You, as a learned man, certainly know how strange nature is.

您是一个有学问的人；我想您知道得很清楚，人性是多么古怪。

Some persons cannot bear to touch grey paper, or they become ill;

有些人不能容忍摸一下灰纸——他们一看到灰纸就讨厌。

others shiver in every limb if one rub a pane of glass with a nail: I have just such a feeling on hearing you say thou to me;

有些人看到一个人用钉子在玻璃窗上划一下就全身发抖。我听到您把我称为‘你’，也有同样的感觉。

I feel myself as if pressed to the earth in my first situation with you.

像我跟您当初的关系一样，我觉得好像我是被睬到地上。

You see that it is a feeling; that it is not pride: I cannot allow you to say thou to me, but I will willingly say thou to you, so it is half done!"

您要知道，这是一种感觉，并不是自高自大的问题。我不能让您对我说‘你’，但是我倒很愿意把您称为‘你’呢。这样我们就两不吃亏了。”

So the shadow said thou to its former master.

从这时起，影子就把他从前的主人称为“你”。

"This is rather too bad," thought he, "that I must say you and he say thou," but he was now obliged to put up with it.

“这未免有点太过火了，”他想，“我得喊‘您’，而他却把我称为‘你’。”但是他也只好忍受了。

So they came to a watering-place where there were many strangers, and amongst them was a princess,

他们来到一个温泉。这儿住着许多外国人；他们之中有一位美丽的公主。

who was troubled with seeing too well; and that was so alarming!

她得了一种病，那就是她的眼睛看东西非常锐利——这使人感到极端地不安。

She directly observed that the stranger who had just come was quite a different sort of person to all the others;

她马上就注意到，新来的这位人物跟其他的人不同。

"He has come here in order to get his beard to grow, they say, but I see the real cause, he cannot cast a shadow."

“大家都说他到这儿来为的是要使他的胡子生长。不过我却能看出真正的原由——他不能投射出一个影子来。”

She had become inquisitive; and so she entered into conversation directly with the strange gentleman, on their promenades.

她有些好奇，因此她马上就在散步场上跟这位陌生的绅士聊起天来。

As the daughter of a king, she needed not to stand upon trifles, so she said, "Your complaint is, that you cannot cast a shadow?"

作为一个公主，她没有什么客气的必要，因此她就直截了当地对他说：“你的毛病就是不能投射出影子。”

"Your Royal Highness must be improving considerably," said the shadow, "I know your complaint is, that you see too clearly,

“公主殿下的身体现在好多了，”影子说；“我知道您的毛病是：您看事情过于尖锐。

but it has decreased, you are cured.

不过这毛病已经没有了，您已经治好了。

I just happen to have a very unusual shadow!

我恰恰有一个相当不平常的影子！

Do you not see that person who always goes with me?

您没有看到老跟我在一起的这个人么？

Other persons have a common shadow, but I do not like what is common to all.

别的人都有一个普通的影子，但是我却不喜欢普通的东西。

We give our servants finer cloth for their livery than we ourselves use, and so I had my shadow trimmed up into a man:

有人喜欢把比自己衣服质料还要好的料子给仆人做制服穿；同样，我要让我的影子打扮得像一个独立的人。

yes, you see I have even given him a shadow. It is somewhat expensive, but I like to have something for myself!"

您看我还让他有一个自己的影子。这笔费用可是不小，但是我喜欢与众不同一点。”

"What!" thought the princess. "Should I really be cured! These baths are the first in the world!

“怎么！”公主想。“我的病已经真正治好了吗？这是世界上一个最好的温泉。