首发：~第6章 丑小鸭 The Ugly Duckling
《丑小鸭》，1844 年
the ugly duckling, 1844
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在过去的一个半世纪里，丑小鸭一直备受青睐，它在布拉姆斯托克（bram stoker）的《德古拉》（dracula）中被提及，在谢尔盖普罗科菲耶夫（sergei prokofiev）的音乐中被颂扬，而且不出所料地，在华特迪士尼（walt disney）的电影中被采用。
the ugly duckling has led a charmed existence over the past century and a half, alluded to in bram stoker’s dracula, celebrated in sergei prokofiev’s music, and, less surprisingly, taken up in walt disney’s films
这只可怜、被人鄙视的鸟儿的故事在许多文化中广为流传，成为我们最喜爱 —— 也是最令人安心的 —— 童年故事之一。
the story of the abject, despised bird has taken hold in many cultures, being one of our most beloved—and most reassuring—childhood tales
它向我们所有人，无论是孩子还是成年人，承诺我们有能力让自己变得更好。
it promises all of us, children and adults, that we have the capacity to transform ourselves for the better
像许多童话角色一样，丑小鸭温顺又矮小，是一窝幼崽中最小的。
like many a fairy - tale character, the ugly duckling is meek and small, the youngest in the brood
它在谷仓场院、荒野和家庭环境中都格格不入，无法与其他生物建立联系。
a misfit out of place in the barnyard, in the wilderness, and in the domestic arena, he is unable to find a bond with other creatures
但是，就像安徒生自己年轻时一样，它富有冒险精神且意志坚定，决心走向 “广阔世界”。
but, like andersen himself as a youth, he is adventurous and determined, resolving to go out into “the wide world”
它变成一只美丽的天鹅，世世代代以来一直被唤起，成为那些遭受社会孤立和个人不足感的人的一种慰藉。
his metamorphosis into a beautiful swan has been evoked for generations as a source of fort to those suffering from feelings of social isolation and personal inadequacy
孩子弱小无力，常常被轻视对待，他们可能会认同安徒生笔下的这个 “丑陋” 的生物，它可能没有什么前途，但最终却超越了那些看似有前途的。
small, powerless, and often treated dismissively, children are likely to identify with andersen’s “hideous” creature, who may be unpromising but who also, in time, surpasses the promising
正如布鲁诺贝特尔海姆（bruno bettelheim）在《魔法的用途》（the uses of enchantment）中指出的那样，安徒生笔下的主角不必接受通常强加给童话英雄的考验、任务和磨难。
as bruno bettelheim points out in the uses of enchantment, andersen’s protagonist does not have to submit to the tests, tasks, and trials usually imposed on the heroes of fairy tales
“《丑小鸭》中没有表达出需要完成任何事情。事情只是命中注定并相应地发展，不管主角是否采取行动”。
“no need to acplish anything is expressed in ‘the ugly duckling’ things are simply fated and unfold accordingly, whether or not the hero takes some action”
安徒生暗示丑小鸭的先天优势在于它是不同的品种。
andersen suggests that the ugly duckling’s innate superiority resides in the fact that he is of a different breed
与其他鸭子不同，它是从天鹅蛋里孵出来的。
unlike the other ducks, he has been hatched from a swan’s egg
这种自然界中隐含的等级制度 —— 高贵的天鹅与谷仓里的乌合之众相对 —— 似乎表明尊严和价值，以及审美和道德上的优越性，是由天性而非成就决定的。
this implied hierarchy in nature—majestic swans versus the barnyard rabble—seems to suggest that dignity and worth, along with aesthetic and moral superiority, are determined by nature rather than by acplishment
不管一个颂扬弱者胜利的故事有多少乐趣，在这个如今被全世界儿童阅读的故事中，由那种胜利所引发的一系列伦理和美学问题都值得深思。
whatever the pleasures of a story that celebrates the triumph of the underdog, it is worth pondering the full range of ethical and aesthetic issues raised by that victory in a story that is read today by children the world over
《丑小鸭》与其他三个故事一起发表在名为《新童话集》（new fairy tales）的合集中。
“the ugly duckling” was published with three other tales in a collection called new fairy tales
它几乎立刻就售罄了，安徒生在 1843 年 12 月 18 日的一封信中自豪地写到了它的成功：
it sold out almost immediately, and andersen wrote with pride about its success in a letter of december 18, 1843:
“这本书卖得非常快！所有的报纸都在赞扬它，每个人都在读它！我的书没有哪本像这些童话一样受到赞赏！”
“the book is selling like hot cakes! all the papers are praising it, everyone is reading it! no books of mine are appreciated in the way that these fairy tales are!”
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乡下正值可爱的夏季天气，金色的玉米、绿色的燕麦，还有堆放在草地上的干草堆看起来都很美。
it was lovely summer weather in the country, and the golden corn, the green oats, and the haystacks piled up in the meadows looked beautiful
那只迈着它红色长腿四处走动的鹳用它从母亲那里学来的埃及语叽叽喳喳地叫着。
the stork walking about on his long red legs chattered in the egyptian language, which he had learnt from his mother
玉米地和草地被大片森林环绕着，森林中间有深水池。
the corn - fields and meadows were surrounded by large forests, in the midst of which were deep pools
在乡下散步确实很惬意。
it was, indeed, delightful to walk about in the country
在一个阳光充足的地方，有一座宜人的老农舍靠近一条深河，从房子到河边长着巨大的牛蒡叶，长得非常高，在最高的叶子下面一个小孩可以站直身子。
in a sunny spot stood a pleasant old farm - house close by a deep river, and from the house down to the water side grew great burdock leaves, so high, that under the tallest of them a little child could stand upright
这个地方像茂密树林的中心一样荒凉。
the spot was as wild as the centre of a thick wood
在这个舒适的隐蔽处，一只母鸭坐在它的窝里，等待着它的幼雏孵出；
in this snug retreat sat a duck on her nest, watching for her young brood to hatch;
她开始对自己的任务感到厌烦了，因为小鸭子们从蛋壳里出来花费的时间太长了，而且她很少有访客。
she was beginning to get tired of her task, for the little ones were a long time ing out of their shells, and she seldom had any visitors
