作者:Frances Hodgson Burnett
譯者:申一兮
錄製:Lucy
Chapter 1: There Is No One Left 5
無人生還
「Some one has died,」 answered the boy officer. 「You did not say it had broken out among your servants.」
「有人已經死了」,那位年輕男警官回答說,「你沒有說它已經在你的僕人中間爆發了。」
「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!」,梅姆閣下哭著說,「跟我來!跟我來!」然後她轉過身跑進了屋子。
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.
在那以後,可怕的事情發生了,有人將那天早晨的秘密解釋給瑪麗聽。原來,霍亂以它最致命的方式爆發,人們像蒼蠅一樣死去。奶媽在那天晚上就已經生了病,正因為那時她剛剛死去,僕人們才在小屋裡嚎哭。
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.
第二天到來以前,有三個僕人死去,其他人在驚恐中逃離。恐懼瀰漫在每一處,死去的人們都被放到單層小屋裡。
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.
第二天,在混亂和慌張中,瑪麗把自己藏到了託兒所裡,每個人都把她拋到腦後。沒有人想到的她,沒人需要她,奇怪的事情發生了,而她也對此一無所知。
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.
瑪麗在幾個小時裡哭淚了就睡,睡醒了再哭,她只知道人們生病了,所以她才會聽到神秘而恐怖的聲音。有次她爬進餐廳,發現裡面空蕩蕩的,雖然桌子上還有部分剩下的食物,但椅子和盤子看起來卻像是就餐者因為某種原因突然起身被匆忙推回去的樣子。
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.
這孩子吃了點水果和餅乾,然後感覺渴,就喝了一杯幾乎倒滿了的酒。這酒是甜的,她不知道酒有多烈。很快,酒讓她困意濃濃,然後她就回到了託兒所,把自己再次關了起來,她聽到了小屋裡傳來的哭聲,以及匆忙的腳步聲,此刻都讓她感到恐懼。這酒讓她覺得困,然後她睜不開眼了,她睡倒在床上,很長時間裡,她什麼也不知道。
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.
在她沉睡的幾個小時裡,發生了很多事情,但是她並沒有被嚎哭聲和物體被挪進挪出小屋的聲音所打擾。
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.
當她醒來的時候,她躺在那兒盯著牆壁看。屋子完全靜止了,她以前從未知道屋子可以如此安靜,她沒有聽到任何聲音,連腳步聲都沒有了,她想知道,是否每個人都從霍亂中康復了,是否麻煩事已經結束。
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.
她也想知道,既然她的奶媽已經死了,誰回來照顧她。應該有個新奶媽,或許她還知道些新的故事。瑪麗對原來的那個奶媽已經厭倦了。她沒有哭,因為她的看護者已經死了。她不是多愁善感的小孩子,也從未關心過任何人。霍亂引起的噪音,混亂和嚎哭已經嚇到了她,而她並不生氣,因為似乎沒有人還記得她還活著。
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.
每個人都因為恐慌而無法想起一個沒人喜歡的小女孩。當人們得了霍亂的時候,好像他們能記得的就只有他們自己了。但如果每個人都恢復了健康,當然就會有人記起來然後去尋找她。
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.
但是沒有一個人過來,當她躺著等待的時候,屋子好像變得越來越安靜。她聽到墊子上有東西窸窣作響,當她朝下看去的時候,她看到的一條小蛇正獨自滑行並用寶石一樣的眼睛看著她。她並不害怕,因為他是一條無害的小東西,並不會傷害她,而且他似乎急著從屋子裡出去。當她望向他的時候,他已經從門下面滑了出去。
「How queer and quiet it is,」 she said. 「It sounds as if there were no one in the bungalow but me and the snake.」
「好奇怪,好安靜」,她說,「聽起來好像小屋裡除了我和這條蛇之外,一個人都沒有了」。
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.
幾乎就在下一分鐘,她聽到腳步聲從圍欄一直傳到走廊。它們是男人的腳步聲,然後男人進入小屋,壓低了聲音說話。沒人過來見他們或者和他們說話,然後他們就打開門走進屋子裡。
「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.」
「太可悲了!」她聽到一個聲音說,「那個漂亮的,漂亮的女人!我猜這個孩子,也……我聽說還有個孩子,雖然沒人見過她。」
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.
當他們隨後打開門的時候,瑪麗正站在託兒所的中間。她看著像個又醜且壞脾氣的小東西,而且正皺著眉,因為她開始感到飢餓,而且因為被忽略而覺得不高興。第一個進來的是個高大的警官,她之前見過他和她爸爸交談。他看起來疲倦而不安,但是當他看到她的時候,他被嚇了一大跳,幾乎跳了回去。
「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!」他叫了出來,「這裡有個孩子!只有一個孩子!在這種地方!上帝保佑,她是誰?」
「I am Mary Lennox,」 the little girl said, drawing herself up stiffy. 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?」
這個小女孩傻傻地做著自我介紹說:「我是瑪麗·雷諾士,」她覺得這男人把她爸爸的別墅叫成「這種地方」是很不禮貌的,「當每個人都得了霍亂的時候,我睡著了,現在我剛醒來,為什麼沒有人來?」
「It is the child no one ever saw!」 exclaimed the man, turning to his companions. 「She has actually been forgotten!」
「她是沒人見過的那個孩子」這個男人轉向他的同伴,解釋道,「她真的被遺忘了!」
「Why was I forgotten?」 Mary said, stamping her foot. 「Why does nobody come?」
「為什麼我被忘掉了?」瑪麗跺著腳說,「為什麼沒人來?」
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.
這個叫巴尼的年輕人很悲傷地看著她,瑪麗甚至覺得她看到他眨著眼好像要把眼淚擦掉。
「Poor little kid!」 he said. 「There is nobody left to come.」
「可憐的小孩子」他說,「這兒沒人了,沒人能來看你了」。
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.
以這種奇怪而突然的方式,瑪麗發現她既沒了父親,也沒了母親,他們已經死了,而且在夜裡被抬了出去,剩下少數幾個本地的僕人也以最快的速度從屋子裡逃了出去,甚至沒有一個人還記得這裡有位米西閣下。那就是這裡如此安靜的原因,在這棟別墅裡,的確只剩下了她自己和那條窸窣爬行的小蛇。
單詞回顧:
appal:使……大為震驚,使驚駭,變得蒼白
fatal:致命的,重大的
terror:恐怖,害怕,可怕的人
fuse:保險絲,導火線,融化,融合
confuse:使混亂,使困惑
bewilderment:困惑,迷亂,慌張
alter:改變,更改
alternate:交替,輪流
creep:爬行,蔓延,crept 是過去式
haste:匆忙,輕率,趕快
intense:強烈的,緊張的
drowse:瞌睡,假寐,打瞌睡
scarce:缺乏的,不足的,僅僅
scarcely:幾乎不,僅僅不,剛剛
disturb:打擾,妨礙
turd:可鄙的人
affection:喜愛,感情,影響,感染
affectionate:深情的,充滿愛的
strick:擊球,一束絲/麻
fond:喜歡的,溫柔的,寵愛的
rust:鏽,生鏽,腐蝕
rustling:瑟瑟聲,發出沙沙聲
mat:墊子,無光澤的,纏結
matting:蓆子
glide:滑翔,滑行
slip:滑,滑倒,滑過
jewel:寶石,珠寶
queer:奇怪的,異常的
compound:化合物,有圍欄的場地
desolate:荒涼的,無人煙的
frown:皺眉
neglect:忽略,忽視
mercy:仁慈,寬容,憐憫
stiffy:傻瓜
stamp:郵票,印記,跺腳
wink:眨眼,使眼色,閃爍
If Winter comes,
can Spring be far behind?