Gently the raft grated on the sandy beach. Then Betsy easily waded ashore, the mule following closely behind her. The sun was now shining and the air was warm and laden with the fragrance of roses. 筏子轻轻地在沙滩上摩擦。然后贝琪轻松地涉水上岸,骡子紧跟在她身后。现在阳光明媚,空气温暖,弥漫着玫瑰的芬芳。
“I’d like some breakfast, Hank,” remarked the girl, feeling more cheerful now that she was on dry land; “but we can’t eat the flowers, although they do smell mighty good.” “我想吃点早餐,汉克,”女孩说,现在她在干燥的陆地上,感觉更愉快了;“但是我们不能吃这些花,尽管它们闻起来很香。”
“Hee-haw!” replied Hank and trotted up a little pathway to the top of the bank. “嘻嗬!”汉克回答,小跑上一条小路,来到岸边的高处。
Betsy followed and from the eminence looked around her. A little way off stood a splendid big greenhouse, its thousands of crystal panes glittering in the sunlight. 贝琪跟着,从高处环顾四周。不远处矗立着一座宏伟的大温室,成千上万的水晶窗格在阳光下闪闪发光。
“There ought to be people somewhere ‘round,” observed Betsy thoughtfully; “gardeners, or somebody. Let’s go and see, Hank. I’m getting hungrier ev’ry minute.” “周围应该有人,”贝琪沉思着说;“园丁,或者什么人。我们去看看吧,汉克。我每分钟都越来越饿了。”
So they walked toward the great greenhouse and came to its entrance without meeting with anyone at all. 于是他们朝大温室走去,来到入口处,没有遇到任何人。
A door stood ajar, so Hank went in first, thinking if there was any danger he could back out and warn his companion. 一扇门半开着,所以汉克先进去,心想如果有什么危险,他可以退出来警告他的同伴。
But Betsy was close at his heels and the moment she entered was lost in amazement at the wonderful sight she saw. 但贝琪紧跟在他的脚后跟,她一进入就被她看到的奇妙景象惊呆了。
The greenhouse was filled with magnificent rosebushes, all growing in big pots. On the central stem of each bush bloomed a splendid Rose, gorgeously colored and deliciously fragrant, and in the center of each Rose was the face of a lovely girl. 温室里摆满了华丽的玫瑰丛,都长在大花盆里。每丛灌木的中央茎上都盛开着一朵绚丽的玫瑰,色彩艳丽,香气扑鼻,每朵玫瑰的中心都有一张可爱女孩的脸。
As Betsy and Hank entered, the heads of the Roses were drooping and their eyelids were closed in slumber; but the mule was so amazed that he uttered a loud “Hee-haw!” 当贝琪和汉克进入时,玫瑰的头都低垂着,眼皮在沉睡中紧闭着;但这头骡子太惊讶了,他大声地“嘻嗬!”了一声。
and at the sound of his harsh voice the rose leaves fluttered, the Roses raised their heads and a hundred startled eyes were instantly fixed upon the intruders. 听到他刺耳的声音,玫瑰叶子飘动起来,玫瑰抬起头,一百双惊讶的眼睛立刻盯着闯入者。
“I—I beg your pardon!” stammered Betsy, blushing and confused. “我——我请求你的原谅!”贝琪结结巴巴地说,脸红而困惑。
“O-o-o-h!” cried the Roses, in a sort of sighing chorus; and one of them added: “What a horrid noise!” “哦——哦——哦!”玫瑰们齐声叹息道;其中一个补充道:“多么可怕的噪音啊!”
“Why, that was only Hank,” said Betsy, and as if to prove the truth of her words the mule uttered another loud “Hee-haw!” “哎呀,那只是汉克,”贝琪说,好像是为了证明她的话是真的,骡子又发出了一声响亮的“嘻嗬!”
At this all the Roses turned on their stems as far as they were able and trembled as if some one were shaking their bushes. A dainty Moss Rose gasped: “Dear me! How dreadfully dreadful!” 听到这个,所有的玫瑰都尽其所能地在茎上转过身来,颤抖着,好像有人在摇晃它们的灌木丛。一朵精致的苔藓玫瑰喘息着说:“亲爱的我!多么可怕的可怕!”
“It isn’t dreadful at all,” said Betsy, somewhat indignant. “When you get used to Hank’s voice it will put you to sleep.” “一点也不可怕,”贝琪有点愤慨地说。“当你习惯了汉克的声音,它会让你入睡的。”
The Roses now looked at the mule less fearfully and one of them asked: 现在,玫瑰们不再那么害怕地看着骡子,其中一个问道:
“Is that savage beast named Hank?” “那只野蛮的野兽叫汉克吗?”
“Yes; Hank’s my comrade, faithful and true,” answered the girl, twining her arms around the little mule’s neck and hugging him tight. “Aren’t you, Hank?” “是的;汉克是我的同伴,忠诚而真实,”女孩回答说,她把双臂缠绕在小骡子的脖子上,紧紧地拥抱他。“不是吗,汉克?”
Hank could only say in reply: “Hee-haw!” and at his bray the Roses shivered again. 汉克只能回答:“嘻——哈!”听到他的叫声,玫瑰们又颤抖了起来。
“Please go away!” begged one. “Can’t you see you’re frightening us out of a week’s growth?” “请走开!”一朵玫瑰恳求道。“你难道看不出你把我们吓得一周都长不出来了吗?”
“Go away!” echoed Betsy. “Why, we’ve no place to go. We’ve just been wrecked.” “走开!”贝齐附和道。“为什么,我们无处可去。我们刚刚遭遇了海难。”
“Wrecked?” asked the Roses in a surprised chorus. “海难?”玫瑰们惊讶地齐声问道。
“Yes; we were on a big ship and the storm came and wrecked it,” explained the girl. “But Hank and I caught hold of a raft and floated ashore to this place, and—we’re tired and hungry. What country is this, please?” “是的;我们在一艘大船上,暴风雨来了,把它摧毁了,”女孩解释道。“但是汉克和我抓住了一个筏子,漂到了这个地方,而且——我们又累又饿。请问这是哪个国家?”
“This is the Rose Kingdom,” replied the Moss Rose, haughtily, “and it is devoted to the culture of the rarest and fairest Roses grown.” “这是玫瑰王国,”苔藓玫瑰傲慢地回答,“它致力于种植最稀有、最美丽的玫瑰。”
“I believe it,” said Betsy, admiring the pretty blossoms. “我相信,”贝齐说,欣赏着这些漂亮的花朵。
“But only Roses are allowed here,” continued a delicate Tea Rose, bending her brows in a frown; “therefore you must go away before the Royal Gardener finds you and casts you back into the sea.” “但是这里只允许玫瑰存在,”一朵娇嫩的茶玫瑰皱着眉头继续说道;“所以你必须在皇家园丁发现你并把你扔回大海之前离开。”
“Oh! Is there a Royal Gardener, then?” inquired Betsy. “哦!那么有皇家园丁吗?”贝齐问道。
“And is he a Rose, also?” “他也是玫瑰吗?”
“Of course not; he’s a man—a wonderful man,” was the reply. “当然不是;他是一个人——一个了不起的人,”回答说。
“Well, I’m not afraid of a man,” declared the girl, much relieved, and even as she spoke the Royal Gardener popped into the greenhouse—a spading fork in one hand and a watering pot in the other. “好吧,我不怕人,”女孩松了一口气说道,就在她说话的时候,皇家园丁突然跳进了温室——一只手拿着铲子,另一只手拿着浇水壶。
He was a funny little man, dressed in a rose-colored costume, with ribbons at his knees and elbows, and a bunch of ribbons in his hair. His eyes were small and twinkling, his nose sharp and his face puckered and deeply lined. 他是一个有趣的小个子男人,穿着玫瑰色的服装,膝盖和肘部系着丝带,头发上也有一束丝带。他的眼睛小而闪烁,鼻子尖尖的,脸皱巴巴的,深深地刻着皱纹。
“O-ho!” he exclaimed, astonished to find strangers in his greenhouse, and when Hank gave a loud bray the Gardener threw the watering pot over the mule’s head and danced around with his fork, in such agitation that presently he fell over the handle of the implement and sprawled at full length upon the ground. “哦——嗬!”他惊叫道,发现温室里有陌生人,当汉克大声嘶叫时,园丁把浇水壶扔到骡子的头上,拿着叉子跳来跳去,如此激动,以至于不久他就摔倒在工具的手柄上,四肢伸展地躺在地上。
Betsy laughed and pulled the watering pot off from Hank’s head. The little mule was angry at the treatment he had received and backed toward the Gardener threateningly. 贝琪笑了,把浇水壶从汉克的头上拉下来。小骡子对他受到的待遇很生气,威胁地向后退向园丁。
“Look out for his heels!” called Betsy warningly and the Gardener scrambled to his feet and hastily hid behind the Roses. “小心他的脚后跟!”贝齐警告地喊道,园丁赶紧爬起来,匆忙躲在玫瑰花后面。
“You are breaking the Law!” he shouted, sticking out his head to glare at the girl and the mule. “你们违反了法律!”他喊道,把头伸出来瞪着女孩和骡子。
“What Law?” asked Betsy. “什么法律?”贝齐问。
“The Law of the Rose Kingdom. No strangers are allowed in these domains.” “玫瑰王国的法律。这些领土上不允许有陌生人。”
“Not when they’re shipwrecked?” she inquired. “他们遇难的时候也不例外吗?”她问道。
“The Law doesn’t except shipwrecks,” replied the Royal Gardener, and he was about to say more when suddenly there was a crash of glass and a man came tumbling through the roof of the greenhouse and fell plump to the ground. “法律不排除遇难的情况,”皇家园丁回答说,他正要再说些什么,突然玻璃破碎的声音响起,一个人从温室的屋顶上摔了下来,扑通一声掉到了地上。