The Tale of Tom Kitten

Once upon a time there were three little kittens, and their names were Mittens, Tom Kitten, and Moppet.

从前有三只小猫咪，它们的名字分别是米滕斯、汤姆和莫佩特。

They had dear little fur coats of their own; and they tumbled about the doorstep and played in the dust.

它们都有自己心爱的小毛皮衣；它们在门前的台阶上打滚嬉戏，在尘土里玩耍。

But one day their mother—Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit—expected friends to tea; so she fetched the kittens indoors, to wash and dress them, before the fine company arrived.

可是有一天，它们的妈妈——塔比莎·特威奇特太太——请了朋友来喝茶；于是她把小猫们叫进屋里，趁那些贵客到来之前，给它们洗脸打扮一番。

First she scrubbed their faces (this one is Moppet).

她先给它们洗脸（这是莫佩特）。

Then she brushed their fur, (this one is Mittens).

然后给它们梳毛（这是米滕斯）。

Then she combed their tails and whiskers (this is Tom Kitten).

接着又给它们梳理尾巴和胡须（这是汤姆）。

Tom was very naughty, and he scratched.

汤姆很调皮，还伸爪子挠人。

Mrs. Tabitha dressed Moppet and Mittens in clean pinafores and tuckers; and then she took all sorts of elegant uncomfortable clothes out of a chest of drawers, in order to dress up her son Thomas.

塔比莎太太给莫佩特和米滕斯穿上干净的围裙和领饰；然后又从五斗柜里翻出各式各样华丽却极不舒服的衣服，要给她的儿子托马斯打扮一番。

Tom Kitten was very fat, and he had grown; several buttons burst off. His mother sewed them on again.

汤姆长得很胖，个头也长大了；好几颗纽扣都被撑掉了。妈妈只好重新给他缝上。

When the three kittens were ready, Mrs. Tabitha unwisely turned them out into the garden, to be out of the way while she made hot buttered toast.

三只小猫都打扮好之后，塔比莎太太做了件不太明智的事——把它们赶到花园里去，好让自己安安静静地做黄油烤面包。

"Now keep your frocks clean, children! You must walk on your hind legs. Keep away from the dirty ash-pit, and from Sally Henny Penny, and from the pig-stye and the Puddle-Ducks."

“孩子们，都给我把裙子保持干净！你们得用后腿走路。离那肮脏的灰坑远点儿，也离亨尼潘妮嫂子、猪圈和水鸭一家远点儿。”

Moppet and Mittens walked down the garden path unsteadily. Presently they trod upon their pinafores and fell on their noses.

莫佩特和米滕斯摇摇晃晃地走下花园小径。没走多远，就踩到了自己的围裙，摔了个嘴啃泥。

When they stood up there were several green smears!

它们站起来时，身上已经沾了好几道绿色污渍！

"Let us climb up the rockery, and sit on the garden wall," said Moppet.

“我们爬上假山，坐到花园的墙头上去吧，”莫佩特说。

They turned their pinafores back to front, and went up with a skip and a jump; Moppet's white tucker fell down into the road.

它们把围裙前后调了个个儿，蹦蹦跳跳地爬了上去；莫佩特的白色领饰掉到了路上。

Tom Kitten was quite unable to jump when walking upon his hind legs in trousers. He came up the rockery by degrees, breaking the ferns, and shedding buttons right and left.

汤姆穿着裤子用后腿走路，根本没法蹦跳。他一点一点地爬上假山，踩坏了不少蕨类植物，纽扣也一路掉个不停。

He was all in pieces when he reached the top of the wall.

等他爬到墙头时，衣服已经东一片西一片，快散架了。

Moppet and Mittens tried to pull him together; his hat fell off, and the rest of his buttons burst.

莫佩特和米滕斯想帮他把衣服拉整齐；他的帽子掉了下去，剩下的纽扣也都绷开了。

While they were in difficulties, there was a pit pat paddle pat! and the three Puddle-Ducks came along the hard high road, marching one behind the other and doing the goose step—pit pat paddle pat! pit pat waddle pat!

正当它们手忙脚乱的时候，忽然传来啪嗒啪嗒的脚步声！三只水鸭一个跟着一个，迈着鹅步走在坚硬的大路上——啪嗒啪嗒，啪嗒啪嗒！

They stopped and stood in a row, and stared up at the kittens. They had very small eyes and looked surprised.

它们停下脚步，排成一排，抬头盯着墙上的小猫们看。它们的眼睛很小，一副吃惊的样子。

Then the two duck-birds, Rebeccah and Jemima Puddle-Duck, picked up the hat and tucker and put them on.

接着两只母鸭，丽贝卡和杰迈玛，捡起帽子和领饰戴在了自己身上。

Mittens laughed so that she fell off the wall. Moppet and Tom descended after her; the pinafores and all the rest of Tom's clothes came off on the way down.

米滕斯笑得直不起腰，一下子从墙头摔了下来。莫佩特和汤姆也跟着摔了下去；一路摔下去的时候，围裙和汤姆身上剩下的衣服全都掉光了。

"Come! Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck," said Moppet—"Come and help us to dress him! Come and button up Tom!"

“来呀！德雷克先生，”莫佩特说，“快来帮我们给他穿好衣服！快帮汤姆把纽扣扣上！”

Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck advanced in a slow sideways manner, and picked up the various articles.

德雷克先生慢吞吞地侧着身子走了过来，把那些散落的衣物一件件捡了起来。

But he put them on _himself!_ They fitted him even worse than Tom Kitten.

可他却把这些衣服都穿到了自己身上！比穿在汤姆身上还要不合身。

"It's a very fine morning!" said Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck.

“今天早上天气真好啊！”德雷克先生说道。

And he and Jemima and Rebeccah Puddle-Duck set off up the road, keeping step—pit pat, paddle pat! pit pat, waddle pat!

于是他和杰迈玛、丽贝卡三个便迈着整齐的步子沿路走了——啪嗒啪嗒，啪嗒啪嗒！

Then Tabitha Twitchit came down the garden and found her kittens on the wall with no clothes on.

这时塔比莎·特威奇特太太走下花园，发现她的小猫们光着身子坐在墙头上。

She pulled them off the wall, smacked them, and took them back to the house.

她把它们从墙头上拽下来，狠狠地打了一顿，带回了屋里。

"My friends will arrive in a minute, and you are not fit to be seen; I am affronted," said Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit.

“我的朋友们马上就要到了，你们这副样子怎么见人！真是丢死人了，”塔比莎·特威奇特太太说道。

She sent them upstairs; and I am sorry to say she told her friends that they were in bed with the measles; which was not true.

她把它们打发上楼去；说来遗憾，她还跟朋友们说小猫们都得了麻疹躺在床上；这可不是真话。

Quite the contrary; they were not in bed: _not_ in the least.

恰恰相反，它们根本没躺在床上，一点儿也没有。

Somehow there were very extraordinary noises over-head, which disturbed the dignity and repose of the tea party.

不知怎的，楼上传来阵阵怪异的响动，搅得这场茶会失去了应有的体面与安宁。

And I think that some day I shall have to make another, larger, book, to tell you more about Tom Kitten!

我想总有一天，我得再写一本更厚的书，好跟你们多讲讲汤姆的故事！

As for the Puddle-Ducks—they went into a pond.

至于那几只水鸭——它们跳进了池塘里。

The clothes all came off directly, because there were no buttons.

那些衣服立刻就全掉光了，因为上面根本没有纽扣。

And Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck, and Jemima and Rebeccah, have been looking for them ever since.

从那以后，德雷克先生、杰迈玛和丽贝卡就一直在到处找那些纽扣。