章鱼

告诉我，啊章鱼，我恳求你，
那些东西是腿，还是手臂？
我对你倍感好奇，章鱼；
如果我是你，我会用我们称呼自己。

The Octopus

Tell me, O Octopus, I begs,
is those things arms, or is they legs?
I marvel at thee, Octopus;
If I were thou, I’d call me Us.

蚂蚁

那蚂蚁通过不懈的辛劳勤奋
已使得它自己杰出辉煌。
那又怎样？
如果你被装满了蚁酸
难道还会平静安详？

The Ant

The ant has made himself illustrious
Through constant industry industrious.
So what??
Would you be calm and placid
If you were full of formic acid?

杜鹃

杜鹃过着放荡不羁的生活，
它们不能作为丈夫和老婆，
因而它们冷嘲热讽
诋毁每个人的婚姻生活。

The Cuckoo

Cuckoos lead Bohemian lives,
They fail as husbands and as wives,
Therefore they cynically disparage
Everybody else's marriage.

鸭子

瞧那只鸭子。
它并不蠢笨。
少了个笨蛋。
它呱呱乱叫。
它特别喜欢
一个水坑或池塘。
当它进食或饮水，
屁股翘起朝上。

The Duck

Behold the duck.
It does not cluck.
A cluck it lacks.
It quacks.
It is specially fond
Of a puddle or pond.
When it dines or sups,
It bottoms ups.

鳗鱼

我不在意鳗鱼
除了作为膳食。

The Eel

I don't mind eels
Except as meals.

白蚁

一些最初的白蚁敲击木头并品尝，
然后发觉味道好香！
而那就是你的远亲
今天砍穿客厅地板的原因。

The Termite

Some primal termite knocked on wood
And tasted it, and found it good!
And that is why your Cousin May
Fell through the parlor floor today.

鸵鸟

鸵鸟漫游巨大的撒哈拉沙漠。
它脖子细细嘴巴宽。
它有那么高高颀长的腿，
我高兴它坐下来产蛋。

The Ostrich

The ostrich roams the great Sahara.
Its mouth is wide, its neck is narra.
It has such long and lofty legs,
I'm glad it sits to lay its eggs.

细菌

一个巨大的生物是细菌
虽说小于厚脸皮的人。
他习惯居住的地方
就在人类的内里纵深。
他孩子般地自鸣得意
常常高兴给人们怪病顽疾。
我的乖乖，你是否感觉体弱
你大概就含有一个细菌。

The Germ

A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than the pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep within the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.

模范丈夫

当你涂了太多口红
他告诉你
而当你的臀突阻卡
帮你穿上紧身褡。

The Perfect Husband

He tells you when you've got on
too much lipstick
And helps you with your girdle
when your hips stick.

我的梦

这是我的梦，
它是我自己的梦，
我梦到了它。
我梦到了我的头发梳理整洁。
然后我梦到我爱人蓬乱的头发。

My Dream

This is my dream,
It is my own dream,
I dreamt it.
I dreamt that my hair was kempt.
Then I dreamt that my true love unkempt it.

荧火虫

荧火虫的光焰
是没有学名的东西
我想不出什么比它
周围带着一种未知的光亮
飞在一个人后面更可怕。

The Firefly

The firefly's flame
Is something for which science has no name
I can think of nothing eerier
Than flying around with an unidentified glow on a
person's posteerier.

苍蝇

上帝以其智慧造了苍蝇
然后却忘了告诉我们为什么。

The Fly

God in his wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why.

---By Ogden Nash(1902-1971)

Translated by 金舟