第13章 夜鶯 The Nightingale(第4/23 頁)

most humble subjects, the little kitchen girl, and the nightingale.

卡拉?多爾基的小說《夜鶯》（1991 年）將故事背景設定在日本，並將夜鶯變成了一個吹笛子的年輕女子。

Kara dalkey’s novel the Nightingale (1991) situates the events in Japan and transforms the nightingale into a young woman who plays the flute.

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在中國，你知道的，皇帝是中國人，他身邊的人也都是中國人。

In china, you know, the emperor is a chinese, and all those about him are chinamen also.

我要給你們講的這個故事發生在很多很多年前，所以在它被遺忘之前現在聽聽是很不錯的。

the story I am going to tell you happened a great many years ago, so it is well to hear it now before it is forgotten.

皇帝的宮殿是世界上最美麗的宮殿。

the emperor’s palace was the most beautiful in the world.

它完全是用瓷器建造的，造價非常昂貴，但又非常精緻易碎，所以無論誰觸控它都必須小心翼翼。

It was built entirely of porcelain, and very costly, but so delicate and brittle that whoever touched it was obliged to be careful.

在花園裡可以看到最奇特的花朵，花朵上繫著漂亮的銀鈴鐺，鈴鐺發出清脆的響聲，以至於每個經過的人都會不由自主地注意到這些花。

In the garden could be seen the most singular flowers, with pretty silver bells tied to them, which tinkled so that every one who passed could not help noticing the flowers.

事實上，皇帝花園裡的一切都很引人注目，花園延伸得很遠，遠到園丁自己都不知道它的盡頭在哪裡。

Indeed, everything in the emperor’s garden was remarkable, and it extended so far that the gardener himself did not know where it ended.

那些走到花園邊界之外的人知道有一片壯觀的森林，林中有高聳的樹木，樹木傾斜向下延伸至深藍色的大海，大船在樹枝的廕庇下航行。

those who travelled beyond its limits knew that there was a noble forest, with lofty trees, sloping down to