在奇遇岛上离公主的城堡不远的地方，有一个名叫礼仪国度的小地方。这是一个温柔又文雅的国度，甚至可以说是一个彬彬有礼的地方。就连风儿吹过树木和小草时发出的沙沙声，也像是在有礼貌地说着“谢谢”和“不客气”似的。

这里的所有居民都非常讲礼貌：跳来跳去的小兔子们要么打着领结，戴着大礼帽，要么穿着漂亮的长裙子，戴着有花边的遮阳?帽。

On the island of Serendipity, not far from the princess’s castle, was a land called Amenity. Amenity was a gentle place. A proper place, if you would, where the Please Trees rustled in the breeze that blew the pollen from the Urwelcome Weeds.

It was a polite land where bunnies hopped about in bow ties and top hats as others rustled about in lace shawls and bonnets.

这儿住着一只奶黄兔，她不仅特别讲礼貌，而且很注意保持各种文静的好习惯。比如，她总是带着一块手绢儿，想打喷嚏的时候就用它遮住自己的小鼻子。看到玫瑰花开得正好，奶黄兔也只会凑过去轻轻闻一闻，从来不随随便便把花朵摘下来。如果她不小心打了个嗝儿，她就会彬彬有礼地说一声“不好意思”。

奶黄兔是礼仪国度里所有动物的好榜样，大家都为她感到骄?傲。

One of the bunnies that lived here was called Buttermilk. She was very polite and her manners were impeccable. She always carried a hanky to stifle her sniffles and she only smelled, never picked, the roses that grew in great profusion.

Buttermilk was the pride of all and the essence of Amenity as she politely said, “Excuse me,” if she hiccoughed or burped.

每天下午三点一刻，礼仪国度所有的动物都会暂时搁下手上的活计，围着铺了花边桌布的圆木和树桩一起坐下来。动物们喝着用蒲公英泡的茶，吃着浇了焦糖的煎饼和撒满糖霜的脆饼干。

他们会客气地聊聊天气，或者猫头鹰在月光明媚的夜晚会不会飞行这样的琐事。礼仪国度看起来就是这么文雅、这么和气。

可是，这里不是所有事情都那么完美，也不是所有动物都会讲礼貌。每天下午刚到三点一刻，动物们刚刚摆好舒服的桌椅准备喝茶，暴暴熊就来了。

Every afternoon at a quarter of three, all of the polite creatures that lived in Amenity stopped their busy bodies and gathered about stumps and logs draped with lace-edged doilies. There they would sip a bit of dandelion tea and munch upon caramel crumpets and sugar crumb cookies.

They would politely speak of the weather or whether the owl would fly that moonlit night. Ah, all seemed perfectly polite in the land of Amenity.

But all was not perfect in Amenity, nor were all the creatures polite.For every afternoon at a quarter of three, just as tea was set and made cozy for drinking, there came the Grumpling.

暴暴熊是一只粗鲁又没礼貌的大熊，他的个子大得吓人，长着拧成一团的粗眉毛和又宽又方的大下巴。他乱糟糟的皮毛一绺一绺地粘在一起，因为他从来没有好好梳理过。暴暴熊的脖子上胡乱围着一条又脏又破的围巾，上面沾满了树叶和脏东西，甚至有吃饭时掉的饭渣。当暴暴熊踏着咚咚响的大步子走来走去的时候，这条破围巾就耷拉在他的背后，垂在地上拖来拖去。

The Grumpling was an uncivilized bear of monstrous proportions,with a jutting jaw and a knitted brow. His hair seemed cast of wire and never, never was combed or parted. He wore about his neck a tattered scarf that was rarely tied properly, if at all. The scarf, stuck here and there with bits of leaves and smudges of last night’s supper, always trailed behind him as he stomped down the trail.

一到下午三点一刻，暴暴熊就会准时出现。他虽然不喝茶，却会把所有的饼干、煎饼和三明治都吃光，连喝过茶后清口用的薄荷糖也不放过。要不是桌布是用纱线织成的，实在是没办法消化，他大概就要连桌布一起吃下去了。

吃掉所有茶点后，暴暴熊只会生气地抱怨吃的东西太少。他用脏兮兮的围巾擦擦嘴，打一个响得能吓跑树上的小鸟的响嗝儿，然后嘟嘟囔囔地转身就走，连一句“谢谢”或者“再见”也不说。

但是，礼仪国度的动物们并不会说什么，因为他们都太文雅、太和气了。他们只会平静地给自己倒一杯茶，就好像什么事情都没有发生过一样，虽然很糟糕的事情确确实实已经发生了。

He always showed up at a quarter of three, and though he never drank the tea, he would eat the cookies—all of the cookies— and crumpets, finger sandwiches and after-tea mints. He probably would have eaten the doilies, but they were made of yarn and hardly digestible, even for the Grumpling.

When finished, he would grumble about not having had enough to eat, and wipe his mouth on his scarf. Then, without a “thank you” or a“by your leave”, he would belch a rumbling belch that shook birds from the trees, and off he would grump down the trail.

None of the creatures of Amenity said anything, so polite were they. They would calmly pour their tea and pretend as if nothing had happened at all—although a lot happened indeed.

有一天，奶黄兔终于受不了了。前一天晚上，她在厨房里烤了好久，才做出来一大堆又香又脆的甜饼，香得让人忍不住流口水，但暴暴熊一把就把它们填进大嘴巴了。她还烤了许多小饼干，做了两三个精致漂亮的小蛋糕，可是暴暴熊一口就把这些点心吃光了。只是吃掉的话还不要紧，但暴暴熊不仅不会说“奶黄兔小姐，这些点心做得好吃极了”，甚至一句简单的“谢谢”也不会说，这才是让奶黄兔生气的地方。实际上，奶黄兔简直气得要死。她下定了决心，一定要让这个坏脾气的家伙学会懂礼貌。

One day Buttermilk had finally taken all that she could take.It was bad enough that she had baked and baked the night before, making a dozen or more of the most scrumptious crumpets, the mouthwatering kind, only to see the Grumpling stuff them all in his mouth.It was bad enough that she had made batches of cookies and two or three delightful little cakes, only to find that the Grumpling had eaten them all in one single bite. But when he didn’t say “thank you” or even“they tasted great, Miss Buttermilk, ma’am,” Buttermilk got angry,downright mad, if you please. She decided right then and there to tame that ill-mannered beast if it was the last thing she did.

奶黄兔一边想着，一边飞快地跑回了自己的家。她把围裙紧紧地系在腰上，开始忙碌起来。因为奶黄兔突然想到，从来没有谁专门为暴暴熊准备一桌像样的茶点，也没有谁想到喝茶的时候叫上暴暴熊。所以，如果她做好自己最拿手的点心，正式邀请暴暴熊喝茶的话，那么他一定会表现得文雅起来的。

奶黄兔先是烤了许多特别的脆皮甜饼，然后把金雀花的种子、燕麦和麦麸磨成细细的面粉，加上莓子和果酱，用模子把面团切得圆圆的，送进炉子里烤成饼干。

She rushed home to her burrow and there, after tying her apron of ruffly ruffles firmly around her waist, she whisked and whipped this and that the whole night through. For Buttermilk realized that nobody had ever formally set a tea table for the Grumpling, or even actually invited him for that matter. She would bake the best of the best and invite the Grumpling for tea. Surely then he would be polite.

She stirred up a batch of her most special crisp crumbly crumpets and popped them in the oven. She ground broom seeds, oat and bran into a fine flour that she mixed with button berries and marmalade. All of this was plopped into biscuit molds and this, too, was popped into the oven.

第二天下午，一到三点一刻，奶黄兔就在暴暴熊的必经之路上摆好了自己的桌子。她铺上干净的花边桌布，放上精巧的小三明治和甜甜的金雀花饼干，又摆上了自己最好的茶壶、盘子和茶杯。她放了两套餐具，一套给自己，另一套给暴暴熊。奶黄兔甚至在暴暴熊的位置上放了一张漂亮的邀请函，是用手工剪出花边的白纸做成的，上面用优美的花体字写着他的名字。

准备妥当后，奶黄兔端端正正地在桌边坐了下来，等着爱惹麻烦的暴暴熊出现。很快，她就听见了一阵盘子乱撞的响动，暴暴熊已经开始粗鲁地大吃其他桌上精心准备的点心了。

不一会儿，这个野蛮的大家伙就到了奶黄兔的桌边。可是，他刚吃了一两口，奶黄兔就突然站起身来对他说：“不好意思，暴暴熊先生，你为什么不像个绅士一样坐下来和我一起喝茶呢？”

The very next day at a quarter of three, Buttermilk set up for tea right in the middle of the trail from whence would come the Grumpling.She laid down her fresh lace doilies and upon them she set her best tea cozy, saucer and cups. She laid out dainty little sandwiches and the sweet biscuits of broom seed. She set two places at her table; one for the Grumpling and one for herself. At the Grumpling’s plate she set a formal invitation which she had written in the finest of cursive lettering on linen paper with hand-cut frills.

When all was set and ready, she sat down prim and proper and waited for the scrubby lout himself—the Grumpling. It wasn’t long before she heard saucers rattling and saw crumbs flying as the Grumpling fed himself rudely on others’ polite food.

It was but a moment before the crude beast was upon her table, ready to ravage her food. He had only taken a bite or two before she rose and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Grumpling, sir, but won’t you sit down and enjoy tea with me like a gentleman should?”

脸上沾满果酱的暴暴熊愣住了。“哩唆熟么？”他说话的时候嘴里还塞得满满的，点心渣喷了奶黄兔一身。

“我刚才说的是，”奶黄兔和气而严肃地回答，“我邀请你和我一起喝茶。你应该像绅士一样坐下来，用文雅礼貌的方式继续吃喝，不然我就不让你吃我的甜饼了。”

暴暴熊呆呆地看着奶黄兔，实在是惊讶极了。

The Grumpling just looked at her with jam on his face and muttered,“Whazzafrashur?” As he spoke, Buttermilk was showered with a spray of crumpet crumbs and cookie bits.

“I said,” she said firmly but primly, “that you have been invited and you shall sit down like a gentleman and sip tea in a civilized manner or you shan’t eat any more of my crumpets.”

The Grumpling looked at her, shocked was he.

然后，暴暴熊轻蔑地摇了摇头，继续埋头大吃起来。这次他连桌布和邀请函都吃下去了！就在他狼吞虎咽的时候，奶黄兔勇敢地站到小路中间，挡住了暴暴熊的路。

“你可真是个粗鲁无礼的家伙，还不讲道理！”她一边说，一边气得用脚爪敲着铺满石子的路面。

鼻尖沾着果酱的暴暴熊粗鲁地打了个大大的响嗝儿，大摇大摆地准备离开，但奶黄兔就是不给他让路。

“如果你不对我道歉，或者至少说一句‘谢谢你的点心’的话，我是不会让开的！”奶黄兔坚定地说。

但暴暴熊只是漫不经心地从她身边闯了过去，蛮横地把小兔子挤到了一边。

Then he shook his head in a disdainful way and proceeded to eat all there was to eat, including the invitation, and this time he even ate the doilies! As he ate, Buttermilk stood boldly in the center of the path.

“You rude, inconsiderate beast,” she said, as her foot tapped in a staccato manner on the cobbled path.

The Grumpling just looked at her with a bit of jam still on his nose and belched the rudest burp. Then he started on his way as was his wont, but Buttermilk refused to move.

“I will not move from this spot until you apologize and at least say‘thank you!’” she said, daring him to pass.

Without a thought, without a care, the Grumpling roughly brushed past the poor little rabbit, rudely bumping her out of the way.

可怜的奶黄兔忍不住流下了眼泪。她已经尽了自己的全力，辛辛苦苦地烤了那么多点心，准备了最漂亮的桌子，但暴暴熊还是那么粗鲁、那么没礼貌。奶黄兔不停地哭啊哭啊，实在是失望极了。

不过，暴暴熊并没有像以前一样一走了之。一听到小兔子的抽泣声，他就立刻停了下来，飞快地跑回了奶黄兔坐着的地方。

他一边尴尬地用两只大脚在地上来回蹭着，一边用很小的声音嘟囔道：“呃，那个，奶黄兔小姐，你可别哭呀！对不起，我没想伤害你的。”

Poor, poor Buttermilk. She had tried so hard. She had baked and baked and set the nicest table, but still the Grumpling was as rude as he could be. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she cried and cried, so frustrated was she.

But the Grumpling didn’t go on as he had in the past. He stopped fast in his tracks as the little bunny was racked with sobs.

He stomped back to where she sat in the moss, and while shuffling from one foot to the other, mumbled, “Oh, uh, well, don’t cry, Miss Buttermilk, ma’am. I am sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

这句道歉的话让森林高兴地发出了沙沙的响声，因为这是暴暴熊第一次做出有礼貌的事情。他弯下身子，用围巾上唯一干净的地方替奶黄兔擦干了眼泪。

“是这样的，奶黄兔小姐，我只是不知道怎么做才是讲礼貌，谁都没有教过我，也没有谁会请我一起喝茶。我不是故意让你伤心的。”这时候，奶黄兔才突然明白，暴暴熊并不是故意不讲礼貌的。如果他不知道什么是好、什么是坏，那他怎么可能知道什么是文雅、什么是粗鲁呢？想清楚这一点后，奶黄兔看待暴暴熊的眼光就不太一样了。

暴暴熊帮奶黄兔从地上站了起来。小兔子温和地问他：“如果有人愿意帮助你，那么你愿意学着变得文雅起来，用礼貌的方式和礼仪国度的大家相处吗？”

“哎呀，我当然愿意了。”暴暴熊用低低的声音答道。

奶黄兔牵着他的手，带着他沿石子路回到了自己的兔子小窝。

And the forest rang with his apology, for it was the first polite thing the Grumpling had ever done. He reached down, and with the only clean spot on his scarf, he wiped away her tears.

“You see, ma’am, I just don’t know how to be polite. Nobody ever showed me, and I never have been invited. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”It was then and only then that Buttermilk realized that the Grumpling didn’t mean to be impolite. For how could one be impolite when one didn’t know right from wrong. She began to see the Grumpling in a new polite light.

The Grumpling helped her to her feet and Buttermilk asked courteously,“If someone would help you, would you be willing to learn the polite way, the right way, to carry yourself in the land of Amenity?”

“Oh, yes ma’am, ” said he in a low, rumbling voice.

Hand in hand, they set off down the cobbled path to Buttermilk’s burrow in the woods.

暴暴熊和奶黄兔很快就成了好朋友。奶黄兔教他什么时候该说“请”，什么时候该说“谢谢”；告诉他餐巾应该摊在大腿上，而不是围在脖子下面。她还用肥皂和漂白粉把他的脏围巾洗得干干净净，又用熨斗熨得平平整整。现在暴暴熊甚至学会了用围巾打领结，喝下午茶的时候，这么做实在是最文雅、最得体的了。

如果我们愿意花时间教，那么，哪怕是最粗鲁的人也会改变的。

From that day forward, Buttermilk and the Grumpling were the fastest of friends. She taught him how to lay his napkin on his lap and not to wrap it around his neck. She taught him how and when to say“please” and “thank you”. She even washed his scarf with soap and bleach, pressed it flat and pleated it. The Grumpling even learned to tie it in a rakish way, a polite and proper sort of thing to do when you have tea at a quarter of three.

For in the rudest of people there is always convention, if we would only take time to teach it.

多讲礼貌，

友善待人，

你就永远不用担心，会变成“暴暴熊”啦！

AS YOU LIVE AND AS YOU GROW IN THE LAND OF AMENITY

BE POLITE AND GRACIOUS, TOO,AND YOU NEVER WILL

A GRUMPLING BE.