《王子与贫儿》开篇：英文原著带中文翻译

Chapter I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.

第一章 王子和贫儿的诞生。

In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him. All England wanted him too. England had so longed for him, and hoped for him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the people went nearly mad for joy. Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich and poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they kept this up for days and nights together. By day, London was a sight to see, with gay banners waving from every balcony and housetop, and splendid pageants marching along. By night, it was again a sight to see, with its great bonfires at every corner, and its troops of revellers making merry around them. There was no talk in all England but of the new baby, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins, unconscious of all this fuss, and not knowing that great lords and ladies were tending him and watching over him—and not caring, either. But there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his poor rags, except among the family of paupers whom he had just come to trouble with his presence.

在十六世纪第二个四分之一世纪里的某一个秋天，古老的伦敦城里，一个姓康蒂的穷苦人家生了一个男孩，可是他们并不欢迎他。同一天，另一个姓都铎的富贵人家也生了一个英国孩子，他们却非常欢迎他。全英国也都欢迎他。英国早就盼望他，期待他，祈求上帝赐给他，如今他真的来了，人们简直欢喜得发狂。哪怕是素不相识的人，也互相拥抱，亲吻，流泪。人人都放假庆祝，不分高低贵贱，贫富老少，大家宴饮，跳舞，唱歌，喝得醉醺醺的，这样一连闹了几天几夜。白天，伦敦的景象真是好看，家家户户的阳台和屋顶上都飘扬着鲜艳的旗帜，盛大的游行队伍络绎不绝。夜晚，伦敦的景象同样好看，每个角落都燃起熊熊的篝火，一群群狂欢的人围着火堆尽情欢乐。全英国上下谈论的都是这个新生的婴儿，威尔士亲王爱德华·都铎，他裹在绸缎和绫罗里，对这一切喧闹浑然不知，也不知道有多少王公贵妇在照料他，守护他，而且他也毫不在意。可是另一个婴儿汤姆·康蒂，裹着破烂的衣衫，却没有人谈论，只有他刚刚降临、给其添了麻烦的那户穷人家在谈他。

Chapter II. Tom’s early life.

第二章 汤姆的童年。

Let us skip a number of years.

让我们跳过几年。

London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town—for that day. It had a hundred thousand inhabitants—some think double as many. The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty, especially in the part where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from London Bridge. The houses were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first, and the third sticking its elbows out beyond the second. The higher the houses grew, the broader they grew. They were skeletons of strong criss-cross beams, with solid material between, coated with plaster. The beams were painted red or blue or black, according to the owner’s taste, and this gave the houses a very picturesque look. The windows were small, glazed with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened outward, on hinges, like doors.

伦敦建城已有一千五百年，在当时算得上一座大城。它有十万居民，有人则认为多一倍。街道非常狭窄，弯曲，肮脏，尤其是汤姆·康蒂住的那一带，离伦敦桥不远。房屋都是木头的，二楼凸出在一楼之上，三楼又把胳膊肘伸到二楼外面。房子越高，就越宽。它们是用结实的交叉横梁搭成的骨架，中间填以实料，外面涂上灰泥。横梁按照主人的喜好漆成红色、蓝色或黑色，这使房屋显得非常别致。窗户很小，装着菱形的小块玻璃，像门一样向外开着，装有铰链。

The house which Tom’s father lived in was up a foul little pocket called Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane. It was small, decayed, and rickety, but it was packed full of wretchedly poor families. Canty’s tribe occupied a room on the third floor. The mother and father had a sort of bedstead in the corner; but Tom, his grandmother, and his two sisters, Bet and Nan, were not restricted—they had all the floor to themselves, and might sleep where they chose. There were the remains of a blanket or two, and some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but these could not rightly be called beds, for they were not organised; they were kicked into a general pile, mornings, and selections made from the mass at night, for service.

汤姆的父亲住在布丁巷里面一个叫做奥弗尔院的肮脏小死胡同里。那房子又小又破，摇摇晃晃，却挤满了极其穷苦的人家。康蒂一家住在三楼的一个房间里。父母在角落里有一张类似床架的东西，可是汤姆、他的祖母和他的两个姐姐贝特和南，却不受限制，整个地板都归他们，爱睡哪儿就睡哪儿。那里有一两条破毯子的残余，还有几捆陈旧肮脏的稻草，但这些不能算是床，因为它们没有一定的地方，早上被踢成一堆，晚上再从里面挑出一些来用。