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"You're more than that," said the Scarecrow, in a grieved tone; "you're a humbug."
“你比普通人更糟糕，”稻草人用着一种悲愤的语调说：“你是一个骗子。”
"Exactly so!" declared the little man, rubbing his hands together as if it pleased him. "I am a humbug."
“说得很对！”矮小的老头儿说着，搓着他的双手，好像这样的坦白使他高兴些，“我是一个骗子。”
"But this is terrible," said the Tin Woodman. "How shall I ever get my heart?"
铁皮人说，“真是不可思议，我又怎样得到我的心？”
"Or I my courage?" asked the Lion.
“还有我的胆量？”狮子问他。
"Or I my brains?" wailed the Scarecrow, wiping the tears from his eyes with his coat sleeve.
“还有我的脑子？”稻草人伤心地哭了，用他的衣袖抹着眼里泪水。
"My dear friends," said Oz, "I pray you not to speak of these little things.
“我的亲爱的朋友们，”奥芝说，“我请求你们不要在这种小事上耗费时间。
Think of me, and the terrible trouble I'm in at being found out."
你们怎么不替我想想，我的秘密被你们揭穿了是最可怕的事情。”
"Doesn't anyone else know you're a humbug?" asked Dorothy.
“其他的人知道你是个骗子吗？”多萝茜问。
"No one knows it but you four--and myself," replied Oz.
“都不知道的，除了你们四个以外——还有我自己，”奥芝回答说。
"I have fooled everyone so long that I thought I should never be found out.
“我很久以来愚弄每一个人，远以为永远不会被揭穿的。
It was a great mistake my ever letting you into the Throne Room.
我经常让你们出入这宫殿，这是我犯下的愚蠢的错误。
Usually I will not see even my subjects, and so they believe I am something terrible."
在平时即使我手下的人，也没有见过我，所以他们对我的魔法深信不疑。”
"But, I don't understand," said Dorothy, in bewilderment.
“但是，我不明白，”多萝茜烦恼地说。
"How was it that you appeared to me as a great Head?"
“你怎么样变成一个大大的头，在我面前出现的？”
"That was one of my tricks," answered Oz. "Step this way, please, and I will tell you all about it."
“那是我耍的魔术，”奥芝回答说。“请跟我来，我将把这一切说给你们听。”
He led the way to a small chamber in the rear of the Throne Room, and they all followed him.
他领着路，他们跟在他后面，走进宫殿后面的一间小卧室里。
He pointed to one corner, in which lay the great Head, made out of many thicknesses of paper, and with a carefully painted face.
他指着一个角落，在那里放着一个大头，是用许多厚纸做成的，画出了一张很细致的脸。
"This I hung from the ceiling by a wire," said Oz.
“我只消用一根线，把这个头从天花板上吊下来，”奥芝说。
"I stood behind the screen and pulled a thread, to make the eyes move and the mouth open."
“我站在屏风后面，拉动那根细线，使得一双眼睛眨动着，并且张开着嘴巴。”
"But how about the voice?" she inquired.
“但是那些声音是从哪里来的？”她问他。
"Oh, I am a ventriloquist," said the little man.
“啊，我是一个腹语家，”矮小的老人说。
"I can throw the sound of my voice wherever I wish, so that you thought it was coming out of the Head.
“我可以用我的声带发出任何我需要的声音，因此，你感觉到那声音是从那头里发出来的。
Here are the other things I used to deceive you."
还有这一件东西，这是我用来欺骗你的。”
He showed the Scarecrow the dress and the mask he had worn when he seemed to be the lovely Lady.
他指给稻草人看他穿戴的衣服和面具，穿上它们看起来他是个美丽的贵妇人。
And the Tin Woodman saw that his terrible Beast was nothing but a lot of skins, sewn together, with slats to keep their sides out.
那铁皮人看见的恐布的怪兽，更让人好笑，只是缝缀在一起的一堆毛皮，用板条子让它们随意张了开来。
As for the Ball of Fire, the false Wizard had hung that also from the ceiling.
至于那燃烧的火球，也不过是从天花板上挂下来的伪装品。
It was really a ball of cotton, but when oil was poured upon it the ball burned fiercely.
它只是个棉花球，用油浸湿它，球就会猛烈地燃烧。
"Really," said the Scarecrow, "you ought to be ashamed of yourself for being such a humbug."
“真的，”稻草人说，“你应当感到惭愧，原来你竟是一个骗子。”
"I am--I certainly am," answered the little man sorrowfully;
“我是——我真的很惭愧，”矮小的人羞愧地回答说，
"but it was the only thing I could do. Sit down, please, there are plenty of chairs; and I will tell you my story."
“但我只能这么做。请坐，这里有许多椅子；请你们听一听我的故事吧。”
So they sat down and listened while he told the following tale.
他们坐了下来听他讲述下面的一段话。
"I was born in Omaha--"
“我是出生在奥马哈——”
"Why, that isn't very far from Kansas!" cried Dorothy.
“天哪，那是离堪萨斯州不远呀！”多萝茜叫了出来。
"No, but it's farther from here," he said, shaking his head at her sadly.
“不远，离这里却很远的！”他说着，向她抱歉地摇摇头。
"When I grew up I became a ventriloquist, and at that I was very well trained by a great master.
“在我长大后，我成了一个腹语家，在这方面，我被一个伟大的主人训练得很好。
I can imitate any kind of a bird or beast."
我可以模仿任何一种鸟类或者兽类的声音。”
Here he mewed so like a kitten that Toto pricked up his ears and looked everywhere to see where she was.
于是学一只小猫叫，使得托托竖起了耳朵，四下寻找。
"After a time," continued Oz, "I tired of that, and became a balloonist."
“过了一段时间，”奥芝继续说下去，“我厌倦了这种生活，我学会驾驶轻气球了。”
