新叶子

张恒

“Why are you crying， Little Cat？” asked Little Dog.

“你为什么哭啊，小猫？”小狗问。

“Because my paws are so cold！” said Little Cat. “I have been digging in the snow and I cannot find one.”

“因为我的爪子很冷！”小猫说。“我一直在雪里挖，却一片也找不到。”

“One what？” asked Little Dog.

“找一片什么？”小狗问。

“One new leaf.”

“一片新叶子。”

“What do you want of a new leaf？”

“你要一片新叶子干什么？”

“I want to turn it over， but there just arent any to turn.”

“我想把它翻过来，但一片都没有。”

“Of course there arent！” said Little Dog. “It is winter.”

“当然没有！“小狗说。“现在是冬天。”

“But Little Girl is going to find one，” said Little Cat. “I heard her mother say to her， ‘You really must turn over a new leaf！ and she said， ‘I truthfully will， Mamma！ and when Little Girl says she truthfully will she always does. Then her mother kissed her， and said everybody had to turn over new leaves now， and she had some of her own to turn， so she knew just how it was. The door shut then—on the tip of my tail， too—and I heard no more; but what do you suppose it means？”

“但小女孩要找，”小貓咪说。“我听到她妈妈对她说：‘你真得必须翻一片新叶子（改过自新）！她说：‘我一定会的，妈妈！”小女孩真心答应了，她就一定会做到。然后她妈妈亲亲她说，现在每个人都得把新叶子翻过来，她自己也有一些要翻，所以她知道是怎么回事。然后门关上了，差点夹到我的尾巴尖，后面的就没听到了。你觉得这是什么意思呢？”

Little Dog shook his head. “We must ask somebody，” he said. “Let me see！Great Old Dog is out for a walk， and Crosspatch1 Parrot bit me the last time I asked her a question.”

小狗摇了摇头。“我们得问问别人，”他说。“让我想想！大老狗出去散步了，上一次我问那只坏脾气的鹦鹉问题时，她咬了我一口。”

“I know，” said Little Cat. “We will ask Old Cat in the Barn2. She knows a good many things， and if she isnt catching rats—but she generally is—she will tell us.”

“我知道，”小猫说。“我们去问问谷仓里的老猫。她知道很多事情，如果她不是在抓老鼠的话——但她通常都在抓——她会告诉我们的。”

They found Old Cat in the Barn sitting on a truss of hay， washing herself. She listened to Little Cats story， and her green eyes twinkled.

他们发现谷仓里的老猫正坐在一捆干草上洗脸。她听了小猫的故事，绿色的眼睛闪闪发光。

“So you have been looking for new leaves under the snow！” she said.

“所以你一直在雪下面寻找新的叶子！”她说。

“Yes，” said Little Cat. “First I looked on the trees， and there werent any there; so I thought it must be leaves of plants and things， so I scratched3 and dug till my poor paws were almost quite frozen， but not one single scrap4 of a leaf could I find.”

“是的，”小猫说。“我先在树上找了找，什么也没有，所以我想一定是植物的叶子和其它的东西，所以我就挖啊挖，直到我可怜的爪子几乎都冻住了，却一片叶子也没找到。”

“This barn is full of them！” said Old Cat in the Barn.

谷仓里的老猫说：“这个谷仓里装满了树叶！”

“Full of leaves！” cried Little Cat and Little Dog together. “What can you mean， Old Cat？ We dont call hay5 leaves！”

“装满树叶！“小猫和小狗一起叫道。“你什么意思，老猫？干草可不是叶子！”

“How many rats have you caught this week？” asked Old Cat， turning to Little Dog.

“这周你抓了多少只老鼠？”老猫问小狗。

“None！” said Little Dog. “The last rat I caught bit me horridly; besides， they are odious6， vulgar7 beasts， and I dont care to have anything to do with them.”

“一只也没有！”小狗说。“我上次抓到的那只老鼠咬了我一口，它们是可恶、粗俗的野兽，我不想和它们有任何关系。”

“Little Cat， how many mice have you caught in the kitchen this week？” said Old Cat.

老猫说：“小猫，这周你在厨房抓了多少老鼠？”

Little Cat hung her head. “I havent caught any，” she said. “I dont care for mice， the flavor is too strong; I like cream better.”

小猫垂着头。“我一只也没抓到，”她说。“我不喜欢老鼠，味道太臭了，我更喜欢奶油。”

Old Cat， with her green eyes shot out sparks， and her fur began to stand up， said， “Now， you two， listen to me！Why do you think the Big People keep you？ Because you are soft and pretty and foolish？ Not at all！They keep you because you are supposed to be useful. Your mother， Little Cat， was a hard-working， self-respecting mouser， who caught her daily mouse as regularly as she ate her daily bread and milk. Your father， Little Dog， hunted rats with me in this barn as long as he had legs to stand upon， and between us we kept the place in tolerable8 order. Great Old Dog cannot be expected to hunt at his age， and besides， he is too big; one might as well hunt with an ox. But since your parents died you two lazy children have done next to nothing， and what is the consequence9？ I am worked to skin and bone， and the mice are all over the house; I heard Cook say so. Mind what I say： No creature， with four legs or two， is worth his salt unless he earns it， in one way or another. Now， what have you to say for yourselves？”

老猫的绿眼睛射出火花，她的毛都竖起来了，说道：“你们两个，听我说！为什么你们认为大人物会养你们？因为你们温柔、漂亮又愚蠢？绝对不是！他们养你们是因为你们有用。你妈妈，小猫，是一个勤劳、有自尊心的捕鼠健將，她每天抓老鼠就像每天吃面包和牛奶一样规律。你父亲，小狗，只要他的腿能站起来就会和我一起在这个谷仓里捕鼠，我们将这个地方的秩序维持得很好。大老狗在他这个年纪是不可能捕猎了，而且它个子太大了，还不如用一头牛去捕猎。但是，自从你们的父母去世后，你们两个懒惰的孩子几乎什么也没做，结果怎么样呢？我吃苦耐劳地工作，可家里到处都是老鼠，我听见厨子这么说的。记住我说的话：任何一个四脚或两脚的生物除非是以某种方式来赚钱，否则都不该吃白食。现在，你们有什么要说的吗？”

“Miaouw！” said Little Cat. “I am very sorry， Old Cat.”

“喵！“小猫说。“我很抱歉，老猫。

“Yap！Yap！” said Little Dog. “I am sorry too， Old Cat.”

“是的！是的！“小狗说。“我也很抱歉，老猫。”

“Very well！” said Old Cat in the Barn. “Then turn over a new leaf！”

“很好！“谷仓里的老猫说。“那就换一片新的叶子吧！”

“Miaouw！” “Yap！” “That is just what we want to do！” said Little Cat and Little Dog together， “but we cant find any.”

“喵！”“是的！”“这正是我们想要做的！”小猫和小狗一起说，”但我们找不到。”

“The fact is，” said Old Cat in the Barn， “it is one of the foolish ways of speaking that the Big People have. It just means， stop being bad and begin to be good. Now do you see？”

“事实是，”谷仓里的老猫说，“这是大人物一种愚蠢的说话方式。意思是停止变坏，开始变好。现在你们明白了吗？”

“Now I see. I will go and catch a mouse this minute， Old Cat.” said Little Cat.

小猫说：“现在我明白了。我马上去抓老鼠，老猫。”

“Wuff！” said Little Dog， “I see， too， and I will come and hunt rats with you， Old Cat.”

“呜汪！”小狗说，“我也明白了，我也要跟你一起去捉老鼠，老猫。”

“That is right！Go to work， like good children， and as I may have been rather short with you lately I will turn over a new leaf， too， and ask you both to supper with me in my hay-parlor10. Cook gave me the bones of the Christmas goose， and we will have a great feast，” said Old Cat in the Barn.

谷仓里的老猫说：“这就对了！像好孩子一样去工作，因为我最近可能对你们很无礼，我也要改过，重新开始，请你们俩在我的干草垛上和我一起吃晚饭。厨子把圣诞烧鹅的骨头给了我，我们可以来一场盛宴了。”