第一章

木匠樱桃师傅是如何发现一块像小孩一样能哭会笑的木头的呢？

Centuries ago there lived—

几百年以前有——

"A king! " my little readers will say immediately.

“一位国王！” 我的小读者们会马上说道。

No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood. It was not an expensive piece of wood. Far from it. Just a common block of firewood, one of those thick, solid logs that are put on the fire in winter to make cold rooms cozy and warm.

不，孩子们，你们弄错了。从前啊，有一块木头。这并不是一块贵重的木头。相反，它只是一块普通的木柴，和其他又粗又硬的木柴没有不同。在冬天的时候，这些木头会被投进火里，这样，寒冷的房间就会变得温暖而舒适。

I do not know how this really happened, yet the fact remains that one fine day this piece of wood found itself in the shop of an old carpenter. His real name was Mastro Antonio, but everyone called him Mastro Cherry, for the tip of his nose was so round and red and shiny that it looked like a ripe cherry.

我真的不知道这是怎么回事，但实际情况就是，有一天这块木头发现自己在一位老木匠的铺子里。这位老木匠本名叫安东尼奥师傅，但是大家却都叫他樱桃师傅，因为他的鼻头又圆又大，还光亮亮的，看起来像一个熟透了的樱桃。

As soon as he saw that piece of wood, Mastro Cherry was filled with joy. Rubbing his hands together happily, he mumbled half to himself:

当樱桃师傅看见了这块木头时，他高兴极了。他开心得一边搓手，还一边自言自语嘟囔道：

"This has come in the nick of time. I shall use it to make the leg of a table. "

“这段木头来得正是时候。我要用它来做一条桌子腿。”

He grasped the hatchet quickly to peel off the bark and shape the wood. But as he was about to give it the first blow, he stood still with arm uplifted, for he had heard a wee, little voice say in a beseeching tone: "Please be careful! Do not hit me so hard! "

他立马抓起一把小斧头，准备削掉这块木头的皮，造出桌子腿的形状。可是，就在他要砍下第一斧的时候，手却举在头顶一下子不动了，因为他听见一个极小的声音哀求他说： “请您小心一点！别把我砍得太狠啦！”

What a look of surprise shone on Mastro Cherry's face! His funny face became still funnier.

樱桃师傅脸上的表情是多么惊讶啊！他本来就滑稽的脸变得更可笑了。

He turned frightened eyes about the room to find out where that wee, little voice had come from and he saw no one! He looked under the bench—no one!

他睁大了惊恐的眼睛在房子里四下张望，想找到这个细小的声音是从哪里来的，可是他压根就没看见一个人！他低头看了看木工台下面——没人！

He peeped inside the closet—no one! He searched among the shavings—no one! He opened the door to look up and down the street—and still no one! "Oh, I see! " he then said, laughing and scratching his Wig. "It can easily be seen that I only thought I heard the tiny voice say the words! Well, well—to work once more.

他瞄了一眼橱柜里面——没人！他在刨花里搜来搜去——也没有人！他打开了铺门，朝街上到处望了望——还是没有人！ “哦，我知道了！” 樱桃师傅挠挠头上的假发，笑着说， “显然是我想象到自己听见了这么细小的声音在说话呢！那么，好吧——接着干活吧！”

He struck a most solemn blow upon the piece of wood.

他重新拿起斧子，在那段木头上狠狠地砍了下去。

"Oh, oh! You hurt! " cried the same far—away little voice.

“哦！哦！你把我砍疼了！” 还是那远远的微弱的声音叫道。

Mastro Cherry grew dumb, his eyes popped out of his head, his mouth opened wide, and his tongue hung down on his chin.

樱桃师傅吓愣了，眼睛都快从眼眶里跳出来了，嘴巴张得老大，舌头都伸到了下巴上。

As soon as he regained the use of his senses, he said, trembling and stuttering from fright:

等到他回过神来，吓得哆哆嗦嗦，结结巴巴地说道：

"Where did that voice come from, when there is no one around? Might it be that this piece of wood has learned to weep and cry like a child? I can hardly believe it. Here it is—a piece of common firewood, good only to burn in the stove, the same as any other. Yet—might someone be hidden in it? If so, the worse for him. I'll fix him! "

“屋子里一个人也没有，这个声音到底是哪里来的呢？难道是这块木头像小孩子一样又哭又叫吗？我真是不敢相信。看嘛——这就是一块普通的木柴，跟别的木柴一样，只适合扔到炉子里面生火。难道——有人藏到木头里了吗？要真是藏着个人，那他就倒霉了。我得好好修理他！”

With these words, he grabbed the log with both hands and started to knock it about unmercifully. He threw it to the floor, against the walls of the room, and even up to the ceiling.

说完，他双手抓起这块可怜的木头，毫不留情地敲打了起来。他把它扔到地板上，砸到屋子的墙上，甚至抛到天花板上。

He listened for the tiny voice to moan and cry. He waited two minutes—nothing; five minutes—nothing; ten minutes—nothing.

他竖着耳朵听，看那细小的声音有没有呻吟哭泣。他等了两分钟——没声；等了五分钟——没声；等了十分钟——依然没声。

"Oh, I see, " he said, trying bravely to laugh and ruffling up his wig with his hand. "It can easily be seen I only imagined I heard the tiny voice! Well, well—to work once more! "

“哦，我明白了。” 他说着，鼓足勇气笑了笑，把自己的假发抓得凌乱。 “很明显，一定是我幻想自己听到了那个细小的声音！好吧，好吧——接着干活吧！”

The poor fellow was scared half to death, so he tried to sing a gay song in order to gain courage.

这个可怜的老木匠真的是被吓得半死，于是，他试着唱一首欢快的歌来给自己打打气。

He set aside the hatchet and picked up the plane to make the wood smooth and even, but as he drew it to and fro, he heard the same tiny voice. This time it giggled as it spoke:

他放下了小斧子，拿起了刨子，想把这块木头刨得光滑而平整，但他刚来回刨了刨，就又听见了那个细小的声音。这次，还是那个声音咯咯咯地笑着说：

"Stop it! " Oh, stop it! Ha, ha, ha! You tickle my stomach. "

“快停下！哦，快停下！哈哈哈！你弄得我肚子好痒痒呀。”

This time poor Mastro Cherry fell as if shot. When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on the floor.

这次可怜的樱桃师傅好像给人打了一枪一样倒在了地上。等到他睁开眼睛，他发现自己坐在了地上。

His face had changed; fright had turned even the tip of his nose from red to deepest purple.

他的脸色都变了，红色的鼻头给吓成了深紫色。