The Emperor jumped out of bed right away and sent for his own doctor; but what could he do? Then they sent for a watchmaker, and after a good deal of talking and looking, the bird was put into something like order; but the watchmaker said that the bird must be carefully treated, for the pivots were worn. There was great lamentation; only once in a year was it permitted to let the bird sing.
皇帝马上从床上跳起来,派人请御医。但医生又能有什么办法呢?接着,他们又请来一个修表匠。经过一番商量和查看,这只鸟勉强修好了,但修表匠说必须仔细保护它,因为轴磨损了。真是太不幸了,现在这只鸟一年只能唱一次了。
Now five years had gone by, and a real grief came on the whole nation. The Chinese did, after all, like their Emperor very much, and now he was ill, and they said he couldn't live much longer. Already a new Emperor had been chosen, and the people stood out in the street and asked the cavalier how their old Emperor was.
又过了五年,一场真正的不幸降临到这个国家。无论怎样,中国人非常爱他们的皇帝。现在,皇帝病了,他们说他不会活太久了。一个新的皇帝已被选出。人们站在外面的街道上,询问武士老皇帝怎样了。
"Poo!" he said, and shook his head.
武士摇头说:“唉!”
Cold and pale, the Emperor lay in his big gorgeous bed; the whole court thought him dead, and each one ran to bow to the new Emperor. But the Emperor was not dead yet; stiff and pale, he lay on the gorgeous bed with the long velvet curtains and the heavy gold tassels; high up, a window stood open, and the moon shone in on the Emperor and the artificial bird.
皇帝躺在他华丽的大床上,冷冰冰的、面色惨白。整个朝廷的人都认为他死了,所有人都跑去向新皇帝鞠躬。但老皇帝并没有死,他躺在华丽的床上,直挺挺的、面色苍白。床边挂着长长的天鹅绒帐,上面带着金流苏。高高的窗子敞开着,月亮照在皇帝和那只人造鸟身上。
The poor Emperor could scarcely breathe; it was just as if something sat on his chest, and had put on his crown, and held in one hand the Emperor's gold sword, and in the other his beautiful banner.
可怜的皇帝几乎不能呼吸了,好像什么东西坐到了他的胸部,戴着他的王冠,一只手里握着他的金剑,另一只手里握着他的美丽的旗帜。