“very well; wait till to - morrow, then,” said the goblin
第二天早晨孩子们进来的时候，他们把锡兵放在了窗台上。
when the children came in the next morning, they placed the tin soldier in the window
现在，不知道是小妖精干的，还是一阵风的缘故，窗户突然打开了，锡兵从三楼头朝下直直地掉到了下面的街道上。
now, whether it was the goblin who did it, or the draught, is not known, but the window flew open, and out fell the tin soldier, heels over head, from the third story, into the street beneath
这一跤摔得可真惨；
it was a terrible fall;
因为他是头朝下着地的，他的头盔和刺刀卡在石板缝里，他的一条腿则翘在空中。
for he came head downwards, his helmet and his bayo stuck in between the flagstones, and his one leg up in the air
女仆和小男孩立刻下楼去找他；
the servant maid and the little boy went down stairs directly to look for him;
但是到处都找不到他，虽然有一次他们差点就踩到他了。
but he was nowhere to be seen, although once they nearly trod upon him
如果他喊一声 “我在这儿” 就好了，可是他穿着制服，太骄傲了，不愿意呼救。
if he had called out, “here i am,” it would have been all right, but he was too proud to cry out for help while he wore a uniform
不久就开始下雨了，雨点越下越急，最后变成了一场倾盆大雨。
presently it began to rain, and the drops fell faster and faster, till there was a heavy shower
雨停之后，有两个男孩碰巧路过，其中一个说：“看，有个锡兵。
when it was over, two boys happened to pass by, and one of them said, “look, there is a tin soldier
他应该有一艘船来航行。”
he ought to have a boat to sail in”
于是他们用一张报纸做了一艘船，把锡兵放在里面，让他沿着排水沟航行，两个男孩在旁边跑着，还拍着手。
so they made a boat out of a newspaper, and placed the tin soldier in it, and sent him sailing down the gutter, while the two boys ran by the side of it, and clapped their hands
天哪，排水沟里涌起了多大的浪啊！水流得多么湍急啊！因为雨下得非常大。
good gracious, what large waves arose in that gutter! and how fast the stream rolled on! for the rain had been very heavy
纸船上下颠簸，有时还转得非常快，快得让小锡兵直发抖；然而他依然很坚定；他神色不变；他直视前方，扛着他的火枪。
the paper boat rocked up and down, and turned itself round sometimes so quickly that the tin soldier trembled; yet he remained firm; his countenance did not change; he looked straight before him, and shouldered his musket
突然，小船冲进了一座桥下，这座桥是下水道的一部分，桥下黑得就像小锡兵的盒子一样。
suddenly the boat shot under a bridge which formed a part of a drain, and then it was as dark as the tin soldier’s box
“我现在要去哪儿呢？”他想。“我敢肯定，这都是那个黑妖精的错。
“where am i going now” thought he “this is the black goblin’s fault, i am sure
啊，要是那位小女士也在船上和我在一起就好了，那样我就不会在乎黑暗了。”
ah, well, if the little lady were only here with me in the boat, i should not care for any darkness”
突然出现了一只大老鼠，它就住在下水道里。
suddenly there appeared a great water - rat, who lived in the drain
“你有通行证吗？”老鼠问，“马上把它给我。”
“have you a passport” asked the rat, “give it to me at once”
但是小锡兵一声不吭，把火枪握得更紧了。
but the tin soldier remained silent and held his musket tighter than ever
船继续航行，老鼠在后面跟着。
the boat sailed on and the rat followed it
他咬牙切齿地对着那些木块和稻草大喊：“拦住他，拦住他；他没交过路费，也没出示通行证。”
how he did gnash his teeth and cry out to the bits of wood and straw, “stop him, stop him; he has not paid toll, and has not shown his pass”
但是水流越来越湍急。
but the stream rushed on stronger and stronger
小锡兵已经能看到桥洞尽头透出的亮光了。
the tin soldier could already see daylight shining where the arch ended
然后他听到一阵轰鸣声，这声音非常可怕，足以吓倒最勇敢的人。
then he heard a roaring sound quite terrible enough to frighten the bravest man
在隧道的尽头，下水道在一个陡峭的地方落入一条大运河中，这对他来说就像瀑布对我们一样危险。
at the end of the tunnel the drain fell into a large canal over a steep place, which made it as dangerous for him as a waterfall would be to us
他离得太近，已经停不下来了，所以船继续往前冲，可怜的小锡兵只能尽可能地挺直身子，眼皮都不眨一下，以表明他并不害怕。
he was too close to it to stop, so the boat rushed on, and the poor tin soldier could only hold himself as stiffly as possible, without moving an eyelid, to show that he was not afraid