介绍:
There were once five-and-twenty tin soldiers; they were all brothers, for they had been made out of the same old tin spoon. They shouldered arms and looked straight before them, and wore a splendid uniform, red and blue. The first thing in the world they ever heard were the words "Tin soldiers!" uttered by a little boy, who clapped his hands with delight when the lid of the box, in which they lay, was taken off. They were given him for a birthday present, and he stood at the table to set them up.
从前有二十五名锡兵，他们全是兄弟，因为他们都是用同一个旧锡匙做成的。他们肩上扛着武器，直视前方，身着红蓝相间的华丽制服。在这个世界上他们听到的第一句话是“锡兵！”这话出自一个小男孩之口，当装着锡兵的盒盖被打开时，他高兴地直拍手。锡兵是送给他的生日礼物，他站在桌旁将他们竖了起来。
The soldiers were all exactly alike, excepting one who had only one leg; 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.
这些士兵都长得一模一样，只有一个除外，他只有一条腿。他是最后被铸造的，剩下的锡不足以把他做完，于是他便成了一条腿的坚定的锡兵，而这也让他显得十分突出。
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, Through the small windows the rooms could be seen. In front of the castle a number of little trees surrounded a piece of looking-glass, which was intended to represent a transparent lake. Swans, made of wax, swam on the lake, and were reflected in it. All this was very pretty, but the prettiest of all was a tiny little lady, who stood at the open door of the castle; 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. In front of these was fixed a glittering tinsel rose, as large as her whole face. 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.
锡兵所站的桌子上还有很多其他玩具，可最吸引眼球的要数一个纸板做的漂亮城堡了，透过小窗户可以看到里面的大厅。城堡前，几棵小树摆放在一面镜子周围，这面镜子用来代表清澈的湖水。蜡制的天鹅游在湖上，水中倒映着它们的影子。这一切都美极了，但最美的是一个小小的女孩，她站在城堡敞开的大门口。她也是用纸做的，身着一条纯净的薄纱裙，肩上披着一条细细的蓝色缎带，就像围巾一样。胸前别着一朵跟她的脸一样大的闪闪发光的金属箔制玫瑰花。这个小姑娘是个舞者，她双臂伸展，一条腿抬得很高，锡兵根本就看不到，还以为她和自己一样，只有一条腿呢。
"That is the wife for me," he thought; "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. Still I must try and make her acquaintance."
“她做我的妻子倒不错，”他想，“可她太高贵了，居住在城堡里，而我只住在一个盒子里，还是二十五个人一起，那不是她住的地方。但我必须设法认识她。”
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.
于是他在桌上一个鼻烟壶后面平躺了下来，这样就可以窥探那位娇小的小姑娘，她依旧单腿站立，保持着平衡。
When evening came, the other tin soldiers were all placed in the box, and the people of the house went to bed. Then the playthings began to have their own games together: to pay visits, to have sham fights, and to give balls. The tin soldiers rattled in their box; they wanted to get out and join the amusements, but they could not open the lid. The nut-crackers played at leap-frog, and the pencil jumped about the table. There was such a noise that the canary woke up and began to talk, and in poetry too. Only the tin soldier and the dancer remained in their places, She stood on tiptoe, with her legs stretched out, as firmly as he did on his one leg. He never took his eyes from her for even a moment.
夜晚到来之时，其他锡兵都被放进了盒子，房子里的人也都睡了。这时玩具们开始一同玩起了自己的游戏——“访问”、“假战斗”和“开舞会”。锡兵们在盒子里窸窣作响，他们也想出来凑凑热闹，可又打不开盖子。胡桃钳子在玩儿跳背游戏，铅笔在桌子上蹦来蹦去。太吵了，金丝雀都被吵醒了，开始说起话来，甚至吟上了诗。只有那个锡兵和舞者呆在原地。她踮着脚，双腿伸展，像一条腿的锡兵一样稳。而他的目光一刻也未曾离开过她。
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