第六章 猪和胡椒

她站在那里望着那座房子,看了一两分钟,不知道该怎么办,突然一个穿制服的仆人——(她认为他是仆人,因为他穿着仆人的制服。要不然,仅从他的脸判断,她一定会把他叫作鱼)从树林里跑了出来——用指关节使劲敲着门。门被另一位穿制服的仆人打开了。他圆脸,眼睛像青蛙的那样大。爱丽丝注意到,这两个仆人满头卷发上都扑了粉。她十分好奇,想知道是怎么回事,便蹑手蹑脚地稍微从树林里走出来倾听。

鱼仆人先从胳膊下面拿出一封几乎跟他那么大的信,递给另一个仆人,语调严肃:“致公爵夫人:王后邀请她打槌球。”青蛙仆人只把语序略过变动,用同样严肃的声调重复道:“王后邀请:请公爵夫人打槌球。”

然后,他们都深鞠一躬,两人的卷发缠在了一块。看到这个情景,爱丽丝哈哈大笑。她连忙钻回树林,以免他们听到她的笑声。她再出来看时,鱼仆人

when she next peeped out the Fish-Footman was gone, and the other was sitting on the ground near the door, staring stupidly up into the sky.

Alice went timidly up to the door, and knocked.

‘There's no sort of use in knocking,'said the Footman,‘and that for two reasons. First, because I'm on the same side of the door as you are;secondly, because they're making such a noise inside, no one could possibly hear you.'And certainly there was

已经走了,另一个仆人则坐在门边的地上,正望着天空发呆。

爱丽丝怯生生地走到门口,敲了敲门。

“敲门不怎么管用。”仆人说,“那有两个原因。第一,因为我和你一样在门外边;第二,因为他们在里面发出那么大的响声,所以没人可能会听到你

a most extraordinary noise going on within—a constant howling and sneezing, and every now and then a great crash, as if a dish or kettle had been broken to pieces.

‘Please, then,'said Alice,‘how am I to get in?'

‘There might be some sense in your knocking,'the Footman went on without attending to her,‘if we had the door between us. For instance, if you were INSIDE, you might knock, and I could let you out, you know.'He was looking up into the sky all the time he was speaking, and this Alice thought decidedly uncivil.‘But perhaps he can't help it,'she said to herself;‘his eyes are so VERY nearly at the top of his head.But at any rate he might answer questions.—How am I to get in?'she repeated, aloud.

‘I shall sit here,'the Footman remarked,‘till tomorrow—'

At this moment the door of the house opened, and a large plate came skimming out, straight at the Footman's head:it just grazed his nose, and broke to pieces against one of the trees behind him.

‘—or next day, maybe,'the Footman continued in the same tone, exactly as if nothing had happened.

‘How am I to get in?'asked Alice again, in a louder tone.

‘ARE you to get in at all?'said the Footman.‘That's the frst question, you know.'

It was, no doubt:only Alice did not like to be told so.‘It's really dreadful,'she

敲门。”确实,里面传来异乎寻常的嘈杂声——嚎叫声、喷嚏声不绝于耳,不时还传来响亮的撞击声,好像是碟子或水壶打碎了。

“那请问,”爱丽丝说,“我怎么进去呀?”

“如果门在我们之间,你敲门可能还有些意义,”仆人没有理睬爱丽丝,继续说道,“比如,如果你在里面敲门,我就能让你出来,你知道的。”他说话时一直望着天空,爱丽丝认为这非常不礼貌。“也许他不得不这样,”她心里想,“因为他的两只眼睛简直快长到头顶上去了。可是,不管怎样,他还能回答问题。——我怎么进去呢?”她大声又问了一遍。

“我要坐在这里,”仆人说,“直到明天——”

这时,房门开了,一只大盘子直冲仆人的头飞来,刚好擦着他的鼻子而过,在他身后的一棵树上撞成了碎片。

“或许到后天。”仆人继续用同样的语调说道,简直就像什么事儿也没发生过似的。

“我怎么进去呢?”爱丽丝提高嗓音又问道。

“你到底想不想要进去?”仆人说,“这是首要问题,你知道的。”

这毫无疑问,只是爱丽丝不喜欢别人对她这样说话。“真可怕,”她喃喃

muttered to herself,‘the way all the creatures argue. It's enough to drive one crazy!'

The Footman seemed to think this a good opportunity for repeating his remark, with variations.‘I shall sit here,'he said,‘on and off, for days and days.'

‘But what am I to do?'said Alice.

‘Anything you like,'said the Footman, and began whistling.

‘Oh, there's no use in talking to him,'said Alice desperately:‘he's perfectly idiotic!'And she opened the door and went in.

The door led right into a large kitchen, which was full of smoke from one end to the other:the Duchess was sitting on a three-legged stool in the middle, nursing a baby;the cook was leaning over the fre, stirring a large cauldron which seemed to be full of soup.

‘There's certainly too much pepper in that soup!'Alice said to herself, as well as she could for sneezing.

There was certainly too much of it in the air. Even the Duchess sneezed occasionally;and as for the baby, it was sneezing and howling alternately without a moment's pause.The only things in the kitchen that did not sneeze, were the cook, and a large cat which was sitting on the hearth and grinning from ear to ear.

‘Please would you tell me,'said Alice, a little timidly, for she was not quite sure whether it was good manners for her to speak frst,‘why your cat grins like that?'

自语说,“这些动物都这样跟人辩论,足够把人气疯!”

仆人似乎认为这是重复自己观点的一个不错的机会,只是略做了改动。“我将坐在这里,”他说,“断断续续,一天又一天。”

“可我怎么办?”爱丽丝说。

“你爱干什么干什么。”说着,仆人吹起了口哨。

“噢,对他讲话根本没用,”爱丽丝绝望地说道,“他完全是个白痴!”说完,她打开门,走了进去。

一进门就是一间大厨房,从这头到那头到处都是烟雾腾腾。公爵夫人坐在房间中央一只三条腿的凳子上,正在照看一个婴儿。厨师靠在炉子边上,正在搅满满一大锅汤。

“汤里的胡椒确实太多了!”爱丽丝心里暗想,正想着不由打了个喷嚏。

空气中的胡椒味的确太浓了,甚至公爵夫人也不时地打着喷嚏。至于那个婴儿,不是打喷嚏就是号哭,一刻也没有停过。厨房里只有两位不打喷嚏,那就是厨师和一只大猫。那只猫卧在壁炉边上,嘴都笑到耳朵边去了。

“你愿意告诉我,”爱丽丝有点儿胆怯地问,因为她还拿不准自己先开口礼不礼貌,“你的猫为什么那样笑呢?”

‘It's a Cheshire cat,'said the Duchess,‘and that's why. Pig!'

She said the last word with such sudden violence that Alice quite jumped;but she saw in another moment that it was addressed to the baby, and not to her, so she took courage, and went on again:‘I didn't know that Cheshire cats always grinned;in fact, I didn't know that cats COULD grin.'

‘They all can,'said the Duchess;‘and most of'em do.'

‘I don't know of any that do,'Alice said very politely, feeling quite pleased to have got into a conversation.

‘You don't know much,'said the Duchess;‘and that's a fact.'

Alice did not at all like the tone of this remark, and thought it would be as well to introduce some other subject of conversation. While she was trying to fx on one, the cook took the cauldron of soup off the fire, and at once set to work throwing everything within her reach at the Duchess and the baby—the fre-irons came frst;then followed a shower of saucepans, plates, and dishes.The Duchess took no notice of them even when they hit her;and the baby was howling so much already, that it was quite impossible to say whether the blows hurt it or not.

‘Oh, PLEASE mind what you're doing!'cried Alice, jumping up and down in an agony of terror.‘Oh, there goes his PRECIOUS nose';as an unusually large saucepan few close by it, and very nearly carried it off.

“它是一只柴郡猫,”公爵夫人说,“这就是原因。猪!”

公爵夫人冷不丁说出那么强劲的最后一个字,把爱丽丝吓了一大跳。不过,爱丽丝很快看出那是针对婴儿说的话,而不是针对她。于是,她鼓起勇气,继续又说道:“我原来不知道柴郡猫总是咧嘴笑。其实,我不知道猫会笑。”

“它们都会笑,”公爵夫人说,“大多数都会。”

“会笑的猫,我连一只都不知道。”爱丽丝很有礼貌地说,觉得同公爵夫人谈得来,非常高兴。

“你知道的不多,”公爵夫人说,“那是事实。”

爱丽丝一点儿也不喜欢公爵夫人说这话的口气,认为不妨谈些别的话题。她正在集中精力想话题,厨师把汤锅从火上端下来,随即开始将随手能拿到的所有东西,统统扔向公爵夫人和婴儿——先是火钳,紧接着是炖锅、盘子和碟子雨点般飞来。甚至那些东西砸在身上,公爵夫人也毫不理会。婴儿早已号啕大哭,根本不可能会说清楚这些东西打在身上疼不疼。

“噢,请当心你的行为!”爱丽丝吓得上蹦下跳大声喊道,“噢,他的宝贝鼻子。”一口特大号的炖锅紧擦着婴儿的鼻子飞了过去,差点儿将它削掉。

‘If everybody minded their own business,'the Duchess said in a hoarse growl,‘the world would go round a deal faster than it does.'

‘Which would NOT be an advantage,'said Alice, who felt very glad to get an opportunity of showing off a little of her knowledge.‘Just think of what work it would make with the day and night!You see the earth takes twenty-four hours to turn round on its axis—'

‘Talking of axes,'said the Duchess,‘chop off her head!'

Alice glanced rather anxiously at the cook, to see if she meant to take the hint;but the cook was busily stirring the soup, and seemed not to be listening, so she went on again:‘Twenty-four hours, I THINK;or is it twelve?I—'

‘Oh, don't bother ME,'said the Duchess;‘I never could abide fgures!'

And with that she began nursing her child again, singing a sort of lullaby to it as she did so, and giving it a violent shake at the end of every line:

“如果每个人都关心自己的事儿,”公爵夫人声音嘶哑地吼道,“地球就会比现在转得快多了。”

“这不见得有什么好处,”爱丽丝说,她很高兴有机会卖弄一下自己那点儿知识,“试想一下,这会把白天和黑夜变成什么样子!你明白的,地球绕轴(axis)旋转要用24小时——”

“说axes(斧子),”公爵夫人说,“砍掉她的头!”

爱丽丝忐忑不安地看着厨师,看厨师是不是领会了公爵夫人的意思,要采取行动。不过,厨师正忙着搅汤,好像没有在听。于是,她又继续说道:“我想,是24小时,还是12小时?我——”

“噢,别打扰我,”公爵夫人说,“我从来都无法容忍数字!”

说着,她又开始照看起自己的孩子,一边照看,一边对孩子唱起了催眠曲,唱到每一句的句尾,她都要猛地摇一下孩子。

‘Speak roughly to your little boy,

“你对小男孩说话要粗,

And beat him when he sneezes:

他一打喷嚏,你就揍,

He only does it to annoy,

他这样做只是为了捣包,

Because he knows it teases.'

因为他知道这是在撒娇。”

CHORUS.

合唱

(In which the cook and the baby joined):

(厨师和小孩也唱了起来):

‘Wow!Wow!Wow!'

“哇!哇!哇!”

While the Duchess sang the second verse of the song, she kept tossing the baby violently up and down, and the poor little thing howled so, that Alice could hardly hear the words:

公爵夫人唱到歌曲第二段时,把婴儿剧烈地抛上抛下,可怜的小家伙号哭得太厉害了,爱丽丝几乎听不清歌词:

‘I speak severely to my boy,

“我对小男孩说话要吼,

I beat him when he sneezes;

他一打喷嚏,我就揍;

For he can thoroughly enjoy

因为他只要一开心,

The pepper when he pleases!'

就完全能爱胡椒味!”

CHORUS.

合唱

‘Wow!Wow!wow!'

“哇!哇!哇!”

‘Here!You may nurse it a bit, if you like!'the Duchess said to Alice, flinging the baby at her as she spoke.‘I must go and get ready to play croquet with the Queen,'and she hurried out of the room. The cook threw a frying pan after her as she went out, but it just missed her.

“过来!如果你乐意,不妨照看他一会儿!”公爵夫人对爱丽丝说,她一边说,一边把婴儿抛向了她。“我必须走了,准备和王后打槌球。”说着,她匆匆走出了房间。她往外走时,厨师从后面向她扔了一只煎锅,差点儿打中她。

Alice caught the baby with some difficulty, as it was a queer-shaped little creature, and held out its arms and legs in all directions,‘just like a star-fish,'thought Alice. The poor little thing was

爱丽丝费了好一番劲儿才算接住那个婴儿,因为他是个形状怪异的小东西,胳膊、腿伸向四面八方,“就

snorting like a steam engine when she caught it, and kept doubling itself up and straightening itself out again, so that altogether, for the frst minute or two, it was as much as she could do to hold it.

As soon as she had made out the proper way of nursing it,(which was to twist it up into a sort of knot, and then keep tight hold of its right ear and left foot, so as to prevent its undoing itself,)she carried it out into the open air.‘IF I don't take this child away with me,'thought Alice,‘they're sure to kill it in a day or two:wouldn't it be murder to leave it behind?'She said the last words out loud, and the little thing grunted in reply(it had left off sneezing by this time).‘Don’t grunt,’said Alice;‘that’s not at all a proper way of expressing yourself.’

The baby grunted again, and Alice looked very anxiously into its face to see what was the matter with it. There could be no doubt that it had a VERY turn-up nose, much more like a snout than a real nose;also its eyes were getting extremely small for a baby:altogether Alice did not like the look of the thing at all.‘But perhaps it was only sobbing,'she thought, and looked into its eyes again, to see if there were any tears.

No, there were no tears.‘If you're going to turn into a pig, my dear,'said Alice, seriously,‘I'll have nothing more to do with you. Mind now!'

The poor little thing sobbed again(or grunted, it was impossible to say which),and

像一只海星,”爱丽丝想。她接住时,可怜的小家伙像蒸汽机一样喷着气,并且一会儿缩成一团,一会儿又挺直身子,足足折腾了一、两分钟,弄得爱丽丝差点儿抓不住他。

她一搞清楚抱这个婴儿的适当办法(就是把他拧成一个结的样子,牢牢地抓住右耳和左脚,以免他自己打开),就把他带到了户外。“如果我不带走这个孩子,”爱丽丝想,“她们肯定在一、两天里就会把他杀死。把他留在这里不就等于杀了他吗?”最后一句她说的声音大,小家伙咕哝了一声算是回答(他这时已经不打喷嚏了)。“别咕哝,”爱丽丝说,“那根本不是你表达自己的正确方法。”

婴儿又咕哝了一声,爱丽丝焦急万分地看着他的脸,看是怎么回事。毫无疑问,他有一只朝天鼻,与其说像人的鼻子,不如说更像猪的鼻子;跟普通婴儿相比,他的眼睛逐渐变得特别小。爱丽丝一点儿也不喜欢他这副模样。“也许他只是在哭吧,”爱丽丝想着,又看了看他的眼睛,看是不是有眼泪。

没有,一点眼泪也没有。“如果将来你变成一头猪,我的宝贝,”爱丽丝严肃地说,“我就再也不管你了。现在当心!”

可怜的小家伙又哭了起来(或者说咕哝,很难说清是哪一种)。他们默默

they went on for some while in silence.

Alice was just beginning to think to herself,‘Now, what am I to do with this creature when I get it home?'when it grunted again, so violently, that she looked down into its face in some alarm. This time there could be NO mistake about it:it was neither more nor less than a pig, and she felt that it would be quite absurd for her to carry it further.

So she set the little creature down, and felt quite relieved to see it trot away quietly into the wood.‘If it had grown up,'she said to herself,‘it would have made a dreadfully ugly child:but it makes rather a handsome pig, I think.'And she began thinking over other children she knew, who might do very well as pigs, and was just saying to herself,‘if one only knew the right way to change them—'when she was a little startled by seeing the Cheshire Cat sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off.

The Cat only grinned when it saw Alice. It looked good-

地继续往前走了一会儿。

爱丽丝暗想:“我把这小家伙带回家,该怎么处理呢?”正在这时,他又咕哝了一声,很剧烈,爱丽丝不禁惊慌地低头看他的脸。这次一点都不错:他就是一头猪。她觉得她要是再带着他就太荒唐了。

于是,她把小家伙放了

下来。看着他默默地跑进树林,她如释重负。“长大后,”她心里想,“他一定会变成一个很丑的孩子,但我想他会成为一头非常漂亮的猪。”她开始认真思考她认识的其他孩子。如果变成猪,他们长得也许算非常不错。她正在想:“只要有人知道改变他们的正确方法——”这时,她看到那只柴郡猫坐在离她几码远的一棵树的大树枝上,微微吃了一惊。

柴郡猫看到爱丽丝,只是咧嘴笑了笑,样子和善。她想:不过,它的爪子

natured, she thought:still it had VERY long claws and a great many teeth, so she felt that it ought to be treated with respect.

‘Cheshire Puss,'she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name:however, it only grinned a little wider.

‘Come, it's pleased so far,'thought Alice, and she went on.‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,'said the Cat.

‘I don't much care where—'said Alice.

‘Then it doesn't matter which way you go,'said the Cat.

‘—so long as I get SOMEWHERE,'Alice added as an explanation.

‘Oh, you're sure to do that,'said the Cat,‘if you only walk long enough.'

Alice felt that this could not be denied, so she tried another question.‘What sort of people live about here?'

‘In THAT direction,'the Cat said, waving its right paw round,‘lives a Hatter:and in THAT direction,'waving the other paw,‘lives a March Hare. Visit either you like:they're both mad.'

‘But I don't want to go among mad people,'Alice remarked.

‘Oh, you can't help that,'said the Cat:‘we're all mad here. I'm mad.You're mad.’

很长,牙齿很多,所以她觉得她还是应该尊敬它。

“柴郡猫,”她开口说道,有点儿胆怯,因为她一点儿也不知道它喜不喜欢这个名字。不过,猫只是把嘴咧得更大了。

“嗨,目前来看,它很高兴,”爱丽丝想。她便继续说道,“请你告诉我,离开这里应该走哪条路?”

“那得完全看你想去哪里。”猫说。

“我不大在乎去哪里——”爱丽丝说。

“那你走哪条路都没关系。”猫说。

“——只要我走得到某个地方。”爱丽丝补充了一句,作为解释。

“噢,只要你走得够远,”猫说,“你肯定能走到。”

爱丽丝觉得这无法否认。她就试着又提了一个问题。“这周围住的都是哪种人?”

“那个方向,”猫把右爪一挥说,“住着一个帽匠;那个方向,”猫又挥了挥另一个爪子,“住着一只三月兔。只要你愿意,拜访哪个都行:他们俩都是疯子。”

“可我不想去疯子中间。”爱丽丝说。

“噢,这没办法,”猫说,“我们这里都是疯子。我是疯子。你也是疯子。”

‘How do you know I'm mad?'said Alice.

‘You must be,'said the Cat,‘or you wouldn't have come here.'

Alice didn't think that proved it at all;however, she went on,‘And how do you know that you're mad?'

‘To begin with,'said the Cat,‘a dog's not mad. You grant that?'

“你怎么知道我是疯子?”爱丽丝问。

“你肯定是疯子,”猫说,“不然你就不会到这里来。”

爱丽丝认为这个理由一点儿也不充分;不过,她还是继续问道:“你怎么知道你是疯子?”

“首先,”猫说,“狗不是疯子。这你承认吧?”

‘I suppose so,'said Alice.

‘Well, then,'the Cat went on,‘you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry.Therefore I’m mad.’

‘I call it purring, not growling,'said Alice.

‘Call it what you like,'said the Cat.‘Do you play croquet with the Queen today?'

‘I should like it very much,'said Alice,‘but I haven't been invited yet.'

‘You'll see me there,'said the Cat, and vanished.

Alice was not much surprised at this, she was getting so used to queer things happening. While she was looking at the place where it had been, it suddenly appeared again.

‘By-the-way, what became of the baby?'said the Cat.‘I'd nearly forgotten to ask.'

‘It turned into a pig,'

Alice quietly said, just as if it had come back in a natural way.

‘I thought it would,'s a i d t h e C a t, a n d vanished again.

“我想是的。”爱丽丝说。

“好,那么,”猫接着说,“你明白的,狗生气时会

狂吠,高兴时会摇尾巴。而我高兴时狂吠,生气时却摇尾巴。所以,我是疯子。”

“我把它叫作呜呜叫,而不是狂吠。”爱丽丝说。

“你想怎么叫就怎么叫,”猫说,“你今天和王后打槌球吗?”

“我非常喜欢打槌球,”爱丽丝说,“可我还没受到邀请呢。”

“你会在那里见到我的!”猫说完就不见了。

爱丽丝对此并不怎么吃惊。她渐渐习惯了出现的诸多怪事。她正在看着猫刚才待过的地方,猫突然又出现了。

“顺便问一下,那个婴儿后来怎么样了?”猫说,“我差点儿忘了问。”

“它变成了一只猪。”爱丽丝平静地说,她的回答仿佛是那么自然。

“我想它就会变成猪。”说完,猫又不见了。

Alice waited a little, half expecting to see it again, but it did not appear, and after a minute or two she walked on in the direction in which the March Hare was said to live.‘I've seen hatters before,'she said to herself;‘the March Hare will be much the most interesting, and perhaps as this is May it won't be raving mad—at least not so mad as it was in March.'As she said this, she looked up, and there was the Cat again, sitting on a branch of a tree.

‘Did you say pig, or fg?'said the Cat.

‘I said pig,'replied Alice;‘and I wish you wouldn't keep appearing and vanishing so suddenly:you make one quite giddy.'

‘All right,'said the Cat;and this time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone.

‘Well!I've often seen a cat without a grin,'thought Alice;‘but a grin without a cat!It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!'

She had not gone much farther before she came in sight of the house of the March Hare:she thought it must be the right house, because the chimneys were shaped like ears and the roof was thatched with fur. It was so large a house, that she did not like to go nearer till she had nibbled some more of the left-hand bit of mushroom, and raised herself to about two feet high:even then she walked up towards it rather timidly, saying to herself,‘Suppose it should be raving mad after all!I almost wish I'd gone to see the Hatter instead!'

爱丽丝等了一小会儿,有点希望能再看见它,但它没有出现。一两分钟过去,她朝据说是三月兔住的方向走去。“我以前曾见过帽匠。”她心想,“三月兔一定非常有趣得多,现在是五月,也许它不会疯疯癫癫,至少没有三月那样疯狂。”她一边说,一边抬头望去,只见猫又出现了,它坐在一棵树的树枝上。

“你刚才说的是猪还是树?”猫问。

“我说的是猪,”爱丽丝回答,“我希望你不要忽来忽去,搞得人头晕眼花。”

“好吧,”猫说。这次它消失得非常缓慢,先是尾巴尖不见,最后是笑脸,笑脸是在身体其他部位消失后才不见的。

“哎哟,没有笑脸的猫,我经常见,”爱丽丝想,“倒没见过没有猫的笑脸!这是我一生见过的最奇怪的事儿。”

她没走多远,就看到了三月兔的房子,她想一定就是那座房子,因为烟囱的形状像兔耳朵,屋顶铺着兔毛。房子非常大。她咬了一口左手上的蘑菇,让自己长到大约两英尺高后,才主动走上前。甚至走近房子时还非常胆怯,她心里想:“假如它疯疯癫癫,怎么办?我要是先去帽匠那里该多好啊!”