It was known to everybody at home, in the cold lands;

住在寒带国度里的家乡人都知道这个故事。

and if the learned man now came there and told his story,they would say that he was imitating it, and that he had no need to do.

如果这位学者回到家里、把自己的故事讲出来的话，大家将会说这是他模仿那个故事编出来的。他不愿意人们这样议论他。

He would, therefore, not talk about it at all; and that was wisely thought.

因此他就打算完全不提这事情——这是一个合理的想法。

In the evening he went out again on the balcony.

晚上他又走到他的阳台上来。

He had placed the light directly behind him, for he knew that the shadow would always have its master for a screen,but he could not entice it.

他已经把烛灯仔细地在他后面放好，因为他知道影子总是需要它的主人作为掩护的，但是他没有办法把它引出来。

He made himself little; he made himself great: but no shadow came again.

他把自己变小，把自己扩大，但是影子却没有产生，因此也没有影子走出来。

He said, "Hem! hem!" but it was of no use.

他说：“出来！出来！”但是这一点用也没有。

It was vexatious; but in the warm lands everything grows so quickly;

这真使人苦恼。不过在热带的国度里，一切东西都长得非常快。

and after the lapse of eight days he observed, to his great joy, that a new shadow came in the sunshine.

过了一个星期以后，有一件事使他非常高兴：他发现当他走到太阳光里去的时候，一个新的影子从他的腿上生出来了。

In the course of three weeks he had a very fair shadow,

三个星期以后，他已经有了一个相当可观的影子了。

which, when he set out for his home in the northern lands, grew more and more in the journey,

当他动身回到他的北国去的时候，影子在路上长了更多；

so that at last it was so long and so large, that it was more than sufficient.

到后来它长得又高又大，就是去掉它半截也没有关系。

The learned man then came home,

这位学者回到家里来了。

and he wrote books about what was true in the world, and about what was good and what was beautiful;

他写了许多书，研究这世界上什么是真，什么是善，什么是美。

and there passed days and years—yes! many years passed by.

于是日子一天一天地过去了，许多岁月也过去了，许多许多年也过去了。

One evening, as he was sitting in his room, there was a gentle knocking at the door.

有一天晚上，他正坐在房间里，有人在门上轻轻地敲了几下。

"Come in!" said he; but no one came in;

“请进来！”他说；可是没有什么人进来。

so he opened the door, and there stood before him such an extremely lean man, that he felt quite strange.

于是他把门打开；他看到自己面前站着一个瘦得出奇的人。这使他感到非常惊奇。

As to the rest, the man was very finely dressed—he must be a gentleman.

但是这个人的衣服却穿得非常入时；他一定是一个有地位的人。