第64章 幸福的家庭 The Happy Family（2/2）

“你可别骂他。” 蜗牛妈妈说，“他爬得那么小心；他会给我们带来很多乐趣 —— 我们活着就为了他呀！可你没想过这个问题吗？—— 我们上哪儿给他找个媳妇呢？”

“You t not sld hi,” said other Snail; “he creeps so carefully; he will afforduch pleasure — and we have nothg but hi to live for! but have you not thought of it? — where shall we get a wife for hi?

你不觉得在牛蒡林深处很远的地方还有我们的同类吗？

do you not thk that there are so of our species at a great distaerior of the burdock forest?”

“我敢说，黑蜗牛肯定是有的，” 老蜗牛说 ——“没有房子的黑蜗牛 —— 但它们太普通了，还很自负。不过我们可以委托蚂蚁帮我们找找看；它们跑来跑去的，好像有什么要紧事要做，它们肯定知道能给我们小蜗牛找个媳妇的！”

“bails, I dare say, there are enough of,” said the old one— “bails without a hoe — but they are so on, and so ceited. but we ight give the ants a ission to look out for ; they run to and fro as if they had sothg toto do, and they certaly know of a wife for our little snail!”

“我确实知道一个 —— 最迷人的一个！” 一只蚂蚁说；“但我担心我们很难成功，因为她是个蚁后！”

“I know one, sure enough — the ost charg one!” said one of the ants; “but I a afraid we shall hardly sueed, for she is a queen!”

“那没关系！” 老两口说；“她有房子吗？”

“that is nothg!” said the old folks; “has she a hoe?”

“她有一座宫殿！” 蚂蚁说 ——“最漂亮的蚁宫，有七百条通道！”

“She has a pace!” said the ant— “the fi ant’s pace, with seven hundred passages!”

“谢谢你！” 蜗牛妈妈说；“我们的儿子可不会去蚁丘；如果你就知道这个，那我们就把这事委托给白蚋了。它们不论雨天还是晴天，都飞得很远；它们对这片森林里里外外都很熟悉。”

“I thank you!” said other Snail; “our son shall not go to an ant-hill; if you liit know nothier than that, we shall give the ission to the white gnats. they fly far and wide,ra and sunshihey know the whole forest here, both with and without.”

“我们给他找了个媳妇，” 蚋说；“离这儿一百步远的地方，有一只小蜗牛坐在她的房子里，在一棵醋栗丛上；她很孤单，也到了该结婚的年龄了。就只有一百步远！”

“we have a wife for hi,” said the gnats; “at a hundred huan paces fro here there sits a little snailher hoe, on a gooseberry bh; she is quite lonely, and old enough to be arried. It is only a hundred huan paces!”

“好吧，那就让她到他这儿来！” 老两口说；“他有一整片牛蒡林，她只有一丛灌木！”

“well, the her e to hi!” said the old ones; “he has a whole forest of burdocks, she has only a bh!”

于是它们就去把小蜗牛小姐接来了。

And so they went ached little iss Snail.

她过了整整一个星期才到；但这恰恰是最好的地方，因为这样就能看出她和它们是同类了。

It was a whole week before she arrived; but there was jt the very best of it, for one uld th see that she was of the sa species.

然后就举行了婚礼。

And then the arriage was celebrated.

六条蚯蚓尽可能地发出光亮。

Six earth-wors shone as well as they uld.

在其他方面，一切都进行得非常安静，因为老两口受不了吵闹和欢乐的场面；不过蜗牛妈妈发表了一篇精彩的演说。

In other respects the whole went off very quietly, for the old folks uld not bear noise and rrint; but old da Snail ade a brilliant speech.

蜗牛爸爸说不出话来，他太激动了；于是他们把整片牛蒡林作为嫁妆和遗产送给了它们，还说 —— 他们一直都这么说 —— 这是世界上最好的地方；如果它们诚实正派地生活，繁衍后代，它们和它们的子孙总有一天会来到庄园，被煮得黑乎乎的，然后放在银盘子里。

Father Snail uld not speak, he was too uch affected; and so they gave the as a dowry and iahe whole forest of burdocks, and said — what they had always said — that it was the bestthe world; if they lived holy aly, and creased and ultiplied, they and their children would on the urse of ti e to the anor-hoe, be boiled bck, and id on silver dishes.

讲完这番话后，老两口就缩进壳里，再也没出来过。

After this speech was ade, the old ones crept to their shells, and never ore ca out.

它们睡去了；年轻的小两口在森林里当家作主，生了很多后代，但它们从来没有被煮过，也从来没有被放在银盘子里；于是它们由此推断庄园已经破败不堪了，世上所有的人都灭绝了；因为没有人反驳它们，所以，当然就是这样了。

they slept; the young uple goverhe forest, and had a ultitude eny, but they were never boiled, and ed the, so, of urse it was so.

雨水敲打着牛蒡叶，为它们奏响鼓乐；阳光照耀着，为牛蒡林增添色彩；它们很幸福，整个家族都很幸福；因为它们确实如此。

And the rai on the dock-leaves to ake dru-ic for their sake, and the sun shoneorder to give the burdock forest a lor for their sakes; and they were very happy, and the whole faily was happy; for they, deed were so.