Alice folded her hands, and began:
爱丽丝双手交叉,开始背诵:
"You are old, Father William," the young man said, "and your hair has become very white; and yet you incessantly stand on your head -- Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
青年说:“你已经老了,威廉爸爸,你的头发白得差不多啦,可你还坚持拿着倒立——你认为,你这岁数,这合适吗?”
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son, "I feared it might injure the brain; but, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, why, I do it again and again."
“年轻的时候,”威廉爸爸回答儿子说,“我怕脑子会受伤,可现在我肯定自己没脑子,所以,我就一遍一遍老这样。”
"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, and have grown most uncommonly fat; yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -- Pray, what is the reason of that?"
青年说:“我刚才提起,你已经老了,而且胖得出奇,可是你一个跟头从门口倒着翻进来,请问,这是什么道理?”
"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, "I kept all my limbs very supple by the use of this ointment -- one shilling the box -- Allow me to sell you a couple?"
“年轻的时候,”老哲人边说边摇晃灰白的发卷,“保持四肢十分灵便,全靠使用这种油膏——一先令一盒——我卖你两盒如何?”
"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak for anything tougher than suet; yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -- Pray, how did you manage to do it?"
“你已经老了,”青年说,“下巴已经活动,比板油硬的你已咬不动,可你却吃光了整只鹅,连喙带骨头——请问你采取的什么举动?”
"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, and argued each case with my wife; and the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw, has lasted the rest of my life."
“年轻的时候,”爸爸说,“研究法律,和我的妻子辩论每个案例,发达的肌肉,影响着下巴,在我后半辈子还坚韧有力。”
"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose that your eye was as steady as ever; yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -- What made you so awfully clever?"
“你已经老了,”青年说,“几乎没人认为你的目光依旧稳定,可你却能让鳗鱼在鼻尖上竖立,什么使你如此聪明绝顶?”
"I have answered three questions, and that is enough," said his father; "don't give yourself airs! Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!"
“我回答了三个问题,这已经够啦,”父亲说,“你别自大!以为我会整天听这些废话?滚开,不然我把你踢到楼梯下!”
"That is not said right," said the Caterpillar.
“背得不对。”毛毛虫说。
"Not quite right, I'm afraid," said Alice, timidly; "some of the words have got altered."
“恐怕是不全对,”爱丽丝说道,怯生生地,“有些词儿给改了。”
"It is wrong from beginning to end," said the Caterpillar decidedly, and there was silence for some minutes.
“从头到尾全都不对。”毛毛虫断然说,接着就是几分钟的沉默。
The Caterpillar was the first to speak.
还是毛毛虫先开了口。
"What size do you want to be?" it asked.
“你想变成多大?”它问道。
"Oh, I'm not particular as to size," Alice hastily replied; "only one doesn't like changing so often, you know."
“噢,我对多大倒也不在乎。”爱丽丝忙答道,“只是一个人不愿意老这么变来变去的,你知道。”
"I don't know," said the Caterpillar.
“我不知道。”毛毛虫说。
Alice said nothing: she had never been so much contradicted in her life before, and she felt that she was losing her temper.
爱丽丝什么也没说,她这辈子也没被人这么噎过,她觉着自己快压不住火儿了。
"Are you content now?" said the Caterpillar.
“你现在满意吗?”毛毛虫问。
"Well, I should like to be a little larger, sir, if you wouldn't mind," said Alice: "three inches is such a wretched height to be."
“嗯,你不介意的话,我愿意再大一点儿,先生。”爱丽丝说,“三英寸的个儿,实在是太可怜了。”
"It is a very good height indeed!" said the Caterpillar angrily, rearing itself upright as it spoke (it was exactly three inches high).
“这高度实际上正合适!”毛毛虫生气地说着,还往上挺了挺身子(它正好是三英寸高)。
"But I'm not used to it!" pleaded poor Alice in a piteous tone. And she thought of herself, "I wish the creatures wouldn't be so easily offended!"
“可我不习惯这个高度!”可怜的爱丽丝声调凄惨地辩解着,同时她想,“但愿这家伙不那么容易动怒!”
"You'll get used to it in time," said the Caterpillar; and it put the hookah into its mouth and began smoking again.
“到时候你就习惯了。”毛毛虫说,然后把水烟袋放进嘴里又抽了起来。