歌里好玩的是最后一句:What could I do with nothing? I just didn’t know. La la la la la la la la la la la, so I thought what could I do and sang myself a song and I sing this song to you.
《Where The Wild Things Are》是比较早(1963年出版)的经典了,属于各种大奖(包括凯迪克金奖、国际安徒生奖等等)拿到手软的那种。虽然这么多年过去了,但是今天看它完全感觉不到有什么时间的隔阂,只会觉得不虚此名,果然是一部伟大的儿童狂想曲。
The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind
开篇平平常常,小主人公 Max 登场,穿着狼外套在家里胡闹。这里用了个 make mischief 来表达孩子“胡闹/恶作剧”的意思,可以学习一下。
his mother called him "Wild Thing!" and Max said "I"LL EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without eatinganything.
小屁孩胡闹之后,自然要被妈妈收拾了:不给吃晚饭,直接上床睡觉去!所以 Max 也是一副悻悻之色。这很真实啊,哪个孩子会毫无怨言地接受惩罚呢?^_^
注意此处有点题之语:Wild Thing——你这个小野兽!可能正是受了妈妈这一骂的刺激,引出了 Max 后面的“野兽国”之旅。
That very night in Max's room a forest grew
幻想世界开始?抑或是入梦?
and grew—
瞧瞧小 Max 捂嘴偷笑的得意劲儿!
and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and and the walls became the world all around
美景啊!画面细腻,光影逼真。我们跟着 Max 一起降临到了森林野境。
and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day
海浪、帆船也出来了。帆船还是“Max 号”呢,怪不得 Max 一看就知道是“a private boat”,当仁不让地乘船出航喽!
And when he came to the place where the wild things are, they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws
till Max said "BE STILL!" and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild things of all
哇!Max 威力乍现,一下子就镇住了所有野兽。
怎么办到?凭借“一眨不眨盯着看野兽们的黄眼睛”……哈哈,这个魔法很搞笑哦!这就成了“最野的野兽(the most wild things of all)”啦?
and made him king of all wild things.
甚至于竟奉他为王!
看到这,读者再不用为 Max 的安危担心了。同时也好笑的是,小小的 Max 在此大野兽国竟拥有如此巨大的统领权,这不是狂想是什么?
之后,他带领着大野兽们跳舞、玩单杠、游行……
可谓玩得尽兴,玩得痛快,应该是把平日在家里不得妈妈允许的胡天胡地都发泄了出来吧?
终于 ,
"Now stop!" said Max and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper. And Max the king of all wild things waslonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.
Then all around from far away across the world, he smelled good things to eat, so he gave up being king of where the wild things are.
Max 小国王喊“停”了。胡闹够了,他开始想念温暖的爱了。
这时候他闻到了美食的香味,so he gave up being king of where the wildthings are——哈哈,这里接得好自然,好平常。但是细思却是太好笑:野兽国之王,这是多威风的名头,多大的权力?!却因为对一顿饭的想念就放弃?
但这正是孩童的心理。
权力是大人之最高欲望,却不是孩子的。
孩子最想要的,是爱,是温暖,是妈妈做的饭菜。
But the wild things cried, "Oh please don't go -- we'll eat you up -- we love you so!" And Max said, "No!"
The wild things roared their terrible roars andgnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye
所以 Max 毅然决然地踏上了回家之路。
野兽们故技重施,张牙舞爪,但是当初吓不到初来乍到的 Max,此时自然更加吓不到一心回家的 Max。
and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot.
第十四篇:一片小饼干引发的“多米诺骨牌”《If You Give a Mouse a Cookie》
《If You Give a Mouse a Cookie》是一本可预测性非常低的“可预测的故事书(Predicable Book)”。上次说过,虽然 Predicable Books 的优点是有可预测的情节线让小朋友易于理解,但同时也一定要有一些不可预测的地方来保持新鲜和神秘。那么《If You Give a Mouse a Cookie》厉害就厉害在,在可预测的框架中把“不可预测性”发挥到极致。你明明知道接下来大概会发生什么事,但是你还是屡猜屡不中,从而引发了疑惑、好笑、惊奇……一系列的情绪。
If you give a mouse a cookie,
事起平常:正在门口草地上看书的小男孩,随手要给一只小老鼠一片小饼干吃。
如果他能预知接下来会发生什么,他一定会告诫自己不要这么大意。
he's going to ask for a glass of milk.
呃……好像也还合理吧,吃了饼干嘴巴干嘛,请求喝杯牛奶不过分吧?
When you give him the milk,
瞧,小老鼠那渴求的身姿!但是他这样扑下去不会淹死吗?所以,你能猜到他接下来想要什么吗?
he'll probably ask you for a straw.
是呀,没有吸管怎么喝牛奶呢?哎,我们的小主人公为此翻箱倒柜啊!
接下来,自然是小老鼠一步步得寸进尺,贪得无厌……
但是,你又对他讨厌不起来,因为,他不仅仅是要吃要喝,
When he's finished giving himself a trim, he'll want a broom to sweep up. He'll start sweeping.