"Where are we to go?" said the little waves to the great,deep sea. "Go, my darlings, to the yellow sands: you will find work to do there."
“我们要去哪里?”小海浪们对伟大而深沉的海说。“去吧……亲爱的,去那黄色的沙滩,你们会在那里找到可以做的事情的。”
"I want to play," said one little wave; "I want to see who can jump the highest."
“我想玩耍,”其中一朵小海浪说,“我想看看谁能跳得最高。”
"No; come on, come on," said an earnest wave; "mother must be right. I want to work."
“不,来吧,来吧,”一朵充满干劲的海浪说,“母亲一定是对的。我想要做些事情。”
"Oh, I dare not go," said another; "look at those great, black rocks close to the sands; I dare not go there, for they will tear me to pieces."
“噢,我不敢去,”另外一朵说,“看那些靠近沙滩的巨大的、黑黑的岩石,我不敢到那里去,因为他们会把我撕成碎片的。”
"Take my hand, sister," said the earnest wave; "let us go on together. How glorious it is to do some work."
“拉着我的手,妹妹,”充满干劲的海浪说,“我们一起去。有所作为是多么光荣!”
Shall we ever go back to mother?
我们还能回到妈妈身边吗?
Yes, when our work is done.
会的,当我们完成任务之后。
So one and all hurried on.
于是所有海浪都赶紧前往。
Even the little wave that wanted to play, pressed on, and thought that work might be fun after all.
甚至那朵只想玩耍的小海浪也紧随而去,心想任务也许终究是有趣的。
The timid ones did not like to be left behind,and they became earnest as they got nearer the sands.
胆小的那些不愿意被甩在后面,于是在更接近沙滩的时候,他们变得充满干劲。
After all, it was fun, pressing on one after another—jumping, laughing, running on to the broad, shining sands.
毕竟,那是有趣的,一个紧跟着一个——跳跃、欢笑、奔跑,向着宽阔、闪闪发光的沙滩进发。
First, they came in their course to a great sand castle.
在前进的道路上,他们首先奔向一座了不起的城堡。
Splash, splash! they all went over it, and down it came.
飞溅,飞溅!他们全都越过了城堡,城堡坍塌了。
"Oh,what fun!" they cried.
“噢,多好玩!”他们喊叫着。
"Mother told me to bring these seaweeds; I will find a pretty place for them," said one—and she ran a long way over the sands, and left them among the pebbles.
“母亲叫我把这些海藻带来,我会为他们找个好地方的。”一朵海浪说,她在沙滩上跑了很长的路,把海藻留在了卵石之间。
The pebbles cried,"We are glad you are come. We wanted washing."
卵石们呼喊道:“我们很高兴你们来了。我们需要清洁。”
"Mother sent these shells; I don't know where to put them," said a little fretful wave.
“母亲让我们送这些贝壳,我不知道该把他们放哪里。”一朵焦躁的小海浪说。
"Lay them one by one on the sand, and do not break them," said the eldest wave.
“把他们一个个放在沙滩上,不要打碎他们。”最前面的海浪告诉她。