Jack and the Beanstalk

There was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son named Jack, and a cow named Milky-white. And all they had to live on was the milk the cow gave every morning which they carried to the market and sold. But one morning Milky-white gave no milk and they didn't know what to do.

从前有个穷寡妇，膝下只有一个独生子，名叫杰克，家里还养着一头奶牛，名叫“牛奶白”。她们家全靠这头牛每天早晨挤出的牛奶维持生计，她们把牛奶拿到集市上去卖。可是有一天早晨，“牛奶白”竟一滴奶也挤不出来了，母子俩顿时不知如何是好。

“What shall we do, what shall we do?” said the widow, wringing her hands.

“我们该怎么办呢，该怎么办呢？”寡妇绞着双手说道。

“Cheer up, mother, I'll go and get work somewhere,” said Jack.

“别灰心，妈妈，我出去找点活干，”杰克说道。

“We've tried that before, and nobody would take you,” said his mother; “we must sell Milky-white and with the money do something, start shop, or something.”

“我们以前也试过了，没人肯雇你，”他母亲说道；“我们得把‘牛奶白’卖了，拿这笔钱做点什么，开个小铺子，或者别的什么营生。”

“All right, mother,” says Jack; “it's market-day today, and I'll soon sell Milky-white, and then we'll see what we can do.”

“好吧，妈妈，”杰克说道；“今天正是赶集的日子，我这就去把‘牛奶白’卖了，然后我们再看看该怎么办。”

So he took the cow's halter in his hand, and off he starts. He hadn't gone far when he met a funny-looking old man who said to him: “Good morning, Jack.”

于是他牵起牛的缰绳，动身出发了。没走多远，他便遇见一个模样滑稽的老头，那老头对他说道：“早安，杰克。”

“Good morning to you,” said Jack, and wondered how he knew his name.

“也向您道声早安，”杰克说道，心里纳闷这人怎么知道他的名字。

“Well, Jack, and where are you off to?” said the man.

“那么，杰克，你这是要去哪儿呀？”老头问道。

“I'm going to market to sell our cow here.”

“我正要去集市，卖了这头牛。”

“Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows,” said the man; “I wonder if you know how many beans make five.”

“哦，你看起来倒挺像个卖牛的行家，”老头说道；“我倒想知道，你知不知道几颗豆子加起来是五颗。”

“Two in each hand and one in your mouth,” says Jack, as sharp as a needle.

“两只手各拿两颗，嘴里再叼一颗，”杰克机灵地答道，反应快得像针尖一样。

“Right you are,” said the man, “and here they are the very beans themselves,” he went on pulling out of his pocket a number of strange-looking beans. “As you are so sharp,” says he, “I don't mind doing a swop with you—your cow for these beans.”

“说得对，”老头说道，“瞧，这就是那些豆子本身，”他一边说，一边从口袋里掏出好些模样古怪的豆子。“既然你这么机灵，”他说道，“我倒不介意跟你交换一下——用这些豆子换你这头牛。”

“Walker!” says Jack; “wouldn't you like it?”

“得了吧！”杰克说道；“你倒真想得美啊？”

“Ah! you don't know what these beans are,” said the man; “if you plant them over-night, by morning they grow right up to the sky.”

“啊！你还不知道这些豆子是什么东西呢，”老头说道；“要是你今晚把它们种下去，到了明天早晨，它们就能一直长到天上去。”

“Really?” says Jack; “you don't say so.”

“真的吗？”杰克说道；“你不是在唬我吧。”

“Yes, that is so, and if it doesn't turn out to be true you can have your cow back.”

“真的，一点不假，要是这话不灵验，你还是可以把你的牛要回去。”

“Right,” says Jack, and hands him over Milky-white's halter and pockets the beans.

“好吧，”杰克说道，说着便把“牛奶白”的缰绳交给了他，自己把豆子揣进了口袋。

Back goes Jack home, and as he hadn't gone very far it wasn't dusk by the time he got to his door.

杰克便往家走去，因为他没走多远，所以到家门口时天还没黑。

“What back, Jack?” said his mother; “I see you haven't got Milky-white, so you've sold her. How much did you get for her?”

“回来啦，杰克？”他母亲说道；“我看你没牵着‘牛奶白’回来，那么你是把它卖了。卖了多少钱呢？”

“You'll never guess, mother,” says Jack.

“您绝对猜不到，妈妈，”杰克说道。

“No, you don't say so. Good boy! Five pounds, ten, fifteen, no, it can't be twenty.”

“不会吧，你不是当真的吧。好孩子！五镑，十镑，十五镑，不会，该不会是二十镑吧。”

“I told you you couldn't guess, what do you say to these beans; they're magical, plant them over-night and——”

“我早说您猜不到，您看看这些豆子怎么样；它们可是有魔力的，今晚种下去，然后——”

“What!” says Jack's mother, “have you been such a fool, such a dolt, such an idiot, as to give away my Milky-white, the best milker in the parish, and prime beef to boot, for a set of paltry beans. Take that! Take that! Take that! And as for your precious beans here they go out of the window. And now off with you to bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow this very night.”

“什么！”杰克的母亲说道，“你竟然蠢成这样，笨成这样，糊涂成这样，把我的‘牛奶白’——这教区里产奶最好、肉质也是上等的牛——就为了这么一把不值钱的豆子给换走了。你这个！你这个！你这个！至于你这宝贝豆子嘛，它们全都给我从窗户扔出去。现在给我上楼睡觉去。今晚你一口汤也别想喝，一口东西也别想吃。”

So Jack went upstairs to his little room in the attic, and sad and sorry he was, to be sure, as much for his mother's sake, as for the loss of his supper.

于是杰克便上楼回到他阁楼里的小房间，心里确实又难过又懊悔，一半是为了母亲，一半也是为了没了晚饭吃。

At last he dropped off to sleep.

最后他终于沉沉睡去。

When he woke up, the room looked so funny. The sun was shining into part of it, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window. And what do you think he saw? why, the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden, had sprung up into a big beanstalk which went up and up and up till it reached the sky. So the man spoke truth after all.

等他醒来时，只觉得房间的样子怪极了。阳光照进了房间的一部分，可其余的地方却仍是一片幽暗阴沉。于是杰克一跃而起，穿好衣服，走到窗前。你猜他看见了什么？原来，他母亲扔出窗外、落进花园里的那些豆子，竟长成了一根巨大的豆茎，一直往上、往上、往上长，直长到了天上。这么说，那老头说的果然是真话。

The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack's window, so all he had to do was to open it and give a jump on to the beanstalk which was made like a big plaited ladder. So Jack climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till at last he reached the sky. And when he got there he found a long broad road going as straight as a dart. So he walked along and he walked along and he walked along till he came to a great big tall house, and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman.

那豆茎正好贴着杰克的窗户长了上去，他只需打开窗户，一跳便能跳上那根编织得像一架巨大梯子似的豆茎。于是杰克便爬呀爬呀爬呀爬呀爬呀爬呀爬，一直爬到最后，终于爬到了天上。他到了那儿，发现一条又长又宽的大路，笔直得像支飞镖。于是他沿着路走啊走啊走啊，一直走到一栋高大无比的大房子跟前，只见门前台阶上站着一个又高又大的女人。

“Good morning, mum,” says Jack, quite polite-like. “Could you be so kind as to give me some breakfast.” For he hadn't had anything to eat, you know, the night before and was as hungry as a hunter.

“早安，夫人，”杰克十分有礼貌地说道。“您能不能行行好，赏我点早饭吃？”因为他前一夜什么也没吃，你知道，这会儿正饿得像头饿狼似的。

“It's breakfast you want, is it?” says the great big tall woman, “it's breakfast you'll be if you don't move off from here. My man is an ogre and there's nothing he likes better than boys broiled on toast. You'd better be moving on or he'll soon be coming.”

“你想要早饭，是不是？”那高大的女人说道，“你要是不赶紧从这儿走开，你自己就要变成别人的早饭了。我家那口子是个食人妖，他最爱吃的莫过于烤在吐司上的男孩了。你还是趁早走吧，不然他很快就要回来了。”

“Oh! please mum, do give me something to eat, mum. I've had nothing to eat since yesterday morning, really and truly, mum,” says Jack. “I may as well be broiled, as die of hunger.”

“哦！求求您，夫人，给我点吃的吧，夫人。我从昨天早晨到现在什么都没吃，千真万确，夫人，”杰克说道。“与其活活饿死，我倒宁可被烤了吃。”

Well, the ogre's wife wasn't such a bad sort, after all. So she took Jack into the kitchen, and gave him a junk of bread and cheese and a jug of milk. But Jack hadn't half finished these when thump! thump! thump! the whole house began to tremble with the noise of someone coming.

好在这个食人妖的老婆倒也不是那么坏心肠。于是她把杰克领进厨房，给了他一大块面包和奶酪，还有一罐牛奶。可杰克还没吃到一半，忽然“咚！咚！咚！”整栋房子都因为有人走近而震动起来。

“Goodness gracious me! It's my old man,” said the ogre's wife, “what on earth shall I do? Here, come quick and jump in here.” And she bundled Jack into the oven just as the ogre came in.

“天哪，我的老天！这是我家那口子回来了，”食人妖的老婆说道，“这可怎么办才好？来，快，跳到这儿面躲起来。”说着她便把杰克塞进了烤炉里，正巧食人妖走了进来。

He was a big one, to be sure. At his belt he had three calves strung up by the heels, and he unhooked them and threw them down on the table and said: “Here, wife, broil me a couple of these for breakfast. Ah what's this I smell?

那家伙个头可真够大的。腰带上倒挂着三只小牛，用脚踝拴着，他把它们解下来，扔到桌上，说道：“来，老婆子，给我烤两只当早饭。啊，这是什么味儿？

Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman, Be he alive, or be he dead I'll have his bones to grind my bread.”

菲依福方， 我闻到了英格兰人的血腥气， 不管他是死是活， 我都要把他的骨头磨成面粉做面包。”

“Nonsense, dear,” said his wife, “you're dreaming. Or perhaps you smell the scraps of that little boy you liked so much for yesterday's dinner. Here, go you and have a wash and tidy up, and by the time you come back your breakfast'll be ready for you.”

“瞎说什么呢，亲爱的，”他老婆说道，“你这是在做梦吧。要不就是你闻到了昨天晚饭那个你那么爱吃的小男孩剩下的一点残渣味儿。来，你去洗漱、收拾一下，等你回来的时候，早饭就该准备好了。”

So the ogre went off, and Jack was just going to jump out of the oven and run off when the woman told him not. “Wait till he's asleep,” says she; “he always has a snooze after breakfast.”

于是食人妖便走开了，杰克正打算从烤炉里跳出来逃跑，那女人却叫他别动。“等他睡着了再说，”她说道；“他吃完早饭总要打个盹。”

Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he goes to a big chest and takes out of it a couple of bags of gold and sits down counting them till at last his head began to nod and he began to snore till the whole house shook again.

好了，食人妖吃完了早饭，随后走到一只大箱子跟前，从里面取出两袋金子，坐下来数着，数着数着他的脑袋便开始点起来，接着便打起鼾来，鼾声震得整栋房子都晃动起来。

Then Jack crept out on tiptoe from his oven, and as he was passing the ogre he took one of the bags of gold under his arm, and off he pelters till he came to the beanstalk, and then he threw down the bag of gold which of course fell in to his mother's garden, and then he climbed down and climbed down till at last he got home and told his mother and showed her the gold and said: “Well, mother, wasn't I right about the beans. They are really magical, you see.”

于是杰克踮着脚尖从烤炉里悄悄爬了出来，经过食人妖身边时，他顺手夹起一袋金子，撒腿就跑，一直跑到豆茎那儿，把那袋金子扔了下去，金子自然落进了他母亲的花园里，接着他便一路往下爬呀爬呀，最后终于到了家，把金子拿给母亲看，说道：“瞧，妈妈，我说那些豆子有魔力没错吧。您瞧，它们可真是有魔力呢。”

So they lived on the bag of gold for some time, but at last they came to the end of that so Jack made up his mind to try his luck once more up at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning he got up early, and got on to the beanstalk, and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till at last he got on the road again and came to the great big tall house he had been to before. There, sure enough, was the great big tall woman a-standing on the door-step.

于是他们靠着这袋金子过了一段日子，可最后金子终于花完了，杰克便下定决心再到那豆茎顶上去碰碰运气。于是一天大清早，他早早起了床，爬上豆茎，一路爬呀爬呀爬呀爬呀爬呀爬，最后又爬回到了那条大路上，来到他先前去过的那栋高大的房子跟前。果然不出所料，那位又高又大的女人正站在门前台阶上。

“Good morning, mum,” says Jack, as bold as brass, “could you be so good as to give me something to eat?”

“早安，夫人，”杰克大着胆子，毫不怯场地说道，“您能不能行行好，赏我点东西吃？”

“Go away, my boy,” said the big, tall woman, “or else my man will eat you up for breakfast. But aren't you the youngster who came here once before? Do you know, that very day, my man missed one of his bags of gold.”

“走开，小家伙，”那高大的女人说道，“不然我家那口子会把你当早饭吃掉的。可你不正是先前来过一次的那个孩子吗？你知道吗，就在那天，我家那口子丢了一袋金子。”

“That's strange, mum,” says Jack, “I dare say I could tell you something about that but I'm so hungry I can't speak till I've had something to eat.”

“真是奇怪呀，夫人，”杰克说道，“这事儿我倒是能跟您说道说道，不过我实在饿得慌，没吃点东西没法说话。”

Well the big tall woman was that curious that she took him in and gave him something to eat. But he had scarcely begun munching it as slowly as he could when thump! thump! thump! they heard the giant's footstep, and his wife hid Jack away in the oven.

好了，那高大的女人实在好奇，便把他领了进去，给了他点吃的。可他刚开始细嚼慢咽没吃几口，忽然“咚！咚！咚！”他们便听见了巨人的脚步声，他老婆赶紧把杰克藏进了烤炉。

All happened as it did before. In came the ogre as he did before, said: “Fee-fi-fo-fum,” and had his breakfast off three broiled oxen. Then he said: “Wife, bring me the hen that lays the golden eggs.” So she brought it, and the ogre said: “Lay,” and it laid an egg all of gold. And then the ogre began to nod his head, and to snore till the house shook.

一切都跟上次一模一样。食人妖走了进来，跟上次一样说道：“菲依福方，”接着吃了三头烤全牛当早饭。随后他说道：“老婆子，把那只会下金蛋的母鸡给我拿来。”于是她便拿来了，食人妖说道：“下蛋，”那母鸡便下了一个纯金的蛋。接着食人妖的脑袋又开始点起来，鼾声大作，震得整栋房子都晃动起来。

Then Jack crept out of the oven on tiptoe and caught hold of the golden hen, and was off before you could say “Jack Robinson.” But this time the hen gave a cackle which woke the ogre, and just as Jack got out of the house he heard him calling: “Wife, wife, what have you done with my golden hen?”

于是杰克便踮着脚尖从烤炉里爬了出来，一把抓住那只金母鸡，说时迟那时快，转眼就跑没了影。可这一回，那母鸡咯咯叫了一声，把食人妖吵醒了，就在杰克刚跑出屋子时，他听见食人妖喊道：“老婆子，老婆子，你把我的金母鸡弄哪儿去了？”

And the wife said: “Why, my dear?”

他老婆答道：“怎么了，亲爱的？”

But that was all Jack heard, for he rushed off to the beanstalk and climbed down like a house on fire. And when he got home he showed his mother the wonderful hen and said “Lay,” to it; and it laid a golden egg every time he said “Lay.”

可杰克只听到了这一句，因为他已经飞奔向豆茎，像着了火似的一路爬了下去。等他到了家，便把这只奇妙的母鸡拿给母亲看，对它说了声“下蛋”；果然，他每说一次“下蛋”，它便下一个金蛋。

Well, Jack was not content, and it wasn't very long before he determined to have another try at his luck up there at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning, he got up early, and went on to the beanstalk, and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till he got to the top.

好了，杰克并不满足，没过多久，他便又下定决心，要再到豆茎顶上去碰碰运气。于是一天大清早，他早早起了床，爬上豆茎，一路爬呀爬呀爬呀爬，一直爬到了顶上。

But this time he knew better than to go straight to the ogre's house. And when he got near it he waited behind a bush till he saw the ogre's wife come out with a pail to get some water, and then he crept into the house and got into the copper. He hadn't been there long when he heard thump! thump! thump! as before, and in come the ogre and his wife.

不过这一回，他学乖了，没有直接走向食人妖的房子。他快走近时，便躲在一丛灌木后面等着，直到看见食人妖的老婆提着水桶出来打水，他才悄悄溜进屋去，钻进了那只铜制的大锅里。他还没在里面待多久，便又听见“咚！咚！咚！”跟先前一样，食人妖和他老婆走了进来。

“Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman,” cried out the ogre; “I smell him, wife, I smell him.”

“菲依福方，我闻到了英格兰人的血腥气，”食人妖喊道；“我闻到他了，老婆子，我闻到他了。”

“Do you, my dearie?” says the ogre's wife. “Then if it's that little rogue that stole your gold and the hen that laid the golden eggs he's sure to have got into the oven.” And they both rushed to the oven. But Jack wasn't there, luckily, and the ogre's wife said: “There you are again with your fee-fi-fo-fum. Why of course it's the laddie you caught last night that I've broiled for your breakfast. How forgetful I am, and how careless you are not to tell the difference between a live un and a dead un.”

“是吗，亲爱的？”食人妖的老婆说道。“那要是那个偷了你的金子、还有会下金蛋的母鸡的小坏蛋，他这会儿一定又躲进烤炉里去了。”于是两人都急急忙忙冲向烤炉。可幸运的是，杰克并不在那儿，食人妖的老婆便说道：“瞧你又来这套‘菲依福方’了。这不明摆着，是昨晚你抓到的那个小伙子，我已经把他烤了给你当早饭了嘛。我这记性可真差，你也真是粗心，连活人和死人都分不清楚。”

So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it, but every now and then he would mutter: “Well, I could have sworn——” and he'd get up and search the larder and the cupboards, and everything, only luckily he didn't think of the copper.

于是食人妖便坐下来吃他的早饭，可他每隔一会儿总要嘀咕一句：“唔，我敢发誓——”接着他便起身，把食品柜、橱柜，还有各个角落都搜了个遍，唯独幸运的是，他没想到去查那只铜锅。

After breakfast was over, the ogre called out: “Wife, wife, bring me my golden harp.” So she brought it and put it on the table before him. Then he said: “Sing!” and the golden harp sang most beautifully. And it went on singing till the ogre fell asleep, and commenced to snore like thunder.

早饭吃完之后，食人妖喊道：“老婆子，老婆子，把我的金竖琴拿来。”于是她便拿来放在他面前的桌子上。接着他说道：“唱！”那金竖琴便唱起了极为动听的歌来。它一直唱着，直到食人妖睡着了，鼾声如雷。

Then Jack lifted up the copper-lid very quietly and got down like a mouse and crept on hands and knees till he got to the table when he got up and caught hold of the golden harp and dashed with it towards the door. But the harp called out quite loud: “Master! Master!” and the ogre woke up just in time to see Jack running off with his harp.

于是杰克悄悄地掀起那铜锅的盖子，像老鼠一样溜了下来，手脚并用地爬到桌子跟前，随后站起身来，一把抓住那金竖琴，朝门口冲去。可那竖琴却大声喊了起来：“主人！主人！”食人妖恰好及时醒来，正看见杰克抱着他的竖琴跑掉。

Jack ran as fast as he could, and the ogre came rushing after, and would soon have caught him only Jack had a start and dodged him a bit and knew where he was going. When he got to the beanstalk the ogre was not more than twenty yards away when suddenly he saw Jack disappear like, and when he got up to the end of the road he saw Jack underneath climbing down for dear life. Well, the ogre didn't like trusting himself to such a ladder, and he stood and waited, so Jack got another start.

杰克拼命地跑，食人妖也在后面猛追，本来很快就能追上他，只是杰克抢先了一步，又略微躲闪了一下，况且他也熟知自己要往哪儿去。等他跑到豆茎那儿时，食人妖离他已不到二十码远，忽然他见杰克像是消失了一般，等他自己也跑到路的尽头，才看见杰克正在下面拼命地往下爬。好在食人妖不太信得过这样一架梯子，便站在那儿犹豫不决，杰克便又抢得了一段先机。

But just then the harp cried out: “Master! master!” and the ogre swung himself down on to the beanstalk which shook with his weight. Down climbs Jack, and after him climbed the ogre. By this time Jack had climbed down and climbed down and climbed down till he was very nearly home. So he called out: “Mother! mother! bring me an axe, bring me an axe.” And his mother came rushing out with the axe in her hand, but when she came to the beanstalk she stood stock still with fright for there she saw the ogre just coming down below the clouds.

可就在这时，那竖琴喊道：“主人！主人！”食人妖便一把跃上豆茎，那豆茎被他的重量压得直晃。杰克在下面爬着，食人妖也跟在后面爬着。这时杰克已经爬呀爬呀爬了下去，眼看就快到家了。于是他喊道：“妈妈！妈妈！给我拿把斧头来，快拿把斧头来。”他母亲便手里拿着斧头飞奔出来，可她一到豆茎跟前，便吓得呆立当场，因为她看见食人妖正从云端下面爬下来。

But Jack jumped down and got hold of the axe and gave a chop at the beanstalk which cut it half in two. The ogre felt the beanstalk shake and quiver so he stopped to see what was the matter. Then Jack gave another chop with the axe, and the beanstalk was cut in two and began to topple over. Then the ogre fell down and broke his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after.

可杰克一跃而下，抓起斧头，朝豆茎狠狠一劈，把它砍断了一半。食人妖感觉到豆茎在晃动颤抖，便停下来看看出了什么事。于是杰克又是一斧头劈了下去，豆茎便被砍成了两段，开始倾倒下来。食人妖便摔了下去，摔破了脑袋，那豆茎也跟着轰然倒塌下来。

Then Jack showed his mother his golden harp, and what with showing that and selling the golden eggs, Jack and his mother became very rich, and he married a great princess, and they lived happy ever after.

随后杰克把他的金竖琴拿给母亲看，靠着展示竖琴和出售金蛋，杰克和他母亲变得十分富有，他还娶了一位了不起的公主，从此他们过上了幸福快乐的生活。