A cat?had made acquaintance with a mouse, and had spoken so much of the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at last the Mouse consented to live in the same house with her, and to go shares in the housekeeping.

一只貓結識了一只老鼠，用花言巧語哄騙老鼠說自己非常喜歡她，老鼠最終同意跟她住在同一屋檐下，還幫忙分擔家務。

”But we must provide for the winter or else we shall suffer hunger,“?said the Cat. ”You, little Mouse, cannot venture everywhere in case you run at last into a trap. “

貓說：”我們必須準備過冬的食物，否則到了冬天會挨餓的，尤其是老鼠你還這么小，不要冒險到處亂跑，免得最后掉進了陷阱里?！?/p>

This good counsel was followed, and a little pot of fat was bought.?But they did not know where to put it.?

老鼠聽了貓的勸告，他們合伙買了一小罐油脂。但是他們不知道該把罐子藏哪兒好。

At length, after long consultation, the Cat said, ‘I know of no place where it could be better put than in the church. No one will trouble to take it away from there. We will hide it in a corner, and we won’t touch it till we are in want.’?

她們商量了很久之后，貓終于說道:“沒有哪里比教堂更安全了。誰也不敢從那里拿東西，我們把它藏在角落里，不到必要的時候，誰也不去動它。

So the little pot was placed in safety; but it was not long before the Cat had a great longing for it, and said to the Mouse, ‘I wanted to tell you, little Mouse, that my cousin has a little son, white with brown spots, and she wants me to be godmother to it. Let me go out to-day, and do you take care of the house alone.’

但沒過多久，貓的嘴就開始饞了，她對老鼠說道:“可愛的小老鼠，我要告訴你一件事，我表姐有個小兒子，全身雪白帶著棕斑，她想讓我做他的教母。今天我要出去一趟，你自己看家吧?！?/p>

‘Yes, go certainly,’ replied the Mouse, and when you eat anything good, think of me; I should very much like a drop of the red christening wine.’

“好的，你去吧，”老鼠回答說，“如果你吃了什么好東西，可別忘了我啊。我想喝一滴洗禮時的紅葡萄酒?！?/p>

But it was all untrue. The Cat had no cousin, and had not been asked to be godmother. She went straight to the church, slunk to the little pot of fat, began to lick it, and licked the top off.?

但這一切都是假的。貓沒有表姐，也沒有孩子請她做教母。她徑直跑去了教堂，躡手躡腳地走到那只小油罐前，開始舔它，把上面的一層油脂都舔掉了。

Then she took a walk on the roofs of the town, looked at the view, stretchedherself out in the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the little pot of fat.?As soon as it was evening she went home again.

然后她在鎮(zhèn)上的屋頂上散了一會步，欣賞風景，在太陽底下伸懶腰，一想到那罐油脂，她就忍不住舔舔嘴唇。到了晚上，她就回家了。

‘Ah, here you are again!’ said the Mouse; ‘you must certainly have had an enjoyable day.’

‘It went off very well,’ answered the Cat.

‘What was the child’s name?’ asked the Mouse.

‘Top Off,’ said the Cat drily.

‘Topoff!’ echoed the Mouse, ‘it is indeed a wonderful and curious name. Is it in your family?’

‘What is there odd about it?’ said the Cat. It is not worse than Breadthief, as your godchild is called.’

“啊，你回來了!”老鼠說道：“你今天一定過得很愉快吧?！?/p>

“還行，”貓回答。

“那孩子叫什么名字?”老鼠問。

“去了頂?！必埜砂桶偷卣f。

“去了頂?!”老鼠應聲說，“這真是一個奇怪的名字。是你們貓常用的名字嗎?”

“這有什么稀奇的?”貓說?！翱偙饶愕慕套咏小得姘\’要好?！?/p>

Not long after this another great longing came over the Cat. She said to the Mouse, ‘You must again be kind enough to look after the house alone, for I have been asked a second time to stand godmother, and as this child has a white ring round its neck, I cannot refuse.’

不久之后，貪吃的貓又饞了。她對老鼠說:“你必須發(fā)發(fā)善心，再一個人看次家，我又被邀請去做教母了，這次這個孩子的脖子上有一道白圈，我不好推辭?！?/p>

The kind Mouse agreed, but the Cat slunk under the town wall to the church, and ate up half of the pot of fat. ‘Nothing tastes better,’ said she, ‘than what one eats by oneself,’ and she was very much pleased with her day’s work.?

好心的老鼠又同意了，可是貓卻從城墻底下偷溜到了教堂，把那罐油脂吃得只剩一半。“沒有什么比吃獨食更美好的事了，”她自言自語道，貓對自己這一天的所作所為非常滿意。

When she came home the Mouse asked, ‘What was this child called?’

‘Half Gone,’ answered the Cat.

‘Halfgone! what a name! I have never heard it in my life. I don’t believe it is in the calendar.’

當她回家時，老鼠問道:“孩子叫什么名字?””

“去了一半?！必埢卮稹?/p>

“去了一半 !多好的名字啊!我長這么大都沒聽過。估計日歷上都沒有吧?！?/p>

Soon the Cat’s mouth began to water once more after her licking business. ‘All good things in threes,’ she said to the Mouse; ‘I have again to stand godmother. The child is quite black, and has very white paws, but not a single white hair on its body. This only happens once in two years, so you will let me go out?’

自從上次舔完之后，貓很快又開始流口水了?！昂檬鲁扇彼龑鲜笳f;“我又得去當教母了。這孩子很黑，爪子卻很白，而且身上沒有一根白毛。這種事兩年才發(fā)生一次，你會讓我去的吧?”

‘Topoff! Halfgone!’ repeated the Mouse, they are such curious names; they make me very thoughtful.’

‘Oh, you sit at home in your dark grey coat and your long tail, said the Cat, ‘a(chǎn)nd you get fanciful. That comes of not going out in the day.’

“去了頂!去了一半!“老鼠重復著這些名字，“這些名字真奇怪;它們還真是讓人遐想聯(lián)翩?！?/p>

“哦，你整天穿著深灰色的外套，拖著長長的尾巴呆在家里，”貓說道：“你這么喜歡胡思亂想，是因為你白天都不出門?！?/p>

The Mouse had a good cleaning out while the Cat was gone, and made the house tidy; but the greedy Cat ate the fat every bit up. ‘When it is all gone one can be at rest,’ she said to herself, and at night she came home sleek and satisfied. The Mouse asked at once after the third child’s name.

貓出去的時候，老鼠把屋子打掃得干干凈凈。但是那只貪婪的貓一口氣把油脂都吃光了?！岸汲酝炅?，我也就安心了，”她自言自語道。到了晚上，她回到家時，整個人都光彩照人，心滿意足。老鼠馬上問第三個孩子的名字。

‘It won’t please you any better,’ said the Cat, ‘he was called Clean Gone.’

‘Cleangone!’ repeated the Mouse. ‘I do not believe that name has been printed any more than the others. Cleangone! What can it mean?’ She shook her head, curled herself up, and went to sleep.

“你聽到不會高興的，”貓說，“它叫‘一掃而光’。”

“一掃而光?!”老鼠重復了一遍?！斑@個名字估計都沒有對應的文字呢。一掃而光!這是什么意思呢?“她搖了搖頭，蜷縮成一團，睡著了。

From this time on no one asked the Cat to stand godmother; but when the winter came and there was nothing to be got outside, the Mouse remembered their provision and said, ‘Come, Cat, we will go to our pot of fat which we have stored away; it will taste very good.’

從此以后，再也沒有人請貓去做教母了。冬天來了，外面找不到任何可以吃的東西，老鼠想起了它們儲藏的食物，就說:“來吧，貓，我們去找之前儲藏的那罐油脂吧?？隙ê芎贸浴！?/p>

‘Yes, indeed,’ answered the Cat; ‘it will taste as good to you as if you stretched your thin tongue out of the window.’

They started off, and when they reached it they found the pot in its place, but quite empty!

“是的，是的，”貓回答說;“對你來說，它的味道就像你把薄薄的舌頭伸出窗外吃空氣一樣?！?/p>

他們出發(fā)了，當他們到達那里時，發(fā)現(xiàn)罐子還在原處，但是里面已經(jīng)空了!

‘Ah,’ said the Mouse, ‘now I know what has happened! It has all come out! You are a true friend to me! You have eaten it all when you stood godmother; first the top off, then half of it gone, then—’

‘Will you be quiet!’ screamed the Cat. ‘Another word and I will eat you up.’

“啊，”老鼠喊道，“現(xiàn)在我知道發(fā)生了什么事了!我明白了!你還真是我的好朋友!你說要去當教母的時候，把油脂都吃光了;先是去了頂，然后去了一半，接著——”

“住嘴”貓尖叫著?！霸僬f一個字，我就把你也吃了。”

‘Cleangone’ was already on the poor Mouse’s tongue, and scarcely was it out than the Cat made a spring at her, seized and swallowed her.

可憐的老鼠的已經(jīng)說出了“一掃而光”幾個字了，話剛一說出來，貓就撲過去抓住它，把它吞了下去。

You see that is the way of the world.

你瞧，這才是世界的規(guī)律！