Chapter 11
In the theater, great excitement reigned.
劇場裡熱鬧非凡，觀眾異常激動。
Fire Eater (this was really his name) was very ugly, but he was far from being as bad as he looked. Proof of this is that, when he saw the poor Marionette being brought in to him, struggling with fear and crying, "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" he felt sorry for him and began first to waver and then to weaken. Finally, he could control himself no longer and gave a loud sneeze.
木偶劇場的老闆吞火人(這是他的真名)雖然很醜，而當他看到可憐的木偶被帶到他身邊時，木偶嚇得直哭:"我不想死!"我不想死!他有點同情木偶，心裡動搖了，準備把木偶烤了吃的決心軟了下來，這一點足以證明他遠沒有看上去的那麼壞。吞火人鼻子有點發酸，終於，他沒能控制住自己，打了一個大大的噴嚏。
At that sneeze, Harlequin, who until then had been as sad as a weeping willow, smiled happily and leaning toward the Marionette, whispered to him:
小丑哈利奎恩一直很傷心，像垂頭喪氣的楊柳一樣，聽到這一聲噴嚏，立馬喜笑顏開，向匹諾曹靠過來，在他耳邊輕輕地說:
"Good news, brother mine! Fire Eater has sneezed and this is a sign that he feels sorry for you. You are saved!"
"好消息，我的兄弟!"老闆吞火人打噴嚏了，這說明他很同情你，你有救了!"
For be it known, that, while other people, when sad and sorrowful, weep and wipe their eyes, Fire Eater, on the other hand, had the strange habit of sneezing each time he felt unhappy. The way was just as good as any other to show the kindness of his heart.
因為你知道，而人們傷心難過的時候，就會流淚擦眼淚，但吞火人卻不一樣，他有一個特別奇怪的習慣，就是每當不高興的時候就打噴嚏。這足以證明他和其他人一樣有一顆善良的心。
After sneezing, Fire Eater, ugly as ever, cried to Pinocchio:
吞火人打完噴嚏，還是和以前一樣醜，因為他對匹諾曹喊道:
"Stop crying! Your wails give me a funny feeling down here in my stomach and — E — tchee! — E — tchee!" Two loud sneezes finished his speech.
"別哭了!你哇哇的哭得我肚子疼，-阿-阿嚏! -阿-阿嚏!他又打了兩個大噴嚏，沒再說什麼。
"God bless you!" said Pinocchio.
"上帝保佑你!"匹諾曹說。
"Thanks! Are your father and mother still living?" demanded Fire Eater.
"謝謝!你父母還健在嗎?吞火人又開腔了。
"My father, yes. My mother I have never known."
"我爸爸還活著，但是我從來沒有見過我媽媽。"
"Your poor father would suffer terribly if I were to use you as firewood. Poor old man! I feel sorry for him! E — tchee! E — tchee! E — tchee!" Three more sneezes sounded, louder than ever.
"如果我把你當柴燒了，你那可憐的父親該有多痛苦啊。可憐的老頭!我真同情他! -阿-阿嚏! -阿-阿嚏! -阿-阿嚏!他又打了三個噴嚏，這三個噴嚏比以往任何時候的都響。
"God bless you!" said Pinocchio.
"願上帝保佑你!"匹諾曹說。
"Thanks! However, I ought to be sorry for myself, too, just now. My good dinner is spoiled. I have no more wood for the fire, and the lamb is only half cooked. Never mind! In your place I'll burn some other Marionette. Hey there! Officers!"
"謝謝!不過，我也是個值得同情的人咯。你看我的美味被破壞了。因為我這兒木頭不夠，羊羔也只烤了一半。不過沒關係!我找其他木偶來代替。嘿!那兒，守衛員!"
At the call, two wooden officers appeared, long and thin as a yard of rope, with queer hats on their heads and swords in their hands.
聽到命令，兩個木頭軍官就過來了。他們又高又瘦，像三尺長繩子，頭上戴著稀奇古怪帽子，手裡各拿著一把劍。
Fire Eater yelled at them in a hoarse voice:
吞火人粗聲粗氣地對他們喊道:
"Take Harlequin, tie him, and throw him on the fire. I want my lamb well done!"
"把哈利奎恩給綁緊抓起來，扔到火裡去。"我要烤全熟的羔羊肉!"
Think how poor Harlequin felt! He was so scared that his legs doubled up under him and he fell to the floor.
大夥兒想象一下哈利奎恩該有多可憐!他嚇得兩腿一軟，癱倒在地。
Pinocchio, at that heartbreaking sight, threw himself at the feet of Fire Eater and, weeping bitterly, asked in a pitiful voice which could scarcely be heard:
匹諾曹看到這令人心碎的情景，撲倒在吞火人的腳下，傷痛欲絕，無語輪次地苦苦哀求道:
"Have pity,I beg of you,signore!"
"可憐可憐吧，我求求你，先生!"
"There are no signori here!"
"這兒沒有先生！"
"Have pity, kind sir!"
"可憐可憐吧，好心的長官!"
"There are no sirs here!"
"這兒沒有長官！"
"Have pity, your Excellency!"
"發發善心吧，大老爺！"
On hearing himself addressed as your Excellency, the Director of the Marionette Theater sat up very straight in his chair, stroked his long beard, and becoming suddenly kind and compassionate, smiled proudly as he said to Pinocchio:
木偶劇院老闆一聽到別人稱呼他為老爺，立馬筆挺地坐在椅子上，撫摩著他的長鬍子，語氣變得和藹而富有同情心，得意洋洋對匹諾曹說:
"Well, what do you want from me now, Marionette?"
"好吧，你想請求我什麼呢，小木偶?"
"I beg for mercy for my poor friend, Harlequin, who has never done the least harm in his life."
"我懇求您饒恕可憐的哈利奎恩吧，他從未傷害過別人。"
"There is no mercy here, Pinocchio. I have spared you. Harlequin must burn in your place. I am hungry and my dinner must be cooked."
"我這兒沒有憐憫，匹諾曹。我放了你，他就必須代替你的位置當木材燒火。我餓了，要吃晚飯了。
"In that case," said Pinocchio proudly, as he stood up and flung away his cap of dough, "in that case, my duty is clear. Come, officers! Tie me up and throw me on those flames. No, it is not fair for poor Harlequin, the best friend that I have in the world, to die in my place!"
"既然這樣的話，"匹諾曹驕傲地說，立馬站了起來，扔掉他那生麵糰做的帽子，"那麼，我明白要怎麼做了。來吧,守衛先生們!把我綁起來，扔到火裡去。不，可憐的哈利奎恩，我在這個世界上最要好的朋友，讓你替我去死是不公平的!"
These brave words, said in a piercing voice, made all the other Marionettes cry. Even the officers, who were made of wood also, cried like two babies.
這一番義正言辭的話語，讓在場的所有的木偶都哭了。就連那兩個木頭做的守衛，也哭得像兩個孩子似的。
Fire Eater at first remained hard and cold as a piece of ice; but then, little by little, he softened and began to sneeze. And after four or five sneezes, he opened wide his arms and said to Pinocchio:
吞火人一開始還不為所動，像冰塊一樣又硬又冷;但是，漸漸地，這塊冰好像被融化了。他變得溫和了，又開始打噴嚏了。一連串打了四五個噴嚏後，他張開雙臂慈愛地對匹諾曹說:
"You are a brave boy! Come to my arms and kiss me!"
"你真是個勇敢的孩子!"到我懷裡來，親我一下!"
Pinocchio ran to him and scurrying like a squirrel up the long black beard, he gave Fire Eater a loving kiss on the tip of his nose.
匹諾曹急忙跑到他跟前，像松鼠一樣抓著他長長的黑鬍子往上爬，在吞火人的鼻尖上深情地吻了一下。
"Has pardon been granted to me?" asked poor Harlequin with a voice that was hardly a breath.
"那麼，您寬恕我啦?"可憐的哈利奎恩微弱地揣著氣問道。
"Pardon is yours!" answered Fire Eater; and sighing and wagging his head, he added: "Well, tonight I shall have to eat my lamb only half cooked, but beware the next time, Marionettes."
"饒了你!"吞火人回答說;接著他嘆了口氣，搖搖頭，說:"好吧，今晚我只能吃這個半生不熟的羊肉了，不過下次就沒有這麼好的運氣了，小傢伙們。"
At the news that pardon had been given, the Marionettes ran to the stage and, turning on all the lights, they danced and sang till dawn.
聽到赦免的消息，木偶們全都跑到舞臺上，打開所有的燈光，高興得唱啊跳啊，一直狂歡到天亮。
單詞、短語應用
be far from:遠不是，遠沒有
But, contrary to a popular assumption, it is far from being the only one, or even the greatest.（新概念英語4，第47課）
（但是，和一般的看法相反，這決非是僅有的，甚至不是最主要的動機。）
It was obvious that much of what he said was far from the truth.
(顯然，他所說的大多根本不是事實。)
與它類似的一個短語：be a far cry from sth:與某物大不相同
as far as I can see:依我看，據我所知
Maybe that is where the rub is, as far as I can see.
（依我看，問題的結症恐怕就在這裡。）
Terribly：非常糟地，嚴重地。
形容詞形式：terrible
The little girl missed her mother terribly.
(小女孩非常想念她的媽媽。)
I'm terribly sorry to bother you so late.
(這麼晚打擾你，我十分抱歉。)
Your hand-writing is terrible，so I can't read it.
（你的書寫太糟糕了，我看不清楚。）
I have a terrible memory, so I write it down in my diary.
(我的記性不好，所以把它記在我的日記本上。)
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