The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies

It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is "soporific." I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a rabbit. They certainly had a very soporific effect upon the Flopsy Bunnies!

据说吃太多莴苣会让人“昏昏欲睡”。我自己吃了莴苣从来不觉得困；不过我毕竟不是兔子呀。可对弗洛普西家的兔宝宝们来说，莴苣确实让它们昏昏沉沉的！

When Benjamin Bunny grew up, he married his Cousin Flopsy. They had a large family, and they were very improvident and cheerful. I do not remember the separate names of their children; they were generally called the "Flopsy Bunnies."

本杰明兔长大以后，娶了表妹弗洛普西。他们生养了一大家子孩子，一家人虽然过日子毫无计划，倒也开开心心。我记不清那些孩子各自的名字了；大家通常都管他们叫“弗洛普西家的兔宝宝们”。

As there was not always quite enough to eat, Benjamin used to borrow cabbages from Flopsy's brother, Peter Rabbit, who kept a nursery garden. Sometimes Peter Rabbit had no cabbages to spare.

由于家里的吃食常常不太够，本杰明便常去向弗洛普西的哥哥彼得兔借卷心菜，彼得兔经营着一个苗圃菜园。可有时候彼得兔自己也没有多余的卷心菜。

When this happened, the Flopsy Bunnies went across the field to a rubbish heap, in the ditch outside Mr. McGregor's garden. Mr. McGregor's rubbish heap was a mixture. There were jam pots and paper bags, and mountains of chopped grass from the mowing machine (which always tasted oily), and some rotten vegetable marrows and an old boot or two. One day—oh joy!—there were a quantity of overgrown lettuces, which had "shot" into flower.

每逢这种时候，弗洛普西家的兔宝宝们便会穿过田野，跑到麦格雷戈先生菜园外沟渠里的一个垃圾堆去。麦格雷戈先生的垃圾堆里什么都有：果酱罐子、纸袋子，还有一堆堆割草机割下来的碎草（总是带着一股机油味），几个烂了的西葫芦，还有一两只旧靴子。有一天——真是太幸运了！——垃圾堆里竟有好些长得过了头、抽了花薹的莴苣。

The Flopsy Bunnies simply stuffed lettuces. By degrees, one after another, they were overcome with slumber, and lay down in the mown grass.

弗洛普西家的兔宝宝们把肚子撑得饱饱的，吃了个够。渐渐地，一个接一个都困得不行，倒在割下来的草堆里睡着了。

Benjamin was not so much overcome as his children. Before going to sleep he was sufficiently wide awake to put a paper bag over his head to keep off the flies.

本杰明没有像孩子们那样困得厉害。睡着之前，他还清醒得记得把一只纸袋子套在头上，用来挡苍蝇。

The little Flopsy Bunnies slept delightfully in the warm sun. From the lawn beyond the garden came the distant clacketty sound of the mowing machine. The bluebottles buzzed about the wall, and a little old mouse picked over the rubbish among the jam pots. (I can tell you her name, she was called Thomasina Tittlemouse, a woodmouse with a long tail.)

小兔宝宝们在暖洋洋的阳光下睡得香甜极了。花园那边的草坪上，远远传来割草机咔嗒咔嗒的声响。几只青蝇绕着墙嗡嗡地飞，一只上了年纪的小老鼠正在果酱罐子中间的垃圾堆里翻找东西。（我倒是可以告诉你她的名字，她叫托马西娜·蒂特尔小姐，是一只长尾巴的林鼠。）

She rustled across the paper bag, and awakened Benjamin Bunny. The mouse apologized profusely, and said that she knew Peter Rabbit.

她窸窸窣窣地爬过那只纸袋子，把本杰明兔惊醒了。老鼠连声道歉，说自己认识彼得兔。

While she and Benjamin were talking, close under the wall, they heard a heavy tread above their heads; and suddenly Mr. McGregor emptied out a sackful of lawn mowings right upon the top of the sleeping Flopsy Bunnies! Benjamin shrank down under his paper bag. The mouse hid in a jam pot.

她和本杰明正说着话呢，就在墙根底下，忽然听见头顶上传来一阵沉重的脚步声；说时迟那时快，麦格雷戈先生把一麻袋割下来的草，整袋倒在了正熟睡着的弗洛普西一家兔宝宝身上！本杰明连忙缩进纸袋子里躲了起来，老鼠则藏进了一只果酱罐子。

The little rabbits smiled sweetly in their sleep under the shower of grass; they did not awake because the lettuces had been so soporific. They dreamt that their mother Flopsy was tucking them up in a hay bed.

小兔子们在纷纷落下的草堆下依旧睡得甜甜的，脸上带着笑意；它们并没有醒过来，因为那些莴苣实在太催眠了。它们梦见妈妈弗洛普西正给它们盖上干草被子。

Mr. McGregor looked down after emptying his sack. He saw some funny little brown tips of ears sticking up through the lawn mowings. He stared at them for some time. Presently a fly settled on one of them and it moved.

麦格雷戈先生倒完麻袋里的草，低头看了一眼。他看见草堆里露出几个滑稽的棕色小耳朵尖儿，盯着看了好一会儿。这时一只苍蝇落在其中一只耳朵上，那耳朵动了一下。

Mr. McGregor climbed down on to the rubbish heap—"One, two, three, four! five! six leetle rabbits!" said he as he dropped them into his sack. The Flopsy Bunnies dreamt that their mother was turning them over in bed. They stirred a little in their sleep, but still they did not wake up.

麦格雷戈先生爬下垃圾堆——“一、二、三、四！五！六只小兔崽子！”他一边说，一边把它们一个个丢进麻袋里。弗洛普西家的兔宝宝们梦见妈妈正在床上给它们翻身。它们在梦中微微动了动，却始终没有醒来。

Mr. McGregor tied up the sack and left it on the wall. He went to put away the mowing machine.

麦格雷戈先生把麻袋口扎紧，放在墙上，自己去把割草机收起来了。

While he was gone, Mrs. Flopsy Bunny (who had remained at home) came across the field. She looked suspiciously at the sack and wondered where everybody was?

趁他不在，一直待在家里的弗洛普西太太穿过田野走了过来。她狐疑地盯着那只麻袋，心想大家都上哪儿去了呢？

Then the mouse came out of her jam pot, and Benjamin took the paper bag off his head, and they told the doleful tale.

这时老鼠从果酱罐子里钻了出来，本杰明也摘下了头上的纸袋子，两人便把这桩伤心事一五一十地说了出来。

Benjamin and Flopsy were in despair, they could not undo the string.

本杰明和弗洛普西急得没了主意，怎么也解不开那根绳子。

But Mrs. Tittlemouse was a resourceful person. She nibbled a hole in the bottom corner of the sack.

不过蒂特尔太太可是个足智多谋的人物。她在麻袋底部的一角咬出了一个洞。

The little rabbits were pulled out and pinched to wake them.

小兔子们被一个个拉了出来，还被掐了掐才醒过来。

Their parents stuffed the empty sack with three rotten vegetable marrows, an old blacking-brush and two decayed turnips.

它们的父母便把三个烂西葫芦、一把旧鞋刷和两个烂萝卜塞进空麻袋里，充数。

Then they all hid under a bush and watched for Mr. McGregor.

然后大家一起躲进灌木丛里，等着麦格雷戈先生回来。

Mr. McGregor came back and picked up the sack, and carried it off. He carried it hanging down, as if it were rather heavy.

麦格雷戈先生回来了，拎起麻袋就走，袋子拎在手里往下垂着，看起来相当沉。

The Flopsy Bunnies followed at a safe distance.

弗洛普西家的兔宝宝们远远地跟在后面。

They watched him go into his house. And then they crept up to the window to listen.

它们看着他走进屋子，随后便悄悄爬到窗边偷听。

Mr. McGregor threw down the sack on the stone floor in a way that would have been extremely painful to the Flopsy Bunnies, if they had happened to have been inside it.

麦格雷戈先生把麻袋往石板地上一扔，那力道若是弗洛普西家的兔宝宝们真在袋子里，恐怕要疼得够呛。

They could hear him drag his chair on the flags, and chuckle—"One, two, three, four, five, six leetle rabbits!" said Mr. McGregor.

它们听见他把椅子拖过石板地面，得意地笑着说——“一、二、三、四、五、六只小兔崽子！”麦格雷戈先生说道。

"Eh? What's that? What have they been spoiling now?" enquired Mrs. McGregor.

“嗯？那是什么？它们这回又糟蹋了什么东西？”麦格雷戈太太问道。

"One, two, three, four, five, six leetle fat rabbits!" repeated Mr. McGregor, counting on his fingers—"one, two, three—"

“一、二、三、四、五、六只肥嘟嘟的小兔崽子！”麦格雷戈先生扳着手指又数了一遍——“一、二、三——”

"Don't you be silly; what do you mean, you silly old man?"

“别犯傻了，你这老家伙在说什么胡话呢？”

"In the sack! one, two, three, four, five, six!" replied Mr. McGregor.

“就在麻袋里！一、二、三、四、五、六只！”麦格雷戈先生答道。

(The youngest Flopsy Bunny got upon the window-sill.)

（这时最小的一只弗洛普西兔宝宝已经爬上了窗台。）

Mrs. McGregor took hold of the sack and felt it. She said she could feel six, but they must be old rabbits, because they were so hard and all different shapes.

麦格雷戈太太抓住麻袋摸了摸，说她摸出来是六只，不过这些一定是老兔子，因为摸着又硬、形状又各不相同。

"Not fit to eat; but the skins will do fine to line my old cloak."

“肉是不能吃了，不过皮倒是正好可以拿来给我那件旧斗篷镶边。”

"Line your old cloak?" shouted Mr. McGregor—"I shall sell them and buy myself baccy!"

“给你的旧斗篷镶边？”麦格雷戈先生叫嚷道——“我要把它们卖了，给自己买烟丝！”

"Rabbit tobacco! I shall skin them and cut off their heads."

“兔子牌烟丝！我要把它们剥了皮，再砍下脑袋。”

Mrs. McGregor untied the sack and put her hand inside.

麦格雷戈太太解开麻袋，把手伸了进去。

When she felt the vegetables she became very very angry. She said that Mr. McGregor had "done it a purpose."

等她摸到那些菜蔬时，顿时气得不得了。她说麦格雷戈先生这是“故意捉弄她”。

And Mr. McGregor was very angry too. One of the rotten marrows came flying through the kitchen window, and hit the youngest Flopsy Bunny.

麦格雷戈先生也气坏了。一个烂西葫芦从厨房窗口飞了出来，正打中了最小的那只弗洛普西兔宝宝。

It was rather hurt.

它被打得可疼了。

Then Benjamin and Flopsy thought that it was time to go home.

于是本杰明和弗洛普西觉得，该是回家的时候了。

So Mr. McGregor did not get his tobacco, and Mrs. McGregor did not get her rabbit skins.

结果麦格雷戈先生没能买成他的烟丝，麦格雷戈太太也没能得到她的兔皮。

But next Christmas Thomasina Tittlemouse got a present of enough rabbit-wool to make herself a cloak and a hood, and a handsome muff and a pair of warm mittens.

不过第二年圣诞节，托马西娜·蒂特尔小姐收到了一份礼物：足够做一件斗篷、一顶风帽、一个漂亮的暖手筒，再加一副暖和手套的兔毛。