MAXIM TORTCHAKOV, a farmer in southern Russia, was driving home from church with his young wife and bringing back an Easter cake which had just been blessed. —
马克西姆·托尔恰科夫，一个居住在俄罗斯南部的农夫，与年轻妻子一起从教堂回家，带着刚刚被祝福的复活节蛋糕。 —

The sun had not yet risen, but the east was all tinged with red and gold and had dissipated the haze which usually, in the early morning, screens the blue of the sky from the eyes. —
太阳还没有升起，但东方已被涂上了红色和金色，清晨时分轻薄的薄雾已经散去，不再遮蔽眼前的蓝天。 —

It was quiet… . The birds were hardly yet awake … . —
静谧无声……鸟儿们还几乎没有醒来…… —

The corncrake uttered its clear note, and far away above a little tumulus, a sleepy kite floated, heavily flapping its wings, and no other living creature could be seen all over the steppe.
一只三宝鸟发出清脆的叫声，远处一只昏昏欲睡的红背鹰在小土丘上飘荡，沉重地拍打着翅膀，整个草原上再也看不到其他生物。

Tortchakov drove on and thought that there was no better nor happier holiday than the Feast of Christ’s Resurrection. —
托尔恰科夫开车前行，心中觉得没有比复活节更美好、更幸福的节日了。 —

He had only lately been married, and was now keeping his first Easter with his wife. —
他不久前刚结婚，现在和妻子一起度过他们的第一个复活节。 —

Whatever he looked at, whatever he thought about, it all seemed to him bright, joyous, and happy. —
无论他看到什么，想到什么，一切都给他带来了光明、快乐和幸福。 —

He thought about his farming, and thought that it was all going well, that the furnishing of his house was all the heart could desire—there was enough of everything and all of it good; —
他想到自己的农活，觉得一切都进展顺利，家里的摆设也是心满意足——什么都够用，而且都很好； —

he looked at his wife, and she seemed to him lovely, kind, and gentle. —
他看着妻子，觉得她美丽、善良而温柔。 —

He was delighted by the glow in the east, and the young grass, and his squeaking chaise, and the kite. —
他被东方的色彩、幼嫩的青草、车子的吱嘎声和那只红背鹰所打动。 —

… And when on the way, he ran into a tavern to light his cigarette and drank a glass, he felt happier still.
… 当他在路上进了一家小酒馆点燃了香烟，喝了一杯，他变得更加快乐。

“It is said, ‘Great is the day,’” he chattered. “Yes, it is great! —
“有句话说，‘这是伟大的一天’，”他唠叨着。“是的，确实很伟大！ —

Wait a bit, Lizaveta, the sun will begin to dance. —
等一会儿，丽莎维塔，太阳将开始跳舞。 —

It dances every Easter. So it rejoices too!”
每逢复活节，太阳都会跳舞。它也在欢腾！”

“It is not alive,” said his wife.
“它并不是活的，”他的妻子说道。

“But there are people on it!” exclaimed Tortchakov, “there are really! —
“但星星上也有人！”托奇科夫大声说道，“真的有！ —

Ivan Stepanitch told me that there are people on all the planets—on the sun, and on the moon! —
“伊万·斯捷潘尼奇告诉我，所有的星球上都有人——太阳上、月球上！ —

Truly … but maybe the learned men tell lies—the devil only knows! —
“确实……但也许是学者们在说谎——到底是怎么回事！ —

Stay, surely that’s not a horse? Yes, it is!”
“等等，那不可能是匹马吧？是的，就是！”

At the Crooked Ravine, which was just half-way on the journey home, Tortchakov and his wife saw a saddled horse standing motionless, and sniffing last year’s dry grass. —
在蜿蜒的峡谷中途的时候，托奇科夫和他的妻子看到一匹已备好鞍具的马站在那里一动不动，嗅着去年的枯草。 —

On a hillock beside the roadside a red- haired Cossack was sitting doubled up, looking at his feet.
在路边的一个小土丘上，一个红发的哥萨克弯腰坐着，低头看着自己的脚。

“Christ is risen!” Maxim shouted to him. “Wo-o-o!”
“基督复活！”马克西姆冲他喊道，“喂——!”

“Truly He is risen,” answered the Cossack, without raising his head.
“他真复活了”，哥萨克答道，不升起头。

“Where are you going?”
“你要去哪里？”

“Home on leave.”
“回家休假。”

“Why are you sitting here, then?”
“那你为什么坐在这儿？”

“Why … I have fallen ill … I haven’t the strength to go on.”
“嗯……我病倒了……没力气继续走。”

“What is wrong?”
“怎么了？”

“I ache all over.”
“浑身疼痛。”

“H’m. What a misfortune! People are keeping holiday, and you fall sick! —
“嗯。真是个倒霉事！人们都在度假，你却病倒了！ —

But you should ride on to a village or an inn, what’s the use of sitting here!”
但是你应该骑马去村庄或客栈，坐在这里有什么用！”

The Cossack raised his head, and with big, exhausted eyes, scanned Maxim, his wife, and the horse.
哥萨克抬起头，用疲惫的大眼睛扫视着马克西姆、他的妻子和马。

“Have you come from church?” he asked.
“你们是从教堂来的吗？”他问道。

“Yes.”
“是的。”

“The holiday found me on the high road. It was not God’s will for me to reach home. —
“假期让我在大路上。我没能抵达家园是上帝的意愿。 —

I’d get on my horse at once and ride off, but I haven’t the strength… . —
我会立刻骑马而去，但我没有力气… —

You might, good Christians, give a wayfarer some Easter cake to break his fast!”
你们这些善良的基督徒，可否给一个路人一些复活节蛋糕来解口饥呢！”

“Easter cake?” Tortchakov repeated, “That we can, to be sure… . Stay, I’ll… .”
“复活节蛋糕？”托尔切科夫重复道，“这当然可以… . 等等，我会… .”

Maxim fumbled quickly in his pockets, glanced at his wife, and said:
马克西姆迅速在口袋里翻找着，瞥了妻子一眼，说道：

“I haven’t a knife, nothing to cut it with. —
“我没有刀，没有东西可以切。 —

And I don’t like to break it, it would spoil the whole cake. —
我不喜欢把它弄碎，那会毁了整个蛋糕。 —

There’s a problem! You look and see if you haven’t a knife?”
问题来了！你看看你是否有刀？”

The Cossack got up groaning, and went to his saddle to get a knife.
哥萨克站起来呻吟着，去鞍具上拿刀。

“What an idea,” said Tortchakov’s wife angrily. “I won’t let you slice up the Easter cake! —
“真是个好主意，”托尔切科夫的妻子生气地说道。“我不让你切复活节蛋糕！ —

What should I look like, taking it home already cut! —
我怎么样，带着已经切过的回家！ —

Ride on to the peasants in the village, and break your fast there!”
驶向村庄里的农民，然后在那里断快！

The wife took the napkin with the Easter cake in it out of her husband’s hands and said:
妻子从丈夫手中接过装着复活节蛋糕的餐巾，说道：

“I won’t allow it! One must do things properly; —
“我不允许！一定要按规矩办事； —

it’s not a loaf, but a holy Easter cake. —
这不是一个面包，而是个神圣的复活节蛋糕。 —

And it’s a sin to cut it just anyhow.”
随便切它是一种罪过。”

“Well, Cossack, don’t be angry,” laughed Tortchakov. —
“好吧，哥萨克，别生气，”托尔恰科夫笑着说。 —

“The wife forbids it! Good-bye. Good luck on your journey!”
“妻子不许！再见。祝你旅途愉快！”

Maxim shook the reins, clicked to his horse, and the chaise rolled on squeaking. —
麦克西姆拉紧缰绳，轻轻地唤马，马车吱嘎吱嘎地前行。 —

For some time his wife went on grumbling, and declaring that to cut the Easter cake before reaching home was a sin and not the proper thing. —
有一段时间，他的妻子一直埋怨着，声称在到达家之前切复活节蛋糕是一种罪恶，也不是正确的事情。 —

In the east the first rays of the rising sun shone out, cutting their way through the feathery clouds, and the song of the lark was heard in the sky. —
东方的第一缕阳光透过蓬松的云层闪耀出来，云雀在天空唱着歌。 —

Now not one but three kites were hovering over the steppe at a respectful distance from one another. —
现在不是一个，而是三只红隼在尊重的距离内徘徊在草原上空。 —

Grasshoppers began churring in the young grass.
蝗虫开始在幼嫩的草地里唧唧声响。

When they had driven three-quarters of a mile from the Crooked Ravine, Tortchakov looked round and stared intently into the distance.
当他们从歪峡谷驶出三分之三英里后，托尔恰科夫环顾四周，目不转睛地望着远方。

“I can’t see the Cossack,” he said. —
“我看不见哥萨克，”他说。 —

“Poor, dear fellow, to take it into his head to fall ill on the road. —
“可怜的，亲爱的家伙，竟然在路上生病了。 —

There couldn’t be a worse misfortune, to have to travel and not have the strength… . —
出行时没有力气，简直是再坏不过的厄运了。。。 —

I shouldn’t wonder if he dies by the roadside. —
他大概会在路边死去。 —

We didn’t give him any Easter cake, Lizaveta, and we ought to have given it. —
我们没有给他复活节蛋糕，丽扎维塔，而我们本应该给他的。 —

I’ll be bound he wants to break his fast too.”
我敢打赌他也想要吃点东西解馋吧。”

The sun had risen, but whether it was dancing or not Tortchakov did not see. —
太阳已经升起，但托尔切科夫并没有看到它是否在跳舞。 —

He remained silent all the way home, thinking and keeping his eyes fixed on the horse’s black tail. —
他一路保持沉默，沉思着，目光盯着马尾。 —

For some unknown reason he felt overcome by depression, and not a trace of the holiday gladness was left in his heart. —
因为某种未知的原因，他感到压抑，心中的节日喜悦竟然一点也没有留存。 —

When he had arrived home and said, “Christ is risen” to his workmen, he grew cheerful again and began talking, but when he had sat down to break the fast and had taken a bite from his piece of Easter cake, he looked regretfully at his wife, and said:
当他回到家，对着工人们说“基督复活了”，他又变得开心起来，开始交谈起来，但当他坐下来吃斋节和吃了一口复活节蛋糕后，他遗憾地看着妻子，说道:

“It wasn’t right of us, Lizaveta, not to give that Cossack something to eat.”
“我们没给那个哥萨克什么吃的，丽扎维塔，这样真不对。”

“You are a queer one, upon my word,” said Lizaveta, shrugging her shoulders in surprise. —
“你真是一个怪人，真是的，”丽扎维塔惊讶地耸耸肩。 —

“Where did you pick up such a fashion as giving away the holy Easter cake on the high road? —
“你哪儿学来搞这种在大路上分发神圣的复活节蛋糕的风俗? —

Is it an ordinary loaf? Now that it is cut and lying on the table, let anyone eat it that likes—your Cossack too! —
这难道是一块普通的面包吗?现在已经切开放在桌上，谁愿意吃就让他吃吧——你那个哥萨克也一样! —

Do you suppose I grudge it?”
我可没看紧。”

“That’s all right, but we ought to have given the Cossack some… . —
“那挺好，但我们本该给那个哥萨克送点吃的。。。 —

Why, he was worse off than a beggar or an orphan. —
为什么，他比乞丐或孤儿还要困苦。” —

On the road, and far from home, and sick too.”
在路上，远离家乡，而且还生病了。

Tortchakov drank half a glass of tea, and neither ate nor drank anything more. —
托尔恰科夫喝了半杯茶，既不吃东西也不喝其他东西。 —

He had no appetite, the tea seemed to choke him, and he felt depressed again. —
他没胃口，茶似乎让他感到窒息，他又感到沮丧。 —

After breaking their fast, his wife and he lay down to sleep. —
吃过早饭后，他和妻子躺下睡觉。 —

When Lizaveta woke two hours later, he was standing by the window, looking into the yard.
两小时后醒来，他正站在窗前，望着院子。

“Are you up already?” asked his wife.
“你已经起床了吗？”妻子问道。

“I somehow can’t sleep… . Ah, Lizaveta,” he sighed. —
“我总觉得睡不着。啊，丽扎维塔，”他叹了口气。 —

“We were unkind, you and I, to that Cossack!”
“我们对那个哥萨克太不友善了，你我都是。”

“Talking about that Cossack again!” yawned his wife. “You have got him on the brain.”
“又在谈论那个哥萨克！”他的妻子打着哈欠说道。“你简直是被他占据了脑子。”

“He has served his Tsar, shed his blood maybe, and we treated him as though he were a pig. —
“他曾为他的沙皇效力，也许流过血，而我们对待他就好像他是一头猪。” —

We ought to have brought the sick man home and fed him, and we did not even give him a morsel of bread.”
“我们本应把这位病人带回家喂养，而我们甚至没有给他一块面包。”

“Catch me letting you spoil the Easter cake for nothing! And one that has been blessed too! —
“别想让你为了没意义的事情毁了复活节蛋糕！而且还是一块受过祝福的蛋糕！ —

You would have cut it on the road, and shouldn’t I have looked a fool when I got home?”
“你本来会在路上切开，那时我回到家不是会多么糟糕？

Without saying anything to his wife, Maxim went into the kitchen, wrapped a piece of cake up in a napkin, together with half a dozen eggs, and went to the labourers in the barn.
马克西姆没有告诉妻子任何事，走进厨房，用一块餐巾包了一块蛋糕，连同半打鸡蛋一起，走向谷仓里的工人。

“Kuzma, put down your concertina,” he said to one of them. —
“库兹马，停下你的手风琴，”他对其中一名工人说。 —

“Saddle the bay, or Ivantchik, and ride briskly to the Crooked Ravine. —
“给红马或伊万奇吧，快点骑向弯曲的峡谷。 —

There you will see a sick Cossack with a horse, so give him this. —
“你会看到一个有马的生病哥萨克，把这个交给他。 —

Maybe he hasn’t ridden away yet.”
“也许他还没骑走。”

Maxim felt cheerful again, but after waiting for Kuzma for some hours, he could bear it no longer, so he saddled a horse and went off to meet him. —
马克西姆又感到开心起来，但等待库兹马几个小时后，他再也无法忍受，于是他骑马去迎接他。 —

He met him just at the Ravine.
他就在峡谷见到了他。

“Well, have you seen the Cossack?”
“那你见到哥萨克了吗？”

“I can’t find him anywhere, he must have ridden on.”
“我到处都找不到他，他一定已经骑走了。”

“H’m … a queer business.”
“嗯，这可真是件奇怪的事情。”

Tortchakov took the bundle from Kuzma, and galloped on farther. —
托尔恰科夫接过库兹马递来的包裹，继续骑马前行。 —

When he reached Shustrovo he asked the peasants:
当他到达舒斯特罗沃时，他问那些农民们：

“Friends, have you seen a sick Cossack with a horse? —
“朋友们，你们见过一个骑马的生病哥萨克吗？ —

Didn’t he ride by here? A red-headed fellow on a bay horse.”
他没经过这里吗？一个红头发的家伙，骑着一匹栗色的马。”

The peasants looked at one another, and said they had not seen the Cossack.
农民们相互看了看，说他们没有见到那个哥萨克。

“The returning postman drove by, it’s true, but as for a Cossack or anyone else, there has been no such.”
“有马车夫经过，的确是真的，但至于哥萨克或任何其他人，都没有看到。”

Maxim got home at dinner time.
马克西姆在午饭时间回到家。

“I can’t get that Cossack out of my head, do what you will!” he said to his wife. —
“那个哥萨克一直萦绕在我的脑海中，无论我做什么！”他对妻子说。 —

“He gives me no peace. I keep thinking: —
“他让我很难受。我一直在想： —

what if God meant to try us, and sent some saint or angel in the form of a Cossack? —
万一上帝想试探我们，派了某个圣人或天使化身为哥萨克呢？ —

It does happen, you know. It’s bad, Lizaveta; —
这种事情是有可能发生的。这样不好，丽扎维塔； —

we were unkind to the man!”
我们对那个人太不友善了！”

“What do you keep pestering me with that Cossack for? —
“你为什么一直拿那个哥萨克来烦我？ —

” cried Lizaveta, losing patience at last. —
”最后丽扎维塔失去了耐心地喊道。 —

“You stick to it like tar!”
“你像焦油一样粘着不放！”

“You are not kind, you know …” said Maxim, looking into his wife’s face.
“你不太仁慈，你知道…”麦克西姆说着，看着妻子的脸。

And for the first time since his marriage he perceived that he wife was not kind.
自结婚以来，他第一次意识到妻子并不仁慈。

“I may be unkind,” cried Lizaveta, tapping angrily with her spoon, “but I am not going to give away the holy Easter cake to every drunken man in the road.”
“我可能不够善良，”丽扎维塔愤怒地敲着勺子说，“但我不会把复活节蛋糕送给路上的每个醉鬼。”

“The Cossack wasn’t drunk!”
“那个哥萨克并没有喝醉！”

“He was drunk!”
“他喝醉了！”

“Well, you are a fool then!”
“那么你就是个傻瓜！”

Maxim got up from the table and began reproaching his young wife for hard-heartedness and stupidity. —
麦克西姆从桌子边站起来，开始责备年轻妻子冷酷和愚蠢。 —

She, getting angry too, answered his reproaches with reproaches, burst into tears, and went away into their bedroom, declaring she would go home to her father’s. —
她也生气了，用责备回应他的指责，哭了起来，走进他们的卧室，宣称要回娘家去。 —

This was the first matrimonial squabble that had happened in the Tortchakov’s married life. —
这是托尔恰科夫夫妇婚姻生活中发生的第一场争吵。 —

He walked about the yard till the evening, picturing his wife’s face, and it seemed to him now spiteful and ugly. —
他在院子里踱步，想象着妻子的脸，现在看来那脸既恶毒又难看。 —

And as though to torment him the Cossack haunted his brain, and Maxim seemed to see now his sick eyes, now his unsteady walk.
而且像要折磨他一样，哥萨克的形象在他脑海中盘桓不去，麦克西姆似乎看到了他病态的眼睛，又看到了他摇摇晃晃的步伐。

“Ah, we were unkind to the man,” he muttered.
“啊，我们对那人太冷酷了，”他喃喃自语。

When it got dark, he was overcome by an insufferable depression such as he had never felt before. —
天黑下来，他被一种前所未有的无法忍受的沮丧所压倒。 —

Feeling so dreary, and being angry with his wife, he got drunk, as he had sometimes done before he was married. —
感到郁闷，与妻子生气，他喝醉了，就像他在结婚前偶尔会做的那样。 —

In his drunkenness he used bad language and shouted to his wife that she had a spiteful, ugly face, and that next day he would send her packing to her father’s. —
他酒后使用了粗话，对着妻子大喊说她的脸丑陋刻毒，第二天他会把她送回到她父亲那里。 —

On the morning of Easter Monday, he drank some more to sober himself, and got drunk again.
复活节星期一早上，他喝了一些来清醒自己，但又喝醉了。

And with that his downfall began.
从那时开始，他的崩溃就开始了。

His horses, cows, sheep, and hives disappeared one by one from the yard; —
他的马匹、牛群、羊群和蜂箱一个接一个地从院子里消失了； —

Maxim was more and more often drunk, debts mounted up, he felt an aversion for his wife. —
马克西姆越来越频繁地醉酒，债务不断增加，对妻子感到厌恶。 —

Maxim put down all his misfortunes to the fact that he had an unkind wife, and above all, that God was angry with him on account of the sick Cossack.
马克西姆把所有的不幸归咎于他有一个刻薄的妻子，最重要的是，上帝因这个生病的哥萨克而对他生气。

Lizaveta saw their ruin, but who was to blame for it she did not understand.
利萨维塔看到了他们的灭亡，但她不明白是谁应该为此负责。