Once upon a time there lived a king who was deeply in love with a princess, but she could not marry anyone, because she was under an enchantment. —
从前有一个国王深深地爱上了一位公主，但她不能嫁给任何人，因为她被施了魔法。 —

So the King set out to seek a fairy, and asked what he could do to win the Princess’s love. —
于是国王出发去寻找一位仙女，并询问如何赢得公主的爱。 —

The Fairy said to him:
仙女对他说：

“You know that the Princess has a great cat which she is very fond of. —
“你知道公主有一只她非常喜欢的猫。 —

Whoever is clever enough to tread on that cat’s tail is the man she is destined to marry.”
只有足够聪明地踩到那只猫的尾巴上的人才是她注定要嫁的男人。”

The King said to himself that this would not be very difficult, and he left the Fairy, determined to grind the cat’s tail to powder rather than not tread on it at all.
国王在心里想，这并不是很困难，于是他离开了仙女，决心把那只猫的尾巴磨成粉末，而不是完全不踩。

You may imagine that it was not long before he went to see the Princess, and puss, as usual, marched in before him, arching his back. —
你可以想象，在不久之后，他去见公主了，而猫像往常一样在他前面走着，弯着腰背。 —

The King took a long step, and quite thought he had the tail under his foot, but the cat turned round so sharply that he only trod on air. —
国王迈出了一个大步，完全以为已经把尾巴踩在了脚下，但猫突然转身，让他只是踩到了空气中。 —

And so it went on for eight days, till the King began to think that this fatal tail must be full of quicksilver — it was never still for a moment.
于是它就这样持续了八天，直到国王开始觉得这条致命的尾巴一定装满了水银——它从未停过一刻。

At last, however, he was lucky enough to come upon puss fast asleep and with his tail conveniently spread out. —
然而，终于有一天，他走运地发现猫猫正熟睡着，而且尾巴正好铺开。 —

So the King, without losing a moment, set his foot upon it heavily.
国王立刻毫不迟疑地用力踩了上去。

With one terrific yell the cat sprang up and instantly changed into a tall man, who, fixing his angry eyes upon the King, said:
猫猫发出一声可怕的叫声，立刻变成了一个高个子男人，他怒视着国王说道：

“You shall marry the Princess because you have been able to break the enchantment, but I will have my revenge. —
“你可以娶公主，因为你成功打破了这个魔法，但我会报复。 —

You shall have a son, who will never be happy until he finds out that his nose is too long, and if you ever tell anyone what I have just said to you, you shall vanish away instantly, and no one shall ever see you or hear of you again.”
你将会有一个儿子，直到他发现自己的鼻子太长，他永远都不会幸福。而且如果你告诉别人我刚才告诉你的话，你将会立刻消失，没有人会再见到你，也没人会再听到你的消息。”

Though the King was horribly afraid of the enchanter, he could not help laughing at this threat.
虽然国王非常害怕这个魔法师，但他不禁对这个威胁笑出了声。

“If my son has such a long nose as that,” he said to himself, “he must always see it or feel it; —
“如果我的儿子的鼻子长得像那样长，”他自言自语道，“他一定会一直看到或者感受到它； —

at least, if he is not blind or without hands.”
至少，如果他不是瞎了或没有手的话。”

But, as the enchanter had vanished, he did not waste any more time in thinking, but went to seek the Princess, who very soon consented to marry him. —
但是，由于那个魔法师已经消失了，他没有再浪费时间思考，而是去找寻那位公主，她很快就同意与他结婚。 —

But after all, they had not been married very long when the King died, and the Queen had nothing left to care for but her little son, who was called Hyacinth. —
但是，不久之后，国王就去世了，王后没有其他的事情可关心了，只有她那个名叫海信的小儿子。 —

The little Prince had large blue eyes, the prettiest eyes in the world, and a sweet little mouth, but, alas! —
这位小王子有一双大大的蓝眼睛，是世界上最漂亮的眼睛，还有一张甜美的小嘴，但是，唉！ —

his nose was so enormous that it covered half his face. —
他的鼻子是如此巨大，以至于遮住了他一半的脸。 —

The Queen was inconsolable when she saw this great nose, but her ladies assured her that it was not really as large as it looked; —
当女王看到这个大鼻子时，她伤心欲绝，但是她的女仆们告诉她，它并不真的看上去那么大； —

that it was a Roman nose, and you had only to open any history to see that every hero has a large nose. —
它是罗马式鼻子，你只需要打开任何一本历史书就能看到，每个英雄都有一只大鼻子。 —

The Queen, who was devoted to her baby, was pleased with what they told her, and when she looked at Hyacinth again, his nose certainly did not seem to her QUITE so large.
身为一位热爱自己宝宝的女王，她对他们告诉她的事感到满意，当她再次看着海信的时候，他的鼻子在她看来确实没有之前那么大了。

The Prince was brought up with great care; —
这位王子接受了精心的抚养。 —

and, as soon as he could speak, they told him all sorts of dreadful stories about people who had short noses. —
一旦他会说话，他们就会告诉他各种关于鼻子短的人的可怕故事。 —

No one was allowed to come near him whose nose did not more or less resemble his own, and the courtiers, to get into favor with the Queen, took to pulling their babies’ noses several times every day to make them grow long. —
任何一个鼻子不太像他自己的人都不被允许靠近他，为了讨好女王，朝臣们每天都会把自己的婴儿的鼻子拉长几次。 —

But, do what they would, they were nothing by comparison with the Prince’s.
但是，不管他们怎么做，他们与王子相比仍是微不足道的。

When he grew sensible he learned history; —
当他变得理智时，他学习了历史。 —

and whenever any great prince or beautiful princess was spoken of, his teachers took care to tell him that they had long noses.
每当有关伟大的王子或美丽的公主的话题被提及时，他的老师们会特别告诉他他们有长鼻子。

His room was hung with pictures, all of people with very large noses; —
他的房间里挂满了画，都是鼻子非常大的人的画像。 —

and the Prince grew up so convinced that a long nose was a great beauty, that he would not on any account have had his own a single inch shorter!
而王子长大后深信一个长鼻子是一种伟大的美丽，他绝对不会让自己的鼻子短一寸！

When his twentieth birthday was passed the Queen thought it was time that he should be married, so she commanded that the portraits of several princesses should be brought for him to see, and among the others was a picture of the Dear Little Princess!
当他过完二十岁生日时，皇后认为是时候给他找个妻子了，所以她命令给他看一些公主的画像，其中有一张是亲爱的小公主的画像！

Now, she was the daughter of a great king, and would some day possess several kingdoms herself; —
现在，她是一个伟大国王的女儿，将来会拥有几个王国； —

but Prince Hyacinth had not a thought to spare for anything of that sort, he was so much struck with her beauty. —
但是海西因斯王子对此毫不在意，他被她的美貌深深吸引住了。 —

The Princess, whom he thought quite charming, had, however, a little saucy nose, which, in her face, was the prettiest thing possible, but it was a cause of great embarrassment to the courtiers, who had got into such a habit of laughing at little noses that they sometimes found themselves laughing at hers before they had time to think; —
这位公主非常迷人，但鼻子有点顽皮，在她的脸上是最可爱的东西，但这对于那些习惯嘲笑小鼻子的朝臣们来说却是一件很尴尬的事，在他们来得及思考之前，有时会笑她的鼻子。 —

but this did not do at all before the Prince, who quite failed to see the joke, and actually banished two of his courtiers who had dared to mention disrespectfully the Dear Little Princess’s tiny nose!
但是在王子之前，这一点完全没有起到作用，王子无法理解这个笑话，实际上还把两个敢于不尊重亲爱的小公主的鼻子的人驱逐出了宫廷！

The others, taking warning from this, learned to think twice before they spoke, and one even went so far as to tell the Prince that, though it was quite true that no man could be worth anything unless he had a long nose, still, a woman’s beauty was a different thing; —
其他人从中受到警示，学会了三思而后行，在说话之前都要考虑两次，甚至有人告诉王子，虽然没有一个男人不带着一根长鼻子就有价值，但女人的美丽是另一回事； —

and he knew a learned man who understood Greek and had read in some old manuscripts that the beautiful Cleopatra herself had a “tip-tilted” nose!
他认识一个懂希腊语并且在一些旧手稿中读到过的博学之人，他说美丽的克莉奥佩特拉自己也有一个“尖尖的”鼻子！

The Prince made him a splendid present as a reward for this good news, and at once sent ambassadors to ask the Dear Little Princess in marriage. —
王子为这个好消息给了他一份极其慷慨的礼物，并立即派遣大使前去请求亲爱的小公主的婚姻。 —

The King, her father, gave his consent; —
她的父亲国王同意了。 —

and Prince Hyacinth, who, in his anxiety to see the Princess, had gone three leagues to meet her was just advancing to kiss her hand when, to the horror of all who stood by, the enchanter appeared as suddenly as a flash of lightning, and, snatching up the Dear Little Princess, whirled her away out of their sight!
当渴望见到公主的海亚辛斯亲王已经走了三英里去迎接她时，恍如闪电般出现的魔法师突然出现，抓起了可爱的小公主，将她旋转得不见踪影！

The Prince was left quite unconsolable, and declared that nothing should induce him to go back to his kingdom until he had found her again, and refusing to allow any of his courtiers to follow him, he mounted his horse and rode sadly away, letting the animal choose his own path.
公王感到非常伤心，决定不回国，直到找到她为止。他拒绝让任何随从跟随，骑上马悲伤地离开，让马随意选择方向。

So it happened that he came presently to a great plain, across which he rode all day long without seeing a single house, and horse and rider were terribly hungry, when, as the night fell, the Prince caught sight of a light, which seemed to shine from a cavern.
就这样，他来到了一个广阔的平原，整天都在这个平原上骑行，却没有看到一座房子。到了夜晚，公王又饿又渴，突然看见了一个光亮，似乎是从一个洞穴里发出来的。

He rode up to it, and saw a little old woman, who appeared to be at least a hundred years old.
他骑过去，看见了一个看起来至少已经一百岁的老婆婆。

She put on her spectacles to look at Prince Hyacinth, but it was quite a long time before she could fix them securely because her nose was so very short.
她戴上眼镜看着海森斯王子，但是由于她的鼻子非常短，很长一段时间她才能把眼镜固定好。

The Prince and the Fairy (for that was who she was) had no sooner looked at one another than they went into fits of laughter, and cried at the same moment, “Oh, what a funny nose!”
王子和仙女（因为她就是仙女）一见面就笑得前仰后合，并同时说道：“哦，鼻子好搞笑！”

“Not so funny as your own,” said Prince Hyacinth to the Fairy; —
“不过，您的鼻子也不像我自己的好笑”，海森斯王子对仙女说道； —

“but, madam, I beg you to leave the consideration of our noses — such as they are — and to be good enough to give me something to eat, for I am starving, and so is my poor horse.”
“但是，夫人，请您不要再讨论我们的鼻子——无论它们怎样——请您好心给我一些吃的，因为我饿极了，我的可怜马也一样。”

“With all my heart,” said the Fairy. “Though your nose is so ridiculous you are, nevertheless, the son of my best friend. —
“当然可以，”仙女说道，“虽然你的鼻子看起来很可笑，但你毕竟是我最好的朋友的儿子。” —

I loved your father as if he had been my brother. —
“我把你父亲看作我的兄弟一样喜爱他。” —

Now HE had a very handsome nose!”
“他有一个非常英俊的鼻子！”

“And pray what does mine lack?” said the Prince.
“那么请问，我的鼻子有什么不足吗？”王子问道。

“Oh! it doesn’t LACK anything,” replied the Fairy. “On the contrary quite, there is only too much of it. —
“哦！它并没有不足，”仙女回答道，“相反地，它太多了。” —

But never mind, one may be a very worthy man though his nose is too long. —
但不要紧，一个人的鼻子再长也可能是一个非常有价值的人。 —

I was telling you that I was your father’s friend; —
我告诉过你，我是你父亲的朋友； —

he often came to see me in the old times, and you must know that I was very pretty in those days; —
他在过去经常来看我，你应该知道，那时的我非常漂亮； —

at least, he used to say so. —
至少，他以前是这么说的。 —

I should like to tell you of a conversation we had the last time I ever saw him.”
我想告诉你我们最后一次见面时的一次谈话。”

“Indeed,” said the Prince, “when I have supped it will give me the greatest pleasure to hear it; —
“确实，”王子说，”当我吃完晚饭后听这个故事会给我很大的乐趣； —

but consider, madam, I beg of you, that I have had nothing to eat today.”
但请您考虑一下，夫人，我今天还没有吃东西。”

“The poor boy is right,” said the Fairy; —
“这个可怜的孩子是对的，”仙女说； —

“I was forgetting. Come in, then, and I will give you some supper, and while you are eating I can tell you my story in a very few words — for I don’t like endless tales myself. —
“我差点忘了。那就进来，我会给你一些晚餐，你吃饭的时候我可以用很少的话来告诉你我的故事——因为我自己不喜欢冗长的故事。 —

Too long a tongue is worse than too long a nose, and I remember when I was young that I was so much admired for not being a great chatterer. —
说话太多比鼻子太长更糟糕，我记得我年轻时很受人赞赏，因为我不是一个话多的人。 —

They used to tell the Queen, my mother, that it was so. —
他们以前常对我母后说我是这样的。 —

For though you see what I am now, I was the daughter of a great king. —
虽然你现在看到的是我，但我曾是一位伟大国王的女儿。 —

My father ——”
我的父亲——”

“Your father, I dare say, got something to eat when he was hungry! —
“你的父亲，我敢说，在他饿时也能吃到东西！” —

” interrupted the Prince.
王子打断道。

“Oh! certainly,” answered the Fairy, “and you also shall have supper directly. —
“哦！当然”，仙女回答道，“你现在就可以吃晚饭了。” —

I only just wanted to tell you ——”
我只是想告诉你——”

“But I really cannot listen to anything until I have had something to eat,” cried the Prince, who was getting quite angry; —
“但在我吃点东西之前，我真的听不进去任何事情了！”王子大怒地说道； —

but then, remembering that he had better be polite as he much needed the Fairy’s help, he added:
但是，他想起最好还是客气一点，因为他非常需要仙女的帮助，于是他补充道：

“I know that in the pleasure of listening to you I should quite forget my own hunger; —
“我知道，听你讲话会让我完全忘记自己的饥饿； —

but my horse, who cannot hear you, must really be fed!”
但是我的马不能听到你的话，它真的需要吃东西！”

The Fairy was very much flattered by this compliment, and said, calling to her servants:
仙女被这个恭维话吹得非常起劲，就对她的仆人喊道：

“You shall not wait another minute, you are so polite, and in spite of the enormous size of your nose you are really very agreeable.”
“你们不必再等一分钟了，你们非常有礼貌，尽管你的鼻子非常大，但你真的很讨人喜欢。”

“Plague take the old lady! —
“该死的老太太！她老是在说我的鼻子！” —

How she does go on about my nose! —
她就不停地夸赞我的鼻子！ —

” said the Prince to himself. —
“自言自语的王子说。 —

“One would almost think that mine had taken all the extra length that hers lacks! —
“几乎可以认为我的话比她少的长度全都被她借走了！ —

If I were not so hungry I would soon have done with this chatterpie who thinks she talks very little! —
如果我不饿的话，我早就和这个爱唠叨的鸟嘴说完了！ —

How stupid people are not to see their own faults! —
人们是多么愚蠢，竟然看不到自己的错误！ —

That comes of being a princess: —
这都是公主的问题： —

she has been spoiled by flatterers, who have made her believe that she is quite a moderate talker!”
她被阿谀奉承者宠坏了，让她相信自己是个说话很节制的人！”

Meanwhile the servants were putting the supper on the table, and the prince was much amused to hear the Fairy who asked them a thousand questions simply for the pleasure of hearing herself speak; —
与此同时，仆人们正将晚餐摆在桌子上，王子听到一个仙女故意问了他们一千个问题，只是为了听自己说话。 —

especially he noticed one maid who, no matter what was being said, always contrived to praise her mistress’s wisdom.
尤其是他注意到一个女仆，无论说什么，她总是能赞扬她女主人的智慧。

“Well!” he thought, as he ate his supper, “I’m very glad I came here. —
“哦！”他想着，一边吃晚饭一边说，“我很高兴我来到了这里。 —

This just shows me how sensible I have been in never listening to flatterers. —
这正说明了我在从不听阿谀奉承者的话上是多么明智。” —

People of that sort praise us to our faces without shame, and hide our faults or change them into virtues. —
那种人们公然赞美我们，毫不羞愧地掩饰我们的缺点或将其转化为优点。 —

For my part I never will be taken in by them. —
至于我，我绝对不会被他们蒙骗。 —

I know my own defects, I hope.”
我了解我的缺陷，希望如此。

Poor Prince Hyacinth! He really believed what he said, and hadn’t an idea that the people who had praised his nose were laughing at him, just as the Fairy’s maid was laughing at her; —
可怜的海桑王子！他真的相信自己所说的话，并不知道那些赞美他鼻子的人正在嘲笑他，就像仙女的女仆在暗中嘲笑她一样； —

for the Prince had seen her laugh slyly when she could do so without the Fairy’s noticing her.
因为王子看到她能在仙女没有注意到的时候暗自笑着。

However, he said nothing, and presently, when his hunger began to be appeased, the Fairy said:
但是，他什么也没说，过了一会儿，当他的饥饿开始得到满足时，仙女说道：

“My dear Prince, might I beg you to move a little more that way, for your nose casts such a shadow that I really cannot see what I have on my plate. —
“亲爱的王子，能不能请你再往那边移动一点，因为你的鼻子投下的阴影实在让我看不清我盘子里有什么。” —

Ah! thanks. Now let us speak of your father. —
啊！谢谢。现在我们来聊聊你父亲吧。 —

When I went to his Court he was only a little boy, but that is forty years ago, and I have been in this desolate place ever since. —
当我去他的宫廷时，他还只是个小男孩，但那是四十年前的事了，我自那以后一直在这个荒凉的地方。 —

Tell me what goes on nowadays; —
告诉我现在发生了什么事情； —

are the ladies as fond of amusement as ever? —
女士们还像以前一样喜欢娱乐吗？ —

In my time one saw them at parties, theatres, balls, and promenades every day. —
在我那个时代，人们每天都可以在聚会、剧院、舞会和散步中看到她们。 —

Dear me! WHAT a long nose you have! —
天呐！你的鼻子真长啊！ —

I cannot get used to it!”
我还不习惯呢！”

“Really, madam,” said the Prince, “I wish you would leave off mentioning my nose. —
“真的，夫人，”王子说，“我希望你别再提我的鼻子了。 —

It cannot matter to you what it is like. —
它对你没有影响。 —

I am quite satisfied with it, and have no wish to have it shorter. —
我对它很满意，没想过要短一些。 —

One must take what is given one.”
我们必须接受现实。”

“Now you are angry with me, my poor Hyacinth,” said the Fairy, “and I assure you that I didn’t mean to vex you; —
“现在你生我气了，可怜的海茵思，”仙女说，“我保证我不是故意想惹你生气； —

on the contrary, I wished to do you a service. —
相反，我是想帮你一个忙。 —

However, though I really cannot help your nose being a shock to me, I will try not to say anything about it. —
虽然我真的无法忍受你的鼻子，我会尽量不再提它。 —

I will even try to think that you have an ordinary nose. —
我甚至会试着想象你有一个普通的鼻子。” —

To tell the truth, it would make three reasonable ones.”
说实话，这将产生三个合理的原因。

The Prince, who was no longer hungry, grew so impatient at the Fairy’s continual remarks about his nose that at last he threw himself upon his horse and rode hastily away. —
那位王子不再饥饿，对仙女对他的鼻子不断的评论变得不耐烦了，最后他跳上马匆匆离开。 —

But wherever he came in his journeyings he thought the people were mad, for they all talked of his nose, and yet he could not bring himself to admit that it was too long, he had been so used all his life to hear it called handsome.
但无论他走到哪里，他都认为人们都疯了，因为他们都在谈论他的鼻子，但他无法承认它太长了，因为他一直习惯于人们夸奖它帅气。

The old Fairy, who wished to make him happy, at last hit upon a plan. —
老仙女想让他开心，最后想出了一个计划。 —

She shut the Dear Little Princess up in a palace of crystal, and put this palace down where the Prince would not fail to find it. —
她将可爱的小公主关在一个水晶宫殿里，并将它放在王子必定会找到的地方。 —

His joy at seeing the Princess again was extreme, and he set to work with all his might to try to break her prison; —
再次见到公主时，他非常高兴，并全力以赴试图打破她的监禁； —

but in spite of all his efforts he failed utterly. —
但是尽管他的努力，他彻底失败了。 —

In despair he thought at least that he would try to get near enough to speak to the Dear Little Princess, who, on her part, stretched out her hand that he might kiss it; —
绝望中，他想试着靠近亲爱的小公主，而小公主伸出手来让他亲吻； —

but turn which way he might, he never could raise it to his lips, for his long nose always prevented it. —
但不管他转向哪个方向，他永远无法把手伸到嘴唇上，因为他那长长的鼻子总是阻挡着； —

For the first time he realized how long it really was, and exclaimed:
第一次他意识到它有多长，然后惊呼道：

“Well, it must be admitted that my nose IS too long!”
“嗯，必须承认我的鼻子太长了！”

In an instant the crystal prison flew into a thousand splinters, and the old Fairy, taking the Dear Little Princess by the hand, said to the Prince:
瞬间，水晶牢笼化为一千片碎片，年老的仙女拉着亲爱的小公主的手对王子说：

“Now, say if you are not very much obliged to me. —
“现在，问问自己是否非常感激我。” —

Much good it was for me to talk to you about your nose! —
“对我来说，给你讲述你的鼻子是多么有好处啊！” —

You would never have found out how extraordinary it was if it hadn’t hindered you from doing what you wanted to. —
“如果它没有阻碍你做自己想做的事，你永远不会发现它有多特别。” —

You see how self-love keeps us from knowing our own defects of mind and body. —
“你看，自尊心阻碍我们认识自己的精神和身体上的缺陷。” —

Our reason tries in vain to show them to us; —
“我们的理智徒劳地试图向我们指出它们； —

we refuse to see them till we find them in the way of our interests.”
“在它们妨碍我们的利益之前，我们拒绝看到它们。”

Prince Hyacinth, whose nose was now just like anyone’s else, did not fail to profit by the lesson he had received. —
虽然拿破仑王子的鼻子现在变得和别人一样了，但他并没有忘记所获得的教训而从中获益。 —

He married the Dear Little Princess, and they lived happily ever after.
他娶了亲爱的小公主，他们幸福地生活在一起。