he had been left to the last, and then there was not enough of the melted tin to finish him, so they made him to stand firmly on one leg, and this caused him to be very remarkable

锡兵站着的桌子上摆满了其他玩具，但最吸引人眼球的是一座漂亮的小纸城堡。

the table on which the tin soldiers stood, was covered with other playthings, but the most attractive to the eye was a pretty little paper castle

透过小窗户可以看到房间里面。

through the small windows the rooms could be seen

城堡前面有许多小树环绕着一块镜子，那镜子是用来代表一个透明的湖的。

in front of the castle a number of little trees surrounded a piece of looking - glass, which was intended to represent a transparent lake

用蜡做的天鹅在湖上游泳，并且在湖面上倒映着。

swans, made of wax, swam on the lake, and were reflected in it

这一切都非常漂亮，但最漂亮的是一位站在城堡敞开的门口的小女士；

all this was very pretty, but the prettiest of all was a tiny little lady, who stood at the open door of the castle;

她也是用纸做的，她穿着一件透明的薄纱连衣裙，肩上系着一条窄窄的蓝丝带，就像围巾一样。

she, also, was made of paper, and she wore a dress of clear muslin, with a narrow blue ribbon over her shoulders just like a scarf

在这些前面别着一朵闪闪发光的金属箔做的玫瑰，有她整个脸那么大。

in front of these was fixed a glittering tinsel rose, as large as her whole face

这位小女士是一名舞者，她伸出双臂，还把一条腿抬得很高，高到小锡兵根本看不见那条腿，于是他以为她也像自己一样只有一条腿。

the little lady was a dancer, and she stretched out both her arms, and raised one of her legs so high, that the tin soldier could not see it at all, and he thought that she, like himself, had only one leg

“她就是我的妻子。” 他想。

“that is the wife for me,” he thought;

“但她太尊贵了，住在城堡里，而我却只有一个盒子可住，我们总共二十五个都住在里面，那不是适合她住的地方。

“but she is too grand, and lives in a castle, while i have only a box to live in, five - and - twenty of us altogether, that is no place for her

不过我必须设法结识她。”

still i must try and make her acquaintance”

然后他在桌上一个鼻烟盒后面直挺挺地躺了下来，这样他就能偷看那位娇弱的小女士了，她单腿站着，却没有失去平衡。

then he laid himself at full length on the table behind a snuff - box that stood upon it, so that he could peep at the little delicate lady, who continued to stand on one leg without losing her balance

夜幕降临的时候，其他锡兵都被放进盒子里了，屋子里的人也都上床睡觉了。

when evening came, the other tin soldiers were all placed in the box, and the people of the house went to bed

然后玩具们开始一起玩自己的游戏，互相拜访，进行模拟战斗，还举办舞会。

then the playthings began to have their own games together, to pay visits, to have sham fights, and to give balls

锡兵们在盒子里哐啷作响。

the tin soldiers rattled in their box;

他们想出去参加娱乐活动，但是他们打不开盖子。

they wanted to get out and join the amusements, but they could not open the lid

胡桃夹子玩起了跳背游戏，铅笔在桌子上跳来跳去。

the nut - crackers played at leap - frog, and the pencil jumped about the table

吵闹声太大了，以至于金丝雀被吵醒，开始说起话来，而且还是用诗歌的形式。

there was such a noise that the canary woke up and began to talk, and in poetry too

只有小锡兵和舞者还待在原地。

only the tin soldier and the dancer remained in their places

她踮着脚尖，双腿伸直，站得和他单腿站立时一样稳。

she stood on tiptoe, with her legs stretched out, as firmly as he did on his one leg

他一刻也没有把视线从她身上移开。

he never took his eyes from her for even a moment

时钟敲响了十二下，随着砰的一声，鼻烟盒的盖子弹开了。

the clock struck twelve, and, with a bounce, up sprang the lid of the snuff - box;

但是，从里面跳出来的不是鼻烟，而是一个小黑妖精；因为这个鼻烟盒是一个玩具机关盒。

but, instead of snuff, there jumped up a little black goblin;

for the snuff - box was a toy puzzle

“锡兵，” 小妖精说，“不要奢望不属于你的东西。”

“tin soldier,” said the goblin, “don’t wish for what does not belong to you”

但是锡兵假装没听见。

but the tin soldier pretended not to hear

“很好；那就等到明天吧。” 小妖精说。