《对此毋庸置疑》，1852 年
there Is No doubt About It., 1852
“那件事太可怕了！” 一只母鸡说道，而且这事还是发生在城镇的另一个区域呢，根本就没发生在它这儿。
“that was a terrible affair!” said a hen, and in a quarter of the town, too, where it had not taken place.
“鸡窝里发生了一件可怕的事。我今晚可不敢一个人睡了。好在我们很多鸡都一起蹲在鸡窝横杆上呢。” 然后它讲了一个故事，吓得其他母鸡的羽毛都竖了起来，公鸡的鸡冠也耷拉了下来。这是千真万确的。
“that was a terrible affair in a hen-roost. I cannot sleep alone to-night. It is a good thing that many of us sit on the roost together.” And then she told a story that made the feathers on the other hens bristle up, and the cock’s b fall. there was no doubt about it.
但我们还是从头说起吧，故事要从城镇另一处的一个鸡窝讲起。太阳正在落山，家禽们都往它们的鸡窝横杆上飞；有一只母鸡，长着白色的羽毛，腿很短，它向来都是按规矩下蛋的，作为一只母鸡，各方面都很体面。当它飞到鸡窝横杆上时，它用嘴啄了啄自己，一根小羽毛就掉了下来。
but we will begin at the beginning, and that is to be found in a hen-roost in another part of the town. the sun was setting, and the fowls were flying on to their roost; one hen, with white feathers and short legs, used to lay her eggs according to the regulations, and was, as a hen, respectable in every way. As she was flying upon the roost, she plucked herself with her beak, and a little feather came out.
“它掉下来了，” 它说，“我啄得越多，就变得越漂亮。” 它说得很开心，因为它是这群母鸡里最好的一只，而且，如前面所说，非常体面。说完它就睡觉去了。
“there it goes,” she said; “the more I pluck, the more beautiful do I get.” She said this merrily, for she was the best of the hens, and, moreover, as had been said, very respectable. with that she went to sleep.
四周一片漆黑，母鸡们紧紧挨在一起，但紧挨着它这位快活邻居的那只母鸡却睡不着。它听到了一些事，但又好像没听到，就像我们在这个世上常常不得不这样做，为的是能和平相处；但它再也忍不住不把这事告诉另一边的邻居了。
It was dark all around, and hen sat close to hen, but the one who sat nearest to her merry neighbour did not sleep. She had heard and yet not heard, as we are often obliged to do in this world, in order to live at peace; but she could not keep it from her neighbour on the other side any longer.
“你听到刚才说的话了吗？我就不指名道姓了，但这儿有只母鸡打算啄自己的毛来让自己好看。要是我是只公鸡，我可会看不起她的。”
“did you hear what was said? I mention no names, but there is a hen here who intends to pluck herself in order to look well. If I were a cock, I should despise her.”
就在家禽们的上方，坐着猫头鹰一家，有猫头鹰爸爸和小猫头鹰们。这一家子耳朵都很尖，邻居说的每一个字它们都听到了。它们转动着眼睛，猫头鹰妈妈拍打着翅膀说：“别听她的！不过我猜你们也听到刚才说的话了吧？我可是亲耳听到的，而且耳朵要听很多东西才会掉呢。家禽里有一只鸡已经完全忘了一只母鸡该有的样子，她把自己所有的羽毛都拔光了，还让公鸡看呢。”
Just over the fowls sat the owl, with father owl and the little owls. the family has sharp ears, and they all heard every word that their neighbour had said. they rolled their eyes, and mother owl, beating her wings, said: “don’t listen to her! but I suppose you heard what was said? I heard it with my own ears, and one has to hear a great deal before they fall off. there is one among the fowls who has so far forgotten what is being to a hen that she plucks out all her feathers and lets the cock see it.”
“孩子们可别听这些！” 猫头鹰爸爸说；“小孩子可不该听这种事。”
“prenez garde aux enfants!” said father owl; “children should not hear such things.”
“可我得把这事告诉我们的邻居猫头鹰；和她聊天可有意思了。” 说完她就飞走了。
“but I must tell our neighbour owl about it; she is such an estimable owl to talk to.” And with that she flew away.
“嘟呜！嘟呜！” 她们俩对着邻居家的鸽舍里的鸽子叫着。“你们听说了吗？你们听说了吗？嘟呜！有一只母鸡为了公鸡把自己所有的羽毛都拔光了；要是她还没被冻死的话，也会被冻死的。嘟呜！”
“too-whoo! too-whoo!” they both hooted into the neighbour’s dove-cot to the doves inside. “have you heard? have you heard? too-whoo! there is a hen who has plucked out all her feathers for the sake of the cock; she will freeze to death, if she is not frozen already. too-whoo!”
“在哪儿？在哪儿？” 鸽子们咕咕地叫着。
“where? where?” cooed the doves.
“在邻居家的院子里。我都差不多亲眼看见了。讲这个故事好像不太合适，但这事儿千真万确。”
“In the neighbour’s yard. I have as good as seen it myself. It is almost unbeing to tell the story, but there is no doubt about it.”
“我们跟你们说的每一个字都要相信。” 鸽子们说道，然后朝着它们的家禽院咕咕地叫着传下去。“有一只母鸡 —— 不，有人说有两只 —— 把自己所有的羽毛都拔光了，为的是不和其他鸡一样，好吸引公鸡的注意。”
“believe every word of what we tell you,” said the doves, and cooed down into their poultry-yard. “there is a hen — nay, some say that there are two — who have plucked out all their feathers, in order not to look like the others, and to attract the attention of the cock.
这可是个危险的游戏，因为很容易就会着凉，然后发烧死掉，而且这两只（母鸡）都已经死了。
It is a dangerous game, for one can easily catch cold and die from fever, and both of these are dead already.”
“醒醒！醒醒！” 公鸡打鸣着，飞到了它栖息的木板上。它眼里还带着睡意，但还是叫着：“三只母鸡因为对一只公鸡不幸的爱恋而死了。它们把自己所有的羽毛都拔光了。这是个可怕的故事：我可不会就这么自己闷着，得把它传出去。”
“wake up! wake up!” crowed the cock, and flew upon his board. Sleep was still in his eyes, but yet he crowed out: “three hens have died of their unfortunate love for a cock. they had plucked out all their feathers. It is a horrible story: I will not take it to myself, but let it go farther.”
“传出去！” 蝙蝠尖叫着，母鸡们咯咯叫着，公鸡们打鸣着，“传出去！传出去！” 就这样，这个故事从一个家禽院传到另一个家禽院，最后又传回了它真正开始的地方。
“Let it go farther,” shrieked the bats, and the hens clucked and the cocks crowed, “Let it go farther! Let it go farther!” In this way the story travelled from poultry-yard to poultry-yard, and at last came back to the place from which it had really started.
“五只母鸡，” 现在故事变成了这样，“把自己所有的羽毛都拔光了，为的是展示她们当中谁因为爱那只公鸡变得最瘦，然后她们就互相啄，直到血流下来，倒地而死，让她们的家族蒙羞，也让她们的主人遭受了巨大损失。”
“Five hens,” it now ran, “have plucked out all their feathers to show which of them had grown leanest for love of the cock, and then they all pecked at each other till the blood ran down and they fell down dead, to the derision and shame of their family, and to the great loss of their owner.”
那只掉了根松散小羽毛的母鸡自然没认出这就是自己的故事，作为一只体面的母鸡，它说：“我看不起那些家禽；不过还有更多这样的呢。这种事可不该隐瞒，我会尽全力把这个故事登到报纸上，好让全国都知道；那些母鸡罪有应得，她们的家族也是。”
the hen who had lost the loose little feather naturally did not recognise her own story, and being a respectable hen, said: “I despise those fowls; but there are more of that kind. Such things ought not to be concealed, and I will do my best to get the story into the papers, so that it bees known throughout the land; the hens have richly deserved it, and their family too.”
它真的登上报纸了，被印了出来；毫无疑问，一根小羽毛很容易就变成了五只母鸡（的故事）。
It got into the papers, it was printed; and there is no doubt about it, one little feather may easily grow into five hens.