It was drawing toward winter, when one day the two elder brothers had gone out with their usual warning to little Gluck,
马上进入冬季,一天两名年长的兄弟出门,并按惯例警告小格拉克,
who was left to turn the roast, that he was to let nobody in and give nothing out. Gluck sat down quite close to the fire,
他被留下烘烤,他被警告不允许任何人进入,不许给任何东西,格拉克安静地坐在火旁边,
for it was raining very hard, and the kitchen walls were by no means dry. He turned and turned, and the roast got nice and brown.
外面下着大雨,厨房墙壁很潮湿,他将肉翻滚再翻滚,烤肉变成饱满的棕色。
What a pity, thought Gluck, my brothers never ask anybody to dinner.
格拉克认为太遗憾了,我的兄弟从没要求其他人来吃晚餐。
I'm sure when they have such a nice piece of mutton as this, and nobody else has so much as a piece of dry bread,
我敢保证,当他们有像这么好的一片羊肉时,人们连一片干面包都没有,
it would do their hearts good to have somebody to eat it with them.
如果能让人们和他们一起来进餐,那他们一定会感到快乐。
Just as he spoke, there came a double knock at the door,
就在他说话期间,有人敲了两下门,
yet heavy and dull, more like a puff than a knock. It must be the wind, said Gluck;
沉重和迟缓,更像是一缕风而不是敲门声,格拉克说道这一定是风;
nobody else would dare to strike double knocks at our door. No, it wasn't the wind; there it came again very hard.
没人敢敲击我们家房门两下,不是风,又来了一下重重的敲击声。
Gluck went to the window, opened it, and put his head out to see who it was.
格拉克走到窗边,打开窗户,把头探出去看是谁。
It was the strangest-looking little gentleman he had ever seen in his life.
是一位身材矮小,长相怪异的男士,他从未见过。
He had a very large nose, slightly brass-colored, and his cheeks were very round and very red.
他的鼻子很长,一点点黄铜色,还有圆润的红色脸颊。
His eyes twinkled merrily through long, silky eye-lashes, his mustaches curled twice around like a corkscrew on each side of his mouth,
他欢快地眨着眼,他有着纤细的睫毛,胡子像开塞钻一样在嘴角两边翘起,
and his hair, of a curious mixed pepper-and-salt color, hung far over his shoulders.
头发是胡椒和盐的混合色,垂落在肩膀上。
He was about four-feet-six in height, and wore a pointed cap almost as high as himself,
他差不多有一米八的个头,穿戴一个差不多和他一样高的尖帽子,
decorated with a black feather some three feet long. Hanging from his shoulders was an enormous black,
帽子上的黑色羽毛差不多有3英尺,肩膀上垂落着一个巨大的黑色,
glossy-looking cloak, which must have been very much too long in calm weather,
闪闪发亮的斗篷,在无风的天气下这一定是太过于长了,
as the wind, whistling round the old house, carried it clear out from the wearer's shoulders to about four times his own length.
随着风环绕着这座老房子,肩膀上的斗篷往外延伸到大约其身高的四倍。