Chapter 73

　　"Thenyou will choose the trade you like best."Pinocchio became more serious.

　　"Whatare you mumbling7 to yourself?" askedthe Fairy.

　　"Iwas just saying," whined8 the Marionette in awhisper,"that it seems too late for me to go to school now.""No,indeed. Remember it is never too late to learn.""But I don't wanteither trade or profession.""Why?""Because work wearies9 me!""My dearboy," said the Fairy, "people who speak as you do usually end theirdays either in a prison or in ahospital. A man, remember, whether rich or poor,shoulddo something in this world. No one can find happinesswithout work. Woe10 betide the lazy fellow!Laziness is aserious illness and one must cure it immediately; yes, evenfromearly childhood. If not, it will kill you in the end."These words touchedPinocchio's heart. He liftedhis eyes to his Fairy and said seriously:

　　"I'llwork; I'll study; I'll do all you tell me.

　　Afterall, the life of a Marionette has grown very tiresometo me and I want to becomea boy, no matter how hard it is.

　　Youpromise that, do you not?""Yes, I promise, and now it is up toyou."

“然后选择一种你喜欢的手艺或者工作……”
　　皮诺乔脸都板起来了。
　　“你牙齿缝里咕噜些什么，”仙女用不高兴的口气问他。
　　“我说的是……”木偶低声叽叽叫着说，“现在才去上学，好像晚了点……”
　　“一点也不晚，我的宝贝。你记住了，读书学习是永远不会晚的。”
　　“可我不想干手艺或工作什么的……”
　　“为什么？”
　　“因为我觉得干活太累。”
　　“我的孩子，”仙女说，“说这种话的人，最后差不多不是进监狱就是进医院。告诉我，一个人不管生下来是穷是富，在这个世界上都得做点事，干上一行，都要劳动。懒惰没有好结果！懒惰是一种最坏的毛病，必须马上从小治好。要不，大了就再也治不好了！”
　　这番话打动了皮诺乔的心。他高兴地又抬起头来，对仙女说：
　　“我要学习，我要干活，你对我怎么说我就怎么做，一句话，木偶的生活我过腻了，我无论如可要变成一个孩子。你答应我了，不是吗？”

7 mumbling    

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 )

参考例句：

·I could hear him mumbling to himself. 我听到他在喃喃自语。

·He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. 宴会结束时，他仍在咕哝着医院里的事。说着说着，他在一块冰上滑倒，跌断了左腿。

8whined 

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

·The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

·He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

9wearies 

（使）疲乏， （使）厌烦( weary的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

·She wearies easily. 她易疲劳。

·How she wearies me with her endless complains! 她那无休止的抱怨使我厌烦极了！

10woe 

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

·Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。

·A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。