009 灰鼠的计划

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One morning Thumbelina was doing her chores

一天早上，拇指姑娘正在做家务。

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" Sweep the floor slowly," Mrs. Gray corrected

“慢慢扫地，”灰夫人纠正道。

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" Or you'll make too much dust."

“否则你会扬起太多灰尘。”

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Then Mrs. Gray looked up at the clock on the wall

然后灰夫人抬头看了看墙上的钟。

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She smiled to herself in a strange way

她奇怪地暗自笑了笑。

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Suddenly there was a short knock at the back door

突然，后门传来一声短促的敲门声。

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" It's Mr. Rufus!" exclaimed Mrs. Gray as she opened the door

“是鲁弗斯先生！”灰夫人一边开门一边喊道。

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Mr. Rufus was a large, brown mole

鲁弗斯先生是一只棕色的大鼹鼠。

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Like most moles, Mr. Rufus could not see very well

像大多数鼹鼠一样，鲁弗斯先生视力不太好。

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So he wore very thick glasses

所以他戴着很厚的眼镜。

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He walked into the room holding a cane

他拄着手杖走进了房间。

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" Good day, Mrs. Gray," he said in a deep voice

"你好，灰夫人，"他声音低沉地说。

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" You were kind to invite me for tea."

"您真好心，邀请我来喝茶。"

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Mrs. Gray laughed in an unusually high voice

灰夫人用异常尖细的声音笑了起来。

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" Oh, Mr. Rufus, we are delighted that you could come

"哦，鲁弗斯先生，您能来我们真是太高兴了。

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This is Thumbelina."

这位是拇指姑娘。"

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" Mrs. Gray is acting strangely," thought Thumbelina

"灰夫人表现得很奇怪，"拇指姑娘心想。

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" I'll get the tea," said Mrs. Gray in a sweet voice

"我去端茶，"灰夫人用甜甜的声音说道。

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" Thumbelina will stay here and chat with you, Mr. Rufus."

"拇指姑娘会留在这里陪您聊聊天，鲁弗斯先生。"

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As she was leaving, Mrs. Gray whispered to Thumbelina

离开时，灰夫人对拇指姑娘低声说道，

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" Mr. Rufus is a fine gentleman

“鲁弗斯先生是位很好的绅士。”

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And he is very rich

而且他很有钱。

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Be kind to him."

对他好一点。”

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Thumbelina sat next to Mr. Rufus

拇指姑娘挨着鲁弗斯先生坐了下来。

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He did not speak

他没有说话。

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" I hope winter is almost over," Thumbelina said

“希望冬天快结束了，”拇指姑娘说。

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" Winter is never long enough," said Mr. Rufus with a grunt

“冬天从来都不够长，”鲁弗斯先生咕哝着说。

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" But it's so cold," said Thumbelina

“可是太冷了，”拇指姑娘说。

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" Not where I live," said Mr. Rufus, and he grunted again

“我住的地方可不冷，”鲁弗斯先生说着，又咕哝了一声。

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" I live in the deepest hole around here."

“我住在这附近最深的洞里。”

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" But isn't that too far underground?

“可是，地下那么深，不是太远了吗？

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You can't see —," Thumbelina glanced at his thick glasses

你看不见——”拇指姑娘瞥了一眼他厚厚的眼镜，

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" I mean, you wouldn't feel the sunshine

“我是说，你会感受不到阳光，

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Or hear the birds."

也听不到鸟叫。”

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" Bah!" Mr. Rufus waved his hand

“哼！”鲁弗斯先生挥了挥手。

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" Who needs sunshine?

“谁需要阳光？

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And birds are horrible

鸟儿也讨厌得很。

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They're messy. They steal food."

它们脏兮兮的，还偷东西吃。”

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Thumbelina thought about Pete, Kris, and Maggie

拇指姑娘想起了皮特、克里斯和玛吉。

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" I don't agree with you, sir," she said

“我不同意您说的话，先生。”她说。

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" I have bird friends

“我有一些鸟儿朋友。

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They are very kind

它们非常友善。

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They taught me many songs."

它们教会了我许多歌。”

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Mr. Rufus turned his head toward Thumbelina

鲁弗斯先生把头转向拇指姑娘。

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" Sing one," he said

“唱一首吧。”他说。

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" Oh, I couldn't." Thumbelina blushed

“哦，我唱不好的。”拇指姑娘脸红了。

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" Bah! You mean you can't," the mole said

“哼！你是说你不会唱吧。”鼹鼠说道。

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" I'm not surprised

“我一点也不奇怪。

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Nothing good comes from birds."

从鸟儿那儿根本得不到什么好东西。”

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" That's not true," said Thumbelina

“才不是这样。”拇指姑娘说。

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" I'll sing you a song."

“我这就唱一首歌给您听。”

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Thumbelina began singing softly

拇指姑娘开始轻轻地唱起来。

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Her voice rose sweetly

她的歌声甜美地扬起。

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She was thinking of how much she missed Mrs. Marigold

她心里想着自己是多么想念金盏花夫人。

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Mr. Rufus started to smile

鲁弗斯先生开始微笑起来。

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" It's working," Mrs. Gray said, watching from the kitchen

“起作用了。”灰夫人在厨房里看着，说道。

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" Mrs. Gray was right," thought Mr. Rufus

“灰夫人说得对，”鲁弗斯先生心想，

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" Thumbelina has the loveliest voice

“拇指姑娘有着最动听的声音。

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Yes, she will make a good wife for me."

没错，她会成为我的好妻子。”

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Thumbelina was not thinking of the mole or the mouse

拇指姑娘此刻并没有想着鼹鼠或田鼠。

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Her song was taking her back home

她的歌声正把她带回自己的家。

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So she just kept singing

于是，她就这么继续唱着。