Ⅰ
Here's a piece of gossip I just picked up about Bertie the Frog. As you know, Bertie used to be a handsome prince, but now he's been turned into a frog; and he lives in a pond with tadpoles, birds and fish to keep him company.
我刚听到一则关于青蛙伯蒂的小道消息。如你们所知，伯蒂曾是一位英俊的王子，但如今他被变成了一只青蛙，与蝌蚪、小鸟和鱼儿为伴，生活在一个池塘里。
Bertie's friend, Sadie, is a very special swan, who has lots of romantic daydreams. Sometimes she looks at her reflection in the pond, and imagines that her beautiful neck is rather royal!
伯蒂的朋友萨迪，是一只非常特别的天鹅，她满脑子浪漫的白日梦。有时，她望着自己在池塘中的倒影，幻想自己美丽的脖颈颇具皇室风范！
The other creatures say that she's always asking Bertie what it's like to be a princess. Colin the Carp, who is a very grumpy fish, likes to take Sadie and her lofty ideas down a peg or two.
其他生物都说，她总是缠着伯蒂，问做公主是什么感觉。鲤鱼科林，是条脾气暴躁的鱼，总喜欢挫挫萨迪的锐气，打压她那些不切实际的想法。
Do you know what he said to Sadie today? You don't? Well, it was rather rude.
你们知道他今天对萨迪说了什么吗？不知道？呃，这话相当无礼。
He said, "It doesn't make any difference to you what it's like being a princess. You're just a swan. You're stuck that way."
他说：“做公主是什么感觉，对你来说毫无意义。你不过是只天鹅，你就只能是这样了。”
But Tim the Tadpole said, "Perhaps she might be a princess really! Maybe someone turned her into a swan."
但蝌蚪蒂姆却道：“说不定她真的是位公主呢！也许有人把她变成了天鹅。”
Sadie became quite excited at the thought of that. "Do you think I'm a princess, Bertie?" She said. "Do you really?"
萨迪一想到这个，就兴奋起来。“伯蒂，你觉得我是公主吗？” 她说，“你真这么想吗？”
In reply, Bertie told her a little secret. "The beautiful Princess Beatrice has a special princess test. It helped her to tell who was a princess and who wasn't. She would just ask them whether they wanted to take the princess test."
伯蒂回答她，还告诉了她一个小秘密。“美丽的比阿特丽斯公主有一个特别的公主测试。这个测试能帮她分辨谁是真正的公主，谁不是。她只需问问对方想不想参加公主测试。”
"Can I take the princess test?" Asked Sadie.
“我能参加公主测试吗？” 萨迪问道。
"Well," said Bertie, "If they said yes then they weren't really a princess, because a real princess doesn't need to take a test - she just sort of knows."
“嗯，” 伯蒂说，“如果她们说想，那她们就不是真正的公主，因为真正的公主不需要参加测试 —— 她天生就知道自己是公主。”
"Oh," said Sadie, a bit sadly. "I might not be a princess, but I'm the most beautiful swan on this pond!"
“哦，” 萨迪有点难过地说，“我可能不是公主，但我是这个池塘里最漂亮的天鹅！”
But Colin the Carp wasn't at all bowled over by her beauty. He grumped back at her, "Well, that's not saying much. You're the only swan on this pond." And everybody laughed - except Sadie, who glided away with as much royal dignity as she could manage.
但鲤鱼科林对她的美貌完全不买账。他没好气地回她：“哼，这可没什么了不起。你是这个池塘里唯一的天鹅。” 大家都笑了 —— 只有萨迪没笑，她尽量带着皇室般的尊严，优雅地游开了。
Now, if enough children listen to his stories, one day he will turn back into a prince - and perhaps, just perhaps, he will invite Sadie to come and live on a special ornamental pond, with a golden fountain, and her dream will come true - almost.
要是有足够多的孩子听他的故事，说不定有一天他会变回王子 —— 也许，只是也许，他会邀请萨迪住进一个有金色喷泉的特别装饰性池塘，这样她的梦想就几乎要成真了。
Ⅱ
Here's a piece of gossip I've just picked up about Bertie the Frog. As you know, he used to be a handsome prince, and when he was royal he was always extremely brave - and that's why all the creatures who live on his pond always look up to him.
我刚又听到一则关于青蛙伯蒂的小道消息。如你们所知，他曾经是一位英俊的王子，身为皇室成员时，他一直极其勇敢 —— 这就是为什么生活在他池塘里的所有生物都敬仰他。
Now this morning it was very chilly weather down on Bertie's pond. Mr Frosty had been through the vegetable patch, and everything was white and snowy, including Sadie the Swan.
今天早上，伯蒂所在的池塘边天气格外寒冷。严寒先生光顾了菜地，一切都变得白茫茫一片，像是盖了层雪，天鹅萨迪身上也落满了雪。
Now you might not know this, but normally Sadie is a very special swan because her feathers are jet black. When Tim the Tadpole looked up from under a pebble in the bottom of the pond, he saw Sadie all glittering and white in the frost, and he was a bit frightened, because he had never seen a white swan before.
你们可能不知道，通常情况下，萨迪是一只非常特别的天鹅，因为她的羽毛乌黑发亮。蝌蚪蒂姆从池塘底部的一块卵石下探出头来，看到浑身落满霜花、闪闪发亮的白色萨迪，他有点害怕，因为他以前从未见过白色的天鹅。
"Oh, ohhh," squeaked little Tim. "Is that a ghost swan?"
“哦，哦哦！” 小蒂姆尖叫起来，“那是幽灵天鹅吗？”
Bertie was used to Tim's silly questions by now. "Oh no!" He boomed. "Ghosts aren't real, so that can't be a ghost. That's a new type of swan we haven't seen before."
伯蒂现在已经习惯了蒂姆问些傻乎乎的问题。“哦，当然不是！” 他大声说道，“世上根本没有幽灵，所以那不可能是幽灵。那是我们以前从未见过的一种新天鹅。”
When Colin the Carp heard Bertie telling this to Little Tim, he swam over and said, "Well Bertie, since you consider yourself to be the prince of this pond, and a natural-born leader of creatures great and small; perhaps you should go over and introduce yourself to our new friend - if it really is a friend, that is, not a ghost swan."
鲤鱼科林听到伯蒂这样跟小蒂姆说，便游了过来，说道：“喂，伯蒂，既然你自认为是这个池塘的王子，天生就是大大小小生物的领袖，也许你应该过去，向我们的新朋友做个自我介绍 —— 如果它真的是朋友，而不是幽灵天鹅的话。”
"Oh cripes!" Thought Bertie. "What if it is a ghost? It's all very well when you are a prince to be brave, but when you are a frog, things can be a bit scary sometimes."
“哦，天哪！” 伯蒂心想，“要是它真的是幽灵怎么办？身为王子的时候勇敢起来很容易，但当你变成一只青蛙，有时候事情就会有点吓人。”
"Go on Bertie," said Colin.
“去吧，伯蒂。” 科林说。
"Go on Bertie," said Little Tim.
“去吧，伯蒂。” 小蒂姆说。
"Er, erm... Croak!" Said Bertie.
“呃，呃…… 呱呱！” 伯蒂叫了两声。
Just then the ghostly white swan glided through the mist towards the little group of creatures. Tim quickly dived down, and hid behind a piece of green slime. Colin the Carp sank to the bottom of the pond and pretended to be a lump of mud. Bertie wanted to hop away, but he was so scared that he found his legs were numb, and he couldn't leap off his lily pad.
就在这时，那只幽灵般的白天鹅穿过薄雾，朝这一小群生物游了过来。蒂姆赶紧潜下去，躲在一团绿藻后面。鲤鱼科林沉到池塘底部，装作是一块泥巴。伯蒂想跳着逃走，但他害怕得双腿发麻，根本没法从他的睡莲叶子上跳开。
The ghostly swan said, "Hello Bertie. It's so frosty this morning that my feathers are all white. Do you think I look like a princess?" And Bertie recognised the voice of Sadie the Swan - although she was normally a black swan.
那只幽灵般的天鹅说道：“你好啊，伯蒂。今早太冷了，我的羽毛都变白了。你觉得我看起来像公主吗？” 伯蒂听出了这是天鹅萨迪的声音 —— 尽管她平常是只黑天鹅。
He croaked a little, but no proper words came out of his mouth.
他呱呱叫了两声，但嘴里没说出什么像样的话。
"Oh my dear Bertie," said Sadie, sympathetically. "You're such a pale shade of green today. Are you feeling well?"
“哦，我可怜的伯蒂，” 萨迪关切地说，“你今天绿得都有些苍白了。你感觉还好吗？”
"I think," said Bertie, "that I might be starting a cold."
“我想，” 伯蒂说，“我可能要感冒了。”
But Tim and Colin were secretly very impressed that Bertie hadn't hopped away, and they thought that he may be a brave frog afterall.
但蒂姆和科林暗自对伯蒂没有跳着逃走这件事印象深刻，他们觉得他终究还是只勇敢的青蛙。
Ⅲ
There's a dog who lives in the palace, and his name is Barker. Sometimes Barker comes down to the pond, and do you know why they call him Barker? You don't?
宫殿里住着一只狗，它叫巴克。有时候巴克会来到池塘边，你们知道为什么大家叫它巴克吗？不知道？
It's because he barks, and barks, and barks.
因为它叫个不停，汪汪汪叫个没完。
Tim the Tadpole, who is only very small, even for a tadpole, finds that a bit scary. So this morning, Barker was barking, and Tim was hiding behind some green slime.
蝌蚪蒂姆，即便在蝌蚪里也算个头特别小的，觉得这有点吓人。所以今天早上，巴克汪汪叫的时候，蒂姆就躲在一些绿藻后面。
"I'm a bit scared, Bertie," said Tim.
“我有点害怕，伯蒂。” 蒂姆说。
"Don't be scared, Little Tim," croaked Bertie, "he's only a silly old dog." But Barker was growling, and then he dipped his big snotty nose into the water and started drinking.
“别害怕，小蒂姆，” 伯蒂呱呱叫着，“它不过是只愚蠢的老狗。” 但巴克还在咆哮，接着它把满是鼻涕的大鼻子伸进水里，开始喝水。
Bertie jumped back. "You're scared as well," said Colin the Carp.
伯蒂往后跳开。“你也害怕了。” 鲤鱼科林说。
"Rubbish," said Bertie. "I used to be a prince, and princes aren't afraid of anything."
“胡说，” 伯蒂说，“我曾经是王子，王子什么都不怕。”
Then Bertie looked across at Sadie the Swan. Now, Sadie is a very special swan; unlike most swans who are snowy white, she's jet black and has a wonderful red beak. Although she's very gentle really, sometimes she can be a bit frightening when she flaps her wings, and hisses, because she is in a bad mood.
接着，伯蒂望向天鹅萨迪。萨迪是一只非常特别的天鹅，大多数天鹅都是雪白的，而她羽毛乌黑，还有一张漂亮的红喙。虽然她本质上非常温顺，但有时候心情不好，扇动翅膀发出嘶嘶声时，还是会有点吓人。
Bertie, who was hiding underneath a lily pad, poked his head out of the water and said, "Sadie, how big are your wings?"
躲在一片睡莲叶子下的伯蒂，把头探出水面说：“萨迪，你的翅膀有多大？”
Sadie flapped her big black wings. "This big!" She said.
萨迪扇动着她黑色的大翅膀。“这么大！” 她说。
Then Barker looked up and the silly dog ran away, because he's really scared of swans. As he started running, Bertie croaked at him as fiercely as he could. "Look, I made him run away!"
然后巴克抬起头，这只傻狗被吓跑了，因为它真的很怕天鹅。巴克开始逃窜的时候，伯蒂用尽全力朝它凶狠地呱呱叫。“看，是我把它吓跑的！”
"Oh Bertie," swooned Sadie, "You're so brave!"
“哦，伯蒂，” 萨迪陶醉地说，“你太勇敢了！”