一

They went to sea in a sieve, they did;

In a sieve they went to sea:

In spite of all their friends could say,

On a winter's morn, on a stormy day,

In a sieve they went to sea.

And when the sieve turned round and round,

And every one cried, "You'll all be drowned!"

They called aloud, "Our sieve ain't big;

But we don't care a button, we don't care a fig:

In a sieve we'll go to sea!"

Far and few, far and few,

Are the lands where the Jumblies live:

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue

And they went to sea in a sieve.

他们乘着只滤网舟出海去呀，出海去；

乘着只滤网舟呀，出海去：

不管他们的朋友们怎样说，

在一个冬日早晨，狂风大作，

他们乘着只滤网舟呀，出海去。

滤网舟在海里翻了又滚不停下，

大伙儿见了都喊：“他们快要淹死啦！”

他们回答道：“我们的船儿虽不大，

但我们丝毫都不怕：

乘着只滤网舟呀，我们出海去！”

小小世界，世界小小，

小精灵居住的土地越来越少：

他们手儿蓝呀，脑袋绿，

乘着只滤网舟呀，出海去。

二

They sailed away in a sieve, they did,

In a sieve they sailed so fast,

With only a beautiful pea-green veil

Tied with a ribbon, by way of a sail,

To a small tobacco-pipe mast.

And every one said who saw them go,

"Oh! won't they be soon upset, you know?

For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long;

And, happen what may, it's extremely wrong

In a sieve to sail so fast."

Far and few, far and few,

Are the lands where the Jumblies live:

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue;

And they went to sea in a sieve.

他们乘着只滤网舟去远航呀，去远航；

乘着只滤网舟呀，去远航，

张着一面豆绿的帷幔，

当做他们小船儿的风帆，

还有根飘带系在烟斗上做桅杆。

每个见他们去远航的人都说：

“哦！他们不久就会觉得这事儿做错！

夜色来临，旅途遥远；

他们真不应历尽艰险，

乘着只滤网舟呀，去远航。”

小小世界，世界小小，

小精灵居住的土地越来越少：

他们手儿蓝呀，脑袋绿，

乘着只滤网舟呀，出海去。

三

The water it soon came in, it did;

The water it soon came in:

So, to keep them dry, they wrapped their feet

In a pinky paper all folded neat;

And they fastened it down with a pin.

And they passed the night in a crockery-jar;

And each of them said, "How wise we are!

Though the sky be dark, and the voyage be long,

Yet we never can think we were rash or wrong,

While round in our sieve we spin."

Far and few, far and few,

Are the lands where the Jumblies live:

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue;

And they went to sea in a sieve.

大水很快就淹进来了呀，淹进来；

大水很快就淹了进来：

为了不被大水淹着，

他们取来张淡红色信笺将双脚包；

再用枚别针固定牢。

他们在瓦罐里将漫漫长夜熬过；

“我们多聪明！”他们都说，

“虽然夜色苍茫，旅途漫长，

但我们从不认为我们太鲁莽，

因为我们在小船里安然无恙。”

小小世界，世界小小，

小精灵居住的土地越来越少：

他们手儿蓝呀，脑袋绿，

乘着只滤网舟呀，出海去。

四

And all night long they sailed away;

And when the sun went down,

They whistled and warbled a moony song

To the echoing sound of a coppery gong,

In the shade of the mountains brown.

"O Timballoo! How happy we are

When we live in a sieve and a crockery-jar!

And all night long, in the moonlight pale,

We sail away with a pea-green sail

In the shade of the mountains brown."

Far and few, far and few,

Are the lands where the Jumblies live:

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue;

And they went to sea in a sieve.

他们趁着夜色航行去远方；

太阳早已经沉落在西方，

他们吹起了口哨对月欢歌，

敲起了铜锣呀，多么快乐，

而远山的暗影正朝这边遮。

“哦，敲起锣！我们笑得多欢畅，

我们在小小滤网舟的瓦罐里安躺！

一整夜，银色的月光轻轻洒，

我们扬起豆绿色的风帆出发，

在远山深重的暗影下。”

小小世界，世界小小，

小精灵居住的土地越来越少：

他们手儿蓝呀，脑袋绿，

乘着只滤网舟呀，出海去。

五

They sailed to the Western Sea, they did,—

To a land all covered with trees:

And they bought an owl, and a useful cart,

And a pound of rice, and a cranberry-tart,

And a hive of silvery bees;

And they bought a pig, and some green jackdaws,

And a lovely monkey with lollipop paws,

And forty bottles of ring-bo-ree,

And no end of Stilton cheese.

Far and few, far and few,

Are the lands where the Jumblies live:

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue;

And they went to sea in a sieve.

他们航行下西洋呀，下西洋——

去到一处绿树成荫的好地方：

他们买来辆手推车，一只猫头鹰，

还有一磅大米、一个越橘饼，

还养了窝小蜜蜂呀，多开心；

他们又买来头小猪，几只小寒鸦，

还有可爱的小猴子，手儿把糖果抓，

又买了四十瓶灵波丽美酒，

还有斯蒂尔顿奶酪让他们吃个够。

小小世界，世界小小，

小精灵居住的土地越来越少：

他们手儿蓝呀，脑袋绿，

乘着只滤网舟呀，出海去。

六

And in twenty years they all came back,—

In twenty years or more;

And every one said, "How tall they've grown!

For they've been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone,

And the hills of the Chankly Bore."

And they drank their health, and gave them a feast

Of dumplings made of beautiful yeast;

And every one said, "If we only live,

We, too, will go to sea in a sieve,

To the hills of the Chankly Bore."

Far and few, far and few,

Are the lands where the Jumblies live:

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue;

And they went to sea in a sieve.

二十多年后，他们返回了家乡——

二十多年一晃过；

乡亲们都说：“看，他们长高啦！

大湖与恐怖地带他们都曾到达，

他们还把枪壳堡山爬。”

乡亲们敬酒，祝他们身体健康，

还办了顿丰盛的饺子宴让他们品尝；

大伙儿都说：“有生之年，

我们也盼着乘滤网舟呀，向前，

去看那枪壳堡山一眼。”

小小世界，世界小小，

小精灵居住的土地越来越少：

他们手儿蓝呀，脑袋绿，

乘着只滤网舟呀，出海去。