马克吐温跳蛙原文中英对照

英文原文：

\"The Jumping Frog\" of Calaveras County

Mark Twain

I am informed by the notary public of this county, Mr. A. P. Dill, that a farmer named Smith, who resides in the mountain district of this county, some three or four days' journey from here, was in the habit of killing, every year, from one to two hundred of the salamanders in his cornfields. The old farmer is dead.

This species of reptile is very common in certain sections of this State. They are not only harmless, but they are of decided benefit to the community in their holes, as they destroy the grubs and worms that would otherwise destroy the grain.

If it were not for these animals, our State would be in a bad fix. Grain would be so plentiful that it could not be used as bread stuffs; it would be a drug; and we should have to cart it to the Mississippi and sell it for a drug; and the people would have to go without bread and without shoes; and they could not go to the mountains without an iron-clad Providence to pilot them through that Eden and over that fence at one jump! We should be soaked in stony poverty and sun-baked misery!

And so we may say that these animals are as good as a patent medicine--and cheaper than any patent medicine that ever was sold. For it is only by means of these animals that we can get rid of those vast numbers of field grubs that are constantly breeding and multiplying in the soil. They keep down these grubs and prevent them from overrunning the country and destroying all the grass and grain. They do this work for nothing; they do it for love; they do it because they are

happy; they do it because they have no other aim in life than to do good to mankind! And so you see, my friends, that while we cannot but admire these animals as noble and useful beings, we should feel a little bit ashamed of ourselves when we reflect how we have slandered them and called them names and how we have wronged them in every way that we could. For we know that these animals have done more good to mankind than all the learned doctors in the world could do if they were to live a thousand years.

中文翻译：

卡瓦拉里斯县的跳蛙

马克·吐温

本县公证员、尊敬的A.P.迪尔先生通知我，一位名叫史密斯的农民，他居住在本县山区，离这里有三到四天的路程。他习惯于每年在他的玉米地里杀死一至两百只火蜥蜴。这位老农已经去世。

这个种类的爬行动物在这个州的一些地区非常普遍。它们不仅无害，而且对社区很有益处，因为它们的洞穴会消灭那些会破坏谷物的幼虫和蠕虫。

如果没有这些动物，我们的州将会陷入困境。谷物会如此丰富，以至于不能用作面包原料；它会成为一种药物；我们不得不把它运到密西西比河以卖掉它作为药物；人们将不得不没有面包和鞋子；他们不能去山上，除非有一个铁甲般的上帝指引他们穿过伊甸园，一下子越过篱笆！我们应该沉浸在贫穷的困境和炎热的痛苦中！

因此，我们可以说这些动物就像一种专利药物——比有史以来销售过的任何专利药物都要便宜。因为只有通过这些动物，我们才能摆脱在田野里不断繁殖和繁殖的大量幼虫。它们抑制这些幼虫并防止它们泛滥成灾，破坏所有的草和谷物。它们毫无报酬地做这项工作；它们为爱而做；它们因为感到快乐而做；它们因为除了做好事于人类别无其他目标而做！所以你看，我的朋友们，当我们想起我们如何诽谤它们、如何辱骂它们以及我们如何以各种可能的方式伤害它们

时，我们除了感到有点惭愧之外还能做什么。因为我们知道这些动物对人类的益处比世界上所有学识渊博的医生能在这种情况下活一千年所能做到的还要多。