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秘密花园(外研社双语读库)
弗朗西丝·霍奇森·伯内特

CHAPTER I

THERE IS NO ONE LEFT

第一章 唯一的幸存者

When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable—looking child ever seen. It was true,too. She had a little thin face and a little thin body,thin light hair and a sour expression. Her hair was yellow,and her face was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another. Her father had held a position under the English Government and had always been busy and ill himself,and her mother had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay people. She had not wanted a little girl at all,and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah,who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible. So when she was a sickly,fretful,ugly little baby she was kept out of the way,and when she became a sickly,fretful,toddling thing she was kept out of the way also. She never remembered seeing familiarly anything but the dark faces of her Ayah and the other native servants,and as they always obeyed her and gave her her own way in everything,because the Mem Sahib would be angry if she was disturbed by her crying,by the time she was six years old she was as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived. The young English governess who came to teach her to read and write disliked her so much that she gave up her place in three months,and when other governesses came to try to fill it they always went away in a shorter time than the first one. So if Mary had not chosen to really want to know how to read books she would never have learned her letters at all.

玛丽·伦诺克斯被送到米瑟斯韦特庄园和她姑父一起生活。那里的每个人都说,从没见过如此别扭的小孩儿。不过,也确实如此。她小脸消瘦、身板单薄、头发稀疏,总是一脸不高兴的样子。她头发是黄色的,再加上出生在印度,且常常不是得这病就是生那病,脸色也是蜡黄的。她的爸爸曾在英国政府部门任职。他总是很忙碌,且自己身体也不大好;她妈妈以前可是个大美女,满脑子只想着参加各种宴会,于觥筹交错之间寻欢作乐。她本来一点儿也不打算要这个女孩儿。所以玛丽一出生,便把她交给印度奶妈照看。奶妈明白,要想讨女主人欢心,便得把这孩子带得越远越好。因此,当她还是个孱弱、暴躁、难看的小婴儿时,便被带离妈妈的视线;当她依旧体弱多病、暴躁易怒、开始蹒跚学步时,依旧生活在不妨碍大人的地方。印度奶妈和当地仆人的黑脸是她印象中唯一熟悉的事物。他们总是顺着她,对她有求必应。因为如果她的哭声吵到女主人的话,女主人会发火的。因此,她长到六岁的时候,已经变成了全世界最专横、最自私的孩子。曾有一个年轻的英国家庭女教师来教她读写。那老师很讨厌她,不到三个月就辞职不干了。后来有其他老师来应聘,但往往坚持得比第一个更短。因此,若不是玛丽自己着实喜爱读书,她恐怕到现在还一字不识呢。

One frightfully hot morning,when she was about nine years old,she awakened feeling very cross,and she became crosser still when she saw that the servant who stood by her bedside was not her Ayah.

大约在她九岁那年。一天早晨,天气奇热无比,她醒来便觉得有些烦躁。而当她看到站在自己床边的仆人不是印度奶妈时,心里就更加窝火了。

"Why did you come?" she said to the strange woman. "I will not let you stay. Send my Ayah to me. "

“怎么是你?” 她冲着这个陌生女人大嚷, “我这里不要你。去把奶妈叫来。”

The woman looked frightened,but she only stammered that the Ayah could not come and when Mary threw herself into a passion and beat and kicked her,she looked only more frightened and repeated that it was not possible for the Ayah to come to Missie Sahib.

这个女人看起来吓坏了,她只会结结巴巴地说奶妈不能过来。玛丽火气更大了,对她又踢又打。她看起来更加惊恐了,嘴里不断重复着说奶妈不能过来小姐这里。

There was something mysterious in the air that morning. Nothing was done in its regular order and several of the native servants seemed missing,while those whom Mary saw slunk or hurried about with ashy and scared faces. But no one would tell her anything and her Ayah did not come. She was actually left alone as the morning went on,and at last she wandered out into the garden and began to play by herself under a tree near the veranda. She pretended that she was making a flower—bed,and she stuck big scarlet hibiscus blossoms into little heaps of earth,all the time growing more and more angry and muttering to herself the things she would say and the names she would call Saidie when she returned.

那天早上气氛有些诡异。一切都有些异常。有几个土著仆人好像不见了,而那些玛丽看见的仆人们,也一个个面如死灰,神色惊恐地匆匆跑掉。没有人告诉她任何事情,她的奶妈也没有出现。那天早晨,后来就剩她独自一人了,最后她索性漫步到花园里,在游廊旁边的一棵树下自己玩了起来。她把一朵朵深红的木槿花插进小土堆,假装在修建花坛。她越堆越生气,嘴里不停地嘟囔着。她想,等印度奶妈回来后就用这些话骂她。

"Pig! Pig! Daughter of Pigs! " she said,because to call a native a pig is the worst insult of all.

“猪!大笨猪!猪养的!” 她骂着。对印度土著来说,这是最大的侮辱了。

She was grinding her teeth and saying this over and over again when she heard her mother come out on the veranda with some one. She was with a fair young man and they stood talking together in low strange voices. Mary knew the fair young man who looked like a boy. She had heard that he was a very young officer who had just come from England. The child stared at him,but she stared most at her mother. She always did this when she had a chance to see her,because the Mem Sahib—Mary used to call her that oftener than anything else—was such a tall,slim,pretty person and wore such lovely clothes. Her hair was like curly silk and she had a delicate little nose which seemed to be disdaining things,and she had large laughing eyes. All her clothes were thin and floating,and Mary said they were "full of lace. " They looked fuller of lace than ever this morning,but her eyes were not laughing at all. They were large and scared and lifted imploringly to the fair boy officer's face.

她咬牙切齿地不停诅咒,忽然听到游廊那头妈妈和一个人走了出来。妈妈和一个长相俊俏的小伙子站在一起,他们用很低很奇怪的声音在说着什么。玛丽认识这个小伙子,他看起来像个小男孩儿。她听说他是个刚从英国来的年轻军官。玛丽瞪着他,同时更专注地盯着自己的母亲。她每次有机会见到自己的母亲都这么盯着她看。因为女主人——玛丽对自己妈妈最常用的称呼——总是美丽、苗条、高挑,衣着亮丽。她有着卷曲如丝缎般的头发、小巧精致的鼻子,仿佛看不起任何事情,还有一双大大的笑眼。她所有的衣服都轻薄飘逸,用玛丽的话说就是 “满是蕾丝” 。那天早上衣服上的蕾丝比以往更加丰满,只不过她的眼睛不再有笑意。她的大眼睛中充满恐慌,恳切的目光投在年轻军官漂亮的脸上。

"Is it so very bad?Oh,is it?" Mary heard her say.

“情况有这么糟吗?这是真的吗?” 玛丽听到她说。

"Awfully," the young man answered in a trembling voice. "Awfully,Mrs. Lennox. You ought to have gone to the hills two weeks ago. "

“糟透了,” 年轻军官用颤抖的声音回答, “糟透了,伦诺克斯太太。你两周前就应该搬到山上去。”

The Mem Sahib wrung her hands.

女主人紧紧绞着双手。

"Oh,I know I ought! " she cried. "I only stayed to go to that silly dinner party. What a fool I was! "

“哦,我是应该这样!” 她叫喊着, “我留下来就是要参加那个该死的晚宴。我真是傻透了!”

At that very moment such a loud sound of wailing broke out from the servants' quarters that she clutched the young man's arm,and Mary stood shivering from head to foot. The wailing grew wilder and wilder. "What is it?What is it?" Mrs. Lennox gasped.

就在这时,一阵响亮的嚎哭声从仆人宿舍传来。女主人一把抓住了年轻军官的手臂,而玛丽站在那里浑身发抖。嚎哭声越来越肆意。 “那是什么声音?什么声音?” 伦诺克斯太太倒抽了一口气。

"Some one has died," answered the boy officer. "You did not say it had broken out among your servants. "

“有人死了。” 年轻军官回答道, “你没有告诉我已经在仆人中爆发了。”

"I did not know! " the Mem Sahib cried. "Come with me! Come with me! " and she turned and ran into the house.

“我不知道!” 女主人哭喊道, “跟我来!跟我来!” 她转身跑进了屋子。

After that,appalling things happened,and the mysteriousness of the morning was explained to Mary. The cholera had broken out in its most fatal form and people were dying like flies. The Ayah had been taken ill in the night,and it was because she had just died that the servants had wailed in the huts. Before the next day three other servants were dead and others had run away in terror. There was panic on every side,and dying people in all the bungalows.

之后,可怕的事情发生了。玛丽终于明白了这个早晨异样的原因。一种最致命的霍乱爆发了,人们如蚊蝇一般死去。印度奶妈昨晚发病刚刚就死掉了。所以茅草屋中才传来那样的嚎哭声。不到一天,又死了三个仆人。剩下的人则惊慌失措地逃跑了。每个角落都充满恐惧,小平房里都是垂死之人。

During the confusion and bewilderment of the second day Mary hid herself in the nursery and was forgotten by everyone. Nobody thought of her,nobody wanted her,and strange things happened of which she knew nothing. Mary alternately cried and slept through the hours. She only knew that people were ill and that she heard mysterious and frightening sounds. Once she crept into the dining—room and found it empty,though a partly finished meal was on the table and chairs and plates looked as if they had been hastily pushed back when the diners rose suddenly for some reason. The child ate some fruit and biscuits,and being thirsty she drank a glass of wine which stood nearly filled. It was sweet,and she did not know how strong it was. Very soon it made her intensely drowsy,and she went back to her nursery and shut herself in again,frightened by cries she heard in the huts and by the hurrying sound of feet. The wine made her so sleepy that she could scarcely keep her eyes open and she lay down on her bed and knew nothing more for a long time.

到处一片混乱狼籍。第二天,玛丽躲进了自己的幼儿室,被人们遗忘了。没人想起她,没人找她,怪事发生了,她还浑然不觉。玛丽时哭时睡。她只知道有人生病了,还能听到神秘的,吓人的声音。她爬进餐厅,里面空无一人。桌子上的饭还没吃完,椅子和盘子被匆忙推开,仿佛正在用餐的人由于什么原因而突然起身离开了。玛丽吃了些水果和饼干,觉得口渴,便喝了杯中的酒。那杯子几乎是斟满的。酒甜甜的,她没意识到酒劲有多大。没多一会儿她便觉得困乏不堪。于是她回到幼儿室,又把自己关在里面。棚屋里传出的哭嚎声和急匆匆的脚步声令她感到害怕。酒劲很大,她困意涌来,甚至睁不开眼睛。她躺到床上,不一会儿便人事不知了。

Many things happened during the hours in which she slept so heavily,but she was not disturbed by the wails and the sound of things being carried in and out of the bungalow.

外面发生了很多事情。但无论是痛哭声,还是东西被抬进抬出的动静,都丝毫无法惊动沉睡中的玛丽。

When she awakened she lay and stared at the wall. The house was perfectly still. She had never known it to be so silent before. She heard neither voices nor footsteps,and wondered if everybody had got well of the cholera and all the trouble was over. She wondered also who would take care of her now her Ayah was dead. There would be a new Ayah,and perhaps she would know some new stories. Mary had been rather tired of the old ones. She did not cry because her nurse had died. She was not an affectionate child and had never cared much for any one. The noise and hurrying about and wailing over the cholera had frightened her,and she had been angry because no one seemed to remember that she was alive. Everyone was too panic—stricken to think of a little girl no one was fond of. When people had the cholera it seemed that they remembered nothing but themselves. But if everyone had got well again,surely some one would remember and come to look for her.

她醒来后便躺在床上,盯着墙出神。屋子里一片沉寂。她以前从未听到这房间如此安静过。听不到说话声,也没有脚步声。她想,人们是不是已经从霍乱中恢复,一切烦扰都已经过去了吧。她甚至开始考虑,她的印度奶妈死了,那以后谁来照料她呢。也许会有一个新奶妈吧,也会说些新的故事。她对那些旧故事已经着实厌倦了。她才不会因为自己的保姆死掉而哭泣。她从来就不是一个感情丰富的孩子,也从未真正关心过谁。她被霍乱带来的嘈杂、忙乱和嚎哭声吓坏了。她非常生气,因为好像大家都忘记了她还活着。恐慌之下的人们,自然无暇顾及一个不招待见的小女孩儿。霍乱来临之时,人们自然就只顾得上自己了。不过,如果一切都好起来了,自然会有人想起她,来找她的。

But no one came,and as she lay waiting the house seemed to grow more and more silent. She heard something rustling on the matting and when she looked down she saw a little snake gliding along and watching her with eyes like jewels. She was not frightened,because he was a harmless little thing who would not hurt her and he seemed in a hurry to get out of the room. He slipped under the door as she watched him.

但是没有人来。她躺在那里等,屋子好像越来越安静了。她听到地毯上悉率作响的声音,低头一看,是条小蛇爬过,它正用宝石般的眼睛看着自己。她并没有被吓到,因为那是一个无害的小东西,而且它好像也正急于离开这里。玛丽看着它从门缝下溜走。

"How queer and quiet it is," she said. "It sounds as if there were no one in the bungalow but me and the snake. "

“这里多么古怪,多么安静啊。” 她说道, “好像屋子里只有我和这条小蛇。”

Almost the next minute she heard footsteps in the compound,and then on the veranda. They were men's footsteps,and the men entered the bungalow and talked in low voices. No one went to meet or speak to them and they seemed to open doors and look into rooms. "What desolation! " she heard one voice say. "That pretty,pretty woman! I suppose the child,too. I heard there was a child,though no one ever saw her. "

话音刚落,她便听到院子里响起了脚步声,接着到了游廊。这是男人们的脚步声。他们进了小屋,压低声音讲话。没有人起身迎接,也没人跟他们讲话。他们好像打开了一个个房间的门,朝里张望。 “真是一片废墟!” 她听到有个人说道, “那么个美人!我猜那个孩子也……我听说还有个女孩儿的,虽然没人见过。”

Mary was standing in the middle of the nursery when they opened the door a few minutes later. She looked an ugly,cross little thing and was frowning because she was beginning to be hungry and feel disgracefully neglected. The first man who came in was a large officer she had once seen talking to her father. He looked tired and troubled,but when he saw her he was so startled that he almost jumped back.

几分钟后,他们打开了幼儿室的门。玛丽就站在屋子中央。她看起来就是个丑丑的小东西。被忽视的屈辱感和咕咕作响的肚子更让她看起来火气很大,眉头都抽在了一起。第一个走进来的男人是一个高级军官,玛丽曾经看到他和爸爸谈话。他看上去疲惫不堪,看到玛丽时,惊讶得几乎后跳。

"Barney! " he cried out. "There is a child here! A child alone! In a place like this! Mercy on us,who is she! "

“巴尼!” 他惊叫起来, “这儿有一个小孩儿。就她自己!在这破地方!上帝保佑,你是谁?”

"I am Mary Lennox," the little girl said,drawing herself up stiffly. She thought the man was very rude to call her father's bungalow "A place like this! " "I fell asleep when everyone had the cholera and I have only just wakened up. Why does nobody come?"

“我是玛丽·伦诺克斯。” 玛丽硬邦邦地站直身子。她觉得这个人很粗鲁,竟然把爸爸的小屋说成是 “这破地方” 。 “大家感染霍乱的时候我睡着了,才刚刚醒来。怎么没有人来呢?”

"It is the child no one ever saw! " exclaimed the man,turning to his companions. "She has actually been forgotten! "

这个男人对伙伴们惊呼道: “这就是那个没人见到过的孩子。她竟然被遗忘了。”

"Why was I forgotten?" Mary said,stamping her foot. "Why does nobody come?"

“为什么把我忘记了?” 玛丽跺着脚问, “为什么没有人来?”

The young man whose name was Barney looked at her very sadly. Mary even thought she saw him wink his eyes as if to wink tears away.

那个叫巴尼的年轻人用悲伤的眼神望着她。玛丽甚至觉得自己看到他为了忍住眼泪而拼命眨眼睛。

"Poor little kid! " he said. "There is nobody left to come. "

“可怜的小家伙!” 他说, “没人会来了,都死了。”

It was in that strange and sudden way that Mary found out that she had neither father nor mother left;that they had died and been carried away in the night,and that the few native servants who had not died also had left the house as quickly as they could get out of it,none of them even remembering that there was a Missie Sahib. That was why the place was so quiet. It was true that there was no one in the bungalow but herself and the little rustling snake.

玛丽就是在这样一种莫名其妙和措手不及的状况下得知自己已经失去了父母;他们已经死去,在夜里被抬走了,而那些为数不多的几个幸存的印度仆人,也都用最快的速度逃离了这所房子,还有谁会想起还有个玛丽小姐呢。难怪这里如此安静。因为这所房子就真的只有她自己和那条悉率作响的小蛇了。 b6GrBAGVG3/mdGcm1kxZBIVa6YEA4sxy+/N+OzM5Wcqogwb55KPGfM5l0pAVuNnv



CHAPTER II

MISTRESS MARY QUITE CONTRARY

第二章 玛丽小姐,倔强异常

Mary had liked to look at her mother from a distance and she had thought her very pretty,but as she knew very little of her she could scarcely have been expected to love her or to miss her very much when she was gone. She did not miss her at all,in fact,and as she was a self—absorbed child she gave her entire thought to herself,as she had always done. If she had been older she would no doubt have been very anxious at being left alone in the world,but she was very young,and as she had always been taken care of,she supposed she always would be. What she thought was that she would like to know if she was going to nice people,who would be polite to her and give her her own way as her Ayah and the other native servants had done.

虽然玛丽曾喜欢远远地看着自己漂亮的母亲,她却实在不了解她。因此,不能指望妈妈去世后玛丽能有多爱她,想念她。说实在的她一点儿都不想念她。玛丽是一个只顾自己的孩子,一直以来所有的想法都专注于自身。如果年纪再大一些,被孤零零地留在这个世界上,她一定会焦躁不安。但是她年纪还小,且一直有人照顾,因此便认为一切都会和以前一样。她现在想的是:自己是否会被送到个好人家;收养自己的人是否会像印度奶妈和其他印度仆人一样对她礼貌有加、百依百顺。

She knew that she was not going to stay at the English clergyman's house where she was taken at first. She did not want to stay. The English clergyman was poor and he had five children nearly all the same age and they wore shabby clothes and were always quarreling and snatching toys from each other. Mary hated their untidy bungalow and was so disagreeable to them that after the first day or two nobody would play with her. By the second day they had given her a nickname which made her furious.

最开始她被送到了一个英国牧师的家里。她知道自己在那里呆不久。她不想呆在那里。牧师很穷,家里有五个年纪相当的孩子。他们常常衣衫褴褛,总是不停地争吵,抢夺玩具。玛丽讨厌他们这个邋遢的小屋,对他们也不友善。没过一两天,就没有人愿意与她玩耍了。第二天,他们还给她取了个绰号,更是让她火冒三丈。

It was Basil who thought of it first. Basil was a little boy with impudent blue eyes and a turned—up nose,and Mary hated him. She was playing by herself under a tree,just as she had been playing the day the cholera broke out. She was making heaps of earth and paths for a garden and Basil came and stood near to watch her. Presently he got rather interested and suddenly made a suggestion.

是巴兹尔先想起这个名字的。巴兹尔是个小男孩儿。他长了一双看上去粗鲁冒失的蓝眼睛,朝天鼻,玛丽很讨厌他。本来,她自己一个人在树下玩儿,就像霍乱爆发那天一样。这时巴兹尔过来了,站在旁边看她堆小土堆,造花园小路。不一会儿,他觉得很有趣,于是插嘴给了个建议。

"Why don't you put a heap of stones there and pretend it is a rockery?" he said. "There in the middle," and he leaned over her to point.

“你为什么不在那边砌一堆石头做假山呢?” 他说, “就是中间那个地方,” 他边说边俯身越过她指着。

"Go away! " cried Mary. "I don't want boys. Go away! "

“滚远点!” 玛丽大喊, “我不要男生。滚开!”

For a moment Basil looked angry,and then he began to tease. He was always teasing his sisters. He danced round and round her and made faces and sang and laughed.

巴兹尔最开始很生气,不过很快他就开始捉弄玛丽。他也总爱捉弄自己的妹妹们。他围着玛丽跳舞,做鬼脸,唱歌,嬉笑。

"Mistress Mary,quite contrary,How does your garden grow?With silver bells,and cockle shells,And marigolds all in a row. "

“玛丽小姐,倔强非常,你的花园,怎番模样?银色风铃,鸟蛤贝壳,美丽金盏,排列一行。”

He sang it until the other children heard and laughed,too;and the crosser Mary got,the more they sang "Mistress Mary,quite contrary" ;and after that as long as she stayed with them they called her "Mistress Mary Quite Contrary" when they spoke of her to each other,and often when they spoke to her.

他不停地唱,唱到其他孩子也听见,跟着哄笑起来。玛丽越生气,他们就越唱得起劲 “玛丽小姐,倔强异常” 。自此以后,只要她和他们一起,凡是他们相互之间谈起她,或是和她讲话时,都这么叫她。

"You are going to be sent home," Basil said to her, "at the end of the week. And we're glad of it. "

一天,巴兹尔告诉她说: “这个周末你就要被送回家去了。我们很高兴。”

"I am glad of it,too," answered Mary. "Where is home?"

“我也很高兴。” 玛丽回答说, “但家是指哪里呢?”

"She doesn't know where home is! " said Basil,with seven—year—old scorn. "It's England,of course. Our grandmama lives there and our sister Mabel was sent to her last year. You are not going to your grandmama. You have none. You are going to your uncle. His name is Mr. Archibald Craven. "

“她居然不知道家在哪里!” 巴兹尔用七岁小孩子的鄙视的语气说道, “当然是在英国。我们的奶奶住在那里。我的姐姐梅布尔去年就被送去她那里了。你不是被送去你奶奶那里。因为你没有奶奶。你要去你姑父那里。他叫阿奇博尔德·克雷文。”

"I don't know anything about him," snapped Mary.

“我根本不认识他。” 玛丽打断他。

"I know you don't ," Basil answered. "You don't know anything. Girls never do. I heard father and mother talking about him. He lives in a great,big,desolate old house in the country and no one goes near him. He's so cross he won't let them,and they wouldn't come if he would let them. He's a hunchback,and he's horrid. " "I don't believe you," said Mary;and she turned her back and stuck her fingers in her ears,because she would not listen any more.

“我知道你不认识他。” 巴兹尔回答说, “你什么也不懂。女生都这样。我听爸爸妈妈说起他了。他住在乡下一个大而荒凉的老房子里,没人接近他。他脾气很坏,不准人接近。不过就算是他愿意,也没人愿意靠近他。他是个大驼背,样子很吓人。” “我不相信你。” 玛丽大喊,说完转身用双手堵住耳朵,不想继续听下去。

But she thought over it a great deal afterward;and when Mrs. Crawford told her that night that she was going to sail away to England in a few days and go to her uncle,Mr. Archibald Craven,who lived at Misselthwaite Manor,she looked so stony and stubbornly uninterested that they did not know what to think about her. They tried to be kind to her,but she only turned her face away when Mrs. Crawford attempted to kiss her,and held herself stiffly when Mr. Crawford patted her shoulder.

不过后来她还是反复琢磨了这件事。当天晚上,克劳福德太太告诉她说几天后她将要乘船去英国,去米瑟斯韦特庄园她姑父阿奇博尔德那里。她所表现出的冰冷和无动于衷让夫妇俩不知道拿她怎么办。他们试图对她好些。但克劳福德太太想吻她时,她别过了脸;克劳福德先生轻拍她肩膀时,她又马上绷紧了身体。

"She is such a plain child," Mrs. Crawford said pityingly,afterward. "And her mother was such a pretty creature. She had a very pretty manner,too,and Mary has the most unattractive ways I ever saw in a child. The children call her 'Mistress Mary Quite Contrary,' and though it's naughty of them,one can't help understanding it. "

克劳福德太太后来不无惋惜地说: “她可真是个平庸的孩子。她妈妈可真是个尤物啊。举止也那么优雅。但玛丽的举止在我见过的孩子中是最乏味的。孩子们都叫她 ‘玛丽小姐,倔强异常’ ,虽然是调皮之举,却不难理解他们为什么这么叫。”

"Perhaps if her mother had carried her pretty face and her pretty manners oftener into the nursery Mary might have learned some pretty ways too. It is very sad,now the poor beautiful thing is gone,to remember that many people never even knew that she had a child at all. "

“她那美丽优雅的妈妈若能多花些时间在幼儿室,玛丽或许能多学到一些。但可惜的是,美人已逝啊。要知道,很多人甚至还不知道她有孩子呢。”

"I believe she scarcely ever looked at her," sighed Mrs. Crawford. "When her Ayah was dead there was no one to give a thought to the little thing. Think of the servants running away and leaving her all alone in that deserted bungalow. Colonel McGrew said he nearly jumped out of his skin when he opened the door and found her standing by herself in the middle of the room. "

“我想她都没见过自己的孩子几次。” 克劳福德太太叹气道, “奶妈死了,更是没人想起这可怜的小东西了。想想看,仆人都跑掉了,就剩她一个人在那个废弃的小屋里。麦格鲁上校说当他打开门,看到她一个人站在屋子中央时,吓得差点魂飞魄散。”

Mary made the long voyage to England under the care of an officer's wife,who was taking her children to leave them in a boarding—school. She was very much absorbed in her own little boy and girl,and was rather glad to hand the child over to the woman Mr. Archibald Craven sent to meet her,in London. The woman was his housekeeper at Misselthwaite Manor,and her name was Mrs. Medlock. She was a stout woman,with very red cheeks and sharp black eyes. She wore a very purple dress,a black silk mantle with jet fringe on it and a black bonnet with purple velvet flowers which stuck up and trembled when she moved her head. Mary did not like her at all,but as she very seldom liked people there was nothing remarkable in that;besides which it was very evident Mrs. Medlock did not think much of her.

玛丽在一个军官妻子的照料下,经过长途旅行到达了英国。军官妻子是要把她的孩子安置在一所寄宿学校的。因此,她的心思几乎都在自己的儿女身上。到了伦敦,便非常开心地把玛丽交给了阿奇博尔德·克雷文先生遣来接她的人。她是米瑟斯韦特庄园的管家梅德洛克太太。她身材壮实,脸颊很红,黑色双眼目光犀利。她穿了一条深紫色裙子,一个镶着黝黑花边的黑色丝质斗篷,头戴装饰着天鹅绒质地紫色花朵的黑帽子。头晃动的时候,那些花朵也伸出来,跟着颤动。玛丽一点儿也不喜欢她。不过这也不足为奇,因为她本来也就鲜少喜欢什么人。何况显然梅德洛克太太也没怎么把她放在心上。

"My word! she's a plain little piece of goods! " she said. "And we'd heard that her mother was a beauty. She hasn't handed much of it down,has she,ma 'am?" Perhaps she will improve as she grows older,the officer's wife said good—naturedly. If she were not so sallow and had a nicer expression,her features are rather good. Children alter so much.

“天啊,就这么一个平庸的小家伙!” 她叫道, “我听说她妈妈可是个美人啊。她的美貌可没传给后代多少,是不是?” “也许她长大些会变好看点。” 军官的太太好心替她辩解, “她的脸型其实还不错,就是脸色有些蜡黄,表情不好。小孩子变化很大。”

"She'll have to alter a good deal," answered Mrs. Medlock. "And,there's nothing likely to improve children at Misselthwaite—if you ask me! " They thought Mary was not listening because she was standing a little apart from them at the window of the private hotel they had gone to. She was watching the passing buses and cabs and people,but she heard quite well and was made very curious about her uncle and the place he lived in. What sort of a place was it,and what would he be like?What was a hunchback?She had never seen one. Perhaps there were none in India.

“那她可得变很多才行。” 梅德洛克太太答道, “而且,要是让我说,米瑟斯韦特庄园可不是一个能让孩子进步很多的地方!” 她们以为玛丽没在听她们讲话,因为玛丽站在这个小私人旅馆的窗边,离她们还有一段距离。玛丽在窗边看着往来的公车、出租车和行人,却把她们的对话听得一清二楚。她开始对自己的姑父和他住的那个地方产生了好奇。那是个什么地方,他是个什么样的人呢?驼背什么样?她从来没有见过。也许印度没有驼背吧。

Since she had been living in other people's houses and had had no Ayah,she had begun to feel lonely and to think queer thoughts which were new to her. She had begun to wonder why she had never seemed to belong to anyone even when her father and mother had been alive. Other children seemed to belong to their fathers and mothers,but she had never seemed to really be anyone's little girl. She had had servants,and food and clothes,but no one had taken any notice of her. She did not know that this was because she was a disagreeable child;but then,of course,she did not know she was disagreeable. She often thought that other people were,but she did not know that she was so herself.

自从住进别人家里,身边没有奶妈照料,她慢慢开始感到孤独,脑子里也冒出了以前从未有过的怪念头。她不明白,为什么即使父母都活着的时候,她好像也从来没有属于过任何人。别的孩子好像都属于他们的父母,但是她好像从来都不是任何人的小女孩儿。她虽然有仆人,衣食无缺,但却从未有人关心她。她不明白这都是因为自己不好相处。在当时她哪里有这种意识。她常常觉得是别人不好相处,而没有意识到其实自己才是那个不好相处的人。

She thought Mrs. Medlock the most disagreeable person she had ever seen,with her common,highly colored face and her common fine bonnet. When the next day they set out on their journey to Yorkshire,she walked through the station to the railway carriage with her head up and trying to keep as far away from her as she could,because she did not want to seem to belong to her. It would have made her angry to think people imagined she was her little girl.

她认为梅德洛克太太是她见过的最不好相处的人。无论是她那深色的脸还是她精致的帽子都显得很俗气。第二天她们便启程去约克郡了。她昂首挺胸地穿过火车站,走向车厢,尽量和梅德洛克太太离远些,她不想自己在别人看来像是梅德洛克太太带着的小孩儿。只要一想起别人可能认为她是这个女人的女儿,她就很生气。

But Mrs. Medlock was not in the least disturbed by her and her thoughts. She was the kind of woman who would "stand no nonsense from young ones. " At least,that is what she would have said if she had been asked. She had not wanted to go to London just when her sister Maria's daughter was going to be married,but she had a comfortable,well paid place as housekeeper at Misselthwaite Manor and the only way in which she could keep it was to do at once what Mr. Archibald Craven told her to do. She never dared even to ask a question.

不过,梅德洛克太太对她和她的想法却毫不在意。她是那种 “决不容许年轻人胡作非为” 的女人。至少别人问起她,她一定这么回答。她本来不想来伦敦的,她妹妹玛丽亚的女儿马上就要结婚了。但是米瑟斯韦特庄园的管家这份工作既舒服,报酬也丰厚。要想保住这份工作,阿奇博尔德先生吩咐什么她就必须马上执行。她连问题都没敢问一个。

"Captain Lennox and his wife died of the cholera," Mr. Craven had said in his short,cold way. "Captain Lennox was my wife's brother and I am their daughter's guardian. The child is to be brought here. You must go to London and bring her yourself. "

“伦诺克斯上尉和他的太太在霍乱中去世了。” 克雷文先生简短而冰冷地说, “伦诺克斯上尉是我妻子的弟弟,我是他们女儿的监护人。得把这孩子接过来。你必须去伦敦亲自把她接过来。”

So she packed her small trunk and made the journey.

于是她收拾了自己的小皮箱,跑了这一趟。

Mary sat in her corner of the railway carriage and looked plain and fretful. She had nothing to read or to look at,and she had folded her thin little black—gloved hands in her lap. Her black dress made her look yellower than ever,and her limp light hair straggled from under her black crepe hat.

玛丽坐在车厢角落里,显得平淡但有些焦躁不安。她没有可以阅读的东西,也不知道看些什么,一双干瘦的小手戴着黑色手套,交叉放在大腿上。在黑裙子的衬托下她显得越发蜡黄。稀疏的头发从黑色丝帽下无精打采地散落出来。

"A more marred—looking young one I never saw in my life," Mrs. Medlock thought. (Marred is a Yorkshire word and means spoiled and pettish. )She had never seen a child who sat so still without doing anything;and at last she got tired of watching her and began to talk in a brisk,hard voice.

梅德洛克太太想: “我这辈子没有碰到过这么 ‘痞’ 的小孩儿。” ‘痞’ 是约克郡的方言,意思是骄纵、易怒。她从没见过可以僵坐在那里无所事事的小孩儿。最后,她看玛丽看累了,开始用快而僵硬的语气对她说话。

"I suppose I may as well tell you something about where you are going to," she said. "Do you know anything about your uncle?"

“我想我应该给你讲讲你将要去的地方。” 她说, “你知道你姑父吗?”

"No," said Mary.

“我不知道。” 玛丽说。

"Never heard your father and mother talk about him?"

“你就从没听你爸妈讲起过他吗?”

"No," said Mary frowning. She frowned because she remembered that her father and mother had never talked to her about anything in particular. Certainly they had never told her things.

“没有。” 玛丽皱皱眉头。她皱眉,是因为她不记得父母跟她讲起过任何事情。无疑,他们从未对她讲起过什么。

"Humph," muttered Mrs. Medlock,staring at her queer,unresponsive little face. She did not say any more for a few moments and then she began again.

“哦。” 梅德洛克太太盯着她奇怪的、面无表情的小脸嘟囔着。她停顿了一会儿,继续说道:

"I suppose you might as well be told something—to prepare you. You are going to a queer place. "

“那我觉得应该告诉你些事情,你好有些准备。你即将到的地方有些古怪。”

Mary said nothing at all,and Mrs. Medlock looked rather discomfited by her apparent indifference,but,after taking a breath,she went on.

玛丽依然沉默不语。梅德洛克太太对她明显的冷漠感到非常郁闷,但还是深吸一口气,继续讲了下去。

"Not but that it's a grand big place in a gloomy way,and Mr. Craven's proud of it in his way—and that's gloomy enough,too. The house is six hundred years old and it's on the edge of the moor,and there's near a hundred rooms in it,though most of them's shut up and locked. And there's pictures and fine old furniture and things that's been there for ages,and there's a big park round it and gardens and trees with branches trailing to the ground—some of them. " She paused and took another breath. "But there's nothing else," she ended suddenly.

“尽管那房子很大很宏伟,却有些阴森。克雷文先生用自己的方式为这所房子感到自豪,他的方式也足够阴森。房子有六百多年的历史了,地处旷野边上。里面有接近一百个房间,不过大部分都锁了起来。里面有画、精美的古董家具、还有很多颇有年代的东西。房子四周是一个大园子,长长的树枝拖到了地上。” 她停顿了一下,喘了口气, “但是别的就什么都没有了。” 她突然停了下来。

Mary had begun to listen in spite of herself. It all sounded so unlike India,and anything new rather attracted her. But she did not intend to look as if she were interested. That was one of her unhappy,disagreeable ways. So she sat still.

玛丽不由自主地开始听了起来。这一切听起来和印度都是那么的不同,而一切新奇的东西都非常吸引她。但她不想表现出自己感兴趣。这也是她不招人喜欢的做法之一。于是她继续安静不动地坐着。

"Well," said Mrs. Medlock. "What do you think of it?"

“好吧,” 梅德洛克太太说, “你觉得怎么样?”

"Nothing," she answered. "I know nothing about such places. "

她回答道: “没什么。我对这种地方一无所知。”

That made Mrs. Medlock laugh a short sort of laugh.

梅德洛克太太短促地笑出声来。

"Eh! " she said, "but you are like an old woman. Don't you care?"

“呵呵!” 她说, “但是你看起来像个老妇人。这你也不介意么?”

"It doesn't matter" said Mary, "whether I care or not. "

玛丽回答道: “我介不介意都无所谓。”

"You are right enough there," said Mrs. Medlock. "It doesn't. What you're to be kept at Misselthwaite Manor for I don't know,unless because it's the easiest way. He's not going to trouble himself about you,that's sure and certain. He never troubles himself about no one. "

“这倒是一点儿都不假。” 梅德洛克太太说, “确实无所谓。我不知道你为什么会被送来米瑟斯韦特庄园寄养,也许这是最简单的办法吧。毫无疑问的,他绝对不会因为你而给自己惹麻烦。他从不为别人的事情麻烦自己。”

She stopped herself as if she had just remembered something in time.

她突然像是想起什么似的,停了下来。

"He's got a crooked back," she said. "That set him wrong. He was a sour young man and got no good of all his money and big place till he was married. "

“他是个驼背。” 她说道, “这可害苦了他。他年轻时过得很苦,他的钱和大房子都是在他结婚后才派上用场的。”

Mary's eyes turned toward her in spite of her intention not to seem to care. She had never thought of the hunchback's being married and she was a trifle surprised. Mrs. Medlock saw this,and as she was a talkative woman she continued with more interest. This was one way of passing some of the time,at any rate.

尽管玛丽想表现出不关心,眼睛还是不由自主地转向梅德洛克太太。她从没想到过驼背还能结婚,还是小小吃了一惊。梅德洛克太太把一切看在了眼里。本来就很健谈的她,说得更加起劲了。这多少也是个打发时间的办法。

"She was a sweet,pretty thing and he'd have walked the world over to get her a blade o 'grass she wanted. Nobody thought she'd marry him,but she did,and people said she married him for his money. But she didn't —she didn't ," positively. When she died—

“她甜美漂亮。克雷文先生为了找到她想要的一片草,可以跑遍全世界。人们都觉得她不会嫁给他,但她确实嫁了。人们都说她是图他的钱才嫁给他的。但她不是,绝对不是。” 她非常肯定地说, “她死的时候——”

Mary gave a little involuntary jump.

玛丽不自觉地跳了起来。

"Oh! did she die! " she exclaimed,quite without meaning to. She had just remembered a French fairy story she had once read called "Riquet a la Houppe. " It had been about a poor hunchback and a beautiful princess and it had made her suddenly sorry for Mr. Archibald Craven.

“啊,她死了吗!” 她禁不住惊呼道。这让她想到自己读过的一个法国童话故事《利凯小簇》。故事讲的就是一个穷驼背和一个漂亮公主的故事。她突然开始可怜起阿奇博尔德·克雷文先生了。

"Yes,she died," Mrs. Medlock answered. "And it made him queerer than ever. He cares about nobody. He won't see people. Most of the time he goes away,and when he is at Misselthwaite he shuts himself up in the West Wing and won't let any one but Pitcher see him. Pitcher's an old fellow,but he took care of him when he was a child and he knows his ways. "

“对,她死了。” 梅德洛克太太回答说, “自此以后他就更加古怪了。他不关心任何人。也不见人。他常常外出。呆在庄园里的时候,也总是把自己锁在园子的西翼,除了皮切尔不见任何人。皮切尔是一个老人,从先生小时候就开始照料他,很了解他的脾性。”

It sounded like something in a book and it did not make Mary feel cheerful. A house with a hundred rooms,nearly all shut up and with their doors locked—a house on the edge of a moor—whatsoever a moor was—sounded dreary. A man with a crooked back who shut himself up also! She stared out of the window with her lips pinched together,and it seemed quite natural that the rain should have begun to pour down in gray slanting lines and splash and stream down the window—panes. If the pretty wife had been alive she might have made things cheerful by being something like her own mother and by running in and out and going to parties as she had done in frocks "full of lace. " But she was not there any more.

这一切听起来像是书中的故事,玛丽听了怎么也高兴不起来。故事里有个有上百间房间的大宅,大宅里有一百个房间,几乎所有的房门都紧闭且上了锁——大宅在旷野旁——无论旷野是什么样子,听起来都让人感到绝望。还有一个把自己关在房间里的驼背男人!玛丽嘴唇紧闭盯着窗外。大雨像倾斜的灰线,顺着窗棂往下流。这一切看起来都是那么自然。要是那个美丽的妻子还活着的话,她也许会像自己的妈妈一样,穿着满是蕾丝的长袍,跑进跑出参加各种聚会。这样一来,气氛就会活跃很多。但她已经死了。

"You needn't expect to see him,because ten to one you won't ," said Mrs. Medlock. "And you mustn't expect that there will be people to talk to you. You'll have to play about and look after yourself. You'll be told what rooms you can go into and what rooms you're to keep out of. There's gardens enough. But when you're in the house don't go wandering and poking about. Mr. Craven won't have it. "

“十有八九你是看不到他的,你也别指望能看到。” 梅德洛克太太说, “你也别期待能有人跟你说话。你需要自己玩儿,自己照顾自己。有人会告诉你哪些房间能进,哪些不能。花园就够你玩儿的了。在房间里的时候,别到处乱逛,乱摸。克雷文先生讨厌这种行为。”

"I shall not want to go poking about," said sour little Mary and just as suddenly as she had begun to be rather sorry for Mr. Archibald Craven she began to cease to be sorry and to think he was unpleasant enough to deserve all that had happened to him.

“我不会东摸西碰的。” 乖戾的小玛丽突然插嘴。就像她突然对阿奇博尔德先生心生怜悯一样,怜悯之情突然消失了,她开始觉得他非常讨厌,他所经历的一切都是咎由自取。

And she turned her face toward the streaming panes of the window of the railway carriage and gazed out at the gray rain—storm which looked as if it would go on forever and ever. She watched it so long and steadily that the grayness grew heavier and heavier before her eyes and she fell asleep.

她说完便把脸转向流淌着雨水的车窗玻璃,盯着窗外灰色的暴雨。暴雨好像永远也不会停下来一样。她定定地看了许久,眼前的灰色越来越阴沉,她睡着了。 b6GrBAGVG3/mdGcm1kxZBIVa6YEA4sxy+/N+OzM5Wcqogwb55KPGfM5l0pAVuNnv

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