“Come back here!” he called to Stuart. “Come back here and get on my boat. I want you to steer my boat. I will pay you five dollars a week and you can have every Thursday afternoon off and a radio in your room.”
“回这儿来！”他对斯图亚特喊。“回来上我的船。我要你驾驶我的船。我一周会付你五美元，而且你每星期四下午都会放假，呆在你的卧室里听收音机。”
When the people in Central Park learned that one of the toy sailboats was being steered by a mouse in a sailor suit, they all came running. Soon the shores of the pond were so crowded that a policeman was sent from headquarters to announce that everybody would have to stop pushing, but nobody did. People in New York like to push each other. The most excited person of all was the boy who owned the Lillian B. Womrath. He was a fat, sulky boy of twelve, named LeRoy. He wore a blue serge suit and a white necktie stained with orange juice.
当在中央公园的人知道了其中的一艘玩具帆船是由一名穿水手服的老鼠驾驶的，便都跑过来看。不久池塘的岸边就挤满了人，因此警察总部特地派来一名警察，宣布任何人都不要再往前挤了，可却没人理会他。中央公园里的人喜欢互相推来挤去，所有人中最激动的是拥有莉莲·B·沃拉尔号的男孩。他是个胖胖的，抑郁寡欢的十二岁男孩，名叫勒鲁瓦（Leroy）。他穿着一件蓝色的丝织外套，打着一条上面溅了橙汁的白领带。
“I thank you for your kind offer,” replied Stuart, “but I am happy aboard the Wasp — happier than I have ever been before in all my life.” And with that he spun the wheel over smartly and headed his schooner down toward the starting line, where LeRoy was turning his boat around by poking it with a long stick, ready for the start of the race.
“谢谢你为我提供了这么多的好条件，”斯图亚特回答，“但我在黄蜂号上很幸福——比我一生中在别的任何地方都要幸福得多。”斯图亚特说着，非常熟练地转动着舵轮，把他的纵帆船掉头面向出发点驶去，而勒鲁瓦正在那里用一根长长的小棍子去捅他的船，好让她转到比赛的起点处。
“Ready, sir!” shouted Stuart, touching his hat.
“准备完毕，先生！”斯图亚特摸了摸他的帽子，喊道。
“I’ll be the referee,” said a man in a bright green suit. “Is the Wasp ready?”
“我来做裁判，”一个穿着淡绿色制服的男人说。“黄蜂号准备好了吗？”
“Go!” cried the owner of the Wasp.
“起航！”黄蜂号的船主喊。
“To the north end of the pond and back again!” shouted the referee. “On your mark, get set, GO!”
“向池塘北边的尽头开，到达后返回！”裁判喊。“预备，起航！”岸边的人们一起跟着喊。
And away went the two boats for the north end of the pond, while the seagulls wheeled and cried overhead and the taxicabs tooted and honked from Seventy-second Street and the west wind (which had come halfway across America to get to Central Park) sang and whistled in the rigging and blew spray across the decks, stinging Stuart’s cheeks with tiny fragments of flying peanut shell tossed up from the foamy deep. “This is the life for me!” Stuart murmured to himself. “What a ship! What a day! What a race!”
两艘帆船朝池塘的北边驶去，海鸥们也跟过来，在头顶欢叫着。从第 72 街纷纷开来的出租车，不停地鸣着喇叭（它们都是横穿了半个美国才开到中央公园来的），西风唱着，把浪花泼洒到甲板上，也把如泡沫一样多的丢在水里的花生壳碎片卷起来，击打向斯图亚特的面颊。“这才是我要的生活！”斯图亚特自语道。“多好的帆船！多美的一天！多棒的比赛！”
“Is the Lillian B. Womrath ready?” asked the referee.
“莉莲·B·沃拉尔号准备好了吗？”裁判问。
“Sure, I’m ready,” said LeRoy.
“当然，准备好了。”勒鲁瓦说。
“Go!” cried the people along the shore.
“起航！”岸边的人们大声喊道。
“Go!” yelled the policeman.
“起航！”那个警察大叫。
Before the two boats had gone many feet, however, an accident happened on shore. The people were pushing each other harder and harder in their eagerness to see the sport, and although they really didn’t mean to, they pushed the policeman so hard they pushed him right off the concrete wall and into the pond. He hit the water in a sitting position, and got wet clear up to the third button of his jacket. He was soaked.
在这两艘船还没有开远之前，岸上就发生了一个事故。为了渴望能看清这场比赛，人们推挤得越来越厉害，所以虽然他们不想这么干，可还是把那个警察从水泥墙边狠狠地推进了池塘，他以一种坐着的姿势落到了水里，水一直没到他外衣的第三粒纽扣为止。他几乎完全被浸湿了。
This particular policeman was not only a big, heavy man, but he had just eaten a big, heavy meal, and the wave he made went curling outward, cresting and billowing, upsetting all manner of small craft and causing every owner of a boat on the pond to scream with delight and consternation.
这个警察不是很高，很胖，但是他刚刚吃了一顿极其丰盛的大餐，而且他的坠落也激起了很高的大浪，所以打翻了不少的小船，令岸边的船主们先是惊愕，继而又开心地大笑起来。
When Stuart saw the great wave approaching he jumped for the rigging, but he was too late. Towering above the Wasp like a mountain, the wave came crashing and piling along the deck, caught Stuart up and swept him over the side and into the water, where everybody supposed he would drown. Stuart had no intention of drowning. He kicked hard with his feet, and thrashed hard with his tail, and in a minute or two he climbed back aboard the schooner, cold and wet but quite unharmed. As he took his place at the helm, he could hear people cheering for him and calling, “Atta mouse, Stuart! Atta mouse!” He looked over and saw that the wave had capsized the Lillian B. Womrath but that she had righted herself and was sailing on her course, close by. And she stayed close alongside till both boats reached the north end of the pond. Here Stuart put the Wasp about and LeRoy turned the Lillian around with his stick, and away the two boats went for the finish line.
当斯图亚特见到涌过来的巨浪，忙往帆的支索那里跳去，可是却已经太晚了。黄蜂号上方倾来的大浪就像山一样高，浪涛汹涌着打上了甲板，把斯图亚特扫向一边，又击到了水里，每个人都以为他被淹死了。斯图亚特可不打算被淹死。他用脚使劲击打着水，用他的尾巴拼命平衡着身体，一两分钟后就又爬上了纵帆船，虽然身上又冷又湿，但却丝毫未损。当他坐回到舵轮旁，能听到人们在为他欢呼呐喊，“好老鼠，斯图亚特，好老鼠！”他回头看去，发现大浪已经把莉莲·B·沃拉尔号弄翻了，不过她很快就又立了起来，朝他的船这边开过来。于是他就把船停到边上等着，直到那艘船也开过来，和他一起开到池塘北边的尽头。斯图亚特把黄蜂号掉过头，勒鲁瓦也用他的小棍子把莉莲号拨了过来，于是两艘船就一起往终点开回去。
The first warning he had that there was trouble ahead came when he glanced into the Wasp’s cabin and observed that the barometer had fallen sharply. That can mean only one thing at sea — dirty weather. Suddenly a dark cloud swept across the sun, blotting it out and leaving the earth in shadow. Stuart shivered in his wet clothes. He turned up his sailor blouse closer around his neck, and when he spied the Wasp’s owner among the crowd on shore he waved his hat and called out:
第一个麻烦来了。他瞥了一眼黄蜂号的船舱，发现里面的气压计上的指数在飞速的往下降。在航海时这种情况只意味着一件事——暴风雨要来了。突然间，一团黑云扫向太阳，遮住了它，给大地蒙上了阴影。穿着湿衣服的斯图亚特冷得直发抖，他把他的水手衫推到了脖子上。他在岸边的人群中瞥见了黄蜂号的船主，便向他挥舞着帽子高喊：
“This race isn’t over yet,” thought Stuart.
“这场比赛还没有完呢，”斯图亚特想。
“Never mind the weather!” cried the owner. “Watch out for flotsam dead ahead!”
“别管天气！”船主喊。“还是先留心你前面飘来的船只残骸吧！”
“Look out, Stuart! Look out where you’re going!”
“当心，斯图亚特！当心你在做的事情！”
Stuart peered ahead into the gathering storm, but saw nothing except gray waves with white crests. The world seemed cold and ominous. Stuart glanced behind him. There came the sloop, boiling along fast, rolling up a bow wave and gaining steadily.
斯图亚特仔细察看了一下前面是否有风暴来临的迹象，可是除了浪尖是白色的灰色水浪外什么都没看到。这个世界好象变冷了，充满着恶兆。他又朝后面看了看，发现开过来一艘单桅船，她的船头在浪花里剧烈地摆动着。
“Dirty weather ahead, sir! Wind backing into the south-west, seas confused, glass falling.”
“暴风雨要来了，先生！风向正在转成西南，海水开始翻滚，气压计的指数在下降！”
Stuart strained his eyes, and suddenly, dead ahead, right in the path of the Wasp, he saw an enormous paper bag looming up on the surface of the pond. The bag was empty and riding high, its open end gaping wide like the mouth of a cave. Stuart spun the wheel over but it was too late: the Wasp drove her bowsprit straight into the bag and with a fearful whooosh the schooner slowed down and came up into the wind with all sails flapping. Just at this moment Stuart heard a splintering crash, saw the bow of the Lillian plow through his rigging, and felt the whole ship tremble from stem to stern with the force of the collision.
斯图亚特竭力睁大眼睛看，突然，他看到就在黄蜂号的右边，有一只巨大的纸袋正从池塘的水面上飘过来。这个纸袋是空的，被风鼓得高高的，张着大嘴，就像一个洞穴一样。斯图亚特急忙转舵，但却太迟了：黄蜂号已经把她的船头斜帆扎进了纸袋里。随着一阵可怕的嘶嘶声，纵帆船的速度慢了下来，所有的帆也都被风猛烈地吹动着。就在那时斯图亚特听到了一阵撕裂声，看到了正向船的支索撞去的莉莲号的船头，感觉从船头到船尾都有一种可怕的力量在撞击。
In a jiffy the two boats were in a terrible tangle. Little boys on shore screamed and danced up and down. Meanwhile the paper bag sprang a leak and began to fill.
刹那间两艘船便可怕地纠缠到一起了。岸上的男孩子们蹦着高在那里尖叫。同时，那个纸袋突然漏了，水开始往里灌了。
“A collision!” shouted the crowd on shore.
“撞上了！”岸上的人们喊。
The Wasp couldn’t move because of the bag. The Lillian B. Womrath couldn’t move because her nose was stuck in the Wasp’s rigging.
因为那个纸袋的关系，黄蜂号不能动了，莉莲·B·沃拉尔号也是，因为她的船头突起的部分插到黄蜂号的支索里去了。
“Stuart! Stuart! Down jib! Down staysail!”
“斯图亚特！斯图亚特！降下三角帆！降下支索帆！”
Waving his arms, Stuart ran forward and fired off his gun. Then he heard, above the other voices on shore, the voice of the owner of the Wasp yelling directions and telling him what to do.
斯图亚特挥舞着手臂跑向他的大炮并开了火。然后他听到岸上的呼喊声，其中还有黄蜂号船主的声音。他正在大声地指导着该怎么做。
“Cut away all paper bags!” roared the owner.
“把纸袋都扯下来！”船主喊。
“Now back your foresail and give her a full!” screamed the owner of the Wasp.
“现在回到前桅支索那里，把帆张满！”黄蜂号的船主叫。
Stuart whipped out his pocketknife and slashed away bravely at the soggy bag until he had the deck cleared.
斯图亚特掏出了他的袖珍小刀，勇敢地砍向那个湿透了的纸袋，直到它从甲板上完全消失为止。
Stuart jumped for the halyards, and the jib and the forestaysail came rippling down.
斯图亚特往升降索跑去，拉下了三角帆和前桅支索。
Stuart grabbed the foresail boom and pulled with all his might. Slowly the schooner paid off and began to gather headway. And as she heeled over to the breeze she rolled her rail out from under the Lillian’s nose, shook herself free, and stood away to the southard. A loud cheer went up from the bank. Stuart sprang to the wheel and answered it. Then he looked back, and to his great joy he perceived that the Lillian had gone off in a wild direction and was yawing all over the pond.
斯图亚特抓住前桅支索帆的帆脚，尽可能地将其拉满。纵帆船慢慢地恢复了平衡，开始往前移动了。当她的帆的下部逆着微风张起来，她的栏杆也从莉莲号的船头突起处摆脱出来后，她便自由地往南驶去了。岸上发出了一片喝彩声。斯图亚特一面开着舵轮，一面大声回应着。他再回头看时，惊喜地发现莉莲号狂乱地扭动了一下后便炸裂了，岸上所有的人都在高叫。
When Stuart got home that night, his brother George asked him where he had been all day.
那天晚上斯图亚特回家后，他的哥哥乔治问他这一整天都去哪里了。
Straight and true sailed the Wasp, with Stuart at the helm. After she had crossed the finish line, Stuart brought her alongside the wall, and was taken ashore and highly praised for his fine seamanship and daring. The owner was delighted and said it was the happiest day of his life. He introduced himself to Stuart, said that in private life he was Dr. Paul Carey, a surgeon-dentist. He said model boats were his hobby and that he would be delighted to have Stuart take command of his vessel at any time. Everybody shook hands with Stuart — everybody, that is, except the policeman, who was too wet and mad to shake hands with a mouse.
在斯图亚特的驾驶下，黄蜂号笔直地朝前开着，不久就开过了终点线。斯图亚特把她停在墙边，自己则被人带到岸上，被那些对他优秀的航海技术和勇敢行为的赞扬所淹没。那个船主兴奋地说，这是他一生中最幸福的一天。他对斯图亚特自我介绍说，他叫保罗·凯里（Paul carey），是一名牙医。他说他酷爱船模，而且也随时欢迎斯图亚特来驾驶他的船。每个人都来和斯图亚特握手——每个人都是，只除了那个警察。因为他又湿又气，没心情和一只老鼠握手。
“Oh, knocking around town,” replied Stuart.
“哦，在城里到处逛，”斯图亚特回答。
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