，有許多男女穿梭而過，所有人都穿著好似去參加化裝舞會的服裝。

Now they hovered through the air, now glided along the ground. were they passing through a vast, decorated hall, or perchance a forest? It was hard to tell. Nature appeared formally set out for show, as in the stiley, artificial, old French gardens, and through its strange, carefully arranged scenes there passed many men and women, all clad as if for a masquerade.

“這就是人類的生活！” 死神天使說道。

“Such is human life!” spoke the Angel of death.

似乎這些人物都試圖偽裝自己；那些炫耀天鵝絨和黃金華服的人並不總是最高貴和最富有的，同樣，那些身著貧苦衣衫的人也不總是最可憐和最粗俗的。

It seemed as if the figure tried to disguise themselves; those who flaunted the glories of velvet and gold were not always the noblest and the richest, neither were all those who wore the garb of poverty the most wretched and vulgar.

這可真是一場奇特的化裝舞會啊！而最奇怪的是，能看到每個人都小心翼翼地把某些不願讓別人發現的東西藏在衣服底下。

A strange masquerade indeed! And most strange of all was to see how each one carefully concealed under his clothing something he would not have the others discover.

每個人都決意要探知鄰居的秘密，於是他們相互撕扯，直到這兒那兒不同動物的腦袋都露了出來。

Each was determined to learn his neighbor’ secret, and they tore at one another until here and there the heads of different animals were bared.

有的是一隻咧著嘴笑的猿猴的腦袋，另一個是山羊的腦袋，還有的是黏糊糊的蛇和虛弱的魚的腦袋。

one was that of a grinning ape, another the head of a goat, still others a clammy snake and a feeble fish.

所有人身上都有某種深深紮根於人性之中的動物的特徵，而在這裡，這些特徵正掙扎著、跳躍著要顯露出來。

In all was some token of the ani