黄石理工学院外国语学院09级 李小凤 编译

拇指姑娘

黄石理工学院外国语学院09级 李小凤 编译

Thumbelina

Long long ago,a woman got a tiny daughter.The child was so small that people called her Thumbelina.很久很久以前，有一个妇女生了一个女儿。孩子太小了，人们就把她叫做拇指姑娘。

One day,a rose leaf fell into the water.Thumbelina sat on the leaf and paddled from one side to the other side of the flowerpot.How beautiful itwas!有一天，一片玫瑰花叶子掉在水里。拇指姑娘坐在叶子上，从花盆一边划到另一边。真是美极了！

At night,Thumbelina fell asleep.An old toad climbed in through the window and saw her lying on the rose leaf.Then he ran away,seizing Thumbelina’s rose leaf.晚上，拇指姑娘睡着了。一只年老的癞蛤蟆从窗外爬进来，看见拇指姑娘正躺在玫瑰叶子上面。它抓起拇指姑娘的玫瑰叶子就跑。

As soon as the old toad got home,she said Thumbelina was her son’s wife.The ugly son was filled with joy.癞蛤蟆回到家里告诉儿子，这是他媳妇，她的丑儿子高兴极了。

The nextmorning,Thumbelina woke up.Then the old toad and her son came over.The son croaked happily when he saw Thumbelina.第二天早上，拇指姑娘醒来。这时，年老的癞蛤蟆领着儿子游过来。当儿子看见拇指姑娘时，他高兴地叫了起来。

Thumbelina cried sadly,because she did not want to be the toad’s wife.Hearing the crying,a fish in the river swam to Thumbelina.Then the fish carried the leaf in hermouth to let it flow with the water.拇指姑娘伤心地哭了，她不愿意做小癞蛤蟆的妻子。河里的小鱼听到哭声，游了过来。小鱼用嘴叼着叶子，让叶子顺着河水流走了。

The leaf flowed quickly and went far away.Thumbelina was then caught by a big turtle and was left in a forest.叶子流得很快，越漂越远。后来一只大乌龟抓住了她，把她丢到了森林里。

Beside the forest,a vole lived in a burrow in the field.Thumbelina came to the burrow like a beggar.在森林附近的田间地洞里住着田鼠。拇指姑娘来到洞口，像一个乞丐。

The vole liked Thumbelina verymuch and asked her to spend winter in the burrow.One day,the vole said to Thumbelina：“Ihave amole friend andmarryinghim willbea happy thing.”田鼠很喜欢拇指姑娘，留她在地洞里过冬。一天，田鼠对拇指姑娘说：“我有一个朋友叫鼹鼠，跟它结婚是很幸福的。”

One morning,Thumbelina came outside right after the sunrise.The sunshine was so beautiful.And sowas the field！How could she live in the burrow every day?So she decided that she would nevermarry themole.一天早上，太阳刚刚升起，拇指姑娘来到外面。啊，阳光多美啊！田野多美啊！她怎么能日日夜夜生活在地洞里呢？她决定：绝不和鼹鼠结婚。

Hearing this,the vole was so angry that he threatened to kill Thumbelina if she refused tomarry themole.田鼠听到这个消息，恶狠狠地说如果拇指姑娘不嫁给鼹鼠，它就将咬死她。

Thumbelina was so unlucky. She stretched out her hands in the sun and said,“Farewell,sunlight.”Then a lovely bird came,and Thumbelina asked for her help.拇指姑娘是多么不幸啊！她向太阳伸出双手，悲哀地说：“再见吧，太阳。”这时飞来一只小鸟，拇指姑娘向它求助。

The bird said,“Don’t be sad.Please sit on my back.Let’s fly away.”小鸟说：“不要难过。快到我背上来，让我们飞到很远的地方去吧！”

Thumbelina burst into joy.They flew into the sky,across the forest and the sea and the icymountain.They arrived in a warm country.拇指姑娘高兴极了。他们飞向天空，飞过森林、大海，飞过常年积雪的高山，来到一个温暖的国家。

The bird put Thumbelina in a beautiful white flower.And a tiny man was in it.小鸟把拇指姑娘放在一朵美丽的白花里。一个小男子正坐在里面。

“How handsome he is!”said Thumbelina.Theman happened to be the local prince.He was very happy to see Thumbelina,for he had never seen such a pretty girl.“他多英俊啊！”拇指姑娘说。原来，这男子是当地的王子。看到拇指姑娘，他十分高兴，因为他从未见过这么美丽的姑娘。

“What’s your name?”asked the prince.And Thumbelina answered,“Iwould like to make you the queen of flowers.Would you be my wife?”She answered,“Yes,I do,”王子问：“你叫什么名字？”拇指姑娘回答了。王子又说：“我要让你成为花的皇后，你愿意做我的妻子吗？”拇指姑娘说：“我愿意。”

Then,many tinymen and women came out of the flowers.They all sang and danced to bless the couple.于是，路边的花丛里立刻走出了许许多多小男子和小女子，他们都唱着歌，跳着舞，为王子和拇指姑娘祝福。

The prince gave her a new name Maja.From then on,Maja and the prince lived together happily.王子给她取了一个新名字玛娅。从此，玛娅和王子过着幸福的生活。

在希腊神话里,玛娅(M aja)是顶天的巨神阿特拉斯 (Atlas)和平勒俄涅

(Pleione)所生的七位女儿中最大的一位，也是最美的一位。