The Tailor of Gloucester

In the time of swords and periwigs and full-skirted coats with flowered lappets—when gentlemen wore ruffles, and gold-laced waistcoats of paduasoy and taffeta—there lived a tailor in Gloucester.

在那佩剑与假发、还有绣着花边翻领的宽摆外衣盛行的年代——那时的绅士们都戴着褶边领饰，穿着杜瓦丝绸和塔夫绸缝制的金边背心——格洛斯特城里住着一位裁缝。

He sat in the window of a little shop in Westgate Street, cross-legged on a table, from morning till dark.

他坐在韦斯特门街一间小铺子的窗边，盘腿坐在一张桌子上，从早到晚都是如此。

All day long while the light lasted he sewed and snippeted, piecing out his satin and pompadour, and lutestring; stuffs had strange names, and were very expensive in the days of the Tailor of Gloucester.

只要天还亮着，他就一整天都在缝缝剪剪，把他那些绸缎、庞巴杜绸和琉特绸拼接起来；这些料子的名字都稀奇古怪，在格洛斯特裁缝生活的那个年代，都是些十分昂贵的东西。

But although he sewed fine silk for his neighbours, he himself was very, very poor—a little old man in spectacles, with a pinched face, old crooked fingers, and a suit of thread-bare clothes.

可是尽管他为邻居们缝制精美的丝绸衣裳，他自己却穷得叮当响——是个戴着眼镜、面容清瘦的小老头，手指头又老又弯，穿着一身破破烂烂的旧衣服。

He cut his coats without waste, according to his embroidered cloth; they were very small ends and snippets that lay about upon the table—"Too narrow breadths for nought—except waistcoats for mice," said the tailor.

他裁剪外衣的时候，总是精打细算，绝不浪费一点绣花布料；桌上散落的都是些窄小的边角料——"这些窄条什么用也没有——除了给老鼠做背心，"裁缝说道。

One bitter cold day near Christmastime the tailor began to make a coat—a coat of cherry-coloured corded silk embroidered with pansies and roses, and a cream coloured satin waistcoat—trimmed with gauze and green worsted chenille—for the Mayor of Gloucester.

圣诞节前夕一个天寒地冻的日子，裁缝开始做一件外衣——一件用绣着三色堇和玫瑰花的樱桃色罗纹绸做的外衣，还有一件奶油色的缎子背心——镶着薄纱和绿色的绳绒边——是给格洛斯特市长做的。

The tailor worked and worked, and he talked to himself. He measured the silk, and turned it round and round, and trimmed it into shape with his shears; the table was all littered with cherry-coloured snippets.

裁缝一直在缝呀缝，一边自言自语。他量了量丝绸，把它翻来转去，又用剪刀把它剪裁成型；桌上撒满了樱桃色的碎布头。

"No breadth at all, and cut on the cross; it is no breadth at all; tippets for mice and ribbons for mobs! for mice!" said the Tailor of Gloucester.

"根本没什么宽度可言，还是斜裁的；这根本算不上什么料子；只够给老鼠做披肩，给妈妈们做丝带！只够老鼠用！"格洛斯特裁缝说道。

When the snow-flakes came down against the small leaded window-panes and shut out the light, the tailor had done his day's work; all the silk and satin lay cut out upon the table.

雪花打在铅框的小窗玻璃上，把光线都挡住了，这时裁缝也做完了一天的活；所有的丝绸和缎子都裁好摆在桌上了。

There were twelve pieces for the coat and four pieces for the waistcoat; and there were pocket flaps and cuffs, and buttons all in order. For the lining of the coat there was fine yellow taffeta; and for the button-holes of the waistcoat, there was cherry-coloured twist. And everything was ready to sew together in the morning, all measured and sufficient—except that there was wanting just one single skein of cherry-coloured twisted silk.

外衣要用十二片料子，背心要用四片；还有口袋盖、袖口，纽扣也都摆得整整齐齐。外衣的衬里用的是上好的黄色塔夫绸；背心的扣眼要用樱桃色的捻线。一切都齐备了，只等第二天早上缝合起来，量得都够用了——只除了还差一小绞樱桃色的捻丝线。

The tailor came out of his shop at dark, for he did not sleep there at nights; he fastened the window and locked the door, and took away the key. No one lived there at night but little brown mice, and they run in and out without any keys!

裁缝天黑时便离开铺子，因为他夜里并不在那儿睡觉；他关上窗户，锁上门，把钥匙带走了。夜里那儿除了棕色的小老鼠，谁也不住，而老鼠们进进出出根本不需要钥匙！

For behind the wooden wainscots of all the old houses in Gloucester, there are little mouse staircases and secret trap-doors; and the mice run from house to house through those long narrow passages; they can run all over the town without going into the streets.

因为格洛斯特城里所有老房子的木护墙板后面，都有小小的老鼠楼梯和秘密活板门；老鼠们便从这家跑到那家，穿过那些又长又窄的通道；他们可以跑遍全城，根本不用走大街。

But the tailor came out of his shop, and shuffled home through the snow. He lived quite near by in College Court, next the doorway to College Green; and although it was not a big house, the tailor was so poor he only rented the kitchen.

裁缝走出铺子，深一脚浅一脚地踏着雪回家去了。他就住在离这儿不远的学院庭院里，紧挨着通往学院草坪的门道；虽说这不是座大房子，可裁缝穷得只租得起厨房那一间屋子。

He lived alone with his cat; it was called Simpkin.

他独自和他的猫住在一起；这猫名叫辛普金。

Now all day long while the tailor was out at work, Simpkin kept house by himself; and he also was fond of the mice, though he gave them no satin for coats!

如今裁缝白天出门干活的时候，辛普金便独自看家；他也很喜欢老鼠，只不过他从不给它们做缎子外衣！

"Miaw?" said the cat when the tailor opened the door. "Miaw?"

"喵？"裁缝开门时，猫叫道。"喵？"

The tailor replied—"Simpkin, we shall make our fortune, but I am worn to a ravelling. Take this groat (which is our last fourpence) and Simpkin, take a china pipkin; buy a penn'orth of bread, a penn'orth of milk and a penn'orth of sausages. And oh, Simpkin, with the last penny of our fourpence buy me one penn'orth of cherry-coloured silk. But do not lose the last penny of the fourpence, Simpkin, or I am undone and worn to a thread-paper, for I have NO MORE TWIST."

裁缝答道："辛普金，我们要发大财了，可我已经累得筋疲力尽了。拿上这枚四便士银币（这是我们最后的四便士），辛普金，再拿个小瓷罐去；买一便士的面包，一便士的牛奶，一便士的香肠。哦，辛普金，还得用这四便士里最后的一便士，给我买一便士的樱桃色丝线。可别把那最后一便士弄丢了，辛普金，不然我可就完了，会被拖成一根细纸条，因为我已经没有捻线了。"

Then Simpkin again said, "Miaw?" and took the groat and the pipkin, and went out into the dark.

辛普金又叫了声"喵？"，便拿起银币和瓷罐，走进了黑夜之中。

The tailor was very tired and beginning to be ill. He sat down by the hearth and talked to himself about that wonderful coat.

裁缝十分疲惫，身体也开始不适了。他坐在炉火边，自言自语地念叨着那件奇妙的外衣。

"I shall make my fortune—to be cut bias—the Mayor of Gloucester is to be married on Christmas Day in the morning, and he hath ordered a coat and an embroidered waistcoat—to be lined with yellow taffeta—and the taffeta sufficeth; there is no more left over in snippets than will serve to make tippets for mice——"

"我要发大财了——要斜裁——格洛斯特市长要在圣诞节的早上成婚，他订做了一件外衣和一件绣花背心——要用黄色塔夫绸做衬里——这塔夫绸够用了；剩下的边角料除了够给老鼠做披肩，别的什么也做不了——"

Then the tailor started; for suddenly, interrupting him, from the dresser at the other side of the kitchen came a number of little noises—

正说着，裁缝忽然停住了；因为忽然间，从厨房另一头的碗柜那儿，传来一阵打断他的窸窸窣窣的小声响——

Tip tap, tip tap, tip tap tip!

嗒嗒，嗒嗒，嗒嗒嗒！

"Now what can that be?" said the Tailor of Gloucester, jumping up from his chair. The dresser was covered with crockery and pipkins, willow pattern plates, and tea-cups and mugs.

"这会是什么呢？"格洛斯特裁缝说着，从椅子上跳了起来。碗柜上摆满了瓷器和小罐子，柳树图案的盘子，还有茶杯和马克杯。

The tailor crossed the kitchen, and stood quite still beside the dresser, listening, and peering through his spectacles. Again from under a tea-cup, came those funny little noises—

裁缝穿过厨房，一动不动地站在碗柜旁边，竖起耳朵听着，透过眼镜仔细张望。忽然又从一只茶杯底下传来那滑稽的小声响——

Tip tap, tip tap, Tip tap tip!

嗒嗒，嗒嗒，嗒嗒嗒！

"This is very peculiar," said the Tailor of Gloucester; and he lifted up the tea-cup which was upside down.

"这可真是奇怪，"格洛斯特裁缝说道；他掀起了那只倒扣着的茶杯。

Out stepped a little live lady mouse, and made a curtsey to the tailor! Then she hopped away down off the dresser, and under the wainscot.

一只活生生的小母老鼠走了出来，还朝裁缝行了个屈膝礼！接着她便一蹦一跳地跳下碗柜，钻进护墙板底下去了。

The tailor sat down again by the fire, warming his poor cold hands, and mumbling to himself——

裁缝又坐回炉火边，暖着自己那双可怜的冻手，一边嘟囔着——

"The waistcoat is cut out from peach-coloured satin—tambour stitch and rose-buds in beautiful floss silk. Was I wise to entrust my last fourpence to Simpkin? One-and-twenty button-holes of cherry-coloured twist!"

"这背心是用桃色缎子裁的——用绒线绣的绷绣针法和玫瑰花苞，绸缎丝线做的。我把最后的四便士托付给辛普金，这样做明智吗？还有二十一个用樱桃色捻线做的扣眼呢！"

But all at once, from the dresser, there came other little noises:

可忽然间，碗柜那儿又传来了别的小声响：

Tip tap, tip tap, tip tap tip!

嗒嗒，嗒嗒，嗒嗒嗒！

"This is passing extraordinary!" said the Tailor of Gloucester, and turned over another tea-cup, which was upside down.

"这可真是异乎寻常了！"格洛斯特裁缝说道，又翻起了另一只倒扣着的茶杯。

Out stepped a little gentleman mouse, and made a bow to the tailor!

一位小绅士鼠走了出来，朝裁缝鞠了一躬！

And then from all over the dresser came a chorus of little tappings, all sounding together, and answering one another, like watch-beetles in an old worm-eaten window-shutter—

接着整个碗柜上都响起了一片此起彼伏的小小敲击声，此呼彼应，就像老旧被虫蛀空的窗板里的窃衣虫一样——

Tip tap, tip tap, tip tap tip!

嗒嗒，嗒嗒，嗒嗒嗒！

And out from under tea-cups and from under bowls and basins, stepped other and more little mice who hopped away down off the dresser and under the wainscot.

一只只小老鼠从茶杯、碗和盆子底下钻了出来，一蹦一跳地跳下碗柜，钻进护墙板底下去了。

The tailor sat down, close over the fire, lamenting—"One-and-twenty button-holes of cherry-coloured silk! To be finished by noon of Saturday: and this is Tuesday evening. Was it right to let loose those mice, undoubtedly the property of Simpkin? Alack, I am undone, for I have no more twist!"

裁缝坐了下来，紧挨着炉火，哀叹道——"二十一个樱桃色丝线的扣眼！得在星期六中午之前做完：可今天才是星期二晚上啊。放走那些老鼠——毫无疑问那是辛普金的私产——这样做对吗？唉，我可完了，因为我再没有捻线了！"

The little mice came out again, and listened to the tailor; they took notice of the pattern of that wonderful coat. They whispered to one another about the taffeta lining, and about little mouse tippets.

那些小老鼠又走了出来，听着裁缝说话；他们留意起那件奇妙外衣的图样来。他们彼此低语，谈论着塔夫绸的衬里，还有小老鼠的披肩。

And then all at once they all ran away together down the passage behind the wainscot, squeaking and calling to one another, as they ran from house to house; and not one mouse was left in the tailor's kitchen when Simpkin came back with the pipkin of milk!

接着忽然间，他们全都一起沿着护墙板后面的通道跑开了，一路吱吱叫着，彼此呼唤，从这家跑到那家；等辛普金拎着牛奶罐回来的时候，裁缝的厨房里已经一只老鼠都不剩了！

Simpkin opened the door and bounced in, with an angry "G-r-r-miaw!" like a cat that is vexed: for he hated the snow, and there was snow in his ears, and snow in his collar at the back of his neck. He put down the loaf and the sausages upon the dresser, and sniffed.

辛普金推门蹦了进来，气呼呼地"呜——喵！"了一声，像只受气的猫；因为他讨厌下雪，他的耳朵里都是雪，脖子后面的领口里也都是雪。他把面包和香肠放到碗柜上，嗅了嗅。

"Simpkin," said the tailor, "where is my twist?"

"辛普金，"裁缝说道，"我的捻线呢？"

But Simpkin set down the pipkin of milk upon the dresser, and looked suspiciously at the tea-cups. He wanted his supper of little fat mouse!

可辛普金把那罐牛奶放到碗柜上，一脸狐疑地盯着那些茶杯。他想吃他那顿肥美的小老鼠晚饭呢！

"Simpkin," said the tailor, "where is my TWIST?"

"辛普金，"裁缝说道，"我的捻线在哪儿？"

But Simpkin hid a little parcel privately in the tea-pot, and spit and growled at the tailor; and if Simpkin had been able to talk, he would have asked: "Where is my MOUSE?"

可辛普金却偷偷把一个小包裹藏进了茶壶里，朝裁缝又是啐口水又是咆哮；要是辛普金会说话，他大概会这样问："我的老鼠在哪儿？"

"Alack, I am undone!" said the Tailor of Gloucester, and went sadly to bed.

"唉，我完了！"格洛斯特裁缝说着，便伤心地上床睡觉去了。

All that night long Simpkin hunted and searched through the kitchen, peeping into cupboards and under the wainscot, and into the tea-pot where he had hidden that twist; but still he found never a mouse!

那一整夜，辛普金都在厨房里四处搜寻，探头探脑地查看碗柜里，护墙板底下，还有他藏那捻线的茶壶里；可他还是一只老鼠也没找到！

Whenever the tailor muttered and talked in his sleep, Simpkin said "Miaw-ger-r-w-s-s-ch!" and made strange horrid noises, as cats do at night.

每当裁缝在睡梦中含糊嘟囔的时候，辛普金便"喵——嗄——呜——嘶！"地叫上一声，发出些猫夜里常发的那种古怪吓人的声音。

For the poor old tailor was very ill with a fever, tossing and turning in his four-post bed; and still in his dreams he mumbled—"No more twist! no more twist!"

因为这可怜的老裁缝正发着高烧，病得不轻，在他那张四柱床上辗转反侧；他在梦中仍旧含糊念叨着——"没有捻线了！没有捻线了！"

All that day he was ill, and the next day, and the next; and what should become of the cherry-coloured coat? In the tailor's shop in Westgate Street the embroidered silk and satin lay cut out upon the table—one-and-twenty button-holes—and who should come to sew them, when the window was barred, and the door was fast locked?

他就这样病了一整天，接着又是一天，又是一天；那件樱桃色的外衣该怎么办呢？在韦斯特门街的裁缝铺里，那些绣花的丝绸和缎子还裁剪好摆在桌上——还有二十一个扣眼——窗户关着，门也锁得严严实实，又有谁能来把它们缝好呢？

But that does not hinder the little brown mice; they run in and out without any keys through all the old houses in Gloucester!

可这却难不倒那些棕色的小老鼠；他们可以不用任何钥匙，在格洛斯特城所有的老房子里自由地进进出出！

Out of doors the market folks went trudging through the snow to buy their geese and turkeys, and to bake their Christmas pies; but there would be no Christmas dinner for Simpkin and the poor old Tailor of Gloucester.

屋外，赶集的人们踏着积雪，深一脚浅一脚地去买他们的鹅和火鸡，去烤他们的圣诞派；可辛普金和这可怜的老格洛斯特裁缝，却是过不上圣诞大餐了。

The tailor lay ill for three days and nights; and then it was Christmas Eve, and very late at night. The moon climbed up over the roofs and chimneys, and looked down over the gateway into College Court. There were no lights in the windows, nor any sound in the houses; all the city of Gloucester was fast asleep under the snow.

裁缝病倒了三天三夜；转眼便到了平安夜，夜色已经很深了。月亮爬上了屋顶和烟囱，俯视着学院庭院的大门。窗户里没有一丝灯光，屋子里也没有一点声响；整座格洛斯特城都在积雪之下沉沉睡去了。

And still Simpkin wanted his mice, and he mewed as he stood beside the four-post bed.

辛普金却仍旧想吃他的老鼠，他站在那张四柱床边，喵喵地叫着。

But it is in the old story that all the beasts can talk, in the night between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the morning (though there are very few folk that can hear them, or know what it is that they say).

可老话说，在平安夜到圣诞节清晨之间的那个夜里，所有的野兽都会说话（不过能听懂它们、知道它们在说什么的人却很少很少）。

When the Cathedral clock struck twelve there was an answer—like an echo of the chimes—and Simpkin heard it, and came out of the tailor's door, and wandered about in the snow.

大教堂的钟敲响十二下时，忽然传来了回应——像是钟声的回音一般——辛普金听见了，便走出裁缝家的门，在雪地里四处游荡起来。

From all the roofs and gables and old wooden houses in Gloucester came a thousand merry voices singing the old Christmas rhymes—all the old songs that ever I heard of, and some that I don't know, like Whittington's bells.

格洛斯特城所有的屋顶、山墙和老旧的木屋里，都传来了成千上万个欢乐的声音，唱着古老的圣诞歌谣——所有我曾听过的老歌，还有一些我不知道的，就像惠廷顿的钟声一样。

First and loudest the cocks cried out: "Dame, get up, and bake your pies!"

先是最响亮的公鸡叫了起来："太太，起床啦，烤你的派去吧！"

"Oh, dilly, dilly, dilly!" sighed Simpkin.

"哦，滴哩，滴哩，滴哩！"辛普金叹了口气。

And now in a garret there were lights and sounds of dancing, and cats came from over the way.

这时一间阁楼里亮起了灯光，传来跳舞的声音，猫儿们也从街对面赶了过来。

"Hey, diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle! All the cats in Gloucester—except me," said Simpkin.

"嘿，滴滴答答，猫儿和提琴！格洛斯特城所有的猫——除了我，"辛普金说道。

Under the wooden eaves the starlings and sparrows sang of Christmas pies; the jack-daws woke up in the Cathedral tower; and although it was the middle of the night the throstles and robins sang; the air was quite full of little twittering tunes.

木檐下椋鸟和麻雀唱着圣诞派的歌谣；寒鸦在大教堂的塔楼里也醒了过来；虽说这正是深更半夜，画眉和知更鸟却也唱起了歌；空气里满是这些啾啾啁啁的小调子。

But it was all rather provoking to poor hungry Simpkin!

可对可怜又饥饿的辛普金来说，这一切都实在令人恼火！

Particularly he was vexed with some little shrill voices from behind a wooden lattice. I think that they were bats, because they always have very small voices—especially in a black frost, when they talk in their sleep, like the Tailor of Gloucester.

尤其让他生气的是，从一扇木格窗后面传来的一些尖细的小嗓音。我想那大概是蝙蝠，因为它们的嗓音总是特别细小——尤其是在天寒地冻的时候，它们会在睡梦里说话，就像格洛斯特裁缝一样。

They said something mysterious that sounded like—

它们说着些神秘的话，听起来像是——

"Buz, quoth the blue fly, hum, quoth the bee, Buz and hum they cry, and so do we!"

"蓝苍蝇说，嗡嗡；蜜蜂说，嗡嗡， 嗡嗡嗡嗡它们叫，我们也一样！"

and Simpkin went away shaking his ears as if he had a bee in his bonnet.

辛普金便甩着耳朵走开了，仿佛脑袋里钻进了只蜜蜂一般。

From the tailor's shop in Westgate came a glow of light; and when Simpkin crept up to peep in at the window it was full of candles. There was a snippeting of scissors, and snappeting of thread; and little mouse voices sang loudly and gaily—

韦斯特门街的裁缝铺里透出一片灯光；辛普金蹑手蹑脚地爬上去，透过窗户往里一瞧，只见里面点满了蜡烛。传来剪刀剪裁和线头咬断的声音；小老鼠们的嗓音又响亮又欢快地唱着——

"Four-and-twenty tailors Went to catch a snail, The best man amongst them Durst not touch her tail, She put out her horns Like a little kyloe cow, Run, tailors, run! or she'll have you all e'en now!"

"二十四个裁缝 去捉一只蜗牛， 他们当中最勇敢的那个 也不敢碰她的尾巴， 她伸出触角 像头小小的凯洛牛， 快跑啊，裁缝们！不然她这就要吃掉你们所有人啦！"

Then without a pause the little mouse voices went on again—

接着老鼠们的小嗓音又不停顿地唱了起来——

"Sieve my lady's oatmeal, Grind my lady's flour, Put it in a chestnut, Let it stand an hour——"

"筛一筛我家太太的燕麦粉， 磨一磨我家太太的面粉， 把它装进一颗栗子里， 让它放上一个钟头——"

"Mew! Mew!" interrupted Simpkin, and he scratched at the door. But the key was under the tailor's pillow, he could not get in.

"喵！喵！"辛普金打断了这歌声，在门上抓挠起来。可钥匙在裁缝的枕头底下，他没法进去。

The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune—

小老鼠们只是笑了笑，又唱起了另一支曲子——

"Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in. What are you at, my fine little men? Making coats for gentlemen. Shall I come in and cut off your threads? Oh, no, Miss Pussy, you'd bite off our heads!"

"三只小老鼠坐下来纺线， 猫咪路过朝里张望。 你们在忙什么呢，我的小先生们？ 在给绅士们做外衣呢。 我要不要进去把你们的线剪断？ 哦不不，猫咪小姐，你会把我们的脑袋咬下来的！"

"Mew! Mew!" cried Simpkin. "Hey diddle dinketty?" answered the little mice—

"喵！喵！"辛普金叫道。"嘿滴滴叮克蒂？"小老鼠们答道——

"Hey diddle dinketty, poppetty pet! The merchants of London they wear scarlet; Silk in the collar, and gold in the hem, So merrily march the merchantmen!"

"嘿滴滴叮克蒂，波佩蒂佩特！ 伦敦的商人们穿着大红袍； 领子上镶着丝绸，衣边镶着金子， 商人们喜气洋洋地走着！"

They clicked their thimbles to mark the time, but none of the songs pleased Simpkin; he sniffed and mewed at the door of the shop.

它们敲着顶针打拍子，可这些歌曲没有一首让辛普金满意；他在铺子门口嗅着，喵喵地叫着。

"And then I bought A pipkin and a popkin, A slipkin and a slopkin, All for one farthing——

"然后我买了 一个小瓷罐和一个小罐子， 一个小拖鞋和一个小碟子， 一共才花了一个法寻——

and upon the kitchen dresser!" added the rude little mice.

还有厨房碗柜上的东西！"这几只无礼的小老鼠又加了一句。

"Mew! scratch! scratch!" scuffled Simpkin on the window-sill; while the little mice inside sprang to their feet, and all began to shout at once in little twittering voices: "No more twist! No more twist!" And they barred up the window shutters and shut out Simpkin.

"喵！抓！抓！"辛普金在窗台上又是叫又是抓；而屋里的小老鼠们却一跃而起，一齐用啾啾啁啁的小嗓音喊了起来："没有捻线了！没有捻线了！"它们随即闩上了窗板，把辛普金关在了外面。

But still through the nicks in the shutters he could hear the click of thimbles, and little mouse voices singing—

可透过窗板的缝隙，他仍能听见顶针的敲击声，还有小老鼠们的嗓音唱着——

"No more twist! No more twist!"

"没有捻线了！没有捻线了！"

Simpkin came away from the shop and went home, considering in his mind. He found the poor old tailor without fever, sleeping peacefully.

辛普金离开了铺子，回了家，心里盘算着。他发现可怜的老裁缝已经不再发烧，正安详地睡着。

Then Simpkin went on tip-toe and took a little parcel of silk out of the tea-pot, and looked at it in the moonlight; and he felt quite ashamed of his badness compared with those good little mice!

于是辛普金踮着脚尖走过去，从茶壶里取出那一小包丝线，借着月光看了看；他不禁为自己的坏心眼感到十分羞愧，跟那些善良的小老鼠比起来！

When the tailor awoke in the morning, the first thing which he saw upon the patchwork quilt, was a skein of cherry-coloured twisted silk, and beside his bed stood the repentant Simpkin!

裁缝第二天早晨醒来时，第一眼看见拼布被子上放着一绞樱桃色的捻丝线，他床边还站着满怀悔意的辛普金！

"Alack, I am worn to a ravelling," said the Tailor of Gloucester, "but I have my twist!"

"唉，我都累得像根细麻线了，"格洛斯特裁缝说道，"不过我总算有捻线了！"

The sun was shining on the snow when the tailor got up and dressed, and came out into the street with Simpkin running before him.

裁缝起床穿好衣服，走到街上时，阳光正照在积雪上，辛普金则在他前头一路小跑着。

The starlings whistled on the chimney stacks, and the throstles and robins sang—but they sang their own little noises, not the words they had sung in the night.

椋鸟在烟囱顶上鸣叫，画眉和知更鸟也唱起了歌——不过它们唱的是自己那些寻常的小调子，而不是夜里唱过的那些歌词了。

"Alack," said the tailor, "I have my twist; but no more strength—nor time—than will serve to make me one single button-hole; for this is Christmas Day in the Morning! The Mayor of Gloucester shall be married by noon—and where is his cherry-coloured coat?"

"唉，"裁缝说道，"我总算有了捻线；可我已经没剩多少力气——也没多少时间了——只够我做一个扣眼罢了；因为今天可是圣诞节的早上啊！格洛斯特市长中午就要成婚了——他那件樱桃色的外衣又在哪儿呢？"

He unlocked the door of the little shop in Westgate Street, and Simpkin ran in, like a cat that expects something.

他打开了韦斯特门街那间小铺子的门，辛普金像只满怀期待的猫一样蹿了进去。

But there was no one there! Not even one little brown mouse!

可里面一个人也没有！连一只棕色的小老鼠都没有！

The boards were swept clean; the little ends of thread and the little silk snippets were all tidied away, and gone from off the floor.

地板打扫得干干净净；那些线头和丝绸碎料都被收拾得整整齐齐，从地板上消失得无影无踪。

But upon the table—oh joy! the tailor gave a shout—there, where he had left plain cuttings of silk—there lay the most beautifullest coat and embroidered satin waistcoat that ever were worn by a Mayor of Gloucester.

可桌子上——哦，真是喜出望外！——裁缝惊喜地喊了一声——就在他先前留下未经缝制的丝绸的地方，此刻摆着一件最最漂亮的外衣，还有一件绣花的缎子背心，那是格洛斯特市长有史以来穿过的最华美的一套礼服。

There were roses and pansies upon the facings of the coat; and the waistcoat was worked with poppies and corn-flowers.

外衣的翻领上绣着玫瑰和三色堇；背心上则绣着罂粟花和矢车菊。

Everything was finished except just one single cherry-coloured button-hole, and where that button-hole was wanting there was pinned a scrap of paper with these words—in little teeny weeny writing—

一切都已完工，只除了唯独一个樱桃色的扣眼还没做好，在那扣眼缺失的地方，别着一张小纸条，上面用极其细小的字迹写着——

NO MORE TWIST

没有捻线了

And from then began the luck of the Tailor of Gloucester; he grew quite stout, and he grew quite rich.

从那时起，格洛斯特裁缝的好运便开始了；他渐渐发福，也渐渐富裕了起来。

He made the most wonderful waistcoats for all the rich merchants of Gloucester, and for all the fine gentlemen of the country round.

他给格洛斯特城所有的富商，还有周围乡间所有的绅士老爷们，都做了最最精美绝伦的背心。

Never were seen such ruffles, or such embroidered cuffs and lappets! But his button-holes were the greatest triumph of it all.

从没见过那样精致的褶边，那样绣工精美的袖口和翻领！可他做的扣眼，才是这一切当中最了不起的成就。

The stitches of those button-holes were so neat—so neat—I wonder how they could be stitched by an old man in spectacles, with crooked old fingers, and a tailor's thimble.

那些扣眼的针脚是那样细密——那样细密——真不知道一个戴着眼镜、手指弯曲的老头，用一枚裁缝顶针，怎么能缝出这样的针脚来。

The stitches of those button-holes were so small—so small—they looked as if they had been made by little mice!

那些扣眼的针脚是那样细小——那样细小——看起来简直就像是小老鼠们缝出来的一样！