个人要吃饭。达林先生有了温迪非常地得意,但是他同时也是一个很实在的人,他坐在达林夫人的床边,握着她的手,计算着开销,而达林夫人则恳求地望着他。她想,无论如何,都要冒险试一试,但是达林先生却不是这么做的。他拿起一支笔和一张纸开始算账,如果达林夫人提的意见打乱了他的思绪,他就又得重新算。

"Now don't interrupt," he would beg of her.“现在不要打扰我了。”他会这样请求她。

"I have one pound seventeen here, and two and six at the office; I can cut off my coffee at the office, say ten shillings, making two nine and six, with your eighteen and three makes three nine seven, with five naught naught in my cheque-book makes eight nine seven—who is that moving? —eight nine seven, dot and carry seven—don't speak, my own—and the pound you lent to that man who came to the door—quiet, child—dot and carry child—there, you've done it! —did I say nine nine seven? yes, I said nine nine seven; the question is, can we try it for a year on nine nine seven?”"Of course we can, George," she cried. But she was prejudiced in Wendy's favour, and he was really the grander character of the two.“我这里有一镑十七先令,办公室里有两先令六个便士。我可以取消办公室里的咖啡开支,算是省下十先令,那么就有了两镑九先令六便士,再加上你的十八先令三便士,我们就有三镑九先令七便士,我的支票上还有五镑零先令零便士,这样总共有八镑九先令七便士——谁在那里动?——八镑九先令七便士,小数点进位七——别说话,亲爱的——再加上你借给那个找上门的人的一镑——安静点,宝宝——小数点进位宝宝——看,都让你们给搞乱了!——我刚才说的是九镑九先令七便士吗?是的,我说的是九镑九先令七便士,问题是,我们可以靠九镑九先令七便士过一年吗?”“当然可以啦,乔治。”她大声说道。但她是在偏袒温迪,现在达林先生才是两个人中真正更为厉害的人。

"Remember mumps," he warned her almost threateningly, and off he went again. "Mumps one pound, that is what I have put down, but I daresay it will be more like thirty shillings—don't speak—measles one five, German measles half a guinea, makes two fifteen six—don't waggle your finger—whooping-cough, say fifteen shillings”—and so on it went, and it added up differently each time; but at last Wendy just got through, with mumps reduced to twelve six, and the two kinds of measles treated as one.“别忘了腮腺炎。”他几乎是带着威胁的口吻提醒她,然后又接着算了起来。“腮腺炎要一镑,那是我算在账面的,但是我敢说可能要花得更多,就算三十先令——不要说话——麻疹要一镑五先令,风疹要花半个几尼,这样就要两镑十五先令六便士——不要晃手指——百日咳,算十五先令吧”——他就这么继续算着,而每次加起来的结果都不一样,但是最后温迪总算是熬过来了,腮腺炎减少到十二先令六便士,而两种麻疹也并作了一次治疗。

There was the same excitement over John, and Michael had even a narrower squeak; but both were kept, and soon, you might have seen the three of them going in a row to Miss Fulsom's Kindergarten school, accompanied by their nurse.

约翰也遇到了同样的风险,迈克尔更是侥幸脱险,但是两个孩子都成功地留下来了,而且很快地,你就能看到他们三个排着队到福尔萨姆小姐的幼儿园里去上学,由他们的保姆陪同着。

Mrs. Darling loved to have everything just so, and Mr. Darling had a passion for being exactly like his neighbours; so, of course, they had a nurse. As they were poor, owing to the amount of milk the children drank, this nurse was a prim Newfoundland dog, called Nana, who had belonged to no one in particular until the Darlings engaged her. She had always thought children important, however, and the Darlings had become acquainted with her in Kensington Gardens, where she spent most of her spare time peeping into perambulators, and was much hated by careless nursemaids, whom she followed to their homes and complained of to their mistresses. She proved to be quite a treasure of a nurse. How thorough she was at bath-time, and up at any moment of the night if one of her charges made the slightest cry. Of course her kennel was in the nursery. She had a genius for knowing when a cough is a thing to have no patience with and when it needs stocking around your throat. She believed to her last day in old-fashioned remedies like rhubarb leaf, and made sounds of contempt over all this new-fangled talk about germs, and so on. It was a lesson in propriety to see her escorting the children to school, walking sedately by their side when they were well behaved, and butting them back into line if they strayed. On John's footer days she never once forgot his sweater, and she usually carried an umbrella in her mouth in case of rain. There is a room in the basement of Miss Fulsom's school where the nurses wait. They sat on forms, while Nana lay on the floor, but that was the only difference. They affected to ignore her as of an inferior social status to themselves, and she despised their light talk. She resented visits to the nursery from Mrs. Darling's friends, but if they did come she first whipped off Michael's pinafore and put him into the one with blue braiding, and smoothed out Wendy and made a dash at John's hair.

达林夫人喜欢事事都顺其自然,但是达林先生却希望和邻居们保持一致。所以,他们当然得有一个保姆。由于他们很穷,孩子们喝牛奶花费得又多,所以他们的“保姆”其实是一只严肃的纽芬兰狗,名叫娜娜。在达林夫妇雇佣她之前,她并没有固定的主人。不过,她一直都认为孩子是很重要的。达林夫妇是在肯辛顿公园遇到她的。她在那里度过了大部分空闲的时间,经常把头伸进摇篮车窥探。那些粗心的保姆们很讨厌她,因为她总是跟她们回家,向雇佣她们的主人抱怨。事实证明,她的确是一名出色的保姆。给孩子洗澡的时候,她是如此地仔细周到。晚上不管任何时候,只要她照顾的孩子发出哪怕是很轻的一声哭叫,她就会立即醒来。她的窝当然是在育婴室里。她天生就知道,对待哪一种咳嗽不能掉以轻心,什么时候需要在脖子上围上长袜。她一向都对那些传统的治疗方法深信不疑,比如用大黄叶治病,而对细菌之类的新名词发出蔑视的声音。看她护送孩子们上学还真是给我们上了一堂行为规范课。孩子们乖的时候,她就静静地走在他们旁边;孩子们随便乱跑的时候,她就用头把他们推进队列。在约翰踢足球的日子里,她从未把他的毛衣落下过,而且嘴里总是叼着一把伞,以防下雨。在福尔萨姆小姐的幼儿园里,有一间地下室,保姆们在那里等着。一般保姆们会坐在条凳上,而娜娜则躺在地板上,但那是唯一的不同之处。她们假装无视娜娜,就因为她们觉得她的社会地位比她们低,而娜娜才鄙视她们那种无聊的谈话呢。她不喜欢达林夫人的朋友来育婴室,但是如果她们真的来了,她会首先把迈克尔的围裙扯下,给他换上那件带蓝色花边的,然后抚平温迪的衣服,再匆匆捋一捋约翰的头发。

No nursery could possibly have been conducted more correctly, and Mr. Darling knew it, yet he sometimes wondered uneasily whether the neighbours talked.

没有哪个育婴室能够打理得比这儿更好了,达林先生也知道这一点。但是他有时又会担心,邻居们会不会有闲言碎语。

He had his position in the city to consider.

他得考虑到自己在这个城市的地位。

Nana also troubled him in another way. He had sometimes a feeling that she did not admire him. "I know she admires you tremendously, George," Mrs. Darling would assure him, and then she would sign to the children to be specially nice to father. Lovely dances followed, in which the only other servant, Liza, was sometimes allowed to join. Such a midget she looked in her long skirt and maid's cap, though she had sworn, when engaged, that she would never see ten again. The gaiety of those romps! And gayest of all was Mrs. Darling, who would pirouette so wildly that all you could see of her was the kiss, and then if you had dashed at her you might have got it. There never was a simpler happier family until the coming of Peter Pan.

娜娜还在另一方面困扰着他。他有时觉得她并不那么佩服他。“我知道她是非常崇拜你的,乔治。”达林夫人会这样向他保证,然后示意孩子们要对爸爸特别好。接着,动人的舞蹈跳起来了。他们家唯一的另一个仆人莉莎,有时也能获准加入。莉莎穿着长裙,带着女仆的帽子,看起来是多么矮小啊,虽然受雇的时候,她发誓她肯定不止十岁了。这些嬉闹的人们是多么快乐啊!而其中最快乐的要数达林夫人了,她疯狂地踮起脚尖旋转着,你能看得清的就只有那个吻。如果这时你冲了上去,没准还能得到它呢。在彼得·潘来临之前,再也没有比他们更单纯、更开心的家庭了。

Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter when she was tidying up her children's minds. It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can't) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight. When you wake in the morning, the naughtiness and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on.

达林夫人是在整理孩子们想法的时候第一次听说彼得的。每一位好妈妈晚上都有一个习惯,那就是等孩子们睡着后,搜索他们的思绪,把白天散落的东西归回原位,把一切收拾整齐,迎接第二天的早晨。如果你能醒着(不过当然你不能),你就会看到你的妈妈在做这些事情,而你会发现看她收拾东西是件非常有趣的事。那很像是在整理抽屉。我猜,你会看见她跪着,饶有趣味地察看你的一些东西,想不通你到底是从哪里捡到这东西的。她发现有些东西是讨人喜欢的,有些则是招人讨厌的。她把某个东西贴在脸上,仿佛它和小猫一样可爱,又赶紧地把另一件东西藏得不见踪影。当你清晨醒来的时候,那些你睡觉前揣着的淘气的念头和坏脾气都被叠得小小的,放在你脑子的底层,而在上层,整整齐齐铺放着的是你那些美好的想法,等着你去拾起。

I don't know whether you have ever seen a map of a person's mind. Doctors sometimes draw maps of other parts of you, and your own map can become intensely interesting, but catch them trying to draw a map of a child's mind, which is not only confused, but keeps going round all the time. There are zigzag lines on it, just like your temperature on a card, and these are probably roads in the island, for the Neverland is always more or less an island, with astonishing splashes of colour here and there, and coral reefs and rakish-looking craft in the offing, and savages and lonely lairs, and gnomes who are mostly tailors, and caves through which a river runs, and princes with six elder brothers, and a hut fast going to decay, and one very small old lady with a hooked nose. It would be an easy map if that were all, but there is also first day at school, religion, fathers, the round pond, needle-work, murders, hangings, verbs that take the dative, chocolate pudding day, getting into braces, say ninety-nine, three-pence for pulling out your tooth yourself, and so on, and either these are part of the island or they are another map showing through, and it is all rather confusing, especially as nothing will stand still.

我不知道你是否看过人的心思的图片。医生有时会把你身上的其他部位画下来,而看你自己的图像会特别地有意思。但要是你看到医生在努力画一张孩子的心思的图,你会发现,那图不仅是令人费解的,还总是在绕圈。那上面有弯弯曲曲的线条,就像卡片上的体温记录。这些应该就是岛上的道路了吧,因为梦幻岛总的来说就是一个岛,四处散落着令人惊奇的色彩。海面上覆盖着珊瑚礁,漂流着轻快的小船;岛上有野人和孤零零的巢穴;有土地精灵们,他们大多是裁缝;有小河穿过的一个个洞穴;有王子们和他们的六个哥哥;有一间快要倒塌的小屋;还有一位长着鹰钩鼻、身材矮小的老妇人。如果那就是全部的话,这图画起来倒也简单。但是还有呢:第一天上学,宗教,爸爸,圆水池,针线活,谋杀案,绞刑,与格动词,吃巧克力布丁的日子,穿背带裤,数到九十九,自己拔牙得到了三便士,等等。这些要么是岛上的一部分,要么就是画在另外一张图片上了。总之,全部让人看不明白,尤其是在没有一件东西静止不动的情况下。

Of course the Neverlands vary a good deal. John's, for instance, had a lagoon with flamingoes flying over it at which John was shooting, while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it. John lived in a boat turned upside down on the sands, Michael in a wigwam, Wendy in a house of leaves deftly sewn together. John had no friends, Michael had friends at night, Wendy had a pet wolf forsaken by its parents, but on the whole the Neverlands have a family resemblance, and if they stood still in a row you could say of them that they have each other's nose, and so forth. On these magic shores children at play are for ever beaching their coracles. We too have been there; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more.

当然啦,每个人心目中的梦幻岛各不相同。拿约翰来说吧,他的梦幻岛有一个礁湖,火烈鸟在湖上飞翔,约翰就朝它们射去。而迈克尔呢,年纪还很小,他的梦幻岛则是有一只火烈鸟,有很多礁湖在火烈鸟上面飞。约翰住在一艘倒扣在沙滩上的船上,迈克尔住在一个印第安人的帐篷里,温迪住在一间用树叶巧妙缝成的屋子里。约翰没有朋友,迈克尔只在夜晚有朋友,温迪有一匹被父母抛弃的狼宝宝。但总的来说,他们的梦幻岛就像一家人一样,如果站成一排,你会说它们的鼻子长得一模一样,等等。在这些充满魔力的海岸边,玩耍的孩子们总是在将他们简陋的小圆舟拖上岸。我们也去过那个地方,我们至今还能听到海浪的声音,但是,我们再也不上岸了。

Of all delectable islands the Neverland is the snuggest and most compact, not large and sprawly, you know, with tedious distances between one adventure and another, but nicely crammed. When you play at it by day with the chairs and table-cloth, it is not in the least alarming, but in the two minutes before you go to sleep it becomes very real. That is why there are night-lights.

在所有让人快乐的岛中,梦幻岛是最舒适、最紧凑的了,不大也不散——也就是说,从一次冒险到另一次冒险,距离虽有点远,但也算得上恰到好处。白天,你用椅子和桌布玩岛上的游戏时,一点也不会觉得害怕。可是,在你临睡前的两分钟,它几乎就会变得很真实了。那就是晚上要点灯的原因。

Occasionally in her travels through her children's minds Mrs. Darling found things she could not understand, and of these quite the most perplexing was the word Peter. She knew of no Peter, and yet he was here and there in John and Michael's minds, while Wendy's began to be scrawled all over with him. The name stood out in bolder letters than any of the other words, and as Mrs. Darling gazed she felt that it had an oddly cocky appearance.

达林夫人在孩子们的脑袋中漫步的时候,偶尔会发现一些她无法理解的事,其中最叫她困惑的便是彼得这个名字。她对彼得一无所知,但在约翰和迈克尔的脑袋中他无处不在,而温迪的脑海中更是慢慢地开始涂满了这个名字。这个名字比其他任何字都要粗大和醒目。达林夫人盯着它看时,觉得它是那么古怪、自大。

"Yes, he is rather cocky," Wendy admitted with regret. Her mother had been questioning her.“没错,他就是有点儿自大。”温迪遗憾地承认。妈妈一直不停地问她。

"But who is he, my pet?""He is Peter Pan, you know, mother."At first Mrs. Darling did not know, but after thinking back into her childhood she just remembered a Peter Pan who was said to live with the fairies. There were odd stories about him, as that when children died he went part of the way with them, so that they should not be frightened. She had believed in him at the time, but now that she was married and full of sense she quite doubted whether there was any such person.“但他是谁啊,我的宝贝?”“他是彼得·潘啊,你知道的,妈妈。”起初,达林夫人并不知道,但是后来她回想自己的童年,也记起了一个叫彼得·潘的孩子。据说,他和精灵们住在一起。有关他的许多故事可奇怪哩,比如说,当孩子们死的时候,他会陪着他们走上一段路,这样孩子们就不会害怕了。她那时是相信的,可现在她结婚了,也懂得了许多道理,便非常怀疑这样一个人是否存在。

"Besides," she said to Wendy, "he would be grown up by this time.""Oh no, he isn't grown up," Wendy assured her confidently, "and he is just my size."She meant that he was her size in both mind and body; she didn't know how she knew, she just knew it.“况且,”她对温迪说,“他现在应该长大了吧。”“噢,不,他没长大,”温迪信心满满地跟她保证,“而且他和我一样大。”温迪的意思是,彼得的身心都和她的一样大,她不知道自己是怎么知道的,反正她就是知道。

Mrs. Darling consulted Mr. Darling, but he smiled pooh-pooh. "Mark my words," he said, "it is some nonsense Nana has been putting into their heads; just the sort of idea a dog would have. Leave it alone, and it will blow over."But it would not blow over and soon the troublesome boy gave Mrs. Darling quite a shock.

达林夫人去问达林先生,他忍不住笑了。“记住我的话,”他说,“这只是娜娜塞进他们脑子里的可笑念头,这种念头狗才会有。别管了,这念头很快就会消失的。”但是这个念头并没有消失,而且不久,这个爱惹麻烦的男孩就让达林夫人大吃了一惊。

Children have the strangest adventures without being troubled by them. For instance, they may remember to mention, a week after the event happened, that when they were in the wood they had met their dead father and had a game with him. It was in this casual way that Wendy one morning made a disquieting revelation. Some leaves of a tree had been found on the nursery floor, which certainly were not there when the children went to bed, and Mrs. Darling was puzzling over them when Wendy said with a tolerant smile: "I do believe it is that Peter again!""Whatever do you mean, Wendy?""It is so naughty of him not to wipe his feet," Wendy said, sighing. She was a tidy child.

孩子们会经历非常奇怪的事情,却丝毫不感到害怕。比如,他们会在事情发生一个星期后才想起来说,他们在树林里遇见了死去的爸爸,还和他一起玩游戏。一天早上,温迪就是这样漫不经心地透露出一件令人担忧的事。在育婴室的地板上发现了几片树叶,但孩子们昨天晚上上床睡觉的时候可没有。达林夫人对这些树叶感到很困惑,但温迪宽容地笑着说:“我相信这一定又是那个彼得干的!”“你到底说什么呢,温迪?”“他太顽皮了,也不擦干净他的脚印。”温迪叹了一口气说道。她可是一个爱干净的孩子。

She explained in quite a matter-of-fact way that she thought Peter sometimes came to the nursery in the night and sat on the foot of her bed and played on his pipes to her. Unfortunately she never woke, so she didn't know how she knew, she just knew.

她解释起来倒真像有那么一回事——她觉得,有时彼得会在晚上来到育婴室,坐在她的床脚边,吹笛子给她听。遗憾的是,她从来没醒过,所以她不知道自己是怎么知道的,反正她就是知道。

"What nonsense you talk, precious. No one can get into the house without knocking."“你在乱说什么,宝贝。不敲门谁也无法进来。”

"I think he comes in by the window," she said.“我想他应该是爬窗进来的。”温迪说。

"My love, it is three floors up.""Were not the leaves at the foot of the window, mother?"It was quite true; the leaves had been found very near the window.“亲爱的,这可是三楼啊。”“可是树叶不就是在窗边发现的么,妈妈?”确实如此,那些树叶就是在靠窗很近的地方发现的。

Mrs. Darling did not know what to think, for it all seemed so natural to Wendy that you could not dismiss it by saying she had been dreaming.

达林夫人不知道该怎么理出头绪了。因为温迪觉得一切都是那么自然,你不能说她是在做梦而对此置之不理。

"My child," the mother cried, "why did you not tell me of this before?""I forgot," said Wendy lightly. She was in a hurry to get her breakfast.“我的孩子,”妈妈大声说道,“为什么你之前不告诉我呢?”“我忘记了。”温迪毫不在意地说。她正急着去吃早餐。

Oh, surely she must have been dreaming.

噢,没错,她肯定是在做梦。

But, on the other hand, there were the leaves. Mrs. Darling examined them very carefully; they were skeleton leaves, but she was sure they did not come from any tree that grew in England. She crawled about the floor, peering at it with a candle for marks of a strange foot. She rattled the poker up the chimney and tapped the walls. She let down a tape from the window to the pavement, and it was a sheer drop of thirty feet, without so much as a spout to climb up by.

但话说回来,地板上确实有树叶。达林夫人非常仔细地察看这些树叶,发现是一些只剩下叶脉的树叶,但是她确定英国没有可以长出这种树叶的树木。她趴在地板上,点亮了一根蜡烛,想看看有没有陌生人的脚印。她拿了跟拨火棒去捅烟囱,还用它敲了敲墙壁。她又从窗口放下一条带子,垂到地上,结果是,窗子高达30英尺,墙上连一个可以攀爬的喷水口都没有。

Certainly Wendy had been dreaming.

温迪肯定在做梦。

But Wendy had not been dreaming, as the very next night showed, the night on which the extraordinary adventures of these children may be said to have begun.

可是接下来的那个晚上证实了温迪并不是在做梦。就是在那个晚上,孩子们奇特的冒险正式开始了。

On the night we speak of all the children were once more in bed. It happened to be Nana's evening off, and Mrs. Darling had bathed them and sung to them till one by one they had let go her hand and slid away into the land of sleep.

在我们所说的那个晚上,所有的孩子都又在床上睡觉了。娜娜碰巧在那天晚上休息,达林夫人给孩子们洗澡,唱歌给他们听,直到他们一个接一个地松开了她的手,进入了梦乡。

All were looking so safe and cosy that she smiled at her fears now and sat down tranquilly by the fire to sew.

一切看起来都那么安全、祥和,达林夫人笑了,觉得自己的害怕是多余的。于是,她安静地坐在火炉边,缝起衣服来。

It was something for Michael, who on his birthday was getting into shirts. The fire was warm, however, and the nursery dimly lit by three night-lights, and presently the sewing lay on Mrs. Darling's lap. Then her head nodded, oh, so gracefully. She was asleep. Look at the four of them, Wendy and Michael over there, John here, and Mrs. Darling by the fire. There should have been a fourth night-light.

这是给迈克尔缝的,是给他生日那天穿的衬衫。炉火暖洋洋的,育婴室里点着三盏夜灯,忽暗忽明。没过多久,缝的衣服就落在达林夫人的膝盖上了。然后她的头往下一栽一栽的,噢,这是多么美好的画面啊。她也睡着了。看他们四个,温迪和迈克尔在那边睡着,约翰在这边,达林夫人则在火炉旁。应该再点亮第四盏夜灯的。

While she slept she had a dream. She dreamt that the Neverland had come too near and that a strange boy had broken through from it. He did not alarm her, for she thought she had seen him before in the faces of many women who have no children. Perhaps he is to be found in the faces of some mothers also. But in her dream he had rent the film that obscures the Neverland, and she saw Wendy and John and Michael peeping through the gap.

达林夫人睡着后,做了一个梦。她梦见梦幻岛离她非常近,从那里钻出来一个陌生的小男孩。小男孩并没有吓到她,因为她觉得她以前曾经在许多没有孩子的女人的脸上见过他的样子。或者她也在一些有孩子的女人脸上见过他。不过在她的梦里,小男孩却把遮掩梦幻岛的那层薄纱给撕开了,她看到温迪、约翰和迈克尔都在透过缝隙向里张望。

The dream by itself would have been a trifle, but while she was dreaming the window of the nursery blew open, and a boy did drop on the floor. He was accompanied by a strange light, no bigger than your fist, which darted about the room like a living thing and I think it must have been this light that wakened Mrs. Darling.

这个梦本身可能算不了什么,可就在她做梦的时候,育婴室的窗户突然打开了,一个男孩真的从天而降,落到了地板上。一簇奇怪的光伴着他,那光不比你的拳头大,却仿佛有生命似的在屋子里到处蹿动,我猜,肯定是这簇光把达林夫人弄醒了。

She started up with a cry, and saw the boy, and somehow she knew at once that he was Peter Pan. If you or I or Wendy had been there we should have seen that he was very like Mrs. Darling's kiss. He was a lovely boy, clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that ooze out of trees but the most entrancing thing about him was that he had all his first teeth. When he saw she was a grown-up, he gnashed the little pearls at her.

她大叫了一声,跳了起来,看到了那个男孩。不知为什么,她立刻就知道他就是彼得·潘。倘若你或我或温迪也在那里,我们就会发现,他实在是太像达林夫人的那个吻了。他是一个非常可爱的小男孩,身上穿着用只剩下叶脉的树叶和从树上流出来的汁液做成的衣服,不过他最吸引人的地方还是他那满口的乳牙。当他看到达林夫人是个大人的时候,便朝她咧开了那一口小珍珠般的牙齿。CHAPTER 2 THE SHADOW

第二章 影子

Mrs. Darling screamed, and, as if in answer to a bell, the door opened, and Nana entered, returned from her evening out. She growled and sprang at the boy, who leapt lightly through the window. Again Mrs. Darling screamed, this time in distress for him, for she thought he was killed, and she ran down into the street to look for his little body, but it was not there; and she looked up, and in the black night she could see nothing but what she thought was a shooting star.

达林夫人尖声大叫。接着,就像是听到门铃响了一样,门打开了,刚刚夜游归来的娜娜闯了进来。她咆哮着向男孩扑去,可男孩轻轻一跃就跳出了窗外。达林夫人再次尖叫,这次是担心那个小男孩,她以为他摔死了。她连忙跑下楼,到街上去寻找他的小尸体,但却找不到。她抬头看去,黑暗的夜空中除了一道亮光就什么都看不到了,而她以为那只是一颗流星。

She returned to the nursery, and found Nana with something in her mouth, which proved to be the boy's shadow. As he leapt at the window Nana had closed it quickly, too late to catch him, but his shadow had not had time to get out; slam went the window and snapped it off.

达林夫人回到了育婴室,发现娜娜嘴里叼着什么,原来是那个小男孩的影子。小男孩往窗外跳的时候,娜娜迅速地关上了窗户,但还是没来得及抓住他,不过他的影子就没能逃走。窗户砰地一声就关上了,把他的影子扯了下来。

You may be sure Mrs. Darling examined the shadow carefully, but it was quite the ordinary kind.

也许你会猜到,达林夫人一定会仔细地检查那个影子,但那只是一个普通的影子而已。

Nana had no doubt of what was the best thing to do with this shadow. She hung it out at the window, meaning "He is sure to come back for it; let us put it where he can get it easily without disturbing the children."But unfortunately Mrs. Darling could not leave it hanging out at the window, it looked so like the washing and lowered the whole tone of the house. She thought of showing it to Mr. Darling, but he was totting up winter great-coats for John and Michael, with a wet towel around his head to keep his brain clear, and it seemed a shame to trouble him; besides, she knew exactly what he would say: "It all comes of having a dog for a nurse."She decided to roll the shadow up and put it away carefully in a drawer, until a fitting opportunity came for telling her husband. Ah me! The opportunity came a week later, on that never-to-be-forgotten Friday. Of course it was a Friday.

娜娜清楚地知道该怎么处理这个影子最好。她把它挂在窗户外面,心想:“男孩肯定会回来拿它的,让我们把影子放在他容易拿到的地方,这样就不会吵到孩子们了。”可不幸的是,达林夫人不愿意把影子挂在窗户外面,因为它看起来太像一件洗好的衣服,这样会降低房子的整体格调的。她想把这个影子给达林先生看,但他正在计算给约翰和迈克尔添置冬天的大衣要花多少钱。他还在头上搭了块湿毛巾,以保持头脑清醒。这时候去打扰他,好像有点不好意思。况且,达林夫人料到他肯定会说:“这都是因为让一只狗做保姆。”于是达林夫人决定把影子卷起来,小心地收在抽屉里,等找到合适的机会再告诉她丈夫。我的天啊!一星期后,在一个永远都无法忘记的星期五,机会终于来了。当然,那是一个星期五。

"I ought to have been specially careful on a Friday," she used to say afterwards to her husband, while perhaps Nana was on the other side of her, holding her hand.“我在每个星期五本就该特别注意的。”过后她总是这样对她丈夫说,此时娜娜可能就在她的另一边,握着她的手。

"No, no," Mr. Darling always said, "I am responsible for it all. I, George Darling, did it. MEA CULPA, MEA CULPA."He had had a classical education.“不,不,”达林先生总是说,“我应该对一切负责。我,乔治·达林,造成了这些。吾之过也,吾之过也。”他接受过古典教育。

They sat thus night after night recalling that fatal Friday, till every detail of it was stamped on their brains and came through on the other side like the faces on a bad coinage.

他们就这样坐着一夜又一夜地回想那个可怕的星期五,直到每个细节都深深地刻进他们的脑海里,像损坏了的硬币一样,从另一面透了过来。

"If only I had not accepted that invitation to dine at 27," Mrs. Darling said.“要是我拒绝了27号那天的晚餐邀请就好了。”达林夫人说。

"If only I had not poured my medicine into Nana's bowl," said Mr. Darling.“要是我没有把药倒进娜娜的碗里就好了。”达林先生说。

"If only I had pretended to like the medicine," was what Nana's wet eyes said.“要是我假装喜欢那些药就好了。”娜娜的泪眼诉说着。

"My liking for parties, George.""My fatal gift of humour, dearest.""My touchiness about trifles, dear master and mistress."Then one or more of them would break down altogether; Nana at the thought, "It's true, it's true, they ought not to have had a dog for a nurse."Many a time it was Mr. Darling who put the handkerchief to Nana's eyes.“怪我喜欢参加聚会,乔治。”“怪我那害人的幽默天赋,亲爱的。”“怪我太爱管闲事了,亲爱的主人们。”然后他们其中的一个或几个就会完全崩溃。娜娜心里想着:“没错,没错,他们是不该让一只狗当保姆。”好多次都是达林先生用手帕给娜娜擦眼泪。

"That fiend!" Mr. Daring would cry, and Nana's bark was the echo of it, but Mrs. Darling never upbraided Peter; there was something in the right-hand corner of her mouth that wanted her not to call Peter names.“那个可恶的东西!”达林先生会大声喊道,娜娜也会叫着附和,但是达林夫人却从不责骂彼得,她右边的嘴角上有一点什么东西不让她骂彼得。

They would sit there in the empty nursery, recalling fondly every smallest detail of that dreadful evening. It had begun so uneventfully, so precisely like a hundred other evenings, with Nana putting on the water for Michael's bath and carrying him to it on her back.

他们就这样坐在那个空空的育婴室里,痴痴地回想起那个恐怖的夜晚的每一个最小的细节。那晚刚开始是平静无事的,像往常一样,娜娜为迈克尔倒好了洗澡水,背着他去洗澡。

"I won't go to bed," he had shouted, like one who still believed that he had the last word on the subject, "I won't, I won't. Nana, it isn't six o'clock yet. Oh dear, oh dear, I shan't love you any more, Nana. I tell you I won't be bathed, I won't, I won't!"Then Mrs. Darling had come in, wearing her white evening-gown. She had dressed early because Wendy so loved to see her in her evening-gown, with the necklace George had given her. She was wearing Wendy's bracelet on her arm; she had asked for the loan of it. Wendy loved to lend her bracelet to her mother.“我不要睡觉。”迈克尔大声喊道,就好像他认为他自己能说了算,“我不,我不。娜娜,还没到六点呢。噢,亲爱的,噢,亲爱的,我再也不爱你了,娜娜。我告诉你,我不要洗澡,我不,我不!”然后达林夫人就进来了,穿着她那雪白的晚礼服。她很早就穿好了,因为温迪是那么地喜欢看她穿着晚礼服、戴着乔治送给她的项链的样子。她的手臂上戴着温迪的手镯,那是她跟温迪借来的。温迪喜欢把手镯借给妈妈戴。

She had found her two older children playing at being herself and father on the occasion of Wendy's birth, and John was saying: "I am happy to inform you, Mrs. Darling, that you are now a mother," in just such a tone as Mr. Darling himself may have used on the real occasion.

这时,达林夫人发现她的两个大点儿的孩子正在玩游戏,一个扮她,一个扮爸爸,扮演温迪出生那天的情景。而约翰正说道:“我很高兴地告诉你,达林夫人,现在你是一个妈妈了。”他还模仿达林先生在这种场景下会用的语气。

Wendy had danced with joy, just as the real Mrs. Darling must have done.

温迪开心地跳起舞来,就像真的达林夫人一定跳过的那样。

Then John was born, with the extra pomp that he conceived due to the birth of a male, and Michael came from his bath to ask to be born also, but John said brutally that they did not want any more.

然后约翰出生了,他设想生了一个男孩,肯定要格外地隆重。接着迈克尔洗完澡过来了,要求也要生下他,可是约翰残酷地说,他们不想要孩子了。

Michael had nearly cried. "Nobody wants me," he said, and of course the lady in the evening-dress could not stand that.

迈克尔几乎要哭出来了。“没人要我。”他说。这样一来,那位穿着晚礼服的夫人可看不下去了。

"I do," she said, "I so want a third child.""Boy or girl?" asked Michael, not too hopefully.“我要。”她说,“我很想再要一个孩子。”“男孩还是女孩呢?”迈克尔问道,他没抱太大希望。

"Boy."Then he had leapt into her arms. Such a little thing for Mr. and Mrs. Darling and Nana to recall now, but not so little if that was to be Michael's last night in the nursery.“男孩。”然后他就扑进了妈妈的怀抱里。达林先生、达林夫人和娜娜现在回想起来,虽然这只是一件很小的事,但如果这是迈克尔在育婴室里的最后一晚,那便不是一件小事了。

They go on with their recollections.

他们继续着他们的回忆。

"It was then that I rushed in like a tornado, wasn't it?" Mr. Darling would say, scorning himself; and indeed he had been like a tornado.“就在那时,我像一阵龙卷风似的冲进来了,不是吗?”达林先生会自嘲道,而他当时的确是像一阵龙卷风。

Perhaps there was some excuse for him. He, too, had been dressing for the party, and all had gone well with him until he came to his tie. It is an astounding thing to have to tell, but this man, though he knew about stocks and shares, had no real mastery of his tie. Sometimes the thing yielded to him without a contest, but there were occasions when it would have been better for the house if he had swallowed his pride and used a made-up tie.

或许他那样是有理由的。他那时也正在为宴会打扮,一切都很顺利,直到打领带的时候。这事说起来还挺令人吃惊的,这人通晓股票的事情,却搞不定他的领带。有时他倒也能把领带这东西收拾得服服帖帖,但有时候,如果他能够收起自己的骄傲,戴上一条打好的领带,那对全家就都再好不过了。

This was such an occasion. He came rushing into the nursery with the crumpled little brute of a tie in his hand.

而那天就是这样的一个时候。达林先生冲进育婴室,手里拿着皱巴巴的小领带。

"Why, what is the matter, father dear?""Matter!" he yelled; he really yelled. "This tie, it will not tie."He became dangerously sarcastic. "Not round my neck! Round the bed-post! Oh yes, twenty times have I made it up round the bed-post, but round my neck, no! Oh dear no! It begs to be excused!”He thought Mrs. Darling was not sufficiently impressed, and he went on sternly, "I warn you of this, mother, that unless this tie is round my neck we don't go out to dinner to-night,and if I don't go out to dinner to-night, I never go to the office again, and if I don't go to the office again, you and I starve, and our children will be flung into the streets."Even then Mrs. Darling was placid. "Let me try, dear," she said, and indeed that was what he had come to ask her to do, and with her nice cool hands she tied his tie for him, while the children stood around to see their fate decided. Some men would have resented her being able to do it so easily, but Mr. Darling had far too fine a nature for that; he thanked her carelessly, at once forgot his rage, and in another moment was dancing round the room with Michael on his back.“怎么回事,发生什么啦,亲爱的孩子他爸?”“发生什么!”他大声狂叫,他真的是在大声狂叫。“这条领带,系不上。”他变得尖酸刻薄,极度讽刺。“它在我的脖子上就系不起来!它在床柱上就系得起来!噢,是啊,我都能在床柱上系二十次了,可在我脖子上就是不行!噢,亲爱的,就是不行!它还求我饶了它!”他以为达林夫人不够在意他的话,便接着严肃地说:“我提醒你,孩子他妈,除非这个领带系上我的脖子,否则我们今晚就不去赴宴了。如果今晚我不去赴宴,我就再也不去办公室上班了;如果我不去办公室上班,你和我都得挨饿,我们的孩子就会流落街头。”即使这样,达林夫人还是很镇定。“让我试试吧,亲爱的。”她说。说实在的,这正是达林先生过来要她做的。达林夫人用她那双灵巧敏捷的手给他系好了领带,而孩子们就站在旁边,看着他们的命运最终会如何。达林夫人这么容易就系好了领带,一些男人可能不是很高兴,不过达林先生天生性格豁达,不是很在意这事。他随便地跟达林夫人道了声谢,怒气立刻烟消云散。不一会儿,他就背着迈克尔在屋里跳起舞来了。

"How wildly we romped!" says Mrs. Darling now, recalling it.“那时我们玩得多疯狂啊!”达林夫人现在回想起来说。

"Our last romp!" Mr. Darling groaned.“那是我们最后一次玩耍!”达林先生叹息着说。

"O George, do you remember Michael suddenly said to me, 'How did you get to know me, mother?'""I remember!""They were rather sweet, don't you think, George?""And they were ours, ours! and now they are gone."The romp had ended with the appearance of Nana, and most unluckily Mr. Darling collided against her, covering his trousers with hairs. They were not only new trousers, but they were the first he had ever had with braid on them, and he had had to bite his lip to prevent the tears coming. Of course Mrs. Darling brushed him, but he began to talk again about its being a mistake to have a dog for a nurse.“噢,乔治,你还记不记得迈克尔突然问我说:‘你是怎样认识我的,妈妈?’”“我记得!”“他们是多么可爱啊,不是吗,乔治?”“而且他们是我们的,我们的!可现在他们都不见了。”那次的玩耍以娜娜的出现而告终,非常不幸的是,达林先生撞到了娜娜,裤子上沾满了狗毛。那不只是条新裤子,还是达林先生第一次穿的有镶边的裤子,他咬紧嘴唇,不让眼泪掉下来。当然,达林夫人给他刷干净了,可他又开始嘀咕让一只狗当保姆真是一个错误。

"George, Nana is a treasure.""No doubt, but I have an uneasy feeling at times that she looks upon the children as puppies."“乔治,娜娜是一个宝啊。”“可不是,不过我有时会担心她把孩子当小狗看待。”

"Oh no, dear one, I feel sure she knows they have souls.""I wonder," Mr. Darling said thoughtfully, "I wonder."It was an opportunity, his wife felt, for telling him about the boy. At first he pooh-poohed the story, but he became thoughtful when she showed him the shadow.“噢,不会的,亲爱的,我敢肯定她知道孩子们是有灵魂的。”“不一定,”达林先生若有所思地说,“不一定。”这时,他的妻子觉得是时候告诉他那个男孩子的故事了。刚开始,他觉得这个故事很可笑,但看过达林夫人拿出来的影子后,他就开始深思了。

"It is nobody I know," he said, examining it carefully, "but it does look a scoundrel.""We were still discussing it, you remember," says Mr. Darling, "when Nana came in with Michael's medicine. You will never carry the bottle in your mouth again, Nana, and it is all my fault."Strong man though he was, there is no doubt that he had behaved rather foolishly over the medicine. If he had a weakness, it was for thinking that all his life he had taken medicine boldly, and so now, when Michael dodged the spoon in Nana's mouth, he had said reprovingly, "Be a man, Michael.""Won't; won't!" Michael cried naughtily.“我不认识这个人,”他说,仔细地观察着那个影子,“但他看起来确实像个坏蛋。”“你记得吗,我们还一直在讨论那个影子,”达林夫人说,“那时娜娜正好带着迈克尔的药进来。你再也不要用嘴叼着瓶子了,娜娜,这一切都是我的错。”尽管他是个坚强的人,可在吃药这件事上,他的表现却相当可笑。如果说他有弱点的话,那就是他自认为他向来吃药都很勇敢。于是现在,当迈克尔躲着不吃娜娜叼在嘴里的那勺药时,达林先生斥责道:“要像个男子汉,迈克尔。”“我不,我不!”迈克尔顽皮地喊着。

Mrs. Darling left the room to get a chocolate for him, and Mr. Darling thought this showed want of firmness.

达林夫人离开房间去给迈克尔拿巧克力,而达林先生则认为这种情况需要强硬。

"Mother, don't pamper him," he called after her. "Michael, when I was your age I took medicine without a murmur. I said, 'Thank you, kind parents, for giving me bottles to make we well.'"He really thought this was true, and Wendy, who was now in her night-gown, believed it also, and she said, to encourage Michael, "That medicine you sometimes take, father, is much nastier, isn't it?""Ever so much nastier," Mr. Darling said bravely, "and I would take it now as an example to you, Michael, if I hadn't lost the bottle."He had not exactly lost it; he had climbed in the dead of night to the top of the wardrobe and hidden it there. What he did not know was that the faithful Liza had found it, and put it back on his wash-stand.“孩子他妈,不要纵容他。”他在达林夫人的背后大声喊道。“迈克尔,我像你这么大时,吃药从来哼都不哼一声。我是这么说的:‘感谢你们,亲爱的爸爸妈妈,感谢你们给我吃药,让我好起来。’”达林先生真的觉得这是真的,而温迪那时已经穿好了睡衣,她也相信那是真的,她鼓励迈克尔:“爸爸,有时你吃的药比这难吃多了,是不是?”“难吃多了,”达林先生英勇地说,“如果我没有弄丢那个药瓶子,迈克尔,我现在就能给你做个榜样。”他并不是真的弄丢了那个瓶子,深夜时分,他爬上柜子顶部,把它藏在那里了。但他没想到,那忠诚的仆人莉莎找到了那个瓶子,并把它放回到了他的梳洗台上。

"I know where it is, father," Wendy cried, always glad to be of service. "I'll bring it," and she was off before he could stop her. Immediately his spirits sank in the strangest way.“我知道它在哪儿,爸爸。”温迪大声道,她总是喜欢帮助别人。“我去拿来。”然后她一下子就跑出去了,达林先生没来得及拦住她。不知怎的,他立刻就泄气了。

"John," he said, shuddering, "it's most beastly stuff. It's that nasty, sticky, sweet kind.""It will soon be over, father," John said cheerily, and then in rushed Wendy with the medicine in a glass.“约翰,”他颤抖着说,“那可是最难吃的东西。那是一种又难吃、又粘、又甜的东西。”“很快就会过去的,爸爸。”约翰高兴地说。然后,温迪拿着一个装着药水的玻璃瓶子冲了进来。

"I have been as quick as I could," she panted.“这可是我最快的速度了。”她气喘吁吁地说。

"You have been wonderfully quick," her father retorted, with a vindictive politeness that was quite thrown away upon her. "Michael first," he said doggedly.“你还真不是一般地快啊。”爸爸向温迪反驳道,有点怀恨在心,却又不失礼貌。“迈克尔先吃药。”他固执地说。

"Father first," said Michael, who was of a suspicious nature.“爸爸先吃药。”迈克尔说,他天生多疑。

"I shall be sick, you know," Mr. Darling said threateningly.“我会作呕,你知道的。”达林先生威胁道。

"Come on, father," said John.“快吃吧,爸爸。”约翰说。

"Hold your tongue, John," his father rapped out.“闭上你的嘴,约翰。”爸爸厉声道。

Wendy was quite puzzled. "I thought you took it quite easily, father.""That is not the point," he retorted. "The point is, that there is more in my glass that in Michael's spoon."His proud heart was nearly bursting. "And it isn't fair: I would say it though it were with my last breath; it isn't fair.""Father, I am waiting," said Michael coldly.

温迪被弄糊涂了。“我以为你能很轻松就把药吃了呢,爸爸。”“问题不在于这个。”他反击道。“问题在于,我瓶子里的药比迈克尔勺子里的药多。”他那颗高傲的心简直就要爆炸了。“这不公平:我就算剩下最后一口气,我也会说,这不公平。”“爸爸,我正等着呢。”迈克尔冷冷地说。

"It's all very well to say you are waiting; so am I waiting.""Father's a cowardly custard.""So are you a cowardly custard.""I'm not frightened.""Neither am I frightened.""Well, then, take it.""Well, then, you take it."Wendy had a splendid idea. "Why not both take it at the same time?""Certainly," said Mr. Darling. "Are you ready, Michael?"Wendy gave the words, one, two, three, and Michael took his medicine, but Mr. Darling slipped his behind his back.“说得多好听,我也在等着呢。”“爸爸是一个胆小的软骨头。”“你也是一个胆小的软骨头。”“我才不怕呢。”“我也不怕。”“好啊,那就吃药。”“好啊,那你就吃药。”这时,温迪有了一个好主意。“为什么不两个人同时吃药呢?”“没问题。”达林先生说。“你准备好了吗,迈克尔?”温迪数着数,一,二,三,迈克尔把药吃下去了,但达林先生却把药偷偷藏到背后去了。

There was a yell of rage from Michael, and "O father!" Wendy exclaimed.

迈克尔生气地叫了起来,温迪喊了一声:“噢,爸爸!”

"What do you mean by 'O father'?" Mr. Darling demanded. "Stop that row, Michael. I meant to take mine, but I—I missed it.”It was dreadful the way all the three were looking at him, just as if they did not admire him. "Look here, all of you," he said entreatingly, as soon as Nana had gone into the bathroom. "I have just thought of a splendid joke. I shall pour my medicine into Nana's bowl, and she will drink it, thinking it is milk!"It was the colour of milk; but the children did not have their father's sense of humour, and they looked at him reproachfully as he poured the medicine into Nana's bowl. "What fun!" he said doubtfully, and they did not dare expose him when Mrs. Darling and Nana returned.“你说‘噢,爸爸’是什么意思?”达林先生质问道。“不要叫了,迈克尔。我本来是要吃药的,但我——我没吃成。”三个孩子看着达林先生的样子真是令人害怕,就好像他们不服他似的。“听我说,你们几个。”娜娜一走进浴室,达林先生就哀求着说。“我刚想到一个极好的玩笑。我把药倒入娜娜的碗里,这样她就会把药当作是牛奶喝下去!”这药水确实是牛奶的颜色,但孩子们并没有他们爸爸的幽默感,他们看着他把药倒进娜娜的碗里,眼神里充满了责备。“多有趣啊!”达林先生不是很确定地说,当达林夫人和娜娜回来的时候,孩子们也不敢揭穿他。

"Nana, good dog," he said, patting her, "I have put a little milk into your bowl, Nana."Nana wagged her tail, ran to the medicine, and began lapping it. Then she gave Mr. Darling such a look, not an angry look: she showed him the great red tear that makes us so sorry for noble dogs, and crept into her kennel.“娜娜,好狗狗,”达林先生拍拍她说,“我往你的碗里倒了一些牛奶,娜娜。”娜娜摇着尾巴,向药水跑去,然后开始舔了起来。随后,她用这样的眼光看着达林先生:不是生气,而是一颗硕大鲜红的眼泪,让我们为这样忠实的狗感到难过,而后她就爬进了她的狗窝。

Mr. Darling was frightfully ashamed of himself, but he would not give in. In a horrid silence Mrs. Darling smelt the bowl. "O George," she said, "it's your medicine!""It was only a joke," he roared, while she comforted her boys, and Wendy hugged Nana. "Much good," he said bitterly, "my wearing myself to the bone trying to be funny in this house."And still Wendy hugged Nana. "That's right," he shouted. "Coddle her! Nobody coddles me. Oh dear no! I am only the breadwinner, why should I be coddled—why, why, why!”"George," Mrs. Darling entreated him, "not so loud; the servants will hear you."Somehow that had got into the way of calling Liza the servants.

达林先生感到极为惭愧,但他就是不肯低头。在一片可怕的沉默中,达林夫人闻了闻那个碗。“噢,乔治,”她说,“这可是你的药!”“这只是一个玩笑而已。”达林先生咆哮着,这时,达林夫人去安慰男孩们,而温迪跑去抱着娜娜。“很好,”他痛苦地说,“我自己累得要死,为的就是这个家的快乐。”但是温迪还是紧紧地抱着娜娜。“太好了。”达林先生喊道,“向着她吧!没人向着我。噢,天啊,没人向着我啊!我只不过就是一个养家糊口的人,为什么要向着我呢——为什么,为什么,为什么!”“乔治,”达林夫人哀求他,“不要那么大声,仆人们会听到的。”不知为什么,他们已经习惯管莉莎叫仆人们。

"Let them!" he answered recklessly.“让他们听见好了!”达林先生满不在乎地说。

"Bring in the whole world. But I refuse to allow that dog to lord it in my nursery for an hour longer."The children wept, and Nana ran to him beseechingly, but he waved her back. He felt he was a strong man again. "In vain, in vain," he cried; "the proper place for you is the yard, and there you go to be tied up this instant.""George, George," Mrs. Darling whispered, "remember what I told you about that boy."Alas, he would not listen. He was determined to show who was master in that house, and when commands would not draw Nana from the kennel, he lured her out of it with honeyed words, and seizing her roughly, dragged her from the nursery. He was ashamed of himself, and yet he did it. It was all owing to his too affectionate nature, which craved for admiration. When he had tied her up in the back-yard, the wretched father went and sat in the passage, with his knuckles to his eyes.“让全世界的人都听见好了。但我拒绝再让那只狗在育婴室里控制一切了,就是一个小时也不能。”孩子们哭了,而娜娜跑到他跟前哀求,但他挥手叫她走开。他觉得他又是一个坚强的男人了。“没用的,没用的。”他嚷道,“你该呆的地方是院子,得立刻把你拴到那里去。”“乔治,乔治,” 达林夫人轻声说,“不要忘了我告诉你的那个男孩子的事。”唉,达林先生听不进去啊。他下定决心要证明给大家看,谁才是这个家里的主人。如果他的命令不能让娜娜离开狗窝,那他就用甜言蜜语诱使她出来,接着粗鲁地抓住她,把她拖出育婴室。他为自己感到羞愧,但他还是做了。这都得怪他天生感情太丰富了,他渴望得到别人的敬仰。把娜娜拴到后院之后,这个可怜的爸爸走到过道里,坐了下来,用他的手指遮住了眼睛。

In the meantime Mrs. Darling had put the children to bed in unwonted silence and lit their night-lights. They could hear Nana barking, and John whimpered, "It is because he is chaining her up in the yard," but Wendy was wiser.

这会儿,达林夫人已经在异常的安静中把孩子们打发上床,打开了夜灯。他们可以听到娜娜的叫声,约翰啜泣着说:“这都是因为爸爸把她关在院子里了。”但是,温迪更为聪明。

"That is not Nana's unhappy bark," she said, little guessing what was about to happen; "that is her bark when she smells danger."Danger! "Are you sure, Wendy?""Oh, yes."Mrs. Darling quivered and went to the window. It was securely fastened. She looked out, and the night was peppered with stars. They were crowding round the house, as if curious to see what was to take place there, but she did not notice this, nor that one or two of the smaller ones winked at her. Yet a nameless fear clutched at her heart and made her cry, "Oh, how I wish that I wasn't going to a party to-night!”Even Michael, already half asleep, knew that she was perturbed, and he asked, "Can anything harm us, mother, after the night-lights are lit?”"Nothing, precious," she said; "they are the eyes a mother leaves behind her to guard her children."She went from bed to bed singing enchantments over them, and little Michael flung his arms round her. "Mother," he cried, "I'm glad of you."They were the last words she was to hear from him for a long time.“那不是娜娜不高兴的叫声,”她说,她并不知道要发生什么事,“那是她嗅到危险气息时的叫声。”危险!“你确定吗,温迪?”“噢,当然。”这时,达林夫人打了个冷战,她走到窗前。窗户关得很严实。她向外望去,夜空中洒满了星星。星星密集地围在房子周边,就像是好奇地想看那里即将发生什么事一样。但达林夫人并没有留意到这一点,也没看到有一两颗更小的星星在朝她眨眼睛。然而,有一种莫名的恐惧在揪着她的心,让她不禁喊道:“噢,我多么希望今晚我不用去参加宴会啊!”连已经半睡半醒的迈克尔都知道,妈妈此时心情很乱,他问:“妈妈,夜灯亮着,还有什么东西能伤害我们吗?”“没有什么能伤害你们,宝贝,”她说,“夜灯是妈妈留下来保护孩子们的眼睛。”达林夫人从一张床走到另一张床,给他们唱动人的歌曲,小迈克尔伸开胳膊搂着她。“妈妈,”他叫着,“我爱你。”在接下来的很长一段时间内,她再也听不到他说这些话了。

No.27 was only a few yards distant, but there had been a slight fall of snow, and Father and Mother Darling picked their way over it deftly not to soil their shoes. They were already the only persons in the street, and all the stars were watching them. Stars are beautiful, but they may not take an active part in anything, they must just look on for ever. It is a punishment put on them for something they did so long ago that no star now knows what it was. So the older ones have become glassy-eyed and seldom speak (winking is the star language), but the little ones still wonder. They are not really friendly to Peter, who had a mischievous way of stealing up behind them and trying to blow them out; but they are so fond of fun that they were on his side to-night, and anxious to get the grown-ups out of the way. So as soon as the door of 27 closed on Mr. and Mrs. Darling there was a commotion in the firmament, and the smallest of all the stars in the Milky Way screamed out: "Now, Peter!"

27号房子只有几码远,但是那天下了小雪,达林爸爸和达林妈妈得小心挑着路走,以免弄脏了鞋子。街道上已经没有别的行人,所有的星星都在看着他们。星星很漂亮,但他们不能积极参与任何事情,他们永远只能旁观。这是对他们很久以前所做的事情的惩罚,至于是什么事情,由于时间久远,没有一颗星星知道。于是,年迈的星星变得眼神呆滞,很少开口说话(眨眼是星星的语言),但小星星们还在迷惑。星星们对彼得并不是真的友好,因为彼得喜欢恶作剧,他经常躲到星星们的后面,想把他们吹走。不过,他们实在是太爱玩了,因此今晚他们帮着彼得,急切地想把大人支开。所以,达林先生和达林夫人一走进27号房子,门刚关上,天空便骚动起来。银河里所有星星中最小的一颗大声喊叫:“就是现在啦,彼得!”CHAPTER 3 COME AWAY, COME AWAY!

第三章 走喽,走喽!

For a moment after Mr. and Mrs. Darling left the house the night-lights by the beds of the three children continued to burn clearly. They were awfully nice little night-lights, and one cannot help wishing that they could have kept awake to see Peter; but Wendy's light blinked and gave such a yawn that the other two yawned also, and before they could close their mouths all the three went out.

达林先生和达林夫人走后,有一段时间,三个孩子床边的夜灯都还是很明亮。那些都是非常棒的小夜灯,每个人都会不禁希望它们能醒着看见彼得。但是温迪的灯眨了一下眼,打了一个哈欠,另外两盏灯也跟着打起了哈欠,它们还没来得及闭上嘴巴,就都熄灭了。

There was another light in the room now, a thousand times brighter than the night-lights, and in the time we have taken to say this, it had been in all the drawers in the nursery, looking for Peter's shadow, rummaged the wardrobe and turned every pocket inside out. It was not really a light; it made this light by flashing about so quickly, but when it came to rest for a second you saw it was a fairy, no longer than your hand, but still growing. It was a girl called Tinker Bell exquisitely gowned in a skeleton leaf, cut low and square, through which her figure could be seen to the best advantage. She was slightly inclined to EMBONPOINT(plump hourglass figure).

现在屋子里出现了另外一束光,比那些夜灯还要亮一千倍。就在我们说话的时候,那光早就钻遍了育婴室里所有的抽屉,寻找彼得的影子。它翻箱倒柜,把每一个口袋都搜了个遍。它其实不是一道光,它速度飞快,看起来才成了一道光。但是当它停下来休息片刻的时候,你会看见,它是一个精灵,还没你的手长呢,不过它还在长大。那是一个叫做叮当铃的女孩,她身上穿着精美的、用只剩下叶脉的树叶制成的衣服,领口裁剪得又低又方,非常巧妙地显现出她那优美的身段。她只是有一点点丰满(就像圆圆的沙漏的形状)。

A moment after the fairy's entrance the window was blown open by the breathing of the little stars, and Peter dropped in. He had carried Tinker Bell part of the way, and his hand was still messy with the fairy dust.

精灵进来后不久,窗户就被小星星们的气息给吹开了,彼得跳了进来。路上他带着叮当铃飞了一阵,因而他手上还沾着一些仙尘。

"Tinker Bell," he called softly, after making sure that the children were asleep, "Tink, where are you?"She was in a jug for the moment, and liking it extremely; she had never been in a jug before.“叮当铃,”彼得确认孩子们都睡着后,轻声叫道,“叮当,你在哪里?”叮当此时正在一个罐子里,她非常喜欢这个地方。她可从来没在一个罐子里呆过。

"Oh, do come out of that jug, and tell me, do you know where they put my shadow?"The loveliest tinkle as of golden bells answered him. It is the fairy language. You ordinary children can never hear it, but if you were to hear it you would know that you had heard it once before.“噢,快从那个罐子里出来吧。告诉我,你知道他们把我的影子放在哪里了吗?”一声如金铃般极其可爱的叮当声回答了彼得。这是精灵的语言。你们这些普通孩子可从来都听不到,不过如果你听见了,你就会知道,你以前曾经听过这声音。

Tink said that the shadow was in the big box. She meant the chest of drawers, and Peter jumped at the drawers, scattering their contents to the floor with both hands, as kings toss ha'pence to the crowd. In a moment he had recovered his shadow, and in his delight he forgot that he had shut Tinker Bell up in the drawer.

叮当说影子在那个大盒子里。她是指抽屉里。彼得跳到抽屉旁边,双手拿起里面的东西,撒了在地板上,就像国王把半个便士抛给群众一样。他很快就找到了他的影子,一高兴就忘记了把叮当铃锁在抽屉里面了。

If he thought at all, but I don't believe he ever thought, it was that he and his shadow, when brought near each other, would join like drops of water, and when they did not he was appalled. He tried to stick it on with soap from the bathroom, but that also failed. A shudder passed through Peter, and he sat on the floor and cried.

如果他会思考——但我相信他不会——他会想,他和他的影子靠在一起时,就会像水滴一样连在一起。可是它们并没有连在一起,这可把他吓坏了。他试着用浴室里的肥皂来粘影子,可是同样失败了。彼得打了一个冷战,他坐在地板上,哭了起来。

His sobs woke Wendy, and she sat up in bed. She was not alarmed to see a stranger crying on the nursery floor; she was only pleasantly interested.

他的啜泣声吵醒了温迪,她在床上坐了起来。看到一个陌生人在育婴室的地板上哭泣,温迪并不会感到害怕,她仅仅觉得开心和有趣。

"Boy," she said courteously, "why are you crying?"Peter could be exceeding polite also, having learned the grand manner at fairy ceremonies, and he rose and bowed to her beautifully. She was much pleased, and bowed beautifully to him from the bed.“小男孩,”她有礼貌地说,“你为什么哭呢?”彼得也很有礼貌,他在精灵的宴会上学过一些庄重的礼仪,他站了起来,优雅地向温迪鞠了一躬。温迪很高兴,也在床上优雅地回了一躬。

"What's your name?" he asked.“你叫什么名字?”彼得问道。

"Wendy Moira Angela Darling," she replied with some satisfaction. "What is your name?""Peter Pan."She was already sure that he must be Peter, but it did seem a comparatively short name.“温迪·莫伊拉·安杰拉·达林。”她得意地回答。“你叫什么名字?”“彼得·潘。”她已经肯定,他一定是彼得了,但这名字似乎显得有点短。

"Is that all?""Yes," he said rather sharply. He felt for the first time that it was a shortish name.“那就是你完整的名字吗?”“没错。”他相当干脆地回答。他第一次感到这是一个很短的名字。

"I'm so sorry," said Wendy Moira Angela.“我很抱歉。”温迪·莫伊拉·安杰拉说。

"It doesn't matter," Peter gulped.“没关系。”彼得吞下了一口气。

She asked where he lived.

温迪问彼得住在哪里。

"Second to the right," said Peter, "and then straight on till morning.""What a funny address!"Peter had a sinking. For the first time he felt that perhaps it was a funny address.“右边第二条路,”彼得说,“然后向前直走,一直到天亮。”“多可笑的一个地址啊!”彼得心里一沉。他第一次感到这或许确实是个可笑的地址。

"No, it isn't," he said.“不,这一点也不好笑。”彼得说。

"I mean," Wendy said nicely, remembering that she was hostess, "is that what they put on the letters?"He wished she had not mentioned letters.“我是说,”温迪友好地说,她记起了她现在可是女主人呢,“那就是他们在信封上写的地址吗?”他多么希望温迪没有提起信啊。

"Don't get any letters," he said contemptuously.“没有收到过信。”他不屑地说。

"But your mother gets letters?""Don't have a mother," he said. Not only had he no mother, but he had not the slightest desire to have one. He thought them very over-rated persons. Wendy, however, felt at once that she was in the presence of a tragedy.“但你妈妈总会收到信吧?”“没有妈妈。”他说。彼得不仅没有妈妈,而且他压根就不想有一个妈妈。他觉得大家把妈妈看得太重了。然而,温迪立刻就觉得,她遇到了一件不幸的事。

"O Peter, no wonder you were crying," she said, and got out of bed and ran to him.“噢,彼得,难怪你刚才在哭。”温迪说着,跳下床向彼得跑去。

"I wasn't crying about mothers," he said rather indignantly. "I was crying because I can't get my shadow to stick on. Besides, I wasn't crying.""It has come off?""Yes."Then Wendy saw the shadow on the floor, looking so draggled, and she was frightfully sorry for Peter. "How awful!" she said, but she could not help smiling when she saw that he had been trying to stick it on with soap.“我才不是因为没有妈妈哭呢。”彼得有点生气地说。“我哭是因为我不能把自己的影子粘上。而且,我也没在哭。”“影子掉下来了吗?”“是啊。”接着,温迪看到了躺在地板上的影子,看上去被拖得很脏,她很为彼得感到难过。“真不幸!”她说。但当她看到彼得试着用肥皂去粘影子时,却又忍不住笑了。

How exactly like a boy! Fortunately she knew at once what to do. "It must be sewn on," she said, just a little patronisingly.

他多像一个十足的男孩子啊!幸运的是,温迪很快就知道该怎么办了。“必须用针缝上才行。”她说,有点居高临下的感觉。

"What's sewn?" he asked.“什么叫‘缝’?”彼得问。

"You're dreadfully ignorant.""No, I'm not."But she was exulting in his ignorance. "I shall sew it on for you, my little man," she said, though he was tall as herself, and she got out her housewife, and sewed the shadow on to Peter's foot.“你还真是什么也不知道。”“不,我不是。”不过,温迪正是喜欢他的无知呢。“我给你缝上影子吧,我的小家伙。”温迪说,尽管彼得和她一样高。然后她拿出她的针线盒来,把影子往彼得的脚上缝。

"I daresay it will hurt a little," she warned him.“恐怕这会有点痛。”温迪提醒彼得。

"Oh, I shan't cry," said Peter, who was already of the opinion that he had never cried in his life. And he clenched his teeth and did not cry, and soon his shadow was behaving properly, though still a little creased.“噢,我才不会哭呢。”彼得说,他认为他这辈子从来没哭过。他咬紧牙关,没有哭出来。很快,他的影子就弄好了,只是还有点皱。

"Perhaps I should have ironed it," Wendy said thoughtfully, but Peter, boylike, was indifferent to appearances, and he was now jumping about in the wildest glee. Alas, he had already forgotten that he owed his bliss to Wendy. He thought he had attached the shadow himself. "How clever I am!" he crowed rapturously, "oh, the cleverness of me!"“或许我应该把它熨一下。”温迪想得很周到,但彼得像其他男孩子一样,对外表一点也不在乎。他现在正高兴得在屋子里跳来跳去。唉,他已经忘了他的快乐是温迪赐予的。他还以为是自己把影子缝上去的呢。“我是多么聪明啊!”彼得开心地大喊,“噢,我的聪明才智!”

It is humiliating to have to confess that this conceit of Peter was one of his most fascinating qualities. To put it with brutal frankness, there never was a cockier boy.

彼得的自大是他最惹人喜爱的地方之一,承认这点实在是够丢脸的。坦白地说,没有比彼得更自大的孩子了。

But for the moment Wendy was shocked. "You conceit," she exclaimed, with frightful sarcasm; "of course I did nothing!""You did a little," Peter said carelessly, and continued to dance.

可当时温迪感到非常惊讶。“你个自大狂,”温迪大声讽刺道,“当然啦,我什么也没做!”“你做了一点点。”彼得不在乎地说,继续跳他的舞。

"A little!" she replied with hauteur; "if I am no use I can at least withdraw," and she sprang in the most dignified way into bed and covered her face with the blankets.“一点点!”温迪傲慢地说,“既然我没有什么用,那我至少可以退出吧。”然后,她非常庄严地跳上了床,用毯子把脸遮了起来。

To induce her to look up he pretended to be going away, and when this failed he sat on the end of the bed and tapped her gently with his foot. "Wendy," he said, "don't withdraw. I can't help crowing, Wendy, when I'm pleased with myself."Still she would not look up, though she was listening eagerly. "Wendy," he continued, in a voice that no woman has ever yet been able to resist, "Wendy, one girl is more use than twenty boys."Now Wendy was every inch a woman, though there were not very many inches, and she peeped out of the bed-clothes.

为了诱使温迪抬头看,彼得假装要离开的样子,可是没用。于是他坐在床尾,用脚轻轻地碰温迪。“温迪,”彼得说,“不要退出嘛。温迪,我一高兴,就忍不住要自己夸奖自己。”可温迪还是不抬头,尽管她在认真听他讲。“温迪,”彼得继续说道,他的声音让任何一个女人都无法抗拒,“温迪,一个女孩比二十个男孩还管用呢。”现在温迪身上的每一寸都是女人,尽管她身高并没有很多寸。她从床单里探出头来。

"Do you really think so, Peter?""Yes, I do.""I think it's perfectly sweet of you," she declared, "and I'll get up again," and she sat with him on the side of the bed. She also said she would give him a kiss if he liked, but Peter did not know what she meant, and he held out his hand expectantly.“你真的是这么想的吗,彼得?”“是的,我真是这么想的。”“我觉得你真是太可爱了,”温迪宣布,“那我又要起床啦。”然后她就和彼得一起坐在了床边。温迪还说,如果彼得喜欢的话,她会给他一个吻。但彼得却不知道温迪是什么意思,他还满怀期待地伸出手来。

"Surely you know what a kiss is?" she asked, aghast.“你当然知道什么叫‘吻’,是吧?”温迪很是吃惊地问。

"I shall know when you give it to me," he replied stiffly, and not to hurt his feeling she gave him a thimble.“你给了我,我不就知道了。”彼得倔强地回答。为了不伤害他的感情,温迪给了他一枚顶针。

"Now," said he, "shall I give you a kiss?"and she replied with a slight primness, "If you please."She made herself rather cheap by inclining her face toward him, but he merely dropped an acorn button into her hand, so she slowly returned her face to where it had been before, and said nicely that she would wear his kiss on the chain around her neck. It was lucky that she did put it on that chain, for it was afterwards to save her life.“现在,”彼得说,“我可以给你一个吻了吗?”温迪有点一本正经地回答:“如果你愿意的话。”她把脸凑过去,显得自己不那么尊贵,但彼得只是把一颗橡子纽扣放在她手里。于是温迪又慢慢地把脸转回原来的地方,并且友好地说,她会把彼得的吻用链子挂起来,戴在脖子上。幸亏她把它挂在链子上,因为后来,橡子纽扣救了温迪的命。

When people in our set are introduced, it is customary for them to ask each other's age, and so Wendy, who always liked to do the correct thing, asked Peter how old he was. It was not really a happy question to ask him; it was like an examination paper that asks grammar, when what you want to be asked is Kings of England.

在我们圈子里,人们互相介绍的时候,询问彼此年龄是个惯例,温迪也一样,她总是喜欢做正确的事情。于是她就问彼得多大了。对彼得来说,这真不是一个愉快的问题。这就像是考试时,你本来希望考题是关于英国的国王,而现实却是语法题。

"I don't know," he replied uneasily, "but I am quite young."He really knew nothing about it, he had merely suspicions, but he said at a venture, "Wendy, I ran away the day I was born."Wendy was quite surprised, but interested; and she indicated in the charming drawing-room manner, by a touch on her night-gown, that he could sit nearer her.“我不知道,” 他不安地回答,“但我还很小。”他真的对此一无所知,他仅仅有一些推测,但他还是冒险地说:“温迪,我出生的那天就逃跑了。”温迪惊讶极了,但很感兴趣。她碰了碰她的睡衣,用优雅的客厅礼节暗示彼得,他可以坐得离她再近一些。

"It was because I heard father and mother," he explained in a low voice, "talking about what I was to be when I became a man."He was extraordinarily agitated now. "I don't want ever to be a man," he said with passion. "I want always to be a little boy and to have fun. So I ran away to Kensington Gardens and lived a long long time among the fairies."She gave him a look of the most intense admiration, and he thought it was because he had run away, but it was really because he knew fairies. Wendy had lived such a home life that to know fairies struck her as quite delightful. She poured out questions about them, to his surprise, for they were rather a nuisance to him, getting in his way and so on, and indeed he sometimes had to give them a hiding. Still, he liked them on the whole, and he told her about the beginning of fairies.“因为我听到爸爸妈妈在谈论,”彼得轻声解释,“谈论我成为一个男人之后,要做些什么。”这时,他显得非常激动。“我不想成为一个男人。”彼得激动地说。“我想要当一个小男孩,永远都能玩耍。于是,我就跑到肯辛顿公园,和精灵们一起住了很长一段时间。”温迪充满仰慕地看了他一眼。彼得以为是因为他离家出走,但其实是因为他认识精灵。温迪的生活如此平凡,因此她认为,和精灵做朋友肯定很开心。她问了一堆和精灵有关的问题,这让彼得很吃惊,因为在他看来,精灵很麻烦,老是挡他的道,等等。有时候,他还得躲着她们。不过,总体来说,他还是喜欢精灵的。于是,彼得告诉了温迪精灵的由来。

"You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."Tedious talk this, but being a stay-at-home she liked it.“温迪,当第一个婴儿第一次发出笑声的时候,他的笑便会碎成一千块,它们跳来跳去的,就变成精灵了。”这话着实无聊至极,但作为一个老呆在家的小孩,温迪还是喜欢听的。

"And so," he went on good-naturedly, "there ought to be one fairy for every boy and girl.""Ought to be? Isn't there?""No. You see children know such a lot now, they soon don't believe in fairies, and every time a child says, 'I don't believe in fairies,' there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead."Really, he thought they had now talked enough about fairies, and it struck him that Tinker Bell was keeping very quiet. "I can't think where she has gone to," he said, rising, and he called Tink by name. Wendy's heart went flutter with a sudden thrill.“然后,”彼得和善地继续说着,“每个男孩和每个女孩就都应该有一个精灵。”“应该有?其实没有吗?”“没有。你看,现在的孩子知道得那么多,他们很快就不相信精灵的存在了。每次有一个孩子说‘我不相信有精灵’,就会有一个精灵在什么地方掉下来死掉。”彼得觉得他们确实已经谈了很多关于精灵的事了。此时他突然想到,叮当铃很久没出声了。“我想不到她会去哪里。”他说着,站了起来,呼唤叮当的名字。这时,温迪的心忽然高兴得猛跳起来。

"Peter," she cried, clutching him, "you don't mean to tell me that there is a fairy in this room!""She was here just now," he said a little impatiently. "You don't hear her, do you?"and they both listened.“彼得,”她抓住他喊道,“你该不会是说,这个房间里有一个精灵吧!”“她刚刚还在这里的。”彼得有点不耐烦地说,“你听不见她的声音,是不是?”然后,他们都静下来听着。

"The only sound I hear," said Wendy, "is like a tinkle of bells.""Well, that's Tink, that's the fairy language. I think I hear her too."The sound come from the chest of drawers, and Peter made a merry face. No one could ever look quite so merry as Peter, and the loveliest of gurgles was his laugh. He had his first laugh still.“我只听到一个声音,”温迪说,“像是叮叮当当的铃声。”“太好了,那就是叮当,那是精灵的语言。我想,我也听见了。”声音是从抽屉柜子那边传过来的,彼得一脸的开心。没有人能看起来比彼得更开心了。他那咯咯的笑声是最可爱的。他还留着他的第一声笑呢。

"Wendy," he whispered gleefully, "I do believe I shut her up in the drawer!"He let poor Tink out of the drawer, and she flew about the nursery screaming with fury. "You shouldn't say such things," Peter retorted. "Of course I'm very sorry, but how could I know you were in the drawer?"Wendy was not listening to him. "O Peter," she cried, "if she would only stand still and let me see her!""They hardly ever stand still," he said, but for one moment Wendy saw the romantic figure come to rest on the cuckoo clock. "O the lovely!" she cried, though Tink's face was still distorted with passion.“温迪,”彼得高兴地轻声说,“我确定,我把她锁在抽屉里面了!”他把可怜的叮当从抽屉里放了出来,叮当在育婴室里飞来飞去,生气地尖叫着。“你不该这样说。”彼得反驳道。“当然,我很抱歉,但是我怎么知道你在抽屉里呢?”温迪没有听彼得在说什么。“噢,彼得,”她喊着,“如果她能停下来,让我看看她该多好呀!”“她们很少停下来。”彼得说,但有一瞬间,温迪看到那个神奇的小东西落在了杜鹃钟上。“噢,可爱的仙子啊!”温迪叫道,尽管叮当的脸还因生气而扭曲着。

"Tink," said Peter amiably, "this lady says she wishes you were her fairy."Tinker Bell answered insolently.“叮当,”彼得亲切地说,“这位女士说,她希望你成为她的精灵。”叮当的回答很无礼。

"What does she say, Peter?"He had to translate. "She is not very polite. She says you are a great ugly girl, and that she is my fairy."“她说什么啦,彼得?”彼得不得不进行翻译。“她不太礼貌。她说你是一个又大又丑的女孩,而且她是我的精灵。”

He tried to argue with Tink. "You know you can't be my fairy, Tink, because I am an gentleman and you are a lady."To this Tink replied in these words, "You silly ass," and disappeared into the bathroom. "She is quite a common fairy," Peter explained apologetically, "she is called Tinker Bell because she mends the pots and kettles (tinker = tin worker).”They were together in the armchair by this time, and Wendy plied him with more questions.

他努力和叮当进行辩论。“你知道的,你不能做我的精灵,叮当。因为我是一个男士,而你是一个女士。”对于这些,叮当是这样回答的:“你这个笨蛋。”然后就飞进浴室里不见了。“她是一个很普通的精灵,”彼得很抱歉地解释道,“她叫叮当铃,因为她负责修理锅壶之类的东西(‘叮当’在英文中叫'tinker',可看作'tin worker'的合成,'tin worker'意为‘补锅匠’)。”这时候,他们一起坐在扶手椅上,温迪又向彼得问了一些问题。

"If you don't live in Kensington Gardens now—”"Sometimes I do still.""But where do you live mostly now?""With the lost boys.""Who are they?""They are the children who fall out of their perambulators when the nurse is looking the other way. If they are not claimed in seven days they are sent far away to the Neverland to defray expenses. I'm captain.""What fun it must be!""Yes," said cunning Peter, "but we are rather lonely. You see we have no female companionship.""Are none of the others girls?""Oh, no; girls, you know, are much too clever to fall out of their prams."This flattered Wendy immensely. "I think," she said, "it is perfectly lovely the way you talk about girls; John there just despises us."For reply Peter rose and kicked John out of bed, blankets and all; one kick. This seemed to Wendy rather forward for a first meeting, and she told him with spirit that he was not captain in her house. However, John continued to sleep so placidly on the floor that she allowed him to remain there. "And I know you meant to be kind," she said, relenting, "so you may give me a kiss."For the moment she had forgotten his ignorance about kisses. "I thought you would want it back," he said a little bitterly, and offered to return her the thimble.“如果你现在不在肯辛顿公园住——”“有时我还住在那里。”“那你现在大多住在哪里呢?”“和那些丢失的男孩子一起住。”“他们是谁啊?”“他们是保姆不注意时从婴儿车里掉出来的孩子。如果七天后还没有人来认领,他们就会被送到遥远的梦幻岛去,以节约费用我是队长。”“那肯定很有趣!”“是啊,”狡猾的彼得说,“但我们可寂寞啦。你看,我们都没有女孩子作伴。”“他们中间一个女孩子都没有吗?”“噢,没有,你知道的,女孩子都太聪明了,她们不会从婴儿车里掉出来。”这句话真是让温迪心里甜丝丝的。“我认为,”她说,“你说的这些有关女孩子的话,可真棒极了。那里的那个约翰,就看不起我们女孩子。”作为回应,彼得站了起来,一脚把约翰踢下了床,毯子之类的东西一下子都掉了下来。对温迪来说,第一次见面就这样,好像有点过分了。她生气地对彼得说,他可不是这个屋子里的队长。但是,约翰在地板上仍然睡得好好的。于是,温迪就让他在那儿继续睡了。“我知道你是出于好心,”她有点后悔地说,“那么你也许可以给我一个吻。”这一刻,温迪已经忘记彼得根本不知道什么是吻。“我就知道,你会把它要回去的。”彼得有点心疼地说,拿出顶针要还给她。

"Oh dear," said the nice Wendy, "I don't mean a kiss, I mean a thimble.""What's that?""It's like this."She kissed him.“噢,亲爱的,”亲切的温迪说,“我指的不是吻,我指的是顶针。”“那是什么?”“就像这样。”温迪亲了彼得一下。

"Funny!" said Peter gravely.“真好玩!”彼得庄重地说。

"Now shall I give you a thimble?""If you wish to," said Wendy, keeping her head erect this time.“现在我也可以给你一个顶针吗?”“如果你希望的话。”温迪说,这次她把头抬得直直的。

Peter thimbled her, and almost immediately she screeched. "What is it, Wendy?""It was exactly as if someone were pulling my hair.""That must have been Tink. I never knew her so naughty before."And indeed Tink was darting about again, using offensive language.

彼得给了她一个顶针,而几乎同时,温迪尖叫了起来。“怎么了,温迪?”“就好像有人在拉我的头发。”“那一定是叮当。我以前可没见过她这么调皮。”叮当果然又在旁边飞来飞去,还说着一些攻击性的话。

"She says she will do that to you, Wendy, every time I give you a thimble.""But why?""Why, Tink?"Again Tink replied, "You silly ass."Peter could not understand why, but Wendy understood, and she was just slightly disappointed when he admitted that he came to the nursery window not to see her but to listen to stories.“她说,温迪,每次我给你一个顶针,她就会对你那么做。”“但为什么呢?”“为什么呢,叮当?”叮当又一次回答:“你这个笨蛋。”彼得还是不能理解,但温迪明白了。彼得承认他来到育婴室的窗口不是为了看温迪而是来听故事的,温迪听到这个有点失望。

"You see, I don't know any stories. None of the lost boys knows any stories.""How perfectly awful," Wendy said.“你知道,我什么故事都没听过。那些丢失的孩子们也没听过。”“那真是太糟糕了。”温迪说。

"Do you know," Peter asked, "why swallows build in the eaves of houses? It is to listen to the stories. O Wendy, your mother was telling you such a lovely story.""Which story was it?""About the prince who couldn't find the lady who wore the glass slipper.""Peter," said Wendy excitedly, "that was Cinderella, and he found her, and they lived happily ever after."Peter was so glad that he rose from the floor, where they had been sitting, and hurried to the window.

彼得问:“你知道为什么燕子要把窝筑在屋檐下吗?就是为了要听故事啊。噢,温迪,你妈妈给你讲了一个多好的故事啊。”“哪一个故事?”“就是那个王子找不到穿玻璃鞋女孩的故事。”“彼得,”温迪兴奋地说,“那是灰姑娘,后来王子找到她了,他们从此就过着快乐幸福的日子。”彼得开心极了,他从他们坐着的地板上飞了起来,急忙向窗口冲去。

"Where are you going?" she cried with misgiving.“你要去哪里?”温迪有点担心地喊道。

"To tell the other boys.""Don't go Peter," she entreated, "I know such lots of stories."Those were her precise words, so there can be no denying that it was she who first tempted him.“去告诉其他的男孩。”“不要走,彼得,”温迪请求说,“我还知道很多故事呢。”没错,那就是她说的话,所以,不能否认,是温迪先引诱彼得的。

He came back, and there was a greedy look in his eyes now which ought to have alarmed her, but did not.

彼得回来了,眼里透出一种渴望的目光,那种神情本应该在这时让温迪有所警惕,但实际上却并没有。

"Oh, the stories I could tell to the boys!" she cried, and then Peter gripped her and began to draw her toward the window.“噢,我可以讲好多故事给那些男孩子听!”温迪喊道,于是彼得便抓着她,向窗口拉去。

"Let me go!"she ordered him.“放开我!”温迪命令彼得。

"Wendy, do come with me and tell the other boys."Of course she was very pleased to be asked, but she said, "Oh dear, I can't. Think of mummy! Besides, I can't fly.""I'll teach you.""Oh, how lovely to fly.""I'll teach you how to jump on the wind's back, and then away we go.""Oo!" she exclaimed rapturously.“温迪,跟我走吧,去给其他小孩讲故事吧。”她自然很乐意收到邀请,但她说:“噢,亲爱的,我不能去。想想妈咪!况且,我也不能飞啊。”“我来教你。”“噢,飞是多么美妙啊。”“我教你怎么跳上风的背,然后我们就能飞了。”“啊!”她满心欢喜地叫着。

"Wendy, Wendy, when you are sleeping in your silly bed you might be flying about with me saying funny things to the stars.""Oo!""And, Wendy, there are mermaids.""Mermaids! With tails?""Such long tails.""Oh," cried Wendy, "to see a mermaid!"He had become frightfully cunning. "Wendy," he said, "how we should all respect you."She was wriggling her body in distress. It was quite as if she were trying to remain on the nursery floor.“温迪,温迪,你为什么要在那张笨床上睡觉呢,你本可以和我一起飞,和星星们说好玩的事情。”“啊!”“还有呢,温迪,还有美人鱼。”“美人鱼!有尾巴的美人鱼吗?”“这么长的尾巴。”“噢,”温迪叫着,“去看美人鱼!”彼得是多么地狡猾。“温迪,”他说,“我们该多么尊重你呀。”温迪痛苦地扭动着身体。就像她努力要留在育婴室的地板上一样。

But he had no pity for her.

可彼得一点也不同情她。

"Wendy," he said, the sly one, "you could tuck us in at night.""Oo!""None of us has ever been tucked in at night.""Oo," and her arms went out to him.“温迪,”这个狡猾的家伙说,“晚上,你还可以给我们盖被子。”“啊!”“晚上可从来没有人给我们盖被子。”“啊。”温迪的手臂向彼得伸去。

"And you could darn our clothes, and make pockets for us. None of us has any pockets."How could she resist. "Of course it's awfully fascinating!" she cried.“然后,你可以给我们补衣服,给我们缝口袋。我们谁也没有口袋。”这叫温迪怎么抵抗得住呢。“这当然有趣极了!”温迪喊道。

"Peter, would you teach John and Michael to fly too?""If you like," he said indifferently, and she ran to John and Michael and shook them. "Wake up," she cried, "Peter Pan has come and he is to teach us to fly."John rubbed his eyes. "Then I shall get up," he said. Of course he was on the floor already. "Hallo," he said, "I am up!"Michael was up by this time also, looking as sharp as a knife with six blades and a saw, but Peter suddenly signed silence. Their faces assumed the awful craftiness of children listening for sounds from the grown-up world. All was as still as salt. Then everything was right. No, stop! Everything was wrong. Nana, who had been barking distressfully all the evening, was quiet now. It was her silence they had heard.“彼得,你能教约翰和迈克尔飞吗?”“如果你希望的话。”彼得满不在乎地说。接着,温迪向约翰和迈克尔跑去,摇晃他们。“醒醒,”她叫着,“彼得·潘来了,他要教我们飞呢。”约翰揉了揉眼睛。“那我就起来吧。”他说着。其实他已经在地板上了。“你好,”他说,“我起来了!”迈克尔这时也起来了,他看起来非常精神,如同一把带有六个刃和一个锯的刀,但彼得却突然示意不要出声。他们的脸上立刻露出听大人讲话时才有的严肃而又狡猾的表情。所有的人都不敢出声。那么,一切都妥当啦。不,停一下!一切都乱啦。娜娜本来是整晚都在苦恼地叫着,现在却没有声音了。他们听到的是她的沉默。

"Out with the light! Hide! Quick!" cried John, taking command for the only time throughout the whole adventure.“熄灯!藏起来!快点!”约翰喊着,这是他在整个冒险中唯一一次发布命令。

And thus when Liza entered, holding Nana, the nursery seemed quite its old self, very dark, and you would have sworn you heard its three wicked inmates breathing angelically as they slept. They were really doing it artfully from behind the window curtains.

接着,莉莎带着娜娜进来了,育婴室里看起来跟原来一样,漆黑一片。而且你一定能听见三个顽皮的小主人睡觉时发出的天使般的呼吸声。其实,他们是在窗帘后面发出来的。

Liza was in a bad tamper, for she was mixing the Christmas puddings in the kitchen, and had been drawn from them, with a raisin still on her cheek, by Nana's absurd suspicions. She thought the best way of getting a little quiet was to take Nana to the nursery for a moment, but in custody of course.

莉莎心情很坏,因为她正在厨房里做圣诞节的布丁,可就因为娜娜那可笑的怀疑,她不得不放下手头的活儿,她脸上还有一粒葡萄干呢。她想,最好的方法就是带娜娜去育婴室里看一下——当然要在她的监管下——这样她才能清净点。

"There, you suspicious brute," she said, not sorry that Nana was in disgrace. "They are perfectly safe, aren't they? Every one of the little angels sound asleep in bed. Listen to their gentle breathing."Here Michael, encouraged by his success, breathed so loudly that they were nearly detected. Nana knew that kind of breathing, and she tried to drag herself out of Liza's clutches.“看,你这个多虑的畜牲。”莉莎说,一点不顾及娜娜的面子。“他们多么安全啊,不是吗?每一个小天使都在床上睡得正香呢。听听他们那柔和的呼吸声。”这时,迈克尔受到成功的鼓舞,呼吸得更大声了,差点就要被识破。娜娜听出了那种呼吸声,她想要从莉莎的手中挣开。

But Liza was dense. "No more of it, Nana," she said sternly, pulling her out of the room. "I warn you if bark again I shall go straight for master and missus and bring them home from the party, and then, oh, won't master whip you, just."She tied the unhappy dog up again, but do you think Nana ceased to bark? Bring master and missus home from the party! Why, that was just what she wanted. Do you think she cared whether she was whipped so long as her charges were safe? Unfortunately Liza returned to her puddings, and Nana, seeing that no help would come from her, strained and strained at the chain until at last she broke it. In another moment she had burst into the dining-room of 27 and flung up her paws to heaven, her most expressive way of making a communication. Mr. and Mrs. Darling knew at once that something terrible was happening in their nursery, and without a good-bye to their hostess they rushed into the street.

可莉莎牢牢地牵住了她。“够了,娜娜。”莉莎斥责道,把娜娜拖出了房间。“我警告你,如果再叫的话,我就直接去找先生和夫人,把他们从晚宴上请回来。到那时,噢,看先生不鞭打你才怪。”莉莎又把这只闷闷不乐的狗拴了起来,可你觉得娜娜会停止吠叫吗?把先生和夫人从晚宴上请回来吧!为什么不呢,那就是她想要的啊。你觉得只要她照顾的孩子们安全了,她还会在乎挨鞭子吗?不幸的是,莉莎回去做布丁了,娜娜知道得不到帮助,就使劲地挣链子。最后,她终于把它挣断了。一瞬间的功夫,她就闯进了27号房子的餐厅,朝天举起两只前爪,这是她和别人交流的最清楚易懂的方式。达林先生和达林夫人立马就知道,他们的育婴室里发生了可怕的事情。他们没有跟主人告别,就冲上了街。

But it was now ten minutes since three scoundrels had been breathing behind the curtains, and Peter Pan can do a great deal in ten minutes.

可现在离三个小坏蛋藏在窗帘后面假装熟睡已经有十分钟了,而这十分钟够彼得·潘做很多事了。

We now return to the nursery.

现在我们再回来讲讲育婴室里发生的事。

"It's all right," John announced, emerging from his hiding-place. "I say, Peter, can you really fly?"Instead of troubling to answer him Peter flew around the room, taking the mantelpiece on the way.“好了。”约翰宣布,他从藏身之处走了出来。“我说,彼得,你真的能飞吗?”彼得懒得回答他,而是在屋子里飞了起来,顺手拿起了壁炉架。

"How topping!" said John and Michael.“多棒啊!”约翰和迈克尔同时说。

"How sweet!" cried Wendy.“多可爱啊!”温迪喊。

"Yes, I'm sweet, oh, I am sweet!" said Peter, forgetting his manners again.“是的,我可爱极了!噢,我可爱极了!”彼得说着又得意忘形了。

It looked delightfully easy, and they tried it first from the floor and then from the beds, but they always went down instead of up.

这看起来相当简单,他们先在地板上尝试,又在床上尝试,但他们老是往下掉,飞不起来。

"I say, how do you do it?" asked John, rubbing his knee.“我说,你是怎么做到的?”约翰问彼得,揉揉他的膝盖。

He was quite a practical boy.

他是一个很实际的孩子。

"You just think lovely wonderful thoughts," Peter explained, "and they lift you up in the air."He showed them again.“你只要想着美好奇特的念头,”彼得解释说,“它们就会把你带到空中。”他又给他们演示了一遍。

"You're so nippy at it," John said, "couldn't you do it very slowly once?"Peter did it both slowly and quickly. "I've got it now, Wendy!" cried John, but soon he found he had not.“你飞得太快了,”约翰说,“不能慢一点飞一次吗?”彼得飞了一次慢的,又飞了一次快的。“现在我会飞啦,温迪!”约翰大叫,但他立刻就发现其实他还是不会。

Not one of them could fly an inch, though even Michael was in words of two syllables, and Peter did not know A from Z.

他们没有一个能飞过一英寸的,尽管迈克尔还能认得两个音节的单词,而彼得连字母也不认识。

Of course Peter had been trifling with them, for no one can fly unless the fairy dust has been blown on him. Fortunately, as we have mentioned, one of his hands was messy with it, and he blew some on each of them, with the most superb results.

当然彼得是在和他们开玩笑,因为除非在身上吹仙尘,否则谁也飞不了。幸好,我们之前说过,彼得的一只手沾了仙尘。他向每个人吹了一些,奇妙的事情就出现了。

"Now just wiggle your shoulders this way," he said, "and let go."They were all on their beds, and gallant Michael let go first.“现在,像这样晃动肩膀,”彼得说,“飞吧。”他们都站在床上,勇敢的迈克尔第一个飞了起来。

He did not quite mean to let go, but he did it, and immediately he was borne across the room.

他本来不想飞的,但是他却飞了起来,而且立刻就飞过了房间。

"I flewed!" he screamed while still in mid-air.“我飞起来了!”迈克尔在半空中大声叫起来。

John let go and met Wendy near the bathroom.

约翰也飞了起来,在浴室旁边遇到了温迪。

"Oh, lovely!""Oh, ripping!""Look at me!""Look at me!""Look at me!"They were not nearly so elegant as Peter, they could not help kicking a little, but their heads were bobbing against the ceiling, and there is almost nothing so delicious as that. Peter gave Wendy a hand at first, but had to desist, Tink was so indignant.“噢,太妙了!”“噢,太棒了!”“看我!”“看我!”“看我!”他们还没有彼得飞得那么优美,都会忍不住踢一下腿,但他们的脑袋正一下一下地撞着天花板。没有什么比这更美好的了。彼得刚开始要去拉温迪一把,可又缩回去了,因为叮当很生气。

Up and down they went, and round and round. Heavenly was Wendy's word.

他们飞上飞下,转来转去。温迪说,就像在天堂。

"I say," cried John, "why shouldn't we all go out?"Of course it was to this that Peter had been luring them.“我说,”约翰大叫,“为什么我们不出去呢?”当然,这可不就是彼得一直在引诱他们做的事。

Michael was ready: he wanted to see how long it took him to do a billion miles. But Wendy hesitated.

迈克尔准备好了,他想要看看,飞十亿英里,他要花多长时间。可温迪犹豫了。

"Mermaids!" said Peter again.“美人鱼!”彼得又说道。

"Oo!""And there are pirates.""Pirates," cried John, seizing his Sunday hat, "let us go at once."It was just at this moment that Mr. and Mrs. Darling hurried with Nana out of 27. They ran into the middle of the street to look up at the nursery window; and, yes, it was still shut, but the room was ablaze with light, and most heart-gripping sight of all, they could see in shadow on the curtain three little figures in night attire circling round and round, not on the floor but in the air.“啊!”“还有海盗。”“海盗,”约翰大叫,抓住他那顶星期天戴的帽子说,“我们立刻出发吧。”就是在这个时刻,达林先生和达林夫人带着娜娜匆匆忙忙地跑出27号房子。他们冲到街道中间,向上朝育婴室的窗户望去。是的,窗户还是关着的,但屋里却一片光亮,而最令人吃惊的是,他们可以看到窗帘上映出的景象:三个穿着睡衣的小东西在屋子里转啊转,不是在地上,而是在空中。

Not three figures, four! In a tremble they opened the street door. Mr. Darling would have rushed upstairs, but Mrs. Darling signed him to go softly. She even tried to make her heart go softly.

不是三个,是四个!他们颤抖地打开街门。达林先生想要冲上楼去,但达林夫人示意他要轻轻地上去。她还努力想要让自己平静下来。

Will they reach the nursery in time? If so, how delightful for them, and we shall all breathe a sign of relief, but there will be no story. On the other hand, if they are not in time, I solemnly promise that it will all come right in the end.

他们能够及时赶到育婴室吗?如果来得及的话,他们会多么高兴啊,而我们所有的人也可以松一口气,但那就不会有故事发生了。反之,如果来不及,我会郑重地承诺,最后结局也一定会圆满的。

They would have reached the nursery in time had it not been that the little stars were watching them. Once again the stars blew the window open, and that smallest star of all called out: "Cave, Peter!"Then Peter knew that there was not a moment to lose. "Come," he cried imperiously, and soared out at once into the night, followed by John and Michael and Wendy.

如果没有那些小星星们看着他们,他们就能及时到达育婴室了。星星们再一次把窗户吹开了,最小的那颗星叫着:“小心啊,彼得!”然后彼得就知道一刻也不能等了。“走吧。”他专横地大叫道,立即飞入了夜空,后面跟着约翰、迈克尔和温迪。

Mr. and Mrs. Darling and Nana rushed into the nursery too late. The birds were flown.

达林先生、达林夫人和娜娜冲进育婴室的时候,已经太晚了。孩子们已经飞走了。CHAPTER 4 THE FLIGHT

第四章 飞行

"Second to the right, and straight on till morning."That, Peter had told Wendy, was the way to the Neverland; but even birds, carrying maps and consulting them at windy corners, could not have sighted it with these instructions. Peter, you see, just said anything that came into his head.“右边第二条路,一直走,直到天亮。”这就是彼得告诉温迪的去往梦幻岛的路。可即便是鸟儿,带着地图,在每个有风的角落里查找地图,也不能按照他的这些指示找到梦幻岛。你知道的,彼得只是想到什么说什么罢了。

At first his companions trusted him implicitly, and so great were the delights of flying that they wasted time circling round church spires or any other tall objects on the way that took their fancy.

刚开始,彼得的伙伴们深信他的话,而且飞行又是那么快乐,他们绕着教堂的顶端或路上那些高高的吸引人的东西飞,浪费了一些时间。

John and Michael raced, Michael getting a start.

约翰和迈克尔比赛飞行,结果迈克尔领先了。

They recalled with contempt that not so long ago they had thought themselves fine fellows for being able to fly round a room.

不久前,他们还在为自己能绕着房间飞而感到很了不起,现在回想起来,真是感到丢脸。

Not long ago. But how long ago? They were flying over the sea before this thought began to disturb Wendy seriously. John thought it was their second sea and their third night.

不久前。但是多久前呢?他们飞过海面之后,这个问题就开始困扰温迪了。约翰觉得这是他们飞过的第二片海、第三个夜晚。

Sometimes it was dark and sometimes light, and now they were very cold and again too warm. Did they really feel hungry at times, or were they merely pretending, because Peter had such a jolly new way of feeding them? His way was to pursue birds who had food in their mouths suitable for humans and snatch it from them; then the birds would follow and snatch it back; and they would all go chasing each other gaily for miles, parting at last with mutual expressions of good-will. But Wendy noticed with gentle concern that Peter did not seem to know that this was rather an odd way of getting your bread and butter, nor even that there are other ways.

有时天是黑暗的,有时天是明亮的;有时他们觉得很冷,有时又觉得很热。不知道他们有时是真的饿了呢,抑或只是假装出来的,因为彼得有这样一个好玩的新方法给他们找吃的。彼得的方法是追赶那些嘴里叼着适合人类吃的食物的鸟儿,然后把食物抢过来。接着,鸟儿会紧追不舍,再把食物夺回去。他们就这样愉快地互相追赶了好几英里,最后互表好意就分开了。可温迪有些担心,她注意到,彼得似乎并不知道这种得到面包和黄油的做法相当古怪,他甚至不知道还有其他方法。

Certainly they did not pretend to be sleepy, they were sleepy; and that was a danger, for the moment they popped off, down they fell. The awful thing was that Peter thought this funny.

他们自然不会装困,他们是真的困了。这是很危险的,因为只要他们一打盹,就会往下坠。糟糕的是,彼得竟然觉得这很有趣。

"There he goes again!" he would cry gleefully, as Michael suddenly dropped like a stone.“看呐,他又掉下去了!”当迈克尔突然像块石头似的往下坠时,彼得高兴地大叫。

"Save him, save him!" cried Wendy, looking with horror at the cruel sea far below.“救他,救他!”温迪喊着,害怕地看着下面那片遥远而汹涌的海。

Eventually Peter would dive through the air, and catch Michael just before he could strike the sea, and it was lovely the way he did it; but he always waited till the last moment, and you felt it was his cleverness that interested him and not the saving of human life. Also he was fond of variety, and the sport that engrossed him one moment would suddenly cease to engage him, so there was always the possibility that the next time you fell he would let you go.

最后,彼得划过天空,在迈克尔即将坠入大海的那一刻把他抓住了,他的动作可真是漂亮。但他总喜欢等到最后一刻,你会觉得,他感兴趣的不是救人,而是卖弄他的聪明才智。彼得还喜欢变着各种花样玩,这一刻他还喜欢玩的游戏,下一刻就玩腻了。所以,很有可能下次你掉下去的时候,他就不会去救你了。

He could sleep in the air without falling, by merely lying on his back and floating, but this was, partly at least, because he was so light that if you got behind him and blew he went faster.

彼得只要在空中保持仰卧姿势漂着,就能够睡觉而不会往下掉。但这至少一部分是因为他很轻,如果你在他后面向他吹口气,他就会漂得更快。

"Do be more polite to him," Wendy whispered to John, when they were playing "Follow my Leader.""Then tell him to stop showing off," said John.“对他礼貌点。”当他们在玩“跟着我的队长”游戏时,温迪对约翰小声说道。“那你就跟他说,叫他不要再炫耀了。”约翰说。

When playing Follow my Leader, Peter would fly close to the water and touch each shark's tail in passing, just as in the street you may run your finger along an iron railing. They could not follow him in this with much success, so perhaps it was rather like showing off, especially as he kept looking behind to see how many tails they missed.

在玩“跟着我的队长”游戏时,彼得会飞近水面,触碰经过的每条鲨鱼的尾巴,就像在街上,你用手指触碰铁栏杆一样。彼得的这一招他们学不来,因此或许这更像是在炫耀,尤其是彼得老转过头,看他们错过了多少鲨鱼尾巴的时候。

"You must be nice to him," Wendy impressed on her brothers. "What could we do if he were to leave us!""We could go back," Michael said.“你们得对他好点。”温迪提醒弟弟们。“要是他把我们丢下不管该怎么办?”“我们可以回去。”迈克尔说。

"How could we ever find our way back without him?""Well, then, we could go on," said John.“没有他,我们怎么找到回去的路呢?”“嗯,那我们就继续飞。”约翰说。

"That is the awful thing, John. We should have to go on, for we don't know how to stop."This was true. Peter had forgotten to show them how to stop.“那会很糟糕的,约翰。我们只能不停地飞,因为我们不知道怎么停下来。”这是真的,彼得忘了教他们如何停下来。

John said that if the worst came to the worst, all they had to do was to go straight on, for the world was round, and so in time they must come back to their own window.

约翰说,即使是发生最糟糕的情况,他们也只要一直往前飞就好了。因为地球是圆的,他们总会飞回自己家窗口的。

"And who is to get food for us, John?""I nipped a bit out of that eagle's mouth pretty neatly, Wendy.""After the twentieth try," Wendy reminded him. "And even though we became good at picking up food, see how we bump against clouds and things if he is not near to give us a hand."Indeed they were constantly bumping. They could now fly strongly, though they still kicked far too much; but if they saw a cloud in front of them, the more they tried to avoid it, the more certainly did they bump into it. If Nana had been with them, she would have had a bandage round Michael's forehead by this time.“那谁给我们找吃的呢,约翰?”“我很灵巧地从那只鹰的嘴里抢过一小块食物,温迪。”“那是你试了二十次之后才抢到的。”温迪提醒他。“即使我们找食物很在行,要是彼得不在身边帮忙,我们会撞到云朵之类的东西上去的。”事实上,他们经常撞到这些东西。虽然还老是踢腿,但现在他们能够飞得很稳了。只是如果看到前面有一朵云,他们越是想努力躲开,就越是会撞上它。如果娜娜跟着他们的话,这时她会在迈克尔的额头上绑上一条绷带。

Peter was not with them for the moment, and they felt rather lonely up there by themselves. He could go so much faster than they that he would suddenly shoot out of sight, to have some adventure in which they had no share. He would come down laughing over something fearfully funny he had been saying to a star, but he had already forgotten what it was, or he would come up with mermaid scales still sticking to him, and yet not be able to say for certain what had been happening. It was really rather irritating to children who had never seen a mermaid.

此刻,彼得没有和他们在一起。他们觉得,没有彼得,实在是太孤独了。彼得比他们飞得快多了,他会忽然就消失不见,去寻找一些他们无法参与的冒险。他会飞下来,为他和一颗星星说的非常好玩的话而哈哈大笑,但他已经忘了是什么话了;或者他会飞上来,身上还沾着美人鱼的鳞片,却说不出来到底发生了什么事。这对于那些没看过美人鱼的孩子们来说,着实令人生气。

"And if he forgets them so quickly," Wendy argued, "how can we expect that he will go on remembering us?"Indeed, sometimes when he returned he did not remember them, at least not well. Wendy was sure of it. She saw recognition come into his eyes as he was about to pass them the time of day and go on; once even she had to call him by name.“如果他这么快就忘了那些东西,”温迪推论,“我们怎么能期望他一直记着我们呢?”确实,有时他回来的时候,真的不记得他们了,至少不是那么清楚了。温迪对此很确定。白天,彼得正要从他们身边飞过的时候,温迪从他的眼神中察觉到,他刚刚认出了自己。有一次,她甚至得告诉彼得自己的名字。

"I'm Wendy," she said agitatedly.“我是温迪啊。”她着急地说。

He was very sorry. "I say, Wendy," he whispered to her, "always if you see me forgetting you, just keep on saying 'I'm Wendy,' and then I'll remember."Of course this was rather unsatisfactory. However, to make amends he showed them how to lie out flat on a strong wind that was going their way, and this was such a pleasant change that they tried it several times and found they could sleep thus with security. Indeed they would have slept longer, but Peter tired quickly of sleeping, and soon he would cry in his captain voice, "We get off here."So with occasional tiffs, but on the whole rollicking, they drew near the Neverland; for after many moons they did reach it, and, what is more, they had been going pretty straight all the time, not perhaps so much owing to the guidance of Peter or Tink as because the island was looking for them. It is only thus that any one may sight those magic shores.

彼得很不好意思。“我说,温迪,”彼得轻声对她说,“如果你看到我忘了你,只要不停地说‘我是温迪’,那么我就会记起来了。”这当然很不能让人满意。但作为补偿,彼得给他们展示了如何平躺在一阵顺方向的强风上。这是一个多么有趣的变化啊,他们试了几次,发现能够安全地睡觉了。实际上,他们本来是想睡得久一些,但彼得很快就睡烦了。不一会儿,他就用那队长的口吻喊道:“我们从这里下去。”就这样,虽偶尔有些小吵闹,但总体上还是比较愉快的,他们已经快要到梦幻岛了。经过了好几个月,他们终于到了,而且,他们是径直飞去的,也许这不全是因为彼得或叮当的带领,更重要的是因为这个岛也在寻找他们。只有这样,才有可能看到那些充满魔力的海岸。

"There it is," said Peter calmly.“就在那里。”彼得平静地说。

"Where, where?""Where all the arrows are pointing."Indeed a million golden arrows were pointing it out to the children, all directed by their friend the sun, who wanted them to be sure of their way before leaving them for the night.“哪里,哪里?”“所有箭头指向的地方。”事实上,有一百万支金箭正在给孩子们指出梦幻岛的位置。所有的箭都是他们的朋友——太阳射出的,太阳想要在晚上离开之前,让孩子们认清去梦幻岛的路。

Wendy and John and Michael stood on tip-toe in the air to get their first sight of the island. Strange to say, they all recognized it at once, and until fear fell upon them they hailed it, not as something long dreamt of and seen at last, but as a familiar friend to who they were returning home for the holidays.

温迪、约翰和迈克尔在空中踮起脚尖,第一次看到了梦幻岛。奇怪的是,他们一下子就都认出它来了,还没觉得害怕,于是他们冲它大声欢呼起来。他们觉得这不像是终于见到了梦想已久的东西,倒像是放假回家看见了老朋友。

"John, there's the lagoon.""Wendy, look at the turtles burying their eggs in the sand.""I say, John, I see your flamingo with the broken leg!""Look, Michael, there's your cave."“约翰,那里是礁湖。”“温迪,看,那些乌龟正在往沙堆里埋蛋呢。”“我说,约翰,我看到了你那只断腿的火烈鸟了!”“瞧啊,迈克尔,你的洞穴在那儿!”

"John, what's that in the brushwood?""It's a wolf with her whelps. Wendy, I do believe that's your little whelp!""There's my boat, John, with her sides stove in!""No, it isn't. Why, we burned your boat.""That's her, at any rate. I say, John, I see the smoke of the Indian camp!""Where? Show me, and I'll tell you by the way smoke curls whether they are on the war-path.”"There, just across the Mysterious River.""I see now. Yes, they are on the war-path right enough.”Peter was a little annoyed with them for knowing so much, but if he wanted to lord it over them his triumph was at hand, for have I not told you that anon fear fell upon them? It came as the arrows went, leaving the island in gloom.“约翰,灌木丛里的是什么?”“那是一匹母狼和她的宝宝们。温迪,我确信那就是你的小狼宝宝!”“我的船在那里,约翰,船舷都坏了!”“不,它不是。哎,我们已经烧掉了你的船。”“无论如何,就是她了。我说,约翰,我看到印第安人营寨里冒出的烟了!”“在哪里?指给我看,我就告诉你怎样通过烟的样子判断他们是不是要打仗。”“那里,就在神秘河对面。”“现在我看到了。是的,他们已经充分准备好,要打仗了。”彼得看到他们知道这么多,有一点生气。但如果他想在他们面前逞英雄,他很快就做到了。因为,我不是告诉过你们,他们很快就会害怕了吗?当箭消失的时候,恐惧就降临了,梦幻岛陷入了一片黑暗之中。

In the old days at home the Neverland had always begun to look a little dark and threatening by bedtime. Then unexplored patches arose in it and spread, black shadows moved about in them, the roar of the beasts of prey was quite different now, and above all, you lost the certainty that you would win. You were quite glad that the night-lights were on. You even liked Nana to say that this was just the mantelpiece over here, and that the Neverland was all make-believe.

以前在家里时,梦幻岛总是在大家睡前显得有点漆黑,有点吓人。然后,岛上出现了一些未知的荒芜地带,不断延伸,黑影在里面攒动;此时,野兽觅食的吼声也很不一样;最重要的是,你失去了赢得胜利的信心。看到夜灯还亮着,你会很开心。你甚至会喜欢听娜娜说,这只不过是壁炉架,梦幻岛只不过是想象出来的罢了。

Of course the Neverland had been make-believe in those days, but it was real now, and there were no night-lights, and it was getting darker every moment, and where was Nana? They had been flying apart, but they huddled close to Peter now. His careless manner had gone at last, his eyes were sparkling, and a tingle went through them every time they touched his body. They were now over the fearsome island, flying so low that sometimes a tree grazed their feet. Nothing horrid was visible in the air, yet their progress had become slow and laboured, exactly as if they were pushing their way through hostile forces. Sometimes they hung in the air until Peter had beaten on it with his fists.

在那些日子里,梦幻岛当然是想象出来的。但现在,它是真的了,没有夜灯,天越来越黑,而娜娜在哪里呢?他们原本是分散开飞的,现在都紧紧地靠在彼得身边。最后,彼得那毫不在意的神情消失了,他的眼睛发出了亮光。每次他们碰到彼得的身体,就会感到一阵颤抖。他们现在正位于那个恐怖的岛的上空,飞得很低,有时还有树梢划过他们的脚。虽然空中看不到任何可怕的东西,但他们的速度变慢了,飞得越来越吃力,似乎要推开什么敌对的力量才能前进。他们有时在半空中停下来,等彼得用拳头打开路。

"They don't want us to land," he explained.“他们不想让我们着陆。”彼得解释。

"Who are they?" Wendy whispered, shuddering.“他们是谁?”温迪悄声说,打了一个寒战。

But he could not or would not say. Tinker Bell had been asleep on his shoulder, but now he wakened her and sent her on in front.

但彼得不能也不愿意说。叮当铃本来在他肩上睡着了,但现在彼得把她叫醒了,让她在前面带路。

Sometimes he poised himself in the air, listening intently, with his hand to his ear, and again he would stare down with eyes so bright that they seemed to bore two holes to earth. Having done these things, he went on again.

有时,彼得会停在空中,把手放在耳朵旁边,认真聆听,接着,又盯着下面看,那目光亮得似乎要把地面钻出两个洞来。做完这些后,他继续向前飞去。

His courage was almost appalling. "Would you like an adventure now," he said casually to John, "or would you like to have your tea first?"Wendy said "tea first" quickly, and Michael pressed her hand in gratitude, but the braver John hesitated.

他的勇气可真是惊人。“现在,你想要去冒险呢,”彼得随意地对约翰说,“还是想先喝点茶?”温迪飞快地说:“先喝点茶。”迈克尔感激地握了握她的手,可勇敢一些的约翰犹豫了。

"What kind of adventure?" he asked cautiously.“什么样的冒险呢?”约翰小心地问。

"There's a pirate asleep in the pampas just beneath us," Peter told him. "If you like, we'll go down and kill him.""I don't see him," John said after a long pause.“有一个海盗就睡在我们下面的大草原上。”彼得对他说。“如果你想冒险的话,我们就飞下去杀了他。”“我看不到他。”约翰停顿了很久后说。

"I do.""Suppose," John said, a little huskily, "he were to wake up."Peter spoke indignantly,"You don't think I would kill him while he was sleeping! I would wake him first, and then kill him. That's the way I always do.""I say! Do you kill many?""Tons."John said "How ripping," but decided to have tea first. He asked if there were many pirates on the island just now, and Peter said he had never known so many.“我看到他了。”“假如,”约翰说,声音有点沙哑,“他醒了呢?”彼得愤怒地说:“你不会以为我是趁他睡着的时候杀他的吧!我会先叫醒他,然后杀死他。我向来都是这么做的。”“我说!你杀了很多海盗吗?”“成吨呢。”约翰说“真厉害”,但他还是决定先喝茶。他问现在岛上是不是有很多海盗,彼得说,从来没有这么多过。

"Who is captain now?""Hook," answered Peter, and his face became very stern as he said that hated word.“现在谁是船长呢?”“胡克。”彼得回答,说到这个可憎的名字,他的脸变得很严肃。

"Jas. Hook?"“詹姆斯·胡克?”

"Ay."Then indeed Michael began to cry, and even John could speak in gulps only, for they knew Hook's reputation.“没错。”然后迈克尔真的哭起来了,而约翰说话也有点喘不过气来了,因为他们知道胡克臭名昭著。

"He was Blackbeard's bo'sun," John whispered huskily. "He is the worst of them all. He is the only man of whom Barbecue was afraid.""That's him," said Peter.“他是那个长着黑胡须的水手长。”约翰轻声说,声音嘶哑。“他是他们中间最坏的。他是巴比克唯一害怕的人。”“就是他。”彼得说。

"What is he like? Is he big?""He is not so big as he was.""How do you mean?""I cut off a bit of him.""You!""Yes, me," said Peter sharply.“他长得什么样?他很高大吗?”“他再也没过去那么高大了。”“什么意思?”“我从他身上砍了一块下来。”“你!”“没错,我。”彼得厉声说道。

"I wasn't meaning to be disrespectful.""Oh, all right.""But, I say, what bit?""His right hand.""Then he can't fight now?""Oh, can't he just!""Left-hander?”He has an iron hook instead of a right hand, and he claws with it.”"Claws!""I say, John," said Peter.“我刚才不是故意冒犯你。”“噢,没关系。”“可我说,砍掉了哪一块?”“他的右手。”“那他现在不能战斗了?”“噢,他不照样能战斗嘛!”“左撇子?”“他用一个铁钩代替右手,用钩子抓东西。”“抓!”“我说,约翰。”彼得说。

"Yes.""Say, 'Ay, ay, sir.'""Ay, ay, sir.""There is one thing," Peter continued, "that every boy who serves under me has to promise, and so must you."John paled.“嗯。”“说‘是,是,先生’。”“是,是,先生。”“有一件事,”彼得接着说,“每个在我手下干活的男孩子都得发誓,你也要。”约翰的脸发白了。

"It is this, if we meet Hook in open fight, you must leave him to me.""I promise," John said loyally.“那就是,如果我们和胡克开战了,你必须把他留给我对付。”“我发誓。”约翰忠实地说。

For the moment they were feeling less eerie, because Tink was flying with them, and in her light they could distinguish each other. Unfortunately she could not fly so slowly as they, and so she had to go round and round them in a circle in which they moved as in a halo. Wendy quite liked it, until Peter pointed out the drawbacks.

此时,他们不再感到那么害怕了,因为叮当和他们一起飞行,在她的光的照耀下,他们可以看清对方了。不过,叮当可不能像他们飞得那么慢,所以她不得不绕着他们飞了一圈又一圈。他们就好像身处光环中一样向前飞去。温迪喜欢得不得了,直到后来彼得说出了这样做的缺点。

"She tells me," he said, "that the pirates sighted us before the darkness came, and got Long Tom out.""The big gun?""Yes. And of course they must see her light, and if they guess we are near it they are sure to let fly.""Wendy!""John!""Michael!""Tell her to go away at once, Peter," the three cried simultaneously, but he refused.“叮当告诉我,”彼得说,“海盗们在黑暗来临之前就看见我们了,他们已经把‘长汤姆’拖出来了。”“那个大炮吗?”“没错。当然了,他们肯定会看到叮当的光。如果他们猜到我们就在光的附近,一定会开火。”“温迪!”“约翰!”“迈克尔!”“叫她立刻走,彼得。”三个孩子同时叫了出来,可彼得拒绝了。

"She thinks we have lost the way," he replied stiffly, "and she is rather frightened. You don't think I would send her away all by herself when she is frightened!"For a moment the circle of light was broken, and something gave Peter a loving little pinch.“叮当以为我们迷路了,”彼得固执地回答,“而且她也挺害怕的。你们不会认为我会在她害怕的时候,把她赶走吧!”有那么一刻,光圈突然断了,有什么东西亲昵地捏了彼得一下。

"Then tell her," Wendy begged, "to put out her light.""She can't put it out. That is about the only thing fairies can't do. It just goes out of itself when she falls asleep, same as the stars.""Then tell her to sleep at once," John almost ordered.“那就告诉她,”温迪恳求道,“把她的光熄灭。”“她熄灭不了。那是精灵唯一做不到的事情。只有在她睡觉的时候,光才会自己熄灭,就跟星星一样。”“那就告诉她立刻睡觉。”约翰几乎是用命令的口吻说。

"She can't sleep except when she's sleepy. It is the only other thing fairies can't do.""Seems to me," growled John, "these are the only two things worth doing."Here he got a pinch, but not a loving one.“她不困的时候不能睡觉。这又是一件精灵做不到的事情。”“我觉得,”约翰咆哮着,“只有这两件事情才值得做。”他也被捏了一下,但不是亲昵地捏。

"If only one of us had a pocket," Peter said, "we could carry her in it."However, they had set off in such a hurry that there was not a pocket between the four of them.“如果我们中间谁有一个口袋就好了,”彼得说,“我们就可以把她装进口袋里。”然而,他们出发的时候太匆忙,四个人连一个口袋都没有。

He had a happy idea. John's hat! Tink agreed to travel by hat if it was carried in the hand. John carried it, though she had hoped to be carried by Peter. Presently Wendy took the hat, because John said it struck against his knee as he flew; and this, as we shall see, led to mischief, for Tinker Bell hated to be under an obligation to Wendy.

彼得想到了一个好主意。约翰的帽子。叮当同意在帽子里旅行,但帽子要拿在手里。约翰拿着帽子,尽管叮当希望由彼得拿着。不久,温迪接过帽子,因为约翰说,他飞行的时候,帽子会蹭到他的膝盖。这样一来,可有麻烦了——我们在后面会看到——因为叮当铃讨厌被温迪带着。

In the black topper the light was completely hidden, and they flew on in silence. It was the stillest silence they had ever known, broken once by a distant lapping, which Peter explained was the wild beasts drinking at the ford, and again by a rasping sound that might have been the branches of trees rubbing together, but he said it was the Indians sharpening their knives.

在黑暗的帽子里,亮光被完全盖住了,他们静静地向前飞着。他们从来没有这么安静过,偶尔从远方传来一阵舔东西的声音,彼得解释说,那是野兽在浅滩边喝水;有时又会听到一种沙沙的声音,可能是树枝在相互摩擦,彼得却说,那是印第安人在磨刀。

Even these noises ceased. To Michael the loneliness was dreadful. "If only something would make a sound!" he cried.

现在就连这些声音也消失了。对迈克尔来说,这孤独感太可怕了。“如果有什么东西发出点声音就好了!”迈克尔大叫。

As if in answer to his request, the air was rent by the most tremendous crash he had ever heard. The pirates had fired Long Tom at them.

似乎是为了应他的要求,空气被一股巨大的冲击力给撕开了,迈克尔从未听过如此大的响声。海盗们用“长汤姆”向他们开火了。

The roar of it echoed through the mountains, and the echoes seemed to cry savagely, "Where are they, where are they, where are they?"Thus sharply did the terrified three learn the difference between an island of make-believe and the same island come true.

炮声在山谷中回响,那回声好像在歇斯底里地呐喊:“他们在哪里,他们在哪里,他们在哪里?”这时,三个吓坏了的孩子才立刻发觉到,一个想象中的岛和一个真实的岛有多么不一样。

When at last the heavens were steady again, John and Michael found themselves alone in the darkness. John was treading the air mechanically, and Michael without knowing how to float was floating.

最后天空恢复平静的时候,约翰和迈克尔发现,黑暗中,只剩下他们两个了。约翰机械地踩着空气,迈克尔本不会漂,现在也在漂着。

"Are you shot?" John whispered tremulously.“你中弹了吗?”约翰颤巍巍地悄声问。

"I haven't tried (myself out) yet," Michael whispered back.“我还没尝试过中弹呢。”约翰轻声回答。

We know now that no one had been hit. Peter, however, had been carried by the wind of the shot far out to sea, while Wendy was blown upwards with no companion but Tinker Bell.

我们现在知道,没有人被打中。但是彼得给炮火卷起的风远远地吹到大海那边去了,而温迪被吹到了上面,只有叮当铃在身边。

It would have been well for Wendy if at that moment she had dropped the hat.

如果在那个时候,温迪丢掉了帽子就好了。

I don't know whether the idea came suddenly to Tink, or whether she had planned it on the way, but she at once popped out of the hat and began to lure Wendy to her destruction.

我不知道这个主意是叮当突然想到的,还是计划已久,但她立刻就跳出了帽子,开始引诱温迪走向毁灭。

Tink was not all bad; or, rather, she was all bad just now, but, on the other hand, sometimes she was all good. Fairies have to be one thing or the other, because being so small they unfortunately have room for one feeling only at a time. They are, however, allowed to change, only it must be a complete change. At present she was full of jealousy of Wendy. What she said in her lovely tinkle Wendy could not of course understand, and I believe some of it was bad words, but it sounded kind, and she flew back and forward, plainly meaning "Follow me, and all will be well."What else could poor Wendy do? She called to Peter and John and Michael, and got only mocking echoes in reply. She did not yet know that Tink hated her with the fierce hatred of a very women. And so, bewildered, and now staggering in her flight, she followed Tink to her doom.

叮当并不是很坏,或者可以说,她只是在这时才很坏。她有时还是很好的。精灵不是这个样子,就是那个样子。因为她们实在是太小了,所以不幸的是,她们一次只能有一种感情。然而,她们是可以改变的,但必须是全部改变。现在,叮当心中充满了对温迪的嫉妒。当她用她那可爱的叮当声说话的时候,温迪当然听不懂。我相信有一些肯定是坏话,可听起来却是好的。叮当飞前飞后,显然在跟温迪说:“跟我来,一切就会好了。”可怜的温迪还能怎么做呢?她叫着彼得、约翰和迈克尔的名字,却只听到充满嘲笑的回声。她还不知道叮当是如此地讨厌她,带着女人强烈的憎恨之情。于是,温迪变得不知所措,只能摇摇晃晃地飞着,跟着叮当向她的末日走去。CHAPTER 5 THE ISLAND COME TRUE

第五章 见到了真正的梦幻岛

Feeling that Peter was on his way back, the Neverland had again woke into life. We ought to use the pluperfect and say wakened, but woke is better and was always used by Peter.

梦幻岛察觉到彼得正在回来的路上,就再一次苏醒了过来,一片生机盎然。我们应该用过去完成时,说“被唤醒”了,但“苏醒”更好些,因为彼得总是喜欢用这个词。

In his absence things are usually quiet on the island. The fairies take an hour longer in the morning, the beasts attend to their young, the Indians feed heavily for six days and nights, and when pirates and lost boys meet they merely bite their thumbs at each other. But with the coming of Peter, who hates lethargy, they are under way again: if you put your ear to the ground now, you would hear the whole island seething with life.

彼得不在的时候,梦幻岛通常是很安静的。精灵早晨会晚一个小时起床,动物们得照顾它们的宝宝,印第安人则大吃大喝六天六夜,海盗和丢失的孩子相遇时,只会咬着大拇指,互相盯着。但彼得最讨厌毫无生气了,他一回来,一切就又会活跃起来了。如果你现在把耳朵贴在地面,就会听到整个岛都沸腾起来,充满了生机。

On this evening the chief forces of the island were disposed as follows. The lost boys were out looking for Peter, the pirates were out looking for the lost boys, the Indians were out looking for the pirates, and the beasts were out looking for the Indians. They were going round and round the island, but they did not meet because all were going at the same rate.

在这个晚上,岛上的主要力量正在进行以下的安排。丢失的孩子出去找彼得,海盗出去找丢失的孩子,印第安人出去找海盗,动物们出去找印第安人。他们在岛上绕了一圈又一圈,却没遇上,因为他们的速度是一样的。

All wanted blood except the boys, who liked it as a rule, but to-night were out to greet their captain. The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out; but at this time there were six of them, counting the twins as two. Let us pretend to lie here among the sugar-cane and watch them as they steal by in single file, each with his hand on his dagger.

所有的人都想看流血,除了孩子们。孩子们平时也喜欢看流血,但今晚他们要去欢迎队长。当然,岛上孩子的数目不是一成不变的,这要看他们是否被杀或有没有其他原因。彼得会把快要长大的孩子饿瘦,直到饿死,因为长大是违反规定的。可目前他们有六个,那对双胞胎算作两个。让我们假设躺在甘蔗林中间,观察着他们,他们排成一行,每个人手里拿着把匕首,偷偷地前进。

They are forbidden by Peter to look in the least like him, and they wear the skins of the bears slain by themselves, in which they are so round and furry that when they fall they roll. They have therefore become very sure-footed.

彼得禁止他们的外表像他,一丁点也不行。他们穿着自己杀死的熊的皮,一个个圆滚滚、毛绒绒的,摔倒的时候,就在地上打滚。因此,他们走路时,脚步变得非常稳。

The first to pass is Tootles, not the least brave but the most unfortunate of all that gallant band. He had been in fewer adventures than any of them, because the big things constantly happened just when he had stepped round the corner; all would be quiet, he would take the opportunity of going off to gather a few sticks for firewood, and then when he returned the others would be sweeping up the blood. This ill-luck had given a gentle melancholy to his countenance, but instead of souring his nature had sweetened it, so that he was quite the humblest of the boys. Poor kind Tootles, there is danger in the air for you to-night. Take care lest an adventure is now offered you, which, if accepted, will plunge you in deepest woe. Tootles, the fairy Tink, who is bent on mischief this night is looking for a tool (for doing her mischief), and she thinks you are the most easily tricked of the boys. Ware Tinker Bell.

第一个走过去的是图图。他不是这支勇敢的队伍中最胆小的,却是最不走运的一个。他比其他任何人的冒险次数都要少,因为大事情总是在他刚过拐角的那一刻发生;等一切都平静下来的时候,他就抓紧机会,离开去捡一些小棍子作柴火,可当他回到那里的时候,别人都已经在清理血迹了。坏运气让图图的脸上总是带着一丝哀愁,可他的性格并没有因此变酸,反而变甜了,因此他成为了最谦逊的孩子。可怜而善良的图图,今晚可是有危险在等着你啊。要小心啊,否则灾难就要降临;一旦灾难到来,你便会陷入深深的痛苦之中。图图,精灵叮当今晚就是要捣乱的,她正在寻找一个(捣乱的)工具,而她认为你是孩子们中间最好骗的一个。小心叮当铃啊。

Would that he could hear us, but we are not really on the island, and he passes by, biting his knuckles.

要是图图能听见我们的话就好了,但我们并不是真的在岛上。他咬着手指头,走过去了。

Next comes Nibs, the gay and debonair, followed by Slightly, who cuts whistles out of the trees and dances ecstatically to his own tunes. Slightly is the most conceited of the boys. He thinks he remembers the days before he was lost, with their manners and customs, and this has given his nose an offensive tilt. Curly is fourth; he is a pickle, and so often has he had to deliver up his person when Peter said sternly, "Stand forth the one who did this thing," that now at the command he stands forth automatically whether he has done it or not. Last come the Twins, who cannot be described because we should be sure to be describing the wrong one. Peter never quite knew what twins were, and his band were not allowed to know anything he did not know, so these two were always vague about themselves, and did their best to give satisfaction by keeping close together in a apologetic sort of way.

接下来是尼布斯,他是一个快活又有礼貌的孩子;跟着是斯莱特利,他用树枝做成了口哨,随着他自己吹的调子,疯狂地跳着舞。斯莱特利是这些孩子中最高傲的一个。他觉得他还记得自己丢失前的事情,那些礼仪、习惯之类的,这使得他把鼻子翘得高高的,令人讨厌。第四个是卷毛,他是一个小淘气,每次彼得严厉地说“谁干的,站出来”,站出来的总是他。现在,卷毛一听到这个命令就会自动站出来,也不管是不是他做的。最后是双胞胎,我们无法描述他们,因为我们一描述,肯定会把他们弄错。彼得从不知道什么是双胞胎,而他的队伍也不允许知道他所不知道的事。于是,这对双胞胎也总是不清楚自己的事情,他们满怀歉意地在一起,努力让别人感到满意。

The boys vanish in the gloom, and after a pause, but not a long pause, for things go briskly on the island, come the pirates on their track. We hear them before they are seen, and it is always the same dreadful song: "Avast belay, yo ho, heave to,A-pirating we go,And if we're parted by a shotWe're sure to meet below!"A more villainous-looking lot never hung in a row on Execution dock. Here, a little in advance, ever and again with his head to the ground listening, his great arms bare, pieces of eight in his ears as ornaments, is the handsome Italian Cecco, who cut his name in letters of blood on the back of the governor of the prison at Gao. That gigantic black behind him has had many names since he dropped the one with which dusky mothers still terrify their children on the banks of the Guadjo-mo. Here is Bill Jukes, every inch of him tattooed, the same Bill Jukes who got six dozen on the WALRUS from Flint before he would drop the bag of moidores; and Cookson, said to be Black Murphy's brother (but this was never proved), and Gentleman Starkey, once an usher in a public school and still dainty in his ways of killing; and Skylights (Morgan's Skylights);and the Irish bo'sun Smee, an oddly genial man who stabbed, so to speak, without offence, and was the only Non-conformist in Hook's crew; and Noodler, whose hands were fixed on backwards; and Robt. Mullins and Alf Mason and many another ruffian long known and feared on the Spanish Main.

孩子们在黑暗中消失了,一段时间过后——不是很长的一段时间,因为岛上的事情发生得很快——海盗们跟过来了。我们看到海盗之前,就听到了他们的声音,而且总是听到这首可怕的歌:“停了下来,绑上绳索,哟嗬,停下船来,我们去打劫咯,即使我们被一颗炮弹打散,我们也一定会在深海里重逢!”即使是在绞刑架上,也没见过这样一排穷凶极恶的匪徒。这里,走在队伍稍微前面一点的是英俊的意大利人切科,他时不时地把头贴在地上聆听,两只胳膊赤裸着,耳朵上挂着八比索的西班牙金币作装饰,他曾经在加奥的监狱里,用血把自己的名字刻在典狱长的背上。走在切科后面的是一个黝黑的彪形大汉,他改名后又有了许多名字,但加若木河两岸黑皮肤的母亲们常用他原来的名字吓唬孩子们。紧跟着的是比尔·鸠克斯,他浑身都刺满了花纹。他在“海象号”船上被弗林特砍了七十二刀后才扔下金币袋子;后面是库克森,据说他是黑墨菲的兄弟(不过,这还没被证实);还有绅士斯塔基,他曾在一间公立学校当助理教员,现在杀人时,还是很讲究;还有“天窗”(摩根的“天窗”);还有爱尔兰的水手长斯米,一个非常友善的人——他捅人时,都不会冒犯别人,他还是胡克队里唯一一个不信国教的人;还有努得勒,他总是把手放在背后;还有罗伯特·木林斯和阿尔夫·梅森,以及其他许多在西班牙陆地上人人皆知、人人害怕的恶棍。

In the midst of them, the blackest and largest in that dark setting, reclined James Hook, or as he wrote himself, Jas. Hook, of whom it is said he was the only man that the Sea-Cook feared.

在那个黑暗的环境里,他们之中最黑暗、最庞大的非詹姆斯·胡克莫属了,他自己写作詹·胡克。据说,海上库克唯一害怕的人就是他。

He lay at his ease in a rough chariot drawn and propelled by his men, and instead of a right hand he had the iron hook with which ever and anon he encouraged them to increase their pace. As dogs this terrible man treated and addressed them, and as dogs they obeyed him. In person he was cadaverous and blackavized, and his hair was dressed in long curls, which at a little distance looked like black candles, and gave a singularly threatening expression to his handsome countenance. His eyes were of the blue of the forget-me-not, and of a profound melancholy, save when he was plunging his hook into you, at which time two red spots appeared in them and lit them up horribly. In manner, something of the grand seigneur still clung to him, so that he even ripped you up with an air, and I have been told that he was a RACONTEUR of repute. He was never more sinister than when he was most polite, which is probably the truest test of breeding; and the elegance of his diction, even when he was swearing, no less than the distinction of his demeanour, showed him one of a different cast from his crew. A man of indomitable courage, it was said that the only thing he shied at was the sight of his own blood, which was thick and of an unusual colour. In dress he somewhat aped the attire associated with the name of Charles II, having heard it said in some earlier period of his career that he bore a strange resemblance to the ill-fated Stuarts; and in his mouth he had a holder of his own contrivance which enabled him to smoke two cigars at once. But undoubtedly the grimmest part of him was his iron claw.

胡克安逸地躺在一辆粗制的战车上,由他的手下前拉后推着走。他没有右手,用一个铁钩代替。他时不时地用那个铁钩,催赶手下的人步伐快些。这个可怕的人,把手下当成狗一样地对待和使唤,而他的手下也像狗一样地服从他。他本身形容枯槁,黝黑至极,头发弯成长长的发卷,远看像一根根黑色的蜡烛,使他那张帅气的脸上带上一种非常骇人的表情。他的眼睛是勿忘我花的那种蓝色,透着一种深深的忧伤。而他挥起铁钩朝你刺去的时候,眼睛便会射出两点红光,火焰般熊熊燃烧,可怕极了。至于举止,他身上还留有一些高贵的爵爷的气派,而他那种姿态,简直能把你生生撕裂。我还听说过他是个很会讲故事的人。胡克最有礼貌的时候,也就是他最邪恶的时候,那也许就是他血统的最真实的证明。即使在谩骂的时候,他那优美的语言也丝毫不逊色于那不俗的风度,这一切都表明了他和他的手下不是同一阶层的人。至于举止,他身上还留有一些高贵的爵爷气派,而他那种姿态,简直能把你生生撕裂。我还听说过他是个很会讲故事的人。在穿着上,他打扮得有点像查理二世,因为他在早年时听说,他和那个倒霉的斯图亚特国王出奇地相像。他嘴里叼着一个他自己设计的烟斗,那烟斗能够让他同时吸两支雪茄。然而,他最令人毛骨悚然的部分,还是那个铁爪。

Observe how they pass over fallen twigs without making the slightest noise. Let us now kill a pirate, to show Hook's method. Skylights will do. As they pass, Skylights lurches clumsily against him, ruffling his lace collar; the hook shoots forth, there is a tearing sound and one screech, then the body is kicked aside, and the pirates pass on. He has not even taken the cigars from his mouth.

仔细观察它们是怎么不动声色地经过那些落下的树枝的。让我们现在杀一个海盗,来看看胡克是怎样杀人的。就拿“天窗”来说吧。他们经过的时候,“天窗”笨手笨脚、跌跌撞撞地跑到胡克跟前,碰皱了他那镶着花边的衣领。胡克的铁钩刺了过来,只听一声撕裂的声音、一声凄惨的大叫,“天窗”的尸体就被踢到了一边,而海盗们继续前进。胡克甚至连雪茄也没从嘴里拿出来。

Such is the terrible man against whom Peter Pan is pitted. Which will win? On the trail of the pirates, stealing noiselessly down the war-path, which is not visible to inexperienced eyes, come the Indians, every one of them with his eyes peeled. They carry tomahawks and knives, and their naked bodies gleam with paint and oil. Strung around them are scalps, of boys as well as of pirates, for these are the Piccaninny tribe, and not to be confused with the softer-hearted Delawares or the Hurons. In the van, on all fours, is Great Big Little Panther, a brave of so many scalps that in his present position they

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