牛津书虫系列《风雨河岸柳》Chapter6 附中英双语文本

Later that morning he met a man with a caravan, who was cooking over a fire in a field. Toad sold him the barge-woman's horse for a good price and a hot breakfast. He ate and ate until he was almost too full to move . But he still had a long way to go to get home, so he got up and went on. The sun was shining brightly, his clothes were dry again, and the new coins made a pleasant sound in his pocket. He took off the bonnet, which was too hot, and began to think about all his adventures and escapes.
那天早上，他还遇见了一位驾大篷车的人，他正在野地火堆上烧东西吃。癞蛤蟆开了一个好价把老妇人的马卖给他并享受了一顿热乎乎的早餐。他吃呀吃呀直到撑得几乎不能动。但他想到仍有很长的路要赶，便站起来又出发了。太阳明晃晃地照着，他的衣服又干了，新得的硬币在他口袋里发出令人愉悦的声音。他觉得太热便摘下了帽子，开始回顾着他所有冒险和逃跑的经历。
'Ho, ho! ' he said to himself. 'What a clever Toad I am! How brave! How intelligent! No problem is too difficult for Toad! ' He began to sing a song about himself as he walked along, although there was no one to hear it. It was perhaps the most boastful song that any animal ever sang.
“嚯，嚯”他自言自语道：“我是多么聪明的蛤蟆！多么勇敢！多么机智！没有什么事能难倒我蛤蟆！”尽管没有谁能听到，他还是边走边唱着赞美自己的歌。这也许是所有动物曾唱过的最最自夸的歌：
If there's a need the world to save,
如果世界需要人拯救，
Then send for Mr Toad!
那么去找蛤蟆先生！
There's none so clever, none so brave,
没有谁如此聪明，如此勇敢，
As famous Mr Toad!
像著名的蛤蟆先生！
There was a lot more of it, and it got more and more boastful as it went on.
还有许多诸如此类的歌词，反正是吹得越来越离谱。
He came to a road and began to walk along it, hoping for an-other free ride. After a time he saw a small cloud of dust coming up the road behind him, and he heard the noise, that beautiful noise, of a motor-car. He stood in the middle of the road and when the car saw him, it began to slow down.
他上了公路并沿着路向前走，希望再次搭个便车。过不多久，他看见身后有一团尘雾卷来，而且还听到了那种声音，那种美妙的引擎之声。他站在公路中间，司机看见他便开始减速。
And then a terrible thing happened. Toad recognized the car and the people in it. And what is worse, the people recognized Toad.
然后一件可怕的事发生了。癞蛤蟆认出了汽车和车里的人。更糟糕的是，这些人也认出了他。
'It's the car thief! ' they shouted. 'The criminal who has escaped from prison! Stop him! Catch him! '
“那是汽车盗贼！”他们叫道，“是刚从监狱里逃出来的犯人！截住他！抓住他！”
Toad turned and ran. He picked up his skirts and ran faster than he had ever run in his life. But the people from the car were now running after him, shouting and screaming at him to stop. They chased him through a wood, across fields, up a hill, and down into a valley. Once Toad looked back and saw that two policemen had joined the chase. He tried to run even faster, but he was a fat animal and his legs were short, and the people were catching up with him.
癞蛤蟆转身就跑。他提着裙摆以他一生中最快的速度向前跑。但是车上的人穷追不舍，在他身后喊着叫着喝令他站祝他们追着他跑过树林，穿过田野，越过山峦，又追进了山谷。有次癞蛤蟆回头瞥了一眼，看见又有两名警察加入这次追捕。他想跑得更快些，但是可怜他身材矮胖双腿短小，根本无法甩开他们 。
On and on he ran. He was now among tall trees, and again he looked behind him. At that moment the land disappeared beneath his feet, and, splash! he found himself in deep water, cold water, fast-moving water. In his terror, he had run straight into a river!
他跑呀跑，跑进一片高高的树林里，他又回头看了看。一瞬间他感到双脚悬空，紧接着，啪地一声，他发现自己已在深水里，冰冷、湍急的水里。惊恐中，他直接跑进了一条河里！
And away the river took him, pushing him along, first on one side, then on the other. The cotton dress tied itself round his legs, trying to pull him under, and Toad had to fight to keep his head above water.
河水带着他向前流，一会儿把他推到这边，一会儿又推到那边。棉布外套裹住了他的腿，将他向下拽，他不得不挣扎着让头浮在水面上。
'Oh my! ' cried poor Toad. ' I'll never look at another motorcar for the rest of my life! '