我的第二套图书馆My Reading Library：The Inch Prince 译文整理
long ago, in a remote village in China ,there lived an old couple named Mr. and Mrs. Ping.
很久以前，在中国的一个偏远的村庄里，住着一对叫平先生和平太太的老夫妇。
Their home was a tiny house at the foot of a mountain, beside a rushing river.
他们的家是一座山脚下的小房子，在一条湍急的河边。
The Pings loved it .
平一家很喜欢。
Every day. Mr. Ping weeded the beans and the rest of the plants in their vegetable plot.
每一天,平先生给他们菜地里的豆子和其他植物除草。
Meanwhile, Mrs.Ping fed the chickens and all their other animals.
与此同时，平夫人喂鸡和其他动物。
As dusk fell, the couple watered the sweet-smelling flowers in their beautiful garden.
黄昏降临时，这对夫妇在他们美丽的花园里给芳香的花朵浇水。
The Pings had everything they could possibly want...well,almost.
平家有他们想要的一切……嗯，差不多了。
“ I wish we had some children,” sighed Mrs. Ping sadly ,one evening.
“我希望我们能有几个孩子，”一天晚上，平太太伤心地叹了口气。
“ So do I,” said Mr. Ping, “But only a teeny child could fit in our tiny house. We hardly have room for the cat.”
“我也是，”平先生说，“但是只有很小的孩子才能住进我们的小房子。我们几乎没有地方放猫了。”
“ Small things can be special too,” said his wife.
“小事也可以很特别，”他的妻子说。
“Maybe,” said Mr. Ping, “but they’d need to be the smallest child in the world to fit in here.”
“也许吧，”平先生说，“但是他们必须是世界上最小的孩子才能适应这里。”
“ I wouldn't care if they were just one inch tall,” said Mrs. Ping.
平太太说:“就算他们只有一英寸高，我也不在乎。”
At that very moment, a fairly happened to fly past. She overheard what Mr. and Mrs. Ping were saying.
就在那一刻，仙女正好飞过。她无意中听到平先生和平夫人在说什么。
She noticed their healthy, plump vegetables growing away in the sun.
她注意到他们健康饱满的蔬菜在阳光下生长。
Not to mention their contented animals...
更不用说那些心满意足的动物了……
and their enormous blossoming flowers.
和他们巨大的鲜花盛开。
“ These two are obviously very good at looking after everything around them,” thought the fairy.”They deserve to be looked after too.”
“这两个人显然非常善于照料他们周围的一切，”仙女想。“他们也应该得到照顾。”
With that, she hovered over the Ping's tiny house, waved her wand and whispered some magic words.
说完，她在平家的小房子上空盘旋，挥舞着魔杖，低声念了几句咒语。
Jumping beans and flying fish ,Give these folks their dearest wish.
跳豆和飞鱼，给这些人最亲爱的祝福。
Soon afterwards, Mr. and Mrs.Ping became the proud parents of a teeny weeny boy.
不久，平先生和平太太成了一个小男孩的骄傲的父母。
In fact, he was so teeny, he was just one inch tall!
事实上，他是那么的小，他只有一英寸高!
Well, we wanted a small child.
我们想要个小孩。
Isn't he sweet?
他是不是很甜蜜吗?
“Let's name him Issun-boshi,” said Mrs.Ping. “It means one inch boy.”
平夫人说:“我们给他起名叫一寸法师吧。”“它的意思是一英寸的男孩。”
“And we could call him issy,for short,” said her husband. “Um, very short,” he added with a smile.
“简而言之，我们可以叫他伊西，”她的丈夫说。“嗯，很矮，”他笑着补充道。
Time passed quickly for the Pings and their new son. Each year, their vegetables grew more plump .
平一家和他们的新儿子的生活很快就过去了。他们的蔬菜一年比一年丰满。
Their animals grew bigger and fatter.
他们的动物越来越大，越来越胖。
And their flowers grew so tall they almost fell over.
他们的花长得那么高，几乎都要掉下来了。
But Issy never grew any higher than one inch tall.
但伊西从来没有长过一英寸高。
Maybe if I stand on tiptoe...
也许如果我踮起脚尖…
Issy was so tiny,the Pings had to find new uses for everyday objects.
伊西太小了，平夫妇不得不为日常用品寻找新的用途。
A bottle top from Mr. Ping's home-made rice wine became a bathtub.
平先生自制米酒的瓶盖变成了浴缸。
One of the shoelaces from Mrs.Pings walking boots was turned into a scarf.
平太太步行靴上的一条鞋带变成了一条围巾。
A dried pea made a great ball.
一粒干豌豆做了一个很棒的球。
Mrs.Ping's button collection was put to good use as dinner plates.
平夫人收集的纽扣被很好地用作餐盘。
And every night ,Issy curled up to sleep in his little matchbox bed.
每天晚上，伊西都蜷缩在他的小火柴盒床上睡觉。
When he was eighteen years old, it was time for Issy to leave home. “I'll get a job in the city,” he announced confidently.
当他十八岁的时候，是时候让Issy离开家了。“我要在城里找份工作，”他自信地宣布。
His parents gave him three presents for his journey. He had a rice bowl for a boat...
他的父母送给他三件旅行礼物。他有一个盛船的饭碗……
two wooden chopsticks, which made a fine pair of oars...
两根木筷子，做成一对很好的桨……
... and a sword to defend himself-actually Mrs.Ping’ s sharpest needle .
…还有一把用来自卫的剑——实际上是平夫人最锋利的针。
Issy set off on his long journey, down the river...
伊西开始了他漫长的旅程，顺流而下……
between tall mountains ...
在高山之间……
Past sleepy little villages...
经过沉睡的小村庄……
around wild woods...
在野生森林……
And through walled market towns...
穿过有围墙的集镇……
... until he reached the bustling big city.
…直到他到达繁华的大城市。
Issy clambered ashore and scuttled along the crowded streets.
伊西爬上岸，沿着拥挤的街道飞奔而去。
“I’ll ask the emperor for a job,” he thought.
“我要向皇帝请求一份工作，”他想。
“That’s if i don't get squashed first.”
“如果我没有先被压扁的话。”
After dodging hundreds of stomping feet, Issy finally reached the emperors’s enormous palace.
在躲避了几百只跺脚之后，伊西终于来到了皇帝的宫殿。
He strode up to the guards and the gate.
他大步走向警卫和大门。
Issy puffed out his chest. “I'd like a job,”he declared, politely but firmly. The guards looked down and laughed.
伊西挺起胸膛。“我想找份工作，”他礼貌而坚定地说。卫兵们低下头笑了。
“ You’re teeny ,”said one with a chuckle. “What could a pipsqueak like you do?”
“你太小了，”一个人笑着说。“像你这样的小人物能做什么?
“I can run past you for a start,” said Issy.
“我可以先从你身边跑过去，”伊西说。
Hey! Where did he go?
嘿!他去了哪里?
He jumped over the gurad’s foot and darted into the palace before anyone could stop him.
他跳过古拉德的脚，冲进宫殿，没人能阻止他。
In the courtyard, a maid was busy washing her royal clothes.
在院子里，一个女仆正忙着洗她的皇家衣服。
“ I'd like a job,” said Issy.
“我想要一份工作，”伊西说。
“Hee hee , you’re weeny,” chuckled the maid. “What can you do?”
“嘻嘻，你真小，”女仆笑道。“你能做什么?”
“I can run past you for a start,”Issy replied.
“我可以先从你身边跑过去。”
Hey! Where did he go?
嘿!他去了哪里?
He jumped over the maid’s soap and sprinted into the palace kitchen.
他跳过女仆的肥皂，冲进了王宫的厨房。
A cook was preparing the royal dinner. “I’d like a job,”said Issy.
一位厨师正在准备皇家晚宴。“我想要一份工作，”伊西说。
Ha! snorted the cook ,as he stirred a pot of squelchy cabbage.
哈!厨师哼了一声，一边搅拌着一锅松软的卷心菜。
“You’re tiny. What can you do?”
“你很小。你能做什么?”
“I can run past you for a start,” answered Issy with a grin.
“我可以先从你身边跑过去，”伊西笑着回答。
Hey!Where did he go?
嘿!他去了哪里?
He swerved around the cook’s oven and dashed into the next room.
他绕过厨师的烤箱，冲进隔壁房间。
Issy gasped? He’d arrived in the throne room. He bowed respectfully to the emperor and the princess.
伊西转深吸一口气?他已经到了王宫。他恭敬地向皇帝和公主鞠了一躬。
“ I'd like a job, please,” said Issy.
“我想找份工作，”伊西说。
“ Would you, now ?”said the emperor. “He’s teeny-weeny,Daddy,” said Princess Chi-Chi.“What can he do?”
“你愿意吗?”皇帝说。琦琦公主说:“爸爸，他还很小。”“他能做什么?”
“ Well, i ran past your guard, your maid and your cook to get here,”said Issy proudly .“They couldn't stop me.”
“好吧，我跑过你的警卫，你的女仆和你的厨师来到这里，”伊茜骄傲地说，“他们阻止不了我。”
The emperor thought for a moment. “You can look after Princess Chi-Chi,” he said. “She needs a bodyguard.”
皇帝想了一会儿。“你可以照顾琦琦公主，”他说。“她需要保镖。”
“But Daddy,” moaned the princess. “How could he defend me? He's only one inch tall.”
“可是爸爸，”公主呻吟着说。“他怎么能为我辩护呢?”他只有一英寸高。”
“Small things can be special too,”said the emperor wisely.“You’re hired.”
“小事也可以很特别，”皇帝明智地说。“你被聘用了。”
“ Thank you. Your Majesty, “said Issy.
“谢谢。陛下，”伊西说。
From then on, Issy never left the princess’s side. He was there in the morning.
从那以后，伊西再也没有离开过公主的身边。他早上在那儿。
He was there in the afternoon.
他下午在那里。
He was even there all night.
他甚至整晚都在那里。
One day ,the princess left the palace to visit her aunt, for beyond the city .As usual, Issy was right by her side.
有一天，公主离开宫殿去拜访她的姑妈，因为在城市的另一边，像往常一样，伊西就在她身边。
After many miles, they came to a dark forest. “I’m s...scared,” said Princess Chi-Chi.
走了许多英里之后，他们来到了一片黑暗的森林。“我……琦琦公主说。
“I'll look after you,” said Issy.“What could you do?” quivered the princess.
“我会照顾你的，”伊西说。“你能怎么办呢?”公主颤抖着说。
Just then,a terrifying roar echoed around the wood.
就在这时，一声可怕的吼声在树林里回荡。
A giant ogre crashed through the trees. He reached out to grab the princess.
一个巨大的食人魔撞穿了树林。他伸手去抓公主。
“ Put her down!” shouted Issy with all his might. “Or I’ll...” “You ?”grunted the ogre. “What could you do?”
“把她放下来!”伊西用尽力气喊道。“要不我就……“你?”“你能怎么办?”
With that, the ogre scooped up Issy.“Mmm ,I love bite-sized snacks.” he said and popped Issy in his mouth .
说完，食人魔把伊西抱了起来。“嗯，我喜欢一口大小的零食。他说着把伊茜塞进了嘴里。
Issy thought quickly. He took his needle-sword and picked the ogre’s tongue. The ogre let out an ear-spitting howl.
伊西头脑转的很快。他拿起针刀，把食人魔的舌头砍了下来。食人魔发出一声刺耳的嚎叫。
OOOOWWWWW!The ogre spat out Issy and ran off into the woods. “That’ll teach him ,”cried the tiny bodyguard. “Thank you, Issy.” said the princess. “You saved my life.”
OOOOWWWWW !怪物吐了一口唾沫，跑进了树林。“那就教训教训他吧，”矮小的保镖叫道。“谢谢你,伊西。”公爵小姐说。“你救了我的命。”
“Hey, look!” said Issy. “The ogre left his hammer behind .”
“嘿,瞧!”伊西转说。“食人魔把他的锤子落在后面了。”
“The legends say that an orge’s hammer is magic,” said the princess excitedly. She tried to pick up the massive tool, but it was far too heavy.
“传说兽人的锤子是有魔力的。”公主兴奋地说。她试图拿起那件笨重的工具，但它太重了。
“I wish you were bigger, Issy ,” she puffed. “Then maybe you could lift it .”
“我希望你再大一点，伊西，”她喘着气说。“那么也许你能把它举起来。”
Instantly,a cloud of magical stars shot out of the hammer and swept around Issy . “W...what’s going on?”he cried.
立刻，一团神奇的星星从锤子里射了出来，扫过了伊西。“…发生什么事了?”他哭了。
Issy felt something strange happening. His arms seemed to be getting longer, and his legs, in fact his whole body was getting bigger...
伊西感到有些奇怪的事情发生了。他的胳膊似乎变长了，他的腿，事实上，他的整个身体都变大了……
and bigger... and bigger...
更大的……更大的……
Seconds later, he found himself standing shoulder to shoulder with the princess for the very first time.
几秒钟后，他发现自己第一次和公主肩并肩地站在一起。
“ I’m as tall as you !”cried Issy . “The hammer must have granted your wish.”
“我和你一样高!”“铁锤一定满足了你的愿望。”
The princess fell in love with Issy, but not because he was tall. She loved him because he was brave.
公主爱上了伊西，但并不是因为他长得高。她爱他是因为他勇敢。
It wasn't long before they got married and lived in a house next to the palace.
不久他们就结婚了，住在宫殿旁边的一所房子里。
The house was small, but Prince Issy and Princess Chi-Chi were very happy.
房子很小，但是伊西王子和琦琦公主非常高兴。
They both knew that small things can be special too.
他们都知道小事也可以很特别。
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