The Hare and the Tortoise（野兔与乌龟）

Hello. My name is Speedy, and for good reason. I’ve got long, long legs and I can really go! You can catch me if you can – but I don’t think you will.

大家好。我叫“飞毛腿”，这名字可不是白叫的。我有两条大长腿，跑起来那叫一个快！要是能追上我，你就来试试 —— 但我觉得你肯定追不上。

In a race, I come first. Always. I never, never lose. Well alright, there was that one time that I took the silver medal – but it only ever happened once. It’s so unfair that people keep going on about it. I blame that Aesop. He’s the one who wrote it all down.

只要赛跑，我肯定拿第一，向来如此。我从来、从来没输过。好吧，确实有那么一次，我只拿了银牌—— 但也就那么一回而已。人们没完没了地念叨这事，太不公平了。都怪那个伊索，就是他把这事写下来的。

It happened in March, and that’s the time of year that we hares go a bit crazy you know. We’re so busy springing in the Spring that sometimes our thoughts just can’t quite keep up with our legs. Look, I’ll tell you what happened – just so that you understand that it wasn’t really my fault. It could have happened to anyone.

那事发生在三月份，你知道的，每年这个时候我们野兔都会有点疯疯癫癫的。春天里我们忙着蹦跶，有时候脑子都跟不上腿的速度。听着，我给你讲讲到底怎么回事—— 这样你就明白这真不是我的错。换谁都可能这样。

Do you know that old tortoise who lives in the next field? He’s so slow, that the first time I saw him I thought he was a rock. In fact, I’ve seen rocks that move faster than he can. His head looks like, well, a cabbage, and his feet look like Brussels sprouts. Quite frankly, he’s a ridiculous creature.

你们认识住在隔壁田地里的那只老乌龟吧？他慢得呀，我第一次看见他的时候，还以为是块石头呢。说实话，我见过的石头动起来都比他快。他的脑袋长得像，呃，一颗卷心菜，脚就像抱子甘蓝。说实在的，他就是个滑稽可笑的家伙。

One day I was leaping around the fields and he was just watching me, and nodding that cabbage-like head of his. I bounced up to him and said: “Come on you lazy old thing, is that all the exercise you take? Just nodding all day long? I’m surprised you don’t nod off to sleep.

有一天，我在田地里蹦来跳去，他就在那儿看着我，还点着他那颗卷心菜似的脑袋。我蹦到他跟前说：“快点吧，你这懒家伙，你就只做这点运动啊？整天就知道点头？真奇怪你怎么没打瞌睡。”

The tortoise didn’t answer. His mouth was full of grass and he was chewing – very slowly.

乌龟没搭理我。他嘴里塞满了草，正慢悠悠地嚼着呢。

Just then a fox popped out of the hedge-row. He scratched his flea bites and said: “Don’t you know that the tortoise hibernates?”

就在这时，一只狐狸从树篱中钻了出来。它挠着身上被跳蚤咬的地方，说道：“你难道不知道乌龟会冬眠吗？”

“Hiber-what’s?” I asked.

“冬什么？” 我问道。

“Hibernates,” said the fox again. It means that he goes to sleep for the whole winter.”

“冬眠，” 狐狸又说了一遍，“意思就是他整个冬天都在睡觉。”

“HA! Sleeps – For the whole winter!” I said. “That’s incredible. He must be the laziest creature alive. In fact, it’s hardly fair to say he is alive. If he was dead it would be hard to tell the difference.”

“哈！睡一整个冬天！” 我说，“这太不可思议了。他肯定是世界上最懒的家伙。事实上，说他活着都有点勉强。要是他死了，估计都很难看出来区别。”

It was all too easy to mock the tortoise. He couldn’t be bothered even to stick up for himself. He just kept on munching, so slowly.

嘲笑乌龟太容易了。他连为自己辩解都懒得做，只是不停地慢悠悠嚼着草。

But the fox, who’s a big know-it-all, replied for him:

但那只自以为无所不知的狐狸替他回答道：

“Most likely he will be around after we are both long gone. Tortoises can live for over 100 years.”

“很可能等咱俩都死了很久，他还活着呢。乌龟能活一百多年。”

“A hundred years!” I exclaimed. “Just nodding, chewing, and occasionally plodding. I’d get bored out of my mind. I have to run and jump and win races. If you’ve got speed, then you can really know that you’re alive!”

“一百多年！” 我叫道，“就只是点头、咀嚼，偶尔慢吞吞地爬几步。我肯定会无聊到疯掉。我得跑、得跳，还得赢得比赛。要是你有速度，那才能真切地感受到自己活着！”

Then that wily old fox said: “I’ll lay a bet that the tortoise can beat you in a race. Not a quick dash of course. He’s hardly a sprinter – but a proper race over a good distance. Say, up to the top of that hill and back. I don’t believe you’ll beat him in a race like that.”

然后，那只狡猾的老狐狸说：“我打赌，乌龟能在一场比赛中打败你。当然不是短距离冲刺，他可不是短跑健将 —— 而是一场有一定距离的正规比赛。比如说，跑到那座山顶再跑回来。我觉得这样的比赛你赢不了他。”

“Pah!” I said. “I’ll beat that old tortoise over any distance, any day, any time.”

“呸！” 我说，“不管什么距离，不管哪天，不管什么时候，我都能打败那只老乌龟。”

That’s how I got myself into that infamous race with the tortoise. The fox arranged it all for us the next day at noon. The sun was high in the sky, and the heat was scorching. It was more like summer than spring.

就这样，我稀里糊涂地和乌龟进行了那场声名狼藉的赛跑。狐狸安排我们第二天中午比赛。当时太阳高悬天空，酷热难耐，感觉更像夏天而非春天。

All the local creatures came to see the fun. The crows cawed and the cows munched like they normally do. You could tell that something interesting was going to happen because they were swishing their tails, and not just to keep the flies off. It was the biggest thing to happen around these parts for ages.

当地所有动物都跑来看热闹。乌鸦呱呱叫着，奶牛像往常一样嚼着草。你能感觉到有什么有趣的事要发生，因为它们不停地甩着尾巴，可不只是为了驱赶苍蝇。这可是这一带很久以来最热闹的事了。

Of course almost everyone was backing me to win. You only had to look at me -lean, fit, with a terrific bounce in my step. And then look at HIM – an old, cabbage head, with a great shell on his back. I was the clear favourite. Only the fox was backing the tortoise. He was taking bets off his cronies, the badger and the rat. If I won, he would do them a month of services and favours. And if the tortoise won, they would have to work for him for a whole month. The badger and the rat thought the fox must have gone soft in the head to make such a silly bet.

当然，几乎所有人都押我赢。只要看看我就知道了—— 身材苗条、体格健壮，跑起来步伐轻快有力。再看看他 —— 一个长着颗卷心菜脑袋的老家伙，背上还驮着个大壳。显然我是大热门。只有狐狸押乌龟赢。他正和他的狐朋狗友獾和老鼠打赌。要是我赢了，他就得为他们服务一个月，帮他们做事。要是乌龟赢了，他们就得为狐狸干整整一个月的活儿。獾和老鼠觉得狐狸肯定是脑子糊涂了，才会打这么荒唐的赌。

At last the fox called out: “Ready, Steady, Go!” I hung around for a moment to see the tortoise lumber off the starting line, but he was taking so long about it that I got bored and shot off towards the hill. I was flying across the field, but I must say, the hill was a long way. Even I couldn’t get there in a moment. At the end of the field I looked over my shoulder and saw that the tortoise had hardly gotten started. I’d say his top speed was about one mile per week. I had no doubt at all that victory was mine.

最后，狐狸大喊：“各就各位，预备，跑！” 我先等了一会儿，想看乌龟笨拙地离开起跑线，可他磨蹭了好久，我不耐烦了，便朝着小山冲了出去。我如飞一般穿过田野，但不得不说，那座小山还挺远。就算是我，也没法一下子就跑到。跑到田野尽头时，我回头看了一眼，发现乌龟才刚起步。我敢说，他的最快速度也就一周一英里。我毫无疑问地认为，胜利非我莫属。

I crossed another three fields, and at last I got to the hill and I started to make my way up. It was tougher going now, and my legs were starting to feel less springy than usual. I took another look back and saw that the tortoise was only half way across the first field. I decided to stop for a breather and a bit of a chuckle.

我又穿过了三块田地，终于来到山脚下，开始往上爬。现在路更难走了，我的腿也不像平常那样充满弹性。我又回头看了一眼，发现乌龟才刚走到第一块田地的一半。我决定停下来喘口气，顺便乐一乐。

How did the fox ever think that the old cabbage-head could beat me? Doesn’t he know that I’m speedy by name, speedy by nature? And I thought he was smart!

狐狸怎么会觉得那个老卷心菜脑袋能打败我呢？他难道不知道我叫“飞毛腿”，天生就跑得快吗？我还以为他挺聪明的呢！

In fact, just to show him how confident I was of winning, I sat down. “Give the old lumber-along a sporting chance,” I said to myself. “And when he gets near, I’ll dash off again. That will make the race more entertaining.”

事实上，为了让他看看我对获胜有多自信，我干脆坐了下来。“给那个慢慢吞吞的老家伙一个机会吧，” 我自言自语道，“等他快靠近了，我再飞奔而去。这样这场比赛会更有意思。”

I stretched out and chewed on a long piece of juicy grass. I knew one of the beady-eyed crows would see me and report back to the crowd how I was so far ahead that I could afford to take things easy. In fact, I thought it wouldn’t do any harm just to close my eyes for a moment or two. My eyelids certainly were feeling a bit heavy after running up hill under a hot sun. In fact, I thought that 40 winks would refresh me, and I would set off all the faster when I got going again.

我舒展身子，嚼着一根多汁的长草。我知道那些眼睛贼亮的乌鸦中肯定有一只会看到我，然后回去告诉大家我领先太多，都能悠着点了。其实，我觉得稍微闭会儿眼也无妨。在烈日下跑上山后，我的眼皮确实感觉沉甸甸的。我想打个盹能让我恢复精神，再次起跑时就能跑得更快。

Oh! How pleasant it was to lie down on such a glorious day. The grasshoppers were singing and the breeze was rustling ever so gently in the trees. Soon I was dreaming of victory. They would be talking about this on the farm for weeks. But dear, dear me. I must have well and truly dozed off, because when I woke up, I shivered. The sun was going down, and the air was a bit cooler. For a moment, I couldn’t remember where I was, and then I recalled the race. I stood up and scanned the hill below for sight of the tortoise. Perhaps he had just done the logical thing and given up and gone back home. So I started to jog up to the top of the hill, and then run gently back down again. Still no sign of my rival.

哦！在这么美好的一天里躺下来是多么惬意啊。蚱蜢在歌唱，微风轻轻拂过树林，沙沙作响。很快我就做起了胜利的美梦。接下来几周，农场里的动物们肯定都会谈论这场比赛。哎呀呀，我肯定是睡得太沉了，因为我醒来时打了个哆嗦。太阳正在下山，空气也凉爽了一些。有那么一会儿，我都不记得自己在哪儿，然后才想起这场比赛。我站起身，扫视山下，寻找乌龟的身影。或许他做了明智的选择，放弃比赛回家了。于是我开始慢跑向山顶，然后又缓缓跑下山。还是没看到我的对手。

It was almost dark when I got back to the farm gate and the finishing line. The cows had gone off to be milked, and only the fox, the badger, and the rat were waiting for me.

当我回到农场大门和终点线时，天几乎全黑了。奶牛都被牵去挤奶了，只有狐狸、獾和老鼠在等我。

“Hello guys,” I said. “What’s my prize?”

“嘿，伙计们，” 我说，“我的奖品呢？”

“What’s your prize?” Said the badger. “Your prize is that we are working for the fox for a month.”

“你的奖品？” 獾说，“你的奖品就是我们要为狐狸干一个月的活儿。”

“GRRRR!” said the rat, really quite angrily. “You’ve well and truly let us down. You might be Speedy by name, but you’re dead lazy by nature. Beaten by a 100 year old slow-coach. It’s disgusting, truly disgusting.”

“哼！” 老鼠气呼呼地说，“你可真让我们失望。你虽然叫‘飞毛腿’，可骨子里却懒得出奇。居然被一只百岁老慢虫打败了。真让人恶心，太恶心了。”

Only the old fox had a sly grin on his face.

只有老狐狸脸上挂着狡黠的笑容。

“Thank you hare,” he said. “You’ve proved me right, as I usually am. The tortoise plodded in home just over an hour ago. It only goes to show that slow and steady always wins the race.”

“谢谢你，野兔，” 他说，“你证明了我是对的，我向来如此。乌龟一个多小时前慢悠悠地爬过了终点。这正说明了稳扎稳打总能赢得比赛。”

So now you know all about the one and only time that I came less than first in a race. Of course you shouldn’t go supposing that the tortoise is faster than me. It was just a one-off kind of disaster. I mean, oversleeping like that? It could have happened to anyone. I’m still the fastest creature on the farm – and don’t let anyone tell you different.

所以现在你知道了我唯一一次没有得第一的比赛是怎么回事。当然，你别以为乌龟比我快。那只是一次意外的倒霉事。我是说，像那样睡过头？换谁都可能发生。我依然是农场里跑得最快的动物—— 别听任何人胡说。

Well I must dash. No time to hang around chatting like this. Catch you later!

好了，我得赶紧走了。没时间像这样闲扯了。回头见！

And that was the story of ‘The Hare and the Tortoise,’ as told by the Hare.

以上就是野兔讲述的《野兔与乌龟》的故事。