19 ANNE“安妮”-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《小公主A Little Princess》

19 “ANNE” NEVER had such joy reigned in the nursery of the Large Family. Never had they dreamed of such delights as resulted from an intimate acquaintance with the little-girl-who-was-not-a-beggar.The mere fact of her sufferings and adventures made her a priceless 2 possession Everybody wanted to be told over and over again the things which had happened to her.When one was sitting by a warm fire in a big,glowing room,it was quite delightful to hear how cold it could be in an attic.It must be admitted that the attic was rather delighted in,and that its coldness and bareness quite sank into insignificance when Melchisedec was remembered,and one heard about the sparrows and things one could see if one climbed on the table and stuck one's head and shoulders out of the skylight. Of course the thing loved best was the story of the banquet and the dream which was true.Sara told it for the first time the day after she had been found.Several members of the Large Family came to take tea with her,and as they sat or curled up on the hearth-rug she told the story in her own way,and the Indian gentleman listened and watched her.When ·442· 19 “安妮” 大家庭的儿童室里，从来没有这样欢乐过。 他们从没想到，跟一个不是叫花子的小姑娘成了 ①esult from源于 亲密朋友的结果会是这么愉快。仅仅是她所受苦 priceless'praislis/a.无价 难和冒险经历这一事实就使她成为无价之宝。人 的 人都想一遍又一遍听听她经历过的事情。人们坐 ③possession/pa'zefan/i财 产 在明亮大房间的炉火旁，听听阁楼里多么寒冷， 那是一件非常愉快的事。必须承认，那个阁楼还 是相当令人愉快的、每当你想起梅尔基塞德克， 听到麻雀的叫声，以及你要是爬上桌子把脑袋和 双肩伸到天窗外面可以看到一些景物时，阁楼里 的寒冷和空无所有就变得微不足道了。 当然，最爱谈的话题是宴会和梦想成为现实 的那个故事。萨拉是在她被找到后的那天第一次 说起这件事的。大家庭的几个成员过来跟萨拉一 块儿喝茶，在炉前地毯上他们有的坐着，有的蜷 曲着身子，萨拉按照自己的方式讲述这个故事， 印度绅士听着，注视着她。她讲完后抬眼望着 他，把一只手放在他的膝盖上。 ·443· A Little Princess she had finished she looked up at him and put her hand on his knee. “That is my part,”she said.“Now won't you tell your part of it, Uncle Tom?”He had asked her to call him always“Uncle Tom.”“T don't know your part yet,and it must be beautiful." So he told them how,when he sat alone,ill and dull and irritable, Ram Dass had tried to distract him by describing the passers-by2,and there was one child who passed oftener than any one else;he had begun to be interested in her-partly perhaps because he was thinking a great deal of a little girl,and partly because Ram Dass had been able to relate the incident of his visit to the attic in chase of the monkey.He had described its cheerless look,and the bearing of the child,who seemed as if she was not of the class of those who were treated as drudges and servants.Bit by bit,Ram Dass had made discoveries concerning the wretchedness of her life.He had found out how easy a matter it was to climb across the few yards of roof to the skylight,and this fact had been the beginning of all that followed. “Sahib,”he had said one day,“I could cross the slates and make the child a fire when she is out on some errand.When she returned,wet and cold,to find it blazing,she would think a magician had done it." The idea had been so fanciful that Mr.Carrisford's sad face had lighted with a smile,and Ram Dass had been so filled with rapture that he had enlarged upon it and explained to his master how simple it would be to accomplish numbers of other things.He had shown a childlike pleasure and invention,and the preparations for the carrying out of the plan had filled many a day with interest which would otherwise 5 have dragged wearily.On the night of the frustrated banquet Ram Dass had kept watch,all his packages being in readiness in the attic which was his own;and the person who was to help him had waited with him, as interested as himself in the odd adventure.Ram Dass had been lying ·444· 小公主 “这是我经历的那部分，”她说。“现在你不 想讲讲你的那一部分吗，汤姆叔叔？”他要她总 是叫他“汤姆叔叔”。“我还不知道你的那一部 分呢，那准是很动听的！” ①distract/dis'traekt/v.转移， 于是他告诉他们，当他独自坐着，身体有病， 分心 心里沉闷、烦躁易怒的时候，拉姆·达斯如何说 ②passer-by/'"pa:s,'bai/过路 人 起一些过路人来分散他的心思，有个小孩比别人 更经常经过这里；他开始对她感兴趣—也许有 一部分是因为他十分想念一个小姑娘，有一部分 是因为拉姆·达斯曾经讲到他去阁楼追逐猴子的 事。他描述过阁楼里的凄凉景象及这个孩子的举 止，她看上去好像不属于做苦工和仆人的那类 人。拉姆·达斯一点儿一点儿地发现她的生活很 悲惨。他还发现爬过几码屋顶到达天窗是多么容 易，这一事实就是以后发生的一切的开端。 “老爷，”有一天他说，“这个孩子出去办事 时，我可以走过石板瓦去替她生个火。当她又湿 又冷地回来时，发现炉火正旺，她会认为这是魔 术师干的。” 影fanciful /faensiful/a.稀奇 这个想法是那么离奇，使卡里斯福特先生忧 的 郁的脸上闪现出一丝微笑。拉姆·达斯高兴极了， 他详细说明自己的想法，并向主人解释要完成许 ①enlarge /in'a:d3/扩大， 增大 多别的事情是多么简单。他表现出孩子般的高兴 和空想，兴致勃勃地在许多天里为执行这项计划 ⑤otherwise'Aoawaiz/ad.否 做准备工作，要不然这个计划就会令人厌烦地拖 则，要不然 frustrated 下去。在宴会遭到破坏的那天晚上，拉姆·达斯 frA'streitid,frA4a.失败 的，落空的 始终在监视着，他所有的包裹都准备好了，放在 readiness /'redinis/n. 他自己的阁楼里；在这次离奇的冒险中要帮助他 备，准备 的那个人像他一样兴致勃勃地等待着。拉姆·达 ·445 A Little Princess flat upon the slates,looking in at the skylight,when the banquet had come to its disastrous conclusion;he had been sure of the profoundness of Sara's wearied sleep;and then,with a dark lantern3, he had crept into the room,while his companion had remained outside and handed the things to him.When Sara had stirred ever so faintly, Ram Dass had closed the lantern-slide and lain flat upon the floor.These and many other exciting things the children found out by asking a thousand questions. “I am so glad,”Sara said.“I am so glad it was you who were my friend！" There never were such friends as these two became.Somehow,they seemed to suit each other in a wonderful way.The Indian gentleman had never had a companion he liked quite as much as he liked Sara.In a month's time he was,as Mr.Carmichael had prophesied he would be, a new man.He was always amused and interested,and he began to find an actual pleasure in the possession of the wealth he had imagined that he loathed the burden of.There were so many charming things to plan for Sara.There was a little joke between them that he was a magician, and it was one of his pleasures to invent things to surprise her.She found beautiful new flowers growing in her room,whimsical5 little gifts tucked under pillows,and once,as they sat together in the evening, they heard the scratch of a heavy paw on the door,and when Sara went to find out what it was,there stood a great dog-a splendid Russian boarhoundwith a grand silver and gold collar bearing an inscription in raised letters."I am Boris,"it read;"I serve the Princess Sara." There was nothing the Indian gentleman loved more than the recollection of the little princess in rags and tatters.The afternoons in which the Large Family,or Ermengarde and Lottie,gathered to rejoice ·446· 小公主【 斯平卧在石板瓦上，朝天窗里面看，直到那次宴 O disastrous /di'za:stras/a. 会灾难性地结束；他确信萨拉累了，会睡得很 灾难性的 2conclusion /kan'klu:3an/n. 熟；于是便带着暗淡的灯笼爬进房间，他的同伴 结束 留在外边把东西递给他。萨拉曾微微动了一下， ③lantemn/aenton/m.k灯笼 拉姆·达斯马上把灯笼的滑板关上，趴在地板上。 这些事情和其他许多激动人心的事情都是孩子们 提出许许多多的问题问出来的。 “我很高兴，”萨拉说。“我很高兴你是我的 朋友” 像他们两个这样的朋友还是从未有过的。不 知怎的，他们似乎以一种奇妙的方式彼此相适 应。印度绅士从来没有像他喜欢萨拉那样喜欢过 一个同伴。一个月后，他像卡迈尔先生预言的那 ④prophesy'prafisi/v.预言 样，成了个新人。他总是感到高兴和兴致勃勃， 他开始发现拥有财富的真正乐趣，而他过去认为 自己厌恶财富这个包袱。有那么多有趣的事情要 为萨拉作安排。他们之间开过小小的玩笑，说他 是一个魔术师，他的乐趣之一就是想出一些事情 使她感到惊奇。她发现自己房间里有了美丽的鲜 花，枕头底下塞着一些稀奇古怪的小礼物，有一 5 whimsical /(h wimzikal/a. 次他们晚上坐在一起时，听见一只笨重的脚爪扒 古怪的 门的声音，萨拉出去查看是什么东西时，看到有 一只大狗站在那里一一只出色的俄国大猎 狗一戴着一只华丽的金银项圈，上面刻着几个 ⑥boarhound用来猎野猪的 凸起的字，写道，“我叫鲍里斯，我为萨拉公主 大猎狗 效劳。” 7 inscription /in'skripfan/n. 题字 印度绅士最爱回忆起衣衫槛楼的小公主。大 ⑧raised /reizd/a.凸起的， 浮雕的 家庭成员，或者厄门加德和洛蒂，欢聚一堂的那 些下午是极其愉快的。然而在萨拉和印度绅士单 ·447· A Little Princess together were very delightful.But the hours when Sara and the Indian gentleman sat alone and read or talked had a special charm of their own. During their passing many interesting things occurred. One evening,Mr.Carrisford,looking up from his book,noticed that his companion had not stirred for some time,but sat gazing into the fire. “What are you‘supposing',Sara?”he asked. Sara looked up,with a bright color on her cheek. “I was supposing,”she said,“I was remembering that hungry day, and a child I saw.” "But there were a great many hungry days,"said the Indian gentleman,with rather a sad tone in his voice."Which hungry day was it?” “I forgot you didn't know,”said Sara.“It was the day the dream came true.” Then she told him the story of the bun-shop,and the fourpence she picked up out of the sloppy mud,and the child who was hungrier than herself.She told it quite simply,and in as few words as possible;but somehow the Indian gentleman found it necessary to shade his eyes with his hand and look down at the carpet. "And I was supposing a kind of plan,"she said,when she had finished.“I was thinking I should like to do something.”“What was it?"said Mr.Carrisford,in a low tone."You may do anything you like to do,princess." "I was wondering,"rather hesitated Sara-"you know,you say I have so much money-I was wondering if I could go to see the bun- woman,and tell her that if,when hungry children-particularly on those dreadful days-come and sit on the steps,or look in at the window,she would just call them in and give them something to eat,she might send ·448· 小公主 独坐在一起阅读或谈话的时刻，也有其独特的魅 力。随着时光的流逝，发生过许多有趣的事。 天黄昏，卡里斯福特先生从书本上抬起 头，注意到他的同伴有一会儿工夫动也不动，只 是望着炉火。 “你在‘想象’什么，萨拉？”他问。 萨拉抬头望了望，脸上露出喜色。 “我在想象，”她说，“我在回忆挨饿的那一 天，我还见到过一个孩子。” “可是挨饿的日子多着呢，”印度绅士说，嗓 音中带有一点悲伤的口气。“它是哪一个挨饿的 日子？” “我忘了，你还不知道，”萨拉说。“就是梦 想变成现实的那天。” 于是她把面包店，她从泥浆中检起4便士硬 币和那个比她更饿的小孩的事讲给他听。她把这 件事讲得很简单，尽量少说；可不知怎的，印度 绅士还感到有必要用手掩住眼睛，俯视着地毯。 ①shae小eid/遮住 “我在设想一种计划，”她在讲完之后说。 “我在考虑我想做点儿事。” “什么事？”卡里斯福特先生轻声说。“你愿 意做的任何事情都可以做，公主。” “我在纳闷，”萨拉有点迟疑地说一“你知 道，你说我有那么多钱—我在纳闷，我可不可 以去看看那个女面包师，告诉她，当饥饿的孩 子一尤其是在天气非常恶劣的日子里一走来 坐在台阶上，或者朝橱窗里看的时候，她就叫他 们进去，给他们一些吃的东西，她就可以把帐单 送给我。我可以这样做吗？” ·449 A Little Princess the bills to me.Could I do that?" "You shall do it tomorrow morning,"said the Indian gentleman. “Thank you,”said Sara.“You see,I know what is is to be hungry, and it is very hard when one cannot even pretend it away." “Yes,yes,my dear,”said the Indian gentleman.“Yes,yes,it must be.Try to forget it.Come and sit on this footstool near my knee,and only remember you are a princess." “Yes,”said Sara,smiling,“and I can give buns and bread to the populace."And she went and sat on the stool,and the Indian gentleman (he used to like her to call him that,too,sometimes)drew her small dark head down upon his knee and stroked her hair. The next morning,Miss Minchin,in looking out of her window, saw the thing she perhaps least enjoyed seeing.The Indian gentleman's carriage,with its tall horses,drew up before the door of the next house,and its owner and a little figure,warm with soft,rich furs, descended the steps to get into it.The little figure was a familiar one, and reminded Miss Minchin of days in the past.It was followed by another as familiar-the sight of which she found very irritating.It was Becky,who,in the character②of delighted attendant③，always accompanied her young mistress to her carriage,carrying wraps and belongings.Already Becky had a pink,round face.A little later the carriage drew up before the door of the baker's shop,and its occupants got out,oddly enough,just as the bun-woman was putting a tray of smoking-hot buns into the window. When Sara entered the shop the woman turned and looked at her, and,leaving the buns,came and stood behind the counter5.For a moment she looked at Sara very hard indeed,and then her good-natured face lighted up. “T'm sure that I remember you,miss,”she said.“And yet--” ·450· 小公主 “你明天上午就可以这样做，”印度绅士说。 “谢谢你，”萨拉说。“你知道，我懂得什么 叫饥饿，最难受的是，有时连假装不饿也不行。” “是的，是的，亲爱的，”印度绅士说。“是 的，是的，准是这样。设法忘掉它吧。过来坐在 我膝边的凳子上，只要记住你是一位公主。” “是的，”萨拉微笑着说。“我可以把小圆 面包和面包给平民。”于是她走过去坐在凳子 上，印度绅士（他有时也总喜欢她这样叫他） 把她的乌黑的小脑袋拉到自己膝上，拍拍她的 头发。 第二天上午，明软小姐朝窗外看望时，瞧见 了她也许最不愿意看到的情景。印度绅土那辆由 ①draw up拉车 高头大马拉着的马车在隔壁住宅门前停下，它的 主人和一个用柔软、贵重的皮衣保暖的小人儿走 下台阶上了马车。这个小人儿是个熟人，使明钦 小姐想起过去的时日。后面跟着另一个熟人一 一见到这个人她就非常生气。那是贝基，她以兴 ②character /'kaerikto/n.人 高采烈的侍女身份经常提着包裹和物品随着年轻 物，身份 的女主人一起坐马车。贝基已显得丰满红润了。 ③attendant/a'tendant/m.侍 过了一会儿，马车停在面包店门前。说也奇 怪，马车上的人下车的时候，正当女面包师把一 盘热气腾腾的小圆面包放进橱窗。 萨拉进店的时候，女人转身看着她，接着放 下面包，站到柜台后面。她使劲看了萨拉一会 ④smoking-hot热气腾腾的 儿，随后她那和善的脸露出喜色。 counter/'kaunta/n.柜台 “我真的想起你了，小姐，”她说。“可 是 “是的，”萨拉说，“有一次我用4便士硬币 换了你6个小圆面包，接着一” ·451·