第4章 卖火柴的小女孩 The Little Match－Seller(2/3)

首发：~第4章 卖火柴的小女孩 The Little Match－Seller

旧年的最后一个夜晚，天气非常寒冷，天几乎黑了，雪下得很大。

it was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast

在寒冷和黑暗中，一个可怜的小女孩，光着头赤着脚在街上徘徊。

in the cold and the darkness, a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets

她离开家的时候确实穿着一双拖鞋，但它们没什么用。

it is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use

拖鞋很大，非常大，实际上，那是她妈妈穿过的，这个可怜的小家伙在跑过马路去躲避两辆疾驰的马车时把拖鞋弄丢了。

they were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate

她找不到其中一只拖鞋了，一个男孩捡起另一只就跑了，还说等他自己有了孩子，可以把这只拖鞋当摇篮用。

one of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle, when he had children of his own

于是小女孩就光着她的小脚继续走，小脚被冻得又红又青。

so the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold

她在一条旧围裙里装着许多火柴，手里还拿着一捆。

in an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands

一整天都没有人买她的东西，甚至没有一个人给她一个便士。

no one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had any one given here even a penny

她又冷又饿，哆哆嗦嗦地向前挪动；

shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along;

可怜的孩子，她看上去一副悲惨的样子。

poor little child, she looked the picture of misery

雪花落在她那长长的金发上，金发卷曲地披在她的肩上，但她并没有在意。

the snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not

每扇窗户都透出灯光，还飘出烤鹅诱人的香味，因为这是新年前夜 —— 是的，她记得这个。

lights were shining from every window, and there was a savory smell of roast goose, for it was new - year’s eve — yes, she remembered that

在两座房子之间的一个角落里，其中一座比另一座突出一些，她坐了下来，缩成一团。

in a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together

她把小脚缩到身子下面，但还是无法抵御寒冷；

she had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold;

她不敢回家，因为她一根火柴都没卖掉，连一个便士都没法带回家。

and she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny of money

她的父亲肯定会打她的；

her father would certainly beat her;

此外，家里几乎和这里一样冷，因为他们只有屋顶遮身，风呼啸着穿过屋顶，尽管最大的洞已经用稻草和破布堵住了。

besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags

她的小手几乎被冻僵了。

her little hands were almost frozen with the cold

啊！如果她能从那捆火柴里抽出一根，在墙上擦燃的话，也许一根燃烧的火柴会有点用处，哪怕只是暖暖手指也好。

ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers

她抽出一根 ——“哧！” 火柴燃烧时发出多么大的响声啊！当她把手放在火柴上方时，它发出温暖、明亮的光，就像一支小蜡烛。

she drew one out - ”scratch!” how it sputtered as it burnt! it gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it

这真是一道奇妙的光。

it was really a wonderful light

在小女孩看来，她正坐在一个大铁炉旁，铁炉有擦得发亮的黄铜脚和一个黄铜装饰品。

it seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament

火烧得多么旺啊！看起来是那么的温暖，孩子伸出脚去，好像要取暖似的，可是，瞧！火柴的火焰熄灭了，火炉消失了，她手里只剩下那根烧了一半的火柴梗。

how the fire burned! and seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half - burnt match in her hand

她又在墙上擦了一根火柴。

she rubbed another match on the wall