MIHAIL PETROVITCH ZOTOV, a decrepit and solitary old man of seventy, belonging to the artisan class, was awakened by the cold and the aching in his old limbs. —-
米哈伊尔·彼得罗维奇·佐托夫，一个年老体弱、孤独寡言的七十岁老人，属于工匠阶级，因寒冷和老骨头疼痛而被唤醒。 —-

It was dark in his room, but the little lamp before the ikon was no longer burning. —-
他的房间里很黑，但佛像前的小灯已经熄灭了。 —-

Zotov raised the curtain and looked out of the window. —-
佐托夫拉起窗帘向外望去。 —-

The clouds that shrouded the sky were beginning to show white here and there, and the air was becoming transparent, so it must have been nearly five, not more.
遮蔽天空的云朵开始展露白色，空气变得清澈，所以可能已经接近五点钟了。

Zotov cleared his throat, coughed, and shrinking from the cold, got out of bed. —-
佐托夫咳嗽着清了清嗓子，瑟缩着因寒冷而起床。 —-

In accordance with years of habit, he stood for a long time before the ikon, saying his prayers. —-
按照多年的习惯，他站在佛像前，开始诵读祷告。 —-

He repeated “Our Father,” “Hail Mary,” the Creed, and mentioned a long string of names. —-
他重复着“我们的天父”、“圣母颂”，信经，还提到一长串名字。 —-

To whom those names belonged he had forgotten years ago, and he only repeated them from habit. —-
那些名字属于谁，他已经忘记了多年，他只是出于习惯重复着。 —-

From habit, too, he swept his room and entry, and set his fat little four-legged copper samovar. —-
也是出于习惯，他打扫了自己的房间和门厅，并准备好了他那个肥胖的四脚铜制茶炉。 —-

If Zotov had not had these habits he would not have known how to occupy his old age.
如果佐托夫没有这些习惯，他就不知道如何度过自己的晚年了。

The little samovar slowly began to get hot, and all at once, unexpectedly, broke into a tremulous bass hum.
小茶炉慢慢地开始变热，突然，意外地发出了一声颤动的低音嗡嗡声。

“Oh, you’ve started humming!” grumbled Zotov. “Hum away then, and bad luck to you!”
“噢，你开始嗡嗡叫了！”佐托夫嘟哝着。“那就继续嗡嗡叫吧，你该倒霉了！”

At that point the old man appropriately recalled that, in the preceding night, he had dreamed of a stove, and to dream of a stove is a sign of sorrow.
在那一刻，老人适时地想起，在前一晚，他曾梦到一座火炉，而梦到火炉是个不祥之兆。

Dreams and omens were the only things left that could rouse him to reflection; —-
梦和预兆是唯一还能激起他思考的事物； —-

and on this occasion he plunged with a special zest into the considerations of the questions: —-
这次，他特别热衷于思考以下问题： —-

What the samovar was humming for? and what sorrow was foretold by the stove? —-
萨莫瓦尔为了什么而嗡嗡响？炉子预示着什么样的悲伤？ —-

The dream seemed to come true from the first. —-
梦从一开始就似乎成真了。 —-

Zotov rinsed out his teapot and was about to make his tea, when he found there was not one teaspoonful left in the box.
佐托夫冲洗了茶壶，正准备泡茶，却发现盒子里已经没有一小勺了。

“What an existence!” he grumbled, rolling crumbs of black bread round in his mouth. —-
“这算什么生活！”他嘟囔着，嘴里嚼着黑面包屑。 —-

“It’s a dog’s life. No tea! And it isn’t as though I were a simple peasant: —-
“这简直是狗一样的生活。没有茶！而且我又不是个普通的农民：我是个工匠，还有房子。真是丢人！” —-

I’m an artisan and a house-owner. The disgrace!”
佐托夫嘟哝着，自言自语着穿上了他那像裙子一样的外套，把双脚塞进笨重的1867年普罗霍里奇制作的大口罩靴子里，走进了院子。

Grumbling and talking to himself, Zotov put on his overcoat, which was like a crinoline, and, thrusting his feet into huge clumsy golosh-boots (made in the year 1867 by a bootmaker called Prohoritch), went out into the yard. —-
空气灰暗、寒冷，静谧得令人沮丧。 —-

The air was grey, cold, and sullenly still. —-
宽敞的院子里长满了牛蒡，遍地黄叶，微微泛着秋霜银色的光。 —-

The big yard, full of tufts of burdock and strewn with yellow leaves, was faintly silvered with autumn frost. —-
没有一丝风，没有一点声音。老人坐在倾斜的门廊台阶上，立刻发生了每天早晨都会发生的事情： —-

Not a breath of wind nor a sound. The old man sat down on the steps of his slanting porch, and at once there happened what happened regularly every morning: —-
他的狗 李斯卡，一只大而神秘的，白色的杂种狗，全身布满黑斑，用右眼紧闭着走近他。 —-

his dog Lyska, a big, mangy, decrepit- looking, white yard-dog, with black patches, came up to him with its right eye shut. —-
李斯卡怯生生地走近，像是一只受惊的小猫一样扭动着身体，仿佛它的爪子没有踩在大地上，而是踩在热炉上，她整个身体流露出一种卑微的表情。 —-

Lyska came up timidly, wriggling in a frightened way, as though her paws were not touching the earth but a hot stove, and the whole of her wretched figure was expressive of abjectness. —-
佐托夫装作没有注意到她，但当她微微摇着尾巴，扭动着身体舔舐他的大靴子时，他生气地跺了跺脚。 —-

Zotov pretended not to notice her, but when she faintly wagged her tail, and, wriggling as before, licked his golosh, he stamped his foot angrily.
“滚开！该死的家伙！”他喊道：“该死的畜牲！”

“Be off! The plague take you!” he cried. “Con-found-ed bea-east!”
李斯卡躲开了，坐下来，用独眼盯着她的主人。

Lyska moved aside, sat down, and fixed her solitary eye upon her master.

“You devils!” he went on. “You are the last straw on my back, you Herods.”
“你们这些魔鬼！”他继续说道。“你们是我背上的最后一根稻草，你们这些希律王！”

And he looked with hatred at his shed with its crooked, overgrown roof; —-
他恨恨地望着他的棚屋，看着它那歪斜多生的屋顶。 —-

there from the door of the shed a big horse’s head was looking out at him. —-
从棚屋门口，一个巨大的马头向他张望着。 —-

Probably flattered by its master’s attention, the head moved, pushed forward, and there emerged from the shed the whole horse, as decrepit as Lyska, as timid and as crushed, with spindly legs, grey hair, a pinched stomach, and a bony spine. —-
大概是被主人的关注所夸奖，马头动了一下，向前推了推，一整匹马从棚屋里走了出来，跟琳雅一样憔悴、胆小、压抑，纤细的腿、灰色的皮毛、一条收进去的肚子和一个贫弱的背脊。 —-

He came out of the shed and stood still, hesitating as though overcome with embarrassment.
他从棚屋里走出来，站在那里停了下来，踌躇不前，好像被尴尬压倒了。

“Plague take you,” Zotov went on. “Shall I ever see the last of you, you jail-bird Pharaohs! —-
“你们这些恶疫，上帝将会诅咒你们，”佐托夫又继续说道。“我什么时候才能见到你们的最后一面，你们这些监狱的法老王！” —-

. . . I wager you want your breakfast!” he jeered, twisting his angry face into a contemptuous smile. —-
. . .我打赌你们想要早饭！”他嘲笑着，把愤怒的表情扭曲成了轻蔑的微笑。 —-

“By all means, this minute! A priceless steed like you must have your fill of the best oats! —-
“当然，立刻！像你这样一匹举世无价的骏马，必须吃最好的燕麦！ —-

Pray begin! This minute! And I have something to give to the magnificent, valuable dog! —-
请开始吧！立刻！而且我还准备了一些给这只华美、有价值的狗的东西！ —-

If a precious dog like you does not care for bread, you can have meat.”
如果像你这样一只珍贵的狗不喜欢面包，你可以吃肉。”

Zotov grumbled for half an hour, growing more and more irritated. —-
佐托夫嘟囔着半个小时，越来越恼怒。 —-

In the end, unable to control the anger that boiled up in him, he jumped up, stamped with his goloshes, and growled out to be heard all over the yard:
最后，他无法控制内心的愤怒，他跳了起来，用他的雨鞋踢了几下，呼喊着让整个院子都能听见：

“I am not obliged to feed you, you loafers! —-
“我没有义务养活你们，你们这些懒汉！ —-

I am not some millionaire for you to eat me out of house and home! —-
我不是什么百万富翁，供你们狼吞虎咽！ —-

I have nothing to eat myself, you cursed carcases, the cholera take you! —-
我自己都没东西吃，你们这些可恨的家伙，霍乱带走你们！” —-

I get no pleasure or profit out of you; nothing but trouble and ruin, Why don’t you give up the ghost? —-
我从你们身上得不到任何快乐或利益；只有麻烦和毁灭，你们为什么不放弃？ —-

Are you such personages that even death won’t take you? You can live, damn you! —-
难道你们连死亡都不要带走你们吗？该死的，你们可以活下去！ —-

but I don’t want to feed you! I have had enough of you! —-
但我不想养活你们！我已经受够了你们！ —-

I don’t want to!”
我不想！

Zotov grew wrathful and indignant, and the horse and the dog listened. —-
佐托夫变得愤怒和愤怒，马和狗都听着。 —-

Whether these two dependents understood that they were being reproached for living at his expense, I don’t know, but their stomachs looked more pinched than ever, and their whole figures shrivelled up, grew gloomier and more abject than before. —-
这两个依赖者是否明白他们因为依赖他而受到指责，我不知道，但他们的肚子看起来比以前更瘪了，整个身形也比以前更干瘪、更阴沉、更卑鄙。 —-

. . . Their submissive air exasperated Zotov more than ever.
他们顺从的神态比以往任何时候都更加激怒佐托夫。

“Get away!” he shouted, overcome by a sort of inspiration. “Out of my house! —-
“滚开！”他被某种灵感克服，喊道。“从我家里滚开！ —-

Don’t let me set eyes on you again! I am not obliged to keep all sorts of rubbish in my yard! Get away!”
别让我再看见你们！我没义务在我的院子里养各种各样的垃圾！滚开！”

The old man moved with little hurried steps to the gate, opened it, and picking up a stick from the ground, began driving out his dependents. —-
老人用小步走到大门旁，打开门，从地上捡起一根棍子，开始赶走他的依赖者。 —-

The horse shook its head, moved its shoulder-blades, and limped to the gate; the dog followed him. —-
马摇了摇头，挪动着肩胛骨，一瘸一拐地走向门口；狗紧随其后。 —-

Both of them went out into the street, and, after walking some twenty paces, stopped at the fence.
它们两个走出了街道，走了大约二十步，在篱笆旁停下来。

“I’ll give it you!” Zotov threatened them.
“我会扁你们的！”佐托夫威胁他们。

When he had driven out his dependents he felt calmer, and began sweeping the yard. —-
当他赶出了他的依赖者后，他感到更加平静，开始扫地。 —-

From time to time he peeped out into the street: —-
他时不时地向街上张望： —-

the horse and the dog were standing like posts by the fence, looking dejectedly towards the gate.
马和狗站在篱笆旁，像木桩一样，沮丧地望着大门。

“Try how you can do without me,” muttered the old man, feeling as though a weight of anger were being lifted from his heart. —-
“试试看没有我你怎么办吧。”老人嘟囔着，感觉心中的怒火好像被卸下了一样。 —-

“Let somebody else look after you now! I am stingy and ill-tempered. . . . —-
“现在让别人照顾你吧！我吝啬而脾气坏…… —-

It’s nasty living with me, so you try living with other people . —-
与我在一起生活很糟糕，所以你去跟其他人生活吧。 —-

. . . Yes. . . .”
…是的……”

After enjoying the crushed expression of his dependents, and grumbling to his heart’s content, Zotov went out of the yard, and, assuming a ferocious air, shouted:
在欣赏完他家人的苦闷表情并尽情抱怨之后，佐托夫走出院子，装出凶狠的样子喊道：

“Well, why are you standing there? Whom are you waiting for? —-
“喂，你们为什么站在那里？等谁呢？ —-

Standing right across the middle of the road and preventing the public from passing! —-
已经站在马路中间挡住了过路的行人！ —-

Go into the yard!”
进院子去！”

The horse and the dog with drooping heads and a guilty air turned towards the gate. —-
马和狗低着头，带着有罪的神情，转向了大门。 —-

Lyska, probably feeling she did not deserve forgiveness, whined piteously.
可能觉得自己不配得到宽恕，莉斯卡可怜兮兮地哀嚎着。

“Stay you can, but as for food, you’ll get nothing from me! You may die, for all I care!”
“你可以留下，但食物不会给你！就算你死了，我也不会在意！”

Meanwhile the sun began to break through the morning mist; —-
与此同时，朝霞开始冲破晨雾； —-

its slanting rays gilded over the autumn frost. There was a sound of steps and voices. —-
它斜照的光芒将秋霜镀上一层金色。有脚步声和声音传来。 —-

Zotov put back the broom in its place, and went out of the yard to see his crony and neighbour, Mark Ivanitch, who kept a little general shop. —-
佐托夫将扫帚放回原位，走出院子去见他的朋友和邻居，马克·伊凡尼奇，他开着一家小杂货店。 —-

On reaching his friend’s shop, he sat down on a folding-stool, sighed sedately, stroked his beard, and began about the weather. —-
到达朋友的店铺后，他坐在一个折叠凳上，庄重地叹了口气，抚摸着胡须，开始谈起天气来。 —-

From the weather the friends passed to the new deacon, from the deacon to the choristers; —-
从天气谈起，朋友们又谈到了新的执事，从执事又谈到了唱诗班。 —-

and the conversation lengthened out. They did not notice as they talked how time was passing, and when the shop-boy brought in a big teapot of boiling water, and the friends proceeded to drink tea, the time flew as quickly as a bird. —-
对话越来越长。他们聊天时没有注意到时间的流逝，当店小伙子端来一大壶开水，朋友们开始喝茶时，时间如同飞鸟般飞快地过去。 —-

Zotov got warm and felt more cheerful.
佐托夫感到温暖和开心。

“I have a favour to ask of you, Mark Ivanitch,” he began, after the sixth glass, drumming on the counter with his fingers. —-
“马克·伊凡尼奇，我有个请求，希望你能帮个忙。”他喝了第六杯后打着指头敲击着柜台。 —-

“If you would just be so kind as to give me a gallon of oats again to-day. . . .”
“如果你能再给我一加仑燕麦的话……”

From behind the big tea-chest behind which Mark Ivanitch was sitting came the sound of a deep sigh.
在马克·伊凡尼奇坐着的大茶柜后面传来一声深深的叹息。

“Do be so good,” Zotov went on; “never mind tea—don’t give it me to-day, but let me have some oats. —-
“拜托了，佐托夫继续说道，“不要再给我茶了，但是让我有一些燕麦吧……我很不好意思请求你，我已经用我的贫穷给你添麻烦了，但是马饿了。” —-

. . . I am ashamed to ask you, I have wearied you with my poverty, but the horse is hungry.”
“我可以给你，”朋友叹了口气，“为什么不行呢？

“I can give it you,” sighed the friend—“why not? —-
但是为什么你还要养着那些僵尸呢？—呸！—请告诉我吧。 —-

But why the devil do you keep those carcases?—tfoo!—Tell me that, please. —-
如果它是一匹有用的马就没问题了，但是—呸！—看着它实在让人害羞…… —-

It would be all right if it were a useful horse, but—tfoo!— one is ashamed to look at it. . . —-
“还有那条狗简直就是个骷髅！ —-

. And the dog’s nothing but a skeleton! —-
为什么要养着它们？” —-

Why the devil do you keep them?”
“我该怎么办呢？”

“What am I to do with them?”
朋友叹了口气说，“为什么你还要养着这些可怜的生物呢？——呸！——说说看，为什么？”

“You know. Take them to Ignat the slaughterer—that is all there is to do. —-
“你知道的。把他们带到伊格纳特屠夫那里——就是唯一该做的。” —-

They ought to have been there long ago. It’s the proper place for them.”
“他们早就应该去那儿了。那才是他们应该去的地方。”

“To be sure, that is so! . . . I dare say! . . .”
“确实，是这样的！……我敢说！……”

“You live like a beggar and keep animals,” the friend went on. “I don’t grudge the oats. . —-
“你生活像个乞丐，还养动物，”朋友继续说道。“我的确不会吝啬麦片。但是关于未来，兄弟啊. . .” —-

. . God bless you. But as to the future, brother . . . —-
. . 上帝保佑你。但是关于未来，兄弟啊. . . —-

I can’t afford to give regularly every day! There is no end to your poverty! —-
我可没办法每天都给你钱！你的贫穷没有尽头啊！ —-

One gives and gives, and one doesn’t know when there will be an end to it all.”
一个人给了又给，也不知道什么时候才能结束。”

The friend sighed and stroked his red face.
朋友叹了口气，抚摸着他红润的脸颊。

“If you were dead that would settle it,” he said. —-
“要是你死了就好了，”他说。 —-

“You go on living, and you don’t know what for. . . . Yes, indeed! —-
“你继续活着，却不知道为了什么. . . 是的，确实！ —-

But if it is not the Lord’s will for you to die, you had better go somewhere into an almshouse or a refuge.”
但是如果主不愿意让你死，你最好去救济院或收容所。”

“What for? I have relations. I have a great-niece. . . .”
“为了什么？我有亲戚。我有一个侄孙女. . .”

And Zotov began telling at great length of his great-niece Glasha, daughter of his niece Katerina, who lived somewhere on a farm.
Zotov开始冗长地讲述他的侄孙女Glasha，她是侄女Katerina的女儿，住在农场的某处。

“She is bound to keep me!” he said. “My house will be left to her, so let her keep me; —-
“她一定会养我的！”他说。“我的房子将留给她，所以让她养我； —-

I’ll go to her. It’s Glasha, you know . . . Katya’s daughter; —-
我会去找她的。就是Glasha，你知道的. . . Katya的女儿； —-

and Katya, you know, was my brother Panteley’s stepdaughter. . . . —-
而Katya，你知道的，是我哥哥Panteley的继女. . . —-

You understand? The house will come to her . . —-
你明白吗？房子会归她所有. . —-

. . Let her keep me!”
. .让她养我！”

“To be sure; rather than live, as you do, a beggar, I should have gone to her long ago.”
“确实，与你过着乞丐的生活相比，我早就应该去找她了。”

“I will go! As God’s above, I will go. It’s her duty.”
“我会去的！上帝作证，我会去的。这是她的责任。”

When an hour later the old friends were drinking a glass of vodka, Zotov stood in the middle of the shop and said with enthusiasm:
一个小时后，两位老友喝着伏特加，佐托夫站在商店中央兴奋地说道：

“I have been meaning to go to her for a long time; I will go this very day.”
“我早就打算去找她了，今天就去。”

“To be sure; rather than hanging about and dying of hunger, you ought to have gone to the farm long ago.”
“确实，你应该早就去农场，而不是四处闲逛和挨饿。”

“I’ll go at once! When I get there, I shall say: —-
“我立刻就去！到那儿后，我会说： —-

Take my house, but keep me and treat me with respect. It’s your duty! —-
“拿走我的房子，但请对我保持尊重和款待。这是你的责任！” —-

If you don’t care to, then there is neither my house, nor my blessing for you! —-
“如果你不愿意，那么我的房子和祝福也都与你无关！” —-

Good-bye, Ivanitch!”
“再见，伊万尼奇！”

Zotov drank another glass, and, inspired by the new idea, hurried home. —-
佐托夫又喝了一杯，被这个新想法所激发，匆忙回家。 —-

The vodka had upset him and his head was reeling, but instead of lying down, he put all his clothes together in a bundle, said a prayer, took his stick, and went out. —-
伏特加让他头晕目眩，但他没有躺下，而是把所有的衣服都包在一起，默默祷告后，拿起拐杖出门了。 —-

Muttering and tapping on the stones with his stick, he walked the whole length of the street without looking back, and found himself in the open country. —-
他边嘟囔着，边用拐杖敲打着石头，走过整条街道而没有回头，来到了开阔地带。 —-

It was eight or nine miles to the farm. He walked along the dry road, looked at the town herd lazily munching the yellow grass, and pondered on the abrupt change in his life which he had only just brought about so resolutely. —-
离农场有八九英里的路程。他沿着干燥的道路走着，看着小镇的牧群慵懒地嚼着黄草，思考着他刚刚坚决产生的生活的突然转变。 —-

He thought, too, about his dependents. When he went out of the house, he had not locked the gate, and so had left them free to go whither they would.
他也思考着他的依赖者。离开屋子时，他没有锁上大门，所以把他们自由放任。

He had not gone a mile into the country when he heard steps behind him. —-
他刚走了不到一英里，就听到了身后的脚步声。 —-

He looked round and angrily clasped his hands. —-
他环顾四周，怒气冲冲地握紧了双手。 —-

The horse and Lyska, with their heads drooping and their tails between their legs, were quietly walking after him.
马和里斯卡低着头，尾巴夹在腿中间，静静地跟在他的后面。

“Go back!” he waved to them.
他向他们挥手示意：“回去！”

They stopped, looked at one another, looked at him. He went on, they followed him. —-
他们停下来，相互看了看，再看了看他。他继续走，它们跟在后面。 —-

Then he stopped and began ruminating. It was impossible to go to his great-niece Glasha, whom he hardly knew, with these creatures; —-
然后他停下来开始沉思。带着这些动物去他几乎不认识的小侄女格拉莎那里是不可能的； —-

he did not want to go back and shut them up, and, indeed, he could not shut them up, because the gate was no use.
他不想回去把它们关起来，而且实际上他也关不住，因为大门没有用的。

“To die of hunger in the shed,” thought Zotov. “Hadn’t I really better take them to Ignat?”
“饿死在棚里吧。”佐托夫想着。“我是不是应该把它们带到伊格纳特那里？”

Ignat’s hut stood on the town pasture-ground, a hundred paces from the flagstaff. —-
伊格纳特的小屋位于城市牧场上，离旗杆有一百步远。 —-

Though he had not quite made up his mind, and did not know what to do, he turned towards it. His head was giddy and there was a darkness before his eyes. . . .
虽然他还没有完全下定决心，也不知道该怎么办，他还是转身朝那个方向走去。他的头晕晕乎乎的，眼前一片黑暗……

He remembers little of what happened in the slaughterer’s yard. —-
他对屠夫的院子里发生的事情记得不多。 —-

He has a memory of a sickening, heavy smell of hides and the savoury steam of the cabbage-soup Ignat was sipping when he went in to him. —-
他记得那里有一种令人作呕的重重的兽皮气味，还有伊格纳特喝着卷心菜汤时略带香味的蒸汽。 —-

As in a dream he saw Ignat, who made him wait two hours, slowly preparing something, changing his clothes, talking to some women about corrosive sublimate; —-
他像在梦里看到了伊格纳特，他让他等了两个小时，缓慢地准备着什么，换着衣服，与一些妇女谈论着有毒物质。 —-

he remembered the horse was put into a stand, after which there was the sound of two dull thuds, one of a blow on the skull, the other of the fall of a heavy body. —-
他记得马被放到一根支架上，然后传来两声沉闷的巴掌声，一声是重击头骨的声音，另一声是沉重物体倒地的声音。 —-

When Lyska, seeing the death of her friend, flew at Ignat, barking shrilly, there was the sound of a third blow that cut short the bark abruptly. —-
当里斯卡看到她朋友的死状，尖声吠叫的时候，传来了第三声打击声，把叫声戛然而止。 —-

Further, Zotov remembers that in his drunken foolishness, seeing the two corpses, he went up to the stand, and put his own forehead ready for a blow.
此外，佐托夫还记得，在他醉醺醺的愚蠢中，看到两具尸体后，他走到支架前，把自己的前额准备着被打击。

And all that day his eyes were dimmed by a haze, and he could not even see his own fingers.
整天他的眼睛被一层薄雾遮蔽，他甚至看不清自己的手指。