那是一只完整的鸟，有嘴有羽毛，死了应该没多久，就躺在鼹鼠挖通道的地方。

it was a perfect bird, with a beak and feathers, and could not have been dead long, and was lying just where the mole had made his passage

鼹鼠嘴里叼着一块磷木，在黑暗中像火一样闪闪发光；

the mole took a piece of phosphorescent wood in his mouth, and it glittered like fire in the dark;

然后他走在她们前面，照亮这条又长又黑的通道。

then he went before them to light them through the long, dark passage

当她们来到那只死鸟躺着的地方时，鼹鼠用他宽阔的鼻子顶穿了天花板，泥土塌了下来，于是出现了一个大洞，阳光照进了通道里。

when they came to the spot where lay the dead bird, the mole pushed his broad nose through the ceiling, the earth gave way, so that there was a large hole, and the daylight shone into the passage

在地面中间躺着一只死燕子，他美丽的翅膀紧紧地贴在身体两侧，他的脚和头都缩在羽毛下面；这只可怜的鸟显然是冻死的。

in the middle of the floor lay a dead swallow, his beautiful wings pulled close to his sides, his feet and his head drawn up under his feathers; the poor bird had evidently died of the cold

看到这只燕子，小拇指姑娘非常难过，她是如此喜爱小鸟；整个夏天它们都为她动听地歌唱、叽叽喳喳地叫着。

it made little tiny very sad to see it, she did so love the little birds; all the summer they had sung and twittered for her so beautifully

但是鼹鼠用他弯曲的腿把它推到一边，说道：“他现在再也不会唱歌了。”

but the mole pushed it aside with his crooked legs, and said, “he will sing no more now

生来是一只小鸟该多么悲惨啊！我很庆幸我的孩子永远不会是鸟，因为它们除了‘叽叽喳喳’地叫什么也做不了，而且总是在冬天饿死。

how miserable it must be to be born a little bird! i am thankful that none of my children will ever be birds, for they can do nothing but cry, ‘tweet, tweet,’ and always die of hunger in the winter”

“是的，作为一个聪明人，你说得很对！” 田鼠叫道，“他叽叽喳喳地叫有什么用呢，因为冬天一到，他不是饿死就是冻死。不过鸟儿都是非常高贵的。”

“yes, you may well say that, as a clever man!” exclaimed the field - mouse, “what is the use of his twittering, for when winter es he must either starve or be frozen to death still birds are very high bred”

拇指姑娘什么也没说；

tiny said nothing;

但是当另外两个家伙背对着小鸟时，她弯下腰，把盖在小鸟头上的柔软羽毛轻轻拨开，亲吻了紧闭的眼睑。

but when the two others had turned their backs on the bird, she stooped down and stroked aside the soft feathers which covered the head, and kissed the closed eyelids

“也许这就是夏天时对我唱得那么甜美的那只鸟呢，” 她说，“你这可爱、漂亮的小鸟，给我带来了多少快乐啊。”

“perhaps this was the one who sang to me so sweetly in the summer,” she said; “and how much pleasure it gave me, you dear, pretty bird”

鼹鼠现在把透进阳光的洞堵住了，然后陪着田鼠女士回家了。

the mole now stopped up the hole through which the daylight shone, and then acpanied the lady home

但是夜里拇指姑娘睡不着；

but during the night tiny could not sleep;

于是她下了床，用干草编织了一块又大又漂亮的毯子；

so she got out of bed and wove a large, beautiful carpet of hay;

然后她把毯子拿到死鸟那里，盖在他身上；

then she carried it to the dead bird, and spread it over him;

毯子上还加上了她在田鼠房间里找到的一些花朵上的绒毛。

with some down from the flowers which she had found in the field - mouse’s room

这些绒毛像羊毛一样柔软，她在鸟的两边都铺了一些，这样他在寒冷的地下就能暖和地躺着了。

it was as soft as wool, and she spread some of it on each side of the bird, so that he might lie warmly in the cold earth

“再见了，你这漂亮的小鸟，” 她说，“再见了；感谢你在夏天树木葱茏、温暖的阳光照耀着我们的时候唱出那么美妙的歌声。”

“farewell, you pretty little bird,” said she, “farewell; thank you for your delightful singing during the summer, when all the trees were green, and the warm sun shone upon us”

然后她把头靠在小鸟的胸脯上，但她马上惊恐起来，因为好像小鸟体内有什么东西在 “扑通，扑通” 地跳动。

then she laid her head on the bird’s breast, but she was alarmed immediately, for it seemed as if something inside the bird went “thump, thump”

那是小鸟的心脏；

it was the bird’s heart;

他并没有真的死去，只是冻僵了，温暖使他苏醒过来。

he was not really dead, only benumbed with the cold, and the warmth had restored him to life

秋天的时候，所有的燕子都飞到温暖的国度去，但如果有一只碰巧逗留，寒冷就会侵袭它，它就会被冻僵，然后像死了一样掉下来；

in autumn, all the swallows fly away into warm countries, but if one happens to linger, the cold seizes it, it bees frozen, and falls down as if dead;

它就留在掉落的地方，冰冷的雪覆盖着它。

it remains where it fell, and the cold snow covers it

拇指姑娘抖得很厉害；

tiny trembled very much;

她非常害怕，因为这只鸟很大，比她自己大得多 —— 她只有一英寸高。