1.The King's son was going to be married. On the wedding day, at the gate of the castle, the Prince was waiting to receive her. When he saw her, he sank upon one knee, and kissed her hand. 'Your picture was beautiful,' he murmured, 'but you are more beautiful than your picture;' and the Princess blushed. The Marriage was going to be magnificent; there was a state Banquet planned, and after the banquet there was a ball organized, where the bride and bridegroom were to dance together. The little Princess had never seen fireworks in her life, so the King had given orders that the Royal Pyrotechnist should attend the day of her marriage. During the banquet, the Royal Pyrotechnist put all the fireworks in their proper place, so they could be let off right away at 12 o’ clock.
国王的儿子就要结婚了，婚礼当天，在城堡的门口王子正等着迎接她的到来。一看见她来了，他就单膝跪地，亲吻她的手。 “你的照片好漂亮，”他轻声地说，“不过你比照片更漂亮。”小公主的脸一下子就红 了。 婚礼将会很盛大，接着又举行了国宴，宴会之后举办了舞会，新郎和新娘将要一块儿跳舞。小公主一生也 没有看过放烟花，因此国王下令皇家烟花手要亲自出席当天的婚礼以便施放烟花。在宴会上，皇家火艺师把所有的烟花放在适当的地方，这样他们就可以在十二点的时候放完。
2.Soon, the fireworks began to talk to each other. A pensive Catharine Wheel, who prided herself on her broken heart exclaimed suddenly; 'How lovely! But love is not fashionable any more, the poets have killed it. They wrote so much about it that nobody believed them. True love suffers, and is silent. I remember myself once - But it is no matter now. Romance is a thing of the past.’
不一会儿，烟花们便自己交谈起来，　“多么可爱呀，”一枚深思熟虑的转轮烟火激动地喊道。她 以这段伤心的经历而自豪。“不过爱情已不再时髦了， 诗人们把它给扼杀了。他们对爱情抒发得太多，使人们不再相信那么回事。对此，我一点也 不觉得吃惊。真正的爱情是痛苦的、是沉默的。我记得自己曾有过那么一回——可是现在已经结束了。浪漫只属于过去。”
3.'Nonsense! said the Roman Candle, 'Romance never dies. It is like the moon, and lives for ever. 'But the Catharine Wheel shook her head and continued saying ‘romance is dead, romance is dead.’ Suddenly, a sharp, dry cough was heard, and they all turned around. It came from a tall Rocket. He always coughed to attract attention. 'Ahem! ahem!' he said, and everybody listened except the poor Catharine Wheel, who was still shaking her head, and murmuring, 'Romance is dead, quite dead’.
“胡说！”罗马烛光弹说，“浪漫永远不会消亡，它犹如月亮一样，永远活着。　可是只见转轮烟火摇摇头，喃喃地说，“浪漫已经消亡了，浪漫已经消亡了，已经消亡 了。”。突然，传来一声尖尖的干咳声，他们都转头四下张望。 这声音来自一个高大的火箭，它在发表言论 之前，总要先咳上几声，好引起人们的注意。 “啊咳！啊咳！”他咳嗽着。大家都认真地听着，只有可怜的转轮烟火仍旧摇着头，喃 喃地说，“浪漫已经消亡了。”
4.As soon as there was perfect silence, the Rocket began. 'How fortunate it is for the King's son,' he remarked, 'that he is to be married on the very day on which I am to be let off. It could not have turned out better for him; but Princes are always lucky.' 'Dear me! said the little Squib, 'I thought that we were all to be let off in the Prince's honour.'
等到周围完全安静下来时，火箭开始了发言。“国王的儿子真是幸运啊，”他说道，“他结婚的日子正好是我要升天燃放的时候。真 是的，就算是事先安排好的，对他来说也没有比这更好的了；但话又说回来，王子们总是交 好运的。” “我的妈呀！”小爆竹说，“我的想法却正好相反，我想我们是为了王子的荣誉而升天 燃放的。”
5.'Indeed’, said the rocket, but with me it is different. I am a very remarkable Rocket. First of all, my mother was the most celebrated Catharine Wheel of her day, and was renowned for her graceful dancing. My father was a Rocket like myself. He flew so high that the people were afraid that he would never come down again. He did, though, for he was of a kindly disposition, and he made a most brilliant shower of golden rain. The newspapers called him a triumph of Pylotechnic art.' 'Pyrotechnic! Pyrotechnic, you mean,' said a Bengal Light.
“事实上这一点是肯定无疑的。不过对我而 言事情就不一祥了。我是一枚非常神奇的火箭，出身于一个了不起的家庭。我母亲是她那个 时代最出名的转轮烟火，并以她优美的舞姿而著称。我的父亲像我一样也是火箭，他飞得可真高，人们都担心 他不会下来了。尽管如此，他还是下来了，因为他性格善良。他化作一阵金色的雨，非常耀眼地落了下来。报纸用足吹捧的词句描述他的表演。的确，宫廷的报纸把他称为烟花艺术的 一个伟大成就。” “烟花艺术，烟花艺术，你是说这个词吧？”孟加拉火炮说。

6.'I was saying,' continued the Rocket in a severed tone of voice, 'I was saying - What was I saying?' 'You were talking about yourself,' replied the Roman Candle. 'Of course; I knew I was discussing some interesting subject when I was so rudely interrupted. I hate rudeness and bad manners of every kind, for I am extremely sensitive. No one in the whole world is so sensitive as I am, I am quite sure of that.' 'What is a sensitive person?' whispered the Cracker to the Roman Candle. 'A person who always treads on other people's toes,' answered the Roman Candle in a low whisper; and the Cracker nearly exploded with laughter.
“我是说，”火箭继续说，“我是说——我说的是什么？” “你在说你自己，”罗马烛光弹回答说。 　“的确，我知道我正在讨论某个有趣的话题，却被人给粗暴地打断了。我讨厌各种粗鲁 的举止和不良行为，因为我是个非常敏感的人。全世界没有哪个人比我更敏感了，对此我深 信不疑。” “一个敏感的人是指什么？”爆竹对罗马烛光弹问道。 “一个人总想着踩别人的脚趾头，”罗马烛光弹低声耳语道。 爆竹差一点没笑破肚皮。
7.'What are you laughing at?' inquired the Rocket. 'I am laughing because I am happy,' replied the Cracker. 'That is a very selfish reason,' said the Rocket angrily. 'What right have you to be happy? You should be thinking about others. In fact, you should be thinking about me. I am always thinking about myself, and I expect everybody else to do the same. That is what is called sympathy. It is a beautiful virtue, and I possess it in a high degree. Suppose, for instance, anything happened to me tonight, what a misfortune that would be for every one! The Prince and Princess would never be happy again, their whole married life would be spoiled; and as for the King, I know he would not get over it. Really, when I begin to reflect on the importance of my position, I am almost moved to tears.'
“请问你笑什么呀？”火箭开口问道，“我就一点没有笑。” “我笑是因为我高兴，”爆竹回答说。 “这理由太自私了，”火箭脸带怒色地说，“你有什么权利高兴？你应该为别人想想。 实际上，你应该为我想想。我总是想着我自己，我也希望别人都会这么做。这就是所谓的同 情。这是个可爱的美德，我这方面的德性就很高。例如，假定今天夜里我出了什么事，那么 对每一个人来说会是多么的不幸！王子和公主再也不会开心了，他们的婚后生活将会被毁 掉；至于国王，他或许经不住这场打击。真的，我一想起自己所处的重要地位，我几乎感动 得流下眼泪。”
8.He actually burst into real tears. Then the moon rose and the stars began to shine. 'Let the fireworks begin,' said the King, and it was certainly a magnificent display. Everyone was a great success, except for the Remarkable Rocket. The gunpowder inside him was so wet with tears that he was of no use, so nobody even approached him. 'I suppose they are reserving me for some grand occasion,' said the Rocket; 'no doubt that is what it means.'
他真的哭了。月亮升起，星星开始发光。“让烟火开始吧,”国王说,“那的确是一场壮观的表演.除了那非凡的火箭，每个人都获得了巨大的成功。他体内的火药被泪水淋湿了，他已经没用了，所以甚至没有人接近他。“我想他们是要把我留在某个重要的场合，”火箭说，“毫无疑问，这就是它的意思。”
9.The next day the workmen came to put everything tidy. 'Hallo!' one of them cried, 'what a bad rocket!' and he threw him over the wall into the ditch. 'BAD Rocket? BAD Rocket?' he said as he whirled through the air; 'impossible! GRAND Rocket, that is what the man said. BAD and GRAND sound very much the same, indeed they often are the same;' and he fell into the mud.
第二天工人们来打扫清理。“嘿！”他大喊了一声，“这么破旧的一枚火箭！”说完他便把火箭丢到墙外的阴沟里去了。 “破旧火箭？破旧火箭？”他在空中一边翻滚着一边说，“不可能！大火箭，那个人就 是这么说的。破旧和大这两个发音是非常接近的，的确它们常常是一样的发音。”接着他就 掉进了阴沟里。
10.Then, a little Frog swam up to him. 'A new arrival, I see! said the Frog. 'Well, after all there is nothing like mud. Give me rainy weather and a ditch, and I am quite happy!' 'Ahem! ahem!' said the Rocket, and he began to cough. 'What a delightful voice you have!' cried the Frog. 'Really it is quite like a croak; the most musical sound in the world. You should hear our club this evening. As soon as the moon rises we begin. It is so entrancing that everybody lies awake to listen to us. In fact, it was only yesterday that I heard the farmer's wife say to her mother that she could not get a wink of sleep at night on account of us. It is most gratifying to find oneself so popular.'
这时一只小青蛙朝他游了过来， 　“看来，是个新到的！”青蛙说，“啊，毕竟跟稀泥巴不一样。我只要能享受雨天和一 条阴沟，我便会十分幸福。” “啊咳！啊咳！”火箭说着便咳了起来。 “你的声音多好听啊！”青蛙大声叫道．“真像是青蛙的呱呱叫声，这种呱呱声当然是 世界上最美好的音乐了。今天晚上你可以来听听我们合唱队的演出。月亮一升起我们便开始表演。那可太迷人了，人人都睁着双眼躺着听我们唱。其 实，就在昨天我还听农夫的妻子对她的母亲说，就是因为我们的存在，使她整夜一点儿也睡 不着。能受到这么多人的欢迎，真是高兴。”
11. 'Ahem! ahem!' said the Rocket angrily. He was very much annoyed that he could not get a word in. 'A delightful voice, certainly,' continued the Frog; 'I hope you will come over to the duck-pond tonight to join us. Well, good-bye: I have enjoyed our conversation very much!' ‘Conversation, indeed!' said the Rocket. 'You have talked the whole time yourself. That is not conversation.' 'Somebody must listen,' answered the Frog, 'and I like to do all the talking myself. It saves time, and prevents arguments.' 'But I like arguments,' said the Rocket. 'I hope not,' said the Frog complacently. 'Arguments are extremely vulgar. Good-bye a second time.' And the little Frog swam away.
“啊咳！啊咳！”火箭生气地说。由于连一句话也插不进去，他感到非常恼火。 “真是美妙的音乐，”青蛙继续说，“我希望你能到池塘来加入我们。好了，再见，我们的谈话真让我开心，我信得过你。” “谈话，一点不假！”火箭说，“都是你一个人在说话，那不算谈话。” “总得要人听啊，”青蛙回答说，“我也喜欢一个人谈话。这节省时间，且避免争吵。” “可我却喜欢争吵，”火箭说。 “我不希望这样，”青蛙得意地说，“争吵太粗俗了，再一次告别了，”说完小青蛙就游走了。