“Frostbitten！”said the North Wind，with a loud laugh，“Why frost is my greatest delight.What sort of a little snip are you，and how did you find your way to the cavern of the Winds？”
北风说，“冻伤？”忍不住哈哈大笑起来。“冰冻！这正是我最喜欢的东西！不过你是一个什么少爷？你是怎么钻进风之洞里来了？”
“He is my guest，”said the old woman，“and if you are not satisfied with that explanation you can go into the sack.Do you understand me？”
老女人说：“他是我的客人！要是你对于这解释感到不满意的话，那么就请你钻进那个袋子里去——现在你明白我的用意了吧！”
That settled the matter.So the North Wind began to relate his adventures，whence he came，and where he had been for a whole month.“I come from the polar seas，”he said；“I have been on the Bears Island with the Russian walrushunters.I sat and slept at the helm of their ship，as they sailed away from North Cape.Sometimes when I woke，the stormbirds would fly about my legs.They are curious birds；they give one flap with their wings，and then on their outstretched pinions pinion n.小齿轮soar far away.”
这话马上产生效力。北风开始叙述他从何处来，他花了将近一个月的工夫到哪些地方去过。“我来自北极海，”他说。“我和俄国猎海象的人去过白令岛。当他们从北望角开出的时候，我坐在他们的船舵上打盹。当我偶尔醒来的时候，海燕就在我的腿边飞。它很滑稽！它们猛烈地扇几下翅膀，接着就张着翅膀停在空中不动，然后又忽然像箭似的向前飞走。”
“Dont make such a long story of it，”said the mother of the winds；“what sort of a place is Bears Island？”
“不要东扯西拉，”风妈妈命令。“你到白令岛去过了吗？”
“A very beautiful place，with a floor for dancing as smooth and flat as a plate.Halfmelted snow，partly covered with moss，sharp stones，and skeletons of walruses and polarbears，lie all about，their gigantic limbs in a state of green decay.It would seem as if the sun never shone there.I blew gently，to clear away the mist，and then I saw a little hut，which had been built from the wood of a wreck，and was covered with the skins of the walrus (walrus n.［动］海象，海象胡须)，the fleshy side outwards；it looked green and red，and on the roof sat a growling bear.Then I went to the sea shore，to look after birdsnests，and saw the unfledged nestlings opening their mouths and screaming for food.I blew into the thousand little throats，and quickly stopped their screaming.Farther on were the walruses with pigs heads，and teeth a yard long，rolling about like great worms.”
“那儿才美哪！那儿跳舞用的地板，平整得像盘子一样！那儿有长着青苔的半融的雪、尖峭的岩石、海象和北极熊的残骸、像长满了绿霉的巨人的身体。人们会以为太阳从来没有在那儿出现过。我把迷雾吹了几下，好让人们能够找到小屋。这是用破船的木头垒成的，上面盖着海象的皮——贴肉的那一面朝外。房子的颜色是红绿相间的；屋顶上坐着一个活的北极熊，在那里哀叫。我跑到岸上去找雀巢，看到光赤的小鸟张着嘴在尖叫。于是我向它们无数的小咽喉里吹一口气，教它们闭嘴住。再下面一点，有许多大海象在拍着水，像一些长着尺把长牙齿和猪脑袋的活肠子或蛆虫！”
“You relate your adventures very well，my son，”said the mother，“it makes my mouth water to hear you.”
“我的少爷，你的故事讲得真好！”妈妈说。“听你讲的时候，我连口水都流出来了！”
“After that，”continued the North Wind，“the hunting commenced.The harpoon was flung into the breast of the walrus，so that a smoking stream of blood spurted forth like a fountain，and besprinkled the ice.Then I thought of my own game；I began to blow，and set my own ships，the great icebergs sailing，so that they might crush the boats.Oh，how the sailors howled and cried out！but I howled louder than they.They were obliged to unload their cargo，and throw their chests and the dead walruses on the ice.Then I sprinkled snow over them，and left them in their crushed boats to drift southward，and to taste salt water.They will never return to Bears Island.”
“于是打猎开始了！长鱼叉插到海象的胸脯里去喷出来像喷泉一样洒在冰上的血。这时我也想起了我的游戏！我吹起来，让我的那些船——山一般高的冰块——向他们的船中间冲过去。嗨，吹着口哨，船夫大喊大嚷！但是我比他们吹得更厉害。他们只好把死的海象。箱子以及缆绳扔到冰上去！我在他们身上撒下雪花，让他们乘着破船，带着他们的猎物，漂向南方，去尝尝咸水。他们再也不能到白令岛来了！”
“So you have done mischief！”said the mother of the Winds.
“那么你是做了一件坏事！”风妈妈说。
“I shall leave others to tell the good I have done.”he replied.“But here comes my brother from the West；I like him best of all，for he has the smell of the sea about him，and brings in a cold，fresh air as he enters.”
“让别人来讲我做了些什么好事吧！”他说。“不过现在我的西风兄弟来了。所有兄弟之中我最喜欢他。他有海的气息和一种令人愉快的清凉味。”
“Is that the little Zephyr？”asked the prince.
王子问：“那就是小小的西风吗？”
“Yes，it is the little Zephyr，”said the old woman；“but he is not little now.In years gone by he was a beautiful boy；now that is all past.”
“对，他就是西风，”老女人说。“不过他并不是那么小，从前他是一个可爱的孩子，不过那是以前。”
“He came in，looking like a wild man，and he wore a slouched hat to protect his head from injury.In his hand he carried a club，cut from a mahogany tree in the American forests，not a trifle to carry.
他的样子跟一个野人似的，不过他戴着一顶宽边帽来保护自己的面孔。他手上拿着一根桃花心木棒——这是在美洲一个桃花心木树林里砍下来的。这可不是一个小玩意儿啦。
“Whence do you come？”asked the mother.
“你是从何处来？”妈妈问。
“I come from the wilds of the forests，where the thorny (thorny adj.多刺的，痛苦的)brambles form thick hedges between the trees；where the watersnake lies in the wet grass，and mankind seem to be unknown.”
“我从荒凉的森林里来！那儿多刺的藤蔓在每株树的周围建立起一道篱笆，水蛇在潮湿的草丛里睡觉，似乎人类在那儿是多余的。”
“What were you doing there？”
“你在那儿干什么？”
“I looked into the deep river，and saw it rushing down from the rocks.The water drops mounted to the clouds and glittered in the rainbow.I saw the wild buffalo (buffalo n.(印度，非洲等的)水牛；美洲野牛)swimming in the river，but the strong tide carried him away amidst a flock of wild ducks，which flew into the air as the waters dashed onwards，leaving the buffalo to be hurled over the waterfall.This pleased me；so I raised a storm，which rooted up old trees，and sent them floating down the river.”
“看一条很深的河，看它从岩石中冲下来，变成水花，溅到云块中去，托住一条虹。我看到野水牛在河里游泳，不过激流把它冲走了。它和一群野鸭一起漂流。野鸭漂到河流要变成瀑布的地方就飞起来了。随着水水牛只好滚下去！我认为这好玩极了，我吹起一股风暴，把很多古树吹到水里去，打成碎片！”
“And what else have you done？”asked the old woman.
“没有其他？”老女人问。
“I have rushed wildly across the savannahs (savannah n.(南美)大草原)；I have stroked the wild horses，and shaken the cocoanuts from the trees.Yes，I have many stories to relate；but I need not tell everything I know.You know it all very well，dont you，old lady？”And he kissed his mother so roughly，that she nearly fell backwards.Oh，he was，indeed，a wild fellow.
“我在原野上翻了几个跟头：我摸抚了野马，摇下了可可核。对，对，我有很多故事要讲！可是一个人不能把他所有的东西都讲出来。这一点，老太太，你是知道的。”他吻了他的妈妈一下，她几乎快要向后倒下去了。他真是一个野蛮的孩子！
