14 A “But” Instead of Boy

CHAPTER 14 A "But" Instead of Boy All seemed to be settled. Pinocchio had finally proven himself and was now ready to become a boy! However, in a certain puppet's life, there was always a "but," bound to spoil everything. "Can I go hand out invitations?" Pinocchio asked Fairy. "Of course," Fairy replied. "But be sure to be home before dark." "I promise," Pinocchio said. "It is easy to give a promise," Fairy warned,

第十四章用“但是”代替“男孩”，一切似乎都解决了。 皮诺乔终于证明了自己，现在准备成为一个男孩了！然而，在某个木偶的生活中，总有一个“但是”，注定会毁掉一切。 “我能去发请柬吗？”皮诺乔问仙女。 “当然，”仙女回答。 “但一定要在天黑前回家。” “我保证，”皮诺乔说。 仙女警告说：“许诺很容易，

"but not always so easy to keep it." "It's a cinch!" Pinocchio declared confidently. "We'll see," Fairy said. Pinocchio ran around town and, within an hour, handed out all of his invitations but one: Lamp-Wick's. Lamp-Wick was Pinocchio's best friend. His real name was Romeo, but everyone called him Lamp-Wick because of his long, thin, stringlike face. He was the laziest boy in school, but Pinocchio still loved him. It took a very long time, but finally Pinocchio found Lamp-Wick hiding in an alley. Lamp-Wick explained that he was waiting until sunset, at which point he planned to run far, far away. "How?" Pinocchio asked. "A wagon is going to come by and I am going to hop on," Lamp-Wick explained.

“但要保持它并不总是那么容易。” “易如反掌！”皮诺乔自信地说。 “我们走着瞧吧，”仙女说。皮诺乔跑遍全城，不到一个小时，就把所有的请柬都发了出去，只剩下小灯芯的请柬。 小灯芯是皮诺乔最好的朋友。 他的真名叫罗密欧，但因为他那张细长的脸，大家都叫他小灯芯。 他是学校里最懒的男孩，但皮诺乔仍然爱他。 花了很长时间，皮诺乔终于找到了躲在巷子里的小灯芯。 小灯芯解释说，他要等到日落，然后他打算跑得远远的。 “如何?”匹诺曹问。“有一辆马车经过，我要跳上去。”小灯芯解释说。

"But haven't you heard?" Pinocchio asked. "Tomorrow, I am going to become a real boy. I'm having a party and you have to come." "Terribly sorry," Lamp-Wick said, "but I told you, I leave tonight for Funland. It is a magical land, with no schools, teachers, or books. Every day is Saturday, except Sunday. All you do is play. You should come, too." Pinocchio had to admit, this magical place called Funland sounded wonderful. But he had made Fairy a promise, and he was about to become a boy! Just then he also recalled his additional promise to Fairy that he would return home before dark. And the sun was starting to set. "I've got to go!" he cried. "Fairy will scold me!" "Let her scold," scoffed Lamp-wick. "After a few minutes, she will get tired and stop." Pinocchio considered that. Then he asked,

“可是你没听说吗？”匹诺曹问。 “明天，我就要成为一个真正的男孩了。 我要开个派对，你一定要来。” “非常抱歉，”小灯芯说，“但我告诉过你，我今晚要去乐园。 这是一片神奇的土地，没有学校，没有老师，也没有书本。 除了星期天，每天都是星期六。 你所做的就是玩。你也应该来。” 皮诺乔不得不承认，这个神奇的地方叫乐园，听起来好极了。 但是他向仙女许诺过，他就要变成一个男孩了！就在这时，他又想起了他对仙女的另一个承诺，他会在天黑前回家。 太阳开始落山了。 “我得走了！”他叫道。 “仙女会骂我的！”“让她骂吧，”小灯芯嘲笑道。 “几分钟后，她就会累了，然后停止。” 皮诺乔考虑了一下。 然后他问：

"Are there really no schools in this Funland place? Not even the shadow of a school?" "Not a one." Both boys watched as the sun dipped below the horizon. "It is dark already," Lamp-wick pointed out. "You're already in trouble." The boys could hear the wheels of an approaching wagon in the distance. "Well..." that rascal Pinocchio said. When the wagon arrived, twelve pairs of donkeys were pulling it. Each one was a different color, and they were all wearing sneakers! The driver was a round, shiny little man with a big friendly smile. "Climb aboard, boys!" he cried. But the wagon was so packed with other boys that it looked like a can of sardines. There was simply no room.

“这个乐园真的没有学校吗？” 连学校的影子都没有？”“一个也没有。” 两个男孩看着太阳落在地平线下。 “天已经黑了。”小灯芯指出。 “你已经有麻烦了。” 孩子们能听到远处驶来的马车的车轮声。 “嗯……”那个淘气的皮诺乔说。 当马车到达时，有十二对驴在拉着它。 每个人都是不同的颜色，他们都穿着运动鞋！司机是一个胖胖的、光彩照人的小个子男人，脸上带着亲切的笑容。 “上船吧，孩子们！” 但是马车上挤满了其他男孩，看起来就像一罐沙丁鱼。 根本没有地方。

"I'll sit up front with you," Lamp-Wick said to the driver. "And what about you?" the driver asked Pinocchio. "I'll just stay behind," Pinocchio said. "It's for the best. I'll just go home and study." "No!" cried Lamp-Wick and all of the other bad boys. "Come with us and we'll always be happy! We can play with toys and make lots of noise from morning until night!" "Well..." Pinocchio said, wavering. "Okay, but there's no room for me!" "You can ride one of the donkeys," the driver said. And climbing aboard, Pinocchio did just that. But as the donkeys galloped along the bumpy road, Pinocchio imagined he heard a very quiet voice whispering to him: "You are making a mistake." After about a mile or so, Pinocchio heard

“我和你一起坐在前面。”小灯芯对车夫说。 “那你呢？”车夫问皮诺乔。 “我就留下来，”皮诺乔说。 “这是最好的。我只想回家学习。” “不！”小灯芯和其他所有的坏孩子喊道。 “跟我们来吧，我们会永远快乐的！”我们可以从早到晚玩玩具，制造很多噪音！”“嗯……” 皮诺乔犹豫着说。“好吧，但是没有我的位置了！”“你可以骑其中一头驴，”司机说。 皮诺乔爬上了船，照做了。 可是，当驴子在颠簸的路上疾驰时，皮诺乔仿佛听到一个很轻的声音对他说：“你搞错了。” 大约走了一英里左右，皮诺乔听见了

the whispering again. "Oh, silly simpleton," it said. "Boys who run away from home and school can only come to no good. Someday you will realize that, but it will be too late." Spooked, Pinocchio jumped off of the donkey he had been riding and ran around to look him in the face. "Did you say something?" he asked. The donkey just stared at him blankly. But did Pinocchio imagine it, or was the donkey crying? "Don't you worry about that dumb animal," the driver snapped. "Climb back on and let's get on our way." Pinocchio obeyed and the wagon resumed its journey. The next morning, they finally reached the magical land of fun. And what a place it was! It was entirely composed of boys and toys. Everywhere you looked, boys were playing. Some played

又是窃窃私语。“哦，傻瓜，”它说。 “男孩子从家里和学校里跑出来是没有好处的。 总有一天你会意识到这一点，但为时已晚。” 皮诺乔吓坏了，从他骑的驴上跳下来，跑过去看他的脸。 “你说什么了吗？”他问。 驴子只是茫然地盯着他。 是皮诺乔想象出来的，还是驴在哭？ “别担心那只不会说话的动物，”司机厉声说。 “爬回去，我们上路吧。” 皮诺乔照办了，马车又上路了。 第二天早上，他们终于到达了神奇的乐土。 这是一个多么美妙的地方啊！它完全由男孩和玩具组成。 放眼望去，到处都是男孩在玩耍。 一些玩