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Chapter 18: “Mr. Frog’s Question”
第 18 章：“青蛙先生的问题”
“Why don’t you get some new clothes?”
“你为什么不买些新衣服呢？”
It was Mr. Frog that asked the question; and he asked it of Brownie Beaver, who was at work on top of his house. Mr. Frog had been hiding among the lily pads, watching Brownie. But Brownie hadn’t noticed him until he stuck his head out of the water and spoke.
提出这个问题的是青蛙先生；他问的是正在屋顶上工作的布朗尼海狸。青蛙先生一直躲在睡莲叶子中间，观察着布朗尼。但直到他把头伸出水面说话，布朗尼才注意到他。
At first Mr. Frog’s question made Brownie a bit peevish.
一开始，青蛙先生的问题让布朗尼有点恼火。
“What’s the matter with my clothes?” he asked hotly.
“我的衣服有什么问题？”他生气地问道。
“There’s nothing the matter with them—nothing at all,” said Mr. Frog—“except that they are not as becoming to you as they might be. Of course,” he added, as he saw that Brownie Beaver was frowning, “you look handsome in them. But you’ve no idea how you’d look in clothes of my making.”
“它们没有任何问题——一点问题都没有，”青蛙先生说——“只是它们对你来说可能没有那么合适。当然，”他看到布朗尼海狸皱起眉头时补充道，“你穿着它们看起来很帅。但你不知道你穿上我做的衣服会有多好看。”
Brownie Beaver felt more agreeable as soon as Mr. Frog had told him what he meant.
青蛙先生告诉布朗尼他的意思后，布朗尼河狸感觉更愉快了。
“Do you make clothes?” he inquired.
“你做衣服吗？”他问道。
“I’m a tailor,” Mr. Frog replied. “And I’ve just opened a shop at the upper end of the pond.”
“我是个裁缝，”青蛙先生回答说。“我刚刚在池塘的上游开了一家店。”
“What’s the matter with my tail?” Brownie snapped. He was angry again.
“我的尾巴有什么问题？”布朗尼厉声说道。他又生气了。
Then Mr. Frog explained that a tailor made suits.
然后青蛙先生解释说裁缝做西装。
“We’ve nothing to do with tails,” he said—“unless it’s coat-tails.”
“我们和尾巴没有任何关系，”他说——“除非是燕尾服。”
“What about cattails?” Brownie asked. “You’re pretty close to some right now. So you can hardly say you have nothing to do with them.”
“那芦苇呢？”布朗尼问。“你现在离一些很近。所以你很难说你和它们没有任何关系。”
Mr. Frog smiled.
青蛙先生笑了。
“I see you’re a joker,” he said. “And it really seems a pity,” he went on, “that a bright young fellow like you shouldn’t wear the finest clothes to be had anywhere. If you’ll come to my shop I’ll make you a suit such as you never saw before in all your life.”
“我看你是个爱开玩笑的人，”他说。“真的很可惜，”他接着说，“像你这样聪明的年轻人不应该穿任何地方都能买到的最好的衣服。如果你到我的店里来，我会给你做一套你一生中从未见过的西服。”
“I’ll come!” Brownie Beaver promised. “I’ll be there at sunset.”
“我会来的！”布朗尼海狸承诺道。“我会在日落时到那里。”
And he went. Mr. Frog was waiting for him, with a broad smile on his face. Any smile of his just had to be broad, because he had such a wide mouth.
他去了。青蛙先生正在等他，脸上带着灿烂的笑容。他的任何笑容都必须是灿烂的，因为他的嘴很宽。
“Come right in!” Mr. Frog said. “I’ll measure you at once.” So Brownie Beaver stepped inside Mr. Frog’s shop to be measured for his new suit.
“进来吧！”青蛙先生说。“我马上给你量一下。”于是布朗尼海狸走进青蛙先生的商店，为他的新西服量尺寸。
It was all over in a few minutes. Mr. Frog scratched some figures on a flat stone. And then he went into the back room of his shop.
几分钟就结束了。青蛙先生在一块平坦的石头上划了一些数字。然后他走进了他商店的后屋。
He stayed there a long time. And when he came into the front part again he found Brownie Beaver still there.
他在那里呆了很长时间。当他再次来到前面时，他发现布朗尼海狸还在那里。
“What are you waiting for?” Mr. Frog asked. He seemed surprised that Brownie had not left.
“你在等什么？”青蛙先生问。他似乎很惊讶布朗尼没有离开。
“I’m waiting for my suit, of course,” Brownie Beaver said.
“我当然在等我的西装，”布朗尼海狸说。
“Oh! That won’t be ready for three days,” Mr. Frog told him. “I have to make it, you know.”
“哦！那要三天才能准备好，”青蛙先生告诉他。“你知道，我得做它。”
Brownie thought that Mr. Frog must be a slow worker; and he told him as much.
布朗尼认为青蛙先生一定是个慢工；他也这么告诉了他。
But Mr. Frog did not agree with him.
但青蛙先生不同意他的看法。
“I’m very spry!” he claimed. “On the jump every minute!”
“我很敏捷！”他声称。“每分钟都在跳！”
As Brownie started away, Mr. Frog called him back.
当布朗尼开始离开时，青蛙先生把他叫了回来。
“I’d get a new hat if I were you,” he suggested.
“如果我是你，我会买一顶新帽子，”他建议道。
“What’s the matter with this hat?” Brownie wanted to know. “It’s a beaver hat—one my great-grandfather used to wear. It’s been in our family a good many years and I’d hate to part with it.”
“这顶帽子有什么问题？”布朗尼想知道。“这是一顶海狸帽——我曾祖父曾经戴过的。它在我们家已经有很多年了，我讨厌和它分开。”
“You needn’t part with it,” Mr. Frog said pleasantly. “Just don’t wear it—that’s all! For it won’t look well with the clothes I’m going to make for you.”
“你不必和它分开，”青蛙先生愉快地说。“只是别戴它——就这样！因为它和我要为你做的衣服搭配起来不好看。”
Then Brownie Beaver moved away once more. And again Mr. Frog stopped him.
然后布朗尼海狸又一次走开了。青蛙先生又一次拦住了他。
“I’d buy a collar if I were you,” he said.
“如果我是你，我会买一个衣领，”他说。
“What’s the matter with this neckerchief?” Brownie Beaver demanded. “It belonged to my great-grandmother.”
“这条围巾有什么问题吗？”布朗尼海狸问道。“它是我曾祖母的。”
“Then I’d be careful of it if I were you,” Mr. Frog told him. “And please get a stiff white collar to wear.”
“那么如果我是你，我会小心保管它，”青蛙先生告诉他。“请买一个硬挺的白色衣领来戴。”
“Won’t it get limp in the water?” Brownie asked, doubtfully.
“它在水里不会变软吗？”布朗尼怀疑地问道。
“Get a celluloid one, of course,” Mr. Frog replied. “That’s the only kind of collar you ought to wear.”
“当然要买一个赛璐珞的，”青蛙先生回答。“那是你应该戴的唯一一种衣领。”
So Brownie Beaver left the tailor-shop. And he was feeling quite unhappy. He had always been satisfied with his clothes. But now he began to dislike everything he had on. And he could hardly wait for three day to pass, he was in such a hurry for Mr. Frog to finish his new suit.
于是布朗尼海狸离开了裁缝店。他感到非常不开心。他一直对自己的衣服很满意。但现在他开始不喜欢他身上穿的所有东西。他迫不及待地想让三天过去，他急于让青蛙先生完成他的新西装。
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