1 The Births of the Prince and the Pauper

CHAPTER 1 The Births of the Prince and the Pauper A great many years ago, a baby boy was born in the city of London. His name was Tom Canty. His family was very poor and could not afford him. On the same day, in a different part of London, a baby boy was born to a rich family who wanted him very much. His name was Edward Tudor and his father was the king of England. As a matter of fact, all of England wanted

第一章王子和乞丐的出生许多年前，一个男婴出生在伦敦城。 他的名字叫汤姆·康第。他的家庭很穷，养不起他。 就在同一天，在伦敦的另一个地方，一个男婴出生在一个非常想要他的富裕家庭。 他的名字叫爱德华都铎，他的父亲是英国国王。 事实上，整个英格兰都想

this little boy. People cheered in the streets when he was born. Strangers hugged each other and wept tears of joy. There was music and dancing, parties and parades. Everyone— especially King Henry— wished for a boy. Although he had two older sisters, Edward was now heir to the throne. One day he would be the king. Edward, Prince of Wales, paid no attention to all the fuss. He slept wrapped in silks in his warm bed. He didn't have a care in the world. The king and queen, lords and ladies of the court, and important politicians all watched over him. Young Tom Canty did not have the same restful sleep. He slept wrapped in rags. There was no wood for his fire. His mother worried how she would find the money to feed this new child. She loved Tom dearly and was happy to have him, but she feared life would be hard for the poor little babe. She could

这个小男孩。当他出生时，人们在街上欢呼。 陌生人互相拥抱，喜极而泣。 有音乐和舞蹈，有派对和游行。 每个人——尤其是亨利国王——都希望生个男孩。 虽然爱德华有两个姐姐，但他现在是王位的继承人。 总有一天他会成为国王。 威尔士亲王爱德华对这些大惊小怪的事毫不在意。 他裹着丝绸睡在温暖的床上。 他无忧无虑。 国王和王后，宫廷里的贵族和女士，以及重要的政治家都在注视着他。 年轻的汤姆·康第却没有这样安稳的睡眠。 他裹着破布睡觉。他没有木柴生火了。 他的母亲担心如何筹到钱来养活这个新生的孩子。 她深深地爱着汤姆，很高兴有了他，但她担心这个可怜的小婴儿的生活将会很艰难。 她可以

barely afford food for her other children. Mrs. Canty kissed Tom's forehead and wished him pleasant dreams. Several years passed. Edward was surrounded by riches and jewels, while Tom had very little to call his own. Nevertheless, they both grew into strong, helpful, and smart boys. Tom Canty and his family lived close to the London Bridge on a street called Offal Court. Their building was old and close to falling down. Tom lived on the third floor with his parents, grandmother, and older twin sisters, Nan and Bet. They all lived in one room. Tom's parents had a bed tucked into a corner of the room. His grandmother slept in the opposite corner. Tom and his sisters had more freedom with their sleeping arrangements. They could choose to sleep anywhere on the floor that they liked. Nan and Bet were fifteen years old. The

只能勉强养活她的其他孩子。 康第太太吻了吻汤姆的额头，祝他做个好梦。 几年过去了。爱德华身家富贵，而汤姆却一无所有。 然而，他们都成长为强壮、乐于助人、聪明的男孩。 汤姆·康第和他的家人住在伦敦桥附近一条叫“内脏庭”的街上。 他们的房子很旧，快要倒了。 汤姆和他的父母、祖母以及双胞胎姐姐南和贝特住在三楼。 他们都住在一个房间里。 汤姆的父母把一张床塞在房间的一角。 他的祖母睡在对面的角落里。 汤姆和他的姐妹们在安排睡眠方面有更多的自由。 他们可以选择睡在地板上他们喜欢的任何地方。 南和贝特都十五岁了。 的

girls were caring, good-hearted people, just like their mother. Mr. Canty and their grandmother, on the other hand, were not so kind. He was a thief, and she earned her money by begging in the street. Mr. Canty had tried to turn his children into thieves, but Nan, Bet, and Tom would not steal. And so the children had to beg. If they did not bring home enough money, Mr. Canty became very angry. Sometimes he yelled at them—especially Tom—in moments of rage. Tom's father often sent him to bed without supper. "If you can't bring money into the house, then you get nothing to eat," Mr. Canty said. On those nights, Tom's mother would sneak him food—a tiny scrap or morsel that she had saved from her own meal. Everyone felt hungry in the Canty household. There was never enough food to go around. Yet despite his many hardships, young

女孩们都是有爱心、心地善良的人，就像她们的母亲一样。 另一方面，康第先生和他们的祖母就不那么友善了。 他是个小偷，而她靠在街上乞讨来挣钱。 康第先生曾试图把他的孩子们变成小偷，但南、贝特和汤姆不愿偷东西。 所以孩子们不得不乞讨。 如果他们没有带回家足够的钱，康第先生会非常生气。 有时他会在愤怒的时候对他们——尤其是汤姆——大喊大叫。 汤姆的父亲经常不吃晚饭就让他上床睡觉。 “如果你不能把钱带回家，那你就没饭吃了，”康蒂说。 在那些夜晚，汤姆的母亲会偷偷给他吃东西——她从自己的饭菜中留下来的一小片或一小口。 康第家的人都饿了。 从来没有足够的食物分给每个人。 然而，尽管他有许多困难，年轻

Tom was happy with his life. It was the same as that of all of his friends. He didn't know there was any other way to live. One day an old priest named Father Andrew moved into the building. He did not have a parish of his own anymore, so he lived among the poor. The priest often took time out of his day to teach the Canty children how to read and write. Mr. Canty thought that spending time with books meant less time begging in the streets, so the children had to learn in secret. Tom was a very interested student. He loved the world of books and reading. The old priest even taught him a few words of Latin. Tom began to spend more and more time in his "school." The priest told him tales of knights and giants, fairies, enchanted castles, kings, and princes. Soon Tom's head was full of these stories. He lay awake at night and let his imagination run away with him. He tried

汤姆对他的生活很满意。 这和他所有的朋友一样。 他不知道还有别的生活方式。 一天，一位名叫安德鲁神父的老牧师搬进了这座建筑。 他不再有自己的教区，所以他住在穷人中间。 牧师经常从工作中抽出时间来教康第的孩子们读书写字。 康蒂先生认为，花时间读书意味着更少的时间在街上乞讨，所以孩子们必须秘密学习。 汤姆是一个很有兴趣的学生。 他热爱书籍和阅读的世界。 老牧师甚至教了他几句拉丁语。 汤姆开始花越来越多的时间在他的“学校”。 牧师给他讲了骑士和巨人、仙女、施了魔法的城堡、国王和王子的故事。 很快，汤姆的脑子里就充满了这些故事。 他夜里躺在床上睡不着觉，任凭自己的想象力肆意妄为。 他试着