27.Vanity and Vexation of Spirit自负与烦恼-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《绿山墙的安妮Anne of Green Gables》下

Chapter XXVII Vanity and Vexation of Spirit Marilla,walking home one late April eve ning from an Aid meeting,realized that the winter was over and gone.The spring was abroad in the land and Marilla's sober,middle-aged step was lighter and swifter. Her eyes dwelt affectionately on Green Gables.Marilla,as she picked her steps along the damp lane,thought that it was really a satisfaction to know that she was going home to a briskly snapping wood fire and a table nicely spread for tea. Consequently,when Marilla entered her kitchen and found the fire black out,with no sign of Anne anywhere,she felt justly disappointed and irritated②. "I'll settle Miss Anne when she comes home,"said Marilla grimly, as she shaved up kindlings.Matthew had come in and was waiting patiently for his tea in his corner."She's never thinking once about the time or her duties.She's just got to be pulled up short and sudden on this sort of thing.I must say,with all her faults,I never found her disobedient or untrustworthy before and I'm real sorry to find her so now." ·280· 第二十七章 自负与烦恼 四月末的一个傍晚，玛丽拉开完劝助会回 家，她发现冬天过去了。春天降临在这块土地 上，玛丽拉那中年人特有的沉稳步伐也变得轻盈 敏捷起来。 ①dwell/dwe/居住，这里 她深情地凝视着掩映在树影中的绿山墙，走 指停在 在潮湿的小路上，想到自己要回家守着一炉旺旺 的噼啪作响的炭火，坐在摆好茶点的桌旁，心情 愉快极了。 因此当玛丽拉走进厨房，发现星火全无，根 本看不到安妮的影子时，她又失望又生气。 “等安妮小姐回来了，我得好好收拾她。”玛 ②irritated /riteitid a.恼怒的 丽拉一边劈木柴，一边气呼呼地说。马修回到了 ③shave /ferv/剃，刮，刨，削 ④kindling'knd/n点火， 家，耐心地坐在角落里准备用茶。“她压根儿没想 可燃物 到几点了，该干什么了。该教训教训她了。我必须 说，尽管她有那么多缺点，但我以前从没发现她 disobedient /disa'bi:diant/ 不听话或者靠不住，我很遗憾现在发现她这样。” a不服从的，不顺从的 “呃，我不知道，”马修说，“玛丽拉，也许 你的判断下得太早了。你现在还不能肯定她不听 ·281 Anne of Green Gables “Well now,I dunno,”said Matthew.“Perhaps you're judging her too hasty,Marilla.Don't call her untrustworthy until you're sure she has disobeyed you.Mebbe it can all be explained." “She's not here when I told her to stay,”retorted Marilla.“I reckon she'll find it hard to explain THAT to my satisfaction.Of course I knew you'd take her part,Matthew.But I'm bringing her up,not you." It was dark when supper was ready,and still no sign of Anne. Marilla washed and put away the dishes grimly.Then,wanting a candle to light her way down the cellar,she went up to the east gable for the one that generally stood on Anne's table.Lighting it,she turned around to see Anne herself lying on the bed,face downward among the pillows. “Mercy on us,.”said astonished Marilla,“have you been asleep, Anne?” “No,”was the muffled reply. "Are you sick then?"demanded Marilla anxiously,going over to the bed. Anne cowered deeper into her pillows as if desirous of hiding herself forever from mortal eyes. "No.But please,Marilla,go away and don't look at me.I'm in the depths of despair.Please,Marilla,go away and don't look at me." “Did anyone ever hear the like?”the mystified③Marilla wanted to know."Anne Shirley,whatever is the matter with you?What have you done?Get right up this minute and tell me.This minute,I say.There now,what is it?” Anne had slided to the floor in despairing obedience. “Look at my hair,Marilla,”she whispered. ·282· 绿山墙的安妮 话，先不要说她靠不住。也许这一切都可以解释 清楚。” “我告诉她在家待着，可她没在家，”玛丽拉 反驳道，“我看她这次不容易把这事解释清楚 了。当然我知道你会向着她，马修。可是我在抚 养教育她，不是你。” 晚饭好了，天都黑了，可是仍然不见安妮的 踪影。玛丽拉洗了盘子，狠狠地推到一边。她想 找一根蜡烛照着下地窖，就到东侧房取那根通常 插在安妮桌子上的蜡烛。她点亮了蜡烛，转身发 现安妮躺在床上，脸朝下埋在枕头里。 “天哪，”玛丽拉惊叫道，“安妮，你一直在 睡觉吗？” “没睡。”安妮闷声闷气地回答。 “那你病了？”玛丽拉一边焦急地问，一边向 ①muffled /mAfld/a.（指声 床边走去。 音听不清的 安妮的头更深地埋在枕头里，仿佛希望永远 躲过人们的眼睛。 “没病。可是求求您，玛丽拉，走吧，别看 ②desirous/dr'za1aras/a.渴望 的 着我。我绝望死了，玛丽拉，请您走吧，别看我 了。” “谁听过这种事？”玛丽拉迷惑不解，很想知 道实情。“安妮·雪利，你这是怎么回事？你都 ③mysti近y /mistrfav/v.使神秘 做了什么？马上起来告诉我。对了，马上。好 化，迷惑 了，怎么回事？” 安妮绝望地服从了，溜到地板上。 “玛丽拉，看我的头发。”她小声说。 ④slide/slaid.滑，滑动，滑 “安妮·雪利，你的头发是怎么弄的？啊，是 入 ⑤obedience /a'bi:djans//n.服 绿色的！” 从，顺从 也许可以称之为绿色，如果可以算是一种颜 ·283· Anne of Green Gables "Anne Shirley,what ha ve you done to your hair?Why,it's GREEN!” Green it might be called,if it were any earthly color.Never in all her life had Marilla seen anything so grotesque as Anne's hair at that moment. “Yes,it's green,”moaned Anne..“I thought nothing could be as bad as red hair.But now I know it's ten times worse to have green hair. Oh,Marilla,you little know how utterly wretched I am." "I little know how you got into this fix,but I mean to find out, said Marilla."Come right down to the kitchen-it's too cold up here- and tell me just what you've done.Now,then,what did you do to your hair?” “I dyed③it.” "Dyed it!Dyed your hair!Anne Shirley,didn't you know it was a wicked thing to do?” “Yes,I knew it was a little wicked,”admitted Anne.“ButI thought it was worthwhile to be a little wicked to get rid of red hair." "Well,"said Marilla sarcastically,"if I'd decided it was worthwhile to dye my hair I'd have dyed it a decent color at least.I wouldn't have dyed it green." "But I didn't mean to dye it green,Marilla,"protested Anne dejectedly."If I was wicked I meant to be wicked to some purpose.He said it would turn my hair a beautiful raven black." "Who said?Who are you talking about?" "The peddler5 that was here this afternoon.I bought the dye from him.” "Anne Shirley,how often have I told you never to let one of those Italians in the house!I don't believe in encouraging them to come around at all..” ·284· 绿山墙的安妮 色的话。玛丽拉这辈子从没见过这么难看的颜 色。 “嗯，是绿色的，”安妮鸣咽着说，“我原来 ①grotesque/grau'tesk/a.奇怪 以为什么东西都不会像红头发那样难看。可现在 的，可笑的 我知道了，绿头发比红头发难看得多。唉，玛丽 拉，您不知道我有多倒霉呀。” “我不知道你是怎么弄到这步田地的，不过 ②wretched /retfid/a.可怜 的，不幸的，难受的 我倒是想知道，”玛丽拉说，“立刻下楼到厨房 去—这里太冷了—把你干的事统统告诉我。 好了，你的头发是怎么弄的？” “我染的。” “染的！染头发！安妮·雪利，你不知道染头 ③dye /da/v.染，染色 发是件坏事吗？” “知道，我知道这样做不大好，”安妮承认 道，“不过我想，只要能摆脱红头发，就是有点 坏也值得。” “好呀，”玛丽拉讥讽地说，“如果我认定染 头发是值得的，我也至少会把它染成一种像样的 颜色。我不会把它染成绿色的。” “玛丽拉，可我不想把它染成绿色的呀，”安 妮沮丧地反驳道，“就算我坏，我也是为了某种 dejectedly /dr'd3ektidl/ 目的才干坏事。他说我的头发会染成漂亮的乌鸦 ad.沮丧地 黑。” “谁说的？你在说谁？” “今天下午来这儿的小贩子。我从他那儿买 peddler"pedla/n小贩 的染料。” “安妮·雪利，我跟你说了多少次了，绝不要 放意大利人进屋！根本就不该让他们到这儿来。” “噢，我没让他进屋。另外，他不是意大利 ·285· Anne of Green Gables "Oh,I didn't let him in the house.Besides,he wasn't an Italian- he was a German Jew.He told me he was working hard to make enough money to bring his wife and children out from Germany.I wanted to buy something from him to help him in such a worthy object.Then all at once I saw the bottle of hair dye.The peddler said it was warranted to dye any hair a beautiful raven black and wouldn't wash off.So I bought it,and as soon as he had gone I came up here and applied it with an old hairbrush as the directions said.I used up the whole bottle,and oh,Marilla,when I saw the dreadful color it turned my hair I repented of being wicked,I can tell you.And I've been repenting ever since." "Well,I hope you'll repent to good purpose,"said Marilla severely,"and that you've got your eyes opened to where your vanity has led you,Anne.Goodness knows what's to be done.I suppose the first thing is to give your hair a good washing and see if that will do any good.” Accordingly,Anne washed her hair,scrubbing it vigorously 5 with soap and water,but for all the difference it made she might as well have been scouring its original red. “Oh,Marilla,what shall I do?”questioned Anne in tears.“Ican never live this down.People have pretty well forgotten my other mistakes.But they'll never forget this.And oh,how Josie Pye will laugh!Marilla,I CANNOT face Josie Pye.I am the unhappiest girl in Prince Edward Island." Anne's unhappiness continued for a week.During that time she went nowhere and shampooed her hair every day.At the end of the week Marilla said decidedly:"It's no use,Anne.That is fast dye if ever there was any.Your hair must be cut off;there is no other way.You can't go ·286· 绿山墙的安妮 人一他是一个德国犹太人。他对我说他卖力干 活，好赚够了钱，把老婆孩子从德国接出来。我 想买他一点东西，帮他实现这个美好的计划。我 忽然看到了装染发剂的瓶子。小贩说它保证能把 ①warranted /wprantid/a.担 各种颜色的头发染成美丽的乌鸦黑色，而且洗不 保的，保证的 掉。所以我就买了，他刚一走，我就上楼按照说 ②raven /'rervon/a.乌黑的 明用一把旧发刷染发。我用完了一整瓶，唉，玛 丽拉，跟您说吧，看到头发染成这种可怕的颜 色，我悔不该这么无法无天。打那会儿起我一直 ③repent/'pent/,.后悔，懊 悔 在后悔。” “好，我希望你没有白后悔，”玛丽拉严厉地 说，“看看虚荣心把你害成什么样了，安妮。天 ④vanity /'vanit/n虚荣心， 知道该怎么办。我想先得把你的头发好好洗一 浮华 洗，看管不管用。” 于是安妮开始洗头发，使劲用肥皂和水搓， 但是唯一的结果是她把那几缕红发洗得更显眼 了。 5 vigorously /vigarash/ad. “唉，玛丽拉，我该怎么办呢？”安妮含着泪 有力地 水问道，“我永远不能弥补这次的过失了。人们 ⑥scour/skaua/擦洗，察亮 把我犯的错误都忘得差不多了。可是这次他们绝 不会忘掉的。唉，乔西·派伊会怎样笑话我呀！ 玛丽拉，我无法见乔西·派伊了。我是爱德华王 子岛上最不幸的女孩儿。” 安妮的不幸持续了一个星期。这期间她哪儿 也没去，每天都要洗头发。那个周末，玛丽拉果 断地说：“安妮，没有用。要是世上有不褪色的 染料的话，这个就是了。你的头发必须剪掉，没 有其他办法了。头发这个样子你没法出门。” 安妮的嘴唇颤抖着，可她知道玛丽拉话虽难 ·287· Anne of Green Gables out with it looking like that." Anne's lips quivered,but she realized the bitter truth of Marilla's remarks.With a dismal sigh she went for the scissors. "Please cut it off at once,Marilla,and have it over.Oh,I feel that my heart is broken.This is such an unromantic affliction.I'm going to weep all the time you're cutting it off,if it won't interfere.It seems such a tragic thing..” Anne wept then,but later on,when she went upstairs and looked in the glass,she was calm with despair.Marilla had done her work thoroughly and it had been necessary to shingle the hair as closely as possible. Anne's clipped head made a sensation in school on the following Monday,but to her relief nobody guessed the real reason for it,not even Josie Pye. "I didn't say anything when Josie said that to me,"Anne confided that evening to Marilla,"because I thought it was part of my punishment and I ought to bear it patiently.I mean to devote all my energies to being good after this and I shall never try to be beautiful again.I do really want to be good,Marilla,like you and Mrs.Allan and Miss Stacy,and grow up to be a credit to you.But am I talking too much,Marilla? Does it hurt your head?" "My head is better now.It was terrible bad this afternoon,though. These headaches of mine are getting worse and worse.I'll have to see a doctor about them.As for your chatter,I don't know that I mind it-I've got so used to it.” Which was Marilla's way of saying that she liked to hear it. ·288· 绿山墙的安妮 听，却句句是真。她闷闷地叹了口气，找剪刀去 了。 “玛丽拉，把头发立刻剪了吧，让这事快点 儿结束吧。唉，我觉得我的心都碎了。这种痛苦 ①affliction/'firk∫n/n.痛 苦，苦恼，苦难 一点儿不浪漫。要是不碍事，您一边剪头发我一 ②interfere/Inta'fha/某妨碍， 边哭吧。这似乎太悲惨了。” 冲突，干涉 接着安妮就哭开了，但是后来她上楼照镜子 时却因为绝望而显得平静了。玛丽拉毫不留情地 下了剪子，头发得剪得尽量短。 ③shingle /'fingl/v.给（女子） 剪成短发 星期一上学时安妮的短发引起了轰动，但是 她松了一口气，因为没人猜到她剪头的真正原 因，就连乔西·派伊也没猜到。 “乔西对我说这话时，我一句话也没说，”安 妮当天晚上对玛丽拉吐露说，“因为我想这也是 对我的惩罚的一部分，我应当耐心忍受。经过这 件事我要使出全身的劲去做一个乖孩子，再不想 方设法臭美了。玛丽拉，我真想做个好人，就像 您、阿伦太太和斯塔西小姐一样，长大后能为您 争光。玛丽拉，我说得太多了吧？让您头疼了 吧？” “我的头现在好多了。不过今天下午头疼得 很厉害。我的头疼病越来越重了，得找个大夫看 看。至于你说个没完，我想我不介意—我已经 习惯了。” 玛丽拉这是表示她喜欢听安妮讲话。 ·289·