How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
马斯特罗·切里，一名木匠，是怎么发现一块像孩子一样哭笑的木头的。

Centuries ago there lived–
几个世纪前，曾经有人–

“A king!” my little readers will say immediately.
“一个国王！”我的小读者们马上就会说。

No, children, you are mistaken.
不，孩子们，你们错了。 —

Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.
曾经有一块木头。 —

It was not an expensive piece of wood.
它不是一块贵重的木头。远非如此。 —

Far from it.
—

Just a common block of firewood, one of those thick, solid logs that are put on the fire in winter to make cold rooms cozy and warm.
它只是一块普通的柴火，一种那种冬天堆在火上使寒冷的房间变得舒适温暖的厚实的木头。

I do not know how this really happened, yet the fact remains that one fine day this piece of wood found itself in the shop of an old carpenter.
我不知道这是怎么发生的，但事实是有一天，这块木头发现自己在一名老木匠的店里。 —

His real name was Mastro Antonio, but everyone called him Mastro Cherry, for the tip of his nose was so round and red and shiny that it looked like a ripe cherry.
他的真名叫马斯特罗·安东尼奥，但每个人都叫他马斯特罗·切里，因为他的鼻尖又圆又红又亮，看起来像个熟透了的樱桃。

As soon as he saw that piece of wood, Mastro Cherry was filled with joy.
一见到这块木头，马斯特罗·切里就充满了喜悦。 —

Rubbing his hands together happily, he mumbled half to himself:
他高高兴兴地搓着双手，嘟哝着对自己说：

“This has come in the nick of time.
“来得正是时候。 —

I shall use it to make the leg of a table.”
我要用它来做一张桌子的腿。”

He grasped the hatchet quickly to peel off the bark and shape the wood.
他迅速抓起斧头，剥去树皮并塑造木材。 —

But as he was about to give it the first blow, he stood still with arm uplifted, for he had heard a wee, little voice say in a beseeching tone:
但就在他要给它第一击时，他停住了手臂，因为他听到一个微小的声音恳求地说： —

“Please be careful! Do not hit me so hard!”
“请小心！不要打得太重！”

What a look of surprise shone on Mastro Cherry’s face!
Mastro Cherry的脸上露出了惊讶的表情！ —

His funny face became still funnier.
他滑稽的脸变得更滑稽。

He turned frightened eyes about the room to find out where that wee, little voice had come from and he saw no one!
他惊恐地环顾了一下房间，想知道那个微小的声音是从哪里传来的，他没有看到任何人！ —

He looked under the bench–no one!
他把长凳底下看了看–没有人！ —

He peeped inside the closet–no one!
他偷偷打开壁橱–没有人！ —

He searched among the shavings–no one!
他在木屑中搜索–没有人！ —

He opened the door to look up and down the street–and still no one!
他打开门往街上左右看–还是没有人！

“Oh, I see!” he then said, laughing and scratching his Wig. “It can easily be seen that I only thought I heard the tiny voice say the words!
“哦，我明白了！”他说着笑了笑，搔了搔他的假发。“可以很容易地看出来，我只是以为听到了微小的声音说出这些话！ —

Well, well–to work once more.”
好吧，好吧–再干活吧。”

He struck a most solemn blow upon the piece of wood.
他沉重地砍下了一刀。

“Oh, oh! You hurt!” cried the same far-away little voice.
“哦，哦！你伤到我了！”同一个遥远的小声音喊道。

Mastro Cherry grew dumb, his eyes popped out of his head, his mouth opened wide, and his tongue hung down on his chin.
马斯特罗·切里愣住了，他的眼珠子要瞪出眼眶，嘴巴张得大大的，舌头悬在下巴上。

As soon as he regained the use of his senses, he said, trembling and stuttering from fright:
他一恢复神智，颤抖着、吓得结结巴巴地说：

“Where did that voice come from, when there is no one around?
“那声音是从哪儿来的，明明周围没有人？ —

Might it be that this piece of wood has learned to weep and cry like a child?
难道这块木头学会了像孩子一样哭泣？ —

I can hardly believe it.
实在难以置信。 —

Here it is–a piece of common firewood, good only to burn in the stove, the same as any other.
这不过是一块普通的柴火，只能烧在炉子里，和其他木头没什么两样。 —

Yet–might someone be hidden in it? If so, the worse for him. I’ll fix him!”
但是——里面可能有人隐藏着吗？如果是这样，那可糟了。我要解决他！”

With these words, he grabbed the log with both hands and started to knock it about unmercifully.
说着，他双手紧紧抓住那块木头，毫不留情地拍打着。 —

He threw it to the floor, against the walls of the room, and even up to the ceiling.
他把它摔到地上，撞到房间的墙壁上，甚至撞到天花板上。

He listened for the tiny voice to moan and cry.
他倾听着微小的声音是否会哀嚎和哭泣。 —

He waited two minutes–nothing;
等了两分钟——没有任何声音； —

five minutes–nothing;
五分钟——还是没有； —

ten minutes–nothing.
十分钟——还是没有。

“Oh, I see,” he said, trying bravely to laugh and ruffling up his wig with his hand.
“哦，我明白了，” 他尽量勇敢地笑着，用手梳理着假发。 —

“It can easily be seen I only imagined I heard the tiny voice!
“很容易看出我只是想象中听到了微小的声音！ —

Well, well–to work once more!”
“好吧，好吧–再次开始工作！”

The poor fellow was scared half to death, so he tried to sing a gay song in order to gain courage.
这个可怜的家伙被吓得半死，于是他尝试唱一首欢快的歌以获取勇气。

He set aside the hatchet and picked up the plane to make the wood smooth and even, but as he drew it to and fro, he heard the same tiny voice.
他放下斧头，拿起刨子把木头弄平整，但是在他来回刨的时候，他听到了同样微小的声音。 —

This time it giggled as it spoke:
这次声音笑着说道：

“Stop it! Oh, stop it! Ha, ha, ha!
“别那样！哦，停下来！哈哈哈！ —

You tickle my stomach.”
你在挠我肚子。”

This time poor Mastro Cherry fell as if shot.
这次可怜的马斯特罗·切里就像被击中了一样跌倒了。 —

When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on the floor.
当他睁开眼睛时，他发现自己坐在地上。

His face had changed;
他的脸色变了； —

fright had turned even the tip of his nose from red to deepest purple.
恐惧甚至把他鼻尖的红色变成了最深的紫色。