Chapter17 A Tantrum耍脾气-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《秘密花园The Secret Garden》

Chapter XVII A Tantrum She had got up very early in the morning and had worked hard in the garden and she was tired and sleepy,so as soon as Martha had brought her supper and she had eaten it,she was glad to go to bed.As she laid her head on the pillow she murmured to herself: "I'll go out before breakfast and work with Dickon and then afterward-I believe一I'll go to see him.” She thought it was the middle of the night when she was awakened by such dreadful sounds that she jumped out of bed in an instant.What was it- what was it?The next minute she felt quite sure she knew.Doors were opened and shut and there were hurrying feet in the corridors and some one was crying and screaming at the same time,screaming and crying in a horrible way. "It's Colin,"she said."He's having one of those tantrums the nurse called hysterics.How awful it sounds." As she listened to the sobbing screams she did not wonder that people were so frightened that they gave him his own way in everything rather than hear them.She put her hands over her ears and felt sick and shivering. "I don't know what to do.I don't know what to do,"she kept saying."I can't bear it..” Once she wondered if he would stop if she dared go to him and then she ·300· 第十七章 耍脾气 这天早上，玛丽很早便爬了起来，在花园里辛勤地 劳作了一整天，又累又困。玛莎刚将晚餐端过来，她便 速速吃完，心满意足地爬到了床上。当她躺到枕头上的 时候，小声地自言自语道： “明天早上我要在早饭之前就出门，和迪康一起干 会儿活儿，之后呢—我觉得—我会去看他的。” 不知什么时候，玛丽觉得应该已经是半夜了，她被 一阵可怕的声音吵醒，即刻从床上跳了下去。那是什么 ①in an instance立即；马 声音一到底是什么声音？下一刻，她便确定自己知道 上 答案了。门开了，又关上了，走廊上传来了急促的脚步 声，有人正在什么地方又哭又叫的，以一种可怖的方式 又叫又哭。 “是柯林，”她说，“他又在耍脾气了，这就是那看 护口中的歇斯底里吧。听着可真吓人。” 听着那阵夹杂着抽噎的尖叫声，玛丽一点儿都不奇 怪为什么人人都那样怕他，什么事都顺着他了一因为 他们不愿意听见这样的声音。她用手堵住耳朵，一面觉 得恶心，一面却又不住开始颤抖。 “我不知道该怎么办，我不知道该怎么办，”她喃 喃地说着，“我受不了了。” 有那么一刻，玛丽想着，要是自己大着胆子进屋找 ·301· Chapter XVII月Tantrum remembered how he had driven her out of the room and thought that perhaps the sight of her might make him worse.Even when she pressed her hands more tightly over her ears she could not keep the awful sounds out.She hated them so and was so terrified by them that suddenly they began to make her angry and she felt as if she should like to fly into a tantrum herself and frighten him as he was frightening her.She was not used to any one's tempers but her own.She took her hands from her ears and sprang up and stamped her foot. "He ought to be stopped!Somebody ought to make him stop!Somebody ought to beat him!"she cried out. Just then she heard feet almost running down the corridor and her door opened and the nurse came in.She was not laughing now by any means.She even looked rather pale. "He's worked himself into hysterics,"she said in a great hurry."He'll do himself harm.No one can do anything with him.You come and try,like a good child..He likes you.” "He turned me out of the room this morning,"said Mary,stamping her foot with excitement. The stamp rather pleased the nurse.The truth was that she had been afraid she might find Mary crying and hiding her head under the bed-clothes. "That's right,"she said."You're in the right humor.You go and scold him. Give him something new to think of.Do go,child,as quick as ever you can." It was not until afterward that Mary realized that the thing had been funny as well as dreadful-that it was funny that all the grown-up people were so frightened that they came to a little girl just because they guessed she was almost as bad as Colin himself. She flew along the corridor and the nearer she got to the screams the higher her temper mounted.She felt quite wicked by the time she reached the door. She slapped it open with her hand and ran across the room to the four-posted bed. "You stop!"she almost shouted."You stop!I hate you!Everybody hates ·302· 第十七章 耍脾气 他的话，他会不会就此打住呢，然而下一刻，她便想起 他是怎样将她轰出房间的。这样想来，看到她可能反而 会让他哭得更厉害。无论玛丽怎样用双手堵住耳朵，那 恼人的声音还是拼命往耳朵里钻。她觉得那动静真是讨 厌极了，也吓人极了。终于，她开始觉得愤怒，甚至觉 得自己也应该耍一耍脾气，就像柯林吓唬自己那样吓一 吓他。一直以来都只有她冲别人发火的份儿。她把手从 耳朵那里放了下来，一跃而起，还跺了跺脚。 “他真是够了！得有人去让他闭嘴！得有人揍他一 顿！”她大声喊道。 就在这时，她听到有人几乎是奔跑着穿过走廊。门 ①by any means无论如何 打开了，那位看护走了进来。此时此刻，她的脸上一丝 笑意也没有，甚至还有一些苍白。 “他又开始歇斯底里了，”她匆匆忙忙地说道，“他 会伤到自己的。大家都束手无策。你过来试试吧，听话。 他喜欢你。” “他今天早上才把我从房间里赶出去。”玛丽一边 激动地跺着脚，一边说道。 这样的动作让那位看护的心情好了一些。事实上， 她原本还害怕自己进来的时候，玛丽正把脑袋捂在床单 底下哭呢。 “这就对了，”她说，“你现在的这种情绪是对的。 快过去讽刺讽刺他，让他想点别的。快去吧，孩子，赶 快过去吧。” 直到后来，玛丽才意识到，这件事情真是又好笑又 气人—好笑的是，所有的大人都那么害怕柯林，最后 只能过来求助一个小姑娘：气人的是，这一切因为他们 觉得自己和柯林一样坏。 她飞快地穿过走廊。玛丽越是接近尖叫声传来的地 方，她的怒火就越是旺盛。等她到了门边的时候，已然 快要爆发了。她一把将门推开，跨过房间，跑到了那张 四柱大床的旁边 “你给我停下！”她几乎喊了出来，“停下！我讨 ·303· Chapter XVII ATantrum you!I wish everybody would run out of the house and let you scream yourself to death!You will scream yourself to death in a minute,and I wish you would!" A nice sympathetic child could neither have thought nor said such things,but it just happened that the shock of hearing them was the best possible thing for this hysterical boy whom no one had ever dared to restrain or contradict. He had been lying on his face beating his pillow with his hands and he actually almost jumped around,he turned so quickly at the sound of the furious little voice.His face looked dreadful,white and red and swollen,and he was gasping and choking;but savage little Mary did not care an atom “If you scream another scream,”she said,“T''ll scream too一and I can scream louder than you can and I'll frighten you,I'll frighten you!" He actually had stopped screaming because she had startled him so.The scream which had been coming almost choked him.The tears were streaming down his face and he shook all over. "I can't stop!"he gasped and sobbed."I can't-I can't!" “You can!”shouted Mary.“Half that ails you is hysterics and temper just hysterics-hysterics-hysterics!"and she stamped each time she said it. “I felt the lump一I felt it,.”choked out Colin.“I knew I should..I shall have a hunch on my back and then I shall die,"and he began to writhe again and turned on his face and sobbed and wailed but he didn't scream. “You didn't feel a lump！”contradicted Mary fiercely.“If you did it was only a hysterical lump.Hysterics makes lumps.There's nothing the matter with your horrid back-nothing but hysterics!Turn over and let me look at it!" ·304· 第十七章 耍脾气 厌你！所有人都讨厌你！我真希望所有人都能从这栋房 子里跑出去，留你一个人在这里尖叫到死！你一定过不 了一会儿就会尖叫死的，我希望你去死！” 任何一个有同情心的好孩子都不会想到这种事情 的，遑论是把这些话说出口，然而柯林听到这话时的震 惊情绪正是让那个无人敢管教、无人敢反驳，还无比歇 斯底里的男孩闭上嘴巴的最好法子。 柯林原本正趴在床上，用手使劲捶打着枕头，甚至 ①swollen[swoulon]a.膨 都快要跳起来了，但是一听到小姑娘发飙的声音，他迅 胀的：肿大的 ②atom[etom]n.微量， 速转过了身。他那张脸看上去可怕极了，一处红一处白， (最)少量 还有几分浮肿，整个人喘不过气似的抽噎着。然而，凶 狠的小玛丽才不在意这些。 “要是你再尖叫一声，”她说，“我就跟着你一起 尖叫一而且我能叫得比你还大声，吓死你，我会吓 死你！” 柯林真的不再叫了，因为他被她吓到了。哽在嗓子 里的尖叫几乎令他喘不过气来。他整个人都在发抖，眼 泪自脸颊上淌了下来。 “我停不下来！”他粗喘着气，抽噎着，“我不 行一不行！” ③writhe[rai].(因痛苦 “你行的！”玛丽大喊道，“你整天这么病恹恹的， 而)扭动身体 有一半都是因为你的歇斯底里和坏脾气一—就是歇斯底 里—歇斯底里—歇斯底里！”她每跺一次脚便重复 一次。 “我摸到鼓包了一我摸到了，”柯林哽咽着说道， “我就知道会这样的。我的背上会长出鼓包，之后我就 会死的。”说完这话，他便又开始不停地翻滚，还转过 脸去，时而抽噎，时而放声大哭，但他没有再尖叫。 “你根本就没摸到什么鼓包！”玛丽厉声反驳道， “就算你真的摸到了，肯定也是个歇斯底里的鼓包。歇 斯底里就会长出鼓包。你那招人烦的后背一点儿事也没 有一只有歇斯底里的问题！转过去让我看看！” ·305· Chapter XVII A Tantrum She liked the word "hysterics"and felt somehow as if it had an effect on him.He was probably like herself and had never heard it before. “Nurse,.”she commanded,“come here and show me his back this minute!" The nurse,Mrs.Medlock and Martha had been standing huddled together near the door staring at her,their mouths half open.All three had gasped with fright more than once.The nurse came forward as if she were half afraid.Colin was heaving with great breathless sobs. "Perhaps he-he won't let me,"she hesitated in a low voice. Colin heard her,however,and he gasped out between two sobs: "Sh-show her!She-she'll see then!" It was a poor thin back to look at when it was bared.Every rib could be counted and every joint of the spine,though Mistress Mary did not count them as she bent over and examined them with a solemn savage little face.She looked so sour and old-fashioned that the nurse turned her head aside to hide the twitehing of her mouth.There was just a minute's silence,for even Colin tried to hold his breath while Mary looked up and down his spine,and down and up,as intently as if she had been the great doctor from London. "There's not a single lump there!"she said at last."There's not a lump as big as a pin-except backbone lumps,and you can only feel them because you're thin.I've got backbone lumps myself,and they used to stick out as much as yours do,until I began to get fatter,and I am not fat enough yet to hide them. There's not a lump as big as a pin!If you ever say there is again,I shall laugh!" No one but Colin himself knew what effect those crossly spoken childish words had on him.If he had ever had any one to talk to about his secret ·306· 第十七章 要脾气 她很喜欢“歇斯底里”这个词，觉得这种说法对他 莫名地有效。他很可能跟她一样，之前听都没听说过这 个单词。 ①huddle[hAdl].挤作一 “看护，”她命令道，“马上过来把他的后背给我看 团 看！” 麦德洛克夫人、玛莎和那位看护此前一直在门口站 作一团，半张着嘴看着她。他们全都不止一次地因为受 到惊吓而倒吸凉气。听到玛丽的吩附，那位看护似乎半 是害怕地站了出来。柯林依旧在那里吃力地喘息着，哭 得几乎喘不上气。 “他可能—可能不会让我这么做的。”她小声犹 豫着。 然而，柯林听到了她的话，便于两声抽噎之间磕磕 绊绊地说道： “让…让她看看！她…她就知道了！” 当衣服撩起来之后，玛丽看到，他的后背真是瘦骨 ②twitch[twit们n.抽动，抽 嶙峋，可怜得很。女王玛丽挂着一张严肃而凶狠的小脸 搐 儿，弯下身去仔细查看着他的后背，发现每一根肋骨和 脊柱上的每一块关节都能数得清清楚楚，尽管她并没有 真的在数。她的表情是那样的阴郁，那样的严肃，看护 不得不将头扭向一边，才能不让别人看到自己嘴角的抽 搐。房间里足足安静了一分钟，那段时间里，就连柯林 都努力屏住了呼吸，等待玛丽从上到下，复又从下到上 地观察着他的脊柱。她的姿态无比专注，仿佛全然把自 己当作了那位来自伦敦的名医。 “上面一个鼓包都没有！”终于，她下了结论，“连 一个针尖那么大的鼓包都没有一只有脊柱上的突起，还 是因为你实在是太瘦了才能摸到。我自己也有那样的突 起，以前也像你似的凸在外面，但是我现在长肉了，虽然 还不足以完全把它们藏住吧。你背上连个针尖大的鼓包也 没有！要是你以后还敢说有的话，我一定会笑话你的！” 别人永远无法了解，玛丽怒气冲冲说出口的那些孩 子气十足的话对他产生了怎样的影响。假若有人能够令 ·307· Chapter XVII A Tantrum terrors-if he had ever dared to let himself ask questions-if he had had childish companions and had not lain on his back in the huge closed house, breathing an atmosphere heavy with the fears of people who were most of them ignorant and tired of him,he would have found out that most of his fright and illness was created by himself.But he had lain and thought of himself and his aches and weariness for hours and days and months and years.And now that an angry unsympathetic little girl insisted obstinately that he was not as ill as he thought he was he actually felt as if she might be speaking the truth. "I didn't know,"ventured the nurse,"that he thought he had a lump on his spine.His back is weak because he won't try to sit up.I could have told him there was no lump there."Colin gulped and turned his face a little to look at her. "C-could you?"he said pathetically. “Yes,sir.” "There!"said Mary,and she gulped too. Colin turned on his face again and but for his long-drawn broken breaths, which were the dying down of his storm of sobbing,he lay still for a minute, though great tears streamed down his face and wet the pillow.Actually the tears meant that a curious great relief had come to him.Presently he turned and looked at the nurse again and strangely enough he was not like a Rajah at all as he spoke to her. "Do you think-I could-live to grow up?"he said. The nurse was neither clever nor soft-hearted but she could repeat some of the London doctor's words. "You probably will if you will do what you are told to do and not give way to your temper,and stay out a great deal in the fresh air." Colin's tantrum had passed and he was weak and worn out with crying and ·308· 第十七章 要脾气 他倾诉出自己内心不为人知的恐惧，假若他敢于向别人 抛出自己的疑问，假若他能有一个玩伴，而不是像现在 这般生活在这样一座封闭的大房子里，整日躺在床上， 就连吸入体内的空气都因着那些或是无知、或是早已厌 烦了他的人的恐惧而变得沉重，那样的话，他便会发现， 自己的恐惧与疾病大多都是由自己制造出来的。可事实 却是，他就那样躺在那里，时时刻刻、岁岁年年惦记着 自己的疼痛与疲惫。然而如今，一个怒气冲冲、毫无怜 悯之心的小姑娘却固执地告诉他，他并不像自己想象的 那样赢弱，而他甚至开始觉得，她说的一切有可能都是 真的。 ①gul中[glp]v.吞，咽 “我不知道，”看护大着胆子说道，“我不知道他觉 得自己的脊柱上长了一个鼓包。他不愿意试着坐起来， 所以后背才会那么没有力气。我本可以告诉他的，他的 后背上没有鼓包。” 柯林咽了一下口水，微微转过脸来看着她。 “真…真的吗？”他可怜巴巴地问道。 “是的，先生。” “你看吧！”玛丽说道，她也咽了一下口水。 柯林又把脸转了过去，但这次却是为了长长地出一 口气，随后，他那暴风雨一般的抽噎声也逐渐停了下来。 他静静躺了一小会儿，但大颗大颗的眼泪还是顺着脸颊 流了下来，浸湿了枕头。事实上，此时的眼泪对于他来 说其实更是一种难以言说的巨大解脱。眼下，他又转过 身来，再一次看向那位看护并开了口，奇怪的是，他这 次的语气却一点儿都不像是一位王爷了。 “你觉得…我能…活到长大成人吗？”他问 道。 那位看护既谈不上聪明，也不是一个心软的人，但 她还是能将那位伦敦医生说过的话复述出几句的。 “有可能的，如果你能按照医生交代的做，不要总 是发脾气，再多多出去呼吸一下新鲜空气的话。” 柯林的火气渐渐消下去了。方才的一番哭闹令他又 ·309·