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CHAPTER III. A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale
第三章 一场会议式赛跑和一个长故事
They were indeed a queer-looking party that assembled on the bank—the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur clinging close to them, and all dripping wet, cross, and uncomfortable.
集合在岸上的这一大群，确实稀奇古怪——羽毛湿了的鸟、毛紧贴着身子的小动物等等，全都是湿淋淋的，横躺竖卧的，显得很狼狈。
The first question of course was, how to get dry again: they had a consultation about this, and after a few minutes it seemed quite natural to Alice to find herself talking familiarly with them, as if she had known them all her life. Indeed, she had quite a long argument with the Lory, who at last turned sulky, and would only say, “I am older than you, and must know better;” and this Alice would not allow without knowing how old it was, and, as the Lory positively refused to tell its age, there was no more to be said.
重要的是：怎样把身上弄干，对这个问题，他们商量了一会儿。过了几分钟，爱丽丝就同它们混熟了，好像老相识似的。你瞧，爱丽丝已经同鹦鹉辩论了好长时间了，最后鹦鹉生气了，一个劲儿地说：“我比你年龄大，也就肯定比你知道得多。”可爱丽丝不同意这点，因为爱丽丝压根儿不知道它的年龄，而鹦鹉又拒绝说出自已的年龄，她们就再没话可说了。
At last the Mouse, who seemed to be a person of authority among them, called out, “Sit down, all of you, and listen to me! I’ll soon make you dry enough!” They all sat down at once, in a large ring, with the Mouse in the middle. Alice kept her eyes anxiously fixed on it, for she felt sure she would catch a bad cold if she did not get dry very soon.
最后，那只老鼠——它在它们中间好像很有权威似的——喊道：“你们全部坐下，听我说，我很快就会把你们弄干的！”他们立即都坐下了，围成一个大圈，老鼠在中间，爱丽丝焦急地盯着它，她很清楚，如果湿衣服不能很快干的活，她会得重感冒的。
“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—’”
“咳，咳！”老鼠煞有介事地说：“你们都准备好了吗？下面是我要说的最干巴巴的故事了，请大家安静点。‘征服者威廉的事业是教皇支持的，不久就征服了英国，英国人也需要有人领导，而且已经对篡权和被征服都习惯了。梅西亚和诺森勃列亚（海西亚Mercia和诺森勃利亚Northumbria是英国的两个古国。）的伯爵埃德温和莫卡……
“Ugh!” said the Lory, with a shiver.
“啊！”鹦鹉打着哆嗦。
“I beg your pardon!” said the Mouse, frowning, but very politely: “Did you speak?”
“请原谅！”老鼠皱着眉头说，但仍然很有礼貌地问：“你有什么话吗？”
“Not I!” said the Lory hastily.
“我没有啥说的！”鹦鹉急忙答道。
“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—’”
“我以为你有话要说哩！”老鼠说，“我继续讲，这两个地方的伯爵埃德温和莫卡都宣告支持威廉，甚至坎特伯雷的爱国大主教斯蒂坎德也发现这是可行的……”
“Found what?” said the Duck.
“发现什么？”鸭子问，
“Found it,” the Mouse replied rather crossly: “of course you know what ‘it’ means.”
“发观‘这’，”老鼠有点不耐烦地回答，“你当然不知道‘这’，的意思。”
“I know what ‘it’ means well enough, when I find a thing,” said the Duck: “it’s generally a frog or a worm. The question is, what did the archbishop find?”
“我发现了什么吃的东西时，当然知道‘这’是指什么。‘这’通常指一只青蛙或一条蚯蚓，现在的问题是：大主教发现的是什么呢？”鸭子还不停地呱啦着。
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 first was moderate. But the insolence of his Normans—’ How are you getting on now, my dear?” it continued, turning to Alice as it spoke.
老鼠一点也不理睬，只是急急忙忙地继续讲：“……发现与埃德加．阿瑟林一起去亲自迎接威廉，并授予他皇冠是可行的，威廉的行动起初还有点节制，可他那诺曼人的傲慢……，你感觉怎么样了？我亲爱的。”它突然转向爱丽丝问道。
