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"I dare say you're wondering why I don't put my arm round your waist," the Duchess said after a pause: "the reason is, that I'm doubtful about the temper of your flamingo. Shall I try the experiment?"
“我敢说，你在纳闷我为什么不搂住你的腰，”公爵夫人停了一会儿说，“原因是我对你的火烈鸟的脾气还摸不透。我来试一下行吗？”
"He might bite," Alice cautiously replied, not feeling at all anxious to have the experiment tried.
它会咬人的。”爱丽丝谨慎地说，并不情愿这种尝试。
"Very true," said the Duchess: "flamingoes and mustard both bite. And the moral of that is -- ‘Birds of a feather flock together.'"
“很对，”公爵夫人说，“火烈鸟和芥末都会咬人。这之中的哲理是——‘物以类聚。’”
"Only mustard isn't a bird," Alice remarked.
“不过芥末可不是鸟啊。”爱丽丝说。
"Right, as usual," said the Duchess: "what a clear way you have of putting things!"
“对，通常是这样，”公爵夫人说，“你很会抓住事物的本质嘛！”
"It's a mineral, I think," said Alice.
“我想那是一种矿物吧。”爱丽丝说。
"Of course it is," said the Duchess, who seemed ready to agree to everything that Alice said; "there's a large mustard-mine near here. And the moral of that is -- ‘The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours.'"
“当然是啦，”公爵夫人说，好像爱丽丝说什么她都准备同意。“附近有一个很大的芥末矿。而这之中的哲理是——‘我得的越多，你得的就越少。’”
"Oh, I know!" exclaimed Alice, who had not attended to this last remark, "it's a vegetable. It doesn't look like one, but it is."
“哦，我知道了！”爱丽丝喊道，并没有听见最后一句话，“那是一种植物。虽然看着不像，可它是植物。”
"I quite agree with you," said the Duchess; "and the moral of that is -- ‘Be what you would seem to be' -- or if you'd like it put more simply -- ‘Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'"
“我十分同意你的意见，”公爵夫人说，“这之中的哲理是——‘你看像什么就是什么。’——或者你可以说得更简明些——‘永远不要把自己想象成可能在他人面前出现的样子以外的形象，因为你曾是或曾可能是的形象并不是你很可能已经在他人面前出现的另外的样子以外的形象。’”
"I think I should understand that better," Alice said very politely, if I had it written down: but I can't quite follow it as you say it."
“我想如果我把你的话写下来，”爱丽丝非常礼貌地说，“我会理解得好一点。你说的时候我没听明白。”
"That's nothing to what I could say if I chose," the Duchess replied, in a pleased tone.
如果我挑拿手的说，这不算什么。”公爵夫人得意地回答。
"Pray don't trouble yourself to say it any longer than that," said Alice.
请别费劲说比这个更长的了。”爱丽丝说。
"Oh, don't talk about trouble!" said the Duchess. "I make you a present of everything I've said as yet."
“哦，说不上费劲！”公爵夫人说，“我刚才所说的就算是送给你的一件礼物吧。”
"A cheap sort of present!" thought Alice. "I'm glad they don't give birthday presents like that!" But she did not venture to say it out loud.
“这种礼物可够省钱的！”爱丽丝想，“真高兴他们没送这一类的生日礼物！”不过她没敢大声说出来。
"Thinking again?" the Duchess asked, with another dig of her sharp little chin.
“又思考哪？”公爵夫人问道，用她那小尖下巴又磕了一下爱丽丝。
"I've a right to think," said Alice sharply, for she was beginning to feel a little worried.
“我有权利思考。”爱丽丝尖声说，开始有点儿急了。
"Just about as much right," said the Duchess, "as pigs have to fly; and them -- "
“大概正像猪有权利飞一样，”公爵夫人说，“而它们——”
But here, to Alice's great surprise, the Duchess's voice died away, even in the middle of her favourite word ‘moral,’ and the arm that was linked into hers began to tremble. Alice looked up, and there stood the Queen in front of them, with her arms folded, frowning like a thunderstorm.
令爱丽丝大吃一惊的是，说到这儿公爵夫人突然没声了，她最爱说的“哲理”一词甚至才刚说了一半，她那只挽住爱丽丝手臂的胳膊就开始哆嗦起来。爱丽丝抬眼望去，王后正站在她们面前，双臂交叉着，皱着眉，阴着脸。
