Then commenced such music that it sounded like a thousand glass bells，and was so full and strong that I thought it must be the song of the swans.I fancied also that I heard the voices of the cuckoo(cuckoo n.［动］杜鹃鸟，布谷鸟)and the blackbird，and it seemed at last as if the whole forest sent forth glorious melodies—the voices of children，the tinkling of bells，and the songs of the birds，and all this wonderful melody came from the elfin maypole.My sausage peg was a complete peal of bells.I could scarcely believe that so much could have been produced from it，till I remembered into what hands it had fallen.I was so much affected that I wept tears such as a little mouse can weep，but they were tears of joy.
接着音乐也开始了！那简直像几千只铃儿在响，声音又圆润又响亮。我还以为这是天鹅在唱歌呢。的确，我也觉得我可以听到杜鹃和画眉的声音。最后，整个的树林似乎都奏起音乐来了。我听到孩子的说话声，铃的铿锵声和鸟儿的歌唱声。这都是最美的旋律，而且都是从山精的五月柱上发出来的。这全是钟声的合奏，而这是从我的香肠栓上发出来的。我从来也没有想过，它会奏出这么多的音调，不过这要看它落到了什么人的手中。我非常感动，我快乐得哭起来，像一个小耗子那样哭。
“The night was far too short for me，there are no long nights there in summer，as we often have in this part of the world.When the morning dawned，and the gentle breeze rippled the glassy mirror of the forest lake，all the delicate veils and flags fluttered away into thin air，the waving garlands of the spiders web，the hanging bridges and galleries，or whatever else they may be called，vanished away as if they had never been.Six elves brought me back my sausage skewer，and at the same time asked me to make any request，which they would grant if in their power，so I begged them，if they could，to tell me how to make soup from a sausage skewer.
“对我来说夜是太短了！不过在夏季里，它是不能再长了。风在天刚亮的时候就吹起来，树林里一平如镜的湖面上出现了一层细细的波纹，飘荡着的幔纱和旗帜都飞到空中去了。蜘蛛网所形成的波浪形的花圈，吊桥和栏杆以及诸如此类的东西，从这片叶子飞到那片叶子上，都化为乌有。六个山精把我的香肠栓扛回送还给我，同时问我有没有什么要求，他们可以让我满足。因此我就请他们告诉我怎样用香肠栓做出汤来。
“‘How do we make it？’said the chief of the elves with a smile.‘What you have just seen it，you scarcely knew your sausage skewer again，I am sure.’”
“‘我们怎样做吗？’山精们的首领带笑地说。‘嗨，你刚才已经亲眼看到过了！我确信你再也认不出你的香肠栓了吧！’”
“They think themselves very wise，thought I to myself.Then I told them all about it，and why I had travelled so far，and also what promise had been made at home to the one who should discover the method of preparing this soup.‘What use will it be，’I asked，‘to the mouseking or to our whole mighty kingdom that I have seen all these beautiful things？I cannot shake the sausage peg and say，Look，here is the skewer，and now the soup will come.That would only produce a dish to be served when people were keeping a fast.’
“‘你说得倒轻松！’我回答说。于是我就直截了当地把我旅行的目的告诉他，并且也告诉他，家里的人对于我这次旅行所作的希望。‘我在这儿所看到的这种欢乐景象，’我问，‘对我们耗子王和对我们整个强大的国家，有什么用呢？我不能够把这香肠栓摇几摇，说：看呀，香肠栓就在这儿，汤马上就出来了！恐怕这种菜只有当客人吃饱了饭以后才能拿出来！’
“Then the elf dipped his finger into the cup of a violet，and said to me，‘Look here，I will anoint(anoint vt.涂以油或软膏，施以涂油礼)your pilgrims staff，so that when you return to your own home and enter the kings castle，you have only to touch the king with your staff，and violets will spring forth and cover the whole of it，even in the coldest winter time，so I think I have given you really something to carry home，and a little more than something.’”
“山精于是把他的小指头插进紫罗兰花色的杯子里，同时对我说：‘请看吧！我要在你的旅行杖上擦点油；当你回到耗子王的宫殿里去的时候，你只需把这手杖朝他顶一下，手杖上就会开满紫罗兰花，甚至在最冷的冬天也是这样。所以你总算带了一点什么东西回去——恐怕还不止一点什么东西呢！’”
But before the little mouse explained what this something more was，she stretched her staff out to the king，and as it touched him the most beautiful bunch of violets sprang forth and filled the place with perfume.The smell was so powerful that the mouseking ordered the mice who stood nearest the chimney to thrust their tails into the fire，that there might be a smell of burning，for the perfumeperfume n.香味，芳香，香水vt.使发香，洒香水于，发香味of the violets was overpowering，and not the sort of scent that every one liked.
不过在这小耗子还没有说明这个“一点什么东西”以前，她就把旅行杖伸到耗子王的面前。真的，一束最美丽的紫罗兰花开出来了。花儿的香气非常强烈，耗子王马上下一道命令，要那些站得离烟囱最近的耗子把尾巴伸进火里去，以便烧出一点焦味来，因为紫罗兰的香味使他吃不消，这完全不是他们所喜欢的那种气味。
“But what was the something more of which you spoke just now？”asked the mouseking.
“不过你刚才说的‘一点什么东西’究竟是什么呢？”耗子王问。
“Why，”answered the little mouse，“I think it is what they call‘effect’；”and thereupon she turned the staff round，and behold not a single flower was to be seen upon it！She now only held the naked skewer，and lifted it up as a conductor lifts his batonbaton n.司令棒，指挥棒，警棍at a concert.
“哎，”小耗子说，“我想这就是人们所谓的‘效果’吧！”于是她就把这旅行杖掉转过来。它上面马上一朵花也没有了。她手中只是握着一根光秃秃的棍子。她把它举起来，像一根乐队指挥棒。
“Violets，the elf told me，”continued the mouse，“are for the sight，the smell，and the touch，so we have only now to produce the effect of hearing and tasting.”and then，as the little mouse beat time with her staff，there came sounds of music，not such music as was heard in the forest，at the elfin feast，but such as is often heard in the kitchen—the sounds of boiling and roasting.It came quite suddenly，like wind rushing through the chimneys，and seemed as if every pot and kettle were boiling over.The fireshovel clattered down on the brass fender，and then，quite as suddenly，all was still，—nothing could be heard but the light，vaporyvapory adj.蒸气多的，冒出蒸气的song of the teakettle，which was quite wonderful to hear，for no one could rightly distinguish whether the kettle was just beginning to boil or going to stop.And the little pot steamed，and the great pot simmered(simmer vi.煨，炖，内部混乱状态vt.慢煮n.将沸腾的状态，将沸腾的温度)，but without any regard for each；indeed there seemed no sense in the pots at all.And as the little mouse waved her baton still more wildly，the pots foamed and threw up bubbles，and boiled over，while again the wind roared and whistled through the chimney，and at last there was such a terrible hubbubhubbub n.吵闹声，呐喊声，叫嚷声，that the little mouse let her stick fall.
