木偶奇遇记 第100期:匹诺曹与小蜗牛(4)

 　　A second time he came to the door and again he ran back.

　　第二次，他走到门口，然后又跑回来了。

　　A third time he repeated his performance.

　　第三次，他重复了他的动作。

　　The fourth time, before he had time to lose his courage, he grasped the knocker and made a faint sound with it.

　　第四次，在他没丧失勇气之前，抓着门锤，用它轻轻地敲了敲。

　　He waited and waited and waited.

　　他等啊，等啊，等啊等。

　　Finally, after a full half hour, a top-floor window (the house had four stories) opened and Pinocchio saw a large Snail¹ look out. A tiny light glowed on top of her head.

　　最后过了半个钟头，最高一层（这是座四层楼房）才打开窗子，皮诺乔看见一只大蜗牛探出头出来，头上有盏点亮的小灯。

　　"Who knocks at this late hour?" she called. "Is the Fairy home?" asked the Marionette².

　　“这么晚了，是谁在敲门”它问道。 “仙女在家吗？”木偶问。

　　"The Fairy is asleep and does not wish to be disturbed. Who are you?" "It is I." "Who's I?" "Pinocchio." "Who is Pinocchio?" "The Marionette; the one who lives in the Fairy's house."

　　“仙女睡了，不想被打扰。你是谁？” “是我！” “这个我是谁？” “皮诺乔。” “皮诺乔是谁？“ “是木偶，原先跟仙女住在一起的。”

　　"Oh, I understand," said the Snail. "Wait for me there. I'll come down to open the door for you."

　　“啊，我明白了，”蜗牛说，“在那儿等我，我这就下来给你开门。”

　　"Hurry, I beg of you, for I am dying of cold." "My boy, I am a snail and snails³ are never in a hurry."

　　“请你快一点，我都要被冷死了。” “我的孩子，我是一只蜗牛，蜗牛永远快不了的。”

　　An hour passed, two hours; and the door was still closed.

　　过了一个小时，两个小时，可门还没有开。

　　Pinocchio, who was trembling with fear and shivering from the cold rain on his back, knocked a second time, this time louder than before.

　　皮诺乔又是冷，又是害怕，又是浑身水淋淋，因此直打哆嗦。于是他拿定主意再敲一次门，这回敲得比上一回响。

　　At that second knock, a window on the third floor opened and the same Snail looked out.

　　听见这第二次敲门声，第三层的窗子打开了，还是那只蜗牛探出头来。

　　"Dear little Snail," cried Pinocchio from the street. "I have been waiting two hours for you! And two hours on a dreadful night like this are as long as two years. Hurry, please!"

　　“我的好蜗牛，”皮诺乔在街上叫道，“我已经等了两个钟头了！这么可怕的夜，两个钟头比这两年还长。帮帮忙，请您快一点。”

　　"My boy," answered the Snail in a calm, peaceful voice, "my dear boy, I am a snail and snails are never in a hurry." And the window closed.

　　“我的孩子，”这只蜗牛用平静的语气说：“我的孩子，我是一只蜗牛，蜗牛都是快不起来的。”窗子又关上了。

　　A few minutes later midnight struck; then one o'clock... two o'clock. And the door still remained closed!

　　几分钟后，半夜十二点的钟声敲响了，接着半夜一点，接着是半夜两点。然而门还是关着的。

　　Then Pinocchio, losing all patience, grabbed the knocker with both hands, fully⁴ determined⁵ to awaken⁶ the whole house and street with it.

　　皮诺乔失去了耐心。他用两只手抓住门锤，充满着以此唤醒这座房子和整条街的决心。

　　As soon as he touched the knocker, however, it became an eel⁷ and wiggled away into the darkness.

　　可他一碰门锤，门锤一下子变成了活鳗鱼，摆动着消失在了黑暗中。

　　"Really?" cried Pinocchio, blind with rage. "If the knocker is gone, I still use my feet."

　　“真的？”皮诺乔气昏了，叫道，“门锤没有了，我就用脚狠狠地踢。

1 snail   

n.蜗牛

参考例句：

• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
• Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

2 marionette   

n.木偶

参考例句：

• With this marionette I wish to travel through the world.我希望带着这个木偶周游世界。
• The development of marionette had a great influence on the future development of opera.木偶戏的发展对以后的戏曲有十分重要的影响。

3 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

7 eel   

n.鳗鲡

参考例句：

• He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
• In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆，他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。