一段漫长的旅程

Then it began to rain. It rained very hard, and soon the small tin soldier was verywet. The side of the road was full of water. It was like a small river.
  Then the rain stopped. Two boys came and played in the road. They saw something on the side of the road. "Look! There's a tin soldier here. He has only one leg, and he's very wet," one boy said.

  "I'm going to make a boat and put him in it," the other boy said.

  He went back to his house and brought a newspaper. He made it into a small boat with a sail. Then he put the tin soldier in the boat and said, "Now, you're going on a voyage. You'll see the great sea. Have a nice voyage."
  The boat sailed along on the water down the road and the boys ran along beside it. The boat went up and down, and the small tin soldier wondered if the boat would overturn.But he stood very straight in the boat and held his gun in his hand.

  Then the boat came to a bridge. The water went under the bridge, and the boat sailed under it, too. The boys did not follow the boat, because the bridge was very low.
  It was very dark under the bridge. It was as dark as the soldier's box. The tin soldier couldn't see anything. He felt hopeless. "Where am I going?" the small tin soldier said. "Can I ever go back home and see my brothers and the beautiful dancer again?"

  A rat lived in a hole under the bridge. When the boat passed by the hole, the rat looked out and shouted angrily, "Where are you going? Do you have a ticket? If you don't have your ticket with you, you can't pass here."
  The tin soldier didn't have a ticket, so he said nothing. The boat sailed quickly by the hole, and the rat swam after it. "Stop! Stop! You don't have a ticket. You can't pass here!" he shouted.

  The rat swam swiftly after the boat, and almost caught it. Just then it sailed out from under the bridge, and the rat did not follow anymore.
  Then the water on the side of the road went down into a big drain, and the boat did, too. The drain was a big black hole, and the water went through it very fast, making a loud noise. The tin soldier didn't like the noise, but he stood very straight with his gun in his hand.

  Suddenly a lot of water came into the boat and it began to sink. At last the water came up to the tin soldier's head. Then the boat struck against the wall of the drain and broke into pieces. The tin soldier fell into the water. He swam in the dark, cold water as hard as he could, but he went down and down. Just then a big fish swam after him. It caught him in its mouth and swallowed him quickly.
  天空开始下雨了。雨势很大,没多久,小锡士兵就全身淋湿了。路旁积满了水,很像一条小河流。

  然后雨停了。两个男孩来到这路上玩耍。他们看到路旁有东西。有一个男孩说:『你看!这里有一个锡制的士兵。他只有一条腿,而且全身湿透了。』
  另一个男孩说:『我来做一艘船把他放在里面。』

  他走回屋里拿了一张报纸来。他用报纸折了一艘小帆船,然后把锡士兵放到船上并说:『你现在就要出航了。你将会看到广大的海洋,祝你一路顺风。』
  这艘船沿着路旁的水航行,男孩们则跟随在船边沿路往下跑。船忽上忽下,小锡士兵心想这艘船不知道会不会翻覆。但他仍然手持着枪很挺直地站在船上。

  船航行到一座桥。水从桥下流过去,而船也从桥下驶过。男孩们没有再随船而行,因为这座桥太低了。
  这座桥下很阴暗,就像这士兵的盒子一样。锡士兵什么东西都看不见。他感到很绝望。小锡士兵说:『我要走到哪里呢?我能否再回到家里看到我的弟兄们和那位美丽的舞蹈家呢?』

  有一只老鼠住在桥下的一个洞穴里。当船驶过这个洞穴的时候,老鼠往外看并生气地大叫:『你要去哪里?你有没有票?假如你没有票,就不能从这里通过。』
  锡士兵身上没有票,因此他没有说话。这艘船快速地驶过那个洞穴,老鼠游过来追这艘船。『停下来!停下来!你身上没有票,你不能从这里通过!』牠大叫。

  老鼠迅速地游过来追这艘船,几乎要追到它。就在那时,这艘船从桥下航行出去,而老鼠再也没有尾随过来。

  这时路旁的水往下流进一个大排水管里,这艘船也跟着驶进去。这个排水管是一个大黑洞,水在排水管中湍急地流过,发出很大的声响。锡士兵不喜欢这种声响,但他仍然手持着枪很挺直地站立着。
  突然间大量的水跑进船里,船开始往下沉。最后水淹到锡士兵的头顶。船撞到排水管的管壁而支离破碎。锡士兵掉到水中。他在黑暗冰冷的水里奋力游,然而他的身子却愈来愈往下沉。就在这时一条大鱼在后面追他。鱼嘴咬住了他,很快将他吞下。