And then he told us the real history of the fish (тут он рассказал нам настоящую историю этой рыбы). It seemed that he had caught it himself, years ago, when he was quite a lad (оказалось, что он сам ее поймал много лет назад, когда был совсем еще мальчишкой); not by any art or skill, but by that unaccountable luck that appears to always wait upon a boy (и не /благодаря/ мастерству или умению, а благодаря той необъяснимой удаче, что, кажется, всегда поджидает мальчишку) when he plays the wag from school, and goes out fishing on a sunny afternoon (когда он сбегает из школы и отправляется порыбачить в солнечный день; to play the wag — увиливать от занятий, прогуливать уроки; wag — движение, взмах /рукой и т.п./; кивок; виляние /хвостом/), with a bit of string tied on to the end of a tree (с веревкой, привязанной к палке; tree — дерево; столб, стойка; палка, трость).

He said that bringing home that trout had saved him from a whacking (он сказал, что, принеся домой эту форель, избежал порки; to whack — сильный, звучный удар), and that even his school-master had said it was worth the rule-of-three and practice put together (и что даже его школьный учитель сказал, она /форель/ стоит тройного правила и упражнений, вместе взятых).

honest ['nst] unaccountable [,n'kauntbl]

"Fancy Jim Bates and Joe Muggles and Mr. Jones and old Billy Maunders all telling you that they had caught it. Ha! ha! ha! Well, that is good," said the honest old fellow, laughing heartily. "Yes, they are the sort to give it me, to put up in my parlour, if they had caught it, they are! ha! ha! ha!"

And then he told us the real history of the fish. It seemed that he had caught it himself, years ago, when he was quite a lad; not by any art or skill, but by that unaccountable luck that appears to always wait upon a boy when he plays the wag from school, and goes out fishing on a sunny afternoon, with a bit of string tied on to the end of a tree.

He said that bringing home that trout had saved him from a whacking, and that even his school-master had said it was worth the rule-of-three and practice put together.

He was called out of the room at this point (на этом месте /рассказа/ его позвали, и он вышел из комнаты), and George and I again turned our gaze upon the fish (и мы с Джорджем снова обратили взор на рыбу).

It really was a most astonishing trout (это действительно была самая = весьма удивительная форель). The more we looked at it, the more we marvelled at it (чем больше мы смотрели на нее, тем больше восхищались ей).

It excited George so much that he climbed up on the back of a chair to get a better view of it (она настолько взволновала Джорджа, что он влез на спинку стула, чтобы получше рассмотреть ее).

And then the chair slipped, and George clutched wildly at the trout-case to save himself (и тут стул выскользнул, и Джордж схватился крепко за ящик с форелью, чтобы спастись = не упасть), and down it came with a crash, George and the chair on top of it (и он упал с грохотом, а на него сверху Джордж со стулом).

"You haven't injured the fish, have you (ты ведь не испортил рыбу)?" I cried in alarm, rushing up (крикнул я испуганно, подбегая).

climb [klam] alarm ['l:m]

He was called out of the room at this point, and George and I again turned our gaze upon the fish.

It really was a most astonishing trout. The more we looked at it, the more we marvelled at it.

It excited George so much that he climbed up on the back of a chair to get a better view of it.

And then the chair slipped, and George clutched wildly at the trout-case to save himself, and down it came with a crash, George and the chair on top of it.

"You haven't injured the fish, have you?" I cried in alarm, rushing up.