读者朋友们好,感谢大家的阅读和关注。从今日起,我会尽量每天翻译一篇英文短篇小说、短文或评论等,有些尽管是已经有名家名译,但是我还是想自己试试。鉴于本人能力有限,难免出现谬误,望各位朋友不吝赐教。翻译过程中,借助了有道词典,在此致谢。

Dear readers, thanks for reading this and following me. From this very day, I'd like to try some translations of English short stories, essays or opinions etc. Although some of them have already been translated into Chinese by celebrities, I still prefer to do it myself. Due to personal limited abilities, mistakes are very likely to occur, I hope anyone who ever reads this can help me point them out, thanks beforehand. In the process of this work, I turned to Youdao,which deserves my acknowledgement.

一、文章概览

The Little Match Girl, also titled, The Little Matchstick Girl is one of our Favorite Fairy Tales. Published by Hans Christian Andersen in 1845, it exemplifies his broad literary talent and ability.

《卖火柴的小女孩》,想必是耳熟能详的了,它是著名童话大师汉斯•克里斯蒂安•安徒生于1845年所作,充分展现了他的文学天赋和才能。

卖火柴的小女孩英语短句(每日一译TheLittle)(1)

二、原文试译

Most terribly cold it was; it snowed, and was nearly quite dark, and evening-- the last evening of the year. In this cold and darkness there went along the street a poor little girl, bareheaded, and with naked feet. When she left home she had slippers on, it is true; but what was the good of that? They were very large slippers, which her mother had hitherto worn; so large were they; and the poor little thing lost them as she scuffled away across the street, because of two carriages that rolled by dreadfully fast.

这天儿冷的要命,夜幕降临之时的大街,已经覆盖上了厚厚的一层雪——这是今年最后一个夜晚了。寒天黑夜里,有个可怜的小女孩儿沿着这条街走着,头上也没顶帽子,双脚还光着脚丫。的确,她从家里出发的时候,还穿着一双拖鞋;但那又怎样呢?那双拖鞋是她的妈妈一直穿着的,对她而言真的太大了。不幸的是,小家伙在过街时,由于两辆马车疾驰而过,令她在慌乱之中把拖鞋给弄丢了。

One slipper was nowhere to be found; the other had been laid hold of by an urchin, and off he ran with it; he thought it would do capitally for a cradle when he some day or other should have children himself. So the little maiden walked on with her tiny naked feet, that were quite red and blue from cold. She carried a quantity of matches in an old apron, and she held a bundle of them in her hand. Nobody had bought anything of her the whole livelong day; no one had given her a single farthing.

其中一只完全无处可寻,另一只被一个淘气的男孩儿捡起后就跑远了。那个小男孩心想:万一他以后有了自己的孩子,这只拖鞋用作摇篮是再好不过了。于是,这个小姑娘就只好光着她的小脚丫,继续往前走,真是太冷了,小脚丫都青一块紫一块的了。在她的围裙里,装着一些火柴,她的手上也拿着一盒火柴。啊!原来这是个卖火柴的小姑娘!可是,整整一天,一盒火柴也没有卖出去,也没人因为施舍过一分钱!

She crept along trembling with cold and hunger--a very picture of sorrow, the poor little thing!

又冷又饿,还直打哆嗦,她就这样紧紧抱着自己往前走……这画面,真让人心寒,噢!小家伙真可怜!

The flakes of snow covered her long fair hair, which fell in beautiful curls around her neck; but of that, of course, she never once now thought. From all the windows the candles were gleaming, and it smelt so deliciously of roast goose, for you know it was New Year's Eve; yes, of that she thought.

雪还在下,她悠长的发丝已经覆盖上了白雪,她脖子上的卷发因此显得更加美丽;不过,当然了,她自己却从没注意到这一点。所有的橱窗,都能闪闪发亮的烛光,还有那美味的烤鹅,隔着玻璃都能闻到肉香,那么,诸君都知道了,这是除夕之夜了;是的,这也是她正想念的。

In a corner formed by two houses, of which one advanced more than the other, she seated herself down and cowered together. Her little feet she had drawn close up to her, but she grew colder and colder, and to go home she did not venture, for she had not sold any matches and could not bring a farthing of money: from her father she would certainly get blows, and at home it was cold too, for above her she had only the roof, through which the wind whistled, even though the largest cracks were stopped up with straw and rags.

有两座房屋,一座比另一座长一点点,因此形成了一个角落,小女孩就在这里坐下来,蜷成一团。尽管她尽力把小脚想自己靠拢,可还是觉得越来越冷,而这个时候回家是她想都不敢想的,因为她还没有卖出一盒火柴,更别提带点钱回去了。回去的话,她的爸爸肯定又会揍她,况且,即便是在家里,也是一样的寒冷,因为她住的地方,头顶就是屋顶,屋顶还有着好几条大大的裂缝,尽管裂缝中填上了稻草和破布,可还是难以抵挡寒风呼啸的侵袭。

Her little hands were almost numbed with cold. Oh! a match might afford her a world of comfort, if she only dared take a single one out of the bundle, draw it against the wall, and warm her fingers by it. She drew one out. "Rischt!" how it blazed, how it burnt! It was a warm, bright flame, like a candle, as she held her hands over it: it was a wonderful light. It seemed really to the little maiden as though she were sitting before a large iron stove, with burnished brass feet and a brass ornament at top. The fire burned with such blessed influence; it warmed so delightfully. The little girl had already stretched out her feet to warm them too; but--the small flame went out, the stove vanished: she had only the remains of the burnt-out match in her hand.

寒冷快要冻僵她的小手了。啊!一根火柴或许可以为她的世界带来一点温暖,要是她敢的话,只需要从一盒火柴中取出一只,靠着墙壁划燃它,就能给她的手指带来温暖了。她真的抽了一只出来。“滋”的一声,这光亮多么耀眼!那燃烧多么炽热!这火焰是那么温暖、那么明亮,就好像烛光,她用双手呵护着它:多么奇妙的光啊!此时此刻,她仿佛觉得,自己正坐在一个大大的铁火炉面前,火炉下面是铜制脚架,上面的装饰也是铜的。这火焰仿佛会为她带来好运;真是好温暖啊!她把自己的小脚丫也伸向火炉取暖;就在此时,火焰熄灭了,火炉也不见了:她的手上只留有燃烧殆尽的火柴灰。

She rubbed another against the wall: it burned brightly, and where the light fell on the wall, there the wall became transparent like a veil, so that she could see into the room. On the table was spread a snow-white tablecloth; upon it was a splendid porcelain service, and the roast goose was steaming famously with its stuffing of apple and dried plums. And what was still more capital to behold was, the goose hopped down from the dish, reeled about on the floor with knife and fork in its breast, till it came up to the poor little girl; when--the match went out and nothing but the thick, cold, damp wall was left behind. She lighted another match. Now there she was sitting under the most magnificent Christmas tree: it was still larger, and more decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door in the rich merchant's house.

她靠着墙又划燃了一只:火焰十分明亮,只要这光照到哪里,那里的墙就会变得面纱一样透明,这样她就能看清楚屋内的一切。餐桌用雪白的桌布铺着;餐桌上正摆放着一套精美的瓷质餐具,还有那充填了苹果和梅子干的烤鹅,正冒着诱人的蒸汽。噢!还有更令人称奇地是,那烤鹅竟然自己从餐盘中跳下了桌,两只翅膀分别握着刀叉翩翩起舞,直到它来到这小女孩的面前;突然——火柴又熄了,目之所及、手之所触,只有那厚厚的、冷冷的、湿湿的冰墙。她又划燃了一只。此时此刻,她正坐在一颗她这一生从未见过、十分壮丽的圣诞树下:这颗圣诞树,比起她透过一富商家的玻璃门所看见的那颗圣诞树,可还要大上十倍,美上千倍。

Thousands of lights were burning on the green branches, and gaily-colored pictures, such as she had seen in the shop-windows, looked down upon her. The little maiden stretched out her hands towards them when--the match went out. The lights of the Christmas tree rose higher and higher, she saw them now as stars in heaven; one fell down and formed a long trail of fire.

圣诞树枝上,无数华灯闪耀,就好像她透过商品店的橱窗所看到的精美肖像画一样向她微笑。正当可怜的小姑娘把手伸向他们的时候,突然——火柴又熄灭了。圣诞树上的光芒往上升啊升,现在她看着它们,就好像看着满天星斗;有一颗星星落了下来,形成了一道长长的火光。

"Someone is just dead!" said the little girl; for her old grandmother, the only person who had loved her, and who was now no more, had told her, that when a star falls, a soul ascends to God.

“有人死了!”小女孩哭到;因为她的老奶奶,唯一深爱着她的人,现在也不在了,她奶奶曾对她说,要是一颗星星落下来,就意味着一颗灵魂升上天堂了。

She drew another match against the wall: it was again light, and in the lustre there stood the old grandmother, so bright and radiant, so mild, and with such an expression of love.

她紧靠着墙又划燃了一只:周围的世界又充满了暖暖的光,就在这一片亮光中,站着的正是她的老奶奶,那么温暖、那么和蔼、那么可亲,满脸写满了慈爱。

"Grandmother!" cried the little one. "Oh, take me with you! You go away when the match burns out; you vanish like the warm stove, like the delicious roast goose, and like the magnificent Christmas tree!" And she rubbed the whole bundle of matches quickly against the wall, for she wanted to be quite sure of keeping her grandmother near her. And the matches gave such a brilliant light that it was brighter than at noon-day: never formerly had the grandmother been so beautiful and so tall. She took the little maiden, on her arm, and both flew in brightness and in joy so high, so very high, and then above was neither cold, nor hunger, nor anxiety--they were with God.

“奶奶!”小家伙哭喊道。“呜……请带我和你一起走吧!火柴一熄,你就会离开了;就像那温暖的火炉、那美味的烤鹅、还有那精美的圣诞树一样,都会消失不见啊!”这次她赶紧靠着墙划燃了一整盒火柴,因为她实在太想把她奶奶留在身边了。这么多火柴所迸发出的光,比正午的阳光都还要明亮:她的奶奶从来没有像现在这样美丽、这样高大。老奶奶挽起小女孩的手臂,在一片温暖和喜悦中,一起往上飞啊飞,飞啊飞,直到再也没有寒冷、再也没有饥饿、再也没有忧虑……他们上了天堂。

But in the corner, at the cold hour of dawn, sat the poor girl, with rosy cheeks and with a smiling mouth, leaning against the wall--frozen to death on the last evening of the old year. Stiff and stark sat the child there with her matches, of which one bundle had been burnt. "She wanted to warm herself," people said. No one had the slightest suspicion of what beautiful things she had seen; no one even dreamed of the splendor in which, with her grandmother she had entered on the joys of a new year.

但是那个角落里,人们在寒冷的黎明时分发现,一个脸颊通红、嘴角挂着微笑的小女孩靠墙站着——她在新年的前一个晚上被冻死了。这可怜的孩子,手上拿着一盒烧尽的火柴,两眼呆呆地、双脚光秃秃地站在那里。“她想为自己取点暖”,有人说道。人们根本不知道小女孩见到的事情多么奇妙;更没有人能想到,她和她奶奶一起喜迎新年时的那番景象,是多么耀眼的光芒。

三、词汇注释

1. slipper n.拖鞋;

2. hitherto adv. 迄今、至今;

3. scuffle v.匆忙慌乱地走;

4. carriage n.四轮马车;

5. urchin n.顽童、淘气鬼;

6. capitally adv. 极佳地;

7. a quantity of 一些;

8. apron n.围裙;

9. a bundle of 一束、一包、一盒

10. farthing 英国旧硬币,值 1⁄4 旧便士

11. Rischt 拟声词“滋”

12. brass n.黄铜、铜质

13. ornament n.装饰

14. stuffing n.填充物

15. hop v.跳跃

16. reel v.蹒跚

17. damp adj.潮湿的

18. gaily-colored adj.鲜艳、栩栩如生的

19. lustre n.光泽

20. Stiff and stark “stiff”有“呆板的、僵硬的”之意,文中可能指小女孩的眼神呆呆的;“stark”有“完全的、光秃秃的”之意,文中可能指小女孩光着双脚。


感谢大家的阅读,咱们下期再见^^

英文材料来源:美国文学官网

原著:汉斯•克里斯蒂安•安徒生

译者:陈俊明

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