01 Being Good

Being Good Little Billy's mother was always telling him exactly what he was allowed to do and what he was not allowed to do. All the things he was allowed to do were boring. All the things he was not allowed to do were exciting. One of the things he was NEVER NEVER allowed to do, the most exciting of them all, was to go out through the garden gate all by himself and explore the world beyond. On this sunny summer afternoon, Little Billy was kneeling on a chair in the living room, gazing

乖小比利的妈妈总是告诉他什么是可以做的，什么是不可以做的。 他被允许做的所有事情都很无聊。 所有不允许他做的事情都是令人兴奋的。 有一件事是他永远也不能做的，也是所有事情中最令人兴奋的，那就是独自走出花园的大门，去探索外面的世界。 在这个阳光明媚的夏日午后，小比利跪在客厅的椅子上凝视着

out through the window at the wonderful world beyond. His mother was in the kitchen doing the ironing and although the door was open she couldn't see him. Every now and again his mother would call out to him, saying, 'Little Billy, what are you up to in there?' And Little Billy would always call back and say, 'I'm being good, Mummy.'

透过窗户，眺望那美好的世界。 他的母亲正在厨房熨衣服，虽然门开着，但她看不见他。 每隔一段时间，他的妈妈就会叫他说:“小比利，你在里面干什么呢?”小比利总是回电话说:“妈妈，我很乖。”

But Little Billy was awfully tired of being good. Through the window, not so very far away, he could see the big black secret wood that was called The Forest of Sin. It was something he had always longed to explore. His mother had told him that even grown-ups were frightened of going into The Forest of Sin. She recited a poem to him that was well known in the district. It went like this: Beware! Beware! The Forest of Sin! None come out, but many go in! 'Why don't they come out?' Little Billy asked her. 'What happens to them in the wood?' 'That wood,' his mother said, 'is full of the most bloodthirsty wild beasts in the world.'

但是小比利已经厌倦了乖乖听话。 透过窗户，在不远的地方，他可以看到那片被称为罪恶森林的巨大的黑色秘密森林。 这是他一直渴望探索的东西。 他的母亲告诉他，即使是成年人也害怕进入罪恶的森林。 她给他朗诵了一首在这个地区家喻户晓的诗。 它是这样的:小心!小心!罪恶的森林!没有人出来，进去的却很多!“他们为什么不出来?”小比利问她。 “他们在树林里怎么样了?”“那片树林里，”他妈妈说，“到处都是世界上最嗜血的野兽。”

'You mean tigers and lions?' Little Billy asked. 'Much worse than that,' his mother said. 'What's worse than tigers and lions, Mummy?' 'Whangdoodles are worse,' his mother said, 'and Hornswogglers and Snozzwanglers and Vermicious Knids.

“你是说老虎和狮子吗?”小比利问。 “比那糟多了，”他母亲说。 “还有什么比老虎和狮子更可怕的呢，妈妈?”“黄嘟嘟更坏，”他母亲说，“还有霍恩斯沃格勒、斯诺兹旺格勒和毒怪。