本集演播：槑贰 

后期：骐煜

英文对照文本在最底下，请往下拉到底。

第5章 公主不管了

公主在新的一天早上醒来，这一天和前一天是如此地雷同，让人不禁会想那这一天出现有什么意义呢？她听到的第一声响动是外面不停的雨声。但是，她想到的第一件事情却不是下雨这件事，而是顶楼的妇人。而她想到的第一个一直困扰着她的问题是她到底要不要让奶妈今天早上就履行承诺，一吃完早饭就让奶妈带她去找祖奶奶。不过她转念一想，也许自己没有先打招呼就随便带人去见她，老妇人可能会不高兴的。而且很显而易见，这样一位靠吃鸽子蛋维生，还要自己做鸽子蛋的妇人，肯定不想让一个管家知道她在那里。于是公主决定先找机会自己跑上去，问问老妇人能不能带奶妈去。对她来说，让奶妈相信她说的话这件事对奶奶来说也很重要。

 穿衣服的过程中公主和奶妈关系非常融洽，因此公主吃了好多早餐。

“洛蒂——这是她对奶妈的爱称，我在想——鸽子蛋的味道是什么样的呢？”她吃着自己的鸡蛋时说，这鸡蛋可不是普通的鸡蛋，下人们总是挑选出最红的鸡蛋给她。

“我们去给你找个鸽子蛋，到时候你自己尝尝看。”奶妈说。

“哦，不要，不要！”艾琳答道，她突然反应到，下人们去找鸽子蛋的时候会打扰了老妇人，就算不打扰她吧，她也会损失一个鸽子蛋。

“你真是个奇怪的小东西，”奶妈说——“一会儿要一会儿又不要的！”

但她并不是生气地说的，公主呢也不会介意她没有恶意的话语。

“好吧，洛蒂，你看，这是有原因的，”她回答道，然后没说别的，因为她不想提起之前引起她们两人争吵的话题，万一奶妈真的要带她去，可她没有得到奶奶的允许。当然奶妈也可能不带她去，可这样一来，她就不再信任她了。

奶妈总不会一刻也不离开这个房间吧，她跟自己说。再说了，在昨天之前公主从来也没有让她哪怕有过一点儿的担心，那么奶妈也就不可能产生把她看管紧些的念头。果然她很快给了公主一个机会，艾琳瞅准时机，又一次溜到楼上。

虽然跟昨天的开端类似，可是这一天的冒险却不像昨天。事实上，如果人们能够细心观察，就会发现今天跟昨天一点儿都不一样——虽然同样都是在下雨。公主跑过一个又一个走廊，却找不到通往顶楼的楼梯了。我怀疑公主根本就没爬够那么高，她没爬到三层而只停留在第二层寻找。等她想要找路回去的时候，就跟她找楼梯一样无果。也就是说她又一次迷路了。

这一次好像变得更加难以忍受，所以，毫无疑问，她又哭了。可她马上想到上一次就是哭完之后才找到的奶奶的楼梯。于是她立刻爬起来，擦干眼泪，又开始重新寻找。

这一次，虽然她没有找到想要找的，但结果也还不错：她没有走到一段通往上层的楼梯，而是找到了下楼的楼梯。很显然这不是她爬上来的那段楼梯，但是总比没有强。于是她快乐地唱着歌走下去，一直走到底。令她吃惊的是，她竟然走到了餐厅。虽然她不能自己一个人来这个地方，但是她的奶妈经常带她来，仆人们也都非常喜欢她。所以她一出现，厨房里马上一片混乱，因为所有人都想抱她；她在厨房的消息马上传到了奶妈的耳朵。她立刻赶来想把公主带走；可她并没有怀疑公主是怎么到那儿的，公主也就闭口不提。

没能找到老妇人，公主非常沮丧，她开始胡思乱想。有时候她会想也许就像奶妈说的那样，她只是梦见了老妇人；但是这种念头很快就打消了。她非常想知道自己还能不能再见到老妇人，尤其是在她非常想她，而又找不到她的时候，她一定会非常难过的。她决定再也不会跟奶妈提起这件事了，反正奶妈一个字也不会相信她说的话。

CHAPTER 5 The Princess Lets Well Alone

When she woke the nextmorning, the first thing she heard was the rain still falling. Indeed, this daywas so like the last that it would have been difficult to tell where was theuse of It. The first thing she thought of, however, was not the rain, but thelady in the tower; and the first question that occupied her thoughts waswhether she should not ask the nurse to fulfil her promise this very morning,and go with her to find her grandmother as soon as she had had her breakfast.But she came to the conclusion that perhaps the lady would not be pleased ifshe took anyone to see her without first asking leave; especially as it waspretty evident, seeing she lived on pigeons' eggs, and cooked them herself,that she did not want the household to know she was there. So the princessresolved to take the first opportunity of running up alone and asking whethershe might bring her nurse. She believed the fact that she could not otherwiseconvince her she was telling the truth would have much weight with her grandmother.

The princess and hernurse were the best of friends all dressing-time, and the princess inconsequence ate an enormous little breakfast.

'I wonder, Lootie'—that was her pet name for her nurse—'whatpigeons' eggs taste like?' she said, as she was eating her egg—not quite a common one, forthey always picked out the pinky ones for her.

'We'll get you a pigeon's egg, and you shall judge foryourself,' said the nurse.

'Oh, no, no!' returned Irene, suddenly reflecting they might disturb the oldlady in getting it, and that even if they did not, she would have one less inconsequence.

'Whata strange creature you are,' said the nurse—'first to want a thing and then torefuse it!'

But she did not say itcrossly, and the princess never minded any remarks that were not unfriendly.

'Well, you see, Lootie, there are reasons,' she returned, and said no more, for she didnot want to bring up the subject of their former strife, lest her nurse shouldoffer to go before she had had her grandmother's permission to bring her. Ofcourse she could refuse to take her, but then she would believe her less thanever.

Now the nurse, as shesaid herself afterwards, could not be every moment in the room; and as neverbefore yesterday had the princess given her the smallest reason for anxiety, ithad not yet come into her head to watch her more closely. So she soon gave hera chance, and, the very first that offered, Irene was off and up the stairsagain.

This day's adventure,however, did not turn out like yesterday's, although it began like it; andindeed to-day is very seldom like yesterday, if people would note thedifferences—even when it rains. The princess ran through passage after passage,and could not find the stair of the tower. My own suspicion is that she had notgone up high enough, and was searching on the second instead of the thirdfloor. When she turned to go back, she failed equally in her search after thestair. She was lost once more.

Something made it evenworse to bear this time, and it was no wonder that she cried again. Suddenly itoccurred to her that it was after having cried before that she had found hergrandmother's stair. She got up at once, wiped her eyes, and started upon afresh quest.

This time, although shedid not find what she hoped, she found what was next best: she did not come ona stair that went up, but she came upon one that went down. It was evidentlynot the stair she had come up, yet it was a good deal better than none; so downshe went, and was singing merrily before she reached the bottom. There, to hersurprise, she found herself in the kitchen. Although she was not allowed to gothere alone, her nurse had often taken her, and she was a great favourite withthe servants. So there was a general rush at her the moment she appeared, for everyone wanted to have her; and the report of where she was soon reached thenurse's ears. She came at once to fetch her; but she never suspected how shehad got there, and the princess kept her own counsel.

Her failure to find theold lady not only disappointed her, but made her very thoughtful. Sometimes shecame almost to the nurse's opinion that she had dreamed all about her; but thatfancy never lasted very long. She wondered much whether she should ever see heragain, and thought it very sad not to have been able to find her when sheparticularly wanted her. She resolved to say nothing more to her nurse on thesubject, seeing it was so little in her power to prove her words.