Pinocchio discovers the thieves and, as a reward for faithfulness, he regains his liberty.
Pinocchio发现了小偷，作为对忠诚的奖励，他恢复了自由。

Even though a boy may be very unhappy, he very seldom loses sleep over his worries.
即使一个男孩可能非常不开心，他很少因为担心而失眠。 —

The Marionette, being no exception to this rule, slept on peacefully for a few hours till well along toward midnight, when he was awakened by strange whisperings and stealthy sounds coming from the yard.
Marionette并不例外，平静地睡了几个小时，直到深夜时分才被院子里奇怪的耳语声和悄悄声惊醒。 —

He stuck his nose out of the doghouse and saw four slender, hairy animals.
他把鼻子伸出狗窝，看见了四只纤细毛绒绒的动物。 —

They were Weasels, small animals very fond of both eggs and chickens.
它们是黄鼠狼，这些小动物非常喜欢蛋和鸡。 —

One of them left her companions and, going to the door of the doghouse, said in a sweet voice:
其中一只离开了同伴，走到狗窝的门前，用温柔的声音说道：

“Good evening, Melampo.”
“晚上好，梅兰波。”

“My name is not Melampo,” answered Pinocchio.
“我的名字不是梅兰波，” Pinocchio回答道。

“Who are you, then?”
“那你是谁？”

“I am Pinocchio.”
“我是皮诺曹。”

“What are you doing here?”
“你在这里做什么？”

“I’m the watchdog.”
“我是看门狗。”

“But where is Melampo?
“但是梅兰波在哪里？ —

Where is the old dog who used to live in this house?”
这个房子里原来住着的那只老狗在哪里？”

“He died this morning.”
“他今天早上去世了。”

“Died? Poor beast! He was so good! Still, judging by your face, I think you, too, are a good-natured dog.”
“死了？可怜的家伙！他真是个好狗！不过，从你的表情来看，我觉得你也是一只善良的狗。”

“I beg your pardon, I am not a dog!”
“请原谅，我不是一只狗！”

“What are you, then?”
“那你是什么？”

“I am a Marionette.”
“我是一个木偶。”

“Are you taking the place of the watchdog?”
“你是来替代看门狗的吗？”

“I’m sorry to say that I am.
“很遗憾，是的。 —

I’m being punished.”
我正在受到惩罚。”

“Well, I shall make the same terms with you that we had with the dead Melampo.
“好吧，我打算和你达成和已故的梅兰波一样的协议。 —

I am sure you will be glad to hear them.”
我相信你会很高兴听到这个消息。”

“And what are the terms?”
“那这个协议是什么？”

“This is our plan: We’ll come once in a while, as in the past, to pay a visit to this henhouse, and we’ll take away eight chickens.
“我们的计划是：我们会偶尔像以前一样来这个鸡舍拜访一次，然后我们会带走八只小鸡。 —

Of these, seven are for us, and one for you, provided, of course, that you will make believe you are sleeping and will not bark for the Farmer.”
其中七只是给我们的，一只给你，当然前提是你要假装在睡觉，不要对农夫叫。”

“Did Melampo really do that?” asked Pinocchio.
“梅兰波真的那样做吗？”皮诺曹问道。

“Indeed he did, and because of that we were the best of friends.
“确实是这样，正因为如此，我们成了最好的朋友。” —

Sleep away peacefully, and remember that before we go we shall leave you a nice fat chicken all ready for your breakfast in the morning.
“宁静地入睡吧，记住我们走之前会给你准备一只好肥的鸡，早上你可以享用。 —

Is that understood?”
”明白了吗?”

“Even too well,” answered Pinocchio.
“太明白了。”Pinocchio回答道。 —

And shaking his head in a threatening manner, he seemed to say, “We’ll talk this over in a few minutes, my friends.”
他摇摇头，仿佛在威胁着：“过几分钟我们再谈，我的朋友们。”

As soon as the four Weasels had talked things over, they went straight to the chicken coop which stood close to the doghouse.
四只黄鼠狼协商完毕，径直走到紧靠狗窝的鸡舍旁边。 —

Digging busily with teeth and claws, they opened the little door and slipped in.
他们利爪和牙齿忙碌地挖着，打开了小门，悄然溜了进去。 —

But they were no sooner in than they heard the door close with a sharp bang.
但他们刚进去，就听到门砰地一声关上了。

The one who had done the trick was Pinocchio, who, not satisfied with that, dragged a heavy stone in front of it.
那个关门的就是Pinocchio，他不仅如此，还在门前拉上一块沉重的石头。 —

That done, he started to bark.
然后他开始吠叫。 —

And he barked as if he were a real watchdog:
他吠叫得就像一只真正的看门狗: —

“Bow, wow, wow! Bow, wow!”
“汪汪汪！汪汪汪！”

The Farmer heard the loud barks and jumped out of bed.
农夫听到大声的吠叫声，跳下床。 —

Taking his gun, he leaped to the window and shouted:
他拿起枪，跳到窗户前喊道： —

“What’s the matter?”
“怎么了？”

“The thieves are here,” answered Pinocchio.
“小偷们在这里，”皮诺曹回答道。

“Where are they?”
“他们在哪里？”

“In the chicken coop.”
“在鸡舍里。”

“I’ll come down in a second.”
“我马上下来。”

And, in fact, he was down in the yard in a twinkling and running toward the chicken coop.
事实上，他立刻下到院子里，朝着鸡舍跑去。

He opened the door, pulled out the Weasels one by one, and, after tying them in a bag, said to them in a happy voice:
他打开门，一个一个地把黄鼠狼拖了出来，把它们塞进袋子里，然后用欢快的声音对它们说：” —

“You’re in my hands at last!
你们终于落到我手里了！ —

I could punish you now, but I’ll wait!
我现在可以惩罚你们，但我会等等！ —

In the morning you may come with me to the inn and there you’ll make a fine dinner for some hungry mortal.
明天早上你们可以跟我一起去客栈，那里你们将成为某个饥饿的凡人的美食。 —

It is really too great an honor for you, one you do not deserve;
这对你们来说真是太大的荣幸了，这是你们不应得的； —

but, as you see, I am really a very kind and generous man and I am going to do this for you!”
但是，正如你们看到的，我真的是个非常善良和慷慨的人，我会为你们做到这一点的！”

Then he went up to Pinocchio and began to pet and caress him.
然后他走到皮诺曹跟前，开始抚摸和爱抚他。

“How did you ever find them out so quickly?
“你是怎么这么快就发现他们的？ —

And to think that Melampo, my faithful Melampo, never saw them in all these years!”
想想看，我忠实的米兰波，多少年来都没有看见过他们！”

The Marionette could have told, then and there, all he knew about the shameful contract between the dog and the Weasels, but thinking of the dead dog, he said to himself:
此时此刻，木偶可以告诉所有他所知道的关于狗和黄鼠狼之间可耻合同的事，但是想到已经去世的狗，他对自己说道： —

“Melampo is dead. What is the use of accusing him?
“梅兰波已经去世了。指责他有什么用？ —

The dead are gone and they cannot defend themselves.
死者已逝，他们无法为自己辩护。 —

The best thing to do is to leave them in peace!”
最好的办法是让他们安息吧！”

“Were you awake or asleep when they came?
“你当时是醒着还是睡着时他们来的？” —

” continued the Farmer.
农夫继续问道。

“I was asleep,” answered Pinocchio, “but they awakened me with their whisperings.
“我当时正在睡觉，”匹诺曹回答道，” 但是他们用窃窃私语把我吵醒了。 —

One of them even came to the door of the doghouse and said to me, ‘If you promise not to bark, we will make you a present of one of the chickens for your breakfast.
其中一个甚至来到了狗窝门口对我说：’ 如果你答应不吠叫，我们就送你一只鸡作为早餐。 —

’ Did you hear that?
‘你听到了吗？ —

They had the audacity to make such a proposition as that to me!
他们竟然敢对我提出这样的要求！ —

For you must know that, though I am a very wicked Marionette full of faults, still I never have been, nor ever shall be, bribed.”
因为你应该知道，尽管我是一个充满缺点的坏木偶，但我从来没有被贿赂过，现在也不会被贿赂。”

“Fine boy!” cried the Farmer, slapping him on the shoulder in a friendly way.
“好孩子！” 农夫友善地拍了拍他的肩膀。 —

“You ought to be proud of yourself.
“你应该为自己感到骄傲。 —

And to show you what I think of you, you are free from this instant!”
为了表达我对你的敬意，你从此刻起自由了！”

And he slipped the dog collar from his neck.
他解下了脖子上的狗项圈。