第20章 The Racers(1)

赛跑者

这篇略带讽刺性的小品最初收集在1858年出版的《新的童话和故事集》第一卷第二部里。它说明了安徒生对一切评奖和评奖委员会的评价。安徒生一生没有得到什么奖——只获得过国家授予的“丹麦国旗勋章”。他很轻视所谓“奖品”，事实证明也不无道理：像托尔斯泰和他的朋友——英国的狄更斯，这些闻名世界的作家也不曾获得过所谓世界性的“诺贝尔文学奖”。

A prize，or rather two prizes，had been announced—a big one and a little one—for the greatest swiftness(swiftness n.迅速，快)，not in a single race，but for swiftness throughout an entire year．

有人贡献出一个奖品——也可以说是两个奖品吧：一大一小——来奖励速度最快的赛跑者。但这不是指在一次竞赛中所达到的最快的速度，而是在全年的赛跑中所达到的速度。

“I got the first prize！”said the Hare，“There must be justice when relations and good friends are among the prize committee，but that the Suail should have received the second prize，I consider almost an insult(insult n.侮辱，凌辱vt.侮辱，凌辱)to myself．”

“我得到了头奖！”野兔说。“有人在评奖委员会中有亲戚和朋友，所以我们必须主持公道。蜗牛居然得到了二等奖！我不禁要认为这是对我的一种侮辱。”

“No！”declared the Fencerail，who had been witness at the distribution of prizes，“Reference must also be had to industry and perseverance(perseverance n.坚定不移)．Many respectable people said so，and I understood it well．The Snail certainly took half a year to get across the threshold(threshold n.门槛，开始，开端，极限)，but has broken his thighbone in the haste he was compelled to make．He devoted himself entirely to his work，and he ran with his house on his back！All that is very praiseworthy，and thats how he got the second prize．”

“不对！”亲眼看到过发奖的篱笆桩说，“勤奋和毅力也必须考虑进去。许多有地位的人都这样说过，我也懂得这话的意义。蜗牛的确要花半年的时间才能走过门口。而且因为他要赶时间，还把大腿骨折断了。他是全心全意地赛跑！而且背上还要背着自己的屋子！这都是值得奖励的！因此他得到了二等奖！”

“I might certainly have been considered too，said the Swallow．“I should think that no one appeared swifter in flying and soaring than myself，and how far I have been around—far—far—far！”

“你们也应该把我考虑进去呀！”燕子说。“我相信，在飞翔方面，谁也没有我快。我什么地方都去过：我飞得才远呢，远呢，远呢！”

“Yes，thats just your misfortune.”said the Fencerail．“Youre too fond of fluttering．You must always be journeying about into far countries when it begins to be cold here．Youve no love of fatherland in you．You cannot be taken into account．”

“对，这正是你的不幸！”篱笆桩说。“你太喜欢流浪了。天气一冷，你就老不在家，跑到外国去了。你一点儿爱国心也没有。你没有被考虑的资格！”

“But if I lay in the swamp all through the winter？”said the Swallow．“Suppose I slept through the whole time，should I be taken into account then？”

“不过如果我整个冬天躺在沼泽地呢？”燕子说。“假如我把这段时间都睡过去，我会不会被考虑进去呢？”

“Bring a certificate from the old swampwife that you have slept away half the time in your fatherland，and you shall be taken into account．”

“如果你能从沼泽老夫人那儿得到一张证明书，证明你有一半的时间是睡在你的祖国，那么人们就会考虑你的！”

“I deserved the first prize，and not the second.”said the Snail，“I know so much at least，that the Hare only ran from cowardice(cowardice n.怯懦，胆小)，because he thought each time there was danger in delay．I，on the other hand，made my running the business of my life，and have become a cripple(cripple n.跛子v.削弱)in the service．If any one was to have the first prize，I should have had it，but I make no fuss(fuss n.忙乱，大惊小怪，大惊小怪的人v.忙乱，大惊小怪)，I despise it！”

“我应该得到头奖，而不是二等奖！”蜗牛说。“我知道得很清楚，野兔是因为懦弱才拼命跑。他老是以为他停下来就要面临落后的危险。相反，我把赛跑作为一种任务，而且在服务缺失情况下进行的！如果说有人应该得到头奖，这个人就是我！不过我不愿意小题大做——我讨厌这种做法！”

And so he spat．“I am able to depose(depose vt.免职，废(王位)，作证vi.宣誓作证)with word and oath that each prize，at least my vote for each，was given after proper consideration.”observed the old Boundarypost in the wood，who had been a member of the body of judges.“I always go on with due consideration，with order，and calculation．Seven times before I have had the honour to be present at the distribution of prizes，but not till today have I carried out my will．At each distribution I have started from a fixed principle．I always went to the first prize from the beginning of the alphabet(alphabet n.字母表)，and to the second from the end．And if you will now take notice，when one starts from the beginning，the eighth letter from A is H，and there we have the Hare，and so I awarded him the first prize；the eighth letter from the end of the alphabet is S，and therefore the Snail received the second prize．Next time，I will have its turn for the first prize，and R for the second：there must be due order in everything！One must have a certain startingpoint！”