7 At the King's palace
7 在王宫里
Although Glumdalclitch tried to make things as comfort- able as possible for me，such an exhausting life was be－ ginning to have a bad effect on my health．I was becoming thinner and thinner．When my master noticed this，he thought I would not live much longer．But it was clear that he wanted to make as much money out of me as he could．While he was thinking how to do this，he was asked to bring me to the palace．The Queen and her ladies had heard about me and wanted to see me．When we arrived in front of the Queen，I fell on my knees and begged to be allowed to kiss her foot．But she kindly held out her hand to me．I took her little finger in both my arms，and put it very politely to my lips．
尽管葛兰达克利赤尽可能使一切对我来说舒适些，如此使人精疲力尽的生活对我的健康还是开始产生了不良影响，我越来越瘦了。当主人注意到这点，他认为我活不长了，但是他显然想从我身上捞到尽可能多的钱。他正在考虑怎么做到这一点时，他被要求带我进官。王后和她的贵妇听说了我，想见见我。当我们到达王后的面前，我双膝跪下，请求吻她的脚，但是她仁慈地把手伸给了我。我双臂抱着她的小指，非常礼貌地放到我的双唇上。
She seemed very pleased with me，and finally she said，‘Would you enjoy living here in the palace，do you think？’
她似乎对我很高兴，最后她说，“你觉得，你会喜欢住在宫里吗？”
‘Great queen，I answered，‘I must do what my master wants，but if I were free，I would want to spend my whole life obeying your orders．’
“伟大的王后，”我回答说，“我必须按我主人的要求做，不过要是我是自由的话，我愿意一生都听从您的使唤。”
She immediately arranged to buy me from my master．He was delighted to receive a good price for me，especially as he felt sure I would not live longer than a month．I also begged the Queen to let Glumdalclitch stay with me，because she had always taken such good care of me．The Queen agreed，and Glumdalclitch could not hide her happiness．
她马上安排从我的主人那儿买过我。他非常高兴我能卖到好价钱，特别是他很肯定我活不过一个月。我也请求王后让葛兰达克利赤留下来陪我，因为她照料我一直照料得很好。王后同意了，葛兰达克利赤也掩饰不住她的喜悦。
When my master had left the palace alone，the Queen said to me，‘Why didn't you say goodbye to him？And why did you look at him so coldly？’
当我的主人独自离开王宫后，王后对我说，“你为什么不对他说再见？你为什么那样冷冷地看着他？”
‘Madam，I must tell you，’I replied，‘that since he found me，my master has used me as an easy way of making money for himself．He's made me work so hard that I feel tired and ill．He's sold me to you only because he thinks I'm going to die soon．But I feel better already，now that I belong to such a great and good queen．’
“夫人，我必须告诉你，”我回答说，“自从他发现了我，他就把我当作他赚钱的捷径，他让我如此努力地干活，我感到疲劳、要病倒似的。他把我卖给你只是因为他认为我不久就要死去。不过我已经感觉好多了，因为我是属于如此伟大而善良的王后。”
The Queen was clearly surprised to hear such intelligent words from such a small creature，and decided to show me to her husband．When the King saw me，he thought at first that I must be a mechanical toy．However，when he heard my an－swers to his questions，he realized I must be alive，and he could not hide his astonishment．
王后显然对于从如此小的生物之口听到如此聪明的言辞感到诧异，决定把我拿给她的丈夫看。国王看见我，他起初认为我是个机械玩具。不过，当他听见我回答他的问题时，他意识到我一定是活的，不禁掩饰不住他的惊讶。
To discover what kind of animal I was，he sent for three of his cleverest professors．After looking at me carefully，they decided that I was a creature outside the laws of nature．I was much too small to climb their trees，or dig their fields，or kill and eat their animals．They could not understand where I had come from，or how I could possibly survive．And when I told them that in my country there were millions just like me，they did not believe me，but just smiled．However，the King was more intelligent than they were．After speaking to Glumdal－ clitch and questioning me again，he realized that my story must be true．
为了弄明白我是哪种动物，他叫来了三个最聪明的教授。仔细看过我之后，他们认定我是一种不符合自然法则的生物。我太小，无法攀缘他们的树，挖他们的田地，或者杀死他们的牲畜吃。他们无法理解我是从哪儿来的，我怎么能够生存下来的。在我告诉他们我们国家有数百万像我这样的人时，他们并不相信我，只是一笑置之。但是国王比他们智力要高些，在跟葛兰达克利赤谈话并问我问题之后，他意识到我的故事一定是真的。
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