雙語小說連載:《董貝父子》第三章 Part 2

With a quick perception that it was intended to relate to what she had asked, little Florence laid aside the bonnet she had held in her hand until now, and sat down on a stool at the Nurse's feet, looking up into her face.
'Once upon a time,' said Richards, 'there was a lady -a very good lady, and her little daughter dearly loved her.'
'A very good lady and her little daughter dearly loved her,' repeated the child.

小弗洛倫斯迅速理解到這個故事是和她所問的問題有關的，就把直到現在還拿在手中的軟帽擱在一邊，坐在奶媽腳邊的凳子上，仰望着她的臉。
“從前，”理查茲說道，“有一位夫人——一位很善良的夫人，她的小女兒非常愛她。”
“一位很善良的夫人，她的小女兒非常愛她，”女孩子重複道。

'Who, when God thought it right that it should be so, was taken ill and died.'
The child shuddered.
'Died, never to be seen again by anyone on earth, and was buried in the ground where the trees grow.
'The cold ground?' said the child, shuddering again. 'No! The warm ground,' returned Polly, seizing her advantage, 'where the ugly little seeds turn into beautiful flowers, and into grass, and corn, and I don't know what all besides. Where good people turn into bright angels, and fly away to Heaven!'

“當上帝認爲是對的並應該這樣的時候，她得了病，死去了。”女孩子發抖了。
“她死了，世界上的人再也看不見她了，她被埋葬在地底下，那裏長着樹木。”
“那寒冷的地嗎？”女孩子問道，她又發抖了。
“不，那溫暖的地，”波利抓住這個有利的時機，回答道，“醜陋的小種子在地裏轉變成美麗的花朵，轉變成毒草和穀物，還有我不知道的其他所有的東西。善良的人們在那裏轉變成光輝的天使，飛向天國！”

The child, who had dropped her head, raised it again, and sat looking at her intently.
'So; let me see,' said Polly, not a little flurried between this earnest scrutiny, her desire to comfort the child, her sudden success, and her very slight confidence in her own powers.' So, when this lady died, wherever they took her, or wherever they put her, she went to GOD! and she prayed to Him, this lady did,' said Polly, affecting herself beyond measure; being heartily in earnest, 'to teach her little daughter to be sure of that in her heart: and to know that she was happy there and loved her still: and to hope and try Oh, all her life to meet her there one day, never, never, never to part any more.'

頭一直低垂着的女孩子又擡起頭來，坐在那裏聚精會神地望着她。
“就這樣，讓我想想，”波利說道；面對着這認真探究的眼光，懷着安慰這女孩子的願望，她突然間取得了成功，而她對她自己的能力又缺乏信心，在這些錯綜複雜的情況下，她的心情相當慌亂。“這樣，當這位夫人死去以後，不論他們把她帶到哪裏，或者不論他們把她放到哪裏，她都走到上帝那裏去了！她向他祈禱，是的，這位夫人向他祈禱，”波利說道，由於她十分真誠，因此連她自己也無限地感動，“教她的小女兒真心相信這一切；讓她知道，她媽媽在那裏是幸福的，仍舊愛着她，並且讓她希望和設法——哦，她整個一生都要設法——有一天到那裏去會見她，永遠永遠也不再分離。”

註釋：perception n. 知覺；[生理] 感覺；看法；洞察力；獲取
例句：
1. Her perception of the right seemed almost intuitive.
她對正確事物的理解幾乎是直覺的。
2. My perception was the conditions had not changed.
我認爲情況無變化。

'It was my Mama!' exclaimed the child, springing up, and clasping her round the neck.
'And the child's heart,' said Polly, drawing her to her breast: 'the little daughter's heart was so full of the truth of this, that even when she heard it from a strange nurse that couldn't tell it right, but was a poor mother herself and that was all, she found a comfort in it - didn't feel so lonely - sobbed and cried upon her bosom - took kindly to the baby lying in her lap and there, there, there!' said Polly, smoothing the child's curls and dropping tears upon them. 'There, poor dear!'

“這是我的媽媽！”女孩子跳起來，緊緊地摟着她的脖子，高聲喊道。
“這女孩子的心，”波利把她拉到懷裏，“這小女兒的心真心誠意地相信這一切，雖然她是從一位陌生的奶媽那裏聽到的，這位奶媽不能講得很好，但她本人是一位可憐的母親，這就是一切；女孩子得到了安慰——，不再感到那麼孤單——，她伏在她胸前抽抽嗒嗒地哭着，哇哇地大哭着——，自然而然地愛上了躺在她膝上的嬰孩——好啦，好啦，好啦！”波利撫摸着女孩子的捲髮，眼淚簌簌地落在上面，說道，“好啦，我可憐的好孩子！”

'Oh well, Miss Floy! And won't your Pa be angry neither!' cried a quick voice at the door, proceeding from a short, brown, womanly girl of fourteen, with a little snub nose, and black eyes like jet beads. 'When it was 'tickerlerly given out that you wasn't to go and worrit the wet nurse.
'She don't worry me,' was the surprised rejoinder of Polly. 'I am very fond of children.'

“啊，弗洛伊小姐！您爸爸還會不生氣嗎！”門口一個很快的聲音喊道，這是從一位身材矮小、皮膚褐色、十四歲但神態卻像成年婦女一樣的姑娘發出的，她有一個小小的獅子鼻，一雙像黑色大理石珠子一樣烏黑的眼睛。“他曾經特別囑咐過，不許您到奶媽這裏來打擾她。”
“她沒有打擾我，”波利感到驚異地回答道。“我很喜歡孩子。”

'Oh! but begging your pardon, Mrs Richards, that don't matter, you know,' returned the black-eyed girl, who was so desperately sharp and biting that she seemed to make one's eyes water. 'I may be very fond of penny winkles, Mrs Richards, but it don't follow that I'm to have 'em for tea. 'Well, it don't matter,' said Polly. 'Oh, thank'ee, Mrs Richards, don't it!' returned the sharp girl. 'Remembering, however, if you'll be so good, that Miss Floy's under my charge, and Master Paul's under your'n.'
'But still we needn't quarrel,' said Polly.

“啊，請您原諒，理查茲大嫂，這不要緊，您知道，”黑眼睛的姑娘回答道，她是這麼尖嘴利舌，咄咄逼人，似乎要叫人直掉眼淚。“我可能很喜歡吃蝸牛，理查茲大嫂，但不能因此就斷定說，我以後就光吃蝸牛不用喝茶了。”
“唔，這不要緊，”波利說道。
“啊，謝謝您，理查茲大嫂，這不算什麼！”尖嘴利舌的姑娘回答道，“如果您肯費心記一記的話，那麼請您記住，弗洛伊小姐歸我管，保羅少爺歸您管。”
“不過我們仍舊用不着爭吵，”波利說道。

註釋： quarrel 1. vi. 吵架；爭論；挑剔 2. n. 吵架；反目；怨言；爭吵的原因
例句：
1. They often quarrel with each other about trifles.
他們經常爲小事吵架。
2. I got involved in a quarrel about the price.
我被捲入了一場有關價格的爭吵。

'Oh no, Mrs Richards,' rejoined spitfire. 'Not at all, I don't wish it, we needn't stand upon that footing, Miss Floy being a permanency, Master Paul a temporary.' Spit fire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence, and in one breath, if possible.
'Miss Florence has just come home, hasn't she?' asked Polly.

“啊，是的，理查茲大嫂，”脾氣暴躁得像噴火器一樣的姑娘回答道，“根本用不着，我並不希望爭吵，我們用不着鬧出那樣的關係，看管弗洛伊小姐是個長期性的活，看管保羅少爺則是個臨時性的活。”噴火器只使用逗點式的停頓；她想要說什麼，都是像開槍似地在一個句子中說出，如果可能的話，則用一口氣說出。
“弗洛倫斯小姐剛剛回家吧，是不是？”波利問道。

'Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you've been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!' With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench as if she were a tooth. But she seemed to do it, more in the excessively sharp exercise of her official functions, than with any deliberate unkindness.

“是的，理查茲大嫂，剛剛回來，您看，弗洛伊小姐，您回到家來才一刻鐘，您那溼漉漉的臉就把理查茲大嫂爲您媽穿着的很貴的喪服弄髒了！”這個噴火器的真實姓名是蘇珊•尼珀，她進行了這番申斥之後，就像拔牙似地用力一擰，把女孩子從她的新朋友那裏拉開了。不過她這樣做，似乎倒並不是由於她故意冷酷無情，而是由於她過分嚴厲地履行她的職責。

'She'll be quite happy, now she has come home again,' said Polly, nodding to her with an encouraging smile upon her wholesome face, 'and will be so pleased to see her dear Papa tonight.'

“現在她又回家來了，她將會十分幸福，”波利朝着她和善的臉露出鼓勵的笑容，向她點點頭，說道，“她今天晚上就要看到她親愛的爸爸了，她該會多麼高興啊！”

'Lork, Mrs Richards!' cried Miss Nipper, taking up her words with a jerk. 'Don't. See her dear Papa indeed! I should like to see her do it!'
'Won't she then?' asked Polly.

“哎呀，理查茲大嫂！”尼珀姑娘立刻打斷她的話，說道，“得了吧！說什麼看到她親愛的爸爸！我真願意她能那樣就好了！”
“這麼說，她不能看到嗎？”波利問道。

註釋：wholesome adj. 健全的；有益健康的；合乎衛生的；審慎的
例句：
1. It wouldn't be wholesome for you to go there.
你去那兒恐怕不安全。
2. She has a clean, wholesome look.
她外表乾淨、健康。

'Lork, Mrs Richards, no, her Pa's a deal too wrapped up in somebody else, and before there was a somebody else to be wrapped up in she never was a favourite, girls are thrown away in this house, Mrs Richards, I assure you.

“哎呀，理查茲大嫂，不能，她爸爸的心思過分用在另外一個人身上了，在還沒有這另外一個人讓他操心的時候，她也從來不是個得寵的孩子，在這家裏女孩子是被一腳踢開的，理查茲大嫂，我肯定地對您說。”

The child looked quickly from one nurse to the other, as if she understood and felt what was said.
'You surprise me!' cried Folly. 'Hasn't Mr Dombey seen her since'
'No,' interrupted Susan Nipper. 'Not once since, and he hadn't hardly set his eyes upon her before that for months and months, and I don't think he'd have known her for his own child if he had met her in the streets, or would know her for his own child if he was to meet her in the streets to-morrow, Mrs Richards, as to me,' said Spitfire, with a giggle, 'I doubt if he's aweer of my existence.'
'Pretty dear!' said Richards; meaning, not Miss Nipper, but the little Florence.

女孩子的眼光很快地從一位保姆的身上轉到另一位保姆的身上，彷彿她理解和感覺到談話的內容似的。
“您使我吃驚！”波利喊道，“難道從那時以來董貝先生就一直沒有見到過她嗎？——”
“沒有，”蘇珊•尼珀打斷了她的話，說道，“從那時以來一次也沒有見到，就在這以前他也幾個月幾個月不把眼睛往她身上看一眼，我想，如果他過去曾在街上遇到她的話，那麼他是不會認出她是他的親生女兒的，如果他明天在街上遇到她的話，那麼他也是不會認出她是他的親生女兒的，理查茲大嫂，至於我，”噴火器格格地笑了一聲，說道，“我懷疑他是不是知道天地間還存在着我這樣一個人呢。”
“我親愛的寶貝！”理查茲說道，她不是指尼珀姑娘，而是指弗洛倫斯。

'Oh! there's a Tartar within a hundred miles of where we're now in conversation, I can tell you, Mrs Richards, present company always excepted too,' said Susan Nipper; 'wish you good morning, Mrs Richards, now Miss Floy, you come along with me, and don't go hanging back like a naughty wicked child that judgments is no example to, don't!'
In spite of being thus adjured, and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper, tending towards the dislocation of her right shoulder, little Florence broke away, and kissed her new friend, affectionately.
'Oh dear! after it was given out so 'tickerlerly, that Mrs Richards wasn't to be made free with!' exclaimed Susan. 'Very well, Miss Floy!'
'God bless the sweet thing!' said Richards, 'Good-bye, dear!'
'Good-bye!' returned the child. 'God bless you! I shall come to see you again soon, and you'll come to see me? Susan will let us. Won't you, Susan?'

“啊，在我們現在談話的一百英里之內有一位韃靼，我可以告訴您，理查茲大嫂，現在在場的人總是不包括在裏面的，”蘇珊•尼珀說道；“祝您早上好，理查茲大嫂，現在弗洛伊小姐，您跟我來，別像一個淘氣的壞孩子那樣磨磨蹭蹭地不肯往前走，別學那種孩子，別去學。”
儘管受到了這樣的規勸，也儘管蘇珊•尼珀生拉硬拽了幾下，幾乎把她的右肩都要拽脫臼了，小弗洛倫斯還是掙脫了身子，滿懷深情地吻着她的新朋友。
“再見！”女孩子說道，“上帝保佑您！我不久將再來看您，您是不是也會來看我？蘇珊會讓我們見面的，是不是，蘇珊？”

註釋：interrupt 1. vt. 中斷；打斷；插嘴；妨礙 2. vi. 打斷；打擾 3. n. 中斷
例句：
1. Sorry to interrupt. Shouldn't we get back on topic?
抱歉打斷一下，我們是不是該回到正題上？
2. Don't interrupt her: let her have her say.
別打斷她的話，讓她把意見說出來。