泰西50軼事(四十四之一)馬克西米利安和牧鵝的孩子 江銘輝 五夢網
泰西50軼事(Fifty Famous Stories Retold)，是永恆的短篇故事，它收集的故事：包括浩瀚歷史的著名英雄和他們的羅曼史，故事內容有勇氣、毅力和情感。故事人物包括拿破崙、羅賓漢，喬治華盛頓、成吉思汗等人。這些故事都是老少咸宜的故事，我將它逐篇翻譯，並配合圖畫，供大家欣賞。
泰西50軼事(四十三)馬克西米利安和牧鵝的孩子
原文及翻譯如下：
Maximilian and the Goose Boy
馬克西米利安和牧鵝的孩子
ONE summer day King Maximilian of Bavaria was walking in the country. The sun shone hot, and he stopped under a tree to rest.
有一個夏天，巴伐利亞國王麥克西米利安(圖1)在鄉間散步。陽光照得很熱，於是他停下來到一棵樹下休息。
圖1：巴伐利亞國王麥克西米利安
It was very pleasant in the cool shade. The king lay down on the soft grass, and looked up at the white clouds sailing across the sky. Then he took a little book from his pocket and tried to read.
在涼爽的樹蔭下很舒服。國王躺在柔軟的草地上，仰頭看著白雲在天空飄來飄去。然後他從口袋裡拿出一本小書子想讀它。
But the king could not keep his mind on his book. Soon his eyes closed, and he was fast asleep.
但是國王很難把精力集中到書上。不一會兒，他就把眼睛合上，很快就睡著了。
It was past noon when he awoke. He got up from his grassy bed, and looked around. Then he took his cane in his hand, and started for home.
他醒來時，已經過了中午了。他從那草床上站起來，向周圍看了一看，然後把手杖拿在手裡，開始回家了。
When he had walked a mile or more, he happened to think of his book. He felt for it in his pocket. It was not there. He had left it under the It was not there. He had left it under the tree.
當他走了一哩多路的時後，突然想起了他的書。他摸了一下口袋，但書不在那兒；他把它掉在樹下了。
The king was already quite tired, and he did not like to walk back so far. But he did not wish to lose the book. What should he do? If there was only some one to send for it!
國王已經很疲倦了，不想回頭再走那麼遠的路，但也不想丟掉這本書。他該怎麼辦呢？要是能派人去拿該有多好啊！
While he was thinking, he happened to see a little barefooted boy in the open field near the road. He was tending a large flock of geese that were picking the short grass, and wading in a shallow brook.
正當他這樣想的時候，他看見路邊的曠野裡有一個赤腳的小男孩，看管著一大群在淺水中啄著短草的鵝。
圖2：國王看見路邊有一個赤腳的小男孩，看管著一大群在淺水中啄著短草的鵝。
The king went toward the boy. He held a gold piece in his hand.
“My boy,”he said,“how would you like to have this piece of money?”
“I would like it,”said the boy;“but I never hope to have so much.”
“You shall have it if you will run back to the oak tree at the second turning of the road, and fetch me the book that I left there.”
國王手裡拿著一塊金幣向那男孩走去。
“我的孩子！”他說，“你願意得到這塊金幣嗎？”
“我想得到啊！”男孩說，“可是我從來沒想過能得到這麼多的錢。”
“如果你跑到這條路的第二個轉角上的那棵橡樹下，把我掉在那兒的書拿回來，那麼你將得到它。”
The king thought that the boy would be pleased. But not so. He turned away, and said,“I am not so silly as you think.”
國王以為男孩會很高興，但事實上並不如此。他轉身走開了，說：“我才沒有你想的那麼笨呢。”
“What do you mean?”said the king.“Who says that you are silly?”
“Well,”said the boy,“you think that I am silly enough to believe that you will give me that gold piece for running a mile, and fetching you a book. You can’t catch me.”
“這是什麼意思？”國王說，“誰說你笨呢？”
“那好，”男孩說，“你以為我這麼笨，相信只要跑一哩路去幫你拿一本書，你就會給我這塊金幣嗎？你別想欺騙我。”
“But if I give it to you now, perhaps you will believe me,”said the king; and he put the gold piece into the little fellow’s hand.
“但是如果我現在就把它給你的話，也許你就會相信了吧。”國王說，然後他把那塊金幣放在那小傢伙的手裡。
The boy’s eyes sparkled; but he did not move.
“What is the matter now?”said the king.“Won’t you go?”
The boy said, “I would like to go; but I can’t leave the geese. They will stray away, and then I shall be blamed for it.”
那男孩眼光睛閃著，但他還是沒有動身。
“現在又怎麼了？”國王說，“你不願意去嗎？”
男孩說：“我很願意去，但是我不能離開這些鵝。它們會跑散的，那樣我會挨駡。”
“Oh, I will tend them while you are away,”said the king.
The boy laughed. “I should like to see you tending them! ”he said.
“Why, they would run away from you in a minute.”
“Only let me try,”said the king.
“噢，你走了我會看管它們的，”國王說。
男孩笑了起來。“我倒想看看你怎麼照看它們！”他說，
“為什麼，它們立刻就會從你身邊跑開的。”
“就讓我試試吧，”國王說。
At last the boy gave the king his whip, and started off. He had gone but a little way, when he turned and came back.
最後，男孩終於把鞭子交給國王，開始動身了。但他只走了一小段路，就轉身回來了。
“What is the matter now?”said Maximilian.
“Crack the whip! ”
The king tried to do as he was bidden, but he could not make a sound.
“I thought as much,”said the boy. “You don’t know how to do anything.”
Then he took the whip, and gave the king lessons in whip cracking.
“Now you see how it is done,”he said, as he handed it back. “If the geese try to run away, crack it loud.”
“怎麼了？”麥克西米利安問。
“把鞭子甩響！”國王照他的吩咐做了，但是卻一點聲音也弄不出來。
“我就知道，”男孩說，“你什麼事都不會做。”
然後他拿起鞭子，教國王怎麼把鞭子甩響。“現在你知道怎麼做了，”他邊說邊把鞭子遞回去，“如果鵝想跑散，就把它甩出很大的聲響。”
The king laughed. He did his best to learn his lesson; and soon the boy again started off on his errand.
國王笑了起來，他努力地去學。男孩很快又動身去執行他的任務了。
Maximilian sat down on a stone, and laughed at the thought of being a gooseherd. But the geese missed their master at once. With a great cackling and hissing they went, half flying, half running, across the meadow.
麥克西米利安在一塊石頭上坐下，他嘲笑自己竟然成為一個牧鵝人。但是這些鵝立刻察覺沒有主人了。隨著一陣咯咯、嘶嘶的叫聲，它們半飛半跑地跑出草地了。(圖3)
圖3：鵝察覺沒有主人了，在咯咯的叫聲中，半跑半飛地跑出草地。
The king ran after them, but he could not run fast. He tried to crack the whip, but it was of no use. The geese were soon far away. What was worse, they had gotten into a garden, and were feeding on the tender vegetables.
國王跟在它們後面跑，但是他跑不快。他試把鞭子甩響，但是沒有用。鵝很快就跑遠了。更糟糕的是，它們跑到了菜園裡，去吃那些蔬菜的嫩葉。
A few minutes afterward, the goose boy came back with the book.
“Just as I thought,”he said.“I have found the book, and you have lost the geese.”
“Never mind,”said the king,“I will help you get them again.”
“Well, then, run around that way, and stand by the brook while I drive them out of the garden.”
幾分鐘之後，牧鵝的男孩拿著書回來了。
“正像我預料的那樣，”他說，“我找到了書，而你丟掉了鵝。”
“沒關係，”國王說，“我會幫你把它們趕回來。”
“那好，你跑到那條路，站在溪邊，我去把它們從菜園裡趕出來。
The king did as he was told. The boy ran forward with his whip, and after a great deal of shouting and scolding, the geese were driven back into the meadow.
國王照著他所說的去做，那男孩拿著鞭子向前跑去，在一長串叫喊和叱喊聲之後，鵝被趕回了草地上。
“I hope you will pardon me for not being a better gooseherd,”said Maximilian;“but, as I am a king, I am not used to such work.”
“我希望你能原諒我沒有當一個好牧鵝人，”麥克西米利安說，
“但是，因為我是一個國王，我不會做那樣的工作。”
“A king, indeed! ”said the boy. “I was very silly to leave the geese with you. But I am not so silly as to believe that you are a king.”
“一個國王，真的嗎？”男孩說，“我把這些鵝交給你就已經夠笨的了。但是我還沒有笨到相信你是一個國王。”
“Very well,”said Maximilian, with a smile; “here is another gold piece, and now let us be friends.”
The boy took the gold, and thanked the giver. He looked up into the King’s face and said,“You are a very kind man, and I think you might be a good king; but if you were to try all your life, you would never be a good gooseherd.”
“很好，”馬克西米利安微笑著說，“這兒還有一塊金幣，現在讓我們交個朋友吧。”
男孩拿到了金幣，向國王道了謝。他抬頭看著國王的臉說：
“你是一個很好的人，我想你也許是一個很好的國王，但是你這輩子無論如何也成不了一個好的牧鵝人。”