“你可别骂他。” 蜗牛妈妈说，“他爬得那么小心；他会给我们带来很多乐趣 —— 我们活着就为了他呀！可你没想过这个问题吗？—— 我们上哪儿给他找个媳妇呢？”

“You must not scold him,” said mother Snail; “he creeps so carefully; he will afford us much pleasure — and we have nothing but him to live for! but have you not thought of it? — where shall we get a wife for him?

你不觉得在牛蒡林深处很远的地方还有我们的同类吗？

do you not think that there are some of our species at a great distance in the interior of the burdock forest?”

“我敢说，黑蜗牛肯定是有的，” 老蜗牛说 ——“没有房子的黑蜗牛 —— 但它们太普通了，还很自负。不过我们可以委托蚂蚁帮我们找找看；它们跑来跑去的，好像有什么要紧事要做，它们肯定知道能给我们小蜗牛找个媳妇的！”

“black snails, I dare say, there are enough of,” said the old one— “black snails without a house — but they are so mon, and so conceited. but we might give the ants a mission to look out for us; they run to and fro as if they had something toto do, and they certainly know of a wife for our little snail!”

“我确实知道一个 —— 最迷人的一个！” 一只蚂蚁说；“但我担心我们很难成功，因为她是个蚁后！”

“I know one, sure enough — the most charming one!” said one of the ants; “but I am afraid we shall hardly succeed, for she is a queen!”

“那没关系！” 老两口说；“她有房子吗？”

“that is nothing!” said the old folks; “has she a house?”

“她有一座宫殿！” 蚂蚁说 ——“最漂亮的蚁宫，有七百条通道！”

“She has a palace!” said the ant— “the finest ant’s palace, with seven hundred passages!”

“谢谢你！” 蜗牛妈妈说；“我们的儿子可不会去蚁丘；如果你就知道这个，那我们就把这事委托给白蚋了。它们不论雨天还是晴天，都飞得很远；它们对这片森林里里外外都很熟悉。”

“I thank you!” said mother Snail; “our son shall not go into an ant-hill; if you limit know nothing better than that, we shall give the mission to the white gnats. they fly far and wide, in rain and sunshine; they know the whole forest here, both within and without.”

“我们给他找了个媳妇，” 蚋说；“离这儿一百步远的地方，有一只小蜗牛坐在她的房子里，在一棵醋栗丛上；她很孤单，也到了该结婚的年龄了。就只有一百步远！”

“we have a wife for him,” said the gnats; “at a hundred human paces from here there sits a little snail in her house, on a gooseberry bush; she is quite lonely, and old enough to be married. It is only a hundred human paces!”

“好吧，那就让她到他这儿来！” 老两口说；“他有一整片牛蒡林，她只有一丛灌木！”

“well, then, let her e to him!” said the old ones; “he has a whole forest of burdocks, she has only a bush!”

于是它们就去把小蜗牛小姐接来了。

And so they went and fetched little miss Snail.

她过了整整一个星期才到；但这恰恰是最好的地方，因为这样就能看出她和它们是同类了。

It was a whole week before she arrived; but therein was just the very best of it, for one could thus see that she was of the same species.

然后就举行了婚礼。

And then the marriage was celebrated.

六条蚯蚓尽可能地发出光亮。

Six earth-worms shone as well as they could.

在其他方面，一切都进行得非常安静，因为老两口受不了吵闹和欢乐的场面；不过蜗牛妈妈发表了一篇精彩的演说。

In other respects the whole went off very quietly, for the old folks could not bear noise and merriment; but old dame Snail made a brilliant speech.

蜗牛爸爸说不出话来，他太激动了；于是他们把整片牛蒡林作为嫁妆和遗产送给了它们，还说 —— 他们一直都这么说 —— 这是世界上最好的地方；如果它们诚实正派地生活，繁衍后代，它们和它们的子孙总有一天会来到庄园，被煮得黑乎乎的，然后放在银盘子里。

Father Snail could not speak, he was too much affected; and so they gave them as a dowry and inheritance, the whole forest of burdocks, and said — what they had always said — that it was the best in the world; if they lived honestly and decently, and increased and multiplied, they and their children would once in the course of time e to the manor-house, be boiled black, and laid on silver dishes.

讲完这番话后，老两口就缩进壳里，再也没出来过。

After this speech was made, the old ones crept into their shells, and never more came out.

它们睡去了；年轻的小两口在森林里当家作主，生了很多后代，但它们从来没有被煮过，也从来没有被放在银盘子里；于是它们由此推断庄园已经破败不堪了，世上所有的人都灭绝了；因为没有人反驳它们，所以，当然就是这样了。

they slept; the young couple governed in the forest, and had a multitude of progeny, but they were never boiled, and never came on the silver dishes; so from this they concluded that the manor-house had fallen to ruins, and that all the men in the world were extinct; and as no one contradicted them, so, of course it was so.

雨水敲打着牛蒡叶，为它们奏响鼓乐；阳光照耀着，为牛蒡林增添色彩；它们很幸福，整个家族都很幸福；因为它们确实如此。

And the rain beat on the dock-leaves to make drum-music for their sake, and the sun shone in order to give the burdock forest a color for their sakes; and they were very happy, and the whole family was happy; for they, indeed were so.