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CHAPTER 1 PETER BREAKS THROUGH 第一章 彼得·潘闯进来了
All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!"This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.
所有的小孩都会长大成人，但有一个例外。所有的小孩很快都会知道他们将要长大，而温迪是这样知道的。当温迪两岁的时候，有一天她在一个花园里玩耍。她摘了一朵花，拿着花向妈妈跑去。我想，她看起来肯定非常讨人喜欢，因为达林夫人把手放在胸口，大声说道：“噢，你为什么不能永远都像这样呢！”在这个问题上，事情的经过就是这样的。但是从此以后，温迪就知道了，她终究是要长大的。你通常在两岁以后就知道这一点了。两岁是一个终点，但也是一个起点。
Of course they lived at 14 (their house number on their street), and until Wendy came her mother was the chief one. She was a lovely lady, with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth. Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East, however many you discover there is always one more; and her sweet mocking mouth had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get, though there it was, perfectly conspicuous in the right-hand corner.
当然，他们住在14号（这是他们的房子在街道上的门牌号）。温迪出生之前，妈妈是主要角色。她是一位可爱的女士，喜欢幻想，嘴巴很甜，喜欢逗弄别人。她那喜欢幻想的脑袋瓜，就像是产自神秘东方的小盒子，一个套着另一个，不管你打开了多少个，里面总还有一个。而她那甜甜的喜欢逗弄人的嘴巴，总挂着一个吻，但温迪从来也得不到，虽然它明明就在右边的嘴角上。
The way Mr. Darling won her was this: the many gentlemen who had been boys when she was a girl discovered simultaneously that they loved her, and they all ran to her house to propose to her except Mr. Darling, who took a cab and nipped in first, and so he got her. He got all of her, except the innermost box and the kiss. He never knew about the box, and in time he gave up trying for the kiss. Wendy thought Napoleon could have got it, but I can picture him trying, and then going off in a passion, slamming the door.
达林先生是这样赢得他太太的芳心的：她还是女孩时，身边有好些男孩。这些男孩长大后突然发现他们同时都爱上了她，因此他们全部都跑着去她家跟她求婚——但达林先生并没有这样做，他雇了一辆马车，第一个飞快地到达她家，于是他就这样得到她了。他得到了她所有的一切，除了最里层的那个盒子和那个吻。他对那个盒子从来都一无所知，而那个吻，随着时间的流逝，他也不再尝试着要去得到它了。温迪想，也许拿破仑能得到那个吻。但是我能想象他屡次尝试未果，之后生气地甩门而去的样子。
Mr. Darling used to boast to Wendy that her mother not only loved him but respected him. He was one of those deep ones who know about stocks and shares. Of course no one really knows, but he quite seemed to know, and he often said stocks were up and shares were down in a way that would have made any woman respect him.
达林先生老是向温迪吹嘘说，她妈妈不但爱他，而且敬重他。他是一个有高深学问的人，了解股票之类的事情。当然，没有人真的知道那些事，可他似乎挺了解的。他经常说股票涨了，股票跌了，说得头头是道，似乎能让每个女人都佩服他。
Mrs. Darling was married in white, and at first she kept the books perfectly, almost gleefully, as if it were a game, not so much as a Brussels sprout was missing; but by and by whole cauliflowers dropped out, and instead of them there were pictures of babies without faces. She drew them when she should have been totting up. They were Mrs. Darling's guesses.
达林夫人结婚的时候，穿着一身洁白的礼服。起初，她把家里的账簿记得非常仔细，甚至很愉快，就像玩游戏一样，连一个小菜芽都不会漏掉。可是渐渐地，整堆的花椰菜都漏记了，却出现了一些没有脸的小娃娃的图画。当她应该算总账的时候，她却画上了这些图画。达林夫人猜想着她的宝宝可能要来了。
Wendy came first, then John, then Michael.
温迪第一个出生了，然后是约翰，最后是迈克尔。
For a week or two after Wendy came it was doubtful whether they would be able to keep her, as she was another mouth to feed. Mr. Darling was frightfully proud of her, but he was very honourable, and he sat on the edge of Mrs. Darling's bed, holding her hand and calculating expenses, while she looked at him imploringly. She wanted to risk it, come what might, but that was not his way; his way was with a pencil and a piece of paper, and if she confused him with suggestions he had to begin at the beginning again.
温迪出生后的一两个星期，达林夫妇不知道他们能否留下她，因为她的出生意味着家里多了一个人要吃饭。达林先生有了温迪非常地得意，但是他同时也是一个很实在的人，他坐在达林夫人的床边，握着她的手，计算着开销，而达林夫人则恳求地望着他。她想，无论如何，都要冒险试一试，但是达林先生却不是这么做的。他拿起一支笔和一张纸开始算账，如果达林夫人提的意见打乱了他的思绪，他就又得重新算。
"Now don't interrupt," he would beg of her.
“现在不要打扰我了。”他会这样请求她。
"I have one pound seventeen here, and two and six at the office; I can cut off my coffee at the office, say ten shillings, making two nine and six, with your eighteen and three makes three nine seven, with five naught naught in my cheque-book makes eight nine seven—who is that moving? —eight nine seven, dot and carry seven—don't speak, my own—and the pound you lent to that man who came to the door—quiet, child—dot and carry child—there, you've done it! —did I say nine nine seven? yes, I said nine nine seven; the question is, can we try it for a year on nine nine seven?”"Of course we can, George," she cried. But she was prejudiced in Wendy's favour, and he was really the grander character of the two.
“我这里有一镑十七先令，办公室里有两先令六个便士。我可以取消办公室里的咖啡开支，算是省下十先令，那么就有了两镑九先令六便士，再加上你的十八先令三便士，我们就有三镑九先令七便士，我的支票上还有五镑零先令零便士，这样总共有八镑九先令七便士——谁在那里动？——八镑九先令七便士，小数点进位七——别说话，亲爱的——再加上你借给那个找上门的人的一镑——安静点，宝宝——小数点进位宝宝——看，都让你们给搞乱了！——我刚才说的是九镑九先令七便士吗？是的，我说的是九镑九先令七便士，问题是，我们可以靠九镑九先令七便士过一年吗？”“当然可以啦，乔治。”她大声说道。但她是在偏袒温迪，现在达林先生才是两个人中真正更为厉害的人。
"Remember mumps," he warned her almost threateningly, and off he went again. "Mumps one pound, that is what I have put down, but I daresay it will be more like thirty shillings—don't speak—measles one five, German measles half a guinea, makes two fifteen six—don't waggle your finger—whooping-cough, say fifteen shillings”—and so on it went, and it added up differently each time; but at last Wendy just got through, with mumps reduced to twelve six, and the two kinds of measles treated as one.
“别忘了腮腺炎。”他几乎是带着威胁的口吻提醒她，然后又接着算了起来。“腮腺炎要一镑，那是我算在账面的，但是我敢说可能要花得更多，就算三十先令——不要说话——麻疹要一镑五先令，风疹要花半个几尼，这样就要两镑十五先令六便士——不要晃手指——百日咳，算十五先令吧”——他就这么继续算着，而每次加起来的结果都不一样，但是最后温迪总算是熬过来了，腮腺炎减少到十二先令六便士，而两种麻疹也并作了一次治疗。
There was the same excitement over John, and Michael had even a narrower squeak; but both were kept, and soon, you might have seen the three of them going in a row to Miss Fulsom's Kindergarten school, accompanied by their nurse.
约翰也遇到了同样的风险，迈克尔更是侥幸脱险，但是两个孩子都成功地留下来了，而且很快地，你就能看到他们三个排着队到福尔萨姆小姐的幼儿园里去上学，由他们的保姆陪同着。
Mrs. Darling loved to have everything just so, and Mr. Darling had a passion for being exactly like his neighbours; so, of course, they had a nurse. As they were poor, owing to the amount of milk the children drank, this nurse was a prim Newfoundland dog, called Nana, who had belonged to no one in particular until the Darlings engaged her. She had always thought children important, however, and the Darlings had become acquainted with her in Kensington Gardens, where she spent most of her spare time peeping into perambulators, and was much hated by careless nursemaids, whom she followed to their homes and complained of to their mistresses. She proved to be quite a treasure of a nurse. How thorough she was at bath-time, and up at any moment of the night if one of her charges made the slightest cry. Of course her kennel was in the nursery. She had a genius for knowing when a cough is a thing to have no patience with and when it needs stocking around your throat. She believed to her last day in old-fashioned remedies like rhubarb leaf, and made sounds of contempt over all this new-fangled talk about germs, and so on. It was a lesson in propriety to see her escorting the children to school, walking sedately by their side when they were well behaved, and butting them back into line if they strayed. On John's footer days she never once forgot his sweater, and she usually carried an umbrella in her mouth in case of rain. There is a room in the basement of Miss Fulsom's school where the nurses wait. They sat on forms, while Nana lay on the floor, but that was the only difference. They affected to ignore her as of an inferior social status to themselves, and she despised their light talk. She resented visits to the nursery from Mrs. Darling's friends, but if they did come she first whipped off Michael's pinafore and put him into the one with blue braiding, and smoothed out Wendy and made a dash at John's hair.
达林夫人喜欢事事都顺其自然，但是达林先生却希望和邻居们保持一致。所以，他们当然得有一个保姆。由于他们很穷，孩子们喝牛奶花费得又多，所以他们的“保姆”其实是一只严肃的纽芬兰狗，名叫娜娜。在达林夫妇雇佣她之前，她并没有固定的主人。不过，她一直都认为孩子是很重要的。达林夫妇是在肯辛顿公园遇到她的。她在那里度过了大部分空闲的时间，经常把头伸进摇篮车窥探。那些粗心的保姆们很讨厌她，因为她总是跟她们回家，向雇佣她们的主人抱怨。事实证明，她的确是一名出色的保姆。给孩子洗澡的时候，她是如此地仔细周到。晚上不管任何时候，只要她照顾的孩子发出哪怕是很轻的一声哭叫，她就会立即醒来。她的窝当然是在育婴室里。她天生就知道，对待哪一种咳嗽不能掉以轻心，什么时候需要在脖子上围上长袜。她一向都对那些传统的治疗方法深信不疑，比如用大黄叶治病，而对细菌之类的新名词发出蔑视的声音。看她护送孩子们上学还真是给我们上了一堂行为规范课。孩子们乖的时候，她就静静地走在他们旁边；孩子们随便乱跑的时候，她就用头把他们推进队列。在约翰踢足球的日子里，她从未把他的毛衣落下过，而且嘴里总是叼着一把伞，以防下雨。在福尔萨姆小姐的幼儿园里，有一间地下室，保姆们在那里等着。一般保姆们会坐在条凳上，而娜娜则躺在地板上，但那是唯一的不同之处。她们假装无视娜娜，就因为她们觉得她的社会地位比她们低，而娜娜才鄙视她们那种无聊的谈话呢。她不喜欢达林夫人的朋友来育婴室，但是如果她们真的来了，她会首先把迈克尔的围裙扯下，给他换上那件带蓝色花边的，然后抚平温迪的衣服，再匆匆捋一捋约翰的头发。
No nursery could possibly have been conducted more correctly, and Mr. Darling knew it, yet he sometimes wondered uneasily whether the neighbours talked.
没有哪个育婴室能够打理得比这儿更好了，达林先生也知道这一点。但是他有时又会担心，邻居们会不会有闲言碎语。
He had his position in the city to consider.
他得考虑到自己在这个城市的地位。
Nana also troubled him in another way. He had sometimes a feeling that she did not admire him. "I know she admires you tremendously, George," Mrs. Darling would assure him, and then she would sign to the children to be specially nice to father. Lovely dances followed, in which the only other servant, Liza, was sometimes allowed to join. Such a midget she looked in her long skirt and maid's cap, though she had sworn, when engaged, that she would never see ten again. The gaiety of those romps! And gayest of all was Mrs. Darling, who would pirouette so wildly that all you could see of her was the kiss, and then if you had dashed at her you might have got it. There never was a simpler happier family until the coming of Peter Pan.
娜娜还在另一方面困扰着他。他有时觉得她并不那么佩服他。“我知道她是非常崇拜你的，乔治。”达林夫人会这样向他保证，然后示意孩子们要对爸爸特别好。接着，动人的舞蹈跳起来了。他们家唯一的另一个仆人莉莎，有时也能获准加入。莉莎穿着长裙，带着女仆的帽子，看起来是多么矮小啊，虽然受雇的时候，她发誓她肯定不止十岁了。这些嬉闹的人们是多么快乐啊！而其中最快乐的要数达林夫人了，她疯狂地踮起脚尖旋转着，你能看得清的就只有那个吻。如果这时你冲了上去，没准还能得到它呢。在彼得·潘来临之前，再也没有比他们更单纯、更开心的家庭了。
Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter when she was tidying up her children's minds. It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can't) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight. When you wake in the morning, the naughtiness and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on.
达林夫人是在整理孩子们想法的时候第一次听说彼得的。每一位好妈妈晚上都有一个习惯，那就是等孩子们睡着后，搜索他们的思绪，把白天散落的东西归回原位，把一切收拾整齐，迎接第二天的早晨。如果你能醒着（不过当然你不能），你就会看到你的妈妈在做这些事情，而你会发现看她收拾东西是件非常有趣的事。那很像是在整理抽屉。我猜，你会看见她跪着，饶有趣味地察看你的一些东西，想不通你到底是从哪里捡到这东西的。她发现有些东西是讨人喜欢的，有些则是招人讨厌的。她把某个东西贴在脸上，仿佛它和小猫一样可爱，又赶紧地把另一件东*藏西**得不见踪影。当你清晨醒来的时候，那些你睡觉前揣着的淘气的念头和坏脾气都被叠得小小的，放在你脑子的底层，而在上层，整整齐齐铺放着的是你那些美好的想法，等着你去拾起。
I don't know whether you have ever seen a map of a person's mind. Doctors sometimes draw maps of other parts of you, and your own map can become intensely interesting, but catch them trying to draw a map of a child's mind, which is not only confused, but keeps going round all the time. There are zigzag lines on it, just like your temperature on a card, and these are probably roads in the island, for the Neverland is always more or less an island, with astonishing splashes of colour here and there, and coral reefs and rakish-looking craft in the offing, and savages and lonely lairs, and gnomes who are mostly tailors, and caves through which a river runs, and princes with six elder brothers, and a hut fast going to decay, and one very small old lady with a hooked nose. It would be an easy map if that were all, but there is also first day at school, religion, fathers, the round pond, needle-work, murders, hangings, verbs that take the dative, chocolate pudding day, getting into braces, say ninety-nine, three-pence for pulling out your tooth yourself, and so on, and either these are part of the island or they are another map showing through, and it is all rather confusing, especially as nothing will stand still.
我不知道你是否看过人的心思的图片。医生有时会把你身上的其他部位画下来，而看你自己的图像会特别地有意思。但要是你看到医生在努力画一张孩子的心思的图，你会发现，那图不仅是令人费解的，还总是在绕圈。那上面有弯弯曲曲的线条，就像卡片上的体温记录。这些应该就是岛上的道路了吧，因为梦幻岛总的来说就是一个岛，四处散落着令人惊奇的色彩。海面上覆盖着珊瑚礁，漂流着轻快的小船；岛上有野人和孤零零的巢穴；有土地精灵们，他们大多是裁缝；有小河穿过的一个个洞穴；有王子们和他们的六个哥哥；有一间快要倒塌的小屋；还有一位长着鹰钩鼻、身材矮小的老妇人。如果那就是全部的话，这图画起来倒也简单。但是还有呢：第一天上学，宗教，爸爸，圆水池，针线活，谋杀案，绞刑，与格动词，吃巧克力布丁的日子，穿背带裤，数到九十九，自己拔牙得到了三便士，等等。这些要么是岛上的一部分，要么就是画在另外一张图片上了。总之，全部让人看不明白，尤其是在没有一件东西静止不动的情况下。
Of course the Neverlands vary a good deal. John's, for instance, had a lagoon with flamingoes flying over it at which John was shooting, while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it. John lived in a boat turned upside down on the sands, Michael in a wigwam, Wendy in a house of leaves deftly sewn together. John had no friends, Michael had friends at night, Wendy had a pet wolf forsaken by its parents, but on the whole the Neverlands have a family resemblance, and if they stood still in a row you could say of them that they have each other's nose, and so forth. On these magic shores children at play are for ever beaching their coracles. We too have been there; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more.
当然啦，每个人心目中的梦幻岛各不相同。拿约翰来说吧，他的梦幻岛有一个礁湖，火烈鸟在湖上飞翔，约翰就朝它们射去。而迈克尔呢，年纪还很小，他的梦幻岛则是有一只火烈鸟，有很多礁湖在火烈鸟上面飞。约翰住在一艘倒扣在沙滩上的船上，迈克尔住在一个印第安人的帐篷里，温迪住在一间用树叶巧妙缝成的屋子里。约翰没有朋友，迈克尔只在夜晚有朋友，温迪有一匹被父母抛弃的狼宝宝。但总的来说，他们的梦幻岛就像一家人一样，如果站成一排，你会说它们的鼻子长得一模一样，等等。在这些充满魔力的海岸边，玩耍的孩子们总是在将他们简陋的小圆舟拖上岸。我们也去过那个地方，我们至今还能听到海浪的声音，但是，我们再也不上岸了。
Of all delectable islands the Neverland is the snuggest and most compact, not large and sprawly, you know, with tedious distances between one adventure and another, but nicely crammed. When you play at it by day with the chairs and table-cloth, it is not in the least alarming, but in the two minutes before you go to sleep it becomes very real. That is why there are night-lights.
在所有让人快乐的岛中，梦幻岛是最舒适、最紧凑的了，不大也不散——也就是说，从一次冒险到另一次冒险，距离虽有点远，但也算得上恰到好处。白天，你用椅子和桌布玩岛上的游戏时，一点也不会觉得害怕。可是，在你临睡前的两分钟，它几乎就会变得很真实了。那就是晚上要点灯的原因。
Occasionally in her travels through her children's minds Mrs. Darling found things she could not understand, and of these quite the most perplexing was the word Peter. She knew of no Peter, and yet he was here and there in John and Michael's minds, while Wendy's began to be scrawled all over with him. The name stood out in bolder letters than any of the other words, and as Mrs. Darling gazed she felt that it had an oddly cocky appearance.
达林夫人在孩子们的脑袋中漫步的时候，偶尔会发现一些她无法理解的事，其中最叫她困惑的便是彼得这个名字。她对彼得一无所知，但在约翰和迈克尔的脑袋中他无处不在，而温迪的脑海中更是慢慢地开始涂满了这个名字。这个名字比其他任何字都要粗大和醒目。达林夫人盯着它看时，觉得它是那么古怪、自大。
"Yes, he is rather cocky," Wendy admitted with regret. Her mother had been questioning her.
“没错，他就是有点儿自大。”温迪遗憾地承认。妈妈一直不停地问她。
"But who is he, my pet?""He is Peter Pan, you know, mother."At first Mrs. Darling did not know, but after thinking back into her childhood she just remembered a Peter Pan who was said to live with the fairies. There were odd stories about him, as that when children died he went part of the way with them, so that they should not be frightened. She had believed in him at the time, but now that she was married and full of sense she quite doubted whether there was any such person.
“但他是谁啊，我的宝贝？”“他是彼得·潘啊，你知道的，妈妈。”起初，达林夫人并不知道，但是后来她回想自己的童年，也记起了一个叫彼得·潘的孩子。据说，他和精灵们住在一起。有关他的许多故事可奇怪哩，比如说，当孩子们死的时候，他会陪着他们走上一段路，这样孩子们就不会害怕了。她那时是相信的，可现在她结婚了，也懂得了许多道理，便非常怀疑这样一个人是否存在。
"Besides," she said to Wendy, "he would be grown up by this time.""Oh no, he isn't grown up," Wendy assured her confidently, "and he is just my size."She meant that he was her size in both mind and body; she didn't know how she knew, she just knew it.
“况且，”她对温迪说，“他现在应该长大了吧。”“噢，不，他没长大，”温迪信心满满地跟她保证，“而且他和我一样大。”温迪的意思是，彼得的身心都和她的一样大，她不知道自己是怎么知道的，反正她就是知道。
Mrs. Darling consulted Mr. Darling, but he smiled pooh-pooh. "Mark my words," he said, "it is some nonsense Nana has been putting into their heads; just the sort of idea a dog would have. Leave it alone, and it will blow over."But it would not blow over and soon the troublesome boy gave Mrs. Darling quite a shock.
达林夫人去问达林先生，他忍不住笑了。“记住我的话，”他说，“这只是娜娜塞进他们脑子里的可笑念头，这种念头狗才会有。别管了，这念头很快就会消失的。”但是这个念头并没有消失，而且不久，这个爱惹麻烦的男孩就让达林夫人大吃了一惊。
Children have the strangest adventures without being troubled by them. For instance, they may remember to mention, a week after the event happened, that when they were in the wood they had met their dead father and had a game with him. It was in this casual way that Wendy one morning made a disquieting revelation. Some leaves of a tree had been found on the nursery floor, which certainly were not there when the children went to bed, and Mrs. Darling was puzzling over them when Wendy said with a tolerant smile: "I do believe it is that Peter again!""Whatever do you mean, Wendy?""It is so naughty of him not to wipe his feet," Wendy said, sighing. She was a tidy child.
孩子们会经历非常奇怪的事情，却丝毫不感到害怕。比如，他们会在事情发生一个星期后才想起来说，他们在树林里遇见了死去的爸爸，还和他一起玩游戏。一天早上，温迪就是这样漫不经心地透露出一件令人担忧的事。在育婴室的地板上发现了几片树叶，但孩子们昨天晚上上床睡觉的时候可没有。达林夫人对这些树叶感到很困惑，但温迪宽容地笑着说：“我相信这一定又是那个彼得干的！”“你到底说什么呢，温迪？”“他太顽皮了，也不擦干净他的脚印。”温迪叹了一口气说道。她可是一个爱干净的孩子。
She explained in quite a matter-of-fact way that she thought Peter sometimes came to the nursery in the night and sat on the foot of her bed and played on his pipes to her. Unfortunately she never woke, so she didn't know how she knew, she just knew.
她解释起来倒真像有那么一回事——她觉得，有时彼得会在晚上来到育婴室，坐在她的床脚边，吹笛子给她听。遗憾的是，她从来没醒过，所以她不知道自己是怎么知道的，反正她就是知道。
"What nonsense you talk, precious. No one can get into the house without knocking."
“你在乱说什么，宝贝。不敲门谁也无法进来。”
"I think he comes in by the window," she said.
“我想他应该是爬窗进来的。”温迪说。
"My love, it is three floors up.""Were not the leaves at the foot of the window, mother?"It was quite true; the leaves had been found very near the window.
“亲爱的，这可是三楼啊。”“可是树叶不就是在窗边发现的么，妈妈？”确实如此，那些树叶就是在靠窗很近的地方发现的。
Mrs. Darling did not know what to think, for it all seemed so natural to Wendy that you could not dismiss it by saying she had been dreaming.
达林夫人不知道该怎么理出头绪了。因为温迪觉得一切都是那么自然，你不能说她是在做梦而对此置之不理。
"My child," the mother cried, "why did you not tell me of this before?""I forgot," said Wendy lightly. She was in a hurry to get her breakfast.
“我的孩子，”妈妈大声说道，“为什么你之前不告诉我呢？”“我忘记了。”温迪毫不在意地说。她正急着去吃早餐。
Oh, surely she must have been dreaming.
噢，没错，她肯定是在做梦。
But, on the other hand, there were the leaves. Mrs. Darling examined them very carefully; they were skeleton leaves, but she was sure they did not come from any tree that grew in England. She crawled about the floor, peering at it with a candle for marks of a strange foot. She rattled the poker up the chimney and tapped the walls. She let down a tape from the window to the pavement, and it was a sheer drop of thirty feet, without so much as a spout to climb up by.
但话说回来，地板上确实有树叶。达林夫人非常仔细地察看这些树叶，发现是一些只剩下叶脉的树叶，但是她确定英国没有可以长出这种树叶的树木。她趴在地板上，点亮了一根蜡烛，想看看有没有陌生人的脚印。她拿了跟拨火棒去捅烟囱，还用它敲了敲墙壁。她又从窗口放下一条带子，垂到地上，结果是，窗子高达30英尺，墙上连一个可以攀爬的喷水口都没有。
Certainly Wendy had been dreaming.
温迪肯定在做梦。
But Wendy had not been dreaming, as the very next night showed, the night on which the extraordinary adventures of these children may be said to have begun.
可是接下来的那个晚上证实了温迪并不是在做梦。就是在那个晚上，孩子们奇特的冒险正式开始了。
On the night we speak of all the children were once more in bed. It happened to be Nana's evening off, and Mrs. Darling had bathed them and sung to them till one by one they had let go her hand and slid away into the land of sleep.
在我们所说的那个晚上，所有的孩子都又在床上睡觉了。娜娜碰巧在那天晚上休息，达林夫人给孩子们洗澡，唱歌给他们听，直到他们一个接一个地松开了她的手，进入了梦乡。
All were looking so safe and cosy that she smiled at her fears now and sat down tranquilly by the fire to sew.
一切看起来都那么安全、祥和，达林夫人笑了，觉得自己的害怕是多余的。于是，她安静地坐在火炉边，缝起衣服来。
It was something for Michael, who on his birthday was getting into shirts. The fire was warm, however, and the nursery dimly lit by three night-lights, and presently the sewing lay on Mrs. Darling's lap. Then her head nodded, oh, so gracefully. She was asleep. Look at the four of them, Wendy and Michael over there, John here, and Mrs. Darling by the fire. There should have been a fourth night-light.
这是给迈克尔缝的，是给他生日那天穿的衬衫。炉火暖洋洋的，育婴室里点着三盏夜灯，忽暗忽明。没过多久，缝的衣服就落在达林夫人的膝盖上了。然后她的头往下一栽一栽的，噢，这是多么美好的画面啊。她也睡着了。看他们四个，温迪和迈克尔在那边睡着，约翰在这边，达林夫人则在火炉旁。应该再点亮第四盏夜灯的。
While she slept she had a dream. She dreamt that the Neverland had come too near and that a strange boy had broken through from it. He did not alarm her, for she thought she had seen him before in the faces of many women who have no children. Perhaps he is to be found in the faces of some mothers also. But in her dream he had rent the film that obscures the Neverland, and she saw Wendy and John and Michael peeping through the gap.
达林夫人睡着后，做了一个梦。她梦见梦幻岛离她非常近，从那里钻出来一个陌生的小男孩。小男孩并没有吓到她，因为她觉得她以前曾经在许多没有孩子的女人的脸上见过他的样子。或者她也在一些有孩子的女人脸上见过他。不过在她的梦里，小男孩却把遮掩梦幻岛的那层薄纱给撕开了，她看到温迪、约翰和迈克尔都在透过缝隙向里张望。
The dream by itself would have been a trifle, but while she was dreaming the window of the nursery blew open, and a boy did drop on the floor. He was accompanied by a strange light, no bigger than your fist, which darted about the room like a living thing and I think it must have been this light that wakened Mrs. Darling.
这个梦本身可能算不了什么，可就在她做梦的时候，育婴室的窗户突然打开了，一个男孩真的从天而降，落到了地板上。一簇奇怪的光伴着他，那光不比你的拳头大，却仿佛有生命似的在屋子里到处蹿动，我猜，肯定是这簇光把达林夫人弄醒了。
She started up with a cry, and saw the boy, and somehow she knew at once that he was Peter Pan. If you or I or Wendy had been there we should have seen that he was very like Mrs. Darling's kiss. He was a lovely boy, clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that ooze out of trees but the most entrancing thing about him was that he had all his first teeth. When he saw she was a grown-up, he gnashed the little pearls at her.
她大叫了一声，跳了起来，看到了那个男孩。不知为什么，她立刻就知道他就是彼得·潘。倘若你或我或温迪也在那里，我们就会发现，他实在是太像达林夫人的那个吻了。他是一个非常可爱的小男孩，身上穿着用只剩下叶脉的树叶和从树上流出来的汁液做成的衣服，不过他最吸引人的地方还是他那满口的乳牙。当他看到达林夫人是个大人的时候，便朝她咧开了那一口小珍珠般的牙齿。
CHAPTER 2 THE SHADOW 第二章 影子
Mrs. Darling screamed, and, as if in answer to a bell, the door opened, and Nana entered, returned from her evening out. She growled and sprang at the boy, who leapt lightly through the window. Again Mrs. Darling screamed, this time in distress for him, for she thought he was killed, and she ran down into the street to look for his little body, but it was not there; and she looked up, and in the black night she could see nothing but what she thought was a shooting star.
达林夫人尖声大叫。接着，就像是听到门铃响了一样，门打开了，刚刚夜游归来的娜娜闯了进来。她咆哮着向男孩扑去，可男孩轻轻一跃就跳出了窗外。达林夫人再次尖叫，这次是担心那个小男孩，她以为他摔死了。她连忙跑下楼，到街上去寻找他的小尸体，但却找不到。她抬头看去，黑暗的夜空中除了一道亮光就什么都看不到了，而她以为那只是一颗流星。
She returned to the nursery, and found Nana with something in her mouth, which proved to be the boy's shadow. As he leapt at the window Nana had closed it quickly, too late to catch him, but his shadow had not had time to get out; slam went the window and snapped it off.
达林夫人回到了育婴室，发现娜娜嘴里叼着什么，原来是那个小男孩的影子。小男孩往窗外跳的时候，娜娜迅速地关上了窗户，但还是没来得及抓住他，不过他的影子就没能逃走。窗户砰地一声就关上了，把他的影子扯了下来。
You may be sure Mrs. Darling examined the shadow carefully, but it was quite the ordinary kind.
也许你会猜到，达林夫人一定会仔细地检查那个影子，但那只是一个普通的影子而已。
Nana had no doubt of what was the best thing to do with this shadow. She hung it out at the window, meaning "He is sure to come back for it; let us put it where he can get it easily without disturbing the children."But unfortunately Mrs. Darling could not leave it hanging out at the window, it looked so like the washing and lowered the whole tone of the house. She thought of showing it to Mr. Darling, but he was totting up winter great-coats for John and Michael, with a wet towel around his head to keep his brain clear, and it seemed a shame to trouble him; besides, she knew exactly what he would say: "It all comes of having a dog for a nurse."She decided to roll the shadow up and put it away carefully in a drawer, until a fitting opportunity came for telling her husband. Ah me! The opportunity came a week later, on that never-to-be-forgotten Friday. Of course it was a Friday.
娜娜清楚地知道该怎么处理这个影子最好。她把它挂在窗户外面，心想：“男孩肯定会回来拿它的，让我们把影子放在他容易拿到的地方，这样就不会吵到孩子们了。”可不幸的是，达林夫人不愿意把影子挂在窗户外面，因为它看起来太像一件洗好的衣服，这样会降低房子的整体格调的。她想把这个影子给达林先生看，但他正在计算给约翰和迈克尔添置冬天的大衣要花多少钱。他还在头上搭了块湿毛巾，以保持头脑清醒。这时候去打扰他，好像有点不好意思。况且，达林夫人料到他肯定会说：“这都是因为让一只狗做保姆。”于是达林夫人决定把影子卷起来，小心地收在抽屉里，等找到合适的机会再告诉她丈夫。我的天啊！一星期后，在一个永远都无法忘记的星期五，机会终于来了。当然，那是一个星期五。
"I ought to have been specially careful on a Friday," she used to say afterwards to her husband, while perhaps Nana was on the other side of her, holding her hand.
“我在每个星期五本就该特别注意的。”过后她总是这样对她丈夫说，此时娜娜可能就在她的另一边，握着她的手。
"No, no," Mr. Darling always said, "I am responsible for it all. I, George Darling, did it. MEA CULPA, MEA CULPA."He had had a classical education.
“不，不，”达林先生总是说，“我应该对一切负责。我，乔治·达林，造成了这些。吾之过也，吾之过也。”他接受过古典教育。
They sat thus night after night recalling that fatal Friday, till every detail of it was stamped on their brains and came through on the other side like the faces on a bad coinage.
他们就这样坐着一夜又一夜地回想那个可怕的星期五，直到每个细节都深深地刻进他们的脑海里，像损坏了的硬币一样，从另一面透了过来。
"If only I had not accepted that invitation to dine at 27," Mrs. Darling said.
“要是我拒绝了27号那天的晚餐邀请就好了。”达林夫人说。
"If only I had not poured my medicine into Nana's bowl," said Mr. Darling.
“要是我没有把药倒进娜娜的碗里就好了。”达林先生说。
"If only I had pretended to like the medicine," was what Nana's wet eyes said.
“要是我假装喜欢那些药就好了。”娜娜的泪眼诉说着。
"My liking for parties, George.""My fatal gift of humour, dearest.""My touchiness about trifles, dear master and mistress."Then one or more of them would break down altogether; Nana at the thought, "It's true, it's true, they ought not to have had a dog for a nurse."Many a time it was Mr. Darling who put the handkerchief to Nana's eyes.
“怪我喜欢参加聚会，乔治。”“怪我那害人的幽默天赋，亲爱的。”“怪我太爱管闲事了，亲爱的主人们。”然后他们其中的一个或几个就会完全崩溃。娜娜心里想着：“没错，没错，他们是不该让一只狗当保姆。”好多次都是达林先生用手帕给娜娜擦眼泪。
"That fiend!" Mr. Daring would cry, and Nana's bark was the echo of it, but Mrs. Darling never upbraided Peter; there was something in the right-hand corner of her mouth that wanted her not to call Peter names.
“那个可恶的东西！”达林先生会大声喊道，娜娜也会叫着附和，但是达林夫人却从不责骂彼得，她右边的嘴角上有一点什么东西不让她骂彼得。
They would sit there in the empty nursery, recalling fondly every smallest detail of that dreadful evening. It had begun so uneventfully, so precisely like a hundred other evenings, with Nana putting on the water for Michael's bath and carrying him to it on her back.
他们就这样坐在那个空空的育婴室里，痴痴地回想起那个恐怖的夜晚的每一个最小的细节。那晚刚开始是平静无事的，像往常一样，娜娜为迈克尔倒好了洗澡水，背着他去洗澡。
"I won't go to bed," he had shouted, like one who still believed that he had the last word on the subject, "I won't, I won't. Nana, it isn't six o'clock yet. Oh dear, oh dear, I shan't love you any more, Nana. I tell you I won't be bathed, I won't, I won't!"Then Mrs. Darling had come in, wearing her white evening-gown. She had dressed early because Wendy so loved to see her in her evening-gown, with the necklace George had given her. She was wearing Wendy's bracelet on her arm; she had asked for the loan of it. Wendy loved to lend her bracelet to her mother.
“我不要睡觉。”迈克尔大声喊道，就好像他认为他自己能说了算，“我不，我不。娜娜，还没到六点呢。噢，亲爱的，噢，亲爱的，我再也不爱你了，娜娜。我告诉你，我不要洗澡，我不，我不！”然后达林夫人就进来了，穿着她那雪白的晚礼服。她很早就穿好了，因为温迪是那么地喜欢看她穿着晚礼服、戴着乔治送给她的项链的样子。她的手臂上戴着温迪的手镯，那是她跟温迪借来的。温迪喜欢把手镯借给妈妈戴。
She had found her two older children playing at being herself and father on the occasion of Wendy's birth, and John was saying: "I am happy to inform you, Mrs. Darling, that you are now a mother," in just such a tone as Mr. Darling himself may have used on the real occasion.
这时，达林夫人发现她的两个大点儿的孩子正在玩游戏，一个扮她，一个扮爸爸，扮演温迪出生那天的情景。而约翰正说道：“我很高兴地告诉你，达林夫人，现在你是一个妈妈了。”他还模仿达林先生在这种场景下会用的语气。
Wendy had danced with joy, just as the real Mrs. Darling must have done.
温迪开心地跳起舞来，就像真的达林夫人一定跳过的那样。
Then John was born, with the extra pomp that he conceived due to the birth of a male, and Michael came from his bath to ask to be born also, but John said brutally that they did not want any more.
然后约翰出生了，他设想生了一个男孩，肯定要格外地隆重。接着迈克尔洗完澡过来了，要求也要生下他，可是约翰残酷地说，他们不想要孩子了。
Michael had nearly cried. "Nobody wants me," he said, and of course the lady in the evening-dress could not stand that.
迈克尔几乎要哭出来了。“没人要我。”他说。这样一来，那位穿着晚礼服的夫人可看不下去了。
"I do," she said, "I so want a third child.""Boy or girl?" asked Michael, not too hopefully.
“我要。”她说，“我很想再要一个孩子。”“男孩还是女孩呢？”迈克尔问道，他没抱太大希望。
"Boy."Then he had leapt into her arms. Such a little thing for Mr. and Mrs. Darling and Nana to recall now, but not so little if that was to be Michael's last night in the nursery.
“男孩。”然后他就扑进了妈妈的怀抱里。达林先生、达林夫人和娜娜现在回想起来，虽然这只是一件很小的事，但如果这是迈克尔在育婴室里的最后一晚，那便不是一件小事了。
They go on with their recollections.
他们继续着他们的回忆。
"It was then that I rushed in like a tornado, wasn't it?" Mr. Darling would say, scorning himself; and indeed he had been like a tornado.
“就在那时，我像一阵龙卷风似的冲进来了，不是吗？”达林先生会自嘲道，而他当时的确是像一阵龙卷风。
Perhaps there was some excuse for him. He, too, had been dressing for the party, and all had gone well with him until he came to his tie. It is an astounding thing to have to tell, but this man, though he knew about stocks and shares, had no real mastery of his tie. Sometimes the thing yielded to him without a contest, but there were occasions when it would have been better for the house if he had swallowed his pride and used a made-up tie.
或许他那样是有理由的。他那时也正在为宴会打扮，一切都很顺利，直到打领带的时候。这事说起来还挺令人吃惊的，这人通晓股票的事情，却搞不定他的领带。有时他倒也能把领带这东西收拾得服服帖帖，但有时候，如果他能够收起自己的骄傲，戴上一条打好的领带，那对全家就都再好不过了。
This was such an occasion. He came rushing into the nursery with the crumpled little brute of a tie in his hand.
而那天就是这样的一个时候。达林先生冲进育婴室，手里拿着皱巴巴的小领带。
"Why, what is the matter, father dear?""Matter!" he yelled; he really yelled. "This tie, it will not tie."He became dangerously sarcastic. "Not round my neck! Round the bed-post! Oh yes, twenty times have I made it up round the bed-post, but round my neck, no! Oh dear no! It begs to be excused!”He thought Mrs. Darling was not sufficiently impressed, and he went on sternly, "I warn you of this, mother, that unless this tie is round my neck we don't go out to dinner to-night,and if I don't go out to dinner to-night, I never go to the office again, and if I don't go to the office again, you and I starve, and our children will be flung into the streets."Even then Mrs. Darling was placid. "Let me try, dear," she said, and indeed that was what he had come to ask her to do, and with her nice cool hands she tied his tie for him, while the children stood around to see their fate decided. Some men would have resented her being able to do it so easily, but Mr. Darling had far too fine a nature for that; he thanked her carelessly, at once forgot his rage, and in another moment was dancing round the room with Michael on his back.
“怎么回事，发生什么啦，亲爱的孩子他爸？”“发生什么！”他大声狂叫，他真的是在大声狂叫。“这条领带，系不上。”他变得尖酸刻薄，极度讽刺。“它在我的脖子上就系不起来！它在床柱上就系得起来！噢，是啊，我都能在床柱上系二十次了，可在我脖子上就是不行！噢，亲爱的，就是不行！它还求我饶了它！”他以为达林夫人不够在意他的话，便接着严肃地说：“我提醒你，孩子他妈，除非这个领带系上我的脖子，否则我们今晚就不去赴宴了。如果今晚我不去赴宴，我就再也不去办公室上班了；如果我不去办公室上班，你和我都得挨饿，我们的孩子就会流落街头。”即使这样，达林夫人还是很镇定。“让我试试吧，亲爱的。”她说。说实在的，这正是达林先生过来要她做的。达林夫人用她那双灵巧敏捷的手给他系好了领带，而孩子们就站在旁边，看着他们的命运最终会如何。达林夫人这么容易就系好了领带，一些男人可能不是很高兴，不过达林先生天生性格豁达，不是很在意这事。他随便地跟达林夫人道了声谢，怒气立刻烟消云散。不一会儿，他就背着迈克尔在屋里跳起舞来了。
"How wildly we romped!" says Mrs. Darling now, recalling it.
“那时我们玩得多疯狂啊！”达林夫人现在回想起来说。
"Our last romp!" Mr. Darling groaned.
“那是我们最后一次玩耍！”达林先生叹息着说。
"O George, do you remember Michael suddenly said to me, 'How did you get to know me, mother?'""I remember!""They were rather sweet, don't you think, George?""And they were ours, ours! and now they are gone."The romp had ended with the appearance of Nana, and most unluckily Mr. Darling collided against her, covering his trousers with hairs. They were not only new trousers, but they were the first he had ever had with braid on them, and he had had to bite his lip to prevent the tears coming. Of course Mrs. Darling brushed him, but he began to talk again about its being a mistake to have a dog for a nurse.
“噢，乔治，你还记不记得迈克尔突然问我说：‘你是怎样认识我的，妈妈？’”“我记得！”“他们是多么可爱啊，不是吗，乔治？”“而且他们是我们的，我们的！可现在他们都不见了。”那次的玩耍以娜娜的出现而告终，非常不幸的是，达林先生撞到了娜娜，裤子上沾满了狗毛。那不只是条新裤子，还是达林先生第一次穿的有镶边的裤子，他咬紧嘴唇，不让眼泪掉下来。当然，达林夫人给他刷干净了，可他又开始嘀咕让一只狗当保姆真是一个错误。
"George, Nana is a treasure.""No doubt, but I have an uneasy feeling at times that she looks upon the children as puppies."
“乔治，娜娜是一个宝啊。”“可不是，不过我有时会担心她把孩子当小狗看待。”
"Oh no, dear one, I feel sure she knows they have souls.""I wonder," Mr. Darling said thoughtfully, "I wonder."It was an opportunity, his wife felt, for telling him about the boy. At first he pooh-poohed the story, but he became thoughtful when she showed him the shadow.
“噢，不会的，亲爱的，我敢肯定她知道孩子们是有灵魂的。”“不一定，”达林先生若有所思地说，“不一定。”这时，他的妻子觉得是时候告诉他那个男孩子的故事了。刚开始，他觉得这个故事很可笑，但看过达林夫人拿出来的影子后，他就开始深思了。
"It is nobody I know," he said, examining it carefully, "but it does look a scoundrel.""We were still discussing it, you remember," says Mr. Darling, "when Nana came in with Michael's medicine. You will never carry the bottle in your mouth again, Nana, and it is all my fault."Strong man though he was, there is no doubt that he had behaved rather foolishly over the medicine. If he had a weakness, it was for thinking that all his life he had taken medicine boldly, and so now, when Michael dodged the spoon in Nana's mouth, he had said reprovingly, "Be a man, Michael.""Won't; won't!" Michael cried naughtily.
“我不认识这个人，”他说，仔细地观察着那个影子，“但他看起来确实像个坏蛋。”“你记得吗，我们还一直在讨论那个影子，”达林夫人说，“那时娜娜正好带着迈克尔的药进来。你再也不要用嘴叼着瓶子了，娜娜，这一切都是我的错。”尽管他是个坚强的人，可在吃药这件事上，他的表现却相当可笑。如果说他有弱点的话，那就是他自认为他向来吃药都很勇敢。于是现在，当迈克尔躲着不吃娜娜叼在嘴里的那勺药时，达林先生斥责道：“要像个男子汉，迈克尔。”“我不，我不！”迈克尔顽皮地喊着。
Mrs. Darling left the room to get a chocolate for him, and Mr. Darling thought this showed want of firmness.
达林夫人离开房间去给迈克尔拿巧克力，而达林先生则认为这种情况需要强硬。
"Mother, don't pamper him," he called after her. "Michael, when I was your age I took medicine without a murmur. I said, 'Thank you, kind parents, for giving me bottles to make we well.'"He really thought this was true, and Wendy, who was now in her night-gown, believed it also, and she said, to encourage Michael, "That medicine you sometimes take, father, is much nastier, isn't it?""Ever so much nastier," Mr. Darling said bravely, "and I would take it now as an example to you, Michael, if I hadn't lost the bottle."He had not exactly lost it; he had climbed in the dead of night to the top of the wardrobe and hidden it there. What he did not know was that the faithful Liza had found it, and put it back on his wash-stand.
“孩子他妈，不要纵容他。”他在达林夫人的背后大声喊道。“迈克尔，我像你这么大时，吃药从来哼都不哼一声。我是这么说的：‘感谢你们，亲爱的爸爸妈妈，感谢你们给我吃药，让我好起来。’”达林先生真的觉得这是真的，而温迪那时已经穿好了睡衣，她也相信那是真的，她鼓励迈克尔：“爸爸，有时你吃的药比这难吃多了，是不是？”“难吃多了，”达林先生英勇地说，“如果我没有弄丢那个药瓶子，迈克尔，我现在就能给你做个榜样。”他并不是真的弄丢了那个瓶子，深夜时分，他爬上柜子顶部，把它藏在那里了。但他没想到，那忠诚的仆人莉莎找到了那个瓶子，并把它放回到了他的梳洗台上。
"I know where it is, father," Wendy cried, always glad to be of service. "I'll bring it," and she was off before he could stop her. Immediately his spirits sank in the strangest way.
“我知道它在哪儿，爸爸。”温迪大声道，她总是喜欢帮助别人。“我去拿来。”然后她一下子就跑出去了，达林先生没来得及拦住她。不知怎的，他立刻就泄气了。
"John," he said, shuddering, "it's most beastly stuff. It's that nasty, sticky, sweet kind.""It will soon be over, father," John said cheerily, and then in rushed Wendy with the medicine in a glass.
“约翰，”他颤抖着说，“那可是最难吃的东西。那是一种又难吃、又粘、又甜的东西。”“很快就会过去的，爸爸。”约翰高兴地说。然后，温迪拿着一个装着药水的玻璃瓶子冲了进来。
"I have been as quick as I could," she panted.
“这可是我最快的速度了。”她气喘吁吁地说。
"You have been wonderfully quick," her father retorted, with a vindictive politeness that was quite thrown away upon her. "Michael first," he said doggedly.
“你还真不是一般地快啊。”爸爸向温迪反驳道，有点怀恨在心，却又不失礼貌。“迈克尔先吃药。”他固执地说。
"Father first," said Michael, who was of a suspicious nature.
“爸爸先吃药。”迈克尔说，他天生多疑。
"I shall be sick, you know," Mr. Darling said threateningly.
“我会作呕，你知道的。”达林先生威胁道。
"Come on, father," said John.
“快吃吧，爸爸。”约翰说。
"Hold your tongue, John," his father rapped out.
“闭上你的嘴，约翰。”爸爸厉声道。
Wendy was quite puzzled. "I thought you took it quite easily, father.""That is not the point," he retorted. "The point is, that there is more in my glass that in Michael's spoon."His proud heart was nearly bursting. "And it isn't fair: I would say it though it were with my last breath; it isn't fair.""Father, I am waiting," said Michael coldly.
温迪被弄糊涂了。“我以为你能很轻松就把药吃了呢，爸爸。”“问题不在于这个。”他反击道。“问题在于，我瓶子里的药比迈克尔勺子里的药多。”他那颗高傲的心简直就要爆炸了。“这不公平：我就算剩下最后一口气，我也会说，这不公平。”“爸爸，我正等着呢。”迈克尔冷冷地说。
"It's all very well to say you are waiting; so am I waiting.""Father's a cowardly custard.""So are you a cowardly custard.""I'm not frightened.""Neither am I frightened.""Well, then, take it.""Well, then, you take it."Wendy had a splendid idea. "Why not both take it at the same time?""Certainly," said Mr. Darling. "Are you ready, Michael?"Wendy gave the words, one, two, three, and Michael took his medicine, but Mr. Darling slipped his behind his back.
“说得多好听，我也在等着呢。”“爸爸是一个胆小的软骨头。”“你也是一个胆小的软骨头。”“我才不怕呢。”“我也不怕。”“好啊，那就吃药。”“好啊，那你就吃药。”这时，温迪有了一个好主意。“为什么不两个人同时吃药呢？”“没问题。”达林先生说。“你准备好了吗，迈克尔？”温迪数着数，一，二，三，迈克尔把药吃下去了，但达林先生却把药偷偷藏到背后去了。
There was a yell of rage from Michael, and "O father!" Wendy exclaimed.
迈克尔生气地叫了起来，温迪喊了一声：“噢，爸爸！”
"What do you mean by 'O father'?" Mr. Darling demanded. "Stop that row, Michael. I meant to take mine, but I—I missed it.”It was dreadful the way all the three were looking at him, just as if they did not admire him. "Look here, all of you," he said entreatingly, as soon as Nana had gone into the bathroom. "I have just thought of a splendid joke. I shall pour my medicine into Nana's bowl, and she will drink it, thinking it is milk!"It was the colour of milk; but the children did not have their father's sense of humour, and they looked at him reproachfully as he poured the medicine into Nana's bowl. "What fun!" he said doubtfully, and they did not dare expose him when Mrs. Darling and Nana returned.
“你说‘噢，爸爸’是什么意思？”达林先生质问道。“不要叫了，迈克尔。我本来是要吃药的，但我——我没吃成。”三个孩子看着达林先生的样子真是令人害怕，就好像他们不服他似的。“听我说，你们几个。”娜娜一走进浴室，达林先生就哀求着说。“我刚想到一个极好的玩笑。我把药倒入娜娜的碗里，这样她就会把药当作是牛奶喝下去！”这药水确实是牛奶的颜色，但孩子们并没有他们爸爸的幽默感，他们看着他把药倒进娜娜的碗里，眼神里充满了责备。“多有趣啊！”达林先生不是很确定地说，当达林夫人和娜娜回来的时候，孩子们也不敢揭穿他。
"Nana, good dog," he said, patting her, "I have put a little milk into your bowl, Nana."Nana wagged her tail, ran to the medicine, and began lapping it. Then she gave Mr. Darling such a look, not an angry look: she showed him the great red tear that makes us so sorry for noble dogs, and crept into her kennel.
“娜娜，好狗狗，”达林先生拍拍她说，“我往你的碗里倒了一些牛奶，娜娜。”娜娜摇着尾巴，向药水跑去，然后开始舔了起来。随后，她用这样的眼光看着达林先生：不是生气，而是一颗硕大鲜红的眼泪，让我们为这样忠实的狗感到难过，而后她就爬进了她的狗窝。
Mr. Darling was frightfully ashamed of himself, but he would not give in. In a horrid silence Mrs. Darling smelt the bowl. "O George," she said, "it's your medicine!""It was only a joke," he roared, while she comforted her boys, and Wendy hugged Nana. "Much good," he said bitterly, "my wearing myself to the bone trying to be funny in this house."And still Wendy hugged Nana. "That's right," he shouted. "Coddle her! Nobody coddles me. Oh dear no! I am only the breadwinner, why should I be coddled—why, why, why!”"George," Mrs. Darling entreated him, "not so loud; the servants will hear you."Somehow that had got into the way of calling Liza the servants.
达林先生感到极为惭愧，但他就是不肯低头。在一片可怕的沉默中，达林夫人闻了闻那个碗。“噢，乔治，”她说，“这可是你的药！”“这只是一个玩笑而已。”达林先生咆哮着，这时，达林夫人去安慰男孩们，而温迪跑去抱着娜娜。“很好，”他痛苦地说，“我自己累得要死，为的就是这个家的快乐。”但是温迪还是紧紧地抱着娜娜。“太好了。”达林先生喊道，“向着她吧！没人向着我。噢，天啊，没人向着我啊！我只不过就是一个养家糊口的人，为什么要向着我呢——为什么，为什么，为什么！”“乔治，”达林夫人哀求他，“不要那么大声，仆人们会听到的。”不知为什么，他们已经习惯管莉莎叫仆人们。
"Let them!" he answered recklessly.
“让他们听见好了！”达林先生满不在乎地说。
"Bring in the whole world. But I refuse to allow that dog to lord it in my nursery for an hour longer."The children wept, and Nana ran to him beseechingly, but he waved her back. He felt he was a strong man again. "In vain, in vain," he cried; "the proper place for you is the yard, and there you go to be tied up this instant.""George, George," Mrs. Darling whispered, "remember what I told you about that boy."Alas, he would not listen. He was determined to show who was master in that house, and when commands would not draw Nana from the kennel, he lured her out of it with honeyed words, and seizing her roughly, dragged her from the nursery. He was ashamed of himself, and yet he did it. It was all owing to his too affectionate nature, which craved for admiration. When he had tied her up in the back-yard, the wretched father went and sat in the passage, with his knuckles to his eyes.
“让全世界的人都听见好了。但我拒绝再让那只狗在育婴室里控制一切了，就是一个小时也不能。”孩子们哭了，而娜娜跑到他跟前哀求，但他挥手叫她走开。他觉得他又是一个坚强的男人了。“没用的，没用的。”他嚷道，“你该呆的地方是院子，得立刻把你拴到那里去。”“乔治，乔治，” 达林夫人轻声说，“不要忘了我告诉你的那个男孩子的事。”唉，达林先生听不进去啊。他下定决心要证明给大家看，谁才是这个家里的主人。如果他的命令不能让娜娜离开狗窝，那他就用甜言蜜语诱使她出来，接着粗鲁地抓住她，把她拖出育婴室。他为自己感到羞愧，但他还是做了。这都得怪他天生感情太丰富了，他渴望得到别人的敬仰。把娜娜拴到后院之后，这个可怜的爸爸走到过道里，坐了下来，用他的手指遮住了眼睛。
In the meantime Mrs. Darling had put the children to bed in unwonted silence and lit their night-lights. They could hear Nana barking, and John whimpered, "It is because he is chaining her up in the yard," but Wendy was wiser.
这会儿，达林夫人已经在异常的安静中把孩子们打发上床，打开了夜灯。他们可以听到娜娜的叫声，约翰啜泣着说：“这都是因为爸爸把她关在院子里了。”但是，温迪更为聪明。
"That is not Nana's unhappy bark," she said, little guessing what was about to happen; "that is her bark when she smells danger."Danger! "Are you sure, Wendy?""Oh, yes."Mrs. Darling quivered and went to the window. It was securely fastened. She looked out, and the night was peppered with stars. They were crowding round the house, as if curious to see what was to take place there, but she did not notice this, nor that one or two of the smaller ones winked at her. Yet a nameless fear clutched at her heart and made her cry, "Oh, how I wish that I wasn't going to a party to-night!”Even Michael, already half asleep, knew that she was perturbed, and he asked, "Can anything harm us, mother, after the night-lights are lit?”"Nothing, precious," she said; "they are the eyes a mother leaves behind her to guard her children."She went from bed to bed singing enchantments over them, and little Michael flung his arms round her. "Mother," he cried, "I'm glad of you."They were the last words she was to hear from him for a long time.
“那不是娜娜不高兴的叫声，”她说，她并不知道要发生什么事，“那是她嗅到危险气息时的叫声。”危险！“你确定吗，温迪？”“噢，当然。”这时，达林夫人打了个冷战，她走到窗前。窗户关得很严实。她向外望去，夜空中洒满了星星。星星密集地围在房子周边，就像是好奇地想看那里即将发生什么事一样。但达林夫人并没有留意到这一点，也没看到有一两颗更小的星星在朝她眨眼睛。然而，有一种莫名的恐惧在揪着她的心，让她不禁喊道：“噢，我多么希望今晚我不用去参加宴会啊！”连已经半睡半醒的迈克尔都知道，妈妈此时心情很乱，他问：“妈妈，夜灯亮着，还有什么东西能伤害我们吗？”“没有什么能伤害你们，宝贝，”她说，“夜灯是妈妈留下来保护孩子们的眼睛。”达林夫人从一张床走到另一张床，给他们唱动人的歌曲，小迈克尔伸开胳膊搂着她。“妈妈，”他叫着，“我爱你。”在接下来的很长一段时间内，她再也听不到他说这些话了。
No.27 was only a few yards distant, but there had been a slight fall of snow, and Father and Mother Darling picked their way over it deftly not to soil their shoes. They were already the only persons in the street, and all the stars were watching them. Stars are beautiful, but they may not take an active part in anything, they must just look on for ever. It is a punishment put on them for something they did so long ago that no star now knows what it was. So the older ones have become glassy-eyed and seldom speak (winking is the star language), but the little ones still wonder. They are not really friendly to Peter, who had a mischievous way of stealing up behind them and trying to blow them out; but they are so fond of fun that they were on his side to-night, and anxious to get the grown-ups out of the way. So as soon as the door of 27 closed on Mr. and Mrs. Darling there was a commotion in the firmament, and the smallest of all the stars in the Milky Way screamed out: "Now, Peter!"
27号房子只有几码远，但是那天下了小雪，达林爸爸和达林妈妈得小心挑着路走，以免弄脏了鞋子。街道上已经没有别的行人，所有的星星都在看着他们。星星很漂亮，但他们不能积极参与任何事情，他们永远只能旁观。这是对他们很久以前所做的事情的惩罚，至于是什么事情，由于时间久远，没有一颗星星知道。于是，年迈的星星变得眼神呆滞，很少开口说话（眨眼是星星的语言），但小星星们还在迷惑。星星们对彼得并不是真的友好，因为彼得喜欢恶作剧，他经常躲到星星们的后面，想把他们吹走。不过，他们实在是太爱玩了，因此今晚他们帮着彼得，急切地想把大人支开。所以，达林先生和达林夫人一走进27号房子，门刚关上，天空便骚动起来。银河里所有星星中最小的一颗大声喊叫：“就是现在啦，彼得！”