“Perhaps she has a husband somewhere and has gone to meet him,” suggested Mr. Little.
“可能她到什么地方找她的丈夫去了，”利特尔先生猜。
“I guess she had spring fever,” said George. “A normal bird doesn’t stay indoors this kind of weather.”
“我猜她可能得了一种思念春天的病，”乔治说。“在这种天气里一个正常的鸟儿是不愿意呆在室内的。”
For three days everybody hunted all over the house for Margalo without finding so much as a feather.
一连三天，所有人都在房子里到处寻找着玛戈，却连她的一根羽毛都没发现。
“Because I asked her one time,” cried Stuart. “She told me she was a single bird.”
“因为我问过她一次，”斯图亚特哭着说。“她告诉我她是一只独身的鸟儿。”
“She has not!” sobbed Stuart, bitterly. “That’s just a lot of nonsense.”
“她没有丈夫！”斯图亚特痛苦地小声哭着。“你在胡说。”
“How do you know?” asked George.
“你怎么知道的？”乔治问。
Stuart was heartbroken. He had no appetite, refused food, and lost weight. Finally he decided that he would run away from home without telling anybody, and go out into the world and look for Margalo. “While I am about it, I might as well seek my fortune, too,” he thought.
斯图亚特心碎了。他没有了胃口，拒绝吃任何食物，体重开始下降。最后他决定悄悄地离开家，到外面去寻找玛戈。“我这么做，也是想找找我的运气。”他想。
Everybody questioned Snowbell closely, but the cat insisted he knew nothing about Margalo’s disappearance. “I don’t see why you have to make a pariah out of me just because that disagreeable little chippy flew the coop,” said Snowbell, irritably.
每个人都在追问雪球，可是他却坚持说对玛戈的失踪一无所知。“明明是那个讨厌的浪荡女人自己从笼子里飞走的嘛，你们干吗拼命地拷问我？我真搞不懂。”雪球生气地说。
Before daybreak next morning he got out his biggest handkerchief and in it he placed his toothbrush, his money, his soap, his comb and brush, a clean suit of underwear, and his pocket compass.
第二天破晓前，他摊开他最大的一条手绢，将他的牙刷，钱，肥皂，梳子，钢笔，一套干净的内衣，还有袖珍指南针都放在上面。
“Good-by, beautiful home,” he whispered. “I wonder if I will ever see you again.”
“再—见，美丽的家，”他低语。“我不知道能否再看见你了。”
“I ought to take along something to remember my mother by,” he thought. So he crept into his mother’s bedroom where she was still asleep, climbed the lamp cord to her bureau, and pulled a strand of Mrs. Little’s hair from her comb. He rolled the hair up neatly and laid it in the handkerchief with the other things. Then he rolled everything up into a bundle and tied it onto one end of a wooden match. With his gray felt hat cocked jauntily on one side of his head and his pack slung across his shoulder, Stuart stole softly out of the house.
“我该带上一些能想念起我妈妈的东西，”他想。于是他爬进他妈妈的卧室，当时她还在睡着。他顺着灯绳爬上她的梳妆台，从她的梳子上拽下了一根利特尔太太的头发。他把这根头发和手绢里的其它东西放在一起。又把手绢系成一个小包，放到一个火柴盒里。然后他把他的灰毡帽很帅地歪戴到头上，将小手绢包神气地挎到肩膀上，才蹑手蹑脚的离开了家。
The doctor was glad to see Stuart. He took him right into his inner office where he was busy pulling a man’s tooth. The man’s name was Edward Clydesdale, and he had several wads of gauze in his cheek to hold his mouth open good and wide. The tooth was a hard one to get out, and the Doctor let Stuart sit on his instrument tray so they could talk during the operation.
医生见到斯图亚特很高兴。他直接把他带到他的办公室里，他正在那里忙着给一个男人拔牙呢。这个男人名叫爱德华·克莱德代勒，他的腮帮子附近塞了些棉球，这样就使他的嘴可以很好的撑开了。这颗牙非常难拔，所以医生就让斯图亚特坐在他放拔牙工具的托盘上，这样就可以一边拔牙，一边和他讲话了。
Stuart stood uncertainly for a moment in the street in front of the house. The world was a big place in which to go looking for a lost bird. North, south, east, or west — which way should he go? Stuart decided that he needed advice on such an important matter, so he started uptown to find his friend Dr. Carey, the surgeon-dentist, owner of the schooner Wasp.
斯图亚特心情复杂地在他家前面的那条街上站了一会儿。这个世界太大了，想从中找到一只丢失的鸟儿真不容易。往北，往南，往东还是往西——他该往什么方向走呢？斯图亚特觉得这个重要的决定应该在听取别人的意见后才能作出，便往上城区去寻找他的朋友，那个黄蜂号的船主，凯里牙医。
“I ‘ay, ‘ook in ‘entral ‘ark,” said Mr. Clydesdale.
“…去…园…找…”克莱德代勒先生说。
Dr. Carey twisted the tooth a bit and racked it back and forth. “What color is the bird?” he asked.
凯里医生转着圈儿的来回拉着那颗牙。“那鸟是什么颜色的？”他问。
“This is my friend, Stuart Little,” he said to the man with the gauze in his cheek.
“这是我的朋友，斯图亚特·利特尔，”他对这个嘴里塞着棉球的男人说。
“I ran away from home this morning,” explained Stuart. “I am going out into the world to seek my fortune and to look for a lost bird. Which direction do you think I should start out in?”
“我今早从家里跑出来了，”斯图亚特解释。“我要到这个世界里碰碰运气。还要寻找一只丢失的鸟。你认为我该先往哪个方向走呢？”
“Well, what’s on your mind, Stuart?” asked Dr. Carey, seizing hold of the man’s tooth with a pair of pincers and giving a strong pull.
“嗯，有什么事吗，斯图亚特？”凯里医生问着，用钳子夹住那个男人的一颗牙使劲拽着。
“What?” cried Stuart.
“什么，”斯图亚特说。
“‘ook in ‘entral ‘ark,” said Mr. Clydesdale.
“…去…园…找…”克莱德代勒先生说。
“Brown,” said Stuart.
“棕色，”斯图亚特说。
“Better go north,” said Dr. Carey. “Don’t you think so, Mr. Clydesdale?”
“那你最好往北去，”凯里医生说。“你不也这么认为吗，克莱德代勒先生？”
“How ‘oo oo, Soo’rt,” replied the man, as best he could.
“你…好…斯…特，”这个男人尽可能地回答着。
“He says look in Central Park,” explained Dr. Carey, tucking another big wad of gauze into Mr. Clydesdale’s cheek. “And it’s a good suggestion. Oftentimes people with decayed teeth have sound ideas. Central Park is a favorite place for birds in the spring.” Mr. Clydesdale was nodding his head vigorously, and seemed about to speak again.
“他说去中央公园找找看，”凯里医生解释着，又把一团大棉球塞到了克莱德代勒先生的腮帮子里。“这是个好主意。看来嘴里有坏牙的人也常常能说出好主意。春天的中央公园是鸟儿们喜爱的地方。”克莱德代勒先生拼命的点着头，好像还要说些什么。
“Very well, thank you,” replied Stuart.
“很好，谢谢你，”斯图亚特回答。
“If ‘oo ‘on’t ‘ocate a ‘ird in ‘entral ‘ark, ‘ake a ‘ew ‘ork ‘ew ‘aven & ‘artford ‘ailway ‘n ‘ook in ‘onnecticut.”
“如果…你…园…鸟…新…德…康…河…”
“What?” cried Stuart, delighted at this new kind of talk. “What say, Mr. Clydesdale?”
“什么？”对这种别开生面的谈话方式感到有趣的斯图亚特问。“你说什么，克莱德代勒先生？”
“If ‘oo ‘on’t ‘ocate a ‘ird in ‘entral ‘ark, ‘ake a ‘ew ‘ork ‘ew ‘aven & ‘artford ‘ailway ‘n ‘ook in ‘onnecticut.”
“如果…你…公…园…鸟…新…特…康…河…”
Mr. Clydesdale took a glass of mouthwash that was beside the chair and rinsed his mouth out.
克莱德代勒先生拿过椅子旁边的一瓶漱口药水漱起口来。
“Tell me this, Stuart,” said Dr. Carey. “How are you traveling? On foot?”
“告诉我这个，斯图亚特，”凯里医生说，“你要怎么旅行？步行吗？”
“Yes, sir,” said Stuart.
“是的，先生，”斯图亚特回答。
“He says if you can’t locate the bird in Central Park, take a New York New Haven & Hartford Railway train and look in Connecticut,” said Dr. Carey. Then he removed the rolls of gauze from Mr. Clydesdale’s mouth. “Rinse, please!” he said.
“他说如果你在中央公园找不到那只鸟，可以再去纽约新港和哈特福德火车站或者康涅狄格河①找找，”凯里医生说着，把那些棉球从克莱德代勒先生的嘴里夹了出来。“请让我漱口！”他说。
Dr. Carey grabbed the tooth with the pincers again, and this time he pulled so long and so hard and with such determination that the tooth popped out, which was a great relief to everybody, particularly to Mr. Clydesdale. The Doctor then led Stuart into another room. From a shelf he took a tiny automobile, about six inches long — the most perfect miniature automobile Stuart had ever seen. It was bright yellow with black fenders, a streamlined car of graceful design. “I made this myself,” Dr. Carey said. “I enjoy building model cars and boats and other things when I am not extracting teeth. This car has a real gasoline motor in it. It has quite a good deal of power — do you think you can handle it, Stuart?”
凯里医生又用他的钳子捏住了那颗牙，而这次他用的力气更大，花的时间更长，态度也更坚决，所以那颗牙终于被咔嚓一声拔了下来，这让每个人都松了一口气，特别是克莱德代勒先生。然后医生就把斯图亚特领到了另一间屋子里。他从书架上拿下一辆小玩具汽车，它只有约六英寸长——是斯图亚特见过的最漂亮的小汽车。它的车身是淡黄色的，挡泥板是黑色的，是辆设计得十分大方的流线型小轿车。“这是我自己做的，”凯里医生说。“我在不给人拔牙的时候，喜欢制作汽车模型，帆船模型和其它的模型。这个小车里还有一个真正用汽油驱动的引擎。它的速度很快——你认为你能驾驶得了它吗，斯图亚特？”
“Well, I think you’d better have a car. As soon as I get this tooth out, we’ll see what can be done about it. Open, please, Mr. Clydesdale.”
“噢，我想你最好有一辆车。只要我把这颗牙拽出来，我就能为你做点儿什么。请张嘴，克莱德代勒先生。”
“Why not?” asked Stuart.
“为什么不能？”斯图亚特问。
“Push that little button!” said the Doctor, pointing to a button on the instrument panel. Stuart pushed the button. Instantly the car vanished from sight.
“摁一下那个小按钮！”医生说着，指着指示盘上的一个按钮。斯图亚特摁了一下那个按钮。小汽车立刻就从眼前消失了。
“Because this automobile is a thoroughly modern car. It’s not only noiseless, it’s invisible. Nobody can see it.”
“因为这辆车只不过是辆模型车而已。它不仅没有噪音，而且也小得让人看不见。所以没人会注意到它的。”
“Now push it again,” said the Doctor.
“现在再摁一下，”医生说。
So Stuart felt around until his hand came in contact with a button. It seemed like the same button, and Stuart pushed it. He heard a slight grinding noise and felt something slip out from under his hand.
于是斯图亚特四处摸索起来，直到手碰到了一个按钮为止。感觉它好像和刚才那个一样，斯图亚特便摁了下去。他听到了一种轻微的摩擦声，感觉有什么从手中滑了出去。
“Feel around for it.”
“凭感觉摸摸看。”
“I can see it,” remarked Stuart.
“可我能，”斯图亚特说。
“How can I push it when I can’t see it?” asked Stuart.
“我都看不到了，还怎么摁哪？”斯图亚特问。
“They would if they could see you,” replied Dr. Carey, “but nobody will be able to see you, or the car.”
“如果他们发现了你，当然会的，”凯里医生回答。“不过没人能看到你和你的车。”
“Hey, watch out!” yelled Dr. Carey. “You pushed the starter button. She’s off! There she goes! She’s away! She’s loose in the room — now we’ll never catch her.” He grabbed Stuart up and placed him on a table where he wouldn’t be hit by a runaway car.
“嘿，当心！”凯里医生喊。“你摁的是启动按钮。她消失了！她跑了！她没了！她消失在这屋子里了——现在我们再也找不到她了。”他把斯图亚特拎到一张桌子上，以免他被那辆汽车撞到。
“Certainly,” replied Stuart, looking into the driver’s seat and blowing the horn. “But isn’t it going to attract too much attention? Won’t everybody stop and stare at such a small automobile?”
“当然，”斯图亚特回答着，察看了一下车座，又摁了摁喇叭。“不过它会不会引起别人的注意？这么小的车，每个人都会好奇地盯着它看的。”
“I can’t,” said Stuart. “I’m not big enough to carry a butterfly net.”
“我不能，”斯图亚特说。“我太小了，拿不动它。”
“Oh, oh,” yelled Stuart, jumping up and down. “I’m sorry, Dr. Carey, I’m dreadfully sorry!”
“噢，噢，”斯图亚特上下乱蹦着急叫。“真抱歉，凯里医生，真是太抱歉了！”
“Oh, mercy! Oh, mercy!” Stuart cried when he realized what he had done. It was a very awkward situation. Neither Dr. Carey nor Stuart could see the little automobile, yet it was rushing all over the room under its own power, bumping into things. First there came a crashing noise over by the fireplace. The hearth broom fell down. Dr. Carey leapt for the spot and pounced on the place where the sound had come from. But though he was quick, he had hardly got his hands on the place when there was another crash over by the wastebasket. The Doctor pounced again. Pounce! Crash! Pounce! Crash! The Doctor was racing all over the room, pouncing and missing. It is almost impossible to catch a speedy invisible model automobile even when one is a skillful dentist.
“噢，天哪！噢，天哪！”当明白自己刚才做了什么事情时，斯图亚特叫道。现在的情况太糟了。凯里医生和斯图亚特都看不到那辆小车了，可它还在房间里到处冲撞着。一阵哗啦啦的响声首先从壁炉那里传出来。炉边的扫帚被撞倒了。凯里医生忙跳起来，向着声音所来的方向猛力地扑出去。虽然他的动作很快，却还是扑了一个空，而那哗啦声又跑到废纸篓那里去了。于是医生又往废纸篓那里猛扑。猛扑！哗啦！猛扑！哗啦！医生扑遍了整个房间，却还是屡扑屡空。看来，就是一个医术超群的牙医也难抓住一辆看不见的疾驰中的现代式模型车。
“Get a butterfly net!” shouted the Doctor.
“去拿捕蝶网来！”医生喊。
“That’s true,” said Dr. Carey. “I forgot. My apologies, Stuart.”
“那倒是，”凯里医生说，“我忘了。我道歉，斯图亚特。”
“That’s true, too,” said the Doctor. And so he and Stuart sat down and waited patiently until they no longer heard any crashing sounds in the room. Then the Doctor got down on his hands and knees and crawled cautiously all over, feeling here and there, until at last he found the car. It was in the fireplace, buried up to its hubs in wood ashes. The Doctor pressed the proper button and there it stood in plain sight again, its front fenders crumpled, its radiator leaking, its headlights broken, its windshield shattered, its right rear tire punctured, and quite a bit of yellow paint scratched off the hood.
“也对，”医生说。于是他就和斯图亚特坐下来耐心地等着，直到房间里再也听不到任何哗啦声为止。然后医生开始四肢着地，小心地在四处爬着，伸出手到处划拉着，最后他终于发现了那辆小车。它停在壁炉里，轮子陷在炉灰之中。医生摁了一下正确的按钮，小车便又出现在视线里了，它前面的护泥板已经皱成了一团，冷却器也漏了，车头灯碎了，挡风玻璃被撞成了碎片，车后面的轮胎被扎瘪了，车盖上的黄漆也刮掉了很大一片。
“The car is bound to stop sometime,” said Stuart, “because it will run out of gas.”
“那小车早晚会停，”斯图亚特说，“因为它的汽油会用光的。”
“Yes, sir,” answered Stuart, and his eyes filled with tears, each tear being smaller than a drop of dew. It had been an unhappy morning, and Stuart was already homesick. He was sure that he was never going to see Margalo again.
“是的，先生，”斯图亚特眼泪汪汪地回答。他眼里的每一滴泪都比一滴小露珠还小。这是一个不幸的早晨，斯图亚特都有些开始想家了。他相信他再也没机会见到玛戈了。
“What a mess!” groaned the Doctor. “Stuart, I hope this will be a lesson to you: never push a button on an automobile unless you are sure of what you are doing.”
“太恐怖了！”医生呻吟。“斯图亚特，我希望这会给你一个教训：在你完全明白你要做什么之前，永远也不要再摁这车上的任何按钮！”
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