第九章 素甲鱼的故事

'You can't think how glad I am to see you again, you dear old thing!' said the Duchess, as she tucked her arm affectionately into Alice's, and they walked off together.

“你不知道，能再见到你，我是多么高兴啊！亲爱的老朋友！”公爵夫人说着，很亲切地挽着爱丽丝的胳膊一起走。

Alice was very glad to find her in such a pleasant temper, and thought to herself that perhaps it was only the pepper that had made her so savage when they met in the kitchen.

爱丽丝对公爵夫人有这样好的脾气非常高兴，她想以前在厨房里见到时，公爵夫人那么凶狠，主要是胡椒的缘故。

'When I'M a Duchess,' she said to herself, (not in a very hopeful tone though), 'I won't have any pepper in my kitchen AT ALL. Soup does very well without—Maybe it's always pepper that makes people hot–tempered,' she went on, very much pleased at having found out a new kind of rule, 'and vinegar that makes them sour—and camomile that makes them bitter—and—and barley–sugar and such things that make children sweet–tempered. I only wish people knew that: then they wouldn't be so stingy about it, you know—'

爱丽丝对自己说（口气上不很有把握）：“要是我当了公爵夫人，我的厨房里连一点儿胡椒都不要，没有胡椒，汤也会做得非常好的。也许正是胡椒弄得人们脾气暴躁。”她对自己这个新发现非常高兴，就继续说：“是醋弄得人们酸溜溜的，黄菊把人们弄得那么涩，以及麦芽糖这类东西把孩子的脾气变得那么甜。我只希望人们懂得这些，那么他们就不会变得吝啬了。你知道……”

She had quite forgotten the Duchess by this time, and was a little startled when she heard her voice close to her ear. 'You're thinking about something, my dear, and that makes you forget to talk. I can't tell you just now what the moral of that is, but I shall remember it in a bit.'

爱丽丝想得出神，完全忘记了公爵夫人，当公爵夫人在她耳边说话时，她吃了一惊。“我亲爱的，你在想什么？竟忘了谈话！我现在没法告诉你这会引出什么教训，不过我马上就会想出来的，”

'Perhaps it hasn't one,' Alice ventured to remark.

“或许根本没什么教训。”爱丽丝鼓足勇气说，

'Tut, tut, child!' said the Duchess. 'Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it.' And she squeezed herself up closer to Alice's side as she spoke.

“得了，得了，小孩子，”公爵夫人说，“每件事者都会引出教训的，只要你能够找出来。”她一面说着，一面紧紧地靠着爱丽丝。

Alice did not much like keeping so close to her: first, because the Duchess was VERY ugly; and secondly, because she was exactly the right height to rest her chin upon Alice's shoulder, and it was an uncomfortably sharp chin. However, she did not like to be rude, so she bore it as well as she could.

爱丽丝很不喜欢她挨得那么紧，首先，公爵夫人十分难看；其次，她的高度正好把下巴顶在爱丽丝的肩膀上，而这是个叫人很不舒服的尖下巴。然而爱丽丝不愿意显得粗野，只得尽量地忍受着。

'The game's going on rather better now,' she said, by way of keeping up the conversation a little.

“现在游戏进行得很好。”爱丽丝没话找话地说。

''Tis so,' said the Duchess: 'and the moral of that is—"Oh, 'tis love, 'tis love, that makes the world go round!"'

“是的，”公爵夫人说，“这件事的教训是……‘啊，爱，爱是推动世界的动力！’”

'Somebody said,' Alice whispered, 'that it's done by everybody minding their own business!'

爱丽丝小声说：“有人说，这种动力是各人自扫门前雪。”

'Ah, well! It means much the same thing,' said the Duchess, digging her sharp little chin into Alice's shoulder as she added, 'and the moral of THAT is—"Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves."'

“哦，它们的意思是一样的，”公爵夫人说着，使劲儿把尖下巴往爱丽丝的肩上压了压，“这个教训是‘只要当心思想，那么所说的话就会合平情理。’”

'How fond she is of finding morals in things!' Alice thought to herself.

“她多么喜欢在事情中寻找教训啊！”爱丽丝想。

'I dare say you're wondering why I don't put my arm round your waist,' the Duchess said after a pause: 'the reason is, that I'm doubtful about the temper of your flamingo. Shall I try the experiment?'

“我敢说，你在奇怪我为什么不搂你的腰，”沉寂一会后公爵夫人说，“这个原因是我害怕你的红鹤。我能试试看吗？”

'HE might bite,' Alice cautiously replied, not feeling at all anxious to have the experiment tried.

“它会咬人的。”爱丽丝小心地回答，一点也不愿意让她搂抱。

'Very true,' said the Duchess: 'flamingoes and mustard both bite. And the moral of that is—"Birds of a feather flock together."'

“是的，”公爵夫人说，“红鹤和芥末都会咬人的，这个教训是：‘羽毛相同的鸟在一起。’”

'Only mustard isn't a bird,' Alice remarked.

“可是芥末不是鸟。”爱丽丝说。

'Right, as usual,' said the Duchess: 'what a clear way you have of putting things!'

“你可说到点子上了。”公爵夫人说。

'It's a mineral, I THINK,' said Alice.

“我想它是矿物吧？”爱丽丝说。

'Of course it is,' said the Duchess, who seemed ready to agree to everything that Alice said; 'there's a large mustard–mine near here. And the moral of that is—"The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours."'

“当然是啦！”公爵夫人好像准备对爱丽丝说的每句话都表示同意，“这附近有个大芥末矿，这个教训是：‘我的多了，你的就少。’”