Alice in Wonderland · chapter 4 of 8
Who Are You?
你是谁？
A sleepy blue caterpillar asks Alice who she is, and she can't answer, but he knows the secret of the mushroom he is sitting on.
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- Caterpillar 小女孩，我在问你呢。你……是……谁？
Xiǎo nǚhái, wǒ zài wèn nǐ ne. Nǐ… shì… shéi?
I'm asking you, little girl. Who… are… you?
- Alice 我……我也不太知道，先生。今天早上起床的时候，我还知道我是谁。可是从那以后，我已经变了好几次了。
Wǒ… wǒ yě bú tài zhīdào, xiānsheng. Jīntiān zǎoshang qǐchuáng de shíhou, wǒ hái zhīdào wǒ shì shéi. Kěshì cóng nà yǐhòu, wǒ yǐjīng biàn le hǎo jǐ cì le.
I… I hardly know, sir. When I got up this morning, I knew who I was. But I've changed so many times since then!
- Caterpillar 什么意思？你自己说清楚。
Shénme yìsi? Nǐ zìjǐ shuō qīngchu.
What do you mean? Explain yourself.
- Alice 我说不清楚，先生，因为我已经不是我自己了。
Wǒ shuō bu qīngchu, xiānsheng, yīnwèi wǒ yǐjīng bú shì wǒ zìjǐ le.
I can't explain it, sir, because I'm not myself anymore, you see.
- Caterpillar 我不明白。
Wǒ bù míngbai.
I don't see.
- Alice 我自己也不明白！一天里变大又变小，变小又变大，谁都会受不了的。
Wǒ zìjǐ yě bù míngbai! Yì tiān lǐ biàn dà yòu biàn xiǎo, biàn xiǎo yòu biàn dà, shéi dōu huì shòu bu liǎo de.
I don't understand it myself! Big, then small, then big again, all in one day. Anyone would find that too much.
- Caterpillar 不会。
Bú huì.
No, they wouldn't.
- Alice 也许你现在还不会。可是等你以后变成了蝴蝶，你也会觉得奇怪吧？反正我，我觉得很奇怪。
Yěxǔ nǐ xiànzài hái bú huì. Kěshì děng nǐ yǐhòu biànchéng le húdié, nǐ yě huì juéde qíguài ba? Fǎnzhèng wǒ, wǒ juéde hěn qíguài.
Maybe not yet. But when you turn into a butterfly one day, won't that feel strange to you too? Anyway, I find it very strange.
- Caterpillar 你？你是谁？
Nǐ? Nǐ shì shéi?
You? Who are YOU?
- Alice 又回到开始了！这只毛毛虫真没礼貌，问来问去，就会问这一句……我走了。
Yòu huí dào kāishǐ le! Zhè zhī máomaochóng zhēn méi lǐmào, wèn lái wèn qù, jiù huì wèn zhè yí jù… Wǒ zǒu le.
Right back to the beginning! What a rude caterpillar. He only knows how to ask one question… I'm leaving.
- Caterpillar 回来！我有很重要的话要说。
Huílái! Wǒ yǒu hěn zhòngyào de huà yào shuō.
Come back! I have something important to say.
- Alice 什么话？
Shénme huà?
What is it?
- Caterpillar 别生气。
Bié shēngqì.
Keep your temper.
- Alice 就……就这一句？
Jiù… jiù zhè yí jù?
Is… is that all?
- Caterpillar 不是。你说你变了？那好，你说说在学校学过的东西，我听听。
Bú shì. Nǐ shuō nǐ biàn le? Nà hǎo, nǐ shuōshuo zài xuéxiào xué guo de dōngxi, wǒ tīngting.
No. So you think you've changed, do you? Very well. Tell me some of the things you learned at school.
- Alice 好。四乘五等于十二，四乘六等于十三，四乘七……不对，不对！
Hǎo. Sì chéng wǔ děngyú shí'èr, sì chéng liù děngyú shísān, sì chéng qī… Bú duì, bú duì!
All right. Four times five is twelve, four times six is thirteen, four times seven… No, no, that's wrong!
- Alice 那说地理吧：伦敦是巴黎的首都，巴黎是罗马的首都……也错了！
Nà shuō dìlǐ ba: Lúndūn shì Bālí de shǒudū, Bālí shì Luómǎ de shǒudū… Yě cuò le!
Geography, then: London is the capital of Paris, and Paris is the capital of Rome… Wrong again!
- Caterpillar 从头到尾，都错了。……你想要多高？
Cóng tóu dào wěi, dōu cuò le.… Nǐ xiǎng yào duō gāo?
Wrong from beginning to end… How tall do you want to be?
- Alice 高一点儿就好，先生。我现在只有这么一点点高，跟手指差不多，太难受了！
Gāo yìdiǎnr jiù hǎo, xiānsheng. Wǒ xiànzài zhǐ yǒu zhème yìdiǎndiǎn gāo, gēn shǒuzhǐ chàbuduō, tài nánshòu le!
Just a little taller would be nice, sir. Right now I'm only about as tall as a finger. It's simply awful!
- Caterpillar 这个高度正好！我就是这么高！
Zhège gāodù zhènghǎo! Wǒ jiù shì zhème gāo!
It's a perfectly good height! I'm exactly that tall myself!
- Narrator 毛毛虫生气地爬下了蘑菇。他一边往草里爬，一边慢慢地说：
Máomaochóng shēngqì de pá xià le mógu. Tā yìbiān wǎng cǎo lǐ pá, yìbiān mànmàn de shuō:
The Caterpillar crawled crossly down from the mushroom. As he crawled away into the grass, he said slowly:
- Caterpillar 一边会让你变高，另一边会让你变矮。
Yì biān huì ràng nǐ biàn gāo, lìng yì biān huì ràng nǐ biàn ǎi.
One side will make you taller, and the other side will make you shorter.
- Alice 什么的一边？另一边又是什么？
Shénme de yì biān? Lìng yì biān yòu shì shénme?
One side of what? And the other side of what?
- Caterpillar 蘑菇。
Mógu.
Of the mushroom.
- Narrator 爱丽丝从蘑菇的两边各拿了一小块。她先咬了一口右手的那块。
Àilìsī cóng mógu de liǎng biān gè ná le yì xiǎo kuài. Tā xiān yǎo le yì kǒu yòushǒu de nà kuài.
Alice broke off a little piece from each side of the mushroom. First she nibbled the piece in her right hand.
- Alice 哎呀！我的下巴碰到脚了！快，吃左手的！
Āiyā! Wǒ de xiàba pèng dào jiǎo le! Kuài, chī zuǒshǒu de!
Help! My chin's hit my feet! Quick, eat the left-hand piece!
- Narrator 这一次，她的脖子变得长长的，一直长到了树的上面。她往下一看，只看见一大片绿色的树叶。
Zhè yí cì, tā de bózi biàn de chángcháng de, yìzhí zhǎng dào le shù de shàngmiàn. Tā wǎng xià yí kàn, zhǐ kànjiàn yí dà piàn lǜsè de shùyè.
This time her neck grew long, long, long, until her head rose right up above the trees. When she looked down, all she could see was a great sea of green leaves.
- Pigeon 蛇！有蛇！我把蛋放在这么高的树上，你们蛇还是要来！走开！
Shé! Yǒu shé! Wǒ bǎ dàn fàng zài zhème gāo de shù shang, nǐmen shé háishi yào lái! Zǒukāi!
A snake! A snake! I put my eggs all the way up in this tall tree, and you snakes still come after them! Go away!
- Alice 鸽子，我不是蛇！我是一个小女孩！
Gēzi, wǒ bú shì shé! Wǒ shì yí gè xiǎo nǚhái!
I'm not a snake, Pigeon! I'm a little girl!
- Pigeon 小女孩？那你吃不吃蛋？
Xiǎo nǚhái? Nà nǐ chī bu chī dàn?
A little girl? Then do you eat eggs?
- Alice 吃啊，小女孩都吃蛋……
Chī a, xiǎo nǚhái dōu chī dàn…
Well, yes, little girls eat eggs…
- Pigeon 那小女孩就是一种蛇！我说对了吧？走开，别碰我的蛋！
Nà xiǎo nǚhái jiù shì yì zhǒng shé! Wǒ shuō duì le ba? Zǒukāi, bié pèng wǒ de dàn!
Then little girls are a kind of snake! See? I was right! Go away, and keep away from my eggs!
- Alice 左边咬一点儿，右边咬一点儿……慢慢来……好了！我又是原来的我了！蘑菇我要留着。
Zuǒbian yǎo yìdiǎnr, yòubian yǎo yìdiǎnr… Mànmàn lái… Hǎo le! Wǒ yòu shì yuánlái de wǒ le! Mógu wǒ yào liúzhe.
A nibble from the left, a nibble from the right… slowly, slowly… There! I'm back to my old self again! I'd better keep these bits of mushroom.
- Alice 咦，前面有一座小房子。里面怎么这么吵？有人打喷嚏，有小孩哭，还有盘子碎了！
Yí, qiánmiàn yǒu yí zuò xiǎo fángzi. Lǐmiàn zěnme zhème chǎo? Yǒu rén dǎ pēntì, yǒu xiǎohái kū, hái yǒu pánzi suì le!
Oh, there's a little house up ahead. Why is it so noisy in there? Someone's sneezing, a baby's howling, and plates are smashing!
What changed in the story?
- Why can't Alice tell the Caterpillar who she is?
“可是从那以后，我已经变了好几次了。”
- What goes wrong when Alice recites what she learned at school?
“四乘五等于十二……伦敦是巴黎的首都……也错了！”
- Why is the Caterpillar angry when Alice complains about being tiny?
“这个高度正好！我就是这么高！”
- What is the mushroom's secret?
“一边会让你变高，另一边会让你变矮。”
- Why does the Pigeon decide little girls are a kind of snake?
“那你吃不吃蛋？……那小女孩就是一种蛇！”