Boots and His Brothers

Once on a time there was a man who had three sons, Peter, Paul, and John. John was Boots, of course, because he was the youngest. I can’t say the man had anything more than these three sons, for he hadn’t one penny to rub against another; and so he told his sons over and over again they must go out into the world and try to earn their bread, for there at home there was nothing to be looked for but starving to death.

从前有个人，生了三个儿子，彼得、保罗和约翰。约翰当然就是“靴子”，因为他年纪最小。我不能说这个人除了这三个儿子之外还有什么别的家产，因为他连一分钱都拿不出第二分来对付；所以他一次又一次地对儿子们说，他们必须出门到世上去，想办法自己挣饭吃，因为家里除了活活饿死，什么也指望不上。

Now, a bit off the man’s cottage was the king’s palace, and you must know, just against the king’s windows a great oak had sprung up, which was so stout and big that it took away all the light from the king’s palace. The King had said he would give many, many dollars to the man who could fell the oak, but no one was man enough for that, for as soon as ever one chip of the oak’s trunk flew off, two grew in its stead.

这个人的小屋不远处，便是国王的宫殿；你要知道，正对着国王窗户的地方长起了一棵大橡树，粗壮无比，把国王宫殿里的光线全都挡住了。国王说过，谁要是能砍倒这棵橡树，他愿意给谁很多很多的钱，可是没有一个人能办得到，因为橡树的树干上刚被砍下一片木屑，立刻就会长出两片来顶替。

A well, too, the King had dug, which was to hold water for the whole year; for all his neighbours had wells, but he hadn’t any, and that he thought a shame. So the King said he would give any one who could dig him such a well as would hold water for a whole year round, both money and goods; but no one could do it, for the King’s palace lay high, high up on a hill, and they hadn’t dug a few inches before they came upon the living rock.

国王还挖了一口井，想用来存一整年的水；因为他所有的邻居都有井，唯独他没有，他觉得这实在丢脸。于是国王说，谁要是能给他挖出一口能存一整年水的井，他愿意给他钱财和货物；可是没有人能办到，因为国王的宫殿建在一座高高的山上，他们才挖下几寸，就碰到了坚硬的岩石。

But as the King had set his heart on having these two things done, he had it given out far and wide, in all the churches of his kingdom, that he who could fell the big oak in the king’s court-yard, and get him a well that would hold water the whole year round, should have the Princess and half the kingdom. Well! you may easily know there was many a man who came to try his luck; but for all their hacking and hewing, and all their digging and delving, it was no good. The oak got bigger and stouter at every stroke, and the rock didn’t get softer either.

不过，国王一心想把这两件事都办成，便派人在全国各地的教堂里传告，说谁要是能砍倒国王院子里的那棵大橡树，又能给他挖出一口能存一整年水的井，就能娶到公主，还能分得半个王国。好家伙！你自然可以想见，前来碰运气的人可不少；可任凭他们怎么砍怎么劈、怎么挖怎么掘，都是白费力气。橡树每砍一斧就长得更粗更壮，岩石也丝毫没有变软。

So one day those three brothers thought they’d set off and try too, and their father hadn’t a word against it; for even if they didn’t get the Princess and half the kingdom, it might happen they might get a place somewhere with a good master; and that was all he wanted. So when the brothers said they thought of going to the palace, their father said “yes” at once. So Peter, Paul, and Jack went off from their home.

于是有一天，这三个兄弟也想动身去试一试，他们的父亲也没有半句反对；因为就算他们得不到公主和半个王国，说不定也能在哪儿谋个好主人手下的差事，而这正是他想要的。所以兄弟们说打算去宫殿的时候，父亲立刻就答应了。于是彼得、保罗和杰克便从家里出发了。

Well! they hadn’t gone far before they came to a fir wood, and up along one side of it rose a steep hill-side, and as they went, they heard something hewing and hacking away up on the hill among the trees.

好了！他们没走多远，就来到了一片枞树林，林子一侧是一道陡峭的山坡，他们走着走着，忽然听见山上树林间传来砍砍劈劈的声音。

“I wonder now what it is that is hewing away up yonder?” said Jack.

“我倒想知道，那上面到底是什么在砍东西呢？”杰克说。

“You’re always so clever with your wonderings”, said Peter and Paul both at once. “What wonder is it, pray, that a woodcutter should stand and hack up on a hill-side?”

“你老是这么爱瞎猜。”彼得和保罗异口同声地说，“一个樵夫站在山坡上砍东西，有什么好稀奇的？”

“Still, I’d like to see what it is, after all”, said Jack; and up he went.

“不管怎样，我还是想去看看那到底是什么。”杰克说着便爬了上去。

“Oh, if you’re such a child, ’twill do you good to go and take a lesson”, bawled out his brothers after him.

“哦，你要是这么孩子气，去上一课也好。”他的哥哥们在后面冲他喊道。

But Jack didn’t care for what they said; he climbed the steep hill-side towards where the noise came, and when he reached the place, what do you think he saw? why, an axe that stood there hacking and hewing, all of itself, at the trunk of a fir.

可杰克才不管他们说什么；他爬上那陡峭的山坡，朝着声音传来的地方走去，等他到了地方，你猜他看见了什么？原来是一把斧头，自己立在那里砍砍劈劈，砍着一棵枞树的树干。

“Good day!” said Jack. “So you stand here all alone and hew, do you?”

“你好！”杰克说，“这么说你就一个人站在这儿砍东西了？”

“Yes; here I’ve stood and hewed and hacked a long long time, waiting for you”, said the Axe.

“是啊；我在这儿砍了、劈了好久好久了，一直在等你来。”斧头说。

“Well, here I am at last”, said Jack, as he took the axe, pulled it off its haft, and stuffed both head and haft into his wallet.

“好吧，我这不是来了嘛。”杰克说着便拿起斧头，把斧头从柄上拔下来，连斧头带柄一起塞进了自己的包袱里。

So when he got down again to his brothers, they began to jeer and laugh at him.

于是他下山回到兄弟们那儿的时候，他们又开始嘲笑他、取笑他。

“And now, what funny thing was it you saw up yonder on the hill-side?” they said.

“那你倒说说，你在山上看见的那件有趣的东西到底是什么？”他们说。

“Oh, it was only an axe we heard”, said Jack.

“哦，不过是把斧头，我们听见的就是它。”杰克说。

So when they had gone a bit farther, they came under a steep spur of rock, and up there they heard something digging and shovelling.

于是他们又往前走了一段，来到一处陡峭的岩壁下面，又听见上面传来挖土、铲土的声音。

“I wonder now,” said Jack, “what it is digging and shovelling up yonder at the top of the rock.”

“我倒想知道，”杰克说，“那岩壁顶上到底是什么在挖呀铲呀的。”

“Ah, you’re always so clever with your wonderings”, said Peter and Paul again, “as if you’d never heard a woodpecker hacking and pecking at a hollow tree.”

“唉，你就是这么爱瞎猜。”彼得和保罗又说道，“好像你从没听过啄木鸟在空心树上啄来啄去似的。”

“Well, well”, said Jack, “I think it would be a piece of fun just to see what it really is.”

“好吧，好吧。”杰克说，“我觉得去看看那到底是什么，倒挺有意思的。”

And so off he set to climb the rock, while the others laughed and made game of him. But he didn’t care a bit for that; up he clomb, and when he got near the top, what do you think he saw? Why, a spade that stood there digging and delving.

于是他便动身去爬那岩壁，另外两人一边笑一边取笑他。可他一点也不在乎；他爬呀爬，等快爬到顶上时，你猜他看见了什么？原来是一把铁锹，自己立在那里挖呀铲呀。

“Good day!” said Jack. “So you stand here all alone, and dig and delve!”

“你好！”杰克说，“这么说你就一个人站在这儿挖土铲土了？”

“Yes, that’s what I do”, said the Spade, “and that’s what I’ve done this many a long day, waiting for you.”

“是啊，我就是干这个的。”铁锹说，“这么多年来我一直这样，一直在等你来。”

“Well, here I am”, said Jack again, as he took the spade and knocked it off its handle, and put it into his wallet, and then down again to his brothers.

“好吧，我这不是来了。”杰克又说了一遍，便拿起铁锹，把铁锹从柄上敲下来，放进了自己的包袱里，然后又下山回到兄弟们那儿。

“Well, what was it, so rare and strange”, said Peter and Paul, “that you saw up there at the top of the rock?”

“那么，你在岩壁顶上看见的那个稀罕玩意儿到底是什么？”彼得和保罗说。

“Oh,”, said Jack, “nothing more than a spade; that was what we heard.”

“哦，”杰克说，“不过是把铁锹罢了，那就是我们听见的东西。”

So they went on again a good bit, till they came to a brook. They were thirsty, all three, after their long walk, and so they lay down beside the brook to have a drink.

于是他们又走了好一段路，来到一条小溪边。走了这么长的路，三个人都渴了，便躺在溪边喝水。

“I wonder now”, said Jack, “where all this water comes from.”

“我倒想知道，”杰克说，“这水到底是从哪儿来的。”

“I wonder if you’re right in your head”, said Peter and Paul, in one breath. “If you’re not mad already, you’ll go mad very soon, with your wonderings. Where the brook comes from, indeed! Have you never heard how water rises from a spring in the earth?”

“我倒想知道你脑子是不是正常。”彼得和保罗异口同声地说，“你就算现在还没疯，照这么瞎猜下去，很快也要疯了。水是从哪儿来的，亏你想得出！你没听说过水是从地里的泉眼里涌出来的吗？”

“Yes! but still I’ve a great fancy to see where this brook comes from”, said Jack.

“是啊！可我还是很想看看这条小溪到底是从哪儿来的。”杰克说。

So up alongside the brook he went, in spite of all that his brothers bawled after him. Nothing could stop him. On he went. So, as he went up and up, the brook got smaller and smaller, and at last, a little way farther on, what do you think he saw? Why, a great walnut, and out of that the water trickled.

于是他不顾兄弟们在后面怎么冲他喊，顺着小溪往上走去。谁也拦不住他。他一路走着。就这样，他越往上走，小溪就越来越小，最后再往前走了一小段，你猜他看见了什么？原来是一颗大核桃，水就是从里面渗出来的。

“Good-day!” said Jack again. “So you lie here, and trickle and run down all alone?”

“你好！”杰克又说道，“这么说你就一个人躺在这儿，自己渗着水、流着水了？”

“Yes, I do,” said the Walnut; “and here have I trickled and run this many a long day, waiting for you.”

“是啊，我就是这样。”核桃说，“我就是这样渗着流着，已经好久好久了，一直在等你来。”

“Well, here I am”, said Jack, as he took up a lump of moss and plugged up the hole, that the water mightn’t run out. Then he put the walnut into his wallet, and ran down to his brothers.

“好吧，我这不是来了。”杰克说着，拿起一团苔藓塞住了那个洞，不让水再流出来。然后他把核桃放进了自己的包袱里，跑下山回到兄弟们那儿。

“Well now”, said Peter and Paul, “have you found out where the water comes from? A rare sight it must have been!”

“那么，”彼得和保罗说，“你有没有找出水到底是从哪儿来的？那一定是个难得一见的景象吧！”

“Oh, after all, it was only a hole it ran out of”, said Jack; and so the others laughed and made game of him again, but Jack didn’t mind that a bit.

“哦，说到底，不过是水从一个洞里流出来罢了。”杰克说；于是另外两人又笑话他、取笑他一番，可杰克一点也不在意。

“After all, I had the fun of seeing it”, said he. So when they had gone a bit farther, they came to the king’s palace; but as every one in the kingdom had heard how they might win the Princess and half the realm, if they could only fell the big oak and dig the king’s well, so many had come to try their luck that the oak was now twice as stout and big as it had been at first, for two chips grew for every one they hewed out with their axes, as I daresay you all bear in mind.

“不管怎样，我总算亲眼看到了，也算是有趣。”他说。于是他们又往前走了一段，来到了国王的宫殿；可是全国的人都听说了，谁能砍倒那棵大橡树、挖好国王的井，谁就能娶到公主、分得半个王国，所以来碰运气的人太多了，以至于那棵橡树如今比一开始还要粗上一倍，因为他们用斧头每砍出一片木屑，就会长出两片来，想必你们都还记得。

So the King had now laid it down as a punishment, that if any one tried and couldn’t fell the oak, he should be put on a barren island, and both his ears were to be clipped off. But the two brothers didn’t let themselves be scared by that; they were quite sure they could fell the oak, and Peter, as he was eldest, was to try his hand first; but it went with him as with all the rest who had hewn at the oak; for every chip he cut out, two grew in its place. So the king’s men seized him, and clipped off both his ears, and put him out on the island.

于是国王立下了规矩，作为惩罚：谁要是尝试却砍不倒橡树，就要被送到一座荒岛上去，还要被剪掉双耳。可两个哥哥并不因此害怕；他们十分确信自己能砍倒橡树，彼得年纪最大，先来试手；可他的下场和之前所有砍过橡树的人一样，他每砍出一片木屑，就会长出两片来。于是国王的人便抓住了他，剪掉了他的双耳，把他送到了那座荒岛上。

Now Paul, he was to try his luck, but he fared just the same; when he had hewn two or three strokes, they began to see the oak grow, and so the king’s men seized him too, and clipped his ears, and put him out on the island; and his ears they clipped closer, because they said he ought to have taken a lesson from his brother.

接着轮到保罗来试运气，可他的下场也是一样；他刚砍了两三斧，就看见橡树在长大，于是国王的人也抓住了他，剪掉了他的耳朵，把他送到了荒岛上；而且他们把他的耳朵剪得更靠里，因为他们说，他本该从哥哥那里吸取教训才对。

So now Jack was to try.

于是现在轮到杰克来试了。

“If you will look like a marked sheep, we’re quite ready to clip your ears at once, and then you’ll save yourself some bother”, said the King; for he was angry with him for his brothers’ sake.

“你要是想当只被打上记号的绵羊，我们这就乐意先给你剪耳朵，免得你再费一番周折。”国王说；他是因为杰克两个哥哥的缘故而对他生气的。

“Well, I’d like just to try first”, said Jack, and so he got leave. Then he took his axe out of his wallet and fitted it to its haft.

“好吧，我倒想先试一试。”杰克说，于是他得到了准许。接着他从包袱里拿出斧头，装到了斧柄上。

“Hew away!” said he to his axe; and away it hewed, making the chips fly again, so that it wasn’t long before down came the oak.

“砍吧！”他对斧头说；斧头便砍了起来，木屑纷飞而下，没过多久，那棵橡树就轰然倒地了。

When that was done, Jack pulled out his spade, and fitted it to its handle.

事情办完之后，杰克又拿出铁锹，装到了锹柄上。

“Dig away!” said he to the spade; and so the spade began to dig and delve till the earth and rock flew out in splinters, and so he had the well soon dug out, you may think.

“挖吧！”他对铁锹说；铁锹便挖呀铲呀起来，泥土和石块四处飞溅，你可以想见，没多久他就把井挖好了。

And when he had got it as big and deep as he chose, Jack took out his walnut and laid it in one corner of the well, and pulled the plug of moss out.

等他把井挖到自己满意的大小和深度之后，杰克拿出核桃，把它放进井的一个角落，拔出了塞住的苔藓。

“Trickle and run”, said Jack; and so the nut trickled and ran, till the water gushed out of the hole in a stream, and in a short time the well was brimfull.

“渗吧，流吧。”杰克说；于是核桃便渗着流着，水从那洞里汩汩涌出，不一会儿，井就满满当当了。

Then Jack had felled the oak which shaded the king’s palace, and dug a well in the palace-yard, and so he got the Princess and half the kingdom, as the King had said; but it was lucky for Peter and Paul that they had lost their ears, else they had heard each hour and day, how every one said, “Well, after all, Jack wasn’t so much out of his mind when he took to wondering.”

于是杰克砍倒了那棵遮住国王宫殿的橡树，又在宫殿的院子里挖出了一口井，就这样，他如国王所说的那样，娶到了公主，分得了半个王国；不过对彼得和保罗来说倒也算幸运，他们失去了双耳，不然的话，他们每时每刻都会听见人们议论说：“唉，说到底，杰克当初爱瞎猜，倒也没那么离谱嘛。”