第三章　全体赛跑和长故事

聚集在岸上的确实是一群样子奇特的动物。飞禽羽毛沾湿拖地，走兽毛皮贴身，一个个都是湿淋淋、气呼呼，心神不宁的样子。

当然，首要的问题是：怎样重新弄干身体。它们商量了一下这个问题。没过几分钟，爱丽丝就发现自己似乎非常自然地和它们亲热地攀谈了起来，好像她早就认识它们似的。她确实和吸蜜鹦鹉辩论了好长时间，最后鹦鹉绷起了脸，只是说：“我比你年长，肯定更熟悉。”可是，爱丽丝不承认这一点，因为她不知道它有多大，而鹦鹉又断然拒绝说出自己的年龄，所以她们就没话可说了。

最后，那只老鼠在它们当中好像是一位权威人士，它大声喊道：“你们都坐下，听我说！我很快就会把你们弄干！”它们都马上坐下，围成一个大圈，把老鼠围在中间。爱丽丝神情忧虑、目不转睛地盯着它，因为她确信，如果她不马上弄干身体，就会得重感冒。

‘Ahem！'said the Mouse with an important air，‘are you all ready?This is the driest thing I know. Silence all round, if you please！“William the Conqueror, whose cause was favoured by the pope, was soon submitted to by the English, who wanted leaders, and had been of late much accustomed to usurpation and conquest.Edwin and Morcar, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria—”'

‘Ugh！'said the Lory, with a shiver.

‘I beg your pardon！'said the Mouse, frowning, but very politely：‘Did you speak?'

‘Not I！'said the Lory hastily.

‘I thought you did，'said the Mouse.‘—I proceed.“Edwin and Morcar, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, declared for him：and even Stigand, the patriotic archbishop of Canterbury, found it advisable—”'

‘Found WHAT?'said the Duck.

‘Found IT，'the Mouse replied rather crossly：‘of course you know what“it”means.'

‘I know what“it”means well enough, when I fnd a thing，'said the Duck：‘it's generally a frog or a worm. The question is, what did

“啊咳！”老鼠以权威的姿态说，“你们都准备好了吗？这是我所知道的最干的事儿。你们要是愿意，就全体肃静！‘征服者威廉的事业得到了教皇的支持，马上就征服了英国人，英国人需要领袖，而且最近已经对篡权和征服习以为常了。麦西亚和诺森伯兰的伯爵埃德温和莫卡——’”

“啊！”鹦鹉哆嗦了一下说。

“对不起！”老鼠皱着眉，但很有礼貌地说，“你有什么话说吗？”

“我没有！”鹦鹉急忙说道。

“我以为你有话要说，”老鼠说，“——我接着讲。‘麦西亚和诺森伯兰的伯爵埃德温和莫卡都宣称支持他，甚至坎特伯雷的爱国大主教斯蒂坎德也发现它可行——’”

“发现了什么？”鸭子问。

“发现‘它’，”老鼠气冲冲地回答说，“你当然知道‘它’是什么意思。”

“我发现什么东西时，就清楚‘它’是什么意思。‘它’通常指一只青蛙

the archbishop fnd?'

The Mouse did not notice this question, but hurriedly went on，‘“—found it advisable to go with Edgar Atheling to meet William and offer him the crown. William's conduct at frst was moderate.But the insolence of his Normans—”How are you getting on now, my dear?'it continued, turning to Alice as it spoke.

‘As wet as ever，'said Alice in a melancholy tone：‘it doesn't seem to dry me at all.'

‘In that case，'said the Dodo solemnly, rising to its feet，‘I move that the meeting adjourn, for the immediate adoption of more energetic remedies—'

‘Speak English！'said the Eaglet.‘I don't know the meaning of half those long words, and, what's more, I don't believe you do either！'And the Eaglet bent down its head to hide a smile：some of the other birds tittered audibly.

‘What I was going to say，'said the Dodo in an offended tone，‘was, that the best thing to get us dry would be a Caucus-race.'

‘What IS a Caucus-race?'said Alice；not that she wanted much to know, but the Dodo had paused as if it thought that SOMEBODY ought to speak, and no one else seemed inclined to say anything.

‘Why，'said the Dodo，‘the best way to explain it is to do it.'（And, as you might like to try the thing yourself, some winter day, I will tell you how the Dodo managed it.）

或一条虫子。问题是：大主教发现的是什么？”鸭子说。

老鼠没有注意到这个问题，而是匆匆忙忙接着说道：“——发现和埃德加·阿瑟林一起去迎接威廉，并授予他皇冠是可行的。威廉的统治起初是温和的。可是，他的诺曼人的傲慢——’你现在怎么样了，我的宝贝？”它一边说，一边转向爱丽丝。

“跟原来一样湿。”爱丽丝语调忧郁地说，“这好像根本不能把我弄干。”

“这样的话，我建议休会，马上采取更有效的措施——”渡渡鸟站起来严肃地说。

“说英语！”小鹰说。“这么长的话，我连一半都听不懂，而且更重要的是，我相信你也不懂！”说完，小鹰低下头偷偷笑了，其他一些小鸟也偷偷笑出声来。

“我要说的是，”渡渡鸟用恼怒的语调说，“让我们弄干身体的最好办法就是进行会议式赛跑。”

“什么是会议式赛跑？”爱丽丝问，并不想多问，但渡渡鸟停顿了一下，仿佛认为有人应该问，而别人好像什么都不想说。

“哎呀，”渡渡鸟说，“要说明它的最好办法就是做。”（也许你某个冬日也乐意尝试这种事儿，所以我来告诉你渡渡鸟是怎么做的。）

First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle，（‘the exact shape doesn't matter，'it said，）and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no‘One, two, three, and away，'but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over.However, when they had been running half an hour or so, and were quite dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out‘The race is over！'and they all crowded round it, panting, and asking，‘But who has won?'

This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of thought, and it sat for a long time with one fnger pressed upon its forehead（the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the pictures of him），while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said，‘EVERYBODY has won, and all must have prizes.'

‘But who is to give the prizes?'quite a chorus of voices asked.

‘Why, SHE, of course，'said the Dodo, pointing to Alice with one fnger；and the whole party at once crowded round her, calling out in a confused way，‘Prizes！Prizes！'

Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand in her pocket, and pulled out a box of comfts，（luckily the salt water had not got into it），and handed them round as prizes. There was exactly one a-piece all round.

‘But she must have a prize herself, you know，'said the Mouse.

‘Of course，'the Dodo replied very gravely.‘What else have you got in your

首先，它划出跑道，像一个圆圈。它说：“形状圆不圆没关系。”随后，全体人员沿跑道排开站好，根本不用喊“一，二，三，跑”而是谁想跑就跑，谁想停就停，因此不容易知道这场比赛什么时候结束。不过，等它们跑了半小时左右，身上完全干了之后，渡渡鸟就突然大声喊道：“比赛结束！”于是，它们都气喘吁吁围过来问道：“是谁赢了？”

这个问题，渡渡鸟要好好想想，才能回答。于是，它用一根手指按住额头（这个姿势在莎士比亚的画像中很常见）坐了好久，其他人都默默等待着。最后，渡渡鸟说：“大家都赢了，都有奖品。”

“可谁来发奖品呢？”大家齐声问道。

“哎呀，当然是她了。”渡渡鸟用一根手指指着爱丽丝说。于是，所有人立刻围住了她，乱哄哄嚷道：“奖品！奖品！”

爱丽丝根本不知道该怎么办，无奈地把手伸进口袋，掏出一盒糖果（幸运的是，咸水没有浸透），然后把糖果分给它们作为奖品。正好一人一块。

“可她自己也必须有一份奖品，你知道的。”老鼠说。

“当然，”渡渡鸟一本正经地回答说，“你口袋里还有别的东西吗？”它转向爱丽丝问道。

pocket?'he went on, turning to Alice.

‘Only a thimble，'said Alice sadly.

‘Hand it over here，'said the Dodo.

Then they all crowded round her once more, while the Dodo solemnly presented the thimble, saying‘We beg your acceptance of this elegant thimble'；and, when it had fnished this short speech, they all cheered.

Alice thought the whole thing very absurd, but they all looked so grave that she did not dare to laugh；and, as she could not think of anything to say, she simply bowed, and took the thimble, looking as solemn as she could.

The next thing was to eat the comfts：this caused some noise and confusion, as the large birds complained that they could not taste theirs, and the small ones choked and had to be patted on the back. However, it was over at last, and they sat down again in a ring, and begged the Mouse to tell them something more.

‘You promised to tell me your history, you know，'said Alice，‘and why it is you hate—C and D，'she added in a whisper, half afraid that it would be offended again.

‘Mine is a long and a sad tale！'said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing.

‘It IS a long tail, certainly，'said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail；‘but why do you call it sad?'And she kept on puzzling about it while the Mouse was speaking, so that her idea of the tale was something like this：

“只有一个顶针。”爱丽丝伤心地说。

“把它递过来。”渡渡鸟说。

这时，大家又围住了爱丽丝，渡渡鸟一本正经地送上顶针，说：“我们请求你收下这只精致的顶针。”渡渡鸟刚说完这句简短的话，大家就齐声欢呼起来。

爱丽丝认为整件事都非常可笑，但它们都一本正经，所以她也不敢笑，而她又想不起来要说什么，只好鞠了个躬，尽可能郑重地接过顶针。

接下来就是吃糖果，这引起了一阵喧闹骚动，因为大鸟们埋怨没有尝到糖味儿，小鸟们则噎住了喉咙，还得让别人替它们拍拍背。不管怎么说，糖果终于吃完了，它们又围坐成一圈儿，请求老鼠再讲点儿故事。

“你知道的，你答应过给我讲你的故事，”爱丽丝说，“你为什么憎恨——‘C（猫）’和‘D（狗）’。”她小声补充道，生怕又惹老鼠生气。

“我的尾巴（故事）又长又伤心。”老鼠转向爱丽丝，叹息说。

“它肯定是长尾巴，”爱丽丝低头好奇地审视着老鼠的尾巴说，“可你为什么说它伤心呢？”老鼠讲故事时，她一直对这莫名其妙，所以她对这个故事的印象就成了这个样子：

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‘You are not attending！'said the Mouse to Alice severely.‘What are you thinking of?'

‘I beg your pardon，'said Alice very humbly：‘you had got to the ffth bend, I think?'

‘I had NOT！'cried the Mouse, sharply and very angrily.

“你没有专心听！”老鼠严厉地对爱丽丝说，“你在想什么？”

“对不起，”爱丽丝非常谦恭地说，“我想，你已经到第五个弯了吧？”

“我没有弯！”老鼠非常生气地厉声说道。

‘A knot！'said Alice, always ready to make herself useful, and looking anxiously about her.‘Oh, do let me help to undo it！'

‘I shall do nothing of the sort，'said the Mouse, getting up and walking away.‘You insult me by talking such nonsense！'

‘I didn't mean it！'pleaded poor Alice.‘But you're so easily offended, you know！'

The Mouse only growled in reply.

‘Please come back and fnish your story！'Alice called after it；and the others all joined in chorus，‘Yes, please do！'but the Mouse only shook its head impatiently, and walked a little quicker.

‘What a pity it wouldn't stay！'sighed the Lory, as soon as it was quite out of sight；and an old Crab took the opportunity of saying to her daughter，‘Ah, my dear！Let this be a lesson to you never to lose YOUR temper！'

‘Hold your tongue, Ma！'said the young Crab, a little snappishly.‘You're enough to try the patience of an oyster！'

‘I wish I had our Dinah here, I know I do！'said Alice aloud, addressing nobody in particular.‘She'd soon fetch it back！'

‘And who is Dinah, if I might venture to ask the question?'said the Lory.

Alice replied eagerly, for she was always ready to talk about her pet：‘Dinah's

“你挽了一个结！”爱丽丝说，她总是乐意帮助别人，所以就焦急地环顾四周，“噢，请让我帮着解开吧！”

“我不会做这种事儿，你在胡说八道侮辱我！”老鼠说着起身就走。

“我不是那个意思！可你动不动就生气，你知道！”可怜的爱丽丝辩解说。

老鼠嘟哝了一声，算是回答。

“请回来讲完你的故事！”爱丽丝冲着它的背影喊道，其他动物也齐声喊道：“对，请回来！”可老鼠只是不耐烦地摇了摇头，而且走得更快了。

“它不愿意留下来真可惜！”老鼠刚从视野中消失，鹦鹉就叹息道，一只老螃蟹趁机对它的女儿说：“啊，我的宝贝！这对你是一个教训，千万不要发脾气！”

“别说了，妈！”小螃蟹有点儿暴躁地说，“你都足以去考验牡蛎的耐性了！”

“我们的黛娜在这里该多好！”爱丽丝没有特意针对谁，大声说道，“她一定会马上把它带回来！”

“我冒昧地问一下，黛娜是谁？”鹦鹉说。

爱丽丝总是乐意谈论她的宠物，于是就殷切地回答说：“黛娜是我们的

our cat. And she's such a capital one for catching mice you can't think！And oh, I wish you could see her after the birds！Why, she'll eat a little bird as soon as look at it！'

This speech caused a remarkable sensation among the party. Some of the birds hurried off at once：one old Magpie began wrapping itself up very carefully, remarking，‘I really must be getting home；the night-air doesn't suit my throat！'And a Canary called out in a trembling voice to its children，‘Come away, my dears！It's high time you were all in bed！'On various pretexts they all moved off, and Alice was soon left alone.

‘I wish I hadn't mentioned Dinah！'she said to herself in a melancholy tone.‘Nobody seems to like her, down here, and I'm sure she's the best cat in the world！Oh, my dear Dinah！I wonder if I shall ever see you any more！'And here poor Alice began to cry again, for she felt very lonely and low-spirited. In a little while, however, she again heard a little pattering of footsteps in the distance, and she looked up eagerly, half hoping that the Mouse had changed his mind, and was coming back to fnish his story.

猫，它捉老鼠堪称一流，你想都想不到！噢，你要是能看到它捉小鸟该多好！哎呀，它只要看见一只小鸟，就会吃掉！”

这番话在鸟兽中引起了轩然大波。有些鸟马上匆匆离去，一只老喜鹊双翅裹紧自己，说：“我真的必须回家了，夜晚的空气对我的喉咙不合适！”一只金丝鸟声音发抖地对它的孩子说：“快走，我的宝贝们！你们早该睡觉了！”它们都找各种借口离开了。不久，只剩下了爱丽丝一个人。

“我要是刚才没有提黛娜该多好！”爱丽丝语调忧郁地对自己说，“这里好像没人喜欢它。我相信它是世界上最棒的猫！噢，我亲爱的黛娜！不知道我是不是还会再见到你！”说到这里，可怜的爱丽丝又哭了起来，因为她感到非常孤独消沉。然而，过了一会儿，再次听到从远处传来了轻快的脚步声，她连忙抬起头，希望老鼠已经改变主意，要回来讲完它的故事。