一句一译的安徒生童话 第1章 皇帝的新装 The Emperor’s New Suit (第2/5页)
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his only ambition was to be always well dressed.
他不关心他的士兵,剧院也不能让他感到愉悦;
He did not care for his soldiers, and the theatre did not amuse him;
事实上,他唯一在意的事情就是驾车出去展示一套新衣服。
the only thing, in fact, he thought anything of was to drive out and show a new suit of clothes.
他一天中每个小时都有一件外套;
He had a coat for every hour of the day;
就像人们会说一位国王 “他在他的内阁(办公室)里” 一样,人们也可以说他,“皇帝在他的更衣室里。”
and as one would say of a king “He is in his cabinet,” so one could say of him, “The emperor is in his dressing - room.”
他居住的大城市非常欢乐;
The great city where he resided was very gay;
每天有许多来自世界各地的陌生人到来。
every day many strangers from all parts of the globe arrived.
一天,两个骗子来到了这个城市;
One day two swindlers came to this city;
他们让人们相信他们是织工,并宣称他们能织出能想象到的最精美的布。
they made people believe that they were weavers, and declared they could manufacture the finest cloth to be imagined.
他们说,他们的颜色和图案不仅格外美丽,而且用他们的材料制成的衣服有一个奇妙的特性:任何不称职或者愚蠢得不可救药的人都看不见。
Their colours and patterns, they said, were not only exceptionally beautiful, but the clothes made of their material possessed the wonderful quality of being invisible to any man who was unfit for his office or unpardonably stupid.
“那一定是很棒的布,” 皇帝想。
“That must be wonderful cloth,” thought the emperor.
“如果我穿上用这种布做的衣服,我就能找出我的帝国里哪些人不称职,我就能区分聪明人和愚蠢的人。
“If I were to be dressed in a suit made of this cloth I should be able to find out which men in my empire were unfit for their places, and I could distinguish the clever from the stupid.
我必须马上让人给我织这种布。”
I must have this cloth woven for me without delay.”
于是他预先给了骗子一大笔钱,好让他们立刻开始工作。
And he gave a large sum of money to the swindlers, in advance, that they should set to work without any loss of time.
他们支起了两架织布机,假装非常努力地工作,但在织布机上什么也没做。
They set up two looms, and pretended to be very hard at work, but they did nothing whatever on the looms.
他们索要最精美的丝绸和最贵重的金布;
They asked for the finest silk and the most precious gold - cloth;
他们把得到的东西都拿走了,在空织布机上一直工作到深夜。
all they got they did away with, and worked at the empty looms till late at night.
“我很想知道他们织布织得怎么样了,” 皇帝想。
“I should very much like to know how they are getting on with the cloth,” thought the emperor.
但当他想起不称职的人是看不见这布的时候,他就感到相当不安。
But he felt rather uneasy when he remembered that he who was not fit for his office could not see it.
就他个人而言,他认为自己没什么好害怕的,但他还是觉得先派别人去看看情况比较明智。
Personally, he was of opinion that he had nothing to fear, yet he thought it advisable to send somebody else first to see how matters stood.
城里的每个人都知道这种布料有多么非凡的特性,所有人都急于看看他们的邻居有多坏或者有多愚蠢。
Everybody in the town knew what a remarkable quality the stuff possessed, and all were anxious to see how bad or stupid their neighbours were.
“我要派我诚实的老大臣去织工那儿,” 皇帝想。
“I shall send my honest old minister to the weavers,” thought the emperor.
“他最能判断这布料看起来怎么样,因为他很聪明,没有人比他更了解自己的职责。”
“He can judge best how the stuff looks, for he is intelligent, and nobody understands his office better than he.”
这位善良的老大臣走进骗子们坐在空织布机前的房间。
The good old minister went into the room where the swindlers sat before the empty looms.
“上天保佑我们!” 他想,然后睁大了眼睛,“我根本什么都看不见,” 但他没有说出来。