"She said she would dance with me if I brought her red roses," cried the young student, "but in all my garden there is no red rose. Happiness depends on such little things! I have studied all the secrets of philosophy, yet the want of a red rose has made my life miserable." His eyes filled with tears.
「她說如果我帶給她紅玫瑰，她就會和我跳舞，」年輕的學生喊道，「但我所有的花園裡都沒有紅玫瑰。幸福竟取決於這樣的小東西上!我研讀了哲學的所有奧秘，然而缺少了一朵紅玫瑰，我的人生變得悲慘。」他的雙眼充滿了淚水。
A nightingale in a nearby oak tree heard the sorrow in the student's voice. "Here is a true lover," she thought. "I have sung about him, even though I never knew him. Now I see him. He is beautiful, but sorrow weighs heavily on his heart."
附近橡樹上的夜鶯聽到了學生聲音中的哀愁。「這是一個真正的愛人，」她思考著。「我唱了關於他的歌，儘管我從來不認識他。現在我看到他。他是美麗的，但悲傷沉重地壓著他的心。」
"The Prince is giving a ball tomorrow night," muttered the student, "and the professor's daughter will be there. If I bring her a red rose, she will dance with me till dawn, and I will hold her in my arms and clasp her hand in mine. But there is no red rose in my garden, so she will ignore me, and my heart will break." He flung himself down on the grass and wept. The nightingale sat in the oak tree and thought. Suddenly, she spread her wings and flew across the garden to a beautiful rose tree.
「王子明晚要辦舞會，」學生喃喃地說，「教授的女兒會去。如果我帶給她一朵紅玫瑰，她會和我徹夜共舞，我會把她抱在懷裡，把她的手緊握在我的手裡。但我的花園裡沒有紅玫瑰，所以她不會理我，而我會心碎。」他撲倒在草地上哭了起來。夜鶯坐在橡樹上思考著。突然，她張開翅膀，飛過花園，來到一棵美麗的玫瑰樹。
"Give me a red rose," she cried, "and I will sing you my sweetest song." But the tree shook its head. "My roses are white," it answered. Then the nightingale asked another rose tree, but it shook its head as well. "My roses are yellow," it said. Finally, she flew to the rose tree growing beneath the student's window. "Give me a red rose," she cried, "and I will sing you my sweetest song." The tree shook its head. "My roses are red," it answered, "but the winter frost has nipped my buds, and a storm has broken my branches. I will have no roses this year."
「給我一朵紅玫瑰，」她喊道，「我會給你唱最甜美的歌。」但這棵樹搖了搖頭。「我的玫瑰是白色的，」它回答。隨後，夜鶯又問了另一棵玫瑰樹，但它也搖了搖頭。「我的玫瑰是黃色的，」它說。最後，她飛到生長在學生窗戶下的玫瑰樹上。「給我一朵紅玫瑰，」她喊道，「我會給你唱最甜美的歌。」這棵樹搖了搖頭。「我的玫瑰是紅色的，」它回答道，「但是冬天的霜把我的花蕾凍斷了，暴風雨把我的樹枝折斷了。今年我沒有玫瑰。」
"One red rose is all I want," cried the nightingale. "Is there any way you can give it to me?" "There is a way," answered the tree, "but it is a terrible one. If you want a red rose, you must sing to me all night long with your breast against a thorn. The thorn must pierce your heart, and your life-blood must flow into my veins."
「我只是想要一朵紅玫瑰，」夜鶯喊叫著。「你有任何辦法可以給我一朵嗎？」「有個辦法，」樹回答道，「但那是一個可怕的方式。如果妳想要一朵紅玫瑰，妳必須將妳的胸口抵著玫瑰花刺，唱一整晚的歌給我聽。刺必須刺穿妳的心臟，妳全身的血液必須流入我的葉脈。」
"Death is a great price to pay for a red rose, and life is dear to everyone," cried the nightingale. "Yet love is better than life, and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?" She flew back to where the student was lying. "Be happy!" she cried. "You will have your red rose. I merely ask that you be a true lover." The student looked up and listened, but he could not understand what the nightingale was saying. "Her song is beautiful," he thought. "That cannot be denied, but it has no feeling. She is like most artists, all style without sincerity. She would not sacrifice herself for others." He went back to his room and tossed and turned in his bed until he fell asleep.
「死亡是為紅玫瑰付出的巨大代價，每個人的生命都是寶貴的，」夜鶯喊道。「然而，愛情更勝過生命，而且與人的心相比，一隻鳥的心算什麼？」她飛回學生躺在的地方。「快樂一點!」她喊著。「你會得到你的紅玫瑰。我只要求你當一個真正的愛人」。學生抬起頭來聽著，但他不明白夜鶯在說什麼。「她的歌很好聽」，他想。「那不容否認，但牠沒有情感。她和大多數表演者一樣，只講究風格，沒有真誠。她不會為了別人犧牲自己。」他回到自己的房間，在床上輾轉反側直到睡著。
When the moon shone, the nightingale flew to the rose tree and set her breast against the thorn. All night long she sang, and the thorn went deeper and deeper into her breast and her blood faded away. Meanwhile, on the highest branch of the tree blossomed a marvelous rose, one petal at a time. The tree spoke to the nightingale. "Press closer, little nightingale," cried the tree, "or morning will come before the rose is finished." When the thorn pierced the nightingale's heart, a fierce pain shot through her. The rose turned a deep crimson as the nightingale's voice grew fainter. She gave one last burst of music. "Look!" cried the tree. "The rose is finished now." But the nightingale lay dead in the long grass.
月光閃耀之時，夜鶯飛到玫瑰樹上，把她的胸抵在刺上。整個晚上，她都在唱歌，刺在她的胸口越刺越深，她的血液逐漸流失。同時，在樹的最高枝條上，一朵神奇的玫瑰綻放，一次一片花瓣。樹對夜鶯說著。「靠近點，小夜鶯，」樹喊叫著，「不然紅色玫瑰還沒有完成天就要亮了。」當刺刺穿夜鶯的心臟時，一陣劇痛穿透她。隨著夜鶯的聲音越來越微弱，玫瑰變成深紅。她奮力地唱出了最後一曲。「看!」樹叫著。「玫瑰現在已經完成了。」但是夜鶯躺在長長的草叢中死去。
At noon the student looked out of his window. "How wonderful!" he cried. "Here is a red rose!" He leaned down and plucked it, then ran to the professor's house. The professor's daughter was sitting in the doorway. "You said you would dance with me if I brought you a red rose," cried the student. "Here is the reddest rose in all the world. Please wear it tonight, and as we dance together it will tell you how much I love you."
中午，學生從窗戶往外看。「太棒了!」他喊著。「有一朵紅玫瑰!」他俯身把它拔下，然後跑到教授家。教授的女兒坐在門口。「妳說過如果我給妳帶一朵紅玫瑰，妳會和我跳舞。」學生喊道。「這是世界上最鮮紅的玫瑰。今晚請戴上它，當我們一起跳舞的時候，花會向妳顯示我有多愛妳。」
But the girl frowned. "I am afraid it will not go with my dress," she answered. "Besides, the chamberlain's nephew has sent me some real jewels, and everybody knows that jewels cost far more than flowers."
但女孩皺著眉頭。「恐怕它不會與我的衣服搭配，」她回答。「此外，侍從官的侄子給我送來一些貨真價實的珠寶，大家都知道珠寶的價格遠遠超過鮮花。」
"Well, you are ungrateful," said the student angrily, throwing the rose into the gutter.
「好吧，妳真是忘恩負義，」 學生憤怒地說著，邊把玫瑰扔到臭水溝裡。
"And you are rude," said the girl. "And only a student. You haven't even got silver buckles on your shoes like the chamberlain's nephew has." She turned and went into the house.
「而你很沒禮貌，」女孩說。「而且你只是個學生。你的鞋子上甚至沒有像侍從官的侄子有的那種銀釦環。」她轉身走進房子。
"What a silly thing love is," said the student as he walked away. "It is not useful like logic, for it does not prove anything, and it makes people believe things that are not true. In fact, it is impractical. I shall go back to philosophy and study metaphysics." He returned to his room, pulled out a book, and began to read.
「愛情是多麼愚蠢的東西啊，」學生邊走邊說。「它並不像邏輯那樣有用，因為它不能證明什麼，它讓人們相信不真實的東西。事實上，愛情是不切實際的。我應該要重新回到哲學的世界裡，繼續研究形上學。」他回到自己的房間，拿出一本書，然後開始讀書。
