IT was a long while since the Rostovs had had news of their Nikolushka. —
离Rostov家最后一次收到他们的Nikolushka的消息已经很久了。 —

But in the middle of the winter a letter was handed to Count Rostov, on the envelope of which he recognised his son’s handwriting. —
但是在冬天的中间，一个信封被交给了Rostov伯爵，他认出是儿子的手写。 —

On receiving the letter the count, in alarm and in haste, ran on tiptoe to his room, trying to escape notice, shut himself in and read the letter. —
收到信后，伯爵惊慌失措地跑到自己的房间，试图避免被注意到，锁上门，读着那封信。 —

Anna Mihalovna had learned (as she always did learn all that passed in the house) that he had received a letter, and treading softly, she went in to the count and found him with the letter in his hand, sobbing and laughing at once. —
Anna Mihalovna（总是知道房里发生的一切）得知他收到了一封信，小心翼翼地，她走进伯爵的房间，发现他手里握着那封信，同时哭笑不得。 —

Anna Mihalovna, though her fortunes had been looking up, was still an inmate of the Rostov household.
尽管Anna Mihalovna的运气越来越好，她仍然是Rostov家的居民。

“My dear friend?” Anna Mihalovna brought out in a voice of melancholy inquiry, equally ready for sympathy in any direction. —
“亲爱的朋友？”Anna Mihalovna以忧郁的调查声音说道，她对任何方向的同情都已做好准备。 —

The count sobbed more violently
伯爵更加剧烈地抽泣。

“Nikolushka … letter … wounded … he would … my dear … wounded … my darling boy … the little countess … promoted … thank God … how are we to tell the little countess?”
“尼古拉舒卡…信…受伤…他会…亲爱的…受伤了…我亲爱的男孩…小伯爵夫人…升职了…谢天谢地…我们该怎么告诉小伯爵夫人呢？”

Anna Mihalovna sat down by his side, with her own handkerchief wiped the tears from his eyes and from the letter, then dried her own tears, read the letter, soothed the count, and decided that before dinner and before tea she would prepare the countess; —
安娜·米哈洛夫娜坐在他身边，用自己的手绢擦去他的眼泪和信件上的泪水，然后擦干自己的眼泪，读完信后安抚了伯爵，并决定在晚饭前和茶前准备好伯爵夫人； —

and after tea, with God’s help, tell her all. —
并在茶后，上帝帮助下，告诉她一切。 —

During dinner Anna Mihalovna talked of the rumours from the war, of dear Nikolay, inquired twice when his last letter had been received, though she knew perfectly well, and observed that they might well be getting a letter from him to-day. —
晚餐期间，安娜·米哈洛夫娜谈起了来自战争的传闻，问了两次最后一封信是什么时候收到的，尽管她非常清楚，并观察到他们今天可能会收到尼古拉的信。 —

Every time that the countess began to be uneasy under these hints and looked in trepidation from the count to Anna Mihalovna, the latter turned the conversation in the most unnoticeable way to insignificant subjects. —
每当伯爵夫人开始对这些暗示感到不安，并焦虑地从伯爵看向安娜·米哈洛夫娜时，后者总是以最不引人注意的方式转移话题到无关紧要的事情上。 —

Natasha, who was of all the family the one most gifted with the faculty of catching the shades of intonations, of glances, and expressions, had been on the alert from the beginning of dinner, and was certain that there was some secret between her father and Anna Mihalovna, and that it had something to do with her brother, and that Anna Mihalovna was paving the way for it. —
娜塔莎是整个家庭中最具有捕捉语调、眼神和表情细微差别天赋的人。她从晚餐一开始就警觉起来，确信她父亲和安娜·米哈洛夫娜之间有一些秘密，并且这与她的哥哥有关，而安娜·米哈洛夫娜正在为此铺路。 —

Natasha knew how easily upset her mother was by any references to news from Nikolushka, and in spite of all her recklessness she did not venture at dinner to ask a question. —
娜塔莎知道任何与尼古卢什卡的消息有关的提及都会让她母亲情绪不稳定，所以她冒险不敢在晚餐时问任何问题。 —

But she was too much excited to eat any dinner and kept wriggling about on her chair, regardless of the protests of her governess. —
但她太兴奋了，无法吃晚餐，不顾她的家庭教师的抗议，不停地在椅子上扭动。 —

After dinner she rushed headlong to overtake Anna Mihalovna, and in the divan-room dashed at her and flung herself on her neck: —
晚饭后，她追赶快步走到安娜·米哈洛夫娜前，冲到她的沙发坐下，并扑向她的脖子。 —

“Auntie, darling, do tell me what it is.”
“阿姨，亲爱的，告诉我是什么事情。”

“Nothing, my dear.”
“没事，亲爱的。”

“No, darling, sweet, precious peach, I won’t leave off; I know you know something.”
“不，亲爱的，甜蜜可爱的桃子，我不会停下来的；我知道你知道一些事情。”

Anna Mihalovna shook her head. “You are sharp, my child!” she said.
安娜·米哈洛夫娜摇了摇头，“你真聪明，孩子！”她说。

“A letter from Nikolinka? I’m sure of it! —
“来自尼古林卡的信？我肯定是对的！ —

” cried Natasha, reading an affirmative answer on the face of Anna Mihalovna.
”纳塔莎喊道，看出了安娜·米哈洛夫娜脸上的肯定答复。

“But, for God’s sake, be more careful; you know what a shock it may be to your mamma.”
“但是，拜托，要更小心一点；你知道这对你妈妈可能会是多么大的冲击。”

“I will be, I will, but tell me about it. You won’t? —
“我会的，我会的，但是告诉我吧。你不会告诉我吗？ —

Well, then, I’ll run and tell her this minute.”
那好吧，我立刻就去告诉她。”

Anna Mihalovna gave Natasha a brief account of what was in the letter, on condition that she would not tell a soul.
安娜·米哈洛夫娜简要地告诉了纳塔莎信中的内容，条件是她不能告诉任何人。

“On my word of honour,” said Natasha, crossing herself, “I won’t tell any one,” and she ran at once to Sonya. “Nikolinka … wounded … a letter …” she proclaimed in gleeful triumph
“我发誓，”纳塔莎叉着十字，说，“我不会告诉任何人。”她立刻跑去找索尼娅。“尼古林卡……受伤了……有封信……”她欢喜地宣布。

“Nikolinka!” was all Sonya could articulate, instantly turning white. —
“尼古林卡！”索尼娅只能说出这两个字，瞬间脸色变白。 —

Natasha seeing the effect of the news of her brother’s wound on Sonya, for the first time felt the painful aspect of the news.
纳塔莎看到她哥哥受伤的消息对索尼娅产生的影响，第一次感到了这个消息的痛苦。

She rushed at Sonya, hugged her, and began to cry. —
她冲向索尼娅，抱住她，开始哭泣。 —

“A little wounded, but promoted to be an officer; —
“受了点伤，但晋升为官员； —

he’s all right now, he writes himself,” she said through her tears.
现在他没事了，她含着泪说。

“One can see all you women are regular cry-babies,” said Petya, striding with resolute steps up and down the room; —
“你们这些女人真是老爱哭，”彼尔雅大步走来走去地说； —

“I’m very glad, really very glad, that my brother has distinguished himself so. —
“我真的非常高兴，真的非常高兴，我弟弟这么有出息。 —

You all start blubbering! you don’t understand anything about it. —
你们都哭个不停！你们对此一无所知。 —

” Natasha smiled through her tears.
”娜塔莎含泪微笑着说。

“You haven’t read the letter?” asked Sonya
“你没有读那封信吗？”索尼娅问道。

“No; but she told me it was all over, and that he’s an officer now …”
“没有；但她告诉我，现在一切都结束了，他是个军官了……”

“Thank God,” said Sonya, crossing herself. —
“感谢上帝，”索尼娅交叉双手说。 —

“But perhaps she was deceiving you. Let us go to mamma.”
“但也许她骗了你。我们去找妈妈吧。”

Petya had been strutting up and down in silence
彼尔雅默默走来走去。

“If I were in Nikolinka’s place, I’d have killed a lot more of those Frenchmen,” he said, “they’re such beasts! —
“如果我是尼科连娜，我会杀死更多那些法国人，”他说，“他们太残忍了！ —

I’d have killed them till there was a regular heap of them,” Petya went on.
我会一直杀下去，直到堆满一地法国佬。”彼尔雅继续说道。

“Hold your tongue, Petya, what a silly you are! …”
“闭嘴，彼尔雅，你真傻！”

“I’m not a silly; people are silly who cry for trifles,” said Petya.
“我并不傻，哭诉琐事的人才是傻瓜，”彼得亚说道。

“Do you remember him?” Natasha asked suddenly, after a moment’s silence. Sonya smiled.
“你还记得他吗？”娜塔莎突然问道，在片刻的沉默之后。索尼娅微笑着。

“Do I remember Nikolinka?”
“我还记得尼古琳卡吗？”

“No, Sonya, but do you remember him so as to remember him thoroughly, to remember him quite,” said Natasha with a strenuous gesture, as though she were trying to put into her words the most earnest meaning. —
“不，索尼娅，我是指你完全记得他，彻底地记得他，”娜塔莎一副费力的姿势，仿佛她在试图用最真挚的意义来表达她的话语。 —

“And I do remember Nikolinka, I remember him,” she said. —
“我确实记得尼古琳卡，我记得他，”她说道。 —

“But I don’t remember Boris. I don’t remember him a bit …”
“但是我不记得鲍里斯。我一点都不记得他……”

“What? You don’t remember Boris?” Sonya queried with surprise.
“什么？你不记得鲍里斯？”索尼娅惊讶地问道。

“I don’t mean I don’t remember him. I know what he’s like, but not as I remember Nikolinka. —
“我不是说我不记得他。我知道他是什么样子，但不像我记得尼古琳卡那样。 —

I shut my eyes and I can see him, but not Boris” (she shut her eyes), “no, nothing!”
“我闭上眼睛，我能看到他，但不是鲍里斯”（她闭上眼睛），“不，一无所有！”

“Ah, Natasha!” said Sonya, looking solemnly and earnestly at her friend, as though she considered her unworthy to hear what she meant to say, and was saying it to some one else with whom joking was out of the question. —
“啊，娜塔莎！” 索尼娅语重心长地望着她的朋友，仿佛她认为娜塔莎不值得听她想说的话，而是对一个不适于开玩笑的人说。 —

“I have come to love your brother once for all, and whatever were to happen to him and to me, I could never cease to love him all my life.”
“我已经一次性爱上了你的兄弟，无论他和我发生什么事，我一生都无法停止爱他。”

With inquisitive, wondering eyes, Natasha gazed at Sonya, and she did not speak. —
娜塔莎用好奇、惊奇的眼神凝视着索妮娅，她没有说话。 —

She felt that what Sonya was saying was the truth, that there was love such as Sonya was speaking of. —
她感到索尼娅所说的是真实的，那是她所说的爱。 —

But Natasha had never known anything like it. —
但娜塔莎从未经历过这样的爱。 —

She believed that it might be so, but she did not understand it.
她相信这可能是真的，但她不理解。

“Shall you write to him?” she asked. Sonya sank into thought. —
“你会给他写信吗？”她问道。索妮娅陷入了沉思。 —

How she should write to Nikolay, and whether she ought to write to him, was a question that worried her. —
她应该如何给尼古拉写信，是否应该给他写信，这是困扰她的问题。 —

Now that he was an officer, and a wounded hero, would it be nice on her part to remind him of herself, and as it were of the obligations he had taken on himself in regard to her. —
既然他已经成为一名军官，还是一位受伤的英雄，提醒他自己、提醒他在她身上承担的义务是不是会很好呢？ —

“I don’t know. I suppose if he writes to me I shall write,” she said, blushing.
“我不知道。我想如果他给我写信，我会回信的。”她红着脸说道。

“And you won’t be ashamed to write to him?”
“那你写信给他会不会感到羞愧呢？”

Sonya smiled.
索尼娅微笑着回答道：“不会。”

“No.”
“而我写信给鲍里斯就会感到羞愧，所以我不会写信。”

“And I should be ashamed to write to Boris, and I’m not going to write.”
“可是你为什么会感到羞愧呢？”

“But why should you be ashamed?”
“哦，我不知道。我感到尴尬，羞愧。”

“Oh, I don’t know. I feel awkward, ashamed.”
“我知道她为什么会感到羞愧，”彼得生气地说道，对纳塔莎之前的话感到不满，“因为她爱上了那个戴眼镜的胖子”（彼得这样称呼他的同名人，也就是新的别祖霍夫伯爵）；

“I know why she’d be ashamed,” said Petya, offended at Natasha’s previous remark, “because she fell in love with that fat fellow in spectacles” (this was how Petya used to describe his namesake, the new Count Bezuhov); —
“现在她又爱上了那个唱歌的家伙”（彼得指的是纳塔莎的意大利唱歌老师）， “所以下她会感到羞愧。” —

“and now she’s in love with that singing fellow” (Petya meant Natasha’s Italian singing-master), “that’s why she’s ashamed.”
“彼得，你真傻，”纳塔莎说道。

“Petya, you’re a stupid,” said Natasha.
彼得生气地说道：“因为你爱上了那个戴眼镜的胖子，现在又爱上了那个唱歌的家伙。这就是她为什么会感到羞愧。”

“No stupider than you, ma’am,” said nine-year-old Petya, exactly as though he had been an elderly brigadier.
“小朋友，你也不比我傻”，9岁的彼特亚冷静地说道，仿佛他是一位年迈的将军。

The countess had been prepared by Anna Mihalovna’s hints during dinner. —
安娜米哈洛夫娜在晚餐期间的暗示让伯爵夫人有所准备。 —

On returning to her room she had sat down in a low chair with her eyes fixed on the miniature of her son, painted on the lid of her snuff-box, and the tears started into her eyes. —
在回到自己的房间后，她坐在一张低矮的椅子上，目光盯着自己儿子的微型画像，画在鼻烟盒盖子上，泪水涌入眼眶。 —

Anna Mihalovna, with the letter, approached the countess’s room on tiptoe, and stood still at the door.
安娜米哈洛夫娜拿着信，踮着脚尖走近伯爵夫人的房门，停在门口。

“Don’t come in,” she said to the old count, who was following her; —
她对着紧随其后的老伯爵说：“不要进来”； —

“later,” and she closed the door after her. —
“以后再说”，然后她关上了门。 —

The count put his ear to the keyhole, and listened.
伯爵把耳朵贴在门上，倾听。

At first he heard the sound of indifferent talk, then Anna Mihalovna’s voice alone, uttering a long speech, then a shriek, then silence, then both voices talking at once with joyful intonations, then there were steps, and Anna Mihalovna opened the door. —
起初他听到的只是无关紧要的闲谈声，然后是安娜米哈洛夫娜一个人的声音，说了一段很长的话，然后是一声尖叫，然后是寂静，接着两个声音同时兴奋地交谈起来，然后是脚步声，安娜米哈洛夫娜打开了门。 —

Her face wore the look of pride of an operator who has performed a difficult amputation, and invites the public in to appreciate his skill.
她脸上带着自豪的神情，如同一个完成了一项困难手术的医生，邀请大众来赞赏她的技术。

“It is done,” she said to the count triumphantly, motioning him to the countess, who was holding in one hand the snuff-box with the portrait, in the other the letter, and pressing her lips first to one and then to the other. —
“完成了，”她对伯爵得意洋洋地说着，示意他走向伯爵夫人。伯爵夫人一手拿着一只有画像的烟盒，一手拿着一封信，先亲吻了信件，然后又亲吻了画像。 —

On seeing the count, she held out her arms to him, embraced his bald head, and looked again over the bald head at the letter and the portrait, and in order again to press them to her lips, slightly repelled the bald head from her. —
看到伯爵后，她伸出双臂抱住他的光头，再次凝视着信件和画像，为了再次亲吻它们，轻轻地将他的光头推开。 —

Vera, Natasha, Sonya, and Petya came into the room, and the reading of the letter began. —
维拉，娜塔莎，索尼娅和彼得亚走进房间，开始读信。 —

The letter briefly described the march and the two battles in which Nikolushka had taken part, and the receiving of his commission, and said that he kissed the hands of his mamma and papa, begging their blessing, and sent kisses to Vera, Natasha, and Petya. He sent greetings, too, to Monsieur Schelling and Madame Schoss, and his old nurse, and begged them to kiss for him his darling Sonya, whom he still loved and thought of the same as ever. —
这封信简单地描述了尼古拉参加的游行和两场战斗，以及他获得提升的消息。他亲吻了父母的手，请求他们的祝福，并向维拉、娜塔莎和彼得发送了亲吻。他还向谢林先生、肖斯夫人和他的老保姆问好，并请他们替他亲吻心爱的索妮娅，他一如既往地爱她和思念她。 —

On hearing this, Sonya blushed till the tears came into her eyes. —
听到这个消息，索妮娅脸红得眼泪都流了出来。 —

And unable to stand the eyes fixed upon her, she ran into the big hall, ran about with a flushed and smiling face, whirled round and round and ducked down, making her skirts into a balloon. —
无法忍受别人注视的眼光，她跑进了大厅，脸上红扑扑的笑容，转来转去地跑着，蹲下身子，把裙子弄成一只气球。 —

The countess was crying.
伯爵夫人正在哭泣。

“What are you crying about, mamma?” said Vera. “From all he writes, we ought to rejoice instead of crying.”
“妈妈，你为什么哭？”维拉说。“从他写的一切来看，我们应该欢呼，而不是哭泣。”

This was perfectly true, but the count and the countess and Natasha all looked at her reproachfully. —
这是完全正确的，但伯爵和伯爵夫人以及娜塔莎都责备地看着她。 —

“And who is it that she takes after!” thought the countess.
“她到底像谁！” 伯爵夫人心中想道。

Nikolushka’s letter was read over hundreds of times, and those who were considered worthy of hearing it had to come in to the countess, who did not let it go out of her hands. —
尼科卢什卡的信被反复阅读了数百遍，那些被认为有资格听信的人都必须去见伯爵夫人，她不会将信拱手给他们。 —

The tutors went in, the nurses, Mitenka, and several acquaintances, and the countess read the letter every time with fresh enjoyment and every time she discovered from it new virtues in her Nikolushka. —
家庭教师进去了，保姆进去了，米田卡进去了，还有几个熟人，伯爵夫人每次读信都会充满新的享受，每次从信中都会发现尼科卢什卡身上的新美德。 —

How strange, extraordinary, and joyful it was to her to think that her son—the little son, whose tiny limbs had faintly stirred within her twenty years ago, for whose sake she had so often quarrelled with the count, who would spoil him, the little son, who had first learnt to say grusha, and then had learnt to say baba—that that son was now in a foreign land, in strange surroundings, a manly warrior, alone without help or guidance, doing there his proper manly work. —
她觉得这样的想法太奇怪、太不可思议、太令人欣喜了——她的儿子——那个二十年前还在她肚子里微微动弹的小儿子，她为了他曾经多次与伯爵争吵，伯爵总是宠溺着他——那个先学会说“grusha”（苹果）再学会说“baba”（爸爸）的小儿子，他现在却在异国他乡、陌生的环境中，成为一个有男子气概的战士，独自一人没有帮助或指导，在那里做着他应该做的男子汉的工作。 —

All the world-wide experience of ages, proving that children do imperceptibly from the cradle grow up into men, did not exist for the countess. —
世界数千年的经验证明，从摇篮中长大成人的孩子并不为人所察觉，但这个经验对于女伯爵来说并不适用。 —

The growth of her son had been for her at every stage of his growth just as extraordinary as though millions of millions of men had not grown up in the same way. —
在她儿子的成长过程中，每个阶段对她来说都是非同寻常的，仿佛这个世界上没有千千万万的人以同样的方式成长过。 —

Just as, twenty years before, she could not believe that the little creature that was lying somewhere under her heart, would one day cry and suck her breast and learn to talk, now she could not believe that the same little creature could be that strong, brave man, that paragon of sons and of men that, judging by this letter, he was now.
就像二十年前她不能相信那个躺在她肚子里的小生命会有一天会哭泣、吃奶、学会说话一样，现在她无法相信同一个小生命会变成那个强壮、勇敢的男人，那个完美的儿子和男人，根据这封信来看，他现在就是这样的。

“What style, how charmingly he describes everything! —
“他写得多么优美啊，他描述得多么迷人！”她念着信件里的描述说道。“他的心灵真是多么美好啊！” —

” she said, reading over the descriptions in the letter. “And what soul! —
“他对自己一字不提……一字不提！”她读着信里的描述说道。“倒是对一个叫丹尼索夫的人多说了许多，虽然我敢说，他自己也比任何人都要勇敢。” —

Of himself not a word … not a word! A great deal about a man called Denisov, though he was himself, I dare say, braver than any one. —
“多么有风格，多么迷人的描述！”她念着信里的描述说道。“多么有灵魂！他自己却没有提及……一字不提！虽然我敢说，他自己一定比任何人都要勇敢。” —

He doesn’t write a word about his sufferings. What a heart! How like him it is! —
他对自己的苦难一言不发。多么善良的心灵啊！多么与他相似！ —

How he thinks of every one! No one forgotten. —
他如何关心每个人！没有一个人被遗忘。 —

I always, always said, when he was no more than that high, I always used to say …”
我总是总是说，当他还不过那么高的时候，我总是说……

For over a week they were hard at work preparing a letter to Nikolushka from all the household, writing out rough copies, copying out fair copies. —
一个多星期以来，他们辛苦地为尼古拉写信，全家人起草草稿，抄写清稿。 —

With the watchful care of the countess, and the fussy solicitude of the count, all sorts of necessary things were got together, and money, too, for the equipment and the uniform of the young officer. —
在女伯爵的细心照料和伯爵的操心关怀下，各种必要的物品都准备好了，还有钱，用来购买年轻军官的装备和制服。 —

Anna Mihalovna, practical woman, had succeeded in obtaining special patronage for herself and her son in the army, that even extended to their correspondence. —
实际的安娜·米哈洛夫娜设法在军队中为自己和儿子争取到特别的庇佑，甚至包括他们的通信。 —

She had opportunities of sending her letters to the Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovitch, who was in command of the guards. —
她有机会将信件送往指挥卫队的康斯坦丁·帕夫洛维奇大公手中。 —

The Rostovs assumed that “The Russian Guards Abroad,” was quite a sufficiently definite address, and that if a letter reached the grand duke in command of the guards, there was no reason why it should not reach the Pavlograd regiment, who were presumably somewhere in the same vicinity. —
罗斯托夫家族认为”俄罗斯驻外卫队”已经是一个相当确切的地址，如果一封信能够送到指挥卫队的大公爵手中，那么应该没有理由不能够送到巴夫洛格拉德团，他们可能就在同一地区。 —

And so it was decided to send off their letters and money by the special messenger of the grand duke to Boris, and Boris would have to forward them to Nikolushka. —
因此，决定将信件和钱通过大公爵的特使送给鲍里斯，然后鲍里斯将不得不将它们转交给尼古拉什卡。 —

There were letters from the count, the countess, Petya, Vera, Natasha, and Sonya, a sum of six thousand roubles for his equipment, and various other things which the count was sending to his son.
信中有来自伯爵、伯爵夫人、彼得亚、维拉、娜塔莎和索尼娅的信件，六千卢布的装备费以及伯爵寄给儿子的其他各种物品。