TWO MONTHS PREVIOUSLY, Pierre was already settled at the Rostovs’ when he received a letter from a certain Prince Fyodor, urging him to come to Petersburg for the discussion of various important questions that were agitating the Petersburg members of a society, of which Pierre had been one of the chief founders.
两个月前，皮埃尔已经在罗斯托夫家安顿下来，当他收到一封来自一位叫费奥多尔亲王的信时，信中催促他前往彼得堡讨论一些重要问题，这些问题正困扰着彼得堡一些社团的成员，而皮埃尔曾经是该社团的主要创始人之一。

Natasha read this letter, as she did indeed all her husband’s letters, and bitterly as she always felt his absence, she urged him herself to go to Petersburg. —
娜塔莎读了这封信，像她读所有丈夫的信一样，尽管她总是为他的离开感到痛苦，但她还是亲自催促他去彼得堡。 —

To everything appertaining to her husband’s intellectual, abstract pursuits, she ascribed immense consequence, though she had no understanding of them, and she was always in dread of being a hindrance to her husband in such matters. —
对于丈夫的知识和抽象追求，她赋予了极大的重要性，尽管她对这些了解得很少，但她总是担心会妨碍丈夫在这些事情上的发展。 —

To Pierre’s timid glance of inquiry after reading the letter, she replied by begging him to go, and all she asked was that he would fix an absolutely certain date for his return. —
在阅读完信后，皮埃尔畏缩地询问娜塔莎，她却请求他去，并且她唯一的要求是请他确定一个绝对的回程日期。 —

And leave of absence was given him for four weeks.
她给了他四周的休假。

Ever since the day fixed for his return, a fortnight before, Natasha had been in a continual condition of alarm, depression, and irritability.
自从提前两周确定了他回来的日子以来，娜塔莎一直处于不断担心、低落和易怒的状态中。

Denisov, a general on the retired list, very much dissatisfied at the present position of public affairs, had arrived during that fortnight, and he looked at Natasha with melancholy wonder, as at a bad likeness of a person once loved. —
在那两周期间，丹尼索夫，一位退休的将军，对目前的公共事务局势非常不满，并对娜塔莎投以忧郁的惊讶之色，就如对一个曾经所爱之人的糟糕的相似之处一样。 —

A bored, dejected glance, random replies, and incessant talk of the nursery was all he saw and heard of his enchantress of old days.
他所看到和听到的只有厌烦、沮丧的眼神，随意的回答，以及关于育儿室的不断谈论，而不是以前那位他心中的女神的形象。

All that fortnight Natasha had been melancholy and irritable, especially when her mother, her brother, Sonya, or Countess Marya tried to console her by excusing Pierre, and inventing good reasons for his delay in returning.
在那整个两个星期里，娜塔莎一直情绪低落和易怒，特别是当她的母亲、兄弟、索尼娅或玛丽亚女爵试图通过为皮埃尔辩解和编造他延迟回来的充分理由来安慰她时。

“It’s all nonsense, all idiocy,” Natasha would say; —
“这都是胡说八道，都是愚蠢的行动。”娜塔莎会说； —

“all his projects that never lead to anything, and all those fools of societies,” she would declare of the very matters in the immense importance of which she firmly believed. —
“他从来没有成功的计划，那些愚蠢的社团，”她对于这些她坚信的意义重大的事情断言。 —

And she would march off to the nursery to nurse her only boy, the baby Petya.
然后她会径直走到育儿室去照顾她唯一的儿子，小彼得。

No one could give her such sensible and soothing consolation as that little three months’ old creature, when it lay at her breast, and she felt the movement of its lips and the snuffling of its nose. —
没有人能给她像那个三个月大的小家伙一样明智、安抚的安慰，当它躺在她的胸前时，她感受到它的嘴唇动作和鼻子酥酥的呼吸。 —

That little creature said to her: “You are angry, you are jealous, you would like to punish him, you are afraid, but here am I—I am he. —
那个小家伙对她说：“你生气了，你嫉妒了，你想惩罚他，你很害怕，但我在这里，我就是他。 —

Here, I am he …” And there was no answering that. —
在这里，我就是他……”没有什么可以回答这个的了。 —

It was more than true.
这不仅仅是真的。

Natasha had so often during that fortnight had recourse to her baby for comfort, that she had over-nursed him, and he had fallen ill. —
纳塔莎在那个两周里经常依靠她的孩子来安慰自己，结果她过度护理了他，他生病了。 —

She was terrified at his illness, but still this was just what she needed. —
她对他的病感到恐慌，但这正是她需要的。 —

In looking after him, she was able to bear her uneasiness about her husband better.
照顾他，她能更好地忍受她对丈夫的不安。

She was nursing the baby when Pierre’s carriage drove noisily up to the entrance, and the nurse, knowing how to please her mistress, came inaudibly but quickly to the door with a beaming face.
当皮埃尔的马车响亮地开到门口时，她正在哺乳孩子，这个护士，知道如何取悦她的女主人，悄无声息地但迅速地来到门口，面带笑容。

“He has come?” asked Natasha in a rapid whisper, afraid to stir for fear of waking the baby, who was dropping asleep.
“他来了？”娜塔莎用快速的低语问道，害怕动作，以免惊醒即将睡着的孩子。

“He has come, ma’am,” whispered the nurse.
“他来了，夫人，”护士低声说。

The blood rushed to Natasha’s face, and her feet involuntarily moved, but to jump up and run was out of the question. —
娜塔莎的脸上涌上了血，她的脚不由自主地动了动，但是跳起来跑掉是不可能的。 —

The baby opened its little eyes again, glanced, as though to say, “You are here,” and gave another lazy smack with its lips.
宝宝再次睁开小眼睛，扫了一眼，好像在说：“你在这里”，然后又懒洋洋地嘟嘟了一下嘴。

Cautiously withdrawing her breast, Natasha dandled him, handed him to the nurse, and went with swift steps towards the door. —
小心地抽回她的乳房，娜塔莎把他摇晃起来，交给保姆，然后迅速走向门口。 —

But at the door she stopped as though her conscience pricked her for being in such haste and joy to leave the baby, and she looked back. —
但是在门口，她停下来，好像她的良心因为这样匆忙而兴奋，并且她回头看了一眼。 —

The nurse, with her elbows raised, was lifting the baby over the rail of the cot.
保姆抬起肘，将婴儿抬离婴儿床的护栏。

“Yes, go along, go along, ma’am, don’t worry, run along,” whispered the nurse, smiling with the familiarity that was common between nurse and mistress.
“是的，请走吧，走吧，夫人，别担心，赶紧走吧。”护士低声说道，微笑着，护士和女主人之间的亲近在她的脸上显而易见。

With light steps Natasha ran to the vestibule. —
纳塔莎轻快地跑向门厅。 —

Denisov, coming out of the study into the hall with a pipe in his mouth, seemed to see Natasha again for the first time. —
德尼索夫从书房走进大厅，嘴里咬着烟斗，似乎第一次看见纳塔莎。 —

A vivid radiance of joy shed streams of light from her transfigured countenance.
充满喜悦的光芒从她变得美丽的脸庞上流淌而出。

“He has come!” she called to him, as she flew by, and Denisov felt that he was thrilled to hear that Pierre had come, though he did not particularly care for him. —
“他来了！”她飞速地呼喊着，德尼索夫感觉听到皮埃尔来了他倍感激动，尽管他对他并不特别在意。 —

Running into the vestibule, Natasha saw a tall figure in a fur cloak fumbling at his scarf.
纳塔莎跑进门厅，看到一个穿着毛皮斗篷的高个子人物在解开围巾。

“He! he! It’s true. Here he is,” she said to herself, and darting up to him, she hugged him, squeezing her head to his breast, and then drawing back, glanced at the frosty, red, and happy face of Pierre. —
“嘿！嘿！没错。他来了，”她自言自语地说道，冲上前去拥抱他，把脑袋紧贴着他的胸膛，然后退后一步，看着皮埃尔冻得通红而快乐的脸。 —

“Yes, here he is; happy, satisfied …”
“是的，他在这里；快乐、满意……”

And all at once she remembered all the tortures of suspense she had passed through during the last fortnight. —
突然，她想起了过去两周她所忍受的所有痛苦。 —

The joy beaming in her face vanished; she frowned, and a torrent of reproaches and angry words broke upon Pierre.
脸上洋溢的喜悦消失了；她皱起了眉头，一股责备和愤怒的话语洪水般对着皮埃尔倾泻而出。

“Yes, you are all right, you have been happy, you have been enjoying yourself … But what about me! —
“是的，你没事了，你一直很快乐，你一直在享受自己……但是我呢！ —

You might at least think of your children. —
你至少应该考虑考虑你的孩子们。 —

I am nursing, my milk went wrong … Petya nearly died of it. —
我正在哺乳，我的奶不好了……彼得几乎因此而死。 —

And you have been enjoying yourself. Yes, enjoying yourself …”
而你一直在享受自己。是的，一直在享受自己……”

Pierre knew he was not to blame, because he could not have come sooner. —
皮埃尔知道他不应该受到责备，因为他来不及更早一些。 —

He knew this outburst on her part was unseemly, and would be all over in two minutes. —
他知道她的爆发是不得体的，但两分钟后一切都会结束。 —

Above all, he knew that he was himself happy and joyful. —
最重要的是，他知道自己是快乐和喜悦的。 —

He would have liked to smile, but dared not even think of that. —
他想微笑，但他不敢想那个。 —

He made a piteous, dismayed face, and bowed before the storm.
他露出可怜而沮丧的表情，对着风暴鞠躬。

“I could not, upon my word. But how is Petya?”
“我真的做不到。但是彼特怎么样？”

“He is all right now, come along. Aren’t you ashamed? —
“他现在没事了，快来吧。你不觉得羞愧吗？” —

If you could see what I am like without you, how wretched I am …”
“如果你看到我没有你是什么样子，我是多么痛苦…”

“Are you quite well?”
“你还好吗？”

“Come along, come along,” she said, not letting go of his hand. —
“快来，快来。”她说着，没有放开他的手。 —

And they went off to their rooms. When Nikolay and his wife came to look for Pierre, they found him in the nursery, with his baby son awake in his arms, and he was dandling him. —
他们一起走回自己的房间。当尼古拉和他的妻子来找皮埃尔时，他们发现他正抱着醒来的婴儿儿子，摇晃着他。 —

There was a gleeful smile on the baby’s broad face and open, toothless mouth. —
婴儿宽大的脸上露出了欢快的笑容和张开的无牙嘴巴。 —

The storm had long blown over, and a bright, sunny radiance of joy flowed all over Natasha’s face, as she gazed tenderly at her husband and son.
风暴已经过去很久了，光明、阳光般的喜悦的光芒在娜塔莎的脸上流淌，她温柔地注视着丈夫和儿子。

“And did you have a good talk over everything with Prince Fyodor?” Natasha was saying.
“你和费奥多尔王子谈了很多吗？”娜塔莎问。

“Yes, capital.”
“是的，很好。”

“You see, he holds his head up” (Natasha meant the baby). “Oh, what a fright he gave me. —
“你看，他抬起了头”（娜塔莎指的是婴儿）。 “哦，他吓了我一跳。” —

And did you see the princess? Is it true that she is in love with that …”
你看到那位公主了吗？她和那个……是真的吗？

“Yes, can you fancy …”
是的，你真能想象得到……

At that moment Nikolay came in with his wife. —
就在这时，尼古拉走进了房间，带着他的妻子。 —

Pierre, not letting go of his son, stooped down, kissed them, and answered their inquiries. —
彼埃尔并没有放开儿子，他弯下身，亲吻他们，回答他们的问题。 —

But it was obvious that in spite of the many interesting things they had to discuss, the baby, with the wobbling head in the little cap, was absorbing Pierre’s whole attention.
但显然，尽管他们有很多有趣的事情可以讨论，但这个戴着小帽子、摇摇晃晃的婴儿却完全吸引着彼埃尔的注意力。

“How sweet he is!” said Countess Marya, looking at the baby and playing with him. —
“他多可爱啊！”玛丽亚伯爵夫人看着婴儿，和他玩耍。 —

“That’s thing I can’t understand, Nikolay,” she said, turning to her husband, “how it is you don’t feel the charm of these exquisite little creatures?”
“这就是我不能理解的，尼古拉，”她转向丈夫说，“你怎么会不觉得这些美妙的小生命有魅力？”

“Well, I don’t, I can’t,” said Nikolay, looking coldly at the baby. —
“嗯，我就是不能，我没办法。”尼古拉冷冷地望着婴儿说。 —

“Just a morsel of flesh. Come along, Pierre.”
“只是一小块肉而已。快走吧，彼埃尔。”

“The great thing is, that he is really a devoted father,” said Countess Marya, apologising for her husband, “but only after a year or so …”
“最重要的是，他真的是一个全心全意的父亲，”玛丽亚伯爵夫人为丈夫辩解道，“只是要过一两年……”

“Oh, Pierre is a capital nurse,” said Natasha; —
“噢，彼埃尔是个好保姆，”娜塔莎说。 —

“he says his hand is just made for a baby’s back. Just look.”
“他说他的手就是给宝宝背部设计的。你来看看。”

“Oh yes, but not for this,” Pierre cried laughing, and hurriedly snatching up the baby, he handed him back to his nurse.
“噢，是的，但不是给他背。”彼埃尔笑着说着，匆忙地抱起婴儿，把他交给保姆。