卖火柴的小女孩 (5)

Itwasdreadfullycold,itwassnowingfast,andalmostdark；theevening----thelasteveningoftheoldyearwasdrawingin.But,coldanddarkasitwas,apoorlittlegirl,withbareheadandfeet,wasstillwanderingaboutthestreets.Whensheleftherhomeshehadslipperson,buttheyweremuchtoolargeforher；indeed,properly,theybelongedtohermother,andhaddroppedoffherfeetwhilstshewasrunningveryfastacrosstheroad,togetoutofthewayoftwocarriages.Oneoftheslipperswasnottobefound,theotherhadbeensnatchedupbyalittleboy,whoranoffwithitthinkingitmightservehimasadoll'scradle.　　天气非常非常冷，雪下得很大，夜幕已降临。这是旧年最后的一夜——除夕之夜。尽管天气是那么的寒冷和黑暗，一个贫穷的小女孩，光头赤脚仍在大街上徘徊。当她离家出门的时候，脚上穿着一双拖鞋，那是一双相当大的拖鞋——的确太大了，那是她妈妈穿着合适的一双拖鞋。当她匆忙横穿马路的时候，两辆马车飞快地闯过来，吓得她把拖鞋跑丢了。一只怎么也找不到，另一只被一个小男孩抢跑了。他想，这只鞋可以当做玩具娃娃睡觉的摇篮。　Sothelittlegirlnowwalkedon,herbarefeetquiteredandbluewiththecold.Shecarriedasmallbundleofmatchesinherhand,andagoodmanymoreinhertatteredapron.Noonehadboughtanyofthemthelivelongday；noonehadgivenherasinglepenny.Tremblingwithcoldandhungercreptsheon,thepictureofsorrow:poorlittlechild!　　现在这小女孩只好光着脚在街上行走，一双脚步冻得又红又青。她那破旧的围裙兜着许多火柴，手里还拿着一小捆。可整整一天谁也没有向她买过一根——谁也没有给她一个铜板。她又饿又冷，哆哆嗦嗦地向前走着，这是一幅非常凄惨的景象：可怜的小姑娘！　　Thesnow-flakesfellonherlong,fairhair,whichcurledinsuchprettyringletsoverhershoulders；butshethoughtnotofherownbeauty,orofthecold.Lightswereglimmeringthrougheverywindow,andthesavorofroastgoosereachedherfromseveralhouses；itwasNewYear'seve,anditwasofthisthatshethought.　　雪花落在她那金黄色的头发上——长长的卷发披散在肩上，看起来十分美丽，可她想不到自己的漂亮。从每扇窗子透出的亮光和飘出的烤鹅肉香味，使她想起的只是今天是除夕之夜。Inacornerformedbytwohouses,oneofwhichprojectedbeyondtheother.Shesat down,drawingherlittlefeetcloseunderher,butinvain,shecouldnotwarmthem.Shedarednotgohome,shehadsoldnomatches,earnednotasinglepenny,andperhapsherfatherwouldbeather，besidesherhomewasalmostascoldasthestreet，itwasanattic；andalthoughthelargerofthemanychinksintheroofwerestoppedupwithstrawandrags.thewindandsnowoftenpenetratedthrough.Herhandswerenearlydeadwithcold；onelittlematchfromherbundlewouldwarmthem.Perhaps,ifshedaredlightit,shedrewoneout,andstruckitagainstthewall,bravo!itwasabright,warmflame,andsheheldherhandsoverit.Itwasquiteanilluminationforthatpoorlittlegirl；nay,1callitratheramagictaper,foritseemedtoherasthoughshewassittingbeforealargeiron-stovewithbrassornaments,sobeautifullyblazedthefirewithin!Thechildstretchedoutherfeettowarmthemalso；alas,inaninstanttheflamehaddiedaway,thestovevanished,thelittlegirlsatcoldandcomfortless,withtheburntmatchinherhand.　　街边一前一后坐落着两座房子，形成一个小墙角，她蹲在墙角里，把一双小脚卷缩到身下坐了下来，可是没有用，她还是不觉得暖和。她不敢回家，因为她还没有卖掉一根火柴，没有挣到一个铜板，她的父亲也许会因此打她，况且她家几乎和大街上一样冷。那是一间阁楼，虽然屋顶上几个较大的裂口用草和破布堵住了，可风和雪还是不时地灌进来，她那双小手差不多冻僵了。她想，只要她敢抽出一根火柴，在墙上擦燃，就可以暖手，终于她抽出了一根。哧！火柴燃起来了，冒出了火苗。当她双手覆在上面时，它变成了一朵光明、温暖的火焰，象一根奇妙的小蜡烛。小姑娘觉得自己象坐在一个大火炉旁边一样，铁炉镶有铮亮的黄铜花边和底座。火烧得多么旺，多么好啊！小姑娘刚刚伸出她的一双脚，打算暖一下的时候，哎呀！这是怎么样一回事儿？火焰忽然熄灭了！火炉也不见了。她坐在那儿，手里捏着那烧过的火柴，又回到了寒冷和孤单之中。　　Asecondmatchwasstruckagainstthewall；itkindlesandblazed,andwhereveritslightfellthewallbecametransparentasaveil.Thelittlegirlcouldseeintotheroomwithin.Shesawthetablespreadwithasnow-whitedamaskcloth,whereonwererangedshiningchina-dishes；theroastgoosestuffedwithapplesanddriedplumsstoodatoneend,smokinghot,andwhichwaspleasantestofalltosee；thegoose,withknifeandforkstillin herbreast,jumpeddownfromthedish,andwaddledalongthefloorrightuptothepoorchild.Thematchwasburntout,andonlythethick,hardwallwasbesideher.　　她又擦着一根火柴，火柴燃起来了，发出了明亮的光。墙上那块被火光照着的地方，忽然变得透明，象一块薄纱。小女孩可以看到房间的东西，桌上铺着雪白的台布，上面放着精致的瓷碟，还有填满梅子和苹果、冒着热气、香喷喷的烤鹅。最美妙的是看见了——这只背上插着刀叉的鹅从盘里跳了出来，摇摇摆摆地在地板上走着，一直向这个可怜的小姑娘走来。就在这时，火柴熄灭了，留在她面前的，只是一堵又厚又冷的墙。