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THE LITTLE GREEN ONES
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IN the windows tood a rose tree,latelyblooming withyouth,but now it look edsickly;something ailed1 it.

Ithad got a company quartered on it which ate it up:otherwise, a very respectable companyin green uniform. Ispoke with oneofthem,hewasonly threedays old, and already a great-grandfather.Do you know what he said? Itwas true what hesaid; he spoke2 of himself and the whole company.

"Wearethe most remarkableregimentamong all the creaturesofearth. In the warm season, webear living young ones;the weather is good then, andwe betroth3 ourselves at once, and celebrate the wedding.Towards the cold season, we lay eggs and the little ones lie snug4 in them. That wisest of animals, the ant—we have a great respect for it—studies us and values us. It does not eat us at once, it takes our eggs,laysthem in the com- mon ant-hill of thefamily, on thegroundfloor,lays us marked and numbered,side by side, layer on layer,so that every day afresh one canspringoutthe egg;then they set us in stalls, stroke us overthe hind5 legs and milk us, sothatwe die.That isextremely comfortable! Among them we have the most charming name,'Sweet littlemilk cow!' All the animals with the understanding ofthe ant call us so; only human beings—and it is a great insultto us, it is enough toloseone's sweetness over,—can you not write against it, can you not reprimand them,these human beings?—theylook at us so stupidly, look sullen6 because we eat a rose-leaf, while they themselves eat all living tings,everything which is green and grows.They call us the most contemptuous name, the most disgusting name;Iwill notnameit, ugh! it turns me sick!I cannot sayit, at least in uniform, andI am always in uniform."

"Iwasborn on a rose-tree leaf; Iand thewhole regiment live on the rose-tree, but it lives again in us, who belong tothe higher orderofcreation. Men cannot tolerate us; theycome and murder uswithsoap-suds; it is anasty drink! IthinkI smell it! It is frightful to be washed, whenone isborn nottobewashed."

" Man! Thou who lookest upon me with severe,soapsuddy eyes; think of our place in nature, our ingenious equipment forlaying eggs and producing young!We received the blessing,'Increaseand multiply!' We are born in roses, we die in roses; thewhole of our life is poetry. Fix not upon us the name thoudeemest most hor- rid and ugly, thename,—Icannotsayit, cannot name it; callusthe milk-cowoftheants, theregiment of the rose-tree, the little green ones."

AndI, the human being, stood and looked at the tree, and at thelittlegreen ones,whose nameI shall not name, nor offend a rose-citizen, a great family with eggs andlivingyoung. The soap-sudsI meant to wash them with(forI had comewith soap-suds, and wicked intentions), Iwillnowwhip up and blowintofroth,blow soap-bubblesandgaze on theirbeauty.Perhaps a story lies in every oneofthem.Andthe bubble grew so big with glittering colours,andin it there lay,as itwere,a silver pearl at the bottom. The bubble floated and soared, flewagainst the doorandburst;butthe doorflew open, and there stood Mother Fairy Tale herself.

"Yes, now she can tell better thanI canabout—I willnot say thename!—thelittlegreen ones.""Plant- lice," said Mother Fairy Tale."One should callevery- thing by its right name;and if onedaresnotdo it as a usual thing, one can do it in a fairy tale."

小小的绿东西

 

窗子上有一株绿玫瑰花,不久以前它还是一副青春焕发的样子;但是现在它却现出了病容,在害某种病。

它身上有一批客人在一口一口地把它吃掉。要不是因为这个缘故,这一群穿着绿制服的朋友们倒是蛮好看的。

我和这些客人中的一位谈过话。他的年纪还不过三岁,但是已经是一个老爷爷了。你知道他讲过什么话吗?他讲的全是真话。他讲着关于他自己和这一群朋友的事情。

“我们是世界生物中一个最了不起的队伍。在温暖的季节里,我们生出活泼的小孩子。天气非常好;我们立刻就订了婚,马上举行婚礼。天气冷的时候,我们就生起蛋来。小家伙在那里面睡得才舒服哩。最聪明的动物蚂蚁——我们非常尊敬他们——他们研究和打量我们,但是并不马上把我们吃掉,而是把我们的蛋搬走,放在他们家族的共同蚁窟里的最低的一层楼上,同时在我们身上打下标记和号数,把我们一个挨着一个地、一层堆上一层地排好,以便每天能有一个新的生物从蛋里孵出来;然后就把我们关进栅栏里,捏着我们的后腿,挤出我们的奶,直到我们死去为止。这可是痛快啦!他们送我们一个最好听的称号:‘甜蜜的小奶牛!’一切具有蚂蚁这种知识的动物都叫我们这个名字。只有人是例外——这对我们是一种极大的侮辱,气得我们完全失去了‘甜蜜性’。你能不能写点文章来反对这事儿,叫这些人能懂得一点道理呢?他们那样傻气地望着我们,绷着脸,用那样生气的眼光望着我们,而这只不过是因为我们把玫瑰叶子吃掉了;但是他们自己却吃掉一切活的东西,一切绿色的和会生长的东西。他们替我们起些最下贱的、最丑恶的名字。噢,那真使我作呕!我说不出口,最低限度在穿着制服时说不出口,而我是永远穿着制服的。

“我是在一个玫瑰树的叶子上出生的。我和整个队伍全靠玫瑰叶子过活,但是玫瑰叶子却在我们身体里面活着——我们属于高一等的动物。人类憎恨我们,他们拿肥皂泡来歼灭我们;

这种东西的味道真难受!我想我闻到过它!你并不是为洗涤而生下来的,因此被洗涤一番真是可怕!

“人啊!你用严厉和肥皂泡的眼光来看我们;请你想想我们在大自然中的地位,以及我们生蛋和养孩子的天才的机能吧!我们得到祝福:‘愿你们生长和繁殖!’我们生在玫瑰花里, 我们死在玫瑰花里;我们整个一生是一首诗。

请你不要把那种最可怕的、最丑恶的名字加到我们身上来吧——我们说不出口,也叫不出来的那种名字!请把我们叫做蚂蚁的奶牛、玫瑰树的队伍、小小的绿东西吧!”

我作为一个人站在一旁,望着这株玫瑰,望着这些小小的绿东西——他们的名字我不愿意喊出来;也不愿意侮辱一个玫瑰中的公民,一个有许多卵子和小孩的大家族。本来我是带着肥皂水和恶意来的,打算喷他们一通。现在我打算把这肥皂水吹成泡,然后凝望着它们的美,可能每个泡里面会有一篇童话的。

泡越长越大,泛出各种颜色。泡里好像都藏着珍珠。泡浮起来,翱翔着,飞到一扇门上, 于是爆裂了。但是这扇门忽然开了;童话妈妈站在门口。

“是的,那些小小的绿东西——我不说出他们的名字!关于他们的事情,童话妈妈讲的要比我好得多。”

“蚜虫!”童话妈妈说。“我们对任何东西应该叫出它正确的名字。如果在一般场合下不敢叫,我们至少可以在童话中叫的。”

这篇小品最初发表在哥本哈根1868年出版的《新的童话和诗集》上——这是一部丹麦作家和诗人的作品选集。不良的破坏性的东西往往可以用种种的美名出现。“蚜虫”可以“叫做蚂蚁的奶牛、玫瑰树的队伍,小小的绿东西,”但它们的实质并不能改变只是慑于某种权势或特殊情况人们不便公开地讲出来罢了。但人们“如果在一般场合下不敢叫,我们至少可以在童话中叫的。”这也是童话的另一种功用——安徒生在这方面发挥得最有成果。安徒生在他的手记中写道:“《小小的绿东西》是在哥本哈根附近的罗里赫别业写成的。一个舒适的住处可以使人产生得意和自满之感。这引起我写这篇故事的冲动。”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ailed 50a34636157e2b6a2de665d07aaa43c4     
v.生病( ail的过去式和过去分词 );感到不舒服;处境困难;境况不佳
参考例句:
  • Never in his life had Robin ailed before. 罗宾过去从未生过病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I wasn't in form, that's what ailed me.\" 我的竞技状态不佳,我输就输在这一点上。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
2 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
3 betroth bQ6yM     
v.订婚
参考例句:
  • She is betrothed to John.她同约翰订了婚。
  • Her father betrothed her to him at an early age.她父亲在她年幼时已把她许配给他。
4 snug 3TvzG     
adj.温暖舒适的,合身的,安全的;v.使整洁干净,舒适地依靠,紧贴;n.(英)酒吧里的私房
参考例句:
  • He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
  • She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。
5 hind Cyoya     
adj.后面的,后部的
参考例句:
  • The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
  • Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。
6 sullen kHGzl     
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句:
  • He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
  • Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐,因为昨晚没睡好。


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