Chapter 11
In the theater, great excitement reigned.
剧场里热闹非凡，观众异常激动。
Fire Eater (this was really his name) was very ugly, but he was far from being as bad as he looked. Proof of this is that, when he saw the poor Marionette being brought in to him, struggling with fear and crying, "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" he felt sorry for him and began first to waver and then to weaken. Finally, he could control himself no longer and gave a loud sneeze.
木偶剧场的老板吞火人(这是他的真名)虽然很丑，而当他看到可怜的木偶被带到他身边时，木偶吓得直哭:"我不想死!"我不想死!他有点同情木偶，心里动摇了，准备把木偶烤了吃的决心软了下来，这一点足以证明他远没有看上去的那么坏。吞火人鼻子有点发酸，终于，他没能控制住自己，打了一个大大的喷嚏。
At that sneeze, Harlequin, who until then had been as sad as a weeping willow, smiled happily and leaning toward the Marionette, whispered to him:
小丑哈利奎恩一直很伤心，像垂头丧气的杨柳一样，听到这一声喷嚏，立马喜笑颜开，向匹诺曹靠过来，在他耳边轻轻地说:
"Good news, brother mine! Fire Eater has sneezed and this is a sign that he feels sorry for you. You are saved!"
"好消息，我的兄弟!"老板吞火人打喷嚏了，这说明他很同情你，你有救了!"
For be it known, that, while other people, when sad and sorrowful, weep and wipe their eyes, Fire Eater, on the other hand, had the strange habit of sneezing each time he felt unhappy. The way was just as good as any other to show the kindness of his heart.
因为你知道，而人们伤心难过的时候，就会流泪擦眼泪，但吞火人却不一样，他有一个特别奇怪的习惯，就是每当不高兴的时候就打喷嚏。这足以证明他和其他人一样有一颗善良的心。
After sneezing, Fire Eater, ugly as ever, cried to Pinocchio:
吞火人打完喷嚏，还是和以前一样丑，因为他对匹诺曹喊道:
"Stop crying! Your wails give me a funny feeling down here in my stomach and — E — tchee! — E — tchee!" Two loud sneezes finished his speech.
"别哭了!你哇哇的哭得我肚子疼，-阿-阿嚏! -阿-阿嚏!他又打了两个大喷嚏，没再说什么。
"God bless you!" said Pinocchio.
"上帝保佑你!"匹诺曹说。
"Thanks! Are your father and mother still living?" demanded Fire Eater.
"谢谢!你父母还健在吗?吞火人又开腔了。
"My father, yes. My mother I have never known."
"我爸爸还活着，但是我从来没有见过我妈妈。"
"Your poor father would suffer terribly if I were to use you as firewood. Poor old man! I feel sorry for him! E — tchee! E — tchee! E — tchee!" Three more sneezes sounded, louder than ever.
"如果我把你当柴烧了，你那可怜的父亲该有多痛苦啊。可怜的老头!我真同情他! -阿-阿嚏! -阿-阿嚏! -阿-阿嚏!他又打了三个喷嚏，这三个喷嚏比以往任何时候的都响。
"God bless you!" said Pinocchio.
"愿上帝保佑你!"匹诺曹说。
"Thanks! However, I ought to be sorry for myself, too, just now. My good dinner is spoiled. I have no more wood for the fire, and the lamb is only half cooked. Never mind! In your place I'll burn some other Marionette. Hey there! Officers!"
"谢谢!不过，我也是个值得同情的人咯。你看我的美味被破坏了。因为我这儿木头不够，羊羔也只烤了一半。不过没关系!我找其他木偶来代替。嘿!那儿，守卫员!"
At the call, two wooden officers appeared, long and thin as a yard of rope, with queer hats on their heads and swords in their hands.
听到命令，两个木头军官就过来了。他们又高又瘦，像三尺长绳子，头上戴着稀奇古怪帽子，手里各拿着一把剑。
Fire Eater yelled at them in a hoarse voice:
吞火人粗声粗气地对他们喊道:
"Take Harlequin, tie him, and throw him on the fire. I want my lamb well done!"
"把哈利奎恩给绑紧抓起来，扔到火里去。"我要烤全熟的羔羊肉!"
Think how poor Harlequin felt! He was so scared that his legs doubled up under him and he fell to the floor.
大伙儿想象一下哈利奎恩该有多可怜!他吓得两腿一软，瘫倒在地。
Pinocchio, at that heartbreaking sight, threw himself at the feet of Fire Eater and, weeping bitterly, asked in a pitiful voice which could scarcely be heard:
匹诺曹看到这令人心碎的情景，扑倒在吞火人的脚下，伤痛欲绝，无语轮次地苦苦哀求道:
"Have pity,I beg of you,signore!"
"可怜可怜吧，我求求你，先生!"
"There are no signori here!"
"这儿没有先生！"
"Have pity, kind sir!"
"可怜可怜吧，好心的长官!"
"There are no sirs here!"
"这儿没有长官！"
"Have pity, your Excellency!"
"发发善心吧，大老爷！"
On hearing himself addressed as your Excellency, the Director of the Marionette Theater sat up very straight in his chair, stroked his long beard, and becoming suddenly kind and compassionate, smiled proudly as he said to Pinocchio:
木偶剧院老板一听到别人称呼他为老爷，立马笔挺地坐在椅子上，抚摩着他的长胡子，语气变得和蔼而富有同情心，得意洋洋对匹诺曹说:
"Well, what do you want from me now, Marionette?"
"好吧，你想请求我什么呢，小木偶?"
"I beg for mercy for my poor friend, Harlequin, who has never done the least harm in his life."
"我恳求您饶恕可怜的哈利奎恩吧，他从未伤害过别人。"
"There is no mercy here, Pinocchio. I have spared you. Harlequin must burn in your place. I am hungry and my dinner must be cooked."
"我这儿没有怜悯，匹诺曹。我放了你，他就必须代替你的位置当木材烧火。我饿了，要吃晚饭了。
"In that case," said Pinocchio proudly, as he stood up and flung away his cap of dough, "in that case, my duty is clear. Come, officers! Tie me up and throw me on those flames. No, it is not fair for poor Harlequin, the best friend that I have in the world, to die in my place!"
"既然这样的话，"匹诺曹骄傲地说，立马站了起来，扔掉他那生面团做的帽子，"那么，我明白要怎么做了。来吧,守卫先生们!把我绑起来，扔到火里去。不，可怜的哈利奎恩，我在这个世界上最要好的朋友，让你替我去死是不公平的!"
These brave words, said in a piercing voice, made all the other Marionettes cry. Even the officers, who were made of wood also, cried like two babies.
这一番义正言辞的话语，让在场的所有的木偶都哭了。就连那两个木头做的守卫，也哭得像两个孩子似的。
Fire Eater at first remained hard and cold as a piece of ice; but then, little by little, he softened and began to sneeze. And after four or five sneezes, he opened wide his arms and said to Pinocchio:
吞火人一开始还不为所动，像冰块一样又硬又冷;但是，渐渐地，这块冰好像被融化了。他变得温和了，又开始打喷嚏了。一连串打了四五个喷嚏后，他张开双臂慈爱地对匹诺曹说:
"You are a brave boy! Come to my arms and kiss me!"
"你真是个勇敢的孩子!"到我怀里来，亲我一下!"
Pinocchio ran to him and scurrying like a squirrel up the long black beard, he gave Fire Eater a loving kiss on the tip of his nose.
匹诺曹急忙跑到他跟前，像松鼠一样抓着他长长的黑胡子往上爬，在吞火人的鼻尖上深情地吻了一下。
"Has pardon been granted to me?" asked poor Harlequin with a voice that was hardly a breath.
"那么，您宽恕我啦?"可怜的哈利奎恩微弱地揣着气问道。
"Pardon is yours!" answered Fire Eater; and sighing and wagging his head, he added: "Well, tonight I shall have to eat my lamb only half cooked, but beware the next time, Marionettes."
"饶了你!"吞火人回答说;接着他叹了口气，摇摇头，说:"好吧，今晚我只能吃这个半生不熟的羊肉了，不过下次就没有这么好的运气了，小家伙们。"
At the news that pardon had been given, the Marionettes ran to the stage and, turning on all the lights, they danced and sang till dawn.
听到赦免的消息，木偶们全都跑到舞台上，打开所有的灯光，高兴得唱啊跳啊，一直狂欢到天亮。
单词、短语应用
be far from:远不是，远没有
But, contrary to a popular assumption, it is far from being the only one, or even the greatest.（新概念英语4，第47课）
（但是，和一般的看法相反，这决非是仅有的，甚至不是最主要的动机。）
It was obvious that much of what he said was far from the truth.
(显然，他所说的大多根本不是事实。)
与它类似的一个短语：be a far cry from sth:与某物大不相同
as far as I can see:依我看，据我所知
Maybe that is where the rub is, as far as I can see.
（依我看，问题的结症恐怕就在这里。）
Terribly：非常糟地，严重地。
形容词形式：terrible
The little girl missed her mother terribly.
(小女孩非常想念她的妈妈。)
I'm terribly sorry to bother you so late.
(这么晚打扰你，我十分抱歉。)
Your hand-writing is terrible，so I can't read it.
（你的书写太糟糕了，我看不清楚。）
I have a terrible memory, so I write it down in my diary.
(我的记性不好，所以把它记在我的日记本上。)