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CHAPTER V Advice from a Caterpillar
第五章 毛毛虫的建议
She stretched herself up on tiptoe, and peeped over the edge of the mushroom, and her eyes immediately met those of a large caterpillar, that was sitting on the top with its arms folded, quietly smoking a long hookah, and taking not the smallest notice of her or of anything else.
她踮起脚尖向上伸展自己，然后越过蘑菇边缘窥视，然而她的眼睛即刻与一只那样的大毛毛虫相遇了，它正坐在顶端并且它的双臂交叉，静静地吸着一杆长水烟袋，而且没有一丁点注意到她或别的任何事情。
The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.
毛毛虫和爱丽丝彼此默默地看了一些时间：最后毛毛虫从嘴里拿出水烟，然后用懒洋洋、慢吞吞的嗓音招呼她。
‘Who are YOU?' said the Caterpillar.
“你是谁？”毛毛虫说。
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I—I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'
这不是一个鼓励性的开场白对于交谈来说。爱丽丝回答道，相当地腼腆，“我——我几乎不知道，先生，就在目前——至少我知道当我今天早晨起床时我是谁，但是我认为我一定是变化了几次自从那时起。”
‘What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar sternly. 'Explain yourself!'
“你那样说是什么意思？”毛毛虫严肃地说。“解释你自己！”
‘I can't explain MYSELF, I'm afraid, sir' said Alice, 'because I'm not myself, you see.'
“我不能解释我自己，我恐怕，先生，”爱丽丝说，“因为我已经不是我自己了，你明白。”
‘I don't see,' said the Caterpillar.
“我不明白，”毛毛虫说。
‘I'm afraid I can't put it more clearly,' Alice replied very politely, 'for I can't understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing.'‘It isn't,' said the Caterpillar.
“恐怕我不能解释得更清楚了，”爱丽丝非常礼貌地回答，“因为我不明白自己是怎么开始的；而且在一天内变成如此许多不同的大小是非常令人困惑的。”“不是这样的，”毛毛虫说。
‘Well, perhaps you haven't found it so yet,' said Alice; 'but when you have to turn into a chrysalis—you will some day, you know—and then after that into a butterfly, I should think you'll feel it a little queer, won't you?'
“好吧，也许你还没发现，”爱丽丝说；“但是当你不得不变成一个蛹——你会的某天，你知道——然后蛹变成蝴蝶之后，我认为你会觉得它一点奇怪的，不是吗？”
‘Not a bit,' said the Caterpillar.
“一点也不。”毛毛虫说。
‘Well, perhaps your feelings may be different,' said Alice; 'all I know is, it would feel very queer to ME.'
“好吧，也许你的感觉可能是不同的，”爱丽丝说；“我所知道的是，这感觉非常奇怪对于我。”
‘You!' said the Caterpillar contemptuously. 'Who are YOU?'
“你！”毛毛虫轻蔑地说。“你是谁？”
Which brought them back again to the beginning of the conversation. Alice felt a little irritated at the Caterpillar's making such VERY short remarks, and she drew herself up and said, very gravely, 'I think, you ought to tell me who YOU are, first.'
这句话又把他们带回了对话的开始。爱丽丝感觉一点恼怒对于毛毛虫的那些非常简短的发言，然后她正正容并且非常严肃地说，“我认为你应该告诉我你是谁，首先。”
'Why?' said the Caterpillar.
“为什么？”毛毛虫说。
Here was another puzzling question; and as Alice could not think of any good reason, and as the Caterpillar seemed to be in a VERY unpleasant state of mind, she turned away.
这是另一个疑难问题；然而由于爱丽丝想不出任何好理由，并且由于毛毛虫似乎处于一种非常不高兴的心境，她转身走了。
‘Come back!' the Caterpillar called after her. 'I've something important to say!'
“回来！”毛毛虫在她身后叫道，“我有些重要的事要说！”
This sounded promising, certainly: Alice turned and came back again.
这话听上去有希望的，当然：爱丽丝转身并且又回来了。
‘Keep your temper,' said the Caterpillar.
“控制自己的脾气（或译作：别发火），”毛毛虫说，
‘Is that all?' said Alice, swallowing down her anger as well as she could.
“就这些吗？”爱丽丝说，咽下她的怒气并尽她所能地。
‘No,' said the Caterpillar.
“不。”毛毛虫说。
Alice thought she might as well wait, as she had nothing else to do, and perhaps after all it might tell her something worth hearing. For some minutes it puffed away without speaking, but at last it unfolded its arms, took the hookah out of its mouth again, and said, 'So you think you're changed, do you?'
爱丽丝想她不妨等，因为她也别有别的事去做，并且也许最后它可能告诉她一些值得倾听的。有好几分钟毛毛虫喷烟没有说话，但是最后它展开它的胳膊，又从它的嘴里拿出水烟，然后说，“所以你认为你已经变了，是吗？”
‘I'm afraid I am, sir,' said Alice; 'I can't remember things as I used—and I don't keep the same size for ten minutes together!'
“我恐怕我是的，先生，”爱丽丝说；“我不记得我过的事——而且我无法不间断地保持同一身高达十分钟！”
‘Can't remember WHAT things?' said the Caterpillar.
“你不能记住什么事情？”毛毛虫说。
‘Well, I've tried to say "HOW DOTH THE LITTLE BUSY BEE," but it all came different!' Alice replied in a very melancholy voice.
“好吧，我试着背诵《小小的勤劳蜜蜂多么能干》，可是背出来的完全不一样！”爱丽丝回答用非常忧郁的嗓音。
‘Repeat, "YOU ARE OLD, FATHER WILLIAM,"' said the Caterpillar.
“背诵《你老了，威廉爸爸》”毛毛虫说。
Alice folded her hands, and began:—
爱丽丝交叉双手，然后开始：——
‘You are old, Father William,' the young man said,
“‘你老啦，威廉爸爸，’年轻人说，
‘And your hair has become very white;
‘而且你的头发变得非常白；
And yet you incessantly stand on your head—
但是你还不停地头朝下倒立——
Do you think, at your age, it is right?'
你认为，在你这个年纪，这样是正确的吗？’
‘In my youth,' Father William replied to his son,
‘在我年轻的时，’威廉爸爸回答他的儿子，
‘I feared it might injure the brain;
‘我怕这样可能损伤大脑；
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
但是，现在我非常肯定我已经完全不行，
Why, I do it again and again.'
所以，我一遍又一遍地做，’
‘You are old,' said the youth, 'as I mentioned before,
‘你老啦，’年轻人说：‘正如我以前提及的，
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
而且已经长出不同寻常的脂肪（或译作：而且已经长得非常胖）；
Yet you turned a back–somersault in at the door—
你还转身一个后空翻进了门——
Pray, what is the reason of that?'
普雷，那是什么原因。’
‘In my youth,' said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
‘在我年轻时，’智者说，当他晃动着灰白的头发，
‘I kept all my limbs very supple
‘我保持我的四肢非常柔软，
By the use of this ointment—one shilling the box—
通过这种药膏的使用——一先令一盒——
Allow me to sell you a couple?'
允许我卖你两盒？’
'You are old,' said the youth, 'and your jaws are too weak
‘你老啦，’年轻人说，‘而且你的下颌太脆弱’
For anything tougher than suet;
‘因为随便哪个东西都比板油坚韧，
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak—
你仍然吃完了整只鹅，带着骨头和嘴喙，
Pray how did you manage to do it?'
普雷，你是怎么设法做到的？’
'In my youth,' said his father, 'I took to the law,
‘当我年轻时，’爸爸说，我喜欢法律。
And argued each case with my wife;
而且辩论每个案子与我妻子，
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
因此它给了我的下颌，肌肉发达的力量，
Has lasted the rest of my life.'
已经持续了我的余生。’
'You are old,' said the youth, 'one would hardly suppose
‘你老啦，’年轻人说，‘几乎没人想象
That your eye was as steady as ever;
你的眼睛跟从前一样平稳；
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose—
你还能平衡一条鳗鱼于鼻子尖上。
What made you so awfully clever?'
什么使你如此非常地聪明？’
‘I have answered three questions, and that is enough,'
“‘我已经回答了三个问题，所以已经足够啦，’
Said his father; 'don't give yourself airs!
他的爸爸说，’别摆架子（或译作：不要神气）！
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
你认为我能整天听这样的事情？
Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!'
走吧，或者我踢你下楼梯。’
‘That is not said right,' said the Caterpillar.
“那背诵不正确。”毛毛虫说。
‘Not QUITE right, I'm afraid,' said Alice, timidly; 'some of the words have got altered.'
“不十分正确，我恐怕，”爱丽丝羞怯地说，“有些句子改变了。”
‘It is wrong from beginning to end,' said the Caterpillar decidedly, and there was silence for some minutes.
“从开头到结尾都是错的，”毛毛虫果断地说，接着是几分钟的沉默。
The Caterpillar was the first to speak.
毛毛虫首先开口道。
‘What size do you want to be?' it asked.
“你想变成多大号？”它问。
‘Oh, I'm not particular as to size,' Alice hastily replied; 'only one doesn't like changing so often, you know.'
“噢！我不挑剔对于大小，”爱丽丝急忙回答；“唯一不喜欢如此频繁地变化，你知道。”
‘I DON'T know,' said the Caterpillar.
“我不知道，”毛毛虫说。
Alice said nothing: she had never been so much contradicted in her life before, and she felt that she was losing her temper.
爱丽丝不说话了：在她之前的生活中，她从未遭受如此多的反驳，而且她感觉她正在失去她的脾气（或译作：而且她感觉她要发脾气了）。
‘Are you content now?' said the Caterpillar.
“你现在满意吗？”毛毛虫说。
‘Well, I should like to be a LITTLE larger, sir, if you wouldn't mind,' said Alice: 'three inches is such a wretched height to be.'
“好吧，我想要再大一点，先生，如果你不介意，”爱丽丝说，“三英寸是如此一个可怜的高度。”
‘It is a very good height indeed!' said the Caterpillar angrily, rearing itself upright as it spoke (it was exactly three inches high).
“它确实是一个非常合适的高度！”毛毛虫生气地说，垂直挺直自己的身体在它说话时（毛毛虫正是三英寸高）。
‘But I'm not used to it!' pleaded poor Alice in a piteous tone. And she thought of herself, 'I wish the creatures wouldn't be so easily offended!'
“但是我还不习惯！”可怜的爱丽丝用乞怜的语调恳求道。然后她心想，“我希望这生物不会那么容易生气！”
‘You'll get used to it in time,' said the Caterpillar; and it put the hookah into its mouth and began smoking again.
“迟早你会习惯的，”毛毛虫说；然后它把水烟放进它的嘴里并且开始又抽烟。
This time Alice waited patiently until it chose to speak again. In a minute or two the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away in the grass, merely remarking as it went, 'One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter .'
这次爱丽丝耐心等待直到毛毛虫选择再次发言。在一两分钟内，毛毛虫从嘴里拿出水烟，然后打了一两次哈欠，接着摇晃了下自己的身体。然后它离开蘑菇下来，并且爬走在草地上，当它爬时只是陈述道，“一边会使你长高点，而另一边会使你长矮点。”
‘One side of WHAT? The other side of WHAT?' thought Alice to herself.
“什么一边？什么另一边？”爱丽丝心想。
‘Of the mushroom,' said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud; and in another moment it was out of sight.
“蘑菇的，”毛毛虫说，恰如爱丽丝大声问过它似的；然后，转眼就淡出视线了。
Alice remained looking thoughtfully at the mushroom for a minute, trying to make out which were the two sides of it; and as it was perfectly round, she found this a very difficult question. However, at last she stretched her arms round it as far as they would go, and broke off a bit of the edge with each hand.
爱丽丝一直若有所思地看着蘑菇有一分钟，试图分辨出哪儿是蘑菇的两边；然而由于蘑菇是完美的圆形，她发现这是个非常困难的问题；不管怎样，最后，她展开双臂环抱蘑菇并尽可能伸远，然后每只手撕下少许一点蘑菇边。
‘And now which is which?' she said to herself, and nibbled a little of the right–hand bit to try the effect: the next moment she felt a violent blow underneath her chin: it had struck her foot!
“但是现在哪边是哪边呢？”她对自己说，然后啃了一点右手片以试试效果：瞬间她感觉猛烈一击在下巴下面：下巴撞击了她的脚。
She was a good deal frightened by this very sudden change, but she felt that there was no time to be lost, as she was shrinking rapidly; so she set to work at once to eat some of the other bit. Her chin was pressed so closely against her foot, that there was hardly room to open her mouth; but she did it at last, and managed to swallow a morsel of the left hand bit.
她好害怕由于突如其来的变化，但是她感觉没有时间被浪费，因为她正在迅速收缩；所以她马上开始着手去吃另一片的一些。她的下巴紧紧抵压住她的脚，以至于很难有空间张开她的嘴；但是她做到了最后，并且设法吞下一小块左手片。
‘Come, my head's free at last!' said Alice in a tone of delight, which changed into alarm in another moment, when she found that her shoulders were nowhere to be found: all she could see, when she looked down, was an immense length of neck, which seemed to rise like a stalk out of a sea of green leaves that lay far below her.
“来吧，我的脑袋终于自由了！”爱丽丝用欣喜的语调说，欣喜变成了惊恐转眼间，当她发现她的肩膀无处可寻时：她能看见一切，当她向下看时，是一个巨大长度的脖子，似乎像花梗从远远躺在她下面的一片绿叶海洋中伸出。
‘What CAN all that green stuff be?' said Alice. 'And where HAVE my shoulders got to? And oh, my poor hands, how is it I can't see you?' She was moving them about as she spoke, but no result seemed to follow, except a little shaking among the distant green leaves.
“所有那些绿色东西能是什么呢？”爱丽丝说。“而我的肩膀到哪儿去了呢？还有噢，我可怜的双手，我怎么不能看到你们了呢？”她四处活动双手当她说话时，但是效果似乎没有随之而现，除了有一点晃动在遥远的绿叶间外。
As there seemed to be no chance of getting her hands up to her head, she tried to get her head down to them, and was delighted to find that her neck would bend about easily in any direction, like a serpent. She had just succeeded in curving it down into a graceful zigzag, and was going to dive in among the leaves, which she found to be nothing but the tops of the trees under which she had been wandering, when a sharp hiss made her draw back in a hurry: a large pigeon had flown into her face, and was beating her violently with its wings.
由于似乎没有把她的手放在她的头上的机会，她试着把她的头低下靠近手，然后高兴地发现她的脖子能向任何方向弯曲，像一条蛇。她刚刚成功弯曲脖子向下成一个优雅的“z”字形，并准备潜进叶子之中，她发现的这片叶子什么都不是，除了是树顶她曾在其下漫游过之外，不料一阵尖厉的嘶嘶声使她的头急忙缩回：一只大鸽子飞到了她脸上，并正用它的翅膀剧烈地拍打她的脸。
‘Serpent!' screamed the Pigeon.
“蛇！”鸽子尖叫。
‘I'm NOT a serpent!' said Alice indignantly. 'Let me alone!'
“我不是一条蛇！”爱丽丝愤怒地说。“让我一个人呆着！”
‘Serpent, I say again!' repeated the Pigeon, but in a more subdued tone, and added with a kind of sob, 'I've tried every way, and nothing seems to suit them!'
“蛇，我再说一遍！”鸽子重复道，但是用非常柔和语调，并且带着一种呜咽补充道，“我已经试过各种方法了，然而似乎没有什么适合它们！”
‘I haven't the least idea what you're talking about,' said Alice.
“我一点也不知道你在说什么，”爱丽丝说。
‘I've tried the roots of trees, and I've tried banks, and I've tried hedges,' the Pigeon went on, without attending to her; 'but those serpents! There's no pleasing them!'
“我已经试过了树的根，还有我试过了河岸，还有我试过了篱笆，”鸽子继续道，没有注意她；“但是那些蛇！没法取悦它们！”
Alice was more and more puzzled, but she thought there was no use in saying anything more till the Pigeon had finished.
爱丽丝越来越困惑，但是她想她再多说什么是没有用的直到鸽子说完为止。
‘As if it wasn't trouble enough hatching the eggs,' said the Pigeon; 'but I must be on the look–out for serpents night and day! Why, I haven't had a wink of sleep these three weeks!'
“”
“好像孵蛋不够麻烦似的，”鸽子说，“但是我必须当心那些蛇日日夜夜晚！唉，我没合过眼这三个星期！”
‘I'm very sorry you've been annoyed,' said Alice, who was beginning to see its meaning.
“我很抱歉对你的烦恼，”爱丽丝说，她开始明白鸽子的意思了。
‘And just as I'd taken the highest tree in the wood,' continued the Pigeon, raising its voice to a shriek, 'and just as I was thinking I should be free of them at last, they must needs come wriggling down from the sky! Ugh, Serpent!'
“然而刚当我搬到森林中最高的树上，”鸽子继续说，提高它的嗓音成尖叫，“并且刚当我正认为我应该已经甩掉它们了最后，它们偏要蠕动下来从天上！啊，蛇！”
‘But I'm NOT a serpent, I tell you!' said Alice. 'I'm a—I'm a—'
“但是我不是一条蛇，我告诉你！”爱丽丝说。“我是一个——我是一个——”
‘Well! WHAT are you?' said the Pigeon. 'I can see you're trying to invent something!'
“好吧，你是什么呢？”鸽子说。“我能看出你正试图虚构什么！”
‘I—I'm a little girl,' said Alice, rather doubtfully, as she remembered the number of changes she had gone through that day.
“我——我是个小女孩，”爱丽丝说，相当含糊，因为她记起她经历的那天变化的数目。
‘A likely story indeed!' said the Pigeon in a tone of the deepest contempt. 'I've seen a good many little girls in my time, but never ONE with such a neck as that! No, no! You're a serpent; and there's no use denying it. I suppose you'll be telling me next that you never tasted an egg!'
“确实是一个乱真的故事（或译作：确实说的好像煞有介事）！”鸽子用非常轻蔑的语调说，“我这辈子见过很多小女孩，但从来没有一个有着像那样的如此长脖子！没有，没有！你是一条蛇；而且否认是没用的。我猜接下来你会告诉我你从来没吃过一个蛋吧！”
‘I HAVE tasted eggs, certainly,' said Alice, who was a very truthful child; 'but little girls eat eggs quite as much as serpents do, you know.'
“我吃过蛋，当然，”爱丽丝说，她是个非常诚实的孩子；“但是小姑娘吃蛋像蛇一样，你知道。”
‘I don't believe it,' said the Pigeon; 'but if they do, why then they're a kind of serpent, that's all I can say.'
“我不相信这些，”鸽子说；“但是如果小女孩吃蛋，那么她们是一种蛇，我能说的就那些。”
This was such a new idea to Alice, that she was quite silent for a minute or two, which gave the Pigeon the opportunity of adding, 'You're looking for eggs, I know THAT well enough; and what does it matter to me whether you're a little girl or a serpent?'
对于爱丽丝这是个如此新的想法，以至她沉默了一两分钟，给了鸽子补充的机会，“你正在找蛋，我知道得很清楚；然而有什么关系呢对于我，无论你是一个小女孩或是一条蛇？”
‘It matters a good deal to ME,' said Alice hastily; 'but I'm not looking for eggs, as it happens; and if I was, I shouldn't want YOURS: I don't like them raw.'
“有很大关系对于我，”爱丽丝匆忙说道；“但是我没在找蛋，碰巧；而且如果我是蛇，我还不要你的蛋：我不喜欢未烹制的蛋。”
‘Well, be off, then!' said the Pigeon in a sulky tone, as it settled down again into its nest. Alice crouched down among the trees as well as she could, for her neck kept getting entangled among the branches, and every now and then she had to stop and untwist it. After a while she remembered that she still held the pieces of mushroom in her hands, and she set to work very carefully, nibbling first at one and then at the other, and growing sometimes taller and sometimes shorter, until she had succeeded in bringing herself down to her usual height.
“好吧，滚蛋，那么！”鸽子用愠怒的语调说，然后又平静下来进入它的窝。爱丽丝尽她全力蹲伏下来在树林之间，因为她的脖子一直纠缠在树枝中，以至不时地她不得不停下来，然后解开脖子。过了一会，她记起她还抓着蘑菇碎片在她的手里，于是她非常小心地开始认真干起来，先啃一块，然后另一块，于是有时长高些而有时缩小些，直到她成功地把自己带到她的正常高度。
It was so long since she had been anything near the right size, that it felt quite strange at first; but she got used to it in a few minutes, and began talking to herself, as usual. `Come, there's half my plan done now! How puzzling all these changes are! I'm never sure what I'm going to be, from one minute to another! However, I've got back to my right size: the next thing is, to get into that beautiful garden--how IS that to be done, I wonder?' As she said this, she came suddenly upon an open place, with a little house in it about four feet high. `Whoever lives there,' thought Alice, `it'll never do to come upon them THIS size: why, I should frighten them out of their wits!' So she began nibbling at the righthand bit again, and did not venture to go near the house till she had brought herself down to nine inches high.
自从她成为随便什么东西已经很久了，接近正常大小以致起初感觉十分陌生；但是在几分钟内她已经习惯了，然后开始对自己说，像往常一样。“来吧，我的计划完成一半了现在！这些变化是多么令人费解！我永不确定我将会是什么，从这一分钟到另一分钟！然而，我已经变回来了我的正常身高：接下来的事情是，进入到那个漂亮的花园——那如何完成，我想知道？”当她说这些时，她突然来到一个开阔的地方，里面有着一幢小房子大约四英尺高。“究竟是谁住在哪儿，”爱丽丝想，“永远不要来到他们面前以这样的大小：因为，我会吓着他们失去理智的！”于是她又开始啃食右手片，而没有冒险去到小房子附近直到她把自己降低到九英寸高。
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