History offered a feeble and delusive smile at the sound of the word; evolutionists and ethnologists disputed its very existence; no one knew what to make of it; yet, without the clue, history was a nursery tale.

听到这个词，历史露出了微弱而虚幻的微笑；进化论者和民族学家争论它的存在；没有人知道该怎么做；然而，如果没有线索，历史就是童话故事。

" By your leave, Sire, " said Glozelle. " If the young warrior whom we have just seen outside is the King Edmund mentioned in the writing, then I would not call him a nursery tale but a very dangerous knight."

“启禀王上。”哥洛说，“假如我们在帐外见到的那个青年就是信中提到的爱德蒙国王的话，我认为这是个危险的骑士，万万不可轻视。”

Bessie Lee must, I think, have been a girl of good natural capacity, for she was smart in all she did, and had a remarkable knack of narrative; so, at least, I judge from the impression made on me by her nursery tales.

我想，贝茜·李一定是个天资聪颖的女孩，因为她所做的一切都很聪明，而且有非凡的叙事技巧；所以，至少，我是从她的童话故事给我的印象来判断的。