There was once a fine gentleman, all of whose moveables were a boot-jack and a hair-comb: but he had the finest false collars in the world; and it is about one of these collars that we are now to hear a story.
从前有一位优秀的绅士，他的所有动物都是靴子千斤顶 和一把发梳，但他有世界上最好的假项圈；和 我们现在要听到的故事就是关于其中一个项圈的。
It was so old, that it began to think of marriage; and it happened that it came to be washed in company with a garter.
它已经那么老了，开始考虑结婚了；事情发生了 它与吊袜带一起清洗。
“Nay!” said the collar. “I never did see anything so slender and so fine, so soft and so neat. May I not ask your name?”
“不！”领子说道。 “我从未见过如此纤细、如此纤细的东西 很好，那么柔软，那么整洁。可以不问你的名字吗？”
“That I shall not tell you!” said the garter.
“我不会告诉你的！”吊袜带说。
“Where do you live?” asked the collar.
“你住在哪里？”领子问道。
But the garter was so bashful, so modest, and thought it was a strange question to answer.
但吊袜带却是那么羞涩，那么谦虚，觉得这是一种奇怪的感觉。 要回答的问题。
“You are certainly a girdle,” said the collar; “that is to say an inside girdle. I see well that you are both for use and ornament, my dear young lady.”
“你确实是一条腰带，”衣领说。 “也就是说，一个内部 腰带。我看得很清楚，你既是用来利用的，也是用来装饰的，我亲爱的年轻人 女士。”
“I will thank you not to speak to me,” said the garter. “I think I have not given the least occasion for it.”
“我会感谢你不跟我说话，”吊袜带说。 “我想我有 根本没有机会这么做。”
“Yes! When one is as handsome as you,” said the collar, “that is occasion enough.”
“是啊！当一个人像你一样英俊的时候，”领子说，“那就是 场合够了。”
“Don't come so near me, I beg of you!” said the garter. “You look so much like those men-folks.”
“Don't come so near me, I beg of you!”吊袜带说。 “你看起来如此 much like those men-folks.”
“I am also a fine gentleman,” said the collar. “I have a bootjack and a hair-comb.”
“我也是一位优秀的绅士。”领子说道。 “我有一个 bootjack 和一个 梳子。”
But that was not true, for it was his master who had them: but he boasted.
但事实并非如此，因为它们是他的主人拥有的：但他 吹嘘道。
“Don't come so near me,” said the garter: “I am not accustomed to it.”
“别离我这么近，”吊袜带说，“我不习惯。”
“Prude!” exclaimed the collar; and then it was taken out of the washing-tub. It was starched, hung over the back of a chair in the sunshine, and was then laid on the ironing-blanket; then came the warm box-iron. “Dear lady!” said the collar. “Dear widow-lady! I feel quite hot. I am quite changed. I begin to unfold myself. You will burn a hole in me. Oh! I offer you my hand.”
“正经！”领子惊呼道；然后它被取出来 洗涤桶。它被浆过，挂在椅子的靠背上。 阳光照射，然后放在熨烫毯上；然后温暖来了 铁盒。 “亲爱的女士！”领子说道。 “亲爱的寡妇！我感觉很 热。我完全变了。我开始展现自己。你会烧出一个洞 在我里面。哦！我向你伸出我的手。”
“Rag!” said the box-iron; and went proudly over the collar: for she fancied she was a steam-engine, that would go on the railroad and draw the waggons. “Rag!” said the box-iron.
“抹布！”铁盒说；并自豪地越过衣领：因为她 想象她是一台蒸汽机，可以在铁路上行驶并牵引 货车。 “抹布！”铁盒子说。
The collar was a little jagged at the edge, and so came the long scissors to cut off the jagged part. “Oh!” said the collar. “You are certainly the first opera dancer. How well you can stretch your legs out! It is the most graceful performance I have ever seen. No one can imitate you.”
领子的边缘有点锯齿状，所以长 用剪刀剪掉锯齿状的部分。 “哦！”领子说道。 “你是 当然是第一个歌剧舞者。您的双腿伸展能力如何 出来！这是我见过的最优雅的表演。没有人可以 模仿你。”
“I know it,” said the scissors.
“我知道，”剪刀说。
“You deserve to be a baroness,” said the collar. “All that I have is a fine gentleman, a boot-jack, and a hair-comb. If I only had the barony!”
“你值得成为男爵夫人。”衣领说道。 “我所拥有的只是一个 好绅士，一个靴子插孔，一个发梳。如果我只有男爵爵位就好了！
“Do you seek my hand?” said the scissors; for she was angry; and without more ado, she CUT HIM, and then he was condemned.
“你想寻求我的手吗？”剪刀说；因为她很生气；并且没有 更不用说，她砍了他，然后他就被谴责了。
“I shall now be obliged to ask the hair-comb. It is surprising how well you preserve your teeth, Miss,” said the collar. “Have you never thought of being betrothed?”
“我现在不得不去问梳子了。令人惊讶的是，它的效果如此之好。 小姐，你要保护好你的牙齿。”项圈说道。 “你有没有想过 订婚的事？”
“Yes, of course! you may be sure of that,” said the hair-comb. “I AM betrothed--to the boot-jack!”
“是的，当然！你可以肯定这一点，”梳子说。 “我是 与靴子杰克订婚了！”
“Betrothed!” exclaimed the collar. Now there was no other to court, and so he despised it.
“订婚了！”衣领惊呼道。现在没有其他人可以上法庭了，而且 所以他鄙视它。
A long time passed away, then the collar came into the rag chest at the paper mill; there was a large company of rags, the fine by themselves, and the coarse by themselves, just as it should be. They all had much to say, but the collar the most; for he was a real boaster.
过了很长一段时间，项圈就进了破烂的箱子里。 造纸厂；有一大群破布，它们本身就是精美的， 和粗糙的本身，正如它应该的那样。他们都有很多事情要做 都说，但领子最多；因为他是一个真正的自夸者。
“I have had such an immense number of sweethearts!” said the collar. “I could not be in peace! It is true, I was always a fine starched-up gentleman! I had both a boot-jack and a hair-comb, which I never used! You should have seen me then, you should have seen me when I lay down! I shall never forget MY FIRST LOVE--she was a girdle, so fine, so soft, and so charming, she threw herself into a tub of water for my sake! There was also a widow, who became glowing hot, but I left her standing till she got black again; there was also the first opera dancer, she gave me that cut which I now go with, she was so ferocious! My own hair-comb was in love with me, she lost all her teeth from the heart-ache; yes, I have lived to see much of that sort of thing; but I am extremely sorry for the garter--I mean the girdle--that went into the water-tub. I have much on my conscience, I want to become white paper!”
“我有过无数的情人！”领子说道。 “我无法平静！确实如此，我一直都是一个严肃的人 先生！我有一个靴子千斤顶和一个发梳，但我从来没有用过！ 那时你应该看到我，当我躺下时你应该看到我！ 我永远不会忘记我的初恋——她是一条腰带，那么精致，那么柔软， 她真是太迷人了，为了我，她把自己扔进了水桶里！ 还有一个寡妇，她变得热气腾腾，但我让她站着 直到她再次变黑；还有第一位歌剧舞者，她 给了我现在的伤口，她太凶猛了！我的 自己的发梳爱上了我，她失去了所有的牙齿 心痛；是的，我在有生之年亲眼目睹过很多这样的事情。但我 我对吊袜带——我的意思是腰带——进入感到非常抱歉 水盆。我的良心太多了，我要变成白纸！”
And it became so, all the rags were turned into white paper; but the collar came to be just this very piece of white paper we here see, and on which the story is printed; and that was because it boasted so terribly afterwards of what had never happened to it. It would be well for us to beware, that we may not act in a similar manner, for we can never know if we may not, in the course of time, also come into the rag chest, and be made into white paper, and then have our whole life's history printed on it, even the most secret, and be obliged to run about and tell it ourselves, just like this collar.
结果就这样，所有的破布都变成了白纸；但是 衣领变成了我们在这里看到的这张白纸， 并在上面印有故事；那是因为它如此吹嘘 可怕的是，之后发生了从未发生过的事情。那就好了 让我们小心，我们可能不会以类似的方式行事，因为我们可以 永远不知道随着时间的推移，我们是否也会进入 破布箱子，做成白纸，就有我们一生的 历史印在上面，即使是最秘密的，也不得不四处奔走 并告诉我们自己，就像这个项圈一样。