A Flea, a Grasshopper, and a Leap-frog once wanted to see which could jump highest;
一只跳蚤，一只蚱蜢和一个跳跃的青蛙想要看谁能跳得最高； —

and they invited the whole world, and everybody else besides who chose to come to see the festival.
他们邀请了全世界，以及那些选择来参加这个节日的人。 —

Three famous jumpers were they, as everyone would say, when they all met together in the room.
他们都是著名的跳跃者，每个人都这样说，当他们在房间里聚集在一起时。

“I will give my daughter to him who jumps highest, ” exclaimed the King; “for it is not so amusing where there is no prize to jump for.”
“我将把我的女儿嫁给跳得最高的人，”国王喊道，“因为没有奖品可跳跃时，那就不太有趣了。”

The Flea was the first to step forward.
跳蚤率先上前。 —

He had exquisite manners, and bowed to the company on all sides;
他有精致的举止，向四面八方的人们鞠躬致意； —

for he had noble blood, and was, moreover, accustomed to the society of man alone;
因为他有高贵的血统，而且习惯了与人类社交； —

and that makes a great difference.
这真是有很大的区别。

Then came the Grasshopper. He was considerably heavier, but he was well-mannered, and wore a green uniform, which he had by right of birth;
接着是蚱蜢。他更重一些，但举止得体，穿着一身绿色制服，这是他与生俱来的权利； —

he said, moreover, that he belonged to a very ancient Egyptian family, and that in the house where he then was, he was thought much of.
他还说自己属于一个非常古老的埃及家族，在他当时所在的房子里，人们对他非常看重。 —

The fact was, he had been just brought out of the fields, and put in a pasteboard house, three stories high, all made of court-cards, with the colored side inwards;
事实是，他刚刚从田野里被带出来，被放在一个三层高的纸板房子里，全部由纸牌制成，色彩朝内； —

and doors and windows cut out of the body of the Queen of Hearts.
房子的门窗是从红心皇后的身体中切割出来的。 —

“I sing so well,” said he, “that sixteen native grasshoppers who have chirped from infancy, and yet got no house built of cards to live in, grew thinner than they were before for sheer vexation when they heard me.”
“我唱得那么好，”他说，“十六只从小就在鸣叫的本土蚂蚱，因为纸牌房没有建起来，所以听到我的声音后都因为纯粹的恼火而瘦了。”

It was thus that the Flea and the Grasshopper gave an account of themselves, and thought they were quite good enough to marry a Princess.
就是这样，跳蚤和蚱蜢都向别人展示了自己，认为自己非常优秀，足以娶一个公主。

The Leap-frog said nothing;
蛙跳则什么也没说， —

but people gave it as their opinion, that he therefore thought the more;
但人们普遍认为，他因此思考得更多。 —

and when the housedog snuffed at him with his nose, he confessed the Leap-frog was of good family.
当屋狗用鼻子嗅他时，他承认蛙跳来自好家庭。 —

The old councillor, who had had three orders given him to make him hold his tongue, asserted that the Leap-frog was a prophet;
那名被下了三道禁言令的老顾问断言蛙跳是先知。 —

for that one could see on his back, if there would be a severe or mild winter, and that was what one could not see even on the back of the man who writes the almanac.
据其背上可见，无论是严寒还是温和的冬天，都无法看见。即使是写农历的人的背上也看不出来。

“I say nothing, it is true,” exclaimed the King;
“我没说什么，没错”，国王叫道， —

“but I have my own opinion, notwithstanding.”
“但是尽管如此，我还是有我的看法。”

Now the trial was to take place.
现在该进行试验了。 —

The Flea jumped so high that nobody could see where he went to;
跳蚤跳得如此高，没人能看到它跳到哪里去了； —

so they all asserted he had not jumped at all;
所以他们都声称它根本没有跳； —

and that was dishonorable.
这很丢脸。

The Grasshopper jumped only half as high;
蚱蜢跳得只有一半高； —

but he leaped into the King’s face, who said that was ill-mannered.
但它跳到了国王的脸上，国王说这是无礼。

The Leap-frog stood still for a long time lost in thought;
青蛙站在那里沉思了很长时间； —

it was believed at last he would not jump at all.
最后人们以为他根本不会跳。

“I only hope he is not unwell, ” said the house-dog; when, pop!
“只希望他不是生病了”，家狗说；就在这时，啪！ —

he made a jump all on one side into the lap of the Princess, who was sitting on a little golden stool close by.
他一下子跳到了公主的膝上，公主正坐在一只金色的小凳子上。

Hereupon the King said, “There is nothing above my daughter;
于是国王说：“在我女儿上面没有任何东西了， —

therefore to bound up to her is the highest jump that can be made;
所以跳到她那里是可以做到的最高跳跃。” —

but for this, one must possess understanding, and the Leap-frog has shown that he has understanding.
但是为了这一点，一个人必须具备理解力，而青蛙已经证明自己具备理解力。 —

He is brave and intellectual.”
他勇敢而聪明。”

And so he won the Princess.
因此他赢得了公主。

“It’s all the same to me, ” said the Flea. “She may have the old Leap-frog, for all I care. I jumped the highest;
“我不在乎，”跳蚤说。“她可以嫁给那只老青蛙，我最高跳过。” —

but in this world merit seldom meets its reward.
但是在这个世界上，优点很少能获得回报。 —

A fine exterior is what people look at now-a-days.”
人们现如今只看重外表。”

The Flea then went into foreign service, where, it is said, he was killed.
然后跳蚤进入了异国的服役，据说他在那里丧生。

The Grasshopper sat without on a green bank, and reflected on worldly things;
蚱蜢坐在绿草地上，思考着世俗的事情； —

and he said too, “Yes, a fine exterior is everything–a fine exterior is what people care about.
他也说，“是的，外表很重要-人们关心的是外表。” —

” And then he began chirping his peculiar melancholy song, from which we have taken this history;
然后他开始唱起特有的忧郁之歌，我们就从中汲取了这个故事； —

and which may, very possibly, be all untrue, although it does stand here printed in black and white.
而这个故事很可能都是不真实的，尽管它以黑白印刷的形式存在于这里。