She lay awake a long time after she was in bed,thinking how pretty it must be to see all the beautiful flowers dancing in the kings garden.“I wonder if my flowers have really been there.”she said to herself,and then she fell asleep.In the night she awoke,she had been dreaming of the flowers and of the student,as well as of the tiresome lawyer who found fault with him.It was quite still in Idas bedroom,the nightlamp burnt on the table,and her father and mother were asleep.
小爱达上床以后,静静地躺了很多。她想,要是能够看到这些可爱的花儿在国王的宫殿里跳舞,那该多有趣啊!“我不知道我的花儿到那儿去子没有。”她想着想着就睡着了。夜里她又醒了。她梦见了那些花儿和那个学生——那位枢密顾问官总是责备他,说他把一些无聊的怪念头灌到她的脑子里。小爱达睡的房间很静,灯还在桌子上亮着,爸爸和妈妈已经睡着了。
“I wonder if my flowers are still lying in Sophys bed,”she thought to herself,“how much I should like to know.”She raised herself a little,and glanced at the door of the room where all her flowers and playthings lay,it was partly open,and as she listened,it seemed as if some one in the room was playing the piano,but softly and more prettily than she had ever before heard it.
“我不知道我的花儿现在是不是仍旧睡在苏菲亚的床上,”她对自己说。“我多么希望知道啊!”她把头稍微抬起一点,对那半掩着的房门看了一眼。她的花儿和玩具都放在门外。她静静地听着,这时好像听到了外面房间里有个人在弹钢琴,弹得很美,很轻柔,她从来没有听过这样的琴声。
“Now all the flowers are certainly dancing in there,”she thought,“oh how much I should like to see them.”but she did not dare move for fear of disturbing her father and mother.
“现在花儿一定在那儿跳舞了!”她说,“哦!我多么想瞧瞧他们啊!”可是她不敢起床,怕惊醒了她的爸爸和妈妈。
“If they would only come in here.”she thought,but they did not come,and the music continued to play so beautifully,and was so pretty,that she could resist no longer.She crept out of her little bed,went softly to the door and looked into the room.Oh what a splendid sight there was to be sure!
“我真希望他们到这儿来!”她说。可是花儿没有进来,音乐还在继续奏着,非常好听,这一切是太美了!她再也忍不住了,她爬出她的小床,悄悄地走到门那儿,朝外边那个房间偷偷地窥望。啊,她瞧见的那幅景象是多么有趣啊!
There was no nightlamp burning,but the room appeared quite light,for the moon shone through the window upon the floor,and made it almost like day.All the hyacinths and tulips stood in two long rows down the room,not a single flower remained in the window,and the flowerpots were all empty.The flowers were dancing gracefully on the floor,making turns and holding each other by their long green leaves as they swung round.At the piano sat a large yellow lily which little Ida was sure she had seen in the summer,for she remembered the student saying she was very much like Miss Lina,one of Idas friends.They all laughed at him then,but now it seemed to little Ida as if the tall,yellow flower was really like the young lady.She had just the same manners while playing,bending her long yellow face from side to side,and nodding in time to the beautiful music.
外面房间里没有点灯,但是很亮,因为月光射进窗子,正照在地板上。房间里亮得差不多像白天一样,所有的风信子和番红花排成两行,站在房间里。窗槛上现在一朵花儿也没有了,只剩下一些空花盆。各种各样的花儿在地板上围着跳舞,跳得那么娇美。他们围成一条整齐的长长的舞链;他们把绿色的长叶子联结起来,旋转着扭动他们的腰肢;钢琴旁边坐着一朵高大的黄百合花。小爱达在夏天看到过他一次,她记得很清楚,那个学生曾经说它像莉妮小姐呢。那时大家都笑他。不过现在小爱达的确觉得这朵高大的黄花像那位小姐。她弹钢琴的样子跟她是一模一样——她那鹅蛋形的黄脸一忽儿偏向这边,一忽儿又偏向那边,还不时点点头,打着美妙的拍子!
Then she saw a large purple crocus(crocus n.番红花属,番红花,磨粉)jump into the middle of the table where the playthings stood,go up to the dolls bedstead and draw back the curtains,there lay the sick flowers,but they got up directly,and nodded to the others as a sign that they wished to dance with them.The old rough doll,with the broken mouth,stood up and bowed to the pretty flowers.They did not look ill at all now,but jumped about and were very merry,yet none of them noticed little Ida.
她看到一朵很大的紫色早春花跳到桌子中央来。玩具就放在那上面。他一直走到那个玩偶的床旁边,把床帘向两边拉开。那些生病的花儿正躺在床上,看到他就马上站起来,向别的花儿点着头,表示他们也想参加跳舞。那个年老的扫烟囱的玩偶——它的嘴唇有一个缺口——站了起来,对这些美丽的花儿鞠了个躬。这些花儿一点也不像害病的样子。他们跳下床来,跟其他的花儿混在一起,非常快乐。没有一朵花注意到小爱达。
Presently it seemed as if something fell from the table.Ida looked that way,and saw a slight carnival rod jumping down among the flowers as if it belonged to them.It was,however,very smooth and neat,and a little wax doll with a broad brimmed hat on her head,like the one worn by the lawyer,sat upon it.The carnival rod hopped about among the flowers on its three red stilted feet,and stamped quite loud when it danced the Mazurka,the flowers could not perform this dance,they were too light to stamp in that manner.
这时好像有一件什么东西从桌上落了下来。小爱达朝那儿望去,原来是一根别人送给她过狂欢节的桦木条。他也从桌子上跳了下来,认为自己是这些花儿中的一员。他的样子也是很可爱的。一个小小的蜡人骑在他的身上。蜡人头上戴着一顶宽大的帽子,跟枢密顾问官戴的那顶差不多。这根桦木条迈开三条红腿跳到花群中去,重重地在地板上跺着脚,他是在跳波兰马佐尔加舞。别的花儿就没有办法跳这种舞,因为它们的身体很轻,不能够那样跺脚。
All at once the wax doll which rode on the carnival rod seemed to grow larger and taller,and it turned round and said to the paper flowers,“How can you put such things in a childs head?they are all foolish fancies.”and then the doll was exactly like the lawyer with the broad brimmed hat,and looked as yellow and as cross as he did,but the paper dolls struck him on his thin legs,and he shrunk up again and became quite a little wax doll.This was very amusing,and Ida could not help laughing.The carnival(carnival n.狂欢节,饮宴狂欢)rod went on dancing,and the lawyer was obliged to dance also.It was no use,he might make himself great and tall,or remain a little wax doll with a large black hat,still he must dance.Then at last the other flowers interceded for him,especially those who had lain in the dolls bed,and the carnival rod gave up his dancing.
骑在桦木条上的那个蜡人忽然变得又高又大了。他像一阵旋风似的扑到纸花那儿去。他说:“怎么可以把这样的怪想头灌进一个孩子的脑子里去呢?全是些莫名其妙的幻想!”这蜡人就跟那位戴宽帽子的枢密顾问官一模一样,而且他的那副面孔也像顾问官一样又黄又生气。那些纸花在他的瘦腿上打了一下,他就缩做一团,又变成了一个小小的蜡人。瞧他那副神气倒是蛮有趣的!小爱达忍不住要大笑起来。桦木条继续跳着他的舞,弄得这位枢密顾问官也不得不跳了。现在不管他变得高大也好,瘦小也好,或者仍然是一个戴大黑帽子的黄蜡人也好,完全没有关系。这时一些别的花儿,尤其是曾经在玩偶的床上睡过一阵子的那几朵花儿,对他说了句恭维话,于是那根桦木条也就停下休息了。