CONTENTS

总目录

书虫·牛津英汉双语读物：第3级上

书虫·牛津英汉双语读物：第3级下

CONTENTS

目录

弗兰肯斯坦

简介

Chapter 1

第一章

Victor Frankenstein's Story Begins

维克多的故事开始了

Chapter 2

第二章

Chapter 3

第三章

Chapter 4

第四章

Chapter 5

第五章

Chapter 6

第六章

The Monster's Story

怪物的故事

Chapter 7

第七章

Chapter 8

第八章

Chapter 9

第九章

Victor Frankenstein Continues His Story

维克多·弗兰肯斯坦继续讲他的故事

Chapter 10

第十章

Chapter 11

第十一章

Chapter 12

第十二章

Chapter 13

第十三章

Chapter 14

第十四章

Captain Walton's Note

沃尔顿船长的记录

Chapter 15

第十五章

Exercises

野性的呼唤

简介

1．To the north

北部之旅

2．The law of club and tooth

暴力原则

3．The wild animal

野性

4．The new lead-dog

新的头犬

5．More hard work

更艰苦的工作

6．For the love of a man

为了一个人的爱

7．The call of the wild

野性的呼唤

Exercises

秘密花园

简介

1．Little Miss Mary

幼年的玛丽小姐

2．Mary in Yorkshire

玛丽在约克郡的日子

3．Finding the secret garden

找到秘密花园

4．Meeting Dickon

见到狄肯

5．Meeting Colin

见到柯林

6．Colin is afraid

柯林害怕了

7．Colin and the garden

柯林在花园里

8．Mr Craven comes home

克莱文先生回家了

Exercises

曾达的囚徒

简介

1．The Rassendylls － and the Elphbergs

拉森狄尔家族与艾尔弗伯格家族

2．The colour of men's hair

头发的颜色

3．The King goes to his coronation

国王加冕

4．My adventures begin

我的历险开始了

5．His Majesty returns to Strelsau

国王回到斯特莱索

6．An adventure with a tea-table

茶桌历险

7．For love of the King

为了对国王的爱

8．Back to Zenda

回到曾达

9．News of the prisoner

有关囚犯的消息

10．A night outside the castle

城堡外的一夜

11．A dangerous plan

一个危险的计划

12．The prisoner and the King

囚徒与国王

13．Goodbye to Ruritania

告别卢里塔尼亚

Exercises

爱丽丝镜中世界奇遇记

简介

1．Looking-glass house

镜子屋

2．The garden of live flowers

会说话的花园

3．Looking-glass animals

镜中动物

4．Tweedledum and Tweedledee

特威丹与特威帝

5．The White Queen

白方王后

6．Humpty Dumpty

胖墩儿

7．The Lion and the Unicorn

狮子与独角兽

8．The White Knight

白衣骑士

9．Queen Alice

爱丽丝王后

10．Shaking

摇晃

11．Waking

苏醒

12．Who dreamed it?

谁做的梦？

Exercises

风语河岸柳

简介

1　The river

1　河

2　The open road

2　宽敞的公路

3　The Wild Wood

3　野树林

4　A meeting with Mr Badger

4　与獾先生相遇

5　A lesson for Mr Toad

5　给癞蛤蟆先生的教训

6　Toad's adventures

6　癞蛤蟆的冒险经历

7　Return to Toad Hall

7　重返蛤蟆宅第

Exercises

Glossary

神秘及幻想故事集

简介

The Fall of the House of Usher

鄂榭府崩溃记

The Black Cat

黑猫

The Masque of the Red Death

红死魔假面舞会

William Wilson

威廉·威尔逊

The Tell-Tale Heart

泄密的心

Exercises

铁路少年

内容简介

1．The beginning of things

故事的开始

2．Peter and the coal

彼得与煤

3．The old gentleman

老先生

4．Bobbie's ride

博比的旅行

5．Saving the train

拯救火车

6．A birthday for Perks

珀克斯的生日

7．The terrible secret

可怕的秘密

8．The boy in the red shirt

穿红衬衣的男孩儿

9．The man at the station

车站上的人

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

三个陌生人

内容简介

THE THREE STRANGERS

三个陌生人

1．The first stranger

第一个陌生人

2．The second stranger

第二个陌生人

3．The third stranger

第三个陌生人

WHAT THE SHEPHERD SAW

牧羊人所见

1．First night

第一夜

2．Second night

第二夜

3．Third night

第三夜

4．Fourth night

第四夜

A MOMENT OF MADNESS

一时冲动

1．A wedding is arranged

订婚

2．A chance meeting

偶遇

3．Baptista gets married

结婚

4．The honeymoon

蜜月

5．Secrets discovered

泄密

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

伊桑·弗罗姆

内容简介

1．Beginnings

开端

2．Coming home from the dance

舞会归家路

3．A visit to the doctor

求诊

4．An evening together

共度一夜

5．Zeena's news

齐娜的消息

6．No escape

无处可逃

7．The last ride

最后一段行程

8．Endings

结局

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

返回总目录

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京权图字01-96-1584

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1989

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

弗兰肯斯坦=Frankenstein / （英）雪莱（Shelley, M.）著；（英）诺巴斯（Nobes, P.）改写；杨学义译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1996.12（2015.2 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1162-2

Ⅰ．弗…　Ⅱ．①雪…②诺…③杨…　Ⅲ．小说—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（96）第25586号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：任小玫

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1997年1月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1162-2

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简　介

或许以这个悲伤而恐怖的故事拍成的电影要比世界上由任何其他故事拍成的电影都要多。为什么有这么多的人喜欢它？因为当我们第一次读到它时，它就好像是出自我们梦中的记忆一样。

这是一个古老的故事，也是一个新的故事。说它“古老”是因为它创作于一百五十多年以前，那时的科学发展才刚刚起步；说它“新”是因为弗兰肯斯坦的问题也就是我们今天所面临的问题。科学给予我们力量去改造世界，但这种力量也可能与我们作对并毁灭我们。弗兰肯斯坦创造了一个新的人，他比任何其他人都要巨大和强壮——然而弗兰肯斯坦控制不了他，这个怪物毁灭了弗兰肯斯坦所爱的一切。今天的科学家正在创造着巨大的机器、电脑和武器，他们声称这些东西对我们有益——但我们能够驾驭它们吗？

玛丽·雪莱（1797—1851）是维多利亚时代的一位重要作家。她的丈夫是英格兰最著名的诗人之一——珀西·比希·雪莱。

Chapter 1

'Captain! Something is moving on the ice. Look over there!'

The sailor stood at the top of the mast, high above the Captain. His hand pointed away from the ship, across the miles of ice that covered the sea.

The Captain looked to the north, where the sailor was pointing. He saw something coming fast towards the ship across the ice. He put his telescope to his eye, and through it he could see the shapes of ten dogs pulling a sledge over the ice. He could also see the driver of the sledge—a huge figure, much bigger than a man.

The sledge came nearer and nearer to the sea. Soon it was only a quarter of a mile from the ship. No one needed a telescope now to see the huge figure of the driver.

Suddenly the sledge went behind a mountain of ice and disappeared. At that moment another sledge appeared. It, too, was moving fast, and was clearly chasing the first sledge. This driver was a smaller figure, more like an ordinary man. Faster and faster the dogs ran; then the second sledge also disappeared behind the mountain of ice.

Two hours passed. The sledges did not appear again. Nothing moved on the ice. Soon night came, and in the night there was a storm. In the morning, the sailors saw that great pieces of ice were floating round the ship. Suddenly the sailor on the mast shouted again:

'Captain, I can see a man on the ice.'

The sailor was pointing to a piece of ice that was floating near the ship. A man was sitting on the ice, and near him was a broken sledge. The man was nearly dead from cold and could not walk. The sailors carried him carefully onto the ship, and took him to the Captain, who said:

'Welcome to my ship. I am the Captain and my name is Robert Walton.'

'Thank you, Captain Walton,' the man said. 'My name is Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein.'

Then he fainted and said no more.

Two days passed before the man was strong enough to talk and then the Captain asked him to tell his story.

'I am trying to catch someone,' said Frankenstein. 'That is why I have come so far north on the ice.'

'We saw you following someone,' the Captain said. 'He was huge, much bigger than a man. We saw his sledge just in front of you on the night before the storm.'

'I am pleased you all saw that huge figure,' Frankenstein said. 'Perhaps that will help you to believe my story.'

During the days, while the Captain worked on the ship, Frankenstein wrote down his story, and each evening he read what he had written to the Captain.

Here is Victor Frankenstein's story.

mast n. tall pole. 船桅，长杆。

telescope n. 望远镜。

sledge n. 雪橇。

disappear v. go out of sight, be seen no more. 消失。

appear v. come into view. 出现。

chase v. run after. 追赶。

float v. stay on the top of water. 浮起，漂流。

nearly adv. almost. 几乎。

welcome v. & n. 欢迎；adj. 受欢迎的。

during prep. in the period of... 在……期间。

第一章

“船长，有东西在冰面上移动！瞧那儿！”

那个船员高高地站在船长头顶的桅杆顶上。他的手指着离船数英里以外覆盖着大海的冰面。

船长朝那个船员指示的北方望去。他看见有个东西正穿过冰面、快速地朝船靠近。他把单筒望远镜凑近眼前并透过它看见有十只狗在冰面上拉着一只雪橇。他还看到驾驶雪橇的那个人——那是一个巨大的身躯，比常人要大得多。

雪橇离水面越来越近，很快它便离船只有1/4英里之遥。现在已不需借助望远镜便可看见那个乘雪橇的人的庞大身躯了。

突然那个雪橇驶到一个冰山的后面消失了。就在那时，另一辆雪橇出现在眼前。它也在急驰着，并且显然是在追逐那第一辆雪橇。驾驶这辆雪橇的人身形小些，更像个普通人。狗跑得越来越快，接着第二辆雪橇也消失在了冰山的后面。

两小时过去了，雪橇再也没有出现过。再没有东西在冰上移动。不久夜晚降临了，晚上起了一场风暴。早上，船员们看到轮船的周围都漂浮着巨大的冰块。突然，桅杆上的船员又喊了起来：

“船长，我看见冰上有一个人。”

那个船员正指着漂近轮船的一块浮冰。有个人正坐在冰上，他的身旁有一辆坏了的雪橇。那个人快要冻死了并且走不了路。船员们小心地把他扶上了船，并把他带到船长跟前。船长说道：

“欢迎您到我的船上来。我是船长，叫罗伯特·沃尔顿。”

“谢谢您，沃尔顿船长。”那个人说道，“我的名字叫弗兰肯斯坦，维克多·弗兰肯斯坦。”

然后他就昏过去，不再说什么了。

两天后，这个男人方才恢复过来能够谈话了，这时船长让他讲讲自己的故事。

“我要尽力抓一个人，”弗兰肯斯坦说道，“这就是我为什么要到这么远的北方的冰面上来的原因。”

“我们看见了你在追赶什么人。”船长说道，“他很大，比常人要大很多。我们在风暴的前夜看见他的雪橇就在你的前面。”

“我很高兴你们都见到了那个庞然大物，”弗兰肯斯坦说道，“那也许能帮助你们相信我的故事。”

白天，船长在船上工作时，弗兰肯斯坦写起了他的故事；晚上他便把写的东西念给船长听。

下面就是弗兰肯斯坦的故事。

Victor Frankenstein's Story Begins

维克多的故事开始了

Chapter 2

I was born in Switzerland, in the town of Geneva. My parents loved each other very much, and I learnt from the example of their love. I learnt that to love and to be patient are the most important things in the world.

My mother hoped to have a daughter after I was born, but for five years I was the only child. And then my mother found a sister for me. She was helping a family in which there were five children. They were very poor, and the children were thin and hungry. One of the children was a little girl, with golden hair and blue eyes. Her name was Elizabeth. My mother took the little girl into our family, and Elizabeth became the daughter that my mother had always wanted. As I grew older, my love for Elizabeth became stronger all the time.

Later my mother had two other sons, Ernest and William. A young woman called Justine came to live in the house to help my mother with the children. We loved her as much as she loved us.

The years passed happily, and we had everything that we needed. At school I met another very fine person. His name was Henry Clerval, and he was very clever. My family also liked him very much, so he was a welcome visitor to our house.

I studied very hard at school. I wanted to know the secrets of life, and, most of all, I wanted to know how to make living things. I read all the books that I could find. One day, something happened that added a new idea to the ideas that I already had. I was fifteen at the time, and we were on holiday in the mountains. There was a wild storm, and with it came the most frightening thunder and lightning that I had ever seen in my life. About twenty metres in front of our house was a great tree. Suddenly a huge fork of lightning hit the tree. After a few seconds, there was nothing left of it except a black piece of wood two metres high. The lightning had destroyed it.

I saw how strong electricity was. I began to read all the books that I could find about electricity and its terrible power.

Switzerland n. 瑞士（国名）。

Geneva n. 日内瓦，瑞士城市。

example n. 例子。

patient adj. showing patience. 有耐心的。

as... as 与……一样……。

secret n. sth. kept from others' knowing. 秘密；adj. 秘密的。

add v. 加。

frightening adj. causing fear. 吓人的。

thunder n. a very loud noise in the sky when there is a storm. 雷。

lightning n. 闪电。

fork n. 叉。

electricity n. 电。

第二章

我出生在瑞士的日内瓦城。我父母彼此相爱至深，而且我以他们的爱心为榜样。我懂得了去爱他人和富有耐心是世界上最重要的事情。

在生下我后，我母亲希望再生一个女儿，但在五年之中我都是唯一的孩子。后来我母亲给我找了一个妹妹。她那时在一个有五个孩子的家庭里帮忙。他们非常穷，孩子们都又瘦又饿。其中一个孩子是一个头发金黄、有一对蓝色眼睛的小女孩。她名叫伊丽莎白。我母亲把那个小女孩带到了我家，于是伊丽莎白便成了我母亲盼望已久的女儿。随着年龄的增长，我对伊丽莎白的爱与日俱增。

后来我母亲又生了两个儿子：欧内斯特和威廉。有个名叫贾斯汀的年轻女子来我家帮我母亲照看孩子们。我们像她爱我们一样地爱她。

岁月快乐地流逝着，我们拥有所需要的一切。在学校里我遇见了另外一个非常好的人，他的名字叫亨利·克勒沃，人非常聪明。我的家人也非常喜欢他，所以他是我们家受欢迎的客人。

我在学校学习很刻苦。我想要知道生命的奥秘，而且我最想知道的便是如何制造有生命的东西。我阅读了我能找到的一切书籍。有一天发生了一件事情，它给了我新的启发。我那时15岁，我们正在山中度假。那天有一场暴风雨，夹杂其间的是我平生见过的最为吓人的雷霆和闪电。在我们的房子前面约二十米处有一棵大树。突然间一个叉状闪电击中了大树。几秒钟之后，那棵大树便只剩下两米高的一块黑木头。闪电摧毁了它。

我看到了电的力量有多么大。我开始阅读我能找到的有关电及其可怕力量的一切书籍。

Chapter 3

For seventeen years my life was very happy. Then the first sad thing happened. My mother became very ill, and soon she knew that she was dying. Just before she died, she asked Elizabeth and me to go to her room. She held our hands and said:

'My children, I am very happy because you love each other, and because one day you will get married. Everyone in the family loves you, Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family, my dear? I can die happy if you will look after them when I have gone.'

My mother died, and we were very sad, because we loved her dearly. Elizabeth was brave and helped us; her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother's death.

The time came for me to go to university. I did not want to leave my sad family, but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave, too, because the parents of my good friend Henry Clerval would not let him go to university with me. And so I had to go alone.

On my first day at the university I met my teacher, Professor Waldman, who was one of the greatest scientists in the world. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students who were starting at the university. He ended his talk by saying: 'Some of you will become the great scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can. That is why God made you intelligent—to help other people.'

After the professor's talk, I thought very carefully. I remembered the storm when I was fifteen. I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree. I wanted to use electricity to help people, and I wanted to discover the secrets of life. I decided to work on these two things. I did not know then that my work would destroy me and the people that I loved.

I started work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.

The professor helped me very much, and other important scientists who were his friends helped me, too. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day's holiday during the next two years. I did not go home, and my letters to my family were very short.

After two years I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was better than anything in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin? Is it possible to put life into dead things? To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death. I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university, I watched the dying and the dead. Day after day, month after month, I followed death. It was a dark and terrible time.

Then one day, the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life. I knew that I could put life into a body that was not alive.

I worked harder and harder now. I slept for only a short time each night, and I did not eat much food. I wrote to my family less often. But they loved me and did not stop writing to me. They said they understood how busy I was. They did not want me to stop work to write or to see them. They would wait until I had more time. They hoped to see me very soon.

The professors realized that I was doing very important work, and so they gave me my own laboratory. There was a small flat above the laboratory, where I lived, and sometimes I stayed inside the building for a week and did not go out.

Above the laboratory I built a very tall mast. It was 150 metres high, and higher than the tallest building in the city. The mast could catch lightning and could send the electricity down to my machine in the laboratory. I had never forgotten the lightning that had destroyed the tree. There had been so much power in the electricity of that lightning. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.

I will say no more than that. The secret of my machine must die with me. I was a very clever scientist, but I did not realize then what a terrible mistake I was making.

die v. not live 死。

dying adj. 垂死的。

dearly adv. very much. 非常。

happy adj. glad. 高兴的。

unhappy adj. 不高兴的。

happiness n. 高兴。

university n. 大学。

go to university 上大学学习。

professor n. 教授。

intelligent adj. clever. 聪明的。

carefully adv. thinking of what one does, says, etc. 仔细地，认真地。

hospital n. place where people are nursed through their illness. 医院。

come to 使某人想到。

alive adj. not dead. 活着的。

laboratory n. the building where scientists work and study. 实验室，简写为lab。

flat n. 公寓套房。

power n. something strong that makes other things work. 力量。

mistake n. something not right. 错误。

make a mistake 犯错误。

第三章

在17年的生命历程中我都很幸福。后来第一件悲伤的事发生了。我母亲病得很厉害，不久她便知道自己将不久于人世。就在她去世之前，她把伊丽莎白和我叫到她的房间。她抓住我们的手说道：

“孩子们，你们彼此相爱并且将会结婚，我因此非常高兴。家里的每个人都很爱你，伊丽莎白。你愿意取代我在家中的位置吗，亲爱的？如果你在我走后能照顾他们，我将会走得很幸福。”

我母亲死了，我们都非常伤心，因为我们非常爱她。伊丽莎白很勇敢并帮着我们；她那甜美的微笑在母亲死后的那些不快的日子里给我们带来了一些快乐。

到了我该上大学的时候了。我不想离开我那悲伤的家，可我们都知道我应该去。离别也是很难的，因为我的好朋友克勒沃的父母不让他和我一起去上大学。这样我只能独自一人去了。

大学的第一天我遇到了我的老师沃得曼教授，他是世界上最伟大的科学家之一。他给我们所有开始大学生活的学生做了一次精彩的演讲。他在结束讲话时说：“你们中的一些人将成为明天的科学家。你们必须努力学习并且去揭示你们所能揭示的事物。这就是上帝为什么给了你们智慧——去帮助他人。”

教授演讲过后，我进行了非常认真的思考。我想起了我15岁时的那场暴风雨。我记得那次的闪电是如何摧毁了那棵树的。我想利用电去帮助人们，我还想去揭示生命的奥秘。我决心去从事这两项工作。我当时没有想到我的工作会毁了我还有我所爱的人们。

第二天我就开始了工作。我工作非常努力，我和沃得曼教授不久便意识到我可以通过学习成为一名出色的科学家。

教授帮了我很多的忙，那些是教授的朋友的、重要的科学家们也帮助过我。我对我的工作很感兴趣，在接下来的两年里我没有休过一天假。我没有回过家，给家里写的信也非常短。

两年后我发现了很多的事物并建造了一台比大学里的任何机器都好的科学机器。我的机器能帮助我回答最重要的问题。生命是如何开始的？可以把生命注入无生命的东西中去吗？要回答有关生命的这些问题我首先得了解死亡。我得从他们刚死、滚热的生命离开人体的那一刹那起进行观察。在医院里和大学里，我观察着垂死的人和已死的人。日复一日、月复一月，我都在跟踪死亡。那是黑暗和恐怖的日子。

后来有一天我得到了答案。我突然间确信自己懂得了生命的奥秘。我知道我能将生命注入一个无生命的身体中去。

现在我工作越来越努力。每天晚上我只睡很短的时间，吃的东西也很少。我给家里写的信更加少了。但是家里的人爱我，他们没有停止给我写信。他们说他们理解我有多忙。他们不想让我停止工作而去给他们写信或是去看望他们。他们愿意等到我有时间的时候再说。他们希望很快见到我。

教授们意识到我在从事一项重要的工作，因而给了我一间实验室。实验室的上面有一个小的套房，我就住在里面；有时候我一个星期都待在那座建筑物里不出去。

我在实验室的上方建起了一个很高的杆子。它有150米高，比全城最高的建筑物都要高。那个杆子能够“捕获”闪电并把电送到我实验室的机器上。我从未忘记摧毁那棵树的闪电。那次闪电中的电曾有那么大的力量。我相信我可以利用电给无生命的东西注以生命。

我不想再多说什么了。我的机器的秘密必须随我一起消亡。我是个很聪明的科学家，可我那时没有意识到我在犯多么可怕的错误。

Chapter 4

In my laboratory I made a body. I bought or stole all the pieces of human body that I needed, and slowly and carefully, I put them all together.

I did not let anybody enter my laboratory or my flat while I was doing this awful work. I was afraid to tell anybody my terrible secret.

I had wanted to make a beautiful man, but the face of the creature was horrible. Its skin was thin and yellow, and its eyes were as yellow as its skin. Its long black hair and white teeth were almost beautiful, but the rest of the face was very ugly.

Its legs and arms were the right shape, but they were huge. I had to use big pieces because it was too difficult to join small pieces together. My creature was two and a half metres tall.

For a year I had worked to make this creature, but now it looked terrible and frightening. I almost decided to destroy it. But I could not. I had to know if I could put life into it.

I joined the body to the wires from my machine. More wires joined the machine to the mast. I was sure that my machine could use electricity from lightning to give life to the body. I watched and waited. Two days later I saw dark clouds in the sky, and I knew that a storm was coming. At about one o'clock in the morning the lightning came. My mast began to do its work immediately, and the electricity from the lightning travelled down the mast to my machine. Would the machine work?

At first nothing happened. But after a few minutes I saw the creature's body begin to move. Slowly, terribly, the body came alive. Its arms and legs began to move, and slowly it sat up.

The dead body had been an ugly thing, but alive, it was much more horrible. Suddenly I wanted to escape from it. I ran out of the laboratory, and locked the door. I was filled with fear at what I had done.

For hours I walked up and down in my flat. At last I lay down on my bed, and fell asleep. But my sleep was full of terrible dreams, and I woke up suddenly. The horrible thing that I had created was standing by my bed. Its yellow eyes were looking at me; its mouth opened and it made strange sounds at me. On its yellow face there was an awful smile. One of its huge hands reached towards me...

Before it could touch me, I jumped off the bed and ran downstairs into the garden. I stayed there all night, but I could not think clearly. I was afraid. And when morning came, I went out into the town and began to walk about.

I did not notice where I was walking, but soon I came to the station. A train from Geneva had just arrived, and the passengers were leaving the station. One of them ran towards me when he saw me. It was my dear friend Henry Clerval.

He was very pleased to see me. He took my hand and shook it warmly.

'My dear Victor!' he said. 'What a lucky chance that you are here at the station. Your father, and Elizabeth and the others, are very worried about you, because you have not visited them for a long time. They ask me to make sure that you are well. And I have very good news. My father has agreed to let me study at the university, so we shall be able to spend a lot of time together.'

I was very happy to hear this news, and for a moment I forgot my fears. I took Henry back to my flat and asked him to wait outside while I went in to look. I was afraid that the creature was still there. But it had disappeared. At that time I did not think of other people, and what the creature could do to them. I took Henry into the flat and cooked a meal for us. But Henry noticed how thin I was, and that I was laughing too much and could not sit still.

Suddenly he said: 'My dear Victor, what is the matter with you? Are you ill? Has something awful happened?'

'Don't ask me that,' I cried. I put my hands over my eyes. I thought I could see the horrible creature there in front of me. I pointed wildly across the room, and shouted: 'He can tell you. Save me! Save me!' I tried to fight the creature, but there was nothing there. Then I fainted and fell to the floor.

Poor Henry! I do not know what he thought. He called a doctor and they put me to bed. I was very ill for two months, and Henry stayed and looked after me. His loving care saved me from death.

I wanted to go home and see my family as soon as possible. When I was well enough, I packed my clothes and books. All my luggage was ready, and I was feeling very happy when the postman arrived with some letters. One of the letters ended my short time of happiness.

steal (stole, stolen) v. take somebody else's things secretly. 偷。

skin n. 皮肤。

huge adj. very, very big 巨大的。

creature n. a living animal or person. 生物。

wire n. a long thin piece of metal; electricity travels through wires. 电线。

immediately adv. at once. 马上。

asleep adv. 睡着了。

fall asleep 睡着。

suddenly adv. at once. 突然。

awful adj. terrible. 可怕的。

passenger n. 乘客。

lucky adj. having good luck. 幸运的。

too much 太多，过分。

wildly adv. too excitedly. 狂野地，过分激动地，发疯地。

save... from...把……从……处挽救出来。

pack v. put things into a bag, box, etc. 包装，整理行装。

luggage n. 行李。

第四章

我在我的实验室中造了一个人体。我所需要的人体各部分均是我买来或偷来的，然后我缓慢而细心地把它们拼凑到了一起。

在干这项可怕的工作时，我没有让任何人进入我的实验室和我的住处。我不敢告诉任何人我那可怕的秘密。

我曾想造一个漂亮的男人，但这个家伙的脸非常可怕：皮肤又薄又黄，眼睛同皮肤一样黄。黑长的头发和白色的牙齿倒也漂亮，脸上的其余部分却很丑陋。

它的腿和胳膊的形状是对的，但它们太大了。因为拼接小块的人体太困难了，我只得用大块的去拼接。我创造的这个东西有2.5米高。

我曾为制造这个东西工作了一年时间，现在它却看上去恐怖吓人。我几乎要决定毁了它。但我做不到。我必须知道我是否能将生命植入其中。

我把那个身体同我机器上的那些电线连接起来。更多的电线再把机器和杆子连接起来。我确信我的机器可以用闪电给那个身体生命。我观察着、等待着。两天后我看到天上有了乌云，知道将有一场暴风雨来临。大约在凌晨1点钟闪电闪了一下。我的杆子立即开始工作，闪电通过杆子传到了我的机器上。机器会管用吗？

起先没有发生什么。但是几分钟过后我看见那个东西的躯体在动。那具躯体缓慢而怕人地变活了。他的胳膊和腿开始移动，而且他慢慢地坐了起来。

那个无生命的躯体本来就可怕，而现在变成活的就更加恐怖了。突然间我想逃开。我跑出实验室并且锁上了门。我对我所做的一切充满了恐惧。

有好几个小时我都在我的房间里走来走去。最后我躺倒在床上并睡着了。可是恶梦萦绕着我，我便猛然醒了过来。我所创造的那个可怕的东西正站在我的床边。他的黄色的眼睛正看着我。他的嘴张着并对我发出奇怪的声音。他的黄色的脸庞上露出可怕的笑容。他的一只大手伸向了我……

没等他碰到我，我便跳下床冲到了楼下的花园里。我整个晚上都待在那儿，只是思维已不清楚了。我很害怕。等到早上，我便走出花园到城里去并开始四处逛悠。

我没注意我在什么地方走，但不久便到了火车站。刚好从日内瓦来了一趟火车，乘客正走出车站。其中一位见到我后便朝我跑了过来。原来是我的好朋友亨利·克勒沃。

他见到我很高兴。他抓住我的手热情地握了起来。

“我亲爱的维克多！”他说道，“你在车站这儿真是巧极了。你父亲、伊丽莎白还有其他人都非常为你担心，因为你很久没有探望他们了。他们让我来看看你的身体是否还好。另外我还有个好消息。我父亲已同意让我上大学学习，这样我们就能有好多时间待在一起了。”

我听了这个消息后很高兴，并且有一阵儿都忘记了我的恐惧感。我把亨利带回我的公寓并让他在外面等着以便我能进去看一看。我害怕那个家伙还在那儿。但是他已经不见了。那时我没有想到过其他人以及那个家伙会对他们怎么样。我把亨利领进屋里并给我们做了顿吃的。然而亨利注意到了我有多么瘦削，我还笑得太多，也不能安静地坐着。

他突然说道：“我亲爱的维克多，你怎么啦？你生病了吗？发生了什么可怕的事情了吗？”

“别问我这个，”我喊道。我用手捂住眼睛。当时我想我能看见那个可怕的家伙正在我的面前。我发疯似地指向屋子，并且喊道：“他能告诉你。救救我！救救我！”我想去同那个家伙搏斗，但那儿什么也没有。然后我就晕过去，倒在了地板上。

可怜的亨利！我不知道他当时是怎么想的。他叫了个医生并且一起把我扶到了床上。我大病了两个月，亨利一直留下来照顾我。他那充满爱意的护理把我从死亡那儿救了回来。

我想尽快回家去见我的家人。在我恢复得足够强壮后，我便收拾起衣服和书籍。我的行李都已准备好了，但是正当我无比高兴时邮递员给我送来了几封信。其中的一封结束了我短暂的快乐时光。

Chapter 5

The letter was from my father in Geneva, and this is what he wrote:

My dear Victor,

I want you to know before you arrive home that an awful thing has happened. Your dear youngest brother, William, is dead. He was murdered. It happened last Thursday evening when Elizabeth and I and your two brothers, Ernest and William, went for a walk outside the city. William and Ernest were playing. William had hidden from Ernest, and Ernest asked Elizabeth and me to help find William. We all began to search for him, but we couldn' t find him. We searched all night. At five in the morning I found him. He was lying on the grass, white and still. I could see the marks of fingers on his neck—the murderer had strangled him.

Elizabeth had let him wear a gold chain of hers round his neck. On the chain was a very small picture of your mother. We all think that someone murdered William to steal the gold chain. Poor Elizabeth is terribly unhappy at William's death. She thinks he died because she let him wear the chain. Hurry home, my dear Victor. You are the only one who can help Elizabeth, and we all need you.

With all our love,

Your Father

Henry helped me to catch the train. The journey seemed very long, and it was late at night before the train reached Geneva. I decided to spend the night in a village outside the town and go home early in the morning. I wanted to see the place where William had died.

As I started my walk, a storm broke and lightning lit the sky. The police had put posts round the place where the murderer had strangled William, so I found it easily. I cried sadly as I stood there. My poor brother had been a kind and happy boy, and we had all loved him.

Again the lightning lit the sky, and I saw a huge figure standing in the rain. When I saw it, I knew at once what it was. It was the creature that I had made.

What was it doing there? But although I asked myself the question, I knew the answer. He had murdered my brother. I was sure that I was right.

I decided to try and catch him. But as I moved, he ran towards the mountains. He ran much faster than any man. He climbed the mountain easily, reached the top, and disappeared.

I stood there in the dark and the rain, and knew that I had created a monster. And he had murdered my brother.

murder v. kill. 谋杀，杀害。

murderer n. 凶手。

lie (lying; lay, lain) v. be at rest. 躺。

still adj. quiet, without movement or sound. 不动的，静止的。

strangle v. to kill someone by holding him very hard round the neck. 勒死。

catch the train 赶火车，上火车。

post n. upright piece of wood, metal, etc. to support or mark something. 柱，杆，竿。

create v. make something new. 创造。

monster n. a very large person or animal with a strange, frightening shape. 庞然大物，怪物。

第五章

信是我父亲从日内瓦写来的，下面就是他写的内容：

我亲爱的维克多：

在你到家之前我想让你知道所发生的一件可怕的事情。你亲爱的小弟弟威廉死了。他是被谋杀的。这件事发生在上个礼拜四，那时我和伊丽莎白以及你的两个弟弟欧内斯特和威廉正在城外散步。威廉同欧内斯特当时正玩耍。威廉藏了起来，不让欧内斯特找到，于是欧内斯特要我和伊丽莎白帮着找威廉。我们都找了起来，但没能找到他。我们找了一整夜。早晨5点钟时我找到他。他躺倒在草地上，脸色苍白，身子一动也不动我能看出他脖子上的手指印——是凶手勒死了他。

伊丽莎白曾让他把她的一根金链子戴在脖子上。链子上有一张非常小的、你妈妈的照片。我们都认为是有人为了偷取那条金链子而杀死了威廉。可怜的伊丽莎白对威廉的死非常伤心。她认为他的死是因为她让他戴了那条链子。赶快回家吧，我亲爱的维克多。只有你能帮助伊丽莎白，并且我们都需要你。

我们都爱你！

你的父亲

亨利帮我上了火车。旅途似乎非常漫长；火车到达日内瓦之前已经是深夜了。我决定在城外的一个村子里过夜，然后清晨再回家。我想看看威廉死去的地方。

在我开始步行时，暴发了一场暴风雨，闪电划亮了天空。警察已在威廉被凶手勒死的地方围上了木桩，这样我很容易地找到了那儿。我站在那儿伤心地哭泣着。我可怜的弟弟一向是个善良而快乐的孩子，并且我们都很爱他。

闪电又一次照亮了天空，我看见雨中站着一个巨大的人。当我看见时，我立马就知道那是谁了。那是我创造的那个家伙。

他在那儿干什么？尽管我在问自己这个问题，却已知道了答案。是他杀死了我的弟弟。我敢肯定我是对的。

我决心要抓住他。但在我走动时，他朝山上跑去了。他比任何人都跑得快。他轻松地爬着山，到了山顶并且消失不见了。

我在黑暗中站着并淋着雨，知道自己创造了一个怪物。是他杀死了我的弟弟。

Chapter 6

At first I decided to tell the police my story. But would they believe me? I had been very ill. When the police learnt about my illness, they would think the monster was just one of my bad dreams. I decided that I could not tell anybody.

I went home to my family and they were very pleased to see me. Then they told me that the police had found the murderer. Perhaps you will think that this was good news, but I have not told you who the police had arrested.

As I went into the house, I noticed that one person did not come to meet me. It was Justine, the young woman who looked after the children and who was like a sister to us. And it was Justine that the police had arrested.

A few days after the murder, the police had searched the house and had found the gold chain in Justine's coat pocket. Everyone in the family knew that Justine had not murdered William. I knew who the murderer was, but I could not tell anyone. We were sure that Justine would be free after the trial, because nobody could believe that she was a murderer. But we were wrong.

The trial did not go well for Justine. There were a number of strange facts that were difficult to explain, and the judge decided that she was the murderer. The punishment for murder was death. We argued and cried. We said she could not murder anyone. But nothing could change the judge's order.

So I got up early and went to the judge's house and told him about the monster. He did not believe me. He thought I was lying in order to save Justine's life.

In the prison Justine waited quietly for death. We spent many hours with her, and she spoke calmly and kindly to us. She was happy because we believed that she had not killed William. And she was almost looking forward to death, because then she would be with William and our dear mother in a place of peace.

Her love and gentleness added to my great unhappiness. I knew she was going to die because of me. I knew my brother had died because of me. I had brought nothing but sadness and misery to my family.

I took a boat and went out on Lake Geneva. Why didn't I end my life then? Two things stopped me. My father was old and another death would probably kill him. And I had to stay alive—to keep my family safe from the monster.

Fear for my family and hate for my monster were with me day and night. I became ill again, and Elizabeth's love could not help me. I needed to escape for a while—to leave my unhappiness behind me. So I went to walk alone in the Alps. I hoped the wild beauty of the mountains would help me.

Slowly I became calmer among the beautiful mountains. I learnt to sleep again, and for days I did not see anybody. Then one morning I saw a figure coming towards me faster than any man could go. It jumped easily over the rocks and I saw with horror the monster that I had created. On his face was a look of deep sadness, but also of evil. At first I could not speak because I hated him so much. But at last I said:

'You are an evil creature. I shall kill you if I can, because you have killed two people that I love.'

The monster's yellow eyes looked at me. 'I am the unhappiest creature in the world, but I shall fight for my life,' he said. 'I am bigger and stronger than you, but I will not start the fight. I shall always be gentle to you because you are my king and creator. You made me, and you should love me and be kind to me, like a father. William and Justine died because you did not love me. Why did you create me if you were not ready to love me?'

'We are enemies,' I said. 'Leave me now, or let us fight until one of us is dead. You are a murderer. How can I be kind to you?'

'You say I am a murderer,' the monster said, 'but you want to kill your own creature. Isn't that wrong, too? I ask you to do one thing for me—listen. Come with me to a warmer place, and listen to my story. Then you can decide.'

I thought carefully about what he had said. It was true that I had given him life but I had not given him love. I decided to go with him and listen to his story.

He took me to a mountain hut where he lit a fire. We sat down by the fire and he began to tell me his story.

learn about 获悉。

arrest v. seize by the police. 逮捕。

free adj. not be held as a prisoner any longer. 自由的。

trial n. 审判。

punishment n. suffering for wrongdoing. 惩罚。

argue v. quarrel. 争论。

lie v. not tell the truth. 撒谎；n. 谎。

look forward to waiting for something eagerly. 期待。

peace n. 和平，安宁。

misery n. suffering. 痛苦。

keep sb. safe from 使某人免遭……的危害。

the Alps 阿尔卑斯山脉（山名）。

evil n. 罪恶；adj. 罪恶的。

gentle adj. mild, not rough. 温和的。

creator n. 创造者，造物主。

第六章

起先我打算把我的故事告诉警察，但他们会相信我吗？我一直都生着病。如果警察了解到我的病情，他们会认为那个怪物只是我的一个恶梦而已。我决定不去告诉任何人。

我回到家里，家人都为见到我而高兴。接着他们告诉我说警察已找到了凶手。你也许会认为这是个好消息，但是我还没有告诉你警察抓的是谁。

在我进屋时，我注意到有个人没有来见我。那就是贾斯汀，就是曾照看孩子们并像姐妹一样对待我们的那个年轻女孩。而警察逮捕的就是贾斯汀。

在谋杀案发生了几天之后，警察搜查了房子并在贾斯汀的外衣口袋里找到了那条金链。家里人都知道贾斯汀没有杀害过威廉。我清楚凶手是谁，但是我不能告诉任何人。我们确信审判过后贾斯汀将会被释放的，因为没有人相信她是凶手。但是我们错了。

审判对贾斯汀不利。有许多难以解释的奇怪现象，但法官认定她就是凶手。谋杀的处罚乃是死刑。我们一边申辩一边哭喊着。我们说她不可能谋杀任何人。但没什么能改变法官的判决。

于是我一大早便起床到法官的家中并告诉他有关那个怪物的事情。他不相信我。他认为我是为了救贾斯汀而在撒谎。

贾斯汀在监狱里安静地等着死去。我们同她待了好几个小时，她从容而温和地同我们说话。她为我们相信不是她杀害了威廉而高兴。她几乎在期盼着死去，因为那样她就可以在一个安宁的地方同威廉和我们亲爱的妈妈在一起了。

她的爱心和温柔加重了我那巨大的痛苦。我知道她将因我而死去。我知道我弟弟已经因我而死。我给我家里带来的只有悲伤和苦难。

我乘船去了日内瓦湖。我那时为什么没有结束自己的生命呢？那是因为两件事情。我父亲已经年迈，再有人死很可能会要了他的命。并且我必须活着——以便我的家人免遭怪物的伤害。

对家人的担忧和对怪物的痛恨日夜牵扯着我。我再一次病倒了，连伊丽莎白的爱也帮不了我。我需要逃避一阵子——去将伤心抛诸脑后。因此我便独自一人去阿尔卑斯山散步。我希望群山的旷野之美能够帮助我。

在美丽的山峦中我慢慢地平静了些。我又学会了安心去睡，并且有好几天我都没有见任何人。后来的一天早晨我看见有个人朝我走来，比任何人走得都要快。在其轻松地跳过岩石之时，我便恐惧地看见了我所创造的那个怪物。他的脸上露出深深的悲伤，但也带着邪恶。起先我说不出话来，因为我太恨他了。但是最后我说道：

“你是个邪恶的东西。如果我做得到的话，我便会杀了你的，因为你已害死了我爱的两个人了。”

怪物的黄色的眼睛看着我。“我是世界上最不幸的人了，但是我得为我的生命而战斗。”他说道，“虽然我比你大，又比你强壮，但我不会挑起战斗的。我将永远温柔地对待你，因为你是我的国王和我的创造者。你既然造了我，那就应该爱我并善待我，就像一个父亲那样。威廉和贾斯汀的死是因为你不爱我。既然你没有打算爱我那又为什么要创造我呢？”

“我们是敌人。”我说，“马上给我离开，否则就让我们搏斗到我们中的一个死去为止。你是个杀人凶手，我怎么会待你好呢？”

“你说我是一个杀人凶手，”怪物说道，“然而你却要杀死你自己创造的生物。这不也是错误的吗？我请你为我做一件事——听着。跟我到一个暖和些的地方去并且听听我的故事。然后你就可以做出决定了。”

我认真地考虑了他所说的话。我给了他生命却没有给他爱，这是事实。我决定跟他走并听听他的故事。

他带我到了一间他已生了火的山间茅屋。我们围着火坐下后，他便开始讲起了他的故事。

The Monster's Story

怪物的故事

Chapter 7

After I had left the laboratory, I escaped into the country outside the town. I soon felt hungry and thirsty, and my first food was fruit which I found on some trees near a river. I drank from the river and then lay down and went to sleep.

At first my eyes and ears did not work very well, but after a while I began to see and hear clearly.

One day, snow began to fall. Of course, I had never walked in snow before, and I found that it made my feet very cold. I realized that I needed food and a place to get warm. Soon I saw a small hut where an old man was cooking his breakfast over a fire. When the old man saw me, he shouted loudly and ran away as fast as he could. I did not understand what the man was doing, but I wanted to be near the fire. So I sat down in the warm, and ate the man's breakfast. Then I walked across empty fields for some hours until I reached a village. I went into one of the houses, but there were children inside. They began to scream when they saw me, and their mother fainted. The whole village came to see what was the trouble. Some of the people ran away when they saw me, but the others shouted and threw stones at me. They wanted to kill me. I was badly hurt, but I escaped and ran into the open country.

Later, I found an empty hut, which was built against the wall of a small house. I was afraid to go into the house after what had happened in the village, so I hid in the hut. There I was safe, and could escape from the cold, and hide from people who wished to hurt me.

And then I found that there was a small hole in the wall between the hut and the house. Through this hole I could see in to the room next to the hut. Three people lived in the house a beautiful girl, an old man, and a young man.

Day after day I watched the three people. I saw how kind they were to each other. I wanted so much to go into the house and be with them, but I knew I must stay in the hut. I could not forget how the village people had hurt me when I tried to go into the house there.

Each night, after the people in the house had gone to bed, I stole some of their food for myself. But soon I realized that the old man was blind. And I realized too that often the three of them did not have enough to eat. I saw the two young people put extra food on the blind man's plate, although they were hungry themselves.

When I saw that, I stopped stealing their food. Their life was already hard enough, so I went back to the wild fruit in the woods. I tried to help them in other ways, too. During the night I cut firewood for them, and added it secretly to the wood which the young man had cut during the day. I was very happy to see how much this pleased the young man.

After a while I began to understand some of the noises that the people made to each other. The first words that I under stood were words like 'fire', and 'bread'. I also learnt that the three people called each other by names. The girl was Agatha, the young man was Felix, and the old man was called Father. I tried to make the noises that they made, and slowly I began to speak.

The two young people were very beautiful. One day I saw my own face in the water of the river. It was a terrible face. I understood why people were frightened, why they shouted and threw stones. I knew then that I could not let these beautiful people see me. They would be frightened by my horrible face and body.

Summer was coming, and I continued to watch and learn. I also continued to help the two people and their father, and did many jobs for them in the night. They were always surprised in the morning when they saw what I had done. I heard them talk about the 'good creature' who did these 'wonderful' things.

But the family were often sad, and I wished I could make them happy. I looked forward to the time when I could speak well enough to talk to them. And I was happy because I was sure I would soon have three good friends.

thirsty adj. in need of some water. 干渴的。

fruit n. 水果。

hut n. small, roughly made house. 小屋。

faint v. fall down suddenly. 晕倒。

badly adv. by much. 大大地。

open adj. out of doors. 户外的，空旷的。

against prep. 与动词连用，表示接触。

escape from run away from. 躲开。

next to 邻近。

day after day 日复一日。

extra adj. additional. 额外的。

hard adj. not easy. 艰苦的。

firewood n. 柴火。

please v. make... happy. 取悦，使……高兴。

call... by name 叫某人的名字。

look oneself in the water. 在水中照镜子。

第七章

我离开实验室后，便逃到了城外的乡间。不久我便感到又饥又渴；我的第一顿食物是我在河边的树上找到的果子。我喝了河里的水，然后躺倒睡着了。

开始时我的眼睛和耳朵不大灵便，但过了一会儿我就能看清楚、听明白了。

有一天，天下起了雪。当然，我以前从未在雪中走过，我发现它让我的双脚感觉非常冷。我意识到我需要食物和住处取暖。我很快便看到了一个小茅舍，里面有个老人正在火上做早饭。当那个老人看到我时，他大声喊叫了起来并以自己最快的速度跑开了。我不明白这个老人在干什么，但是我想靠近火堆。于是我暖暖和和地坐下并吃了这个人做的早餐。然后我在空旷的田野中走了好几个小时，直到到了一个村庄。我走进了其中的一家房子，可是里面有几个孩子。他们见到我后便尖叫起来，他们的母亲也晕倒了。全村的人都来看发生了什么事情。有些人见到我后便跑开了，但另外一些人则喊叫起来并朝我扔石头。他们想要杀死我。我伤得很重，可还是逃脱了并跑进了旷野之中。

后来，我找到了一个空茅屋。它是靠着一个小屋子的一堵墙而建起来的。在那个村子里发生了那桩事之后，我不敢进屋，因而便藏在茅屋中。我在那儿是安全的，并且可以避寒，还可以逃避那些想要伤害我的人。

接着我发现在茅屋和那房屋之间的墙之间有一个洞。通过这个洞我可以看见茅屋隔壁的房间。有三个人住在那个屋子里——一个漂亮的女孩，一个老人，还有一个年轻人。

我一天天地观察着这三个人。我看到他们之间是多么亲密。我非常想进屋去加入他们的行列，但我清楚我必须待在茅屋里。我想走进那个屋子时总忘不了村民们是怎么伤害我的。

每天晚上，在屋子里的那三个人睡下之后，我便把他们的食物偷来给自己吃。然而不久我就意识到那个老人是个瞎子。并且我还意识到那三个人常常食不裹腹。我见到那两个年轻人常给那个老盲人的盘子里多放些食物，尽管他们自己在挨饿。

看到这些后，我就不再偷他们的食物了。他们的生活已经够艰苦的了，于是我便重新靠树林里的野果为生。我还尽力想一些其他办法帮助他们。晚上我为他们砍柴火，还暗中把它们添在那个年轻小伙子白天砍的柴火中。我很高兴看到这能如此取悦于那个年轻人。

不久我开始懂得了那些人彼此之间发出的一些声音了。我最初理解的单词是像“火”还有“面包”这样的词。我还了解到那三个人彼此之间称呼的名字。那个女孩叫“阿加莎”，那个小伙子叫“菲力克斯”，而那老人则叫“父亲”。我努力去发他们发出的声音，于是慢慢地开始说话了。

那两个年轻人很漂亮。有一天我从河中看见我自己的脸。那是张可怕的脸。我明白了人们为什么会害怕、为什么会喊叫并扔石头的原因。那时我才知道我不能让这些漂亮的人们看见我，他们会因为我那可怕的脸和身体而惊恐的。

夏天临近了，我在继续观察和学习。我也在继续帮助那两个人和他们的父亲，并且在晚上给他们干很多活儿。他们早上看到我所做的事情后总是感到很惊奇。我听到他们谈论那个做了这些“好”事的“好人”。

可是这家人经常闷闷不乐。我希望我能让他们高兴。我期盼着我能学会说话而同他们交谈的那一时刻。我也很高兴，因为我确信不久我便会有三个好朋友了。

Chapter 8

One day in summer a lady on horseback rode up to the house and knocked on the door. She had dark hair, and was very beautiful. The family were all very pleased to see her. I soon learnt that her name was Sophie.

She could not speak the family's language, and each evening Felix taught her some words. This was a very great help to me, because I was able to learn the meaning of many words that I had not been able to understand before. Felix taught Sophie from books about what had happened in the world in the past. So I learnt about the Greeks and Romans, and about Christ, and about the first white men in America and the sad story of the Indians. I could not understand why men who knew all about good and evil could hate and kill each other.

I learnt other things too. I learnt that people think it is very important to have money and to come from a good family. I learnt of the love between mother and father and child. And I realized that I had no family. The more I learnt, the more I thought, and the more unhappy I became.

Soon I discovered who Sophie was. The two families had met in France after Sophie and her father arrived there from Turkey, their own country. Sophie's father was put in prison by the French, but Felix and his father helped him to escape and leave France. When the French discovered this, Felix and his family lost all their lands and money, and had to leave France for ever. Now I knew why they were so sad, and why they were poor.

But that was not all. Sophie and Felix loved each other, and Sophie's father had promised that they could marry. Then, when he learnt that Felix had lost all his money, he broke his promise. But Sophie loved Felix very much, so she took some money and escaped from her father to search for Felix.

I had learnt to love these good people and I could not wait another day to introduce myself. I decided to speak first to the father, because he was blind, and would not be frightened by my terrible face and body.

One day the three young people went for a walk while the old man rested. When they had gone, I went to the door of the house and knocked on it.

The old man told me to enter, and to sit down.

'Thank you,' I said. 'I am a traveller, and I'm tired and sad. I have no family or friends. The people that I want to have as my friends have never seen me. If they don't take me into their home, I shall be alone in the world.'

'Don't be so sad,' the old man said. 'You will find that the hearts of men are full of love. If these friends are good people, they will welcome you.'

'They are kind, and the best people in the world,' I said. 'But when they meet me, they may not see a kind creature who has helped them. Instead they may see a monster, and they will hate me.'

'That mustn't happen,' the old man said. 'My family and I have had our difficult times, and we'll help you.'

'You are a very good man,' I said, 'and if you help me, I shall be able to live with my friends and enjoy their love.'

At that moment I heard the young people returning from their walk. I caught the old man's hand, and cried, 'Now is the time! Save me and help me! You and your family are the friends that I am talking about.'

Then the door opened, and in came Felix, Sophie, and Agatha. Their faces were filled with horror and fear when they saw me. Agatha fainted, and Sophie ran out of the house. Felix ran forward and pulled me away from his father. He threw me to the ground and hit me again and again with his heavy stick. I did not lift a hand against him. I did not want to hurt him—or any of them. My heart was heavy, and all hope left me. I ran out of the house and later returned silently to my hut. Nobody saw me.

ride v. sit on the horse back, bicycle, etc. 骑。

Greek n. 希腊人；adj. 希腊的。

Roman n. 罗马人；adj. 罗马的。

Christ n.（基督教）救世主，基督。

Turkey n. 土耳其（国名）。

lands n. 土地，地产。

break one's promise 不信守诺言。

introduce oneself 做自我介绍。

time n. 大好时机。

stick n. 棍，棒。

lift a hand against sb. 举手打某人。

第八章

夏季的一天，一位女士骑马跑到了那所房子并敲了敲门。她有一头黑发，人很漂亮。那家人见到她都很高兴。我不久了解到她的名字叫苏菲。

她不会说那个家庭的语言，菲力克斯每个晚上都要教她几个单词。这对我大有帮助，因为我可以知道以前我不懂的许多单词的意思。菲力克斯照着课本教给苏菲这个世界上过去发生的事情。于是我了解到了希腊人和罗马人，还有基督，还有关于美洲的第一批白人及印第安人的悲惨故事。我不能明白那些明白善恶的人们为什么要互相仇恨和残杀。

我也了解到了别的事情。我了解到人们认为有钱和好的家庭出身是非常重要的。我了解到了父母及孩子之间的爱。并且我意识到我是没有家庭的。我了解得越多便想得越多，从而也越伤心。

不久我便知道了苏菲是什么人。在苏菲和她父亲当初从他们的祖国土耳其到达法国后，他们两家便相识了。苏菲的父亲被法国人投进了监狱，但菲力克斯和他父亲帮他逃离了法国。法国人发现了这件事情之后，菲力克斯和他家便失去了所有的土地和钱财，还得永久地离开法国。现在我明白了他们为什么那样悲伤以及他们为什么贫穷。

但是这还不是全部真相。苏菲和菲力克斯彼此相爱，苏菲的父亲也曾答应他们可以结婚的。后来，在他了解到菲力克斯已失去了所有的钱财后便背弃了自己的诺言。然而苏菲非常爱菲力克斯，于是她便拿了些钱从父亲那儿逃开来找菲力克斯。

我已经学会去爱这些好人并再也忍不住要去介绍我自己了。我决定先和那个父亲谈谈，因为他是瞎子，不会被我那恐怖的面容和身体吓倒。

一天，那三个年轻人出去散步而老人（在家）休息。他们走后，我便走到房屋的门前并敲响了它。

老人让我进去并坐下。

“谢谢您，”我说道。“我是个旅行者，我又疲惫又伤心。我没有家庭或朋友。我想和他们交朋友的那些人从未见过我。如果他们不接受我、把我纳为其家庭的一员的话，我就会孤独于世的。”

“不要这样悲伤。”那个老人说道，“你会发现人们的心中都充满了爱。如果这些朋友是好人，他们就会欢迎你的。”

“他们很善良，是世界上最好的人，”我说道，“可是当他们遇见我时，他们就看不出我是一个曾帮助过他们的善良的人了。相反，他们会看到一个怪物，并且他们会恨我。”

“不会这样的。”老人说道，“我和我的家人曾度过艰苦的日子，我们会帮助你的。”

“你真是个好人。”我说道，“如果你肯帮助我，那么我就能够同我的朋友们生活在一起并享受他们的爱了。”

就在那时，我听到那些年轻人散步归来。我抓住老人的手并哭喊道：“现在正是时候！救救我，帮帮我！你和你的家人就是我所谈论的朋友们。”

接着门开了，菲力克斯、苏菲还有阿加莎走了进来。他们看到我时脸上都充满了恐惧的神色。阿加莎晕了过去，苏菲还跑出了屋子。菲力克斯跑上前来，把我从他父亲手中拽开。他把我摔倒在地并用沉重的棍棒不停地打我。我没有还手。我不想伤着他——或者他们中的任何人。我的心情很沉重，所有的希望都破灭了。我跑出了屋子并在晚些时候悄悄地返回到我的茅屋中。没人看到我。

Chapter 9

I sat in my dark hut, and felt both angry and sad. One half of me wanted to hurt the people who had hurt me. The other half of me still loved them. In the end I decided to try to speak to the old man again. I fell into an unhappy sleep, but when I woke in the morning, the family had gone. They had left the house during the night.

I knew the name of only one other person. Although I had seen you, Frankenstein, for only a few moments, I knew that I belonged to you. When I had left your house, I had picked up a small bag. There was a book in the bag, and I could now read it. From it I learnt my creator's name and address. You had made me, but why had you not looked after me, and saved me from this pain and unhappiness? I decided to go to Geneva, to find you.

One day as I was travelling, I saw a young girl running along the side of a river. Suddenly she fell into the water. I jumped into the river, fought against the fast-moving water, and brought her back to land. While I was doing this, the girl's father, who was looking for her, reached us. He was carrying a gun, and when he saw me, he fired. The bullet hit my arm and broke it. I fell to the ground in great pain, and the man and the girl ran into the woods as fast as they could, and left me.

The bullet was deep in my arm, and I lost a lot of blood. After some days my arm began to get better, but I became sadder and angrier than before. I had saved the girl's life, and how did they thank me? With a bullet in the arm! I began to realize that there was no happiness for me in life. Hate grew stronger in me every day. Hate for you, my creator, who had made me.

Two months later, I reached Geneva. That evening I hid among some trees outside the town, and went to sleep. But I woke when a little boy ran into my hiding place. I thought I would catch the child and make him my friend before he was old enough to be frightened of my terrible face. I caught the little boy, but when the child saw me, he covered his eyes with his hands and screamed loudly.

'Let me go, you monster,' the child shouted. 'Let me go, or I will tell my father, Mr Frankenstein. He will call the police, and they'll punish you.'

'Frankenstein!' I shouted. 'You belong to my enemy, the man that I want to hurt.'

The child fought and screamed, and I put my hand round his neck to stop him shouting. In a moment, the child lay dead at my feet. I looked down at his body, and was pleased with what I had done. I knew that the death of this child would hurt you, Victor Frankenstein, my creator.

Then I saw something bright round the child's neck. It was a gold chain, and on the end of it was a picture of a very beautiful woman. I knew that a beautiful woman would never smile at me, and I wanted to run into Geneva and kill as many people as I could. But I stopped myself, and went to look for another hiding place. Soon I found a hut, which seemed to be empty, but when I entered I saw a pretty young woman asleep on the floor. I hated her because she was pretty. So I put the gold chain into one of her pockets, and then, before she could wake up, I ran away. I knew the police would think that she had killed the little boy.

still adv. even to this time. 尚，还，依旧。

in the end at last, finally. 最后。

address n. where a person may be found and where letters, etc. may be sent to 地址。

land n. 陆地，岸；v. 着陆。

bullet n. piece of metal (to be) fired from a gun. 子弹。

be frightened of be afraid of. 害怕。

punish v. cause sb. to suffer for his wrongdoing. 惩罚。

look down at sth./sb. 俯视某物／某人。

be pleased with be glad at. 为……高兴。

bright adj. shining. 明亮的。

chain n. 链子。

as many as sb. can 尽量多地。

wake up not sleep any more, be awake. 醒来。

第九章

我坐在黑暗的小茅屋里，感到既愤怒又悲伤。我一方面想去伤害那些伤害过我的人，另一方面却又仍然爱着他们。最后我决定再去试着同那个老人谈一谈。我躺倒后伤心地睡着了，在早上醒来时却发现那家人已经走了。他们是在夜里离开的。

我当时只知道另外一个人的名字。弗兰肯斯坦，尽管当时我只见到你一会儿工夫，但我知道我是属于你的。在我离开你的房子时，我曾捡起过一个小包。包里有一本书，现在我能读懂它了。我从中了解到创造我的人的姓名和地址。你造了我，但为什么你没有照料我并把我从这样的痛苦和伤心之中拯救出来呢？我决心去日内瓦找你。

一天，在旅行时，我看见有个小女孩正沿着河边跑。她突然掉到了水里。我跳到水里同激流搏斗，把她带到了岸上。在我做这件事时，女孩的父亲来到了我们身边，他正在寻找她。他带着一把枪，在看到我后便开了枪。子弹打中了我的胳膊并打断了它。我带着巨大的疼痛倒在了地上，而那个男人和那个女孩则以最快的速度跑进了树林，把我撇在了一边。

子弹在我的胳膊中打得很深，我失了很多血。几天后我的胳膊开始好起来，但我比以前更伤心、更愤怒了。我救了那个女孩的命，他们是怎么感谢我的呢？用一颗子弹射进我的胳膊里！我开始认识到我的生命中没有幸福可言。我心中的仇恨一天比一天强烈。这仇恨是针对你、我的创造者的。

两个月后，我到了日内瓦。那天晚上我躲到城外的几棵树中间并且睡着了。但是在我醒来时有个小孩跑到了我躲藏的地方。我想我可以抓住那个小孩以便在他长大到害怕我那令人恐怖的脸之前同他交个朋友。我抓住了那个小男孩，但当那个孩子看到我时，他用双手捂住了脸并大声尖叫了起来。

“放开我，你这个怪物。”那个孩子嚷道，“放开我，不然我就要告诉我父亲弗兰肯斯坦先生了。他会叫警察来，而且他们会惩罚你的。”

“弗兰肯斯坦！”我大喊道，“你属于我的敌人，我想要伤害的那个男人。”

那个小孩一边搏斗一边叫喊，我于是用手卡住他的脖子以阻止他叫喊。过了一会儿，那个孩子便倒在我的脚下死了。我俯视着他的尸体，对我所做的事感到高兴。我知道这个孩子的死会伤害你，维克多·弗兰肯斯坦，我的创造者。

后来我看见孩子的脖子上有个亮闪闪的东西。那是一条金链，它的末端有一张非常漂亮的女人的照片。我知道漂亮女人是绝不会朝我微笑的，于是便想跑到日内瓦去尽量多杀死几个人。然而我阻止了自己的行动，并去找别的躲藏之处。不久我发现了一个茅屋，它似乎是空的；但当我进去后便见到一个年轻漂亮的女人在地板上熟睡。我恨她就因为她漂亮。于是我把那条金链放到了她的一个口袋中，然后在她醒来之前跑开了。我知道警察会认为是她杀死了那个小男孩的。

Victor Frankenstein Continues His Story

维克多·弗兰肯斯坦继续讲他的故事

Chapter 10

The monster finished telling me his story, and then he said:

'I am alone and miserable. Only someone as ugly as I am could love me. You must make another creature like me, a woman monster to be my wife.'

'I shall never make another creature like you,' I shouted. 'You have done enough evil on your own.'

'If you don' t help me, I shall make you more miserable than you have ever been in your life. You will wish you were dead,' the monster said. 'But if you make another monster to be my friend, we won't hurt anyone. Be kind to me now, and I will learn to love and be kind.'

I thought long and hard about the monster's words. I felt sorry for him. He was so miserable. Perhaps I should help him.

'I shall do what you ask,' I told him. 'But you must promise to live somewhere in the world where nobody lives. You must promise to stay away from other people.'

'I promise! I promise!' he cried. 'Please start your work. I shall watch you, and when you are ready, you can be sure I will come back.' He turned and left me, and ran down the mountain.

I went back to Geneva immediately. My family were very worried when they saw me. I was pale and my eyes were wild. I could not forget my promise to the monster, and the awful work that waited for me. But I had to do it. It was the only way to keep my family safe... safe from his murdering hands around their necks.

I needed to study for several months to make a woman monster successfully. I heard that an English scientist had done some useful work, so I decided to go to England.

Before I went, my father asked me: 'Are you going to marry Elizabeth, or do you love another woman? Is this why you are so unhappy?'

'No, father,' I replied. 'I have always loved Elizabeth, and I want to marry her. But I must do one more piece of scientific work before we can marry. I must go to England to do the work and I want to marry Elizabeth when I return.'

My father and Elizabeth did not want me to go to England alone, because I had been so ill. They spoke to my old friend Henry Clerval, and he was very happy to travel with me. I was pleased that he could come, although I did not want him to discover anything about my horrible work.

Henry and I reached London in early October and stayed there for a few months. I met and talked with English scientists, and learnt many useful things from them. Then Henry was invited to visit some friends in Scotland. I planned to travel with him, but I told him that I wanted to go walking in the mountains alone. Henry was not happy with my plan, but in the end he agreed.

I bought all that I needed for a laboratory, and sent everything to Scotland. Henry and I travelled to Edinburgh together, and then I went further north, to find a good place for my laboratory. At last I found the right place on an island off the north coast. It was a wild and lonely place. Only five people lived on the island, so I could work alone, and nobody would discover my awful secret.

There was a large, empty hut on the island, and I brought builders from Scotland to make the hut into a laboratory for me. I showed them how to build my mast, and soon everything was ready for me to start work on the woman monster.

miserable adj. very unhappy. 不幸的，悲惨的，愁苦的。

on one's own by oneself. 独自一人。

ugly adj. not beautiful at all, not nice to look at. 丑陋的。

watch v. keep the eyes on to see that all is well. 注意，监视，守望。

pale adj. (of a person's face) having little colour, bloodless. 苍白的，脸上没有血色的。

wild adj. mad. 发狂的。

although conj. though, even if. 虽然，即使。

October n. 10月。

Scotland n. 苏格兰（地名）。

Edinburgh n. 爱丁堡（城市名），苏格兰首府。

right adj. fit, suitable. 正好的，恰当的，合适的。

build v. put up. 建筑。

builder n. 建筑工人，建造者。

building n. 建筑物。

第十章

怪物讲完了他的故事，然后说道：

“我孤独而凄惨。只有某个像我一样丑的人才会爱我的。你必须另外造一个像我这样的女怪物来当我的妻子。”

“我决不会再造一个像你一样的人的，”我喊道，“你自己已经干够了邪恶的事情了。”

“如果你不帮我，那么我就会让你过得比你以往任何时候都要凄惨。你会求死不得的，”怪物说，“但是如果你另外造一个怪物当我的朋友，那么我们就不会伤害任何人。现在善待我吧，我也会学着去爱人并变得善良的。”

怪物的话让我费力地考虑了很久。我感到对不起他，他是如此痛苦。或许我应该帮助他。

“我会照你说的去做，”我对他说道，“但你得答应要待在没人生活的地方。”

“我答应！我答应！”他喊道，“请你开始工作吧。我会监视你的；在你准备好了以后，我肯定会回来的。”他转身离开了我，并跑下了山。

我立即返回日内瓦。我家人见到我时都非常为我担忧。我脸色苍白，眼睛发狂。我忘不了我对怪物的允诺，还有那等着我的可怕的工作。但我必须去做。那是保证我家庭平安的唯一出路……使他们不致被怪物的手扼死。

为了成功地造一个女怪物我需要几个月的时间进行研究。我了解到有个英国科学家已进行了一些有价值的工作，于是决定去英国。

在我去之前，我父亲问我：“你是打算娶伊丽莎白，还是爱上了另外一个女人？你是不是因为这个而如此不高兴？”

“不是，爸爸。”我回答道，“我一直都爱伊丽莎白，并且我要娶她。但是在我们结婚之前我必须再进行一项科学工作。我必须去英国做那项工作而在回来后便同伊丽莎白结婚。”

我父亲和伊丽莎白不想让我单独去英国，因为我一直生着病。他们对我的老朋友亨利·克勒沃讲了，而他非常高兴同我一起去。他能去我很高兴，尽管我不想让他知道有关我那可怕的工作的任何事情。

亨利和我于10月初到达伦敦并在那儿待了几个月。我同几个英国科学家见了面并谈了话，并从他们那儿了解到许多有用的东西。后来亨利被邀请去拜访几位苏格兰朋友。我计划同他一起去，但告诉他说我想独自一人在山中散步。亨利对我的计划不满，但最终还是同意了。

我买了实验室所需的一切东西，并把所有的东西都送到了苏格兰。亨利同我一起到了爱丁堡，然后我继续朝北走，以便为我的实验室找到合适的地点。最后我在远离北部海岸的一个岛上找到了合适的地点。那是个荒凉偏僻的地方。岛上只有五个人居住，因而我可以独自工作，没有人会发现我那可怕的秘密。

岛上有一个大的空茅屋；我从苏格兰带去了建筑工人以便把茅屋改造成我的实验室。我指示他们如何建杆子，不久所有为我造女怪物的准备工作均已就绪。

Chapter 11

One evening two months later I was sitting in my laboratory. Most of my work was done, and I could finish the woman monster that night. But I wondered if I should finish the work.

Was I making a monster more evil than the first creature? Perhaps a thousand times more evil. How could I know? Perhaps the woman monster would be another murderer. She had not promised to stay away from other people. Perhaps the two monsters would hate each other... and would kill, and murder, and destroy... without end.

As I thought these things, I looked up at the window. Suddenly, in the moonlight, I saw the monster's awful face looking at me. And in his yellow eyes I could see only hate and evil. I knew he would not keep his promise.

I went over to the laboratory table where the new creature was lying. I pulled off the wires that joined her to my machine. I took a sharp knife and cut through the body that I had joined together so carefully. Through the window the monster saw me destroy his woman. With a loud and miserable scream of sadness and lost hope, he ran into the laboratory.

'You have destroyed all my hopes of happiness,' he cried. 'You have left me with one feeling—hate... and with one wish—to destroy your happiness. You will be sorry that you were ever born. Remember this: I shall be with you on your wedding night.'

He ran quickly out of the laboratory, and I watched him as he left the island in his boat and sailed away across the sea.

I sat and cried as I thought of the danger to Elizabeth. But I knew that the monster would not visit us until our wedding night. I would not die easily, and I would try to kill him before he could kill me.

The next morning I received a letter from Henry. He told me that he was waiting for me to return. I decided to clear the laboratory and to leave the island on the following day. So I returned to the laboratory, where the pieces of the woman monster's body still lay on the floor. I put them all in a large bag with some heavy stones. Then I took the bag to my boat and sailed out to sea. I threw the bag into deep water, and watched it disappear.

I was happier that I had felt for months. I knew I had done the right thing, and now there would be no second monster to follow the first.

I was very tired, and I went to sleep in the boat. I do not know how long I slept, but when I woke up, I was in the middle of a storm. The wind was driving me further out to sea and my boat began to fill with water. I knew I was in great danger. After some hours the storm passed, and I saw land to the south. Soon I could see the beach... and a crowd of people standing and watching me. Their faces were cold and unfriendly.

As I landed, four of the men came towards me and took me by the arms.

'We are taking you to Mr Kerwin, the judge. He wants to ask you some questions about the murder of a man here last night,' one of the men told me.

I was sad to hear of the murder, but I did not worry about it. I had been far away at the time, and knew nothing about any murder. It would be easy to explain that. So I went with the men to the large house where Judge Kerwin lived.

most of the greater part of. 大部分。

wonder v. feel curious, ask oneself. 觉得好奇，想要知道。

look up at sb./sth. 仰望某人／某物。

wedding n. 婚礼仪式，婚礼。

clear v. get rid of. 清除。

in danger not safe. 身处险境，不安全。

follow v. 追随，学习。

beach n. coast. 海滩。

crowd n. large number of people together. 人群。

take sb. by the arms 抓住某人的胳膊。

judge n. public officer of the law. 法官。

第十一章

两个月后的一天晚上，我坐在了我的实验室里。我的大部分工作均已完成，那天晚上我就可以完成女怪物的制作工作了。但是我不知道是否应该完成这项工作。

我是否在造一个比第一个家伙更加邪恶的怪物呢？也许要邪恶一千倍。我怎么知道呢？也许这个女怪物会成为另一个杀人凶手。她可没有答应要待在远离旁人的地方。或许那两个怪物会相互仇恨……并且会没完没了地凶杀、谋害和毁灭……

我想这些事时抬头望了望窗户。突然，在月光下我看见那个怪物的恐怖的脸正看着我。并且在他那黄色的眼中我只看到了仇恨和邪恶。我知道他是不会遵守诺言的。

我走到那个新的家伙躺着的实验室桌子的旁边。我扯开了连接她和我的机器的电线。我拿起一把锋利的刀切碎了精心拼揍起来的那个身体。怪物从窗户里看见我毁了他的女人。于是，随着一声悲伤和失望的、凄惨的吼声，他跑进了实验室。

“你已经毁灭了我所有的有关幸福的期望，”他哭喊道，“你只给我留下了一种感情——仇恨……和一种愿望——毁掉你的幸福。你会为你来到这个世界上而后悔的。记住这一点：在你的新婚之夜我会去找你的。”

他快速跑出实验室，我看着他划船离开海岛向大海驶去。

当我想到对伊丽莎白构成的危险时坐下来哭了起来。但是我知道在我们的新婚之夜之前怪物是不会“造访”我们的。我不会轻易地死去，而且要在他杀死我之前设法杀死他。

第二天早上我收到了亨利的一封信。他告诉我说他在等着我回去。我决定清理一下实验室并在第二天离开海岛。于是我返回实验室，女怪物的那具身体还躺在地上。我把它们和一些重的石头一起装进一个大袋子。然后我把袋子扛到船上并驶向大海。我把袋子投入深水中，看着它消失了。

我现在比好几个月以来感觉要好些了。我知道自己做对了一件事，现在不会有第二个怪物步那第一个的后尘了。

我非常疲劳，在船上睡着了。我不清楚睡了多长时间，只知道我醒来时正处在一场暴风雨之中。风把我吹向离海岸更远的地方，我的船还开始进水了。我明白自己正处于极大的危险之中。几个小时后暴风雨过去了，我看见往南有陆地。很快我就看见了海滩……一群人正站在那儿看着我。他们的表情既冷酷又不友好。

在我登陆时，四个男人走向我并抓住了我的胳膊。

“我们要把你带到法官克文先生那儿去。他要审问你这儿昨晚发生的一桩谋杀案的事，”其中的一个人告诉我。

听了那桩谋杀案我很伤心，但我没有为此担心。我那时正在远处，根本不知道什么谋杀的事。将会容易地解释清这一点。这样我便随那些人去了克文法官住的大屋子。

Chapter 12

The judge was an old, kind man, but his face was very serious as he looked at me. He asked a number of men to tell me what they had seen and found the night before.

The first man told his story. He and his son were coming home from a long day's fishing. It was a dark night, and on the beach they had fallen over the dead body of a man. They had carried the body to the nearest house, and found that it was a good-looking young man about twenty-five years old. There were the marks of fingers round his neck. When they spoke of the marks of fingers, I remembered the murder of my brother and I felt a terrible fear.

The son then told his story. He had seen a boat with a man in it, not far from the beach. He thought it was my boat. A woman had also seen a man in a boat sailing away from the beach. She thought I was the man.

Then I was taken to the room where the dead body lay. How can I tell you what I felt when I saw the body? I put my arms round it and cried: 'What have I done? My friend! My dear friend!' The body was Henry Clerval's, and so now I had destroyed another person.

This third death was too much for me. I fell down in a kind of madness, and they had to carry me from the room. For two months I was very ill and wished only to die. But slowly my madness left me, and my health began to return. At last I was able to speak to Judge Kerwin, and I asked for news of my family.

'There is someone here who can answer your question better than I can,' he said. 'Your father arrived a few minutes ago, and is waiting to see you.'

For the first time since Henry's death I felt some happiness. I held up my hands to my father as he came into the room, and he took me in his arms. He gave me the good news that Elizabeth and Ernest were safe and well.

I was really too ill to travel, but I asked my father to take me home immediately. The police had found somebody who had seen me on my island at the time of the murder, and so the judge let me go free.

My father looked after me on the long journey home, and sat with me for every minute. Night after night while I was asleep, I shouted that I was the murderer of William, Justine, and Henry. My father asked me why I said these awful things. I wanted to answer his question, but I could not tell him my terrible secret. He thought that I was still a little mad.

We stayed for a few days in Paris on the way home, and Elizabeth wrote to me at our hotel. This is what her letter said:

My dearest Victor,

I am so happy to know that you will soon be home. But I am afraid that Henry's death is not the only reason for your sadness. Do you still want to marry me, or do you love another woman? You must tell me.

I love you, Victor, and I dream of the day when I shall be your wife. But I do not want you to marry me just because your parents wanted it. I can only be happy if you are happy.

Do not answer this letter. Wait until you arrive before you give me your answer. But if you are well, and if I can make you smile, I need nothing more to make me happy.

With all my love,

Elizabeth

I replied immediately. I told her that I loved her very much and wanted to marry her.

I remembered the monster's promise to be with me on the night of my wedding. Let him come. We would fight to the death on that night. And after that fight, I would either be dead and at peace, or alive and free... free to be happy with Elizabeth.

We arrived in Geneva soon after my letter had reached Elizabeth. It was wonderful to see her again. She ran into my arms and I held her close. She cried when she saw how thin and old I looked. She, too, was thinner because she had worried about me so much. But her gentleness and her love made her as beautiful as ever.

We agreed that the wedding would be in ten days' time. As the day came nearer, I became more and more afraid. I tried to hide my fear, and laughed and smiled as often as I could. Elizabeth knew that I was unhappy, but she was sure she could give me happiness. She looked forward to our wedding.

I began to carry a gun and a knife with me everywhere I went.

speak of tell about. 说起，谈论到。

health n. condition of the body or the mind. 身体或精神状况。

take sb. in the arms 将某人搂在怀里。

too... to do sth. 太……以致于不能做某事。

look after take care of, nurse. 护理，照料。

Paris n. 巴黎（城市名），法国首都。

on the way home 在回家的路上。

hotel n. building where meals and rooms are prepared for travellers. 旅馆，饭店。

journey n. trip. 旅途。

dream of 梦想，设想。

at peace 平安无事。

as... as ever 依旧，一样。

in ten days' time 十天之后（用于将来时态中）。

more and more 越来越……。

carry sth. with sb. 随身携带某物。

第十二章

法官是个善良的老人，但他在看着我时表情非常严峻。他叫了好几个人来告诉我他们在前一天晚上都看到了并发现了什么。

第一个人讲了他的故事。他和他的儿子钓了一天的鱼后正往家里走。那是个黑暗的夜晚，他们在海滩上被一具男尸绊倒了。他们把尸体扛到最近的一所房子，发现那是一个二十五岁左右的、面貌英俊的男人。他的脖子上有指痕。当他们说起指痕时，我想起了杀害我弟弟的凶手，于是便不寒而栗。

之后，那个儿子讲起了他的故事。他曾在离海岸不远的地方看到过上边有一个男人的一只船。他认为那是我的船。一个女人也曾看到有个男人驾着一只船朝海里划去。她认为我就是那个人。

然后我被带到尸体停放的那个房间。我该怎么形容我看到那具尸体时的感觉呢？我抱住尸体哭道：“我都干了什么啦？我的朋友！我亲爱的朋友！”那是亨利·克勒沃的尸体，这样我又毁了另一个人的生命。

这第三起死亡事件对我打击太大了。我近乎疯狂地倒在了地上，他们不得不把我从房间里抬走。我大病了两个月的时间，一心只想去死。但渐渐地我不再疯狂，身体也开始恢复了。最后我可以同克文法官谈话并问起我家人的情况。

“这儿有更好的人来回答你的问题。”他说道，“你父亲几分钟前来了，正等着看你呢。”

自从亨利死后，我首次感到了些许的快乐。我父亲走进屋时我朝他伸出了双手，他把我搂进了怀里。他告诉我一个好消息说伊丽莎白和欧内斯特均健康平安。

我病得实在是太重，路也走不动了，但我要我父亲立刻把我带回家去。警察已查到在谋杀发生时有人看见过我正在岛上，这样法官便释放了我。

我父亲在回家的漫长旅途中一直照顾着我，每时每刻都坐在我的身边。一个个晚上，我在熟睡时都大声说我是杀害威廉、贾斯汀和亨利的凶手。我父亲问我为什么说出这些可怕的话。我想要回答他的问题，但又不能告诉他我那可怕的秘密。他认为我的大脑仍有些不正常。

回家途中我们在巴黎逗留了几天，伊丽莎白给我写了封信寄到了旅店。信是这样写的：

我最亲爱的维克多：

知道你很快就要回家了我非常高兴。

可是我担心亨利的死并不是你伤心的唯一原因。你是仍然想要娶我，还是爱上了另外一个女人？你必须告诉我。

我爱你，维克多；我梦想着成为你的妻子的那一天。但是我不希望你只是因为你父母的意愿而娶我。只有在你幸福时我才会幸福。

不要回信。等你回来再给我答复。但是如果你身体健康或者我能让你微笑的话，那么我就再高兴不过了。

爱你的，

伊丽莎白

我立刻回了信。我告诉她我非常爱她并想和她结婚。

我想起了怪物许过的要在我的新婚之夜来找我的诺言。就让他来吧，我们可以在那天晚上拼死搏斗。搏斗之后，我要么安祥地死去，要么自由地活着……自由而幸福地同伊丽莎白在一起。

伊丽莎白收到我的信后不久我们便到了日内瓦。再见到她真是太美好了。她扑到我的怀里，我紧紧地搂住了她。当她看到我又瘦削又显老时哭了。她因为一直非常牵挂我也瘦了。但是她的温柔和爱意使她永远美丽。

我们商定十天后举行婚礼。这一天越是临近，我越是害怕。我竭力隐藏我的恐惧，尽量露出欢声笑语。伊丽莎白知道我不高兴，但她确信她可以给我幸福。她期盼着我们的婚礼。

我开始随身携带着一把枪和一把刀子。

Chapter 13

After the wedding a large number of our friends came to a party at our house. When the party had started, Elizabeth and I said goodbye and left for our honeymoon. We travelled first by boat, and planned to spend the night at a hotel on the other side of the lake. The mountains and the lake were calm and beautiful, and at last Elizabeth and I were together. For the first time for months, and for the last time ever, I enjoyed the feeling of happiness.

In the evening the wind became stronger and soon a great storm broke above us. Every noise frightened me, and I kept my hand on my gun under my coat. I saw the monster in every shadow. Suddenly I realized how terrible the fight would be for Elizabeth. I asked her to go to bed and I decided to search for the monster. I planned to join her when I was sure he was not in or around the hotel.

Elizabeth left me and I searched every corner of the hotel—every dark doorway and staircase. I could not find him, and I began to hope that he had not followed us to the hotel. But suddenly, I heard a loud and terrible scream.

It came from our room.

Then—too late—I understood. The monster had promised to be with me on my wedding night, but he had not planned to kill me.

The scream came again, and I ran to our room. Why did I not die there and then?

On the bed, Elizabeth lay still, in the cold sleep of death. I took her in my arms... and saw the marks of the murderer's fingers on her neck.

Other people in the hotel had heard the screams and came into our room. I sent one of them to call the police. The others left me alone with my misery. I held Elizabeth close, and as I held her, I saw the monster watching me through the open window of the room. There was an evil laugh on his face. I pulled my gun from my coat and fired at him. I missed, and he ran from the window and jumped into the lake. The other people heard the noise of the shot and came back into the room. I showed them the place where the monster had jumped into the lake. We searched the edge of the lake, but we could not find him. I returned to our room and lay on the bed next to my dear wife.

Suddenly I had another terrible thought. At this very moment perhaps my father was fighting the monster, with Ernest dead at his feet.

I left the hotel and returned to Geneva as fast as I could. My father and Ernest were safe, but the awful news of Elizabeth's death killed my father. He had loved Elizabeth dearly. He became ill, and after a few days he died in my arms. So the evil monster had brought unhappiness and death to a dear old man who had never hurt anybody.

I do not know what happened next. I think I left the real world, and entered a dangerous world of dreams and madness. Later I found that they had put me in prison because of my madness.

After many months they let me free. I had only one wish—to find and kill the monster.

party n. 派对，聚会。

honeymoon n. a holiday for a new husband and wife after their wedding. 蜜月假期。

by boat 乘船。

break v. start. 爆发。

doorway n. 门口，门厅。

staircase n. 楼梯（指室内的，常有扶栏）。

leave sb. alone with sth. 让某人独自承受某事。

edge n. border. 边。

miss v. fail to hit, catch, etc. 错过。

put sb. in prison 将某人投进监狱。

第十三章

婚礼之后我们的大批朋友都来我们家聚会。聚会开始后，我和伊丽莎白向他们道了别并离开度蜜月去了。我们首先乘船旅行，并计划晚上在湖对岸的一家旅馆过夜。群山和湖泊宁静而美丽，我和伊丽莎白终于结合在了一起。我几个月来第一次、也是最后一次享受到了幸福的感觉。

傍晚风刮得更猛了，不久还来了一场大的暴风雨。每一个声响都让我恐惧，我一直把手放在外套下面的枪上。我在每个阴暗处都看到了那个怪物。突然间我意识到这场搏斗对于伊丽莎白来说将会是多么恐怖。我让她上床睡觉而我则决定去寻找那个怪物。我打算在确信怪物不在旅馆及其附近后再回到伊丽莎白身边。

伊丽莎白离开了我，我搜寻了旅馆里的每一个角落——每一个黑暗的门厅和楼梯。我没能找到他，于是便开始希望他并没有随我们到旅馆来。但是突然间我听到了一声可怕的尖叫。

那是从我们的房间里传出来的。

于是我明白过来了——但已经太晚了。怪物曾许诺要在我的新婚之夜跟着我的，但他并未打算要杀了我。

尖叫声又一次传来，我于是跑到了我们的房间。我为什么没有在当时当地便死去呢？

床上，伊丽莎白静静地躺着，在冰冷中长眠。我把她抱在怀中……并看见了凶手在她脖子上留下的指痕。

旅馆里的其他人听到了尖叫声，他们走进了我们的房间。我让其中的一人去报警。其他人走后，留下我一个人在痛苦中煎熬。我紧紧地搂着伊丽莎白，而我抱着她时看见怪物正透过开着的窗户看着我。他的脸上挂着邪恶的笑容。我从外套中拔出枪朝他开了火。我没有打中，他从窗户处跑开并跳到了湖里。其他人听到了枪声便又来到了那个房间。我将怪物跳湖之处指给他们看。我们在湖边搜寻，但没能找到他。我回到房间里躺到我亲爱的妻子身旁。

突然间我有了另外一个可怕的想法：也许我父亲这时正在同那个怪物打斗并且欧内斯特已死在他的脚边。

我离开旅馆并以最快的速度赶回了日内瓦。我父亲和欧内斯特都平安无事，但伊丽莎白死去的噩耗夺去了我父亲的生命。他曾深深地爱着伊丽莎白。他病倒了，几天之后便死在了我的怀里。这样那个邪恶的怪物将不幸和死亡带给了从未伤害过任何人的我那亲爱的老人。

我不知道接下去会发生什么。我想我当时离开了现实的世界而进入了梦幻和疯狂的危险境界。后来我才知道他们当时因为我的疯狂而把我送进了监狱。

好几个月之后他们释放了我。我只有一个愿望——找到并杀死那个怪物。

Chapter 14

I decided to leave Geneva for ever. I took all the money that I needed, and left the town. Before I left, I went to visit the place where William, Elizabeth, and my father lay at rest. I stood there and promised them that I would stay alive until I had killed the monster.

A loud, evil laugh rang out through the silent night. Then I heard the monster's voice: 'It pleases me that you have decided to live, because that is just what I want.'

I ran towards the voice, but I could not catch the monster. I saw him running away, but he ran faster than any man could go—too fast for me to catch. But I followed him, and I have been following him since that day. I shall stay alive until I can catch him. He wants me to live as long as possible. He wants me to feel, day after day, the pain and misery that he has given me. He leaves messages to tell me where he is. He knows that I shall follow him.

I am only happy when I am asleep. I dream that I am with my family, and Elizabeth and Henry. When I am awake, I look forward to my death, to the day when I shall be with them.

In his last message the monster told me that he was going north. He wanted to take me where the cold would hurt me and make me more miserable. I followed him to the cold lands of the north, and bought dogs and a sledge. Until now, he has always left me further and further behind when I chase him. But the dogs were very fast and I was getting closer and closer to him. Soon he was only one day's journey in front of me. He was going towards the sea, and I hoped to catch him before he reached it. The chase over the ice continued for about three weeks. The pain from the cold was very great, and I began to lose hope. I thought I would never catch him. My dogs could not run much further, and one of them died. Then I saw something on the ice in front of me. It was the monster and his sledge. Suddenly I was full of hope again, and I gave a great shout of happiness.

I got closer and closer to him. Then a great storm started. The ice began to break, and the sea carried him away from me. My sledge was broken, and I lost my dogs. I was left on a piece of ice that was becoming smaller all the time. Many hours went by, and then I saw your ship. The rest you know.

I ask you, Captain Walton, to chase the monster and kill him. Do not listen to what he says. He knows how to argue, and perhaps you will feel sorry for him. But remember that he is evil. Remember the deaths of William, Justine, Henry Clerval, Elizabeth, my father... and remember me, Victor Frankenstein.

There is no more for me to say, except to thank you, Captain Walton, for your help and kindness. Thank you also for listening to my story. I want you to tell the world that the monster is a danger to everyone.

I know that I have only a few hours left to live, but I can feel my loved ones near me, and I welcome death.

Goodbye. This is the end of Victor Frankenstein's story.

ring v. give out a clear sound. 鸣，响。

just adv. exactly. 正好，恰好。

as... as possible 尽量。

message n. a piece of news sent to sb. 消息，讯息，口信。

continue v. go on. 继续，持续。

go by pass. 时光流逝。

feel sorry for sb. 为某人感到难过，抱歉。

第十四章

我决定永远离开日内瓦。我带上了我所需要的一切费用便离开了那个城市。走之前，我去了威廉、伊丽莎白还有我父亲的安息之处。我站在那儿向他们发誓我要活到杀死那个怪物之时。

一声响亮而邪恶的笑声响彻了静静的夜空。接着我听到怪物的声音：“你决定活下去我很高兴，因为这正是我想要的。”

我朝声音的方向跑去，但没有抓到他。我看着他跑开了，只是他跑得比任何人都快——太快了，我没法赶上他。但我跟踪着他，打那天起我一直在跟踪他。我要活到抓住他的那一天。他希望我尽可能活得长一些，以便我日复一日地感受到他带给我的痛苦和悲伤。他给我留下口信告诉我他在什么地方。他知道我会跟踪他的。

只有在熟睡时我才感到快乐。我梦见我同我的家人们、伊丽莎白和亨利在一起。我醒来时便盼望着死去，盼望着和他们在一起的那一天。

在怪物留下的最后的一个口信中，他告诉我说他要去北方。他是想把我带到寒冷的地方受煎熬，以便让我更加痛苦。我跟踪他来到北方寒冷的地方，并且买了狗和雪橇。直到现在，自打我追赶他的那个时候起，他就一直把我远远地甩到后面。可是狗跑得很快，这让我离他越来越近。不久他便离我只剩下一天的行程了。他在朝大海的方向跑去，而我希望在他到达大海之前抓住他。冰上的追逐持续了三个星期。严寒给我带来了巨大的痛苦，我开始失去信心了。我想我永远也别想追上他了。我的狗再也跑不动了，其中还死了一只。后来我看到在我前面的冰上有个什么东西。那是怪物和他的雪橇。突然间我又充满了希望，于是欢快地大喊了起来。

我离他越来越近。后来刮起了一场大风暴。冰开始破裂，海水载着他离我而去。我的雪橇毁了，狗也都丢了。我被困在一块不断消融的冰上。好几个小时之后，我看见了你们的轮船。接下来的事你都知道了。

我请求你，沃尔顿船长，请你去追上并杀死那个怪物。不要听他说什么。他知道怎样辩解，你可能还会同情他的。但你要记住他是邪恶的，要想到威廉、贾斯汀、亨利·克勒沃、伊丽莎白、我父亲这些人的死……还有我，维克多·弗兰肯斯坦。

我没有更多要说的了；只是我得谢谢你，沃尔顿船长，谢谢你的帮助和善心，也感谢你倾听了我的故事。我想让你叫全世界的人都知道那个怪物对所有的人来说都是个危险。

我知道我只能再活几个小时了，但我能够感觉到我所爱的人们离我近了，因而我欢迎死亡的到来。

再见。这就是维克多·弗兰肯斯坦的故事的结尾。

Captain Walton's Note

沃尔顿船长的记录

Chapter 15

I, Captain Robert Walton, have added this final note to the story. When you have read it, you will know that Victor Frankenstein's story was true.

Victor Frankenstein died a few hours after he had written his last word. I was sad to see him die, because he had become a good friend. But he will not be unhappy or in pain any more, and I am happy for him.

We laid his body in a cabin near my own. Later I heard a voice coming from the cabin. I went into the cabin and saw a huge shape standing over the dead body. I knew that the horrible creature which was standing there was Frankenstein's monster.

'So I have killed you, too,' the monster said to Frankenstein's body. 'Oh, Frankenstein, forgive me. How I wish you, could answer me.'

I went towards him, and said: 'It is too late for Frankenstein to forgive you. He is dead. His pain is ended.'

'You do not know how much pain and unhappiness I have felt,' said the monster. 'I knew that I was doing evil things, but I could not stop myself. Do you think I enjoyed killing people? My heart was made for love, like a man's heart. After I killed Henry Clerval, I hated myself. But I could not stop myself from more murder. Frankenstein would not give me a wife, but he hoped to find happiness with a wife of his own. He was not fair to me. But now it is ended. Frankenstein is the last person I shall kill.

'I have done all those evil things, but am I the only person who has done wrong? I wanted love and friendship. Think about Felix and his family, who hated me after I had given them love. Think about the man who shot me after I had saved his little girl from the river. But I know that I have done evil, and I hate myself more than you hate me. My own death is near. I shall leave this ship and go north, across the ice. I shall build a great fire, and lie down on it to die. I shall welcome the pain of the fire, because it will help me to forget the pain in my heart. I have felt more pain than Frankenstein. And when the fire has died down, I shall be at peace.'

The monster jumped from the cabin window as he said this. He got into the small boat in which he had reached the ship. The sea soon carried him away, and he was lost in the darkness.

note n. short record to help the memory. 笔记。

cabin n. a room on a ship. 船舱。

fair adj. acting in an honest manner. 公平的。

第十五章

我，罗伯特·沃尔顿船长已给该故事加了如下记录。读过后，你就会知道维克多·弗兰肯斯坦的故事是真实的。

维克多·弗兰肯斯坦在写完他最后一个字几小时后便死去了。看到他死去我很伤心，因为他已经成了我的好朋友。然而，他将不再会有伤心和痛苦了，因此我为他而高兴。

我们把他的尸体放在了我旁边的船舱里。后来我听到了从船舱里发出的响声。我走进那个船舱，看见尸体旁站着一个巨大的身躯。我知道站在那儿的那个恐怖的家伙就是弗兰肯斯坦的那个怪物。

“这样一来我把你也杀了。”怪物对着弗兰肯斯坦的尸体说道，“噢，弗兰肯斯坦，请原谅我。我多么希望你能回答我。”

我走近他说道：“让弗兰肯斯坦原谅你已经太晚了。他已经死了，痛苦已经结束了。”

“你不知道我感受到了多少痛苦和悲伤。”怪物说，“我知道我做的事情是邪恶的，可是我阻止不了我自己。你认为我喜欢杀人吗？我的心是为爱而造的，如同一般人的一样。在我杀死亨利·克勒沃后，我恨我自己，但是我阻止不了自己去杀更多的人。弗兰肯斯坦不肯给我一个妻子，他却想着给自己找个妻子并从那儿找到幸福。他对我不公平。但现在这件事情已经结束了。弗兰肯斯坦将是我杀死的最后一个人。

“我已经做了那么多邪恶的事情，但难道只是我一个人的错吗？我需要爱和友谊。想一想菲力克斯和他的家人：我给了他们爱而他们却恨我。想一想那个男人：我从河里救了他女儿而他却朝我开枪。然而我知道我做了邪恶的事，我因而比你们还要恨我自己。我的死期已经不远了。我将离开轮船越过冰面往北去。我要生一堆大火，然后躺在上面死去。我将欢迎烈火所带来的痛苦，因为它会帮我忘记内心的痛苦。我已经比弗兰肯斯坦忍受了更多的痛苦。在烈火熄灭之时，我也会安宁了。”

怪物边说这些话边从船舱的窗户跳了出去。他上了他曾用来爬上轮船的那只小船。海水很快把他带走，他消失在了黑暗之中。

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1-3 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 The Captain and the sailors all saw the driver of the first sledge.

2 Mrs Frankenstein was Elizabeth's real mother.

3 Mrs Frankenstein hoped that Victor would marry Justine.

4 Frankenstein wanted to use electricity to help people.

5 Frankenstein wanted everyone to know the secret of his machine.

Chapters 4-6 Write answers to these questions.

1 How did Frankenstein get electricity for his machine?

2 What did the monster look like?

3 Why was Elizabeth terribly unhappy at William's death?

4 Why was Justine not there when Victor reached home?

5 'I shall always be gentle to you.' Why did the monster say this?

6 Why did Victor decide to listen to the monster's story?

Chapters 7-9 How much can you remember? Check your answers.

1 How did the monster help Felix's family?

2 Why did the monster hide from the family?

3 How did the monster learn to speak and read?

4 What did the monster want Felix's father to do?

5 Who shot the monster, and why?

6 Where did the monster find the gold chain? What did he do with it?

Chapters 10-12 Who in the story...

1 ... said: 'I will learn to love and be kind'?

2 ... said: 'You must promise to stay away from other people'?

3 ... said: 'I shall be with you on your wedding night'?

4 ... did the monster murder in Scotland?

5 ... took Frankenstein home to Geneva?

6 ... wrote: 'I can only be happy if you are happy'?

Chapters 13-15 Write answers to these questions.

1 Why did Frankenstein hurry back to Geneva after Elizabeth's death?

2 Why did Frankenstein want to stay alive after Elizabeth's death?

3 Why did the monster want Frankenstein to live as long as possible?

4 What did Frankenstein ask Captain Walton to do after his death?

5 How did the monster die?

B Working with language

1 Use these words to join the two sentences together.

although　　while　　when　　because　　so

1 The sailors woke up in the morning. The ice was floating around the ship.

2 Frankenstein could not walk. The sailors carried him onto the ship.

3 Frankenstein studied death. He wanted to learn the secret of life.

4 Frankenstein wrote to his family less often. They did not stop writing to him.

2 Put these sentences in the right order. Check your order with Chapter 13.

The monster watched Frankenstein and Elizabeth through the open window.

Frankenstein searched every corner of the hotel for the monster.

Frankenstein fired at the monster.

Frankenstein ran back to the room.

Elizabeth screamed.

Frankenstein went with the other people to search for the monster.

The monster found Elizabeth alone in the room.

The monster jumped into the lake.

The monster murdered Elizabeth.

C Activities

1 Imagine the conversation between Felix and his blind father after the monster's visit to their house. The old man did not want to run away, but Felix did. Write down their conversation.

2 You are a newspaper reporter. Interview someone who was staying in the hotel on the night of Elizabeth's murder. Write the report of your interview.

3 Frankenstein is one of the first and most famous 'horror' stories. Does it have a message for readers today? Do modern 'horror' stories contain the same ideas? Write a short essay and give your opinions.

京权图字01-96-1579

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1995

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

野性的呼唤 = The Call of the Wild／（美）伦敦（London，J.）著；（英）布拉德（Bullard，N.）改写；余玿珉译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1996.12（2014.9 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1171-4

Ⅰ．野…　Ⅱ．①伦…②布…③余…　Ⅲ．小说—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（97）第00443号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：申　蔷

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1997年3月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1171-4

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简　介

在加利福尼亚的家里，巴克过着安逸舒适的生活。他是那儿最高大强壮的狗，地位举足轻重。他和孩子们一同散步，在水中嬉戏，冬天的时候他就坐在主人的炉火边取暖。

但是在1897年，人们在育空河发现了金矿，他们需要像巴克这样的狗。于是巴克被从家乡偷运到北方。他在那里学会了拉雪橇，在冰天雪地中日复一日地跋涉。他学会了偷食以慰饥肠，破冰取水解渴，还学会了反击来对付那些欺负他的狗。而且他学得很快。

不久巴克成为了北方所有著名的拉雪橇的狗之一。但是北部是狼群出没的森林，在那里他们对着明月长嗥。野性的呼唤在巴克的梦中回响，越来越响亮……

杰克·伦敦1876年生于旧金山，死于1916年。他出身穷苦，在短暂的一生中有着丰富的经历——海员、工人、育空河的淘金人、旅行家、记者和作家。他写了很多书，其中以《野性的呼唤》和另一本写狗的书《白芳》，最广为流传。

1

To the north

Buck did not read the newspapers. He did not know that trouble was coming for every big dog in California. Men had found gold in the Yukon, and these men wanted big, strong dogs to work in the cold and snow of the north.

Buck lived in Mr Miller's big house in the sunny Santa Clara valley. There were large gardens and fields of fruit trees around the house, and a river nearby. In a big place like this, of course, there were many dogs. There were house dogs and farm dogs, but they were not important. Buck was chief dog; he was born here, and this was his place. He was four years old and weighed sixty kilos. He went swimming with Mr Miller's sons, and walking with his daughters. He carried the grandchildren on his back, and he sat at Mr Miller's feet in front of the fire in winter.

But this was 1897, and Buck did not know that men and dogs were hurrying to north-west Canada to look for gold. And he did not know that Manuel, one of Mr Miller's gardeners, needed money for his large family. One day, when Mr Miller was out, Manuel and Buck left the garden together. It was just an evening walk, Buck thought. No one saw them go, and only one man saw them arrive at the railway station. This man talked to Manuel, and gave him some money. Then he tied a piece of rope around Buck's neck.

Buck growled, and was surprised when the rope was pulled hard around his neck. He jumped at the man. The man caught him and suddenly Buck was on his back with his tongue out of his mouth. For a few moments he was unable to move, and it was easy for the two men to put him into the train.

When Buck woke up, the train was still moving. The man was sitting and watching him, but Buck was too quick for him and he bit the man's hand hard. Then the rope was pulled again and Buck had to let go.

That evening, the man took Buck to the back room of a bar in San Francisco. The barman looked at the man's hand and trousers covered in blood.

'How much are they paying you for this?' he asked.

'I only get fifty dollars.'

'And the man who stole him—how much did he get?' asked the barman.

'A hundred. He wouldn't take less.'

'That makes a hundred and fifty. It's a good price for a dog like him. Here, help me to get him into this.'

They took off Buck's rope and pushed him into a wooden box. He spent the night in the box in the back room of the bar. His neck still ached with pain from the rope, and he could not understand what it all meant. What did they want with him, these strange men? And where was Mr Miller?

The next day Buck was carried in the box to the railway station and put on a train to the north. For two days and nights the train travelled north, and for two days and nights Buck neither ate nor drank. Men on the train laughed at him and pushed sticks at him through the holes in the box. For two days and nights Buck got angrier and hungrier and thirstier. His eyes grew red and he bit anything that moved.

In Seattle four men took Buck to a small, high-walled back garden, where a fat man in an old red coat was waiting. Buck was now very angry indeed and he jumped and bit at the sides of his box. The fat man smiled and went to get an axe and a club.

'Are you going to take him out now?' asked one of the men.

'Of course,' answered the fat man, and he began to break the box with his axe.

Immediately the four other men climbed up onto the wall to watch from a safe place.

As the fat man hit the box with his axe, Buck jumped at the sides, growling and biting, pulling with his teeth at the pieces of broken wood. After a few minutes there was a hole big enough for Buck to get out.

'Now, come here, red eyes,' said the fat man, dropping his axe and taking the club in his right hand.

Buck jumped at the man, sixty kilos of anger, his mouth wide open ready to bite the man's neck. Just before his teeth touched the skin, the man hit him with the club. Buck fell to the ground. It was the first time anyone had hit him with a club and he did not understand. He stood up, and jumped again. Again the club hit him and he crashed to the ground. Ten times he jumped at the man, and ten times the club hit him. Slowly he got to his feet, now only just able to stand. There was blood on his nose and mouth and ears. Then the fat man walked up and hit him again, very hard, on the nose. The pain was terrible. Again, Buck jumped at the man and again he was hit to the ground. A last time he jumped, and this time, when the man knocked him down, Buck did not move.

'He knows how to teach a dog a lesson,' said one of the men on the wall. Then the four men jumped down and went back to the station.

'His name is Buck,' said the fat man to himself, reading the letter that had come with the box. 'Well, Buck, my boy,' he said in a friendly voice, 'we've argued a little, and I think the best thing to do now is to stop. Be a good dog and we'll be friends. But if you're a bad dog, I'll have to use my club again. Understand?'

As he spoke, he touched Buck's head, and although Buck was angry inside, he did not move. When the man brought him water and meat, Buck drank and then ate the meat, piece by piece, from the man's hand.

Buck was beaten (he knew that) but he was not broken. He had learnt that a man with a club was stronger than him. Every day he saw more dogs arrive, and each dog was beaten by the fat man. Buck understood that a man with a club must be obeyed, although he did not have to be a friend.

Men came to see the fat man and to look at the dogs. Sometimes they paid money and left with one or more of the dogs. One day a short, dark man came and looked at Buck.

'That's a good dog!' he cried. 'How much do you want for him?'

'Three hundred dollars. It's a good price, Perrault,' said the fat man.

Perrault smiled and agreed that it was a good price. He knew dogs, and he knew that Buck was an excellent dog. 'One in ten thousand,' Perrault said to himself.

Buck saw money put into the fat man's hand, and he was not surprised when he and another dog called Curly were taken away by Perrault. He took them to a ship, and later that day Buck and Curly stood and watched the coast get further and further away. They had seen the warm south for the last time.

Perrault took Buck and Curly down to the bottom of the ship. There they met another man, Francois. Perrault was a French-Canadian, but Francois was half-Indian, tall and dark. Buck learnt quickly that Perrault and Francois were fair men, calm and honest. And they knew everything about dogs.

There were two other dogs on the ship. One was a big dog called Spitz, as white as snow. He was friendly to Buck at first, always smiling. He was smiling when he tried to steal Buck's food at the first meal. Francois was quick and hit Spitz before Buck had time to move. Buck decided that this was fair, and began to like Francois a little.

Dave, the other dog, was not friendly. He wanted to be alone all the time. He ate and slept and was interested in nothing.

One day was very like another, but Buck noticed that the weather was getting colder. One morning, the ship's engines stopped, and there was a feeling of excitement in the ship. Francois leashed the dogs and took them outside. At the first step Buck's feet went into something soft and white. He jumped back in surprise. The soft, white thing was also falling through the air, and it fell onto him. He tried to smell it, and then caught some on his tongue. It bit like fire, and then disappeared. He tried again and the same thing happened. People were watching him and laughing, and Buck felt ashamed, although he did not know why. It was his first snow.

Yukon a river in North America. 育空河。

chief adj. most important; main. 主要的；首要的。

weigh v. show a certain measure when put on scales. 测出重量。

fire n. burning fuel in a furnate for cooking food or heating room. 炉火；取暖装置。

railway station a place where trains stop on a railway line. 火车站。

growl v. (of animal or thunder) make a low threatening sound. 指（动物或雷）作低沉的怒吼声。

jump at sb. 扑向某人。

be unable to do not have the ability, opportunty or authority to do sth.. 无法做某事。

wake up stop sleeping. 醒来。

ache v. suffer from a continuous dull pain 持续地隐隐作痛。

neither... nor... not... and not. 既不……也不……。

laugh at ridicule sb./sth. 取笑；讥笑某人／某事。

bite at sth. try to bite sth., snap at sth.. 去咬某物；突然猛咬某物。

axe n. tool with a handle and a heavy metal blade used for chopping wood. 斧子。

club n. heavy stick with one end thicker than the other, usde as weapon. （一端粗一端细的沉重的）棍棒（可用作武器）。

hit v. strike sb./sth. with a blow. 打、击中某人或某物。

stand up rise to one's feet 起立；站起来。

crash v. fall or strike suddenly and noisily. 突然倒下；撞击（某物）。

walk up approach sb./sth.. 走近某人／某物。

knock down strike sb. to the ground or the floor. 将某人击倒或撞倒在地上。

argue v. express an opposite opinion, exchange angry words, quarrel. 争辩；争吵。

obey v. do what one is told to do 服从；顺从。

agree v. say that one is willing. 同意；愿意。

surprise v. cause (sb.) to shock 使（某人）吃惊。

fair adj. in a fair manner. 公平的；正直的。

friendly adj. showing or expressing, kindness and helpfulness. 亲切的；友好的。

get colder become colder. 变得越来越冷。

leash v. put a leash on 用皮带系住。

surprise n. feeling caused by sth. happening suddenly or unexpectedly. 惊奇；惊讶。

disappear v. no longer be visible. 消失；失踪。

1　北部之旅

巴克不曾读过报纸，他不知道灾难将降临在加州的每一条大狗身上。人们在育空河里发现了金子，他们需要能在北方严寒的冰雪环境中工作的高大强壮的狗。

在阳光明媚的圣克拉拉山谷中，巴克的家就在米勒先生的大房子里。房子的周围是开阔的庄园和种满了果树的田野。一条小河从附近流过。这样一个辽阔的地方，有许许多多狗。诸如看门狗和牧羊犬，但他们是无足轻重的。真正的狗的首领是巴克；他生于斯长于斯。他4岁，体重60公斤。他同米勒先生的儿子一起游泳，也陪着他的女儿们一起去散步，有时还会给米勒先生的孙儿们当马骑。冬天到了，他就偎着炉火蹲坐在米勒先生的脚边。

然而到了1897年，巴克不知道这一年人们都带着狗蜂涌到加拿大西北部寻找金矿。他更不知道，米勒先生的一个园丁曼纽尔需要钱养活他的一大家子。有一天，米勒先生出去了，曼纽尔带着巴克离开了庄园。对于巴克来说，他还以为这只是一次傍晚的散步。没有人看到他们离开，只有一个人看见他们到了火车站。这个人同曼纽尔说了些什么，然后塞给他一些钱，随后就将一条绳子系到巴克的脖子上。

巴克咆哮起来，却吃惊地发现脖子上的绳索勒得紧紧的。他跳起来直扑向那个人。那人一把抓住了巴克，突然间巴克已仰面朝天摔在地上，舌头都耷拉出来了。过了好一会儿他都动弹不得，于是两个人轻而易举地把他送上了火车。

当巴克醒过来的时候，火车仍然在行进着。那人坐在那儿注视着他，然而巴克却更加迅疾，狠狠地咬住了那人的手。但脖子上的绳索又一次勒住了他，巴克不得不松了口。

那天晚上，那个人把巴克带到旧金山一间酒吧的后屋里。酒吧老板看了看那人血迹斑斑的手和长裤。

“他们付你多少钱？”他问。

“我只挣50美元。”

“那么那个偷狗的人——他赚多少？”酒吧老板问道。

“100美元。少一个子儿他都不干。”

“也就是说150美元。对于这样一条狗可真是个好价钱。这边来，帮我把他弄到这里去。”

他们解开巴克的绳索，把他推进一只木箱里。他在酒吧后屋的那个木箱中过了一夜。他的脖子仍然因为绳子勒过而疼痛不已，而且所有的一切都令他如坠雾里云中。这些陌生人，他们想让他做什么呢？米勒先生又在哪里呢？

第二天巴克被关在木箱里运到火车站，送上了北去的列车。火车向北开了两天两夜。这两天两夜，巴克滴水未进。火车上的人们嘲笑他，把木棍从箱子上的洞口伸进去捅他。这两天两夜，巴克越来越怒火中烧，也越来越饥渴难忍。他红着眼睛，撕咬所有移动的东西。

在西雅图，四个人把巴克抬进一座小小的但却有高高院墙的庄园里。一个身着旧红外套的肥胖男人正等在那里。这当口儿巴克已经愤怒到了极点。他跳着，咬着木箱的边缘。那胖子微微一笑，拿来一把斧子和一根木棍。

“你打算现在就把他放出来吗？”其中一人问道。

“当然。”胖子说。他开始用斧子劈开木箱。

立刻，另外4个人都爬上院墙，从安全的地方观望着。

当那个胖子用斧头劈木箱时，巴克在里面四处跳着、咆哮着、撕咬着，用牙齿扯着碎木片。一会儿，就有了一个大洞，巴克可以钻出来了。

“现在，过来，你这急红了眼的。”那胖子说着扔下斧头，右手抄起木棍。

巴克60公斤的愤怒之躯扑向那人，他大张着嘴准备一口咬住那人的脖子。就在他的牙齿快要碰到皮肤的时候，那人用棍子给了他一下，巴克摔倒在地。这还是头一次有人用棍子打他，他不知所措。他站起来，再次猛扑过去，木棍再次击中了他使他瘫倒在地。他扑了10次，木棍打了他10次。他慢慢地站起来，现在他仅能勉强站住。鲜血从他的口鼻和耳朵中涌出来。然后那人走上前又打他，狠狠地击中了他的鼻子。剧痛袭来，巴克再一次扑向那人，但他又被打倒在地。最后一次他扑上去，而这一次，当那人把他打倒时，巴克再也没有动弹一下。

“他可知道如何把狗制得服服帖帖的。”墙上的一个人说。然后这4个人跳下来，回车站去了。

“他的名字叫巴克。”那胖子自言自语道，读着写在木箱上的字母。“咳，巴克，我的孩子，”他用友好的语气说道，“我们有场小小的争斗，现在我想我们最好停战。做一只好狗，我们会成为朋友的。但是你要是使坏，我就不得不再用棍子对付你，明白吗？”

他一边说，一边抚摸着巴克的头。虽然巴克愤恨难平，他却没有再反抗。当那人给他拿来水和肉时，巴克喝了水，又从那人的手上一片又一片地吃肉。

巴克挨了打（他现在知道怎么回事了），但他并未就此垮掉。他知道拿棍子的人比他强大。每一天他都看见许多狗被送进来。每条狗都被那胖子痛打。巴克明白了他必须听从拿棍子的人，虽然那人不一定是朋友。

人们来找胖子看狗。有时他们付钱后牵走一只或更多的狗。一天，一个又矮又黑的人来了，他看见了巴克。

“那可是条好狗！”他叫道，“你卖多少钱？”

“300美元。这是个好价钱，佩罗。”那胖子说。

佩罗笑了，他知道这价钱合适。他是选狗的行家里手，清楚巴克是一条优秀的狗。“万里挑一。”佩罗心里说。

巴克看见那胖子收了钱，并且当他和另一条叫科莉的狗被佩罗带走时，他对此已经不以为奇了。他把他们带上船，那天巴克和科莉站在船上看着越来越远的海岸，这是他们最后一次看见温暖的南方了。

佩罗把巴克和科莉带到船尾，在那里他们见到另一个人，弗朗索瓦斯。佩罗是法国与加拿大的混血儿，弗朗索瓦斯则有一半印第安人的血统，长得又黑又高。巴克很快就了解到佩罗和费朗索瓦斯为人不错，沉稳可靠。他们对于狗的习性可谓了如指掌。

船上还有两只别的狗。其中一只大狗叫斯皮兹，浑身雪白。他起初对巴克倒挺友好，时时冲他微笑致意。但吃第一顿饭时，他就企图偷吃巴克的食物，而脸上居然还微笑着。在巴克还来不及采取任何行动之前，弗朗索瓦斯就迅速给了斯皮兹一下。巴克觉得这事处理得挺公道，他对弗朗索瓦斯有了一点儿好感。

另一只狗戴夫并不友善。他喜欢独自待着。他除了吃就是睡，对一切都漠不关心。

日子在平静中一天天地过去，但巴克留意到天气在渐渐地变冷。一个早晨，船的马达终于停止了，船上有一种令人兴奋的气氛。弗朗索瓦斯用绳子拴住狗，把他们带出船舱。巴克一迈脚就陷进一种轻软洁白的东西里，他惊恐地跳了回去。那轻软洁白的东西也正从空中飘下来，落在他的身上。他尝试着嗅嗅它，然后又用舌头舔舔它，那东西嚼起来像火一样灼烧，但转瞬就无影无踪了。他又试了试，还是同样的结果。人们看着他笑了起来。虽然巴克不知道为什么，但他害了羞。这毕竟是他第一次接触到雪。

2

The law of club and tooth

Buck's first day at Dyea Beach was terrible. Every hour there was some new, frightening surprise. There was no peace, no rest—only continual noise and movement. And every minute there was danger, because these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They knew only the law of club and tooth.

Buck had never seen dogs fight like these dogs; they were like wolves. In a few minutes he learnt this from watching Curly. She tried to make friends with a dog, a big one, although not as big as she was. There was no warning. The dog jumped on Curly, his teeth closed together, then he jumped away, and Curly's face was torn open from eye to mouth.

Wolves fight like this, biting and jumping away, but the fight did not finish then. Thirty or forty more dogs ran up and made a circle around the fight, watching silently. Curly tried to attack the dog who had bitten her; he bit her a second time, and jumped away. When she attacked him again, he knocked her backwards, and she fell on the ground. She never stood up again, because this was what the other dogs were waiting for. They moved in, and in a moment she was under a crowd of dogs.

It was all very sudden. Buck saw Spitz run out from the crowd with his tongue out of his mouth, laughing. Then he saw Francois with an axe, and two or three other men with clubs jump in among the dogs. Two minutes later the last of the dogs was chased away. But Curly lay dead in the snow, her body torn almost to pieces. Curly's death often came back to Buck in his dreams. He understood that once a dog was down on the ground, he was dead. He also remembered Spitz laughing, and from that moment he hated him.

Then Buck had another surprise. Francois put a harness on him. Buck had seen harnesses on horses, and now he was made to work like a horse, pulling Francois on a sledge into the forest and returning with wood for the fire. Buck worked with Spitz and Dave. The two other dogs had worked in a harness before, and Buck learnt by watching them. He also learnt to stop and turn when Francois shouted.

'Those three are very good dogs,' Francois told Perrault. 'That Buck pulls very well, and he's learning quickly.'

Perrault had important letters and official papers to take to Dawson City, so that afternoon he bought two more dogs, two brothers called Billee and Joe. Billee was very friendly, but Joe was the opposite. In the evening Perrault bought one more dog, an old dog with one eye. His name was Solleks, which means The Angry One. Like Dave, he made no friends; all he wanted was to be alone.

That night Buck discovered another problem. Where was he going to sleep? Francois and Perrault were in their tent, but when he went in, they shouted angrily and threw things at him. Outside it was very cold and windy. He lay down in the snow, but he was too cold to sleep.

He walked around the tents trying to find the other dogs. But, to his surprise, they had disappeared. He walked around Perrault's tent, very, very cold, wondering what to do. Suddenly, the snow under his feet fell in, and he felt something move. He jumped back, waiting for the attack, but heard only a friendly bark. There, in a warm hole under the snow, was Billee.

So that was what you had to do. Buck chose a place, dug himself a hole and in a minute he was warm and asleep. He slept well, although his dreams were bad.

When he woke up, at first he did not know where he was. It had snowed in the night and the snow now lay thick and heavy above him. Suddenly he was afraid—the fear of a wild animal when it is caught and cannot escape. Growling, he threw himself at the snow, and a moment later, he had jumped upwards into the daylight. He saw the tents and remembered everything, from the time he had gone for a walk with Manuel to the moment he had dug the hole the night before.

'What did I say?' shouted Francois to Perrault, when he saw Buck come up out of the snow. 'That Buck learns quickly.'

Perrault smiled slowly. He was carrying important papers, and he needed good dogs. He was very pleased to have Buck.

They bought three more dogs that morning, and a quarter of an hour later all nine dogs were in harness and on their way up the Dyea Canyon. Buck was not sorry to be moving, and although it was hard work, he almost enjoyed it. He was also surprised to see that Dave and Sol-leks no longer looked bored and miserable. Pulling in a harness was their job, and they were happy to do it.

Dave was sledge-dog, the dog nearest to the sledge. In front of him was Buck, then came Sol-leks. In front of them were the six other dogs, with Spitz as leader at the front. Francois had put Buck between Dave and Sol-leks because they could teach him the work. Buck learnt well, and they were good teachers. When Buck pulled the wrong way, Dave always bit his leg, but only lightly. Once, when they stopped, Buck got tied up in his harness, and it took ten minutes to get started again. Both Dave and Sol-leks gave him a good beating for that mistake. Buck understood, and was more careful after that.

It was a hard day's journey, up the Dyea Canyon and into the mountains. They camped that night at Lake Bennett. Here there were thousands of gold miners. They were building boats to sail up the lake when the ice melted in the spring. Buck made his hole in the snow and slept well, but was woken up very early and harnessed to the sledge. The first day they had travelled on snow that had been hardened by many sledges and they covered sixty kilometres. But the next day, and for days afterwards, they were on new snow. The work was harder and they went slowly. Usually, Perrault went in front, on snowshoes, flattening the snow a little for the dogs. Francois stayed by the sledge. Sometimes the two men changed places, but there were many small lakes and rivers, and Perrault understood ice better. He always knew when the ice across a river was very thin.

Day after day Buck pulled in his harness. They started in the morning before it was light, and they stopped in the evening after dark, ate a piece of fish, and went to sleep in their holes under the snow. Buck was always hungry. Francois gave him 750 grams of dried fish a day, and it was never enough. The other dogs were given only 500 grams; they were smaller and could stay alive on less food.

Buck learnt to eat quickly; if he was too slow, the other dogs stole his food. He saw Pike, one of the new dogs, steal some meat from the sledge when Perrault wasn't looking. The next day Buck stole some and got away unseen. Perrault was very angry, but he thought another dog, Dub, had taken it and so punished him instead of Buck.

Buck was learning how to live in the north. In the south he had never stolen, but there he had never been so hungry. He stole cleverly and secretly, remembering the beatings from the man with the club. Buck was learning the law of club and tooth.

He learnt to eat any food—anything that he could get his teeth into. He learnt to break the ice on water holes with his feet when he wanted to drink. He was stronger, harder, and could see and smell better than ever before. In a way, he was remembering back to the days when wild dogs travelled in packs through the forest, killing for meat as they went. It was easy for him to learn to fight like a wolf, because it was in his blood. In the evenings, when he pointed his nose at the moon and howled long and loud, he was remembering the dogs and wolves that had come before him.

frightening adj. causing fear; alarming. 引起恐惧的。

continual adj. repeatedly. 一再重复的。

wolf n. 狼（复数wolves）。

make friends with become a friend of sb.. 成为某人的朋友。

wait for stay where one is. 等待；等候。

harness n. 马具；挽具；v. 给……上挽具，套上（马等）。

sledge n. 雪橇；雪车。

turn v. change position or direction so as to face in the specified direction. 转向；转弯。

official papers 正式文件；官方文件。

opposite n. one that is entirely different from or contrary, to another. 完全不同；相反。

windy adj. with much wind 多风的。

too... to... so... that one cannot do sth. 太……以至于不能……。

to one's surprise surprisingly. 令某人吃惊的是。

bark n. sharp harsh sound made by dogs and foxes. 犬吠声；狐狸的嗥叫声。

daylight n. light during daytime. 日光；白天。

dig v. make a hole 挖（洞）。

on the/one's way in the process of going or coming. 在路上。

bore v. make sb. feel tired and uninterested by being dull. （因单调）使人感到厌烦。

get tied up being bound with rope, so that he cannot move or escape. 被捆绑住。

harden v. become hard, strong. 变硬；变坚强。

flatten v. become or make (sth.) flat. 使（某物）变平。

hungry adj. starving 挨饿的；饥饿的。

steal v. take (one's property) secretly without permission or legal right. 偷（他人财物）。

instead of a replacement to sb./sth.. 作为某人／某物的替换。

in the south 在南方，南部。

smell v. notice sth./sb. by using the nose. 闻出；嗅出某人／某物的气味。

pack n. group of wild animals that hunt together. （野兽的）一群。

point... at.. aim or direct sth.. 瞄准；对准。

2　暴力原则

巴克在戴依海岸的第一天糟透了。每时每刻都会有令他惊恐而又新奇的东西。这里没有和平，也没有休憩——只有无休止的喧嚣和来来往往。在这里每一分钟都会有危险，因为这些人和狗都不是来自城镇，他们只认得大棒和牙齿。

巴克从未见过像这群狗一样争斗的狗，他们像狼一样凶狠。不过几分钟，他便从科莉的遭遇中悟出了这个道理。她试图同一只狗做朋友，一只大狗，虽然他不及科莉块头大；但连警告都没有，这只狗猛地扑向科莉，犬牙交错。然后他跳到一边，而科莉的脸从眼睛到嘴都被撕开了。

狼才这样攻击，撕咬后就跳开，但是战斗并未结束。三四十条狗跑过来，围着战场站成一圈，静静地观望着。科莉想反击那条咬她的狗；他又一次咬住了她，然后跳开。当她再度进攻时，他把她向后撞倒在地。她再也没有站起来，因为这正是其它的狗等待的。他们冲了进来，瞬间，她就身处在群狗的撕扯践踏之下了。

这一切都发生得那么突然。巴克看见斯皮兹从狗群中跑出来，耷拉着舌头，脸上还挂着微笑。然后他看见弗朗索瓦斯手拿斧头和另外两三个拿着木棍的人跳进狗群。两分钟之后，最后一只狗也被赶开了。但是科莉已经躺在雪地上，死了，她几乎被撕成了碎片。科莉之死后来常常出现在巴克的梦中。他明白一旦一条狗倒在地上，就意味着死亡。他还记得斯皮兹的笑容，从那时起，他对他生出一种仇恨来。

这之后，巴克又遇到一件新奇的事。弗朗索瓦斯把挽具套到他的身上。巴克以前只看见马被套上马具，而现在他不得不像马一样工作了，把弗朗索瓦斯用雪橇拉进森林，然后再装满木头拉回来生火用。巴克和斯皮兹还有戴夫一起工作。这两条狗以前拉过雪橇，于是巴克就通过模仿他们来学习。他还学会了听从弗朗索瓦斯的指示停步和转弯。

“这三条狗可真不赖，”弗朗索瓦斯告诉佩罗，“那个巴克拉得非常好，他一学就会。”

佩罗要把一些重要的信件和官方文件带到道桑镇去，所以那天下午他又买了两只狗。这两个是同胞兄弟，分别叫贝利和乔。贝利性情很随和，乔则正相反。一天晚上，佩罗又买了一只独眼老狗，他叫索拉克斯，意思是“愤怒者”，同戴夫一样，他喜欢独来独往，没有朋友。

那天晚上巴克遇到另一个难题。他该去哪儿睡觉呢？弗朗索瓦斯和佩罗睡在帐篷里，可是当他走进去时，他们生气地冲他叫嚷着，扔东西撵他。外面是酷冷和狂风的世界。他躺在雪地上，但是冻得睡不着。

他围着帐篷打转儿，想找到自己的同伴。但是，让他吃惊的是，所有的狗都不见了踪影。他围着佩罗的帐篷走着，那是何等的寒冷啊，可是他却不知所措。突然，他脚下的雪地塌陷了下去，他踩在一个活物上。他向后跳开，等着一场恶斗。但是他却听见一声友好的低吠。原来是贝利躺在雪地下一个温暖的洞穴里。

这就是不得已而为之的事情。巴克选了一个地方，挖了一个洞，不一会儿他就暖暖和和地睡着了。他睡得很香，尽管做了很多噩梦。

当他醒过来的时候，起初不知自己身在何处。雪下了一整夜，积雪又厚又重地压在身上。蓦地，他感到了恐惧——一种野兽被抓住而无从脱身的恐惧。咆哮着，他用身体撞着积雪。一会儿，他就跳了上来，外面已经是白昼了。他看见帐篷，记起了发生的每一件事，从他和曼纽尔散步的那一刻起直到前一夜他挖洞睡觉的时候。

“我说什么来着，”弗朗索瓦斯看见巴克从雪里跳出来时嚷道，“那个巴克一学就会！”

佩罗慢慢地绽开了笑容。他随身带着重要的文件，需要优秀的狗。有巴克在着实令他高兴。

那个早晨，他们又买了3条狗。一刻钟之后，9条狗都套上了挽具，直奔泰依峡谷而去。巴克并不觉得奔跑是一件坏事情，虽然这活儿不轻，他却几乎着了迷。让他更惊奇的是他看到戴夫和索拉克斯不再萎靡不振，无精打采。套上挽具拉雪橇是他们的工作，他们是乐此不疲的。

戴夫最靠近雪橇，也就是所谓的雪橇狗。他前面是巴克，然后是索拉克斯。他们的前面是另外6条狗，斯皮兹跑在最前头，他是领队。弗朗索瓦斯把巴克放到戴夫和索拉克斯之间，因为他们能教他如何工作。巴克学得很好，而他俩也是好老师。当巴克拉错的时候，戴夫就咬他的腿，但只是轻轻的。有一次，当他们停下来时，巴克在挽具里扭了结，他们花了10分钟才重新起程。戴夫和索拉克斯为此狠狠揍了他一顿，但巴克自知罪责难逃，从此更加倍小心。

这一天旅途异常辛劳，翻过泰依峡谷进入山区。那晚他们在贝耐湖湖边宿营。这儿有成千上万的淘金者。他们正在建造小船准备着春天冰雪消融时过河。巴克挖了一个雪洞，美美地睡了一觉，但他很早就被叫起来套上挽具拉雪橇。第一天，他们在雪地里奔波，雪已经被数百个雪橇碾过，压得结结实实的，他们赶了60公里路。但是第二天和以后的日子里，他们在新雪上奔跑。这工作非常辛苦，他们进程缓慢。通常是由佩罗穿着雪地靴走在前面，为狗把雪地踏得平实一些。弗朗索瓦斯待在雪橇上，有时他们调换一下。但佩罗对付冰比较在行，而路上有许多小湖泊和河流。他总是知道什么时候河上的冰层最薄。

巴克日复一日地拉着雪橇。他们天不亮就起程，直走到日落西山才停下来，吃一点鱼，然后钻到雪洞里睡觉。巴克总是吃不饱。弗朗索瓦斯一天喂给他750克干鱼，但他仍然不够吃。其余的狗每天只能得到500克鱼吃；他们体型较小，进食少一些仍可以生存。

巴克学会了快速进食；因为如果他吃得慢了，别的狗就会偷他的食物吃。他见到新来的狗中一只叫派克的趁佩罗没看着时从雪橇上偷肉吃。第二天巴克也偷了嘴，但没有被发觉。佩罗非常生气，但他以为是另一条叫达布的狗干的，他教训了它一顿，而巴克得以幸免。

巴克适应了北方的生存方式。在南方他从未干过偷窃的行当，但在那儿他也从来不用饿肚子。他偷得巧妙又隐蔽，牢牢记着那个拿大棒的男人给他的痛打。巴克正在学会如何对付大棒和牙齿。

他学会了吃各种食物——只要他咬得动的任何东西。他学会了用脚破冰取水来解渴。他变得更加强壮、威猛，嗅觉和视觉也比以前更发达了。从某种意义上说，他在逐渐地回忆起以前的野狗穿梭在丛林中捕食的日子。对他来说，学会像狼一样厮杀易如反掌，因为这是与他血脉相通的本性。晚上，当他仰首望月，凄厉地长嗥时，他记起来他的祖先。

3

The wild animal

The wild animal was strong in Buck, and as he travelled across the snow, it grew stronger and stronger. And as Buck grew stronger, he hated Spitz more and more, although he was careful never to start a fight.

But Spitz was always showing his teeth to Buck, trying to start a fight. And Buck knew that if he and Spitz fought, one of them would die.

The fight almost happened one night when they stopped by Lake Laberge. There was heavy snow and it was very cold. The lake was frozen and Francois, Perrault, and the dogs had to spend the night on the ice, under a big rock. Buck had made a warm hole in the snow and was sorry to leave it to get his piece of fish. But when he had eaten, and returned to his hole, he found Spitz in it. Buck had tried not to fight Spitz before, but this was too much. He attacked him angrily. Spitz was surprised. He knew Buck was big, but he didn't know he was so wild. Francois was surprised too, and guessed why Buck was angry.

'Go on Buck!' he shouted. 'Fight him, the dirty thief!'

Spitz was also ready to fight, and the two dogs circled one another, looking for the chance to jump in. But suddenly there was a shout from Perrault, and they saw eighty or a hundred dogs around the sledge. The dogs came from an Indian village, and they were searching for the food that they could smell on the sledge. Perrault and Francois tried to fight them off with their clubs, but the dogs, made crazy by the smell of the food, showed their teeth and fought back.

Buck had never seen dogs like these. They were all skin and bone, but hunger made them fight like wild things. Three of them attacked Buck and in seconds his head and legs were badly bitten. Dave and Sol-leks stood side by side, covered in blood, fighting bravely. Joe and Pike jumped on one dog, and Pike broke its neck with one bite. Buck caught another dog by the neck and tasted blood. He threw himself on the next one, and then felt teeth in his own neck. It was Spitz, attacking him from the side.

Perrault and Francois came to help with clubs, but then they had to run back to save the food. It was safer for the nine sledge-dogs to run away across the lake. Several of them were badly hurt, and they spent an unhappy night hiding among the trees.

At first light they returned to the sledge and found Perrault and Francois tired and angry. Half their food was gone. The Indian dogs had even eaten one of Perrault's shoes. Francois looked at his dogs unhappily.

'Ah, my friends,' he said softly, 'Perhaps those bites will make you ill. What do you think, Perrault?'

Perrault said nothing. They still had six hundred kilometres to travel, and he hoped very much that his sledge-dogs had not caught rabies from the Indian dogs.

The harness was torn and damaged and it was two hours before they were moving, travelling slowly and painfully over the most difficult country that they had been in.

The Thirty Mile River was not frozen. It ran too fast to freeze. They spent six days trying to find a place to cross, and every step was dangerous for dogs and men. Twelve times they found ice bridges across the river, and Perrault walked carefully onto them, holding a long piece of wood. And twelve times he fell through a bridge and was saved by the piece of wood, which caught on the sides of the hole. But the temperature was 45° below zero. and each time Perrault fell into the water, he had to light a fire to dry and warm himself. Once, the sledge fell through the ice, with Dave and Buck, and they were covered in ice by the time Perrault and Francois pulled them out of the river. Again, a fire was needed to save them. Another time, Spitz and the dogs in front fell through the ice—Buck and Dave and Francois at the sledge had to pull backwards. That day they travelled only four hundred metres.

When they got to the Hootalinqua and good ice, Buck and the other dogs were very, very tired. But they were late, so Perrault made them run faster. In three days they went a hundred and eighty kilometres and reached the Five Fingers.

The other dogs had hard feet from years of pulling sledges, but Buck's feet were still soft from his easy life down south. All day he ran painfully, and when they camped for the night, he lay down like a dead dog. He was hungry, but he was too tired to walk to the fish, so Francois brought it to him. One day Francois made four little shoes for him, and this made Buck much more comfortable. Francois forgot the shoes one morning, and Buck refused to move. He lay on his back with his feet in the air, until Francois put the shoes on. Later his feet grew harder and the shoes were not needed.

One morning, at the Pelly River, a dog called Dolly went suddenly mad. She howled long and loud like a wolf and then jumped at Buck. Buck ran, with Dolly one step behind him. She could not catch him, but he could not escape from her. They ran half a kilometre, and then Buck heard Francois call to him. He turned and ran towards the man sure that Francois would save him. Francois stood, holding his axe, and as Buck passed, the axe crashed down on Dolly's head.

Buck fell down by the sledge, too tired to move. Immediately, Spitz attacked him and bit his helpless enemy twice, as hard as he could. But Francois saw this, and gave Spitz a terrible beating for it.

'He's a wild dog, that Spitz,' said Perrault. 'One day he'll kill Buck.'

'Buck is wilder,' replied Francois. 'I've been watching him. One day he'll get very angry and he'll fight Spitz; and he'll win.'

Francois was right. Buck wanted to be lead-dog. Spitz knew this and hated him. Buck started to help the other dogs when Spitz punished them for being lazy. One morning, Pike refused to get up, and Spitz looked for him everywhere. When he found him, he jumped at him. But suddenly, Buck attacked Spitz. The other dogs saw this, and it became more and more difficult for Spitz to lead them. But the days passed without a chance for a fight, and soon they were pulling into Dawson City on a cold grey afternoon.

They stayed in Dawson for seven days. When they left, Perrault was carrying some more very important papers, and he wanted to travel back as fast as possible.

They travelled eighty kilometres the first day, and the same the second. But it was difficult work for Francois. Buck and Spitz hated each other, and the other dogs were not afraid of Spitz any more. One night Pike stole half a fish from Spitz, and ate it standing next to Buck. And every time Buck went near Spitz, he growled and the hair on his back stood up angrily. The other dogs fought in their harnesses and Francois often had to stop the sledge. He knew that Buck was the problem, but Buck was too clever for him and Francois never saw him actually starting a fight.

One night in camp, the dogs saw a snow rabbit and in a second they were all chasing it, with Spitz in front. Nearby was another camp, with fifty dogs, who also joined the chase. The rabbit was running fast on top of the snow, but the snow was soft, and it was more difficult for the dogs. When Spitz caught the rabbit, throwing it in the air with his teeth. Buck was just behind. Spitz stopped, and Buck hit him, very hard. The two dogs fell in the snow. Spitz bit Buck very quickly, twice, and then jumped away, watching carefully.

The time had come, and Buck knew that either he or Spitz must die. They watched one another, circling slowly. The moon was shining brightly on the snow, and in the cold still air not a leaf moved on the trees. The other dogs finished eating the rabbit and then turned to watch.

Spitz was a good fighter. He was full of hate and anger, but he was also intelligent. Every time Buck tried to bite his throat, he met Spitz's own teeth. Then, each time Buck attacked, Spitz moved and bit him on the side as he passed. After a few minutes, Buck was covered in blood. He attacked again, but this time turned at the last minute and went under Spitz, biting his left front leg. The bone broke, and Spitz was standing on three legs. Buck tried to knock Spitz down, and then repeated his earlier attack and broke Spitz's right front leg.

There was no hope for Spitz now. Buck got ready for his final attack, while the circle of sixty dogs watched, and crowded nearer and nearer, waiting for the end. At last Buck jumped, in and out, and Spitz went down in the snow. A second later the waiting pack was on top of him, and Spitz had disappeared. Buck stood and watched. The wild animal had made its kill.

careful adj. take care. 小心；当心；警惕。

attack v. to hurt sb./sth.. 攻击；进攻。

angrily adv. filled with anger. 生气地；愤怒地；发怒地。

guess v. to form (a judgment) without knowing all the facts. 猜想；推测。

circle v. move in or form a circle around sb./sth.. 围绕某人／某物。n. 圆；圈；环。

search v. exam（a thing or place) carefully in order to find sb./sth.. 搜查；搜索。

in seconds in a short time. 一会儿；片刻。

side by side close together, facing in the same direction. 肩并肩地。

difficult adj. not easy 不易的；困难的。

freeze v. (of water) change or be changed from liquid to solid by extreme cold. 结冰；凝固。

camp v. put up a tent or tents. 宿营。

lie down to be in a flat resting position. 躺下。

comfortable adj. having pleasant bodily relaxation. 使人舒服的。

save v. make sb. safe. 拯救；援救。

terrible adj. hard to bear. 难以忍受的。

punish sb. for fine sb. for wrong doing. 因……而处罚某人。

carry v. take from one place to another. 携带。

rabbit n. 兔子。

chase v. follow in order to capture or kill; hunt. 追捕；捕猎。

either... or... used to show a choice of two alternatives. 或……或……。

finish doing bring sth. to an end 结束；完成（某事）。

intelligent adj. showing the power of learning, understanding and reasoning. 有才智的；有头脑的；聪明的。

throat n. front part of the neck. 咽喉；喉头。

3　野性

巴克身上有着强烈的野性。当他在雪野上奔跑时，这野性也就越来越强烈。在他日益强壮的同时，虽然他加倍小心不挑起争端，但他对斯皮兹的仇恨也与日俱增。

但是斯皮兹却常常对着巴克龇牙咧嘴，试图找碴儿打架。巴克心中很清楚，两犬相争，必有一死。

一天晚上，当他们停驻在雷伯格湖畔的时候，一场恶战一触即发。那里天寒地冻，积雪深厚。湖面冻住了，弗朗索瓦斯、佩罗和狗们不得不在冰上的一个巨岩下过夜。巴克在雪下为自己做了一个暖和的洞穴，这使他很不情愿起身去吃掉自己的那份鱼。但当他吃完回到洞里时，发现斯皮兹已经占据了那里。以前，巴克总是避免同斯皮兹冲突。但这一次却忍无可忍，他愤怒地进攻了。斯皮兹吃了一惊。他知道巴克个头高大，却未料到他这样凶猛。弗朗索瓦斯也吃惊不小，他猜到了巴克为什么生气。

“上，巴克！”他喊道，“教训教训他，这下流坯。”

斯皮兹做好了迎战的准备。两条狗一个接一个地兜着圈子，寻找出击的机会。但是突然，佩罗叫了起来。然后他们看见有80到100多条狗围上了雪橇。这些狗来自一个印第安村落，他们在找食物时嗅到了雪橇。佩罗和弗朗索瓦斯试图用木棍吓退他们，但是那些狗被食物的气味刺激地发了疯，他们露出牙齿进行反击。

巴克从未看见过这样的狗。他们瘦骨嶙峋，但是饥饿使他们如野兽一样凶猛。其中3条狗进攻巴克。不过几秒钟，他的头和腿就受了重伤。戴夫和索拉克斯并肩作战，浴血奋斗。乔和派克扑倒了一条狗。派克一口咬断了他的脖子，巴克咬住了另一条狗的脖子，尝到了鲜血的滋味。他又扑向另一条狗，却感到自己的脖子被咬住了，那是斯皮兹从边上偷袭他。

佩罗和弗朗索瓦斯手拿木棍来帮忙。但他们不得不跑回去抢救食物。对于这9条拉雪橇的狗来说，从湖上逃开更安全些。因为其中几个已受了重伤。他们在树林中藏身，度过了一个不快的夜晚。

在黎明第一道曙光中，他们回到了雪橇处，发现佩罗和弗朗索瓦斯疲惫不堪，怒火中烧，他们的一半食物都没有了。那群印第安狗甚至吃掉了佩罗的一只鞋子。弗朗索瓦斯悲伤地看着他的狗。

“唉，我的朋友们，”他轻声说道，“这些伤口可能会让你们生病的。你说呢，佩罗？”

佩罗一言不发。他们还有600公里路，他不希望自己的狗从印第安狗那里染上狂犬病。

挽具已被扯得七零八落。他们花了两个小时才起程赶路。在他们旅途中最艰难的地段中缓慢而艰难地跋涉。

“30里河”没有结冰，因为它的流速太快了。他们花了6天工夫企图找到一处过河的地方——每一步对于人和狗来说都险象环生。12次他们都发现了河上的冰桥，佩罗小心翼翼地走上去，手持一块木板，12次他都跌了下去，幸而有木板的边缘撑住冰洞，佩罗才得以生还。但是由于气温只有零下45℃，所以佩罗每次落水，都不得不生火烤干自己。一次，雪橇连带着戴夫、巴克一同掉到冰层下。当佩罗和弗朗索瓦斯把他们救上来时，他们从头到脚都结了冰。他们不得不再次生火取暖。又一次，斯皮兹和前面的狗跌入了冰里——巴克、戴夫和雪橇上的弗朗索瓦斯不得不费力把他们拽回来，那天他们只走了400米。

当他们到达呼塔林格时，冰层很厚，巴克和其余的狗已经筋疲力竭了。可是由于他们已经耽误了，所以佩罗驱赶他们跑得更快一些。3天时间里，他们赶了180公里路，抵达一个叫“五指”的地方。

别的狗由于长年拉雪橇，脚上已经磨出了茧子。但巴克的脚却由于在南方舒适的生活而非常娇嫩；一整天他都忍着痛苦奔跑，但当他们晚上安营休息时，他像死狗一样瘫在地上。他饿极了，但极度的疲惫让他连起身吃鱼的力气都没有了。于是，弗朗索瓦斯把鱼拿过去喂给他吃。一天，弗朗索瓦斯做了4只小鞋给他。这使巴克比以前好受多了。一天早晨，弗朗索瓦斯忘记给他穿鞋子，巴克就四脚朝天地躺在地上，直到弗朗索瓦斯把鞋子给他穿上。后来他的脚比以前厚实多了，鞋子就不需要了。

一天早晨，在佩利河，一条叫多利的狗突然发了疯。她像狼一样凄厉地长嗥着，向巴克扑去。巴克拔脚就逃，而多利紧追不舍。她无法抓住他，但他同样不能摆脱她。他们追跑了半公里，巴克听见弗朗索瓦斯在叫他。他掉头向他跑去。他知道弗朗索瓦斯肯定是要救他。弗朗索瓦斯站在那里，拿着斧头，当巴克跑过去之后，他用斧子一下子劈碎了多利的脑壳。

巴克扑倒在雪橇边，疲惫地再也动弹不得。立刻，斯皮兹偷袭了他，用尽全身的力气，狠狠地咬了他已经无力反抗的敌人两次。但弗朗索瓦斯看到了这一幕，他狠狠揍了斯皮兹一顿。

“那个斯皮兹简直是条野狗。”佩罗说，“总有一天他会杀了巴克的。”

“巴克更野。”弗朗索瓦斯说道，“我一直在观察他，有一天他气极了就会和斯皮兹决一雌雄的，我包他会赢。”

弗朗索瓦斯说对了，巴克想做一名头狗。斯皮兹知道这一点并因此而憎恨他。当别的狗由于偷懒而受到斯皮兹的惩罚时，巴克却纵容他们。有个早晨，派克不愿起来，斯皮兹到处找他。当他发现派克后，就向他扑了过去；但突然，巴克袭击了斯皮兹，其它的狗都看出了他们的对立，对斯皮兹来说领导他们越来越难了。但是，时间一天天地过去，他们没有机会打架。不久，在一个灰冷的下午，他们到达了道桑镇。

他们在道桑逗留了7天。离开的时候，佩罗带了更多极其重要的文件，他希望能够尽早赶回去。

第一天，他们赶了80公里路，第二天如是。但对于弗朗索瓦斯来说却是件苦差。巴克和斯皮兹彼此仇恨。而斯皮兹对其余的狗来说也失去了他的权威性。一天晚上，派克从斯皮兹那里偷了半条鱼，公然站在巴克旁边吃起来。每一次巴克接近斯皮兹的时候，他就会咆哮起来，背上的毛发因愤怒而倒竖起来。其余的狗也套着挽具打架。弗朗索瓦斯不得不经常停下雪橇，他知道问题出在巴克身上，但是巴克非常聪明，弗朗索瓦斯从未抓住他挑起事端的时候。

一天晚上在营地，狗群发现了一只雪兔。立刻他们就开始追逐，斯皮兹打头。附近还有另一个营地，那儿的50条狗也加入了追逐的行列。兔子在雪地上迅速地飞掠而过，但松软的雪却不利于狗的奔跑，当斯皮兹擒住雪兔时，他用牙齿叨住它又把它扔到了空中，巴克随后也赶到了。斯皮兹停住脚，巴克凶猛地扑了过来。两只狗在雪地上翻滚。斯皮兹迅速地咬了巴克两次，然后跳开，仔细地观察着。

机会终于来了。巴克知道他和斯皮兹中有一个必死无疑，他们观察着对方，慢慢地兜着圈子。明亮的月光映着雪野，空气冰冷静止，甚至连树上的叶子也纹丝不动。其余的狗吃完了雪兔都转过身来观阵。

斯皮兹是一个打架的好手。他尽管满腹怒火和仇恨，却同时非常机智。每次巴克试图咬他的咽喉时，他就会撞上斯皮兹的牙齿。然后，每一次巴克袭击时，斯皮兹让过他，然后在他擦身而过时在另一边咬他。不消几分钟，巴克就浑身是血。他再次出击，但在最后关头他突然掉头扑向斯皮兹的下身，咬住了他的左前腿。骨头被咬碎了，斯皮兹3条腿站在那里。巴克试图把斯皮兹撞倒，然后像前一次出击一样，咬碎了斯皮兹的右前腿。

现在斯皮兹已回天乏术。巴克业已做好最后一击的准备。而另外60条狗围成一圈观望着，圈子越来越小，等着战斗的结束。最后巴克跳起来，一进一退之时，斯皮兹已倒在雪地上，不过一秒钟光景他就葬身在狗群之下了，斯皮兹从此渺无踪影。巴克站在那里冷眼旁观。这野性的动物终于完成了他的杀戮。

4

The new lead-dog

'Well, what did I say? Buck's a real fighter, all right,' said Francois the next morning when he discovered that Spitz had disappeared and that Buck was covered in blood.

'Spitz fought like a wolf,' said Perrault, as he looked at the bites all over Buck.

'And Buck fought like ten wolves,' answered Francois. 'And we'll travel faster now. No more Spitz, no more trouble.'

Francois started to harness the dogs. He needed a new lead-dog, and decided that Sol-leks was the best dog that he had. But Buck jumped at Sol-leks and took his place.

'Look at Buck!' said Francois, laughing. 'He's killed Spitz, and now he wants to be lead-dog. Go away, Buck!'

He pulled Buck away and tried to harness Sol-leks again. Sol-leks was unhappy too. He was frightened of Buck, and when Francois turned his back, Buck took Sol-leks' place again. Now Francois was angry.

'I'll show you!' he cried, and went to get a heavy club from the sledge.

Buck remembered the man in the red coat, and moved away. This time, when Sol-leks was harnessed as lead-dog, Buck did not try to move in. He kept a few metres away and circled around Francois carefully. But when Francois called him to his old place in front of Dave, Buck refused. He had won his fight with Spitz and he wanted to be lead-dog.

For an hour the two men tried to harness him. Buck did not run away, but he did not let them catch him. Finally, Francois sat down, and Perrault looked at his watch. It was getting late. The two men looked at one another and smiled. Francois walked up to Sol-leks, took off his harness, led him back and harnessed him in his old place. Then he called Buck. All the other dogs were harnessed and the only empty place was now the one at the front. But Buck did not move.

'Put down the club,' said Perrault.

Francois dropped the club, and immediately Buck came up to the front of the team. Francois harnessed him, and in a minute the sledge was moving.

Buck was an excellent leader. He moved and thought quickly and led the other dogs well. A new leader made no difference to Dave and Sol-leks; they continued to pull hard. But the other dogs had had an easy life when Spitz was leading. They were surprised when Buck made them work hard and punished them for their mistakes. Pike, the second dog, was usually lazy; but by the end of the first day he was pulling harder than he had ever pulled in his life. The first night in camp Buck fought Joe, another difficult dog, and after that there were no more problems with him. The team started to pull together, and to move faster and faster.

'I've never seen a dog like Buck!' cried Francois, 'Never! He's worth a thousand dollars. What do you think, Perrault?'

Perrault agreed. They were moving quickly, and covering more ground every day. The snow was good and hard, and no new snow fell. The temperature dropped to 45° below zero, and didn't change.

This time there was more ice on the Thirty Mile River, and they crossed in a day. Some days they ran a hundred kilometres, or even more. They reached Skagway in fourteen days; the fastest time ever.

For three days the dogs rested in Skagway. Then Francois put his arms around Buck's neck and said goodbye to him. And that was the last of Francois and Perrault. Like other men, they passed out of Buck's life for ever.

Two new men took Buck and his team back north on the long journey to Dawson, travelling with several other dog-teams. It was heavy work; the sledge was loaded with letters for the gold miners of Dawson. Buck did not like it, but he worked hard, and made the other dogs work hard, too. Each day was the same. They started early, before it was light, and at night they stopped and camped and the dogs ate. For the dogs this was the best part of the day, first eating, then resting by the fire.

Buck liked to lie by the fire, looking at the burning wood. Sometimes he thought about Mr Miller's house in California. More often he remembered the man in the red coat and his club, the death of Curly, the fight with Spitz, and the good things that he had eaten. But sometimes he remembered other things. These were things that he remembered through his parents, and his parents' parents, and all the dogs which had lived before him.

Sometimes as he lay there, he seemed to see, in a waking dream, a different fire. And he saw next to him, not the Indian cook, but another man, a man with shorter legs, and longer arms. This man had long hair and deep eyes, and made strange noises in his throat. He was very frightened of the dark, and looked around him all the time, holding a heavy stone in his hand. He wore the skin of an animal on his back, and Buck could see thick hair all over his body.

Buck sat by the fire with this hairy man, and in the circling darkness beyond the fire he could see many eyes—the eyes of hungry animals waiting to attack. And he growled softly in his dream until the Indian cook shouted, 'Hey, Buck, wake up!' Then the strange world disappeared and Buck's eyes saw the real fire again.

When they reached Dawson, the dogs were tired, and needed a week's rest. But in two days they were moving south again, with another heavy load of letters. Both dogs and men were unhappy. It snowed every day as well, and on soft new snow it was harder work pulling the sledges.

The men took good care of their dogs. In the evenings, the dogs ate first, the men second, and they always checked the dogs' feet before they slept. But every day the dogs became weaker. Buck had pulled sledges for three thousand kilometres that winter, and he was as tired as the others.

But Dave was not only tired; he was ill. Every evening he lay down the minute after the sledge stopped, and did not stand up until morning. The men looked at him, but they could find no broken bones. Something was wrong inside.

One day he started to fall down while in his harness. The sledge stopped, and the driver took him out of his harness. He wanted to give him a rest, and let him run free behind the sledge. But Dave did not want to stop working. He hated to see another dog doing his work, so he ran along beside the sledge, trying to push Sol-leks out of his place. When the sledge made its next stop, Dave bit through Sol-leks' harness and pushed him away. Then he stood there, in his old place in front of the sledge, waiting for his harness and the order to start pulling.

The driver decided it was kinder to let him work. Dave pulled all day, but the next morning he was too weak to move. The driver harnessed up without Dave, and drove a few hundred metres. Then he stopped, took his gun, and walked back. The dogs heard a shot, and then the man came quickly back. The sledge started to move again; but Buck knew, and every dog knew, what had happened.

bite n. wound made by a bite. 咬伤。

lead-dog n. 头犬；领头的狗。

show v. point out, indicate. 指出，告知。

in front of in position further forward than but close to sb./sth.. 在……前方。

take off remove sth. from. 把某物拿掉。

put down set down sth.. 放下某物。

excellent adj. of very high quality. 优秀的；杰出的。

worth adj. having a certain value. 有某种价值的。

temperature n. degree of heat or cold. 温度。

load v. put a load in 装载；负荷。

by the fire 在火炉旁；在火旁。

parents n. father and mother. 父母亲。

Indian n. American Indian. 印第安人。

be frightened of be afraid of. 对……感到害怕。

all the time continuously. 一直；向来；一向。

take good care of look after. 细心照看。

check (up) v. make sure of sth. by examining. 印证；核对；检查。

as... as conj. in or to the same degree in which. 与……等同，达到与……相同的程度。

not only 不仅。

fall down to come down from a standing position. 摔跤。

push away 推开。

4　新的头犬

“喏，我说什么来着？巴克是员真正的战将，棒极了。”第二天当弗朗索瓦斯发现不见了斯皮兹，而巴克遍身是血时说道。

“斯皮兹打起架来真像狼一样狠。”佩罗说，一边察看着巴克身上的伤痕。

“巴克抵得上10匹狼。”弗朗索瓦斯回答说，“我们可以走得快些了。斯皮兹不在了，麻烦也没有了。”

弗朗索瓦斯开始给狗套挽具。他需要一条新的头犬，并觉得索拉克斯最合适不过了。但是巴克却扑向索拉克斯，抢了他的位子。

“瞧巴克！”弗朗索瓦斯说，笑了起来。“他杀了斯皮兹，现在他又想成为头犬了。一边去，巴克！”

他拉开巴克，想再次套上索拉克斯。索拉克斯也不高兴，因为他害怕巴克，所以弗朗索瓦斯刚一转身，巴克又站到了索拉克斯的位置上。这下子弗朗索瓦斯可动了气。

“我得教训教训你！”他嚷着，从雪橇上取了一根沉重的木棍。

巴克记起了那个穿红外套的男人，躲开了。这一次，当索拉克斯被套在头犬的位置时，巴克没有动。他保持着几米远的距离，小心地绕着弗朗索瓦斯打转。而当弗朗索瓦斯叫他站到戴夫前的老位子时，巴克拒绝了。他已经战胜了斯皮兹，他想成为头犬。

两个人忙乎了一个小时试图套住他，但巴克虽不逃跑却不让他们抓住他。最后，弗朗索瓦斯坐下来，佩罗看了看表，天色已经晚了，两个人互相瞅着，笑了。弗朗索瓦斯解下索拉克斯身上的挽具，把他牵回去套在原来的位置上。然后他招呼巴克。所有的狗都套好了，只有前面有一个空位子，但巴克还是不动。

“放下棍子。”佩罗说。

弗朗索瓦斯扔掉了棍子，立刻巴克就蹿到了队伍前面。弗朗索瓦斯套好他，不一会儿，雪橇就前进了。

巴克是个优秀的领队，他拉得很快而且反应敏捷，把别的狗也领导得很好。对戴夫和索拉克斯来说，新的领队对他们来说没有什么不同，他们仍然很卖力地拉着。但其余的狗在斯皮兹做领队时不卖力气，现在却惊奇地发现巴克迫使他们卖力工作，而一旦犯错就会受到惩罚。跑在第二位的狗派克总是偷懒。当第一天的工作结束时，他感觉在他整整一生里都没这么卖力气地拉过雪橇。宿营的第一个晚上，巴克对付了另一条总惹事的狗——乔。自此，他再也没找过麻烦。整个狗队齐心合力拉雪橇，越跑越快。

“我可真的从来没见过巴克这样的狗！”弗朗索瓦斯叫道，“从来没有！他能值1000美元。你说呢，佩罗？”

佩罗也同意这一说法。他们行进得很快，每天走的路程都比预期的多。雪地又平又结实，没有新雪落下来。气温恒定在零下45°。

“30里河”上的冰层结得更厚了，他们只花了一天时间就过去了。有一阵他们一天跑100公里，甚至更多。最后只用了14天就到了斯开格威；这是最快的速度了。

狗在斯开格威休整了3天。然后弗朗索瓦斯搂着巴克的脖子和他说再见。这是巴克最后见到佩罗和弗朗索瓦斯了。像别人一样，他们从巴克的生活中永远地消失了。

另外两个人接手了巴克和他的队伍，同别的狗队一起再度奔赴北去道桑的漫长旅途。任重而道远，雪橇上载满了给在道桑寻找金矿的人的信件。巴克并不喜欢这份差事，但他非常努力地工作，带着别的狗一起卖力。日复一日，他们披星戴月，起早贪黑。对于狗来说，晚上停下来安营喂饱肚子是一天中最美好的时光，先吃饭，再靠到火边休息。

巴克喜欢躺在火边，注视着燃烧的木柴。有时他会想起米勒先生在加利福尼亚的屋子，但他回忆中更多的是那个穿红外套的男人和他手里的棍子、科莉的惨死、同斯皮兹的恶战以及他所品尝过的美味；但有时他会记起别的事情，这些则来自他的父母，他父母的父母，以及他所有的祖先。

有时候他躺在那儿，在清醒的遐想中似乎看到了另一堆火焰。他看见身边并不是那个印第安厨子而是另一个人。那个人腿短而臂长，深目长发，喉咙中发出古怪的声音。他非常惧怕黑暗，手里握着一块沉重的石头，左顾右盼。他的背上裹着兽皮，巴克可以看到他周身浓密的毛发。

巴克同这个毛人坐在火边，在火周围的光晕里他看到许多双眼睛，那是饥饿的动物伺机捕食的眼睛。他在梦中低低地咆哮着，直到那印第安厨子喊道：“嘿，巴克，起来！”然后奇异的世界消失了，他目之所及的还是真实的火焰。

他们到达道桑时，狗已经疲惫不堪了，需要一周的休整。但是两天后，他们又拉上沉重的邮包奔赴南方了。狗和人都不痛快。雪没日没夜地下着，在轻软的新雪上拉雪橇非常辛苦。

人们精心照看着他们的狗。晚上，狗先吃饭而人在其次。睡觉前他们总是查看狗的脚。但是每一天，狗群都越来越虚弱。那个冬天，巴克拉着雪橇赶了3000公里路。他同别的狗一样，疲惫到了极点。

戴夫不但疲惫而且生了病。每天晚上，雪橇一停下来，他就瘫倒在地，直到第二天早上才站起来。人们检查了他的身体，没有发现骨折的迹象。它受了内伤。

一天，当他开始在挽具里跌倒时，雪橇停了下来，驾雪橇的人解下他的挽具想让他休息一下，让他空身跑在雪橇后面。但戴夫不愿意停止工作，看到别的狗做他的工作他恨极了。所以他在雪橇一侧跟着奔跑，试图把索拉克斯从他的位子上推开。当雪橇再度停下来时，戴夫咬住索拉克斯身上的挽具把他推开，然后他就站在那儿，在雪橇前面他的老位子上，等着套上挽具和拉车的命令。

驾雪橇的人觉得最好还是让他工作。戴夫拉了一天的车。但第二天早上他虚弱得无法动弹。撇下戴夫，驾雪橇的人套上雪橇走了几百米。然后他停了下来，拿起枪走了回去。狗们听见一声枪响，然后那人很快折了回来，雪橇又前进了。但是巴克知道，每条狗都知道发生了什么事情。

5

More hard work

Thirty days after leaving Dawson City, the team arrived back in Skagway. They were very, very tired. Buck now weighed only fifty kilograms, and the other dogs were also very thin.

They were not ill; they just needed a long, long rest. But at Skagway there were mountains of letters waiting to go north, so the men had to buy new, strong dogs. The old ones, now useless for work, were sold.

Two American men, called Hal and Charles, bought Buck and his team, together with the harness. Charles was forty years old, with light hair and watery blue eyes. Hal was a young man of twenty with a big shiny gun and a big knife in his belt. These things, more than anything, showed how young he was. Both men were clearly new to the north, and its hard and dangerous life.

They took the dogs back to their untidy camp, where a woman was waiting. This was Mercedes—Charles's wife and Hal's sister.

Buck watched the men take down the tent and load all their luggage on the sledge. They didn't know how to do it sensibly, and every time they put something on the sledge, Mercedes moved it. Often they had to take things off the sledge and start again.

Three men came up and watched, laughing.

'You've got a heavy load on that sledge,' said one of them. 'Why don't you leave the tent here in Skagway?'

'How could we live without a tent?' asked Mercedes, throwing up her hands in the air.

'It's spring now. You won't have any more cold weather.'

'I must have a tent,' she answered, and helped Charles and Hal with the last few boxes.

'Do you think that load will stay on?' asked another man.

'Why shouldn't it?' asked Charles.

'Well, it's a bit heavy on top. Do you think your dogs will be able to pull that?'

'Of course they will,' said Hal. The sledge was now ready to go. 'Come on, dogs, pull!' he shouted.

The dogs pulled as hard as they could, but the sledge did not move.

'The lazy animals!' shouted Hal, picking up his whip.

But Mercedes stopped him. 'Oh, Hal, you mustn't,' she cried, pulling the whip away from him. 'The poor dogs. You must promise to be nice to them or I'm staying here!'

'You know nothing about dogs,' answered Hal. 'Leave me alone. Dogs are lazy, and you have to whip them. Everybody knows that. Ask those men if you don't believe me.'

Mercedes turned and looked at the watching men.

'They're tired, if you really want to know,' said one of them. 'They've been working very hard and they need a rest?'

'Rest?' laughed Hal. 'These stupid dogs are just lazy.'

Now Mercedes decided that her brother was right. 'Don't listen to that man,' she said. 'You're driving our dogs and you do what you think is best.'

Now Hal used his whip on the dogs. They pulled and pulled, but the sledge stayed where it was. Hal was still using his whip when Mercedes stopped him again and put her arms around Buck.

'You poor, poor dears,' she said. 'Why don't you pull hard? —then nobody will whip you.'

One of the men watching now spoke again. 'I don't care what happens to you,' he said, 'but I'm sorry for the dogs. The sledge is frozen to the snow, and you'll have to break it out. Push it from one side to the other to break the ice.'

Hal tried again, but this time he broke the ice under the sledge. The heavy sledge started to move slowly, Buck and his team pulling hard under the whip. After a hundred metres they had to turn into another street. It was a difficult turn with a top-heavy load, and Hal was not a good driver. As they turned, the sledge went over onto its side, throwing boxes and packets into the street. The dogs didn't stop. The sledge was not so heavy now and they pulled it easily on its side. The whip had made them angry and they started to run. Hal cried. 'Stop!' but the dogs continued through Skagway, and the rest of the luggage fell off as they ran.

People helped to catch the dogs and to pick up all the things from the street. They also told the men that if they wanted to reach Dawson, they needed twice as many dogs and half as much luggage. Hal and Charles went back to the camp and started to look at the luggage and throw things away. Tent, blankets and plates were taken out. Mercedes cried when most of her clothes went. When they had finished, Mercedes was still crying, there was a lot of luggage on the road, and there was still a lot to go on the sledge.

Then Charles and Hal went out and bought six more dogs, so they now had fourteen. But the new dogs were not real sledge-dogs and they knew nothing about the work. Charles and Hal put them into harness, but Buck could not teach them how to pull a sledge. So now there were six dogs who couldn't pull at all, and eight who were tired after pulling for four thousand kilometres. But Charles and Hal were happy. They had more dogs than any sledge that they had seen at Skagway. They didn't know that no sledge could carry enough food for fourteen dogs.

The next morning Buck led the team up the street. They moved slowly, because they were tired before they started. Buck had pulled to Dawson and back twice, and he didn't want to do it again. He had watched Hal and Charles and Mercedes and he saw that they didn't know how to do anything. And, as the days passed, he saw that they could not learn. It took them half the evening to get everything ready for the night; and it took them half the morning to get ready to leave. And when they did start, they often had to stop because something had fallen off the sledge. On some days they travelled twenty kilometres and on some days only ten.

They didn't have enough dog food when they started, and they used what they had much too quickly. Hal gave the dogs extra food because he wanted them to pull harder. Mercedes gave them extra food because she was sorry for them. But it was not food that they wanted, but rest.

Soon Hal saw that they had travelled only a quarter of the way to Dawson, but had eaten half their food. He had to give the dogs less food. It was easy to give them less food, but it was impossible to make them travel faster.

Dub had pulled hard and well all the way from Skagway, but he had hurt his leg. It got worse and worse until finally Hal had to shoot him. The six new dogs, now weak and ill from hunger and hard work, died next.

Hal, Charles, and Mercedes had started the journey happily; but now they were tired, cross and miserable. Charles and Hal argued about everything, because each thought that he was working harder than the other. And Mercedes was unhappy because she thought that she shouldn't have to work. She was tired, so she rode on the sledge, making the work even harder for the dogs. She rode for days, until the dogs could not move the sledge. The men asked her to walk, but she would not leave the sledge. One day they lifted her off. She sat in the snow and did not move. They went off with the sledge and travelled five kilometres. Then they turned, went back, and lifted her on again.

Buck and the other dogs were now just skin and bone. They pulled when they could, and when they couldn't they lay down in the snow. When they were whipped, they stood up and tried to pull again.

One day Billee fell and could not stand up. Hal killed him and threw him into the snow. Buck and the other dogs knew that soon they were going to die, too. On the next day Koona died, and there were only five dogs left: Joe, Pike, Sol-leks the one-eyed, Teek, and Buck.

It was beautiful spring weather. The snow and ice were melting, the plants were growing, and the forest animals were waking from their winter sleep. It was a lovely morning when the two men, and the five dogs pulling Mercedes on the sledge, came into John Thornton's camp at White River. They stopped, and the dogs dropped down immediately to rest.

John Thornton was mending an axe, and he went on working as he talked to Hal.

'Is it safe to cross the river here?' asked Hal.

'No, the ice is too thin. It's much too dangerous,' answered Thornton.

'People have told us that before,' laughed Hal, 'but we got here with no problems.'

'Only somebody very stupid would cross the White River here,' said Thornton.

'That's what you think,' said Hal. 'But we've got to get to Dawson.' He picked up his whip. 'Come on, Buck! Get up now! Let's go!'

Thornton went on working. He had warned them, but he knew he couldn't stop these stupid men from going on.

But Buck didn't get up. Sol-leks stood up slowly, then Teek and Joe, and finally Pike. But Buck stayed where he was. The whip came down on him again and again. Thornton started to speak, then stopped, and began to walk up and down.

Hal now put down his whip and started to hit Buck with a club. But Buck had decided not to get up. He had felt thin ice under his feet all day and he saw thin ice in front of him. The club hit him again and again, but Buck felt almost nothing.

Then suddenly, with a wild cry, John Thornton jumped on Hal, throwing him backwards. Mercedes screamed.

'If you hit that dog again, I'll kill you,' Thornton shouted.

'He's my dog,' Hal replied. There was blood on his face. 'Get out of my way, or I'll hit you, too. I'm going to Dawson.'

Thornton stood between Hal and Buck and did not move. Hal took out his long knife, but Thornton knocked it out of his hand. Mercedes screamed again. Then Thornton picked up Hal's knife and cut Buck out of the harness.

Hal didn't want to fight, and Buck was not worth fighting for; he was nearly dead. Hal started the sledge and went down towards the river. Buck lifted his head and watched the sledge move away. Pike was leading, and Joe, Teek and Sol-leks were behind him. Hal was walking in front of the sledge and Mercedes was riding on it; Charles was walking behind.

As Buck watched, Thornton felt his body with gentle hands, searching for broken bones. Buck was very thin, very tired and very weak, but Thornton didn't think he was going to die. Then both dog and man watched the sledge as it went slowly out on to the ice in the middle of the river. Suddenly the back of the sledge went down and the front went up into the air. Mercedes screamed, and Charles turned and took one step back. Then a big piece of ice broke off, and dogs, sledge and people disappeared; there was only a big hole in the ice. John Thornton and Buck looked at one another.

'You poor thing,' said John Thornton, and Buck licked his hand.

thin adj. not having much flesh. 肉少的，瘦的。

together with as well as; along with 同……一起；连同。

dangerous adj. able to or likely to cause danger. 有危险的；危险的。

sensibly adv. in a sensible way 有识别力地；合情理地。

spring n. 春天。

stay on remain in position on top of sth.. 留在某物上面。

pick up lift sth.. 举起或抬起（某物）。

lazy adj. unwilling to work 不愿工作的；懒惰的。

tired adj. like to sleep or rest. 困倦的；疲倦的。

listen to (sb.) allow oneself to be persuaded by sth.. 听从，听信。

be sorry for full of shame and regret. 惭愧；表示歉意。

break v. to separate into parts suddenly. 打碎。

turn n. corner in a road （道路）转弯处。

luggage n. bags and suitcase, etc. 行李。

blanket n. a thick woolen covering. 毛毯。

get... ready prepare. 做好准备。

extra adj. more than what is usual, expected; additional. 额外的；附加的。

be impossible to do cannot be done. 不可能做到。

move v. change position. 改变位置。

melt v. become liquid through heating. （使某物）融化。

mend v. repair. 修理；修补（某物）。

cross the river go across the river. 横穿。

get up stand after sitting. 站起；起来。

go on doing sth. continue without changing. 继续下去而无变化。

warn v. give sb. notice of sth.. 提醒某人；警告。

stop... from... prevent sb. from doing sth.. 阻止某人做某事。

backwards adv. towards the back 向后。

scream v. give a long cry of fear, pain or excitement. 尖声喊叫；喊叫；喊出。

be worth doing likly to give a rewarding return for. 值得（做某事）。

ride on sit on 骑着。

search for exam carefully in order to find. 搜查；细查。

in the middle of the central part of. 在……当中。

5　更艰苦的工作

离开道桑镇30天后，队伍回到了斯开格威。他们筋疲力尽。巴克瘦得只剩下50公斤，别的狗也是瘦骨伶仃。

他们并没有生病，只是需要一次长长的休息。但是在斯开格威还有堆积如山的信件等着运到北方。所以人们买了更强壮的狗，以前的狗因为对工作没有用，被卖掉了。

两个美国人，哈尔和查尔斯，连同挽具买下了巴克和他的队伍。查尔斯大约40岁左右，浅色的头发，有一双水汪汪的蓝眼睛。哈尔20岁上下，皮带上别着一把闪光的大枪和一把大刀。这两样东西比任何东西都能显示他的幼稚。这两个人显然对北方和它艰苦危险的生活茫然无知。

他们把狗带回凌乱的帐篷，有一个女人正等在那里。她是查尔斯的妻子，哈尔的姐姐，叫玛尔赛蒂。

巴克冷眼瞧着他们拆掉帐篷，把所有的东西都放到雪橇上。他们不懂得如何把东西有条理地安置好。而且更糟的是，每一次他们刚把东西放到雪橇上，玛尔赛蒂就动手移开它。所以他们常常不得不把东西搬下来重新开始。

三个男人走上前看到这情景，笑了起来。

“你们放在雪橇上的东西太沉了，”其中一个人说道，“你们干嘛不把帐篷留在斯开格威？”

“没有帐篷我们怎么安顿呢？”玛尔赛蒂问道，向空中伸出双手。

“春天来了，天气不会再冷啦。”

“我可不能没有帐篷。”她答道，并帮着查尔斯和哈尔搬着最后几只箱子。

“你那些东西装的不太稳当吧？”另一个人问。

“怎么不稳当啦？”查尔斯问。

“哦，顶头太重了。你想你的狗拉这么多东西吃得消吗？”

“他们当然拉得动。”哈尔说。雪橇已经准备起程。“来，狗，拉车！”他喊道。

狗使出全身的力气拉，但雪橇纹丝未动。

“懒东西！”哈尔叫着，抡起了鞭子。

然尔玛尔赛蒂制止了他，“哦，哈尔，别这样！”她喊叫道，夺过鞭子。“可怜的狗。你必须发誓会善待他们，不然我就待在这儿不走了。”

“你懂什么，”哈尔回答，“别管我。狗都是犯懒的，你必须鞭打它们。这道理人人皆知，不信你问问那些人。”

玛尔赛蒂转身去看围观的人。

“他们太累了，如果你真想知道答案的话，”一个人说，“他们干得太辛苦了，着实需要休息一下。”

“休息？”哈尔笑道，“这些蠢狗只是犯懒。”

现在玛尔赛蒂认为她弟弟是对的。“别听那人的，”她说，“你驾驭我们的狗，你觉得怎么好就怎么办。”

于是哈尔对狗抡起了鞭子。他们拉呀拉呀，但是雪橇仍然原地不动。正当哈尔抽打狗的时候，玛尔赛蒂又制止了他，然后她用双臂搂住巴克。

“你这可怜的，可怜的宝贝，”她说，“你为什么不使劲拉呢——这样没有人会打你了。”

其中一个观望的人又说话了，“我可不愿管你们，”他说，“但我觉得这些狗太可怜了。雪橇冻到雪地上了，你们必须先破冰，从一边向另一边推雪橇可以破冰。”

哈尔又试了一次，这一次他终于把雪橇下的冰弄破了，沉重的雪橇慢慢地开始移动。巴克和他的队伍艰难地在鞭打下拉着雪橇，100米之后他们不得不拐到另一条街上去。拉着头重脚轻的雪橇是很难转弯的，何况哈尔又不是个赶雪橇的好手。转弯时，雪橇向一边倾斜，把一些包裹和箱子扔到了街上，但狗并未停住脚。雪橇此时不再那么沉重，他们拉起来容易多了。鞭笞激怒了他们，他们开始奔跑。哈尔叫着“停下”，但狗却继续在斯开格威跑着，其余的行李也随着他们的奔跑纷纷掉下来。

人们帮着拉住狗，捡起街上掉落的行李。他们还告诉这些人如果他们想到达道桑，他们需要多一倍的狗，而行李必须减半。哈尔和查尔斯返回营地，开始检查行李，扔掉多余的东西。帐篷、毯子和碟子被拿了下来。玛尔赛蒂哭喊起来，她大部分衣服也被扔掉了。最后他们结束时，玛尔赛蒂仍然在哭泣。路上扔着许多行李，而雪橇上的东西仍然太多。

然后查尔斯和哈尔又去买了6条狗，现在他们有14条狗了。但是这些新狗并不是真正的拉雪橇的狗，他们不知道如何工作。查尔斯和哈尔给他们套上挽具，但巴克却无法教他们如何拉雪橇。于是有了6条根本不会拉雪橇的狗，和8条在跋涉了4000公里之后筋疲力尽的狗。但查尔斯和哈尔很高兴，他们的狗比斯开格威任何一架雪橇上的狗都多。他们根本不知道没有一架雪橇可以负载14条狗的食物。

第二天早上，巴克带领狗队沿街出发了。他们走得很慢，因为在旅途开始前他们就很疲惫了。巴克已经从道桑来回往返了两次，他不想再跑了。他观察了查尔斯、哈尔和玛尔赛蒂，他看出他们对所有的事情都手足无措。而且，随着时间一天天过去，他发现他们什么也学不会。他们花掉半个夜晚准备晚上的休息；然后又花半个上午的时间才准备停当起程。而真正起程后，他们经常不得不停下来，因为有些东西从雪橇上滑落下来，有一阵子他们每天只走20公里，有时只走10公里。

他们起程时就没有足够的狗食。现在他们的给养用得太快了。哈尔给狗加餐因为他想让他们更加卖力地拉雪橇。玛尔赛蒂也总是多给狗食物，因为她可怜他们。但是他们需要的不是食物，而是休息。

很快，哈尔发现他们只走了去道桑的四分之一的路，却吃掉了一半的食物，他不得不减少给狗的食物。少给狗食物容易办到，但是却无法让他们跑快。

达布在离开斯开格威的一路上都拉得很卖力，但是他的腿受了伤。他的腿伤越来越厉害，直到最后哈尔不得不杀了他。那6条新狗，由于饥饿和辛苦而病弱不堪，很快就死掉了。

哈尔、查尔斯和玛尔赛蒂开始旅行时高高兴兴，但现在他们疲惫、暴躁又沮丧。查尔斯和哈尔为每件事都争吵不休，每个人都自以为比别人干的活儿多。玛尔赛蒂也不高兴，因为她觉得她不应该工作。她很累，所以就坐到雪橇上，这使狗的工作更加艰难。她一直坐着直到狗拉不动雪橇了。男人们请求她走路，但她不肯离开雪橇。一天，他们把她抬了下来，她坐到雪地上不肯起来，他们扔下她走了五公里，然后又返回去捎上了她。

巴克和其余的狗都已瘦得皮包骨头了。他们能拉雪橇时就拉，拉不动时就倒在雪地上，当鞭子抽打下来时，就再站起来吃力地拉雪橇。

一天，贝利倒下去再也没有站起来。哈尔杀了他之后把他抛在了雪地上。巴克和别的狗都意识到他们很快也要死去。第二天，科娜也死了，现在只剩下五条狗：乔、派克、独眼索拉克斯、蒂克还有巴克。

美丽的春天终于来了，冰雪消融，万物复苏。在一个可爱的早晨，两个人和五条狗拉着雪橇上的玛尔赛蒂，抵达了白河河畔，约翰·桑顿的营地。他们刚停下来，狗立刻瘫倒在地休息。

约翰·桑顿正在修理一把斧子，他一边同哈尔聊天一边干活儿。

“现在过河安全吗？”哈尔问道。

“不行，冰太薄了，非常危险。”桑顿回答。

“人们老早就告诉过我们这个，”哈尔笑道，“但是我们平安到了这里。”

“只有愚蠢的人才会从这儿过白河。”桑顿说。

“也就你这么想吧，”哈尔说，“但我们无论如何是要到道桑去的。”他拾起鞭子。“来，巴克！现在起来！我们走！”

桑顿继续他的工作。他已经警告过他们，但是他知道他无法阻止这些愚蠢的人。

但是巴克却没有起来，索拉克斯慢腾腾地爬起来，然后是蒂克和乔，最后是派克。只有巴克没挪身子，鞭子一次又一次抽到他的身上。桑顿想说什么，又忍住了，然后他开始走来走去。

哈尔放下鞭子开始用木棍打巴克。但是巴克铁了心不再站起来。整整一天他感到脚下都是稀薄的冰，现在他看到那不堪重负的冰层就在面前。木棍劈头盖脸砸下来，而巴克却几乎全无知觉。

突然，伴着一声狂吼，约翰·桑顿扑向哈尔，把他向后撞去。玛尔赛蒂尖叫起来。

“如果你再动那狗一下，我就宰了你。”桑顿怒喊着。

“他是我的狗。”哈尔回答说，他的脸上沾着鲜血。“别碍我的事儿，否则我连你一块揍，我要去道桑。”

桑顿站在哈尔和巴克中间一动未动。哈尔抽出了他的长刀，但是桑顿把它打落了。玛尔赛蒂又尖叫起来，然后桑顿拾起哈尔的长刀，劈开巴克身上的挽具。

哈尔并不想打架，何况为巴克也不值得去打架，他已经奄奄一息了。哈尔驾着雪橇向河驶去。巴克抬起头望着移动的雪橇。派克打头，乔、蒂克和索拉克斯跟在他后面。哈尔走在雪橇前面，玛尔赛蒂坐在雪橇上，查尔斯随后。

巴克看着他们，桑顿则用手轻轻抚摸着他的身体，寻找着破碎的骨头。巴克虽然瘦骨嶙峋，疲惫不堪，但桑顿觉得他并不会死去。人和狗一起注视着雪橇缓缓地行到河中央。突然雪橇的后部陷了下去，前部向空中翘起。玛尔赛蒂尖叫起来，查尔斯转身刚后退了一步，一大块冰破裂了，雪橇、狗还有人一起没了踪影，冰面上只留下了一个大洞。

约翰·桑顿和巴克互相对视着。

“你这可怜的家伙，”约翰·桑顿说，巴克舔着他的手。

6

For the love of a man

John Thornton had been ill in December, and his two friends had had to leave him at White River and go on to Dawson. They left him in the camp with plenty of food, and with his two dogs, Skeet and Blackie. Now the spring had come, and he was almost well. He lay in the sun by the river with Buck, watching the water and listening to the birds, slowly getting stronger and stronger.

A rest is very welcome after running five thousand kilomeres, and Buck slowly got fatter and stronger. It was a peaceful, lazy time for both man and dogs while they waited for Thornton's friends to return from Dawson.

Skeet made friends with Buck immediately, and while Buck was still very ill, every morning she washed his cuts carefully with her tongue. Blackie, too, was friendly, and as Buck grew stronger, the three dogs often played games together. Sometimes Thornton joined the games too.

The days passed very happily, and for the first time, Buck learned to love. He had never loved a man before. He and Mr Miller in the Santa Clara valley had been very good friends, but Buck had not loved him. John Thornton had saved his life, but he was also a man who was naturally kind to animals. He took very good care of his dogs, not because it was sensible to do that, but because he felt they were his children. He was always talking to Buck, holding his head and shaking it lovingly. In answer, Buck liked to take Thornton's hand gently in his mouth.

Buck was happy to lie on the ground all day and watch Thornton. And when Thornton spoke to him or touched him, Buck went wild with happiness. At first, he was afraid that Thornton was going to disappear, like Perrault and Francois, and at night he sometimes woke up and went to the tent to make sure that he was still there.

But something was changing in Buck. He had lived in the north a long time now, and he was almost a wild dog. He was happy to sit by Thornton's fire, but he sat as a wild animal, and his dreams were filled with other animals—dogs, half-wolves, and wild wolves. They seemed to call him into the forest, and sometimes Buck wanted to leave the fire and answer the call. But every time he went into the trees, his love for Thornton brought him back.

It was only Thornton who stopped him going into the forest. Other men did not interest him. Visitors to the camp tried to make friends with him, but Buck stayed cold. When Thornton's two friends, Hans and Pete, arrived from Dawson, Buck refused to notice them at first. Then he saw that they were friends of Thornton's and after that he accepted them; but they were not his friends. They were, like Thornton, kind men, and they understood that Buck loved Thornton, and him alone.

Thornton, too, understood Buck. One day, Buck and the three men were sitting on some high rocks, a hundred metres above the river. Thornton wondered if Buck would obey any order, even a crazy one. 'Jump, Buck!' he shouted, pointing down to the river. A second later the three men were holding Buck back as he tried to jump.

'That was very strange,' said Pete, when they had sat down again.

'Not strange; wonderful,' said Thornton. 'Terrible, too. Sometimes it frightens me.'

'Yes. I feel sorry for any man who hits you when Buck's near,' said Pete.

'So do I,' said Hans.

It happened in the autumn in Circle City. A man called Burton was starting a fight with another man in a bar. Thornton stepped between them to try to stop them. Buck was, as usual, lying in the corner watching. Burton hit Thornton and he nearly fell, just catching a table. Buck flew through the air at Burton's throat. Burton saved his life by putting up his arm, and was thrown on to the ground, with Buck on top of him. Buck took his teeth out of the man's arm and this time bit into his throat. Then a crowd of people pulled Buck off, and a doctor was called. Everyone agreed that Buck had only attacked because he saw Thornton in danger, and from that day Buck's name became famous all over the north.

Later that year, Buck saved Thornton in a different way. The three men were taking a boat down a fast and rocky river. Thornton was in the boat, while Hans and Pete moved along the river bank, holding the boat with a rope. Buck followed them, keeping a worried eye on Thornton.

They came to a more dangerous part of the river, and the boat started to go too quickly. Hans pulled on the rope to stop it, and pulled too hard. The boat turned over, and Thornton was thrown into the water and carried down river towards rocks where no swimmer could live.

Buck jumped in immediately and swam three hundred metres until he reached Thornton. Then he turned, and with Thornton holding his tail, Buck swam towards the river bank. But they moved slowly, and all the time the river was carrying them towards the place where the water crashed twenty metres down onto rocks. Thornton knew that they would not get to the bank quickly enough, so he let go of Buck, held on to a rock in the middle of the water, and shouted, 'Go, Buck, go!'

Buck swam as hard as he could to the bank, and Pete and Hans pulled him out.

It was hard for Thornton to hold on to his rock in that wild water, and his friends knew they had only a few minutes to save him. They tied their rope round Buck, who at once jumped into the river and tried to swim to Thornton. The first time, the water took him past the rock, and Pete and Hans had to pull him back. The second time, he swam higher up the river, and the water brought him down to Thornton. Thornton held on to Buck, and Hans and Pete pulled the rope as hard as they could. Man and dog disappeared under the water, banging into rocks, turning over and over, sometimes with Buck on top, sometimes Thornton. When Hans and Pete finally pulled them out, both seemed more dead than alive. But after a while their eyes opened and life returned.

That winter, at Dawson, Buck did something that made him even more famous in the north. It was also very helpful to the three men. They wanted to make a journey to look for gold in the east, and they needed money. They were in a bar one day when some of the men started to talk about dogs. One man said that he had a dog who was strong enough to pull a sledge with two hundred kilos on it. Another said his dog could pull two hundred and fifty. A third man, called Matthewson, said his dog could pull three hundred kilos.

'That's nothing,' said Thornton. 'Buck can pull three hundred and fifty.'

'Can he break the sledge out when it's frozen to the ice and then start it moving? And pull it a hundred metres?' asked Matthewson.

'He can break it out, and start it, and pull it a hundred metres,' said Thornton.

'Well,' said Matthewson, speaking slowly and loudly. 'I've got a thousand dollars here, and I say he can't.' As he spoke, he took a bag of gold and put it down on the table.

Suddenly Thornton was worried. He knew Buck was strong, but was he strong enough? Now ten men were watching him and waiting. He didn't have a thousand dollars, and neither did Hans or Pete.

'I've got a sledge outside with three hundred and fifty kilos on it,' said Matthewson. 'So it's easy if you want to try.'

Thornton didn't know what to say. He looked at the other men in the bar. One of them was an old friend, Jim O'Brien.

'Can you lend me a thousand dollars, Jim?' he asked softly.

'Sure,' said O'Brien, putting another bag of gold next to Matthewson's. 'But I don't think the dog can do it, John.'

Everybody went out into the street. There were two or three hundred men around Matthewson's sledge. The sledge had been outside the bar for two hours, and it was frozen to the ice, in a temperature of 50° below zero. Most of the men thought that Buck was not strong enough, and Matthewson smiled happily.

'Shall we make it two thousand dollars?' he asked.

Thornton, Hans and Pete talked for a minute. They had only four hundred dollars, but they added this to O' Brien's thousand. Matthewson, very sure of winning, also put down another four hundred dollars.

Matthewson's ten dogs were taken away, and Buck, who could feel the excitement in the air, was harnessed to the sledge. Buck was, without question, a very fine animal─bright-eyed, intelligent, his thick coat shining with health. And he looked as strong as a horse.

One man went up to Thornton. 'I'll buy him now,' he said. 'I'll give you eight hundred dollars for him.'

Thornton shook his head and sat down on the snow next to Buck. He held Buck's head in his hands and spoke softly into his ear. 'If you love me, Buck, If you love me.'

Buck took Thornton's hand between his teeth, then let go, and Thornton stood up and stepped back.

'Ready, Buck,' he said.

Buck pulled on the harness a little, getting ready.

'Right!' cried Thornton.

Buck pulled to the right, hard, stopped suddenly, and the ice under the sledge began to break.

'Now, left!' called Thornton, and Buck pulled to the left, breaking more of the ice.

'Now, pull!'

Buck threw himself against his harness, and pulled. He held his body low to the ground, his head down and forward, and his feet dug into the hard snow. Harder and harder he pulled. Suddenly, the sledge moved a centimetre... two... three... and, little by little, it started to go forward across the snow. With each second it went a little faster, and Thornton ran behind, calling to Buck as he pulled the sledge towards the end of the hundred metres. The watching men were shouting and throwing their hats in the air; Buck had won.

Then Thornton was on the snow next to Buck again, talking to him, and Buck had Thornton's hand in his teeth.

plenty (of) pron. number or amount that is more than sb. needs. 充裕；大量。

lie in the sun 躺在太阳底下。

be welcome receive sb. hospitably. 使某人感到受欢迎；款待某人。

peaceful adj. quiet, calm. 安静的；安宁的；宁静的。

sensible adj. reasonable. 合情理的。

gently adv. in a gentle manner. 温和地；文雅地；轻轻地。

touch v. strike lightly. 轻触；轻碰。

wild adj. exciting and enjoyable 必奋的，非常激动的。

fill v. block. 填塞。

interest v. cause sb. to be concerned about sth.. 使某人关心或感兴趣。

above adv. overhead. 在较高处，在头顶上方。

famous adj. known to many people. 出名的；著名的。

save v. keep sb./sth. safe. 拯救；保全。

turn sth. over turn to face in another direction. 翻身；翻转。

immediately adv. at once. 立刻；毫不耽搁。

alive adj. not dead. 活着的；活的。

after a while after a periold of time. 一段时间后。

kilo n. 公斤；千克。

loudly adv. 大声地。

lend v. give or allow the use of sth. on the understanding that it will be returned. 将某物借与（某人）。

for a minute 一小会儿。

pull on (sth.) to draw with force. 拉某物。

little by little gradually. 一点儿一点儿地。

6　为了一个人的爱

约翰·桑顿在12月份时生了病，他的两个朋友不得不把他独自留在白河然后去了道桑。他们把他留在营地，备下大量食物和两条狗，斯开特和布莱吉。如今春天来了，他几乎康复了。他和巴克一同躺在河边晒太阳，看着流水潺潺，聆听着鸟声啾啾，慢慢地强壮了起来。

对巴克来说，在奔波了5000公里之后，休息是最快意的事情了，他逐渐恢复了强壮，长胖了许多。在等待桑顿的朋友从道桑回来的日子，对人和狗来说，是一段宁静慵懒的时光。

斯开特立刻同巴克成了朋友。当巴克仍然非常虚弱的时候，每天早晨她都用舌头舔净他的伤口。布莱吉也很友好。在巴克越来越健壮之后，三条狗常在一起嬉戏。有时桑顿也加入其中。

时间愉快地飞逝，而平生头一次，巴克学会了爱。从前他从未爱过别人。他和米勒先生从前在桑塔·克拉拉山谷时只是极好的朋友，但是巴克从来没爱过他。约翰·桑顿救了他的命，但他还是一个天性善待动物的人。他细致地照看着他的狗，并不是出于什么意识，而是因为他觉得他们是他的孩子。他总是和巴克说话儿，捧着他的头怜爱地摇晃着。作为回答，巴克喜欢轻轻地把桑顿的手噙在嘴里。

巴克也很高兴整天躺在地上看着桑顿。每当桑顿同他说话或抚摸他时，巴克就会高兴得发狂。起初，他很害怕桑顿也会像佩罗和弗朗索瓦斯一样消失，于是他常常会在夜里醒来溜到帐篷里去看看他是否还在那儿。

但是巴克的本性发生了变化。如今他已经在北方待了很久，他几乎变成了一条野狗。他喜欢蹲坐在桑顿的火边，但他蹲坐的姿势像野兽，而他的梦中则充满了野兽的影子——狗，狼狗，还有野狼。他们似乎在丛林里向他呼唤，有时巴克想离开火堆回应那呼唤。但是每当他跃入丛林时，对桑顿的爱又将他拉了回来。

只有桑顿才是阻挡他回到森林中去的人。他对别的人漠不关心。到营地来的人试图同他交朋友，但他却毫无兴趣。当桑顿的两个朋友，汉斯和皮特从道桑回来时，巴克起初连正眼都不瞧他们。直到后来他看出来他们是桑顿的朋友才开始接受他们；但他们并不是他的朋友。他们和桑顿一样善良，知道巴克深爱着而且只爱桑顿一个人。

桑顿也明白巴克的心意。有一天，巴克和3个男人一同坐在高高的岩石上，距河水有100米的距离。桑顿想知道巴克是否会遵从任何命令，甚至是一个疯狂的命令。“跳下去，巴克！”他喊着，指着河水。一秒钟之后那3个男人使劲把要往下跳的巴克拽了回来。

“这可真奇了。”皮特说，他们重新坐了下来。

“不奇怪，真是棒极了，”桑顿说，“也可怕，有时我真有点害怕。”

“没错，如果有人揍了你，只要巴克在跟前，我可就真替那人难过啦。”皮特说。

“我有同感。”汉斯接道。

秋天，在圈城发生了一件事。在酒吧里，一个叫伯顿的人同另一个人动手打了起来。桑顿夹在他们中间试图阻止他们。巴克像平常一样躺在角落里关注着，伯顿打了桑顿，如果不是抓住一张桌子，他几乎倒在了地上。巴克凌空扑向伯顿的咽喉。伯顿情急之下伸出胳膊才救了自己一命，但他还是被掀倒在地，巴克扑在他身上，巴克松开咬住胳膊的牙齿这一次咬住了他的咽喉。之后一群人把巴克拉开了，医生也被叫了过来。每个人都认定巴克只有确认桑顿在危险中时才会攻击别人。从那天起，巴克就名扬北方了。

那年不久，巴克又用另一种方式救了桑顿一命。3个人那时正把一只小船推到一条水流湍急而且多礁石的河里去。桑顿在船上，而汉斯和皮特则沿着河岸走，用一根绳索拉住小船。巴克跟着他们，担忧地盯着桑顿。

当他们走到一处比较危险的河段时，小船开始极快地滑行。汉斯拉住绳索想让它停住，但用劲太猛。船翻了个个儿，桑顿被抛进水里，沿着河流向岩石撞去，而那里几乎没有人能生还。

巴克立即跃入水中，游了300米才到桑顿的身边。然后他转过身，让桑顿抓住他的尾巴，巴克向河岸游去。但是他们游得很慢，河水始终冲着他们向一个急流漂去，那个急流从20米高的地方掉到下面的岩石上去。桑顿知道他们无法很快到达岸边，就松开了巴克，抓住水中的一块岩石喊着，“走，巴克，快走！”

巴克使尽全身的力气向岸边游去，皮特和汉斯把他拉上岸。

在那样湍急的水流中抓住一块岩石对桑顿来说恐怕艰辛异常，他的朋友们知道他们只有几分钟的时间来营救他。他们把绳索系在巴克身上，他立刻又跳到水中用力向桑顿游去。第一次，水把他冲过了岩石，皮特和汉斯不得不把他拽回来。第二次，他从河的上游游过去，河水把他带到桑顿那里。桑顿抓住巴克，汉斯和皮特用尽力气拉着绳索。人和狗一会儿消失在水下，一会儿撞到岩石上，在水中翻上翻下。有时巴克在上面，有时桑顿在上面。当汉斯和皮特最后把他们拉上来的时候，人和狗都几乎死过去了。但是不一会儿他们的眼睛睁开了，身上恢复了生命力。

那个冬天，在道桑，使巴克在北方更加闻名遐尔的是他干的另一件事。对3个人来说也受益不浅。他们打算到东部去旅行寻找金矿，但他们缺钱。一天，他们在酒吧的时候有些人开始谈论狗。有个人说他有一只狗强壮得能拉200公斤重的雪橇。另一个人则夸耀他的狗能拉250公斤。第三个人叫马修逊，他甚至说他的狗可以拉得动300公斤。

“那算什么，”桑顿说。“巴克能够拉350公斤。”

“他能够把冻在冰上的雪橇拉动吗？再拉100米远？”马修逊问道。

“他能破冰拉动雪橇，而且能拉100米远。”桑顿答道。

“好，”马修逊说，他的声音又慢又响亮，“我有1000美元，我打赌他办不到。”他一边说，一边掏出一袋金子放在桌上。

突然桑顿开始担心了。他知道巴克是健壮的，可是他真的如他所说的那样强壮吗？现在10个人都盯着他等待着。他没有1000美元，汉斯和皮特也没有。

“我外面的雪橇上有350公斤的东西。”马修逊说。“如果你想试一下的话，很容易。”

桑顿不知说什么好了。他巡视了一下酒吧里的人。其中一个是他的老朋友，吉姆·奥布赖恩。

“你能借我1000美元吗，吉姆？”他轻声问到。

“没问题，”奥布赖恩说，拿出另一袋金子搁在马修逊的金子旁边。“不过我觉得你那狗办不到，约翰。”

每个人都跑到街上。大约有两三百人围着马修逊的雪橇。雪橇已经在外面停了两个小时，在零下50°的气温中，牢牢地冻结在冰上。大部分人都认为巴克不会有这么大的力气，马修逊得意地笑着。

“我们打2000美金的赌怎么样？”他问。

桑顿、汉斯和皮特交谈了一会儿。他们只有400美元，他们把这加到奥布赖恩借的1000美元上。马修逊感觉稳操胜券，也加了400美元。

马修逊的10条狗被牵到一边。巴克，嗅到空气中弥漫的兴奋，被套上了雪橇。毫无疑问，巴克是非常出色的——双眼炯炯有神，机智伶俐，一身浓密油亮的皮毛闪着健康的光泽，他就像一匹马一样健壮。

一个人走上前对桑顿说：“我买他，我给你800美元。”

桑顿摇了摇头，然后就坐在巴克旁边的雪地上。他把巴克的头捧在手中在他耳边轻声说：“如果你爱我，巴克，如果你爱我。”

巴克把桑顿的手含在嘴里，然后松开了，桑顿站起来向后走开。

“准备，巴克。”他说。

巴克拉紧了挽具，做好了准备。

“向右！”桑顿喊道。

巴克向右使劲拉了一下，突然停住，雪橇下的冰开始碎了。

“现在，向左！”桑顿喊道。巴克向左拉去，弄碎了更多的冰。

“现在，拉！”

巴克用力抵住挽具，拉着。他的身子低低地向地面弯着，头向前埋着，脚用劲蹬住坚硬的雪地越来越使劲地拉着。突然，雪橇移动了一厘米，……两厘米……三厘米……渐渐地，雪橇开始沿着雪地移动了。每一秒钟都移得快一点，桑顿跟在后面跑，当巴克拉至100米的终点时喊住他。围观的人们欢呼起来，把帽子扔到空中；巴克赢了。

然后桑顿再次坐到巴克旁边的雪地上，和他说话，巴克嘴里含着桑顿的手。

7

The call of the wild

In five minutes Buck had made fourteen hundred dollars for Thornton and his friends. The money made it possible for them to travel east, where they wanted to look for a lost gold mine. Men said that this mine had more gold than any other mine in the north. Many had looked for it, and some had died looking for it. The only men who knew where it was were now dead.

Thornton, Pete and Hans, with Buck and six other dogs, started off to the east in the spring. They travelled up the Stewart River and crossed the Mackenzie Mountains. They did not move quickly; the weather was good, and the men shot animals for food when they needed it. Sometimes they travelled for a week, and sometimes they stopped for a week and searched for gold in the ground. Sometimes they were hungry, and sometimes they had lots of food. They spent all the summer in the mountains, carrying everything they needed on their backs, sometimes making boats to go down rivers or across lakes.

In the autumn they came to a strange, flat country, with many lakes. They travelled on through the winter and met nobody, but once they found an old wooden house, with an old gun in it.

When the spring came, they found, not the lost mine, but a lake in a wide valley. Through the shallow water the gold showed like yellow butter, and here their search ended. There was gold worth thousands of dollars in the lake, and they worked every day, filling bag after bag with gold.

The dogs had nothing to do except watch the men and eat the food which the men shot for them. Buck spent many evenings sitting by the fire.

As he sat, he saw again his dream world, where the strange hairy man sat next to him. He also heard something calling him into the forest. Sometimes, in the middle of the day, he lifted his head and listened, and then ran off into the forest.

One night he woke up and heard the call again, a long howl. He ran into the forest, following the sound, and came to an open place in the trees. And there, his nose pointing to the sky, sat a wolf.

The wolf stopped howling and Buck walked slowly towards him. The wolf ran, and Buck followed. After a time, the wolf stopped and waited, watching Buck, ready to attack. But Buck did not want to fight, and soon the wolf realized this, and the two animals became friendly. Then the wolf started to run again, and he clearly wanted Buck to follow him. They ran for hours through the forest, and Buck remembered again his dream world where he, and others like him, had run through a much older forest.

Then they stopped to drink, and Buck remembered John Thornton. He turned and started to run back. The wolf followed him, then stopped and howled, but Buck ran on and did not turn.

Thornton was eating dinner when Buck returned. Buck jumped all over him, and for two days never left his side. He followed him everywhere, watching him while he ate and while he slept. But after two days the call of the wild came again, and he remembered the forest and the wolf who had run beside him.

He started to sleep out in the forest at night, sometimes staying out for three or four days. Once he was away for a week, fishing and killing animals for food. He ate well, and he grew stronger and quicker and more alive. His golden-brown coat shone with health as he ran through the forest, learning its every secret, every smell, and every sound.

'He's the finest dog that I've ever seen,' said Thornton to his friends one day as they watched Buck walking out of camp.

'There'll never be another dog like him,' said Pete.

They saw him walking out of camp but they didn't see the change that happened when he was inside the forest. At once he became a thing of the wild, stepping softly and silently, a passing shadow among the trees.

In the autumn, Buck started to see moose in the forest. One day he met a group of about twenty. The largest was two metres tall, and his antlers were more than two metres across. When he saw Buck, he got very angry. For hours Buck followed the moose; he wanted the big one, but he wanted him alone. By the evening Buck had driven the big old moose away from the others, and then he began his attack. The animal weighed six hundred and fifty kilos—he was big enough and strong enough to kill Buck in seconds. Patiently, Buck followed him for four days, attacking and then jumping away. He gave him no peace, no time to eat or drink or rest, and slowly the moose became weaker. At the end of the fourth day Buck pulled the moose down and killed him. He stayed by the dead animal for a day and a half, eating, and then turned towards camp and John Thornton.

Five kilometres from the camp, he smelt something strange. Something was wrong. He started to run. After a few hundred metres he found the dead body of Blackie, with an arrow through his side. Then he found another sledge-dog, dying, with an arrow in his neck.

Buck was near the camp now, and he could hear voices singing. Then he saw the body of Hans, lying on his face, with ten or fifteen arrows in his back. Buck was suddenly filled with a wild, burning anger.

The yeehats were dancing around the camp, when they heard a deep and terrible growling. Buck came out of the trees faster than the north wind, and threw himself on the Yeehats like a mad dog. He jumped at the first man, and tore out his throat, killing him at once. He jumped onto a second, then a third man, going each time for the throat. The Yeehats could neither escape nor use their arrows. Buck moved like a storm among them, tearing, biting, destroying, in a madness that he had never known before. Nothing could stop him, and soon the Yeehats were running, wild with fear, back to the forest. Buck followed for some time, then returned to the camp.

He found Pete, killed in his bed. He followed Thornton's smell to a deep pool, and found Skeet lying dead by the edge. Thornton's body was somewhere under the water.

All day Buck stayed by the pool or walked restlessly round the camp. But when the evening came, he heard new sounds from the forest; the wolves had come south for the winter, and were moving into Buck' s valley. They came into the camp in the moonlight, and Buck stood silently, waiting for them. Suddenly, the bravest wolf jumped at Buck. In a second, Buck had bitten, and then stood still again. The wolf was dead behind him. Three more wolves jumped at him, and were killed.

Then the pack attacked in a crowd all at once. But not one of them could bring Buck down; he was too quick, too strong, too clever for them all. After half an hour the pack stopped attacking and moved away. Then one wolf moved forward slowly, in a friendly way; it was the wolf that Buck had met before in the forest. They touched noses. Then another wolf came forward to make friends, and another. Soon the pack was all around Buck, and the call of the wild was loud in Buck's ears. And when the wolves moved on, back into the forest. Buck ran with them, side by side.

That is perhaps the end of Buck's story. But after a few years, the Yeehats noticed that some of the wolves had golden-brown in their grey coats. They also talked of a Ghost Dog that ran at the head of the pack.

And sometimes men were found dead, killed by the teeth of a terrible animal. And each autumn, when the Yeehats follow the moose, there is one valley that they will not go into.

In the summers there is one visitor to that valley: a large, golden-brown wolf, larger than any other wolf. He walks alone round the lake where the yellow gold shines in the water, and howls. But he is not always alone. In the long winter nights, he runs at the head of the wolf pack through the moonlight, calling into the night with them, singing a song from a younger world.

back n. 人体背部。

flat adj. having a smooth, even, level surface. 平坦的。

wooden adj. made of wood. 木制的。

butter n. 黄油；奶油。

dream world 理想世界；梦幻世界。

follow v. come, go after sb./sth.. 跟随；跟着。

remember v. recall to one's memory. 回想起；记住。

stay out remain outdoors. 待在户外。

fish v. try to catch fish. 捕鱼。

moose n. 驼鹿；麇。

antler n. 鹿角。

rest v. be still, stop working. 静止；停止工作；休息。

a day and a half 一天半。

arrow n. 箭；箭头。

burning adj. intense. 强烈的。

escape v. get away (from control) 逃脱；逃走。

madness n. state of being insane 疯狂；精神失常。

restlessly adv. unable to be still or quiet 静不下来地：不停运动地。

perhaps adv. possibly. 大概；可能。

notice v. become aware of sb./sth.. 注意到。

moonlight n. light of the moon. 月光。

7　野性的呼唤

不过5分钟，巴克就为桑顿和他的朋友们赚了1400美元。他们有足够的钱去东部了，在那里他们要寻找一座下落不明的金矿。人们传说那座金矿比任何一座北方的金矿都富足。许多人都在寻找它，有些人为了寻找它而命丧黄泉。唯一知道金矿下落的一些人已经死了。

桑顿、皮特和汉斯，带着巴克和另外6条狗，在春天向东方启程了。他们渡过了斯塔沃特河，翻过了麦肯瑟山脉。他们走得并不快。天气很不错。他们有时打点野味来充饥。有时连续走一星期，有时会逗留一星期在地下寻找金矿；有时忍饥挨饿，有时又食物丰足。他们在山区里度过了夏天，背着所有必需品，有时建造小船沿河漂流或者横渡湖泊。

秋天的时候他们来到一个奇特而平坦的地方，有许多湖泊。他们跋涉了整整一个冬天，没有碰到一个人。但他们曾经发现过一座古老的木屋，屋内有一杆旧枪。

当春天又来临的时候，他们发现的不是那座下落不明的金矿，而是一个位于宽阔峡谷中的湖泊。透过浅浅的湖水，金子就像黄澄澄的奶油一样。他们的搜寻到此结束了。湖中的金子价值连城，他们每天都工作，装满了一袋又一袋的金子。

狗无所事事，只好看人们工作和吃人们打来的野味。巴克坐在火边消磨了许多夜晚的时光。

当他蹲坐在那里时，他又一次看到了他梦中的世界，那个奇怪的毛发浓密的人坐在他的旁边。他又听到那来自丛林的呼唤。有时正值正午，他就抬头聆听着，然后就会蹿进森林里。

一天晚上他从睡梦中醒来，又听到那呼唤，长长的嗥叫。他跑进森林，追随着那呼声，来到了林子间的一片空地上。在那儿，蹲坐着一头狼，仰首望天。

狼停止了嗥叫，巴克慢慢向他走过去。狼跑开了，巴克紧追不舍。过了一段时间，狼停住步子等待着，打量着巴克，准备着一场恶斗。但是巴克无意开战，很快狼就意识到了这点。两头动物变得友好起来。然后狼又开始了奔跑，很明显他希望巴克跟着他。他们在森林中跑了数个小时，巴克又想起了他梦中的世界，在那里他和他的同类，穿过一座古老的森林。

当他们停下来喝水的时候，巴克想起了约翰·桑顿。他掉头向回跑去。狼跟着他，然后停下来嗥叫着，但是巴克头也不回继续奔跑回去。

巴克回来的时候，桑顿正在吃晚饭。巴克扑在他的身上，有两天不肯离开他的左右，到哪儿都跟着他，即使他睡觉和吃饭时也不肯把目光挪开。但是两天之后，那野性的呼唤又响了起来，他又想起了森林和那头同他一起奔跑的狼。

他开始在夜晚露宿在森林里，有时一待就是三四天。有一次他跑出去了一个星期，捕鱼猎兽觅食吃。他吃得很好，变得越发健壮敏捷，也更有生气。当他奔跑在森林里的时候，他的金褐色的皮毛闪着健康的光泽。他探索着森林中每一处的神秘，每一种气味，每一声声响。

“他是我见过的最出色的狗。”桑顿有一天对他的朋友们说，他们正看着巴克跑出营地。

“绝无仅有。”皮特说。

他们只看见他跑出了营地，但是他们无从知晓他在森林中发生的本质的变化。他会立刻变成一头野兽，步子轻捷无声，像一道阴影掠过森林。

秋天，巴克开始在森林中发现驼鹿。有一天他碰上了大约有20头的一群驼鹿。最大的一头有两米高，两只鹿角甚至有两米多宽。他看见巴克的时候，十分生气。巴克追随了这只驼鹿数个小时；他想要头大个儿的，并单独捕杀他。到傍晚时分，巴克把那头大个儿的老驼鹿赶到了鹿群之外，然后发动了进攻。那动物重达650公斤——他高大强壮到足以在几秒钟内杀死巴克。巴克耐心地追随了他4天，进攻一下就跳开，让他不得安宁，没有时间进食喝水，也无法休息。渐渐地那驼鹿衰弱下去。到第4天结束时，巴克扑倒了那头驼鹿杀死了他。他在死兽旁待了一天半的时间，吃食，然后返回到营地和约翰·桑顿那里去。

离营地5公里远，他嗅到了异味，出事了。他开始奔跑。几百米之后他发现了布莱吉的尸体，一支羽箭插在他身体的一侧。然后他又发现了另一只雪橇狗，脖子上插着一支羽箭，奄奄待毙。

现在巴克已经接近营地了，他听到歌声传来。之后他看到了汉斯的尸体，脸朝下俯在地上，大约有10到15支羽箭插在他的后背上。巴克突然心中燃烧起了狂野的怒火。

印第安人正围绕着营地跳舞，他们听到一声低沉可怕的咆哮。巴克比北风还要迅捷，从树丛中蹿了出来，他像疯了一样直扑到印第安人身上去。他扑向第一个人，撕开了他的喉咙，令他当场毙命。然后他又扑向第二个人，然后又是第三个人，每一次都瞄准咽喉。印第安人既不能逃走也不能用他们的箭。巴克像暴风雪一样掠过他们，撕扯，啃啮，破坏，他陷入过去从未有过的疯狂。没有任何人能制止他，于是很快印第安人就在恐惧的狂乱中逃进了森林。巴克追赶了一阵，就返回了营地。

他发现皮特被杀死在床上。他嗅着桑顿的气味找到了一个深水潭，发现斯开特倒毙在潭边。桑顿的尸体可能在水下的某个地方。

整整一天巴克都待在水潭边，闻或围着营地不停地奔走。但是当夜暮降临的时候，他听到森林中传出新的声响；狼群来南方过冬了，他们正朝着巴克的山谷而来。他们在月光下来到了营地。巴克静静地伫立着等待着他们。突然，一只最勇敢的狼扑向巴克。仅仅一秒钟，巴克就咬住了他，然后重新站直。狼死在他的身后。又有3条狼扑了上来，也死掉了。

然后狼群一起出击了。但是没有一头狼能扑倒巴克；他对他们来说，太过迅捷，太强壮，也太聪明了。半小时之后狼群停止了进攻，开始撤退。有一头狼缓缓地走上前来，做出友好的姿态；这就是巴克以前在森林中遇到的那只狼。他们互相碰碰鼻子致意。然后另外一只狼也走上来交朋友，然后又是一只。很快巴克就被狼群围在了中心。野性的呼唤在巴克耳边响彻。狼群前进了，他们返回森林，巴克和他们一起并肩奔跑。

这也许就是关于巴克的故事的尾声了。但是几年之后，印第安人注意到灰色的狼群中有一些长着金褐色的皮毛。他们还谈论着跑在狼群前的一只幽灵一样的狗。

有时有些人被发现被一个可怕的动物用牙齿咬死了。每年秋天，当印第安人追赶驼鹿的时候，有一个山谷他们从来不进去。

在夏天的时候，山谷里只有一个探访者：一头高大、金褐色的狼，比任何一头狼都高大。他沿着湖边走着，嗥叫着，水底的黄金闪烁着光芒。但他也不总是独自一个的。在漫长的冬夜，他带领狼群在月光下跑过，同他们一起在夜晚呼喊着，在一个更有生气的世界里唱着歌。

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1-2 Find answers to these questions in the text.

1 How did Buck travel to Seattle?

2 What did Buck learn from the fat man?

3 How much did Perrault pay for Buck?

4 How did Curly die?

5 How did Buck sleep in the snow?

6 Why did Buck learn to eat quickly?

Chapters 3-4 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 Spitz was always trying to start a fight with Buck.

2 The Indian dogs were very fat.

3 Francois made shoes for all the dogs.

4 Buck wanted to be the new lead-dog.

5 The other dogs had an easy life with Buck as leader.

6 Buck killed Dave.

Chapters 5-6 Who said these words in the story?

1 'Dogs are lazy and you have to whip them.'

2 'You poor, poor dears. Why don't you pull hard?'

3 'Only somebody very stupid would cross the White River here.'

4 'I feel sorry for any man who hits you when Buck's near.'

5 'I've got a thousand dollars here, and I say he can't.'

6 'If you love me, Buck, If you love me.'

Chapter 7 Write answers to these questions.

1 What were Thornton, Pete and Hans looking for?

2 What did they find?

3 How did Thornton die?

4 What happened to Buck in the end?

B Working with language

1 Put together these beginnings and endings of sentences. Check your answers in Chapter 3.

1 The fight almost happened one night...

2 Spitz knew Buck was big, ...

3 Joe and Pike jumped on one dog, ...

4 Perrault and Francois came to help with clubs, ...

5 ... but he didn't know he was so wild.

6 ... when they stopped by Lake Laberge.

7 ... but then they had to run back to save the food.

8 ... and Pike broke its neck with one bite.

2 Complete these sentences with information from the story.

1 Manuel stole Buck because...

2 Buck saw snow for the first time when...

3 Although Buck had never pulled a sledge before, ...

4 Charles and Hal asked Mercedes to walk, but...

5 At White River the ice broke under Hal's sledge and...

6 Thornton did not have a thousand dollars so...

7 After Buck had killed four wolves, ...

C Activities

1 Which person do you most like, or dislike, in the story? Write a few sentences to describe this person.

2 You are Charles, or Mercedes. Write a letter to a friend to describe the day when you left Skagway for the north.

3 You are Thornton. Write your diary for the day you first saw Buck.

4 How do you think animals feel about their owners? Pretend you are a dog or a cat (or some other animal, or bird) and write a letter to your owner. Say how you would like your life to be, and what your owner should do or not do.

京权图字01-97-0338

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1993

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

秘密花园=The Secret Garden／（英）伯内特（Burnett, F. H.）著；（英）韦斯特（West, C.）改写；郑志红译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1997.10（2014.8 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1301-5

Ⅰ．秘…　Ⅱ．①伯…②韦…③郑…　Ⅲ．小说—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（97）第18052号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：周　晶

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1998年1月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1301-5

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简　介

“咱俩差不多，”本·威瑟斯塔夫老头对玛丽说，“长得丑，脾气也不好。”

可怜的玛丽！谁都不要她，也没人喜欢她。父母去世以后，她被人从印度送回英国的约克郡，住在她舅舅的家里。那是一幢旧房子，很大，差不多有上百个房间，可大部分都关得严严实实，还上了锁。玛丽住在那儿，情绪很坏，她感到厌烦、孤独，整天没事可做，除了园丁本·威瑟斯塔夫老头，没人跟她说说话。

不过后来玛丽听说了有关秘密花园的事。那花园的门紧锁着，钥匙也不知哪儿去了。10年了，除了那只能够飞过围墙的知更鸟，没有一个人进过那园子。玛丽望着知更鸟，琢磨着钥匙会在哪儿……

再后来，夜里房子中什么地方传来奇怪的哭声，听起来像是个孩子……

弗朗西丝·霍奇森·伯内特生于1849年，卒于1924年。从16岁起她大部分时间住在美国，但经常回英格兰。她是一位终身作家，写了很多书，《秘密花园》是她的代表作。

1

Little Miss Mary

Nobody seemed to care about Mary. She was born in India, where her father was a British official. He was busy with his work, and her mother, who was very beautiful, spent all her time going to parties. So an Indian woman, Kamala, was paid to take care of the little girl. Mary was not a pretty child. She had a thin angry face and thin yellow hair. She was always giving orders to Kamala, who had to obey. Mary never thought of other people, but only of herself. In fact, she was a very selfish, disagreeable, bad-tempered little girl.

One very hot morning, when she was about nine years old, she woke up and saw that instead of Kamala there was a different Indian servant by her bed.

'What are you doing here?' she asked crossly. 'Go away! And send Kamala to me at once!'

The woman looked afraid. 'I'm sorry, Miss Mary, she — she — she can't come!'

Something strange was happening that day. Some of the house servants were missing and everybody looked frightened. But nobody told Mary anything, and Kamala still did not come. So at last Mary went out into the garden, and played by herself under a tree. She pretended she was making her own flower garden, and picked large red flowers to push into the ground. All the time she was saying crossly to herself,

'I hate Kamala! I'll hit her when she comes back!'

Just then she saw her mother coming into the garden, with a young Englishman. They did not notice the child, who listened to their conversation.

'It's very bad, is it?' her mother asked the young man in a worried voice.

'Very bad,' he answered seriously. 'People are dying like flies. It's dangerous to stay in this town. You should go to the hills, where there's no disease.'

'Oh, I know!' she cried. 'We must leave soon!'

Suddenly they heard loud cries coming from the servants' rooms, at the side of the house.

'What's happened?' cried Mary's mother wildly.

'I think one of your servants has just died. You didn't tell me the disease is here, in your house!'

'I didn't know!' she screamed. 'Quick, come with me!' And together they ran into the house.

Now Mary understood what was wrong. The terrible disease had already killed many people in the town, and in all the houses people were dying. In Mary's house it was Kamala who had just died. Later that day three more servants died there.

All through the night and the next day people ran in and out of the house, shouting and crying. Nobody thought of Mary. She hid in her bedroom, frightened by the strange and terrible sounds that she heard around her. Sometimes she cried and sometimes she slept.

When she woke the next day, the house was silent.

'Perhaps the disease has gone,' she thought, 'and everybody is well again. I wonder who will take care of me instead of Kamala? Why doesn't someone bring me some food? It's strange the house is so quiet.'

But just then she heard men's voices in the hall.

'How sad!' said one. 'That beautiful woman!'

'There was a child too, wasn't there?' said the other. 'Although none of us ever saw her.'

Mary was standing in the middle of her room when they opened the door a few minutes later. The two men jumped back in surprise.

'My name is Mary Lennox,' she said crossly. 'I was asleep when everyone was ill, and now I'm hungry.'

'It's the child, the one nobody ever saw!' said the older man to the other. 'They've all forgotten her!'

' Why was I forgotten?' asked Mary angrily. ' Why has nobody come to take care of me?'

The younger man looked at her very sadly. 'Poor child!' he said. 'You see, there's nobody left alive in the house. So nobody can come.'

In this strange and sudden way Mary learnt that both her mother and her father had died. The few servants who had not died had run away in the night. No one had remembered little Miss Mary. She was all alone.

Because she had never known her parents well, she did not miss them at all. She only thought of herself, as she had always done.

'Where will I live?' she wondered. 'I hope I'll stay with people who'll let me do what I want.'

At first she was taken to an English family who had known her parents. She hated their untidy house and noisy children, and preferred playing by herself in the garden. One day she was playing her favourite game, pretending to make a garden, when one of the children, Basil, offered to help.

'Go away!' cried Mary. 'I don't want your help!'

For a moment Basil looked angry, and then he began to laugh. He danced round and round Mary, and sang a funny little song about Miss Mary and her stupid flowers. This made Mary very cross indeed. No one had ever laughed at her so unkindly.

'You're going home soon,' said Basil. 'And we're all very pleased you're leaving!'

'I'm pleased too,' replied Mary. 'But where's home?'

'You're stupid if you don't know that!' laughed Basil. 'England, of course! You're going to live with your uncle, Mr Archibald Craven.'

'I've never heard of him,' said Mary coldly.

'But I know about him because I heard Father and Mother talking,' said Basil. 'He lives in a big lonely old house, and has no friends, because he's so bad-tempered. He's got a crooked back, and he's horrid!'

'I don't believe you!' cried Mary. But the next day Basil's parents explained that she was going to live with her uncle in Yorkshire, in the north of England. Mary looked bored and cross and said nothing.

After the long sea journey, she was met in London by Mr Craven's housekeeper, Mrs Medlock. Together they travelled north by train. Mrs Medlock was a large woman, with a very red face and bright black eyes. Mary did not like her, but that was not surprising, because she did not usually like people. Mrs Medlock did not like Mary either.

'What a disagreeable child!' thought the housekeeper. 'But perhaps I should talk to her.'

'I can tell you a bit about your uncle if you like,' she said aloud. 'He lives in a big old house, a long way from anywhere. There are nearly a hundred rooms, but most of them are shut and locked. There's a big park round the house, and all kinds of gardens. Well, what do you think of that?'

'Nothing,' replied Mary. 'It doesn't matter to me.'

Mrs Medlock laughed. 'You're a hard little girl! Well, if you don't care, Mr Craven doesn't either. He never spends time on anyone. He's got a crooked back, you see, and although he's always been rich, he was never really happy until he married.'

'Married?' repeated Mary in surprise.

'Yes, he married a sweet, pretty girl, and he loved her deeply. So when she died —'

'Oh! Did she die?' asked Mary, interested.

'Yes, she did. And now he doesn't care about anybody. If he's at home, he stays in his room and sees nobody. He won't want to see you , so you must stay out of his way and do what you're told.'

Mary stared out of the train window at the grey sky and the rain. She was not looking forward to life at her uncle's house.

The train journey lasted all day, and it was dark when they arrived at the station. Then there was a long drive to get to the house. It was a cold, windy night, and it was raining heavily. After a while Mary began to hear a strange, wild noise. She looked out of the window, but could see nothing except the darkness.

'What's that noise?' she asked Mrs Medlock. 'It's — It's not the sea, is it?'

'No, that's the moor. It's the sound the wind makes, blowing across the moor.'

'What is a moor?'

'It's just miles and miles of wild land, with no trees or houses. Your uncle's house is right on the edge of the moor.'

Mary listened to the strange, frightening sound. 'I don't like it,' she thought. 'I don't like it.' She looked more disagreeable than ever.

official n. a person holding office or engaged in official duties. 官员。

disagreeable adj. unpleasant; rude. 让人讨厌的，不友善的。

crossly adv. having a bad temper. 不高兴地，执拗地。

pretend v. behave in a particular way because you want someone to believe that something is true when it is not. 假装，装作。

untidy adj. not neat and tidy. 不整洁的。

crooked adj. not straight. 驼的，弯的。

Yorkshire n. a former county of England. 约克郡（英国一个郡）。

explain v. to tell someone something in a way that helps them understand it better. 解释，说明。

housekeeper n. a person employed to manage a household. 管家。

look forward to hope; expect. 盼望，期待。

moor n. a large area of high land covered with grass, bushes, with soil that is not good for growing crops. 荒原。

1　幼年的玛丽小姐

似乎没有人注意玛丽的存在。玛丽出生在印度，父亲是驻印的英国官员，总是忙着工作，母亲长得非常漂亮，把所有时间都花在参加聚会上。所以，一个名叫卡玛拉的印度女人被雇来照看这个小姑娘。玛丽长得不漂亮，消瘦的脸上总是一副生气的样子，头发稀疏枯黄。她总对卡玛拉发号施令，卡玛拉只好顺从她。她很少想到别人，只顾自己。她确实是一个非常自私，脾气怪戾，很难相处的小女孩。

在她大约9岁那年的一个上午，天气很热，她醒来时发现站在床前的不是卡玛拉，而是另外一个印度女仆。

“你在这儿干什么？”她生气地问，“走开！叫卡玛拉马上到这儿来！”

那个女人看来很害怕：“对不起，玛丽小姐，她——她——她来不了了！”

那天发生了一些很奇怪的事情，房子里的一些仆人不见了，每个人看上去都惊恐异常。可是没有人告诉玛丽任何事情，卡玛拉也始终没来。最后玛丽只好一个人来到花园，在一棵树下玩耍。她假装是在给自己造一座花园，摘来大朵的红花插在土里，一边玩儿还一边赌气地自言自语：

“我讨厌卡玛拉！等她回来我要揍她一顿！”

就在这会儿，她看见妈妈和一个年轻的英国人走进花园，玛丽听见了他们的谈话，他们却没注意到她。

“很严重，是吗？”妈妈问那个年轻人，声音充满焦虑。

“非常严重，”他严肃地说，“人们像苍蝇一样死去，再在城里待下去太危险了，你得到山里去，那里没有疫病。”

“哦，我知道！”她叫道，“我们得马上离开！”

突然，他们听到房子侧面用人屋里传来嚎啕大哭的声音。

“出了什么事？”玛丽的妈妈慌乱地大叫着。

“我看是你的一个用人刚刚死去。你没告诉过我这儿也有疫病，在你的房子里！”

“我根本不知道！”她尖声叫着，“快，跟我来。”他们一同冲进屋去。

现在玛丽明白是哪儿不对了。可怕的疫病已经夺去了城里很多人的生命，到处都有人在死去。在玛丽家刚刚死去的正是卡玛拉。那天后来又有3个用人死了。

整整一夜到第二天，人们跑进跑出，哭着，喊着，谁也没想起玛丽。她躲在卧室里，被周围这些可怕的、奇怪的声音吓坏了，不时地哭着，哭累了就睡上一会儿。

第二天，当她醒来时，房子里一片寂静。

“说不定疫病已经过去，”她想着，“人们又和从前一样健康了，谁会接替卡玛拉来照看我呢？为什么家里没人给我送点儿吃的来？房子里这么静，真是太奇怪了。”

就在这时，她听到客厅里男人说话的声音。

“太惨啦！”有人说，“这么漂亮的女人！”

“还应该有个孩子的，是不是？”另外一个人说，“尽管我们都没有看见她。”

几分钟后，他们推开门，玛丽站在房间的中央，两个男人吓得跳了回去。

“我叫玛丽·莲诺丝，”她生气地说，“他们生病时我睡着了，现在我很饿。”

“就是这个孩子，谁都没看见她！”年长一点儿的男人对另一个说，“他们都把她忘了！”

“为什么把我忘了？”玛丽气呼呼地问，“为什么没人来照看我？”

年轻一点儿的男人忧伤地看着她，“可怜的孩子！”他说，“听着，这幢房子里的人全死了，所以没有人能来照看你。”

以这样一种奇异而突然的方式，玛丽得知她的父母已不在人世，活下来的几个用人也趁半夜逃走了。没人想起年幼的玛丽小姐，就只剩下她一个人了。

由于她跟父母并不亲近，因此一点儿也不想念他们。像以前一样，她只想到了她自己。

“我该住哪儿呢？”她思量着，“我想跟那些让我想干什么就干什么的人在一起。”

一开始她被带到一户英国人家，他们认识她的父母。可她讨厌他们凌乱的房子和吵吵闹闹的孩子们，而宁愿一个人在花园里玩儿。一天，她正玩着最喜欢的造花园游戏，那家的孩子巴兹尔走过来想帮她忙。

“走开！”玛丽大声喊道，“我才不用你帮忙！”

巴兹尔呆站了一会儿，很生气，可很快又乐开了。他一边围着玛丽又蹦又跳，一边唱起一支滑稽的有关玛丽小姐和她愚蠢的花儿的歌。这可把玛丽气坏了，还从来没人这么刻薄地嘲笑过她呢！

“你就快回家了，”巴兹尔说，“我们真高兴你快走了。”

“我也高兴，”玛丽答道，“可回哪儿的家？”

“你连这都不知道，可真够傻的！”巴兹尔笑道，“当然是英国！你要去跟你舅舅阿奇伯德·克莱文先生住了！”

“我从来没听说过他。”玛丽冷冷地说。

“可我知道，我听我爸爸妈妈谈论过他。”巴尔兹说，“他住在一幢孤零零的、又大又旧的房子里，一个朋友都没有，因为他脾气太坏了。他还是个驼背，可怕极了！”

“我才不信呢！”玛丽大声说。可是第二天，巴兹尔的父母解释说她将要到英格兰北部的约克郡，跟她的舅舅住在一起。玛丽显得又烦躁又恼怒，可什么都没说。

轮船在海上航行了很久，克莱文先生的管家梅洛太太到伦敦来接玛丽，带她坐火车去北方。梅洛太太是个高大的女人，红脸膛，长着一双明亮的黑眼睛。玛丽不喜欢她，这也没什么好奇怪的，因为她通常谁也不喜欢。梅洛太太也不怎么喜欢玛丽。

“这孩子可真不讨人喜欢！”管家心里想，“不过也许我该跟她聊聊。”

“要是你愿意，我可以给你讲讲你舅舅的事。”她大声说，“他住在一幢很大的老宅子里，离哪儿都不近。那个宅子差不多有一百个房间，可大部分都紧闭着，上了锁。房子周围有一片很大的园林，还有各式的花园。你觉得怎么样？”

“不怎么样，”玛丽答道，“跟我一点儿关系都没有。”

梅洛太太笑了：“你这个小倔丫头！好啦，如果你不在乎，克莱文先生自然也不在乎。他从不把时间花在任何人身上，他是个驼背，而且，尽管一直都很有钱，在他结婚之前他从来没有真正快乐过。”

“结婚？”玛丽惊奇地重复道。

“是啊，娶了个温柔美丽的姑娘，他非常非常爱她。所以那姑娘一死——”

“哦！她死了吗？”玛丽感兴趣地问道。

“是啊，她死了。所以现在克莱文先生谁也不关心了，他在家的时候就待在屋子里，谁也不见。他不会想见你的，所以你必须躲着他，照别人吩咐你的去做。”

玛丽望着车窗外灰色的天空和飘落的雨丝，对于住在舅舅家的生活没有一丝期盼。

火车走了一天，到站时天已经黑了。可离那幢房子还有很远的路，要搭马车才能到。这是一个寒冷的夜晚，风疾雨骤。过了一阵，玛丽听到一种奇怪的、狂野的声音，她向窗外看去，可除了黑暗什么都看不见。

“那是什么声音？”她问梅洛太太，“那——那不是海，对吗？”

“对，那不是海，是荒原的声音，是风吹过荒原时发出的声音。”

“荒原是什么？”

“就是大片大片的荒地，没有树，也没有房屋，你舅舅家就住在荒原的边上。”

玛丽听着那奇怪而又可怕的声音，心里想着：“我讨厌它，我讨厌它。”她看上去更加不讨人喜欢了。

2

Mary in Yorkshire

They arrived at a very large old house. It looked dark and unfriendly from the outside. Inside, Mary looked around the big shadowy hall, and felt very small and lost. They went straight upstairs. Mary was shown to a room where there was a warm fire and food on the table.

'This is your room,' said Mrs Medlock. 'Go to bed when you've had some supper. And remember, you must stay in your room! Mr Craven doesn't want you to wander all over the house!'

When Mary woke up the next morning, she saw a young servant girl cleaning the fireplace. The room seemed dark and rather strange, with pictures of dogs and horses and ladies on the walls. It was not a child's room at all. From the window she could not see any trees or houses, only wild land, which looked like a kind of purple sea.

'Who are you?' she asked the servant coldly.

'Martha, miss,' answered the girl with a smile.

'And what's that outside?' Mary continued.

'That's the moor,' smiled Martha. 'Do you like it?'

'No,' replied Mary immediately. 'I hate it.'

'That's because you don't know it. You will like it. I love it. It's lovely in spring and summer when there are flowers. It always smells so sweet. The air's so fresh, and the birds sing so beautifully. I never want to leave the moor.'

Mary was feeling very bad-tempered. 'You're a strange servant,' she said. 'In India we don't have conversations with servants. We give orders, and they obey, and that's that.'

Martha did not seem to mind Mary's crossness.

'I know I talk too much!' she laughed.

'Are you going to be my servant?' asked Mary.

'Well, not really. I work for Mrs Medlock. I'm going to clean your room and bring you your food, but you won't need a servant except for those things.'

'But who's going to dress me?'

Martha stopped cleaning, and stared at Mary.

'Tha' canna' dress thysen?' she asked, shocked.

'What do you mean? I don't understand your language!'

'Oh, I forgot. We all speak the Yorkshire dialect here, but of course you don't understand that. I meant to say, can't you put on your own clothes?'

'Of course not! My servant always used to dress me.'

'Well! I think you should learn to dress yourself. My mother always says people should be able to take care of themselves, even if they're rich and important.'

Little Miss Mary was furious with Martha. 'It's different in India where I come from! You don't know anything about India, or about servants, or about anything! You... you...' She could not explain what she meant. Suddenly she felt very confused and lonely. She threw herself down on the bed and started crying wildly.

'Now, now, don't cry like that,' Martha said gently. 'I'm very sorry. You're right, I don't know anything about anything. Please stop crying, miss.'

She sounded kind and friendly, and Mary began to feel better and soon stopped crying. Martha went on talking as she finished her cleaning, but Mary looked out of the window in a bored way, and pretended not to listen.

'I've got eleven brothers and sisters, you know, miss. There's not much money in our house. And they all eat so much food! Mother says it's the good fresh air on the moor that makes them so hungry. My brother Dickon, he's always out on the moor. He's twelve, and he's got a horse which he rides sometimes.'

'Where did he get it?' asked Mary. She had always wanted an animal of her own, and so she began to feel a little interest in Dickon.

'Oh, it's a wild horse, but he's a kind boy, and animals like him, you see. Now you must have your breakfast, miss. Here it is on the table.'

'I don't want it,' said Mary. 'I'm not hungry.'

'What!' cried Martha. 'My little brothers and sisters would eat all this in five minutes!'

'Why?' asked Mary coldly.

'Because they don't get enough to eat, that's why, and they're always hungry. You're very lucky to have the food, miss.' Mary said nothing, but she drank some tea and ate a little bread.

'Now put a coat on and run outside to play,' said Martha. 'It'll do you good to be in the fresh air.'

Mary looked out of the window at the cold grey sky. 'Why should I go out on a day like this?' she asked.

'Well, there's nothing to play with indoors, is there?'

Mary realized Martha was right. 'But who will go with me?' she said.

Martha stared at her. 'Nobody. You'll have to learn to play by yourself. Dickon plays by himself on the moors for hours, with the wild birds, and the sheep, and the other animals.' She looked away for a moment. 'Perhaps I shouldn't tell you this, but — but one of the walled gardens is locked up. Nobody's been in it for ten years. It was Mrs Craven's garden, and when she died so suddenly, Mr Craven locked it and buried the key — Oh, I must go, I can hear Mrs Medlock's bell ringing for me.'

Mary went downstairs and wandered through the great empty gardens. Many of the fruit and vegetable gardens had walls round them, but there were no locked doors. She saw an old man digging in one of the vegetable gardens, but he looked cross and unfriendly, so she walked on.

'How ugly it all looks in winter!' she thought. 'But what a mystery the locked garden is! Why did my uncle bury the key? If he loved his wife, why did he hate her garden? Perhaps I'll never know. I don't suppose I'll like him if I ever meet him. And he won't like me, so I won't be able to ask him.'

Just then she noticed a robin singing to her from a tree on the other side of a wall. 'I think that tree's in the secret garden!' she told herself. 'There's an extra wall here, and there's no way in.'

She went back to where the gardener was digging, and spoke to him. At first he answered in a very bad-tempered way, but suddenly the robin flew down near them, and the old man began to smile. He looked a different person then, and Mary thought how much nicer people looked when they smiled. The gardener spoke gently to the robin, and the pretty little bird hopped on the ground near them.

'He's my friend, he is,' said the old man. 'There aren't any other robins in the garden, so he's a bit lonely.' He spoke in strong Yorkshire dialect, so Mary had to listen carefully to understand him.

She looked very hard at the robin. 'I'm lonely too,' she said. She had not realized this before.

'What's your name?' she asked the gardener.

'Ben Weatherstaff. I'm lonely myself. The robin's my only friend, you see.'

'I haven't got any friends at all,' said Mary.

Yorkshire people always say what they are thinking, and old Ben was a Yorkshire moor man. 'We're alike, you and me,' he told Mary. 'We're not pretty to look at, and we're both very disagreeable.'

Nobody had ever said this to Mary before. 'Am I really as ugly and disagreeable as Ben?' she wondered.

Suddenly the robin flew to a tree near Mary and started singing to her. Ben laughed loudly.

'Well!' he said. 'He wants to be your friend!'

'Oh! Would you please be my friend?' she whispered to the robin. She spoke in a soft, quiet voice and old Ben looked at her in surprise.

'You said that really nicely!' he said. 'You sound like Dickon, when he talks to animals on the moor.'

'Do you know Dickon?' asked Mary. But just then the robin flew away. 'Oh look, he's flown into the garden with no door! Please, Ben, how can I get into it?'

Ben stopped smiling and picked up his spade. 'You can't, and that's that. It's not your business. Nobody can find the door. Run away and play, will you? I must get on with my work.' And he walked away. He did not even say goodbye.

In the next few days Mary spent almost all her time in the gardens. The fresh air from the moor made her hungry, and she was becoming stronger and healthier. One day she noticed the robin again. He was on top of a wall, singing to her. 'Good morning! Isn't this fun! Come this way!' he seemed to say, as he hopped along the wall. Mary began to laugh as she danced along beside him. 'I know the secret garden's on the other side of this wall!' she thought excitedly. 'And the robin lives there! But where's the door?'

That evening she asked Martha to stay and talk to her beside the fire after supper. They could hear the wind blowing round the old house, but the room was warm and comfortable. Mary only had one idea in her head.

'Tell me about the secret garden,' she said.

'Well, all right then, miss, but we aren't supposed to talk about it, you know. It was Mrs Craven's favourite garden, and she and Mr Craven used to take care of it themselves. They spent hours there, reading and talking. Very happy, they were. They used the branch of an old tree as a seat. But one day when she was sitting on the branch, it broke, and she fell. She was very badly hurt and the next day she died. That's why he hates the garden so much, and won't let anyone go in there.'

'How sad!' said Mary. 'Poor Mr Craven!' It was the first time that she had ever felt sorry for anyone.

Just then, as she was listening to the wind outside, she heard another noise, in the house.

'Can you hear a child crying?' she asked Martha.

Martha looked confused. 'Er — no,' she replied. 'No, I think... it must be the wind.'

But at that moment the wind blew open their door and they heard the crying very clearly.

'I told you!' cried Mary.

At once Martha shut the door. 'It was the wind,' she repeated. But she did not speak in her usual natural way, and Mary did not believe her.

The next day it was very rainy, so Mary did not go out. Instead she decided to wander round the house, looking into some of the hundred rooms that Mrs Medlock had told her about. She spent all morning going in and out of dark, silent rooms, which were full of heavy furniture and old pictures. She saw no servants at all, and was on her way back to her room for lunch, when she heard a cry. 'It's a bit like the cry that I heard last night!' she thought. Just then the housekeeper, Mrs Medlock, appeared, with her keys in her hand.

'What are you doing here?' she asked crossly.

'I didn't know which way to go, and I heard someone crying,' answered Mary.

'You didn't hear anything! Go back to your room now. And if you don't stay there, I'll lock you in!'

Mary hated Mrs Medlock for this. 'There was someone crying, I know there was!' she said to herself. 'But I'll discover who it is soon!' She was almost beginning to enjoy herself in Yorkshire.

shadowy adj. hidden in darkness or shadows. 阴暗的。

wander v. travel without purpose. 闲逛，游荡。

shocked adj. surprised. 震惊的，吃惊的。

furious adj. angry. 愤怒的。

confused adj. unable to understand something or think clearly about it. 迷惑不解的。

realize v. to gradually begin to understand something that you did not know or notice before. 意识到，认识到。

vegetable n. a part of a plant used as food. 蔬菜。

dig v. make a hole in earth or sand using your hands, a machine, or a tool. 挖，掘。

mystery n. something that you are not able to understand, explain, or get information about. 神秘，秘密，谜。

robin n. a small brown European bird with a red chest. 知更鸟。

gardener n. someone whose job is to take care of a garden. 园丁。

dialect n. a way of speaking a language that is used only in a particular area or by a particular group. 方言。

whisper v. say something very quietly so that other people cannot hear you. 低声说。

get on with go on with. 继续。

spade n. a tool used for digging earth. 铲子。

comfortable adj. at ease; feeling pleasant. 舒服的，安乐的。

branch n. a part of a tree that grows out of its trunk with leaves, flowers, or fruit growing on it. 树枝。

furniture n. the movable articles in a room that make it fit for living or working. 家具。

appear v. become visible. 出现。

disappear v. pass out of sight. 失踪。

discover v. find someone or something that was missing or hidden. 发现。

2　玛丽在约克郡的日子

她们来到一座很大的旧房子前，从外面看上去黑暗而冷漠。玛丽走进投满阴影的大厅，觉得自己非常渺小，不知身在何处。她们径直上了楼，玛丽被带进一个房间，里面生着火，很暖和，桌上摆着食物。

“这就是你的房间，”梅洛太太说，“吃点儿晚餐就睡吧。记住，你必须待在自己的房间里！克莱文先生可不想看见你在房子里到处乱逛！”

第二天一早玛丽醒来时，看见一个年轻的女仆正在清理壁炉。房间似乎很暗，相当古怪，墙上挂着狗、马，还有女人的画像，一点儿也不像个孩子的房间。从窗子望出去，她看不到任何树或房屋，只有荒原，看上去像一片紫色的海。

“你是谁？”她冷冷地问那个仆人。

“我叫玛莎，小姐。”女孩笑着回答。

“外面是什么？”玛丽又问道。

“那是荒原，”玛莎笑着说，“你喜欢吗？”

“不，”玛丽很快地答道，“我讨厌它。”

“那是因为你还不了解它。你会喜欢它的。我喜欢它。春天和夏天都开满了花，可爱极了，连空气都是甜的。那儿的空气新鲜极了，鸟也叫得那么动听，我从来都不想离开它。”

玛丽感到很懊恼。“你可真怪，”她说，“在印度我们从来不跟用人交谈。我们下命令，他们服从，这就够了。”

玛莎对玛丽的小姐脾气好像并不在意。

“我知道我说得太多了！”她笑着说。

玛丽问道：“你会给我做用人吗？”

“嗯，也不全是。我为梅洛太太工作。我要打扫你的房间，给你拿吃的东西，可除此之外，你并不需要一个用人。”

“那谁给我穿衣服呢？”

玛莎停下手里的活儿，瞪着玛丽。

“你自个儿不会穿衣服？”她惊讶地问。

“你是什么意思？我听不懂你的话！”

“噢，我忘了。我们这儿都说约克郡的方言，当然你是听不懂的。我是说，你自己不能穿衣服吗？”

“当然不能，总是用人给我穿的。”

“哈！我看你得学着自己穿衣服。我妈妈常说不管一个人多有钱，多尊贵，他都得能自己照顾自己。”

玛丽小姐有些生玛莎的气了。“我从印度来，我们那儿就不这样！你根本不知道印度，不知道用人，什么都不知道！你……你……”她没法表达清楚自己的意思。突然间她觉得非常困惑，非常孤单，索性倒在床上大哭起来。

“好啦，好啦，别哭啦，”玛莎轻轻地说，“对不起，你是对的，我是什么也不知道。请你别哭了，小姐。”

她的声音和善而友好，玛丽感觉好了一些，很快止住了哭泣。玛莎打扫完继续说着话，可玛丽却无聊地望着窗外，假装根本不去听她讲话。

“你看，小姐，我家有11个兄弟姐妹，家里没什么钱，他们又都吃得那么多！我妈妈说是荒原上清新的空气让他们这么饿的。我弟弟狄肯总是在荒原上，他今年12岁，有一匹马，偶尔他会骑一骑。”

“他的马是从哪儿来的？”玛丽问。她一直都想有只属于自己的动物，因此开始对狄肯有了一点儿兴趣。

“哦，那是匹野马，可狄肯是个好孩子，动物都喜欢他。这会儿你该吃早餐了，就放在桌子上呢。”

“我不想吃，”玛丽说，“我不饿。”

“什么！”玛莎叫道，“我的弟弟妹妹们可要不了5分钟就能把它们都吃光！”

“为什么？”玛丽冷冷地问。

“因为他们没有足够的东西吃，就因为这个，他们总是觉得饿。你有饭吃可是很幸运的，小姐。”玛丽什么也没说，不过她喝了点儿茶，还吃了点儿面包。

“好了，穿上外套跑到外面去玩儿吧，”玛莎说，“新鲜空气对你有好处。”

玛丽望了望窗外阴冷的灰色天空，问道：“这种天气干吗要出去玩儿呢？”

“因为屋子里也没什么可玩儿的，对不对？”

玛丽觉得玛莎说得不错，又说：“可是谁跟我一块儿去呢？”

玛莎瞪着她：“没人会去。你得学会自己玩儿，狄肯一个人在荒原能玩儿上几个小时，他跟飞鸟、羊，还有其他动物一起玩儿。”她把目光移开，停了一会儿，说道：“也许我不该告诉你这个，不过——不过有一座被墙围住的花园是上了锁的。有10年没人进去过了，那是克莱文太太的花园，她死得那么突然，克莱文先生就把它锁上了，还把钥匙也埋了起来——哦，我得走了，我听见梅洛太太在摇铃叫我呢。”

玛丽下了楼在空旷的大花园中闲逛。很多果园和菜园周围都有围墙，可没有锁上门的。她看见一个老人在其中一个菜园中挖地，不过他看上去脾气不好，也不和善，于是玛丽继续往前走。

“冬天一切看上去都那么丑！”她想，“可那座上了锁的花园多神秘啊！舅舅为什么要把钥匙埋起来呢？要是他爱他妻子，他干吗那么讨厌她的花园呢？也许我永远也不会知道了。我看就是看到他我也不会喜欢他，他也不会喜欢我的，所以我还是没法儿问他。”

正在这时，她看到一只知更鸟在一堵墙后面的树上冲她叫着。“我看那棵树就在秘密花园里！”她自言自语着，“这儿另外有一堵墙，而且没有进去的路。”

她回到园丁挖土的地方，跟他搭话。一开始他的回答很不耐烦，可是突然那只知更鸟飞到他们身旁，老人开始有了笑容。这会儿他看上去像换了个人。玛丽想，人微笑的时候看着就要好许多。园丁温和地跟知更鸟说话，而那漂亮的小鸟就在他们旁边的地上跳来跳去。

“他是我的朋友，是的，”老人说，“园子里没有别的知更鸟，所以它觉得有点儿孤独。”老人说话带着浓重的约克郡口音，所以玛丽得非常仔细才能听得懂他的话。

她紧紧盯着那只知更鸟，说：“我也很孤独。”在这之前她从没有意识到这一点。

“你叫什么名字？”她问园丁。

“本·威瑟斯塔夫。我自己一个人很孤独，瞧，这只知更鸟是我唯一的朋友。”

“可我什么朋友都没有。”玛丽说。

约克郡人从来都是心直口快，本这个老头正是约克郡荒原上的人。“你和我，咱俩差不多。”他对玛丽说，“长得丑，脾气还都不好。”

以前从来没有人对玛丽说过这些。她有些怀疑：“我真是像本一样，又丑又不招人喜欢吗？”

突然，知更鸟飞到玛丽近旁的一棵树上，开始对着她唱歌。本大声笑起来。

“看哪！”他说，“他想做你的朋友呢！”

“哦！你愿意做我的朋友吗？”她小声地对知更鸟说。她的声音又轻又柔，本老头惊奇地望着她。

“你说得真好！”他说，“听起来像狄肯，他在荒原上跟动物说话时就是这样。”

“你认识狄肯吗？”玛丽问道。但就在这时知更鸟飞走了。“哦，看哪，他飞到那个没有门的花园里去了！本，请问，我怎么才能进去呢？”

本收起了笑容，拾起他的铲子。“你不能进去，就是不行。那不是你的事儿，没人能找到那扇门。到别的地方去玩儿吧，好吗？我得接着干活儿了。”然后他就走开了，甚至连再见也没说。

以后的几天，玛丽几乎所有的时间都待在花园里。荒原上吹来的新鲜空气让她感到饥饿，而她也变得强壮，变得健康了。一天，她又看见了知更鸟。他在一堵墙的顶上冲她唱歌，好像是在说：“早上好！多好玩儿啊！上这儿来！”还一边沿着围墙跳着。玛丽一边跟在他旁边跳着，一边放声笑起来。“我知道秘密花园在这堵墙的那一边！”她兴奋地想着，“知更鸟就住在那儿！可是门在哪儿呢？”

那天晚饭后她让玛莎留下，在壁炉边上陪她说话。她们听到风在房子周围盘旋，而屋子里又暖和又舒适。玛丽的脑子里只有一个念头。

“给我讲讲那个秘密花园吧。”她说。

“嗯，那好吧，小姐，不过你知道我们是不许谈论它的。那是克莱文夫人最喜欢的花园，她和克莱文先生曾亲自打理它。他们时常在里面待上几个小时，读书，谈心，他们非常幸福。他们拿一根老树的枝当座椅。可是有一天，当克莱文夫人坐在上面时，树枝断了，她摔下来，伤得很重，第二天就死了。这就是为什么克莱文先生那么讨厌那个花园，而且不让任何人进去的原因。”

“太惨了！”玛丽说，“可怜的克莱文先生！”这是玛丽第一次为别人感到难过。

就在这时，当她倾听着外面的风时，她听到了另一个声音，就在这房子里面。

“你听到小孩在哭吗？”她问玛莎。

玛莎看上去很慌乱，“嗯——没有，”她答道，“不，我想——肯定是风。”

可是这时风把她们的门吹开了。她们真切地听到了哭声。

“我说的没错吧！”玛丽大声说。

玛莎立刻把门关上，还是说：“那就是风声。”可她的声音不像平时那么自然，所以玛丽根本不相信她。

第二天，雨下得很大，玛丽没有出去，而是打定主意在房子里转转，看看梅洛太太讲过的那上百个房间。她整个上午都在出入那些昏暗寂静的房间，房间里满是笨重的家具和古旧的画。她没看到一个用人，当她转身回房间吃午饭时，听到有人哭泣的声音。她想：“听起来有点儿像昨天晚上的哭声。”就在这时，管家梅洛太太出现了，手里拎着大串钥匙。

“你在这里干什么？”她生气地问道。

“我不知道该从哪儿出去，我听见有人在哭。”玛丽回答。

“你什么也没听见！现在就回你的房间去，你要是不待在那儿，我就把你锁起来！”

玛丽不喜欢梅洛太太这种样子。“就是有人在哭嘛，我知道肯定有！”她自言自语道，“不过我会很快弄清楚是谁的！”她几乎开始喜欢在约克郡的生活了。

3

Finding the secret garden

When Mary woke up two days later, the wind and rain had all disappeared, and the sky was a beautiful blue. 'Spring'll be here soon,' said Martha happily. 'You'll love the moor then, when it's full of flowers and birds.'

'Could I get to the moor?' asked Mary.

'You've never done much walking, have you? I don't think you could walk the five miles to our cottage!'

'But I'd like to meet your family,' Mary said.

Martha looked at the little girl for a moment. She remembered how disagreeable Mary had been when she first arrived. But now, Mary looked interested and friendly.

'I'll ask Mother,' said Martha. 'She can always think of a good plan. She's sensible and hardworking and kind — I know you'll like her.'

'I like Dickon, although I've never seen him.'

'I wonder what Dickon will think of you?'

'He won't like me,' said Mary. 'No one does.'

'But do you like yourself? That's what Mother would ask.'

'No, not really. I've never thought of that.'

'Well, I must go now. It's my day off, so I'm going home to help Mother with the housework. Goodbye, miss. See you tomorrow.'

Mary felt lonelier than ever when Martha had gone, so she went outside. The sunshine made the gardens look different. And the change in the weather had even made Ben Weatherstaff easier to talk to.

'Can you smell spring in the air?' he asked her. 'Things are growing, deep down in the ground. Soon you'll see little green shoots coming up — young plants, they are. You watch them.'

'I will,' replied Mary. 'Oh, there's the robin!' The little bird hopped on to Ben's spade. 'Are things growing in the garden where he lives?'

'What garden?' said Ben, in his bad-tempered voice.

'You know, the secret garden. Are the flowers dead there?' She really wanted to know the answer.

'Ask the robin,' said Ben crossly. 'He's the only one who's been in there for the last ten years.'

Ten years was a long time, Mary thought. She had been born ten years ago. She walked away, thinking. She had begun to like the gardens, and the robin, and Martha and Dickon and their mother. Before she came to Yorkshire, she had not liked anybody.

She was walking beside the long wall of the secret garden, when a most wonderful thing happened. She suddenly realized the robin was following her. She felt very pleased and excited by this, and cried out, 'You like me, don't you? And I like you too!' As he hopped along beside her, she hopped and sang too, to show him that she was his friend. Just then he stopped at a place where a dog had dug a hole in the ground. As Mary looked at the hole, she noticed something almost buried there. She put her hand in and pulled it out. It was an old key.

'Perhaps it's been buried for ten years,' she whispered to herself. 'Perhaps it's the key to the secret garden!'

She looked at it for a long time. How lovely it would be to find the garden, and see what had happened to it in the last ten years! She could play in it all by herself, and nobody would know she was there. She put the key safely in her pocket.

The next morning Martha was back at Misselthwaite Manor, and told Mary all about her day with her family.

'I really enjoyed myself. I helped Mother with the whole week's washing and baking. And I told the children about you. They wanted to know about your servants, and the ship that brought you to England, and everything!'

'I can tell you some more for next time,' offered Mary. 'They'd like to hear about riding on elephants and camels, wouldn't they?'

'Oh, that would be kind of you, miss! And look, Mother has sent you a present!'

'A present!' repeated Mary. How could a family of fourteen hungry people give anyone a present!

'Mother bought it from a man who came to the door to sell things. She told me, "Martha, you've brought me your pay, like a good girl, and we need it all, but I'm going to buy something for that lonely child at the Manor," and she bought one, and here it is!'

It was a skipping-rope. Mary stared at it.

'What is it?' she asked.

'Don't they have skipping-ropes in India? Well, this is how you use it. Just watch me.'

Martha took the rope and ran into the middle of the room. She counted up to a hundred as she skipped.

'That looks lovely,' said Mary. 'Your mother is very kind. Do you think I could ever skip like that?'

'Just try,' said Martha. 'Mother says it'll make you strong and healthy. Skip outside in the fresh air.'

Mary put her coat on and took the skipping-rope. As she was opening the door, she thought of something and turned round.

'Martha, it was your money really. Thank you.' She never thanked people usually and she did not know how to do it. So she held out her hand, because she knew that adults did that.

Martha shook her hand and laughed. 'You're a strange child,' she said. 'Like an old woman! Now run away and play!'

The skipping-rope was wonderful. Mary counted and skipped, skipped and counted, until her face was hot and red. She was having more fun than she had ever had before. She skipped through the gardens until she found Ben Weatherstaff, who was digging and talking to his robin. She wanted them both to see her skip.

'Well!' said Ben. 'You're looking fine and healthy today! Go on skipping. It's good for you.'

Mary skipped all the way to the secret garden wall. And there was the robin! He had followed her! Mary was very pleased.

'You showed me where the key was yesterday,' she laughed. 'I've got it in my pocket. So you ought to show me the door today!'

The robin hopped on to an old climbing plant on the wall, and sang his most beautiful song. Suddenly the wind made the plant move, and Mary saw something under the dark green leaves. The thick, heavy plant was covering a door. Mary's heart was beating fast and her hands were shaking as she pushed the leaves away and found the keyhole. She took the key out of her pocket, and it fitted the hole. Using both hands, she managed to unlock the door. Then she turned round to see if anyone was watching. But there was no one, so she pushed the door, which opened, slowly, for the first time in ten years. She walked quickly in and shut the door behind her. At last she was inside the secret garden!

It was the loveliest, most exciting place she had ever seen. There were old rose trees everywhere, and the walls were covered with climbing roses. She looked carefully at the grey branches. Were the roses still alive? Ben would know. She hoped they weren't all dead. But she was inside the wonderful garden, in a world of her own. It seemed very strange and silent, but she did not feel lonely at all. Then she noticed some small green shoots coming up through the grass. So something was growing in the garden after all! When she found a lot more shoots in different places, she decided they needed more air and light, so she began to pull out the thick grass around them. She worked away, clearing the ground, for two or three hours, and had to take her coat off because she got so hot. The robin hopped around, pleased to see someone gardening.

She almost forgot about lunch, and when she arrived back in her room, she was very hungry and ate twice as much as usual. 'Martha,' she said as she was eating, 'I've been thinking. This is a big, lonely house, and there isn't much for me to do. Do you think, if I buy a little spade, I can make my own garden?'

'That's just what Mother said,' replied Martha. 'You'd enjoy digging and watching plants growing. Dickon can get you a spade, and some seeds to plant, if you like.'

'Oh, thank you, Martha! I've got some money that Mrs Medlock gave me. Will you write and ask Dickon to buy them for me?'

'I will. And he'll bring them to you himself.'

'Oh! Then I'll see him.' Mary looked very excited. Then she remembered something. 'I heard that cry in the house again, Martha. It wasn't the wind this time. I've heard it three times now. Who is it?'

Martha looked uncomfortable. 'You mustn't go wandering around the house, you know. Mr Craven wouldn't like it. Now I must go and help the others downstairs. I'll see you at tea-time.'

As the door closed behind Martha, Mary thought to herself, 'This really is the strangest house that anyone ever lived in.'

cottage n. a small house, usually in a village or the countryside. 小木屋，农舍。

sensible adj. reasonable and practical. 通情达理的。

housework n. the work that you do to keep your house clean and neat. 家务。

shoot n. a very young plant, or a new part growing on a plant. 新芽，嫩枝。

hop v. jump. 跳，蹦。

elephant n. a very large wild animal that has thick gray skin and a very long nose. 大象。

camel n. a large animal with a long neck and one or two humps on its back. 骆驼。

present n. gift. 礼物。

skipping-rope n. a length of rope revolved over the head and under the feet while jumping as a game or exercise. 跳绳。

adult n. someone who is no longer a child and is legally responsible for their actions. 大人，成年人。

ought to should. 应该。

uncomfortable adj. feeling embarrassed or nervous; uneasy. 不自在的，不安的。

teatime n. the usual time for serving tea, as late afternoon. 喝茶时间，如傍晚。

3　找到秘密花园

两天后，当玛丽早上醒来时，风住了，雨也停了，天空是一片美丽的蓝色。“春天就要来了！”玛莎快活地说道，“那时到处是花儿和小鸟，你会喜欢荒原的。”

“我能去荒原吗？”玛丽问。

“你没有走过那么远的路吧，对不对？我看你走不了5里路到我们住的小屋去！”

“可是我想见一见你的家人。”玛丽说。

玛莎对着这个小女孩注视了片刻，她想起玛丽刚来这儿时是多么地不讨人喜欢，可是现在，她看上去兴致勃勃的，也很友好。

“我得问问妈妈，”玛莎说，“她总能想出好办法的。她聪明、能干，还很善良，我想你会喜欢她的。”

“我喜欢狄肯，虽然我没见过他。”

“我不知道狄肯会不会喜欢你。”

“他不会喜欢我的，”玛丽说，“没人喜欢我。”

“但是你喜欢自己吗？妈妈会这么问的。”

“不，不太喜欢，我从来没想过这个问题。”

“哦，我得走了，今天是我休息的日子，我得回家帮妈妈做家务。再见，小姐，明天见。”

玛莎走后，玛丽觉得更孤单了，于是她走到外面。阳光使花园看上去与往日不同，而且天气的变化似乎让本·威瑟斯塔夫也变得喜欢说话了。

“你能闻到春天的气息吗？”他问玛丽，“在深深的泥土下面，万物在生长。很快你就会看见绿色的嫩芽长出来——那些幼苗，你会看见它们的。”

“我会的，”玛丽答道，“噢！知更鸟！”小鸟蹦到了本的铲子上。“它住的园子里一切也在生长吗？”

“什么园子？”本问道，语气中有些暴躁。

“你知道的，那个秘密花园。那儿的花儿死了吗？”她是真的想知道答案。

“问知更鸟吧，”本不耐烦地说，“它是唯一在这10年里去过那儿的。”

10年是段很长的时间，玛丽想。她是10年前出生的。她走开了，想着心事。她已经开始喜欢上园子、知更鸟、玛莎、狄肯，还有他们的母亲。在她来约克郡之前，她从来也没喜欢过谁。

她正在秘密花园长长的围墙外走着，一件惊人的事情发生了。她突然发现知更鸟在跟着她，她感到非常高兴，非常激动，她叫道：“你喜欢我，对吗？我也喜欢你！”知更鸟一蹦一跳地在她左右，她也一样跳着唱着，告诉知更鸟她是他的朋友。这时知更鸟在一个地方停下来，那儿的地上有一个狗挖出来的洞。玛丽往洞里看时，发现有个东西埋在里面，她伸手进去拣出来，是一把旧钥匙。

“说不定它已经被埋了10年了，”她低声地自言自语道，“说不定这就是秘密花园的钥匙！”

她拿着钥匙看了很久。要是能找到秘密花园，看看这10年间都发生了些什么变化，那该有多棒啊！她就能一个人在里面玩儿，谁也不知道她会在那儿。她把钥匙小心地放进口袋里。

第二天早晨，玛莎回到米瑟斯韦特庄园，她给玛丽讲述了她同家人共度的一天中的情况。

“我真高兴，我帮妈妈把一个星期要洗的东西都洗了，还烤了一个星期要吃的面包。我对孩子们讲起你，他们都想知道你在印度的仆人们，带你来英国的大船，一切的事情！”

“下次我会多讲些给你听，”玛丽说，“他们会喜欢听骑大象和骑骆驼的事，对吗？”

“噢，小姐，你真是太好了！对了，看，妈妈送给你的礼物！”

“礼物！”玛丽重复道。一个有着14个挨饿的人的家庭怎么能给人送礼物！

“妈妈从上门卖货的人那儿买的。她告诉我说：‘玛莎，你是个好孩子，把工钱都给了我，我们需要用钱，不过我要给庄园里那个孤单的孩子买点儿东西。’于是她就买了一个，瞧，就在这儿！”

那是一根跳绳。玛丽瞪大眼睛望着它。

“这是什么？”她问。

“在印度没有人跳绳吗？好吧，你得这么用，看着我。”

玛莎拿着绳子跑到房间中央，跳了有100下。

“真好看，”玛丽说道，“你妈妈真好，你觉得我能跳得那么好吗？”

“试试看，”玛莎说，“妈妈说它会让你健康又强壮。要在外面新鲜空气中跳。”

玛丽穿上大衣，拿起跳绳，要去开门的时候她好像想起了什么，又转回来。

“玛莎，这其实是花你的钱，谢谢你。”她平常从来不去感谢别人，也不知道该怎么做。于是她伸出手，因为她知道大人们都那么做。

玛莎握住她的手笑起来，说：“你可真是个怪孩子，像个老太婆！现在就到外面玩儿去吧！”

跳绳真棒，玛丽跳着数着，数着跳着，跳得脸蛋儿又红又热，她从来没有这么快活过。她跳过花园，找到本·威瑟斯塔夫。老人正在一边挖土，一边跟知更鸟说着话。她想让他们俩都看她跳绳。

“哈！你今天看上去不错，很健康，接着跳吧，这对你有好处。”他说。

玛丽一路跳着来到秘密花园的墙外，知更鸟也在那儿！它是跟着她来的，玛丽高兴极了。

“你昨天告诉了我钥匙在哪儿，”她笑着说道，“我把它放在兜里了，今天你该告诉我门在哪儿啦！”

知更鸟跳到墙上的一根老藤上，唱起他最动听的歌。突然，风吹动了藤蔓，玛丽看见了那暗绿色叶子下面的东西。那沉重粗壮的植物遮掩着一扇门。玛丽的心跳加快了，当她扒开叶子，发现钥匙孔时，手都在颤抖。她从兜里掏出钥匙，插进孔中，双手一起使劲打开了那道锁，然后她转过身看看有没有人看见，但是一个人也没有，于是她推动了那扇门。门缓缓地开了，这是10年来第一次。她很快走进花园，随手关上了门。她终于进了这座秘密花园！

这是她所见过的最美丽、最令人心动的地方。眼前全是生长多年的玫瑰，墙也被蔓生的玫瑰盖住了。她细细地端详那灰色的枝条，那些玫瑰还活着吗？本一定知道。她希望它们都还没死。可她是在这座奇妙花园的里面，在一个属于她的世界里。这里陌生寂静，可她一点儿也不觉得孤单。这时，她一眼注意到一些从草地上冒出来的小小的绿芽，花园总算有东西在生长！当她在其他地方又看到更多的嫩芽时，她想它们一定需要更多的空气和阳光，于是开始拔掉它们周围浓密的杂草。她埋头干着，清理着地面，一直忙活了两三个小时，而且还不得不脱掉了大衣，因为她实在是太热了。知更鸟在四周跳着，看到有人整理这个花园它很高兴。

她几乎忘了去吃午饭，当她回到房间时觉得饿极了，吃掉了平常两倍的东西。“玛莎，”她一边吃一边说道，“我一直在想，这么一座孤零零的大房子里，我实在没什么可干。你觉得，如果我买把小铲子，能造一座自己的花园吗？”

“妈妈就是这么说的，”玛莎回答，“你会喜欢挖土，然后看着植物长起来的。要是你愿意，狄肯能给你弄一把铲子，还能给你些花籽。”

“哦，太感谢你啦，玛莎！梅洛太太给了我些钱，你能给狄肯写封信，让他给我买吗？”

“我会写的，他会自己给你送来。”

“哦！那我就能见到他了，”玛丽显得很兴奋，接着她又想起了什么，“我又听见房子里的哭声了，玛莎。这次不是风，我都听到过3次了，那是谁呀？”

玛莎看上去有些为难：“你看，你不能在房子里乱走，克莱文先生不喜欢这样。我这会儿得下楼去给别人帮忙了，喝茶的时候见。”

玛莎关上门出去了，玛丽独自想着：“这可是人们住过的最奇怪的房子了。”

4

Meeting Dickon

Mary spent nearly a week working in the secret garden. Each day she found new shoots coming out of the ground. Soon there would be flowers everywhere — thousands of them. It was an exciting game to her. When she was inside those beautiful old walls, no one knew where she was.

During that week she became more friendly with Ben, who was often digging in one of the vegetable gardens.

'What are your favourite flowers, Ben?' she asked him one day.

'Roses. I used to work for a young lady who loved roses, you see, and she had a lot in her garden. That was ten years ago. But she died. Very sad, it was.'

'What happened to the roses?' asked Mary.

'They were left there, in the garden.'

'If rose branches look dry and grey, are they still alive?' asked Mary. It was so important to know!

'In the spring they'll show green shoots, and then — But why are you so interested in roses?' he asked.

Mary's face went red. 'I just... wanted to pretend I've got a garden. I haven't got anyone to play with.'

'Well, that's true,' said Ben. He seemed to feel sorry for her. Mary decided she liked old Ben, although he was sometimes bad-tempered.

She skipped along and into the wood at the end of the gardens. Suddenly she heard a strange noise, and there in front of her was a boy. He was sitting under a tree, playing on a wooden pipe. He was about twelve, with a healthy red face and bright blue eyes. There was a squirrel and a crow in the tree, and two rabbits sitting on the grass near him.

'They're listening to the music!' thought Mary. 'I mustn't frighten them!' She stood very still.

The boy stopped playing. 'That's right,' he said. 'Animals don't like it if you move suddenly. I'm Dickon and you must be Miss Mary. I've brought you the spade and the seeds.'

He spoke in an easy, friendly way. Mary liked him at once. As they were looking at the seed packets together, the robin hopped on to a branch near them. Dickon listened carefully to the robin's song.

'He's saying he's your friend,' he told Mary.

'Really? Oh, I am pleased he likes me. Can you understand everything that birds say?'

'I think I do, and they think I do. I've lived on the moor with them for so long. Sometimes I think I am a bird or an animal, not a boy at all!' His smile was the widest she had ever seen.

He explained how to plant the seeds. Suddenly he said, 'I can help you plant them! Where's your garden?'

Mary went red, then white. She had never thought of this. What was she going to say?

'Could you keep a secret? It's a great secret. If anyone discovers it, I'll... I'll die!'

'I keep secrets for all the wild birds and animals on the moor. So I can keep yours too,' he replied.

'I've stolen a garden,' she said very fast. 'Nobody goes into it, nobody wants it. I love it and nobody takes care of it! They're letting it die!' And she threw her arms over her face and started crying.

'Don't cry,' said Dickon gently. 'Where is it?'

'Come with me and I'll show you,' said Miss Mary.

They went to the secret garden and entered it together. Dickon walked round, looking at everything.

'Martha told me about this place, but I never thought I'd see it,' he said. 'It's wonderful!'

'What about the roses?' asked Mary worriedly. 'Are they still alive? What do you think?'

'Look at these shoots on the branches. Most of them are alive all right.' He took out his knife and cut away some of the dead wood from the rose trees. Mary showed him the work she had done in the garden, and they talked as they cut and cleared.

'Dickon,' said Mary suddenly, 'I like you. I never thought I'd like as many as five people!'

'Only five!' laughed Dickon.

He did look funny when he laughed, thought Mary.

'Yes, your mother, Martha, the robin, Ben, and you.' Then she asked him a question in Yorkshire dialect, because that was his language.

'Does tha'like me?' was her question.

'Of course! I likes thee wonderful!' replied Dickon, a big smile on his round face. Mary had never been so happy.

When she went back to the house for her lunch, she told Martha about Dickon's visit.

'I've got news for you too,' said Martha. 'Mr Craven's come home, and wants to see you! He's going away again tomorrow, for several months.'

'Oh!' said Mary. That was good news. She would have all summer in the secret garden before he came back. But she must be careful. He mustn't guess her secret now.

Just then Mrs Medlock arrived, in her best black dress, to take Mary down to Mr Craven's room.

Mary's uncle had black hair with some white in it, and high, crooked shoulders. His face was not ugly, but very sad. During their conversation he watched her in a worried way. Perhaps he was thinking of other things at the same time.

He looked at the thin child. 'Are you well?' he asked. Mary tried to keep her voice calm as she replied,

'I'm getting stronger and healthier.'

'What do you want to do, in this big empty house?'

'I... I just want to play outside — I enjoy that.'

'Yes, Martha's mother, Susan Sowerby, spoke to me the other day. She's a sensible woman — and she said you needed fresh air. But where do you play?'

'Everywhere! I just skip and run — and look for green shoots. I don't damage anything!'

'Don't look so frightened! Of course a child like you couldn't damage anything. Play where you like. Is there anything that you want?'

Mary came a step nearer to him, and her voice shook a little as she spoke. 'Could I — could I have a bit of garden?'

Mr Craven looked very surprised.

'To plant seeds in... to make them come alive!' Mary went on bravely. 'It was too hot in India, so I was always ill and tired there. But here it's different. I... I love the garden!'

He passed a hand quickly over his eyes. Then he looked kindly at Mary. 'I knew someone once who loved growing things, like you. Yes, child, take as much of the garden as you want.' He smiled gently at her. 'Now leave me. I'm very tired.'

Mary ran all the way back to her room.

'Martha!' she shouted. 'Mr Craven's really a nice man, but he looks very unhappy. He said I can have my own garden!'

She was planning to work in the garden with Dickon every day, to make it beautiful for the summer.

spend v. use time, effort, or energy to do something. 花费（时间，金钱）。

pipe n. a simple musical instrument consisting of one or more tubes that you blow through. 管，管乐器，笛子，箫。

squirrel n. a gray or red-brown animal with a long thick tail that lives in trees. 松鼠。

crow n. a large black bird that makes a loud sound. 乌鸦。

rabbit n. a small animal with long ears and soft fur. 兔子。

reply v. answer. 回答。

steal v. to take something that belongs to someone else without permission. 偷。

worriedly adv. anxiously. 忧心忡忡地，为难地。

Does tha'like me? = Do you like me?; I likes thee wonderful! = I like you very much! 约克郡方言。

shoulder n. one of the two parts of your body between your neck and the top of your arms. 肩膀。

conversation n. chat, talk. 谈话，交谈。

damage v. to harm something physically so that it is broken, spoiled, or injured. 毁坏，弄坏。

bravely adv. dealing with danger or pain, without seeming to be frightened. 勇敢地。

4　见到狄肯

玛丽花了将近一个星期的时间在秘密花园里干活儿。每天，她都看到新的嫩芽从土里冒出来，很快，这里将开满成千上万的花朵。对她来说，这是一个让她兴奋不已的游戏。她一走进那些美丽的旧围墙，就没人知道她去了哪儿。

那个星期她开始对经常不停地在那块菜地里挖土的本更加友好了。

一天，她问他：“本，你最喜欢什么花？”

“玫瑰。我曾经给一位喜爱玫瑰的年轻女士干活儿，她的花园里有好多玫瑰，那都是10年前的事了。可是她死了，很惨。”

“那些玫瑰怎么样了？”玛丽问。

“它们就留在花园里了。”

“要是玫瑰的枝子看上去又干又暗，它们还活着吗？”玛丽问道。弄懂这个简直是太重要了！

“到了春天它们就会长出绿色的嫩芽，然后——你怎么会对玫瑰这么有兴趣呢？”他问。

玛丽的脸红了：“我只是——设想自己有个花园，没人跟我一起玩儿。”

“嗯，那倒是真的。”本说。他似乎是在为她感到难过。玛丽决定喜欢本，尽管他有时脾气不大好。

她蹦跳着来到花园尽头的树丛中，突然，她听到一个陌生的声音，有个男孩出现在她的面前。他正坐在一棵树下，吹着一根木管。他大约十二岁，脸色健康、红润，有一双明亮的蓝眼睛。树上有一只松鼠，还有只乌鸦，他身边的草地上还有两只小兔子。

玛丽想：“它们都在听音乐，我可别吓着它们！”她静静地站着。

男孩停下来，说：“这就对了，动物们不喜欢你唐突的动作。我是狄肯，你肯定就是玛丽小姐了。我给你带铲子和花籽来了。”

他说话的样子轻松友善，玛丽一下子就喜欢上他了。他们一起看装着花籽的小包时，知更鸟蹦到了旁边的树枝上，狄肯仔细听着知更鸟的歌声。

他告诉玛丽说：“它说它是你的朋友。”

“真的吗？哦，它喜欢我，我真太高兴了。你能听懂鸟说的每一句话吗？”

“我觉得是，它们也这么想。我跟它们一起在荒原上住了这么久，有时候我觉得自己就是一只鸟或是一只动物，根本就不是个孩子！”玛丽从来没有见过像他这样开心的笑容。

他讲解着该怎么种那些花籽，突然他说：“我可以帮你种！你的花园在哪儿？”

玛丽脸红了，然后又变得苍白。她从没想到这一点，她该怎么说呢？

“你能保守秘密吗？这可是个大秘密。要是被人发现了，我就……我就得死！”

狄肯回答：“我为荒原上所有的鸟兽保密，所以我也能为你保密。”

“我偷了一个花园，”她说得很快，“谁都没进去过，谁也不想要它。我喜欢它，可是没人照看它，他们就由着它死掉！”她把脸埋在臂弯里，哭了起来。

狄肯轻轻地说：“别哭了，它在哪儿呢？”

“你跟我来，我让你看看它。”玛丽说。

他们来到秘密花园，一起走了进去。狄肯四处走着，每样东西都看看。

“玛莎跟我说过这个地方，可我从没想到能见到它，”他说，“它可太棒了！”

“那些玫瑰怎么样？”玛丽担心地问道，“它们还活着吗？你觉得呢？”

“看看枝子上的这些嫩芽，大部分已经活了。”他掏出小刀割去一些玫瑰树上已经枯死的枝条。玛丽给他看了自己在花园里干的活儿。他们一边修剪枝条，清理残叶，一边说着话。

“狄肯，”玛丽突然说道，“我喜欢你。我从没想到能喜欢5个人！”

“才5个人！”狄肯笑了。

他笑的样子很滑稽，玛丽心里想。

“是的，你妈妈、玛莎、知更鸟、本和你。”然后她用约克郡的方言问了他一个问题，因为他就讲这种话。

她的问题是：“你喜欢我吗？”

“当然！我很喜欢你！”狄肯回答，圆圆的脸上露出灿烂的笑容。玛丽从来没有这么开心过。

回去吃午饭时，她告诉玛莎狄肯来过了。

“我也有事要告诉你，”玛莎说，“克莱文先生回来了，而且要见你！他明天又要走了，要走几个月呢。”

“哦！”玛丽说。那可是好消息。在他回来之前，她可以整个夏天都待在秘密花园里。不过她一定要小心，可不能让他这会儿就猜出她的秘密。

这时，梅洛太太进来了。她穿上了她最好的黑色长裙，带玛丽下楼到克莱文先生的房间。

玛丽的舅舅黑发中夹着银丝，高高的个子，背有些驼。他长得并不丑，但脸色阴沉。谈话中他神色忧郁地看着她，也许他同时在想着什么别的事情。

他看着这个瘦弱的孩子，问道：“你好吗？”玛丽在回答时尽量使自己的声音保持平静。

“我越来越结实、健康了。”

“在这样一座空荡荡的大房子里，你想做些什么呢？”

“我……我只是想在外面玩儿——我喜欢那样。”

“是啊，玛莎的母亲，苏珊·索尔比那天也对我这么说。她是个聪明人——她说你需要新鲜空气。可你都在哪儿玩儿呢？”

“哪儿都玩儿！我就是跳跳绳，跑来跑去——找那些绿色的嫩芽。我什么也没弄坏！”

“别这么害怕！像你这样的孩子当然什么也弄不坏。喜欢哪儿就在哪儿玩儿吧。你想要什么东西吗？”

玛丽往他身边走了一步，说话时声音有点儿发抖：“我能——我能有一小块儿花园吗？”

克莱文先生显得很惊讶。

“用来播种子，让它们长起来！”玛丽壮着胆子接着说道，“在印度天气太热了，所以我老是生病，老是觉得累。可这儿就不一样。我……我喜欢花园！”

克莱文先生很快地用一只手挡在眼睛前面，然后他和蔼地看着玛丽：“我曾经认识一个人，也喜欢种东西，像你一样。好吧，孩子，花园你想要多大都成。现在你可以走了，我很累了。”他和善地对她笑着。

玛丽一路小跑回到了自己的房间。

“玛莎！”她喊道，“克莱文先生真是个好人，可他看上去很不开心。他说我能有自己的花园！”

她打算每天与狄肯一起在花园里干活儿，让花园在夏天漂亮起来。

5

Meeting Colin

In the middle of the night Mary woke up. Heavy rain had started falling again, and the wind was blowing violently round the walls of the old house. Suddenly she heard crying again. This time she decided to discover who it was. She left her room, and in the darkness followed the crying sound, round corners and through doors, up and down stairs, to the other side of the big house. At last she found the right room. She pushed the door open and went in.

It was a big room with beautiful old furniture and pictures. In the large bed was a boy, who looked tired and cross, with a thin, white, tearful face. He stared at Mary.

'Who are you?' he whispered. 'Are you a dream?'

'No, I'm not. I'm Mary Lennox. Mr Craven's my uncle.'

'He's my father,' said the boy. 'I'm Colin Craven.'

'No one ever told me he had a son!' said Mary, very surprised.

'Well, no one ever told me you'd come to live here. I'm ill, you see. I don't want people to see me and talk about me. If I live, I may have a crooked back like my father, but I'll probably die.'

'What a strange house this is!' said Mary. 'So many secrets! Does your father come and see you often?'

'Not often. He doesn't like seeing me because it makes him remember my mother. She died when I was born, so he almost hates me, I think.'

'Why do you say you're going to die?' asked Mary.

'I've always been ill. I've nearly died several times, and my back's never been strong. My doctor feels sure that I'm going to die. But he's my father's cousin, and very poor, so he'd like me to die. Then he'd get all the money when my father dies. He gives me medicine and tells me to rest. We had a grand doctor from London once, who told me to go out in the fresh air and try to get well. But I hate fresh air. And another thing, all the servants have to do what I want, because if I'm angry, I become ill.'

Mary thought she liked this boy, although he seemed so strange. He asked her lots of questions, and she told him all about her life in India.

'How old are you?' he asked suddenly.

'I'm ten, and so are you,' replied Mary, forgetting to be careful, 'because when you were born the garden door was locked and the key was buried. And I know that was ten years ago.'

Colin sat up in bed and looked very interested. 'What door? Who locked it? Where's the key? I want to see it. I'll make the servants tell me where it is. They'll take me there and you can come too.'

'Oh, please! Don't — don't do that!' cried Mary.

Colin stared at her. 'Don't you want to see it?'

'Yes, but if you make them open the door, it will never be a secret again. You see, if only we know about it, if we — if we can find the key, we can go and play there every day. We can help the garden come alive again. And no one will know about it — except us!'

'I see,' said Colin slowly. 'Yes, I'd like that. It'll be our secret. I've never had a secret before.'

'And perhaps,' added Mary cleverly, 'we can find a boy to push you in your wheelchair, if you can't walk, and we can go there together without any other people. You'll feel better outside. I know I do.'

'I'd like that,' he said dreamily. 'I think I'd like fresh air, in a secret garden.'

Then Mary told him about the moor, and Dickon, and Ben Weatherstaff, and the robin, and Colin listened to it all with great interest. He began to smile and look much happier.

'I like having you here,' he said. 'You must come and see me every day. But I'm tired now.'

'I'll sing you a song. My servant Kamala used to do that in India,' said Mary, and very soon Colin was asleep.

The next afternoon Mary visited Colin again, and he seemed very pleased to see her. He had sent his nurse away and had told nobody about Mary's visit. Mary had not told anybody either. They read some of his books together, and told each other stories. They were enjoying themselves and laughing loudly when suddenly the door opened. Dr Craven and Mrs Medlock came in. They almost fell over in surprise.

'What's happening here?' asked Dr Craven.

Colin sat up straight. To Mary he looked just like an Indian prince. 'This is my cousin, Mary Lennox,' he said calmly. 'I like her. She must visit me often.'

'Oh, I'm sorry, sir,' said poor Mrs Medlock to the doctor. 'I don't know how she discovered him. I told the servants to keep it a secret.'

'Don't be stupid, Medlock,' said the Indian prince coldly. 'Nobody told her. She heard me crying and found me herself. Bring our tea up now.'

'I'm afraid you're getting too hot and excited, my boy,' said Dr Craven. 'That's not good for you. Don't forget you're ill.'

'I want to forget!' said Colin. 'I'll be angry if Mary doesn't visit me! She makes me feel better.'

Dr Craven did not look happy when he left the room.

'What a change in the boy, sir!' said the housekeeper. 'He's usually so disagreeable with all of us. He really seems to like that strange little girl. And he does look better.' Dr Craven had to agree.

violently adv. in a way that involves violence. 粗暴地，激烈地。

probably adv. maybe, perhaps. 可能，也许。

cousin n. a child of one's aunt or uncle. 表兄（妹）。

medicine n. a substance that you take to treat an illness. 药。

wheelchair n. a chair with large wheels that someone who cannot walk uses for moving around. 轮椅。

dreamily adv. in a way that shows you are thinking about pleasant things rather than paying attention. 迷迷糊糊地，朦胧地。

prince n. a male member of a royal family who is not the king. 王子。

stupid adj. silly. 傻的，蠢的。

5　见到柯林

半夜的时候，玛丽醒了。天又开始下大雨了，狂风在房子围墙周围猛烈地刮着。突然，她又听见了哭声，这次她决定要搞清楚那个人是谁。她走出房间，在黑暗中循着哭泣的声音，绕过墙角，穿过一扇扇门，上下楼梯，来到这所大房子的另一侧。终于她找到了那个房间，推开门，走了进去。

那是个很大的房间，摆着古旧的家具和画，非常漂亮。在一张大床上躺着一个男孩，看上去疲惫、烦躁。他的脸颊消瘦、苍白，挂满了泪痕。他瞪大眼睛看着玛丽。

“你是谁？”他小声问，“我是在做梦吧？”

“不，不是。我是玛丽·莲诺丝。克莱文先生是我舅舅。”

“他是我父亲，”那个男孩说道，“我叫柯林·克莱文。”

“从来没有人告诉过我他有个儿子！”玛丽说，觉得十分吃惊。

“嗯，也没人告诉我你在这儿住。你看到了，我病了。我不想让人们看见我议论我，要是我活下来，我可能会像父亲一样成为驼背，但是我可能会死的。”

“这所房子真是奇怪啊！”玛丽说，“这么多秘密！你父亲常来看你吗？”

“不常来。他不喜欢见到我，因为这让他想起妈妈。她是生我的时候死的，所以他八成是恨我，我这么想。”

“你为什么说自己会死呢？”玛丽问。

“我一直在生病。我已经死过几次了，而且我的脊背向来就很弱。我的医生肯定我会死的。他是我父亲的表弟，而且很穷，所以他巴不得我死呢。那样等我父亲去世以后，所有的钱就都归他了。他给我药吃，让我休息，有一回我们从伦敦请了个有名的大夫，他让我到外面呼吸新鲜空气，尽量休养好。可我不喜欢新鲜空气。还有一件事，所有的用人都必须照我的想法去做，因为要是我一生气，我就会生病的。”

虽然他看上去有些怪怪的，可玛丽觉得自己挺喜欢这个孩子。他问了她很多问题，而她就给他讲在印度的生活。

“你几岁了？”他突然问道。

“我10岁了，你也是，”玛丽回答，一时说漏了嘴，“因为你出生时花园的门就被锁上，钥匙也被埋起来了，我知道那是10年前的事。”

柯林从床上坐起来，一副好奇的样子：“什么门？谁把它锁上的？钥匙在哪儿？我要看看。我要让用人告诉我它在什么地方。他们会带我去那儿，你也可以来。”

“哦，别这样！请别这样！”玛丽大声说。

柯林瞪着她：“难道你不想看看它吗？”

“想，可要是你让他们打开门，它就再也不是个秘密了。你想，如果只有我们知道这事，如果我们——如果我们能找到那把钥匙，我们就能每天都去那儿玩儿了。我们还能让花园重新充满生机，而且谁也不会知道——只有我们！”

“我明白了，”柯林慢条斯理地说，“好吧，我愿意这样。它是我们的秘密，我从来没有过自己的秘密。”

“也许，”玛丽机敏地接着说道，“在你走不动的时候，我们也能找个男孩子用轮椅推着你，我们可以一起去那儿，再也没有别人了。你到外面就会感觉好些的。我就是这样，所以我知道。”

“我愿意这样做，”他满怀憧憬地说，“我想我会喜欢一座秘密花园里的新鲜空气的。”

玛丽接着又给他讲荒原，讲狄肯，讲本·威瑟斯塔夫，还有那只知更鸟。柯林非常新奇地听着这一切，他开始有了笑容，样子开心多了。

“我喜欢你在这儿，”他说，“你得每天来看我，可我这会儿有点儿累了。”

“我给你唱个歌吧。在印度时我的用人卡玛拉就常这样。”玛丽说。柯林很快就睡着了。

第二天下午，玛丽又来看柯林。一见到她，柯林显得很高兴。他已经支走了他的护士，也没有告诉其他人玛丽来过。玛丽同样谁也没有告诉。他们一起看柯林的书，互相讲故事。就在他们自得其乐，放声大笑的时候，门突然开了。克莱文医生和梅洛太太走了进来，他们都很是吃惊。

“怎么回事？”克莱文医生问道。

柯林坐直身子。在玛丽看来，他就像是个印度王子。“这是我的表妹，玛丽·莲诺丝，”他平静地说，“我喜欢她，她必须经常来看我。”

“哦，真抱歉，先生，”可怜的梅洛太太对医生说，“我不知道她是怎么找到他的，我告诉过用人们要保密的。”

“别傻了，梅洛太太，”印度王子冷冷地说，“谁也没告诉她，她听见我哭就自己找来了。现在去给我们沏点儿茶来。”

“我恐怕你在发热，过于激动，孩子，”克莱文医生说，“这对你可不好，别忘了你有病。”

“我就想忘掉！”柯林说，“要是不让玛丽来看我我就要生气了！她让我觉得好多了。”

克莱文医生离开的时候看起来很不高兴。

“这孩子变多了，先生！”管家说，“他总是跟我们合不来，他好像真的喜欢这个古怪的小姑娘，而且他看着的确好些了。”克莱文医生不得不同意她的话。

6

Colin is afraid

Because it rained all the next week, Mary went to talk to Colin every day instead of visiting the garden. But she woke early one morning to see the sun shining into her room, and she ran out to the secret garden at once. She did not even wait to have her breakfast. It was beautifully sunny and warm, and a thousand more shoots were pushing their way out of the ground. Dickon was already there, digging hard, with the crow and a young fox beside him.

'Have you seen the robin?' he asked Mary. The little bird was flying busily backwards and forwards as fast as he could, carrying pieces of dry grass.

'He's building a nest!' whispered Mary. They watched the robin for a moment. Then Mary said,

'I must tell you something. You probably know about Colin Craven, don't you? Well, I've met him, and I'm going to help him to get better.'

'That's good news.' There was a big smile on Dickon's honest face. 'We all knew he was ill.'

'He's afraid he'll have a crooked back like his father. I think that's what's making him ill.'

'Perhaps we can bring him here and let him rest under the trees. That'll do him good. That's what we'll do.'

They had a lot of gardening and planting to do and Mary did not have time to visit Colin that day. When she came back to the house in the evening, Martha told her that the servants had had trouble with Colin.

'He's been very bad-tempered all afternoon with all of us, because you didn't come, miss.'

'Well, I was busy. He'll have to learn not to be so selfish,' replied Mary coldly. She forgot how selfish she had been when she was ill in India. 'I'll go and see him now.'

When she went into his room, he was lying in bed, looking tired. He did not turn to look at her.

'What's the matter with you?' she asked crossly.

'My back aches and my head hurts. Why didn't you come this afternoon?'

'I was working in the garden with Dickon.'

'I won't let that boy come to the garden if you stay with him instead of talking to me!'

Mary suddenly became very angry. 'If you send Dickon away, I'll never come into this room again!'

'You'll have to, if I say so. I'll make the servants bring you in here.'

'Oh, will you, prince! But no one can make me talk to you. I won't look at you. I'll stare at the floor!'

'You selfish girl!' cried Colin.

'You're more selfish than I am. You're the most selfish boy I've ever met!'

'I'm not as selfish as your fine Dickon! He keeps you playing outside when he knows I'm ill and alone!'

Mary had never been so furious. 'Dickon is nicer than any other boy in the world! He's like an angel!'

'An angel! Don't make me laugh! He's just a poor country boy, with holes in his shoes!'

'He's a thousand times better than you are!'

Colin had never argued with anyone like himself in his life, and in fact it was good for him. But now he was beginning to feel sorry for himself.

'I'm always ill,' he said, and started to cry. 'I'm sure my back is a bit crooked. And I'm going to die!'

'No, you're not!' said Mary crossly.

Colin opened his eyes very wide. Nobody had said that to him before. He was angry, but a bit pleased at the same time. 'What do you mean? You know I'm going to die! Everybody says I'm going to die!'

'I don't believe it!' said Mary in her most disagreeable voice. 'You just say that to make people feel sorry for you. You're too horrid to die!'

Colin forgot about his painful back and sat up in bed. 'Get out of the room at once!' he shouted, and threw a book at her.

'I'm going,' Mary shouted in reply, 'and I won't come back!' The door banged shut behind her.

When she reached her own room, she had decided never to tell him her great secret. 'He can stay in his room and die if he wants!' she thought. But soon she began to remember how ill he had been, and how frightened he was, frightened that one day his back would become as crooked as his father's. 'Perhaps... perhaps I'll go back and see him tomorrow!'

That night she was woken by the most terrible screams that she had ever heard. Servants were opening and shutting doors and running about.

'It's Colin!' thought Mary. 'He'll go on screaming until he makes himself really ill! How selfish he is! Somebody should stop him!'

Just then Martha ran into the room. 'We don't know what to do!' she cried. 'He likes you, miss! Come and see if you can make him calmer, please!'

'Well, I'm very cross with him,' said Mary, and jumped out of bed. 'I'm going to stop him!'

'That's right,' said Martha. 'He needs someone like you, to argue with. It'll give him something new to think about.'

Mary ran into Colin's room, right up to his bed.

'Stop screaming!' she shouted furiously. 'Stop at once! I hate you! Everybody hates you! You'll die if you go on screaming like this, and I hope you will!'

The screams stopped immediately. This was the first time that anyone had spoken so angrily to Colin, and he was shocked. But he went on crying quietly to himself.

'My back's becoming crooked, I can feel it! I know I'm going to die!' Large tears ran down his face.

'Don't be stupid!' cried Mary. 'There's nothing the matter with your horrid back! Martha, come here and help me look at his back!'

Martha and Mrs Medlock were standing at the door, staring at Mary, their mouths half open. They both looked very frightened. Martha came forward to help, and Miss Mary looked carefully at Colin's thin white back, up and down. Her face was serious and angry at the same time. The room was very quiet.

'There's nothing wrong with your back!' she said at last. 'Nothing at all! It's as straight as mine!'

Only Colin knew how important those crossly spoken, childish words were. All his life he had been afraid to ask about his back, and his terrible fear had made him ill. Now an angry little girl told him his back was straight, and he believed her. He was no longer afraid.

They were both calmer now. He gave Mary his hand. 'I think — I'm almost sure I will live, if we can go out in the garden together sometimes. I'm very tired now. Will you stay with me until I go to sleep?'

The servants went out very quietly.

'I'll tell you all about the secret garden,' whispered Mary. 'I think it's full of roses and beautiful flowers. Birds like making their nests there because it's so quiet and safe. And perhaps our robin...'

But Colin was already asleep.

The next day Mary met Dickon as usual in the secret garden, and told him about Colin. Mary loved Dickon's Yorkshire dialect and was trying to learn it herself. She spoke a little now.

'We mun get poor Colin out here in th'sunshine — an'we munnot lose no time about it!'

Dickon laughed. 'Well done! I didn't know you could speak Yorkshire! You're right. We must bring Colin to the garden as soon as we can.'

So that afternoon she went to see Colin.

'I'm sorry I said I'd send Dickon away,' he said. 'I hated you when you said he was like an angel!'

'Well, he's a funny kind of angel, but he understands wild animals better than anyone.' Suddenly, Mary knew that this was the right moment to tell him. She caught hold of his hands. 'Colin, this is important. Can you keep a secret?'

'Yes — yes!' he whispered excitedly. 'What is it?'

'We've found the door into the secret garden!'

'Oh Mary! Will I live long enough to see it?'

'Of course you will! Don't be stupid!' said Mary crossly. But it was a very natural thing to say, and they both laughed.

Colin told Mrs Medlock and the doctor that he wanted to go out in his wheelchair. At first the doctor was worried the boy would get too tired, but when he heard that Dickon would push the wheelchair, he agreed.

'Dickon's a sensible boy,' he told Colin. 'But don't forget —'

'I've told you, I want to forget that I'm ill,' said Colin in his prince's voice. 'Don't you understand? It's because my cousin makes me forget that I feel better when I'm with her.'

fox n. a wild animal similar to a small dog, with red-brown fur, a pointed face, and a thick tail. 狐狸。

nest n. a structure that birds make to keep their eggs and babies in. （鸟）巢，窝。

honest adj. not telling lies or cheating people, and obeying the law. 诚实的，老实的。

angel n. a spirit that in some religions is believed to live in heaven with God. 天使。

horrid adj. causing horror; dreadful. 恐怖的，可怕的。

painful adj. making you feel upset, ashamed, or unhappy. 痛苦的。

scream v. make a loud high cry. 尖叫。

immediately adv. without delay. 立即，马上。

childish adj. behaving in a silly and annoying way, like a small child. 小孩子气的。

as usual 同往常一样。

mun = must; in th'sunshine = in the sunshine; an'we munnot = and we must not. 约克郡方言。

understand v. know what someone or something means. 理解，明白。

catch hold of seize; grasp. 抓住，握住。

6　柯林害怕了

由于接下来下了一个星期的雨，玛丽没有去花园，而是每天去和柯林聊天。可一天早晨她很早就醒了，看见阳光洒进她的房间，她立即跑出去来到秘密花园，连早餐也没来得及吃。天气暖和，阳光明媚，无数的嫩芽拱出地面，狄肯已经在那儿了，正起劲地挖着土，他的身边有一只乌鸦和一只小狐狸。

“看见知更鸟了吗？”他问玛丽。小鸟正忙碌地飞前飞后衔着枯叶。

“它在筑巢呢！”玛丽低声道。他们看了一会儿，然后玛丽说：

“我得告诉你一件事。你可能听说过柯林·克莱文，是吗？我见过他了，而且我要帮助他好起来。”

“这可是好消息，”狄肯质朴的脸上露出了开心的笑容，“我们都知道他有病。”

“他是害怕会像他父亲那样驼背，我看这就是他生病的原因。”

“也许我们可以带他来这儿，让他在树下休息。那会对他有好处，而那正是我们要做的。”

他们忙着在花园里修整、种花，所以玛丽一整天没时间去看柯林。当她晚上回到房间时，玛莎告诉她用人们在柯林那儿惹了麻烦了。

“他整个下午冲我们所有人发脾气，就因为你没去看他，小姐。”

“哦，我很忙。他得学着别这么自私。”玛丽冷冷地说，她忘了她自己在印度生病时有多自私了，“我现在就去看他。”

她走进房间时，他正躺在床上，显得很疲倦，没有扭头看她。

“你怎么啦？”她不太耐烦地问道。

“我后背疼，头也疼。下午你为什么没来？”

“我在花园里跟狄肯一起干活儿。”

“要是你净跟他在一起不来跟我说话，我就不许那个孩子到花园里来！”

玛丽当即就生气了：“你要让狄肯走的话，我就再也不到这儿来了！”

“你必须得来，因为我说了让你来，我会叫用人把你叫来。”

“哦，是吗？王子！可是没人能让我跟你说话呀！我会连看都不看你，就盯着地板！”

“你自私！”柯林叫嚷道。

“你比我自私多了。你是我见过的最自私的人！”

“我可不像你可爱的狄肯那么自私，他明知我一个人在生病，却让你一直在外面陪着他玩！”

玛丽从来没生过这么大的气：“狄肯比世界上任何男孩都好！他像个天使！”

“一个天使！别逗了！他不过是个乡下的穷孩子，鞋底还漏着窟窿！”

“他比你好上一千倍！”

柯林长这么大从未同跟自己个性相近的人吵过架，这实际上对他有好处。可这会儿他觉得自己可怜极了。

“我老是生病，”他一边说一边哭起来，“我肯定我的背有点儿驼了，而且我就快死了！”

“不，你不会的！”玛丽不耐烦了。

柯林睁大了眼睛，以前从来没人这么说过他。他生气了，可同时又有点儿高兴：“你什么意思？你知道我就要死了！每个人都说我快死了！”

“我不信！”玛丽说，声音很刺耳，“你这么说只是想要别人可怜你。你怕死，你不敢去死！”

柯林忘了背疼的事，从床上坐起来。“马上从这儿滚出去！”他吼道，把一本书朝她扔过来。

“我这就走。”玛丽大声说，“我再也不会来了！”她撞上门走了。

回到自己的房间后，她下决心永远不告诉他自己的大秘密。“他可以待在他的房间里，要死就死吧！”她想。可马上她又想起他曾病得那么厉害，他是那么恐惧，担心有一天他的背会像父亲一样驼。“也许……也许明天我会回去看看他！”

这天夜里，她被从未听过的恐怖叫声惊醒。用人们开门又关门，跑来跑去。

“是柯林！”玛丽想，“他会不停地叫下去，直到真弄出病来！他多么自私啊！该有人去制止他！”

这时玛莎跑进她的房里，“我们不知道该怎么办！”她叫着，“他喜欢你，小姐！去看看你能不能让他安静下来，好吗？”

“好吧，我烦死他了，”玛丽说着从床上跳下来，“我得去制止他！”

“没错，”玛莎说，“他需要像你这样的人，一起吵吵嘴，这能给他点儿新鲜的东西让他去琢磨。”

玛丽跑到他的房间，径直走到床前。

“别叫啦！”她气冲冲地喊道，“马上停住！我讨厌你！人人都讨厌你！你再这么喊下去就会死的，我希望你死！”

喊叫声立即停住了。这可是第一次有人这么气愤地对柯林说话，他被吓坏了。不过他还是在小声哭着。

“我的背开始驼了，我能感觉到！我知道我就要死了！”大颗的泪珠从他的脸上流了下来。

“别傻了！”玛丽叫道，“这跟你可怕的背没关系！玛莎，过来让我看看他的背！”

玛莎和梅洛太太都站在门边，瞪着玛丽，嘴巴半张着。看来她们都给吓坏了。玛莎走过来帮忙，玛丽小姐上上下下仔细看了柯林那消瘦苍白的脊背，神色严肃，同时又很生气。房间里很静。

“你的脊背一点儿毛病也没有！”她最后说道，“什么也没有，像我的背一样直！”

只有柯林明白这些带着怒气说出的孩子气的话有多么重要。他长这么大一直都不敢问起自己的脊背，而他的恐惧总是让他病歪歪的。现在这个愤怒的小姑娘告诉他，说他的脊背是直的，而他相信她。他再也不怕了。

他们俩这会儿都安静多了，他把手伸给玛丽：“我想——要是我们哪天能到花园里去的话，我几乎可以肯定我会活下去的。我现在很累了，你能等我睡着后再走吗？”

用人们悄悄地退了出去。

“我要告诉你秘密花园的事，”玛丽低声说，“我想里面满是玫瑰和美丽的花儿，鸟儿喜欢在里面筑巢是因为那儿宁静、安全。而且也许我们的知更鸟……”

可柯林已经睡着了。

第二天，玛丽像往常一样，在秘密花园里见到狄肯，告诉了他柯林的事。玛丽喜欢狄肯的约克郡口音，所以努力在学它，她现在已经能说一点儿了。

“我们得把可怜的柯林弄到这儿来晒晒太阳——我们不能再耽搁了！”

狄肯笑了：“你说得不错呀！我还不知道你会说约克郡的话！没错，我们得尽快带柯林到花园里来。”

于是下午她来看柯林。

“很抱歉我说过让狄肯走的话，”他说，“你说他像个天使，我就讨厌你了。”

“嗯，他是那种有趣的天使，而且他比任何人都了解那些动物。”这时玛丽觉得是告诉他的时候了，她握住他的手，“柯林，这很重要，你能保守秘密吗？”

“能——能！”他兴奋地小声说道，“是什么？”

“我们找到了进秘密花园的门！”

“哦，玛丽！我能活着看看它吗？”

“当然能！别傻了！”玛丽不耐烦了，可这么说又非常自然，于是两人都笑了。

柯林告诉梅洛太太和医生他想坐轮椅出去。开始医生担心他会累着，可当他听说狄肯会用轮椅推着他时，他同意了。

“狄肯是个懂事的孩子，”他对柯林说，“但是别忘了——”

“我告诉过你，我就是想忘了我有病，”柯林用他那王子般的口气说，“你不明白吗？就是因为我表妹让我忘掉我有病，跟她在一起我才觉得好些的。”

7

Colin and the garden

Of course, it was most important that no one should see Colin, Mary, or Dickon entering the secret garden. So Colin gave orders to the gardeners that they must all keep away from that part of the garden in future.

The next afternoon Colin was carried downstairs by a man servant, and put in his wheelchair outside the front door. Dickon arrived, with his crow, two squirrels and the fox, and started pushing the wheelchair gently away from the house, and into the gardens. Mary walked beside the chair.

Spring had really arrived now and it seemed very exciting to Colin, who had lived indoors for so long. He smelt the warm air from the moor, and watched the little white clouds in the blue sky. In a very short time he heard Mary say, 'This is where I found the key... and this is the door... and this... this is the secret garden!'

Colin covered his eyes with his hands until he was inside the four high walls, and the door was shut again. Then he looked round at the roses climbing the old red walls, the pink and white flowers on the fruit trees, and the birds and the butterflies everywhere. The sun warmed his face, and he suddenly knew he felt different.

'Mary! Dickon!' he cried. 'I'm going to get better! I'm going to live for ever and ever and ever!'

As Dickon pushed the wheelchair all round the garden, he told Colin the names of all the plants. The sun shone, the birds sang, and in every corner of the garden there was something interesting to look at. The three children talked and laughed, and by the end of the afternoon all three were speaking Yorkshire together.

'I'll come back here every afternoon,' said Colin. 'I want to watch things growing.'

'Soon you'll be strong enough to walk and dig. You'll be able to help us with the gardening,' said Dickon kindly.

'Do you really think I'll be able to... to walk and... dig?' asked Colin.

'Of course you will. You've got legs, like us!'

'But they're not very strong,' answered Colin. 'They shake, and... and I'm afraid to stand on them.'

'When you want to use them, you'll be able to,' said Dickon. The garden was quiet for a moment.

Suddenly Colin said, 'Who's that?' Mary turned her head, and noticed Ben Weatherstaff's angry face looking at her over the garden wall.

'What are you doing in that garden, young miss?' he shouted. He had not seen Colin or Dickon.

'The robin showed me the way, Ben,' she replied.

'You... you —' He stopped shouting and his mouth dropped open as he saw Dickon pushing a boy in a wheelchair over the grass towards him.

'Do you know who I am?' asked the boy in the chair.

Old Ben stared. 'You've got your mother's eyes,' he said in a shaking voice. 'Yes, I know you. You're Mr Craven's son, the little boy with the crooked back.'

Colin forgot that he had ever had backache. 'My back's as straight as yours is!' he shouted.

Ben stared and stared. He only knew what he had heard from the servants. 'You haven't got a crooked back?' he asked. 'Or crooked legs?'

That was too much. Colin was furious, and it made him feel strong.

'Come here, Dickon!' he shouted, and threw off his blanket. Dickon was by his side in a second. Mary felt sick with fear. Could Colin stand?

Then Colin's thin feet were on the grass and he was standing, holding Dickon's arm. He looked strangely tall, and he held his head very high.

'Look at me!' he shouted at Ben. 'Just look at me!'

'He's as straight as any boy in Yorkshire!' said Dickon.

Tears were running down Ben's brown old face. 'They said you were going to die!' he whispered.

'Well, you can see that's not true,' said Colin. 'Now, get down from the wall and come here. I want to talk to you. You've got to help us keep the garden a secret.'

'Yes, sir,' said old Ben, as he dried his eyes.

That was the first of many beautiful afternoons in the secret garden. Colin was brought there by Dickon and Mary nearly every day, and he saw all the changes that happened there during the spring and early summer. Ben Weatherstaff, now in the secret, joined them as often as he could.

One day Colin spoke to all of them. 'Listen, everybody. I think there's something like magic that makes gardens grow and things happen. Perhaps if I believe in it, the magic will make me strong. Let's all sit down in a circle and ask the magic to work.'

So they all sat on the grass in a circle, Dickon with his crow, his fox and the two squirrels, Mary, Colin, and Ben. Colin repeated these words several times. 'The sun's shining. That's the magic. Being strong. That's the magic. Magic! Help me! Magic! Help me!'

At last Colin stopped. 'Now I'm going to walk round the garden,' he said, and took Dickon's arm. Slowly he walked from one wall to another, followed closely by Mary and Ben. And when he had walked all the way round, he said, 'You see! I can walk now! The magic worked!'

'It's wonderful!' cried Mary. 'Your father will think he is dreaming when he sees you!'

'I won't tell him yet. I'm going to keep it a secret from everybody. I'll come to the garden and walk and run a little more every day until I'm as healthy as any other boy. Then, when my father comes home, I'll walk up to him and say, "Here I am, Father. You see? I'm not going to die!"'

Now began a difficult time for Colin and Mary. Dickon told his mother about it one evening as he was digging the cottage garden.

'You see, mother, they don't want the doctor or the servants to guess that Colin can walk and is getting better. So they have to pretend he's still ill and just as disagreeable as he used to be!'

'If they're running about all day in the fresh air, that'll make them hungry, I should think!'

'Yes, that's the problem. They're both getting fatter and healthier, and they really enjoy their food now. But they have to send some of it back to the kitchen, uneaten. If they eat it all, people will realize how healthy they are! Sometimes they're very hungry!'

'I know what we can do,' said Mrs Sowerby. 'You can take some fresh milk and some of my newly baked bread to the garden in the mornings. If they have that, it'll do them a lot of good! What a game those children are playing!' And she laughed until tears came to her eyes.

One afternoon when they were all working in the garden, the door opened and a woman came quietly in.

'It's Mother!' cried Dickon, and ran towards her. 'I told her where the door was, because I knew she would keep the secret.'

Colin held out his hand to her. 'I've wanted to see you for a long time,' he said.

'Dear boy!' Susan Sowerby whispered, holding his hand. 'You're so like your mother!'

'Do you think,' asked Colin carefully, 'that will make my father like me?'

'I'm sure it will,' she answered warmly. 'He must see you — he must come home now.'

'You see how healthy the boy is, Susan?' asked old Ben. 'Look how strong and straight his legs are now!'

'Yes,' she laughed. 'Playing and working outside, and eating good Yorkshire food, has made him strong. And Miss Mary too,' she added, turning to Mary. 'Mrs Medlock heard that your mother was a pretty woman. You'll soon be as pretty as she was.'

'Do you believe in magic?' Colin asked her.

'I do,' she answered, 'but everybody gives it a different name. It makes the sun shine and the seeds grow — and it has made you healthy.'

She sat down on the grass and stayed for a while, talking and laughing with the children in the quiet, sunny garden. When she stood up to leave, Colin suddenly put out a hand to her.

'I wish — you were my mother!' he whispered.

Mrs Sowerby put her arms round him and held him to her. 'Dear boy! You're as close to your mother as you could be, here in her garden. And your father'll come back soon!'

enter v. come or go into. 进入。

smell v. notice or recognize the smell of something; experience the smell of something by putting your nose close to it. 闻，嗅。

butterfly n. a flying insect with large colourful wings. 蝴蝶。

blanket n. a thick cover made of wool or another material that you use to keep warm in bed. 毯子。

magic n. the mysterious power that some people believe can make impossible things happen if you do special actions or say special words. 魔法，魔力。

run about 四处跑。

7　柯林在花园里

当然，重要的是不能让人见到柯林、玛丽和狄肯进秘密花园里面去。所以柯林吩咐园丁们以后不准到那片花园去。

第二天下午，柯林由一个男仆抱下楼放在大门外的轮椅上。狄肯来了，带着他的乌鸦、两只松鼠和狐狸，开始慢慢推着轮椅离开房子到花园里去。玛丽在旁边跟着。

春天现在真的来了，而柯林已经在房间里生活了那么久，所以显得十分激动。他闻到荒原上飘来的温暖的气息，看到小朵的白云在蓝天上浮动。很快，他听见玛丽小声说：“我就是在这儿找到钥匙的……门在这儿……这儿……这就是秘密花园！”

柯林用手捂住眼睛，直到进了那四堵高大的围墙里才松开，门又被关上了。然后他四周看了看，看见玫瑰爬满了古老的红砖墙，果树上开着粉色和白色的花儿，到处都是鸟儿和蝴蝶。阳光暖暖地照在他的脸上，他顿时感到自己与以往不一样了。

“玛丽！狄肯！”他喊着，“我会好起来的！我会永远永远活下去！”

狄肯推着轮椅在花园里转着，告诉柯林所有植物的名字。阳光明媚，鸟儿歌唱，花园的每一个角落都有有趣的东西可看。三个孩子有说有笑，到了傍晚就都说起约克郡话来。

“我每天下午都要来，”柯林说，“我要看着它们生长。”

“你很快就会强壮起来，能自己走路，自己挖土。你还能帮我们收拾园子。”狄肯友好地说道。

“你真的觉得我能……能走路，还能……挖土？”柯林问。

“你当然能！你有腿，跟我们一样！”

“可是我的腿没有劲，”柯林答道，“总是不稳，我……我不敢站起来。”

“你想用它们时，你就能。”狄肯说。花园里有一刻非常安静。

突然，柯林说：“那是谁？”玛丽转过头，看见本·威瑟斯塔夫生气的眼睛正从围墙上边望着她。

“你在花园里干吗，小姐？”他吼道，他没看见柯林和狄肯。

“知更鸟带我来的，本。”她回答。

“你……你——”当他看见狄肯在对面的草地上用轮椅推着个男孩时，他不再吼叫，嘴巴也张得老大。

“知道我是谁吗？”轮椅上的男孩问。

本瞪大了眼睛，“你的眼睛跟你妈妈的一模一样，”他说，声音有点儿发抖，“是啊，我认识你，你是克莱文先生的儿子，那个驼背的小男孩。”

柯林忘了自己曾一度背疼。他嚷道：“我的背跟你的一样直！”

本从上到下仔细打量。他只是听仆人们说起过。“你的背不驼？”他问道，“你不是罗圈腿？”

这可太过分了。柯林生气了，这反而让他觉得强壮起来。

“过来，狄肯！”他叫道，甩掉了盖毯，狄肯立刻来到他身旁，玛丽感到有点儿担心，柯林能站起来吗？

柯林瘦弱的脚放在草地上，扶着狄肯的胳膊站了起来。他看上去异常高大，头高高地扬着。

“看我！”他冲本喊道，“看看我呀！”

“他像约克郡的任何一个男孩一样直！”狄肯说。

泪水从本那棕色而苍老的脸上滑落下来。“他们说你要死了！”他小声说。

“那么，你该知道那不是真的，”柯林说道，“现在从墙上下来到这儿来吧。我想跟你谈谈。你得帮我们保守花园的秘密。”

“好的，先生。”本一边说着，一边擦干了泪水。

这是秘密花园中第一个美丽的下午，这样的下午以后还有很多。柯林几乎每天都由狄肯和玛丽带到这儿，他看到了春天和初夏这里的所有变化。本·威瑟斯塔夫，现在也保守着这个秘密，一有空就加入他们。

一天，柯林对大家说：“你们大家听我说。我想是什么魔法使花园里的植物生长，使很多事情发生。或许要是我相信，魔法也会使我变得强壮起来。咱们坐下来围成圈请魔法显灵吧！”

于是他们围坐在草地上，狄肯和他的乌鸦、狐狸以及两只松鼠，玛丽、柯林和本。柯林一连几遍地重复说着：“阳光在照耀，这就是魔法。强壮起来，这就是魔法。魔法！帮帮我！魔法！帮帮我！”

最后柯林停下来。“现在我得在花园里走走了。”他说。于是他扶着狄肯的胳膊，慢慢地从一面墙走到另一面墙，玛丽和本紧紧跟着他们。当他走完一圈时，他说：“看哪！我能走了！魔法显灵了！”

“太棒了！”玛丽叫着，“你父亲看见你一定会以为是在做梦呢！”

“我还不想告诉他。我要保守秘密，不让任何人知道。我要每天都到花园里散步，再跑上一小会儿，直到我像其他人一样健康。到那会儿，等我父亲回家时，我要走到他面前，说：‘我在这儿，爸爸。你看到了吗？我不会死的！’”

这可给玛丽和柯林出了难题。狄肯一天晚上在挖屋前的菜园时把这事告诉了妈妈。

“您看，妈妈，他们不想让医生或用人猜出柯林能走路，而且身体也好多了。所以他们假装他还病着，而且还像从前一样不讨人喜欢！”

“要是他们整天跑来跑去，呼吸新鲜空气，那样他们会感到饿的，我想。”

“是啊，就是这件事。他们俩都长胖了，也健康了，而且很能吃饭了。可是他们却不得不剩下一些送回厨房，要是都吃光了，人家就会知道他们很健康！所以，他们有时饿得很厉害！”

“我知道我们能做些什么，”索尔比太太说，“上午你带点儿新鲜的牛奶和我刚烤好的面包到花园去，吃了这些会对他们有很大好处的！孩子们这是在玩什么把戏啊！”她笑得眼泪都流出来了。

一天下午，他们正在花园里干活儿，门开了，一个女人悄悄走了进来。

“是妈妈！”狄肯喊道，跑了过去，“我告诉了她门在哪儿，因为我知道她会保密的。”

柯林向她伸出手，说：“我一直都想见到您。”

“好孩子！”苏珊·索尔比小声说着，握住他的手，“你长得可真像你妈妈。”

“您觉得，”柯林小心地问道，“这会让我父亲喜欢我吗？”

“我肯定他会的。”她热情地答道，“他得看看你——他现在应该回家了。”

“苏珊，瞧这孩子多健康啊！”本说，“看他的腿，现在又直又结实！”

“是啊，”她笑了，“在外面玩儿，在外面干活儿，加上约克郡的美食，这就让他壮实起来了。玛丽小姐也是这样。”她加了一句，转向玛丽，“梅洛太太听说你妈妈很漂亮，你很快也会像她一样漂亮的。”

“您相信魔法吗？”柯林问她。

“相信。”她回答，“不过每个人都给它起了个不同的名字。它使阳光照耀，种子生长——同样也让你健康。”

她在草地上坐了一会儿，和孩子们在洒满阳光、宁静的花园里说笑着。她站起身临走的时候，柯林向她伸出了手。

“我真希望——您是我的妈妈！”他小声说。

索尔比太太把他搂在怀里：“好孩子！在你妈妈的花园里，你离她要多近有多近。而且，你爸爸也快回来了！”

8

Mr Craven comes home

While the secret garden was returning to life, a man with high, crooked shoulders was wandering round the most beautiful places in Europe. For ten years he had lived this lonely life, his heart full of sadness and his head full of dark dreams. Everywhere he went, he carried his unhappiness with him like a black cloud. Other travellers thought he was half mad or a man who could not forget some terrible crime. His name was Archibald Craven.

But one day, as he sat by a mountain stream, he actually looked at a flower, and for the first time in ten years he realized how beautiful something living could be. The valley seemed very quiet as he sat there, staring at the flower. He felt strangely calm.

'What is happening to me?' he whispered. 'I feel different — I almost feel I'm alive again!'

At that moment, hundreds of miles away in Yorkshire, Colin was seeing the secret garden for the first time, and saying, 'I'm going to live for ever and ever and ever!' But Mr Craven did not know this.

That night, in his hotel room, he slept better than usual. As the weeks passed, he even began to think a little about his home and his son. One evening in late summer, as he was sitting quietly beside a lake, he felt the strange calmness again. He fell asleep, and had a dream that seemed very real. He heard a voice calling him. It was sweet and clear and happy, the voice of his young wife.

'Archie! Archie! Archie!'

'My dear!' He jumped up. 'Where are you?'

'In the garden!' called the beautiful voice.

And then the dream ended. In the morning, when he woke, he remembered the dream.

'She says she's in the garden!' he thought. 'But the door's locked and the key's buried.'

That morning he received a letter from Susan Sowerby. In it she asked him to come home, but she did not give a reason. Mr Craven thought of his dream, and decided to return to England immediately. On the long journey back to Yorkshire, he was thinking about Colin.

'I wonder how he is! I wanted to forget him, because he makes me think of his mother. He lived, and she died! But perhaps I've been wrong. Susan Sowerby says I should go home, so perhaps she thinks I can help him.'

When he arrived home, he found the housekeeper very confused about Colin's health.

'He's very strange, sir,' said Mrs Medlock. 'He looks better, it's true, but some days he eats nothing at all, and other days he eats just like a healthy boy. He used to scream even at the idea of fresh air, but now he spends all his time outside in his wheelchair, with Miss Mary and Dickon Sowerby. He's in the garden at the moment.'

'In the garden!' repeated Mr Craven. Those were the words of the dream! He hurried out of the house and towards the place which he had not visited for so long. He found the door with the climbing plant over it, and stood outside, listening, for a moment.

'Surely I can hear voices inside the garden?' he thought. 'Aren't there children whispering, laughing, running in there? Or am I going mad?'

And then the moment came, when the children could not stay quiet. There was wild laughing and shouting, and the door was thrown open. A boy ran out, a tall, healthy, handsome boy, straight into the man's arms. Mr Craven stared into the boy's laughing eyes.

'Who — What? Who?' he cried.

Colin had not planned to meet his father like this. But perhaps this was the best way, to come running out with his cousin and his friend.

'Father,' he said, 'I'm Colin. You can't believe it! I can't believe it myself. It was the garden, and Mary and Dickon and the magic, that made me well. We've kept it a secret up to now. Aren't you happy, Father? I'm going to live for ever and ever and ever!'

Mr Craven put his hands on the boy's shoulders. For a moment he could not speak. 'Take me into the garden, my boy,' he said at last, 'and tell me all about it.'

And in the secret garden, where the roses were at their best, and the butterflies were flying from flower to flower in the summer sunshine, they told Colin's father their story. Sometimes he laughed and sometimes he cried, but most of the time he just looked, unbelieving, into the handsome face of the son that he had almost forgotten.

'Now,' said Colin at the end, 'it isn't a secret any more. I'll never use the wheelchair again. I'm going to walk back with you, Father — to the house.'

And so, that afternoon, Mrs Medlock, Martha, and the other servants had the greatest shock of their lives. Through the gardens towards the house came Mr Craven, looking happier than they had ever seen him. And by his side, with his shoulders straight, his head held high and a smile on his lips, walked young Colin!

sadness n. a feeling of being unhappy, especially because something bad has happened. 忧伤，悲伤。

receive v. to get something that someone gives or sends to you. 收到。

up to now 至今，到目前。

unbelieving adj. not believing; doubting. 不相信的，怀疑的。

8　克莱文先生回家了

当秘密花园恢复着生机的时候，一个高大、驼背的男人正在欧洲最美的地方游荡。10年来他就是过着这种孤独的生活，他的心中充满了悲凉，脑海也被黑暗的恶梦所占据。他每到一处，情绪总是忧郁的，像被一团黑色的云笼罩着。别的游客觉得他是半个疯子，或是个无法忘掉某种恐怖罪行的人。他的名字就是阿奇伯德·克莱文。

但是有一天，当他坐在山谷中的一条小溪旁时，他注视着一朵花，10年来他第一次意识到生命可以是这么美丽。山谷非常幽静，他坐在那儿，凝视着那朵花，心中异常的平静。

“我怎么了？”他低声说，“我感觉不一样了——我几乎觉得自己又活了！”

也就在那一刻，在几百英里外的约克郡，柯林第一次见到了秘密花园，正在说着：“我会永远永远活下去！”但克莱文先生并不知道这些。

那天夜里，在旅店的房间里，他睡得比平时香。几周过去了，他甚至开始有点儿想家，有点儿想他的儿子。一个夏末的晚上，他静静地坐在湖边，再次感到那种奇异的平静。他睡着了，做了一个非常真切的梦。他听见一个声音在叫他，声音甜美、清晰而欢快，那是他年轻的妻子的声音。

“阿奇！阿奇！阿奇！”

“亲爱的！”他跳起来，“你在哪儿？”

“在花园里！”那美丽的声音说。

然后梦就醒了。他早晨醒来时，还记得那个梦。

“她说她在花园里！”他思索着，“可是门是锁着的，钥匙也埋起来了。”

那天上午他收到了苏珊·索尔比的来信。信上她请他回去，却没说明为什么。克莱文先生想起他的梦，决定立刻动身回英国。在回约克郡的漫长路途中，他想起了柯林。

“不知道他怎么样了！我想忘记他，因为他总是让我想起他的妈妈。他活着，可她却死了！也许是我错了。苏珊·索尔比说我应该回家，也许她是想让我帮助柯林。”

他回到家里，发现管家对柯林的身体状况大为不解。

“他很怪，先生，”梅洛太太说，“他看上去好些了，真的，可有时他什么都不吃，有时又吃得像健康的孩子一样。以前只要提到新鲜空气他就要尖叫，可现在他每天都坐着轮椅去外面，跟玛丽小姐和狄肯·索尔比一起。这会儿他在花园里呢。”

“在花园里！”克莱文先生重复着。那正是梦中听到的话！他冲出房子，奔向他很久都没再去过的地方。他找到被藤蔓遮蔽的门，站在外面，听了一会儿。

“我真的听到里面有声音吗？”他想，“难道那不是孩子们在里面低语、嬉笑、奔跑吗？还是我快要发疯了？”

当孩子们难以保持安静时，这一刻终于到来了。开心的笑声和欢叫声中，门被撞开了，一个高高的、健康漂亮的男孩跑了出来，正好撞进他的怀里。克莱文先生直愣愣地看着孩子欢笑的眼睛。

“谁呀——什么？这是谁呀？”他叫起来。

柯林没想到会这样见到他的父亲。但是同他的表妹和朋友一起跑出来，也许这才是最好的方式。

“爸爸。”他说，“我是柯林。您不会相信的！连我自己都不能相信。是花园、玛丽、狄肯和魔法使我康复的。我们一直保守着这个秘密。爸爸，您不高兴吗？我要永远永远地活下去！”

克莱文先生把手放在孩子肩上，好一会儿说不出话来。最后他说：“带我到花园里去，我的孩子，告诉我这一切是怎么回事。”

在秘密花园中，玫瑰花盛开着，蝴蝶在夏日的阳光下、在花丛中飞舞，他们向柯林的父亲讲述着他们的故事。他时而开怀大笑，时而落泪，更多的时间只是注视着他儿子那英俊的脸庞，不相信这就是他几乎遗忘的那个孩子。

“现在，”柯林最后说道，“这不再是秘密了。我再也用不着轮椅了。爸爸，我要和你一起走——走回家去。”

于是那天下午，梅洛太太、玛莎，还有其他的用人都感受到有生以来从未有过的惊奇，克莱文先生从花园走向房子，脸上露出他们从未见到过的幸福神态。而走在他身边，昂首挺胸、面带微笑的正是年轻的柯林！

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapter 1 Who said these words in the story?

1 'We must leave soon!'

2 'Why was I forgotten?'

3 'He's got a crooked back, and he's horrid!'

4 'You must stay out of his way!'

Chapter 2 Who in this chapter...

1 ... was cleaning the fireplace in Mary's bedroom?

2 ... knew a lot about wild animals?

3 ... buried the key to the secret garden?

4 ... was a Yorkshire moor man?

Chapters 3 - 4 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 The door to the secret garden was locked nine years ago.

2 Martha went to visit her family for a week.

3 Mrs Sowerby bought a skipping-rope for Mary.

4 Ben's favourite flowers were roses.

Chapters 5 - 6 Find answers to these questions in the text.

1 How did Mary find Colin's room?

2 Why was the robin so busy in the garden?

3 Why did Mary look at Colin's back?

Chapters 7 - 8 Write answers to these questions.

1 Why did Colin get better?

2 Who spoke to Mr Craven in his dream?

3 Why did Mr Craven decide to come home?

B Working with language

1 Put together these beginnings and endings of sentences. Check your answers in Chapter 3.

1 Mary felt lonelier than ever...

2 I like Dickon, ...

3 Are things growing in the garden...

4 Before she came to Yorkshire...

5 As Mary looked at the hole, ...

6 She hoped...

7 ... she noticed something almost buried there.

8 ... where he lives?

9 ... when Martha had gone.

10 ... although I've never seen him.

11 ... they weren't all dead.

12 ... she had not liked anybody.

2 Complete these sentences with information from the story.

1 Mr Craven buried the key to the secret garden because...

2 Mrs Medlock was angry with Mary when...

3 When Mary asked her uncle for a bit of garden, he...

4 Colin's legs were not very strong, but...

5 While Colin was becoming healthier, his father...

6 Colin told his father the story, and then...

C Activities

1 You are Colin. Write his diary for the day when he first visited the secret garden.

2 Which person do you like, or dislike, most in the story? Why? Write a few sentences to describe this person.

3 What do you think will happen to Mary, Colin, and Dickon in ten years' time? Write another paragraph to finish the story. You could begin like this:

When Colin and Mary were twenty, they still lived at Misselthwaite Manor...

京权图字01-97-0346

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1993

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

曾达的囚徒＝The Prisoner of Zenda／（英）霍普（Hope，A.）著；（英）莫厄特（Mowat，D.）改写；黄宏译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1997.10（2014.10 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1295-7

Ⅰ．曾…　Ⅱ．①霍…②莫…③黄…　Ⅲ．小说—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（97）第17697号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

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出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

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简　介

鲁道夫·拉森狄尔年轻富有，出生于一个历史悠久的英国家庭，可他却长着卢里塔尼亚王室所特有的深红色头发和长而笔挺的鼻子。这是多年前一个小小的家庭“意外”造成的结果。

鲁道夫决定去参加卢里塔尼亚新国王的加冕典礼。他到了曾达城，在森林里漫步。第二天上午他却发现自己身陷意想不到的奇遇之中。他与新朋友萨普特上尉和弗里茨一起制定了营救曾达城堡中的囚徒的计划。很快他就与国王的死对头黑迈克和鲁帕特交上了手，而且爱上了国王的表妹，美丽的弗蕾维亚公主。

然后国王……然而，谁才是真正的卢里塔尼亚的国王呢？

安东尼·霍普1863年生于伦敦，1933年去世。他的真名是安东尼·霍普·霍金斯爵士。他成为专职作家之前是一位律师。他最著名的作品有《曾达的囚徒》和《鲁帕特》。

1

The Rassendylls － and the Elphbergs

'I wonder when you're going to do something useful, Rudolf,' my brother's wife said. She looked at me crossly over the breakfast table.

'But why should I do anything, Rose?' I answered, calmly eating my egg. 'I've got nearly enough money for the things I want, and my brother, Robert, is a lord － Lord Burlesdon. I'm very happy.'

'You're twenty-nine, and you've done nothing except...'

'Play about? It's true. We Rassendylls are a rich and famous family, and we don't need to do anything.'

This made Rose angry. 'Rich and famous families usually behave worse than less important families,' she said.

When I heard this, I touched my dark red hair. I knew what she meant.

'I'm so pleased that Robert's hair is black!' she cried.

Just then my brother, Robert, came in. When he looked at Rose, he could see that there was something wrong.

'What's the matter, my dear?' he said.

'Oh, she's angry because I never do anything useful, and because I've got red hair,' I said.

'Well, I know he can't do much about his hair, or his nose...' Rose began.

'No, the nose and the hair are in the family,' my brother agreed. 'And Rudolf has both of them.'

In the room there were many family pictures, and one of them was of a very beautiful woman, Lady Amelia, who lived a hundred and fifty years ago. I stood up and turned to look at it.

'If you took that picture away, Robert,' Rose cried, 'we could forget all about it.'

'Oh, but I don't want to forget about it,' I replied. 'I like being an Elphberg.'

But perhaps I should stop for a moment and explain why Rose was angry about my nose and my hair － and why I, a Rassendyll, said I was an Elphberg. After all, the Elphbergs are the royal family of Ruritania, and have been for hundreds of years.

The story is told in a book about the Rassendyll family history.

In the year 1733 Prince Rudolf of Ruritania came to England on a visit and he stayed for several months. Like many of the Elphberg royal family, he had blue eyes, an unusually long straight nose and a lot of dark red hair. He was also tall and very good-looking.

During his stay here, he became friendly with Lady Amelia, the beautiful wife of Lord Burlesdon. They became very good friends indeed, which, naturally, did not please Lord Burlesdon. So, one cold wet morning, the two men fought. The Prince was hurt in the fight, but got better and was hurried back to Ruritania. There he married and became King Rudolf the Third. But Lord Burlesdon fell ill, and six months later he died. Two months after that, Lady Amelia had a baby son, who became the next Lord Burlesdon and the head of the Rassendyll family. The boy grew into a man with blue eyes, a long straight nose, and dark red hair.

These things can happen in the best of families, and among the many pictures of the Rassendylls at home, you can see that that five or six of them have the same blue eyes, the same nose, and the same red hair.

So, because my hair was red and I had the Elphberg nose, Rose worried about me. In the end, to please her, I promised to get a job in six months' time. This gave me six free months to enjoy myself first.

And an idea came to me － I would visit Ruritania. None of my family had ever been there. They preferred to forget all about the Lady Amelia. But I saw in the newspaper that, in three weeks, the new young King, Rudolf the Fifth, would have his coronation. It would be an interesting time to visit the country.

I knew my family would not like my going, so I told them I was going walking in Austria.

the Rassendylls, the Rassendyll family: 姓拉森狄尔的，拉森狄尔家族。

crossly adv. angrily. 生气，发怒。

lord n. a nobleman of high rank. (less important than a duke) 勋爵，地位次于公爵。Lord Burlesdon，伯利斯顿勋爵。

play about: to spend time having fun. 胡闹，鬼混。

in the family: (a quality) shared by several members of a family, or passed from parents to children. 指某种特征等为某些家族成员所共有的或祖辈相传的。

royal adj. for, belong to, or connected with a king or queen. 皇族的，王室的。

to please sb.: to make sb. happy. 使……感到快乐。

to enjoy oneself: to be happy. 感到快乐。

coronation n. the ceremony at which a king, queen, ruling prince, etc., is crowned. 国王、女王、王子等的加冕典礼。

1　拉森狄尔家族与艾尔弗伯格家族

“我在想你究竟什么时候才会做一些有用的事儿，鲁道夫。”我的嫂嫂说。她在餐桌的那头生气地望着我。

“但我干嘛要做事呢，罗丝？”我一边回答她，一边从容地吃着鸡蛋。“我的钱够多的，差不多想要什么就能买什么，再说我哥哥罗伯特又是一位贵族——伯利斯顿勋爵，我挺幸福。”

“可你都29岁了，你还什么都没干，除了……”

“除了胡闹？你说对了，我们拉森狄尔家富有而且声名显赫，我们什么也不用做。”

我这么说让罗丝生气了。“又有钱又有名的人家通常比那些普通人家更不规矩！”

听了她的话，我用手摸摸我的深红色头发。我懂她的意思。

“我真高兴罗伯特的头发是黑色的！”她说道。

正在此时，我哥哥罗伯特走了进来，他一看罗丝，就看出有些不对头。

“怎么了，亲爱的？”他问道。

“她生气了，因为我从没做过什么有用的事儿，而且我还长着红头发。”我说。

“当然，我知道他对他的头发和鼻子无能为力……”罗丝说。

“是的，这样的鼻子和这样的头发是祖传的，”我哥哥同意她的话，“而且鲁道夫两样都占了。”

房间里有很多家族成员的画像，其中一幅画着一位非常美丽的女人，阿米莉亚夫人，她生活在150年以前。我站了起来，转身去看她。

“如果你把那画像拿走，罗伯特，”罗丝说，“我们就可以把这件事忘掉。”

“哦，可是我并不想忘掉它。”我回答。“我喜欢做艾尔弗伯格家族的一员。”

也许我应该停下来一会儿，解释一下为什么罗丝对我的鼻子和头发那么生气，究竟又为什么，我，一个姓拉森狄尔的，会说我自己是艾尔弗伯格家族的一员。毕竟艾尔弗伯格家族是卢里塔尼亚的王族，而且，几百年来一直如此。

这个故事在一本关于拉森狄尔家族史的书里是这么描述的：

1733年卢里塔尼亚王子鲁道夫前来英国访问，他逗留了几个月。像艾尔弗伯格王室的许多人一样，他长着蓝色的眼睛，不寻常的又长又挺的鼻子和浓密的深红色头发。他个子很高，相貌英俊。

他在此地停留期间，与伯利斯顿勋爵美丽的妻子阿米莉亚夫人结识，事实上，他俩成了十分亲密的好友，这当然不会让伯利斯顿勋爵愉快。因此，在一个寒冷潮湿的早晨，两位男士决斗了。王子负了伤，但很快好转并且匆匆返回卢里塔尼亚。在那里他结了婚，成了国王鲁道夫三世。但是伯利斯顿勋爵病了，六个月以后去世。他辞世之后两个月，阿米莉亚夫人生了一个儿子，这个男孩即成为新的伯利斯顿勋爵以及拉森狄尔家族的首领。他成人以后有着蓝色的眼睛，长而挺直的鼻子和深红色的头发。

这一类的事情可能在最上流的家庭发生。在拉森狄尔府上的许多画像中，你能看见五六个人长着同样的蓝眼睛，同样的鼻子，同样的红头发。

因此，由于我的头发是红的，而且我长着艾尔弗伯格家的鼻子，罗丝为我发愁。结果，为了让她高兴，我保证六个月以内找到一份工作。这样起码我能在六个月的时间里过得快快乐乐的。

我有了一个主意——我要去卢里塔尼亚。我的家族从来没有一个人去过那里。他们更愿意忘记跟阿米莉亚夫人有关的事情。可是我看到报纸上说，在三周之内，卢里塔尼亚年轻的新国王，鲁道夫五世，将会举行加冕典礼。这时候去这个国家看看一定很有意思。

我知道家里的人一定不喜欢让我去，所以我告诉他们我要去奥地利走走。

2

The colour of men's hair

On the way to Ruritania I decided to spend a night in Paris with a friend. The next morning he came with me to the station, and as we waited for the train, we watched the crowds. We noticed a tall, dark, very fashionable lady, and my friend told me who she was.

'That's Madame Antoinette de Mauban. She's travelling on the same train as you, but don't fall in love with her.'

'Why not?' I asked, amused.

'Ah,' said my friend, 'all Paris knows that she's in love with Duke Michael of Strelsau. And he, as you know, is the half-brother of the new King of Ruritania. Although he's only the second son and will never be king himself, he's still an important man and very popular, I hear, with many Ruritanians. The lovely Madame Antoinette won't look twice at you, Rudolf.'

I laughed, but he had woken my interest in the lady. I did not speak to her during the journey, and when we arrived in Ruritania, I left the train at Zenda, a small town outside the capital. But I noticed that Madame de Mauban went on to Strelsau, the capital.

I was welcomed very kindly at my hotel. It belonged to a fat old lady and her pretty daughter. From them I learned that the coronation was to be on the day after next, and not in three weeks.

The old lady was more interested in Duke Michael of Strelsau than in the new King. The Castle of Zenda and all the land around it belonged to the Duke, but the old lady said, 'It's not enough. Duke Michael should be king. He spends all his time with us. Every Ruritanian knows him, but we never see the new King.'

But the daughter cried, 'Oh no, I hate Black Michael. I want a red Elphberg － and the King, our friend Johann says, is very red. Johann works for the Duke and he's seen the King. In fact, the King's staying just outside Zenda now,' she added. 'He's resting at the Duke's house in the forest before going on to Strelsau on Wednesday for his coronation. The Duke's already in Strelsau, getting everything ready.'

'They're friends?' I asked.

'Friends who want the same place and the same wife,' the pretty girl replied. 'The Duke wants to marry his cousin, Princess Flavia, but people say she's going to be King Rudolf's wife and the Queen.'

Just then their friend, Johann, entered the room.

'We have a visitor, Johann,' the girl's mother said, and Johann turned towards me. But when he saw me, he stepped back, with a look of wonder on his face.

'What's the matter, Johann?' the daughter asked.

'Good evening, sir,' Johann said, still staring at me. He did not seem to like what he saw.

The girl began to laugh. 'It's the colour of your hair, sir,' she explained. 'We don't often see that colour here. It's the Elphberg red － not Johann's favourite colour.'

*　　*　　*

The next day I decided to walk through the forest for a few miles and take the train to Strelsau from a little station along the road. I sent my luggage on by train and after lunch, I started out on foot. First, I wanted to see the Castle of Zenda and in half an hour I had climbed the hill to it. There were two buildings － the old one, with a moat around it, and the new, modern building. Duke Michael could have friends to stay with him in the new castle, but he could go into the old castle when he wanted to be alone. The water in the moat was deep, and if he pulled up the drawbridge over the moat, no one could get to him.

I stayed there for some time and looked at the castle, and then I walked on through the forest for about an hour. It was beautiful and I sat down to enjoy it. Before I knew what had happened, I was asleep.

Suddenly I heard a voice say, 'Good heavens! He looks just like the King!'

When I opened my eyes, there were two men in front of me. One of them came nearer.

'May I ask your name?' he said.

'Well, why don't you tell me your names first?' I replied.

The younger of the two men said, 'This is Captain Sapt, and I am Fritz von Tarlenheim. We work for the King of Ruritania.'

'And I am Rudolf Rassendyll,' I answered, 'a traveller from England. My brother is Lord Burlesdon.'

'Of course! The hair!' Sapt cried. 'You know the story, Fritz?'

Just then a voice called out from the trees behind us. 'Fritz! Fritz! Where are you, man?'

'It's the King!' Fritz said, and Sapt laughed.

Then a young man jumped out from behind a tree. I gave a cry, and when he saw me, he stepped back in sudden surprise. The King of Ruritania looked just like Rudolf Rassendyll, and Rudolf Rassendyll looked just like the King!

For a moment the King said nothing, but then he asked, 'Captain... Fritz... who is this?'

Sapt went to the King and spoke quietly in his ear. The King's surprise changed slowly to an amused smile, then suddenly he began to laugh loudly. 'Well met, cousin!' he cried. 'Where are you travelling to?'

'To Strelsau, sir － to the coronation.'

The King looked at his friends, and, for a moment, he was serious. But then he began to laugh again. 'Wait until brother Michael sees that there are two of us!' he cried.

'Perhaps it isn't a very good idea for Mr Rassendyll to go to Strelsau,' Fritz said, worried, and Sapt agreed with him.

'Oh, we'll think about the coronation tomorrow,' the King said. 'Tonight we'll enjoy ourselves. Come, cousin!'

We returned to the Duke's house in the forest, where we had an excellent dinner. The King called loudly for wine, and Captain Sapt and Fritz seemed worried. Clearly, the King liked his wine a little too much.

'Remember the coronation is tomorrow,' warned old Sapt.

But the King was only interested in enjoying himself tonight, so we all drank and talked, and drank again. At last the King put down his glass and said, 'I've drunk enough.'

As he said that, old Josef, the King's servant, came in. He put some very special old wine on the table in front of the King and said, 'Duke Michael offers you this wine and asks you to drink it for love of him.'

'Well done, Black Michael!' the King cried. 'Well, I'm not afraid to drink your wine!'

And he drank every drop of wine in the bottle, himself. Then his head fell forward on to the table, and soon afterwards I too remembered no more of that wild evening.

fashionable adj. (made, dressed, etc.) according to the latest fashion. （打扮、服装等）流行的，时髦的。

to fall in love (with): become filled with love. 爱上某人。

amuse v. make (sb.) laugh or smile. （使人）感到好笑，有趣。

duke n. nobleman of high rank (next below a prince). 公爵，地位仅次于王子。

half brother: brother by one parent only. 同父异母（或同母异父）的兄弟。

popular adj. well liked. 受欢迎的，受爱戴的。

pretty adj. pleasing and charming without being beautiful or grand. 可爱的，悦目的（并非华丽堂皇）。

cousin n. the child of one's uncle or aunt. 表兄弟或表姐妹，堂兄弟或堂姐妹。

look n. facial expression. 表情。

stare (at) v. to look fixedly with wide-opened eyes. 紧紧盯着。

favourite n. something or someone that is loved above all others. 最喜爱的人或物。

decide v. think about and come to a conclusion 决定，下决心。

moat n. deep, wide ditch filled with water, round a castle, etc., as a defence. 壕沟，护城河。

drawbridge n. bridge that can be pulled up at the end by chains. 活动桥，吊桥。

serious adj. solemn, thoughtful. 严肃的，认真的。

excellent adj. very good, of high quality. 极好的，优秀的。

2　头发的颜色

去卢里塔尼亚的途中，我决定在巴黎的一个朋友处过一夜。第二天早晨，他跟我一起来到火车站，等车时，我们看着站台上的人群，我们看到一位高个子、肤色棕黑、非常时髦的女士。我的朋友告诉我她的身份。

“那位是安冬纳特·德·莫班女士，她和你坐同一列火车，但是你可别爱上她。”

“为什么不行？”我觉得很有意思。

“哎呀，”我的朋友说，“全巴黎都知道她爱着斯特莱索的迈克尔公爵，他是卢里塔尼亚新国王同父异母的兄弟。虽然他只不过是次子，也决不能当国王，但仍然是个重要人物，而且我听说他在卢里塔尼亚也受到许多人的爱戴。鲁道夫，那位可爱的安冬纳特女士不会朝你看第二眼的。”

我笑了，但他的话引起了我对那位女士的兴趣。旅途中我没跟她说话。我们到达卢里塔尼亚以后，我在靠近首都的小城曾达下了车，但我注意到莫班女士去了首都斯特莱索。

在旅店我受到了很热情的接待。这家旅店是一位胖老太太和她漂亮的女儿开的。从她们那儿我听说加冕典礼是后天而不是三星期后举行。

老太太对迈克尔公爵比对新国王更感兴趣。虽然曾达城堡和附近所有的土地都属于这位公爵，老太太却说，“这些还不够，迈克尔公爵应该当国王。他总是和我们在一起，每个卢里塔尼亚人都认识他，而新国王我们却从来没见过。”

她女儿却说，“哦，不，我讨厌黑头发的迈克尔！我希望一个红头发的艾尔弗伯格家的人当国王。听我们的朋友约翰说，新国王的头发非常红。他见过国王。事实上，国王现在就在曾达。”她又说，“他星期三去斯特莱索加冕。在此之前，他待在公爵的林中住地休养。公爵已经去了斯特莱索，为国王准备好一切。”

“他们是朋友吗？”

“是朋友，只不过两人想得到同样的地方和同一个女人。”漂亮姑娘回答，“公爵想和他的表妹弗蕾维亚公主结婚，可是据说弗蕾维亚会成为国王鲁道夫的妻子和王后。”

就在这时，她们的朋友约翰走进了房间。

“我们来了个客人，约翰。”姑娘的母亲说。约翰就转向我。当他看见我后，他后退了一步，脸上露出惊奇的表情。

“怎么啦？”姑娘问。

“晚上好，先生。”约翰说，仍然紧盯着我。他看上去不喜欢他所看见的一切。

姑娘笑了起来。“是因为你的头发，先生。”她解释道。“我们在这儿不常见到这种颜色的头发。这是艾尔弗伯格家族的红色。这可不是约翰最喜欢的颜色。”

第二天，我决定步行数英里穿过森林，然后从路边的一个小站上火车去斯特莱索。我把行李交火车托运了。午饭后我开始步行。首先我想看看曾达的城堡。半小时后我爬到了城堡所在的山上。那儿有两幢建筑物，一旧一新，旧的被一道护城河所环绕，新的是一座现代的建筑。迈克尔公爵可以和朋友一起待在新城堡里，但假如他想要一个人待着，他可以去旧城堡。壕沟里的水很深，如果他拉起跨越壕沟的吊桥，没人能靠近他。

我在那儿待了一会儿，看着城堡，然后我走了差不多一个小时穿过森林。森林很美，我坐下来欣赏，不知不觉就睡着了。

突然间我听到一个声音说：“天哪，他真像国王！”

我睁开眼睛，面前站着两个人，其中一个走近我。

“请问您尊姓大名？”

“可是，你们干吗不先告诉我你们的姓名呢？”我回答。

两人中年轻的一位说：“这位是萨普特上尉，我是弗里茨·冯·塔伦汉姆。我们为卢里塔尼亚国王工作。”

“我是鲁道夫·拉森狄尔，”我回答说，“我是从英国来的游客，我哥哥是伯利斯顿勋爵。”

“当然啦！瞧那头发！”萨普特叫道，“你知道那个故事吧，弗里茨？”

正在这时，一个声音从我们背后的树林里传来：“弗里茨！你在哪儿呢，伙计？”

“是国王。”弗里茨说。萨普特笑了。

然后一个年轻人从一棵树后面跳了出来，我叫了一声，当他看见我时，惊愕地后退了一步。卢里塔尼亚国王看上去正像鲁道夫·拉森狄尔，鲁道夫·拉森狄尔看上去正像卢里塔尼亚国王。

有一小会儿国王什么也没说，然后他问：“弗里茨……上尉……，这是谁？”

萨普特走上去对着他的耳朵轻轻说了几句，国王惊讶的表情慢慢变成了一个感到有趣的微笑。突然，他开始大声笑起来。“幸会，表弟！”他突然高声叫道，“你打算去哪儿？”

“去斯特莱索，去看加冕典礼。”

国王看看他的朋友，严肃地想了一会儿。然后他又笑起来了，“等着吧，让迈克尔老弟看看我们两个。”

“也许，拉森狄尔先生不应该去斯特莱索。”弗里茨担心地说。萨普特也同意他的看法。

“哦，我们明天再谈加冕的事吧。”国王说，“今晚我们要好好乐一乐。来吧，表弟！”

我们回到公爵的林中住宅，在那儿吃了一顿非常不错的晚餐。国王嚷嚷着要酒，而上尉萨普特和弗里茨看上去很焦虑不安。很显然，国王过于喜欢喝酒了。

“记住，明天就加冕了。”老萨普特警告说。可是国王只对今晚让自己好好乐一乐感兴趣，所以我们都喝酒，说话，然后又喝酒。最后国王放下杯子说：“我已经喝得够多的了。”

这时，国王的仆人约瑟夫进来了，他把一瓶非常古老特别的酒放在国王面前的桌子上说道：“迈克尔公爵奉上这瓶酒，并请您为了他对您的爱而喝了它。”

“干得好，黑迈克尔！”国王叫道，“好吧，我才不怕喝你的酒呢！”

他一个人喝干了瓶里的每一滴酒。然后他的头伏在了桌子上。很快我自己也记不清那个疯狂的夜晚发生的别的事情了。

3

The King goes to his coronation

I do not know how long I was asleep, but when I woke up I was cold and wet. Sapt and Fritz stood there looking at me. 'We had to wake you,' Sapt said. 'Cold water was the only way.'

Fritz took my arm and turned me round. 'Look!' he said.

The King was on the floor, and when Sapt pushed him with his foot, he did not move.

'We've been trying to wake him for half an hour,' said Fritz. 'But he's sleeping like a dead man.'

The three of us looked at each other.

'Was there something in that last bottle of wine?' I asked.

'I don't know,' Sapt said, 'but if he doesn't get to his coronation today, there'll never be a coronation for him. All Ruritania is waiting for him in Strelsau and Black Michael with half the army, too. We can't tell them that the King is too drunk to go to his own coronation!'

'You can say he's ill,' I said.

'Ill!' Sapt laughed angrily. 'Everybody will know what that means. He's been "ill" too many times before.'

'Tell me, do you think somebody put something in his wine?' I asked.

'It was Black Michael!' Fritz replied. 'We all know he wants to be King himself.'

For a moment or two we were all silent, and then Sapt looked at me, 'You must go to Strelsau and take his place!'

I stared at him. 'You're crazy, man! How can I do that? The King...'

'It's dangerous, I know,' said Sapt. 'But it's our only chance. If you don't go, Black Michael will be King and the real king will be dead or a prisoner.'

How could I refuse? It took me two minutes to decide.

'I'll go!' I said.

'Well done, boy!' cried Sapt. He went on quickly and quietly. 'After the coronation they'll take us to the palace for the night. When we're alone, you and I will leave and ride back here to fetch the King. He'll be all right by then. I'll take him back to Strelsau and you must get out of the country as fast as you can.'

'But what about the soldiers?' Fritz asked. 'They're Duke Michael's men, and they're coming to take the King back to Strelsau for the coronation.'

'We'll go before the soldiers get here,' Sapt said, 'and we'll hide the King.'

He picked up the King in his arms and we opened the door. An old woman, Johann's mother, was standing there. She turned, without a word, and went back to the kitchen.

'Did she hear?' Fritz asked.

'Don't worry. I'll make sure she can't talk,' Sapt said, and he carried the King away.

When he returned, he told us that he had locked the old woman in a room underground. The King and Josef were hidden in another room underground. 'Josef will take care of the King and tell him everything when he wakes up. Come,' he went on, 'there's no time to lose. It's already six o'clock.'

Soon I was dressed in the King's clothes, the horses were ready and we were on our way. As we rode through the forest, Sapt told me everything that he could about my life, my family, my friends, and the things I liked or did not Like. He told me what to do when we got there, and how to speak to different people. He was a wonderful teacher, and I listened hard. One mistake could mean death for all three of us.

It was eight o'clock when we arrived at the station and got on the train, and by half-past nine we were in Strelsau.

And when King Rudolf the Fifth stepped out of the train, the people shouted, 'God save the King!'

Old Sapt smiled, 'God save them both,' he said quietly. 'I only hope we are all alive tonight!'

push v. use force to cause sb. or sth. to move forward. Contrasted to "pull". 推，挤，与“拉”相对。

drunk adj. under the influence of alcohol. 醉的，喝醉了的。

take one's place: to act in stead of sb. 代替，取代。

crazy adj. mad, ill in the mind. 疯，糊涂。

dangerous adj. able to or likely to cause suffering, injury or loss of life. 危险的，可能引起危险的。

fetch v. go for and bring back sb. or sth. 取来，接来。

pick up: take hold of and lift. 捡起，拿起。

make sure: find out or arrange for certain. 使确信，肯定。

underground adj. under the surface of the ground. 地下的。

take care of: look after. 照顾，照料。

hard adv. with great effort. 努力地，尽力地。

3　国王加冕

我不知道自己睡了多长时间，醒来时我发觉又冷又湿。萨普特和弗里茨站在那儿看着我。“我们得弄醒你，”萨普特说，“凉水是唯一的办法。”

弗里茨抓住我的胳膊让我转过身：“你看，”他说。

国王在地板上。萨普特用脚碰他，但是他不动。

“我们一直在想弄醒他，都有半个小时了。”弗里茨说，“可他睡得像死人一样。”

我们三人你看看我，我看看你。

“最后那瓶酒里有什么东西吧？”

“我不知道。”萨普特说，“不过假如他今天不去加冕，他就永远别想有另一个加冕典礼。所有的卢里塔尼亚人都在斯特莱索等着他。黑迈克尔也在那儿，还带着一半儿军队。我们没法告诉他们国王醉得太厉害，参加不了自己的加冕大典。”

“你可以说他病了。”我说。

“病了！”萨普特冷笑道，“谁都知道病了是什么意思。他以前已经'病'了太多次。”

“告诉我，你们想会不会有人把什么东西放在他的酒里了？”我问。

“是黑迈克尔干的！”弗里茨回答，“我们都知道他自己想当国王。”

有那么一会儿我们都没说话，然后萨普特看着我，“你必须去斯特莱索代替他。”

我紧紧盯着他，“你疯了！我怎么能干这个！国王他……”

“这很危险，我明白，”萨普特说，“但这是我们唯一的机会，要是你不去的话，黑迈克尔就会成为国王，而真正的国王就会死去或者成为一名囚徒。”

我怎么能拒绝呢？我想了两分钟就下了决心。

“我去！”我说。

“太好了，小伙子！”萨普特叫道。他快速而小声地说下去，“大典之后，他们会带我们去王宫过夜，等到就剩我们的时候，你和我骑马回来接国王。他那时就没事了。我会带他去斯特莱索，而你必须尽快离开这个国家。”

“可是那些士兵怎么办？”弗里茨问，“他们是黑迈克尔的人，他们会前来带国王到斯特莱索去加冕。”

“士兵还没到达之前我们就走。”萨普特说，“而且我们还要把国王藏起来。”

他抱起国王，我们打开了门。一个老太太，约翰的妈妈，正站在门外。她转过身，一句话也没说就走回了厨房。

“她听到了吗？”弗里茨问。

“别担心，我会弄妥让她没法告诉别人的。”萨普特说着，把国王弄走了。

等他回来时，他告诉我们，他已经把那个老太太锁在一间地下室里了。国王和约瑟夫藏在另一间地下室里。“约瑟夫会照顾国王的，等国王醒来时会把什么都告诉他。来吧，”他说，“没有时间了，已经6点了。”

很快，我穿上了国王的衣服，马早已备好，我们就上路了。当我们穿过森林时，萨普特尽他所能地告诉我一切，有关我的生活，我的家庭，我的朋友，我喜欢什么不喜欢什么。他告诉我等到了那儿要做什么，以及怎么和不同的人说话。他是个好老师，我听得也很努力，因为一个错误就可能让我们三人丧命。

我们到车站上车的时候是8点钟。8点半我们就到了斯特莱索。

当国王鲁道夫五世迈出车厢时，人们欢呼道：“上帝保佑国王！”

老萨普特微笑道，“上帝保佑他们两个人。”他小声说，“我只希望今晚我们都还活着！”

4

My adventures begin

As we made our way to the palace, I began to feel that I really was the King of Ruritania, with Marshal Strakencz, the head of the army, on my right and old Sapt on my left. I could see that Strelsau was really two towns － the Old Town and the New Town. The people of the Old Town, who were poor, wanted Duke Michael to be their King, but the people of the New Town wanted King Rudolf. We went through the New Town first, and it was bright and colourful, with the ladies' dresses and the red roses of the Elphbergs. The people shouted loudly for their King as we passed through the streets. But when we came to the Old Town, the Marshal and Sapt moved nearer to my horse, and I could see that they were afraid for me.

'Stay back!' I called. 'I'll show my people that I'm not afraid of them.' Some of the crowd were pleased when they heard this, but most of them watched me in silence.

Finally, we reached the great church of Strelsau. I remember very little of the coronation － only two faces. One was a beautiful girl with wonderful red hair, the Princess Flavia. The other was the face of a man with black hair and dark, deep eyes － Black Michael. When he saw me, his face turned white. Clearly, he was surprised and deeply unhappy to see me.

The coronation seemed to last for hours, but I managed to say and do all the right things. At last it was over, and I was now the King of Ruritania! As Princess Flavia and I drove back to the palace in an open car, one man in the crowd called out, 'When's the wedding?'

The Princess's face went a little pink when she heard this. After a while she said, 'You seem different today, Rudolf. Quieter and more serious. Are you going to become a more sensible person now?'

The Princess, I realized, did not think very highly of the King. As for me, I thought the King was a very lucky man.

'If that will please you, I'll try to do it,' I said softly.

The Princess's face went pink again. Then she said, 'You must be careful of Michael. You know －'

'I know,' I said, 'that he wants what I have, and also what I hope to have one day.' As I spoke, I looked at her, and she smiled at me prettily.

'I wonder what the King's doing now,' I thought.

*　　*　　*

The royal dinner went on for a long time, but at last Fritz, Sapt, and I were alone in the King's dressing-room.

'You did well,' Fritz said, 'but, Rassendyll, be careful! Black Michael looked blacker than ever today － because you and the Princess had so much to say to each other.'

'She's very beautiful,' I replied.

'Come on,' Sapt cried. 'There's no time for that now. We must leave for Zenda at once, to find the King! If we're caught, we'll all be killed! Black Michael has had a letter from Zenda, so perhaps he knows already. Don't unlock the door, Fritz, while we're away, or you'll be a dead man. Say the King must be left alone to rest. Now, come on. The horses are ready.'

Fritz and I shook hands, then I covered my red hair and most of my face. Sapt and I left the room by a secret door, and we found ourselves outside, at the back of the palace gardens. A man was waiting there with two horses.

Soon we left the town behind us, and we were out in the country. We rode like the wind and by ten o'clock had come to the edge of the forest of Zenda.

Suddenly Sapt stopped. 'Listen!' he said quietly. 'Horses behind us! Quick! Get down! The castle's to the left,' he continued. 'Our road's to the right.'

We hid in the thick trees, and we waited and watched. The men came nearer. It was Black Michael and another man. When they came to the two roads, they stopped.

'Which way?' the Duke asked.

'To the castle!' the other man cried. 'They'll know there what's been happening.'

The Duke waited for a moment. 'To Zenda then!' he cried finally, and the two men took the road to the left.

We waited for ten more minutes, and then we hurried on.

When we arrived at the house in the forest, we ran to the underground rooms. The one where Sapt had locked up the old woman was empty. She had escaped! The other room was locked. Sapt's face was white with fear. Between us, we broke down the door and ran in. I found a light and looked round the room. The servant Josef was on the floor － dead! I held up the light and looked in every corner of the room.

'The King isn't here!' I said.

adventure n. a journey, activity, etc. that is strange and exciting and often dangerous. 奇遇，冒险。

marshal n. a very important army officer. 元帅。

manage v. to succeed in dealing with (a difficult movement or action). 完成，设法办成。

wedding n. marriage ceremony. 婚礼，婚庆仪式。

sensible adj. having or showing good sense, reasonable, practical. 明智的，明理的，切合实际的。

think highly of sb. or sth.: have a good opinion of sb. or sth. 对……评价高。

wonder v. wish to know, ask oneself. 想知道，自忖。

dressing-room: a room where people get dressed or have themselves made up. 化妆室，更衣室。

the country: land used for farming or left unused, land outside cities or towns. 乡间，田野。

between us: as the result of our combined efforts. （我们两人）合力，共同。

4　我的历险开始了

在去王宫的路上，军队的首领斯特肯茨元帅走在我的右边，老萨普特走在我的左边，我开始感到自己真的是卢里塔尼亚的国王了。我看到斯特莱索实际上是两个城——老城和新城。老城的人是穷人，他们想要迈克尔公爵当国王。新城的人却希望鲁道夫当国王。我们先经过新城，城里女人们的衣饰和艾尔弗伯格红家族的玫瑰使得城市明亮艳丽。我们经过大街时，人们高声为国王欢呼。但当我们来到老城时，元帅和老萨普特靠近我的马，我能看出他们为我担心。

“退回去！”我叫道：“我要让我的人民看看我并不害怕他们。”人群中有些人听到了我的话感到很高兴，但大多数人沉默地看着我。

终于，我们来到了斯特莱索大教堂，大典的事儿我差不多都记不得了，除了两张面孔以外。一张是一个漂亮姑娘的，她长了一头绝妙的红头发。她是弗蕾维亚公主。；另一张脸是一个男人的，他长着黑头发，深黑色的眼睛。他就是黑迈克尔。当他看见我时，他的面色发白了。很清楚，他见到我很吃惊，而且非常不快。

加冕典礼持续了几个小时，但我总算说对了也做对了所有的事儿。最后仪式终于结束了，现在我是卢里塔尼亚国王了！当弗蕾维亚公主和我乘着敞篷车回宫殿时，人群中有人对我们喊道：“什么时候举行婚礼？”

公主听到这话时她的脸有点儿发红。过了一会儿她说：“鲁道夫，今天你看起来不大一样，你变得安静严肃了。你现在会变得更明智些了吧？”

我明白了，公主对国王的评价不太高。在我看来，国王是一个非常幸运的人。

“如果那样能使你高兴的话，我就试试这么做。”我柔和地说。

公主的脸红了，然后她说：“你得小心迈克尔，你知道……”

“我知道，”我说，“他想得到我所拥有的，还想得到我有朝一日想得到的。”我这么说的时候眼睛看着她，她对我微笑着，很可爱。

“我真想知道国王现在在干嘛？”我暗想。

宫廷晚宴持续了很长时间，不过弗里茨、萨普特和我总算单独待在国王的更衣室里了。

“你干得不错，”弗里茨说，“但是拉森狄尔，小心一点！黑迈克尔今天看起来特别不高兴，因为你和公主两人有那么多可说的。”

“她美极了。”我回答。

“得了，”萨普特说，“现在没工夫说这些了，我们得立即去曾达，去找国王！假如我们被逮住了，我们都得死！黑迈克尔收到了一封曾达来的信，所以他也许已经知道了。我们不在的时候你别开门，弗里茨，不然你会死的。你就说国王得一个人待着休息。现在，走吧，马已经准备好了。”

弗里茨和我握握手，然后我挡上我的头发和大半个脸。萨普特和我从一个秘密的门出了房间，到了宫殿的花园的后面，一个人正牵着两匹马等着我们。

很快我们将城市抛在了身后，进入了乡间。我们骑着马像风一样飞驰，10点钟时我们已经来到了曾达的森林边。

突然萨普特停住了。“听！”他悄悄地说，“我们后面有马蹄声！快！下马！去城堡走左边的路，我们走右边这条。”

我们躲在密密的树林里，等待着，注视着。那些人走近了，是黑迈克尔和另一个男人。当他们走到两条路口时，他们停住了。

“怎么走？”公爵问。

“去城堡！”另一个说，“他们会知道那儿出了什么事。”

公爵等了一会儿。“那就去曾达！”他终于说道。然后两人就朝左边的路走了。

我们又等了十多分钟，然后赶紧上路。

我们到达林中小屋，冲进地下室。萨普特关老太太的那间房间空了。她逃走了！另一间房子锁着。萨普特的脸因为紧张而发白。我俩砸开门冲了进去，我找到一盏灯，朝四周看去，老仆人约瑟夫躺在地板上，已经死了。我举着灯，把房间的每一个角落都看遍了。

“国王不在这儿。”我说。

5

His Majesty returns to Strelsau

It was one o'clock in the morning. For a few minutes we said nothing. Then Sapt cried, 'The Duke's men have taken the King prisoner!'

'Then we must get back and wake everyone in Strelsau!' I cried. 'We must catch Black Michael before he kills the King.'

'Who knows where the King is now?' Sapt answered. Then suddenly he began to laugh. 'But we've given Black Michael a problem,' he said. 'Yes, my boy. We'll go back to Strelsau. The King will be in his palace in Strelsau again tomorrow.'

'No!' I cried.

'Yes!' Sapt answered. 'It's the only way to help him. Go back and take his place for him.'

'But the Duke knows...'

'Yes, but he can't speak, can he? What can he say? "This man isn't the King because I've taken the real King prisoner and murdered his servant." Can he say that?'

'But people will soon realize I'm not the real King,' I said.

'Perhaps, perhaps not,' said Sapt. 'But we must have a King in Strelsau, or Michael will ride in tomorrow as the new King! Listen, boy, if you don't go back to Strelsau, they'll kill the King. And if you do go back, they can't kill the King. Because if they kill him, how can they ever say that you're not the real King? Don't you see?' he cried. 'It's a dangerous game, but it gives us a chance of winning.'

It was a wild, hopeless plan, but I was young. I would never have the chance of an adventure like this again. 'Sapt, I'll try it,' I said.

'Good for you!' Sapt cried. 'But we must hurry! Look!'

He pulled me over to the door. The moon was low now, and there was not much light, burt I could just see a small group of men on horses. They were Black Michael's men, probably coming to take the dead body of Josef away.

'We can't let them go without doing something,' I said, thinking of poor Josef.

'Right,' Sapt agreed. We ran out of the back of the house, and quickly got onto our horses. Silently, we waited in the darkness, and then we galloped round the house and straight into the group of men. Between us, we killed three of them, but a bullet hit my finger and it began to bleed.

We rode hard all night and it was about eight or nine o'clock in the morning when we reached Strelsau. Luckily, the streets were still empty. We arrived at the palace, went in, and got to the dressing-room. When we opened the door, Fritz was asleep, but he woke immediately. When he saw me, he fell to the ground and cried, 'Thank God, Your Majesty! You're safe!'

'Well done, boy!' Sapt shouted. 'We'll do it!'

Fritz stood up. He looked at me, up and down, down and up. Then he took a step backwards. 'Where's the King?' he cried.

'Be quiet,' Sapt warned him. 'Someone will hear!'

Fritz's face was white now. 'Is the King dead?' he asked quietly.

'Please God, no,' I answered. 'But Black Michael has him.'

*　　*　　*

The next day was a long one for me. Sapt talked to me for three hours about what I must do and what I must say, what I liked and what I didn't like. Then I had to do some of the King's business, but, because of my damaged finger, I did not have to write my name on any papers.

When, at last, I was alone with Sapt and Fritz, we began to talk about Black Michael. Fritz told me that Black Michael had six very dangerous men among his servants － three Ruritanians, a Belgian, a Frenchman, and an Englishman. They did anything that the Duke ordered, and did not stop at murder. Three of them － the foreigners, Fritz had heard － were in Strelsau now with Duke Michael.

Sapt banged the table with his hand in excitement. 'Then the King must be alive! Michael's brought the foreigners with him, and left the three Ruritanians to hold the King prisoner. Usually, the Six, as they're called, go everywhere with him.'

Fritz wanted to do something immediately about Black Michael and his men, but Sapt and I realized that we could not do anything openly.

'We'll play a waiting game, and let Michael make the first move,' I said.

And so I continued as King of Ruritania. In order to help the real King, I tried to make myself popular with the people. I went riding through the streets, smiling and talking to everybody. I also went to visit the Princess Flavia. The King's officials had told me that the Princess was very popular, and the people hoped that she would become my wife.

It was easy for me to pretend to be in love with the Princess. Too easy. Those beautiful eyes and that lovely smile were stealing my heart. Here was my greatest danger! I was pretending to be another man, but losing my own heart. On my first visit, we sat together for a long time, talking of this and that. When I got up to leave, Princess Flavia said, 'Rudolf, you will be careful, won't you? You have enemies, as I'm sure you know, and your life is very important to... Ruritania.'

'Only to Ruritania?' I asked softly.

'And to your loving cousin,' she answered quietly.

I could not speak. I took her hand in mine. Then, with a heavy heart, I left.

Of course, I made many mistakes in my new life as King. But I managed to talk my way out of them, with luck and with help from Fritz and Sapt. It was like living on a knife edge. Once I met my brother Michael in the Princess's house. We smiled and talked politely, but I could see the anger in his black eyes.

His/Her Majesty: form used when speaking of a king or queen. 国王陛下，女王陛下。间接提及时用。直接称呼时用“Your Majesty”。

wild adj. having or showing lack of consideration or reflection. 鲁莽的，轻率的。

good for you: well done. 干得好（表示夸奖，赞美等）。

body n. corpse. 死尸，尸体。

gallope v. to go at the fastest speed (on a horse). 骑马疾驰，飞奔。

bullet n. a type of shot fired from a gun. 枪弹，子弹。

bleed v. to lose blood. 流血。

immediately adv. at once, without delay. 立即，立刻。

business n. task, duty, what has to be done. 职责，该做的事。

damage v. cause harm or injury. 损伤，损害。

murder n. unlawful killing of a human being on purpose. 谋杀，杀害。

bang v. hit violently. 猛击，敲打。

pretend v. make oneself appear (to be sth., to be doing sth.), either in a play or to deceive others. 假装，伪装。

5　国王回到斯特莱索

此刻是凌晨一点钟。有几分钟的时间我们一句话也没说，然后萨普特叫道：“公爵的人把国王关起来了！”

“我们必须回到斯特莱索，唤醒那儿的每一个人。”我说，“我们必须在黑迈克尔杀了国王之前抓住他。”

“谁又知道国王在哪儿呢？”萨普特回答。然后他突然笑了起来：“不过我们已经给了黑迈克尔一个难题。”他说，“是的，我的孩子，我们回斯特莱索去。明天国王又会在斯特莱索的宫中的。”

“不！”我说。

“是的！”萨普特回答，“这是唯一能帮助他的方法。回去，替他去当国王。”

“可是公爵明白……”

“没错，但他没法说出来，对吗？他能说什么呢？'这个男人不是国王，因为我把真正的国王关进牢里，而且杀了他的仆人。'他难道能这么说吗？”

“可是人们很快就会知道我不是真正的国王。”我说。

“也许会，也许不会。”萨普特说。“但我们必须得有一个国王在斯特莱索，否则迈克尔明天就会跑去成为新国王。听着，孩子，如果你不回斯特莱索，他们就会杀掉国王。可是如果你回去了，他们就不能杀他，因为假如他们杀了他，他们怎么才能说明你不是真正的国王？你难道不明白吗？”他说，“这是一场危险的游戏，不过它给了我们一次获胜的机会。”

这是一个疯狂无望的计划，但是那时我正年轻，我不可能再有这样的奇遇了。“萨普特，我试试。”我说。

“太棒了！”萨普特说。“可我们得快点儿，你看。”

他把我拖到门边。月亮现在低低的，没有什么光亮，但我恰好能看见一小群人骑在马上。他们是黑迈克尔的人，可能是来运走约瑟夫的尸体。

“我们不能就这么让他们走了。”我说，心里想着可怜的约瑟夫。

“好吧。”萨普特同意了。我们从屋子背后跑出去，很快地骑上了马。在黑暗中我们悄悄地等着，然后飞快地绕过房子，直冲进那群人中。我们杀了他们三个人，不过有一枪打中了我的手指，流血了。

我们骑着马整整走了一夜，到达斯特莱索时是早上八九点钟，幸运的是，街上还是空空的。我们到达王宫，走进去直到更衣室。当我们开门时，弗里茨正在熟睡，但他立刻就醒来了。当看见我时，他跪倒在地叫道：“感谢上帝，陛下，您平安无事！”

“干得好，孩子！”萨普特说，“我们就这么办。”

弗里茨站了起来，他看着我，从上到下，从下到上。然后他后退一步：“国王在哪里？”他嚷道。

“安静点，”萨普特警告他，“别人会听见的。”

弗里茨的脸变白了，“国王死了吗？”他静静地问。

“上帝保佑吧，他还没有死。”我说，“不过黑迈克尔抓住他了。”

第二天对我来说十分漫长。萨普特对我说了三个小时，告诉我应该做什么，不能做什么，什么是我喜欢的，什么是我不喜欢的。接着我不得不做一些国王该做的事。不过，由于我的手伤了，我不用在任何文件上签名。

最后，当我又和萨普特、弗里茨在一起时，我们开始谈论黑迈克尔。弗里茨告诉我，黑迈克尔的随从中有六个非常危险的家伙，其中三个是卢里塔尼亚人，一个比利时人，一个法国人，还有一个英国人。黑迈克尔让他们做什么他们就做什么，就是杀人也干。弗里茨听说其中三个外国人现在正和黑迈克尔一起待在斯特莱索。

萨普特兴奋地用手拍了一下桌子，“这么说国王肯定还活着。迈克尔带了三个外国人，让那三个卢里塔尼亚人看着国王。通常总是黑迈克尔走到哪儿他们六个跟到哪儿的。”

弗里茨想立即就对黑迈克尔和他的人采取行动，可萨普特和我觉得我们什么事也不能公开地干。

“我们要玩一场等待游戏，让迈克尔先动手。”我说。

因此，我就继续当卢里塔尼亚的国王，为了帮助真正的国王，我试着得到人民的爱戴。我骑马穿过每条街道，对每个人微笑，跟每个人说话。我也去拜访弗蕾维亚公主。国王的官员们告诉我公主非常受百姓的欢迎，人们希望她会成为我的妻子。

对我来说，假装我正爱着公主是件很容易的事儿，太容易了。她那美丽的眼睛和可爱的微笑正悄悄地占据我的心。这才是我最大的危险！我假装是另外一个男人，但失去的是我自己的心。在我第一次拜访她的时候，我们在一起坐着，说这说那，过了很长时间。当我站起来告别的时候，弗蕾维亚公主说：“鲁道夫，你会小心的，是吗？你有敌人，你肯定知道这个，而且你的生命对于……卢里塔尼亚是很重要的。”

“只对卢里塔尼亚重要吗？”我温柔地问。

“对爱着你的表妹也一样。”她静静地回答。

我说不出话来。我握住了她的手，然后带着一颗沉重的心离开了她。

自然，在作为国王的新生活中，我犯了许多错误，但我很幸运，加上有弗里茨和萨普特的帮助，都设法掩饰过去了。这真像是在刀刃上过日子。有一次我在公主的家里遇见了我的兄弟迈克尔。我们微笑着，彬彬有礼地聊天，但我能看出他黑眼睛里的怒火。

6

An adventure with a tea-table

One day Sapt brought me some news － he had found out where the King was. Duke Michael was holding him prisoner somewhere in the Castle of Zenda.

Sapt also brought me a letter. It was in a woman's handwriting.

'To know what you most wish to know,' the letter began, 'meet me tonight in the garden of the big house in New Avenue. Come at midnight, and come alone.'

There was another note on the back of the letter. 'Ask yourself which woman does not want Black Michael to marry the Princess. A. de M.'

'Antoinette de Mauban!' I cried. 'She wants to marry the Duke.'

'That's true,' Sapt said. 'But you won't go, of course. They'll kill you! Duke Michael made her write this letter!'

'I must,' I replied. 'Every day we play this game there's more danger. I could make a mistake at any time, and, if I do, we'll all die. Don't you see? I have to go tonight. We can't go on much longer.'

'Then I'm coming too,' said Sapt.

So, at half-past eleven that night, Sapt and I rode out to the house in New Avenue. We left Fritz to watch my room in the palace. The night was dark, so I took a lamp. I also had my revolver and a knife.

We soon reached the house, and came to a gate in the wall. I got off my horse.

'I'll wait here,' said Sapt. 'If I hear anything, I'll －'

'Stay where you are!' I answered quickly. 'It's the King's only chance. They mustn't kill you too!'

'You're right,' said Sapt. 'Good luck!'

Silently, I opened the gate and went into the garden. In front of me I could see the dark shape of a summer-house and I moved towards it. Without a sound, I went up the steps, pushed open the door and went in. A woman hurried over to me and took me by the hand. I turned my lamp on her. She was beautiful.

'Close the door!' she said. 'We must be quick, Mr Rassendyll! Michael made me write the letter － three men are coming to kill you － three of the Six! They'll tell everyone that Sapt and Fritz von Tarlenheim murdered you. Then Michael will make himself King and marry the Princess.' Antoinette's beautiful eyes were sad as she added softly, 'I can't let him marry her. I love him!'

'But the King,' I said. 'I know he's in the Castle of Zenda － but where?'

'Go across the drawbridge and you come to a heavy door... Listen! What's that? They're coming! They're too soon! Put out your lamp!' she cried, her eyes filled with fear. 'Quickly! You must go. There's a ladder at the end of the garden, against the wall!'

But it was too late. The three men were already outside. There was a small hole in the door, and I put my eye to it. My hand was on my revolver. It was no good! There were three of them. I could kill one perhaps, but then...

A voice came from outside. 'Mr Rassendyll...' It was the Englishman. 'We only want to talk to you. Open the door.'

'We can talk through the door,' I replied. I looked through the hole again and saw that they were on the top step. When I opened the door, they would run at me.

'We'll let you go if you leave the country and we'll give you fifty thousand English pounds,' continued Detchard, the Englishman.

'Give me a minute to think,' I answered.

Wildly, I looked around the summer-house and saw a metal garden table and some chairs. I picked up the table and held it in front of me, by the legs. Then I went to the back of the room and waited.

'All right, I agree,' I called. 'Open the door!'

I heard them arguing with each other, and then Detchard said to the Belgian, 'Why, Bersonin, are you afraid of one man?'

A second later the door opened.

De Gautet, the Frenchman, was with the other two, and the three men were standing there with their revolvers ready. With a shout, I ran at them as hard as I could. They tried to shoot me, but the bullets hit the table. The next second the table knocked them to the ground and we all fell on top of each other. Quickly, I picked myself up and ran for my life through the trees. I could hear them coming after me. Was Antoinette right? Was there really a ladder by the wall? I reached the end of the garden. The ladder was there! In a minute I was up it and over the wall.

Sapt was waiting with the horses and seconds later we were on our way home. And, as we rode, we laughed because I had fought Duke Michael's dangerous men － with a tea-table!

handwriting n. (person's style of) writing by hand. 笔迹，书法。

midnight n. 12 o'clock at night. 午夜，半夜12点。

make sb. do sth.: force sb. to do sth. 强迫，使某人做某事。

revolver n. a type of small gun (pistol). 左轮手枪，转轮手枪。

shape n. outer form, appearance of something that is seen. 外形，轮廓。

be no good: be no use or of little use, of little value. 没有用，不管用。

run at: attack suddenly. 突然进攻，猛扑。

pound n. British unit of money. 英镑，英国货币单位。

argue (with sb.) v. express disagreement, quarrel. 争论，争吵。

shoot v. to fire (a weapon). 开枪，射击。

6　茶桌历险

有一天，萨普特带来了一个消息——他发现了国王在哪儿。迈克尔公爵把他关在曾达城堡里的什么地方。

萨普特还给我带来了一封信，是一个女人的笔迹。

“要想知道你最想知道的事，”这封信的开头这样写着，“请今晚去新马路大房子的花园见我。半夜12点，一个人来。”

信封的背面还有一句话：“问问你自己哪个女人不想让黑迈克尔和公主结婚。A. de M. ”

“安冬纳特·德·莫班！”我叫了起来，“她想嫁给公爵。”

“确实如此。”萨普特说，“但是你可不能去。当然不行，他们会杀了你的！是迈克尔公爵让她写这封信的！”

“我得去。”我说。“我们玩这场游戏，每过一天，危险就增加一分。我随时可能出错，而一出错我们就都完了。还不明白吗？我今晚必须去。我们没法老这样继续下去。”

“那我也去。”萨普特说。

于是，那天晚上11点半，萨普特和我骑马去新马路的那所大房子。我们把弗里茨留下来照应我在王宫中的屋子。夜很黑，我带了一盏灯。我还带了我的左轮手枪和一把刀。

很快我们来到那所大房子跟前。围墙中间有一座大门，我下了马。

“我在这儿等着。”萨普特说，“假如我听见什么动静，我就……”

“你就在这儿待着！”我很快地回答，“这是国王唯一的机会。他们不能连你也一块儿杀了。”

“你说得对。”萨普特说，“祝你好运！”

我静悄悄地开了门，走进花园。我眼前是一所避暑别墅的昏暗轮廓。我朝它走去。我悄悄地走上台阶，推门进去。一个女人急步走过来拉住我的手。我用灯照着她，她很美。

“关上门！”她说。“我们得快一点儿，拉森狄尔先生。是迈克尔让我写这封信的，有三个人会来杀你——那六个人中的三个。他们会告诉每个人萨普特和弗里茨·冯·塔伦汉姆杀了你。然后迈克尔会登上王位，并且和公主结婚。”安冬纳特美丽的眼睛露出悲哀，低声说，“我不能让他娶她，我爱他。”

“我知道国王在曾达的城堡里，”我说，“但他在哪里？”

“过了吊桥你能看见一座厚重的大门……听！什么声儿？他们来啦！他们太快了！把灯灭了！”她说，眼睛里满是惊恐。“快点儿！你得走。花园尽头有一个梯子靠在墙上！”

但是已经太晚了。那三个人已经来到屋外，门上有一个小洞，我从洞里向外看。我的手放在左轮手枪上。这不管用！他们有三个人，我也许能打中其中的一个，但是……

外面响起一个声音：“拉森狄尔先生……”是那个英国人。“我们只是想跟你谈谈，开门。”

“我们可以隔着门谈。”我回答。我又从小洞往外看，见他们已经上到了最高一层的台阶。假如我开门，他们就会朝我扑过来。

“假如你离开这个国家，我们会让你走，而且会给你五万英镑。”戴查德，那个英国人说。

“让我想一想。”我回答。

慌乱中我朝房子四周扫了一眼，看见了一个花园用的金属桌子和一些椅子。我抓着桌腿把它挡在身体前，然后退到房子的尽头等着。

“好吧，我同意了。”我高声说：“开门吧！”

我听见他们互相吵嚷，然后戴查德对那个比利时人说：“伯索宁，难道你还怕一个人吗？”

片刻之后，门就开了。

德·高蒂特，那个法国人和另外两个人在一起。他们三个端着上了镗的左轮手枪站在那儿。我大叫一声，用尽全力向他们冲去。他们向我开枪，但是子弹打在了桌子上。紧接着桌子打倒了他们。我们都倒下了，你压着我，我压着你。我很快爬了起来，穿过树林飞快逃走。我听见他们追了上来。安冬纳特没说错吧？墙上真有一个梯子吗？我跑到了花园的尽头，梯子真的在那里！一刹那间我就登上了梯子越过了围墙。

萨普特牵着马在等我。几秒钟后，我们就已经在回去的路上了。我们一边骑着马，一边大笑。因为我已经和迈克尔公爵的杀手斗了一场，而且只用了一张茶桌！

7

For love of the King

Every day I was sent a secret report by the Chief of Police, and the next afternoon I was playing cards with Fritz when Sapt brought it in. We learned that Duke Michael and the Three had left Strelsau, and that Antoinette de Mauban had also left. Clearly, they had gone to Zenda. The report also said that the people were unhappy because the King had not yet asked Princess Flavia to marry him.

'Yes,' said Fritz. 'It's true. I've heard that the Princess loves the King and she's very sad...'

'Well,' Sapt informed us, 'I've arranged a dance at the royal palace this evening, for the Princess.'

'Why wasn't I told?' I asked angrily.

But Sapt continued, 'Everything is arranged. And tonight you must ask the Princess to marry you.'

'No! I'll do nothing to hurt her!' I cried.

'All right, my boy,' Sapt smiled gently. 'Just say something nice to her, then. Remember, she thinks you're the King and we don't want her to be angry with him, do we?'

I understood, of course. If the King was saved, then Flavia must marry him. If he was not saved, then Sapt would ask me to stay and marry the Princess. Duke Michael must not be King.

The dance was wonderful. Flavia was beautiful and I danced with her again and again. Everyone could feel our happiness. I forgot about the crowd of rich, colourful people who were watching us. I had eyes only for my beautiful Flavia.

When supper had finished, Fritz touched me on the shoulder. I stood up, took Flavia's hand and led her into a little room. They brought coffee to us and then the door was closed quietly. The Princess and I were alone.

The windows of the little room opened onto the garden. The night was fine and the room was filled with the sweet smell of the flowers outside. Flavia sat down and I stood opposite her. I was fighting with myself... But then she looked at me － and I was lost! I forgot the King, I forgot who I was, I forgot everything! I fell to my knees, took her gently in my arms and kissed her.

Suddenly she pushed me away. 'Is it true? Do you really love me?' she cried. 'Or is it because you're the King and you must marry me?'

'No!' I answered quietly. 'I love you more than my life!'

Flavia smiled. 'Oh, why do I love you now?' she said softly. 'I didn't love you before, but I do now.'

How happy I was! It was not the King she loved. It was me － it was Rudolf Rassendyll! But as I looked into her lovely face, I knew I could not live with the lie. How could I pretend to be the King any longer?

'There's something I must tell you...' I began in a low voice.

'Your Majesty,' said a voice from the garden. 'People are waiting to say goodbye.'

It was Sapt. He had heard me talking to the Princess.

'We'll come,' I replied coldly.

But Flavia, her eyes full of her love for me, held out her hand to Sapt as he came into the room. He took it and said softly and sadly, 'God save your Royal Highness.' And then he added, 'But before all comes the King － God save the King!'

When Sapt told the people that Princess Flavia had accepted the King as her future husband, they were wild with happiness.

'You know, Sapt,' I said sadly, 'I could marry the Princess and let my people kill Duke Michael － and the King.'

'I know,' Sapt replied quietly.

'So we must go to Zenda and bring the King home at once!' I said.

Sapt put his hand on my shoulder. 'You're the finest Elphberg of them all,' he said with feeling.

*　　*　　*

Before we left Strelsau, I saw the Marshal and asked him to stay near Flavia, to take care of her and to keep her safe from Duke Michael. Then I went to say goodbye to her. At first she was cold with me. She did not understand why I wanted to leave her. But her anger changed to fear when I told her that I was going after Duke Michael.

'Oh, Rudolf, be careful!' she cried. 'He's a dangerous man! Please come back safely to me.'

'Duke Michael can never keep me away from you,' I promised. But in my heart I knew that another man could.

chief n. leader or ruler. 头目，首领。

inform v. to tell, give knowledge to sb. of sth. 通知，报告，提供消息。

arrange v. make plans in advance, see to the details of sth. 安排。

touch v. to feel with hands or fingers. 触摸，抚摸。

shoulder n. the top of the arm where it joins the body. 肩膀。

opposite prep. facing. 对面，与……相对。

Your Royal Highness: title used when speaking to a certain royal person. 对王室成员的称呼，殿下。

accept v. to take or receive willingly. 接受，收下。

7　为了对国王的爱

第二天下午我和弗里茨打牌时，萨普特带给我一封密信，那时每天警察长都要给我送一份秘密报告。我们得知迈克尔公爵和他的三个杀手离开了斯特莱索，安冬纳特·德·莫班也走了。很明显，他们去了曾达。报告还说臣民不太高兴，因为国王还没有请求弗蕾维亚公主嫁给他。

“是这样，”弗里茨说，“这是真的，我听说公主爱国王，她很伤心……”

“哦，”萨普特通知我们，“我今晚在王宫为公主安排了一个舞会。”

“为什么事先不告诉我？”我生气地说。

可是萨普特继续说着：“一切都安排好了。今天你就向公主求婚。”

“不！我决不做任何伤害她的事！”我叫道。

“好的，我的孩子。”萨普特温和地微笑着。“那就只对她说些好听的话。记住，她以为你是国王。我们不想让她对国王生气，对吗？”

我当然明白，如果国王得救了，弗蕾维亚就必须跟他结婚，如果他没得救，萨普特就会请我留下来，并且娶弗蕾维亚公主。决不能让迈克尔公爵当国王。

舞会好极了。弗蕾维亚很美丽。我跟她一支接一支地跳舞，每个人都能感到我们的快乐。我忘了那些有钱的，打扮得多姿多彩的人们在看着我们。我的眼里只有我美丽的弗蕾维亚。

晚餐结束后，弗里茨碰了碰我的肩膀，我站了起来，拉着弗蕾维亚的手，把她带进一个小房间里，他们给我们送来了咖啡，然后门就轻轻关上了，公主和我单独待在一起。

小房间的窗户朝花园开着，夜色明朗，屋内充满了窗外鲜花的甜香。弗蕾维亚坐了下来，我站在她的对面。我跟自己斗争着……可是她看着我，我失败了。我忘了国王，忘了我是谁，忘了一切。我跪了下来，轻轻地搂住她，吻了她。

突然她推开了我：“这是真的吗？你真的爱我吗？”她说，“还是因为你是国王而不得不娶我？”

“不！”我静静地回答：“我爱你胜过爱我的生命！”

弗蕾维亚微笑了：“哦，为什么我现在爱你了？”她温柔地说，“以前我并不爱你，可现在我爱了。”

我多么幸福啊！她爱的并不是国王，而是我——鲁道夫·拉森狄尔！可是当我望着她可爱的脸，我知道我没法再对她撒谎。我怎么能继续装扮我是国王呢？

“有件事我必须告诉你……”我低声说。

“国王陛下，”花园里有人说道：“人们都在等着跟您告别呢。”

是萨普特，他听见我和公主说的话了。

“我们就来。”我冷冷地回答。

可是弗蕾维亚的眼里充满了对我的爱，对走进房间的萨普特伸出手去。他握着她的手，温柔而又伤感地说：“上帝保佑公主殿下。”然后他又加了一句：“可是国王高于一切，上帝保佑国王！”

当萨普特宣告说弗蕾维亚公主接受国王作为她未来的丈夫时，人们都乐得发疯了。

“你知道，萨普特，”我悲哀地说，“我可以娶了公主，并且让我的人民杀了迈克尔公爵，还有国王。”

“我知道。”萨普特静静地回答。

“所以我们必须立即去曾达，把国王弄回来！”

萨普特把手放在我的肩上：“在所有艾尔弗伯格家族的人当中，你是最好的一个。”他动情地说。

在我们离开斯特莱索之前，我见了元帅，并且请他待在弗蕾维亚身边，照顾她并且使她免受迈克尔公爵的打扰。然后我去向她告别。起初她对我很冷淡，她不明白为什么我想离开她。但当我告诉她我去追赶迈克尔公爵时，她的怒气变成了恐惧。

“哦，鲁道夫，小心点儿！”她说，“他是个危险的家伙！请你一定要平安地回到我的身边。”

“迈克尔公爵永远也别想让我离开你。”我保证道。但在我心里，我知道另一个人却能做到。

8

Back to Zenda

The next day Sapt, Fritz, and I left Strelsau to go to Tarlenheim House. This fine modern house belonged to Fritz's uncle and was near the Castle of Zenda. We had ten brave young men with us. Sapt had told them that a friend of the King's was a prisoner in the Castle of Zenda and that the King needed their help.

Michael, of course, knew of my arrival. But I was sure he did not understand why I had come. He would think that my plan was to kill him and the King － and marry the Princess myself. So, I had not been in the house an hour when he sent three of the Six to me. These were not the three men who had tried to kill me. This time he sent the three Ruritanians － Lauengram, Krafstein and young Rupert of Hentzau.

'Duke Michael is very sorry that he can't welcome you himself,' explained Rupert of Hentzau. 'But, sadly, he's ill at the moment.'

'I hope that my dear brother will soon be better,' I replied with a smile.

Rupert threw back his head, shook his black hair and laughed. He was a good-looking young man. People said he had broken many hearts already.

'Oh, I'm sure he will!' he answered.

*　　*　　*

That evening, instead of having dinner at the house, Fritz and I went to the little hotel in the town of Zenda where I had stayed before.

'Ask for a room where we can dine alone,' I said to Fritz. 'And ask the pretty girl to bring our food.'

I covered my face and the girl came and put the wine down on the table. When she turned to go, she looked at me and I let her see my face.

'The King!' she cried. 'You were the King! Oh, I'm sorry, sir! I'm sorry! The things that we said!'

'Forget that now,' I answered. 'You can help me. Bring our dinner, but tell no one that the King is here.'

She came back in a few minutes, looking very serious.

'How's your friend Johann?' I began.

She looked surprised. 'Oh, we don't see him very often now,' she answered. 'He's very busy at the castle.'

'But you could get Johann to meet you tomorrow night, couldn't you? At ten o'clock, perhaps, on the road out of Zenda.'

'Yes, sir... You're not going to hurt him?'

'Not if he does what I say. Go now, and say nothing about this.'

After dinner, we left to go back to Tarlenheim House. We had almost reached it when we saw Sapt running to meet us. 'Have you seen them?' he cried.

'Who?' I asked.

'Duke Michael's men. Don't go out unless you have six men or more with you!' he said. 'You know Bernenstein, one of your men?'

'Of course,' I answered. 'A good, strong man, about as tall as me.'

'Well, they tried to kill him. He's upstairs now with a bullet in his arm. He was walking in the woods and he saw three men. Suddenly, they started shooting at him, so he began to run. He was lucky. They were afraid to come too near the house, so he escaped. But it was you they wanted to kill!'

'Sapt,' I said, 'I promise I'll do one thing for Ruritania before I leave it.'

'What's that?' asked Sapt.

'I'll kill every one of the Six. Ruritania will be a better place without them!'

modern adj. new and up-to-date. 新式的，时髦的。

arrival n. act of reaching a place, esp. the end of a journey. 到达，到来。

break one's heart: make sb. very sad. 令人心碎，使人伤心。

upstairs adv. to or on a higher floor. 楼上。

8　回到曾达

第二天，萨普特、弗里茨和我离开斯特莱索去塔伦汉姆庄园。这所新式的庄园属于弗里茨的叔叔，离曾达城堡不远。我们带了10个勇敢的年轻人。萨普特告诉他们说，国王的一个朋友被关在曾达的城堡里了，国王需要他们的帮助。

迈克尔当然知道我来了，可是他肯定不明白为什么我要来。他会以为我的计划是把他和国王都杀了。然后我自己和公主结婚。因此，我到庄园还不到一个小时，他就派了那六个人中的三个来见我。他们不是曾经追杀我的那三个人。这一次他派了三个卢里塔尼亚人——劳恩格兰姆，克拉夫斯坦，和年轻的亨佐鲁帕特。

“迈克尔公爵很抱歉他不能亲自来欢迎您。”鲁帕特解释说，“很遗憾，他现在病了。”

“我希望我亲爱的兄弟很快会好起来。”我微笑着回答。

鲁帕特一仰头，甩了甩他的黑头发也笑了。他长得很精神，据说他已经让很多女人心碎了。

“哈，我肯定他会好起来的！”他回答。

那天晚上，弗里茨和我没在庄园里吃饭，我们去了曾达城中我曾经住过的小旅店。

“你去要一个我们可以单独用餐的小房间，”我对弗里茨说，“还有，请那个漂亮的姑娘给我们上吃的。”

我挡住我的脸。那姑娘进来把酒瓶放在桌上，当她转身要走时，她看着我，我让她看见了我的脸。

“是国王！”她叫道，“你是国王！哦，我很抱歉，先生，对不起，我们说了那些话！”

“现在忘了那些。”我回答，“你能帮我的忙。给我们把晚餐拿来，不过别告诉任何人国王在这儿。”

几分钟后她回来了，看上去非常严肃。

“你的朋友约翰他好吗？”我问。

她看上去有点儿吃惊：“噢，我近来不常见到他。”她说，“他在城堡里很忙。”

“可你能叫约翰明天晚上跟你见面，对吗？大概晚上十点，在曾达城外的路上。”

“是的，先生，你们不会伤害他吧？”

“如果他照我说的做就不会。现在去吧。对这事一个字也别说出去。”

吃完晚饭，我们回到塔伦汉姆庄园。我们快到的时候，看见萨普特跑出来迎接我们。“你们看见他们了吗？”他问。

“谁？”

“迈克尔公爵的人。如果你身边没有六个人或更多的人，就别到外边去！”他说：“你知道伯南斯坦吧？他也是你的人。”

“当然啦。”我回答，“他人好，又强壮，差不多跟我一样高。”

“嗯，他们想杀了他。他现在在楼上，胳膊上中了一枪。他在树林散步的时候看见三个人，突然他们向他开枪，他就跑。他很幸运。他们不敢太靠近这所房子，所以他侥幸逃脱了。可是他们想杀的是你！”

“萨普特，”我说，“我保证在我离开之前要为卢里塔尼亚做一件事。”

“什么？”萨普特问。

“我要干掉那六个人。没有了他们，卢里塔尼亚会更好！”

9

News of the prisoner

The next morning I was sitting in the garden in the sun when suddenly I saw young Rupert of Hentzau on horseback coming through the trees towards me. He was not afraid of my men, but asked to speak with me alone. He said he had a message for me from the Duke of Strelsau. I asked my friends to move away, and Rupert came and sat down near me.

'Rassendyll,' he began, 'the Duke...'

'Don't you know how to speak to the King?' I asked.

'Why pretend with me?'

'Because it isn't finished yet.'

'Well, I'm here because I want to help you...'

'Then give me the message. What does the Duke want?' I asked.

'He wants you to leave. He'll take you safely out of the country and give you a hundred thousand pounds.'

'I refuse,' I replied immediately.

Rupert laughed. 'I knew it!' he cried. 'Duke Michael doesn't understand men like us!... You must die, then,' he added carelessly.

'Yes,' I answered. 'But you won't be alive to see me die!' I laughed. 'How's your prisoner?' I added.

'Alive,' he replied. 'How's the pretty Princess?'

I took a step towards him. 'Go now, before I kill you,' I shouted angrily.

Rupert turned, but suddenly he came back. He put out his right hand. 'Shake hands!' he called.

Of course, he knew what I would do. I put my hands behind my back. Quickly, his left hand moved towards me. In it he held a dagger and it was coming straight at my heart! I jumped to one side, and the dagger went deep into my shoulder. Before my friends could do anything, Rupert of Hentzau was on his horse and galloping through the trees. I heard my men going after him with their guns － and then everything went black.

When I awoke it was dark, and Fritz was at my bedside. He told me that I was not badly hurt, and that the plan to catch Johann had been successful.

'He seems pleased to be here,' Fritz said. 'I think he's afraid of Duke Michael.'

Later Sapt brought Johann up to see me. At first Johann was afraid to speak, but then he began to talk. We asked him many questions, and finally Johann gave us the information we wanted.

In the Castle of Zenda, near the drawbridge and below the ground, there were two small rooms, cut out of the rock itself. In the first of these rooms there were always three of the Six. At the back of this room there was a door which led into the second room. The King was in the second room.

'If someone tries to get into the first room, two of the three men will fight, but Rupert of Hentzau or Detchard will run into the second room and kill the King,' Johann said. 'There's a small window in the second room with a large pipe going down into the moat outside,' he went on. 'You can get a man inside it, and they'll tie a heavy stone to the King's body and push it down the pipe. The body will go down and disappear under the water, and the murderers will then go down the pipe themselves, and swim across the moat.'

'And if I bring an army to the castle?' I asked.

'Duke Michael will still murder the King,' replied Johann. 'He won't fight. He'll kill the King and push his body down the pipe. And he'll put one of the Six in the prison. He'll say the man had done something to make him angry. That will stop the stories about a prisoner in Zenda.' Johann stopped for a minute, but then he added, 'If they know I've told you this, they'll kill me. They're all bad, but Rupert of Hentzau is the worst. Don't let them kill me...'

'All right,' I said. 'But if anyone asks you who the prisoner of Zenda is, don't tell him. If you do, I'll kill you myself!'

Johann left the room and I looked at Sapt.

'It doesn't matter what plan we make,' I said. 'The King will be dead before we can get to him!'

Sapt shook his grey head angrily. 'You'll still be King of Ruritania in a year's time.'

'Perhaps one of the Duke's men will turn against him...' I began.

'Impossible,' replied Sapt.

'Then we need the help of God,' I said.

message n. piece of news, or a request, sent to sb. 讯息，口信。

carelessly adv. done without care, thoughtlessly. 粗心地，不在乎地。

dagger n. short, pointed, two-edged knife as a weapon. 短剑，匕首。

pleased adj. glad, feeling or showing satisfaction. 高兴的，满意的。

information n. sth. told, news or knowledge given. 消息，情报。

pipe n. tube used for carrying liquids or gas. 管子，管道。

disappear v. to go out of sight, become lost. 消失，失踪。

turn against sb.: become hostile to sb. 变为敌对的态度，反抗。

9　有关囚犯的消息

第二天早晨，我正坐在阳光下的花园里，突然看见鲁帕特骑着马穿过树林朝我走来。他并不怕我的人，但是请求和我单独谈谈。他说他有斯特莱索公爵给我的口信。我请朋友们离开，然后鲁帕特过来在我旁边坐了下来。

“拉森狄尔，”他开始说，“公爵……”

“难道你不知道应该怎样对国王说话吗？”我问。

“干吗跟我装假？”

“因为事情还没完。”

“好吧，我来这儿是因为我想帮助你……”

“那就告诉我那个口信。公爵想要什么？”

“他要你离开。他会帮你安全地离开这个国家。而且会给你10万英镑。”

“我拒绝。”我立即回答。

鲁帕特笑了：“我知道，”他说：“迈克尔公爵不了解你我这样的人！……那么你就得死。”他漫不经心地加了一句。

“对。”我回答：“不过你也别想活着看到我死！”我笑着说：“你的犯人怎么样了？”

“还活着！”他回答：“美丽的公主怎么样了？”

我朝他跨了一步，“在我杀了你之前赶紧滚！”我生气地喊道。

鲁帕特转过身，但他突然又回来了。他伸出右手，叫道：“握握手吧！”

他当然知道我会怎么做。我把手放在背后。他的左手却一下子伸过来，手里的短剑直刺向我的心脏。我跳向一边，短剑深深地刺进我的肩膀。没等我的朋友反应过来，鲁帕特已经上马跑进了树林。我听见我的人开枪追赶他，然后一切都变黑了。

我醒来时天已经黑了。弗里茨坐在我的床边。他说我的伤不重，并且告诉我抓约翰的计划已经成功了。

“他看上去很高兴能在这儿。”弗里茨说，“我想他害怕迈克尔公爵。”

过了一会儿，萨普特带约翰来见我。一开始约翰不敢说话，后来他开始说了起来。我们问了他许多问题，最后约翰终于把我们想知道的说了出来。

在城堡靠近吊桥的地方，有两个地下小屋，是从岩石中凿出来的。那六个人中的三个总是在第一间小屋里待着，屋子的尽头安着一扇门通向第二间屋子，国王就在那里面。

“假如有人想进第一间屋子，那三个人中的两人就会应战，而鲁帕特或者戴查德就会冲进第二间屋子把国王杀掉。”约翰说：“第二间屋子里有一个小窗子，一根大排水管穿过窗户通往外面的护城河。”他接着说，“排水管能容纳下一个人。他们会在国王身上绑上一块很重的石头，然后把他推下排水管。尸体掉下去，消失在水下，然后杀人犯们也会顺着排水管下来，再游泳穿过护城河。”

“假如我带领一支军队去攻打城堡呢？”我问。

“迈克尔公爵仍然会杀了国王，”约翰说。“他不会跟你硬打的。他会把国王杀了，推下排水管，然后把那六个家伙中的一个关进监狱。他会说那个家伙做了让他生气的事儿。这样就可以制止人们关于曾达有个囚徒的传言。”约翰停了一会儿，又说：“如果他们知道我告诉了你们这个，他们会杀了我。他们都很坏，可是最坏的是鲁帕特。别让他们杀了我……”

“好吧！”我说，“但如果有人问你曾达的囚徒是谁，你别说出来，不然的话我会杀了你！”

约翰离开了房间。我望着萨普特。

“我们订什么计划都无关紧要了。”我说，“还没等我们到国王身边他就已经死了。”

萨普特愤怒地摇着他灰白的脑袋：“一年之内你照样还是卢里塔尼亚的国王。”

“也许公爵的人里面会有一个起来反叛他……”我说。

“不可能。”萨普特回答。

“那我们就需要上帝来帮忙了。”我回答。

10

A night outside the castle

I wanted Duke Michael to think that I was still very ill, so we told the newspapers that the King had had a very serious accident. When Princess Flavia read this, she was very worried and she decided to come and see me. The Marshal could not stop her, and, although I was afraid for her, I was excited at the thought of seeing her again. We spent two wonderfully happy days together.

We had sent Johann back to the Castle of Zenda and suddenly we had a message from him. The real King was very ill.

'I must save him,' I said to myself. 'I love Flavia more each day. I can't go on like this much longer.'

I talked to Sapt. He agreed, so we made our plans.

*　　*　　*

Late the next night, Sapt, Fritz, and I, with six more men, rode out towards the Castle of Zenda. Sapt was carrying a long rope and I had a short, thick stick and a long knife.

The night was dark, and it was wet and windy. We stayed away from the town and we met no one. When we came to the moat, we stopped near some trees and the six men hid there with the horses. Then Sapt tied the rope round one of the trees near the water. I pulled off my boots, put the stick between my teeth and gently went down the rope into the water. I was going to take a look at the pipe.

It had been warm and bright that day, and the water was not cold. Slowly and carefully I swam round the dark walls of the castle. There were lights in the new buildings, and from time to time I heard people shouting and laughing. 'That must be young Rupert and his friends,' I thought. Suddenly a dark shape appeared in front of me. It was the pipe! The bottom of it was very wide and came out into the moat. And then I saw something which nearly made my heart stop. It was a boat, and in the boat there was a man! His gun was beside him, but, luckily, he was asleep. As quietly as I could, I moved closer. The man still slept. What could I do? I had to save the King. I took out my knife and drove it through the sleeping man's heart! On the other side of the castle they were still singing.

I had very little time. Someone could come at any minute. I looked up at where the pipe went through the wall into the prison. There was a thin line of light at the bottom edge. I heard Detchard's voice, and then I heard the King reply. Just then the light went out, and, in the darkness, I heard the King crying. I did not call to him. I had to get away safely － and take the body of the dead watchman with me.

I climbed into the boat and began to go back to where my friends were. No one could hear me because the wind was strong. But from somewhere behind me, I heard a shout. Someone was calling to the watchman. I reached the side of the moat where Sapt and Fritz were waiting. Quickly, I tied the rope round the man's body and Sapt and Fritz pulled it up. Then I climbed up the rope myself.

'Call our men from the trees,' I said quietly. 'And hurry!'

But just then, three men rode round from the front of the castle. Luckily, they did not see us, but they heard our six friends riding out of the trees, and with a shout they galloped towards them.

Seconds later we heard the sound of shots and I ran to help our men. Sapt and Fritz followed.

'Kill them!' cried a voice. It was Rupert of Hentzau.

'Too late! They've got both of us!' cried another voice. 'Save yourself, Rupert!'

I ran on, holding my stick in my hand. Suddenly, through the darkness, I saw a horse coming towards me. I jumped at the horse's head, and saw the man's face above me.

'At last!' I shouted. 'Rupert of Hentzau!'

He had only his sword, and my men were coming at him from one side, and Sapt and Fritz from the other.

Rupert laughed. 'It's the play-actor!' he cried, and with his sword he knocked my stick from my hand. Then he turned his horse, galloped to the moat, and jumped into the water with our bullets flying round his ears. Our men tried to shoot him in the water, but it was dark, there was no moon － and we lost him.

We had killed two of the Six － Lauengram and Krafstein － but I was angry. Three of our brave friends were also dead, and we carried them home with a heavy heart.

And I did not like to hear Rupert call me a play-actor.

*　　*　　*

Of course, Michael and I could not let the people know that we were enemies. So, in the daytime it was safe to be in the town of Zenda. One day, soon after our night outside the castle, Princess Flavia and I were riding through the town when we saw a group of people dressed in black going to the church. Rupert of Hentzau was with them, and when he saw us, he turned his horse and came towards us.

'It's the funeral of my dear friend., Lauengram,' he said, in answer to our question.

'I'm sorry your friend is dead,' I said to him.

'And I'm sorry, too,' Flavia added, her beautiful blue eyes sad.

Rupert looked at her and smiled. Then he turned and rode away. Although I was angry because he had smiled at Flavia, I went after him.

'You fought bravely the other night,' I said, 'and you're young. Help me save the King － and I'll help you.'

But Rupert was not interested. 'No,' he answered. 'But if they were both dead － the King and the Duke － then you could be King and marry your Princess, and I could be rich, and have the woman I want.'

'Antoinette de Mauban?' I asked carelessly, trying not to show my interest.

'Yes,' replied Rupert. 'I hate the Duke. She loves him, not me!' Angrily, he joined the funeral group again.

Strangely, when we returned home there was a message for me from Antoinette herself.

'I helped you once. Help me now. Save me from this terrible place! Save me from these murderers!'

I was sorry for her, but what could I do?

accident n. something esp. something unpleasant, undesirable, or damaging, that happens unexpectedly or by chance. 意外，不测，祸事。

excite v. to cause sb. to lose calmness and to have strong feelings, often pleasant. 使兴奋，激动。

gently adv. in a mild and careful way. 温和地，轻轻地。

appear v. come into view, become visible. 出现，呈现。

bottom n. lowest part of anything, inside or outside. 底部，底端。

funeral n. a ceremony of burying or burning a dead person. 葬礼，丧葬仪式。

terrible adj. causing great fear or horror. 可怕的，极糟的。

10　城堡外的一夜

我想让迈克尔公爵以为我还十分虚弱，所以我们在报纸上说国王出了很严重的意外事故。当弗蕾维亚公主看到这条消息时，她非常忧虑，决定前来看我。元帅阻止不了她。虽然我替她担心，但也很高兴能再见到她。我们在一起过了幸福的两天。

我们派约翰回曾达的城堡去了。突然，我们得到了他传来的一个消息：真正的国王病得很重。

“我得救他。”我对自己说，“我对弗蕾维亚的爱每天都在增加，我没法儿再这样继续下去了。”

我和萨普特谈了我的想法，他同意了。我们就决定了行动计划。

第二天深夜，萨普特、弗里茨和我，还有另外六个人，骑马向曾达城堡进发。萨普特带着一根长绳，我拿着一根又短又粗的棍子和一把长刀。

夜色很黑，空气潮湿，风很大。我们绕开城市前进，没有撞上什么人。我们来到护城河的附近，在树丛里停了下来，那六个人和我们的马藏在里面。然后萨普特把绳子系在水边的树上，我脱下靴子，用牙咬着棍子，轻轻地顺着绳子下到河里，我要去看一下那根排水管。

那天很暖和，水也不冷。我缓慢而小心地绕着黑暗的城墙游着。城堡的新楼里有灯光，我不时能听见人们的叫声和笑声。“这一定是年轻的鲁帕特和他的同伙们。”我想。突然，一个黑影子出现在我的面前，是那根排水管！它的底部非常宽，伸进护城河里。然后我见到一样东西，我的心脏都几乎停止了跳动。是一只船，而且船里有个人！他的枪就靠在身边。幸运的是，他睡着了。我尽量轻轻地靠近他，他还在睡。我能怎么办呢？我得救出国王。我抽出刀，刺进了他的心脏。在城堡的另一边，那些人还在唱歌。

我的时间很紧，随时可能有人会来，我看了看排水管穿过城墙进入监狱的地方，在底端有一丝光亮透了出来。我听见了戴查德的声音。然后我听见了国王的回答。就在这时灯光灭了。在黑暗中我听到了国王的哭声。我没叫他。我必须安全地离开，而且得带上那个死去的哨兵。

我爬进小船，开始往朋友们所在的地方划，没人能听见，因为风很大。但从我的背后，我听见一声叫唤，有人正在叫那个哨兵。我到了河边，萨普特和弗里茨正在等我。我很快地把绳子绕在那个哨兵的身上，他们把他拖了上去。然后我也顺着绳子爬了上去。

“把我们在树林里的人叫来，”我悄声说。“要快！”

可就在此时，从城堡正面过来了三个骑马的人，很幸运他们没有看见我们，但他们听见了我们的六个朋友骑马从树林里出来，于是叫喊着扑向他们。

数秒钟后我们听见了枪声，我冲去帮助我们的人，萨普特和弗里茨紧跟着。

“杀死他们！”一个声音叫着，是亨佐的鲁帕特。

“太迟了，他们把我俩都抓住了，”另一个声音叫道：“快逃吧，鲁帕特！”

我跑过去，手里拿着棍子。突然，透过黑暗我看见一匹马向我这边冲来，我跳到了马头前，看见了我头顶上方那个人的脸。

“总算见面了！”我叫道：“亨佐的鲁帕特！”

他手里只有剑，我的人从一边向他靠近，萨普特和弗里茨从另一边向他靠近。

鲁帕特笑了。“原来是那位演员！”他叫道。他用剑打掉我的棍子，然后掉转马头，冲进了护城河。我们的子弹在他耳边飞舞，我们的人向水中射击，但天太黑了，没有月亮，他逃脱了。

我们杀死了那六个人中的两个——劳恩格兰姆和克拉夫斯坦，但我很生气，我们有三个勇敢的朋友死了，我们把他们的尸体带回去，心情很沉痛。

我讨厌鲁帕特管我叫“演员”。

当然，迈克尔和我不会让人们知道我们是对头，因此白天在曾达城里是安全的。有一天，城堡外的那一夜之后没多久，当我和弗蕾维亚公主骑着马在城里穿行时，看见一群人穿着黑衣服走进教堂。鲁帕特也和他们在一起。他看见我们，掉转马头冲我们走来。

“这是我的朋友劳恩格兰姆的葬礼。”他回答我们的问题说。

“你的朋友死了我很难过。”我对他说。

“我也很难过。”弗蕾维亚说，她那美丽的蓝眼睛变得悲哀了。

鲁帕特看着她，笑了笑。然后他骑马离开了。虽然他对弗蕾维亚微笑使我生气，我还是追了上去。

“那天晚上你很勇敢。”我说，“而且你正年轻，帮助我救出国王——我也会帮助你的。”

但是鲁帕特不感兴趣。“不，”他回答。“不过如果他俩都死了——国王和公爵——你就能当上国王，娶你的公主，而我就可以有很多钱，而且得到我想要的女人。”

“安·德·莫班？”我满不在乎地问，试图装着不感兴趣的样子。

“对。”鲁帕特回答。“我恨公爵，她爱的是他，不是我！”他气冲冲地又回到葬礼的人群中去了。

奇怪的是，当我们回家时，一张安冬纳特本人写来的纸条正等着我们。

“我曾经帮助过你，现在帮帮我。把我从这个可怕的地方救出去！从这些杀人凶手中间救出去！”

我为她感到难过，但是我又能怎么样呢？

11

A dangerous plan

One day Johann came to tell us that the King was now very sick, and that Antoinette de Mauban and a doctor were looking after him. But the Duke never left Rupert of Hentzau alone with Antoinette. I understood why, after what Rupert had told me. There were often angry voices in the castle these days, Johann told us.

Two of the Six were now dead, but there were always two men watching the King. The other two slept in a room above and would hear them if they called. Detchard and Bersonin watched by night; Rupert of Hentzau and De Gautet by day. The Duke's rooms were on the first floor, in the new buildings of the castle, and Antoinette's room was on the same floor. But at night the Duke locked the door of her room, and pulled up the drawbridge. He kept the key himself. Johann slept near the front door of the new castle with five other men － but they had no guns.

We could not wait any longer. 'Listen!' I said to Johann. 'I'll make you rich if you do what I say.' Johann agreed.

'You must take this note to Madame de Mauban,' I said, 'and tomorrow, at two o'clock in the morning, you must open the front door of the new castle. Tell the others that you need air, or something － and then escape.'

Johann was clearly afraid, but he seemed to understand. I explained my plan to Sapt and Fritz.

'When Johann opens the front door,' I said, 'Sapt and his men will run into the castle and hold the men who are sleeping there. At the same time Antoinette will scream loudly again and again. She'll cry "Help! Help me, Michael!" And she'll shout Rupert of Hentzau's name. Duke Michael will hear and he'll run out of his room － straight into the hands of Sapt! Sapt will get the key from the Duke and let down the drawbridge. Rupert and De Gautet will hear the noise and hurry to cross the drawbridge. I'll hide by the bridge in the moat, and when they try to cross, I'll kill them. Then we'll hurry to the room where the King is, and kill Detchard and Bersonin before they have time to kill the King.'

The others listened in silence. It was a very dangerous plan, and I did not really think it would work － but we had to try!

That evening I went to visit Flavia. She seemed very thoughtful, and as I was leaving, she placed a ring on my finger. I was wearing the King's ring, but I took off my Rassendyll family ring and gave it to her. 'Wear this for me always,' I said.

She kissed the ring, and replied seriously, 'I'll wear it until the day I die.'

And then I had to leave her. I had already told the Marshal that if anything happened to the King, he must take Flavia to Strelsau, tell the people that Duke Michael had killed the King － and that Flavia was their Queen. I knew this could be my last day alive.

sick adj. ill, not well. 病了，得病的。

scream v. give a loud, sharp cry or cries. 尖叫。

straight adv. directly, without turning aside, without delay. 直接地，笔直地。

work v. (of a plan, machine etc.) to be active in a proper way. （计划等）奏效。

thoughtful adj. full of thought, showing thought. 深思的。

wear v. to have on the body. 穿，戴，佩。

11　一个危险的计划

一天，约翰来告诉我们，国王病得很重，安冬纳特和一个医生正在照顾他。但是公爵从来不让鲁帕特和安冬纳特单独待在一起。我明白这是为什么，鲁帕特已经告诉我了。约翰告诉我们，城堡里最近常有愤怒的叫嚷声。

虽然“那六个”中的两个已经死了，可是总有两个人看着国王，另外两个睡在楼上的一间屋子里，一叫就能听见。戴查德和伯索宁夜里看守，鲁帕特和德·高蒂特白天看守。公爵的房间是在城堡里新楼的一层。安冬纳特的房间也在这一层。但是一到夜里，公爵就把她的房门锁上，把吊桥拉起来，他自己拿着钥匙。约翰和另外五个人睡在新楼的正门附近，不过他们都没有枪。

我们不能再等了。“听着！”我对约翰说：“我会让你发财，假如你照我的吩咐去做的话。”他同意了。

“你把这张纸条交给德·莫班夫人。”我说，“明天凌晨两点钟，你必须把新城堡的正门打开，告诉别的人你想透透空气，或者别的什么——然后就逃走。”

约翰显然很害怕，但是他看上去听懂了。我把我的计划告诉了萨普特和弗里茨。

“等约翰打开正门，”我说，“萨普特和他的人就冲进去抓住睡在那儿的人。同时，安冬纳特就会不停地大声尖叫：'救命！救救我，迈克尔！'然后她会叫亨佐鲁帕特的名字。迈克尔公爵听见了就会冲出房间——正好落进萨普特的手里。萨普特就从公爵那儿拿到钥匙，放下吊桥。鲁帕特和德·高蒂特听见动静会冲过吊桥，我就藏在桥边的护城河里，他们过桥时我就除掉他们。然后我们就冲到国王在的那个房间里，在戴查德和伯索宁杀死国王之前先杀死他们。”

其他人静静地听着。这是一个非常危险的计划。我自己也并不真的相信它能成功。可我们必须试试！

那天晚上，我去看望弗蕾维亚。她看上去心事重重。当我离开时，她将一个戒指给我戴在手上。我戴着国王的戒指，但我摘下我的拉森狄尔家族的戒指给了她：“永远为我戴着它吧。”我说。

她亲吻了戒指，严肃地回答：“我会到死都戴着它的。”

我不得不离开她了。我已经告诉元帅，如果国王出了什么事，他必须把弗蕾维亚带回斯特莱索，告诉人民是迈克尔公爵杀死了国王——然后弗蕾维亚将成为他们的女王。我知道这也许是我生命中的最后的一天了。

12

The prisoner and the King

We needed bad weather, but it was a fine, clear night. At midnight Sapt, Fritz, and their men left and rode quietly through the woods towards the castle. If everything went well, they would get there at a quarter to two and wait for Johann to open the front door. If Johann did not open the door, Fritz would come round to the other side of the castle to find me. If I was not there, then I was dead － and the King, too! Sapt and his men would go back to Tarlenheim House and return with the Marshal and more men to get into the castle.

So, half an hour later, I, too, left Tarlenheim. I took a shorter way than Sapt and when I reached the moat, I hid my horse in the trees, tied my rope round a strong tree and let myself down into the water. Slowly, I began to swim along under the castle walls. Just after a quarter to one, I came to the pipe and waited quietly in its shadow. Light was coming from Duke Michael's window opposite me across the moat, and I could see into the room. The next window along, which Johann had said was Antoinette's room, was dark.

Then the Duke's window opened, and Antoinette de Mauban looked out. Behind her there was a man. Rupert of Hentzau! What was he doing in the Duke's room? I wondered.

Rupert tried to put his arm round Antoinette, but she moved quickly away. At that moment, I heard the door of the room open and then the angry voice of Duke Michael.

'What are you doing here?' he cried.

'Waiting for you, sir,' Rupert replied quickly. 'I couldn't leave the lady alone.'

'Well, now you can go to bed. Are Detchard and Bersonin watching the prisoner?'

'Yes, sir.'

A few minutes later, Rupert crossed the drawbridge and it was pulled up. The light in Duke Michael's room went out, but a light came on, and stayed on, in Antoinette's room. In the silent darkness, I waited.

For about ten minutes everything was quiet, but suddenly I heard a noise on my side of the moat. A dark shape appeared in the gateway to the bridge, then turned and began to climb down some hidden steps in the wall. It was Rupert of Hentzau again － with a sword! Silently, he went down into the water and swam across the moat. Then he climbed out, and I heard him unlock the door. It was clear that Rupert of Hentzau had his own secret plans for that night.

It was not yet time for Johann to open the front door for my friends, and I still had to wait. I climbed up to the gateway of the bridge and hid in a dark corner. Now no one could enter or leave the old castle without fighting me. I wondered what Rupert was doing now, and a few seconds later I found out.

There was a sudden crash, and then a woman's screams rang through the night.

'Help me, Michael! Rupert of Hentzau!'

Those were the words that I had written for Antoinette! But these were screams of real fear and soon I heard shouts and the sound of fighting from Antoinette's room. Then Rupert appeared at the window. His back was towards me, but he was fighting. 'That's for you, Johann,' I heard him cry. Then, 'Come on, Michael!'

So Johann was in there too, fighting at the Duke's side! How could he open the door for Sapt now?

More of the Duke's men had run to the room and the noise of the fighting grew louder. Suddenly, Rupert gave a wild laugh, and with his sword in his hand, jumped from the window into the moat below.

At that moment the door of the old castle opened and De Gautet appeared beside me. I jumped at him with my sword, and a second later he fell dead in the doorway without a word or a sound.

Wildly, I searched his body for the keys. I found them, and in a minute I was in the first room, where Bersonin and Detchard were. But there was only Bersonin in the room. Before he had time to realize that I was there, I had killed him. Detchard had run into the King's room and locked the door behind him. I ran at it to break it down. But would I be in time? Was the King already dead?

The King was standing helplessly by the wall. But the doctor was also in the room and the brave little man had thrown himself at Detchard. He gave his life for the King, because, as I entered, Detchard pulled himself free and drove his sword into the doctor's side. Then, with an angry shout, Detchard turned to me.

We fought long and hard. Detchard was an excellent swordsman, and I was growing tired. He drove me back against the wall, gave me a deep cut in the arm, and began to smile. In a second he would kill me.

Suddenly, the King realized who I was.

'Cousin Rudolf!' he cried. Then he picked up a chair and threw it at Detchard's legs. The Englishman, jumping to one side, turned his sword against the King, and with a cry the King fell to the ground. Detchard moved towards me again, stepped in the doctor's blood on the floor － and fell to the ground himself. I had him! A second later his body lay across the dead doctor.

But was the King dead? I had no time to find out, because just then I heard the noise of the drawbridge coming down. And that wild-cat Rupert of Hentzau was still alive. The King must wait for help while I fought his enemies. I ran out of the room and up the steps towards the drawbridge. And then I heard the sound of laughter － Rupert of Hentzau was laughing!

He was standing alone in the middle of the bridge. In the gateway on the far side stood a group of the Duke's men. They seemed too frightened to move.

'Come out, Michael, you dog!' Rupert shouted.

But a woman's wild cry answered him. 'He's dead! He's dead!'

The men in the gateway moved to one side and a woman came forward. Her face was as white as her long dress, and her dark hair lay over her shoulders. In her hand she held a gun. The shot rang out, but she missed. Rupert laughed. Again Antoinette de Mauban faced him, her gun ready. But, before she could shoot, Rupert jumped over the side of the bridge, and down into the moat below.

At that moment I heard the sound of running feet inside the new castle － and the welcome voice of my old friend, Captain Sapt! Then I knew that the King was safe and needed me no more. I ran out on to the bridge and jumped down into the moat. I had business to finish with Rupert of Hentzau.

*　　*　　*

I swam hard and caught up with him round the corner of the old castle. He had found my rope, climbed out of the moat, and was already running towards the trees where I had left my horse.

I ran after him as fast as I could. He turned and saw me, and called out, laughing, 'Why, it's the play-actor!' But then, with a cry of surprise, he found my horse, and in a minute he was on its back.

'Get down!' I shouted. 'Stand and fight, like a man!'

He turned, waiting for me, and I ran at him with my sword. For a few minutes we fought wildly. Blood ran from his face where I had cut it, but I had fought too many fights that night. He would surely kill me now.

I was saved by Fritz, who came galloping round the castle to find me. When Rupert saw him coming, he knew he had no chance.

'Goodbye, Rudolf Rassendyll!' he called. 'We'll meet again!'

And he rode away into the forest, laughing and singing... and still alive.

I fell to the ground. Blood was running again from the cut in my arm, and I could not stand. Fritz jumped down from his horse and lifted me in his arms.

'Dear friend!' he said. 'Thank God I've found you! When Johann did not come, we had to break down the castle door. We were afraid we would be too late.'

'And the King...?' I said.

'Thanks to a very brave Englishman,' Fritz said gently, 'the King is alive.'

unlock v. to unfasten the lock of. 打开锁。

crash: (noise made by a) violent fall, blow or breaking. 碰撞声，撞击声。

ring v. give out a clear, musical sound as when metal vibrates. 发出金属震动般的鸣响。

in time: not late, early enough. 及时。

throw oneself at sb.: rush violently at sb. 冲向，扑向。

side n. the right or left part of the body, esp. from the shoulder to the top of the leg. 身体的两侧，肋部，肋旁。

swordsman: man skilled in the use of a sword. 剑客，击剑家。

have v. beat, win an advantage over. 打败，战胜。

wild-cat: any animal of the group that includes tigers, lions, panthers, and leopards. 猫科动物，包括老虎，狮子，美洲豹和豹子。

frightened adj. afraid, alarmed. 害怕的，惊恐的。

catch up with: to come up from behind, overtake. 追上，赶上。

thanks to: as the result of, owing to. 由于，幸亏。

12　囚徒与国王

我们需要坏天气，但那天却是个晴朗的夜晚。午夜时分，萨普特、弗里茨和他们的人骑马出发了。他们悄悄穿过树林奔向城堡。如果一切顺利的话，他们一点三刻会到达那儿，等待约翰打开大门。如果约翰没开门，弗里茨就绕到城堡的另一面来找我。要是我不在那儿，那我就是死了——国王也一样。萨普特和他的人就回塔伦汉姆庄园，然后随同元帅一起带着更多的人去攻打城堡。

于是，半小时以后我也离开了塔伦汉姆庄园。比起萨普特来我抄了一条近路。到了护城河，我在树林里藏好马，把绳子系在一棵粗壮的树上，然后下到水里。慢慢地，我开始沿着城墙游着，差一刻一点的时候，我到了排水管边，在阴影里静静等待。河对岸正对着我的是迈克尔公爵的房间，灯光从窗户里照射出来。我可以看见屋子里面。旁边的那扇窗子，照约翰所说，就是安冬纳特的房间了。那间屋子是黑的。

这时公爵的窗子打开了，安·德·莫班向外看着，她的身边有个男人，亨佐的鲁帕特！他在公爵的房间里做什么？我真想知道。

鲁帕特试图用胳膊去搂安冬纳特，可她很快挪开了。就在此时，我听见房门打开了，然后听见迈克尔公爵气冲冲的声音：

“你在这儿干嘛？”他叫道。

“等着你呢，先生。”鲁帕特很快回答。“我不能让这位女士一个人待着。”

“那好吧，现在你可以去睡觉了。戴查德和伯索宁在看着囚犯吗？”

“是的，先生。”

几分钟以后，鲁帕特走过吊桥，然后吊桥拉了起来。迈克尔房间的灯灭了，但是安冬纳特屋子的灯亮了，而且一直亮着。在寂静的黑暗里，我等待着。

大约过了十分钟，什么声音也没有，可是突然我听到了在护城河我的这一边有一点儿响动，一个黑影出现在通向吊桥的城门边，然后转过身开始顺着藏在墙里的台阶往下爬，是亨佐的鲁帕特，而且他手里还拿着剑！他悄悄地下到水里，游过护城河，然后爬了上去。我听见他打开了门锁。很显然，鲁帕特当夜也有他自己的秘密计划。

现在还没有到约翰为我的朋友打开大门的时候，我还得等待。我从水里爬上对着吊桥的那座城门，在一个黑暗的角落里藏着。无论谁想进入老城堡或离开它，都得经过我这一关。我很想知道鲁帕特正在做什么。几秒钟后我就明白了。

突然响起了碰撞声，然后一个女人的尖叫在夜色中震响：“救救我，迈克尔！鲁帕特！”

这正是我要安冬纳特说的话。但那尖叫却带着真正的恐惧，而且立刻听见从女人房间传出叫喊和打斗声。然后鲁帕特出现在窗口，他的背冲着我，可他正和人格斗。“这一剑是给你的，约翰。”我听见他说。然后又说听到，“来吧，迈克尔！”

原来约翰也在那儿，站在公爵那边为公爵而战！现在他怎么可能去为萨普特开门？

更多公爵的人冲进房间，厮杀声更响了。突然，鲁帕特狂笑一声，手里握着剑，从窗子里跳出来，跳进了下面的护城河。

正在这时，老城堡的门开了，德·高蒂特出现在我身旁，我手握利剑向他跳过去，片刻之后他倒在门前死了，没能说出一个字或发出一点儿声响。

我疯了一样在他身上搜寻钥匙，我找到了。一瞬间我已经冲进了第一间屋子，伯索宁和戴查德待着的那间屋子，但房间里只有伯索宁。还没等他明白过来我已经杀死了他。戴查德已经冲进了国王的房间，并从里面锁上了门。我冲上去砸开门。我还来得及吗？国王是不是已经死了？

国王正无助地站在墙边，那位医生也在里面，这个勇敢的小个子扑向戴查德，他为国王献出了自己的生命。等我冲进去时，戴查德已经挣脱出来，并将剑刺进医生的肋部，然后他怒吼一声转向我。

我们打了很久，非常激烈。戴查德是位优秀的剑客，而我却越来越疲惫，他逼得我退到了墙边，在我的胳膊上深深地刺了一剑，然后开始微笑。很快他就能杀死我了。

突然，国王认出了我是谁。

“鲁道夫表弟！”他叫道。随即抄起一张椅子扔向戴查德的腿。那个英国人跳到了一边，将手里的剑刺向国王。国王叫了一声倒在地上。戴查德又转身向我。可这时他踩上了地板上医生的鲜血，自己倒在了地上。我赢了！片刻之间他的尸体就倒在死去的医生身上了。

国王死了吗？我没时间去理会，因为就在此时我听到了吊桥放下的声音，而且那个如豹子般凶猛的鲁帕特还活着，国王只好等人来帮他的忙，我得去打败他的敌人。我冲出房间，跑上通往吊桥的台阶。然后我听见了笑声——鲁帕特在笑！

他一个人站在吊桥中间，远处桥头城门那儿站着一群公爵的人，他们看上去太害怕了，不敢动弹。

“出来，迈克尔，你这条狗！”鲁帕特叫道。

可是一个女人的狂叫回答了他：“他死了！他死了！”

城门旁的人挪向一旁，一个女人朝前走来，她的脸像她的长裙一样白，她的黑头发披散在肩头，她手里端着一支枪，枪响了，但她没打中。鲁帕特笑了，安冬纳特又一次面向他，子弹上了镗，但在她开枪之前，鲁帕特越过桥边，跳进了下面的护城河。

就在此时，我听见了新城堡中有人奔跑的声响——还有我的老朋友萨普特上尉的声音。我知道国王还活着，而且再也不需要我了。我冲过吊桥，也跳进了护城河。我跟鲁帕特还有账没算完。

我拼命游着，在老城堡边上追上了他。他发现了我的绳子，爬出了护城河，正要跑向那片树林。树林里还有我的马。

我尽全力追赶。他回身看见了我，笑着喊道：“嘿，是那位演员！”可就在此时，他惊喜地叫了一声，他看见了我的马，刹那间他已骑在马背上了。

“下来！”我叫道：“站着跟我打，像条汉子！”

他转过身来，等着我。我握着剑冲过去，一转眼我们就疯了似地的打在一起了。他的脸上被我刺伤的地方血流了出来。但我那天晚上已经厮杀了好多次，现在他肯定会杀了我。

是弗里茨救了我。他骑马绕着城堡找我。当鲁帕特见他过来时，就明白没有机会了。

“再见，鲁道夫·拉森狄尔！”他说：“我们会再见面的！”

然后他骑马跑进了树林，一边笑一边唱……他还活着。

我倒在地上，血又从我胳膊上的伤口流出来，我站不住了。弗里茨跳下马抱起我。

“亲爱的朋友！”他说：“感谢上帝我找到了你！约翰没来开门，我们只好砸开城堡的门。我们真担心太迟了。”

“国王呢？”我问。

“多亏了一位勇敢的英国人，”弗里茨轻柔地说，“国王还活着。”

13

Goodbye to Ruritania

Old Sapt worked hard to keep our secret hidden. He sent messages, told lies, and gave orders. All his plans were successful, except one. Nothing can stop a woman in love.

When Princess Flavia heard that the King was hurt, she refused to stay at Tarlenheim House and rode at once to the Castle of Zenda. Sapt had hidden me in a room in the old castle, and he and Fritz brought her to me there. How happy she was to see me! She threw her arms round my neck and kissed me.

'No!' cried Sapt. 'It's not the King. Don't kiss him. He is the man you love － but he is not the King!'

Flavia's face went white. 'What do you mean?' she cried. She turned to me again. 'Rudolf! Why do you let them say these things?'

I looked deeply into her eyes.

'It's true,' I said quietly. 'I am not the King.'

For a minute she continued to hold on to me. She looked at Sapt, at Fritz, and finally at me again. Then, slowly, she fell forward and I laid her gently on the ground.

'I wish that Rupert had killed me,' I said.

*　　*　　*

I saw the King once more. He thanked me, and I gave him back the royal Elphberg ring. If he noticed Flavia's ring on my finger, he said nothing. We both knew that we would never meet again.

Before I left Ruritania, Princess Flavia asked to see me again, and Fritz took me to her. They had told her everything.

We had so much to say - and so little to say. A princess is not free to choose who to love.

'Flavia,' I said, 'I love you. I'll love you until the day I die.'

As I walked away, I heard her say my name again and again. 'Rudolf... Rudolf...' I can hear it now.

*　　*　　*

I live quietly now, but every year Fritz and I meet in a little town outside Ruritania. There, he gives me news of the Queen of Ruritania, the wife of King Rudolf the Fifth. And every year he brings me a red rose and a note with the words written: Rudolf － Flavia － always. And I send her a red rose with the same message.

Shall I ever see her again? Who knows?

successful adj. having gained a purpose or reached an aim. 成功的，达到目的了的。

except prep. not including, leaving out, but one. 不包括，只除了……之外。

choose v. to pick out from a great number. 挑选，选择。

13　告别卢里塔尼亚

老萨普特花了很大力气使我们的秘密不泄露出去。他发布消息，撒谎，下命令。他的所有计划都成功了，只有一件事除外。什么也阻挡不了一个恋爱中的女人。

当弗蕾维亚公主听说国王受了伤，她拒绝待在塔伦汉姆庄园，而是立刻骑马赶来曾达城堡。萨普特把我藏在旧城堡的一间房子里，他和弗里茨把她带到我这儿。当她见到我时她是多么幸福啊！她搂住我的脖子亲吻我。

“不！”萨普特叫道：“他不是国王，别亲他。他是你爱的那个男人，但他不是国王！”

弗蕾维亚的脸白了：“你是什么意思？”她叫道，她又转脸对着我：“鲁道夫！为什么你允许他们说这些？”

我深深地看着她的眼睛。

“这是真的。”我平静地说：“我不是国王。”

有一会儿她仍然搂着我。她看看萨普特，弗里茨，最后又看着我，然后，慢慢地，她倒下了。我把她轻轻地放在地上。

“我真希望鲁帕特杀死了我。”我说。

我又一次见到了国王。他谢了我。我把艾尔弗伯格的王室戒指还给他。即使他看见弗蕾维亚的戒指戴在我的手上，他也没说什么。我们都知道我们再也不会相见了。

在我离开卢里塔尼亚之前，弗蕾维亚公主请求再见我一面。弗里茨带我去见她，他们把一切都告诉了她。

我们有这么多话可说——然而又没什么可说的。一位公主是没有权利自由选择爱什么人的。

“弗蕾维亚，”我说，“我爱你。我会一直爱你直到我死的那一天。”

我离开的时候，我听见她一遍又一遍叫我的名字：“鲁道夫……鲁道夫……”我现在还能听见。

如今我过着平静的生活。不过每年在靠近卢里塔尼亚的一座小城里，我和弗里茨会见上一面。在那儿，他告诉我关于卢里塔尼亚王后的消息，她是鲁道夫五世的妻子。每年他都带给我一枝红玫瑰，还有一张纸条，上面写着“鲁道夫——弗蕾维亚——永远！”而我也送给她一枝红玫瑰，还有同样的字条。

我会再见到她吗？谁知道呢？

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1 - 2 Who said these words in the story?

1 'I'm so pleased that Robert's hair is black!'

2 'I like being an Elphberg.'

3 'Tonight we'll enjoy ourselves.'

Chapters 3 - 4 Who in the story...

1 ... carried the King to a room underground?

2 ... was not happy to see Rudolf in Strelsau?

3 ... warned Rudolf to be careful of Michael?

4 ... rode through the night to Zenda?

Chapters 5 - 6 Write answers to these questions.

1 Why did Rudolf have to go back to Strelsau?

2 What did Rudolf think was his greatest danger?

3 How did Rudolf escape from the house in New Avenue?

Chapters 7 - 9 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 Sapt did not want Rudolf to ask Flavia to marry him.

2 Flavia loved Rudolf.

3 Duke Michael's men killed Bernenstein.

4 Rupert of Hentzau tried to kill Rudolf.

Chapters 10 - 11 How much can you remember? Check your answers.

1 How did Rudolf get to the pipe which came out of the prison?

2 How many men were killed that night?

3 Who took a note from Rudolf to Antoinette de Mauban?

Chapters 12 - 13 Find answers to these questions in the text.

1 Why didn't Johann open the door for Sapt and his men?

2 Why did Antoinette de Mauban try to kill Rupert of Hentzau?

3 Why did Rudolf chase after Rupert of Hentzau?

4 What did Princess Flavia do when she heard that Rudolf was hurt?

B Working with language

1 Complete these sentences with information from the story.

1 The King and Rudolf were surprised when they met because...

2 Antoinette didn't want Duke Michael to marry the princess, so...

3 Duke Michael offered Rudolf a hundred thousand pounds, but...

2 Use these words to join each pair of sentences together.

and then　　because　　when　　but

1 Rudolf was a Rassendyll. He had the Elphberg hair and nose.

2 The King had disappeared. Sapt and Rudolf arrived back at the house in the forest.

3 Rudolf put his hands behind his back. He didn't want to shake hands with Rupert.

4 'They will kill the King. They will push the body down the pipe.'

C Activities

1 Which person do you like most in the story? Why? Write a few lines to describe this person.

2 Write Rupert of Hentzau's diary for the day when he tried to kill Rudolf Rassendyll at Tarlenheim House.

3 You are a newspaper reporter in Strelsau, and one year you secretly follow Fritz to his meeting with Rudolf outside Ruritania. Then you look at photographs of the King at his coronation, and at his wedding, and you begin to wonder. Write a report for your newspaper. Perhaps it begins like this:

Is there a secret in the royal family? Every year Fritz von Tarlenheim has a meeting with a man who has dark red hair and a long straight nose. Who is this man? He is not the King, but...

京权图字01-97-0352

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1995

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

爱丽丝镜中世界奇遇记 = Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There／（英）卡罗尔（Carroll, L.）著；（英）巴西特（Bassett, J.）改写；黄建敏译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1997.8（2014.10 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1338-1

Ⅰ．爱…　Ⅱ．①卡…②巴…③黄…　Ⅲ．小说—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（97）第22135号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：臧庆凤

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1998年1月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1338-1

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简　介

红方王后对爱丽丝说：“你可以充当白方王后前面的卒。卒第一步走两格。然后，你可以飞快地通过第三格——可能乘火车。到了第四格，你会碰见特威丹、特威帝孪生兄弟。第五格大部分是水，第六格则是矮胖子的地盘。第七格全是森林——马将做你的向导。”

进入第八格，爱丽丝将变为王后。象棋可真是奇特的游戏！在镜中世界里，所有的象棋子儿都与你争吵；你得跑得飞快才能留在同一个地方。在这儿，时光倒转，白方王后忘不了两星期以后要发生的事情。

这到底是谁的梦境？是爱丽丝的，还是她只是红方国王梦境中的一个角色？如果是这样，红方国王一旦醒来，又会有什么事发生呢？

作者刘易斯·卡罗尔（真名为查尔斯·道奇森）出生于1832年，于1898年逝世。他曾是牛津大学的数学教师。他为现实生活中一个名叫爱丽丝·利德尔的小女孩写了《爱丽丝漫游奇境记》、《爱丽丝镜中世界奇遇记》两本书，它们是儿童读物中的名著。

1

Looking-glass house

One thing was certain, it was the black kitten that began it all. The white kitten had been unable to do anything for the last quarter of an hour, because the old cat was washing its face, very slowly and very carefully.

But the black kitten was free to do what it wanted. And so, while Alice was sitting in a corner of the great armchair, half talking to herself and half asleep, the kitten was playing a grand game with a ball of wool. Soon the wool was lying in a terrible tangle all over the carpet, with the kitten running after its own tail in the middle.

'Oh, you bad little thing!' cried Alice, when she saw the wool. She picked up the kitten and climbed back into the armchair. 'You really mustn't play with the wool, you know. It will take me so long to roll the ball up again. Why don't you play chess instead, Kitty? When I was playing a while ago, you were watching me so carefully. In fact, you look just like the Red Queen yourself.'

And Alice picked up the Red Queen from the chessmen on the table, and held it up to show the kitten. But the kitten tried to escape, and, to punish it, Alice lifted it up to the looking-glass above the fireplace. 'If you're not good, Kitty,' she said, 'I'll put you through into looking-glass house. How would you like that?

'I do wonder,' Alice went on, 'if everything in that room is the same as in our room. The things that I can see look the same ― except the books, because the words go the wrong way. But perhaps the rest of the house is really different and full of interesting things. Oh, I wish we could get through, Kitty! Let's pretend we can. Let's pretend the glass has gone soft and... Why, I do believe it has! It's turning into a kind of cloud...'

Alice did not know how it happened, but while she was speaking, she found herself climbing up to the looking-glass. And the glass was beginning to disappear, just like a bright silvery cloud.

In another moment Alice was through the glass and had jumped down into the looking-glass room. At once she began looking around and noticed that several things were very different from the old room. The pictures on the wall all seemed to be alive, and the clock above the fireplace had the face of a little old man, who smiled at her.

'This room isn't as tidy as the other one,' Alice thought to herself, as she noticed several chessmen on the floor by the fireplace. But the next moment, with a little 'Oh!' of surprise, she was down on the floor herself, watching them.

The chessmen were walking around, arm in arm!

'Here are the Red King and the Red Queen, 'Alice said, in a whisper, in order not to frighten them. 'And there are two Castles walking together. And two of the Pawns, and a white Bishop reading a newspaper... I don't think they can hear me or see me,' she went on. 'I wonder ―'

Then something on the table behind her made a noise. Alice turned to look and saw that one of the White Pawns had fallen over and begun to cry. She watched it with interest.

'It is the voice of my child!' cried the White Queen by the fireplace. 'My dear Lily! My sweet child!' and she began to climb wildly up the table leg.

Poor little Lily was now screaming loudly. Alice wanted to be helpful, so she picked up the Queen and put her on the table next to her noisy little daughter.

The Queen sat very still, with her mouth open, for almost a minute. Then she called down to the White King, who was still on the floor by the fireplace. 'Be careful of the storm!'

'What storm?' said the King, looking round worriedly.

'There's a terrible wind ― it blew me up here in a second. You come up the usual way, and be careful!'

Alice watched as the White King slowly began to climb the table leg. Then she said, 'It will take you hours to get up. Why don't I help you?' Gently, she picked him up and moved him slowly upwards. The King was very surprised indeed. His eyes and his mouth got larger and larger, and rounder and rounder. Alice nearly dropped him because she was laughing so much.

When she put him down on the table, he immediately fell flat on his back and lay still. But after a while he sat up, and spoke to the Queen in a frightened whisper.

'I tell you, my dear, I turned cold to the very ends of my hair! I shall never, never forget that moment.'

'You will,' the Queen said, 'if you don't write it down.'

Alice watched with interest as the King took out a very large notebook and began writing. Then she saw a book lying on the table near her, and began to turn the pages.

'It's all in some language that I don't know.' she said to herself. It was like this.

Puzzled, she looked at it for some time, then suddenly understood. 'Of course, it's a looking-glass book! If I hold it up to the glass, the words will go the right way again.'

This was the poem that Alice read.

JABBERWOCKY

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

'It seems very pretty,' Alice said, 'but a little hard to understand.'(Actually, she didn't understand a word of it, but didn't like to say so.) 'It seems to fill my head with ideas ― but I don't know what they are!'

Then she suddenly jumped up, as another idea came to her. 'If I don't hurry, I shall have to go back through the looking-glass before I've seen the rest of the house, and the garden. I'll look at the garden first, I think.'

In a moment she was out of the room and running down the stairs. But it wasn't really running, because she was moving gently through the air and her feet weren't touching the stairs at all. At the bottom she managed to catch hold of the door-post, and after that she was pleased to find herself walking again in a natural way.

Looking-glass n. a mirror. 镜子，镜子屋其实是指爱丽丝迷离的梦境。

certain adj. sure. 确实的。

kitten n. a young cat. 小猫。

grand adj. very pleasant, delightful. 有趣的，开心的。

tangle n. a confused mass. 乱糟糟的线团。

chess n. a game for 2 players each of whom starts with 16 pieces (chessmen) which can be moved according to fixed rules across a chessboard in an attempt to trap the opponent's king. 国际象棋；One plays a game of chess on a board （棋盘）, using chessmen or pieces （棋子）, There are either black or where （黑棋或白棋）, and are called king （国王）, queen （王后）, bishop （相）, knight （马）, castle （车） and pawn （卒），但本书中分红棋与白棋。

chessmen n. pieces o f chess. 棋子。

fireplace n. hearth, the opening for a fire in a room. 壁炉。

put you through into the looking glass house lead you break the surface of the mirror and enter the house. 让你穿透镜子进入镜子屋。

go the wrong way be not in its usual order. 方向倒错。

arm in arm with the arm of one person being passed through the bent arm of the other. 手挽手；hand in hand 手拉手。

whisper vi. to speak using the breath. 耳语，轻声说（对别人讲）。

Castle n. One of the powerful pieces. 车。

Pawn n. One of the 8 smallest and least valuable of a player's pieces. 卒。

Bishop n. a piece that can be moved any number of squares from one corner towards the opposite corner. 象，相。

fall over fall to the ground. 跌倒。

Lily n. (kinds of) plant growing from a bulb. 百合。这里是白方王后孩子的名字。

scream vi. to cry out loudly on a high note. 尖叫。

worriedly adv. anxiously. 焦虑地。

blow sb. up to cause sb. to move into the air. 被风吹到天上去。

gently adv. lightly. 轻轻地。

be surprised experience sth. sudden or unexpected. 感到吃惊，惊奇。

immediately adv. at once. 马上，即刻。

flat adj. parallel with the ground. 平面的。

on one's back adv. lying with face upward. 仰卧地，四脚朝天地。

turn cold to the very ends of my hair be much afraid. 吓得直竖毛发，毛骨悚然。

puzzled adv. being at a loss. 迷惑不解地。

Jabberwocky：作者造的字，一般认为是一种怪物。本诗一般称作nonsense verse（打油诗），为英国的一种文字游戏，在可解与不可解之间。

before before在这里不作“在……之前”讲，本句貌似肯定，其实是否定。before似可作when... not解。

in a moment soon. 过不多久。

door-post n. upright post, part of a frame. 门柱。

in a natural way in a usual way 以惯常的方式。

1．镜子屋

小黑猫是这个故事的缘起，这是肯定的。小白猫什么事也干不了，因为，过去的一刻钟，老猫一直在慢悠悠地仔细地给它洗脸。

相反，小黑猫却自由自在。爱丽丝坐在一张大扶手椅里，自言自语，睡意矇眬，就在这当儿，小黑猫逗着一个毛线团儿，玩得正开心。过不多时，整个地毯上全是乱糟糟的毛线，小黑猫在中间追着自己的尾巴跑。

爱丽丝看见毛线，叫了声“你这个小淘气！”她提起小黑猫，重又回到扶手椅上。接着又说：“你真不应该追着线团儿玩。要把它绕好，我要费多大功夫呀！小猫儿，干吗不下下棋？刚才我下棋，你一直在用心看我。其实，你外表活像红方王后。”

爱丽丝从桌上棋子儿里拿了红方王后，举在空中给小黑猫看。但猫儿挣脱着想逃跑，爱丽丝就把它提到壁炉上方的镜子前，以示惩罚，并说：“猫儿，如果你不乖，我就让你穿透镜子，把你放到镜子屋去。你意下如何？”

爱丽丝继续说：“我的确不知道那儿房间的摆设是否跟我们这儿的一个样子，我看得见的东西外形都没有什么两样——只是书不同，因为字的方向错了。可能屋子的其他方面确有差别，而且有许多好玩的东西。小猫，我们能到那儿去该多好！我们装作可以进到里面去。假设玻璃软化了……化作了一团云……我真的信以为真了呢！”

爱丽丝不明白这是怎么回事，但正在她说话的当儿，她发现自己正在往镜子上爬，镜子开始消失，就像银光闪闪的一朵云。

片刻之后，爱丽丝钻入镜子，跳进了镜子屋。她马上环顾四周，注意到有好几件东西与刚才的迥然相异。墙壁上的画中物都会动，活生生的，壁炉上方的闹钟像小老头的脸，向她微笑。

爱丽丝看见壁炉边地板上散落了几个棋子，想着，“这个房间没有刚才的整洁。”随后她发出了“哦”的一小声惊叹，坐在了地板上看着这些棋子。

这些棋子儿手挽着手四处走动！

为了不使他们害怕，爱丽丝轻声说：“红方国王与王后都在这儿，还有两枚车并排走，两枚卒子，还有一枚白相在读报……我想他们既听不见我，也看不见我。”她接着说，“我不清楚——”

随后，她身后的桌子上传来响声。爱丽丝转身瞧了瞧，看见一只白卒在桌上摔了一跤，哭了起来。她端详着，感到很有意思。

白方王后站在壁炉边，叫道：“那是我孩子的哭声！我可爱的百合！我的心肝宝贝！”然后拼命顺着桌腿往上爬。

可怜的小百合这时哭喊得更响亮了。爱丽丝想帮点忙。她提起王后，把她放在她乱喊乱叫的小女儿旁边。

王后坐在那儿，一动不动，张着嘴，持续了大约一分钟。然后她叫底下的白方国王：“当心风暴！”他还在壁炉旁边的地板上。

“什么风暴？”国王不安地四处环顾，问道。

“有一阵极其猛烈的风——一眨眼功夫，就把我吹到了这儿来。你还是走原路，千万当心！”

白方国王开始缓慢地往桌腿上爬，爱丽丝观望着。然后她说：“你爬上桌面得费几小时，为什么我不帮帮你呢？”她轻轻地把国王拎了起来，慢慢地往上移动。国王真是吃惊不小。眼睛、嘴巴张得越来越大，越来越圆。爱丽丝开怀大笑，差点儿松了手。

她把国王放到了桌面上。他马上仰面平躺，一动不动。可是过了会儿，他坐了起来，受惊地轻声对王后说：

“亲爱的，我确实吓死了！那片刻我永世也难忘。”

王后说：“如果你不记下来，肯定会忘记的。”

爱丽丝饶有兴趣地看着国王掏出了一本超大号笔记本并开始在上面写东西。她还看见旁边一张桌子上放着书，就随手翻了起来。

她自言自语道：“用的语言我一点都不懂。”其中有一首诗是这样写的：

她看了一会儿，开始迷惑不解，随后茅塞顿开。“当然，这是本镜子世界的书！把它放在镜子前面，词儿就会恢复到正确的顺序上来。”

下面是爱丽丝读到的诗：

怪　　兽

烤晚餐肉时辰，粘柔的三不像怪兽

围着日晷草坪转悠钻地洞；

蓬头垢面的小鸟脆弱、发抖，

绿猪迷路，又吼叫又吹哨又打喷嚏。

爱丽丝说：“看起来是首好诗，但有点儿费解。”（其实，她一个字都不懂，但不愿意这么讲。）“这首诗好像把很多思想塞进了我的脑子，但那到底是些什么思想，又糊里糊涂！”

说完，她突然跳了一下，另一个想法来到了心头。“如果我不赶紧点，就得穿过镜子走回去了。这样我就看不见镜子屋的其他地方，以及那个花园。我想还是先看看花园吧。”

不一会儿，她就出了房间往楼下跑。其实那不是真跑，因为她是在空气中轻轻地飘过，双足一点儿也没有触到楼梯。到了底层她握住门柱，之后她很高兴地发现她又能正常地走路了。

2

The garden of live flowers

There was a small hill not far away and Alice decided to walk to it. 'I shall be able to see the garden better from the top of the hill,' she said.

She tried very hard to reach the hill, but it seemed impossible to get to it. She went first this way, then that way, but every time she turned a corner, she found herself back at the house.

'I'm not going in again yet,' she told the house crossly. 'I'll have to go back through the looking-glass into the old room and that's the end of all my adventures then!'

She tried once more, and this time passed a large flowerbed, with a tree growing in the middle.

'Oh Tiger-lily,' Alice said to one of the flowers, 'I wish you could talk!'

'We can talk,' said the Tiger-lily, 'if there is anybody interesting enough to talk to.' For a minute Alice was too surprised to speak. Then she said, almost in a whisper, 'And can all the flowers talk?'

'As well as you can,' said the Tiger-lily. 'And a lot louder.'

'It isn't polite for us to begin, you know,' said the Rose, 'and I was really wondering when you would speak.'

'But why can you all talk?' Alice said, puzzled. 'I've been in many gardens before, and none of the flowers could talk.'

'Put your hand down and feel the ground,' said the Tiger-lily. 'Then you'll know why.'

Alice did so. 'It's very hard,' she said, 'but how does that explain it?'

'In most gardens,' the Tiger-lily said, 'they make the flowerbeds too soft ― so the flowers are always asleep.'

This sounded a very good reason to Alice. 'I never thought of that before!' she said.

'Do you ever think at all?' asked the Rose, unkindly.

'I never saw anybody with a more stupid face,' said a Daisy suddenly. It was the first time it had spoken, and Alice jumped in surprise.

'Oh, be quiet!' cried the Tiger-lily. 'What do you Daisies know about the world?'

'Are there any other people in the garden?' Alice asked.

'There's one other flower that can move around like you,' said the Rose. 'She's the same strange shape as you, but she's redder, with more leaves than you have.'

'She's coming now!' cried another Daisy. 'I can hear her feet ― bang, bang, bang, on the ground.'

Alice looked round quickly, and saw that it was the Red Queen. 'She's grown a lot,' Alice thought. When she had seen her by the fireplace, the Queen had been only eight centimetres high. Now she was taller than Alice herself!

'I think I'll go and meet her,' Alice said.

'You can't possibly do that,' said the Rose. 'You must walk the other way if you want to meet her.'

This sounded nonsense to Alice, so she began to walk towards the Red Queen. To her surprise, she found herself a minute later walking in through the front door of the house. She turned round crossly, and saw the Queen again, on the other side of the garden. This time she tried walking the other way, away from the Queen.

It succeeded beautifully. A minute later she was standing opposite the Red Queen, and very near the hill that she had wanted to get to.

'Where do you come from?' said the Red Queen. 'Where are you going? And why are you here at all? Look up, speak nicely, keep your hands still. And curtsy while you're thinking what to say. It saves time.'

Alice tried to obey all these orders, feeling just a little frightened of the Queen.

'I only wanted to look at the garden, your Majesty, from the top of that hill,' she began.

'Hill!' cried the Queen. 'Some people would call that a valley.'

'But a hill can't be a valley,' said Alice. 'That would be nonsense.'

The Red Queen shook her head. 'You can call it nonsense if you like. Some people would say it was sensible!'

Alice curtsied again, and decided it would be safer not to argue any more. Together, they walked on in silence up the hill. At the top Alice could see right across the country ― and a very strange country it was. There were lots of little brooks running across from side to side, and there were long lines of hedges, going the other way. It was a country of squares.

'It's just like a large chess-board!' Alice said at last. 'Oh, and I can see some chessmen down there!' Her heart began to beat fast with excitement. 'It's a great game of chess, as big as the world itself ― if this is the world at all. Oh, what fun! I wish I could be in it, even as a Pawn. Although I would love to be a Queen, of course.'

She looked a little worriedly at the real Queen as she said this. But the Red Queen smiled kindly, and said, 'You can be the White Queen's Pawn, if you like. Lily is too young to play. You're in the Second Square now, and when you get to the Eighth Square, you'll be a Queen ―'

Just at that moment, they began to run. Alice never did understand how it happened, but she had no time to think about it because they were running so fast.

'Faster! Faster!' cried the Queen, pulling Alice's hand. They ran like the wind, but the strange thing was that they never seemed to pass anything. The trees and other things round them never changed their places at all.

Alice was very puzzled by this, but still the Queen cried, 'Faster! Faster!' Now they were almost flying over the ground. Alice had never run so fast in her life.

When at last they stopped, she had to sit down because her legs were shaking. Then she looked around in surprise.

'But we've been under this same tree all the time! We're still in the same place!'

'Of course we are,' said the Queen. 'Why shouldn't we be?'

'Well, in our country,' said Alice, 'if you run very fast for a long time, you usually arrive at a different place.'

'What a slow kind of country!' said the Queen. 'Here, you see, you have to run very fast, just to keep in the same place. If you want to go somewhere different, you must run twice as fast. Now,' she went on, 'I shall tell you what to do. While I'm speaking, I shall take five steps, and at the fifth step, I shall go.'

She took two steps away from the tree and turned round. 'A pawn goes two squares in its first move. So you'll go very quickly through the Third Square ― by railway, probably. Then you'll be in the Fourth Square, which belongs to Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The Fifth Square is mostly water, and the Sixth belongs to Humpty Dumpty. But why haven't you said anything?'

'I didn't know I had to say anything,' said Alice.

'It's polite,' said the Queen, 'to say thank you for all this information. But never mind. Let's pretend you said it. The Seventh Square is all forest ― one of the Knights will show you the way ― and in the Eighth Square we shall be Queens together, and it's all parties and fun!'

Alice got up and curtsied, and sat down again.

The Queen took another two steps and turned round again. 'Speak in French when you can't think of the English word ― and always remember who you are!'

She took another step, and was gone. Alice did not know if she had disappeared into the air, or run into the wood. But she had certainly gone, and Alice began to remember that she was a Pawn, and that it would soon be time to move.

live 〔laiv〕 adj. alive, living. 活生生的，在这里指花儿像人一样会说话。

corner n. the place where 2 roads meet. 角，拐弯处。

adventure n. a journey that is strange and exciting and often dangerous. 冒险。

flowerbed n. plot of land in which flowers are grown. 花坛，花床。

Tiger-lily n. garden lily with orange flowers spotted with black and purple. 卷丹。

polite adj. having or showing good manners. 有礼貌的，客气的。

feel v. touch. 摸摸看，由触而得知。

unkindly adv. unfriendly. 不友好地。

Daisy n. small white flower with a yellow center, commonly growing wild. 雏菊。

bang adv. burst with a loud noise. 呯呯响。

the other way in the opposite way. 朝相反方向。

beautifully adv. in a beautiful manner. 美好地，完美地。succeed beautifully. 成功得很完美。

nicely adv. kindly, very well. 友好地，相宜地。

curtsy v. make a gesture of respect made by women and girls (e.g. to a queen). 妇女所行的屈膝礼（如对王后所行者）。

your Majesty form used when speaking of or to a sovereign ruler or rulers. 陛下（尤指对君主的称呼）。

sensible adj. reasonable. 有道理的。

argue v. quarrel. 争论，争吵。

brook n. little river. 小河。

hedge n. a line of small trees and bushes growing close together. 树篱笆。

square n. 格（国际象棋中指往前走的步数）。

happen vi. take place. 发生。

over prep. at or to a level higher than, but not touching. 在……之上（但未接触）。

shake vi. tremble or make tremble. 抖动，颤抖。

around adv. on every side. 到处。look around. 环顾。

all the time at all times. 始终。

Tweedledum and Tweedledee a twin who take after each other exactly. 两个长得一样的孪生兄弟。

Humpty Dumpty 本意是身短、腰粗、肩凸的男或女。在儿歌书中，一般把他画成一个很大的圆脸，也就是在一个蛋的轮廓上，加耳、目、口、鼻，再画上很小的身子和四肢，坐在墙头上。爱丽丝在这儿所见的Humpty Dumpty，即由她脑子里所记的这种形象而来。

2．会说话的花园

不远处有座小山丘，爱丽丝决定步行到那边去，她说：“站在山顶上，我可以把花园看得清楚些。”

为了到那山去，她做了各种努力，但要到那儿，似乎是不可能的。她先走这条路，然后走那条路，但每次一拐弯，她发现自己又回到出发前的那所房子。

“我现在还不想进去，”她望着房子，生气地说，“我得再次穿过镜子，回到那老房间去，那么，我的探险可就全完结了。”

她又重试了一次。这次她经过了一个大花坛，中间长了一棵树。

爱丽丝对其中一株花说：“是卷丹，你能讲话该多好！”

卷丹答道：“我们会讲话的，只要是同我们讲话的人有趣儿。”爱丽丝顿时惊异得哑口无言。然后，她压低声音问：“这儿所有的花儿都会讲话吗？”

卷丹答道：“不会讲得比你差，而且声音还要洪亮得多。”

玫瑰说：“我们先开口就失礼了，我很想知道你什么时候愿意讲话。”

爱丽丝迷惑不解，问：“但你们怎么都会讲话的？我到过不少花园，花儿都不会讲话。”

卷丹答道：“把手放下来摸摸大地，你就会明白了。”

爱丽丝照办了，接着说：“地很坚硬，但这能说明什么问题呢？”

卷丹答道：“大多数花坛地太软，花儿总是昏昏欲睡。”

爱丽丝觉得这倒很有道理，她说：“我从未想到这一点。”

玫瑰不留情面地问了句：“你曾经用脑筋想过？”

雏菊也冲出了一句：“这脸蛋是我所看见过的最傻里傻气的。”爱丽丝诧异得跳了起来，这是雏菊第一次讲话。

卷丹叫了声：“别胡说！你们雏菊对这世界了解多少？”

爱丽丝问：“园中还有其他人吗？”

玫瑰答道：“还有另外一种花，像你一样能自由走动。她的外形跟你一样奇特，但她更红，比你多些树叶。”

另一株雏菊喊了起来：“现在她来了！我听得见她呯呯的脚步声。”

爱丽丝马上看了看周围，原来是红方王后。她想：“她长高了不少。”那次在壁炉边看见王后时，她只有8厘米高，而今竟比爱丽丝还高些。

爱丽丝说：“我想我还是去见见她。”

玫瑰说：“这你办不到。你要见她，就必须朝反方向走。”

在爱丽丝听来，这似乎是无稽之谈，于是她开始朝红方王后走过去。令她惊讶的是，一分钟后，她发现自己又踏进那幢房子的正门。她气恼地转过身来，又瞧见王后在花园的另一头。这次，她试着朝远离王后的方向走。

这次她终于完满地成功了。片刻之后，她站到了王后的对面，并且离她要去的那座小山丘已经很近了。

红方王后问：“你从哪里来？要到哪里去？你来这儿究竟干什么？讲话要抬头，要有礼貌，手要放好。在考虑下一句该讲什么时，行个屈膝礼。这样会节省时间。”

爱丽丝试图遵循这些命令，但内心还是有点儿害怕王后。

她开了口：“王后陛下，我只是想站在山顶看看底下的花园。”

“山！有人称那为峡谷。”王后高喊了一句。

爱丽丝应了声：“但山决不会是峡谷。这是无稽之谈。”

王后摇了摇头，“你可以把这种讲法称作无稽之谈，但有人却认为很有道理。”

爱丽丝又行了一个礼，拿定主意还是别争辩的好。她们双双一言不发地上了山。从山顶，爱丽丝可以俯瞰整个原野，这真是片奇特的原野。有条条小溪与排排的小树林，在其间纵横交错。整个原野被分割成一个个方块格子。

爱丽丝最后说：“多像一个大棋盘！啊，我还看见了那儿站着些棋子呐！”她激动得心怦怦直跳，“这是一场大型的象棋游戏。如果世界就在我们眼前，那么它就跟整个世界一样大。啊，多有趣！真希望我能在那里面，做一个小卒也行。当然，我更喜欢当一个王后。”

讲到这里，她有点不安地看了眼真正的王后。可是，红方王后好心地微笑着说：“如果你愿意，你可以做白方王后前面的卒子。百合太小，玩不了棋。现在你站在第二格，当你走到第八格时，就变为王后了——”

话音刚落，两个就开始跑起来。爱丽丝还摸不着头脑这是怎么一回事。但是她们跑得太快了，没有时间去考虑这个问题。

王后拉着爱丽丝的手，叫喊着：“跑快点！快点！”她们像一阵风似地跑过，但奇怪的是，她们似乎从未把什么景物甩在后面。两边的树木及周围其他物体根本没有改变位置。

爱丽丝很纳闷，但王后还是喊叫着：“跑快点！快点！”这时她们几乎是足不着地向前飞着。爱丽丝从没有跑得这么快过。

她们终于停住，爱丽丝双腿颤抖得厉害，不得不坐下来。她惊奇地环顾四周。

“但我们一直是在同一棵树下！我们仍然在同一个地方。”

王后说：“那当然，这有什么不对？”

“但在我们那地方，假如你快速地跑了很久，一般会跑到另一个地方去。”爱丽丝说。

王后却说：“你那地方可真‘慢’！在我们这儿，要保持原地不动，你得跑得飞快。如果你要到别处去，至少得跑刚才两倍的速度。”她又接着说，“我这就告诉你怎么个走法。在我讲话的同时，我将迈出五步，到了第五步，我就走了。”

她从那棵树迈出两步，然后转过身来。“卒子第一步走两格。然后你可以飞快地通过第三格——可能乘火车。然后你就进入了第四格，这是特威丹、特威帝孪生兄弟的地方。第五格大部分是水，第六格则是矮胖子的地盘。你怎么一言不发？”

“我不清楚我还得讲话。”爱丽丝答道。

王后说：“告诉你这么多详情，道声感谢就显得礼貌。不过没关系。就当你讲过了吧。第七格全是森林——马将做你的向导——到了第八格，我们就都是王后了，那时我们有享受不完的欢乐时光！”

爱丽丝起立行了个礼，又坐了下去。

王后又迈了两步，再次回过头来，说：“想不起英文词儿就用法文来表达——永远别忘了自己的身份！”

她又迈了一步，就不见了。爱丽丝不清楚王后是飞上了天还是跑进了树林。但她确实是不见了。爱丽丝想起她是一枚卒，不久，她就该走动了。

3

Looking-glass animals

Alice stood at the top of the hill and looked down. 'Which way should I go?' she wondered. On one side she could see, a long way away, some kind of large animals walking around. She wasn't sure that she liked the look of them, so she decided to go the other way. She ran down the hill and jumped over the first of the six little brooks.

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

'Tickets, please!' said the Ticket Inspector, putting his head in at the window. In a moment everybody was holding out a ticket; the tickets were almost as big as the people, and seemed to fill the train.

'Show your ticket, child!' the Inspector went on, looking angrily at Alice. And then several voices said all together, 'Don't keep him waiting, child! His time costs a thousand pounds a minute!'

'I'm afraid I haven't got a ticket,' Alice said in a frightened voice. 'There wasn't a ticket-office where I came from.'

'Why didn't you buy one from the engine-driver?' said the Inspector. And again the voices said, 'The engine-driver's time costs a thousand pounds a minute!'

The Inspector looked at Alice first through his glasses, then over the top of them. Then he said, 'You're travelling the wrong way,' and shut up the window and went away.

'She ought to know which way she's going,' said the gentleman sitting opposite Alice (he was dressed in white paper), 'but perhaps she doesn't know her own name.'

A Goat, that was sitting next to the gentleman in white, said loudly, 'She ought to know her way to the ticket-office, but perhaps she can't read or write.'

There was a Beetle next to the Goat, and he had something to say about Alice as well. Then other voices spoke, but Alice could not see who they were. One voice sounded like a horse, she thought. And then a very small voice, right next to her ear, said, 'You could make a poem out of that ― something about "a horse, of course".'

The gentleman in white paper spoke again. 'Don't worry, my dear,' he whispered. 'Just buy a return ticket every time the train stops.'

'No, I won't!' Alice said crossly. 'I don't belong to this railway journey at all. I was in a wood just now, and I wish I could get back there.'

Then she heard the little voice again. She looked round, but could see nothing. 'I know you are a friend,' the voice said in her ear, 'a dear friend. And you won't hurt me, although I am an insect.'

'What kind of insect?' Alice asked, a little worried. But just then there came a long scream from the engine, and everybody jumped up. The Horse put his head out of the window, then pulled it back in and said calmly, 'It's only a brook that we have to jump across.'

Alice did not like the idea of trains jumping brooks. 'But we'll get into the Fourth Square, I suppose,' she said to herself. In another moment she felt the train go straight up into the air. Frightened, she caught at the thing nearest to her hand, which happened to be the Goat's beard.

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

But the beard seemed to disappear as she touched it, and she found herself sitting quietly under a tree. There was an Insect sitting near her, on a low branch of the tree.

It was a very large insect indeed ― almost as big as a chicken. Alice thought.

'So you don't like all insects?' the Insect said, quietly continuing their conversation.

'I like them when they can talk,' Alice said. 'None of them ever talk, where I come from. But everything here is so different. I probably don't even know the names of the insects here.'

'Can you remember your own name?' asked the Insect.

'Of course,' said Alice. 'Nobody forgets their own name.'

'Don't they?' said the Insect. 'There's a wood down there, for example, where things have no names.'

Alice looked round, and saw a dark wood on the other side of an open field. When she looked back, the Insect had flown away. She got up and began to walk across the field. 'This must be the way to the Eighth Square,' she thought, 'but I hope I don't lose my name in this wood.'

She soon reached the wood and was pleased to get out of the hot sun and into the shadows under the trees. 'How nice and cool it is in here, under the... under the... under the what?' she said, surprised that she could not think of the word. She put her hand on a tree. 'What does it call itself? I do believe it's got no name!'

She stood for a moment, thinking. 'And now, who am I? I will remember, if I can.' She tried and tried, but she just could not remember her name. It began with an 'L'，she thought, but she wasn't really sure.

So she hurried on through the wood, hoping to get to the other side quickly, and after a while she came out into another open field. She stopped, and thought hard. 'Why, it's Alice, of course!' she said. 'My name's Alice ― I won't forget it again. And now, which way should I go?'

It was not a difficult question to answer. There was only one road, and a large signpost, which said:

TO TWEEDLEDUM'S HOUSE

TO THE HOUSE OF TWEEDLEDEE

I'll just call in and say hello, Alice said, and ask them the way to the Eighth Square. I would like to get there before it gets dark.' So she walked on, talking to herself as she went. After a long time the road came into another wood and suddenly turned a corner, and there in front of her Alice saw two fat little men standing under a tree.

look n. appearance. 外貌。

Ticket Inspector person who inspects tickets. 检票员。

frightened adj. in a state of fear. 恐惧的。

ticket office n. a place where tickets are sold. 票房，售票处。

engine-driver n. the driver of a train. 火车司机。

over the top of 从……上方。

ought to should. 应该。

opposite prep. in front of. 面对面。

goat n. small, active horned animal. 山羊。

beetle n. a kind of insect, with hard, shiny wings. 甲壳虫。

as well also, too. 也。

return ticket a ticket for the journey going back. 回程车票。

insect n. a very small kind of animal with six legs, e.g. a fly. 昆虫。

calmly adv. quietly. 平静地。

suppose vi. think. 想。

beard n. the hair on the face below the mouth. 下巴上的胡子，髯。

not... all 一般指部分否定，按照上下文，这里似指全部否定，相当于none。

an open field a piece of field in the forest without plants. 开阔地。

reach vt. get to. 抵达。

do believe really believe. 确实相信，do起强调动词作用。

believe v. to think that something is real or true. 相信。

why 语气词，没有“为什么”的意思。

signpost n. a board on the road to direct the may with words or signs. 路标。

call in call on sb. in the house. 登门拜访。

3．镜中动物

爱丽丝站在山顶上向下面看。她心里纳闷：“我该走哪条路？”在很远的一边，她能够看见某种庞大的动物四处走动。很难说她喜爱它们的外貌。于是她决定走另外一条路。她跑步下山，跳过六条小溪中的第一条。

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

“请出示车票！”检票员把头伸进窗户大声嚷嚷。片刻之后，每个乘客都拿出了车票；车票几乎与人一样大，似乎把整个火车都给塞满了。

“孩子，出示你的车票！”检票员面带怒色看着爱丽丝又讲了一句。紧接着有好几个声音同时说道：“孩子，别让他久等了！他每分钟值1000英镑。”

爱丽丝带着惊恐的声音说：“我恐怕没有车票。我来的那个地方没有票房。”

检票员说：“你怎么不向机车司机买张票。”许多声音又在说：“机车司机的每分钟值1000英镑。”

检票员先透过眼镜看爱丽丝，然后又从眼镜上面看了看她，说：“你乘车方向反了。”随后关上窗户就走了。

坐在爱丽丝对面的先生（他的衣裤是用白纸做成的）说：“她应该清楚方向的，但她可能连自己的名字都不知道。”

坐在白衣先生旁边的一只山羊大声嚷嚷道：“她应该知道去票房的路的，不过可能她是个文盲吧。”

坐在山羊边上的是只甲壳虫，他也要说爱丽丝几句。然后还有其他的声音，但爱丽丝看不清楚到底是谁，她想其中有一个声音好像是马发出的。随后有一个很细微的声音凑着她的耳朵讲：“你可以根据那个编一首诗，内容当然是一匹马的故事。”

穿一身白纸的先生又说：“小宝贝，别着急。”他低声说，“火车每停一站就买张回程票。”

爱丽丝生气地应声道：“不，我不买！我根本不属于这次列车。刚才我还在树林里，我希望能回去。”

然后她又听见那个细微的声音。她看了看周围，但什么也没有。“我知道你是个朋友，一个亲爱的朋友。我是只昆虫，你不会伤害我吧。”声音在她耳边响起。

爱丽丝问：“哪一类昆虫？”她有点儿担心。就在同时，火车头长鸣一声，每个人都吓得跳了起来。马向窗外探出了头，然后重又缩回来，平静地说：“只是一条小河，我们得跳过去。”

爱丽丝不喜欢火车跳越小河这个想法。“不过我想我们即将进入第四格。”她自言自语道。过了一会儿，她感觉火车径向空中开去。她惊恐万状，随手抓住离她最近的一个东西，凑巧是山羊的胡子。

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

但她一触到山羊胡子，胡子似乎就失踪了。她发现自己静静地坐在一棵树下。一只昆虫坐在她身旁的低矮的树枝上。

爱丽丝想，这真是只硕大的昆虫——几乎同小鸡一样大。

“这么说你不喜欢昆虫？”那只昆虫问，轻声地继续他们的对话。

爱丽丝答道：“他们能说话，我就喜欢。我来的那地方，没一只昆虫讲过话。但这里什么都不一样。这里的昆虫我可能连名字都叫不上来呢。”

“你记得住自己的名字吗？”昆虫问。

“当然记得，没人会忘记自己的名字。”爱丽丝答道。

“是吗？譬如那边有一片树林，里边的东西就没有名字。”昆虫说道。

爱丽丝环顾四周，看见一个空地的另一边有一片黑树林。她回转头时，昆虫早就飞走了。她站了起来，踏步跨越这片田野。她心里想：“这条路肯定通向第八格，可是我希望我不会把自己的名字丢落在这儿。”

不久她就抵达树林。终于摆脱了烈日烤晒，享受到树阴下的清凉世界，这使她很高兴。“在这儿，在……下，在……下，在什么（？）下，多凉爽啊！”她很奇怪，怎么就是想不起那个词儿。她把手放在树上，问：“它怎样称呼自己的？我确信它是无名无姓的。”

她站了一会儿，想：“那么，我是谁呢？我一定会想起来的。”她想了又想，就是记不起自己的名字。她想自己名字好像是“L”开头，但又难以确定。

因此她快速穿过树林，希望早点到另一边去。过了一会儿，她又来到了一个空地。她停住，拼命地想。“哦，当然是爱丽丝了！”她说，“我叫爱丽丝——我不会再忘了。现在，我该走哪条路？”

回答这问题并不困难。其实只有一条路，边上有一个巨大的路标，上面写着：

前方是特威丹的屋子

前方是特威帝的屋子

“我这就登门问个好，”爱丽丝说道，“然后询问一下去第八格的路。太阳下山前我要赶到那里。”爱丽丝又继续上路了，边走边自言自语，过了许久，脚下的路通到了另一片树林，又急转了个弯。就在前方，爱丽丝看见两个胖墩墩的小人站在树下。

4

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

Alice knew immediately which one was which, because each had his name on his shirt. They were standing very still, with their arms round each other, and Alice forgot that they were alive. 'They look just like schoolboys,' she said aloud. Then one of them spoke, and Alice jumped in surprise.

'You've begun wrong!' cried the one called Tweedledum. 'The first thing in a visit is to say "How do you do?" and shake hands.' And here the brothers held out the two hands that were free, to shake hands with her.

Alice did not know which hand to shake first, so she took hold of both hands at once. The next moment they were all three dancing round in a circle. This seemed very natural at the time, and Alice was not even surprised to hear music playing.

The two brothers were fat, and soon got tired. 'Four times round is enough for one dance,' Tweedledee said, and they stopped as suddenly as they had begun. Then they stood looking at Alice in silence.

Alice did not know what to say. How do you begin a conversation with people that you have just been dancing with? she wondered.

'I hope you're not too tired?' she said at last.

'Not at all. And thank you very much for asking,' said Tweedledum.

'Very kind of you,' added Tweedledee. 'Do you like poems?'

'Ye-es... well, some poems,' Alice said carefully. 'Would you tell me which road to take out of the wood?'

'What shall I repeat to her?' Tweedledee said to Tweedledum, not noticing Alice's question.

'The Walrus and the Carpenter is the longest,' Tweedledum replied, putting a friendly arm round his brother.

'If it's very long,' Alice said politely, 'would you tell me first which road ―'

Tweedledee smiled gently and began his poem. It was a very long poem indeed ― all about a Walrus and a Carpenter, who went for a walk along, a beach and invited lots of young Oysters to go with them. The Oysters accepted happily.

'Perhaps that wasn't very sensible of them,' Alice said.

Tweedledee only smiled, and continued：

The Walrus and the Carpenter

Walked on a mile or so,

And then they rested on a rock

Conveniently low;

And all the little Oysters stood

And waited in a row.

'The time has come,' the Walrus said,

'To talk of many things;

Of shoes ― and ships ― and sealing-wax―

Of cabbages ― and kings ―

And why the sea is boiling hot —

And whether pigs have wings.'

Alice waited with interest to hear about this conversation, but it never happened, because the Walrus and the Carpenter went on to eat all the Oysters instead.

At the end Alice said, 'I like the Walrus best, because he said he felt sorry for the poor Oysters.'

'He ate more of them than the Carpenter,' said Tweedledee. 'He ate faster, you see.'

'Oh!' said Alice. 'Well then, I like the Carpenter best.'

'But he ate as many as he could get,' said Tweedledum.

'Well, they were both very unkind ―' Alice began, then stopped when she heard a noise in the wood. It sounded like a wild animal. 'What's that?' she asked, afraid.

'It's only the Red King snoring,' said Tweedledee. 'Come and look at him.'

The brothers each took one of Alice's hands and they went through the wood to where the King was sleeping.

'Doesn't he look lovely?' said Tweedledum.

Alice really couldn't agree. The King was lying in a very untidy way, and was snoring loudly.

'He's dreaming now,' said Tweedledee, 'and what do you think he's dreaming about?'

'Nobody can guess that,' said Alice.

'Why, about you!' Tweedledee said. 'And if he stops dreaming about you, where do you think you will be?'

'Where I am now, of course,' said Alice.

'Oh no!' said Tweedledum. 'You'll be nowhere. You're only a kind of thing in his dream! If he wakes up, you'll go out ― bang! ― just like a light!'

'What nonsense!' Alice said crossly. 'And if I'm only a kind of thing in his dream, what are you, I'd like to know.'

'The same!' the brothers cried together.

'Shhh! Don't make so much noise,' Alice said. 'You'll wake him up.'

'How can you wake him,' said Tweedledum, 'when you're only one of the things in his dream? You know very well that you're not real.'

'I am real!' said Alice, and began to cry.

'I don't know why you're crying,' Tweedledee said unkindly. 'You won't become real that way.'

'I know they're talking nonsense,' Alice thought to herself, 'and there really isn't anything to cry about.' She gave herself a little shake, then said, 'I think I must find my way out of the wood now, because it's getting very dark. Do you think it's going to rain?'

'Possibly,' Tweedledum said, opening a large umbrella.

It was now getting very dark indeed and Alice thought there must be a storm coming. 'What a thick black cloud that is!' she said. 'And how fast it comes! Why, I do believe it's got wings!'

'It's the crow!' Tweedledee shouted fearfully. The two brothers turned to run and had disappeared in a moment.

Alice ran too, and hid under some low trees. 'It can't get me under here,' she thought, 'but I wish its wings didn't make so much wind. It's blowing everything around terribly ― and look! Here's somebody's shawl flying through the air!'

hold out stretch. 伸出。

at once in the same time. 同时。

natural a. ordinary, normal. 自然的，正常的。

four times round (dance) four circles. （跳）四圈（舞）。

in silence silently. 静静地。

wonder v. to express a wish to know. 想知道。

poem n. arrangement of words in lines with a regularly repeated accent. 诗。

some adj. certain. 某些

walrus n. large sea-animal (like a very large seal) with two long tusk. 海象。

carpenter n. man whose work is building with wood. 木匠。

oyster n. kinds of shellfish much used as food, usu. eaten uncooked. 牡蛎。

conveniently adv. easily to get to or at. 方便地，容易接近地。

in a row in a line. 坐成排（列）。

sealing-wax kind of wax used to seal letters. 封蜡，火漆。

cabbage n. vegetable whose leaves are closely folded into a round head. 甘蓝菜。

boiling hot as hot as the water reaching its boiling point. 沸水般滚烫。

feel sorry for sb. to feel pity towards sb. 表示同情、怜悯，感到难过。

more than a greater number. 比……更多。

sound v. to have the effect of being, seem when heard. 听起来，似乎（常作比喻用法）。

snore vi. make noisy sounds esp. during sleep. 打呼噜。

lovely adj. beautiful, pleasant, esp. to both the heart and the eye. 美丽的，可爱的。

untidy adj. not tidy, being in a mass. 邋遢。

nonsense n. silly or stupid talk or ideas. 废话。talk nonsense 讲废话，胡言乱语。

crossly adv. angrily, bad-temperedly. 生气地，发脾气地。

cry call out loudly in words. 大声说。

umbrella n. an arrangement of cloth over a folding frame with a handle, used for keeping rain off the head. 雨伞。

crow n. a large black bird. 乌鸦。

low tree short tree. 矮树。

get v. catch. 抓住。

shawl n. large piece of material worn about the shoulders or head of a woman, or wrapped round a baby. 披肩，围巾。

4．特威丹与特威帝

爱丽丝一下子就把这对孪生兄弟辨认出来了，因为衬衫上都标明了名字。他们纹丝不动地站在那儿，手挽着手，爱丽丝因此竟忘了他们是活的。她大声地说：“他们看起来就像小学生。”接着两个中的一个讲话了，爱丽丝惊奇地跳起来。

叫特威丹的那位叫道：“你开头就错了。拜访朋友，第一件事是打招呼‘你好！’同时握手。”这时，俩兄弟伸出了闲着的两只手，与她握手。

爱丽丝搞不清楚要先握哪只手，于是就同时抓住了两只手。随后，他们就围成一个圈跳舞。当时这似乎非常自然，爱丽丝听见音乐奏起，也不感到奇怪。

这俩兄弟长得胖墩墩的，一会儿就疲惫不堪了。特威帝说：“一曲跳四圈就够了。”他们停下来，就像开始时那样突然，然后他们站在那儿，静静地看着爱丽丝。

爱丽丝不知道该说些什么。如何开始同刚刚与你跳过舞的人谈话呢？她拿不准。

她终于开了口，说：“你们很累吗？”

“一点也没有。谢谢你的关心。”特威丹答道。

“你太好了。你喜欢诗歌吗？”特威帝补充说。

爱丽丝非常谨慎地答道：“是……是的，有些诗歌。劳驾你告诉我哪条路可以走出树林？”

“我该给她背诵什么？”特威帝对特威丹说，没有注意到爱丽丝的发问。

特威丹很友好地搂住自己的兄弟，说：“《海象与木匠》这首诗是最长的。”

“如果这首诗很长，劳驾你先告诉我哪条路……”爱丽丝很有礼貌地恳求道。

特威帝微微一笑，就背诵起诗来了。那真是首长诗，讲的是海象与木匠去海边散步，并邀请许多小牡蛎同往。小牡蛎很高兴地接受了邀请。

爱丽丝说：“它们恐怕不太明智吧。”

特威帝只笑了笑，又继续背：

海象与木匠

步行一英里，

要坐岩石上

石头低又矮；

牡蛎站成排

等待又等待。

海象先开言：

“时光已来临，

“谈论许多事：

鞋、船与封蜡——

甘蓝与国王——

大海为何烫——

猪猡有无翼。”

爱丽丝觉得非常有趣，等着听海象与木匠的对话，但就是没声响，因为他们转而忙着吃牡蛎了。

最后爱丽丝说：“我最喜欢海象，因为他说他为可怜的牡蛎感到难过。”

特威帝说：“他比木匠吃得还多，因为他吃得快。”

“哦，是这样。那么我最喜欢木匠。”爱丽丝改口说。

但特威丹说：“其实木匠也在拼命地吃。”

“哦，他们两个都不是什么好人——”爱丽丝刚一出口，就住了口，这时她突然听见树林里传来好像是野兽的吼叫。她害怕了，忙问：“那是什么声音？”

特威帝答道：“那只是红方国王在打呼噜。来，我们去看看他。”

兄弟俩每人拉住爱丽丝的一只手，他们穿过树林，来到国王睡觉的地方。

特威丹问：“他够可爱的，是吧？”

爱丽丝真是不敢苟同。国王躺在那儿，邋里邋遢，呼噜打得山响。

特威帝说：“他在做梦呢。你说他在做什么梦？”

“谁也不会知道的。”爱丽丝答道。

特威帝说：“他在梦见你呢！如果他不再梦见你，你说你会在哪儿？”

爱丽丝答道：“当然还是在这儿。”

“哦，不！你将不在任何地方。你只是他梦中的一种东西！他一醒来，你就出去了——就像一道光！”特威丹说。

爱丽丝生气地说：“一派胡言！如果我只是他梦中的某种东西，那么我倒想知道，你们又是什么呢？”

“同样的东西！”兄弟俩异口同声道。

爱丽丝说：“嘘！别嚷嚷了，否则会把他吵醒的。”

“你只是他梦境中的一件东西，你又怎么能把他吵醒呢？你并不是真实的，这你很清楚。”特威丹说。

爱丽丝说：“我是真实的！”说完就哭了起来。

特威帝不友好地说：“我不明白你为什么哭了。这并不能使你变为真实的。”

爱丽丝思忖着，“我清楚他们在胡言乱语，不过确实没什么好哭的。”她振作了一下，说：“我想眼下我必须要找到走出树林的路。因为天越来越暗了。你认为要下雨了吗？”

“可能的。”特威丹说着，打开了一把大伞。

天空一片漆黑，爱丽丝揣测一定会有场暴风雨。她说：“那云团又密又黑，来势多凶猛！我肯定它长了翅膀。”

特威帝吓得惨叫一声：“那是乌鸦！”两兄弟转身拔腿就跑，一会儿就不见了。

爱丽丝也跑了起来，躲到低矮的树林下面。她想：“我躲在这下面，乌鸦不会抓到我的，但我希望它的翅膀不要刮起太大的风。周围一切都被席卷而去——你瞧！有人的披肩都被卷上了天。”

5

The White Queen

She caught the shawl as she spoke, and looked around for the owner. A moment later the White Queen came running wildly through the wood. Alice went to meet her with the shawl.

'I'm pleased I was able to catch it for you,' Alice said, as she helped the Queen to put on her shawl again. 'Am I speaking to the White Queen?' she added politely.

'Yes,' said the Queen, as she pulled helplessly at her shawl. 'Oh dear! I don't know what's the matter with my shawl today. I think it's angry with me. I've pinned it here, and I've pinned it there, but it's just not happy.'

'But it can't go straight, you know, if you pin it all on one side,' Alice said, as she gently put it right for her. 'And I'm afraid your hair is terribly untidy.'

'The hairbrush is lost in it somewhere,' the Queen said unhappily.

Alice carefully took out the brush and pinned up the Queen's hair more tidily. 'There, you look better now,' she said. 'But really you should have a lady's maid.'

'I'd be happy to take you,' the Queen said. 'Twopence a week, and jam every other day.'

'I don't want you to employ me,' Alice said, laughing. 'And I don't like jam.'

'It's very good jam,' said the Queen.

'Well, I don't want any today, thank you.'

'But you can't have jam today,' the Queen said. 'It's jam tomorrow and jam yesterday ― but never jam today.'

'It must be "jam today" sometimes,' Alice argued.

'No, it isn't,' said the Queen. 'It's jam every other day. Today isn't any other day, you know.'

'I don't understand that,' said Alice, very puzzled.

'That's because we live backwards here,' explained the Queen kindly. 'It's always a little difficult at first.'

'Live backwards!' Alice repeated, in great surprise. 'I never heard of anybody doing that.'

'But there's one very useful thing about it,' the Queen went on, 'you can remember things both ways.'

'I only remember things one way,' Alice said. 'I can't remember things before they happen.'

'That's not very useful,' said the Queen. 'I can remember things that happened the week after next. For example, the King's Messenger is in prison now, but he hasn't done anything wrong yet. His crime will come much later.'

'But what happens if there is no crime,' asked Alice, 'and he doesn't do anything wrong at all? That seems a strange way of ―'

At that moment the Queen began to scream very loudly, and to shake her hand around in the air. 'Oh, oh!' she shouted. 'My finger's bleeding! Oh, oh, oh!'

Alice put her hands over her ears. 'What is the matter?' she said, in between the Queen's screams. 'Have you cut your finger?'

'I haven't cut it yet,' the Queen said, 'but I soon shall ― oh, oh, oh!'

'When do you think you will do it?' Alice asked, trying not to laugh.

'When I fasten my shawl again,' the Queen said unhappily, 'one of the pins will come out and ― oh, oh!' As she said the words, one of her shawl pins came undone and she quickly took hold of it, trying to fasten it again.

'Take care!' cried Alice. 'You're holding it wrong!' She tried to help the Queen, but it was too late ― the pin had already gone deep into the Queen's finger.

'That explains the bleeding, you see,' the Queen said to Alice with a smile. 'Now you understand the way things happen here.'

'But why don't you scream now?' Alice asked, holding her hands ready to put over her ears again.

'I've done all the screaming already,' said the Queen. 'Why do it all again?'

'It's very difficult to believe,' Alice said, 'that life can happen backwards.'

'Try to believe something a bit easier,' said the Queen helpfully. 'For example, I'm a hundred and one years old.'

'I can't believe that!' said Alice.

'Can't you?' the Queen said, shaking her head sadly. 'Try again. Put your hands together and shut your eyes.'

Alice laughed. 'There's no use trying,' she said. 'Nobody can believe impossible things.'

'Perhaps you don't work hard enough at it,' said the Queen. 'When I was a child, I worked at it for an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. There goes my shawl again!'

The pins had come undone again as she spoke, and a sudden wind blew her shawl across a little brook. The Queen went flying after it, and managed to catch it. 'I've got it!' she called happily. 'Now you will see me pin it on again, all by myself.'

'Then I hope your finger is better now?' Alice said very politely, as she crossed the brook after the Queen.

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

'Oh, much better!' cried the Queen, her voice getting higher and higher as she went on. 'Much be-etter! Be-e-e-ter! Be-e-eh!' The last word sounded very like the sound that a sheep makes, and Alice looked at the Queen in surprise.

And indeed, the Queen was now covered in a thick woolly coat, and... Alice closed her eyes, then opened them again. She couldn't understand what had happened at all. The wood had disappeared, and she was in a little dark shop ― and it really was a sheep in front of her, wearing large glasses and sitting calmly on a chair, knitting.

'What do you want to buy?' the Sheep said at last, looking up for a moment from her knitting.

'I'm not sure at the moment,' Alice said gently. 'May I look round first?'

She began to walk round the shop, looking at everything. But every time she looked hard at something, it seemed to move and then appear again a moment later in a different place. So it was difficult to see clearly what was there. She went on walking, and soon realized that the shop was much bigger than she had thought.

'What a strange shop!' Alice said. 'I wish things would keep still!'

A few minutes later the shop became even stranger, because Alice found herself walking beside a large lake, with tall green plants growing round the edge. She put out her hand to pick some, but the plants disappeared when she touched them.

'Oh, what a pity!' said Alice. 'I would like to take some home. They look so pretty.'

'There are lots of other things here,' said the Sheep. 'But you must decide what you want to buy.'

'To buy!' Alice said, jumping a little in surprise. The lake had gone, and she was back in the little dark shop. The Sheep was still knitting, and was looking at her crossly over the top of her glasses.

'I would like to buy an egg, please,' Alice said. 'How much do they cost?'

'Fivepence for one, twopence for two,' the Sheep replied.

'So two are cheaper than one?' Alice said in a surprised voice, taking out her purse.

'But you must eat them both, if you buy two,' said the Sheep.

'Then I'll have one, please,' said Alice, giving the Sheep fivepence.

The Sheep took the money, then said, 'You must get it yourself, you know. It's at the end of the shop.'

The end of the shop was very dark, and was crowded with tables and chairs. Alice could see the egg, but she never seemed to get near it. She almost fell over a chair, and then realized that it was not a chair at all, but a small tree. 'Why are trees growing here?' she wondered. 'This is the strangest shop that I ever saw! And now here's a little brook as well!'

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

So she went on, wondering more and more at every step. After a while everything had turned into a tree, and she thought that the egg would soon do the same.

wildly adv. excitedly, distractedly. 激动地，狂乱地。

helplessly adv. without help. 无助地。

Oh dear! 语气词。哦，我的天哪！

pin vt. to fix sth. with a pin. 用别针固定住。

put... right put sth. in its correct way. 摆弄好。

hairbrush n. kind of brush to make hair tidy. 发刷。

maid n. a woman or girl who works in another person's house. 女佣，侍女。

jam n. a sweet food, made by cooking fruit and sugar. 果酱。

every other day one of every 2 days. 隔天。

employ vt. hire. 雇佣。

live backwards live in a manner that the past is in the front. 往后过生活，即时间倒退。

explain v. make plain or clear. 解释，讲解。

Messenger n. a person who carries message. 信使。

prison n. place where a person is shut up against his will. 监狱。

bleed v. lose blood. 流血。

fasten v. fix. 固定。

undone adj. becoming loose. 松掉，掉下来。

put over cover. 掩盖。

to believe sth. easier 把事情想得简单点。

There goes my shawl again! My shawl is undone again! 我的披肩又松了！

blow across 吹过。

manage to do succeed in doing sth. with efforts. 终于做成功。

thick adj. heavy. 厚厚的。

the wood n. the small forest. 小树林。

knit v. to make (things to wear) by uniting threads into a kind of close network by means of long needles. 织毛活。

look hard look attentively, stare. 盯着看。

keep still remain in its original place. 静心不动。

plant n. a living thing that is not an animal. 植物。

disappear vi. be gone. 失踪。

pence n. pl. form of penny 便士的复数形式，英国货币基本单位为pound（英镑）。一英镑等于100便士。

purse n. a small bag where money etc. is stored. 钱包。

be crowded with be full of. 到处是，充满着。

realize v. to understand and believe. 认知，了解。

(not) at all (not) in any way 根本（不）。

strange adj. unusual. 奇异的，奇怪的。

5．白方王后

讲话的当儿，她抓住了披肩，四处张望，寻找主人。片刻之后，白方王后穿过树林，飞奔而来。爱丽丝手拿披肩迎上前去。

爱丽丝说：“我很高兴能把围巾抓住。”同时，她给王后重新披上披肩。她又很有礼貌地补充了一句，“我现在是跟白方王后讲话吗？”

王后答道：“是的。”同时徒然地拉了拉披肩，“天哪！我不明白今天我的披肩是怎么回事。我想它在生我的气。我把它别在这儿，又别到那儿，但它就是不满意。”

“你如果把披肩别在一边，它就不可能挺直，这你也清楚。”爱丽丝说着，轻轻地把披肩给她披好。“恐怕你头发也太乱了。”

王后不高兴地说：“发刷不知丢在头发里的什么地方了。”

爱丽丝小心地拿出了发刷，把王后的头发整齐地别起来。“这样看起来就好多了。说真的，你应该有一个侍女。”她说。

王后说：“纳你做侍女，我会很高兴。一周两便士，再加上隔天吃果酱。”

“我不要你来雇我。再说我也不喜欢吃果酱。”爱丽丝说完，笑了起来。

王后说：“那是很好的果酱。”

“我今天一点也不想要，谢谢了。”

王后又说：“但你不可能今天有果酱。只是明天或昨天有果酱——今天决没有果酱。”

爱丽丝争辩说：“有时肯定会‘今天有果酱’的。”

“不会有的。隔天才有果酱。今天不是隔天中的任何一天。”王后说。

爱丽丝摸不着头脑，说：“我真不明白那一套。”

“那是因为在这儿我们往后过日子。要理解这一点起初总是困难的。”王后很友善地解释道。

“往后过日子！”爱丽丝重复了一遍，大吃一惊。“我还从没有听说过有人这样过日子。”

王后又说：“但这样有一点很有用处，你就可以用两种方法记事情了。”

“我只能用一种方法记住事情。我不会记住那些还没有发生过的事情。”爱丽丝说。

王后说：“那可没有好处。我可以记住两周后发生的事情。譬如说，国王的信使现在坐牢了，但他至今还没有做错什么事。他犯罪的时间要晚得多。”

爱丽丝问：“如果他根本没犯罪，没做错事，那又能有什么后果呢？这似乎是用离奇的方式来——”

王后突然大声尖叫起来，并在空中挥舞着手，叫喊着：“哎呀，哎呀！我的手指在流血！哎呀，哎呀，哎呀！”

爱丽丝用双手捂住了耳朵，在王后尖叫的间隙，问：“怎么回事？你割破了手指头？”

“我还没有割破手指，但我不久就会了，哎呀，哎呀，哎呀！”王后说。

爱丽丝问：“你认为什么时候会割破手指？”尽量不笑出声来。

王后不高兴地说：“当我再次系披肩时，一只别针会脱落下来——哎呀，哎呀！”正说着，披肩上的一只别针松了，她快速把它抓住，想重新把它固定住。

爱丽丝喊道：“小心！你抓错了方向！”她想帮王后个忙，但太迟了——别针已经深深地扎进了王后的指头。

王后笑着对爱丽丝讲：“那就解释了流血的事。现在你明白了这儿事情是怎样发生的吧。”

“可是你现在为什么不叫喊？”爱丽丝问，扬起双手准备再次把耳朵捂住。

王后说：“我已经叫喊过了。干吗又要重复一遍呢？”

“事情可以倒过来发生，这真令人难以置信。”爱丽丝说。

王后有意指点她，就说：“设法相信得更容易点。譬如说，我已101岁了。”

“我不相信。”爱丽丝说。

王后沮丧地摇摇头，说：“你怎么不相信？再试试。握起双手并闭上眼睛。”

爱丽丝笑了，说：“试也没用，没人会相信不可能的事。”

王后说：“也许你不够努力。我小时候，每天花一小时来相信不可能的事。有时早餐前共相信多达六件这样的事。我的披肩又松了！”

她说着，别针又松了，一阵风把披肩吹过小溪。王后飞速追了过去，设法抓住了披肩。她高兴地叫起来：“我抓到了！你将看到我重新把它别上，全部自己来。”

爱丽丝非常有礼貌地说：“希望你的手指头好些了。”同时紧随王后跨过了小溪。

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

“噢，好多了！”王后高叫道，她不停地叫着，声音越来越高，“好多——了！好——多——了！好——！”最后一个词听起来就像绵羊在叫唤，爱丽丝不禁惊奇地看了看王后。

一点不假，王后现在身披着一件厚厚的毛外衣。爱丽丝闭上眼睛，然后又睁开。她真的弄不明白到底是怎么回事。树林消失了，她在一家昏暗的小商店里——而且在她面前确实是一只绵羊，戴着大眼镜，静静地坐在椅子上织毛衣。

绵羊终于抬起眼睛问话了：“你要买什么？”

“现在我还拿不准。我可以先看看吗？”爱丽丝轻声轻气地问。

她开始在商店里转悠着，什么东西都浏览一番。但每当她盯着一件东西看，那东西似乎就动起来，过一会儿出现在另一个地方。因此要看清楚那儿有些什么是不容易的。她继续走动，不久就发现那商店比她想的要大得多。

爱丽丝说：“这商店太奇特了！我希望东西摆在那儿不动。”

几分钟后，商店变得更加奇特了，爱丽丝发现自己在一个大湖边散步，湖边长着高大的绿色植物。她伸出手去采摘，但当她一触手，植物就消失了。

爱丽丝说：“太可惜了！我要带些回家，它们看起来多漂亮。”

“本商店还出售许多其他东西，但你必须想好到底买些什么。”绵羊说。

爱丽丝惊奇地跳了一小步，说：“买！”湖消失了，她又回到了那个昏暗的小店。绵羊还在织毛衣，抬眼从眼镜上面愤怒地看了看她。

爱丽丝说：“我想买个鸡蛋。怎么卖？”

“五便士一个，两便士两个。”绵羊答道。

爱丽丝拿出钱包，非常惊奇地说：“这么说，两个比一个要便宜。”

“你要买两个，就得吃两个。”绵羊说。

“那我就买一个。”爱丽丝说着，递给绵羊五便士。

绵羊接了钱，然后说道：“你得自己去拿。就在店面那一头。”

店面那头很暗，摆满了桌椅。爱丽丝看得见鸡蛋，但似乎永远也接近不了。她差点儿倒在了椅子上，却发现那根本不是椅子，而是一棵小树。“树怎么会长在这儿？”她不明白：“这是我看到过的最奇怪的一家商店。而且里面还有一条小溪！”

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

因此她继续走着，每走一步，心里都在想，这到底是怎么一回事。片刻之后，样样东西都变成了树。她想鸡蛋恐怕也会变成树的。

6

Humpty Dumpty

But the egg got larger and larger, and more and more like a person. Then Alice saw that it had eyes and a nose and a mouth, and she realized that it was HUMPTY DUMPTY himself.

'It must be him,' she said to herself. 'There he is, sitting on a high wall, and he looks just like an egg.'

He was sitting very still and seemed to be asleep, so Alice stood and repeated to herself the words of the song:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall；

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the King's horses and all the King's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again.

'Don't stand there talking to yourself,' said Humpty Dumpty suddenly, opening his eyes. 'Tell me your name.'

'My name is Alice ―'

'That's a stupid name!' said Humpty Dumpty. 'What does it mean?'

'Must a name mean something?' Alice asked, puzzled.

'Of course it must,' Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh. 'My name means the shape I am ― and a very good shape it is, too. With a name like yours, you could be almost any shape.'

'Why do you sit out here all alone?' said Alice, not wishing to argue.

'Because there's nobody with me!' cried Humpty Dumpty. 'Did you think I didn't know the answer to that? Come, let's have some intelligent conversation now.'

Alice tried to think of something intelligent to say, but couldn't. 'What a beautiful belt you're wearing!' she said, suddenly noticing it.

'That's better,' said Humpty Dumpty, looking pleased. 'Yes, it was a present from the White King and Queen. They gave it to me for an unbirthday present.'

Alice looked puzzled. 'What is an unbirthday present?'

'A present when it isn't your birthday, of course.'

Alice thought about this. 'I like birthday presents best,' she said at last.

'You don't know what you're talking about!' cried Humpty Dumpty. 'How many days are there in a year?'

'Three hundred and sixty-five,' said Alice.

'And how many birthdays have you?'

'One.'

'And if you take one from three hundred and sixty-five, what is left?'

'Three hundred and sixty-four, of course.'

'So there's only one day when you can get birthday presents,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'but three hundred and sixty-four days when you can get unbirthday presents! There's success for you!'

'I don't know what you mean by "success",' Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled. 'Of course you don't ― until I tell you. I meant "there's a clever idea for you! " '

'But "success" doesn't mean "a clever idea",' Alice argued.

'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, looking down his nose at Alice, 'it means just what I choose it to mean ― neither more nor less.'

'But can you make words have different meanings?' asked Alice.

'Words are difficult things, I agree,' said Humpty Dumpty. 'But you have to be strong with them. Give them orders. Tell them to obey you. They must work hard, and do what they're told!' He banged his hand excitedly on the wall as he spoke.

'You seem very clever with words, Sir,' said Alice politely, hoping to calm him. She was worried about him falling off the wall.

Humpty Dumpty looked pleased. 'I can explain most words, and get them to do what I want,' he said. 'Some of them are like suitcases, you know. They've got several meanings packed up in them. Take poems, for example. One short poem can carry as many meanings as five people's luggage.'

'Somebody repeated a poem to me earlier today,' said Alice. 'It was Tweedledee, I think.'

'Oh, I can repeat any number of poems, if you like,' said Humpty Dumpty.

'Well, not just at the moment,' Alice said quickly, hoping to stop him from beginning.

'This piece was written specially for you,' Humpty Dumpty went on, not listening to her. 'It will amuse you.'

'Thank you,' said Alice sadly. She could not refuse to listen, she thought, if the poem was specially written for her.

In winter, when the fields are white,

I sing this song for your delight—

'But I don't sing it,' he explained.

'Yes, I can see that,' Alice said.

'If you can see me singing or not singing, you've better eyes than most people,' said Humpty Dumpty. Alice was silent, and he went on.

In spring, when woods are getting green,

I'll try and tell you what I mean.

'Thank you very much,' said Alice.

In summer, when the days are long,

Perhaps you'll understand the song.

In autumn, when the leaves are brown,

Take pen and ink and write it down.

'I will, if I can remember it so long,' said Alice.

'Don't go on saying things,' Humpty Dumpty said.

'They're not sensible, and I forget where I am.'

I sent a message to the fish；

I told them 'This is what I wish.'

The little fishes of the sea，

They sent an answer back to me.

The little fishes' answer was

'We cannot do it, Sir, because ―'

'I'm afraid I don't understand,' said Alice.

'It gets easier as it goes on,' Humpty Dumpty replied.

But the poem went on for a long time, and Alice thought it got harder, not easier, to understand. Then Humpty Dumpty suddenly stopped, and there was a long silence.

'Is that all?' Alice asked politely.

'That's all,' said Humpty Dumpty. 'Goodbye.'

Alice waited a minute, but Humpty Dumpty closed his eyes and did not speak again. So she got up, said 'goodbye', and quietly walked away.

'What an extraordinary person!' she said to herself as she walked. 'I don't think I ever met ―' She never finished what she was saying, because at that moment a heavy crash shook the forest from end to end.

still adv. without movement. 不动地，静止地。

put... together construct (a whole) by combining parts. 装配。

talk to oneself say to oneself. 自言自语。

shape n. figure. 体形。

all alone not in the company of others. 独自一人。

intelligent a. having, showing intelligence. 明智的。

belt n. a band put around the waist. 腰带。

present n. gift. 礼物。

best adv. most. 最。like best 最喜欢。

at last in the end. 最后。

leave v. remain. 留下，剩余。

look down his nose at 对某人不悦或轻视的意思。

neither... nor not... and not. 既不……也不……。

different a. not the same. 不同的。

obey vt. do what one is told to do. 服从，执行（命令）。

clever a. showing ability and skill. 显示能力和技巧的。

luggage n. bags and their contents taken on a journey. 行李。

repeat v. say (what somebody else has said or what one learnt by heart). 转述，背诵。

amuse v. make time pass pleasantly for. 娱乐，使快乐。

refuse vt. say one will not do. 拒绝。

see v. to understand or recognize. 明白，懂得。

sensible having or showing good sense. 有判断力的，明智的。

reply answer. 回答。

extraordinary adj. very unusual. 非常特别的。

crash n. noise made by a violent fall, blow or breaking. 猛烈的坠落、打击或破裂所发出的响声。

forest n. thick woods. 森林。

6．胖墩儿

但鸡蛋越变越大，越变越像个人。爱丽丝看见他有眼，有鼻子，有嘴巴。她才知道那原来就是胖墩儿。

她自言自语道：“肯定是他。他就坐在一堵高墙上，外表像个鸡蛋。”

他纹丝不动地坐在那儿，好像是睡着了。爱丽丝就站在那儿，口里背诵着一首歌词：

胖墩儿坐在墙上，

胖墩儿摔下重伤。

国王的骏马、骑士，

再不能将他拼上。

胖墩儿突然睁开眼睛说：“别站在那儿自言自语。告诉我你的名字。”

“我叫爱丽丝——”

胖墩儿说：“那是个蠢名字！是什么意思？”

“名字都得有意思？”爱丽丝不解地问道。

“那当然。”胖墩儿笑了一下，“我的名字说明了我的体形——我的体形多好。像你那个名字，你几乎什么体形都能用。”

爱丽丝不想争辩，就问：“你怎么一个人坐在这儿？”

“那是因为没有人与我在一起！”胖墩儿大声叫道，“你认为我不能回答你那个问题？好了，让我们谈些更明智的话题吧。”

爱丽丝试图想些明智的话题讲讲，但就是想不起来。“你腰上的皮带多漂亮！”她突然发现了这点，就说了。

胖墩儿面有悦色，说：“这话题好多了，这是白方国王与王后送我的礼物，是件非生日礼物。”

爱丽丝迷惑不解，“非生日礼物到底是什么？”

“那当然是你非生日那天送你的礼物。”

爱丽丝想了想，最后说：“我还是喜欢生日礼物。”

“你在讲些什么呀！一年有多少天？”胖墩儿叫嚷道。

爱丽丝说：“365天。”

“其中有多少天是你的生日？”

“一天。”

“那么365天减去1天剩多少？”

“当然是364天。”

胖墩儿便说：“这么讲你只有一天能收到生日礼物。但其他364天都能收到非生日礼物，你就‘成功’了！”

“我不明白你说‘成功’指的是什么？”爱丽丝问。

胖墩儿笑了笑，“我不告诉你，你当然不晓得，我指的是‘给你个聪明的主意！’”

“但‘成功’没有‘聪明主意’的意思呀。”爱丽丝争辩说。

胖墩儿不理会爱丽丝，说：“我用一个词儿，我要它什么意思，那词儿就是什么意思。”

“但你可以叫词儿具有另外的意思吗？”爱丽丝问。

胖墩儿说：“我同意，用词儿是件不容易的事。但你得对它们显示你的威力。给它们发号施令。要它们遵从你。它们必须好好干，对你百依百顺！”他说着，激动地将手重重地在墙上拍了一下。

“你好像对词儿很有些办法，先生。”爱丽丝很有礼貌地说，希望使他平静下来。她担心胖墩儿从墙上摔下来。

胖墩儿面带悦色，说：“我能解释大多数的词儿，并叫它们为我服务。有些词儿像皮箱，里面有好几种意思。譬如诗歌，一首短诗的意思可以像五个人的行李一样丰富。”

爱丽丝说：“今天早些时候，有人给我背诵了首诗。我想那是特威帝吧。”

“哦，只要你想听，我背诵多少首诗都可以。”胖墩儿说。

爱丽丝马上抢着说：“哦，现在不必了。”希望他别开始背。

胖墩儿并不听她，继续说：“这首是专门为你写的。它将给你带来快乐。”

“谢谢！”爱丽丝沮丧地说。她想如果这首诗是专门为她写的，她就不能不洗耳恭听。

冬日里田野白雪皑皑，

我唱起这首歌，只为你开怀——

他解释说：“但我不唱歌。”

“是的，这我看出来了。”爱丽丝应道。

胖墩儿说：“如果你能看出我是否在唱歌，那么你的眼力比大部分人都要好。”爱丽丝沉默着，于是他又背：

春天里树木郁郁葱葱，

我要设法告诉你我的意思。

爱丽丝说：“非常感谢。”

夏日里炎炎日长，

也许你会懂得我的歌唱。

秋天枝叶枯黄，

拿起笔墨永记不忘。

“我会的，如果我能把它长久记住的话。”爱丽丝说。

胖墩儿说：“别说了，你说的话不明智。我忘了讲到哪儿了。”

我给鱼儿捎个信；

告诉它们“这是我的心愿。”

大海里的小鱼儿，

给了我一个回音。

小鱼儿的回音是

“先生，这事我们做不了，因为——”

爱丽丝说：“恐怕我理解不了。”

“越往后听，就变得越简单了。”胖墩儿说。

诗歌又背了好长时间，可是爱丽丝觉得理解起来越来越难，而不是越来越容易了。胖墩儿突然停住，随后是长久的沉默。

爱丽丝客气地问：“背完了？”

“背完了，再见！”胖墩儿答。

爱丽丝等了一会儿，但胖墩儿闭上眼，不再说话。她站了起来，道了“再见”，轻轻地走开了。

“这真是个非常奇特的人！”她一边走，一边自言自语，“我想我从未见过——”但话只讲了半截，因为就在那时，强烈的撞击声震动了整个森林。

7

The Lion and the Unicorn

The next moment soldiers came running through the wood, at first in twos and threes, then ten or twenty together, and at last in great crowds that seemed to fill the forest. Alice got behind a tree and watched them go past.

They were very strange soldiers, she thought. They were always falling over something or other, and when one soldier went down, several more always fell over him. Soon the ground was covered with fallen men.

Then came the horses. With four feet, they managed better than the foot-soldiers, but even they fell more often than not. And when a horse fell, the rider always fell off at once. It was almost like a battle in itself, and Alice decided it would be safer to move on. Soon she came to an open place, where she found the White King sitting on the ground, busily writing in his notebook.

'I've sent them all!' the King cried happily when he saw Alice. 'Did you happen to meet any soldiers, my dear, as you came through the wood?'

'Yes, I did,' said Alice. 'Several thousand, I think.'

'Four thousand two hundred and seven,' the King said, looking at his book. 'I couldn't send all the horses, because two of them are wanted in the game. And I haven't sent the Messengers, Haigha and Hatta. I need them myself, of course ― to come and go. One to come, and one to go.'

'I don't think I understand,' said Alice. 'Why one to come and one to go?'

'I've told you,' the King said crossly. 'I must have two ― to fetch and carry. One to fetch, and one to carry.'

At that moment Haigha, one of the Messengers, arrived. He had very large hands and great eyes, which were always moving wildly from side to side.

'What's the news from town?' said the King.

'I'll whisper it,' said Haigha, putting his mouth close to the King's ear.

Alice was sorry about this, because she wanted to hear the news too. But, instead of whispering, Haigha shouted at the top of his voice, 'They're at it again!'

'Do you call that a whisper?' cried the poor King, jumping up and shaking himself. 'Don't do that again!'

'Who are at it again?' Alice asked.

'The Lion and the Unicorn, of course,' said the King.

'Fighting for the crown?'

'Yes, and it's my crown that they're fighting about!' said the King. 'Amusing, isn't it? Let's run and see them.'

They began to run, and as they went, Alice repeated to herself the words of the old song.

The Lion and the Unicorn

were fighting for the crown;

The Lion beat the Unicorn

all round the town.

Some gave them white bread

and some gave them brown;

Some gave them plum-cake

and drummed them out of town.

Soon they saw a great crowd in front of them, and in the middle the Lion and the Unicorn were fighting. Hatta, the other Messenger, was standing at the edge of the crowd, with a cup of tea in one hand and a piece of bread and butter in the other. He looked very unhappy.

'He's only just come out of prison,' Haigha whispered in Alice's ear, 'so he's very hungry and thirsty, you see. How are you, dear child?' he said to Hatta, in a friendly voice.

Hatta looked round, but went on eating his bread and butter and drinking his tea.

'Come, tell us the news!' cried the King. 'How are they getting on with the fight?'

'They're getting on very well,' Hatta said through a mouthful of bread and butter. 'Each of them has been down about eighty-seven times.'

'Then I suppose they'll soon bring the white bread and the brown,' Alice said.

'It's waiting for them now,' said Hatta. 'I'm eating a bit of it myself.'

The fight stopped just then, and the Lion and the Unicorn sat down, looking tired.

The King called out, 'Ten minutes for tea!', and Haigha and Hatta began to carry round plates of white and brown bread. Alice took a piece to taste, but it was very dry.

'I don't think they'll fight any more today,' the King said to Hatta. 'Go and order the drums to begin.'

As Alice watched him go, she suddenly saw somebody running out of the wood.

'Look!' she cried excitedly. 'There's the White Queen! She came flying out of the wood. How fast those Queens can run!'

'There's probably an enemy after her,' said the King, not looking round. 'That wood's full of them.'

'But aren't you going to help her?' asked Alice, very surprised.

'No use, no use!' said the King. 'She runs so terribly quickly. You can't catch a Queen when she's running.'

At that moment the Unicorn came past, with his hands in his pockets. When he saw Alice, he stopped and looked at her for some minutes. He did not seem to like what he saw.

'What ― is ― this?' he said at last.

'This is a child!' Haigha said helpfully, coming forward to introduce Alice. 'We only found it today. It's as large as life, and twice as natural!'

'I always thought they were fantastic monsters,' said the Unicorn. 'Is it alive?'

'It can talk,' said Haigha.

The Unicorn looked dreamily at Alice. 'Talk，child.'

Alice smiled. 'I always thought that Unicorns were fantastic monsters, too! I never saw one alive before.'

'Well, we have now met and spoken, so we can believe in each other, yes?' The Unicorn turned to the King. 'Fetch out the plum-cake, old man. I'm tired of brown bread!'

'Certainly, certainly,' said the King, sounding a little frightened. 'Quick, Haigha, open the bag.'

Haigha was carrying a big bag round his neck, and now he took out of it a very large cake, a plate and a knife. He gave them to Alice to hold.

The Lion had joined them while this was going on. He looked very tired and sleepy, and his eyes were half shut. 'What's this?' he said, looking at Alice.

'Ah, what is it, then?' the Unicorn cried. 'You'll never guess! I couldn't.'

The Lion looked at Alice without interest. 'Are you a vegetable or an animal?' he asked tiredly.

'It's a fantastic monster!' the Unicorn cried, before Alice could reply.

'Then pass round the plum-cake, Monster,' the Lion said, lying down on the ground. 'And you two sit down,' he said to the King and the Unicorn.

The King looked very uncomfortable when he had to sit between the Lion and the Unicorn, but there was no other place for him. His crown nearly fell off because he was shaking so much. The Unicorn looked amused, and then tried to argue with the Lion about who was winning the fight.

'I beat you all round the town,' said the Lion angrily. 'And why is the Monster taking so long to cut up the cake?'

'It's very difficult,' said Alice. 'I've cut off several pieces already, but then they join up again immediately!'

'You don't know how to manage looking-glass cakes,' said the Unicorn. 'Pass it round first, and cut it up afterwards.'

This sounded nonsense, but Alice got up and carried the plate round. At once the cake cut itself into three pieces, and then Alice returned to her place with the empty plate.

'Look at my piece of cake!' cried the Unicorn. 'The Monster has given the Lion twice as much as me!'

'She hasn't kept any for herself,' said the Lion. 'Do you like plum-cake, Monster?'

But before Alice could answer, the drums began. The air seemed full of the noise, and it rang and rang through her head. Frightened, Alice began to run and jumped over the brook.

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

Then she fell to the ground and put her hands over her ears, trying to shut out the terrible noise.

'If that doesn't drum the Lion and the Unicorn out of town,' she thought to herself, 'nothing ever will!'

unicorn n. horse-like animal with one long horn. 独角兽。

in twos and threes two or three at a time. 三三两两地。

fill become full. 充满。

go down fall down. 倒下，跌下。

be covered with have a great number of. 有很多。

battle n. fight, esp. between organized and armful forces. 战役，战斗。

move on move to another place. 走开。

soldier n. member of an army. 士兵。

fetch go for and bring back. 取来。

instead of in place of. 代替。

beat v. defeat, do better than. 击败，胜过。

plum-cake n. a type of large cake containing dried fruit. 葡萄干蛋糕。

edge n. side margin. 边缘

friendly adj. like a friend. 友善的，友好的。

go on continue with. 继续。

get on (with sth.) go on with sth., go on doing sth. 继续干某事，进展。

mouthful n. as much as can be put into the mouth. 一口的量。

butter n. the solid yellowish fat obtained from cream by churning. 黄油。

plate n. flat dish. 盘。

taste v. be aware of the taste of sth. 品尝。

order v. give an order to (sb.) or for sth. 命令

suddenly adv. happen unexpectedly. 突然。

fantastic a. wild and strange. 奇异的。

monster n. a very strange, sometimes person or animal. 怪物。

believe in have trust in. 相信，信任。

be tired of have had enough of. 对……感到厌烦。

join vt. become a member of. 参加，加入。

vegetable n. plant esp. of the sort used for food. 植物，蔬菜。

pass vi. give by handing. 传递。

uncomfortable a. uneasy. 不自在的。

difficult adj. not easy. 不容易的，困难的。

several adj. three or more, some but not many. 几个的，数个的。

empty adj. having nothing inside. 空的。

twice adv. two times. 两倍。

shut out keep out. 将……关在外面

7．狮子与独角兽

稍后，士兵跑步穿过树林，起先是三三两两的，随后是十个二十个，最后是成群成群的，似乎把整个森林都塞满了。爱丽丝躲在树后看着他们过去。

她想这些士兵真够奇特。他们总是跌倒在什么东西上。一个士兵倒下，更多的士兵就倒在他上面。片刻之间，地面上到处是倒下的人了。

后来骑兵过来了。马有四条腿，因此跑得比步兵平稳，但即使这样也经常摔倒。马一摔倒，骑士总是马上掉下来。这种局面几乎本身就像一场战斗。爱丽丝拿定主意，离开此地会更安全。不久，她来到了一个开阔地。在那儿，她看见白方国王坐在地上，忙着在笔记本上写东西。

国王一看见爱丽丝就高兴地叫嚷道：“我把士兵都派出去了，小宝贝，你走过树林时，碰见他们了吗？”

“碰上了，我想有好几千。”爱丽丝答道。

国王看了看本子，说：“共4207人。我不能把马匹都派出去，因为象棋里需要两枚马。而且我也没把黑格与哈特两位信使派去。当然，我需要他们来回穿梭送信。一个来，一个去。”

爱丽丝说：“我想我还是不明白。干吗一个来，一个去？”

国王面有愠色，说：“我告诉过你，我得有两个帮手——一个取信，一个送信。”

这时，叫黑格的那个信使来了。他长着巨手、大眼，眼珠老是左右乱转。

国王问：“城里有什么消息？”

“我悄声告诉你。”黑格凑近国王的耳朵说话。

爱丽丝也想听听城里的消息，心里有点遗憾。但突然黑格转而大叫一声：“他们又斗起来了！”

“你把这称作悄悄话？不允许再这样大嚷大叫了！”可怜的国王吓得跳了起来，浑身颤抖。

爱丽丝问：“谁又斗起来了？”

“当然是狮子与独角兽。”国王说。

“为了争夺王冠？”

“是的，他们为争夺我的王冠斗了起来！太有趣了，是不是？我们赶紧去瞧瞧！”国王说。

他们开始跑起来，一边跑着，爱丽丝一边背着一首古老的歌词：

狮子与独角兽

为王冠而格斗；

狮子打败了独角兽，

把他满城追逐。

有些人给他们白面包

有些人却布施黑面包；

有些人送上了葡萄干蛋糕

击鼓把他们送出城。

不久他们就看见前面聚集了一大群人，狮子与独角兽在圈中打斗。另一个叫哈特的信使站在人群的外围，一只手端着一杯茶，另一只手拿着黄油面包。他看上去很不高兴。

黑格凑着爱丽丝的耳朵轻声说：“他刚从监狱里出来，所以又饿又渴。你好吗，亲爱的孩子？”随后他非常友好地对哈特讲话。

哈特看了看周围，又继续吃他的黄油面包，喝他的茶。

国王喊道：“好了，告诉我们他们打斗得怎么样？”

“他们打得很顺利，每人都已被打倒了大约八十七次。”哈特说着，满嘴是黄油面包。

爱丽丝说：“那么我想他们不久就会带来白面包和黑面包的。”

“面包都准备好了。我自己先吃点儿。”哈特说。

就在这时，打斗告一段落，狮子与独角兽坐了下来，显得疲惫不堪。

国王喊叫着：“喝茶，休息10分钟！”黑格与哈特开始分发白面包和黑面包。爱丽丝拿了一片尝尝，但太干了。

“我想今天他们不会再打了。去叫人击鼓。”国王对哈特说。

在爱丽丝看着他走的当儿，她突然瞧见有人跑出树林。

她激动地说：“看呀！那是白方王后！她正飞奔出树林，那些王后跑得可真快！”

“可能有敌人追她，那树林里面多的是。”国王头也不转地说。

爱丽丝非常惊奇地问：“可是你不打算去救她？”

“没用，没用！她跑得太快了，王后跑起来你是追不上的。”国王说。

这时，独角兽路过这里，双手插在口袋里。他看见了爱丽丝，就停了下来，端详了她好几分钟。他似乎并不喜欢他所看见的这个东西。

最后他问：“这——是——什么？”

“这是个孩子！”黑格自告奋勇地上前将爱丽丝做了介绍，并说，“我们也是今天刚碰上的。她跟真小孩一样大，但比一般小孩自然大方得多！”

“我一向认为他们是些奇异的怪物。它是活的吗？”独角兽问。

黑格说：“它能讲话。”

独角兽蒙眬地看着爱丽丝说：“孩子，讲吧。”

爱丽丝笑了。“我也向来认为独角兽是种奇异的怪物。以前我从未看见过活的。”

“我们见了面，又讲了话，我们可以互相信任了，是吗？”独角兽转向国王说：“老头子，拿出葡萄干蛋糕。黑面包我吃厌了！”

国王有点怕了，忙说：“当然，当然。黑格，赶快把袋子打开。”

黑格脖子上挂一个大袋子，他从里面拿出一个很大的蛋糕，一个盘子，一把刀。他给爱丽丝递过去，要她拿着。

这时狮子来到了他们中间。他很疲劳，睡意蒙眬，双眼半睁半闭着。“这是什么？”他看看爱丽丝问。

独角兽叫道：“啊，这是什么？你永远猜不出的！我刚才也猜不出。”

狮子毫无兴趣地看着爱丽丝，无精打采地问：“你是植物，还是动物？”

没等爱丽丝回答，独角兽就叫道：“这是只奇异的怪物。”

“那就把葡萄干蛋糕给大家递过来，怪物。”狮子说着，躺了下来。“你们两位也坐下来吧。”他又对国王与独角兽说。

国王坐在狮子与独角兽之间非常不自在，但确实没有其他地方让他坐。他全身颤抖得厉害，王冠也差点掉了下来。独角兽显得很高兴，然后他便与狮子争论谁会赢得这场打斗。

狮子愤怒地问：“我满城追着你打。这怪物怎么这样久还没把葡萄干蛋糕切开？”

“切蛋糕不容易。我已切下好几块了，但它们又粘在一起了。”爱丽丝说。

独角兽说：“你不懂切镜子屋蛋糕的方法。要先递给大家，然后再切开。”

这听起来荒唐，但爱丽丝还是站起来，端着盘子转一圈，蛋糕马上把自己切成三块，然后，爱丽丝拿着空盘子回到自己的位置上。

独角兽叫道：“看看我这块蛋糕。这怪物给狮子的那块比我的大一倍。”

“她一点没给自己留。怪物，你喜欢葡萄干蛋糕吗？”狮子问。

爱丽丝还没来得及答话，鼓声就响了起来。空中满是噪音，她的头好像要被吵炸了。爱丽丝心惊胆颤，赶紧跑开，跳过了小河。

*　*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*

*　*　*　*　*

然后她倒在地上，用双手捂住耳朵，试图挡住那震耳欲聋的噪音。

“这鼓声如果还不能把狮子与独角兽逐出城，那也就没希望了。”她心里想着。

8

The White Knight

After a while the noise of the drums slowly died away and everything became silent. Alice lifted her head and saw that she was alone, but there, lying at her feet, was the plate on which she had tried to cut the plum-cake.

'So I didn't dream the Lion and the Unicorn, then,' she said to herself. 'But ― oh dear! Perhaps we're all part of the same dream. I do hope it's my dream, and not the Red King's! I don't like belonging to another person's dream.'

At this moment there was a loud shout, and a Knight in red armour came riding through the forest towards her. Just as he reached her, the horse stopped suddenly.

'You're my prisoner!' the Red Knight cried, as he fell off his horse.

Alice was more worried for the Knight than for herself, but he got up and slowly climbed back on to his horse. He began again to say, 'You're my ―', but then another shout rang through the forest. Alice looked round in surprise.

This time it was a White Knight. He rode up to Alice and when his horse stopped, he too fell off at once. He got on again, and then the two Knights sat and looked at each other silently. Alice watched them both, feeling very puzzled.

'She's my prisoner, you know!' the Red Knight said at last.

'Yes, but then I came and saved her!' the White Knight replied.

'Well, we must fight for her, then,' said the Red Knight, and he began to put on his helmet, which was in the shape of a horse's head.

When the White Knight had got into his helmet as well, the two began fighting each other very noisily. Several times one knocked the other off his horse, but then always fell off himself. Alice got behind a tree, where she could watch more safely.

'What a noise their armour makes when they fall off!' she said to herself. 'And how calm the horses are! They just stand there like tables while the Knights get on and off!'

The battle ended when they both fell off at the same time. Then they shook hands and the Red Knight got on his horse and rode away. The White Knight came up to Alice.

'I won that battle easily, didn't I?' he said.

'I don't know,' said Alice, uncertainly. 'I don't want to be anybody's prisoner. I want to be a Queen.'

'So you will, when you've crossed the next brook,' said the White Knight. 'I'll see you safe to the end of the wood ― and then I must go back, you know. That's the end of my move.'

'Thank you very much,' said Alice. 'May I help you take off your helmet?'

It was difficult to do, but at last the helmet came off.

'Ah，that's better,' said the Knight. He pushed back his long wild hair with both hands, and turned his gentle face and large sad eyes to Alice.

He was a very strange-looking soldier, Alice thought. His armour fitted him very badly, and he had a great many things fastened to himself, and to the horse. There was also a small wooden box on his back, which was upside-down.

'I see you're looking at my little box,' the Knight said in a friendly voice. 'It's my own invention ― to keep clothes and sandwiches in. You see I carry it upside-down, and then the rain can't get in.'

'But the things can get out,' Alice said gently. 'Did you know that the top was open?'

'No, I didn't,' the Knight said. 'If all the things have fallen out,' he went on unhappily, 'there's no use keeping the box.' He unfastened it as he spoke, and put it carefully on the branch of a tree. 'Perhaps some birds will make a home in it. Now, if you're ready... What's that plate for?'

'It was used for plum-cake,' said Alice.

'I think we should take it with us,' the Knight said. 'It'll be useful if we find any plum-cake. Help me to get it into this bag.'

This took a long time to do because the bag was not really big enough and already had a lot of carrots in it. But at last it was done, and they started walking through the forest. It was a slow journey because the Knight was not a good rider. Every time the horse stopped (which it did very often), he fell off in front. When the horse went on again, he fell off behind. Sometimes he fell off sideways as well, and Alice learnt not to walk too close to the horse.

'Perhaps you should have a wooden horse, on wheels,' Alice said with a little laugh, as she helped him get back on his horse for the seventh time.

'Do you think so?' the Knight said seriously. 'Yes, I'll get one. One or two ― several.'

As they went, the Knight told her about his many inventions. Alice listened with great interest, but found most of them hard to understand. She was thinking about his invention for turning fish eyes into buttons when she saw, to her surprise, that they had reached the end of the forest.

'You are sad,' the Knight said in a worried voice. 'Let me sing you a song to cheer you up.'

'Is it very long?' Alice asked. She felt that she had heard a great many poems and songs that day.

'It's long,' said the Knight, 'but it's very, very beautiful. Everybody that hears me sing it ― either they cry, or ―' He stopped suddenly.

'Or what?' said Alice.

'Or they don't, you know. The song is called I'll tell you everything I can. It's about an old, old man that I met one summer evening long ago, while sitting on the grass.'

Years afterwards Alice could still remember very clearly those strange moments ― the Knight's gentle smile as he sang, the sunlight shining on his armour, the horse quietly moving around, and the black shadows of the forest behind.

She stood and listened very carefully, but she did not cry. It was a sad song, certainly, and as the Knight came towards the end, he seemed lost in his own sad dreams.

And now, if accidentally I put

My fingers into glue,

Or try to push a right-hand foot

Into a left-hand shoe,

Or if I drop upon my toe

A very heavy glass,

I cry, as it reminds me so

Of that old man I used to know ―

Whose face was kind, whose voice was slow,

Whose hair was whiter than the snow,

Who shook his body to and fro,

And whispered words both sad and low ―

That summer evening long ago,

While sitting on the grass.

As the Knight sang the last words, he began to turn his horse round to go back into the forest.

'You've only a little way to go,' he said, 'down the hill and over the brook, and then you'll be a Queen.'

'Thank you very much for coming so far,' said Alice, 'and for the song ― I liked it very much.'

'I hope so,' the Knight said worriedly, 'but you didn't cry very much.'

They shook hands, and then the Knight rode slowly away into the forest. Alice stood and watched him for a while.

'It won't be long before he falls off again,' she said to herself. 'Yes ― there he goes! Right on his head as usual! But he doesn't seem to mind a bit.'

When he had gone, Alice turned and ran down the hill. 'Now for the last brook, and to be a Queen! How grand it sounds!' A few steps brought her to the edge of the brook.

'The Eighth Square at last!' she cried, as she jumped over and sat down to rest on the soft green grass. At once she felt something very heavy on her head. 'What is this on my head?' she said. 'And how did it get there?' She lifted it off, to see what it was.

It was a golden crown.

die away become faint or weak. 渐渐消失，逐渐减弱。

silent adj. quiet, free from noise. 寂静的。

belong to be owned by. 属于。

armour n. defensive covering, usu. metal, for the body worn in fighting. 甲胄，盔甲。

save v. make or keep safe. 援救，搭救。

put on clothe oneself with 穿上，戴上。

helmet protective head-covering worn by soldiers. 头盔。

shake hands grasp one's hand as a greeting or to express agreement, etc. 握手。

upside-down adj. with the upper side underneath. 倒置的。

invention n. some thing new that you have made yourself. 发明。

sandwich n. two, or more slices of bread with meat, jelly, cheese, etc., between them. 三明治。

branch n. part of a tree growing out from the trunk. 树枝。

carrot n. a type of plant with a fairly long orange-red pointed root. 胡萝卜。

journey n. a trip of some distance, usu. by land. 旅行。

sideways adv. toward, from the side. 斜着，斜向一边地。

seriously adv. thoughtfully, gravely. 严肃地。

hard adj. difficult, not easy. 困难的。

turn into change in nature. 改变性质。

cheer sb. up fill with gladness, high spirit. 使某人充满欢喜，高兴。

either... or... one or the other of two. 不是……就是。

be lost in sth. be deeply occupied or fill with, e.g. thought. 沉浸在……（思想）中。

glue n. sticky substance. 胶。

toe n. one of the five end parts of the foot. 脚趾。

to and fro backwards and forwards. 往返地，来回地。

as usual as has happened before. 像往常一样。

mind v. feel sorry or troubled. 介意。

lift off to raise to a higher position and take off. （将王冠）摘下。

golden adj. made of gold. 金的。

8．白衣骑士

过了一会儿，鼓声慢慢消失，万籁俱寂。爱丽丝抬头发现自己孤身一人，脚边是刚才她要在上面切葡萄干蛋糕的那个盘子。

她自言自语地说：“那么我没梦见狮子与独角兽。可是——我的天！可能我们都是同一个梦境的一部分。我真的希望那是我的梦境，而不是红方国王的！我不喜欢成为其他人的梦中物。”

这时传出了一声喊叫，一位身披红色铠甲的骑士骑马穿过森林向她冲来。马突然在她前面停了下来。

“你是我的阶下囚！”红衣骑士喊叫起来，同时从马上摔了下来。

比起她自己，爱丽丝更为骑士担心，但他站了起来，慢慢地重新跨上马。他又说：“你是我的——”，但此时又一声喊叫传遍森林。爱丽丝惊奇地四处张望。

这次来的是一个白衣骑士。他骑马来到爱丽丝面前，马一停步，他也即刻摔了下来。他又骑了上去，然后两位骑士骑在马上面面相觑。爱丽丝看着他们两个，心里迷惑不解。

红衣骑士最后说：“她是我的囚犯！”

“没错，但后来我来搭救了她！”白衣骑士回答道。

“那我们得为她打一仗。”红衣骑士说着，他开始戴上头盔，头盔形状像马头。

白衣骑士也戴上了头盔，俩人就杀声震天地对打起来。一方把对方摔下马好几次，胜方总是同时也摔了下来。爱丽丝跑到树后，在那儿，她可以更安全地观看这场战斗。

她自言自语地说：“骑士摔下马时，他们的铠甲发出的声音可真响！但是，马儿却毫无声响！骑士跨上跨下，他们总是站在那儿像桌子一样，纹丝不动。”

俩人同时坠地，战斗也到此结束。然后他们握手言和，红衣骑士上马走了。白衣骑士向爱丽丝走过来。

他说：“我很轻松就赢得了那场战斗，不是吗？”

“这我不清楚，我不想做任何人的囚犯，我要当王后。”爱丽丝犹豫地说。

白衣骑士说：“当你跨过了下一条小河的时候，你会的。我将护送你安全抵达树林的尽头——然后我必须返回。那是我最后的一步。”

“多谢，多谢！我可以帮你摘下头盔吗？”爱丽丝问。

摘下头盔并不容易，但最后终于成功了。

“啊，这就舒服多了。”骑士说着，双手往后梳了梳自己的又长又乱的头发，他面色温和地转向爱丽丝，那双大眼睛看上去很忧伤。

爱丽丝想，这个士兵的样子非常怪异。铠甲一点也不合身，身上、马上都捆绑了好多东西，背上还有个倒放着的小木箱。

骑士友好地说：“我知道你在看着我的小木箱。这是我自己的发明创造——用来放衣服、三明治的。你看我倒放在背上背着，那是为了防止雨水漏进去。”

“但这样东西会掉出来，你知道盖是开着的吗？”爱丽丝轻声地说。

骑士说：“这我不知道。”他不高兴地又说，“如果里面的东西都掉出来了，那留着箱子就没用了。”他说着就卸下了箱子，小心地把它放在树枝上。“也许鸟儿可以在里面做个巢，哦，你如果准备好了……那盘子是干什么用的？”

爱丽丝答道：“那是用来盛葡萄干蛋糕的。”

“我想我们应该把它带上。如果我们找到葡萄干蛋糕，那就派上用场了。帮我把它放进袋子里。”骑士说。

放盘子用了很多时间，因为袋子太小，而且里面已装了许多胡萝卜。但最后终于放下了。他们就开始穿越森林。骑士骑马技术不好，因此速度很慢。每次马儿一停下来（马儿经常停顿），他就从前头摔下来。等马又继续走时，他又从后头摔下来。有时也从旁边摔下来，爱丽丝记住了走路不能同马靠得太近。

“也许你应该备匹有轮子的木马。”爱丽丝第七次把他扶上马时笑着对他说。

骑士严肃地说：“这是你的想法吗？确实，我要买一匹。一匹或两匹——几匹。”

在路上，骑士给她讲他的许多发明。爱丽丝很有兴致地聆听着，但觉得这些发明大多数难以理解。她正考虑着他把鱼眼睛变成纽扣的发明时，突然出乎意料地看见他们已抵达了森林的尽头。

骑士焦虑地说：“你情绪低落，我唱支歌，让你高兴起来。”

“歌很长吗？”爱丽丝问。她觉得那天她听到的诗、歌已够多了。

骑士说：“很长，但非常非常动听。每个人只要一听见我唱起来，不是哭就是——”他突然停住了。

“就是什么呢？”爱丽丝问。

“就是不哭。这支歌名叫‘我要告诉你我所知道的一切’，讲的是很久以前一个夏日夜晚，我坐在草地上遇见的一个年岁很高的老人。”

事隔多年，爱丽丝还能够清楚记得那个奇怪的时刻——骑士唱歌时慈祥的笑容，铠甲上闪耀的太阳光，马儿静静地转悠，以及身后长长的树林的影子。

她站在那儿仔细地听，但没有哭。那当然是首悲伤的歌。骑士走到森林尽头时，他似乎沉浸在他自己的凄凉梦境之中。

而今，如果我碰巧把

手指伸进胶中，

或者把右脚

塞进左脚的鞋里，

或者把一个大玻璃杯

砸到了自己的脚趾上，

我会哭，因为这使我想起

那个曾经认识的老人——

他有慈祥的面容，讲话慢悠悠，

他的头发雪白，

身子颤巍巍，

讲话低沉，语调悲凉——

那是久远的一个夏日黄昏，

我坐在草地上。

骑士唱完最后一句，开始掉转马头，回到森林里面。

他说：“你下山跨过小河，只需走一小段路就能做王后了。”

“非常感谢你护送我到这儿，也谢谢你的歌——我很喜欢。”爱丽丝说。

骑士不无焦虑地说：“我希望如此，但你并没有哭啊。”

他们握了手，然后骑士就慢慢地骑马走回森林。爱丽丝站在那儿，目送他一会儿。

她心想，“过不多久，他又要摔下来了。不错，又来了！像往常那样，又一头栽下来！但他似乎一点也不在意。”

他背影一消失，爱丽丝转身跑下山去。“现在只要跨过这最后一条小河，就做王后了！多快乐啊！”几步她就来到了小河边。

“终于到达了第八格！”她跳过小河坐在了一片毛茸茸的青草地上，叫道，突然她感觉头上戴了个沉重的东西。“头上是什么？哪儿来的？”她问道，同时把它摘了下来，看个明白。

那是一顶金冠。

9

Queen Alice

'Well, this is grand!' said Alice. She got up and walked around for a while, but the crown felt very heavy and strange, so she sat down again. Then she noticed that the Red Queen and the White Queen were now sitting on either side of her. How they had got there, she had no idea. But she was not at all surprised. Nothing could surprise her now in the looking-glass world.

'Now I am a Queen,' said Alice, 'does this mean that the game of chess has finished, or ―'

'Speak when you're spoken to!' the Red Queen said. 'Think before you speak, and write it down afterwards.'

'But I only ―' Alice began.

'And you can't be a Queen,' the Red Queen went on, 'until you've done your lessons.'

'Are you good at sums?' the White Queen asked. 'What's one and one and one and one and one and one and one?'

'I don't know,' said Alice. 'I lost count. But why ―'

'She can't do sums,' said the Red Queen. 'What about languages? And can you read?'

'Of course I can read!' Alice said. 'And I know a little French, but I really don't see why ―'

'It's clear,' said the White Queen, shaking her head sadly, 'that she wants to argue about something, but she doesn't know what to argue about!'

Alice decided it would be safer to say nothing, and for a while there was silence. Then the Red Queen said to the White Queen, 'I invite you to Alice's party this afternoon.'

'And I invite you,' the White Queen replied. 'But I must have a rest first,' she went on. 'I am so sleepy.'

'And so must I,' said the Red Queen. She looked at Alice. 'You can sing to us, to help us sleep.'

Then the two Queens put their heads against Alice's shoulders. In a moment they were both asleep, and snoring loudly.

After a while the snoring seemed to change and began to sound almost like music. Alice thought that she could even hear some words. She listened hard, and suddenly she found that the Queens had disappeared, and she was standing in front of a tall and very grand-looking doorway. Above the door were the words QUEEN ALICE in large letters.

Alice knocked, and the door flew open. There seemed to be hundreds of voices singing, and Alice could now hear the words very clearly. They went like this:

Then fill up the glasses with everything nice,

And cover the table with buttons and rice.

Put cats in the coffee, and salt in the tea ―

And welcome Queen Alice with thirty-times-three!

'I suppose I should go in,' Alice said to herself. So in she went, and at once everyone in the hall became silent.

As she walked down the long hall, she saw that there were animals, birds, and even a few flowers among the crowd seated round the table. At the top there were three chairs; the Red and White Queens had taken two of them, but the middle one was empty. Alice sat down, feeling a little uncomfortable and wishing that someone would speak.

At last the Red Queen began. 'You've missed the fish. Bring the meat now!' And at once the waiters put a large joint of meat in front of Alice.

But before she could begin to cut up the joint, the Red Queen spoke again. 'Let me introduce you to the joint,' she said. 'Alice ― Meat. Meat ― Alice.'

The joint of meat then stood up on the plate and curtsied to Alice. Alice, feeling both frightened and amused, picked up the knife and fork. 'May I give you some meat?' she said, looking from one Queen to the other.

'Certainly not!' the Red Queen said. 'It isn't polite to cut anyone you've been introduced to. Take away the joint!'

The waiters immediately carried away the joint, and brought a large plum-pudding in its place.

'Please don't introduce me to the pudding,' said Alice quickly, 'or we shall get no dinner at all.'

But the Red Queen said loudly, 'Pudding ― Alice. Alice ― Pudding. Take away the pudding!' And the waiters took it away at once.

Then Alice decided to give an order herself. 'Waiter! Bring back the pudding!' When the pudding appeared again, she quickly cut off a piece and gave it to the Red Queen.

'That's really friendly!' said the Pudding. 'How would you like someone to cut a piece out of you?'

Alice was too surprised to speak.

'Say something,' said the Red Queen. 'You can't leave all the conversation to the pudding!'

By this time the party was beginning to get very noisy, and more and more strange things were happening. Bottles and plates were now walking around on the table, arm in arm, and the White Queen began to whisper in Alice's ear a long poem about fishes. Then the Red Queen screamed at the top of her voice, 'Let's drink to Queen Alice's health!'

Some of the animals put their glasses upside-down on their heads, others got inside them or knocked them over on the table. The forks began to dance with the spoons, and the noise got wilder and wilder. The White Queen said in Alice's ear, 'You must stand up and give thanks now, you know.'

Alice stood up. 'I must stop all this!' she cried, and she took hold of the table-cloth with both hands. One good pull, and everything came crashing down on the floor.

'And now for you!' she went on, turning to the Red Queen, who had suddenly become very much smaller and was running around on the table. 'You started all this trouble, and I'll shake you into a kitten! Yes, I will!'

idea n. conception. 观念。have no idea, don't know. 不知道。

finish v. bring or come to an end. 结束，完成。

good at skillful, having the ability to do something. 擅长。

sums n. adding numbers together. 算术。good at sums. 擅长算术。

language n. human speech, spoken or written. 语言，文字。

sadly adv. unhappily. 忧愁地，悲伤地；遗憾地

invite v. ask. 恳请，邀请。

in front of prep 在……的前面。

grand-looking adj. large and of fine appearance. 雄伟的，壮丽的。

large adj. of great size. 大的。

hundreds of 数以百计的。

miss v. fail to meet. 错过。

waiter n. man who waits at table. 侍者，男侍

joint of meat a large piece of meat (shoulder, leg). 腿肉或肩膀肉，大片肉。

pudding n. sweet food that you eat at the end of a meal. 布丁。plum-pudding. 干果布丁。

take away remove. 拿走。

order n. a request to supply sth. 定单。give an order for some food. 点菜。

drink to wish good (to sb.) while raising one's glass. 举杯祝贺（某人）。

take hold of grasp. 抓住。

good a. complete, thorough. 彻底的，痛快的。

9．爱丽丝王后

“啊，多高贵！”爱丽丝说。她站起来，来回走了一会儿，但王冠太重，戴着不自在，她重又坐下。然后，她发现红方王后与白方王后正坐在她两边。她不知道她们怎么会坐在这儿的。但她一点儿也不奇怪。现在镜中世界的一切对她来说都是不足为奇的。

爱丽丝说：“现在我是王后了，这是否意味着象棋游戏就到此为止了，或者——”

“有人跟你讲话，你才讲，讲话前要先思考，过后再记下来。”红方王后说。

“但我只是——”爱丽丝开口说。

红方王后又说：“直到你学好功课，你才能当王后。”

“你擅长算术吗？1加1加1加1加1加1加1总共得多少？”白方王后问。

爱丽丝答：“我不知道。我算不清。但为什么——”

“她做不了算术，语言能力怎样？能读书吗？”红方王后问。

爱丽丝答道：“我当然会读书，我还懂点法语，可是我真的不明白为什么——”

“显然她想争辩点什么，但不清楚想争辩些什么！”白方王后遗憾地摇摇头说。

爱丽丝判定一言不发更保险。有一会儿，大家都不吭声。随后，红方王后对白方王后说：“我邀请你参加今天下午爱丽丝的聚会。

白方王后答道：“我也邀请你去。但我得先休息一下。”她又补充了一句说，“我太困了。”

“我也同样。”红方王后说。她看着爱丽丝，“你可以给我们唱歌，帮助我们入睡。”

然后，两个王后把头都靠在爱丽丝的肩膀上。一会儿，她们就睡着了，鼾声如雷。

过了片刻，鼾声似乎变了声调，听起来几乎成了音乐。爱丽丝认为她甚至可以听出一些歌词。她用心地听，突然发现两个王后不见了，自己站到了雄伟壮观的一个门廊前。门上方写着“爱丽丝王后”几个大字。

爱丽丝敲了敲，门突然打开了。里面似乎有成百的声音在歌唱，爱丽丝歌词听得很清楚。歌词是这样的：

让玻璃杯充满一切好东西，

让桌子摆满纽扣和米饭。

把猫放入咖啡，给茶加点盐——

热烈欢迎爱丽丝王后的到来。

爱丽丝对自己说：“我想我应该进去了。”她走了进去，顿时大厅里一片寂静。

她走过长长的大厅时，围坐在桌旁的人群中还有动物、飞鸟，甚至还有几种花。上座的地方摆着三张椅子，红白王后占了两个位置，中间一个空着。爱丽丝坐了下来，但感到有点拘束，希望有人发言。

红方王后终于开口了。“你没赶上吃鱼。现在上肉！”男侍即刻把一大块腿肉放在爱丽丝前面。

未等她切开腿肉，红方王后又讲了：“让我把你介绍给腿肉，”她说，“爱丽丝，这位是肉。肉，这位是爱丽丝。”

于是，腿肉在盘里站立起来，向爱丽丝行屈膝礼。爱丽丝拿起刀叉，心里感到既恐惧又好玩，目光从一个王后转到另一个王后，问：“我可以给你们分些肉吗？”

红方王后说：“当然不行！把刚刚介绍认识的人切了是不礼貌的，把腿肉拿走！”

男侍马上把腿肉拿走，换上了一个大干果布丁。

爱丽丝抢着说：“请别做介绍了，否则我们晚餐就什么也没有了。”

但红方王后还是大声说道：“布丁，这位是爱丽丝。爱丽丝，这位是布丁。把布丁拿走！”男侍又马上把它拿走了。

然后，爱丽丝决定自己下个命令，“男侍！把布丁拿回来！”布丁一端上来，她就快速地切下一块递给红方王后。

布丁说：“你太友好了！有人从你身上切下一块，你感觉怎样？”

爱丽丝惊讶得说不出话来。

红方王后说：“讲几句吧。谈话中你不能让布丁唱独角戏。”

这时，聚会开始喧闹起来，怪事接连不断地出现。瓶子、盘子在桌上手挽着手行走，白方王后开始凑着爱丽丝的耳朵背一首有关鱼的长诗。然后，红方王后声嘶力竭地喊道：“咱们为爱丽丝王后的健康干杯！”

有些动物把杯子倒放在头顶，还有些钻到杯子里面去，或者把它们打翻在桌上。又开始同勺跳起舞来，暄闹声越来越响。白方王后冲着爱丽丝的耳朵说：“你现在必须站起来答谢各位了。”

爱丽丝站了起来。“我必须让这喧哗声停住！”她叫道，她双手抓住桌布，狠狠地一拉，桌上的东西统统砸到了地上。

“现在轮到你了！”她转向红方王后又说。红方王后这时突然变小，并在桌上乱窜。“你是这场混乱的罪魁祸首，我要把你摇晃成只小猫！是的，我会的！”

10

Shaking

She took the Red Queen off the table as she spoke, and shook her backwards and forwards, very hard.

The Red Queen did not try to fight or escape... but her face grew very small, and her eyes got large and green... and, as Alice went on shaking her, she grew shorter ― and fatter ― and softer ― and rounder ― and...

backwards and forwards to and fro. 来回地，往返地。

escape v. get away. 逃走

grow v. become. 变成，逐渐。

10．摇　晃

她说着，便把红方王后从桌上拿起来，用力地前后摇晃起来。

红方王后并没有试图自卫或逃跑……但她的脸变得很小，眼睛变大变绿……爱丽丝不停地摇晃着，她又变得更矮——更胖——更软——更丰满——更……

11

Waking

... and it really was a kitten, after all.

11．苏醒

……那竟然就是只小猫。

12

Who dreamed it?

'You shouldn't be so noisy, Your Majesty,' Alice said to the black kitten. 'You've woken me out of a very nice dream. I've been all through the looking-glass world. And I think that you were the Red Queen, weren't you?'

It is impossible to guess if a kitten is saying 'yes' or 'no'. Alice looked among the chessmen on the table until she found the Red Queen. Then she sat on the carpet and put the kitten and the Queen to look at each other.

'Curtsy while you're thinking what to say,' Alice said, with a little laugh. 'It saves time, remember!'

But the kitten turned its head away and wouldn't look at the Queen.

'Now, Kitty,' Alice went on, 'who was it who dreamed it all, do you think? No, listen ― don't start washing your paws now. You see, Kitty, it was either me or the Red King. He was part of my dream, of course ― but then I was part of his dream too! Was it the Red King, Kitty?'

But the kitten began to wash its other paw, and pretended it hadn't heard the question.

Who do you think was dreaming?

wake vt. cause to stop sleeping. 打断睡眠，吵醒。

dream sth. which one seems to see or experience during sleep. 梦。

impossible adj. not possible. 不可能的。

carpet n. a heavy woven fabric for covering floors and stairs. 地毯。

paw n. the foot of a cat or kitten. 猫爪。

pretend v. to give an appearance of (sth. that is not true), with the intention of deceiving. 假装。

12．谁做的梦？

爱丽丝对黑猫说：“你不该这么吵，陛下，你把我从一个美梦中吵醒。我已漫游了整个镜中世界。我想你是红方王后，不是吗？”

要揣测小猫的回答是“是”，还是“否”是不可能的。爱丽丝看着桌上的棋子，直到她找到了红方王后。然后她坐在地毯上，把小猫与王后摆在一起，互相对视。

“考虑话题时要行个礼。别忘了，这样会节省时间！”爱丽丝微笑了一下说。

但小猫扭转了头，不愿正面看王后。

爱丽丝接着说：“好了，小猫，你认为是谁做了这一场梦？不，听着——现在别洗爪子了。小猫你也清楚，不是我就是红方国王。他当然是我梦中的一部分——然而，我也是他梦中的一部分！是红方国王吗，小猫？”

但小猫开始洗另一只爪子，装作没听见。

你以为是谁做了这个梦？

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1―2 Who or what in these chapters...

1 ... turned into a kind of cloud?

2 ... were walking around by the fireplace, arm in arm?

3 ... turned cold to the very ends of his hair?

4 ... first spoke to Alice in the garden?

5 ... did Alice most want to be in the game of chess?

6 ... will show Alice the way through the forest?

Chapters 3-5 How much can you remember? Check your answers.

1 What didn't Alice have on the train?

2 What did Alice forget in the wood where things have no names?

3 What did the Walrus and the Carpenter do to all the Oysters?

4 Who was the Red King dreaming about?

5 Who could believe six impossible things before breakfast?

6 What did Alice decide to buy in the shop?

Chapters 6-7 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 Humpty Dumptys's belt was a birthday present.

2 Alice found Humpty Dumpty's poem hard to understand.

3 Haigha and Hatta were fighting for the White King's crown.

4 The Unicorn thought that Alice was a fantastic monster.

5 Alice cut up the plum-cake, then passed it round.

Chapters 8-12 Find answers to these questions in the text.

1 Why was it a slow journey through the forest?

2 Why did the White Knight want to sing Alice a song?

3 How did Alice know that she had become a Queen?

4 Who was Alice introduced to at her party?

5 What happened when Alice picked up the Red Queen and shook her?

6 Whose dream do you think it was?

B Working with language

1 Use these linking words to complete the passage.

so　which　and　but　when　because

The White Knight carried a small wooden box on his back,... he kept clothes and sandwiches in. He carried it upside-down... he didn't want the rain to get in,... Alice told him that the top was open,... all the things inside had fallen out... he heard this, the Knight unfastened the box... put it on the branch of a tree.

2 Complete these sentences with information from the story.

1 The Red Queen and Alice ran very fast indeed, but...

2 The White Queen didn't scream when she cut her finger because...

3 Alice's party became very wild and noisy, so Alice...

C Activities

1 Which are your favourite and your least favourite characters in this story? Why? Write a few lines to describe each of them.

2 Which part of Alice's dream do you think is the strangest? Imagine you are Alice, and write to a friend, describing that bit of the dream.

3 Here is a poem like Humpty Dumpty's. Use the words below to complete the poem, and then try to write one yourself, about the seasons, or perhaps the days of the week.

fire gold sun leaves day year night clouds fields

In spring, when mountains lose their snow,

I like to watch the flowers grow.

In summer, when the... is bright,

I walk through... and woods till...

In autumn, when the... turn...

I know the... is grouping old.

In winter, when the... are grey,

I sit beside the... all...

Glossary

beetle

a kind of insect, with hard, shiny wings

believe

to think that something is real or true

brook

a very small, narrow river

certain

sure

chess

a game for two people, with little pieces on a board of black and white squares; the chess pieces are called kings, queens, bishops, knights, castles, and pawns

crow

a large black bird

curtsy

to bend your knees politely to someone, e.g. a queen

hedge

a line of small trees and bushes growing close together

insect

a very small kind of animal with six legs, e.g. a fly

invention

something new that you have made yourself

jam

a sweet food, made by cooking fruit and sugar

maid

a woman or girl who works in another person's house

Majesty

you say 'Your Majesty ' when you speak to a queen or king

messenger

somebody who carries messages

monster

a very strange, sometimes frightening, person or animal

nonsense

silly or stupid talk or ideas

paw

the foot of a cat or kitten

pudding

sweet food that you eat at the end of a meal

puzzled

not understanding something

snore

to make a loud noise while you are asleep

sums

adding numbers together, e.g. 2 and 2 is 4

whisper

to speak very softly and quietly

Jabberwocky

The words in the poem on page 8 were invented by Lewis Carroll, and are not real English words. So they can mean what you choose them to mean.

京权图字01-97-0339

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1995

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

风语河岸柳＝The Wind in the Willows／（英）格拉姆（Grahame, K.）著；（英）巴西特（Bassett, J.）改写；阮斌兵译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1997（2014.12 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1302-2

Ⅰ．①风…　Ⅱ．①格…　②巴…　③阮…　Ⅲ．①小说—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．①H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（97）第18050号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：田　娜

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1998年1月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1302-2

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简　介

“你知道，”鼹鼠说，“我这辈子还从未坐过船。”

“什么？”水鼠叫道。“我亲爱的伙计，你算白活了！相信我，没有什么——真的没有什么——比在船上打发时光更惬意。”

从此，鼹鼠在他的朋友水鼠身边体验到了一种新的生活。在河边，在漫长的金色的夏天，风吹过柳树时，在轻轻低语着它的秘密。生活充满了兴奋和冒险，还有新的朋友：水獭和獾，当然少不了蛤蟆先生——著名的、聪明的、勇敢的、了不起的癞蛤蟆先生……

嗨，那只是蛤蟆先生对自己的评价，他的朋友们可不以为然。当他疯狂迷上驾车时，他变成了一只极愚蠢、极危险的癞蛤蟆……

肯尼斯·格拉姆，1859年生于爱丁堡，死于1932年。他就职于英格兰银行多年，同时也是一名作家。《风语河岸柳》最初只是他讲给他绰号小家鼠的小儿子阿拉斯特听的床边小故事。于1908年出版，从而成为有史以来最著名的儿童读物之一。

1

The river

The Mole worked very hard all morning, cleaning his little home. He brushed, and he washed; he cleaned the floors and the walls, he stood on chairs to wash the tops of cupboards, he got under the beds, he took up the carpets. He cleaned and he cleaned, until his arms and his back ached with tiredness.

It was springtime, and the smell arid the sound of spring were everywhere, even in the Mole's dark little house under the ground. And with the spring comes the promise of change, of sunshine, of new green leaves. So it was not surprising that the Mole suddenly put down his brushes and said, 'Oh bother!' and then, 'I'm tired of cleaning!' Something up above the ground was calling to him, and he ran out of his house and began to dig his way upwards to the sun.

He dug and he pushed, and he pushed and he dug. 'Up we go! Up we go!' he said to himself, until at last his nose came out into the sunlight, and he found himself in the warm grass of a field.

'This is fine!' said the Mole. 'This is better than cleaning!' The sunshine was warm on his back and the air was filled with the songs of birds. He gave a little jump for happiness, shook himself, and then began to cross the field towards some trees. Here and there he went, through the fields and the woods, looking and smelling and listening. Everywhere animals and birds were busy, talking and laughing, looking for food, making new homes for the spring. The Mole enjoyed it all.

Then, suddenly, he came to a river. He had never seen a river before in his life — this wonderful bright shining thing, which danced its way in and out of the shadows under the trees. It was never still for a minute, hurrying and laughing and talking to itself.

And at once, the Mole was in love with it. He walked along the river bank, listening and watching all the time. At last he sat down on the grass and looked across the river to the bank opposite. There was a dark hole in the bank, and the Mole watched it dreamily, thinking that it would be very pleasant to have a little house by the river. As he watched, he saw something shining in the hole. Soon he saw that it was an eye, and then a face appeared as well.

A brown little face, with whiskers.

With bright eyes, and small ears, and thick shiny hair.

It was the Water Rat!

Then the two animals stood up and looked at each other.

'Hello, Mole!' said the Water Rat.

'Hello, Rat!' said the Mole.

'Would you like to come over?' asked the Rat.

'Oh, it's easy to talk,' said the Mole, a little crossly. The river was new to him and he did not know how to get to the other side.

The Rat said nothing, and disappeared. Then he appeared again, in a little blue and white boat, which came quickly across the river towards the Mole. It stopped by the bank, and a moment later the Mole, to his great surprise and excitement, found himself actually sitting in a real boat.

'Do you know,' he said, as the Rat began to row away from the bank, 'I've never been in a boat before in all my life.'

'What?' cried the Rat. 'My dear fellow, you haven't lived! Believe me,' he went on seriously, 'there is nothing — really nothing — nicer than just messing about in boats. You can go up river, down river, stay where you are, it really doesn't matter. There's always something to do, but you don't have to do it if you don't want to. You can do what you like. Look here! If you're not busy today, why don't we spend the day on the river together?'

The Mole had listened to all this with great interest. Now he sat back in the comfortable seat and said, 'What a wonderful day this is! Let's start at once!'

But first the Rat went into his hole, and after a while came out carrying a very large and heavy lunch basket. This went into the boat, under the Mole's feet, and then the Rat began to row down river. The two friends talked from time to time, but mostly the Mole just watched the river dreamily, enjoying the sounds and the smells and the sunlight. At last they turned off the big river into a little side river that came down to join it. The Rat stopped the boat and they got out on to a bank of soft green grass under tall willow trees. It was very quiet and very peaceful.

The Mole sat down and looked around him. 'What a beautiful place!' he said happily.

'Time for lunch,' said the Rat, opening the basket. 'Come on, Mole! Let's get to work.'

The Mole was happy to obey, because he was very hungry indeed after all his cleaning earlier in the day. And what a lunch it was! There were cold meats and egg sandwiches, cooked chicken and tomatoes, apples and bananas and a large cake.

When at last they could eat no more, the Mole lay back and watched the river lazily. After a while he sat up.

'I can see a long line of bubbles in the water,' he said. 'I wonder what it is.'

'Bubbles? Oho!' said the Rat, and he called out across the river in a friendly kind of way.

The bubbles stopped and turned. Soon a wet whiskery nose appeared above the edge of the bank, and the Otter pulled himself out and shook the water from his coat.

'A lunch party!' he said, going straight towards the food. 'Why didn't you invite me, Ratty?'

'We didn't plan it,' explained the Rat. 'We only decided to come this morning. Oh, and this is my friend, Mr Mole.'

'Happy to meet you,' said the Otter, and the two animals were friends at once.

'All the world seems to be out on the river today,' said the Otter while he ate. 'I came up this side river to try and get a moment's peace, and then I find you fellows having a lunch party!'

Suddenly there was a noise in the thick bushes behind them, and a big black and white head looked out at them.

'Come on, old Badger!' shouted the Rat.

The Badger came forward a few steps, and then stopped. 'Hmm! A crowd!' he said crossly, and turned his back and disappeared again into the bushes.

'What a pity!' said the Rat. 'Dear old Badger! He's a good fellow, but he does hate a crowd. We won't see him again today. But tell us, who's out on the river?'

'Toad's out, for one,' replied the Otter. 'In his shiny new boat. He's got new boating clothes, and everything!'

The Rat and the Otter. looked at each other and laughed.

'Toad's always trying something new,' the Rat explained to the Mole. 'But he always gets bored so quickly. Last year it was a house-boat, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life living on the river. This year it's rowing-boats.'

'He's a nice fellow, of course,' said the Otter. 'But he never learns from his mistakes!'

From where they sat they could see a bit of the big river. And just then they saw a rowing-boat going past, and in it a short fat animal, rowing very hard and very badly.

'There's Toad going past now,' said the Rat. 'Look at him! He'll turn that boat over in a minute.'

'Of course he will,' laughed the Otter. Toad had now disappeared up river, and the Otter went on, 'Did I ever tell you that story about Toad and the...'

There was a sudden movement in the water near the bank. Something silvery shone for a second, then it was gone. And so was the Otter. The Mole looked down. The Otter's voice was still in his ears, but the Otter had disappeared.

There was just a long line of bubbles in the river.

The Rat sang a little song to himself, and the Mole remembered that it was not at all polite, in the animal world, to say anything if your friends disappeared at any moment, for any reason.

'Well, well,' said the Rat. 'I suppose we should think about going home.'

The Mole packed the things away in the lunch basket, and soon the Rat began to row gently homewards while the afternoon sun went down behind the trees. The Rat was dreaming quietly to himself, but the Mole was very full of lunch and the excitements of the day. He began to think that he knew everything about boats now.

And in a while he said, 'Ratty! Please, I want to row!'

The Rat shook his head with a smile. 'Not yet, my young friend,' he said. 'Wait until you've had a few lessons. It's not as easy as it looks.'

The Mole was quiet for a minute or two. But he wanted to row very much indeed. He was sure that he could row as well as Rat. Then, before the Rat could stop him, he jumped up, and pulled the oars out of the surprised Rat's hands. The Rat fell backwards off his seat, calling out, 'Stop it, you silly fellow! You'll have us in the river!'

The Mole made a great dig at the water with the oars, but the oars never touched the water at all. The Mole's legs flew up above his head, and he found himself lying on top of the Rat in the bottom of the boat. Frightened, he tried to get up, got hold of the side of the boat, and the next moment — splash!

Over went the boat, and the Mole and the Rat and the lunch basket were all in the water.

It was the Rat, of course, who pulled the Mole out of the water, who turned the boat right way up, who found the oars, who got the lunch basket from the bottom of the river. And he laughed and laughed.

When all was ready again, the unhappy Mole sat in the boat very wet and very miserable. As they left, he said in a low voice, 'Ratty, my dear friend! I have been so silly and so ungrateful. I really am very sorry indeed.'

'That's all right!' replied the Rat kindly. 'I'm always in and out of the water myself, so don't worry about it. But I really think you should come and stay with me for a while. You'll be very comfortable, and I'll teach you to row and to swim. Soon you'll be as good a boatman as any of us.'

The Mole was almost too happy to speak and could find no words to thank his friend.

When they got home, they had a good hot supper in front of a bright fire while the Rat told exciting stories of life on the river. Then he took the Mole upstairs to the best bedroom, and soon the Mole was lying warm and comfortable, listening to the sound of his new friend the River running past his bedroom window.

That was the first of many wonderful days for the Mole, as the spring turned slowly into a golden summer. He learnt to swim and to row, and he learnt to love the sound of the wind when it went whispering its secrets through the trees and the plants by the river.

promise n. (sth. that gives) hope of good results. （有良好结果的）希望。

still adj. without movement. 静止的。

whisker n. beard, moustache. 胡须。

crossly adv. angrily. 生气地。

disappear v. go out of sight. 消失。

fellow n. a friendly word for a man (here, a male animal). 伙计。

mess about play around, do pleasant, silly, unimportant things. 闲荡，打发日子。

turn off change directions. 转弯。

join v. connect. 连接，交汇。

bored adj. tired of. 厌倦。

turn... over... upset. 打翻。

silvery adj. like silver. 银色的。

touch v. be in contact with. 接触，碰及。

ungrateful adj. not showing gratitude. 不领情的。

whisper v. speak very softly and quietly, (of wind etc.) rustle. 低语，（风等）发出沙沙声。

1　河

鼹鼠整个早上都在辛苦地打扫着他的小屋。他扫着，洗着；拖地板，掸墙壁，一会儿站在椅子上擦洗着食品柜顶，一会儿钻进床底清理杂物，一会儿又卷起地毯。他不停地清扫着，直到累得胳膊酸脊背疼。

这正是开春时节，到处都充满了春天的气息，就连鼹鼠这个地下阴暗的小窝里也洋溢着春意。春天，意味着万物变化，阳光明媚，新叶吐芽，所以大家一点也不奇怪鼹鼠突然扔下扫帚感叹道：“噢，真无聊！我讨厌大扫除！”地面上有什么东西在召唤着他，他跑出房间，开始挖洞钻向有阳光照耀的地方。

他挖了推，推了挖，嘴里还喃喃自语着“向上！向上！”最后他的鼻子触到了阳光，他发现他正在一块田地的暖烘烘的草丛里。

“这真不错！”鼹鼠说道，“这比大扫除要好得多！”太阳照在他的背上，暖洋洋的，四周有鸟儿在唱着动听的歌。他高兴地蹦了一下，活动活动筋骨，然后穿过田地向树丛走去。他这里走走，那里转转，穿过田野，逛过树林，最大限度地调动自己的视觉、嗅觉和听觉。各处的动物和鸟儿都一边说笑着，一边忙着找食物，忙着为春天筑新巢。鼹鼠可喜欢这些了。

不知不觉，他来到了一条河边。他至今还从未见过河水——这个明澈耀眼的奇妙之物，它欢蹦乱跳地穿梭在岸边树林的倒影之间。它从不停息，匆匆奔流着，却一路欢声笑语。

鼹鼠马上就喜欢上了它。他沿着河岸走着，并一直听着、看着。最后他坐在草地上欣赏着河对岸的风景。那儿有一个黑洞，鼹鼠出神地看着，心想在河边有一间小房子应该会很惬意的。他看着看着，发现有东西在洞里闪烁。很快他看清那是一只眼睛，然后一张脸也出现了。

一张褐色的小脸，长着几根胡须。

眼睛亮亮的，耳朵小小的，毛厚而发亮。

这是只水老鼠。

于是他们俩都站了起来，看着对方。

“你好，鼹鼠！”

“你好，水鼠！”

“你愿意过来吗？”水鼠问道。

“噢，说起来容易。”鼹鼠有点嗔怪地说。河，对他来说是很陌生的，他不知道怎样才能到达河对岸。

水鼠一声没吭便不见了，不久又出现了，坐在一条蓝白相间的小船上，它很快地向鼹鼠这边驶来，靠岸边停了下来。不一会儿，鼹鼠满怀好奇和兴奋地发现他自己确确实实地坐在了一条真正的船上。

“你知道吗，”当水鼠将船划离河岸时，鼹鼠对他说，“我这辈子还从未坐过船呢。”

“什么？”水鼠叫道。“我亲爱的伙计，你算白活了！相信我，”他一本正经地继续着，“没有什么——真的没有什么——比在船上打发时光更惬意。你可以划向河的上游，或下游，还可以随意停下来，一点问题也没有。总有事做，但如果你不想去做也不用勉强，你可以干你愿意干的事。看这儿！如果你今天没事，我们为什么不一起在河上玩它一整天呢？”

鼹鼠带着极大的兴趣听完了这一切。然后，他向后靠坐在那张舒服的座位上回答道：“这将是多么美妙的一天！我们现在就出发吧！”

但是水鼠先回到了洞里，一会儿又出来了，提着一只又大又沉的午餐篮。他把篮子移进船内鼹鼠的脚下，然后开始向下游划去。这对朋友时不时地聊着天，但更多的时候，鼹鼠仅仅是陶醉般地注视着河水，享受着自然界的声响、气味、还有阳光。最后他们划离主河道转入一条与大河交汇的小支流。然后水鼠把船停了下来，他们就一起上了岸。岸上高大的柳树掩映着一片松软的绿油油的草地，非常安怡恬静。

鼹鼠坐下来，看了看自己的周围，愉快地说道：“多么美丽的地方！”

“该用午餐了，”水鼠边说边打开篮子，“快点，鼹鼠！过来准备吧。”

鼹鼠高兴地服从吩咐，经过一早上的大扫除，他确实非常饿。这是一顿多么丰富的午餐啊！有冷肉和鸡蛋三明治，有炸鸡和西红柿、苹果、香蕉，还有一大块蛋糕。

最后他们再也吃不下了，鼹鼠躺倒在地，懒懒地看着河水。不一会儿，他坐了起来说：“我看见水里有一长串水泡，那是什么？”

“水泡？哦噢！”水鼠友好地向河水那儿叫道。

水泡没了，又转到了另一个地方。很快一个湿漉漉的长着胡须的鼻子出现在河岸边，水獭爬上了岸，抖动着外衣上的水。

“午餐派对！”他边说边径直向食物走去。“你为什么不邀请我，阿鼠？”

“我们不是事先计划好的，”水鼠解释道，“我们今天早上才决定过来的。哦，这是我的朋友，鼹鼠先生。”

“很高兴认识你。”水獭招呼道，这两只动物马上就成了朋友。

“今天所有人似乎都在河上，”水獭边吃边说，“我游到这条支流上是想安静一会儿，不想却碰到你们哥俩在搞午餐派对！”

突然，他们身后浓密的灌木丛里发出了响声，一个大大的黑白脑袋探出头瞅着他们。

“过来，老獾！”水鼠叫道。

獾向前走了几步又停下来，“呣，这么挤！”他愠怒地说着，转身消失在灌木丛里。

“多遗憾！”水鼠叹道，“亲爱的老獾！他人倒不错，就是讨厌人多，今天就甭想见他了。但你给我们说说，谁还在河上？”

“癞蛤蟆出来了，算他一个，”水獭回答道，“坐在他那亮晃晃的新船上，穿着崭新的划船装，总之，什么都是新的！”

水鼠和水獭相互对视一下，然后笑了起来。

“癞蛤蟆总是在尝试新鲜的玩意儿，”水鼠向鼹鼠解释，“但他总是很快又厌倦了。去年是一种房子船，他曾打算在河上度过他的余生。今年他又喜欢上了划艇。”

“当然，他这哥们儿不错，”水獭接着说，“但是他从来不从自己的错误里吸取教训！”

从他们坐的地方能看见大河的一点风景。这时，他们恰好看到一艘划艇经过，一只短粗肥胖的动物正在非常吃力、非常笨拙地划船。

“正朝这边来的就是蛤蟆，”水鼠说，“看他！很快就会把船弄翻的。”

“那是当然的，”水獭笑道，癞蛤蟆此时已不在他们视线里了，水獭继续着，“我曾告诉过你关于蛤蟆的故事和那……”

只见岸边的水突然晃动了一下，什么东西银光一闪便不见了，水獭也一晃眼就离开了。鼹鼠低头看着河水，水獭的声音仍在耳边未落，但身影已消失。河面上仅仅留下了一长串水泡。

水鼠自个儿哼着歌，鼹鼠记起来了：在动物世界里，不管你的朋友在何时为何事突然消失，你都不能发表任何看法，否则就会被视为无礼。

“好了，好了，”水鼠说。“我想我们该准备回家了。”

鼹鼠把东西收拾到午餐篮里，很快水鼠就开始轻松地划着船回去了。午后的太阳已落在树后，水鼠在那儿一声不吭沉浸在自己的梦中，鼹鼠则满肚子的午餐，满脑子的兴奋。他开始认为他现在完全了解船了。

过了一会，他说：“阿鼠！拜托，我想划船！”

水鼠微笑着摇摇头。“还不行，我年轻的朋友，”他说，“等你学了几招再划，这并不像看起来那么简单。”

鼹鼠安静了一两分钟，但是他确实非常想划船，他相信自己能划得像水鼠那样好。紧接着，他跳了起来，水鼠还没来得及阻止，他已从吃惊的水鼠手中抽过船桨。水鼠从座位上摔了下来，叫道：“停下，你这傻蛋！你会把我们弄下水的！”

鼹鼠用木桨在水面上划过很大的弧度，但双桨根本挨不着水，而他的腿已翘过他的头，他发现他正压在摔倒在船底板上的水鼠身上。惊恐中，他试图站起来，便抓住船的一边，只听——扑通一声。

船翻了，鼹鼠、水鼠、午餐篮统统落入水里。

是水鼠，当然是水鼠把鼹鼠拉出水面，是他把船翻正，找回双桨，从河底捞出午餐篮，然后他笑个不停。

待一切收拾停当，鼹鼠不开心地坐在船上，浑身湿漉漉的，非常可怜。当他们起程回家时，他低声地说：“阿鼠，我亲爱的朋友！我是多么愚蠢，多么不知好歹，我真的非常抱歉。”

“没什么！”水鼠友善地回答道，“我总是在水里出入，不要为此担心。但是我真的认为你应该来和我待一段时间。你会很舒服的，我将教你划船，教你游泳，不久你就会和我们划得一样好。”

鼹鼠太高兴了，他简直不知道该说什么来感谢他的朋友。

他们回到家，坐在明亮的火炉前用着可口的热乎乎的晚餐，水鼠边吃边说着河上的生活趣事。然后他把鼹鼠带到楼上最好的卧室，不久鼹鼠就暖和地、舒服地躺下了，聆听着他的新朋友——河水——流过窗边的声音。

那是春天慢慢向金色的夏天转变时，鼹鼠所经历的多彩生活的第一天。从那以后，他学着游泳、划船，还学着去喜欢听风声——听它吹过河边的树木和花草时沙沙低语着自己的秘密。

2

The open road

One bright summer morning the Mole and the Rat were out on the river bank, watching the world go by. The Rat was writing a song and was singing quietly to himself as he tried different words.

'Ratty,' said the Mole, 'could I ask you something?'

'Mmm,' the Rat said, not really listening. 'Sky, fly, high, die, why... Oh dear! What did you say, Mole?'

'Will you take me to visit Mr Toad? I've heard so much about him, and I do want to meet him.'

'Why, of course,' said the Rat kindly. 'Get the boat out, and we'll row up there now. Toad's always happy to see his friends.'

'He must be a very nice animal,' said the Mole, as he got into the boat and took the oars.

'He's the best of animals,' replied the Rat. 'Kind, friendly — not very clever, perhaps, and sometimes he's just a little bit boastful, but he's a good fellow really.'

The Mole rowed hard up the river and in a while they came to a large red house, with beautiful gardens reaching down to the water's edge.

'There's Toad Hall,' said the Rat. 'It's a lovely old house — Toad is very rich, you know, and this is really one of the nicest houses on the river. But we never say that to Toad, of course.'

They left their boat by the boathouse at the end of the garden. The boathouse was full of expensive boats, which looked new and mostly unused.

The Rat looked around him. 'I see that all the boats are out of the water,' he said. 'I suppose Toad has finished with boating now and has some new interest to amuse him.'

They walked over the grass towards the house and soon found Toad, resting in a garden-chair and carefully studying a large map.

'Wonderful!' he cried, as he saw them. 'You're just the fellow that I wanted to see, Ratty.' He jumped up and came towards them, talking all the time, and gave the Rat no time to introduce the Mole. 'I need you very much — both of you. You've got to help me. It's most important!'

'It's about your rowing, I suppose,' said the Rat, keeping his face very serious. 'You will learn to do it in the end, you know, if you're patient and work hard and—'

'Oh, bother boats!' the Toad said crossly. 'I've finished with boats. Silly way to pass the time. No, I've discovered the real thing — the best way, the only way, to spend one's life. Come with me, dear Ratty, and your kind friend too, and I will show you!'

He took them round to the other side of the house, and there they saw a shiny new gipsy caravan. It had yellow and green sides, and red wheels.

'There you are!' cried the Toad. 'There's real life for you. The open road, the fields, the hills... villages, towns, cities! Here today, off to a different place tomorrow! Travel, change, interest — the world in front of you!'

The Mole was very interested and excited, and followed the Toad inside the caravan to look around. But the Rat shook his head and waited outside.

When they came down the steps again, the Toad was still talking excitedly to the Mole. 'So you see, everything is ready for when we start this afternoon.'

'What was that?' said the Rat slowly. 'Did you say "we" and "start" and "this afternoon"?'

'Now, dear good old Ratty,' said Toad quickly, 'don't talk in that cross voice. You know you've got to come. You can't stay by your boring old river all your life. I want to show you the world!'

'I don't care,' said the Rat calmly. 'I'm not coming, and that's final. I'm going to stay by my old river, and what's more, Mole's going to stay with me, aren't you, Mole?'

'Of course I am,' said the Mole bravely. But his face looked sad. Poor Mole! He thought that life in a caravan on the open road would be an exciting adventure.

The Rat saw his sad face and felt worried. He liked his friends to be happy and he could see that the Mole really wanted to go.

Toad watched them both carefully. 'Come on in and have some lunch,' he said pleasantly, 'and we'll talk it over.'

During lunch — which was excellent, of course, because everything at Toad Hall always was — the Toad talked and talked. He was full of wonderful plans. How interesting each day would be! What adventures the three friends would have together! Ah, the happiness of the travelling life!

In the end, of course, the Rat agreed to go, and by the evening they found themselves on a lonely hillside miles from home. It had been a golden afternoon, and even the Rat had enjoyed the journey so far. Only the old grey horse was not very happy. He had to do all the hard work of pulling the caravan, and he was not at all pleased about it.

The next morning the Toad was still sleeping deeply when the other two got up. They shook him very hard but couldn't wake him, so they had to do all the work. The Rat took care of the horse, lit the fire, and did last night's washing-up. The Mole walked to the nearest village, a long way away, to get milk and eggs and bread, which the Toad had, of course, forgotten to bring. And when at last the Toad got up, he said what a pleasant easy life it was on the open road.

The day passed happily as they travelled over green hills and along narrow country roads. But the next morning the Rat and the Mole got Toad out of bed and made sure that he did some of the work. Because of this, Toad said very little about a pleasant easy life. Later, he even tried to get back into bed, but the Mole and the Rat pulled him out again.

The end of their journey came very suddenly. In the afternoon they were travelling along a big road. The Mole was walking beside the horse, and the Toad and the Water Rat were walking behind the caravan, talking together. Actually, the Toad was talking, and the Rat was listening — some of the time.

Then they heard a noise behind them, and looking back, they saw a small cloud of dust. It made a 'Poop-poop!' sound, and it was coming towards them very fast indeed.

Seconds later, the peace of the afternoon was destroyed in a storm of noise and wind and dust. The 'poop-poop' rang with a shout in their ears, and an enormous, long, shining motorcar roared past them and disappeared over the hill.

The old grey horse, wild with fear, tried to get off the road. The caravan's wheels began to go down into the ditch along the edge. Then there was a terrible crash — and the beautiful yellow and green caravan lay helplessly on its side.

The Rat jumped up and down in the road, shouting angrily. 'Stupid, dangerous people! The police should lock you up in prison!'

He and the Mole managed to calm the horse, and then they went to look at the caravan. Two wheels had come off, the windows were broken, and bits of wood lay everywhere. They tried to pull it out of the ditch, but they couldn't move it.

'Hi! Toad!' they cried. 'Come and help us, can't you!'

The Toad never answered a word, so they went to see what was the matter with him. They found him sitting in the middle of the road, with a dreamy smile on his face and happily whispering, 'Poop-poop!'

The Rat shook him, not very gently. 'Are you coming to help us, Toad?' he asked crossly.

'Oh, what happiness!' whispered Toad to himself. 'The real way to travel! The only way to travel! Here one minute — miles away in seconds! Wonderful! Poop-poop!'

'Oh, do stop being so silly, Toad!' cried the Mole.

'And I never knew!' the Toad went on dreamily. 'I never dreamt! What clouds of dust will fly up behind me as 1 drive like the wind! I've finished with silly old caravans for ever. Poop-poop!'

'What are we going to do with him?' the Mole asked the Water Rat.

'Nothing,' replied the Rat. 'There's nothing that we can do. I know Toad. When he gets a new idea into his head, he always goes crazy at first. He'll be like this for some days now. Come on, we'll have to do everything by ourselves.'

They had to leave the caravan in the ditch and walk to the nearest town, five or six miles away. There they asked somebody to take care of the horse, and found somebody who agreed to fetch the broken caravan. Then they caught a train to a station near Toad Hall, took Toad home, went down to the boat, and then at last they sat down to a late supper in Rat's comfortable little home by the river.

The next day was a lazy one. In the evening the Mole was sitting on the river bank fishing, when the Rat, who had been to visit friends, came to find him.

'Heard the news?' the Rat said. 'Everybody's talking about it, all along the river bank. Toad went up to town by an early train this morning. And he has ordered a large and very expensive motor-car.'

boastful adj. fond of self-praising. 好自夸的。

amuse v. enjoy. 使快乐。

patient adj. able to endure or wait for sth. 耐心的。

bother int. （表示不耐烦）讨厌；去他的。

caravan n. covered wagon. 篷车。

bravely adv. courageously. 勇敢地。

adventure n. exciting or dangerous journey or activity. 刺激冒险的经历。

lonely adj. far from inhabited places. 偏僻的。

destroy v. put an end to. 摧毁。

roar v. make loud, deep sounds. 咆哮。

ditch n. narrow channel. 水沟。

helplessly adv. unable to act. 无助地。

gently adv. softly. 轻轻地。

2　宽敞的公路

一个灿烂的夏日早晨，鼹鼠和水鼠在河岸边散步，欣赏着世界的变幻。水鼠正在写一首歌，他试着用不同的词轻声地自哼自唱。

“阿鼠，”鼹鼠说，“我能问你一些事吗？”

“呣，”水鼠似听非听地说着，“天空、飞翔、高潮、死亡，为什么……噢，亲爱的！你说什么，鼹鼠？”

“你能带我去拜访癞蛤蟆先生吗？我已听了许多有关他的事，我确实想见他。”

“呃，当然，”水鼠和善地说，“把船拉出来，我们现在就划过去，蛤蟆一直都很乐意见他的朋友。”

“他一定是只很不错的动物。”鼹鼠边说边走上船拿起双桨。

“他是动物中最好的，”水鼠回答道。“善良，友好——也许不很聪明，有时他仅仅有点爱吹牛，但是他确实是个好人。”

鼹鼠吃力地向上游划着，不一会儿他们到了一所大大的红房子前面，那儿美丽的花园一直延伸到水边。

“那是蛤蟆宅第，”水鼠说，“一所可爱的老宅——癞蛤蟆很富有，你知道吧，这是河边最好的房子之一。当然我们从来没有对蛤蟆这样说过。”

他们把船停在花园尽头的船室里，船室内停满了昂贵而崭新的船，看上去大多没用过。

水鼠看了看他的周围，说：“我发现所有的船都没停在水里，我猜蛤蟆现在不再玩船了，肯定又有什么新鲜有趣的东西吸引着他。”

他们穿过草坪向房子走去，很快便看见了癞蛤蟆，他正坐在花园椅里仔细地研究着地图。

“太棒了！”癞蛤蟆一看到他们就叫了起来。“我正想见你呢，阿鼠，”他跳了起来，向他们走去，嘴里说个不停，根本不给水鼠时间来介绍鼹鼠。“我非常需要你——你们俩。你们得帮我，这是最最重要的！”

“我想，是关于划船吧，”水鼠一本正经地说。“你总算要学了，你知道吧，如果你耐心点，刻苦点，再——”

“噢，讨厌的船！”癞蛤蟆气恼地说，“我不再划船了，简直是打发日子的傻办法。是的，我已发现了一个真正的活法——最好的、唯一的活法。跟我来，亲爱的阿鼠，还有你好心的朋友，我要带你们去看看！”

他带他们绕到了房子的另一头，那儿他们看见一辆锃亮崭新的吉普赛大篷车，镶滚着黄绿边，轮子是红色的。

“你们看！”癞蛤蟆叫道，“这才是属于你们的真正的生活。宽敞的公路、原野、山峦……村庄、城镇、都市！今天在这儿，明天到另一个不同的地方！旅行、变幻、趣味——世界就在你的面前！”

鼹鼠觉得非常有趣，非常兴奋，他跟着癞蛤蟆走进大篷车参观，但水鼠摇着头，在外面等着。

当他们再次踩踏脚板下来时，蛤蟆仍兴奋地对鼹鼠说：“你看见了，一切已准备就绪，我们今天下午就出发。”

“你说什么？”水鼠慢慢地说，“你是说‘我们’‘今天下午’‘出发’？”

“好了，亲爱的好阿鼠，”蛤蟆急忙说，“不要用那种厉害的口气说话，你知道，你该有所进展了，你不能一辈子待在你那条乏味的老河边，我想带你看看外面的世界！”

“我不在乎，”水鼠平静地说，“我不想有所改变，这就是我最终的决定，我将待在我的老河旁，另外，鼹鼠将和我待在一起，是不是，鼹鼠？”

“当然，是这样。”鼹鼠勇敢地说，但却显得有些垂头丧气，可怜的鼹鼠！他想：坐在大篷车里走在宽敞的公路上的生活一定很刺激很有趣。

水鼠看着他那伤感的样子，很担心。他希望他的朋友开心快乐，他能看出鼹鼠真的想去。

癞蛤蟆审视着他们俩，然后愉快地说：“进来用点午餐，然后再聊这事。”

就餐时——午餐当然是一流的，因为蛤蟆宅第的一切总是如此——癞蛤蟆说个没完。他满脑子美妙的计划，每一天都将多么有趣！他们三位朋友在一起将会有多么刺激兴奋的经历！啊，幸福的旅行生活！

最后，当然，水鼠同意去了。傍晚他们到了离家数里的一个孤零零的山坡上。那是一个金色的下午，现在甚至水鼠也非常喜欢这次旅行。只有老灰马不很乐意，他得干所有拉大篷车的苦力活，他根本就不爱这份工作。

第二天早上，水鼠和鼹鼠起床了，癞蛤蟆还在呼呼大睡。他们俩用力摇他，但弄不醒他，因此他们不得不干所有的活。水鼠照料马，生起火，还清洗了昨晚的脏物。鼹鼠则步行长长的一段路到最近的村庄去弄些牛奶、鸡蛋和面包，这些，癞蛤蟆当然忘了随车带来。最后癞蛤蟆起床了，他说，在宽敞公路上的旅行生活是多么轻松愉快。

然后，他们翻过青山，沿着一条狭窄的乡村小路旅行着，就这样快快乐乐地过了一天。但是第三天早上，水鼠和鼹鼠把癞蛤蟆从床上拉了起来，要他也干些活。就为这，癞蛤蟆很少再说多么轻松愉快之类的话了。后来他甚至还想回到床上继续睡觉，但鼹鼠和水鼠又把他拉了出来。

他们的旅行结束得很突然。那天下午，他们正行进在一条大马路上，鼹鼠走在马旁，癞蛤蟆和水鼠在大篷车后面边走边聊着天，确切地说——很多时候——癞蛤蟆在说，水鼠在听。

这时他们听见身后有什么声音，便回过头，只见一小团尘雾，发着“扑扑、扑扑”的声音，正朝他们疾速地席卷而来。

几秒钟之后，下午的宁静就在一阵嘈杂中、风中和尘雾中被打破了。伴随着震耳欲聋的“扑扑、扑扑”声，一辆巨大的、长长的、锃亮的汽车从他们身边呼啸而过，消失在山那边。

老灰马极度恐惧试图离开公路。大篷车的轮子便开始顺着路沿向沟里滑去，然后只听见一阵可怕的稀里哗啦声——美丽的黄绿大篷车无助地歪倒在地。

水鼠在公路上又蹦又跳，愤怒地喊道：“愚蠢、危险的人！警察应该把你们关在监狱里！”

他和鼹鼠设法使老马安静，然后开始检查大篷车。车的两只轮子掉了，窗子也摔烂了，木头片到处都是。他们试着把它从沟里拉出来，但却弄不动它。

“嗨，癞蛤蟆！”他们叫道，“过来帮帮我们，行不行，你！”

癞蛤蟆不答一句话，因此他们走过去看看他是怎么了。只见他坐在公路中间，脸上挂着梦幻似的微笑，嘴里愉快地嘟哝着，“扑扑、扑扑！”

水鼠用力地摇着他，“你能不能过来帮帮我们，癞蛤蟆？”他生气地问。

“噢，多么幸福！”癞蛤蟆自言自语道，“旅行的真正方式！旅行的唯一方式！刚才在这儿，几秒钟后就在数里之外！太棒了！扑扑、扑扑！”

“噢，不要犯傻了，癞蛤蟆！”鼹鼠叫道。

“而我竟不知道！”癞蛤蟆仍然魂牵梦萦似地继续着，“我从未梦想过！当我风驰电掣似地驾车时，多少尘雾将在我身后扬起！那辆可笑的愚蠢的大篷车将永远消失。扑扑、扑扑！”

“我们拿他怎么办？”鼹鼠问水鼠。

“没办法，”水鼠回答道，“我们什么也帮不了。我了解癞蛤蟆，当他有了新的想法时，刚开始他总是有些疯狂。他像这样还得过一些日子。过来，我们得自己干完这一切。”

他们不得不将大篷车先留在沟里，步行到五六英里以外最近的城镇。在那儿，他们叫人照看灰马，又找了个愿意取回破车的人。然后他们坐火车到蛤蟆宅第附近的车站，把癞蛤蟆送回家后，他们坐上船，最后终于坐在了水鼠舒服的河边小屋吃迟到的晚餐。

第二天是慵懒的一天。傍晚时分鼹鼠坐在河岸钓鱼，水鼠拜访朋友回来后找到了他。

水鼠对他说：“听到消息了吗？河岸边的每个人都在谈论这件事。癞蛤蟆今早搭头班火车去了城镇，订购了一辆非常昂贵的大汽车。”

3

The Wild Wood

The Mole had wanted for a long time to meet the Badger. He often spoke about his wish to the Water Rat, but the Rat didn't seem to want to do anything about it.

'It's all right,' the Rat always said. 'Badger will come past one day, and then I'll introduce you.'

'Couldn't you invite him to dinner or something?' asked the Mole.

'He wouldn't come,' said the Rat. 'He hates crowds, and parties, and dinners, and all that kind of thing.'

'Well then, shall we go and visit him?'

'Oh, no!' the Rat said. 'He's very shy, and he wouldn't like that at all. I know him very well, but I've never visited his home. And it's not really possible to go there, because he lives right in the middle of the Wild Wood.'

'You said you would tell me about the Wild Wood,' said the Mole, 'but you never did. Aren't they — aren't they very nice people in there?'

'Well,' said the Rat, 'the squirrels are all right, and the rabbits — most of them. And Badger, of course. He likes living there. And nobody gives him any trouble.'

'But who could give trouble?' asked the Mole.

'There are, well, others,' the Rat went on slowly. 'Weasels... stoats... ferrets, and so on. They're all right in a way. Most of the time. But, well, you wouldn't want to turn your back to them in the dark, and that's a fact. Don't worry about Badger. He'll come along one day.'

But the summer passed and the Badger never came along.

Soon the days grew shorter, and the cold weather kept the animals inside their comfortable houses. The Rat slept a lot in the winter, going to bed early and getting up late. During his short day, he wrote songs and did small jobs in the house. And, of course, there were always animals calling in for a comfortable talk round the fire, telling stories and remembering the good times and the adventures of the past summer.

One afternoon, while the Rat was sleeping peacefully in front of the fire, the Mole decided to go out by himself and take a walk in the Wild Wood. 'Perhaps,' he thought, 'I'll meet Mr Badger, and then I can introduce myself.'

It was a cold afternoon, with a hard grey sky. The Mole hurried along, enjoying the quietness of the winter day, and after a time he saw in front of him the black shape of the Wild Wood.

He was not at all frightened at first. It was a strange, dark place, but the Mole found that exciting. He went deeper and deeper into the wood, where the light was less and the trees grew close together. Everything was very still now, and the darkness seemed to come down quickly, shutting the Mole off from the outside world.

Then the faces began.

Out of the corner of his eye, the Mole thought that he saw a face looking at him from a hole: a little narrow face, with hard unfriendly eyes. When he turned to look straight at it, the thing had disappeared.

He hurried on, telling himself not to be silly. He passed another hole, and another, and — yes! Eyes were looking at him, then disappearing again into the darkness. Soon, every hole had a face, which watched him with eyes full of hate.

The Mole felt he had to get away from these faces. He turned off the path and hurried into the thickest part of the wood.

Then the whistling began.

It was soft, and far behind him, when he first heard it. Then it seemed to come from in from of him, more loudly. The Mole stopped and listened, then went on again. He was trying hard to stay calm, but his heart was beating very fast. He was alone, and far from help, and the night was coming down quickly.

Then the pattering began.

At first he thought it was only falling leaves, but then the noise grew louder and nearer, and the Mole knew what it was. It was the sound of little feet running — behind him, in front of him, on all sides of him. All the wood seemed to be alive, running, following, chasing something — or somebody. The frightened Mole began to run too, but he did not know where. He ran into trees and bushes, he fell over things and into things, he picked himself up and ran on. At last he found a deep dark hole in the bottom of an old tree and fell into it, too tired to run another step. He lay there. shaking with fear, and listened to the whistlings and the patterings outside. Now he understood why the Rat did not want to talk about it, and why other small animals from the fields and the river bank never came here. Because now, the Mole had felt it himself — the Terror of the Wild Wood.

All this time the Rat, warm and comfortable, was sleeping in front of his fire. When he woke up, he looked round for his friend, but the Mole was not there. He called out 'Moly!' several times, and when he heard no answer, he got up and went out into the hall.

The Mole's hat was missing, and so were his boots.

The Rat left the house and looked around. The ground was soft from rain, and he could see clearly which way the Mole had gone — straight towards the Wild Wood.

The Rat stood thinking for a moment, looking very serious. Then he went back into the house, took a gun and a thick heavy stick, and hurried away across the fields.

Inside the wood it was nearly dark, and the whistling and the pattering began almost at once. But when the faces in the holes saw the Rat's gun and his thick heavy stick, they disappeared immediately, and everything became still and quiet. Patiently, the Rat began to search the wood from end to end, calling all the time, 'Moly, Moly! Where are you? It's me — it's old Rat!'

At last, to his great happiness, he heard a little answering cry, and soon he found the Mole in his hiding-place in the tree.

'Oh, Ratty!' cried the Mole. 'I'm so pleased to see you! I've been so frightened, I can't tell you!'

'I can understand that,' said the Rat kindly. 'You see, Mole, it's really not a good idea to come here alone. We river-bankers always come in twos or threes, if we have to come here. Of course, if you're Badger or Otter, then there's no problem.'

'Surely the brave Mr Toad is happy to come here alone, isn't he?' asked the Mole.

'Old Toad?' said the Rat, laughing loudly. 'He doesn't put his nose inside the Wild Wood — much too frightened!'

The Mole felt a little happier when he heard this, but he was still too tired to start the journey home. So he lay down to sleep under some dry leaves, while the Rat sat next to him, patiently waiting.

The Mole woke up feeling much better, and ready to leave. The Rat put his head out of the entrance of the hole, and then the Mole heard him say, 'Oh dear, oh dear!'

'What's the matter, Ratty?' asked the Mole.

'Snow,' replied the Rat. 'It's snowing hard. But we can't stay here all night — it's too cold, and too dangerous. We'll just have to start walking, and hope. The trouble is, I don't really know where we are, and in the snow everything looks so different.'

It did indeed. The white blanket of snow covered everything, hiding the paths, changing the shapes of the trees and bushes. An hour later, they were wet, cold, aching with tiredness, and had no idea where. they were.

They sat down for a rest and were moving on again when the Mole gave a sudden cry and fell forward on his face.

'Oh, my leg!' he cried. 'I've hit my leg on something really hard.'

'Let's have a look,' said the Rat, sitting down beside him. 'That's a very deep cut,' he said, surprised. 'I wonder what...' Suddenly, he got up and began to dig in the snow.

'What are you doing, Ratty?' said the Mole.

The Rat just went on digging. Then he found something, and immediately began to dance round it excitedly.

'Look at this, Mole!' he shouted. 'Just look at this!'

The Mole looked. Then he looked at his friend. 'It's a door-scraper. Why get excited about a door-scraper?'

'Don't you understand, you silly animal?' cried the Rat.

'I understand that somebody's been very careless, leaving a door-scraper lying in the middle of the Wild Wood, for other people to fall over. And when I get home—'

'Oh, dear, oh dear!' cried the Rat. 'Just stop arguing, and dig! Or do you want to spend all night in the snow?'

The Mole did what he was told, although he thought his friend was going crazy. The two animals dug and dug, and after ten minutes' hard work they were successful.

The Mole had thought that they were digging into a snow-bank, but now he saw that there was a door under the snow. A green door, with a long bell-pull beside it, and a name on it in big letters which said:

MR BADGER

The Mole fell backwards on the snow in surprise. 'Oh, Rat!' he cried. 'How clever you are! And how stupid I am!'

'Never mind all that.' said the Rat. 'Just get up and pull on that bell, while I knock on the door.'

The Rat banged on the door with his stick, and the Mole pulled. And from somewhere far under the ground they could just hear the sound of a deep, slow bell.

peacefully adv. quietly. 静静地。

hurry v. move quickly. 急赶。

whistle v. make a sound by blowing through nearly closed lips. 口哨。

patter n. sound of quick, light footsteps. 轻快的脚步声。

frightened adj. afraid. 害怕的。

terror n. very great fear. 恐怖。

search v. look carefully through. 搜寻。

hiding-place n. place where keeps sb. or sth. out of sight. 隐藏处。

blanket n. thick, wollen covering. 地毯，毛毯。

ache n. pain. 痛。

cut n. opening made by a knife or other sharp-edged tools, etc. 破口。

snow-bank n. flat-topped mass of snow. 状似堤岸的雪堆。

bang n. violent blow. 猛击。

3　野树林

很长时间以来鼹鼠一直想见獾，他时常把这个愿望告诉水鼠，但水鼠似乎对此无动于衷。

他总是说：“没问题，獾总有一天要经过这儿，到时我会把他介绍给你。”

“你能不能邀请他吃饭或别的什么？”鼹鼠问道。

“他不愿意来。他讨厌人群、派对、聚餐和诸如此类的事。”

“那么，我们是不是应该去拜访他？”

“噢，不！”水鼠答道，“他非常害羞，他根本就不喜欢来访。我跟他很熟，但我从没去过他家。而且去那儿也不大可能，因为他刚好住在野树林中间。”

“你说过要告诉我一些关于野树林的事，但你从没谈过。他们——他们那儿的人不是很好吗？”

“喔，”水鼠说，“松鼠很好，还有野兔——他们中大多数都不错，当然还有獾。他喜欢住在那儿，而且谁也不敢给他找麻烦。”

“但是谁会惹麻烦呢？”鼹鼠问。

“有那么一些，”水鼠不紧不慢地继续说，“黄鼠狼……大白鼬……雪貂等等。大部分时间里他们一般都不错，但是，在黑暗中你别想背对着他们的，这是事实。不要担心獾，他总有一天要经过这儿的。”

但是夏天过去了，獾还是没来过。

不久，白天越来越短，寒冷的天气使得动物们都待在他们舒适的家里。水鼠在冬季也是早睡迟起，瞌睡很多。在短短的白天里，他在家里写些歌，干些小活。当然，总是有些动物来串门，围坐在火炉边舒舒服服地闲聊，说说故事，回忆逝去的夏日里的美好时光和冒险经历。

一天下午，水鼠在火炉前安睡，鼹鼠决定独个儿出去，到野树林里散散步。“也许，”他想，“我能碰见獾先生，然后我可以作个自我介绍。”

那天下午很冷，天空阴沉沉的。鼹鼠向前赶着路，享受着冬日里的宁静，一会儿，他就看见了前面野树林黑黝黝的轮廓。

这是一个陌生、阴暗的地方，他起先一点也不害怕，反而觉得很兴奋。他向森林深处走着走着，光线越来越淡，树木长得越来越密。现在一切非常安静，黑暗似乎一下子笼罩下来，将鼹鼠与外面的世界隔绝开来。

然后，出现了许多脸。

从他的眼角，鼹鼠觉得他看见了一张脸正从一个洞里盯着自己：一张小小的、窄窄的脸，一双锐利而不友善的眼睛。当他转过去直视它时，那小东西便不见了。

他一边向前奔着，一边告诉自己不要犯傻。他走过一个又一个洞，哇——是的！一双双眼睛在盯着他，然后又消失在黑暗里。很快，每个洞里都有一张脸，用那充满仇恨的眼睛观察着他。

鼹鼠感到他得避开这些脸，于是他离开这条道，向树林最茂密处奔去。

这时，口哨声响了。

他刚听到这种柔和的声音时，觉得是从身后远远的地方发出的。然后这哨声似乎又来自于他的前面，而且声音更响。鼹鼠停下来，听了一会儿，然后继续向前赶路。他努力使自己平静下来，但他的心跳得飞快。他孤立无援，而且夜很快就要降临了。

然后响起了啪嗒声。

起先他以为只是落叶声，但声音越来越大，越来越近，鼹鼠知道是什么了。这是小脚奔跑的声音——在他身后，身前，以及他的四周。整个树林似乎都活了，奔跑着，跟随着，追赶着什么东西或什么人。鼹鼠吓坏了，也开始跑，但他不知道身在何处。他跑进树林和灌木丛里，摔倒在这个或那个东西上面或里面，然后爬起来继续跑。最后他发现一棵老树根部有个深深的黑洞，他掉了进去，累得再也跑不动了。他躺在那儿，听着外面的哨声和脚步声，吓得浑身发抖。现在他知道了为什么水鼠不想谈野树林，为什么田野和河岸上别的小动物从不来这儿，因为现在鼹鼠他自己感受到了它——野树林的恐惧。

这段时间里，水鼠正舒服地睡在暖暖的火炉前。当他醒来，看看四周，没有看到他的朋友。他叫了几声“阿鼹！”，没有回答，他便站了起来，走进客厅。

鼹鼠的帽子不见了，靴子也不在。

水鼠走出屋子，四处看了看。雨后的地面很松软，他能清楚地看见鼹鼠所走的路线——直指野树林。

水鼠显得非常严肃，站在那儿想了一会儿。然后他转身回到屋里，取了一杆枪和一根粗重的木棍，穿过田野向树林奔去。

树林里几乎漆黑一片，哨声和啪嗒声几乎是同时开始。但是当洞里的脸看见水鼠手中的枪和粗棍时，便马上消失了，一切又恢复了平静。水鼠开始耐心地在树林里搜寻，并一直叫着：“阿鼹，阿鼹！你在哪里？是我——我是老阿鼠！”

最后他非常非常高兴地听到了低低的带有哭腔的回答声，很快他便在树底里找到了鼹鼠的藏身处。

“噢，阿鼠！”鼹鼠哭叫着，“我真高兴见到你！我好害怕，我都不知该怎么说！”

“我能理解，”水鼠和善地说，“你看，鼹鼠，独自来这儿真不是好主意。我们河边动物如果有事非来不可时总是三三两两地来这儿。当然如果是獾或水獭，那就没问题。”

“勇敢的癞蛤蟆先生肯定高兴独自来这儿，是不是？”鼹鼠问。

“老蛤蟆？”水鼠大声地笑起来，“他甚至不敢把他的鼻子伸进野树林——他怕得要命！”

鼹鼠听了这个觉得有点儿开心，但他还是太累而不能启程回家。于是他躺在一些干叶上睡着了，水鼠坐在他的身边耐心地等待着。

鼹鼠醒来感到好多了，便准备离开这儿。水鼠把头伸出洞口，这时鼹鼠听到水鼠叫到：“啊呀，啊呀！”

“怎么啦，阿鼠？”鼹鼠问。

“下雪了，”水鼠答道，“雪下得可大啦。但是我们不能在这儿待一晚上——这太冷，而且很危险。我们得马上动身，这样还有些希望。麻烦的是，我真的不知道我们在哪儿，雪天里什么看起来都与往日不同。”

的确是变了样。雪像白色的毛毯覆盖了一切，遮了小路，改变了树林和灌木丛的形状。一小时以后，他们又湿又冷，累得浑身酸疼，但还是不知道身在何处。

他们坐下来休息了一会儿，又继续向前赶路，这时鼹鼠突然叫了起来，向前摔扒在地。

“噢，我的腿！”他叫道，“有个好硬的东西磕了我的腿。”

“让我看看。”水鼠说着，坐到他的身边。

“好深的一个口子，”他有些吃惊地说，“我想知道什么……”突然他站起来，开始在雪地里挖着。

“你在干什么，阿鼠？”鼹鼠问。

水鼠只是不停地挖。然后他发现了什么，马上开始激动地绕着它跳舞。

“看这，鼹鼠！”他喊道，“就看这！”

鼹鼠看了看，然后又看看他的朋友，“这是门铲，为什么对门铲这么感兴趣？”

“你难道不懂？你这个傻蛋。”水鼠叫道。

“我知道是有人大意，把门铲乱扔在野树林中间绊人。而且当我回家时——”

“噢，天哪！”水鼠叫道，“别说了，赶快挖！难道你想在雪地里度过整个晚上？”

鼹鼠便按吩咐干着，尽管他觉得他朋友有些疯疯傻傻。这对朋友挖呀挖呀，经过十分钟的辛苦努力，他们终于成功了。

鼹鼠原以为他们挖的是一个雪堆，但现在他看见雪下有一扇门。一扇绿色的门，旁边有一根长长的门铃拉绳，门上用大大的字体写着：

獾　先　生

鼹鼠吃惊地向后坐倒在雪地上。“噢，水鼠！”他叫道，“你真聪明！我真是太笨了！”

“不要说这些了，”水鼠说，“赶快站起来拉那个门铃，我来敲门。”

鼹鼠便去拉门铃，水鼠则用他的棍子猛敲着门。他们能听见从地底下一个远远的地方传来的低沉悠长的门铃声。

4

A meeting with Mr Badger

They waited patiently for a very long time, jumping up and down in the snow to keep warm. At last they heard feet coming slowly towards the door. Then the door opened, just enough to show a long nose and pair of sleepy eyes.

'And who,' said a deep, angry voice, 'is making visits at this time of night?'

'Oh, Badger,' cried the Rat, 'let us in, please. It's me, Rat, and my friend Mole, and we're lost in the snow.'

'What?' said the Badger, in a very different voice. 'My dear Ratty! Lost in the snow, and in the Wild Wood! Come in at once, both of you, and get yourselves warm.'

That was a wonderful moment for the Mole and the Rat, when they heard the door close behind them, shutting out the Wild Wood. They followed the Badger down long dark tunnels until they came into a large kitchen. There was a bright fire, with comfortable armchairs round it, and a great wooden table with long seats.

'This is not the kind of night for small animals to be out,' the Badger said, in a fatherly way. 'Sit yourselves down by the fire, while I get you some supper.'

Soon the Mole and the Rat were warm and dry, and the dangers of the Wild Wood seemed a long way away, like a bad dream. Then supper arrived. It was enough for ten small hungry animals, and the Rat and the Mole realized just how hungry they were. When at last they could eat no more, they sat with the Badger round the fire, and told him the story of their adventures.

Then the Badger said, 'Now then! Tell me the news from your part of the world. How's old Toad getting on?'

'He's going from bad to worse,' said the Rat sadly. 'He had another crash only last week, and a bad one. You see, he thinks he's a wonderful driver, the best in the world. But he isn't. He's terrible! But he won't take lessons, he won't listen to anyone.'

'How many has he had?' the Badger asked.

'Crashes, or motor-cars?' asked the Rat. 'Well, with Toad, it's the same thing. This is the seventh car, and the seventh crash. His garage is full to the roof with bits of broken motor-car!'

'He's been in hospital twice,' the Mole added. 'The police have arrested him for dangerous driving three or four times. And he's spending so much money!'

'That's another problem,' the Rat went on. 'Toad's rich, we all know that; but his money won't last for ever. Sooner or later, one of two things will happen. He'll kill himself in a crash, or he'll have no money left at all. Badger! We're his friends — can't we do something?'

The Badger thought for a while. 'You know, don't you, that I can't do anything now?' he said at last.

'No, no, of course not,' the Rat and the Mole said together. Everybody knew that in the animal world the winter was a time for rest and sleep. Nobody wanted to do anything important or tiring.

'Very well,' continued the Badger. 'But when the days are longer and warmer, then we'll do something. We — you and me and our friend the Mole here — we'll try to teach Toad a lesson. We won't listen to any silliness. We'll bring him back to reason, and turn him into a sensible Toad at last. But now, it's time for bed. Don't hurry tomorrow morning — come for breakfast as late as you want!'

The two tired animals slept long and deeply, and came down to breakfast very late indeed. In the kitchen they found two young hedgehogs, busy with bowls of bread and hot milk.

'Hello!' said the Rat pleasantly. 'Where did you two come from? Lost your way in the snow, I suppose?'

'Yes, sir,' said one of the hedgehogs politely. 'We got lost on the way to school, and Mr Badger said we could come in and have some breakfast.'

The breakfast things were all ready on the table, and the Mole and the Rat quickly got to work. The Rat made the coffee while the Mole fried several pieces of bread and an enormous number of eggs.

When the door bell rang, one of the hedgehogs went to answer the door. He came back followed by the Otter, who gave a great shout of happiness when he saw the Rat. He ran across the room and almost knocked the Rat off his chair.

'Get off!' said the Rat, with his mouth full of fried bread.

'I thought I'd find you here all right,' said the Otter happily. 'Everybody along the river bank has been so worried about you. Rat never came home last night, and nor did Mole; something terrible has happened, they said. But if anyone's in trouble, Badger usually gets to hear about it, so I came straight here this morning. And oh my, didn't the Wild Wood look grand, with the snow everywhere and the red sun coming up, shining through the black trees! Halfway here I met one of those silly rabbits. He told me that Mole had lost his way last night, and that "They" were out and chasing him all over the wood. I'd like to meet one of "Them" myself this morning, and tell them what I think.'

'Weren't you at all — um — afraid?' asked the Mole, remembering how frightened he had been.

'Afraid?' The Otter laughed and showed his strong white teeth. 'I don't think any of them would argue with me. Here, Mole, be a good fellow and fry me some eggs. I'm terribly hungry, and I've got a lot to talk about with Ratty here. Haven't seen him for weeks.'

Breakfast was almost finished when the Badger entered, looking sleepy. 'It's nearly time for lunch.' he said. 'Stay and have some with us, Otter. You must be hungry this cold morning.'

The hedgehogs were sent home, the breakfast things were cleared away, and soon the four animals sat down to lunch together. The Rat and the Otter were having a long conversation about river-bank matters, so the Mole began to talk to the Badger.

'This is a wonderful, comfortable home you have here,' he said. 'There's really nothing better than a place underground like this. You can shut off the world up there when you don't want it. And when you do, you can just go up and there's the world waiting for you.'

The Badger smiled warmly at him. 'That's just what I say,' he replied. 'Down here, you're safe and dry and warm. With a house above ground, you've got to worry about fire, and wind and rain, holes in the roof and broken windows. No, above ground is fine in its way, but one's home should be underground.'

The Mole agreed with everything that the Badger said. His own little home was underground, so it was natural for him to feel comfortable there. He and the Badger became very friendly, and after lunch the Badger took him all round his home, down tunnel after tunnel, through room after room. The Mole was interested in everything and thought it was all wonderful.

When they got back to the kitchen, the Rat was walking up and down, very restless. Unlike the Mole, he didn't really feel comfortable underground. He wanted to be back in his own home, where the windows looked out over the river, and where he could hear the wind whispering through the trees.

'Come along, Mole,' he said. 'We must get off while it's daylight. We don't want to spend another night lost in the Wild Wood.'

'It's all right,' said the Otter. 'I'm coming with you and I know all the paths.'

'You mustn't worry, Ratty,' added the Badger calmly. 'My tunnels go further than you think, and I've several back doors at the edge of the wood — although I keep them secret from most people.'

So the journey home was really very easy. When they came out of the Badger's secret back door, they found a path across the fields and soon they could see the river in front of them. The Mole looked back at the Wild Wood for a moment, thinking of the terror that he had felt there. Then he hurried on after the others, happy to be back in the open fields, and looking forward to the bright firelight of home.

tunnel n. underground passage. 地下通道。

fatherly adj. of or like a father. 似父亲的。

crash n. violent strike. 猛烈碰撞。

lesson n. sth. experienced serving as a warning. 教训。

garage n. building in which to keep cars. 车房。

sensible adj. reasonable. 明智的。

ring v. give out a clear, musical sound. 鸣，响。

grand adj. magnificent. 壮观的。

argue v. express disagreement, quarrel. 争论，争吵。

restless adj. unable to rest. 不能安静的。

get off start. 出发。

4　与獾先生相遇

他们耐心地等了很长时间，在雪地里又蹦又跳以保持身体的暖和。最后他们终于听到了脚步慢腾腾地向门口走来。然后门开了，仅仅够露出一只长鼻子和一对困倦的眼睛。

“是谁，”一个低沉、愠怒的声音问道，“这么晚还来串门？”

“噢，獾，”水鼠叫道，“请让我们进去。是我，水鼠，还有我的朋友鼹鼠，我们在雪地里迷路了。”

“什么？”獾用完全不同的语调说，“亲爱的阿鼠！在雪地里迷路，在野树林！你们俩赶快进来，先暖和暖和。”

听到门在自己身后关起来，把野树林隔离在外，这对鼹鼠和水鼠来说真是美妙的时刻。他们跟着獾向下走过长长的黑通道，来到一个大大的厨房。那儿有明亮的炉火，四周摆放着舒服的扶手椅，一张特大的木桌和长椅。

“这种夜晚小动物们是不应该出来的，”獾慈父般地说，“坐在火边，我给你们取点晚餐。”

很快他们就烤干了衣服，也感觉暖和了，野树林的危险像一场恶梦显得已很遥远。晚餐准备好了。它够十只饥饿的小动物吃个饱，水鼠和鼹鼠也才意识到他们已饥肠辘辘了。他们吃饱了以后，便与獾围坐在火炉边，说着他们的危险经历。

最后獾安慰道：“现在好了！告诉我你们那边的消息，老蛤蟆怎么样啦？”

“他的情况越来越糟糕了，”水鼠难过地说，“上星期他又撞车了，很严重。你知道，他自认为是驾车能手，是世界上最好的。但他不是，他很差劲！但他不吸取教训，也听不进别人的劝告。”

“他已有多少了？”獾问。

“撞车，还是汽车？”水鼠问，“不过，对于蛤蟆来说是一样的。这是第七辆车，也是第七次撞车。他的车库里堆满了撞坏的汽车残骸！”

“他还住了两次医院，”鼹鼠补充道，“因为危险驾车，他被警察抓过三四次，他正在大把地花钱呢！”

“那是另一个问题，”水鼠接着说，“癞蛤蟆很富，我们大家都知道；但他不可能永远有钱的。迟早总有一件事要发生。他要么被撞死在车祸中，要么一无所有。獾！我们是他的朋友——难道我们不能为他做些什么吗？”

獾想了一会儿，最后说：“你知道的，难道你忘了吗？我现在什么也干不成。”

“不，不，当然不是现在。”水鼠和鼹鼠齐声说。每个人都知道，在动物世界里冬季是休息和睡眠的季节，没有谁想干任何重要或吃力的事情。

“很好，”獾继续说，“但是日子变长变暖后，我们还是会干些事的。我们——你和我，还有我们的朋友鼹鼠——我们设法教训他一下。我们不愿再听到任何蠢事了。我们要让他恢复理智，最后变成聪明的癞蛤蟆。但是现在该睡觉了，明天早上不要赶时间——睡够了再用早餐！”

这两只疲倦的动物沉沉地睡了很长时间，的确很晚才下来吃早餐。在厨房里他们看见两只小豪猪正忙着吃碗里的面包和热牛奶。

“你们好！”水鼠愉快地说，“你们俩从哪儿来？在雪地里迷路了吧，我猜？”

“是的，先生，”其中一只豪猪礼貌地答道，“我们去学校的路上迷了路，獾先生说我们可以进来用些早餐。”

早餐配料已准备好放在桌子上了，鼹鼠和水鼠很快开始工作。水鼠煮咖啡，鼹鼠煎了几片面包和一大堆鸡蛋。

门铃响了，一只豪猪起身去开门，回来时后面跟着水獭，当他看见水鼠，高兴地叫了起来。他小跑着穿过房间，差点把水鼠从椅子上撞了下来。

“走开！”水鼠说道，嘴里塞满了煎面包。

“我想我会在这儿见到你们安安全全的，”水獭高兴地说，“河岸边的每个人一直都很担心你们。他们说，水鼠昨晚没回家，鼹鼠也没有，一定发生了什么可怕的事。但是，只要有人遇到麻烦，獾常常能听说点什么的，因此我今早就直接过来了。噢，野树林是不是看起来很壮观，到处都是积雪，红红的太阳升起来，透过茂密的树林照射下来！半路上我碰到一只傻野兔，他说昨晚鼹鼠迷了路；‘他们’出来，满树林里追赶他。我今早倒愿意碰见‘他们’中的一个，然后告诉他们我是怎么想的。”

“难道你——呣——一点也不害怕？”想起他吓得半死，鼹鼠不禁问道。

“害怕？”水獭笑起来，露出他那坚硬的白齿，“我想他们中还没谁敢和我作对吧。好了，鼹鼠，好伙计，给我煎些蛋。我饿得很，而我现在有许多话要和阿鼠说，几个星期没见他了。”

早餐几乎结束了，獾才睡眼惺忪地走了进来。“马上该用午餐了，”他说道，“留下和我们一块吃些吧，水獭。早上这么冷你一定很饿吧。”

豪猪被送回家了，早餐的用品也被清理干净，不久这四只动物又坐在一起吃午饭了。水鼠一直和水獭聊着河岸边的事情，因此鼹鼠开始和獾交谈。

“你这个房子真好，真舒服，”他说。“真的没有比这儿更好的地下居所了。你不想见它，就可以把世界关在你的上面；你愿意，你只要走上去，就有一个世界等着你。”

獾对他温和地微笑着。“这正是我的看法，”他回答道，“在地下，你是安全、干燥、温暖的。住在地面上的房子里，你得担心火、风和雨，还有房顶上的洞和破窗户。是的，从某种意义上说，地上的房子是不错，但‘家’应该在地下。”

鼹鼠非常同意獾的说法。他自己的小家就在地下，因此他觉得这儿舒服是很自然的。他和獾之间变得非常的默契，午餐后，獾带他去参观他的家，向下穿过了一个又一个通道，走过了一个又一个房间。鼹鼠对什么都感兴趣，认为这里的一切都是那么美妙。

当他们回到厨房，水鼠正在那儿来回踱步，一副很不安的样子。不像鼹鼠，他在地下感到不太舒服，他想回到他自己的家，在那儿，从窗户里能看见潺潺河水，能听到风过河岸树时的轻轻低语。

“快点，鼹鼠，”他说。“趁天亮，我们得马上走。我们不想在野树林里再迷失去路而浪费又一个晚上。”

“没问题，”水獭说，“我和你们作伴，我熟悉所有的路。”

“你不必担心，阿鼠，”獾平静地补充道。“我的地道要比你们想的远得多，在树林的尽头，我开了几个后门——尽管我对大多数人都保守着这个秘密。”

因此回家就真的很容易了。当他们走出獾的秘密后门，他们就看见了穿过田野的小路，很快他们就看到了前面的河。鼹鼠回过头看着野树林，想了一会他在那儿的可怕经历，然后急忙赶上他俩，庆幸自己又回到了广阔的田野，并期待着炉火明亮的家。

5

A lesson for Mr Toad

Winter passed, and spring returned to the river bank. Then came a fine morning in early summer, when the world seemed full of sunlight and new green leaves. Down by the river bank, the Mole and the Water Rat were hard at work, mending and cleaning boats, looking for lost oars, and getting ready for a summer on the river. Then they went in to breakfast and had nearly finished when they heard a heavy knock on the door.

The Mole went to see who it was, and came back with a very surprised face. 'Mr Badger!' he said.

This was a wonderful thing indeed, for the Badger to come and visit them. He came into the room and stood looking at them, very seriously. The Rat dropped his egg-spoon, and sat open-mouthed.

'The hour has come!' said the Badger at last.

'What hour?' asked the Rat worriedly, looking at the clock on the wall.

'Whose hour, you mean.' replied the Badger. 'Why, Toad's hour! The hour of Toad! I said I would teach him a lesson when the summer came, and I'm going to begin today.'

'Toad's hour, of course!' cried the Mole. 'I remember now. We'll teach him to be a sensible Toad!'

'I learnt last night,' continued the Badger, 'that another new and very fast motor-car has just arrived at Toad Hall. You two must come with me immediately, and we will save Toad from this madness.'

'Right!' cried the Rat, jumping up. 'Let's go at once.'

When they reached Toad Hall, they saw the new motor-car in from of the house. It was long, shiny, and bright red — Toad's favourite colour. Then Toad himself came down the steps in an enormous overcoat, hat and driving goggles.

'Hello, you fellows!' Toad called. 'Come for a drive. You're just in time to... to...'

He saw his friends' serious faces and stopped.

The Badger walked up the steps. 'Come inside the house, Toad,' he said. 'We have to talk to you.'

The three of them took Toad inside and shut the door.

'Now,' the Badger said to Toad, 'first of all, take off those silly driving-clothes.'

'No, I won't!' replied Toad. 'What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself all once!'

'Take his things off, you two,' ordered the Badger.

It wasn't easy to do. The Rat had to sit on Toad, while the Mole pulled off his overcoat, hat and goggles. And Toad called them some very unpleasant names while this was going on. But when he stood up again, he seemed more like himself, the Toad that they had always known.

'You knew this would happen one day. Toad,' explained the Badger. 'We've warned you so many times, and you haven't listened. You're spending all your money, you're always in trouble with the police, and you drive like a madman. You will come with me into the next room, and there you will hear some facts about yourself. And you will come out a different Toad.'

He took Toad into a room off the hall and closed the door. The Rat shook his head.

'We won't save Toad by just talking to him,' he said. 'He'll say anything — and then just go and do what he likes.'

After about an hour the door opened, and a very sad and sorry Toad came out, followed by the Badger.

'My friends,' said the Badger, looking pleased, 'I am happy to tell you that Toad now realizes how silly he has been. He has promised never to get into a motor-car again.'

'That is very good news,' said the Mole seriously.

'Very good indeed,' the Rat said, watching Toad's face carefully.

'Now, Toad,' continued the Badger, 'I'd like you to repeat your promise in from of your friends.'

There was a long, long silence.

'No!' said Toad suddenly. 'No, I won't. I'm not sorry, and I haven't been silly at all. It was all wonderful! And I won't promise anything!'

'What?' cried the Badger. 'But in there you told me—'

'Yes, yes, I know,' said Toad quickly. 'You argue so beautifully, dear Badger, and I can't stop myself agreeing with you. But I've been thinking about it. I love driving, I'm a wonderful driver, and I promise you I'll go on driving for ever! Poop-poop!'

'I told you so, didn't I?' the Rat said to the Mole.

'Very well,' said the Badger. 'If you won't listen to reason, we'll have to try another way. We're going to stay with you in your house until you become sensible. Take him upstairs, you two, and lock him in his bedroom.'

So Toad, fighting and shouting, was pulled upstairs by his two friends.

'It's for your own good, Toady, you know,' said the Rat kindly. 'We'll all have good limes together again soon, when this — this madness has passed.'

'We'll take good care of you, Toad,' added the Mole. 'No more trouble with the police. No more crashes, and weeks in hospital.'

Then began a very tiring few weeks for the three friends. Day and night they guarded Toad, and one of them was always with him. They talked to him and tried to amuse him, hoping that he would forget his motor-car madness.

But Toad did not seem to get better. He often put the bedroom chairs together to look like a motor-car. Then he sat in the front one and pretended to drive, making terrible engine noises all the time. His friends tried to interest him in other things, but Toad just became sad and silent.

One day the Rat was the guard for the morning. He went upstairs and found Toad still in bed. 'How are you today, old fellow?' he asked brightly.

A sad whisper came from the bed. 'Thank you so much, dear Ratty! But how are you, and the excellent Mole, and dear old Badger?'

'Fine, fine,' replied the Rat. 'Badger and Mole,' he added, perhaps not very sensibly, 'have gone out for a run round. They'll be out until lunch-time, so you and I will spend a pleasant morning together.'

'I don't want you to trouble yourself about me,' Toad said, in a sad little voice. 'I was wondering if you would go down to the village and fetch the doctor. But no, it's not important. It's probably too late by now.'

'Are you feeling ill, Toad? What's the matter?'

'I don't know... I think my heart... But you mustn't be sad, Ratty. Dear, kind friend... I have enjoyed knowing you so much... hate to say goodbye...' Toad's whisper became slower and slower, and then stopped.

The Rat felt very worried. Toad lay so still and quiet — perhaps he really was ill. The Rat wished that the other two were not so far away. What should he do? He looked again at the still and silent Toad, and decided that he must get the doctor at once. He hurried out, carefully locking the door behind him, and ran off to the village as fast as he could.

When Toad heard the front door bang, he jumped out of bed, laughing loudly. He quickly put on his best suit and filled his pockets with money. Then he took the sheets off the bed, tied them together, and in minutes he had climbed down from the bedroom window and was running across the garden towards the fields.

A few hours later he was a long way from home. As he walked happily along the road, he felt very pleased with himself. 'A clever piece of work, that was!' he boasted to the trees and the fields. 'Poor old Ratty! A good fellow, but not very intelligent. Badger will be so angry with him!'

Soon he came to a small town and decided to have lunch in the pub there. He was very hungry after his long walk. Halfway through his meal, he heard a sound that he knew very well indeed. Poop-poop! The car stopped outside and the people in it came into the pub to have lunch.

Shaking with excitement, Toad paid his bill and hurried out. He walked slowly round the car, looking at it lovingly. Everybody was having lunch and the street was empty.

'I wonder,' Toad said to himself, 'I wonder if this kind of car starts easily?'

It started very easily, and Toad found himself in the driver's seat. He did not know how it happened, but a minute later he was driving out of the town, forgetting right and wrong. forgetting everything except this wonderful, beautiful madness.

Faster and faster he drove, singing and laughing, as the car ate up the miles. Once again he knew that he was Toad — Toad the dreamer, Toad the adventurer, Toad the terror of the open road!

'You are a dangerous criminal,' said the Judge. 'You stole a valuable motor-car, and you drove like a madman. It's surprising that you didn't kill somebody. And finally, you were very rude indeed to the police when they arrested you. Because of all this, I am sending you to prison for twenty years. Guards! Take the prisoner away!'

And so, shouting and crying, Toad was taken away. He was taken to an old dark castle, pushed into the smallest and darkest room below the ground, and the door was locked behind him.

mend v. repair. 修补。

save v. make safe. 拯救。

madness n. sickness in the mind. 疯癫。

favourite adj. person or thing preferred above all others. （人或物）最受喜爱的。

goggles n. large round spectacles. 护目镜。

promise n. make a guarantee. 保证，承诺。

argue v. persuade by giving reasons. 说服。

agree with be of the same opinions. 同意。

tiring adj. weary. 疲倦的。

pretend v. make appear. 佯装。

brightly adv. cheerfully. 愉快地。

excellent adj. very good. 极好的。

fetch v. go for sb. 接来（某人）。

intelligent adj. having the power. of perceiving, understanding. 有才智的，聪明的。

judge n. a person who decides if someone is a criminal or not. 法官。

valuable adj. worth a lot of money. 昂贵的。

rude adj. not polite. 粗鲁无礼的。

guard n. someone who watches a prisoner or keeps a building safe. 卫兵。

5　给癞蛤蟆先生的教训

冬天过去了，春天回到了河岸。这是初夏一个晴朗的早上，世界似乎充满了阳光，长满了新叶。下游的河岸边，鼹鼠和水鼠正卖力地干着活，修补着船然后把它清洗干净，又寻找着不知遗落在何处的船桨，为夏天在河上划船做着准备。忙碌了一阵他们便回家吃早餐。快吃完时，他们突然听到重重的敲门声。

鼹鼠过去看看是谁，回来时表情非常惊讶。他说：“獾先生！”

獾来拜访他们，的确是不可思议的事。他走进屋里，非常严肃地站着看着他们。水鼠坐在那儿张大着嘴巴，手中的汤匙掉在地上。

“时辰到了！”獾最后说。

“什么时辰？”水鼠担心地问，一边看着墙上的钟。

“你是说，谁的时辰？”獾回答道。“哎，蛤蟆的时辰！癞蛤蟆的时辰！我说过夏天来了我要教训教训他，今天我就要着手干了。”

“癞蛤蟆的时辰，当然！”鼹鼠叫道。“我现在想起来了，我们要把他教育成理智的癞蛤蟆！”

“昨晚我听说，”獾继续着，“另一辆崭新的、高速的汽车刚刚抵达蛤蟆宅第，你们俩必须马上跟我走，我们得把癞蛤蟆从疯狂中救醒过来。”

“好！”水鼠叫道，然后跳起来说，“我们马上走。”

当他们到达蛤蟆宅第，他们看见这辆新车正停放在房子前。车身很长，锃亮耀眼，是蛤蟆最喜欢的艳红色。只见癞蛤蟆穿着特大外套，戴着帽子和护目镜，正从台阶上走下来。

“你们好，伙计们！”癞蛤蟆打着招呼，“你们来得正好，一起兜风去……”

他看到朋友们都板着脸，便打住了。

獾走上台阶，说：“进屋去，癞蛤蟆！我们得和你谈谈。”

他们把癞蛤蟆带进屋里，然后关上大门。

“现在，”獾对癞蛤蟆说，“首先，脱下你那可笑的驾车服。”

“不，我决不！”癞蛤蟆答道，“这是什么意思？马上给我解释！”

“脱下他那身玩意儿，你们俩。”獾命令道。

这可不是件容易的事。水鼠不得不坐在癞蛤蟆身上压住他以便鼹鼠脱下他的外衣，帽子和护目镜。癞蛤蟆嘴里一直对他们骂骂咧咧的。但当他再次站起来时，他似乎更像他自己，更像大家所熟悉的癞蛤蟆了。

“你应该知道这件事总有一天会发生的，蛤蟆，”獾解释说，“我们警告过你多次而你从来不听。你正在花光你所有的钱财，又总是给警察找麻烦，因为你开车像疯子。你跟我到另一个房间去，在那儿你会听到你自己的一些荒唐事。你出来后将会变个样。”

他带癞蛤蟆离开大厅走进一个房间关上了门。水鼠摇着头，说：“仅仅跟他谈谈是救不了他的，他将会作一些许诺——然后又去干他喜欢干的事。”

大约过了一小时，门开了，一只很伤心、很愧疚的癞蛤蟆走了出来，獾跟在他的后面。

“朋友们，”獾看起来很开心，“我高兴地告诉你们癞蛤蟆现在已认识到他曾经有多愚蠢。他已发誓再也不走进汽车。”

“这倒是非常不错的消息。”鼹鼠一本正经地说。

“的确不赖。”水鼠边说边审视着癞蛤蟆脸上的表情。

“好了，蛤蟆，”獾接着说，“我要你在你朋友面前重复你的诺言。”

接下来是一段长长的沉默。

“不！”癞蛤蟆突然说，“不，我不。我不感到愧疚，我一点儿也不愚蠢。那整个太精彩了！我才不发什么誓呢！”

“什么？”獾叫道，“但是在那儿你告诉我——”

“是的，是的，我知道，”癞蛤蟆赶快说，“你说得那么至情至理，亲爱的獾，我就忍不住答应你了。但是我一直在想这个问题。我喜欢开车，我是了不起的驾车手，我发誓我将继续永远开车！扑扑、扑扑！”

“我告诉过你吧，是不是？”水鼠对鼹鼠说。

“很好，”獾说，“如果你不听忠告，我们将不得不采取另一种方法。我们打算和你待在你的屋里直到你清醒过来。带他上楼去，你们俩，把他锁在卧室里。”

癞蛤蟆又打又叫，但还是被他的两个朋友拉上了楼。

“这是为你好，蛤蟆兄，你知道，”水鼠和善地说，“当这种——这种疯狂过去时，我们又可以一起享受美好时光了。”

“我们会好好照顾你的，蛤蟆，”鼹鼠接着说，“你不会再给警察找麻烦，不会再撞车，不会再待在医院几星期了。”

接下来三个朋友开始了几星期的辛苦行动。他们日夜看管着癞蛤蟆，并且总有一个人和他在一起。他们和他聊天，想方设法逗他开心，希望他会忘记他那驾车狂热。

但是癞蛤蟆似乎并没有变好。他时常把卧室里的椅子摆成汽车状，然后他坐在前面的椅子上假装开车，还不停地发出刺耳的引擎声。当他的朋友试着用别的事情引起他的兴趣时，他却只是在那儿一言不发，显得很伤感。

一天早上，轮到水鼠看管癞蛤蟆。他走上楼看见癞蛤蟆仍躺在床上，便轻快地问：“今天怎么样，老伙计？”

从床上传来伤感的低低的回答声：“非常感谢你，亲爱的阿鼠！不过你怎么样，还有极好的鼹鼠和亲爱的老獾？”

“好，都好，”水鼠答道。“獾和鼹鼠，”他也许不很明智地又补充说，“已出去跑步了，他们要到中饭时间才回来，所以就你和我将一起度过这个愉快的早上。”

“我不想因为我而麻烦你，”蛤蟆伤心地低声说，“我想你能否下楼去村里找位医生。不过算了，这已不重要了。很可能现在已经太迟了。”

“你病啦，癞蛤蟆？怎么啦？”

“我不知道……我想我的心……不过你不必伤心，阿鼠。亲爱的，善良的朋友……我真高兴跟你这么熟……真不愿对你说再见……”蛤蟆低低的声音越来越慢，然后停了。

水鼠非常担心，癞蛤蟆躺在那儿安安静静的，一动不动——也许他真的病了。水鼠希望他们俩没跑得太远，他该怎么办？他又看了一眼安静沉默的癞蛤蟆，决定马上去叫医生。他急忙出去小心地锁上了门，然后尽可能快地向村子跑去。

当癞蛤蟆听到大厅前门砰地一响，他马上从床上跳下来，大声地笑起来。他快速地穿上最好的外套并往口袋里塞满了钞票，然后他从床上扯过床单，把它们系在一起。几分钟后，他已从卧室的窗户爬了下来，穿过花园向野外跑去。

几小时以后，他已离家很远了。他高兴地走在公路上，对自己的行为非常满意。“那真是聪明之举！”他对着树木和田野自吹道，“可怜的老阿鼠！一个好人，但不太聪明。獾肯定要对他发火的！”

不久他来到了一座小镇，便决定在那儿的酒馆用午餐。走了那么长的路，他已经非常饿了。吃到半截，他听到了他实在是非常熟悉的声音。扑扑、扑扑！汽车停在了外面，车上的人下来走进酒馆来用餐。

癞蛤蟆兴奋得浑身发抖，他付完账冲了出去。他跑到汽车跟前绕着它来回走，用爱抚的目光盯着它。每个人都在吃午饭，街道里空无一人。

“我想知道，”癞蛤蟆自言自语，“我想知道这种汽车是不是容易发动？”

很容易就启动了，癞蛤蟆发现他坐在了驾驶室。他不知道这是怎么发生的，反正一分钟之后，他已驶出了小镇，除了美妙迷人的疯狂，他忘记了对与错，忘记了一切。

当汽车驶出数英里时，他不断地加大马力，唱着，笑着，把汽车开得越来越快。他再一次认识到他是蛤蟆——集梦想家、冒险家，还有公路上的恐怖分子于一身的癞蛤蟆！

“你是一个危险的犯人，”法官说，“你偷了昂贵的汽车，还像疯子似的驾车。真奇怪你居然没有撞倒人。最后当警察逮捕你时，你还对他们非常粗鲁。基于此，我判你入狱20年。卫士！把犯人带下去！”

癞蛤蟆叫嚷着哭喊着，被带到一座破旧黑暗的城堡，推进了一间地下最小最黑的房子里，然后门在他身后锁上了。

6

Toad's adventures

For weeks Toad refused to eat. He lay on the floor of his prison and cried and cried. 'This is the end of everything,' he said miserably. 'I shall never again be a popular and good-looking Toad, a rich and important Toad, a free and happy Toad. All my friends will forget even the name of Toad!'

But the keeper of the prison had a daughter, and she had a very kind heart. She often came to visit Toad, bringing him nice things to eat, and hot drinks. She asked him questions about his home and his old life, and because Toad loved to talk about himself, it wasn't long before he began to sit up and answer her questions. He also realized how hungry he was, and so he ate and drank the things that she brought. And after a few days of this kindness. Toad was as loud and boastful as he had always been.

One morning the girl seemed very serious. 'Listen, Toad,' she said, 'I have an aunt who is a washerwoman.'

'You mustn't worry about it,' said the Toad kindly. 'I have several aunts who ought to be washerwomen.'

'Don't talk so much, Toad,' said the girl. 'Now listen, I think I have a plan.' And here she whispered in the Toad's ear.

'What?' cried Toad. 'Me — dress as an old washerwoman? Impossible!'

'All right then,' said the girl crossly. 'You can stay in prison for the next twenty years, you ungrateful animal!'

'No, no,' said Toad quickly. 'You are a kind, clever girl, and I am just a stupid toad. I shall be very happy indeed to meet your excellent aunt.'

The next evening a little business was done in the Toad's prison. Several gold coins left the Toad's pocket and disappeared into the washerwoman's purse. Soon afterwards Toad began to climb up the stairs towards the castle entrance. He was wearing an old cotton dress and a black bonnet, and carrying a large basket of washing. And his heart was beating very fast indeed.

He passed the guards, who called out a friendly 'goodnight' to him, and soon Toad was walking through the streets of the town. He was free! Wild with excitement, he found his way to the railway station — and then came the first problem. He had no money to buy a ticket. His wallet, his keys, his watch — everything was in the pockets of his coat, lying on the prison floor.

He had to get away from this town as quickly as he could. But how could he do it? He walked along beside one of the trains until he came to the engine. Then he stood there, crying and looking up at the engine-driver.

'Hey!' called the driver. 'What's the matter, old lady?'

'Oh, sir!' said Toad. 'I'm a poor unhappy washerwoman, and I've lost all my money, and I must get home tonight.'

'Come on, then,' said the engine-driver kindly. 'Jump up, and you can have a free ride. But don't tell anyone!'

So far everything was going well for Toad. The train hurried through the night, taking him away from the hateful prison. Bur Toad's luck didn't last for long.

There came a moment when the engine-driver put his head out of the window and looked back.

'That's strange,' he said. 'There's a train behind us, coming up very fast. I can see it in the moonlight. I think they're chasing us! I wonder what...' And then the engine-driver gave Toad a long hard look.

So Toad had to tell the true story of his crime and his escape. The engine-driver looked very serious. He thought for a bit, then said, 'I don't like policemen telling me what to do. And I don't like to see an animal crying. So cheer up, Toad! This is what we'll do. In a mile or two the train goes through a wood. I'll slow down there, and you'll be able to jump off the train and get away in the dark.'

Half an hour later both Trains had disappeared into the night, and Toad was hiding under some dead leaves in the middle of a strange wood. There, he fell asleep and didn't open his eyes again until early morning. He woke up cold and hungry — but still free!

His next adventure was with a barge on a canal. He had walked out of the wood and found a road, which after a while began to run along the side of a canal. Toad liked the idea of getting a free ride, so when he saw the barge coming along the canal, he quickly jumped from the canal bank on to the end of the barge. Then the barge-woman turned and saw him. Toad was ready with his story.

'I'm a poor unhappy washerwoman,' he began.

But the barge-woman, Toad quickly discovered, was a most unpleasant person. She came up to Toad and looked hard at his face under his bonnet. 'Washerwoman indeed! You're a fat lazy little toad, that's what you are!' she said rudely. 'Get off my barge!' And she actually pushed Toad off the barge into the canal.

Toad swam to the bank and climbed out. He was wildly angry. How could he punish this rude and terrible person? Then he saw the horse which was pulling the barge, and an idea came to him.

Two minutes later he was riding the horse across the fields away from the canal. Behind him, the barge-woman was shouting and screaming angrily. Toad rode on, laughing at his own great cleverness.

Later that morning he met a man with a caravan, who was cooking over a fire in a field. Toad sold him the barge-woman's horse for a good price and a hot breakfast. He ate and ate until he was almost too full to move. But he still had a long way to go to get home, so he got up and went on. The sun was shining brightly, his clothes were dry again, and the new coins made a pleasant sound in his pocket. He took off the bonnet, which was too hot, and began to think about all his adventures and escapes.

'Ho, ho!' he said to himself. 'What a clever Toad I am! How brave! How intelligent! No problem is too difficult for Toad!' He began to sing a song about himself as he walked along, although there was no one to hear it. It was perhaps the most boastful song that any animal ever sang.

If there's a need the world to save,

Then send for Mr Toad!

There's none so clever, none so brave,

As famous Mr Toad!

There was a lot more of it, and it got more and more boastful as it went on.

He came to a road and began to walk along it, hoping for another free ride. After a time he saw a small cloud of dust coming up the road behind him, and he heard the noise, that beautiful noise, of a motor-car. He stood in the middle of the road and when the car saw him, it began to slow down.

And then a terrible thing happened. Toad recognized the car and the people in it. And what is worse, the people recognized Toad.

'It's the car thief!' they shouted. 'The criminal who has escaped from prison! Stop him! Catch him!'

Toad turned and ran. He picked up his skirts and ran faster than he had ever run in his life. But the people from the car were now running after him, shouting and screaming at him to stop. They chased him through a wood, across fields, up a hill, and down into a valley. Once Toad looked back and saw that two policemen had joined the chase. He tried to run even faster, but he was a fat animal and his legs were short, and the people were catching up with him.

On and on he ran. He was now among tall trees, and again he looked behind him. At that moment the land disappeared beneath his feet, and, splash! he found himself in deep water, cold water, fast-moving water. In his terror, he had run straight into a river!

And away the river took him, pushing him along, first on one side, then on the other. The cotton dress tied itself round his legs, trying to pull him under, and Toad had to fight to keep his head above water.

'Oh my!' cried poor Toad. 'I'll never look at another motor-car for the rest of my life!'

At last he managed to catch hold of some water plants by the river bank. He held on, too tired to pull himself out of the water. Then he saw something bright in a dark hole in the bank. It moved towards him, and became a face.

Brown and small, with whiskers.

It was the Water Rat!

washerwoman n. a woman whose work is washing other people's clothes. 洗衣婆。

scream v. cry in a loud shrill voice. 尖叫着说（某事）。

pleasant adj. nice, enjoyable, pleasing. 愉悦的。

recognize v. know, identify again (sb. or sth.) that one has seen, heard etc. before. 认识，认出。

thief n. person who steals. esp. secretly & without violence. 小偷。

valley n. stretch of land between hills or mountains, often with a river flowing through it. 山谷，溪谷。

6　癞蛤蟆的冒险经历

癞蛤蟆绝食了几星期。他躺在监狱的地板上哭个不停。“一切都完了，”他悲惨地说，“我再也不是受人注目、英俊潇洒的蛤蟆了，我不再富有、不再重要了，不再有自由和幸福了。所有的朋友甚至将忘记蛤蟆这个名字！”

不过监狱的看守有个女儿，她的心肠很好。她时常来看他，带给他好东西吃，热饮料喝。她问起他的家和他过去的生活，因为癞蛤蟆极爱谈论他自己，不久他便开始坐起来回答她的问题。他也感觉到好饿，于是便拿起她的东西又吃又喝。这样受惠了几天后，癞蛤蟆又变得像过去那样好招摇、好吹牛了。

一天早上，女孩非常正经地说：“听着，癞蛤蟆，我有一个姑妈，她是洗衣婆。”

“你不必为此忧虑，”癞蛤蟆友善地说，“我有几个姑妈，她们本应该是洗衣婆。”

“少说点，癞蛤蟆，你听着，我想我有个计划。”然后她对癞蛤蟆耳语了一番。

“什么？”癞蛤蟆叫起来，“我——装扮成老洗衣婆？不可能！”

“那么好吧，”女孩生气地说，“你就在监狱里待满20年吧，你这个不知好歹的东西！”

“不，不，”癞蛤蟆赶快说，“你是一个善良聪明的女孩，我只是傻乎乎的癞蛤蟆，我的确应该非常乐意见你那了不起的姑妈。”

第二天晚上，在癞蛤蟆的牢房里进行了一次小小的交易。几个金币离开了癞蛤蟆的口袋落入了洗衣婆的钱包。不久，癞蛤蟆开始向城堡的出口处爬去。他穿一件旧旧的棉外套，戴顶黑色的无边帽，挎着一大篮衣物，他的心跳得飞快。

他经过卫兵时，卫兵还友好地对他道“晚安”，很快他就走在了城镇的街道上。他自由了！他激动得要命，找到去火车站的路——这时第一个问题出现了，他没有钱买票。他的钱包、钥匙、表统统都装在上衣口袋里，而他把上衣扔在了牢房的地上。

他得尽快离开这个城镇。该怎么办呢？他沿着一辆停靠着的火车向前走，走到了车头。他站在那儿，边哭边看着火车司机。

“嘿！”司机叫道，“你怎么啦！老婆婆？”

“哦，先生！”癞蛤蟆说，“我是可怜的不走运的洗衣婆，我把所有的钱都弄丢了，但我今晚必须回家。”

“那么上来吧，”好心的司机说道，“跳上来，你可以搭个便车，但不要告诉任何人！”

到目前为止，一切都很顺利。火车穿过黑夜向前奔驰，带他远离了这可憎的牢狱。但癞蛤蟆的好运没有维持多久。

有那么一会儿，司机将头伸出窗外，向后看了看。

“这很奇怪，”他说，“我们后面有辆火车，开得飞快。我能借着月光看见它，我想他们是在追赶我们！我想知道……”然后司机用严厉的目光盯着癞蛤蟆的脸。

癞蛤蟆不得不告诉他自己是怎样犯罪的，又是怎样逃出来的。司机看起来很严肃，他略想了一下，然后说：“我不喜欢警察告诉我该怎么做。我也不喜欢看动物哭。振作起来，癞蛤蟆！这才是我们该做的。过一二英里，火车要经过一片树林。到那儿我会把速度放慢，你就可以跳下火车趁天黑逃走。”

半小时后，两辆火车都消失在夜幕里。癞蛤蟆藏在一片陌生树林中的一些落叶下面。他躺在那儿不知不觉就睡着了，直到第二天清晨才睁开眼睛。他又冷又饿——但仍是自由的！

他的下一个冒险经历是在运河的一条驳船上。他走出树林看见了一条路，这条路延伸到一条运河边，他便沿着运河向前跑着。癞蛤蟆喜欢上了搭便车，因此当他看见一条驳船沿河开来时，他毫不犹豫地从河岸跳到船尾。刚巧船婆转过身看见了他，癞蛤蟆又开始讲他的故事。

“我是个可怜的不走运的洗衣婆。”他开始讲道。

但他很快发现，这个女人是世界上最不友善的人。她走到蛤蟆跟前，死死盯着无边帽下蛤蟆的脸。“好一个洗衣婆！你是一只又肥又懒的小癞蛤蟆，这才是你的真面目！”她粗暴地说着，“滚出我的船！”同时她就真地把癞蛤蟆推入了运河。

癞蛤蟆游到岸边爬了上来。他气得要发疯。怎样才能治治这个粗鲁可恶的老妇人？后来他看见了那只正拉着驳船的马，立刻计上心头。

两分钟后，他骑在马上穿过田野离开了运河。船婆在他身后气愤地又喊又叫。癞蛤蟆骑着马向前，为他自己伟大的聪明之举开怀大笑。

那天早上，他还遇见了一位驾大篷车的人，他正在野地火堆上烧东西吃。癞蛤蟆开了一个好价把老妇人的马卖给他并享受了一顿热乎乎的早餐。他吃呀吃呀直到撑得几乎不能动。但他想到仍有很长的路要赶，便站起来又出发了。太阳明晃晃地照着，他的衣服又干了，新得的硬币在他口袋里发出令人愉悦的声音。他觉得太热便摘下了帽子，开始回顾着他所有冒险和逃跑的经历。

“嚯，嚯！”他自言自语道，“我是多么聪明的蛤蟆！多么勇敢！多么机智！没有什么事能难倒我蛤蟆！”尽管没有谁能听到，他还是边走边唱着赞美自己的歌。这也许是所有动物曾唱过的最最自夸的歌：

如果世界需要人拯救，

那么去找蛤蟆先生！

没有谁如此聪明，如此勇敢，

像著名的蛤蟆先生！

还有许多诸如此类的歌词，反正是吹得越来越离谱。

他上了公路并沿着路向前走，希望再次搭个便车。过不多久，他看见身后有一团尘雾卷来，而且还听到了那种声音，那种美妙的引擎之声。他站在公路中间，司机看见他便开始减速。

然后一件可怕的事发生了。癞蛤蟆认出了汽车和车里的人。更糟糕的是，这些人也认出了他。

“那是汽车盗贼！”他们叫道，“是刚从监狱里逃出来的犯人！截住他！抓住他！”

癞蛤蟆转身就跑。他提着裙摆以他一生中最快的速度向前跑。但是车上的人穷追不舍，在他身后喊着叫着喝令他站住。他们追着他跑过树林，穿过田野，越过山峦，又追进了山谷。有次癞蛤蟆回头瞥了一眼，看见又有两名警察加入这次追捕。他想跑得更快些，但是可怜他身材矮胖双腿短小，根本无法甩开他们。

他跑呀跑，跑进一片高高的树林里，他又回头看了看。一瞬间他感到双脚悬空，紧接着，啪地一声，他发现自己已在深水里，水流冰冷湍急。惊恐中，他直接跑进了一条河里！

河水带着他向前流，一会儿把他推到这边，一会儿又推到那边。棉布外套裹住了他的腿，将他向下拽，他不得不挣扎着让头浮在水面上。

“哎呀！”可怜的癞蛤蟆哭喊道，“我下半生再也不想见到汽车了！”

最后他好不容易抓住了河边的一些水草。他坚持着，但是他太累了，不能将自己拉上岸。这时，他看见河岸边一个黑洞里有个亮亮的东西向他凑过来，然后他看见了一张脸。

小小的，褐色的，还有胡须。

是水鼠！

7

Return to Toad Hall

The Rat got hold of Toad's neck. pulled him out of the water, and took him into his hall.

'Oh Ratty!' cried Toad. 'I've done so many wonderful things since I last saw you! The dangers that I've been in! I was put in prison — escaped, of course! Pushed into a canal — swam safely away! Stole a horse — sold it for a lot of money! Oh, I am a clever Toad, and—'

'Toad,' said the Water Rat, very seriously. 'stop boasting! Go upstairs at once, wash yourself, and put on some of my clothes. I've never seen anything as wet and dirty as you are.'

Toad went upstairs a little crossly, but he was pleased to get out of the washerwoman's dress. He came down very clean and tidy, and ready to tell the Rat all about his adventures — how clever, how brave, how successful he had been. The Rat gave him lunch, and listened, unsmiling, while Toad talked and talked and talked. When at last he finished, the Rat looked up.

'I have to tell you, Toad,' he said slowly, 'that I feel ashamed — yes, ashamed, to have a criminal, an escaped prisoner, for my friend. Can't you see that none of this is exciting or amusing?'

There was a little silence. Then Toad said sadly, 'You're right, Ratty. Of course you are. How silly and boastful I have been! I shall become a quiet, sensible Toad from now on. In a while I'll walk down to Toad Hall and—'

'Walk down to Toad Hall?' cried the Rat. 'What are you talking about? Haven't you heard?'

'Heard what?' said Toad, looking frightened. 'Quick, Ratty, tell me! What haven't I heard?'

'About the Wild Wooders!' cried the Rat. 'The Stoats and the Weasels and the Ferrets — they've taken Toad Hall! When you were sent to prison, they came out of the Wild Wood one dark night and broke into the Hall. They've been living there ever since — eating your food, drinking your drink, giving wild parties. They've got guns and knives and sticks, and they keep guards round the house night and day. They say they're going to stay there for ever.'

At first Toad couldn't believe it. But he had gone up to Toad Hall, and two ferrets in the garden had laughed at him, and the stoats who were guarding the walls had shot at him. Toad dropped flat in the road and the bullet passed over his head. He went back, very unhappy, to the Water Rat.

That night there was a meeting in the Rat's house. The Mole and the Badger came, to talk about plans to take back Toad Hall from the Wild Wooders.

When they came in and saw Toad, the Badger shook his head sadly. 'Poor Toad! This is not a happy home-coming for you.'

But the Mole was very pleased to see him. 'Here's old Toad!' he cried. 'How did you manage to escape from prison? It was very clever of you to do that.'

'Clever?' said Toad. 'Well, I don't want to boast, Mole. I'll tell you all about it and you decide if—'

'Toad, do be quiet, please!' said the Rat. 'We need to discuss plans. I think I know the best way for Toad to—'

'No, you don't!' said the Mole. 'I know what Toad should do. He should—'

'Well, I'm not going to!' cried Toad, getting excited. 'I'm not taking orders from you fellows! It's my house that we're talking about and—'

By now they were almost shouting at each other, when suddenly a deep low voice came from an armchair.

'Be quiet at once, all of you!' said the Badger. 'And listen. The Mole and I have been watching Toad Hall. The stoats, with their guns, are on guard all round the walls, and they're very good guards too. We can't attack the place from outside. They're too strong for us.'

'Then there's no hope,' cried Toad miserably. 'I shall go and join the army or something, and never see my dear Toad Hall again!'

'Cheer up, Toady,' said the Badger, 'because now I'm going to tell you a very great secret.'

Toad sat up, interested. He loved secrets, though he could never keep them.

'There — is — an — underground — tunnel,' said the Badger slowly, 'which goes from the river bank near here, right up into the middle of Toad Hall.'

'Don't be silly, Badger!' cried Toad. 'Of course there isn't! I know Toad Hall, inside and outside, and—'

'My young friend,' said the Badger calmly, 'your father — who was a great friend of mine — told me many things that he didn't tell you. "Don't tell my son about this tunnel," he said to me. "He's a good boy. but he talks far too much."'

Toad opened his mouth to argue, and then decided not to.

'I asked Otter,' continued the Badger, 'to do some spy work for us. He pretended to be a gardener and went to the back door of the Hall, asking for work. During the conversation he learnt that tomorrow night there will be a big birthday party — the Chief Weasel's, I think — in the dining-hall. All the weasels will be there, eating and drinking and laughing, and making a lot of noise.'

'But the stoats will still be on guard on the walls,' said the Rat.

'True,' agreed the Badger. 'But the weasels, you see, know that, so they won't have any guns or sticks with them at the party. And the tunnel comes up into that little room right next to the dining-hall. We only have to—'

'—run into the dining-hall—' cried the Mole.

'—with our guns and sticks and knives—' shouted the Rat.

'—and chase them and beat them and hit them!' cried the Toad, greatly excited. He ran round and round the room, jumping over the chairs.

'Very well, then,' said the Badger, sitting back comfortably and opening his newspaper. 'That is the plan, and there's nothing more for you to argue about.'

All the next day the Rat hurried about, getting the guns and the knives and the sticks ready. Once the Badger lifted his head from the newspaper.

'We shan't need guns or knives. Ratty,' he said. 'We four, with our slicks, will clear the dining-hall in five minutes. I could do it by myself.'

'Better to be safe than sorry,' said the Rat.

At last the evening came, and the four friends went quietly along the river bank to find the entrance to the secret tunnel. Toad, of course, managed to fall in the river and his friends had to pull him out. The tunnel was cold, and wet, and dark, and narrow. Poor Toad got frightened and ran into the Rat by mistake, who then nearly knocked the Mole over. All this made a lot of noise, and the Badger, who was in front with the lantern, turned round.

'If Toad can't keep quiet,' he whispered angrily, 'I'll leave him here alone in the dark!'

After that, the Toad kept very quiet.

They could hear the noise of the party while they were still underground. Silently, they pushed open the door in the roof of the tunnel, and climbed up into the small room next to the dining-hall. Now they could hear one of the weasels singing a very rude song about Toad the car-thief.

'Just wait until I get my hands on him!' Toad whispered angrily, showing his teeth.

'Right, boys!' said the Badger, looking round at his friends. 'The hour has come! Follow me!'

And they crashed through the door into the dining-hall.

What a battle it was! How the four friends roared as they ran through the hall! What screams of fear came from the surprised weasels and ferrets! Tables and chairs were knocked over, plates and glasses went crashing to the floor. Up and down went the four friends, shouting and roaring, and their sticks whistled through the air. There were only four of them, but they seemed enormous to the weasels and the ferrets. The Wild Wooders ran in terror, escaping through the doors and windows, and even up the chimneys — anywhere to get away from those terrible sticks.

In five minutes the room was cleared. The stoats outside, the four friends discovered later, had gone too. They were already frightened by the noise of battle from the hall, so when the weasels and the ferrets started running out in terror, the stoats dropped their guns and ran back to the Wild Wood. In fact, after that night there was no more trouble from the Wild Wooders for a long time. And when any of them met the Badger and his friends out for a walk, they were very polite indeed.

Back in Toad Hall, there was a lot of tidying up to do after the battle. At last it was all done, and the four friends, tired but happy, went upstairs to bed.

'And now,' said the Badger, after breakfast the next morning, 'we must have a Victory Party. Toad, you must write and invite all our friends for tonight.'

'What — me do all the work?' said Toad crossly. 'Why...' He suddenly stopped, then said, 'Yes, of course. I'll do everything. I'll plan the party, and the singing and—'

'Oh no,' said the Rat. 'You're not going to sing any of your songs.'

'Not just one little song?' asked Toad miserably.

'No, Toady. You know very well that your songs are all about you and how clever you are. They're just one long boast!'

'Come on now, Toad,' said the Badger kindly. 'You know that you have to change your ways and become a sensible animal. Why not begin now? What better moment could there be, on your return to Toad Hall?'

Toad looked at his three friends' serious faces. For a long while he seemed to be thinking deeply. At last he spoke. 'My friends, you are right,' he said sadly. 'And I am wrong. From today, I will be a very different Toad. You will never be ashamed of me again.'

The party was a great success. Everyone wanted to hear about the battle, and there was a lot of noisy talking and laughing. But Toad was not at all noisy. He moved quietly round the room, making sure that everyone had enough to eat and drink. He said very little about the battle, only, 'Oh, it was Badger's clever plan. And the Mole and the Rat did all the hard fighting.'

His three friends watched him with their mouths open in surprise — which pleased Toad very much. Towards the end of the evening, some of the younger animals started banging on the table and shouting, 'Toad! Song! Mr Toad's Song!' But Toad only shook his head gently, and immediately began a quiet conversation with Otter, asking in an interested voice about his children.

He was indeed a different Toad!

ashamed adj. feeling distressed as if self-respect lost because of wrong, dishonourable behaviour or failure. 羞愧的。

silly adj. not sensible or serious; a little stupid. 傻的。

bullet n. shaped piece of lead, usu. coated with another metal, (to be) fired from a rifle or revolver. 子弹。

spy n. person who keeps a secret watch on the movement of others. 间谍；侦察员。

conversation n. talk. 交谈。

lantern n. case protecting a light from the wind outdoors. 灯笼，提灯。

enormous adj. very big, very strong. 巨大的，强大的。

chimney n. structure through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building. 烟囱。

victory n. winning a battle or a fight. 胜利。

success n. the gaining of what is aimed at. 成功。

indeed adv. really. 的确。

7．重返蛤蟆宅第

水鼠抓住癞蛤蟆的脖子将他拉出水面，然后把他带回客厅。

“噢，阿鼠！”癞蛤蟆叫道，“最后那次见你之后，我做了好多了不起的事！险情层出不穷！我被投入监狱——逃出来了，当然！被推进了运河——安全游上了岸！偷了一匹马——卖了好多钱！噢，我真是聪明的癞蛤蟆，而且——”

“癞蛤蟆，”水鼠很严肃地打断道，“不要再吹牛了！快上楼，洗洗干净换上我的衣服。我从来没见过谁像你这样又湿又脏的。”

癞蛤蟆有点愠怒地上楼了，但是他还是很乐意脱掉这身洗衣婆的装扮。他一身整洁干净地下楼了，准备告诉水鼠他的冒险经历——他是多么聪明，多么勇敢，多么成功。水鼠给他取来午餐，不苟言笑地听癞蛤蟆在那儿滔滔不绝。最后癞蛤蟆结束了，水鼠抬头看着他。

“我得告诉你，癞蛤蟆，”他慢慢地说着，“我感到羞耻——是的，羞耻有一位朋友是犯人，一位逃出来的犯人。难道你看不出这一切一点也不有趣，一点也不令人兴奋吗？”

一阵沉默后，癞蛤蟆难过地说：“你是对的，阿鼠。当然，你对。我太愚蠢，太好吹牛了！从现在起，我应该做一个安静、理智的癞蛤蟆。过一会我就回蛤蟆宅第，然后——”

“回蛤蟆宅第？”水鼠叫道，“你在说什么呀？难道你没听说？”

“听说什么？”癞蛤蟆问道，一副惊恐的样子，“快，阿鼠，告诉我！什么我没听说？”

“关于野树林的动物！”水鼠叫道，“大白鼬，黄鼠狼和雪貂——他们占据了蛤蟆宅第！当你被送进监狱，他们在一个漆黑的晚上走出野树林，闯进了你的宅第。从此他们就住在那儿了——吃你的，喝你的，开狂欢晚会。他们有刀，有枪，有棍棒，日夜都有卫士把守在房子周围。他们说他们将永远住下去。”

刚开始癞蛤蟆怎么也不能相信这件事。他还是去了蛤蟆宅第，只见两只雪貂站在花园里嘲笑着他，守卫在墙头上的大白鼬向他开枪射击。癞蛤蟆急忙趴在地上，子弹从他头上飞过。他非常沮丧地回到了水鼠家。

那天晚上在水鼠家里有个会。鼹鼠和獾要来一起商量怎么从野树林动物手中夺回蛤蟆宅第。

当他们走进房子看见癞蛤蟆时，獾很遗憾地摇着头说：“可怜的蛤蟆！对你来说，这不是一次愉快的回家之行。”

当鼹鼠见到他显得非常高兴。“你这个老蛤蟆！”他叫道，“你是怎么设法从监狱里逃出来的？你真是聪明。”

“聪明？”癞蛤蟆说，“得了，我不想吹牛了，鼹鼠。我将告诉你所有的一切，然后你会决定我是否——”

“癞蛤蟆，请你务必保持安静！”水鼠说道，“我们必须研究些方案。我想我知道癞蛤蟆应采取的最好方法——”

“不，你不知道！”鼹鼠打断道，“我知道癞蛤蟆应怎么做，他应该——”

“够了，我什么都不想做！”癞蛤蟆叫道，他有些激动。“我不会听从你们这帮家伙的命令！我们现在谈论的是我的房子，而且——”

这时，他们几乎是在互相大叫大嚷了，突然从手扶椅那儿传来一个低沉的声音。

“你们全给我马上安静下来！”獾说道，“听着，鼹鼠和我一直在注意着蛤蟆宅第的动向。持枪的大白鼬把守在围墙周围，他们还都是很不赖的卫兵。我们是不能从外面攻打进去的。对于我们来说，他们太厉害了。”

“那么没有希望了，”癞蛤蟆痛苦地叫道，“我将离开这儿去参军或干别的什么，我将再也见不到我心爱的宅第了！”

“振作起来，阿癞，”獾说，“因为我将告诉你一个非常重大的秘密。”

蛤蟆很有兴趣地坐直了身。他喜欢秘密，尽管他从来不能保守秘密。“有——个——地——下——通——道，”獾缓缓地说，“从附近的河岸刚好通到蛤蟆宅第的中部。”

“别荒唐了，獾！”癞蛤蟆叫了起来，“当然没有！我熟悉蛤蟆宅第的里里外外，而且——”

“我的年轻朋友，”獾平静地说，“你父亲——我最好的朋友——告诉过我许多没对你提过的事情。‘不要把这个通道告诉我儿子，’他对我说，‘他是好孩子，但他话太多。’”

癞蛤蟆张大嘴巴准备争辩，马上又决定放弃了。

“我让水獭，”獾继续道，“为我们作了些侦察。他扮成园丁去宅子后门找活干。在交谈中，他了解到明天晚上那儿将举行大型的生日晚会——我想是黄鼠狼头头的——在餐厅里。所有的黄鼠狼将在那儿吃喝玩乐，并制造出许多噪声。”

“但是大白鼬肯定还会在墙头上巡逻。”水鼠说道。

“是的，”獾赞同道，“但是你要明白，正是因为黄鼠狼知道有人放哨，他们在舞会上就不会随身带枪棍之类的。而地道刚好通到餐厅隔壁的那个小房间，我们只要——”

“——冲进厅——”鼹鼠叫道。

“——带着我们的枪、棍和刀——”水鼠喊道。

“——然后赶他们、揍他们、砍他们！”蛤蟆也叫了起来，他异常激动，跨过椅子，在房间里跑圈儿。

“很好，那么，”獾舒服地向后靠坐着，打开报纸。“这就是计划，你们没有什么再争吵了吧。”

第二天一整天，水鼠忙上忙下，准备着枪、刀和棍棒。一次，獾从报纸上抬起头，说：“我们不需要刀枪，阿鼠。我们四个带着棍棒在五分钟内就可以清理好餐厅，其实我一个就能解决。”

“最好能万无一失，免得有遗憾。”水鼠答道。

夜幕终于降临了，这四个朋友悄悄地沿着河岸找到了秘密通道的入口。癞蛤蟆竟然掉到了河里，这也是情理中的事，他的朋友不得不将他拉了上来。地道里又冷又湿，既黑也窄。可怜的癞蛤蟆害怕极了，不小心撞倒了水鼠，水鼠又差点碰倒了鼹鼠。这不免弄出了很多响声，獾提着灯笼走在前面，这时转过头。

“如果蛤蟆不能保持镇定，”他压低声音生气地说，“我就把他独个儿留在黑暗里！”

此后，癞蛤蟆就一直特别安静。

他们在宅第的地下就能听到晚会的喧闹声。悄悄地，他们推开了地道顶上的门，然后爬进餐厅隔壁的那间小房子。现在他们可以听见一只黄鼠狼正唱着一首相当粗俗的歌，是关于癞蛤蟆这个盗车贼如何如何。

“待会儿我要掐住他的脖子！”癞蛤蟆呲牙咧嘴，愤愤地低声说道。

“好了，小伙子们！”獾看着他的朋友们说。“时候到了！跟我来！”

紧接着，他们撞开门冲进饭厅。

那是一场怎样的战斗啊！这四个朋友是怎样怒吼着冲进了大厅！吃惊的黄鼠狼和雪貂发出了怎样的尖叫声！桌子和椅子给撞倒了，杯子和盘子摔碎在地板上。这四个朋友横冲直闯，怒吼狂叫着，他们的棍棒在空中发出嘶嘶挥舞声。他们仅有四位，但在黄鼠狼、雪貂眼里他们似乎非常强大。这些野树林动物吓得到处跑，从门那儿，从窗户那儿，有的甚至从烟囱那儿——任何能躲开那些可怕的棍子的地方。

五分钟内房间就被清除干净。这四个伙伴后来才发现外面的大白鼬也不见了。其实，大厅里的战斗声把他们给吓倒了，于是当黄鼠狼和雪貂在惊恐中乱窜时，他们也扔下枪逃回野树林。事实上，自那晚后的很长时间里，野树林的动物没再来找过麻烦。而且当他们中的任何一位遇见獾和他的朋友在外面散步时都显得非常有礼貌。

会战后的蛤蟆宅第有许多清扫工作要做。最后收拾妥当，这四个伙伴虽累但很开心地上楼睡觉了。

“现在，”第二天早餐后，獾开口道，“我们应该举行一个庆功宴会。癞蛤蟆，你应该写些请柬邀请我们所有的朋友今晚来这儿。”

“什么——我干这所有的活？”癞蛤蟆生气地说，“为什么……”他突然停下来，然后说道，“是的，当然。我将照办，安排一个派对，又唱又——”

“噢，不，”水鼠打断道，“你不要再唱你的那些歌了。”

“一首都不行吗？”癞蛤蟆伤心地问道。

“不行，阿癞。你很了解你的歌全是关于你自己，还有你是多么聪明之类的。那仅仅是些冗长的吹牛罢了！”

“好了，蛤蟆，”獾和善地说，“你知道你得改变你的行事方式，成为一只理智的动物。为什么不从现在开始呢？如今你重新返回蛤蟆宅第，还有比现在更好的时刻吗？”

癞蛤蟆看着三位朋友严肃的表情，很长时间，他似乎沉浸在思考中。最后他开口了。“我的朋友，你们是对的，”他难过地说道，“我错了，从今天开始，我将洗心革面，你们将不再会为我感到羞耻了。”

晚会非常成功。每个人都想听听那次袭击，大家在那儿说着，笑着，吵吵嚷嚷的。但是癞蛤蟆一点也不吵。他在房间里静静地转悠着，保证大家都有足够的食品和饮料。关于那次战斗，他只谈了一点点：“哦，那是獾的妙计，鼹鼠和水鼠的英勇作战。”

他的三位朋友张大嘴巴吃惊地看着他——这让癞蛤蟆非常开心。晚宴临近尾声时，一些年轻的动物开始敲着桌子叫着：“蛤蟆！唱歌！唱首蛤蟆先生的歌！”但是癞蛤蟆只是轻轻地摇了摇头，很快又转过去静静地和水獭聊天，还很感兴趣地问着他孩子们的情况。

他确实是改变了！

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1－2 How much can you remember? Check your answers.

1 What had the Mole never seen before in his life?

2 Who came to join the Rat and the Mole at their lunch party?

3 Who didn't come to join the lunch party?

4 Who did the friends see rowing very badly up the river?

5 What had yellow and green sides, and red wheels?

6 What came past them in a storm of noise and wind and dust?

7 What did Toad do the day after the accident with the caravan?

Chapters 3－4 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 The Badger loved parties and meeting lots of people.

2 The Mole went for a walk in the Wild Wood by himself.

3 The Rat and the Mole got lost because of the snow.

4 The Badger was angry and wouldn't let them come in to his house.

5 The Rat told the Badger that Toad was a very good driver.

6 The friends' journey home again was long and difficult.

Chapters 5－6 Who or what in these chapters...

1 ... wanted to teach Toad to be sensible?

2 ... did Toad steal outside the pub?

3 ... was kind to Toad in prison?

4 ... was Toad wearing when he escaped from prison?

5 ... pushed Toad into a canal?

6 ... did Toad steal next?

7 ... pulled Toad out of the river?

Chapter 7 Write answers to these questions.

1 What had happened while Toad was in prison?

2 How did the four friends get back into Toad Hall?

3 In what ways was Toad different at the Victory Party?

B Working with language

1 Use these words to join the sentences together. Check your answers in Chapters 1 to 3.

while　if　where　but　when

1 'Toad's a nice fellow. He never learns from his mistakes.'

2 'You will learn to now in the end. You're patient and work hard.'

3 'Toad always goes crazy at first. He gets a new idea into his head.'

4 The Mole went deeper and deeper into the wood. The light was less and the trees grew close together.

5 'Just pull on that bell, Mole. I knock on 1he door.'

2 Complete these sentences with in formation from the story.

1 Toad's friends were worried about his motor-car madness, so...

2 When the Rat went to get the doctor, Toad...

3 The Judge sent Toad to prison for twenty years because...

4 Toad hoped to get a free ride on the barge, but...

5 The four friends couldn't attack Toad Hall from the outside, because...

C Activities

1 Which character did you like best in the story? Why? Write a few lines to describe him or her.

2 You are one of the weasels from the Wild Wood. Describe in a letter to a friend what living in Toad Hall was like, and what happened on the night of the battle when Toad and his friends came back.

3 At the end of the story Toad seems to be a very different Toad. Do you think he will stay like that, or will he become silly and boastful again? Imagine it is a year later, and write a paragraph to finish the story, describing Toad and his life.

Glossary

attack

to begin fighting or trying to hurt someone

boast

to say that everything you are and everything you do is the best in the world

bother

a word that shows you are a little angry

dining-hall

a large room where meals are eaten

enormous

very big

fellow

a friendly word for a man (here, a male animal)

guard

someone who watches a prisoner or keeps a building safe

judge

a person who decides if someone is a criminal or not

madness

sickness in the mind

mess about

to play around, to do pleasant, silly, unimportant things

patter

to make quick, light sounds (like the sound of rain falling or small feet running)

pleasant

nice, enjoyable, pleasing

roar

to make a long, loud, deep sound

rude

not polite

silly

not sensible or serious; a little stupid

terror

very great fear

victory

winning a battle or a fight

washerwoman

a woman whose work is washing other people's clothes

whisper

to speak very softly and quietly

whistle

to make a sound by blowing through nearly closed lips

京权图字01-97-0335

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1993 This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

神秘及幻想故事集 = Tales of Mystery and Imagination／（美）爱伦·坡（Poe, E. A.）著；（英）诺蒂（Naudi, M.）改写；雷格译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1997.10（2014.12 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1299-5

Ⅰ．神…　Ⅱ．①爱…②诺…③雷…　Ⅲ．小说—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（97）第18048号

出版人：蔡剑峰

责任编辑：田　娜

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1998年1月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1299-5

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简　介

想象一下，你正置身于湖畔的一座古旧宅邸之中。时间是夜里，外面暴雨肆虐，狂风绕着灰色的石墙嘶吼。房子下面的一间阴森的地窖里放着一口棺材，里面躺着玛德琳小姐的尸体。同你一起待在房间里的是她的哥哥，正在用疯狂的目光望着你。想象一下吧……你这是在鄂榭府上。

翻到另一页，可以见到一只黑猫被人勒住脖子吊在树上。再翻一页，你就会听到一次美妙绝伦的假面舞会上响起的音乐声，看见一千个人在唱歌、跳舞。你现在是在普洛斯佩罗亲王的城堡中。城堡里面灯火通明、生气勃勃，人人纵情狂欢；但是在城墙外面，逡巡着那可怕的戴面具的红死魔……

这些故事将会带你进入一个阴暗的幻想世界，一个充满了恐怖、梦幻与疯狂的世界。

不要一个人读它们！

埃德加·爱伦·坡（1809—1849）出生于美国波士顿。在短暂而郁郁不得志的一生中，他曾供职于几家报社，并发表了很多短篇小说和诗歌。也许最令他声名远播的是他的短篇小说创作。

The Fall of the House of Usher

It was a grey autumn day and the sky was full of large black clouds. All day I had ridden through flat and uninteresting countryside, but at last, as it began to grow dark, I saw the end of my journey.

There, in front of me, stood the House of Usher. And at once — I do not know why — a strange feeling of deep gloom came down on me and covered me like a blanket. I looked up at the old house with its high stone walls and narrow windows. I looked around at the thin dry grass and the old dying trees, and an icy hand seemed to take hold of my heart. I felt cold and sick, and could not think of one happy thought to chase away my gloom.

Why, I wondered, did the House of Usher make me feel so sad? I could find no answer.

There was a lake next to the house and I rode my horse up to the edge and stopped. Perhaps from here the house would not seem so sad, so full of gloom. I looked down into the mirror of dark, still water, and saw again the empty, eye-like windows of the house and the dying trees all around it. The feeling of gloom was stronger than ever.

It was in this house that I was going to spend the next few weeks. Its owner, Roderick Usher, had been a good friend of mine when I was a boy. I had not seen him for many years, but recently he had sent me a letter — a sad and terrible letter. He wrote that he was ill, ill in body and ill in mind; that he wanted and needed to see me. I was his only friend, the only person who could help him in his illness.

Although we had been good friends when we were young, I knew very little about him. He had never spoken much about himself, but I knew that he came from a very old family of which he was the last living man. I also knew that in the Usher family there had never been many children and so for hundreds of years the family name, together with the family home, had passed straight from father to son.

As I stood by the lake, my feeling of gloom grew and grew. I knew also that underneath my gloom lay fear, and fear does strange things to the mind. I began to imagine that the gloom was not in my mind, but was something real. It was like a mysterious cloud, which seemed to come straight from the dark lake and the dying trees and the old walls of the house. A heavy grey cloud, which carried with it disease and fear.

This was a dream, I told myself, and I looked more carefully at the building in front of me. It was, indeed, very old and I noticed that every stone had cracks and holes in it. But there was nothing really wrong with the building. No stones were missing. The only thing that I noticed was a very small crack which started at the top of the building and continued all the way down into the dark waters of the lake.

I went up to the front of the house. A servant took my horse and I stepped into the large hall. Another servant led me silently upstairs. On the walls there were many strange, dark pictures which made me feel nervous. I remembered these pictures from my earlier visits to the house when I was a child. But the feelings that the pictures gave me on this visit were new to me.

On the stairs we met the family doctor. He had a strange look on his face, a look that I did not like. I hurried on, and finally the servant opened a door and took me into the study.

The room was large and long, with high narrow windows, which let in only a little light. Shadows lay in all the corners of the room and around the dark pieces of furniture. There were many books and a few guitars, but there was no life, no happiness in the room. Deep gloom filled the air.

When Usher saw me, he got up and welcomed me warmly. I thought he was just being polite, but as I looked into his face, I could see that he was pleased to see me. We sat down, but he did not speak at first, and for a few moments I watched him in surprise and fear. He had changed so much since our last meeting! He had the same pale thin face, the same eyes, large and clear, and the same thin lips and soft hair. But now his skin was too white, his eyes too large and bright, and he seemed a different man. He frightened me. And his long wild hair looked like a ghostly cloud around his head.

I noticed that my friend was very nervous and that his feelings changed very quickly. Sometimes he talked a lot, then he suddenly became silent and did not say a word for many hours. At other times he found it difficult to think, and his voice was heavy and slow, like the voice of a man who had drunk too much.

He told me why he had wanted to see me, and how he hoped to feel better now that I was with him. He had, he explained, a strange illness which had been in his family for a long time. It was a nervous illness which made him feel everything much more strongly than other people. He could only eat food that was almost tasteless. He had to choose his clothes very carefully because most of them hurt his skin. He could not have flowers in his room because their smell was too strong for him. Light hurt his eyes, and most sounds hurt his ears — except the soft sound of guitars.

Worst of all, he was a prisoner of his own fear. 'I shall die,' he used to say, 'because of this fear, I'm not afraid of danger. What frightens me is fear itself. At the moment I am fighting against fear, but sooner or later I won't be able to fight any more.'

During long conversations with Usher I learnt more about his strange illness. He was sure that it came from the House of Usher itself. He had not left the house for many years and he had become, he thought, as sad as the house itself. The gloom of its grey walls and its dark silent lake had become his own.

He also believed that much of his sadness was because his dear sister was seriously ill. He had one sister, Madeleine, the only other person in his family who was still living, but each day she seemed a little nearer to death.

'Her death,' Usher said blackly, 'will leave me alone in the world, the last of all the Ushers.'

While he was speaking, Madeleine passed slowly through the back of the long room and, without noticing me, disappeared. As I looked at her, my eyes felt heavy with sleep, and I had a strange feeling of fear. I looked across at Usher. He had covered his face with his hands, but I could see that he had become even paler, and that he was crying silently.

Lady Madeleine's illness was a mysterious one which no doctor could understand. Every day she became weaker and thinner, and sometimes went into a sleep which was more like death than sleep. For years she had fought bravely against her illness, but on the night of my arrival she went to bed and did not get up from it again. 'You will probably not see her again alive,' Usher said to me, shaking his head sadly.

During the next few days Usher and I never spoke about his sister. We spent a lot of time painting and reading together, and sometimes he played on his guitar. I tried very hard to help my friend, but I realized that his sadness was too deep. It was a black gloom that covered everything that belonged to his world; sometimes, indeed, he seemed close to the edge of madness.

He painted strange pictures, and sang mysterious songs with wild words. His ideas, too, were strange, and he had one idea that seemed more important to him than all the others. He was quite sure that all things, plants, trees, even stones, were able to feel.

'The House of Usher itself,' he told me, 'is like a living thing. When the walls were first built, life went into the stones themselves and year after year it has grown stronger. Even the air around the walls and above the lake has its own life, and belongs to the house. Don't you see,' he cried, 'how the stones and the air have shaped the lives of the Usher family?'

These ideas were too fantastic for me, and I could not answer him.

One evening I was reading quietly when my friend told me, in very few words, that the Lady Madeleine had died. He had decided, he said, to keep her body for a fortnight in one of the vaults under the house, before it went to its last resting-place. This was because his sister's illness had been a mysterious one, and her doctors wanted to learn more about it. He asked me to help him and I agreed.

Together we carried the body in its coffin down to the vaults under the house. The vault that he had chosen was a long way down, but was under the part of the house where I slept. It had once been a prison, and was small, dark, and airless, with a heavy metal door.

We put the coffin down and then gently lifted up the cover to look at the dead woman for the last time. As I looked down at her face, I realized how much Usher's sister looked like him. My friend then said a few quiet words and I learnt that he and his sister had been born on the same day. Each had known the other's mind without the need for words.

We could not look at her for long. Her strange illness had left her with a soft pink colour on her face, and that unchanging half-smile on her lips which is so terrible in death. We put back the cover of the coffin, fixed it down well, and after locking the heavy door of the vault, went back upstairs into the gloomy house.

After some days of deep unhappiness, I saw that my friend's illness of the mind was growing worse. He did not paint or read any more. He moved slowly from room to room, never knowing what to do. His face became paler, the light disappeared from his eyes, and his voice often shook with fear when he spoke. Sometimes I thought he was trying to tell me some terrible secret. At other times I thought he was going mad. He used to sit for hours, looking at nothing, listening to nothing — except the sounds in his own mind. I myself began to know real fear. I felt my friend's terror, his deep gloom, slowly taking hold of my own mind.

About seven or eight days after we had put Lady Madeleine's coffin in the vault, I went to bed but could not sleep. Hour after hour I lay there, fighting the fear and gloom that filled my mind. Outside, there was a storm which was growing wilder, and my room was full of shadows and the dark shapes of the gloomy furniture. I tried to calm myself, but I only became more frightened.

Suddenly, my body shook with a new terror. I sat up in bed and listened hard. Yes, I could hear some low sounds, coming not from the storm outside, but from somewhere inside the house. Quickly, I put on my clothes and started walking up and down the room, trying to shake off my terrible fear.

Then I heard a knock on my door and Usher came in. His face was as white as it had always been, and there was a kind of madness in his eyes. The look on his face frightened me terribly, but at the same time I was pleased not to be alone any more.

For some moments he looked around without saying a word. Then, suddenly, 'Have you not seen it? No? Then wait. You must see it.' He hurried to the window and opened it.

The wind from the violent storm outside crashed into the room, nearly knocking us to the floor. It was, indeed, a wild, but strangely beautiful night. The wind seemed to be going in circles around the house, and huge, heavy black clouds chased each other, first this way, then that way. We could see no moon and no stars, but a pale ghostly light lay around the house.

'You mustn't, no, you must not watch this,' I cried to Usher. I pushed him gently away from the window and to a seat. 'It's only a storm, and the cold night air will be dangerous to your health. Let's close the window and read together. Look, here's one of your favourite books. I will read to you, and you can listen, and so we will pass this terrible night together.'

The book which I had picked up was The Sad, Mad Life of Sir Launcelot Canning. It was not really one of Usher's favourite books, but it was the only one that I had near me, so I started to read it. It was a wild, fantastic story, but I hoped that my reading would make Usher calmer and less afraid. He listened to me, indeed, but with a kind of mad seriousness that I found frightening.

I read for a while and reached the place in the book where Ethelred broke down the door of the old man's house.

Now Ethelred decided he could wait outside in the storm no longer. He lifted his heavy stick and beat against the wooden door until he had made a hole. Then with his hands he pulled the door to pieces. The noise of the dry wood cracking and breaking could be heard all through the forest.

As I finished reading this sentence, I jumped in my seat and then sat very still. I thought that I had heard, from somewhere far away in the house, the same noise of cracking and breaking wood. But I could not hear it clearly, and the noise of the storm was much louder. I continued reading:

Ethelred entered the house but could not see the old man. Then the house disappeared and he saw a dragon, with fire coming out of its mouth. Ethelred lifted his heavy stick and brought it crashing down on the dragon's head. As the dragon fell dying to the ground, it gave a terrible cry — a long, hard, unnatural scream.

Here again I stopped suddenly. I was sure that I could hear a cry. It was low and far away, but it was a long screaming sound — just like the one described in the book.

Although I was feeling so nervous, I tried hard to hide my terror. I was not sure if Usher had heard the sounds that I had heard. In the last few minutes he had moved and was now sitting with his face towards the door. But I could see that his lips were shaking and his body was moving gently from side to side. I continued reading the story:

And now Ethelred, after he had killed the dragon, turned and saw in front of him a palace of gold with tall gates of shining silver in the walls. Bravely, Ethelred ran towards the palace, but the shining silver gates did not wait for his coming and fell to the ground at his feet with a great and terrible ringing sound.

As I read these words, I heard clearly the loud, heavy sound of metal falling. I jumped to my feet, but Usher sat in his seat and did not move. I ran towards him. He was looking straight in front of him and his face was like stone. As I placed my hand on his arm, his body began to shake. A sickly smile came over his lips, and he spoke in a low hurried voice. He did not seem to realize that I was there. I put my head close to his to catch his words.

'Don't I hear it? — yes, I hear it, and I have heard it. For many minutes, many hours, many days I have heard it — but I was too frightened, too frightened to speak. We have put her alive into her coffin! Did I not tell you that I could hear even the softest sound? I tell you now that I heard her move in the coffin. I heard the sounds many days ago, but my terror was too great — I could not speak! And now tonight — when you read about Ethelred breaking the old man's door, about the cry of the dragon, and the falling of the gates — it was, in fact, the breaking of her coffin, the scream of metal as she broke open the vault, and the ringing crash as the metal door fell to the floor! Oh, where can I escape to? Is she hurrying towards me at this very minute? Is that her angry footstep that I can hear on the stairs? Can I hear the heavy and terrible beating of her heart? MADMAN!'

He jumped up and shouted, screaming out his words like a man dying in terror. 'MADMAN! I TELL YOU THAT AT THIS MINUTE SHE IS STANDING OUTSIDE THIS DOOR!'

As he screamed these words, the heavy door was thrown open by the strong wind. There, outside the door, dressed in the white clothes of the dead, stood the tall figure of the Lady Madeleine of Usher. There was blood on her hands, her arms, her torn white clothes. Every part of her body showed the marks of her long fight to escape from the coffin. For a moment she stood there shaking, moving slowly from side to side. Then with a low cry she fell heavily onto her brother. And in the moment of her now final death, he fell with her to the floor — a dead man, killed by his own terror.

From that room, and from that house, I ran in horror. Outside, the storm was still violent and as I ran past the lake, a sudden wild light shone around me. I turned to see where this strange light was coming from. It was the moon, a full, blood-red moon, shining through a narrow crack in the walls of the house. It was the crack which started at the roof of the building and went right down to the ground. As I watched, the crack grew larger, the wind grew wilder — now I could see the full circle of the blood-red moon, and the great walls of the house breaking and falling. There was a long shouting sound, like the voice of a thousand waters, and the deep dark lake closed over the broken pieces of the House of Usher.

flat adj. uninteresting. 沉闷的；乏味的。

journey n. a trip of some distance. 旅行；旅程。

gloom n. a feeling of deep sadness. 忧愁；阴郁。

chase v. to cause to leave or run away. 驱逐；赶走。

owner n. a person who owns something. 所有人；物主。

underneath prep. under; below. 在下面；从下面；在底下；从底下。

mysterious adj. not easily understood; full of mystery. 难以理解的；神秘的。

disease n. illness or disorder caused by infection or unnatural growth, not by an accident. 疾病；病。

crack n. a line of division caused by splitting; thin mark or opening caused by breaking. 裂缝。

study n. a room used for studying. 书房。

furniture n. 家具。

frighten v. to fill with fear. 使吃惊；惊吓。

ghostly adj. like a ghost, especially having a faint or uncertain colour and shape. 鬼似的；幽灵般的。

tasteless adj. having no taste. 没味道的。

conversation n. informal talk in which people exchange news, feelings, and thoughts. 会话；谈话；交谈。

seriously adv. in a serious way. 严重地；严肃地。

arrival n. the act of arriving. 到达；抵达。

year after year 年复一年。

fantastic adj. odd, strange, or wild in shape, meaning, etc. 奇异怪诞的；不合情理的。

fortnight n. two weeks. 两星期。

vault n. an underground room in which the bodies of the dead are placed, or in which valuable things are stored. 地下室；地窖；墓穴（安放骨灰用）。

coffin n. the box in which a dead person is buried. 棺材。

gently adv. softly. 轻轻地；和缓地。

gloomy adj. having or giving little hope or cheerfulness. 忧郁的；暗淡的。

terror n. great fear. 恐怖；惊慌。

take hold of 控制；把握；抓住。

calm v. to make calm. 使平静下来；使沉着。

up and down backwards and forwards. 来来回回地。

crash v. to move violently and noisily. 猛冲；猛撞。

favourite adj. most liked. 喜爱的；偏爱的。

crack v. to make a sudden explosive sound. 发出爆裂声。

dragon n. an imaginary fire-breathing animal. 龙。

unnatural adj. against ordinary ways of behaving. 不合人情的；变态的；反常的。

sickly adj. unpleasantly weak or pale. 憔悴的；苍白的。

alive adj. having life; not dead; living. 活的；在世的。

escape v. to find a way out; get out. 逃脱；漏掉。

footstep n. a mark or sound of a person's step. 足迹；脚步声。

figure n. the shape of a whole human body, as shown in art or seen in reality. 人像；身影。

violent adj. using, showing, or produced by great damaging force. 猛烈的；激烈的。

鄂榭府崩溃记

这是秋日里灰蒙蒙的一天，空中积满了大团大团的乌云。整整一天，我骑着马从平淡、乏味的乡野间驰过；不过，到天色开始变得昏暝的时候，我终于望见了此行的目的地。

在我眼前，兀然立着鄂榭府。一看见它——不知何故——一种阴悒至极的怪异感觉便降临在我身上，像一张毯子一样罩住了我。我抬头仰望这座有着高大的石墙和狭小的窗户的古旧府第，又环顾四周稀疏的枯草和垂死的老树，这时，仿佛有一只冰冷的手抓住了我的心。我觉得奇寒彻骨，浑身乏力，怎么也想不起一件乐事来驱散心头的阴悒。

我真奇怪，为什么鄂榭府会令我感觉如此之差？我百思不得其解。

紧挨着宅子有一个湖，我骑马来到湖边停住。也许从这个角度看上去，宅子就不显得那样黯淡、那样阴悒了。我低头朝幽暗、凝止的湖水望去，在倒影中再一次看见了房子上面空荡的、眼睛似的窗户，以及四周那些垂死的树。阴悒的感觉愈发强烈起来。

我将在这座府邸里盘桓几个星期。府邸的主人罗德里克·鄂榭，是我孩提时代的一个好友，我已有好多年没有见到他了；可是最近他给我来了一封信——一封透着悲哀与恐怖的信。他在信中说他患了病，身体和精神都不正常，还说他急切地要见我。我是他唯一的朋友，只有我能够帮助他摆脱疾病的折磨。

虽说我们年少的时候是挚友，但我对他了解得非常少。他极少谈及他自己，不过我知道他来自一个历史特别悠久的世家，而他是这个世家最后一位活在人间的男性。我还知道，在鄂榭家族史上还从未有过子息繁盛的时候，于是，数百年来，家族的姓氏连同家族的宅第均是由父及子由子及孙一脉单传。

我站在湖边，心头阴悒的感觉一刻强似一刻。我同样清楚，这阴悒之情的下面暗伏着恐惧，而恐惧又以古怪的方式作用于我的头脑。我开始猜测这阴悒并不在我头脑中，而是某种真实的东西。它宛如一团神秘的云气，似乎是从幽暗的湖水、垂死的树和宅子破旧的墙垣中间径直升腾而起的。那是团沉重的铅云，饱含着疾病与恐怖。

我告诉自己这是个梦，又更加仔细地打量眼前的这栋建筑。的确，它已经非常破旧了，我注意到每一块石头上都有裂隙和孔洞。但是建筑本身又没有真正的残损，它一块石头也不缺。唯一引起我注意的是一道非常细小的裂缝，它从房子的顶部开始出现，然后一路向下延伸，直插入幽暗的湖水之中。

我来到宅子的正面。一个仆人牵走了我的坐骑，我跨进了大厅。另一个仆人默默地领着我上了楼。墙壁上挂着许多幅怪异、晦暗的画，让我十分紧张。我记得当年我还是个孩子，来这座府第里做客时就见过这些画，但是这次来访，它们给我的感觉却是前所未有的。

在楼梯上我们遇见了家庭医生，他脸上现出一副古怪的神情，这神情我很不喜欢。我急忙走了上去；终于，仆人打开门，引我走进了书房。

房间又大又长，窗户又高又窄，只能容许一点点天光射入，屋子的所有角落以及一件件深色的家具四周都是阴影。屋里摆放着好多书籍和几把吉他，但是毫无生气，毫无快乐可言。空气中满是浓重的阴悒氛围。

鄂榭一看见我，便起身热情洋溢地表示欢迎。我起初还以为他这只不过是做出来的殷勤态度，可是待我朝他脸上望去，才知道他见到我是真心欢喜。我们坐了下来，但他一开始并未开口讲话；有几分钟我就这样看着他，心里既吃惊又害怕。从我们上一次见面到现在，他已经发生了多么大的变化呀！他的脸颊还是那样苍白、瘦削，眼睛还是那样大而清澈，嘴唇还是那样薄，头发还是那样柔软。但是现在，他的皮肤变得太惨白，眼睛变得太大太亮；他看上去已经完全是另一个人了。他把我吓坏了。还有他那一头乱糟糟的长发，好似幽灵般的愁云一样缭绕在他脑袋上。

我发现我的朋友极度神经质，情绪变化无常。有时他长篇大论地讲话，而后就会突然间变得沉默寡言，几个小时一语不发。还有的时候他觉得想问题特别困难，于是他说话的声音就变得粗重、迟缓，好像是一个饮酒过量的人发出来的。

他向我讲述了他为何急于见到我，以及他如何希望现在有我相陪伴，他的情况会好转些。他解释道，他得的是一种怪病，这种病已经在他的家族中肆虐好久了。这种神经过敏症搞得他对一切事物都比其他人敏感得多。他只能吃那些几乎完全寡淡无味的食物，只能万分小心地挑选衣物，因为大多数面料都会伤害他的皮肤。他不能忍受屋里摆放花卉，因为花卉的香气对他来说太浓烈了。光线会刺伤他的眼睛，大部分声音会刺伤他的耳朵——只有柔和的吉他弹奏声他还能接受。

最糟糕的是，他成了自己的恐惧的囚徒。“我要死了，”他常常说，“死于这种恐惧。我并不害怕危险。令我丧胆的是恐惧本身。此刻我在同恐惧搏斗，但迟早我会丧失这奋力搏斗的能力。”

在与鄂榭的长谈中，我对他的怪病有了更多的了解。他坚信这个病症来自鄂榭府本身。他已有多年未离开这座宅子了，于是他想，他已经变得跟宅子自身一样悲哀了。它那灰色的石墙与暗黑、凝止的湖水间所蕴藏的阴悒业已化作他个人的愁苦心绪。

他还相信他身染怪病在很大程度上是由于他亲爱的妹妹病得十分严重。他有一个妹妹，名叫玛德琳，是他家族中另一位仅存于阳世间的成员，然而似乎每过一天，她就要朝着死神迈近一小步。

“她这一死，”鄂榭闷闷不乐地说道，“就将把我，鄂榭家族的末代孑遗，独自撇在这世界上了。”

他正说着，玛德琳从这长长的房间的远端缓缓走了过去，她并没有注意到我，便不见了影子。我盯着她，两眼昏昏欲睡，然后心头涌起一阵莫名其妙的惶恐。我再转脸看鄂榭，只见他已用双手掩面，不过我仍能看到他的脸色变得更加苍白，而且他正在无声地哭泣。

玛德琳小姐的病症极为古怪，哪个医生都瞧不出个名堂来。她一天比一天衰弱，一天比一天单薄，有时候一觉睡去，与其说是睡着了，还不如说是死掉了更形象。多年以来她同病魔进行了勇敢的斗争，谁知就在我到来的那天夜里，她上了床，就此卧床不起。“你可能再也不会见到她活着了。”鄂榭悲哀地摇着头，对我说。

此后的数日内鄂榭和我一直绝口不提他的妹妹。我们花了好多时间一起画画，一起读书，有时他还操起吉他弹上一曲。我尽了极大的努力去帮助我的朋友，但是却发现悲哀在他心中已如此根深蒂固。那黑魆魆的阴悒笼罩着属于他的世界的每一样东西；说实在的，有时候他似乎已接近了疯狂的边缘。

他画了一些古怪的画，唱了一些神秘的歌曲，歌词中尽是些狂野的字眼儿。还有，他脑子里的念头也很古怪，其中有一个想法好像比其他想法对他来说更重要。他相当肯定地认为，万事万物，花草，树木，甚至石头，都是有感知能力的。

“鄂榭府本身，”他对我说道，“就好像是一个活物。当墙壁最初被垒起来的时候，生命便进入了这些石头，此后年复一年，逐渐成长壮大。哪怕是围绕着石墙、聚集在湖面上的空气，也有它自己的生命，它是属于这宅子的。你难道没看见吗，”他嚷道，“那石头、那空气是如何塑造了鄂榭家族的众多生灵的？”

这些看法对我来说简直太离奇了，我都不知该怎么回答他才好。

一天傍晚，我正在安安静静地看书，我的朋友非常简短地告诉我，玛德琳小姐已经故去了。他说，他已经决定在宅子下面的一间地窖里停尸两个星期，然后再将其送往最后的长眠之地，理由是他妹妹的病很古怪，医生们还想再研究研究。他请求我帮忙料理一下，我答应了。

我们两个一起抬着盛了尸体的棺材，向下来到房子底部的地窖里。他选定的那间地窖要向下走很长一段才到，但它的正上方恰巧是我的寝室那一带。它从前曾经做过牢房，又小又黑，叫人透不过气来，还装着一扇沉重的铁门。

我们把棺材放下，然后轻轻地掀开棺盖，想最后看一眼死者。我低头朝鄂榭的妹妹脸上望去，这才发现他们兄妹二人是多么相像。然后我的朋友沉着地说了几句话，我终于得知他们二人是同日出生的孪生兄妹，彼此间无须言语交流便能心意相通。

我们对死者不敢久看。她的怪病使得她脸上微微泛出一抹粉红，嘴唇上挂着一丝若有若无、凝定不变的微笑；这笑容出现在死人脸上，可真叫人毛骨悚然。我们将棺盖重新盖上，仔细钉牢，又锁好了地窖那沉甸甸的屋门，才爬上楼梯，回到阴悒的宅子里。

无比沉痛的几天过去，我发现我的朋友精神错乱的病情有所加重。他不再画画，也不再读书，只是在一个又一个房间里徘徊，脚步迟缓，漫无目的。他的脸色更加苍白了，光芒已从他眼中消失，一说起话来，他的声音便常常因恐惧而发抖。有时候我想他是企图向我透露什么可怕的秘密，有时候我以为他要发疯了。他往往一坐就是几个小时，什么也没在看，什么也没在听——听的只是他自己头脑里的声音。我自己开始体会到真正的恐惧了。我感到我的朋友的惶恐，他那致命的阴悒，正在慢慢攫住我的心。

我们把玛德琳小姐的棺材抬到地窖以后，时间过了大约有七八天。这天晚上我上了床，却无法入眠，就一个钟头一个钟头地躺在那儿，同自己满脑子的恐惧和阴悒作着斗争。窗外风雨大作，并且愈发狂放不羁；我的卧室内则满是影子以及阴森森的家具暗黑的轮廓。我尽量使自己平静下来，谁知却越来越心惊肉跳。

突然间，我的身体由于新的一波恐惧袭来而打起了寒战。我从床上坐起，努力地谛听着周围的响动。是的，我能听见某种低沉的声音，不是来自外面的暴风雨，而是从宅子内部的什么地方发出来的。我迅速地穿上衣服，开始在房间里来来回回地踱步，希望以此摆脱掉我那不可救药的恐惧。

接着我听见敲门声，鄂榭走了进来。他的脸上一如既往地泛着惨白，眼里有一种疯狂的神色。他的这副尊容把我吓得要死，但与此同时，我又庆幸不必一个人待着了。

他一语不发，四下里看了一阵子，然后突然说道：“你难道没有看到？没有？那就等着吧。你准会看到的。”他急匆匆地走到窗前，把窗子打开。

一股劲风从外面大逞淫威的雷暴中吹出，轰的一声撞进房间里面，差点儿将我们掀翻在地。说老实话，这可真是一个狂暴而又美丽异常的夜啊。狂风似乎打着旋儿在宅子四周肆虐，一团团硕大的、沉重的乌云相互追逐着，忽而这里，忽而那里。我们看不到月亮也看不到星星，只见一片鬼样的惨白光辉浮动在宅子周围。

“不，你不能，你不能看这个！”我朝鄂榭嚷道，并将他从窗子旁轻轻推开，推到椅子上坐下，“这只不过是一场暴风雨而已。再说，夜里的冷空气对你的身体是有害的。咱们把窗子关上，一道读读书吧，瞧，这书就是你最爱读的一本。我来给你念，你光听着就成；这样我们就可以一道打发掉这恐怖的夜晚了。”

我随手拾起的这本书是兰斯洛特·坎宁爵士的《悲惨、疯狂的一生》。它其实并不是鄂榭最爱读的一本书，然而，它是我在手边唯一能找到的书，于是我便开始念了起来。书里讲的是一个疯狂、离奇的故事，不过我希望我这么一念会让鄂榭平静些，不再害怕。的确，他倒是在听我念书，然而我发现他听的时候带着一股疯狂的一本正经的劲头，吓死人了。

我念了一会儿，就到了书中描述艾特尔瑞德破门而入、硬闯老人住处的那一段。

现在艾特尔瑞德打定主意，他再也不能站在门外、淋着大雨等下去了。他举起重重的大棒子朝木门砸去，最后砸出一个洞。然后他用双手一拽，屋门即成碎片。干木头劈里啪啦碎裂的声音响遍了整个树林。

我念完这个句子后，在座位上跳了一下，然后又稳稳地坐定了。我觉得自己听见了这座府邸远处某个地方传来一阵与那木头劈里啪啦的碎裂声完全相同的声音；但我听得不是太真切，况且暴风雨的声音要大得多。我继续念道：

艾特尔瑞德进了那房子，却不见老人的踪影。然后，房子消失，他看见一条龙，口中喷吐着火舌。艾特尔瑞德举起大棒子朝龙头上砰的一声砸去。龙倒在地上，垂死之际发出一声哀嚎——这声长嚎尖厉刺耳，惨绝人寰。

到这里我再一次嘎然而止。我敢肯定我听见了一声嚎叫。叫声很低，离得很远，但那的确是一声长长的尖叫——就像书中写到的那声哀嚎一样。

虽然我感到极度紧张，但我还是尽力掩饰住自己的惊恐。我拿不准鄂榭是否听到了我听到的那些声音。在过去的几分钟里，他已经有所动作，现在正面对房门坐着。但我仍能看见他的嘴唇在发抖，他的身体左一下右一下地微微摇摆着。我接着念那个故事：

杀掉龙以后，现在艾特尔瑞德转过身来，看见他面前立着一座金子的宫殿，宫墙上嵌着一扇扇光闪闪的银质大门。艾特尔瑞德勇敢地向宫殿跑去，但还没等他跑近，那些闪光的银质大门便倒在他脚边的地上，发出巨大的、可怖的、钟磬齐鸣般的轰响。

我念到这些词句时，清晰地听见金属器物倒地的沉重的巨响。我一跃而起，但鄂榭坐在座位上一动不动。我朝他奔过去。他正直勾勾地瞪视着前方，脸庞好像石头一样。我把一只手放在他胳膊上，这时他的身体开始发抖，一丝惨淡的笑容出现在他的嘴唇上。然后他开口了，声音又低又急，似乎没有意识到我的存在。我低头凑近他的脑袋，去捕捉那些词句。

“我没听见？——不，我听见了，我早就听见了。我听见好几分钟，好几个钟头，好几天了——但是我太害怕了，害怕得不敢说出来。我们把她活着装进了棺材！我难道没有告诉过你，哪怕最轻微的声音我也听得见？现在我告诉你，我听见她在棺材里动弹的声音，那是好几天以前的事，可是我太害怕了——我不敢说！到了今天晚上——当你念到艾特尔瑞德打破老人的家门，念到龙一声哀嚎，念到大门纷纷倒地的时候——实际上，那是她打破了棺材，是她打开地窖时铁门发出的尖叫声，是那铁门倒在地上发出的钟鸣般轰的一响！噢，我能逃到哪儿去？这一刻她是不是正在急匆匆地赶来找我？我听见在楼梯上响起的是不是她那愤怒的脚步声？我能否听见她那沉重的、可怕的心跳声？疯子！”

他跳起身叫嚷着，像一个在恐惧中奄奄一息的人那样尖声喊出来：“疯子！我告诉你，这一刻她就站在这扇门外！”

正当他尖叫着这几句话的时候，沉重的屋门被一阵强风吹开了。在门外，立着鄂榭府的玛德琳小姐的高大身躯，她身穿雪白的尸衣，满手、满胳膊以及撕破的白色尸衣上都是血污。她浑身上下处处都显露出她为了逃出棺材而长时间苦苦挣扎的痕迹。她在那里站了片刻，颤抖着，身体慢慢地左摇右晃，然后低嚎一声，重重地摔倒在她哥哥身上。就在她终于一命呜呼的一刹那，他同她一起摔倒在地——一个死人，一个死于自己的恐惧的人。

我惊恐万状，马上逃出那间屋子，逃出那座宅邸。外面，风暴依旧猛烈；我跑过湖水，一道怪异的光芒突然照射到我身上。我回过头，看那古怪的光是从哪儿来的。是月亮，一轮血红的满月，正透过宅子墙壁上一道狭窄的裂缝闪耀着光辉。那道裂缝便是自建筑顶部开始、向下一直延伸到地面的那一道。待我望去，那道裂缝变得更宽，风也刮得更大了——现在我可以看到整个血红的满月。宅邸高大的石墙正在碎裂、倒塌；一阵长长的呼号声传来，宛如千股洪流齐泻；然后，那幽深、晦暗的湖水便吞没了鄂榭府的一切残砖碎瓦。

The Black Cat

I know you will not believe this story. Only a madman could hope that you would believe it — and I am not mad. But as I am going to die tomorrow, I would like to tell my story to the world today. Perhaps some day, somebody more calm and less excitable than me, will be able to explain it.

I have always loved animals. I loved them deeply, from the very first days of my life. When I was young, we always had many animals in our house, and so I used to spend most of my days playing with them and taking care of them. As the years passed, I grew into a quiet, gentle man, and my love for animals grew too. I found that they were more friendly, more honest than most men. Animals were always my best friends.

I got married when I was quite young. Luckily, my wife loved animals too, and she used to buy me many animals as presents. In fact, our house was always full of animals — we had birds, fish, a dog, chickens, and a cat.

This cat, whom we called Pluto, was a large black cat. He was a beautiful animal, and he was also very clever. I loved Pluto more than I loved all my other animals. I wanted to do everything for him myself, so I never let my wife take care of him. I used to play with him and give him his food, and he followed me everywhere I went.

For several years Pluto and I were the best of friends, but during this time my life slowly changed. I became a heavy drinker, and my need for alcohol soon grew into a terrible disease. I was often angry and violent. I began to shout at my wife, and I even started to hit her. My animals, too, felt the change in me. I stopped taking care of them and sometimes I was even cruel to them. But I was never cruel to Pluto. As time passed, my disease grew worse, and soon even Pluto was not safe from my violence.

One night I arrived home late. I was very, very drunk. When Pluto saw me, he tried to run away from me, and this made me angry. I caught him by his neck and shook him. He, in his fright, bit me on the hand. At once, a wild, terrible anger filled me, and I could feel nothing except burning hate. Slowly I took a knife from my pocket, opened it, and then carefully cut out one of Pluto's eyes from its socket. I shake today as I write these words down. Every time I remember that day, I still feel sadness and pain.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt ashamed of what I had done. But this feeling was not strong enough to make me change my life. I continued to drink because it was too difficult for me to stop. Soon, I had forgotten what I had done.

As the months passed, Pluto got better. His empty eye socket still looked terrible, but at least he wasn't in pain any more. Not surprisingly, he used to run away from me when he saw me, frightened that I would hurt him again. At first I was sad to see him run away — an animal which had once so loved me. Then I began to feel a little angry. There is something strange about the human heart. We humans seem to like hurting ourselves. Haven't we all, a hundred times, done something stupid or evil just because we know that we should not do it? It was because of this, this need to hurt myself, that I did this next evil thing...

One morning I woke, found a rope and calmly tied it round Pluto's neck. Then I hung the poor animal from a tree and left it there to die. I cried as I did this terrible thing. My face was wet with tears and my heart was black and heavy. But I killed it. I killed it because I knew it had loved me, because it hadn't hurt me, even because I knew that I was doing something terrible and wrong.

That same night we had a fire in our house. I was woken from my sleep by loud shouts of 'Fire!' When I opened my eyes, I found that the fire had already reached the bedroom. My wife and I ran out of the house as fast as we could. Luckily we escaped death, but the house and almost everything in it was destroyed.

The next day I went back into the house and saw several people standing in a group, looking at a wall. It was the only wall of the house that was still standing after the fire. It was one of my bedroom walls, the one where the head of my bed had rested. As I came nearer to the wall I heard someone say, 'How strange!' and another person, 'That's impossible!' And then I saw it — a huge cat. Not a real cat, but the shape of a cat outlined in the white bedroom wall. It was as clear as a picture. I could even see a rope around the animal's neck.

I stood there in horror, too frightened to move. Then, slowly, I thought back to the night before. I had left the cat hanging from a tree, in the garden at the back of my house. When a neighbour had first noticed the fire, many people had run into the garden. One of them had probably cut the cat from the tree and thrown it through my open window, in order to wake me up. The cat's body had hit my bedroom wall and left its shape there, because the plaster on that wall was new and still soft.

Although I thought that this was a very reasonable explanation, the strange shape on the wall still worried me. I thought about the cat day and night. I began to feel sorry that I had killed it. I started walking around the streets at night looking at all the cats, to see if I could find another one like Pluto.

One night, I was drinking in my favourite bar when I suddenly noticed a large, black cat. I went up to it and touched it. It was very large — as large as Pluto had been. It also looked very like Pluto. Except for one thing. Pluto had been black all over, but this cat had a white mark on its front.

I touched the cat and he immediately lay down against my leg and seemed very friendly towards me. This, I decided, was the cat that I wanted. I offered the barman some money to buy the cat from him, but he said that the cat didn't belong to him. In fact, he had no idea where it had come from.

So I took the cat home. My wife liked it immediately, and it stayed with us from that day. But soon — I do not know why — the cat started to make me angry, and, as time passed, I began to hate it. I did not hurt it in any way, but I always tried to keep as far away from it as possible.

I knew one reason why I hated this cat so much. On the morning after I had brought it home, I saw that, like Pluto, it had lost one of its eyes. My wife, who was the kind, gentle person that I had once been, only loved the cat more because of this. But the cat didn't like my wife. It loved me alone.

Every time I sat down, it used to jump onto my knees. When I went out of a room, it used to run out in front of me and get between my feet, or climb up my legs. At these times, I wanted to kill it. But I didn't, because I was too afraid — afraid of the cat, and even more afraid of the white mark on its chest.

I have already mentioned this mark. At first, there was nothing strange about it. It was just a white mark. But slowly this mark grew and changed until it had the clear shape of a terrible, a horrible thing — I find it difficult, here in my prison, to write the word. It was the shape of the GALLOWS! Yes, those horrible wooden posts from which they hang men by a rope around the neck!

As each day passed, my fear grew and grew. I, a man, a strong man, had become afraid of a cat! Why was I so frightened, so worried by a stupid animal? Day and night, I could get no rest. I had the most terrible dreams, and my mind turned to dark, evil thoughts. I hated everything, everybody — and life itself.

One day my wife and I needed to get something from the cellar underneath the house. The cat followed us down the steps and threw itself in front of me. I almost fell on my face and, mad with anger, I took hold of an axe and tried to kill the animal. But my wife caught my arm to stop me, and then anger exploded in my mind. I turned and drove the axe deep into her head. She fell dead on the floor, without a sound.

After this horrible murder, I calmly made plans to hide the body. I knew I couldn't take it out of the house, either by day or night, because the neighbours would see me. So I had to think of other ways... I could cut the body up into very small pieces and then burn them in a fire. I could hide the body under the floor. Or I could put the body in a box and then ask someone to carry the box away... Finally, I thought of a better idea. I decided to hide the body behind the walls of the cellar.

I knew immediately which wall to choose. There was a wall in the cellar round the bottom of an old chimney, which was no longer used. This wall had bricks in the front and back but was empty in the middle. I started work at once. I took out some of the bricks from the front wall and carefully put the body against the back wall. Then I put back the bricks and covered them with plaster. I made sure that the plaster did not look new, and soon the wall looked just the same as all the other walls. When I had finished my work, I looked at the plaster. 'I've never done a better piece of work!' I said to myself happily.

I then looked around for the cat, to kill it. It had brought too much unhappiness into my life, and so it, too, must now die. I looked for it everywhere, but it had disappeared. I was free at last! That night I had a deep, peaceful sleep — I, who had just killed my wife, slept well!

Three days passed and still the cat did not appear. I was now a happy man, happier than I had been for a long time. I wasn't worried by what I had done. People had asked a few questions and the police had visited my house, but they had found nothing.

On the fourth day the police visited again and began to search the house. They looked into all the rooms and then went down into the cellar. I went with them, feeling calm and safe. I watched them as they looked everywhere. They seemed quite happy that there was nothing there and they got ready to leave. I was very happy. I was sure that I was safe, but I wanted to say something, just a word or two, to show how unworried I was.

'Gentlemen,' I said, 'I'm pleased that you've found nothing here, and that you are now leaving this house... But let me show you something, gentlemen. Do you see how well built this house is? These walls, you will notice, are very strong.' As I said these words, I knocked on the wall with a stick — the wall where I had hidden my wife!

At that moment we heard a sound. It was a strange sound, unlike anything I had ever heard before. The sound was soft at first, almost like a baby crying. Then it grew louder and louder and turned into one long, endless scream. It was like a cry rising from Hell.

The policemen looked at me, then at one another. They ran to the wall and started pulling out the bricks as fast as they could. In minutes the wall was down and there, for all to see, was the body of my dead wife. On top of her head, with a red, open mouth and one burning eye, sat the black cat — the animal which had made me a murderer, and which would now send me to my death.

I had put the horrible thing into the wall, alive, with my wife!

excitable adj. easily excited. 容易激动的。

take care of to be responsible of. 负责。

alcohol n. liquid in drinks like beer and whisky that can make people drunk. 酒精；乙醇。

cruel adj. liking to cause pain or suffering; taking pleasure in the pain of another; merciless. 残忍的；残酷的；无情的。

drunk adj. under the influence of alcohol. 醉的；喝醉的。

socket n. a hollow part of a structure into which something fits. 凹槽；眼窝。

surprisingly adv. causing surprise. 令人吃惊地；异常地。

evil adj. very bad; wicked; harmful. 邪恶的；极坏的。

hang v. to fix at the top so that the lower part is free. 悬挂；吊。

destroy v. to ruin; put an end to the existence of (something). 破坏；毁坏。

outline v. to make an outline of. 画出……轮廓。

plaster n. a pastelike mixture of lime, water, sand, etc., which hardens when dry and is used, especially on walls, to give a smooth surface. 灰泥。

mark n. a spot, line, or cut that spoils the natural colour or appearance of something. 斑点；痕迹。

immediately adv. at once. 立即；马上。

offer v. to hold out (to a person) for acceptance or refusal. 提供；提出。

mention v. to tell about in a few words, spoken or written. 提及；说起。

gallows n. the wooden frame on which murderers used to be killed by hanging from a rope. 绞刑架；绞台。

cellar n. an underground room, usually used for storing goods. 地窖；地下室。

explode v. to blow up or burst. 爆炸。

murder n. the unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by another. （蓄意）谋杀；凶杀。

brick n. baked clay used for building. 砖。

peaceful adj. quiet; untroubled. 安静的；平静的；安宁的。

search v. to look through, or examine (a place or person) thoroughly or carefully to try to find something. 搜查；探索；寻找。

unworried adj. not anxious. 不着急的；不忧虑的。

endless adj. never finishing. 无穷尽的；无休止的。

hell n. a place where the souls of the wicked are said to be punished after death. 地狱；阴间。

murderer n. a person who kills a human being unlawfully. 谋杀者；凶手。

黑猫

我知道你们是不会相信这个故事的。只有疯子才会指望让你们相信——而我并没有发疯。可是考虑到明天我就要死了，我还是想在今天把我的故事讲给这个世界。也许有一天，有一个比我更镇静、更不易激动的人，将能够解释这一切。

我这人一向喜爱动物，从我生命最初的岁月起，便深深地眷恋它们。我小的时候，我们家里总是养着一大堆动物，于是我常常把大部分时间都花在陪它们玩、照料它们上面。随着光阴流逝，我成长为一个安静、文雅的男人，同时，我对动物的喜爱也有增无减。我发现它们比大多数人更友好，更诚实。动物们一直是我最好的朋友。

我在相当年轻的时候就结了婚。幸运的是，我妻子也喜爱动物，她常常买回好些个宠物送给我作礼物。事实上，我们家里总是充满了动物——我们养了鸟、鱼、一只狗、几只鸡，还有一只猫。

这只猫被我们称作普路托，它是只大个儿的黑猫，长得非常漂亮，而且十分聪明。比起我的其他宠物来，我对普路托更是宠爱有加。我情愿亲自为它做一切事情，所以从不让我妻子照料它。我经常陪它玩，喂它食吃；我走到哪儿，它也跟到哪儿。

普路托和我就这样做了好几年最亲密的朋友，可是在此期间，我的生活慢慢地发生了一些变化。我成了一个严重酗酒的家伙，我的嗜酒如命很快发展成可怕的顽症。我经常发脾气，态度很粗暴。我开始对我妻子大喊大叫，甚至开始动手打她。我的动物们也感觉到了我的变化。我不再精心照料它们，有时候甚至虐待它们。但我从不对普路托施暴。天长日久，我的病情逐渐加重了，很快地，就连普路托也难以幸免于我的暴虐凶残了。

一天夜里，我很晚才回到家中，我已经喝得酩酊大醉了。普路托一看见我，就想寻路逃开，这可让我心头火起。我一把抓住它的脖子，摇晃它。它吓坏了，就在我手上咬了一口。顿时，一股疯狂、骇人的怒火充盈了我的胸膛，除了燃烧着的仇恨我什么也感觉不到了。我慢慢地从口袋里掏出一把刀子，打开它，然后很仔细地把普路托的一只眼睛从眼眶里剜了出来。今天，当我写下这些词句时，我不禁浑身瑟瑟发抖。我每一次记起那一天，都依然感到悲伤和痛苦。

第二天早晨醒来时，我为我前夜的所作所为感到羞耻。但这种感情还不够强烈，不足以让我改过自新。我继续滥饮，因为想让我停下来真是太困难了。不久，我就将我所做的事情忘了个精光。

几个月过去了，普路托的伤势有所好转。它那空荡荡的眼窝看上去仍旧很可怕，但它起码不再觉得疼了。不出所料，它一见到我便赶紧跑开，惟恐我会再次伤害它。开始的时候，我看见它跑开还觉得很难过——这只动物从前是多么喜欢我呀。然后，我开始觉得有一点生气了。人类的心肠可真有点古怪，我们好像很喜欢伤害自己。难道我们不都曾明知故犯，昧着良心无数次干下这样那样的蠢事或者恶事吗？正是由于这个，由于这种自我伤害的需求，我紧接着又做下了这桩丧尽天良的事……

一天早晨，我醒来后找到了一根绳子，平静地把它套在了普路托的脖子上。然后我将那可怜的畜生吊在一棵树上，任凭它那样死去。我一边做这件可怕的事情一边哭泣，眼泪打湿了我的脸颊，我的心又阴郁又沉痛。但是我吊死了它。我吊死它是因为我知道它曾经爱过我，是因为它不曾伤害过我，甚至是因为我知道我在做着一件可怕的错事。

当天夜里我们家的房子失火了。我从睡梦中惊醒，听见有人高喊：“着火了！”我睁开眼，发现大火早已烧到了卧室，便和我妻子一起飞也似的逃出了房子。我们侥幸死里逃生，可是房子以及房子里的几乎全部家当都烧了个精光。

第二天，我回到房子里去，见几个人聚成一堆，正盯着一堵墙看。这是大火过后整栋房子唯一一堵仍旧立着的墙壁，是我卧室的四壁中的一面，平时我的床头就靠在上面。我向那面墙走近些，听见有人说：“真不可思议！”又听见另一个人说：“那是不可能的！”然后我也看见了——一只大猫。不是真猫，而是一只猫的形状，印在卧室雪白的墙上，像幅画一样清晰。我甚至可以看到那畜生脖子上拴着的绳子。

我魂飞魄散地站在那儿，吓得一动不敢动。然后，慢慢地，我回想起前一天夜里发生的事。我把猫吊在树上，是在我家后面的园子里。有一个邻居首先发现起火，很多人便跑进了那个园子。很可能是他们中间的某个人割断绳子，从树上解下那只猫，并将它顺着敞开的窗户扔进来，希望以此叫醒我。猫的尸体撞到我卧室的墙上，在上面印下了自己的轮廓，因为那面墙上的灰泥是新抹的，还软和着呢。

尽管我觉得这个解释很是入情入理，但墙上那古怪的形状仍然令我心烦意乱。日日夜夜，我总想起那只猫。我有些后悔自己害死了它，并开始在深夜跑到街上转悠，注意观察所有的猫，看是否能找到一只与普路托相像的。

一天夜里，我正在我最喜欢的酒吧里喝酒，突然，我注意到一只大个儿的黑猫，便朝它走过去，抚摸它。它大极了——和普路托过去一样大，而且看上去也很像普路托。不相像的只有一处。普路托是通体乌黑的，但这只猫前胸有一块白斑。

我抚摸着那猫，它立即挨着我的腿躺倒，似乎对我非常友善的样子。我当即断定，这就是我梦寐以求的那只猫。我向酒吧老板提出付他一些钱买下这只猫，但他说这只猫并不属于他，实际上，他根本不知道它是从什么地方跑来的。

于是我把猫带回了家。我妻子一下子就喜欢上了它，打那天起，它便和我们待在一起。可是没多久——我不知是何缘故——这只猫开始惹我生气了，而且，时间一长，我便开始对它深恶痛绝。我并没怎么折磨它，不过我总是尽量避开它，巴不得离得越远越好。

我知道有一个原因可以解释我为何如此厌恶这只猫。就在我把它带回家的第二天早上，我看到，像普路托一样，它也丢掉了一只眼睛。我的妻子像过去的我一样，是个善良、温柔的人，她因为猫的这次不幸反而更加怜爱它了。但这只猫并不喜欢我妻子，它只依恋我一个人。

每次我一坐下，它就要跳到我膝盖上；我一走出房间，它就窜出来跑到我前面，走在我两脚中间，或是爬到我的腿上。每逢这种时刻，我就想杀了它。但我没有下手，因为我太害怕了——害怕这只猫，尤其害怕它胸前的那块白斑。

这个斑块我在前面提到过。一开始，它并没有什么奇怪之处，不过是块白斑而已。但是慢慢地，这个斑块在长大、变形，最终清晰地显露出一样可怕的、恐怖的东西的形状——在这牢房之中，我很难写下那个字眼。那是个绞刑架的形状！是的，正是他们用绞索套住脖子将人吊死在上面的那种恐怖的木头架子！

随着每一个日子过去，我的恐惧感一增再增。我，一个男人，一个强健的男子汉，竟然到了害怕一只猫的地步！我为什么要这样心惊胆寒，这样被一只愚蠢的畜生搞得六神无主？白天黑夜，我都不得安宁。我总做些最可怕的噩梦，脑子里尽是些阴暗、邪恶的念头。我憎恨一切事，憎恨所有人——也憎恨生活本身。

有一天，我和我妻子需要到房子下面的地窖里去取点东西，那只猫也跟着我们下了台阶，并且一个箭步蹿到了我前头，害得我差点儿摔了个嘴啃泥。我气得发疯，抄起一柄斧头就想劈死这畜生，可是，我妻子拽住我的胳膊，要阻止我。这时，怒火在我心中爆发，我转过身，将斧头深深劈进了她的脑袋。她一声没哼，登时倒在地上断了气。

干完了这桩恐怖的杀人勾当，我镇定自若地谋划起匿尸灭迹的事来。我知道，无论白天还是黑夜，我都不能把尸首运出这房子，因为那样做会让邻居瞧见。所以我只好想些别的法子……我可以把尸体切成极小的碎块，扔到火里烧掉；我可以把尸体藏在地板下面；我还可以把尸体装到箱子里，再请人将箱子搬走……最后，我想出了一个更好的主意。我决定将尸体藏在地窖墙壁的背后。

我马上就知道应该选择哪一面墙了。地窖里有一面墙是围着一个废弃不用的旧烟囱底座砌起来的，它的正面和背面都垒着砖头，但中间部分却是空的。我马上动手开干。我从正面墙上拆下一些砖块，小心翼翼地将尸体贴着后面的墙放好，然后把砖块砌回去，再用灰泥将砖墙抹平。我把灰泥抹得使它看上去不像是新的，过不多久这面墙就和其他几面看着一模一样了。我忙活完，望着墙上的灰泥，高兴地自言自语道：“我还从没干过这么漂亮的活计呢！”

然后我四下里找那只猫，要杀了它。它给我的生活带来了太多的不幸，所以，现在它也必须去见阎王爷。我找遍了每一个角落，但是它已无影无踪了。我终于自由了！当天夜里，我太太平平地酣睡了一场——我，一个刚刚杀害了自己爱妻的家伙，居然睡了个好觉！

三天过去了，那只猫仍然没有出现。我现在快乐极了，是很久以来最快乐的时候。我对自己犯下的罪行并不担心。人们来问了几个问题，警察也到我家来过了，但他们什么也没有发现。

第四天，警察又来了，并且开始进行搜查。他们查看了每一个房间，然后下台阶来到地窖里面。我陪着他们，心里感到非常平静和安全，一直冷眼旁观他们检查每一个角落。他们没有找到任何东西，似乎相当高兴，并且准备离开了。我满心欢喜。我确信自己是安全的，但又想说点什么，哪怕是一两句话，就为了表示一下我是多么满不在乎、清白无辜。

“先生们，”我开口道，“你们在这里没有找到任何东西，现在又要离开这幢房子了，我很高兴……不过我要给你们看样东西，先生们。你们看见没有，这房子建得有多么好？你们会注意到，这几堵墙结实极了。”我一面说着这话，一面用根棍子敲打着墙壁——正是我藏匿妻子尸体的那面墙！

就在那一刻，我们听见了一个声音。这声音很古怪，同我以前听到过的声音都大不一样。它开始时很轻，几乎像是一个婴儿的哭声；然后就升得越来越高，转而成为一声没完没了的嚎叫，仿佛从地狱中响起的哀号。

警察们一齐望着我，又彼此看了看。他们奔到墙边，开始拼命将砖块飞快地向外扒。几分钟不到，砖墙扒倒了；那里赫然便是我那亡妻的尸首。在她的头顶上蹲着那只黑猫，张开血盆大口，一只独眼里燃烧着鬼火——这畜生诱使我犯下了杀人罪，现在又要送我去见阎王了。

我把这可怕的东西，同我妻子一起，活活砌到墙里去了！

The Masque of the Red Death

The Red Death had been in the country for many, many years. No disease had ever been so deadly. People called it the Red Death because it left blood, red horrible blood, on the body and face of each person it visited. And no one, if visited, was ever left alive. Once a person was touched by the Red Death, he immediately felt pains, and soon afterwards started to bleed from every part of his body. In thirty minutes he was dead. After that no one, not even his family, went near the blood-covered body.

Everybody was afraid of the Red Death — everybody except the fearless Prince Prospero. He refused to be troubled by it. Although half the people of his country had already died from this terrible disease, he continued to enjoy life to the full. One day he decided to invite a thousand of his strong and brave friends to stay with him in one of his castles, far out in the countryside. There the Red Death would not be able to touch them.

It was a huge and extraordinary castle, built to Prince Prospero's own plan. It had strong high walls and great gates of heavy metal. Now when the Prince and his friends arrived at the castle gates they went inside, locked the gates carefully and threw away the keys. In that way no one would be able to enter or escape. They were all there together, far away from the Red Death. Now they could forget the world outside and think only of themselves. They had everything they needed to amuse themselves, because the Prince had forgotten nothing. He had brought in food and wine, actors, musicians, and dancers. All of this, and life itself, was inside the castle. Outside lay the Red Death.

Towards the end of the fifth or sixth month, while the Red Death was at its most deadly outside, the Prince gave a wonderful masked ball for his friends. It was a wild and wonderful ball, but first let me tell you about the rooms in which he gave the ball. There were seven rooms in all. In most castles, of course, the rooms for great parties or dances join each other end to end. In this way, when the doors at the end of each room are opened, the seven rooms become one huge room, and you can see from the first room right through to the last one. In Prospero's castle, it was different. Each room turned suddenly round a corner into the next, so if you were standing in one room it was impossible to see into the other rooms.

In the middle of each wall, on the right and left, there was a tall, narrow window opening onto the closed passage which ran along beside all seven rooms. Each window was made of different coloured glass, and the colour of the glass was the same as the colour of the room that it opened onto. The first room, for example, was blue, and so its windows were also a deep blue. The second room was purple, and so the windows, too, were purple. The third was green, with green windows, the fourth orange, the fifth white, and the sixth violet. The seventh room was black. Its walls were black, its thick, heavy carpet was also black. But its windows were red — a deep blood-red.

There were no candles in any of the rooms. The only light came from fires, in hanging metal baskets, which were in the passages outside the rooms. Each fire was opposite a window, and so the light from the fire shone through the coloured glass and filled each room with strange and fantastic shadows. But in the black room the firelight that shone through the blood-red window changed the room into something too horrible to describe. In that strange light, faces became wild and frightening, and few people were brave enough to enter the room at all.

In this room, against the farthest wall, stood a huge black clock. Every hour it chimed loud and deep and clear, filling the castle with its long, gloomy sound. And while the clock chimed, the musicians stopped playing and even the wildest dancers stood still, in silence and fear, listening to the passing of another hour... But when the chiming stopped, people looked at each other and laughed, trying hard to pretend that they had not been frightened. Happiness came into the castle again, until the clock chimed the passing of the next hour, and the same fear returned.

Prince Prospero's ball, although given in these strange rooms, was wild and happy. The Prince had planned everything — the colours, the paintings on the walls, even the cloaks and masks worn by each one of his friends. He had chosen all the clothes with the greatest of care, putting together the beautiful and the ugly, the strange and the fantastic, the surprising and the frightening.

Each man and woman was dressed like a terrible dream. And in and out of the rooms these dreams walked and danced, their clothes changing colour each time they entered a different room. But no one was brave enough now to enter the black room. As the night passed and the fires burned brighter, the colours and shapes in this room became more horrible than ever. The black carpet and walls seemed full of gloom, and the deep chimes of the black clock sounded even more frightening.

But the other six rooms were full of life and pleasure. People were dancing and singing, talking and laughing, and the wild noise of a thousand happy men and women rang through the castle. Then came the hour of midnight, and once again dancers and musicians became still and silent, as the clock slowly rang the twelve long chimes of midnight. And because the twelve chimes took a long time to ring, each person had more time to think, and feel uncomfortable. They also had time, before the last chime had sounded, to notice a masked figure who had not been there before. The first person who saw the stranger told the next person, who told another, and in a few minutes a cry of fear and horror rose up from the crowd.

Now you will remember that everyone at the ball was wearing strange cloaks and masks, which belonged more to the world of dreams and wild imagination than to everyday life. So why, you may ask, this horror, and this fear? But even in the cruellest heart there are some fears too terrible to laugh at. The tall thin figure of the stranger was dressed from head to foot in the white clothes of the dead. And the mask over the face was frighteningly real — it was the face of a dead man. Worse still, the face and the body were covered with red, horrible blood! Here, in the middle of all that dancing and happiness was a living picture of the Red Death!

When Prince Prospero saw the masked stranger, his face became white with fear. Then his fear turned to anger and he shouted out, 'Who is that? Who is mad enough to play games with us, and with death, in this way? Take hold of him, and pull off his mask. I want to see the face of the man who, tomorrow, will hang from the castle roof.'

The Prince was in the blue room as he said these words. They rang loudly and clearly through the seven rooms. Many of the Prince's friends started to run towards the masked figure, but they were all too frightened to touch him. With slow and silent steps, the stranger walked slowly towards the Prince, passing very near to him. Then he continued walking, and went from the blue room into the purple one, from the purple into the green, and then into the orange room, the white room and then the violet room. No one tried to stop him.

Then Prince Prospero, mad with anger, hurried through the six rooms, with a sword in his hand. As the masked figure entered the black room, the Prince was close behind him, holding his sword up high. At that moment the stranger turned suddenly to look at the Prince. There was a loud cry — and the sword fell upon the black carpet, followed by the dead body of the fearless Prince Prospero.

At once a crowd of people ran into the black room and took hold of the masked stranger. He was standing very still, in the shadow of the black clock. Angrily, they pulled away the clothes and the mask, but then they backed away in horror, because inside the clothes and mask they found — nothing.

And now each person in the castle understood that the Red Death was there, among them. It had come like a thief in the night. And one by one they fell down dead. And the black clock stopped ringing with the death of the last person. And the fires also died away. And the only things left in the castle were Darkness and the Red Death.

masque n. 假面舞会；化装舞会。

afterwards adv. later; after that. 后来；以后。

trouble v. to make anxious, nervous, worried, etc. 使烦恼；使忧虑。

extraordinary adj. more than what is ordinary. 非常的；非凡的。

amuse v. to cause to spend time in a pleasant manner. 娱乐；消遣。

musician n. a person who performs on a musical instrument, or who writes music. 音乐家；乐师；作曲家。

ball n. a large formal occasion for social dancing. 舞会。

party n. a gathering of people, usually by invitation, for food and amusement. （应邀参加宴请和娱乐的）聚会。

passage n. a narrow connecting way, especially inside a building. 过道；走廊。

opposite adj. facing. 对面的；相对的。

describe v. to say what something is like; give a picture (of) in words. 叙述；描写；描述；形容。

chime v. to make musical bell-like sounds; show (the time) in this way. 奏出钟声似的乐音；报时。

pretend v. to give an appearance of (something that is not true), with the intention of deceiving. 假装；伪装。

surprising adj. causing surprise. 令人吃惊的；出乎意料的。

frightening adj. causing fear. 可怕的；令人吃惊的。

midnight n. 12 o'clock at night. 午夜；夜里12点。

uncomfortable adj. not comfortable. 不舒服的；不安的；不自在的。

cloak n. a loose outer garment, usually without arm-coverings, which is sometimes worn instead of a coat. 斗篷；大氅。

imagination n. the act of imagining or the ability to imagine. 想象；想象力。

clearly adv. in a clear manner. 清楚地。

anger n. a fierce feeling of displeasure, usually leading to a desire to hurt or stop the person or thing causing it. 怒火；愤怒。

fearless adj. without fear. 不怕的；无畏的。

one by one one after another; singly. 一个一个地。

darkness n. 黑暗。

红死魔假面舞会

红死病已在国内肆虐很多、很多个年头了，还不曾有过哪种疾病是如此致命的。人们称之为红死病，是因为它每降临到一个人头上，那人的面部和身体就会出血，就会流出恐怖的、殷红的鲜血；还有，罹病之人无一得以幸存人世。一旦某个人遭到了红死魔的触摸，他就会立即感到疼痛，此后不久身体各处开始出血，三十分钟之内准会丧命。然后，所有人，哪怕是他的家人，都不敢靠近那鲜血淋漓的尸体。

人人惧怕红死病——只有无畏的普洛斯佩罗亲王是个例外。他拒绝为此所困扰。尽管在他的国家里已有半数民众被这可怕的疾病夺去了生命，他仍然继续充分地享受生活。一天，他决定邀请1,000位健壮、勇敢的朋友同他一道去他远在乡间的一座城堡居住。在那里，红死魔对他们将无计可施。

这座城堡规模宏大，非同凡响，是按照普洛斯佩罗亲王亲自设计的蓝图建造的，它有着巍然高耸的坚固城墙以及厚重的金属大门。现在，亲王和他的朋友们来到城堡的大门前；他们进入城堡，仔细地锁好大门，然后将钥匙扔掉。这样一来，就没有一个人能够进入或是逃走了；他们都在一起，远远地避开红死魔，现在他们可以忘掉外面的世界，仅仅关注他们自己。供自己取乐用的东西他们样样都有，因为亲王什么都没忘了带。他带来了食物、美酒、演员、乐师和舞者。所有这一切，再加上生命本身，均处于城堡内部；城堡外面则是红死病的天下。

到了第五或第六个月的末尾，外面正是红死病最为猖獗的时候，亲王却举办了一个盛大的假面舞会招待他的朋友们。舞会开得热烈奔放、精彩绝伦，不过首先让我来向诸位介绍一下举办舞会的场地。总共有七间屋子。当然，在大多数城堡里，举行大型宴会或舞会的房间都是彼此衔接、首尾相连的。按照这种布局，每一间屋子两端的门一开，七间屋子就会变成一个大房间，你可以从第一间屋子径直望见最后一间。然而在普洛斯佩罗的城堡里，情形就有所不同了，每一个房间要绕过一个拐角才突然转而成为下一个房间。这样，如果你站在其中一个房间里，你是不可能望见其他几个房间的。

在每间屋子左右两面墙的中部，各开着一扇又高又窄的窗户，窗外是一个封闭的走廊，它在全部七个房间旁边经过。每扇窗户都镶着不同颜色的玻璃，而玻璃的颜色又同窗户所处的房间的色调相一致。比如，第一个房间是蓝色的，所以它的两扇窗户都是深蓝色的；第二个房间是紫色的，它的窗户也就是紫色的；第三个房间是绿色的，安着绿窗户；第四个为橙黄色；第五个为白色；第六个为紫罗兰色。第七个房间是黑色的，四壁涂成黑色，又厚又重的地毯也是黑色的；然而这间屋子的窗户却是红色的——一种深浓的血红。

哪间屋子里都是不点蜡烛的。唯有的光亮来自屋子外面走廊里挂着的金属吊篮中燃着的火焰。每一团火焰正对着一扇窗户，于是火光透过彩色玻璃映射进来，使每一间屋子都布满古怪、奇异的影子。可是，那间黑色屋子在透过血红色窗户投射进来的火光的映照下却变得难以形容地恐怖瘆人。在那怪异的光芒中，一张张面孔显得又疯狂又可怖；根本就没有几个人胆大得敢走进那间屋子。

在这间屋子里，靠着最远处那面墙立着一座黑色的大钟，每到整点便以洪亮、深沉、清晰的声音报时，让那悠长、阴森的轰鸣响彻整个城堡。每当大钟报时，乐师们便停止演奏音乐，就连最狂热的舞者也要呆呆地站定，一声不吭、满心恐惧地谛听着又一个钟头的流逝……但是一旦报时结束，人们便彼此相视大笑，尽力装出一副根本没有受到惊吓的样子。欢乐再一次降临到城堡之中，直到大钟宣布下一个钟头逝去的时候，相同的恐惧才会回到他们心里。

普洛斯佩罗亲王的舞会尽管是在这样几间稀奇古怪的屋子中举行的，却开得甚为无法无天、恣情纵欲。亲王筹划了一切——房间的色彩，墙上挂的图画，甚至供每一位朋友穿戴的斗篷和面具都准备好了。他尽最大努力精心挑选了所有的衣装，集美与丑、荒诞不经与异想天开、别出心裁与怵目惊心于一体襄此盛举。

男男女女们装扮得好似一个个噩梦，这些噩梦在一间间屋子中进进出出，走动着，跳着舞，每走进一间色调不同的屋子，身上的衣服就变换一次颜色。但现在没有一个人敢走进那间黑色的屋子。夜一点点过去，火焰燃烧得更亮了，映得这间屋子里的色彩与怪影比以往更为恐怖。黑黢黢的地毯和四壁看上去极为阴森，那黑色大钟深沉的报时声听起来更加令人毛骨悚然。

不过另外六间屋子里面却是生机盎然，一片笑语欢声。人们唱啊跳啊，说啊笑啊，一千名快乐的男男女女纵情狂欢的嘈杂声在城堡中回荡着。然后午夜的时刻到来了，跳舞者与乐师们再一次变得安安静静、一语不发，听着大钟缓缓地发出午夜的十二声悠长的轰鸣。由于这十二下报时的钟声用了很久才打完，每一个人便有了更多的时间陷入沉思，感到不安。他们同样有时间在最后一下报时钟声鸣响之前注意到有一个先前并不在场的戴面具的家伙。第一个看到这陌生人的人告诉了第二个人，第二个又告诉了第三个，就这样，几分钟不到，人群中响起了一阵惊恐万状的叫声。

现在诸位会记起，参加舞会的每一个人都是穿戴着千奇百怪的斗篷和面具的，而这些装束在日常生活中并不常见，它们更多地属于一个梦幻与狂想的世界。那么，你可能会问，为何如此惊慌、如此害怕呢？话虽这么说，但即便是在最残忍无情的人心里，也埋藏着可怕得难以一笑置之的恐惧。那个身量又高又瘦的陌生人从头到脚穿着死人穿的白色寿袍，脸上戴的面具令人生畏地逼真——那是一张死人的脸。更糟糕的是，他的脸上和身体上布满了猩红、骇人的鲜血！在歌舞升平和欢声笑语中竟然出了个红死魔的活生生的化身！

普洛斯佩罗亲王一看见那戴面具的不速之客，便吓得脸色惨白。接着，他的惊恐又变成了愤怒，他嚷道：“那是什么人？什么人竟然如此丧心病狂，拿死亡跟我们开这种玩笑？把他抓起来，撕掉他的面具。我要看看这家伙的脸，明天再把他吊死在城堡的顶上。”

亲王说这番话的时候正站在蓝色的房间里，声音洪亮而清晰地响彻七个房间。亲王的好多朋友抬腿向那戴面具的人奔去，但他们都怕得厉害，不敢动他。那陌生人迈着不慌不忙的、无声的步子朝亲王缓缓走去，紧挨着走过他身旁之后，又继续踱着步子从蓝色房间进了紫色房间，从紫色房间进了绿色房间，然后依次进了橙黄色房间、白色房间和紫罗兰色房间。没有人敢于阻止他。

这时，普洛斯佩罗亲王气得发疯，急忙手执一柄宝剑穿过六个房间赶来。当那戴面具的人走进黑色房间时，亲王赶到他身后，将宝剑高高举起。就在这一刻，那陌生人突然转过身来，紧盯着亲王。只听得一声惨叫——那柄宝剑掉落在黑色的地毯上，紧接着倒下来的是无畏的普洛斯佩罗亲王的尸体。

一群人立即冲进黑色房间，抓住了那个戴面具的不速之客。他正一动不动地站在黑色大钟的阴影里。人们愤怒地扯掉了袍子和面具，但是他们接着又恐惧地退了回去，因为他们在袍子和面具下面没有找到任何东西。

至此，城堡里的每一个人都明白了，红死魔已经到来，就在他们中间；他像个盗贼一样于深夜溜了进来。于是，人们一个接一个地倒地身亡，当最后一个人死掉时，那座黑色大钟也停止了鸣响。火焰也逐渐熄灭。城堡中只余下黑暗和红死魔，此外别无一物。

William Wilson

William Wilson is not my name. But I shall use it in this story because my real name is too well known, too hated in every corner of the world. My evil crimes have made sure of that. And as the day of my death comes nearer, I feel the need to write, to explain to you how my life of crime began.

Most men become evil slowly. They start with little crimes and then move on to bigger ones. But I am different. I moved into real crime with just one big step. Has any man lived a life as evil as mine? But now, the shadow of death fills me with fear; day and night I have the most terrible dreams. Perhaps someone, somewhere, will feel sorry for me. Listen to my story...

I was a wild and excitable child. My parents worried about me and often tried to punish me, but they never succeeded in changing me. I refused to obey them and I never followed any orders that they gave me. I wanted to be free so I listened only to myself.

The first school that I can remember was a large and very old house in a small, quiet English village. As I write, I can still feel the coolness of the shadowy gardens near the house. I can smell the sweetness of the flowers and hear the deep sound of the church bells as they rang every hour.

These feelings give me some moments of happiness as I sit here in black misery, waiting for death. In fact, it is here, in this school, that my story really begins...

The school building was large and old. The big gardens were closed in by a high wall, with broken glass at the top, just like a prison. We only went out three times a week. On Saturday afternoons we took a walk in some fields near the school, under the watchful eye of one of our teachers. On Sundays we went out twice, morning and evening, to go to the village church.

I was not bored or unhappy during my life at school. Children can amuse themselves very easily, and in my imagination, I lived an exciting life, full of mystery and interest. But in the real world, the days were always the same — we woke up and went to bed, we walked in the fields and played in the playground... The playground was, indeed, a very special place. It was a place where friends were made and lost, a place always full of trouble and excitement.

I was the kind of boy who liked to give orders, not to take them. I always wanted to win every game, every fight, and to be first in everything. All the other boys, even those a bit older than myself, were happy to follow and obey me. All, that is, except one. His name was the same as mine, so I shall call him William Wilson, too. We were not from the same family, but we both had the same name. This was not surprising because my name was not an unusual one.

This William Wilson refused to obey me. He argued with me, both in class and in the playground, and tried to stop the other boys from following me. Actually, I think I was the only boy who realized what he was doing. He did everything very cleverly and silently, and in this way nobody really noticed it. But I — I noticed what he did, and I was frightened by it. I was afraid that Wilson was stronger than I was. I became worried and angry when I saw the other boys follow him instead of me. But Wilson was always cool and calm. Nothing ever troubled him. He seemed to want one thing only — to see me frightened and unhappy. But at the same time I sometimes noticed that he showed a friendliness towards me — which was most unwelcome to me.

It is difficult for me to describe my feelings towards Wilson. I didn't hate him, but neither did I like him. I think that, more than anything, I felt afraid of him. At the same time I wanted to know more about him. I wanted to find something that frightened or worried him. But I could find nothing. There was nothing strange in the way he looked or walked. Nothing, that is, except for one thing — his voice. His voice was strange. When he spoke, he could never speak loudly. In fact, he never spoke above a whisper.

Wilson was quick to find the one thing that I really did not like. It was my name. Although I come from an old and famous family, my name is a very everyday one. It could belong to any unimportant workman. I had always hated my name, but now I hated it even more because both of us had the same name. I heard it twice as often. And there was something that worried me even more deeply. We seemed to look alike as well. We were as tall as one another, we were both thin, and even our faces were alike. Because our names were the same, I knew that the older boys thought that we were brothers, but nobody seemed to notice that we looked alike. But Wilson noticed it and he also saw that I was angry about it. Nothing ever escaped him. He always knew my deepest feelings.

After a while he started to dress like me, and even to walk like me. Luckily, he could not speak like me when I spoke loudly, but when I spoke in a whisper, his whisper was just like mine.

All these things troubled me deeply. I could see that Wilson enjoyed making me angry, and he used to laugh at me secretly. Strangely, the other boys never noticed how he made fun of me, and copied me in every way. I was the only one who noticed it.

Very often he used to give me advice, telling me quietly what I should do or what I should say. I hated him even more when he did this. Today, of course, I realize that his advice was always very good and sensible. What a pity that I never followed it!

As time went by, I became more and more angry with him. Why should he, or anyone, give me advice? My feelings towards him changed and I actually began to hate him. He noticed this and tried not to come near me so much.

One day, towards the end of my fifth year at school we had a violent argument. While we were arguing, he showed his feelings more openly than usual, and a very strange idea came into my mind. I thought — how can I describe it? — I thought just for a second or two that I had known him before, a long, long time ago, when we were very young children. It was, as I say, a strange and very stupid idea, and I forgot it as quickly as I could.

But that night, when every one was asleep, I got out of bed. Then I walked through the dark building, with a small lantern in my hands, until I reached Wilson's room. I left the lantern outside and went near to his bed. Yes, he was asleep. I returned to get my lantern and went back to his bed. I had planned to do something cruel to him while he slept. But as I looked at the sleeping boy, my heart beat faster and I was filled with fear. Was this really what William Wilson looked like? Did he look just the same when he was awake? I knew that he was as tall as I was. I knew, too, that he walked like me and talked like me, and copied me in every way that he could. But was it possible that the person in that bed looked so like me in every way? I began to shake with fear, and my body turned ice-cold. Surely he couldn't look like this! Was I really looking at a boy who was not just a copy of me, but...

I was more frightened than I had ever been in my life. I went silently out of his room, left the school building and never returned there again.

After several lazy months at home, I was sent to Eton, one of the most famous English boys' schools. There, I soon forgot William Wilson and the strange fears I had felt. If I thought about them at all, I used to laugh at myself.

My life at Eton lasted for three wild and evil years. I learnt to be clever and secret, and was interested only in new ways of amusing myself. I chose the worst kind of students for my friends, and spent all my time in evil enjoyment. One night, when I was in my third year, I invited some students to a party in my rooms. We drank and played cards all through the night. As well as the wine, we had other, perhaps more dangerous, pleasures. As the first morning light started to appear, I suggested a new evil amusement. Then I noticed that somebody was opening my door and I heard a servant's voice, 'There's somebody outside who wants to speak to you, sir. He seems to be in a hurry.'

I walked, with difficulty, to the hall, as I was feeling very drunk with the wine. It was still too dark to see clearly, but I could just see the shape of a young man. He was as tall as I was, and was wearing the same clothes as myself. I could not see his face.

He came up to me and whispered the words 'William Wilson!' in my ear. I knew the voice at once. It was impossible to mistake it. Those two words were enough to fill me with fear. Before I could look into his face, he had disappeared.

The meeting only lasted a few seconds, but for some weeks I could not forget it. I thought of it all the time. Who and what was this William Wilson? Where did he come from? What did he want from me? My questions stayed unanswered, but I did discover one thing. I learnt that William Wilson had left my last school on the same day that I myself had run away from it.

Soon I forgot about him again, and not long afterwards I went up to Oxford University. My parents were not sensible people and they always gave me a lot of money. I was able to live a fashionable, expensive life, and to choose as my friends the sons of the richest families of England. There was nothing at all to stop me now. I spent my money wildly, and passed my days and nights in dangerous and exciting pleasures.

At Oxford I spent a lot of my time gambling. I became, in fact, a most clever and successful gambler — no better than a thief. I played cards in order to win money from the other students and become even richer. Of course, I was careful to play only with students who were bad at playing cards. In this way I could be sure of winning every time. My friends were not clever enough to see what I was doing.

In my second year at University I met a new student called Glendinning. He came from an old English family and was one of the richest students in the university. I soon realized that he was very unintelligent and because of this he was, of course, a very suitable person for me to gamble with! I started to play cards with him often, and for some time I made sure that he always won.

At last I decided that the time was right and I made my plans carefully. I met Glendinning at the rooms of a friend of mine, a Mr Preston (who had no idea of my secret plan). Eight or ten other friends were also invited. In this way Glendinning had no idea that I planned to gamble with him that evening. In fact, at the party, it was he who first suggested playing cards.

We played for many long hours. In the end, by my careful plan, I was playing alone against Glendinning, while the others watched our game. Glendinning had drunk a lot of wine during the evening and his hands were beginning to shake a little — from fear or from the wine, I wasn't sure. He had already lost a large amount of money. Then he did what I had hoped for. He took another long drink of wine and said, 'Let's double the stakes.' Beginners always think they can win back what they have lost in this way.

At first I pretended to refuse. Then he became angry, so, naturally, I had to agree. My plan was working excellently. We continued playing, and in less than an hour my winnings were four times as big. Glendinning's face was now as white as a sheet. Everyone around the table started talking, and to my surprise I heard the words, 'That's the end of Glendinning. He's just lost everything he had!'

I had heard that Glendinning was very rich indeed — rich enough to lose a lot of money and not to worry about it. Now, I understood from the whispers around the table, that this was not true. I had, in fact, won everything he owned, and so destroyed him.

Nobody spoke. Glendinning had covered his face with his hands and everyone clearly felt very sorry for him. Even I began to feel a little worried, and wondered what I should do.

As we stood in silence, the doors suddenly opened and a strong wind filled the room. It blew out all the candles in the room and we were left in darkness. But in the few seconds before the candles went out, we noticed that a man had entered the room. He was about as tall as I was, and his face and body were hidden by a long cloak. As we stood in the darkness, we could feel him standing in the room.

Then he began to speak. He spoke in a whisper, and his voice filled me with fear. 'Gentlemen,' he said. 'I am here because I have something important to tell you. I am afraid that you do not really know the man who has just won so much money from Glendinning. Let me tell you how to learn more about him. Please look very carefully inside his left sleeve and at the several little packets inside the large pockets of his jacket.' Immediately after these words he left the room, as silently as he had entered it.

That moment was one of the worst moments of my life. I had no time to do anything. My friends fell on me angrily, lit the candles again, and searched my clothes. They found the single cards hidden carefully inside my left sleeve, and in my pockets they discovered the packets of special cards which helped me to win every game I played.

My friends stood around me in a circle and looked at me in silence. Mr Preston then picked up a cloak from the floor. 'Mr Wilson,' he said. 'Here is your cloak. You will, I hope, leave my room, and then leave Oxford immediately.'

I wanted to hit him, but something stopped me. It was the cloak that Preston was holding in his hands. Although it looked like my cloak, I knew that it wasn't, because my own cloak was already over my left arm. It was a very unusual and expensive cloak, which a shop had made specially for me. How was it possible that there was now another cloak just like it?

I thought back to the moment when the stranger had come into the room. Yes, he had been wearing a cloak too... Full of fear, I quickly took the cloak from Mr Preston and left the room. The next morning I left Oxford and escaped to Europe. I was now known to be a cheat at cards and every door in England would be closed against me.

But bad luck travelled with me. In fact I soon realized that my troubles at Oxford had been only the beginning... Soon after I arrived in Paris, I met William Wilson again. There, too, he destroyed my evil hopes. Everywhere I went, year after year, he appeared like a ghost and came between me and my plans. In Rome he stopped me from getting what I wanted. In Vienna, too — in Berlin, and even in Moscow! Wasn't there anywhere where I could be left alone? I went from city to city, trying to escape from him. But I couldn't feel free. I couldn't be alone. He followed me everywhere.

Again and again I used to ask myself these questions. 'Who is he? Where does he come from? What does he want from me?' But I could find no answer. I thought deeply about all the times when I had seen him. In every city, I realized, Wilson had done the same thing. He had not stopped my plans all the time, but only when they were evil and dangerous, either to others or to myself. I understood all this, but still I was very angry. Why couldn't Wilson leave me alone? Why couldn't he let me live in the way I wanted to?

I realized another thing too. Every time Wilson appeared, he had never let me see his face. I had always noticed his clothes. It was difficult not to notice them because they were always the same as mine. But he kept his face hidden from me. Why did he do this? Did he really think that I was so stupid? Did he think I hadn't realized who he was? The man who followed me everywhere and destroyed my plans again and again was the same William Wilson of my schooldays! But let me continue with my story.

Until now I had felt afraid of Wilson and had obeyed him. The mystery of his sudden arrivals, his cleverness, his deep understanding of me — all these things filled me with fear. I always obeyed him, although I hated myself for doing it. But recently I had become a very heavy drinker. Wine made me feel brave and strong, able to fight anybody who tried to stop me. At the same time I began to think that Wilson was becoming weaker. Was this really happening or was it just a dream? I cannot tell, but I do know that my own feelings were becoming more and more violent. I began to feel a burning hope — soon I would break free from this terrible enemy and never take his orders again.

One evening, in 18—, I was in Rome and was invited to a big party in the palace of Duke Di Broglio. The Duke was old and boring, but his wife was young and beautiful, and not very sensible. I had evil plans for her. She and I had agreed to meet, during the party, in a quiet room where we could be alone.

As I walked from room to room looking for her in the crowds, I suddenly felt a hand touch my arm. Then I heard a whisper in my ears. Angrily I turned round and saw a man. He was wearing the same clothes as I was, but his face was covered with a black mask. I caught him by his arm. 'Stop!' I shouted. 'I have had enough trouble from you! This is the last time you'll follow me anywhere! Come with me now into the next room. If you don't, I shall kill you right now, here where you stand!'

I took him into a small room nearby and pushed him violently to the floor. He got to his feet shakily, and stood up against the wall. I then closed the door and ordered him to fight. For a second he did not move. Then he silently took out his sword.

It was a short fight. I was wild and excited and felt stronger than I had ever felt before. After only a few seconds I pushed him against the wall and plunged my sword into his body again and again.

At that moment somebody tried to open the door. I ran to check that the door was locked and then ran back towards my enemy. How can I describe what I saw at that moment? During those few seconds when I had turned to the door, the room had become strangely different. There was now a large mirror at the end of the room. I was sure that it had not been there before. As I stepped up to the mirror, I saw myself, walking forward shakily, my face white and covered with blood.

Or so I thought. But I was wrong. It was my enemy, Wilson, who stood before me in his last moments of life. His mask and cloak lay on the floor. His face was now uncovered. And I saw, in terror, that his face was my own!

Then Wilson spoke, but no longer in a whisper, and I thought I heard my own voice speaking as he said:

'You have won, and I have lost. But from this moment you, too, are dead — dead to the world, to Heaven, and to hope! You lived in me — and, in my death, look in my face, which is your own, and see how you have murdered yourself.'

crime n. unlawful activity in general. 违法活动；犯罪行为。

punish v. to cause (someone) to suffer for (a fault or crime). 惩罚；处罚。

obey v. to do (what one is asked or ordered to do) by (someone). 服从；顺从；遵守。

misery n. great unhappiness or great pain and suffering (of body or of mind). （指身心上的）痛苦；苦难；悲惨的遭遇。

watchful adj. careful to notice things. 小心的；警惕的；戒备的。

mystery n. a strange secret nature or quality. 神秘；秘密；奥秘。

playground n. a piece of ground kept for children to play on, especially at a school. 游戏场；运动场；操场。

actually adv. really. 实际上；真实地。

unwelcome adj. not acceptable and wanted. 不受欢迎的。

whisper n. whispered words. 低语；耳语；私语。

workman n. a man who works with his hands, especially in a particular skill or trade. 工人；劳动者；工匠；技工。

luckily adv. having, resulting from, or bringing good luck. 幸运地；侥幸地。

strangely adv. hard to accept or understand; surprisingly. 奇怪地；奇异地；令人费解地。

copy v. to follow (someone on something) as a standard or pattern. 模仿；仿效。

sensible adj. reasonable and practical; having or showing good sense. 明智的；有见识的。

pity n. a sad or inconvenient state of affairs. 可惜的事；遗憾的事。

lantern n. a container, usually of glass and metal, that encloses the flame of a light. 提灯；灯笼。

awake adj. not asleep; having woken. 醒着的；醒来的。

shake v. to move quickly up and down and to and fro. 摇晃；发抖；震动。

enjoyment n. happiness from things and experiences. 享受；欣赏。

pleasure n. a cause of happiness, enjoyment, or satisfaction. 乐事；乐趣。

mistake v. to have a wrong idea about; understand wrongly. 弄错；误解。

fashionable adj. (made, dressed, etc.) according to the latest fashion. 时髦的；流行的。

expensive adj. costing a lot of money. 昂贵的；花钱的。

gamble v. to risk one's money on horse races, in (card) games, business, etc. 赌博；打赌。

unintelligent adj. not having or showing powers of reasoning or understanding. 理解力差的；无知的；愚蠢的。

suitable adj. fit (for a purpose), right; convenient. 合适的。

amount n. a quantity or sum. 数量；数额。

stake n. something that may be gained or lost. 赌注。

winnings n. money which has been won in a game, by betting on a race, etc. （赢得的）钱；奖金。

sleeve n. a part of a garment for covering an arm. 衣袖。

packet n. a small package; a number of small things tied or put together into a small box, case, or bag. 小包；小盒。

discover v. to find (something existing but not known before). 发现。

unusual adj. not usual; rare; not common; interesting because different from others. 罕见的；稀有的；异常的；与众不同的。

cheat n. a person who cheats; dishonest person. 骗子；不诚实的人。

schooldays n. 学生时代。

fight v. to use violence (against others). 打仗；打架。

Duke n. a nobleman of the highest rank outside the Royal Family. 公爵。

crowd n. a large number of people gathered together. 人群；一群人。

shakily adv. unsteadily. 摇摇晃晃地。

plunge v. to push or rush suddenly or violently. 冲；刺。

lock v. to fasten with a lock. 锁住；锁上。

heaven n. the place where God or the gods are supposed to live; place of complete happiness where the souls of good people go after death. 天堂；天国。

威廉·威尔逊

威廉·威尔逊并不是我的名字，但我将在这个故事中使用它，因为我的真名实姓早已在世界上每一个角落广为人知、深受憎恶了。之所以如此，是因为我曾犯下了罪行。由于我的死期正一天天临近，我觉得有必要诉诸笔墨，向诸位解释一下我的犯罪生涯是如何开始的。

人们走向堕落大都是一步步的，开始时犯些小过错，接下来罪行便愈犯愈大。但我的情形完全不同。我只是迈了一大步便堕入了真正的罪恶深渊。曾经有人像我一样经历过如此邪恶的一生吗？可是现在，死亡的阴影使我的内心充满了恐惧，我没日没夜地做最可怕的噩梦。也许在某个地方有某个人会为我感到难过。请听我的故事……

我小时候是个野性十足、容易激动的孩子，我父母很为我操心，总想惩罚我，但他们从未成功地令我有所改变。我拒不服从他们，从不照着他们给我的指令去做。我一心想自由自在地生活，于是干什么都是我行我素。

我记得我上的第一所学校是位于英格兰一座僻静的小村庄中的一栋非常古旧的大房子。我现在一边写，一边还能感觉到房子旁边那幽暗的花园里的丝丝凉意，还能嗅到花朵的芬芳，听到每当整点时便敲响的深沉的教堂钟声。

当我无比凄惨地在这里坐以待毙的时候，这些感觉给了我片刻的欢悦。事实上，我的故事就是从这里、从这所学校真正开始的……

学校的校舍规模宏大，年代久远。大大的花园被一道高墙紧紧围住，墙头还插着碎玻璃片，活像一座监狱。我们一个星期只能出去三次。到了星期六下午，我们要在一位老师的密切监视下去学校附近的田野里散一圈步。星期天我们能出去两次，早一次晚一次，都是去村里的教堂。

我的读书生涯并未令我感到厌烦和不快，孩子们总是能够很轻易地找到自我娱乐的法子。在我的想象中，我过着一种激动人心的生活，生活中充满了神秘和有趣的事情；但是在真实的世界中，一个个日子总是千篇一律——我们醒来，睡去，去田野里散步，在操场上玩耍……说实在的，操场可真是一个非常特别的地方。这是个交到朋友、失去朋友的地方，是个总是充满了麻烦和骚动的地方。

我是那种喜欢对别人发号施令、而不喜欢听人家指挥的男孩，总是想赢得每一场游戏、每一场争斗，想在任何一件事上当老大。所有其他男孩，甚至那些比我稍微大一点的，都乐于追随我，服从我。所有人都如此，只有一个人除外。他的名字和我的一模一样，所以我将同样把他也称为威廉·威尔逊。我们俩并不是来自同一个家庭，但都叫同一个名字。这没什么可奇怪的，因为我的名字又不是那么不常见。

这个威廉·威尔逊拒绝服从我。他跟我争执不下，从课堂里吵到操场上，还试图阻止其他男孩追随我。实际上，我想我是唯一一个意识到他在这样做的男孩。他将每一件事都做得非常巧妙、不动声色，这样，就不会有人真正注意到了。然而我——我注意到了他的所作所为，并且因此害怕起来。我真怕威尔逊比我更强大。每当我看见其他男孩撇下我去追随他，我就变得心急如焚，怒不可遏。但威尔逊总是那样冷静、镇定。什么都不曾让他为难。他似乎只需要一件事——看我受惊吓和闷闷不乐。但与此同时，我注意到，他有时向我作出了友好的表示——这可是最让我不能接受的。

我很难形容我对威尔逊的感情。我不恨他，但也不喜欢他。我想，最主要的感情是，我害怕他；同时我又想对他有更多的了解，以便从中找出一些令他提心吊胆和焦躁不安的东西。但我一无所获。他的模样或走路的样子都没有什么古怪之处，但是称得上特别的有一样——就是他的声音。他的声音很古怪。他开口的时候，从来不能高声讲话。事实上，他的说话声比耳语也强不了多少。

威尔逊机敏地发现有一件东西是我真正不喜欢的，那就是我的名字。尽管我出身于声名显赫的古老世家，但我的名字却非常平庸，它适合任何一个微不足道的劳动者。我一向憎恶我这名字，但现在对它的深恶痛绝又加深了一层，因为我们两个用的都是这同一个名字，我现在听到它的次数成了先前的两倍。还有一件事情更是令我深为烦恼。我们两个看上去非常相像，个头一般高，都很瘦，甚至面容都很相像。我知道因为我们两个的名字一样，大一些的男孩子们都以为我们是兄弟，但好像还没有人注意到我们长相相似。然而，威尔逊注意到了这一点，还看出我对此非常生气。什么也逃不过他的眼睛。他总能洞悉我心底隐藏得最深的情感。

过了一阵子，他开始在穿着打扮，甚至走路的步态上模仿我。还好，我高声讲话的时候他模仿不了我，但是，一旦我悄声低语，他的悄声低语就同我的毫无二致。

所有这一切都深深困扰着我。我看得出威尔逊为惹我生气而乐不可支，而且常常在背地里笑话我。奇怪的是，其他男孩竟然从未觉察到他是如何拿我开玩笑，如何千方百计地模仿我。注意到这一点的只有我一个人。

他非常频繁地向我提出忠告，轻声指点我应当怎样做事，怎样讲话。他这么做的时候我就更加厌恶他。当然了，时至今日，我认识到这些忠告往往是大有益处、入情入理的。多么可惜啊，我竟然从未照着去做过！

时光流逝，我对他的怒气也与日俱增。凭什么要让他，或者随便什么人，来向我提出告诫？我对他的感情改变了，实际上我已开始憎恨他。他注意到这一点，便尽量不与我过分接近。

我入学校读书将近五个年头的时候，有一天，在我们之间爆发了一场激烈的争吵。在吵架过程中，他比往常更为公开地表达了自己的思想感情，这时，一个非常奇怪的念头出现在我的脑海之中。我想——叫我怎么说呢？——也就那么一两秒钟吧，我想，我是早就认识他的，在很久很久以前、当我们还都是小孩子的时候就认识他了。正如我所说，这是个非常愚蠢的古怪想法，于是我尽可能快地把它忘掉了。

但是当天晚上，每个人都入睡之后，我下了床，然后手持一盏小提灯，穿过黑洞洞的大楼，找到威尔逊的房间。我把提灯留在门外，自己走到他的床边。是的，他已经睡着了。我转身拿起提灯，再走回到他床边。我已经盘算好了在他熟睡时狠狠地整他一下子。但是，我一看见那个熟睡的男孩，心跳便加快了，而且充满了恐惧。威廉·威尔逊真的就是这个样子吗？他醒着时看上去也是这同一副模样吗？我知道他和我一般高。我还知道他像我一样走路，像我一样说话，尽其所能千方百计地模仿我。但是要说床上睡着的那人怎么看都与我酷似，这怎么可能呢？我开始因恐惧而瑟瑟发抖，浑身上下变得冰冷冰冷的。他绝对不可能是这个样子！难道我真的是在眼睁睁看着一个男孩，他并不是我的一个什么复制品，而是……

我害怕极了，这辈子都没这么害怕过。我悄没声息地溜出他的房间，离开了学校大楼，从此再没回去过。

在家里游手好闲地待了几个月后，我被送进了伊顿公学，英国最负盛名的男校之一。到了那里不久，我便将威廉·威尔逊和我曾感受到的恐惧忘掉了。假如我真要想起它们来，我便总是嘲笑我自己。

我在伊顿公学过了三年狂放不羁、频频作恶的生活。我学会了行事机敏、隐秘，仅仅对种种寻欢作乐的新办法感兴趣。我选择那种最差劲的学生做朋友，把时间全部花在腐化堕落的享乐上面。在我念第三个学年的一天晚上，我邀请一些学生到我的房间里来聚会，我们通宵喝酒、打牌。除了葡萄酒，我们还另有一些也许更危险的乐趣。当第一道晨光现出时，我建议大家干一件新的坏事作为消遣。这时，我发现有人在开我的房门，又听见一个仆人的声音：“外面有个人要同您讲话，先生。他好像急匆匆的。”

因为饮酒过量，我已经醉得不成样子，费了很大力气才走到客厅里。天气仍然很暗，什么也看不大清楚，我只能辨出一个年轻人的轮廓来。他和我一般高矮，穿的衣服也同我的一模一样。我看不清他的面孔。

他向我走来，对着我的耳朵低语道：“威廉·威尔逊！”我立即听出了这个声音。那是不可能弄错的。单是这两个词就足以让我满心惊惧。还没等我仔细看看他的脸，他已消失得无影无踪了。

这次会面仅仅持续了几秒钟，但此后的几个星期都让我无法忘记。我时时刻刻想着这事。这个威廉·威尔逊是谁，是什么？他从哪里来？他想从我这儿得到什么？我的这些问题一直得不到解答，不过有一件事我搞清楚了。我得知，就在我逃离上一次就读的那所学校的同一天，威廉·威尔逊也离开了学校。

很快，我再一次忘掉了他；此后不久，我又进了牛津大学。我父母很不明智，他们给了我大量的钱，于是我得以过着入时、奢侈的生活，与英国最富有的家族的子弟交朋友。现在没有任何东西来阻止我了。我大肆挥霍钱财，日日夜夜都在冒险的、激动人心的享乐中度过。

在牛津，我将大量时间花在赌博上面。事实上，我已成为一个最为狡猾、成功的赌棍——比一个贼也强不到哪儿去。我跟其他学生玩纸牌，就是为了从他们那里赢钱，让自己变得更为富有。当然了，我很小心，总是找那些牌技不佳的学生玩，这样一来，就能确保每一次都大获全胜。我的朋友们不够聪明，看不出我搞的把戏。

上大学二年级的时候，我结识了一个名叫格兰丁尼的新生，他出身于一个古老的英格兰世家，是学校里最有钱的学生之一。我很快发现，此人智力极端低下，正因为如此，他理所当然是我的一个非常合适的赌博对象！我开始经常性地同他一起玩纸牌，而且一段时间里总是让他赢。

终于，我认为时机成熟了，便仔细地制定了计划。我在一位朋友家里碰见了格兰丁尼，这位朋友是普雷斯顿先生（他对我的秘密计划一无所知）。还有八个或十个朋友也应邀来做客，这样一来，格兰丁尼就不会想到那天晚上我是早有预谋地要同他赌博了。其实，在那天的聚会中还是他首先提议玩纸牌的呢。

我们拖拖拉拉地玩了好几个钟头，到了最后，在我的精心安排下，牌桌上只剩下我和格兰丁尼单打独斗了，其他人则在一旁观战。这一晚上格兰丁尼喝了不少酒，他的手都微微发抖了——是因为害怕还是因为醉酒，我拿不准。他已经输掉了一大笔钱。然后，正如我所期望的那样，他又足足地灌了一大口酒，说道：“咱们把赌注加倍吧。”大凡新手，总是以为他们这么干就能把输掉的钱赢回来。

一开始我假意推三阻四，然后他发起火来，于是，很自然，我只好答应了。我的计划正在得以顺利实施。我们接着玩下去，不到一个钟头，我赢的钱数就翻了两番。格兰丁尼的脸色这时变得像纸一样惨白，围在桌边的所有人都开始议论纷纷。我听到的一番话令我大为吃惊：“格兰丁尼完蛋了。他已经输掉了全部财产！”

我原来听说格兰丁尼其实非常富有——足够让他输掉一大笔钱而又用不着为此着急上火。现在，我从牌桌旁人们的窃窃私语中得知，事实并非如此。实际上，我把他赢了个倾家荡产，并且就此毁了他。

没有人说话。格兰丁尼用双手捂着脸，大家显然都为他感到难过。连我都觉得有点不安，不知该怎样做才好。

我们正默默无语地站着，突然，房门打开了，一股强风吹进了屋子，将屋子中所有的蜡烛都吹灭了，我们便陷入一片黑暗之中。但就在蜡烛熄灭之前几秒钟，我们注意到一个人已经进了这间屋子。他大概同我一般高矮，脸和身体都被一领长斗篷遮住了。当我们置身于黑暗之中时，我们能够感觉到他就站在屋子里。

然后他开口讲话了。他的说话声宛如耳语，这声音令我顿时充满了恐惧。“先生们，”他说道，“我到这儿来是因为有重要的事情要告诉诸位。我恐怕你们并不真正了解刚刚从格兰丁尼手中赢了这样一大笔钱的那个人。我来告诉你们怎样进一步摸清他的底细。请十分仔细地查看他左边衣袖的里侧，还有他上衣大口袋里面的那几个小包。”他说完这番话，便立即离开了这间屋子，就像他进来时一样悄无声息。

那一刻是我一生中经历过的最糟糕的时刻之一。我没机会做任何动作了。我的朋友们愤怒地向我扑来，重新点起蜡烛，检查了我的衣服。他们发现我的左衣袖里面小心地藏着些单张的纸牌，又在我的衣袋里找到几包特殊的纸牌，这些牌帮助我在玩的每一盘牌戏中取胜。

我的朋友们围着我站成一圈，一言不发地望着我。然后普雷斯顿先生从地板上拾起一件斗篷。“威尔逊先生，”他说，“这是你的斗篷。我希望你离开我的房间，然后马上离开牛津。”

我想揍他，但什么东西阻止了我，是普雷斯顿手里拿着的那件斗篷。尽管它看上去像是我的斗篷，但我知道它不是，因为我自己的斗篷早就在我的左胳膊上搭着了。那是件与众不同、非常昂贵的斗篷，是一家商店为我特制的。现在，另有一件斗篷同它极为相像，这怎么可能呢？

我回想起陌生人闯进屋子的那一刻。是的，他也披着一件斗篷……我满心恐惧，迅速从普雷斯顿先生手中接过斗篷，离开了这间屋子。第二天早晨，我离开了牛津，逃到欧洲大陆上去。我现在因为玩牌作弊而臭名昭著，英格兰的每一扇门都将对我关闭了。

但是坏运气一直伴随着我。其实，我不久就认识到，我在牛津惹的麻烦仅仅是个开始……我到了巴黎之后不久，便又遇到了威廉·威尔逊。他在那里继续摧毁着我作恶的希望。年复一年，无论我走到哪儿，他都要像个鬼魂一样现身，在我和我的计划之间横插一杠子。在罗马，他阻止我去得到我想要的东西；在维也纳，我同样难遂心愿；在柏林，甚至在莫斯科，也是如此！难道就没有一个让我不受干扰的地方吗？我一座城市一座城市地漫游，试图躲开他，但一直不能获得自由的感觉，不能一个人独处。他跟着我到每一个地方。

我总是一遍又一遍地问自己这些问题：“他是谁？他从哪里来？他想从我这儿得到什么？”但我找不出任何答案。我深入反省每一次见到他的情形，意识到，威尔逊在每一座城市所做的都是同一件事情。他并不是总在阻止我实施自己的计划，而仅仅是当那些计划是邪恶的和危险的（无论对其他人还是对我自己）之时，才不让它们得逞。这些我都明白，但我还是非常愤怒。为什么威尔逊就不能不干涉我呢？为什么他就不能让我按照自己的意愿生活呢？

我还意识到另外一件事。威尔逊每次出现的时候，从来都不让我看见他的脸。我过去一直留意他的穿着。我很难不去留意这一点，因为他总是穿着和我一样的衣服。然而他把自己的面孔掩藏起来了。他为什么要这样做？难道他真的以为我是如此愚蠢吗？难道他觉得我没有认出他是谁吗？那个跟着我到每一个地方，一遍又一遍地摧毁我的计划的人，就是我学生时代那同一个威廉·威尔逊！可是，让我接着讲我的故事。

到了此时，我已经对威尔逊诚惶诚恐、惟命是从了。他那神秘的突然现身，他的聪明才智，他对我深入透彻的理解——所有这一切令我心中充满了恐惧。我总是服从他，尽管这样做让我痛恨自己。但是，近来我成了一个非常严重的酗酒者。酒让我觉得自己勇敢而强大，能够跟任何一个试图阻止我的人打架。与此同时，我又开始觉得威尔逊在变得越来越弱小。此事是真的发生了，还是仅仅是一个梦而已？我分辨不清楚，但分明知道我自己的感情变得越来越狂暴了。我开始感觉到心中燃起了希望——不久我就会从这个可怕的对头手中挣脱出来，获得自由，从此再也不用听他的指挥了。

18××年某一天的晚上，我正在罗马，应邀参加了在迪·布罗里奥公爵府上举行的盛大晚会。公爵年事已高，甚是乏味，但他的妻子却年轻貌美，而且不怎么太聪明。我设了个毒计来摆布她。我和她已经说好在晚会期间跑到一个背静的房间里去幽会，在那里我们可以不受打扰。

正当我一个房间一个房间地在人群中找她的时候，我突然感觉到有一只手碰了碰我的胳膊，然后听见耳畔一阵低语。我气冲冲地转过身，看见了一个男人。他身穿和我一模一样的衣服，但是脸上戴着一副黑面具。我一把抓住他的胳膊。“行了！”我嚷道，“我已经被你折腾够了！这是你最后一次到处跟踪我！现在，马上跟我到隔壁房间去。你要是不去的话，我现在就杀了你，让你当场丧命！”

我把他拽到旁边的一间小屋里，粗暴地将他推倒在地。他颤抖着爬起来，靠墙站着。然后我关上屋门，向他发出挑战。有一刹那，他没有动弹，然后才默默地拔出了佩剑。

决斗持续了没多久。我狂躁不堪，兴奋异常，觉得自己前所未有地力大过人。刚斗了几秒钟，我便将他逼到墙边，一次又一次地将手中的剑刺进他的身体。

这时，有人想打开房门。我奔过去检查一下，见门锁得好好的，便又朝我的对手跑回来。我该如何描述那一刻我所见到的情景呢？就在我跑过去检查门锁的几秒钟之内，这房间已经非常奇异地变得大为不同了。现在，房间的尽头立起了一面大镜子，我敢保证它先前并不是在那儿的。我朝镜子走去，看见了我自己，浑身战栗着向前走，面色煞白，还满是鲜血。

要么就是我以为如此。但我错了。那是我的死对头威尔逊，在他生命的最后时刻站在了我面前。他的面具和斗篷扔在地板上。他的脸上现在没遮任何东西。于是我万分惊恐地发现，他的脸就是我自己的脸！

然后威尔逊开口说话了，但不再用那种耳语的声音；他一面说，我一面觉得听到的是我自己的声音：

“你赢了，我输了。但是从这一刻起，你也死了——对世界，对天堂，对希望，都是死了的！你活在我之中——那么，我这一死，看看我的脸吧，这也是你自己的脸，看看你是怎样杀害了你自己的。”

The Tell-Tale Heart

It is true that I had been — and I am — very nervous, but do you really think that I am mad? I could see and hear more clearly — not less, because of the disease. My hearing, more than anything, was excellent. I could hear all things, things in this world and things in heaven. I heard many things in hell, too. So how can I be mad? See how clearly and calmly I can tell my story.

I cannot explain how the idea first came into my head. But once I had thought of the idea, I could not forget it. I had no reason to do it. I was not angry. I loved the old man. He had never hurt me in any way. I didn't want his gold. I think it was his eye! Yes! He had a pale, blue eye, the eye of a vulture. Whenever I looked at it, my blood became cold; and so, very slowly, I decided to kill the old man and escape from the eye for ever.

You are thinking, I know, that I am mad. But madmen are not clever. And see how cleverly I prepared my plan! Every day that week I was so kind to the old man! And every night of that week, at about midnight, I opened his door very, very quietly. First I put my dark lantern through the opening of the door. The lantern was closed, and so no light came out of it, none at all. Then slowly, very slowly, I put my head inside the opening. I took sixty long minutes just to put my head inside. Would a madman have worked so carefully? And when my head was inside the room, I opened the lantern carefully and a thin ray of light fell onto the vulture eye. But the eye was always closed, so I could not do the work. You see, I did not hate the man; it was only the eye that I hated.

On the eighth night I started opening the door even more carefully. I was feeling calm and strong. There I was, opening his door, and he did not even know that I was there! I almost laughed at the idea. And perhaps, at that moment, he heard me, because he suddenly moved in his bed. But I did not move away. I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, so I continued pushing it open, slowly and quietly.

When my head was in the room, I tried to open the lantern but my thumb slipped and I made a noise. Immediately, the man sat up in bed and shouted, 'Who's there?'

I said nothing. For an hour I just stood there, without moving, and he sat in his bed, listening. Then he made a soft noise, a noise which I recognized. It was the noise of terror, the terror of death. I knew the sound because I had made it myself, many times, in the deep of the night, when all the world was asleep. I felt sorry for the old man, but I laughed silently. I knew that he had been awake since the first noise, and his fear had grown and grown. Death had entered his room, and now the shadow of death lay all around him. He could neither see me nor hear me, but he could feel my head inside his room.

I opened the lantern a little and a thin ray of light feel on his eye. It was open, and as I looked at it, I became angry. I could see it clearly, a horrible, pale blue eye that turned my blood cold. I could see nothing of the man's face or body, just his eye.

And then I heard a sound. Hadn't I told you that my hearing was excellent? I knew the sound. It was the beating of the old man's heart. It grew louder and quicker. Yes, louder and louder with every minute. The old man's terror must have been very great. And now a new terror came to me — a neighbour might hear the noise of this beating heart! The old man's time had come!

I opened the lantern fully and ran into the room. He shouted once — but only once because I pulled him to the floor and pulled the heavy bed over him. For many minutes the heart continued to beat, but then it stopped. The old man was dead. I put my hand on his heart and held it there for many minutes. There was no life in him at all. Now his eye would not trouble me again.

Perhaps you are still thinking that I am mad. You will not, when I tell you of the clever way I hid the body. First, I cut it into pieces. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs. I then took up three boards from the wooden floor, and hid the body underneath. Finally, I replaced the wooden boards with great care. Now no human eye — not even his — would see anything wrong. There was nothing to see — not even any blood. A bowl had caught it all — ha! ha!

When I finished, it was four o'clock and it was still dark. There was a knock at the front door. Calmly, because I knew I had nothing to fear, I opened the door. Three policemen came in. They had come because a neighbour had reported a loud shout coming from the house.

I welcomed the policemen and asked them to come in. I explained that it was I who had shouted, in a dream. The old man, I said, was away in the country. I took them round the house and asked them to search it well. Then I took them to the old man's room and showed them all his things. I brought chairs into the room and invited them to sit down and rest a while. Calmly, I put my own chair on the place where I had hidden his body.

The policemen seemed happy. They could see from the way I spoke that all was well. They continued talking, but I began to get tired. My head ached, and there was a ringing noise in my ears. I wanted the men to go away, but they continued to talk. The ringing became louder and clearer. And then I realized that the noise was not in my ears.

I became very pale, and starting talking more loudly. But the noise became louder too. What could I do? It was a low, soft sound, like the sound made by a watch when it is covered in cotton. I spoke more loudly. The noise became louder too. Why, oh why, didn't the men go away? I walked up and down the room. I became angry, I argued, I threw the chair onto the floor. But the noise continued to grow louder, louder than every noise I made. And the men went on talking and smiling. Was it possible that they hadn't heard the terrible noise? No! no! They heard! They knew! They were only pretending that they hadn't heard the noise! I was sure of this — I still am — and I hated their smiling faces. I felt that I must scream or die! And now, again, the noise was louder, louder, louder!

'Stop!' I shouted. 'Stop pretending that you cannot hear it! Yes, I did it! Pull up the floorboards here! here, here! — it is the beating of his horrible heart!'

excellent adj. very good; of very high quality. 优秀的；杰出的。

vulture n. a large ugly tropical bird with almost featherless head and neck, which feeds on dead animals. 兀鹰；秃鹫。

opening n. a hole or clear space. 孔；洞；空地；空隙。

ray n. a narrow beam (of heat, light, etc.). 射线；光线。

thumb n. the short thick finger which is set apart from the other four. 大拇指。

slip v. to slide out of place or fall by sliding. 滑；溜；跌跤。

recognize v. to know and remember (someone or something one has seen before). 认出；识别。

beating n. 心跳。

replace v. to put (something) back in the right place. 放回原处。

care n. carefulness in avoiding harm, damage, etc. 小心；谨慎。

calmly adv. 平静地；沉着地。

policeman n. a male police officer. 警察。

floorboard n. a board in a wooden floor. （木地板的）一块木板。

horrible adj. causing horror. 可怕的；令人毛骨悚然的。

泄密的心

的确，我过去——现在也是——极端神经过敏，但是，你们真的觉得我发疯了吗？因为得了这病，我看东西和听东西都比以往更清楚了——而不是相反。尤其我的听觉，简直好极了。我什么都听得见，无论是这世界上的声音还是天堂的声音。好多地狱里的声音我也听得见。那么，我怎么会是发了疯呢？瞧，我讲述自己的故事的时候是多么有条理，多么镇静啊。

我难以解释清楚那个念头起初是如何出现在我脑际的，但我一旦有了那个念头，便不能将其忘记了。我干那件事毫无道理。我并不愤怒，我喜欢那个老头，他从来就没什么地方冒犯过我。我也不贪图他的金银财宝。我想，起因是他的眼睛！是的！他长了一只发白的蓝眼睛，一只鹰眼。无论我何时见了那只眼睛，我浑身的血液就要变得冰冷；于是，渐渐地，我打定了主意要杀掉那老头，从此永远摆脱那只眼睛。

我知道，诸位在想，我准是发了疯。然而疯子可没这么机灵。瞧啊，我准备我的计划时干得有多聪明！那个礼拜的每一天我待那老头有多好！那个礼拜的每天夜里，大概是午夜时分，我都要非常非常轻地打开他的房门。首先，我把我那熄了火的提灯伸进门开处。提灯已经关灭了，于是没有任何光亮发出，一丝儿也没有。然后，慢慢地，极慢地，我把头伸进门开处。我花了长长的六十分钟，就为了伸进一个脑袋。一个疯子做事情有这么小心翼翼吗？我把脑袋伸到了屋子里面之后，便小心地拧开提灯，让一道微弱的光线落在那只鹰眼上。但是那只眼睛总是合着，所以我没法下手。你们知道，我并不恨那人，我恨的仅仅是那只眼睛。

第八天夜里，我去开房门时更为小心谨慎。我感觉很平静，很强壮。我在这儿开着他的房门，可他甚至根本不知道我的存在！我差点儿因为这个念头笑出声来。不过，说不定他这时候听见了我的动静，因为他忽然在床上动了一下。但我并未走开。我知道他看不见开着的门缝，于是继续慢慢地、悄悄地把门推开。

我把脑袋伸进屋子，想把提灯拧开，但大拇指滑了一下，弄出了一点声响。床上那人立即坐起身，喝问道：“是谁？”

我没有吱声。有一个钟头的工夫，我就在那儿站着，一动不动；而他则坐在床上，侧耳倾听。然后他轻轻地发出了一个声音。我听出了这声音的含义，这是一种恐惧的声音，恐惧死亡的声音。我之所以能够理解这种声音，是因为我自己也曾发出过好多次，当夜深人静、万籁俱寂的时候。我为那老头感到难过，但又不禁暗笑。我知道，自打第一个动静响起，他就已经醒了，他内心的恐惧已经越来越强烈。死神已经进了他的屋子，现在，死亡的阴影已在他四周布满。他既看不见我也听不见我，但他能感觉到我的脑袋已伸进了他的屋子。

我把提灯稍稍拧亮一点，一道微弱的光线照在他的那只眼睛上。它是睁开的。我一看见它，便心头火起。我能够清晰地看见它，一只可怖的淡蓝色眼睛，能让我的血液变得冰冷。那人的脸庞或是身体我都看不见了，能看见的只有这只眼睛。

然后我听到一声响动。我不是对你们说过我的听觉极为灵敏吗？我知道这声音是什么，是老头的心跳声。他的心越跳越快，声音越来越大。没错，每分钟都愈发大起来了。那老头一定是处于极度的恐惧之中。而现在，一种新的恐惧降临到了我身上——哪个邻居会听见这种怦怦的心跳声！老头的时辰到啦！

我将提灯彻底拧亮，冲进屋子。他尖叫了一声——但只叫了那么一声，因为我把他拖到了地板上，又拽过沉甸甸的床压在他身上。那颗心接着又跳了好几分钟，但然后就停住了。老头死了。我把手按在他胸口，就那样放了好几分钟。他已经彻底没气儿了，现在，他的眼睛再也不会困扰我了。

也许你们仍然在想我是疯了。要是我告诉你们我用了多么聪明的办法藏匿尸体，你们就不会这样想了。首先，我把尸体切成几块。我把脑袋、胳膊和双腿都割了下来。然后，我从木质地板上揭起三块板子来，把尸体藏在下面。最后，我加倍小心地将木板重新放好。现在，没有哪只人的眼睛——哪怕是他的眼睛——会看出有什么破绽了。没什么能看出来的——连一丝血迹都没有。一只碗就把血全盛下了——哈！哈！

我干完这一切，已是凌晨4点钟，天还黑着。前门传来一阵敲门声。我知道自己没什么好怕的，便镇静地打开了门。进来了三个警察，他们到这里来是因为一个邻居报警，说是听见这所房子里传出了一声尖叫。

我向警察们表示欢迎，请他们进屋来。我解释说，那声尖叫是我在梦中喊出来的，又说，那个老头出门到乡下去了。我领着他们在房子里转了一遍，要他们好好地搜查一番。然后我又把他们带到老头的屋子，给他们看老头的全部家当。我搬了几把椅子进来，请他们坐下休息片刻，又镇定自若地把我自己的椅子放在我藏匿老头尸体的地方。

警察们似乎很满意，他们可以从我的言谈举止中看出一切都很正常。他们继续说着话，可我却有点不耐烦了。我头直疼，耳中嗡嗡作响。我想让这几个人走开，可他们没完没了地聊着天。嗡嗡的轰鸣声变得更响亮、更清楚了。这时，我意识到这声音不是响在我的耳朵里。

我脸色煞白，开始提高了嗓门说话。但那声音也愈来愈大了。我能怎么办？那是一种低沉、柔和的声音，像是用棉花捂住了手表发出的声响。我把嗓门提得更高。那声音也随之变大了。为什么，噢为什么那几个人还不走呢？我在屋子里踱来踱去。我生起气来，争辩着，把椅子往地板上摔。但那声音一刻不停地越升越高，盖过了我制造出的种种噪声。那几个人继续说着、笑着。他们可能没听见那可怕的声音吗？不！不！他们听见了！他们全知道了！他们只是装作没听见那声音！我敢肯定这一点——现在仍然肯定。还有，我讨厌他们那副微笑的面孔。我觉得自己必须尖叫了，否则就会死去！现在，又来了，那声音越来越大，越来越大，越来越大！

“得了！”我嚷道，“别再装作你们听不见了！不错，是我干的！把这儿的地板揭起来吧！这儿！这儿，这儿！——是他那颗可恶的心在跳！”

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

The Fall of the House of Usher Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 The narrator (the story-teller) had never met Roderick Usher before.

2 Lady Madeleine's coffin was put in a room at the top of the house.

3 Usher's illness grew worse after his sister's death.

4 Usher had heard sounds from the coffin many days before.

5 The figure outside the door was the ghost of the Lady Madeleine.

The Black Cat Find answers to these questions in the text.

1 Why did the narrator love animals more than people?

2 How did he kill Pluto?

3 How was the new cat different from Pluto?

4 Why did the narrator kill his wife?

5 Why were the police able to find the dead body of his wife?

The Masque of the Red Death How much can you remember?

1 How many people in the country had already died from the Red Death?

2 How many friends did Prince Prospero invite to his castle?

3 What were the colours of the seven rooms?

4 At what time did the masked stranger appear?

5 What did the Prince's friends find inside the stranger's clothes and mask?

William Wilson Write answers to these questions.

1 What was strange about William Wilson's voice?

2 Why did the narrator run away from his first school?

3 Why did the narrator have to leave England?

4 What was strange about William Wilson's clothes?

5 Who do you think William Wilson really was?

The Tell-Tale Heart Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 The narrator hated the old man and wanted his money.

2 He took an hour just to put his head inside the old man's door.

3 He was afraid that a neighbour might hear the old man's beating heart.

4 He was very frightened when the policemen came to the door.

5 The narrator was not mad in any way.

B Working with language

The Fall of the House of Usher Put together these beginnings and endings of sentences.

1 Although Usher and I had been good friends when we were young,

2 The gloom that I felt was like a mysterious cloud,

3 His face was as white as it had always been,

4 As I finished reading the sentence,

5 and there was a kind of madness in his eyes.

6 which seemed to come from the lake and the house itself.

7 I jumped in my seat and then sat very still.

8 I knew very little about him.

William Wilson Complete these sentences with information from the story.

1 I was the kind of boy who...

2 At Oxford I played cards in order to...

3 My friends discovered in my pockets the special cards which...

4 After I left Oxford,...

5 As I stepped up to the mirror,...

C Activities

1 Look at The Masque of the Red Death again. Write a report for a newspaper, describing the rooms and the dead bodies in Prince Prospero's castle the day after the masked ball.

2 Imagine that you are the old man in The Tell-Tale Heart. You think that the other man in the house (the narrator of the story) is a very strange person, and you are beginning to worry. Write the old man's letter to his sister, describing the days and nights of the week before the murder.

3 Four of the stories are told in the first person — the 'I' of the story. Think about these four people, and then imagine that you have to go on a long journey with one of them. Which of the four story-tellers will you choose, and why?

4 Which story did you like best, and which did you like least? Write a letter to Edgar Allan Poe and say why.

京权图字：01-2002-6592

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 2000

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

铁路少年＝The Railway Children／（英）内斯比特（Nesbit, E.）著；（英）埃斯科特（Escott, J.）改写；秦小雅译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2003.9（2014.12 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-3686-1

Ⅰ．铁…　Ⅱ．①内…　②埃…　③秦…　Ⅲ．小说—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（2003）第076642号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：易　璐

封面设计：李　萌

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：2003年10月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-3686-1

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内容简介

他们生活中的变化发生得异常突然。此刻，他们还生活在一个幸福的家庭里，要什么有什么。瞬间之后，爸爸就被迫离开——“出差去了”，妈妈是这么讲的。但是她脸色苍白，孩子们明白这是个坏消息。他们不得不离开了他们在伦敦的那个舒适的家，住到了乡下的一座小房子里。现在他们是穷人了，妈妈说。虽然她竭力想让自己的声音听起来高兴一些，无奈双眼中却充满了伤感与忧虑。

罗伯塔、彼得和菲利斯也为他们的爸爸担心，但谁都不能一直那么伤感。新生活开始了，处处都充满新奇的冒险。从他们的新家往山下走，有一条铁路，耀眼明亮的铁轨通向伦敦；还有穿山隧道那黑洞洞的大口，在那里火车从黑暗中呼啸而出，就像体型庞大的野兽……

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN

The change in their lives comes very suddenly. One minute they are all a happy family, with everything that they want. The next minute, Father has to go away— 'on business', Mother says. But her face is white, and the children know that it's bad news. They have to leave their nice home in London, and go and live in a little house in the country. They are poor now, Mother says. She tries to sound happy, but her eyes are sad and worried.

Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis also worry about Father, but no one can be sad all the time. A new life is beginning, with adventures around every corner. And there, down the hill from their new house, is the railway, with its shining lines leading all the way back to London; and the black mouth of the tunnel, where trains come screaming out of the darkness like great wild animals...

1

The beginning of things

They were not railway children at the beginning. They lived with their father and mother in London. There were three of them. Roberta—she was always called Bobbie, and was the oldest. Next came Peter, who wanted to be an engineer when he grew up. And the youngest was Phyllis, who was always trying to be good.

Mother was almost always at home, ready to play with the children, or to read to them. And she wrote stories, then read them to the children after tea.

These three lucky children had everything that they needed. Pretty clothes, a warm house, and lots of toys. They also had a wonderful father who was never angry, and always ready to play a game.

They were very happy. But they did not know how happy until their life in London was over, and they had to live a very different life indeed.

The awful change came suddenly.

*　　*　　*

It was Peter's birthday, and he was ten years old. Among his presents was a toy steam engine, and it quickly became Peter's favourite toy. But after three days, the engine went BANG! Peter was very unhappy about his broken toy. The others said he cried, but Peter said his eyes were red because he had a cold.

When Father came home that day, Peter told him the sad story about his engine, and Father looked at it very carefully. Mother and the children waited.

'Is there no hope?' said Peter.

'Of course there's hope!' said Father, smiling. 'I'll mend it on Saturday, and you can all help me.'

Just then, someone knocked at the front door. A few moments later, Ruth—the maid—came in. 'There are two gentlemen to see you,' she said to Father.

'Now, who can they be?' said Father.

'Try to be quick, dear,' said his wife. 'It's nearly time for the children to go to bed.'

But the two men stayed and stayed. Father's voice got louder and louder in the next room, but the children and Mother could not hear what was said. Then Ruth came back and spoke to Mother.

'He wants you to go in, ma'am,' she said. 'I think he's had bad news. Be ready for the worst.'

Mother went into the next room, and there was more talking. Soon after, the children heard Ruth call a taxi, then there was the sound of feet going outside and down the steps.

Mother came back, and her face was white.

'It's time to go to bed,' she said to the children. 'Ruth will take you upstairs.'

'But, Father—' began Phyllis.

'Father's had to go away on business,' said Mother. 'Now, go to bed, darlings.'

Bobbie whispered, 'It wasn't bad news, was it?'

'No, darling,' said Mother. 'I can't tell you anything tonight. Please go now.'

*　　*　　*

Mother went out early the next morning, and it was nearly seven o'clock before she came home. She looked ill and tired, and the children asked her no questions.

Mother drank a cup of tea, then she said, 'Now, my darlings, I want to tell you something. Those men did bring bad news last night. Father will be away for some time, and I'm very worried.'

'Is it something to do with the Government?' asked Bobbie. The children knew that Father worked in a Government office.

'Yes,' said Mother. 'Now don't ask me any more questions about it. Will you promise me that?.'

The children promised.

Everything was horrible for some weeks. Mother was nearly always out. Ruth, the maid, went away. Then Mother went to bed for two days, and the children wondered if the world was coming to an end.

One morning, Mother came down to breakfast. Her face was very white, but she tried to smile.

'We have to leave our house in London,' she said. 'We're going to live in the country, in a dear little white house near a railway line. I know you'll love it.'

A busy week followed, packing everything up in boxes. The children almost enjoyed the excitement.

'We can't take everything,' Mother told them. 'Just the necessary things. We have to play "being poor" for a while.'

On their last night in the house, Peter had to sleep on the floor, which he enjoyed very much. 'I like moving,' he said.

'I don't!' said Mother, laughing.

Bobbie saw her face when she turned away. 'Oh, Mother,' she thought. 'How brave you are! How I love you!'

Next day, they went to the railway station, and got on a train. At first, they enjoyed looking out of the windows, but then they became sleepy. Later, Mother woke them.

'Wake up, dears,' she said. 'We're there.'

There were no taxis, and a man with a cart took their boxes. The children and Mother walked behind the cart along a dark, dirty road, which seemed to go across the fields. After a while, a shape appeared in the darkness.

'There's the house,' said Mother.

The cart went along by the garden wall, and round to the back door. There were no lights in any of the windows.

'Where's Mrs Viney?' said Mother.

'Who's she?' asked Bobbie.

'A woman from the village. I asked her to clean the place and make our supper,' said Mother.

'Your train was late,' said the man with the cart. 'She's probably gone home.'

'But she has the key,' said Mother.

'It'll be under the doorstep,' said the man. He went to look. 'Yes, here it is.'

They went inside the dark house. There was a large kitchen with a stone floor, but there was no fire, and the room was cold. There was a candle on the table, and the man lit it. Then a noise seemed to come from inside the walls of the house. It sounded like small animals running up and down. Then the cart man went away and shut the door. Immediately, the candle went out.

'Oh, I wish we hadn't come!' said Phyllis.

play a game 做游戏，玩游戏。

over adj. (of an event or period of time) finished, ended. 完了的，结束的。

awful adj. terrible. 可怕的，糟糕的。

engine n. a piece of machinery with moving parts which changes power from steam, electricity, oil, etc. into movement. Here it means locomotive. 引擎，发动机，此处指火车头。

mend v. to repair (a hole, break, fault, etc.) in sth. 修补，修好。

knock at 敲，敲打。

maid n. (often in comb.) a female servant. （常结合式）女佣，女婢。

ma'am n. a short form for madam. 夫人，女士。

darling n. a person who is very much liked or loved. 亲爱的人。

whisper v. to speak in a low voice so that only a person close by can hear. 低声说话，耳语。

horrible adj. causing horror. 可怕的。

come to an end close; finish; end. 结束。

pack sth. up 包装，收拾行李。

sleepy adj. tired and ready for sleep. 欲睡的，困倦的。

wake up 叫醒，使醒。

appear v. to come into sight, come into view, be seen. 出现。

round v. to travel round. 绕弯，绕行。

go out (of a fire, light, etc.) to stop burning or shining. 熄灭。

1．故事的开始

起初，他们并不是铁路少年。他们和父母一起住在伦敦。他们兄弟姐妹三个，分别是：罗伯塔——大家常叫她博比，年龄最大。彼得排行老二，他长大后想当工程师。老三叫菲利斯，她一向很乖巧。

妈妈几乎一直待在家里，或者陪孩子们玩，或者读故事给他们听。她还自己编写故事，在茶后读给孩子们听。

这三个幸运的孩子拥有他们想要的一切。漂亮的衣服，温暖的家，还有好多好多的玩具。他们还有一个难得的好爸爸，他从不发脾气，而且经常陪孩子们做游戏。

他们生活得非常幸福。但直到他们在伦敦的生活结束以后，他们才真正明白了那段生活有多么美好，以后他们不得不过一种截然不同的生活。

这个糟糕的变化降临得十分突然。

*　　*　　*

那天是彼得的生日，他已经10岁了。在他收到的生日礼物中，有一个玩具蒸汽火车头，这个火车头很快就成了他最喜欢的玩具。但过了三天，这个火车头突然“砰”地一声坏掉了！彼得为此闷闷不乐。家里的其他人都说彼得哭了，可彼得声称他的眼睛变红是因为他感冒了。

那天，爸爸回来的时候，彼得把这个不幸的消息告诉了他。爸爸仔细地检查了那个火车头。妈妈和孩子们等在旁边。

“没希望修好了吗？”彼得问。

“当然有希望！”爸爸微笑着说，“星期六我给你修好，你们都可以给我帮帮忙。”

就在这个时候，有人敲他家的前门。几分钟之后，鲁思——家里的女佣——走了进来。“有两位先生想要见您。”她对爸爸说。

“现在这个时候，会是谁呀？”爸爸说。

“尽量快点儿，亲爱的，”他妻子说，“孩子们就该上床睡觉了。”

但是，那两个人待了很久。隔壁房间里，爸爸讲话的声音越来越高，不过妈妈和孩子们还是听不清他在说些什么。后来，鲁思回来跟妈妈说话。

“夫人，他想让您过去一下，”鲁思说，“我想可能是不好的消息。做好最坏的准备吧。”

妈妈进了隔壁那个房间，又是一番交谈。过了一会儿，孩子们听到鲁思叫了一辆出租车，随后传来了有人下楼出门的脚步声。

妈妈回来了，面无血色。

“该上床睡觉了，”她对孩子们说，“鲁思会带你们上楼的。”

“但是，爸爸——”菲利斯首先说。

“爸爸要出差，”妈妈说，“现在，上床睡觉吧，亲爱的。”

博比小声说：“该不是什么坏消息吧，是吗？”

“不是，亲爱的，”妈妈说，“今晚我什么也不能告诉你们，请现在就去睡觉吧。”

*　　*　　*

第二天一早，妈妈就出门了，直到将近晚上7点才回来。她看上去很不舒服，很疲惫，孩子们什么都没敢问。

妈妈喝了一杯茶，随后她说：“我亲爱的孩子们，现在我想告诉你们一些事情。昨晚那两个人的确带来了坏消息。爸爸要离开我们一段日子，我很担心。”

“是跟政府有关的事情吗？”博比问。因为孩子们知道，爸爸在一个政府部门工作。

“是的，”妈妈说，“别再问这件事了，你们能答应我吗？”

孩子们都答应了。

随后的几个星期里，情况变得一团糟。妈妈几乎不着家。鲁思，就是家里的女佣，也走了。然后，妈妈有两天卧床不起，孩子担心是不是世界末日就要来了。

这天早晨，妈妈终于下楼吃早饭了。虽然她仍是面色苍白，但还是努力露出一些微笑。

“我们得离开伦敦的这个家了，”她说，“我们要住到乡下去，住到一个靠近铁路的、可爱的白色小房子里。我相信你们会喜欢它的。”

接下来的一个星期显得非常忙碌。他们把所有的东西都打包装箱。孩子们干得热火朝天。

“我们不能把什么都带走，”妈妈告诉他们，“只带那些必需品。我们得过一阵子‘穷’日子了。”

在老房子住的最后一个夜晚，彼得不得不睡在地板上，这让他兴奋不已。“我喜欢搬家。”他说。

“我可不喜欢！”妈妈笑着说。

当妈妈把脸转开时，博比看清了她的脸。“呵，妈妈，”她心想，“您是多么勇敢呀！我太爱您了！”

第二天，他们来到火车站，登上了一列火车。起初，他们尽情欣赏着车窗外的景色，但很快他们就有些困了。后来，妈妈叫醒了他们。

“醒醒，亲爱的，”她说，“我们到了。”

这里没有出租车，一个男人用手推车推着他们的箱子。妈妈和孩子们跟在手推车的后面，沿着一条又黑又脏的路走着，好像在穿过田野。过了一会儿，他们看到黑暗中有一个模模糊糊的轮廓。

“那就是我们的房子了。”妈妈说。

那人推着手推车，沿着院墙绕到了后门。所有的窗户里都没有一丝光亮。

“瓦伊尼夫人在哪儿？”妈妈说。

“她是谁呀？”博比问。

“她是住在村里的一个妇女。我让她来帮我们打扫房屋，准备晚饭。”妈妈说。

“你们的车晚点了，”推手推车的人说，“她可能已经回家去了。”

“可钥匙还在她手里呢。”妈妈说。

“可能放在台阶下了。”推车的男人说。他走过去瞧了瞧，“是的，在这儿呢。”

他们终于进了这个漆黑的房子。屋里有一个大厨房，用石头铺地，但厨房里没有火，屋里很冷。桌子上有根蜡烛，那个男人点着了它。这时，从房屋的墙里传出了一些声音，听上去像是小动物蹿上蹿下的声音。随后，推车的男人走了，并关上了门。蜡烛立刻就熄灭了。

“哦，我真希望我们没到这里来。”菲利斯说。

2

Peter and the coal

'You've often wanted something to happen,' said Mother, lighting the candle again. 'And now it has. This is an adventure, isn't it? I told Mrs Viney to leave our supper ready. I suppose she's put it in the other room. Let's go and see.'

They looked in the other room, but found no supper.

'What a horrible woman!' said Mother. 'She's taken the money, but got us nothing to eat at all!'

'Then we can't have any supper,' said Phyllis, unhappily.

'Yes, we can,' said Mother. 'We can unpack one of the boxes. There's some food from the old house.'

They found candles in the box, and the girls lit them. Then Bobbie fetched coal and wood, and lit a fire. It was a strange supper—tomatoes, potato chips, dried fruit and cake. And they drank water out of tea-cups. After supper, they put sheets and blankets on the beds, then Mother went to her own room.

Very early next morning, Bobbie pulled Phyllis's hair to wake her. 'Wake up!' she said. 'We're in the new house, don't you remember?'

They wanted to surprise their mother and get the breakfast ready, but first they went to look outside. The house seemed to stand in a field near the top of a hill, and they could see a long way.

'This place is much prettier than our house in London,' said Phyllis.

They saw the railway line at the bottom of the hill, and the big black opening of a tunnel. Further away, they could see a high bridge between the hills, but the station was too far away to see.

'Let's go and look at the railway,' said Peter. 'Perhaps there are trains passing.'

'We can see them from here,' said Bobbie.

So they sat down on a big, flat, comfortable stone in the grass. And when Mother came to look for them at eight o'clock, they were asleep in the sun.

'I've found another room,' Mother told them. 'The door is in the kitchen. Last night, we thought it was a cupboard.'

There was a table in the little square room, and on the table was their supper.

'There's a letter from Mrs Viney,' explained Mother. 'Her son broke his arm and she went home early. She's coming again later this morning.'

'Cold meat and apple pie for breakfast!' laughed Peter. 'How funny!'

But their supper made a wonderful breakfast.

All day, they helped Mother to unpack and arrange everything in the rooms. It was late in the afternoon when she said, 'That's enough work for today. I'll go and lie down for an hour, before supper.'

The children looked at each other.

'Where shall we go?' said Bobbie, although she already knew the answer.

'To the railway, of course!' cried Peter.

At the bottom of the hill there was a wooden fence. And there was the railway, with its shining lines, telegraph wires and posts, and signals. They all climbed on to the top of the fence. Suddenly, they heard a noise, which grew louder every second. They looked along the line towards the dark opening of the tunnel. The next moment, the railway lines began to shake and a train came screaming out of the tunnel.

'Oh!' said Bobbie, when it had gone. 'It was like a great wild animal going by!'

'It was very exciting!' said Peter.

'I wonder if it was going to London,' said Bobbie. 'London is where Father is.'

'Let's go down to the station and find out,' said Peter.

They walked along the edge of the line, beneath the telegraph wires, to the station. They went up on to the platform, and took a quick look into the Porter's room. Inside, the Porter was half asleep behind a newspaper.

There were a great many railway lines at the station. On one side of the big station yard was a large heap of coal, which the steam trains used for their engines. There was a white line on the wall behind, near the top of the heap. Later, when the Porter came out on to the platform, Peter asked about the white line.

'It's to show how much coal there is in the heap,' said the Porter. 'So we shall know if anybody steals some.' The Porter was smiling, and Peter thought he was a nice, friendly person.

*　　*　　*

And so the days passed. The children did not go to school now, and Mother spent every day in her room, writing stories. Sometimes she managed to sell a story to a magazine, and then there were cakes for tea. The children did not forget their father, but they did not talk about him much, because they knew that Mother was unhappy. Several times, she had told them that they were poor now. But it was difficult to believe this because there was always enough to eat, and they wore the same nice clothes.

But then there were three wet days, when the rain came down, and it was very cold.

'Can we light a fire?' asked Bobbie.

'We can't have fires in June,' said Mother. 'Coal is very expensive.'

After tea, Peter told his sisters, 'I have an idea. I'll tell you about it later, when I know if it's a good one.'

And two nights later, Peter said to the girls, 'Come and help me.'

On the hill, just above the station, there were some big stones in the grass. Between the stones, the girls saw a small heap of coal.

'I found it,' said Peter. 'Help me carry it up to the house.'

After three journeys up the hill, the coal was added to the heap by the back door of the house. The children told nobody.

A week later, Mrs Viney looked at the heap by the back door and said, 'There's more coal here than I thought there was.'

The children laughed silently and said nothing.

But then came the awful night when the Station Master was waiting for Peter in the station yard. He watched Peter climb on to the large heap of coal by the wall and start to fill a bag.

'Now I've caught you, you young thief!' shouted the Station Master. And he took hold of Peter's coat.

'I'm not a thief,' said Peter, but he did not sound very sure about it.

'You're coming with me to the station,' said the Station Master.

'Oh, no!' cried a voice from the darkness.

'Not the Police station!' cried another voice.

'No, the railway station,' said the man, surprised to hear more voices. 'How many of you are there?'

Bobbie and Phyllis stepped out of the darkness.

'We did it, too,' Bobbie told the Station Master. 'We helped carry the coal away, and we knew where Peter was getting it.'

'No, you didn't,' said Peter, angrily. 'It was my idea.'

'We did know,' said Bobbie. 'We pretended we didn't, but we did.'

The Station Master looked at them. 'You're from the white house on the hill,' he said. 'Why are you stealing coal?'

'I didn't think it was stealing,' said Peter. 'There's so much coal here. I took some from the middle of the heap, and I—I thought nobody would mind. And Mother says we're too poor to have a fire, but there were always fires at our other house, and—'

'Don't!' Bobbie whispered to Peter.

There was a silence, and the Station Master thought for a minute. Then he said to Peter, 'I won't do anything this time. But remember, this coal belongs to the railway, and even from the middle of the heap, it's still stealing.'

And the children knew he was right.

unpack v. to remove (possessions) from a container. 取出，拿出。

sheet n. a large piece of cloth used in a pair on a bed. 被单，褥单。

tunnel n. passage for a road, railway, etc. 隧道，坑道。

comfortable adj. giving comfort esp. to the body. 舒适的，舒服的。

asleep adj. sleeping. 睡着的。

pie n. (often in combination) an often round pastry case filled with meat or fruit, baked usu. in a deep dish. 派，馅饼。

fence n. a wall made of wood or wire, dividing two areas of land. 篱笆。

find out to learn or discover (a fact that was hidden). 弄明白，搞清楚。

edge n. border. 边，沿。

porter n. a man in charge of the entrance to a hotel, school, hospital, etc. 守门人，（这里指）守道工。

heap n. a pile or mass of things one on top of the other. 堆。

steal v. to take (what belongs to another) without any right. 偷，偷窃。

manage to do sth. try to do sth. successfully. 努力做成。

journey n. a trip of some distance. 旅程，旅途，这里指往返。

take hold of catch hold of. 抓住。

pretend v. to give an appearance of (sth. that is not true) with the intention of deceiving. 假装，伪装。

belong to to be the property of. 属于。

2．彼得与煤

“你们一直盼着有什么事情发生，”妈妈一边说着，一边重新点着了蜡烛，“现在终于发生了。这是个奇遇，对吗？我告诉过瓦伊尼夫人，让她给我们准备好晚饭。我猜想她一定是把饭放在另一个房间里了。我们过去看看吧。”

他们在那个房间里找了找，没有找到晚饭。

“这个女人太可恶了！”妈妈说，“她把钱拿走了，但一点儿吃的也没给我们准备！”

“那我们就没晚饭吃了。”菲利斯沮丧地说。

“不，我们有东西可吃，”妈妈回答，“我们可以打开一个箱子，那里面装着一些从老房子带来的食物。”

他们还在箱子中找出了蜡烛，女孩子们把它们点着。随后，博比又找来一些煤和木头，生起了火。那是一顿很奇怪的晚餐——西红柿，土豆片，果脯和蛋糕。他们还用茶杯喝了点水。晚饭后，他们铺好了床单和毯子，之后妈妈就进了她自己的房间。

第二天一大早，博比就拽着菲利斯的头发把她弄醒。“醒醒！”她说，“我们住到新房子里了，难道你忘了吗？”

他们想给妈妈一个惊喜，把早饭准备好，不过他们更想先到外面去看一看。这座房子好像是坐落于靠近山顶的一片田野中，他们能看见一条长长的路。

“这个地方比我们在伦敦的家漂亮多了。”菲利斯说。

他们看见了山脚下的铁路，还有穿山隧道又黑又大的入口。再往远眺，他们看见小山之间有一架高高的桥，不过，车站太远了，他们看不到。

“我们去看看铁路吧，”彼得说，“没准儿会有火车驶过呢。”

“在这儿我们也一样能看到。”博比说。

于是，他们在草地中一块又大又平、非常舒服的石头上坐下了。8点钟，当妈妈过来找他们的时候，他们已经在阳光下睡着了。

“我又发现了一个房间，”妈妈告诉他们说，“这个房间的门在厨房里。昨天晚上我们还以为那是一个柜橱。”

这个正方形的小房间里摆着一张桌子，桌子上放着他们的晚饭。

“屋里有一封瓦伊尼夫人写的信，”妈妈解释说，“她的儿子摔断了胳膊，所以她提早回家去了。今天早晨晚些时候，她还会再来的。”

“早饭吃冷肉和苹果派！”彼得大笑，“太滑稽了！”

但是，昨天的晚饭现在成了一顿不错的早餐。

整整一天，孩子们都在帮妈妈打开箱子，归置房间里的东西。傍晚的时候，妈妈说：“今天就干到这里吧。晚饭前，我需要去躺一个钟头。”

孩子们面面相觑。

“那我们该到哪儿去呢？”博比问道，虽然说这话时她心里已经有了答案。

“当然到铁路上去啦！”彼得大喊。

山脚下有一道木头篱笆，铁路就在那里，铁轨亮闪闪的，还有电报线和电线杆以及各种标志牌。他们都爬到了篱笆顶上去。突然，他们听到了一个声音，而且它很快就变得越来越大。顺着铁轨，他们往隧道黑暗的出口望去。转眼之间，他们看见铁轨开始颤动，一列火车从隧道中呼啸而出。

“哦！”火车驶过之后，博比感叹，“简直像是一头庞大的野兽跑了过去！”

“真带劲儿！”彼得说。

“不知道这火车是不是去伦敦的，”博比说，“爸爸还在伦敦呢。”

“那我们下去，到车站去问问清楚吧。”彼得提议。

于是，孩子们沿着铁路，在电报线下面走着，来到了车站。他们登上站台，迅速地往守道工的房间里瞧了瞧。屋里，守道工在报纸后面，已经快睡着了。

车站里，一条条的铁轨纵横交错。在车站大院的一侧，有一大堆煤，这是蒸汽火车发动机的燃料。煤堆后面的墙上划着一道白色的线，就在靠近煤堆顶部的位置。过了一会儿，守道工出来的时候，彼得问他那条白线是干什么用的。

“那是用来标明煤堆高度的，”守道工说，“这样我们就能知道是不是有人偷煤了。”守道工和颜悦色的，彼得觉得他是一个善良的好人。

*　　*　　*

光阴流逝。孩子们现在已经不再上学了，妈妈每天都待在她的房间里写故事。有时候，她也能想办法把故事卖给杂志社，这样，他们就可以有茶点吃了。孩子们并没有忘记他们的父亲，但他们并不经常谈起他，因为他们都知道，妈妈已经十分郁闷了。有几次，妈妈告诉他们说，他们现在是穷人了。但孩子们很难相信这一点，因为他们还一直可以吃饱饭，还穿着过去的那些好衣服。

可后来连续下了三天雨，天又湿又冷。

“我们可以生火吗？”博比问。

“我们不能在六月份就生火，”妈妈说，“煤很贵。”

喝过茶后，彼得对姐妹俩说：“我有一个主意。在证实它是个好主意之后，我会把它告诉你们的。”

第三天晚上，彼得对女孩子们说：“来帮我一个忙吧。”

山坡上，就在车站上方的草丛中，有一些大石头。在石头中间，女孩子们看到了一小堆煤。

“是我发现的，”彼得说，“帮我一起把它运回家里吧。”

往山上跑了三趟之后，孩子们终于把这些煤堆到了自家后门处的煤堆上。他们没跟任何人讲这件事情。

一个星期之后，瓦伊尼夫人看着房子后门那里的煤堆说：“这煤比我印象中的要多。”

孩子们偷偷地笑了，还是什么也没说。

但是，那个倒霉的夜晚终于到来了，车站站长在车站的院中等着彼得。他看见彼得爬上院墙旁边的那个大煤堆，然后开始往一个袋子里装煤。

“这回我可抓到你了，你这个小窃贼！”站长大喊着，一边抓住了彼得的大衣。

“我不是小偷。”彼得说，不过他的声音可不是那么理直气壮。

“跟我到车站去。”站长说。

“哦，不！”在黑暗中，有个声音哭喊着。

“不要去警察局！”另一个声音哭叫着。

“不，是去火车站。”站长说，更多声音的出现令他颇感惊讶，“你们一共有几个人？”

博比和菲利斯从黑暗中走了出来。

“我们也参加了，”博比告诉站长，“我们帮他把煤运走，而且我们也知道彼得是在哪里弄到的煤。”

“不，不关你们的事，”彼得生气地说，“这是我的主意。”

“我们的确知道你从哪儿弄的煤，”博比说，“我们假装不知道，其实我们都知道。”

站长看看他们。“你们就住在山顶上的那个白房子里吧，”他说，“可是你们为什么要偷煤呢？”

“我想这不算是偷，”彼得说，“这儿有这么多煤，我从煤堆中间挖走一些，我——我，想不会有人介意的。妈妈说，我们太穷了，不能生火，但在我们原来的房子里，我们一直都有炉火，而且——”

“别说了！”博比低声对彼得说。

室内的气氛陷入了沉默，站长想了想。然后他对彼得说：“这次我就不惩罚你们了。但你们记住，这煤属于铁路，即使是从煤堆中间挖，那也是偷。”

孩子们明白，他的话是对的。

3

The old gentleman

The children could not keep away from the railway, and they soon got to know the trains that passed by. There was the 9.15 and the 10.07, and the midnight train that sometimes woke them from their dreams.

One morning they were sitting on the fence, waiting for the 9.15, when Phyllis said, 'It's going to London, where Father is. Let's all wave as it goes by. Perhaps it's a magic train and it can take our love to Father.'

So when the 9.15 came screaming out of the tunnel, the three children waved...

... And a hand waved back! It was holding a newspaper and it belonged to an old gentleman.

The old gentleman travelled on the 9.15 every day. He had white hair and looked very nice, and soon they were waving to him every morning. They pretended he knew Father, and that he was taking their love to him.

At first, they did not visit the station. After the trouble with the coal, Peter was afraid of seeing the Station Master again. But then he did see him, on the road to the village one day.

'Good morning,' said the Station Master, in a friendly way.

'G—good morning,' said Peter.

'I haven't seen you at the station recently,' said the Station Master.

'After the trouble with the coal...' began Peter.

'That's over and forgotten now,' said the Station Master. 'You come to the station when you like.'

'Oh, thank you,' said Peter.

And the three children went the very same day. They spent a happy two hours with the Porter, a nice friendly man called Perks, who answered all their questions about trains and railways.

The next day, Mother stayed in bed because her head ached so badly. She was very hot and would not eat anything, and Mrs Viney told her to send for Dr Forrest. So Peter was sent to fetch the doctor.

'I expect you want to be nurse,' Dr Forrest said to Bobbie, after he had seen Mother. 'Your mother is ill and must stay in bed. I'll send some medicine for her, but she will need fruit and milk, and some other special things that I'll write down on a piece of paper for you.'

When the doctor had gone, Bobbie showed Mother the piece of paper. Mother tried to laugh. 'Impossible!' she said. 'We can't buy all those things! We're poor, remember?'

Later, the children talked together.

'Mother must have those things,' said Bobbie. 'The doctor said so. How can we get them for her? Think, everybody, just as hard as you can.'

They did think. And later, when Bobbie was sitting with Mother, the other two were busy with a white sheet, some black paint and a paint brush.

The next morning, the 9.15 came out of the tunnel and the old gentleman put down his newspaper, ready to wave at the three children. But this morning there was only one child. It was Peter.

Peter was showing him the large white sheet that was fixed to the fence. On the sheet were thick black letters that read: LOOK OUT AT THE STATION.

A lot of people did look out at the station, but they saw nothing strange. But as the train was getting ready to leave, the old gentleman saw Phyllis running towards him.

'I thought I was going to miss you!' she shouted, and pushed a letter into his hand, through the window, as the train moved away.

The old gentleman sat back in his seat and opened the letter. This is what he read:

Dear Mr (we do not know your name),

Mother is ill and the doctor says we must give her these things at the end of the letter, but we haven't got enough money to get them. We do not know anybody here except you, because Father is away and we do not know his address. Father will pay you, or if he has lost all his money, Peter will pay you when he is a man. We promise it.

Please give the things to the Station Master, because we do not know which train you come back on. Tell him the things are for Peter, the boy who was sorry about the coal, then he will understand.

Bobbie Phyllis Peter

Written below the letter were all the things the doctor had ordered, and the old gentleman read through them. His eyes opened wide with surprise, but he smiled.

At about six o'clock that evening, there was a knock at the back door. The three children hurried to open it, and there stood Perks, the friendly Porter, with a large box. He put it on the floor.

'The old gentleman asked me to bring it,' he said.

Perks left, and the children opened the box. Inside were all the things they had asked for, and some they had not—some wine, two chickens, twelve big red roses. And there was a letter.

Dear Bobbie, Phyllis and Peter,

Here are the things you need. Your mother will want to know where they came from. Tell her they were sent by a friend who heard she was ill. When she is well, you must tell her all about it, of course. And if she says you were wrong to ask for the things, tell her that I say you were right, and that I was pleased to help.

The name at the bottom of the letter was G. P. something——the children could not read it.

'I think we were right,' said Phyllis.

'Of course we were right,' said Bobbie.

'I hope Mother thinks we were right, too,' said Peter. But he didn't sound very sure.

wait for 等，等待。

wave v. to move sth. in one's hand as a signal, esp. in greeting. 挥手，招手。

magic adj. caused by or used in a magic. 有魔力的。

ache v. to have or suffer a continuous dull pain. 持久的疼痛，疼痛。

fetch v. to go and get and bring back. 取来，拿来。

impossible adj. not possible. 不可能的。

address n. the number of the building, name of the street and town, etc., where a person works or esp. lives. 地址。

pay v. to give money for goods bought or got. 付款。

with surprise 出乎意料地，意外地。

3．老先生

孩子们已经离不开铁路了，他们很快摸清了经过这里的列车的时间。上午9:15和10:07各有一趟，半夜还有一趟，那趟列车有时会把他们从梦中吵醒。

这天早晨，他们都坐在木篱笆上，等9点15分那趟列车，正在这时，菲利斯说：“这车是去伦敦的，爸爸还在那里呢。待会儿火车经过的时候，我们一起对它招手吧。也许这是一辆有魔力的火车，能把我们的爱带给爸爸。”

于是，当9点15分那趟列车从隧道中呼啸而出的时候，三个孩子就对着它招手……

……竟然有一只手在回应他们！那只手里拿着一张报纸，是一位老先生的手。

这位老先生每天都乘坐这趟9点15分的火车。他满头白发，样子很慈祥，很快他们每天早晨都向他招手。他们假定老先生认识他们的爸爸，能把他们的爱带过去。

一开始，他们并不到车站去。因为在偷煤事件之后，彼得很害怕再见到站长。但是有一天，在去村子的路上，他真的碰到站长了。

“早上好。”站长招呼着，态度十分友善。

“早——早上好。”彼得说。

“我最近没有在车站看见你。”站长说。

“自从偷煤的麻烦之后……”彼得开始说。

“事情都过去了，忘了它吧，”站长说，“想到车站来你们就来好了。”

“哦，谢谢您。”彼得说。

当天，三个孩子就到车站去了。他们跟那个和善的守道工珀克斯一起度过了愉快的两小时，他回答了孩子们提出的所有跟火车和铁路有关的问题。

第二天，因为头疼得厉害，妈妈卧床不起。她高烧不退，吃不进任何东西，瓦伊尼夫人建议她请福里斯特大夫过来看看。于是，彼得被派去请医生。

“我希望你想当护士，”给妈妈看过病之后，福里斯特大夫对博比说，“你妈妈病了，需要卧床休息。我会给她送一些药来，但她还需要进些水果、牛奶和其他一些特别的东西，我会把需要的东西给你列在一张纸上的。”

医生走后，博比让妈妈看了看那张纸。妈妈勉强笑了笑。“不可能！”她说，“我们买不起这些东西！我们现在是穷人，还记得吗？”

过了一会儿，孩子们一起讨论了起来。

“妈妈一定得吃那些东西，”博比说，“医生是这么说的。可是我们该去哪儿给她弄这些东西来呢？动动脑筋，大家好好动动脑筋。”

他们绞尽了脑汁。随后，博比坐在那里陪着妈妈，另外两个孩子则拿着一张白布单、一些黑色的颜料和一支画笔忙个不停。

第二天早晨，当9点15分的那趟火车穿出隧道时，车上的老先生放下手中的报纸，准备向三个孩子招手。但是今天早晨只有彼得一个人站在那里。

彼得向老先生指着那张钉在篱笆上的大白布。白布上用又粗又黑的字体写着：到车站时请往窗外看看。

火车到站时，很多人的确都在往窗外看，但他们并没有看到什么新奇的事情。但是就在火车快要开动时，老先生看见菲利斯向他跑过来。

“我以为我赶不上您了！”她一边大喊，一边在火车启动的瞬间，从窗户把一封信塞到了老先生的手中。

老先生坐回到座位上，打开了手中的信。信的内容是这样的：

亲爱的先生（我们不知道您的名字）：

妈妈病了，医生说我们必须给她弄到信的末尾所列的这些东西，但我们没有足够的钱。在这儿除了您，我们谁都不认识，因为爸爸不在家，我们也不知道他的地址。爸爸将来会把这些钱还给您的，如果他没钱的话，彼得长大后会还给您的。我们发誓。

请把东西交给站长，因为我们不知道您乘哪趟火车返回。您告诉站长这些东西是给彼得的，就是那个因为煤的事而充满歉意的男孩儿，他就会明白的。

博比，菲利斯，彼得

信后列着医生让他们买的那些东西，老先生把这些东西从头至尾看了一遍。他惊讶得睁大了双眼，不过还是笑了。

那天晚上大约6点钟左右，有人敲家里的后门，三个孩子忙过去开门。门外站着珀克斯，那个友好的守道工，他手里拿着一个大盒子。他把盒子放在了地板上。

“是那位老先生要我送来的。”他说。

珀克斯走了，孩子们打开了盒子。里面装着他们信里列出的所有东西，甚至还有一些他们没有列举的——一些葡萄酒，两只鸡，12朵大大的红玫瑰。还有一封信。

亲爱的博比、菲利斯、彼得：

这是你们需要的东西。你们的妈妈会问你们这些东西是从哪里来的，就说是一个朋友听说她生病了送来的。当然，她病好了之后，你们一定要告诉她真相。如果她说你们做错了，就请告诉她，我认为你们做得对，而且我很乐意帮助你们。

信的末尾署名是G. P. 什么什么——孩子们不认识。

“我想我们是做对了。”菲利斯说。

“我们当然做对了。”博比也说。

“我希望妈妈也认为我们做得对。”彼得说。但听起来他好像不太确定。

4

Bobbie's ride

About two weeks later, the old gentleman saw another white sheet with black letters when he looked out of the train. It said: SHE IS NEARLY WELL. THANK YOU.

Then it was time for the children to tell Mother what they had done. It was not easy, but they had to do it. And Mother was very angry indeed.

'Now listen, it's true that we're poor,' she told them, 'but you must not tell everyone. And you must never, never ask strangers to give you things.'

'We didn't mean to be bad, Mother,' cried Bobbie.

'We're sorry,' said Phyllis and Peter, crying too.

Soon, Mother was crying with them. 'I'll write a letter to the old gentleman and thank him,' she said. 'You can give it to the Station Master to give him. Now we won't say any more about it.'

The day after the children took the letter to the station, it was Bobbie's birthday. In the afternoon, she was politely told to go out until tea-time.

'You mustn't see what we're doing,' said Phyllis. 'It's a surprise.'

Bobbie went into the garden, and then she walked across the fields. When she came back, Phyllis and Peter met her at the back door. They were very clean and tidy, and Phyllis was wearing her prettiest dress. There was just enough time for Bobbie to make herself tidy before they called her into the front room.

Mother, Peter, and Phyllis were standing near the table, and there were twelve lighted candles on it, one for each of Bobbie's years. The table was covered with beautiful flowers from the fields and garden, and there were some interesting little boxes, too.

'Happy birthday, Bobbie!' they shouted happily. 'Open your presents!'

They were very nice presents. There was a pretty handkerchief with flowers on it, from Phyllis. A lovely little silver brooch of Mother's, shaped like a rose, which Bobbie had loved for years. There were two blue glass vases from Mrs Viney. And there were three birthday cards with pretty pictures.

'This is my present,' said Peter, putting his toy steam engine on the table. It was full of sweets. Bobbie looked surprised, because just for a moment she thought Peter was giving her the engine. 'Not the engine,' he said quickly. 'Only the sweets.' But he had seen the look on her face. 'I mean, not all the engine. You... you can have half, if you like,' he said bravely.

'Thank you, Peter,' said Bobbie. 'It's a wonderful present.' And she thought: 'It was very kind of Peter to give me half of his engine. Well, I'll have the broken half, and I'll get it mended.'

It was a lovely birthday. But later that night, Bobbie came silently down the stairs to get her presents. She saw her mother sitting at the table, with a pen and some writing paper in front of her. 'She's writing to Father,' thought Bobbie.

But at that moment, Mother wasn't writing. Her head was on her arms and her arms lay on the table.

'It's my birthday, and she doesn't want me to know she's unhappy,' thought Bobbie. 'Well, I won't know, I won't know.'

And she went quietly back to her room. But it was a sad end to the birthday.

*　　*　　*

The next day, Bobbie put Peter's engine in a box and took it down to the railway. She did not go to the station, but she went along the line to the place where the engines stopped.

When the next train came in, Bobbie went across the line and stood beside the engine. She had never been close to one before, and it was very big. The driver and the fireman did not see her. They were talking to Perks, the Porter, who was on the other side of the line.

'Excuse me,' began Bobbie. But the men did not hear her because the engine was making a lot of steam and noise. Bobbie climbed on to the step of the engine—but at that moment, the train began to move!

Bobbie fell inside, on to a heap of coal. 'Help!' she cried. But still the men didn't see or hear her.

'I shouldn't be here!' she thought, as the train went faster. 'I'll be in terrible trouble!'

She put out a hand and touched the nearest arm, and the driver turned round quickly. 'What are you doing here?' he shouted. And Bobbie began to cry.

This seemed to worry the two men, and they took several minutes to calm Bobbie down and to stop her crying. Then the fireman said, 'Now tell us why you're here. It's not every day a little girl falls into our steam engine!'

Bobbie picked up the box with Peter's toy engine inside it. 'I... I wanted to ask if you could mend this,' she explained, and took the engine out of the box. 'Everybody on the railway seemed so good and kind. I didn't think you'd mind.'

The driver took the little engine and the two men looked at it silently, not speaking for several minutes. Bobbie waited.

'What do you think, Jim?' said the driver at last. 'Can we help the little lady?'

The fireman smiled. 'I should think we can!'

'Oh, thank you!' said Bobbie.

'But now we must make sure that you get home safely,' said the driver.

Bobbie stayed on the train until it reached Stackpoole Junction. She asked the two men all about driving a steam train, and they showed her the automatic brake, and the little clock faces that told them how much steam the engine was making. It was all very interesting. At Stackpoole Junction the two railwaymen put her on another train and sent her home.

Bobbie was back in time for tea.

'Where have you been?' asked the others.

'To the station, of course,' said Bobbie. But she would not say another word.

It was some weeks before Bobbie took her brother and sister to meet the friendly engine driver and fireman. The two children were very surprised. And Peter was very excited when he saw his engine, now as good as new again.

And only then, as the three children walked home again, did Bobbie tell the others about her adventures on the engine of the steam train.

ride n. a journey. 旅程，兜风。

well adj. in good health. （指身体）很好。

mean to do sth. plan to do sth. 打算做某事。

brooch n. an ornamental worn on women's clothes, fastened on by means of a pin. （女用）胸针，饰针。

vase n. a container, usu. shaped like a deep pot with a rather narrow opening at the top and usu. made of glass or baked clay, used either to put flowers in or as an ornament. 瓶，花瓶。

not... but 不是……而是。

fireman n. a person who tends the fire in a furnace, steam-engine, etc. （锅炉，蒸汽机等的）司炉工。

calm down to make (a living being) calm. 使（生物）平静。

automatic adj. (esp. of a machine) able to work or move by itself without needing the operation of a man. 自动的。

brake n. an apparatus for slowing or lessening movement and bringing to a stop (as of a wheel or car). 刹车，制动器。

4．博比的旅行

大约两个星期之后，当老先生再次往窗外张望时，他又看到了一张写着黑字的白布单。白布单上写着：她快好了，谢谢您。

终于到了孩子们跟妈妈讲明一切的时候了。尽管这不太容易，可他们也得讲。妈妈的确十分恼火。

“现在你们听着，我们是很穷，”她告诉孩子们，“但是你们不能对任何人说。你们永远不能，永远不能向陌生人索要东西。”

“妈妈，我们没打算做坏事。”博比哭着解释。

“我们很抱歉。”菲利斯和彼得也哭着说。

很快，妈妈也和他们一起哭了起来。“我会给那位老先生写封信，向他表示感谢的，”她说，“你们可以请站长把信转交给他。现在什么都别再说了。”

孩子们把信送到车站去的第二天是博比的生日。那天下午，大家委婉地请她回避一下，到喝茶的时间再回来。

“你不能在场看我们做些什么，”菲利斯说，“这是一个惊喜。”

博比先是来到了花园里，之后她穿过田野走了走。当她返回的时候，菲利斯和彼得在后门迎接她。他们打扮得干净整齐，菲利斯还穿着她最漂亮的那条连衣裙。当然博比在大家让她进客厅之前，也有足够的时间来梳理自己。

妈妈、彼得和菲利斯正站在桌旁，桌子上点着12枝蜡烛，每一枝代表一岁。桌上放满了从田野中和花园里采来的漂亮的花，除此之外，还有一些有趣的小盒子。

“生日快乐，博比！”大家开心地喊道，“打开你的礼物看看吧！”

这些礼物非常棒。一块有花形图案的漂亮手绢，这是菲利斯送的。妈妈送的是一枚可爱的银质小胸针，样子像一朵玫瑰花，博比心仪这枚胸针已经有好几年了。瓦伊尼夫人送给她的是两只蓝色的玻璃花瓶。桌上还有三张印有精美图案的生日贺卡。

“这是我送你的礼物。”彼得一边说着，一边把他的那个玩具蒸汽火车头放在了桌子上。火车头里装满了糖果。博比有些吃惊，因为那一瞬间，她以为彼得要把火车头送给她。“不是送你火车头，”他赶紧说，“只送你糖果。”但他瞧见了博比脸上表情的变化。“我的意思是，我不是把整个火车头送给你，如果你喜欢的话，你……你可以拥有一半。”他鼓足勇气说。

“谢谢你，彼得，”博比说，“这礼物太棒了。”她心里想：“彼得真是太好了，他愿意送一半火车头给我。嗯，那我就要那坏的那一半吧，我可以找人修一下。”

这是一个愉快的生日聚会。当天深夜，博比悄悄下楼去取她的礼物。她看见妈妈坐在桌旁，面前放着一枝钢笔和一些信纸。“妈妈在给爸爸写信呢。”博比心想。

不过在那一刻，妈妈并没有在写字。她的两只胳膊搭在桌上，头埋在胳膊里。

“今天是我的生日，妈妈不想让我知道她心里很苦闷，”博比想，“那么，我就假装不知道吧，我假装不知道。”

她悄悄地回到了自己的房间，但是，这个生日是以伤感结束的。

*　　*　　*

第二天，博比把彼得的火车头装进了盒子里，带着它到山下的铁路上去了。她没有去车站，而是沿着铁路，直接去了停靠火车头的地方。

当又一列火车驶进来时，博比穿过铁路，来到了车头的旁边。在此之前，她从来没有如此近距离地见过火车头，火车头很大。司机和司炉工都没看见她，他们正在跟守道工珀克斯说话，而珀克斯站在铁路的另一边。

“劳驾。”博比招呼道。但因为火车嘈杂的蒸汽声和其他声响，这三个人都没有听到她的话。博比爬到了火车机车的台阶上——可是，就在同时，火车开动了！

博比摔到车里，倒在了一堆煤上。“救命啊！”她哭喊道。但是，旁边的人仍旧是既没有看到她，也没有听到她的呼救。

“我不能待在这儿！”随着火车跑得越来越快，她心里想，“要不我会有大麻烦的！”

她伸出一只手，踫到了离她最近的火车司机的胳膊，司机猛地转过身。“你在这儿做什么？”他喊道。于是博比开始哭了。

这好像让两个男人担心起来，他们用了几分钟安慰博比，让她别哭了。之后，司炉工对她说：“现在请告诉我们，你怎么会在这儿。一个小女孩儿掉进我们的蒸汽火车头，这种事情可不是每天都发生的！”

博比捡起那个装有彼得的玩具火车头的盒子。“我……我想问问你们能不能把它修好。”她解释着，并把火车头从盒子中取了出来，“铁路上的每个人看上去都很好，很善良。我想你们不会介意的。”

司机接过那个小火车头，两个人静静地看着它，几分钟都没有开口说话。博比等待着。

“你觉得怎么样，吉姆？”司机终于开口说话了，“我们帮得了这位小女士吗？”

司炉工笑了。“我想我们应该能！”

“哦，谢谢你们！”博比说。

“不过，现在我们必须确保你平安回家。”司机说道。

博比一直在火车上坐到斯塔克普枢纽站。她详细地向两个人询问了怎么开蒸汽火车。他们让她看了自动刹车装置和一些小表盘，这些小表盘能表明发动机产生了多少蒸汽。真是太有意思了。在斯塔克普枢纽站，两位铁路工人把她送到了另一列火车上，送她回家。

博比回到家时，正好是喝下午茶的时间。

“你到哪儿去了？”其他人问。

“当然是去车站了。”博比说。但除此之外，她什么都不说了。

几个星期之后，博比带着她的弟弟和妹妹去见了亲切的火车司机和司炉工。那两个孩子简直惊呆了，尤其当彼得看见他的玩具火车头现在崭新如初的时候，他欣喜若狂。

直到那天，当三个孩子走着回家的时候，博比才跟他们讲述了她在蒸汽火车头上的奇遇。

5

Saving the train

One day, the children were walking by the fence along the top of the hill beside the railway line. The line here ran through a deep little valley and the hillside on both sides of the line was very rocky. But among the rocks, grass and flowers grew, and many small trees.

Phyllis stood by the fence and looked down to the lines at the bottom. 'It's like looking down the side of a mountain,' she said.

Suddenly, they heard a noise. It was soft, but very clear, and slowly began to get louder.

'Look at the tree over there!' cried Peter.

The girls looked and saw a tree moving slowly downwards on the opposite side of the railway line!

'It's magic!' said Phyllis. 'I knew the railway was magic. Look, some other trees are moving, too.'

They watched as the trees moved on and on, grass and stones moving with them. Then a big rock began to move as well, and suddenly half the hillside was moving. A second or two later, everything came crashing down in a big heap on the railway line below.

'It's right across the line!' said Phyllis, feeling a little frightened now.

'Yes,' said Peter, slowly. 'And the 11.29 hasn't gone by yet. We must let them know at the station, or there will be an awful accident.'

'There isn't time,' said Bobbie. 'It's past eleven now.'

They thought for a moment.

'We need something red. Then we could go down on the line and wave it,' said Peter. 'Everyone knows that red means danger, and the train would stop.'

'Our petticoats!' said Phyllis. 'They're red. Let's take them off.'

The girls did this, then the three of them ran along the line to a corner. When they were round the corner, it was impossible to see the heap of trees and rocks.

'We'll need some sticks as well,' said Peter, taking one of the petticoats. 'Now...' He took a knife from his pocket.

'You're not going to cut them, are you?' said Phyllis.

'Yes, cut them!' said Bobbie. 'If we can't stop the train, there will be a real accident and people will be killed.'

They cut the petticoats into six pieces and put them on to sticks. Now they had six red flags. Next, they pushed two of the flags into heaps of stones between the lines, then Bobbie and Phyllis each took one, and Peter took the other two. They stood ready to wave them immediately the train appeared.

It seemed a long time before the railway lines began to shake, and they heard the train coming.

'Wave your flags!' ordered Peter. 'But don't stand on the line, Bobbie!'

The train came very, very fast. The lines began to shake and the two flags that were pushed into the heaps of stones soon fell over, but Bobbie ran across and picked up one of them.

'The train's not going to stop!' she shouted. 'They won't see us, it's no good!'

She ran on to the line, waving her two flags.

'Get back, Bobbie!' shouted Peter.

But Bobbie did not move from the line. She waved and waved her flags, shouting 'Stop, stop!' as the big black engine came towards her.

It did stop... but only twenty metres from Bobbie.

Peter and Phyllis ran along the line to tell the driver about the trees and rocks around the corner. But Bobbie couldn't move because her legs were shaking too much. She had to sit down on the ground.

But they had saved the train.

'You're brave and clever children,' the driver told them.

*　　*　　*

Some weeks later, a letter arrived at the little white house on the hill. It was for Peter, Bobbie, and Phyllis, and it said:

Dear Sir and Ladies—We would like to say thank you for saving the train and stopping a very bad accident. Please come to the station at three o'clock on the 30th of the month, if this is a suitable day.

J. Inglewood

Secretary, the Northern and Southern Railway Company

It was to be a very special day indeed.

The three children went down to the station at the right time, dressed in their best clothes, and the Station Master came to meet them.

'Come into the waiting room,' he said.

He took them into the room where people usually waited for the trains—but now there was a carpet on the floor, and flowers above the pictures on the walls.

Perks the Porter was there, and several men in high hats and long coats. There were ladies in expensive dresses, and people who had been on the train on 'red-petticoat day'. Best of all, their own old gentleman was there, and he came across to shake their hands.

Then everybody sat down on chairs and an important looking man got up to speak. He said nice things about the children—how brave and clever they were—and then he sat down. Next, the old gentleman got up and said more nice things about them. Then he called them across and gave each of them a beautiful gold watch.

'These are from the Northern and Southern Railway Company,' he said, 'to say thank you for the brave and sensible thing that you did to save the train.'

It was a wonderful day. A day that seemed more like a dream than real life.

Afterwards, the old gentleman walked with them to the little white house. 'I want to meet the mother of these clever children,' he said.

Mother was surprised to see their visitor, but she thanked him again for the things he had sent when she was ill. Then they talked about 'red-petticoat day', and the children showed Mother their watches and told her about the people at the station.

'I've been very pleased to meet you,' Mother said to the old gentleman, when it was time for him to leave. 'I'm sorry we can't ask you to come and see us again, but we live very quietly.'

The children thought this was very strange. They had made a friend—a very good friend—and they dearly wanted him to come and see them again.

What did the old gentleman think? They didn't know. He looked closely at Mother and said, 'I thank you, Madam, for welcoming me to your house today.'

But Bobbie was watching her mother's face as the old gentleman walked away. It was a sad, tired face.

'She's thinking about Father,' thought Bobbie.

valley n. the land lying between two lines of hills or mountains, often with a river running through it. 山谷，溪谷。

rock n. stone. 石头。

crash v. to cause to fall or strike the ground noisily and violently. 猛撞，猛坠。

petticoat n. a type of skirt worn by women as an undergarment. 衬裙。

take off to remove a garment. 脱掉衣服。

stick n. a small thin piece of wood. 小树枝，柴枝。

no good/not much good useless. 无用，无益。

be dressed in wear. 穿着，戴着。

expensive adj. costing a lot of money; costly. 昂贵的，花钱的。

shake hands with...: 与……握手。

get up stand up. 起身，站起来。

sensible adj. reasonable; having or showing good sense. 明智的，通晓事理的。

more... than... 与其说……倒不如……。

dearly adv. with much feeling, usu. good feeling. 深情地，真挚地。

5．拯救火车

这天，孩子们正沿着铁路边山顶上的篱笆走着。这一段铁路线要穿过一条深深的小山谷，山谷的两侧石头遍地。但是在这些石头中间长着草、花，还有很多小树。

菲利斯站在篱笆旁，往谷底的铁路看去。“真像是站在山边往下瞧。”她说。

突然，他们听到了一个声音。这声音很弱，却很清晰，渐渐地，声音变得越来越大。

“瞧那边那棵树！”彼得大喊。

女孩们望过去，看到在铁路线的另一边，一棵树正在往下缓缓移动！

“太神奇了！”菲利斯说，“我就知道这铁路是有魔力的。瞧，其他的树也在动呢。”

他们看着那些树动呀，动呀，青草和石头也随着它们一起移动。紧跟着，有一块大岩石也开始动了，突然间半边山都动了起来。一两秒钟之后，所有这些东西一下子都塌到了下面的铁路上，堆成了一大堆。

“正好都堆在铁路上！”菲利斯说，这会儿她感到有点儿害怕了。

“是的，”彼得慢吞吞地说，“11点29分那趟车还没通过呢。我们一定得到车站去告诉他们，不然恐怕就要出大事故了。”

“没时间了，”博比说，“现在都11点多了。”

大家想了想。

“我们需要一些红颜色的东西。然后我们可以下到铁路上，挥舞它，”彼得说，“人人都知道红色表示危险，火车就会停下来的。”

“我们的衬裙！”菲利斯说，“我们的衬裙都是红色的。我们把衬裙脱下来吧。”

女孩儿们脱下衬裙。然后，三个孩子一起沿着铁路跑到一个拐弯处。在那里他们发现，在弯道的这一侧，根本看不到那堆树和石头。

“我们还需要些棍子，”彼得一边说着，一边抓起了一条衬裙，“现在……”他从口袋里掏出了一把刀子。

“你该不会把衬裙割了吧？”菲利斯问。

“是的，要把衬裙割了！”博比回答，“如果我们不能让火车停下来的话，真会出事故的，而且肯定会死人的。”

他们把红衬裙割成六块，然后把它们分别绑在六根棍子上。现在他们就有了六面红色的旗子。然后，他们把两面旗子插在铁轨中间的石子堆上。接下来，博比和菲利斯每人拿一面旗子，彼得拿起另外两面。他们站在那里等着，只要火车一出现就马上冲它摇旗子。

似乎过了很长时间，铁路才开始有些震颤，他们听见有火车开过来的声音。

“摇你们手中的旗子！”彼得马上发出命令，“但不要站在铁轨上，博比！”

火车风驰电掣而来。铁轨颤得愈加厉害，很快插在石堆上的那两面旗都倒了，但是博比跑过去，捡起其中的一面。

“火车不会停的！”她大喊，“他们看不到我们，这样做没有用！”

她跑到铁轨上，挥舞着手中的两面旗子。

“回来，博比！”彼得大喊。

但是博比并没有从铁轨上走开。她拼命地摇动手中的旗子，还一边大喊：“停下，停下！”此时巨大的黑色火车头正向她开过来。

它终于停下了……就在离博比只有20米远的地方。

彼得和菲利斯沿着铁路跑过去，告诉火车司机前面拐弯处堆有树和石头。而此时，博比却动不了了，因为她的腿抖得厉害。她不得不坐在了地上。

但他们救了这列火车。

“你们真是又勇敢又聪明的好孩子。”火车司机对他们说。

*　　*　　*

几个星期之后，一封信寄到了山上的白色小屋。信是寄给彼得、博比和菲利斯的，信上写着：

亲爱的先生和女士们——你们拯救了火车，避免了一场可怕事故的发生，我们特向你们表示感谢。如果方便的话，请于本月30日下午3点钟到车站来一趟。

J．英格伍德

南北铁路公司　秘书

这的确成了一个非常特殊的日子。

三个孩子穿着他们最好的衣服，准时来到了车站，站长过来迎接他们。

“到候车室来吧。”他说。

他带他们进了候车室，这原本是人们等车的地方——但是现在地板上铺上了地毯，墙上的画的上方，还插着花。

除了守道工珀克斯以外，在场的还有几个戴着高帽，穿着长外衣的先生。还有几位穿着盛装的女士，以及一些在“红衬裙日”那天坐在火车上的人。最让他们高兴的是，每天跟他们招手的那个老先生也在场，他径直走过来和他们握手。

大家落座以后，一个看起来像是个大人物的人站起来讲话。他把孩子们表扬了一番——夸奖他们又勇敢又聪明——然后他就坐下了。接着，那位和蔼的老先生站起来，又把他们称赞了一番。说完以后，他把他们叫到身边，送给他们每人一只漂亮的金表。

“这是南北铁路公司送的礼物，”老先生说，“用以感谢你们拯救火车时勇敢聪明的表现。”

今天简直是太棒了。与其说这是真的，还不如说是在做梦。

会见之后，老先生和他们一起，步行来到了他们的白色小屋里。“我想见一见这些聪明孩子们的妈妈。”他说。

看到客人，妈妈很吃惊，但她再次向老先生致谢，感谢老先生在她生病时送给她的东西。随后，他们谈到了那个“红衬裙日”，孩子们让妈妈看了他们的表，跟她讲了刚才在车站里所见到的人。

“见到您我很高兴，”当老先生起身告辞的时候，妈妈说，“但是我很抱歉今后不能再邀请您到我们家来，因为我们不想打破生活的平静。”

孩子们感到很纳闷。他们成了朋友——他是他们一个非常要好的朋友——他们诚恳地希望老先生能再过来看看他们。

老先生又是怎么想的呢？他们不得而知。老先生注视着妈妈，开口说道：“谢谢您，夫人，谢谢您今天的款待。”

但当老先生离开的时候，博比一直注视着妈妈的脸。那是一张伤感、满是倦容的脸。

“她又在想爸爸了。”博比心想。

6

A birthday for Perks

It was breakfast-time and Mother was smiling.

'I've sold another story, darlings,' she said. 'We can have cakes for tea.'

The three children looked at each other. Then Bobbie said, 'Can we have the cakes on Thursday instead of today? It's Perks's birthday on Thursday.'

'How do you know?' asked Mother.

'I showed him my brooch—the one you gave me for my birthday—and I asked him about his birthday. He says he doesn't keep birthdays anymore, because he has other things to keep—his wife and children! But he said it was on the 15th, and that's Thursday.'

'And we thought we could make a birthday tea for him,' said Peter. 'He's been very good to us.'

'All right,' said Mother.

But cakes didn't seem a very exciting birthday present.

'We can give him flowers,' said Bobbie, when they were discussing it in the garden, later that day.

Then Peter had an idea. 'Perks is nice to everybody,' he said. 'There must be lots of people in the village who will want to help us give him a nice birthday. Let's ask everybody.'

Bobbie wasn't sure. 'Mother said we weren't to ask people for things.'

'Not for ourselves,' said Peter. 'It's all right to ask for other people. I'll ask the old gentleman, too.'

So they went to the village. Some people were kind, and some were not.

'It's my birthday tomorrow,' said old Mrs Ransome at the Post Office. 'Nobody will remember mine. Why should I give anything to Perks? Go away!'

But other people gave things—a pipe, a tin of tea, a walking stick—and others promised to give small presents, too.

Early the next morning, Bobbie and Phyllis went into the garden and cut some roses. They put them into a box with one of Bobbie's prettiest handkerchiefs. Then they wrote on a piece of paper: For Mrs Ransome for her birthday, with our love, and put it inside the box. Bobbie and Phyllis took the box down to the Post Office, and put it inside the door when the old woman wasn't looking.

While they were gone, Peter told his mother about Perks's presents. 'We're not doing it because he's poor,' said Peter, 'but because we like him.'

'I hope he understands that,' said Mother.

On Thursday morning, the children went to fetch the presents which other people had promised—eggs, meat, tomatoes. The old lady at the Post Office was standing outside as they went by.

'I want to thank you for the roses,' she said.

'We're pleased you liked them,' said Phyllis.

'And here's your box,' said Mrs Ransome, giving it back to them. It was now full of shiny red apples. She smiled. 'The Perks's children will like them. And I've got a pram in the back of the shop. It was for my daughter's first child, but the child died after six months. I'd like Mrs Perks to have it for her little boy. Will you take it?'

'Thank you,' said Bobbie. 'We will.'

The children put all the presents in the pram, and at three o'clock they pushed it to the Perks's little yellow house. Mrs Perks and her young children were surprised to see them.

'We know it's Mr Perks's birthday,' said Peter. 'And we've brought some presents for him.'

The woman's eyes got bigger and bigger with surprise as each thing was taken from the pram.

'Perks has never had a birthday like it!' she said.

The cakes and the presents were put on the table, then the children hid in the other room when they heard Perks coming home from work. They wanted to surprise him by jumping out and saying 'Happy birthday!' after he'd seen the presents.

'What's all this?' they heard him say. 'What's that pram doing here?' His wife explained, but too quietly for the children to hear. But they heard Perks shout, 'I'm not having any of it! We've managed all these years, asking people for nothing, and I'm not going to start taking things now. We may be poor, but we don't need charity.'

Bobbie ran into the other room. 'We thought you'd be pleased!' she cried.

'We didn't mean to do anything wrong,' said Peter, following her.

'I—I'll never be kind to anyone again!' said Phyllis, starting to cry.

'Don't you understand?' said Perks. 'People in the village will laugh at me. "Poor Perks, he can't take care of his own family. We have to give him things." That's what they'll be saying now.'

'No!' cried Bobbie. 'It's not charity! People were happy to give you birthday presents. The man at the village shop said, "I'm pleased to give something to Mr Perks. He always pays his bills." And the woman at the Post Office wanted you to have the pram. It was for her granddaughter, but the little girl died.'

'I'm not sending the pram back, Bert,' said Mrs Perks, when she heard this. 'So don't ask me to.'

'I—I won't,' said Perks, quietly.

'And other people said you were kind and polite and hardworking,' said Bobbie. 'They wanted to give you a birthday present. The old gentleman gave Peter a pound for you. He said you were a man who was good at his work. We thought you would like—'

'Stop!' Perks said suddenly. 'I take back every word I said. I—I don't know if I was ever so pleased... not only with the presents, but with the kind thoughts of our neighbours. They're the best presents of all, aren't they, Nell?'

'They are!' agreed his wife, happily.

Perks looked at the children. 'You'll stay to tea, won't you?' he said.

'Oh, yes please!' they said.

discuss v. to talk with someone from several points of view. 商讨，讨论。

pipe n. a small tube with a bowl-like container. at one end, used for tobacco. 烟斗。

pram n. a 4-wheeled carriage, pushed by hand, in which a baby can sleep or be taken about. 婴儿车。

charity n. a society or organization that gives help to the poor. 慈善机构。

take care of look after. 照顾，照看。

pay the bill pay the money for. 付账。

be good at do well in. 擅长。

take back make as if (sth.) was never said. 收回（所说的话）。

6．珀克斯的生日

吃早饭时，妈妈微笑着。

“亲爱的，我又卖掉了一篇故事，”她说，“我们又有茶点可以吃了。”

三个孩子相互看了一眼。博比开口说道：“我们星期四再吃茶点好吗？因为星期四是珀克斯的生日。”

“你们怎么知道的？”妈妈问。

“我让他看我的胸针——就是我过生日时您送给我的那枚——我问他的生日是什么时候。他说他已经不再过生日了，因为他已经有了其他的事情要操心——他的妻子和孩子们！不过他还是说他的生日是在15号，就是这个星期四。”

“我们想，我们可以邀请他来我们家喝茶，”彼得补充道，“他一直对我们很好。”

“好吧。”妈妈说。

但是，蛋糕并不能算是令人兴奋的生日礼物。

“我们可以送他一些鲜花。”那天晚些时候，当他们在花园里再次讨论这个问题的时候，博比说。

这时，彼得有了主意。“珀克斯对所有的人都很好，”他说，“村里一定有很多人愿意帮我们送他一个不错的生日礼物，我们去问问大家吧。”

博比拿不定主意。“妈妈说，我们不能再张嘴跟别人要东西了。”

“可这不是给我们自己要的，”彼得说，“给别人要应该是可以的，我也会去问那位老先生要的。”

于是他们来到了村里。有些人对他们很友好，可也有些不怎么友好。

“明天是我的生日，”在邮局工作的一位叫兰塞姆的老妇人说，“但没人记得我的生日，我为什么要给珀克斯礼物呢？走开！”

不过其他的人还是给了他们一些东西——一个烟斗，一罐茶叶，一根拐杖——还有一些人也答应要送些小礼物。

第二天一大早，博比和菲利斯就到花园里去剪玫瑰花。他们用博比最漂亮的手绢把剪下的玫瑰扎成一束装进盒子里。然后他们在一张纸上写道：送给兰塞姆夫人，祝她生日快乐，这花代表我们的爱。随后他们把这张纸条也放入盒中。博比和菲利斯拿着盒子下山到了邮局，趁那个老妇人没注意，他们把盒子放到了邮局的门里。

他们走了之后，彼得跟妈妈讲了给珀克斯筹集礼物的事情。“我们这样做，并不是因为珀克斯没钱，”彼得说，“而是因为我们喜欢他。”

“我希望他能理解这一点。”妈妈说。

星期四早晨，孩子们去取其他人答应送的礼物——鸡蛋，肉，西红柿。当他们路过邮局的时候，那位老妇人站在门口。

“我想谢谢你们送给我玫瑰。”她说。

“你能喜欢那些玫瑰我们很高兴。”菲利斯说。

“把你们的盒子还给你们，”兰塞姆夫人一边说着，一边把盒子交回到他们手中。盒子里装满了油光闪闪的红苹果。她微笑着。“珀克斯的孩子们会喜欢的。另外，商店的后面放着一辆婴儿车，那是为我女儿的第一个孩子准备的，但孩子六个月大的时候夭折了。我想珀克斯夫人可以给她的小儿子用。你们愿意把它带过去吗？”

“谢谢您，”博比说，“我们愿意。”

孩子们把所有的礼物都放进婴儿车里，3点钟的时候，他们把这些东西推到了珀克斯家的黄色小房子那里。看到他们，珀克斯夫人和她的小孩子们大吃一惊。

“我们知道今天是珀克斯先生的生日，”彼得说，“我们给他带来了一些礼物。”

随着东西一样样地从婴儿车里拿出来，珀克斯夫人真有些瞠目结舌。

“珀克斯从来没有过这样的生日！”她说。

孩子们把蛋糕和礼物放在桌上，这时他们听到珀克斯下班回来了，于是孩子们躲到了另外一个房间里。他们想等珀克斯看见这些礼物之后，再从里面跳出来，跟他说“生日快乐！”，给他一个惊喜。

“这都是什么？”他们听见他在问，“这辆婴儿车怎么会在这儿？”他的妻子开始解释，但是她说话的声音太低了，孩子们听不见。不过他们听见珀克斯高吼：“我一样都不会接受的！这么多年来，我们都做到了从不张口跟别人要东西，现在我也不会开这个先例的。我们是穷，但我们不需要人怜悯。”

博比跑进了另外的那个房间。“我们还以为您会高兴呢！”她哭着说。

“我们没有恶意。”彼得跟着她说。

“我——我再也不会对任何人好了！”菲利斯说着，哭了起来。

“难道你们不明白吗？”珀克斯说，“村里的人会笑话我的：‘可怜的珀克斯养不起家了，我们得施舍给他一些东西。’他们现在肯定就在这么说。”

“不！”博比哭着说，“这不是慈善捐赠！大家都乐意送生日礼物给您。村里小卖部的人说：‘我非常愿意送给珀克斯先生东西，因为他从不欠账。’还有，邮局的那位夫人希望你能收下这辆婴儿车，这原本是给她的外孙女买的，但那个可怜的小女孩儿死了。”

“我不想把这辆婴儿车送回去，伯特，”听到这里，珀克斯夫人说，“请别要求我这么做。”

“我——我不会。”珀克斯低声说。

“别人也说您心地善良、待人礼貌，而且工作努力，”博比说，“他们都愿意送您生日礼物。那位老先生给了彼得一英镑，让他转交给您。他说您是个十分敬业的人。我们想您会——”

“别说了！”珀克斯突然开口说，“我收回我刚才所说的话。我——我想自己从来没有这么高兴过……不仅仅是因为这些生日礼物，而且也因为邻居们善良的想法。这才是最好的礼物，对吗，内尔？”

“是呀！”他的妻子愉快地附和道。

珀克斯看着孩子们。“你们留下来一起喝茶，行吗？”他说。

“哦，当然行，谢谢！”他们说。

7

The terrible secret

When the children first went to live at the white house, they talked about Father a lot and were always asking questions about him. But as time passed, their questions seemed to make Mother unhappy, so they stopped asking them. But they never forgot him.

Bobbie thought about Father often. She knew her mother was unhappy, and she worried a lot about that. And why was Father away for so long? Was there something that Mother wasn't telling them?

The answer came on the day she went to the station, to fetch the magazines. They were old magazines which people left on trains or in the waiting room. Perks said the children could have them to read, and one day Bobbie went to fetch them.

'I'll just put some newspaper round them to keep them together,' said Perks. And he took an old newspaper from the heap.

The magazines were heavy, and Bobbie stopped to rest on the way home. She sat on the grass and dropped them beside her. As she did this, she looked at the newspaper and read some of the words on the page... and it was like a terrible dream.

She never remembered how she got home. But she went to her room and locked the door. Then she took the newspaper off the magazines and looked at it again. The words seemed to jump at her:

FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR SPY!

And the name of the 'spy' was the name of her father.

Bobbie was very quiet at tea-time.

'Is anything wrong?' Mother asked her.

'I'm all right,' said Bobbie.

But after tea, Mother went up to Bobbie's room. 'What's the matter?' she wanted to know.

For an answer, Bobbie took the newspaper from under her bed and showed it to her mother.

'Oh, Bobbie!' cried Mother. 'You don't believe it, do you? You don't believe Daddy is a spy?'

'No!' said Bobbie.

'He's good and honest and he's done nothing wrong,' said Mother. 'We have to remember that.'

'What happened?' asked Bobbie.

'You remember the two men who came to see Daddy at the old house, don't you?' said Mother. 'They said he was a spy, and that he'd sold Government secrets to another country. There were some letters in Daddy's desk at his office. When the police saw them, they were sure Daddy was a spy.'

'But how did the letters get into his desk?' asked Bobbie.

'Somebody put them there,' said Mother. 'And that person is the real spy.'

'Who?' said Bobbie. 'Who put the letters there?'

'I don't know,' said Mother. 'But the man who got Daddy's job never liked him, and he always wanted Daddy's job.'

'Is he an honest man?' asked Bobbie.

'Daddy was never really sure,' said Mother.

'Can't we explain all this to someone?' said Bobbie.

'I've tried, but nobody will listen,' said Mother sadly. 'I've tried everything. There's nothing we can do except be brave and patient. Now we won't talk of this anymore, my darling. Try not to think of it. It's easier for me if you can be happy and enjoy things.'

But Bobbie did think about it. She did not talk to Peter or Phyllis, but she wrote a letter—to the old gentleman.

My Dear Friend,

You see what is in this newspaper. It is not true. Father never did it. Mother says someone put the letters in Father's desk, and she thinks it is the man who got Father's job. But nobody listens to her. You are good and clever. Can you find out the name of the real spy? It is not Father!

Peter and Phyllis don't know he is in prison. Can you help me? Oh, do help me!

With love from your friend,

Bobbie

She put the page of the newspaper with her letter and took it to the station. Bobbie asked the Station Master to give it to the old gentleman the next morning.

Now she could only wait and see what happened.

on the way home 在回家的路上。

get home arrive home. 回家，到家。

be in prison 判刑入狱。

spy n. a person employed to find out secret information, as from an enemy or company in competition. 间谍，密探。

patient adj. having or showing patience. 忍耐的，有耐心的。

7．可怕的秘密

孩子们刚住进白色小屋的时候，他们经常谈到爸爸，也经常问起爸爸的情况。可是随着时间的流逝，他们发现这些问题好像总是让妈妈很伤感，所以他们也就不再问这一类的问题了。但是他们从来没有忘记他。

博比常常思念爸爸。她知道妈妈心里不高兴，她一直在为此担心。而且爸爸为什么离开这么长时间呢？是不是有什么事情妈妈在瞒着他们呢？

她在去车站取杂志的那天找到了答案。这些都是人们丢弃在火车上或者候车室里的旧杂志。珀克斯说，孩子们可以拿回去看，博比这天就过来取了。

“我用报纸把它们包一包吧。”珀克斯边说边从一堆旧报纸上拿起一张。

这些杂志很重，回家的路上，博比停下来休息。她坐在草地上，把杂志就放在了自己旁边。这时，她朝报纸上扫了一眼，有一行字映入她的眼帘……这简直像一场噩梦。

她都不记得她是怎么回到家里的了。她进了自己的房间，锁上房门。然后把那张报纸从杂志上拿下来，重新看了起来。有一行字映入她的眼帘：

因间谍罪入狱五年！

这个“间谍”的名字正是她爸爸的名字。

喝茶的时候，博比看上去非常沉默。

“出什么事儿了吗？”妈妈问她。

“我没事儿。”博比答道。

但是，喝完茶，妈妈还是上楼来到了博比的房间。“怎么了？”她想知道。

为了讲清事情的缘由，博比从床底下取出那张报纸，让她的妈妈看。

“噢，博比！”妈妈哭了，“你不相信这上面说的，对吗？你不相信爸爸真的是间谍，是吗？”

“我不相信！”博比回答。

“他是个好人，他很诚实，没有做错任何事情，”妈妈说，“我们得牢记这一点。”

“究竟发生了什么？”博比问。

“你还记得在老房子的时候那两个来找爸爸的人吗？”妈妈说，“他们说他是个间谍，说他把政府的机密出卖给了别的国家。在爸爸办公室的书桌里有一些信件。警察看到了这些信件，就断定爸爸是间谍。”

“可是，那些信怎么会到了他的书桌里呢？”博比问。

“有人放进去的，”妈妈说，“那个人才是真正的间谍。”

“谁？”博比问，“谁把信放进去的？”

“我还不清楚，”妈妈说，“不过现在接替爸爸工作的那个人与爸爸的关系一直不好，他一直想得到爸爸的职位。”

“那个人诚实吗？”博比问。

“爸爸从来也不确信。”妈妈说。

“难道我们不能跟人解释吗？”博比问。

“我已经努力过了，但没人愿意听，”妈妈伤心地说，“我已经试过了所有的办法。我们现在所能做的就是要勇敢地去面对，要有耐心。亲爱的，我们不要再说这些了。别再去想它了。如果你们幸福快乐的话，我会感到轻松一些的。”

但是博比仍在想着这件事。她没有跟彼得和菲利斯商量，但她偷偷写了一封信——写给那位老先生。

我亲爱的朋友：

请看看这张报纸上的内容。这不是真的。爸爸从来没做过这样的事情。妈妈说是有人把信放到爸爸的书桌里的，而且她认为这件事是接替爸爸工作的那个人干的。但是没有人愿意听妈妈的解释。您是个好人，又那么聪明。您能找出真正的间谍吗？真的不是爸爸！

彼得和菲利斯还不知道他被关进了监狱。您能帮帮我吗？噢，请一定帮帮我！

爱您的朋友

博比

她把信和那张报纸装在一起，拿到了车站。博比请站长第二天早晨把信转交给老先生。

现在她只能耐心等待，以观事态了。

8

The boy in the red shirt

'The boys from the school in Maidbridge' are having a paper-chase today,' said Bobbie, the next morning. 'Perks thinks they'll go along beside the railway line. We could go and watch.'

There were men working on the railway line, and the children began by watching them. They almost forgot the paper-chase, and were surprised when a voice said, 'Let me pass, please.' It was the first boy from the school.

'He's the "hare",' explained Bobbie. 'All the other boys are the "hounds" and they have to chase after him.'

There was a bag under the hare's arm. It was full of pieces of paper, which he dropped behind him for the other boys to follow. They watched as he ran into the black mouth of the tunnel.

The workmen watched him, too.

'He shouldn't go in there,' said one.

'It's only a game,' said another.

'Passengers shouldn't cross the line.'

'He's not a passenger.'

Then came the "hounds", following the pieces of white paper. They came down the steps at the side of the tunnel and disappeared into the darkness. The last boy was wearing a red shirt.

'Will they take long to get through the tunnel?' asked Peter.

'An hour or more,' guessed one of the men.

'Let's go across the top of the hill and see them come out the other end of the tunnel,' Peter said to his sisters.

The tunnel was cut through a hill. They climbed over stones and through narrow openings between trees, and at last they reached the very top of the hill.

'It's lovely up here,' said Bobbie, as she looked across the fields. 'It was worth the climb.'

'The paper-chase is worth the climb,' said Phyllis. 'But hurry, or we'll miss it.'

But there was plenty of time, and they had to wait at the other end of the tunnel

'Look, here he comes!' shouted Peter at last.

The hare came very slowly out of the shadows of the tunnel. Soon after, came the hounds. They were going slowly, too, and looked very tired.

'What shall we do now?' said Bobbie.

'That's not the last,' said Peter. 'The hound in the red shirt isn't out yet.' They waited and waited, but the boy did not appear.

The children began to worry, and they climbed down to the mouth of the tunnel. But they couldn't see a boy in a red shirt.

'Perhaps he's had an accident,' said Peter. 'Let's go and look.'

The tunnel was dark after the sunshine outside, and they walked beside the line.

'If a train comes, stand flat against the wall,' said Peter. His voice sounded very different inside the tunnel walls.

'I don't like it!' said Phyllis.

There was a low noise on the railway line.

'What's that?' said Peter.

'It's a train,' said Bobbie.

'Let me go back!' cried Phyllis.

'It's quite safe,' said Bobbie. 'Stand back.'

The train came towards them, and the noise got louder and louder. Then it was screaming past, and they could feel the hot air and smell the smoke. They pushed themselves flat against the tunnel wall.

'Oh!' said the children, after it was gone.

Peter took the end of a candle from his pocket, and his hand was shaking when he lit it with a match. 'C—come on,' he said. And the three of them went deeper into the darkness of the tunnel.

The boy in the red shirt was on the ground, beside the line. His eyes were closed and he did not move when they reached him.

'Is... is he dead?' asked Phyllis.

'Dead? No!' said Peter.

And slowly, the boy opened his eyes. 'I... I think I've broken my leg,' he said. 'How did you get here?'

'We saw you all go into the tunnel, and then we went across the hill to see you all come out,' explained Peter. 'The others came out, but you didn't. So we came to look for you.'

'You're very brave,' said the boy.

'Can you walk, if we help you?' said Bobbie.

'I can try,' said the boy. He did try, but he could only stand on one foot. 'Oh, I must sit down. The pain is awful.' He sat down again and closed his eyes. The others looked at each other.

'You must go and get help,' said Bobbie quickly. 'I'll stay with him. You take the longest bit of candle, but be quick.'

Peter looked worried. 'Let me stay, and you and Phyllis go.'

'No,' said Bobbie. 'You two go—and lend me your knife. I'll try and cut his boot off before he wakes up again. Just be quick!'

Bobbie watched their figures disappear, then put her little candle beside the boy's foot. She used Peter's knife to cut off the boot, then she looked at the broken leg. 'It needs something soft under it,' she thought, and then remembered her petticoat. She took it off and carefully put it under the boy's leg.

He woke up a few minutes later.

'What's your name?' asked Bobbie.

'Jim,' he said.

'Mine is Bobbie,' she said. 'Peter and Phyllis have gone to get some help.'

'Why didn't you go with them?' he said.

'Someone had to stay with you,' said Bobbie. 'I must put out the candle or it will burn itself out.'

'Are you afraid of the dark, Bobbie?' asked Jim, when they were sitting in the darkness.

'Not—not very afraid,' said Bobbie. 'But—'

'Let's hold hands,' said Jim. He put his large hand over her small one. Then they sat and waited.

Peter and Phyllis went to a farm to get help. When the two children got back to the tunnel with the men from the farm, they found Bobbie and Jim asleep.

The men carried Jim on a piece of flat wood.

'Where does he live?' asked one of them.

'In Northumberland,' answered Bobbie. 'He told me while we were waiting.'

'I'm at a school in Maid bridge,' said Jim, 'I suppose I must get back there.'

'A doctor ought to see you first,' said the man.

'Bring him to our house,' said Bobbie. 'It's not far along the road. I'm sure Mother will say it's all right.'

Mother did say it was all right, although she was a little surprised at first. Then Bobbie explained.

'I'm sorry to be so much trouble,' Jim said to Mother as the men carried him in. His face was white with pain.

'Don't worry, you poor dear,' said Mother. 'You must go to bed, and I'll send for Doctor Forrest.'

Mother also sent a message to Jim's school, to tell them what had happened.

'My grandfather lives near here,' said Jim.

'Then I'll write and tell him, too,' said Mother. 'I'm sure he'll want to know. What's his name?'

*　　*　　*

After breakfast the next day, someone knocked at the front door.

'That will be the doctor again,' said Mother. She went out of the kitchen and closed the door.

But it wasn't the doctor. The children listened as Mother and the visitor went upstairs. They heard them talking, and were sure that they knew the voice of the visitor. But who was it?

After a while, the bedroom door opened and they heard Mother and the visitor come down and go into the front room of the house. Then they heard Mother calling: 'Bobbie!'

Mother was in the hall. 'Jim's grandfather has come,' she said. 'He wants to see you all.'

They followed Mother into the other room, and there sat—THEIR OWN OLD GENTLEMAN.

'Oh, it's you!' cried Bobbie.

'How wonderful!' said Peter. 'But you're not going to take Jim away, are you? I was hoping he could stay.'

The old gentleman smiled. 'No,' he said. 'Your mother is very kind. She has agreed to let Jim stay here. I thought of sending a nurse, but your mother was good enough to agree to be his nurse herself.'

'But what about her writing?' said Peter, before anyone could stop him. 'There won't be anything for him to eat if she doesn't write.'

The old gentleman smiled kindly at Mother. 'She has agreed to stop her writing for a while, and become Head Nurse of my hospital.'

'Oh!' said Phyllis. 'Will we have to go away from the white house, and the railway and everything?'

'No, no, darling,' Mother said quickly. 'The hospital is here, at this house.'

'And my unlucky Jim is the only one needing a nurse,' said the old gentleman. 'But there will be a maid and someone to cook the meals until Jim is well.'

'Then will Mother start writing again?' asked Peter.

'Perhaps something nice will happen, and she won't have to,' said the old gentleman. 'Take care of your mother, my dears. She's a woman in a million. Now, perhaps Bobbie can take me to the door?'

The two of them went outside, and the old gentleman said, 'I got your letter, my child, but it wasn't necessary. When I read about your father in the newspapers at the time, I began trying to find out things. I haven't done much yet, but I have hopes, my dear—I have hopes.'

'Oh!' said Bobbie, crying a little.

'But keep your secret a little longer,' he said.

'You don't think Father did it, do you?' said Bobbie. 'Oh, say you don't!'

'I'm sure he didn't,' said the old gentleman.

paper-chase 循纸追捕比赛，一种撒纸屑追逐游戏，也叫“犬兔”越野追逐（假扮兔子者在前边跑边撒纸屑，假扮猎犬者在后跟踪追赶的户外运动）。

hound n. a hunting dog. 猎狗。

get through pass through. 通过。

plenty of a great deal of. 许多，大量。

smell v. notice sb. or sth. by using nose. 闻。

look for to try to find. 寻找。

lend v. to give someone the possessions or use of sth. for a limited time. 借，借给。

put out to make sth. to stop burning. 熄灭。

suppose v. to take as likely; consider as true. 猜想。

ought to should. 应该。

hall n. space or passage on the inside of the main entrance or front door of a building. 门厅，门厅走廊。

one in a million 万里挑一。

necessary adj. essential for a purpose; that cannot be done without or avoided. 必要的；必不可少的。

8．穿红衬衣的男孩儿

“今天，梅德布里奇学校的男生要举办循纸追捕比赛。”第二天早晨，博比说，“珀克斯说他们可能会沿铁路线进行。我们去看看吧。”

铁路上有人在干活，孩子们就开始看他们工作。他们几乎忘了循纸追捕那回事儿了，所以当听见有人说：“请让我过去。”的时候，他们甚至有些吃惊。说这话的是从学校跑出来的第一名男生。

“他就是‘野兔’，”博比解释说，“其他的男生都是‘猎狗’，他们一起来追赶他。”

“野兔”的胳膊下面夹着一个包。包里装满了纸，他把这些纸丢在身后，让其他男生循着这些纸来追赶他。孩子们看见他跑进了隧道的大黑洞里。

工人也看着他。

“他不应该进去。”一个工人说。

“这只是个游戏。”另一个说。

“乘客不能横穿铁路。”

“可他不是乘客。”

随后“猎狗”们顺着那些白纸追了过来。他们沿着隧道侧翼的台阶下去，消失在黑暗中。跑在最后的那个男生穿着一件红衬衣。

“他们需要很长时间才能穿出隧道吗？”彼得问。

“要一小时或更久。”一个工人推测。

“那我们从山顶上翻过去，到隧道那头看他们钻出来。”彼得向他的姐妹建议。

这是一条穿山隧道。孩子们从乱石堆和茂密的树丛中艰难地爬过，终于到达了山顶。

“这山上可真美呀，”博比放眼四周的田野，感叹说，“我们爬山也值了。”

“是为了看循纸追捕，才觉得爬山很值，”菲利斯说，“不过快点吧，要不然我们就看不见他们了。”

其实时间还早，他们只好在隧道另一端的出口处等着。

“瞧，他出来了！”彼得终于大喊。

“野兔”从隧道的阴影里慢慢地走了出来。很快，“猎狗”们也出来了。他们也走得很缓慢，看起来好像已经是精疲力尽了。

“我们现在做什么？”博比说。

“还没完呢，”彼得说，“那个穿红衬衣的“猎狗”还没出来呢。”他们等啊，等啊，可那个男孩儿还是没有出现。

孩子们开始有些担心了，于是他们从山上爬下来到了隧道口。但是，他们还是瞧不见那个穿红衬衣的男孩儿。

“也许他出事儿了。”彼得说，“我们去看看吧。”

因为外面的光线很强，隧道显得格外黑，孩子们沿着铁路线往前走。

“要是火车来了，就贴着墙站。”彼得吩咐大家。因为是在隧道里，他的声音听起来有些异样。

“我不喜欢这里！”菲利斯说。

这时，铁轨发出了低沉的颤音。

“什么声音？”彼得说。

“火车来了。”博比说。

“我们回去吧！”菲利斯哭着说。

“这儿很安全。”博比说，“往后站。”

火车向他们驶来，声音越来越大。然后刹那间，火车便呼啸而过，他们能感受到热浪、能闻到烟气。孩子们紧贴在隧道的墙上。

“噢！”火车过后，孩子们松了一口气。

彼得从口袋中掏出一小截蜡烛，在他用火柴点蜡烛的时候，手一直在颤抖。“跟——跟上来。”他说。于是，他们三个一起往黑暗隧道的更深处走去。

那个穿红衬衣的男孩儿躺在铁路旁的地上。他的双眼紧闭，三个孩子到了跟前他也没动一动。

“他……他死了吗？”菲利斯问。

“死了？没有！”彼得回答。

渐渐地，男孩儿睁开了眼睛。“我……我想我的腿折了，”他说，“你们怎么到这儿来了？”

“我们看着你们都进了隧道，然后我们又从山上爬过去，看你们穿出隧道，”彼得解释说，“其他人都出来了，你却没有。所以我们就过来找你了。”

“你们可真勇敢。”男孩说道。

“如果我们帮着你，你能走吗？”博比问。

“我可以试试，”男孩儿回答。他果真试了试，但是只有一条腿能站起来。“噢，我必须坐下。太疼了。”他又坐了下来，闭上了眼睛。三个孩子面面相觑。

“你们得出去找人帮忙，”博比果断地说，“我和他留在这里。你们带上最长的那截蜡烛出去，快点儿回来。”

彼得看上去很犹豫。“让我留下吧，你和菲利斯去找人。”

“不行，”博比说，“你们两个人去——把你的刀子借给我用一下。在他再次醒过来之前，我得想办法把他的靴子割开脱下来。快点儿！”

博比目送他们的身影消失在黑暗中，然后她点着手中的小蜡烛，放在男孩儿的脚边。她用彼得的那把刀子割开男孩儿的靴子，看了看那条摔折的腿。“这条腿需要用软一点儿的东西垫一垫。”她脑子里闪过这样的念头，她又想到了自己的衬裙。她脱掉衬裙，小心地垫到男孩儿的腿下。

几分钟后，他醒了。

“你叫什么名字？”博比问。

“吉姆。”他回答。

“我叫博比，”她说，“彼得和菲利斯出去找人帮忙了。”

“那你为什么没和他们一起去呢？”男孩说。

“得有人陪着你呀，”博比说，“我得吹灭蜡烛了，不然的话它会烧完的。”

“博比，你怕黑吗？”吉姆问，他们就坐在黑暗中。

“不——不太害怕，”博比回答。“不过——”

“让我们握着彼此的手。”吉姆说着，一边用他的大手握住了她的小手。他们坐在那里等着。

彼得和菲利斯到一个农场去寻求帮助。当两个孩子和农场里的人一起返回隧道时，他们发现博比和吉姆都睡着了。

那些人用一块平平的木板抬起吉姆。

“他住在哪里？”一个人问。

“在诺森伯兰，”博比回答，“刚才等你们的时候他告诉我的。”

“我在梅德布里奇的一个学校读书，”吉姆说，“我想我该先回那儿去。”

“你应该先看医生。”那个人说。

“把他抬回我们家吧，”博比说，“沿着这条路走，我家很近。我相信妈妈会同意的。”

妈妈的确同意，尽管起初她有些吃惊。随后博比做了解释。

“对不起，给你们添了这么多麻烦。”被抬进屋的时候，吉姆向妈妈表示歉意。他的脸因为疼痛已经没有了一点血色。

“别担心，可怜的孩子，”妈妈说，“你需要上床休息，我让人去请福里斯特医生。”

与此同时，妈妈还给吉姆的学校捎去了口信，告诉他们所发生的一切。

“我爷爷住得离这儿不远。”吉姆说。

“那好，我也给他写封信，把情况告诉他，”妈妈说，“我相信他也一定想知道。他叫什么名字呢？”

*　　*　　*

第二天早饭过后，有人敲前门。

“肯定又是医生。”妈妈说。她走出厨房，关上了门。

但是来者不是医生。孩子们听见妈妈和来人上楼的声音。听见他们谈话，孩子们觉得来人的声音很耳熟。但那人到底是谁呢？

过了一会儿，卧室的门开了，他们听见妈妈和来人下楼到了客厅里。他们听见妈妈在喊：“博比！”

妈妈就在厅里。“吉姆的爷爷来了，”她说，“他想见见你们。”

他们跟着妈妈来到了另一间房子里，这里竟然坐着——他们的那位老先生。

“哦，是您呀！”博比大叫。

“太棒了！”彼得说，“不过您不会把吉姆带走吧，您会吗？我想让他留下来。”

老先生微笑着。“不，”他说，“你们的妈妈非常好，她已经同意让吉姆留在这里了。我本来想派一个护士过来，可是你们的妈妈说她自己就能照料好他。”

“那妈妈还怎么写故事呀？”大家还没来得及阻止，彼得就把这句话说出来了，“要是她不写故事了，他就没有东西吃了。”

老先生望着妈妈，脸上露出慈祥的微笑。“她已经同意暂时不写故事，到我的医院来做护士长了。”

“哦！”菲利斯说，“我们就要从白色小屋搬出来，离开铁路，离开这里的一切了吗？”

“不，不，亲爱的孩子们，”妈妈马上说，“医院就在这里，就在我们家。”

“我可怜的孙子吉姆是惟一需要护理的人，”老先生说，“不过在吉姆康复之前，我会派一个女佣，再派一个人过来做饭的。”

“那么等吉姆好了以后，妈妈就又可以写故事了吗？”彼得问。

“也许福星降临，她就不用再写故事了，”老先生说，“好好照顾你们的妈妈，孩子们。她可是个万里挑一的好妈妈。现在，也许博比可以把我送到门口？”

两个人走出房间之后，老先生说：“孩子，我已经收到了你的来信，其实你没必要给我写信。我刚在报纸上看到你爸爸的事情时，就已经开始着手调查事情的真相了。虽然我还没有什么收获，但是我充满信心，亲爱的孩子——我充满信心。”

“哦！”博比说，抽泣起来。

“不过你暂时还要保密。”他说。

“你不认为是我爸爸干的，对吗？”博比说，“哦，请告诉我，你不这么认为！”

“我坚信他没干。”老先生说。

9

The man at the station

Life at the white house was never quite the same again. Jim's leg got better and better, and he told them stories about his school. And now Mother was not writing stories every day, she was able to teach the children their lessons.

'I wonder if the railway misses us,' said Phyllis one day. 'We never go and see it now.'

'It seems ungrateful,' said Bobbie. 'We loved it when there wasn't anyone to play with. And we've stopped waving to the 9.15, and sending our love to Father by it.'

'Let's begin again,' said Phyllis.

So the next morning, they ran down to the fence and watched the 9.15 come out of the tunnel.

'Take our love to Father!' they cried, as they waved their handkerchiefs.

The old gentleman waved from his window. And there was nothing strange about that, because he had always waved. But now... hands and handkerchiefs and newspapers waved from every window of the train, and smiling faces looked up at the children on the fence.

'Well!' said Phyllis.

'What does it mean?' said Peter.

'Perhaps the old gentleman told the people to wave,' said Bobbie. But she had a strange feeling inside her, a feeling that something was going to happen.

Lessons with Mother were difficult for Bobbie that morning. She found it hard to think about them.

'What is it, my darling?' asked Mother. 'You don't feel ill, do you?'

'I don't know,' answered Bobbie. 'Perhaps I'd feel better in the garden.'

But the trees and the flowers all seemed to be waiting for something to happen. It was one of those quiet September days, when everything does seem to be waiting. 'I'll go down to the station and talk to Perks,' she thought.

Everyone seemed to have a newspaper in their hand that morning. Several people waved theirs at Bobbie, and smiled as she went by—people who never usually waved or smiled at her. 'How strange,' she thought.

Perks wasn't anywhere on the platform, and Bobbie had only the station cat to talk to. 'How kind and friendly everybody is today,' she said to the cat.

Perks appeared when it was time for the 11.54 to arrive. He had a newspaper, too. 'Hallo,' he said to Bobbie. 'I saw it in the paper, and I've never been so pleased about anything in all my life.'

'What did you see in the paper?' asked Bobbie.

But already the 11.54 was steaming into the station, and Perks was looking in all the windows.

Only three people got out of the train. The first was a woman with three boxes of chickens. The second was a woman with a brown suitcase.

And the third...

'Oh! my Daddy, my Daddy!' cried Bobbie.

That scream went like a knife into the heart of everyone on the train. People put their heads out of windows and saw the tall white-faced man and the little girl, with their arms around each other.

'I knew something wonderful was going to happen,' said Bobbie, as they went up the road. 'But I didn't think it was going to be this. Oh, my Daddy!'

'Didn't Mother get my letter?' asked Father.

'There weren't any letters this morning,' said Bobbie. 'Oh, Daddy. It really is you, isn't it?'

He held her hand and said, 'You must go in by yourself, and tell Mother very quietly that it's all right. They've caught the man who did it. Everyone knows now that your Daddy isn't a spy.'

'We always knew you weren't,' said Bobbie. 'Me and Mother and our old gentleman.'

'Yes,' said Father. 'It's him I must thank.'

*　　*　　*

And now they are going across the field. Bobbie goes into the house, trying to find the right words to tell Mother that Father has come home. Father is walking in the garden—waiting. He is looking at the flowers, but he keeps turning towards the house.

Now the door opens. Bobbie's voice calls:

'Come in, Daddy. Come in!'

ungrateful adj. not grateful. 忘恩负义。

seem v. have or give the impression or appearance of being or doing something. 似乎，好像。

suitcase n. a flat bag for carrying clothes and possessions when travelling. 手提箱。

9．车站上的人

白色小屋里的生活发生了巨大的变化。吉姆的腿恢复得越来越好，他经常给他们讲一些发生在自己学校里的故事。现在妈妈也不必每天写故事了，因此她就有时间教孩子们一些功课。

“我想知道铁路是否会想念我们，”一天菲利斯说，“因为我们最近不到那儿去了。”

“似乎有些忘恩负义，”博比说，“过去没人和我们玩的时候，我们曾很喜欢它。而且我们也不再去跟9点15分的那趟火车招手，让它把我们的爱带给爸爸了。”

“那我们重新开始吧。”菲利斯说。

于是第二天一早，他们便跑到山下的篱笆那里，去迎接9点15分的那趟火车穿出隧道。

“把我们的爱带给爸爸！”他们一边大喊，还一边挥舞着他们的手绢。

老先生仍然从窗口招手，这没有什么可奇怪的，因为他一直是这样做的。但是现在……列车的每一个窗口都挥着手和手绢或者报纸，一张张笑脸注视着篱笆墙上的孩子们。

“哦！”菲利斯说。

“这是怎么回事儿？”彼得说。

“也许是老先生让人们朝我们挥手的。”博比说。不过她心里还是有一种异样的感觉，预感到有什么事情将要发生。

那天早晨，博比觉得很难专心听妈妈讲功课。她觉得自己没法把心思放到功课上。

“出什么事儿了，亲爱的？”妈妈问，“你没有觉得不舒服吧？”

“我不知道，”博比回答，“也许到花园里走走我会好受一些。”

但是，院子里的树木和鲜花好像也在期待着什么事情的发生。在那个安静的九月的日子里，周围的一切好像都在期待着什么。“我应该下山，到车站和珀克斯谈一谈。”博比心想。

那天早晨似乎每个人手里都拿着一份报纸。在博比经过的时候，有几个人还对她微笑，挥舞着他们手中的报纸——这些人平时一般不跟她挥手或者对她微笑的。“太奇怪了。”博比心里想。

珀克斯没在站台上，博比只好和车站的小猫聊了起来。“今天这里的每一个人都是这么和善，这么友好。”她对小猫说。

当11点54分的那趟火车快要进站的时候，珀克斯终于出现了。他手里也拿着一份报纸。“你好，”他跟博比招呼道，“我在报纸上看到了，我这一辈子还没有为什么事情这么高兴过。”

“你在报纸上看到了什么？”博比问。

恰巧此时，11点54分的那趟列车进站了。珀克斯往每一个窗口里瞧着。

只有三位旅客下车。第一位是个女士，她带了三箱小鸡。第二位也是个女士，带着一个棕色的手提箱。

第三位是……

“哦！我的爸爸，我的爸爸！”博比叫着。

这叫声像把尖刀一样，直刺进车上每位旅客的心间。他们纷纷把头伸出窗外，看见那个身材高大、面色白皙的男人和一个小姑娘拥抱在一起。

“我已经预感到今天会有好事发生，”在沿着大路回家的时候，博比说，“但是，我没想到会是这么大的喜事。哦，我的爸爸！”

“妈妈没有收到我的信吗？”爸爸问。

“今天早晨没有信呀。”博比回答，“哦，爸爸。真的是您吗，没错吧？”

爸爸握着她的手说：“你自己先回去，悄悄地告诉妈妈现在没事了，他们已经抓住那个贩卖情报的人了。现在大家都知道你们的爸爸不是间谍。”

“我们一直知道您不是，”博比说，“我，妈妈，还有我们那位老先生。”

“对，”爸爸说，“我一定要谢谢他。”

*　　*　　*

现在他们已经穿过了田野。博比进了家，她绞尽脑汁，想用最合适的话告诉妈妈，爸爸已经回来了。爸爸此刻就在花园里转悠着呢——他也在等待着。虽然眼睛瞧着院子里的鲜花，可他却不住地回转身朝房子那边观望。

现在屋门打开了，传来了博比的叫声：

“请进，爸爸。请进！”

ACTIVITIES

Before Reading

1．Read the story introduction of the book. How much do you know now about the story? Choose T (true) or F (false) for each sentence.

1) The children live next to the railway in London. T/F

2) They have always been railway children. T/F

3) They leave London and go to live in the country. T/F

4) There are wild animals living in the railway tunnel. T/F

5) Their best friend is an engine driver. T/F

6) The family now has very little money. T/F

7) The children's father is dead. T/F

8) Their mother is unhappy but tries to hide it. T/F

2．How much can you guess about this story? Choose answers to these questions. (You can choose more than one.)

1) The family is poor, so what do the children do? They...

(a) steal things.

(b) get jobs.

(c) make things and sell them.

(d) ask strangers for help.

2) Why has the children's father gone away? Because he...

(a) is very ill.

(b) is a criminal.

(c) is in prison.

(d) is abroad on business.

3) What kind of adventures do the children have? They...

(a) get locked in a train.

(b) stop a train on the line.

(c) ride with the engine driver.

(d) see a ghost train.

ACTIVITIES

While Reading

1．Read Chapters 1 and 2, and then answer these questions.

1) What happened to Father three days after Peter's birthday?

2) Where were Mother and the children going to live?

3) How did they travel to their new house?

4) Why did they eat cold meat and apple pie for breakfast?

5) Where did the children go the first afternoon?

6) Why didn't Mother let them have fires in June?

7) Why did the Station Master call Peter a thief?

8) What did the Station Master do about Peter and the coal?

2．Read Chapters 3 and 4. Who said this, and to whom? Who or what were they talking about?

1) 'It's going to London, where Father is.'

2) 'That's over and forgotten now.'

3) 'We can't buy all those things! We're poor, remember?'

4) 'I thought I was going to miss you!'

5) 'The old gentleman asked me to bring it.'

6) 'I hope Mother thinks we were right, too.'

7) 'Now we won't say any more about it.'

8) 'You mustn't see what we're doing. It's a surprise.'

9) 'You... you can have half, if you like.'

10) 'I... I wanted to ask if you could mend this.'

11) 'Can we help the little lady?'

3．Before you read Chapter 5 (Saving the train), can you guess what the children do and how they do it? Choose some of these ideas.

1) When an engine driver suddenly falls ill, they drive the train safely to a station.

2) They get some cows off the line just before a train comes.

3) They stop a train from crashing into some fallen trees.

4) They stop a train from going into a dangerous tunnel.

5) They hold up a sheet with a warning message on it.

6) They climb a telegraph post and send a message down the wire.

7) They make some red flags and wave them at the train.

8) They change the railway signals to make the train stop.

4．Read Chapters 5 and 6. Choose the best question-word for these questions, and then answer them.

What / Who / Why

1) ... did Bobbie do that was very brave?

2) ... were the children given beautiful gold watches?

3) ... came back to the house to meet the children's mother?

4) ... refused at first to give anything for Perks, and why?

5) ... did Bobbie and Phyllis put inside the Post Office door?

6) ... did Mrs Ransome have a pram to give away?

7) ... did the children hide in the other room?

8) ... was Perks angry about the presents at first?

9) ... did people in the village say about Perks?

10) ... did Perks like best of all?

5．Before you read Chapter 7 (The terrible secret), can you guess which are the right answers to these questions?

1) Who is the terrible secret about?

(a) The children's mother

(b) The children's father

(c) The old gentleman

(d) Perks the porter

2) Who finds out about the secret?

(a) Two of the children

(b) All three children

(c) Bobbie

(d) Peter

6．Read Chapters 7 and 8. These sentences are all untrue. Rewrite them with the correct information.

1) The children had stopped asking questions about their father because they had forgotten him.

2) In the paper-chase the boy in the red shirt came out of the tunnel first, so the children went to tell the workmen.

3) The children had nothing to give them light in the tunnel.

4) The boy was lying on the ground because he was tired.

5) Peter stayed with Jim, while the other two went for help.

6) Jim was the old gentleman's son.

7) The old gentleman asked Mother to be Jim's teacher.

8) The old gentleman told Bobbie a secret.

7．Before you read the last chapter, can you guess the ending?

1) Who is the man at the station?

2) Who sees him first?

ACTIVITIES

After Reading

1．Perhaps this is what some of the characters in the story were thinking. Which characters are they, and what has just happened in the story?

1) 'What's all this on the table? A pipe, a walking stick, a box of apples, a tin of tea... and there's a pram over there! What's going on?'

2) 'So that's why they wanted me to look out at the station! She was only just in time. I wonder what their letter will say. Well, I must read it and find out...'

3) 'Oh dear! She did make me jump when she touched my arm! But I didn't mean to shout at her. Now she's crying, poor little thing! But how did she get into our coal heap?'

4) 'It must be hard for them, suddenly being poor and not having enough coal for a fire. They're only children, after all. I'll just give them a warning and send them home...'

2．Here is a newspaper report about the accident that didn't happen. Put the parts of sentences in the right order, and join them with these linking words to make four sentences.

and / before / so / when / who

1) ______ were walking on the hillside beside the rail way.

2) There was nearly a serious accident today

3) ______ the 11.29 train came by,

4) The driver of the train saw them waving these red flags

5) ______ some trees and rocks fell down on the railway line.

6) They knew they could not get a warning to the station

7) ______ stopped the train to find out what the matter was.

8) Luckily, the rock fall was seen by three children

9) ______ they used the girls' red petticoats to make flags.

3．When Mother first met the old gentleman (see Chapter 5), they didn't say very much. Perhaps this is what they wanted to say. Complete the old gentleman's side of the conversation.

MOTHER: We live very quietly. My husband is—is away.

OLD GENTLEMAN: _____________________________

MOTHER: Yes, he is. How did you know?

OLD GENTLEMAN: _____________________________

MOTHER: Ah yes, the newspapers. But my husband is not a spy. He never sold secrets to anybody!

OLD GENTLEMAN: _____________________________

MOTHER: Thank you for saying that.

OLD GENTLEMAN: _____________________________

MOTHER: No. It's better that they know nothing about it.

OLD GENTLEMAN: _____________________________

MOTHER: I've told them that he will be away for some time, on government business.

OLD GENTLEMAN: _____________________________

MOTHER: You're very kind, but nobody will listen. I've tried everything. All I can do now is be brave and patient.

4．There are 22 words (4 letters or longer) from the story in this word search. Find the words and draw lines through them. They go from left to right, and from top to bottom.

1) Which words from the word search are connected with trains and the railway?

2) Which six words make the names of four jobs connected with the railway?

5．Look at the word search again and write down all the letters that don't have a line through them. Begin with the first line and go across each line to the end. You should have 23 letters, which will make 6 words.

1) What are the words, where were they, and who read them?

2) How did the person feel after reading the words, and why?

3) What did the person do after reading the words?

6．What did the old gentleman say to the other passengers on the 9.15 on that September morning? Use words from the story (one word for each gap) to complete what he says.

'Would you do something for me today, just after the train comes out of the ______? If you see three children, waiting by the ______, waving their ______, could you ______ back at them? You see, it's a special day for them. Their______, who will be on the 11.54 train, has just come out of ______. He was sent there for selling ______ secrets to another ______, but he didn't do it. The police have now caught the real ______, and so this man can go home to his ______. and ______. They don't know he's coming, so it will be a wonderful______!'

7．What are these things usually used for? What did the children use them for in the story? Write sentences to explain.

1) A sheet ___________________________________

2) Paint _____________________________________

3) A petticoat _______________________________

4) A pram ____________________________________

8．What did you think about this story? Choose some of these sentences and complete them in your own words.

1) I liked / didn't like ______because ______.

2) I thought ______ was right / wrong to ______.

3) I felt sorry for ______ when / because ______.

4) The part of the story I liked most / least was ______.

5) I liked / didn't like the ending because ______.

京权图字01-2006-3286

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 2003 This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

三个陌生人 = The Three Strangers and Other Stories／（英）哈代（Hardy, T.）著；（英）韦斯特（West, C.）改写；田娜译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2006.5（2014.10 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-5528-2

Ⅰ．三…　Ⅱ．①哈…②韦…③田…　Ⅲ．①英语—汉语—对照读物②短篇小说—英国—现代　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（2007）第009934号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：曾　真

封面设计：孙莉明

封面插图：高　鹏

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：2006年6月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-5528-2

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内容简介

托马斯·哈代最著名的小说莫过于《德伯家的苔丝》，但他也创作了大量的短篇故事。其中大多数取材于哈代在英格兰南部居住时，周围村庄的人们给他讲述的故事。

人有相似，无论他们生活在城镇还是乡村，在当代还是一百年前。

一个牧羊少年惊恐地睁大了双眼，从他的小棚屋中往外窥视一个女人和一个并非她丈夫的男人秘密约会。

一个年轻女教师原本要回家嫁给一个比自己大得多的男人，却因做了一时冲动的事而改变了自己的生活。

不过，还是让我们从一座孤零零的村舍的敲门声说起吧。屋内灯光明亮、气氛欢快，人们伴随着音乐翩翩起舞，玩得很开心。屋外大雨滂沱，顺着山间小路走来的陌生人凝视着灯火通明的窗户。他是该继续赶路，还是停下来歇歇、坐在温暖的炉火边吃点东西呢？

THE THREE STRANGERS

and Other Stories

Thomas Hardy is probably best known for his novels such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles, but he also wrote a great number of short stories. Many of them were based on stories told by people in the villages around where he lived in the south of England.

People are the same, whether they live in the town or the country, today or a hundred years ago.

From his hut a young shepherd boy watches, wide-eyed and afraid, a secret meeting between a woman and a man who is not her husband.

A young teacher, going home to marry a much older man, has a moment of madness that will change her life.

But we begin with a knock on the door at a lonely cottage. Inside, all is bright and cheerful, with music and dancing, and people enjoying themselves. Outside, the rain beats down, and the stranger following the footpath across the wild hills stares at the lighted windows. Should he go on, or can he stop for a while, to find rest and food and a seat by a warm fire?

The Three Strangers

and Other Stories

THE THREE STRANGERS

三个陌生人

1

The first stranger

In the south-west of England there are many long, low, grassy hills, which have not changed their appearance for centuries. Farmers still keep their sheep on them, and the only buildings are lonely cottages, where shepherds live.

Fifty years ago there was a shepherd's cottage on one of these hills. It was only three miles from the market town of Casterbridge, but it was unusual for travellers to pass this way. There was no road, just two footpaths which crossed in front of the cottage door. During the long winters, snow and rain fell heavily here, which made travelling difficult.

The night of March 28th, 1825, was one of the coldest and wettest that winter, but inside the cottage all was warm and cheerful. Shepherd Fennel had invited family and friends to drink to the health of his youngest child, a recent arrival in the family. Nineteen people were at the party: married women and single girls, shepherds and farm workers, young people talking of love, and old friends talking of the past.

Shepherd Fennel had chosen his wife well. She was a farmer's daughter from one of the valleys, and when she married, she brought fifty pounds with her in her pocket — and kept it there, for the needs of a coming family. She did not like to spend money unnecessarily, and had worried about the kind of party to give that evening. 'At a sit-still party,' she thought, 'the men'll get too comfortable and drink the house dry. But at a dancing-party people get hungry and then they'll eat all our food! We'll have both sitting and dancing — that's the best way.' And secretly she told the fiddler to play for no more than fifteen minutes at a time.

But when the dancing began, nobody wanted to stop. The fiddler refused to catch Mrs Fennel's eye, and played on. The music got louder and louder, and the excited dancers stepped faster and faster. Mrs Fennel could do nothing about it, so she sat helplessly in a corner, as the minutes became an hour.

While this was happening indoors, outside in the heavy rain and darkness a figure was climbing up the hill from Casterbridge. It was a tall, thin man, about forty years old, dressed all in black and wearing thick, heavy boots.

When he reached the shepherd's cottage, the rain came down harder than ever. The man left the footpath and went up to the door. He listened carefully, but the music inside had now stopped, and the man seemed unsure what to do. He looked around, but could see no one on the footpath behind him, and no other houses anywhere near.

At last he decided to knock on the door.

'Come in!' called Shepherd Fennel. All eyes turned towards the stranger, as he entered the warm room.

He kept his hat on, low over his face. 'The rain is heavy, friends,' he said in a rich, deep voice. 'May I come in and rest here for a while?'

'O' course, stranger,' replied the shepherd. 'You've chosen your moment well, because we're having a party tonight. There's a new baby in the family, you see.'

'I hope you and your fine wife'll have many more, shepherd,' the man answered, smiling politely at Mrs Fennel. He looked quickly round the room, and seemed happy with what he saw. He took his hat off, and shook the water from his shoulders.

'Will you have a drink with us, stranger?' asked Fennel. He passed a mug of his wife's home-made mead to the newcomer, who drank deeply from it and held it out for more.

'I'll take a seat in the chimney corner, if you don't mind,' said the man, 'to dry my clothes a bit.' He moved closer to the fire, and began to look very much at home.

'There's only one more thing that I need to make me happy,' he added, 'and that's a little tobacco.'

'I'll fill your pipe,' said the shepherd kindly.

'Can you lend me one?'

'You're a smoker, and you've no pipe?' said Fennel.

'I dropped it somewhere on the road.' The man lit the pipe that Fennel gave him, and seemed to want to talk no more.

appearance n. the way a person or thing looks to other people 外表；外观

cottage n. a small house, esp. in the country 小屋；村舍

market town n. a town where a regular market is held（定期举行集市贸易的）集镇

footpath n. a narrow path or track for people to walk on 人行小径

fiddler n. a person who plays a fiddle (a violin) 拉小提琴的人；小提琴手

rich adj. deep, strong, and beautiful sound （声音）深沉浑厚的

mug n. a round container for drinking 圆筒形有柄大杯

mead n. an alcoholic drink made from honey 蜂蜜酒

chimney corner n. a seat by the side of a large open fireplace 壁炉边的座位

tobacco n. the dried brown leaves that are smoked in cigarettes, pipes etc. 烟叶；烟草

pipe n. a thing used for smoking tobacco 烟斗

1．第一个陌生人

英格兰西南部绵亘着许多低矮而葱郁的山丘，它们的面貌千百年来未曾改变。农夫们依旧在山上放羊，山上唯一的一种建筑就是牧羊人居住的那些孤零零的小屋。

50年前，其中一座山上有一间牧羊人的小屋。尽管它距离卡斯特桥的集镇仅有3英里，却很少有行人从此经过。这里没有大路，仅有两条小径在小屋门前交会。在漫长的冬季里，这里雨雪很大，行走很困难。

1825年3月28日那晚是那年冬天最湿冷的一夜，不过小屋里却十分温暖，气氛欢快。牧羊人芬内尔邀请了亲朋好友来家里喝酒，祝福他最小的孩子——一个刚出生不久的家庭成员——身体健康。19个人参加了这次聚会：有已婚的妇人和单身的女孩，也有牧羊人和农场工人。年轻人谈论着爱情，老朋友们则追忆起往昔时光。

牧羊人芬内尔找了个好妻子。她是山谷里一个农夫的女儿，结婚的时候口袋里揣来了50英镑——并且一直没花，准备贡献给即将组成的家庭。她不喜欢乱花钱，还一直为那晚该举行哪种聚会而忧心忡忡。“在坐着不动的聚会中，”她盘算着，“男人们通常会舒服得过了头，把家里的酒喝个底朝天。可是在舞会中，人们又容易饥饿，会吃掉我们所有的食物！所以我们既要坐着又要跳舞——这是最好的办法。”她还偷偷告诉拉小提琴的人，一次最多只拉15分钟琴。

可是舞会开始后，就没有人想停下来了。拉小提琴的人不肯看芬内尔太太的眼色，只管继续拉琴。音乐声越来越大，而兴奋的人们也越跳越快。芬内尔太太对此束手无策，只能无助地坐在角落里；而原本打算举行十来分钟的舞会竟延长到了一个小时。

屋内的人们正兴高采烈地跳着舞；屋外暴雨滂沱，漆黑一片，一个身影正从卡斯特桥向山上艰难地攀爬着。这是一名四十岁左右的瘦高男人，一身黑衣，脚穿厚重的靴子。

到达牧羊人的小屋时，雨下得越发大了。男人走下小径，来到门前。他仔细聆听，但这时音乐已经停了，他似乎有些不知所措。他环顾四周，身后的小径上空无一人，而附近也没有其他房屋。

终于，他决定敲门。

“请进！”牧羊人芬内尔喊道。陌生人走进了温暖的房间，所有的目光都转到了他身上。

他没有摘下帽子，压低的帽沿挡住了他的脸。“这雨可真大呀，伙计们，”他的声音浑厚而低沉，“我能进来在这儿休息一会儿吗？”

“当然可以，陌生的朋友，”牧羊人答道，“你来得正是时候，我们今晚正好在举行聚会。你看，我家里添了个小孩子。”

“希望您和您的贤妻多生贵子，牧羊人。”男人答道，礼貌地对芬内尔太太微笑着。他迅速环视了一下房间，看样子对眼前的一切很满意。他摘下帽子，抖落了肩上的雨水。

“跟我们喝一杯好吗，陌生的朋友？”芬内尔问。他递给这位新来者一杯妻子自酿的蜂蜜酒。陌生人一饮而尽，伸过杯子要再来一杯。

“如果你们不介意的话，我想坐在壁炉边的座位上，”那人说，“这样可以把我的衣服烘一烘。”他又朝炉火凑了凑，开始变得随意起来，看着跟在自己家里差不多。

“再有一样东西我就心满意足了，”他又说，“那就是一点点烟叶。”

“我给你装烟斗。”牧羊人亲切地说。

“你能借给我一只烟斗吗？”

“你抽烟，却没有烟斗？”芬内尔问道。

“我在路上把它弄丢了。”那人点燃了芬内尔给他的烟斗，看样子不想再多说话了。

2

The second stranger

During this conversation the other visitors had not taken much notice of the stranger, because they were discussing what the fiddler should play next. They were just getting up to start another dance when there was a second knock at the door. At this sound, the stranger turned his back to the door, and seemed very busy trying to light his pipe.

'Come in!' called Shepherd Fennel a second time. In a moment another man entered. He too was a stranger.

This one was very different from the first. There was a more cheerful look about him. He was several years older, with greying hair and a full, reddish face. Under his long wet coat he was wearing a dark grey suit.

'I must ask to rest here for a few minutes, friends,' he said, 'or I shall be wet to the skin before I reach Casterbridge.'

'Make yourself at home, sir,' replied Fennel, a little less warmly than when welcoming the first stranger. The cottage was not large, there were not many chairs, and these newcomers brought cold, wet air into the room.

The second visitor took off his coat and hat, and sat down heavily at the table, which the dancers had pushed into the chimney corner. He found himself sitting next to the first stranger, who smiled politely at him and passed him the mug of mead. The second man took it, lifted it to his mouth, and drank without stopping, watched by Mrs Fennel, who was not pleased at this free drinking of her best mead.

At last the man in the grey suit put down the mug with a happy sigh. 'That's wonderful mead, shepherd!' he said. 'I haven't tasted anything as good as that for many years.'

'I'm pleased you enjoy it, sir!' replied Shepherd Fennel.

'It's goodish mead,' agreed his wife, a little coldly. 'Made from our own honey, o'course, and it is trouble enough to make, I can tell ye. But we may not make any more — honey sells well, and we don't need much mead for ourselves.'

'Oh, but you can't stop making this!' cried the man in grey. He took the mug again and drank the last drop. 'I love mead, as much as I love going to church on Sundays, or giving money to the poor!'

'Ha, ha, ha!' said the man by the fire, who seemed to enjoy the stranger's little joke.

The old mead of those days, made with the best honey and the freshest eggs, tasted very strong, but it did not taste as strong as it actually was. Before long, the stranger in grey became very cheerful and red in the face. He made himself comfortable in his chair, and continued the conversation.

'Well, as I say, I'm on my way to Casterbridge,' he said.

'You don't live there then?' said Shepherd Fennel.

'Not yet, although I plan to move there soon.'

'Going to start a business, perhaps?' asked the shepherd.

'No, no,' said his wife. 'It is easy to see that the gentleman is rich, and doesn't need to work at anything.'

'Rich is not the word for me, madam,' replied the man in grey. 'I have to work, and I do work. And even if I only get to Casterbridge by midnight tonight, I must begin work there at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Yes, hot or cold, rain or snow, I must do my day's work tomorrow.'

'Poor man! So, although you look rich and comfortable, your life is harder than ours, is it?' said the shepherd's wife.

'Well, it's the work that I have to do, that's all. Now I must leave you, friends. But before I go, there's time for one more drink to your baby's health. Only, the mug is empty.'

'Here's some small mead, sir,' offered Mrs Fennel. 'We call it small, but it's still made from good honey.'

'No,' said the stranger. 'I prefer to remember the taste of your best mead, thank you.'

'Of course you do,' said Shepherd Fennel quickly. He went to the dark place under the stairs where the best mead was kept, and filled the mug. His wife followed him and spoke worriedly to him in a low voice.

'I don't like the look o' the man at all! He's drunk enough for ten men already! Don't give him any more o' the best!'

'But he's in our house, my love, and 'tis a miserable wet night. What's a mug of mead more or less?'

'Very well, just this time then,' she said, looking sadly at the mead. 'But who is he, and what kind of work does he do?'

'I don't know. I'll ask him again.'

While the man in grey drank his mead, Fennel asked him again about his work, but the man did not reply at once. Suddenly the first stranger spoke from his seat by the fire.

'Anybody may know what I do — I work with wheels.'

'And anybody may know what I do,' said the man in the grey suit, 'if they're clever enough to find it out.'

There was a short silence, which the shepherd's wife broke by calling for a song. The second mug of mead had made the stranger's face even redder and more cheerful than before, and he offered to sing the first song. This is what he sang:

My job is the strangest one,

Honest shepherds all—

Work that all the world can see;

My customers I tie, and I take them up so high,

And send 'em to a far country!

No one spoke, except the man near the fire, who joined in the last part, with a deep, musical voice:

And send 'em to a far country!

None of the people in the room understood what the singer meant, except the man near the fire; who continued smoking, and said calmly, 'Go on, stranger! Sing on!'

The man in grey drank again from his mug, and sang:

There isn't much I need,

Honest shepherds all—

To set the criminals free.

A little piece of rope, and a tall hanging post,

And that'll be enough for me!

Now it was clear to everybody in the room that the stranger was answering the shepherd's question in song. They all looked at him, their eyes and mouths wide open in horror.

'Oh, he's the hangman!' they whispered to each other. 'He's come to hang that poor clockmaker tomorrow in Casterbridge prison — the clockmaker who had no work, and whose children had no food, so he stole a sheep, and now he's going to hang for it!'

sigh n. breathing in and out, making a long sound 叹气；叹息

midnight n. 12 o'clock at night 半夜12点；午夜

miserable adj. making you feel very unhappy, uncomfortable 令人不愉快的；使人难受的

customer n. someone who buys goods or services from a shop, company etc 顾客；客户

criminal n. someone who is involved in illegal activities or has been proved guilty of a crime 罪犯

rope n. very strong, thick string 粗绳；绳索

hangman n. someone whose job is to kill criminals by hanging them 执行绞刑的刽子手

2．第二个陌生人

牧羊人和陌生人说话时，其他客人没怎么注意到这个陌生人，因为他们正讨论小提琴手接下来应该拉什么曲子。他们正准备起身再跳一支舞，门再次被敲响了。听到敲门声，陌生人转过身子背对着大门，似乎在忙着点他的烟斗。

“请进！”牧羊人芬内尔再次喊道。很快，另一个人走了进来。又是一个陌生人。

这人跟第一个人大不相同，神色要欢快一些。他比第一个人大几岁，头发灰白，红光满面，长长的湿外套下面是一身暗灰色的衣服。

“请让我在这儿休息几分钟吧，朋友们，”他说，“要不然我还没到卡斯特桥就会全身湿透了。”

“您请随便，先生。”芬内尔回答道，态度不像迎接第一个陌生人那么热情了。屋子不大，没多少椅子，况且这些陌生人还把湿冷的寒气带到了室内。

第二个陌生人脱下外套、摘下帽子，重重地坐在被跳舞的人们推到壁炉边的桌子旁。他发现自己坐在了第一个陌生人旁边。那人礼貌地朝他微笑着，把手里那杯蜂蜜酒递给了他。第二个陌生人接过杯子举到嘴边，一口气喝了下去。芬内尔太太看着他，对这种恣意喝自己最好的蜂蜜酒的行为感到很不高兴。

最后，灰衣人高兴地叹了口气，放下了杯子。“这酒太棒了，牧羊人！”他说，“我好多年没尝过这么好的东西了。”

“我很高兴你喜欢这酒，先生！”牧羊人芬内尔答道。

“这是上好的蜂蜜酒，”牧羊人的妻子有些冷淡地附和道，“当然，是用我们自己的蜂蜜做的，做起来可真是费劲啊，我跟你说。不过我们可能不会再酿了——蜂蜜卖得不错，而我们自己又不需要太多蜂蜜酒。”

“哦，你们可不能不酿了！”灰衣人叫道。他又端起杯子，喝掉了最后一滴酒。“我喜欢蜂蜜酒，就像喜欢星期天去教堂做礼拜、喜欢把钱施舍给穷人一样！”

“哈哈哈！”坐在壁炉边的男人笑了起来，似乎被这个陌生人的小笑话给逗乐了。

那时候的蜂蜜酒是用最好的蜂蜜和最新鲜的鸡蛋酿成的，酒味很冲，实际上的酒劲儿却还要大。没过多久，灰衣人就兴奋起来，变得面红耳赤。他在椅子上舒舒服服地坐好，接着往下说。

“呃，我说，我这是要去卡斯特桥。”他说。

“那么您不住在那儿啰？”牧羊人芬内尔问。

“现在还不是，不过我打算很快就搬过去。”

“您这是准备去做点买卖吗？”牧羊人问道。

“不，不，”他的妻子说，“一看就知道这位先生很有钱，什么都不用做。”

“有钱这个词不是用来形容我的，夫人，”灰衣人答道，“我必须工作，而且也的确在工作。即便今晚半夜才能到达卡斯特桥，我也必须在明早8点开始工作。是的，无论严寒酷暑、下雨下雪，我明天都得去做我一天的工作。”

“可怜的人！那就是说，虽然你看起来又有钱又自在，你的日子却比我们还要难过，是吧？”牧羊人的妻子说。

“呃，那工作是我必须做的，就这样。好了，我得走了，朋友们。不过，走之前我还有时间再喝一杯，为你家孩子的健康祝福。可是杯子已经空了。”

“这儿还有些低度蜂蜜酒，先生，”芬内尔太太主动说，“虽然我们叫它低度酒，但也是用优质蜂蜜酿成的。”

“那就不用了，”陌生人说道，“我更愿意铭记你们最好的蜂蜜酒的味道，谢谢。”

“您当然得喝点，”芬内尔赶紧说。他走到楼梯下存放最好的蜂蜜酒的黑暗角落里，把杯子装满。他的妻子跟了过去，焦虑地跟他低声说话。

“我一点都不喜欢那个人的样子！他足足喝了够十个人喝的酒！别再把最好的酒给他了！”

“可是他在我们家呀，亲爱的，而且今晚又那么潮湿阴冷。一杯蜂蜜酒又有什么呢？”

“那好吧，仅此一次，”她说道，难过地看着蜂蜜酒，“可他是谁？究竟是干什么的？”

“我不知道，等下再问问他。”

趁着灰衣人喝酒的工夫，芬内尔再次问起了他的工作，可他并没有马上回答。突然，坐在壁炉边座位上的第一个陌生人说话了。

“人人都可以知道我是干什么的——我是和轮子打交道的。”

“人人也都可以知道我是干什么的，”灰衣人说道，“如果他们足够聪明、能够发现的话。”

一阵短暂的沉默之后，牧羊人的妻子提议大家来唱首歌。第二杯蜂蜜酒使得陌生人脸色更加红润，神情也愈发兴奋了，于是他主动要求唱第一首歌。他唱道：

我的工作最最奇怪，

诚实的牧羊人们——

全世界的人都能看见；

我把顾客绑住，带往高处，

送他们到遥远的国度！

没有人吭声，除了那个坐在壁炉边的人。他用低沉悦耳的声音附和着歌曲的最后一部分：

送他们到遥远的国度！

屋里没有人明白唱歌的人是什么意思，除了坐在壁炉边的那个人。他继续抽着烟，平静地说：“继续，陌生人！继续唱！”

我不用太多东西，

诚实的牧羊人们——

就可以解放犯人。

一小截绳子，一个高高的绞架，

我就足够用了！

这下屋里所有的人都听明白了，这个陌生人是在用歌声回答牧羊人的问题。他们望着他，眼睛和嘴巴因恐惧而大张着。

“哦，他就是那个刽子手！”人们轻声地交头接耳，“他来就是要在明天绞死卡斯特桥监狱里那个可怜的钟表匠——那个钟表匠没有活干，孩子们都没吃的，所以就偷了一头羊。就因为这个，他要被绞死了！”

3

The third stranger

Just then, there was another knock on the door. People seemed frightened, and Shepherd Fennel was slow to call out, for the third time, the welcoming words, 'Come in!'

The door was gently opened, and another stranger stood in the doorway. He was a little man, with fair hair, and was tidily dressed. 'Can you tell me the way to—?' he began, but stopped speaking when his eyes fell on the stranger in grey, who, at that moment, started singing again.

Tomorrow is my working day,

Honest shepherds all—

Working with the little piece of rope.

A sheep has lost its life, and the thief must pay the price.

He'll find some peace with God, we hope!

The man by the fire repeated cheerfully in his deep voice:

He'll find some peace with God, we hope!

All this time the third stranger had stood in the doorway, and now everyone turned to look at him. They saw to their surprise that his face was white, his hands were shaking, and his eyes were fixed in horror on the man in grey. A moment later he turned, and ran away into the darkness and the rain.

'Who can that be?' asked Shepherd Fennel.

No one answered. The room was silent, although there were more than twenty people in it, and nothing could be heard except the rain beating on the windows.

The stillness was broken by a bang. It was the sound of a gun, and it came from Casterbridge.

'What does that mean?' cried several people at once.

'A prisoner's escaped from Casterbridge prison—that's what it means,' replied the man in grey, jumping up from his chair. 'I wonder if it's my man?'

'It must be!' said the shepherd. 'And I think we've seen him! The little man who looked in at the door just now, and shook like a leaf when he saw ye and heard your song!'

'His face was as white as a sheet,' said the fiddler.

'His hands shook like an old man's,' said a farm worker.

'His heart seemed as heavy as a stone,' said Mrs Fennel.

'True,' said the man by the fire. 'His face was white, his hands shook, and he ran like the wind — it's all true.'

'We were all wondering what made him run off like that,' said one of the women, 'and now 'tis explained.'

'Is there a policeman here?' asked the hangman.

One of the men came slowly forward, pushed by his friends. 'I'm one o' the king's officers, sir,' he said.

'Then take some of these men at once, follow the criminal, and bring him back here. He hasn't gone far, I'm sure.'

'I will, sir, I will, when I've got my uniform. I'll go home and put it on, and come back here immediately!'

'Uniform! Never mind about your uniform! The man'll be far away by that time!'

'But I must have my uniform! There's the king's name on it in gold — I can't arrest a man without my uniform on.'

'I'm a king's man myself,' said the man in grey coldly, 'and I order you to find and arrest this man at once! Now then, all the men in the house must come with us. Are you ready?'

The men left the cottage to start their search, and the women ran upstairs to see the new baby, who had begun to cry loudly. But the living room did not stay empty for long. A few minutes later the first stranger came quietly back into the house. He cut himself a large piece of cake, and drank another mug of mead. He was still eating when another man came in just as quietly. It was the man in grey.

'Oh, you here?' said the hangman, smiling. 'I thought you had gone to help look for the prisoner.'

'And I thought you had gone too,' replied the other.

'Well, I felt that there were enough people without me,' said the man in grey, helping himself to the mead.

'I felt the same as you.'

'These shepherd-people can easily find the man because they know this hilly country. They'll have him ready for me by the morning, and it'll be no trouble to me at all.'

'Yes, they'll find him. We'll save ourselves all that trouble.'

'True, true. Well, I'm going to Casterbridge. Are you going the same way? We could walk together.'

'No, I'm sorry to say I'm going the other way.' And after finishing their mead, the two men shook hands warmly, said goodbye to each other, and went their different ways.

Out on the hills, the shepherd and his friends were getting cold and wet in their search for the prisoner. They had no luck at all until they reached the top of a hill, where a single tree stood. Suddenly they saw the man who they were looking for, standing next to the tree.

'Your money or your life!' cried the policeman loudly.

'No, no,' whispered the shepherd. 'That's what robbers say, not good, honest people like us!'

'Well, I must say something, mustn't I? Ye don't realize how difficult it is to remember what to say!'

The little man now seemed to notice them for the first time. 'Well, travellers, did I hear ye speak to me?' he asked.

'You did,' replied the policeman. 'We arrest ye for not waiting in Casterbridge prison for your hanging tomorrow!'

The little man did not seem at all afraid, and to everyone's surprise agreed with great politeness to go back to the shepherd's cottage. When they arrived there, they discovered that two officers from Casterbridge prison, and a judge who lived nearby, were waiting for them.

'Gentlemen,' said the policeman, 'I've brought back your prisoner — here he is!'

'But this is not our man!' cried one of the prison officers.

'What?' said the judge. 'Haven't you got the right man?'

'But then who can this man be?' asked the policeman.

'I don't know,' said the prison officer. 'But our prisoner is very different. He's tall and thin, with a deep, musical voice.'

'That was the stranger who sat by the fire!' cried Fennel.

The little man now spoke to the judge for the first time. 'Sir,' he said, 'I must explain. I've done nothing wrong — my only crime is that the prisoner is my brother. Today I was on my way to visit him in Casterbridge prison for the last time, when I got lost in the dark. I stopped here to ask the way, and when I opened the door, I saw my brother sitting by the fire. Right next to him was the hangman who'd come to take his life! My brother looked at me, and I knew he meant, "Don't tell them who I am, or I'll die!" I was too frightened to do anything except turn and run away.'

'And do you know where your brother is now?'

'No, sir. I haven't seen him since I left the cottage.'

'And what's his job?'

'He's a clockmaker, sir.'

'He said he worked with wheels,' said Shepherd Fennel. 'He meant the wheels of clocks and watches, I suppose.'

'Well, we must let this poor man go,' said the judge. 'Clearly, it's his brother who is the wanted man.'

And so the little man left the cottage with a sad, slow step.

The next morning, men were out on the hills again, searching for the clever thief. But the shepherds and farm workers did not look very carefully. They did not think the man should hang, just for stealing a sheep, and they liked the wonderful coolness that he showed, when sitting next to the hangman at the shepherd's party. So the prisoner was never found, and the man in grey never did his morning's work in Casterbridge, nor ever met again the friendly stranger who had sung the hangman's song with him by the shepherd's fire.

The grass has long been green on the graves of Shepherd Fennel and his wife, and the baby whose health was drunk that night is now an old lady. But the arrival of the three strangers at the shepherd's cottage, and all that happened afterwards, is a story as well known as ever in the hills and valleys around Casterbridge.

tidily adv. neat, orderly 整洁地；整齐地

stillness n. quietness, calmness, without any activity 宁静；安宁

uniform n. a particular type of clothing worn by all the members of a group or organization such as the police 制服

arrest v. (police) take somebody away because they think he/she has done something illegal 逮捕

in search for look for 寻找

whisper v. to speak or say something very quietly, using your breath rather than your voice 悄声说；耳语

wanted adj. someone who is wanted is being looked for by the police 被警方追捕的；被通缉的

coolness n. quality of being calm and not nervous 冷静

grave n. the place in the ground where a dead body is buried 坟墓

3．第三个陌生人

就在这时，又传来了一阵敲门声。人们有些恐慌，牧羊人芬内尔好半天才第三次说出了那句欢迎的话：“请进！”

门被轻轻推开了，又一位陌生人站在了门口。他身材矮小、头发金黄、衣着整洁。“能不能告诉我怎么去——？”他刚一开口，目光就落到了灰衣人身上，于是便闭上了嘴。灰衣人又开口唱了起来。

明天是我的工作日，

诚实的牧羊人们——

我的用具是那一小截绳子。

一头羊丧了命，窃贼必须付出代价。

但愿他在上帝那儿得到安宁！

壁炉边的那个男人用低沉的声音欢快地重复着：

但愿他在上帝那儿得到安宁！

在此期间，第三个陌生人一直站在门口，直到此刻人们才转过来看着他。他们惊奇地发现，他脸色苍白、双手发抖，眼睛惊恐地盯着灰衣人。不一会儿，他转身跑进了大雨滂沱的黑夜。

“他会是谁呢？”牧羊人芬内尔问道。

没人回答。尽管屋子里有二十多个人，此刻却一片沉默，静得只能听到雨点打在窗户上的声音。

寂静被“砰”的一声巨响打破了。那是一声枪响，从卡斯特桥方向传来。

“怎么回事？”立刻就有几个人叫了起来。

“有犯人从卡斯特桥监狱逃出来了——就是这么回事，”灰衣人说着，从椅子上跳了起来，“我想知道是不是我要绞死的那个人？”

“一定是！”牧羊人说，“而且我想我们见过他！刚才那个从门口往屋里张望的小个子，他见到你唱歌时抖得像一片树叶！”

“他的脸白得像床单。”拉小提琴的人说。

“他的手抖得像个老头。”一个农场工人说。

“看样子，他的心情也沉重得像压着块石头。”芬内尔太太说。

“没错，”壁炉边的男人说，“他脸色煞白，手哆哆嗦嗦，像一阵风似的跑了——没错。”

“我们刚才还纳闷他干吗那样落荒而逃呢，”一个女人说，“现在真相大白了。”

“这里有警察吗？”刽子手问道。

其中一人被朋友们推着慢慢走上前来。“我是国王手下的军官，先生。”他答道。

“那就马上从这一屋子人中挑几个，追上那个犯人，把他带到这儿来。他还没跑多远，我敢肯定。”

“好的，先生，我穿上制服就去。我回家穿制服，马上就回来！”

“制服！别管你的制服啦！到那会儿犯人早跑远了！”

“可我必须穿上制服！那上面有国王的名字，金色的——我不穿制服就不能逮捕人。”

“我自己也是国王的下属，”灰衣人冷冷地说，“我命令你马上去追捕这个人！听着，屋里所有的男人都得跟我们去。你们准备好了吗？”

男人们离开了小屋开始搜寻，女人们则跑到楼上去照看开始放声大哭的婴儿。不过客厅并没有空下来多久。几分钟后，第一个陌生人悄悄回到了小屋里。他给自己切了一大块蛋糕，又喝了一杯蜂蜜酒。他还没吃完，另一个人也悄悄走了进来。是那个灰衣人。

“噢，你也在这儿吗？”刽子手微笑着说，“我还以为你帮忙找犯人去了呢。”

“我也以为你去了呢。”那人回答道。

“呃，我觉得人够多了，不差我一个。”灰衣人边说边给自己倒了点蜂蜜酒。

“我跟你想的一样。”

“这些牧羊人很容易就能找到那个人，因为他们对这山村很熟悉。他们会在天亮前抓住他的，我根本不用费劲。”

“是啊，他们会找到他的。我们用不着费劲。”

“没错，没错。呃，我要去卡斯特桥了。你也去那儿吗？咱们可以搭个伴走。”

“不，很不巧，我要去另一个方向。”喝完酒，两个男人热情地握手作别，分别朝不同的方向走去。

山上，牧羊人和他的朋友们为寻找犯人而弄得浑身又冷又湿。他们很不走运，直到来到一座山顶，那儿挺立着一棵孤零零的树。突然，他们看见要找的人就站在树的旁边。

“不给钱就要你的命！”警察高声喊道。

“不对，不对，”牧羊人悄声说，“那是强盗们喊的话，不是我们这种诚实的好人该喊的！”

“呃，我总得说点什么，不是吗？你不知道要记住自己该说什么有多难！”

那个小个子男人似乎这才注意到他们。“哦，二位路人，你们刚才是在跟我说话吗？”他问道。

“没错，”警察回答道，“我们要逮捕你，因为你本该在卡斯特桥监狱等待明天的绞刑！”

小个子男人看起来一点都不害怕，更令大家惊讶的是，他很礼貌地同意回到牧羊人的小屋去。到了之后，他们发现卡斯特桥监狱的两名典狱官和一名住在附近的法官已经等在了那里。

“先生们，”警察说，“我把你们的犯人带回来了——就是他！”

“但这不是我们要抓的人！”其中一名典狱官叫道。

“什么？”法官说道，“你们没抓对人？”

“那这个人是谁？”警察问。

“我不认识，”典狱官说，“不过我们的犯人跟他很不一样。犯人又高又瘦，嗓音低沉悦耳。”

“就是那个坐在壁炉边的陌生人！”芬内尔叫道。

小个子男人终于开了口，冲着法官说话了。“先生，”他说，“我必须解释一下。我并没做什么坏事——我唯一的过错就是，那个犯人是我兄弟。我今天原本打算去卡斯特桥监狱见他最后一面，但却在黑暗中迷了路。我在这里停下来打算问路，推开门却看到我兄弟就坐在壁炉边，身旁就是来取他性命的刽子手！我兄弟看了我一眼，我就明白了他的意思：'别告诉他们我是谁，不然我就死定了！'我害怕极了，只好转身跑开了。”

“那你知道你兄弟现在在哪里吗？”

“不知道，先生。我离开小屋后就没再见过他。”

“他是干什么的？”

“他是钟表匠，先生。”

“他说过他是和轮子打交道的，”牧羊人芬内尔说，“我猜他指的是钟表的齿轮。”

“呃，我们得放这个可怜人走，”法官说，“很明显，他的兄弟才是我们要找的人。”

于是，小个子男人迈着忧伤的步子慢慢走出了小屋。

第二天早晨，人们再次来到山上寻找那个机敏的窃贼。不过，牧羊人和农场工人们并没有仔细寻找。他们觉得那个人仅仅是偷了一头羊，不应该被绞死。他们还很欣赏在牧羊人家的聚会上，他坐在刽子手旁边时所表现出的沉着冷静。因此，那个犯人一直也没被抓到，而灰衣人也一直没能完成他那天早上在卡斯特桥的工作。打那以后，他再没见过那个友善的陌生人，那个在牧羊人家壁炉边和他一起唱刽子手之歌的人。

牧羊人芬内尔夫妻俩的墓地上早已是绿草茵茵了，而那个婴儿——那天晚上，人们曾为她的健康祝福——如今也成了一位老妇人。然而，三个陌生人来到牧羊人小屋的事情以及此后发生的一切，却一直在卡斯特桥周围的山峦谷地中传诵不已。

WHAT THE SHEPHERD SAW

A Story of Four Moonlight Nights

牧羊人所见

四个月明之夜的故事

1

First night

The Christmas moon was showing her cold face to the low hills called the Marlbury Downs, in the southwestern part of England known as Mid-Wessex. Here sheep were kept out on the hills all year round, and lambs were born as early as December. Shepherds needed to be on the hills day and night at this time of year, and often used small wheeled huts where they could rest and keep warm, while keeping a careful eye on the sheep.

On a high piece of land one of these huts stood inside a little circle of trees, which kept it out of the icy wind and also hidden from any passers-by. The hut was made of wood, and had a door and two windows. The north one looked out on the eight hundred sheep which were in the shepherd's care, and the south window gave a view of three ancient stones, built in the shape of a doorway. These great stones, which village people called the Devil's Door, had been there for over two thousand years. They were worn and weather-beaten, but tonight looked almost new in the silver light of the moon.

Inside the hut a young shepherd boy was waiting for his master, who entered at that moment.

'Are ye sleepy?' asked the old man crossly.

'N — no, master,' replied the boy, who was a little frightened of the shepherd and his heavy stick.

'The sheep should be all right until the morning now,' said the shepherd, 'but one of us must stay here, so I'll leave ye, do ye hear? I'll go home and sleep for a few hours. Run down to my cottage and fetch me if anything happens. Ye can have a bit of a sleep in the chair by the stove but only for a few minutes, mind! Make sure ye stay awake the rest of the time, and don't let that fire go out!'

The old man closed the door, and disappeared. The boy went out to check on the sheep and new-born lambs, then came back into the hut and sat down by the warm stove. Soon his eyes closed, his head dropped, and he was asleep.

When he woke up, he could hear down in the valley the clock at Shakeforest Towers striking eleven. The sound carried well in the cold night air. He looked out of the north window and saw the sheep, lying on the grass as quietly as before. He next looked out of the opposite window, towards the stones of the Devil's Door, white and ghostly in the moonlight. And in front of them stood a man.

It was clear that he was not a farm worker, because he was wearing a dark suit, and carried himself like a gentleman. The boy was still wondering, in great surprise, why the man was visiting the Devil's Door at this hour, when suddenly another figure appeared. This second figure was a woman, and when the stranger saw her, he hurried towards her. He met her near the trees, and took her into his arms.

'You have come, Harriet! Thank you!' he cried warmly.

'But not for this,' replied the lady, pulling away from him. She added more kindly, 'I have come, Fred, because you begged me! Why did you ask to see me?'

'Harriet, I have seen many lands and faces since I last walked these hills, but I have only thought of you.'

'Was it only to tell me this that you begged me to meet you, out here on the hills, so late at night?'

'Harriet, be honest with me! I have heard that the Duke is unkind to you.'

'He sometimes gets angry, but he is a good husband.'

'Harriet, dearest, is that really true? Doesn't everybody know that your life with him is a sad one? I have come to find out what I can do. You are a Duchess, and I'm only Fred Ogbourne, but it's still possible that I can help you. By God! The sweetness of your voice should keep him pleasant, especially when the sweetness of your face is added to it!'

'Captain Ogbourne!' she cried, half afraid, half playful. 'You're an old friend — how can you speak to me in this way? Remember I'm a married woman! I was wrong to come, I see that now.'

'You call me Captain Ogbourne,' he replied unhappily, 'but I was always Fred to you before. I think you no longer have any feeling for me. My love for you, Harriet, has not changed at all, but you are a different woman now. I must accept it. I can never see you again.'

'You needn't talk like that, you stupid man. You can see me again — why not? But of course, not like this. It was a mistake of mine to come tonight, and I only did it because the Duke is away at the moment.'

'When does he return?'

'The day after tomorrow, or the day after that.'

'Then meet me again tomorrow night.'

'No, Fred, I cannot.'

'If you cannot tomorrow night, you can the night after. Please let me have one more meeting before he returns, to say goodbye! Now, promise me!' He took the Duchess's hand.

'No, Fred, let go of my hand! It's not kind of you to make me feel sorry for you, and then to keep me here like this!'

'But see me once more! I have come two thousand miles to see you.'

'Oh, I must not! People will talk. Don't ask it of me!'

'Then confess two things to me: that you did love me once, and that your husband is unkind to you often enough to make you think of the time when you loved me.'

'Yes, I confess them both,' she answered quietly.

'Come once more!' He still held her hand, and had his arm around her waist.

'Very well, then,' she said finally. 'I agree. I'll meet you tomorrow night or the night after. Now let me go.'

He set her free, and watched her hurry down the hill towards her home, Shakeforest Towers. Then he turned and walked away. In a few minutes all was silent and empty again.

But only for a moment. Suddenly, a third figure appeared, from behind the stones. He was a man of heavier build than the Captain, and was wearing riding boots. It was clear that he had watched the meeting between the Captain and the Duchess. He had been too far away to hear their conversation and the lady's reluctant words, so to him they had the appearance of lovers. But several more years passed before the boy was old enough to understand this.

This third figure stood still for a moment, thinking. Then he went back into the trees, and came out again with his horse. He rode off, and the sound of the horse's feet on the hard ground was heard for several minutes, until it died away.

The boy stayed in the hut, his eyes still on the stones, but nobody else appeared there. Suddenly he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, which made him jump.

'Now look here, young Bill Mills, ye've let the fire in the stove go out! Well, what's happened, ye bad boy?'

'Nothing, master.'

'Sheep and lambs all safe and well?'

'Yes, master.'

The old shepherd spoke angrily. 'Well, that's where ye're wrong. There are two new lambs out there, born just this minute, and one of the mothers is half dead! I told ye to stay awake, boy, and fetch me if I was needed! Well, what have you got to say for yourself?'

'You said that I could have a bit of a sleep! In the chair by the stove, you said!'

'Don't you speak to your elders and betters like that, young man, or you'll end up hanging from a rope at the prison! Well, ye can go home now, and come back again by breakfast time. I'm an old man, but there's no rest for me!'

The old shepherd then lay down inside the hut, and the boy went down the hill to his home in the village.

downs n. low round hills covered with grass 草木覆盖的低圆山丘

hut n. a small, simple building with only one or two rooms （简陋的）小屋；棚屋

keep an eye on to look after someone or something and make sure that they are safe 照看某人（某物）

passer-by n. someone who is walking past a place by chance 过路人

devil n. any evil spirit 魔鬼

weather-beaten adj. affected by exposure to the weather 饱经风霜的；风雨侵蚀的

crossly adv. angry or annoyed 生气地；恼怒地

go out to stop burning or shining 熄灭

ghostly adj. slightly frightening and seeming to be connected with ghosts or spirits 幽灵似的；诡异的

duke n. a man with the highest social rank outside the royal family 公爵

duchess n. the wife of a duke 公爵夫人

confess v. to admit something that you feel embarrassed about 承认

waist n. the narrow part in the middle of the human body 腰，腰部

build n. the shape and size of someone's body 体格；体形

reluctant adj. slow and unwilling 勉强的；不情愿的

1．第一夜

圣诞节的冷月照耀着一片叫做马尔博瑞丘陵的低矮山丘，这片山丘坐落在英格兰西南部的中维塞克斯。这里的山上一年四季都放牧着羊群，而这里的羊羔早在每年的12月便会出生。每年的这个时节，牧羊人们都必须夜以继日地待在山上。他们通常待在一种带轮子的小屋里，以便在照料羊群的同时能休息和取暖。

一片高地之上，有一间小屋掩映在一小圈树木中，由此既免受了刺骨寒风的侵袭，又躲避了过路人的视线。小屋用木头制成，有一扇门和两扇窗户。从北面的窗户望出去可以看到牧羊人看管的八百头羊，从南面的窗户望出去则是堆成门形的三块古老的石头。这些巨石被村民们称为“魔鬼之门”，已经在那里矗立了两千多年。它们斑驳残破、饱经风霜，但今夜在银色的月光照耀下，却宛若新生。

小木屋里，一名牧羊少年正等着他的主人。就在这个时候，主人走了进来。

“你就困了吗？”老人生气地问。

“不——没有，主人。”男孩回答道，他有些害怕牧羊人和他的粗棍子。

“羊群在天亮前应该没事了，”牧羊人说，“不过我们当中必须有人留在这儿，所以我得让你留下，你听到了吗？我要回家睡几个小时。如果发生了什么事，就跑下山到我家去找我。你可以在火炉旁的椅子上睡一小会儿，不过就几分钟，记住！别的时间你都得醒着。还有，别让火熄了！”

老人关上门走了。男孩出去查看了一下羊群和刚出生的羊羔，然后走回到小屋里，坐在温暖的炉火旁。很快，他就合上了眼皮，垂下头睡着了。

醒来时，他听见山谷里舍克弗洛斯特城堡的钟敲了11下。钟声在清冷的夜空中传得很远。他从北面的窗户望出去，看到羊群依然安静地卧在草地上。接着，他朝相反方向的窗户望出去，看到“魔鬼之门”的石头惨白而诡异地矗立在月光中。石门前站着一个人。

那人显然不是农场工人，因为他身穿深色西服，神态宛如一位绅士。男孩惊讶地猜度着这个人为什么会在这时候跑到“魔鬼之门”来。正在这时，另一个身影出现了。这回出现的是一个女人，那个陌生人一见到她就快步走上前去。他在树丛边迎上了她，将她拥入怀中。

“你总算来了，哈丽雅特！谢谢你！”他热情地叫道。

“但不是为了这个。”那女子边说边将他推开。她更加温和地说：“弗雷德，我是因为你求我才来的！你为什么要见我？”

“哈丽雅特，自从上次走过这片山峰后，我看遍了千山万水、众生百态，但却只想着你一个人。”

“你求我这么晚到山上来见你，就只是为了告诉我这些？”

“哈丽雅特，跟我说实话！我听说公爵对你并不好。”

“虽然他有时会发火，却还是个好丈夫。”

“哈丽雅特，我最亲爱的，你说的是真的吗？你跟他的生活并不美满，这难道不是尽人皆知的吗？我来就是为了看看我能做什么。你是公爵夫人，而我只是弗雷德·奥格本，但我仍然有可能帮得上你。老天作证！你悦耳的嗓音应该令他开心，尤其再加上你甜美的容貌！”

“奥格本上尉！”她半是恐慌半是戏谑地叫道，“你可是我的老朋友——你怎么能这么对我说话呢？别忘了我是个结了婚的女人！我今天来是个错误，我现在算是明白了。”

“你居然叫我奥格本上尉，”他不高兴地回答道，“你以前一直叫我弗雷德。我想你对我已经没有任何感情了。哈丽雅特，我对你的爱从来没有改变过，而如今的你却已变成了另外一个女人。我必须接受这个现实。我再也不会见你了。”

“你用不着这么说，你这傻瓜。你可以再见我——为什么不行呢？不过，当然不是像现在这样。我今晚来这里是个错误，我来仅仅是因为公爵正好出门了。”

“他什么时候回来？”

“后天，或者大后天。”

“那明天晚上再来和我见面吧。”

“不，弗雷德，我不能。”

“如果你明晚不来，那就后天晚上来。请再给我一次机会，让我在他回来之前和你告别！好了，答应我！”他抓住了公爵夫人的手。

“不，弗雷德，放开我的手！让我对你感到愧疚已经很不好了，你还这样抓着我不放！”

“但是，请再见我一次吧！为了见你，我可是跑了两千英里的路程。”

“噢，我不能那样！人们会说闲话的。请不要对我提出这样的要求！”

“那你要对我承认两件事：一是你过去的确爱我，还有就是你的丈夫对你不好，常常会让你回想起当初爱着我的时光。”

“是的，这两件事情我都承认。”她静静地回答道。

“再来见我一次吧！”他仍旧握着她的手，另一只手臂环绕在她腰间。

“那好吧，”她终于说，“我答应你。我明天或者后天晚上来见你。现在请让我走吧。”

他放开了她，看着她急匆匆地朝山下的家——舍克弗洛斯特城堡跑去。接着，他也转身离去了。几分钟后，周围又恢复了平静和空旷。

但这只持续了一小会儿。突然，石头后面出现了第三个身影。他身材比上尉健壮些，脚蹬马靴。很显然，他看到了上尉和公爵夫人的会面过程。他离得太远，听不清他们的谈话和夫人勉强的言辞，因此在他看来，他们俨然是一对情侣。但直到几年后，年齿渐长的男孩才想明白了当时的情形。

第三个身影沉思着呆立了片刻，返身回到树林中，然后又骑着马走了出来。他策马而去，马蹄在坚硬的土地上踏出的声音持续了好几分钟才渐渐消失。

男孩待在小屋里，眼睛仍旧盯着那些石头，却再没有人出现了。突然，他感到有一只沉重的手搭上了自己的肩头，吓得跳将起来。

“你看看，小比尔·米尔斯，你让炉子里的火熄掉了！呃，发生了什么事，你这个坏孩子？”

“没什么，主人。”

“羊群和羊羔都好好的吗？”

“是的，主人。”

老牧羊人生气地咆哮着说：“哼，这你就说错了。外面有两头母羊刚刚生了小羊羔，一头母羊都快死了！我告诉过你要保持清醒，小子，如果有必要就去叫我！好了，这你有什么说的？”

“你说过我可以睡一小会儿的！在火炉边的椅子上，你说过的！”

“不要这样跟有经验的长者讲话，年轻人，不然你的下场就是在监狱里被绞索吊死！好了，你现在可以回家了，早饭前再过来。我都老了，还一刻不得闲！”

接着，老牧羊人在小屋里躺了下来，男孩则下山朝村子里的家走去。

2

Second night

The next evening the old shepherd left the boy alone in the hut again, with repeated orders to keep a careful eye on the sheep. But young Bill was only interested in the view from the south window. He watched and waited, while the moonlight shone on the ancient stones, but neither Captain nor Duchess appeared.

When he heard the Shakeforest Towers clock strike eleven, he saw the third figure appear. As the man came towards the hut, the moonlight shone full on his face, and the boy realized in horror that it was the Duke. All the villagers lived in fear of the Duke. He owned every farm and every house for miles around, and anybody who made him angry could lose their home and their job in a moment. The boy closed the stove, and quickly hid himself in a corner of the hut.

The Duke came close to the place where his wife and the Captain had stood the night before. He looked around, perhaps for a hiding-place. When he discovered the hut among the trees, he entered, and stood at the south window, looking out at the Devil's Door.

Only a minute or two later the Captain arrived, to wait for the Duchess. But a terrible surprise was waiting for him tonight, as well as for the frightened boy hidden in the hut. At the Captain's appearance, the Duke became very angry. He opened the door of the hut and stepped out.

'You have dishonoured her, and for that you shall die!' he cried. In the hut, the boy left his hiding-place and ran to the window. He could not see the two men, but he heard something falling on the grass, and then silence.

Three minutes later he saw the Duke going up the hill towards the stones, pulling the Captain's body along the ground. The boy knew that behind the Devil's Door there was a deep hole, covered by long grass and other plants. The Duke made his way slowly to the shadows behind the stones, and when he came out, he was pulling nothing behind him.

'Now for the second!' the boy heard him say. This time the Duke waited outside the hut. It was clear that he expected his wife, the Duchess, to arrive next at the meeting-place.

Inside the hut young Bill shook with fear. 'What will he do if she comes?' he thought. 'Will he kill her too? He looks angry enough! And he can do what he likes — he's the Duke. Nobody can stop him!'

The jealous watcher waited for some time, but she never came. Sometimes he looked at his watch in surprise. He seemed almost disappointed that she did not appear. At half-past eleven he turned away to find his horse, and rode slowly down the hill.

The young boy thought of what lay in the hole behind the stones, and was too frightened to stay alone in the hut. He preferred to be with someone who was alive, even the Duke, than with someone who was dead, so he ran after the horseman. He followed the Duke all the way down into the valley, feeling more comfortable when the lonely hills were left behind him. Soon he could see the high walls and roofs of the Duke's home, Shakeforest Towers.

When the Duke got close to the great house, a small door in a side wall opened, and a woman came out. She ran into the moonlight to meet the Duke.

'Ah, my dear, is it you?' she said. 'I heard your horse's step on the road, and knew it must be you.'

'Happy to see me, are you?'

'How can you ask that?'

'Well, it is a lovely night for meetings.'

'Yes, it is a lovely night.'

The Duke got down from his horse and stood by her side. 'Why were you listening for me at this time of night?' he asked.

'There is a strange story, which I must tell you at once. But why did you come a night sooner than you said? I am sorry, I really am!' (shaking her head playfully), 'because I had ordered a special dinner for your arrival tomorrow, and now it won't be a surprise at all.'

The Duke did not look at his wife. 'What is this strange story that you wish to tell me?' he asked quietly.

'It is this. You know my cousin Fred Ogbourne? We used to play together when we were children, and he — well, he loved me, I think. I told you about it, you know.'

'You have never told me of it before.'

'Oh, then it was your sister — yes, I told her about it. Well, I haven't seen him for many years, and of course I'd forgotten all about his feeling for me. So I was surprised to receive a letter from him yesterday. I can remember what he wrote.

'My dear cousin Harriet, the letter said. If my life and future mean anything to you at all, I beg you to do what I ask. Meet me at eleven o'clock tonight by the ancient stones on Marlbury Downs. I cannot say more, except to beg you to come. I will explain everything when I see you. Come alone. You have all my happiness in your hands. Yours, Fred

'That was his letter. Now I realize that it was a mistake to go, but at the time I only thought he must be in trouble, and with not a friend in the world to help him. So I went to Marlbury Downs at eleven o'clock. Wasn't it brave of me?'

'Very,' replied the Duke coldly.

'When I got there, I saw he was no longer the boy that I remembered, but a full-grown man and an officer. I was sorry I had come. What he wanted, I don't know — perhaps just a meeting with me. He held me by the hand and waist, and refused to let me go until I promised to meet him again. And in the end I did, because he spoke very warmly to me and I was afraid of him in that lonely place. Then I escaped — I ran home — and that's all. Of course, I never meant to meet him there again. But this evening I thought, "Perhaps he'll come to the house when he realizes I'm not coming to meet him," and that's why I couldn't sleep. But you are so silent!'

'I have had a long journey.'

They moved on towards the front entrance of the house. 'I have thought of something, but perhaps you won't like it,' she said. 'I think he will wait there again tomorrow night. Shall we go to the hill tomorrow together — just to see if he is there? And tell him he must not try to meet me like this?'

'Why should we see if he is there?' asked her unsmiling husband.

'Because I think we should try to help him. Poor Fred! He will listen to you, if you talk to him. It is wrong of him to think of me in that way, but he is clearly very miserable.'

By this time they had reached the front entrance and rung the bell. A man came to take the horse away, and the Duke and Duchess entered the house.

dishonour v. to make your family, country, profession etc. lose the respect of other people 败坏名誉

jealous adj. someone who you feel belongs to you, is being admired too much by someone else 吃醋的；忌妒的

horseman n. someone who rides horses 骑马者

full-grown adj. a full-grown animal, plant, or person has developed to their full size and will not grow any bigger （植物、动物或人）完全长成的；成熟的

2．第二夜

第二天晚上，老牧羊人又把男孩独自留在了小屋里，反复嘱咐他好好照看羊群。但小比尔却只对南面窗外的情景感兴趣。月光照耀在古老的石头上，他一边观望一边等待，但上尉和公爵夫人都没有出现。

等听到舍克弗洛斯特城堡的钟敲11点时，他看见第三个身影出现了。那人朝小木屋的方向走来时，月光正好照亮了他的脸庞。男孩惊恐地发现那人竟然是公爵。所有的村民都对公爵十分惧怕。他拥有方圆数英里的每一块农田和每一座房屋，任何人若是惹恼了他，就会在顷刻间失去家园和工作。男孩封上火炉，迅速躲进了小屋里的一个角落。

公爵走近昨晚他妻子和上尉待过的地方，环顾四周，看样子是在寻找一个藏身之所。他发现了树林中的小木屋，随即走了进去，站在南面的窗户前朝“魔鬼之门”望去。

只过了一两分钟，上尉就来等候公爵夫人了。然而，今晚有一个可怕的意外正等待着他，也等待着藏在小屋里的这个吓坏了的孩子。上尉一出现，公爵立刻勃然大怒。他打开小屋的门走了出去。

“你败坏了她的清誉，为此该受一死！”他大叫道。小木屋里的男孩从藏身之处跑到了窗边。他看不见那两个人，但却听见了有东西摔落到草地上的声音，接下来是一片死寂。

3分钟后，他看见公爵拖着上尉的尸体朝山上的石头走去。男孩知道“魔鬼之门”背后有一个很深的洞，洞口覆盖着茂密的草和其他植物。公爵慢慢走进巨石后面的阴影，当他出来时，身后什么都没有了。

“现在该轮到第二个了！”男孩听见他在喃喃自语。这一次，公爵在木屋外等待着。他显然是在等他的妻子公爵夫人来到这个幽会的地方。

木屋里，小比尔吓得浑身颤抖。“如果她来了，他会怎么做？”他想，“他会把她也杀掉吗？他看样子快气炸了！而且他做事完全可以随心所欲——他是公爵，没有人能阻止他！”

这位妒火中烧的守望者等了一会儿，她却一直没有来。他不时惊诧地看看手表。看来她不曾露面倒让他几乎有些失望了。11点半时，他转过身找到自己的马，慢慢朝山下骑去。

小男孩想象着石头后面的山洞中可能躺着的东西，吓得不敢独自留在小屋中。他宁愿和任何一个活人在一起，哪怕是公爵也好，总强过和死人待在一起。于是他跟在骑马的公爵身后跑去。他一路跟着公爵下山，当孤寂的群山被远远甩在身后时，他感觉舒服多了。很快，他就看到了公爵的家——舍克弗洛斯特城堡那高高的围墙和屋顶。

公爵走近这座大房子时，边墙上的一扇小门打开了，有个女人走了出来。她跑到月光下迎接公爵。

“啊，亲爱的，是你吗？”她说，“我听到你的马蹄声，就知道一定是你。”

“你很高兴见到我，对吧？”

“你怎么这么问？”

“嗯，这真是个适合幽会的可爱夜晚。”

“是啊，是个可爱的夜晚。”

公爵下马站到了她的身边。“你为什么这么晚了还在听我的动静？”他问。

“有件奇怪的事，我必须马上告诉你。可你为什么比原先说的早回来了一天呢？我很抱歉，真的很抱歉！”（她顽皮地摇晃着脑袋），“因为我让人准备了一顿特别的晚餐，明天好给你接风，可现在它一点都不会是惊喜了。”

公爵没拿正眼看他的妻子。“你想跟我说的怪事是什么？”他平静地问。

“是这样的，你认识我的表兄弗雷德·奥格本吧？我们小时候经常在一起玩，而且他——他爱我，我想是这样的。我曾经告诉过你，你知道的。”

“你以前从没跟我提过。”

“噢，那就是你妹妹——没错，我曾经跟她讲过。嗯，我已经好多年没见过他了，当然也已经忘记了他对我的感情。所以昨天收到他的信时，我非常惊讶。我还记得他都写了些什么。

“我亲爱的表妹哈丽雅特，信上说，如果我的生活和未来对你有半分意义的话，恳请你照我的请求去做。请于今晚11点在马尔博瑞丘陵那些古老的石头处与我会面。我不能多言，唯恳请你来此。见面时我自会跟你解释一切。请一个人来。我的快乐全掌握在你手中。你的弗雷德。

“这就是信的内容。现在我才意识到去那里是个错误，但我当时一心以为他遇到了麻烦，而且根本找不到朋友来帮忙。所以我就在11点去了马尔博瑞丘陵。我那样做是不是很勇敢？”

“非常勇敢。”公爵冷冷地回答道。

“当我到那儿的时候，发现他已不再是我印象中的那个男孩了。他已长大成人，当上了军官。我很后悔去见他。我不知道他想怎么样——也许只是想和我见一面吧。他抓住我的手、揽住我的腰，不肯让我离开，直到我答应了跟他再见一面。我最终答应了，因为他言辞非常激烈，而且那里荒郊野外的，我有点怕他。接着我就脱身了——我跑回了家——就是这样。当然，我也没打算真的再去那里见他。可是今天晚上，我想，'也许当他意识到我不会再去见他时，他会到家里来找我。’所以我睡不着。你怎么不说话呀！”

“我赶了很远的路。”

他们继续朝房子的前门走去。“我想起一件事，但可能你会不高兴，”她说，“我想他明天晚上还会去那里等。我们明天一起上山好吗——只是去看看他在不在那儿，顺便告诉他不要再试图那样和我见面了。”

“我们为什么要去看他是不是在那儿？”她的丈夫绷着脸问道。

“因为我想我们应该试着去帮助他。可怜的弗雷德！如果你跟他讲，他会听的。他那样看我的确不对，但他真的很痛苦。”

这时，他们已经走到前门，于是就按响了门铃。有人走过来把马牵走，公爵和公爵夫人走进了屋子。

3

Third night

The next night Bill Mills was left alone again to take care of the sheep. He tried bravely not to think of what lay behind the Devil's Door, but without much success. So he was almost pleased as well as surprised when the Duke and Duchess appeared near the hut at about eleven o'clock. He watched and listened through the little window in his hut.

'I tell you, he did not think it was worth coming again!' the Duke said, reluctant to walk further. 'He is not here, so turn round and come home.'

'He doesn't seem to be here, it's true. Perhaps something has happened to him? Oh poor Fred! I do hope he is all right!'

The Duke said quickly, 'Oh, he probably has some other meeting to go to.'

'I don't think so.'

'Or perhaps he has found it too far to come.'

'Nor is that probable.'

'Then perhaps he thought it was better not to come.'

'Yes, perhaps. Or he may be here all the time, hiding behind the Devil's Door. Let's go and see — and surprise him!'

'Oh, he's not there.'

'Perhaps he's lying very quietly in the grass there, because of you,' she said, smiling.

'Oh, no — not because of me!'

'Come, then. Dearest, you're as reluctant as a schoolboy tonight! I know you're jealous of poor Fred, but you have no reason to be!'

'I'll come! I'll come! Say no more, Harriet!' And together they crossed the grass towards the stones.

The boy came out of the hut to see what happened next, but the Duchess saw him moving in the darkness.

'Ah, I see him at last!' she said.

'See him!' cried the Duke. 'Where?'

'By the Devil's Door. Don't you see him?' She laughed. 'Ah, my poor lover-cousin, you'll be in trouble now!'

'It's not him!' said the Duke in horror. 'It can't be him!'

'No, it isn't. It's too small for him. It's a boy.'

'Ah, I thought so! Boy, come here.'

Fearfully, young Bill came closer.

'What are you doing here?' asked the Duke.

'Taking care of the sheep, your Grace.'

'Ah, you know me! Do you keep sheep here every night?'

'Most nights in winter, your Grace.'

'And what have you seen here tonight or last night?' asked the Duchess. 'Anyone waiting or walking about?'

The boy was silent.

'He has seen nothing,' said her husband quickly, staring angrily at the boy. 'Come, let us go. The air is cold.'

When they had gone, young Bill went back to the sheep. But he was not alone for long. Half an hour later the Duke's heavy steps were heard again. His wife was not with him.

'Listen, boy,' he said. 'The Duchess asked you a question, and I want you to answer it. Have you seen anything strange these nights, when you've been watching your sheep?'

'Your Grace, I'm just a poor, stupid boy, and what I see, I don't remember.'

'I ask you again,' said the Duke, holding the boy's shoulder with a strong hand and staring down into his frightened face. 'Did you see anything strange here last night?'

'Oh, your Grace, don't kill me!' cried the boy, falling to the ground. 'I've never seen you walking here, or riding here, or waiting for a man, or pulling a dead body along!'

'Ah!' said the Duke coldly. 'It is good to know that you have never seen those things. Now, which do you prefer — to see me do those things now, or to keep a secret all your life?'

'Keep a secret, your Grace!'

'You are sure you can do it?'

'Oh, try me, your Grace!'

'Very well. And now, do you like being a shepherd?'

'Not at all. 'Tis lonely work for a boy like me, who sees ghosts everywhere. And my master sometimes beats me.'

'I'll give you new clothes, and send you to school, and make a man of you. But you must never say you've been a shepherd boy. The moment that you forget yourself, and speak of what you've seen on the hills — this year, next year, or twenty years from now — I will stop helping you, and you'll come down to being a poor shepherd again.'

'I'll never speak of it, your Grace!'

'Come here.' The Duke took the boy to the Devil's Door. 'Now make a promise in front of these ancient stones. The ghosts that live in this place will find you and punish you if you ever speak of your life as a shepherd boy or what you saw then. Promise to keep this secret!'

His face as white as a sheet, the boy promised.

Then they went down into the valley, the Duke holding the boy's hand. That night the boy slept at Shakeforest Towers, and the next day he was sent away to school.

probable adj. likely to happen 很可能的

Your Grace used as a title for talking to or about a Duke, Duchess 阁下（对公爵、公爵夫人的尊称）

3．第三夜

接下来的那天晚上，比尔·米尔斯又被独自留下照看羊群。他勇敢地试图不去想“魔鬼之门”后面躺着什么东西，但不太管用。因此，当公爵和公爵夫人在11点左右出现在小屋附近时，他既高兴又惊讶。他在小屋里向小窗外望去，同时侧耳细听。

“我告诉你，他一定是认为不值得再来了！”公爵说着，不愿再往前走了，“他不在这儿，咱们掉头回家吧。”

“看样子他的确不在这儿，难道他出什么事了？哦，可怜的弗雷德！我真希望他没事！”

公爵赶紧说：“哦，也许他赴别的约去了。”

“我想不会。”

“那或许他觉得上这儿来太远了。”

“那也不太可能。”

“那就是他认为不来更好。”

“嗯，也许是吧。也有可能他一直都在这儿，就藏在'魔鬼之门’后面。咱们过去瞧瞧吧——吓他一跳！”

“哦，他不会在那儿的。”

“说不定他正悄悄躺在那边的草丛里呢，就因为看见了你。”她微笑着说。

“哦，不——不是因为我！”

“那就走吧。亲爱的，你今天晚上就像个小学生一样勉强！我知道你嫉妒可怜的弗雷德，不过你没理由嫉妒他呀！”

“我去！我去！别再说了，哈丽雅特！”他们一起穿过草丛朝石门走去。

男孩走出小屋，想看看接下来会发生什么事，却被公爵夫人看到他在黑暗中走动。

“啊，我终于看见他了！”她说。

“看见他了！”公爵大叫道，“在哪儿？”

“就在'魔鬼之门’旁边！你没看到他吗？”她笑道，“啊，我可怜的求爱者表哥，你现在有麻烦啦！”

“那不是他！”公爵惊恐地说，“不可能是他！”

“嗯，不是他。那身形太小了，是个男孩。”

“啊，我想也是！孩子，过来。”

小比尔胆怯地走上前去。

“你在这儿干什么？”公爵问。

“放羊，公爵阁下。”

“哦，你认识我！你每天晚上都在这儿放羊吗？”

“冬天里大多数晚上都在，公爵阁下。”

“你今晚或是昨晚看到什么了吗？”公爵夫人间，“有没有人在这里等或者在这附近走动？”

男孩默不作声。

“他什么都没看到。”她丈夫赶紧说道，恼怒地瞪着男孩，“来，咱们走吧。天太冷了。”

他们走后，小比尔回到了羊群中。但他独自待着的情况并没持续多久。半小时后，他听见了公爵沉重的脚步声，这回他妻子没跟他在一起。

“听着，孩子，”他说，“公爵夫人刚才问了你一个问题，我希望你回答。这几天晚上放羊的时候，你有没有看到什么奇怪的事？”

“公爵阁下，我只是个又穷又笨的孩子，见过什么也都不记得了。”

“我再问你一次，”公爵用强壮有力的手抓住男孩的肩膀，低头盯着他惊恐的脸说，“你昨晚看到这里发生什么怪事了吗？”

“哦，公爵阁下，别杀我！”男孩哭喊着跌倒在地，“我从没见过您在附近走动、骑马、等人或是拖走一具死尸！”

“啊！”公爵冷冰冰地说，“我知道你没看到这些事，很好。好了，你想怎么样——是想看我现在做这些事呢，还是你终身保守这个秘密？”

“保守秘密，公爵阁下！”

“你确信能做到吗？”

“哦，您可以考验我，公爵阁下！”

“很好。好了，你喜欢当牧羊人吗？”

“一点都不喜欢。这份工作对我来说太寂寞了，因为我走到哪儿都能看见鬼。而且我的主人有时还打我。”

“我会给你新衣服穿、送你去学校，让你成为一个体面人。但你永远也不能说自己曾是个牧羊人。你一旦忘乎所以，说出在山上看到的情景——不管是今年、明年、还是二十年后——我都将不再资助你，任你重新沦落为穷苦的牧羊人。”

“我永远都不会说出去的，公爵阁下！”

“过来。”公爵把男孩带到“魔鬼之门”跟前，“你现在对着这些古老的石头发誓。假如你提及自己曾经是牧羊人或者说出那晚看到的事，这里的鬼魂就会找到你、惩罚你。快发誓，说你会保守秘密！”

男孩的脸像床单一样惨白。他发了誓。

然后，公爵抓着男孩的手走进了山谷。男孩当晚就睡在了舍克弗洛斯特城堡，第二天又被送进了学校。

4

Fourth night

On a winter evening many years later, a well-dressed man of business sat in his office at Shakeforest Towers. He had come a long way from the shepherd boy that he once was, but he did not seem happy with his comfortable life. He appeared older than his age, and he looked about him restlessly.

He stood up and left the office, and went to a room in another part of the house, where he knocked, and entered. The Duchess had been dead for some years, and the Duke was now a thin old man with white hair.

'Oh — Mills?' he said. 'Sit down. What is it?'

'Old times have come to life again, your Grace.'

'Which old times are they?'

'That Christmas week twenty-two years ago, when the Duchess's cousin asked her to meet him on Marlbury Downs. I saw the meeting, and I saw much more than that.'

'Do you remember a promise made by a shepherd boy?'

'I do. That boy has kept the promise all his life.'

'Then I wish to hear no more about it.'

'Very well. But the secret may soon come out. Not from me, because I'm grateful for what you've done for me. There was great excitement when Captain Ogbourne disappeared, but I spoke not a word, and his body was never found. For twenty-two years I've wondered what you did with him. Now I know. This afternoon I went up on the hill, and did some digging. I saw enough to know that something still lies there in a hole behind the stones.'

'Mills, do you think the Duchess guessed?'

'She never did, I'm sure, to the day of her death.'

'What made you think of going there this afternoon?'

'Something that happened today, your Grace. The oldest man in the village has died — the old shepherd.'

'Dead at last — how old was he?'

'Ninety-four.'

'And I'm only seventy. I have twenty-four more years!'

'He was my master when I was a shepherd boy, your Grace. And he was on the hill the second night. He was there all the time, but none of us knew that.'

'Ah!' said the Duke, looking fixedly at Mills. 'Go on!'

'When I heard he was dying, it made me think of the past, and that's why I went up on the hills. Now the villagers are saying that before he died, he confessed a secret to the vicar — a secret that he'd kept for your Grace, about a crime on Marlbury Downs more than twenty years ago.'

'That's enough, Mills. I'll see the vicar early tomorrow.'

'What will you do, your Grace?'

'Stop his tongue for twenty-four years, until I am dead at ninety-four, like the old shepherd. Go home now, Mills.'

Mills left the room and walked to his own house, where he lived a lonely, friendless life. But he could not sleep, and at midnight he looked out at the colourless moon, and decided to walk up to Marlbury Downs again. Once on the hill, he placed himself where the shepherd's hut had stood. No sheep or lambs were there that winter, but the Devil's Door stood high and white as ever, with dark shadows behind it.

Suddenly he realized he was not alone. A figure in white was moving silently towards the stones. It was the Duke himself, in his long nightshirt, walking in his sleep. He went straight to the covered hole, and dug with his hands like an animal. Then he got up, sighed, and went back down the hill. Mills followed him and saw him enter Shakeforest Towers.

The next morning, when Mills arrived at the great house, the housekeeper came to the door to meet him.

'Oh, sir,' she said, 'the Duke is dead! He left his room in the night and went walking around somewhere. And on his way back to his room, he fell downstairs and broke his neck.'

*　　*　　*

At last Mills was able to tell the secret that had lain so heavily on his heart for twenty-two years, and he died, at peace with himself, a few years later.

There are still fine sheep and lambs on the Marlbury Downs, but shepherds do not like spending the nights close to the Devil's Door. They say that during Christmas week ghostly white shapes are often seen there. Something made of bright metal shines in the moonlight, and there is the shadow of a man pulling something heavy across the grass. But no one can be sure that these things are true.

well-dressed adj. wearing attractive, fashionable, and usually expensive clothes 衣着考究的；穿着入时的

excitement n. the feeling of being excited 兴奋

vicar n. a priest in the Church of England who is in charge of a church in a particular area （英国国教的）教区牧师

4．第四夜

多年后的一个冬夜，一位衣着讲究的商人坐在舍克弗洛斯特城堡中自己的办公室里。他经历了漫长的过程才从当年那个牧羊少年成长到如今，但舒适的生活似乎并没有使他感到开心。他看起来比实际年龄要老，还心神不宁地四处张望。

他起身离开了办公室，走到城堡里的另一个房间，敲敲门走了进去。公爵夫人几年前已经去世，而公爵现在也已是形销骨立、白发苍苍的老人了。

“哦——米尔斯？”他说，“坐。有什么事吗？”

“过去的时光又回来了，公爵阁下。”

“哪一段过去的时光？”

“就是22年前，过圣诞节的那个星期，公爵夫人的表哥求她到马尔伯瑞丘陵与他见面的时候。我目睹了那次会面，而且我所见到的远远不止这一点。”

“你还记得那个牧羊少年的誓言吗？”

“记得。那个孩子终生信守着他的誓言。”

“那我不想再听到那件事了。”

“好吧。但秘密可能很快就会传开了。不是从我这里传出去，因为我很感激你为我所做的一切。当年奥格本上尉失踪的消息引起了不小的震动，而我却缄口不言，他的尸体也一直没被发现。22年来，我一直在猜测你究竟对他做了什么。现在我知道了。今天下午我上山去挖了挖，我所看见的已足够让我知道石头后面的洞里还躺着什么了。”

“米尔斯，你觉得公爵夫人猜到了吗？”

“直到去世的那一天，她也没猜到，我敢肯定。”

“为什么今天下午你会想起来去那里？”

“今天出了点事，公爵阁下。村子里最老的人去世了——那个老牧羊人。”

“终于死了——他多大年纪了？”

“94岁。”

“我才70岁，还有24年活头！”

“当我还是个牧羊少年的时候，他是我的主人，公爵阁下。那年的第二夜他在山上。他一直待在那儿，可我们全都不知道。”

“啊！”公爵叫道，怔怔地看着米尔斯，“继续说下去！”

“当我听说他快死的时候，就想起了过去的日子，于是我上了山。现在村民们都说，他在死之前对牧师坦白了一个秘密——一个为你保守的秘密，是你20多年前在马尔伯瑞丘陵犯下的罪行。”

“够了，米尔斯。我明天一早就去拜访牧师。”

“你打算怎么做，公爵阁下？”

“让他闭24年的嘴，直到我年届94岁，像那个老牧羊人一样死去。好了，回家去吧，米尔斯。”

米尔斯离开房间，走回了自己的家。他一直过着孤孤单单、没有朋友的生活。但他无法入睡。午夜时分，他望着窗外苍白的月亮，决定再去马尔伯瑞丘陵一趟。上山以后，他站在了牧羊人小屋过去所在的地方。那年冬天，这里既没有羊也没有羊羔，但“魔鬼之门”依然高大苍白，背后是黑漆漆的影子。

突然，他意识到旁边还有别的人。一个身着白衣的影子悄无声息地朝着巨石走去。那正是公爵本人，穿着长长的睡衣在梦游。他径直来到被遮蔽的洞口前，像动物一样用双手刨了起来。接着，他站起身叹了口气，朝山下走去。米尔斯尾随其后，看着他走进了舍克弗洛斯特城堡。

第二天早晨，当米尔斯来到这所大房子时，管家到了门口来迎接他。

“哦，先生，”她说，“公爵去世了！他夜里离开了自己的房间到附近的某个地方去散步，在回房间的路上摔下楼，跌断了脖子。”

*　　*　　*

终于，米尔斯可以把在自己心头压了22年的沉重秘密说出来了。几年之后，他安详地去世了。

马尔伯瑞丘陵仍然盛产优质的绵羊和羊羔，但牧羊人们都不愿在“魔鬼之门”附近过夜。他们说，在圣诞节那周，那里经常能看到鬼魅般的白影。某种由闪亮金属制成的东西在月光下闪闪发光，一个男人的身影拖着重物穿过草丛。不过，没人敢肯定这些东西是真的。

A MOMENT OF MADNESS

一时冲动

1

A wedding is arranged

Most people who knew Baptista Trewthen agreed that there was nothing in her to love, and nothing in her to hate. She did not seem to feel very strongly about anything. But still waters run deep, and nothing had yet happened to make her show what lay hidden inside her, like gold underground.

Since her birth she had lived on St Maria's, an island off the south-west coast of England. Her father, a farmer, had spent a lot of money on sending her to school on the mainland. At nineteen she studied at a training college for teachers, and at twenty-one she found a teaching job in a town called Tor-upon-Sea, on the mainland coast.

Baptista taught the children as well as she could, but after a year had passed she seemed worried about something. Mrs Wace, her landlady, noticed the change in the young woman and asked her what the matter was.

'It has nothing to do with the town, or you,' replied Miss Trewthen. She seemed reluctant to say more.

'Then is it the pay?'

'No, it isn't the pay.'

'Is it something that you've heard from home, my dear?'

Baptista was silent for a few moments. Then she said, 'It's Mr Heddegan — David Heddegan. He's an old neighbour of ours on St Maria's, with no wife or family at all. When I was a child, he used to say he wanted to marry me one day. Now I'm a woman, it's no longer a joke, and he really wishes to do it. And my parents say I can't do better than have him.'

'Has he a lot of money?'

'Yes, he's the richest man that we know.'

'How much older than you is he?'

'Twenty years, maybe more.'

'And is he, perhaps, an unpleasant man?'

'No, he's not unpleasant.'

'Well, child, all I can say is this — don't accept this engagement if it doesn't please you. You're comfortable here in my house, I hope, and I like having you here.'

'Thank you, Mrs Wace. You're very kind to me. But here comes my difficulty. I don't like teaching. Ah, you're surprised. That's because I've hidden it from everyone. Well, I really hate school. The children are awful little things, who make trouble all day long. But even they are not as bad as the inspector. For the three months before his visit I woke up several times every night, worrying about it. It's so difficult knowing what to teach and what to leave untaught! I think father and mother are right. They say I'll never be a good teacher if I don't like the work, so I should marry Mr Heddegan and then I won't need to work. I don't know what to do, Mrs Wace. I like him better than teaching, but I don't like him enough to marry him.'

These conversations were continued from day to day, until at last the landlady decided to agree with Baptista's parents.

'Life will be much easier for you, my dear,' she told her young friend, 'if you marry this rich neighbour.'

In April Baptista went home to St Maria's for a short holiday, and when she returned, she seemed calmer.

'I have agreed to have him as my husband, so that's the end of it,' she told Mrs Wace.

In the next few months letters passed between Baptista and Mr Heddegan, but the girl preferred not to discuss her engagement with Mrs Wace. Later, she told her that she was leaving her job at the end of July, and the wedding was arranged for the first Wednesday in August.

madness n. very stupid behaviour that could be dangerous 疯狂

arrange v. to organize or make plans for something such as a meeting, party, or trip 安排；策划

mainland n. the main area of land that forms a country, as compared to islands near it 大陆；本土

engagement n. an agreement to marry someone 订婚；婚约

awful adj. very bad or unpleasant 糟糕的；恶劣的

1．订婚

大多数认识巴普蒂丝塔·特鲁森的人都认为她这个人既不招人喜欢，也不讨人厌。她对一切似乎都没什么感觉。然而静水深流，她拥有如地底金矿般深藏的内心，只不过还没有机会展现而己。

自打出生起，她就一直居住在英格兰西南海滨一个名叫圣玛丽亚的小岛上。她的父亲是一名农夫，花了很多钱送她到大陆的学校学习。19岁时，她就读于一所师范学校；21岁时，她在大陆沿海一座名叫托阿庞西的小镇上找到了一份教书的工作。

巴普蒂丝塔竭尽所能教孩子们念书。但一年后，她似乎为什么事担起了心。她的房东韦斯太太注意到了这位年轻姑娘的变化，于是问她有什么烦心事。

“跟这个镇子没什么关系，跟您也没关系。”特鲁森小姐答道。她似乎不愿多说什么。

“那么是跟薪水有关喽？”

“不，不是薪水的问题。”

“是不是你从家乡收到了什么消息，我亲爱的？”

巴普蒂丝塔沉默了一小会儿，然后说：“是因为赫德根先生——戴维·赫德根。他是我们在圣玛丽亚岛的一位老邻居，既没有妻子，也没有家人。我小时候，他曾说过想有朝一日娶我为妻。现在我已经是个大姑娘了，这也就不再是玩笑话了，而他真的想娶我。我父母说，没有什么比嫁给他更好的了。”

“他很有钱吗？”

“是的，他是我们所认识的最有钱的人。”

“他比你大多少？”

“20岁吧，也许还不止。”

“那，也许他是个令人讨厌的人？”

“不，他并不令人讨厌。”

“好吧，孩子，我所能说的就是——如果这桩婚事让你不开心，就不要接受它。你在我家过得舒舒服服的，但愿我没说错，而我也很喜欢你住在这儿。”

“谢谢您，韦斯太太。您对我太好了。可我也有我的难处。我不喜欢教书。啊，让您吃惊了吧。那是因为我对所有人都隐瞒了这一点。唉，我真的很讨厌学校。孩子们真是可怕的小东西，他们整天制造麻烦。可他们再坏也坏不过巡检员。在他来检查之前的三个月里，我夜夜都会担心得醒过来好几次。要知道该教什么和不该教什么简直太难了！我想爸爸妈妈是对的。他们说，如果我不喜欢这份工作，就永远也不会成为一名好教师，所以我应该嫁给赫德根先生，那样就不用再工作了。我不知道该怎么办，韦斯太太。我喜欢他胜过喜欢教书，可又还没有喜欢到想嫁给他的地步。”

类似的谈话日复一日地持续下去，最后，房东太太决定赞同巴普蒂丝塔父母的话。

“如果跟这位富有的邻居结婚的话，”她告诉自己这位年轻的朋友，“生活对你来说将会容易得多，亲爱的。”

4月，巴普蒂丝塔回到圣玛丽亚岛的家中休了一个短暂的假期，回来后看起来平静多了。

“我同意让他做我的丈夫了，这事就这么定了。”她告诉韦斯太太。

在接下来的几个月里，巴普蒂丝塔和赫德根先生之间不时有书信往还。不过，这位姑娘不太愿意跟韦斯太太谈论她的婚约。不久，她告诉韦斯太太她准备在7月底离职，而婚礼就定在8月的第一个星期三。

2

A chance meeting

When the end of July arrived, Baptista was in no hurry to return home to the island. She was not planning to buy any special clothes for the wedding, and her parents were making all the other arrangements. So she did not leave Tor-upon-Sea until the Saturday before her wedding. She travelled by train to the town of Pen-zephyr, but when she arrived, she found that the boat to St Maria's had left early, and there was no other boat until Tuesday. 'I'll have to stay here until then,' she thought. 'It's too far to go back to Mrs Wace's.' She did not seem to mind this — in fact, she was almost happy to wait another three nights before seeing her future husband.

She found a room in a small hotel, took her luggage there, then went out for a walk round the town.

'Baptista? Yes, Baptista it is!'

The words came from behind her. Turning round, she gave a jump, and stared. 'Oh, is it really you, Charles?' she said.

With a half-smile the newcomer looked her up and down. He appeared almost angry with her, but he said nothing.

'I'm going home,' she continued, 'but I've missed the boat.'

He did not seem interested in this news. 'Still teaching?' he said. 'What a fine teacher you make, Baptista, I'm sure!'

She knew that was not his real meaning. 'I know I'm not very good at teaching, 'she replied.' That's why I've stopped.'

'Oh, you've stopped? You surprise me.'

'I hate teaching.'

'Perhaps that's because I'm a teacher.'

'Oh no, it isn't. It's because I'm starting a new life. Next week I'm going to marry Mr David Heddegan.'

At this unexpected reply, the young man took a step back. 'Who is Mr David Heddegan?' he said, trying to sound bored.

'He owns a number of shops on St Maria's, and he's my father's neighbour and oldest friend.'

'So, no longer a schoolteacher, just a shopkeeper's wife. I knew you would never succeed as a teacher. You're like a woman who thinks she can be a great actress just because she has a beautiful face, and forgets she has to be able to act. But you found out your mistake early, didn't you?'

'Don't be unpleasant to me, Charles,' Baptista said sadly.

'I'm not being unpleasant — I'm just saying what is true, in a friendly way — although I do have good reason to be unpleasant to you. What a hurry you've been in, Baptista! I do hate a woman in a hurry!'

'What do you mean?'

'Well — in a hurry to be somebody's wife. Any husband is better than no husband for you, it seems. You couldn't wait for me, oh no! Well, thank God, that's all in the past for me!'

'Wait for you? What does that mean, Charley? You never showed that you felt anything special for me.'

'Oh really, Baptista dear!'

'What I mean is, there was nothing that I could be sure of. I suppose you liked me a little, but I didn't think you meant to make an honest engagement of it.'

'That's just it! You girls expect a man to talk about marrying after the first look! But I did mean to get engaged to you, you know.'

'But you never said so, and a woman can't wait for ever!'

'Baptista, I promise you that I was planning to ask you to marry me in six months' time.'

She appeared very uncomfortable, and they walked along in silence. Soon he said, 'Did you want to marry me then?'

And she whispered sadly back, 'Yes!'

As they walked on, away from the town and into the fields, her shoulder and his were close together. He held her arm with a strong hand. This seemed to say, 'Now I hold you, and you must do what I want.'

'How strange that we should meet like this!' said the young man. 'You and I could be husband and wife, going on our honeymoon together. But instead of that, we'll say goodbye in half an hour, perhaps for ever. Yes, life is strange!'

She stopped walking. 'I must go back. This is too painful, Charley! You're not being kind today.'

'I don't want to hurt you — you know I don't,' he answered more gently. 'But it makes me angry — what you're going to do. I don't think you should marry him.'

'I must do it, now that I've agreed.'

'Why?' he asked, speaking more seriously now. 'It's never too late to stop a wedding if you're not happy with it. Now — you could marry me, instead of him, although you were in too much of a hurry to wait for me!'

'Oh, it isn't possible to think of that!' she cried, shaking her head. 'At home everything will be ready for the wedding!'

'If we marry, it must be at once. This evening you can come back with me to Trufal, the town where I live. We can get married there on Tuesday, and then no Mr David Heddegan, or anyone else, can take you away from me!'

'But I must go home on the Tuesday boat,' she said worriedly. 'What will they think if I don't arrive?'

'You can go home on that boat just the same. The only difference is that I'll go with you. You'll tell your parents that you've married a young man with a good job, someone that you met at the training college. When I meet them, they'll accept that we're married and it can't be changed. And you won't be miserable for ever as the wife of an awful old man. Now honestly, you do like me best, don't you, Baptista?'

'Yes,' she whispered.

'Then we will do what I say.'

chance adj. not planned 偶然的

arrangement n. the things that you must organize so that an event, meeting etc can happen 安排；准备

luggage n. the cases, bags etc carried by someone who is travelling. 行李

bored adj. tired and impatient because you do not think something is interesting 厌烦的；不感兴趣的

honeymoon n. a holiday taken by two people who have just got married 蜜月

2．偶遇

7月底到来的时候，巴普蒂丝塔并不着急回岛上的家里去。她不打算特地为婚礼买什么衣服，而其他一切则由她的父母来安排。所以，她直到婚礼前的那个星期六才离开托阿庞西。她乘火车前往彭泽弗小镇，到达之后却发现到圣玛丽亚岛的船已经提前开走了，而且直到下星期二才会有别的船。“我只能在这儿等下一班船了，”她想，“回韦斯太太那里太远了。”她看样子并不介意——事实上，她甚至很高兴要再多等三个晚上才见到自己未来的丈夫。

她在一家小旅馆找了个房间，把行李放好，然后到小镇上去逛逛。

“巴普蒂丝塔？没错，是巴普蒂丝塔！”

这话从她背后传来。她吓了一跳，转过身盯着对方。“哦，真的是你吗，查尔斯？”她说。

来者似笑非笑地上下打量了她一番。他好像对她有些气恼，但却一言不发。

“我正准备回家，”她接着说，“但却没赶上船。”

他似乎对此不感兴趣。“还在教书吗？”他说道，“你一定是个好老师吧，巴普蒂丝塔，我敢肯定！”

她知道这并非他的本意。“我知道我并不擅长教书，”她答道，“所以我辞职了。”

“哦，你辞职了？这太让人吃惊了。”

“我讨厌教书。”

“也许那是因为我是个老师。”

“哦，不，当然不是。因为我要开始新的生活。下周我就要嫁给戴维·赫德根先生了。”

听到这个出乎意料的回答，小伙子往后退了一步。“戴维·赫德根先生是谁？”他说着，试图让语气显得有些厌烦。

“他在圣玛丽亚岛拥有很多商店，而且是我父亲的邻居和老朋友。”

“也就是说，你不再是学校的老师，而只是一个店主的妻子了。我就知道你永远不会胜任教师这项工作的。你就像一个自以为有了漂亮脸蛋就能成为优秀演员的女人，却忘了自己还必须懂得如何表演。不过，你及时发现了自己的错误，不是吗？”

“别扫我的兴，查尔斯。”巴普蒂丝塔忧伤地说。

“我不是扫你的兴——我只是在用一种友好的方式说出真话——尽管我有足够的理由来扫你的兴。你太草率了，巴普蒂丝塔！我讨厌草率的女人！”

“你指的是什么？”

“嗯——草率地成为某人的妻子。看情形，你似乎觉得有丈夫总比没丈夫强。你等不了我了，哦，不！嗯，感谢上帝，对我而言，一切都过去了！”

“等你？这是什么意思，查理？你从没表现出对我有什么特别的感觉呀。”

“哦，是真的吗，亲爱的巴普蒂丝塔！”

“我是说，我不敢确定。我猜你是有一点喜欢我，可我并不认为你真的会正儿八经地跟我订婚。”

“这话算是说到点子上了！你们女孩子总希望男人看你们一眼就谈婚论嫁！可我的确曾经打算跟你订婚，知道吗？”

“但你从没说过这话，一个女人总不能永远等下去吧！”

“巴普蒂丝塔，我发誓我曾经打算在6个月之内向你求婚。”

她显得很不自在，两人默默地往前走。没过多久，他问：“那时你想嫁给我吗？”

她忧伤地低声回答道：“想！”

他们走着走着，走出了小镇，来到田野里，两人的肩并在一起。他用一只有力的手抓住了她的胳膊，就像是在说：“现在我抓住你了，我想让你做什么你就得做什么。”

“我们这样见面真是太奇怪了！”小伙子说，“你我原本可以结为夫妻、一起度蜜月的，可这一切却没有发生。我们半小时后就要说再见了，也许永远无法再见。是啊，人生是多么奇怪啊！”

她停下了脚步。“我得回去了。这太痛苦了，查理！你今天太不友善了。”

“我不想伤害你——你知道我不想，”他温柔地回答道，“但你将要做的事使我很生气。我觉得你不应该嫁给他。”

“既然我已经同意了，就必须那么做。”

“为什么？”他问道，语气更加严肃了，“取消一场你不情愿的婚礼永远都不算晚。喏——你可以跟我结婚，而不是跟他，尽管你等了我没多久！”

“哦，想想就知道那是不可能的！”她摇着头喊道，“家里肯定已经把婚礼的一切都准备停当了！”

“如果我们要结婚，那就必须马上结。今天晚上你可以跟我回到我居住的小镇特鲁福去。我们星期二就可以在那里结婚，那么无论是戴维·赫德根还是其他什么人，都不能把你从我身边带走了！”

“可我必须坐星期二的船回家，”她焦虑地说，“如果我没回家，他们会怎么想呢？”

“你一样可以坐那趟船回家。唯一不同的是我会跟你一起回去。你可以告诉你父母，你嫁给了一位有体面工作的年轻人，是在培训学院认识的。等见面以后，他们就会接受我们结婚这个事实，这是无法改变的。你就永远不会因为嫁给一个可怕的老头而痛苦了。好了，老实说，你最喜欢的的确是我，是不是，巴普蒂丝塔？”

“是的。”她轻声说道。

“那咱们就照我说的办。”

3

Baptista gets married

That same afternoon Charles Stow and Baptista Trewthen travelled by train to the town of Trufal. Charles was, surprisingly, very careful of appearances, and found a room for Baptista in a different house from where he was staying. On Sunday they went to church and then walked around the town, on Monday Charles made the arrangements, and by nine o'clock on Tuesday morning they were husband and wife.

For the first time in her life Baptista had gone against her parents' wishes. She went cold with fear when she thought of their first meeting with her new husband. But she felt she had to tell them as soon as possible, and now the most important thing was to get home to St Maria's. So, in a great hurry, they packed their bags and caught the train to Pen-zephyr.

They arrived two hours before the boat left, so to pass the time they decided to walk along the cliffs a little way. It was a hot summer day, and Charles wanted to have a swim in the sea. Baptista did not like the idea of sitting alone while he swam. 'But I'll only be a quarter of an hour,' Charles said, and Baptista passively accepted this.

She sat high up on the cliffs, and watched him go down a footpath, disappear, appear again, and run across the beach to the sea. She watched him for a moment, then stared out to sea, thinking about her family. They were probably not worried about her, because she had sometimes missed the boat before, but they were expecting her to arrive today and to marry David Heddegan tomorrow. 'How angry father will be!' she thought miserably. 'And mother will say I've made a terrible mistake! I almost wish I hadn't married Charles, in that moment of madness! Oh dear, what have I done!'

This made her think of her new husband, and she turned to look for him. He did not appear to be in the sea any more, and she could not see him on the beach. By this time she was frightened, and she climbed down the path as quickly as her shaking legs could manage. On the beach she called two men to help her, but they said they could see nothing at all in the water. Soon she found the place where Charles had left his clothes, but by now the sea had carried them away.

For a few minutes she stood there without moving. There was only one way to explain this sudden disappearance — her husband had drowned. And as she stood there, it began to seem like a terrible dream, and the last three days of her life with Charles seemed to disappear. She even had difficulty in remembering his face. 'How unexpected it was, meeting him that day!' she thought. 'And the wedding did I really agree to it? Are we really married? It all happened so fast!'

She began to cry, still standing there on the beach. She did not know what to do, or even what to think. Finally, she remembered the boat, and catching the boat home seemed the easiest thing to do. So she walked to the station, arranged for someone to carry her luggage, and went down to the boat. She did all this automatically, in a kind of dream.

Just before the boat left, she heard part of a conversation which made her sure that Charles was dead. One passenger said to another, 'A man drowned here earlier today, you know. He swam out too far, they say. A stranger, I think. Some people in a boat saw him, but they couldn't get to him in time.'

The boat was a long way out to sea before Baptista realized that Mr Heddegan was on the boat with her. She saw him walking towards her and quickly took the wedding ring off her left hand.

'I hope you're well, my dear?' he said. He was a healthy, red-faced man of fifty-five. 'I wanted to come across to meet you. What bad luck that you missed the boat on Saturday!'

And Baptista had to agree, and smile, and make conversation. Mr Heddegan had spoken to her before she was ready to say anything. Now the moment had passed.

When the boat arrived, her parents were there to meet her. Her father walked home beside Mr Heddegan, while her mother walked next to Baptista, talking all the time.

'I'm so happy, my child,' said Mrs Trewthen in her loud, cheerful voice, 'that you've kept your promise to marry Mr Heddegan. How busy we've been! But now things are all ready for the wedding, and a few friends and neighbours are coming in for supper this evening.' Again, the moment for confessing had passed, and Baptista stayed silent.

When they reached home, Mrs Trewthen said, 'Now, Baptista, hurry up to your room and take off your hat, then come downstairs. I must go to the kitchen.'

The young woman passively obeyed her mother's orders. The evening was a great success for all except Baptista. She had no chance to tell her parents the news, and it was already much more difficult than it had been at first. By the end of the evening, when all the neighbours had left, she found herself alone in her bedroom again. She had come home with much to say, and had said none of it. She now realized that she was not brave enough to tell her story. And as the clock struck midnight, she decided it should stay untold.

Morning came, and when she thought of Charles, it was more with fear than with love. Her mother called from downstairs, 'Baptista! Time to get up! Mr Heddegan will be at the church in three-quarters of an hour!'

Baptista got out of bed, looked out of the window, and took the easy way. She put her best clothes on, confessed nothing, and kept her promise to marry David Heddegan.

appearance n. the unexpected or sudden arrival of someone or something. （出其不意的）到来；出现

cliff n. a high rock with a very steep side, near the sea （海边的）悬崖

passively adv. tending to accept situations or things that other people do, without attempting to change or fight against them 被动地；顺从地

drown v. to die from being under water for too long 溺死

automatically adv. done without thinking 无意识地

3．结婚

当天下午，查尔斯·斯托和巴普蒂丝塔·特鲁森就坐火车去了小镇特鲁福。令人惊讶的是，查尔斯对他们二人的行踪十分谨慎。他在另一座房子里为巴普蒂丝塔找了个房间。星期日，他们去了教堂，然后绕着小镇散了散步。星期一，查尔斯安排好了一切，到星期二上午9点，他们就结为了夫妻。

这是巴普蒂丝塔生平第一次违背父母的意愿。一想到父母与新婚丈夫第一次见面的情形，她就害怕得浑身发冷。但她还是觉得必须尽快把这事告诉他们，于是回圣玛丽亚岛上的家里去就成了最重要的事。因此，他们匆匆忙忙地收拾好行李，搭上了去往彭泽弗的火车。

他们在开船前两小时到了那里，于是决定沿着海崖散一小会儿步，借此打发时间。时值夏季，气候炎热，查尔斯很想到海里游个泳，巴普蒂丝塔却不太愿意在他游泳的时候独自坐着。“可我只游一刻钟。”查尔斯说道，巴普蒂丝塔顺从地答应了。

她坐在高高的海崖上，看着他从一条小路走下去，身影消失了一会儿，继而又出现在视野里，穿过海滩跑向大海。她看了他一会儿，将目光转向大海，想着她的家人。他们也许并不太担心她，因为之前她也误过几次船。不过他们一定在盼着她今天到家，明天好嫁给戴维·赫德根。“爸爸会多么生气啊，”她痛苦地想着，“而妈妈一定会说我犯了个可怕的错误！我甚至希望自己没有因为一时冲动而嫁给查尔斯！哦，天啊，我都干了些什么啊！”

这使她想起了新婚的丈夫，于是转而开始搜寻他的身影。看起来，他已经不在海里了，可她也没在海岸上看见他。她这下子可吓坏了，赶紧拖着颤抖的双腿用最快的速度冲下小路。到了海滩上，她找了两个人来帮忙，可他们说海里什么都看不到。很快，她找到了查尔斯放衣服的地方，此时海水早已把衣服冲走了。

她在原地呆立了好几分钟。只有一个理由能解释她丈夫的突然失踪——他溺水身亡了。她呆立在那儿，一切就像一场噩梦，而她和查尔斯共度的这三天就像凭空消失了一样。她甚至很难想起他的模样来。“那天和他的相遇是多么出其不意啊！”她想，“我真的同意举行婚礼了吗？我们真的结婚了吗？这一切发生得太快了！”

她站在海滩上哭了起来，不知道该做什么，甚至不知道该想什么。最后，她想起了船，看样子最简单的事就是坐船回家了。于是她走到码头，叫人帮忙提着行李上了船。她机械地做着这些事情，如同梦游一般。

就在开船前，她听到了一小段对话，让她确信查尔斯真的死了。一名旅客对另一名旅客说：“今天早些时候有个男人在这里溺死了，知道吗。他们说他游得太远了。我猜他是个异乡人。有人在船上看见了他，但却没来得及赶过去。”

船在海上驶出了很远，巴普蒂丝塔才意识到赫德根先生跟她在同一条船上。她看到他朝自己走过来，于是飞快地将左手上的结婚戒指撸了下来。

“希望你一切都好，亲爱的。”他说。他55岁，身体健康，红光满面。“我想要过来接你。你星期六误了船，真是不走运啊！”

巴普蒂丝塔只得点头赞同，微笑着跟他交谈。赫德根先生还没等她开口就已经跟她聊了起来。而现在，坦言一切的时机已经过去了。

船靠岸时，她的父母已经在那儿迎接她了。父亲与赫德根先生并肩往家走，母亲则走在巴普蒂丝塔身旁，喋喋不休地边走边说。

“我很高兴，我的孩子，”特鲁森太太兴奋地大声说，“很高兴你能信守诺言嫁给赫德根先生。我们都快忙坏啦！不过，现在婚礼上的一切都准备好了，今天晚上就会有几个朋友和邻居来吃晚餐。”坦白一切的时机再一次错过了，巴普蒂丝塔一直保持着沉默。

到家后，特鲁森太太说：“巴普蒂丝塔，快回你的房间摘下帽子，然后下楼来。我得去厨房了。”

年轻的姑娘听从了母亲的吩咐。整个晚上，除了巴普蒂丝塔之外，人人都很开心。她没有机会跟父母坦白，而现在要说出来更是难上加难了。晚餐结束时，邻居们纷纷走了，她发现自己再一次独自待在了卧室里。她回家本来有满腹的话要说，但却什么都没说出来。她这才意识到自己没勇气说出自己的故事。钟敲12点的时候，她终于决定对此只字不提。

到了早上，她想起了查尔斯，心里更多的是恐怖而不是爱。母亲在楼下喊：“巴普蒂丝塔！该起床了！赫德根先生会在45分钟内到达教堂！”

巴普蒂丝塔从床上起身望着窗外，选择了一条平坦的道路。她穿上自己最好的衣裳，没露一点儿口风，信守诺言嫁给了戴维·赫德根。

4

The honeymoon

Mr Heddegan did not worry about his new wife's coldness towards him during and after the wedding. 'I know she was reluctant to marry me,' he thought, 'but that will pass. Things'll be different in a few months' time!'

During the wedding dinner, someone asked Heddegan about the honeymoon. To Baptista's horror, he answered, 'Oh, we're going to spend a few days in Pen-zephyr.'

'What!' cried Baptista. 'I know nothing of this!'

Because of her late arrival, Heddegan had not been able to ask where she would like to spend the honeymoon, so he had arranged a trip to the mainland. It was difficult to change these plans at the last minute, so she had to agree, and that evening she and her new husband arrived in Pen zephyr.

Their first problem was finding a hotel, because the fine weather had filled the town with tourists. They walked from place to place, Heddegan polite and friendly, Baptista cold and silent. Finally they found an excellent hotel, which to their surprise was empty. Kindly Mr Heddegan, who wanted to please his young wife, asked for the best room on the first floor, with a good view of the sea.

'I'm sorry,' said the landlady, 'there's a gentleman in that room.' Then, seeing Heddegan's disappointed face, and not wishing to lose a customer, she added quickly, 'But perhaps the gentleman will agree to move to another room, and then you can have the one that you want.'

'Well, if he doesn't want a view...' said Mr Heddegan.

'Oh no, I'm sure he doesn't. And if you don't mind going for a little walk, I'll have the room ready when you return.'

During their walk, Baptista was careful to choose different streets from those that she had walked down with Charles, and her white face showed how difficult this visit was for her. At last they returned to the hotel, and were shown into the best bedroom. They sat at the window, drinking tea. Although Heddegan had arranged for a sea view, to please Baptista, she did not look out of the window once, but kept her eyes on the floor and walls of the room.

Suddenly she noticed a hat on the back of the door. It was just like the hat that Charles had worn. She stared harder; yes, it was the actual hat! She fell back in her chair.

Her husband jumped up, saying worriedly, 'You're not well! What can I get ye?'

'Smelling salts!' she said quickly, her voice shaking a little. 'From the shop near the station!'

He ran out of the room. Baptista rang the bell, and when a young girl came, whispered to her, 'That hat! Whose is it?'

'Oh, I'm sorry, I'll take it away,' said the girl hurriedly. She took the hat off the door. 'It belongs to the other gentleman.'

'Where is — the other gentleman?' asked Baptista.

'He's in the next room, madam. He was in here.'

'But I can't hear him! I don't think he's there.'

'He makes no noise, but he's there,' replied the girl.

Suddenly Baptista understood what the girl meant, and a cold hand lay on her heart.

'Why is he so silent?' she whispered.

'If I tell you, please don't say anything to the landlady,' begged the girl, 'or I'll lose my job! It's because he's dead. He's the young teacher who drowned yesterday. They brought his body here, and that's why there's nobody staying in the hotel. People don't like a dead body in the house. But we've changed the sheets and cleaned the room, madam!'

Just then Heddegan arrived with the smelling salts, and the girl left the room. 'Any better?' he asked Baptista.

'I don't like the hotel!' she cried. 'We'll have to leave!'

For the first time Heddegan spoke crossly to his wife. 'Now that's enough, Baptista! First you want one thing, then another! It's cost me enough, in money and words, to get this fine room, and it's too much to expect me to find another hotel at this time of the evening. We'll stay quietly here tonight, do ye hear? And find another place tomorrow.'

The young woman said no more. Her mind was cold with horror. That night she lay between the two men who she had married, David Heddegan on one side, and, on the other side through the bedroom wall, Charles Stow.

tourist n. someone who is travelling or visiting a place for pleasure 游客；观光客

smelling salts n. a strong-smelling chemical that you hold under someone's nose to make them conscious again 嗅盐（一种苏醒剂）

4．蜜月

赫德根先生并不担心新婚妻子在婚礼上以及婚礼之后对自己的冷淡态度。“我知道她不愿意嫁给我，”他想，“但这会过去的。过几个月就不一样了！”

在婚宴上，有人问赫德根打算如何度蜜月。让巴普蒂丝塔惊恐的是，他回答道：“哦，我们打算到彭泽弗去待几天。”

“什么！”巴普蒂丝塔叫道，“这我怎么不知道！”

因为她的晚归，赫德根没来得及问她愿意去哪里度蜜月，于是便安排了一次大陆旅行。在最后一分钟改变计划很困难，她只得同意了，并在那天晚上同她的新婚丈夫一起到达了彭泽弗。

他们遇到的第一个麻烦就是找旅馆，因为好天气使得小镇的游客人满为患。他们到处奔走，赫德根礼貌而友好，巴普蒂丝塔则冷淡而沉默。最后，他们找到了一家不错的旅馆。令人惊奇的是，那里竟然没人入住。赫德根先生一心想讨好他的年轻妻子，于是就要了一间二层最好的房间，可以很好地观看大海。

“很抱歉，”老板娘说，“那间屋子里住着一位先生。”接着，她看到了赫德根失望的脸，不愿意因此失去一位顾客，于是赶紧补充道：“不过，或许那位先生会同意搬到另一个房间去，那你们就能住心仪的那一间了。”

“好吧，如果他不想看海景的话……”赫德根先生说。

“哦，不，我相信他不想看。如果你们不介意的话，请出去散一小会儿步。等你们回来的时候，我就已经把房间准备好了。”

散步的时候，巴普蒂丝塔很小心地选择了那些没有和查尔斯一起走过的街道。从她苍白的脸色上不难看出，这次观光对她来说有多难熬。最后，他们返回了旅馆，被领进了最好的卧室。他们在窗前坐下喝茶。尽管赫德根要了海景房间来取悦巴普蒂丝塔，她却不曾向窗外看过一眼，反倒将目光盯死在了地板和房间的墙壁上。

突然，她看到门背后有一顶帽子，像是查尔斯戴过的那顶。她睁大眼睛看了个仔细，没错，就是那顶帽子！她跌坐在椅子上。

她的丈夫跳将起来，担心地问：“你不舒服！要我帮你拿点什么吗？”

“嗅盐！”她赶紧答道，声音微微有些颤抖，“码头附近那家商店有卖的！”

他跑出了房间。巴普蒂丝塔摁响了铃，一个年轻女孩走了进来。她悄声问女孩：“那顶帽子！那是谁的？”

“哦，很抱歉。我把它拿走吧。”女孩赶紧说道，把帽子从门上取了下来。“这是另一位先生的。”

“另一位先生——他在哪儿？”巴普蒂丝塔问。

“他在隔壁房间，夫人。他原本住在这儿。”

“可我听不到他的动静！我想他不在隔壁。”

“他没有任何动静，可他确实在。”女孩答道。

突然，巴普蒂丝塔明白了女孩的意思，觉得仿佛有一只冰冷的手放在了自己心上。

“他为什么这么安静？”她低声问。

“如果我告诉你，请千万别跟老板娘说，”女孩恳求道，“要不我会丢掉工作的！那是因为他已经死了。他就是昨天溺死的年轻教师。他们把他的尸体搬到了这儿来，所以这家旅馆没人住。人们不喜欢屋子里有个死人。不过我们已经换过床单、打扫过房间了，夫人！”

就在这时，赫德根带着嗅盐回来了，女孩走出了房间。“好些了吗？”他问巴普蒂丝塔。

“我不喜欢这个旅馆！”她叫道，“我们必须离开这里！”

赫德根第一次冲妻子发了脾气：“够了，巴普蒂丝塔！你太得寸进尺了！我花了很多的钱和口舌才住进这个好房间，让我这大晚上的再另找一家旅馆简直是痴心妄想。我们今晚上就安安静静地待在这儿，听见了吗？明天再另外找地方。”

年轻的女人没再多说什么。她的思维因恐惧而僵住了。那晚，她躺在自己嫁过的两个男人之间，卧室墙的这边是戴维·赫德根，墙那边则是查尔斯·斯托。

5

Secrets discovered

Mr and Mrs Heddegan both felt the honeymoon was not a success. They were happy to return to the island and start married life together in David Heddegan's large house. Baptista soon became as calm and passive as she had been before. She even smiled when neighbours called her Mrs Heddegan, and she began to enjoy the comfortable life that a rich husband could offer her. She did nothing at all to stop people finding out about her first marriage to Charles Stow, although there was always a danger of that happening.

One evening in September, when she was standing in her garden, a workman walked past along the road. He seemed to recognize her, and spoke to her in friendly surprise.

'What! Don't you know me?' he asked.

'I'm afraid I don't,' said Baptista.

'I was your witness, madam. I was mending the church window when you and your young man came to get married. Don't you remember? The vicar called me, to be a witness.'

Baptista looked quickly around. Heddegan was at the other end of the garden but unluckily, just at that moment, he turned and walked towards the house. 'Are you coming in, my dear?' he called out to Baptista.

The workman stared at him. 'That's not your—' he began, then he saw Baptista's face and stopped. Baptista was unable to speak, and the workman began to realize that there was a little mystery here. 'I've been unlucky since then,' he continued, still staring at Baptista's white face. 'It's hard finding enough work to buy food for my wife and myself. Perhaps you could help me, because I once helped you?'

Baptista gave him some money, and hoped never to see him again. But he was cleverer than he looked. By asking questions on the island and the mainland, he soon realized that Baptista had married one man on Tuesday, and another man on Wednesday. He visited her again two days later.

'It was a mystery to me, madam!' he said, when she opened the door. 'But now I understand it all. I want to tell you, madam, that I'm not a man to make trouble between husband and wife. But I'm going back to the mainland again, and I need a little more money. If your old man finds out about your first husband, I'm sure he won't like it, will he?'

She knew he was right, and paid him what he wanted. A week later the workman sent his wife to ask for more money, and again Baptista paid. But when there was a fourth visit, she refused to pay, and shut the door in the man's surprised face.

She knew she had to tell her husband everything. She liked him better now than she had done at first, and did not want to lose him, but her secret was no longer safe. She went to find him, and said, 'David, I have something to tell you.'

'Yes, my dear,' he said with a sigh. In the last week he had been less cheerful and had seemed worried about something.

When they were both in the sitting room, she said, 'David, perhaps you will hate me for this, but I must confess something that I've hidden from you. It happened before we were married. And it's about a lover.'

'I don't mind. In fact, I was hoping it was more than that.'

'Well, it was. I met my old lover by chance, and he asked me, and — well, I married him. We were coming here to tell you, but he drowned, and I said nothing about him, and then I married you, David, for peace and quietness. Now you'll be angry with me, I know you will!'

She spoke wildly, and expected her husband to shout and scream. But instead, the old man jumped up and began to dance happily around the room.

'Oh, wonderful!' he cried. 'How lucky! My dear Baptista, I see a way out of my difficulty — ha-ha!'

'What do you mean?' she asked, afraid he had gone mad.

'Oh my dear, I've got something to confess too! You see, I was friendly with a woman in Pen-zephyr for many years — very friendly, you could say — and in the end I married her just before she died. I kept it secret, but people here are beginning to talk. And I've got four big girls to think of—'

'Oh David, four daughters!' she cried in horror.

'That's right, my dear. I'm sorry to say they haven't been to school at all. I'd like to bring them to live here with us, and I thought, by marrying a teacher, I could get someone to teach them, all for nothing. What do you think, Baptista?'

'Four grown girls, always around the house! And I hate teaching, it kills me! But I must do it, I can see that. I am punished for that moment of madness, I really am!'

Here the conversation ended. The next day Baptista had to welcome her husband's daughters into her home. They were not good-looking or intelligent or even well-dressed, and poor Baptista could only look forward to years of hard work with them. She went about, sighing miserably, with no hope for the future.

But when Heddegan asked her a month later, 'How do you like 'em now?' her answer was unexpected.

'Much better than at first,' she said. 'I may like them very much one day.'

And so began a more pleasant time for Baptista Heddegan. She had discovered what kind, gentle girls these unwelcome daughters were. At first she felt sorry for them, then grew to like them. And from liking, she grew to love them. In the end they brought her and her husband closer together, and so Baptista and David were able to put the past behind them and find unexpected happiness in their married life.

witness n. at a wedding, someone who writes their name in the church register to prove they saw the marriage happen 证婚人

mystery n. something that is impossible to understand or explain, or about which little is known 谜

punish v. to make someone suffer because they have done something wrong 惩罚

intelligent adj. good at understanding ideas and thinking quickly and clearly 聪明的；悟性强的

5．泄密

赫德根先生和太太都觉得蜜月过得不怎么样。他们很高兴能重返小岛，在戴维·赫德根的大房子里开始婚后生活。巴普蒂丝塔很快就变得和从前一样平静而顺从了。她开始享受一位富有的丈夫所能提供的安逸生活，听见邻居叫自己赫德根太太的时候甚至还会微笑。她没有刻意做什么来阻止人们揭发她跟查尔斯·斯托的第一次婚姻，尽管这种危险性随时存在。

9月的一天晚上，她站在花园里，一名工人从旁边的小路经过。他似乎认出了她，友好而惊讶地跟她打了个招呼。

“什么！难道您不认识我了吗？”他问道。

“恐怕是不认识。”巴普蒂丝塔说。

“我是您的证婚人，夫人。您和您年轻的丈夫结婚的时候，我正在修理教堂的窗户呢，您不记得了吗？牧师当时叫我当了证婚人。”

巴普蒂丝塔迅速环顾四周。赫德根在花园的另一头，他正巧在这一刻转身，朝着房子走去。“你进来吗，我亲爱的？”他对巴普蒂丝塔大声喊道。

工人瞪着他看。“那该不是你的——”他张口就说。接着，他看见了巴普蒂丝塔的脸，闭上了嘴。巴普蒂丝塔说不出话来，工人开始意识到这其中定有玄机。“从那以后我一直不走运，”他盯着巴普蒂丝塔苍白的脸，接着说，“我很难找到足够的工作来给自己和妻子糊口。你不妨帮帮我吧，因为我曾经帮过你。”

巴普蒂丝塔给了他一些钱，希望永远也不要再见到他。可他远比看上去聪明。在询问了一些岛上和大陆的人以后，他很快便意识到巴普蒂丝塔在星期二嫁给了一个男人，而星期三又嫁给了另一个男人。两天之后，他再次拜访了她。

“这对我来说曾是个谜，夫人！”她打开门时，他说道，“现在我全都明白了。我想告诉您，夫人，我不是那种在夫妻之间制造矛盾的人。但我打算再回到大陆上去，因此还需要一小笔钱。如果您老公发现您第一任丈夫的事，我敢保证他会不高兴的，对吧？”

她知道他说得没错，于是便如了他的愿。一个星期后，工人又派他的老婆来要更多的钱，巴普蒂丝塔又一次满足了她。但等到工人第四次上门来的时候，她拒绝付钱，当面把一脸惊诧的工人关在了门外。

她知道自己必须向丈夫坦白一切。她现在比起初更喜欢他了，而且也不想失去他，可她已无法再保守自己的秘密。她找到他，说：“戴维，我有些事情要告诉你。”

“好的，亲爱的。”他叹了口气说道。一个星期以来，他一直闷闷不乐，似乎在为什么事担心。

他们一同来到客厅，她说：“戴维，或许你会因此而恨我，但我必须向你坦白我曾对你隐瞒的一些事。那发生在我们结婚之前，是关于一个情人的。”

“我不介意。事实上，我觉得事情没这么简单。”

“呃，是的。我当时偶遇了旧情人，他向我求婚，并且——呃，我跟他结了婚。我们正准备回来告诉你，可他却淹死了，而我没向你提起过关于他的任何事。接着我嫁给了你，戴维，为了得到平和安静的生活。好了，你冲我发火吧，我知道你会的！”

她言辞激烈，希望丈夫对她大吼大叫。然而，老头子却蹦了起来，开始绕着房间欢快地跳舞。

“噢，太棒了！”他大叫道，“多走运啊！我亲爱的巴普蒂丝塔，我看到了走出困境的路——哈哈！”

“你在说什么？”她问道，担心他气疯了。

“噢，亲爱的，我也有些事要对你坦白！你知道，我和彭泽弗的一个女人保持了多年的友好关系——非常友好，可以这么说——最后，我在她死前娶了她。我对这事一直守口如瓶，可这里的人却开始谈论这事。而且我还得操心四个已经长大的女儿——”

“噢，戴维，四个女儿！”她惊恐地叫道。

“没错，亲爱的。很抱歉告诉你，她们从没上过学。我想把她们带到这里和我们一起住。而且我想，娶一个老师就有人教她们了，一分钱都不用花。你觉得怎么样，巴普蒂丝塔？”

“四个长大成人的女孩，无时无刻不待在家里！而且我讨厌教书，那简直折磨死我了！但我明白我必须那么做。我要为那一时的冲动接受惩罚，我罪有应得！”

谈话就此结束。第二天，巴普蒂丝塔只得迎接丈夫的女儿们来到她家。她们既不漂亮又不聪慧，连衣着也毫不起眼。可怜的巴普蒂丝塔只能从她们身上看见未来数年的辛苦工作。她痛苦地叹着气开始工作，对未来不再抱半点希望。

但当赫德根在一个月后问她：“你现在觉得她们怎么样？”的时候，她的回答出人意料。

“比一开始好多了，”她说，“总有一天我会非常喜欢她们的。”

于是，巴普蒂丝塔·赫德根的日子就更好打发了。她发现这些不受欢迎的女儿们其实既善良又温柔。刚开始，她替她们感到悲哀，接着渐渐开始喜欢她们，后来又从喜欢转变为喜爱。最终，女儿们使得她和丈夫之间的关系比以前更加紧密了。就这样，巴普蒂丝塔和戴维终于放下往事，在婚后的生活中找到了意想不到的幸福。

ACTIVITIES

Before Reading

1．Read the introduction of the book. Who or what do you think you will find in these stories? Look at the story titles and choose from these lists.

The Three Strangers

What the Shepherd Saw

A Moment of Madness

a duke

a school

sheep

a ghost

a party

horses

a pilot

a honeymoon

secret meetings

a jealous husband

a car chase

emails

a prisoner

a death

chickens

a mad person

a murder

lambs

2．What can you guess about these stories? Choose endings for these sentences. (You can choose more than one if you like.)

The Three Strangers

1) The first stranger comes to the cottage because...

(a) he is running away from something.

(b) he wants to dry his clothes.

(c) he is looking for somebody.

2) The second stranger comes to the cottage because...

(a) he is running away from something.

(b) he wants to dry his clothes.

(c) he is looking for somebody.

What the Shepherd Saw

3) The young shepherd boy sees a secret meeting between...

(a) a woman and her brother.

(b) a woman and her lover.

(c) a woman and her cousin.

4) The next night there is a meeting between...

(a) the same woman and the same man.

(b) the same man and the woman's husband.

(c) the same woman and her husband.

A Moment of Madness

5) The teacher is going to marry an older man...

(a) to please her parents.

(b) to please herself.

(c) to escape from her job as a teacher.

6) At the end of this story the teacher...

(a) is married to a different man.

(b) is married to the older man.

(c) is married to her second husband.

3．Before you read the first story, The Three Strangers, what do you think is going to happen? Answer each question with Y (yes), N (no) or P (perhaps).

1) Will the first stranger leave the cottage in a hurry when the second stranger arrives? Y / N / P

2) Will someone die before the end of the story? Y / N / P

3) Will the story end happily? Y / N / P

ACTIVITIES

While Reading

1．Read The Three Strangers, to the middle of Chapter 3 The third stranger. Who said this, and to whom? Who or what were they talking about?

1) 'There's only one more thing that I need to make me happy.'

2) 'Oh, but you can't stop making this!'

3) 'He hasn't gone far, I'm sure.'

4) 'We'll save ourselves all that trouble.'

2．Before you finish reading The Three Strangers, can you guess the answers to these questions? Choose from these ideas (you can choose more than one).

1) Who is the third stranger?

(a) The escaped prisoner.

(b) A madman.

(c) A clockmaker.

(d) The prisoner's brother.

(e) A man with a terrible secret.

(f) A man who has seen a ghost.

2) What do you think will happen at the end of the story?

(a) The prison officers will catch the escaped prisoner.

(b) The hangman will do his work at the prison tomorrow.

(c) The shepherd and his friends will go to prison because they let the clockmaker escape.

(d) The clockmaker will escape, and no one will ever see him again.

3．Read What the Shepherd Saw, to the end of Chapter 3 Third night. Before you finish the story, can you guess what happens? Choose T (true) or F (false) for each of these ideas.

1) Bill Mills keeps his promise, and while the Duke is alive, he never tells anyone about Fred Ogbourne's murder. T / F

2) The Duke kills the boy, to stop him telling the truth. T/F

3) The Duchess discovers the murder, and leaves the Duke. T/ F

4) The Duke confesses, and is sent to prison. T / F

5) Another person who saw the murder talks about it. T/F

6) Mills has a happy life at Shakeforest Towers. T / F

7) The true story only comes out after the Duke's death. T/F

4．Read A Moment of Madness, to the middle of Chapter 5 Secrets discovered. Before you finish the story, can you guess what happens next? Choose some of these ideas.

Baptista...

1) tells her husband everything.

2) does nothing, hoping that the workman will lose interest.

3) arranges to pay the workman some money every month.

4) asks her mother what she should do.

If David Heddegan learns the truth, he will...

5) be angry, and send Baptista back to her family.

6) be happy, because he has a secret of his own to confess.

7) be disappointed with Baptista, because she was not honest with him.

8) do something which Baptista feels is a punishment.

ACTIVITIES

After Reading

1．Perhaps this is what some of the characters in the stories were thinking. Which characters are they (two from each story), and what has just happened in the story?

1) 'Is that really her walking down the street? The farmer's daughter who seemed so sure she'd be a good teacher! She's prettier than ever — I wonder if she still likes me?'

2) 'Now, I'll go up to the hut very quietly through the trees and see if that boy o' mine is asleep inside. Wait — who's this? The Duke! What's he doing up here? Oh no, no!'

3) 'What am I going to do? There's Jeb, and the man next to him is saying he's the hangman! I mustn't show that I recognize Jeb... I'll have to run away — now!'

4) 'That's his horse on the road, I know it is. He's come home a day early. I'll run down at once and tell him about Fred. Then he can't be jealous if Fred comes to the house.'

5) 'Well, here's a mystery! What happened to the young man she married when I was a witness? Perhaps I can make some money out of this. I'll be back, lady, I'll be back!'

6) 'I'11 walk all night now, after that cake and mead. My poor brother — his face was so white! Good thing he ran away — they'll be busy chasing him for a while, and I can get away.'

2．A prison officer is talking to the hangman, the day after the strangers visited the cottage. Put their conversation in the right order, and write in who the speakers are. The officer speaks first (number 2).

1) ______ 'But that's my man, surely!'

2) ______ 'I'm sorry, you'll have no work to do this morning.'

3) ______ 'Yes, you have! You were sitting next to him!'

4) ______ 'Yes. The man in the chimney corner drinking mead with you and smoking his pipe — he was our prisoner!'

5) ______ 'Why's that then? Didn't the men at the cottage catch the escaped prisoner last night?'

6) ______ 'No, he's the prisoner's brother. He was on his way to make his last visit to him in Casterbridge prison.'

7) ______ 'What! You don't mean to say —'

8) ______ 'No, they only caught a little man with fair hair.'

9) ______ 'So where's the prisoner himself then? Hasn't anybody seen him since he escaped?'

3．Here are some different titles for the stories. Which ones are suitable for which stories? Explain why. Which titles do you prefer? Can you think of any more?

· The Hangman's Visit

· The Devil's Door

· An Honest Wife

· A Wanted Man

· Death by Drowning

· The Wedding Witness

· Mead and Mystery

· Meetings by Moonlight

· Honeymoon of Horror

· A Hidden Grave

· Footpath to Freedom

· The Two Husbands

4．Here is Baptista telling her mother about David Heddegan's secret. Complete Baptista's part of the conversation.

MOTHER: You look worried, dear. Is anything the matter?

BAPTISTA: __________.

MOTHER: Really? What kind of secret?

BAPTISTA: _________.

MOTHER: He married her? Well, she's dead now, dear, and at least there are no children to worry about!

BAPTISTA: __________.

MOTHER: What! Four daughters! And what's he going to do with them?

BAPTISTA: __________.

MOTHER: Oh no! He can't do this to you, Baptista, and we must stop him!

5．At the end of the conversation above, there are two ways that Baptista could reply to her mother. She could confess her own secret, or she could say nothing about it and pretend she doesn't mind. Write the two different replies below.

1) Baptista: We can't stop him, because ______.

2) Baptista: No, don't say anything. Perhaps _____.

6．What did you think about the secrets in this story? Do you agree or disagree with these statements? Explain why.

1) David's secret was much worse than Baptista's.

2) It is always better to tell the truth.

3) There are times when the truth is not necessary.

7．After the Duke died, Bill Mills was able to talk about his secret at last. Complete what he says with the linking words below. (Use each one once.)

after / although / and / and / because / but / but / if / so / that / to / until / what / what / when / where / who

It all happened up at the Devil's Door. Captain Ogbourne, ______ was the Duchess's cousin, came to meet her there. I was looking out of the window of the hut, ______ I could see everything. He had come ______ tell her he loved her, and, ______ she didn't say she still loved him, she agreed to meet him the next night. ______ they'd gone, the Duke appeared from behind the stones. I realize now ______ he thought they were lovers, ______ he was too far away to hear ______ they were saying. The next night he arrived early, ______ waited in the hut ______ I was hiding. ______ the Captain arrived, the Duke went out and killed him. ______ you look in that hole behind the Devil's Door, you'll find ______'s left of his dead body. I know it was wrong to keep it a secret all these years, ______I was only a boy then. The Duke made me promise to stay silent ______ I kept that promise ______ he died, ______, like everybody else, I've always been afraid of him.

8．Which of these characters did you like, or dislike? Which did you feel sorry for? Give your reasons.

· The clockmaker / His brother / The hangman

· Bill Mills / The Duke / The Duchess / Fred Ogbourne

· Baptista / Charles Stow / David Heddegan

京权图字01-2006-3301

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. ©2000

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

伊桑·弗罗姆 = Ethan Frome／（美）华顿（Wharton, E.）著；（英）金斯利（Kingsley, S.）改写；金辉译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2007.7（2014.4 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-6816-9

Ⅰ．伊…　Ⅱ．①华…②金…③金…　Ⅲ．①英语—汉语—对照读物②长篇小说—美国—近代　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（2007）第104902号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：王霖霖

封面设计：孙莉明

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：2007年7月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-6816-9

*　　*　　*

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内容简介

20世纪早期，马萨诸塞州农场上的生活并不轻松。新英格兰地区的冬季气候恶劣，冰雪覆盖大地长达数月之久，夜晚漫长而寒冷。像伊桑·弗罗姆这样的穷苦农民，生活中很少有快乐的时候。

伊桑是个慢性子，少言寡语的，但他对事物的感受很强烈，他感受着身边世界的美丽——没有月亮的夜晚，星星在天空中闪烁；阳光映照的白雪上，树木投下蓝色的影子。他体味着生活中那份悲哀的孤独——囚禁在无爱的婚姻中，妻子齐娜冷漠寡言，只在乎自己的病情。但齐娜的表妹玛蒂·西尔弗来到了农场，与他们住在一起。时间一个月一个月地过去，一种幸福感悄悄地进入了伊桑的生活。他喜欢隔着餐桌注视玛蒂的脸庞，看她甜美的笑容，听她柔和的声音，和她手挽手走过雪野。

齐娜很少说什么，可她那双冷酷、警觉的眼睛却能看到一切……

ETHAN FROME

In the early years of the 20th century, life on a farm in Massachusetts is not easy. The New England winters are hard; snow and ice cover the fields for months, and the nights are long and cold. For a poor farmer like Ethan Frome, life has few bright moments.

Ethan is a slow, quiet man, but he feels things strongly. He feels the beauty of the world around him — stars shining in a moonless sky, the blue shadows of trees on sunlit snow. He feels the sad loneliness of his life, locked in a loveless marriage to Zeena, a cold, silent woman, whose only interest is her own ill health. Then Zeena's cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to live in the farmhouse, and as the months pass, Ethan feels a new happiness stealing into his life. He loves to watch Mattie's face across the dinner table, to see her sweet smile and hear her soft voice, to walk arm in arm with her across the snowy fields.

His wife Zeena says very little, but her cold, watchful eyes see everything...

1

Beginnings

If you know Starkfield, Massachusetts, you know the post office there. If you know the post office, you have probably seen Ethan Frome driving up to it in his buggy; and you have probably wondered who he was.

It was there that, several years ago, I saw him for the first time. He was a noticeable figure. His tall, strong body was badly twisted, and much shorter on the right side than on the left. He moved slowly and painfully, pulling himself along. Just the few steps from his buggy to the post office were clearly difficult for him. His face had a sad, grim look. It was the face and body of an old man, and I was surprised to hear that he was only fifty-two.

I learnt this from Harmon Gow, a man who knew all the families around Starkfield.

'He's been like that since his bad accident, nearly twenty-four years ago,' said Harmon. 'But Fromes don't die young. Ethan'll live to a hundred, probably.'

'He looks like a dead man already,' I said.

'I guess he's been in Starkfield too many winters,' said Harmon. 'Most smart people get out of here.'

'Why didn't he get out?' I asked.

'He had to stay and take care of his family — first his father got hurt, then his mother fell sick, then his wife.'

'And then the accident?'

Harmon gave a little smile. 'That's right. He had to stay then.'

Ethan Frome used to drive in from his farm every day at about midday, and because I picked up my mail at about the same time, I often saw him. He came to the post office only for a newspaper, and sometimes for a packet from a medicine company for 'Mrs Zeena Frome'. Starkfield people understood that he did not want to stop and talk, and on most days Frome climbed slowly back into his buggy and drove away without a word to anyone.

At that time my company had sent me on an engineering job near Starkfield, and I was staying at the home of a lady called Mrs Ruth Hale. Before she was married, her name had been Ruth Varnum, but her husband Ned Hale was now dead, and she had returned to live with her mother in the Varnum home. It was a grand house, large and white, with tall dark trees outside. Although it was clear that the Varnums no longer had much money, theirs was still the finest house in the village.

Ruth Hale enjoyed talking about her neighbours, and I hoped that she could tell me more about Ethan Frome. But when I asked her, she just looked unhappy and said in a low voice:

'Yes, I knew them both... it was awful...'

I asked other people, and everybody in Starkfield agreed that Ethan Frome had had more troubles in his life than most people. But nobody explained why he had that sad, grim look on his face.

In the end, I learnt the story, piece by piece, from several people. As often happens, the story was different each time, but I slowly began to put it together. And my interest in Ethan Frome grew stronger when — a little later — I met the man himself.

It happened like this. Every day I had to travel about three miles to the station, where I got my train to work. I usually hired a horse from Denis Eady, the rich village shopkeeper. But in the middle of winter his and most of the other Starkfield horses caught an illness. For a day or two I could not find a horse to hire anywhere, until Harmon Gow had an idea.

'Why don't you ask Ethan Frome to drive you?' He said. 'His horse ain't sick, and he needs a dollar or two. That Frome farm and saw-mill don't make enough money to keep a cat alive.'

So Ethan Frome agreed to drive me, and every day for a week I sat beside him in his sleigh as his thin horse pulled us over the hard snow to the station. Then, in the icy evenings, he brought me back to Starkfield.

He was not unfriendly, but during the hour's drive he never turned to look at me, and spoke very little. Once I said something about Florida and he told me that he had been there. Another time he showed interest in a science book of mine, which I had left in his sleigh by mistake in the morning. But most of the time Frome drove without a word, and I began to feel that he was like the land around him. This sad, silent man and the snow-covered fields had the same kind of cold loneliness. Anything warm and alive inside him was locked away, under the deep icy cold of too many Starkfield winters.

After about a week, we were driving back one night in terrible weather. Heavy snow was falling, hiding everything in a soft white cloud, and the air had an icy coldness. The old horse was getting tired, and I got out to walk beside him, but I found it hard to keep moving.

After a time Frome looked into the darkness and said:

'That's my place down there. We've had enough of this.'

I understood that he was offering me a bed for the night, and we turned down towards the poor, lonely looking farmhouse. After I had helped him put away the sleigh and take care of the horse, we fought our way through the snow to the front of the house. I followed him inside, and from behind a door on our right I heard a woman's voice, a thin, high, whining voice.

Frome opened the door of the room, 'Come in,' he said to me, and as he spoke, the whining voice fell silent.

That was the night when I began to understand Ethan Frome, and to put together his story...

*　　*　　*

buggy n. a light horse-drawn vehicle for one or two people <美>四轮单马轻便马车

noticeable adj. easily seen or noticed 值得注意的

grim adj. looking very serious 严肃的

engineering n. the application of science to the design, building, and use of machines, constructions, etc. 工程

grand adj. very impressive 壮观的

saw-mill n. a factory in which wood is sawn mechanically into planks or boards 锯木场

sleigh n. a vehicle that is pulled by animals and used for travelling over snow 雪橇

put away to put (a thing) back in the place where it is normally kept 把……收起，放好

whining adj. (of a sound) long, high and unpleasant （声音）长而尖锐的

1．开端

你若是知道马萨诸塞州的斯塔克菲尔德镇，想必该知道那儿的邮局；若是知道那儿的邮局，就可能看到过伊桑·弗罗姆驾着他的四轮马车到那儿，或许你还曾对他感到过好奇：这个人是谁？

几年前，就是在那儿，我第一次见到了他。他很引人注目，个子高高的，身体强壮却扭曲得厉害，右侧身子明显低于左侧。他拖着身体向前，走得缓慢而痛苦。从他的四轮马车到邮局只有几步路，对他来讲却显然很困难。他脸上带着哀伤、阴郁的神色。这种表情和身体属于老年人，因此当听说他只有52岁时，我感到很惊讶。

这是我是从哈蒙·高那儿听到的，哈蒙认识斯塔克菲尔德镇上所有的人家。

“大约24年前发生了那场严重的事故后，他就变成那样子了。”哈蒙说，“但弗罗姆家的人都长寿。伊桑可能会活到100岁。”

“可他看起来好像已经死了。”我说。

“我猜他在斯塔克菲尔德熬过太多个冬天了，”哈蒙说，“大部分聪明人都搬走了。”

“那他怎么不搬走？”我问。

“他必须留下来照顾家人——先是他父亲受伤了，之后他母亲又病倒了，再后来就是他妻子。”

“然后他就出了事？”

哈蒙笑了笑。“是的，所以他不得不留下来。”

过去，伊桑·弗罗姆常常在大概每天中午的时候驾着马车从他的农场来邮局，我也是在那时去取信，所以经常看到他。他来邮局就是为了取份报纸，有时候也会取个包裹，那是一家医药公司寄给“齐娜·弗罗姆夫人”的。斯塔克菲尔德镇的人都知道他不想停下来说话，大部分时候他都会慢慢地爬到他的马车上，一言不发地驾车离开。

当时，我被公司派到斯塔克菲尔德附近来做一项工程，住在一位女士家中，大家叫她露丝·黑尔夫人。她婚前名叫露丝·瓦纳姆，如今她的丈夫内德·黑尔已经过世，于是她回到娘家和母亲一起住。房子很大，很气派，漆成白色，屋外长着高大、苍翠的树木。尽管瓦纳姆家显然已不再富裕，但她们的房子却仍是村子里最好的。

露丝·黑尔夫人喜欢和邻居聊天，而我也希望她能多告诉我一些伊桑·弗罗姆的故事。但每当我问她时，她就会显得有些悲伤，并且用低沉的声音对我说：

“是的，他们两个我都认识……太可怕了……”

我问过其他人，斯塔克菲尔德镇上每个人都认为伊桑·弗罗姆一生中遭遇的麻烦事比大多数人都多，但却没人解释为什么他的脸看上去那么悲伤、阴郁。

最后，从好几个人那里，我一点一滴地得知了他的故事。正如通常那样，每次我听到的说法都不一样，但我开始慢慢地把它拼凑了起来。后来不久，见到伊桑·弗罗姆本人时，我对他更感兴趣了。

事情是这样的：每天我都要赶三英里路到火车站，在那儿乘火车去我工作的地方。通常我会从村中一个富裕的店主丹尼斯·伊迪那里租一匹马。但隆冬时节，他的马和斯塔克菲尔德镇上的大多数马都染了病。有那么一两天我根本找不到马匹，这时哈蒙·高想到个主意。

“干吗不让伊桑·弗罗姆驾车送你呢？”他说，“他的马没得病，况且他也需要点儿钱。弗罗姆家的农场和锯木场挣的钱连只猫都养不活。”

伊桑·弗罗姆答应驾车送我，接下来一个星期，我每天都和他并肩坐在他的雪橇上，他那匹瘦马拉着我们，驶过硬邦邦的积雪，直到火车站。然后，在冰冷的晚上，他把我送回斯塔克菲尔德。

不能说他这人不友善，然而在一个小时的路途中，他从不转头看我一眼，也几乎不和我说话。一次，我聊起了佛罗里达州，他告诉我他曾经去过那儿。还有一天早晨，我不小心把一本科学书落在了他的雪橇上，看得出他对那本书挺感兴趣。但大多数时候，弗罗姆赶车时都一声不吭。我开始感到，他就像他身边的土地一样。这个哀伤沉默的人与这白雪覆盖的田地一样冷漠而孤独。他胸中所有的热情与活力都在斯塔克菲尔德冬天的刺骨严寒中封存了起来。

大概过了一个星期，一天晚上天气十分恶劣，我们驾车回家，当晚天气十分恶劣。大雪纷飞不停地下着，一切都笼罩在白茫茫的雪团之中，空气冷得刺骨。驾辕的老马越来越累，我于是跳下车来，在旁边走，却发现走起来很费劲。

过了一会儿，弗罗姆看了看夜色，对我说：

“我家就在那儿。咱们也受够了这鬼天气。”

我知道他是在请我留宿一晚，于是我们朝着那破败的、孤零零的农舍走去。在我帮他把雪橇收好，把马安顿好后，我们顶着雪来到了农舍前。我跟着他走进屋里，我们右侧的门后传来这时一个女人尖细的声音从我们右侧的门后传来。

弗罗姆打开屋子的门。“请进。”他对我说，他说这话时，那尖细的声音静默了下来。

就是在那夜，我开始了解伊桑·弗罗姆，并将他的故事拼凑了起来……

*　　*　　*

2

Coming home from the dance

It was a cold, clear night, and the village lay under deep snow. Bright, icy stars shone from a dark sky down on the silent whiteness below.

Young Ethan Frome walked quickly down the empty, moonlit street. He passed Eady's fine new shop and the Varnums' house with its two tall black trees. Below that was the slope of the Corbury road. On clear nights this was often full of young people coasting down, laughing and shouting as they went. But there was not a sound from the icy slope as Ethan passed by. Tonight all Starkfield's life was in a room in the church. Its windows sent yellow light across the snow, and the sound of dance music flowed out into the still midnight air. Ethan hid in the shadows outside the church, and looked in through the nearest window.

The room was hot, bright, and filled with young men and girls. The music had finished, and people were getting ready to leave. Suddenly, a lively young man with thick black hair jumped into the middle of the floor. He went into the crowd and pulled out a young girl. She was dark-haired, and had a bright red scarf around her head. The music started again, and soon the floor was alive with dancing figures.

Outside in the cold, Ethan's heart was beating fast. His eyes followed the girl's red scarf and cloud of brown hair as she danced in faster and faster circles. The young man was Denis Eady, the son of Starkfield's most successful shopkeeper. Denis's own success with the young women of the village was well known. Ethan watched jealously as Mattie, the dark-haired girl, held Eady's hands and smiled at him with her dark, shining eyes.

'How can she look at him like that?' Ethan wondered unhappily. 'Doesn't she realize what he is like?'

Ethan used to walk into Starkfield to fetch home his wife's cousin, Mattie Silver, on the few evenings when some chance of amusement brought her to the village. Mattie had been with the Fromes for a year now. She lived with them in their lonely farmhouse and helped Ethan's wife, Zeena, with the housework. Ethan had liked the warm, smiling girl from the moment that she arrived. She brought hope and life and brightness into his home, like someone lighting a fire in a cold room. But she had more than brightness; Ethan found that she loved the beauty of the natual world around them. Here at his side, living under his roof and eating his bread, was someone who felt the same wonder as he did. He could tell her things and show her things — the bright stars in the clear night sky, birds flying over golden fields, the blue shadows of trees on sunlit snow. And he knew that these things gave Mattie and him the same feelings of deep, silent happiness.

But now those feelings seemed so far away. He watched Mattie's laughing face as she flew round and round the room, and he felt lonely and unhappy. Then he remembered a fear that he had tried to forget. His wife was a cold, silent woman who noticed everything but said very little. Her only real interest was her own ill health. But recently she had started to complain more and more about Mattie's housework, and to say things which worried Ethan.

'I'll need someone to help me when Mattie leaves,' she had said suddenly one morning.

'Oh, Mattie'll never leave us while you need her,' he replied.

His wife lay in bed and watched as he got dressed. 'If a poor girl like her has a chance to marry a smart boy like Denis Eady, I ain't going to stop her,' she said in her flat, whining voice. 'The doctor says I can't manage on my own, so we'll need to hire a girl.'

Life without Mattie! Ethan could not think of it. Her voice, her sweet smile, her gentle arm in his arm during those night walks back to the farm — these were the only things which mattered in his world. Had he been stupid to think that Zeena would not notice his interest in Mattie? He had not thought about it before, but now, as he stood in the darkness outside the church, he remembered other things that Zeena had said, and his fear grew...

The dancers, now in their thick coats and scarves, came out into the cold night air. Ethan heard Mattie's voice in the crowd, and he stepped back into the shadows, suddenly afraid to speak to her. The crowd quickly disappeared, and Mattie stood alone outside the church, looking around her. Then a man's figure appeared.

'Nobody to walk you home, Matt? What a pity! But ain't I lucky that I got my dad's horse and sleigh down here waiting for us? Come on, let's take a ride!'

The girl said nothing, but stood still, watching, while Denis Eady went to untie the horse. In the shadows, Ethan too watched and waited, with his heart beating fast. Mattie held his life in her hands. Eady got into the sleigh and called to Mattie to join him. Then she turned and ran up the slope.

'Goodbye! Have a lovely ride!' she called back.

Eady laughed and followed her up the slope in his sleigh. After a moment he jumped down and tried to put his arm through hers. She stepped quickly out of the way, and Ethan's sudden fear turned to happiness. A moment later he heard the sound of Eady's sleigh going away, and saw Mattie walking alone across the snow.

He caught up with her by the Varnums' trees. She turned round, surprised.

'Oh!' she said. 'I thought maybe you couldn't come.'

'If you thought I couldn't come, why didn't you ride back with Denis Eady?' he answered.

'Oh, how did you know?' she cried. 'Where were you? I never saw you!'

They stood in the dark shadows of the trees, and their laughing voices ran together like water dancing down from the mountains in springtime. He put his arm through hers, but neither of them moved. Ethan wished he could stand there with her all night in the blackness. Mattie took a few steps forward and then stopped, looking down the icy slope of the Corbury road.

'There were lots of people coasting this evening,' she said. 'Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum almost crashed into the big tree down there. It's so dangerous, that tree.'

'You'd be safe with me, Matt,' replied Ethan.

'Would you like to come coasting some night? We could come tomorrow if there's a moon.'

'Oh, yes. How lovely!'

They walked along in silence, but then all Ethan's jealous fears returned.

'I guess it's natural that you're going to leave us,' he said at last.

'Leave? You mean Zeena ain't happy with me? I know I ain't so strong or so smart, but I want to try, I really do.'

'So you don't want to leave us, Matt?'

'Where could I go?' she whispered, almost crying.

Her answer made Ethan sad and happy at the same time. They continued their walk, with the dark, starry sky above them, and the quiet, lonely fields all around. At the entrance to Ethan's farmland they passed by the Frome graves. Ethan had always felt that the gravestones were looking at him and saying 'We never got out of Starkfield. Why should you?' But now he didn't want to escape. All he wanted was to be with Mattie, and some day to lie under that cold ground with Mattie beside him. Ethan was happy now, in his world of dreams. For the first time he put his arm around Mattie. She let it stay there, and they walked up to the farmhouse.

The house was dark and quiet. Zeena always went to bed early. On the nights when they came back late, she used to lock up the house and hide the key outside the kitchen door. Ethan felt for the key under the usual stone.

'Matt, the key's not there!' he said. This had never happened before. They began to look for it in the darkness. Suddenly there was a sound inside the house. They heard a step on the stairs and saw light under the door. Then the door opened, and Ethan saw his wife.

She stood in the dark doorway, a tall thin woman with a blanket round her shoulders. She held a lamp in one hand, and its light threw strange shadows onto her thin lined face. She said nothing, and they stepped into the kitchen. It was deadly cold, like a grave, Ethan shook the snow off his boots.

'I guess you forget us,' he said, looking at Zeena.

'No. I just felt too bad. I couldn't sleep.'

'I'm sorry,' said Mattie. 'Can I do anything to help, Zeena?'

'No, there's nothing you can do.' Zeena turned away from her. 'And why couldn't you shake that snow off outside?' she said to her husband.

They left the kitchen, and the two women went towards the stairs. 'If I go up now, Mattie'll see me go into the bedroom with Zeena,' thought Ethan. 'And I don't want that, not tonight.'

'I think I'll stay down here a bit longer, I've got some paperwork to do,' he said.

'What, now?' said Zeena. 'You'll die of cold.'

Ethan did not answer, but turned back towards the kitchen. Then he saw the look in Mattie's eyes. Was it a look of warning?

'I guess you're right. It is awful cold down here,' he agreed. With his head down, he slowly followed his wife up to their bedroom.

coast v. to ride or move, usually downhill, without use of power （沿山坡）向下滑行

jealously adv. with angry and unhappy feelings because you would like to have something someone else has 嫉妒地

fetch v. to go to where someone is and bring him or her back 去请，接来

amusement n. something that amuses 娱乐，消遣

under sb's roof in someone's home 在某人家里，寄人篱下

remember v. to bring back into your mind what you knew before 回忆起

catch up with sb to reach a person ahead 赶上，追上

return v. to come back again 恢复；重现

whisper v. to speak or say something very quietly, using your breath rather than your voice 低语，耳语

paperwork n. work such as writing letters or reports, which must be done but is not interesting 文书工作

2．舞会归家路

这是一个寒冷而晴朗的夜晚，厚厚的积雪铺满了整个村子。明朗清亮的星星在黑色的夜空中俯照着这片寂静的白色大地。

月光下，空无一人的街道上，年轻的伊桑·弗罗姆快步走来。他走过伊迪家的新店铺，走过瓦纳姆屋外两棵阴森的大树。那下面就是科贝里路的斜坡，晴朗的夜晚，许多年轻人会在这儿滑斜坡，一边玩儿，一边笑着、叫着。但伊桑经过时，这冰雪覆盖的斜坡却悄然无声。这一晚，斯塔克菲尔德镇的居民都聚在教堂的一个房间内。黄色的灯光透过窗子照在屋外的积雪上，舞曲飘出屋子，在寂静的夜空中飘荡。教堂外，伊桑藏在阴影中，从离他最近的窗子向房间内望去。

屋里气氛热烈，灯火通明，全是小伙子和年轻姑娘。音乐已经结束，人们正准备离开。突然，一个活泼的长着浓密黑发的小伙子跳到屋子中间，从人群中拽出个年轻姑娘。姑娘长着深色头发，头上系着鲜亮的红头巾。音乐又响了起来，不一会儿，屋子里又都是跳舞的人们了。

屋外寒冷的黑夜中，伊桑的心跳得厉害。姑娘转动得越来越快，而他的眼睛一直追随她的红头巾和浓密的褐发。那小伙子叫丹尼斯·伊迪，他父亲是斯塔克菲尔德镇最成功的店主。大家都知道丹尼斯在村里的姑娘中非常有人缘。伊桑嫉妒地看着玛蒂，这个长着深色头发的姑娘，看着她拉着伊迪的双手，还用明亮的深色眼睛笑盈盈地看他。

“她怎么能那么看着他？”伊桑很不高兴地想，“难道她不知道他是什么人？”

玛蒂·西尔弗是伊桑妻子的表妹，她偶尔在晚上参加村里的一些娱乐活动，而伊桑都会来接她回家。玛蒂和弗罗姆夫妇在一起住了一年了。她住在他们那孤零零的农舍里，帮助伊桑的妻子齐娜做家务。这个热情的、笑眯眯的女孩儿一到家里，伊桑就喜欢上了她。她为他的家带来了希望、活力和光明，就像在一间冷冰冰的屋子里点燃了一团火。而她带来的不止是光明，伊桑发现她热爱身边的自然界。这个生活在他身边、住在他家里、依赖他生活的女孩儿，同样感受着他所感受着的奇迹。他能向她讲述、展示这些事物——晴朗夜空中明亮的星星、金色田野上飞过的鸟儿、阳光映照的白雪上树木投下的蓝色影子。他知道，这些事物给了他们相同的感受——那些深深的、默然于心的幸福感受。

可现在，那些幸福的感觉似乎如此遥远。望着玛蒂在房间里翩翩起舞时的盈盈笑脸，他感到孤独和不快。他忽然回忆起一丝恐惧，他曾尽力去忘记的恐惧。他的妻子是个冷漠寡言的女人，什么事情都逃不过她的眼睛，只是她很少谈起罢了。她只关心自己的病情。但最近，她开始越来越频繁地抱怨玛蒂的家务做得不好，还说些令伊桑忧虑的话。

一天早晨，她忽然说：“玛蒂走后我需要人帮忙。”

“哦，只要你需要玛蒂，她就不会走。”他回答。

她躺在床上，看着他穿衣服。“要是像她这么个穷姑娘能有机会和丹尼斯·伊迪那样的帅小伙结婚，我一定不会反对。”她拖着平淡尖细的声音说道，“大夫说我自己应付不过来，咱们得雇个女孩儿。”

没有玛蒂的生活！伊桑没法想象。他和玛蒂在夜晚步行回农场时，她的声音、她甜美的笑容、她那挽着他的柔软手臂——只有这些才是他的世界中最重要的东西。难道是自己犯了蠢，认为齐娜没注意到他对玛蒂的关切？他之前从没想过这些，但现在，站在教堂外的夜幕中，他记起了齐娜说的另外一些事，他的恐惧也在增长……

跳舞的人们这会儿穿上了厚厚的外衣，围着头巾，走出了教堂，来到寒冷的夜幕中。伊桑听到玛蒂的声音从人群中传来，他退回到阴影中，突然感到自己害怕和她说话。人们很快散去，玛蒂独自一人站在教堂外，四下张望。这时，一个男人的身影出现了。

“玛蒂，没人陪你回家吗？真糟糕！不过我很幸运呀，我爸爸的马和雪橇在这儿等我们。来，一块儿走吧！”

丹尼斯·伊迪去解马缰绳时，玛蒂没说话，她仍静静地站在那儿望着。阴影中，伊桑也在望着，等着，他的心跳得厉害。玛蒂掌握着他的命运。伊迪上了雪橇，招呼玛蒂一起回家。忽然，玛蒂转身跑上了斜坡。

“再见！一路顺风！”她喊道。

伊迪笑着，驾着雪橇上了斜坡，跟着她。不一会儿，他跳下雪橇，想去搂她。她快步走开，伊桑的忧虑立时化为快乐。不一会儿，他听到伊迪雪橇离去的声音，看到玛蒂一个人在雪地里走着。

他在瓦纳姆家的大树旁赶上了她。她惊讶地转过身。

“哦，”她说，“我以为你可能来不了呢。”

“如果你以为我没来，为什么不和丹尼斯·伊迪一块儿回去呢？”他答道。

“啊，你怎么知道的？”她大叫，“你那时在哪儿？我一直没见到你！”

他们站在大树的黑影里，笑声交织在一起，像从春日的山上欢畅地淌下的水流。他搂着她，他们都没动。伊桑希望整个晚上都能和她一起在这阴影中站着。玛蒂向前走了几步，然后停下来，看着科贝里路旁被冰雪覆盖的斜坡。

“今晚有很多人在斜坡上滑着玩儿。”她说，“内德·黑尔和露丝·瓦纳姆差点儿就撞上下面那棵大树。那棵树实在太危险了。”

“跟我在一起你会很安全，玛蒂。”伊桑答道，“哪天晚上咱们也来滑着玩儿吧？明晚要是有月亮，咱们就来。”

“啊，好哇。太好了！”

他们默不作声地走着。忽然，唯恐失去玛蒂的恐惧又袭上伊桑心头。

“我想你要离开我们也挺正常的。”他终于说道。

“离开？你的意思是齐娜对我不满意？我知道自己不够强壮，也没那么聪明，可我想努力，真的。”

“那么你不想走喽，玛蒂？”

“我能去哪儿呢？”她低声说道，几乎要哭了。

她的回答让伊桑难过，但同时他又感到欣慰。他们继续走着，头上是群星闪烁的夜空，身边是寂静无人的田野。在伊桑农场的入口处，他们经过了弗罗姆家族的墓地。伊桑曾经总是觉得那些墓碑在盯着他，对他说：“我们从未离开过斯塔克菲尔德。你又怎能离得开？”而现在，他不想逃了。他只想和玛蒂在一起，有那么一天，和玛蒂一起长眠在那片冰冷的土地下。伊桑现在很幸福，在他自己充满梦想的世界里。他第一次搂住玛蒂。她没有拒绝，二人一起向着农舍走去。

农舍没有亮灯，很静。齐娜总是很早上床。当伊桑和玛蒂晚上回来得比较晚时，齐娜就会把门锁上，把钥匙藏在厨房门外。伊桑在平时藏钥匙的石头下摸索着。

“玛蒂，钥匙不在那儿！”他说。这种事从没发生过。他们开始在黑暗中寻找钥匙。忽然，房子里有了动静。他们听见楼梯上响起脚步声，然后看见门底下透出一丝光亮来。门开了，伊桑看见了他的妻子。

她站在黑漆漆的门口，高高瘦瘦的，肩上裹着毯子，一只手拿着灯，灯光在她布满皱纹的瘦削的脸上投下奇怪的阴影。她一言不发。他们走进了厨房。厨房里寒冷刺骨，好似一座坟墓。伊桑抖落靴子上的雪。

“我猜你把我们忘了吧。”他看着齐娜说道。

“没有。我只是感到很不舒服。我睡不着。”

“真糟糕，”玛蒂说道，“我能帮上忙吗，齐娜？”

“不用，你帮不上忙。”齐娜扭过脸去，不看玛蒂。“你怎么不在外面把雪抖掉？”她对丈夫说道。

三人离开了厨房，两个女人朝楼梯走去。“要是我现在上楼，玛蒂就会看见我和齐娜一起走进卧室。”伊桑想，“我可不想那样，今晚不行。”

“我想在这儿再待会儿。我有些文书工作要做。”他说。

“什么？现在？”齐娜说，“你会被冻死的。”

伊桑没回答，转身朝着厨房。这时他看见了玛蒂的眼色，是在提醒他吗？

“我想你说得对。楼下还是太冷了。”他赞同地说。他低着头，缓缓地跟随妻子走进卧室。

3

A visit to the doctor

The next morning was cold and bright. Ethan was down at his saw-mill early because he had to take some wood to the village builder that day. The winter sun burned red in a clear sky, and the sunlight danced over the bright, snowy fields, leaving deep blue shadows under the trees.

Ethan's thoughts were always clearest when he was working in the quiet morning air. Last night, after the bedroom door had closed behind them, Zeena had taken her medicine and gone to bed without a word. Ethan lay next to her, watching the light from under Mattie's door, and thinking. Why had he not kissed her on the walk home? He remembered her soft lips in the moonlight. Now, in the clear morning sunshine, he could still see her face. He could see it in the red sky and in the bright shining snow.

Mattie was the daughter of Orin Silver, a cousin of Zeena Frome's. Silver's medicine company had seemed successful, and he had lived like a rich man. But when he died, his wife and daughter had a terrible surprise. They discovered that he had borrowed thousands of dollars which he could not pay back. This awful news killed Mrs Silver immediately. He had also lost money which belonged to his brothers and sisters, so there was nobody in the family who wanted to help poor Mattie. The twenty-year-old girl was alone in the world, without money and without friends. She was not strong, and she had never studied or learnt to do a job. So Mattie came to Starkfield to work, without pay, in her cousin Zeena's home. At first Zeena often complained about the girl's work. Then, as the months went by, Mattie grew stronger and found the work easier. Zeena had more time to think about her illnesses, and life under the Fromes' roof became more peaceful.

But now, Zeena's strange silent looks, the warning in Mattie's eyes last night... Ethan was sure that something was wrong. By midday the wood was all loaded, ready to take to Andrew Hale the builder. But Ethan decided to go home. If there was going to be trouble, he wanted to be there. So Ethan and Jotham Powell, his hired man, walked through the fields back to the house.

When they entered the kitchen, Mattie was making coffee. Zeena was sitting at the table, wearing her best brown dress and a tall hat. A suitcase stood beside her.

'Where're you going, Zeena?' asked Ethan, surprised.

'My pains are getting really bad. I'm going over to my aunt's in Bettsbridge for the night, and tomorrow I'll see that new doctor,' she answered. 'If you're too busy, I suppose you can let Jotham Powell drive me to the station.'

Ethan said nothing. He was lost in his own thoughts. He realized that, for the first time, he and Mattie would be alone for the night. He looked at Mattie. Was she thinking the same thing? Then he looked at his wife's thin, lined, bloodless face. Zeena was thirty-five, only seven years older than he was, but she was already an old woman.

'Of course Jotham'll take you,' he said at last. 'I can't do it myself, because I've got to get the money for the wood from Andrew Hale.'

This was a lie. Andrew Hale never paid immediately, but Ethan really had no wish to make the long, slow journey to the station with his miserable wife at his side.

Zeena made no reply, and soon afterwards she left with Jotham. Ethan picked up his coat and stood for a moment in the doorway. 'See you later, Matt,' he said.

It was warm and bright in the kitchen. The sun shone in on the flowering pot plants by the window, and the cat sleeping in a chair. Mattie looked up from her housework. 'See you later, Ethan,' she said happily.

All the way down to the village Ethan thought of his return to Mattie that night. Without Zeena, his house seemed more like a home. And as he drove through the snowy fields, this usually silent man began to sing.

*　　*　　*

Ethan Frome had not always been so quiet and lonely. As a student he had liked being among happy, friendly, young people. He had enjoyed his science studies and wanted to become an engineer. But after his father's accident and death, Ethan had to leave his studies and return home. Life was hard for him, working alone on the poor farm and unsuccessful saw-mill. Then his mother fell ill, and became more and more silent. Sometimes she used to say a few crazy words, but for most of the time she refused to speak at all. So with each long, cold Starkfield winter, the silence and loneliness round Ethan grew deeper.

As his mother came towards her last illness, Ethan's cousin Zeena arrived to take care of her. It was wonderful to hear another person's voice in the house again, and Zeena was an excellent nurse and housekeeper. Old Mrs Frome finally died on a dark winter's day, and the idea of being alone again filled Ethan with fear. He was grateful to Zeena for all that she had done, and he asked her to stay and marry him. They had at first planned to sell the farm and move to the town. But it was hard to find a buyer, and Ethan soon realized that his wife could not live in a place where she was not someone 'important'. In less than a year her 'sickliness' appeared; then she too fell silent. Her strange, wordless looks worried Ethan. Was she going a little crazy, like his mother? What thoughts and plans were hidden behind her cold eyes?

But that afternoon, as Ethan drove to the village with his sleigh full of wood for the builder, he felt less afraid. Zeena had gone away to Bettsbridge, with all her thoughts on her own health. And tonight he had an evening alone with Mattie. But there was still one worry — the lie about the money from Andrew Hale. He knew that Zeena would want to know where it was.

When Ethan arrived at the builder's, Hale invited him into his office to sit down and get warm. He was a large, red-faced and likeable man, an old friend of Ethan's family. Ethan did not know how to begin, but at last he managed to ask Hale for the first fifty dollars towards this winter's wood. The builder was surprised. He always paid at the end of three months, never before. He refused in his warm, friendly way, and then asked:

'Look, you ain't got money problems, have you?'

'No, not at all,' replied Ethan, very embarrassed.

The afternoon had turned into a cold grey evening by the time Ethan left the builder's. He heard the sound of sleigh-bells, and Denis Eady drove past, shouting 'Hello, Ethe!' Eady was going towards the Frome farm. Did he know that Zeena had gone? Was he going there to spend some time alone with Mattie? Ethan felt wildly jealous, then moments later was ashamed of his feelings.

By the Varnum house Ethan saw two figures standing together under the trees. He heard a kiss, and a surprised 'Oh!' as he passed by. Two happy lovers, kissing where he had stood with Mattie the night before. But unlike him, Ruth Varnum and Ned Hale didn't need to hide their feelings. How lucky they were!

As night fell, Ethan passed by the Frome gravestones and drove up to the farmhouse. A light shone in a room upstairs.

'She's getting herself ready for supper,' he thought.

awful adj. unpleasant or horrible 可怕的，骇人的

suitcase n. a large case with a handle, used for carrying clothes and possessions when you travel （旅行用）手提箱

miserable adj. always unhappy, dissatisfied, or complainig 总是抱怨的

pot plant a plant grown in a flower pot 盆栽植物

engineer n. someone who designs or builds things such as roads, railways, bridges, or machines 工程师

grateful adj. thankful 感激的

likeable adj. pleasant; easy to like 可爱的，讨人喜欢的

embarrassed adj. ashamed, nervous, or uncomfortable in social situation 难堪的

3．求诊

第二天早晨晴朗而寒冷。伊桑一早就到了他的锯木场，因为这一天他要把一些木材送到村上的建筑商那儿去。晴朗的天空中，冬日的太阳红艳艳的，阳光在白雪皑皑的光灿灿的田野上跳着舞，在树下投射出深蓝色的影子。

在宁静的清晨工作时，伊桑的脑子总是清醒得很。昨晚，关上卧室门后，齐娜服下她的药，一言不发地上了床。伊桑在她身边躺下，看着玛蒂房门下透出的光，思索着。在回家的路上他干吗不亲她呢？他记起月光下她柔软的嘴唇。现在，在这明亮的清晨阳光下，他依然看得见她的面庞，在那阳光映红了的天空中，在那莹莹的白雪上。

玛蒂是奥林·西尔弗的女儿，齐娜·弗罗姆的表妹。西尔弗的医药公司似乎曾生意兴隆，他活得跟个有钱人似的。可他死后，他的妻女却大吃一惊。她们发现，他借了上千美元，根本无法还清。这个坏消息立时要了西尔弗夫人的命。西尔弗先生甚至花掉了他兄弟姐妹的钱，因此，他的家族中没人愿意帮助可怜的玛蒂。这个20岁的女孩儿孤身一人，既没钱也没朋友。她不壮实，也从没上过学或是去学着做过什么工作。因此她来到斯塔克菲尔德的齐娜表姐家干活，没有报酬。最初齐娜经常抱怨玛蒂做活差。几个月过后，玛蒂长得壮实些了，感觉家务变得容易些了。齐娜有了更多的时间去琢磨她的病情，于是弗罗姆家的生活变得安宁多了。

可现在，齐娜奇怪的沉默表情，昨夜玛蒂警告的眼色……伊桑确信一定是出了什么问题了。中午之前，木材已经全装好了，要送到建筑商安德鲁·黑尔那里去。可伊桑决定回家，要是家里有什么麻烦，他想在那里。于是伊桑和他雇的帮手乔撒姆·鲍威尔穿过田野往家走去。

他们进厨房时，玛蒂正在煮咖啡。齐娜坐在桌子前，穿着她最好的褐色衣服，戴着高高的帽子，身旁放着个手提箱。

“你要去哪儿，齐娜？”伊桑惊讶地问道。

“我的病痛正变得越来越厉害。我要去贝茨布里奇我姑妈家，在那儿过夜，明天我要去看一个新医生。”她答道，“你要是太忙，我想你可以让乔撒姆·鲍威尔送我到车站去。”

伊桑没回答。他陷入了思考。他发现，他和玛蒂将第一次单独过一夜了。他看着玛蒂。她也有相同的想法吗？然后他看着妻子瘦削的、布满皱纹的、没血色的脸。齐娜35岁，只比他大7岁，可她已经是个老女人了。

“乔撒姆当然能送你去了。”他终于说道，“我没法儿亲自送你去了，我得到安德鲁·黑尔那儿拿木材钱。”

这是谎话。安德鲁·黑尔从不马上付钱，可伊桑实在不想让满口抱怨的妻子坐在他身边，一起去度过到车站的这段漫长而缓慢的旅程。

齐娜没回答，不久就和乔撒姆一块儿离开了。伊桑拿起了外套，在门口站了一会儿。“再见，玛蒂。”他说。

厨房里温暖又明亮。阳光照在窗边正在开花的盆栽上，猫儿在椅子上睡觉。玛蒂停下手中的家务活儿，抬起头来。“再见，伊桑。”她欢快地说。

去村里的路上，伊桑都在想着晚上回家去见玛蒂。齐娜不在，他的房子会更像个家。当他驶过白雪覆盖的田野时，这个通常沉默寡言的人唱起了歌。

*　　*　　*

伊桑·弗罗姆并非一向这么沉默孤独。当学生时，他喜欢和快乐友好的年轻人在一起。他喜欢自然学科，想成为一名工程师。可父亲出事死后，他就不得不辍学回家了。对他来说，独自一人在破旧的农场和不景气的锯木场工作，生活很艰难。之后，他母亲病倒了，变得越来越沉默。有时她会说些疯言疯语，可大多数时候她根本不说话。于是，伴随着一个又一个漫长寒冷的冬季，伊桑周遭的沉寂与孤独变得越来越深了。

母亲病危之际，伊桑的表姐齐娜赶来照顾她了。能在家中再听到另外一个人的声音真是太好了，齐娜又是个非常称职的护士和管家。老弗罗姆夫人终于在一个阴晦的冬日去世了，一想到又要独自一人，伊桑心中就充满了恐惧。他十分感激齐娜所做的一切，并请求她留下来嫁给他。一开始他们计划着卖掉农场，搬到镇上去住。可找不到买主，而且伊桑很快就意识到他妻子不能住在一个她不是什么“重要”人物的地方。不到一年她就出现了“病情”，随后也沉默了起来。她奇怪的无言表情让伊桑感到忧虑：她会变得疯疯癫癫的，就像他母亲一样吗？她那双冷酷的眼睛背后隐藏着什么想法和计划？

可是那个下午，当伊桑驾着满载木材的雪橇去村上的建筑商那儿的时候，他不那么害怕了。齐娜去贝茨布里奇了，脑子里想的全是她自己的健康问题。而今夜，他将和玛蒂共处一晚。可还有一个让人烦心的事儿——他撒谎要从安德鲁·黑尔那儿拿钱。他知道齐娜会问钱在哪儿。

伊桑到了建筑商那儿后，黑尔请他到办公室坐坐，暖暖身子。黑尔是个大块头，红脸膛，人缘不错，是伊桑家的老朋友。伊桑不知道怎么开口，可最终他还是想法子跟黑尔要这个冬天所卖木材的第一笔50元钱。建筑商感到很意外，他总是在三个月结束时付款，从不提前。他温和而友善地拒绝了伊桑，并问：

“瞧，你在钱上不会有什么问题吧，是不是？”

“没，一点儿问题也没有。”伊桑很尴尬地答道。

伊桑离开建筑商那儿的时候，已经是阴冷的傍晚了。他听到了雪橇的铃铛声，丹尼斯·伊迪驾着雪橇驶过，喊着：“你好哇，伊桑！”伊迪向着弗罗姆的农场驶去。他知道齐娜走了？他是要去那儿和玛蒂单独待会儿吗？伊桑感到一阵强烈的嫉妒，可过了不久他又为自己的嫉妒感到羞愧。

驶过瓦纳姆家的时候，伊桑看到在树下有两个人站在一起。经过时他听到一声亲吻，还有人惊讶地“哦”了一声。一对幸福的恋人在他和玛蒂前一天夜里曾经站过的地方亲吻着。与自己不同，露丝·瓦纳姆和内德·黑尔无需隐藏他们的感情。他们多么幸运啊！

夜幕降临，伊桑驶过自家的墓地，来到了农舍前。楼上的一间屋子里亮着灯。

“她正在准备晚饭。”他想。

4

An evening together

Ethan went up to the kitchen door, and found that it was locked. He called 'Hello, Matt!', but there was no answer. He stood in the darkness and waited. After a moment he heard a sound on the stairs, and saw light round the door. And just like the night before, the door opened and there stood a woman with a lamp in her hand. The lamplight shone on the milky whiteness of Mattie's young skin, on her soft lips and shining dark eyes. She smiled gently, and stepped to the side to let Ethan come in.

The kitchen was warm and welcoming. On the table were cakes and fruit in a bright red glass dish, and the cat was lying lazily in front of a warm fire.

'Well, Matt, any visitors?' asked Ethan.

'Just one,' replied Mattie, laughing. A black cloud came down over Ethan's world.

'Who was that?'

She looked at him and laughed again, 'Jotham Powell. He came in and asked for a drop of coffee.'

The blackness lifted and Ethan's world grew bright again. 'Well, I hope you gave him some,' he said, then added, 'I suppose Zeena got to the station in time?'

Zeena's name brought an immediate coolness into the kitchen. After a few moments Mattie said: 'I guess it's about time for supper,' and they sat down.

But they still felt uncomfortable — Zeena seemed to be in the room with them, with her cold eyes and strange looks. They ate in embarrassed silence, then began to talk about the weather.

As they were speaking, the cat climbed quietly onto the table and started to move towards the milk-jug. When they saw it, they both reached forwards at once, their hands meeting on the jug. Ethan kept his hand on Mattie's a few seconds longer than was necessary. At that moment the cat suddenly jumped backwards and knocked into the red glass dish. The dish fell to the floor with a crash.

'Oh, Ethan,' Mattie cried, 'It's all in pieces! What will Zeena say? It was her very best dish!'

'Don't worry. I'll get another one.'

'You'll never find one! It was a wedding present from her aunt in Philadelphia. That's why she never uses it. I had to climb up to get it from the top of her cupboard! Oh, Ethan, what shall I do?'

She began to cry, and her tears seemed to burn into Ethan's heart.

'Oh, Matt, don't cry! Please don't cry!' he said softly.

They looked at the bits of red glass lying like the broken pieces of their evening. Ethan picked them up and walked out of the kitchen to the hall. Reaching up his long arm, he put the broken pieces at the top of the cupboard and arranged them carefully. From below nobody could see that the dish was. broken.

'I'll get some glue to mend it tomorrow,' thought Ethan. 'Zeena won't look at it for months, and I'm sure I'll find another one somewhere.'

He went back to the kitchen. 'It's all right, Matt,' he said. 'Let's finish supper.'

After the meal Mattie cleared the table and Ethan went out to see the cows. The world was dark and still outside. When he came back, Mattie had pushed his chair near the fire and had seated herself by the lamp with a bit of sewing. He sat down, feeling warm and dreamy and at peace with the world. The only trouble was that he could not see Mattie from where he sat. But he felt too lazy to move and after a moment he said: 'Come over here and sit by the fire.'

Mattie got up and sat opposite him in Zeena's rocking chair. He looked at the chair and for a moment he saw his wife's grim face there. Mattie seemed to feel uncomfortable too. After a while she got up, saying, 'I can't see to sew,' and went back to sit by the lamp.

The cat jumped into the empty rocking-chair, and Ethan moved his own chair a little. Now he could see Mattie as she sat and sewed in the soft lamplight. A deep quiet came over the kitchen. The 'tick-tick' of the clock was the only sound in the room, and the smoke from Ethan's pipe and the smell of Mattie's flowering plants filled the air.

They began to talk easily of everyday things. It all seemed so comfortable and so peaceful. Ethan began to dream that they always spent their evenings like this...

'This was the night when we were going coasting,' he said after a while.

She smiled back at him. 'I guess you forgot!'

'No, I didn't forget. It's too dark tonight, but we can go tomorrow if there's a moon.'

'That would be lovely. Ethan!' Mattie laughed happily, and her eyes shone in the lamplight. Ethan loved the way that her face changed as she talked, like a field of grass moving under a gentle summer wind.

'It's too dangerous on a dark night like this,' he went on. 'You've got to keep your eyes open on that slope, you know, Matt. That's a dangerous corner down by that big tree. You could crash right into it if you're not careful.' Then he added: 'I guess we're fine here, aren't we?'

'Yes, we're fine here,' agreed Mattie in a soft, sweet voice. Ethan put down his pipe and pulled his chair up to the table. He touched the end of her piece of sewing.

'Say, Matt, guess what I saw tonight? Your friends kissing under the Varnum trees.'

Mattie's face turned bright red. 'That'll be Ruth and Ned,' she answered, looking down at her sewing. Ethan felt embarrassed too. Last night on their walk home he had put his arm around Mattie, and had wanted to kiss her. But tonight, in the warm lamplit room, she seemed so much further away.

'I guess they'll get married soon,' said Ethan. 'And then maybe you'll be next.'

'Why do you say that?' she replied in a low voice. 'Is it because Zeena doesn't want me to stay?'

'What do you mean?' asked Ethan, afraid again.

'I thought that last night she seemed... Oh, I don't know. Nobody knows what Zeena thinks. She hasn't said anything to you, has she?'

He shook his head. 'No, not a word.'

'I guess it was nothing then. Let's not think about it,' said Mattie, and went on with her sewing.

Ethan watched her in silence. Then he gently took hold of the other end of her piece of sewing. Mattie's warmth seemed to flow along it towards him. Could she feel the answering warmth from his own hand? They sat like this for a few moments, then Ethan heard a sound behind him. The cat had jumped down from Zeena's chair, and because of the sudden movement the empty chair had started a ghostly rocking.

'Zeena'll be in that chair herself this time tomorrow,' thought Ethan. 'I've been in a dream, and this is the only evening we'll ever have together...' The return to the real world filled him with pain, and he suddenly felt very tired.

Mattie looked at him, and for a moment he saw fear cross her face. He held onto her sewing and kissed the end of it softly. She pulled it slowly from his lips and put it away. It was eleven o'clock.

'Is the fire all right?' she asked in a low voice.

They checked the fire, moved the plant pots away from the cold window, and put out the lamp.

'Goodnight, Matt,' he said, as she put her foot on the first step of the stairs.

'Goodnight, Ethan,' she answered, and went up.

When the door of her room had closed, he remembered that he had not even touched her hand.

welcoming adj.(of a place) making one feel happy and relaxed to be in （地方）令人愉悦的

crash n. a loud noise like the sound of two hard things hitting each other and breaking 撞击声

cupboard n. a piece of furniture with doors, and sometimes shelves, used for storing clothes, plates, food, etc. 橱柜

arrange v. to put a group of things in a particular order 整理

mend v. to repair 修补

touch v. to put your hand or pan of your body on someone or something 触摸，碰到

ghostly adj. reminding you of a ghost 鬼的，幽灵的

check v. to examine something in order to find out whether it is how it should be 检查

4．共度一夜

伊桑走到厨房门前，发现门锁着。他喊道：“嗨，玛蒂！”没人应声。他站在黑暗中等着。过了一会儿，他听到楼梯上传来声音，然后看到门的四周透出光亮来。就像昨晚一样，门开了，一个女人站在门口，手里拿着一盏灯。灯光映着玛蒂牛奶般白皙的年轻肌肤，映着她柔软的嘴唇，还有那双亮闪闪的黑眼睛。她温柔地笑着，让到了一边，让伊桑进去。

厨房温暖而舒适。桌上有个亮红色玻璃盘子，里面摆着蛋糕和水果，猫慵懒地卧在温暖的炉火前。

“哎，玛蒂，有客人来过？”伊桑问道。

“只有一个。”玛蒂笑着答道。一阵阴云笼罩上伊桑的世界。

“是谁？”

她看着他，又笑了：“乔撒姆·鲍威尔。他进来要杯咖啡喝。”

阴云散去，伊桑的世界又见晴朗。“嗯，我想你给了他一些吧。”他说，然后又补充道，“我想齐娜及时赶到车站了吧。”

齐娜这个名字霎时给厨房内带来一丝寒冷。过了一会儿，玛蒂说：“我想该是吃晚饭的时候了。”他们于是坐了下来。

可他们还是觉得不舒服——好像齐娜还在屋子里，和他们在一起，睁着她那双冷酷的眼睛，带着她那种奇怪的表情。他们尴尬地默默用餐，接着聊起了天气。

聊天的时候，猫悄悄地爬上了桌子，向着牛奶罐子走去。看到猫，两个人都立刻伸出手来，两只手在牛奶罐子上碰在了一起。伊桑把手在玛蒂的手上多放了几秒钟。就在这会儿，猫突然向后跳去，撞上了红色的玻璃盘子，盘子“哗啦”一声掉在了地板上。

“啊，伊桑，”玛蒂大叫，“盘子碎了！齐娜会怎么说啊？那是她最好的盘子啊！”

“别急，我再买一个。”

“你根本找不着的！那是她费城的姨妈送她的结婚礼物，所以她从来都没用过。我是爬上去从她橱柜最上面一层拿下来的！哦，伊桑，我该怎么办？”

她哭了起来，眼泪好像灼烧着伊桑的心。

“哦，玛蒂，别哭！别哭！”他轻声劝道。

他们看着红色玻璃碎片，就像看着他们共度的这个夜晚碎成一片片一样。伊桑把碎片捡起来，走出厨房，来到门厅，伸着长长的胳膊，将碎片放在了橱柜顶层，仔细地归整好。从橱柜下看去，没人看得出盘子碎了。

“我明天去拿些胶水把它粘好。”伊桑想着，“齐娜几个月内不会看它，我相信能从什么地方再找一个来。”

他走回厨房。“没事了，玛蒂。”他说，“咱们继续吃饭吧。”

吃完饭，玛蒂收拾桌子，伊桑出去查看牲口。屋外的世界黑黢黢的，悄无声息。他回来时，玛蒂已将他的椅子推到了炉火边，自己坐在灯边做着针线活儿。他坐了下来，感觉暖洋洋的，恍如在梦境中，世界一片祥和。唯一的不足就是从他坐着的地方看不到玛蒂。可他感到懒懒的，不想动弹，于是过了一会儿他说：“过来坐在炉火边吧。”

玛蒂起身坐在了他对面齐娜的摇椅上。他看着那摇椅，一时间又好像看到了妻子那阴郁的脸。玛蒂看上去也不太自在。不一会儿，她站起身来，说：“我看不清，没法儿缝。”就坐回到灯旁边去了。

猫跳到了空摇椅上，伊桑把自己的椅子挪了挪。现在他能看到玛蒂了，她坐在柔和的灯光下做着针线活儿。深深的寂静笼罩了厨房，房间里只有“滴答滴答”的钟声，伊桑的烟斗冒出的烟和玛蒂养的鲜花所散发出来的香气弥漫在空气中。

他们扯起了家常。一切看似如此舒畅，如此祥和。伊桑开始梦想他们会一直这样度过所有的夜晚……

“今晚我们本来要去玩滑斜坡的。”过了一会儿他说。

她笑着回答：“我以为你忘了呢！”

“不，我可没忘。今晚太黑了，明天要是有月亮，我们就去。”

“那太好了，伊桑！”玛蒂开心地大笑，眼睛在灯光下放出光彩。伊桑喜欢她聊天时表情的变化，仿佛柔和的夏风吹拂着的草地。

“像今天这么黑的夜晚去那儿太危险了。”他继续说道，“你知道，在斜坡上你必须睁大眼睛，玛蒂。坡下大树旁有个危险的拐角，要是不小心就会撞个正着。”然后他又补充了一句：“我想咱们在这儿挺不错的，是不？”

“是啊，在这儿不错。”玛蒂甜甜地轻声表示同意。伊桑放下烟斗，把椅子拽到桌子前，他碰了碰玛蒂活计的一角。

“嘿，玛蒂，猜我今晚看见了什么。你的朋友在瓦纳姆家的大树下接吻。”

玛蒂的脸变得红彤彤的。“是露丝和内德。”她答道，低下眼帘看着自己的针线活儿。伊桑也感到一阵尴尬。昨晚他们走回家时他曾搂住玛蒂，还想亲她来着。而今晚，在这被灯光照亮的温暖房间里，她又这般遥远。

“我想他们就快结婚了。”伊桑说，“说不定下一个就是你。”

“为什么这么说？”她低声答道，“是因为齐娜不想让我待在这儿吗？”

“什么意思？”伊桑问道，又是一阵恐惧。

“我想昨晚她看上去……哦，我不知道。没人知道齐娜的想法。她没跟你说什么，是吗？”

他摇了摇头。“没有，一个字也没说。”

“我猜那就没什么事，别去想它了。”玛蒂说着，又缝了起来。

伊桑静静地看着她，然后轻轻地抓住了她针线活计的另一角。玛蒂的温暖好像通过它流向了伊桑。她能感觉到他的手传递回去的温暖吗？他们这样坐了一阵子，忽然伊桑听到背后一声响动。猫跳下了齐娜的摇椅，这个突然的动作让空摇椅幽灵般地摇晃起来。

“明天这个时候，齐娜就会坐在那把椅子上了。”伊桑想，“我就像做了一场梦，今晚是我们唯一共同度过的夜晚了……”回到现实让他充满痛苦，忽然间他感到十分疲惫。

玛蒂看着他，一时间他看到她脸上掠过惊恐的神色。他拉起她的针线活儿，轻轻地亲着一角。她慢慢地将它从他唇边抽出来，放到一边。已经11点了。

“炉火还好吧？”她低声问道。

他们看了看炉火，把花盆从寒冷的窗子旁搬开，熄了灯。

“晚安，玛蒂。”玛蒂走上第一级楼梯时，伊桑说道。

“晚安，伊桑。”她答道，然后上楼去了。

当她房间的门关上的时候，他想起自己甚至连她的手都没碰一下。

5

Zeena's news

The next morning Jotham Powell came round early to help load some more wood. Ethan could still feel inside him the sweetness of the evening before, and he tried hard not to show his happiness.

He did not know why he felt so happy. There was no reason for it, because nothing had changed in his life or in Mattie's. But their evening together had given him a dream — a picture of life with Mattie at his side.

He wanted to load the wood quickly and then drive it down to Starkfield, where he could buy the glue to mend the broken dish. He was sending Jotham to fetch Zeena from the station after dinner, so they needed to work fast. But the morning went badly. A wet snow had fallen in the night, and the roads were like glass. One of his horses fell and cut its leg. Icy rain started to fall, making the loading slow and difficult. It was after midday when they finished.

Immediately after dinner, Ethan put his coat on again. Jotham was drying his wet feet by the fire and Mattie was washing the dishes.

'I'll be back early,' Ethan said to Mattie in a low voice. He was afraid to say more in front of Jotham, but he thought that Mattie understood him.

The journey down to the village was long and slow, with his two old horses pulling their heavy load over the snow and ice underfoot. By the time he had unloaded the wood and managed to buy the glue, it was already late afternoon. On the way back the rain began again, turning to ice as it fell on the snow and making the road even more glassy and dangerous. Once or twice Ethan heard sleigh-bells and turned round, afraid that Jotham and Zeena were coming up behind him. But for most of the journey he just looked grimly into the falling rain, as his tired horses made their way up the hill.

At last he arrived home and hurried into the kitchen. Mattie was alone.

'Look, Matt,' he cried, 'I've got the glue to mend the dish with! Quick, let me get it!'

'Oh, Ethan — Zeena's back!' she said in a whisper, holding onto his arm.

Ethan looked round the kitchen, which looked cold and unwelcoming in the wintry evening light.

'How is she?' he asked, in the same low whisper.

'I don't know. She didn't say anything, she just went straight upstairs.'

Ethan put the glue back in his pocket. 'Don't worry. I'll come down and mend the dish in the night,' he said.

Then, just as she had done the evening before, Mattie said: 'I guess it's about time for supper.'

Ethan called Zeena, but there was no answer. He went up to the bedroom, and pushed open the door. In the darkness he saw Zeena's figure sitting by the window, still wearing her travelling dress.

'Well, Zeena, supper's ready. Ain't you coming?'

'I don't think I could eat a thing,' she replied, then turned her head towards him. 'I'm much sicker than you think.'

'I hope that's not so, Zeena.'

'The doctor says I mustn't do anything at all in the house. So we'll have to get a hired girl.'

'A hired girl?'

'Yes. My aunt's found me one already. She's coming tomorrow afternoon.'

'Why didn't you tell me what you planned to do?' he asked angrily. 'Where do you think I'll get the money to pay her?'

'How did I know what the doctor would say? I'm ashamed to have a husband like you, Ethan Frome. I lost my health taking care of your own mother! Marrying me was the least that you could do after —'

'Zeena!'

The darkness between them was filled with anger. It was their first moment of open fighting in their sad seven years together. Ethan felt ashamed, and tried to speak more calmly.

'You know I don't have the money, Zeena. She'll have to go back.'

'What about that fifty dollars from Andrew Hale?'

He remembered the lie he had told the day before.

'I guess that was a mistake.'

'You mean you ain't going to get it?'

'No. I'm sorry, Zeena. You're a poor man's wife. But I'll do the best I can to help you.'

'Oh, I guess we'll manage,' she said more gently. 'And without Mattie's food to pay for —'

'Without Mattie's —?' he began.

Zeena laughed. It was a strange sound. He couldn't remember hearing her laugh before.

'You didn't think Mattie was staying, did you?'

'But you can't send her away — she's your cousin.'

'Well, we can't keep two girls here.'

Ethan could not believe what he was hearing.

'Ethan — Zeena! Supper's ready!' Mattie called brightly from downstairs.

Ethan felt angry and helpless. 'But where will she go? A poor girl with no friends or money...'

'She's been here long enough. We've kept her for over a year now, and it's time for her to go.'

Ethan looked at his wife with eyes full of hate. It was an angry, bitter hate. It was a hate which had grown during years of hard work, hopeless poverty, and broken dreams. This woman had destroyed all his hopes. She had taken everything from him, and now wanted to take the one beautiful thing left in his life. He made a sudden, violent movement towards her, then stopped.

'I don't think I'll come down,' said Zeena calmly. 'I guess I'll just lie on the bed a while.'

Ethan went downstairs to the kitchen, and Mattie gave him a plate of food. He took a mouthful, then pushed the plate away.

'What's the matter, Ethan? Doesn't it taste right?'

'It's fine, Matt. Only I —' He stood up quickly.

She looked at him with frightened eyes. 'I knew there was something wrong. What is it, Ethan? What is it?'

He took her in his arms and found her lips at last. He kissed and kissed her. He was lost in the sweetness of her lips. Then she pulled away from him, her face white with fear, and he cried out:

'You can't go, Matt! I'll never let you go!'

'Go... go?' she whispered. 'Must I go? Ethan, what has happened? Is Zeena angry with me?'

He told her what the doctor had said. Mattie looked so small and helpless. His heart ached for her, and he wanted to hold her in his arms again. They were silent for a long while, then Mattie said in a low voice:

'Don't be too sorry, Ethan.'

'Oh, Matt — Matt — where'll you go?'

'Maybe I'll get something to do in town.' But they both knew that she had little chance of finding a job. There were too many people looking for work in the towns, and there were no jobs that Mattie could do. And Ethan knew what happened to girls who had no job, no money, and no friends... He sat down in despair, and hid his face in his hands.

Then they heard Zeena's footsteps on the stairs. She came down wearing her usual dress. Then she sat down in her usual seat, and took a large plateful of food. She ate well, and talked in an everyday way about the illnesses of her friends and family in Bettsbridge. As she spoke, she looked at Mattie with a small smile on her thin lips. When supper was finished, she stood up and said:

'That meal's given me a stomach-ache. I think I'll go and look for the stomach medicine that I bought last year.'

She left the room. Ethan's and Mattie's eyes met, full of silent despair. The kitchen looked as warm and peaceful as the night before, but now everything had changed. Then suddenly Zeena was back, her face burning with anger. In her hands she held the broken pieces of the red glass dish.

'I want to know who did this,' she said in a shaking voice.

'I can tell you. It was the cat,' answered Ethan after a few moments.

'The cat? How did the cat get into my hall cupboard?'

'Oh, Zeena, it was my fault, not Ethan's!' cried Mattie. 'I got it down from your cupboard. I — I wanted the supper table to look pretty.'

'You wanted the supper table to look pretty! So you took my very best dish, the one that I never, ever use. Not for visitors, not for anyone. You're a bad girl, Mattie Silver, just like your father. I always knew you were bad — that's why I hid my things from you. And now you've taken the thing that I cared for the most —' Tears ran down her thin, yellowish face. Then she left the room, carrying the pieces of broken glass like a dead body.

cut v. to injure a part of your body with something sharp that cuts the skin 割破，划破

glassy adj. smooth and shing like glass 平滑如镜的

destroy v. to damage something so severely that it no longer exists or can never return to its normal state 毁灭，破坏

mouthful n. an amount of food or drink that you put in your mouth at one time （食物或饮料的）一口

despair n. the complete loss or absence of hope 绝望

5．齐娜的消息

第二天，乔撒姆·鲍威尔早早就来帮着把木材装车。伊桑仍能感到内心留存着昨晚的甜蜜，他努力不表现出自己的幸福感觉。

他不知自己为何感到如此幸福。没什么理由，因为他的生活不曾有什么改变，玛蒂的生活也没有。可他们共度的那个夜晚给了他一个梦想——一幅玛蒂相伴自己生活的画面。

他想快点儿把木材装好，然后驾车去斯塔克菲尔德镇，在那儿他能买到胶水把碎盘子粘起来。他让乔撒姆饭后去车站接齐娜，所以他们得快点儿干活。可上午的天气糟透了。夜里的雨夹雪让路面变得像玻璃一样滑。他的一匹马摔倒了，划伤了腿。天又下起了冰冷的雨，使装车进行得缓慢而困难。他们装完木材时已经过了中午。

一吃完饭，伊桑就又穿上外衣。乔撒姆正在炉火边烘烤他的湿脚，玛蒂在洗盘子。

“我会早点儿回来。”伊桑低声对玛蒂说。在乔撒姆面前他不敢多说什么，他想玛蒂能明白自己的意思。

去村上的路走得又长又慢，两匹老马拖着沉重的木材在冰雪上前行。等他卸完了木材，买到胶水，已经到了黄昏时分。回家的路上又下起了雨，雨点落在雪上变成冰，路变得更滑、更危险了。有一两次伊桑听到雪橇铃声，回头张望，他害怕乔撒姆和齐娜从背后赶上来。可大多数时候，当疲惫的马蹒跚上山时，他只是阴郁地看着下着的雨。

他终于到了家，快步走进厨房。玛蒂独自一人在那儿。

“瞧，玛蒂，”他大声说道，“我买到粘盘子的胶水啦！快，给我盘子！”

“哦，伊桑——齐娜已经回来了！”她抓住他的胳膊低声说道。

伊桑环顾厨房，在冬日夜晚的灯光下，厨房看上去冰冰冷冷，让人不舒服。

“她怎么样？”他用同样低的声音问道。

“不知道。她什么都没说，直接上楼了。”

伊桑把胶水放回衣袋。“别担心，我夜里下来把盘子粘上。”他说。

接下来，玛蒂就像前一夜一样，说道：“我想该是吃晚饭的时候了。”

伊桑叫齐娜，可她没回答。他上楼来到卧室前，推开门。黑暗中，他看见齐娜的身影坐在窗边，仍穿着外出时的衣裳。

“嘿，齐娜，晚饭好了。不来吗？”

“我想我吃不下什么了。”她答道，转头向着他，“我的病比你想的严重。”

“真希望不是那样，齐娜。”

“医生说我根本不能干家务了。咱们得雇个女孩儿。”

“雇个女孩儿？”

“对，我姑妈已经给我找了一个。明天下午就来。”

“你怎么不告诉我你的计划？”他愤怒地问道，“你想想我哪儿有钱雇她？”

“我怎么知道医生会说什么？有你这样的丈夫，我真感到羞耻，伊桑·弗罗姆。为了照顾你母亲，我搭上了自己的健康！娶我是你最起码该做的事情——”

“齐娜！”

愤怒的气息充斥于他们之间黑暗的空间。七年的悲哀生活中，这是他们第一次公开的争吵。伊桑感到羞耻，他尽力冷静地说道：

“你知道我没钱，齐娜。她必须回去。”

“你从安德鲁·黑尔那儿拿到的50美元呢？”

他记起前一天对她撒的谎。

“我想是弄错了。”

“你是说你拿不到钱了？”

“对。对不起，齐娜。你是个穷人的老婆。但我会尽力帮你的。”

“哦，我想我们会有办法的，”她温和了些，说道：“而如果不用付玛蒂的伙食——”

“没有玛蒂——？”他问。

齐娜笑了，笑声很奇怪。他记不起曾听她笑过。

“你不会以为玛蒂要留下来吧，是吗？”

“可你不能打发她走——她是你表妹。”

“哦，咱们可养不起两个丫头。”

伊桑简直不敢相信自己听到的。

“伊桑——齐娜！晚饭好了！”玛蒂在楼下清脆地喊道。

伊桑感到愤怒、无助。“可她能去哪儿呢？一个没有朋友又没钱的女孩儿……”

“她在这儿待得够长了。我们养了她一年多，她该走了。”

伊桑看着妻子，眼里充满怨恨。那是愤怒的、憎恶的怨恨；是多年来在艰辛的劳作、绝望的贫穷和破碎的梦想中积生的怨恨。这个女人毁了他所有的希望，夺走了他的全部，现在又想夺走他生命中留下的唯一一件美丽的事物。他忽然狂暴地向她走去，又停了下来。

“我不想下楼了。”齐娜平静地说，“我想在床上躺会儿。”

伊桑下楼来到厨房，玛蒂递给他一盘食物。他吃了一口，就把盘子推到一边。

“怎么了，伊桑？不好吃吗？”

“没事儿，玛蒂。我只是——”伊桑一下子站了起来。

玛蒂惊恐地看着他。“我知道出事了。怎么了，伊桑？怎么了？”

他将她揽入怀中，寻觅到她的双唇，反复亲吻着她，沉醉于她双唇的甜蜜中。玛蒂抽身离开伊桑，面色因惊惧而变得苍白。伊桑大喊：

“你不能走，玛蒂！我决不让你走！”

“走……走？”她低声念叨，“我必须走吗？伊桑，怎么啦？齐娜生我气了吗？”

伊桑告诉了她医生的话。玛蒂看上去如此弱小无助。他心疼她，想再次把她搂进怀里。他们沉默了很久，然后玛蒂低低地说道：

“别太难过，伊桑。”

“哦，玛蒂——玛蒂——你能去哪儿呢？”

“或许我能在城里找点儿活儿干。”但他们都知道，她找不到什么工作。城里有太多的人在找工作，没什么玛蒂能干的活儿。伊桑知道，一个女孩儿如果没工作、没钱、没朋友，那会发生什么……他绝望地坐下，用双手捂住脸。

这时，他们听到楼梯上传来齐娜的脚步声。她穿着家常的衣服下来了，在平时坐的椅子上坐下，拿了一大盘食物。她吃得很香，还扯起了家常，谈到贝茨布里奇亲友们的病情。说话时，她看着玛蒂，薄薄的嘴唇上挂着一丝浅笑。吃完饭，她站起身说道：

“这饭吃得我胃痛。我得去找点儿去年买的胃药。”

她离开了厨房。伊桑和玛蒂目光相遇，充满了无声的绝望。厨房像昨夜一样温暖安详，可现在，一切都变了。这时齐娜突然折了回来，满脸怒气，她手里拿着红色玻璃盘子的碎片。

“我想知道这是谁干的。”她的声音在颤抖。

“告诉你吧，是猫干的。”过了一会儿，伊桑答道。

“猫？猫怎么能爬到门厅的橱柜里去？”

“哦，齐娜，是我的错，跟伊桑没关系！”玛蒂哭道，“我把盘子从你的橱柜里拿下来的。我——我想让晚餐的桌子看上去漂亮些。”

“你想让晚餐桌子漂亮些！你就用了我最好的盘子，我从来都不用的盘子。不为客人，不为任何人。你这个坏丫头，玛蒂·西尔弗，你跟你爸爸一样。我就知道你不怎么样——所以我把东西藏起来，不让你看见。可现在你拿了我最心爱的东西——”眼泪顺着齐娜瘦削枯黄的面颊流下来。然后她离开了房间，手里捧着那些碎玻璃片，好像托着一具尸体。

6

No escape

When Zeena had gone, Ethan and Mattie stood in silence for a moment. Then Mattie began to tidy the kitchen and Ethan went outside to check the animals, as he did every night. The room was empty when he returned, but on the table under his pipe was a piece of paper. Three words were written on it: 'Ethan, don't worry.'

There was a small room at the back of the house where Ethan kept his books and papers. His mother had let him use it as a study-room when he first returned to the farm after his father's accident. He still sat there in summer, but the room had no fire and in winter it was too cold. This was where he went to look again at his message from Mattie. It was the first time she had ever written to him. He read her words and felt nearer to her, but at the same time he remembered that very soon he would never see her again. 'Soon there'll be no warm smile, no gentle voice, only this — cold paper and dead words,' he thought.

He lay down on a hard little bed that was there, covered himself with an old coat, and began to think about his life. He had lost so many chances and forgotten so many of his dreams, all to please Zeena. But she was now far more discontented than when he had married her. Must he live the rest of his days beside this bitter, complaining woman? No. He was too young and strong, too full of life to throw away all hope of happiness. Then he thought — why shouldn't he leave with Mattie the next day? He would hide his suitcase under the seat of the sleigh, leave Zeena a letter...

He jumped up, lit the lamp again, sat down at the table and began to write.

Zeena, I've done everything I could for you. But it hasn't worked. It's neither my fault nor yours. Maybe it'll be better for both of us if we live apart. I'm going to see what I can find in the West. You can sell the farm and saw-mill and keep the money —

At that word, he stopped writing and began to think. Without the farm he would have no money. He was sure that he could find work in the West, but would he get enough money to take care of Mattie too? And what about Zeena, alone on the farm? She couldn't keep it going on her own, and it would be hard to sell. The land was poor and not many people would want to buy it. But how could he let poor Mattie leave alone?

As he picked up his pen, his eyes fell on a Bettsbridge newspaper. He saw the words 'Journeys to the West', and pulled the lamp nearer to see the prices of the tickets. Then the pen fell from his hand, and he pushed the unfinished letter away. He didn't even have the money to take Mattie to the West. He had already borrowed to mend the saw-mill, and couldn't borrow any more. The cold facts closed around him like prison doors. There was no way out—none. He was locked in that prison for life, and now his one light was disappearing.

He lay down again with a heavy heart and tears burning in his eyes. Through the window he saw the snow-covered slopes shining in the moonlight, the silver-edged darkness of the woods, and the shadowy purple of the hills against the sky. He felt that the beauty of the night was laughing at him, lying there so miserably.

He fell asleep. In the morning he woke cold and hungry. He went to the window, and saw a red sun coming up over the grey edges of the fields. 'This is Matt's last day,' he said to himself. He tried to think how the place would be without her.

He heard a step behind him, turned round and saw Mattie. She looked so small and thin, standing there in her poor dress in the cold, wintry light.

'I'll come and light the kitchen fire,' he said.

Mattie started her usual morning housework. The kitchen slowly became warmer, and the first sunlight entered the room. Ethan began to feel more hopeful. 'Maybe Zeena didn't mean what she said,' he thought. 'Maybe, now that daylight's here, she'll think again and let Mattie stay.'

He went up to Mattie and touched her arm gently. 'I don't want you to worry, Matt,' he said, looking down into her eyes with a smile. 'I guess things'll be all right.'

'No, I ain't going to worry,' she said softly.

He went out to the farm, and soon afterwards Jotham Powell joined him. As they were doing their morning's work with the cows, Jotham said:

'Mrs Frome told me the new girl's comin' today, and Mattie's leavin'. I got to take her down to the station.'

Ethan felt the blood beating in his head. After a moment he found his voice, and said:

'Oh, it ain't so sure that Mattie's going —'

'Is that so?' said Jotham, not at all interested, and he went on with his work.

When they returned to the kitchen, the two women were already at breakfast. Zeena was eating well, and seemed very lively and busy. She looked at the hired man.

'Jotham, I want you here mid-afternoon to pick up Mattie,' she said. 'The new girl's getting to the station at five o'clock. Mattie can get the train at six.' Then she turned to Mattie and went on, 'Now, what've you done with one of my best cotton sheets? And there are a few other things missing, too.'

Mattie followed Zeena out of the room, leaving the two men alone.

'I guess I'll come round mid-afternoon, then,' said Jotham to his employer.

When the morning's work was finished, Ethan said to Jotham: 'I'm going down to Starkfield. Tell them not to wait for me at dinnertime.'

It was a clear, still morning, with a whisper of spring in the air. The snowy fields shone silver in the bright morning sunlight. Ethan walked down the road, angry and ashamed. So Mattie really was leaving, and he could only stand by, helpless. What must she think of him? As he walked, he could feel laughing voice in the song of the birds. He knew that he had to do something. But what?

Then a thought came to him. Andrew Hale was a kind-hearted man. 'Maybe,' thought Ethan, 'he'll let me have some money now, if I tell him that Zeena's really sick and that we need a hired girl to help her. Mrs Hale will listen to me, I'm sure.'

He thought about this idea as he walked faster and faster down the road. With each long step he felt more sure of his plan's success. And with fifty dollars in his pocket, nothing could keep him from Mattie...

As he came into Starkfield, he saw the Hales' sleigh, and hurried forward to meet it. The sleigh stopped, and Mrs Hale's round, motherly face looked out. She smiled at Ethan, told him that her husband was at home, then added:

'I'm sorry that Zeena's feeling bad again. She's lucky to have you to take care of her. And so was your poor mother. You've had an awful hard life, Ethan Frome.'

When she had gone, Ethan felt less alone in his unhappiness. It had been a long time since anyone had spoken to him as kindly as Mrs Hale. The Hales were caring people who felt sorry for him, and now he felt sure that they would help him.

He started down the road to their house, then stopped after a few steps. He suddenly saw himself, and his life, in the clear light of day. He was a poor man, planning to leave his sickly wife all alone and without money. And how was he planning to do this heartless thing? By telling lies to two kind people who felt sorry for him.

He turned and walked slowly back to the farm.

discontent adj. dissatisfied 不满意的，不高兴的

on one's own independently, without help 独立地

miserably adv. extremely unhappily and uncomfortably 痛苦地，悲惨地

employer n. a person, company, or organization that hires people 雇主

kind-hearted adj. kind and generous 好心的，仁慈的

6．无处可逃

齐娜离开后，伊桑和玛蒂静静地站了一会儿。然后玛蒂开始收拾厨房，伊桑像平时晚上一样，出去照看牲畜。他回来时，厨房空了，桌子上他的烟斗下面有一张纸，上面写了几个字：“伊桑，别担心。”

在房子的后部，有个小房间，伊桑用来存放他的书和报纸。父亲出事后，他辍学回到农场，母亲让他把这间屋子当作书房。夏天时，他还会坐在那儿，可因为不生火，到冬天屋子就会很冷。伊桑走进这间屋子，又看了一眼玛蒂留给他的字条。这是玛蒂第一次给他写东西。他看着她的字迹，感到离她更近了，可同时他又记起来，不久就再也看不到玛蒂了。“很快，就再也看不到她那温暖的笑容，听不到她那柔和的声音了，只剩下这个——这张冷冰冰的纸和没有生气的文字。”他想。

伊桑在一张小小的硬板床上躺了下来，盖上一件旧大衣，开始思考他的生活。他曾经错过了那么多机会，忘却了那么多梦想，全是为了取悦齐娜。可现在比起当初娶她的时候，她的不满更多了。难道他要在这个满心怨气、牢骚不断的女人身边度过余生吗？不，他还年轻、健壮，充满活力，不能放弃对幸福的希望。接着，他想——为什么他不能在明天和玛蒂一起离开呢？他可以把行李箱藏在雪橇的座位底下，给齐娜留下一封信……

他跳了起来，重新点上灯，坐在桌子前开始写信：

齐娜，我已经为你做了我能做的一切，可都没用。我们都没错。或许分开对我们都好一些。我想看看在西部能找到什么事干。你可以把农场和锯木场卖了，拿着钱——

写到这里，他停下笔，思索起来。没有了农场，他就身无分文。他相信自己能在西部找到工作，可他能挣到足够的钱来养活玛蒂吗？齐娜又该怎么办？孤身一个在农场生活？她自己没法维持农场的活计，农场也不那么好卖。土地贫瘠，没多少人会想买。可他又怎能让可怜的玛蒂一个人离开呢？

他提起笔来，眼光落到了一张贝茨布里奇的报纸上。他看到一行字：“西部旅行”，于是把灯凑近一些，查看票价。笔从他手中滑落下来，他把还没写完的信推到了一边。他连带着玛蒂去西部的钱都不够。为了整修锯木场，他已经借了一笔钱，不能再借了。冷酷的现实像监狱的大门一样将他囚禁，没有出路——一条都没有。他一生都被关在这个监狱里，而现在他唯一的光亮也在消失。

他心情沉重地重新躺下，眼里含着滚烫的泪水。透过窗子，他看见月光下白雪覆盖的山坡荧荧发亮，黝黑的树林镶着银边，山丘在夜幕的映衬下现出紫色的暗影。他感到这美丽的夜色在嘲笑自己，躺在这儿，如此悲惨。

伊桑睡了过去。早晨他醒来的时候，感到又冷又饿。他走到窗前，看到一轮红日正从田野的灰色边际上冉冉升起。“今天是玛蒂在这儿的最后一天了。”他自言自语，试想着没有玛蒂，家里会是个什么样子。

他听到身后一阵脚步，于是转过身来，看到了玛蒂。在冬日的清冷阳光下，她看上去如此瘦小，穿着一身寒酸的衣服站在那儿。

“我去厨房生火。”他说。

玛蒂像平常的早晨一样，做起了家务。厨房慢慢暖和起来，第一缕阳光照进屋来。伊桑开始觉得又有了些希望。“或许齐娜不想那么做。”他想，“或许，现在到了白天，她会重新考虑一下，让玛蒂留下。”

伊桑走到玛蒂跟前，轻轻地碰了碰她的胳膊。“我不想让你担心，玛蒂。”他垂下头看着玛蒂的眼睛，笑着说，“我猜没什么事的。”

“嗯，我不担心。”玛蒂轻轻地说。

伊桑去了农场，不久乔撒姆·鲍威尔也到了，帮着他干活。他们早晨的活儿是挤牛奶，正干着的时候，乔撒姆说道：

“弗罗姆太太告诉我，新雇的女孩儿今天到。玛蒂要走了。我送她去车站。”

伊桑感到脑中血流突突直蹦，过了一会儿，他才说出话来：

“哦，玛蒂还不一定要走呢——”

“是吗？”乔撒姆答道，一副漠不关心的样子，继续干着他的活儿。

他们回到厨房时，齐娜和玛蒂正在吃早饭。齐娜胃口不错，看上去精神十足，忙忙碌碌，她看着雇工乔撒姆。

“乔撒姆，我想让你三四点钟过来接玛蒂。”她说，“新来的女孩儿五点钟到车站。玛蒂能赶上六点的火车。”她接着冲玛蒂说道：“哎，你把我那条上好的棉床单怎么了？还有几样东西也不见了。”

玛蒂跟着齐娜走出厨房，剩下两个男人在屋里。

“那么，我想我会三四点钟过来。”乔撒姆对伊桑说道。

干完了上午的活儿，伊桑告诉乔撒姆：“我要去斯塔克菲尔德镇上。告诉她们别等我吃饭了。”

上午的天气晴朗，四周一片寂静，有一丝春天的气息。白雪覆盖的田野在灿烂的阳光下闪着银光。伊桑走在路上，感到又羞愧又生气。玛蒂真的要走了，而他只能无助地站在一边。她会怎么看他？他一边走着，感觉鸟儿的鸣叫就像在嘲笑他。他知道自己必须做些事情，可做什么呢？

他忽然有了个主意。安德鲁·黑尔是个好心人。“要是我告诉他，齐娜病得不轻，我们需要雇个女孩儿来照顾她，或许他能借我些钱。黑尔夫人会相信我的，我肯定。”他想。

他想着这个主意，脚步越来越快。每走一步，他就更确信自己的计划能够成功。只要口袋里有了50美元，那就没有什么能分开他和玛蒂……

一到斯塔克菲尔德镇，他就看见了黑尔家的马拉雪橇，于是急忙走上前去。雪橇停了，黑尔夫人那慈祥的圆脸探了过来，她笑着告诉伊桑，她丈夫正在家里，还说：

“齐娜又病了，我真难过。有你照顾，她可真幸运，你可怜的母亲也是。你的生活真是苦啊，伊桑·弗罗姆。”

黑尔夫人离开了，伊桑感到自己虽然不幸，但不那么孤独了。很久没人像黑尔夫人那样，那么亲切地和他说过话了。黑尔一家有同情心，为他的不幸感到难过。他感到他们肯定会帮助自己。

他沿路向黑尔家走去，走了没几步就停下了。在晴朗的阳光下，忽然间他看清了自己，还有自己的生活。他这个穷人，正盘算着抛弃生病的妻子，让她孤身一个人、身无分文，并对两个为自己感到难过的好心人撒谎，他怎么能做如此无情的事呢？

他转过身，慢慢地向农场走回去。

7

The last ride

It was about midday when Ethan got home. Zeena was by the fire with a scarf on her head and a book about stomach pains in her hand. She did not move or look up.

'Where's Mattie?' Ethan asked.

Zeena continued to read her book. 'I guess she's packing her case,' she replied.

Ethan went straight upstairs. Mattie's door was closed. 'Matt,' he said in a low voice. There was no answer, so he gently pushed open the door.

Mattie was sitting on her case in her best dress, with her back to the door and her face in her hands. She was crying. Ethan put his hands on her shoulders.

'Matt — oh, don't — oh, Matt!'

'Ethan — I thought you weren't coming back!' she cried, lifting her wet face to his.

He took her in his arms, and kissed her soft hair. Then they heard Zeena calling, and moved away from each other.

He carried her suitcase downstairs, and with every 'tick' of the clock, the pain in his heart grew.

At dinner he could eat nothing. After the meal Zeena sat down by the fire and Mattie began to wash the dishes. Jotham got up from the table and asked Ethan:

'So what time'll I come round for Mattie?'

'You needn't come round; I'm going to drive her over myself,' he answered.

Zeena lifted her head. 'I want you here this afternoon, Ethan. You'll have to get the room ready for the new girl. Jotham can take Mattie.'

'I'm going to drive her over myself,' he repeated in a hard voice. He turned to Mattie: 'You be ready at three, Matt. I've got business in Corbury.'

With those words he left the house. He could feel the hot blood beating in his head, as the anger burned inside him. He hurried through his work. then went to get the horse and sleigh. He remembered the day when he had got the sleigh ready in order to fetch his wife's cousin from the station. It was little more than a year ago, on a soft afternoon just like this, with a whisper of spring in the air. And all the days between then and now came back to him, one by one.

He jumped into the sleigh and drove up to the house. The kitchen was empty, and Mattie's case and coat lay ready by the door. After a moment he heard someone moving about in his study-room. He pushed open the door and saw Mattie standing by the table.

'What are you doing in there, Matt?'

'Just looking round,' she replied.

'Where's Zeena?'

'Gone upstairs. She said she had her pains again.'

'Didn't she say goodbye?'

'No. That was all she said.'

They went back into the kitchen. Ethan looked slowly around the room, thinking, 'In a few hours I shall return here alone. I'm looking at Mattie here for the last time.' He could not believe it; it all seemed so unreal.

'Come on,' he said, opening the door. He helped her into the sleigh, and with a 'Go along!' to the horse, they started off down the hill.

'We got lots of time for a good ride, Matt!' he said, taking her hand in his.

As they left the farm, he did not take the road towards Starkfield, but turned the horse to the right, up the Bettsbridge road. Mattie did not seem surprised.

'Are you going round by Shadow Pond?'

'You knew, didn't you?' he laughed.

The road took them down into a wood, where the trees shone reddish in the afternoon sun, leaving soft blue shadows on the untouched snow. There was a warm stillness in the wood. In the middle was a small icy pond, with sweet-smelling trees all around. It was a quiet, secret place, like the quiet sadness in Ethan's heart. They saw a fallen tree by the icy water, half covered in snow. It was where they had sat once last August, together with a group of young people from Starkfield church.

They sat down now in the same place, and remembered those few happy moments from that hot summer afternoon. Ethan looked at Mattie's hair, and wished he could touch it again. He wanted to tell her that it smelled of the woods in springtime, but he had never learned to say things like that.

When the sun began to go down behind the hill, Mattie said: 'We mustn't stay here any longer.'

As they drove back towards Starkfield, the sky was turning grey, with a cold red over the western hills.

'Matt,' Ethan said at last. 'What'll you do? Can't you ask your father's family for help?'

'I don't want to ask them,' she replied, then after a moment added: 'I guess I'll find something.'

'You know I'd do anything for you —'

'Yes, I know.'

'But I can't —'

She was silent, but he felt her shoulder shaking. 'Oh, Matt,' he cried. 'I wish...'

She turned to him. 'Ethan, I found this.' She held out a piece of paper. It was the unfinished letter to his wife, which he had forgotten to destroy. A painful happiness ran through him. Were Mattie's dreams the same as his? He had to know.

'Do you feel like that too, Matt? Tell me, Matt, tell me!'

'Oh, Ethan, what does it matter now?' she cried. With a sudden movement she tore the letter into pieces and threw them onto the snow. For a moment she was silent, then said in a low voice:

'The first time I thought of you like that was at Shadow Pond. Then I often used to think about you on summer nights when the moon was too bright and I couldn't sleep.'

Her words filled Ethan's heart with sweetness. Darkness began to fall and they drove on in silence for a while.

'I'm fastened hand and foot, Matt. There isn't a thing I can do,' he began again.

'You must write to me sometimes, Ethan.'

'Oh, what can writing do? I want to put my hand out and touch you. I want to take care of you. I want to be there when you're sick and when you're lonely.'

'Oh, Ethan, I wish I was dead!' she cried.

'Don't let's talk that way,' he whispered.

As they arrived in Starkfield, a sleigh with bells passed them. They heard happy children's voices and saw a group of village boys with sleds. They drove on to the top of the Corbury road. On one side was the tall white shape of the church, on the other were the dark shadows of the Varnum trees. The steep slope lay empty and white below them. An idea came to Ethan, to help himself and her through their miserable last hour. He turned to Mattie.

'We never went coasting last night. Shall we go down now? How would you like that?'

'There isn't time!'

'There's as much time as we want,' he said. 'The hired girl can wait. Look, someone's left a sled under the trees.'

He helped her out of the sleigh, and took her by the hand towards the sled. They both sat down on it, with Mattie in front and Ethan behind.

'It's so dark, Ethan. Are you sure you can see?'

'Oh, I can do this with my eyes closed!' he laughed. She laughed with him, then after a moment he cried: 'Now!'

They started off, and soon the sled was flying down the slope, round the corner by the big tree, and down the second slope. They came to a stop, picked up the sled, and began to climb up the hill again.

'It was wonderful!' laughed Mattie.

'Weren't you afraid when we went round the tree?'

'I'm never afraid with you,' she replied.

A deep silence seemed to fall from the starless sky. At each step of their climb Ethan said to himself: 'It's the last time we'll ever walk together.'

When they reached the Varnum trees, Ethan put back the sled. 'I guess this must be Ned Hale's sled,' he said.

'Is this where Ned and Ruth kissed each other?' Mattie whispered, throwing her arms round Ethan. Her lips found his, and Ethan held her close to him.

'Goodbye — goodbye,' she said in a shaking voice, and kissed him again.

'Matt, I can't let you go! What'll we do? What'll we do?'

They stood holding hands like children. Through the stillness they heard the church clock.

'Oh, Ethan, it's already five o'clock. It's time!'

'Time for what? I'm not leaving you now. How can we go anywhere without each other, after this?'

Suddenly she threw her arms round his neck again.

'Ethan! Ethan! I want you to take me down again!'

'Down where?'

'Down there. Into the tree, to finish it all. Then we'll never have to leave each other again.'

'Matt! What are you saying? Are you crazy?'

'No, but I will be crazy if I leave you. Where'll I go without you? You're the only person who's ever been good to me. And there'll be a strange girl sleeping in my bed where I used to lie at night and think of you...'

Her words were like pieces torn from his heart. Now at last he knew that Mattie's feelings were as strong as his. How could he go back to that hated house, to the woman who was waiting for him there?

He held her close and kissed her, but when her face touched his, it was cold and wet with tears. He saw the road down to the station, and through the still air he heard a train. The dark trees covered them in blackness and silence, like a grave. 'Perhaps it'll be like this,' he thought. 'After this I won't feel anything.'

'Come,' she whispered, pulling at his hand. He picked the sled up, and they took their places on it. This time he made her sit behind him. She put her arms round him, and he turned his head and kissed her. She was right — this was better than being apart.

Just as they started, he heard his horse whinny. First came the steep drop, and they seemed to be flying through the air, high up into the cloudy night. Then Ethan saw the big tree at the corner of the road, and he said between his teeth: 'We can do it; I know we can do it —'

As they flew towards the tree, Mattie held him closer and he seemed to feel her heart beating. The tree became bigger and nearer. 'It's waiting for us; it knows,' he thought. But suddenly his wife's face, grim and twisted, appeared before him, and he moved to push the picture away. There was a last moment when the air shot past him like millions of burning stars. And then the tree...

*　　*　　*

The sky was still cloudy, but when he looked straight up he saw a single star. What was its name? He used to know, but he couldn't remember. He felt so tired...

Through the deep stillness he heard a little animal making a small, frightened sound. He knew the animal was in terrible pain — he could feel its pain shooting through his own body. He reached out his left arm to help the poor animal, and felt something soft under his hand. He tried to move but could not, because there was a rock, or some heavy thing, lying on him. Then he realized that his hand was on Mattie's face, and the sound was coming from her lips...

He put his face next to hers, and in the darkness he saw her eyes open and heard her say his name.

'Oh, Matt, I thought we'd done it,' he whispered; and far away, up the hill, he heard the horse whinny, and thought: 'I ought to give him his supper...'

straight adv. directly and immediately 直接地，径直地

in order to so that someone can do something or something can happen 为了……

start off to begin to move 动身，启程

painful adj. making you feel upset, ashamed or unhappy 引起痛苦的

fasten v. to hold something very tightly 牢牢控制住

starless adj. with no stars in the sky 没有星星的

whinny v. (of a horse) to make a high sound through its nose and mouth （马）嘶鸣

frightened adj. feeling or showing fear 受惊吓的

7．最后一段行程

伊桑到家时，大概是中午。齐娜裹着头巾坐在炉火边，手里拿着本跟胃病有关的书。她一动不动，连眼皮也没抬。

“玛蒂呢？”伊桑问道。

齐娜继续看她的书，答道：“我猜她在收拾箱子吧。”

伊桑径直上了楼。玛蒂的房间关着门。“玛蒂。”他低声道。没有应声，于是他轻轻地推开门。

玛蒂穿着她最好的衣服，坐在箱子上，背对着门，双手捂脸，正在哭呢。伊桑把双手放在她肩上。

“玛蒂——哦，不要——哦，玛蒂！”

“伊桑——我以为你不回来了！”她哭着，抬起满是泪水的脸看他。

他抱住她，亲吻她柔软的头发。接着，他们听到齐娜的喊声，于是相互分开来。

他提着她的行李箱下楼，钟声每“滴答”一下，他心中的痛苦就增长一分。

午饭时，他什么都吃不下去。饭后，齐娜又坐在炉火边，玛蒂开始洗碗碟。乔撒姆从桌边站了起来，问伊桑：

“我什么时候来接玛蒂？”

“你不用过来了，我会驾车送她去。”伊桑答道。

齐娜抬起头来。“我想要你下午待在这儿，伊桑。你得给新来的女孩儿准备好房间。乔撒姆可以送玛蒂去。”

“我要亲自送她去。”伊桑冷冷地重复了一句，转身对玛蒂说：“3点钟你准备好，玛蒂。我在科贝里还有事。”

说完这话，他离开了家。他胸中一团怒火，热血在脑中砰砰直蹦。他匆匆干完活儿，就去准备马和雪橇。他记起了自己备好雪橇去车站接妻子的表妹那天。那是在一年多前，也像今天下午一样，天气温和，空气中带有一丝春意。一时间，这一年多来发生的事情一件一件都浮现在他眼前。

他跳上雪橇，驶到家门口。厨房里没人，玛蒂的箱子和外套放在门口。过了一会儿，他听到书房里有人，于是推开门，看见玛蒂站在桌子旁。

“玛蒂，你在那儿干吗？”

“只是看一看。”玛蒂答道。

“齐娜呢？”

“上楼了。她说她又疼上了。”

“她没跟你告别？”

“没，她只说了那些。”

他们走回厨房。伊桑慢慢地环视房间，想道：“再过几个小时，我就要孤身一人回到这里。在这儿看玛蒂最后一眼吧。”他不敢相信，一切看起来都不像是真的。

“来吧。”他说着打开了门，扶玛蒂上了雪橇。“走吧！”他对马吆喝一声，向山下驶去。

“咱们有时间好好走一程，玛蒂！”他说着，握住她的手。

出了农场，他没走去斯塔克菲尔德的路，而是把马头一转，向右奔贝茨布里奇而去。玛蒂并没感到奇怪。

“你要绕夏多池塘的那条路吗？”

“你早就知道，是不？”他笑了。

他们沿路驶进一片树林。午后的阳光下，树木泛着红光，在没有足印的雪地上投下柔和的蓝色阴影。树林中有种温暖的寂静，林中有一个冰封的小小池塘，池塘周围的树木散发着芬芳的气息。这是一片寂静、隐秘的地方，就像伊桑沉默、悲伤的心。他们看见冰封的池水旁有一棵树倒在那儿，一半埋在雪里。他俩还曾在那上面坐过，那是在8月，和一群从斯塔克菲尔德教堂里来的年轻人一起。

现在他们又在原处坐下，回忆着自那个炎热的夏日午后以来，曾度过的几段美好时光。伊桑看着玛蒂的头发，希望能再轻抚它。他想告诉她，她的头发闻起来有股春日树林的味道，可他从不会说那样的话。

太阳开始落山了，玛蒂说道：“我们不能在这儿待下去了。”

他们驶回斯塔克菲尔德镇的时候，天阴了起来，西边的山上显出一抹冷冷的红色。

“玛蒂，”伊桑终于说道，“你能干什么呢？就不能让你父亲家的亲戚们帮帮忙？”

“我不想求他们。”她答道，过了一会儿又说，“我想我能找到事做。”

“你知道，为了你我什么都愿意做——”

“嗯，我知道。”

“可我不能——”

她沉默了，可他能感到她的肩膀在颤抖。“哦，玛蒂，”他喊道，“我希望……”

她转过身来。“伊桑，我发现了这个。”她手里拿着张纸，是他写给妻子的未完成的信，他忘了毁掉它。他心中滑过一阵苦涩的幸福感。难道玛蒂和他想的一样？他必须知道。

“你也这么想吗，玛蒂？告诉我，玛蒂，告诉我！”

“哦，伊桑，现在还有什么意义吗？”她大声说道。她猛地把信撕成碎片，抛到雪上。她沉默了一会儿，然后低声说道：

“我第一次那么想你的时候是在夏多池塘。从那以后，每当夏夜里月光皎洁，我睡不着的时候，就常常想你。”

她的话让伊桑心中充满了甜蜜。天开始暗了下来，他们默默地行了一段路。

“我完全被束缚住了，玛蒂。什么都干不了。”他说道。

“你一定要时不时给我写信，伊桑。”

“哦，写信又有什么用呢？我想伸出手来，触摸你，我想照顾你，在你生病、孤独的时候陪着你。”

“哦，伊桑，我真希望我死了！”她大声说道。

“别这么说。”他低语道。

他们到达斯塔克菲尔德镇的时候，一驾马拉雪橇响着铃铛从他们身边驶过。他们听到孩子们幸福的叫声，看到一群村里的男孩儿带着滑雪橇。他们驶上科贝里的最高处，一边是高高的白色教堂，一边是瓦纳姆家的树投下的暗影。脚下的陡坡白雪皑皑，空无一人。伊桑想到一个主意，能让自己和玛蒂熬过这痛苦的最后时刻。他转身对玛蒂说：

“我们昨晚还没玩滑坡呢，现在玩怎么样？你愿意吗？”

“可我们没时间了！”

“我们想要多少时间，就有多少时间。”伊桑说，“雇来的女孩儿可以等着。瞧，有人把滑雪橇落在树下了。”

伊桑扶玛蒂下了雪橇，拉着她的手向滑雪橇走去。两个人坐了上去，玛蒂在前，伊桑在后。

“天好黑，伊桑，你确信能看得见吗？”

“嗬，我闭上眼睛都行！”他笑着说，玛蒂也笑了。过了一会儿，伊桑喊了一嗓子：“下去喽！”

他们出发了，不一会儿，滑雪橇就飞速冲下坡去，绕过拐角处的大树，滑下第二个斜坡。他们停了下来，拿起滑雪橇，又开始爬上山来。

“太棒啦！”玛蒂笑着说。

“从大树旁边滑过的时候你不害怕吗？”

“跟你在一起，我从来不怕。”玛蒂答道。

天上一颗星星都没有，一片沉寂弥漫开来。他们每爬一步，伊桑都对自己说：

“这是我们最后一次走在一起了。”

走到瓦纳姆家的树丛旁时，伊桑把滑雪橇放了回去。“我猜这肯定是内德·黑尔的滑雪橇。”他说。

“内德和露丝就是在这儿互相亲吻的吗？”玛蒂低声问道，她搂住伊桑，将嘴唇贴上了伊桑的嘴唇，伊桑抱紧了她。

“再见了——再见了。”她的声音颤抖着，又亲吻了伊桑一下。

“玛蒂，我不能让你走！我们该怎么办？我们该怎么办？”

他们站在一起，像孩子一样手握着手。寂静中，他们听到了教堂的钟声。

“哦，伊桑，已经5点钟了。到时间了！”

“到什么时间了？我不会离开你的。今后，彼此不在一起，我们怎么能去别的地方？”

突然，玛蒂再次搂住伊桑的脖子。

“伊桑！伊桑！我想让你再带我滑下去！”

“滑到哪儿去？”

“滑到那儿，撞上大树，结束这一切。然后我们就再也不用分离了。”

“玛蒂！你在说什么？你疯了吗？”

“不，我没疯，但要是离开你我会疯的。没有你，我能去哪儿？只有你才对我好。以后会有个陌生的女孩儿睡在我床上，而我曾在夜晚躺在那里，想着你……”

玛蒂的话撕扯着他的心。现在他终于明白，原来玛蒂的情感和自己一样强烈。他怎么能回到那个让人憎恶的家，回到正在那儿等候自己的女人身边呢？

他抱紧她，亲吻着她，她的脸触碰到他时，他感到冷冰冰的，她脸上流满了泪水。他看着通向车站的路，在寂静中听见有火车驶过。黑黢黢的树像坟墓一样，将他们笼罩在一片黑暗和沉寂之中。“或许就该如此。”他想，“这之后，我就再也不会有任何感觉了。”

“来吧。”她低声说道，拉起他的手。他拿起滑雪橇，两个人坐了上去，这回，他让玛蒂坐在他后面。她搂住他，他转过头来，亲了亲她。她是对的——这比起分离要好得多。

刚刚向下滑的时候，伊桑听到他的马在嘶鸣。接着他们就滑下了陡坡，就像在空中飞行，穿过多云的夜空。然后，伊桑看到了拐角的大树，他咬着牙说：“我们能行的，我知道我们能行的——”

他们冲向大树，玛蒂抱紧了伊桑，伊桑感觉得到她的心跳。树变得越来越大，越来越近。“它在等待我们，它知道的。”伊桑想着。可忽然间，他妻子那张阴沉、扭曲的脸又出现在他眼前，他动起来，想抹去眼前的画面。在最后一刻，一阵风扫过他的身体，像无数颗炽热的星星。然后，是那棵树……

*　　*　　*

天空依然阴云密布，可当他直视天空时，却看到了一颗孤星。它叫什么名字？他本来知道的，可现在却想不起来。他感到很累……

在一片沉寂中，他听到有小动物发出微弱、受惊的声音。他知道它一定很痛——他能感觉它的疼痛穿过了自己的身体。他伸出左臂，想帮那可怜的家伙一把，却摸到一堆软软的东西。他想动弹，但却动不了，因为有石头，或者什么重重的东西压在他身上。这时他意识到，他摸到的是玛蒂的脸，而那声音是从她口中发出的……

他把脸凑到她的脸旁，黑暗中，看见她睁着双眼，叫着自己的名字。

“啊，玛蒂，我以为我们成功了呢。”他低声说道。他听到远远的山上马在嘶鸣，心想：“我该给它喂草料了……”

8

Endings

The whining voice stopped as I stepped into Frome's kitchen. There were two women sitting there, and I could not tell which one had been the speaker.

One of them stood up when we entered, and without a word went to bring a dish of food to the table. She was tall and thin, and wore an untidy, shapeless dress. Her lined face and thin lips were of the same yellowish colour, and she had thin grey hair and grey, lifeless eyes.

The other woman was smaller, and she also had grey hair and a thin, bloodless face. She turned her head towards me quickly, but her body did not move at all. Her dark eyes shone with the crazy brightness that is sometimes seen in people with disease of the spine.

The kitchen was a poor place. The few pieces of furniture were of the poorest kind, mostly broken and dirty.

'My, it's cold in here,' said Frome, looking around.

The tall woman said nothing, but the dark-eyed woman answered complainingly, in a thin, whining voice:

'It's Zeena's fault. She fell asleep and the fire went out. I've been so cold, waiting for her to wake up.'

I knew then that it was her voice that I had heard.

The tall woman brought the food to the table. Frome looked at me and said: 'This is my wife, Mrs Frome.' After a moment he added, turning to the figure in the armchair: 'And this is Miss Mattie Silver...'

*　　*　　*

Ruth Hale was very pleased to see me return safely in the moming, and most surprised to hear how I had spent the night.

'You must be the first stranger there in twenty years,' she said. 'It's awful to see them, all locked up together in that house. And they're not easy people, any of them. Mattie used to be; before the accident she was a really sweet girl. But not now — she's had too much pain. Now when she and Zeena fight, the look on Ethan's face is enough to break your heart.'

'Yes, it must be awful for them,' I agreed.

'It was just terrible at the beginning,' she went on. 'They brought Mattie here, and I stayed with her all night. Then in the morning she opened her eyes and said... Oh, I don't know why I'm telling you this...' She stopped, crying.

After a few moments she dried her tears and continued: 'Then when the doctors said we could move Mattie, Zeena sent for her and took her back to the farm.'

'And she's been there ever since?' I asked.

'There was no other place for her to go,' Ruth Hale answered simply; and I thought how hard life was for the poor.

'Zeena's cared for the pair of them for over twenty years now,' Ruth Hale went on. 'And there they all are, shut up in that one kitchen.'

Then she looked at me and said in a low voice:

'There was one day, about a week after the accident, when they thought Mattie couldn't live. Well, I say it was a pity she did. People think that's an awful thing to say, but they weren't with her when she first woke up... And I say this, too. All those years with Mattie have destroyed Ethan. The way they are now, there's not much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in their graves — except that down there they're all silent and the women have to keep quiet.'

untidy adj. not tidy, with things in places where they should not be and do not look nice 不整洁的

send for sb to ask someone to come to you 派人去接

8．结局

我走进弗罗姆家的厨房时，那又尖又细的抱怨声停了下来。屋里坐着两个女人，我不知道刚才说话的是哪一个。

我们进门时，一个女人站了起来，一言不发地走去拿了盘食物放在桌上。她高高瘦瘦的，穿了件邋遢的皱衣裳。布满皱纹的脸和薄薄的嘴唇一样，透着枯黄色。她长着稀疏的灰白头发，阴郁的眼睛毫无生气。

另一个女人个子小些，也长着灰白的头发，脸庞削瘦，毫无血色。她朝我快速地转过头来，可身子却一点儿没动。她的黑眼睛闪着狂躁的光芒，这光芒有时你会在脊椎病患者的眼中看到。

厨房很破旧，仅有的几件家具都是最差的那种，而且大都又破又脏。

“嘿，这儿真冷啊。”弗罗姆说着，看了看四周。

高个儿女人什么都没说，黑眼睛的女人拖着尖细的声音抱怨道：

“都是齐娜的错儿。她睡着了，火灭了。我等着她醒过来，冷极了。”

我这才意识到刚才听到的是她的声音。

高个子女人把食物端上餐桌。弗罗姆看看我，说道：“这是我妻子，弗罗姆太太。”过了一会儿，他转身朝向摇椅中的身影，补充道：“这是玛蒂·西尔弗小姐……”

*　　*　　*

第二天早晨，露丝·黑尔看到我安全回来，非常高兴，而听到我如何过夜之后，更是惊讶不已。

“你绝对是20年来第一个去那儿的陌生人。”她说，“看到他们一起困在那房子里，真是件让人难过的事。他们不是随和的人，谁都不是。玛蒂过去是，出事之前，她真是个可爱的女孩儿。可现在——她忍受太多痛苦了。现在，她和齐娜吵架的时候，伊桑脸上的表情能让人心碎。”

“是啊，他们一定挺难的。”我同意黑尔夫人的话。

“开始时，情况非常糟。”她接着说，“他们把玛蒂送到这儿来，我整夜都陪着她。第二天早上，她睁开眼，说……哦，我真不知道为什么要和你说这些……”她停下来，哭了。

过了一会儿，她擦干了眼泪，继续说道：“后来大夫说我们能挪动玛蒂了，齐娜就让人把她接回农庄去了。”

“之后她就一直待在那儿？”我问。

“她没处可去啊。”露丝·黑尔简短地回答道。而我在想，穷人的生活是多么艰难啊。

“到现在，齐娜照顾他们俩二十多年了，”露丝·黑尔继续说，“三个人在一起，都困在厨房里。”

接着她看了看我，低声说：

“有一天，大概是他们出事后一周，大家都认为玛蒂活不成了。唉，要我说，她活着反而更可怜。人们会觉得这么说不好，可当她第一次醒来的时候，他们可不在她身边……我现在也这么说。和玛蒂在一起的这些年毁了伊桑。他们现在这个样子，弗罗姆家的人，在农场里活着的和躺在坟墓里的没什么区别——唯一的区别是躺在坟墓里的都没有声音，那儿的女人不得不把嘴闭上。”

ACTIVITIES

Before Reading

1．Read the story introduction of the book. What kind of story do you think Ethan Frome will be? Use this table to make some sentences.

2．Why do you think life was so hard for a poor farmer in Massachusetts a hundred years ago? Do country people have easier lives today? Make some sentences using these ideas.

·horses/modern machinery

·help from the government/help from your family

·long cold winters/illness/travelling difficult

ACTIVITIES

While Reading

1．Read Chapter 1. Match these people with the sentences.

Ruth Hale / Denis Eady / Harmon Gow / Ethan Frome / the narrator (the person telling the story)

1) ______ told the narrator about Ethan Frome's accident.

2) ______ was staying in Starkfield because of his work.

3) ______ lived in the finest house in the village.

4) ______ was a successful Starkfield businessman.

5) ______ drove the narrator to the station in his sleigh.

2．At the end of Chapter 1, the narrator knew the answer to only one of these questions. Which one? Can you guess the answers to the other two?

1) Why was Ethan's body so damaged?

2) Why did Ethan's face have a sad, grim look all the time?

3) Whose was the whining voice in Ethan's house?

3．Read Chapters 2 and 3, and then answer these questions.

1) Who danced with a pretty girl in Starkfield church?

2) Who brought hope, life and brightness into Ethan's home?

3) Who went to Bettsbridge to see a new doctor?

4) Who drove his employer's wife to the station?

5) Who said he could not pay Ethan at the moment?

6) Who kissed her boyfriend under the trees by her home?

4．Match these halves of sentences about Chapter 3, and join them with these linking words.

and so / and then / because / but / in order to / when

1) Ethan left his engineering studies and came home...

2) His father died, ...

3) His cousin Zeena came to the farm...

4) After his mother died, Ethan was afraid of being alone...

5) They wanted to sell the farm and move to the town, ...

6) Mattie Silver came to live with them...

7) ______ his mother grew more and more silent and crazy.

8) ______ his father had had a bad accident.

9) ______ then Zeena became sickly and silent too.

10) ______ he asked Zeena to marry him.

11) ______ help Zeena with the housework.

12) ______ old Mrs Frome was dying.

5．Read Chapters 4 to 6. Choose the best question-word for these questions, and then answer them.

What / Why

1) ... was Ethan looking forward to an evening at home?

2) ... fell off the table and broke on the floor?

3) ... was Mattie so worried about it?

4) ... did Ethan and Mattie talk about that evening?

5) ... did Ethan kiss Mattie?

6) ... did Ethan take so long to come home with the glue?

7) ... was the news about Zeena's health?

8) ... was Ethan so angry about the hired girl?

9) ... did Zeena say Mattie had to leave?

10) ... wouldn't Mattie be able to find work in the town?

11) ... was Ethan planning to do before he saw the cost of tickets to the West?

12) ... do you think Zeena seemed so lively and busy?

13) ... didn't Ethan ask the Hales to lend him money?

6．Before you read Chapter 7, can you guess the answers to these questions?

1) Will Ethan think of another way to get some money?

2) Will Mattie leave Starkfield alone, or with Ethan?

3) Whose ride do you think it will be? Where to? Why?

7．Read Chapter 7. What does the word 'it' mean in these sentences?

1) It was a quiet, secret place, like the quiet sadness in Ethan's heart.

2) 'It was wonderful!' laughed Mattie.

3) 'Perhaps it'll be like this,' he thought. 'After this I won't feel anything.'

4) 'Oh, Matt, I thought we'd done it.' he whispered.

8．Read Chapter 8, and then anwser these questions.

1) Whose was the whining voice in Ethan's house?

2) Why had Mattie had to stay with the Fromes?

3) Ruth Hale spoke of the Fromes 'up at the farm' and 'down in their graves'. Which did she think were luckier?

ACTIVITIES

After Reading

1．Choose the best words to complete this text about Zeena.

tall / lively / young / silent / shining / cold / thin / soft / milky white / grey / dark / yellowish / whining / sweet / smiles / complains / her own ill health / the beauty of nature

Zeena is a ______, ______ woman, with ______ eyes and ______ lips. Her hair is ______, and her skin is ______. Zeena has a ______ voice, and she ______ a lot. She loves talking about ______.

Now use the rest of the words to write a text about Mattie.

2．Imagine that Mattie wrote to a friend about her problem. Complete her letter (use as many words as you like).

Dear Jessie,

Please help me, I just don't know ______! I'm so in love with Ethan, and I think he feels ______. Last night he ______ from a dance, and when we stood together in the moonlight, he ______, I'm sure. But ______ has noticed something, and I'm so afraid that she'll ______. Oh, what can I do? Should I tell Ethan ______? Or should I keep quiet? Or marry Denis, the shopkeeper's boring son? Maybe I should ______? But where could I go? Oh, Jessie, Please ______ soon!

Your dear friend, Mattie

3．How would you reply to Mattie's letter? Write and tell her what you think she should do. Use these phrases.

· I think you should / ought to...

· I don't think you should / ought to...

· Why don't you...?

4．When the narrator asked Ruth Hale about Ethan's accident, perhaps their conversation continued like this. Put the conversation in the right order, and write in the speakers' names. Ruth Hale speaks first (number 5.)

1) ______ 'No, she was a Bettsbridge girl. Her father used to own a big company in town, but Mattie didn't have a dollar in her pocket when Zeena brought her here?'

2) ______ 'So Mattie was in the accident as well?'

3) ______ 'It was Mattie Silver, his wife's cousin.'

4) ______ 'So she had to go and live with the Fromes?'

5) ______ 'Yes, I knew them both... it was awful...'

6) ______ 'Was she from Starkfield too?'

7) ______ 'Silver was a bad businessman. He borrowed a lot, but couldn't pay it back. When he died, Mattie was left with nothing at all, and nobody to help her.'

8) 'Both? Who was the other person?'

9) ______ 'Oh yes, she was hurt worse than Ethan. She can't walk at all, poor girl. Never leaves the house.'

10) ______ 'What happened to her father's money?'

11) ______ 'That's right. Twenty-five years she's been there now — twenty-four since the accident.'

5．A police inspector questioned Jotham Powell about what happened at the Frome farm in the days before the accident. Complete the inspector's side of the conversation.

INSPECTOR: SO, Mr Powell ______?

JOTHAM: Wednesday? Yes, I remember. Mr Frome and I were down at the saw-mill early, loading wood for Mr Hale.

INSPECTOR: And ______?

JOTHAM: About midday, I guess. Then Mr Frome and I went up to the house for a bite to eat.

INSPECTOR: ______?

JOTHAM: Yes, sir, they were both there. Miss Mattie was making coffee, and Mrs Frome was dressed in her travelling clothes, ready to leave for the station.

INSPECTOR: ______?

JOTHAM:Yes, I did. She caught the two o'clock train.

INSPECTOR: ______?

JOTHAM: NO, I didn't see him again. I called in for a drop of coffee later, but Miss Mattie was alone then.

INSPECTOR: ______?

JOTHAM: She came home on Thursday. Mr Frome sent me to the station to fetch her after dinner.

INSPECTOR: ______?

JOTHAM: Well, on Friday morning Mrs Frome said I had to take Mattie to the station, and bring back the new girl.

INSPECTOR: _____?

JOTHAM: Because at dinner Mr Frome said he'd drive Miss Mattie to the station himself.

6．Here is a report of the accident in the newspaper. Correct the mistakes in the report, and think of a suitable title for it.

Two young people were killed on a coasting slope last Friday evening. The accident happened at about ten o'clock on a hillside in Corbury. Mr Ethan Frome, a Starkfield builder, and his cousin, Miss Mattie Silver, were on their way back from a dance. Mr Frome, who had never coasted before, went down a steep slope, with Miss Silver sitting in front of him on the sled. Half way down, the sled crashed into a big rock. Several people saw the accident.

7．Look at these ideas about the story.

1) It was Zeena's fault. She was cold, bitter, and jealous, and only cared about herself.

2) It was Mattie's fault. She was young and pretty, and she tried to take Ethan away from his wife, which was a very bad thing to do.

3) It was Ethan's fault. He was older than Mattie, and knew more about life than she did. He knew it was a stupid thing to do.

4) It was nobody's fault. It all happened because of their poverty. Poverty brought them all together to begin with, and poverty was their prison to the end.

Decide which of the ideas above is closest to...

a) what Ruth Hale thought.

b) what the narrator thought.

c) what you think.

CONTENTS

目录

圣诞欢歌

简　介

1　Marley's ghost

马利的鬼魂

2　The first of the three spirits

三幽灵中的第一位

3　The second of the three spirits

三幽灵中的第二位

4　The last of the spirits

最后一位幽灵

5　The end of the story

故事的结尾

Exercises

多里安·格雷的画像

简　介

The Artist　画家

Chapter 1

第一章

Chapter 2

第二章

The Friend　朋友

Chapter 3

第三章

Chapter 4

第四章

Chapter 5

第五章

The Young Man in Love　恋爱中的年轻人

Chapter 6

第六章

Chapter 7

第七章

Chapter 8

第八章

The Death of Love　爱情的死亡

Chapter 9

第九章

Chapter 10

第十章

The Thief of Time　时间窃贼

Chapter 11

第十一章

The Hand of a Killer　杀人者的手

Chapter 12

第十二章

Chapter 13

第十三章

The Sailor　水手

Chapter 14

第十四章

Chapter 15

第十五章

The Picture　画像

Chapter 16

第十六章

Chapter 17

第十七章

Exercises

勃朗特一家的故事

简　介

1．Haworth

霍沃思

2．Cowan Bridge School

考恩桥学校

3．The little books

小书

4．Growing up

长大

5．Looking for work

找工作

6．Monsieur Héger and Mrs Robinson

埃热先生和鲁滨逊太太

7．Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell

柯勒、埃利斯和阿克顿·贝尔

8．The best days, and the worst days

最好的和最坏的日子

9．Arthur Nicholls

阿瑟·尼科尔斯

10．Maria

玛丽亚

Exercises

诱拐

简　介

1．David meets his uncle

戴维见到了叔叔

2．Kidnapped!

诱拐！

3．David is alone

戴维是独自一人

4．Escape through the heather

在石南丛中逃生

5．David comes home

戴维回了家

Exercises

公正

简　介

1．Bomb

炸弹

2．Anna

安娜

3．'I Made Him Happy'

“我让他高兴”

4．Phone Call

电话

5．'You Must Believe Me!'

“你们必须相信我！”

6．In the Tunnel

隧道里

Exercises

化学秘密

简　介

1．A new start

崭新的开始

2．At home

在家中

3．Rich man

富人

4．The seals

海豹

5．The new experiment

新实验

6．The report

报告

7．Christine and Simon

克里斯汀和西蒙

8．The wedding day

婚礼

9．I don't believe you

我不相信你

10．Greenworld

绿色世界

11．The Public Enquiry

公众听证会

12．The future

前途

Exercises

劫机！

内容简介

Chapter 1

第一章

Chapter 2

第二章

Chapter 3

第三章

Chapter 4

第四章

Chapter 5

第五章

Chapter 6

第六章

Chapter 7

第七章

Chapter 8

第八章

Chapter 9

第九章

Chapter 10

第十章

Chapter 11

第十一章

Chapter 12

第十二章

Chapter 13

第十三章

Chapter 14

第十四章

Chapter 15

第十五章

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

小镇传奇

内容简介

1．The dance

舞会

2．The rent collector and the Widow Hullins

收租人和哈林斯寡妇

3．The dancing teacher and the furniture van

舞蹈老师和家具拖车

4．Saved by a storm

暴风雨救了他

5．The rescue of the Countess

营救伯爵夫人

6．The battle with Denry's mother

邓瑞和母亲之间的斗争

7．The mayor, the wife, and the football club

镇长、妻子和足球俱乐部

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

查尔斯·布拉沃的死亡之谜

内容简介

PEOPLE IN THIS STORY

人物介绍

1．A true story

一个真实的故事

2．Florence Bravo's story—PART 1

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述——第一部分

3．Dr James Gully's story—PART 1

詹姆斯·格利医生的讲述——第一部分

4．Florence Bravo's story—PART 2

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述——第二部分

5．Dr James Gully's story—PART 2

詹姆斯·格利医生的讲述——第二部分

6．Jane Cox's story—PART 1

简·考克斯的讲述——第一部分

7．Jane Cox's story—PART 2

简·考克斯的讲述——第二部分

8．Florence Bravo's story—PART 3

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述——第三部分

9．What the maid saw

女仆所见

10．What the doctors saw

医生所见

11．The mystery

疑点

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

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京权图字01-97-0344

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1996

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

圣诞欢歌＝A Christmas Carol／（英）狄更斯（Dickens, C.）著；（英）韦斯特（West, C.）改写；王丽萍译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1997（2014.12 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1357-2

Ⅰ．圣…　Ⅱ．①狄…②韦…③王…　Ⅲ．小说—英国—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（97）第24287号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：周　晶

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1998年8月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1357-2

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简　介

埃比尼泽·斯克罗吉是一位脾气暴躁、可怜、吝啬的老头儿。当他的外甥在圣诞前夜去看望他并祝他圣诞快乐时，斯克罗吉一点儿也不高兴。“呸！骗人的东西！”他说。“圣诞节是骗人的东西！所有到处游逛说‘圣诞快乐’的人的舌头都应被割掉。是的，就该这样！”

噢！对了，斯克罗吉是一个刻薄、吝啬的人。他的雇员鲍勃·克拉奇蒂每周只能挣得15先令，而且只能在一间又冷又小的办公室上班，办公室里生的火小得连脚指头都暖和不过来。

但是那年的圣诞前夜，斯克罗吉已故多年的合伙人雅各布·马利的鬼魂拜访了他，其后又有另外三个鬼魂来访……那一夜格外漫长和恐怖，当圣诞节最终来临的时候，斯克罗吉的确已判若两人了。

查尔斯·狄更斯是英国最著名的作家之一，1812年生于朴次茅斯，于1870年去世。他家境贫寒，在不幸的童年之后，他很快变得富有并一举成名。他的著名作品包括《雾都孤儿》、《双城记》和《圣诞欢歌》等。

1

Marley's ghost

It is important to remember that Jacob Marley was dead. Did Scrooge know that? Of course he did. Scrooge and Marley had been partners in London for many years, and excellent men of business they were, too. When Marley died, Scrooge continued with the business alone. Both names still stood above the office door: Scrooge and Marley. Sometimes people who were new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but he answered to both names. He did not care what name they called him. The only thing that mattered to him was the business, and making money.

Oh! He was a hard, clever, mean old man, Scrooge was! There was nothing warm or open about him. He lived a secretive, lonely life, and took no interest in other people at all. The cold inside him made his eyes red, and his thin lips blue, and his voice high and cross. It put white frost on his old head, his eyebrows and his chin. The frost in his heart made the air around him cold, too. In the hottest days of summer his office was as cold as ice, and it was just as cold in winter.

Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with a happy smile, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?' No poor man asked him for money, no children asked him the time, no man or woman ever, in all his life, asked him the way. Animals as well as people were afraid of him. Dogs used to hide in doorways when they saw him coming. But what did Scrooge care! It was just what he wanted. He liked being on the edge of people's busy lives, while warning everyone to keep away from him.

One Christmas Eve, old Scrooge was working busily in his office. It was cold, frosty, foggy weather. Outside it was already dark, although it was only three o'clock in the afternoon, and there were candles in all the office windows. The fog covered everything, like a thick grey blanket.

Scrooge kept his office door open, in order to check that his clerk, Bob Cratchit, was working. Bob spent his days in a dark little room, a kind of cupboard, next to his employer's office. Scrooge had a very small fire, but Bob's fire was much smaller. It was very cold in the cupboard, and Bob had to wear his long white scarf to try to keep warm.

'Merry Christmas, uncle! God bless you!' cried a happy voice. Scrooge's nephew had arrived.

'Bah!' said Scrooge crossly. 'Humbug!'

'Christmas is humbug! Surely you don't mean that, uncle?' said his nephew.

'I do,' said Scrooge. 'Why do you call it "merry" Christmas? You're too poor to be merry.'

'Well,' replied the nephew, smiling, 'why are you so cross? You're too rich to be unhappy.'

'Of course I'm cross,' answered the uncle, 'when I live in a world full of stupid people like you! You say "Merry Christmas"! But what is Christmas? Just a time when you spend too much, when you find yourself a year older and not an hour richer, when you have to pay your bills. Everyone who goes around saying "Merry Christmas" should have his tongue cut out. Yes, he should!'

'Uncle! Please don't say that!' said the nephew. 'I've always thought of Christmas as a time to be helpful and kind to other People. It's the only time of the year when men and women open their hearts freely to each other. And so, uncle, although I've never made any money from it, I think Christmas has been and will be a good time for me! And I say, God bless Christmas!'

Bob, in the cupboard, agreed loudly, without thinking. He immediately realized his mistake, and went quickly back to his work, but Scrooge had heard him.

'If I hear another sound from you,' said Scrooge, 'you'll lose you job!'

'Don't be angry with him, uncle,' said the nephew. 'Come and have dinner with us tomorrow.'

'Dinner with you? I'll see you dead first!'

'But why won't you come? Why?'

'Because Christmas is humbug! Good afternoon!'

'I want nothing from you. I ask nothing of you. Why can't we be friends?'

'Good afternoon!' said Scrooge.

'I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you like this. I have never wanted to argue with you. But I came to see you and invite you because it's Christmas, and so I'll say, a merry Christmas, uncle!'

'Good afternoon,' said Scrooge.

'And a happy new year!'

'Good afternoon!' said Scrooge.

His nephew left the room, without an angry word, stopping only to wish Bob Cratchit a merry Christmas.

Then two other gentlemen came in. They were large, round, comfortable-looking men, with books and papers in their hands.

'This is Scrooge and Marley's, I think,' said one of them, looking at the papers that he was carrying. 'Am I speaking to Mr Scrooge or Mr Marley?'

'Mr Marley is dead,' Scrooge replied. 'He died seven years ago today, on Christmas Eve.'

'I'm sure that you are just as kind to the poor as your partner,' said the gentleman, smiling.

What was true was that Scrooge was just as mean as Marley, and Marley had been just as mean as Scrooge.

'At this happy time of year, Mr Scrooge,' the gentleman went on, taking up his pen, 'we should help poor people who have no food or clothes or homes.'

'Are there no prisons?' asked Scrooge coldly.

'Plenty of prisons,' said the gentleman.

'And the workhouses, where poor people can live and work? Are they still open?'

'Yes, they are, I'm sorry to say.'

'I'm happy to hear it,' said Scrooge. 'I thought, from what you said at first, that perhaps these useful places were closed, for some reason.'

'But some of us feel,' replied the gentleman, 'that these places don't offer enough to poor people. We're hoping to give some meat and drink, and wood for a fire, to people who need all these things. This is a time when we should all be able to enjoy ourselves. How much will you give, sir?'

'Nothing!' Scrooge replied. 'I don't have a merry Christmas myself, and I won't pay for other people to be merry. We all have to pay for prisons and workhouses—they cost enough. The poor will have to go there.'

'Many can't go there, and many prefer to die.'

'If they prefer to die, why don't they die, then? There are too many people in the world, so it's a good thing if some of them die. All this is none of my business! It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to think about other people's. I'm a very busy man. Good afternoon, gentlemen!'

The gentlemen shook their heads a little sadly, and left the office. Scrooge went back to his work, feeling pleased with himself.

Now the fog was at its thickest outside, and the cold was biting. Lights shone brightly from the shop windows. People were hurrying here and there—rich and poor alike — to buy what they needed for tomorrow's Christmas dinner.

At last it was time to close the office. Scrooge got up slowly from his desk. Bob was waiting for this moment, and he immediately put on his hat.

'You'll want a holiday all day tomorrow, I suppose?' said Scrooge.

'If you don't mind, sir.'

'I do mind. It's not fair. I have to pay you for a day's work when you don't do any work.'

'It's only once a year, sir,' said Bob politely.

'That's no reason for robbing me every twenty-fifth of December!' said Scrooge, putting on his coat. 'But I suppose you must have it. Be here early next morning.'

'Yes, sir, I will, I promise,' Bob said happily. Scrooge walked out, without another word. When Bob had closed the office, he ran home to his family in Camden Town as quickly as possible.

Scrooge always used to eat his dinner alone, in the same miserable little eating-house. Tonight was no different from other nights. He read the newspapers, looked at his bank books, and went home to bed. He lived in rooms which had once belonged to his dead partner. They were in an old, dark building in a lonely side street, where no one except Scrooge lived.

In the blackness of the night, through the fog and the frost, Scrooge had to feel his way along the street with his hands. He finally reached his front door and put the key in the lock. Suddenly, to his great surprise, he saw that the knocker was not a knocker any more, but had become the face of Jacob Marley!

He had not thought of his partner for seven years, until that afternoon, when he spoke Marley's name to his visitors. But there in front of him was Marley's face, white and ghostly, with terrible staring eyes.

As Scrooge looked, it became a knocker again. He was afraid, but he did not show his fear. He turned the key, opened the door and walked in. He did look around before he shut the door, and he did look behind the door, to see if anyone was hiding there. But there was nothing there. He shut the door with a bang, to show that he was not afraid.

With his one candle he went slowly up the stairs. It was impossible to see into all the dark corners. Darkness was cheap, and Scrooge liked it. But he remembered the face, so he walked through all his rooms, checking that everything was all right. Nobody under the table or the bed, nobody behind the door! On the small fire in the bedroom there was a pot of soup, and Scrooge's bowl was ready on the table. Nobody in any of the rooms! Sure that he was safe now, Scrooge shut and locked his bedroom door behind him. He sat down by the fire to eat his soup.

The fireplace was an old one, with hundreds of pictures on the tiles around the fire. But Scrooge could only see Marley's face on every tile.

'Humbug!' said Scrooge to the tiles, and walked across the room. When he sat down again, he noticed a bell on the other side of the room. As he looked, he saw, with great surprise and fear, that the bell was slowly beginning to move from side to side. Soon it was ringing loudly, and so was every bell in the house.

Suddenly they all stopped ringing at the same moment, and then came a strange noise from down below. It sounded like someone pulling heavy chains across the floor. Scrooge remembered hearing that ghosts in old houses sometimes pulled chains behind them. Then a door below opened with a crash, and the noise started coming up the stairs. It was coming towards his door.

'It's humbug still!' cried Scrooge. But the colour left his face when, without stopping, it came straight through the heavy, locked door, and appeared in front of him. It was Marley's ghost!

Scrooge could see right through its body. Around its middle was a long chain, which had money-boxes, keys, bank books, and heavy purses on it. The ghost's death-cold eyes stared fixedly at Scrooge.

'Well!' said Scrooge, trying to pretend that nothing strange was happening. 'What do you want? And who are you?'

'In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley.'

'It's humbug, I tell you!' said Scrooge. 'There are no ghosts!' But when he said this, the ghost gave a terrible cry, and shook its chain in a very frightening way. At once Scrooge fell on the ground in great fear, crying, 'Yes! Yes! You are real! I see that now! Why have you come? Why do ghosts come back from the dead? Tell me, Jacob!'

'The spirit of every man who does not help other people in life has to travel endlessly through the world after his death. We have to carry the chains that we made for ourselves in our lifetime. Do you, Ebenezer Scrooge, recognize my chain? It is very like the one that you wear!'

Scrooge looked around him, but could see no chain. 'Jacob,' he said, 'please tell me more!'

'I cannot help you much, Ebenezer! I cannot rest, I cannot stay anywhere for long. I have been dead for seven years and all that time I have been travelling on the wings of the wind! No peace, no rest for me in death, because I was never good or kind in life!'

'But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,' said Scrooge, who was now beginning to worry about his own life.

'Business!' cried the ghost miserably. 'Why didn't I think of people as my business? I thought only about making money, not about being kind and helpful to other people. Listen to me, Ebenezer! I am here tonight to warn you. You still have a chance to save yourself from what has happened to me. Three spirtis will come to visit you: the first tomorrow at one o'clock, the second at the same time the next night, and the third at midnight the following night. You will not see me any more, and for your own peace after death, remember what I have told you!'

The spirit walked slowly backwards to the window, which began to open. When the ghost reached the window, it held up its hand, and Scrooge listened. He could hear a noise of sad crying in the air. The spirit began to cry, too, and it moved out into the frosty, dark night to join the others. Scrooge ran to the window. Outside, the air was full of spirits, all wearing chains like Marley's ghost, all crying miserably as they realized, too late, the terrible mistakes that they had made in their lives.

Little by little, the spirits and their voices disappeared into the fog and the darkness, and the night was silent again. Scrooge closed the window, and checked his bedroom door. It was still locked. He started to say, 'Humbug!' but stopped suddenly. Perhaps because he was very tired, or because it was late, he went straight to bed, without taking off his clothes, and fell asleep immediately.

partner n. with or in a person who shares (in the same activity). 合伙人。

continue with go on with 继续。

matter v. be important. 重要；有关系。

take no interest in show no interest in. 对……不感兴趣。

frosty adj. stringingly cold; cold with frost. 霜冻的，结霜的，严寒的。

foggy adj. not clear because of fog. 有雾的。

humbug n. nonsense. 胡说。

cross adj. angry; bad-tempered. 发怒的，生气的。

gentleman n. a man who behaves well towards others. 绅士。

mean adj. ungenerous; unwilling to share or help. 刻薄的，吝啬的。

workhouse n. BrE. (in former times) a place for the poor to live when they had no employment, esp. when old. 收容院。

prefer to to choose (one thing or action) rather than another; like better. （两者相比）更喜欢做……。

suppose v. to take as likely; consider as true. 假定、假设，认为。

miserable adj. very poor in quality. 寒酸的。

stare v. to look fixedly with wide-open eyes, as in fear or deep thought. 盯着看。

tile n. a thin shaped piece of baked clay used for covering roofs, walls, floors, etc. 瓦片，瓷砖。

notice v. to pay attention to with the eyes or other senses. 注意到。

pull v. move (something) along behind one while moving. 拖；拉。

chain n. (a length of) usu. metal rings, connected to or fitted into one another. 链子。

take off to remove. 脱下；摘掉。

fall asleep go into a state of sleep. 入睡。

1．马利的鬼魂

要记住雅各布·马利已经死了，这可是件重要的事儿。斯克罗吉知道这个吗？他当然知道。斯克罗吉和马利在伦敦曾是多年的合作伙伴，并且他们还都是精明的生意人。当马利死的时候，斯克罗吉一个人继续操持着生意。办公室门口的上方悬挂的依旧是两个人的名字：斯克罗吉和马利。有时初次来这儿打交道的人们喊斯克罗吉斯克罗吉，有时喊马利，但两个名字他都应答。他不在乎别人叫他什么名字。对他来说唯一重要的事情是他的生意和赚钱。

噢！他是一个刻薄、精明、吝啬的老头儿，斯克罗吉的确是这样的！他没有丝毫热情，也从来不敞开心扉。他过着神秘、孤独的生活，对别人丝毫不感兴趣。他内心的冷漠使他的眼睛呈红色，他的薄唇呈蓝色，他的嗓音既高又暴躁。他的冷漠使他的老脑壳、眉毛和下巴罩上了白色的冰霜。他内心的冰霜使得他周围的空气都变得寒冷。在最炎热的夏日里他的办公室也很冰冷，在冬天也一样寒冷。

走在街上没有人截住他，微笑地向他说，“我亲爱的斯克罗吉，你好吗？你什么时候来我这里坐坐？”穷人没有向他讨过钱，孩子们没有向他问过时间。在他一生中，从没有任何人，无论男女，向他问过路。人和动物都怕他。狗见到他来了就藏到门廊下。但斯克罗吉在乎什么呢！这正是他梦寐以求的。他喜欢处在人们繁忙生活的边缘，他警告所有的人都离他远点儿。

在一个圣诞前夜，老斯克罗吉正在办公室忙碌着。天气寒冷，还有霜冻，雾蒙蒙的。虽然才下午3点，但外面天已经黑了，办公室窗子里都亮起了蜡烛。雾就像一条厚厚的灰毯子笼罩了一切。

斯克罗吉办公室的门总是敞开着，目的是监督他的雇员，鲍勃·克拉奇蒂，有没有怠工。鲍勃整天待在老板隔壁的一间小黑屋里，它实际是一个壁橱。斯克罗吉房间的火很小，鲍勃的火更小。壁橱里冷极了，鲍勃不得不戴着他那条白色的长围巾取暖。

“舅舅，圣诞快乐！上帝保佑你！”一个声音高兴地说。斯克罗吉的外甥已经到了。

“呸！”斯克罗吉恼怒地说，“骗人的东西！”

“圣诞节是骗人的东西！舅舅，当然你不是这个意思？”他外甥说。

“我就是这个意思，”斯克罗吉说，“你为什么说圣诞‘快乐’？你太穷了，根本快乐不起来。”

“哎，”外甥笑着回答说，“你为什么这么生气？你很有钱，不该不高兴啊。”

“我当然生气，”舅舅回答说，“我生活在一个满是像你这种蠢人的世界里！你说‘圣诞快乐’！但圣诞节是什么？不过是一个让你大把大把花钱的日子，这时你会发现你老了一岁可财富却没有增加半点，而且你还得付所有的账单。所有到处游逛说‘圣诞快乐’的人的舌头都应被割掉。是的，就该这样！”

“舅舅，请不要这么说！”外甥说，“我一直把圣诞看作是一个帮助别人、善待别人的日子。一年中只有这么一天男男女女可以彼此自由地敞开心扉。所以舅舅，尽管我从未发过圣诞的财，我认为对我来说圣诞节一直就是而且也将是美好的时刻！愿上帝保佑！”

坐在壁橱里的鲍勃未加思索大声表示赞同。但他立刻意识到自己所犯的错误，便又立即埋头工作，但斯克罗吉已经听见了他的话。

“如果我再听到你发出一点声音的话，”斯克罗吉说，“你就会丢掉这份工作！”

“舅舅，别生他的气，”外甥说，“明天来和我们一起吃晚饭吧。”

“和你们吃晚饭？门儿也没有！”

“那你为什么不来呢？为什么？”

“因为圣诞节是个骗人的把戏！再见！”

“我什么也不要你送给我，我什么都不问你要。我们为什么不能成为朋友呢？”

“再见！”斯克罗吉说。

“看到你这样，我真感到难过，我从来就没想过要与你争吵，但我来是为了看看你并邀请你，因为是圣诞节，所以我要说一声，舅舅，圣诞快乐！”

“再见。”斯克罗吉说。

“新年快乐！”

“再见！”斯克罗吉说。

他外甥离开了房间，没有一句愠怒之言。他停下来祝鲍勃·克拉奇蒂圣诞快乐。

然后进来了另外两位绅士，他们身材魁梧，胖胖的，仪表堂堂，手里拿着书和文件。

“我想，这是斯克罗吉和马利的办公室吧，”其中一位看着手中的文件问到，“你是斯克罗吉先生还是马利先生？”

“马利先生死了，”斯克罗吉回答说，“他是七年前的今天死的，死在圣诞前夜。”

“我肯定对穷人你同你合伙人的态度一样好。”绅士微笑着说。

事实是斯克罗吉同马利一样的吝啬，马利在世时也曾和斯克罗吉一样吝啬。

“在一年中这个幸福的日子里，斯克罗吉先生，”绅士拿起笔继续说，“我们应该帮助那些没有衣食和无家可归的穷人。”

“没有看守所吗？”斯克罗吉冷冷地问。

“有很多看守所。”绅士说。

“还有可供穷人生活和工作的济贫院呢？它们还开着吗？”

“是的，它们开着，很抱歉。”

“我很高兴听到这个，”斯克罗吉说，“听你最开始说的，我还以为这些能够提供帮助的地方由于某种原因都关掉了呢。”

“但是我们有些人感到，”绅士回答说，“这些地方无法为穷人提供足够的东西。我们希望为那些需要帮助的人提供一些肉，饮料和柴火。这个时候我们都应该能够过得开心。你能给多少，先生？”

“什么都不给！”斯克罗吉回答说，“我自己圣诞节都不快乐，所以我也不会花钱去让其他人快乐。我们都要付钱给看守所和济贫院——这笔开销够大的了。没钱的人应该去那儿。”

“很多人不能去，还有很多人宁愿死也不想去那儿。”

“如果他们宁愿死的话，他们为什么不去死呢？世界上的人太多了，所以如果有些人死了的话这倒是件好事。这些都与我无关！一个人能清楚他自己该做什么就够了，用不着去考虑别人的事。我很忙，再见，先生们！”

两位绅士难过地摇摇头，离开了办公室。斯克罗吉又重新开始工作，心中很得意。

现在外面的雾大得不能再大了，天气寒冷刺骨。商店的窗户闪烁出耀眼的光。人们匆忙地穿梭着——有钱人和穷人都一样——去采购他们明天圣诞晚餐所需要的东西。

最后终于到了关门的时间了。斯克罗吉慢慢地从桌子后站起身。鲍勃等的就是这一刻，所以他立即戴上了帽子。

“我猜测你想明天一天都放假，是吗？”斯克罗吉问。

“先生，如果你不介意的话。”

“我确实介意，这不公平。你不做任何工作，我还得付你工钱。”

“先生，一年就这么一次。”鲍勃礼貌地说。

“这也并不能成为每年的12月25日你抢夺我钱财的理由！”斯克罗吉边说边穿上了大衣。“但我想这个节你必须得过。第二天早晨早点到。”

“是的，先生，我会的，我保证。”鲍勃高兴地说。斯克罗吉再没说一句话走了出去。鲍勃关上办公室的门后，以最快的速度朝卡姆登镇的家赶去。

斯克罗吉总是独自一人在同一家寒酸的小饮食店里吃晚饭，今晚也同往常一样。他读了报纸，看了银行的存单，然后回家去睡觉。他住在他合伙人曾住过的房子里，在一幢临街的孤零零的又旧又黑的楼里。只有斯克罗吉一人住在这里。

夜幕下，要穿过雾和霜，斯克罗吉不得不用手摸索着在街上前行。最后终于来到了他的门前，把钥匙插进锁里。突然，他吃惊地看到门环已不再是门环了，它变成了雅各布·马利的脸。

直到今天下午他对来访者说起马利的名字时，他已经有七年没有想过他的合伙人了。但呈现在他面前的就是马利的脸，惨白似鬼一般，还有一双圆睁的恐怖的眼睛。

斯克罗吉看着看着，它又变成了门环，但他没有表现出他的惧怕。他转动钥匙，打开门走了进去。在关上房门以前，他的确环顾了四周，也的确往门后看了看，看看是否有人藏在那里，但门后没有人。他“砰”地一声把门关上以示他并不惧怕。

他举起唯一的一根蜡烛慢慢地上了楼，他无法看见所有黑暗的角落。黑暗便宜得很，所以斯克罗吉喜欢它。但他记起了那张脸，所以他到所有的房间都走了一遍看看是否一切都安然无恙。桌子底下和床底下都没人，门后也没人！卧室微小的炉火上炖着一锅汤，斯克罗吉的碗已经摆在了桌子上。所有房间里都没有人！确信此刻安全无误之后，斯克罗吉随手关上并锁上了卧室的门。他坐在火旁开始喝汤。

这是一个旧壁炉，火周围是数以百计的印有图案的瓷砖，但斯克罗吉在每张瓷砖上所看到的都是马利的脸。

“骗人的东西！”斯克罗吉对着瓷砖说，并在屋里踱着步。当他坐下之后，他发现房间的另一面墙上挂着一个铃铛。他看着看着，惊奇而又恐惧地发现铃铛慢慢地开始左右摆动起来，不一会儿，它响了起来，声音很大，紧接着屋里所有的铃铛都响了起来。

突然它们在同一时间都不响了，紧接着从下面传来了一个奇怪的声音，听上去像是有人拖着沉重的链子从地板上走过。斯克罗吉记起曾听说过有时旧房子里的鬼魂身后拖着链子。然后楼下的一间房门当啷一声开了，声音开始朝楼上走来，朝他的房门走来。

“又是骗人的鬼把戏！”斯克罗吉大声说道，但当那东西径直地穿过厚厚的被锁着的房门出现在他面前时，他面无血色。那是马利的鬼魂！

斯克罗吉能够看穿它的躯体。一条长长的锁链缠在腰间，上面挂着钱盒子、钥匙、存折和沉甸甸的钱包。鬼魂死一般冷漠的眼睛盯着斯克罗吉看。

“哎！”斯克罗吉说，极力装出什么怪事也没发生的样子。“你想要什么？你是谁？”

“活着的时候我是你的合伙人，雅各布·马利。”

“我告诉你，这是骗人的！”斯克罗吉说，“没有鬼魂！”但当他说此话时，鬼魂发出了可怕的叫声，疯狂地摇动着身上的链子。斯克罗吉吓得立刻趴倒在地板上，大声说，“是的！是的！你是真的！我现在明白了！你来干什么？为什么人死后鬼魂要回来？告诉我，雅各布！”

“那些在世时不帮助他人的人，其灵魂死后都要在这个世界上永无休止地游荡。我们不得不戴着我们活着时为自己制造的锁链。埃比尼泽·斯克罗吉，你认出我的锁链了吗？它和你戴的锁链很相似！”

斯克罗吉向他四周看了看，但没看到锁链。“雅各布，”他说，“请你再多告诉我一些！”

“我帮不上你太大的忙，埃比尼泽！我不能停下来，我不能在一个地方久留。我已经死了七年了，在这七年中，我一直借着风的翅膀飘游着！没有安宁，死了也不得休息，因为我活着的时候从来没有行善积德！”

“但你是一个精明的商人，雅各布。”斯克罗吉说，他现在开始担忧起自己的命运来。

“生意！”鬼魂悲惨地说，“我为什么不把人看作是我的生意？我一心想的就是赚钱，但没有想过善待别人或是帮助别人。听我说，埃比尼泽！我今晚来这儿是要警告你，你还有机会拯救你自己避免重蹈我的覆辙。有三个幽灵将来看你：第一个于明天一点钟来，第二个于次日的同一时间来，第三个于大后天的午夜来。你不会再见到我了，为了你自己死后能太平，务必记住我对你说的话！”

幽灵慢慢地退到窗前，窗户开始打开。当鬼魂到了窗前时，它举起一只手，斯克罗吉听着。他听见空中传来凄惨的叫声。幽灵也开始大叫，它来到了雾蒙蒙、黑漆漆的夜色里，加入到其他幽灵的行列。外面的空中到处都是幽灵，它们都戴着和马利鬼魂一样的锁链，它们都在悲惨地叫着，因为它们直到死后才认识到活着的时候所犯下的可怕错误。

渐渐地，幽灵们和它们的吵闹声消失在雾霭和夜色中，夜晚又恢复了平静。斯克罗吉关上窗户，检查了卧室的门。门依然锁着。他开始说，“骗人的东西！”但突然停住了。也许是因为他太累了，或是太晚了，他连衣服也没脱就上床睡觉，而且立刻就睡着了。

2

The first of the three spirits

When Scrooge woke up, it was very dark in the room. He heard the church clock start striking, and listened to see what the time was. To his great surprise, the heavy bell went on striking up to twelve, then stopped. Twelve o'clock! It was past two in the morning when he had gone to bed. The clock must be wrong! He looked at his watch. It said twelve o'clock too!

'Have I slept all day? Is it the next night already?' Scrooge asked himself. 'Or has something happened to the sun? Perhaps it's midday, not midnight! But that's impossible!'

He climbed out of bed, and felt his way to the window. But there was nobody outside in the dark, foggy streets, and he realized it must be night-time. He went back to bed again, but could not sleep. He was worried, because he could not understand what was happening. 'Was Marley's ghost a dream?' he wondered. 'But it seemed very real...'

He lay awake until he heard the clock striking a quarter to the hour. Suddenly he remembered. The ghost had warned him that a spirit would visit him at one o'clock. He decided to stay awake until one o'clock had passed. The quarter of an hour passed very slowly, but at last he heard the clock striking the four quarters.

'It's one o'clock!' cried Scrooge delightedly, 'and nothing has happened!' But he spoke before the hour bell had sounded. The clock now struck a deep, sad ONE, and immediately light shone into Scrooge's bedroom. The curtains round his bed were pulled open. Scrooge sat up in bed, and stared at his ghostly visitor.

A strange figure, half like a child, half like an old man, looked back at him. It had long, white hair, but its skin was soft and young. It wore a short, white robe, covered with both summer and winter flowers. But the strangest thing about it was that from the top of its head shone a bright, clear light. Perhaps this light was sometimes too bright, because under one arm it carried a hat, which looked like a large extinguisher.

'Who and what are you, sir?' asked Scrooge.

'I am the ghost of Christmas Past,' replied the spirit, in a soft, gentle voice.

'Do you mean long ago in the past?' asked Scrooge.

'No. Your past.'

'Spirit, please tell me why you are here.'

'I am here for your own good,' answered the ghost.

'Thank you,' replied Scrooge politely. But secretly he thought, 'Bah! A night of unbroken sleep is a more useful thing to have!'

The spirit seemed to hear him thinking, and said at once, 'I am here to help you change your life! Watch and listen!' It put out a strong hand, and held Scrooge by the arm. 'Get up, and come with me!'

It was dark and cold outside. Scrooge did not want to go anywhere, and for a moment he thought about pretending to be too ill to go out. But he did not like to refuse, so he said nothing, and got out of bed. Together they passed through the wall of the house out into the darkness.

Suddenly Scrooge realized they were standing on an open country road, with fields on each side. London, the fog, and the darkness had all disappeared, and it was a clear, cold, winter day, with snow on the ground.

'Good Heavens!' cried Scrooge. 'I was born near here! I remember it well!'

The spirit looked kindly at the old man. 'How strange that you've forgotten it for so many years! What is that on your face? Are you crying?'

Scrooge put a hand over his eyes. 'It's nothing—I've got a cold, that's all. Take me where you want, spirit!'

Scrooge recognized every field, post, and tree, as they walked along the road towards a little market town. All around them were young schoolboys on horses and in farmers' carts, laughing and wishing each other a merry Christmas, as they travelled to their homes for the Christmas holiday.

'They are only shadows from the past,' said the spirit. 'They cannot see us.'

Scrooge knew and named all of them. Why was he so delighted to see them? Why did his cold heart beat faster when they went past, shouting 'Merry Christmas!'? What was 'merry Christmas' to Scrooge? What good had it ever done to him?

'Not everyone has left the school,' said the ghost. 'There is one lonely child there still, one child whose friends have all gone.'

'I know!' said Scrooge. And now he was crying openly.

They turned into a smaller road, and soon came to the school. Inside, in the long, cold, silent classroom, a lonely boy sat reading near a small fire. When he saw his poor forgotten past self, Scrooge sat down at one of the desks, put his head in his hands and cried.

'Poor boy! I wish—but it's too late now.'

'What's the matter?' asked the spirit.

'There was a boy singing Christmas carols at my door yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't give him anything, that's all.'

The ghost smiled, and lifted its hand, saying, 'Let's see another past Christmas!'

The schoolroom became darker and dirtier. There was the young Scrooge again, a little older and bigger than before. He was not reading this time, but was walking up and down, looking very unhappy. The door opened, and a little girl, much younger than him, came running in. Putting her arms round his neck, she said lovingly to him, 'I've come to bring you home, dear brother! Father is so much kinder than he used to be! The other day I asked him if you could come home, and he said yes! And we're going to spend Christmas together, and have the merriest time!' She was laughing delightedly as she began to pull him towards the door. They went out happily together, hand in hand.

'What a warm heart she had!' said the ghost.

'You're right,' said Scrooge. 'I agree with you, spirit!'

'She married, I understand,' continued the ghost, 'and had children, I think, before she died.'

'One child,' answered Scrooge.

'True,' said the ghost. 'Your nephew!'

Scrooge did not answer at once. 'Yes,' he said at last.

Now the school had disappeared, and they were in the middle of a busy town, with shadowy crowds and carts all around them. Here it was Christmas time again, but it was evening, and there were lights in the shops and streets.

The ghost stopped at an office door. 'Do you know this place, Scrooge?' he asked.

'Know it!' cried Scrooge. 'Why, I was a clerk here!'

They went in, and when they saw a large, kind-looking old gentleman sitting at a high desk, Scrooge cried excitedly, 'Good Heavens, it's old Fezziwig! God bless him! It's Fezziwig alive again!'

Old Fezziwig put down his pen, and looked at the clock. Fastening his coat buttons over his fat stomach, he started laughing as he called out in a rich, deep, happy voice, 'Ebenezer! Dick! Seven o'clock! No more work tonight! It's Christmas Eve, remember!'

The young Scrooge hurried in, with another clerk.

'That's Dick Wilkins!' said Scrooge quietly to the ghost. 'He always liked me. Oh dear! poor Dick!'

Together the two young clerks put away all the pens and papers, and, following Fezziwig's orders, cleared all the furniture away from the centre of the room. In came a fiddler. In came Mrs Fezziwig, fat and smiling. In came the three Fezziwig daughters, sweet and pretty. In came the six young men who were in love with them. In came the cook, with her young man, the milkman. In came the boy from next door, with the girl from the house opposite. In they came, some quietly, some noisily, but all happy because it was Christmas Eve. The fiddler started playing, and away they all went in the dance, twenty pairs at the same time, round and round, down the middle and up again. When they were all tired, old Fezziwig cried out, 'Well done! Now, have something to eat and drink!' There was cake and hot meat and bread and cold meat and fruit, and all kinds of drinks, on a long table near the door. And after they had eaten, they danced again.

When the clock struck eleven, the dancing ended. Mr and Mrs Fezziwig stood by the door, shaking hands with each person as he or she went out, and wishing him or her a merry Christmas.

During this time Scrooge had thought of nothing except what was happening in front of his eyes. He remembered and enjoyed it all with the greatest delight. But when the dancing came to an end, he realized that the ghost was looking at him. The light on the spirit's head was burning very clearly.

'It seems easy enough to amuse these childish people,' said the ghost. 'It was nothing much that Fezziwig did, was it? After all, he only spent a few pounds, on food and drink and paying the fiddler.'

'It isn't a question of money,' replied Scrooge warmly. He was speaking like the young man he used to be, not the old man he was now. 'No, spirit, you see, our employer can make us happy or sad. His words, his looks, all these things are so important! The happiness that he gives is just as valuable as money!'

He suddenly stopped speaking, when he felt the spirit watching him closely.

'What's the matter?' asked the ghost.

'Er—nothing,' said Scrooge. 'Just that — I'd like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk now.'

Now Scrooge could see himself again. He was older now, and it was clear that he was beginning to show an unhealthy interest in money. His eyes were restless, and his mouth looked thin and mean. He was not alone, but was sitting beside a lovely young girl. The light that shone brightly from the ghost of Christmas Past showed that she was crying.

'I know it doesn't matter very much to you,' she said softly. 'You care about gold more than you care about me. Perhaps I shouldn't be sad. Money will give you the happiness that I wanted to give you.'

'But I haven't changed towards you, have I?'

'You have changed. We promised to marry a long time ago, when we were both poor, and happy to be poor. I have stayed the same, but you have different hopes and dreams now. I loved the man that you used to be, but I know that you do not wish to marry me any more. So I've come to tell you that you're free. Be happy in the life that you've chosen!' And she left him.

'Spirit!' cried Scrooge. 'Show me no more! Take me home! This is too painful!'

'One shadow more!' said the ghost.

'No more!' cried Scrooge. 'I don't wish to see any more!' But the spirit held his arms, and he could not escape.

Now they were in another place, in a room which was not very large, but comfortable. Near the fire sat a beautiful young girl. Scrooge thought she was the girl that he had just seen, until he saw her, now a good-looking married lady, sitting opposite her daughter. The room was full of children, and noise, and shouting, and laughing. Just then the door opened, and the father entered, carrying a great pile of Christmas presents. The noise became twice as loud, as the children received their presents with delight, and kissed their father gratefully. Finally, the younger ones went upstairs to bed, and Scrooge watched more sadly than ever, as the father sat down with his loving daughter and her mother by the fire.

'Belle,' said the husband, turning to his wife with a smile, 'I saw an old friend of yours this afternoon. Guess who? Mr Scrooge! He was sitting alone in his office. His partner is dying, and I don't think he has any other friends.'

'Spirit!' said Scrooge in a broken voice. 'Take me away from this place.'

'These are shadows of the things that happened in the past,' said the ghost. 'You chose the life that you preferred, so why cry now?'

'I can't watch any more! It's too awful! Leave me alone, spirit!' And Scrooge, noticing that the ghostly light was burning high and bright, suddenly took the extinguisher, and pushed it down hard on the spirit's head. But although it covered the ghost's head and body, Scrooge could not hide the light, which continued to shine out strongly from underneath.

Now Scrooge found himself back in his own bedroom again. Feeling very tired, he climbed into bed and at once fell into a deep, heavy sleep.

wake up to cease to sleep. 醒来。

be covered with to be spread over 被……覆盖着。

extinguisher n. any of several types of instrument for putting out small fires by shooting liquid chemicals at them. 灭火器；熄灭蜡烛的用具。

delighted adj. very pleased and happy. 高兴的。

lonely adj. without company. 孤独的。

carol n. a special song which people sing at Christmas. 颂歌。

lift v. to raise. 举起。

shadowy adj. hard to see or know about clearly; not distinct. 幽暗的，朦胧的。

fasten v. to tie. 系；拴。

fiddler n. somebody who plays the fiddle. 小提琴手。

opposite adj. facing. 对面的。

come to an end to stop; to finish. 结束。

amuse v. to please; make happy. 使娱乐；使高兴。

painful adj. causing pain. 痛苦的。

escape v. to reach freedom. 逃跑。

grateful adj. feeling or showing thanks to another person. 感激的。

awful adj. (infml.) very bad. 糟糕的，极坏的。

2．三幽灵中的第一位

当斯克罗吉醒来的时候，房间里黑极了。他听见教堂的钟声响了，他听着想知道是几点了。令他大吃一惊的是，沉重的钟声一直敲了12下，然后停了。12点了！他上床睡觉的时候已经是凌晨2点了。一定是钟出了问题！他看了看他的手表，也是12点。

“我睡了一整天吗？难道已经是第二天夜里了吗？”斯克罗吉问自己。“或者是太阳出了问题？也许现在是正午而不是午夜！但那不可能。”

他下了床，摸黑来到窗前，但外面漆黑的、雾蒙蒙的街上一个人也没有，他知道一定是晚上。他又上了床，但是却睡不着。他忧心忡忡，因为他不明白正在发生的一切。“马利的鬼魂是梦吗？”他想知道。“但它似乎是真的。”

他睁着眼睛躺着，直到听见钟敲45分。突然他记起了。鬼魂曾警告过他，1点钟时有个幽灵要来见他。他决定睁眼等到1点钟过去。15分钟过得极慢，但最后他终于听到钟敲了4刻。

“1点了！”斯克罗吉高兴地大叫道，“而且什么也没发生！”但他是在整点的钟响之前说这番话的。现在钟敲了沉闷悲伤的1点，立刻就有亮光照进了斯克罗吉的卧室。他床周围的帘子被扯开了。斯克罗吉从床上坐起，注视着鬼魂般的来访者。

一个奇怪的影子，一半像孩子，一半像老头儿，回头看着他。它的头发又长又白，但它的皮肤柔软而富有弹性。它穿着白色的短袍子，上面满是夏季和冬季的花儿。但最奇怪的是它的头顶上闪耀出明亮的光。也许这光有时太亮了，因为它的一只胳膊下夹着一顶帽子，看上去像是一个很大的灭火工具。

“你是谁，是干什么的，先生？”斯克罗吉问。

“我是昔日圣诞鬼魂。”幽灵用柔弱、温柔的声音回答说。

“你是指过去很久以前吗？”斯克罗吉问。

“不。是你的过去。”

“幽灵，请告诉我你为什么来这儿。”

“我来这儿纯粹是为了你好。”鬼魂说。

“谢谢你，”斯克罗吉礼貌地回答说，但他心里想，“呸！睡个一晚上没人打扰的觉比什么都强。”

幽灵似乎懂得了他在想什么，便立刻说，“我来这儿是帮助你改变你的生活的！看好了，听清楚！”它伸出一只强有力的手，抓住斯克罗吉的胳膊。“起来跟我走！”

外面又黑又冷。斯克罗吉哪儿也不想去，所以一时间他想装成病入膏肓的样子无法出去，但他又不愿拒绝，所以他什么也没说就下了床。他们一起穿过房子的墙壁来到了夜色中。

忽然斯克罗吉发觉他们来到了一条空旷的乡间大路上，两边都是田野。伦敦、浓雾和黑暗都已消失，现在是一个晴朗、寒冷的冬日，地上覆盖着积雪。

“天哪！”斯克罗吉喊道，“我出生在这儿附近，我记得很清楚！”

幽灵友善地看着这位老人。“奇怪得很，这么多年你都把这忘记了！你脸上是什么？你哭了吗？”

斯克罗吉用一只手捂住他的眼。“没事儿——只是我得了感冒。幽灵，带我去你想去的地方吧！”

在他们去往一个小集镇的路上，斯克罗吉认出了每一片田野，每一处驿站和每一棵树木。他们周围到处都是学校的男孩子们，他们有的骑在马上，有的坐在农夫的马车里，在他们赶回家过圣诞节的路上，他们笑着彼此祝愿圣诞快乐。

“他们只不过是过去的影子，”幽灵说，“他们看不见我们。”

斯克罗吉全都认识他们，并能叫出他们的名字。为什么他看见他们这么高兴？为什么当他们走过，高喊着“圣诞快乐”时，他冷酷的心跳得快了？“圣诞快乐”对斯克罗吉意味着什么？它给他带来过什么好处？

“不是所有的孩子们都离开了学校，”鬼魂说。“那儿还有一个孤独的孩子，他的朋友们全都走了。”

“我知道！”斯克罗吉说。现在他毫不掩饰地哭了。

他们拐到了一条更窄的路上，不一会儿就来到了学校。在那间狭长、寒冷、寂静的教室里，一个孤独的孩子正坐在微弱的火旁看书。当他看见那寒酸的、已被忘却的过去的自己时，斯克罗吉坐在一张课桌旁，双手抱头哭了。

“可怜的孩子啊！我希望——但现在太晚了。”

“什么事？”幽灵问。

“昨天有一个男孩子在我的门口唱圣诞颂歌，我很后悔什么也没给他，就是这事儿。”

鬼魂笑了，举起一只手说，“咱们再去看看另外一个昔日圣诞节。”

教室变得更暗更脏了，又出现了年轻的斯克罗吉，比以前稍微长大了一些而且个头高了一些。这次他没在看书，而是来回踱着步，看上去很不高兴。门开了，跑进来一个比他小得多的女孩儿。她双手搂着他的脖子亲昵地对他说，“我是来带你回家的，亲爱的哥哥！父亲比从前慈爱多了。不久前的一天，我问他你可不可以回家，他答应了！我们可以一起过圣诞节了，而且会过得比以前都快活！”她开心地笑着拉起他朝门口走去。他们手拉着手，一起高兴地出去了。

“她真是热心肠！”鬼魂说。

“你说得对，”斯克罗吉说，“我同意。”

“她结婚了，我知道，”鬼魂继续说，“而且我想，在她死之前有了孩子。”

“有一个孩子，”斯克罗吉回答说。

“对，”鬼魂说。“你的外甥！”

斯克罗吉没有马上回答。“是的。”他最后说。

现在学校不见了，他们来到了一座繁忙的镇子中心，周围都是模糊的人群和马车。这里也是圣诞节的日子，但已是夜晚，商店和大街上都亮起了灯。

鬼魂在一个办公室的门前停下。“你认识这个地方吗，斯克罗吉？”它问。

“认识！”斯克罗吉大声说，“啊，我曾是这儿的一名雇员啊！”

他们走了进去，当他们看见一位身材魁梧、慈眉善目的老绅士坐在一张高高的桌子旁时，斯克罗吉兴奋地喊道，“天哪，他是老费泽威格！上帝保佑他！费泽威格又活了！”

老费泽威格放下笔，看了看表。系好胖肚子上的外衣扣子，他一边用圆润、低沉、幸福的声音大声说，“埃比尼泽！迪克！7点了！今晚就干到这儿了。记得吗，今天是圣诞前夜！”一边开始笑了起来。

年轻的斯克罗吉带着另一个雇员匆匆地进来了。

“这是迪克·威尔金斯！”斯克罗吉悄悄地告诉鬼魂，“他一直都挺喜欢我。噢，亲爱的。可怜的迪克！”

两个年轻的雇员一起把所有的笔和文件都收拾好放到了一边，并按照费泽威格的吩咐把所有的家具都从屋子中央挪开。一个小提琴手走了进来；费泽威格太太走了进来，胖胖的，面带笑容；费泽威格的三个女儿走了进来，她们长得甜甜的而且很漂亮；六个爱着这三位姑娘的年轻人走了进来；厨师和她年轻的丈夫，送奶工走了进来；隔壁家的男孩，带着对面房子里的女孩走了进来。他们都进来了，有的静悄悄的，有的吵吵嚷嚷的，但都兴高采烈，因为今天是圣诞节。小提琴手开始演奏，他们全都加入到跳舞者的行列，同时有20对儿，来回地转着圈跳着。当他们都跳累了的时候，老费泽威格大声说，“跳得好极了！现在吃点东西或喝点什么吧！”在门口的一张长桌子上摆着蛋糕、烧好的热乎乎的肉、面包、冷肉、水果和各种喝的。他们吃过之后又重新跳舞。

当钟敲11点的时候，舞会结束了。费泽威格先生和太太站在门口，他们和每个离开的人一一握手并祝愿他或她圣诞快乐。

在这斯间斯克罗吉想的只是他眼前所发生的一切。他记起了过去发生的一切并且觉得一切都很开心。但当舞会结束的时候，他觉察到鬼魂正看着他。幽灵头上的光明亮地闪烁着。

“好像轻而易举就能给这些天真的人们带来娱乐，”鬼魂说，“费泽威格并没做多少事情，不是吗？他充其量不过是花了几个英镑买了些吃的、喝的和付了小提琴手的报酬。”

“这不是钱的问题，”斯克罗吉热情地回答说。他说话的样子和他年轻时一样，可不是现在年迈的那副神情。“不，幽灵，要知道，我们的雇主能够令我们高兴或悲伤。他的话语、他的表情，所有这些都很重要！他给我们带来的幸福同金钱一样有价值！”

当他感到幽灵正密切地注视着他的时候，他不再说下去了。

“怎么了？”鬼魂问。

“哦——没什么，”斯克罗吉说，“只是——我想现在和我的雇员说一两句话。”

斯克罗吉现在又能看见他本人了。他现在比以前又长了几岁了，很显然他对钱已经显示出一种不良的兴趣。他目光焦虑，嘴看上去刻薄且吝啬。他不是独自一人，他身边坐着一个可爱的姑娘。借着“昔日圣诞”鬼魂身上发出的明亮的光可以看出她在哭。

“我知道这对你来说算不了什么，”她轻柔地说，“你把金子看得比我还重。也许我不该难过，金钱会给你带来我想带给你的幸福的。”

“但对你我并没变心，不是吗？”

“你已经变了。在很久以前当我们都还很穷但又穷得快乐的时候，我们就许诺过要结婚。我一直没改变想法，但你现在有了不同的希望和理想。我爱的是过去的你，但我知道你不再想娶我了，所以我来是想告诉你，你自由了。祝你在你自己选择的道路上幸福生活！”她离开了他。

“幽灵！”斯克罗吉大声说，“别再让我看下去了！带我回家吧！这太痛苦了！”

“还有一个！”鬼魂说。

“一个也不要再看了！”斯克罗吉高声喊道，“我不想再看了！”但幽灵抓住他的胳膊，所以他无法逃脱。

现在他们来到了另一个地方，一个不是很大但非常舒适的房间里。火边坐着一位漂亮的年轻姑娘。斯克罗吉以为这位就是刚才看到过的女孩，直到他看见了她，现在已是一位漂亮的已婚妇人了，就坐在女儿的对面。房间里都是孩子，满屋子吵闹声、喊叫声和笑声。这时门开了，父亲抱着一大摞圣诞礼物走了进来。当孩子们高兴地拿到礼物时，吵闹声比刚才高了一倍，他们充满感激地吻了父亲。最后，小点儿的孩子们上楼睡觉去了。父亲同他可爱的女儿及妻子在火炉旁坐下，这时，斯克罗吉比往常更加伤心地看着。

“贝尔，”丈夫说着把脸转向妻子，面带微笑。“我今天下午看见了你的一位老朋友，你猜他是谁？斯克罗吉先生！他正独自一人坐在他的办公室里。他的合伙人快要死了，我认为他再没有别的朋友了。”

“幽灵！”斯克罗吉用颤抖的声音说。“带我离开这个地方吧。”

“这都是过去所发生的事情的影子，”鬼魂说，“你选择了你喜欢的生活，现在干嘛要哭呢？”

“我不能再看下去了！太可怕了！幽灵，让我一个人待着吧！”当斯克罗吉看到鬼火高高地明晃晃地照着时，他突然夺下灭火器，重重地放在了幽灵的头上。但尽管它盖住了鬼魂的头和身体，斯克罗吉还是盖不住它身上的光，那光依旧从下面强烈地放射出来。

现在斯克罗吉发现他又回到了自己的卧室。感觉非常疲劳，他爬上床立刻就进入了沉沉的梦乡。

3

The second of the three spirits

When Scrooge woke up, he realized immediately that the church clock was just going to strike one. He felt sure that the second spirit would soon visit him. This time he wanted to be ready, so he pulled back all the curtains round his bed himself, and lay there, waiting. At one o'clock, instead of a spirit, a strong light shone down on Scrooge's bed. He felt very frightened. After a few minutes he thought that perhaps the light was coming from the next room, so he got up and went to the door. When he touched it, a strange voice called his name, and asked him to enter. He obeyed.

Although he recognized it as his own room, it looked very different now. The walls were covered with bright green leaves, and there was a good fire burning in the fireplace. On the floor were big piles of the best Christmas food—wonderful rich dark cakes, warm soft bread, colourful apples and oranges, plates of yellow butter, cooked chickens, boxes of chocolates and sugared sweets. Sitting beside all this was a large, smiling spirit, who called out cheerfully to Scrooge, 'Come in! Come in, man! I am the ghost of Christmas Present! Look at me!'

Since the first ghost's visit, Scrooge was no longer very sure of himself. So although the spirit's eyes were clear and kind, Scrooge was afraid to look straight into its face. But he could see that its body was dressed in a long green robe, its long brown hair fell freely down its back, and its face wore a warm and friendly smile. Light shone from the torch which it was holding in its strong right hand.

'Spirit,' said Scrooge quietly, 'take me where you want. Last night I learned a lesson which is working now. If you have anything to teach me tonight, let me learn from you.'

'Touch my robe!' said the spirit, and Scrooge obeyed.

The food, the room, the fire all disappeared, and they were standing outside in the cold, snowy streets on Christmas morning. Althought the sky was grey and the streets were dirty, the people looked surprisingly cheerful, as they hurried to the bakers' shops with their Christmas dinners, all ready for cooking. The spirit seemed specially interested in poor people. He stood with Scrooge in a baker's doorway and held his torch over the dinners as they were carried past him. Sometimes, when he saw people pushing each other or getting angry, he lifted his torch over their heads, and immediately they became kinder, or stopped arguing, 'because it's Christmas,' they told each other.

'What does your torch do, spirit?' asked Scrooge.

'It gives a special taste to people's dinners on this day,' answered the spirit.

'Why do you use it most on poor people?' said Scrooge.

'Because poor people need it most,' was the reply.

They went on through London, and came to the small house where Scrooge's clerk lived. Here the spirit smiled, and held his torch high over the door. Inside, Bob Cratchit's wife and second daughter, Belinda, in their everyday dresses, but looking clean and pretty, were putting plates on the table for their Christmas dinner. Bob's son Peter was helping to cook the potatoes, and two smaller Cratchits, a boy and a girl, were running round excitedly. Just then the eldest daughter, Martha, arrived home from work.

'Here's Martha, mother!' cried the two young Cratchits happily. 'We're having a really big chicken for dinner, Martha!' In fact it was only a small chicken, but it seemed large to the excited children.

'My dear, how late you are!' said Mrs Cratchit, kissing her daughter several times.

'We were so busy yesterday, mother!' replied the girl. 'That's why we didn't finish until this morning!'

'Well! Never mind, now that you're here. God bless you! Sit down by the fire, my dear!'

'No, no! Father's coming!' cried the two young Cratchits. 'Hide, Martha, hide!'

So Martha hid herself, and in came Bob in his thin coat and long white scarf, with his son Tiny Tim in his arms. Poor Tiny Tim! He had not walked since he was born, and although he could pull himself and his thin little legs along with the help of a wooden crutch, he was not strong enough to travel far alone.

'Why, where's Martha?' cried Bob, looking round.

'Not coming,' said Mrs Cratchit.

'Not coming!' repeated Bob, his cheerful smile disappearing. 'Not coming on Christmas Day!'

But Martha didn't like to worry her father for a minute, so she ran out from behind the door and kissed him, while the two young Cratchits showed Tiny Tim the chicken, now ready to eat.

Scrooge and the spirit watched as the family sat down to eat. It was a poor enough meal, but to them it seemed wonderful, and they ate every bit of it.

'It's the best chicken I've ever tasted,' said Bob, smiling round at his family, who, with their mouths full, all agreed.

And then, the most exciting moment of the day! Belinda put a clean plate in front of each person, and they all turned to look at Mrs Cratchit as she came in from the kitchen. Her face was hot from her morning's work, but she was smiling happily as she carried in — the Christmas pudding, in its little circle of blue fire!

Oh, it was a wonderful pudding! They were all delighted with it.

'It's your greatest success in all the years that we've been married, my dear!' said Bob.

'Well, I did wonder how much fruit to put in it,' said his wife, 'but, yes, it's a good one!' And she laughed just like a young girl.

Nobody said that it was a very small pudding for a large family. Nobody even thought it. No Cratchit ever said or thought things like that.

At last, when they had finished their meal, the children cleared the table and washed the plates. Then they all sat round the fire, eating apples and oranges. There was a large bowl of fruit and sugar and hot water and something a little stronger, but only three people could drink at the same time, because the family only owned two glasses and a cup. But this did not worry the Cratchits at all. Now Bob lifted his glass and said, 'A merry Christmas to us all, my dears! God bless us!'

The family repeated his wish, and Tiny Tim said, last of all, 'God bless us every one!' He sat very close to his father, on a small chair. Bob held his son's thin little hand in this own. The boy had a special place in his father's heart.

'Spirit,' said Scrooge, with an interest that he had never felt before, 'tell me if Tiny Tim will live.'

'In the future I see an empty chair by the fire, with a crutch beside it. If these shadows do not change, the child will die.'

'No, no!' said Scrooge. 'Oh no, kind spirit! Say that he will live!'

'If his life does not change soon, he will die before next Christmas. What does that matter? There are too many people in the world, so it's a good thing if some of them die.'

Scrooge was ashamed and sad to hear his own words spoken by the spirit. But he lifted his head when he heard his name.

'Mr Scrooge!' said Bob. 'Let's drink to Mr Scrooge, whose money has paid for this meal!'

'His money!' said Mrs Cratchit angrily. 'What can we buy with his fifteen shillings a week? Why should we drink to the health of a hateful, hard, unfeeling, mean old man like Scrooge?'

'My dear,' said Bob gently, 'remember it's Christmas.'

'Well, Bob, I'll drink to his health only because of you and because it's Christmas. Long life to Mr Scrooge! A merry Christmas and a happy new year to him! He'll be very merry and very happy, I'm sure!'

When the children heard Scrooge's name, a dark shadow came over their happiness for a while, and they were quiet and a little sad. But five minutes later they were talking, and laughing, and telling stories, ten times merrier than before. They were not a good-looking or a well-dressed family, but they were happy and grateful and loved each other. As they disappeared in the light of the spirit's torch, Scrooge could not take his eyes off them, especially Tiny Tim.

By this time it was getting dark, and snowing heavily. The spirit took Scrooge into many houses, where fires were burning cheerfully, and food was cooking, and people were merrily welcoming their friends and families into their homes. The ghost was delighted to see all this excitement, and made sure that he lifted his torch over every poor family, to give them more fun, and better food, and greater happiness.

Then the spirit took Scrooge away from the busy capital, to a wild, lonely place in the country, where no trees grew. Here they visited a small stone house, a long way from any town or village, where an old man and woman were singing Christmas carols, with their children and grandchildren. The spirit did not stay long here, but told Scrooge to hold his robe again.

'Where are we going? Not up in the air, surely!' And Scrooge, terribly frightened, looked down as they flew over the land and then over the sea. It was stormy, windy weather, and the waves crashed violently underneath them. The spirit took Scrooge to a lighthouse built on a lonely rock, several miles from land. A light was kept burning at the top, in order to warn sailors to keep away from the dangerous rocks. Two men lived here in this cold, unfriendly place, far away from their families, but the spirit smiled to see them shake hands, wish each other a merry Christmas, and sing a carol together in front of their fire.

Again the spirit and Scrooge flew on, and together they landed on a ship in the middle of the sea. Here every man, although many miles from home, had a kind word for his friend, or thought warmly of his family, because it was Christmas.

It was a great surprise to Scrooge, while listening to the noise of the wind and waves, to hear a happy laugh. He recognized it as his nephew's, and found himself, with the smiling spirit beside him, in his nephew's bright, warm sitting-room.

When Scrooge's nephew laughed, everybody who was with him wanted to laugh too. He had that kind of laugh. And at the moment, his very pretty wife and several of his friends were laughing with him.

'He said that Christmas was humbug! Ha ha ha!' cried Scrooge's nephew.

'That's very bad of him, Fred!' said his wife.

'He's a strange old man,' said Scrooge's nephew, 'but I'm sorry for him. His money is no use to him, you see. He isn't at all happy or comfortable, although he's rich. It's sad to think of him sitting alone in his cold room. And so I'm going to invite him every Christmas. He can be cross and miserable if he likes, but I'll go on inviting him and one day perhaps he'll think better of Christmas!'

After tea, the cheerful little group sang songs, and played music. Scrooge recognized the song that his little sister used to sing, and remembered sadly what the ghost of Christmas Past had shown him. Later the friends played guessing games, and Scrooge joined in the games with delight. Nobody except the spirit could hear him, but he often guessed the right answer.

'It's time to go now,' said the ghost, smiling at the old man's childish excitement.

'No, spirit, please, let me stay a little longer. Look, they're playing a new game!'

It was a game called Yes and No, in which Scrooge's nephew had to think of something, and the others had to ask questions to discover what it was. The only possible answers were Yes or No. Scrooge heard that Fred was thinking of a living animal, a wild animal, sometimes an angry animal, which lived in London and walked in the streets. Every time he answered a question, Fred could not stop himself laughing. At last, his wife's dark, pretty sister started laughing too.

'I know what it is, Fred! I know!' she cried out. 'It's your uncle Scro-o-o-o-oge!'

Everyone laughed until they cried. What a wonderful game! What a clever idea of Fred's! But at last Fred dried his eyes, and said, 'We've been very merry because of him, so I think we should drink to his health. Here's to Uncle Scrooge! A merry Christmas and a happy new year to the old man! Uncle Scrooge!'

'To Uncle Scrooge!' they all cried, cheerfully lifting their glasses.

Uncle Scrooge wanted to thank them, but the spirit hurried him away. The ghost seemed much older now: his brown hair had become grey.

'Are spirits' lives so short?' asked Scrooge.

'My life in this world ends at midnight tonight. Listen! It's a quarter ro midnight now!'

The church clock was striking the three quarters.

'Excuse me for asking, spirit,' said Scrooge, 'but what are those strange things near your foot?'

'Oh man, look here!' said the spirit sadly, and brought out from under his robe two ghostly figures, a boy and a girl. They were thin and poorly dressed, with cold, mean eyes and dry, yellow skin, and their faces showed only a frightening and murderous hate. Scrooge had never seen anything so terrible or so sad.

'These miserable children are Man's,' said the spirit. 'The boy is Crime. The girl is Need. They will destroy Man if nothing is done about them.'

'Can't anyone help them?' cried Scrooge.

'Are there no prisons?' said the spirit, turning on Scrooge for the last time with his own words. 'Are there no workhouses?'

The clock struck twelve. Scrooge looked, but could no longer see the ghost or the children. He was alone again.

frighten v. to fear. 吓唬。

obey v. to do (what one is asked to do) by. 服从。

fireplace n. the opening for a fire in the wall of a room, with a chimney above it and often an ornamental area around it. 壁炉。

cheerful adj. happy. 兴高采烈的。

kiss v. to touch with the lips as a sign of love or as a greeting. 吻。

God bless you! people used to say this when they liked someone or were grateful to them. 愿上帝保佑你！

pull v. to draw. 拉；拖。

pudding n. the sweet dish in a meal, served after meat or fish and before cheese. 布丁。

crutch n. a stick with a piece that fits under the arm, for supporting a person who has difficulty in walking. 拐杖。

repeat v. to say again. 重复。

ashamed adj. feeling shame. 可耻的。

shilling n. a coin in old British money (equal to five pence today). 先令。

stormy adj. having one or more storms. 有暴风雨的，多风暴的。

lighthouse n. a tower or other building with a powerful flashing light that guides ships or warns them of dangerous rocks. 灯塔。

unfriendly adj. not acting or ready to act as a friend. 不友好的。

comfortable adj. giving comfort, esp. to the body. 舒适的。

nephew n. the son of one's brother or sister. 侄子，外甥。

merry adj. cheerful, esp laughing. 欢快的。

strike v. to hit. 敲；打。

murderous adj. likely to cause death. 杀人的，行凶的。

3．三幽灵中的第二位

当斯克罗吉醒来的时候，他立刻发现教堂的钟就要敲响1点钟了。他肯定第二个幽灵不久就要来了。这次他想做好准备，所以他自己把他床周围的帘子都拉开了，躺在那儿等着。1点钟时，幽灵没有来，但一束强光从上面照在了斯克罗吉的床上。他害怕极了。几分钟之后，他以为光是从隔壁的房间照过来的，所以他起身下床来到了门口。当他的手摸到门时，一个奇怪的声音叫他的名字并让他进去，他听从了。

尽管他认出这是他自己的房间，但它现在看上去已完全不同。墙壁被鲜亮的绿叶所覆盖，壁炉里燃烧着熊熊的火焰。地板上摆着大堆的上好的圣诞食品——味道浓郁的巧克力蛋糕、热乎乎松软的面包、鲜艳的苹果和桔子、一盘盘的黄油、炖好的鸡、一盒盒的巧克力和糖果。坐在这些东西旁边的是一个身材高大、面带笑容的幽灵，它高兴地对斯克罗吉高声喊，“请进！请进，伙计！我是今日圣诞鬼魂！看着我！”

自从第一个鬼魂的来访，斯克罗吉对自己就没了把握。所以尽管幽灵的眼睛明亮且充满善意，但斯克罗吉还是不敢正视它的脸，但他能看见幽灵身穿一件绿色长袍，它长长的棕色头发随意地散落在背上，它面带热情友好的笑容。光是从他强有力的右手握着的火把里发出的。

“幽灵，”斯克罗吉轻柔地说，“你想带我去哪儿就去哪儿。昨天晚上我接受了教训，而且这教训现在正在生效。如果今晚你也有什么要告诉我的话，请让我向你领教。”

“拽着我的长袍！”幽灵说，斯克罗吉从命了。

食品、房间、炉火都消失了。是圣诞早晨，他们正站在冰天雪地的大街上。虽然天空灰蒙蒙的，街上也很脏，但当人们拿着他们的圣诞晚餐匆匆赶往面包房准备烤制的时候，他们看上去都出奇的欢喜。幽灵似乎对穷人特别感兴趣。它和斯克罗吉一同站在面包房的门口，当晚餐从它面前经过时它把火把照在上面。有时当他看见人们相互拥挤或发脾气时，他把火把举在他们的头上，他们立刻就会变得和气或停止争吵，“因为今天是圣诞节，”他们彼此告诫着。

“你的火把是做什么用的，幽灵？”斯克罗吉问。

“它能给人们今天的晚餐带来特殊的味道。”幽灵回答说。

“你为什么大多把它用在穷人身上？”斯克罗吉问。

“因为穷人最需要它。”幽灵回答说。

他们继续前行，穿过伦敦，来到了斯克罗吉的雇员的狭小住处。在这儿幽灵笑了，把他的火把高高地举过房门。屋里，鲍勃·克拉奇蒂的妻子和二女儿贝琳达身穿她们平日的服装，但看起来干净漂亮，她们正往桌子上摆圣诞晚餐用的盘子。鲍勃的儿子彼得正帮着烧土豆，两个再小点的孩子，一男一女，正高兴地来回跑着。这时大女儿玛莎下班回来了。

“玛莎回来了，妈妈！”两个孩子高兴地喊着。“晚饭我们能吃到一只真的很大的鸡，玛莎！”实际上它不过是一只很小的鸡，但对这些兴奋的孩子们来说它似乎很大。

“我亲爱的，你这么晚才回来！”克拉奇蒂太太边说边吻了女儿好几下。

“我们昨天非常忙，妈妈！”女孩回答说，“所以我们直到今天早晨才干完！”

“哎！既然你回来了就没关系了。愿上帝保佑你！亲爱的，来坐到火边来！”

“不，不！爸爸回来了！”两个小孩子嚷道，“藏起来，玛莎，藏起来！”

于是玛莎藏了起来，鲍勃身穿他的薄大衣戴着白色的长围巾走了进来，怀里抱着小蒂姆。可怜的小蒂姆啊！自从他降生就没正常行走过。尽管他借助于一个木拐杖能够拖着身躯和他那瘦骨嶙峋的腿往前挪，但他毕竟太弱了，一个人走不了多远。

“怎么了，玛莎呢？”鲍勃高声喊道，并朝四周看了看。

“不回来了。”克拉奇蒂太太说。

“不回来了！”鲍勃重复了一遍，他欢快的笑容不见了。“圣诞节也不回来！”

但是玛莎不想让父亲为她多担心一分钟，所以她从门后跑出来，吻了父亲，这时两个最小的孩子在给小蒂姆看那只已经烧熟了的鸡。

斯克罗吉和幽灵看着一家人坐下吃饭。这是一顿粗茶淡饭，但对他们来说它似乎是很丰盛的，他们把它吃了个精光。

“这是我曾经吃到过的最好吃的鸡。”鲍勃说，并对全家人都笑了笑，每个人的嘴里都塞满了吃的，他们都表示同意。

接着是这一天最激动人心的时刻！贝琳达在每个人面前放了一个干净盘子，当克拉奇蒂太太从厨房出来时，大家都转过身看着她。由于从一大早就开始忙，她的脸发热，但当她把带着蓝火圈的圣诞布丁拿进来时，她幸福地笑了。

噢，多好的布丁啊！他们看到它都很高兴。

“亲爱的，这是我们结婚这么多年来你做的最成功的一件事！”鲍勃说。

“哎，我的确不知道里面该放多少水果，”他妻子说，“不过，是的，它很不错！”她像一个小姑娘似地乐了。

没有人说这布丁太小，尤其对这么个大家庭来说。没有人这么想过。克拉奇蒂家的人从不会说那样的话，也不会那样想。

最后，当他们吃完饭后，孩子们收拾好桌子并把碗洗干净了，他们团团围坐在炉火旁吃着苹果和桔子。有一大碗水果、糖、热水和略含酒精的东西，但只有三个人可以同时喝，因为他们家只有两个玻璃杯和一个茶杯，但克拉奇蒂一家并没因此而犯愁。鲍勃现在举起杯子说，“祝我们大家圣诞快乐，亲爱的们！上帝保佑我们！”

全家人重复着他的祝愿，最后，小蒂姆说，“愿上帝保佑我们每一个人！”他紧靠着爸爸坐在一把小椅子上。鲍勃手握着儿子瘦小的手，这个男孩在父亲的心目中占据着特殊的位置。

“幽灵，”斯克罗吉以他以前从未有过的热情问，“告诉我小蒂姆是否能活下去。”

“将来我会看到火旁边有一把空椅子，边上有一根拐杖。如果这些影子不变的话，他就会死去。”

“不，不！”斯克罗吉说，“噢，善良的幽灵！说他会活下去的。”

“如果他的生活近期内不能改变的话，他在明年的圣诞前就会死去。这又有什么关系呢？世界上的人太多了，所以若有一部分死了的话，岂不是件好事吗？”

斯克罗吉听到幽灵重复着自己曾说过的话，感到羞愧悲伤。但听见自己名字的时候，他抬起了头。

“斯克罗吉先生！”鲍勃说，“让我们为斯克罗吉先生干杯，是他付的钱使我们才能吃上今天的这顿饭。”

“他的钱？”克拉奇蒂太太生气地说。“他一星期给的15先令够我们买什么的？我们干嘛要祝一个像斯克罗吉那样可恨、刻薄、没有感情、吝啬的老头健康？”

“我亲爱的，”鲍勃温柔地说，“记住今天是圣诞节。”

“好吧，鲍勃，我祝他健康，只看在你的面子上，况且今天还是圣诞节。祝斯克罗吉先生长寿。祝他圣诞、新年快乐！我肯定他会很快乐和幸福的！”

当孩子们听到斯克罗吉的名字时，不悦笼罩了他们原本高兴的笑脸，他们都不出声了，并且有些沮丧。但10分钟后他们又开始有说有笑，讲故事，比先前要高兴十倍。他们一家人长相平平，穿着一般，但他们幸福，对彼此充满感激之情并且互相亲爱。当他们在幽灵的火把的光下消失的时候，斯克罗吉的目光无法从他们的身上移开，尤其是小蒂姆。

这时天渐渐黑了，雪下得很大。幽灵带着斯克罗吉去了很多家，每家都燃烧着欢乐的火焰，烧着吃的，人们都兴高采烈地欢迎着他们的朋友和家人的到来。鬼魂看见这兴奋的场面很是高兴，凡是在穷人家它都把火把高高举起，目的是给他们带来更多的欢乐、更好的食品和更多的幸福。

然后幽灵带着斯克罗吉离开了繁忙的都市，来到了乡下一个荒凉、偏僻的地方，这里连一棵树都不长。在这里他们去了一所石头房子，它离所有的小镇和村庄都很远。房子里一个老头和一个老太太同他们的孩子们一起正唱着圣诞颂歌。幽灵没有在这久留，它让斯克罗吉再一次地抓住它的袍子。

“我们要去哪儿？当然不会是去天上吧！”斯克罗吉吓得要命，当他们飞过田野然后又飞过海洋的时候，他朝下看着。风雨交加，海浪在他们下面咆哮。幽灵带着斯克罗吉来到了一座建在一块孤零零的礁石上的灯塔，礁石距陆地有数英里之遥。灯塔顶上有一盏灯一直亮着，为的是提醒水手们远离那些危险的岩石。在这个冰冷荒凉的地方住着两个男人，他们远离自己的家人，但当幽灵看见他们握手，彼此祝福圣诞快乐并一起在炉火前唱着颂歌时，它笑了。

幽灵和斯克罗吉继续向前飞，他们又都同时落在了大海中央的一条船上。在这儿，虽然离家甚远，但每个人都向朋友说了一句祝福的话，或者向自己的家人给以温馨的祝福，因为今天是圣诞节。

当斯克罗吉正听着风的吼叫和浪涛的汹涌时，他很吃惊地听到了笑声。他听出这是他外甥的笑声，他发现他和面带微笑的幽灵一起来到了他外甥明亮温暖的起居室。

斯克罗吉的外甥笑着，和他在一起的人也都想笑，他的笑就具备这样的感染力。此刻，他漂亮的妻子和他的几个朋友和他一起在笑。

“他说圣诞节是骗人的！哈哈哈！”斯克罗吉的外甥大声说。

“他真是太坏了，弗雷德！”他妻子说。

“他是一个怪老头，”斯克罗吉的外甥说，“但我很是为他感到难过。你知道，他的钱没有给他带来什么，他既不幸福也不舒服，虽然他有钱。想到他独自一人坐在他那冷飕飕的屋子里我心里就不是滋味，所以每个圣诞节我都将去邀请他。他爱发脾气，那就发好了，但我会继续邀请他，也许终究有一天他对圣诞节的感觉会好起来的。”

喝过茶后，这几个欢快的人唱歌并演奏音乐。斯克罗吉听出了他小妹妹过去常唱的那支歌，记起了“昔日圣诞”幽灵给他看过的东西。后来朋友们进行了猜谜游戏，斯克罗吉高兴地同他们一起猜。只有幽灵能听见他说什么，但他猜的答案大都正确。

“现在该走了。”鬼魂说，这个老头孩子般的兴奋劲儿使他觉得好笑。

“不，幽灵，请让我再多待一小会儿。看，他们又要做一个新游戏！”

这个游戏的名字叫“是或否”，在这个游戏中斯克罗吉的外甥要想点什么事情，其余的人便可以问问题以便知道他想的是什么。唯一可能的答案就是“是或否”。斯克罗吉听见弗雷德在想一只活着的动物，一只野兽，有时是一只暴怒的动物，它生活在伦敦，走在大街上。他每回答一个问题，弗雷德就情不自禁地大笑。最后他那长得黑黑的漂亮妻妹也开始笑了起来。

“弗雷德，我知道它是什么！我知道！”她大声喊道，“它是你舅舅斯克罗——吉！”

大家都笑得流出了眼泪。多么精彩的游戏啊！弗雷德的主意多妙啊！但最后弗雷德擦干了眼睛说道，“我们刚才很快活是因为他，所以我想我们应该为他的健康干杯。这一杯是祝斯克罗吉舅舅的！祝他老人家圣诞快乐、新年幸福！斯克罗吉舅舅！”

“祝福斯克罗吉舅舅！”他们异口同声地喊道，高兴地举起了酒杯。

斯克罗吉舅舅想感谢他们，但幽灵催他立刻离开。鬼魂现在看上去老了许多：它棕色的头发变成了灰白色。

“幽灵的生命如此短暂吗？”斯克罗吉问。

“我的生命在今天午夜时结束。听着，现在离午夜只差一刻钟了！”

教堂的钟正在敲响三刻的时辰。

“幽灵，请问，”斯克罗吉说，“你脚边是什么东西？”

“噢！伙计，看这个！”幽灵悲伤地说，并从他的长袍下掏出两个鬼魂似的东西，一个男孩和一个女孩。他们骨瘦如柴，破衣烂衫，目光冷漠犀利，皮肤干燥发黄，他们的脸上充满了可怕的、凶狠的仇恨表情。斯克罗吉从未见到过如此可怕、糟糕的场面。

“这些悲惨的孩子属于人类，”幽灵说。“男孩叫‘罪恶’，女孩叫‘需要’。如果不为他们做点什么的话，他们将毁掉人类。”

“难道就没有人能帮助他们吗？”斯克罗吉高声问道。

“难道没有看守所吗？”幽灵最后一次说着斯克罗吉自己曾说过的话，“难道没有济贫院吗？”

钟敲响了12点。斯克罗吉看着，但他再也看不到幽灵和孩子们了。又剩下他一人了。

4

The last of the spirits

'The third spirit will come at midnight.' Scrooge suddenly remembered the words of Jacob Marley's ghost, and, lifting his eyes, saw a spirit, all in black, coming slowly towards him. It was a tall, silent figure, wearing a long black robe which hid its head and body. When it came close to him, it stopped and pointed onwards with one hand. Scrooge was more afraid of this spirit than he had been of the others, and his voice was shaking as he asked, 'Are you the spirit of Christmas Yet to Come?' The ghost neither spoke nor moved, but still pointed onwards.

'Are you going to show me shadows of the things which haven't happened yet, but will happen in the future?' Scrooge asked.

There was no answer.

'Ghost of the future!' he continued. 'You frighten me very much, but I think you can help me to change my life. I'll be very grateful to you if you show me the future. Won't you speak to me?'

Again, no reply.

'Well, show me the way, spirit!' said Scrooge finally. 'The night is passing, and time is valuable to me, I know.'

The ghost moved away, with Scrooge following in its shadow. Suddenly they were in the heart of the capital, among the businessmen and moneylenders. The ghost pointed to one small group of men, so Scrooge went closer to listen to their conversation.

'No, I don't know much about it,' said one fat man. 'I only know he's dead.'

'When did he die?' asked another man.

'Last night, I think.'

'Why, what was the matter with him?' asked a third.

'I've no idea,' replied the fat man, looking bored. 'who cares?'

'What's he done with his money?' asked a red-faced gentleman.

'I haven't heard,' said the fat man. 'He hasn't left it to me, that's all I know.'

They all laughed at this. Scrooge knew the men, and looked towards the spirit, hoping it would explain what the conversation meant. But the ghost moved on, pointing at two more men. Scrooge listened again. He knew these men well. They were rich and important, and he had often done business with them.

'How are you?' said one.

'How are you?' replied the other.

'Well!' said the first. 'The old man has died at last, has he?'

'So they tell me,' replied the second. 'Cold, isn't it?'

'Nice and frosty for Christmas. Good morning!'

Not another word. That was the end of their meeting.

Scrooge wondered why the spirit wanted him to hear these conversations. What could they mean? The dead man could not be his partner Jacob, because he was already dead. Scrooge watched carefully, trying to understand. He looked round for his own shadow, but could not see himself anywhere. 'Perhaps that's not surprising,' he thought, 'because if I change my life, and I'm planning to do that, I won't be the same person in the future!' Just then he noticed the spirit, standing quiet and dark beside him, with its pointing hand. He felt the unseen eyes staring fixedly at him behind the black robe. Scrooge's body shook, and he felt cold.

They left the busy offices and banks, and went to another part of the capital, where Scrooge had never been before. The streets were narrow and dirty, the houses miserably poor, the people unwashed and half-dressed. Down one street there was a small shop, where an old man was sitting waiting for customers. His business was buying old furniture or clothes, and selling them again, to the poorest people in London. As Scrooge and the spirit watched, three women arrived at the shop door at the same time, each carrying a large bundle. They looked very surprised and a little ashamed to see each other. Suddenly they all started laughing.

'Ladies, you couldn't find a better place to meet,' said Joe, the old man, getting up. 'Now come inside, and show me what you've got to sell.'

Inside, the first woman put her bundle on the table and said, 'I don't care if everybody knows where this comes from! We all have to take care of ourselves! He always did!'

'That's right,' agreed the second woman.

'Very true,' agreed the third.

'Does a dead man need these things?' continued the first woman. 'And why was he so mean while he was alive? We all worked for him, didn't we? Cleaned his house, washed his clothes, cooked his soup? And what did we get? Three shillings a week! It's no surprise that he died alone, with no friends around him!'

'You never spoke a truer word,' said the second.

'He was a bad man, we all know that,' said the third.

'Now what have we here?' said old Joe, opening the women's bundles. 'Buttons, pencils, boots, silver spoons, some excellent bed-curtains, blankets and—a very good shirt,' he added, feeling the fine cotton.

'Yes, it was his best,' said the first woman. 'They put it on him after he died. But he doesn't need it now that he's dead! And the blankets and bed-curtains! He doesn't need them either!'

'You took the shirt off a dead body, and the blankets and curtains off his bed, while he was lying there! Well, well!' said Joe, shaking his head. 'Here's your money.' And he counted out several shillings into the women's hands.

'Ha ha ha!' laughed the first woman. 'He frightened everyone away when he was alive, and we've made money out of him now that he's dead! Ha ha ha!'

Scrooge felt sick and angry at the same time. 'Spirit,' he said, 'I see now. I could be that unhappy man. Good Heavens, what's this?'

Joe and the women had disappeared, and Scrooge was standing in a dark room. Opposite him was a bed, with no blankets or curtains. A light shone down from above, on to the body of a dead man, covered with a sheet.

'How sad,' thought Scrooge, 'to die with no friends or family around him! To lie in an empty room, with no candles or flowers, and robbed of his clothes! To know that nobody loves him, because he loved nobody in his life! Money can't buy a happy life, or a peaceful death!' He looked at the spirit, whose hand was pointing at the man's covered head. It would be easy to lift the sheet, and see who the man was. But for some reason Scrooge could not do it.

'Spirit,' he said, 'this is a terrible place. Let's go!'

Still the ghost's unmoving finger pointed at the man's head.

'I understand you, but I can't look at him, spirit, I can't!' said Scrooge wildly. 'If there's anyone in this town who feels anything at this man's death, show that person to me, spirit, please!'

For a moment the spirit lifted its dark robe like a wing, and showed Scrooge a room, where a mother and her children were sitting. The young woman kept looking at the clock, and when her husband arrived, she hurried to meet him.

'What—what is the news?' she asked him worriedly. 'Is it good... or... or bad?'

'There is still hope, Caroline,' he replied.

'How can there be hope? If that hard, mean old man wants us to pay back the money now, they'll send us to prison! We haven't got enough to pay him!'

'He is dead, Caroline,' answered her husband.

'Thank God for that!' cried the young woman from her heart. The next moment she realized what she had said. 'Oh, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry if anyone dies.'

'Perhaps the person who inherits his business will give us more time to pay the money back. And we'll have the money by then. Tonight we can sleep well, Caroline!'

'So, spirit,' said Scrooge in a broken voice, 'you can show me only happiness at this man's death. It frightens me, spirit. Show me, please, that there can be sadness at a death.'

The ghost took him silently through the streets, to poor Bob Cratchit's house. The room seemed strangely quiet. The mother and her daughters were making a small white cotton shirt together, while the usually noisy young Cratchits sat silently in a corner, and Peter was reading a book. Mrs Cratchit put her work down on the table, and covered her face with her hand.

'The colour hurts my eyes,' she said. The colour? Ah, poor Tiny Tim!

'They're a little better now,' she went on. 'It's difficult to work by candlelight. And I don't want to show red eyes to your father when he comes home.'

'He's a bit late,' said Peter, 'but I think he's walked more slowly these last few days, mother.'

They were very quiet again. At last she said bravely, 'I've known him walk with—with Tiny Tim in his arms, very fast indeed.'

'So have I,' cried Peter. 'Often!'

'But he was very light to carry, and your father loved him so much! And there's your father at the door now!' She got up quickly to kiss Bob as he came in. He looked tired and thin, and needed his long scarf, poor man! Martha took his boots and scarf off, and Belinda brought him his tea, and the little Cratchits sat close to him. He was very cheerful with all of them, and was pleased with the little shirt that his wife and daughters were making.

'It'll be ready long before Sunday, won't it?' he said.

'Sunday! You went there today, then, Bob?' asked his wife.

'Yes, my dear. You'd love to see it. It's a beautiful green place. But you'll see it often. I promised him that we would go there every Sunday. My little, little child!' cried Bob, hiding his face in his hands. He had loved the boy very much.

He went upstairs to the quiet bedroom, where the child lay. Poor Bob sat down beside him, and when he felt calmer, he kissed the little face, and went downstairs again, almost happy.

'My dears,' he said to his children, 'one of these days some of you will marry and leave home. In a few years' time perhaps all of you will. But I'm sure none of us will ever forget Tiny Tim, will we?'

'Never, father!' they all cried.

'And I know,' said Bob, 'that when we remember how patient and gentle he was, although he was only a little child, we won't argue among ourselves. We'll remember poor Tiny Tim, and love each other!'

'We will, father!' they all cried again.

'I am very happy,' said Bob. 'I am very happy!' Mrs Cratchit kissed him, his daughters kissed him, the two young Cratchits kissed him, and he and Peter shook hands. Tiny Tim, your goodness lives on in your family!

'Spirit,' said Scrooge, 'I know that you will leave me soon. Tell me who that dead man on the bed was!'

No answer came in words, but the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come took Scrooge through the streets of London again.

'Wait a moment,' said Scrooge. 'We're passing my office. Let me see how I shall look in the future!'

The spirit stopped. Its hand was pointing away from the office. But Scrooge hurried up to the window and looked in. It was an office still, but not his. The furniture was not the same, and the figure in the chair was not himself. The ghost continued to point onwards, and Scrooge followed. They reached a church, and entered the churchyard. Here, among the untidy graves and the uncut grass, lay the miserable man whose name Scrooge would soon learn. It was a lonely place, most suitable for a man so unloved.

The spirit stood and pointed down at one of the graves. Scrooge was strangely afraid.

'Before I look more closely at that gravestone,' he said, 'answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that will be, or are they only shadows of the things that may be?'

Without replying, the ghost pointed silently down at the grave. Scrooge moved slowly towards it, and following the finger, read on the stone his own name, EBENEZER SCROOGE.

'Am I that man who was lying on the bed?' he cried.

The spirit pointed from the grave to him, and back again.

'No, spirit! Oh, no, no!'

The finger was still there.

Scrooge fell to the ground in front of the ghost, holding its long dark robe. 'Spirit! Listen! I am a changed man! I have learnt my lesson from you spirits! Why show me this terrible end, if there is no hope for me!'

For the first time the hand appeared to shake.

'Good spirit, tell me that my future will change, if I change my life now!'

The kind hand shook again.

'I will remember the past, and think of the future. I will be good to other people. I will keep Christmas in my heart, and will try to be kind, and cheerful, and merry, every day. Oh, tell me I can clean away the writing on this stone!'

Wildly, he caught the ghostly hand and held it for a moment. But the spirit was stronger than him, and pulled its hand away. Just then Scrooge noticed that something strange was happening to the spirit. It was getting smaller and smaller, and suddenly it became—a bedpost.

figure n. (the shape of) a whole human body as shown in art or seen in reality. 人体。

moneylender n. a person who lends money, and charges interest on it. 放债者。

conversation n. (an) informal talk in which people exchange news, feelings, and thoughts. （非正式的）交谈。

bored adj. tired or uninterested. 乏味的，无兴趣的。

bundle n. a number of articles tied, fastened or held together, usu. across the middle. 包袱，包裹。

spoon n. a tool for mixing, serving, and eating food, consisting of a small bowl with a handle. 勺子。

count v. to say or name the numbers in order, one by one or by groups. 点，数，从一数到……。

disappear v. to go out of sight. 消失。

rob v. to take the property of (a person or organization) unlawfully, with or without violence or threats. 抢劫。

inherit v. to receive (property, a title, etc) left by somebody who has died. 继承。

candlelight n. the light produced by candles. 烛光。

scarf n. a piece of cloth, usu. (for men) long and narrow or (for women) square, for wearing around the neck, head, or shoulders for protection or ornament. 围巾。

patient adj. having or showing patience. 耐心的。

churchyard n. an open space around and belonging to a church, in which dead members of that church can usu. be buried. 教堂院子；（教堂的）墓地。

untidy adj. not clean. 不整洁的。

bedpost n. one of the main supports at the four corners of an old-fashioned bed. 床柱子。

4．最后一位幽灵

“第三位幽灵将在午夜的时候到来。”斯克罗吉突然记起雅各布·马利幽灵的话，他抬起眼睛，看见了一个幽灵，身着黑衣服，慢慢地朝他走来。它个头很高，一声不响，一件长长的黑袍蒙住了他的头和身体。当它走近的时候，它停住了，并用一只手朝前指着。斯克罗吉对这个幽灵的恐惧胜过前面所有的，他用颤抖的声音问道，“你是来日圣诞幽灵吗？”幽灵既不讲话也不走开，但还是朝前指着。

“你是不是要给我看那些尚未发生的但将来会发生的事情的幻影？”斯克罗吉问。

仍然没有应答。

“未来的鬼魂！”他继续说，“你把我吓坏了，但我想你能帮我改变我的生活。如果你能为我指明未来的话，我会很感激你的。你难道不跟我讲话吗？”

还是没有回答。

“那好吧，幽灵，就给我指出我的出路吧。”斯克罗吉最后说，“夜晚马上就要结束，时间对我来说很珍贵，我知道。”

鬼魂走开了，斯克罗吉跟着它的影子。突然他们来到了市中心，周围都是商人和放债人。鬼魂指了指一小群人，斯克罗吉便走上前听着他们的谈话。

“不，这件事我知道的不多。”一个胖子说，“我只知道他死了。”

“他什么时候死的？”另一个人问。

“昨天晚上，我想。”

“怎么了，他出了什么事？”第三个人问道。

“我不知道，”胖子回答说，看上去很不耐烦。“管他呢？”

“他的钱怎么处理了？”一位红脸先生问。

“我没听说，”胖子说，“我只知道他没把钱留给我。”

听了这话他们都笑了。斯克罗吉认识这些人，他看着幽灵，希望它能解释解释他们的谈话是什么意思。但鬼魂继续朝前走，又指着另外两个人。斯克罗吉又听了他们在说什么。他很熟悉这些人。他们有钱又都是要人，他经常和他们做生意。

“你好？”一个人说。

“你好？”另一个回答道。

“哎！”第一个人说。“这老头儿终于死了，不是吗？”

“别人是这么告诉我的，”第二个人回答说，“好冷啊，不是吗？”

“对圣诞节来说很不错而且还有霜。早上好。”

再没有回答，他们的会面到此结束。

斯克罗吉不知道为什么幽灵想让他听这些谈话。他们是什么意思呢？那个死人不可能是他的合伙人雅各布，因为他已经死了。斯克罗吉认真地看着试图搞个明白。他朝四周看了看，找他自己的影子，但哪儿也找不到。“也许这不足为奇，”他想，“因为如果我改变我的生活，当然我正打算这样做，将来我就会成为另一个人了！”这时他看到了幽灵，静静地、幽暗地站在他身边，手指着什么地方。他感到那双他看不见的眼睛正从黑袍子后目不转睛地盯着他。斯克罗吉浑身颤抖，他觉得冷。

他们离开了繁忙的办公室和银行来到了都市的另一边，斯克罗吉以前从没有来过这里。街道又窄又脏，房子破烂不堪，人们连脸都没有洗而且衣不蔽体。街边有一个小商店，里面坐着一个老头等待着顾客的光临。他的生意是收购旧家具和衣服然后再卖给伦敦最穷的人。当斯克罗吉和幽灵看着的时候，有三个妇女同时来到了商店门口，每个人都拿着一个大包袱。她们相见后感到很吃惊又有些难为情。突然她们开始大笑。

“女士们，这是你们会面的最好的地方，”老头乔说着，站了起来。“进来，给我看看你们要卖什么。”

在屋里第一个妇女把她的包袱放在桌子上说，“我不在乎是不是大家都知道这是从什么地方弄来的！我们都得关心我们自己！他总是这样做的！”

“你说得对。”第二个女人表示赞同。

“太正确了。”第三个也表示赞同。

“死人需要这些东西吗？”第一个女人继续说，“为什么他活着的时候那么吝啬？我们都给他干活儿，是不是？打扫他的房子，给他洗衣服、炖汤？我们又得到什么了呢？一周三个先令！他孤单单地死了，身边一个朋友也没有，这也就没什么可奇怪的了！”

“你从没有说过比这更千真万确的话。”第二个妇女说。

“他是一个坏蛋，这点我们都知道。”第三个妇女说。

“现在让我看看你们都拿来了些什么？”老乔说着打开了三位的包。“钮扣、铅笔、靴子、银匙、一些很不错的床围子、毯子还有——一件很好的衬衣。”他补充道，手摸着那质地精良的棉布。

“是的，这是他最好的衣服。”第一个女人说，“他死后他们给他穿上了，但既然他已经死了，所以他现在不需要它了！这些毯子和床罩！他也不需要它们了！”

“你从死尸上脱下了这件衬衣，从他躺的床上拿了这些毯子和床围子！哎，哎！”乔边说边摇头，“这是给你的钱。”他数出几个先令塞到这几个妇女的手中。

“哈哈哈！”第一个妇女笑了，“他活着的时候把大家都吓跑了，现在他死了我们还能从他身上挣到钱！哈哈哈！”

斯克罗吉既感到懊丧又感到气愤。“幽灵，”他说，“现在我明白了，那个不幸的人可能就是我。天哪，这是什么？”

乔和女人们消失了，斯克罗吉站在一间黑屋子里。他对面有一张床，上面没有毯子和床围子。一束光从上面照下来，照在死尸上，死尸用单子盖着。

斯克罗吉想，“死时身边没有朋友和家人，被剥光了衣服躺在空屋子里，没有蜡烛和鲜花，知道自己不被人爱是因为他在世时不曾爱过别人，这是多么悲哀的事情啊！金钱买不到幸福的生活和安宁的死亡。”他看幽灵手指着那个男人被盖住的脸。要想揭开单子看看那个男人是谁是件轻而易举的事，但由于某种原因斯克罗吉不能这样做。

“幽灵，”他说，“这个地方太可怕了。咱们走吧。”

鬼魂一动不动的指头依旧指着男人的头。

“我理解你，但我不能看他，幽灵，不能！”斯克罗吉发疯似地说，“如果这个镇上有谁对这个人的死有任何感触的话，请你带我去看他，幽灵。”

幽灵把黑袍子掀起了一会儿，像个翅膀，带斯克罗吉看了一个屋子，里面坐着一位母亲和她的孩子们。年轻的母亲一直看着钟表，当她的丈夫回来时，她赶快上前去迎他。

“有什么消息吗？”她焦虑地问，“是好消息还是坏消息？”

“还有希望，卡罗琳。”他回答说。

“怎么还有希望呢？如果那个刻薄吝啬的老头想让我们现在立刻还钱的话，他们就会把我们送到拘留所！我们没有那么多钱还他。”

“他死了，卡罗琳。”她丈夫回答说。

“感谢上帝！”少妇发自内心地高声说。立刻她意识到她说的话不对。“噢，我不是这个意思，谁死了我都会难过的。”

“也许他生意的继承人会多给我们一些时间还钱的，到那时我们就能有这笔钱了。今天晚上我们能睡个好觉了，卡罗琳！”

“这么说，幽灵，”斯克罗吉断断续续地说，“你只能让我看到这个人的死所带来的幸福。幽灵，这让我感到害怕，请让我看看死亡也能带来悲伤。”

鬼魂静静地带他穿过大街来到鲍勃·克拉奇蒂的房子。房子静得出奇，妈妈和女儿们正在一起缝制一件小白衬衫，两个最小的孩子一向吵吵闹闹的，现在却静静地坐在一个角落里，彼得正在看书。克拉奇蒂夫人把手头的活放在桌子上，用手捂住脸。

“这颜色刺得我的眼睛都疼了，”她说。这颜色？啊，可怜的小蒂姆！

“现在眼睛好点了，”她继续说，“在烛光下干活真费劲，我不想让你父亲回来时看到我的眼睛红红的。”

“他稍晚了点，”彼得说，“但我觉得最近这几天他走得更慢了，妈妈。”

他们又都沉默了，最后她勇敢地说，“我知道他是怀里抱着——抱着小蒂姆走路时，实际上很快。”

“我也知道，”彼得大声说，“经常是这样！”

“但他很轻，抱着方便，你爸爸很喜欢他！现在爸爸到门口了！”她立刻起身，当鲍勃进屋的时候她吻了他。他看上去疲惫消瘦，而且需要他的长围巾，好可怜的人啊！玛莎为他脱下靴子，摘下围巾，贝琳达给他端来茶，两个最小的孩子紧挨着他坐下。和他们在一起他开心极了，他妻子和女儿们缝制的小衬衫使他很高兴。

“星期日之前能做好，不是吗？”他问道。

“星期日！那么你今天去那儿了，鲍勃？”他妻子问。

“是的，亲爱的。你会喜欢的，那地方绿绿的，很漂亮，但你会经常看到它的。我答应他我们每个星期日都去那儿。我的小宝贝啊！”鲍勃哭了，双手捂住了脸。他过去一直深爱着这个男孩。

他上楼来到了那孩子躺着的静静的卧室。可怜的鲍勃坐在他身边，稍平静了些以后，他吻了他的小脸蛋然后下了楼，这时他似乎高兴了。

“我亲爱的孩子们，”他对他们说，“总有一天你们中有人要结婚离开家，几年之内你们都会这样的，但我认为我们谁也不会忘记小蒂姆，是吗？”

“永远不会的，爸爸！”他们都哭了。

“我知道，”鲍勃说，“当我们记起他是何等的有耐心何等的彬彬有礼时，尽管他还是个小孩子，我们就不会相互争吵。我们将会记住小蒂姆，并互爱。”

“我们会的，爸爸！”他们又都哭了。

“我很高兴，”鲍勃说，“我很高兴！”克拉奇蒂太太吻了他，他的女儿们吻了他，两个最小的孩子吻了他，他和彼得握了手。小蒂姆，你的美德会永驻于你的家庭中的！

“幽灵，”斯克罗吉说，“我知道一会儿你就要离开我了。告诉我床上的死人是谁！”

没有回答的声音，但来日圣诞鬼魂带着斯克罗吉再一次地穿越了伦敦的大街。

“等一会儿，”斯克罗吉说，“我们正在经过我的办公室，让我看看我将来是什么样子！”

幽灵停了下来。它的手并没有指着办公室但斯克罗吉匆忙走到窗前往里看了看，还是间办公室，但已不属于他了。家具变了，椅子里坐着的也不是他自己了。鬼魂继续朝前指，斯克罗吉跟着。他们来到一座教堂前，进了教堂的院落。在这里不整齐的坟墓和未修剪的杂草中躺着一个可怜的人，一会儿斯克罗吉就会知道他是谁。这是一个冷清的地方，对一个如此不受爱戴的人来说再合适不过了。

幽灵站在那儿，朝下指着其中的一个坟墓。斯克罗吉感到莫名的恐惧。

“在我更仔细地看墓碑前，”他说，“回答我一个问题。这些影子是将来会实现的事情还是可能会实现的事情？”

鬼魂没有回答，它默默地朝下指着坟墓。斯克罗吉慢慢地向它走去，顺着幽灵手指头的方向，他看见墓碑上写着他自己的名字：埃比尼泽·斯克罗吉。

“我就是那个躺在床上的人吗？”他大声问。

幽灵从坟墓指向他，然后又指向坟墓。

“不，幽灵！噢，不，不！”

手指依然还是指着坟墓。

斯克罗吉倒在鬼魂前面的地上，抓住它长长的黑袍子。“幽灵！听着！我是一个改过自新的人了！我从你们这些幽灵身上吸取了教训！如果我没有希望的话，为什么要让我看如此可怕的结局！”

幽灵的手第一次摆了摆。

“我的好幽灵，告诉我如果我现在改变我的生活，我的未来也会改变的！”

幽灵又善良地摆了摆手。

“我将记住过去，并且会为未来考虑的。我会对他人行善的，我会把圣诞记在心中并尽可能的善良、高兴、快乐，每天都这样。噢，对我说我能够把这石头上的名字弄掉！”

他死命地抓住鬼魂的手并攥了一会儿。但幽灵比他要强壮，它把手挣脱开。这时斯克罗吉看到奇怪的事情在幽灵的身上发生了。它变得越来越小，突然变成了——一根床柱子。

5

The end of the story

Yes! and the bedpost was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the future was his own, to change his life in!

'I will remember the past, and think of the future,' repeated Scrooge, as he jumped out of bed. 'God bless you, Jacob Marley! And God bless Christmas!'

In his excitement he found it difficult to speak. His face was still wet from crying. 'Here are my bed-curtains!' he cried delightedly. 'They aren't stolen! And I'm alive! Those were only shadows of things that may be! The future will be different! I know it will!'

All this time his hands were busy, hurriedly putting on his clothes. He put his left foot in his right shoe, couldn't find the buttons on his shirt, and forgot to brush his hair.

'I don't know what I'm doing!' said Scrooge, laughing and crying at the same time. 'A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy new year to all the world! Hurrah! There's the door which Jacob's ghost came through! There's the corner where the ghost of Christmas Present sat! There's the window where I saw the travelling ghosts! It's all true, it all happened! Ha ha ha!'

Really, for a man who hadn't laughed for so many years, it was an excellent laugh. The father of a long line of excellent laughs!

'I don't know what day of the month it is!' said Scrooge. 'I don't know how long I've been with the spirits! I don't know anything. I'm just like a baby. Never mind! I prefer being a baby! Hurrah!'

Just then he heard the church bells ring out louder than he had ever heard before. Running to the window, he opened it and looked out. No fog at all, a clear, bright, cold day, golden sunlight, blue sky, sweet clean air, merry bells. Oh, wonderful! wonderful!

'What's today?' he cried, calling down to a boy in the street.

'Today?' replied the boy, in great surprise. 'Why, it's Christmas Day!'

'So I haven't missed it!' thought Scrooge. 'The spirits have done it all in one night!' He called down to the boy again, 'Hallo, young man! Do you know the meat shop at the corner of the next street?'

'Of course I do,' replied the boy.

'What an intelligent boy!' said Scrooge. 'Do you know if they've sold the big turkey that was in the shop window yesterday?'

'What, the one as big as me?' asked the boy.

'What a delightful boy!' said Scrooge. 'It's wonderful talking to him. Yes, that's the one!'

'It's still there in the window,' said the boy.

'Is it?' said Scrooge. 'Well, go and buy it.'

'You don't mean it!' cried the boy.

'I do, I do. I'm serious. Go and buy it, and tell the man to bring it back here. Come back with the man and I'll give you a shilling. Come back in less than five minutes and I'll give you three shillings!'

The boy went off like a bullet from a gun.

'I'll send the turkey to Bob Cratchit's!' laughed Scrooge. 'He'll never know who's sent it! It's twice as big as Tiny Tim! Ha ha ha!'

He went on laughing as he wrote Bob's address, gave it to the man with the turkey. and paid for a taxi, because the turkey was much too heavy to carry all the way to Camden Town.

Now he finished dressing, and went out into the streets, wearing his best clothes. The town was full of happy, busy people, and Scrooge smiled at all of them. Three or four men said cheerfully to him, 'Good morning, sir! And a merry Christmas to you!' Scrooge thought these were the best sounds that he had ever heard.

As he was walking, he suddenly noticed one of the comfortable-looking gentlemen who had come to his office to ask for money for the poor. Scrooge went straight up to him, took the old gentleman by both hands, and said, 'My dear sir, how are you? A merry Christmas to you, sir!'

'Mr Scrooge?' asked the gentleman, surprised.

'Yes, that's my name. I'm very sorry for what I said to you when you visited me yesterday. Will you please—' and he spoke very quietly in the gentleman's ear.

'Good Heavens!' cried the gentleman. 'My dear Mr Scrooge, are you serious?'

'I am. Not a shilling less. I must tell you, I haven't given anything to anyone for years.'

'My dear sir!' said the gentleman, shaking hands with him. 'I don't know how to thank you for—'

'Don't say anything, please,' replied Scrooge. 'Will you come and see me tomorrow about it?'

'I will!' cried the old gentleman happily.

'Thank you, and God bless you!' said Scrooge.

He went to church, and watched the people, and gave children money for sweets, and discovered that he had never been so happy in his life. In the afternoon he went to his nephew's house. He passed the door several times before he was brave enough to knock. But at last he did it, and was taken into the sitting-room, where Fred and his pretty wife were waiting for their friends to arrive for dinner.

'Fred!' said Scrooge. 'It's your uncle Scrooge. I've come to dinner. Will you let me stay, Fred?'

Let him stay! Fred almost shook his uncle's arm off. Scrooge felt at home in five minutes. Nothing could be merrier. And what a wonderful dinner they had! Wonderful party, wonderful games, wonderful happiness!

But he was early at the office next morning. Oh, he was there early. He wanted to catch Bob Cratchit arriving late. And he did! The clock struck nine. No Bob. A quarter past. No Bob. He was eighteen and a half minutes late when he finally hurried in. Scrooge was sitting with his office door open.

'Hallo!' said Scrooge in his old, hard voice. 'What do you mean by coming here so late?'

'I'm very sorry, sir,' said Bob. 'I am late. It's only once a year. We were rather merry yesterday, sir.'

'Now I'll tell you what, my friend,' said Scrooge, 'I'm not going to have this any longer. And so,' he continued, jumping off his chair and shaking Bob's hand, 'I'm going to pay you twice as much!'

Bob's face went white. For a second or two he thought that Scrooge had gone crazy.

'A merry Christmas, Bob!' said Scrooge, and it was clear that he meant it. 'A merrier Christmas, Bob, than I've given you for a long time. I'm going to pay you well, and help you with your family, and we'll discuss it all this afternoon over a Christmas drink, Bob! Put more wood on the fire at once, Bob Cratchit, and let's be comfortable!'

Scrooge did everything that he had promised, and more. To Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he became a second father. He became as good a friend, employer and man, as anyone in London or in the world. Some people laughed to see the change in him, but he did not care. His own heart laughed inside him, and that was good enough for him. He never had any more conversations with spirits, but kept Christmas cheerfully, and lived a happy life. That is what all of us want, and so, as Tiny Tim said, 'God bless us, every one!'

bed-curtain n. curtain hung from a bed canopy. 床围子。

ring v. to make or be a ring sound. （钟，铃）响，鸣。

intelligent adj. having or showing powers of reasoning or understanding. 明智的，智慧的。

turkey n. a type of large bird bred and kept on farms for its meat which is highly regarded as food, esp. for Christmas. 火鸡。

discover v. to find (something existing but not known before, often a place or a scientific fact) 发现。

crazy adj. (infml.) mad; ill in the mind. 发疯的，发狂的。

employer n. a person who employs others. 雇主。

tiny adj. very small. 小的，很小的。

5．故事的结尾

是的！床柱子是他自己的，床是他自己的，房间是他自己的，最好最幸福的是，能够改变他未来的生活也是他自己。

“我将记住过去，并要为将来考虑，”斯克罗吉重复着并跳下了床。“上帝保佑你，雅各布·马利！上帝保佑圣诞节！”

他兴奋之中发现说话有些吃力。他的脸上依旧是泪迹斑斑。“这是我的床围子！”他高兴地说。“它们没被偷走！我还活着！那些不过是可能发生的事情的影子！未来会全然不同的！我知道会的！”

他的手一直没闲着，他匆匆穿好衣服。他把左脚穿进了右脚的鞋子里，找不到衬衣上的钮扣，忘记了梳头。

“我不知道我在做什么！”斯克罗吉笑着大声说，“祝所有的人圣诞快乐！祝整个世界新年快乐！好哇！雅各布就是从这个门进来的！今日圣诞鬼魂就是坐在这个角落里！我就是从这扇窗户看见了游荡的鬼魂们！这全是真的，这全都发生过！哈哈哈！”

的确，对一个若干年没有笑过的人来说，这笑太开怀了。这是一长串开怀大笑的开始！

“我不知道今天是几号了！”斯克罗吉说，“我不知道我和幽灵们待了多久！我什么都不知道，我就像个婴儿！别介意！我宁愿当个婴儿！好哇！”

这时他听见教堂的钟声敲得比以往要响。他跑到窗前，打开窗户朝外望去。根本没有雾，天气晴朗、明亮、寒冷，金色的日光，湛蓝的天空，清新的空气，快乐的钟声。噢，太美妙了！太美妙了！

“今天是什么日子？”他叫住街上的一个男孩大声地问。

“今天？”孩子大为吃惊地回答说，“怎么啦，今天是圣诞节！”

“这么说我没错过它！”斯克罗吉想，“幽灵们在一夜之间做完了这些事情！”他又叫那个男孩停下，“喂，小孩！你认识下一条街角的那家肉店吗？”

“当然认识。”男孩回答说。

“多聪明的孩子啊！”斯克罗吉说，“你知道他们昨天有没有把橱窗里最大的火鸡卖掉？”

“什么，那只像我这么大的火鸡？”男孩问。

“多么可爱的孩子啊！”斯克罗吉说，“同他说话真是太好了。是的，就是那只！”

“它还在橱窗里摆着呢。”男孩说。

“是吗？”斯克罗吉说，“那好，你去把它买下来。”

“你不是说真的吧！”男孩大声说。

“我是说真的，我是说真的。我没开玩笑。去把它买下来，并让店主送到这儿来。你和店主一起回来，我就给你一先令。如果在5分钟之内回来我就给你三个先令！”

男孩像出了枪膛的子弹一样很快消失了。

“我要把这只火鸡送给鲍勃·克拉奇蒂一家！”斯克罗吉笑了，“他永远也不会知道是谁送去的！它比小蒂姆还大一倍！哈哈哈！”

他一边写鲍勃的地址一边笑着，他把地址递给了那个抱着火鸡的人，并叫了一辆出租车付了费，因为那只火鸡太沉了，无法一路抱到卡姆登镇。

现在他穿好了衣服，他穿着他最好的衣服出去来到了街上。镇子上到处都是幸福、忙碌的人们，斯克罗吉对每个人都微笑着。有三四个人高兴地对他说：“早上好，先生！祝你圣诞快乐！”斯克罗吉觉得这是他曾经听到过的最美妙的声音。

他走着走着忽然发现了曾经到他办公室为穷人要钱，长相富态的一位绅士。斯克罗吉径直朝他走去，握住那位老先生的双手说，“我亲爱的先生，你好吗？祝你圣诞快乐，先生！”

“斯克罗吉先生吗？”绅士惊奇地问。

“是的，我是斯克罗吉。我为我昨天所说的话感到抱歉。你可以——”他悄悄地对着绅士的耳朵说。

“我的天哪！”绅士大声说道，“我亲爱的斯克罗吉先生，你是当真吗？”

“我说话算数。一先令也不会少。我必须告诉你，若干年来，我从未给过任何人任何东西。”

“我亲爱的先生！”绅士说着并同他握手，“这——我不知道该如何感激您。”

“请什么也不要说，”斯克罗吉回答说，“你明天能就此事来见我吗？”

“我会的。”老绅士高兴地大声说。

“谢谢你，愿上帝保佑你！”斯克罗吉说。

他去做了礼拜，看着教堂里的人们，给孩子们钱去买糖果，他发现他一生中从未这样幸福过。下午他去了他外甥家。他在门前走了好几趟，因为他没有勇气敲门。但最后他还是敲了，他被带进了起居室，弗雷德和他漂亮的妻子正在这儿等着他们的朋友来吃晚饭。

“弗雷德！”斯克罗吉说，“我是你舅舅斯克罗吉，我是来吃晚饭的。你会让我留下吗，弗雷德？”

让他留下。弗雷德都快把他舅舅的胳膊摇掉了。5分钟后斯克罗吉就不再拘束了。没有什么比这更快乐了。他们的晚餐真是棒极了！绝妙的晚会，绝妙的游戏，无与伦比的幸福！

但第二天早晨他早早地赶到了办公室。噢，他到的很早，他想抓住鲍勃来晚了，他确实抓到了！钟敲了9点，鲍勃没来。过了一刻钟，鲍勃还是没来。当他匆忙进来的时候，他迟到了18分半。斯克罗吉坐在那儿，他办公室的门敞开着．

“喂！”斯克罗吉用他年迈、刻薄的声音说，“你这么晚才来是什么意思？”

“先生，很抱歉，”鲍勃说。“我确实是晚了。一年中不就这么一次吗。先生，我们昨天过得太快活了。”

“现在我要告诉你，我的朋友，”斯克罗吉说，“我再也不能这样了，所以，”他从椅子上跳起来握着鲍勃的手继续说道，“我要付给你双倍的工资！”

鲍勃的脸变白了。一时间他想斯克罗吉可能是疯了。

“圣诞快乐，鲍勃！”斯克罗吉说，很显然他是真心说这番话的。“鲍勃，祝你有一个比我以前给你的更为快乐的圣诞。我要给你加薪，而且要帮助你们全家，今天下午我们边喝圣诞酒边商量这件事，鲍勃！马上给火里多加些木柴，鲍勃·拉克奇蒂，咱们也舒服点！”

斯克罗吉兑现了他所有的承诺，甚至更多。小蒂姆根本没有死，斯吉罗吉成了他的第二个父亲。斯吉罗吉同伦敦或是全世界上的任何一个朋友、雇主和普通人一样好。有人发现了他的变化就笑，但他不在乎。他从心里笑，这对他来说就够不错的了。他再也没有同幽灵们说过话，但圣诞节他一直过得都很快活，并且生活得很幸福。这也是我们大家共同的心愿，正如小蒂姆所说：“愿上帝保佑我们每个人！”

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapter 1 Who said these words in the story, to whom?

1 'You're too rich to be unhappy.'

2 'I'll see you dead first!'

3 'It's only once a year, sir.'

4 'I am here tonight to warn you.'

Chapter 2 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 Nothing happened when the clock struck one.

2 Scrooge's eyes were wet because he had a cold.

3 Like old Fezziwig, Scrooge was a good, kind employer.

4 The girl who used to love Scrooge married another man.

Chapter 3 Who in the story...

1 ... held his torch over people's Christmas dinners?

2 ... arrived home late from work on Christmas Day?

3 ... had not walked since he was born?

4 ... earned fifteen shillings a week?

5 ... played a game called Yes and No?

Chapter 4 Write answers to these questions.

1 What did Scrooge learn from the businessmen's conversations?

2 Why did the three women take things from their dead employer?

3 Why were the Cratchit family so sad?

4 What was the name on the gravestone in the lonely churchyard?

Chapter 5 How much can you remember? Check your answers.

1 What did Scrooge send to Bob Cratchit on Christmas morning?

2 Where did Scrooge eat Christmas dinner?

3 What time did Bob Cratchit arrive for work the next morning?

4 How much did Scrooge say he would pay Bob Cratchit in future?

B Working with language

1 Put together these beginnings and endings of sentences. Check your answers in Chapter 1.

1 It is important to remember

2 Dogs used to hide in doorways

3 Scrooge had a very small fire,

4 Christmas is just a time

5 Darkness was cheap,

6 The fog covered everything,

7 when they saw him coming.

8 like a thick grey blanket.

9 and Scrooge liked it.

10 that Jacob Marley was dead.

11 when you spend too much.

12 but Bob's fire was much smaller.

2 Complete these sentences with information from Chapter 3.

1 Although the Cratchits' Christmas dinner was very poor, ...

2 The Cratchit family only owned two glasses and a cup so...

3 Tiny Tim will die before next Christmas if...

4 When Scrooge heard his own unkind words spoken by the spirit, ...

5 Fred thought that his uncle was a strange old man, but...

6 Fred planned to invite Scrooge every Christmas because...

C Activities

1 Describe the three spirits as well as you can. What did they look like, and what were their characters like? Which spirit do you think helped Scrooge to change the most, and why?

2 You are Scrooge's nephew, Fred. Write a letter to a friend, describing the Christmas Day when Uncle Scrooge came to dinner for the first time.

3 You are a newspaper reporter. Write a report describing Scrooge's surprising change of character: his new kindness to poor people and his earlier meanness. You could begin like this:

What has happened to Mr Ebenezer Scrooge? Last Christmas he didn't give a penny to the poor, but this year...

Glossary

carol

a special song which people sing at Christmas

cheerful

looking or sounding happy

Christmas Eve

24th December, the day before Christmas Day

clerk

someone who works in an office, writing letters, etc.

delight

a pleased and happy feeling

delighted

very pleased and happy

extinguisher

a thing shaped like a tall hat, which you put on a candle to stop it burning

fog

a thick mist that stops you seeing clearly

foggy

very misty

frost

a thin white cover of ice on the ground in very cold weather; (on page 2, Scrooge's white hair and cold heart)

gentleman

a man of good family, usually rich

God bless you!

people used to say this when they liked someone or were grateful to them

humbug

nonsense, silly ideas, dishonest or untrue words

kiss

to touch someone lovingly with your lips

merry

happy, cheerful

partner

someone who owns a business with another person

point

to show with your finger or arm where something is

present

the time now (not past, or future)

shilling

a coin in old British money (equal to five pence today)

spirit

the ghost of a dead person, or a kind of 'person' without a living body

stare

to look hard at something or someone for a long time

strike

(of a clock)to tell the hour, half hour, or quarter hour by sounding a bell

tiny

very small

京权图字 01-97-0333

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1989

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

多里安·格雷的画像＝The Picture of Dorian Gray／（英）王尔德（Wilde, O.）著；（英）内维尔（Nevile, J.）改写；王凌译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1998（2014.1 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1384-8

Ⅰ．多…　Ⅱ．①王…②内…③王…　Ⅲ．小说—英国—对照读物—文学—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（98）第01455号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：周　晶

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1998年8月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1384-8

*　　*　　*

制售盗版必究　举报查实奖励

版权保护举报电话：（010）88817519

简　介

一个人的画像是否比他的面孔更多地反映他自己？如果画像是用爱的画笔描绘的，或许它能反映这个人外表以外更多的东西——或许它能反映这个人的内心世界。

我们经常说脸像一本书，能自己讲述故事。当多里安·格雷看到画像中自己的面孔时，便爱上了自己的美貌。任何事物都不能损害他的美貌，任何事物都不能伤害或改变它——爱不能，甚至时间也不能。因此，他切断了他的脸和内心、他的外表和内在世界的联系。他的脸没有改变，总是年轻、漂亮，但是这幅画像——用爱的画笔描绘的画像——却在讲述着真实的故事。它才是真实的多里安·格雷——一天天变老、变丑并满怀恨意。

奥斯卡·王尔德（1854—1900）是爱尔兰最杰出最聪颖的作家。他的剧本和儿童故事，以及《多里安·格雷的画像》虽然是近一百年前的作品，但至今仍受读者喜爱。

The Artist

画家

'I have put too much of myself into this painting.'

“我在这幅画里画进了自己太多的东西。”

Chapter 1

Through the open windows of the room came the rich scent of summer flowers. Lord Henry Wotton lay back in his chair and smoked his cigarette. Beyond the soft sounds of the garden he could just hear the noise of London.

In the centre of the room there was a portrait of a very beautiful young man, and in front of it stood the artist himself, Basil Hallward.

'It's your best work, Basil, the best portrait that you've ever painted,' said Lord Henry lazily. 'You must send it to the best art gallery in London.'

'No,' Basil said slowly. 'No, I won't send it anywhere.'

Lord Henry was surprised. 'But my dear Basil, why not?' he asked. 'What strange people you artists are! You want to be famous, but then you're not happy when you are famous. It's bad when people talk about you—but it's much worse when they don't talk about you.'

'I know you'll laugh at me,' replied Basil, 'but I can't exhibit the picture in an art gallery. I've put too much of myself into it.'

Lord Henry laughed. 'Too much of yourself into it! You don't look like him at all. He has a fair and beautiful face. And you—well, you look intelligent, of course, but with your strong face and black hair, you are not beautiful.'

'You don't understand me, Harry,' replied Basil. (Lord Henry's friends always called him Harry.) 'Of course I'm not like him,' Basil continued. 'In fact, I prefer not to be beautiful. Dorian Gray's beautiful face will perhaps bring him danger and trouble.'

'Dorian Gray? Is that his name?' asked Lord Henry.

'Yes. But I didn't want to tell you.'

'Why not?'

'Oh, I can't explain,' said Basil. 'When I like people a lot, I never tell their names to my other friends. I love secrets, that's all.'

'Of course,' agreed his friend. 'Life is much more exciting when you have secrets. For example, I never know where my wife is, and my wife never knows what I'm doing. When we meet—and we do meet sometimes—we tell each other crazy stories, and we pretend that they're true.'

'You pretend all the time, Harry,' said Basil. 'I think that you're probably a very good husband, but you like to hide your true feelings.'

'Oh, don't be so serious, Basil,' smiled Lord Henry. 'Let's go into the garden.'

gallery n. a private room, hall, or building where works of art are shown and usu. offered for sale. 画廊；美术品陈列室。

intelligent adj. having or showing powers of reasoning or understanding. 有推理能力的；有理解力的；聪明的。

crazy adj. impractical; foolish. 不切实际的；荒唐的。

pretend v. to give an appearance of (something that is not true), with the intention of deceiving. 伪装；假装。

hide v. to put or keep out of sight; make or keep secret. 藏；隐瞒。

第一章

透过敞开的窗户传来夏季鲜花的浓香。亨利·沃顿勋爵靠在椅背上，吸着香烟。除了花园中各种轻柔的声响之外，他能听见伦敦的喧闹声。

房屋的中央是一个非常漂亮的年轻男人的画像。画像的前面站着画家本人，名叫巴兹尔·霍尔沃德。

“巴兹尔，这是你最好的作品，你迄今为止画得最好的画像。”亨利勋爵懒洋洋地说道，“你得把这幅画送到伦敦最好的画廊。”

“不。”巴兹尔缓慢地回答，“我不会把它送到任何一个地方去。”

亨利勋爵感到吃惊。“亲爱的巴兹尔，为什么不呢？”他问道，“你们画家是多么奇怪的人啊！你们想成名，但成名后又不快乐。人们谈论你们不好——但当人们不谈论你们时情况会更糟。”

“我知道你会嘲笑我，”巴兹尔答道，“但我不能将这幅画在画廊展出，我在这里画了自己太多的东西。”

亨利勋爵笑道：“你自己太多的东西！你看起来和画中的他根本不像。他有着白皙漂亮的面孔，可是你——唉，当然你看起来聪明，但你长着强健的面孔和黑色的头发，你算不上漂亮。”

“你不了解我，哈里。”巴兹尔答道。（亨利勋爵的朋友通常称呼他哈里。）“当然我不像他，”巴兹尔继续说，“实际上我宁愿不漂亮。多里安·格雷的漂亮面孔或许将给他带来危险和麻烦。”

“多里安·格雷？这是他的名字吗？”亨利勋爵问道。

“是的，但我本不想告诉你。”

“为什么不告诉我？”

“哦，我说不太清，”巴兹尔说道，“当我很喜欢某些人时，我从不把他们的名字告诉我的其他朋友。我喜欢保守秘密，仅此而已。”

“当然，”他的朋友赞同地说，“有秘密，生活才更有趣。比如，我从不知道我的妻子在哪里，而我的妻子也从不知道我正在做什么。我们碰面时——有时我们的确碰上——我们告诉对方一些疯狂的故事，都装得好像这些故事是真的。”

“你一直在做假，哈里。”巴兹尔说，“我认为你也许是个非常好的丈夫，但你喜欢掩饰你的真实感情。”

“哦，别太认真，巴兹尔。”亨利勋爵笑道，“咱们去花园吧。”

Chapter 2

In the garden the leaves shone in the sunlight, and the flowers moved gently in the summer wind. The two young men sat on a long seat under the shadow of a tall tree.

'Before I go,' said Lord Henry, 'you must answer my question, Basil. Why won't you exhibit Dorian Gray's portrait in an art gallery?' He looked at his friend and smiled. 'Please give me the real reason, now. Not the answer that you gave me before.'

'Harry, when an artist feels strongly about a portrait, it becomes a portrait of himself, not of the sitter. The artist paints the face and body of the sitter, but in fact he shows his own feelings. The reason why I won't exhibit this portrait is because I'm afraid it shows the secret of my heart.'

Lord Henry laughed. 'And what is this secret of your heart?'

His friend was silent. Lord Henry picked a flower and looked at it with interest.

'Two months ago,' Basil said at last, 'I was at a party at Lady Brandon's house. I was talking to friends when I realized that someone was watching me. I turned and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. We looked at each other, and I felt a sudden, very strong fear. I felt that this person could change my life... could bring me happiness—and unhappiness. Later, Lady Brandon introduced us. We laughed at something that she said, and became friends at once.'

He stopped. Lord Henry smiled. 'Tell me more,' he said. 'How often do you see him?'

'Every day,' answered Basil. 'I'm not happy if I don't see him every day—he's necessary to my life.'

'But I thought you only cared about your art,' said Lord Henry.

'He is all my art now,' replied Basil, seriously. 'Since I met Dorian Gray, the work that I've done is good, the best work of my life. Because of him I see art in a different way, a new way. When I'm with him, I paint wonderful pictures.'

'Basil, this is extraordinary. I must meet Dorian Gray,' said Lord Henry.

Basil got up and walked up and down the garden. 'So that's my secret. Dorian doesn't know about my feelings. And I can't let people see the portrait, because it shows what's in my heart. There's too much of myself in it, Harry, too much!'

Lord Henry looked at Basil's face before he spoke. 'Tell me, does Dorian Gray care about you?'

The artist thought for a few moments. 'He likes me,' he said at last. 'I know he likes me. Usually he's very friendly to me, but sometimes he seems to enjoy hurting me. He says unkind things that give me pain, Harry. And then I feel that I've given myself to somebody who thinks my heart is a pretty flower. A flower that he can enjoy for a summer's day, and can forget tomorrow.'

'Summer days, Basil,' said Lord Henry with a smile, 'can sometimes be too long. Perhaps you'll become tired sooner than he will.'

'Harry, don't talk like that. While I live, Dorian Gray will be important to me. You change your feelings too quickly. You can't feel what I feel.'

'My dear Basil, how unkind you are!' Lord Henry was amused. How interesting other people's lives were, he thought. Slowly he pulled a flower to pieces with his long fingers. 'I remember now,' he continued. 'I think my aunt knows Dorian Gray. I'd like to meet him very much.'

'But I don't want you to meet him,' said Basil.

A servant came across the garden towards them.

'Mr Dorian Gray has arrived, sir,' he said to Basil.

'You have to introduce me now,' laughed Lord Henry.

Basil turned to him. 'Dorian Gray is my dearest friend,' he said quietly. 'He's a good person and he's young—only twenty. Don't change him. Don't try to influence him. Your clever words are very amusing, of course, but you laugh at serious things. Don't take him away from me. He's necessary to my life as an artist.'

Lord Henry smiled. 'You worry too much, my friend,' he said, and together they walked back into the house.

shadow n. a dark shape made on a surface by something between it and direct light. 影子；阴影。

fear n. the feeling that one has when danger is near. 害怕；恐惧。

extraordinary adj. beyond what is usual. 特别的，奇怪的，惊人的。

unkind adj. not kind; cruel or thoughtless. 无情的；不近人情的；冷酷的。

servant n. someone who works in another person's house. 仆人；用人。

influence v. to have an effect on. 影响。

第二章

花园里树叶在阳光下闪闪发光，花儿在夏季的微风中轻轻摇曳。两个年轻人在树荫笼罩的一条长凳上坐着。

亨利勋爵说：“我走之前，你必须回答我的问题，巴兹尔。为什么你不愿意在伦敦的画廊里展出多里安·格雷的画像？”他微笑地看着朋友。“请现在告诉我真正的原因，而不是刚才你说的理由。”

“哈里，当一位画家对一幅画像有着强烈的感情时，它就变成了自己的画像，而不是被画人的肖像。画家绘出被画人的面孔和身躯，但实际上融汇了画家自己的情感。我不愿展出这幅画像的原因是我害怕它会坦露我内心的秘密。”

亨利勋爵笑了。“那么你内心的秘密又是什么呢？”

他的朋友沉默了。亨利勋爵摘了一朵花，满有兴趣地看着。

巴兹尔终于说：“两个月前，我参加了布兰登夫人在家举办的聚会。在和朋友谈话时，我意识到有人在注视我。我回过头，第一次见到了多里安·格雷。我们都看着对方。我感到了一阵突然、巨大的恐惧。我感觉这个人能改变我的生活……能给我带来幸福和不幸。后来，布兰登夫人为我们做了介绍。她说的某件事情让我们都笑了，我们很快成了朋友。”

他停止了回忆。亨利勋爵面带笑容。“再给我讲一些。”他说，“你多长时间和他见一次面？”

“每天。”巴兹尔答道，“每天如果见不到他我就会不高兴——我的生活离不开他。”

“但我原以为你只关心你的艺术。”亨利勋爵说。

“现在他是我的全部艺术。”巴兹尔严肃地回答，“自从我结识多里安·格雷以来，我完成的作品变得很出色，是我有生以来最好的作品。由于有了他，我用不同的眼光看待艺术，一种全新的方式。和他在一起，我能画出精彩的作品。”

“巴兹尔，这太离奇了。我得见一见多里安·格雷。”亨利勋爵说。

巴兹尔站起身，在花园里来回走动。“因此这就是我的秘密。多里安·格雷不知道我的感情，我也不能让人们看这幅画像，因为它表露了我的内心世界。它包含了我太多的东西，哈里，太多了！”

亨利勋爵看着巴兹尔的脸，然后说：“告诉我，多里安·格雷关心你吗？”

画家思考了片刻：“他喜欢我。”他终于说道。“我知道他喜欢我。通常他总是对我很友好，但有时似乎喜欢伤害我。他说些不友善的话让我感到痛苦，哈里。于是我就觉得我把自己给了一个认为我的心是一朵漂亮小花的人。他可以在夏季的某一天欣赏这朵花，也可以在第二天把它遗忘。”

“夏日，巴兹尔。”亨利勋爵笑着说，“有时很长。或许你比他更先感到厌倦。”

“哈里，别那样说。只要我活着，多里安·格雷就对我很重要。你的感情变得太快，你体会不到我的感情。”

“我亲爱的巴兹尔，你太不客气了！”亨利勋爵感到有趣。别人的生活真有意思，他想。慢慢地他的长手指把一朵花撕成了碎片。“我记起来了。”他继续说，“我姨妈认识多里安·格雷。我很想见他。”

“可我不愿意你去见他。”巴兹尔说。

一个仆人穿过花园朝他们走来。

“多里安·格雷先生来了，先生。”仆人对巴兹尔说。

“你现在得把我介绍给他。”亨利勋爵笑着。

巴兹尔转身对着亨利勋爵。“多里安·格雷是我最亲密的朋友。”他轻声地说，“他是一个好人，而且很年轻——只有20岁。别改变或试图去影响他。你机智的话语的确让人感到有趣，但你嘲笑严肃的东西。别把他从我身边带走，他是我作为一个画家的生活中必不可少的部分。”

亨利勋爵笑道：“你的担心太多余了，我的朋友。”他说。然后他们一起走回了房间。

The Friend

朋友

'There is nothing in the world as important as youth!'

“世界上没有比青春更重要的了！”

Chapter 3

As they entered the house, they saw Dorian Gray. He was sitting by the window and turning some pages of music.

'You must lend me this music, Basil,' he said. Then he turned and saw Lord Henry. 'Oh, I'm sorry, Basil. I didn't realize...'

'Dorian, this is Lord Henry Wotton,' said Basil. 'He's an old friend of mine.'

Dorian Gray shook hands with Lord Henry, and while they talked, Lord Henry studied the young man. Yes, he was very good-looking indeed, with his bright blue eyes and his gold hair. He had an open, honest face. There were no dark secrets in that face. Lord Henry could understand Basil's feelings for him.

Basil was getting his paints ready. Now he looked at Lord Henry. 'Harry,' he said, 'I want to finish this portrait of Dorian today. I'm afraid I must ask you to go away.'

Lord Henry smiled and looked at Dorian Gray. 'Should I go, Mr Gray?' he asked.

'Oh, please don't leave, Lord Henry. Basil never talks when he's painting, and it's so boring. Please stay. I'd like you to talk to me.'

'Well, Basil?' Lord Henry asked.

The artist bit his lip. 'Very well, Harry. Stay... if you must.'

While Basil painted, Lord Henry talked, and the young man listened. The words filled Dorian's head like music—wild, exciting music. What a beautiful voice Lord Henry has, he thought. They are only words, but how terrible they are! How bright and dangerous! You cannot escape from words. Dorian began to understand things about himself that he had never understood before. Why had he never seen himself so clearly, he wondered?

Lord Henry watched Dorian, and smiled. He knew when to speak, and when to be silent. He felt very interested in this young man, with his wonderful face.

Later they walked in the garden together, while Basil worked at the portrait. The rich scent of the flowers was all around them. Dorian looked at the older man, and wondered about him. He was tall, with a thin dark face and cool white hands. Dorian liked him, but why did he feel a little afraid of him?

'You must come out of the sun, Mr Gray,' said Lord Henry. 'A brown skin isn't fashionable and it won't suit you.'

'Oh, it doesn't matter,' laughed Dorian.

'But it should matter to you, Mr Gray.'

'Why?' asked Dorian.

'Because you're young, and being young is wonderful. Ah, you smile. You don't think so now, but one day you'll understand what I mean—when you're old, and tired, and no longer beautiful. You have a wonderfully beautiful face, Mr Gray. It's true. Don't shake your head at me. And there's nothing more important, more valuable than beauty. When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it. Then you'll suddenly discover that your life is empty—there will be nothing to enjoy, nothing to hope for. Time is your enemy, Mr Gray. It will steal everything from you. People are afraid of themselves today. Afraid to live. But you, with your face and your youth, there's nothing that you cannot do. You must live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! We can never be young again. Youth! Ah, there is nothing in the world as important as youth!'

Dorian Gray listened and wondered. New ideas filled his head. He felt strange, different.

At that moment Basil called them from the house. Lord Henry turned to Dorian. 'You're happy that you've met me, Mr Gray,' he said.

'Yes, I'm happy now. Will I always be happy, I wonder?'

'Always!' Lord Henry smiled. 'What a terrible word! Women use it much too often. What does it mean? It's today that is important.'

open adj. not hiding anything. 坦白的；直率的。

honest adj. (of people) trustworthy; not likely to lie or to cheat.（指人）诚实的；忠实的。

music n. the arrangement of sounds in pleasant patterns and tunes. 音乐。

dangerous adj. able to or likely to cause danger. 招致危险的；危险的。

valuable adj. having great usefulness or value. 宝贵的；有价值的；用途很大的。

youth n. the period of being young, esp. the period between being a child and being fully grown; early life. 青年时期；青春时代。

第三章

走进房间，他们看见了多里安·格雷。他正靠窗而坐，翻阅着一些乐谱。

“你得把这乐谱借给我，巴兹尔。”他说道。然后他转身看见了亨利勋爵。“哦，对不起，巴兹尔。我没看见……”

“多里安，这是亨利·沃顿勋爵。”巴兹尔说，“是我的一位老朋友。”

多里安·格雷和亨利勋爵握了握手。他们交谈时，亨利勋爵审视着这位年轻人。的确，他长得很好看，蓝眼睛，金黄色的头发。他的脸坦率、诚实，没有任何阴暗的秘密。亨利勋爵能够理解巴兹尔对他的感情了。

巴兹尔正准备着画具。现在他看着亨利勋爵。“哈里，”他说，“我今天想完成多里安的画像，恐怕得让你先离开了。”

亨利勋爵笑着，看了看多里安·格雷。“我必须走吗，格雷先生？”他问道。

“哦，请别走，亨利勋爵。巴兹尔画画时从不说话，太枯燥了。请留下吧，我希望你和我聊天。”

“那么，巴兹尔？”亨利勋爵问道。

画家咬着嘴唇。“好吧，哈里。留下吧……如果你坚持。”

巴兹尔画画时，亨利勋爵说着话，年轻人听着。话语像音乐一样填进了多里安的脑海——一种疯狂的、令人激动的肯乐。亨利勋爵的嗓音多么动听啊！他想着。这些只不过是话语，但是太可怕了！多么欢快，又多么危险！你无法回避这些话语。多里安开始了解自己以前从未了解的自身的东西。为什么他从未那么清楚地了解过自己？他思忖着。

亨利勋爵观察着多里安，微笑着。他知道什么时候该说，什么时候停下来。他对这个长着奇妙面孔的年轻人很有兴趣。

然后他们一起走进花园，巴兹尔这时在画画。鲜花的浓香包围了他们。多里安看着这个年长一些的男人，揣度着他。他个子高高的，面孔瘦削、偏黑，双手又冷又白。多里安喜欢他，但为什么又觉得有点怕他？

“你必须避开阳光，格雷先生。”亨利勋爵说，“棕色皮肤不时兴，也不适合你。”

“哦，不要紧。”多里安笑着。

“但对你是要紧的，格雷先生。”

“为什么？”多里安问。

“因为你年轻，年轻是极好的。啊，你笑了，现在你不这样认为，但是有一天你会明白我的意思——当你变老、疲倦，不再漂亮时。你长着非常漂亮的面孔，格雷先生。这是真的，别朝我摇头。没有比美貌更重要、更有价值的了。当你的青春逝去时，你的美貌也随之消失。然后你会突然发现生活的空虚——不再欣赏任何事物，也不再对任何事物抱有希望。时间是你的敌人，格雷先生。它会偷走你的一切。如今人们害怕自己，害怕生活。但是你，凭着你的面孔和青春，没有任何你不能做的事情。你必须享受人生，过着属于你的美好的生活！我们再不会年轻了。青春！啊，世界上没有比青春更重要的了！”

多里安·格雷听着、思考着。新思想装满了他的脑海。他感到奇特和不同。

这时巴兹尔在房间里叫他们。亨利勋爵转向多里安，“你高兴结识了我，格雷先生。”他说。

“是的，我现在挺高兴。我想我会总是高高兴兴的，是吗？”

“总会的！”亨利勋爵笑着，“多可怕的一句话！女人们总是这样说。这是什么意思呢？重要的是今天。”

Chapter 4

In the house Basil Hallward stood in front of the portrait of Dorian Gray. 'It's finished,' he said. He wrote his name in the corner of the picture.

Lord Henry studied the picture carefully. 'Yes,' he said. 'It's your best work. It's excellent. Mr Gray, come and look at yourself.'

Dorian looked at the picture for a long time. He smiled as he saw the beautiful face in front of him, and for a moment he felt happy. But then he remembered Lord Henry's words. 'How long,' he thought, 'will I look like the picture? Time will steal my beauty from me. I will grow old, but the picture will always be young.' And his heart grew cold with fear.

'Don't you like it, Dorian?' asked Basil at last.

'Of course he likes it,' said Lord Henry. 'It's a very fine work of art. I'd like to buy it myself.'

'It's not mine to sell, Harry. The picture is Dorian's.'

'I wish,' cried Dorian suddenly, 'I wish that I could always stay young and that the picture could grow old.'

Lord Henry laughed. 'I don't think you would like that, Basil, would you?'

'No, I wouldn't like it at all,' agreed Basil with a smile.

Dorian turned, his face red and angry. 'Yes, you like your art better than your friends,' he said to Basil. 'How long will you like me? Only while I'm beautiful, I suppose. Lord Henry is right. Youth is the most important thing in the world. Oh, why did you paint this picture? Why should it stay young while I grow old? I wish the picture could change, and I could stay as I am. I would give anything, yes, anything, for that.' He hid his face in his hands.

'Dorian, Dorian!' said Basil unhappily. 'Don't talk like that. You're my dearest friend.' He turned to Lord Henry. 'What have you been teaching him?' he asked angrily. 'Why didn't you go away when I asked you?'

Lord Henry smiled. 'It's the real Dorian Gray—that's all.'

Basil turned and walked quickly over to the portrait. 'It's my best work, but now I hate it. I will destroy it now, before it destroys our friendship.' He picked up a long knife.

But Dorian was there before him. 'No, Basil, don't! You can't destroy it. That would be murder!'

'So,' said Basil coldly, 'you've decided that you like the portrait after all.'

'Like it?' said Dorian. 'I'm in love with it. I cannot live without it.'

Later, during tea, Lord Henry invited Basil and Dorian to go with him to the theatre that night. Basil refused, but Dorian was happy to accept.

'Stay and have dinner with me, Dorian,' said Basil, but no, Dorian preferred to go to the theatre with Lord Henry.

As the door closed behind Dorian and Lord Henry, Basil turned back to the picture. 'I shall stay here with the real Dorian Gray,' he said sadly to himself.

corner n. the area formed where two lines, surfaces, or edges, meet. 角落。

steal v. to take (what belongs to another) without any right. 偷；窃取。

destroy v. to tear down or apart; ruin; put an end to the existence or effectness of (something). 毁坏；破坏。

murder n. the crime of killing a man unlawfully. 谋杀。

第四章

在房子里，巴兹尔·霍尔沃德站在多里安·格雷的画像前面。“完成了。”他说。他在画像的一角写上了自己的名字。

亨利勋爵仔细研究着这幅画。“是的，”他说，“这是你最好的作品，妙极了。格雷先生，来看看你自己。”

多里安长时间看着这幅画。当他看见前面这张漂亮的面孔时，他笑了，有那么一阵儿他感到高兴。然而他想起了亨利勋爵的话。他想：“我会像画像多久？时间会偷走我的美貌，我会变老，可画像会永远年轻。”因此他的心一冷，充满了恐惧。

“你不喜欢它吗，多里安？”巴兹尔终于问道。

“他当然喜欢。”亨利勋爵说，“这是一件艺术精品，我想买下它。”

“它不属于我，我不能卖，哈里。这幅画属于多里安。”

“我希望，”多里安突然喊道，“我希望我会永远年轻，而这幅画像会变老。”

亨利勋爵笑道：“我认为你不喜欢那样，巴兹尔，你呢？”

“不，我一点也不喜欢那样。”巴兹尔赞同地笑着。

多里安转过身，因生气涨红了脸。“是的，你喜欢你的艺术甚过喜欢你的朋友。”他对巴兹尔说。“你会喜欢我多久？只有当我漂亮时，我想。亨利勋爵是对的，青春是世界上最重要的东西。哦，你为什么要画这幅画？为什么我变老时它仍保持年轻？我希望画像会变，而我仍是现在这样。我会用一切，是的，一切，去换取它。”他用双手捂住了脸。

“多里安，多里安！”巴兹尔不高兴地说，“别那样说，你是我最亲密的朋友。”他转向亨利勋爵。“你都教了他些什么？”他气愤地问，“我让你走时你为什么不走？”

亨利勋爵一笑：“这是真实的多里安·格雷——仅此而已。”

巴兹尔转身迅速朝画像走去。“这是我最好的作品，但现在我恨它，我要毁了它，趁它还没毁掉我们的友谊。”他拿起了一把长刀。

但是多里安在那儿挡住了他。“不，巴兹尔，不能！你不能毁掉它，这是谋杀！”

“那么，”巴兹尔冷酷地说，“你已经决定了你毕竟还是喜欢这幅画像。”

“喜欢它？”多里安说，“我爱上了它，没有它我不能活。”

后来喝茶时，亨利勋爵邀请巴兹尔和多里安晚上一起去看戏。巴兹尔拒绝了，但多里安愉快地接受了邀请。

“留下来和我一起吃晚饭，多里安。”巴兹尔说。但是，多里安宁愿和亨利勋爵去看戏。

多里安和亨利勋爵一走，巴兹尔关上了门，回到画像旁。“我要在这儿陪着真正的多里安·格雷。”他难过地自言自语。

Chapter 5

The next morning Lord Henry went to visit his aunt, Lady Agatha. She was surprised to see him.

'I thought you fashionable young men never got up until the afternoon,' she said.

'Ah, but my dear aunt, I need some information, you see,' replied Lord Henry. 'I met Dorian Gray yesterday, and I'd like to know more about him.'

'Oh, he's Lord Kelso's grandson,' said Lady Agatha. 'His mother was Lady Margaret Devereux, a very beautiful woman. She ran away from home to marry a poor soldier. He was killed a few months later and she died soon after her son was born. She was a lovely woman. Dorian Gray has her beauty and he will, I understand, have his grandfather's money.'

'He is,' agreed Lord Henry, 'extraordinarily good-looking.'

'Come to lunch,' invited his aunt. 'Dorian Gray will be here and you can meet him again.'

'I'd love to come,' smiled Lord Henry.

As he left, Lord Henry thought about this sad story. He became more interested than ever in this beautiful young man, Dorian Gray. He remembered the night before, when Dorian had watched him with his bright blue eyes, half wondering, half afraid. 'He does not yet know himself,' thought Lord Henry, with a smile. 'But I can teach him. Yes, I can influence him in any way that I please. I will teach him to discover the fire of youth, and love, and life.'

The conversation among the fashionable people at Lady Agatha's lunch was quick and clever. Lord Henry talked, in his lazy, amusing way, and knew that Dorian Gray was watching and listening.

After a while the conversation turned to a friend's plans to marry an American girl.

'Why can't these American women stay in their own country? They're always telling us that it's a paradise for women,' said Lord Burdon.

'It is,' said Lord Henry. 'That's the reason why they're so happy to escape from it.'

'They say,' laughed the man next to Lady Agatha, 'that when good Americans die, they go to Paris.'

'Really! And where do bad Americans go to when they die?' asked Lady Agatha.

'They go to America,' said Lord Henry.

People smiled, and the conversation moved on to other things. Lord Henry took ideas and played with them; he gave them wings, and they flew like brightly coloured birds around the room. People laughed, and smiled, and told him that he should be more serious. But Dorian Gray never took his eyes away from Lord Henry.

After lunch Lord Henry said that he was going to the park and as he left the room, Dorian Gray touched his arm. ' May I come with you?' he asked.

'But I thought you'd promised to go and see Basil Hallward,' Lord Henry replied.

'Yes, but I'd prefer to come with you. Please let me,' said Dorian. 'I want to listen to you talking. Nobody speaks as well as you do.'

'Ah! I've talked enough for today.' Lord Henry smiled. 'But you may come with me if you want to.'

wonder v. to express a wish to know, in words or silently; to be surprised and want to know (why).（心里）纳闷；想知道；觉得奇怪；希望知道；不明白；不懂。

conversation n. (an) informal talk in which people exchange news, feelings, and thoughts. 会话；谈天。

paradise n. a place (not real) where people are completely happy. 乐园；天堂。

promise v. to make a statement, which someone else has a right to believe and depend on, that one will or will not do something, give something, etc. 允诺；保证；发誓。

第五章

第二天早上，亨利勋爵去拜访他的姨妈阿加莎夫人。姨妈见到他很吃惊。

“我以为你们这些时髦的年轻人不到下午不起床。”她说。

“啊，可是亲爱的姨妈，要知道我需要些消息。”亨利勋爵答道，“昨天我见到了多里安·格雷，我想更多地了解他。”

“哦，他是凯尔索勋爵的外孙子。”阿加莎夫人说，“他的母亲是玛格丽特·德弗罗女士，一个非常漂亮的女人。她离家出走嫁给了一个穷士兵。士兵在几个月后被杀，她在儿子出生后也很快死去了。她是一个可爱的女人，多里安·格雷有着她的美貌，而且我认为他会拥有他外公的财产。”

“他是非常好看。”亨利勋爵表示赞同。

“过来吃午餐。”姨妈邀请道，“多里安·格雷要来这儿，你会再见到他。”

“好吧。”亨利勋爵笑着。

起身时，亨利勋爵想着这个伤感的故事。他更对多里安·格雷这个漂亮的年轻人感兴趣了。他记得前一天晚上多里安用他那明亮的蓝眼睛注视自己的神情，一半是探询，一半是畏惧。“他还不了解他自己。”亨利勋爵想着，面带笑容。“但是我能教他，是的，我可以用我喜欢的任何方式影响他。我要教他发现青春、爱和生活的火焰。”

在阿加莎夫人的家里，餐桌上时髦年轻人的谈话又活泼又聪慧。亨利勋爵用懒散、逗人的方式说话，并且知道多里安·格雷在注视并听着。

过了一会儿，谈话转向一个朋友要娶一个美国姑娘的打算。

“这些美国女人为什么不待在自己的国家？她们总是对我们说美国是女人的天堂。”伯登勋爵说。

“是这样。”亨利勋爵说，“这正是她们乐于离开美国的原因。”

阿加莎夫人旁边的男人笑道：“她们说，好美国人死后去巴黎。”

“真的吗！那么坏美国人在死后又去哪儿呢？”阿加莎夫人问。

“他们去美国。”亨利勋爵说。

人们笑着，谈话转向其它事情。亨利勋爵把握并摆布着思想；他给它们安上翅膀，使它们像颜色鲜艳的鸟在屋子里飞翔。人们大笑、微笑，并告诉他应该正经一些。但是多里安·格雷从没把视线从亨利勋爵身上移开。

午餐后，亨利勋爵说要去公园。离开房间时，多里安·格雷触了一下他的胳膊。“我可以和你一起去吗？”他问。

“但我认为你已经许诺要去看巴兹尔·霍尔沃德。”亨利勋爵回答道。

“是的，但我喜欢和你在一起。请答应我。”多里安说，“我想听你谈话，没人说得像你那样好。”

“啊！我今天说得够多了。”亨利勋爵笑了，“如果你愿意，你可以和我一起去公园。”

The Young Man in Love

恋爱中的年轻人

'Love is a more wonderful thing than art.'

“爱比艺术更美妙。”

Chapter 6

One afternoon, a month later, Dorian Gray visited Lord Henry. Dorian was excited and his eyes were shining.

'Harry,' he began, 'I'm discovering life. I'm doing everything that you told me to do. I'm in love!'

'Who are you in love with?' asked Lord Henry, calmly.

'With an actress.'

'Oh, everybody's in love with an actress at some time in their lives,' said Lord Henry.

'No, Harry, this is different. She's wonderful! Her name's Sybil Vane, and one day she'll be a very famous actress. She really is extraordinarily clever.'

'My dear boy,' said Lord Henry in his lazy voice, 'no woman is extraordinarily clever. Women have nothing to say, but they say it beautifully. There are only five women in London who can give you real conversation. But tell me about your wonderful actress. How long have you known her?'

'Harry! I'll tell you all about her, but you must promise not to laugh.'

Lord Henry listened and smiled. Dorian had discovered an old, dirty theatre in a poor street in London. He had gone in to look for adventure, but had found love, he told Lord Henry. The play had been Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

'Romeo was a fat old man with a terrible voice, but Juliet! Oh, Harry, she was about seventeen, with dark brown hair and a face like a flower. She was the loveliest girl that I'd ever seen in my life, and her voice was like music. I love her, Harry. She's everything to me. Every night I go to see her in different plays and she's always wonderful.'

'That's the reason, I suppose, why you never have dinner with me now,' said Lord Henry.

'But Harry, you and I see each other every day—we always have lunch together,' said Dorian in surprise. 'I have to go and see Sybil in the theatre every night. You and Basil must come with me to see her. Then you can see yourself how wonderful she is. Come tomorrow.'

'Very well, my dear Dorian, we'll come and watch your Juliet. But you'll be in love many times, you know—this is only the beginning.'

After Dorian had gone, Lord Henry smiled to himself. How amusing it was to watch this young man, he thought. He was very different now from the frightened boy in Basil Hallward's house. He had opened like a flower in the sun, and was learning to enjoy every pleasure in life. 'And it is I,' thought Lord Henry, 'who have taught him how to do this.'

When Lord Henry returned home that night, there was a letter for him lying on the table. It told him that Dorian Gray was going to marry Sybil Vane.

actress n. a female person who acts a part in a play. 女演员。

adventure n. excitement, as in a journey or activity; risk. 冒险。

frightened adj. in a state of fear. 受惊的；吃惊的；害怕的。

pleasure n. the feeling of being happy and doing things that you like. 幸福；快乐；享受。

第六章

一个月后的一天下午，多里安·格雷来拜访亨利勋爵。多里安神情兴奋，双眼闪光。

“哈里，”他开始说，“我正在发现生活，我正在做你让我去做的事情。我恋爱了！”

“你爱上了谁？”亨利勋爵平静地问。

“一个女演员。”

“哦，每个人在一生中的某段时间总会爱上一位女演员。”亨利勋爵说。

“不，哈里，这不同。她太奇妙了！她叫西比尔·文。总有一天她会成为一位名演员，她真的是太聪明了。”

“我亲爱的孩子，”亨利勋爵懒散地说，“没有哪个女人是异乎寻常地聪明。女人谈不出什么名堂，但是她们说得很动听。伦敦只有五个女人能和你真正地交谈。给我讲讲你的奇妙的女演员，你认识她多久了？”

“哈里，我要告诉你她的一切，但你得保证不嘲笑我。”

亨利勋爵边听边微笑着。多里安在伦敦的一条破破烂烂的街道上发现了一个又旧又脏的剧院。他告诉亨利勋爵，他进去是想找点冒险的事，但却找到了爱。上演的戏剧是莎士比亚的《罗密欧与朱丽叶》。

“罗密欧是一个又胖又老的男人，嗓音可怕。但是朱丽叶！哦，哈里，她大概十七岁，长着深棕色的头发，鲜花般的脸。她是我有生以来见到过的最可爱的姑娘，而且她的声音像音乐一样。我爱她，哈里，她是我的一切。每人晚上我都去看她演的各种戏剧，她总是那么出色。”

“我想，那就是你一直没和我共进晚餐的原因。”亨利勋爵。

“但是哈里，你我每天都见面——我们总是在一起共进午餐。”多里安吃惊地说，“我每天晚上都要去剧院看望西比尔。你和巴兹尔一定要和我一起去看她，然后你们自己会发现她是多么地美妙。明天就来吧。”

“好吧，亲爱的多里安，我们去看你的朱丽叶。但是人会恋爱许多次的——这只是个开始。”

多里安走后，亨利勋爵暗自好笑。观察这个年轻人真有趣，他想道。多里安和巴兹尔·霍尔沃德房子里那个被吓住的男孩已大不相同。他像一朵在阳光中绽开的花，正在学着如何享受生活的每一份快乐。“正是我，”亨利勋爵想，“教会了他这样做。”

那天晚上亨利勋爵回家后在桌子上发现了一封给他的信。信上说多里安·格雷要和西比尔·文结婚。

Chapter 7

'Mother, Mother, I'm so happy,' cried the girl, 'and you must be happy too.'

Mrs Vane put her thin white hands on her daughter's head. 'I'm only happy when I see you in the theatre,' she said. 'And we are poor. We need the money—don't forget that. What do we know about this young man? You don't know his real name, or anything about him.'

'No, but I call him Prince Charming. He's everything to me. I love him and he loves me. Oh Mother, let me be happy!'

'You're too young to think of love,' said her mother. She looked at her daughter's lovely face, and tried to warn her of the dangers of love, but the girl did not listen. She was locked in her prison of love.

At that moment the girl's brother entered the room. He was a heavy, dark young man, not at all like his sister.

'I've heard about a gentleman who visits you every night at the theatre,' he said to his sister. 'Who is he? What does he want?'

'Oh James, don't be angry with me today,' cried Sybil. 'You're leaving for Australia tomorrow, and today is your last day. Come for a walk with me in the park. I'll go and get ready.' She danced out of the room, and her mother and brother could hear her singing as she ran upstairs.

James Vane turned to his mother. 'My new life as a sailor will keep me away from England for many years,' he said. 'But I don't like to leave Sybil alone.'

'Sybil has me, her mother, you know,' said Mrs Vane quietly.

'Then take care of her.' James Vane gave his mother a long, hard look. 'If that man hurts my sister, I'll find him, and kill him like a dog.'

gentleman n. (in this story) a man of good family, usually rich. 上流人士；绅士；君子。

sailor n. a person with a job on a ship, esp. one who is not a ship's officer. 船员；水手；海员。

第七章

“妈妈，妈妈，我太高兴了。”姑娘喊着，“你也应该高兴。”

文太太用瘦削白皙的双手抚摸女儿的头。“我只有在剧院看着你时才快乐。”她说，“我们穷，我们需要钱——别忘记这一点。我们了解这个年轻人什么呢？我们不知道他的真实姓名，不知道他的任何事情。”

“是的，我不知道；我叫他‘迷人的王子’，他是我的一切，我爱他，他爱我。哦，妈妈，让我高兴些吧！”

“你们太年轻，还不能考虑爱情。”母亲说。她看着女儿可爱的面庞，努力提醒她爱情的危险。但是姑娘不听，她已经把自己锁进了爱情的监牢。

这时姑娘的哥哥走进了房间。他是一个壮实黝黑的年轻人，一点儿也不像他的妹妹。

“我听说一位绅士每天晚上到剧院去见你。”他对妹妹说，“他是谁？他想干什么？”

“哦，詹姆斯，今天别生我的气。”西比尔嚷着，“你明天要动身去澳大利亚，今天是你在家的最后一天。和我去公园散步吧，我去准备一下。”她舞出了房间．母亲和哥哥能听见她上楼梯时唱着歌。

詹姆斯·文转向母亲。“我当了水手，这种新的生活会使我离开英格兰很多年。”他说，“但我不想丢下西比尔一个人。”

“西比尔有我，她的母亲。”文太太平静地说。

“那么好好照看她。”詹姆斯·文看了母亲好一会儿。“如果那个男人伤害我妹妹，我会找到他，像杀死一条狗一样杀死他。”

Chapter 8

As they waited for Dorian Gray the next night, Lord Henry and Basil Hallward discussed Sybil Vane. Basil had not been happy at the news of Dorian's marriage plans.

'An actress!' he had cried. 'But Dorian is a gentleman, the grandson of Lord Kelso. He can't marry an actress.'

'Why not?' Lord Henry had said coolly. 'He'll love her wildly for six months, and then suddenly he'll be in love with another woman. It will be very amusing to watch.'

But when Dorian arrived and told the story of his love, Basil became a little happier. 'You're right,' he told Dorian. 'The woman that you love must be wonderful. I can see already that she's changed you.'

'Yes,' said Dorian happily, 'yes, Sybil has changed me. From this moment I shall be good. I'll never listen again, Harry, to your dangerous ideas about life and pleasure.'

Lord Henry smiled. 'Ah,' he said, 'when we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy.'

Basil Hallward shook his head at this, but Dorian laughed. 'You cut life to pieces with your clever words, Harry.'

The theatre was crowded and noisy, but when Sybil Vane appeared, everyone became silent. She was one of the most beautiful girls that Lord Henry had ever seen. 'Lovely! Lovely!' he said softly.

But although Sybil looked beautiful, her voice sounded unnatural. She spoke Juliet's words, but there was no feeling in them. Her voice was lovely, but it took away all the life from the words. People in the theatre began talking loudly, and after half an hour Lord Henry stood up and put on his coat.

'She's very beautiful, Dorian, but she's not an actress,' he said. 'Let's go.'

'I think that Miss Vane must be ill,' added Basil. 'We'll come another night.'

Dorian did not look at them. 'Go away. I want to be alone,' he said miserably, and as his friends left, he covered his face with his hands.

When the play came to its painful end, Dorian went to see Sybil.

'I wasn't a very good Juliet tonight,' she said, and looked at him with love in her eyes.

'You were terrible,' said Dorian coldly. 'My friends were bored. I was bored. I suppose you were ill.'

She did not seem to hear him. 'Dorian,' she cried, 'before I knew you, the theatre was my only life. I thought that it was all true. I knew nothing but shadows, and I thought that they were real. But you've taught me the difference between art and life. How can I pretend ro be Juliet—to feel Juliet's love, when I know now what true love is?'

Dorian turned his face away from her. 'But I loved you for your art—because you were a wonderful actress,' he said. His voice was hard. 'You have killed my love. Without your art, you are nothing. I never want to see you again.'

Sybil's face was white with fear. 'You're not serious, are you, Dorian?' she asked. She touched his arm with her small, gentle hand.

'Don't touch me!' he shouted angrily. He pushed her away, and she fell to the floor and lay there like a broken bird.

'Dorian, please don't leave me,' she cried. 'I love you better than anything in the world. Don't leave me!'

Dorian Gray looked down at her with his beautiful eyes. There was no love or gentleness in his face. 'I'm going,' he said at last. 'I don't wish to be unkind, but I don't want to see you again.' Without another word he left her.

All night he walked through the streets of London. When morning came, he went home. When he entered his house, he saw the portrait of himself that Basil Hallward had painted. There was something different about it, he thought. The face had changed—there was something unkind, and cruel about the mouth. It was very strange.

He picked up a mirror and looked at his own face, and then looked again at the face in the portrait. Yes, it was different. What did this change mean?

Suddenly he remembered his wish in Basil Hallward's house... his wish that he could stay young, but the picture could grow old. The idea was impossible, of course. But why did the face in the picture have that cruel, unkind mouth?

Cruel! Had he been cruel to Sybil Vane? He remembered her white, unhappy face as she lay at his feet. But she had hurt him, too. No, Sybil Vane was nothing to him now.

But the picture watched him, with its beautiful face and its cruel smile. It had taught him to love his own beauty. Would it also teach him to hate his own heart, his own soul? No, he would go back to Sybil Vane. He would marry her, try to love her again. Poor child! How cruel he had been to her! They would be happy together.

He covered the picture and quickly left the room.

crowded adj. completely full; filled with a crowd; having too many people. 拥挤的；挤满人的。

noisy adj. making or marked by a lot of noise. 嘈杂的；喧闹的；多杂音的。

miserably adv. in a way that causes great discomfort, unhappiness, etc. 悲惨地。

painful adj. causing suffering or discomfort of the body or mind. 疼痛的，痛苦的。

gentle adj. not violent; soft in movement. 温顺的；和缓的。

cruel adj. very unkind; giving unhappiness, suffering or pain to other people; taking pleasure in the pain of another. 残忍；残酷；不仁慈。

soul n. the part of a person that is not the body. 灵魂；心灵。

第八章

第二天晚上，在等多里安·格雷时，亨利勋爵和巴兹尔·霍尔沃德谈论着西比尔·文。巴兹尔对多里安要结婚的打算并不感到高兴。

“一个演员！”他叫道，“可多里安是一位绅士，是凯尔索勋爵的外孙子。他不能娶一个演员。”

“为什么不能？”亨利勋爵冷淡地说，“他会疯狂地爱她6个月，然后会突然爱上另一个女人，观察这些多有趣。”

多里安来了，他讲述了他的恋爱故事，巴兹尔高兴了一点儿。“你是对的。”他告诉多里安。“你爱上的女人一定非常出色。我已经能看出她改变了你。”

“是的，”多里安高兴地说，“西比尔改变了我。从现在开始我要好好做人，再不听哈里关于人生和享受的危险的思想．”

亨利勋爵一笑，“啊，”他说，“当我们幸福时，我们总是好人，可当我们是好人时，我们不总是幸福。”

巴兹尔·霍尔沃德对此话摇摇头，而多里安笑道：“你聪明的言辞把生活切成了碎片，哈里。”

剧院里又拥挤又嘈杂，可是当西比尔·文一出现，每个人都安静了下来。她是亨利勋爵见过的最漂亮的姑娘之一。“漂亮！真漂亮！”他轻声地说。

虽然西比尔看起来非常美丽，但是她的嗓音听着不自然。她念着朱丽叶的台词，但是丝毫没有感情。她的嗓音很动听，可话语里全无生活气息。剧院里的人开始大声谈话。半小时后亨利勋爵站起身穿上了外套。

“她非常漂亮，多里安。但是她算不上一名演员。”他说道，“咱们走吧。”

“我想文小姐一定是病了。”巴兹尔说，“我们改天晚上再来。”

多里安没有看他们。“走吧，我想一个人呆会儿。”他痛苦地说。朋友离开时，他用手捂住了脸。

戏终于痛苦地结束了，多里安去看望西比尔。

“今晚我没演好朱丽叶。”她说，用充满爱意的眼神看着多里安。

“你真糟糕。”多里安冷酷地说，“我的朋友觉得乏味，我也觉得乏味，我想你可能病了。”

她似乎没听见他说的话。“多里安，”她高声说，“在我认识你以前，剧院是我唯一的生活。我认为剧院演的都是真的。除了扮演的影子似的人物外我一无所知，我认为这些影子是真实的。可是你已经教会我如何区分艺术和生活的不同，当我现在知道什么是真正的爱的时候，我怎么能装成是朱丽叶——感受朱丽叶的爱？”

多里安转过脸，不再看她。“可是我爱你是因为你的艺术——因为你曾是名出色的演员，”他说，他的话很严厉。“你扼杀了我的爱。没有你的艺术，你就变得毫无价值。我再不想见到你。”

西比尔的脸因恐惧变得苍白。“你不是当真的，是吗，多里安？”她问。她用小巧、柔软的手按着他的胳膊。

“别碰我！”他生气地喊。他一把推开她，她跌倒在地，像一只衰弱的小鸟倒在那里。

“多里安，请别离开我。”她哭喊道，“我爱你甚过世界上的任何东西，别离开我！”

多里安·格雷用漂亮的双眼俯视着她。他的脸上没有爱或者温柔。“我要走了。”他最后说，“我不想对你不好，但我不想再见到你。”他没有多说一句话就离她而去。

他在伦敦的街道上走了一夜，清晨才回家。进屋后，他看见了巴兹尔·霍尔沃德给他画的肖像。画像有点不一样了，他想。脸变了——嘴显得不和善，而且有点残酷。真奇怪。

他拿起一个镜子看着自己的脸，然后又看着画像中的脸。是不同了，这种改变意味着什么呢？

突然他记起了在巴兹尔·霍尔沃德家许的愿……他希望自己永远年轻，只是画像会变老。这种想法当然是不可能的。可是为什么画像中的脸有那么一张残酷不仁慈的嘴呢？

残酷！他对西比尔·文残酷了吗？他想起了西比尔倒在他脚下时的那张苍白、痛苦的脸。但是她也伤害了他呀。不，西比尔·文现在对他毫无价值了。

但是画像在注视他，面孔漂亮，笑容却很冷酷。画像教会了他去爱自己的美貌，它也将教他恨自己的心、自己的灵魂吗？不，他要回到西比尔·文那里。他要娶她，要努力再去爱她。可怜的孩子！他曾对她是多么的残酷！他们在一起会幸福的。

他遮上画像迅速离开了那个房间。

The Death of Love

爱情的死亡

'It is better to be beautiful than to be good.'

“长得漂亮比做好人要好。”

Chapter 9

I was long past midday when Dorian woke up. His servant brought him tea and his letters, but he did not read them. Yesterday seemed like a bad dream, but when he went downstairs, he saw the covered picture. Should he uncover it, he wondered? Had the face in the picture really changed? Did he want to know? He lit a cigarette and thought for a while. Yes, he had to know. He lifted the cover.

There was no mistake. The portrait had really changed. He could not explain it, could not understand it. It was impossible, but it had happened.

Dorian felt sick and ashamed. He did not know what to do, or what to think. Finally, he sat down and wrote a long letter to Sybil Vane. He covered page after page with wild words of love. Then, suddenly, he heard Lord Henry's voice at the door. Dorian jumped up and covered the picture.

'My dear boy,' said Lord Henry, as he came in. 'I'm so sorry. But you must not think too much about her.'

'Do you mean about Sybil Vane?' asked Dorian. 'There's nothing to be sorry about. I want to be good, and I'm going to be happy. I shall marry Sybil Vane. I'm not going to break my promise to her.'

'Marry Sybil Vane!' Lord Henry stared at Dorian. 'Didn't you get my letter?'

'I haven't read my letters today,' said Dorian slowly.

Lord Henry walked across the room and took Dorian's hands in his own. 'Dorian,' he said quietly, 'don't be frightened—my letter told you that Sybil Vane is dead. She killed herself at the theatre last night.'

'No, no, that's impossible!' cried Dorian. He pulled his hands away and stared at Lord Henry with wild eyes. 'This is terrible, Harry. I have murdered Sybil Vane!'

'She killed herself,' said Lord Henry calmly. 'You didn't murder her. She killed herself because she loved you. It's very sad, of course, but you mustn't think too much about it. You must come and have dinner with me.'

'Harry, listen. Last night I told her that I didn't want to see her again. But after I left her, I realized how cruel I had been. I decided to go back to her, to marry her. And now she is dead! Harry, what shall I do? You don't know the danger that I am in.'

'My dear Dorian,' said Lord Henry. 'Marriage with Sybil Vane was not for you. No, no... marriages like that are never successful. The man quickly becomes unhappy and bored. Of course, he's kind to his wife. We can always be kind to people that we're not interested in. But the woman soon discovers that her husband is bored. And then she either becomes terribly unfashionable, or wears very expensive hats that another woman's husband has to pay for.'

The young man walked up and down the room. 'I suppose that's true,' he said unhappily. 'But Harry, I don't think that I'm cruel. Do you?'

Lord Henry smiled. He told Dorian Gray what he wanted to hear. And then he told him clever, amusing stories about the women that he himself had loved. He said that Sybil Vane's death was a beautiful end to a love story for an actress. 'The girl never really lived,' he continued, 'so she never really died. Don't cry for Sybil Vane. She was less real than Juliet.'

After a while Dorian Gray looked up. 'You have explained me to myself, Harry,' he said slowly. 'How well you know me! But we won't talk of this again. It's been a wonderful lesson for me. That's all.'

When Lord Henry had left, Dorian uncovered the picture again. He had to choose between a good life and a bad life, he thought. But then he realized that, in fact, he had already chosen. He would stay young for ever, and enjoy every wild pleasure that life could give him. The face in the picture would grow old and ugly and unkind, but he would stay beautiful for ever. He covered the picture again, and smiled.

An hour later he was at Lord Henry's house, and Lord Henry was smiling at his side.

promise n. a statement which someone else has a right to believe and depend on, that one will or will not do something, give something, etc. 诺言。

stare v. to look hard and long at something or somebody. 凝视；瞪眼；盯着看。

marriage n. the union of a man and a woman by a ceremony in law; or the state of being so united. 结婚；婚姻。

expensive adj. costing a lot of money; costly. 花钱的；昂贵的。

lesson n. something, such as a warning example or experience, from which one should learn. 教训。

choose v. to pick out from a greater number; show (what one wants) by taking. 挑选；选择。

第九章

时间早已过了正午，多里安才醒来。仆人端来了茶并带来了信件，可是多里安没有读这些信。昨天就像一场恶梦。下楼时，他看见了被遮盖着的画像。他应该掀开它吗？他思忖道。画像的脸真的改变了吗？他想知道吗？他点燃一支烟，想了一会儿。是的，他得知道，他掀开了遮着的布。

没错，画像确实变了。他无法解释，也不能明白。这是不可能的，但又的确发生了。

多里安觉得懊丧和惭愧。他不知道该怎么做，或者该怎么想。最后，他坐下，给西比尔·文写了一封长信。他一页又一页地写满了疯狂的爱的语句。突然，他听见了门口亨利勋爵的声音。多里安跳起来，盖上了画。

“亲爱的，”亨利勋爵进来时说，“我非常抱歉，但你不该过多地想她。”

“你指的是西比尔·文吗？”多里安问，“没有什么可抱歉的。我想好好做人，我要快乐，我将娶西比尔·文，对她履行诺言。”

“娶西比尔·文！”亨利勋爵瞪着多里安，“你没收到我的信吗？”

“今天我还没有读信。”多里安慢慢地说。

亨利勋爵从房门处走过来，抓起多里安的双手。

“多里安。”他温和地说，“别怕——我在信里告诉你西比尔·文已经死了，她昨天晚上在剧院里自杀了。”

“不，不，不可能！”多里安喊道。他抽回双手，用发疯的眼神瞪着亨利勋爵。“这太可怕了，哈里。是我杀死了西比尔·文！”

“她是自杀的。”亨利勋爵平静地说，“你没有谋杀她。她自杀是因为爱你，这当然很不幸，但你不要过多地想这件事，你必须来和我共进晚餐。”

“哈里，听着。昨晚我告诉她我不想再见到她。但我离开她后，我意识到我是多么的残忍。我决定回到她身边，娶她。现在她死了，我该怎么办？你不知道我面临的危险。”

“亲爱的多里安，”亨利勋爵说，“和西比尔·文结婚不适合你。不，不……这样的婚姻从来不会成功。男的很快变得不高兴和厌倦，当然他对妻子还好，我们总会友好对待一些我们不感兴趣的人。但这个女人很快发现丈夫已经厌倦了，于是她变得要么可怕地落后于时尚，要么戴着另一个女人的丈夫给买的昂贵的帽子。”

年轻人在房间里来回走动。“也许你说的是真的，”他不高兴地说，“但是哈里，我不认为我很残酷，你呢？”

亨利勋爵一笑，他讲了些多里安·格雷爱听的话，然后又讲了他爱过的女人的聪明逗人的故事。他说西比尔·文的死是一名女演员爱情故事的美丽结局。他继续说：“这个姑娘从未真正生活过，因此她也从没真正地死。不要为西比尔·文哭泣，和朱丽叶比，她更不真实。”

过了一会儿多里安·格雷抬起头。“你说服了我，哈里。”他缓慢地说，“你太了解我了！我们别再谈这事了，这是我的一个极好的教训，到此为止吧。”

亨利勋爵走后，多里安又掀开了画像。他想他必须选择过正人君子的生活还是过不道德的生活。但他意识到他实际上已经做出了选择。他将永远年轻，享受生活给予的每一份疯狂的快乐。画像中的脸将变老、变丑、变凶，但是他将永远漂亮。他又盖上画像，露出了笑容。

一小时后他来到了亨利勋爵家，亨利勋爵在他旁边微笑着。

Chapter 10

While Dorian was having breakfast the next morning, Basil Hallward came to see him.

'At last I've found you, Dorian,' he said seriously. 'I came last night, but they told me that you'd gone out to dinner with friends. I knew that wasn't true, of course. I wanted to tell you how sorry I was about Sybil Vane. Poor girl!'

'My dear Basil,' said Dorian. He looked bored. 'I was at Lord Henry's house last night. It was a very amusing evening.'

Basil stared at him. 'You went out to dinner?' he said slowly. 'You went out to dinner when Sybil Vane was lying dead in some dirty theatre?'

'Stop, Basil! I won't listen to you!' Dorian jumped to his feet. 'Sybil Vane is in the past... finished... forgotten.'

'You've changed, Dorian,' said Basil. 'You have the same wonderful face, but where is the kind and gentle boy who sat for my portrait? Have you no heart?'

'Yesterday my heart was full of sadness. I have cried for Sybil, yes, but I cannot cry today. I have changed, Basil. I'm a man now, with new feelings, new ideas. Don't be angry with me. I am what I am. There's nothing more to say.'

Basil watched him sadly. 'Well, Dorian,' he said at last, 'I won't speak of poor Sybil again. But will you come and sit for another portrait soon?'

'No. Never,' said Dorian quickly. 'It's impossible.'

'But why?' asked Basil, very surprised. 'And why have you covered the portrait?' He walked across the room towards the painting.

Dorian cried out in fear, and ran between Basil and the portrait. 'No, Basil! You must not look at it. I don't want you to see it.' His face was white and angry. 'If you try to look at it, I'll never speak to you again.'

The artist stared at him. 'Why can't I look at my own work?' he asked. 'I'm going to exhibit it in an art gallery in Paris soon.'

Dorian tried to hide his fear. 'But you said... you told me that you would never exhibit the picture. Why have you changed your mind?' He came closer to Basil and looked into his face. 'Tell me why,' he said.

Basil turned away. After a while he said slowly, 'I see that you too have noticed something strange about the picture. Dorian, you changed my life as an artist from the moment when I met you. You became very important to me—I could not stop thinking about you. And when I painted this portrait, I felt that I'd put too much of myself into it. I could not let other people see it.' He was silent for a moment, then turned back to Dorian. 'Perhaps you're right. I cannot exhibit this picture. But will you let me look at it again?'

'No, never!'

The artist smiled sadly. 'Well, I've told you my secret now. Try to understand me, Dorian. You've been the one person in my life who has really influenced my art.'

As he left the room, Dorian Gray smiled to himself. What a dangerous moment that had been! Poor Basil! Although he had told his own secret, he had not discovered Dorian's secret. But the picture... he must hide it away at once. No one must ever see it again.

He had the covered portrait carried upstairs to a small room at the top of the house. Then he locked the door and kept the key himself. He felt safe now, because only his eyes would see the terrible changes in that beautiful face.

When he returned to the room downstairs, he picked up a book that Lord Henry had lent him. He sat down and began to read.

It was the story of a Frenchman, who had spent his life searching for beauty and pleasure—pleasure of all kinds, both good and bad. Dorian read for hours. It was a frightening book, full of strange ideas and dangerous dreams—dreams that slowly became real for Dorian.

Dorian read this book many times. In fact, he could not stop reading it, and over the years, it became more and more interesting to him. He felt that the Frenchman's life was a mirror of his own.

sit v. (for a picture) to sit or stand while an artist paints a picture of you. 摆姿势而坐或站（以供人画肖像或照相等）。

mind n. intentions. 意图；心意。

dream n. something imagined, not real, but believed in or greatly and hopefully desired. 理想；梦想。

mirror n. a true faithful representation (of something).（忠实的）写照。

第十章

第二天早晨多里安正在吃早餐，巴兹尔·霍尔沃德前来看望他。

“我终于找到你了，多里安。”他严肃地说，“我昨晚来过，但他们告诉我你和朋友出去吃饭了。我知道那当然不是真的。我想告诉你我是多么地为西比尔·文难过，可怜的姑娘！”

“亲爱的巴兹尔，”多里安说，他显得不耐烦，“昨晚我在亨利勋爵家，那是个很有趣的夜晚。”

巴兹尔盯着他。“你出去吃晚饭了？”他缓慢地说，“西比文·文的尸体还躺在某个肮脏的剧院时你居然外出吃晚饭？”

“别说了，巴兹尔！我不想听你说！”多里安站了起来。“西比尔·文已成为过去……都结束了……忘却了。”

“你变了，多里安。”巴兹尔说，“你还是长着同样漂亮的面孔，但是那个坐着让我画像的和善、温柔的男孩哪儿去了？你没有心了吗？”

“昨天我的心充满了悲伤，我曾为西比尔哭泣。但我今天不会哭，我已经变了，巴兹尔。我现在是一个男人了，有了新感情、新思想。别生我的气，我就这样了，再没什么可说的了。”

巴兹尔难过地注视他。“好吧，多里安，”他终于说，“我再不说可怜的西比尔了。可你能尽快来我这儿让我再给你画一幅画像吗？”

“不，决不。”多里安很快回答，“不可能。”

“为什么？”巴兹尔非常吃惊地问，“你为什么遮住画像？”他穿过房间朝画像走去。

多里安恐惧地喊起来，冲过去挡在巴兹尔和画像之间。“不，巴兹尔！你不能看，我不想让你看。”他的脸又苍白又愤怒。“如果你非要看它，我就再不和你说话了。”

画家盯着他，“为什么我不能看我自己的作品？”他问，“我将在巴黎的一个画廊展出这幅画像。”

多里安努力掩藏着他的恐惧。“可是你说过……你告诉过我你决不会展出这幅画像。你为什么改变了主意？”他走近巴兹尔，观察他的脸。“告诉我为什么。”他说。

巴兹尔转身走开。过了一会儿他缓慢地说：“我看得出你也注意到了画像有点奇怪。多里安，从我见到你开始，你改变了我作为画家的生活。你变得对我很重要——我无法不想着你。画这幅画像时，我感觉我画进了我自己太多的东西，我不能让其他人看它。”他沉默片刻，然后转向多里安：“可能你是对的，我不能展出这幅画。但你能让我再看一眼吗？”

“不，决不！”

画家难过地一笑：“唉，我已经告诉了你我的秘密，尽量理解我，多里安，你是我一生中唯一真正影响我的艺术的人。”

巴兹尔离开房间后，多里安·格雷对自己一笑，刚才多危险啊！可怜的巴兹尔！虽然他讲出了他的秘密，但他并没发现多里安的秘密。可这画像……他必须立刻将它藏起来，没人能再看到它。

他叫人把遮着的画像搬上楼放在房子顶部的一个小房间里，然后锁上门，钥匙由自己亲自掌管。现在他觉得安全了，因为只有他自己的眼睛可以目睹那张漂亮的脸上发生的可怕的变化。

回到楼下的房间，他拿起一本亨利勋爵借给他的书，坐下开始阅读。

书讲述的是一个法国人的故事，他用一生的时间追寻美貌和享受——各种各样的享受，有好的有坏的。多里安读了几个小时。这是一本可怕的书，充满了古怪的念头和危险的梦想——这些梦想逐渐变成了多里安真实的东西。

这本书多里安读了许多遍。实际上，他止不住地一直在读这本书。过了几年，他越来越觉得这本书有意思，他觉得这个法国人的生活就像自己生活的真实写照。

The Thief of Time

时间窃贼

'I will be young, and strong, and beautiful for ever.'

“我将永远年轻、强壮，永远漂亮。”

Chapter 11

And so the years passed.

But time did not touch the face of Dorian Gray. That wonderful beauty—the beauty that Basil Hallward had painted—never left him. He enjoyed the life of a rich and fashionable young man. He studied art and music, and filled his house with beautiful things from every corner of the world. But his search for pleasure did not stop there. He became hungry for evil pleasures. He became more and more in love with the beauty of his face, more and more interested in the ugliness of his soul.

After a while strange stories were heard about him—stories of a secret, more dangerous life. But when people looked at that young and good-looking face, they could not believe the evil stories. And they still came to the famous dinners at his house, where the food, and the music, and the conversation were the best in London.

But behind the locked door at the top of the house, the picture of Dorian Gray grew older every year. The terrible face showed the dark secrets of his life. The heavy mouth, the yellow skin, the cruel eyes—these told the real story. Again and again, Dorian Gray went secretly to the room and looked first at the ugly and terrible face in the picture, then at the beautiful young face that laughed back at him from the mirror.

After his twenty-fifth year, the stories about him became worse. He was sometimes away from home for several days; he was seen fighting with foreign sailors in bars; he was friendly with thieves. And in the houses of fashionable people, men sometimes turned away when he entered a room. Women's faces sometimes went white when they heard his name.

But many people only laughed at these stories. Dorian Gray was still a very rich and fashionable man, and the dinners at his house were excellent. People agreed with Lord Henry, who once said, in his amusing way, that a good dinner was more important than a good life.

As the months and years passed, Dorian Gray grew more and more afraid of the picture. He both hated it and loved it, and he became more and more afraid that someone would discover his secret. For weeks he tried not to go near it, but he could not stay away from it for long. Sometimes, when he was staying in friends' houses, he suddenly left and hurried back to London. He wanted to be sure that the room was still locked and the picture was still safe. At one time he used to spend winters with Lord Henry in a little house in Algiers, but now he no longer travelled outside England.

His fear grew stronger every year, and as time passed, the face in the picture grew slowly more terrible.

evil adj. very very bad.邪恶的。

heavy adj. severe.严厉的。

turn away to refuse to look at something or someone.把脸转开。

第十一章

于是几年过去了。

然而时间并未损及多里安·格雷的脸。那极好的美貌——巴兹尔·霍尔沃德描绘过的美貌——从没离开过他。他享受着一个富有、时髦的年轻人的生活。他研究艺术和音乐，在房间里摆满了来自世界各个角落的漂亮东西。但是他对享乐的追求并没停止在这儿，他如饥似渴地追求邪恶的享乐。他越来越迷恋自己美貌的面孔，越来越对自己丑陋的灵魂感兴趣。

曾经一度能听到的关于他的古怪的故事——一个神秘、更加危险的生活的故事。但当人们看着那张年轻好看的脸时，他们就不能相信那些邪恶的故事。于是他们仍来他家参加闻名的晚宴。在这儿，食物、音乐和谈话都是伦敦最好的。

可是在房子顶部锁着的门后，多里安·格雷的画像在逐年变老。可怕的面孔揭示了他生活里阴暗的秘密。严厉的嘴，发黄的皮肤，残酷的眼睛——这些都讲述了真实的故事。一次又一次，多里安·格雷偷偷地跑到这个房间，先看画像中丑陋可怕的脸，然后再看镜子里对他微笑的漂亮年轻的面孔。

在他25岁以后，他的故事变得更糟。他有时离家好几天；有人看见他在酒吧里同外国水手打架；他和小偷是朋友。在时髦人物的房子里，当他进来时男人们有时会转过脸去。女人们在听见他的名字时脸有时会变白。

但是许多人只是嘲笑这些传说。多里安·格雷仍是一个非常富有和时髦的男人，他家的晚宴仍很棒。人们赞同亨利勋爵一次有趣的讲话，即重要的是丰盛的晚宴而不是正人君子的生活。

月复一月，年复一年，多里安·格雷越来越惧怕这幅画像。他既恨它又爱它，于是他更害怕有人会发现他的秘密。有几个星期他尽量不走近它，但离开它时间长了也不行。有时候，他正待在朋友家，他会突然离开，迅速赶回伦敦。他想证实房间的门还锁着，那幅画像还安全。有一段时间他总是和亨利勋爵在阿尔及尔的一所小房子里过冬，但是现在他再不到英格兰以外的地方旅行了。

他的恐惧一年比一年强。随着时间的流逝，画像中的脸逐渐变得更加可怕。

The Hand of a Killer

杀人者的手

'Uncover that picture, and you will see my soul.'

“掀开那幅画像，你会看见我的灵魂。”

Chapter 12

It was the ninth of November, the evening before his thirty-eighth birthday. Dorian Gray was walking home from Lord Henry's house when he saw Basil Hallward. He felt strangely afraid and tried to pretend that he had not seen him, but Basil hurried after him.

'Dorian!' he called. 'What extraordinary luck! I'm catching the midnight train to Paris and I wanted to see you before I left. I'll be away from England for six months.' He put his hand on Dorian's arm. 'Look, we're near your house. May I come in for a moment? I have something to say to you.'

'Of course. But won't you miss your train?' asked Dorian lazily, as he walked up the steps to his door.

'I have plenty of time. It's only eleven o'clock.'

They went in and sat down by the fire.

'Now, my dear Dorian, I want to speak to you seriously,' Basil began. 'I must tell you that people in London are saying the most terrible things about you.'

Dorian lit a cigarette and looked bored. 'I don't want to know anything about it. It doesn't interest me.'

'But it must interest you, Dorian,' said Basil. 'Every gentleman is interested in his good name. Of course, when look at you, I know that these stories can't be true. A man's face shows if his life is good or bad. But why does Lord Berwick leave the room when you enter it? Why does Lord Staveley say that no honest woman is safe with you? That young soldier, who was your friend—why did he kill himself? There was Sir Henry Ashton, who had to leave England with a bad name. And what about Lord Kent's son? What kind of life does he have now?'

'Stop, Basil. You don't know what you're talking about,' said Dorian coldly. 'Did I teach these people how to live their lives? And the people who tell these stories—are their lives any better than mine?'

'And there are other stories too,' continued Basil. 'Are they true? Can your life really be so bad, so evil? You were a fine young man once, but now, when I hear these stories, I wonder... Do I know you at all? What has happened to the real Dorian Gray? I think I would have to see your soul before I could answer those questions.'

'The real Dorian Gray?' asked Dorian quietly, his face white with fear.

'Yes,' said the artist sadly. 'But only God can see your soul.'

A terrible laugh came from the younger man. 'Come, Basil,' he cried. 'Come with me! I will show you what only God can see. Why not? It's your own work. You've talked enough about evil. Now you must look at it.'

He took Basil upstairs to the locked room. Inside, he turned to the artist, with smiling lips and cold, hard eyes. 'You're the one man in the world who should know my secret. Are you sure that you want to?'

'Yes.'

'Then uncover that picture, Basil, and you will see my soul.'

A cry of horror came from the artist when he saw the terrible face in the portrait. How could that evil and unlovely face be Dorian Gray's? But yes, it was. He went nearer to the picture. It could not be the portrait that he had painted. But yes, there was his name written in the corner. He turned and looked at Dorian Gray with the eyes of a sick man.

'What does this mean?' he asked at last.

'When you finished the portrait,' replied Dorian, 'I made a wish...'

'I remember, yes,' said Basil. 'You wished that the picture could become old, and that you could stay young. But this...' He stared again at the picture. 'This is impossible. And you told me that you'd destroyed the picture.'

'I was wrong. It has destroyed me.'

'My God, Dorian!' cried the artist. 'If this is true... If this is the face of your soul, then you are more evil than the worst of the stories about you.' He sat down at the table and put his face in his hands. 'You must ask God for his help.'

'It's too late, Basil.'

'It's never too late, Dorian. Look at that terrible face. Look at it!'

Dorian turned and stared at the face in the picture, and suddenly he hated Basil more than he had ever hated anyone in his life. Basil now knew his secret, and had seen the real Dorian Gray. Violent feelings burned inside Dorian. He picked up a knife from the table. Then the hare inside him exploded, and like a wild animal, he ran towards Basil, and dug the knife into the artist's neck, again and again and again. The murdered man's head fell forwards, and the blood ran slowly across the table, and down onto the floor.

Dorian stood and listened. He could hear nothing—only the drip, drip of blood onto the floor. He went to the window and looked down into the street. He felt strangely calm. The friend who had painted his portrait had gone out of his life. That was all.

He locked the door behind him and went quietly downstairs. His servants were all in bed. He sat down and began to think. No one had seen Basil in Dorian's house tonight. Paris. Yes! Basil had gone to Paris, of course, so it would be six months before people asked where he was. Six months! That was more than enough time.

Dorian walked up and down the room. Then he took out a book from his desk and began to search for a name. Alan Campbell. Yes, that was the name that he wanted.

plenty pron. a large quantity or number, esp. as much as or more than is/are needed or wanted; enough 充分；大数目；够多。

interest v. to cause (someone) to have a feeling of interest; to make (someone) want to buy, take, eat, do something, etc. 使感兴趣；引起（某人购买，拿，吃或做事之）意愿。

explode v. (of a feeling) to burst out suddenly.（指感情）爆发。

dig into to push (something) into. 把（东西）戳进；插进；推进。

第十二章

11月9日，也就是他38岁生日的前一天晚上，多里安·格雷正从亨利勋爵家朝自己家走时看见了巴兹尔·霍尔沃德。他奇怪地觉得害怕，就假装没看见他。但是巴兹尔在后面紧追。

“多里安！”他叫道，“太幸运了！我要乘午夜的火车去巴黎，走之前我想见你。我要离开英格兰半年。”他把手放在多里安的胳膊上。“瞧，我们离你家不远了，我可以进去一会儿吗？我有话对你说。”

“当然可以。你不会误车吗？”多里安顺着台阶朝房门口走，他懒洋洋地问。

“我有足够的时间，现在刚11点。”

他们进屋，坐在炉火旁。

“亲爱的多里安，我现在想认真地对你说一说。”巴兹尔开口了，“我必须告诉你伦敦的人正在谈论有关你的最可怕的事情。”

多里安点燃一支烟，显得不耐烦。“我不想知道这些事，没意思。”

“但是你应该关注这些事，多里安。”巴兹尔说，“每位绅士都关心他的好名声。当然，我看你时，我就知道这些传说都不是真的。一个人的脸能显示他的生活是好还是坏。可为什么你进房间后贝里克勋爵要离开？为什么斯特夫利勋爵说没有一个诚实的女人会安全地和你在一起？那个年轻士兵，你的朋友——他为什么自杀了？亨利·阿什顿声名狼藉地离开了英格兰。还有肯特勋爵的儿子？他现在过着怎样的生活？”

“住嘴，巴兹尔，你不知道你在说些什么。”多里安冷冷地说，“我教这些人如何生活了吗？讲这些事情的人——他们的生活比我的好吗？”

“还有其它故事。”巴兹尔继续说，“都是真的吗？你的生活真的会这么坏，这么邪恶？你曾是个很好的年轻人，可是现在，我听见这些故事时，我想……我了解你吗？真正的多里安·格雷发生了什么事？我想我只有看见你的灵魂后才能回答那些问题。”

“真正的多里安·格雷？”多里安轻声地问，他的脸已吓得发白。

“是的。”画家痛苦地说，“可只有上帝才能看见你的灵魂。”

年轻点的人发出了可怕的笑声。“来吧，巴兹尔。”他高声说，“跟我来！我要带你看只有上帝才能看见的东西。为什么不呢？那是你自己的作品。邪恶你讲得够多了，现在你必须看一看。”

他带着巴兹尔上楼来到锁着的房间。进屋后，他转向画家，嘴唇带着笑容，眼神冷漠、严厉。“你是世界上应该知道我的秘密的人。你确信想知道吗？”

“是的。”

“那么掀开画像，巴兹尔，你会看见我的灵魂。”

画家看见画像可怕的脸时发出了恐怖的喊叫。那张邪恶可憎的脸怎么可能是多里安·格雷的？可真是的，它是。他又走近画像，这不可能是他画的那幅。然而的确是他画的，画像的一角写有他的名字。他转身用病人似的眼神看着多里安·格雷。

“这是怎么回事？”他最后问。

“你完成画像时，”多里安答道，“我许了一个愿……”

“我记起来了。”巴兹尔说。“你希望画像会变老，你会永远年轻。可是这……”他又盯着画像：“这是不可能的，而且你告诉我你已经把画像毁了。”

“我错了，是画像毁了我。”

“上帝，多里安！”画家喊着，“如果这是真的……如果这是你灵魂的脸，那么你比关于你的最坏的传说还要邪恶。”他坐在桌旁，手捂住脸。“你必须向上帝乞求帮助。”

“太迟了，巴兹尔。”

“还不晚，多里安。看那张可怕的脸，看啊！”

多里安转身凝视着画像中的脸，突然他比一生中恨其他的人更恨巴兹尔。巴兹尔现在知道了他的秘密，也看见了真正的多里安·格雷。强烈的情感在多里安心中燃烧，他从桌上拿起了一把刀。心中的仇恨爆发了，他像一只野兽冲向巴兹尔，用刀刺进了画家的脖子，一刀又一刀。被杀人的头朝前耷拉下来，鲜血慢慢流到桌子上，又流到地板上。

多里安站着听听动静，他听不见任何声音——只有鲜血流到地板上的嘀嗒声。他走到窗边，向下看着街道。他很平静，这有点奇怪。给他画像的朋友已经从他的生活里消失了，仅此而已。

他锁上身后的门，轻轻走下楼。仆人都在睡觉。他坐下开始思考。今晚没人看见巴兹尔在多里安家。巴黎，是的！巴兹尔当然去了巴黎。因此半年后人们才会问起巴兹尔在哪儿。半年！时间足够了。

多里安在屋里踱步。然后他从书桌里取出一本书，开始找一个名字。艾伦·坎贝尔，是的，这就是他想找的名字。

Chapter 13

The next morning Dorian wrote two letters. He put one of them into his pocket, and he gave the other to his servant. 'Take this to Mr Campbell's house at once,' he said.

While Dorian waited, he picked up a book and tried to read. But after a time the book fell from his hand. Perhaps Alan Campbell was out of England. Perhaps he would refuse to come. He was a very clever scientist, and five years ago he and Dorian had been good friends. But now Alan never smiled when he met Dorian.

Each minute seemed an hour to Dorian, but at last the door opened. Dorian smiled. 'Alan!' he said. 'Thank you for coming.'

'I never wanted to enter your house again, but your letter said that it was a question of life and death,' said Alan Campbell. His voice was hard and cold.

'Yes, Alan, it is. Please sit down.' Across the table the two men's eyes met. Dorian was silent for a moment; then, very quietly, he said, 'Alan, in a locked room upstairs there is a dead body. I want you to destroy it. There must be nothing left. I know you can do this.'

'I don't want to know your terrible secrets. I refuse to help you,' Campbell replied.

'But you must, Alan. You're the only person who can help me.' Dorian smiled sadly. He took a piece of paper, wrote something on it, and pushed it across the table to Campbell.

As Campbell read the piece of paper, his face went white. He looked at Dorian with hate and fear in his eyes.

'I'm so sorry for you, Alan,' said Dorian gently. 'I've already written a letter, and if you don't help me, I'll have to send it. But I think that you will help me.'

Campbell put his face in his hands, and was silent for a long time. Dorian waited.

'I'll need some things from my house,' Campbell said at last.

Dorian sent his servant to fetch the things that Campbell needed, and the two men waited silently. When the servant returned, Dorian took the scientist upstairs to the locked room. As they entered, Dorian remembered that the portrait was uncovered. He turned to cover it, then stopped and stared in horror. One of the hands in the picture was red with blood. For Dorian, this was more terrible than the dead body in the room. With shaking hands, he quickly covered the picture.

'Leave me now,' ordered Campbell.

Five hours later Campbell came back downstairs. 'I've done what you asked me to do,' he said. 'And now goodbye. I never want to see you again.'

When Campbell had left, Dorian went upstairs. There was a terrible smell in the room, but the dead body had gone.

refuse v. not to accept or do or give. 拒绝；谢绝；不肯。

scientist n. someone who studies science, which is the study of natural things, e.g. biology, chemistry, physics, etc. 科学家。

fetch v. to go and get and bring back. 取来；叫来；拿来。

horror n. a feeling of very strong fear, dislike, and surprise. 恐惧；憎恶；惊惧。

第十三章

第二天早上多里安写了两封信。他把一封装进自己的口袋，将另一封给了仆人。“立刻把这封信送到坎贝尔先生家。”他说。

多里安等的时候拿起了一本书，试着读起来。但是，过了一会儿书从他手里掉了下来。艾伦·坎贝尔可能不在英格兰，他可能拒绝来这儿。他是一位非常聪明的科学家，五年前还是多里安的好朋友，但是现在遇见多里安时，艾伦从来不笑。

对多里安来说每一分钟都像一个小时，可是门终于开了。多里安笑了。“艾伦！”他说，“谢谢你能来。”

“我从不想再进你家，可是你的信上说是有关生和死的事儿。”艾伦·坎贝尔说。他的声音严厉而冷淡。

“是的，艾伦，是这样的事儿，请坐。”在桌子上方，两个人的眼神相碰了。多里安沉默了片刻，然后非常平静地说：“艾伦，楼上锁着的屋子里有一具尸体，我想让你销毁它，什么东西都不剩，我知道你能做到。”

“我不想知道你可怕的秘密，我不愿帮助你。”坎贝尔回答。

“但是你必须帮我，艾伦。你是唯一能帮助我的人。”多里安痛苦地笑着。他拿来一张纸，在上面写了些字，推给桌子那边的坎贝尔。

坎贝尔读这张纸时，脸都变白了。他用憎恨而又惧怕的眼神看着多里安。

“太对不起了，艾伦。”多里安温和地说，“我已经写了一封信，如果你不帮我，我就寄出这封信，但我想你会帮助我的。”

坎贝尔捂住脸，很长时间没有说话。多里安等着。

“我需要家里的一些东西用。”坎贝尔终于说。

多里安让仆人去取坎贝尔需要的东西，于是两个人静静地等着。仆人回来后，多里安把科学家带到了楼上锁着的房间。他们进去后，多里安记起画像被掀开了，他转身盖上它，然后停在那里，恐怖地瞪着看。画像的一只手沾上了鲜红的血，这比房间里的尸体更让多里安害怕。他迅速用颤抖的手盖住了画像。

坎贝尔走后，多里安来到楼上。房间里有一股可怕难闻的味道，但是尸体已经不见了。

The Sailor

水手

'I will find that man, and kill him like a dog.'

“我要找到那个人，像杀死一条狗那样杀死他。”

Chapter 14

Later the same evening Dorian Gray was at a party. He smiled and talked, and looked as young and as good-looking as ever. But his head ached and at dinner he could not eat anything. When Lord Henry asked him if he felt unwell, Dorian said that he was tired and would go home early.

At home he felt worse. Although the room was warm, his hands shook with cold. He wanted to forget for a while—to escape from the prison of his real life, and to lose himself in dreams.

At midnight, in old dirty clothes, he left the house again and went to the East End of London. There he knew places where he could get opium—dark, evil places where people bought and sold the beautiful, terrible dreams of opium. He had been there many times before.

He found the house that he was looking for and went into a long, low room. Men were lying on the dirty floor, a sailor was asleep on a table and two women were drinking at the bar. As Dorian hurried up the narrow stairs, the sweet, heavy smell of opium came to meet him and he smiled in pleasure. But in the room he saw a young man who had once been his friend. He turned away, and went downstairs again to drink at the bar.

One of the women spoke to him.

'Don't talk to me,' said Dorian angrily, and walked towards the door.

'I remember you! You're Prince Charming, aren't you?' she shouted after him.

The sleeping sailor woke up when he heard these words, and as Dorian left the house, the sailor hurried after him.

Dorian walked quickly along the road, but as he reached a corner, hands closed around his neck. A man pulled him backwards and pushed him against a wall. Dorian fought wildly, and pulled the hands away. Then he saw the gun in the man's hand.

'What do you want?' he said quickly.

'Keep quiet,' said the man. 'If you move, I'll shoot you.'

'You're crazy. What have I done to you?'

'You destroyed the life of Sybil Vane,' answered the sailor, 'and Sybil Vane was my sister. She killed herself because of you. I've been looking for you for years, but I only knew the name that she used to call you—Prince Charming. Well, tonight I heard your name, and tonight you're going to die.'

Dorian Gray grew sick with fear. 'I never knew her. I've never heard of her. You're crazy,' he cried. Suddenly he had an idea. 'How long ago did your sister die?' he asked.

'Eighteen years ago,' James Vane replied. 'Why do you ask me?'

'Eighteen years,' laughed Dorian Gray. 'Take me to the light and look at my face.'

James Vane stared at Dorian. Then he pushed him towards the light, and in the light he saw the face of a boy of twenty. This man was too young. He was nor the man who had destroyed his sister's life.

'My God!' he cried. 'I nearly murdered you!'

'Go home, and put that gun away, before you get into trouble,' said Dorian. And he walked quickly away.

James Vane stared after him in horror. Then a woman's hand touched his arm.

'Why didn't you kill him?' she asked. 'He's evil.'

'He's not the man that I'm looking for,' answered the sailor. 'The man who I want must be nearly forty now. That man is only a boy.'

'A boy?' The woman laughed. Her voice was hard. 'It's eighteen years since I met Prince Charming. And his pretty face hasn't changed in all that time. It's true, I promise you.'

James Vane ran to the corner of the road, but Dorian Gray had disappeared.

ache v. to have or suffer a continuous dull pain. 持续性的微痛；疼痛。

opium n. a drug made from flowers that makes people sleep. 鸦片。

bar n. (room with) a counter where alcoholic drinks are sold. 酒吧。

crazy adj. mad; ill in the mind; impractical; foulish. 疯狂的；精神错乱的；不切实际的；荒唐的。

disappear v. to go out of sight. 不见；消失。

第十四章

过后，还是在同一天晚上，多里安·格雷参加了一个聚会。他谈笑着，像以前一样年轻英俊。可是他头疼，晚餐时吃不下任何东西。亨利勋爵问他是否不舒服时，多里安说他累了，要早点回家。

回家后他觉得更糟。虽然房间里挺暖和，但是他的双手冷得发抖。他想暂时忘记——从他真实生活的牢狱中逃脱出来，在梦想中放松自己。

午夜，穿上脏旧的衣服他再次离开家前往伦敦东区。在那儿他知道从什么地方能搞到鸦片——在那些黑暗、邪恶的地方，人们买卖着鸦片，这种东西让人产生美丽而又可怕的幻觉。他去过那儿很多次。

他找到了要找的房子，进入了一间又长又矮的屋子。男人们躺在肮脏的地上，一个水手趴在桌子上睡觉，两个女人在酒吧喝酒。多里安在狭窄的楼梯上快步向上爬时，他闻到了鸦片甜美、浓厚的气味。他快活地笑了。但是在房间里他看见了一个曾是他朋友的年轻人。他转回身，又回到楼下，在酒吧喝酒。

有一个女人跟他讲话。

“别跟我说话。”多里安生气地说，然后走向房门。

“我记得你！你是‘迷人的王子’，对吗？”她追着他喊。

听见这些话，睡觉的水手醒了。多里安离开房间时，水手在后面紧追不舍。

多里安在路上走得很快。到了一个角落时，一双手掐住了他的脖子。一个男人将他向后一拉又把他推撞到墙上。多里安拚命地挣扎，拉开了那双手，然后他看见了这个男人手里的枪。

“你要干什么？”他急速地问。

“住嘴。”男人说，“如果你动一下，我就打死你。”

“你疯了，我怎么着你了？”

“你毁了西比尔·文。”水手回答，“西比尔·文是我妹妹，她自杀是因为你。这么多年我一直在找你，可我只知道她常叫的你的名字——‘迷人的王子’。好了，今晚我听见了你的名字，今晚你就得去死。”

多里安·格雷怕得要命。“我从不认识她，我从没听说过她，你疯了。”他喊着。突然他有了一个主意。“你妹妹是多长时间以前死的？”他问。

“18年前。”詹姆斯回答，“你为什么问我？”

“18年前。”多里安笑了。“把我带到灯光下，看看我的脸。”

詹姆斯·文凝视着多里安的脸，然后把他推到光亮处。在灯光里他看见了一个20岁男孩的脸。这个人太年轻了，他不是毁掉妹妹生活的人。

“上帝！”他喊道。“我差点杀了你！”

“回家去，把那枪拿开，趁你还没惹麻烦。”多里安说，然后迅速走开了。

詹姆斯·文在他身后恐惧地瞪着眼，一个女人的手碰了碰他的胳膊。

“你为什么不杀他？”她问，“他不是好东西。”

“他不是我要找的人。”水手回答，“我找的人现在应该将近四十岁了，那个人只是个男孩。”

“男孩？”女人笑了。她的话音很严肃，“我认识‘迷人的王子’18年了，这期间他漂亮的脸一点没变，这是真的，我向你发誓。”

詹姆斯·文跑到路的拐角，但是多里安已经不见了。

Chapter 15

A week later Dorian Gray was at his house in the country, where he had invited Lord Henry and several other friends. Among them was the pretty Lady Monmouth and her much older husband. Lady Monmouth was amusing and clever, and seemed to like Dorian Gray very much. One afternoon, as they laughed and talked together during tea, Dorian went out to fetch a flower for Lady Monmouth's dress. Lord Henry smiled at Lady Monmouth.

'I hope you're not in love with Dorian, my dear. He's very dangerous.'

She laughed. 'Oh, men are much more interesting when they're dangerous.'

Just then they heard the sound of a heavy fall. Lord Henry ran out of the room and found Dorian lying unconscious on the floor. When Dorian opened his eyes, Lord Henry said, 'My dear Dorian, you must take care of yourself. You're not well.'

Dorian stood up slowly. 'I'm all right, Harry. I'm all right.'

As he dressed for dinner in his room, Dorian remembered what he had seen and cold fear ran through him like a knife. He had seen a face watching him at the window and he had recognized it. It was the face of James Vane.

The next day he did not leave the house. In fact, for most of the day he stayed in his room, sick with fear. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw again the sailor's face. He tried to tell himself that he had dreamt it. Yes, it was impossible. Sybil Vane's brother did not know his name, and was probably on his ship at sea. No, of course he had not seen James Vane's face at the window.

But the fear stayed with him, dream or no dream.

Two days passed and Dorian grew less afraid. On the third day, a clear, bright winter morning, Dorian joined his friends on a shooting-party. With Lady Monmouth by his side, he walked to the edge of the forest where the men were shooting at birds and small animals. The cold air and the sounds and smells of the forest filled Dorian with happiness. Suddenly one of the men shot into the trees near them. There were two cries in the morning air—the cry of an animal and the cry of a man, both in pain.

There were shouts and calls from the men, and then a man's body was pulled from the trees. Dorian turned away in horror. Bad luck seemed to follow him everywhere.

People began to walk back towards the house. Lord Henry came over to tell Dorian that the man was dead.

Dorian shook his head. 'Oh, Harry,' he said slowly, 'I feel that something terrible is going to happen to some of us—to me, perhaps.'

Lord Henry laughed at this idea. 'What could happen to you, Dorian? You have everything in the world that a man can want. Forget about this accident. It was just an accident—not murder.' Then he added with a smile, 'But it would be very interesting to meet a person who had murdered somebody.'

'What a terrible thing to say!' cried Lady Monmouth. 'Don't you agree, Mr Gray? Mr Gray! Are you ill again? Your face is so white!'

Dorian smiled and tried to speak calmly. 'It's nothing,' he said quietly. 'But please excuse me. I think I must go and lie down.'

Upstairs in his room Dorian's body shook with fear like a leaf in the wind. He felt that he could not stay another night in the house. Death walked there in the sunlight. He decided to return immediately to London and to visit his doctor. His servant came to pack his clothes, and while he was doing this, he told Dorian that the dead man was a sailor, but no one knew his name.

'A sailor!' cried Dorian. He jumped to his feet. A wild hope filled him. 'I must see the body at once.'

He hurried to the house where the body lay, and when he uncovered the face of the dead man, he saw that it was James Vane. He cried with happiness, and knew that now he was safe.

unconscious adj. not knowing what is happening; in a kind of sleep caused by illness or a hit on the head. 昏迷；失去知觉。

recognize v. to know again (someone or something one has met before). 认出。

shoot v. to hit, wound, or kill with something such as a gun. 射中；射伤；射杀。

pack v. to put (things, esp. one's belongings) into (cases, boxes, etc.) for travelling or storing. 包装；收拾行装。

第十五章

一星期后在乡下的家里，多里安邀请了亨利勋爵和其他几个朋友。他们中间有可爱的蒙茅斯夫人和比她大得多的丈夫。蒙茅斯夫人风趣、聪明，并且似乎很喜欢多里安·格雷。一天下午，他们边喝茶边说笑时，多里安出去给蒙茅斯夫人的衣服摘朵花。亨利勋爵对蒙茅斯夫人笑了。

“我希望你没有爱上多里安，亲爱的。他很危险。”

她笑道：“哦，男人危险时更有趣。”

正在这时他们听见了重重的跌倒声。亨利勋爵跑出房间发现多里安不醒人事，躺在地上。多里安睁开眼时，亨利勋爵说：“亲爱的多里安，你必须多留心自己，你的气色不好。”

多里安慢慢站起身。“我没事，哈里，我很好。”

当他在自己的房间穿晚宴装时，多里安想起了刚才看见的，于是冰冷的恐惧感像一把刀一样划过他的全身。他看见了一张脸在窗户边注视他。他认识这张脸，是詹姆斯·文的。

第二天他没有出门。实际上，他多半天都待在屋里，他被吓坏了。每次闭上眼睛他都会看见水手的脸。他告诫自己那只是他做的梦。是的，那不可能。西比尔·文的哥哥不知道他的名字，或许他正在海上的船上。不，他当然没有在窗边看见詹姆斯·文的脸。

可是不管是不是梦，恐惧一直伴随着他。

两天以后多里安不太害怕了。第三天，一个晴朗的冬日的早晨，多里安参加了朋友的狩猎聚会。蒙茅斯夫人陪在一旁，他走向树林边，男人们在那儿射杀鸟和小动物。清凉的空气、打猎声和树林的气息让多里安非常高兴。突然一个人朝他们附近的林子里射击，清晨的空气里传来两声喊叫——一声是动物的叫，一声是人的，都叫得很痛苦。

男人们喊了起来，一个人被抬出了树林。多里安害怕地转过身，似乎每到一地恶运都跟着他。

人们开始朝房子走去，亨利勋爵走来告诉多里安那个人死了。

多里安摇动着头。“哦，哈里，”他慢慢地说，“我觉得某件可怕的事情要发生在我们某些人身上——可能要发生在我身上。”

亨利勋爵觉得这个想法可笑。“你会发生什么事，多里安？你拥有一个男人想得到的世界上的任何东西，忘掉这事吧，这只不过是一次意外——不是谋杀。”然后他笑着又补充一句，“可是要是遇上了一个杀过人的人倒是很有趣。”

“你说的太可怕了！”蒙茅斯夫人嚷道，“你同意吗，格雷先生？格雷先生！你又病了吗？你的脸真白！”

多里安一笑，努力镇静地说，“没什么。”他轻声说，“请原谅我，我想我必须回去躺一躺。”

在楼上的房间，多里安的身体像风中的一片叶子在恐惧地发抖。他感觉在屋里一夜也不能多呆，死亡正在阳光里漫步。他决定马上回伦敦去看医生。仆人来给他收拾衣物，一边收拾一边告诉多里安死了的人是一个水手，可是没人知道他的名字。

“一个水手！”多里安叫道。他跳起来，一阵疯狂的希望充斥着他。“我要马上看那具尸体。”

他快步赶到死尸停放的房间，掀开死人脸上的布，他看到的是詹姆斯·文。他知道现在安全了，他高兴地叫了起来。

The Picture

画像

'A face without a heart.'

“一张没有心的脸。”

Chapter 16

You're going to be good?' said Lord Henry. 'Don't tell me that. You're wonderful as you are. Please don't change.' His long, white fingers played with a flower on the table. It was spring in London, and the two friends were having dinner at Lord Henry's house.

Dorian Gray shook his head. 'No, Harry, I've done too many terrible things in my life, and I'm going to change. I began my good life yesterday, in the country.'

'My dear boy,' smiled Lord Henry. 'Everybody can be good in the country. There's nothing to do in the country, so it's impossible to do anything bad. But tell me, how did you begin your good life?'

'There was a girl in a village. A very beautiful girl, an honest, country girl. She loved me, and was ready to come away with me yesterday, but I said no. I refused to destroy her young life, and I've left her as honest as I found her.'

Lord Henry laughed. 'You've left here with a broken heart, you mean. How can she be happy now with a country boy, after she has known you?'

'Don't, Harry!' cried Dorian. 'Can you never be serious? I'm sorry that I told you now. Let's talk about other things. What's been happening in London?'

'Oh, people are still discussing poor Basil and how he disappeared. I don't know why, because there are plenty of other things that they can talk about—my wife has run away with another man, Alan Campbell has killed himself...'

'What do you think has happened to Basil?' asked Dorian slowly.

'I've no idea,' answered Lord Henry. 'The English police report that Basil went to Paris on the midnight train on the ninth of November, but the French police say that he never arrived in Paris at all. If Basil wants to hide himself, I really don't care. And if he's dead, I don't want to think about him. Death is the only thing that really frightens me—I hate it.'

'Harry, don't people say that... that Basil was murdered?' said Dorian.

'Some of the newspapers say so,' replied Lord Henry, 'but who would want to murder poor Basil? He wasn't clever enough to have enemies.'

'What will you say, Harry, if I tell you that I murdered Basil?' asked Dorian. He watched his friend carefully.

Lord Henry smiled. 'No, my dear Dorian, murder wouldn't please you. You like a different kind of pleasure. And you should never do anything that you cannot talk about after dinner.' He lifted his coffee cup. 'What happened to the fine portrait that Basil painted of you? I haven't seen it for years. Didn't you tell me that it was stolen? What a pity!'

'Oh, I never really liked it,' said Dorian. 'I prefer not to think about it.'

For a while the two men were silent. Then the older man lay back in his chair and looked at Dorian with half-closed eyes. 'Tell me how you have kept your youth and your wonderful beauty, Dorian. You must have some secret. I'm only ten years older than you, and I look like an old man. But you haven't changed since the day when I first met you. What a wonderful life you've had!'

'Yes,' said Dorian slowly, 'it's been wonderful, Harry, bur I'm going to change it now. You don't know everything about me.'

His friend smiled. 'You cannot change to me, Dorian. You and I will always be friends.'

Dorian stood up. 'I'm tired tonight, Harry. I must go home. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow. Goodnight.'

At the door he stopped for a moment and looked back, but then he turned and went out without another word.

broken adj. made weak; crushed. 衰弱的；粉碎的。

frighten v. to fill with fear. 惊吓；使害怕。

prefer v. to choose one thing or action rather than another; like better. 宁可；宁愿；更喜欢。

第十六章

“你要做好人？”亨利勋爵说，“别跟我说那话，你一直很好，请别改变。”他又长又白的手指玩弄着桌上的一朵花。时值伦敦的春季，这两个好友正在亨利勋爵家吃晚饭。

多里安·格雷摇摇头。“不，哈里，我一生中做了太多可怕的事情，我要改变。我昨天开始当好人了，在乡下。”

“亲爱的孩子，”亨利勋爵微笑着，“每个人在乡下都会很好。在乡下没任何事情做，所以不可能做任何坏事。可是告诉我，你怎么开始当好人的？”

“村里有个姑娘，一个非常漂亮、纯真的乡下姑娘。她爱我，昨天愿意和我走，但是我拒绝了。我不愿意毁了她年轻的生活，于是我离开了她，她还像我刚发现时一样地纯真。”

亨利勋爵笑着。“你离开她，她心已经碎了。她认识你后，现在又怎么能高高兴兴地和乡下男孩在一起呢？”

“别说了，哈里！”多里安喊道，“你从不会认真点吗？我后悔告诉了你。咱们谈些别的事，伦敦近来发生了什么事？”

“哦，人们仍在谈论可怜的巴兹尔是怎么失踪的。我不知道为什么还在谈论，因为还有许多其它事可以供他们议论——比如我妻子和另外一个男人私奔了，艾伦·坎贝尔自杀了……”

“你认为巴兹尔发生了什么事？”多里安慢慢地问。

“我不知道。”亨利勋爵回答。“英国警方说巴兹尔于11月9日乘午夜的火车去了巴黎，可是法国警方说他根本就没抵达巴黎。如果巴兹尔想隐藏起来。我真的不在乎。如果他死了，我不想再想他。死是唯一让我害怕的事情——我恨死亡。”

“哈里，人们没说……巴兹尔是被谋杀的吗？”多里安说。

“有些报纸这么说。”亨利勋爵回答，“可是谁想杀害可怜的巴兹尔？他没聪明到能给自己树敌。”

“你会说什么，哈里，如果我告诉你是我杀了巴兹尔？”多里安问，他仔细地观察他的朋友。

亨利勋爵一笑。“不，亲爱的多里安，杀人不会让你高兴，你喜欢与这不同的快乐，而且你决不会做晚饭后你不能谈论的事情。”他端起咖啡：“巴兹尔给你画的那幅精美画像怎么样了？我好多年没看见它了。你是不是告诉过我画像被偷了？多可惜啊！”

“哦，我从没真正喜欢过它。”多里安说，“我宁愿不想起它。”

有一会儿两个人都没说话。过后年长些的那位靠在椅背上，用半睁的眼睛看着多里安。“告诉我你是怎么保持青春和美貌的，多里安。你一定有个秘密。我只比你大10岁，却看起来像个老人。可从我看见你的第一天起，你一点也没变，你的生活太妙了！”

“是的，”多里安缓慢地说，“是太妙了，哈里。可我要改变这种生活。并不是我的每件事情你都知道。”

他的朋友笑了，“对我来说，你变不了，多里安。你和我将永远是朋友。”

多里安站起身，“今晚我累了，哈里，我得回家了。明天午饭时见，晚安。”

在门边他停了片刻，回头看了看，就转身出去了，一句话没说。

Chapter 17

At home he thought about his conversation with Lord Henry. Could he really change, he wondered? He had lived an evil life, and had destroyed other people's lives as well. Was there any hope for him?

Why had he ever made that wish about the picture? He had kept his youth and beauty, but he had paid a terrible price for it. His beauty had destroyed his soul. He picked up a mirror and stared at his face. What was he now? A face without a heart. Suddenly he hated his own beauty, and dropped the mirror on the floor where it broke into many small pieces.

James Vane, Basil Hallward, Sybil Vane—these deaths were not important to him now. It was better not to think of the past. Nothing could change that. He must think of himself. 'Perhaps,' he thought, 'if I live a better life, the picture will become less ugly.' He remembered the pretty village girl—he had not destroyed her young life. He had done one good thing. Perhaps the picture had already begun to look better.

He went quietly upstairs to the locked room. Yes, he would live a good life, and he need not be afraid any more of the evil face of his soul. But when he uncovered the picture, he gave a cry of pain. There was no change. The face in the picture was still terrible—more hateful, if possible, than before—and the red on the hand seemed brighter, like new blood.

He stared at the picture with hate and fear in his eyes. Years ago he had loved to watch it changing and growing old; now he could not sleep because of it. It had stolen every chance of peace or happiness from him. He must destroy it.

He looked round and saw the knife that had killed Basil Hallward. 'Now it will kill the artist's work,' he said to himself. 'It will kill the past, and when that is dead, I will be free.' He picked up the knife and dug it into the picture.

There was a terrible cry, and a loud crash. The servants woke, and two gentlemen, who were passing in the road below, stopped and looked up at the house. A policeman came by, and they asked him:

'Whose house is that?'

'Mr Dorian Gray's, sir,' was the answer.

The two gentlemen looked at each other, then turned away from the house and walked on.

Inside the house the servants talked in low, frightened voices. After some minutes they went up to the room. They knocked, but there was no reply. They called out. Nothing. They could not open the door, so they climbed down from the roof and got in through the window.

Against the wall they saw a fine portrait of the young Dorian Gray, in all his wonderful youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, with a knife in his heart. His face was old and ugly and yellow with disease.

Only the rings on his fingers told them who he was.

drop v. to let fall or lower. 丢；扔；降低。

crash n. a sudden loud noise as made by a violent blow, fall, break, etc. 突然的巨响；碰撞声。

climb down to go down, esp. by using the hands and feet. 爬下（尤指手脚并用）。

第十七章

回到家他思考着和亨利勋爵的谈话。他真的能改变吗？他想着。他曾有过邪恶的生活，也曾毁掉过他人的生活，他还有希望吗？

他为什么对画像许了那个愿？他保住了青春和美貌，但却为此付出了可怕的代价。他的美貌毁了他的灵魂。他拿起一面镜子看着自己的脸。他现在成了什么？一张没有心的脸。突然他恨自己的美貌，便把镜子扔在地上，摔成了碎片。

詹姆斯·文、巴兹尔·霍尔沃德和西比尔·文——他们的死现在对他已不重要。最好不再想起过去，那已无法改变。他必须想想自己。他想：“如果我过一种好一点的生活，画像会变得不那么丑陋。”他想起了那个可爱的乡下姑娘——他没有毁掉她的生活，他做了一件好事，可能画像已经开始好看些。

他快步上楼奔向那间锁着的房间。是的，他要过好人的生活，他再不必害怕他灵魂的那张邪恶的脸了。但当他掀开画像，他痛苦地喊出了声。没有变化。画像的脸依旧可怕——可能比以前更可憎——手上的红色似乎更鲜亮，像新鲜的血。

他凝视着画像，眼里饱含憎恨和恐惧。数年前他还喜欢看画像变老；现在他因为画像简直不能入睡。画像偷走了他每一次平静快乐的机会，他要毁掉画像。

他四周张望，看见了杀死巴兹尔·霍尔沃德的那把刀。“现在这把刀要扼杀画家的作品。”他自言自语，“这刀要杀死过去。过去死后，我将会自由。”他拿起刀刺进了画像。

一声可怕的喊叫和一阵猛烈的碰撞声。仆人们醒了；两个正路过的绅士停住向上看着房间。一个警察走过来，他们问他：

“那是谁的房子？”

他们回答：“多里安·格雷先生的。”

两个绅士互相看了一眼，然后转身离开房子走了。

房子里仆人用低沉、害怕的声音说话。过了几分钟他们上楼来到那个房间。他们敲了敲门，可是没有回答。他们用力喊，没任何答复。他们打不开门，就从房顶向下爬，从窗户进了屋。

他们看见了靠墙而立的年轻的多里安·格雷的精美画像，青春无比，美貌动人。躺在地上的是一个死人，心脏上插着一把刀。他的脸又老又丑而且病得发黄。

只有他手上的戒指告诉了他们他是谁。

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1-5 Find answers to these questions in the text.

1 Why did Basil refuse to exhibit Dorian Gray's portrait in an art gallery?

2 Why didn't Basil want Lord Henry to meet Dorian Gray?

3 What did Lord Henry say is the most important thing in the world?

4 What did Dorian wish when he saw his portrait?

5 Why did Dorian want to go to the park with Lord Henry?

Chapters 6-10 How much can you remember? Check your answers.

1 How old was Sybil Vane?

2 Where was James Vane going?

3 Why didn't Dorian want to see Sybil again?

4 How had the face in the portrait changed?

5 How did Sybil Vane die?

6 Who told Dorian not to cry for Sybil Vane?

7 Why did Dorian hide his portrait in a locked room?

Chapters 11-13 Are these sentences ture (T) or false (F)?

1 Every year the face in the portrait became older and uglier.

2 As the years passed, Dorian grew less afraid of the picture.

3 Basil heard terrible stories about Dorian's evil life.

4 Dorian murdered Basil because Basil had seen the real Dorian Gray.

5 Afterwards Dorian felt sorry about the murder.

6 Alan Campbell wanted to help Dorian.

Chapters 14-17 Write answers to these questions.

1 Why did James Vane want to kill Dorian?

2 How did Dorian escape from James Vane?

3 Whose face did Dorian see at the window in his house in the country?

4 How did James Vane die?

5 Why did Dorian want to change his life?

6 What secret about Dorian did Lord Henry want to know?

7 Why did Dorian want to destroy the picture?

8 What did Dorian's servants find when they got into the locked room?

B Working with language

1 Use these words to join the sentences together.

but　while　because　if　after　and

1 I'm not happy. I don't see Dorian every day.

2 Your clever words are very amusing. You laugh at serious things.

3 Lord Henry talked to Dorian. Basil painted.

4 Every night I see her in different plays. She's always wonderful.

5 Dorian went to see Sybil. The play ended.

6 Sybil killed herself. She loved Dorian.

2 Put these sentences in the right order. Check your order with chapter 12.

1 But Dorian was suddenly filled with hate for the artist.

2 He told Dorian that he had heard terrible stories about him.

3 One night Dorian Gray met Basil in the street outside his house.

4 Then he locked the room and went downstairs.

5 Basil was on his way to Paris but he wanted to speak to Dorian first.

6 Before he went to bed, he looked for a name in a book.

7 He took Basil to the locked room and showed him the picture.

8 When Dorian heard these stories, he became angry.

9 He picked up a knife and murdered Basil.

10 When Basil saw the evil face in the picture, he told Dorian to ask God for his help.

C Activities

1 When James Vane returned from Australia, what did his mother say to him? Write the dialogue of their conversation.

2 What kind of person was Lord Henry? Was he a dangerous person? Write a letter to a friend and describe him.

3 Before Alan Campbell killed himself, he talked to a newspaper reporter. What did he tell him? Write the dialogue of their conversation.

4 'When we arc happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy.' Write a paragraph to say why you agree or don't agree with this idea.

京权图字01-97-0334

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1991

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

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勃朗特一家的故事 = The Brontı Story/（英）维克瑞（Vicary, T.）著；李颂译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1998.1（2014.12 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1419-7

Ⅰ．勃…　Ⅱ．①维…②李…　Ⅲ．英语—对照读物，文学—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

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简　介

天资到底是什么？它从哪儿来？通常人们认为天资是上帝赋予的，只给那些幸运的人。事实上，我们并不清楚究竟那些人是否算得上幸运。天资似乎并不能使人们幸福，相反会使他们远离人群，因为天资是一种不能共享的东西。

然而勃朗特一家的情形表明，天资被赋予了一个家庭。因为天资，这个家庭的成员远离尘世；离开了家他们就得不到快乐。而在家中，作为一个家庭，他们的天资却得以成长。是谁教会他们写作的？是他们自己！而且几乎没有人比他们写得更出色。

这本书不是他们写的，而是关于他们的故事。这是他们的父亲未曾写却应该写下的：一个关于他们家庭的故事，虽然他只拥有了那么短时间的家庭。

这本书的作者蒂姆·维克瑞从事英语教学工作多年，现在在约克郡生活和工作。

1

Haworth

There was a cold wind this afternoon, but the sun shone for an hour or two. I walked out on the moors behind the house. The sheep were hiding from the wind under the stone walls, and there were grey clouds over the hills to the west. It is only November, but I could smell snow in the air.

It will be a cold winter, this year of 1855.

My name is Patrick Brontë, and I am seventy-eight years old. I am the rector of the village of Haworth. Haworth is a village of small, grey stone houses on the side of a hill in the north of England, and I live in a house at the top of the hill, next to the church and the graveyard.

I walked through the graveyard to the church this afternoon. All my family except Anne are buried there. The wind had blown some dead leaves through the door into the church, and I watched them dancing in the sunlight near the grave. Soon I shall be in that grave with my wife and children, under the cold grey stone and dancing leaves.

It is dark outside now, and it is very quiet in this house. Charlotte's husband, Mr Nicholls, is reading in his room, and our servant is cooking in the kitchen. Only the three of us live here now. It is very quiet. I can hear the sounds of the wood burning in the fire, and the big clock on the stairs.

There is another sound too — the sound of the wind outside. The wind has many voices. It sings and laughs and shouts to itself all night long. Last night it cried like a little child, and I got out of bed and went to the window to listen.

There was no child, of course. Only the wind and the gravestones, cold in the pale moonlight. But I decided then that I would write the story of my children, today, before it is too late. Charlotte's friend, Mrs Gaskell, is writing a book about her, and perhaps she will want to read my story.

It is a fine story. It began in April 1820, when we came to Haworth for the first time...

There was a strong wind blowing that day too, out of a dark, cloudy sky. We could see snow on the moors. The road to Haworth goes up a hill, and there was ice on the stones of the road. Maria, my wife, was afraid to ride up the hill in the carts.

'We'll walk, children,' she said. 'If one of those horses falls down, there'll be a terrible accident. Come on, let's go and see our new house.'

She was a small woman, my wife, and not very strong. But she carried the baby, Anne, up the hill in her arms. I carried Emily — she was one and a half years old then. The others walked. My two-year-old son, Patrick Branwell, walked with me, and Charlotte, who was nearly four, walked with her mother. The two oldest children — Elizabeth and Maria — ran on in front. They were very excited, and laughed and talked all the way.

The people of Haworth came out to watch us. Some of them helped, but most of them just stood in their doorways and watched. They are very poor people, in this village. I was their new rector.

We had seven carts to carry our furniture up that icy hill, but it was hard work for the horses. When we reached our house, the wind was blowing hard in our faces. My wife hurried inside, and began to light fires.

'Do you like it, my dear?' I asked her that night, when the children were in bed. She looked pale and tired. I thought it was because of the long journey, and the children. Perhaps it was.

She held out her hands to the fire, and said: 'Of course, Patrick. It's a fine house. I do hope it will be a good home for you, and the children.'

I was a little surprised by that. 'And for you, Maria,' I said. 'Don't forget yourself. You are the most important person in the world, to me.'

She smiled then — a lovely smile. 'Thank you, Patrick,' she said. She was a very small woman, and she was often tired because of the children. But when she smiled at me like that, I thought she was the most beautiful woman in England.

A year and a half later, she was dead.

She did not die quickly. She was in bed for seven long months, in awful pain. The doctor came often, and her sister Elizabeth came too, to help. The children were ill, as well. It was a terrible time.

My wife Maria died in September, 1821. She was thirty-eight. It was my job to bury her in the church. Our six young children stood and watched quietly.

Afterwards, we went back to the house. I called them into this room and spoke to them.

I said: 'You must not cry too much, my dears. Your mother is with God now. She is happy. One day you will all die, and if you are good, you will go to God, too.'

'But why?' Maria asked. 'Why did she die now, father? We need her.'

'This world is a hard place, children, and we cannot understand everything that God does. But God loves us, never forget that. Your mother loved you, and perhaps she can see you now. We must all try to work hard, learn as much as possible, and be kind to each other. Will you do that?'

'Yes, father.'

They all looked so sad, I remember, and they listened so carefully. Little Emily said: 'Who will be our mother now?'

'Maria is the oldest, so she will help me. You must all listen to her, and do what she says. And your Aunt Elizabeth is here, too. Perhaps she will stay for a while.'

Elizabeth did stay. She was older than my wife, and she wasn't married. We called her Aunt Branwell. She came from Penzance in Cornwall, a warm, sunny place by the sea in the south-west of England. It is often cold on the moors behind Haworth, and the winds blow all winter. Aunt Branwell hated Haworth, but she stayed here all her life, to help me with her sister's children. She was a good, kind woman.

I was very proud of my little Maria. She was only eight years old, but she worked all day like an adult. She helped the little ones to get washed and dressed; she helped them to play and draw and read. She was like a little mother to them.

She could read very well herself. We always had books and newspapers in the house, and I talked to the children about them every day. I talked to them about adult things: the Duke of Wellington, and the important things that he was doing in London. The children listened carefully, and tried hard to understand. Maria often read to the others from the newspaper, and asked me questions about it. She understood it better than most men.

I was sure my children were very clever. But I did not have time to talk to them all day; I had my work to do. So, in 1824, I sent them to school.

moor n. open, uncultivated land. 荒野。

rector n. priest. 牧师。

accident n. something unexpected. 意外事故。

in front in the foremost. 在……前面。

doorway n. opening into which a door fits. 门口。

bury v. perform the burial service. 举行葬礼。

hate v. have a strong dislike of or for sth./sb. 憎恨。

adult n. a grown person. 成年人。

1　霍沃思

尽管今天下午刮起一阵寒风，太阳还是出来了一两个小时。我漫步在屋后的荒野上，羊群躲在石墙下避风，乌云笼罩着山顶，向西而去。刚刚才11月份，空气中就已经可以嗅到雪的气息了。

今年——1855年的冬天将会很冷。

我叫帕特里克·勃朗特，已经78岁了。我是霍沃思的乡村牧师。霍沃思是英格兰北部一座山边的一个村子，那儿有一些灰色石头砌成的小房子。我住在山顶的一栋房子里，隔壁是教堂和墓地。

今天下午，我步行穿过墓地去教堂。除了安妮，我的一家都葬在这里。冷风卷起了一些枯叶，把它们从教堂的大门吹了进来，我注视着它们在墓地旁的阳光中飞舞。要不了多久我也会躺在这个墓地中，在这冰冷的灰色石头和纷飞的落叶下，同我的妻子和孩子们长眠在一起。

这时外面黑了下来，整幢房子非常安静。夏洛蒂的丈夫尼科尔斯先生正在自己的房间里看书，我们的用人正在厨房做饭。这儿只有我们三个人，真是太安静了。我能听见木柴在炉火中燃烧的声音和楼梯上大钟的嘀哒声。

还有另一种声音——那就是屋外风的吼叫。风有着各种各样的声音，它总是整宿整宿地笑呀、哭呀、喊呀。而昨夜它呜咽得像个孩子。我下了床，走近窗边侧耳细听。

当然不会有孩子，只有风和苍白月光下冰冷的墓碑。然而我还是决定就在今天，趁还没有太晚，写写我的孩子们的故事。夏洛蒂的朋友盖斯凯尔夫人正在写一部关于夏洛蒂的书，也许她会愿意读读我的故事。

这是一个很好的故事，它始于1820年4月，我们第一次来到霍沃思的时候……

那天，昏暗多云的天空也是一整天都刮着强劲的风。我们能看到旷野上覆盖的雪。去霍沃思的路沿着山坡向上而去，一路上的石头上都结了冰。我的妻子玛丽亚怕坐马车上山。

“我们走上去吧，孩子们，”她说，“只要有一匹马摔倒，都会是一场可怕的灾难。走吧，让我们去看我们的新房子。”

我的妻子个子不高，身体也不好，可她还是抱着小女儿安妮往山上爬。我抱着一岁半的爱米丽，其他人都步行。两岁的儿子帕特里克·布兰韦尔和我走在一起；快四岁的夏洛蒂跟着妈妈；两个最大的孩子，伊丽莎白和小玛丽亚跑在前面。她们非常兴奋，一路上又说又笑。

霍沃思的人们出来看我们，有的过来帮忙，但大多数人只是站在门前观望。他们都是这个村子里的穷人。我是他们的新牧师。

七辆马车帮我们把家具拉上冰封的山顶。对马来说这不是件容易的事。我们到家时，冷风猛吹着脸颊。我妻子急忙跑进屋里生火。

“你喜欢这房子吗，亲爱的？”孩子们都入睡后我问她。她看上去脸色苍白，非常疲倦，我想是长途跋涉和孩子们拖累的缘故。也许是吧。

她把手伸到炉边烤着，说：“当然喜欢，帕特里克。这是幢好房子。我真希望它会是你和孩子们的一个好家。”

她的话让我觉得有点惊讶。“这也是你的家呀，玛丽亚。”我说，“别忘了你自己。对我来说，你是这个世界上最重要的人。”

她听后笑了——多么可爱的微笑。“谢谢你，帕特里克。”她说。她是一个很瘦小的女人，孩子们时常令她疲倦不堪。但是每当她那样对我微笑时，我就觉得她是全英格兰最美的女人。

一年半以后，她死了。

她去得并不快。在极度的痛苦中她在病榻上捱了七个月之久。医生常来看她，她姐姐伊丽莎白也来帮忙。孩子们也病了。那真是段可怕的日子。

我妻子玛丽亚死于1821年9月，享年38岁，是我在教堂为她主持的葬礼，我们的六个孩子站在一旁默默地看着。

然后我们回家了。我把他们叫进房间谈话。

我说：“你们不要太悲伤，亲爱的孩子们。你们的妈妈现在和上帝在一起。她很快乐，有一天你们也都会死，如果你们是好人，也会去上帝那儿的。”

“可是为什么？”小玛丽亚问道，“为什么她现在就死了，爸爸？我们需要她呀。”

“这个世界是个充满苦难的地方，孩子们，我们无法理解上帝所做的每一件事。但是上帝爱我们，永远不要忘记这一点。你们的妈妈爱你们，也许她现在就可以看见你们。我们大家都应努力工作，努力学习更多的知识，并且彼此友爱。你们能做到吗？”

“是的，爸爸。”

我记得他们看上去非常难过，却都那么仔细地听着。小爱米丽说：“现在谁当妈妈呢？”

“玛丽亚最大，她将协助我。你们都得听她的，按她说的去做。你们的伊丽莎白姨妈也在这儿。也许她会住一阵子。”

伊丽莎白真的住下了。她比我妻子年长，一直未婚。我们叫她布兰韦尔姨妈。她来自英格兰西南部康沃尔的一个叫彭赞斯的靠海的地方，那里温暖而且充满阳光。但霍沃思后面的荒野经常很冷，整个冬天都刮着寒风。布兰韦尔姨妈讨厌霍沃思，但她后半生一直住在这儿，帮我照料她妹妹的孩子们。她真是个心地善良的女人。

我为我的小玛丽亚感到非常自豪。她只有八岁，但她像个大人那样整天忙着。她帮弟弟妹妹洗澡、穿衣服；她带他们玩耍、画画、读书。她就是他们的小妈妈。

她自己能读书而且读得很好。我们家里总是有书和报纸，而我每天和孩子们谈论这些书报。我给他们讲大人的事情：惠灵顿公爵及他在伦敦所做的重大事情。孩子们仔细倾听并试着去理解。玛丽亚经常给弟弟妹妹们念报纸，还问我些问题。她理解得比大多数成年人还好。

我知道我的孩子们非常聪明。但我没有时间整天都和他们谈话，我有自己的工作要做。于是在1824年，我把他们送进了学校。

2

Cowan Bridge School

I was born in a small house in Ireland. There were only two rooms in our house, and I had nine brothers and sisters. My parents were very poor. We had no money, and only a small farm. But we did have a church near us, and that church had a school.

That school gave me my one chance of success. I worked very hard there, and when I was sixteen, I became a teacher. Then I went to St John's College, Cambridge, to study some more. I became a curate. When I married, I was able to get a good job and a house for my family. I got all that because I worked so hard at school.

I wanted my children to go to the best school that I could find. Cowan Bridge School was a school for the daughters of churchmen. It belonged to a churchman — Mr Wilson. He was a good man, I thought. I liked the school, and it was not too expensive. So, in July 1824, I took Maria and Elizabeth there. In September, I took Charlotte and, in November, Emily as well. Emily was just six then, and Charlotte was eight.

I remember how quiet the house was that autumn. In the evenings I taught my son, Branwell, and my wife's sister looked after the youngest child, Anne. I often thought about the girls. My eldest, Maria, was a good, clever girl — I thought she must be the best pupil in the school. I waited for her letters, and wondered what new things she was learning.

She did tell me some things in her letters, but not enough. She told me she liked the schoolwork, and I was pleased. But she did not tell me about the food, or the cold, or the unkind teachers. Charlotte told me those things, much later. I know Maria did not tell me that the food was often burnt and uneatable, or that they could not sleep because the beds were too cold. She did not tell me that the poor hungry children had to wash with ice in the mornings, and walk through wet snow to sit for two hours with icy feet in a cold church on Sundays. She did not tell me that many of the children at the school were ill.

You didn't tell me that, did you, Maria? Did you? Or did you try to write something, and stop because you were afraid of the teachers? You were a good, brave child, and I was so proud of you, so pleased because you were at school. I wanted you to learn everything; I didn't want you to be poor like my sisters. God help me, I thought you were happy at Cowan Bridge School!

There were no Christmas holidays at the school, and it was too difficult to travel over the cold, windy hills to visit my little girls. So I sat at home here in Haworth, with Aunt Branwell, my son, and the little girl, Anne. Outside, the wind blew snow over the gravestones, and there was ice on our windows.

On Christmas Day little Anne looked lonely. She asked me about her sisters.

'Don't worry, my dear,' I said. 'They are happy, with the other girls at school. You shall go to Cowan Bridge, too, when you are older.'

I remember how strangely she looked at me then. She was only four, and very pretty. She smiled at me, but her face went very white, and her hands started to shake. I don't know why. I thought she was cold, and I put some more wood on the fire. Then Aunt Branwell read her a story from the Bible, and I forgot about it.

In February a letter came. It was in an adult's handwriting, not Maria's. Dear Mr Brontë, it said. I am afraid I have some bad news for you. Many children in the school have been ill, and your daughter Maria...

My hand began to shake badly, and I dropped the letter on the floor. As I picked it up, I could see only one word — dead... If your daughter Maria does not come home soon, she will be dead.

I went over the hills to bring her back. My Maria was in a small bed in a cold room upstairs, coughing badly. Elizabeth and Charlotte and Emily stood beside her, waiting for me. They looked so sad and ill and frightened. I remember the big eyes in their small white faces. But I did not bring them home then; the school doctor said it was not necessary. So I took Maria home across the cold, windy moors to Haworth. I sat beside her in the coach and held her hand all the way. I remember how cold her hand was in mine. Thin cold fingers, that did not move at all.

It was too late to save her. She lay in bed upstairs for nearly three months, but she was too ill to eat. Her poor face was white, I remember, and it seemed thin and small like a dead child's. Only her eyes looked alive — big dark eyes in a thin white face. 'Don't cry, father,' she said to me once. 'I shall be with mother soon, you know. And with God.'

I buried Maria beside her mother, and a month later I buried Elizabeth there, too. She became ill at school, and a woman from the school brought her home. I brought Charlotte and Emily home two weeks later. They were here when Elizabeth died. Her body lay all night in a wooden box on the table, and her little sisters and brother kissed her before she was buried.

I had wanted so much for these two girls, and now I had nothing. I stood in the church, and looked at the summer flowers I had put on their grave. I remembered how my wife had held the girls in her arms, and how she had smiled at me when we looked at them. 'They have come back to you now, Maria,' I said. 'I am sorry. I am so sorry, my love.'

curate n. person who helps a parish priest. 副牧师。

burnt adj. spoilt by heat. 被烧焦的。

shake v. move from side to side. 摇摆，摇晃。

hold v. keep sth. in hand, arm, etc. 握着，抓住。

wooden adj. made of wood. 木制的。

want... for... need sth. to supply sb. 需要……给某人。

2　考恩桥学校

我出生在爱尔兰的一座小房子里。家里只有两个房间，我有九个兄弟姐妹。父母很穷，我们没有钱，只有一个小农场。附近有个教堂，那个教堂有一所学校。

那所学校赋予了我一个成功的机会。我非常努力，16岁时，我成了一名教师，后来我去剑桥的圣约翰学院深造。我成了副牧师。等到我成家的时候，我得到了一份好工作和一座房子。这一切得益于我在学校的努力。

我要我的孩子上我能找到的最好的学校。考恩桥学校是专为牧师的女儿们开办的。它属于一个牧师——威尔逊先生。我认为他是个好人。我喜欢这所学校，而且它也不太贵。于是在1824年7月，我把玛丽亚和伊丽莎白送到了那里。9月份，我又把夏洛蒂送到那儿。11月份又送去了爱米丽。爱米丽当时只有6岁，夏洛蒂8岁。

我记得那年秋天，家里变得非常安静。晚上我教儿子布兰韦尔念书；我妻子的姐姐照料最小的孩子安妮。我时常惦记我的女儿们。我的大女儿玛丽亚是个善良聪明的女孩——我相信她一定是学校中最好的学生。我等着她的来信，想知道她又学到了什么新的东西。

在信中她的确给我讲了一些事，但还不够多。她告诉我她喜欢学校的功课，我很高兴。但她没讲起学校的饮食、寒冷和严厉的教师。夏洛蒂告诉我了那些事情，但那已是很久以后的事了。我知道玛丽亚没有告诉我食物经常烧焦，难以下咽；床铺冰冷得令人无法入睡。她没有告诉我可怜的孩子们经常一大早饿着肚子，却不得不用冰水洗漱，然后踏着积雪去教堂，星期天在冰冷的教堂里坐上两个钟头，双脚冻得冰凉。她也没有告诉我学校有许多孩子都生病了。

玛丽亚，你没有告诉我这些，是吗？或许你试着写可又停了笔，因为你害怕老师知道？你是个善良勇敢的孩子，我那么地以你为荣，为你在学校念书而高兴。我希望你学会所有的东西；我不想你像我的姐妹们那样穷困一生。上帝，帮帮我，我以为你在考恩桥学校是快活的呀！

圣诞节学校也不放假，对我来说，要爬过寒风呼啸的山峦去看我的女儿们太困难了。所以，我和布兰韦尔姨妈、儿子和小女儿安妮待在霍沃思的家中。屋外，寒风把雪卷到墓碑上空，窗户上都结了冰。

圣诞节那天小安妮显得很孤单。她向我问起姐姐们。

“别担心，亲爱的。”我说，“她们和其他孩子在学校里很快活。你长大了也要去考恩桥学校。”

我记得她听了以后那么奇怪地看着我，她只有四岁，非常漂亮。她冲我笑了笑，可是脸却变得非常苍白，双手也开始颤抖起来。我不知道是怎么回事。我以为她冷，就往火里加了些木头。然后布兰韦尔姨妈给她念《圣经》里的一个故事，我就把这事忘了。

2月份时来了一封信，不是玛丽亚写的，而是一个成年人的笔迹。“亲爱的勃朗特先生，”上面写道，“恐怕有个坏消息要通知您。学校里有很多孩子都病了，您的女儿玛丽亚……”

我的手剧烈地哆嗦起来，信纸滑落到地板上。我捡起来，只看见一个字——“死……如果您的女儿玛丽亚不赶快回家的话，她会死的。”

我翻山越岭去接她回家。我的小玛丽亚躺在楼上一间冰冷房间的小床上，剧烈地咳嗽着。伊丽莎白、夏洛蒂和爱米丽站在床边等着我。她们看上去好像病了，又伤心又惊恐不安。我记得她们苍白的小脸上大大的眼睛。但是我没有把她们也接回家；学校的医生说用不着。于是我只带着玛丽亚穿过寒风呼啸的荒野回到霍沃思。一路上我在马车里坐在她身旁，握着她的手。我还记得她的手在我手心里是多么的凉啊。手指又细又凉，一动也不动。

要挽救她的生命还是太晚了。她在楼上的床上躺了近三个月，病得不能吃东西。我记得她那苍白的小脸看上去那么瘦小，像个死孩子一样。只有眼睛看上去还是活生生的——瘦削、苍白的脸上大大的黑眼睛。“别哭，爸爸。”有一次她对我说，“你知道，我很快就要和妈妈在一起了。和上帝在一起。”

我把玛丽亚埋在她妈妈的旁边。一个月以后我又在那里掩埋了伊丽莎白，她在学校生了病，被学校的一个女人送回了家。两周后我把夏洛蒂和爱米丽接了回来。伊丽莎白死时她们都在家。她的尸体在桌上的木棺里停放了一整夜，下葬前她的妹妹们和弟弟亲吻了她。

我曾在这两个女孩子身上寄托了那么多希望，而现在我什么也没有了。我站在教堂里看着我放在她们坟上的夏天的花。我还记得我妻子如何把她们搂在怀里，记得当我们看着她们时，她是如何地向我微笑着。“她们回到你身边了，玛丽亚。”我说，“对不起，真对不起，亲爱的。”

3

The little books

I had four children now — Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne. I did not send them to school again for many years. God's ways are hard to understand, I thought. Perhaps God was not pleased with me; perhaps He wanted Maria and Elizabeth for Himself. I decided to keep the others at home. Aunt Branwell could teach them, and I could help when I had time.

They were clever children, quick at learning. They loved to write and draw and paint, and they talked all day long. And, thank God, they were not ill. In the afternoons, my servant, Tabby, took them for long walks on the moors behind the house. They walked for miles on the hilltops in the strong clean wind, alone with the birds and the sheep. I think it was good for them. They grew stronger, and there was a bright light in their eyes.

I was not the only sad father in Haworth. Many, many children died, and I had to bury them all. The water in Haworth was bad, so many children died from illness. And many more died from accidents; I saw a hundred children die from fire. In my house, I was always very careful. I had no curtains, no carpets, because I was afraid of fire. My children never wore cotton clothes, because they burn so easily.

One day in 1826 I brought a box of toy soldiers home from Leeds. Next morning the children began to play games with them.

'This one is mine!' Charlotte said. 'He's the Duke of Wellington!'

'And this is mine!' said Branwell. 'He's Napoleon Bonaparte!'

The children liked the wooden soldiers and began to tell a story about them. It was a very exciting story, I remember. They read it to me and Aunt Branwell and Tabby, our servant. The next day they invented another story, and then another. And then for several days the children were very quiet, and I wondered what they were doing.

I went upstairs, and opened their bedroom door. Inside, they were all busily writing or drawing on small pieces of paper. The wooden soldiers were in the middle of the room in front of them.

'What are you doing?' I asked.

Emily looked up. 'Oh, father, please go away,' she said. 'We're writing our secret books.'

I suppose I looked sad. 'What? Can't I see them?' I asked.

They all thought for a minute. Then Charlotte said, very seriously: 'You can see some of them, of course, papa. But they aren't easy to read, because it's very small writing. We'll show them to you when we are ready.'

These toy soldiers opened a new world for my children. They showed me some of their stories, but there were hundreds that they kept secret. They all began writing so young — Charlotte, the oldest, was only ten, and Emily was eight. I don't think they ever stopped. Mr Nicholls has all Charlotte's little books now, in a cupboard in his room. Some of them are no more than five or six centimetres high. They are beautifully made, and full of small pictures and tiny writing. There is one on my desk now, but I can't read it, my eyes are too bad.

Charlotte and Branwell wrote about a country called Angria, while Emily and Anne wrote about a land called Gondal. The people in those countries fought battles and fell in love, and wrote letters and poems. My children wrote these poems and letters, and they wrote books about Angria and Gondal. They drew maps of the countries, wrote newspapers about them, and drew pictures of the towns and people in their stories. They invented a new world for themselves.

They wrote many of these stories when I was in bed. I used to read to the family, and pray with them in the evening, and then I usually went to bed at nine o'clock. One night, I remember, I woke up and came down again at ten. There was a noise in my room — this room where I am writing now. I opened the door and saw Charlotte and Branwell with a candle, looking at a picture on my wall.

'What are you doing here?' I asked.

'We're looking at the picture, papa,' Branwell said. 'It's the Duke of Zamorna and the Duke of Northangerland fighting in Glasstown.'

I looked at the picture. It's here now behind me. It's a picture of a story in the Bible, with a town, mountains, and hundreds of people in it. 'What do you mean?' I asked.

'It's one of our stories, papa,' Charlotte said. 'We have to come in here to look at the picture. Then we invent what happens.'

'Tell me, then,' I said. They both looked very excited; their faces were pink, and their eyes were bright in the candlelight. But they looked happy too. I put my candle on the table, and sat down here, where I am sitting now, to listen to their story.

It was a wonderful story. Charlotte's wooden soldier, the Duke of Wellington, had had a son, Arthur, Duke of Zamorna. Branwell's toy soldier, Bonaparte, had become the strong, bad, good-looking Duke of Northangerland. The two Dukes were fighting a terrible battle in a city called Glasstown. There were soldiers who died bravely, and beautiful women who fell in love. I listened until two o'clock in the morning. There was much more, but I have forgotten it now.

But I remember the excitement in my children's faces. Sometimes I thought they could actually see these people, as they talked.

Next day they said no more about it, and I did not ask. It was their own secret world, and they did not let me into it again. But I was pleased they had told me about it once. And sometimes they showed me drawings of places in Angria or Gondal. All my children could draw and paint beautifully. Charlotte used watercolours, and often spent hours painting small pictures. Branwell used oil-paints as well.

paint v. make picture with colour, oil, etc. 画画，涂色。

die from die for the reason of. 死于。

curtain n. piece of cloth hung up at window. 窗帘。

invent v. creat or design. 创作，创造。

cupboard n. set of shelves with doors, used for dishes, clothes, etc. 柜橱，食柜，衣柜。

tiny a. little, small. 微小的。

town n. centre of population. 城镇。

fall in love with sb. 爱上某人。

3　小书

现在我只剩下四个孩子了——夏洛蒂、布兰韦尔、爱米丽和安妮。有好几年我没再把他们送到学校去。我觉得上帝的做法不容易为人所理解。也许上帝对我不高兴，也许他自己想要玛丽亚和伊丽莎白。我决定把其他几个孩子留在家里，布兰韦尔姨妈能教他们，我有空的时候也能帮把手。

他们都是很聪明的孩子，学得很快。他们喜欢写字、素描和画水彩画，一天到晚地交谈。感谢上帝，他们没有生病。下午，我们的用人泰比会带他们到屋后的荒野散步。在清凉的劲风中，他们在山顶上走好几英里，和那些鸟儿、羊儿们待在一起。我觉得这对他们有好处。他们长得结实些了，眼眸中熠熠闪光。

在霍沃思，我并不是唯一一个伤心的父亲，许多孩子都死了，都是由我埋葬的。霍沃思的水很糟糕，很多孩子因此生病死去，还有更多的孩子死于意外。我见过上百个孩子被火烧死。在自己家里我总是非常小心。我不挂窗帘，不铺地毯，因为我害怕火灾。我的孩子从不穿棉布衣服，因为那太容易着火了。

1826年的一天，我从利兹带回一盒玩具兵，第二天一早孩子们就开始拿这些玩具兵做游戏。

“这个是我的！”夏洛蒂说，“他是惠灵顿公爵！”

“这个是我的！”布兰韦尔说，“他是拿破仑·波拿巴！”

孩子们喜欢这些木头士兵，用他们编起了故事。我记得那是个非常令人兴奋的故事。他们把故事念给我、布兰韦尔姨妈和用人泰比听。第二天他们又编出了新的故事，然后又是另一个。后来的几天孩子们变得很安静。我很奇怪，不知道他们究竟在干什么。

我上了楼，推开他们卧室的门。他们正在屋里忙着在小纸片上又写又画。木头士兵就摆在屋子中央他们的面前。

“你们在干什么？”我问道。

爱米丽抬起头说：“哦，爸爸，请走开。我们正在写书，这是我们的秘密。”

我想我看起来有点儿难过。“怎么，我不能看看吗？”我问。

他们想了一会儿。然后夏洛蒂非常严肃地说：“当然，爸爸，你可以看一部分。但它们不太好读，因为字太小了。等我们写完了就给你看。”

这些玩具兵为我的孩子们打开了一个新的世界。他们给我看了一些故事，可还有上百个故事对我保着密。他们那么小就开始写作了——最年长的夏洛蒂也才10岁，爱米丽8岁。自此以后他们就从未停止过写作。尼科尔斯先生现在把夏洛蒂的全部小书收藏在他房间的一个柜橱里。有几本差不多五六公分厚。它们制作精美，里面尽是小画和纤细的手写笔迹。还有一本现在就在我的书桌上，可是我读不了，我的眼神太差了。

夏洛蒂和布兰韦尔写了一个叫安哥利亚的国家。爱米丽和安妮写了一个叫哥恩达尔的地方。那些国家的人们打仗、恋爱，还写信和诗歌。孩子们写这些诗和信，还描绘了安哥利亚和哥恩达尔这两个国家。他们画了地图，编了他们的报纸，还画了故事中的城镇及人。他们为自己创造了一个新世界。

我睡觉的时候他们就写很多这样的故事。我习惯念书给大家听，晚上和他们一起祷告，然后通常在9点钟时上床睡觉。记得一天夜里，我醒来，10点钟又下楼去。在我现在写作的房间里听到了一点儿声音。我开门看见夏洛蒂和布兰韦尔举着一支蜡烛，正在看我墙上的一幅画。

“你们在这儿干什么？”我问。

“我们在看画呢，爸爸。”布兰韦尔说道，“这是扎摩那公爵和北安哥兰公爵的玻璃城之战。”

我看着那幅画，它现在就在我身后。它描绘的是《圣经》里的一个故事，有城镇、山峦和几百个人。“你们是什么意思？”我问他们。

“这是我们的一个故事，爸爸。”夏洛蒂说，“我们得来这儿看看它，这样才能把故事编出来。”

“那么讲给我听听。”我说。他们看上去很兴奋，小脸红扑扑的，眼睛在烛光下闪闪发亮。看样子他们也很开心。我把手中的蜡烛放到桌上，坐了下来——就是我现在坐的地方——听他们讲故事。

那真是个奇妙的故事。夏洛蒂的木头兵是惠灵顿公爵，他有个儿子叫阿瑟，也就是扎摩那公爵。布兰韦尔的木头兵波拿巴成了一个强壮、邪恶而又英俊的北安哥兰公爵。两个公爵在一个叫玻璃城的地方进行了一场激烈的战斗，士兵们英勇地死去，美丽的女人们堕入爱河。我一直听到凌晨两点。还有很多情节我现在已经忘记了。

但我还记得孩子们脸上兴奋的表情。有时我觉得，当他们讲述时，他们真的能看到那些人物。

第二天他们不再提这件事了，我也没有问。那是他们自己的秘密世界，不让我再进入。但我很高兴他们毕竟还是给我讲了一次。有时他们还给我看关于安哥利亚和哥恩达尔的画。我的孩子们都画得很棒。夏洛蒂经常花几小时用水彩来画这些小画。布兰韦尔也用油画颜料画画。

4

Growing up

When Branwell was fourteen or fifteen, he did a lot of oil-paintings. He painted people in the village, and it was easy to recognize the faces in the pictures. Later, he did a fine painting of his three sisters. I was very proud of him. We all decided he would become a famous artist.

Charlotte went to school again when she was fifteen. It was a much better school — Miss Wooler's school at Roe Head. I don' t think Charlotte liked school, but she wanted to be a teacher — a governess — so she worked hard. I taught Branwell at home, and Aunt Branwell taught Emily and Anne. The girls and Branwell were learning to play the piano, and Branwell played the music in church.

Emily and Anne had dogs, and they used to take them for walks on the moors. Anne's dog was called Flossy, and Emily had a big strong one called Keeper. Keeper went everywhere with her — I think Emily loved that dog more than any person. Emily was sometimes a difficult child. She was very shy, and did not often speak to anyone outside the family. When she was older, I sent her to school with Charlotte, but she hated it, so I brought her home and sent Anne instead.

Branwell was not shy. He could talk to anyone for hours. Everyone in Haworth liked him. I remember the day in 1835 when Branwell went to London. He was eighteen years old, and he was going to the Royal Academy in London to learn to be an artist. He walked down the hill in Haworth with a bag of his best paintings on his back, and everyone in the village came out to see him go. That was a great day for me.

Something terrible happened in London, but I don't know what it was. Branwell came back two weeks later, his face white, his clothes dirty. I don't know where he went or what happened in London. He refused to tell me. He just sat upstairs, alone in his room for hours.

Later, I paid for a room in Bradford for him to work in. He could paint pictures of famous people there, I thought. It was easy work for him. But he couldn't do it. He spent all my money, and came home again after a while.

This was a sad time for me. My eyes were very bad, and I had to pay a young curate to help me with my work for the church. My old servant, Tabby, broke her leg and was very ill. And then one day I got a letter from Miss Wooler's school. My curate read it to me.

Dear Mr Brontë, the letter said. I am afraid that your daughter Anne is very ill, and...

I don't think I ever moved so fast in all my life. Six hours later, I was at Roe Head. The next day Anne and Charlotte were home. Anne was still alive, thank God! A month later she was well again. Thank God.

All my children were safe at home.

I was happy to have them here. They were so clever, and kind, and they loved each other so much. But I was an old man with bad eyes, and Aunt Branwell and I had very little money. My children had to find work somewhere, in order to live.

But what sort of work could they do?

oil-painting n. 油画。

recognize v. know sb./sth. again that one has seen, or heard. 认出；认识。

artist n. person with skill, with one of fine arts. 艺术家。

4　长大

布兰韦尔长到十四五岁时已经画了大量的油画。他画村子里的人，从画面上很容易认出那些人的面孔。后来他为他的三个姐妹精心地画了一幅画。我为他感到非常自豪，我们都认为他会成为一个有名的艺术家。

夏洛蒂15岁时又去了学校。那所学校要好得多——伍勒小姐在罗·海德的学校。我觉得夏洛蒂不喜欢学校，但她想成为一名教师——家庭教师，为此她努力学习。我在家里教布兰韦尔，布兰韦尔姨妈教爱米丽和安妮。他们也学弹钢琴，布兰韦尔还在教堂演奏。

爱米丽和安妮养了几条狗，她们常常带着狗在荒野上散步。安妮的狗叫“福劳赛”，爱米丽的大狗叫“管家”。“管家”到哪儿都跟着她——我猜爱米丽爱狗超过了爱其他人。爱米丽有时是个很难相处的孩子，她非常害羞，不爱与家庭以外的人讲话。她长大点后我送她去学校，和夏洛蒂在一起。可她不喜欢学校，于是我又把她接回来，而把安妮送去了。

布兰韦尔可不害羞。他可以和任何人谈上几个小时。霍沃思的每个人都喜欢他。记得1835年的一天，布兰韦尔要去伦敦。他18岁了，要到伦敦皇家学院学艺术。他从霍沃思走下山去，背上的包里装着他最好的画，村里的人都出来为他送行。那一天真是我的好日子。

在伦敦发生了一些可怕的事情，但是我也不知道究竟是怎么回事。两星期后布兰韦尔回来了，脸色苍白，衣物肮脏。我不知道他去了伦敦的什么地方，也不知道出了什么事，他拒绝跟我讲。他只是一个人坐在楼上的房间里，一坐就是几个小时。

后来我在布拉德福德为他租了间画室，我想他在那儿可以为大人物们画像。那种工作对他来说是轻而易举的，但他却做不到。过了一阵，他把钱花光后又回家了。

这一段时间我的境况很糟糕。我的视力很差，得付钱请一名年轻的副牧师协助教堂的工作。我的老用人泰比跌断了腿，伤得很重。一天，我收到伍勒小姐学校的一封信，我的副牧师把信念给我听。

“亲爱的勃朗特先生，”信中写道，“您的女儿安妮恐怕病得很重，而且……”

我觉得自己一生中从未行动得如此迅速，六个小时后我已到了罗·海德，第二天安妮和夏洛蒂就回到了家里。感谢上帝，安妮还活着！一个月后她痊愈了。真得感谢上帝！

我的孩子们在家里很安全。

我很高兴让他们留在这儿。他们是那么聪明、善良，而且彼此十分友爱。但我已是个视力糟糕透顶的老人了，布兰韦尔姨妈和我的钱少得可怜。我的孩子们为了生存，就必须去什么地方找个工作。

可是他们能干什么呢？

5

Looking for work

I do not remember everything they did.

Charlotte and Anne worked as governesses for some months, teaching rich children in big houses, and Branwell got a job like that too, for a while. But they didn't like their work. At home my children were full of talk and laughter, but away from home they were shy, quiet, unhappy.

They wrote a lot of letters in their search for work — sometimes to famous people. Branwell wanted to be a writer, so he wrote to writers; but not many of them wrote back. He began to look pale and sad in those days, and he was often in the village pub, drinking and talking to the people there. Then he got a job selling tickets on the railways, and left home.

The girls had an idea. I remember the day when they told me about it. Charlotte and Anne were at home on holiday, and we were all in the sitting-room after dinner one evening. Anne was playing the piano, and singing quietly to herself. She was the prettiest of the three girls, I suppose. She had long wavy brown hair, and a gentle, kind face. Emily sat on the floor beside her, stroking the ears of her dog, Keeper. Charlotte sat opposite me on the sofa, like a little child with a serious, thoughtful face. She was the smallest; her feet were no bigger than my hands.

She looked at me carefully. 'Papa,' she said. 'We want to start a school.'

'Really, my dear? Where?'

'Here.'

'But Charlotte, my dear, we have no room. This house is full already.'

'Oh, but we could change the house, papa. We could build a schoolroom.'

'Well, yes, I suppose so,' I said. 'But — why do you want to do this? Isn't it better to work as governesses, in some big fine house?'

'Oh no, papa!' All three girls spoke at once. Anne had stopped playing, and Emily looked very angry and frightening. I could see they had thought hard about this.

Charlotte said: 'The life of a governess is terrible, papa! A governess has no time of her own, no friends, no one to talk to, and if she gets angry with the children, they just run to their mother. I couldn't possibly be a governess all my life!'

'It's true, papa,' Anne said. 'It's an awful life. We're so lonely away from each other. Why can't we have a school, and all live here? Then we can take care of you and Aunt Branwell when you get old.'

I looked at Emily. Her eyes were shining; I could see that the idea was important to her too.

'But why will people send their children here?' I asked. 'Haworth is not a big town, or a beautiful place. How will you find children to teach?'

'We have thought of that too, papa,' Charlotte said. 'We must learn more, and become better teachers. I have spoken to Aunt Branwell, and she will give us the money, if you agree. Emily and I want to go to Belgium, to learn French. If we can speak French well, then parents will send their children to us to learn that.'

'Emily will go?' I said. I looked at her. Emily had only been away from home twice, and each time she had been very unhappy. But now she looked excited.

'Yes, papa,' she said. 'I will go. Charlotte is right — we must do something. And this will help us to stay together.'

'And Anne?'

'I will stay as a governess with the Robinson family,' Anne said sadly. 'There's not enough money for us all to go, and... the Robinsons are not so very bad.'

It was always like that. Anne was a gentle girl; she did not fight as hard as the others. Perhaps her life was easier because of that. I don't know.

But I thought it was a wonderful idea. I wrote to Belgium, and found them places in a school in Brussels, which was owned by a Monsieur Héger. I agreed to take the girls there, and for a month I wrote down French words in a little pocket book, to help me on the journey. Then, one afternoon in 1824, we caught the train to London.

I had not been to London for over twenty years, and my daughters had never been there. We stayed for three days, and then we took the night boat to Belgium, and arrived at a tall, fine school building in the centre of Brussels.

Héger himself was a very polite, friendly man — very kind. He did not always understand my French, but he showed me round the school, and talked a lot, very fast. I smiled, and tried to answer.

The two girls were very excited when I left them. As I came home on the boat, I thought: 'This is a good thing, a fine thing, perhaps. My daughters will start a good school, and Haworth will become famous. I hope Branwell can make a success of his life, too. Then my wife Maria will be pleased with us all.'

laughter n. laughing, making sounds showing joy. 大笑，笑声。

stroke v. pass hands along a surface again and again. 抚摸。

start v. make a beginning, open. 开创，创办。

be away from go or be at distance from. 远离，离开。

Monsieur Mr., Sir. （法语）先生。

polite adj. showing possession of good manners, refined. 有礼貌的，文雅的。

5　找工作

我已记不清他们做过的每一件事情了。

夏洛蒂和安妮做过几个月的家庭教师，教住在大房子里的有钱人家的孩子们。布兰韦尔也暂时找了个类似的工作，但他们都不喜欢这种工作。在家里我的孩子们谈笑风生，可离开家后他们就变得害羞、沉默、很不开心。

他们写了许多求职信——有时是写给大人物的。布兰韦尔想当作家，他就给作家写信，却很少有人回信。那些日子他变得伤心疲倦，经常在乡村酒吧里和人喝酒、闲聊。后来他找到一份在火车站卖票的工作，就离开了家。

女儿们另有想法。我还记得她们把这个想法告诉我的那天。夏洛蒂和安妮回家休假，一天晚饭后我们都坐在客厅里，安妮一边弹着钢琴，一边轻轻地唱着歌。我觉得她是三个女儿中最美的，有一头鬈曲的褐色长发，还有着一张温柔善良的脸。爱米丽坐在她旁边的地板上，抚摸着她那只叫“管家”的狗的耳朵。夏洛蒂坐在我对面的沙发上，看上去像个孩子，却又带着深思熟虑的表情。她个子最小，脚还没有我的手大。

她端详着我，说：“爸爸，我们想开办一所学校。”

“真的，亲爱的？在哪儿？”

“就在这儿。”

“可是夏洛蒂，亲爱的，我们没有地方。这栋房子已经很满了。”

“哦，但我们可以把房子改造一下，爸爸。我们可以盖一间教室。”

“嗯，是啊，我觉得行。”我说，“不过——为什么你想干这个呢？在别人家的大房子里做家庭教师不是更好吗？”

“噢，不，爸爸！”三个女儿一起对我说。安妮停下来，不弹琴了，爱米丽看上去很生气，样子非常吓人。我看得出她们已经好好地想过了。

夏洛蒂说：“当家庭教师的生活太可怕了，爸爸！一个家庭教师没有属于自己的时间，没有朋友，没有说话的人。如果对孩子生气，他们就会立刻跑到自己母亲那里去。我不可能一辈子都干这个！”

“真的，爸爸。”安妮说，“那种生活很可怕。我们不得不分开，都很孤单。为什么我们不能有所自己的学校，就住在这儿呢？这样等您和布兰韦尔姨妈老了我们就可以照顾你们了。”

我看着爱米丽，她的眼睛熠熠发光，看得出这主意对她也很重要。

“但是人们为什么要把孩子送到这儿来呢？”我问，“霍沃思既非大城市，又不是风景区。你们怎么找到孩子来教呢？”

“我们也已经想到这一点了，爸爸。”夏洛蒂说，“我们必须多学一些，成为更好的教师。我和布兰韦尔姨妈谈过了，如果您同意，她会给我们钱的。爱米丽和我想去比利时学法语。如果我们能讲流利的法语，那些父母就会把孩子送来学法语。”

“爱米丽会去吗？”我一边问，一边看着她。爱米丽只离开过家两次，每次她都很不开心。但这回她看上去却相当兴奋。

“是的，爸爸。”她说，“我要去。夏洛蒂是对的——我们必须做些事情，这还能使我们待在一起。”

“那安妮呢？”

“我还在鲁滨逊家里当家庭教师，”安妮难过地说，“我们的钱不够大家都去的，况且……鲁滨逊家的人也没那么坏。”

事情总是那样。安妮是个温柔的孩子，她不像别人那样努力地去争取。或许正是如此，她的生活倒更轻松些。我不知是否如此。

不过我认为这是个好主意。我写信去比利时，在布鲁塞尔的一所学校为他们找到了地方。那所学校是埃热先生的。我同意送她们去那儿，我花了一个月的时间在小笔记本上记下了许多法语单词，以备旅途之需。然后，1842年的一个下午，我们坐上了开往伦敦的火车。

我已有二十多年没去伦敦了，女儿们还从来没去过。我们在伦敦住了三天，然后搭夜班船去比利时，最后到达布鲁塞尔市中心的一座高大美观的学校大楼前。

埃热本人是一个很有礼貌、很友好的人——非常和气。他并不大听得懂我的法语，但还是带着我在学校转了一圈，他讲了许多话，速度快极了。我微笑着，努力有所应答。

当我离开时两个孩子非常兴奋。坐在回家的船上，我心想：“这也许是件好事，一件妙事。我的女儿们将开办一所好学校，霍沃思也将因此而出名。我希望布兰韦尔的生活也能获得成功，那样我妻子玛丽亚会为我们都感到高兴的。”

6

Monsieur Héger and Mrs Robinson

At first everything went well. Monsieur Héger wrote to me often. He was pleased with my daughters, he said; they were good pupils. But life at home in Haworth was hard. My curate died, and Aunt Branwell became very ill. Emily and Charlotte came home to see her, but she was dead before they arrived.

She was a good woman, Elizabeth Branwell. She kept my home for more than twenty years, and she taught my daughters everything she knew. But she never liked Haworth, I am sure of that. She said it was a cold, miserable place. I hope that God has found somewhere warm and comfortable for her now.

But how could I live without her? My eyes were now very bad, and I could not see to read. And our servant Tabby was older than I was. Anne could not help me — she was a governess for the Robinson family, and now Branwell had a job there too, teaching their young son. So Charlotte went back to Brussels alone, this time as a teacher in Monsieur Héger's school. Emily stayed at home to cook and clean for me. She did not like Brussels, she said. She was happy to do the housework, and live at home with Tabby and me.

She was a strange, quiet girl, Emily. She was the tallest of the girls, and in some ways she was as strong as a man. She loved to walk by herself on the wild lonely moors, with her dog Keeper running by her side. Sometimes I saw her there, singing or talking quietly to herself, and I thought perhaps she could see the people in her secret world of Gondal, and was talking to them. I know that she spent a lot of time writing alone in her room; and when Anne was at home, she and Emily often talked and wrote about the world of Gondal together.

There were sometimes dangerous people near Haworth, so I always had a gun in the house. Before my eyes were bad, I taught Emily to shoot — she loved that. Sometimes I used to practise shooting in the garden while she was making bread in the kitchen. I shot first, then I called Emily. She came out, cleaned her hands, picked up the gun, shot, and went back in to finish the bread. She was much better at shooting than I was.

But by 1844 my eyes were too bad for shooting. Emily cooked, cleaned the house, played the piano. And almost every day she went for long walks on the moors with her dog, Keeper.

She loved that dog, but she could be very hard with him, too. We did not let him go upstairs, but one day Tabby found him on my bed. Emily was very angry; her face was white and hard. Keeper was a big, strong dog, but she pulled him downstairs and hit him again and again until the dog was nearly blind. Then she gently washed his cuts herself. He never went upstairs again.

Charlotte was another year in Brussels. When she came home, she was quiet and sad. Sometimes she wrote long letters in French to Monsieur Héger, but no letters came from him. But this was a time of hope, too. The girls wrote advertisements for their new school, and sent them to newspapers, and to everybody they knew. It was exciting — they were good advertisements, and we waited for the first children to come.

We waited a long time, and Charlotte wrote more advertisements.

No children came.

Every day Charlotte and Emily waited for a letter from the postman, or for a parent to come to see them. Every day they became more miserable.

Anne left her job with the Robinsons and came home to Haworth. A month later Branwell also came home, for a holiday.

And then one morning, early, there was a knock on the door. Charlotte ran to open it. But it was not a parent — it was a letter for her brother Branwell. He went upstairs with it, smiling.

A few minutes later there was a terrible scream. We ran upstairs to Branwell's room. He lay on his bed, screaming, with a white face and wild dark eyes. The letter was in his hand.

'Branwell! What is it? What's the matter?' I asked.

He tore his hair with his hands. 'I'm ill,' he said. 'I'm cold — Oh, what does it matter? She doesn't care... I can't see her... Oh, it's all finished now, finished for ever! I'll die without her!'

'Here, Branwell, drink this.' Emily brought him a cup of hot milk, but his hand was shaking and he nearly dropped it.

Charlotte put her hand on his head. 'He's hot, papa, he's burning,' she said. 'You must go to bed at once, Branwell.'

He went to bed, and he lay there, sometimes sleeping, sometimes shouting and crying. I tried to talk to him, but I couldn't understand what he said. Then, later, Anne explained.

She told us a terrible story. I was so angry! I nearly broke a chair with my hands as I listened. My son Branwell, Anne said, was in love with Mrs Robinson, the rich mother of his pupil. For months this lady had spoken kindly to Branwell, walked with him in the garden, talked to him alone in the evenings. He thought she would marry him when her husband died. And then there were other things, that Anne did not want to speak about.

The letter was from Mr Robinson. He was often ill, Anne told us, but his children knew about Branwell and their mother, and the servants knew too, I think. Perhaps Mr Robinson had learnt something from them, or perhaps that woman (I cannot call her a wife) had told him everything. Only one thing was certain — in his letter Mr Robinson had ordered Branwell never to return to his house or to speak to any of his family again.

My face was hot and my hands were shaking. I tried to talk to Branwell about it, but it was impossible.

'I love her, papa!' he shouted. 'You don't understand — how can you? You've never seen her!'

'I don't want to see her, my son,' I said. 'I understand that she is a bad, evil woman. I hope that God will punish her and...'

'Don't say that, papa!' he screamed. 'You are talking about the woman I love! She will call me back! I will see her again!'

'I hope you never see her again, my son,' I said. 'You must forget her. Branwell, listen to me...'

But he did not listen. He ran out of the house. He did not come back until the evening, and then he was drunk. He did not listen that day, or the next day, or any day. He began to drink laudanum as well. I thought he would kill himself.

So I think Charlotte was pleased that no parents came. No school could have a man like Branwell in it.

go well work well. 进行得顺利。

miserable adj. not comfortable, suffering from pain, hunger, etc. 悲惨的，可怕的。

shoot v. aim and fire with gun. 射击。

advertisement n. make known to people by means of painting, picture, notice on TV, newspaper, etc. 广告。

scream n. loud cry of noise. 大叫，尖叫。

certain adj. sure. 肯定的。

evil adj. bad, sinful. 坏的，有罪的。

punish v. cause suffering or discomfort for wrong doing. 惩罚。

laudanum n. 鸦片。

6　埃热先生和鲁滨逊太太

起先每件事都进展顺利，埃热先生时常给我写信，他说他对我的女儿们很满意，她们都是好学生，可是在霍沃思，家里的生活变得艰难了。我的副牧师死了，布兰韦尔姨妈病得很重。爱米丽和夏洛蒂赶回来看她，可她还是在她们到家之前就去世了。

伊丽莎白·布兰韦尔是个好女人，她料理我们家二十多年，她尽自己所知教育我的女儿们。但我肯定她从未喜欢过霍沃思。她说这地方又寒冷又悲惨。我希望上帝现在为她准备了一个温暖而舒适的地方。

但是没有她我还怎么过日子？我的视力现在糟糕透顶，已经无法看书了。而我们的老用人泰比比我岁数还大。安妮也帮不上忙——她是鲁滨逊家的家庭教师，现在布兰韦尔也在那儿教他们的小儿子。所以夏洛蒂只好一个人回布鲁塞尔，这回她成了埃热先生学校的老师。爱米丽留在家里为我们做饭和打扫房子。她说她不喜欢布鲁塞尔。她喜欢做家务，喜欢和泰比及我一起在家里生活。

爱米丽是个奇怪而安静的姑娘。几个女儿中数她个子最高，某些方面她像个男人一样坚强。她喜欢独自在荒野中漫步，“管家”总跟在她旁边跑着，有时我看见她在那里轻轻地给自己唱歌，要么就自言自语。我觉得她或许能看见秘密的哥恩达尔世界中的人物，并和他们交谈。我知道她花了大量的时间在房间里一个人写作。当安妮在家时，她俩经常一起谈论并写哥恩达尔世界的故事。

有时霍沃思附近会出现一些危险人物，所以我家中常备着枪。在我视力变坏以前，我曾教爱米丽射击——她喜欢射击。有时我在花园里练枪法，她在厨房做面包，我先打，然后叫爱米丽，她出来擦干净手，拿起枪，扣一下扳机，然后又回厨房接着做面包。她打得可比我好多了。

但是到了1844年，我的视力糟得不能再射击了。爱米丽做饭、打扫屋子、弹钢琴，几乎每天都和“管家”在荒野中走很远的路。

她爱那条狗，但对它也很严厉。我们不让它上楼，可是有一天泰比发现它待在我的床上。爱米丽非常生气，脸变得苍白、阴沉。“管家”是一条又大又壮的狗，但是她一把就将它拖下楼，把它揍来揍去，几乎打瞎了。然后她自己又轻轻地给它洗伤。从此它再也没有上过楼。

夏洛蒂在布鲁塞尔又待了一年。再回家时她变得沉默、忧伤。有时她用法语给埃热先生写长长的信，但没有收到回信。不过这段时间也充满着希望，女儿们为她们的新学校写广告，寄给报社，寄给她们认识的所有人。真令人兴奋——那是些出色的广告，我们期待着第一批学生的到来。

我们等了很久，同时夏洛蒂又写了更多的广告。

可是没有孩子来。

每天夏洛蒂和爱米丽都等着邮差送信，期待着某一对父母来找她们。一天又一天她们都变得越发伤心。

安妮辞去了她在鲁滨逊家的工作，回到霍沃思的家中。一个月后，布兰韦尔也回家来度假。

一天清早，一阵敲门声响了起来。夏洛蒂跑过去开门，但那不是某一对父母——而是一封给她弟弟布兰韦尔的信。他微笑着拿上楼去了。

几分钟后传来一声可怕的尖叫。我们跑上楼，冲进布兰韦尔的房间。他躺在床上，尖叫着，脸色苍白，深色眼睛流露出狂野的神色。那封信紧紧地攥在他手里。

“布兰韦尔！那是什么信？你怎么了？”我问。

他双手撕扯着头发。“我生病了。”他说，“我觉得冷——噢，那又怎么样，她并不在乎……我见不到她了……噢，现在全完了，永远完了！没有她我会死的！”

“来吧，布兰韦尔，把这个喝了。”爱米丽端来一杯热牛奶，可他双手颤抖得几乎拿不住杯子。

夏洛蒂用手摸摸他的头。“好烫呀，爸爸。他在发烧。”她说，“你必须立即躺下，布兰韦尔。”

他上了床，躺在那儿，一会儿睡着了，但一会儿又大喊大叫。我试着和他说话，却弄不明白他在说什么。后来安妮解释了一切。

她告诉了我们一个可怕的故事。我非常生气！听的时候我差点儿把一把椅子捏碎了。我的儿子布兰韦尔，安妮说，爱上了鲁滨逊太太，就是他那学生的有钱的母亲。有几个月，这个女人对布兰韦尔甜言蜜语，和他在花园散步，晚上单独和他谈话。他觉得等她丈夫死后，她就会嫁给他。后来又发生了别的事情，安妮不想说了。

信是鲁滨逊先生写的。他时常生病，安妮说。可他的孩子们知道布兰韦尔和他们母亲的事情。我猜想可能连用人也知道。也许鲁滨逊先生从他俩那儿看出了什么，或许那个女人（我无法称她为一个妻子）已经把一切都告诉了他。只有一件事是肯定的——在信中鲁滨逊先生命令布兰韦尔永远不得踏进他的家门，也不能再与他的家人讲话。

我的脸在发烧，双手颤抖。我想和布兰韦尔谈谈这事，但不可能。

“我爱她，爸爸！”他喊道，“你不懂——你怎么能懂呢？你又从未见过她！”

“我不想见她，儿子。”我说，“我只懂得她是个坏女人，一个邪恶的女人。我希望上帝惩罚她并且……”

“别说了，爸爸！”他声嘶力竭地喊道，“你在说一个我爱的女人！她会叫我回去的！我会再见到她的。”

“我希望你不要再见她了，儿子。”我说，“你必须忘了她。布兰韦尔，听我说……”

但他没有听，他从房间里冲了出去，直到晚上才回来，已是醉醺醺的了。那天他没有听我说完，第二天也没有，以后再也没有。他还开始喝鸦片酊，我觉得他会害死自己的。

所以我觉得夏洛蒂会高兴没有学生父母来。没有哪所学校能容得下布兰韦尔这样的人。

7

Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell

At about this time, in 1845, I was almost blind. I had a new curate to do my work — Arthur Nicholls, a young man of twenty-eight. He came from Northern Ireland like myself. He was a good, hard worker. I spoke in the church on Sundays, but Arthur Nicholls did the rest of my work.

Branwell became worse and worse. Mr Robinson died in 1846, but Mrs Robinson didn't marry Branwell — oh no! She was a cold wicked woman. She sent my son Branwell away, and later married a rich old man. And so Branwell spent more and more time drinking, and taking laudanum, and walking alone on the moors.

When you are blind, you listen to things very carefully. I used to sit alone in my room and listen to the sounds of the wind outside the house. The wind talks and whispers and sings — it has many voices. I listened to the sounds of the clock on the stairs, and the wood in the fire, and the footsteps and voices of the girls walking round the house. They talked a lot to each other, and sometimes I could hear what they said, even when they were in another room.

Anne had had a poem published in a magazine, and one day I heard a conversation between Charlotte and Emily. Charlotte had found something that Emily had written, and was talking to her about it.

'But they're wonderful, Emily,' Charlotte said. 'They're much better than mine or Anne's.'

'They're not for people to read,' Emily said. 'They're part of the Gondal story. Nobody would understand them, except me and Anne.'

I realized that they were talking about some poems of Emily's. I knew that Emily and Anne wrote a lot about the country of Gondal, but I didn't know much about it. Emily kept all her papers locked in her desk.

Charlotte was arguing with her. 'Emily, listen to me! These are fine poems. I think we should put some of them in a book, together with mine and Anne's, and try to publish it. People should read them!'

'No!' Emily shouted. Then her dog Keeper began to bark, and I didn't hear any more. But I think they talked about this again several times. I often heard voices arguing, and usually they never argued about their writing.

I wanted to tell them not to do it. I had published several small books myself, but I always lost money. I had to pay the publisher to print the books, and not many people bought them. It's an easy way to lose money. But I was too ill, so I said nothing.

I learnt, many years later, that they paid over ￡30 to have a book of poems printed, and that it sold two copies. I am not surprised that they didn't tell me about it; we had very little money in our house.

I began to feel that there was something wrong with my head, as well as my eyes. Several times the postman brought an old packet to our house, which was addressed to a man called Currer Bell. I told him that no Currer Bell lived in Haworth, and sent him away. But then, a month or two later, he came back again, with the same old packet.

In the summer of 1846 Charlotte took me to see an eye doctor in Manchester. We stayed in rooms in the town. The doctor decided to operate on my eyes, and the next morning we got up early. I was afraid. Could I hold my head still while the doctor cut into my eyes with a knife? Perhaps the pain would be too terrible. Perhaps I would move, or stand up, or...

Charlotte held my hand. As we left our rooms, we met a postman.

'Good morning, Miss,' he said. 'There's packet here for Currer Bell.'

'Oh... thank you.' Charlotte sounded sad, but she took the packet, and put it in her room. She did not open it. Then we walked to the eye doctor's.

The pain was terrible, but it was over in fifteen minutes, and I didn't move. Afterwards, I had to lie on a bed in a dark room. We couldn't go home for a month. A nurse came sometimes, but Charlotte stayed with me all day.

I asked her once about the packet. She said: 'Oh, it's for a friend of mine, papa. It had a letter for me in it. I have posted it away again now.'

I didn't understand, but I didn't ask again. I lay quietly on my bed most of the day, and Charlotte sat in the next room writing. She wrote very fast, for many hours, and never put her pen down once. She seemed quiet, but strangely happy.

I was happy too. The doctor had helped; I could see again. It was wonderful — the colours, the shapes of everything were beautiful. When we came back to Haworth, I could see everything clearly at last — our home, the church, the graveyard, the moors, the faces of my Emily and Anne!

And Branwell.

Branwell's face looked terrible. White, thin, with big dark eyes and untidy hair. His clothes were dirty, he smelt, his hands shook. All the time he was either shouting or crying. And always, every day, he asked me for money.

I let him sleep in my room at night, and he kept me awake for hours talking about Mrs Robinson. I remembered his paintings, his stories, his happy childish laughter. My fine, clever son had become a drunken animal.

The winter of 1846 was terribly cold. The wind blew snow around the house and over the gravestones. A lot of children died in the village. Anne was ill, Branwell was worse. We lit fires in all the rooms, but there was ice inside the windows in the mornings. I spent most of my time with Branwell, so didn't think very much about the girls.

And then, one afternoon, Charlotte came into my room. I was sitting here, in this same chair, beside the fire. She had a book in her hand, and that strange, happy look on her face.

'Papa,' she said. 'I've been writing a book.'

I smiled. 'Have you, my dear?' I thought she had written another little book about Angria.

'Yes, and I want you to read it.'

'Oh, I'm afraid it will hurt my eyes too much.' My eyes were much better, but the tiny writing in the Angria books was too small for me.

'Oh no,' she said. 'It's not in my handwriting; it is printed.' She held out the book in her hand.

'My dear! Think how much it will cost! You will almost certainly lose money, because no one will buy it! No one knows your name!'

'I don't think so, father. I didn't pay to get it printed, you know. The publishers paid me. Listen to what people say about it in these magazines.'

She sat down, and read to me from some of the most famous magazines in England. There were long articles in them, about a book called Jane Eyre, by Currer Bell. They were kind articles; most of the magazine writers liked the book.

'This Currer Bell, then,' I asked. 'Is it you?'

Charlotte laughed. 'Yes, papa. It's a man's name, with the same first letters: CB — Charlotte Brontë, Currer Bell.'

She gave me the book, and went out. I began to read.

I think I read for two hours, but it seemed like ten minutes. It was a wonderful, beautiful book — the story of a little girl called Jane Eyre. Her parents are dead, so she lives with an unkind aunt and her children. Then Jane goes away to a school called Lowood. This school is a terrible place, and it is very like the school at Cowan Bridge. Jane Eyre's best friend, Helen Burns, falls ill at the school, and dies. This Helen is just like my own little Maria. When I read about her death, my eyes fillled with tears. But it was a beautiful book, too; I did not want to put it down.

At five o'clock I got up and went into the sitting-room. My three daughters sat there waiting for me. Their eyes were very bright. I still had tears in my eyes, but I had a big smile on my face too. I held up Jane Eyre in my hand, and said: 'Girls, do you know Charlotte has written a book? And it is more than good, you know — it is very, very fine indeed!'

worse and worse 越来越糟。比较级连用，表示越来越……。

wicked adj. bad, sinful, wrong. 坏的，心坏的。

publish v. press in public medium. 发表，出版。

argue v. show or say or express different opinion. 争论，争吵。

packet n. small bundle or bag. 小包裹，小捆。

still adj. not moving, quiet. 静止的，不动的。

shape n. outline, outside form or design. 外形，形状，轮廓。

childish adj. behaving like a child. 儿童般的，孩子的。

printed adj. (marks etc.) typed by machine. 印刷的。

7　柯勒、埃利斯和阿克顿·贝尔

大约是在1845年，我几乎全瞎了。我请了一个新的副牧师替我工作，他就是阿瑟·尼科尔斯，一个28岁的年轻人。和我一样，他来自北爱尔兰。他人很好，工作也勤奋。我只在星期天讲道，其余的活儿都是阿瑟·尼科尔斯干。

布兰韦尔的情况越来越糟了，鲁滨逊先生在1846年去世了，可鲁滨逊太太并没有嫁给布兰韦尔——噢，没有！她是个冷血的、邪恶的女人，她把我儿子打发掉，自己后来嫁给了一个老富翁。这样布兰韦尔就花越来越多的时间喝酒和鸦片酊，或者一个人在荒野上踱步。

当人眼睛瞎后，听东西就会格外仔细。我常常一个人坐在自己的房间里，听着屋外风的声音。风儿说着、低语着、唱着——它有很多种声调。我也听着楼梯上大钟嘀哒嘀哒的响声，炉火中木柴的噼叭声以及女儿们在房子里的脚步声。她们谈论许多事，有时我还能听见她们谈话的内容，即使她们是在另一个房间。

安妮有一首诗在杂志上发表了。一天我听到了夏洛蒂和爱米丽之间的谈话，夏洛蒂读到了爱米丽写的东西，正和她谈论着。

“可它们很棒啊，爱米丽。”夏洛蒂说，“它们比我和安妮的强多了。”

“那不是写给人看的，”爱米丽说，“它们是哥恩达尔故事的一部分，除了我和安妮，没有谁能懂。”

我听出来她们在谈论爱米丽的诗。我知道爱米丽和安妮写了很多关于哥恩达尔的故事。但我了解得不多。爱米丽把她所有的诗稿都锁在自己的书桌里。

夏洛蒂和她争论道：“爱米丽，听我说！这些都是好诗，我觉得我们应该把它同我和安妮的诗一起编成一本书，试着出版。人们应该读到它们！”

“不！”爱米丽喊道。她的“管家”也跟着叫了起来，我就听不清后面的谈话了。但我想她们就这个话题又谈了好几次。我经常听到争论的声音，一般来说，她们从不会为写作而争论的。

我想劝她们不要出书。我曾出过几本自己的小书，但总是赔钱。我得付钱给出版商印书，而并没有多少人买这些书。这真是一桩太容易亏本的事。但我病得很厉害，就什么也没说。

很多年以后，我了解到她们付了三十多英镑印这本诗集，只卖了两本。她们瞒着我，我倒不觉得奇怪；家里的钱太少了。

我开始觉得我的脑子出毛病了，眼睛也不对劲。有几次邮差给我们送来一个旧包裹，上面写着“柯勒·贝尔先生收”。我告诉他霍沃思没有叫这个名字的人，然后把他打发走了。可一两个月后，他又把同一个包裹送了过来。

1846年的夏天，夏洛蒂带我去曼彻斯特看眼科大夫。我们住在镇上的房子里，大夫决定给我的眼睛做手术，第二天我们起得很早。我有点儿害怕。当医生用刀切到我的眼睛时，我的头能保持不动吗？也许会疼得很厉害。也许我会动，会站起来，或是……

夏洛蒂握着我的手，我们离开家时，碰上了一个邮差。

“早上好，小姐，”他说，“这儿有个给柯勒·贝尔的包裹。”

“哦……谢谢。”夏洛蒂听上去有些难过，但她接过包裹，把它放回自己的房间。她并没有打开它。然后我们去了眼科大夫那儿。

手术非常痛苦，好在15分钟就结束了。我坚持着没有动。之后我躺在一间黑屋子里的床上。在医院里我们待了一个月，不能回家。有个护士不时来一下，夏洛蒂则一天到晚地陪着我。

我曾问起她包裹的事。她说：“哦，那包裹是寄给我一个朋友的，爸爸。里面有一封给我的信，我现在已经把它寄走了。”

我听不太明白，但没有再问。我整天差不多都静静地躺在床上，夏洛蒂则在隔壁的屋子里写作。她写得很快，一连写好几个钟头，一次也不停笔。她看上去很安静，却又莫名其妙地有些高兴。

我也挺高兴。医生做的手术挺成功，我又能看见东西了。这真是太好了——所有东西的色彩和形状都是那么美丽。当我们回到霍沃思时，我终于能清楚地看见每一样东西了——家、教堂、墓地、荒野、我的爱米丽和安妮的脸庞！

还有布兰韦尔。

布兰韦尔的脸看上去有些吓人。他的脸又苍白又消瘦，眼睛又大又黑，头发蓬乱。他的衣服肮脏，气味难闻，双手抖个不停。他不住地叫喊、哭泣，而且每天都向我要钱。

夜里我让他睡在我的房里，他就一连几个小时地给我讲鲁滨逊太太，让我没法睡觉。我还记得他的那些画和故事，他那快活的、孩子般的笑声。我聪明的好儿子现在成了一个酒鬼。

1846年的冬天非常寒冷，风把雪花吹起来，在屋子四周和墓地上空盘旋。村子里大批的孩子死去了。安妮也生病了，布兰韦尔更糟糕。我们在每间屋子里都生起了火，可是早上窗户内层还是结了冰。我把大部分时间都花在陪布兰韦尔上，没有太注意女儿们。

后来，一天下午，夏洛蒂来到我的房间。我坐在现在的这把椅子上，就在炉火旁。她手里拿着本书，脸上带着一种奇怪的快乐表情。

“爸爸，”她说，“我一直在写本书。”

我微笑着说：“是吗，亲爱的？”我以为她又写了本关于安哥利亚的小书。

“是啊，我还想让您读读呢。”

“噢，恐怕会太伤我的眼睛的。”我的眼睛虽然好多了，但是安哥利亚故事里纤细的笔迹对我来说还是太小了些。

“哦，不！”她说，“不是我手写的，是印刷的。”她把手里的书递了过来。

“亲爱的，想想这得花多少钱！你几乎肯定要赔钱的，因为没有人会买！没有人知道你的名字！”

“我倒不这么看，爸爸，要知道我没有付印刷费。出版商付给我钱。听听，这些杂志上人们是怎么说这本书的。”

她坐下来，给我念英格兰最有名的一些杂志上的文章。那上面有几篇长长的文章，都是评论一本叫《简·爱》的书，作者是柯勒·贝尔。那些评论都很善意，大多数杂志作者都很喜欢这本书。

“那么说这个柯勒·贝尔就是你啰？”我问。

夏洛蒂大笑起来，“是呵，爸爸。这是个男人的名字，但和我的名字有同样的首字母：CB—夏洛蒂·勃朗特，柯勒·贝尔。”

她把书给我，就出去了。我开始读它。

我想我读了两个钟头，却好像只有10分钟，这是本奇妙而美丽的书——关于一个叫简·爱的女孩的故事。她父母死了，所以和一个坏舅妈及她的孩子们住在一起，后来简去了一个叫劳渥德的学校，那是个可怕的地方，非常像考恩桥的那所学校。简·爱最好的朋友海伦·彭斯在学校染上了病，死了。这个海伦就像是我的小玛丽亚。当我读到她的死时，我的双眼噙满了泪水。但这确是一本优美的书。我简直不想把它放下来。

5点钟我起身走进客厅，我的三个女儿都坐在那儿等着我。她们的眼睛都闪着亮。我的眼里还含着眼泪，可脸上带着舒心的笑容。我举起《简·爱》，说：“孩子们，你们知道夏洛蒂写了本书吗？它简直棒极了，你们知道吗——确实非常、非常好！”

8

The best days, and the worst days

Emily and Anne did know, of course. They had known about Charlotte's book for a long time. Jane Eyre was not the first book that Charlotte had sent to a publisher. Over a year ago she had written another book, The Professor, and sent it to one publisher after another. Each publisher had sent it back, in a packet addressed to Currer Bell. And then Charlotte had sent it, in the same old packet, to another publisher, and then another, and got it back again.

'Why didn't you change the paper on the packet, my dear?' I asked.

Charlotte smiled. 'I didn't think of it, papa. The worst day was when we were in Manchester, going to the eye doctor. Do you remember? The packet came back then. That was the day before I started writing Jane Eyre.'

'Do you mean that you started writing Jane Eyre while I was lying in that dark room in Manchester?'

'That's right, papa.'

'But that's only six months ago, and here is the book in my hand!'

'Yes, papa. The book was printed a month after I sent it to the publisher.'

'My dear! They decided very quickly that they liked it, then!'

'I think they did, papa. After all, it is a good book, isn't it?'

She smiled at me. I don't think I have ever seen her so happy. She is a very small person, Charlotte, and not a beautiful woman; but when she smiles like that, her face shines like a fine painting. My wife, Maria, used to look like that sometimes when I first met her.

I took her hand in mine. 'It is a very good book, my dear. I cannot tell you how proud I am.'

She touched my hand. 'Thank you, papa. But you must not be proud of me alone, you know. Anne and Emily —'

'Oh no, Charlotte, please!' Emily said.

But Charlotte did not stop. '... Anne and Emily have written books too — books just as good as mine — and their books will soon be published as well! Let me introduce you, papa. These young ladies are not your daughters — they are Acton Bell and Ellis Bell, brothers of the famous writer Currer Bell!'

Emily's face was bright red, but Anne and Charlotte started laughing. I was very surprised.

'All three of you!' I said. 'But... but why do you use these strange names?'

'Because people are stupid, papa,' Anne said. 'No one thinks women can write good books, so we have used men's names instead. And now they say that Currer Bell is a writer who understands women very well!' She laughed again.

'My dears, my dears!' I held out my hands to them, and kissed each of them in turn. 'I don't know what to say. I am so pleased for you all. You have made your old papa happy today.' Something in Emily's face stopped me. 'Emily? You will let me read your book, won't you?'

She thought for a moment. 'Yes, papa. Of course. But... it's very different from Charlotte's. I'm not sure you'll like it.'

'You yourself are very different from Charlotte, my dear, but I love you both. You must show me the book as soon as it comes — and you too, Anne.'

I read both their books that winter. They were very different. Anne's book — Agnes Grey — was the story of an unhappy governess. As I read it, I was sad to think how miserable Anne had been, in a big house away from home, where no one understood her. It was a good book, but it was harder to read than Jane Eyre.

Emily's book was called Wuthering Heights. It was a terrible, frightening, wonderful story. There is love in it, and hate, and fear, and a man called Heathcliff, who is strong and cruel like the devil himself. I read it late one night when the wind was screaming round the house, blowing snow against all the windows, and sometimes I was afraid. When I got up to go to bed, I saw Emily sitting quietly by the fire. She was stroking her big dog, Keeper, with one hand, and drawing a picture with the other.

She looked like a quiet, gentle young woman, I thought. Tall, pretty, and also... There was something different about her. Something very strange and very strong. There was something in her that was stronger than any of her sisters, even Charlotte. Something stronger than even me, or her brother Branwell.

Much stronger than Branwell.

All that year Branwell was very ill. He spent more and more time drinking. He slept most of the day, and was awake half of the night. His face was white, his hands shook when he tried to write. His sisters didn't tell him about their books, or show him the new ones that they were writing. They were afraid that he would be unhappy about their success, because he had wanted to be a writer himself. He made life hard for all of us.

In September 1848 he became very ill. He coughed all day and all night. He began to talk of death, and asked us to pray with him. While we stood together, praying, he began to cough again. He fell to the ground. Emily and I put our arms round him, but he couldn't get up. There was blood on his mouth, and on Emily's dress.

When he stopped coughing, it was because he had stopped breathing. My only son was dead.

We buried him in the church beside his mother and little sisters. It was a cold, rainy afternoon. There were dead wet leaves in the graveyard, and the wind blew rain into our faces. I came back into the house soon afterwards, but Emily walked for an hour or two in the rain with her dog, Keeper. When she came back into the house, her dress was wet through.

Several days later Emily became ill. Her face was hot, she couldn't eat, she kept moving round the house. It was difficult for her to breathe, and it took her a long time to climb the stairs. Charlotte felt her heart — it was beating a hundred and fifteen times a minute.

'Let me call a doctor, Emily,' Charlotte said.

But Emily refused. 'If he comes, I won't talk to him.'

'Then go to bed and rest, please. I can light a fire in your room, and bring you milk and read to you if you like. You need rest, sister!'

'I... do... not!' said Emily slowly. She had to breathe hard between each word, and her face was as white as Branwell's had been. 'My body... doesn't... matter now. I don't... care... about it. I'll live... as I always... have.'

And so, every day, she got up at seven o'clock, dressed herself, and stayed downstairs until ten at night. She ate little or nothing, and coughed for hours. Sometimes she coughed blood. She never went out of the house, but one day Charlotte brought some heather from the moors for her to look at. Emily was lying on the black sofa in the sitting-room. Her dog, Keeper, lay on the floor in front of her.

'Look, Emily,' Charlotte said. 'I've found some purple heather for you. There are still one or two flowers left on the moor.'

'Where?' Emily asked.

'Here. Look.' Charlotte held out the small, bright purple flower.

Emily turned and looked at Charlotte, but I don't think she could see the heather. Her eyes were too bad. Charlotte put it in Emily's hands, but after a moment Emily dropped it on the floor.

At last she said: 'Charlotte, I... will see... the doctor now. If he... comes.' Then she closed her eyes.

Emily was so thin, and her white skin looked like paper. I knew it was too late, but I said to Anne: 'Quick! Put on your coat and fetch him, now!'

We did not have long to wait. The doctor came, half an hour later, to tell us what we already knew. Emily, my daughter, was dead.

1848 was a year of funerals. I buried many children from the village that year. There was a lot of sadness in Haworth. As I came out of the church with the dead flowers from Emily's grave, I saw three other families walk past me. They had come to visit the graves of their own dead children.

The people understood that their children were with God, but no one could explain that to Emily's dog, Keeper. He followed us to her funeral, and for weeks afterwards, he lay outside her bedroom and howled.

same adj. not different. 同样的。

stupid adj. silly or foolish. 愚蠢的。

cruel adj. pleased in suffering others. 残暴的，残忍的。

devil n. spirit of evil, wicked spirit. 魔鬼，恶人。

shake v. move up and down, to and fro. 哆嗦。

heather n. （一种植物）石楠。

purple adj. colour of red and blue mixed. 紫色的。

funeral n. burial ceremony. 葬礼。

8　最好的和最坏的日子

爱米丽和安妮当然知道，她们知道夏洛蒂写了这本书已经很长时间了。《简·爱》并不是夏洛蒂寄给出版商的第一部书。一年多以前她写过另一本书，名叫《教授》，寄给了一个又一个出版商。可是每次都被退了回来，包裹上写着柯勒·贝尔的名字。夏洛蒂又把包裹按原样寄给一家又一家出版商，结果还是一样。

“可你为什么不把包裹上的纸换一下呢，我亲爱的？”我问。

夏洛蒂笑了，“我没有想过这个，爸爸，最坏的一天是我们在曼彻斯特，要去看眼科医生之前，您还记得吗？就在那时包裹被退回来了，那是我开始写《简·爱》的前一天。”

“你是说就是在我躺在曼彻斯特的黑屋子里的时候，你开始写《简·爱》的？”

“对啊，爸爸。”

“可那只是六个月以前的事啊，现在这本书就已经在我手里了！”

“是的，爸爸。我把稿子寄给出版商一个月后，这本书就开始印刷了。”

“亲爱的！也就是说他们很快就决定了他们喜欢你的书！”

“我想是这样，爸爸。毕竟，这的确是一本好书，对吗？”

她朝我微笑着，我觉得还从未见过她这么快活过。夏洛蒂个子矮小，也并不美丽，但当她那样微笑时，脸上就焕发出光彩，宛如一幅精美的画。当我刚碰到我妻子玛丽亚时，她有时看上去也是这个样子。

我把她的手握在我手中。“这是一本非常好的书，亲爱的，我说不出有多自豪。”

她抚摸着我的手，“谢谢您，爸爸。可您不能只为我一个人自豪呀，您知道吗，还有安妮和爱米丽——”

“噢，不，夏洛蒂，求你了！”爱米丽说。

但是夏洛蒂并没有停下来，“……安妮和爱米丽也写了和我一样好的书——她们的书很快也要出版了！让我来介绍一下，爸爸。这些年轻的女士不是您的女儿——她们是阿克顿·贝尔和埃利斯·贝尔，著名作家柯勒·贝尔的兄弟！”

爱米丽的脸通红放光，而安妮和夏洛蒂开始放声大笑。我非常惊讶。

“你们三个都出书了！”我说，“不过……不过你们为什么用这些古怪的名字呢？”

“因为人们愚蠢，爸爸。”安妮说，“谁也不相信女人能写出好书，所以我们就用男人的名字代替。现在他们说柯勒·贝尔是一个非常了解女人的作家。”她又笑了起来。

“亲爱的，亲爱的孩子们！”我向她们伸出手，挨个亲了亲，“我简直不知道说什么好了。我真为你们高兴。你们今天可让你们的老爸爸开心了。”爱米丽脸上的表情让我停了下来，“爱米丽？你也会让我读你的书，是吗？”

她想了一会儿说：“是的，爸爸。当然。但是……它和夏洛蒂的书非常不一样。我不敢保证您会喜欢它。”

“你自己就和夏洛蒂非常不同啊，亲爱的，可你们两个我都喜欢。等你的书一出来，你一定要马上给我看——还有你，安妮。”

那年冬天我读了她们俩的书。它们大不一样。安妮的书——《艾格尼丝·格雷》——是写一个不快乐的家庭女教师。我一边读，一边难过地想：在安妮离开家，去那所大房子的日子里，她的处境曾多么悲惨；在那儿没有人理解她。这是本好书，但比《简·爱》晦涩些。

爱米丽的书叫作《呼啸山庄》，那是一个骇人而奇异的故事。它描述了爱情、仇恨、恐惧和一个叫希斯克利夫的男人，他强壮、冷酷，像一个魔鬼。有一天夜里我读它读到很晚，风在屋子周围呼啸着，把雪吹到每一扇窗户上，有几次我简直被吓坏了。当我起身去卧室时，看见爱米丽静静地坐在炉火旁，一只手抚摸着他的“管家”，另一只手在画画。

她看上去是个安静而温柔的年轻姑娘，我想，个子高挑、漂亮，而且……有些与众不同。她有一种非常奇特、非常坚强的东西。她身上有种比她任何姐妹都要坚强的东西，甚至超过了夏洛蒂，甚至超过了我和她的哥哥布兰韦尔。

她强过布兰韦尔许多许多。

那一年布兰韦尔病得非常厉害。他把越来越多的时间花在喝酒上。白天差不多整天睡觉，半夜里才醒来。他脸色苍白，手一写字就哆嗦。他的姐妹们没有和他讲过她们的书，也没有给他看过她们正在写的新书。她们害怕他会因为她们的成功而难过，因为他自己本来想当作家。他让我们大家的日子都不好过。

1848年9月，他病得更重了，整日整夜地咳嗽。他开始谈到死亡，并让我们和他一起祷告。当我们站在一起祷告时，他又咳嗽起来。他摔倒在地板上。爱米丽和我用胳膊抱住他，可他站不起来了。他嘴里流出了血，流到爱米丽的衣服上。

他不再咳嗽了，因为他已停止了呼吸。我唯一的儿子死了。

我们把他埋在教堂，挨着他妈妈和他的小姐姐们。那是个寒冷的、阴雨连绵的下午。墓地上铺满潮湿的枯叶，风把雨吹到我们脸上。后来我很快回到屋里，可爱米丽带着“管家”在雨中走了一两个小时。等她回家时，衣服全湿透了。

几天后，爱米丽病倒了。她的脸在发烧，吃不下东西，在房子周围走来走去。她呼吸困难，上楼梯要花很长时间。夏洛蒂试了试她的心跳——一分钟跳到了115次。

“我去叫医生吧，爱米丽。”夏洛蒂说。

可爱米丽拒绝了，“如果他来，我就不理他。”

“那么上床休息吧，求你了。我给你在房间生上火，再给你端杯牛奶。如果你愿意，我念书给你听。你需要休息，妹妹！”

“我……不……需要！”爱米丽慢慢地说。每说一个字她都要艰难地喘半天气，脸色像布兰韦尔的一样苍白。“我的身体……现在没有……关系。我不……在乎。我会……和往常……一样……生活。”

这样，每天她7点钟起床，穿好衣服，在楼下待到晚上10点。她吃得很少，或者干脆不吃，几个小时地咳嗽。有时咳出了血。她再也没出过门。但有一天夏洛蒂从荒野摘了些石楠来给她看。爱米丽躺在客厅的黑沙发上，她的“管家”趴在她跟前的地板上。

“看，爱米丽。”夏洛蒂说，“我给你采了些紫石楠花，野地里有一两朵还没凋谢。”

“在哪儿？”爱米丽问。

“这儿，看。”夏洛蒂递过紫色的小花。

爱米丽转过头来看着夏洛蒂，可我觉得她看不见石楠了。她的视力太糟了。夏洛蒂把花放到爱米丽手中，可过了一会儿，爱米丽把花掉到了地板上。

终于她说：“夏洛蒂，我……要看……医生了，如果他……能来的话。”说完她就闭上了眼睛。

爱米丽已经非常消瘦，皮肤看上去像纸一般苍白。我知道已经太迟了，可还是对安妮说：“快！穿上外套去叫医生，马上！”

没等多久——半小时以后医生就来了。他告诉了我们已知道的消息。爱米丽，我的女儿，她死了。

1848年是个葬礼之年，那年我主持了村里许多孩子的葬礼。霍沃思充满了悲哀的气氛。当我拿着爱米丽墓前枯萎的花从教堂里出来时，还看见另外三家人从我身旁走过，他们是来给自己死去的孩子扫墓的。

人们知道他们的孩子是和上帝在一起了，但没有人能给爱米丽的“管家”解释这个。它跟着我们参加了她的葬礼，以后好几个星期，它躺在她的卧室门外，叫着。

9

Arthur Nicholls

That was not the end of my sadness. Anne, too, became ill. She could not breathe, she coughed, her face was white. But she was more sensible than Emily. She took all her medicines, and did everything the doctors said. It didn't help much. In the spring she said she wanted to go to the sea, to a warmer place. The doctors told her to wait. I thought she would die before she went.

At last, in May, Charlotte went away with her. They went to York first, where they visited a wonderful church, York Minster. 'If men can make something as beautiful as this,' Anne whispered, 'what is God's real home like?'

Charlotte told me this in a letter she sent from Scarborough, a town by the sea on the north-east coast.

'On 26th May Anne rode a donkey on the beach,' the letter said. 'She was very happy, papa. Afterwards we went to church and then sat and watched the sea for a long time. On the 28th she was too ill to go out. She died quietly at two o'clock in the afternoon. She will be buried in a graveyard near the sea.'

Anne was the baby of the family, the youngest and prettiest of them all. Before she died, she wrote another book — The Tenant of Wildfell Hall — about a woman who left her cruel husband. She was proud of it, and so was I. She was twenty-nine years old. 'I don't want to die, papa,' she said. 'I have too many ideas in my head, too many books to write.'

When Charlotte came home the dogs barked happily. Perhaps they thought Anne and Emily and Branwell were coming home too — I don't know. But it was only Charlotte. The smallest of all my children. Not the prettiest, not the strongest, not the strangest. God had taken all those for himself. He had left me with the one who would become the most famous. And the one who nearly had a child.

Charlotte wrote two more books: Shirley, about a strong brave woman like her sister Emily; and Villette, about love between a teacher and a pupil. But Jane Eyre was her most famous book. Everyone in England talked about it; everyone wanted to read it.

Charlotte went to London and met many famous writers. I was very pleased; I loved to hear about the people and places that she saw. But she always came back to Haworth; she didn't like to be with famous people very long. And this quiet place was her home.

In 1852, just before Christmas, a terrible thing happened. I heard some of it from my room. My curate, Arthur Nicholls, opened the door to Charlotte's sitting-room, and stood there. His face was white, and he was shaking.

'Yes, Mr Nicholls?' Charlotte said. 'Do you want to come in?'

'No, Miss Charlotte — that is, yes. I mean — I have something important to say to you.'

I heard his voice stop for a moment and then he went on. 'I have always... felt strongly about you, Miss Charlotte, and... my feelings are stronger, much stronger, than you know. And, well, the fact is, Miss Charlotte, that... I am asking you to be my wife.'

There was a long silence. I heard every word, and I felt cold and angry. Mr Nicholls was a good curate, but that was all. I paid him ￡100 a year to help me with my work, but he had no place in my house, or in my daughter's bed! I stood up, and opened my door.

'Mr Nichols!'

He turned and looked at me. I could see Charlotte behind him.

'You will leave this house at once, Mr Nicholls. I am very, very angry! You must not speak to my daughter again — ever! Do you understand me?'

The stupid man was shaking and almost crying! I thought he was ill. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Then he turned and went out of the door.

Mr Nicholls stayed in his own house for three days. He refused to eat, the stupid man, and he sent me some angry letters. But Charlotte wrote to him, to say that she would not marry him. Then Mr Nicholls said he would leave Haworth, and go to Australia.

On his last day, in church, he had to give people bread to eat. But when he held out the bread to Charlotte, he could not do it, because he was shaking and crying so much. Afterwards, the people of Haworth gave him a gold watch. He cried about that, too.

I thought it was all finished, but I was wrong. I think he wrote to Charlotte, and she wrote back. In April of 1854, he came back to Haworth. Charlotte brought him into my room. I looked at him, but I said nothing. I was not pleased.

'Papa,' Charlotte said. 'Mr Nicholls and I have something to say to you.'

I did not like that. 'Mr Nicholls and I...' It did not sound good to me.

'I am busy,' I said. 'I have a lot of work.'

Charlotte smiled. 'That's because you don't have a good curate, papa. When Mr Nicholls was here, your life was easy.'

'Perhaps,' I said. 'But he was going to Australia, I thought. Why haven't you gone, sir?'

Mr Nicholls spoke for the first time. He looked very tall and proud, I thought. 'There are two reasons, sir,' he said. 'First, because I have decided not to go to Australia. And also...'

He stopped, and looked down at Charlotte. She smiled up at him, and I felt my blood run cold.

'... and also, because your daughter Charlotte and I would like to be married. We have come to ask you to agree.'

I don't remember what I said next. I think there were a lot of unkind words between us, and some tears. But in the end I agreed. I agreed because Charlotte wanted it, not because of Arthur Nicholls.

In June that year they were married in my church. I did not go — I could not give Charlotte away to that man. But he came back here to be my curate, and he and Charlotte lived in this house with me. He is still here now.

Perhaps he will read this. If he does, he will know that he was right, and I was wrong. Mr Nicholls was, after all, a good husband for Charlotte. I understood, after a while, that he honestly loved her, and he could make her happy. She began to smile and laugh again. Her eyes shone, she sang sometimes as she worked. Our house became a home again.

She went with him to see his family in Ireland, and travelled to the far west of that country. Mr Nicholls did most of my church work for me. Charlotte began a new book — Emma, she called it. And one day in December 1854 she came into my room, smiling. I could see that she was excited.

'What is it, my dear? Have you finished your book?'

'No, not yet, papa. But I have something wonderful to tell you. What do you think?'

'I don't know, my dear. If it's not your book, then...'

'I told Arthur yesterday. I am going to have a child.'

I did not say anything. Her hand was on the table and I put my hand on it gently. It was wonderful news. I remembered when my own wife, Maria, had told me this, and how this house had been full of the laughter of little voices, and the noise of running feet. Charlotte and I sat like that for a long time, remembering.

It did not happen. At Christmas she fell ill, and in the New Year she was worse. She felt sick all the time because of the baby, and she ate nothing. She lay in bed all day, hot and coughing. Arthur Nicholls cared for her wonderfully — I think he often stayed awake all night. But it did not help.

On 31st March 1855 the last of my six children died. It was early in the morning. Arthur Nicholls was sitting by her bed, and I was standing by the door. She was asleep with her hand in his. Her face was very thin and pale.

She opened her eyes and saw him. Then she coughed, and I saw fear in her face.

'Oh God,' she whispered. 'I am not going to die, am I? Please don't take me away from Arthur now — we have been so happy.'

Those were the last words she ever said. A little while later, I walked slowly out of the house. As I went into the graveyard, the church bell began to ring. It was ringing to tell Haworth and all the world that Charlotte Brontë was dead.

sadness n. 悲哀。

tenant n. person who pays rent for the use of a room, land, building, etc. 房客，承租人。

bark v. （犬）吠。

give people bread to eat 基督教的一种仪式，以面包象征耶稣的身体，众人分食面包以纪念耶稣为世人而死。

unkind adj. unfriendly. 不好的，不友好的。

shine v. reflect light. 闪耀。

It does not help. 无济于事。

whisper v. speak very quietly, using the breath but not the voice. 低语，耳语。

9　阿瑟·尼科尔斯

我的悲哀还没有结束。安妮也开始生病了，她呼吸吃力，咳嗽着，脸色苍白。但她比爱米丽明智，她吃了各种药，完全遵医嘱行事。可是并不怎么管用。春天来了，她说想去海边，去一个暖和些的地方，可大夫们让她等等。我预感到她可能等不到动身就会死去。

最后在5月份，夏洛蒂和她一起，先去了约克，在那儿参观了美丽的约克·敏斯特大教堂。“人类的作品已经如此美丽，”安妮叹息道，“上帝的家园又会是什么样呢？”

夏洛蒂在一封寄自斯卡伯勒的信中向我讲述了这件事，那是位于东北部海边的一个城镇。

“5月26日安妮在岸边骑了一头驴子。”信中写道，“她非常快活，爸爸。然后我们去了教堂，又坐着，看着大海，在那儿待了很长时间。28号她病得不能出门。下午两点钟她静静地死了。她将葬在海边的墓地。”

安妮是家中最小的孩子，最年轻，也最漂亮。她死前写了另一本书——《瓦尔德费尔庄园的房客》——关于一个妇女离开她残酷的丈夫的故事。她为这本书自豪，我也是。她当时29岁。“我不想死，爸爸。”她说，“我的脑子里还有许多许多构思，我还有许多许多的书要写。”

夏洛蒂回家时，狗儿们欢快地叫着。或许它们以为安妮、爱米丽和布兰韦尔也一同回来了——我不知道。可是只有夏洛蒂回来了。我所有孩子中个子最小的一个，她不是最美的，不是最坚强的，也不是最怪异的一个。上帝把其他孩子都召了回去，只留给我这一个，但她将成为最有名的一个。她差一点就有了自己的孩子。

夏洛蒂又写了另外两本书：《雪莉》是关于一个像爱米丽一样坚强勇敢的妇女的故事；《维莱特》写的是一对师生之间的爱情故事。不过《简·爱》是她最著名的作品，英格兰上下每个人都在谈论它，每个人都想读它。

夏洛蒂去了伦敦，会晤了许多有名的作家。我非常高兴；我爱听她谈论她见到的人和去过的地方。但她最后总是回到霍沃思。她不喜欢和有名的人物在一起待太长时间。只有这个安静的地方才是她的家。

1852年圣诞节前，发生了一件可怕的事。我从我的房间里听到一些声音。我的副牧师，阿瑟·尼科尔斯先生，推开了夏洛蒂起居室的门，站在那儿。他脸色苍白，浑身发抖。

“哦，尼科尔斯先生，”夏洛蒂说，“您想进来吗？”

“不，夏洛蒂小姐——我是说是的。我的意思是——我有件重要的事要跟您说。”

我听见他的声音停了一下，又继续说道：“我对您总是……有一种强烈的感情，夏洛蒂小姐，而且……我的感情越来越强烈，比您知道的要强烈得多。嗯，那么，事实是，夏洛蒂小姐，那就是……我请求您做我的妻子。”

一段长时间的沉默。我听见了每一个字，我又冷，又生气。尼科尔斯先生是个优秀的副牧师，但仅此而已。我每年付他100英镑来帮我工作，可他在我家里没有位置，更不可能和我女儿结婚！我站起身，把门推开。

“尼科尔斯先生！”

他转过身来看着我。我看见夏洛蒂站在他身后。

“你马上离开这所房子，尼科尔斯先生。我非常生气！不许你再和我女儿说话——永远！你听明白了吗？”

那个笨家伙浑身颤抖着，快要哭出来了！我觉得他是生病了。他张开嘴巴，可是一个字也说不出。然后他转身走出了房门。

尼科尔斯先生在他的房间待了三天。他绝食，这个笨家伙还写了些愤怒的信给我。但夏洛蒂也给他写了信，说她不会嫁给他。后来尼科尔斯先生说他要离开霍沃思，去澳大利亚。

最后一天，在教堂他得给人们做分面包的仪式。当他把面包递给夏洛蒂时，他简直无法进行下去了，他哆嗦着，哭得那么厉害。然后，霍沃思的人们送了他一块金表。他为这个又哭了。

我以为一切都结束了，可我错了。我猜他写信给夏洛蒂，而她也回了信。1854年4月，他又回到了霍沃思，夏洛蒂把他带进我的房间，我看着他，一言不发。我挺不高兴。

“爸爸，”夏洛蒂说，“尼科尔斯先生和我有件事要告诉您。”

我可不乐意她那么说。“尼科尔斯先生和我……”听上去不大妙。

“我没空，”我说，“我有好多事要干。”

夏洛蒂微笑了，“那是因为您没有一个称职的副牧师，爸爸。尼科尔斯先生在这儿的时候，您很轻松。”

“也许吧，”我说道，“但我记得他要去澳大利亚的呀。您怎么还没有走啊，先生？”

尼科尔斯先生第一次开口讲了话。我记得他看上去个子很高，神情骄傲。“有两个原因，先生，”他说，“首先是因为我决定不去澳大利亚了，另外……”

他停下来，低头看着夏洛蒂。她抬头笑吟吟地望着他。我觉得血液都要冷却了。

“……另外，因为您的女儿夏洛蒂和我打算结婚了。我们是来请求您的同意的。”

我记不得后来我说了什么，大概是我们两人之间说了一大堆不友好的话，都流了泪。不过最后我还是同意了。之所以这样做是为了夏洛蒂，这是她想要的；而不是因为阿瑟·尼科尔斯。

那年6月份，他们在我主持的教堂结了婚，可我没去——我不愿把夏洛蒂交给那个男人。但他仍回到这里来做我的副牧师。他、夏洛蒂和我一起住在这所房子里。他现在还在这儿。

或许他会读到这段文字。如果读了，他就会知道他是对的，而我错了。不管怎样，尼科尔斯先生是夏洛蒂的好丈夫。一段时间之后我才看出来。他真诚地爱着她，能给她带来欢乐。她又开始笑了，她的眸子闪烁着光彩，有时工作着就会唱起歌来。我们的家又像个家了。

她和他一起去了他的爱尔兰老家，一直旅行到西边很远的地方。尼科尔斯先生为我分担了教堂的绝大部分工作。夏洛蒂开始着手写一本新书——她为这本书取名为《艾玛》。1854年12月的一天，她来到了我的房间，脸上挂着微笑，看得出她很兴奋。

“怎么了，亲爱的？你写完书了？”

“不，还没呢，爸爸。但我有个好消息要告诉您。您猜是什么？”

“我猜不出，亲爱的。如果不是关于你的书，那么……”

“我昨天已经告诉了阿瑟。我怀孕了。”

我什么也没说。她的手正放在桌上，我轻轻地把手放到她的手上。这真是个好消息。我记得妻子玛丽亚也曾告诉我这样的好消息，还记得这房子里是如何地充满了稚嫩的欢笑和欢快跑动的脚步声。夏洛蒂和我就那么坐了好久，回忆着这一切。

可事情并未发生。圣诞节时她病了，到了元旦她病得更重了。由于胎儿的缘故，她总是感到恶心，什么也吃不下。她整天躺在床上，发着烧而且咳嗽。阿瑟·尼科尔斯很细心地照顾她——我想他经常整宿地不睡，但这也无济于事。

1855年3月31日，我六个孩子中的最后一个死了。那是个清晨，阿瑟·尼科尔斯坐在她的床边，我站在门旁。她的手放在他的手里睡着了。她的脸是那么消瘦、苍白。

她睁开眼睛看着他，然后又是一阵咳嗽，在她脸上我看到了恐惧的神色。

“噢，上帝，”她叹息道，“我不会死的，是吗？请别现在就把我从阿瑟身边带走——我们是多么幸福啊！”

那是她最后的话。过了一小会儿，我慢慢地走出了屋子。当我走进墓地时，教堂的钟敲响了，那是在告诉霍沃思和全世界，夏洛蒂·勃朗特去世了。

10

Maria

And so now I have written it. It is three o'clock in the morning. The house is very quiet and the wind has stopped. I can hear the sound of the wood burning in the fire and the clock on the stairs. Somewhere upstairs Arthur Nicholls is sleeping quietly.

I know that Charlotte's friend, Mrs Gaskell, has nearly finished her book about Charlotte. Perhaps I will show her what I have written.

Perhaps. But I don't think so. I wrote to her before, and answered her questions, and that is enough. She is a writer, she can write her own book. I will keep this book in my desk, for myself — and perhaps for Arthur Nicholls. There is no need for other people to read it. My daughter Charlotte is famous already, and when Mrs Gaskell has written about her, she will be more famous still.

I wish my wife Maria could read Charlotte's books — and Emily's, and Anne's. Perhaps she can. We had some fine children, didn't we, Maria?

I wonder if she can hear me. It is a fine night, now that the wind has stopped. There is a bright moon, and the sky is full of stars. I think I will go outside, and walk through the graveyard to the church, and talk to Maria there.

nearly adv. almost, not far from, but not quite. 几乎，近乎。

10　玛丽亚

现在我写完了。凌晨3点钟，整幢房子非常寂静，风也停了。我可以听见木柴在火中燃烧的声音，还有楼梯上钟的嘀哒声。楼上，阿瑟·尼科尔斯静静地睡着。

我知道夏洛蒂的朋友盖斯凯尔夫人快写完夏洛蒂的传记了，或许我会给她看看我写下的这些东西。

也许，但也许不会。我以前给她写过信，回答了她的一些问题，那已经够了。她是个作家，会写好自己的书的。我会把这本书放在我的书桌里，只给我自己——或许还有阿瑟·尼科尔斯看。没有必要给别人看了。我女儿夏洛蒂已经成名了，而且盖斯凯尔夫人的书写好以后，她会更出名的。

我真希望我妻子玛丽亚能读读夏洛蒂的书——还有爱米丽和安妮的。或许她能看到，我们有几个多么出色的孩子，玛丽亚，是吗？

我不知道她是否能听见我的话。今夜天气很好，风现在也已停了。一轮明月当空，天上繁星点缀。我想我会出去走走，穿过墓地，到教堂去，在那儿和玛丽亚谈谈。

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1-3 How much can you remember? Check your answers.

1 In the autumn of 1855, who was living in the Brontës' house?

2 When did the Brontë family move to Haworth?

3 Which of the six children went to Cowan Bridge School?

4 What was wrong with the school?

5 What happened to Maria and Elizabeth Brontë?

6 Why did the children start writing stories?

7 What were the names of the countries which they invented?

Chapters 4-6 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 Emily was very happy at Roe Head School.

2 Branwell was a good artist.

3 The Brontë children had to find jobs because their father was poor.

4 The girls liked working as governesses, living in big fine houses.

5 Branwell never had a job.

6 A lot of parents wanted to send their children to the Brontës' school.

7 Patrick Brontë wanted Branwell to forget Mrs Robinson.

Chapters 7-8 Who said these words, and what were they talking about?

1 'They're not for people to read.'

2 'You will almost certainly lose money, because no one will buy it!'

3 'I didn't think of it, papa.'

4 'And now they say that Currer Bell is a writer who understands women very well!'

5 'You will let me read your book, won't you?'

6 'If he comes, I won't talk to him.'

Chapter 9-10 Find answers to these questions in the text.

1 How many books did Anne Brontë write?

2 Why did Charlotte become famous?

3 Why was Patrick Brontë angry when Arthur Nicholls asked Charlotte to marry him?

4 Why did Patrick change his mind about Arthur Nicholls later?

5 Who was writing a book about Charlotte Brontë?

B Working with language

1 Complete these sentences with information from the story.

1) It was a windy day in April when the Brontë family...

2) Patrick Brontë thought it was important for his children to go to school because...

3) The children began writing stories the day after...

4) Branwell went to London in 1835, but...

5) The three girls wanted to start a school because...

6) Branwell began to drink and to take laudanum after...

7) It was difficult for women to publish books so...

2 Put these sentences in the right order. Then check your order with chapters 7 and 8.

1) After a month they returned home to Haworth.

2) Branwell died in September 1848, and soon afterwards Emily became ill.

3) He read all their books and was very proud of his daughters.

4) In the summer of 1846 Charlotte took her father to Manchester.

5) She refused to see a doctor and died some weeks later.

6) There, a doctor operated on Patrick Brontë's eyes.

7) But he was not proud of his son, Branwell, who spent most of his time drinking.

8) While her father was recovering, Charlotte began to write Jane Eyre.

9) That winter Patrick learnt that all three girls had published a book.

C Activities

1 What do you think happened to Branwell Brontë during his two weeks in London? Imagine that you met Branwell several times, and write a letter to Charlotte, telling her what happened to her brother.

2 Imagine you are a newspaper reporter, who comes to Haworth in 1847 to interview Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Describe what happened when you arrived at the Brontës' home, and write down your conversations with the three sisters.

3 Find out about the life story of a famous writer from your own country. Tell the story of this writer's life in English.

京权图字01-97-0340

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1995

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

诱拐 = Kidnapped / （英）史蒂文森（Stevenson, R. L.）著；（英）韦斯特（West, C.）改写；王青译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1998（2015.3 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1473-9

Ⅰ．诱…　Ⅱ．①史…②韦…③王…　Ⅲ．小说—英国—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（98）第19602号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：任小玫

封面设计：李　萌

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址:http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1998年9月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1473-9

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简　介

1745年起，苏格兰步入了艰难的岁月。苏格兰高地人向英格兰乔治国王发动了战争，但失败了。乔治国王的部队把很多苏格兰高地人赶出了他们的家园。

来自苏格兰低地的戴维·鲍尔弗并不为英格兰部队而烦恼。当他离家去开始新生活时，他并没有预料到任何麻烦或危险。但是，麻烦很快接踵而至。他见到了他那很有钱的叔叔，但他叔叔获悉自己有这样一个穷侄子时一点儿也不高兴。危险一个接一个。戴维来到苏格兰高地，在那儿他遇见了艾伦·布雷克，一个骄傲的斯图尔特人。斯图尔特人既恨英格兰人，又恨效忠乔治国王的坎贝尔人，所以艾伦对于戴维来说是一个危险的朋友。

接着发生了一宗谋杀案。戴维和艾伦在荒山野岭上逃命……

罗伯特·路易斯·史蒂文森于1850年生于苏格兰的爱丁堡。他受训成为一名律师，但21岁时他下决心要当一名作家。他的最著名的作品有：《诱拐》、《金银岛》和《化身博士》。1894年他在萨摩亚岛与世长辞。

1

David meets his uncle

It was early in the month of June, 1751, when I shut the door of our house behind me for the last time. All my life I had lived in the quiet little village of Essendean, in the Lowlands of Scotland, where my father had been the dominie, or schoolteacher. But now that he and my mother were both dead, I had to leave the house. The new dominie would soon arrive, and he would teach at the school and live in the dominie's house. So, although I was only seventeen, there was nowhere for me to live, and no reason for me to stay in Essendean.

But my heart was beating with excitement as I walked clown the road, because in my hand I carried the letter that my father had given me just before he died. 'Davie,' he had said. 'when I am dead, take this to the house of Shaws, near Cramond. That's where I came from, and that's where you must go. Put this letter into the hands of Ebenezer Balfour.'

Balfour! The same name as my own! It was the first time I had heard of any of our family outside Essendean.

So I decided to walk to Cramond, hoping that perhaps this Mr Balfour, in his fine big house, would receive me kindly. and help me to become a rich man one day. With my plaid over my shoulder, I walked fast up the hill away from the village. What an adventure, to leave that sleepy place, where nothing ever happened, and go to a great, busy house, to be with rich and important people of my own name and blood! But when I reached the top of the hill, I turned a little sadly, to take my last look at the dominie's house, and Essendean churchyard, where my father and mother lay.

My journey northwards took almost two days. By midday on the second day I could see the smoking chimneys of Edinburgh in front of me, and soon I arrived in Cramond.

Now I began to ask people on the road for the house of Shaws. Their answers worried me a little. Some people seemed surprised, some afraid, and some angry, when I spoke the name of Ebenezer Balfour. I could not understand this, but it was too far to go back to Essendean that day, and I wanted to find the rest of the Balfour family very much. So I continued on my way, and when I met a dark, wild-looking woman coming towards me, I asked her where the house of Shaws was. She took me to the top of the next hill, and showed me a large building standing alone in the bottom of the next valley. Although the fields around were green, and the farmland was excellent, the house itself looked unfinished and empty. Part of its roof was missing. There was no road to it, and no smoke coming from any of its chimneys, nor was there any garden.

'That!' I cried. 'No, it can't be!'

'It is!' cried the woman angrily. 'That is the house of Shaws! Blood built it, blood stopped the building of it, and blood shall bring it down! Black is the heart of Ebenezer Balfour! Ye can tell him from me that I hope to see him die, and his house fall down around him!'

The woman turned and disappeared. I stood where she left me, shaking like a leaf, and looking down at the house for a long time. But when it began to get dark, I noticed some smoke coming out of the chimney, and felt a little more hopeful. 'There must be a fire, and cooking, and people in the house,' I thought. So I walked up to the front door. The house seemed locked up and unwelcoming, but there was firelight shining through the kitchen window, and I could hear someone talking quietly to himself. Bravely, I lifted my hand and knocked loudly on the strong wooden door. The house was suddenly silent, and there was no reply. I knocked and knocked, and shouted as loudly as I could. Finally, the window opened, and a man holding a gun put his head out.

'What do ye want?' he asked.

'I've come here with a letter for Mr Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws. Is he here?'

'Who is it from?' asked the man with the gun.

'That's none of your business,' I replied, getting angry.

'Well, put the letter down by the door, and leave.'

'I will not!' I answered sharply. 'I'm going to give it to Mr Balfour himself. The letter introduces me to him.'

'Who are ye then?' was the next question.

'I'm not ashamed of my name. It's David Balfour.'

The man almost dropped his gun. After a long while, he asked in a changed voice, 'Is your father dead?' I was too surprised to answer, but he continued, 'Aye, he must be dead, and that's why ye have come. Well, man, I'll let ye in,' and he disappeared from the window.

Now the door was unlocked, and a voice from the darkness said, 'Go into the kitchen and touch nothing.' I obeyed, while the man locked the heavy door carefully again. I found myself in the emptiest kitchen that I had ever seen. There was a fire, but no other light. On the table was a bowl of porridge and a glass of water, in front of the only chair. Around the walls were several locked chests. There was no other furniture. The man who now appeared in the kitchen was small, mean-looking and white-faced, between fifty and seventy years old, and wearing a dirty old nightshirt. The worst thing about him was that he could neither take his eyes away from me, nor look straight into my face.

'If ye're hungry,' he said, 'ye can eat that porridge. It's grand food, porridge! Let me see the letter!'

'It's for Mr Balfour, not you,' I replied.

'And who do ye think I am? Give me Alexander's letter! Ye may not like me or my house or my porridge, but I'm your born uncle, Davie, my man!'

This was the end of all my hopes. I was too tired and miserable to speak, so I silently gave him the letter, and sat down to eat the porridge.

'Your father's been dead a long time?' he asked, giving me a quick look from his sharp eyes.

'Three weeks, sir,' I said.

'He was a secretive man, Alexander was. Perhaps he didn't talk much about me? Or about the house of Shaws?'

'I never knew he had a brother, sir, or ever heard the name of Shaws.'

'To think of that!' he replied. 'A strange man!' But he seemed very pleased, and began to look at me with more interest. Soon he jumped up and said, 'We're going to get on well, Davie! What's mine is yours, man, and what's yours is mine. Blood's thicker than water, and there's only ye and me of the name of Balfour. Now I'll show ye to your bed.'

He took me up some dark stairs and showed me into a room. I could not see anything.

'Can I have a light, sir?' I asked.

'No, ye can't. No lights in this house! I'm afraid of fires, ye see. Good night to ye, Davie, my man.' And before I had time to reply, he pulled the door shut and locked it from the outside. The room was very cold, but luckily I had my plaid with me, so I covered myself with it like a blanket, and soon fell asleep.

The next day my uncle and I had a small bowl of porridge and a glass of water for breakfast, lunch and supper. He did not speak much to me, but was clearly thinking hard. I often noticed him looking at me, while pretending to do something different, and he never left me alone in the kitchen with the locked chests, in which, I supposed, he kept his money. I did not like the way he looked at me, and began to wonder if he was a little crazy, and perhaps dangerous.

After supper he said suddenly, 'Davie, I've been thinking. I promised your father a bit of money for ye before ye were born. A promise is a promise — and so I'm going to give ye... forty pounds!' These last words seemed very painful to him. He added, in a kind of scream, 'Scots!'

A Scottish pound was the same as an English shilling. I could see that his story was a lie, so I laughed at him, saying, 'Oh, think again, sir! English pounds, surely!'

'That's what I said,' replied my uncle quickly. 'Go outside for a moment, and I'll get the money for ye.'

I was smiling as I went out, sure that he would give me nothing at all. It was a dark night, and I could hear wind in the hills. 'There may be thunder later,' I thought, not knowing how important the weather would be to me that night.

But when my uncle called me in again, he counted thirty-eight English pounds in gold into my hands. It clearly hurt him to do it, and he kept back the last two pounds, but I did not mind that. Surprised and pleased, I thanked him warmly.

'Now,' he said, looking cleverly at me, 'ye can give me something, Davie. I'm getting old now, and I need help.'

'Of course, sir,' I answered. 'What can I do?'

'Well, go outside and climb the stairs at the other end of the house, where the building isn't finished yet. Go up to the room at the top, and bring down the chest that ye'll find there. It's got valuable papers in it.'

'Can I have a light, sir?' I asked.

'No,' he said sharply. 'No lights in my house!'

'Very well, sir. Are the stairs good?'

'They're grand,' said he. 'The stairs are grand.'

Out I went into the night. As I was feeling my way along the outside wall, there was a sudden flash of lightning, then darkness again. I found the stairs and started climbing. I was about fifteen metres above the ground, when there was another flash of lightning. That was lucky for me, because it showed me that the steps were uneven, and that I could easily fall to my death. 'These are the grand stairs!' I thought. 'Perhaps my uncle wants me to die!' Now I was very careful, and I felt each step with my hands before I put my foot on it. A few steps later my hand felt cold stone, and then nothing more. The stairs ended there, twenty metres above the ground. I felt cold with fear, when I thought of the danger that I had been in. Sending a stranger up those stairs in the dark was sending him straight to his death.

Angrily, I turned and felt my way down. There was a crash of thunder, and suddenly the rain came down. At the bottom of the stairs I looked towards the kitchen, and could see, in the next flash of lightning, a figure standing still in the doorway, listening. When the thunder sounded again, louder than before, he ran back inside, and I followed as softly as I could. I found him sitting in the kitchen, drinking whisky straight from the bottle, and shaking with fear. Quietly I came up behind him, and, putting my hands suddenly on his shoulders, cried, 'Ah!'

My uncle gave a kind of broken cry, and fell to the floor like a dead man. His face was a strange blue colour, and I began to think that he really was dead. At last his eyes opened, and he looked up and saw me. 'Oh man, are ye alive or a ghost?' he cried. 'Get me my medicine, Davie—it's for my heart.' I found the medicine bottle and gave him some. He soon began to look a little better.

'Why did you lie to me?' I asked angrily. 'Why did you give me money? And why did you try to kill me? Answer me!'

'I'll tell ye tomorrow, Davie, I promise. Help me to bed now, will ye?' He still looked very ill, so I could not refuse. But this time I locked his bedroom door, and went to sleep in front of the kitchen fire.

When I woke up in the morning, I felt very pleased with myself. 'He thinks he's cleverer than me, but he isn't!' I thought. When I let my uncle out of his room, I asked him again for an explanation. After a while, he said, 'Davie, I have some business with a ship's captain at Queensferry. Now, we could walk over there, and when I've done my business, we could visit the lawyer, Mr Rankeillor. He'll answer all your questions. He's an honest man, and he knew your father. What do ye say to that?'

I thought for a moment. I had never seen the sea, but had always wanted to! 'It's a grand idea,' I said.

It was a morning's walk to Queensferry, which was west of Edinburgh, but we did not say a word to each other on the way. Suddenly, at the top of a hill, we could see the Firth of Forth below us, blue and calm, with white sails on it.

'Ye see that public house?' asked my uncle. 'Captain Hoseason's there, to do business with me. There's the ship's boat on the beach, waiting to take him to the ship. And there's the ship itself! A grand ship!'

I had to agree with him. The sailors were getting the ship ready for sailing, and I thought what an exciting adventure that would be — to sail away to a foreign country.

We walked down the hill to the public house and met the captain there. He was a tall, dark, serious-looking man, who shook hands politely with me. Stupidly, I left these two men to their business, and ran down to the beach, to talk to the sailors and look at the boats. It was all new and very interesting to me.

As I was coming back, I met the owner of the public house.

'Good morning,' he said. 'Did ye come with Ebenezer?'

'I did,' I replied. 'He isn't well liked, I understand.'

'That's true,' he answered. 'Nobody speaks well of him. It all started with that story about Mr Alexander, his brother.

'What story?' I asked.

'Oh, just that Ebenezer had killed him. Did ye never hear that?'

'And why would he kill my f —, I mean, Alexander?'

'To get the house, of course, the house of Shaws.'

'Aye, man? Was my — was Alexander older than Ebenezer?'

'Indeed he was! No other reason for killing him!'

This was a great surprise to me! I had thought that my father was the younger brother, and now I understood why my uncle had lied to me, and wanted to kill me. The house of Shaws had belonged to my father, not my uncle, and now I had inherited it. The poor country boy who had walked from Essendean was the owner of a fine house and farmland! My head was full of the wonderful things that I could do in my life, as I looked, unseeing, at the sea.

Just then my uncle and the captain came out of the public house. The captain smiled in a friendly way as he spoke to me. 'Sir,' he said, 'Mr Balfour has told me a lot about ye. I'm only sorry I haven't time to get to know ye better. But I'd like ye to come on to my ship for half an hour, before we sail, and have a drink with me.'

Now, more than anything in the world, I wanted to see the inside of a ship, but I remembered that I had to be careful. 'My uncle and I have to see the lawyer, sir,' I replied, 'so I'm afraid we may not have enough time.'

'Aye, aye,' he answered, 'I know, but ye see, the ship's boat can put ye both down near Rankeillor's house, after ye've seen the ship, so ye won't lose any time.' Suddenly he said quietly in my ear, 'Watch out for the old man — he wants to hurt ye. Come and talk about it.' Putting his arm in mine, he said loudly, 'What can I bring ye back from my travels? A friend of Mr Balfour's is a friend of mine!'

By this time we were on the beach, and he was helping my uncle and me into the boat. I thought that I had found a good friend and helper, and I was very excited as we came closer to the great ship, full of busy, noisy sailors. The captain and I were the first to climb up the ship's side, and at the top the captain immediately put his arm through mine and began to talk about the ship.

'But where is my uncle?' I asked suddenly. I pulled myself away from the captain's arm, and ran to the side of the ship. Sure enough, there was the boat returning to Queensferry, with my uncle sitting in it. I screamed, 'Help, help! Murder!' and my uncle slowly turned to look at me.

I did not see any more. Already strong hands were pulling me away. Then something hit my head; I saw a great flash of fire, and fell to the ground.

Lowlands n. the low lands of Scotland. 苏格兰低地。

dominie n. (Scot) school teacher.（苏格兰语）教师

Davie n. David 的昵称形式。

hear of have knowledge of. 听说

adventure n. strange or unusual happening, esp. exciting or dangerous journey or activity. 冒险。

sleepy adj. needing, ready for sleep. 想睡的，瞌睡的，嗜眠的。

chimney n. structure by which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building. 烟囱。

alone adv. by oneself. 单独地，独自。

valley n. stretch of land between hills or mountains, often with a river flowing through it. 山谷

fall down come or go down freely. 倒塌。

disappear v. go out of sight, be seen no more. 消失。

firelight n. 炉火光。

porridge n. gruel. 粥。

chest n. box, case. 箱子，柜子，盒子。

mean-looking adj. selfish. 卑鄙的，自私的。

nightshirt n. pajamas. 男用长睡衣。

miserable adj. uncomfortable 难受的。

secretive adj. tending to hide one's thoughts, feelings, intentions. 遮遮掩掩的，守口如瓶的。

stairs n. 楼梯，梯子。

blanket n. rug. 毯子，毛毡。

fall asleep 睡着了。

pound n. unit of English money. 英镑。

sharply adv. severely. 厉声地。

uneven adj. not steady or balanced. 不平的。

fall to one's death 摔死。

stranger n. 陌生人。

thunder n. 雷，雷声。

still adj. motionless. 静止的，不动的。

whisky n. 威士忌酒。

ghost n. spirit. 鬼，幽灵。

lie v. make a statement that one knows to be untrue. 撒谎。

captain n. ship master. 船长。

firth n. harbor. 港湾。

sail n. sheet spread to catch the wind and move a boat or ship forward. 帆。

public house n. inn, pub 小旅馆，客栈，（英）小酒店。

inherit v. carry on, succeed. 继承。

unseeing adj. 不注意的，视而不见的。

beach n. foreshore 海滩。

side n. shipboard. 舷侧。

1　戴维见到了叔叔

我最后一次关上身后我们家的那扇门时，那正是1751年6月初的某一天。我一直生活在苏格兰低地的埃森丁这个安静的小村庄里。我的父亲曾经是那儿的教师。但既然他和我的母亲都去世了，我就不得不离开那幢房子。因为新教师很快就要到了，他将在学校里教课并住在供教师住的房子里。所以说，虽然我只有17岁，但已经没有我的栖身之地了，我也没有理由待在埃森丁了。

走在路上时，我的心激烈地跳动着，因为我手中拿着父亲临终前给我的那封信。“戴维，”父亲当时对我说，“我去世以后，拿着这封信去克莱蒙德附近的肖斯庄园。那儿是我的出生地，也是你应该去的地方。把这封信亲手交给埃比尼泽·鲍尔弗。”

鲍尔弗！和我一样的姓氏！这是我第一次听说埃森丁以外的地方还有我的家族成员。

于是我决定到克莱蒙德去，盼着有一天这个鲍尔弗先生能在他的豪华的大房子里友好地接待我并把我变成富人。披着方格肩巾，我大步流星地走上山岗，离开了那个小村庄。离开那寂静的、从未发生过什么事的小村庄而去一个热闹的大宅院里，与姓氏和血缘和我相同的、有钱有势的人待在一起，这可真是一次历险！但当我到达山顶时，我带着一丝悲哀转身看了最后一眼我们住过的房子，和我父母长眠着的埃森丁墓地。

我往北差不多走了两天。第二天中午时，我已经能看见前方爱丁堡冒烟的烟囱了，很快我就到了克莱蒙德。

我开始向路上的行人打听肖斯庄园。他们的回答使我心里有点儿担忧。当我说出埃比尼泽·鲍尔弗这个名字时，一些人显得惊讶，一些人恐惧，一些人愤怒。我不明白这是为什么，但那天回埃森丁是太远了，而且我也特别想找到鲍尔弗家族其余的人。于是我继续走着。当我看见一位皮肤黝黑、看似野蛮的女人向我走过来时，我向她打听肖斯庄园在哪儿。她把我领到下一座小山的顶峰，指给我看临近山谷里的一幢孤零零的建筑物。虽然四周的田野一片葱绿，庄稼长势很好，但那幢房子本身好像没有建完，也显得空旷。有部分屋顶不见了。没有路通到那儿，烟囱里没有烟冒出来，也没有花园。

“那个？！”我惊呼着，“不，绝对不是！”

“就是！”那个女人愤恨地说道，“那就是肖斯庄园！它是用血筑成的，血停止了修建，血还将把它给毁掉！埃比尼泽·鲍尔弗的心是黑的！你可以告诉他我说我希望看到他死了，并看到他的房子塌下来把他给埋了！”

那个女人转身不见了。我站在她离开我的地方，像一片树叶一样颤抖着，久久地俯视着那幢房子。但当暮色开始降临时，我发现有烟从那幢房子的烟囱冒出来，便感到稍微有点希望了。“那里面一定有火，有人在做饭，也一定有人。”我心想。于是我走到前门。房子似乎紧锁着，不欢迎来访者的样子，但是厨房的窗口透着火光，而且我能听到屋里有人悄声自言自语。我鼓起勇气举起手来，在那扇结实的木门上大声地敲起来。屋子里忽然间静了下来，没有人回答。我敲了又敲，还使劲地喊起来。最后，窗户开了，一个手握一枝枪的男人探出头来。

“你想干什么？”他问道。

“我带来一封给埃比尼泽·鲍尔弗·肖先生的信。他在吗？”

“谁给他的？”持枪的男人问道。

“那与你无关。”我答道，变得生气了。

“好吧，把信放到门边，然后离开。”

“不行！”我厉声答道，“我要把信交给鲍尔弗先生本人。这封信会让他认识我。”

“那么，你是谁？”他又问道。

“我才不为我自己的名字而感到害臊呢。我叫戴维·鲍尔弗。”

那个人的枪差点儿掉了下来。过了好一阵子，他才变了腔调问道：“你父亲去世了吗？”我因太惊讶了而回答不出来，但他继续道：“对，他一定是死了，那也是你来的原因。好吧，伙计，我会让你进来。”说着，他就从窗户那儿消失了。

门打开了，黑暗中有个声音说道：“到厨房来，不准碰任何东西。”我照着他说的做了，与此同时，那个男人小心翼翼地又把那扇沉重的门锁上了。我发现自己站在我所见过的最空荡荡的厨房里。除了一堆火外再没有别的光线了。唯一的一把椅子前的桌子上面放着一碗粥和一杯水。墙的四周摆放着几个锁着的柜子。除此以外，没有别的什么家具。那个男人身材矮小，形象猥琐，脸色苍白，年龄约在五十岁到七十岁之间，穿着一件脏兮兮的旧睡衣。最糟糕的是他既不把视线从我身上移开，也不直视我的脸。

“如果你饿了，”他说道，“你可以喝那碗粥。粥，可是好东西！让我看看信！”

“信是给鲍尔弗先生的，不是给你的，”我说道。

“那么你以为我是谁啊？把亚历山大的信给我！你可能不喜欢我、不喜欢我的房子或者不喜欢我的粥，但我是你的亲伯伯，戴维，我的伙计！”

我所有的希望都破灭了。我因太劳累、太难受而什么话也说不出来，于是默默地把信交给他并坐下来喝粥。

“你父亲死了很久了？”他一边问，一边用他那双厉害的眼睛飞快地扫视我。

“三周了，先生，”我说。

“他是个爱遮遮掩掩的人，亚历山大就是这样。也许他没有怎么说起过我？或说起过肖家这房子？”

“我从不知道他有一个兄弟，先生，也没听说过肖这个名字。”

“想想看！”他回答道，“真是一个奇怪的人！”但是他看起来很高兴，并且也开始更饶有兴趣地打量着我。不一会儿他跳起身来，说道：“我们将会合得来的，戴维！我的就是你的，伙计，你的也是我的。血浓于水，鲍尔弗家只有你和我两个人了。现在我带你到睡觉的地方去。”

他带着我上了黑黝黝的楼梯，把我带到一个房间里。我什么也看不到。

“我能有盏灯吗，先生？”我问道。

“不，你不能。这房子里不准有灯！你知道，我怕火。晚安，戴维，我的伙计。”我还没有来得及回答，他已把门关上并从外面锁上了。房间里很冷，但幸运的是我随身带着肩巾，于是我用它像用毯子一样地把自己盖起来，很快我便睡着了。

第二天早、中、晚饭我和我的叔叔都只喝了一小碗粥和一杯水。他对我讲话不多，但很明显地他在使劲想什么。我经常注意到他一边假装干别的事一边看我，他也从来没有让我一个人单独待在放有锁着的柜子的厨房里。我想他一定在里面放了钱。我不喜欢他看我的那种样子，开始想他是不是有点神经不正常，而且或许是个危险人物。

吃过晚饭他突然说：“戴维，我一直在思考？你出生前我曾答应过你父亲给你一点钱。承诺就是承诺——我现在要给你……40镑！”最后的话语对他来说显得非常痛苦。他用一种尖叫的声音补充道：“苏格兰镑！”

一个苏格兰镑相当于一个英格兰先令。我能看得出他在说谎，于是我嘲笑他，说：“噢，再想想，先生！是英镑，确定无疑！”

“那正是我说的。”我叔叔很快答道，“出去一会儿，我给你拿钱。”

我微笑着出去了，我敢肯定他什么也不会给我。夜晚天黑黑的，我能听到山野里的风声。“之后可能会打雷，”我想，不知道那晚的天气对我来说将是何等重要。

但当我叔叔把我又叫进去时，他将38英镑的金币数着放在我的手里。显然他是不情愿那么做的，他扣了最后两个英镑，但是我没有在意。我又惊又喜，热烈地感谢他。

“那么，”他狡黠地看着我说道，“你可以给我一些东西，戴维。我现在变老了，我需要帮助。”

“当然可以，先生，”我回答道，“我能做什么？”

“好的，出去，爬上在那个还未建完的房子的另一端的楼梯。爬到位于房子的顶层的房间去，把你在那儿发现的柜子拿下来。里面有重要的文件。”

“我能点盏灯吗，先生？”我问道。

“不，”他厉声说道，“我的房子里不能点灯！”

“好吧，先生。楼梯是好的吗？”

“好的，”他说，“楼梯是好的。”

我走进夜色中。我沿着外墙摸索着时，一道闪电忽然闪过，紧接着又是黑黝黝的。我找到了楼梯并且开始爬起来。我已离地大约十五米高，这时又有一道闪电闪过。那对我来说是幸运的，因为它向我表明楼梯是不平的，我很容易摔死。“这就是不错的楼梯！”我想道，“我伯伯可能想让我死掉！”现在我很当心起来，踩每一脚前都用手仔细地摸摸踏脚处。又爬了几步之后，我的手碰到了冰冷的石头，然后再也没有东西了。楼梯到头了，离地20米高。我一想起我所处的险境就害怕得直发冷。让一个陌生人在黑暗中上那楼梯，就是把他直接送到死神面前。

我气呼呼地掉转过头，摸索着往下爬。雷电轰鸣，忽然间下起雨来。我站在楼梯的底端往厨房看，借助下一道闪电的光亮看见一个人静静地站在门口倾听着。当雷声又响起而且雷声大过以前时，他跑回里面，我尽可能悄悄地跟着他。我发现他坐在厨房里，直接用酒瓶喝着威士忌，身体因害怕而在发抖。我轻轻地从他身后走上前去，忽然间把手放到他的肩上，大声叫道：“啊！”

我叔叔急促地尖叫起来并摔倒在地上，像一个死人一样。他的脸色显现出一种奇怪的蓝色，我开始琢磨他是不是真的死了。最后他的双眼睁开了，他抬起头看着我。“噢，伙计，你到底是活着还是个幽灵？”他叫道，“把我的药给我，戴维——治心脏病的那种。”我找到药瓶，给了他一些药。他很快就开始看着好一点了。

“你为什么对我扯谎？”我生气地问道。“你为什么给我钱？你为什么还想杀死我？回答我！”

“明天我会告诉你的，戴维，我发誓。现在帮忙把我扶到床上，行吗？”他看起来仍病得很厉害，所以我不能拒绝。但这一次我锁上了他的卧室的门，然后在厨房的炉火前睡了。

第二天早晨当我醒来时，我对自己感到很高兴。“他以为他比我聪明，但他不是！”我想。当我把我叔叔放出房间时，我又要他解释一下。过了一会儿，他说道：“戴维，我和昆斯费里的一个船长有笔生意。现在我们走到那儿去，我做完生意时我们可以拜访一下律师兰基勒先生。他将解答你所有的问题。他是一个诚实的人，他认识你父亲。那么做你意下如何？”

我想了一下。我从未见过大海，但一直想见！“是个好主意。”我说道。

昆斯费里位于爱丁堡西侧，我们走了一上午才到，但一路上我们彼此没有说话。突然，在山顶上，我们看见了下面的福斯湾，湛蓝湛蓝的，风平浪静，白帆点点。

“你看见了那个小酒店吗？”我叔叔问道，“霍齐亚森船长在那儿，要和我做生意。海滩上有船上的小艇，等着把他带到船上去。就是那条船！一条大船！”

我不得不表示同意。水手们正在收拾那条船以备远航。我想远航去一个遥远的国度将是一次多么激动人心的历险啊。

我们走下山到了小酒店，在那儿见到了船长。他是个大高个儿，皮肤黝黑，表情严肃。他有礼貌地和我握握手。我傻乎乎地让这两个人去谈生意，自己跑到海滩上去和水手们聊天并去看那些小艇。这对我来说都是新鲜事，让人很感兴趣。

我正往回走时，遇到了小酒店的主人。

“早晨好。”他说道，“你是和埃比尼泽一块儿来的吗？”

“是的，”我回答道，“他不招人喜欢，我明白。”

“那是真的。”他回答道，“没有人说他好话。这得从他兄弟亚历山大的故事说起。”

“什么故事？”我问道。

“噢，就是埃比尼泽杀害了他。你从未听说过那事吗？”

“他为什么要杀我父——我是说，亚历山大？”

“当然是为了房子，肖斯庄园。”

“伙计，什么？难道我的——亚历山大比埃比尼泽年长吗？”

“他就是！杀他再也没有别的原因了！”

这对我来说真是件惊奇事！我过去一直以为我父亲是年幼的弟弟，现在我明白了为什么我的叔叔对我扯了谎而且要杀死我。肖斯庄园本来属于我父亲，不是我叔叔的，现在我继承了它。从埃森丁走出来的可怜的乡下男孩成了大房子和农场的主人！我视而不见地望着大海，脑袋里全是我想像的、我这一辈子可能干的美妙的事儿。

正在那时，我叔叔和船长从小酒店出来。船长边跟我说话边友好地冲我微笑。“先生，”他说道，“鲍尔弗先生告诉了我很多关于你的事。我只是感到有点遗憾，没有足够的时间来更好地了解你。但是我想请你在我们开航前到我船上来半小时并和我喝上一杯。”

现在，在这个世界上我最想做的就是去看看船的内部构造，但是我记着我得小心。“我和我叔叔得去见律师，先生，”我答道，“所以恐怕我们可能没有足够的时间。”

“对，对，”他回答道，“我知道，但是你明白，船上的小艇能够在你们看完之后让你们二人在兰基勒家附近的地方下船，所以你不会没时间的。”忽然间他对我轻声耳语道：“当心这个老家伙——他想害你。来谈谈。”他挽着我的臂，大声说：“我旅行回来给你带什么？鲍尔弗先生的朋友也是我的朋友！”

到这时我们已在海滩上，他帮着我和叔叔进了小艇。我心想我找到了一个好朋友，一个可以帮忙的人；而且当我们走近到处是忙忙碌碌、吵吵嚷嚷的水手的大船时，我心里很激动。我和船长率先爬过船舷，在顶上船长立即用臂挽住我，开始谈起船来。

“可我叔叔在哪儿？”我忽然间问道。我挣脱开船长挽我的胳膊，跑到船舷。千真万确，一艘小艇正驶回昆斯费里，我叔叔就坐在里边。我尖叫道：“救命，救命！有人要杀我！”而我叔叔慢慢地回头看看我。

我再没看见什么。强有力的手已把我拖开了。接着什么东西打了我的头；我眼冒金星，接着倒在地上。

2

Kidnapped!

When I woke up in darkness, my head was hurting badly, and I was unable to move my hands or feet. I could hear the sailors' shouts and the sound of the wind and the waves. The whole world seemed to go up, up, up, and then down again. I felt very ill, and at first could not understand what was happening. After a while 1 realized that I must be somewhere inside the ship, which was moving very fast through the water. 'I've been kidnapped!' I thought angrily. It was clear that my uncle and the captain had planned it together. I began to feel frightened and hopeless, as I lay there in the dark.

Some hours later, a light shone in my face. Mr Riach, one of the ship's officers, stood looking down at me. He washed the cut on my head, gave me some water, and told me kindly to go to sleep. The next time he came, I was feeling very hot and ill. He had brought Captain Hoseason with him.

'Now, sir, see for yourself,' said Mr Riach. 'The lad's seriously ill. We must take him out of this unhealthy hole at once.'

'That's none of your business,' answered the captain. 'Ye're paid to do your job, not to worry about the boy. He's staying down here.'

'I'm only paid to be an officer on this ship,' replied Mr Riach sharply. He looked hard at the captain. 'I'm not paid, like you, to kidnap and murder —'

Hoseason turned on him angrily. 'What did ye say?' he cried. 'What do ye mean?'

'You understand,' said Mr Riach, looking calmly at him.

'You should know me by now, Mr Riach. I'm a hard man. But if ye say the lad will die —'

'Aye, he will!' said Mr Riach.

'Well, sir, put him where ye like!'

So I was carried up into the sunlight a few minutes later, and put in a cabin where some of the sailors were sleeping. It was a wonderful feeling to see the daylight and to be able to talk to people again. I lay in the cabin for several days, and after a while began to feel better. The sailors were kind to me in their way. They brought me food and drink, and told me about their families at home. I discovered from them that the ship was sailing to the Carolinas, in North America. There the captain was planning to sell me as a slave, to work in a rich man's house or on a farm.

I also learnt that both the ship's officers, Mr Riach and Mr Shuan, enjoyed drinking far too much. The sailors liked Mr Shuan, but said that he was sometimes violent when he had drunk a lot. One of the sailors was a young boy, called Ransome. His job was to bring meals to the captain and officers in the round-house, a big cabin on the top of the ship, where the officers slept and ate. When Ransome dropped something or did something wrong, Mr Shuan used to hit him, and I often saw the poor boy crying.

One night, about nine o'clock, I heard one of the sailors in the cabin saying quietly to the others, 'Shuan's killed him at last!' We all knew who he meant. Just then the captain came in. I was surprised to see him walk towards me and say kindly, 'My man, we want ye to help us in the round-house. From now on, ye'll sleep there instead of Ransome.' As he spoke, two sailors carried Ransome into the cabin. His face was as white as a sheer, and he did not move. My blood ran cold when I saw him.

I obeyed the captain, and ran to the round-house. It was a large room, with a table, a bench and locked cupboards. All the best food and drink was kept there, under the captain's eyes, as well as the guns. When I entered, I saw Mr Shuan sitting at the table, with a bottle of whisky in front of him. He did not seem to notice what was happening around him, and was looking fixedly at the table.

Mr Riach soon joined the captain and me. He looked at Hoseason meaningfully, and I understood from his look that Ransome was dead. We three all stood silently looking down at Mr Shuan.

Suddenly the captain stepped forward. 'Do ye know what ye've done?' he cried. 'Ye've murdered the boy!'

Mr Shuan put a hand to his head. 'Well,' he said, 'he brought me a dirty glass!'

The captain and Mr Riach and I looked at each other, almost frightened. Then Hoseason took Mr Shuan by the arm, and told him to go to bed. The murderer cried a little at first, but he took off his boots and lay down, like a small child.

'Mr Riach,' said the captain, when we could see that Mr Shuan was asleep, 'nobody on land must know what happened tonight. We'll say that the boy fell into the sea. Get us a drink, David, we both need one,' and he gave me the key to the cupboards.

In the next few days I was very busy, running here and there with the officers' food and drink. Mr Riach and the captain were surprisingly patient with me when I made mistakes. Perhaps they were thinking of the poor boy who had died. But Mr Shuan was very strange after Ransome's death. He did not seem to know what he had done, or to recognize me. On my second day in the round-house, he looked at me with a white face and fear in his eyes. 'You weren't here before?' he asked.

'No, sir,' I replied.

'There was another boy?' he asked. 'Ah! Yes, I thought so,' and sitting down, he called for some more whisky.

It wasn't a hard life for me. I was able to eat well, and talk to Mr Riach, who spoke to me like a friend. But I could not forget poor Ransome. As the days passed, I became more and more worried. I knew that, when the ship arrived in the Carolinas, I would no longer be a free man, but a slave. I thought hard, but there did not seem to be any way of escaping.

About a week later, we were sailing round the rocky coast of northern Scotland in very bad weather. It was difficult to see anything because of the thick fog. One evening there was a great crash, and the officers ran out to see what had happened. I thought we had hit a rock, but in fact it was a small boat. As we watched, the boat broke in two, and went to the bottom with all its. men, except the one passenger. At the moment of the crash, this man managed to jump up and catch the side of the ship and pull himself up.

The captain brought him into the round-house. He was smallish but well-built, with an open, sunburnt face, and bright, amused eyes. When he took off his long coat, I could see that he had a pair of pistols and was wearing a sword at his side. Although his life had clearly been in great danger, he seemed very calm, and spoke politely to the captain. Hoseason was looking with interest at the man's clothes. He was wearing a hat with feathers, a blue coat with silver buttons, and expensive-looking lace round his neck.

'I'm sorry about the boat, sir,' said the captain.

'I've lost some grand friends today,' replied the stranger, 'and that's worse than losing ten boats.'

'Well, sir, there are more men in the world than boats,' replied the captain, still watching him closely. 'I know, because I've been in France, like you.'

He said these last words clearly and carefully. They seemed to have a special meaning. The stranger put his hand quickly on his pistol.

'Don't worry,' said Hoseason. 'Ye've a French soldier's coat on your back and a Scottish tongue in your head, that's true, but so has many an honest man these days.'

'Well, sir,' replied the stranger, 'I must tell you that I'm one of those honest High Landers who were proud to fight for their homes, their clan and their country in 1745, against the English King. And I must tell you another thing. If King George's soldiers find me, I'll be in trouble. I was on my way to France, where some of my clansmen live now. But in the fog my boat missed the French ship that was meeting me. So if you can take me to France, I'll pay you well.'

He opened his purse and showed that it was full of gold coins. The captain seemed excited as he looked at the money, and then at the man's face.

'To France?' he replied. 'No, I can't do that. But to the Highlands, aye, we can discuss that.' They sat down together, and in the end agreed that the captain would take the stranger to Loch Linnhe, on the northwest coast of Scot land, for sixty pounds. There the Highlander would be among friends, and safe from the English army. He and Hoseason shook hands, and the captain left me alone with the stranger.

He had told the captain that the gold was not his own. Some of the Highlanders had escaped to France after the Forty-Five, but their friends and clansmen in Scotland sometimes managed to find a little money to send them. It was this man's job to take the money across to France, and he did this by travelling secretly to Scotland as often as possible. I thought he was very brave. 'If he's caught by the English army, they'll kill him!' I told myself. I liked the way he seemed to enjoy living dangerously.

When he asked me for whisky, I had to go to ask the captain for the key to the cupboard. I found Hoseason and his officers talking quietly in a corner, and heard them planning to kill the stranger and steal his money. They seemed to think that I would help them, and asked me to bring them secretly some guns from the round-house. I went slowly back to the stranger, not sure what I should do. But when I entered the round-house, and saw him eating his supper, I decided at once.

'They're going to attack you, and murder you!' I told him.

'What?!' he cried, jumping up. 'Will ye stand with me, against them?'

'I will! I'm no thief or murderer!' I replied bravely.

'Are ye for King George?'

'More or less,' I answered.

'Well, Mr More-or-Less, what's your name?'

'David Balfour,' I said, and then, thinking that a man with so fine a coat must like fine people, I added, 'of Shaws.'

'My name is Stewart,' he said proudly. 'Alan Breck, they call me. And Stewart is a king's name, so it's good enough for me, although I have no name of a farmhouse to add to it.' He looked around him. 'Now, David, I'll take any man who comes in through this door. You must watch the window, and the door behind me, and shoot anyone who tries to enter.'

He gave me a pistol. I was very frightened, but tried hard not to show it. The ship seemed very quiet. Suddenly there was the sound of running feet, and a shout, and then I heard fighting in the doorway. I looked over my shoulder, and saw Mr Shuan, just as Alan drove his sword into the officer's body. Then several men ran at my door. I did not want to hurt them, but it was now or never. I lifted my pistol and shot at them. One man fell, and the others ran away. After a few moments, the sailors attacked again. Alan fought as bravely as before, his sword now red with blood. He was clearly enjoying himself. I had no time to think, but when two more men appeared at the window, I shot them too. Now there were several bodies on the floor, and blood everywhere.

Suddenly I realized that we had won, and that the danger was over. Alan was driving the men out of the round-house like sheep. When he returned, he took me in his arms.

'David!' he cried. 'I love ye like a brother. And oh, man, am I not a grand fighter?' I had to agree. He took a knife from the table and cut a silver button off his blue coat. 'Take this, David. The buttons come from my father, Duncan Stewart. Where ye show that button, the friends of Alan Breck will come to ye.' He spoke as proudly as a king, and I tried not to smile.

We slept in the round-house, one of us keeping watch all night, and the next morning the captain came to speak to us. 'Ye've won the fight, sir,' he said to Alan. 'We're sailing through the Little Minch now, and I'll keep my promise to take ye to Loch Linnhe. But ye've killed my chief officer, Shuan, and without him I can't find my way safely round these rocky coasts. We'll go round the island of Mull, but I warn ye, it'll be dangerous.'

Hoseason was right to be worried. All that day Alan and I sat in the round-house and told each other the stories of our lives, but by night the wind was growing stronger and the sailors found it hard to keep the ship away from the dangerous rocks. As we came round Earraid, a small island close to the larger island of Mull, there was a sudden, terrible crash, and we realized that the ship had hit a rock. There was only one thing to do—leave the ship and try to reach land in the ship's boat. But as we were climbing down into the boat, a great wave hit the ship and knocked some of us into the sea.

I went down and came up again several times. Then, luckily, I managed to find a piece of wood, which helped me to stay up in the water. I looked round, but could not see Alan, or any of the sailors, or the boat. My only hope was to try to swim to Earraid, which I could see, not far away, in the moonlight. It was hard, tiring work, but I reached it, and was very grateful to step on to dry land at last.

kidnap v. carry away by force and unlawfully. 诱拐。

wave n. 波，波浪，波涛。

plan v. plot beforehand. 预谋。

cabin n. a room in a ship used as living quarters by an officer or a passenger. 船舱。

violent adj. 粗野的，残暴的。

round-house n. 后甲板室。

cupboard n. cabinet. 食柜，碗橱。

fixedly adv. unmovingly. 固定地，凝视地。

meaningfully adv. significantly. 意味深长地，富有意义地。

patient adj. 有耐心的，容忍的。

escape v. run away. 逃跑。

thick fog 浓雾。

smallish adj. 有点小的。

sunburnt adj. darkening of the skin caused by the sun 晒黑的。

amused adj. 逗乐的，逗笑的。

pistol n. small firearm held and fired in one hand. 手枪。

sword n. 剑。

lace n. decorative border. 花边，饰带，编带。

Highlander n. 苏格兰高地人。

clan n. large family group, as found in tribal communities, esp. Scottish Highlanders with a common ancestor. 部族（尤其是苏格兰高地人的部族）。

clansman n. 氏族（或部落）的人。

purse n. wallet. 钱包。

dangerously adv. riskily. 危险地。

for prep. 赞成，拥护。

shoot v. fire. 射击。

silver adj. 银的。

button n. 纽扣。

keep one's promise 信守诺言。

grateful adj. 感激的，愉快的。

2　诱拐！

我在黑暗中醒过来时，头疼得很厉害，手脚也动不了。我能听到水手们的叫声、风声和涛声。整个世界似乎在上升、上升，然后又下降了。我感到病得很厉害，最初搞不清发生了什么事。过了一会儿，我意识到自己一定是在船里某处，而那船正在水中快速行驶着。“我被诱拐了！”我气愤地想。显然我叔叔和船长合伙预谋了这一切。我黑暗中躺在那儿时，开始感到害怕和无望。

几个小时之后，有一束光照到我脸上。船上的一名叫里亚奇先生的高级船员站在那儿俯视着我。他擦洗了我头上的伤口，给我一些水，并和蔼地让我睡觉，下一次他来时，我正周身发热，生病了。他把霍齐亚森船长也带来了。

“好，船长，你自己看看，”里亚奇先生说道，“这个小伙子病得很厉害。我们得立刻把他带出这个不卫生的牢房。”

“那与你无关。”船长回答道，“给你付钱是让你干你的工作，不要为这男孩操心。他得待在这儿。”

“我只是受雇来当船上的高级船员。”里亚奇先生厉声答道。他盯着船长。“我不是收了钱，像你一样来诱拐和谋杀——”

霍齐亚森恼怒地反击里亚奇。“你说什么？”他叫道，“你是什么意思？”

“你明白。”里亚奇先生说道，平静地看着他。

“到现在你也应该了解我了，里亚奇先生。我可不是一个软弱的人。但如果你说这个小伙子将要死掉的话——”

“对，他要死了！”里亚奇先生说道。

“好吧，先生，把他放在你想要放的地方！”

于是几分钟后，我被人抬到上面阳光能照到之处，并被安置在一个船舱里，里面有一些水手正在睡觉。又能看见阳光、又能和人交谈是一种很好的感觉。我在机舱里躺了几天，不久之后开始感到好些了。水手们以自己的方式善待我。他们给我带来吃的、喝的，并给我讲他们家的事。从他们那儿我得知船正驶往北美洲的卡罗来纳。船长打算在那儿把我当奴隶卖掉，卖到一个有钱人家或一家农场。

我也了解到船上的高级船员里亚奇先生和舒安先生都酗酒。船员们喜欢舒安先生，但说舒安先生有时喝得太多时很凶。有一个水手是一个年轻的小男孩，名叫兰塞姆。他的工作是给后甲板室（即船顶上的一个大舱）里的船长和高级船员送饭。高级船员吃住都在后甲板室里。当兰塞姆掉了东西或做错了事时，舒安先生时常揍他，我也经常看见这个可怜的小男孩哭泣。

一天晚上，约莫九点钟，我听见机舱里有位水手悄悄地对别的水手们说：“舒安到底杀了他！”我们大家都明白他指的是谁。正在那时船长进来了。我很吃惊地看见他走向我，和蔼地对我说：“小伙子，我们需要你到后甲板室给我们帮忙。从现在起，你就代替兰塞姆睡在那儿。”当他说话时，两名水手把兰塞姆抬进机舱。他的脸和纸一样白，并且他不动弹。我看见他时，被吓得浑身发冷。

我遵从船长的话，跑到后甲板室。后甲板室很大，有一张桌子、一个凳子和一些上锁的小橱子。最好的食品和饮料都放在那儿，就在船长的眼皮底下，枪支也放在那儿。当我进去时，看见舒安先生正坐在桌旁，面前摆着一瓶威士忌。他似乎没有注意周围发生的一切，他的眼睛直直地看着桌子。

里亚奇先生很快加入到我和船长中间。他意味深长地看看霍齐亚森，从他的表情中我明白兰塞姆死了。我们三个都静静地站着，俯视着舒安先生。

猛然间船长大步走向前。“你知道你干了些什么吗？”他喊道，“你杀了那个男孩！”

舒安先生把一只手放到头上。“唔，”他说道，“他当时给我拿来一个脏杯子！”

我、船长还有里亚奇你看我、我望你，差不多给吓住了。接着霍齐亚森抓住舒安先生的胳膊，命令他上床睡觉。这个谋杀犯起初叫了几声，但是他还是像一个小孩似地脱了靴子并且躺了下来。

“里亚奇先生，”当我们确实看到舒安睡着之后，船长开口说道，“不能让岸上的人知道今晚发生的事儿。我们就说那个男孩掉进了海里。戴维，给我们拿点喝的来，我们俩都需要喝一杯。”接着他给了我开小橱子的钥匙。

在接下来的几天里，我很忙，一会儿跑到这儿、一会儿跑到那儿地拿高级船员们的食品和饮料。里亚奇先生和船长即使在我出了错时也对我出奇地耐心。也许是他们还在想那个已死的可怜的小男孩。但兰塞姆死后舒安先生变得很怪了。他似乎不知道他做了些什么，也不认识我。在我待在后甲板室的第二天，他脸色苍白、眼带恐惧地看着我。“你以前不在这儿吗？”他问道。

“对，先生。”我回答道。

“有另外一个小男孩吗？”他问道，“啊！是的，我想有。”他又叫了些威士忌，坐了下来。

这生活对我来说并不艰难。我能吃好，能够与里亚奇先生交谈。他像一个朋友一样对我说话。但我不能忘记可怜的兰塞姆。当日子一天天过去时，我变得越来越担忧了。我明白，当船抵达卡罗来纳时，我将不再是个自由人，而是一个奴隶了。我使劲想，但似乎没有逃跑的方法。

大约一周以后，在非常恶劣的天气条件下，我们沿苏格兰北部的礁岩海岸行驶着。由于大雾弥漫，很难看见什么东西。一天晚上，传来一声猛烈的撞击声，高级船员们都跑出去看看发生了什么。我以为我们的船撞上了一块岩石，但实际上撞上的是一条小船。我们观看时，小船碎成了两半，除了一位乘客外其余的人连船一起沉入海底了。在撞船的那一刻，这个人用力跳起来，抓住了我们这条船的船舷，挣扎着上了船。

船长把他带进了后甲板室里。他个子有点小，但身体强壮，长着一张开朗的、晒黑的脸和一双明亮的、愉快的眼睛。当他脱下长大衣时，我看见他带着一对手枪，佩着一把剑。虽然他的生命显然处于极大的危险之中，但他看起来很镇静，有礼貌地和船长说着话。霍齐亚森饶有兴趣地打量着那个男人的衣服。他戴着一顶插有羽毛的帽子，穿着一件带银扣子的蓝外衣，脖子那儿有一圈看似贵重的花边。

“撞船的事我很抱歉，先生。”船长说道。

“今天我失去了一些好朋友，”陌生人回答道，“这比失掉10条船更糟糕。”

“唔，先生，这世界上人比船多，”船长回答道，眼睛仍紧紧地盯着陌生人，“我知道，因为我和你一样曾经在法国待过。”

船长既清晰又当心地吐出了最后几个字。它们似乎有一种特殊的含义。陌生人迅速地把手搁到手枪上。

“别担心。”霍齐亚森说道，“你穿着一件法国士兵的外套，但又操着苏格兰口音，那不假，但现今有很多诚实的人都这样。”

“好吧，先生，”陌生人说道，“我必须告诉你，我是那些以自己在1745年反抗英格兰国王、为家园而战、为部族而战、为国家而战为荣的诚实的高地人之一。我还得告诉你另外一件事。如果乔治国王的士兵发现我，我将会有麻烦。我要去法国，我的一些族人现在住在那儿。但是在雾中我的小船错过了来接我的法国船。如果你能把我带到法国的话，我将好好酬谢你。”

他打开钱包，示意那里面装满了金币。船长看看钱，接着又看看那人的脸，显得很激动。

“去法国？”他答道，“不，我不能那样做。但如果是去高地，对，我们还可以商量商量那个。”他们坐在一起，最后达成协议：船长将把陌生人带到苏格兰西北海岸的林荷湖，条件是给他60镑。在那儿这位高地人将置身于朋友之中，并因远离英格兰军队而很安全。他和霍齐亚森握握手，然后把我和陌生人单独留在一起。

他已告诉过船长金子不是他自己的：在1745年政变后，有些高地人逃到了法国，但他们在苏格兰的一些朋友和族人有时设法找到一点钱送给他们。这个人的任务是把钱带到法国，他尽可能频繁地潜入苏格兰来完成这项任务。我认为他很勇敢。“如果他被英格兰军队抓住了，他们会杀了他！”我自言自语道。我喜欢他流露出的对于冒险生活的热爱。

他找我要威士忌时，我不得不去找船长要小橱子的钥匙。我发现霍齐亚森船长和高级船员们在一个角落里悄声地谈论着，我听到他们计划杀掉这位陌生人并偷走他的钱财。他们似乎认为我能帮他们，让我从后甲板室给他们偷偷地拿些枪来。我慢慢地回到陌生人那儿，不清楚该怎么办。但当我进了后甲板室并看见他在吃晚餐时，我立刻做出了决定。

“他们将袭击你并杀害你！”我告诉他。

“什么？！”他惊叫着，跳起身来。“你能站在我这边，反对他们吗？”

“我会！我不是贼，也不是杀人犯！”我勇气十足地回答道。

“你拥护乔治国王吗？”

“差不多。”我回答。

“好的，差不多先生，你叫什么？”

“戴维·鲍尔弗，”我说着，接着我想到穿着这么好外衣的人一定喜欢出身高贵的人物，于是补了一句话，“肖斯庄园的。”

“我姓斯图尔特。”他骄傲地说道，“他们叫我艾伦·布雷克。斯图尔特是一个国王的姓氏，所以虽然我不能在姓氏上加上庄园的名号，但有斯图尔特这个姓对我来说已经够好的了。”他环顾四周。“听我说，戴维，我要干掉从这扇门进来的任何人。你一定要看着这窗户和我身后的门，并打死任何想进来的人。”

他给了我一把手枪。我非常害怕，但我尽力掩饰着不显露出来。船上似乎很安静。突然响起跑步声，并传来一声喊叫，接着我听到门廊处有打斗声。我掉头看了看，就在艾伦把剑刺进那个高级船员的身体时，我看见那是舒安先生。接着，又有几个人跑向我的门这儿来。我并不打算伤害他们，但事不宜迟。我举起手枪朝他们射击起来。一个人倒下了，另外的几个人跑掉了。过了一会儿，又有船员攻上来。艾伦一如既往地英勇战斗，他的剑这时都被血浸红了。很显然他很开心。我没有时间思考，但当窗户边又有两个人出现时，我也用枪射死了他们。现在地上有几具尸体了，血则到处都是。

忽然间我意识到我们胜利了，危险结束了。艾伦像赶绵羊似地赶着那班人出了后甲板室。当他回来时，他把我抱在怀里。

“戴维！”他叫道，“我爱你像爱我的兄弟一样。噢，伙计，难道我不是一个了不起的斗士？”我得同意。他从桌子上拿了一把刀，从他的蓝外衣上割下一颗银扣子。“拿着这个，戴维。这些扣子是从我父亲邓肯·斯图尔特那儿传下来的。无论你在哪儿拿出这颗扣子，艾伦·布雷克的朋友们都会来到你身边。”他像国王一样骄傲地说道，我控制着自己不笑出来。

我们睡在后甲板室里，整夜都轮流放着哨；第二天早晨船长过来对我们说话。“你赢得了战斗，先生。”他对艾伦说道，“我们现在要穿过小明奇，我将遵守诺言把你带到林荷湖。但你杀了我的主要的高级船员——舒安，没有了他，在这些多石的海岸边我不能安全地找到路。我们将绕着马尔岛走，但我警告你，那将会是危险的。”

霍齐亚森的担心是对的。整整一天，我和艾伦坐在后甲板舱室，互相讲述着我们自己生活中的故事；但是到了晚上时风刮得更紧了，水手们发现很难让船远离这些危险的岩石。当我们来到伊锐德岛（即较大的马尔岛附近的小岛）时，忽然间传来一声可怕的撞击声，我们意识到船撞到了一块岩石上。现在只能做一件事了——弃船并尽力通过小艇到岸上去。但当我们爬进小艇时，有一个大浪打过来，把我们中的一些人打进了海里。

我沉下浮上好几回。接着，我幸运地发现了一块木头，这块木头帮助我浮在水面。我看了看四周，但看不见艾伦，也看不见水手或小艇。我唯一的希望就是试着游到伊锐德岛，在月色中我能看见它离得不远。这很难，也很耗人体力，但我还是游到那儿了。终于踏到干地上时，我感到特别愉快舒适。

3

David is alone

It was a cold night, so I could not sit down to rest. Instead, I walked up and down on the beach, trying to keep warm. There was no sound except the crash of the waves. I felt very lonely and afraid.

In the morning I climbed a hill, and looked our over the sea, but there was nothing at all on the water. And around me on the island, I could not see any houses or people. I did not like to think what had happened to my friend Alan and the others, and I did not want to look at this emptiness any longer. So I climbed down again, and walked eastwards. I was hoping to find a house, where I could dry my clothes, and get something to eat.

I soon discovered that nobody lived on Earraid. It was too far to swim to Mull, which I could see across the water. I thought perhaps I could wade across, but when I tried it, the water was too deep, and I had to turn back. By now it had started to rain, and I felt very miserable.

Then I remembered the piece of wood, which had already saved my life once. It would help me to get across the sea to Mull! So I walked all the way back to the beach where I had arrived. The piece of wood was in the sea, so I waded into the water to get it. But as I came closer, it moved away from me. And when the water was too deep for me to stand, the piece of wood was still several metres away. I had to leave it, and went back to the beach. It was a terrible moment for me. I was feeling very tired, hungry and thirsty, with no hope of getting away from this lonely island. For the first time since leaving Essendean, I lay down and cried.

I do not want to remember the time that I spent on Earraid. I had nothing with me except my uncle's gold and Alan's silver button, and as I had never lived near the sea, I did not know what to eat or how to fish. In fact, I found some shellfish among the rocks on the coast, and ate them, but I was very sick afterwards. That was the only food that I could find, so I was always hungry on Earraid. All day and all night it rained heavily, but there was no roof or tree on the island, and my clothes were cold and wet on my body.

I chose to spend most of my time in the north of Earraid, on a little hill. From here I could see the old church on the island of Iona, not far away to the west, and smoke from people's houses on Mull, to the east. I used to watch this smoke, and think of the people there, and their comfortable lives. This gave me a little hope, in my lonely life among the rocks and the rain and the cold sea.

Two days passed, and on the third day two things happened. First, I discovered that I had lost almost all my money through a hole in my pocket. I only had three of my uncle's thirty-eight pounds left. But worse was to come. While I was sitting on a rock, looking out over Iona, I suddenly noticed a small boat moving fast through the water. I jumped to my feet and shouted as loudly as I could. The two men in the boat were near enough to hear. They shouted back in Gaelic, and laughed. But the boat did not turn, and sailed on, right in front of my eyes, to Iona.

I could not understand why they did not come to help me. I continued shouting wildly, although I could no longer see them. And then, I lay down and cried for the second time. This time I wasn't sad, but angry, because I thought that they had left me to die alone in that terrible place.

The next morning, I was surprised to see that the same men were sailing towards Earraid from Iona. At once I ran down to the rocky coast to meet them. The boat came near me, but stayed a few metres away in the water. There was a third man in the boat, who was talking and laughing with the others. Then he stood up and spoke fast to me in Gaelic, which I could not understand. But sometimes he used an English word, and once I heard the word 'tide'. This gave me a flash of hope.

'Do you' mean — that when the tide is low...?' I cried, and could not finish.

'Yes, yes,' he called back, 'tide,' and laughed again.

I turned my back on the boat and ran back excitedly to the east of the island, where Earraid was the closest to Mull. And sure enough, there was now only a little water between the islands. I was able to wade through it easily, and reached Mull with a happy shout. How stupid of me not to realize that it was possible to get to Mull, twice a day, at low tide! Now I felt very grateful to the boatmen for guessing my problem, and coming back to help me.

I walked towards the smoke that I had seen so often from Earraid, and reached a long, low house built of stone. Outside sat an old man, smoking his pipe in the sun. He spoke a little English, and told me that the officers and sailors from the ship had all arrived there safely a few days before.

'Was one of them dressed in fine clothes?' I asked.

'Aye, there was one like that,' he smiled. 'Ye must be the lad with the silver button!'

'Why, yes!' I said, surprised.

'Well then, your friend says that ye must follow him to the house of his clansman, James Stewart, in Appin.'

He and his wife gave me food and drink, and let me sleep that night in their house. In the morning I thanked them for their kindness, and started my journey to Appin.

I walked across Mull to Torosay, where I took a boat across the water to Lochaline. Then I walked to Kingairlock, where I took another boat across Loch Linnhe to Appin. This took six days, and on my way I met and spoke to a number of travellers. I heard all about Alan's clan, the Stewarts, and their enemies, the Campbells. Although they were both High land clans, the Campbells and Stewarts had hated each other for years, and now the Campbells were helping the English army drive many Highlanders out of their homes. Indeed, in a day or two, I heard, red-haired Colin Campbell himself was coming to Appin, with King George's soldiers, to drive the Stew arts out and so destroy his enemies. But I also heard of James Stewart, head of the Stewart clan in Appin, and that he and his clansmen would dearly love to see Colin Campbell dead.

People also talked of a man called Alan Breck. Some called him a murderer; others said that he was a brave fighter. He was in danger every time he returned to the Highlands, because the English would pay a good price for him — dead or alive. I listened with interest to everything that they told me. But I liked it best when I heard Alan described as a fine man and an honest Highlander.

When I got out of the boat in Appin, I sat down among some trees to decide what to do next. Should I go on, and join Alan, whose friends were King George's enemies, and whose life was full of danger, or should I go back south again, quietly and safely, to the Lowlands?

As I was thinking, four men on horses came past me on the road. As soon as I saw these men, I decided to continue my adventure, although I cannot explain why. I stopped the first man, who was tall and red-haired.

'Could you tell me the way to James Stewart's house, sir?' I asked.

All the men looked at each other. The red-haired man did not reply, but spoke to one of the others, who looked like a lawyer. 'Is Stewart calling his people together, do ye think?'

The lawyer replied, 'We'd better wait here for the soldiers to join us, before we go any further.'

The red-haired man, I suddenly realized, must be Colin Campbell himself. 'If you're worried about me,' I said, 'I'm not a Stewart, but a Lowlander, and I'm for King George.'

'That's well said,' replied Campbell, 'but, if I may ask, why is an honest Lowlander like you so far from his home? Today is not a good day for travelling. This is the day when the Appin Stewarts have to leave their farms, and there may be trouble.'

He was turning to speak to the lawyer again, when there came a sudden bang from the hill, and Campbell fell off his horse. 'They've shot me!' he cried, holding his heart.

He died almost immediately. The men's faces were white as they looked down at his body. I saw something move on the hill, and noticed, among the trees, a man with a gun, turning away from the road.

'Look! The murderer!' I cried, and began to run up the hill towards him. He saw me chasing him, and went faster. Soon he disappeared behind a rock, and I could no longer see him. I stopped next to some trees, then I heard a voice below, on the road. The lawyer was shouting to a large number of redcoated soldiers, who had just joined the men around Campbell's dead body. 'Ten pounds if ye catch that lad!' he cried. 'He's one of the murderers! He stopped us on the road, to give the killer a better chance to shoot Campbell!'

Now I felt a new kind of fear. My life was in serious danger, although I had not done anything wrong. My mouth felt dry, and for a moment I could not move. I stood there in the open, on the hill, while the soldiers lifted their guns, ready to shoot.

'Jump in here among the trees,' said a voice near me.

I did not know what I was doing, but I obeyed. As I did so, I heard the banging of the guns, and realized that the soldiers were shooting at me. In the shadow of the trees, I found Alan Breck standing there. It was he who had spoken to me.

wade v. 涉水，蹚水。

thirsty adj. feeling a desire or need to drink. 口渴的。

shellfish n. 水生贝壳类动物。

lie down 躺下。

tide n. 潮，潮汐，潮水。

boatman n. man who rows or sails a small boat for pay. 船夫。

guess v. imagine. 猜测。

pipe n. 烟斗。

dearly adv. very much. 极，非常。

bang n. crash. 猛击，猛撞，砰的一声。

chase v. run after. 追逐，追赶，追击。

3　戴维是独自一人

晚上很冷，所以我不能坐下来休息。反之，我在沙滩上走来走去，来让自己暖和一点。除了波涛声外，再也没有别的声音了。我感到非常孤独，也很害怕。

早晨，我爬上一座小山，远望大海，但水面上什么也没有。而在岛上，我的四周也看不见人烟。我不愿多想我的朋友艾伦和别人到底出了什么事，而且我也不想再看这片荒野了。于是我又爬下来，朝东走去。我希望能找到一座房子，能在那儿弄干衣服并找点东西吃。

我很快就发现没有人居住在伊锐德。要游到马尔去太远了，隔着水我能看到那儿。我琢磨着也许能蹚过去，但我试图这样做时，水太深了，我不得不退回来。这时开始下起雨来，我感到非常难受。

接着我想起了那块木板，曾救过我性命的那块。它能帮着我渡过大海到达马尔！于是我返回到我到达时的那片海滩。那块木头在海里，因此我蹚水去取它。可是，我一靠近，木头就从我身边漂走了。水深得我都站不住时，那片木头离我还有几米远。我不得不随它去，回到岸上。这一刻我很难受。我感到非常累，又饥又渴，觉得没有希望从这个孤岛上逃生。离开埃森丁后我第一次躺下来哭了起来。

我不想再记起我在伊锐德岛的日子。除了我叔叔的金子和艾伦的银扣子，我一无所有；而且因为以前我从来没有在海边生活过，我不知道该吃什么或怎样捕鱼。事实上，在海岸的礁石中间我找到了一些贝类，吃了，但过后我感到非常恶心。那是我所能找到的唯一食品，因此在伊锐德岛我总是处于饥饿状态。整天整夜雨都下得很大，但岛上没有树，也没有屋檐，我的衣服裹着身体，又冷又潮。

我把我的大部分时间花在伊锐德岛北部的一座小山上。从这儿我能看见西边不远处爱欧娜岛上古老的教堂和东边马尔岛上的住户的房中冒出的炊烟。我望着炊烟，想像着生活在那里的人们和他们舒适的生活。这给我在凄风冷海中、在礁石之间度过的孤独的生活带来一丝希望。

两天过去了，第三天发生了两件事。首先，我发现我几乎所有的钱都从口袋上的一个洞里漏掉了。叔叔给我的38镑钱只剩下3镑。可是更糟糕的事接踵而至了。当我坐在一块礁石上远望比爱欧娜岛更远处时，我忽然注意到一条小船飞快地驶过水面。我跳了起来，竭尽全力地呼叫。船上的那两个人离我近到了能够听到我的声音的程度。他们用盖尔语对我大声回话，大笑着。但船没有掉头，继续向前驶着，在我眼巴巴的注视之下直至爱欧娜岛。

我不明白他们为什么不来帮助我。虽然我看不见他们了，但我继续大声喊叫。接着，我躺下来，又一次哭了。这一次我并不伤心，而是气愤，因为我想到他们把我留在这个可怕的地方，让我孤零零地死去。

第二天早上，我惊奇地看见正是那两个人从爱欧娜岛向伊锐德岛驶来。我立刻跑下来，来到礁岩岸边迎接他们。船到了我附近，但停在水中离我几米远处。船上除这两个人外，还有一个人，他正和另外两个人说笑着。然后他站起来，用盖尔语对我飞快地说起话来，可我听不懂。但有时他也用一个英语单词，一次我听到“潮水”这个词。这给了我一丝希望。

“您是说——当潮水退低时……？”我大声地喊着，激动得语不成句。

“对，对，”他回话道，“潮水。”接着又笑了。

我转过身，背对着小船，激动地跑回小岛的东端，在那儿伊锐德岛离马尔岛最近。而且很肯定的是现在两岛之间的水很少。我轻轻松松地蹬过去，随着一声欢快的叫声，我到达了马尔。我多傻，竟没有意识到我能趁低潮时一天两次地到马尔！我非常感激那些船夫，他们猜到了我的困境，而且还回来帮助我。

我向我在伊锐德岛上曾这么多次地看到的那缕炊烟走去，到了一座长长的、低矮的石屋那儿。屋外坐着一位老人，正在太阳下抽着烟斗。他能讲一点儿英语，告诉我那条船上的高级船员和水手几天前就已安全地到达了那儿。

“其中有一位穿着考究的人吗？”我问道。

“对，有像那么回事的一位。”他微笑着，“你一定是那个有银扣子的小伙子！”

“哎，我是！”我说道，感到很惊讶。

“那样的话，你的朋友说你一定得跟着他到他族人詹姆斯·斯图尔特的家里去，在阿平。”

他和妻子给我吃的和喝的，并让我夜晚睡在他们家里。早晨我谢过了他们的好意，开始了去往阿平的旅途。

我步行穿过马尔岛来到托罗塞岛，从那儿乘船来到洛哈林。接着我走到金盖尔洛克，在那儿又乘船穿过林荷湖到达阿平。这花了我6天时间，一路上我遇到了不少赶路人并和他们交谈。我听说了艾伦的氏族斯图尔特人和他们的仇人坎贝尔人的所有的事。虽然他们都是苏格兰高地氏族，但坎贝尔人和斯图尔特人互相仇恨已有数年之久，而且坎贝尔人现在正在帮着英格兰部队把很多高地人驱赶出他们的家园。事实上，我听说一两天后长着红头发的科林·坎贝尔将带领乔治国王的部队到阿平驱逐斯图尔特人，打垮他的敌人。但我又听说阿平的斯图尔特氏族头领詹姆斯·斯图尔特和他的族人将非常喜欢看到科林·坎贝尔被打死。

人们也谈论一个叫艾伦·布雷克的人。有人叫他杀人犯，也有另外一些人说他是个英勇的斗士。英格兰人出高价悬赏捉拿他——不管他是活还是死，所以每次他返回苏格兰高地时都处在危险之中。我饶有兴趣地听着人们告诉我的每一件事。但我最喜欢听到艾伦被描绘成一个品德不错的人和一个诚实的苏格兰高地人。

我在阿平下船后，在一片树丛中坐下来决定下一步该怎么办。是继续向前、伴随有着与乔治国王为敌的朋友并且生活充满了危险的艾伦呢，还是悄悄地、安全地又回南方到低地去？

当我思考时，四个人骑着马从我面前走过。虽然我无法解释原因，但我一看见他们就决定继续我的冒险。我挡住了第一个人，那是个高个子并长着红头发。

“您能告诉我去詹姆斯·斯图尔特家怎么走吗，先生？”我问道。

所有的人互相看着。长红头发的人没有回答我，却对其余人中一个看似律师的人说：“你是否认为斯图尔特正在召集他的民众呢？”

律师回答道：“在我们继续走之前，最好在这儿等士兵来会合我们。”

我猛然意识到这个长红头发的人一定是科林·坎贝尔本人。“如果你们为我烦恼的话，”我说，“我可以告诉你，我可不是斯图尔特人，而是一个低地人，我站在乔治国王一边。”

“这话说得漂亮。”坎贝尔回答道，“但是，允许我问一句，为什么像你这样一个诚实的低地人要远离你的家园呢？今天并不是个适于旅行的好天。就是在今天所有的在阿平的斯图尔特人都得离开他们的农场，这可能会有事端。”

忽然从山上传来砰的一声时，他正又扭头和他的律师说话，接着他就应声落马了。“他们打中了我！”他手捂着心脏，喊着。

他几乎马上就死了，当他们俯视着他的尸体时，他们的脸像纸一样苍白。我看见小山上有什么东西在移动，并透过树丛注意到有一个带枪的人从路上跑开了。

“看！杀人犯！”我叫着，开始拔腿上山向他跑去。他看见我追他，跑得更快了。很快他在一块岩石后消失了，我再也看不见他了。我在一些树旁停住了，接着听到从下面的路上传来说话声。律师正对着一大群身穿红色制服的士兵大喊，他们刚刚赶来与围在坎贝尔尸身旁的那些人会合。“谁抓住那个小伙子，给谁10镑！”他喊道。“他是其中的一个谋杀犯！他在路上截住我们，给刺杀者向坎贝尔开枪的良机！”

现在我感到一种别样的恐惧。虽然我什么都没做错，但我的生命处在巨大的危险之中。我口干舌燥，有一会儿竟不能动弹。我站在山上的空旷处，而这时士兵们举起了枪，准备射击。

“跳进这里，到树丛里来。”我附近有个声音说道。

我不知道自己在干什么，但我照样儿做了。我这么做时，听到了枪的砰砰声，并意识到士兵们在向我开枪。在树的阴暗处，我发现艾伦·布雷克站在那儿。刚才是他和我说话。

4

Escape through the heather

We had no time for conversation. 'Come!' Alan said, and started running along the side of the hill, keeping low to the ground. I followed him like a sheep. We ran and ran, faster than I had ever run before, and my heart was beating wildly. Sometimes, to my surprise, Alan straightened his back and showed himself to the soldiers who were chasing us.

After fifteen minutes, Alan stopped, lay flat in the heather, and turned to me. 'Now,' he said, 'this is serious. Do what I do, if ye don't want to die.' And just as fast, but much more carefully and secretly, we went back almost the same way that we had come. At last we arrived back in the wood where I had found Alan.

We fell down in the heather, and lay without moving for a long time. My legs hurt, my head was aching, and I thought I was dead.

Alan was the first to speak. 'Well.' he said, 'that was hot work, David.'

I said nothing. I had seen murder done. I knew that Colin Campbell had been Alan's greatest enemy, and I had found Alan hiding in the wood. Although I didn't think that he had actually shot Campbell, I felt sure that he had planned the killing. I coult not look at him.

'Are ye still tired?' he asked.

'No,' I replied, my face turned away from him, 'no, I'm not tired now. Alan, I can't stay with you, I must leave you. I liked you very much, but we're two different people, that's all.'

'Ye must explain what ye mean by that, David,' said Alan, looking very serious.

'Alan, why do you ask? You know very well that Colin Campbell is lying dead in the road in his own blood.'

Alan was silent for a moment. 'Well, Mr Balfour of Shaws,' he said at last, 'I promise ye that I did not plan the murder, or know anything about it.'

'Thank God for that!' I cried, and offered him my hand.

He did not appear to see it. 'I don't know why ye're so worried about a dead Campbell,' he said.

'I know that you hate their clan, Alan, but taking a life in cold blood is a terrible thing to do. Do you know who did it?'

'I wouldn't recognize him again,' said Alan, shaking his head sadly, 'I'm good at forgetting, David.'

I had to laugh at that. Then I remembered something. 'But when we were running away, you showed yourself to the soldiers, to give the murderer a chance to escape!'

'Any Highlander would do that. The best place for the lad who shot Colin Campbell is the heather, and we must all do what we can to help him keep away from the soldiers.'

I shook my head at this. These Highlanders were strange, wild people, to be sure. But Alan was ready to die for what he thought was right, and I liked him for that. I offered him my hand again, and this time he took it.

'Now, David,' he said, 'we must escape too. The Campbells will accuse us both of the murder.'

'But we didn't do it!' I cried. 'We can prove that in court!'

'Man, I'm surprised at ye,' said Alan. 'Do ye not know that if a Campbell is killed, the accused has to go to court in Inveraray, in the heart of Campbell country? When the Campbell lawyers have finished with ye, ye'll be dead!'

This frightened me a little. 'Al1 right, Alan,' I said. 'I'll go with you.'

'But remember,' said Alan, 'it'll be a hard life. Ye'll have to sleep in the open air, and ye'll often have an empty stomach. Ye can choose — either live in the heather with me, or die at the hands of the Campbells.'

'That's easy to decide,' I said, and we shook hands on it.

When we looked between the trees, we could just see the redcoats of the soldiers, still moving away from us across the hills. Alan smiled, and told me that we would go first to the house of his clansman, James Stewart, and then to the Low lands. The Campbells and the English soldiers would not think of looking for us there, and Alan could find a place on a ship sailing to France.

We walked for several hours, and arrived that night at a large house in a valley. There were lights in all the windows, and people were running in and out of the open doors. Alan whistled three times, and we were met at the door by a tall, good-looking man of about fifty, who welcomed us in Gaelic.

'James Stewart,' said Alan, 'I'll ask ye to speak in English, because my friend here comes from the Lowlands, and cannot speak Gaelic.'

James spoke politely to me for a few moments, but soon he turned back to Alan, with a very worried look on his face. 'This is a terrible accident,' he said. 'It will bring trouble to all of us!'

'Well, man,' said Alan, 'ye should be grateful that Colin Campbell is dead!'

'Aye,' replied James, 'but he was killed in Appin, remember that, Alan, so it's the Appin Stewarts who'll be accused. And I'm a man with a family!'

I looked around me. Men with white, frightened faces were hurrying here and there, without any clear idea of what they ought to do first. Some were hiding guns and swords, while others were burning papers. When James saw me looking surprised, he explained, 'The soldiers'll search my house first, ye see, and I don't want them to find anything.'

We went inside, and met James's wife and children, who were crying in a corner. I felt very sorry for them, but we did not have much time to talk. Alan explained what we needed for our escape, and soon James's men brought us two swords, two pistols, some food, a cooking pot and a bottle of whisky. We needed money too, because Alan had given his gold to another man to take to France. But James had only a little to give us.

'Ye must find a safe place somewhere near,' he said, 'and send me a message. I'll find some more money for ye, and send it to ye. But, Alan,' and here he stopped for a moment, biting his finger worriedly, 'I'll have to accuse ye of killing that Campbell. I'll have to! If I don't, they'll accuse me! I have to think of myself and my family! Do ye see that?'

'Aye,' said Alan slowly. 'I see that.'

'And I'll have to accuse your friend from the Lowlands too. Ye see that, Alan — say that ye see that!'

Alan's face went red. 'It's hard on me. James! I brought him here, and now my friends accuse him of murder!'

'But just think, Alan, man!' cried James. 'The Campbells will be sure to accuse him. And I have children!'

'Well, sir,' said Alan, turning to me, 'what do ye say? If ye do not agree, I won't let James do it.'

'I cannot understand why we don't accuse the man who did kill Campbell,' I replied sharply, 'but accuse me, Mr Stewart, if you like, accuse Alan, accuse King George! I am Alan's friend, and if I can help his friends in any way, I don't mind the danger.'

So that night we started our long journey to the Lowlands. Sometimes we walked, and sometimes we ran. But although we travelled as fast as we could, daylight began to appear before we had found a good hiding-place. We were in the rocky valley of Glencoe, with high mountains on both sides, and a river running fast through the middle. Alan was clearly worried. 'The soldiers will find us easily here,' he said. He looked around, and saw a great rock, about seven metres high. With difficulty we both climbed to the top of it. Then I saw why he had chosen it. The top of the rock was shaped like a plate, and there was room for two or three men to lie there, hidden from people in the valley.

At last Alan smiled. 'Aye,' he said. 'Now we have a chance. Ye can sleep for a while. I'll watch for soldiers.'

But when I woke up, several hours later, the valley was full of redcoats, and Alan was looking worried again. 'If they go up the sides of the mountains, they'll see us,' he said. 'We'll just have to stay here and hope they don't. When it's dark, we'll try to get past them.'

That was a terrible day. We lay on the rock, baking in the sun, with no water, only whisky, to drink. We could hear the English voices of the soldiers all around us, but luckily they did not look up at our rock. In the afternoon, when the soldiers seemed sleepy after their lunch, we decided to try to escape, and we climbed very quietly down from the rock. The soldiers did not notice us as we moved carefully from rock to rock, and soon we were safely in the next valley. That evening we washed ourselves in the river, and ate cold porridge, which is a good meal for a hungry man. We continued walking eastwards all night, over the great dark mountains. Alan was very pleased that we had left the soldiers behind, and whistled happily as he walked.

Before daylight we reached a cave that Alan had used before, and here we stayed hidden for five days. Alan went down one night to the nearest village, to the house of one of his clansmen. He sent this man to James Stewart, to tell him where we were hiding, and after three days the clansman re turned, with a purse of money for us and a message from Mrs Stewart. We discovered that James was already in prison, accused of murder, although people were saying that Alan Breck had actually fired the shot. And there was a price of one hundred pounds on my head, as well as on Alan's.

I began to think that I would be safer alone. Alan was very recognizable in his fine French clothes. It was going to be dangerous to stay with Alan, and expensive, too. Mrs Stewart had only managed to send five pounds, and Alan had to travel as far as France. But I still had two pounds, and only needed to reach Queensferry, so I would have to give some of my money to Alan. Staying with Alan meant both danger and expense.

But my honest friend did not think in this way at all. He felt sure that he was helping me. So what could I do, except keep quiet, and hope that everything would be all right?

We started travelling again, across the mountains, and by daylight came to wild, open moors, covered with purple heather. Because anyone on the hills around us could easily see us when we stood up, we had to walk or run on our hands and feet, like animals. It was another hot summer day, and my back ached badly after a few hours. I wanted a rest and a drink of water, but when we stopped, we saw the redcoats of soldiers on one of the hills, and we had to go on.

We walked or ran all day and all night. People who talk of tiredness do not know what the word really means. I did not know who I was or where I was going, and I did not care. I thought that every step would be my last, and I hoped that death would come soon. Alan drove me onwards, and I felt that I hated him, but I was too afraid of him to stop and rest.

When daylight returned, we were stupid with tiredness, and had become careless. Suddenly, three or four wild-looking men jumped out of the heather, and took us prisoner. I was not afraid, only happy to stop running for a moment. But Alan spoke to them in Gaelic.

'These are Cluny Macpherson's men,' he said quietly to me. 'Ye remember him, the head of the Macpherson clan? They fought well against the English in the Forty-Five. After that, he didn't go to France, like the other clan chiefs. No, he's been hiding here ever since, and the soldiers have never managed to find him. His clansmen bring him what he needs.'

We were taken to a cave, well hidden by trees and rocks, and Cluny Macpherson himself came forward to welcome us, like a king in his palace. He seemed to live well in his cave, and he offered us an excellent meal, prepared by his cook. Bur I was too tired to eat, so I lay down at once and slept. In fact, although I did not know it, I was seriously ill, and could not get up for two days. I woke up once, in a kind of fog, to find Cluny and Alan playing cards, and a second time, to hear Alan asking to borrow my money. I was too sick and sleepy to refuse, and gave him my purse.

But when I woke up again, on the third day, I felt much better, although not very strong. I noticed that Alan was looking very ashamed, and I realized at once what had happened.

'David,' he said miserably, 'I've lost all our money at cards, yours as well as mine.'

'No, no, ye haven't lost it!' cried Cluny. 'Of course I'll give your money back. It was just a game. I wouldn't keep your money. Here!' And he pulled gold coins out of his pocket.

I did not know if it was right to accept the money or not, but we needed it, so I thanked Cluny and put the coins in my purse. But I was very angry with Alan, and as we left Cluny's cave and continued our journey, I refused to speak to him.

At first Alan tried hard to talk to me. He said that he was sorry, and that he loved me like a brother. He was worried about my health, and offered me a hand when we crossed a river or climbed a hill. But after two or three days, when he realized that I was still angry with him, he too became angry, and laughed at me when I fell, or seemed tired.

We travelled by night, through endless rain and strong winds, and slept in the wet heather by day. I was feeling more and more miserable. My illness had returned, and I was beginning to think that this terrible journey would only end in my death. 'Alan will be sorry when I die!' I thought. How childish I was!

Alan continued to laugh at me and call me names, and by the sixth night I had had enough. I stopped and spoke angrily to him.' Mr Stewart,' I said, 'why do you laugh at me? I should laugh at you! You may have a king's name, but you're a loser! You spend your life running away! You're not brave enough to fight the Campbells and the English, and win!'

Alan looked sharply at me. 'David!' he said. 'There are things that ye should never say — things that can never be for gotten!'

'If you don't like what I say, I'm ready to fight,' I answered stupidly. I knew that I was not strong enough to hold a sword.

'David!' he cried. 'Are ye crazy? I cannot fight ye! It would be murder!' He pulled out his sword, and looked at me. 'No, I can't, I can't,' he said. And he dropped his sword on the ground.

When I saw how much he loved me, I was no longer angry, only sick, and sorry. I remembered all his kindness to me, and how he had always helped me through difficult times. Now I had lost that friend forever! My illness seemed to get worse and worse, and I could only just stand. I wanted to say that I was sorry, but I knew it was too late for that. Suddenly I realized that a cry for help was the only way of bringing Alan back to me.

'Alan!' I said, my voice shaking. 'If you cannot help me, I must just die here!' I did not need to pretend.

He looked up quickly, surprised. 'Can ye walk?'

'Not without help. Alan, if I die, will you forget what I said? In my heart, I've always been your friend, you know that.'

'Quiet!' cried Alan. 'Don't talk of dying! David, man, ye know...' He could not go on, but put his arm around me. 'Davie, I'm a bad friend to ye. I didn't remember that ye're just a bairn, I couldn't see that ye were dying on your feet...' He was almost crying. 'Hold on to me, Davie, and ye'll be grand.'

He helped me down into the valley to the nearest house, which luckily belonged to a clan who were friendly to the Stewarts. There I 1ay for several days, unable to move. Alan refused to leave me, and took the greatest care of me. Little by little I got better, with his help, and before a month had passed, we went on our way again.

This time we did not argue. We did not see any more soldiers, and our journey was easier now. We walked through the warm summer nights, ate our porridge, drank our whisky, and slept in the dry heather in the daytime. Now that we were in the Lowlands, we were almost safe, and we both felt happy and hopeful. When we crossed the Forth River by boat from Limekilns, we were only five kilometres from Queensferry, where Mr Rankeillor lived.

heather n. variety of heath with small light-purple or white flowers, common in Scotland. 石南属植物。

conversation n. talk. 谈话。

straighten v. make the body not bend. 挺直。

now adv. 语气词，表示解释、警告、安慰等，与时间无关。

worry v. fear, care about. 担心，担忧。

good at skilled in. 擅长。

stomach n. belly. 肚子。

shake hands 握手。

in and out 出入。

hard on sb. 对某人太苛刻

hiding-place n. place for hiding oneself. 躲藏地，藏身之地。

bake v. roast. 烤，暴晒。

eastwards adv. eastwardly. 向东。

whistle v. 吹口哨。

recognizable adj. easy to distinguish. 易于辨认的

expense n. cost 代价

moor n. wilderness. 荒野，沼泽地。

purple adj. 紫色的。

onwards adv. ongoing. 前进。

the Forty-Five（英史）詹姆斯二世党徒1745年发动的政变。

palace n. 宫殿。

play cards 玩牌。

ashamed adj. 羞愧的。

fall v. 跌倒，摔倒。

childish adj. 孩子气的。

call sb. names 谩骂某人。

bairn n. (Scot) kid （苏格兰语）小孩。

die on one's feet(Scot) die violently. （苏格兰语）暴死

little by little gradually. 逐渐地。

4　在石南丛中逃生

我们连谈话的时间都没有。“来！”艾伦说道，接着沿着山边、伏着身子跑起来。我像一只绵羊一样地跟着他。我们跑啊跑，我从来没有跑这么快过，我的心狂乱地跳着。令我惊讶的是，有时艾伦站直了腰，故意向追我们的士兵暴露他自己。

15分钟后，艾伦停下来，平躺在草丛里，对我转过身来。“且听我讲，”他说，“这很严重。如果你不想死的话，照我做的做。”我们又和刚才一样快地、但更当心并更隐密地几乎是原路折回。最后我们又抵达了我以前发现艾伦的那片树林。

我们倒在石南丛里，一动不动地躺了很长一段时间。我的腿疼，头也疼，我想我要死了。

艾伦首先开了口。“唔，”他说道，“那可是一件棘手的事，戴维。”

我没说话。我目击了刺杀。我知道科林·坎贝尔一直是艾伦最恨的敌人而且当时我也发现艾伦躲在树丛里。虽然我认为他没有亲手杀死坎贝尔，但我敢肯定他预谋了刺杀。我当时无法正视他。

“你是不是还很累？”他问道。

“不，”我答道，把脸从他那边转开。“不，我现在不累。艾伦，我不能和你待在一起，我得离开你。我曾非常喜欢你，但我们是两个不同的人，就这些。”

“你得解释你那话是什么意思，戴维。”艾伦说道，表情非常严肃。

“艾伦，你为什么要问？你很清楚科林·坎贝尔正躺在路上血泊里，死了。”

艾伦沉默了一会儿。“好吧，肖斯庄园的鲍尔弗先生，”他最后说道，“我向你保证我没有预谋杀人，也不知道什么。”

“谢天谢地！”我喊道，并向他伸出了我的手。

他似乎没有看到。“我不明白你为什么这么关心一个死了的坎贝尔人。”他说道。

“我知道你恨他们氏族，艾伦，但是蓄意谋杀一个人是一件很可怕的事。你知道是谁干的吗？”

“我再也认不出他了。”艾伦说道，悲伤地摇摇头，“我很健忘，戴维。”

对此我只能笑笑而已。接着我又想起来什么了。“但是当我们逃路时，你把你自己暴露给士兵，就是为了给刺杀者一个逃跑的机会！”

“任何高地人都会那样做的。枪杀了科林·坎贝尔的小伙子的最佳栖身之处就是石南丛林，而且我们应该竭尽全力帮助他从士兵那儿脱身。”

我对此摇了摇头。这些高地人确实很怪，很野蛮。但是艾伦愿意为他认为对的东西而献身，我喜欢他这一点。我又向他伸出手去，这一次他握住了我的手。

“听我说，戴维，”他说道，“我们也必须逃跑。坎贝尔人将指控我们俩杀了人。”

“但是我们没有做！”我叫道，“我们能在法庭上证实那一点！”

“伙计，我对你感到惊讶。”艾伦回答道，“难道你不知道如果一个坎贝尔人被杀了，被指控的人得去坎贝尔人地域的中心因弗雷里当堂对簿吗？当坎贝尔的律师们和你走完过场之后，你也就要死了！”

这使我有点害怕了。“好吧，艾伦，”我说道，“我和你一起走。”

“但是记住，”艾伦说道，“生活将是艰苦的。你得睡在露天处，还得时常忍饥挨饿。你可以选择——要么和我一起在石南丛林中生活，要么死在坎贝尔人手里。”

“那很容易决定。”我说道，而且我们俩人握手言定。

当我们透过树丛看时，只能看见士兵们穿着的红制服还在山峦中移动，离我们渐渐远去了。艾伦微笑着，告诉我说我们将先去他的族人詹姆斯·斯图尔特家，然后再去低地。坎贝尔人和英格兰士兵不会想到去那儿找我们，艾伦也能找到一条开往法国的船。

我们走了几小时，那个晚上到达了某处山谷中的一座大房子。所有的窗户都亮着灯，人们从敞开的门内跑进跑出。艾伦吹了三声口哨，一个约莫五十岁、长相很好的高个儿男人在门口迎接我们，他用盖尔语欢迎我们。

“詹姆斯·斯图尔特，”艾伦说道，“因为我这儿这位朋友从低地来，并不会说盖尔语，所以请你说英语。”

詹姆斯很有礼貌地和我聊了一会儿，但是很快他又转身和艾伦说话，带着很担忧的神色。“这是一个可怕的意外。”他说道，“它将给我们所有人带来麻烦！”

“好吧，伙计，”艾伦说道，“科林·坎贝尔死了你应该感激才是！”

“对，”詹姆斯回答道，“但是他是在阿平被杀死的，记着这一点，艾伦，这样将被指控的是阿平的斯图尔特人。而且我是一个有家室的人！”

我环顾四周。脸色苍白、面色惊恐的人们一会儿在这儿、一会儿在那儿地操忙着，不清楚他们自己应该先做什么。一些人在藏枪和剑，而另外一些人在烧毁文件。当詹姆斯看见我面带惊讶时，他解释道：“你知道，士兵们会首先搜查我的房子，我不想让他们发现任何东西。”

我们走了进去，遇到了在墙角大哭的詹姆斯的妻小。我为他们感到很难受，但我们没有多少时间来交谈。艾伦解释了我们逃跑所需的东西，不一会儿詹姆斯的人给我们拿来两把剑、两枝手枪、一些食物、一个做饭用的锅和一瓶威士忌酒。我们也需要钱，因为艾伦已经把他的金子给了另一个人以便带到法国去。但是詹姆斯只有一点儿钱可以给我们。

“你得在附近某处找一个安全的地方，”他说道，“并给我送一个口信。我会给你再找一些钱，并送给你。但是，艾伦，”说到这儿，他停了一下，焦急地咬着手指，“我不得不指控你杀了那个坎贝尔。我得这样！如果我不这样，他们将指控我！我得为我自己和我家人着想！你明白吗？”

“嗯，”艾伦慢慢地说道，“我明白那一点。”

“而且，我也得指控你这个从低地来的朋友。你明白那个，艾伦——就说你明白那个！”

艾伦的脸红了。“这太难为我了，詹姆斯！我把他带到这儿，现在我的朋友们指控他犯了谋杀罪！”

“但是想想，艾伦，伙计！”詹姆斯叫道，“坎贝尔人一定会指控他。而且我有孩子！”

“唔，先生，”艾伦说道，向我转过身来，“你意下如何？如果你不同意，我不会让詹姆斯这么做的。”

“我不明白我们为什么不指控那个的确杀了坎贝尔的人。”我厉声回答道，“但是如果你喜欢，斯图尔特先生，就指控我，指控艾伦，指控乔治国王吧！我是艾伦的朋友，而且如果我能在任何方面帮助他的朋友们，我不会在意危险的。”

于是那天晚上我们开始了去低地的漫漫征途。我们有时候慢走，有时候快跑。但是虽然我们尽快赶路，在我们找到一个好的栖身之地前天已开始亮了。现在我们在岩石嶙峋的格伦科山谷里，两边高山林立，中间有一条河急湍而过。艾伦显然很着急。“在这儿士兵很容易发现我们。”他说道。他看了看四周，看见了一块大岩石，大约七米高。我们俩费劲地爬到了上面。那时我才明白了他为什么要选择这块岩石。岩石的上面像一个盘子一样，可以躺两三个人，能躲过山谷里的人。

艾伦终于微笑了。“好了。”他说道，“我们现在有个逃生的机会。你可以睡一会儿。我来留神当兵的。”

但当我几个小时后醒来时，山谷里满是英国士兵，艾伦看起来又着急了。“如果他们爬上山侧，他们会看见我们。”他说道，“我们得待在这儿，希望他们别爬上来。天黑时，我们试着超过他们。”

那一天很难受。我们躺在岩石上，被太阳暴晒着，没有水，只有威士忌喝。我们能听到四周都是士兵们的英语声，但是幸运的是他们没有抬头看我们所在的岩石。下午，趁士兵们用完午饭显得困倦时，我们决定试着逃跑，便从岩石上悄悄地爬下来。当我们小心翼翼地从一块岩石爬上另一块岩石时，士兵们没有发现我们，很快我们就安全地在下一个山谷了。那天傍晚我们在河里洗了洗，喝了冷粥。对于一个饥饿的人来说那是一顿美餐。整个晚上我们继续向东走着，越过了高大漆黑的山脉。艾伦为我们把士兵抛到后面而高兴，而且走路时还开心地吹起口哨。

天亮前我们到了艾伦过去住过的一个山洞，我们在这儿待了5天。一天晚上艾伦下山去了最近的一个村庄里他的一个族人家。他派这个人去詹姆斯·斯图尔特那儿，以告诉他我们的藏身之地；3天后这个族人回来了，给我们带来一袋钱和斯图尔特太太捎来的口信。我们得知詹姆斯已经被捕入狱了，被指控犯有谋杀罪，尽管人们说实际上是艾伦·布雷克开的枪。对艾伦和我的人头的悬赏都是100镑。

我开始想我单独行动会更安全些。艾伦身穿考究的法国衣服，很容易被人认出来。和艾伦待在一起将是危险的，花销也大。斯图尔特太太想尽办法也只弄来5镑，而艾伦还得远去法国。但我还有两镑，而且只需要到昆斯费里，这样我得把我的一些钱分给艾伦。和艾伦待在一起意味着危险和花费。

但是我诚实的朋友压根儿不这么想。他确信他在帮助我。这样我除了保持沉默、希望一切平安外还能做什么？

我们又开始旅行了，翻山越岭，到天亮时来到满是紫色石南的、空旷的荒野。因为我们站起来时周围小山上的人能够很容易地看见我们，我们只能像动物一样手脚并用地爬或者跑。这又是一个炎热的夏日，几个小时后我的背痛得厉害。我需要休息，需要喝点水；但当我们停下来时，我们看见其中的一座小山上有士兵们穿的红制服，我们又得走下去。

整天整夜我们都在走或者跑。口头说累的人其实不理解这个词的真实含义：我不知道我是谁或我往哪儿去，我也不在乎、我想每一步都可能是我能走的最后一步，而且我希望死神能够很快来临：艾伦催着我往前走，我感到我恨他，但是我太害怕他，以致不敢停下来休息。

天又亮时，我们累得都迟钝了，都变得麻木了。忽然，三四个外貌粗野的人从石南丛中跳出来，把我们当俘虏抓起来。我不害怕，只高兴能停止跑一会儿。但是艾伦用盖尔语对他们说话。

“这些是克兰尼·麦克弗森的人。”他低声对我说，“你记得他，麦克弗森家族的头领吗？在1745年政变中他们英勇抗击英格兰军队。那以后，他像其他部族领袖一样没有去法国。对，那以后他一直躲在这儿，士兵们也从来没有发现他。他家族的人给他提供他所需要的。”

我们被带到一个被树木和岩石遮掩得很好的山洞，克兰尼·麦克弗森像一个国王在自己的王国里一样上前欢迎我们。看起来他在洞穴里过得很好，他给我们提供了一顿由他的厨师准备的佳肴。但是我太累了。吃不下，于是我立即躺下来睡觉。事实上，虽然我不知道，但是我是得了重病，两天都不能起床：一次我醒来，如坠雾里，发现克兰尼和艾伦在打牌；又有一次，听见艾伦向我借钱。我病得太厉害，又太困，不能够拒绝。就把我的钱包给了他。

但在第三天，当我又醒过来时，我感到好多了，虽然还不太强壮。我注意到艾伦看起来很羞愧，我马上意识到发生了什么。

“戴维，”他难过地说道，“我玩牌输掉了我们所有的钱，你的和我的。”

“没有，没有，你没有输钱！”克兰尼叫道，“我当然要退你钱。只是玩玩而已。我不会要你的钱。给！”他从口袋里掏出金币。

我不知道接受钱是对还是不对，但我们需要它，于是我谢过克兰尼并把金币放到我钱包里。但是我对艾伦很生气，我们离开克兰尼的山洞继续旅行时我拒绝和他说话。

最初艾伦竭力试着和我交谈。他说他很抱歉，说他像兄弟一样地爱我，他很担心我的健康，我们过河或者爬山时他主动伸手要帮我一把。两三天后，当他意识到我仍对他生气时，他也变得生气了，我跌倒或显得疲倦时他嘲笑我。

无论强风淫雨，我们都趁着夜幕行走，到了白天便在潮湿的石南丛里睡觉。我感到越来越难受了。我的病又复发了，我开始寻思这次可怕的旅行只会以我的死亡而告终。“当我死了，艾伦会伤心的！”我想，我多么孩子气啊！

艾伦继续嘲讽我并谩骂我，到了第六天晚上我实在是受够了。我停住脚，很生气地对他说话。“斯图尔特先生，”我说，“你为什么嘲笑我？我应该笑话你！你有国王的姓氏，但你却是输家！你把所有的时间都花在东藏西逃上！你没有勇气来和坎贝尔人及英格兰人战斗，也不会打胜仗的！”

艾伦严厉地看着我？“戴维！”他说道，“有很多事情你根本不应该说——有些事情说了之后是永远不会被忘却的！”

“如果你不喜欢我说的话，我准备决斗。”我傻乎乎地答道：我知道我连拿剑的力气都没有。

“戴维！”他叫道，“你疯了吗？我不会与你决斗的！那将是谋杀！”他拔出剑，看着我。“不，我不能，我不能。”他说道。他把剑扔到了地上。

当我看到他是多么爱我时，我已经不再生气了，只是难受，并感到抱歉。我记起了他对我的所有好处，而且他总是帮我渡过难关。现在我永远地失去了这个朋友！我的病愈来愈重了，我只能勉强站住。我想说对不起，但我知道太晚了。忽然，我意识到一声求助是把艾伦带回我身边的唯一办法。

“艾伦！”我说道，声音颤抖着。“如果你不能帮我，我就一定死在这儿了！”我不需要伪装。

他很快地抬起头，惊讶的样子：“你能走吗？”

“没人帮忙就不行。艾伦，如果我死了，你能忘掉我所说过的话吗？在我内心里，我一直是你的朋友，你知道的。”

“别说了！”艾伦叫道，“别提死！戴维，伙计，你知道……”他说不下去了，但用胳膊搂着我。“戴维，我是你的坏朋友。我当时记不得你只是一个小孩，我不能看着你暴死……”他差不多哭了。“抓牢我，戴维，你会好的。”

他帮助我下了山，进了山谷，来到最近的一座房子里。房子幸好属于一个对斯图尔特人很友好的部族。在那儿，我躺了几天，不能动弹。艾伦拒绝离开我，并极细心地照顾我。在他的帮助之下，我的身体一点点地好起来了；不到一个月，我们又上路了。

这一次我们不在争吵了。我们再没看见士兵，我们的旅途如今容易多了。温暖的夏夜里我们行走，吃麦片粥，喝威士忌；白天则睡在干燥的石南丛中。既然我们处于苏格兰低地，那就几乎安全了，我们俩都感到高兴，心里充满了希望。当我们乘船从莱姆基恩渡过福斯河时，我们离昆斯费里——就是兰基勒先生居住的地方——只有5公里路了。

5

David comes home

We decided that Alan would stay hidden in the fields, while I walked to Queensferry to find Mr Rankeillor. Alan promised not to come out until he heard me return. In order to be sure that it was me, he taught me to whistle a little Gaelic song. I have never forgotten it. I think that it will run in my head when I lie dying. Every time it comes to me, I think of that last day of my travels, with Alan whistling opposite me in the grass, while the first light of the sun touched his face.

Soon I arrived in Queensferry. When I saw people looking strangely at me, and realized how dirty my clothes were, I began to feel afraid. Would Mr Rankeillor want to talk to me? How could I prove who I was? I had no papers with me. I was too ashamed to ask any of the townspeople for help, so I walked up and down, not knowing what to do.

By midday I was tired and hungry. I stopped in front of a large house, with clean windows, flowers in the garden, and a dog sitting on the doorstep. Suddenly the door opened, and a large, well-dressed, kind-looking man came out.

'What are you doing here, my lad?' he asked.

'I'm looking for Mr Rankeillor's house, sir,' I answered.

'Well, I'm Rankeillor, and this is my house. Who are you?'

'My name is David Balfour,' I replied.

'David Balfour?' he repeated, and looked closely at me. 'Come inside, Mr Balfour, and we'll talk.'

In Mr Rankeillor's comfortable sitting-room, I told him the story of my early life, and explained that my uncle had paid Captain Hoseason to kidnap me and take me to sea.

The lawyer listened carefully. 'I heard that Hoseason's ship went down near the island of Mull two months ago,' he said. 'What have you been doing since then?'

'I can easily tell you, sir,' I replied, 'but if I tell you, a friend's life may be in danger. Promise me that you will not get him into trouble, or tell the soldiers about him!'

Although he looked a little worried at first, he promised, and I told him the rest of my adventures. While I talked, his eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep, but I discovered soon afterwards that he had understood and remembered everything.

When I spoke the name of Alan Breck, he opened his eyes and sat up. 'Don't use unnecessary names, Mr Balfour,' he said. 'A lawyer has to be very careful, when discussing High landers. I don't think I heard your friend's name very well. Let's call him — Mr Thomson.'

'Of course,' I thought, 'all over Scotland people are talk ing about Alan, now that he's accused of the murder of Colin Campbell.' I was sure that Rankeillor had recognized his name. But I just smiled, and continued my story, using the name of Mr Thomson instead of Alan Breck.

'Well, well,' said the lawyer, when I had finished, 'what an exciting adventure! You will have to write it down one day! I had heard of you, Mr David, from your friends in Essendean, who wrote to me when they had no word from you. Your uncle then told me that he had given you money to study in Europe, but I did not think that was true. I'm afraid we all know that Ebenezer Balfour is not a very good or honest man! Then Captain Hoseason appeared, saying that you were lost when his ship went down. But now I understand what really happened, and I know that you are David Balfour.' He put a hand on my shoulder in a fatherly way and continued. 'You'll want to know about the house of Shaws. It's a strange story. When they were young, your father Alexander and his younger brother Ebenezer loved the same girl. Your father was always a kind, loving brother, so when the girl decided to marry him, Alexander left Cramond and let Ebenezer have the house and farmland. Well, I think it was a bad mistake. What happened was that your parents were always very poor, and Ebenezer became more and more interested in money. He never married, of course.'

'Well, sir,' I said, 'and now, what will happen?'

'Now that your father is dead,' replied the lawyer, 'you own the house of Shaws and the farms around it. But Ebenezer won't accept that, and it will be expensive if he wants us to prove it in court. In fact, we must stay out of court, if possible. The kidnapping will be difficult to prove, and we don't want people asking questions about your friend Mr Thomson. No, I think that we should leave Ebenezer at Shaws, where he's been for twenty-five years, and ask him to pay you some money every year, instead of giving you the house. What do you think?'

'That sounds excellent to me, sir,' I replied. 'But I think that we could accuse my uncle of kidnapping me. It's easier to prove than you think. Listen,' and I described my plan to him.

He was very pleased with it. 'Yes, Mr David, very good! If we can catch Ebenezer like that, he can't refuse to give you some of the money that belongs to you!' He called to his secretary, Torrance. 'You must come with us tonight, Torrance. You'll have to listen to the conversation you hear, and write it all down. And bring the Balfour papers with you.' Then he turned to me. 'But if I accept your plan, Mr David, I'll have to meet your friend Mr Thomson, who may be, I only say may be, a criminal.' He was silent for a while, thinking deeply, then went on, 'Well, let's talk of something different. Do you know, the other day, I saw Torrance in the street? But because I wasn't wearing my glasses, I didn't recognize him! My own secretary! Ha-ha-ha!' and he laughed happily at himself.

I smiled politely. 'Perhaps he's getting old,' I thought.

But later that evening, when Mr Rankeillor, Torrance and I were walking out of Queensferry, the lawyer suddenly cried out, laughing, 'Well, how stupid of me! I've forgotten my glasses!' And I understood why he had told me the story about Torrance. Now he could meet Alan, a man wanted for murder, and if the soldiers asked him later for information he could say that he never saw Alan clearly and could not possibly recognize him.

When we arrived near Alan's hiding-place, I whistled the little Highland song. When he appeared, we explained to him what we wanted him to do, and he readily agreed. So the four of us continued walking until we reached the house of Shaws.

It was a dark night, and there were no lights in the windows. My uncle was probably in bed. Mr Rankeillor, Torrance and I hid below the steps, near enough to hear any conversation, while Alan went straight up to the door and knocked loudly. After some time my uncle opened his bedroom window, and called down, in a frightened voice, 'What do ye want at this time of night? Who are ye?'

'I do not want to give ye my own name,' replied Alan, 'but I've come to talk to ye about someone called — David.'

'What!' cried my uncle. And after a moment, he said un happily, 'Will ye come inside, to discuss — the matter?'

'I will not,' said Alan sharply. 'It's here on this doorstep that we must talk. Come down and speak to me.'

After Ebenezer had thought about it, he decided to do what Alan wanted. It took him a long time to come downstairs, and a longer time to unlock the heavy door, but at last we saw him in the doorway, holding his gun in his shaking hands.

'Now,' said Alan, 'ye're intelligent enough to see that I'm a Highlander. I have friends who live near the island of Mull. Well, it seems that a ship went down near there, and soon afterwards my friends found a lad, half-dead, on the beach. Your nephew, Mr Balfour. Since then they've been taking care of him. And now they'd like to know, Mr Balfour, if ye want him back. Ye'll have to pay, if ye do. My friends are very poor.'

'I don't want him back,' said my uncle. 'He wasn't a good lad. I won't pay a shilling for him!'

'Blood's thicker than water, sir,' said Alan. 'He's your brother's son! But if ye don't want him back, will ye pay us to keep him? And ye'll have to hurry. I'm not waiting here all night!'

'Give me a minute to think, will ye?' cried my uncle.

'In two words, sir, do ye want us to kill or keep the lad?'

'Oh, sir!' cried Ebenezer. 'Don't talk of killing!'

'Well, killing's easier, and quicker, and cheaper.'

'I'm an honest man,' said my uncle, 'and no murderer.'

'Well, well,' replied Alan, 'and now how much will ye pay for us to keep him? First I need to know how much ye paid Hoseason to kidnap the lad. How much was it?'

'Hoseason? Kidnap? What are ye talking about, man?' screamed my uncle, jumping up and down on the doorstep.

'Hoseason himself has told me about it,' said Alan calmly, 'so ye needn't pretend. Just answer the question, or ye'll find my sword in your stomach!'

'Don't get angry!' cried my uncle. 'I gave him twenty pounds, that's all. But to be honest with ye — he was going to sell the lad as a slave, and keep that money, ye see.'

'Thank you, Mr Thomson, that's excellent,' said the lawyer, stepping forward. 'Good evening, Mr Balfour,' he said politely to the old man.

And, 'Good evening, uncle Ebenezer,' said I.

And, 'It's a grand evening, Mr Balfour,' added Torrance.

My uncle said nothing, but stood there on the doorstep with his mouth open. We took him into the kitchen, and sat down to discuss matters. After an hour, it was all decided. My uncle accepted that Shaws belonged to me, but he would stay there during his lifetime. He agreed to pay me money every year, and Mr Rankeillor would check that he did.

We all stayed that night at the house of Shaws. But while Alan and Torrance and Mr Rankeillor slept on the hard beds upstairs, I lay down on the kitchen chests, which now belonged to me. I, who had slept out on the hills for so many days and nights, was now the owner of a large house and several farms. My head was full of exciting plans and ideas, and I found it difficult to sleep.

The next day, while Mr Rankeillor and I were having breakfast together, I talked to him about Alan.

'Mr Thomson is still in danger,' said the lawyer. 'He must leave the country as soon as possible, and stay with his friends in France for a while. I'll give you money to buy him a place on a ship. He'll have to stay hidden until then.'

'And his clansman, James Stewart, who's in prison?' I asked. 'I know he didn't kill Colin Campbell. I saw the murderer! I must speak for James Stewart in court!'

'My dear boy,' said Rankeillor, 'it's dangerous for anyone to speak for a Stewart in a Campbell court. But you must do what you think is right. I'll write you a letter to a good lawyer who will be able to help Mr Thomson's clansman.' He stood up. 'Well, I think that we've finished our business here. must leave now, and go back to my work. Come and see me often, Mr David! Goodbye!'

Alan and I started walking towards Edinburgh, while Mr Rankeillor and Torrance turned back to Queensferry. We talked about what would happen next. Alan was going to hide in the countryside near Edinburgh, until it was safe for him to take a ship to France. When I had found him a place, I would send him a message. Then I planned to go back to the High lands to help James Stewart return to his family.

Alan and I walked slowly. We were both thinking that soon we would have to leave each other. And we had been through so much together! We stopped when we came to the top of the Corstorphine Hill, and looked down at Edinburgh. We knew that this was the moment to say goodbye, but we stood there silently for a while.

'Well, goodbye,' said Alan, and held out his hand.

'Goodbye,' I said, and took his hand. Then I went off downhill. I did not look back at him, but I felt very miserable, and wanted to sit down and cry like a baby.

Edinburgh was full of noise and traffic and people, but I did not notice any of that. All the time I was thinking of Alan on the hill, and there was an ice-cold feeling inside me.

In the months that followed, I kept Alan's silver button safe and often looked at it, remembering our escape through the heather in the wild Highlands. I felt proud to call Alan Breck Stewart my friend, and wondered if I would ever see him again. When I returned to the Highlands to help his clansman, James, I found that my adventures with the Stewarts were far from finished... but that is another story.

hide v. conceal 躲藏。

midday n. noon 中午。

sitting-room n. living room. 起居室。

fatherly adj. 父亲般的。

criminal n. convict, offender. 罪犯。

wanted adj. （特指）被警方通缉的。

nephew n. son of one's brother or sister. 侄子。

doorstep n. 门前的石阶。

in the countryside 在乡下。

it is the time/moment to do sth... 该做……的时候到了。

5　戴维回了家

我们决定，艾伦藏在田野里而我则步行到昆斯费里去找兰基勒先生。艾伦答应直到听到我回来他才出来。为了确定是我，他教我吹一首盖尔语小曲。我从来没有忘记它。我想这首歌会在我弥留之际时萦绕在我脑中。每当我想起这首歌，我就想到我们一起旅行的最后一天：在草丛中，艾伦躺在我对面吹着口哨，早晨的第一缕阳光抚摸着他的脸。

我很快就到了昆斯费里。当我看到人们奇怪地看着我时，我意识到我的衣服有多么脏，我开始害怕了。兰基勒先生会愿意和我说话吗？我怎样证明自己的身份？我随身没带任何证明文件。我太羞愧了，以至于不敢向任何市民求助，于是我走来走去，不知道该做什么。

到了正午我又累又饿。我在一座大房子前停住了，那房子窗户洁净，园子里有花，门阶上一条狗卧立着。门突然间开了，一个身材高大、穿着考究、和蔼可亲的人走了出来。

“小伙子，你在这儿干嘛？”他问道。

“我在找兰基勒先生的家，先生。”我答道。

“唔，我就是兰基勒，而且这就是我的家。你是谁？”

“我叫戴维·鲍尔弗。”

“戴维·鲍尔弗？”他重复了一遍，紧盯着我；“进来，鲍尔弗先生，我们谈一谈。”

在兰基勒先生舒适的客厅里，我给他讲述了我早年的故事，告诉他我的叔叔买通霍齐亚森船长诱拐了我并把我带到了海上。

律师认真地听着。“我听说霍齐亚森的船两个月前在马尔岛附近沉了。”他说道，“你从那以后一直在干什么？”

“告诉你很容易，先生，”我答道，“但如果告诉你，一位朋友的生命将受到威胁。答应我你不要使他陷入麻烦或向士兵告发他！”

虽然起初他看起来有点担心，但他答应了，我告诉他我其余的冒险经历。我说话时，他闭着眼，看起来像睡着了，但之后不久我发现他听明白了并记住了所有事情。

当我提到艾伦·布雷克这个名字时，他睁开了眼并坐正了。“不要用不必要的名字，鲍尔弗先生。”他说道，“律师在讨论苏格兰高地人时得非常小心。我认为我没太听清你朋友的名字。就让我们称他——汤姆森先生吧。”

“当然，”我想，“全苏格兰的人都在谈论艾伦，既然他被指控谋杀了科林·坎贝尔。”我确信兰基勒已经听清楚了他的名字。但我只是微微一笑，继续讲我的故事，用汤姆森先生这个名字代替艾伦·布雷克。

“唔，唔，”我讲完以后律师说道，“多惊险的经历啊！你真应该有朝一日把它写下来！我曾经从你在埃森丁的朋友那里听说过你，戴维先生，他们在没有你的消息时曾经写信给我。当时你的叔叔告诉我说他已经给你钱让你在欧洲学习，但我当时就想那不是真的。我想我们都知道埃比尼泽·鲍尔弗先生并不是一个好人或老实人！后来霍齐亚森船长出现了，说他的船下沉时你就不见了。但现在我知道到底发生了什么事。我知道你就是戴维·鲍尔弗。”他慈父般地把手放在我的肩上并继续说：“你可能想知道肖斯庄园的有关情况。这是一个奇特的故事。你父亲亚历山大和他的弟弟埃比尼泽年轻时爱上了同一个女孩。你父亲一直是一个友善的、讨人喜欢的兄弟，所以那个女孩决定嫁给他时他便离开了克莱蒙德并把房子和农场留给了埃比尼泽。唔，我想这是一个大错。所发生的事情是，你的父母一直很穷，而埃比尼泽越来越对金钱感兴趣。他从未结婚，当然了。”

“那么，先生，”我说，“现在又会怎么样呢？”

“既然你的父亲去世了，”律师回答说，“你就拥有肖斯庄园和周围的农场。但埃比尼泽不会接受，如果他要我们在法庭上证明这一点，那将花销很大。事实上我们必须尽可能不去法庭。这次诱拐很难证明，我们也不愿意让别人问一些关于你朋友汤姆森的问题。对，我想我们应该让埃比尼泽留在肖斯庄园，他在那儿已经待了25年了。而且我们可以要求他每年给你一些钱而不是要他把房子还你。你认为怎么样？”

“那样听起来很棒，先生。”我回答，“但我想我们可以控告我叔叔诱拐了我。证明起来比你想象得容易。听着，”我然后向他描述了我的计划。

他对此很高兴。“是，戴维先生，很好！如果我们能那样套住埃比尼泽的话，他不可能拒绝把本属于你的一些钱还给你！”他叫来他的秘书托伦斯：“今晚你必须和我们一起去，托伦斯。你必须认真听你听到的，并将其记录下来。并且带去与鲍尔弗家族有关的文件。”接着他转身对我说：“但是如果我接受了你的计划，戴维先生，我必须见一下你的朋友汤姆森先生。他可能是，我只是说可能是，一个罪犯。”他沉默了一会儿，沉思着，然后接着说：“好了，让我们聊一下别的什么事情。你知道吗？前几天我在街上看见了托伦斯，但因为当时我没带眼镜，我没有认出他来！我自己的秘书！哈哈哈！”他还自嘲地开怀大笑。

我礼貌地微微一笑。“可能他变老了，”我想。

但那天晚上，我、兰基勒先生和托伦斯走出昆斯费里后，兰基勒这位律师突然笑着叫道：“唉，我多愚蠢！我忘了我的眼镜！”于是我明白了他为什么给我讲关于托伦斯的故事。他现在可以见到正被人通缉捉拿的艾伦了，一旦士兵日后问他有关情况，他会讲他从未看清艾伦，也不可能认出他。

当我们靠近艾伦隐蔽的地方时，我用口哨吹起了那首高地小曲。艾伦出来以后，我们对他解释想让他做什么，他欣然同意了。于是我们四个人继续前行，直到到了肖斯庄园。

那天晚上很黑，窗户也没透出亮光。我叔叔可能上床睡觉了。我、兰基勒先生还有托伦斯藏在台阶下边，离房子近得可以听清任何谈话，而艾伦径直走向房门并大声敲了起来。过了一会儿之后我叔叔打开了他卧室的窗户，用惊恐的声音对下面叫道：“晚上这个时候你想干什么？你是谁？”

“我不想告诉你我自己的名字，”艾伦回答说，“但我来是想和你谈一下一个人——一个叫戴维的人的事情。”

“什么？！”我叔叔大叫起来。过了一会儿他不快地说：“你能进来谈一下——这事吗？”

“不行，”艾伦斩钉截铁地说，“我们得在门阶这儿说。下来对我说。”

埃比尼泽考虑了之后，决定做艾伦想要他做的事。他花了很长时间才到楼下，花了更长的时间才打开沉重的大门，但我们终于看到他站在门口，用他发抖的手握着枪。

“现在，”艾伦说道，“你肯定已经看出来了我是一个高地人。我有几个朋友住在马尔岛附近。唔，似乎是有一条船在那儿附近沉没了，之后不久我的朋友们在沙滩上发现了一个奄奄一息的小伙子。是你的侄子，鲍尔弗先生。自那之后，他们一直在照顾他。现在他们想知道，鲍尔弗先生，你是否想让他回来。如果你同意，你必须付钱。我的朋友们很穷。”

“我不想让他回来。”我叔叔说，“他不是一个好小伙子。我不会为他付一个先令！”

“血浓于水，先生。”艾伦说，“他是你兄弟的儿子！但是如果你不让他回来，你愿意付我们钱以抚养他吗？而且你必须快一点儿。我不可能在这儿等你一晚上！”

“给我一分钟让我想一想，行不行？”我叔叔叫着。

两个字，先生，你是让我们杀他还是留他？”

“噢，先生！”埃比尼泽叫道，“不要谈杀！”

“唔，相比之下，杀是较简单、快捷又省钱的办法。”

“我是一个老实人，”我叔叔说，“不是一个杀人犯。”

“好了，好了，”艾伦说，“你现在愿意付多少钱给我们去抚养他？首先我想知道你付了多少钱给霍齐亚森让他去诱拐这个小伙子。是多少？”

“霍齐亚森？诱拐？你在说什么，伙计？”我叔叔尖叫着，气得在门阶那儿上下乱跳。

“霍齐亚森本人已告诉我这件事，”艾伦镇静地说着，“所以你不用装了。只管回答问题，不然你会发现我的剑将刺入你的肚子！”

“别生气，”我叔叔喊着，“我给他20镑，就那么多。但老实和你说——他想把这小伙子当奴隶卖掉，并且独吞那笔钱，你知道。”

“谢谢你，汤姆森先生，那太好了。”律师走上前说。“晚上好，鲍尔弗先生。”他礼貌地对这个老人说。

“晚上好，埃比尼泽叔叔。”我说。

“这真是一个重要的夜晚，鲍尔弗先生。”托伦斯补充道。

我叔叔什么也没说，张着嘴站在台阶上。我们带他进了厨房，坐下来商量事情。一个小时后，一切都定下来了。我叔叔同意肖斯庄园归我所有，但他要待在那儿度过余生。他同意每年付给我钱，而且兰基勒先生将监督他的行为。

那天晚上我们整夜都待在肖斯庄园。但当艾伦、托伦斯和兰基勒先生躺在楼上的硬床上睡觉时，我躺在厨房的柜子上，这些现在属于我了。这么多个日日夜夜我一直在山上露天躺着，而现在成了一幢大房子和几个农场的主人。我脑子里满是令人兴奋的计划和念头，我发现自己难以入睡。

第二天，当我和兰基勒先生一起用早餐时，我和他说起了艾伦。

“汤姆森先生仍然有危险。”律师说，“他必须尽快离开这个国家，和他在法国的朋友待一段时间。我将给你钱以便给他在船上买个舱位。在此之前他必须一直藏匿着。”

“还有他的同族人，詹姆斯·斯图尔特，就是还在监狱里的那位呢？”我问。“我知道他并没有杀害科林·坎贝尔。我看到了谋杀犯！我肯定会在法庭上为詹姆斯·斯图尔特说话的！”

“我亲爱的孩子，”兰基勒说，“每一个在坎贝尔族人的法庭上为斯图尔特人说话的人都会有危险的。但你应该做你认为对的事。我将为你给一个能帮助汤姆森先生的同族人的好律师写封信。”他站起来。“唔，我想我们在这儿的事已经结束了。我现在必须离开，回去做我的工作。常来看我吧，戴维先生！再见！”

我和艾伦开始向爱丁堡走去，而兰基勒先生和托伦斯则折回昆斯费里。我们讨论接下来怎么办。艾伦将躲在爱丁堡城附近的乡下，直到他坐船去法国脱离危险为止。我为他在船上找到了地方时，我将给他送个信。然后我计划回到高地帮助詹姆斯·斯图尔特回到自己的家。

我和艾伦慢慢地走着。我们都想着不久后我们将各自离去。而我们曾经在一起经历这么多事情！我们走到科西托芬小山的山顶的时候停了下来，俯瞰着爱丁堡。我们知道已经到了说再见的时候了，但我们在那儿静静地站了片刻。

“好了，再见，”艾伦说着，并伸出了他的手。

“再见，”我说，并握住了他的手。然后我下山去。我没有回头看他，但我感到很难受，很想坐在地上像小孩子一样大哭一场。

爱丁堡声音嘈杂，车水马龙，人群熙攘，但我一点儿没有注意到那些。我一直想着小山上的艾伦，心里感到冰冷。

之后的岁月里，我一直珍藏着艾伦的银扣，并且经常拿出来看一看，回忆着我们一起在荒凉的高地石南丛中逃跑的事。我为能把艾伦·布雷克·斯图尔特称为自己的朋友而自豪，我不知道我能否还能再见到他。当我回到高地去帮助他的族人詹姆斯时，我发现我和斯图尔特人在一起的历险还远未结束……但那是另外一个故事了。

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapter 1 Who said these words in the story?

1 'Take this letter to the house of Shaws, near Cramond.'

2 'Black is the heart of Ebenezer Balfour!'

3 'A promise is a promise.'

4 'Watch out for the old man — he wants to hurt ye.'

5 'Help, help! Murder!'

Chapter 2 Who in this chapter...

1 ... was planning to sell David as a slave in North America?

2 ... killed the young sailor, Ransome?

3 ... was taking money to clansmen in France?

4 ... wanted to kill the stranger and steal his money?

Chapter 3 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 David found plenty of food on the island of Earraid.

2 He realized on the first day that he could easily wade across to Mull at low tide.

3 He saw the shooting of Colin Campbell in Appin.

Chapter 4 Find answers to these questions in the text.

1 How did Alan and David plan to escape from the English soldiers?

2 Why was James Stewart so worried?

3 What happened to all Alan's and David's money?

4 What did Alan do when David refused to speak to him?

Chapter 5 Write answers to these questions.

1 Why did David walk around in Queensferry until midday?

2 What name did Mr Rankeillor use for Alan Breck, and why?

3 Why did Ebenezer agree to pay David some money every year?

4 How did David feel when he said goodbye to Alan?

B Working with language

1 Put together these beginnings and endings of sentences.

1 I began to feel frightened and hopeless,

2 We all knew

3 Although his life had clearly been in great danger,

4 My only hope was to try to swim to Earraid,

5 who he meant.

6 as I lay there in the dark.

7 which I could see, not far away, in the moonlight.

8 he seemed very calm, and spoke politely to the captain.

2 Complete these sentences with information from the story.

1 When David learnt that his father was the elder brother, he...

2 It was dangerous for Alan to return to the Highlands, because...

3 David had to choose between escaping with Alan or...

4 Although David and Alan sometimes argued, they...

C Activities

1 Which were your most favourite, and least favourite, characters in the story? Why? Write a few lines to describe these people.

2 After David's friends in Essendean write to Mr Rankeillor, asking for news of David, Mr Rankeillor goes to visit Ebenezer Balfour. Write down their conversation.

3 We see the story through David's eyes. Imagine that you are Alan Breck, and describe one of these events from his point of view:

·the fight in the round-house on the ship;

·the argument between Alan and David after leaving Cluny Macpherson's cave.

4 'Blood's thicker than water.' Both Ebenezer Balfour and Alan Breck say this in the story. What does it mean? Write a few lines to explain it, and to say if you agree or disagree to it.

京权图字01-97-0328

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. ©1995

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

公正 = Justice / （英）维卡里（Vicary, T.）著；陈莉译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1998（2015.2 重印）

(书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1378-7

Ⅰ．公…　Ⅱ．①维…②陈…　Ⅲ．小说—英国—对照读物—文学—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（98）第07713号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：任小玫

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：1998年8月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-1378-7

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简　介

恐怖分子不在乎杀害谁或伤害谁；对别人是否公正他们并不感兴趣，他们感兴趣的只是炸弹、枪枝、杀人，然后如何逃脱法律责任。但是在有警察、法律和监狱以前，人们用一种更古老的方法来讨回公道，那就是以眼还眼，以牙还牙，以命抵命……

国会大厦门外，一颗炸弹在女王乘坐的马车里爆炸，炸死了五人，可偏偏没炸着女王。简·科尔正在观望的人群中。她惊恐地推开惶恐的人群寻找着为女王驾车的父亲。她看到他正躺在血泊中痛苦地呻吟着。

阿兰·科尔没有死，但他失去了一条腿。而且他和女儿的危难才刚刚开始，因为他知道恐怖分子的一些事情。尽管当时他还不知道这点，但很快他就意识到了。

然而，在某个地方，某个人正急切地想阻止阿兰讲明真相……

本书作者蒂姆·维卡里是一位很有经验的教师和作家。他已为牛津出版社写了许多故事，而且还出版了两本小说：《红玫瑰上的血》及《猫和老鼠》。他现在居住和工作在英格兰北部的约克。

1

Bomb

'Look!' Jane Cole said. 'Here she comes now!'

The two Americans looked along the street. There were crowds of people everywhere. In the middle of the road, soldiers were riding towards them on horseback. Behind them came a golden coach, pulled by six black horses.

'That's my father,' Jane said. 'He's the coachman — the man driving the horses. '

The American woman said, 'Fantastic! Your father's driving the Queen! Quick, Harry, use the video camera!'

'I am using it!' her husband said. 'But she's too far away. Can't we get a little nearer, Jane?'

'We can try,' Jane said. 'Follow me!' She took them nearer to the entrance to Parliament. 'This is where the coach will stop and the Queen will get out. Then she'll go upstairs to open Parliament for this year.'

'Didn't someone put a bomb under your Parliament once?' the American man asked. 'I read about that at school. Guy... something?'

'Guy Fawkes,' Jane said. 'In 1605. He tried to blow up Parliament, that's right. But don't worry. There's no Guy Fawkes here today.'

She smiled at the Americans. She was a student, and this was her part-time job—to show tourists round London. She felt proud to show them her father, driving the Queen on a wonderful day like this.

Then the Queen's coach came past in front of them, the golden roof bright in the sunlight.

There were people everywhere, trying to take photos. Jane saw a woman with red-brown hair behind the American man, pressing the button of her camera. That's stupid, Jane thought, she can only see the backs of people's heads there. The woman shook her camera angrily; there seemed to be something wrong with it. The American woman pulled Jane forward, laughing happily. 'Come on,' she said, 'let's get to the front! Use that video, Harry!'

Alan Cole stopped the coach outside Parliament, and sat there, quietly holding the horses. A man opened the coach door, and Prince Charles and the Duke of Edinburgh got out. Then the Queen got out. She was wearing a long white dress, and carrying a gold handbag. She walked slowly towards the entrance to the building.

'Excuse me, please,' the woman with red-brown hair said. 'I must get closer.' She pushed past Jane and held out her small black camera.

'Oh, all right,' Jane said. 'But... my God!'

There was a loud BANG! Jane saw a bright white light in front of her eyes, and felt a terrible hot wind on her face. The wind threw her backwards, and she fell to the ground with a lot of other people. For a moment she lay there, not thinking, not seeing.

Her eyes were open but she saw nothing. Only... blue sky. She heard nothing. Only... silence. Her body felt no pain. But she could smell something. Smoke.

Smoke? she thought. I don't understand. Why smoke? And this blue sky. Where am I?

Then the screaming began.

The screaming was high and loud and terrible. It didn't sound human. It went on and on and on.

Jane saw a hand in front of her, on the ground. A man's hand with blood on it. And broken glass. She moved her head and saw broken glass everywhere, and blood, and bodies lying on the ground. She stood up slowly.

For a moment she thought everyone was dead. There were bodies everywhere, but no one was moving. Then a man ran across the road, and one of the bodies moved.

The body wasn't human; it was a horse. As it moved, it screamed. The horse tried to stand up, but it couldn't, because it only had three legs. There was blood all round the horse, and a big bit of wood in its stomach.

The Queen's coach was broken into a thousand pieces, and there were bits of wood and clothes and bodies everywhere. The bodies looked like broken dolls.

'Dad!' she screamed. 'Oh God — my father!'

She ran quickly towards the coach. A policeman with a bloody hand tried to stop her, but she pushed him away.

'My father's over there!' she screamed.

At first she couldn't find him. There were so many bodies—and so much blood! She saw the horse in the middle of a great lake of blood, trying to get up on its front leg. There was blood coming from the horse's nose and stomach — and under the back legs, something that looked like...

A body. A man. ' Father!'

Alan Cole was covered with blood and his face was as white as paper. When he saw Jane, he opened his eyes and screamed. 'It's my leg! My leg—get this horse off me!'

His leg was under the back of the horse, which was moving wildly, trying to get up. Each time the horse moved, it fell on Alan Cole's leg, and he screamed.

Jane ran and pushed the horse but it was too big, too heavy. She pulled its tail but that was no good. It tried to get up and fell on her father's leg again, twice. She could hear his bones breaking. Then a policeman came and held the horse's leg. Jane held its tail, and another policeman held Alan's arms. Jane and the first policeman pulled the horse to one side, while the second policeman pulled Alan free. The horse screamed, kicked Jane on the shoulder, and died.

Jane went in the ambulance with her father to the hospital. There were lots of people there. She heard a reporter talking on the telephone to his office.

'Five,' he said. 'Five dead, and about thirty are very badly hurt. It was a bomb—it must be terrorists. But the Queen is safe. She was inside Parliament with her husband and Prince Charles and...'

'Never mind the bloody Queen!' Jane thought. 'What about my father?'

The doctors took Alan away from Jane, and she had to sit and wait. Her shoulder was hurt, but not badly. For nearly four hours she walked up and down, drank coffee, and thought: why?

Why try to kill the Queen—how will that help anyone? Why kill tourists and soldiers outside Parliament? Why try to kill my father?

Jane's father was the most important person in the world to her. When he was a soldier, she had travelled around the world with him. He had taught her to climb mountains, win judo fights, ride horses, sail boats — he was a great father. Now, she thought, he may be dead.

At midnight, a young Indian doctor came to see her. He was tired and serious. He looked at her sadly.

'It's bad news, isn't it?' Jane said. 'Is he dead?'

'No, Miss Cole,' the doctor said. 'We have saved your father's life. But I am afraid...' He hesitated.

'Yes? What then? Please — tell me!'

'I am afraid he has lost his leg. It was too badly broken — we had to cut it off.'

'Oh my God!' Jane sat down suddenly. 'You cut his leg off!' She stared at the doctor and thought: Dad will never be able to climb or ride or sail again. Oh, poor man! It's worse than being dead! She began to cry.

'I'm very sorry, miss,' the doctor said. 'We had to do it, to save his life. He'll get an artificial leg. He'll learn to use it. At least he's alive...'

'Yes, I suppose so.' Jane looked up. 'I'm sorry, doctor. I'm sure you did your best. Can I see him now?'

'Yes, of course. The nurse will show you...'

In the hospital bed, Alan Cole lay quietly. His face was as white as the sheets on the bed, but when Jane came in, he opened his eyes slowly. Jane took one of his hands in hers. The hand was cold, like ice.

'Janie? Are you all right?'

'Me? I'm fine, Dad. And you're going to be OK too, aren't you? The doctor told me.'

He closed his eyes, and for a long time he didn't answer. Perhaps he's asleep again, Jane thought. Then, very quietly, Alan Cole said, 'Stay with me, Janie.'

'Of course, Dad. I'm not going anywhere.' Jane sat down on a chair beside the bed. 'You sleep now.'

Her father closed his eyes, and the nurse smiled at Jane. 'Would you like a cup of tea, miss?'

'Yes, please,' Jane said. 'It's going to be a long night.' She held her father's hand, and watched him sleeping. He looks happy now, she thought. Like a baby.

But what will he say when I tell him about the leg?

Next day, the doctor told Alan about his leg. Jane sat by the bed and held his hand while he listened. He didn't say anything, but tears came into his eyes.

'I'm very sorry, Mr Cole,' the doctor said. 'But we had to do it. Your leg was broken in forty places, and you lost a lot of blood. You're lucky to be alive.'

'Lucky!' Alan Cole said angrily. 'With this? Damn it, man, I'll never walk again!'

'Oh yes, you will, Mr Cole. We'll get you an artificial leg. They're very good—they move like an ordinary leg. No one will see it under your trousers.'

'And will I be able to ride horses with it, or swim, or climb mountains?'

'Well, perhaps not...' The doctor hesitated. 'We'll do our best for you, Mr Cole, believe me. Now, here's something to help you sleep. You'll feel better later.'

All day, Jane waited in the hospital. She drank tea, read newspapers, had a meal, and held her father's hand as he slept. No one came to visit. Her mother was dead, and her brother lived in Australia. At four o'clock her father woke up, and looked at her with big frightened eyes.

'Janie?' he said.

'Yes, Dad.'

'What happened? The doctor said there was a bomb, didn't he? And I lost my leg. But... I can't remember.'

Very quietly, Jane told him what she had seen. Then she read the newspaper aloud.

Five people have died, and forty are in hospital. One man from the Queen's coach lost a leg, and the other three are dead. But the Queen, Prince Charles, and the Duke of Edinburgh were not hurt. Yesterday some Irish terrorists rang the BBC to say they exploded the bomb. 'We are sorry that ordinary people died,' they said. 'We meant to kill the Queen, not them. But accidents happen sometimes. The Queen was lucky this time, because the bomb exploded too late. But she has to be lucky every time. We only have to be lucky once.'

'My God!' Alan said. 'The bastards! Who... who died?'

'One policeman, a tourist, and three coachmen,' Jane said. 'You were the only coachman who didn't die.'

'Oh no.' Alan's eyes were filled with tears. 'George, Bernard, John—dead! What harm had they ever done to the Irish, or to anyone? Why did the Irish have to kill them with their bloody bomb? There's no justice in this life, is there?'

'Well, perhaps the police will...' Jane began.

'Yes, I hope they catch those murdering Irish bastards, I really do. I hope they lock them in prison until they die. That's what I hope. By God, I do!'

'Of course they will, Dad.' Jane stroked her father's hand softly. 'The police are out there now, looking for the bombers. They'll catch them, before too long.'

crowd n. a large group of people. 一群人。

coach n. a kind of car pulled by horses. 马车。

fantastic adj. wonderful. 奇妙的。

parliament n. the building where people discuss and make laws in a country. 国会。

press v. push steadily against. 按。

proud adj. feeling pleased about something you have done. 自豪。

scream v. cry or say loudly, especially because of fear or anger. 尖叫。

human n. 人类。

doll n. toy that looks like a child. 布娃娃。

kick v. hit something or someone with the foot. 踢。

shoulder n. 肩。

ambulance n. a special car for carrying people who are ill or wounded. 救护车。

terrorist n. someone who frightens, hurts, or kills other people in order to get sth. that he or she wants. 恐怖主义分子。

bloody adj. bleeding or covered in blood; also, a word used to show that you are angry. 血腥的；也可用为强势语。

judo n. 柔道。

serious adj. important because of possible danger. 严重的。

hesitate v. stop for a moment to show that you are not sure about what you are doing or saying. 犹豫。

stare v. look very hard at sth. for a long time. 盯着看。

artificial adj. not natural; made by people. 人造的。

suppose v. think. 想，认为。

Janie n. 简妮（人名Jane的昵称，常用于家人之间的对话中）。

tear n. water that comes from the eyes when you cry. 眼泪。

Damn it! 该死的！（感叹词，用以表示愤怒、厌烦、急躁等）。

explode v. 爆炸。

accident n. something which happens by chance. 意外事故。

bastard n. a bad or cruel person (usually a man). 混蛋（俚语）。

justice n. 公正。

stroke v. move your hand slowly and gently over something. 抚摸。

catch v. 抓获。

1　炸弹

“看！”简·科尔说，“她来了！”

那两个美国人顺着街道看去。到处都是人群。马路中间，士兵正骑在马背上朝他们这边走来。在士兵们的后面，是一辆由六匹黑马拉着的金色马车。

“那是我父亲，”简说，“他是马车夫——就是赶马的人。”

那个美国妇女说：“真奇妙！你父亲正驾车拉着女王！快点，哈利，用摄像机拍下来！”

“我正在拍！”她丈夫说，“可她离得太远了。我们能再离得近些吗，简？”

“试试吧，”简说，“跟我来！”她带他们走到离国会大厦门口更近些的地方。“马车就停在这儿，女王从这儿下车。然后她上楼去召开今年的国会会议。”

“不是有人在你们的国会大楼下埋过炸弹吗？”那个美国男人问。“我在学校里读到过那事。是一个叫盖什么的人？”

“盖·佛克斯，”简说，“是在1605年。他试法要炸飞国会大厦，没错。但别担心。今天这儿没有盖·佛克斯。”

她朝这对美国夫妇笑了笑。她是个学生，而这是她的兼职工作——带游客们在伦敦观光。告诉别人她父亲在像今天这么令人羡慕的时候给女王驾车使她很自豪。

接着女王的马车从他们面前经过，金色的车顶在阳光下闪闪发光。

到处都是拿着照相机想照相的人。简看见在美国男人身后有一个长着棕红色头发的女人，她正按下照相机的快门。那样做可真傻，简想，她在那儿只能照到那儿的人们的后脑勺啊。那女人生气地摇晃着照相机，照相机好像出了什么毛病。那个美国女人往前拉着简，高兴地笑着。“走啊，”她说，“咱们上前边去。哈利，用摄像机拍一下！”

阿兰·科尔把马车停在国会大厦门前，坐在那儿，静静地把住缰绳。一个男人打开马车门，查尔斯王子和艾丁堡公爵走出马车。接着女王也走了出来。她穿着一件长长的白色连衣裙，手中拿着一个金色提包。她慢慢走向大楼门口。

“劳驾，”留着棕红色头发的女人说，“我得靠近些。”她推开简往前走着，举着她那个黑色小相机。

“噢，可以，”简说，“可是……天啊！”

“砰”的一声巨响！简看到眼前闪过一道白光，感到一股难忍的热气扑面而来。热浪把她抛向后面，她和许多其他人一起摔倒在地。片刻间她躺在那儿脑中一片空白，眼前一片漆黑。

她睁开眼睛，可眼前除了蓝天什么也看不见；耳边除了一片寂静什么也听不到。她感觉不到身体的疼痛，可她能闻到一股味儿。是烟味。

烟？她想，我不明白，为什么会有烟？天这么蓝。我在哪儿？

紧接着人们的喊叫声开始响起来了。

这喊叫声又尖又响，很痛苦似的。真不像是人所能发出的声音。还一直响个不停。

简看到眼前的地上有一只手。是男人的一只血淋淋的手。还有碎玻璃。她挪了挪脑袋，看到地上到处是碎玻璃、鲜血和尸体。她慢慢地站起身来。

片刻间，她以为所有的人都死了。因为周围到处是躯体，但又都一动不动。接着一个男人跑过街道，而后又有个东西动了起来。

动起来的不是人而是马。它一边动着，一边嘶鸣着。它想站，可站不起来，因为它只剩三条腿了。它浑身都是血，肚子上还插着一大块木头。

女王的马车被炸得粉碎，到处都是碎木头、破布条和碎尸块。那些尸体就像是破了的布娃娃。

“爸爸！”简尖叫着，“噢，上帝啊——爸爸！”

她飞快地向马车跑去。一只手满是血的警察想拦住她，可被她推开了。

“我父亲在那边呢！”她尖叫着。

开始她找不到他。太多的尸体——而且太多的鲜血！她看到正躺在一大片血泊中的那匹马，它正挣扎着想用前腿站起来。血从它的鼻子和肚子里流淌下来——而在它那黑色的腿下，好像有什么东西，是……

是一个人，一个男人。“爸爸！”

阿兰·科尔浑身是血，脸苍白得像一张白纸。他看到简时睁大眼睛，叫道：“我的腿！我的腿——把这马从我身上推开！”

阿兰的一只腿压在马背下，那匹马正疯狂地挪动着想站起来。马每动一下，都要压一下阿兰的腿，于是他直叫唤。

简跑过去推那匹马，可是它太大，太重。她又去拽马尾巴，可一点用都没有。它两次想要站起来，可又都摔在了她爸爸身上。她听见他的骨头都断了。那时，一个警察过来并抓住马的一条腿。简拽住马尾，另一个警察抓紧阿兰的胳膊。简和第一个警察把马拽到一边，第二个警察把阿兰拖了出来。那匹马嘶叫着，踢了简的一个肩膀一下，然后就死了。

简随爸爸上了救护车到达医院。那里有很多人。她听到一个记者正在给办公室打电话。

“五个，”他说，“五人死亡，大约三十人受重伤。是一枚炸弹——一定是恐怖分子干的。但女王安然无事。她当时在国会大厦里，与她在一起的有她的丈夫、查尔斯王子及……”

“女王怎么样无所谓！”简想，“我父亲怎么办？”

医生们从简身边抬走阿兰，她只好坐在那儿等。她的肩膀有些疼，但不很严重。大约有四个小时，她就这样走来走去，喝咖啡，思考着：这是为什么？

为什么要杀女王——那样对谁有什么好处吗？为什么要杀国会大厦门前的游客和士兵？为什么要杀我父亲？

对于简来讲，父亲是世界上最重要的人。在他当兵的时候简就跟着他周游世界。他教她爬山、柔道、骑马、扬帆开船——他是个了不起的父亲。现在，她想，他可能就要死了。

午夜，一位年轻的印度医生来看她。他看上去很疲劳也很严肃。他悲伤地看着简。

“是坏消息，对吗？”简问，“他死了？”

“不，科尔小姐。”医生说，“我们已经救活了你父亲。但恐怕……”他犹豫道。

“嗯？怎么样呢？劳驾——请告诉我吧！”

“恐怕他的腿保不住了。伤得太厉害——我们不得不锯掉它。”

“噢，天啊！”简一下坐在椅子上，“你们锯了他的腿！”她盯着医生想：爸爸再也不能爬山，再也不能骑马，再也不能扬帆开船了。噢，可怜的人！这比死了还难受！她哭了起来。

“实在对不起，小姐。”医生说，“为了救他的命，我们不得不这样做。他会安条假腿。他会学会用它的。至少他还活着……”

“是啊，我想是这样的。”简抬起头，“对不起，大夫。我确信你们已经尽力了。我现在能看看他吗？”

“当然可以。护士会带你去……”

病床上，阿兰·科尔静静地躺着。他的脸就像床单一样惨白。但当简进来时，他慢慢睁开双眼。简拉起爸爸的一只手。那手冰凉冰凉的。

“简妮？你没事儿吧？”

“我？我很好，爸爸。您也会好起来的，不是吗？医生告诉过我的。”

他闭上眼睛，好长时间没有回话。也许他又睡着了，简想。接着，阿兰·科尔静静地说：“陪着我，简妮。”

“当然，爸爸。我哪儿也不去。”简坐在床边的一把椅子上，“您睡会儿吧。”

父亲合上了双眼；护士朝简笑了笑。“你想要喝杯茶吗，小姐？”

“好的，来一杯吧。”简说，“这一夜长着呢。”她握住爸爸的手，看着他睡着的样子。他现在看上去很快活，她想，就像孩子一样。

但是我跟他提起他的腿时他会说什么呢？

第二天，医生告诉阿兰他的腿的事情。他听的时候简就坐在旁边握着他的手。他什么也没说，但眼中涌出了泪水。

“实在抱歉，科尔先生，”医生说，“可我们只能这么做。你的腿断了40处，又失血过多。您能活下来已经是万幸了。”

“万幸？！”阿兰·科尔生气地说，“就这样？去他的吧，我再也走不了路了！”

“噢，不，科尔先生，你还能走路。我们会给你安一条假腿。非常好使——活动起来就像真的一样。谁也看不出来是假的。”

“那样我还能骑马、游泳或爬山吗？”

“这个嘛，也许不行……”医生犹犹豫豫地说，“不过我们会尽力为你做的，科尔先生，相信我。瞧，这是助你睡眠的东西。你会感觉好些的。”

简一整天都在医院里等着。她喝茶水，读报纸，吃了顿饭，父亲睡觉时她就拉着他的手。没有人前来探视。母亲已经去世了，哥哥住在澳大利亚。4点钟时，父亲醒了，用惊恐的大眼睛看着她。

“简妮？”他说。

“我在这儿，爸爸。”

“出了什么事？医生说有炸弹什么的，不是吗？还说我的腿没了。可是……我想不起来了。”

简静静地告诉他她看到的一切，然后大声念起报纸：

有五人死亡，40人住进医院。女王的马车上有一人失去了一条腿，另外三人死亡。但是女王、查尔斯王子和艾丁堡公爵都没有受伤。昨天，一些爱尔兰恐怖主义分子给BBC打电话说是他们引爆炸弹的。“我们对老百姓的死感到歉意。”他们说，“我们本想杀死女王，而不是他们。但有时事情会出意外。女王这次走运了，因为炸弹炸得太晚了。可她得次次都走运才行，我们只消走运不失手一次就行。”

“上帝啊！”阿兰说，“混蛋！谁……谁死了？”

“一个警察，一位游客和三个马车夫。”简说，“您是唯一活着的车夫。”

“噢，不。”阿兰眼中满是泪水。“乔治、伯纳德、约翰——死了！他们对爱尔兰人有什么伤害？或对任何人有什么伤害？爱尔兰人为什么要用他们那血腥的炸弹杀死他们？生活中不公平，不对吗？”

“是啊，也许警察会……”简开腔道。

“是的，我希望他们能抓住那些杀人的爱尔兰混蛋，我真这么希望。我希望把他们关在监狱里直到他们老死。那便是我所希望的。上帝啊，我多么希望能这样！”

“当然会的，爸爸。”简轻轻抚摸着爸爸的手说，“警察已经出动去搜查那些投炸弹者了。他们会抓住那些坏蛋的，用不了多久。”

2

Anna

That night Alan was moved to another hospital, where they would fit him with an artificial leg. Jane went with him and slept in a visitor's room there. In the morning she bought a newspaper. She was right about the police. 'They've got them, Dad!' she said. 'Read this!'

Police yesterday arrested two Irishmen who they think put a bomb in the Queen's coach last week. The police said, 'Last week the coach went to a factory in south London to have new wheels fitted, and we believe the bomb was placed in the coach there. The two Irishmen worked at this factory, and two days before the bombing, they went on holiday to Ireland. We think the bomb had a clock in it, which was meant to explode at eleven o'clock outside Parliament. Luckily for the Queen, the bomb exploded after she had left the coach.'

Alan Cole put the newspaper down slowly. He looked pleased. 'Thank God for that,' he said.

'But why did they want the bomb to explode outside Parliament?' Jane asked. 'The Queen was in the coach for twenty minutes—why not blow the coach up earlier?'

'I don't know. Perhaps they wanted good pictures on TV,' Alan said. 'It was lucky for the Queen. But not lucky for me, or for the poor people who were killed.'

'No.' Jane put her hand on her father's, and remembered those minutes outside Parliament. The American man using his video camera, and the woman with red-brown hair shaking her camera angrily. Then... she shut her eyes, and saw the smoke, and the horse screaming, and the blood and bodies everywhere...

What kind of people could do that?

'I suppose the terrorists watched it on TV,' she said. 'They were in Ireland when the bomb exploded.'

'I expect they did,' Alan said. 'I expect they were laughing as people died. But I'm pleased the police have caught them. Now perhaps they'll leave me alone.'

'Who? The police? Dad, what do you mean?'

Alan sighed. 'Well, yesterday they came to ask me about the night before the bombing. I went back to the Mews at about ten o'clock that night, you know, to look at a horse with a bad leg. I often do that. They asked if I saw anything strange, or looked at the coach.'

'And what did you tell them?'

Alan looked angry. 'What do you think, Janie? Of course I saw nothing strange! I was looking at the horse, not the coach. And we were only there half an hour.'

'We, Dad?' Jane asked. 'Was someone with you?'

Alan hesitated. 'Well, yes... a lady friend of mine, Anna. You haven't met her, Janie, but I've told her about you. She's nice, you'll like her. She sometimes comes to see the horses with me.'

Jane felt embarrassed. After her mother had died four years ago, Jane had lived at home with her father. Once, he had brought a woman home to the house, but Jane had had a terrible argument with her, and the woman had left. There had been no other women, until Jane left home to go to university. Now...?

Well, her father was an adult, of course he could have women friends. But Jane hated it. She had loved her mother too much. And she loved her father too.

'What kind of a woman is she?' she asked angrily.

He's my father, she thought—I don't want another woman taking him away from me.

'Tall. Pretty. Red-brown hair. She likes horses and... films. We go to the cinema a lot.'

'Is she in love with you?'

'Well... perhaps, Janie, I don't know. I've only known her a few weeks. You'll like her, Janie, she's good fun.'

Jane was still angry, she couldn't stop herself. 'Then why isn't she here? Why hasn't she come to visit you?'

Now Alan looked embarrassed. 'Well, I was going to ask you, Janie... she doesn't have a phone, you see, and... perhaps she thinks I'm dead, like the others. God knows what she'll think of a man with one leg, but I do want to see her... so I've written this letter. Could you post it for me, Janie? Please.'

Jane took the letter and read the address. Anna Barry, 14 Bowater Gardens, London NE11.

'Dad, your name was in the newspapers. This woman can read, can't she? She must know you're alive.'

'Yes, but... perhaps she doesn't know which hospital. I don't know. Janie, please—don't be difficult.'

'Have you told the police about this woman, Dad?'

'Not yet.'

'Why not? They'll ask her questions, won't they?'

Alan sighed. 'Yes, I suppose so. I warned her about that in the letter. Perhaps that's why she hasn't come. You see... it's a bit difficult, Janie. Anna has a husband... and so it will be embarrassing for her if he finds out about us. Perhaps the police will want to ask her husband questions, too, and then there'll be all kinds of trouble.'

'I see,' Jane said. She felt miserable. My own father, she thought, is in love with a married woman. Then she saw the tears in his eyes, and his tired white face; and felt angry with herself, not him. Why, she thought, shouldn't my father fall in love? It happens to everyone, and you can't always choose the best person. Now he's here with only one leg and I'm angry with him. I'm his daughter, I should help him! Perhaps this Anna really is a nice woman, with a cruel husband.

She smiled, and said, 'I'm sorry, Dad. Of course I'll post your letter. But... isn't it a bit dangerous, sending a letter? Her husband could read it.'

'No, it's OK. Bowater Gardens is just where she's living at the moment. It isn't her home. I don't know where her husband lives. I don't want to know.' He smiled and took her hand. 'She's a lovely woman, Janie, really she is. You'll like her if you meet her, you know.'

Outside the hospital, Jane walked slowly down the street. She felt sad, and a little lonely. I wish my mother was still alive, she thought. I wish Mum was alive now, sitting with Dad in the hospital. I don't want all these problems. Why does Dad need another woman?

Oh Mum, why did you die? I need someone to talk to.

She took the letter out of her pocket and looked at it. I wonder what this Anna Barry is like, she thought. Perhaps she is nice, like Dad says. Perhaps I could talk to her. Perhaps she really does love Dad; perhaps she can help me look after him.

But why hasn't she come to see him?

She looked at the address again. 14 Bowater Gardens, London NE11. That wasn't far from her own student flat.

Why not take the letter myself? she thought. Then, if this Anna opens the door, I can talk to her myself. If I meet her, at least I'll find out what she's like.

Jane put the letter in her bag and walked quickly to the underground station. Am I full of anger, she wondered, or hope?

14 Bowater Gardens was an old house in a quiet street in north London. Jane took the letter out of her bag, and rang the bell. Nothing happened.

Damn! she thought. She rang again. Still no answer. She tried the door, but it was locked. So she put the letter through the letter-box and turned away. Then she stopped.

I've come all this way to meet this woman, Jane thought, and I want to know what she's like. She's important to my father, so she's important to me. I'll wait.

As she stood there, a woman came out of the next-door house. She had grey hair and the kind of face that enjoys watching the neighbours and talking about them.

'They've gone; there's no use waiting,' the woman said. 'I saw you ring the bell so I came to tell you.'

'Are you sure?' Jane said. 'I was looking for Anna.'

'The girl with red hair? That's right, she did live here, but she moved out with her boyfriend two days ago. It was the morning of that terrible bomb—that's why I remember it. The house is empty now. I had a look through the windows, and they've taken everything.'

Boyfriend! So Anna had another lover, Jane thought. Not just Dad. My poor, poor father!

'Did you know them well?' the woman asked.

'No, not really,' Jane said. 'I just wanted to...'

'They were only here about three months,' the woman went on. 'They weren't very friendly. Never said good morning or anything like that. They were Irish, I think. Well, he was. There's a lot of Irish around here.'

Jane began to move away from the door, and the woman added, helpfully, 'Perhaps your friend will write to you.'

'Yes. Perhaps.' Jane smiled at her and walked sadly down the street.

So that was the kind of woman Anna was. She probably never loved my father at all, Jane thought. How am I going to tell him? Poor Dad! Perhaps I'll just say that I posted the letter, and not tell him that I came to the house and found out about her.

But Jane wasn't very good at lying, and she didn't want to look at her father's sad eyes and tired white face. Let him hope for a few more hours, she thought. I'll go home now and tell him something tomorrow.

She hadn't been back to her flat since the bombing. She loved having her own home. It was only one big bedroom really, with a small bathroom and a kitchen. But it was her own place; she could do what she liked there.

She shut the door, then took off her coat and threw it on the bed. Then she heard the bathroom door slowly open behind her. She jumped round, her heart beating fast with fear, and saw a woman standing in the doorway!

'Who the hell are you?' she screamed. A thief, she thought. Jane had learned judo from her father; she knew what to do. She grabbed the woman's arm and threw her towards the bed. But as the woman fell, she grabbed Jane's hair, pulling it forwards, to stop herself from falling. Jane screamed, and pushed a hand into the woman's face, harder and harder until her hair was free. Then she hit the woman in the face and the woman fell to the floor. Jane stepped back, looked at her, and saw...

A man coming out of the kitchen. He had cold grey eyes and a thin hard smile and worst of all he had a gun in his hand. He said, 'Don't.'

Jane stood still, shaking. 'Don't what?'

'Move. Or talk. Don't do anything.' The little black hole in the end of the gun watched her, like a cold eye.

The woman got up off the floor, pulled Jane onto a chair, and tied her hands behind her. Then Jane remembered that there were people in the other flats, and opened her mouth to scream. The man hit her in the face.

'Don't even think about it,' he said. He took a long piece of cloth out of his pocket and tied it twice round her head, covering her mouth and the lower part of her face. Jane felt her body shaking with fear. Who were these people? What did they want with her? She stared at the man's cold hard face, the woman's blue eyes and red-brown hair. She thought she had seen the woman before. But where?

The woman tied Jane's legs to the chair. The little black eye of the gun was only a few centimetres from her face. The man watched her and smiled. 'Just sit still and be sensible, little girl,' he said. 'Then perhaps you'll live a few hours longer.'

fit v. put into place. 安装。

arrest v. catch someone in the name of the law. 拘捕。

shut v. close. 关上。

expect v. feel sure that something has happened or will happen. 想，认为。

sigh v. breathe out slowly when you are sad, tired, etc. 叹气。

mews n. a building (in a town) for horses. 马厩。

embarrass v. 使尴尬。

argument n. 争吵。

pretty adj. (usually a lady or something) good-looking. 漂亮的。

miserable adj. very unhappy. 难受。

cruel adj. not kind; bringing pain or trouble to other people. 残酷的。

pocket n. small bag on your clothes for carrying things in. 口袋。

flat n. 公寓。

underground adj. below the ground. 地下的；n. the railway under the ground. 地铁。

empty adj. 空的。

helpfully adv. 有益地；有帮助地。

throw v. move your arm quickly to send sth. through the air. 扔。

grab v. take hold of something quickly and violently. 抓住。

tie v. fasten two things together with rope. 绑，捆。

shake v. move from side to side, up and down. 摇晃。

2　安娜

那晚，阿兰被转到另一家医院，他们要在那儿给他装一只假腿。简也跟着一起去了，在那儿的一间探视室里睡了一觉。早晨，她买了一张报纸。她对警察的猜测是对的。“他们已经抓住了那些人，爸爸！”她说道，“看这个！”

警方昨天抓获了两名被认为上周在女王马车中放炸弹的爱尔兰人。警方说：“上周那辆马车曾到伦敦南部的一家工厂安装新轮子，我们相信他们就是在那里安放炸弹的。那两名爱尔兰人在这家工厂工作，炸弹爆炸两天前他们却到爱尔兰度假去了。我们认为炸弹上安装了定时器，定在11点在国会大厦外爆炸。对女王来讲幸运的是，炸弹在女王离开了马车之后才爆炸。”

阿兰·科尔慢慢放下报纸。他看上去很高兴。“感谢上帝，”他说。

“但是他们为什么要让炸弹在国会外边爆炸呢？”简问，“女王在马车里待了20分钟——为什么不早点炸马车呢？”

“不知道，也许他们想让画面在电视上更好看些。”阿兰说，“对女王来说很幸运，可我却不走运，还有那些被炸死的人。”

“是啊。”简把手放在父亲的手上，回想起国会门外的那几分钟。那个美国男人用摄像机拍摄，那个长着棕红色头发的女人生气地摇着照相机。然后……她合上了双眼，仿佛看到了那浓烟，那马的嘶鸣声以及四处的鲜血和尸体……

会是什么样的人干的呢？

“我想恐怖分子已经在电视上看到了那场面。”她说，“炸弹爆炸时他们正在爱尔兰。”

“我想他们看了，”阿兰说，“我想人们死的时候他们正在笑。但我很高兴警察已经抓到了他们。也许他们现在可以让我清静一下了。”

“谁？警察吗？爸爸，您是什么意思？”

阿兰叹了口气道：“唉，他们昨天来问我爆炸前一天晚上的事。我那天晚上十点左右回到马厩，你知道，是去看看那匹坏了一条腿的马。我常那样做。他们问我是否看到有什么异常或是看没看过那马车。”

“那您跟他们说什么了呢？”

阿兰生气了。“你怎么想呢，简妮？我当然没看到有什么异常！我是去看马，又不是去看马车。而且我们就在那儿待了半个小时。”

“我们，爸爸？”简问道，“有别人和您在一起吗？”

阿兰犹豫了一下。“啊，是啊……我的一个女朋友，安娜。你还没见过她，简妮，但我已经跟她提起过你了。她很好，你会喜欢她的。她有时和我一起去看马。”

简感到不太自然。四年前妈妈去世以后，她和爸爸住在家里。爸爸曾带回家一个女人，但简和那女人大吵了一顿，那女人就走了。从那以后就再也没有女人来过，直到简离开了家去上大学。现在……？

然而，父亲是大人，当然可以有女朋友。但简不喜欢。她太爱母亲，也爱父亲。

“她是什么样的女人？”她不高兴地问。

他是我的父亲，她想——我不想让别的女人把他从我身边抢走。

“高个儿。很漂亮。棕红色的头发。她喜欢马和……电影。我们经常一起去看电影。”

“她和您在恋爱吗？”

“啊……可能吧，简妮，我不知道。我刚认识她几个星期。你会喜欢她的，简妮，她很有意思。”

简还是不高兴，她无法控制自己的情绪。“那么她为什么没来这儿？她为什么没来看您呢？”

阿兰现在看上去很尴尬。“哦，我正想请你简妮，……你看，她没有电话，而且……也许她以为我已经死了，就像别人一样。上帝知道她会怎么看待一个只有一条腿的男人，但我真的想见她……所以我写了这封信。你能帮我寄这封信吗，简妮？劳驾了。”

简拿过信看了看地址：安娜·芭瑞，堡渥特花园14号，伦敦NE11。

“爸爸，您的名字登在报纸上。这个女人认得字，对吧？她应该知道您还活着。”

“是啊，可是……也许她不知道我在哪家医院。我不知道。简妮，请——，别太难说话了。”

“您和警察谈起过这个女人吗，爸爸？”

“还没有。”

“为什么没有？他们会问她一些问题，是不是？”

阿兰叹气道：“是啊，我想是。我在信中警告她了。也许这就是她不来的原因。你知道……事儿有点儿困难，简妮。安娜有丈夫……所以要是她丈夫知道了我们的事儿，她会很难堪。也许警察也会问她丈夫一些问题，那就会有各种各样的麻烦。”

“我明白了，”简说。她感到很难过。我父亲爱上了一个有夫之妇，她想。接着，她看到父亲眼中的泪水和他那苍白而疲惫的面孔；于是她生自己的气，不再怪父亲了。为什么爸爸就不能恋爱？她想。每个人都会恋爱，不可能谁都能选择最好的人。现在他在这儿，只剩一条腿了，可我却生他的气。我是他女儿，我应帮他！也许这个安娜真是个有个残酷的丈夫的好女人。

她微笑着说：“对不起，爸爸。我当然会帮您寄信的。但是……寄信不是有点儿不安全吗？她丈夫会看到的。”

“不，没事的。堡渥特花园只是她现在住的地方，不是她的家。我不知道她丈夫住哪儿。我不想知道。”阿兰微笑着，并握住简的手。“她是个很可爱的女人，简妮，真的。你见到她时会喜欢她的，你知道。”

医院外面简慢慢地沿着马路走着。她感到伤心，还有点儿孤独。我真希望妈妈还活在世上，她想，要是妈妈还活着，就坐在医院里爸爸身边多好啊！我不想有这些问题。为什么爸爸还需要另一个女人呢？

噢，妈妈，您为什么要死呢？我真想和某个人能说说心里话。

她从口袋里掏出那封信并看了看。我不知道这个安娜·芭瑞什么样，她想着。也许真像爸爸说的那样她的确很好。也许我能对她谈谈。也许她真的爱爸爸；也许她真的可以帮我照顾爸爸。

但是她为什么不来看爸爸呢？

她又看了一遍地址：堡渥特花园14号，伦敦NE11。离她自己的学生公寓不太远。

为什么不亲自送去呢？她想。那样，如果安娜出来开门，我就可以亲自跟她说话了。要是我见着她，至少可以知道她是什么样子。

简把信放回包里，快速走向地铁站。她问自己：我是满怀怨恨呢，还是满怀希望？

堡渥特花园14号是伦敦北城的一条安静的街道上的一座老房子。简掏出信，按了按门铃。可什么也没有发生。

该死！她想。她又按了一次。还是没有人。她试着推了推门，可门锁着。于是她把信塞进信箱，转身要走。接着她又停了下来。

我来这儿就是为了见这个女人，简想，想知道她是什么样。她对我父亲很重要，所以对我很重要。我等她吧。

她正站在那儿时，从邻居家出来一位妇女。这位妇女长着灰色的头发和一张可以看出她是那种爱打听邻居的事并议论他们的人的脸。

“他们已经走了，你在这儿等也没用。”那女人说，“我看见你在按门铃，所以来告诉你。”

“你肯定吗？”简说，“我找安娜。”

“长着红头发的那个女孩？没错，她在这儿住过，但两天前就和男朋友搬走了。就是爆炸那天早晨——所以我记得这事。现在屋子已经空了。我从窗子往里看过，他们把所有的东西都带走了。”

男朋友！那么说安娜还有一个情人，简想，不止是我爸爸！我可怜的爸爸！

“你和他们熟吗？”女人问。

“不，真不熟。”简说，“我只是想……”

“他们才在这儿住了三个月左右，”那女人接着说，“他们不太友好。从不说早晨好或那一类的话。我想他们是爱尔兰人。对，那个男的是。这儿周围有很多爱尔兰人。”

简开始往门远处走；那女人想帮帮她，就又加了一句：“也许你的朋友会给你写信。”

“是的，也许会。”简朝她笑了笑，而后惆怅地沿街走着。

那么说安娜就是那种人。她可能从没爱过父亲，简想。我怎么告诉他呢？可怜的父亲！要不我只告诉他我已经把信寄了，不告诉他我已经来过而且知道她是个什么人。

但是简不太会说谎，而且她也不想看父亲那双悲伤的眼睛和那张疲惫而苍白的脸。让他再盼几个小时吧，她想，我现在先回家，明天再告诉他这事。

自从爆炸事件后，她还没回过自己的公寓。她喜欢拥有自己的家。其实她这个小公寓只有一间大卧室，外带一个小卫生间和一个厨房。但这是她自己的地方，她在那儿可以干自己喜欢干的事。

她关上门，然后脱下大衣并把它扔到床上。接着，她听见卫生间的门在身后慢慢地开了。她跳转过身来，吓得心怦怦直跳，看到一个女人就站在门口！

“你到底是谁？”她惊叫道。是个贼，她想。简跟父亲学过柔道，她知道该怎么办。她抓住那女人的胳膊，把她掷向床头。可那女人为了不摔倒，往下倒时抓住了简的头发，把它向前拉扯着。简尖叫着，一只手拽着那女人的脸，越来越使劲地拽着，直到她的头发被松开了。然后简一掌打在那女人脸上，那女人摔倒在地。简向后退了退，看了她一眼，并看到……

一个男人从厨房出来。他有一双冰冷的、灰色的眼睛，脸上有一丝淡淡的、生硬的微笑，最糟的是他手里有一把枪。他说：“不要。”

简站在那儿一动不动，浑身发抖。“不要什么？”

“不要动。不要说话。不要做任何事。”枪端那黑洞洞的小枪眼注视着她，就像一只冰冷的眼睛。

那女人从地上站起来，把简拉到椅子上，把她的手捆在背后。这时简想起别的公寓里有人，就张嘴喊起来。那男人打了她一个耳光。

“你想也别想，”他说。他从兜里掏出一个长布条，围着简的头绕了两圈，包住了她的嘴和下半边脸。简觉得自己的身体在吓得发抖。这些人是谁？他们要她干什么？她盯着那男人冷酷而生硬的脸及那女人蓝色的眼睛和棕红色的头发。她觉得以前见过那女人。可是在哪儿呢？

那女人把简的腿绑在椅子上。黑洞洞的小枪眼离她的脸仅几厘米远。那男人注视着她，微笑着。“老实坐着，放聪明点儿，小姑娘。”他说，“那样的话也许你还能多活几个小时。”

3

'I Made Him Happy'

Alan Cole lay in his bed, listening to a bird singing in the hospital garden. It was nearly dark outside now, and very quiet. He liked to lie like this, remembering.

He remembered the way Anna had kissed him, and looked into his eyes. He remembered her red-brown hair, her blue eyes, the soft, dry touch of her lips, her deep, happy laugh. She liked to drink whisky before they made love, and afterwards, she often held his head on her chest and stroked his hair.

I loved that, he remembered. I felt like a child again, safe and comfortable. Sometimes I fell asleep.

And then what? On the night before the bombing, he and Anna had been out for a meal in a restaurant. Then they had gone to the Mews to look at the horses. The guards knew she was his girlfriend, so they didn't think it was unusual. One of the horses, Sandman, had hurt his leg that morning, Alan remembered. In the evening the leg had been hot, so he had put ice on it. Lucky Sandman, Alan thought—he couldn't pull the coach next day, so he was still alive now.

Afterwards they went back to his house and made love. Anna had been very excited, Alan remembered, it had been very good. Then he had slept until morning. He woke at six o'clock and dressed quietly, but she woke up just before he left. She opened her eyes, smiled at him, and held out her arms to him sleepily. He kissed her, and she said, 'Goodbye, lover.'

That was the last time he had seen her.

He was still thinking about Anna when he drove the Queen's coach to Parliament, with the six fine horses in front of him. For a moment he thought he saw her in the crowd, watching...

Alan didn't want to think about what had happened next. He stared into the darkness outside the hospital window and thought: why hasn't she come to see me?

Perhaps she never really loved me, he thought. Perhaps she's gone back to her husband, or found a younger man. It's cruel and painful, but I can't change it. I'll never see her again.

He remembered her warm body next to his, and the way she whispered his name. There must be another reason. She loves me, I know she does. She'll come to see me when she gets my letter.

I wish Jane could meet her.

Outside, night had fallen, and the birds had stopped singing. Alan Cole lay quietly on his bed, the tears running slowly down his face.

Jane sat on the chair in her flat and listened to the man and the woman arguing in her kitchen. She could hear, but she couldn't speak or see, because the man had put a bag over her head. Her arms and legs were still tied to the chair, and her face ached where the man had hit her.

She tried to get her hands free. She pulled as hard as she could, but the rope just burned her wrists. All she could do was listen to the voices in the kitchen.

'We must phone him now, Kev. We can't wait.'

'We've got to wait. It's too dangerous to do it from here, Anna. Wait until we're ready to go.'

Anna！Jane thought. Was this her father's Anna? No, no, lots of women were called Anna.

'But we can't go until tonight,' Anna said. 'There are too many people around during the day. And every minute is important! Perhaps Cole has already talked to the police about me. Oh God, I wish the bomb had killed him with the others!'

'Well, it didn't. And it didn't kill the Queen.'

Jane's body was shaking. This was her father's Anna! The woman was talking about her father, and the bomb. And then Jane remembered where she had seen the woman before.

Outside Parliament, with a camera, shaking it angrily. Taking photos of the back of people's heads. Then pushing forwards to get closer, pressing the camera button again... a second before the bomb exploded.

The voices in the kitchen stopped. The door opened, some one came into the room. What now?

Jane heard the click of a gun.

'Phone call for you, Mr Cole. You're popular today, aren't you?' The nurse smiled, pushed the telephone table next to his bed, and went out.

Alan picked up the phone. 'Hello?'

'Mr Cole? This is Detective David Hall. You remember I came to see you yesterday. I'm ringing because I've got a few more questions to ask you. Is it all right if I come over to see you now?'

'Er... well, I suppose so. But I've told you everything I know.'

'Yes, I'm sure. But it's just that we have to get all the facts right. I'll come over now. Is that OK?'

'Yes, fine. I...'

'Great! See you in a few minutes, then.'

Alan put the phone down slowly. He felt old, and tired, and very, very lonely. Perhaps I'll ring Jane later when this man's gone: he thought. I hope she remembered to post the letter.

Kev pulled the bag off Jane's head and she saw the gun a few centimetres from her eyes. 'I'm going to untie this cloth round your mouth,' Kev said. 'If you scream, I'll put a bullet through your head. This gun is silenced, no one will hear anything.'

They untied the cloth and pulled her chair over to the wall, where the phone was. The gun was pointing at her head all the time.

'Do just what we tell you,' Anna said. 'And everything will be all right.'

Jane was suddenly wild with anger. She said, 'You're Anna, aren't you? My father loves you—he thinks you're wonderful. But you don't care about him at all, do you? You wish the bomb had killed him.'

'Of course I care about him,' Anna said softly. 'He's very important to me. That's why I'm going to phone him now, and you're going to talk to him too.'

Jane stared at her, then at Kev. 'Why?'

Anna laughed. 'I'm going to ask him to keep our love a secret. I have a very difficult husband, you know.'

What's the woman talking about? Jane thought. What does all this mean? Then, suddenly, a lot of things came together in her mind, and everything became clear. Anna had been with her father in the Mews on the night before the bombing. In the kitchen Anna had spoken about her father talking to the police. Jane could hear from Kev's voice that he was Irish, and he and Anna had moved out of Bowater Gardens on the morning of the bombing. Later, Anna had been outside Parliament, doing strange things with a camera when the bomb exploded. If it was a camera. Perhaps it had been a radio, sending a signal to the bomb. Oh God!

'You're the terrorists, aren't you?' she whispered. ' You did it, Anna. You put the bomb in the Queen's coach. You exploded it with a camera. I saw you, outside Parliament. You're terrorists—murdering terrorists, both of you!'

Kev smiled coldly. 'Well, well. What a clever little girl! But you're wrong. The police have arrested the terrorists. It was in the newspapers this morning.'

'So? They're the wrong men, aren't they? It was you two, I know it was! You killed five people, and took away my father's leg, and now two innocent men will go to prison for thirty years, for something you did. But you don't care.'

Kev's eyes were suddenly full of hate. 'Care? About what? We're fighting to free Ireland. If the British put the wrong people in prison, that's not our problem. We care about staying free. That's good for Ireland.'

'Yes, and I suppose it's good for Ireland to use innocent people like my father—to make love to him just because you wanted to get into the Mews to put the bomb in the coach. Did you enjoy that, Anna? Do you feel proud of it?'

Anna laughed, a strange, quiet, cruel laugh. 'Yes, of course I enjoyed it, little girl. And your father enjoyed it too. I made him happy.'

'Happy!' Jane said. 'You nearly killed him!'

'Yes. I'm sorry he didn't die, while he was so happy.'

Silence. There was no answer to that, Jane thought.

'Let's get on with it,' said Kev angrily. 'We're losing time.'

Tears came into Jane's eyes. 'You dirty murderers,' she whispered.

Kev hit her across the face with his gun. Jane felt blood in her mouth. One of her teeth was broken.

'We could kill her now,' Kev said, 'and get out of the country tonight.'

'No, no,' Anna said. 'We must talk to Cole first.'

'But we can't let her go,' Kev said. 'She's seen our faces. She knows too much.'

'Oh no,' Anna said. Her voice was soft and cruel. 'Of course not. But we'll keep her alive for some weeks, to make sure that Cole stays quiet. Pick up the phone, Kev.'

whisky n. 威士忌酒。

guard n. someone who watches and keeps a building safe. 警卫。

kiss v. touch someone lovingly with your lips. 吻。

whisper v. speak very softly and quietly. 小声说声。

click n. a short sharp sound. 咔哒一声。

popular adj. 有名气的。

untie v. 解开。

bullet n. something fired from guns. 子弹。

secret n. something that one cannot tell others. 秘密。

signal n. a message without words, using sounds, flags, radio, etc. 信号。

murder v. kill a person unlawfully and on purpose. 谋杀。

innocent adj. not having done wrong. 无辜的。

murderer n. 谋杀犯，凶手。

3　“我让他高兴”

阿兰·科尔躺在床上，倾听着医院花园里的小鸟的鸣唱。现在外面基本上黑了，而且很静。他喜欢这样躺着，回忆过去。

他回想起安娜是怎样吻他，怎样注视他的双眼。他回想起她那棕红色的头发，蓝色的眼睛，柔软、干燥的唇感和她那深沉、开怀的笑。她喜欢在做爱前喝威士忌，完事儿后她常把他揽在胸前并抚摸他的头发。

我喜欢那样，他回想着，我觉得又像个孩子了，既安全又舒服。有时我就睡着了。

后来呢？在爆炸前的那天晚上，他和安娜出去在饭馆吃了顿饭。然后他们就去马厩看马。门卫知道她是他的女朋友，所以没想有什么不寻常。阿兰想起，那天早晨有一匹叫山德曼的马伤了一条腿。晚上，那条马腿发热了，所以他就把冰放在上面。幸运的山德曼，阿兰想——第二天它没能拉马车，所以还能活到现在。

后来，他们回到他家并做爱。阿兰记得安娜当时非常兴奋，那事感觉非常好。然后他一直睡到第二天早晨。他6点钟醒来，悄悄地穿上衣服，但安娜在他要走时醒来。她睁开眼睛，朝他微笑了笑，睡眼惺忪地向他伸出双臂。他吻了吻她，她说：“再见，亲爱的。”

那是他见她的最后一面。

当他驾着六匹好马拉的女王马车朝国会驶去时，他脑子里还想着安娜。有那么一瞬间，他觉得他在人群中看见了安娜，她正在观看……

阿兰不想再往下想。他凝视着医院窗外漆黑的夜晚，想道：她为什么还不来看我呢？

也许她从来没真爱过我，他想，也许她回她丈夫那儿去了，或是找了一个更年轻的。这真残酷，真痛苦，可我无法改变。我再也见不着她了。

他想起在他身旁时她那温暖的身体，想起她是如何轻轻呼唤他的名字。这肯定另有原因。她爱我，我知道她爱我。她接到我的信会来看我的。

我希望简能看见她。

外面，夜已经降临，鸟儿已不唱了。阿兰·科尔静静地躺在床上，眼泪顺着面颊慢慢地淌了下来。

简坐在房中的椅子上，听到那一男一女在厨房里争吵着什么。她听得见，却不能叫，也看不见，因为那个男的在她头上套了一个袋子。她的手脚还捆在椅子上，脸上被那男人打过的地方还在隐隐作痛。

她想把手挣脱出来。她使劲地往外拽着双手，可绳子只磨得她手腕火辣辣的。她唯一能做的就是侧耳倾听厨房里的讲话声。

“我们必须现在就给他打电话，凯夫。我们不能等了。”

“我们必须等。从这儿打电话太危险，安娜。等我们准备好走的时候再说。”

安娜！简想，这个人是不是爸爸的那个安娜？不，不，很多女人都叫安娜。

“但我们直到今晚才能走，”安娜说，“白天这儿周围人太多了。而且每一分钟都重要。也许科尔已经跟警察说起我了。噢，上帝啊，真希望那颗炸弹将他和别人一块儿炸死！”

“唉，没有。而且连女王也没炸死。”

简的身体在发抖。这个人确实是她父亲的安娜！那个女人正在谈论简的父亲，还有炸弹。接着，简想起是在什么地方见过那个女人了。

国会大厦外，一个女人拿着照相机，生气地摇晃着；她给人们的后脑勺照相；她向前挤着，想靠近些，按下了照相机的快门……就在爆炸前一秒。

厨房里没声了。门开了，有人走进屋里。现在该怎么样了？

简听到抠动手枪扳机的声音。

“您的电话，科尔先生。今天您可成了知名人士，不是吗？”护士微笑着，把电话桌推到床边，走了出去。

阿兰拿起电话。“喂？”

“科尔先生吗？我是大卫·荷尔警探。你一定记得我昨天去看过你。我给你电话是想再问你几个问题。我现在过去看你，行吗？”

“哦……哦，可以吧。可我什么都跟你说了。”

“是的，我知道。可我们得核对一下事实。我现在就来，行吗？”

“行，好吧。我……”

“好的！那么一会儿见。”

阿兰慢慢地放下电话。他觉得自己老了，累了，而且非常非常孤独。也许等这个人走了以后我该给简打个电话，他想，希望她没忘了寄信。

凯夫从简的头上拽下袋子，简发现枪口就离她眼睛几厘米远。“我要把围在你嘴上的这块布解下来。”凯夫说，“你要是叫一声的话，我就叫枪子儿穿过你的脑袋。这枝枪装了消音器，没人会听见什么的。”

他们解开布，把她坐的椅子拉到墙边，电话就在那儿。那枝枪一直对着她的脑袋。

“按照我们说的做，”安娜说，“那样什么都好办。”

简突然气愤得发狂。她说：“你是安娜，不对吗？我父亲爱你——他觉得你好极了。可你却根本不在乎他，是不是？你希望炸弹把他炸死。”

“我当然在乎他，”安娜轻声说，“他对我很重要。所以我现在要给他打电话，而且你也要跟他讲话。”

简盯着她看了看，然后又盯着凯夫。“为什么？”

安娜大笑着。“我要让他对我们的爱保密。你知道，我可有个不好对付的丈夫。”

这个女人在说什么？简想。这一切意味着什么？接着，她脑子里突然一下涌现出许多事，而且每件事都变得清楚了。爆炸前一晚，安娜曾和父亲一起在马厩待过。刚才安娜在厨房说起父亲跟警察谈话的事。简可以从凯夫的声音听出他是爱尔兰人，而且就在爆炸那天早上他和安娜搬出了堡渥特花园。后来，安娜曾在国会大厦外，在炸弹爆炸时拿着照相机做着奇怪的事，如果那是台照相机的话。也许那是无线电，正向炸弹发信号。噢，天啊！

“你们是恐怖分子，是不是？”她低声说，“是你干的，安娜！是你把炸弹放到女王的马车里。你用一台照相机引爆了炸弹。我看见你了，就在国会外边。你们是恐怖分子——杀人的恐怖分子，你们俩全是！”

凯夫冷笑了一下。“对，对。真聪明的小姑娘！可你错了。警察已经抓到了恐怖分子。今天早晨的报纸已经登了。”

“那又怎么样呢？他们不是，不是吗？你们俩才是，我知道！你们杀了五个人，夺去了我爸爸的一条腿，现在又要有两个无辜的人为了你们所做的一切去坐30年牢。可你们并不在乎。”

凯夫的眼中忽然充满了仇恨。“在乎？在乎什么？我们是为解放爱尔兰而战。要是英国人抓错了人，那可不是我们的问题。我们在乎自由。那是为了爱尔兰好。”

“是啊，而且利用就像我父亲那样天真无辜的人，也是为了爱尔兰——你和我父亲好，只是因为你想进马厩把炸弹放进马车。你当时很喜欢吧，安娜？你是不是觉得很自豪？”

安娜笑起来，那是一种奇怪、悄然而又冷酷的笑。“是的，我当然很高兴，小姑娘。而且你父亲也很喜欢。我使他高兴。”

“高兴？”简说，“你差点儿杀了他！”

“是啊。很遗憾他没有在那么高兴的时候死。”

沉默。没有什么回驳的，简想。

“我们接着干吧。”凯夫生气地说，“我们时间不多了。”

简眼中充满了泪。“你们这些肮脏的凶手。”她小声说。

凯夫用枪打了她的脸。简感到嘴里有血。她的一颗牙被打碎了。

“我们现在就可以杀了她，”凯夫说，“今天晚上就离开这个国家。”

“不，不，”安娜说，“我们必须先和科尔谈谈。”

“可我们不能让她走，”凯夫说，“她已经看到我们的脸了。她知道得太多了。”

“噢，不能，”安娜说。她的声音轻柔而冷酷。“当然不能了。可我们要让她活几个星期，以确认科尔没讲出来。拿起电话来，凯夫。”

4

Phone Call

The phone rang again in Alan Cole's room.

'Hello?' he said.

'Alan?'

He recognized her voice at once. 'Anna!' he said, his heart beating fast.

'Yes. Now listen carefully, Alan—'

'Oh Anna! I've been waiting for your call. Have you heard about — about my leg, Anna?'

'Never mind your leg. Listen to me. I'll say this once and once only.'

'What? Anna, what are you—'

'We've got your daughter, Alan. Jane. That's her name, isn't it? Speak to your father, Jane. Now!'

Over the phone, Alan heard the high, frightened voice of his daughter. 'Dad? I'm sorry, Dad. They say if you tell the police anything about Anna, they'll kill me, but I don't care, I... oh!'

Alan heard a scream, which was suddenly cut off. Then Anna's voice again: 'She won't die if you keep quiet, lover boy. But if you say a word, a single word about me to the police, you'll find her body in the river Thames. Do you understand?'

Alan tried to speak, but there was something wrong with his voice. 'Yes,' he said. 'But, please...'

'No buts. If you want to see your daughter again, keep your mouth shut.'

The phone went dead. Alan Cole sat very still. There was a terrible pain in his chest, his mouth was dry and he couldn't move. He sat like a stone.

It's like a dream, he thought. Surely it didn't happen. But that voice on the phone, it was Jane all right. And Anna, too. Anna!... saying that she had kidnapped Jane.

But why? What was going on?

Slowly, he tried to understand. He hadn't told the police about Anna, because of her husband. But why was that so important?

Why has Anna kidnapped Jane?

Because Anna has a secret. Something very important that I, Alan, know about, but mustn't tell the police. Anna will kill Jane if I tell anyone about it.

But what is this secret? What am I supposed to know?

There was a knock on the door. A nurse came in.

'Hello, Mr Cole. A policeman to see you. Are you OK?'

'Yes... yes, fine, thanks.'

'You don't look OK.' The nurse put her hand on his head, and felt his wrist. 'Well, you're not too hot, and your heart's OK.' She smiled at the policeman. 'Just half an hour, now. Remember, he's had a very serious accident.'

'I know that.' The policeman came in and sat down, and the nurse went out, pushing the telephone table in front of her. 'I'm Detective Hall, Mr Cole. We met before.'

'Yes,' Alan said. The policeman had a kind, friendly face. The kind of man you could trust. He'll help me, Alan thought. He's probably a father himself.

No! Fear burned Alan like a fire. I mustn't tell him about Anna. If I do, Jane will die...

'You've probably read in the newspapers, Mr Cole, that we've arrested two men.' The policeman told Alan the story about the two Irishmen in the coach factory. 'So we know they bombed the coach, and how they did it. I suppose you're pleased about that.'

'Er... yes,' Alan said quietly. 'That's good. But... why have you come to see me?'

'I just need to ask you a few questions about the day before the bombing. You see, we think these men put the bomb in the coach three days before the bombing, while the coach was at the factory. So the bomb was already in the coach when it came back to the Mews.'

'Was it?' Alan said. He didn't really understand what the policeman was talking about.

'We think so, yes. And in your job, you look after the coach, don't you?'

'The coach, yes. And the horses. Mostly the horses.'

'Well, did you notice anything unusual—anything at all?'

'No, I don't think so.'

'Let's take this slowly,' the policeman said. 'The day before the bombing, when did you leave work?'

'At... about six o'clock. Half past, perhaps.'

'And you didn't go back?'

'No,' Alan said quietly.

Then he looked away, quickly, out of the window. He felt cold, frightened, lonely.

'Are you sure about that, Mr Cole? You see, a guard told me you came back later, at about ten.'

'He did? Oh, yes, of course. I went back to see a horse, Sandman. He had a bad leg.'

'I see.' The policeman wrote in his book. 'Alone?'

'I'm sorry?'

'Were you alone, Mr Cole? When you saw the horse?'

For a moment Alan didn't answer. A new, very unwelcome idea came to him, and he began to feel sick with fear. It wasn't those two Irishmen, he thought, it was Anna! She put the bomb in the coach when I was with Sandman. I was alone with the horse for at least ten minutes; she had plenty of time.

And that means she didn't love me at all, she just used me. I thought I was so lucky, an old man with a young pretty woman in my bed—and all the time she was laughing at me. Worse than that—she's a murderer! She killed George and Bernard and John, and she took my leg, and now she's going to kill Jane as well!

And I can't say anything about it.

That's why she phoned me. To make sure that I never tell the police.

If I tell this policeman, Jane will die.

In a strange, shaky voice, Alan said, 'I was alone when I was with the horse, yes.'

The policeman said nothing. Alan felt his hands shaking and put them under the sheet. Why is he looking at me like that? he thought. What does he know?

'Are you sure, Mr Cole? The guard says you have a lady friend, and sometimes she visits the horses with you. Was she with you that night?'

'No.'

'You're sure about that, Mr Cole?'

'Yes, I am. And she's not my friend any more now — we've ended it.'

'I see.' The policeman sighed, wrote in his notebook, and stood up. 'That's all then, Mr Cole. The guard wasn't sure. Probably, it was a different night.'

'Yes. I'm sure it was.'

'Right then. Thank you for your help. Good night, Mr Cole.' He walked to the door, and went out.

Alan watched him go, unable to say another word. He had never felt so helpless, so frightened. I have to speak, he thought, I have to do something. But I can't.

If I speak, Jane will die.

But if I say nothing, will they ever let her go?

As the door closed, he opened his mouth and said, 'Detective Hall.'

But the policeman walked away. He didn't hear.

Oh God, Alan thought. What do I do now?

After the phone call Kev and Anna tied the cloth round Jane's mouth again, and went back into her kitchen. Anna had the bag over Jane's head too, but Jane could hear most of what they were saying. They were angry, arguing.

'You've made too many mistakes with this plan, Anna,' Kev said. 'The Queen of England is still walking around Buckingham Palace because of you.'

Anna's voice was high and angry. 'Because of me? What about you? You were supposed to understand bombs and radio transmitters, and what happened? The transmitter in that camera didn't work when I pressed the button!'

'You probably didn't press it hard enough,' Kev said coldly. 'It worked in the end, didn't it?'

'Yes, too late!' Anna said. 'That was your mistake, not mine. So now we've got Cole to worry about, and this girl. We've got to get her away from here fast.'

'Wait until midnight, when the house is quiet.'

There was an icy fear in Jane's stomach. They know I can hear them, and they don't care, she thought. I'm sure Dad will keep quiet, but they can never let me go now. They'll have to kill me, because I know too much.

If I don't get away from them soon, I'm going to die.

Alan lay in the dark and listened to the voices in his head, arguing this way, and that way, until he thought he would go crazy.

Keep your mouth shut! If you speak, she'll die.

But they'll still kill her, if she's seen their faces.

They won't, Anna won't. She's a woman, she couldn't do that! She was your lover!

Woman! She killed five people! She blew my leg off!

Those two men the police have arrested are innocent. They'll go to prison for thirty years if I don't speak!

I don't know them, I don't care about them. Jane is the only person who matters to me!

The police will think that I helped Anna put the bomb in the coach! I'll go to prison.

That woman is laughing at me. She was laughing at me when we made love. I hate her! I hope she dies!

She won't die, Jane will. I must keep quiet!

What can I do? If I speak, they'll kill her. But if I don't speak, they'll kill her later. So I've got to tell the police now, it's Jane's only chance.

I can't, it's too dangerous. I can't! I want to see my daughter!

For two hours he lay in his room and listened to the voices in his head and thought he was going crazy. His leg ached, his chest felt very hot. Twice he decided to get up and tell someone, but his body wouldn't move.

Then, the third time, he got into his wheelchair and went out into the corridor. It was midnight.

'Nurse!' he said. 'Nurse, I need a telephone, now!'

Oh God, he thought. Where is Jane now?

Jane was in the boot of a car. Her hands and feet were tied, the piece of cloth was round her mouth, and the bag was over her head, but she knew she was in a car boot because she could hear the engine, and when she tried to sit up she hit her head.

She didn't know how long she had been there. There wasn't much air, but she couldn't do anything about it. She just lay there and thought: it can't be much longer. We must get there soon and then they'll let me out.

And then what? How long before they kill me?

recognize v. 认出。

frighten v. 使害怕。

dream n. something which you seem to see during sleep. 梦。

kidnap v. take someone as prisoner in order to take money or other things from his family. 绑架。

detective n. 警探。

look after take care of. 照顾。

lonely adj. 孤独的。

unwelcome adj. 不受欢迎的。

alone adj. by oneself. 独自。

plenty of a lot of. 许多。

unable adj. 不能。

helpless adj. without help. 无助的。

mistake n. something wrong. 错误。

transmitter n. the part of a radio that sends signals. 传感器。

icy adj. very cold, like ice. 冰冷的。

crazy adj. wildly excited. 发狂的，疯的。

corridor n. long and narrow passage from which doors open into rooms. 走廊。

boot n. the place at the back of a car for luggage. 汽车后备箱。

4　电话

阿兰·科尔房间里的电话又响了。

“喂？”

“阿兰？”

他立即听出她的声音。“安娜！”他说，他的心跳得很快。

“是我。仔细听着，阿兰——”

“哦，安娜！我一直都在等你的电话。你听说——我的腿的事了吗，安娜？”

“你的腿没关系。听着。我只说一遍，就一遍。”

“什么？安娜，你什么——”

“我们抓住了你女儿，阿兰。就是简。她叫那名字，不对吗？跟你爸爸讲话，简。就现在！”

通过电话，阿兰听到女儿惊恐的声音。“爸爸吗？对不起，爸爸。他们说要是你跟警察说起安娜，他们就杀了我，但我不在乎，我……噢！”

阿兰听见一声尖叫，它又嘎然而止。接着，他又听见安娜的声音：“要是你保持沉默，她就不会死，我的情郎。可要是你跟警察说起我一个字，哪怕就一个字，你就到泰晤士河给她收尸吧。你明白了吗？”

阿兰想说话，可他的声音不知是怎么了。“好的，”他说，“可是，请……”

“没有可是。如果你还想见你女儿，就让你的嘴闭上。”

电话挂断了。阿兰·科尔一动不动地坐在那儿。他的胸部剧烈地疼痛，他口干舌燥，也挪动不了身体。他就像石头一样呆坐着。

就像梦一样，他想。肯定什么也没发生。可那电话里的声音分明是简。还有安娜。安娜！……说她绑架了简。

可是为什么呢？发生了什么事？

慢慢地，他想搞懂这是怎么回事。他还没有跟警察谈起安娜，那是因为她丈夫。但那为何这么重要？

为什么安娜绑架了简？

因为安娜有隐私，有什么重要的事情是我阿兰知道但又不该告诉警察的。要是我对任何人讲了，安娜就会杀了简。

但秘密是什么呢？她以为我知道什么？

有人敲门。一个护士走了进来。

“你好，科尔先生。一个警察来看你。你还好吗？”

“是……是，挺好的，谢谢。”

“你脸色不好。”护士把手放在他的额头上，又摸了摸他的脉搏。“唔，不太热，心脏也还可以。”她朝警察笑笑。“就半个小时。记住，他刚出了严重的事故。”

“我知道。”警察走进来，坐下，护士推着电话桌走了出去。“我是荷尔警探，科尔先生。我们以前见过。”

“是的，”阿兰说。这个警察有一张和蔼而友善的脸，是那种你可以信赖的人。他会帮助我的，阿兰想，他自己可能也是个父亲。

不！恐惧就像火一样折磨着阿兰。我不能跟他谈起安娜。否则简会死的……

“你可能已经看过报纸了，科尔先生，我们抓了两个人。”警察告诉阿兰那两个在马车工厂工作的爱尔兰人的事。“所以我们知道是他们炸的马车，而且知道是怎么炸的。我想你对此很高兴吧。”

“哦……是啊，”阿兰低声说，“很好，可是……你为什么来看我？”

“我只是想问几个有关爆炸前一天的问题。你知道，我们认为这两个人在爆炸发生三天前就把炸弹放进了马车，当时马车在工厂。因此马车回到马厩时，炸弹已经在里边了。”

“是吗？”阿兰说。他不太懂警察在说什么。

“是的，我们是这么认为。你的工作是照看马车，对吗？”

“马车，是的。还有马。大部分是马。”

“那么，你没发现什么异常吗——任何异常？”

“没有，我想没有。”

“让我们慢慢来，”警察说，“爆炸前一天，你几点下的班？”

“大约……在六点。也许是六点半。”

“你没再回去吗？”

“没有。”阿兰低声说。

接着，他迅速地朝窗外望去。他感到又冷又怕又孤独。

“你肯定吗，科尔先生？你知道，一个门卫告诉我你后来回去了，在大约十点钟时。”

“他说的？噢，是啊，当然。我回去看一匹马，山德曼。它一条腿坏了。”

“我知道了，”警察在本上记录着，“一个人吗？”

“什么？”

“你是一个人吗，科尔先生？你去看马的时候？”

片刻之时阿兰没有回答。他的脑子里又出现一个讨厌的念头，他开始因恐惧而感到难受。不是那两个爱尔兰人干的，他想，是安娜！我和山德曼在一起时，她把炸弹放在了马车里。我和马单独在一起至少有10分钟，她有足够的时间。

那也就是说她根本不爱我，她只是利用我。我还以为我这么一个老头能和一个年轻漂亮的姑娘上床真走运——而她一直都在笑话我。更糟的是——她竟是个凶手！她杀了乔治、伯纳德和约翰，她还夺走了我的一条腿，现在她还要杀简！

而且我什么也不能说。

难怪她给我打电话。那是想确认我不会跟警察说什么。

要是我对警察说，简就会死的。

阿兰用一种奇怪而颤抖的声音说：“我和马在一起的时候就我一个人，是这样。”

警察什么也没说。阿兰觉得自己的手在颤抖，就把它们放在被单底下。他干嘛那样看着我？他想。他都知道些什么？

“你肯定吗，科尔先生？门卫说你有一个女朋友，她有时和你一起去看马。她那天晚上和你在一起吗？”

“不。”

“你肯定吗，科尔先生？”

“是的，我肯定。而且她也不再是我女朋友了——我们关系结束了。”

“我明白了。”警察叹了口气，在笔记本上写着，站了起来。“那么就这样吧，科尔先生。门卫也不肯定。那也许是在另一个晚上。”

“是啊，我想是。”

“那好吧。谢谢你的帮助。晚安，科尔先生。”他走到门口，出去了。

阿兰眼看着他走了，却再也说不出一个字。他从没感到过如此无助，如此害怕。我必须说，他想，我必须做些什么，可我不能。

如果我说了，简就会死的。

但我要是什么都不说，他们就会放了她吗？

门关上的时候，他张开口，说：“荷尔侦探。”

但是警察已经走远了，没有听见。

噢，上帝啊，阿兰想，我现在该怎么办？

打完电话，凯夫和安娜又把布绑在简的嘴上，回到厨房。简脸上还罩上了袋子，可他们说的大部分话她都能听见。他们正生气，争吵着什么。

“在这个计划上你出了太多的错，安娜。”凯夫说，“就因为你，英格兰女王还在白金汉宫周围散步。”

安娜的声音又高又生气。“因为我？那么你呢？本以为你懂得炸弹和无线电传感器，可发生了什么？我按下照相机快门时，相机里边的那个传感器却没奏效！”

“也许你没有用力按，”凯夫冷冷地说，“最后奏效了，不是吗？”

“是啊，太晚了！”安娜说，“那是你的错，不是我的。所以我们现在要为科尔和这女孩的事担心。我们得尽快把她从这儿弄走。”

“等到半夜这儿静下来时再说。”

简感到恐惧像冰一般袭上心头。他们知道我能听见他们说话，可他们不在乎，她想。我相信爸爸会保持沉默的，但他们现在不会让我走的。他们肯定得杀了我，因为我知道得太多。

如果我不赶快离开他们，我就会死的。

阿兰在黑暗中躺着，倾听着自己脑海中的两个自我这样、那样地争辩着，直到他觉得自己都要疯了。

闭上你的嘴！你若讲出来她就得死！

但是如果她看见了他们的脸，他们仍会杀了她。

他们不会的，安娜不会的。她是个女人，她不能那样做！她曾是你的情人！

女人！她杀了五个人！她炸掉了我的腿！

警察抓的那两个人是无辜的。要是我不说话，他们就要坐30年牢！

我不认识他们，我不在乎他们。简是我唯一在乎的人！

警察会以为我帮安娜在马车里放了炸弹！我会坐牢的。

那个女人在笑话我。我们做爱的时候她也在笑我。我恨她！我希望她死！

她死不了，简会死。我必须保持沉默！

我该怎么办？如果我说了，他们会杀了简。可我不说，他们过后也会杀了她。所以我现在就得去跟警察说，这是简唯一的机会。

我不能，这太危险了。我不能！我想见到我女儿！

他就这样在房间里躺着并听着自己脑子里的声音达两个小时之久，觉得自己快疯了。他的腿在疼，胸部热极了。他有两次都决定起来跟别人说，可他的身体却没动。

于是，第三次时，他坐到轮椅上并出去到了走廊里。这时是半夜了。

“护士！”他说，“护士，我要用电话，就现在！”

噢，上帝啊，他想，简现在在哪儿？

简被关在一辆汽车的后备箱里。她的手脚被捆着，嘴上塞着布，头上还罩着袋子，但她知道她在一辆汽车的后备箱里，因为她能听见发动机在响，而且当她想坐起来的时候她的头被撞了一下。

她不知道她还要在那儿待多久。里边的空气不太多了，可她毫无办法。她只能躺在那儿，想：不会太长的；我们很快就会到，然后他们就会把我放出去。

然后呢？距他们杀我还有多久？

5

'You Must Believe Me!'

When Alan phoned the police, Detective Hall came to the hospital quickly, bringing an Inspector Lee with him. They listened to Alan's story, then talked for a while outside the door. Then they came back in.

'OK, Mr Cole,' Inspector Lee said. 'Detectives are now searching the house in Bowater Gardens and your daughter's flat. I've informed the police at ports and airports too. It's possible that the kidnappers will try to take your daughter out of the country, you know.'

'Oh my God.' Alan held his face in his hands. 'She's probably dead. I'll never see her again.'

'Let's hope that's not true,' said the Inspector. 'Now, let's talk about this woman Anna again. Why do you think she's a terrorist?'

Again, Alan explained. The visit to the Mews the evening before the bombing; the ten minutes when Anna was not with him; her phone call, telling him not to talk to the police or Jane would die. It was hard to speak clearly because he was so angry and afraid. He began to cry. 'It's no good,' he said. 'Jane's going to die.'

'Try to keep calm, Mr Cole,' said the Inspector. 'You see, we're not sure that this Anna is a terrorist. We have already arrested the two men who put the bomb in the coach. In fact, one of them confessed to it this morning. The other one will confess soon.'

'But they're the wrong people—they must be! If they are the murderers, why did Anna phone me? Why is she saying she'll kill my daughter if I don't keep quiet about her?'

'Are you sure it was Anna's voice on the phone?'

'Of course I am! And it was Jane's voice as well! I know my own daughter's voice, don't I?' Alan shouted.

'Mmm,' the Inspector said slowly. 'Now, your daughter. Was she unhappy to hear about Anna, do you think? Sometimes daughters don't like their fathers to have girlfriends, you know. Perhaps she was angry with you.'

'No. Not really. Well, perhaps a bit.'

'I see some very strange things in my job, Mr Cole, and a lot of them are because of family arguments. It's just possible, you see, that your daughter hasn't been kidnapped at all. Perhaps she's angry with you and wants to stop you seeing Anna. Perhaps—I've seen it happen before—she's asked a friend to ring you and pretend to be Anna...'

'No!' Alan shouted. 'Jane isn't like that! She was frightened, I could hear it in her voice on the phone. ANNA HAS KIDNAPPED HER! You must believe me!'

At that moment another detective came in and spoke quietly to Inspector Lee, who immediately got up and left the room. When he came back, his face was serious.

'The house in Bowater Gardens is empty,' he told Alan. 'The two people there left on the morning of the bombing. We didn't find anything useful at your daughter's flat—but we did find her handbag with her flat keys in it. It seems strange for her to go out without her keys, doesn't it?'

'Where is she?' Alan whispered. 'Can you find her?'

'If your daughter has been kidnapped, she could be anywhere,' the Inspector said. 'Our only hope is that the kidnappers call you again, and then we can find out where the call came from. We're fixing up a phone for you now, and there'll be two policewomen here with you all night. If Anna does phone, keep her talking. Tell her that you have said nothing to the police, and ask to speak to Jane. Say you must hear her voice.'

They put the phone on a table next to Alan's bed. He stared at it, saying to himself over and over again:

I must hear her voice. I must hear her voice.

They put Jane in a small bedroom, untied her feet, and took the bag off her head. But they tied her hands behind her back, and then tied them to the end of the bed.

'You'll stay here until those two men are sent to prison,' Anna said. 'Every day we'll send your father a picture of you with today's newspaper, to show you're still alive.'

'Then what?'

'Then... we'll see. Perhaps, if your father is a good boy, we'll let you go,' Anna said. 'If you keep quiet too.'

But Jane was watching Kev's face. He won't let me go, she thought. Never. If I don't escape, I'll die here.

When they had left the room, she lay in the dark, wondering how she could escape. I don't want to die, she thought. And how terrible it will be for Dad if they kill me. And then there are those two innocent Irishmen, who will spend thirty years in prison for something they didn't do.

That bastard Kev's going to kill me. I've got to try to escape. I just have to.

For hours she tried to get free but it was impossible. The rope only hurt her wrists more. But at least she could move her hands, up and down the end of the old bed. Once, towards morning, she pulled the rope hard against the bed, but it didn't break. Instead, something cut her hand, and she had an idea.

Could it cut the rope as well?

She moved the rope up and down across the end of the bed. It was very difficult because she couldn't see what she was doing. Three times she cut herself, and there was blood on the rope. But by early morning, the rope broke. Her hands were free! What now?

She tried the door but it was locked. Downstairs, she could hear a radio, and she could smell coffee. So one of them, at least, was in the house.

Then she had another idea. She lay down on the bed and arranged the rope around her wrists, behind her back. Then she screamed, 'Hey! You! Terrorist murderers! Come up here now! I'm thirsty! Get up here and give me a drink!'

In a few minutes, she heard someone on the stairs.

'Breakfast, Mr Cole,' the nurse said. 'Eat up like a good boy, then you'll feel better.' She smiled.

I'm not a child, Alan thought. Oh God, I'm a father who's lost a child! He pushed the eggs and tomatoes away, and drank a cup of black coffee.

The policewoman in the armchair woke up and smiled brightly. 'Well, no one has phoned, Mr Cole. Perhaps your daughter has been to an all-night party and she'll be along to see you this morning.'

Alan stared at her hopelessly. He had not closed his eyes all night. So the police didn't really believe him. Perhaps they thought he had gone crazy because he had lost a leg. He stared at the silent phone.

Ring, damn you! Ring!

Kev came in, carrying his cup of coffee in his hand. He wasn't wearing a coat, so Jane could see the gun under his arm. 'Stop making that noise,' he said. 'Or you'll be sorry.'

Jane looked at him. 'You stupid little man,' she said softly, and as Kev stepped angrily forwards, she freed her hands from the rope behind her back and jumped at him. With one hand she pulled his head down, and with the other she grabbed his cup and threw the hot coffee into his face. Then she kicked him hard in the stomach.

'Ah! Damn you...' Kev fell onto the floor, trying to get the hot coffee out of his eyes. Immediately Jane jumped on top of him. Her knees landed hard in his stomach, and her fingers tried to get the gun under his arm. But Kev's hand found the gun first. Jane tried to pull it out of his hand, but he was too strong for her. With his other hand he hit her hard on the side of the head.

Jane fell forwards. But as she fell, she put her head down and bit his nose until her mouth was full of blood. He screamed, tried to pull his head away...

And let go of the gun.

I've got it, Jane thought. I've really got it! Then Kev hit her head again, hard, and she didn't know what was happening. She moved away from him, bringing the gun down towards her chest. Her head hurt terribly, and there was blood in her mouth, but all the time her fingers were trying to use the gun.

Why won't it shoot? she thought. How do I make it work? Then as Kev hit her again, there was a BANG and another BANG and a third and a fourth. She didn't know what the bangs were but she held on to the gun as hard as she could and there was a fifth BANG and a sixth...

And then it stopped. She opened her eyes and saw that Kev wasn't hitting her any more. His hands had gone all soft and there was blood coming out of his face and his neck and his chest, there was blood all over the floor and half of his head was missing.

Jane stood up, shaking. Where is Anna? she thought.

inspector n. police officer. 探长。

search v. look for. 搜查。

explain v. make clear; show the meaning of. 解释。

confess v. say that you have done something wrong. 承认。

pretend v. make oneself look like something or doing something. 假装。

immediately adv. at once. 马上。

back n. 后背。

escape v. get free. 逃跑。

downstairs adj. & adv. 楼下。

arrange v. put in order. 整理。

thirsty adj. 口渴的。

bite (bit, bitten) v. cut into with the teeth. 咬。

hurt v. 受伤；伤害。

5　“你们必须相信我！”

阿兰给警察局打电话后，荷尔警官立即来到医院，还带来了一位李探长。他们听了阿兰的叙述，然后在门外议论了一会儿。然后他们又返回走了进来。

“好吧，科尔先生，”李探长说，“警官们正在搜索堡渥特花园和你女儿的公寓。我也已经通知了港口和机场的警察。绑架犯很可能要把你女儿带出境外，你知道。”

“噢，天啊。”阿兰把手捂在脸上。“她可能死了。我再也见不着她了。”

“让我们希望那不是真的吧。”探长说，“现在让我们再来谈谈这个叫安娜的女人。你为什么认为她是恐怖分子呢？”

阿兰又解释了一遍。爆炸前一晚到了马厩；安娜有10分钟没和他在一起；她打电话叫他不许跟警察说，否则简就得死。由于这么生气和害怕，他很难表达清楚。他开始哭了。“没有用了，”他说，“简要死了。”

“冷静些，科尔先生。”探长说，“你看，我们还没有肯定这个安娜就是个恐怖分子。我们已经抓了往马车里放炸弹的那两个人。实际上，其中一个已经在今天早上招供了。另一个很快也会承认的。”

“可他们不是——肯定不是！如果他们是杀人犯，安娜为什么要给我打电话呢？为什么她说要是我对她的事不保持沉默的话，她就要杀了我女儿呢？”

“你肯定电话里是安娜的声音吗？”

“我当然肯定！而且还有简的声音！我能听出我自己女儿的声音，是不是？”阿兰嚷道。

“呣，”探长慢慢地说，“现在谈谈你女儿。你觉得她在听到安娜的事时不高兴吗？你知道，有时女儿不喜欢父亲有女朋友。也许她生你的气了。”

“不，真不是。不过，可能有一点儿。”

“我在工作中碰到过一些奇怪的事，科尔先生，很多都是由于家庭纠纷造成的。你看，有可能你女儿根本没有被绑架。她可能只是生你的气，想让你不再见到安娜。也许——我以前见过这种情况——她让一个朋友给你打电话，假装是安娜……”

“不！”阿兰叫道，“简不是那样的！她吓坏了，我能从电话里听出来。安娜绑架了她！你们必须相信我！”

那时另一个警官走进来悄声跟李探长说了几句话，李探长立即起身离开了屋子。他回来时脸上表情严肃。

“堡渥特花园的房子空着，”他告诉阿兰，“那两个人在爆炸的那天早晨离开了。我们在你女儿的公寓没发现什么有用的东西——但我们找到了她的书包，里边还有门钥匙。她出门不带钥匙是有点儿怪，是不是？”

“她在哪儿？”阿兰小声说，“你们能找到她吗？”

“要是你女儿被绑架了，她可能在任何地方。”探长说，“我们唯一的希望是绑架者再给你来电话，那么我们就可以查出电话是从哪儿打来的。现在我们给你配一部电话，还会有两个女警察整夜陪着你。如果安娜真来电话，拖住她说话。告诉她你什么也没对警察说，并要求跟简讲话。就说你必须听到她的声音。”

他们在阿兰床边的桌子上放了一部电话。他盯着电话，一遍一遍地默念着：

我必须听到她的声音。我必须听到她的声音。

他们把简放到一间小卧室里，解开她脚上的绳子，拿走她头上的袋子。但他们把她的手反绑在背后，然后又把她的手捆在床头上。

“你要待在这儿，直到那两个人被送进监狱。”安娜说，“我们每天都会给你爸爸寄一张你的照片和当日的报纸，告诉他你还活着。”

“然后怎样？”

“然后……再说。也许，要是你爸爸乖乖的，我们就让你走，”安娜说，“要是你也保持沉默的话。”

但是简注视着凯夫的脸。他不会让我走的，她想，永远不会。要是我不逃跑，我就会死在这儿。

当他们离开屋子时，她躺在黑暗中，琢磨着怎么逃跑。我不想死，她想，而且要是他们杀了我，那么对爸爸来说该多糟啊。还有那两个无辜的爱尔兰人，他们要为自己没干过的事坐30年牢。

那个坏蛋凯夫要杀了我。我得逃跑。我必须逃。

她挣扎了几个小时想挣脱绳索，可都不可能。绳子只是把她的手腕磨得更疼。但至少她能在这个旧床的床头上下活动她的手了。有一次，在将要天亮时，她使劲在床头来回拉绳子，可没弄断。但是又有什么东西划破她的手，于是她有了主意。

它也能划断绳子吗？

她在床头上下磨着绳子。做这件事很难，因为她看不见自己做的。她有三次都划伤了自己，绳子上染上了血。但到清早时绳子断了。她的手自由了！现在怎么办？

她试着开门，可门锁着。她能听见楼下传来的收音机声，还能闻见咖啡味儿。也就是说至少他们中的一个在这房子中。

于是她又有了主意。她躺到床上，自己背着手把绳子绕在手腕上。然后她大喊：“嘿！你们！恐怖主义谋杀犯！现在上这儿来！我渴了！上这儿来给我杯喝的！”

几分钟后，她听到有人上了楼梯。

“早饭，科尔先生。”护士说，“乖乖地吃完了，你会感觉好些的。”她微笑着。

我又不是小孩，阿兰想。噢，天啊，我是个失去孩子的父亲！他把鸡蛋和西红柿推开，只喝了一杯清咖啡。

坐在扶手椅上的女警察醒来了，愉快地微笑着。“啊，没人打电话来，科尔先生。或许你女儿去通宵晚会了，今天早上她会来看你的。”

阿兰无望地盯着她。他一夜没合眼。那么说警察并不真的相信他。也许他们以为他因失去了一条腿而变得不正常了。他盯着那无声的电话。

响啊，该死的！响啊！

凯夫进来了，手里拿着自己的一杯咖啡。他没穿外衣，因此简能看到他胳膊下的枪。“别那样吵闹了，”他说，“否则你会后悔的。”

简看着他。“你这个又傻又矮的家伙，”她轻声说；当凯夫生气地走上前来时，她从背后的绳子中抽出手来并扑向凯夫。她一只手把他的头往下按，另一只手夺过咖啡杯，把热咖啡泼到他脸上。接着她狠踢了他的肚子一脚。

“啊！妈的……”凯夫摔在地上，想把热咖啡从眼中弄出。简一下跳到他身上，膝盖死死顶住他的肚子，试图用手指去够他胳膊下的枪。可凯夫的手先找到了枪。简想从他手上夺下来，可他对她来讲太强壮了。他的另一只手重重地打在她头的一侧。

简向前摔了过去。但当她摔倒的时候，她低头咬住他的鼻子，直到她满嘴都是血时为止。他尖叫着，想把自己的头移开……

他的枪掉了。

我拿到了，简想，我真的拿到枪了！这时凯夫又重重地打了她脑袋一下，而她浑然不知。她从他那儿挪开身体，将枪拽向自己的胸口。她的头剧烈地疼痛，嘴里是血，可她一直试着用手指搬弄着枪。

怎么没射？她想。怎么使它奏效啊？凯夫又打了她一下时，“砰”的一声，又一声，第三声，第四声。她不知道这砰砰声是怎么回事，可她却使劲抓着枪。第五声，第六声……

接着没声了。她睁开眼睛看到凯夫不再打她了。他的手松开了，血从他的脸上、脖子和胸口流出来，满地都是，而且他的半个头没了。

简颤抖着站起来。安娜在哪儿？她想。

6

In the Tunnel

Alan put down his coffee when the call came. He picked up the phone with shaking hands. A voice said, 'Alan?'

'Anna,' Alan whispered. The policewoman went out of the door and spoke in a low voice on her radio.

'Do you remember what I said yesterday, Alan?'

'Yes,' Alan said. 'Please don't hurt Jane. Please. I haven't said a word to anyone. I promise you, Anna.'

'Good. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever, Alan. Do you understand? Not if you want her to stay alive.'

'Yes, I understand, Anna. But I must speak to Jane. I must hear her voice, Anna. How do I know you haven't killed her already?' Alan's voice was shaking.

Anna laughed, gently, cruelly. 'We'll send you something, Alan. In a day or two. If you're good.'

'Anna, please.'

But the phone went dead.

Alan put the phone down slowly, and suddenly the room was full of voices.

'We've got it! A phone box in South Kensington Station, by the ticket office...'

'Calling all cars in Kensington, calling all cars in Kensington. A woman has just made a phone call from...'

The policewoman put her hand on Alan's arm. 'They'll be there in two minutes,' she said gently. 'They'll—'

'Take me there!' Alan said. 'Please!'

The policewoman looked at Alan, then at the wheelchair, then back at Alan's white face. 'All right. We've got a big van outside. We can get the wheelchair in that.'

As Jane came down the stairs, she realized two things: she was covered in blood, and Anna wasn't there.

The house was very quiet, and all the rooms were empty. But I can't go out all covered in blood, she thought. People will think I've killed someone.

I have. But I had to, he was going to kill me. And he's a terrorist. He killed five people, he and Anna... I must get out before Anna comes back.

She found a man's coat, put it on, and went out into the street. I should call a policeman, she thought. But she could only see ordinary men, women and children. She saw an underground station and walked towards it.

She went into the station, found some money in the coat pocket, and bought a ticket. I must find my father, she thought, and tell him that everything's all right. Then she looked behind her and saw a woman coming out of a telephone box.

Oh my God, she thought, it's Anna!

Jane walked quickly away from the ticket office, down the escalator towards the platform and the trains. Halfway down the escalator she looked back up behind her.

Anna had seen her! Anna was following her down the escalator!

Quickly, Jane ran down to the bottom and onto one of the platforms. There was a train there, with its doors still open. She ran towards them, but as she ran, the doors closed and the train moved away into the tunnel. Anna was now coming onto the platform behind her. Anna's hand was inside her coat and Jane was sure she had a gun.

Why didn't I bring Kev's gun? Jane thought. But it was empty and I hate guns and it's no use thinking about that now. What do I do now?

As the police van screamed through the London traffic, the policewoman listened in to her radio and passed the information to Alan.

'Inspector Lee is on his way,' she said. 'There are six cars at the station already and they're watching all the entrances. Ah! Two detectives have seen a woman with red-brown hair going down the escalator...'

'But the trains,' Alan said. 'She'll catch a train...'

'They'll stop the trains as soon as they can. But there are hundreds of people in the station. The detectives could lose the woman in the crowds...'

'Please God,' whispered Alan. 'Let them catch her.'

As Anna came towards her, Jane ran towards the end of the platform, then looked behind her and saw Anna running after her, her hand still inside her coat. Quickly, Jane turned and ran towards another escalator, but there was a crowd of people there. She looked again and saw Anna twenty metres behind. She turned round a corner, back onto another platform which was empty — no people, no train. Anna will find me here in a second and shoot me, she thought. What now?

She jumped off the platform onto the railway line, and ran into the tunnel.

It was very dark in the tunnel. She knew that one of the lines was electric. If I touch it, I'll die, she thought. The trains come every six minutes, and if a train hits me, I'll die too. And there are only thirty centimetres between the sides of the train and the tunnel walls.

But there are holes in the tunnel walls every hundred metres, for workmen. I'll find one of those, wait for the next train and then go on to the next hole. It's probably only a kilometre to the next station. And perhaps Anna won't be sure which way I've gone.

She ran on into the darkness. Once she fell, and her hands nearly touched the electric line. When she got up, there was a terrible noise, like a train coming. But it was a train in another tunnel, not this one. She ran on, with one hand on the wall, looking for the hole.

Three minutes, four... then she found it! A hole just big enough for one person. She got in and stood very still, waiting. She heard the terrible noise again, this time from the station behind her. Then it stopped. The train will stop in that station for one minute, she thought. Then it will come past.

She laughed aloud in the darkness. Anna is still looking for me back on the platform. How angry she must be!

A hand touched her arm. She screamed, 'What? Oh God, no!' The hand grabbed her arm, and pulled her out of the hole, into the dark tunnel.

'Get out there!'

Two hands pushed her and Jane fell between the lines. She got to her knees, carefully, afraid of the electric line. Then the terrible noise started. The ground shook beneath her feet and a white light came towards her, faster and faster. In the light Jane saw Anna standing in the hole, with a gun in her hand. She jumped towards the hole but the train was coming faster, much too fast, and there was only room in the hole for one person, a woman with a gun...

When Alan arrived at the station, there were police cars everywhere, and crowds of people watching them. The policewoman helped him out of the van and he pushed his wheelchair through the crowd, shouting angrily, 'What's happening? Where is she?'

At the top of the escalator a policeman said, 'I'm sorry, sir. You can't go down. There's been a terrible accident.'

Then some ambulance men arrived. 'Where is it?' they asked.

'Down in the tunnel. Two women—a train's hit them,' the policeman said. The ambulance men hurried down.

'What's happening?' Alan shouted. 'Which women? There's a murderer down there, a terrorist! And my daughter — I've got to find my daughter!'

He began to climb out of his wheelchair, but the policeman pushed him back. 'I'm sorry, sir.'

Then the policewoman hurried up and explained. They helped Alan's wheelchair onto the escalator and went down. At the bottom Alan saw an empty train, and a lot of police at the end of the platform. The ambulance men talked to the police, and then went into the tunnel. Alan wheeled his chair slowly along the platform.

Then two of the ambulance men came out of the tunnel. There was a young woman between them. She walked slowly, she was very dirty, and there was blood on the side of her face. But Alan knew who she was.

'Janie,' he said, ' Janie! Are you all right?'

Jane looked along the platform and saw him. ' Dad? Why are you here?' She walked towards him shakily.

'I came to find you,' Alan said. 'Oh God, Janie, what happened? Did Anna try to kill you?'

Jane touched the blood on her face. 'Yes. She tried to shoot me but she missed. Then I threw her in front of a train. I killed the other one, too.' She smiled, a strange, shaky smile. 'You said there was no justice in this life, didn't you, Dad? Well, those two terrorists murdered five people, and took away your leg and... and now they're dead! So there is some justice, Dad, isn't there?' Then her eyes were filled with tears, and she sat down, suddenly, on a platform seat. 'That woman hated you, Dad,' she whispered shakily, 'really hated you.'

Alan wheeled his chair close to her and held her hands in his. 'I'm so sorry,' he said. 'Anna hated everyone, not just me. But she doesn't matter now, Janie. You're alive! That's all that matters to me. That's all that matters in the world.'

promise v. tell someone that you will certainly do something. 保证。

van n. big car or small covered lorry for carrying things. 货车。

realize v. 发现，意识到。

escalator n. stairs that can move and carry people up and down. 滚梯，自动扶梯。

platform n. the part of a station where you get on or off trains. 站台。

tunnel n. long hole underground, e.g. for trains. 隧道。

traffic n. 交通。

information n. facts and news about something. 信息。

entrance n. a door or gate by which you can enter a building or place. 入口。

electric adj. making or using electricity (power that can make light, heat, etc.). 带电的。

in the light 在亮处。

shaky adj. (of a person, his movements, etc.) weak, unsteady. 虚弱的；颤抖的。

shakily adv. 颤抖地。

miss v. fail to hit. 未打中。

6　隧道里

来电话的时候，阿兰放下咖啡。他用颤抖的双手拿起听筒。一个声音说：“阿兰吗？”

“安娜，”阿兰小声说。那个女警察走出了门并用她的无线电对讲机说着什么。

“你记得我昨天跟你说的吗，阿兰？”

“记得，”阿兰说，“请不要伤害简。求求你了。我什么也没对任何人讲。我向你保证，安娜。”

“好。今天，明天，永远也别说，阿兰。明白吗？要是你还想让她活着，就别说。”

“是的，我明白，安娜。但是我必须和简说话。我必须听见她的声音，安娜。我怎么知道你还没杀她？”阿兰的声音在颤抖。

安娜笑了，那笑既温柔又冷酷。“我们会给你寄些东西的，阿兰。一两天之内。要是你乖乖的话。”

“安娜，求你。”

但是电话断了。

阿兰慢慢放下电话，顿时屋里喧闹起来。

“查到了！是从南堪星顿火车站的电话亭打来的，就在售票处旁边……”

“呼叫堪星顿的所有警车，呼叫堪星顿的所有警车。刚有一个女人打电话，在……”

女警察把手放在阿兰的手臂上。“两分钟后他们就能到那儿，”她柔声说，“他们会——”

“带我去！”阿兰说，“求你了！”

女警察看了看阿兰，又看了看轮椅，再看了看阿兰苍白的脸。“好吧。我们在外面有一辆大货车。我们可以把轮椅放在里面。”

简到楼下时意识到两件事：她浑身是血；安娜不在那儿。

房子里很静，所有的房间都空着。但我不能浑身是血地出去，她想，人们会以为我刚杀了人。

我是杀了人。可我不得不杀他，他要杀我。而且他是个恐怖分子。他杀了五个人，他和安娜……我必须在安娜回来之前离开。

她找到一件男式外套，穿上，出去走到街上。我该叫警察，她想。可她看到的都是普通男人、女人和孩子。她看到一个地铁站，就朝它走了过去。

她走进车站，从外套口袋里找到一些钱，买了一张车票。我必须找到爸爸，她想，告诉他一切都好。这时她向后看了一眼，看到一个女人正从电话亭里出来。

噢，天啊，她想，是安娜！

简赶快离开售票处，上了朝站台和列车方向下行的滚梯。半路上，她回头往上边看了看。

安娜已经看见她了！安娜正沿滚梯向她追过来！

简迅速地跑到滚梯底端，来到其中的一个站台上。那儿正好有一辆列车，门还开着。她朝车门跑去，可正跑着时车门就关上了，列车也走远了，进了隧道。安娜现在正在她身后的站台上。她的手放在外套兜里，简敢肯定她拿着枪。

我为什么没带凯夫的枪？简想。可它已经没有子弹了，我又讨厌枪，想什么也没用了。我现在该怎么办？

警车从伦敦的行人车辆中呼啸而过，女警察听着她的对讲机，把信息传给阿兰。

“李探长正在路上，”她说，“已经有六辆警车在车站，他们在注视所有的入口。啊！已经有两个侦探看见一个长着棕红色头发的女人下了滚梯……”

“可是列车，”阿兰说，“她会上车的……”

“他们会尽快拦住列车的。但站台里有成百上千的人，警察们可能会在人群中失去目标……”

“上帝啊，求你了，”阿兰小声说，“让他们抓到她吧。”

安娜朝她过来时，简便跑向站台的尽头，然后回头看看，看到安娜正在追她，手还放在外衣口袋里。简赶快转身跑向另一个滚梯，但那儿有一大群人。她又看了看，看到安娜在她身后20米处。她转过一个拐角，回到另一个空旷的站台——那儿没有人，也没有列车。安娜马上会发现我在这儿并开枪打我的，她想，怎么办？

她从站台上跳到铁轨上，跑进隧道里。

隧道里很黑。她知道其中的一条铁轨有电。如果我碰了它，就会死的，她想。列车每六分钟一趟，而且要是一辆列车撞着我，我也会死的。列车和隧道的四壁之间只有30厘米宽。

但隧道墙壁上每100米就有一个给工人用的洞。我可以找到其中的一个，等下一辆列车过去，然后再挪到下一个洞。也许到下一个车站只有一公里远。也许安娜并不敢肯定我往哪个方向去了。

她继续在黑暗中跑着。有一次她摔倒了，手差点儿碰到有电的铁轨。当她站起来时，传来一声可怕的巨响，像是一辆列车驶来了。但列车是在另一个隧道中，不是这个。她继续跑着，一只手扶在墙上，寻找着洞口。

三分钟，四分钟……接着她找到了！一个正好可以容得下一个人的洞。她进去，一动不动地站在那儿，等着。她又听到一声可怕的气鸣声，这回是从她后面的车站传来的。之后，它停住了。列车要在那站停一分钟，她想，然后就驶过。

她在黑暗中放声大笑。安娜还会回到站台上找我呢。她该多么生气啊！

一只手碰到了她的胳膊。她尖叫着：“什么？噢，上帝，不！”那只手拽着她的胳膊，把她从洞里拉到漆黑的隧道中。

“出去！”

两只手推了简一下，她摔倒在两根铁轨之间。她小心地跪起来，怕碰到有电的铁轨。这时，可怕的气鸣声又开始了。她脚下的地在颤动，一道白色的光冲她而来，越来越快。在亮光中，简看到安娜正站在洞中，一手拿着枪。她朝洞口跳过去，可列车正以更快的速度驶来，太快了，而洞中只容得下一个人，一个拿着枪的女人……

阿兰到车站的时候，那儿到处是警车，还有观看的人群。那个女警察帮他出了车，他转着轮椅穿过人群，生气地高声喊道：“发生了什么事？她在哪儿？”

在滚梯的顶上，一位警察说：“对不起，先生。您不能下去。那儿出了严重的车祸。”

接着，一些救生员到了。“在哪儿？”他们问。

“在下面的隧道里。两个女人——一辆列车撞了她们。”警察说。救生员赶快下去了。

“出了什么事？”阿兰嚷道，“哪些女人？下边那儿有一个谋杀犯，一个恐怖分子！还有我女儿——我要见我女儿！”

他开始往轮椅外爬，但警察把他按住了。“对不起，先生。”

于是那个女警察赶快过来解释。他们帮着把阿兰的轮椅抬上滚梯，去了下边。在底下，阿兰看到一辆空列车和站台尽头的许多警察。救生员和警察说了说，然后就走进隧道。阿兰沿着站台慢慢摇着轮椅。

这时，两个救生员从隧道里出来了。他们之间有一个年轻女子。她慢慢地走着，脏兮兮的，一边脸上挂着血。但阿兰知道她是谁。

“简妮，”他说，“简妮！你没事吧？”

简顺着站台过去，看到了他。“爸爸？您怎么在这儿？”她摇摇晃晃地朝他走过来。

“我来找你。”阿兰说，“噢，上帝，简妮，发生了什么事？安娜是不是想要杀你？”

简摸摸脸上的血。“是的。她想开枪打我，可没打中。然后我就把她扔到了（将要开来的）列车面前。我也杀了另外一个。”她笑了，那是一种奇怪的、颤巍巍的笑。“您说过这世界不公道，不是吗，爸爸？可是，那两个恐怖分子杀了五个人，还夺走了您的一条腿，还……现在他们死了！所以，还是有一些公道的，爸爸，是不是？”那时她眼中充满了泪水，她突然一下坐到站台的椅子上。“那个女人恨您，爸爸，”她小声地、颤抖地说，“真的恨您。”

阿兰摇着轮椅靠近她，握住她的双手。“对不起，”他说，“安娜恨所有的人，不止是我。不过，她怎么样现在已经无所谓了，简妮。你还活着！我只在乎那个。那就是这个世界上我唯一在乎的。”

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1 and 2 Write answers to these questions.

1 Why was Jane outside Parliament?

2 What did Jane think was strange about the woman with red-brown hair?

3 Why did the doctors have to cut Alan's leg off?

4 How many people were killed by the bomb, and who were they?

5 Why did the police arrest the two Irishmen?

6 Why did Alan go back to the Mews the night before the bombing?

7 How long had Alan known Anna?

8 What did Jane learn from the neighbour at 14 Bowater Gardens?

9 What did Jane think when she first saw the woman in her flat?

Chapters 3 and 4 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 Alan was very unhappy that Anna hadn't been to visit him.

2 Anna was happy that the bomb hadn't killed Alan.

3 Anna was outside Parliament taking photos of the bombing.

4 Kev and Anna didn't care that two innocent Irishmen would go to prison.

5 Alan lied to Detective Hall about Anna's visit to the Mews.

6 Jane thought that Kev and Anna probably wouldn't kill her.

7 When Alan decided to tell the police about Anna, Jane had already been taken away from her flat.

Chapters 5 and 6 Who said these words in the story, and to whom?

1 'She's probably dead. I'll never see her again.'

2 'Ask to speak to Jane. Say you must hear her voice.'

3 'Stop making that noise.'

4 'You stupid little man.'

5 'We'll send you something. In a day or two. If you're good.'

6 'Take me there! Please!'

7 'Get out there!'

8 'You're alive! That's all that matters to me.'

B Working with language

1 Put together these beginnings and endings of sentences.

1 The bomb exploded,

2 You were the only coach man

3 We can't leave

4 If I tell the police,

5 I'm sorry he didn't die

6 They'll have to kill me

7 while he was so happy.

8 they'll kill her.

9 but the Queen was not hurt.

10 because I know too much.

11 until the house is quiet.

12 who didn't die.

2 Complete the passage with these linking words:

who　and　after　although　while　where　but　because

... she had been to 14 Bowater Gardens, Jane decided to go home... she didn't want to tell her father about Anna's boyfriend. She found Anna waiting for her in her flat... tried to fight her,... Kev came out with a gun and stopped her.... they covered her mouth and head, Jane could still hear, and... they were arguing in her kitchen, Jane realized... Anna was and... she had seen Anna before.

C Activities

1 Imagine you are Jane. Write her letter to her brother in Australia, telling him all about the bombing and the kidnap.

2 The police don't give the newspapers any information about the two terrorists' deaths, but reporters always try to find out the truth. Write a short report to go with one of these newspaper headlines (you have talked to neighbours, the train driver, people in the station, etc.):

a) MAN SHOT IN WEST LONDON HOUSE

b) ACCIDENT AT SOUTH KENSINGTON STATION — ONE WOMAN KILLED

3 While Jane is fighting to escape and to save her own life, she kills both Kev and Anna. Is that justice? What do you think? How should terrorists like Kev and Anna be punished? Write down your ideas, and then find out what other students in your class think.

京权图字01-97-0329

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 1991

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

只限中华人民共和国境内销售，不包括香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区及台湾省。不得出口。

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化学秘密＝Chemical Secret／（英）维卡里（Vicary, T.）著；任真译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1998（2015.2 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-1408-1

Ⅰ．化…　Ⅱ．①维…②任…　Ⅲ．英语—对照读物，文学—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（98）第07713号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

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出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

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版　　次：1998年7月第1版

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简　介

犯罪有两种形式，一种是有意识的，一种是无意识的。很少人刻意去犯罪，但大多数人对某些罪行视而不见。

然而，什么是犯罪？是应该以法律规定为依据还是以我们的内心感觉来判断？罪孽多种多样——贪婪、施暴、凶狠、仇恨。但是也有不太明显的罪恶——比如我们破坏这个世界：破坏天空、海洋、陆地。我们犯下的这些罪孽摧毁了未来和后代，但我们闭着双眼假装看不到这一切。

约翰·邓肯是一个生物学家。当他开始在化工厂工作时，他想他是在保护他的孩子们。他想为孩子们提供生活中最美好的东西，如一幢大房子、一艘船以及精彩的假期……然而他到底将给他们带来一个什么样的前途呢？

本书的作者蒂姆·维卡里从事英语教学数年，他现在在纽约生活和工作。

1

A new start

'Mr Duncan? Come in please. Mr Wilson will see you now.'

'Thank you.' John Duncan stood up and walked nervously towards the door. He was a tall, thin man, about forty-five years old, in an old grey suit. It was his best suit, but it was ten years old now. He had grey hair and glasses. His face looked sad and tired.

Inside the room, a man stood up to welcome him. 'Mr Duncan? Pleased to meet you. My name's David Wilson. This is one of our chemists, Mary Carter.'

John Duncan shook hands with both of them, and sat down. It was a big office, with a thick carpet on the floor and beautiful pictures on the walls. David Wilson was a young man, in an expensive black suit. He had a big gold ring on one finger. He smiled at John.

'I asked Miss Carter to come because she's one of our best chemists. She discovered our wonderful new paint, in fact. When... I mean, if you come to work here, you will work with her.'

'Oh, I see.' John looked at Mary. She was older than Wilson — about thirty-five, perhaps — with short brown hair, and a pretty, friendly face. She was wearing a white coat with a lot of pens in the top pocket. She smiled at him kindly, but John felt miserable.

I'll never get this job, he thought. I'm too old! Employers want younger people these days.

David Wilson was looking at some papers. 'Now, Mr Duncan,' he said, 'I see that you are a very good biologist. You worked at a university... and then for two very famous companies. But... you stopped working as a biologist nine years ago. Why was that?'

'I've always had two interests in my life,' John said, 'biology and boats. My wife was a famous sailor... Rachel Horsley... Perhaps you remember her. She sailed around the world alone in a small boat.'

'Yes,' said David Wilson, 'I remember her.'

'So we started a business,' said John. 'We made small boats together, and sold them.'

'And did the business go well?' asked Wilson.

'Very well at first. Then we wanted to build bigger, better boats. We borrowed too much money. And then my wife...' John stopped speaking.

'Yes, the Sevens Race. I remember now,' said David Wilson.

Both men were silent for a moment. Wilson remembered the newspaper reports of the storm and the lives lost at sea. He looked at the man who sat sadly in front of him.

'So, after my wife died,' continued John, 'I closed the business. That was five years ago.'

'I see,' said David Wilson. 'It's a hard world, the world of business.' He looked at John's old grey suit. 'So now you want a job as a biologist. Well, this is a chemical company, Mr Duncan. We make paint. But we need a biologist to make sure that everything in this factory is safe. We want someone to tell the government that it's safe to work here, and that it's safe to have a paint factory near the town. That's important to us.'

'And if something's not safe, then of course we'll change it,' Mary Carter said. David Wilson looked at her, but he didn't say anything.

'Yes, I see,' John began nervously. 'Well, I think I could do that. I mean, when I worked for Harper Chemicals in London I...' He talked for two or three minutes about his work. David Wilson listened, but he didn't say anything. Then he smiled. It was a cold, hard smile, and it made John feel uncomfortable. He remembered his old suit and grey hair, and he wished he hadn't come.

'You really need this job, don't you, Mr Duncan?' David Wilson said. 'You need it a lot.'

'Yes, I do,' he said quietly. But he thought: I hate you, Wilson. You're enjoying this. You like making people feel small. I hate people like you.

Wilson's smile grew bigger. He stood up, and held out his hand. 'OK,' he said. 'When can you start?'

'What?' John was very surprised. 'What did you say?'

'I said, "When can you start?", Mr Duncan. We need you in our factory as soon as possible. Will Monday be OK?'

'You mean I've got the job?'

'Of course. Congratulations!' Wilson shook John's hand. 'My secretary will tell you about your pay. You'll have your own office, and a company car, of course. I'd like you to start work with Mary on Monday. Is that OK?'

'I... Yes, yes, of course. That's fine. Thank you, thank you very much.'

chemist n. a scientist who studies chemistry. 化学家。

paint n. a colored liquid used to change the color of other things. 油漆。

employer n. a person who gives you work to do. 雇主。

biologist n. a scientist who studies animals and plants. 生物学家。

chemical ① adj. of chemistry. 化学的。② n. something solid or liquid used in chemistry. 化学制品（常用复数）。

government n. the group of people who control a country. 政府。

congratulations n. a word said to someone who has been lucky or done well. 对某人幸运或成功时所说的祝贺之词。

1　崭新的开始

“邓肯先生吗？请进。威尔逊先生现在要见你。”

“谢谢。”约翰·邓肯起身胆怯地往门口走。他瘦高个子，大约45岁，身着一套灰色旧西服。尽管这套西服已穿了10年，但仍是他最好的西服。他头发灰白，戴一副眼镜，面带忧郁和倦容。

屋内，一个男人站起来欢迎他。“邓肯先生吗？很高兴见到你。我叫大卫·威尔逊。这是玛丽·卡特，我们其中的一位化学家。”

约翰·邓肯与他俩握手后坐下。这是一间宽大的办公室，地上铺着厚地毯，墙上悬挂着美丽的画。大卫·威尔逊很年轻，身着一套昂贵的黑色西服，手指上戴着一枚硕大的金戒指。他对着约翰微笑。

“我让卡特小姐来是因为她是我们最好的化学家之一。事实上是她发现了我们最美妙的新油漆……我是说，如果你来这里工作，你将与她一起工作。”

“噢，我明白了。”约翰望着玛丽。她比威尔逊岁数大——也许大约35岁，留着棕色短发，长着一副漂亮友善的面孔。她身穿一件白外套，上方的口袋里插着许多钢笔。她友善地对约翰微笑，但约翰却感到痛苦。

他想：我永远也不会得到这份工作。我太老了！雇主们现在想聘更年轻的人。

大卫·威尔逊正在看一些文件。“我说，邓肯先生，我知道你是一个非常出色的生物学家。”他说道，“你曾在大学工作过，然后又在两家著名的公司干过。但是，你作为一个生物学家9年前停止了工作，这是为什么？”

“在我一生中我永远有两种兴趣，”约翰答道，“生物学和划船。我太太是一位有名的水手……雷切尔·霍斯利……也许你记得她。她曾独自乘小船环绕世界。”

“是的，我记得她。”大卫·威尔逊说道。

“所以我们开始做生意，”约翰说，“我们共同制造小船，然后出售。”

“生意进展得好吗？”威尔逊问道。

“一开始很好，然后我们就想造更大更好的船。我们借了太多钱。其后我的太太……”约翰停住了讲话。

“是的，赛文斯比赛，我现在想起来了。”大卫·威尔逊说道。

俩人都陷入片刻沉默。威尔逊记起报纸上报道的那场风暴和海上死亡事件。他望着忧伤地坐在他面前的这个人。

“所以，我太太去世后，”约翰继续说，“我停止了生意，那是5年前的事了。”

“我明白了，”大卫·威尔逊说，“生意场是很艰难的。”他望着约翰那灰色的旧西服，“这么说你想得到一份生物学家的工作。这是一家化学公司，邓肯先生。我们制造油漆。我们需要一名生物学家以保证工厂的一切都安全。我们需要有人告诉政府在这里工作是安全的，并且告诉他们城市附近有油漆厂也是安全的。这对我们很重要。”

“如果有什么不安全的，我们当然要改变它。”玛丽·卡特说。大卫·威尔逊看着她，但没有说任何话。

“是的，我知道。”约翰紧张地说，“我想我能够做。我的意思是，当我在伦敦为哈波化学公司工作时，我……”他谈了两三分钟关于他的工作的事。大卫·威尔逊听着，但没插话，然后他微笑着。那是一种冰冷、严酷的笑，它使约翰感到很不舒服。他想起他的旧西服和灰头发，他后悔来这里。

“你真的很需要这份工作，是吧，邓肯先生？”大卫·威尔逊说，“你非常迫切地需要它。”

“是的。”他轻声地回答。但是他想：我恨你，威尔逊。你喜欢看着我的这副样子。你喜欢使人感到渺小，我恨你这样的人。

威尔逊的笑容变得更灿烂。他站起身，伸出手说：“好吧，你什么时候能开始？”

“什么？”约翰很惊讶，“你说什么？”

“我说‘你什么时候能开始？’邓肯先生。我们需要你尽快到我们工厂，星期一行吗？”

“你是说我已得到这份工作了？”

“当然，祝贺你！”威尔逊握着约翰的手，“我的秘书将告诉你有关你的工资的事，你当然还有自己的办公室和公司配给你的车。我想让你星期一就开始与玛丽一起工作，那样行吗？”

“我……行，当然可以。这很好，谢谢你，非常感谢。”

2

At home

'Hi, Dad. Your supper's in the kitchen.'

John's sixteen-year-old daughter, Christine, was sitting at the table doing her homework. His son Andrew, who was thirteen, was watching television.

'Thanks, Christine,' John said. 'I'm sorry I'm late. Is everything OK?'

'Fine, thanks.' Christine gave him a quick smile, then continued with her work. John got his food from the kitchen. Fried fish and chips. The food was dry and didn't taste very good. But he didn't say anything about that. John was not a good cook himself and his children were no better. His wife had been a good cook, he remembered.

John tried to eat the terrible supper and looked around the small, miserable flat. The furniture was twenty years old, the wallpaper and carpets were cheap and dirty. The rooms were all small, and he could see no trees or gardens from the windows — just the lights from hundreds of other flats. And there were books, clothes, and newspapers on the floor.

Once, when his wife had been alive, he had had a fine house. A beautiful big house in the country, with a large garden. They had had lots of new furniture, two cars, expensive holidays — everything they needed. He had had a good job; they hadn't needed to think about money. And then he had started the boat-building company, and his luck had ended.

When Rachel had died, John had been terribly unhappy — much too unhappy to think about business. A few months later his company had closed, and he had lost all his money. John had had to sell his beautiful house in the country, and move to this miserable flat.

And for the last two years, he hadn't had a job at all. He was a poor man, and an unlucky one, too. He had tried for lots of jobs, and got none of them. There were too many bright young biologists. But now that was all going to change. He looked at his daughter and smiled.

'Did you have a good day at school, Christine?' he asked her.

'Oh, all right, I suppose,' she said. She didn't look very happy. 'I've got a letter for you.'

She pushed the letter across the table, and he opened it. It was from her school. One of the teachers was taking the children on a skiing holiday to the mountains in Switzerland. It cost ￡400 for ten days. Parents who wanted their children to go had to send the money to the school before February 25th.

John's smile grew bigger. 'Do you want to go on this holiday, Christine?' he asked.

She looked at him strangely. 'Of course I do, Dad,' she said. 'But I can't, can I? We haven't got ￡400.'

'No, I suppose not.' He looked at her carefully through his thick glasses. She was a clever, strong girl — good at her schoolwork, good at sports. But she had never been skiing; John hadn't had enough money.

'Are your friends going?' he asked her.

'Some of them, yes. Miranda, Jane, Nigel — the rich ones, you know. But they often go skiing; it's easy for them. I know I can't go, Dad. Throw the letter away.'

John looked at her, and felt his heart beating quickly. 'No, don't do that, Christine,' he said. 'Perhaps you can go, if you want to. Why not?'

Christine laughed. 'What's happened, Dad? Have you robbed a bank or something?'

John stood up. He went into the kitchen and got himself a drink. 'No,' he said, when he came back. 'But something interesting happened today. Put your homework away, Christine — and turn that TV off, Andrew. I've got something to tell you.'

'Oh, not now, Dad!' said Andrew. 'This is an exciting story.'

John smiled. 'I've got an exciting story, too, Andrew. Come and listen.'

John Duncan's children lived in an old, untidy flat, they had no money, and they often ate awful food. But they could still talk to their father. So Andrew turned off the TV, and sat down in a big armchair beside his father and Christine.

The story didn't sound very exciting at first. 'I went to a factory today,' John said. 'That paint factory by the river. No, wait, Andrew. Paint factories can be very exciting. They gave me a job there. I'm going to have my own office, a big car, lots of money — in fact, we're going to be rich...!'

continue v. to go on doing. 继续。

chip n. a long thin piece of potato cooked in deep fat. 薯条。

bright adj. clever. 聪明的。

skiing n. a sport when people move over snow on skis. 滑雪运动。

throw v. to move your arm quickly to send something through the air. 扔。

rob v. to take sth. by force. 抢劫。

untidy adj. not clean. 不整洁。

lots of 许多，大量。

2　在家中

“喂，爸爸。你的晚餐在厨房里。”

约翰16岁的女儿克里斯汀正坐在桌旁做功课。他13岁的儿子安德鲁正在看电视。

“谢谢你，克里斯汀，”约翰说，“很抱歉，我回来晚了，一切都好吗？”

“好，谢谢。”克里斯汀朝他匆匆一笑，又继续做作业。约翰从厨房端出食物——炸鱼和薯条。食物很干，不怎么好吃，但是他什么也没说。约翰自己不善于烹饪，他的孩子们更不行。他回想起他的太太曾是很好的厨师。

约翰努力吃下这难咽的晚餐，环视着这又小又简陋的公寓。家具是20年前买的，壁纸和地毯既廉价又脏。所有的房间都很小，从窗口往外看去见不到树林或花园，只有从数百家别的公寓里透出的灯光。地上到处扔着书、衣服和报纸。

以前他太太活着的时候，他有一座很好的房子，一座坐落在乡村，有很大花园的漂亮大房子。他们曾有很多崭新的家具、两部汽车、奢侈的假期——应有尽有。他有一份满意的工作，他们不用考虑钱。然后他创办了造船公司，接着他的好运气结束了。

雷切尔死后，约翰一直很忧郁，太忧郁以至于无心考虑生意。几个月以后他的公司关闭了，他失去了所有的钱。约翰不得不卖掉乡村的房子，搬进这简陋的公寓。

在过去的两年中，他根本没有工作。他是一个贫穷的人，也是一个倒霉的人，他曾找过许多工作，但没有得到一份工作。智慧、年轻的生物学家太多了。但是现在这一切都将发生变化。他微笑着望着他女儿。

“今天你在学校过得愉快吗，克里斯汀？”他问她。

“噢，我想还行，”她说，她看上去并不很高兴，“我有一封给你的信。”

她把信从桌上推过来，他打开信。信来自她的学校。有个老师要带学生们到瑞士的山上去滑雪度假。10天的费用是400英镑。想让自己的孩子去的家长得在2月25日前把钱交到学校。

约翰的笑容更加灿烂了。“克里斯汀，你想参加这次度假吗？”他问。

她奇怪地望着他。“我当然想，爸爸。”她说，“但是我不能去，对吧？我们没有400英镑。”

“是的，我估计不能。”他透过厚厚的眼镜小心地看着她。她是一个聪明坚强的女孩，她功课、体育都很好，但是她从来没有滑过雪，因为约翰没有足够的钱。

“你的朋友们去吗？”他问她。

“有些人去，那些较富的同学，如米兰达、珍妮、奈杰尔。他们经常去滑雪，这对他们来说很容易。我知道我不能去，爸爸。把信扔掉吧。”

约翰望着她，感到心跳加快。“不，别这样做，克里斯汀，”他说，“也许你能够去，如果你想去。为什么不能呢？”

克里斯汀笑了，“发生什么事了，爸爸？难道你抢了银行或什么？”

约翰站起身，走进厨房为自己倒了一杯饮料。“没有，”他回来时说，“但是，今天发生了件有趣的事。克里斯汀，先把你的作业放一下，安德鲁，把那电视关上，我有事要告诉你们。”

“哦，等一下关，爸爸！”安德鲁说，“这是一个精彩的故事。”

约翰笑着说：“我也有一个精彩的故事，安德鲁，过来听听。”

约翰·邓肯的孩子们住在一间旧式杂乱的公寓里，他们没有钱，经常吃糟糕的食品。但是他们仍愿跟他们的父亲交谈。所以安德鲁关掉电视，坐在父亲和克里斯汀旁边的一张大沙发里。

故事一开始听起来并不很精彩。约翰说：“今天我去了一个工厂。河边的那家油漆厂。不，等一下，安德鲁。油漆厂可以是令人振奋的。他们给了我一份工作。我将有自己的办公室、一辆大轿车、很多钱。真的，我们要有钱了。”

3

Rich man

John Duncan started work on Monday, and Mary Carter showed him round the factory. The most important thing that the company produced was a new paint for cars. It was a very strong, hard paint, which nothing could damage. Mary and her chemists had developed it, and they had tested it all over the world. Neither acid nor salt water could damage it, and cars came back from both the Arctic and the Sahara looking like new.

The company was beginning to make a lot of money from this paint, and it had brought four hundred new jobs to the town.

One day, when he was working with the paint, John spilt some of the waste products on his leg. He cleaned it off quickly, but it left a red, painful place on his skin, which would not go away. It kept him awake at night. He told his doctor what he had spilt on it, and the doctor looked at him strangely.

'So these chemicals had something to do with the new paint, did they?' the doctor asked carefully.

'Yes, I told you. It was a bottle of the waste products. I was looking at them in my office.'

'I see.' The doctor looked out of the window thoughtfully. His fingers moved quietly on his desk. 'And your company is producing a lot of these waste products now, I suppose.'

'Yes, of course.' John was in a hurry. He had to meet someone important in ten minutes. 'Look, can you give me something to put on it, or not?'

'Oh yes.' The doctor began to write something on a piece of paper. 'Put this on night and morning, and the pain will go in a day or two. But I'm afraid the skin there will stay red for a year or two. They're nasty chemicals, Mr Duncan, you know.'

'Yes, I know.' John smiled at him. 'But don't worry, Doctor, we're very careful with them in the factory. No one can go near them without special safe clothing. you can come and see if you like.'

'I'm very pleased to hear it,' said the doctor. He gave the piece of paper to John.

'Thank you,' said John. He went towards the door.

'Mr Duncan?'

'Yes?' John looked back, surprised.

'Where do these waste products go, when the factory has finished with them? Into the river?'

'Well, yes, of course,' said John. 'But it's all right, you know,' he added quickly. 'It's very carefully checked, all the time. It's a big river, and we only produce a few hundred litres of the waste products a day. And we're only two kilometres from the sea, after all.'

'Good,' said the doctor. 'I wouldn't want anyone to drink those waste products, that's all.'

'They won't, doctor,' said John. 'All the drinking water comes out of the river five kilometres upstream, you know that. Who's going to drink salt water from the river mouth, for heaven's sake? Chemists from London have checked it, too, you know, and our company lawyers know all about it. So it's not dangerous and we're not doing anything wrong. Don't worry about it.'

He went out of the door, and after half an hour he had forgotten the conversation.

He was a very busy man now. All day he had to test different types of paints, and make sure they were safe. He was also busy buying a big, comfortable house for his family, with a large field beside it, where Christine could keep a horse. The house was half a kilometre from the sea, and its gardens went down to the river. There was an empty boathouse there.

'Can we have a boat, Dad?' Andrew asked. 'I mean, not now, of course, but one day — when you've finished paying for the house, perhaps?'

John laughed. His children had been poor for so long. But now he could buy them anything they wanted.

'You can have a boat now, if you want, my son,' he said happily. 'If I can afford a big house like this, I can certainly afford a small boat. We'll go fishing every week, shall we? And I'll teach you both to sail in the evenings. I've always wanted to do that, you know.'

He could not believe how lucky he was. He had a good job at last, a fine home, and his children had everything they wanted. He only wished his wife, Rachel, was alive to enjoy it with him. There was only one thing that he could not give his children now. He could not give them back their mother.

produce v. to make something. 制造，生产。

develop v. to change something and make it bigger or better. （逐步）发展，产生。

test v. to look at something carefully to find out how good it is. 检验，化验，测验。

acid n. a chemical liquid that burns. 酸，酸性物质。

spill v. to make a liquid run or fall out of a container by mistake. 使溅出，洒。

waste products something that is made (but which is useless and not needed) during the making of something else. （在制造过程中生产出的没用的）废料。

nasty adj. bad, not nice. 坏的，不好的。

litre n. unit of capacity. 公升（容量单位）。

upstream adv. up the river away from the sea (the opposite of downstream). 上游。

for heaven's sake words people say to show they are angry or surprised. 看在上帝的份上；天啊。

lawyer n. someone whose job is helping people with the law. 律师。

conversation n. talk. 谈话。

afford v. to have enough money for something. 有足够的钱支付。

alive adj. living. 活着的。

3　富人

约翰·邓肯星期一开始工作，玛丽·卡特带他参观了工厂。公司最重要的产品是一种新的汽车油漆，它是一种附着力很强的坚固油漆，任何东西都不易损坏它。玛丽和她的化学家们研制出它，并在全世界测试。它抗含酸或含盐的水，上过这种油漆的汽车从北极和撒哈拉沙漠回来如同新车一样。

公司开始从这种油漆上赚很多钱，同时也给小镇带来400个新的就业机会。

一天，当约翰正在使用油漆时，一些油漆废料溅在他腿上。他很快把它擦拭掉，但漆料在他皮肤上留下了一块红色、发疼的地方，总不消退。这使他晚上睡不了觉。他告诉他的医生他洒在腿上的是什么，医生很奇怪地看着他。

医生小心地问：“这么说，这些化学制品与新研制的油漆有关，对吧？”

“是的，我说过，那是一瓶产品废料。当时我在办公室正观察它们。”

“我明白了。”医生望着窗外沉思着，他的手指轻轻地在桌上移动着，“我想，你们公司现在正在生产大量的这种废料。”

“是的，当然。”约翰有急事，他要在10分钟后见一个重要人物，“我说，你能否给我一些涂抹的药？”

“噢，可以。”医生开始在一张纸上写着什么，“早晚上药，疼痛一两天就会消失。但是那块皮肤上的红块恐怕要持续一两年。它们是讨厌的化学制品，你要知道，邓肯先生。”

“是的，我知道。”约翰对他笑笑，“别担心，医生，我们在工厂里会非常小心地处理它们。不穿特制的安全服，任何人也不能靠近它们。如果你愿意，可以来看看。”

医生说：“你这么说我非常高兴。”他把纸递给约翰。

“谢谢。”约翰说道。他向门口走去。

“邓肯先生？”

“啊？”约翰吃惊地回头望去。

“工厂用完这些废料，往哪里倾倒？是往河里倒吗？”

“那当然，”约翰说，“但没关系，你知道，”他很快接着说，“废料随时都经过认真检验。河大得很，而我们每天只生产出几百公升废料。再说，我们毕竟离大海只有两公里。”

“这就好，我只不过不想让任何人喝带有废料的水。”医生说。

“他们不会的，医生，”约翰说，“所有饮用水来自5公里以外的上游，这你是知道的。天啊，谁又会去喝河口处的咸水？伦敦的化学家们也检测过水质，你知道，我们公司的律师知道这一切。所以这并不危险，我们也没做什么错事，你不用为此担心。”

他走出门，半小时后他忘却了这段谈话。

他现在是一个大忙人，整天都要测试不同类型的油漆，以确保它们的安全性。他还正忙着为他的家庭购置一所宽敞舒适的房子，在它旁边有一片宽阔的田野，在那里克里斯汀可以养一匹马。房子距离大海半公里远，它的花园延伸至小河。那里有一间空船屋。

“爸爸，我们能有一艘小船吗？”安德鲁问，“我的意思当然不是指现在，而是将来某一天——也许是你支付完购买房子的钱后？”

约翰笑了。他的孩子们受了这么长时间的穷。但是现在孩子们要什么他都可以满足他们了。

“如果你想要，现在就可以买一艘，儿子，”他高兴地说，“我既然能买得起这么大一所房子，当然也买得起一艘小船。我们每星期都会去钓鱼，怎么样？晚上我教你们俩驾船。你们知道我一直都想这样做。”

他简直不敢相信他有多么幸运。他终于有了一份好工作，一个像样的家，他的孩子想要什么就有什么。他真希望他的妻子雷切尔还活着与他共享这一切。现在只有一样他给不了他的孩子们。他不能把他们的母亲还给他们。

4

The seals

A few months later, John invited Mary to a meal in the new house. It was a difficult evening. He had never invited anyone to their old flat, and the children's friends never came for meals. The new house was very untidy, and John was nervous about the food. He and Christine cooked a chicken because they thought it was easy. But the chicken was tasteless and the rice was too soft.

Mary smiled, and pretended not to notice. But the evening went badly. Christine was angry with her because she tidied up the kitchen, and Andrew was angry with her because she didn't want to watch TV. Both the children went to bed early, and thought about their mother.

But Mary came again, on a Sunday, and John took them all out in their new boat. That was much better. Mary didn't know how to sail, so the children had to tell her what to do. She did what she was told, and seemed to be happy. John sat at the back of the boat, and watched his children quietly. He felt proud of them, and he thought they were proud of him too. The first time Mary and the children laughed together, John felt a big smile come onto his face.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in the middle of May. There was a good wind, and the sailing was fun. The boat sailed fast, over small, white-topped waves. The sky was blue and clear. They sailed down to the mouth of the river, where there were lots of small islands and sandbanks.

'Look, Dad, quick! Over there! What are they?'

Andrew pointed excitedly to one of the long, low sandbanks.

'Seals,' said John. 'Haven't you seen them before?'

'No,' said Andrew. 'Only in films. Not in real life.' His face was shining, excited, happy. 'Do they really live here?'

'Yes. It's a group of seal families. The mothers come here every year to have their babies.'

They sailed closer to the sandbank, until they were only about twenty metres away from the seals. Wet, shiny seal mothers lifted their heads and looked at them with their blue eyes. The baby seals were drinking milk from their mothers, climbing over them, and playing in the shallow water. Then a big father seal lifted his head and stared angrily at them.

'I think they're beautiful,' said Mary. 'I never knew they lived here, so close to the town. It makes me feel really happy, just to see them.'

'Yes, it does, doesn't it,' said Christine. 'I think nothing can be really wrong with the world, if they can live here, all by themselves, with no one looking after them.'

'Yes,' said Mary. 'And they're really beautiful, too. Look! Did you see that little one, playing on his mother's back? I wish I could do that!'

John smiled, as he watched Mary and his children laughing and talking together. He thought the world was a good place, too.

invite v. to ask sb. to come. 邀请。

tasteless adj. no flavor. 无味的。

tidy up to put in order. 整理。

thought v. past tense of think. 动词think（想、认为）的过去式。

proud adj. feeling pleased about something you have or did. 自豪的，得意的。

wave n. a movement of water in the sea or a river. 波浪。

sandbank n. a large area of sand in a river or the sea. 沙滩，沙洲。

point v. to show with your finger or hand where something is. 指出，指向。

seal n. an animal that lives both in the sea and on land. 海豹。

stare v. to look at something or someone very hard for a long line. 盯着。

look after to watch closely. 关心，照料。

4　海豹

几个月以后，约翰邀请玛丽到他的新居共进晚餐。这是一个不顺利的夜晚。他从没邀请过任何人到他们的旧寓所，孩子们的朋友也从未来聚过餐。新房子里非常凌乱，约翰对食物感到很担心。他和克里斯汀认为做鸡容易，于是就烧了鸡。但是鸡做得没有味道，米饭也太软了。

玛丽微笑着，假装没注意到。但是晚上过得很糟糕。克里斯汀生她的气，因为玛丽收拾了厨房，安德鲁生她的气是因为她不愿看电视。两个孩子很早就上床睡觉，并且思念着他们的母亲。

然而玛丽在一个星期天又来了，约翰带着所有的人乘着他们的新船出游。这次好多了。玛丽不知如何驾船，所以孩子们不得不告诉她如何去做。她按照指令操作，显得很快活。约翰坐在船尾，静静地注视着孩子们。他为他们感到骄傲，他想他们也为他感到骄傲。玛丽和孩子们第一次在一起欢笑，约翰觉得他自己脸上也绽开了笑容。

那是5月中旬阳光明媚的一天，风速很好，乘船游览很有趣。小船在泛泛微波上行驶得很快。天空蔚蓝无云。他们行驶到河口，那里有很多小岛和沙滩。

“快看，爸爸！在那儿！它们是什么？”安德鲁兴奋地指着其中一个长长的低沙滩。

“海豹，”约翰答道，“你以前从没见过海豹吗？”

“没有，”安德鲁说，“只在电影上见过。我没有在现实生活中见过。”他的脸闪着光、兴奋和喜悦，“它们真的住在这里吗？”

“是的。那是一群海豹家族。雌海豹每年到这里来产下它们的幼崽。”

他们驶近沙滩，一直到离海豹只有约20米远。湿润光滑的海豹妈妈们抬起它们的头，用它们的蓝眼睛注视着他们。幼海豹正在吸吮它们妈妈的奶，爬过它们妈妈的背，在浅水中戏耍。这时一只大雄性海豹抬起它的头愤怒地盯着他们。

“我觉得它们很漂亮，”玛丽说，“我从来不知道它们住在这里，离镇这么近，仅仅是望着它们就足以使我感到非常快活了。”

“真是这样，难道不是吗？”克里斯汀说道，“我想这个世界真美好，它们能够在此生存，完全靠自己，没有任何人照顾它们。”

“是的，”玛丽说，“并且它们也确实很漂亮。看那儿！你看到那个在妈妈背上玩耍的小不点了吗？我希望我也能那样做！”

约翰一边看着玛丽和他的孩子们在一起欢声笑语，一边微笑着。他也认为这个世界是一个好地方。

5

The new experiment

A few days later, John asked Mary to look at another experiment. He took her into a long, quiet room at the back of the factory. The room was full of the noises of small animals.

'I've been testing the waste products,' he said. 'Here, look at this.' He gave her a sheet of paper. 'Some of these rats have had the waste products in their food and drinking water. There's no real problem yet. One or two have become ill, but not many. There's nothing very serious.'

Mary read the results carefully. She didn't like this kind of experiment, but she knew it was necessary. And John was right; no rats had died, and not very many were ill.

'So what do you want to show me?' she asked.

'This,' he said. He opened a box by the window. 'These ten rats have had the waste products in their drinking water for two weeks now. I gave them a lot — five parts per million. They're going to have babies today. If the babies are OK, We've got nothing to worry about.'

'Oh, John,' she said. 'What an awful thing to do!'

'I know, I know,' he said. But he wasn't listening. 'Look,' he said excitedly. 'Some of them have been born already!'

He lifted some of the baby rats out of the box and looked at them through a magnifying glass.

'Oh dear,' he said at last, sadly. 'Perhaps there is a problem. Look!'

Mary looked through the magnifying glass. She began to feel ill. There was a long silence.

'There certainly is a problem!' Mary's voice sounded loud and high in the quiet room. She stared at the small animals under the magnifying glass. 'Baby rats with no eyes, no ears, six legs! Oh John! John! What have you done?'

He looked at her strangely. 'It's awful, isn't it? But I had to know. And remember, Mary — their mothers have had five parts per million of these chemicals in their drinking water for two weeks. That's a lot — much, much more than we're putting in the river.'

Mary looked away from the rats. She remembered the beautiful afternoon that they had spent with John's children, sailing on the clear blue water. 'John, these waste products are dangerous!' she said. 'We've got to stop putting them in the river!'

'Of course, of course.' John put his hand on her arm, to comfort her. But it was the same hand — the hand that had held the rats. 'Of course we'll stop it, if we need to, Mary. The company can build machines to clean the waste products. I'll start my report for David Wilson next week.'

'But...' She turned round to face him. His hand fell from her arm. 'Don't you think we should stop making the paint now, John? Perhaps it'll take years to build those machines, and we're putting the chemicals into the river right now!'

A shadow crossed his face. His eyes looked at hers, then away, out of the window.

'I... don't think we need to do that now, Mary. We're putting very little into the river at the moment. And the company will build those machines, won't they?'

She remembered her long years of work, the hundreds of unsuccessful experiments. She touched his hand, and smiled. 'I hope so, John,' she said. 'I really hope so.'

She turned, and went quickly out of the room.

experiment n. a test on something to find out what happens and to learn something new. 实验。

rat n. a small grey or brown animal with a long tail. 老鼠。

result n. what happens because of something (e.g. an experiment). 结果（如实验结果）。

five parts per million how much something is diluted by... 稀释的比例：每百万分之五。

magnifying glass n. a special glass that makes small things look bigger. 放大镜。

comfort v. to try to make someone feel happier. 安慰。

shadow n. dark shape. 阴影。

5　新实验

几天以后，约翰让玛丽去观看另一个实验。他将她带进工厂后面一个僻静的长屋子里。屋子里充满小动物的叫声。

“我一直在测试这些废料，”他说，“看这东西。”他递给她一张纸，“这其中一些老鼠已经食用了搀有废料的食物和饮用水。还没有出现真正的问题。有一两只已经病了，但不多。情况不是很严重。”

玛丽仔细地读着实验结果。她不喜欢这种实验，但是她知道这有必要。而且约翰是对的，还没有老鼠死亡，生病的也不多。

“那么你想证明什么？”她问。

“这一点，”他说着，打开了靠近窗户的一个箱子，“这10只老鼠喝了搀有废料的水到现在已经有两个星期了。我给了它们许多——一百万分之五。它们今天要下小崽儿了。如果它们的小崽儿没问题，我们就不用担心了。”

“哦，约翰，”她说，“做这样的事真可怕！”

“我知道，我知道，”他说，但他并没有在听，“看呀，”他兴奋地说，“有些已经生下了。”

他从箱子里提出几只鼠崽儿，用放大镜观看它们。

“哦，我的天啊，”他最后懊丧地说，“也许有问题。你瞧！”

玛丽透过放大镜观看。她开始感到不好受，沉默了很长一段时间。

“绝对有问题。”玛丽的声音在寂静的屋子里显得又响又亮。她盯着放大镜下面的小动物。鼠崽儿没有眼睛，没有耳朵，6条腿！“哎！约翰呀约翰！你都干了些什么？”

他奇怪地望着她，“很糟糕，是吧？但我必须知道。要记住，玛丽——它们的母亲是喝了两个星期的掺有百万分之五的这些化学物质的水。那是很大量的，远远超过我们放入河中的。”

玛丽的视线离开老鼠。她想起了和约翰的孩子们共度的美好下午，航行在清澈碧蓝的河水里。“约翰，这些废料有危险！”她说，“我们必须停止向河中倾倒！”

“当然，当然。”约翰将手放在她的臂上，安慰着她，然而就是这同一只手曾拿过老鼠，“如果需要，我们当然会停止这样做，玛丽。公司会制造出机器去清理废料。下星期我给大卫·威尔逊起草一个报告。”

“但是……”她转过身面对着他，他的手从她的臂上落下来，“约翰，你不认为我们应该现在就停止制造这种油漆吗？也许要花几年时间去制造那些机器，而我们现在正在往河里倾倒化学物品！”

一个阴影从他脸上掠过。他双眼注视着她的双眼，然后移开，向窗外望去。

“我……不认为我们现在就需要这样做，玛丽。目前我们只是放入河里一点点。再说公司会制造出那些机器的，对吗？”

她回忆起多年的工作，上百次失败的实验。她触摸着他的手笑了。她说：“我希望如此。我真的希望如此。”

她转身飞快地走出屋子。

6

The report

John's report took longer than he had thought. It was nearly six weeks later when he went to discuss the results with David Wilson.

Mr Wilson wasn't a scientist. He was a businessman. He knew how to run a business, how to make money.

'Thanks for coming, John.' David Wilson came out from behind his desk and shook hands with John. They sat in two big, comfortable armchairs by the window.

David Wilson's office was large, with a thick carpet and beautiful pictures on the walls. From the window, John could see the river, and the woods and fields on the other side. He felt comfortable, happy, safe.

'I've read your report,' Wilson began. Then he stopped, and lit a cigarette. 'Not very good, is it?'

'What?' John stared at him in surprise.

Wilson smiled, and moved his hand through the clouds of smoke. 'No, no, don't worry — I don't mean the report is bad, of course not. You've worked very hard, and done your job well. What I mean is, I don't like the ideas at the end of the report.'

'What's wrong with them?'

'They're too expensive.' The two men stared at each other for a moment, and John felt cold and sick in his stomach. Wilson smiled, but it wasn't the kind of smile that John liked.

'Look, John,' he said. 'Your report says that we should build some new machines to clean up the waste products before they go into the river, right? And those machines will cost two million pounds! Where do you think we can find all that? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know!'

'No, of course not.' John's mouth was dry. He took a drink of water, and felt his hand shaking. 'But we're selling a lot of the new paint. We're making millions of pounds every month from that, aren't we?'

'We're doing very well, yes,' said Wilson. 'But if we spend two million pounds to build these new machines, the paint will have to cost more, and we won't sell so much.'

'But — we've got to do it,' said John. 'These waste products are much more dangerous than I'd thought. Didn't you read that in my report? When I put the chemicals in rats' drinking water, some of the baby rats were born without eyes and ears. One didn't have any legs, and one had six.' He shivered. 'And some were born without legs when they drank only two parts per million. We can't put those chemicals in the river.'

'Of course I read that, John. I read your report very carefully indeed. And your report also says that on most days we put less than two parts per million into the river. No, wait, listen to me for a minute! We both know that no drinking water comes out of this part of the river, don't we? And in two kilometres the river goes out into the sea. So why is it dangerous? Nobody is ever going to drink it, John! We don't need to build these new machines!'

John thought of his children, sailing on the river in their boat. He thought of the seals, and people fishing, and little children playing on the beach and swimming. 'We've got to build them!' he said.

David Wilson looked at him carefully. His voice, when he spoke, was very quiet and hard. 'Listen to me, John. You're a very good scientist, and we're lucky to have you in this company. But you're not a businessman, and I am. Look at this.' He picked up a sheet of paper, and held it across the table for John to see. It showed how much money the company had. 'We borrowed ten million pounds last year, and we employed four hundred more people. Think how much that means to a small town like this!'

'I know,' said John. 'But...'

'Just a minute. Listen to me. If we build these cleaning machines of yours, people will lose their jobs — a lot of people! This company can't afford to borrow any more money, John. We just can't do it!'

John stood up. 'And what happens if people get ill because of this? Have you thought of that? What will the newspapers say then?'

'No one will get ill, because no one drinks that water, John. The newspapers will never know about it.'

'They will if I tell them.'

There was a long silence. Then David Wilson stood up. He walked past John Duncan, without looking at him, and sat down behind his desk. When he looked up, his eyes were cold and grey, like stones from the beach.

'If you do that, John, I shall say you're a liar. You'll lose your job. You'll have to sell your house, and go back to living in a nasty little flat. You'll never get another job, and you'll never have a house or any money again. You'll just be an old man, walking the streets without friends or money. Is that what you want?'

John didn't answer. He stood for a long time, and stared at David Wilson, and didn't say a word. After nearly two minutes, Wilson smiled — a thin quiet smile.

'But if you stay with us, you will be paid twice as much next year. And no one will ever be hurt, because no one will ever drink that water.'

He got up from his desk, came round to the front, and held out his hand. John stood still for a long moment. Then he shook hands.

'Think about it, John,' said David Wilson.

John Duncan turned, and walked slowly towards the door.

shake hands with 与……握手。

woods n. an area with a lot of trees. 树林。

shiver v. to shake because you are cold or frightened. 颤抖，哆嗦。

because of 因为……，由于……。

liar n. a person who says things that are not true. 说谎者。

6　报告

约翰的报告花的时间比他想像的要长。将近六个星期以后他才去找大卫·威尔逊讨论实验的结果。

威尔逊先生不是一个科学家，他是一个商人，他懂得怎样管理生意，怎样赚钱。

“谢谢你的到来，约翰。”大卫·威尔逊从他的桌子后面走出来与约翰握手。他们坐在靠窗户的两张非常舒适的大沙发里。

大卫·威尔逊的办公室很大，铺着厚厚的地毯，墙上有许多漂亮的画。从窗户望去，约翰可以看见河以及河对面的树林和田野。他感到舒适、愉快、安全。

“我已经读了你的报告，”威尔逊开口道，然后他止住，点燃一支雪茄，“不太好，是吧？”

“什么？”约翰吃惊地盯着他。

威尔逊笑着，在烟雾中挥动着他的手，“不，不，别担心——我不是说报告不好，当然不是。你工作很努力，而且工作表现很好。我的意思是我不喜欢报告结尾的那些意见。”

“它们有什么不妥？”

“它们太费钱了。”两个人相互凝视了一会儿，约翰感到胃部又凉又难受。威尔逊笑了笑，但那不是约翰喜欢的那种笑。

“你瞧，约翰，”他说，“你的报告说我们应该制造一些新机器，在将废料倒到河里以前将它们净化，对吧？而那些机器将花费两百万英镑！你想我们能从哪儿搞到所有这些钱？你知道钱不会从天上掉下来！”

“对，当然不会。”约翰的嘴开始发干。他喝了一口水，他感觉他的手在颤抖，“但是我们正在卖大量的新油漆，我们每月都从中挣上几百万英镑，不是吗？”

“是的，我们干得非常好，”威尔逊说，“但是如果我们花两百万英镑去造这些新机器，油漆价格就会贵些，我们就卖不了那么多。”

“但是——我们必须这样做，”约翰说，“这些废料比我以前想象的还要危险。你难道没在我的报告里读到吗？我在老鼠的饮用水里放入化学品，生出来的一些幼鼠没有眼睛和耳朵。有一只没有腿，还有一只有6条腿。”他战栗着，“有些只喝了百万分之二，生出来就没有腿。我们不能将那些化学品放入河里。”

“我当然读到，约翰。我的确很认真地读了你的报告。你的报告也说到大部分日子里我们放入河里的是少于百万分之二。不，请等一下，听我说一会儿！我们俩都知道饮用水不是来自河的这一方，不是吗？再流两公里，河水就进入大海。所以怎么会有危险呢？从没有人会去喝它，约翰！我们不需要制造新机器！”

约翰想到他的孩子们乘他们的船行驶在这条河上。他想到海豹，想到人们钓鱼，想到小孩们在河滩上玩耍，在河里游泳。他说：“我们不得不造机器！”

大卫·威尔逊仔细地看着他。他说话时的声音非常平静而且坚定，“听我说，约翰。你是一个很出色的科学家，我们有幸雇你在这个公司干活儿。但是你不是一个商人，而我是。你瞧。”他拿起一张纸，从桌子对面递过来给约翰看，它显示出公司有多少钱，“去年我们借了1000万英镑，并且又雇用了400人。想想对这样一个小镇来说这意味着多少？”

“我知道，”约翰说，“但是……”

“等等。听我说。如果我们建造你的这些净化机器，人们将会失去他们的工作——很多人！这个公司借不起更多的钱，约翰。我们真是不能那样做！”

约翰站了起来，“那么如果人们因此而得病怎么办？你想过没有？到那时报纸会怎么说？”

“没人会得病，因为没人喝那种水，约翰。报纸永远不会知道此事。”

“如果我告诉他们，他们就会知道。”

长时间的沉默后，大卫·威尔逊站了起来，他从约翰·邓肯身旁走过，没看他，在他的桌子后面坐下。当他抬头时，他的目光冷酷而暗淡，如同沙滩上的石头。

“如果你那样做，约翰，我会说你是一个骗子。你将失去你的工作。你将不得不卖掉你的房子，回去住那龌龊的小公寓。你将永远找不到另一份工作，你再也不会有房子和任何钱了。你将只是一个走在街上没有朋友没有钱的老头，这难道是你所想要的吗？”

约翰没有回答。他站了许久，盯着大卫·威尔逊，没有说任何话。大约两分钟过后，威尔逊露出微笑——非常勉强的轻轻一笑。

“但是如果你跟我们站在一边，明年你的收入将增加一倍，并且没人会受到伤害，因为没人会去喝那水。”

他从桌子旁站起来，绕到前面，伸出他的手。约翰一动不动地站了很长时间，然后他与威尔逊握了手。

“考虑考虑，约翰。”大卫·威尔逊说。

约翰·邓肯转身慢慢地向门口走去。

7

Christine and Simon

Mary talked to Mr Wilson too, but it was no good. She came out looking tired and very sad.

For many months she argued with David Wilson about the danger of the waste products, but he would not listen to her. And so, eighteen months after John's report, Mary decided to move to another company. she was pleased, because it was a more important job, but that wasn't the reason she was going. She knew that the cleaning machines would never be built.

John was sad to see her go. He had enjoyed working with her, and she had come to his house several times over the last year and a half. His children liked her now. They had never been so friendly with any woman, since their mother had died.

On her last day, Mary and John had lunch in the factory restaurant together.

'You don't have to go, you know, Mary,' John said. 'This company is very successful, and it's growing all the time. Your new paint has meant four hundred new jobs — all because of your discovery! This isn't a poor town any more — it's becoming successful, rich! People will want to move here from other places.'

He talked about the new sports centre at Andrew's school, which was built with money from the paint company. There were two big, new shops in the town as well, and a new theatre, and a lot of new houses. 'And it's all because of you,' he said. 'It's wonderful, Mary, don't you think?' He smiled at her across the table, and took her hand in his.

She looked at him quietly. He had changed a lot since he had first started working at the factory. For the first six months after he had got the job, he had been really happy and lively. She had always known where he was in the factory, because he was always laughing, or singing to himself.

But for the last eighteen months he had been much quieter. He was always busy, but he didn't sing or laugh, and he didn't often look Mary in the eyes. And when he was alone, he looked tired and sad.

She took her hand away from his, gently. 'You know why I'm going, John,' she said. 'I know what's going into the river, and I don't like to think about it. You should leave, too, and get a job in another company.'

'I'm too old.' John stared at her angrily. 'It isn't easy for me to get a new job. And Mary, the company has been making the paint for more than two years now, and no one's been hurt, have they?'

Mary didn't answer for a moment. Then she said, 'Only you.'

'What do you mean, only me?'

She looked at him sadly. His head was bald now, and he was beginning to look like an old man. Once, she had wanted to marry him. Now, she was pleased that he hadn't asked her.

'Oh, I just meant your leg, of course.' John still had a painful red place on his leg, and sometimes he walked badly because of it. But that wasn't what Mary meant.

John smiled. 'My leg's nearly better. I'd almost forgotten about it. But Mary, before you go... I wonder if you could help me. It's a family matter.'

'I see. Well, how can I help? I don't know your children very well, you know.'

'No, of course not. But you're a woman, and... well, it's sometimes difficult for me, as a father on my own. Christine's a young woman now, and she hasn't got a mother to discuss things with. I don't always know what to say.'

'No.' Mary looked at him sadly. She often wondered why he didn't ask her to his house more often. She liked him and his children, and she thought he liked her. 'How old is Christine now?'

'Eighteen. And she wants to get married.'

'Already? She's rather young, isn't she?'

John looked unhappy. 'Well, that's what I say. But she gets so angry with me, Mary, really angry.'

'Who's the young man?'

'He's called Simon MacDonald. He's a journalist — he works for the local newspaper. He's a nice young man, I suppose. But every time I speak to him, we argue. And then Christine always agrees with him, and I get angry with her, too. I don't want to, Mary, but I do. I feel I'm losing her, you see.'

'What do you argue about?'

'Oh, I don't know. Stupid things, really. He belongs to one of these environmental groups — Greenworld, I think — and he's always talking about it. He thinks only young people are right, and everyone over twenty-five is always wrong!'

Mary looked at John thoughtfully.

'Well, what do you want me to do, John? I'm not a mother and I've never been married.'

'No, but... you could talk to Christine, perhaps? If you came to our house for Sunday lunch...?'

So Mary went to John's house. Simon was there too. They had a meal and talked about horses and sailing. Everyone was polite, and there were no arguments. Later, Mary went with Christine to look at her horse, and Simon stayed with John. In the field, Mary began to talk about Simon.

'He's fine young man, Christine. He's very clever and kind. He makes me think of your father.'

'My father! He's nothing like my father! And Dad hates him!'

'I'm sure he doesn't.'

'He does! He says he's too old for me, and I mustn't see him! He thinks I'm still a little girl, Mary! But I'm eighteen! I want to get married!'

'Tell me more about Simon...'

And so for a long time Mary stood in the quiet, lonely field. She helped Christine give food to her horse, and listened to her talk about Simon. Simon, Christine said, was kind, intelligent, very hard-working. He liked sailing and riding, and he wanted to make the world a cleaner, better place. He made her feel important, like an adult, not a child any more. She had met his parents, and they liked her a lot. It was only her father...

'So what should I do, Mary?' Christine asked.

Mary put her hand on the horse's neck. 'I'm not sure,' she said. 'I think you should marry him, but you don't want to make your father angry, do you? That's not the best way to start your life with Simon.'

'No, but I will if I have to!'

'Would you like me to talk to him? Perhaps he'll listen to me. It's difficult for him — you're his only daughter, and he's probably very worried about it.'

'Oh, would you, Mary? Please. I want Dad to like Simon, really, but he's always nasty to him.'

'I'll do my best, my dear, but I don't know if it'll work.'

Mary did try, very hard, before she moved to Scotland for her new job. She spoke to John on the phone, and sometimes they had a cup of coffee together in town. She was surprised how carefully John listened to her, and how grateful he seemed for her help. He's really a very lonely man, she thought. It must be hard for him with two children and no wife. He used to talk to his children a lot, but he doesn't now.

At last John agreed to the marriage. Mary was invited to a special supper because of the good news. Christine was very happy. She kissed Mary when she arrived, and gave her a small, secret present to thank her. It was a pair of pretty earrings. At the meal, John seemed a little nervous, but happy too. He tried hard to smile, and thanked Mary, although he didn't think of giving her a present. He watched Christine all through the meal. He seemed to be afraid that he would never see her again, and he was very happy when she smiled at him.

Then Simon stood up to say something.

'Mr Duncan,' he said. 'I'll always remember this night. I know how much you love your daughter, and believe me, sir, I love her too. You've been worried about me because you want her to have the best husband possible, and I — well, I can't promise anything, but I'm going to try to be that man. You're a rich man, Mr Duncan, and of course, Christine and I won't have a lot of money at first, but I hope we'll manage.' He smiled at Christine. 'And yesterday, Mr Duncan, I spoke to my employer, and he's going to pay me a little more than before!'

John looked surprised. 'Oh really? Why is that?'

'Well, because he's given me a new job. He's asked me to write about the environment for our newspaper. I have to write a full-page article every week on the environment. And this is the first one. Look here!'

He pulled a page of newspaper out of his pocket, and held it up in front of them. There were pictures of water, sandbanks, and some seals. The headline read:

SEALS AT RIVER MOUTH

HAVE STRANGE DISEASE

Four baby seals found dead

argue v. express different views. 争辩，辩论。

bald adj. having no hair. 秃的。

journalist n. a person who writes for newspapers, television or radio. 新闻记者。

local adj. belonging to one place or area. 地方的。

environmental adj. of the environment. 环境的。

intelligent adj. wise. 智慧的，聪明的。

promise v. to undertake to do. 许诺。

environment n. all the natural things around us (land, air, water, plants, etc.). 环境。

headline n. the heading printed in large letters above a story in a newspaper. 大字标题。

7　克里斯汀和西蒙

玛丽也跟威尔逊先生谈了，但是没有用。她走出来，看上去疲惫忧伤。

她跟大卫·威尔逊争论废料的危险性好几个月，但他就是不听她的。所以，在约翰提出报告一年半后，玛丽决定调到其他公司。她很高兴，因为那是一份更重要的工作，但这并不是她走的原因。她知道净化机器永远不会被建造。

约翰看到她走很忧伤。他喜欢跟她一起工作，在过去的一年半中她多次去过他家。他的孩子们现在喜欢她。他们自从母亲死后，还没跟任何女人这么友好过。

在她走的前一天，玛丽和约翰在工厂的餐厅共进午餐。

约翰说：“玛丽，你知道你不是非走不可。这家公司非常成功，它在不断扩大。你的新油漆已经意味着400份新工作——全是由于你的发现！这里不再是贫穷的小镇——它正变得成功、富有！人们将愿意从别处迁到这里。”

他谈到安德鲁学校里新的体育中心，那是用油漆公司的钱修建的。镇上还有两座新的大商店、一座新的剧院和许多新房子。“这一切都得归功于你，”他说，“太棒了，玛丽，你不这样认为吗？”他朝着桌子对面的她微笑着，将她的手放在他的手中。

她静静地看着他。他自从开始在工厂工作变了许多。刚得到工作的头半年，他确实很愉快而且有生气。她总是知道他在厂里的哪个地方，因为他总是笑或者自己唱歌。

但是在后来的一年半里，他沉默了许多。他总是忙碌，不再唱歌，不再大笑，也不常正视玛丽的眼睛。当他独自待着时，他看上去疲倦又忧郁。

她轻轻地将手抽回去。“你知道我为什么走，约翰，”她说，“我知道河里倒入了什么，我不愿去想它。你也应该离开，到另一家公司找工作。”

“我太老了。”约翰气愤地瞪着她，“我另找工作不容易。玛丽，公司制造这种油漆到现在已经两年多了，还没有一个人遭到伤害，不是吗？”玛丽沉默了一会儿，然后她说：“只有你。”

“你这是什么意思，只有我？”

她忧虑地望着他。他的头现在已经秃了，他开始看上去像个老头。她曾经想跟他结婚，现在她庆幸他没有向自己提过。

“哦，我当然是指你的腿。”约翰腿上仍有一块疼痛红肿的地方，有时他走路都困难。但这不是玛丽所指的。

约翰笑了笑，“我的腿差不多有好转了，我都快忘了。但是，玛丽，你走以前……我不知道你是否能够帮助我。这是一件家事。”

“我明白。那么，我怎么帮你？我不十分了解你的孩子们，这你知道。”

“是的，你当然不太了解。但你是个女人，并且……唉，有时候作为一个父亲，单靠我是困难的。克里斯汀现在已经长大了，她有事没有母亲可以商量。我总是不知道该怎么说。”

“是的。”玛丽悲伤地看着他。她经常想为什么他没更常请她去他家。她喜欢他和他的孩子们，并且她想他也喜欢她。“克里斯汀现在多大了？”

“18岁，而且她打算结婚。”

“已经想结婚啦？她还很年轻啊？”

约翰看上去不高兴的样子，“是呀，我也这么说。但她很生我的气，玛丽，真的很生气。”

“那男孩是谁？”

“他叫西蒙·麦克唐纳，是一个记者——他替当地报纸工作。我想，他是一个好青年，但是每次我跟他交谈，我们都争论。克里斯汀总是赞同他，于是我也生她的气。我不想如此，玛丽，但我真生气。你瞧，我感到我正在失去她。”

“你们争论些什么？”

“哦，我不知道。都是一些无聊的事情，真的。他属于那些环境组织之中的一个——我想叫绿色世界——他经常谈论它。他认为只有年轻人是对的，每个过了25岁的人总是错的！”

玛丽带着思考的神情望着他。

“那你想让我做什么，约翰？我不是一个母亲，也从没结过婚。”

“是的，但是……你也许可以跟克里斯汀谈谈？如果你星期日可以来我家吃午饭……？”

就这样，玛丽去了约翰的家。西蒙也在那儿。他们吃了饭并且谈论了马匹和划船。每个人都很客气，没有争论。随后，玛丽跟克里斯汀去看她的马，而西蒙则跟约翰待在一起。在田野里玛丽开始谈论西蒙。

“他是一个好青年，克里斯汀，他非常聪明善良。他使我想起你的父亲。”

“我父亲！他一点儿也不像我父亲！并且爸爸恨他。”

“我相信你爸爸不恨他。”

“他恨！他说西蒙年龄比我大得多，我不应该再见他！他认为我还是个小女孩，玛丽！但我已18岁了！我想要结婚！”

“跟我多谈谈西蒙……”

就这样，玛丽在寂静空旷的田野里站了很久。她帮助克里斯汀喂马，听她讲西蒙。克里斯汀说西蒙善良、聪慧，非常刻苦。他喜欢划船和骑马，并且他想使世界变成一个更清洁更美好的地方。他使她感到重要，如同成人，不再是孩子。她已见过他的父母，他们非常喜欢她。只有她的父亲……

“所以，我该怎么办，玛丽？”克里斯汀问道。

玛丽把手放在马脖子上。“我也不太清楚，”她说，“我想你应该嫁给他，但你不想使你父亲生气，是吧？那不是你与西蒙开始生活的最好方法。”

“对，但如果不得已，我也许会的。”

“你想让我跟他谈谈吗？也许他会听我的。这对他来讲很困难——你是他唯一的女儿，他也许对此非常焦虑。”

“哦，你肯帮我吗，玛丽？求你了。我想让爸爸喜欢西蒙，真的，但他总是对他发火。”

“亲爱的，我一定尽力，但我不知道是否有效。”

玛丽在去苏格兰就任新工作之前确实努力试过。她给约翰打电话，有时他们在镇上一起喝咖啡。她惊奇地发现约翰非常细心地听她讲，并且好像十分感激她的帮助。她想他的确是一个非常孤独的人，带着两个孩子，没有妻子，生活对他来说一定很艰难。他曾经经常跟他的孩子们交谈，但是现在不是这样了。

最后约翰同意了婚事。由于这个好消息，玛丽被邀请参加了一个特殊的晚餐。克里斯汀非常高兴。当玛丽到达时，她亲吻了玛丽，并给了她一件小巧秘密的礼物以表示感谢。那是一对漂亮的耳环。用餐时，约翰有点儿不自然，但也很高兴。他努力使自己笑出来，并感谢玛丽，虽然他没想到送她一件礼物。整个晚餐他都在观察克里斯汀。他好像害怕他再也见不到她了，当她冲他笑时，他感到很幸福。

然后西蒙站起来讲话。

“邓肯先生，”他说，“我将永远记住这个夜晚。我知道你是多么爱你女儿，请相信我，先生，我也爱她。你一直担心我，是因为你想让她尽可能嫁一个最好的丈夫，而我——当然我无法许诺什么，但我将努力去成为那样一个人。你是一个富有的人，邓肯先生。当然克里斯汀和我一开始不会有很多钱，但我希望我们能应付。”他对克里斯汀笑了笑，“邓肯先生，昨天，我跟我的老板谈了，他将付给我比以前多一点儿的工资！”

约翰看上去很惊讶，“噢，真的吗？为什么？”

“因为他给了我一项新任务。他让我替我们的报纸写关于环境的文章。每周我得写一整版关于环境的文章。这是第一篇，请看！”

他从口袋里抽出一页报纸，举在他们面前，上面有江河、沙滩和一些海豹的图片，标题是：

河口的海豹

已染上怪病

发现4只幼豹死亡

8

The wedding day

The disease among the seals got worse. Three more baby seals died, and one was born without a tail. Scientists came from London to look at them, and there were long articles in the newspapers, but no one was sure what the reasons were. Some people said that it was a disease that was always in the water; some people said the seals were eating diseased fish; and some people said that it was the paint factory near the river.

There was a sewage works near the river too. The sewage from another small town came to it. One day, in the factory, John Duncan found two young chemists testing samples of water from the river. The water came from two kilometres upstream, near the sewage works.

'Why are you doing that?' he asked, surprised.

'It's a special experiment,' one of them answered. 'David Wilson asked us to do it himself. Didn't he tell you, sir?'

John didn't answer. He watched them quietly for several minutes. 'What are the results?' he asked.

'They're bad, sir,' said the young man. But he didn't look worried; he looked pleased, proud of himself. 'That sewage works is putting a lot of nasty things into the river, you know. I think the newspapers will be very interested.'

'The newspapers?' John asked. The young man smiled.

'Yes, Mr Duncan, of course. Our company cares about the environment, doesn't it? That's why we're doing this. We want to help those poor seals, if we can.'

As John walked away, he listened for the sound of quiet laughter behind him. But he heard nothing. Perhaps the young man really believed what he said.

Christine and Simon were married on a fine day in June. When they came back from the church, they had a party in the garden at John's house. Everyone seemed very happy. John liked Simon's parents, and talked to them a lot.

'You're very lucky, Mr Duncan,' Simon's father said. 'You have a beautiful house with a lovely river at the end of the garden.'

'I haven't always been lucky,' John answered. 'People used to say I was a very unlucky man.' He stood still, thinking. He remembered how unhappy he had been in the little flat in the middle of the town. He had been unemployed then, with no money to buy good things for his children. But he had always been able to talk to them. Now he was a rich man, a success, and his children didn't want to talk to him.

He smiled at Mr and Mrs MacDonald. 'Yes,' he said. 'I'm a very lucky man. I have Simon for my son-in-law. I'm very pleased for my daughter.'

Mrs MacDonald was pleased. 'We're very pleased to have Christine for our daughter-in-law, too,' she said. 'And I'm sure Simon will help you with this river, Mr Duncan. I understand there's a disease in it, which is making the seals ill. Simon told me he's going to work very hard to find the reason for that, and clean up the river. I'm sure you're pleased about that, Mr Duncan.'

'Yes, of course.' John had seen Simon's article in the newspaper last night, about the diseases that came from the sewage works. David Wilson had shown it to him. John didn't want to talk about it.

He saw his daughter laughing with Simon, Andrew and some friends. He had never seen her look so happy. He remembered his own wedding, and the hopes he and Rachel had had.

'Let me get you another drink, Mrs MacDonald,' he said. 'We must drink to our children's future, and wish them luck.'

At the bar in the house he met Mary. She came back to the town sometimes, and twice he had visited her in Scotland.

'This day's been a great success, John,' she said. 'You must be a happy man.'

He touched her arm thoughtfully. 'I'd like to be, Mary,' he said. 'I've tried, you know. I've done my best. But it's their world now. They must do what they can with it.'

sewage works n. a place where sewage (human waste) is cleaned before it goes into the sea or a river. 污水处理厂。

sample n. a small piece of something, which is an example of the test. 样品。

care about 关心，担心。

son-in-law n. the husband of one's daughter. 女婿。

clean up （把）……打扫干净。

future n. time ahead. 未来，前途。

8　婚礼

海豹的疾病日趋严重。又有3只幼豹死亡，有一只生出来就没有尾巴。从伦敦来的科学家们察看了它们，报纸上也登载了长篇文章，但是没有人能确定是什么原因。有些人说水中本来就有这种疾病；有些人说海豹是吃了有病的鱼；还有些人说是河附近的油漆厂。

河附近还有一个污水处理厂。污水来自另一个小镇。一天，在工厂里，约翰·邓肯发现两名年轻的化学师在测试从河里提取的水样。水来自两公里以外的上游，靠近污水处理厂。

“你们为什么这么做？”他惊奇地问。

“这是一项特殊实验。”其中一个人答道，“是大卫·威尔逊亲自让我们做的。他没告诉你吗，先生？”

约翰没有回答。他静静地望着他们有几分钟。“结果怎样？”他问。

“非常糟糕，先生。”年青人说，但他看上去并不担忧，他显得很高兴，很自豪。

“那个污水处理厂正在往河里排放一些脏东西，你知道。我想报纸对此会非常感兴趣的。”

“报纸？”约翰问。年轻人笑了。

“是的，邓肯先生，当然。我们公司关心环境，是吧？这就是我们为什么要做实验。如果能够的话，我们想帮助那些可怜的海豹。”

当约翰走开时，他等着听背后轻轻的笑声。但是他什么也没听到，也许年轻人真的相信他所说的。

克里斯汀和西蒙在6月一个明媚的日子里结了婚。当他们从教堂回来后，在约翰家的花园里举行了宴会。每个人好像都很快乐。约翰喜欢西蒙的父母，跟他们聊了很多。

“你很幸运，邓肯先生，”西蒙的父亲说，“你有一座漂亮的房子，花园尽头是可爱的河。”

“我不总是幸运，”约翰回答道，“人们曾经说我是一个很不幸的人。”他站在那儿不动，思忖着。他记得他曾多么不幸福，住在小镇中部的一所小公寓里。然后他失业了，没钱给他的孩子们买好东西。但是他总能够跟他们交谈。现在他是一个富人、一个成功者，可他的孩子不愿跟他交谈。

他冲着麦克唐纳夫妇笑着说：“是的，我是一个非常幸运的人，我有西蒙做我的女婿。我为我女儿感到非常高兴。”

麦克唐纳太太很满意。“能有克里斯汀做我们的儿媳，我们也非常高兴，”她说，“我相信西蒙会帮助你解决这条河的问题，邓肯先生。我知道河里有病菌使海豹得病。西蒙告诉我他将努力去查找原因，清理河流。我相信你会对此满意的，邓肯先生。”

“这当然。”约翰昨晚已经看到报纸上西蒙写的关于疾病来自污水处理厂的文章，是大卫·威尔逊拿给他看的。约翰不想说什么。

他看到他女儿与西蒙、安德鲁和一些朋友在一起欢笑。他从没看到过她有这么高兴。他想起了自己的婚礼，以及他和雷切尔曾有过的愿望。

“我再给你斟一杯，麦克唐纳太太，”他说，“我们要为我们孩子的将来干杯，祝他们好运。”

在屋中的酒吧前他遇见了玛丽。她有时回到镇上，他也曾两次去苏格兰拜访她。

“这一天很成功，约翰，”她说，“你一定是个幸福的人。”

他若有所思地摸着她的胳臂。“我很想成为一个幸福的人，玛丽，”他说，“我努力过，你知道，我尽力了。但现在是他们的世界，他们应该为之努力。”

9

I don't believe you

'It's not true, Christine. Simon's information is wrong.'

'I don't believe you, Father.'

John and Christine stared at each other angrily. It was a miserable, frightening moment for them both. It was a night three months after the wedding, and Christine had come with some happy news. She had come to tell her father that she was going to have a baby — his first grandchild! For a while they had talked about that, but then Christine had begun to talk about Simon's new job. Simon had found some information about the waste products from the paint factory. His information was dangerous for the company. Simon had written an article in the newspaper, saying that waste products from the paint factory could be killing the baby seals. David Wilson had written to the newspaper immediately, saying that Simon's article was completely untrue.

And so instead of talking happily about the baby, Christine and her father had argued all evening. John had known for a long time that they would have this argument. And next week in the town there would be a Public Enquiry, when government officials would try to discover the truth. Scientists and lawyers would speak on both sides of the argument. Everyone in the town was talking about the Enquiry — and about Simon's newspaper article.

'Why did David Wilson write to the paper, Father?' Christine asked. 'He's not a scientist, he's just a businessman. Why didn't you write to the paper?'

'I have written to the paper,' said John, sadly. 'You'll probably read my letter tomorrow.'

'Oh. What did you say?' Christine asked.

John felt sad. He hadn't wanted to write the letter. He and David Wilson had had a big argument about it. But in the end he had agreed. He had agreed to hide many bad things before, so one more didn't make any difference.

'I said that our waste products don't make the river water dangerous. We've tested them very carefully for many years, and if they are diluted in water, they are not dangerous at all. There are usually only one and a half parts per million in the river water, that's all. And the seals aren't in the river. They're out at sea. I wrote that in my letter, and I'll say the same thing at the Enquiry next week.'

Christine was watching him carefully as he spoke. She saw how tired and sad his face was. He was looking at his hands most of the time, not at her.

'Father, I want to believe you. But I can't,' she said softly.

He looked up. 'Don't then!' he said angrily. 'You believe Simon, if you want to! He's a journalist, after all — I'm only a biologist, and your father. Why should you believe me?' He stood up angrily, walked to the door, and opened it. 'I'm sorry, Christine. I've had a hard day, I'm tired, and I don't want to sit here listening to my daughter telling me I'm a liar. Go home to Simon. I'm going to bed!'

She got up slowly. 'It's important, Father,' she said slowly. 'It's important for everyone.'

'I know it is, Christine. But the paint factory's important too. It's given a lot to you, and me, and to the people of this town. Try to remember that, and forget about the seals for a while, can't you?'

'There are more important things than money, Father.'

'Are there? You tell that to all the people who work in the company, and live in this town. What are they going to live on, when the factory's closed because of Simon's stupid articles? Can they give their children photographs of baby seals to eat?'

Christine looked at him for a long moment before she went out of the door. 'And what about children who play by the river, Father? What if they drink the river water? What then?'

'Nobody drinks water from that part of the river,' he said. 'And I've told you — it isn't dangerous to children.'

Christine closed the door quietly behind her.

grandchild n. the child of one's child. 孙子，孙女。

argument n. disagreement. 争论。

Public Enquiry a special meeting when people can ask questions or argue about the plans or actions of a company, the government, etc. 公众听证会。

dilute v. to make a liquid thinner or not so strong by adding water.（用水）冲淡，稀释。

live on 靠……生活。

9　我不相信你

“这不是真的，克里斯汀，西蒙的消息是错误的。”

“我不相信你，爸爸。”

约翰和克里斯汀互相怒视着。这对他们俩来说是一个痛苦恐怖的时刻。这事发生在婚礼3个月后的一个夜晚，克里斯汀带回一些令人高兴的消息，她回来告诉她父亲她将要有小宝宝——他的第一个外孙或外孙女！他们就此谈论了一会儿，但是过后克里斯汀开始谈论西蒙的新工作。西蒙发现一些有关油漆厂废料的消息。他的消息对公司有威胁。西蒙在报纸上写了一篇文章，说来自油漆厂的废料可能正在杀死幼豹。大卫·威尔逊马上写信给报纸，说西蒙的文章完全是不真实的。

所以，克里斯汀和父亲并没有高兴地谈论孩子，而是争论了整个晚上。约翰早就知道他们会有这场争论。下星期镇上将举行一个公众听证会，那时政府官员将努力发现事实真相。科学家和律师们将为双方的争议辩护。镇上所有的人都在谈论这次听证会——也谈论西蒙的报刊文章。

“为什么大卫·威尔逊给报纸写信，爸爸？”克里斯汀问道，“他不是一个科学家，他只是一个商人。为什么你不给报纸写信？”

“我已经给报纸写过了，”约翰痛心地说，“你明天也许会读到我的信。”

“哦。你是怎么说的？”克里斯汀问。

约翰感到痛苦。他原不想写这封信。他和大卫·威尔逊为此大吵了一场。但最后他还是同意了。他以前曾同意隐瞒许多坏事，所以再多一次也无妨。

“我说我们的废料没有对河水造成危害。我们已经谨慎地测试了许多年。如果它们被水稀释，它们根本没有危险。在河水中废料通常仅占一百万分之一点五，仅此而已。而海豹不在河里，他们远在海里。我在信中写了这些，在下周的听证会上我会说同样的话。”

在他讲话时克里斯汀认真地望着他。她看到他的脸是那样疲倦和悲伤。他大部分时间一直看着自己的手，而没有看着她。

“爸爸，我想相信你，但我不能。”她轻声地说。

他抬起头。“那就别相信，”他气愤地说，“如果你愿意，你就相信西蒙好了！他毕竟是一个记者——我只是一个生物学家和你的父亲。你为什么要相信我呢？”他气愤地站起来，朝房门走去，打开门说：“对不起，克里斯汀，我这一天太艰难了，我累了。我不想坐在这儿听我女儿说我撒谎。回家找西蒙去吧，我要睡了。”

她慢慢站起来。“这很重要，爸爸，”她缓慢地说，“这对每个人都重要。”

“我知道它重要，克里斯汀。但是油漆厂也重要。它给了你很多，也给了我和这个城镇的居民很多。难道你就不能试着记住这点，而暂时忘却海豹吗？”

“有比钱更重要的东西，爸爸。”

“有吗？你把这话告诉所有在公司工作、住在镇上的人。当工厂由于西蒙那些愚蠢的文章而关闭时，他们将靠什么生存？他们能给孩子们幼豹的照片充饥吗？”

克里斯汀望着他许久以后才走出门，“那么在河边玩儿的孩子们怎么办，爸爸？他们如果喝了河水怎么办？那时该怎么办？”

“没人会喝那个地方的河水，”他说，“并且我已经告诉过你，那对孩子们没有危险。”

克里斯汀轻轻地将门在身后关上。

10

Greenworld

Two days later Christine and Simon arrived at John's house. It was very early — five o'clock in the morning — and they didn't knock at the door, or try to wake anyone up. In fact John wasn't there; Christine knew he had gone to Scotland to see Mary. He was coming back on the morning of the Enquiry.

Christine and Simon walked quietly down to the boathouse by the river. Without talking, they put the boat in the water, and sailed away across the river.

On the other side of the river they met two friends, Peter and Susan. Their friends were wearing white clothes, with Greenworld written on them. Simon and Christine also put on white clothes. Then they all got into the boat and sailed upstream, towards the paint factory.

It was a windy morning, and the waves on the river were quite big. But Christine was a good sailor, and in about half an hour, they reached the factory. Two photographers stood by the river, taking photos of them.

'OK, Simon, where is it?' shouted Christine.

'Over there, look — in front of that post!' he said. Christine sailed the boat towards the post. When they were near it, they could see under the water. It was the pipe that took the waste products out of the factory.

'OK, here!' shouted Simon. Christine turned the boat towards the wind, and Susan caught hold of the post. Then Simon and Peter climbed out of the boat into the water.

The water was moving fast here, and they had to hold onto the pipe and the boat. Peter then took several strong paper bags out of the boat. The bags were small but very heavy, because they were filled with building cement. Peter passed the bags one at a time to Simon, and Simon went down under the water and pushed each bag into the pipe. A few minutes later the mouth of the pipe was full of bags of cement.

Simon came up out of the water for the last time. 'It's OK!' he shouted. 'We've done it! The cement is wet already, and in a few hours it'll be as hard as a rock. Nothing can come out of that pipe now!' The two men climbed back into the boat and smiled at the photographers. Then Simon stood up in the boat with Christine, and held up a long white sheet. On the sheet was written:

GREENWORLD

This pipe kills seals!

At that moment two things happened. A man ran out of the factory, shouting angrily. And the wind suddenly became stronger. It caught the sail and sent it quickly from one side of the boat to the other. The back of the sail hit Christine hard on the back of the head. She fell into the water, like a bag of potatoes. Then the wind caught the sail again and threw it back across the boat. This time the boat fell over on its side and lay with its sail under the water.

Simon was under the sail. The sail and the sheet were all around him, and for several seconds he could see nothing. Then he came up, into the air. He saw a foot kicking hard in the water beside him. Someone was moving under the sail. Quickly, he went down under the water again, and tried to help Peter. But Peter caught hold of Simon, and pulled him under water too. There was a quick, frightening fight, and then Simon managed to pull them both up, into the air again. They held onto the side of the boat together, breathing deeply.

Simon saw Susan holding onto the back of the boat. Then he heard someone shouting. He looked behind him and saw the man from the factory. He was shouting and pointing downstream. But Simon had water in his ears, and at first he couldn't hear the words very well. Then he understood.

'Look!' the man said. 'The girl! She's drowning!'

Simon looked downstream, where the man was pointing. He saw something white, floating, far away. It was not doing anything, just floating round and round, like a bag of old clothes on the water. Christine! The river was taking her quickly downstream, towards the sea.

Hurriedly, Simon began to swim after her. He was a good swimmer, but the white clothes slowed him down. He swam as fast as he could, but he seemed to go slowly, so slowly. The water seemed heavy, and held him back. For the rest of his life he would dream about that long, slow swim, towards a white body that floated quickly away in front of him.

At last he reached Christine. She was floating with her face down, unconscious. He tried to turn her over, but it was so difficult. She was heavy, and her arms fell back in the water when he dropped them. He got her face out of the water but her head fell backwards, lifeless, and she was not breathing. He caught hold of her face then, put his mouth over hers, and blew into it. He rested, and then blew into her mouth again, and again. Nothing happened.

He looked around him. They were in the middle of the river, moving quickly downstream. Here, it was about twenty-five metres to the bank, but about two hundred metres downstream a second river came in from the left. The bank was further away there, and the water moved faster. Simon was tired, and afraid. It had rained last night, and there was a lot of water moving downstream to the sea. The strong wind blew little waves into his face.

He began to swim on his back, pulling Christine towards the trees on the bank. He swam for half a minute, then stopped, and blew four times into her mouth. Once, he thought he saw her breathe, but he couldn't be sure. Her face was very white, and he had no idea if her heart was beating. The river was taking them quickly to the sea.

He swam harder, kicking strongly with his legs. Nearer — only five metres to go now. But the bank was moving past very quickly. There was a tree near the bank. Its branches were low over the water. Simon kicked hard, caught the branch, and held onto it. The water tried to pull him away. He took a deep breath, and blew strongly into Christine's mouth again. And this time, he was sure, she took a breath by herself, afterwards.

It took him nearly five minutes to pull her on to the bank. When they got there, he put her on the ground, breathed into her mouth again, and then felt for her heart. At first he couldn't find it — his hands were too cold. Then — yes! — it was beating.

For another five minutes he helped her breathe, until he was sure she could do it by herself. Then he began to shiver. The wind made his wet clothes cold on his body. He wondered what to do. Then he looked down, and saw that Christine's eyes were open.

'Chris,' he said. 'Are you all right?'

She said something, but very quietly and he could not hear it. He lay down, and put his arms around her, to keep her warm. He could feel her heart beating, and her body breathing under him. Simon began to cry.

photographer n. a person who takes pictures of people or things as a profession. 摄影师

pipe n. tube. 管道，排水管。

cement n. grey powder that becomes hard like rock when mixed with water. 水泥。

drown v. to die in water because you cannot breathe. 淹没，溺水。

float v. to stay on the top of water. 漂浮。

unconscious adj. not able to see or hear, because the person is ill or hurt. 失去知觉的，昏迷的。

take a deep breath 深深地吸一口气。

10　绿色世界

两天过后，克里斯汀和西蒙到达约翰的家。时间很早——早晨5点——他们没有敲门，也不想吵醒任何人。事实上约翰不在。克里斯汀知道他去苏格兰看玛丽了。他将在听证会那天早晨回来。

克里斯汀和西蒙悄悄地走向河边的船屋。没有交谈，他们将船放入水中，向河对岸划去。

在河的另一边他们与两个朋友——彼得和苏珊——会面了。他们的朋友身穿白色衣服，上面写着绿色世界。西蒙和克里斯汀也穿上白衣服。然后他们全部上船，向上游油漆厂的方向驶去。

这天早晨风很大，河中波涛滚滚，但是克里斯汀是一个优秀的水手，大约半小时，他们就到达了工厂。两名摄影师站在河边拍下了他们。

“好啦，西蒙，它在哪？”克里斯汀喊道。

“在那儿，看啊——在柱子前面！”他说道。克里斯汀将船向柱子划去。当他们靠近时，他们可以看见水下，那是从工厂排放出废料的管子。

“好啦，在这里！”西蒙喊道。克里斯汀把船转向顺风，苏珊抓住柱子。然后西蒙和彼得爬出船跳入水中。

这里的水流很急，他们不得不抓住管子和船。彼得这时从船中拿出一些结实的纸袋。这些袋子很小但很沉，因为它们充满了建筑水泥。彼得把袋子一个个地递给西蒙，而西蒙钻到水下，把每个袋子推进管子。几分钟后，管子口已塞满了水泥袋。

西蒙最后一次从水中出来。“行啦，”他喊道，“我们干完啦！水泥已经浸透，过几个小时它将跟岩石一样硬。现在管子里再也排不出任何东西了。”两个人爬回到船上，对着摄影师笑了。然后，西蒙和克里斯汀在船上站起来，举起一长幅白纸，上面写着：

绿色世界

这条管道残杀海豹！

在那一时刻发生了两件事情：一个人跑出工厂愤怒地叫喊；风突然刮得更猛，扯倒了帆，并迅速把它从船的一边刮到另一边，帆的尾部沉重地打在克里斯汀头的后部，她像一袋土豆一样栽入水中，然后风又把帆掀起抛到船的另一边，这次船侧翻与帆一同沉入水底。

西蒙在帆下面。帆和纸缠住了他，有几秒钟他什么也看不见。然后他摆脱出来，浮到水面。他看见在他身旁有只脚用力在水中踢着。有人在帆下动。他迅速再次钻入水中，试图帮助彼得。但是彼得抓住西蒙，把他也拽入水中。经过一番迅速而可怕的拼搏，西蒙设法使两人都重新露出水面，他们一起抓住船帮，深深地吸气。

西蒙看到苏珊抓住船尾，然后听到有人呼喊。他往身后看，看见那个从工厂来的人。那人一边喊，一边指向下游。但是西蒙耳朵里有水，一开始他听不太清楚，随后他明白了。

“看啊！”那人说，“那女孩！她要淹死了！”

西蒙顺着那人所指的方向往下游望去。他看见远处有一个白色物体漂浮着。它一动不动，只是漂呀漂，像一袋旧衣服在水上漂。克里斯汀！河水正把她迅速地带向下游，通往大海。

西蒙马上跟着她游去。他是一个游泳健将，但是白衣服减慢了他的速度。他尽力游快，但他好像很慢，太慢了。河水好像很凶猛并且阻挡他前进。这辈子他都会常梦见这一漫长而缓慢的游泳，他紧随眼前迅速漂走的白色躯体。

终于，他追上了克里斯汀。她脸朝下漂浮着，已失去知觉。他设法把她翻过身来，但很困难。她很沉，而且当他一松手，她的两臂又落入水中。他把她的脸托出水面，但她的头向后垂，没有生命，没有呼吸。他托住她的脸，把他的嘴贴在她嘴上，往里吹气。他歇一下，又往她嘴里吹，一次又一次，没有变化。

他环视一下四围。他们在河中心，正迅速冲向下游。这里离岸边约25米，但大约两百米的下游从左边又有另一条河汇入。那儿的岸边更远，水流更急。西蒙又累又怕。昨夜下过雨，有大量雨水流向下游进入大海。强风在他脸上溅起小浪花。

他开始仰游，拖着克里斯汀向岸边的树游去。他游半分钟，停一下，向她嘴里吹4次气。有一次，他以为他看见她呼吸了，但他不敢肯定。她的脸色苍白，他不知道她的心脏是否还跳动，河水带着他们迅速流向大海。

他奋力地游，双腿用力蹬水。近了——现在只有5米远了。但是河岸飞快地移动。靠近岸边有一棵树，它的枝头低低地伸向水面。西蒙使劲一蹬，抓住树枝，并握住它。河水要把他拖走。他深深地吸口气，再次用力吹进克里斯汀的嘴里。这一次，他确定，她自己紧接着吸了一口气。

他大约花了5分钟把她拖上岸。当他们上岸后，他把她放在地上，再次往她嘴里吹气，然后摸她的心口。一开始他感觉不到，因为他的手太凉了。然后，他感觉到了，她的心在跳动。

随后的5分钟他帮助她呼吸，直到他确信她能够自己呼吸。接着他开始发抖，风吹得他身上的湿衣服冰凉地贴在身上。他考虑该怎么办。这时他往下看，看到克里斯汀睁开了眼睛。

“克里斯汀，”他说，“你好吗？”

她说了些什么，但非常轻，他听不到。他躺下身子，双臂搂住她，温暖她。他可以感觉到她的心在跳，她的身体在他下面喘气，西蒙开始哭了。

11

The Public Enquiry

Two days later, the Enquiry beagn. Scientists came from London to ask questions about the disease that was killing the seals. Before he had gone to Scotland, John had been to see David Wilson about the Enquiry. David Wilson had asked John to speak for the company.

'You're our chief biologist, John,' he said. 'You're an important man. They'll believe you.'

John said nothing. He didn't want to speak at the Enquiry, but he knew he had to. David Wilson smiled. Or at least, his mouth smiled. But his eyes watched John carefully, all the time, like the cold eyes of a fish.

'Think carefully about what you say, John. If you say the wrong thing next week, hundreds of people will lose their jobs. And the first person to lose his job will be you, John. I promise you that.'

The Enquiry room was crowded. There were a lot of journalists and photographers there, and a lot of people from the town and the factory too. John's train was late, and he caught a taxi from the station. When he came into the room, he saw Simon, sitting with the journalists. Christine was near him, with Andrew and some young people from Greenworld. John smiled at her, but she didn't smile back. She looks very white and ill, he thought. It's probably the baby. He remembered how ill his wife Rachel had been in the mornings, before Christine was born, and he smiled sadly to himself.

'Mr John Duncan, please!'

He walked to the front of the room. As he sat down, he saw David Wilson's cold, grey eyes watching him from the other side of the room. That man should be up here instead, he thought. He should tell his own lies.

A lawyer began to ask him questions. At first it was easy. John explained how long he had worked for the company, and how much paint the factory produced. Then the lawyer asked about the waste products.

'These are very dangerous chemicals, aren't they?' the lawyer said.

'Well yes, of course,' John answered. 'Most chemicals are dangerous if people aren't careful with them. But we're very careful with them in our factory. Everyone wears special clothing. We haven't had a single serious accident in three years.'

'I'm pleased to hear it,' said the lawyer. 'But what happens outside the factory? Do you really put these very dangerous chemicals into the river?'

'Yes, we do,' said John. There was a noise in the room. Someone near Christine shouted something angrily, and a policewoman told him to be quiet. John went on. 'Of course we put these chemicals in the river, but we don't put a lot in. Only two or three hundred litres every day. That's not much. And we check the river all the time — three times every day. There are usually only two parts per million, or less, in the water near the factory, and there is much less downstream. That's not dangerous.'

'Not dangerous, Mr Duncan?' said the lawyer slowly. 'Are you sure?'

'Yes, I am,' John said. He looked up, at the hundreds of eyes watching him. David Wilson's eyes, Christine's eyes, Simon's.

'I understand,' the lawyer said slowly, 'that there has been an experiment with some rats. Some mother rats were given these chemicals in their drinking water, and some of their babies were born without legs. Is that right, Mr Duncan?'

John looked at the lawyer for the first time. He was a small, uninteresting-looking man in grey clothes, with grey hair and a thin face. He looks like a rat himself, John thought. The man's eyes were small and bright, and for some strange reason he had a newspaper in his hand. John began to feel afraid of him.

'Yes,' he said. 'That's right. But rats are much smaller than people, and they were given nearly five parts per million in their drinking water for ten days. That's very different. No one drinks the river water. It goes straight out to sea.'

He looked at the lawyer, and waited for the question about the seals. But it didn't come. Instead, the lawyer said: 'So you won't be worried, Mr Duncan, if someone falls into the river by accident, and drinks a lot of river water. Your own daughter, for example. There's no danger in an accident like that — is that right?'

John looked at Christine across the room. How big her eyes look in that white face, he thought. It must be because of the baby.

'No,' he said. 'There's no danger at all.'

There was the sound of voices in the room. The lawyer smiled a small, rat-like smile. He held his newspaper out towards John.

'You've been away in Scotland, Mr Duncan,' he said. 'Have you seen this?'

As John read the newspaper, his hands began to shake, and he had to hold the side of the table. There was a picture of Christine, standing up in a boat near the factory, and another picture of her lying in an ambulance, with Simon beside her. The headline said:

BIOLOGIST'S DAUGHTER NEARLY

DROWNS IN RIVER

There was a long silence. He tried to read the newspaper carefully, but there was something wrong with his eyes. And his head was full of pictures of Christine in the river, drowning. And his wife, Rachel, drowning in the storm, long ago.

He shook his head quickly from side to side, then took his glasses off and cleaned them.

'No,' he said in a quiet voice. 'I haven't read this before.'

'It's all right, Mr Duncan,' said the lawyer softly. 'Your daughter is safe. Her husband saved her, and she hasn't lost her baby. But she did drink a lot of river water. It was near the factory, too. You're not worried about that, are you?'

The lawyer's bright eyes were staring at him, like a rat that has just seen its food. Behind him, David Wilson suddenly stood up.

'That is a terrible question!' he shouted into the silence. 'You can't ask a man questions like that! Of course he's worried about his daughter! You must stop this Enquiry at once!'

'Just a minute, Mr Wilson,' said the lawyer. 'Mr Duncan can go in a minute. He just has to answer one question. Are you worried, because your daughter has drunk so much river water, Mr Duncan? Are you worried about her baby?'

John Duncan stared at the lawyer with fear in his eyes. Suddenly he hated him. He picked up the newspaper and threw it into the little man's rat-like face. 'Yes!' he shouted wildly. 'Yes! Yes! Yes! Of course I'm worried about the baby! Of course it's dangerous! Now let me go!'

He ran down the room, out of the door, into the street. A hundred staring eyes watched him go.

chief adj. highest in rank. 首席的，主任的。

special adj. not ordinary, regular, or usual. 特殊的，特别的。

for some strange reason 由于某些奇怪的原因。

by accident 偶然地，意外地。

ambulance n. vehicle for carrying sick people in emergency. 急救车。

be worried about 为……担忧。

11　公众听证会

两天后，听证会开始。来自伦敦的科学家就海豹死亡的病因提了问题。约翰在去苏格兰之前曾为听证会见了大卫·威尔逊。大卫·威尔逊要约翰为公司说话。

“你是我们的主管生物学家，约翰，”他说，“你是一个重要人物，他们会相信你。”

约翰什么也没说。他不想在听证会上讲话，但他知道他必须讲。大卫·威尔逊笑了，至少他的嘴是在笑，但他的眼睛像冰冷的鱼眼，自始至终小心地望着约翰。

“仔细想想你要说的，约翰。如果下周你说错了，几百人将失去工作，而第一个失业的将是你，约翰，我敢向你保证这一点。”

听证会大厅挤满了人，有很多记者和摄影师，还有许多从镇上和工厂来的人。约翰的火车误点了，他从车站搭了一辆出租车。当他进屋时，看见西蒙与记者们坐在一起。克里斯汀在他附近，还有安德鲁及绿色世界的一些年轻人。约翰冲她微笑，但她没有理他。她看上去非常苍白虚弱，他这样想。也许是因为孩子。他记得他的妻子雷切尔在生克里斯汀前的那些早晨也很虚弱，他自己苦笑着。

“约翰·邓肯先生，请！”

他走到大厅前面。当他要坐下时，他看到大卫·威尔逊那双冷酷、灰暗的眼睛正从屋子的另一边望着他。那个人本应在此，他想，他应该讲述他自己的谎言。

一个律师开始向他提问。一开始很容易，约翰解释了他在公司工作多久，工厂生产多少油漆。然后律师问到废料。

“这是非常危险的化学物质，是吗？”律师问道。

“是的，当然，”约翰答道，“如果人们不小心谨慎，大部分化学制品都有危险。但是在我们工厂，我们对它们非常谨慎。每个人都穿特制的服装，3年里我们没发生一件重大事故。”

“听你这么说我非常满意，”律师说，但是在工厂外发生了什么？你们真的往河里倒了这些非常危险的化学制品吗？”

“是的。”约翰说。屋里传出嘈杂声。克里斯汀的附近有人气愤地喊着什么，一个女警察让他安静。约翰继续说：“当然我们把它们倒入水中，但不多，每天仅仅两三百公升，那不算多。而且我们一日三次一直检测河水。工厂附近的水中通常只含有百万分之二或更少的成分，下游就更少了。那不危险。”

“不危险吗，邓肯先生？”律师慢慢地说，“你敢肯定吗？”

“是的，我敢肯定。”约翰说。他抬起头，望着几百双正在注视着他的眼睛。大卫·威尔逊的眼睛，克里斯汀的眼睛，西蒙的眼睛。

“我知道，”律师缓慢地说，“曾经有一个用老鼠做的实验。一些母鼠喝了带有这些化学物品的水，它们的一些幼崽儿生出来没有腿，这是真的吗，邓肯先生？”

约翰第一次看了一下律师。他个头矮小，貌不惊人，穿着灰色衣服，灰色头发，瘦长的脸。约翰觉得他看上去就像一只老鼠。那人的眼睛很小，但很亮，出于某种奇怪的原因，他手里拿着一份报纸。约翰开始对他产生畏惧。

“是的，”他说，“你说得对。但老鼠比人小得多，而且它们10天中一直喝含有将近百万分之五成分的水。这是绝对不同的。没人喝河水，河水直接流出去，进入大海。”

他望着律师，等着他问关于海豹的问题，但是律师没有问，而是说：“所以你就不担心，邓肯先生，假如有人意外地坠入河中并喝了许多河水，比如你自己的女儿。难道这样的意外没有危险吗？”

约翰望着屋子另一边的克里斯汀。他在想，她那苍白脸上的眼睛显得那么大，这一定是由于怀孕。

“没有，”他说，“根本就没有危险。”

屋里开始有说话的声音，律师露出细微的老鼠般的笑容。他向约翰举出他的报纸。

他说：“你去了苏格兰，邓肯先生，你看过这报道吗？”

当约翰读报纸时，他的手开始颤抖，他不得不抓住桌子的一边。上面有一张克里斯汀的照片，她站在工厂附近的一只船上，另一张照片是她躺在救护车里，西蒙在她身旁。标题是：

生物家的女儿险遭溺死

很长一段时间的寂静。他试图仔细地阅读报纸，但他的眼前一片模糊，他满脑子都是克里斯汀在河中被淹的情景以及很久以前他妻子雷切尔在暴风雨中被淹的情景。

他很快地摇动着脑袋，然后摘掉眼镜，擦拭起来。

“没有，”他轻声地回答，“我以前没有看过。”

“这没关系，邓肯先生，”律师温和地说，“你的女儿很安全。她丈夫救了她，她没有失去她的孩子。但是她确实喝了不少河水，而且是工厂附近的河水，你难道不担心吗？”

律师明亮的眼睛紧盯着他，像老鼠刚看见它的食物一样。在他的后面大卫·威尔逊突然站起来。

“那是一个糟糕的提问！”他的叫喊打破了沉默，“你不能对一个人这样提问！他当然担心他的女儿！你必须立即停止听证会！”

“等一等，威尔逊先生，”律师说，“邓肯先生一会儿就可以走，他只需回答一个问题。你为你女儿喝了那么多河水而担忧吗，邓肯先生？你为她的孩子担忧吗？”

约翰·邓肯盯着律师，眼里充满恐惧。突然间，他憎恨他。他拾起报纸朝着那个矮人的鼠脸上扔去。“是的！”他疯狂地叫喊，“是的！是的！是的！我当然担心孩子！那当然危险！现在让我走！”

他跑下会场，出了大门，来到街上。100双凝视着的眼睛望着他离去。

12

The future

Six months later, John Duncan was living in a small flat near the sea. He had lost his job, and had had to sell his expensive house. He couldn't afford the payments on it.

From a window in his flat, he could look at the sea. He sat and looked at the cold, grey sea for hours, every day.

Christine would have her baby soon. He had bought lots of baby clothes to give her. His bedroom was full of baby clothes — little pink coats and trousers for a girl, blue ones for a boy. There were little soft toys too — teddy bears and small animals with blue, empty eyes.

But he hadn't given any of these things to her, because she wouldn't talk to him. When he went to see her, she closed the door in his face; when he rang, she put the phone down; when he wrote, she sent the letters back unopened.

There were a lot of books and magazines in his bedroom, too. But he kept them under his bed. He read them sometimes at night, but he didn't like to see them during the day. They were about babies, and the diseases that babies could get, before they were born. There were some terrible things in the books, terrible pictures. He didn't like to think about them, but he couldn't stop. He thought about them all day, all the time.

Today, as he sat staring out of the window at the sea, he could not stop his hands shaking. Every morning he rang the hospital, to ask if his daughter Christine MacDonald was there. He had rung this morning, and a nurse had said yes, Christine was there, and the baby was coming. That had been four hours ago. For two hours John had sat by the telephone, afraid to ring the hospital again. Three times he had picked it up, and three times he had put it down again.

He picked it up again, and rang the number. Seven... five... eight... three... it was no good. He put the phone down again. He could not hear the news from the cold voice of a nurse over the telephone. He had to see the baby for himself.

He got up, put on his coat, and went downstairs. There was a cold wind outside, blowing from the sea. The sea and the sky were grey and miserable. He went into a shop and bought some flowers. He chose them carefully — bright red and yellow colours — and the shopkeeper put paper around them to keep them safe. John took them and walked quickly, nervously, along the windy road by the sea, towards the hospital.

It was raining out at sea. Already the rain was falling on the sandbanks where the seals used to live. Soon it would be falling on the town. John Duncan shivered, and turned his coat collar up. Then, with his bright flowers in his hand, he walked on, into the winter wind.

teddy bear n. a soft toy bear. 玩具熊。

collar n. the piece of a shirt or coat that goes round the neck. 领子。

12　前途

6个月以后，约翰住在一所靠海的小公寓里。他已经失去了工作，并且不得不卖掉昂贵的房子，他担负不起房费。

从他公寓的窗口可以望见大海。他每天坐在窗口几小时望着那冰冷阴沉的大海。

克里斯汀马上就要生小孩儿了。他买了好多婴儿的衣服想送给她。他的卧室里堆满了婴儿衣物——女孩穿的粉红色的小外衣、裤子，男孩穿的蓝色衣服。还有柔软的小玩具——玩具熊和嵌有蓝色毫无生气眼睛的小动物。

但是他没有把任何这些东西给她，因为她不理他。当他去看望她时，她当面把门关上；当他打电话时，她挂上电话；当他写信给她时，她原封退回。

他的卧室里还有很多书和杂志，但他把它们藏在床下。他有时晚上读它们，但是他不喜欢白天见到它们。它们是关于婴儿和婴儿在出生前可能得的疾病的书。书中有一些可怕的情景，可怕的图片。他不愿去想它们，但他止不住。他整天在想它们，无时无刻地在想。

今天，当他坐在窗口凝视着窗外的大海时，他的手禁不住地颤抖。每天早晨他都打电话到医院问她的女儿克里斯汀·麦克唐纳是否在那儿。今早他又打电话了，一个护士说是的，克里斯汀在那儿，婴儿就要降生了。那已是4小时以前的事了。他已经坐在电话机旁两小时，害怕再给医院打电话。他3次拿起电话，又3次放下电话。

他再次拿起电话，拨了号码。7—5—8—3，没有用。他再次放下电话。他不能在电话里护士冷淡的声音中听到这个消息，他一定要亲自去看孩子。

他起身穿上外衣，走下楼梯。外面从海上刮来一阵冷风。海面和天空一片阴暗凄凉。他走进一家商店买了一些花。他细心地挑选——鲜红和黄色——店主把它们用纸包扎好以防损坏。约翰拿起它们在风中飞快地忐忑不安地走在海边通往医院的路上。

海上下起了雨。已经看到雨正落在海豹曾栖身过的沙滩上。很快小镇上也会下起雨。约翰·邓肯身上发抖，他把衣领竖起来，然后手里拿着他鲜艳的花，顶着冬天的寒风继续走去。

Exercises

A Checking your understanding

Chapters 1-2 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 John Duncan did not think he would get the job at the chemical company.

2 His wife Rachel had died in a car crash.

3 John had a fine house before his wife died.

4 It was easy for John to find jobs.

Chapters 3-4 Write answers to these questions.

1 What was special about the new paint?

2 Why did John go to see the doctor?

3 What did Christine and Andrew think of Mary on her first visit?

4 Why was Andrew excited when they went sailing down to the river mouth?

Chapters 5-6 How much can you remember? Check your answers.

1 How long had the rats had the waste products in their drinking water?

2 How many parts per million were there in their drinking water?

3 How much would the new cleaning machines cost?

4 How many more people had the paint factory employed?

5 How much did David Wilson promise to pay John next year?

Chapters 7-8 Find answers to these questions in the text.

1 Why did Mary leave the paint factory?

2 Why was Christine angry with her father?

3 What was Simon's new job?

4 What were the two young chemists in the factory doing?

Chapters 9-10 Who in the story...

1 ... wrote an article in the newspaper about the seals' deaths?

2 ... wrote letters to the newspaper, saying the article was untrue?

3 ... told John Duncan that he was a liar?

4 ... put the cement in the factory's pipe in the river?

Chapters 11-12 Write answers to these questions.

1 Why didn't John know about Christine's accident?

2 What did John do when the lawyer told him about the accident?

3 Why hadn't John given the toys and baby clothes to Christine?

4 Why was he afraid to phone the hospital?

B Working with language

1 Put these sentences in the right order. Check the order with chapter 10.

1 After a while Christine started breathing again.

2 He quickly swam after her and pulled her head out of the water.

3 They filled the factory pipe with bags of cement.

4 At last Simon managed to reach the bank and pull Christine out of the water.

5 Simon blew air into her mouth and began to swim towards the bank.

6 The four friends sailed down the river to the factory.

7 When he came up, he saw Christine floating away downstream, unconscious.

8 Then the wind blew the boat over on its side.

9 Her face was very white and she was not breathing.

10 For a few seconds Simon was under the water.

2 Complete these sentences with information from chapter 11.

1 Although John didn't want to speak at the Public Enquiry, he...

2 'Most chemicals are dangerous if...'

3 'We put these waste products in the river, but...'

4 John's hands began to shake when...

5 The lawyer asked: 'Are you worried, because...'

C Activities

1 Write a newspaper report about one of these stories:

a) Simon's story about the dead seals

b) the story about Christine nearly drowning

c) what happened at the Public Enquiry.

2 What do you think happened when John Duncan got to the hospital? Write the next chapter of the story. lf you like, write it as a play and act it out.

3 Write a short description of one person from the story that you like, or don't like, or feel sorry for.

4 'Jobs for people are more important than seals dying.' Do you agree? Write a paragraph to say why you agree or don't agree.

5 How clean is the water in your local river? Find out, and tell the class about it.

京权图字：01-2002-6591

Originally published by Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. © 2000

This edition is licensed for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom.

'Oxford' is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

劫机！=Skyjack!／（英）维卡里（Vicary，T.）著；秦小雅译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2003.9（2015.1 重印）

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

ISBN 978-7-5600-3702-8

Ⅰ．劫…　Ⅱ．①维…　②秦…　Ⅲ．小说—对照读物—英、汉　Ⅳ．H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（2003）第083870号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：徐　婳

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：2003年10月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-3702-8

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内容简介

当有人用枪来得到他们想要的东西的时候，你该如何阻止他们呢？如果他们要什么，你就给什么，他们定会心花怒放——而且，更会得寸进尺，变本加厉。如果你不交出他们想要的东西，那么，就可能会惹恼他们——他们可能会杀了你。很难说到底该怎么办才好。

在这个故事中，面对这个两难境地的是首相，一位政府首脑。但首相也是和我们一样的普通人——有家庭，有孩子。

如果有人拿枪对着你的家人，你怎样才能让头脑保持清醒呢？你该怎么做呢？你采纳别人的建议，跟劫机者展开对话，搞清楚他们到底想要什么，你尽力让大家保持冷静，你慢慢地采取行动。但是，恐怖分子可不愿意等你，迟早你得决定到底该怎么办……

SKYJACK!

When people use guns to take what they want, how do you stop them? If you give them what they want, they will be happy—and they will use their guns again, and again. If you don't give them what they want, then they will be angry—and they will kill. It is not easy to decide what to do.

In this story, the person who has to decide is the Prime Minister, the head of the government. But the Prime Minister is also an ordinary person, just like the rest of us—a person with a family and children.

How can you think clearly, if someone is pointing a gun at your family? What do you do? You take advice, you talk to the hijackers, you find out what they want, you keep everybody calm, you try to move slowly. But terrorists don't like waiting, and sooner or later, you have to decide what to do...

Chapter 1

The air hostess smiled. 'Welcome aboard, sir. Would you like a newspaper?'

'Yes, please.' Carl took the newspaper and looked at his ticket. 'I'm in seat 5F. Where's that?'

'It's near the front of the plane, sir. On the left, there. By the window.'

'I see. Thank you very much.' Carl smiled back at the air hostess. She was young and pretty. Just like my daughter, he thought.

He put his bag under his seat and sat down. His friend Harald sat beside him. They watched the other passengers coming onto the plane. Harald looked at his watch.

'9.30 p. m.,' he said. 'Good. We're on time.'

Carl agreed. 'And in three hours we'll be home,' he said. 'That's good. We've been away for a long time. You'll be pleased to see your family, won't you, Harald?'

Harald smiled. 'Yes, I will. Have you seen this, sir?' He opened his bag and took out two small planes. 'These are for my sons. I always bring something back for them.'

'How old are your sons?' Carl asked.

'Five and almost seven. The older one has a birthday tomorrow.'

'He'll be very excited tonight then.'

'Yes. I hope he gets some sleep.'

The plane took off. Carl watched the lights of the airport grow smaller below them. Then the plane flew above the clouds and he could see the moon and the stars in the night sky. He lay back in his seat and closed his eyes.

air hostess a woman who looks after the comfort of the passengers of an aircraft during flight. 女空中服务员，空中小姐。

aboard adv. on or into (a ship, train, aircraft, bus, etc.). 在（船、火车、飞机、公共汽车等）上；上（船、火车、飞机、公共汽车等）。

take off (esp. a plane) to rise from the surface of the earth. （尤指飞机）起飞。

第一章

空中小姐微笑着招呼道：“欢迎乘坐本次航班，先生。请问您想来份报纸吗？”

“好，来一份吧。”卡尔一边接过报纸，一边看着他的票，“我的座位号是5F，请问在哪儿？”

“在飞机的前部，先生。在左边，就在那里，靠近窗户的位置。”

“我知道了，非常感谢。”卡尔也微笑着跟空中小姐说。她又年轻又漂亮。她真像我女儿，卡尔心想。

他把随身携带的包放在座位底下，然后在自己的位子上坐了下来。他的朋友哈拉尔德就坐在他的旁边。他们看着其他的乘客一一登上了飞机。哈拉尔德看了看手表。

“晚上9点半，”他说，“很好。我们会准时起飞的。”

卡尔表示同意。“再过三个小时，我们就到家了，”他说，“这真是太好了。我们已经离家很久了。哈拉尔德，见到家人你会很高兴的，对吧？”

哈拉尔德微笑着。“是的，我会很高兴。先生，你见过这个东西吗？”他打开提包，从里面取出了两架小飞机，“这是给我的儿子买的。我每次都给他们带些小玩意儿回去。”

“你儿子多大了？”卡尔问。

“一个五岁，一个快七岁了。大儿子明天过生日。”

“那他今天晚上一定特别兴奋。”

“肯定的。但愿他能睡会儿觉。”

飞机起飞了。卡尔看着机场的灯在他们的下面越变越小。然后飞机飞到了云层上面，他能看见夜空中的星星和月亮。他靠在座位上，闭上了双眼。

Chapter 2

Later, he woke up. Harald was asleep. Carl looked at his watch. It was midnight. He called the air hostess.

'Excuse me. What time do we arrive?'

'11. 30 p. m. local time, sir. That's about half an hour from now.'

'Thank you.' Carl changed the time on his watch.

'Anything else, sir?'

'No, I don't think so. Oh, wait a minute—could I have a cup of coffee, please?'

'Yes, of course, sir.' He watched her bring the coffee. 'She walks like my daughter, too,' he thought. 'And she is very young. She looks nervous, not sure what to do.'

'How long have you been an air hostess?' he asked.

She smiled. 'Three months, sir,' she said.

'Do you like it?'

'Yes, I love it. It's very exciting.' She smiled nervously. 'Will that be all, sir?'

'Yes, thank you.'

'Have a nice flight.'

He drank the coffee and started to read his newspaper. When Harald woke up, Carl showed him a page in the paper.

'Look. There you are,' he said. He pointed to a picture. In the middle of the picture stood Carl himself—a short thin man with grey hair, wearing a suit. Behind him, on the left, was Harald—a tall, strong young man, like a sportsman. Both men were smiling. 'That's you and me, outside the Embassy,' said Carl. 'We're in the news again. You can show it to your sons. You're a famous man, Harald!'

Harald laughed. 'You're the famous man, sir, not me,' he said. 'I'm just a police officer. It's my job to take care of you. That's a photo of you, not me.'

'Perhaps. But your children think that you're a famous man, I'm sure. Here, take it, and show it to them.'

'OK. Thanks.' Harald smiled, and put the newspaper in his coat pocket. 'I think I'll have a cup of coffee too.' He called for the air hostess, but she did not come. Harald looked surprised.

'What's the matter?' Carl asked.

'The air hostess,' Harald said. 'She's sitting down talking to those two men.'

Carl looked up and saw the young air hostess. She was sitting in a seat at the front of the plane with two young men. They looked worried and nervous. Suddenly, one of the young men picked up a bag and walked into the pilot's cabin! The other man and the air hostess followed him.

'That's strange,' said Carl. 'What are they doing?'

'I don't know. It's very strange,' said Harald. 'I don't like it at all.' He began to get out of his seat, but then stopped and sat down again.

For one or two minutes nothing happened. None of the other passengers moved or spoke. They had seen the young men too. It became very quiet in the plane.

A bell rang, and for a moment they could hear two voices arguing. Then the pilot spoke.

'Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Captain speaking. Please do not be afraid. There is a change of plan. We have to land at another airport before we finish our journey. There's no danger. We will land in fifteen minutes. Please stay in your seats and keep calm. Thank you.'

Then the air hostess came out of the cabin. She looked very different now because she had a machine gun in her hand. She stood at the front of the plane and watched the passengers carefully.

wake up 醒，醒来。

asleep adj. sleeping. 睡熟的，睡着的。

pick up take hold of and lift sth. 拿起，捡起。

cabin n. the room at the front of an aircraft in which the pilot sits. 机长室。

argue v. to provide reasons for or against sth., esp. clearly and in proper order. 辩论，争论。

第二章

过了一会儿，他醒了。哈拉尔德还在熟睡。卡尔看看手表，正是半夜时分。卡尔招呼空中小姐。

“对不起。请问我们几点到达？”

“当地时间晚上11点半，先生。还有大约半个小时。”

“谢谢。”卡尔把他的手表调成了当地时间。

“还有别的事情吗，先生？”

“没，没有了。哦，等一下——请给我来杯咖啡好吗？”

“没问题，先生。”他看着她把咖啡端过来。“她走路的样子也像我女儿。”他想，“她还很年轻。她看起来有点儿紧张，不知道到底怎么做才好。”

“你当空中小姐多长时间了？”卡尔问她。

她微笑着。“三个月了，先生。”她说。

“你喜欢这个工作吗？”

“是的，我喜欢。这工作非常有意思。”她笑得有些不自然，“还有事情吗，先生？”

“没事儿了，谢谢。”

“祝您旅途愉快。”

他开始边喝咖啡边看报纸。哈拉尔德醒来的时候，卡尔把报纸的其中一个版面指给他看。

“瞧，你在这儿呢，”他说。他手指着一张照片。站在照片中间的那位就是卡尔——一个身材瘦小，头发花白，身穿西服的人。在他身后的左侧站着哈拉尔德——他是个又高又壮的年轻人，就像个运动员。两个人都笑了。“这是我们在大使馆门口照的，”卡尔说，“我们又成新闻对象了。你可以把这张照片给你的儿子看一看。你是名人了，哈拉尔德！”

哈拉尔德笑了。“先生，你是名人，我可不是，”他说，“我只是个警察。我的工作是保护你，这照片是照你的，不是照我的。”

“也许吧。但是，我敢肯定，你的孩子会把你当成名人的。给，拿上这张报纸，回去给他们看看。”

“好吧。谢谢。”哈拉尔德微笑着接过报纸，装在了外衣口袋里，“我想我也需要一杯咖啡。”他招呼空中小姐，但是她没有过来。哈拉尔德的表情很惊讶。

“怎么了？”卡尔问。

“那个空中小姐，”哈拉尔德说，“她坐在那儿跟那两个男的说话。”

卡尔抬起头，看见了那个年轻的空中小姐。她正和两个年轻男子坐在靠近飞机前部的一个座位上。他们看上去都很焦虑、紧张。突然，其中的一个年轻男子拿起一个袋子进了机长室！剩下的那个男人和空中小姐也跟了进去。

“太奇怪了，”卡尔说，“他们在干什么呢？”

“我也不知道，是很奇怪，”哈拉尔德说，“我感到不对劲儿。”他从座位上站了起来，本打算出去，但很快他又坐了下来。

有那么一会儿工夫，什么事情也没有发生。其他乘客也看见了那两个年轻人，但是既没人动一动，也没人说话。飞机上变得非常安静。

传来一声铃响，一时间，人们能听到两个人争论的声音。随后，传来了驾驶员的声音。

“女士们，先生们，我是本次航班的机长。请大家不要害怕，我们要改变飞行计划。在到达目的地之前，我们得在另外一个机场降落。这没有危险。飞机15分钟之后降落。请大家在各自的座位上坐好，保持镇静。谢谢。”

这时候，那个空中小姐从机长室走了出来。不过，此时的她已经有了很大变化，因为她手里拿着一把机枪。她站在飞机的前部，目不转睛地看着飞机上的乘客。

Chapter 3

'Here we are, madam.' The big black car stopped and a police officer opened the back door.

'Thank you.' Helen Sandberg smiled at him as she got out. Another police officer opened the front door of her house.

Inside the house it was quiet. Her daughter was reading. She put the book down.

'Hello, Mummy. You're late. You said you'd be home by ten o'clock. I wanted to talk to you about my homework, remember?'

Helen sat down. 'I'm sorry, Sarah. I did remember, really. But I had a very busy day. Anyway, I'm home now. What's the problem?'

'It's this book,' said Sarah. 'I have to write about it at school on Friday, and I don't understand it.'

'All right,' said Helen. 'Bring the book into the kitchen and I'll look at it while you make me a cup of coffee.'

They sat in the kitchen and talked for nearly half an hour. Then Helen looked at her watch. 'OK, Sarah, that's enough for now. It's nearly midnight, and I must be up at six tomorrow. I'm going to bed. Goodnight.'

Alone in her bedroom, she undressed and got into the big empty bed. She was very tired. She closed her eyes and in three minutes she was asleep.

The phone rang at 12.15 a. m.

Helen groaned, and picked it up.

'Hello... What?... Who?... Do you know what time it is?'

She ran her hand through her hair and turned the light on. 'What, now? I don't believe it. Are you sure?'

The voice on the telephone explained carefully. Helen groaned again, and sat up. 'I hope it is serious. If it isn't, somebody is going to be in big trouble... yes... All right... Send the car in fifteen minutes, then. And bring me some coffee! Goodbye.'

She put the phone down and got out of bed. Outside the window she could hear a strong wind blowing.

Twenty minutes later she was sitting in the back of her big black car, drinking a cup of coffee and talking to the Chief of Airport Police on the car telephone. It was raining heavily.

make a cup of coffee 煮咖啡。

groan v. to say in a low voice. 呻吟，低声抱怨。

turn on to cause (water, gas, electricity, etc.) to flow. 打开；接通（水源、煤气、电源等）。

第三章

“我们到了，夫人。”黑色大轿车停了下来，一个警官打开了车的后门。

“谢谢你。”海伦·桑德伯格一边下车，一边对他微笑着。这时，另一个警官走过去打开了她家的前门。

家里很安静。女儿正在看书。她放下手中的书。

“您好，妈妈。您迟到了，您说您10点之前到家的。我想跟您谈谈我的家庭作业，您还记得吗？”

海伦坐了下来。“对不起，萨拉。我当然记得，真的。但是我今天太忙了。不过，我现在回家了。你有什么问题呢？”

“是关于这本书，”萨拉说，“星期五我得在学校根据它写一篇文章，但是我看不懂。”

“好吧，”海伦说，“把它拿到厨房来，你给我煮一杯咖啡，我来给你看看。”

她们在厨房里坐下，谈了将近半个小时。然后海伦看了看手表。“好了，萨拉，就谈到这儿吧。快半夜了，我明天早晨6点就得起床。我要去睡觉了，晚安。”

她一个人回到卧室，脱下衣服，躺在空荡荡的大床上。她非常疲惫，闭上眼睛不到三分钟就睡着了。

凌晨12:15的时候，电话铃响了。

海伦嘴里嘟囔着，拿起了听筒。

“喂……什么？……谁？……你知道现在几点吗？”

她用手理了理头发，打开了灯。“什么，现在？我不相信。你确定吗？”

电话另一端的人在认真地解释着。海伦又嘟囔了几句，坐了起来。“我希望这的确很严重。否则的话，有人可能会有大麻烦的……是的……好吧……那15分钟之后把车开过来。再给我带点儿咖啡来！再见。”

她放下电话，起了床。窗外，她能听见狂风怒吼。

20分钟之后，她已经坐在了她那辆黑色大轿车的后排座上，一边喝着咖啡，一边用车上的电话和机场警察局的局长通着话。车外大雨倾盆。

Chapter 4

Carl looked out of the plane window. It was very dark and rainy. It was a small airport with only one or two other planes. But there were three police cars near the airport building.

'I don't understand,' he said quietly in Harald's ear. 'Why are we here?'

Harald looked worried. 'Don't ask me,' he whispered back. 'Ask them.'

'No thanks.' Carl looked at the hijackers. The young air hostess was still standing at the front of the plane with her machine gun. One of the young men, also with a machine gun, was standing at the back of the plane. The other hijacker was in the Captain's cabin. All the passengers sat very quietly in their seats.

A bell rang and a man's voice spoke.

'Ladies and gentlemen, listen to me. This plane is ours now, and you are our prisoners. We do not want to hurt you, but as you can see, we have our guns and we know how to shoot. So please, sit quietly in your seats and do what we say. We will be here for one or two hours. The Government of this country has two of our brothers in a prison near this airport. We are asking the Government to bring our two brothers to this plane. When our brothers are free, you will be free. We think this will take one or two hours, but not very long. As you know, the Prime Minister of this country is only a woman. She will do what we say. So do not worry. Just sit very still and wait a little while. Goodnight.'

Carl looked at Harald. 'Oh dear,' he whispered. 'I think we're in trouble, my young friend. Big trouble.'

Harald agreed. 'We certainly are. The Government won't set those two men free. They tried to put a bomb on a plane last year, didn't they, sir? They're in prison for thirty years!'

'I know,' Carl whispered. 'No one could set them free. So what about us?'

'What about you, you mean,' whispered Harald. 'I'm not important. Look, sir, you'd better give me your passport.'

'What? Why?'

'Ssh!' Harald put his hand on the older man's arm and stopped talking. Carl looked up and saw the young air hostess staring at them. Her machine gun was pointing at them too. He stopped talking and looked out of the window.

After a few minutes she stopped watching them. 'Give me the passport, sir!' Harald whispered, very quietly. Very slowly and carefully, Carl took it out of his pocket and gave it to him.

There was still some coffee in Carl's cup. Very carefully, Harald put the passport on his tray and poured the coffee onto it. When the passport was very wet, he tore it slowly into little pieces. He was a strong young man and because the passport was wet, it did not make a sound. Then, one by one, he put the pieces of wet paper into his mouth and ate them. In ten minutes, the passport had disappeared.

'I don't understand,' whispered Carl. 'Why did you do that?'

'You'll see,' whispered Harald. 'But when they ask questions, let me answer, sir. OK? You say nothing.'

'OK.' Carl looked away, out of the window. A large black car was just driving up to the airport building.

look out of to see the outside of. 往外看。

still adj. not moving. 静止的，不动的。

set... free 释放。

be in prison 被判入狱。

stare at to look fixedly with wide open eyes, as in wonder, fear, or deep thought. 凝视，盯着看。

tear v. to pull apart or into pieces by force, esp. so as to leave irregular edges. 撕破，撕裂。

第四章

卡尔透过飞机的窗户向外看。外面很黑，还下着雨。这是一个小型机场，只有另外一两架飞机。但是在机场大楼的旁边，停着三辆警车。

“我不明白，”他附在哈拉尔德的耳边悄悄地说，“我们怎么会在这儿降落呢？”

哈拉尔德一脸焦急。“别问我，”他低声回答，“问他们。”

“不用了，谢谢。”卡尔瞅了瞅那几个劫机犯。那个年轻的空中小姐仍然站在机舱前面，手里拿着机枪。其中一个年轻男人手里也拿着机枪，站在飞机的后部。另一个劫机犯在机长室。机上所有的乘客都静静地坐在座位上。

一阵铃声响过，传来一个男人的声音。

“女士们，先生们，请注意。现在这架飞机已经掌握在我们手里，你们是我们的俘虏。我们不想伤害你们，不过你们也看见了，我们手里有枪，我们也会用枪。所以，请老老实实地坐在你们的座位上，按照我们的要求去做。我们会在这里待上一两个小时。这个国家的政府把我们的两个弟兄关在这个机场附近的一所监狱里。我们现在要求政府把他们送到这架飞机上。一旦我们的两个兄弟自由了，你们也就自由了。我们估计这可能需要一到两个小时的时间，但不会很长。如你们所知，这个国家的首相只不过是个女的，她会听从我们的要求的。所以，你们不用紧张，只需安静地坐着等上一会儿。晚安。”

卡尔看着哈拉尔德。“哦，伙计，”他低声说，“我想我们有麻烦了，年轻的朋友。恐怕是大麻烦。”

哈拉尔德表示同意。“我们显然是有麻烦了。政府是不会释放那两个人的。去年他们企图往一架飞机上放炸弹，对吧，先生？他们被判入狱30年！”

“我知道，”卡尔悄悄回答，“没人会释放他们。那我们该怎么办呢？”

“你的意思是，你该怎么办。”哈拉尔德低声说，“我并不重要。所以，先生，你最好把你的护照给我。”

“什么？为什么？”

“嘘！”哈拉尔德把手放在卡尔的胳膊上，不再说话了。卡尔抬起头，看见那个年轻的空中小姐正盯着他们。她手里的机枪也正对着他们。他不再说话，眼睛看着窗外。

过了一会儿，她不再盯着他们看了。“先生，把你的护照给我！”哈拉尔德悄悄地说，声音很轻。卡尔慢慢地、小心翼翼地从口袋中掏出自己的护照，递给了他。

卡尔的杯子里还剩了一点儿咖啡。哈拉尔德十分小心地把护照放在他的餐盘上，把咖啡倒在上面。等护照湿透了，他慢慢地把它撕成碎片。他年轻强壮，而且护照已经湿透了，所以没有弄出一点儿声响。然后，他把这些湿透的碎纸片一片片地放进嘴里吃掉。仅仅十分钟的时间，那本护照就无影无踪了。

“我不明白，”卡尔低声说，“你为什么要这样做呢？”

“你会明白的，”哈拉尔德低声回答，“不过他们要是问问题的话，让我来回答，先生。好吗？你别说话。”

“好吧。”卡尔隔窗远望。他看见一辆很大的黑色轿车正驶向机场大楼。

Chapter 5

The black car stopped outside the airport building and a police officer opened the door. Helen Sandberg got out and went quickly inside. Upstairs, in the control room, the Chief of Airport Police, Inspector Holm, was waiting with a soldier. Helen's secretary, Michael, was there too.

'Good evening, Prime Minister,' said Inspector Holm. 'This is Colonel Carter, of the Special Commando Section.'

'Good evening, Colonel.' Helen shook hands with the soldier and looked at him. He was a thin, tough-looking man, about forty years old, with a brown face. His hand was hard and strong. 'I hope you know your job, 'she thought. 'I may need you.'

She looked out of the window. There was a large plane on the tarmac about two hundred metres away. All its lights were on. 'Is that the plane?' she asked.

'That's it, Prime Minister.'

'Right, give me the facts. How many people are on it?'

Inspector Holm answered. 'One hundred and eight passengers, five crew.'

'What nationalities are they?'

'There are twenty-nine Americans, fifteen British, two Brazilians, two Indians, and one Chinese. The others are from this country.'

'I see. There are a lot of Americans and British, then,' said Helen quietly. 'That means trouble.'

'Yes, Prime Minister,' answered Michael. 'I'm afraid their Ambassadors are on their way here now.'

Helen smiled at him quickly. He was a good secretary; he usually knew what she was thinking. Both the American Ambassador and the British Ambassador were difficult people.

She turned back to Inspector Holm. 'Tell me about the hijackers. What do they want?'

'We don't know how many hijackers there are, Prime Minister. But they have guns, we know that. And they want three things.' Inspector Holm paused and looked down at her. He was a very tall man and he looked very important in his uniform. Helen didn't like him much.

'Yes, well. What three things?' she asked quickly.

'Firstly, they say we must set free their two brothers from prison. You remember, Prime Minister—two men tried to put a bomb on a plane last year. They are in prison near here.'

'I remember,' Helen answered softly. 'They're in prison for thirty years, aren't they?'

'I think so. Something like that.' The man paused. 'Secondly, they say we must refuel the plane because they want to fly to another country. Thirdly, they say we must put this in all our newspapers. It says they are fighting for freedom for their people. They are freedom fighters. They want to liberate their people.'

He gave her a sheet of paper. Helen put it on the table. She did not read it. 'And what about the passengers?' she asked. 'When will the hijackers set them free?'

'They say they will set most of the passengers free when their brothers are on the plane. But they want ten passengers to fly away with them. They will set them free when they arrive.'

'I see.'

'There's one other thing, Prime Minister,' Colonel Carter spoke for the first time. His voice was very quiet, almost gentle. 'They say we must bring the prisoners to the airport in two hours. If not, they will kill a passenger. They said this one hour ago.'

'So we have one hour left?'

'That's right, Prime Minister. Just one hour. Then they will kill the first passenger.'

'I see.' Helen walked slowly to the window and stared out at the plane. It was still raining and a strong wind was blowing. She turned round. 'Thank you, gentlemen. I will have to talk to them. But first I need a few minutes to think. Colonel Carter, Inspector, please go to the other room. Tell the hijackers I will talk to them in five minutes. Michael, stay here.'

'But... yes, madam.' Inspector Holm looked unhappy, but he went out, slowly, with the Colonel. Michael sat quietly, looking at her. He knew what she was thinking.

'Have you got the passenger list, Michael?'

'Yes, Prime Minister. Here you are.'

She picked up the list of names and looked at it carefully. 'Oh my God!' His name was near the beginning. She dropped the list, sat down at the table, and ran her hands through her hair. For a long minute she said nothing. Then she looked up.

'This is going to be very difficult, isn't it, Michael?'

'I'm afraid so, Prime Minister. Very difficult indeed.'

Helen stood up and walked to the window, thinking hard. Outside in the rain, the American Ambassador's car stopped by the door.

commando n. a member of a small fighting force specially trained for making quick attacks into enemy areas. 突击队。

crew n. all the people working on a ship, plane, etc., except the officers. （总称）船上或飞机上的全体工作人员。

on one's way 在路上，在途中。

uniform n. distinctive clothing worn by members of same school or organization. 制服。

refuel v. to re-supply with fuel. 重新补给燃料。

fight for to campaign or strive determinedly for sth. 为……而战。

a sheet of paper a piece of paper. 一张纸。

list n. a set of names of things written one after the other, so as to remember them or keep them in order so that they can be found. 名单；清单。

第五章

黑色轿车在机场大楼外面停了下来，一个警官打开了车门。海伦·桑德伯格从车上下来，匆匆走进机场大楼。在楼上的机场控制室里，机场警察局局长，巡查官霍尔姆正在等她，一同在等她的还有一个军人。海伦的秘书迈克尔也在场。

“晚上好，首相，”巡查官霍尔姆说，“这位是来自特种突击队的卡特上校。”

“晚上好，上校。”海伦一边和那军人握手，一边上下打量着他。他身材瘦削，古铜色的面庞中透着坚毅，40岁上下的年纪。他的手坚定有力。“我希望你能胜任你的工作，”她想，“我可能会需要你。”

她向窗外望去。一架巨大的飞机停在大约200米开外的飞机跑道上。机上所有的灯都亮着。“就是那架飞机吗？”她问。

“是的，首相。”

“好，给我讲讲详细情况。飞机上有多少人？”

巡查官霍尔姆回答：“108名乘客，五名机组人员。”

“他们都是哪国人？”

“有29个美国人，15个英国人，两个巴西人，两个印度人，还有一个中国人。剩下的都是本国人。”

“我知道了。那么，有很多美国人和英国人，”海伦轻轻说，“这可麻烦了。”

“是的，首相，”迈克尔回答，“恐怕这两国的大使正在往这里赶。”

海伦马上对他笑了笑。他真是个好秘书，总能猜透她的心思。美国大使和英国大使都是难对付的人。

她转过身问巡查官霍尔姆：“跟我谈谈劫机者的情况。他们想要什么？”

“我们还不清楚有几名劫机犯，首相。但我们知道，他们有枪。他们一共要求三件事情。”巡查官霍尔姆停顿了一下，低头看了看她。他个子很高，穿上制服颇有气派。海伦不怎么喜欢他。

“嗯，好。是哪三件事情呢？”她追问。

“第一，他们说我们必须释放他们的两个兄弟。你还记得吗，首相——去年有两个人企图往飞机上装炸弹。他们现在被关在这附近的监狱里。”

“我记得，”海伦轻声答道，“他们被判入狱30年，对吧？”

“我想是的。差不多是这样。”他停顿了一下，“第二，他们说我们必须给飞机补充燃油，因为他们要飞往另外一个国家。第三，他们说我们必须在我们所有的报纸上刊登这些内容，说他们是为了他们人民的自由而战，他们是自由斗士，他们要解放他们的人民。”

他递给她一张纸。海伦把纸放在桌上，她并没有看这张纸。“乘客们怎么样？”她问，“劫机者什么时候释放乘客？”

“他们说一旦他们的兄弟上了飞机，他们就释放绝大多数的乘客。但他们还要扣押十名乘客跟他们一起飞走，到达目的地以后再放了他们。”

“我明白了。”

“首相，还有一件事情，”这是卡特上校第一次开口说话。他的声音非常平静，甚至是温柔的，“他们说我们必须在两个小时之内把那些罪犯带到机场。不然的话，他们就会杀掉一名乘客。他们是在一个小时之前说的这话。”

“那么我们只剩一个小时的时间了？”

“是的，首相。只剩一个小时了。然后，他们就会杀掉第一名乘客。”

“我明白了。”海伦慢慢地踱到窗前，盯着窗外的飞机。外面仍然下着雨，狂风呼啸。她转过身。“谢谢你们，先生们。我必须跟他们谈谈。但首先我需要几分钟来整理一下思路。卡特上校，巡查官，请到另一个房间去。告诉劫机犯，我将在五分钟之后跟他们对话。迈克尔，你留下。”

“但是……好吧，夫人。”巡查官霍尔姆看上去有些不乐意，但他还是磨磨蹭蹭地和上校一起出去了。迈克尔静静地坐在那里，看着她。他知道她在想什么。

“迈克尔，你有乘客的名单吗？”

“有，首相。给您。”

她接过名单，仔细看着。“哦天啊！”他的名字非常靠前。她把名单扔到一边，跌坐在桌子旁，用手拢着头发。好一会儿，她一句话也没说。然后她抬起头。

“这下恐怕很麻烦了，对吗，迈克尔？”

“恐怕是这样，首相。确实非常麻烦。”

海伦站起身，来到窗户旁边，苦思冥想。窗外，雨中，美国大使的车停在了门口。

Chapter 6

Carl looked through the window and watched the cars arrive at the airport building. There were a lot of cars now and a lot of lights in the building. Inside the plane it was hot and quiet. There was nothing to do. He remembered other times when he had been in a plane at night with his wife and daughter. That had been fun because they were excited and going on holiday. His daughter had always asked lots of questions in the plane. Now no one said anything at all. Carl sat, and thought, and felt his face becoming wet with sweat.

'Your passports, please!'

'What?' He turned suddenly. One of the hijackers, a young man in a black shirt, was just behind them. He had a bag in his hand and he was taking everyone's passports and putting them in it.

'Why...?'

'Be quiet!' Harald whispered. 'Let me talk, sir. Remember?'

'Your passports, please.' The young man stood by their seats.

'Here you are.' Harald gave the man his passport.

'Thank you. And his?'

'He has no passport. I am a police officer and he is my prisoner. I am taking him to prison in my country.'

'I see.' The young man looked at them both in surprise. 'Stand up, you!'

Carl stood up and the young man searched his pockets, but he found nothing. He told Carl to sit down, then he opened Harald's passport and looked inside. 'Police pig!' he said. 'Now you are our prisoner!' Then he hit Harald in the face, looked at Carl, and laughed. 'And perhaps we will set him free!'

Harald said nothing. The hijacker was about the same age as him, but not so big. The young hijacker laughed again and moved on to the next seat.

'Thank you, Harald,' Carl whispered, when the man was at the front of the plane. 'That was very brave. But I won't let you die for me, you know.'

'Be quiet, sir! Something's happening!' Harald whispered back.

Carl looked up. Another hijacker was standing in the door of the Captain's cabin. He was talking to the other two. He was a big strong man, with a black beard. He looked angry and waved his arms. Carl listened carefully. He could hear one or two words, but not many.

'... nothing! Nothing at all!... stupid woman!... she needs time, she says...'

All the hijackers were angry now. They looked at the passports and then started to walk down the aisle, pointing their guns at the passengers. Harald sat very still in his seat.

'Don't look at them, Carl,' he whispered. 'Sit very still and don't look at them.'

Suddenly the big hijacker pulled a passenger out of his seat. The passenger was a short fat man in a grey suit. He shouted angrily in a voice that sounded American, but the hijacker hit him and then pushed him to the front of the plane with his machine gun.

'Turn towards the door!' he shouted. 'Put your hands on the door! Above your head! Higher! That's it!'

The air hostess pointed her gun at the American's back. The hijacker in the black shirt stood at the front of the plane and pointed his gun at the passengers.

'Don't move!' he shouted. 'Stay in your seats and don't look back!' Then the big bearded hijacker went back into the Captain's cabin.

The bell rang. The hijacker's voice spoke.

'Passengers! Listen to me! You know we are here to set our brothers free. I have spoken to the Prime Minister of this country. I told her she must bring our brothers here by two o'clock. That is plenty of time because the prison is only ten kilometres from here. She says she needs more time, but we know she is lying. We have no time. The passenger at the front of the plane is an American spy who lives in our country. All Americans who live in our country are spies. If our brothers are not here at two o'clock, he will die. If you try to help him, you will die too.'

'Jesus,' Carl said quietly. He looked at his watch. The time was 1.50 a. m. He looked out of the window across the rainy tarmac to the airport building. In one of those rooms was the Prime Minister. What would she do? What could she do? 'Come on, honey,' he said softly. 'Start thinking. Think fast, honey. And think hard!'

arrive at to reach destination or end of journey. 到达。

in surprise surprisedly. 吃惊地，惊讶地。

aisle n. passage between rows of pews or seats. 座位中间的过道。

plenty of a great deal of. 许多，大量（只能修饰不可数名词）。

honey n. darling. 爱人，宝贝。

第六章

卡尔往窗外望去，看见一辆辆汽车开到了机场大楼前。此时，外面已经停了很多车，大楼里灯火通明。机舱内很热，也很安静。什么也做不了。他回忆起了从前，他和妻子、女儿一起在晚上乘坐飞机的情景。那真是一段愉快的时光，他们非常兴奋，因为他们要去度假。他的女儿在飞机上总有问不完的问题。现在，没有一个人吱声。卡尔坐在那里思考着，他觉得自己的脸上淌满了汗水。

“请拿出你的护照！”

“什么？”他猛地回过头。那个穿黑色衬衣的年轻劫机犯正站在他的身后。他手里拿着一个袋子，把所有人的护照都收走，放到袋子里。

“为什么……？”

“别说话！”哈拉尔德低声说，“让我来跟他讲，先生。还记得吗？”

“请交出你们的护照。”年轻人就站在他们的座位旁边。

“给你。”哈拉尔德把他的护照交给了那人。

“谢谢。他的呢？”

“他没有护照。我是一个警官，他是我押解的罪犯，我要把他押回到我们国家服刑。”

“我明白了。”年轻人好奇地打量着他们，“你，站起来！”

卡尔站了起来，年轻人搜查了他的口袋，但没有发现任何东西。他让卡尔坐下，然后打开哈拉尔德的护照来看。“警察猪！”他说，“现在你是我们的囚犯了！”他给了哈拉尔德一个耳光，眼睛望着卡尔大笑着，“也许我们会把他放了！”

哈拉尔德没有吭声。这名劫机犯和他的年龄差不多，只不过不像他那么魁梧。年轻的劫机犯又狂笑了一通，然后走到了下一个座位跟前。

“谢谢你，哈拉尔德，”卡尔低声说，此时劫机犯走到了飞机的前面，“你太勇敢了。但是，你要明白，我不会让你为我牺牲的。”

“别说话了，先生！有情况！”哈拉尔德低声说道。

卡尔抬起头。另一个劫机犯正站在机长室门口，他在和两个同伙说话。他长得又高又壮，留着黑色的小胡子。他挥舞着胳膊，看起来很生气。卡尔竖起耳朵全神贯注地听着。他能听见一两个字，但是不多。

“……什么都没有！一点儿也没有！……愚蠢的女人！……她需要时间，她说……”

现在所有的劫机犯都有些气急败坏。他们把护照拿起来看了看，然后走到过道中间，拿枪对着乘客。哈拉尔德静静地坐在座位上。

“别盯着他们看，卡尔，”他低声说，“安静地坐着，别看他们。”

突然，那个大个子劫机犯把一个乘客从座位上拽了起来。这是一个矮胖的男人，穿着灰色套装。他愤怒地大喊大叫，听口音像是个美国人，但劫机犯打了他，然后用机枪顶着他来到机舱前面。

“脸朝着门！”他吼道，“把手放到门上！举过头顶！再高点儿！行了！”

那个空中小姐拿她的枪顶着美国人的后背。穿黑衬衣的劫机犯站在机舱前面，手里的枪对着所有的乘客。

“不许动！”他大喊，“坐在你们的座位上，不许向后看！”然后，那个留着胡子的大个子劫机犯转身进了机长室。

铃声响了，传来了劫机犯的声音。

“各位乘客请注意！你们知道，我们到这里来是为了解救我们的兄弟。我已经跟这个国家的首相通过话了，我告诉她，两点钟之前，她必须把我们的弟兄送过来。这个时间足够了，因为监狱离这里只有十公里。她却说她需要更多一点儿的时间，但我们知道她这是在撒谎。我们没有时间了。现在站在机舱前面的这个乘客是一个居住在我们国家的美国间谍。所有住在我们国家的美国人都是间谍。如果两点钟的时候我们的两个弟兄还没有被送到飞机上，他就得死。如果你们企图帮他，你们也会死。”

“主啊。”卡尔低声叫道。他看了一眼自己的手表，已经是凌晨1:50了。放眼窗外，他的目光穿过雨中的飞机跑道，看到了机场大楼。首相就在其中的一个房间里。她会做些什么？她能做些什么呢？“快点儿，宝贝，”他轻声说，“想想办法吧。快点儿想个办法吧，宝贝。好好想想吧！”

Chapter 7

Helen Sandberg sat at the radio in the control room. Michael, Inspector Holm, and Colonel Carter sat behind her. They could all see the plane, two hundred metres away, and they could all hear the voice of the hijacker on the radio. It was loud, excited.

'Our brothers have done nothing wrong. They are innocent! They are fighters for the freedom of our people! We need them with us on this plane, now!'

Helen kept her voice low and calm. 'Look, I understand what you say. But those men are criminals; they're in prison. I can't bring them here. And remember, the passengers on the plane are innocent people too, with families and children. Please set them free. We will not hurt you. We...'

The voice on the radio interrupted her. 'Mrs Sandberg! I do not want to talk any more. It is now 1.59 a.m. Do you have our brothers here, at the airport?'

'No. I told you...'

'Then watch the front door of the plane. You can see it well, I hope?'

'Yes.' Helen's voice was quiet now, almost a whisper.

'Then watch. There is an American spy behind it. And remember, we have many American spies, and many important business people on this plane. In half an hour I will ask you again about my brothers.'

Helen stared out at the plane. Its front door was very small and far away. Colonel Carter touched her arm.

'Here are some binoculars, Prime Minister. You will be able to see more clearly with these.'

She did not want to look, but she had to. She had decided not to free the prisoners, so now she had to see what happened to the passengers. She picked up the binoculars and stared at the front door of the plane.

The door opened slowly. There were no steps outside the door, so it was about four metres above the ground. Standing in the door was a short fat man, his hands above his head. His face was white and he looked very frightened. Then he jumped. But as he jumped, a girl came to the door and shot him. Some bullets hit him in the air and more bullets hit him as he lay on the ground. One of his arms moved a little and blood ran out of the side of his head onto the wet tarmac. The girl continued shooting him for ten, maybe fifteen seconds. Then someone pulled her back into the plane and the door closed.

For a long time everyone was silent. Then Colonel Carter spoke. 'Inspector, why didn't your men shoot? That girl was in the doorway for nearly fifteen seconds! Why isn't she dead?'

'We... are police officers, not soldiers. I...' But the Colonel interrupted him.

'Prime Minister, let my men deal with this problem. They have, killed a man now and they'll kill another one in half an hour. We must attack that plane! We are commandos; we know how to do it!'

Helen was still watching the dead body of the man on the tarmac. She thought a hand moved, for a moment; but no, he must be dead by now. There was a pool of blood on the tarmac now, around his head. He could not possibly be alive. For a moment she did not hear the voices around her. In half an hour...

'Prime Minister... ?'

'Yes.' She turned towards them. 'Yes. Colonel Carter, bring your men here, immediately. Meet me in ten minutes with your plan. But I warn you, it must be a good one. I don't want any more dead passengers.'

'Yes, Prime Minister. At once.' The Colonel turned to go.

'Inspector.'

'Yes, madam.'

'I want those two prisoners brought here from the prison. At once. You have twenty-five minutes, no more. Do you understand?'

'But Prime Minister! You can't do that!' The Inspector and the Colonel stared at her in surprise.

'I can and I will.'

'But these men are dangerous criminals—terrorists! They tried to put a bomb on a plane! They are in prison for...'

'For thirty years, Colonel. I know. But they are only two men, and there are over a hundred innocent people on that plane. My job is to save their lives, and I need time to do it.'

The Inspector stood up very tall and straight in his fine uniform. 'Prime Minister, I strongly advise you not to do this. You don't understand...'

Helen interrupted him, her voice ice-cold and angry. 'I understand very well indeed, Inspector. And I thank you for your advice. But I think I must make the decisions, and you must obey my orders. You now have only twenty-four minutes. Bring those prisoners here, please.'

'Yes, madam.' The Inspector and the Colonel left the room, looking very unhappy.

'Prime Minister?'

'Yes, Michael?' She turned, and saw that Michael was smiling quietly.

'The American and British Ambassadors are here. Do you want to see them?'

She groaned, and sat down suddenly. 'Do I want to? Of course I don't! But I suppose I must talk to them because that man was an American. Send them in. They can have five minutes with me, that's all.'

'Yes, Prime Minister.' Michael picked up a telephone.

innocent adj. (of people) guiltless. 无辜的，无罪的。

criminal n. a person who is guilty of crime. 犯罪者，罪犯。

binoculars n. a pair of glasses like short telescopes for both eyes, used for looking at distant objects. 双筒望远镜。

interrupt v. to break the flow of speech of someone by saying sth. 打岔，插嘴。

deal with handle, cope with. 处理，应对。

attack v. to bring violence on, esp. with weapons. 进攻。

dangerous adj. able to or likely to cause danger. 危险的。

make a decision to decide. 做出决定。

obey v. to do what one is asked or ordered to do by someone. 遵守。

第七章

海伦·桑德伯格坐在控制室的无线电前。她的身后坐着迈克尔、巡查官霍尔姆和卡特上校。他们都能看到那架飞机，距此只有200米的距离。他们甚至都能听见无线电中劫机犯讲话的声音，那声音很大、很亢奋。

“我们的弟兄没有做错任何事情。他们是无辜的！他们是为我们人民的自由而战的斗士！现在，必须把他们送到我们这架飞机上！”

海伦尽力让自己的声音保持低沉和冷静。“你瞧，我明白你的意思。但是，那两个人是罪犯；他们被关在监狱里，我不能把他们带到这里来。而且请你记住，飞机上的乘客也是无辜的，他们也有家庭、有孩子。请放了他们。我们不会伤害你们的，我们……”

无线电里传出的声音打断了她。“桑德伯格夫人！我不想再跟你谈了。现在是凌晨1:59分。你把我们的两个弟兄带过来了吗，带到机场了吗？”

“没有。我告诉你……”

“好吧，看飞机的前门。但愿你能看得清？”

“看得清。”海伦的声音非常微弱，几乎是喃喃而语。

“那你看着。门后现在站着一个美国间谍。记住，我们手里有很多美国间谍，飞机上还有很多举足轻重的商人。半个小时之后，我会再问你一遍，我的弟兄怎么样了。”

海伦盯着窗外的飞机。它的前门很小，距离又很远。卡特上校碰了碰她的胳膊。

“这儿有一副双筒望远镜，首相。用它你能看得更清楚些。”

她不想看，但是她不能不看。她已经打定主意不释放那些罪犯，所以她现在需要搞清楚乘客那边的情况。她拿起望远镜，往飞机的前门那里望去。

门缓缓地打开了。因为没有舷梯，所以飞机的门离地面大约有四米高。门口站着一个身材矮胖的男人，他的手举过头顶。他脸色苍白，看上去吓得魂不附体。然后，他纵身跳了下来。可是就在他跳下来的瞬间，一个姑娘冲到门口，开枪向他射击。有几枪在空中击中了他，但是更多的子弹是他坠落到地上之后击中他的。他的一只胳膊微微动了动，鲜血从他贴着湿漉漉的飞机跑道那一侧的头颅中喷涌而出。那个姑娘又持续向他射击了十秒钟，也许是15秒钟。然后，有人把她拽回了飞机，机门又被关上了。

好一会儿，没有一个人吱声。终于卡特上校张口说话了：“巡查官，你的人为什么不开枪？那个姑娘站在机舱门口有将近15秒钟之久！为什么没有把她打死？”

“我们……是警察，不是士兵。我……”但是，卡特上校打断了他。

“首相，让我的人来应对这个场面吧。他们已经杀了一个人了，半个小时之后，他们会再杀死一个的。我们必须向飞机发动强攻！我们是特种兵；我们知道该怎么办！”

海伦仍然盯着跑道上的那具男尸看。有一瞬间，她曾以为死者的一只手动了动；但不是，他现在肯定已经死了。在飞机跑道上，在他的头部周围，现在有一大滩鲜血。他不可能活着。有那么一会儿，她甚至听不见周围的声音。半个小时之后……

“首相……？”

“嗯。”她转过身面对着他们，“好吧。卡特上校，马上把你的人带到这儿来。十分钟之后带着你的行动计划来见我。不过我警告你，你的计划必须可行。我不想再看到更多的乘客死掉了。”

“是的，首相。马上照办。”上校转身要走。

“巡查官。”

“在，夫人。”

“我要把那两个罪犯从监狱带过来。立刻带过来。给你25分钟的时间，一分钟都不能延误。你明白吗？”

“但是首相！你不能这样做！”巡查官和上校都不解地盯着她。

“我能而且我就要这样做。”

“但他们是危险的罪犯——是恐怖分子！他们曾试图往飞机上装炸弹！他们被判入狱……”

“入狱30年，上校。我知道。但他们毕竟只有两个人，而飞机上有100多名无辜的乘客。我的任务就是要拯救他们的生命，我这么做需要时间。”

身穿得体的制服，巡查官站起来后显得高大挺拔。“首相，我坚决建议您不要这么做。您不明白……”

海伦打断了他的话，冰冷的声音中透着恼怒。“事实上我非常明白，巡查官。谢谢你的劝告。但是我认为我必须做出决定，而你们必须服从我的命令。现在你只剩下24分钟了。请把那些罪犯带到这里来。”

“遵命，夫人。”巡查官和上校一起离开了房间，看上去很不高兴。

“首相？”

“什么事，迈克尔？”她转过身，看见迈克尔正默默地微笑着。

“英美两国大使都在这儿。您想见他们吗？”

她嘟囔了一声，突然坐了下来。“我想吗？我当然不想！不过我认为我应该跟他们谈一谈，因为死的那个人是美国人。让他们进来吧，我可以给他们五分钟时间，就这样吧。”

“好吧，首相。”迈克尔抓起了电话。

Chapter 8

When the girl came back into the cabin she was shaking. Her hands were shaking and she was crying and smoke was coming out of her gun. One of the passengers, an American, stood up and shouted at her.

'You're a murderer!' he shouted. 'You're a dirty, murdering b...'

She turned and pointed the gun at him and fired. The man sat down in his seat and the bullets went above the seats, all along the plane, and out through the roof. After ten seconds the girl stopped firing and shouted.

'You shut up! You shut up and sit down or I'll kill you all! All of you!' But she was crying too, and the young man in the black shirt put his arm around her and held her. She leaned against him, crying, and he whispered something in her ear.

It was then that Harald moved. He got out of his seat, bent low, and ran very fast along the aisle towards the front of the plane. The young man and the girl did not see him coming and he caught them both around their legs and knocked them onto the floor. Harald fell on top of them and he tried to take one of the guns, but the girl pulled his hair and the young man held his arms. Then the bearded man came out of the Captain's cabin and hit Harald hard on the head with his gun. Harald fell on the floor and lay still. The bearded man pointed his gun at the passengers and shouted 'SIT STILL!' very loud indeed.

None of the passengers had moved except Carl, and he was too slow. He stood very still in the middle of the aisle five metres away from the bearded man's gun. The other two hijackers were still on the floor, and Carl saw the Captain move in the cabin behind the bearded man. But the young man in the black shirt saw him too, and stood up and pointed his gun at the Captain. Both Carl and the Captain were too late.

'I am getting old,' Carl thought. 'When I was young, I could move as fast as Harald. But not now.' Carl sat down in his seat, very slowly. The bearded man watched him all the time. He pushed Harald with his foot.

'Search him,' he said to the girl. 'Then handcuff him to the door. He will be the next one.'

The girl pulled Harald to the door. She found some handcuffs in his pocket and handcuffed him to the door. Then she searched his other pockets.

In one of his pockets she found a newspaper. She looked at it and saw the photo of Harald and Carl. She stood up slowly and showed it to the bearded man. He looked at the photo, and then he looked at Carl carefully and for a long time. Very slowly smiles appeared on the faces of the two hijackers and they began to laugh.

murderer n. a person who kills the other(s) unlawfully, esp. on purpose. 谋杀者。

roof n. the outside covering on top of a building. 屋顶，顶。

lean against to support or rest oneself in a bent or sloping position. 斜倚，斜靠。

第八章

那个姑娘回到机舱时，浑身颤栗。她双手发抖，而且哭了起来，她的枪口还在冒着烟。一个美国乘客站起来对她大吼。

“你是个杀人犯！”他喊道，“你是个肮脏的杀人……”

她转过身，对着他就是一枪。那名男子跌坐在座位上，子弹从座位上方飞过，穿过整个机舱之后，从飞机顶部穿了出去。十秒钟之后，姑娘停止了射击，开始喊叫。

“统统闭上嘴！闭上嘴老老实实地坐着，否则我就把你们统统杀掉！全部杀掉！”但她又哭了起来。穿黑色衬衣的年轻男子用胳膊揽住了她。她靠在他身上，放声大哭，他在她耳边低声地说了些什么。

就在那个时候，哈拉尔德开始行动了。他离开了座位，弯着腰，沿着过道快速地冲到机舱前面。年轻人和那个姑娘都没有看见他过来，他抓住了他们的腿，把他们摔倒在地。哈拉尔德压在他们的身上，想从他们手里夺过一枝枪，但是那个姑娘拽着他的头发，年轻男子抓住了他的胳膊。正在这时，那个留着小胡子的人从机长室出来，用手里的枪朝哈拉尔德的头部狠狠地打了一下。哈拉尔德顿时倒在地上，一动不动了。小胡子用手里的枪指着乘客吼道：“都坐着不许动！”吼声如雷。

机上所有的乘客都老老实实实地不动了，只有卡尔例外，不过他的动作太慢了。他一动不动地站在过道中间，离小胡子手里的枪大约有五米远。另外两名劫机犯还倒在地上没有起来，卡尔看见机长跟在小胡子的身后进了机长室。可是那个穿黑衬衫的年轻人也看到了机长，他一跃而起，拿枪顶着机长。卡尔和机长的反应都太迟缓了。

“我老了，”卡尔心想，“年轻的时候，我和哈拉尔德一样麻利。但现在不行了。”卡尔慢慢地坐回到自己的座位上，小胡子一直在盯着他。小胡子用脚踢了踢哈拉尔德。

“搜搜他的身，”他对那个姑娘说，“然后把他铐到门上。下一个就是他。”

那个姑娘把哈拉尔德拖到门口。她在哈拉尔德的口袋里找到了一副手铐，把他铐在了门上。接着，她又搜查了哈拉尔德的其他口袋。

在其中一个口袋里，她发现了一张报纸。她打开一瞧，看到了上面哈拉尔德和卡尔的照片。她慢慢地站起身来，把报纸拿给小胡子看。他看了看照片，又端详了卡尔好一会儿。两个劫机者的脸上渐渐地露出了一丝笑容，然后他们开始纵声大笑。

Chapter 9

Helen Sandberg stood up to welcome the American and British Ambassadors. The two men were very different. The American Ambassador was a short round man with a loud voice which Helen disliked very much. He often wore open-necked shirts, and he had a very hairy chest. She disliked that too. The British Ambassador — a tall thin Scotsman from Edinburgh — was always quiet, polite and well-dressed, but she did not always believe what he said. Once — a year ago — he had lied to her and she could never forget that.

But most of all, she disliked them because they were both military men and their countries were much bigger than hers. They wanted military bases for their soldiers in her country and she did not want them.

'So, gentlemen, what can I do for you?'

The American spoke first. 'Well, ma'am, an American passenger is dead...'

'Yes, I know. I am very sorry about that. I hope no more will die.'

'I hope so too, ma'am. There are twenty-eight US passengers on that plane and my Government wants to keep them alive.'

'There are a hundred and seven passengers on that plane, Ambassador, and my Government wants them all alive,' Helen answered quietly. But the Ambassador did not listen.

'So the US Government is going to help you, ma'am. We have fifty US Marines at the US Embassy, and they can be here in one hour from now. Then they'll just take that goddam plane apart.'

The Scotsman smiled. 'Excuse me, Ambassador, but perhaps one hour from now will be too late. One man is already dead. But, er... perhaps you don't know this, Prime Minister, but this week six SAS soldiers are visiting the British Embassy, and they're waiting outside in my car now. These men know a lot about hijacks; much more than the US Marines or, probably, your own soldiers, Prime Minister. They know exactly what to do. So...'

'Now just a moment!' The American interrupted. 'The US Marines are...'

'Gentlemen!' Helen's clear, hard voice stopped them. 'There's no time to argue. Firstly, I didn't know about the SAS soldiers in the British Embassy, and I am very surprised about it. Very surprised indeed, Ambassador. Secondly, I do not think it is a good idea to attack a plane with a hundred and seven passengers in it, and "take it apart" as you say. I want these people to live, not die. So I thank you for your ideas, but remember that this small country is ours, not yours. We will manage this problem in our own way, with our own people, thank you very much. Now you must excuse me, I am busy.'

At the door, the Scotsman turned back. 'Prime Minister, I know you want to save lives,' he said. 'I understand that. But these hijackers must not go free. My Government does not want that. No Government in the world wants that.'

'I know that, Ambassador,' Helen answered quietly. 'I know that very well.'

As they went out, the phone rang. Michael picked it up. Helen sat down at the table and watched him. His face was very serious. He wrote on a piece of paper and then put the phone down. For a moment, he did not look at her.

'What is it, Michael? Tell me.'

'It was a radio message from the plane, Prime Minister.'

'Well? What did they say? Didn't they want to talk to me?'

'No, Prime Minister. Just the message. It says: "We love our brothers. We hope the Prime Minister loves her husband. He is on the plane, just behind the door."'

For a long moment she stared at Michael, but she did not speak. A picture of the American passenger appeared in her head. She saw him jumping out of the door and the girl shooting him. Shooting him for ten, maybe fifteen long seconds.

'I'm sorry, Prime Minister,' said Michael softly.

'What? Yes, so am I. I thought perhaps... perhaps the hijackers didn't know Carl was my husband. But now they do know.'

She ran her hand through her hair and then looked at her watch. But her hand was shaking so much that she could not tell the time.

The phone rang again. Michael picked it up.

'Colonel Carter is outside, Prime Minister.' He watched her, waiting for an answer. 'I'll tell him to wait, shall I?'

She put her hands flat on the table and stood up. 'Yes. Yes, Michael. Tell him to wait two minutes, that's all.' She walked to the window and stared out at the plane. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass and for two minutes she did not move. Then she turned round and smiled at Michael.

'Let's just hope Colonel Carter's plan is a good one, shall we? Show him in.'

lie v. to have a false appearance. 撒谎。

military adj. of or connected with soldiers, armies, or war fought by armies. 军事的，军队的。

base n. a centre from which a start is made in an activity, often one where supplies are kept and plans are made. 基地。

Marine n. sometimes Marine Corps, a small army-like force connected to the navy. （美国）海军陆战队。

embassy n. the official building where an ambassador and those who work with him live in a foreign country. 大使馆。

take... apart to separate a small machine, clock, etc. into pieces. 分解，拆开。

message n. a spoken or written piece of information passed, from one person to another. 口信，消息。

flat adj. smooth and level. 平坦的，平直的。

press v. to push firmly and steadily against sth. 压。

forehead n. the part of the face above the eyes and below the hair. 前额，额。

第九章

海伦·桑德伯格起身欢迎英美两国大使。这是两个截然不同的人。美国大使身材矮胖，嗓门很大，这一点让海伦很不喜欢。他总爱穿开领的衬衫，而且他长着毛茸茸的胸毛，这一点她也不喜欢。英国大使——一个高高瘦瘦的苏格兰人，来自爱丁堡——总是非常安静，有礼貌，穿着考究，但是她不相信他说的话。有一次——在一年前——他曾经跟她撒过谎，那件事她永远也不会忘记。

但最重要的是，她不喜欢他们是因为他们都是行伍出身，而且他们的国家又都比她的祖国大很多。他们想在她的祖国建立军事基地，但是她不同意。

“好吧，先生们，我能为你们做些什么？”

美国大使首先开口讲话：“嗯，夫人，有一名美国乘客死了……”

“是的，我知道。我对此非常遗憾。我希望不会再有人死去。”

“我也希望如此，夫人。那架飞机上共有28名美国乘客，我国政府希望保证他们的生命安全。”

“大使，那架飞机上共有107名乘客，我国政府希望保证他们所有人的生命安全。”海伦平静地回答。但是美国大使并没有理会她的话。

“所以美国政府打算向您提供援助，夫人。现在我们的大使馆里有50名海军陆战队队员，一个小时之内他们就能赶到这里。他们能把那架混蛋飞机大卸八块。”

那个苏格兰人笑了。“请原谅，大使，可也许一个小时就太晚了。已经死了一个人了。不过，呃……也许您不知道，首相，这周，有六名英国特种航空队的士兵来访问英国使馆，他们现在就在外面我的车里等着。他们有丰富的对付劫机的经验；比美国海军陆战队队员或者，兴许比贵国战士的经验还要丰富，首相。他们非常清楚该怎么处理这种情况。所以……”

“等等！”美国大使插话道，“美国海军陆战队是……”

“先生们！”海伦清晰果断的声音打断了他们的争论，“我们没有时间来争论了。首先，我不知道在英国大使馆里有英国特种航空队士兵，对此我感到非常吃惊。大使先生，确实是非常吃惊。其次，飞机上有107名乘客，我不认为强攻是个好主意，或者像你说的那样，‘将其大卸八块’。我要让这些人活着，而不是死去。所以我感谢你们的意见，但请记住，这个小国是我们的，而不是你们的。我们将以自己的人力，按照自己的方式来解决这个问题，十分感谢。现在，请原谅，我很忙。”

走到门口，那苏格兰人又转过身。“首相，我知道您想保护这些乘客的生命安全，”他说，“对此，我理解。但是，不能放走这些劫机犯。我国政府不希望放走他们，世界上任何一个政府都不希望这样。”

“我明白，大使，”海伦平静地回答，“我非常清楚这一点。'

就在他们出去的时候，电话响了。迈克尔抓起话筒，海伦坐在桌边注视着他。他的脸色非常严肃，在一张纸上记了些什么，然后放下了听筒。有那么一会儿，他没有看她。

“怎么了，迈克尔？告诉我。”

“是飞机上发来的一个无线电信息，首相。”

“怎么了？他们说什么？他们不想和我对话吗？”

“是的，首相。只有一个口信，他们说：‘我们爱我们的弟兄。我们希望首相也爱她的丈夫。他在飞机上，就在门后。’”

好长一段时间，她愣愣地看着迈克尔，一言不发。发生在那个美国乘客身上的一幕在她的脑海中浮现出来。她目睹了他从门口跳出，那个姑娘对他开枪射击的情景，时间长达十秒钟，甚至有15秒钟。

“我感到很遗憾，首相。”迈克尔轻轻地说。

“什么？是的，我也很遗憾。我原以为也许……也许劫机犯不知道卡尔是我的丈夫。但现在他们知道了。”

她用手拢了拢头发，随后看了看手表。可是她的手颤抖得太厉害了，根本看不清时间。

电话又响了。迈克尔接听。

“首相，卡特上校在外面。”他注视着她，等着她的回答，“我让他等等，好吗？”

她双手撑着桌子站了起来。“是的。是的，迈克尔。告诉他等两分钟，就这样。”她走到窗边，凝视着窗外的飞机。她把额头贴在冰凉的玻璃上，足足有两分钟，她一动没动。然后她转过身，微笑着看着迈克尔。

“但愿卡特上校已经想出了一个好计划，对吗？让他进来。”

Chapter 10

In the plane, Carl and Harald sat on the floor by the door. They were handcuffed together with Harald's handcuffs. The girl hijacker stood watching them with her gun. The bearded man was in the Captain's cabin, and the young man in the black shirt was watching the other passengers.

Harald touched his head with his hand. There was blood in his hair.

'How do you feel, my young friend?' Carl asked.

'It hurts,' Harald answered. 'And I can't see well.'

'This man needs a doctor,' Carl said to the girl, angrily.

She laughed. 'That is your wife's problem, not mine,' she said. 'If our brothers come, he will get a doctor. If they don't come, he won't need one.' She pointed her gun at Harald's head and laughed again. She wasn't at all nervous now.

Carl felt angry. He was angry with the hijackers and he was angry with himself because he had not moved fast enough to help Harald. It was good to be angry; when he was angry he did not feel so afraid.

'How old are you?' he asked the girl.

She did not answer.

'I asked you a question!' he said. 'How old are you? Eighteen, nineteen? You're not very old, really, are you? You're just a child!'

The girl's face went red. 'I'm twenty,' she said angrily. 'I'm not a child!'

'You look like a child,' Carl said. 'You're only two years older than my daughter. Why are you doing this?'

The girl laughed. She didn't look at his eyes. 'Why? You wouldn't understand.'

'I don't think you understand what you're doing,' Carl said. 'None of the people in this plane has hurt you. We are all innocent. That man you killed — he wasn't a spy, he was just an American businessman. You've never seen any of us before. Why do you want to kill us?'

The girl looked worried and angry. She pointed the gun straight at Carl's head. 'I don't want to kill you,' she said. 'I want your government — your wife — to set our brothers free.'

'Yes, I know,' said Carl, carefully. He watched the gun and the girl's face, but he was not really afraid because he was still angry. He argued with the girl as though he was arguing with his daughter. 'But remember what your brothers did. They tried to put a bomb on a plane. They wanted to kill innocent people like us. Why?'

'You are not innocent!' said the girl. 'No one is innocent! People like you, and your wife, and that American—you have money and power and you take it from my people, from us! Do you know how I lived when I was a child? Ten people in one room, with no bath, no water, nothing! My parents had no jobs, no passports, no country, nothing! We lived in a town with ten thousand others. But ten kilometres away there were rich people like you, with big beautiful houses, fine cars, fine clothes — and they were all innocent people, like you! I tell you no one is innocent!'

She was shouting now, and nearly crying — there were tears in her eyes. Carl and Harald watched the gun carefully. 'Poor girl,' Carl thought. 'Poor little murderess.'

The bearded man came out of the Captain's cabin and put his hand on the girl's arm. 'Stop it, little flower,' he said. 'Don't talk to them. That's not your job.' Then he hit Carl in the face. 'Keep your mouth shut!' he said. 'Think about your wife instead. Do you see the time? I think she has forgotten you!'

Carl groaned and held his mouth with his hand. There was blood in his mouth and one of his teeth was broken. Then he looked at his watch. It was 2.23. Seven minutes left; then the half hour was over.

'I'm sorry, my friend,' he whispered to Harald. 'You tried fighting, and I tried talking. But it didn't work. I think this may be our last journey.'

not at all 一点儿也不，根本不。

nervous adj. excited and anxious; worried. 焦虑的，担心的。

as though as if, as it would be if. 好像。

broken adj. damaged and spoilt, or made useless by breaking. 坏了的，损害的。

journey n. a trip of some distance, usu. by land. 旅行。

第十章

机舱内，卡尔和哈拉尔德都坐在靠近门口的地上。他们被哈拉尔德的手铐铐在了一起，那个女劫机犯拿着枪，站在那儿看着他们。小胡子在机长室，穿黑衬衫的年轻人看守着其他乘客。

哈拉尔德用手摸了摸自己的头，发现头发上有血。

“你感觉怎么样，年轻的朋友？”卡尔问。

“头有点儿痛，”哈拉尔德回答，“而且我也看不清东西。”

“这个人需要医生。”卡尔对那个姑娘说，语气中充满愤怒。

她哈哈大笑。“这取决于你的妻子，而不是我，”她说，“如果我们的弟兄回来了，他就能看医生。否则的话，门儿都没有。”她用枪指着哈拉尔德的头，又是一阵大笑。此时她倒是一点儿都不紧张了。

卡尔感到很恼火。他恨这些劫机犯，也生自己的气，因为他的行动不够迅速，没有帮成哈拉尔德。恼火也有好处，他生气时倒是不觉得那么恐惧了。

“你多大了？”他问那个姑娘。

她没有理睬。

“我问了你一个问题！”他说，“你多大了？18，还是19？你还不太大，没错吧，对吗？你只是个孩子！”

姑娘的脸变红了。“我已经20岁了，”她恶狠狠地说，“我不是个孩子了！”

“你看起来还像个孩子，”卡尔说，“你只比我的女儿大两岁。你为什么要做这种事情呢？”

姑娘哈哈大笑。但她却没有迎着卡尔的目光。“为什么？你不会明白的。”

“我想你也不明白你到底在干什么。”卡尔说，“在这架飞机上，不曾有任何人伤害过你。我们都是无辜的。你刚才杀死的那个人——他不是间谍，只是个美国商人。你以前连见都没有见过我们。你为什么要杀死我们呢？”

姑娘看上去既忧虑又恼火。她用枪点着卡尔的头。“我不想杀你们，”她说，“我想让你们的政府——你的妻子——放了我们的弟兄。”

“好，我知道了。”卡尔小心翼翼地说。他瞅瞅姑娘手里的枪和她的脸色，但是他并不是真的害怕，因为他的怒火还没有消。他像跟自己的女儿争论那样跟这个姑娘争论起来：“但是别忘记你的弟兄们做过的事情。他们试图往飞机上放炸弹，他们企图炸死像我们这样的无辜者。为什么？”

“你们不是无辜的！”姑娘说，“没有谁是无辜的！像你、你妻子，还有那个美国人那样的人——你们有钱有势，都是从我们老百姓身上刮取的，从我们身上刮取的！你知道我小时候过的是什么样的生活吗？十口人住在一间房子里，里面没有洗澡间，没有水，什么都没有！我的父母没有工作，没有护照，没有国家，一无所有！我们和其他1万多人住在一个小镇子里。可距小镇十公里的地方，住的就是像你这样的富人，他们有漂亮的大房子、高级轿车、华贵的衣服——他们也都是无辜的，就像你一样！我告诉你，没有一个是无辜的！”

她在喊叫着，几乎是哭喊着——眼里含着泪水。卡尔和哈拉尔德非常小心地看着她手里的枪。“可怜的姑娘，”卡尔心想，“可怜的小杀人犯。”

小胡子从机长室走出来，他把手放在姑娘的胳膊上。“别说了，小花朵，”他说，“别搭理他们，这不是你要做的事儿。”随即，他给了卡尔一个耳光。“闭上你的嘴！”他说，“多想想你老婆吧。你看见时间了吗？我想她已经把你忘了！”

卡尔哼了一声，用手捂着嘴。嘴里流血了，一颗牙被打掉了。然后他看看手表。已经2:23了。再有七分钟，又够半个小时了。

“对不起，我的朋友，”他悄声对哈拉尔德说，“你也跟他们拼打了，我也尽力去说服了，但是都没用。我想这可能是我们的最后一次旅行了。”

Chapter 11

Helen Sandberg decided she liked Colonel Carter. He spoke clearly, he explained his ideas carefully, and he listened to what she said. He did not try to be difficult because she was a woman. Best of all, they had made a plan together. A good plan, she thought; it could really work. Perhaps.

She looked at her watch: 2.23. 'Right, Colonel, get your men ready. I'll send the first prisoner down to you when they arrive. But where are they? Michael, have they arrived yet?'

'No, Prime Minister. Not yet.'

'Then where the hell are they? Can you get Inspector Holm on the car radio?'

'They're trying, Prime Minister.' Michael spoke into the telephone. Colonel Carter left the room and Helen walked up and down slowly, watching the clock. 2.24. 2.25. 2.26.

'They've got him, Prime Minister! He says... he says one of the cars has had an accident in the rain. He thinks he can be here in ten minutes.' Michael looked up. There was no smile on his face at all now.

'Ten minutes! What's he driving—a police car, or a bicycle?' Helen banged her fist on the table. 'We've got four minutes left. OK. I want to talk to the hijackers. Get them on the radio.'

She sat down at the table while Michael called the plane. Colonel Carter came in and stood behind her. A voice came on the radio.

'Well, Mrs Sandberg. Where are our brothers?'

'They're coming,' said Helen. 'They'll be here in ten minutes.'

'That is too late. I gave you half an hour. Your husband will die in four minutes.'

Helen pressed her hands flat on the table, so hard that the ends of her fingers went white. 'Please don't do that,' she said.

'I am sorry, Mrs Sandberg. But if my brothers are not here in four minutes, your husband will die.'

'Don't you want to see your brothers?' she asked quickly. 'I promise you, if you kill my husband, you'll never see them again.'

There was a pause while no one spoke. Then the radio answered. 'Four minutes, Mrs Sandberg.'

Helen spoke clearly, slowly, and loudly. She filled her voice with all the anger she had in her body. 'Listen, you murderer. I need just ten minutes to get your brothers to this airport. Then I will send them to the plane. But if you kill my husband, or anyone else, then I promise you that your brothers will die, on the tarmac in front of that plane. Is that what you want? Or will you wait ten minutes?'

There was another, longer pause. Helen stared out into the night. She did not see anything.

'All right. Ten more minutes.'

'Thank you. Now, there is one more thing. The passengers.'

'What about them?'

'You must set them free before I send your brothers to the plane.'

The voice on the radio laughed. 'Because you are a woman, do you think all men are stupid, like your husband? Send me our brothers, then refuel the plane, and then I will send you the passengers.'

'No,' answered Helen. She looked at Colonel Carter. 'This is how we will do it. I will send you one of your brothers and then you must send me the passengers. When we have all the passengers, then we will refuel the plane and send you your other brother.'

The voice laughed again. 'Do you think you are buying cheap fish from a child in the market? Send us one brother, then, and we will send you one hundred passengers. Refuel the plane and send us the other brother, and we will send you the other passengers. But the pilot and your husband must come with us to another country. We will set them free later.'

Helen looked at Colonel Carter. There was the beginning of a smile on her face. She could see that he agreed with her. She waited for a moment longer, to worry the hijacker.

'Is it agreed, woman? Or do I kill your husband now?'

'I agree. I will send your first brother to you in ten minutes.'

bang v. to strike sharply. 重击，碰撞。

fist n. the shape of the hand with the fingers closed in tightly. 拳，拳头。

pause n. a short but noticeable break in activity or speech. 停顿。

agree with to be in accordance with someone. 同意。

第十一章

海伦·桑德伯格认为她是喜欢卡特上校的。他口齿清晰，仔细地讲解他的想法，但同时又很注意倾听她的意见。因为她是位女性，卡特尽量讲解得深入浅出。最关键的是，他们共同制订了一个计划。在她看来，这是一个不错的计划；它会奏效的。很有可能。

她抬手看看手表：2:23了。“好吧，上校，让你的人就位。等那两个囚犯一到，我马上给你送过去一个。不过他们在哪儿呢？迈克尔，他们到了吗？”

“没有，首相，还没有。”

“他们到底在哪儿呢？你能通过汽车上的无线电和霍尔姆巡查官取得联系吗？”

“他们正在试着联系呢，首相。”迈克尔在电话里讲。卡特上校离开了房间，海伦在房间里慢慢地踱来踱去，看着挂钟。2:24，2:25，2:26。

“联系上了，首相！他说……他说因为下雨，有一辆车出事了。他想十分钟之后可以赶过来。”迈克尔抬起头。此时他的脸上没有一丝笑容。

“十分钟！他开的是什么车——警车还是自行车？”海伦用拳头把桌子捶得咚咚响。“我们只剩下四分钟了。好吧。我想跟劫机者谈一谈。接通他们的无线电。”

她在桌边坐下，与此同时迈克尔正在跟飞机取得联系，卡特上校走进来，站在她的身后。无线电里传过来一个声音。

“嗨，桑德伯格夫人。我们的弟兄在哪儿？”

“他们马上就到，”海伦说，“他们十分钟后到达。”

“太晚了。我给了你半个小时的时间。四分钟后你的丈夫将被杀死。”

海伦伸开双手平压在桌子上，她非常用力，指尖都变白了。“请不要这样做。”她说。

“对不起，桑德伯格夫人。但是，如果四分钟之后我们的弟兄还没来，你的丈夫就会死。”

“难道你们不想见你们的弟兄了吗？”她不假思索地问道，“我可以负责任地告诉你，如果你们杀死了我丈夫，你们将永远也见不到他们了。”

没人说话，出现了一片沉默。随后，无线电里传来了回答。“只剩四分钟了，桑德伯格夫人。”

海伦讲话的声音清晰、缓慢而且洪亮。她把压抑在心里的所有愤怒都凝聚到了她的声音里。“听着，你们这些杀人犯。我只需要十分钟的时间把你们的弟兄带到机场来，然后我就把他们送到飞机上。但是如果你们杀了我丈夫，或者其他任何一名乘客的话，那么我发誓你们的弟兄将被处死，就死在飞机前面的跑道上。这是你们想要的结局吗？还是你们愿意再等十分钟？”

又是一阵更长的沉默。海伦盯着外面的夜空。她什么也看不见。

“好吧。再给你们十分钟。”

“谢谢。现在，还有一件事情，就是那些乘客。”

“他们怎么了？”

“在我把你们的两个弟兄送上飞机之前，你们必须先释放他们。”

无线电里的声音大笑起来：“因为你是一个女的，所以你就认为所有的男人都很愚蠢，就跟你丈夫一样吗？把我们的弟兄送过来，给飞机加满油，然后我再释放那些乘客。”

“不行，”海伦回答。她看着卡特上校，“我们打算这么办。我先把你的一个弟兄送过去，然后你释放所有的乘客。等所有的乘客获释之后，我们再给飞机加油，并把你们的另一个弟兄放回去。”

那声音又大笑起来：“你以为你是在市场上从一个孩子手里买便宜的鱼呀？先把我们的一个弟兄送回来，然后，我们就释放100名乘客。你们给飞机加满油，再把另一个弟兄送过来，我们就把剩下的乘客放回去。不过飞行员和你丈夫必须跟我们一起飞到另一个国家去。之后我们再释放他们。”

海伦注视着卡特上校。她的脸上第一次露出了笑容。她能看得出来，他同意她的建议。她等了好一会儿，好让这个劫机犯着急。

“女士，你是同意呢？还是我现在就把你的丈夫杀了？”

“我同意。十分钟后我把你们的第一个弟兄给你们送过去。”

Chapter 12

Carl felt his broken tooth with his tongue. The door of the Captain's cabin was open and he could see the bearded hijacker sitting inside. He had a long nose and dark hair and his eyes looked green from the light of the instruments in the dark cabin. He held his gun near his mouth and touched it gently with his lips as he waited.

Carl had heard half of the conversation. Eight of the ten minutes had gone. Now that he could do nothing, he felt afraid. He could feel his hand in the handcuffs shaking. Harald felt it too and held Carl's hand with his own.

'Don't worry, Mr Sandberg,' Harald whispered. 'We'll get out of here.'

'Perhaps,' Carl answered. 'And perhaps not. But I don't want these murderers to go free.'

'Ssh!' Harald whispered. Carl looked up and saw the girl watching them. Then, suddenly, the bearded man shouted, 'They're coming! Look! Get ready!'

The girl went into the Captain's cabin. Harald and Carl stood up and looked through a window. They saw three men pushing some steps across the tarmac. The men put the steps outside the plane door and then went back again. Then two more men came out of the building. They were wearing bright yellow coats because of the rain. One man walked towards the plane.

'Come away from the door! Quick!' The girl unlocked the handcuffs and pushed Harald and Carl back to their seats. Then she started to open the door.

'Wait! Turn the lights out and stand back from the door!' said the bearded man. 'They will try to shoot us in the light from the door.'

The door opened and the man in the yellow coat came into the plane. He was thin, with very short hair. The girl shut the door, the lights came on, and the man shut his eyes in the bright light. The girl and the bearded man put their arms around him, laughing.

'Free! You are free now, brother! And the other one, is he safe? Come into the cabin, let's talk!'

Carl and Harald watched sadly. 'So now she will give them what they want, because of me,' said Carl quietly. 'We will be safe, but they will go free to bomb another plane, because of me.' He held his head in his hands.

'Wait, Mr Sandberg,' said Harald. 'Your wife isn't stupid, you know. This game has not ended yet. Sit still, and be ready.'

The other passengers sat quietly, waiting to be free.

instrument n. an object used to help in work. 仪器，工具。

conversation n. an informal talk in which people exchange news, feelings, and thoughts. 对话，谈话。

turn out to stop (a gas, oil, or electric lights, heating apparatus, etc.). 将（煤气、油、电灯、暖气等）关上，熄灭。

第十二章

卡尔用舌头舔了舔他的断牙。机长室的门开着，他能看见小胡子劫机犯坐在里面。他长着长长的鼻子，一头黑发，黑乎乎的机长室里，飞行驾驶设备的光衬得他的眼睛有些发绿。在他等待时，他把枪举到嘴边，用嘴唇轻轻地触碰着他的枪。

卡尔听到了一半的对话内容。十分钟已经过去了八分钟，手足无措的他此时有些恐惧，他能感觉到自己戴着手铐的那只手在颤抖。哈拉尔德也感觉到了，他用手抓住了卡尔的手。

“别担心，桑德伯格先生，”哈拉尔德低声说，“我们会离开这儿的。”

“也许吧，”卡尔回答，“也许不能。只是我不想放走这些杀人犯。”

“嘘！”哈拉尔德小声制止。卡尔抬起头，看见那个姑娘正注视着他们。就在此时，小胡子突然大喊：“他们过来了！瞧！做好准备！”

那个姑娘进了机长室。哈拉尔德和卡尔站起来，从窗户往外看。他们看见有三个人正穿过飞机跑道推来了舷梯。这些人把舷梯放在飞机门口，又返身回去了。之后又有两个人从机场大楼里走出来。因为下雨，他们都穿着亮黄色的雨衣。其中有一个人径直走向了飞机。

“把门让出来！快点儿！”姑娘给哈拉尔德和卡尔打开手铐，把他们推回到座位上。然后她开始开门。

“等等！把灯关了，往后退，把门让开！”小胡子说，“他们会借着门口的灯光向我们开枪的。”

门打开了，一个穿黄色雨衣的男子进了飞机。他很瘦，留着很短的头发。姑娘关上了门，灯随即打开，强烈的灯光刺得他闭上了眼睛。姑娘和小胡子都抱着他，开怀大笑。

“自由了！你现在自由了，兄弟！另一个兄弟怎么样，他安全吗？来，我们到机长室里聊聊！”

卡尔和哈拉尔德沮丧地看着这一切。“也就是说，现在她要答应他们的一切要求了，就因为我，”卡尔轻声说，“我们会安全的，但是他们也会获释的，他们还会去炸另一架飞机，就因为我。”他双手抱头。

“耐心一点儿，桑德伯格先生，”哈拉尔德说，“你知道，你的妻子可不笨。游戏现在还没有结束。坐好，做好准备。”

其他的乘客都安静地坐着，等着获释。

Chapter 13

Helen Sandberg stood by the control room window, staring at the plane. 'Come on,' she said. 'Why is that door shut? Where are the passengers?'

'The hijackers won't set them free,' said Inspector Holm. 'I told you, Prime Minister, this is a serious mistake.'

'Be quiet, man,' said Colonel Carter. 'I think we've got something on the radio.'

Beside him, a soldier was turning the controls of a small army radio. Suddenly, the voices of one of the hijackers and the prisoner came into the room.

'So how many soldiers are there in the airport building, my brother?'

'I didn't see any soldiers, only police.'

'That's strange! No soldiers at all?'

'I did not see any, brother.'

'Very strange. But these are not military people. They do not have many soldiers. Perhaps the woman will do what she says, then.'

'What's happening, Colonel?' Helen asked. 'Those are the hijackers' voices. How can we hear them?'

The Colonel laughed. 'Well, madam, you can see it's raining, can't you? We didn't want our poor prisoner to get wet, so we gave him a nice yellow raincoat, you see. But it was an expensive raincoat, because one of its buttons is a small radio transmitter. So now we can hear everything they say and we know where they are on the plane!'

Helen smiled. 'Good idea, Colonel. I hope it helps.'

'Prime Minister,' Michael interrupted. 'They're coming!'

Helen looked through the window. The door of the plane was open and people were coming down the steps one after another. Some of them started to run towards the airport building, and a few knelt down on the wet tarmac.

'What are they doing?' Helen asked.

'Praying, perhaps?' said Michael. 'To thank God that they're alive?'

Police and doctors came out of the building to help the passengers. Helen stood and watched through the binoculars. She did not see Carl.

'Ninety-nine, a hundred. That's it, then,' said Colonel Carter. The plane door closed. 'Now we move on to the next step of our plan. Goodbye, Prime Minister.'

Helen turned and saw that the Colonel was putting on white clothes on top of his army uniform. He put several grenades in the coat pocket, and a machine gun into a long pocket inside the coat. He smiled at her. 'I must help my men refuel the plane.'

'May God go with you, Colonel,' she said.

controls n. switches, levers, etc. by which a machine is operated or regulated. （机器的）操纵装置。

transmitter n. an apparatus that sends out radio or television signals. 无线电发送装置。

kneel v. to go down or remain on the knees. 跪，跪下。

grenade n. a small bomb which can be thrown by hand or fired from a gun. 手榴弹。

第十三章

海伦·桑德伯格站在机场控制室的窗边，目不转睛地看着飞机。“瞧，”她说，“为什么飞机的门又关上了？乘客们在哪儿？”

“劫机犯不会释放他们的，”霍尔姆巡查官说，“我告诉过您，首相，这是一个严重的错误。”

“安静，先生，”卡特上校说，“我觉得无线电里收到了什么声音。”

在他旁边，一个士兵正在调一台小型军用无线电。突然，小收音机里传来了其中一个劫机者和那个囚犯说话的声音。

“那么机场大楼里有多少士兵，兄弟？”

“我一个士兵也没看见，只有警察。”

“奇怪了！一个士兵也没有？”

“我一个也没有看见，兄弟。”

“莫名其妙。但这些人不是军人。他们也没有多少士兵。那么，也许这个女人真的说话算数。”

“怎么回事，上校？”海伦问，“这是劫机者们的声音，我们怎么能听得见呢？”

上校放声大笑。“嗯，夫人，您瞧天在下雨，对吗？我们可不想把我们可怜的囚犯淋湿了，所以我们给他穿上了一件很不错的黄雨衣，您也看到了。不过那可是一件价值不菲的雨衣，因为它上面有一个扣子是一台小型无线电传送机。所以我们现在能听到他们所有的谈话内容，并知道他们在飞机上的位置！”

海伦笑了：“好主意，上校。我希望这能奏效。”

“首相，”迈克尔插话说，“他们来了！”

海伦往窗外看去。只见飞机的门敞开了，乘客们在一个接一个地走下飞机的舷梯。有一些乘客开始往机场大楼方向跑来，有几个跪倒在湿漉漉的飞机跑道上。

“他们在做什么？”海伦问。

“也许是祈祷吧？”迈克尔说，“感谢上帝他们还活着？”

警察和医生走出机场大楼去帮助这些乘客。海伦站起来用双筒望远镜往外看。她没有看见卡尔。

“99，100。那么，正好。”卡特上校说。飞机的门关上了。“现在，我们该实施下一步的计划了。再见，首相。”

海伦转过身，看见上校正在往他的军装外面套着白色的衣服。他往衣服的外口袋里装了几枚手榴弹，衣服里面的大口袋里则装了一杆机枪。他向她微笑着：“我必须帮我的伙计们给飞机加满油。”

“愿上帝保佑你，上校。”她说。

Chapter 14

The lights in the plane went out again. There were only eleven of them left now: Carl Sandberg and Harald, four crew, and five Americans. They sat together in the middle of the plane. The girl and the young man in the black shirt watched them.

Through the window, Carl saw the fuel tanker drive towards the plane. It stopped, and five men in white clothes got out. The pilot went to the front of the plane to work the controls, and the men started to refuel the plane.

Then he saw another man in a yellow raincoat come out of the airport building.

The bearded hijacker started to talk very excitedly. 'Is it him? Yes, it is! Our leader! My brother and sister, we have done it! Now, I must welcome him at the door. You, brother, watch the pilot in the cabin, and sister, watch the passengers.'

Carl Sandberg watched the man in the yellow coat walk nearer. He could only see one man at the back of the plane, refuelling it. He thought the others were under the plane somewhere, but he did not know where.

Harald put his hand on Carl's arm. Carl looked at him. Harald did not speak, but he was looking at the girl, very carefully.

As the door opened, and the man with the yellow coat came in, the girl turned to look. Through the window, Carl saw a man in a white coat run out from under the plane with something that looked like a grenade in his hand. Two other men in white ran out behind him.

The man's arm went up and he threw the grenade through the open door. There was a very loud BANG! at the front of the plane, and a flash of white light that burned Carl's eyes. Almost immediately there was an even louder BANG! BANG! and two more flashes of white light.

Carl could not move. The noise was so loud and the light so bright that he sat still as a stone. He saw the girl hijacker and the bearded man standing quite still too, with their guns in their hands and their mouths open. Then a man in white ran through the door with a gun in his hand. He shot the girl and the bearded man before they could move. The hijacker in the black shirt came out of the Captain's cabin behind the man in white, but two other men in white came through the door and shot him too. The two prisoners, in their yellow raincoats, tried to get to the door, but the men in white knocked them to the floor and handcuffed their hands behind their backs.

Carl looked down. The girl was lying on the floor of the aisle beside him. He thought he saw her hand move towards her machine gun, but then one of the soldiers in white ran down the aisle and shot her again through the head. Another soldier pulled her away by her legs and her long hair left blood along the floor.

tanker n. a ship, plane, or railway or road vehicle specially built to carry large quantities of gas or liquid, esp., oil. 油轮；运油飞机、火车或货车；油罐车。

immediately adv. at once. 立刻，马上。

第十四章

飞机里的灯又熄灭了。现在，机上只剩下11个人了：卡尔·桑德伯格和哈拉尔德，四名机组人员，还有五个美国人。他们集中坐在飞机中部。那个姑娘和穿黑色衬衫的年轻人在看着他们。

透过窗户，卡尔看见燃料罐车向飞机开过来。车停下来之后，五个穿白衣服的人下来了。飞行员到飞机前部去操作，那些人开始给飞机加油。

随后，他看见另一个穿黄色雨衣的人走出了机场大楼。

小胡子劫机犯开始异常激动地说起话来：“是他吗？是的，就是他！我们的头儿！兄弟姐妹们，我们成功了！现在，我要到门口迎接他。你，兄弟，到机长室看着飞行员，妹妹，看着这些乘客。”

卡尔·桑德伯格眼瞅着那个穿黄色雨衣的人越走越近。他只能看见有一个人正在飞机的尾部给飞机加油。他猜想其他的人一定在飞机的下面，但具体在哪个位置，他也不清楚。

哈拉尔德把手放在卡尔的胳膊上。卡尔看着他。哈拉尔德没有作声，因为他正在全神贯注地看着那个姑娘。

飞机的门开了，穿黄色雨衣的那个人走了进来，姑娘转过身看了看。透过窗户，卡尔看见一个穿白色外衣的人从飞机底下跑出来，那人手里拿着一个东西，看样子像是一枚手榴弹。在他身后，还跑着两个穿白色衣服的人。

那人扬起胳膊，把手榴弹从开着的门扔了进来。从飞机前部传来“嘟！”的一声巨响，一道刺眼的白光在卡尔眼前划过。紧跟着，又传过来两声更巨大的“嘟！嘟！”声，又是两道白光划过。

卡尔动弹不得。震耳欲聋的响声和刺眼的白光使他像石头一样呆坐着。他看见那个女劫机犯和小胡子也愣在那里了，手里拿着枪，目瞪口呆。转眼间，一个穿白色外衣的男子拿着枪冲了进来。在那个姑娘和小胡子还没有回过神来的时候，他便举枪向他们射击。穿黑色衬衣的劫机犯从机长室出来，冲到穿白色外衣的男子身后。但是又有两名穿白色外衣的男子从门口冲了进来，将其击毙。那两名囚犯，他们穿着黄色雨衣，想趁机往门口溜，但被穿白色大衣的人打倒在地，还把他们的手扭到背后铐了起来。

卡尔低下头。他看见那个姑娘就躺在离他不远的飞机过道上。他觉得他看到姑娘的手悄悄移向她的机枪，但是一个穿白色衣服的士兵顺着过道冲过来，朝她的头上又开了一枪。另一个士兵拽着她的腿把她拖到一边，鲜血顺着她的长发流到了地板上。

Chapter 15

Helen Sandberg heard the bangs too, and when she saw the white light, she thought the plane was burning. For about half a minute there was nothing but loud bangs and white flashes, and then there was nothing. There were no lights at all in the plane and no sounds either.

She turned to Michael. 'Can't you get them on the radio?'

'I'm trying, Prime Minister. But I think it's broken.'

She walked to the door. 'I'm going out.'

Inspector Holm stood in front of her. 'You must not do that, Prime Minister. We don't know what's happened.'

'That's why I'm going,' she said. 'I'm going to find out. I don't care what happens to me.'

He was a big man but he was afraid of her. She walked straight past him and down the steps. In the departure lounge there was a crowd of passengers waiting to get on other planes, and also a lot of doctors, police, and news paper journalists. She walked straight past them all and out onto the tarmac. It was dark and cold, and the wind blew rain into her face. When she was about fifty metres away from the building she heard some people behind her, but she did not stop.

The door of the plane opened and a man in white came out. He had a gun in his hand and he came backwards down the steps. After him came two men in yellow raincoats with their hands behind their backs, and then two other men in white with guns.

Two police officers came after her.

'Wait, Prime Minister,' they said. 'Please stop, it's dangerous.'

'Not now,' she said. 'It's not dangerous any more.' She walked on through the rain without stopping, and the young police officers walked beside her. They were afraid to touch her and they did not know what to do. Some journalists ran after them.

Two men in blue came out of the plane — the pilot and copilot. Then some men in suits. She was quite near the plane now and there were quite a lot of newspaper photographers around her, but she did not stop walking.

A big young man came out of the plane with a short, thin, grey-haired one—Harald and Carl. Helen could see that Carl's face was very white and there was blood on his mouth, but he could walk all right.

Carl saw her coming, a small strong figure walking through the rain, with a crowd of police and photographers around her. 'Harald, my friend,' he said. 'I think we're in the news again. You're going to have another photo to show your little son on his birthday.'

Carl and Helen Sandberg met at the bottom of the steps in the darkness and the rain. And Carl was right; there was a photo of it in every newspaper in the world the next day.

nothing but nothing other than; only. 只不过是，仅仅。

happen to (of an event) to take place and have an effect on. （指事件的）发生，对……有影响。

departure n. the action of departing; an act of departing. 分离，离开。

lounge n. a comfortable room for sitting in, as in a house, hotel, or inn. （房屋、旅馆、客栈中之）休息室。

backwards adv. towards the back. 向后地。

run after to chase. 追逐。

第十五章

海伦·桑德伯格也听到了巨大的爆炸声。当她看见白光划过的时候，她以为是飞机着火了。大约半分钟之后，只有巨大的声响和刺眼的白光，之后一切都恢复了平静。飞机上既没有灯光，也没有声响。

她转身面对迈克尔：“无线电里听不见他们吗？”

“我正在努力，首相。不过，我想线路可能断了。”

她走到门口：“我要出去。”

霍尔姆巡查官站到她跟前：“您不能出去，首相。我们还搞不清楚外面的情况呢。”

“这就是我要出去的原因，”她说，“我要去弄明白到底是怎么回事。我不在意自己的安危。”

虽然他很高大，但很惧怕她。她径直从他身边走过，下了楼梯。在候机大厅里，一大群乘客在等着转机，还有很多医生、警察和新闻记者。她从他们身边走过，径直来到了飞机跑道上。外面又黑又冷，狂风夹带着雨水吹打在她的脸上。在她走出机场大楼大约50米的时候，她听见有人在后面跟着她，但是她没有停下脚步。

飞机的门打开了，一个穿着白色衣服的人走了出来。他手里拿着枪，背转身从飞机的舷梯上走了下来。他身后是两个身穿黄色雨衣的男子，他们的手都背在身后，再往后是两名穿白色衣服的男子，手里都拿着枪。

跟在她身后的是两名警官。

“等一等，首相，”他们说，“请停下，危险。”

“现在不危险了，”她说，“已经不再危险了。”她继续在雨中走着，一步不停，年轻的警官们走在她的旁边。他们不敢碰她，也不知道怎么办好。有一些新闻记者追着他们过来了。

两个身穿蓝色衣服的男子从飞机里出来了——是飞行员和副飞行员。随后下来的是一些穿西装的人。她现在离飞机已经很近了，大批的新闻摄影记者围着她，但她还是没有停下脚步。

飞机里走出一个高大的年轻人和一个又矮又瘦，头发花白的人——是哈拉尔德和卡尔。海伦看见卡尔脸色苍白，嘴上还有血迹，不过他的行动还算自如。

卡尔看着她向自己走来，矮小结实的身影走在雨中，旁边围着一大群警察和摄影记者。“哈拉尔德，我的朋友，”他说，“我想我们又要出现在新闻里了，你又会有一张照片可以在小儿子过生日时给他看了。”

在黑暗和大雨中，卡尔和海伦·桑德伯格在飞机舷梯下终于见面了。而且，卡尔说得对；第二天全世界所有的报纸上，都刊登了这个事件的照片。

ACTIVITIES

Before Reading

1．Read the story introduction of the book. How much do you know now about the story? Choose Y (Yes) or N (No) for each sentence.

1) People who hijack a plane are terrorists. Y / N

2) The hijackers are using bombs to kill the passengers. Y / N

3) The Prime Minister is on the plane. Y / N

4) Someone from the Prime Minister's family is on the plane. Y / N

5) The hijackers know who this person is. Y / N

6) The hijackers will wait for hours if they have to. Y / N

2．What should you do if you are a passenger on a hijacked plane? Look at these ideas and decide which are sensible and which are not sensible. Explain why you think this.

If your plane is hijacked you should...

1)... stay in your seat and be very quiet.

2)... argue with the hijackers and tell them they are stupid.

3)... tell jokes and try to make the hijackers laugh.

4)... talk loudly to show you are not afraid.

5)... try to remember what the hijackers look like.

6)... draw a picture of the hijackers to show to the police.

7)... try to attack the hijackers and get their guns.

8)... pretend to feel very ill and ask for a doctor.

ACTIVITIES

While Reading

1．Read Chapters 1 to 7. Choose the best question-word for these questions, and then answer them.

Who / What / How / Why

Carl's story — Chapters 1, 2, 4, 6

1)... was Harald's job?

2)... was the air hostess holding when she came out of the pilot's cabin?

3)... many hijackers were there?

4)... group did the hijackers belong to?

5)... long were the two prisoners in prison for?

6)... did Harald put coffee on Carl's passport and eat it?

7)... did Harald say to the hijacker about Carl?

8)... did the hijackers take to the front of the plane?

9)... do you think Carl is?

Helen's story — Chapters 3, 5, 7

1)... did Helen Sandberg groan at 12.15 a. m.?

2)... many people were there on the plane?

3)... three things did the hijackers want?

4)... did the hijackers say they would do in one hour's time?

5)... did the short fat man die?

6)... did Colonel Carter want to do?

7)... was Helen angry with Inspector Holm?

8)... arrived at the airport to see Helen?

2．Read Chapters 8 to 11. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)? Rewrite the false ones with the correct information.

Carl's story — Chapters 8, 10

1) The girl fired her gun in the plane because an American passenger hit her.

2) Harald knocked two of the terrorists to the ground.

3) Nobody tried to help Harald when he attacked.

4) The hijackers handcuffed Harald to the door.

5) The hijackers learnt who Carl was from the newspaper photograph in Harald's pocket.

6) Carl argued with the girl because he was afraid.

7) Carl told her that the man who died was a spy.

8) When the girl was young, her family were very poor.

9) Carl felt sorry for the girl and Harald.

Helen's story — Chapters 9, 11

1) Helen liked both the ambassadors.

2) Both ambassadors wanted to use their own soldiers to attack the plane.

3) Helen thought it was a good idea to attack the plane and 'take it apart'.

4) The hijackers knew that Carl was the Prime Minister's husband.

5) Helen and the Colonel made a plan together.

6) Helen told the hijackers that she needed another twenty minutes to get the prisoners.

7) The hijackers said they would wait for ten minutes.

8) The hijackers wanted Carl and Harald to go with them to another country.

3．Before you read Chapters 12 to 15, can you guess the answers to these questions?

1) Will Inspector Holm arrive with the prisoners in time?

2) Will Colonel Carter take the plane from the hijackers?

3) Will Carl or Harald be hurt in the attack?

4) Will any of the other passengers or crew be killed?

5) Will the three hijackers be killed or put in prison?

6) Will the two prisoners be killed or taken back to prison?

4．Read Chapters 12 to 15. Then put these sentences in the right order, to make a summary.

1) He and his men drove the fuel tanker to the plane, and began to refuel it.

2) A few minutes later one hundred passengers left the plane.

3) The two prisoners were knocked down and handcuffed.

4) She met her husband at the bottom of the plane steps.

5) The two prisoners, both wearing yellow raincoats, came out of the airport building.

6) As he entered the plane, one of the soldiers threw a grenade through the open door.

7) The first prisoner crossed the tarmac and went into the plane.

8) More grenades exploded, and then the soldiers ran in and shot the three hijackers.

9) When the plane door closed again, the Colonel got ready.

10) Then the second prisoner crossed the tarmac to the plane.

11) When the noise of grenades and guns stopped, Helen began to walk across the tarmac to the plane.

ACTIVITIES

After Reading

1．What did Colonel Carter tell Helen about his plan? Put their conversation in the right order, and write in the speakers' names. Helen speaks first (number 5).

1) ______ 'That's the plan, Prime Minister. We'll wear white coats, like mechanics, and drive the fuel tanker up to the plane.'

2) ______ 'Right. And when he's on the plane, they must let one hundred passengers out, as they agreed.'

3) ______ 'When they open the door for the second prisoner, we'll throw in grenades, and attack at once.'

4) ______ 'They'll be all right. For a few seconds, during the grenade attack, the hijackers won't be able to move. A few seconds is all we need.'

5) ______ 'We haven't got much time, Colonel. What are we going to do?'

6) ______ 'Ah, the refuelling. So you and your men—?'

7) ______ 'The most important thing for the terrorists is the prisoners. So when they arrive, we'll send one to the plane at once.'

8) ______ 'But what about the passengers still inside?'

9) ______ 'Yes. We wait until those hundred passengers are on the tarmac. Then we must refuel the plane.'

10) ______ 'Well, good luck, Colonel.'

11) ______ 'Excellent! And how will you get inside the plane?'

2．Perhaps one of the passengers who was on the plane at the end wrote to a friend about the hijack. Complete the letter with these words from the story. (Use one word in each gap.)

aisle, ambassador, attack, bang, before, bullets, commandos, die, fired, flash, fuel, grenades, handcuffed, hijack, hijackers, machine, nervous, seconds, ship, shot, shouted, tarmac, worst

Dear Sam

I'm staying in the US ______'s house here, with the other four Americans that were in the ______ with me. I'm fine, but all of us still get very ______ when we hear a sudden ______ or there's a ______ of bright light. It'll take time, I suppose.

It was a terrible thing, Sam. I think the ______ moment was when they ______ poor Bill. It was the girl who did it, too. I stood up and ______ at her, and she ______ her ______ gun at me. I felt the ______ going through my hair.

There was one brave man who ran up the ______ and tried to ______ the ______. He didn't win, of course. They ______ him to the door and told him he'd be the next to______.

When I saw the ______ tanker coming, I knew what was going to happen. Those ______ were good, Sam. They came straight in after the ______ and got the hijackers ______ they could move. It was all over in ______.

But when we got out of the plane, there was poor Bill's body, just lying on the ______. I'll never forget that.

I'll see you in a few weeks — I'm coming home by ______! Best wishes,

Jim

3．Perhaps this is what some of the characters in the story were thinking. Which five characters were they, and what was happening in the story at that moment?

1) Poor Prime Minister! She looks so worried. Now that the hijackers know that Carl is her husband, it's even worse for her. Giving her that message was the most unpleasant thing I've ever had to do...

2) Maybe this is my chance to do something... That girl is very young and nervous, and she's crying. She's probably never fired a gun and killed someone before. Nobody's looking at us at the moment. If I run quickly, perhaps I can get one of the guns...

3) That stupid woman has no idea how to deal with terrorists. They really need a man to make these decisions. Well, I've got the prisoners, and I'm not in a hurry. If anyone asks, I'll say... there's been an accident.

4) I hope she's going to listen to me this time. She's an intelligent woman, but she's quite difficult sometimes. I'm sure our SAS men could deal with this — better than her own soldiers. Ah, they're calling us in to see her now...

5) I feel so nervous. It's easy for the others — they just have to sit and be passengers. I'm the one who has to talk to people and do things. They must do it soon, surely. Or we'll — yes! He's waving to me! At last! Now the NJA can begin its work, and soon our brothers will be free...

4．Here are some titles for the fifteen chapters of Skyjack. Write the number of each chapter next to its title and write them out in the correct order.

______ The girl's story

______ Blood on the tarmac

______ Welcome aboard

______ A change of plan

______ Helen, Carl and Harald

______ The NJA choose a passenger

______ One brother in a yellow coat

______ Helen agrees with the hijackers

______ The Colonel, the Inspector, and the Prime Minister

______ Meeting the ambassadors

______ Mummy is late

______ The passengers leave

______ Bang, flash—death

______ Harald is brave

______ Coffee and—a passport

5．What do you think about hijacking? Do you agree (A) or disagree (D) with these sentences? Explain why.

1) Helen was wrong to bring the prisoners to the airport.

2) The girl hijacker had good reasons to be a terrorist.

3) The soldiers were wrong to kill the hijackers.

4) Harald was stupid to try and take the hijackers' guns.

5) It is always wrong to give hijackers what they want.

6) If you are fighting to win your freedom, sometimes it is necessary to do things like hijacking.

京权图字：01-2013-7836

Published by arrangement with Oxford University Press for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom. This edition is for sale in the mainland of China only, excluding Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan.

© Oxford University Press 2008

Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

小镇传奇：英汉对照／（英）本涅特（Bennett, A.）著；（英）布拉德（Bullard, N.）改写；（英）格尔（Gurr, S.）绘；郭娟译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2014.2

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

书名原文：The card

ISBN 978-7-5135-4069-8

Ⅰ．①小…　Ⅱ．①本…②布…③格…④郭…　Ⅲ．①英语－汉语－对照读物②中篇小说－英国－现代　Ⅳ．①H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（2014）第029038号

出版人　　蔡剑峰

责任编辑　田　娜

封面设计　蔡　颖

出版发行　外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址　北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址　http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次　2014年3月第1版

书　　号　ISBN 978-7-5135-4069-8

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内容简介

要想在生活中取得成功，需要哪些条件？聪明、好看、善良、勤奋、诚实？或者仅仅只是运气好？

邓瑞·梅钦是个乐天派。当他遇到麻烦时，决不会认输言败，哭天抹泪。他会主动去寻找机会，一旦发现机会，便会牢牢把握。当然，幸运之神也很眷顾着他。幸运的是伯爵夫人打算办场舞会，可邓瑞是如何弄到请柬的呢？幸运的是科多林夫人跟邓瑞的老板起了争执，可邓瑞是如何成为科多林太太的收租人的呢？更幸运的是“亚尔马号”在兰迪德诺附近海域沉没——可邓瑞是如何从这件事上赚得1000英镑的？

邓瑞生活的小镇叫伯斯利。镇上的人们喜欢能让他们欢笑的年轻人。“他真是个传奇。”他们说。他们迫不及待地想知道他下一次的奇遇……

THE CARD

If you want to be successful in life, what do you need? Do you need to be clever, good-looking, kind, hard-working, honest? Or just lucky?

Denry Machin is a cheerful kind of fellow. When he meets a problem, he doesn't lie down and cry about it. He looks for a chance, and when he sees one, he takes it with both hands. He has a lot of luck too, of course. It's lucky that the Countess decides to give a ball, but how does Denry manage to get an invitation? It's lucky that Mrs Codleyn has an argument with Denry's employer, but how does Denry become Mrs Codleyn's rent collector? And it's very lucky indeed for Denry when the Hjalmar goes down in the sea off Llandudno – but how does Denry make a thousand pounds out of it?

The people of Bursley, the town where Denry lives, love a young man who makes them laugh. 'He's a real card,' they say. They can't wait to hear about his next adventure...

1

THE DANCE

Edward Henry Machin first saw daylight on the 27th of May, 1867, in Brougham Street in Bursley, the oldest of the Five Towns. Brougham Street goes down a hill to the canal, and contains a number of potbanks or pottery factories as well as some small houses. The rent for one of these houses was not high – only about twenty-three pence a week.

Edward Henry's mother (his father was dead) lived by making and washing clothes for fine ladies. She did not often laugh, and if you tried to argue with her, you never got very far. She was a woman of few words, and saved time every day by calling her son Denry, instead of Edward Henry.

Denry did not work hard at school, and boys who were lazy and not very clever usually just found jobs in the potbanks. Luckily, at the age of twelve, he won a place at the best school in Bursley. It happened like this. On the second day of the examination, Denry arrived a little early. As he walked around the examination room, he came to the teacher's desk, where he saw a list of names with the marks for the first day of the examination. The highest possible mark was thirty, but next to his name he saw the number 7. The numbers were written in pencil, and the pencil was on the desk. He picked it up, looked around the empty room, and at the door, and then wrote a 2 in front of the 7. Of course, this was not honest, but how many truly honest schoolboys are there? Denry was no worse than most of them.

Denry looked around the empty room, and then wrote a 2 in front of the 7.

Denry did not do well at his new school, but he did not do badly either – and he was usually very pleased with himself. As he grew older, he continued to think well of himself. He knew that he was made for better things than a job in the potbanks, working with his hands.

*　　*　　*

When Denry was sixteen, his mother made a very fine dress for Mr Duncalf's sister. Mr Duncalf was the most important lawyer in Bursley. His sister was grateful to Mrs Machin, and so Denry got a job in Mr Duncalf's office. For several years Denry was happy. Then he met the Countess.

The Countess of Chell was a very grand lady. Her husband was one of the richest men in the Five Towns and was the new Mayor of Bursley. The mayor and his wife had decided to have a ball and to invite all the most important people in the town. There were thirty-five thousand people in Bursley, and at least two thousand of these thought that they were important. But only two hundred could dance in the Town Hall.

Three weeks and three days before the ball, Denry was sitting, alone, in Mr Duncalf's office when a tall and pretty young woman walked in. Before Denry could hide the newspaper he was reading, she said 'Good morning' in a very friendly way.

'Good morning, madam,' answered Denry.

'Is Mr Duncalf in?'

'No, madam. He's at the Town Hall.'

'Well, just tell him I called.'

'Of course, madam. Nothing I can do?'

She was already turning away, but she turned back and gave him a smile. 'Could you give him this list? The other lists are coming to him as well. The invitations must go out by Wednesday.'

She was gone. It was the first time Denry had seen the Countess, and she was even more beautiful than her photographs. And so easy to talk to! He started looking at her list of names, and he had a fantastic idea. He could go to the ball himself. The Countess had made a list of people to invite, but she had asked four or five other people for lists as well. She wanted Mr Duncalf to put the lists together and send the invitations. Of course the work was given to Denry, so it was easy to add E. H. Machin to the list. On Wednesday Denry received his invitation, and on Thursday he accepted it.

*　　*　　*

Denry had never been to a ball. He couldn't dance and he didn't have an evening suit. All the rich young men of Bursley bought their suits at Shillitoe's, so two days later Denry stepped into Shillitoe's shop. 'I want you to make me an evening suit,' he said to young Shillitoe.

Shillitoe knew Denry and he also knew that Denry did not have enough money to pay for a suit. He replied that he was too busy. 'so you're going to the ball, are you?' he asked, surprised.

'Yes,' said Denry, 'are you?'

Shillitoe shook his head. 'I've no time for balls.'

Denry looked around the shop, and at the door, and then said, 'I can get you an invitation if you like.'

Denry got his suit, and two years to pay for it.

One of the best dancing teachers in Bursley was Miss Ruth Earp. Denry learned to dance quickly, but he paid nothing for his lessons. Miss Earp also got an invitation to the ball.

Miss Earp was not beautiful, but she was young and a very good dancer, and at his last lesson Denry asked, 'Will you give me the first dance at the ball?'

Ruth Earp thought for a minute, and then said yes.

*　　*　　*

It took Denry two hours to get ready for the ball, and he arrived a little late. He walked up the beautiful double staircase into the ballroom and looked for Ruth. When he found her, he asked, 'What about that first dance?'

'It's nearly finished,' she answered, coldly.

'I'm awfully sorry. Can we finish it?'

'No!' she said, and walked away.

She was angry with him, and Denry did not know what to say. But she was only at the ball, he thought, because he had got her invitation for her!

He joined a group of young men who were watching the dancing. Harold Etches, who was one of the richest young men in the Five Towns, was there, with two or three of the Swetnam boys, and Shillitoe. At first Denry did not say anything. They all knew, of course, that he was Mr Duncalf's office worker and the son of a washer-woman, but all young men – rich or poor – look the same in evening suits.

The conversation in the group was about the Countess. All the important older men in the town were standing around her, but she was not dancing. Perhaps she didn't want to, but perhaps they were all afraid to ask.

'Why doesn't someone ask her to dance?' asked Denry suddenly.

'Why doesn't someone ask her to dance?' asked Denry.

'Why don't you?' said Shillitoe. 'It's a free country.'

'Perhaps I will,' Denry said.

Harold Etches looked at Denry for a moment. 'You won't ask her,' he said. Then he smiled, not very pleasantly. 'I'll give you five pounds if you do.'

'All right,' said Denry, and quickly walked away.

'She can't eat me! She can't eat me!' he said to himself as he walked towards the Countess. The men were still around her and one of them, Denry saw, was Mr Duncalf. Denry was sorry about this because Mr Duncalf didn't know, of course, that Denry was coming to the ball.

Suddenly he found himself standing in front of the Countess, and immediately he forgot all the fine, polite words that Ruth Earp had taught him.

'Could I have this dance with you?' he said quickly, but smiling and showing his teeth. ('I've won that fiver, Mr Etches!' he said to himself.)

The Countess had to accept. She could see that everyone else was afraid to ask – and she did want to dance! So they danced together, and all the men of Bursley watched with open mouths. Denry managed to dance well most of the time, although once they nearly hit two other dancers. When the music stopped, the Countess looked at Denry and saw that he was really just a boy.

'You dance well!' she said, smiling almost like an aunt.

'Do I?' he smiled back. 'It's the first time I've ever danced, except in a lesson.'

'Really? You pick things up easily, I suppose.'

'Yes,' he said. 'Do you?'

Something in Denry's question amused the Countess very much. She put her head back and laughed, and everybody in the room could see that Denry had made the Countess laugh. She was still laughing, and so was he, when he thanked her for the dance.

As she turned away, Denry saw that she had dropped her fan. Quickly, he picked it up and put it in his pocket. Then he walked back to the group of young men.

'Here you are!' said Harold Etches, giving Denry a five-pound note.

Denry just smiled, and put the note in his pocket. He could see in the faces of the young men around him that he was suddenly famous. He was no longer just the son of a washer-woman; he was the man who had first danced with the Countess.

'Just the same as dancing with any other woman,' he said, when Shillitoe asked him what it was like.

'What was she laughing at?' someone asked.

'Ah!' said Denry. 'I can't tell you that.'

This was not the last time he was asked that question, but he always refused to answer. Many young ladies wanted to dance with him now, after his success with the Countess. Later, he saw Ruth Earp again and danced with her, and with her young friend, Nellie. But he said nothing at all about the Countess's fan in his pocket.

At the end of the ball, just as the Countess was leaving, Denry pushed through the crowd and held out her fan.

'I've just picked it up,' he said to the Countess.

'Oh! Thank you so much!' she said. Then she smiled. 'You do pick things up easily, don't you?'

'You do pick things up easily, don't you?' said the Countess.

And both Denry and the Countess laughed and laughed, but nobody in Bursley knew why.

Denry walked home that night in a dream, thinking about the Countess, Ruth Earp and Nellie, and about the five-pound note in his pocket – more than he got for a month's work in Mr Duncalf's office.

He was a happy man. But trouble was waiting for him.

canal n. a kind of river, made by people, where boats can travel 运河

contain v. to have something inside, or have something as a part 容纳

pottery n. pots, dishes, plates etc made with clay and baked in a very hot fire 陶瓷

argue v. to disagree with someone in words, often in an angry way 争执，争吵

examination n. a test of what you know or can do 考试

lawyer n. someone whose job is helping people with the law 律师

grateful adj. feeling that you want to thank someone because of something kind that they have done 感谢的

Town Hall a building with offices for the Council and rooms for meetings, dances etc 镇公所，市政厅

fantastic adj. extremely good; attractive, enjoyable etc 极好的

evening suit formal clothes that people wear for formal meals, parties, and social events in the evening 晚礼服

staircase n. a set of stairs inside a building with its supports and the side parts that you hold on to （包括扶手、栏杆等的）楼梯

ballroom n. a very large room used for dancing on formal occasions（正式场合所用的）大舞厅，舞场

awfully adv. very 很

conversation n. an informal talk in which people exchange news, feelings, and thoughts 交谈，会话

manage v. to succeed in doing something difficult, especially after trying very hard 设法完成；努力完成

pick up to learn quickly; take up by hand 迅速学会；捡起，拾起

amuse v. make (somebody) laugh 使发笑

1

舞会

爱德华·亨利·梅钦第一次看见这个世界是在1867年5月27日，他出生于五镇中最古老的一个镇——伯斯利镇的布鲁厄姆街。布鲁厄姆街依山而下，一直延伸到运河。街上有几家陶瓷厂以及一些小房子。这些房子的租金不高——一周只需23便士左右。

爱德华·亨利的母亲（他的父亲已经去世）靠给时髦贵妇缝制和清洗衣服为生。她不怎么爱笑，即使是想和她争吵，也休想吵得起来。她是个沉默寡言的人，管儿子叫邓瑞，而不是爱德华·亨利，这样每天就节约点时间。

邓瑞在学校不好好念书。那些既懒惰又不算太聪明的男孩们一般会在陶瓷厂找份活儿干。幸运的是，邓瑞在12岁那年进了伯斯利当地最好的一所学校。事情是这样的：考试的第二天，邓瑞到得比较早，就在考场里四处溜达，然后就走到了讲台那儿。讲台上有一份名单，写着学生的名字和第一天的考试成绩。满分是30分，可他名字后的分数只有7分。分数是用铅笔写的，而铅笔就在讲台上。他拿起铅笔，扫了眼空荡荡的考场，又看了看门口，然后在7前面加了一个2。这样做当然不够诚实，但又有几个真正诚实的学生呢？邓瑞也不比他们中的大多数人坏到哪儿去。

到了新学校，邓瑞表现不佳，但也不算太坏——而且大多数时候他对自己相当满意。随着年龄的增长，邓瑞是依旧自我感觉良好。他相信自己生来便是为了干某种更好的事业，而不是在陶瓷厂，用双手干活谋食。

*　　*　　*

邓瑞16岁时，他母亲为邓卡夫先生的妹妹做了一条非常漂亮的裙子。邓卡夫先生是伯斯利声望最高的律师。他妹妹对梅钦太太十分感谢，于是邓瑞在邓卡夫先生的事务所谋到了一个职位。接下来好几年邓瑞过得都很开心。直到后来他遇见了伯爵夫人。

切尔伯爵夫人是一位名门贵妇。她丈夫不仅富甲五镇，而且还是伯斯利的新任镇长。镇长夫妇打算举办一场舞会，邀请镇上所有的头面人物参加。伯斯利有三万五千人，其中至少两千人都觉得自己是个人物，但只有两百人能获邀到镇公所跳舞。

离舞会还有三周零三天，邓瑞一个人坐在邓卡夫先生的事务所里。这时一位年轻漂亮、身材高挑的女士走了进来。邓瑞还没来得及藏起自己正在看的报纸，那位女士就很友好地跟他道了声“早上好”。

“早上好，夫人。”邓瑞应道。

“邓卡夫先生在吗？”

“不在，夫人。他在镇公所。”

“好吧，就跟他说我来过了。”

“好的，夫人。还有什么能为您效劳的吗？”

她已经转身要走了，但听他这么说又转过头来，冲他一笑，说：“你能把这份名单给他吗？其他的名单也会很快送来。请柬必须在周三前寄出去。”

她走了。这是邓瑞第一次见到伯爵夫人，她本人甚至比照片还要漂亮，而且这么平易近人！他开始看那份名单，脑子里蹦出一个绝妙的想法。他自己也能去参加舞会。伯爵夫人已定好了一份受邀人员名单，但她又要再加上另外四五个人的名单。她要邓卡夫先生把这些名单合并在一起，然后寄出请柬。当然这项工作交给了邓瑞，因此邓瑞毫不费力地就把E. H. 梅钦加在了名单上。周三邓瑞接到请柬，周四就回复说他接受了邀请。

*　　*　　*

邓瑞从未参加过舞会。他既不会跳舞，也没有晚礼服。伯斯利有钱的年轻人都在希利托家买礼服，因此两天后，邓瑞迈进了希利托的店铺。“我想要你为我做一套晚礼服。”他对年轻的希利托说。

希利托认识邓瑞，也知道他没有足够的钱来买晚礼服，便回答说自己太忙了。“这么说你是要去参加舞会了，是吗？”他惊讶地问。

“是的。”邓瑞说，“你去吗？”

希利托摇摇头。“我可没那闲工夫去参加什么舞会。”

邓瑞扫了一眼店铺，又看了看门口，接着说：“你要是想去，我能帮你搞到一张请柬。”

邓瑞得到了晚礼服，费用两年内付清。

露丝·厄普小姐是伯斯利最好的舞蹈老师之一。邓瑞学跳舞学得很快，但他一分钱学费也没花。厄普小姐也得到了一张舞会的请柬。

厄普小姐不算漂亮，可她人年轻，舞又跳得很好。最后一节课上邓瑞问她：“你能在舞会上陪我跳第一支舞吗？”

露丝·厄普想了一会儿，然后答应了。

*　　*　　*

邓瑞花了两个小时才为舞会打扮完毕，迟了一些到会场。他沿着华丽的双重楼梯走进大舞厅，寻找露丝。他一找到她，就问：“跟我跳第一支舞怎么样？”

“已经快结束了。”她冷冰冰地回答。

“我很抱歉。我们可以跳完这曲吗？”

“不行！”她说，然后走开了。

她在生邓瑞的气，邓瑞不知道说什么好。可是他心想，她能来到舞会，完全是因为自己给她弄到了请柬啊！

他和一群年轻人一起观舞。哈罗德·埃切斯—五镇最富有的年轻人之一—和两三个斯韦特纳姆家的男孩，以及希利托都在那儿。一开始，邓瑞什么话都没说。他们当然都知道他是邓卡夫先生事务所的职员，一个洗衣妇的儿子。可所有的年轻人——无论贫富——穿上晚礼服后都一个样子。

他们谈的是伯爵夫人。镇上但凡年长些的重要人物都站在伯爵夫人周围，但伯爵夫人却没有跳舞。也许她不想跳舞，又或许没一个人敢邀请她。

“为什么没人请她跳舞呢？”邓瑞突然问。

“你怎么不去？”希利托说，“这是个自由的国家。”

“或许我会的。”邓瑞说。

哈罗德·埃切斯盯着邓瑞看了一会儿。“你不会邀请她。”他说。然后他笑了，那种笑让人不太舒服。“你要是请了，我就给你五英镑。”

“好。”邓瑞说完便快步走开了。

“她不会吃了我！她不会吃了我！”邓瑞一边心中暗想，一边朝伯爵夫人走去。那群人仍然围着伯爵夫人，邓瑞看到邓卡夫先生也在那里。邓瑞有些不好意思，因为邓卡夫先生当然不知道邓瑞会来参加舞会。

突然邓瑞发现自己已站在伯爵夫人面前，露丝·厄普曾教给他的那些文雅礼貌的词儿，他登时全忘了。

“我能跟您跳这支舞吗？”他语速飞快，但没忘记咧嘴微笑。（“那五镑是我的了，埃切斯先生！”邓瑞暗自思量。）

伯爵夫人不得不接受。她看得出没人敢请她跳舞——可她又真的很想跳舞！于是他们就一起跳了一支，伯斯利所有的那些男人都张大嘴巴看着他们。邓瑞大部分时间都跳得不错，只有一次他们差点撞到另一对跳舞的人。音乐停下时，伯爵夫人看着邓瑞，发现他还只不过是个孩子呢。

“你跳得很好！”她说，笑得几乎像姑妈一样。

“真的？”他也笑了，“除了舞蹈课，这是我第一次跳舞。”

“是吗？那我猜你学东西一定很快。”

“是的。”他说，“您呢？”

邓瑞的问题不知哪里让伯爵夫人觉得很有趣。她仰着头哈哈大笑。舞厅里的每个人都看得出邓瑞逗乐了伯爵夫人。邓瑞感谢伯爵夫人能跟他跳舞时，二人一直笑着。

伯爵夫人转身离开时，邓瑞看见她的扇子掉在了地上。他连忙把它捡起来，放进自己口袋里。然后他回到那群年轻人当中。

“给你！”哈罗德·埃切斯说着递给邓瑞一张五英镑的钞票。

邓瑞只是笑了笑，把钱放进口袋。他从周围年轻人的脸上可以看出他现在突然出名了。他不再仅仅是个洗衣妇的儿子，他是第一个跟伯爵夫人跳舞的人。

“其实就跟和其他女人跳舞差不多。”当希利托问他和伯爵夫人跳舞是什么感觉时，他说。

“她在笑什么？”有人问。

“啊！”邓瑞说，“我不能告诉你。”

这不是邓瑞最后一次被问到这个问题，但他总是拒绝问答。在他成功邀请伯爵夫人跳舞之后，很多年轻女士都想和他跳舞。后来，他又看到露丝·厄普，便和她跳了一支，然后又跟她的年轻朋友内莉跳了一支。但他对自己口袋里装着伯爵夫人扇子的事却只字未提。

舞会结束时，伯爵夫人正要离场，邓瑞挤过人群，把扇子递给了她。

“我刚才捡到的。”他对伯爵夫人说。

“哦！太感谢你了！”她说，然后笑了笑，“你确实很擅长捡东西，对吧？”

邓瑞和伯爵夫人笑个不停，但伯斯利谁也不知道他们在笑什么。

那晚邓瑞走回家时仿佛在做梦，他想着伯爵夫人、露丝·厄普、内莉以及口袋里那五英镑——这比他在邓卡夫先生的事务所干一个月挣的还多。

他是个快活的人，但麻烦正在等着他。

2

THE RENT COLLECTOR AND THE WIDOW HULLINS

The ball made a new man of Denry. He had danced with the Countess – the first man to dance with her. Bursley thought he was a wonderful fellow, and so did Denry himself. He had always been a hopeful, cheerful kind of person. Now he was filled with happiness all the time, and when he got out of bed in the morning, he felt like singing and dancing. Something good was going to happen, he knew; he just had to wait. He didn't have to wait very long.

A few days after the ball, Mrs Codleyn came to see Mr Duncalf. Mrs Codleyn was a widow, a woman of nearly sixty. She owned about seventy small houses in Bursley, and Mr Duncalf collected the rents for her. (Denry, of course, actually went to the houses to get the money.) Although the rent from all these houses was about twelve pounds a week, Mrs Codleyn always said that it was not enough. And the taxes! Every year the taxes on those houses got higher and higher, and Mrs Codleyn hated paying her taxes.

Mr Duncalf was an important man at the Town Hall. Because of this, Mrs Codleyn thought that he should make the taxes lower on her houses. Mrs Codleyn had chosen Mr Duncalf to collect her rents because she thought he was an honest man – but an honest man would never try to change the taxes specially for one person. What strange ideas people have sometimes!

Mrs Codleyn had just heard that her taxes were going up again, but she did not stay long in Mr Duncalf's office. The conversation (which Denry listened to through the wall) was short, loud, and not very polite. When Mrs Codleyn left, Mr Duncalf called Denry into his office.

The conversation was short, loud, and not very polite.

'Write this letter to Mrs Codleyn,' he said angrily. 'Madam, I understand from our conversation this morning that you prefer to find another lawyer...'

Denry wrote down the letter. As he was leaving the room, Mr Duncalf spoke again.

'Machin!'

Denry knew what was coming. He had known it was coming ever since the ball.

'Who invited you to the ball?'

There it was. A very difficult question.

'I did, sir.' Denry just could not think of a lie.

'Why?'

'I thought perhaps you'd forgotten to, sir.'

'I suppose you think you're a really fine fellow after your dance with the Countess?' Mr Duncalf said unpleasantly.

'Yes,' said Denry. 'Do you?'

He had not meant to say it. The same little question had amused the Countess greatly, but it was true to say that it was not amusing his employer now. Mr Duncalf's own dance with the Countess had come to a very quick ending, because he had stepped heavily on her skirt.

'You will leave my office at the end of the week,' said Mr Duncalf, coldly.

'Oh, very well,' said Denry. And he said to himself: 'something good must happen now.' He had no idea what he would do next, but he was still cheerful. And he still had Harold Etches' five pounds.

The next morning both Mrs Codleyn and Denry were late for church. Mrs Codleyn was late by accident and also because she was fat. Denry was late because he had planned it that way. The two met at the church door.

'Well, you're nice people, I must say!' Mrs Codleyn said to Denry. She meant Duncalf and all his office workers.

'Nothing to do with me, you know!' said Denry.

'I wish I could find someone else to collect my rents.'

'I can still collect them for you, if you like,' said Denry.

'You?'

'I've told Duncalf I'm leaving him,' Denry said. 'The fact is, he and I don't agree on a lot of things.'

Mrs Codleyn looked at him and thought about it. He was just a young office worker, and his mother was a washer-woman. His suit was clean, but old and unfashionable.

'And what's more,' Denry went on, 'I'll do the work for less money. You pay Duncalf ninety pence a week – well, I'll do it for sixty pence a week. And I'll collect them better than him. Give me a month and you'll see the difference!'

At the end of the week a notice appeared on the front door of Denry's mother's house, which said:

E. H. MACHIN

Rent Collector

In a few weeks, Denry was doing very well. He was working for himself, and in two days he earned more money than in a week with Mr Duncalf. He walked around the town, smiling, looking important, talking to other young men, and thinking of new ways of making money.

*　　*　　*

One Monday morning he went to Mrs Hullins' house to collect the rent. It was a very small house, not much more than one room downstairs and one room upstairs. The rent was fifteen pence a week, and the Widow Hullins had not paid any rent at all for some weeks. She had lived there all her life, and after two husbands and eleven children, she now lived alone. She had seen a lot of life, and was old and tired.

'I've nothing for you,' she said when Denry came in.

'That's not good enough, I'm afraid,' said Denry cheerfully. 'I'm not leaving until I get ten pence.'

'It'll be a long wait. I'll have nothing until Saturday, when my son Jack starts a new job.'

'I'm sorry,' said Denry kindly, 'but if you don't pay, you'll have to go. Mrs Codleyn will put you out in the street, you know. Why don't you go and live with one of your children?'

After some more conversation, Denry left the house, still smiling cheerfully. And then, two minutes later, he put his head round the door again.

'Look here, mother,' he said, 'I'll lend you ten pence if you like. But you must pay me a penny a week for it. You must pay me back next week and give me eleven pence.'

'I'll lend you ten pence if you like,' said Denry.

And he wrote down 'Ten pence, paid' in her rent book.

'Eh, you're a funny fellow, Mr Machin,' said Mrs Hullins.

The next Monday, all the neighbours knew that Denry could be very helpful about problems with the rent. And Denry, with his cheerful, smiling face, saved many families from a life in the street. Of course, it was good business for him, too. If someone borrowed ten pence for four weeks, when they paid Denry back, they had to give him fourteen pence. If it was for six months, they had to pay him back thirty-six pence. Money made like this just grows and grows.

Denry began to think that he was different from other men. He had invited himself to the ball, danced with the Countess, left his job with Duncalf, taken Duncalf's rent-collecting, and then introduced the idea of collecting rents and lending money at the same time. He was becoming well-known in Bursley as an unusual and amusing fellow – in other words, a card.

But then the day came when Mrs Codleyn decided to sell some of her smaller houses. This was very bad news for Denry because these houses were the most important part of his business. Denry talked to her, and tried to show her that it was not a sensible idea, but it was no good. Finally, Denry said wildly that he would buy some of the houses himself.

'I'll buy the Widow Hullins' house,' he said. 'I'll give you forty-five pounds for it.' It was all the money he had.

Mrs Codleyn agreed. And selling this one house, for the moment, seemed to be enough for her.

*　　*　　*

Denry was now a property owner. And he had also joined the Sports Club – the club for the rich, the fashionable, and the successful men of Bursley. It was a great thing for the son of a washer-woman to join a club like this.

On Denry's second visit to the club, he saw that some of the most important men in Bursley were there. A group of them were arguing in a corner of the comfortable bar.

'Some of the poor people in this town live in the most terrible old houses,' said Charles Fearns, a lawyer. 'And the town just doesn't care about them. There's an old woman – Hullins is her name – who's lived in the same awful old house for fifty years. She pays fifteen pence a week rent for this place, and now she's going to be put out into the street because she can't pay.'

'Who's the hard-hearted owner?' someone asked.

'Mrs Codleyn,' said Fearns.

'Mrs Codleyn isn't the owner,' called Denry, who was sitting at the next table, smiling. 'I am.'

'Oh, I'm sorry,' said Fearns, 'I had no idea—'

'Not at all!' said Denry. 'But what can I do? She can't pay, or doesn't want to pay. Do I let her live in the house for no rent because she's seventy? Come on, tell me. What do I do?'

'Fearns would make her a present of the house!' a voice said laughing, and everybody else laughed too.

'Well, that's what I'll do,' said Denry. 'I'll give her the house. That's the kind of hard-hearted owner I am.'

The room was silent for a moment.

'I mean it!' said Denry, and picked up his glass. 'she can have the house! Good health to the Widow Hullins.'

And the next morning, everybody in Bursley was talking about it. 'I say, have you heard Machin's latest?'

He was now not just a card; he was the card.

tax n. money you pay to the Council, to pay for roads, hospitals etc 税

church n. the religious ceremonies in a church （教堂的）礼拜仪式

by accident in a way that is not planned or intended 偶然，意外地

unfashionable adj. not popular at the present time 过时的，不时髦的

difference n. something that makes one thing or person different from another thing or person 不同之处

earn v. to get money by working 挣（钱）

sensible adj. reasonable, practical and able to judge things well 明智的，通晓事理的

wildly adv. in an uncontrolled or unrestrained manner 失控地；极为激动地

property n. a building and the land around it 房地产

hard-hearted adj. not caring about other people's feelings 硬心肠的，没有同情心的

2

收租人和哈林斯寡妇

舞会之后，邓瑞像换了个人似的。他和伯爵夫人跳过舞——他是第一个和她跳舞的人。伯斯利人觉得他了不起，邓瑞自己也是这么想。他一直是个乐观快活的人。现在他时刻都充满了幸福感，早上一起床，他便想放声歌唱，翩翩起舞。有什么好事定要发生，他心里明白；他只要等着就是了。而且他不用等太久。

舞会结束几天后，科多林太太来找邓卡夫先生。科多林太太是个寡妇，年近六旬。她在伯斯利有大约70所小房子，邓卡夫先生帮她收租金。（当然，邓瑞才是真正上门收租的那个人。）尽管这些房子每周能给她带来大约12英镑的收入，科多林太太总是说这些收入不够多。还有那些税！房子要缴的税每年都在上涨，科多林太太痛恨缴税。

邓卡夫先生是镇公所里举足轻重的人物。因此，科多林太太认为他应该把她房子的税降一降。科多林太太选择邓卡夫先生作她的收租人，是因为她认为他是一个诚实的人——但一个诚实的人永远不会专门为某个人调整税收金额。人们的观念有时是多么奇怪啊！

科多林太太刚听说她的税又要涨了，但她在邓卡夫先生的办公室没呆多久。他们的对话（邓瑞隔着墙听到的）很简短，声音很大，并且言语不太客气。等科多林太太走了后，邓卡夫先生把邓瑞叫进了他的办公室。

“给科多林太太写封信。”他气呼呼地说，“夫人，据我们今早的谈话得悉您有意另觅一位律师……”

邓瑞照他口述写完了这封信。就在邓瑞准备离开房间时，邓卡夫先生又开口了：

“梅钦！”

邓瑞知道会发生什么。自舞会以来他就知道这一天总会到来的。

“谁邀请你去参加舞会的？”

果然如此。一个很难回答的问题。

“我自己，先生。”邓瑞想不出如何去扯个谎。

“为什么？”

“我想您大概忘了邀请我，先生。”

“我看你觉得自己跟伯爵夫人跳舞后就是个真正的上等人了，是吧？”邓卡夫先生不客气地说。

“是的。”邓瑞说，“您觉得呢？”

他本不想说这个。同样一个小小的问句能令伯爵夫人非常开心，但必须承认现在却不能逗乐他的老板。当时邓卡夫先生和伯爵夫人的舞很快就结束了，因为他重重地踩在了她裙子上。

“这周上完班你就不用来了。”邓卡夫先生冷冷地说。

“噢，好吧。”邓瑞说。他暗自思量：“一定有什么好事很快就会发生了。”他还不清楚接下来要做什么，但他依然满心快活。况且他还有哈罗德·埃切斯给他的五英镑。

第二天早上科多林太太和邓瑞做礼拜都迟到了。科多林太太迟到不光是出于偶然，还因为她胖。邓瑞迟到则是故意盘算好的。两人在教堂门口碰上了。

“嗯，你们可真是些体面人，我必须得这么说！”科多林太太对邓瑞说。她是指邓卡夫以及他事务所的所有员工。

“这跟我没有任何关系，你知道的！”邓瑞说。

“我希望能另找个人帮我收租。”

“要是你愿意的话，我仍然可以为你收租。”邓瑞说。

“你？”

“我已经跟邓卡夫说了，我不为他干活了。”邓瑞说，“事实上，我和他在很多事情上看法都不一致。”

科多林太太看着他，想了一会儿。他只是一个年纪轻轻的办事员，他母亲是个洗衣妇。他穿着干净的西装，但又旧又不时髦。

“还有，”邓瑞继续说，“我收费更低。你每周付给邓卡夫90便士——嗯，我一周只要60便士。我活儿也比他干得漂亮。给我一个月时间，你就知道区别了！”

周末，邓瑞母亲家的前门上挂出了一个告示，上面写着：

E. H. 梅钦

收租人

几周后，邓瑞就做得很不错了。他为自己打工，两天挣的钱比在邓卡夫先生那里一周挣的还多。他在镇上转悠，面带笑容，端着架子，与其他年轻人聊天，想着挣钱的新法子。

*　　*　　*

一个周一的早上，他去哈林斯太太家收租。那是一所很小的房子，就楼下一个房间、楼上一个房间。房租为一周15便士，哈林斯寡妇已经好几周没交房租了。她一辈子都住在那里，嫁过两任丈夫，生了11个孩子，而现在则独自生活。她饱经生活的风霜，如今已变得衰老而疲惫。

“我没钱给你。”邓瑞进来时她说道。

“这恐怕不行。”邓瑞欢快地说，“除非给我10便士，否则我不会走的。”

“那你得等很久。等到周六我儿子杰克开始新的工作后我才有钱。”

“我很抱歉，”邓瑞和善地说，“但您不交钱，就得搬走。科多林太太会把您赶到大街上去，这您是知道的。您为什么不搬去和您其中一个孩子住呢？”

二人又说了一会儿，然后邓瑞离开了这所房子，他依然快活地笑着。接着，两分钟后，他的脑袋又出现在了门口。

“听着，大娘，”他说，“要是您愿意，我可以借给您10便士。但您必须每周给我1便士的利息。您下周得把钱还给我，一共是11便士。”

接着他在她的租金簿上写下“10便士，付讫”。

“啊，你真是个有趣的小伙子，梅钦先生。”哈林斯寡妇说。

接下来的一个周一，所有邻居都知道了邓瑞十分乐意帮人解决租金问题。而一副快活笑脸的邓瑞使很多家庭免于露宿街头。当然，对于邓瑞来说这也是笔好生意。要是有人跟他借10便士四个星期后还，就得还给他14便士；要是借六个月，到时就得付给他36便士。邓瑞以这种方式挣的钱越来越多。

邓瑞开始觉得自己与众不同了。他曾邀请自己参加了舞会，和伯爵夫人跳了舞，炒了邓卡夫的鱿鱼，拿下了邓卡夫的收租业务，然后还发明了收租和放贷同时进行的做法。他在伯斯利渐渐出了名，大家把他看作一个非同寻常的有意思的家伙——换个说法，他便是一个传奇。

但是有一天，科多林太太打算卖掉一部分较小的房子。对邓瑞来说这是个大大的坏消息，因为这些房子是他的生意里最重要的一部分。邓瑞找她谈，试图说服她这样做不明智，可毫无用处。最后，邓瑞情绪激动地说他自己要买下其中的一些房子。

“我要买下哈林斯寡妇住的那所房子。”他说，“我出45英镑。”那是他的全部积蓄。

科多林太太同意了。眼下卖掉这一所房子对她来说似乎已经足够了。

*　　*　　*

邓瑞现在是个有房产的人了。他还加入了体育俱乐部——一个为伯斯利镇上富有、时髦、成功的男士开办的俱乐部。对一个洗衣妇的儿子来说，加入这样的一个俱乐部是件了不起的大事。

邓瑞第二次去俱乐部的时候，发现伯斯利的几位重要人物都在那里。那群人正呆在舒服的酒吧一角争论着什么。

“镇上有些穷人住在破陋不堪的老房子里。”一位名叫查尔斯·费恩斯的律师说，“政府根本不关心他们。有个老太太——名叫哈林斯——50年来一直住在一所破旧的老房子里。她要为这么一个住所每周花费15便士，现在她因为交不起房租要被赶到大街上。”

“那个铁石心肠的房主是谁啊？”有人问。

“科多林太太。”费恩斯说。

“科多林太太不是房主，”邓瑞大声说，他坐在隔壁桌上，面带笑容。“我才是。”

“哦，对不起，”费恩斯说，“我不知道——”

“不要紧！”邓瑞说，“可我能做什么呢？她交不起房租，或许是不想交。就因为她70岁了我就得让她免费住在那所房子里吗？好吧，告诉我，我该怎么做？”

“费恩斯会把那所房子作为礼物送给她！”一个人笑着说。其他人也都笑了。

“好吧，那正是我打算要做的。”邓瑞说，“我要把房子送给她。我就是那种铁石心肠的房主。”

房间里的人沉默了片刻。

“我是说真的！”邓瑞说，然后举起酒杯，“房子是她的了！祝哈林斯寡妇身体健康！”

第二天早晨，伯斯利镇上的每个人都在谈论这件事。“喂，你听没听说梅钦的最新消息？”

现在他不再是一个传奇，他就是那个传奇。

3

THE DANCING TEACHER AND THE FURNITURE VAN

One day in July Denry knocked at the door of a house at the top of Brougham Street. The dancing teacher, Miss Ruth Earp, lived there, in a house owned by Mr Calvert, and Denry now collected Mr Calvert's rents for him.

'Good morning, Miss Earp,' said Denry, when she opened the door. 'I've come about the rent.'

'The rent?' said Ruth, surprised. She gave him a look which seemed to say, 'Why does a little boy like you ask about my rent?'

'Yes. I collect rents for Mr Calvert now,' Denry said. He did not like the 'little boy' look on her face, and added, 'You haven't paid any rent for more than a year.'

Ruth Earp gave a hard little laugh. 'I see,' she said. 'so Mr Herbert Calvert is paying you to do his dirty work now. I must tell you, Mr Machin, that not long ago Mr Calvert was more interested in me than in my rent. But when I decided that I could not return his interest, he said things which hurt me very much – very much indeed.'

'Oh,' said Denry. He told himself that he was here on business.

'But if you can't pay your rent, Miss Earp, I'm afraid you'll have to leave.'

Ruth looked at him, and then gave a slow, sad smile. 'Of course I can pay it,' she said gently. 'I just wanted to punish Mr Calvert a little. I can't pay you just at this moment, I'm afraid. The bank is closed. Can you come back tomorrow? Come at four o'clock, and I'll give you a cup of tea.'

The next day Denry returned. It was the first time he had taken tea with a young lady, and so he had put on his best summer suit. He noticed that Ruth was wearing a very pretty dress – something white with bits of pink in it.

Ruth had introduced Denry to dancing, and now she introduced him to taking tea. It was all very beautifully done – tea in very small cups, little squares of bread-and-butter, and interesting conversation. Ruth seemed much more friendly today, and Denry found it all very pleasant.

Then suddenly Ruth stopped speaking, and lay back in her chair with her eyes closed.

Suddenly Ruth lay back in her chair with her eyes closed.

'Is something the matter?' asked Denry.

'I'm afraid I've got an awful headache,' she answered.

'I'm sorry,' said Denry. 'Is there anything I can do? Perhaps you should lie down. Would you like me to go?'

'But I must pay you the rent first.' She put her hand to her head. 'The money's in that desk. Could you get it for me?'

She gave Denry a key. He went over to the desk, put the key in the lock, and tried to turn it. Nothing happened, and then the key turned and turned. 'I can't open it,' he said.

Ruth stood up, holding her head. She came over to the desk, and tried the key. 'Oh dear. I'm afraid you've broken the lock. I'll have to get someone to mend it tomorrow morning, and then I'll bring the money round to you.'

'Don't worry,' said Denry. 'I can easily call back for it tomorrow. And I'm very sorry about the lock.'

*　　*　　*

Late that night Denry came home from an evening at the Sports Club and just as he reached his mother's house, he saw something strange at the top end of Brougham Street. A large furniture van was moving down the street all on its own; there were no horses. Clearly, the owner had left it there and forgotten to put on the brakes. It was moving slowly now, but Denry could see that when it reached the bottom of Brougham Street, it could be very dangerous.

Denry was always at his finest at difficult or dangerous moments. As the van passed him, moving at about five or six kilometres an hour, he jumped on, losing his hat, and tried to put the brakes on. For a second or two the van seemed to slow down, but then Denry realized that the brakes were not working and the van was moving faster and faster down the hill. At the bottom of the street was the canal, and clearly nothing was going to stop the van now. It was too late to jump off, so Denry closed his eyes and held on hard.

When the van went in, Denry was under water for a moment, but then he managed to climb further up on the front of the van. Everything was still and dark, except for a little starlight on the water. Only Denry had seen the van's strange journey down the hill.

'Well, well!' he said aloud to himself.

And a voice answered from inside the van: 'Who's there?'

Denry's heart seemed to stop beating. 'It's me!' he said.

'Not Mr Machin?' said the voice.

'Yes,' said he. 'I jumped on as it came down the street – and here we are!'

'Oh!' cried the voice. 'I wish you could get round to me.'

It was Ruth Earp's voice. Denry understood immediately. Ruth had played with him! She had planned to take her furniture and run away in the night. She had no rent money locked in her desk at all. But he was not angry with her, just amused. Ruth was really very clever – in fact, very like Denry himself.

He had to climb over the roof of the van to get to the back. The van was black inside, and the floor was under fifty centimetres of water.

'Where are you?'

'I'm here. I'm on a table. It's the only thing the men put in the van before they went to have their supper.'

Denry felt around until he touched her wet dress.

'You're a bad girl, you know,' he said.

Ruth started to cry. 'I know,' she said miserably. 'But I had no money. What could I do?'

Denry climbed on to the table next to her.

'What can we do now?' she whispered.

'Wait until it gets light,' said he.

So they waited. On a hot July night it is not unpleasant to sit in the dark with your feet in water. Ruth told Denry all about her life and her money problems.

When it started to get light, Denry saw that the back of the van was only a metre from the edge of the canal, so they jumped. In the grey early light they looked at one another. Ruth had a black eye, and Denry had lost his hat.

Ruth had a black eye, and Denry had lost his hat.

'Go home by the back streets, not up Brougham Street,' said Denry. 'I'll come and see you in the morning.'

It was four o'clock in the morning when Denry went quietly up his mother's stairs. He had seen nobody.

*　　*　　*

Only two people in Bursley ever knew exactly what had happened that night. Everybody knew that Denry had tried to save the town from a dangerous runaway van and had ended in the canal. But as well as this one fact, there were a great many stories about the accident, and in these stories the names of Denry and Ruth were always appearing.

One morning Denry went to see Mr Herbert Calvert and gave him ten pounds which he said came from Ruth Earp.

Calvert gave Denry a strange look. 'What's going on?' he asked. 'Is it true that she was trying to leave without paying?'

'I don't think so. It's all very extraordinary. I think the van was at the wrong house.'

'Are you engaged to her?' asked Calvert.

Denry waited for a moment. 'Yes,' he said. 'Are you?'

And Denry thought to himself that few engagements had begun as strangely as theirs.

top n. the part of the street that is the furthest away either from you or from the most important entrance to it （街道的）最远处；尽头

dirty adj. used to emphasize that you think someone or something is very bad 脏的，可恶的，可恨的

punish v. to make someone suffer because they have done something wrong 惩罚

headache n. a pain in your head 头痛

on its own independently, alone 独自地

brake n. something that you use to stop a moving car or cart 车闸

journey n. a trip from one place to another 旅行，行程

centimetre n. a unit for measuring length. There are 100 centimetres in one metre 厘米

miserably adv. in a miserable manner 痛苦地

whisper v. to speak or say something very quietly, using your breath rather than your voice 悄声说

edge n. the part of an object that is furthest from its centre 边缘

runaway adj. completely out of control 失控的

engaged adj. having agreed to marry someone 已订婚的

engagement n. an agreement to marry someone 婚约，订婚

3

舞蹈老师和家具拖车

七月的一天，邓瑞敲响了布鲁厄姆街尽头的一所房子的大门。舞蹈老师露丝·厄普小姐就住在那里，那是卡尔弗特先生的房子，现在邓瑞为卡尔弗特先生收房租。

“早上好，厄普小姐，”当她开门时，邓瑞说，“我是来收房租的。”

“房租？”露丝说，显得十分惊讶。她看了他一眼，那表情似乎在说：“怎么让你这样一个小毛孩来找我要房租？”

“是的。我现在为卡尔弗特先生收房租。”邓瑞说道。他不喜欢她看他时露出像看“小毛孩”的表情，于是又补充道：“你都一年多没交房租了。”

露丝·厄普勉强笑了一下。“我明白了。”她说，“这么说赫伯特·卡尔弗特现在雇你来给他干这份脏活了。我必须告诉你，梅钦先生，不久前卡尔弗特先生对我比对我的房租更感兴趣。但当我决定不能对他的兴趣作出回报时，他说了一些非常伤人的话——非常非常伤人。”

“哦。”邓瑞说。他提醒自己到这儿是来办公事的。

“可你要是交不出房租，厄普小姐，恐怕就得搬走了。”

露丝看着他，慢慢露出悲伤的笑容。“我当然交得起。”她温柔地说，“我只是想给卡尔弗特先生一点颜色看看。恐怕现在我不能给你现钱，银行关门了。你能明天来吗？你四点来，我请你喝杯茶。”

第二天邓瑞又来了。这是他第一次和年轻女士喝茶，因此他穿上了自己最好的一身夏装。他注意到露丝穿了一条漂亮的裙子——那是条白底粉点的裙子。

露丝曾教过邓瑞跳舞，现在又教他喝茶。一切都布置得很精美——茶装在小巧的茶杯里，抹了黄油的面包切成一小块一小块的，还有风趣的谈话。露丝今天看起来友善得多，邓瑞觉得这一切都让人舒服极了。

突然露丝不再说话，靠在椅子里，闭上了眼睛。

“你怎么啦？”邓瑞问。

“不好意思，我头疼得厉害。”她说。

“真糟糕。”邓瑞说，“我能帮上什么忙吗？也许你应该躺会儿。你希望我离开吗？”

“可我得先给你房租。”她手掩额头，“钱在桌子里，你能帮我拿过来吗？”

她给了邓瑞一把钥匙。他走到桌子那里，把钥匙插进锁里，试着打开。钥匙转了又转，但锁打不开。“我打不开。”他说。

露丝扶着头站了起来。她走到桌子那里，试着开锁。“哦，老天，你把锁弄坏了。明早我得找人把锁修好，然后我把钱给你送过去。”

“别着急。”邓瑞说，“我明天再来拿也可以。很抱歉弄坏了锁。”

*　　*　　*

那天深夜，邓瑞在体育俱乐部消磨了一个晚上准备回家，快走到他母亲家时，他在布鲁厄姆街尽头发现一件奇怪的事情。一辆运家具的拖车自己沿着街道向下滑行；车前没有套马。很明显，车主把车放在那里，忘记刹闸了。拖车现在移动得很慢，但邓瑞知道一旦车到达布鲁厄姆街的尽头，情况会非常危险。

在危难时刻，邓瑞总是特别善于应对。当拖车以每小时五六公里的速度经过邓瑞身边时，他跳上了车，帽子掉了也顾不上，一心只想试着把闸刹住。有那么一两秒钟，车子似乎慢了下来，但接着邓瑞意识到刹车失灵了，拖车正以越来越快的速度朝山下冲去。街的尽头就是运河，显然现在没有什么能阻止拖车前进了。现在跳车已经来不及了，邓瑞闭上眼睛，紧紧地抓住了车身。

当拖车掉进河里时，邓瑞沉入了水中，但一会儿他就向上爬到车子的前端。除了水面的一点星光，四周静谧，一片漆黑。只有邓瑞目睹了拖车冲下山坡的奇特过程。

“好啊，好啊！”他大声自言自语。

车里有个声音应道：“谁在那里？”

邓瑞的心似乎停止了跳动。“是我！”他说。

“是梅钦先生吗？”那个声音问。

“是我。”他说，“车子顺着街道往下滑的时候，我跳了上来——于是我们就到这里来了！”

“哦！”那个声音喊道，“我希望你能到我这边来。”

那是露丝·厄普的声音。邓瑞立刻就明白了。露丝一直在耍他！她打算带着家具，趁着夜色逃走。她的桌子里根本没有锁着房租。但他不生她的气，只是觉得好笑。露丝真的非常聪明——事实上，她跟邓瑞很像。

他得从车顶爬到后面去。车里很黑，车底板已淹入水下50厘米了。

“你在哪儿？”

“我在这儿，在一张桌子上。那些人只把这一件家具搬进车里，然后就去吃晚饭了。”

邓瑞四处摸索，直到摸到了她的湿裙子。

“你是个坏女孩，你知道吗？”他说。

露丝哭了起来。“我知道，”她痛苦地说，“可我没钱，我能怎么办？”

邓瑞爬上桌子，呆在她身边。

“我们现在该怎么办？”她低声问。

“等到天亮。”他回答说。

于是他们就等着。在一个炎热的七月的晚上，坐在黑暗中，把脚泡在水里，倒也不是一件难受的事。露丝给邓瑞讲述了自己的生活经历，并告诉他自己手头比较拮据。

天色逐渐放亮，邓瑞发现拖车后部离河岸只有一米远，于是他们跳上岸。在凌晨灰蒙蒙的天色中，他俩看着对方。露丝一个眼眶淤青，邓瑞丢了自己的帽子。

“走小路回家，不要从布鲁厄姆街上走。”邓瑞说，“我上午会来看你。”

邓瑞悄悄走上家里的楼梯时，是凌晨四点。他在路上一个人都没遇见。

*　　*　　*

伯斯利只有两个人知道那晚到底发生了什么。所有人都知道邓瑞拼尽全力，使小镇免受一辆失控拖车的毁坏，而他自己最终掉进了运河。但就是关乎这一件事，也有好多种传闻，在这些传闻中，邓瑞和露丝的名字一再出现。

一天早上，邓瑞去见赫伯特·卡尔弗特先生，并给了他十英镑，说那是露丝·厄普的房租。

卡尔弗特奇怪地看了邓瑞一眼。“到底怎么回事？”他问，“她想不交房租就逃跑，这是真的吗？”

“我想不是。那件事太不寻常了。我觉得是拖车停错了地方。”

“你跟她订婚了吗？”卡尔弗特问。

邓瑞等了一会儿。“是的，”他说，“你呢？”

邓瑞心想，很少有人像他们这样，订婚订得这么奇怪的。

4

SAVED BY A STORM

When newly engaged people like Denry and Ruth want to go away on a summer holiday, there are many things to think about. A businessman, for example, who lives by collecting rents every week cannot go away easily for two. And a young woman who lives alone must always be careful about what other people think, so Ruth asked her friend Nellie Cotterill to go with her.

Ruth and Nellie took a room together at 26 St Asaph's Road, Llandudno. Denry took a room at number 28 St Asaph's Road. Who could want more?

Denry had never seen the sea before. As he walked along the beach in his best clothes, with the girls on either side of him, he thought it was all wonderful. He also saw fantastic possibilities for making money, because here were fifty thousand people, all on holiday, all wanting to do interesting things, and all with money to spend.

Denry thought about this a lot because he felt he was now a serious person. He had something to live for. He was very pleased and happy to be engaged to Ruth, although still a little surprised. What could this fine young lady see in him?

They had not discussed money at all, although Denry wanted to. It was clear that Ruth thought he was a rich man, and Denry was spending a lot of money. In fact, he could not move without paying for something. The pier, swimming, ice cream, chairs, fruit, boat trips, photographs, teas, coffees – even a short walk with Ruth was expensive.

Ruth had very little money, but it didn't worry her. She didn't know what money was, and she spent Denry's like water. The gentle, silent Nellie often asked to pay for something herself, but of course Denry couldn't let her. He liked Nellie Cotterill. She thought that he and Ruth were wonderful, and although she was a very quiet person, she was also very sensible.

At the end of the first week Denry was getting more and more worried about money. On the Monday morning he went back to Bursley to collect rents, and returned to Llandudno on Tuesday evening with his pockets full of rent money. Something had to happen, he thought. He didn't know what it was, but three months of engagement with Ruth Earp was going to leave him penniless.

*　　*　　*

He was saved by a storm at sea. They woke up on Wednesday morning to find the rain and wind crashing against the windows. The three walked down into the town, where they learnt that the town's lifeboat had gone out to a ship further along the coast. A second lifeboat (an old one, now owned by a fisherman) had gone out to a Norwegian ship, the Hjalmar, which was in difficulties just off Llandudno itself. Everyone in the town was watching the lifeboat save the sailors while the ship went down. Denry and the girls went onto the pier, and Denry even got his feet wet helping one or two of the Norwegian sailors from the lifeboat onto the pier. After that, he talked for a time to Cregeen, the owner of the lifeboat.

Denry got his feet wet helping the sailors from the lifeboat onto the pier.

It was a very exciting day, and it gave Denry an idea.

'I'll write a report about all this for the Signal,' he said. This was the Five Towns daily newspaper.

'Oh yes!' said Nellie. 'What a good idea!'

The next morning Denry was up early to send the report off by train. Then he and the girls walked into town – and spent more money. Everybody in the town was talking about the storm, the wreck of the Hjalmar and the wonderful rescue of all the Norwegian sailors by the lifeboat.

After a few minutes, Ruth turned to Denry.

'I had the bill for our room this morning,' she said.

'Oh!' he said. 'Did you pay it?'

'Yes. But now I've almost no money left. We spent so much money while you were away in Bursley. You don't know how quickly money goes!' She waited a moment, then said, 'I suppose we'll have to go home.'

'What a pity!' said Denry, sadly.

Of course, Ruth wanted Denry to say that he could pay for her to stay. But all he said was, 'What a pity!'

'I think I'll go home this afternoon.'

'I'm sorry,' said Denry.

At that moment a hand touched his arm. It was Cregeen.

'Mr Machin. It's now or never. It's twenty-five pounds if you can pay today.'

'Right!' said Denry. 'I'll see you this evening.'

Ruth pretended not to be interested in any of this.

*　　*　　*

Poor Nellie. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't know what it was. All she knew was that her holiday was coming to a sudden end. In the evening, the three of them walked to the station.

'Where's your luggage?' Ruth asked Denry.

'I'm not going. I've got business here.'

There was a bookshop in the station. Denry bought the Signal, which had just come in, and there was his report: 'Terrible Storm in North Wales – a report by Mr E. H. Machin of Bursley'. Denry was ready to explode with happiness, but he gave the newspaper calmly to Ruth.

She did not look at it. 'We'll read it on the train,' she said.

The bookshop also had a lot of souvenirs of Llandudno. Ruth wanted a glass plate with a picture of Great Orme Head on it, but the man in the shop said that they had sold out.

'Couldn't you get one and send it to me?' said Ruth.

'Oh yes,' said the man, taking out a book. 'What name?'

Ruth looked at Denry, in the way that a woman always looks at a man when she wants him to pay.

'Rothschild,' said Denry. 'The millionaire.'

These words ended their engagement. The next day Denry received by post a ring in a box, with a short letter.

'I only said "Rothschild"!' said Denry to himself. But secretly, he was pleased.

*　　*　　*

An hour later Denry met Cregeen, and was soon the owner of the old Llandudno lifeboat. He then went to find Simeon, an old sailor with a white beard. He had been in the lifeboat when they rescued the men on the Hjalmar.

'I've got the boat,' said Denry. 'I'll give you two pounds for the week.'

'All right,' said the old man. 'And I've seen three of those Norwegians. They don't speak English, but they understand about the money.'

'Good,' said Denry. 'I'll see you tomorrow morning.'

At five o'clock the next morning a boat left Llandudno. There were six men rowing, three of them Norwegians. There was also a man with a white beard, and Denry. In twenty minutes they were at the wreck of the Hjalmar and Denry was feeling very ill. Twenty minutes more and he was happy to be back on land.

At ten o'clock that morning two Norwegian sailors were walking around the town giving little notices to everyone they met.

THE WRECK OF THE HJALMAR

FAMOUS RESCUE AT LLANDUDNO

Every day at 11, 12, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 o'clock the famous lifeboat which rescued the Norwegian sailors will visit the wreck of the Hjalmar. The lifeboat's captain is Simeon Edwards, one of the rescuers, and the lifeboat is rowed by three of the rescued Norwegians.

Return trip, 12 pence

On the first day, Denry made twelve pounds. That evening he received a packet in the post. It was from Nellie. There was a box of chocolates and a note which said: Thank you very much for the holiday. I hope you will like these. Nellie. Denry was very pleased by this. Ruth's young friend, he thought, was much more grateful than Ruth herself.

The boat trips out to the wreck became more and more popular. In the afternoons, Denry had to ask 25 pence – it was the only way to stop the big crowds that were waiting on the beach. Soon, he was making a hundred pounds a week. He was sorry the wreck had happened in August and not July. He was sorry there were not two or even forty Hjalmars.

The boat trips out to the wreck became more and more popular.

One day in September when business was beginning to slow down (he was down to fifty pounds a week), Denry had a very pleasant surprise. He met Nellie on the beach, and it was a fact that seeing her gave him a great feeling of happiness. She was with her father, Councillor Cotterill, and her mother. The Councillor was a builder who had become rich building cheap houses for the people of the Five Towns.

'Well, young man!' said Councillor Cotterill.

He continued to call Denry 'young man' in a way that made Denry cross. 'I've made more money this summer than you have in a year,' he said silently to the Councillor's back.

'You must have dinner with me one evening,' Denry said finally. 'At the Majestic.' The Majestic was the finest, and most expensive, hotel in Llandudno. Some of the waiters were French!

They agreed to go the next day. Then Mrs Cotterill remembered that Ruth was coming to stay with them for a few days.

'Bring her along too!' said Denry.

The dinner was a great success. Denry had never arranged a dinner before, but it was easy. You just walked into the hotel in the morning and said what you wanted. The hotel arranged everything! And it was easy to meet a woman who had just broken off her engagement to you. You just said, 'Good afternoon, how are you?' and she said the same. Then you shook hands. And there you were, still alive.

After the meal, Denry walked back with the others to their hotel. Councillor Cotterill had stopped calling Denry 'young man'; he now called him 'my boy'.

'That lifeboat. It was just an idea, my boy, just an idea.'

'Yes,' said Denry, 'but I thought of it.'

'The question is,' said the Councillor, 'can you think of any more ideas as good?'

'Well,' said Denry, 'can you?'

When they reached the Cotterills' hotel, Ruth waited a moment while the others went in, and then turned to Denry:

'I don't feel like sleeping at all. I suppose you wouldn't like to go for a walk?'

'Well...'

'I suppose you're very tired.'

'No,' he replied. 'It's this moonlight I'm afraid of.'

A few days later the Cotterills and Ruth Earp went home, and Denry went with them. He had now sold the lifeboat and brought all his business in Llandudno to an end. He had very little luggage, but he did have a new hat-box. It was very heavy.

When Denry got home, he was pleased to see his mother again. She had often collected his rents for him during the summer, and had done it very well. He gave the hat-box to her, and she immediately dropped it.

'I don't want any of your games, young man,' she said crossly. 'What's in it?'

'Some pretty stones from the beach.'

She picked up the hat-box, opened it, and screamed. It fell to the floor with a crash and Mrs Machin was standing up to her ankles in money. She could see coins running all over the floor. At last they stopped moving, and then it was silent. Denry could hear his heart beating. For once in her life his mother could not find a word to say.

The hat-box fell to the floor with a crash.

For several days afterwards Mrs Machin was still picking up coins. The story of the money in the hat-box quickly went round the town. It was Denry's 'latest' and people talked about it for weeks afterwards.

discuss v. to talk about something with another person or a group in order to exchange ideas or decide something 谈论

pier n. a long platform built from the land into the sea, where people can walk or get on or off boats （伸向海中的）突堤码头

penniless adj. having no money 身无分文的

crash v. to hit something extremely hard, making a lot of noise 猛撞，猛击

lifeboat n. a boat that helps people who are in danger at sea 救生艇

wreck n. a ship that has been badly damaged in an accident（失事船舶等的）残骸

luggage n. the case, bags etc carried by someone who is travelling 行李

explode v. cause to burst with a violent release of energy 爆炸，爆发

souvenir n. something you keep to remember a place 纪念品

millionaire n. a person who has more than a million pounds, dollars etc 百万富翁

row v. to move a boat through water using oars (long pieces of wood with flat ends) 划船

packet n. a small container, usually made of paper, with several things of the same kind in it 小包，包裹

cross adj. angry or annoyed 生气的

feel like have an inclination for something or some activity 想要

ankle n. the joint between your foot and your leg 脚踝

go around become widely known and passed on （消息）流传

4

暴风雨救了他

像邓瑞和露丝这种刚订婚的人出门度假消夏要考虑很多事情。比如说，一个靠每周收租为生的商人很难找出时间外出两周。而一个独居的年轻女士必须考虑别人的看法，因此露丝邀请了她的朋友内莉·科特里尔和她一同前往。

露丝和内莉住在位于兰迪德诺的圣阿萨夫路26号的一间屋里。邓瑞则住在圣阿萨夫路28号。还能有比这更好的安排吗？

邓瑞以前从没见过大海。当他穿着最体面的衣服漫步在海滩上，一边一个女孩相伴时，他觉得生活真是太美好了。他还发现了赚钱的大好时机，因为这里有五万人，这些人全都在度假，全都想做点好玩的事情，全都想把钱花掉。

关于此事，邓瑞考虑了很多，因为他认为自己现在是一个严肃的男人。他有了生活目标。跟露丝订婚他除了满足和幸福之外，还有那么点儿惊讶。这位高雅的年轻女士到底看上他什么了？

他们根本没讨论过钱的事，尽管邓瑞很想讨论。很明显露丝认定他是个有钱人，而邓瑞也在大把大把地花钱。事实上，他每走一步都要花钱。到码头啦、游泳啦、买冰激凌啦、租椅子啦、买水果啦、乘船旅行啦、照相啦、喝茶和咖啡啦——和露丝即便走上短短一段路都是十分昂贵的。

露丝没什么钱，但她毫不担心。她对钱没概念，花邓瑞的钱跟流水似的。温柔沉默的内莉常常主动要付些钱，但邓瑞当然不肯。他喜欢内莉·科特里尔。她觉得露丝和邓瑞都是好人，尽管她话不多，但非常明理。

第一周就要过去，邓瑞越来越担心钱不够用。周一早晨，他回伯斯利收租，周二晚上又来到兰迪德诺，口袋里装满了收来的租金。必须做点什么，他想。他还不知道要做什么，但跟露丝订婚三个月后，他已经快要身无分文了。

*　　*　　*

海上的一场风暴救了他。周三早上醒来时，他们发现狂风暴雨正狠狠抽打着窗户。他们三人走进镇里，得知镇上的那艘救生艇驶向了一艘停靠在海岸稍远处的大船。第二艘救生艇（旧的那个，现在归一个渔民所有）驶到了一艘挪威船“亚尔马号”那里，那艘船刚离开兰迪德诺就陷入了麻烦。镇上所有人都在看着救生艇营救那艘正在沉没的船上的水手。邓瑞和姑娘们赶到了码头上，邓瑞在帮一两个挪威水手从救生艇登上码头时，连自己的脚也打湿了。之后，他和救生艇的主人克里金聊了一会儿。

这是令人激动的一天，邓瑞有了个点子。

“我要给《信报》写篇报道，说说今天的事情。”他说。《信报》是五镇的日报。

“是啊！”内莉说，“多好的想法啊！”

第二天一早邓瑞早早起床，让火车把报道寄出。接着他和姑娘们走进镇里——又花了些钱。镇上所有的人都在谈论这场暴风雨、“亚尔马号”的残骸以及所有挪威水手被救生艇成功解救上岸的事。

过了几分钟，露丝转向邓瑞。

“今早他们送来了我们房间的账单。”她说。

“哦！”他说，“你付账了吗？”

“付了。但我手头快没钱了。你在伯斯利的时候，我们花销太大了。你不知道钱用得多快！”她停顿了一会儿，接着说，“我想我们得回家了。”

“真遗憾！”邓瑞神情哀伤地说。

露丝当然希望邓瑞说他会出钱让她留下来。可邓瑞说出口的只是“真遗憾！”

“我想今天下午就回家。”

“很遗憾。”邓瑞说。

就在那时一只手碰了碰他的胳膊。是克里金。

“梅钦先生。过了这个村就没这个店了。你今天要是能交钱，就收你25英镑。”

“好！”邓瑞说，“今晚我去找你。”

露丝假装对这一切都不感兴趣。

*　　*　　*

可怜的内莉。她知道有什么事不对劲，但她不知道到底怎么回事。她只知道她的假期突然要结束了。傍晚，他们三人朝火车站走去。

“你的行李呢？”露丝问邓瑞。

“我不走。我在这里还有公事。”

火车站有个书店。邓瑞买了份刚刚出版的《信报》，上面登载了他的报道：“北威尔士的可怕风暴——伯斯利镇E. H. 梅钦先生报道”。邓瑞内心兴奋得不能自已，但他还是平静地把报纸递给了露丝。

她看也没看一眼。“我们会在火车上看的。”她说。

书店里还有许多兰迪德诺的纪念品。露丝想买一个印有大奥姆角图片的玻璃盘子，但店里的人说已经卖完了。

“你就不能设法弄到一个，给我寄来吗？”露丝问。

“哦，可以。”店员说着拿出一个本子，“您的名字？”

露丝看着邓瑞，通常一个女人想让男人为她埋单时，就会用那种眼神。

“罗思柴尔德，”邓瑞说，“那个百万富翁。”

这些话终止了他们的婚约。第二天邓瑞收到邮局寄来的一个盒子，里面是枚戒指和一封短信。

“我仅仅说了句‘罗思柴尔德 '而已！”邓瑞心中暗想。但他暗地里很开心。

*　　*　　*

一小时后，邓瑞见到了克里金，并很快成为了那艘兰迪德诺老救生艇的新主人。接着他动身去找西米恩——一位白胡子的老水手，当人们营救“亚尔马号”上的人时，他就在救生艇上。

“我买下这船了。”邓瑞说，“我每周给你两英镑。”

“好的。”老水手说，“我已见过三个挪威水手。他们不会说英语，但说到钱他们就明白了。”

“好。”邓瑞说，“明早我来见你。”

第二天早上五点钟，一条船离开了兰迪德诺。一共有六个人划船，其中三个是挪威人，还有一位白胡子老人以及邓瑞。20分钟后他们到达“亚尔马号”残骸旁边，邓瑞晕船晕得厉害。又过了20分钟后他很高兴回到了陆地上。

那天上午十点钟，两个挪威水手走上街头，在镇上逢人便散发小传单。

“亚尔马号”残骸

著名的兰迪德诺大营救

每天11点、12点、下午2点、3点、4点、5点和6点，曾营救挪威水手的著名救生艇将前往“亚尔马号”残骸处。营救人员之一的西米恩·爱德华任救生艇的船长，3位获救的挪威人任水手。

往返船票：12便士

第一天，邓瑞就挣了12英镑。那天晚上，他收到一个包裹，是内莉寄来的。包裹里有一盒巧克力，并附有一张纸条，上面写着：谢谢你安排了这次度假。希望你喜欢这礼物。内莉。邓瑞对此感到很高兴。他觉得露丝的小伙伴远比露丝本人更懂得感恩。

乘船参观失事船残骸的活动越来越受欢迎。每到下午，邓瑞就得收费25便士，只有这样才能减少在岸上候船的汹涌客流。很快，他每周就能挣到100英镑。令他感到遗憾的是，船是在八月而不是七月出的事，而且只有一艘“亚尔马号”出事，而不是两艘或者四十艘。

九月的一天，当生意开始逐渐冷清下来时（他每周的收入降到了50英镑），邓瑞遇上一件令他十分惊喜的事。他在海滩上遇到了内莉，毋容置疑，见到她令他非常开心。她和父亲科特里尔议员以及母亲在一起。议员是一个建筑商，曾经靠给五镇居民建便宜的房子发过财。

“嘿，年轻人！”科特里尔议员叫道。

他一直管邓瑞叫“年轻人”，那种讲话方式让邓瑞很恼火。“我这个夏天挣的钱比你一年挣的都多。”他对着议员的背影暗暗说道。

“请你们务必赏光跟我一起共进晚餐。”邓瑞最后说，“在马杰斯蒂克饭店。”马杰斯蒂克饭店是兰迪德诺最好最贵的一家饭店，甚至有些服务员是法国人！

他们说好第二天去。然后，科特里尔夫人想起露丝要过来和他们呆几天。

“叫她一起来吧！”邓瑞说。

晚宴非常成功。邓瑞以前从没安排过晚宴，不过那其实很容易。你只需早上走进饭店，告诉他们你想要什么，饭店便会安排好一切！同一个刚跟你解除婚约的女人见面也很容易，只需说句：“下午好。最近好吗？”她也会说同样的话，接下来你们便会握手，就这样，你还活得好好的！

饭后，邓瑞陪他们走回宾馆。科特里尔议员已经不再叫邓瑞“年轻人”，他现在叫他“我的孩子”。

“那个救生艇，那只是个点子，我的孩子，只是个点子而已。”

“是的。”邓瑞说，“可那是我想出来的。”

“问题是，”议员说，“你能想出更多和这一样好的点子吗？”

“呃，”邓瑞说，“你能吗？”

当他们走到科特里尔家下榻的宾馆时，露丝等了一会儿，待其他人都进去后，转过身对邓瑞说：

“我一点都不困。我想你或许不想去散步？”

“呃……”

“我猜你一定很累了。”

“不累，”他答道，“我害怕的是这月色。”

几天后，科特里尔一家和露丝·厄普要回家了，邓瑞与他们同行。此时，他已经卖了救生艇，了结了他在兰迪德诺的所有生意。他几乎没有行李，但他带了个新的帽盒。盒子沉甸甸的。

邓瑞到家后，很高兴又见到了母亲。整个夏天，她常常替他收租金，而且干得非常不错。他递给她帽盒，她随即就把它扔在一边。

“我可不喜欢你的什么鬼把戏，年轻人。”她生气地说，“里面装的什么？”

“是从沙滩上捡的一些漂亮的石头。”

她捡起盒子，打开，然后尖叫起来。盒子掉到了地上，发出一声巨响，梅钦太太的脚踝都没在了钱币里。她看到钱币在地上到处滚动。最后它们终于停了下来，一切都恢复了平静。邓瑞能听到自己心跳的声音。他母亲生平第一次不知道该说什么才好。

之后连着好几天，梅钦太太都在捡拾硬币。帽盒里装钱的事情很快就传遍整个小镇。这是邓瑞的“最新消息”，人们谈论了好几个星期。

5

THE RESCUE OF THE COUNTESS

Denry's rent-collecting business grew and grew. He had come back from the Llandudno adventure with a thousand pounds. Two years later he had two thousand pounds, and his bank manager spoke to him with great politeness. Denry now rented a small office, and employed an office-boy.

He also bought a mule and cart. He said he needed them for his work. He could, of course, collect rents on a bicycle, and a bicycle doesn't eat much, or run away. But Denry wanted a mule. It was a good advertisement for his business.

Denry was happy that people talked about the mule as his 'latest', and he was happy to be making money. But he wanted more than money. He was always looking for new ideas, exciting things to do – things which would make sure that he was always the greatest 'card' in the Five Towns.

One day, a new notice appeared on Denry's door:

FIVE TOWNS SAVINGS CLUB

Secretary and Manager – E. H. Machin

Many shops in the Five Towns had savings clubs. Every week customers paid a few pence into the club. At Christmas the customers could spend all the money they had paid in. Denry's idea was for a savings club for every shop in the Five Towns. It was a fantastic idea. A poor person could pay just a little money every week, and to make it easier, Denry could come to the house and collect the money. Denry's savings club was special in one very important way. After paying a pound to Denry, someone could spend two pounds in the shops immediately – although they must then, of course, continue to pay into the club every week.

Denry needed to make a profit, of course, and his profit would come from the shops. For every six pence spent in a shop, the shop had to pay him one penny. He started by going to Bostocks, the biggest clothes shop in the Five Towns. With Bostocks' name on the list it was easier to find other shops. In two weeks he had nearly a hundred.

Now he needed something to give the club a good start. For twenty-five pounds Denry could put an advertisement on the front page of the Signal, but he preferred free advertisements. Then he had an idea. He could ask the Countess of Chell to be the patron of his club. Hers was the best possible name to have at the top of his letter paper. She was the richest woman in the Five Towns. Some people loved her and some people hated her, but everybody knew her.

'I'll ask her. I'll have her as a patron,' he said to himself. 'I'll go to Sneyd Hall. She can't eat me.'

So one morning he arrived, without his mule, at the home of the Countess of Chell. He had been to Sneyd Hall before; the gardens were open to the people of the Five Towns, and there were often hundreds of people there on Sunday afternoons in summer. But today the gardens were empty.

It was a long walk between the trees up to the house, and a long walk up the steps. Denry rang, and the door opened.

'Well?' said a lady. She was dressed in black.

'Can I see the Countess?' he asked, giving her his card.

'I will ask,' she answered. She disappeared into the house, leaving Denry in the hall.

A few moments later he heard the Countess's voice:

'Oh, no! I'm terribly busy. I'm leaving in a few minutes.'

Still Denry waited. Nobody came to see him. Minutes passed and still nothing. Had they forgotten him? Then, through an open door in the back of the house he saw a man. It was Jock, the son of a friend of his mother. Jock worked at Sneyd Hall, where he drove the Countess's carriage.

Denry did not want to shout through the house, so he walked towards him. 'Jock!' he called, softly.

Jock didn't hear, and disappeared through another door. Denry followed, through door after door, until suddenly he found himself in a long ballroom, full of mirrors, paintings and rich furniture, with high windows to one side and big doors on the other. Jock had disappeared. Denry tried the big doors, but they were all locked. He went back to the door he had used to come into the room. But strangely, that was now locked as well. Then he heard horses outside, and running to a window, he saw the Countess's carriage driving away.

Denry tried knocking on all the doors, first politely, then noisily. He tried calling out, then shouting as loudly as he could. Nothing. At last he realized that there was nobody to hear him. He was a prisoner in an empty house.

He looked around the room. The only possible escape was to break a window, so Denry preferred to wait until night. He spent a long afternoon in the great ballroom of Sneyd Hall, looking at pictures and furniture. When night fell, he broke one of the big windows and went home. The Five Towns Savings Club began life without the Countess.

Denry spent that long afternoon in the ballroom of Sneyd Hall, looking at pictures and furniture.

The next morning, Denry opened the Signal and suddenly felt very ill.

ROBBERY AT SNEYD HALL

Yesterday, thieves broke into the great ballroom at Sneyd, home of the Countess of Chell. The police say that nothing seems to be missing. The Countess(who is away in Italy) will pay twenty pounds for any information about the thieves.

Denry was lucky. The robbery was the talk of the town for a few days, but nobody, it seemed, had remembered his visit to Sneyd Hall, or found his visiting card. And because nothing was stolen, the police were not very interested. Indeed, a week or two later, Denry saw a chance to make something out of his adventure. All that long afternoon he had been in the great ballroom, and he had used his eyes well. He remembered everything. Soon, a report appeared in the Signal under Denry's name. It began:

The recent robbery at Sneyd Hall gives us a reason to remember the beautiful paintings and furniture which it contains and which, happily, were not stolen. Only friends of the family, of course, ever see the great ballroom, but perhaps readers of the Signal will be interested to read a description of this fine room...

Everybody read the report of course, and everybody understood that Denry, who had already danced with the Countess, was now a good friend of the family.

*　　*　　*

The Savings Club was a great success; in fact, it became too successful. The reason was this. When customers had paid in two pounds, they were allowed to spend four pounds in the shops. They did spend four pounds in the shops. And Denry had to pay the shops. Customers were still paying in their five pence and their ten pence – but that wasn't enough to help Denry. His two thousand pounds in the bank was going very quickly. And then a whisper began to go round that Denry's famous Savings Club was not healthy, that it was going to fail, and that everyone would lose their money.

Denry knew that he had to do something – and do it very quickly. He thought of the Countess.

The Countess was very good at opening things. She opened hospitals and schools all over the Five Towns, and Denry read in the Signal that she was going to open a new Police Club in Hanbridge in a week's time. There are a number of facts about what happened on the day of the opening, and during the week before it. Some people may have ideas to explain some of these facts.

The facts are these. First: Denry called one day at the house of Mrs Kemp in Brougham Street. Mrs Kemp was the mother of Jock, Denry's old friend and carriage-driver to the Countess. Second: a day or two later, Jock came to visit his mother, and Denry also came to visit. Denry and Jock went for a short walk together. Third: on the afternoon of the opening of the Police Club, the Countess's carriage broke a wheel between Sneyd Hall and Hanbridge, about five kilometres from Hanbridge. Fourth: about five minutes later, Denry drove past in his mule cart, wearing his best clothes. Fifth: as Denry drove past, Jock called out, 'Excuse me, sir!' and Denry stopped. These are the facts.

'Good afternoon, Countess,' said Denry, lifting his hat.

'Oh, it's you, is it?' said the Countess. 'Good afternoon.'

'I see you've had an accident,' said Denry. 'Are you going somewhere important?'

'Yes, I am going somewhere important! I've got to be at the Police Club by three. And I shan't be. I'm late now.'

'I can get you there by three o'clock,' said Denry.

It was five kilometres to Hanbridge, and they were there in seventeen minutes. The mule was moving as fast as he could, but when they came into the main square, he stopped suddenly. There were several hundred policemen outside the Police Club, waiting for the Countess.

'Oh dear!' said Denry. 'He hates policemen.'

'I'll walk,' said the Countess.

'Oh no,' said Denry. 'It's all right.' He hit the mule over the head with his whip. The mule dashed off, but away from the Police Club. They hit another cart, full of vegetables, and turned it over. They dashed down a hill, fast. Then the Countess noticed that Denry was not using his right arm.

'I think I broke it when we hit the cart,' he said. 'Don't worry. I'll go up this hill – that'll stop him.'

Denry managed to turn the mule into Birches Street, which went up a hill. The mule slowed down, then stopped.

Denry managed to turn the mule into Birches Street.

'Shall I drive him to the Club?' asked the Countess. She could see that Denry's arm was very painful.

And so the Countess arrived at the Police Club in Denry's mule cart. And she invited Denry to the Club opening, where she told the five mayors and all the important people of the Five Towns how Denry had rescued her.

After the opening, Denry left the Club with the Countess, to help her find her carriage. But it still had not arrived.

'I can take you home in my cart,' offered Denry.

'I think I'll wait,' said the Countess.

'Well, let's go and have a cup of tea while we're waiting,' said Denry. 'There's a good tea-shop near here.'

The Countess loved tea, and they were soon sitting in a corner of the tea-shop. The Countess looked hard at Denry.

'How did you get all that information about the rooms at Sneyd Hall?' she asked.

After this, the conversation became exciting.

That evening a notice appeared in the Signal which said that the Countess was now Patron of the Five Towns Savings Club. In a few days a thousand more people had joined the Club. Denry had no more worries about money.

mule n. an animal whose parents were a horse and a donkey 骡子

cart n. a wooden 'car ', with two or four wheels, pulled by a horse （两轮或四轮的）马车

advertisement n. a notice (e.g. in a newspaper) which tells people about jobs, things to sell etc 广告，宣传

profit n. money that you get when you sell something for more than it cost to buy or make 利润

patron n. a famous person who uses their name or money to help people 赞助者

disappear v. to become impossible to see or find 消失，失踪

carriage n. a kind of 'car ', pulled by horses, used for carrying people 马车

escape n. a method of getting away from a place where you do not want to be, or from an unpleasant or dangerous situation 逃路，逃脱

description n. a piece of writing that says what someone or something is like 描写

whip n. a long thin thing used for hitting animals 鞭子

dash v. to run quickly; to hurry 猛冲

5

营救伯爵夫人

邓瑞的收租业务蒸蒸日上。他从兰迪德诺的那笔生意中赚到了1000英镑。两年后，他的资产已达到2000英镑。他的银行经理跟他说话时毕恭毕敬。邓瑞现在租了一间小办公室，雇了一名勤杂员。

他还买了一头骡子和一辆马车。他说这是出于工作需要。当然他也可以骑自行车去收租，自行车不吃东西，也不会跑掉。但邓瑞就是想要一头骡子。这对他的业务来说是一个好广告。

邓瑞很高兴现在人们把他的骡子当成他的“最新消息”来谈论，他也很高兴能赚到钱。但他想要的不只是金钱。他总在寻找新点子，总在找有意思的事情做——一些能保证他一直是五镇最伟大“传奇”的事情。

一天，一条新的告示贴在了邓瑞的门上：

五镇存款俱乐部

经理兼秘书——E.H.梅钦

五镇的很多店铺都有存款俱乐部。顾客每周向俱乐部交几个便士，圣诞节时他们便可以花掉他们在俱乐部的全部存款。邓瑞的想法是为五镇的所有店铺建立一个存款俱乐部。这是一个非常棒的想法。穷人只需每周交一点钱，而且为了简化手续，邓瑞可以上门收钱。邓瑞的存款俱乐部有个非常重要的与众不同之处：只要交给邓瑞的钱达到一英镑，便马上可在店里花掉两英镑——当然，人们必须每周继续往俱乐部交钱。

当然，邓瑞需要盈利，他的利润来自那些店铺。人们在店里每消费六便士，商店就得付给邓瑞一便士。他从五镇最大的服装店博斯托克斯店开始谈起。名单上一旦有了博斯托克斯店，再找其他店就容易多了。两周后他找到了将近一百家店铺。

现在他需要做点什么好让俱乐部有一个好的开端。邓瑞花25英镑就能在《信报》首页登个广告，但他更喜欢免费的广告。这时他想出个主意。他可以请切尔伯爵夫人做俱乐部的赞助人。她的名字应该是印在他信纸抬头上最好的名字了。她是五镇最富有的女人。有的人爱她，有的人恨她，但所有人都知道她。

“我要去问问她。我要请她做我的赞助人。”他心中暗想，“我要去斯尼德府。她不会吃了我的。”

于是一天早上，他来到切尔伯爵夫人的府第门口，没骑他的骡子。他以前曾去过斯尼德府，那里的花园对五镇居民开放。夏天的周日下午，那里常常聚集了数以百计的人。但今天花园都空无一人。

邓瑞在两旁遍植绿树的道路上走了长长一段，又上了长长的一段台阶才到门口。邓瑞按响门铃。门开了。

“什么事？”一个身穿黑衣的女士问。

“我能见伯爵夫人吗？”他问，顺手递给她名片。

“我去问问。”她说完便走进了房子，留下邓瑞一个人在大厅里。

过了片刻，他听到伯爵夫人的声音。

“哦，不行！我忙死了。我马上就得出门。”

邓瑞依然等着。没人来看他。几分钟过去了，还是没人来。他们把他忘了吗？随后，邓瑞从房子后面一扇开着的门望出去，看见了一个男人。那人叫乔克，是他母亲朋友的儿子。乔克在斯尼德府工作，替伯爵夫人赶车。

乔克不想隔着整间房子大声喊叫，因此他朝乔克走去。“乔克！”他轻声唤道。

乔克没听到，消失在另一扇门后。邓瑞跟着他，穿过一扇又一扇门，直到他突然发现自己置身于一个长长的大舞厅里，这里到处都是镜子、油画和贵重家具，房间一侧是高高的窗户，一侧是巨大的门。乔克不见了。邓瑞试着去敲那些大门，但所有的门都锁着。他回到他刚进来的那扇门，奇怪的是，那扇门现在也锁上了。接着他听到马嘶声，他跑到一扇窗前，看见伯爵夫人的马车驶走了。

邓瑞试着敲每一扇门，一开始是客气地敲，后来便大声地敲。他先是试着叫了几声，然后便放声大喊。没人应声。最终他意识到没有人会听到他的喊叫。他被囚禁在一所空房子里了。

他打量着房子四周，唯一可能的出路是打破一扇窗户，因此邓瑞选择等到晚上。他在斯尼德府巨大的舞厅里度过了一个长长的下午，欣赏那些油画和家具。夜晚来临，他打碎了一扇巨大的窗户，回到家里。五镇存款俱乐部没有等到伯爵夫人便开始了自己的业务。

第二天早上，邓瑞打开《信报》，突然觉得很不舒服。

斯尼德府抢劫案

昨日，窃贼闯进切尔伯爵夫人家斯尼德府的大舞厅。警方说未发现物品失窃。伯爵夫人（目前在意大利）将向提供窃贼信息的知情者支付20英镑酬劳。

邓瑞很幸运。这个抢劫案让镇上的人们谈论了几天，但好像没人记得邓瑞拜访过斯尼德府，也没人发现他的来访名片。由于没有物品失窃，警方也就不太关心。事实上，一两周之后，邓瑞发现可以利用一下这次冒险经历。那个漫长的午后，他一直呆在那个大舞厅里，他的眼睛也没闲着，记住了一切。很快，一篇署名邓瑞的文章出现在《信报》上。

最近发生在斯尼德府的抢劫案使我们有理由想起府里那些美丽的油画和家具。让人高兴的是，它们没有失窃。当然只有这个家庭的朋友曾见过这个大舞厅，但或许《信报》的读者想要了解一下这个精美的房间究竟是什么样子的……

大家自然都读到了这篇报道。人们都觉得，曾跟伯爵夫人跳过舞的邓瑞现在是这家人的好朋友。

*　　*　　*

存款俱乐部取得了极大成功；事实上，是太成功了。原因如下：顾客交了两英镑，就能在店里花四英镑。他们也的确毫不含糊地在店里花掉四英镑。而邓瑞就得付给那些店铺差额。顾客还在五便士、十便士地交着钱——但远不够邓瑞付给店铺的那些。邓瑞存在银行的2000英镑正在迅速地减少。不久，有传言说邓瑞著名的存款俱乐部运营不善，将要倒闭，到时所有人存在那里的钱都会打水漂。

邓瑞知道自己必须要做点什么——并且行动要迅速。他想到了伯爵夫人。

伯爵夫人非常擅长开设新机构。她开设的医院和学校遍布五镇。邓瑞从《信报》上得知她一周后要在汉布里奇开设一家新的警察俱乐部。俱乐部开张那天以及之前的一周发生了很多事情。有些人也许知道如何解释其中一部分情况。

那些情况是这样的：第一，一天邓瑞拜访了布鲁厄姆街的肯普太太。肯普太太是乔克的母亲。乔克是邓瑞的老朋友，也是伯爵夫人的车夫。第二，一两天后，乔克来看望他母亲，邓瑞也来了。邓瑞和乔克一起散了会儿步。第三，警察俱乐部开张的那天下午，伯爵夫人的车在从斯尼德府到汉布里奇的路上坏了一个轮子，此时离汉布里奇还有五公里。第四，大约五分钟后，邓瑞驾驶他的骡车，穿着最好的行头路过那里。第五，邓瑞路过时，乔克喊道：“打扰一下，先生！”邓瑞停了下来。情况就是这样。

“下午好，伯爵夫人。”邓瑞说，抬了抬自己的帽子。

“哦，是你啊！”伯爵夫人说，“下午好。”

“看来你们出了点小问题。”邓瑞说，“你们要去什么重要场合吗？”

“是的，我正去一个很重要的场合！ 我必须得在三点前到达警察俱乐部，但我赶不上了。现在已经晚了。”

“我能在三点前把你送到。”邓瑞说。

离汉布里奇还有五公里，17分钟后他们就到了。骡子以最快的速度前进着，但当他们进入主广场时，骡子突然停了下来。警察俱乐部外面聚集了几百个警察，他们正在恭候伯爵夫人的到来。

“哦，天哪！”邓瑞说，“它讨厌警察。”

“我走过去。”伯爵夫人说。

“哦，不。”邓瑞说，“没关系。”他用鞭子抽打骡子的头。骡子冲了出去，却偏离了警察俱乐部的方向。他们撞上了一辆装满蔬菜的马车，把对方撞翻了。然后，他们飞快冲下一座小山。随后伯爵夫人注意到邓瑞没有用自己的右臂。

“我想是撞上那辆车的时候把胳膊撞断的。”他说，“别担心。我准备把车朝这座山上赶——这会让它停下来。”

邓瑞设法使骡子走向伯奇斯街，这条街依山而上。骡子慢了下来，然后停住了。

“要不要我来把车赶到俱乐部去？”伯爵夫人问。她看得出邓瑞的胳膊很疼。

于是伯爵夫人坐着邓瑞的骡车到达了警察俱乐部。她邀请邓瑞参加了俱乐部的开幕式，并在开幕式上向五个镇长和五镇所有的头面人物讲述了邓瑞营救她的故事。

开幕式后，邓瑞和伯爵夫人一起离开了俱乐部，帮她找马车。但马车还没来。

“我可以驾我的车送你回家。”邓瑞主动提议到。

“我想我还是等等。”伯爵夫人说。

“好吧，我们一边喝茶一边等吧。”邓瑞说，“附近有个不错的茶馆。”

伯爵夫人很爱喝茶。没一会儿，他们就坐在了茶馆的一个角落里。伯爵夫人紧紧盯着邓瑞。

“你从哪里得知斯尼德府房间里的那些情况的？”她问。

这问题一问，后面的聊天变得精彩起来。

那天晚上《信报》上登出一条消息，称伯爵夫人现在是五镇存款俱乐部的赞助人。几天内，一千多人加入了俱乐部。邓瑞不用再担心钱的问题了。

6

THE BATTLE WITH DENRY'S MOTHER

Late one winter's evening a few years later, Denry opened the door of his mother's house in Brougham Street.

'Is that you, Denry?' came a tired voice.

'Yes,' he said, walking into the living room.

His mother was sitting very near the fire, which was burning brightly. She looked cold and ill.

'You must see a doctor, mother.'

'A doctor! What for? I've just got a bit of a cold, that's all.'

'You've been ill a lot this winter,' said Denry. 'It's this awful old house we live in.'

'It's a very good house. It was good enough for your father and it's good enough for me.'

'Mother, I'm earning two thousand pounds a year! And here we are, living in an old house at a rent of twenty-three pence a week!'

Actually, Denry was making nearly four thousand a year, but he was afraid to tell his mother that. These days he was a great man in the Five Towns, but his greatness was nothing in Brougham Street.

'You can go and live in a fine, grand house if you like, Denry,' said his mother. 'But I'm staying here.'

And so the battle went on. Denry wanted to move, but his mother refused to leave Brougham Street. And Denry wouldn't move to a new house without her.

One morning a few weeks later, there was a letter for Mrs Machin from the man who owned her house. He had sold the house, he wrote, to a man in London, a Mr Wilbraham. From next month Mrs Machin must pay her rent to him.

The next day Denry came home with some news.

'I've met Mr Wilbraham, the man who bought our house. He came down from London. He wants me to collect the rents for him.'

'What did you tell him?'

'I said yes. Why not? It's easier for you. And he's an interesting man. He's building a new house up at Bleakridge. It's going to be a really modern house; a house where you can live comfortably without servants.'

'He's certainly a sensible man,' answered Mrs Machin. She hated servants and said so about once a week.

The house at Bleakridge started to grow. Mr Wilbraham stayed in London. The builder was Mr Cotterill (Denry had been friendly with the family since Llandudno), but Denry also kept an eye on things. The house was nearly finished when Mrs Machin got a second letter from Mr Wilbraham.

'He says we have to leave,' she cried. 'He wants us out immediately. Oh Denry, what shall we do!'

'We'll go and see him,' said Denry. 'He's coming to his new house tonight!'

So they put on their best clothes and went up to Bleakridge. Half an hour later they were standing outside Mr Wilbraham's house. Denry rang the bell, and they waited.

'Dirty doorstep,' said Mrs Machin, looking down at it. In Brougham Street it was important to have a clean doorstep, even if your rent was only twenty-three pence a week.

'Easy to clean,' said Denry. 'Watch!' He turned a tap next to the doorstep, and water ran over the step, washing it.

'Is that hot water?' asked Mrs Machin.

'Of course,' said Denry. He could see his mother liked the tap. 'Wilbraham's fixed a lot of things like that in his house.'

He rang again but there was no answer. 'Perhaps his train's late. I've got a key. We'll go in and wait for him.' He opened the door and turned on the electric light. Mrs Machin had never seen electric light before. She thought it was wonderful.

Mrs Machin had never seen electric light before.

'It's very warm in here,' she said.

'Central heating,' said Denry. 'No fires to light, no wood to carry, no fireplaces to clean—'

The doorbell rang.

'There he is!' said Denry, moving to the door.

Three people stood on the washed doorstep – Mr and Mrs Cotterill, and Nellie. Mr Wilbraham had invited them, said Mr Cotterill.

'Oh, come in, come in!' said Denry. 'He's not here. Perhaps he's missed his train. But the house is all ready for him. Come on, I'll show you round.'

He and Nellie ran upstairs and the others followed. Upstairs the house was as wonderful as downstairs. So easy to clean. No work at all. 'Why,' said Mrs Cotterill, 'I could live here without any servants and still have it clean and tidy by ten o'clock in the morning.'

Mrs Machin agreed.

Downstairs they found a fine cold supper ready to eat.

'Come on,' said Denry. 'Let's eat. I'm sure he'd like us to.'

Mrs Machin didn't want to. 'It's very strange that he isn't here,' she said.

'He's a strange man,' said Denry. 'I think he's a little mad.'

'I don't think he can be mad,' said Mrs Machin. 'The house is much too sensible for a madman.'

Finally, they all sat down to supper, and after some food and three bottles of wine they started to enjoy themselves. Soon Denry was searching the house for a fourth bottle of wine. He found one, opened it, drank some, and, with a cry, dropped the glass on the floor, where it broke.

It was not wine. It was a bottle of cleaning liquid. And the word POISON was written on it in large letters. Nellie didn't seem to realize how serious it was, and began to laugh.

Mrs Machin took Denry's arm. 'Come out to the kitchen,' she said. 'You must have some salt water, to make you sick.'

'Oh no!' said Denry. 'I'll be all right.'

But his mother wouldn't listen to him, and pulled him out of the room. Nellie had her hand over her mouth, trying very hard not to laugh, but not succeeding.

Ten minutes later they returned. Denry looked very white, and very cross. 'There's no danger now,' said Mrs Machin.

So the party came to an end. The Cotterills stood up to leave, and asked Denry how he was feeling.

'I feel much too ill to walk home,' he said. 'I'll sleep here. The bedrooms are all ready. My mother can stay too.'

The Cotterills left and Denry went to bed. After an hour his mother went to bed, too, but she slept very badly.

The next morning she was up before Denry and went out. Half an hour later she was back, waking Denry up.

'Oh, Denry! I've just been back home. They're pulling the house down. The roof's gone and the furniture...'

Denry sat up.

'I'll tell you something now,' he said. 'Wilbraham's dead.'

'Dead!'

'Dead. Well, he was never really alive, of course.'

And Mrs Machin understood. This was all Denry's plan to move her out of Brougham Street and up to Bleakridge. Soon all Bursley knew that Denry had won the battle with his mother. And they loved it.

But at least Mrs Machin had won with the salt water.

servant n. someone who works in another person's house 用人，仆人

doorstep n. a step just outside a door to a house or building 门外的台阶

tap n. a thing that you turn to let water come out of a pipe 水龙头

electric adj. an electric machine, light etc works using electricity 用电的

mad adj. with a sick mind 疯狂的

wine n. an alcoholic drink made from grapes 葡萄酒

liquid n. a substance that is not a solid or a gas, which flows, is wet, and has no fixed shape 液体

poison n. something that will kill you or make you very ill if you eat or drink it 毒药

6

邓瑞和母亲之间的斗争

几年后，一个冬天的深夜，邓瑞打开位于布鲁厄姆街的母亲家的房门。

“是你吗，邓瑞？”一个疲倦的声音问。

“是的。”他边说边走进客厅。

母亲坐在离炉火很近的地方，火烧得很旺。她看上去很冷，身体欠佳。

“你得去看病，妈妈。”

“看病！有什么可看的？我只是有点儿感冒，仅此而已。”

“这个冬天你总是生病，”邓瑞说，“都是因为住在这所又老又破的房子里。”

“这所房子很好。对你父亲来说够好，对我来说也够好。”

“妈妈，我每年挣2000英镑，可是看看我们，住在每周租金23便士的老房子里！”

事实上，邓瑞现在每年差不多挣4000英镑，但他不敢跟母亲说实话。这些日子他在五镇可是个大人物，但在布鲁厄姆街却啥也不是。

“邓瑞，你选择住到一栋豪华精美的大房子里去。”母亲说，“但我就呆在这儿。”

于是斗争持续着。邓瑞想搬家，但母亲拒绝离开布鲁厄姆街。邓瑞不可能一个人搬到新房子里去。

几周后的一个早晨，梅钦太太收到房东寄来的一封信。他在信里说他已把梅钦夫人住的房子卖给了一个叫威尔布里厄姆的伦敦人。从下个月起，梅钦太太得把房租交给威尔布里厄姆先生。

第二天邓瑞回家时，带回了一些消息。

“我见到威尔布里厄姆先生了，就是那个买下我们房子的人。他从伦敦过来了。他想让我帮他收房租。”

“那你怎么说？”

“我答应了。为什么不呢？这对你来说更容易。他是个有趣的人。他打算在布里克里奇街盖一座新房子。那将是一座真正现代化的房子；在那样的房子里，没有仆人也能住得很舒服。”

“他肯定是个明白人。”梅钦太太答道。她讨厌仆人，并且每周都要重复一次。

布里克里奇的新房子动工了。威尔布里厄姆先生呆在伦敦。建造商是科特里尔先生（从兰迪德诺回来之后，邓瑞和这家人一直保持友好关系），但邓瑞也会关注房子的建设。房子快建好的时候，梅钦太太收到威尔布里厄姆先生的第二封信。

“他说我们得搬家，”她喊道，“他要我们马上搬出去。哦，邓瑞，我们该怎么办啊？”

“我们去见他。”邓瑞说，“今晚他会去新房子那里！”

于是他们穿上最好的衣服前往布里克里奇。半小时后他们站在威尔布里厄姆先生的新房外面。邓瑞按响了门铃，他们等待着。

“台阶真脏。”梅钦太太看了看地下说道。在布鲁厄姆街，保持台阶干净是非常重要的，即使是房租每周只需23便士的房子。

“很好清洗。”邓瑞说，“看着！”他拧开台阶旁的一个水龙头，水流下来，冲洗着台阶。

“是热水吗？”梅钦太太问道。

“当然。”邓瑞说。他看得出母亲很喜欢那个水龙头。“威尔布里厄姆先生在房子里装了很多这样的玩意儿。”

他又按了按门铃，但没人应声。“也许他坐的火车晚点了。我有钥匙。我们进去等他。”他开了门，打开了电灯。梅钦太太之前从没见过电灯，她觉得电灯太奇妙了。

“这里非常暖和。”她说。

“是中央供暖系统。”邓瑞说，“无需生火，无需搬木柴，也无需清理炉子——”

门铃响了。

“他来了！”邓瑞说着，朝门口走去。

洗过的台阶上站着三个人——是科特里尔夫妇和内莉。科特里尔先生说是威尔布里厄姆先生邀请他们来的。

“啊，快请进，请进！”邓瑞说，“他不在。也许他错过了火车。但房子已经为他准备好了。来，我带你们四处看看。”

他和内莉跑上楼，其他人跟在后面。楼上和楼下一样妙不可言。房屋如此易于清理，根本没什么要干的。“哎呀！”科特里尔夫人说，“要是我住在这里，不需要仆人，就能在上午十点前把房子收拾干净。”

梅钦太太表示同意。

他们在楼下发现一顿精美的冷盘晚餐已经准备好了。

“来吧，”邓瑞说，“我们开吃吧。我肯定他会乐意我们这样做的。”

梅钦太太不想吃。“他不在这儿，这样有点儿奇怪。”她说。

“他是有点儿怪。”邓瑞说，“我觉得他有点儿不正常。”

“我可不觉得他不正常。”梅钦太太说，“这么好的房子不可能是个疯子的。”

最终，他们全都坐下来吃晚餐，在吃了一些东西，喝了三瓶酒后，他们舒服自在起来。很快，邓瑞开始在房子里找第四瓶酒。他找到一瓶，打开喝了几口，然后叫了一声，杯子掉在地上摔碎了。

那不是酒。是一瓶清洁剂。瓶身写着“有毒”两个大字。内莉似乎没意识到事情的严重性，还笑了起来。

梅钦太太拉着邓瑞的胳膊。“到厨房去。”她说，“你得喝点儿盐水，让自己呕吐。”

“哦不！”邓瑞说，“我没事。”

但邓瑞的母亲不肯听他的，把他拽出了房间。内莉用手掩嘴，强忍住笑，但没能忍住。

十分钟后，他们回来了。邓瑞看起来面色苍白，十分气恼。“现在没事了。”梅钦太太说。

聚会就这样结束了。科特里尔一家起身告别，并询问邓瑞感觉怎么样了。

“我太难受了，不能走回家。”他说，“我就睡在这里。卧室什么都有。我母亲也可以住在这里。”

科特里尔一家走后，邓瑞上床睡觉去了。一小时后他母亲也去睡了，但她睡得很不好。

第二天早上，她比邓瑞早起，然后便走出房门。半小时后，她回来把邓瑞叫醒了。

“噢，邓瑞！我刚才回家去了。他们把房子拆了。房顶不见了，还有那些家具……”

邓瑞坐了起来。

“现在我要跟你说件事。”他说，“威尔布里厄姆先生死了。”

“死了！”

“死了。呃，当然，他从来就没真的活过。”

梅钦太太明白了。这一切都是邓瑞设的计，就为了让她从布鲁厄姆街搬到布里克里奇。很快，全伯斯利镇的人都知道邓瑞在和母亲之间的斗争中取得了胜利。他们都喜欢这个故事。

但至少梅钦太太在让邓瑞喝盐水这场斗争中赢了。

7

THE MAYOR, THE WIFE, AND THE FOOTBALL CLUB

Soon after the move to Bleakridge, Bursley made Denry a Town Councillor. He was the youngest Councillor in the town, and one of the richest men in the Five Towns, but Councillor Cotterill still called him 'young man'.

Denry did not like Councillor Cotterill, but he was very friendly with Nellie and her mother. So when he bought one of the first cars in the Five Towns, he decided to invite them to go for a drive. When he got there, Nellie came to the door.

'Come in,' she said. 'I've got a surprise for you.'

In the sitting room, next to Mrs Cotterill, Denry saw a wonderful woman, beautifully dressed in black. When she turned to look at him, Denry suddenly recognized her. It was Ruth. Then he remembered that Ruth had married a rich man, a Mr Capron-smith, who had recently died.

'Well, Denry,' she said, softly.

'Well, Ruth.'

Conversation was not difficult. Ruth was talking about a holiday in Switzerland. Denry listened with interest.

After a few minutes, the front door opened, and Mr Cotterill was heard in the hall. He did not come into the sitting room, so Mrs Cotterill went out to speak to him. When she came back, she was crying.

'It's the bank!' she cried. 'After all these years, and now, suddenly... all his money...'

Nellie and Ruth ran to her, and Denry decided it was probably better to leave. But as he walked into the hall, he met Councillor Cotterill. He was looking very worried.

'Ah, Denry,' he said. 'You're a friend of the family. We've no secrets from you. I'm afraid things are looking bad. The fact is, the bank wants its money and I can't pay. '

'What are you going to do?' asked Denry.

'We'll all go to Canada. My brother lives there – he's in the building business. He'll give me a job. It's stupid really. I only need two thousand pounds, for a month or two, until I sell the houses I'm building. I say,' he continued, 'you don't have a thousand or two, do you, young man? There'll be an excellent profit in two or three months. You and I have been friends for ten years.'

'And I suppose I've come to visit you once a fortnight,' answered Denry. 'Perhaps two hundred and fifty times in ten years. That's eight pounds a visit, Cotterill. That's more expensive than the most fashionable doctor in England!'

This conversation does not make Denry look very kind. But Councillor Cotterill had called him 'young man' too many times.

Several weeks later the Cotterills left Bursley and took the train to Liverpool, where they would take the ship to Canada. On the day they left the Five Towns, Denry happened to meet Ruth in the street.

'Did you know they have the cheapest tickets for the ship?' she said. 'It's terrible! And it's too late to change them now.'

'No, it isn't,' said Denry. 'I could go to Liverpool and arrange it. The ship doesn't leave until tomorrow.'

'Let's both go!' she said. 'And we'll pay half each for their new tickets.'

They had a very pleasant train journey. Ruth was warm and friendly to Denry, and as the train pulled into Liverpool, he had a very strange thought. 'I could still marry her! She's a fine woman, and now she's rich herself...'

They found the Cotterills, and paid for them to travel in a more comfortable part of the ship. Mr Cotterill said he would repay them, Mrs Cotterill cried, and Nellie said nothing at all. The ship's bell rang for the second time. Denry and Ruth said their goodbyes and started to leave.

Then Denry looked back and saw Nellie's sad little face. He felt as he had never felt before in his life. He wondered what was happening to his legs. He turned and ran back to Nellie.

Denry looked back and saw Nellie's sad little face.

'Look here,' he whispered. 'Come with me for a moment. There's something I want to give you. I left it in the taxi.'

Ruth was already lost in the crowds of people leaving the ship.

'But there's not time. The bell—'

'It'll only take a minute. Quick.' Without waiting to argue, he took her hand, pulled her off the ship, and towards a taxi.

'Which taxi is yours?' asked Nellie.

'Any one. It doesn't matter. Jump in.' He pushed her in.

'I'll miss the boat.'

'I know you will. I don't want you to go to Canada.'

'What are you going to do with me?' whispered Nellie.

'Well, what do you think?' shouted Denry. 'I'm going to marry you, of course!'

*　　*　　*

One evening Councillor Denry Machin sat down to tea with his wife, Nellie, in the house in Bleakridge. He opened the newspaper and read aloud: Sudden Death of Councillor Bloor.

'Poor man!' said Nellie. 'And he was going to be mayor in November, wasn't he?'

'So he was,' said Denry.

'Who'll be mayor now?'

'Barlow, I suppose,' said Denry.

'Barlow! He's an awful man! Nobody likes Barlow. Why don't they make you mayor?'

'Would you like to be mayoress?'

'I don't know. Why not?'

'I probably will be mayor after Barlow. But I want to be the youngest mayor, which means I'll have to do it this year, while I'm still thirty-three.'

'Who decides?'

'The Council, of course. But you're right. Nobody likes Barlow. And he's having a lot of problems with the Football Club. He's the chairman, you know.'

Bursley Football Club was having a very bad year. In fact it had had several very bad years. It lost most of its games, and because not many people wanted to see Bursley lose, few people went to watch the games.

A few days after Denry's conversation with Nellie there was a crowded meeting at the Town Hall to discuss the club's future. Barlow, the chairman, got up to speak.

'I've been chairman of this club for thirteen years. In that time I've put two thousand pounds of my own money into the club. I can't put in any more. But what have you, the people of Bursley, done for your club? You don't come and watch. If we lose a game you stay at home the next week. We lose fifty or sixty pounds every time we play, and we can't go on like this.'

Several other people stood up to speak. Most of them had nothing kind to say about Councillor Barlow. All of them said that the club needed new players.

'New players!' said Barlow. 'Where's the money for new players? Has anybody got a thousand pounds?'

Nobody offered money. But more speakers stood up to ask for new players. Finally a man at the back of the hall stood up and walked up to the front.

'It's Machin!' said somebody. 'Good old Machin!'

Denry turned and looked at the sea of faces.

'I don't know a lot about football,' he said, 'although I enjoy a good game. But I do want to say something about new players. Isn't it true that one of the best players in England comes from Bursley?'

'Yes!' shouted the crowd. 'Callear! He's the best player in England!'

'That's right. Callear. He left Bursley when he was nineteen to play for Liverpool. He scored a lot of goals there in three years. Then he went to York, didn't he? And York have some money problems now, I hear, and want to sell some of their players. Gentlemen, Callear must come back home to Bursley.'

The crowd in the hall were now very noisy and excited. Barlow jumped angrily to his feet.

'And how are we going to get Callear? Councillor Machin says he doesn't know much about football, and it's true! Aston Villa have already offered ￡700 for Callear. Blackburn have offered ￡750. Has anybody here got ￡800?'

'Have you finished?' asked Denry, who was still standing.

'Have you finished? ' asked Denry.

The hall exploded with laughter.

'Now,' called Denry, 'Mr Callear, will you please come up to the front of the hall?'

The hall was suddenly silent. A tall young man walked nervously down to the front of the hall.

'That's him!' said somebody. 'It's Callear. Good old Callear! Good old Machin!'

'Well?' asked Denry, turning to Barlow. 'Do you want him?'

'Yes. But what about the money?'

'That's my problem. I've just come back from York. If you want him, you can have him.'

Two days later a letter appeared in the Signal. It said that Denry should be the next mayor. Other letters followed, saying the same thing, and that Bursley needed a young and popular mayor. And when the Council met, it agreed.

That evening Denry told Nellie: 'You'll be the mayoress to the youngest mayor. And it's cost me, with hotels and travel, about eight hundred and eleven pounds!'

After the meeting a group of councillors were talking about Denry.

'What a card!' said one, laughing.

'There's never been a man like him in all the Five Towns!' said another.

'But he's never done a day's work in his life,' said Barlow. 'What's he done for the town?'

'What's he done? He's made us all laugh! That's what he's done.'

fortnight n. two weeks 两星期

mayoress n. the wife of a mayor 镇（市）长夫人

Council n. a group of people (councillors) who are chosen to work together to decide things for a town or city （英国地方政府的）政务委员会；地方议会

chairman n. a person who controls a meeting or directs the work of a committee or organization 主席，负责人

score v. to win a point in a sport, game, or competition 得分

7

镇长、妻子和足球俱乐部

就在他们搬去布里克里奇不久，邓瑞就被选为伯斯利镇的议员。他是伯斯利镇最年轻的议员，也是五镇最富有的人之一，但科特里尔议员仍管他叫“年轻人”。

邓瑞不喜欢科特里尔议员，但他对内莉和她母亲很友好。因此当他成为五镇第一批买车的人后，他决定带他们去兜兜风。当他到达时，内莉来门口接他。

“进来，”她说，“我要给你一个惊喜。”

客厅里，科特里尔夫人旁边坐着一位迷人的、穿着黑衣的美丽女人。当她转过头来看着邓瑞时，邓瑞突然认出了她，是露丝。接着他想起露丝嫁给了一个叫凯普伦·史密斯先生的有钱人，那人最近刚去世。

“哦，邓瑞。”她轻声说。

“哦，露丝。”

两个人轻松地聊了起来。露丝讲着她在瑞士的一次度假，邓瑞饶有兴趣地听着。

几分钟后，前门开了，大厅里响起科特里尔先生的声音。他没进客厅，于是科特里尔夫人出去跟他说话。她是哭着回来的。

“是银行！”她哭道，“过了这么多年，现在突然……他所有的钱……”

内莉和露丝跑到她身边，邓瑞觉得自己还是告辞的好。可就在他走进大厅时，正好碰上科特里尔先生，他看上去忧心忡忡。

“哦，邓瑞，”他说，“你是我们家的朋友。我们没有什么隐瞒你的。事情看起来恐怕不妙。事实上，银行要我还钱，而我却拿不出。”

“那你打算怎么办？”邓瑞问。

“我们都得去加拿大。我哥哥住在那儿——他也是搞建筑业的。他会给我一份工作。真是太蠢了。我只需要2000英镑，一两个月后，等我把正在建的房子卖了，就能还上。我说，”他接着问，“你能不能借我一两千英镑，年轻人？两三个月后我会给你优厚的利息。你我已是十年的朋友了。”

“我觉得我两周才拜访你们一次，”邓瑞说，“十年大约是250次。那意味着一次拜访的费用是八英镑，科特里尔。这比英国最受富人欢迎的医生还贵！”

在这次谈话中，邓瑞的态度不是很友善。可科特里尔先生叫他“年轻人”叫得太多次了。

几周后，科特里尔一家离开伯斯利，乘火车前往利物浦，他们将从那里坐船去加拿大。他们离开五镇的当天，邓瑞碰巧在街上遇到了露丝。

“你知不知道他们买的是最便宜的船票？”她说，“太糟了！现在改也来不及了。”

“不，还不晚。”邓瑞说，“我可以去利物浦帮他们改。船明天才出发。”

“我们一起去！”她说，“我们俩平摊他们新船票的费用。”

他们的火车旅行非常愉快。露丝对邓瑞热情友善，当火车驶入利物浦时，他有了个奇怪的想法。“我仍然可以娶她！她是个好女人，并且她现在自己也很有钱……”

他们找到了科特里尔一家人，并付钱让他们换到了更舒服的船舱里。科特里尔先生说他会还钱，科特里尔夫人则是一副哭哭啼啼的样子，而内莉什么都没说。船上的铃声响了第二遍。邓瑞和露丝跟他们告别，准备离开。

然后邓瑞回头看见了内莉那张忧伤的小脸。他有了种前所未有的感觉。他不知道自己的腿是怎么了。他转身，跑回内莉身边。

“听着，”他低声说，“跟我过来一会儿。我有东西要给你。我把它放在出租马车里了。”

露丝已经消失在下船的人群中。

“可是没有时间了。铃声——”

“只需一分钟。快点儿！”没等内莉争辩，他牵着她手，把她带下船，走向一辆出租马车。

“哪辆出租马车是你的？”内莉问。

“随便哪辆都行，这没关系。上车。”他把她推了进去。

“我要错过船了。”

“我知道。我不想你去加拿大。”

“你要拿我怎么办呢？”内莉小声问。

“嗯，你以为呢？”邓瑞大声说，“我当然是要娶你啦！”

*　　*　　*

一天晚上，邓瑞·梅钦议员坐在布里克里奇的房子里和妻子内莉喝茶。他打开报纸，大声读了出来：布卢尔议员暴亡。

“可怜的人！”内莉说，“十一月他就要当镇长了，不是吗？”

“是的。”邓瑞说。

“那现在谁来当镇长呢？”

“我猜会是巴洛。”邓瑞说。

“巴洛！他是个可恶的家伙！没人喜欢巴洛。他们为什么不选你当镇长？”

“你想当镇长夫人吗？”

“我不知道。为什么不呢？”

“我很可能会在巴洛之后当镇长。但我想成为最年轻的镇长，这就意味着必须今年，在我还只有33岁的时候当上镇长。”

“这事谁说了算呢？”

“当然是议会了。但你说得对，没人喜欢巴洛。他管理的足球俱乐部出了很多问题。你知道的，他是俱乐部主席。”

伯斯利足球俱乐部今年运气很差。事实上，运气差了好几年了。他们输掉了大多数的比赛。因为没有多少人愿意看伯斯利输球，于是几乎没人去看比赛了。

邓瑞和内莉谈话之后的某一天，一大群人聚集在镇公所，讨论足球俱乐部的前途。巴洛主席起身讲话。

“在这个俱乐部我已经当了13年的主席了。在此期间，我已经自掏腰包投入俱乐部2000英镑。我不能再继续投钱了。但是你们，伯斯利人，你们为自己的俱乐部做了什么？你们都不来看比赛。如果我们输了一场球，下周你们就会呆在家里。每场比赛我们都损失50到60英镑，不能再这么下去了。”

又有几个人站起来发言，他们大多数人对巴洛议员都没讲什么好话。所有人都说俱乐部需要新球员。

“新球员！”巴洛说，“哪有钱请新球员？你们当中谁有1000英镑吗？”

没有人肯出这笔钱。但不少人起身发言要求引进新球员。最后，一个人从大厅后面站了起来，走向前台。

“梅钦！”有个人说，“梅钦是好样的！”

邓瑞转过身，看着下面数不清的面孔。

“我对足球了解不多，”他说，“尽管我喜欢看精彩的比赛。但我想就新球员这件事说几句。英格兰最好的球员来自伯斯利，对不对？”

“对！”人们大声喊道，“卡利尔！他是英格兰最棒的球员！”

“对。是卡利尔。他19岁的时候离开伯斯利，为利物浦队效力。三年内他进了很多球。然后他去了约克队，对吧？听说约克队现在资金紧张，想卖掉几个球员。先生们，卡利尔必须回到故乡伯斯利来。”

大厅里的人群现在变得激动喧嚣起来。巴洛气恼地站了起来。

“可我们怎么才能买下卡利尔呢？梅钦议员说他对足球了解不多，他倒没撒谎！阿斯顿维拉已经出价700英镑买卡利尔。布莱克本出价750英镑。我们有人能出800英镑吗？”

“你讲完了吗？”一直站在旁边的邓瑞问。

大厅里爆发出一阵大笑。

“好了，”邓瑞大声说，“卡利尔先生，请您到大厅前面来好吗？”

大厅突然沉默下来。一个高个子年轻人紧张地走到大厅前面。

“就是他！”有人说，“是卡利尔。卡利尔是好样的！梅钦是好样的！”

“怎么样？”邓瑞转向巴洛问，“你想要他吗？”

“想。但去哪儿弄钱？”

“那是我的问题。我刚从约克回来。如果你想要他，就可以要。”

两天后，《信报》上刊登了一封来信。信上说邓瑞应该成为下一任镇长。随后又有更多的来信，表达了同样的观点，他们说伯斯利需要一个年轻的、受欢迎的镇长。议会开会时，大家一致通过了这个建议。

那天晚上，邓瑞告诉内莉：“你将成为最年轻镇长的夫人。算上住宿费和旅费，这花了我大约811英镑！”

会议结束后，一群议员聚在一起，谈论邓瑞。

“真是个传奇！”有人大笑着说。

“五镇中从没有人能像他一样！”另一个人说。

“可他一天活儿都没干过。”巴洛说，“他为这个镇子做了什么？”

“他做了什么？他让我们开怀大笑！这就是他做的事情。”

The Card

ACTIVITIES

阅读练习

ACTIVITIES

Before Reading

1　Read the story introduction and the back cover. Which of these words do you think will describe Denry? Circle Y (Yes), N (No), or P (Perhaps) for each one.

clever

Y/N/P

unlucky

Y/N/P

polite

Y/N/P

happy

Y/N/P

miserable

Y/N/P

funny

Y/N/P

quiet

Y/N/P

good-looking

Y/N/P

honest

Y/N/P

brave

Y/N/P

hard-working

Y/N/P

kind

Y/N/P

2　How does Denry do it? Can you guess? Choose one answer for each question.

1) How does he get an invitation to the ball?

a) He buys one.

b) He puts his own name on the list.

c) He writes one to himself.

2) How does he become Mrs Codleyn's rent collector?

a) He does it at night, working under a different name.

b) He marries Mrs Codleyn.

c) He offers to do the job more cheaply than anyone else.

3) How does he make a thousand pounds from the Hjalmar?

a) He sells tickets for a trip to see the ship.

b) He buys the ship and sells it again.

c) He puts the ship onto land and makes it into a hotel.

ACTIVITIES

While Reading

1　Read Chapter 1. Choose the best question-word for these questions, and then answer them.

What / Why

1) ...did Mrs Machin call her son Denry?

2) ...did Denry do to his mark in the examination?

3) ...did Mr Duncalf give Denry a job?

4) ...did Denry need to do before he went to the ball?

5) ...did Denry decide to ask the Countess to dance?

6) ...question did Denry refuse to answer?

7) ...did Denry do as the Countess was leaving?

2　Before you read Chapter 2, can you guess who will make trouble for Denry?

1) the Countess

2) Mr Duncalf

3) Ruth

4) Harold Etches

3　Read Chapter 2. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1) Mrs Codleyn never paid the taxes on her houses.

2) Denry lied to Mr Duncalf about his invitation to the ball.

3) Denry was not worried when he lost his job.

4) Denry began lending money to help people pay their rent.

5) Widow Hullins couldn't pay her rent so Denry made her a present of the house.

4　Before you read Chapter 3 (The dancing teacher and the furniture van), how do you think the chapter gets its name?

1) Ruth buys a furniture van and joins Denry in business.

2) Denry offers to move Ruth's furniture, but has an accident with the van.

3) Ruth can't pay her rent and tries to run away, but the van carrying her furniture falls into the canal.

5　Read Chapter 4, then match these halves of sentences.

1) Although Denry was happy to be engaged to Ruth,...

2) Nellie offered to pay for things at Llandudno,...

3) Then the engagement ended...

4) After Denry bought the old lifeboat...

5) When Denry met the Cotterills on the beach...

6) Finally, he sold the lifeboat...

7) he invited them to dinner at an expensive hotel.

8) he found it was very expensive.

9) and took a hat-box full of money home to his mother.

10) but Denry wouldn't let her.

11) he sold boat trips to the wreck and made a lot of money.

12) when Denry called himself 'Rothschild' at the bookshop.

6　Before you read Chapter 5 (The rescue of the Countess), can you guess what Denry rescues the Countess from?

1) a fire

2) an accident on the road

3) a thief

4) the canal

7　Read Chapter 5. Then answer these questions.

Who

1) ...did Denry want as patron of his Savings Club?

2) ...drove the Countess's carriage?

3) ...wrote a report about Sneyd Hall for the Signal?

4) ...was going to open the new Police Club?

5) ...were waiting outside the Police Club?

6) ...broke his arm when the mule hit another cart?

7) ...had a cup of tea in a tea-shop near the Town Hall?

8　Before you read Chapter 6 (The battle with Denry's mother), can you guess what the battle will be about?

1) money

2) Denry's job

3) a new house

4) Denry's wife

9　Read the first two pages of Chapter 7. How do you think the story will end? Choose some of these ideas.

1) Denry marries Ruth.

2) Denry marries Nellie.

3) Denry goes to Canada with the Cotterills.

4) Denry comes back from Canada with lots of money.

5) Denry becomes the youngest mayor Bursley has ever had.

6) Denry is asked to be mayor, but says no.

7) Denry makes a lot of money when the Football Club wins.

8) Denry buys a very good player for the Football Club.

9) Ruth uses her money to save the Football Club.

ACTIVITIES

After Reading

1　What did you think of the things Denry did? Were they good or bad? Put a mark in each box, from 1 (very bad) to 10 (very good). Explain why you have chosen each mark.

· changing his mark in the examination

□

· getting invitations to the ball for himself, Ruth, and young Shillitoe

□

· taking Harold Etches' five pounds after dancing with the Countess

□

· taking Mrs Codleyn's rent-collecting business

□

· lending money to make more money

□

· giving Widow Hullins her house

□

· rescuing Ruth and not telling anyone about her money problems

□

· not paying for Ruth to stay on in Llandudno

□

· saying his name was 'Rothschild'

□

· writing about Sneyd Hall for the Signal

□

· planning the Countess's 'accident' with Jock

□

· rescuing the Countess after the 'accident'

□

· lying to his mother about the new house

□

· not helping Councillor Cotterill with his money problems

□

· taking Nellie off the ship to Canada

□

· buying Callear for Bursley Football Club

□

2　What did Denry and the Countess say to each other in the tea-shop? Put their conversation in the right order, and write in the speakers' names. The Countess speaks first (number 4).

1) _____ 'I only broke one window! But that was later. First, I shouted and called, hoping somebody would come.'

2) _____ 'And why did you write that piece for the Signal?'

3) _____ 'Locked in! How did that happen?'

4) _____ 'How did you get all that information about the rooms at Sneyd Hall?'

5) _____ 'I spent the afternoon looking at everything. When it got dark, I broke a window and went home.'

6) _____ 'so then you started breaking windows...'

7) _____ 'I came to ask you a question, but I got locked in the Hall by mistake.'

8) _____ 'And now you want me to help you, I suppose. So what was this question you wanted to ask me...?'

9) _____ 'I thought I was very lucky to spend a day among all those lovely things. I thought people would like to know about them.'

10) _____ 'But nobody came. So what did you do?'

11) _____ 'Lucky Mr Machin, eh? And this afternoon, when you rescued me – that was lucky too?'

12) _____ 'I was following one of the servants, but I lost him. And when I tried to find my way out, all the doors were locked.'

13) _____ 'Yes, it was, wasn't it? And I was happy to help.'

3　There are 23 words (3 letters or longer) from the story in this word search. Find the words and draw lines through them. They go from left to right, and from top to bottom.

4　Look at the word search again and write down all the letters that don't have a line through them. Begin with the first line and go across each line to the end. You should have 25 letters, which will make a sentence of 8 words.

1) What are the words, and who said them?

2) Where was he, and who was he talking about?

3) What big change happened in his life after this?

5　Here are the people of Bursley talking about Denry. Say what the speakers are talking about, and then put the six pieces of news in the right order for the story.

1) 'Yes, it's true. It belongs to her now – and she didn't have to pay him a penny for it. Isn't that extraordinary? It was just a funny idea at first – but then he did it!'

2) 'It's the best thing that's happened to the Club for years. And Barlow's face! You had to laugh. Well, I think I know the name of our next mayor – and it doesn't start with B.'

3) 'Doesn't he write well! It's like being there and seeing it yourself – all those beautiful paintings... You can tell he goes there a lot. I'm sure he's a great friend of the family.'

4) 'No, nobody had any idea! Of course, he's known the family for years, but nobody guessed. And suddenly there they are, back from Liverpool, smiling all over their faces!'

5) 'Just like that! Well, she said yes – I couldn't believe it. And he said something that made her laugh and laugh – but nobody knows what it was. He just won't say.'

6) 'Yes, all over the floor – hundreds of them. She's still finding them in corners and under the furniture. And what did she say? Not a word! That's the biggest surprise!'

6　What did you think about this story and its characters? Complete some of these sentences.

1) I liked _____ best / least because ________.

2) The part of the story I enjoyed most / least was ________.

3) I would / wouldn't like Denry as my husband / friend / rent collector because ________.

4) I think Denry would make a good / bad mayor for Bursley because ________.

京权图字：01-2013-7832

Published by arrangement with Oxford University Press for sale in the People's Republic of China only and not for export therefrom. This edition is for sale in the mainland of China only, excluding Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan.

© Oxford University Press 2011

Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

查尔斯·布拉沃的死亡之谜：英汉对照／（英）维卡里（Vicary，T.）著；（英）威利斯（Willis，A.）绘；周渝毅译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2014.2

（书虫·牛津英汉双语读物）

书名原文：The mysterious death of Charles Bravo

ISBN 978-7-5135-4073-5

Ⅰ．①查…　Ⅱ．①维…　②威…　③周…　Ⅲ．①英语—汉语—对照读物②长篇小说—英国—现代　Ⅳ．①H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（2014）第029040号

出版人　　　蔡剑峰

责任编辑　　金　辉

执行编辑　　张紫薇

封面设计　　蔡　颖

出版发行　　外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址　　北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址　　http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次　　2014年3月第1版

书　　号　　ISBN 978-7-5135-4073-5

凡侵权、盗版书籍线索，请联系我社法律事务部

举报电话：（010）88817519　电子邮箱：banquan@fltrp.com

法律顾问：立方律师事务所　刘旭东律师

中咨律师事务所　殷　斌律师

内容简介

在19世纪的英格兰，维多利亚女王统治时期的妇女们日子过得很艰难。已婚妇女必须对丈夫言听计从，自己不能作任何决定。只有男人可以替她拿主意。如果她嫁得不好，丈夫对她拳脚相加，她也无可奈何。

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃年轻漂亮又富有，但她却时运不济，嫁的两任丈夫都不如意。她的第一任丈夫酗酒，还常常打她。她离他而去，找到了一位善良又温和的情人，但这位情人已是有妇之夫。后来她嫁给了查尔斯·布拉沃……

五个月后，查尔斯·布拉沃因锑中毒而死。是谁给他下的毒？是谁想要他的命？还是说这只是一场意外，根本就不是谋杀？

这是一个真实的故事，讲述了1876年发生的一桩凶案。这个案子非常出名。当时大小报纸对这个案子的报道铺天盖地，英格兰里人人都在谈论此案。但是，凶手却一直没有找到……

THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF CHARLES BRAVO

In England in the 1800s, during the time of Queen Victoria, women did not have an easy time. A married woman had to obey her husband in everything; she could not decide things for herself. Only a man could do that for her. And if she had a bad husband, who beat her, she could do nothing about it.

Florence Bravo was young, beautiful, and rich, but she was not lucky in her husbands. Her first husband drank too much, and beat her. She left him and took a lover, who was kind and gentle, but he was already married. Then she married Charles Bravo ...

Five months later, Charles Bravo was dead, killed by antimony poisoning. But who gave him the antimony? Who wanted him dead? Or was it an accident, and not murder at all?

This is a true story about a murder in 1876. It was a very famous case. The newspapers at the time were full of it, and everybody in England was talking about it. But no murderer was ever found ...

PEOPLE IN THIS STORY

Florence Bravo, wife of Charles Bravo;

previously, Florence Ricardo, wife of Alexander Ricardo Charles Bravo, second husband of Florence Bravo;

died April 1876

Joseph Bravo, stepfather of Charles Bravo

Alexander Ricardo, first husband of Florence Bravo;

died April 1871

Dr James Gully, famous doctor, and lover of Florence Bravo

Mrs Jane Cox, friend and companion of Florence Bravo

George Griffiths, Florence Bravo's coachman

Mary Ann Keeber, Florence Bravo's maidservant

Doctors who saw Charles Bravo during his illness:

Dr Harrison, a doctor from Streatham

Dr Moore, a doctor from Balham

Dr Royes Bell, a doctor and cousin to Charles Bravo

Dr George Johnson, a well-known London doctor, and a friend of Royes Bell

Dr William Gull, doctor to Queen Victoria, and the most famous doctor in England at that time

人物介绍

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃，查尔斯·布拉沃的妻子；前为弗洛伦丝·里卡多，亚历山大·里卡多的妻子

查尔斯·布拉沃，弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的第二任丈夫，1876年4月去世

约瑟夫·布拉沃，查尔斯·布拉沃的继父

亚历山大·里卡多，弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的第一任丈夫，1871年4月去世

詹姆斯·格利医生，著名医生，弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的情人

简·考克斯太太，弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的朋友兼陪护

乔治·格里菲思，弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的马车夫

玛丽·安·基伯，弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的女仆

查尔斯·布拉沃生病期间前去诊治的医生：

哈里森医生，来自斯特雷特姆

穆尔医生，来自巴勒姆

罗伊斯·贝尔医生，查尔斯·布拉沃的堂兄

乔治·约翰逊医生，伦敦著名医生，罗伊斯·贝尔的朋友

威廉·古尔医生，维多利亚女王的御医，当时英格兰最著名的医生

1

A true story

This is a true story. But although it is true, no one knows exactly what happened. That's why it is so interesting.

On Friday 21st April 1876 a young lawyer, Charles Bravo, died at his home in Balham, which at that time was a village just south of London.

But why did Charles Bravo die? Did he kill himself? Was he murdered? Or was his death just a terrible accident?

At first, the doctors thought Mr Bravo had killed himself. But then his family started asking questions. 'I met him on Tuesday afternoon,' said his cousin, Dr Royes Bell. 'He was healthy and happy then. I want to know what happened.'

'I'm sure Charles didn't kill himself,' said his stepfather, Joseph Bravo. 'He was a strong, brave young man. I think he was murdered.'

Charles Bravo was killed by a poison, antimony. But how did the poison get into his body? Did he take it himself, or did someone give it to him? If so, how? And where did the antimony come from?

During July and August 1876, the London Coroner held an enquiry to answer these questions. At the enquiry, the police told their story, and so did Charles Bravo's friends, and the servants in his house. Famous lawyers asked questions. All over England, people read the story in their morning newspapers.

'Who killed Charles Bravo?' they asked. 'Or did he kill himself?'

The longest newspaper stories were about three people: Charles's wife, Florence; Florence's friend, Jane Cox; and Florence's lover, Dr James Gully.

These three people told their stories, but there are differences between the stories. So were they all telling the truth – or only some of the truth? And if one of them told a few lies, which one was it? And why did he or she lie?

What really happened to Charles Bravo?

Here are the three most important stories. First, Charles's wife, Florence ...

stepfather n. a man who has married your mother but is not your father 继父

poison n. something that can kill you or make you very ill if you eat or drink it 毒药，毒物

antimony n. a poisonous chemical used in the past as a medicine 锑

enquiry n. an official meeting to find out the truth about something 研讯会

1

一个真实的故事

这是一个真实的故事。不过虽然真实，却没有人知道到底发生了什么。这就是人们对它如此感兴趣的原因。

1876年4月21日，星期五，一位年轻的律师，查尔斯·布拉沃，在他巴勒姆的家中死亡。当时的巴勒姆还只是伦敦南面的一个小村子。

但是查尔斯·布拉沃的死因是什么？是自杀吗？还是他杀？又或者说他的死亡只是一场可怕的意外？

一开始，医生们认为布拉沃先生是自杀，但他的家人提出了质疑。“我周二下午还见过他。”他的堂兄罗伊斯·贝尔医生说，“他当时挺健康的，心情也不错。我想知道后来发生了什么事。”

“我敢肯定查尔斯不是自杀。”他的继父约瑟夫·布拉沃说，“他是个坚强勇敢的年轻人。我认为他是被别人害死的。”

查尔斯·布拉沃是锑中毒身亡的。但他是如何中的毒？是他自己吃下去的，还是别人给他吃的？如果是别人给他吃的，那又是怎么让他吃下去的？锑又是从哪里来的？

1876年七八月间，伦敦的验尸官针对这些问题举行了研讯会。在研讯会上，警方讲述了他们所掌握的情况，查尔斯·布拉沃的朋友及家里的仆人也讲述了各自了解的情况。著名律师们进行了提问。全英格兰的人都在早报上读到了相关报道。

“谁是杀害查尔斯·布拉沃的凶手？”人们问道，“还是说他是自杀的？”

报纸上登载的篇幅最长的报道涉及下面三个人：查尔斯的妻子弗洛伦丝、弗洛伦丝的朋友简·考克斯，以及弗洛伦丝的情人詹姆斯·格利医生。

这三个人都有自己的说法，但他们的说法也不完全相同。那么他们都说实话了吗？还是只说了部分实话？如果其中一个说了些假话，那么是谁在撒谎？他或她为什么要撒谎？

查尔斯·布拉沃到底出了什么事？

下面就是这最重要的三种说法。首先听听查尔斯的妻子弗洛伦丝的说法……

2

Florence Bravo's story

PART 1

My name is Mrs Florence Bravo. I am 31 years old. I live at The Priory, in Balham. At the time of his death, my husband, Charles Bravo, lived there too. My friend and companion, Jane Cox, was also living in the house ...

My husband Charles and I were very happy together. Of course, we argued sometimes, but that's normal, isn't it? All husbands and wives argue sometimes. But Charles was a good man – a lawyer – and I loved him very much. He loved me too – everyone will tell you that. In fact, that was the last thing he said, before he died. 'You've been the best of wives,' he said. Then I kissed him, and he died.

Charles Bravo was my second husband. I married him at the end of last year, December 1875. My first husband, Alexander Ricardo, died in 1871. I was only nineteen when I married Alexander. He was a soldier in the British army. He looked very tall and handsome in his red coat.

Florence Ricardo – later, Florence Bravo

Both our families were very rich, and my parents liked him. All the most important people in London came to our wedding – it was wonderful! We danced late into the night. He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen. I fell in love with him, and I thought he loved me too.

But I was wrong. Alexander was a terrible husband. He didn't love me; he spent most of his time visiting girls and drinking. He drank two or three bottles of wine every night. Sometimes, when he came home, he couldn't stand up. And when I argued with him, he hit me.

That's right – my tall beautiful soldier husband hit me! One day he hit me hard, in the face, three times. Then he laughed.

I left him then and ran home, to my parents. 'I can't live with this man,' I told them. 'He's stupid and dangerous. I don't want to be married any more!'

'But Alexander is your husband,' my father said. 'A wife can't leave her husband. It's against the law. You must go back to him and do what he says.'

'No!' I screamed. 'I can't, I won't! You don't understand! I don't want to see him again, ever! I wish he was dead!'

I cried so much that my parents thought I was ill. So my mother took me to a doctor, Dr James Gully.

I'll never forget that day. We arrived at Dr Gully's hospital in Malvern after a long journey. I was very tired, frightened, and unhappy. Dr Gully was a man, of course. But he didn't shout at me, like my father and my husband. He just looked at me, and listened. He was quiet and friendly and kind. In fact, I thought he was the kindest man I had ever met.

He was the only man who really liked me and understood me. But after a while, I saw that it was more than that. Dr Gully didn't just like me and understand me. He fell in love with me, too.

He can tell you about that.

companion n. a person (often a woman) whose job is to live with and help somebody 陪护（指受雇的职业伴侣，常为女性）

handsome adj. good-looking (usually of a boy or man) 英俊的

2

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述

第一部分

我是弗洛伦丝·布拉沃夫人，今年31岁。我住在巴勒姆的普里奥里。我丈夫查尔斯·布拉沃去世时也住在那儿。我的朋友兼陪护简·考克斯当时也和我们住在一起……

我和丈夫查尔斯生活得非常幸福。当然，我们有时也会吵架，但这太正常不过了，是不是？哪有夫妻不吵架的呀？但查尔斯人很不错，是一名律师，我非常爱他。他也爱我——这一点大家都知道。事实上，他临死前的最后一句话就是这么说的。“你是天底下最好的妻子。”他说。然后我亲吻了他，他就闭上了眼睛。

查尔斯·布拉沃是我的第二任丈夫。我是去年年底，也就是1875年12月和他结婚的。我的第一任丈夫亚历山大·里卡多是1871年去世的。我和亚历山大结婚时只有19岁。他当时在英国军队服役。亚历山大个子高高的，穿红军装非常帅。

我们两家家境都很好，我父母也喜欢他。伦敦所有的头面人物都参加了我们的婚礼——一场盛大华美的婚礼！我们跳舞跳到深夜。他是我见过的最英俊的男子。我爱上了他，以为他也爱我。

但是我错了，亚历山大是个很糟糕的丈夫。他并不爱我，他大多数时间都在寻花问柳，饮酒作乐。他每天晚上都要喝上两三瓶酒，有时回到家都站不起来了。我一跟他理论，他就打我。

没错——我那高大英俊的军人丈夫打我！有一天，他狠狠地打了我的脸三次，然后他还笑。

之后我就离开他，跑回了娘家。“我没法跟这个男的过了。”我跟我爸妈说，“他是个危险的蠢货。我不想再维持这场婚姻了！”

“但亚历山大是你的丈夫。”我爸爸说，“做妻子的不能离开丈夫。这是违法的。你必须回到他身边，照他说的办。”

“不！”我尖叫道，“我不能回去，我也不会回去！你们根本不理解！我不想再见到他，永远也不见！我希望他死掉！”

我哭得稀里哗啦，以至于我爸妈以为我病了。于是妈妈带我去看医生，詹姆斯·格利医生。

我永远也不会忘记那一天。在长途跋涉之后，我们来到了格利医生那家位于莫尔文的医院。我又累又怕，闷闷不乐。当然，格利医生是位男性。但他并未对我大喊大叫，不像我爸爸和我丈夫。他只是看着我，倾听我的诉说。他话不多，友好而体贴。实际上，我认为他是我见过的最体贴的男人。

他是唯一真心喜欢我、理解我的男人。但是不久之后，我发现事情不止如此。格利医生不只是喜欢我、理解我，他还爱上了我。

你们可以听听他是怎么说的。

3

Dr James Gully's story

PART 1

My name is Dr James Gully. I am 68 years old. I live at Orwell Lodge, in Balham. In January 1871 I was living in Malvern, near W ales. That's where I first met Florence – Florence Ricardo, as she was called then ...

Dr James Gully

I remember the day when I first met Florence. It was a cold January morning. There was snow on the hills, but the sun was shining. Florence's mother brought her to my hospital in Malvern. Florence was not ill, but she was very unhappy. She had run away from her husband, Alexander Ricardo. Her father had told her to go back to him.

'But I won't go!' she said. 'I'm never going back to him, never!'

I looked at her carefully. She was crying, and there was a dark bruise on her face. She was a young woman, twenty-five years old, and she had been married for six years.

'Does your husband hit you, my dear?' I asked.

'Yes, he does. He often hits me. I hate him!'

'But you're his wife, Florence,' her mother said. 'So you have to live with him. That's what wives do.'

'No!' Florence screamed at her mother. 'You don't understand. When he's drunk, he's dangerous, he hurts me! I'll kill myself if you make me go back!'

She got up and hit her hand against the window.

'This young woman is ill,' I told her mother. 'She needs a quiet, safe place where she can rest and be calm. We have a small house in the hospital gardens. She can stay there until she is better.'

So Florence stayed, and I visited her every day. We walked in the hospital gardens, and she told me about her husband, Alexander.

'I was just a young girl when I married him,' she said. 'I didn't understand anything. It doesn't matter what a man looks like – what matters is how he behaves.'

'And how does Alexander behave?' I asked.

'Well, he left the army after we married,' she said. 'And that made him unhappy. He doesn't know what to do all day. We live in a big country house – Gatcombe Park – but he is always in London with his friends. He sees other women too, I think. When he comes home, he drinks. Two or three bottles of wine every day.'

'Don't you try to stop him?' I asked.

'Of course I do. I try. Once or twice I've put a little antimony in his wine, to make it taste bad. It made him sick, but he didn't stop drinking.'

I'd heard of this before. Antimony is a dangerous poison – it can kill you, if you take a lot. But some wives put a little of it in their husband's wine. It makes the man feel sick, so he doesn't drink so much. Some men do that to their wives, too. I think it's a bad idea.

There were tears in her eyes. 'When he's drunk, he hits me. Don't send me back to him, Dr Gully! Please don't send me back!'

'Of course I won't, my dear,' I said quietly. 'Don't worry. No woman should live with a man like that.'

But Florence was afraid that her husband Alexander would make her come home. At that time, there were very strong laws about how women must behave. Most men liked these laws, but I didn't. I thought the law was unfair to women. The law said that a married woman couldn't decide things for herself. She needed a man – a guardian – to decide things for her. Usually, this guardian was her husband or her father. But sometimes a friend could become a woman's guardian.

'If you want to leave your husband,' I said, 'I will help you. In law, I can become your guardian. I will tell my lawyers to start preparing the necessary papers now. Then your husband cannot order you to go home. And your father cannot tell you what to do either. Would you like that? Will that make you feel safe?'

'Oh yes, please, Dr Gully,' she said. 'Will you do that for me? Can you write to your lawyers today?'

I smiled. 'It will be a pleasure, my dear.'

My lawyers began work immediately. Florence's husband, Alexander, was very angry, but he could not stop me.

Florence continued to live in Malvern, and I talked to her every day. She was a beautiful, intelligent young woman, and she liked my hospital. My hospital was different to other hospitals. I gave sick people baths of cold and hot water, good healthy food, rest and quiet – and it worked! I told her about the famous people who visited me – Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Florence Nightingale. She liked stories like that. As time passed she began to look healthier. She began to talk happily. Sometimes she even smiled.

She had a beautiful smile. In fact she was a very beautiful young woman. The most beautiful, interesting young woman I have ever met.

I told her about my family. I was sixty-three years old then. I had a son who was ten years older than Florence, and a small granddaughter. But my wife lived in a hospital in Yorkshire. She was eighty years old, and her mind had gone; she didn't recognize me or my son. So really, I didn't have a wife any more.

When my lawyers finished their work, Florence became separated in law from her husband Alexander Ricardo, and I became her guardian.

'Can I go on living here?' she asked me.

'You can stay here as long as you like,' I said. 'But you're a free woman now. I won't tell you what to do.'

She laughed, and took my hand. 'Oh yes, James, of course. You're so kind. I'm so grateful to you.'

That was the first time she called me James, and it felt – wonderful! I wanted to take her in my arms and dance! Of course I didn't – she was only twenty-five, and I was sixty-three, but ... a man can still fall in love, even when he is old.

I wanted to take her in my arms and dance.

And love hurts when you are old, just as much as it does when you are young. More, perhaps, because when you are old you have so little time left.

In April 1871 Alexander Ricardo died. He had already been ill, and after Florence left him, he drank more and more every day, and was often sick. In the end alcohol destroyed his stomach.

When he died, Florence, his widow, became a very rich lady. All her husband's money was hers. But her father wasn't her guardian. I was. Later that year, she came on holiday with me to Germany.

It was the most wonderful holiday of my life. We stayed in a town called Kissingen, in Bavaria. We walked in the hills and gardens, looking at the beautiful clean rivers. We went to restaurants and the theatre, two happy people together.

We lived together like husband and wife. In fact, some people in the hotel thought she was my wife. We laughed and talked all day. I'm sure it was easy to see that I was in love with her.

I couldn't stop looking at her and thinking about her. Everything I did, everything I thought or wrote or said, was for her.

So what about her? Was she in love with me?

I thought she was. She looked wonderful, she laughed and sang as we walked through the town together. We danced for hours in the evening; she was strong and healthy – stronger than me. She talked to me all the time, she called me 'her famous doctor'. I thought she was happy to be with me, to spend all day and all night together.

Isn't that love?

bruise n. a dark mark on the skin that comes after something hits it 瘀伤，青肿

behave v. to do and say things in a certain way 表现，为人

guardian n. a person who is responsible in law for somebody else, e.g. a child or (at the time of this story) a woman 监护人

widow n. a woman whose husband has died 寡妇

3

詹姆斯·格利医生的讲述

第一部分

我是詹姆斯·格利医生，今年68岁。我住在巴勒姆的奥韦尔洛奇。1871年1月，我住在威尔士附近的莫尔文。那是我第一次见到弗洛伦丝的地方—她当时叫弗洛伦丝·里卡多……

我还记得第一次见到弗洛伦丝那天的情形。那是一月份一个寒冷的早晨。山上还覆盖着白雪，但那天阳光明媚。弗洛伦丝的妈妈把她带到了我在莫尔文的医院。弗洛伦丝当时并没有生病，但她非常不开心。她刚离开丈夫亚历山大·里卡多，可她父亲又让她回到丈夫身边去。

“但是我不会回去！”她说，“我永远都不要回到他身边，永远都不！”

我仔细地看了看她。她正哭着，脸上还有一道深色的瘀青。她很年轻，才25岁，但已结婚6年了。

“你丈夫打你吗，亲爱的？”我问。

“是的，他打我。他经常打我。我恨他！”

“但你是他妻子，弗洛伦丝。”她母亲说，“所以你必须得跟他一起生活。这是做妻子的本分。”

“不！”弗洛伦丝冲她母亲尖叫道，“你不懂。他这个人喝醉时非常危险，他会伤害我！如果你逼我回去，我就自杀！”

她站起身，用手拍窗户。

“这位年轻女士病了。”我跟她母亲说，“她需要一个安静、安全的地方休息静养。我们医院的花园里有一幢小房子，她可以一直呆在那儿，直到病情有所好转。”

就这样，弗洛伦丝住了下来，我每天都去看她。我们在医院的花园里散步，她给我讲她丈夫亚历山大的事。

“我嫁给他时还只是个小姑娘，”她说，“什么也不懂。其实男人的长相并不重要——重要的是他的为人。”

“那亚历山大为人如何呢？”我问。

“嗯，婚后他就退伍了。”她说，“这让他很不高兴。他整天无所事事。我们住在乡下一所大宅子里，就是加特库姆庄园，但他总是呆在伦敦，和朋友在一起。我想他还和别的女人约会。他一回家就喝酒。每天都要喝上两三瓶。”

“你没有想过制止他吗？”我问。

“当然想过，我也试着去制止他。有一两次我在他的酒里放了点儿锑，这样酒的味道就不是那么好。结果他吐了，但他还是没戒酒。”

我以前听说过这样的事。锑是一种危险的有毒物质——如果大量服用，会致人死亡。但有些妻子会放一点儿在她们丈夫的酒里，这会让丈夫觉得恶心，这样他们就不会喝太多酒。一些男的也会对爱喝酒的妻子做同样的事。我觉得这么做不好。

“他喝醉后就打我。别把我送回他身边，格利医生！求您别把我送回去！”她双眼含泪地说。

“当然不会，亲爱的。”我轻声说，“别担心。女人就不应该和他那样的男人生活在一起。”

但是，弗洛伦丝担心丈夫亚历山大会逼她回家。当时，法律对妇女的行为有很严格的规定。大多数男人都喜欢这些法律，但我不喜欢。我认为法律对女性不公平。法律规定，已婚妇女无自主决定的权利。她需要一位男性——一位监护人——替她作决定。通常，这位监护人是她的丈夫或父亲，但有时朋友也可以成为妇女的监护人。

“如果你想离开你丈夫，”我说，“我可以帮你。从法律上说，我可以成为你的监护人。我现在就可以让我的律师准备相关文件。这样你丈夫就不能命令你回家，你父亲也不能对你的事指手画脚。你同意这么做吗？这么做会让你安心吗？”

“哦，是的，求您这么做吧，格利医生。”她说，“您愿意为我那么做吗？您能不能今天就写信告诉您的律师？”

我笑了。“非常愿意为你效劳，亲爱的。”

我的几位律师立刻着手准备相关文件。弗洛伦丝的丈夫亚历山大非常生气，但他无法阻止我。

弗洛伦丝继续住在莫尔文，我每天都和她聊天。她是个美丽、聪慧的年轻女子，而且她很喜欢我的医院。我的医院不同于其他医院。我给病人提供冷热水浴、健康营养的食物、适于休息的安静环境——收效不错！我跟弗洛伦丝聊来访过的名人——查尔斯·达尔文，查尔斯·狄更斯，弗洛伦丝·南丁格尔。她喜欢听那些事。时间一天天过去，她的气色开始好起来了。她聊天时的心情变得挺不错。有时她甚至会展颜一笑。

她的笑容很美。事实上，她是个非常漂亮的年轻女子，是我见过的最漂亮、最有意思的年轻女子。

我跟她讲了我的家庭。我那时63岁，有一个大弗洛伦丝10岁的儿子，一个小孙女。但我的妻子住在约克郡的一家医院里。她80岁了，已经糊涂了，既认不出我，也认不出儿子。所以，我实际上算是没有妻子了。

我的律师们完成他们的工作后，弗洛伦丝在法律上和她的丈夫亚历山大·里卡多分居了，而我成了她的监护人。

“我能继续住在这里吗？”她问我。

“你想在这里住多久就住多久。”我说，“但你现在自由了，我不会干涉你的生活。”

她笑了，拉住我的手说：“噢，对，詹姆斯，当然。你人太好了。我对你感激不尽。”

那是她第一次叫我詹姆斯，那种感觉——美妙极了！我想即刻揽她入怀，跳上一曲！当然我没有那么做——她才25岁，而我已经63岁了，但是……男人即便已年迈，依然可能坠入情网。

爱情会伤人，对年轻人的伤害有多深，对老年人的伤害就会有多深。也许更深，因为老年人的时间所剩无几。

1871年4月，亚历山大·里卡多去世了。他之前一直有病，弗洛伦丝离开他后，他酒喝得越来越多，经常生病。最后，酒精毁了他的胃。

他去世后，弗洛伦丝，他的遗孀，变得非常富有。丈夫的钱财都归她所有。但她父亲并不是她的监护人，我是。那年下半年，她和我去德国度假。

那是我一生中最美妙的一次度假。我们去了巴伐利亚州一个叫基辛根的小镇。我们徜徉在山林里，漫步在花园中，欣赏美丽清澈的河流。我们上饭店吃饭，去剧院看戏，真是幸福的一对。

我们像夫妻一样出双入对。事实上，旅馆里的一些人以为她就是我妻子。我们整天欢声笑语的，有说不完的话。我肯定，大家都能轻易看出我爱上了她。

我停止不了自己看她、想她。我的所做、所思、所写、所言，全都是为了她。

那么她是怎么想的呢？她爱我吗？

我认为她也爱我。我们一起在镇上散步时，弗洛伦丝神采奕奕，笑口常开，还会哼唱歌曲。晚上，我们会跳上几个小时的舞。弗洛伦丝很健康，也很强壮——比我强壮。她跟我有说不完的话，她管我叫“我的名医”。我觉得她和我在一起时很开心，她愿意日日夜夜和我在一起。

难道这不是爱情？

4

Florence Bravo's story

PART 2

My name is Mrs Florence Bravo. I am 31 years old. I live at The Priory, in Balham. At the time of his death, my husband, Charles Bravo, lived there too. My friend and companion, Jane Cox, was also living in the house ...

I liked Dr Gully a lot. He was the most intelligent man I had ever met. He told me interesting things, and he made me laugh. He was also very kind – much kinder than my husband Alexander, or my father.

I was very happy on that holiday in Germany. We went everywhere together; we talked and laughed all day, and sang and danced in the evening. For a short time, I thought I was in love with him. But of course he was much, much older than me. Some people in the hotel thought he was my grandfather. Some of them smiled at us, but others looked at us angrily . We slept together in the same bedroom, but we were not married. Most people thought that was very wrong.

One evening, he asked me to marry him. I was surprised. It was impossible, of course. I didn't know what to say. I smiled and touched his face.

'James, that's a lovely idea,' I said. 'But we can't marry, can we? You have a wife.'

'Yes, I know,' he said. 'But she's old and ill; she won't live long. Will you wait for me, Florence? Please? We can marry when she's dead.'

I walked away from him, slowly. I don't want to make him unhappy, I thought, but ... what will people say if I marry a man more than twice as old as me?

'It's very difficult, James,' I said. 'My parents won't talk to me because of you. They say I need a husband of my own age. Perhaps they're right. We are good friends – isn't that enough?'

He held my hands and looked into my eyes. I could see he was hurt.

'You should marry the man you love,' he said. 'That's the right thing to do. Any other kind of marriage will be a lie – a terrible mistake.'

I looked up at him. 'Yes, James, I know. Don't worry – I don't want another husband like Alexander. Let me think about this, will you? It's not easy to decide.'

When we came back to England, I bought a large house called The Priory. It was in a village called Balham, near London. Dr Gully left his hospital in Malvern and bought a house called Orwell Lodge, just five minutes' walk away from my house. We met nearly every day – I had a key to his house, and he had a key to mine. We went for walks and rides in the countryside around Balham. We were still friends. It was almost as good as in Germany.

Almost, but not quite. I was young – I wanted friends of my own age. But I couldn't make new friends because Dr Gully was always there. People knew we weren't married, so they didn't want to know us. Often, married women walked past me in the street, with their noses in the air. They knew me very well, but they refused to speak to me or even look at me. To them, I was just something dirty in the street.

That made me miserable and angry. It was so unfair: no one was unkind to Dr Gully, because he was a man! Men – even married men – can do what they like. But if a woman does something wrong, then no one will speak to her.

I needed a woman friend – someone I could talk to about women's things, when James was not there. I put an advertisement for a 'lady companion' in a newspaper, and a woman called Jane Cox answered it.

I liked Jane. She was a widow, and she needed money to send her three children to school. So I gave her the job, and she came to live with me. We became friends. We talked, all the time, and went shopping together.

I'm not sure if Dr Gully liked Jane. He was very polite to her, but sometimes, I think, he wished she was not there. He wanted to be my only friend.

But that's why I needed Jane. I needed a woman to talk to about Dr Gully . He was kind, and clever, but he was so much older than me. I was lonely, and worried. I didn't know what to do.

And then one day I fell ill. I was in bed for several weeks. My companion, Jane Cox, looked after me. I talked to her a lot. She liked Dr Gully, but she didn't want me to marry him.

'His wife may live for ten more years,' she said. 'Anyway, you need a younger man.'

'It's easy to say that, Jane,' I said. 'But where can I find a young man who is as clever and kind as James Gully?'

'I think I know someone,' Jane said.

'Really, Jane?' I asked. 'Who?'

Jane smiled. 'I know a family called Bravo. I met them in Jamaica. They have a son called Charles. I think you'll like him.'

advertisement n. a notice (e.g. in a newspaper) which tells people about jobs, things to sell etc 广告，启事

4

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述

第二部分

我是弗洛伦丝·布拉沃夫人，今年31岁。我住在巴勒姆的普里奥里。我丈夫查尔斯·布拉沃去世时也住在那儿。我的朋友兼陪护简·考克斯当时也和我们住在一起……

我非常喜欢格利医生。他是我见过的最聪明的男子。他给我讲有趣的事，逗得我哈哈笑。他人也非常好——比我丈夫亚历山大和我父亲都好多了。

在德国度假的那段时间，我过得很愉快。我们形影不离，整天有说有笑的，晚上还唱歌跳舞。有那么短短的一段时间，我以为我爱上了他。当然，他年纪比我大很多很多。旅馆里的一些人以为他是我祖父。他们有的人对我们笑脸相迎，有的人则对我们怒目相向。我们睡在同一间卧室里，但我们并没有结婚。大部分人认为这么做是很伤风化的。

一天晚上，格利医生向我求婚。我很惊讶。那当然是不可能的事。我不知道该说什么。我笑了笑，抚摸了一下他的脸。

“詹姆斯，这个主意不错。”我说，“但是我们不能结婚，不是吗？你有妻子。”

“是，我知道。”他说，“但是她一大把年纪了，而且还有病，她活不了多长时间了。你愿意等我吗，弗洛伦丝？求你了！她死后我们就可以结婚了。”

我缓缓地走向别处。我不想惹他不高兴，我想，但是……如果我嫁给一个年纪是我的两倍还多的男人，人们会怎么说呢？

“这很难，詹姆斯。”我说，“因为你，我父母都不愿意跟我说话了。他们说我需要嫁一个和我年纪相仿的人。也许他们是对的。我们是好朋友——难道这还不够吗？”

他握住我的双手，凝望着我的眼睛。我能看出他受到了伤害。

“你应该嫁一个你爱的人。”他说，“这才是正确的做法。其他任何形式的婚姻都是谎言——是天大的错误。”

我抬头看着他。“是的，詹姆斯，我知道。别担心——我不会再找一个亚历山大那样的丈夫。让我想想这事儿，好吗？这个决定可不好作。”

我们回到英格兰后，我买了一所名叫普里奥里的大房子，就在伦敦附近的巴勒姆村里。格利医生离开了他在莫尔文的医院，买了一座名叫奥韦尔洛奇的房子，离我家步行只需要五分钟。我们几乎天天见面——我有他房子的钥匙，他也有我房子的钥匙。我们在巴勒姆附近的乡间散步、骑马。我们依然是朋友，几乎就跟在德国时一样好。

我说的是几乎，而不是非常。我还年轻——我需要和我年纪差不多的朋友。但是我结交不了新朋友，因为格利医生总是和我在一起。人们都知道我们并不是夫妻，所以他们不想结识我们。已婚妇女在街上遇到我时，对我常常是一副不屑一顾的样子。她们很清楚我是谁，但她们不愿跟我说话，甚至瞧都不瞧我一眼。对于她们来说，我就像是大街上的脏东西。

这让我感觉很痛苦，也很生气。这不公平：没有人对格利医生这样，就因为他是个男的！男人——甚至是已婚男人，能想干什么就干什么。但是一旦女人做错了什么事，就没有人愿意理她。

我需要一个女性朋友——一个当詹姆斯不在的时候，可以和我说说女人的事的人。我在一家报纸上登了一则广告，寻找“女性陪护”，有一个名叫简·考克斯的女子前来应征。

我喜欢简。她是一个寡妇，需要钱来支付三个孩子的学费。于是，我给了她这份工作，她搬过来和我住在一起。我们成了朋友。我们在一起聊个没完，还一起去逛街。

我不能确定格利医生是否喜欢简。他对简彬彬有礼，但有时，我想他倒是希望简不在家里。格利医生想成为我唯一的朋友。

但这也正是我需要简的原因。我需要一个可以和我谈谈格利医生的女性朋友。格利医生人很好，也聪明，但他比我大太多了。我很孤独，也很着急。我不知道该怎么办。

后来有一天，我生病了，卧病在床好几个星期。我的陪护简·考克斯照顾我。我跟她谈了好多事儿。她喜欢格利医生，但她并不想看到我嫁给他。

“他的妻子可能还会再活上十年。”她说，“不管怎么说，你应该找一个年轻点儿的男人。”

“说起来容易，简。”我说，“可我上哪儿找像詹姆斯·格利那样人又好又聪明的年轻男子呢？”

“我想我倒是认识一个。”简说。

“真的吗，简？”我问道，“是谁呀？”

简笑了。“我认识一家姓布拉沃的人家。我是在牙买加认识他们的。他们家有一个儿子叫查尔斯，我想你会喜欢他的。”

5

Dr James Gully's story

PART 2

My name is Dr James Gully. I am 68 years old. I live at Orwell Lodge, in Balham. In January 1871 I was living in Malvern, near W ales. That's where I first met Florence – Florence Ricardo, as she was called then ...

It was that man, Charles Bravo, who caused all the trouble. Everything was fine before that. I saw Florence every day, we went for walks and rides around Balham together. We were very happy. But then ...

One day, a few weeks after Florence had been ill, I came to her house as usual. Her companion, Jane Cox, met me at the door. 'I'm sorry, Dr Gully, but Florence isn't at home.'

I was surprised, and hurt. This had never happened before. 'Where has she gone?'

'She is visiting a family called Bravo. They are businessmen and lawyers, I think, from Jamaica.'

Without me, I thought sadly. 'Well, tell her I called, will you? I hope to see her tomorrow.'

The next time I saw Florence, she was a different woman. She seemed happy and excited, but worried too. She didn't look me in the eyes. I asked her to have dinner with me in the evening.

'Oh, I'm sorry, James,' she said. 'But I can't. I'm going to the theatre with someone.'

'Someone?' I asked. 'Who?'

'Charles Bravo. I met him the other day.'

'Oh, I see. What's he like, this Charles Bravo?'

She looked away from me to hide the excitement in her eyes. But there was a smile on her face – she couldn't hide that. 'Oh, very polite and friendly. He's an interesting man – a lawyer. He's quite handsome, and funny, too. You'll like him, I expect.'

I felt a sudden terrible pain in my chest. It was difficult to breathe. I knew – I knew then that I had lost her. 'How old is he?' I asked.

'Quite young – like me. James, are you all right?'

'It's my chest. I'll have to sit down. I'll be all right in a few minutes.'

She sat down beside me, but she didn't look at me, even then. And I wasn't all right – not in a few minutes, or a few hours or a few days. I was never all right again. I had lost her to a younger man, and there was nothing I could do to change it.

I met Charles Bravo a few weeks later. He was walking in the village with Florence on his arm – as I used to walk with her. She was right; he was handsome, and young. But he wasn't polite or friendly, not to me. He looked at me as a man looks at an enemy. He smiled coldly.

Charles Bravo

'Florence has agreed to marry me, Doctor Gully,' he said. 'She will soon be Mrs Charles Bravo.'

'Congratulations,' I said. But my voice sounded strange, and I had that terrible pain in my chest. 'I hope you will be very happy.'

'Oh, we will, Doctor Gully, we will,' he said, with that cold smile on his face. 'I expect you were happy too, when you married your wife, all those long years ago. Is Mrs Gully well?'

From his words, from the look on his face, it was clear that Florence had told him all about me, and about the love there had been between us. All during this conversation Florence stayed close to his side and looked down at the ground. Not once did she lift her eyes to my face.

'My wife is ... in a hospital in Yorkshire,' I said. 'She is an old, sad woman.'

'But still alive, I hope, Dr Gully?' he said, as I turned and walked quickly away. 'Your wife is still alive, I hope, and in good health?'

I hated him then, and I have hated him ever since. I continued to live at my house in Balham – where else could I go? – and in December 1875 I saw Florence go to her wedding with that man. She looked more beautiful than ever. She drove past my house on the way to the church. But she didn't look at me, not once. Not on her wedding day, not in all the weeks afterwards. If I passed her in the street, she looked away, or talked to her friend, Jane Cox. I felt like a dead man, a ghost.

Then one day in March I met Mrs Cox on a train to London. She asked me for some medicine for her mother in Jamaica. I promised to send it to her.

'How is Florence?' I asked. 'Is she happy?'

Jane Cox shook her head sadly. 'Not really, no. She was ill in bed last week.'

'I'm sorry to hear it,' I said. 'But what about her husband, Charles. Is he kind to her?'

'That man?' Mrs Cox said angrily. 'He doesn't know how to be kind to a woman. Everything he does makes her unhappy. She argued with him last Tuesday, and he hit her.'

'He hit her?' I was so angry, my hands began to shake. 'You mean, he hit Florence, after she had been ill?' 'Yes,' Jane Cox said. 'It's not a happy marriage, Dr Gully. He is only interested in one thing – her money.'

I was sad and very angry, but there was nothing that I could do to help. I wasn't her guardian any more. Florence had chosen to leave me, and marry Charles Bravo. If her marriage was unhappy, that was her problem, not mine. Perhaps she hated her young husband, I don't know. But I can't believe she killed him. She's too sweet, too kind, too beautiful to do anything like that.

Some people think I killed Charles Bravo, but I didn't. I'm a doctor – my job is to make people well, not to kill them. And when did I kill him? How did I kill him? It was impossible for me to do it. I never entered Florence's house after she married Charles Bravo.

Maybe he killed himself. I don't know and I don't care. The world is a better place without him.

Jane Cox was the only friend that Florence had in that house. She tried to help Florence, I think.

Maybe she can tell you what happened.

expect v. to think or believe that something will happen 预料，预计

chest n. the front part of the top of the body 胸部，胸口

breathe v. to take in or send out air through your nose and mouth 呼吸

congratulations exclam. said to someone when you are happy about their good luck or success 恭喜

5

詹姆斯·格利医生的讲述

第二部分

我是詹姆斯·格利医生，今年68岁。我住在巴勒姆的奥韦尔洛奇。1871年1月，我住在威尔士附近的莫尔文。那是我第一次见到弗洛伦丝的地方——她当时叫弗洛伦丝·里卡多……

就是那个男的，查尔斯·布拉沃，都是他坏的事儿。他出现之前，一切都很好。我每天都和弗洛伦丝见面，一起在巴勒姆附近散步、骑马。我们非常开心。但是后来……

弗洛伦丝生病几个星期后，有一天我像往常一样来到她家。她的陪护简·考克斯到门口来迎接我，说：“不好意思，格利医生，弗洛伦丝现在不在家。”

我很惊讶，同时也感到伤心。这是以前从未有过的事。“她去哪儿了？”

“她去拜访一家姓布拉沃的人家去了。我想那家人有经商的，还有当律师的，他们是从牙买加来的。”

不用我陪，我难过地想。“嗯，请告诉她我来拜访过，好吗？我希望明天能见到她。”

我再次见到弗洛伦丝时，她完全变了一个人。她看起来很开心，也很兴奋，但也有点儿焦虑。她没有直视我的眼睛。我请她晚上和我共进晚餐。

“哦，对不起，詹姆斯。”她说，“我去不了。今天晚上我要和别人去看戏。”

“别人？”我问道，“谁呀？”

“查尔斯·布拉沃，我前几天认识的。”

“哦，我明白了。他人怎么样啊，这个查尔斯·布拉沃？”

她把脸扭过去，以掩藏她眼中的兴奋。但她的脸上挂着微笑——那是藏不住的。“哦，非常有礼貌，也很友善。他很有意思——是个律师。他挺英俊，也很风趣。我觉得你会喜欢他的。”

我突然感觉到胸口一阵剧痛，呼吸都变得困难。我知道——那一刻我就知道自己已经失去她了。“他多大了？”我问。

“挺年轻的——和我差不多。詹姆斯，你没事儿吧？”

“我胸口疼，我得坐下来。一会儿就会好的。”

她在我身旁坐下来，但她根本没看我，甚至在我胸口疼时也没看我一眼。我也没有好起来——几分钟，几小时，几天后也没有好起来。我再也没法好起来了。我的弗洛伦丝被一个年轻人抢走了，而我无法改变这一切。

几个星期后，我遇到了查尔斯·布拉沃。当时，弗洛伦丝正挽着他的胳膊在村子里散步——就像以前挽着我散步一样。她说得对：查尔斯年轻又英俊。但他既不礼貌也不友好，反正对我是这样。他看我的样子就像是看见了敌人。他的笑容也是冷冷的。

“弗洛伦丝同意嫁给我了，格利医生。”他说，“她很快就要成为查尔斯·布拉沃太太了。”

“恭喜。”我说。但我的声音听起来有点儿怪，而且我胸口又是一阵剧痛。“我祝你们幸福。”

“哦，当然，格利医生，我们肯定会幸福的。”他说，脸上还是挂着那冷冷的笑容。“我想你多年前娶你妻子时也是幸福的。格利太太还好吧？”

从他的话语和神情可以看出，弗洛伦丝显然把我的一切以及我和她的恋情都告诉了他。在查尔斯和我说那番话时，弗洛伦丝紧靠在他身边，低着头，眼睛看着地面。她一次都没抬眼看我。

“我妻子在……约克郡的一家医院里。”我说，“她是个上了年纪的不幸女人。”

“但还活着，我希望，格利医生？”他说，我扭头快步走开了。“你妻子仍然健在，我希望，而且身体也还好吧？”

这让我恨他，从那时起我就一直恨他。我继续住在我在巴勒姆的房子里——我还能去什么别的地方吗？1875年12月，我眼睁睁地看着弗洛伦丝和那个男的结了婚。她看上去比任何时候都漂亮。她开车去教堂时路经我家，但她没有看我，一次也没有。在她的婚礼当天她没看我一眼，在接下来的好几个星期里她都没看我一眼。如果我在街上和她相遇，她就把脸一扭，或者和她的朋友简·考克斯说话。我感觉自己像是一个死人，一个幽灵。

三月的一天，我在去往伦敦的火车上遇到了考克斯太太。她向我要一些药方寄给她在牙买加的母亲。我答应把药方给她送去。

“弗洛伦丝过得怎么样？”我问道，“她幸福吗？”

简·考克斯难过地摇摇头，“不怎么幸福。她上周卧病在床了。”

“听您这么说我真难过。”我说，“她丈夫查尔斯怎么样，对她好吗？”

“那个男的？”考克斯太太气愤地说，“他根本不懂该如何对女人好。他做的每一件事都让弗洛伦丝不开心。上周二弗洛伦丝和他理论了几句，他就打了她。”

“他打她？”我听了气得双手发抖。“您是说，弗洛伦丝生病之后，他还打了她？”“没错。”简·考克斯说，“这不是一桩幸福美满的婚姻，格利医生。他只对一样东西感兴趣——弗洛伦丝的钱。”

我又是伤心又是气恼，但我却帮不上忙。我不再是她的监护人了。弗洛伦丝自己选择离开我，嫁给查尔斯·布拉沃的。如果她的婚姻不幸福，那是她自己的问题，与我无关。也许她恨她年轻的丈夫，我不知道。但我不相信她害了他。她太可爱、太善良了，长得又那么漂亮，不可能做出那样的事。

有些人认为是我害了查尔斯·布拉沃，但我没有。我是个医生——我的工作是救死扶伤，而不是害人。而且我在什么时候害他的呢？我怎么害的他呢？我根本没有作案机会。自从弗洛伦丝嫁给查尔斯·布拉沃后，我就再没进过她家门。

也许查尔斯是自杀。我不知道，也不在乎。没有查尔斯，这个世界会更好。

简·考克斯是弗洛伦丝在家里唯一的朋友。我想她有试过帮助弗洛伦丝。

也许她会告诉你们发生了什么。

6

Jane Cox's story

PART 1

My name is Mrs Jane Cox. I am 49 years old. I am Florence Bravo's friend and companion. At the time of Mr Bravo's death, I was living at The Priory, in Balham. I now live in my own house in Lancaster Road ...

The first time I met Charles Bravo was in 1869, two years after I came to England. My husband had died in 1867, in Jamaica. I had three young sons, and very little money. Charles's stepfather, Joseph Bravo, knew my husband, and he lent me some money. I met Charles at his house.

Later, I went to work for Florence Ricardo. She was a lovely young lady – very friendly, kind, and interesting. I was her companion – my job was to talk to her and help her with the servants. Soon we became friends. We talked a lot and told each other everything.

Florence liked my sons. She was sad because she didn't have any children herself. 'I've always wanted children,' she said. 'Lots of them. But I didn't have any with Alexander, and now, well ...' She shook her head sadly. 'To have children, I need a husband. And the right man isn't easy to find, is he, Jane?'

When I first met Florence, she was a close friend of Dr Gully. I liked him – he was a good, kind man, very easy to talk to. He had lots of interesting stories about his hospital work. I told him about my life in Jamaica – he had been to Jamaica too, when he was young.

But he was too old to marry her, and his wife was still alive. So I introduced Florence to Charles Bravo.

I know, it was a big mistake, I can see that now. But I didn't know Charles very well then. I thought he was young, clever, handsome, amusing – just the right sort of husband for Florence. And she thought the same, at first.

She talked to me about him. 'I'm not really in love with him, Jane,' she said. 'Not how I was in love with Dr Gully, but... well ... Charles is my own age. A young man that I can have children with. My parents will like him. Married women will invite me to their houses and talk to me again.'

'A perfect husband, then,' I said, smiling.

'Yes,' she said. 'I suppose so.'

But he wasn't perfect, of course. I know that now. So does Florence. She found out a few days after the wedding. I heard them talking in the garden.

'How many gardeners have we got, dear?' he asked her.

'Three,' she said. 'Why do you ask, Charlie?'

'Well, three is too many,' he answered. 'They don't work hard – I saw two of them smoking this morning. I'm sure we only need one.'

'Oh, but they have families,' said Florence, surprised. 'And ... they love the flowers.'

'Well, they can go home to their own families and flowers,' said Charles with a cold laugh. 'From now on, we'll have one gardener, not three.'

'Oh no, Charles, please ...'

'And another thing,' her new husband continued. 'I looked in the stables this morning. We have five horses, Florence. Five! That's far too many. I'm going to sell three of them next week.'

'But Charles, you can't!' Florence screamed. 'Those are my horses, not yours – and I love them!'

'My dear Florence,' said Charles quietly. There was something about his voice – he wasn't angry or upset as I expected. In fact, he was laughing at her – he seemed to enjoy making her unhappy! 'My dear Florence, I am your husband now, haven't you noticed? Married women don't own things, they can't. So everything that used to be yours is now mine. If I want to sell the horses, I will. It's for me to decide, and you to obey.'

'NO!' Florence screamed. The gardeners heard her, and looked up. She was shouting at him, screaming into his face. 'Those are my horses and you can't sell them! I won't let you!'

'You can't stop me, woman,' he said. Then I heard a terrible sound – the sound of his hand hitting her face. Not once, but twice. She screamed and fell to the ground. I ran to help her. There was blood on her face and she was crying. I looked into the eyes of the man who had hit her – Charles Bravo, the perfect husband. The man I had introduced her to. He was smiling.

Florence screamed and fell to the ground. I ran to help her.

'Mrs Bravo has had an accident, Jane,' he said quietly. 'Please help her. She needs to wash her face. And then perhaps she will think about what I have said. Now, I am going to talk to these gardeners.'

That was how the marriage began, and that was how it went on. Almost every week there was a new argument, and almost every time he won and she lost. If she argued, he hit her, so she stopped arguing. The gardeners left and three horses were sold.

But even that wasn't enough for him. He argued with the coachman as well.

Before she met Charles Bravo, Florence's coachman, George Griffiths, used to take her and Dr Gully for long drives in the countryside. Sometimes I went with them. Florence liked George – she was interested in horses and so was he. She paid him well, and sometimes she spent hours outside in the stable yard, talking to him and watching him work with her horses.

But everything changed when she married Mr Bravo. Charles Bravo didn't really like horses – he was afraid of them. Sometimes he hit them, and then of course they ran away. That made George angry – he was kind to his horses, so they worked well for him. And George tried to argue when Charles sold three horses. Well, Charles didn't like servants to argue with him. So he decided to get rid of George Griffiths as well.

One day when George Griffiths was driving, another coach hit them. Nobody was hurt, but Charles was angry. He said George was a bad driver and it was all his fault.

The next day he came out to the stables. I was outside, in the garden, so I saw what happened. George Griffiths was putting some white powder in water for the horses.

'What's that?' Charles asked.

'Antimony, sir,' George answered. 'It's a medicine for horses. It cleans their stomachs.'

'Stop that!' Mr Bravo said. 'You can't give antimony to horses – it's a poison!'

That made George angry. He didn't think Charles Bravo knew anything about horses.

'It's all right to give them a little, sir,' he said. 'I've worked with horses for twenty years – I know what I'm doing.'

'I don't believe you. Yesterday you hit a coach and now you're trying to poison my horses!' Charles said angrily. 'That's it! I don't want you here. You can leave this job today!'

'But sir, I've got a wife and children!' George said. 'I ...'

'That's your problem, not mine!' Mr Bravo shouted. 'Get out of this house now, and don't come back!'

So George Griffiths lost his job. But before he left, I heard him talking to the other servants in the kitchen. He threw his coat on the table angrily.

'That man Bravo isn't just bad, he's crazy!' he shouted. 'I've worked with horses for twenty years, and now this! And he hits his wife, too – we all know that!'

'Well, you'll get a better job somewhere else, won't you?' said the cook. 'I'd like to leave too.'

'You and I can leave, but his wife can't, poor woman,' George said. 'You know what? Charles Bravo will be dead in four months. You wait and see.'

That was a strange thing to say. Did George mean he was going to kill him, himself? Surely not. He was just angry. But then, only a few weeks later, Charles Bravo was dead. So did George Griffiths kill him? Is that possible?

After all, Charles Bravo was poisoned with antimony. And George kept antimony in the stables. He used it as a medicine for the horses.

I never saw George again after that day. He got a job as a coachman with another lady, twenty miles away. And he told the Coroner he threw all the antimony away, before he left.

Maybe he did, I don't know. I don't know where he kept it. I didn't go into the stable yard very often – not as often as Florence, anyway.

But Charles went there quite often. He knew where everything was, and he was interested in medicine – that's why he knew that antimony was a poison.

So maybe he took the antimony, himself. That's what I think happened. Maybe it was an accident, but I think Charles Bravo killed himself.

perfect adj. as good as it can possibly be 完美的

coach n. a large closed vehicle, pulled by horses, used in the past for carrying people（旧时的）四轮大马车

6

简·考克斯的讲述

第一部分

我是简·考克斯太太，今年49岁。我是弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的朋友兼陪护。布拉沃先生去世时我就住在巴勒姆的普里奥里。现在我住在自己家，在兰开斯特路上……

我第一次见到查尔斯·布拉沃是在1869年，我来到英格兰的两年后。我丈夫是1867年在牙买加去世的。我当时有三个年幼的儿子，钱也很少。查尔斯的继父，约瑟夫·布拉沃认识我丈夫，他借给了我一些钱。我就是在他家认识的查尔斯。

后来，我为弗洛伦丝·里卡多工作。她是一位年轻可爱的女士——非常友好、善良和风趣。我是她的陪护——我的工作就是和她聊天，并帮她管理仆人。很快我们就成了朋友。我们经常聊天，彼此无话不谈。

弗洛伦丝喜欢我那几个儿子。她因为自己没有孩子而难过。“我一直想要孩子，”她说，“一大堆孩子。但是我和亚历山大一个孩子也没有，现在，唉……”她伤心地摇摇头。“要想有孩子，我得先有个丈夫。可如意郎君并不容易找，是不是，简？”

当我第一次遇到弗洛伦丝时，她是格利医生的一位密友。我喜欢格利医生——他是个心地善良又平易近人的好男人。关于他在医院的工作，格利医生有讲不完的趣事。我跟他讲我在牙买加的生活——他年轻时也去过牙买加。

但他年纪太大了，娶弗洛伦丝不合适，而且他妻子还在世。所以我把弗洛伦丝介绍给了查尔斯·布拉沃。

我知道，这是个大错误，我现在明白了。但当时我还不是十分了解查尔斯。我觉得他年轻、聪明、英俊、风趣——和弗洛伦丝正好是一对儿。最初，弗洛伦丝也是这么想的。

弗洛伦丝是这么和我谈他的。“我并不是非常爱他，简，”她说，“并不像爱格利医生那样爱他，但是……嗯……查尔斯和我年纪相仿。我和他这样的年轻男子能生几个孩子。我父母也会喜欢他的。已婚妇女们也会邀请我去她们家，再和我聊天了。”

“那么，是个如意郎君了。”我笑着说。

“是的，”她说，“我想是的。”

但查尔斯当然不是个完美的丈夫。我现在知道了。弗洛伦丝也知道了。她是在婚礼结束几天之后发现的。我听见了他们在花园里的谈话。

“我们有几个花匠，亲爱的？”查尔斯问她。

“三个。”她说，“你问这事儿干什么，查利？”

“哦，三个太多了。”他回答说，“他们并没有好好做事——我今天早上看见有两个在抽烟。我肯定我们只要一个就够了。”

“哦，但是他们要养家糊口，”弗洛伦丝说，她感到奇怪，“而且……他们爱花。”

“嗯，他们可以回到自己家种花去。”查尔斯冷冷地笑着说，“从现在起，我们只要一个花匠，而不是三个。”

“噢，不，查尔斯，求你……”

“还有一件事，”她的新婚丈夫继续说，“我今天早上查看了马厩，我们有五匹马，弗洛伦丝。五匹马呀！太多了。我打算下周卖掉其中三匹。”

“但是查尔斯，你不能这么做！”弗洛伦丝尖叫道，“那是我的马，不是你的——我爱它们！”

“我亲爱的弗洛伦丝，”查尔斯轻声说，他的声音听起来跟我预想的不一样——他既不生气也不恼火。实际上，他在嘲笑弗洛伦丝——他好像很喜欢弄得她不开心！“我亲爱的弗洛伦丝，我现在是你的丈夫，难道你没注意到吗？已婚妇女没有任何东西，她们不能拥有任何东西。所以，以前属于你的一切现在都是我的了。如果我想卖掉那些马，我就卖。是我来作决定，你只有服从的份儿。”

“不！”弗洛伦丝尖叫道。几个花匠听到了她的尖叫声，纷纷抬起头来看。她对着查尔斯大叫，正冲着他的脸大喊着：“那是我的马，你不可以卖掉它们！我不会让你这么做的！”

“你阻止不了我，你这个女人。”他说。接着，我听到了一个可怕的声音——他打她耳光的声音，而且不止一次，而是两次。她尖叫着摔倒在地上。我跑过去扶她。弗洛伦丝脸上有血，她哭了。我直视着打了她的那个人——如意郎君查尔斯·布拉沃——的眼睛，是我把弗洛伦丝介绍给了他。他竟然还在笑。

“布拉沃夫人出了点儿意外，简。”他轻声说，“请帮她一下，她需要洗洗脸。接下来，她可能要好好想想我刚才说的话了。现在我要去跟这些花匠们谈谈。”

这场婚姻就是这样开始，也是这样继续下去的。他们几乎每个星期都会吵架，而几乎每次都是查尔斯赢、弗洛伦丝输。如果她理论两句，他就打她，所以她就不吵了。花匠们离开了，三匹马也被卖了。

但这对查尔斯来说还不够。他和马车夫也吵上了。

在弗洛伦丝认识查尔斯·布拉沃之前，她的马车夫乔治·格里菲思曾经带着她和格利医生在乡间长时间地兜风，有时我也跟他们一起去。弗洛伦丝喜欢乔治——她对马感兴趣，乔治也是。她给乔治的薪水很高。有时她还会在马厩呆上几个小时，跟乔治聊天，看着他侍弄她的那些马。

但自从她嫁给布拉沃先生之后，一切都变了。查尔斯·布拉沃并不怎么喜欢马——他怕它们。有时他打它们，它们当然就跑了。这让乔治很生气——他对他的马非常好，所以那些马也很听乔治的话。当查尔斯要卖掉那三匹马时，乔治还努力地跟他理论了一番。当然，查尔斯不喜欢下人跟他理论。于是，他决定把乔治·格里菲思也一块儿解雇了。

一天，当乔治·格里菲思在驾驶马车时，另一架马车撞到了他们。没有人受伤，但查尔斯却生气了。他说乔治的驾车技术不行，全都是乔治的错。

第二天，他去了马厩。我当时在花园里，所以我看到了发生的一切。乔治·格里菲思正把一些白色的粉末放到水中给马喝。

“那是什么？”查尔斯问道。

“锑，先生。”乔治回答说，“是给马的药，能清洁马的胃。”

“住手！”布拉沃先生说，“你不能给马吃锑——那是毒药！”

这话激怒了乔治，他认为查尔斯·布拉沃一点儿都不懂马。

“给它们吃点儿锑没事儿，先生。”他说，“我和马打了二十年交道——我知道自己在做什么。”

“我不相信你。昨天你撞了车，现在你又想给我的马下毒！”查尔斯怒气冲冲地说，“就这样！我不想让你在这儿工作了。你今天就可以离开！”

“但是先生，我还得养家糊口呢！”乔治说，“我……”

“那是你的事，跟我无关！”布拉沃先生咆哮道，“现在就给我滚出这个家，别再回来了！”

就这样，乔治·格里菲思丢了工作。但在他离开之前，我听到他在厨房和另外几个仆人的谈话。他愤怒地把外套扔在桌子上。

“那个叫布拉沃的家伙不只是坏，他就是个疯子！”乔治大喊道，“我和马打了二十年交道，居然落得这个下场！他还打自己的老婆——我们大家都知道！”

“我说，你可以在别的地方找到一个更好的工作，不是吗？”厨师说，“我也想走了。”

“你我都能走，可他老婆就走不了了，可怜的女人。”乔治说，“你知道吗？不出四个月，查尔斯·布拉沃就会死。不信走着瞧。”

乔治说这话是有点儿奇怪。乔治的意思是他要亲手杀了布拉沃吗？肯定不是。他只是说的气话。但是，只过了几周，查尔斯·布拉沃真的死了。是乔治·格里菲思杀的他吗？这可能吗？

毕竟查尔斯·布拉沃是被锑毒死的，而乔治在马厩里就存放有锑。他用锑来给马治病。

自从那天之后，我再没见过乔治。他给二十英里外的一位太太当马车夫去了。而且，乔治告诉验尸官，他在离开之前把锑全都扔掉了。

也许他是扔了吧，我不知道。我也不知道他把锑存放在哪儿。我不经常去马厩那个院子——至少不像弗洛伦丝去得那么频繁。

但查尔斯经常去那儿。什么东西放在哪儿他都知道，他也对药感兴趣——所以他才知道锑是一种毒药。

所以，也许是查尔斯自己吞服了锑。这就是我的想法。也许这是个意外，但我认为查尔斯·布拉沃是自杀。

7

Jane Cox's story

PART 2

My name is Mrs Jane Cox. I am 49 years old. I am Florence Bravo's friend and companion. At the time of Mr Bravo's death, I was living at The Priory, in Balham. I now live in my own house in Lancaster Road ...

Soon after her marriage, Florence became pregnant. She was happy about this, and Charles was pleased too. 'The baby will be a boy,' he said. 'We'll call him Charles Bravo the Second!'

But Florence often felt ill. And she and Charles argued all the time – about money, the servants, the horses, everything. But the worst arguments were about Dr Gully. One day, Charles opened a letter, and started shouting angrily. 'Look at this,' he said to Florence. 'It's from Dr Gully, isn't it? This is what he thinks of me!'

Florence read the letter and showed it to me. It was a horrible letter.

'I know why you married Florence,' the letter said. 'You don't love her. You just wanted her money, that's all.'

'That's awful, Charles,' Florence said. 'But I don't understand. There is no name on this letter. Who wrote it?'

'You know very well who wrote it!' Charles shouted. 'Dr Gully, of course! That's his handwriting, I'm sure it is! You've been talking to him about me, haven't you? You're still in love with him, aren't you?'

'No, Charles, I'm not!' Florence said. 'I haven't spoken to Dr Gully once since we were married. Anyway, look at this letter, this is terrible handwriting. Dr Gully writes much better than this.'

Charles Bravo smiled – a cold, angry smile. 'Really? Well, let's see. He's written lots of letters to you, hasn't he, Florence? And you've kept them, because you're in love with him. Go and find them, Florence, bring them here. Then we'll see if this handwriting is the same.'

Florence's face went quite red. 'I haven't got them, Charles,' she said. 'I sent them all back to him, before we got married. And he gave me back all my letters, too – the ones I wrote to him.'

'Oh, really? Well, where are those letters? Bring them here, let me see them.'

'I can't.' Florence started to cry. 'I can't show you anyway, because I burnt them all on the fire. And I think Dr Gully burnt all my letters too. You see, I don't love him any more, Charles. That's over, it's finished. I'm never going to see Dr Gully again.'

She stopped crying and put her hand on his arm. 'That's what you should do with this letter, too. It's a horrible letter, Charles. Just burn it, forget all about it. Just as I have forgotten Dr Gully.'

'Have you really, Florence? Are you sure?'

'Yes, Charles, I'm sure.' She put her arms around him, and leaned her head against his chest. 'You're my husband now, Charles. I'm going to have your baby. So we must be kind to each other, and not argue about silly things like this.'

Very gently, she took the letter from his hand, and threw it into the fire.

Florence didn't meet Dr Gully, but I did. I met him on the train one day, on 25th March, on the way to London. I told him about my mother in Jamaica, and asked him for some medicine for her. A few days later, he wrote to me at The Priory.

I opened the letter, but Charles didn't like that. 'Let me see that, Mrs Cox,' he said, holding out his hand. 'I'm the man of this house, I should read all the letters first, you know. Who is it from?'

'It's from Dr Gully,' I said. 'It's about my mother, that's all. She's ill in Jamaica. He writes about some medicine for her.'

He took my letter and read it. There was a list of medicines inside. Then he gave it back to me. 'Well, don't write back to him,' Charles Bravo said. 'I don't want anyone in this house to write to that man.'

Two weeks later, on 6th April, I found Florence crying in her bedroom.

'What's wrong?' I asked. 'Have you and Charles been arguing again?'

'No, it's not that,' she said. 'It's worse. Call a doctor. I think I've lost the baby.'

Florence was right; she had lost her baby. She was ill, and spent two weeks in bed. I slept in her bedroom with her. Charles didn't like that. He didn't understand how difficult such things are for women. When she stayed in bed crying, that made him angry and impatient. He thought she should get up the next day. He seemed to think that a woman losing her baby was nothing important.

But I was worried, and so I was pleased when I met Dr Gully again on the train. I told him about Florence's illness, and he promised to send some medicine for her. But he didn't want to make Charles angry, so he didn't send it to The Priory. He left it at my house, in Lancaster Road, and I took it to Florence from there.

A few days later, Charles called me into his study.

A few days later, Charles called me into his study.

'Mrs Cox,' he said. 'I have been thinking. There are too many people in this house.'

'Too many people?' I said. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean,' he said, 'that I don't need you in this house any more.'

'But, sir ... I am not here to help you. I work for Mrs Bravo.'

'Mrs Bravo is my wife. I make the decisions in this house, and I don't want you here any more. Every time I try to talk to my wife, you are there with her. You even sleep in her bedroom. That isn't right!'

'But she's ill, sir! She's just lost her baby. She needs me – she wants me there.'

'Well, I don't want you there. When Florence is better, I want you to leave. Do you understand? I don't need your help any more.'

This was a terrible thing for me. I needed my job to pay for my sons' school. And Florence was my friend. I was worried about her. If I leave, I thought, he can hit Florence every day, and no one will know.

As I walked out of the room, I thought: I hate that man, Charles Bravo. I wish he were dead.

When I told Florence, she cried. 'Jane, please don't leave me,' she said. 'I need you here to keep me safe. Promise me you won't go!'

'I don't want to leave,' I said. 'But what can we do? He's your husband – he can do what he likes.'

'I'll talk to him,' she said. She was a brave lady, Florence. She tried to make her own decisions; she didn't want to obey her husband all the time. But Charles was a dangerous, violent man.

'What if he hits you again?' I asked. 'He may hurt you badly.' I wanted to save her, but I didn't know how.

She sat up in bed. 'I won't let him, Jane,' she said. 'You and I – we must work together. We must stop that man, before he destroys both of our lives. This is my house, not his. He must listen to me, and learn to do what I want.'

'But he doesn't listen to women,' I said. 'He thinks we're like children, or servants. How can you change that?'

'I'll find a way, Jane,' she said quietly. 'Don't worry, I'll find a way.'

pregnant adj. expecting a baby 怀孕的

horrible adj. making you very afraid or unhappy 可怕的，令人不快的

handwriting n. the way you write 笔迹，字迹

7

简·考克斯的讲述

第二部分

我是简·考克斯太太，今年49岁。我是弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的朋友兼陪护。布拉沃先生去世时我就住在巴勒姆的普里奥里。现在我住在自己家，在兰开斯特路上……

婚后不久，弗洛伦丝就怀孕了。她很高兴，查尔斯也很兴奋。“肯定是个男孩。”他说，“我们叫他查尔斯·布拉沃二世！”

但是，弗洛伦丝经常生病。她和查尔斯也总在吵架——为钱，为仆人，为马匹，为所有的事争吵。但最激烈的争吵还是为格利医生。有一天，查尔斯打开一封信后就恼火地大叫起来。“看看这个，”他对弗洛伦丝说，“是格利医生写来的，对不对？他就是这么看我的！”

弗洛伦丝读了那封信，并拿给我看。那是一封可怕的信。

“我知道你为什么娶弗洛伦丝。”信上说，“你不爱她，你就是想要她的钱，仅此而已。”

“这太可怕了，查尔斯。”弗洛伦丝说，“但我不明白。信上没署名。谁写的呢？”

“谁写的你心知肚明！”查尔斯咆哮道，“当然是格利医生！那是他的笔迹，我敢肯定是他的！你一直在跟他讲我的事，是不是？你还爱着他，是不是？”

“不，查尔斯，我没有！”弗洛伦丝说，“自从跟你结婚后我就没有和格利医生说过一句话。不管别的，看看这封信，这糟糕的笔迹，格利医生写得可是比这好看多了。”

查尔斯·布拉沃笑了——是那种冷冷的、恼怒的笑。“是吗？好吧，让我想想。他给你写过好多信，是吧，弗洛伦丝？而你还留着那些信，因为你还爱着他。去找那些信，弗洛伦丝，把它们拿过来。我们比比看这个笔迹是不是一样的。”

弗洛伦丝的脸涨得通红。“我没有留下那些信，查尔斯，”她说，“我们结婚前我都给格利医生寄回去了。他也把我的信——我写给他的信都还给我了。”

“哦，是吗？那么，你写给他的信在哪儿？拿到这儿来让我看看。”

“不行。”弗洛伦丝哭了起来，“我给你看不了，因为我把它们都烧了。我想格利医生也把我的信都烧了。你知道的，查尔斯，我不再爱他了。我和他的一切都结束了。我再也不会见格利医生了。”

她不哭了，伸出一只手挽着查尔斯的胳膊。“你也应该这么处理这封信。这封信太可怕了，查尔斯。烧掉它，忘了这件事，就像我忘了格利医生一样。”

“你真的已经忘了格利医生了吗，弗洛伦丝？你确定吗？”

“是的，查尔斯，我确定。”她伸出双臂搂着他，头靠着他的胸膛。“你现在是我的丈夫，查尔斯。我都怀了你的孩子了。所以，我们必须对对方好，不要再为这些无聊的事争吵了。”

弗洛伦丝轻轻地从查尔斯手中抽出那封信，扔到了炉子里。

弗洛伦丝没有见过格利医生，但是我见过。有一天，就是3月25日，在去往伦敦的火车上我见到了格利医生。我跟他说了我母亲在牙买加的事，并向他要了些药方给我母亲。几天后，他给我写了封信，寄到了普里奥里。

我打开信，但查尔斯不高兴了。“让我看看，考克斯太太。”他说着就伸出了手，“我是一家之主，所有的信都得由我先看，你知道的。谁写来的信？”

“格利医生写来的，”我说，“是有关我妈妈的事，仅此而已。我妈妈在牙买加生病了，格利医生给她开了一些药方。”

他拿过信读了起来。信上列了一串药品的名字。然后他把信还给我。“好吧，别给他回信，”查尔斯·布拉沃说，“我不想这个家里的任何人给那个男人写信。”

两周后，就是4月6日，我发现弗洛伦丝在她的卧室里哭泣。

“出什么事了？”我问道，“查尔斯又和你吵架了？”

“不，我们没吵架，”她说，“但是情况更糟。叫医生来，我想我已经失去宝宝了。”

弗洛伦丝说得对，她流产了。她也病倒了，两个礼拜都卧床不起。我和她一起睡在她的卧室里。查尔斯不高兴了。他不理解这种事对女人来说有多难过。当弗洛伦丝躺在床上哭泣时，他就又生气又不耐烦。他认为她第二天就应该下床活动。他好像觉得一个女人没了孩子不是什么大不了的事。

但我很担心，所以当我再一次在火车上碰到格利医生时我很高兴。我跟他说了弗洛伦丝生病的事，格利医生答应给她寄点儿药来。但格利医生不想惹查尔斯生气，所以他并没有把药寄到普里奥里。他把药寄到我在兰开斯特路的家中，我再从自己家带给弗洛伦丝。

几天后，查尔斯把我叫到他的书房。

“考克斯太太，”他说，“我一直在想，我们家的人太多了。”

“人太多了？”我问道，“你这话是什么意思？”

“我是说，”他说，“我不需要你在这个家了。”

“但是，先生……我在这里不是帮你的忙，我为布拉沃夫人服务。”

“布拉沃夫人是我妻子。这个家由我说了算，我不想再雇用你了。每次我想跟我妻子说点儿话时，你都在她身边。你甚至还睡在她的卧室里。这可不行！”

“但她生病了，先生！她刚刚流产。她需要我——她想让我陪她。”

“好了，我不想让你陪她。弗洛伦丝病情好转后你就离开。你明白吗？我不再需要你帮忙了。”

这对我来说可是晴天霹雳。我需要这份工作来供三个儿子上学。而且，弗洛伦丝是我的朋友，我很担心她。如果我走了，我想，他就可以每天打弗洛伦丝，并且不会有人知道。

我走出书房时，心想：我恨那个人，查尔斯·布拉沃。我真希望他死掉。

当我告诉弗洛伦丝这件事时，她哭了。“简，求你别离开我，”她说，“我需要你在这里保护我。答应我，别走！”

“我不想走，”我说，“但我们又能怎么办呢？他是你丈夫——他想干什么就干什么。”

“我去跟他谈谈。”她说。弗洛伦丝是个勇敢的女子。她想自己作决定，她不想一直对丈夫唯命是从。但查尔斯是个可怕又暴力的人。

“如果他再打你怎么办？”我问道，“他可能会把你伤得很重。”我想救她，但不知道怎么救。

她从床上坐起来。“我不会让他再打我了，简。”她说，“你和我——我们必须联手。在那个人毁掉我们俩的生活之前，我们必须制止他。这是我的家，不是他的。他必须听我的，学着按我说的去做。”

“但他是不会听女人的话的。”我说，“他认为我们就跟小孩儿或仆人一样。你怎么能改变他的想法呢？”

“我会想办法的，简。”她轻声说，“别担心，我会想出办法的。”

8

Florence Bravo's story

PART 3

My name is Mrs Florence Bravo. I am 31 years old. I live at The Priory, in Balham. At the time of his death, my husband, Charles Bravo, lived there too. My friend and companion, Jane Cox, was also living in the house ...

When Jane Cox told me what Charles had said, I was very worried. Jane was very important to me. I didn't want to lose her.

On Tuesday, April 18th, I felt a little better, so I got up. It was my first day out of bed. Jane went to Worthing to look at a holiday house for us, and I went to London with Charles. In the carriage he said: 'I'm pleased Jane's gone to Worthing, Florence. We haven't been alone together for two weeks. I'll be happy when that woman is gone.'

'Please don't say that, Charles,' I said. 'Jane is my best friend.'

'She was your best friend, darling,' said Charles, smiling. 'Before you met me. Now I'm your best friend, aren't I?'

'Well yes,' I answered. 'But you're my husband, Charles. I need Jane, to talk about women's things. That's what I pay her for.'

'Well, she's too expensive,' Charles said. 'I spoke to her yesterday. I told her to leave at the end of the month.'

'But Charles, you can't do that!' I said. 'She needs the money to look after her children. Anyway, she works for me, not you. So she's staying, Charles. All right?'

'No!' he shouted. He held my arm hard, really hard, and it hurt. He was strong – much stronger than me – and his face was close to mine. 'You're my wife, Florence – you do what I say! Do you understand?'

I was frightened. 'Let go of my arm, Charles! People in the street are watching – what will they think?'

'I don't care,' he said. 'It's none of their business. What are you going to do – call Dr Gully?' We were driving past Dr Gully's house at the time.

'Don't be stupid, Charles,' I said. 'You know I don't talk to Dr Gully any more. I told you – you're my husband, I love you, not him!'

'Do you?' he said. He still held my arm. 'Well, kiss me then. And forget about Jane and Dr Gully.'

I was afraid, so I kissed him. Then we drove on in silence. It was a bad start to the day, but before we got to London Charles was happy again. He talked to me kindly and told funny stories. He was often like that – angry for a short time, then friendly a few minutes later. He was a difficult man, but I tried to understand him. That's what a wife has to do, isn't it? Understand her husband and love him. But I was very worried about losing Jane.

In London Charles visited his cousin, Dr Royes Bell. I went shopping. After lunch I went home and had a rest; it was my first day out of bed. Charles came home later. He was happy and excited. 'I'm going out for a ride,' he said. He went outside and called the groom.

'Get that big horse, Cremorne, ready for me, man. Quickly, now.'

'Is that a good idea, sir?' the groom asked. 'Cremorne's been a little difficult this week.'

Charles thought he knew a lot about horses but he didn't, really. He shouted angrily at the groom. 'Don't argue with me, man! Get him ready! I know how to ride my own horse, damn you!'

But an hour later he came home, shaking. His face was white and his shirt was wet with sweat. 'That horse Cremorne is dangerous!' he said. 'We'll have to sell it.'

'Why, Charles,' I asked, 'what happened?'

'The horse ran away with me. For six miles he wouldn't stop.'

'The horse ran away with me. For six miles he wouldn't stop.'

'How awful! Are you hurt? Did you fall off?'

'No, thank God, I didn't. But my arms and chest hurt. He's very strong, that horse – like a wild animal!'

'Go upstairs and rest before dinner. I'm sorry you were frightened, Charles.'

He walked slowly upstairs with his hand on his chest. At the top, he looked down angrily.

'I wasn't frightened, Florence, don't be silly. Anyway, it's the groom's fault, not mine. He gave the horse too much food, that's all.'

Charles still looked ill at dinner that evening. Jane talked to him about the holiday house in Worthing but he didn't answer. He ate a lot of food and drank three glasses of wine. After dinner I was tired, so I went up to my bedroom. Jane came up a few minutes later.

My maidservant, Mary Ann, brought me a glass of wine to help me sleep. But Charles came into my bedroom and saw it. He didn't like me drinking wine in the evening. He often tried to stop me.

'You drink too much, Florence,' he said. 'I've told you before. You'll make yourself ill.'

It's true. I did sometimes feel ill after drinking wine. I was sick once or twice, I don't know why. But wine usually made me feel warm, and sleepy. I liked that.

'I'm tired, Charles,' I said. 'Leave me alone.'

Charles went out. I lay down in bed, and Jane sat beside me, reading aloud from a book. It was peaceful in my bedroom and I was very sleepy. My maid came back in.

'Do you want anything else, madam?' she asked.

'No, thank you, Mary Ann,' I said. 'Just take the dogs downstairs, will you, please?'

Mary Ann went out with my two dogs and closed the doors behind her. There are two doors to my bedroom – an outside door and an inside door – and she closed them both. I like that; it makes the room very quiet. I lay there for a minute or two, listening to Jane's voice reading to me, and then ...

... I fell asleep.

I don't know what happened next. Mary Ann says that Charles called for help. But I didn't hear him. I was asleep.

sweat n. water that comes from your skin when you are hot or afraid 汗水

maidservant n. a female servant in a house 女仆

8

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述

第三部分

我是弗洛伦丝·布拉沃夫人，今年31岁。我住在巴勒姆的普里奥里。我丈夫查尔斯·布拉沃去世时也住在那儿。我的朋友兼陪护简·考克斯当时也和我们住在一起……

当简·考克斯告诉我查尔斯的话后，我非常着急。简对我来说太重要了，我不想失去她。

4月18日，星期二，我感觉略有好转，于是就下了床。那是我病后第一次下床。简去了沃辛，为我们找一幢度假用房，我和查尔斯则去了伦敦。在马车上，他说：“我很高兴简去了沃辛，弗洛伦丝。我们已经有两周时间没有单独在一起了。那个女人走了以后，我会非常高兴。”

“求你别那么说，查尔斯，”我说，“简是我最好的朋友。”

“她曾经是你最好的朋友，亲爱的，”查尔斯笑着说，“在你遇到我之前。但现在我才是你最好的朋友，不是吗？”

“嗯，是。”我回答说，“但你是我的丈夫，查尔斯。我需要简，跟她说说女人的事。这正是我雇她的原因。”

“不过，她的工资太高了。”查尔斯说，“我昨天跟她说了，叫她月底离开。”

“但是查尔斯，你不能那么做！”我说，“她需要钱养她的几个孩子。不管怎么说，她是为我服务，而不是为你服务。所以让她留下来，查尔斯，好吗？”

“不行！”他咆哮道。他用力抓着我的胳膊，真的非常用力，把我都弄疼了。他很壮实——比我壮多了——他的脸离我的脸很近。“你是我妻子，弗洛伦丝——你得照我说的办！你明白吗？”

我被吓坏了。“放开我，查尔斯！大街上的人都看着呢——他们会怎么想？”

“我不在乎，”他说，“这根本就不关他们什么事。你想干什么——叫格利医生？”我们当时正好坐马车经过格利医生家。

“别傻了，查尔斯，”我说，“你知道我再没和格利医生说过话。我跟你说过——你是我丈夫，我爱的人是你，不是他！”

“是吗？”他说。他依然抓着我的胳膊。“好，那就亲我一下。忘掉简和格利医生。”

我怕了，所以就吻了他。接着我们的马车继续前行，我们俩都没有说话。那天有这样一个开始可真是糟糕，但我们快到伦敦时，查尔斯又高兴起来。他和颜悦色地跟我说话，还讲了一些有趣的故事。他经常这样——生一会儿气，几分钟后态度又友好起来。他是个难以相处的人，但我尽力去理解他。这是一个妻子应该做的，不是吗？要理解丈夫并爱他。但我对要失去简这件事还是很担忧。

在伦敦，查尔斯拜访了他的堂兄，罗伊斯·贝尔医生。我则去逛街了。午饭后，我就回家休息了。那天是我病后下床活动的第一天。查尔斯后来也回家了。他又开心又兴奋。“我要出去骑一会儿马。”他说。他出了门，叫上了马夫。

“伙计，去把那匹大马，就是克雷莫恩，给我备好。快，现在就去。”

“这行吗，先生？”马夫问道，“克雷莫恩这个星期有点儿难驾驭。”

查尔斯以为自己很懂马，其实不然。他生气地朝马夫喊道：“别跟我顶嘴，伙计！去给我备马！我知道自己的马该怎么骑，你这该死的！”

但是一个小时之后，查尔斯浑身颤抖着回家了。他脸色发白，衬衫被汗水浸湿了。“那匹叫克雷莫恩的马性子真烈！”，他说，“我们得把它卖了。”

“为什么，查尔斯，”我问道，“发生什么事了？”

“那匹马载着我狂奔起来，一口气跑了六英里都不停。”

“太可怕了！你受伤了吗？你有没有坠马？”

“没有，谢天谢地，我没有坠马。但我的胳膊和胸口疼。那匹马非常强壮，它——就像一只野兽！”

“上楼去吧，休息一下再吃饭。见你受到了惊吓，我很难过，查尔斯。”

他一只手捂着胸口慢慢地上楼了。走到顶时，他恼火地回头向下看。

“我没有受到惊吓，弗洛伦丝，别犯傻了。不管怎么说，都是那个马夫的错，不怪我。他让那匹马吃太多了，仅此而已。”

那天晚上吃晚饭时，查尔斯看上去脸色依然不是很好。简跟他说了沃辛的度假用房，但他没说什么。他吃了不少饭，还喝了三杯酒。晚饭后我累了，就上楼回到自己的卧室。几分钟后，简也上楼来了。

我的女仆玛丽·安给我端来一杯酒，助我入眠。但是，查尔斯走进我的卧室时看见了那杯酒。他不喜欢我晚上喝酒。他经常想阻止我。

“你喝得太多了，弗洛伦丝。”他说，“我以前告诉过你，这样下去你会生病的。”

他说得对。有时喝完酒后，我的确觉得不舒服。我吐过一两回，不知道是为什么。但酒通常让我感到温暖、昏昏欲睡。我喜欢那种感觉。

“我累了，查尔斯，”我说，“让我一个人呆会儿吧。”

查尔斯走了出去。我躺在床上，简坐在我旁边，大声朗读一本书给我听。我的卧室一片宁静，我困得不行。这时我的女仆又走了进来。

“您还有什么需要吗，夫人？”她问道。

“没有了，谢谢，玛丽·安。”我说，“请把狗带到楼下去，好吗？”

玛丽·安带着我的两条狗走出了房间，并随手关上了房门。我的卧室有两道门——一道外门，一道内门——她把两扇门都关了。我喜欢这样，这会让我的房间非常安静。我在床上躺了一两分钟，听着简给我读书，接着……

……我就睡着了。

我不知道接下来发生了什么事。玛丽·安说查尔斯呼救了，但我没有听到，我睡着了。

9

What the maid saw

Those were the three important stories heard at the London Coroner's enquiry in July and August 1876 – the stories of Florence Bravo, Dr James Gully, and Mrs Jane Cox. There was truth, and perhaps also a few lies, in all the stories.

But there were also other stories heard at the enquiry in 1876. There was Florence's maidservant, for example, Mary Ann Keeber ...

Every day the maid, Mary Ann Keeber, cleaned the bedrooms at The Priory and lit fires in them to make them warm. She always put a bottle of drinking water beside Charles Bravo's bed. Later, in the evenings, she helped Charles and Florence with anything they wanted.

On the night of Tuesday 18th April, Mary Ann closed the two doors to Florence's bedroom and went downstairs with the dogs. But halfway down the stairs, one of the dogs ran back up again. As Mary Ann turned to call it, she saw Charles Bravo open his bedroom door. His face was white and he looked afraid. 'Florence! Florence!' he shouted. 'Hot water! Hot water!' Then he ran back into his room.

Charles Bravo's face was white and he looked afraid.

Mary Ann was surprised. She waited for Florence or Mrs Cox to come out and help him, but they didn't. Perhaps they hadn't heard him, she thought. So she hurried back into Florence's bedroom. Florence was in bed with her eyes closed and Jane Cox was sitting beside her. Mary Ann told Jane what had happened. 'Come quickly,' she said. 'There's something wrong with Mr Bravo!'

Jane Cox and Mary Ann went into Charles's bedroom. They saw Charles standing by an open window. His face was grey and wet with sweat. 'Help!' he cried. 'Hot water! Hot water!' He leaned out of the window and vomited onto the kitchen roof below. Then he fell to the floor.

Mrs Cox told Mary Ann to run downstairs and fetch some hot water. When Mary Ann came back, she saw Charles sitting on the floor. Mrs Cox had her hands on his chest. She was trying to help him breathe, Mary Ann thought.

'Get some mustard – hurry!' Mrs Cox said. So Mary Ann ran downstairs again. When she came back, Jane Cox told her to put the mustard into the hot water and lift Charles's feet into it.

'It's an old way to help a sick person,' Mrs Cox said. 'Rub his feet with the hot water and mustard.'

Mary Ann tried, but Charles knocked the water over and fell on the floor with his eyes closed. So then Mrs Cox gave him some mustard and hot water to drink, and sent Mary Ann downstairs again, for hot coffee. But the coffee only made him vomit again, into a bowl.

'Go and send the groom to fetch Dr Harrison,' Mrs Cox told Mary Ann. 'And then go and fetch some camphor from my room.'

So Mary Ann ran downstairs again for the groom, then upstairs to Mrs Cox's room for the camphor, but she couldn't find it. So she went into Florence's bedroom instead.

Florence was lying in bed with her eyes closed. Mary Ann shook her arm to wake her up.

'What is it?' Florence asked. 'What's the matter?'

'It's your husband, madam,' Mary Ann said. 'Come quick. He's ill.'

'What?' Florence said. 'Where is he?'

She jumped out of bed and ran into Charles's bedroom. Mary Ann followed. Charles was lying on the floor with Jane Cox sitting beside him. Florence knelt down and took his hand.

'Charlie, what's happened?' she said. 'Speak to me, darling – what's wrong?'

But he didn't answer. His eyes were closed and he looked half dead. Jane tried to get some coffee into his mouth again but it was no good. He didn't wake up.

'Have you sent for the doctor?' Florence asked.

'Yes, madam,' Mary Ann said. 'The groom has gone for Dr Harrison, in Streatham.'

Florence looked surprised and angry. 'But he lives two miles away, he'll be too late!' she said. 'Why didn't you send for Dr Moore? He lives nearer.' She ran downstairs screaming for one of the manservants. 'Get Dr Moore from Balham, as quickly as you can. Mr Bravo is very ill, he may be dying! Hurry, man, run!' Then she came back upstairs and knelt beside her husband again.

'Try to wake up, Charlie,' she said. 'Please, try. Don't leave me now.'

vomit v. to bring food from the stomach back out through the mouth 呕吐

mustard n. a thick yellow sauce, eaten cold with meat (used in the past as a medicine) 芥末

camphor n. a chemical with a strong smell, used in medicine 樟脑

9

女仆所见

上面这三种重要的说法就是弗洛伦丝·布拉沃、詹姆斯·格利医生和简·考克斯太太三个人于1876年七八月份在伦敦验尸庭研讯会上讲述的。他们的话里有实话，也许也有一些谎话。

但1876年的研讯会还听取了其他人的讲述，比如弗洛伦丝的女仆玛丽·安·基伯的讲述……

每天，女仆玛丽·安·基伯都会打扫普里奥里的几间卧室，并且生上火，让卧室暖和起来。她总会放一瓶饮用水在查尔斯·布拉沃的床边。然后到了晚上，她就是伺候查尔斯和弗洛伦丝，完成他们吩咐的任何事情。

4月18日周二的晚上，玛丽·安关上弗洛伦丝卧室的两扇门，带着两条狗下楼。但刚下了一半楼梯，其中一条狗又跑上楼去。当玛丽·安转身去喊那条狗时，她看见查尔斯·布拉沃打开了自己卧室的门。他脸色苍白，看上去很害怕。“弗洛伦丝！弗洛伦丝！”他大喊道，“热水！拿热水！”接着他跑回自己的房间。

玛丽·安很是惊讶。她等着弗洛伦丝或考克斯太太出来帮他，但她们都没有出来。也许她们没听见他的喊声，玛丽·安想。所以，她快步回到弗洛伦丝的卧室。弗洛伦丝闭着双眼躺在床上，简·考克斯坐在她身旁。玛丽·安告诉了简刚才发生的事。“快来，”她说，“布拉沃先生出事了！”

简·考克斯和玛丽·安来到查尔斯的卧室。她们看见查尔斯站在一扇敞开的窗户旁。他面如死灰，满脸是汗。“救命！”他叫道，“热水！给我热水！”他向窗外探出身子，吐在了下面的厨房房顶上。接着，他就倒在了地板上。

考克斯太太叫玛丽·安到楼下拿些热水上来。等玛丽·安回来后，她看见查尔斯坐在地板上，考克斯太太双手放在他的胸口。她是在帮查尔斯呼吸吧，玛丽·安想。

“拿些芥末来——快去！”考克斯太太说。于是玛丽·安再次跑下楼去。当她回来后，简·考克斯让她把芥末放到热水中，然后把查尔斯的双脚放了进去。

“这是帮助呕吐病人的老法子，”考克斯太太说，“用热芥末水搓他的双脚。”

玛丽·安试了一下，但查尔斯把水踢翻了，双目紧闭地倒在了地板上。于是，考克斯太太给了他一些热芥末水喝，再叫玛丽·安到楼下取了些热咖啡。但咖啡只是让查尔斯再次呕吐了起来，直接吐到了碗里。

“让马夫把哈里森医生请来，”考克斯太太告诉玛丽·安，“然后再去我的房间取点儿樟脑来。”

于是玛丽·安再次跑下楼去找马夫，接着又跑上楼，到考克斯太太的房间取樟脑。但她没找到。于是，她来到了弗洛伦丝的卧室。

弗洛伦丝正闭着双眼躺在床上。玛丽·安摇了摇她的胳膊，叫醒了她。

“怎么了？”弗洛伦丝问道，“出什么事了？”

“是您丈夫，夫人。”玛丽·安说，“快起来，他病了。”

“什么？”弗洛伦丝说，“他在哪里？”

她跳下床，跑进查尔斯的卧室。玛丽·安跟了进去。查尔斯躺在地板上，简·考克斯坐在他旁边。弗洛伦丝跪下来，抓住他的手。

“查利，你怎么了？”她说，“跟我说句话，亲爱的——出了什么事？”

但查尔斯没有回应。他两眼闭着，看上去奄奄一息的样子。简试着再给他喂点咖啡，但丝毫不起作用。他没有醒过来。

“你叫人去请医生了吗？”弗洛伦丝问道。

“叫了，夫人，”玛丽·安答道，“马夫已经去请斯特雷特姆的哈里森医生了。”

弗洛伦丝看上去又惊又怒，“但他住在两英里外的地方，来不及的！”她说，“为什么不去请穆尔医生？他住得近些。”她跑下楼，尖声叫着一个男仆的名字，“去把巴勒姆的穆尔医生请来，要尽快。布拉沃先生病得很重，他可能会死掉！快，小伙子，快去！”然后她跑上楼，再次跪在丈夫身边。

“醒醒，查利，”她说，“求你醒一醒。不要现在就离开我。”

10

What the doctors saw

During Charles Bravo's illness, he was seen by no fewer than five different doctors. And of course, the Coroner's enquiry took a great interest in what the doctors saw, and said, and thought ...

Dr Moore was the first doctor to arrive at The Priory on the night of Tuesday 18th April. He went upstairs to Charles Bravo's bedroom. A few minutes later, Dr Harrison arrived. Jane Cox met him at the front door.

'Mr Bravo has been sick several times,' she said. 'I think he has poisoned himself with chloroform.'

Dr Harrison went upstairs to the bedroom. Dr Moore was already there. 'This man is very ill,' he said. 'It's some kind of poison, but I don't know what it is.'

The two doctors looked around the room. There were two medicine bottles on a table: one said Chloroform, and the other Laudanum. Chloroform and laudanum were ordinary medicines. Many people in those days had them in their houses – they took them for headache or toothache. They weren't very dangerous; it would take an enormous amount of these medicines to kill somebody.

'He's not dying because of these medicines, is he?' said Dr Moore.

'No, I don't think so,' Dr Harrison agreed. 'He's far too ill for that.'

Florence Bravo was sitting on the bed beside her husband. She was washing his face with cool water.

'What's wrong with my husband, doctor?' she asked. 'He's not going to die, is he?'

Dr Moore put his hand on her arm. 'I'm sorry, Mrs Bravo,' he said. 'But your husband is really very ill. He has taken some terrible poison. He may not live long.'

Florence cried when he said that. She put her arms around her husband and kissed him. 'Oh, Charlie, please don't die!' she said. 'Come on, Charlie, you must get better. Speak to me – please don't leave me!'

But Charles was too ill to speak. The doctors gave him some medicine but it didn't help much. Florence watched, her face wet with tears. 'Charles's cousin is a doctor,' she said. 'Dr Royes Bell. He knows Charles very well – do you mind if I send for him?'

'No, that's all right,' Dr Harrison said. 'I'll write a letter for you.'

Dr Royes Bell knew Charles Bravo very well. He had met him in London that morning, and Charles had seemed happy and healthy as usual. He certainly said nothing about killing himself. So Dr Bell was very surprised when a letter from Dr Harrison arrived late that night.

Your cousin is very ill, the letter said. Please come quickly; I think he is dying.

Dr Royes Bell arrived at The Priory at about two o'clock in the morning. He brought with him another doctor, Dr George Johnson, who was both a friend and a well-known London doctor.

Charles was lying on his bed, asleep. His face was greyish white and he was breathing heavily. Dr Bell touched his face and his eyes opened.

'Charlie,' he said. 'Do you know who I am?'

For a moment Charles seemed not to understand, or recognize anybody around him. Then, after a minute, he said, 'Yes. You're Royes.'

'This is Dr Johnson,' Dr Bell said. 'We've come to help you, Charlie. How do you feel?'

'Terrible,' Charles answered. 'My stomach hurts. Let me out!' He suddenly jumped up and tried to get to the door, but the doctors held him and after a minute he fell back onto the bed. Dr Johnson gave him some medicine to take away the pain, and after a few minutes he began to look more comfortable.

Outside the room, the doctors spoke to Mrs Cox. 'You saw Mr Bravo first, before Dr Moore came,' Dr Johnson said. 'Did he say anything to you then?'

'Yes,' Mrs Cox answered. 'He said: "I've taken some of that poison; don't tell Florence."'

'Did he tell you what poison he took?'

'No,' Mrs Cox answered. 'Nothing more than that.'

When Dr Harrison heard this, he was angry. 'Why didn't you tell me that before?' he asked. 'You said he had taken chloroform, not poison.'

The doctors went back into Charles's bedroom. 'Charlie, have you taken poison?' Dr Johnson asked.

'I rubbed my teeth with laudanum; perhaps I drank a little by mistake,' Charles replied.

'Laudanum wouldn't make you ill like this.'

'Well, if it isn't laudanum, I don't know what it is,' Charles said.

Then Florence came back in. There were tears on her face and she looked very tired. Charles held out his arms to her. 'Kiss me, my wife,' he said. Florence went to the bed and kissed him. Then she lay down beside him and touched his face gently with her fingers. The two doctors watched.

'What a lot of trouble I'm giving you, florrie,' Charles said. 'Kiss me again. You've been the best of wives.'

'Oh, Charlie!' Florence said. 'What is the matter with you? What have you taken to make you so ill?'

Charles didn't answer. 'Oh, God help me!' he screamed in pain. Then he turned to his cousin and said: 'Royes, will I get better?'

'I hope so, Charlie, but you are very ill indeed.'

When Dr Bell said that, Charles looked frightened. 'Royes,' he said. 'Before I die, I want you to write something for me. Will you do that?'

Dr Bell wrote down Charles Bravo's words. I leave everything I have to my wife, Florence Bravo.

Charles sat up to write his name, and he and Dr Bell prayed to God together. Then he said: 'When I'm dead, Royes, look after Florence for me, will you? She's been the best of wives to me.'

At the Coroner's enquiry in July, some of the lawyers said that Florence killed her husband. But Charles's cousin, Dr Royes Bell, didn't believe that. Charles loved his wife, he told the lawyers. He left her everything. And Florence was very, very unhappy that night, when she saw her husband so ill. She called four doctors – Dr Moore, Dr Harrison, Dr Bell, and Dr Johnson. And on Thursday 20th April she sent for a fifth doctor, Dr William Gull.

Dr Gull was very famous and important, and was the doctor to Queen Victoria herself. He arrived at The Priory at six o'clock on Thursday evening. Charles Bravo was still alive, but he was very seriously ill.

'Mr Bravo, you have taken poison,' Dr Gull told him. 'Please tell me, who gave it to you?'

'I took it myself,' Charles Bravo said.

'What did you take?' Dr Gull asked.

'Laudanum,' Charles Bravo replied. 'I took some laudanum because I had toothache.'

'A little laudanum can't kill you, Mr Bravo,' Dr Gull said. 'What else did you take?'

'Nothing else. Only laudanum, doctor. That's all.'

'Mr Bravo, listen to me. You are very ill, you are going to die. It's important that you tell me the truth. What is this poison? If someone gave it to you, they wanted to kill you. Do you understand that?'

Charles Bravo shook his head slowly. 'It was only laudanum, doctor,' he said. 'No one gave it to me. I took it myself.'

That was the last thing he said to Dr Gull. A few hours later, Charles Bravo died. Five different doctors had seen him, and he told them all the same story. He had taken laudanum, he said, and then called for hot water to make himself sick.

'Where was he sick?' Dr Gull asked.

'Out of the window,' said Dr Johnson. 'Look, there. 'He picked up some of the vomit from the roof with a silver spoon and put it in a glass bottle. Dr Gull sent it to Professor Redwood, a famous scientist, in London. Professor Redwood looked at it carefully.

'The poison was antimony,' the Professor told the Coroner later. 'I found ten grains of it in the vomit in the glass bottle. There were probably thirty grains in his body. That's what killed him.'

'I found ten grains of antimony.'

The antimony destroyed Charles Bravo's stomach. He died very slowly, in great pain.

But how did the antimony get into his stomach? That is the question. Antimony is a white powder. You can put very small amounts of it in a glass of wine, but it makes the wine look strange and taste awful. But if you put a lot of antimony in water, no one will notice. You can't see it or smell it or taste it. You can drink it like ordinary water. But a few minutes later, you will be very ill indeed.

Every evening, Charles Bravo drank from the bottle of water beside his bed. The antimony was probably in the bottle. But who put the antimony in the water? Charles Bravo, or someone else?

Dr Gull thought he knew. 'No one else killed Charles Bravo,' he told Florence's father, Mr Campbell. 'Your daughter didn't kill him. He killed himself.'

But Charles's stepfather, Joseph Bravo, didn't agree. 'Charles was a strong, brave young man,' he said. 'He didn't kill himself. He was murdered.'

'Nonsense,' Florence's father said. 'Who wanted to kill him?'

'Ask your daughter,' Joseph Bravo said angrily. 'And her friends, Jane Cox and James Gully. One of them knows the answer, I'm sure.'

chloroform n. a strong chemical used in the past in medicine 氯仿

laudanum n. a drug used in the past to make people feel happy 鸦片酊

enormous adj. very big 巨大的，庞大的

grain n. a very, very small amount of some medicines 格令（重量单位，约等于0.06克，用于称量药品）

10

医生所见

查尔斯·布拉沃生病期间，不下五名医生前来诊治过。当然，研讯会上验尸官对医生们的见闻、所说的话和观点当然很感兴趣。

4月18日周二那天晚上，穆尔医生最先到达普里奥里。他上楼来到查尔斯·布拉沃的卧室。几分钟后，哈里森医生也来了。简·考克斯在前门迎接的他。

“布拉沃先生吐过几回，”她说，“我认为他服用氯仿中毒了。”

哈里森医生上楼来到卧室。穆尔医生已经在那里了，“这个人病得很重，”他说，“是中毒的症状，但我不知道中的什么毒。”

两位医生看了看房间。一张桌子上放着两个药瓶：一个上面写的是“氯仿”，另一个是“鸦片酊”。氯仿和鸦片酊都是常用药。当时许多人家里都备有这两种药——用于治疗头痛和牙痛。他们毒性不高，要大量服用才会致命。

“他现在这个样子并不是因为吃了这些药，对吧？”穆尔医生说。

“对，我也这样认为。”哈里森医生表示赞同，“他病得太重了，不像是那些药造成的。”

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃挨着床上的丈夫坐着，她正用凉水给他洗脸。

“我丈夫怎么了，医生？”她问道，“他不会死的，对吗？”

穆尔医生把手放在她胳膊上，“很遗憾，布拉沃太太。”他说，“您丈夫真的病得很重。他服下了某种可怕的毒药，可能时日不多了。”

穆尔医生说这话时，弗洛伦丝就哭了。她搂着丈夫，亲吻他。“噢，查利，求你不要死！”她哭着说，“来，查利，你必须好起来。跟我说句话——求你别抛下我！”

但查尔斯已经虚弱得说不出话来了。医生们给他服了些药，但作用并不大。弗洛伦丝看着这一切，脸上挂满泪水。“查尔斯的堂兄是医生，”她说，“就是罗伊斯·贝尔医生。他非常了解查尔斯——两位介意我请他过来吗？”

“不，不介意，”哈里森医生说，“我替您写信。”

罗伊斯·贝尔医生非常了解查尔斯·布拉沃。出事那天早上，他还在伦敦见过查尔斯，当时查尔斯看上去和平常一样开心、健康。他肯定没说起自杀的事。所以那天深夜，贝尔医生收到哈里森医生的来信时非常惊讶。

您堂弟病重，信上说，请速来，我想他是没救了。

凌晨两点时，罗伊斯·贝尔医生到达了普里奥里。他还带来了另一位医生—他的朋友乔治·约翰逊医生——一位伦敦名医。

查尔斯正躺在床上睡着。他面如死灰，呼吸沉重。贝尔医生摸了摸他的脸，他的眼睛睁开了。

“查利，”他说，“你知道我是谁吗？”

一时间查尔斯好像没听明白，又或是没有认出身边的任何人。一分钟后，他说：“知道，你是罗伊斯。”

“这位是约翰逊医生，”贝尔医生说，“我们是来帮你的，查利。你现在感觉怎么样？”

“很糟糕，”查尔斯答道，“我胃疼。让我出去！”他突然跳起来，想跑到门口，但医生们拦住了他。一分钟后，他又倒在了床上。约翰逊医生给他开了些镇痛药，几分钟后，他看上去舒服些了。

房间外面，医生们在和考克斯太太说话。“在穆尔医生到来之前，是你最先发现的布拉沃先生。”约翰逊医生说，“他当时跟你说过些什么吗？”

“嗯，”考克斯太太说，“他说，‘我服了些那种毒药，别告诉弗洛伦丝。’”

“他跟你说了是什么毒药吗？”

“没有，”考克斯太太答道，“他只说了那句话。”

哈里森医生听到此话便暴跳如雷。“你为什么不早告诉我？”他问道，“你说他服用的是氯仿，不是毒药。”

几位医生回到查尔斯的卧室，“查利，你服毒了吗？”约翰逊医生问道。

“我用鸦片酊擦了擦牙，也许我误服了一点儿。”查尔斯回答说。

“鸦片酊不会让你病得这么重。”

“嗯，如果不是鸦片酊，那我就不知道是什么了。”查尔斯说道。

这时，弗洛伦丝走了进来。她脸上挂着泪珠，看上去非常疲惫。查尔斯向她伸出双手，“亲我一下，老婆。”他说。弗洛伦丝来到床前亲吻了他。然后她在查尔斯身边躺下来，用手指轻抚他的脸庞。两名医生看着这一切。

“看我给你带来了多少麻烦呀，弗洛丽。”查尔斯说，“再亲我一下。你是天底下最好的妻子。”

“噢，查利！”弗洛伦丝叫道，“你这是怎么了？你吃了什么，病得这样重？”

查尔斯没有说话。“啊，上帝帮帮我！”他痛苦地尖叫道。接着他转向他的堂兄，问：“罗伊斯，我会好起来吗？”

“但愿如此，但是查利，你的确病得不轻。”

听贝尔医生这么说，查尔斯看上去吓坏了。“罗伊斯，”他说，“我死之前，我想让你帮我写点儿东西，行吗？”

贝尔医生记下了查尔斯·布拉沃的话：我把我拥有的一切都留给我的妻子，弗洛伦丝·布拉沃。

查尔斯坐起来签了字，并和贝尔医生一起做了祷告。然后，他说：“我死后，罗伊斯，替我照顾弗洛伦丝，好吗？她是天底下最好的妻子。”

在七月份的验尸庭研讯会上，一些律师说是弗洛伦丝杀害了她的丈夫。但查尔斯的堂兄罗伊斯·贝尔医生不信，他告诉那些律师查尔斯爱他的妻子，并且把一切都留给了弗洛伦丝。那天晚上弗洛伦丝看到丈夫病得如此严重时，她也非常非常伤心。她请了四名医生——穆尔医生、哈里森医生、贝尔医生和约翰逊医生。4月20日星期四那天，她还派人请来了第五位医生，威廉·古尔医生。

古尔医生非常有名，也非常权威，是维多利亚女王的御用医生。星期四晚上六点，他到达了普里奥里。查尔斯·布拉沃还活着，但病得很重。

“布拉沃先生，你服用了毒药，”古尔医生跟他说，“请告诉我，谁给你的毒药？”

“我自己吃的。”查尔斯·布拉沃说。

“你吃的什么？”古尔医生问道。

“鸦片酊，”查尔斯·布拉沃回答说，“我吃了些鸦片酊，因为我牙疼。”

“一点儿鸦片酊不会要你的命，布拉沃先生。”古尔医生说，“你还吃了什么？”

“没了。只吃了鸦片酊，医生，就是这样。”

“布拉沃先生，听我说。你病得不轻，现在差不多已经到鬼门关了，赶紧跟我说实话。你吃了什么毒药？如果是别人给你的，他们就是想害你。你明白吗？”

查尔斯·布拉沃缓缓地摇了摇头，“我真的只吃了鸦片酊，医生。”他说，“不是别人给我的，是我自己吃的。”

这就是查尔斯对古尔医生说的最后一句话。几个小时后，查尔斯·布拉沃离开了人世。来了五位医生为他诊治，而查尔斯跟他们每个人说的话都是一样的。他服下了鸦片酊，他说，然后就要了热水让自己呕吐。

“他吐在哪儿了？”古尔医生问道。

“吐在了窗外。”约翰逊医生说，“看，就在那儿。”他用一把银勺子从房顶上取下一些呕吐物，然后把它放进一个玻璃瓶中。古尔医生叫人把它送到雷德伍德教授那里。雷德伍德教授是伦敦著名的科学家，他仔细查看了呕吐物。

“毒药是锑。”教授后来告诉验尸官说，“我从玻璃瓶中的呕吐物里发现了10格令锑。他体内大约有30格令锑，这些锑就是害死查尔斯的元凶。”

锑毁了查尔斯·布拉沃的胃。他没有立即死去，而是被慢慢地折磨至死。

但锑是如何进到他胃中的呢？这是问题所在。锑是一种白色粉末。你可以往一杯酒里放入一点儿，可这会让酒看上去很奇怪，也很难喝。但如果你把大量的锑放入水中，却没有人会发现。你看不出、闻不出，也尝不出来。你可能会把它当成普通的水一样喝下去。但几分钟后，你就会非常难受。

每天晚上，查尔斯·布拉沃都会喝他床边的那瓶水。锑可能就放在那瓶水中了。但是谁把锑放在水中的呢？是查尔斯·布拉沃自己，还是别的什么人？

古尔医生以为自己知道了答案。“没有杀人凶手。”他跟弗洛伦丝的父亲坎贝尔先生说，“不是您女儿害死他的，他是自杀的。”

但查尔斯的继父约瑟夫·布拉沃不同意这种说法。“查尔斯是个坚强勇敢的年轻人，”他说，“他没有自杀。他是被人害死的。”

“胡说，”弗洛伦丝的父亲说，“谁想害死他呢？”

“问问您女儿，”约瑟夫·布拉沃气愤地说，“还有她的朋友，简·考克斯和詹姆斯·格利。他们当中有人知道答案，我敢肯定。”

11

The mystery

Did Charles Bravo kill himself, or was he murdered? After listening to everyone's story, the Coroner came to a decision.

"After listening to everyone's story, the Coroner came to a decision."

The Times

Friday 11th August 1876

Charles Bravo Murdered!

Yesterday the Coroner read out this decision: 'Mr Charles Bravo did not commit suicide and he did not die by accident. He was murdered with the poison antimony. But it is impossible to say which person – or persons – killed him.'

But was the Coroner right? And if so, who killed Charles Bravo? Over the years since 1876, many books and television programmes have asked these questions. But they have all given different answers.

The police learnt that the coachman, George Griffiths, was in Kent when Charles Bravo died, and his new employer said that was true. So Griffiths was not the murderer, but was he telling the truth when he said there was no antimony left in the stables? Perhaps there was some antimony left there – and someone found it, and used it. Or perhaps the antimony didn't come from the stables at all.

Here are the four main possible answers to the mystery.

First possible answer: Charles Bravo killed himself

It is difficult to believe that Charles Bravo meant to kill himself. Why would he do that? He was young and healthy, he seemed happy, he had a rich wife – he had every reason to live. And to die from antimony is a very painful, horrible death.

But perhaps he killed himself by accident. Is that possible? Think about it. Charles Bravo was not a very nice man. He married Florence for her money, not because he loved her. He hit her when she argued with him. She drank a lot of wine, and he didn't like that. Maybe he found the antimony in the stables, and put a little in her wine, to stop her drinking. After all, Florence did that to her first husband.

If he was using antimony in this way, perhaps he put some antimony in his water bottle by mistake; then forgot about it, and later drank from the bottle when he was thirsty.

Mrs Cox said he told her: 'I have taken some of that poison.' Did he really say that? And did Mrs Cox know which poison he was talking about? Probably not. She told Dr Harrison he had taken chloroform.

But then, if Charles knew he had taken antimony by mistake, why didn't he tell the doctors about it? 'I only took laudanum, nothing else,' he told them. And laudanum didn't kill him.

Second possible answer: Dr Gully killed Charles Bravo

Dr Gully loved Florence. He wanted to marry her. He hated Charles Bravo, and he was worried and angry when Jane Cox told him that Charles sometimes hit Florence. Did Dr Gully write that letter to Charles Bravo saying: 'You don't love her. You just wanted her money, that's all.' ? Charles Bravo certainly thought so.

Dr Gully certainly wrote to Mrs Cox, and sent her medicine for her mother. He was a doctor, he could easily buy antimony if he wanted. And maybe he thought: 'If Charles Bravo is dead, then Florence will come back to me.'

But then, how could he get into the house, and into Charles Bravo's bedroom, to put the poison in the water bottle? No one saw him there; he hadn't been inside the house for months. But perhaps he did buy the antimony. And perhaps another person put it in the water bottle. Jane Cox, perhaps? Or Florence?

Dr Gully lived until 1882. The last years of his life were unhappy. No other doctors would speak to him or read his books. He didn't spend much time with Florence, either. She wasn't interested in him any more.

Third possible answer: Jane Cox killed Charles Bravo

Jane Cox was Florence's companion and her friend. She knew and liked Dr Gully but she thought he was too old for Florence. So she introduced her to a younger man, Charles Bravo.

At first she thought Charles was a good husband for Florence, but she soon changed her mind. He was angry and unkind; he hit Florence when she argued with him. He got rid of many servants, and he tried to get rid of Jane Cox, too. So Jane Cox would lose her friend, and her job. She had three sons at school – how would she pay for them?

Mrs Cox knew Charles Bravo drank from his water bottle every night. She could easily go into his bedroom and put antimony in the bottle.

There are many questions about Jane Cox.

When Charles opened his bedroom door, shouting for hot water, why didn't Mrs Cox come out? She wasn't asleep. But she did nothing until the maid, Mary Ann, came to fetch her. And then, when she went into Charles's bedroom, she sent Mary Ann out, again and again. Why? Because she wanted to be alone with Charles, perhaps? What did she do when she was alone with him? Give him more poison, perhaps? Burn the rest of the antimony on the fire? Clean out the water bottle, to make sure there were no grains of antimony left inside?

Why did she send for Dr Harrison, when Dr Moore lived much closer? Was she telling the truth, about what Charles said to her?

Some people say that Mrs Cox did it, because she was afraid of losing her job. She was a poor widow and needed the money.

But there is a problem with this, too. Jane Cox's aunt, who lived in Jamaica, was very rich. And her aunt was dying. A month before Charles Bravo died, this rich aunt had left all her money to Mrs Cox's sons.

So Jane Cox didn't really need a job any more. And after Charles's death, she stopped working for Florence. She took her sons to Jamaica, and lived in a big house there. She was a rich lady, and died in 1917, aged ninety.

Perhaps she did kill Charles Bravo. But she didn't do it for the money.

Fourth possible answer: Florence killed Charles Bravo

Florence's first husband, Alexander Ricardo, died because he drank too much. Before she left him, Florence tried to stop him drinking by putting small amounts of antimony in his wine, to make him sick.

Florence was a very rich young woman. She had a fine house, with lots of servants and horses. She liked to do things her own way. But she lived at a time when men told women what to do. When a man married a woman, all her money belonged to him. If a wife argued with her husband, the husband often hit her.

When Alexander hit her, Florence ran away, to Dr Gully. Dr Gully was the only man in her life who was kind to her. But she couldn't marry him, because he was too old and his wife was still alive. So she married Charles Bravo instead.

She was only married to Charles for five months. They had many arguments, and he often hit her. He sold her horses; he got rid of her coachman, George Griffiths. They argued about money, they argued about servants, they argued about her drinking. She lost her baby, and he tried to get rid of her friend, Jane Cox. Florence had many reasons to hate him.

Was she really asleep, when he drank the poison? Charles shouted for help outside her bedroom, but she didn't hear him. She lay in bed with her eyes closed.

Did she find some antimony in the stables? Did she put the antimony into his water bottle?

But then, when she woke up, she tried hard to save him. She sent for five different doctors. All the doctors thought she was very upset. And Charles didn't think she had killed him. 'You've been the best of wives,' he said. His cousin, Dr Royes Bell, heard him. Charles left all his money to her.

After the enquiry, Florence Bravo left The Priory and went to live in Southsea, on the south coast of England. Her brother invited her to start a new life with him in Australia, but she refused. In Southsea she was lonely and unhappy. She didn't talk to Jane Cox or Dr Gully. She drank more and more wine every day. In September 1878, two years after her husband's death, she died. She had killed herself by drinking so much alcohol. She was thirty-three years old.

So did she love her husband, or did she kill him?

No one knows.

11

疑点

查尔斯·布拉沃是自杀还是他杀？听了以上各位的讲述，验尸官作出了结论。

《泰晤士报》

1876年8月11日，星期五

查尔斯·布拉沃遇害！

昨天验尸官宣读了这一结论：查尔斯·布拉沃先生不是自杀，也不是意外死亡。他是被锑毒死的。但是有关于是哪个人或哪些人杀害了他，还尚无定论。

但是验尸官的结论正确吗？如果是正确的，那是谁害死了查尔斯·布拉沃呢？1876年以来的这些年里，许多书和电视节目都提出了这些问题，但他们都给出了不同的答案。

警方得知，查尔斯·布拉沃去世时马车夫乔治·格里菲思人在肯特。对此，乔治的新雇主可以作证。因此，格里菲思不可能杀人。但他说马厩里没剩下锑是不是实话呢？也许马厩里还剩下了一点儿锑——有人发现了它，并把它派上了用场。也或许，那些锑根本就不来自于马厩。

下面是对查尔斯·布拉沃离奇死亡的四种主要可能性解释：

第一种可能性解释：查尔斯·布拉沃自杀说

很难让人相信，查尔斯·布拉沃是有意要自杀的。他为什么要自杀呢？他年轻，健康，看上去很快乐，还有个富有的妻子——他完全没有理由自杀。而且，锑中毒而死是一个非常痛苦而可怕的死法。

不过，也许是他不小心误伤了自己。这可能吗？想想看。查尔斯·布拉沃不是一个非常和善的人。他娶弗洛伦丝是因为看上了她的钱，而不是爱她。当她跟他争辩时，他还打她。弗洛伦丝爱喝酒，他不喜欢这一点。也许他在马厩里发现了锑，就放了一点儿在她的酒里，以阻止她喝酒。毕竟，弗洛伦丝对她的首任丈夫也这样干过。

如果他这样使用锑，也许他就误把一些锑放进了自己的水瓶里，然后就忘了这件事，后来他口渴时，就喝下了水瓶中的水。

考克斯太太说查尔斯告诉她，“我服了些那种毒药。”他真的说过这话吗？考克斯太太知道他指的是哪种毒药吗？很可能不知道。她告诉哈里森医生说他服了氯仿。

但是，如果当时查尔斯知道自己误服了锑，他为什么不告诉医生呢？“我只吃了鸦片酊，没吃别的。”他跟几个医生这样说，而鸦片酊是不足以致命的。

第二种可能性解释：格利医生害人说

格利医生爱弗洛伦丝。他想要娶她。他恨查尔斯·布拉沃，当简·考克斯告诉他说查尔斯有时会打弗洛伦丝时，他又急又怒。那封写给查尔斯·布拉沃，写有“你不爱她，你就是想要她的钱，仅此而已。”的信是格利医生写的吗？查尔斯·布拉沃肯定是这样想的。

当然，格利医生给考克斯太太写过信，还把给她母亲治病的药寄给了她。他是医生，如果他需要锑，他很轻易就能买得到。也许格利医生是这样想的：“如果查尔斯·布拉沃死了，弗洛伦丝就会回到我身边。”

但是，格利医生怎么能进入房子，走进查尔斯·布拉沃的卧室，并把毒药放入水瓶中呢？没有人在现场看到他，他已经有几个月都不去他们家了。但也许他确实买了些锑，然后是另一个人把锑倒进了水瓶中。可能是简·考克斯？抑或是弗洛伦丝？

格利医生于1882年去世。他在世的最后几年过得并不开心。没有医生愿意跟他说话，愿意看他写的书。他与弗洛伦丝呆在一起的时间也不多。她已不再对他感兴趣了。

第三种可能性解释：简·考克斯害人说

简·考克斯是弗洛伦丝的陪护兼朋友。她认识格利医生，也很喜欢他。但她觉得格利医生年纪太大了，配不上弗洛伦丝。所以，她把弗洛伦丝介绍给了更年轻的查尔斯·布拉沃。

一开始，她以为查尔斯会是弗洛伦丝的如意郎君，但很快她就改变了看法。查尔斯脾气暴躁，人也不和善，弗洛伦丝和他争辩时还打她。他解雇了很多仆人，连简·考克斯也想撵走。这样简·考克斯不仅会没了朋友，还会丢了工作。她有三个儿子在念书——她哪来钱养他们呢？

考克斯太太知道，查尔斯·布拉沃每天晚上都会喝水瓶中的水。她能轻易地进入他的卧室，并把锑放到水瓶中。

简·考克斯有很多疑点。

查尔斯打开卧室房门，喊着要热水时，考克斯太太为什么没有出来？她并没有睡着。直到女仆玛丽·安来叫她，她才去帮忙。后来当她走进查尔斯的卧室时，她一次一次地把玛丽·安支出卧室。这是为什么？也许是因为她想和查尔斯单独呆在一起？当她和查尔斯单独呆在卧室时，她又做了些什么？也许给了他更多的毒药？或者把剩下的锑都丢进炉子里烧掉了？或者清洗干净水瓶，以确保里面没有剩下一点儿锑？

她为什么要叫人去请哈里森医生，而不是住得近很多的穆尔医生？她把查尔斯跟她讲的话如实转述了吗？

一些人认为是考克斯太太害了查尔斯，因为她害怕丢了工作。她是一个穷寡妇，需要工作来养家糊口。

但这其中也有说不通的地方。简·考克斯有一个姑姑住在牙买加，她非常富有，而且身体已经不行了。在查尔斯·布拉沃去世前的一个月，这位富有的姑姑就把她所有的钱都留给了考克斯太太的儿子们。

因此，简·考克斯实际上没必要再工作了。查尔斯去世后，她就不再为弗洛伦丝工作了。她带着三个儿子去了牙买加，住进了当地的一所大宅子。她成了一位富有的夫人，之后于1917年去世，享年90岁。

也许是她毒死了查尔斯·布拉沃，但她这么做肯定不是为了钱。

第四种可能性解释：弗洛伦丝害人说

弗洛伦丝的首任丈夫，亚历山大·里卡多，就是因为酗酒而死的。但在弗洛伦丝离开亚历山大之前，曾经在他的酒里放过少量的锑使他呕吐，想以此来让他戒酒。

弗洛伦丝是一个年轻富有的女人。她有一幢漂亮的房子、一大堆仆人和一大群马匹。她喜欢按自己的方式行事。但她生活的时代却要求女人对男人唯命是从。当一个男人娶妻后，妻子的一切财产都归丈夫所有。一旦妻子和丈夫发生口角，做丈夫的还常常打妻子。

当亚历山大打弗洛伦丝时，她跑了，跑到了格利医生那里。格利医生是弗洛伦丝一生中唯一对她好的男人。但是她不能嫁给他，因为他年纪太大了，而且他老婆还健在。所以，弗洛伦丝嫁给了查尔斯·布拉沃。

她和查尔斯结婚仅五个月。他们经常吵架，查尔斯还经常对她拳脚相向。他卖了她的马，赶走了她的马车夫乔治·格里菲思。他们为钱争吵，为仆人争吵，为弗洛伦丝喝酒争吵。弗洛伦丝流产了，而查尔斯还要解雇她的朋友简·考克斯。弗洛伦丝恨他也是情理之中的事。

查尔斯喝下毒药时，弗洛伦丝真的睡着了吗？查尔斯在她卧室外大喊救命，她却没有听见。她闭着眼睛躺在床上。

她在马厩里找到锑了吗？是弗洛伦丝把锑放入他的水瓶中的吗？

但是，当她醒来时，她努力想挽救他的性命。她叫人请来了五名医生。所有医生都认为她非常伤心。查尔斯也认为不是弗洛伦丝害的他。你是天底下最好的妻子。”他说。他的堂兄罗伊斯·贝尔医生听到了这番话。查尔斯把所有钱财都留给了弗洛伦丝。

研讯会后，弗洛伦丝·布拉沃离开普里奥里，来到了英格兰南部沿海的南海定居。弗洛伦丝的弟弟邀请她一起去澳大利亚开始新的生活，但她拒绝了。在南海，她很孤独，郁郁寡欢。她既不和简·考克斯联系，也不和格利医生联系。她每天都喝酒，一天比一天喝得多。1878年9月，在丈夫去世两年后，弗洛伦丝也离开了人世。她是因酗酒而死的，死时年仅33岁。

那么，弗洛伦丝是爱自己的丈夫呢，还是杀害了自己的丈夫呢？

没有人知道。

ACTIVITIES

Before Reading

1　Read the story introduction and the back cover of the book. How much do you know now about the story? Choose T (True) or NT(Not True) for each sentence.

1) In Queen Victoria's time, husbands could tell their wives what to do.

2) Florence's lover was nicer to her than her first husband was.

3) The doctors did not know what killed Charles Bravo.

4) Everybody knew who had killed Charles Bravo.

5) Florence met Dr Gully before she married Charles Bravo.

6) Nobody had any reason for wanting to kill Charles Bravo.

2　Do you agree (A), slightly disagree (S), or strongly disagree (D) with these ideas?

1) Women should leave their husbands if they are cruel.

2) It is right for women to obey their husbands in everything.

3) If it is all right for a husband to beat a wife, then it must also be all right for a wife to beat a husband.

4) If a husband is not kind to his wife, she should ask her friends to help her.

5) It is always wrong to murder somebody.

ACTIVITIES

While Reading

As you read this book, and the different stories told by Florence Bravo, Dr Gully, and Jane Cox, stop at the places listed below. Before you read on, think about the big question in this story.

Read Chapters 1 to 3, and then think about this ...

·　Who killed Charles Bravo? What do you think at this point in the story?

Read Chapters 4 and 5, and then think about this ...

·　Who killed Charles Bravo? Has your opinion changed? Why, or why not?

Read Chapters 6 and 7, and then think about this ...

·　Who killed Charles Bravo? Are you more sure, or less sure, than before? Did more than one person do it?

If yes, which people did it?

Read Chapter 8, and then think about this ...

·　Who killed Charles Bravo? What has changed now?

Is there anything suspicious in Florence's story?

Read Chapter 9, and then think about this ...

·　Who killed Charles Bravo? Do you expect to learn anything new from the doctors, or have you made up your mind? Who is the most probable killer, and who is the least probable killer, in your opinion?

ACTIVITIES

After Reading

1　So who killed Charles Bravo? Was it murder, or did he kill himself by accident? What do you think? Write three or four sentences to explain your ideas.

2　Fill in the gaps with names, and match the parts of sentences together. Then choose the best linking words to join them.

Charles Bravo / Florence Bravo / Jane Cox / Dr Gully / Mary Ann Keeber / Alexander Ricardo

1) _____ wanted to marry Florence ...

2) _____ did not want to leave her job ...

3) _____ wanted Florence's money for himself ...

4) _____ started drinking a lot ...

5) _____ put the bottle of drinking water in Charles Bravo's room every night ...

6) _____ thought that at last she had found the perfect husband ...

7) when / because she thought Charles would hit Florence again.

8) but / so she had no reason to kill him.

9) when / until she met Charles Bravo.

10) because / but he had a wife already.

11) after / so he left the army.

12) and / so he got rid of three horses and two gardeners.

3　Perhaps this is what some of the other characters in this story think about the Bravos. Which characters are they?

1) 'I wasn't sad when I heard the news. I liked working for her, because she cared about the horses. But him! He only cared about money, and he didn't listen to anybody. I didn't kill him, but I'm not surprised that he's dead ...'

2) 'I was halfway down the stairs when Mr Bravo opened his door and started shouting for hot water. Why didn't Mrs Bravo or Mrs Cox hear him? He shouted loudly enough. I think it's very strange that they didn't hear him ...'

3) 'I liked working at The Priory. Mrs Ricardo was a beautiful, kind lady, and she liked to talk about the flowers in her garden, and about my family. And then suddenly, after the wedding, I had to look for a new job. Well, it's the husband's job to decide about these things. But I know this – she was happier before she married him ...'

4) 'Something very strange happened, I'm sure of that. He was a healthy young man when he lived with us, and I liked him very much. He was like a son to me. Why did he die? I think Florence knows something about it. She's lost two husbands – that's not good. Perhaps Jane Cox helped her. I don't think he killed himself – and his mother doesn't think so either ...'

5) 'He was happy and well when I saw him earlier that day. He wasn't thinking about suicide. I'm sure that he loved Florence – he called her 'the best of wives'. Those were his actual words to me that night. And she loved him too ...'

4　There are 20 words from the story in this word search. Find the words (they go from left to right, and from top to bottom) and draw lines through them. The words are 4 letters or longer, and there is one plural noun.

Now look at the word search again, and write down all the letters without a line through them. Begin with the first line, and go across each line to the end. You should have 21 letters, which will make a sentence of 5 words.

1) What is the hidden sentence?

2) Do you agree with it? Explain why you agree, or don't agree.

5　Imagine that Florence was tried for murder. Here are two speeches by the lawyers; the first says that Florence did murder Charles, the second says that she did not. Choose one suitable word to fill each gap. Which lawyer do you believe?

1) 'Florence Bravo is a _____. She thought that Charles would be the _____ husband. But when she _____ out that she was_____, she decided to kill him. She had used _____ before, when she tried to stop her _____ husband from drinking. And she was friendly with her _____, George Griffiths, who_____ antimony in the stables. Of _____ she sent for a lot of doctors. She _____ everybody to think that she _____ Charles and wanted him to live. But really she wanted to get _____ of him.'

2) '_____ would Florence kill Charles? He was young and handsome, and she _____ being with him. Of course they_____ sometimes – but lots of husbands and _____ argue, and they don't kill _____ other! Florence got upset easily, that's all. Florence wanted to have _____, and she could not do that _____ Charles. Other _____ hated Charles, and it is not difficult to get antimony. No, Charles _____ she was the _____ of wives, and he was right.'

6　What did you think about the people in this story? Fill in names where needed, and complete these sentences in your own words.

1) I felt sorry for _____ because ________.

2) I think _____ was the luckiest person because ________.

3) I think _____ was right to ________.

4) I think _____ was wrong to ________.

5) I liked _____ because ________.

6) I didn't like _____ because ________.

7) I think the strangest part of the story is when ________.

Table of Contents

总目录

书虫·牛津英汉双语读物：第3级上

目录

弗兰肯斯坦

封面

扉页

版权页

简介

Chapter 1

第一章

Victor Frankenstein's Story Begins　维克多的故事开始了

Chapter 2

第二章

Chapter 3

第三章

Chapter 4

第四章

Chapter 5

第五章

Chapter 6

第六章

The Monster's Story　怪物的故事

Chapter 7

第七章

Chapter 8

第八章

Chapter 9

第九章

Victor Frankenstein Continues His Story　维克多·弗兰肯斯坦继续讲他的故事

Chapter 10

第十章

Chapter 11

第十一章

Chapter 12

第十二章

Chapter 13

第十三章

Chapter 14

第十四章

Captain Walton's Note　沃尔顿船长的记录

Chapter 15

第十五章

Exercises

封底

野性的呼唤

封面

扉页

版权页

简介

1．To the north

北部之旅

2．The law of club and tooth

暴力原则

3．The wild animal

野性

4．The new lead-dog

新的头犬

5．More hard work

更艰苦的工作

6．For the love of a man

为了一个人的爱

7．The call of the wild

野性的呼唤

Exercises

封底

秘密花园

封面

扉页

版权页

简介

1．Little Miss Mary

幼年的玛丽小姐

2．Mary in Yorkshire

玛丽在约克郡的日子

3．Finding the secret garden

找到秘密花园

4．Meeting Dickon

见到狄肯

5．Meeting Colin

见到柯林

6．Colin is afraid

柯林害怕了

7．Colin and the garden

柯林在花园里

8．Mr Craven comes home

克莱文先生回家了

Exercises

封底

曾达的囚徒

封面

扉页

版权页

简介

1．The Rassendylls － and the Elphbergs

拉森狄尔家族与艾尔弗伯格家族

2．The colour of men's hair

头发的颜色

3．The King goes to his coronation

国王加冕

4．My adventures begin

我的历险开始了

5．His Majesty returns to Strelsau

国王回到斯特莱索

6．An adventure with a tea-table

茶桌历险

7．For love of the King

为了对国王的爱

8．Back to Zenda

回到曾达

9．News of the prisoner

有关囚犯的消息

10．A night outside the castle

城堡外的一夜

11．A dangerous plan

一个危险的计划

12．The prisoner and the King

囚徒与国王

13．Goodbye to Ruritania

告别卢里塔尼亚

Exercises

封底

爱丽丝镜中世界奇遇记

封面

扉页

版权页

简介

1．Looking-glass house

镜子屋

2．The garden of live flowers

会说话的花园

3．Looking-glass animals

镜中动物

4．Tweedledum and Tweedledee

特威丹与特威帝

5．The White Queen

白方王后

6．Humpty Dumpty

胖墩儿

7．The Lion and the Unicorn

狮子与独角兽

8．The White Knight

白衣骑士

9．Queen Alice

爱丽丝王后

10．Shaking

摇晃

11．Waking

苏醒

12．Who dreamed it?

谁做的梦？

Exercises

封底

风语河岸柳

封面

扉页

版权页

简介

1．The river

河

2．The open road

宽敞的公路

3．The Wild Wood

野树林

4．A meeting with Mr Badger

与獾先生相遇

5．A lesson for Mr Toad

给癞蛤蟆先生的教训

6．Toad's adventures

癞蛤蟆的冒险经历

7．Return to Toad Hall

重返蛤蟆宅第

Exercises

Glossary

封底

神秘及幻想故事集

封面

扉页

版权页

简介

The Fall of the House of Usher

鄂榭府崩溃记

The Black Cat

黑猫

The Masque of the Red Death

红死魔假面舞会

William Wilson

威廉·威尔逊

The Tell-Tale Heart

泄密的心

Exercises

封底

铁路少年

封面

扉页

版权页

内容简介

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN

1．The beginning of things

故事的开始

2．Peter and the coal

彼得与煤

3．The old gentleman

老先生

4．Bobbie's ride

博比的旅行

5．Saving the train

拯救火车

6．A birthday for Perks

珀克斯的生日

7．The terrible secret

可怕的秘密

8．The boy in the red shirt

穿红衬衣的男孩儿

9．The man at the station

车站上的人

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

封底

三个陌生人

封面

扉页

版权页

内容简介

THE THREE STRANGERS and Other Stories

THE THREE STRANGERS　三个陌生人

1．The first stranger

第一个陌生人

2．The second stranger

第二个陌生人

3．The third stranger

第三个陌生人

WHAT THE SHEPHERD SAW　牧羊人所见

1．First night

第一夜

2．Second night

第二夜

3．Third night

第三夜

4．Fourth night

第四夜

A MOMENT OF MADNESS　一时冲动

1．A wedding is arranged

订婚

2．A chance meeting

偶遇

3．Baptista gets married

结婚

4．The honeymoon

蜜月

5．Secrets discovered

泄密

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

封底

伊桑·弗罗姆

封面

扉页

版权页

内容简介

ETHAN FROME

1．Beginnings

开端

2．Coming home from the dance

舞会归家路

3．A visit to the doctor

求诊

4．An evening together

共度一夜

5．Zeena's news

齐娜的消息

6．No escape

无处可逃

7．The last ride

最后一段行程

8．Endings

结局

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

封底

封底

书虫·牛津英汉双语读物：第3级下

目录

圣诞欢歌

封面

扉页

版权页

简　介

1　Marley's ghost

马利的鬼魂

2　The first of the three spirits

三幽灵中的第一位

3　The second of the three spirits

三幽灵中的第二位

4　The last of the spirits

最后一位幽灵

5　The end of the story

故事的结尾

Exercises

封底

多里安·格雷的画像

封面

扉页

版权页

简　介

The Artist　画家

Chapter 1

第一章

Chapter 2

第二章

The Friend　朋友

Chapter 3

第三章

Chapter 4

第四章

Chapter 5

第五章

The Young Man in Love　恋爱中的年轻人

Chapter 6

第六章

Chapter 7

第七章

Chapter 8

第八章

The Death of Love　爱情的死亡

Chapter 9

第九章

Chapter 10

第十章

The Thief of Time　时间窃贼

Chapter 11

第十一章

The Hand of a Killer　杀人者的手

Chapter 12

第十二章

Chapter 13

第十三章

The Sailor　水手

Chapter 14

第十四章

Chapter 15

第十五章

The Picture　画像

Chapter 16

第十六章

Chapter 17

第十七章

Exercises

封底

勃朗特一家的故事

封面

扉页

版权页

简　介

1．Haworth

霍沃思

2．Cowan Bridge School

考恩桥学校

3．The little books

小书

4．Growing up

长大

5．Looking for work

找工作

6．Monsieur Héger and Mrs Robinson

埃热先生和鲁滨逊太太

7．Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell

柯勒、埃利斯和阿克顿·贝尔

8．The best days, and the worst days

最好的和最坏的日子

9．Arthur Nicholls

阿瑟·尼科尔斯

10．Maria

玛丽亚

Exercises

封底

诱拐

封面

扉页

版权页

简　介

1．David meets his uncle

戴维见到了叔叔

2．Kidnapped!

诱拐！

3．David is alone

戴维是独自一人

4．Escape through the heather

在石南丛中逃生

5．David comes home

戴维回了家

Exercises

封底

公正

封面

扉页

版权页

简　介

1．Bomb

炸弹

2．Anna

安娜

3．'I Made Him Happy'

“我让他高兴”

4．Phone Call

电话

5．'You Must Believe Me!'

“你们必须相信我！”

6．In the Tunnel

隧道里

Exercises

封底

化学秘密

封面

扉页

版权页

简　介

1．A new start

崭新的开始

2．At home

在家中

3．Rich man

富人

4．The seals

海豹

5．The new experiment

新实验

6．The report

报告

7．Christine and Simon

克里斯汀和西蒙

8．The wedding day

婚礼

9．I don't believe you

我不相信你

10．Greenworld

绿色世界

11．The Public Enquiry

公众听证会

12．The future

前途

Exercises

封底

劫机！

封面

扉页

版权页

内容简介

SKYJACK!

Chapter 1

第一章

Chapter 2

第二章

Chapter 3

第三章

Chapter 4

第四章

Chapter 5

第五章

Chapter 6

第六章

Chapter 7

第七章

Chapter 8

第八章

Chapter 9

第九章

Chapter 10

第十章

Chapter 11

第十一章

Chapter 12

第十二章

Chapter 13

第十三章

Chapter 14

第十四章

Chapter 15

第十五章

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

封底

小镇传奇

封面

扉页

版权页

内容简介

THE CARD

1．The dance

舞会

2．The rent collector and the Widow Hullins

收租人和哈林斯寡妇

3．The dancing teacher and the furniture van

舞蹈老师和家具拖车

4．Saved by a storm

暴风雨救了他

5．The rescue of the Countess

营救伯爵夫人

6．The battle with Denry's mother

邓瑞和母亲之间的斗争

7．The mayor, the wife, and the football club

镇长、妻子和足球俱乐部

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

封底

查尔斯·布拉沃的死亡之谜

封面

扉页

版权页

内容简介

THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF CHARLES BRAVO

PEOPLE IN THIS STORY

人物介绍

1．A true story

一个真实的故事

2．Florence Bravo's story—PART 1

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述——第一部分

3．Dr James Gully's story—PART 1

詹姆斯·格利医生的讲述——第一部分

4．Florence Bravo's story—PART 2

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述——第二部分

5．Dr James Gully's story—PART 2

詹姆斯·格利医生的讲述——第二部分

6．Jane Cox's story—PART 1

简·考克斯的讲述——第一部分

7．Jane Cox's story—PART 2

简·考克斯的讲述——第二部分

8．Florence Bravo's story—PART 3

弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述——第三部分

9．What the maid saw

女仆所见

10．What the doctors saw

医生所见

11．The mystery

疑点

ACTIVITIES: Before Reading

ACTIVITIES: While Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

封底

封底