People said “The Evening Bell is sounding, the sun is setting.” For a strange wondrous tone was heard in the narrow streets of a large town.
人们说：“晚钟响起，太阳即将下山。”狭窄的大街上传来了一种奇异而神奇的音调。 —

It was like the sound of a church-bell:
那声音像是教堂的钟声， —

but it was only heard for a moment, for the rolling of the carriages and the voices of the multitude made too great a noise.
但只能听到一会儿，因为马车的轰隆声和人群的喧哗声太大了。

Those persons who were walking outside the town, where the houses were farther apart, with gardens or little fields between them, could see the evening sky still better, and heard the sound of the bell much more distinctly.
那些在城外散步的人，房子之间距离更远，有花园或小田地，更能看清夜空，听到钟声更清晰。 —

It was as if the tones came from a church in the still forest;
好像声音是从一座寂静的森林中的教堂传来的； —

people looked thitherward, and felt their minds attuned most solemnly.
人们朝那个方向望去，心情庄重地调和在一起。

A long time passed, and people said to each other–“I wonder if there is a church out in the wood?
很长时间过去了，人们彼此说：“我想知道森林里有没有座教堂？ —

The bell has a tone that is wondrous sweet;
那钟声的音调美妙而奇特； —

let us stroll thither, and examine the matter nearer.
我们去那儿散步，近距离观察一下吧。 —

” And the rich people drove out, and the poor walked, but the way seemed strangely long to them;
”富人坐车出发，穷人步行，但他们觉得路程异常漫长； —

and when they came to a clump of willows which grew on the skirts of the forest, they sat down, and looked up at the long branches, and fancied they were now in the depth of the green wood.
当他们来到森林边上长着柳树的一簇地方时，他们坐下来，抬头望着长长的树枝，仿佛他们现在已经深入绿林之中。 —

The confectioner of the town came out, and set up his booth there;
城里的糖果师傅出来，在那里设立了他的摊位； —

and soon after came another confectioner, who hung a bell over his stand, as a sign or ornament, but it had no clapper, and it was tarred over to preserve it from the rain.
不久之后，另外一个糖果师傅也来了，他在他的摊位上挂了一只钟，作为招牌或装饰，但是钟没有铃铛，还被涂上了沥青以防止雨水侵蚀。 —

When all the people returned home, they said it had been very romantic, and that it was quite a different sort of thing to a pic-nic or tea-party.
当所有人回家的时候，他们说这非常浪漫，和野餐或茶会完全是不同的事情。 —

There were three persons who asserted they had penetrated to the end of the forest, and that they had always heard the wonderful sounds of the bell, but it had seemed to them as if it had come from the town.
有三个人声称他们已经深入森林的尽头，并且他们总是听到那个神奇钟声，但是他们觉得那声音好像来自城里。 —

One wrote a whole poem about it, and said the bell sounded like the voice of a mother to a good dear child, and that no melody was sweeter than the tones of the bell.
其中一个人写了一篇关于它的长诗，并说这个钟声听起来如同母亲对待一个乖巧可爱的孩子的声音，没有哪个旋律比钟声更甜美。 —

The king of the country was also observant of it, and vowed that he who could discover whence the sounds proceeded, should have the title of “Universal Bell-ringer, ” even if it were not really a bell.
该国国王也留意到了这个现象并宣布，能够发现这声音来源的人，即使那不是一只真正的钟，也将被封为“世界彻底的钟声者”。

Many persons now went to the wood, for the sake of getting the place, but one only returned with a sort of explanation;
为了找出声音的来源，许多人都去了那片树林，但只有一个人带回了一个解释。 —

for nobody went far enough, that one not further than the others. However, he said that the sound proceeded from a very large owl, in a hollow tree;
因为没有人走得够远，只有那个人比其他人多走了一点。然而，他说声音来自一棵空心树里的一只非常大的猫头鹰。 —

a sort of learned owl, that continually knocked its head against the branches.
一种学术性的猫头鹰，不断地把头撞在树枝上。 —

But whether the sound came from his head or from the hollow tree, that no one could say with certainty.
但是没人能确切地说声音是来自它的头还是空心树。 —

So now he got the place of “Universal Bell-ringer, ” and wrote yearly a short treatise “On the Owl”;
所以他现在成了“世界彻底的钟声者”，每年都写一篇关于猫头鹰的简短论文。 —

but everybody was just as wise as before.
但是大家还是和以前一样无知。

It was the day of confirmation.
那是确认日。 —

The clergyman had spoken so touchingly, the children who were confirmed had been greatly moved;
牧师讲得很感人，受到确认的孩子们被深深地感动了。 —

it was an eventful day for them;
对他们来说，这是一个充满事件的一天； —

from children they become all at once grown-up-persons;
从孩童一下子变成了长大的人； —

it was as if their infant souls were now to fly all at once into persons with more understanding.
仿佛他们幼小的灵魂一下子要飞入一个更有理解力的人的身体中。 —

The sun was shining gloriously;
阳光灿烂明媚； —

the children that had been confirmed went out of the town;
刚做完确认礼的孩子们走出了小镇； —

and from the wood was borne towards them the sounds of the unknown bell with wonderful distinctness.
从树林中传来了陌生的钟声，清晰而奇妙； —

They all immediately felt a wish to go thither;
他们都立刻有了一个到那里去的愿望； —

all except three. One of them had to go home to try on a ball-dress;
除了三个人。其中一个必须回家试穿一件舞会礼服； —

for it was just the dress and the ball which had caused her to be confirmed this time, for otherwise she would not have come;
因为正是这件礼服和舞会使她这次才接受了确认礼，否则她是不会来的； —

the other was a poor boy, who had borrowed his coat and boots to be confirmed in from the innkeeper’s son, and he was to give them back by a certain hour;
另一个是一个贫穷的男孩，他从旅店老板的儿子那里借来了自己参加确认礼的外套和靴子，他必须在规定的时间前归还给他。 —

the third said that he never went to a strange place if his parents were not with him–that he had always been a good boy hitherto, and would still be so now that he was confirmed, and that one ought not to laugh at him for it:
第三个人说，如果他的父母不跟他在一起，他从来不会去陌生的地方，他自己一直是个乖孩子，现在他也会一直保持乖巧，希望别人不要因此嘲笑他。 —

the others, however, did make fun of him, after all.
然而，其他人毕竟还是取笑了他。

There were three, therefore, that did not go; the others hastened on.
因此，有三个人没去；其他人匆匆赶路了。 —

The sun shone, the birds sang, and the children sang too, and each held the other by the hand;
阳光明媚，鸟儿欢唱，孩子们也唱歌，每个人都拉着别人的手。 —

for as yet they had none of them any high office, and were all of equal rank in the eye of God.
因为他们中还没有任何人被授予高职位，在上帝的眼中他们都是平等的。

But two of the youngest soon grew tired, and both returned to town; two little girls sat down, and twined garlands, so they did not go either;
但最小的两个孩子很快就累了，两个小女孩坐下来编织花环，所以他们也没去。 —

and when the others reached the willow-tree, where the confectioner was, they said, “Now we are there!
当其他人到达有个糖果店的柳树处时，他们说：“现在我们到了！” —

In reality the bell does not exist;
事实上，这个钟根本不存在； —

it is only a fancy that people have taken into their heads!”
它只是人们脑子里的幻想！

At the same moment the bell sounded deep in the wood, so clear and solemnly that five or six determined to penetrate somewhat further.
就在那时，钟声从树林深处响起，声音清晰庄严，于是有五六个人决定继续深入。 —

It was so thick, and the foliage so dense, that it was quite fatiguing to proceed.
树林非常茂密，树叶枝繁叶茂，前进起来相当辛苦。 —

Woodroof and anemonies grew almost too high;
棉花灰和木莲都长得几乎太高了； —

blooming convolvuluses and blackberry-bushes hung in long garlands from tree to tree, where the nightingale sang and the sunbeams were playing:
盛开的牵牛花和黑莓从一棵树蔓延到另一棵，夜莺在那里唱歌，阳光在穿梭： —

it was very beautiful, but it was no place for girls to go;
那里非常美丽，但不适合女孩们去， —

their clothes would get so torn.
会弄得衣服破破烂烂的。 —

Large blocks of stone lay there, overgrown with moss of every color;
那里有一块块大石头，长满了各种颜色的苔藓； —

the fresh spring bubbled forth, and made a strange gurgling sound.
清泉涌出，发出奇怪的潺潺声。

“That surely cannot be the bell, ” said one of the children, lying down and listening.
“那肯定不是钟声，”其中一个孩子躺下来倾听说道。 —

“This must be looked to.” So he remained, and let the others go on without him.
“这个问题必须解决。”于是他留下来，让其他人继续前进。

They afterwards came to a little house, made of branches and the bark of trees;
后来他们来到了一个用树枝和树皮搭建的小屋； —

a large wild apple-tree bent over it, as if it would shower down all its blessings on the roof, where roses were blooming.
一棵郁郁葱葱的野生苹果树弯曲在上面，仿佛要把所有的祝福洒在屋顶上，在那里玫瑰盛开着。 —

The long stems twined round the gable, on which there hung a small bell.
长长的树枝盘绕着尖顶，上面挂着一只小铃铛。

Was it that which people had heard? Yes, everybody was unanimous on the subject, except one, who said that the bell was too small and too fine to be heard at so great a distance, and besides it was very different tones to those that could move a human heart in such a manner.
人们就是听到的那个吗？是的，所有人对此一致认同，除了一个人说，这个铃铛太小太精致了，不可能从这么远的距离传到，而且它发出的声音与能够感动人心的完全不同。 —

It was a king’s son who spoke; whereon the others said, “Such people always want to be wiser than everybody else.”
说话的是一个王子；其他人说，这种人总是想比别人聪明。

They now let him go on alone; and as he went, his breast was filled more and more with the forest solitude;
他们现在让他独自继续前进；他越走，心中越充满森林的宁静； —

but he still heard the little bell with which the others were so satisfied, and now and then, when the wind blew, he could also hear the people singing who were sitting at tea where the confectioner had his tent;
但是他依然听到那个让其他人满意的小铃铛的声音，而且有时候风吹过时，他还能听到那些坐在依珂糖果师傅帐篷里喝茶的人们唱歌的声音。 —

but the deep sound of the bell rose louder;
但钟声的低沉音响更大了； —

it was almost as if an organ were accompanying it, and the tones came from the left hand, the side where the heart is placed.
就好像有一台风琴伴奏着它，音调从左手传来，那是心脏所在的位置。 —

A rustling was heard in the bushes, and a little boy stood before the King’s Son, a boy in wooden shoes, and with so short a jacket that one could see what long wrists he had.
在灌木丛中传来一阵沙沙声，一个穿着木鞋、穿着短上衣的小男孩站在国王的儿子面前，可以看到他有多长的手腕。 —

Both knew each other: the boy was that one among the children who could not come because he had to go home and return his jacket and boots to the innkeeper’s son.
两个人相互认识：这个小男孩是孩子们中的一个，他不能来因为他必须把上衣和靴子还给旅店老板的儿子。 —

This he had done, and was now going on in wooden shoes and in his humble dress, for the bell sounded with so deep a tone, and with such strange power, that proceed he must.
他已经完成了这个任务，现在正穿着木鞋和简朴的服装前行，因为钟声有如此深沉的音调，以及如此奇特的力量，他必须前行。

“Why, then, we can go together, ” said the King’s Son. But the poor child that had been confirmed was quite ashamed;
“那么，我们可以一起走”，国王的儿子说。但那个已经成人礼的可怜孩子感到很羞愧； —

he looked at his wooden shoes, pulled at the short sleeves of his jacket, and said that he was afraid he could not walk so fast;
他看着自己的木鞋，拉了拉短袖子，说他怕走不那么快。 —

besides, he thought that the bell must be looked for to the right;
此外，他认为钟声一定要向右寻找； —

for that was the place where all sorts of beautiful things were to be found.
因为那是能找到各种美丽事物的地方。

“But there we shall not meet,” said the King’s Son, nodding at the same time to the poor boy, who went into the darkest, thickest part of the wood, where thorns tore his humble dress, and scratched his face and hands and feet till they bled.
“但我们不会在那里见面的。”国王的儿子说着向可怜的男孩点了点头，男孩走进了树林里最黑暗、最茂密的地方，荆棘刺破了他简陋的服装，划破了他的脸、手和脚，都流了血。 —

The King’s Son got some scratches too;
国王的儿子也被抓伤了一些， —

but the sun shone on his path, and it is him that we will follow, for he was an excellent and resolute youth.
但阳光照耀在他的路径上，我们将跟随他，因为他是一个出色而坚决的年轻人。

“I must and will find the bell,” said he, “even if I am obliged to go to the end of the world.”
“我必须并且一定会找到钟声，即使我需要走到世界的尽头。”他说。

The ugly apes sat upon the trees, and grinned.
丑陋的猿猴坐在树上，咧嘴而笑。 —

“Shall we thrash him?” said they.
“我们要揍他吗？”它们说。 —

“Shall we thrash him? He is the son of a king!”
“我们要揍他吗？他是国王的儿子！”

But on he went, without being disheartened, deeper and deeper into the wood, where the most wonderful flowers were growing.
但他并没有气馁，继续深入森林，那里生长着最奇妙的花朵。 —

There stood white lilies with blood-red stamina, skyblue tulips, which shone as they waved in the winds, and apple-trees, the apples of which looked exactly like large soapbubbles:
在那里站着白色百合花，带有鲜红的雄蕊，天蓝色的郁金香，在风中摇曳时闪耀着光芒，还有那些苹果树，它们的果实看起来就像巨大的肥皂泡一样。 —

so only think how the trees must have sparkled in the sunshine!
所以想象一下树木在阳光下是如何闪闪发光的吧！ —

Around the nicest green meads, where the deer were playing in the grass, grew magnificent oaks and beeches;
在最美的绿草地周围，鹿儿们在草地上玩耍，长着壮丽的橡树和山毛榉树； —

and if the bark of one of the trees was cracked, there grass and long creeping plants grew in the crevices.
如果有一棵树的树皮开裂了，草和长长的爬藤植物就会在裂缝中生长。 —

And there were large calm lakes there too, in which white swans were swimming, and beat the air with their wings.
那里还有宽广的平静湖泊，白天鹅在其中游泳，用翅膀拍打着空气。 —

The King’s Son often stood still and listened.
王子经常停下来倾听。 —

He thought the bell sounded from the depths of these still lakes;
他觉得钟声是从这些平静的湖泊深处传来的； —

but then he remarked again that the tone proceeded not from there, but farther off, from out the depths of the forest.
但他又发现音调并不来自那里，而是更远处，从森林的深处传来。

The sun now set: the atmosphere glowed like fire.
太阳已经落山了，大气变得像火一样炽热。 —

It was still in the woods, so very still;
森林中依然寂静无声， —

and he fell on his knees, sung his evening hymn, and said:
于是他跪下来，唱起晚祷，说道： —

“I cannot find what I seek; the sun is going down, and night is coming–the dark, dark night.
“我无法找到我所寻找的东西；太阳正在下山，黑夜即将降临-漆黑的夜晚。 —

Yet perhaps I may be able once more to see the round red sun before he entirely disappears.
然而也许我还能在完全消失之前再次看到那圆红的太阳。 —

I will climb up yonder rock.”
我将爬上那边的岩石。”

And he seized hold of the creeping-plants, and the roots of trees–climbed up the moist stones where the water-snakes were writhing and the toads were croaking–and he gained the summit before the sun had quite gone down.
他抓住爬藤植物和树根，爬上湿漉漉的石头，那里水蛇在蠕动，蟾蜍在咕咕叫，他在太阳完全下山之前登上了山顶。 —

How magnificent was the sight from this height!
从这个高度看去，景色是多么壮观！ —

The sea–the great, the glorious sea, that dashed its long waves against the coast–was stretched out before him.
海-巨大而辉煌的海洋，它用长长的浪潮拍打着海岸-展现在他的面前。 —

And yonder, where sea and sky meet, stood the sun, like a large shining altar, all melted together in the most glowing colors.
在那边，海和天空相交的地方，太阳犹如一个巨大闪烁的祭坛，所有色彩都融合在一起，发出最夺目的光辉。 —

And the wood and the sea sang a song of rejoicing, and his heart sang with the rest:
森林和海洋一起唱着欢乐的歌，他的心与众人一同歌唱：” —

all nature was a vast holy church, in which the trees and the buoyant clouds were the pillars, flowers and grass the velvet carpeting, and heaven itself the large cupola.
整个自然界犹如一座庄严的圣堂，树木和轻盈的云彩充当支柱，鲜花和青草铺设成丝绒般的地毯，而天空本身则宛如巨大的圆顶。 —

The red colors above faded away as the sun vanished, but a million stars were lighted, a million lamps shone;
当太阳消失时，上方的红色渐渐褪去，而无数星星亮起，无数灯光闪耀。 —

and the King’s Son spread out his arms towards heaven, and wood, and sea;
国王之子伸开双臂朝着天空、树林和海洋。 —

when at the same moment, coming by a path to the right, appeared, in his wooden shoes and jacket, the poor boy who had been confirmed with him.
就在此时，同样从右边的小路上，一个穿着木屐和衬衫的可怜男孩出现了，他曾与国王之子一同领受过圣礼。 —

He had followed his own path, and had reached the spot just as soon as the son of the king had done.
他走自己的路，与国王之子几乎同时到达了这个地方。 —

They ran towards each other, and stood together hand in hand in the vast church of nature and of poetry, while over them sounded the invisible holy bell:
他们奔向彼此，在自然和诗歌的庄严圣堂中手牵手站在一起，听着在他们上方回响的无形圣钟声。 —

blessed spirits floated around them, and lifted up their voices in a rejoicing hallelujah!
幸福的灵魂们在他们周围飘荡，欢呼着高唱哈利路亚！