Yertle The Turtle and Other Stories

Yertle the Turtle

乌龟耶特尔

On the faraway island of Salamasand, Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond. A nice little pond. It was clean, it was neat. The water was warm, it was plenty to eat. The turtles had everything turtles might need, and they were all happy. Quite happy indeed.

在遥远的萨拉玛桑德岛上，乌龟耶特尔是这片池塘的国王。 这是个可爱的小池塘，干净又整洁，水暖暖的，食物也够吃。 乌龟们需要的东西应有尽有，大家都很开心，真的特别开心。

They were, until Yurtle, the king of them all, decided the kingdom he ruled was too small. I'm ruler, said Yurtle, of all that I see. But I don't see enough. That's the trouble with me. With the stone for a throne, I look down on my pond, but I cannot look down on the places beyond. This throne that I sit on is too, too low down. It ought to be higher, he said with a frown. If I could sit high, how much greater I'd be. What a king! I'd be ruler of all I could see.

直到他们的国王耶特尔觉得自己统治的王国实在太小了。 耶特尔说：“我是我目之所及一切的统治者，可我能看到的太少了，这就是我的烦恼。” 我坐在石头王座上，能俯瞰我的池塘，却看不到更远的地方。 “这王座实在太矮了，得再高点才行。”他皱着眉头说。 要是我坐得更高，我就会更伟大啦！我会成为我能看到的一切的国王！

So Yertle the Turtle King lifted his hand, and Yertle the Turtle King gave a command. He ordered nine turtles to swim to his stone, and using these turtles he built a new throne. He made each turtle stand on another one's back, and he piled them all up in a nine turtle stack. And then Yertle climbed up. He sat down on the pile. What a wonderful view. He could see most a mile.

于是乌龟国王耶特尔举起手，下达了一条命令。 他命令九只乌龟游到他的石头边，要用这些乌龟搭个新王座。 他让每只乌龟站在另一只的背上，把九只乌龟摞成一 摞。 然后耶特尔爬了上去。 他坐在这摞乌龟顶上。 景色太棒啦。 他能看到差不多一英里远的地方。

Oh, mine! Yertle cried. Oh, the things I now rule! I'm king of a cow, and I'm king of a mule! I'm king of a house, and what's more beyond that, I'm king of a blueberry bush and a cat! I'm Yertle the Turtle, oh, marvelous me! For I am the ruler of all that I see!

“天呐！”耶特尔大喊，“我现在统治的东西可太多啦！” 我是奶牛的国王，我是骡子的国王！ 我是房子的国王，更远的地方，我是蓝莓丛和小猫的国王！ 我是乌龟耶特尔，我可太了不起啦！我是我目之所及一切的统治者！

And all through that morning he sat there up high, saying over and over, A great king am I! Until long about noon. Then he heard a faint sigh. What's that? snapped the king. And he looked down the stack, and he saw at the bottom a turtle named Mack. Just a part of his throne, and this plain little turtle looked up and said, Beg your pardon, King Yertle, I've pains in my back and my shoulders and knees. How long must we stand here, your majesty, please?

一整个上午他都坐在高处，一遍遍念叨： “我是个多么伟大的国王啊！” 直到快到中午的时候。 他听到一声轻轻的叹气。 “那是什么声音？”国王厉声问道。 他顺着那摞乌龟往下看，看到最底下有只叫麦克的乌龟。 这只普通的小乌龟只是他王座的一部分，他抬起头说： “打扰了，耶特尔国王，我的背、肩膀还有膝盖都疼得厉害。” “请问陛下，我们得在这儿站多久呀？”