The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen

Once upon a time there was a hill, and on the hill there was a pretty little house.

从前有一座小山，山上有一栋漂亮的小房子。

It had one little green door, and four little windows with green shutters, and in it there lived

房子有一扇绿色的小门，还有四扇装着绿色百叶窗的小窗户，屋里住着

A Cock

一只公鸡

and A Mouse

和一只老鼠

On another hill close by there was another little house. It was very ugly.

附近另一座小山上还有一栋小房子，那房子很丑陋。

It had a door that wouldn’t shut,

房子有一扇关不严实的门，

and two broken windows, and all the paint was off the shutters

还有两扇破窗户，百叶窗上的漆也全都剥落了

And in this house there lived

住在这栋房子里的是

A BOLD BAD FOX and FOUR BAD LITTLE FOXES

一只胆大凶恶的老狐狸，还有四只顽劣的小狐狸

One morning these four bad little foxes

一天早上，这四只顽劣的小狐狸

“Oh, Father, we’re so hungry!”

“哦，爸爸，我们好饿啊！”

“We had nothing to eat yesterday,” said one.

“我们昨天什么都没吃，”一只说。

“And scarcely anything the day before,” said another.

“前天也几乎什么都没吃，”另一只说。

“And only half a chicken the day before that,” said the third.

“大前天只吃了半只鸡，”第三只说。

“And only two little ducks the day before that,” said the fourth.

“大大前天只吃了两只小鸭子，”第四只说。

The big bad Fox shook his head for a long time, for he was thinking.

大狐狸摇了好一阵子头，因为它正在思考。

At last he said in a big gruff voice:

最后它用粗哑的大嗓门说道：

“On that hill over there I see a house. And in that house there lives a Cock.”

“我瞧见那边山上有栋房子。那房子里住着一只公鸡。”

“And a Mouse,” screamed two of the little foxes.

“还有一只老鼠，”两只小狐狸尖声叫道。

“And a little Red Hen,” screamed the other two.

“还有一只小红母鸡，”另外两只尖声叫道。

“And they are nice and fat,” went on the big bad Fox. “This very day, I’ll take my great sack, and I will go up that hill, and in at that door, and into my sack I will put the Cock, and the Mouse, and the little Red Hen.”

“它们又肥又美，”大狐狸接着说。“就在今天，我要拿上我的大麻袋，爬上那座山，走进那扇门，把公鸡、老鼠，还有小红母鸡都装进我的口袋里。”

So the four little foxes jumped for joy, and the big bad Fox went to get his sack ready to start upon his journey.

四只小狐狸高兴得直跳，大狐狸便去准备麻袋，动身出发了。

But what was happening to the Cock and the Mouse, and the little Red Hen, all this time?

可是这段时间里，公鸡、老鼠和小红母鸡都在做什么呢？

Well, sad to say, the Cock and the Mouse had both got out of bed on the wrong side that morning.

唉，说来遗憾，那天早上公鸡和老鼠都起错了床，心情都不太好。

The Cock said the day was too hot, and the Mouse grumbled because it was too cold.

公鸡说这天太热了，老鼠则抱怨说太冷了。

They came grumbling down to the kitchen, where the good little Red Hen, looking as bright as a sunbeam, was bustling about.

它们一路抱怨着下楼来到厨房，那儿善良的小红母鸡正像一缕阳光般忙碌着。

“Who’ll get some sticks to light the fire with?” she asked.

“谁去捡些柴火来生火呀？”她问道。

“I shan’t,” said the Cock.

“我才不呢，”公鸡说。

“I shan’t,” said the Mouse.

“我才不呢，”老鼠说。

“Then I’ll do it myself,” said the little Red Hen.

“那我自己来吧，”小红母鸡说。

So off she ran to get the sticks.

于是她跑出去捡柴火了。

“And now, who’ll fill the kettle from the spring?” she asked.

“现在，谁去泉边打壶水来呀？”她问道。

“Then I’ll do it myself,” said the little Red Hen. And off she ran to fill the kettle.

“那我自己来吧，”小红母鸡说。于是她跑出去打水了。

“And who’ll get the breakfast ready?” she asked, as she put the kettle on to boil.

“那谁来准备早饭呀？”她一边把水壶放上去烧，一边问道。

“I’ll do it myself,” said the little Red Hen.

“我自己来吧，”小红母鸡说。

All breakfast time the Cock and the Mouse quarrelled and grumbled. The Cock upset the milk jug, and the Mouse scattered crumbs upon the floor

整个早餐时间，公鸡和老鼠都在争吵抱怨。公鸡打翻了牛奶罐，老鼠把面包屑撒了一地。

“Who’ll clear away the breakfast?” asked the poor little Red Hen, hoping

“谁来收拾早餐呀？”可怜的小红母鸡问道，心里盼着

they would soon leave off being cross.

它们能快点消消气。

“I shan’t,” said the Cock.

“我才不呢，”公鸡说。

“I shan’t,” said the Mouse.

“我才不呢，”老鼠说。

“Then I’ll do it myself,” said the little Red Hen.

“那我自己来吧，”小红母鸡说。

So she cleared everything away, swept up the crumbs, and brushed up the fireplace.

于是她把一切都收拾好，扫净了面包屑，又把壁炉刷干净了。

“And now, who’ll help me to make the beds?”

“现在，谁来帮我铺床呀？”

“I shan’t,” said the Cock.

“我才不呢，”公鸡说。

“I shan’t,” said the Mouse.

“我才不呢，”老鼠说。

“Then I’ll do it myself,” said the little Red Hen.

“那我自己来吧，”小红母鸡说。

And she tripped away upstairs.

说着她便轻快地上楼去了。

But the lazy Cock and Mouse each sat down in a comfortable arm-chair by the fire

可是懒惰的公鸡和老鼠各自在炉火边的一张舒适扶手椅上坐了下来，

and soon fell fast asleep.

不一会儿就都睡着了。

Now the bad Fox had crept up the hill, and into the garden, and if the Cock and Mouse hadn’t been asleep, they would have seen his sharp eyes peeping in at the window.

这时那只坏狐狸已经悄悄爬上了山，溜进了花园，要不是公鸡和老鼠都睡着了，它们准会看见它那双锐利的眼睛正从窗口往里窥探。

“Rat tat tat, Rat tat tat”, the Fox knocked at the door.

“咚咚咚，咚咚咚，”狐狸敲响了房门。

“Who can that be?” said the Mouse, half opening his eyes.

“会是谁呢？”老鼠半睁着眼睛说道。

“Go and look for yourself, if you want to know,” said the rude Cock

“想知道就自己去看呀，”粗鲁的公鸡说。

“It’s the postman perhaps,” thought the Mouse to himself, “and he may have a letter for me.” So without waiting to see who it was, he lifted the latch and opened the door.

“说不定是邮差呢，”老鼠心里想道，“说不定还带着我的信呢。”于是它没等看清是谁，便拉开门闩，打开了门。

As soon as he opened it in jumped the big Fox, with a cruel smile upon his face!

门刚一打开，大狐狸便一跃而入，脸上挂着一丝残忍的笑容！

“Oh! oh! oh!” squeaked the Mouse as he tried to run up the chimney.

“哦！哦！哦！”老鼠尖叫着，想要往烟囱里逃。

“Doodle doodle do!” screamed the Cock, as he jumped on the back of the biggest arm-chair

“喔喔喔！”公鸡尖声大叫，跳上了那张最大的扶手椅背。

But the Fox only laughed, and without more ado he took the little Mouse by the tail, and popped him into the sack, and seized the Cock by the neck and popped him in too.

可狐狸只是哈哈大笑，二话不说，一把揪住老鼠的尾巴，把它塞进了麻袋，又一把抓住公鸡的脖子，也把它塞了进去。

Then the poor little Red Hen came running down-stairs to see what all the noise was about,

这时可怜的小红母鸡跑下楼来，想看看这一片喧闹究竟是怎么回事，

and the Fox caught her and put her into the sack with the others.

狐狸便一把抓住她，也把她和其他两个一起塞进了麻袋。

Then he took a long piece of string out of his pocket, wound it round and round and round the mouth of the sack, and tied it very tight indeed.

随后它从口袋里掏出一根长绳子，在麻袋口一圈又一圈地缠绕，系得紧紧的。

After that he threw the sack over his back and set off down the hill.

之后它把麻袋往背上一甩，便下山去了。

“Oh! I wish I hadn’t been so cross,” said the Cock, as they went bumping about.

“唉！真希望我当初别那么爱使性子，”公鸡说，这时它们正被颠得东倒西歪。

“Oh! I wish I hadn’t been so lazy,” said the Mouse, wiping his eyes with the tip of his tail.

“唉！真希望我当初别那么懒，”老鼠说，用尾巴尖擦着眼泪。

“It’s never too late to mend,” said the little Red Hen. “And don’t be too sad.

“亡羊补牢，为时不晚，”小红母鸡说。“别太难过了。

See, here I have my little work-bag, and in it there is a pair of scissors, and a little thimble, and a needle and thread. Very soon you will see what I am going to do.”

瞧，我这儿有个小针线包，里面有把剪刀，还有个小顶针，一根针和线。你们很快就会看到我要做什么了。”

Now the sun was very hot, and soon Mr. Fox began to feel his sack was heavy, and at last he thought he would lie down under a tree and go to sleep for a little while.

这时太阳正毒辣，狐狸先生很快便觉得麻袋沉甸甸的，走了一会儿他便想着不如在树下躺一躺，睡上一小觉。

So he threw the sack down with a big bump, and very soon fell fast asleep.

于是他把麻袋咚的一声扔在地上，很快便沉沉睡去了。

Snore, snore, snore, went the Fox.

呼噜，呼噜，呼噜，狐狸打起了鼾。

As soon as the little Red Hen heard this, she took out her scissors, and began to snip a hole in the sack, just large enough for the Mouse to creep through.

小红母鸡一听见这鼾声，便拿出剪刀，在麻袋上剪出一个洞来，正好够老鼠钻出去。

“Quick,” she whispered to the Mouse, “run as fast as you can and bring back a stone just as large as yourself.”

“快，”她小声对老鼠说，“尽快跑去搬一块跟你差不多大的石头回来。”

Out scampered the Mouse, and soon came back, dragging the stone after him.

老鼠一溜烟地跑出去，不一会儿便拖着一块石头回来了。

“Push it in here,” said the little Red Hen, and he pushed it in in a twinkling.

“从这儿塞进去，”小红母鸡说，老鼠转眼间便把石头塞了进去。

Then the little Red Hen snipped away the hole, till it was large enough for the Cock to get through.

接着小红母鸡把洞口又剪大了些，直到大得能让公鸡钻出去。

“Quick,” she said, “run and get a stone as big as yourself.”

“快，”她说，“去搬一块跟你差不多大的石头来。”

Out flew the Cock, and soon came back quite out of breath, with a big stone, which he pushed into the sack too.

公鸡飞奔出去，不一会儿便气喘吁吁地带着一块大石头回来，也把它塞进了麻袋。

Then the little Red Hen popped out,

随后小红母鸡自己钻了出来，

got a stone as big as herself, and pushed it in.

搬来一块跟她差不多大的石头，也塞了进去。

Next she put on her thimble, took out her needle and thread, and sewed up the hole as quickly as ever she could.

接着她戴上顶针，拿出针线，飞快地把洞口缝了起来。

When it was done, the Cock and the Mouse and the little Red Hen ran home very fast, shut the door

缝好之后，公鸡、老鼠和小红母鸡便飞快地跑回了家，关上了门，

after them, drew the bolts, shut the shutters, and drew down the blinds and felt quite safe.

拴好门闩，关上百叶窗，又拉下窗帘，这才觉得十分安全。

The bad Fox lay fast asleep under the tree for some time, but at last he woke up.

坏狐狸在树下沉沉睡了好一阵子，最后终于醒了过来。

“Dear, dear,” he said, rubbing his eyes and then looking at the long shadows on the grass, “how late it is getting. I must hurry home.”

“哎呀呀，”他揉着眼睛说道，望着草地上拉得老长的影子，“这天可不早了，我得赶紧回家才行。”

So the bad Fox went grumbling and groaning down the hill

于是坏狐狸一边嘟囔抱怨，一边下山去，

till he came to the stream.

一直走到了一条小溪边。

Splash! In went one foot. Splash! In went the other, but the stones in the sack were so heavy that at the very next step down tumbled Mr. Fox into a deep pool.

扑通！一只脚踩了下去。扑通！另一只脚也踩了下去，可麻袋里的石头太沉了，紧接着下一步狐狸先生便一头栽进了深水潭里。

And then the fishes carried him off to their fairy caves and kept him a prisoner there, so he was never seen again.

随后鱼儿们把他拖进了它们的仙境洞穴，把他囚禁在了那里，从此再也没有人见过他。

And the four greedy little foxes had to go to bed without any supper.

那四只贪吃的小狐狸只好饿着肚子上床睡觉了。

But the Cock and the Mouse never grumbled again. They lit the fire, filled the kettle, laid the breakfast, and did all the work, while the good little Red Hen had a holiday, and sat resting in the big arm-chair.

而公鸡和老鼠再也没有抱怨过。它们生火、打水、摆早饭，把所有活儿都干了，而善良的小红母鸡则得了一个假期，坐在那张大扶手椅里休息。