As soon as they sat down to supper, he gave Aladdin’s mother an account of his travels, saying that for forty years he had been away from home, in order to see the wonders of distant countries. Then, turning toward Aladdin, he asked his name. “I am called Aladdin,” said he. “Well, Aladdin,” said the magician, “what business do you follow?”
他们一坐下来吃晚饭,他就给阿拉丁的母亲讲述了他的旅行经历,说他离开家已经四十年了,为的是去看看遥远国家的奇观。然后他转向阿拉丁,问他的名字。“我叫阿拉丁。”他说。“阿拉丁,”魔术师说,“你在干什么?”
At this question Aladdin hung down his head and was not a little ashamed when his mother made answer: “Aladdin is an idle fellow; his father did all he could to teach him his trade, but could not succeed; and since his death, in spite of all I can say to him, he does nothing but idle away his time in the streets, so that I despair of his ever coming to any good.” With these words the poor woman burst into tears, and the magician, turning to Aladdin, said: “This is not well, nephew; you must think of making a living. I will help you as far as I may. What think you—shall I take a shop and furnish it for you?” Aladdin was overjoyed at the idea, for he thought there was little labor in keeping a shop, and he told his uncle this would suit him better than anything else.
听到这个问题,阿拉丁垂下头,当他母亲回答他时,他感到非常羞愧:“阿拉丁是个游手好闲的家伙;他的父亲尽其所能教他这一行,但没有成功; 自从他死后,尽管我能对他说些什么,他却什么也不做,只是在街上游手好闲,因此我对他将来不会有什么好处感到绝望。” 说完这句话,这个可怜的女人突然哭了起来,魔术师转身对阿拉丁说:“这可不太好,侄儿;你必须考虑谋生。我将尽我所能帮助你。你觉得怎么样——要不要我开个商店给你布置一下?”阿拉丁一想到这个主意就非常高兴,因为他认为经营一家商店几乎不需要什么劳动,他告诉他叔叔这比其他任何东西都更适合他。
“I will take you with me tomorrow,” said the magician, “clothe you as handsomely as the best merchants in the city, and then we will open a shop.”
“我明天会带你一起去,”魔术师说,“把你打扮得像城里最好的商人一样漂亮,然后我们就开一家商店。”
Aladdin’s mother then thanked him very heartily, and begged Aladdin to behave so as to prove himself worthy of the good fortune promised by his kind uncle.
于是阿拉丁的母亲衷心地感谢他,并恳求阿拉丁表现好一点,以证明自己配得上他好心的叔叔所许诺的好运。