首发：~第6章 丑小鸭 The Ugly Duckling
这是你讨个老婆的机会；虽然你长得丑，但也许你会很幸运。”
it is a chance for you to get a wife; you may be lucky, ugly as you are”
“砰，砰。” 空中传来两声枪响，两只野鹅倒在灯芯草丛中死了，水被血染红了。
“pop, pop,” sounded in the air, and the two wild geese fell dead among the rushes, and the water was tinged with blood
“砰，砰。” 枪声在远处四处回荡，成群的野鹅从灯芯草丛中飞了起来。
“pop, pop,” echoed far and wide in the distance, and whole flocks of wild geese rose up from the rushes
枪声从四面八方传来，因为猎人们包围了这片荒野，有些猎人甚至坐在树枝上，俯瞰着灯芯草丛。
the sound continued from every direction, for the sportsmen surrounded the moor, and some were even seated on branches of trees, overlooking the rushes
枪里冒出的蓝烟像云一样在黑黝黝的树上空升起，当烟雾飘过水面时，许多猎犬跳进灯芯草丛里，所到之处灯芯草都被压弯了。
the blue smoke from the guns rose like clouds over the dark trees, and as it floated away across the water, a number of sporting dogs bounded in among the rushes, which bent beneath them wherever they went
它们把可怜的小鸭子吓成什么样了啊！他转过头把脑袋藏在翅膀下面，就在这时，一只又大又可怕的狗从他身边很近的地方经过。
how they terrified the poor duckling! he turned away his head to hide it under his wing, and at the same moment a large terrible dog passed quite near him
狗张着嘴，舌头耷拉在嘴外，眼睛可怕地瞪着。
his jaws were open, his tongue hung from his mouth, and his eyes glared fearfully
他把鼻子凑近小鸭子，露出锋利的牙齿，然后，“扑通，扑通”，他跳进水里，却没有碰到小鸭子，“哦，” 小鸭子叹气道，“我长得这么丑可真幸运；连狗都不会咬我。”
he thrust his nose close to the duckling, showing his sharp teeth, and then, “splash, splash,” he went into the water without touching him, “oh,” sighed the duckling, “how thankful i am for being so ugly; even a dog will not bite me”
于是他静静地躺着，子弹在灯芯草丛中呼啸而过，一支接一支的枪在他头顶上射击。
and so he lay quite still, while the shot rattled through the rushes, and gun after gun was fired over him
直到天黑，一切才安静下来，但即便到那时，这个可怜的小家伙也不敢动。
it was late in the day before all became quiet, but even then the poor young thing did not dare to move
他静静地等了几个小时，然后，小心翼翼地环顾四周后，尽快地逃离了荒野。
he waited quietly for several hours, and then, after looking carefully around him, hastened away from the moor as fast as he could
他跑过田野和草地，直到一场暴风雨来临，他几乎无法与之抗争。
he ran over field and meadow till a storm arose, and he could hardly struggle against it
傍晚时分，他来到一间破旧的小茅屋前，那茅屋似乎快要倒塌了，之所以还立在那儿，是因为它还没决定先往哪边倒。
towards evening, he reached a poor little cottage that seemed ready to fall, and only remained standing because it could not decide on which side to fall first
暴风雨依旧猛烈，小鸭子再也走不动了；他在茅屋旁坐下，这时他注意到由于一个铰链坏了，门没有完全关上。
the storm continued so violent, that the duckling could go no farther; he sat down by the cottage, and then he noticed that the door was not quite closed in consequence of one of the hinges having given way
因此，底部附近有一个窄窄的缝隙，足够他钻进去，他悄悄地钻了进去，在里面过夜。
there was therefore a narrow opening near the bottom large enough for him to slip through, which he did very quietly, and got a shelter for the night
这间茅屋里住着一个女人、一只雄猫和一只母鸡。
a woman, a tom cat, and a hen lived in this cottage
女主人称那只雄猫为 “我的小儿子”，它非常受宠；
the tom cat, whom the mistress called, “my little son,” was a great favorite;
它能弓起背，咕噜咕噜叫，如果逆着毛抚摸它，它甚至能从毛里迸出火星来。
he could raise his back, and purr, and could even throw out sparks from his fur if it were stroked the wrong way
那只母鸡腿很短，所以被叫做 “短腿鸡”。
the hen had very short legs, so she was called “chickie short legs”
她下的蛋很好，女主人很爱她，就像她是自己的孩子一样。
she laid good eggs, and her mistress loved her as if she had been her own child
早晨，这个陌生的访客被发现了，雄猫开始咕噜咕噜叫，母鸡开始咯咯叫。
in the morning, the strange visitor was discovered, and the tom cat began to purr, and the hen to cluck
“这吵闹声是怎么回事？”
“what is that noise about”
老妇人边说边环视房间，但是她的视力不太好；因此，当她看到小鸭子时，她以为那一定是一只迷路的肥鸭。
said the old woman, looking round the room, but her sight was not very good; therefore, when she saw the duckling she thought it must be a fat duck, that had strayed from home
“哦，多好的收获啊！” 她叫道，“我希望它不是一只公鸭，那样我就能得到一些鸭蛋了。我得等等看。”
“oh what a prize!” she exclaimed, “i hope it is not a drake, for then i shall have some duck’s eggs i must wait and see”
于是小鸭子被允许留下来试用三个星期，但是没有下蛋。
so the duckling was allowed to remain on trial for three weeks, but there were no eggs
现在雄猫是房子的主人，母鸡是女主人，他们总是说：“我们和这个世界”，因为他们认为自己就是半个世界，而且是更好的那一半。
now the tom cat was the master of the house, and the hen was mistress, and they always said, “we and the world,” for they believed themselves to be half the world, and the better half too
小鸭子认为其他人可能对这件事有不同的看法，但是母鸡不愿听这种怀疑的话。
the duckling thought that others might hold a different opinion on the subject, but the hen would not listen to such doubts
