Friday, 28th.
星期五，28日。

Yesterday afternoon I went with my mother and my sister Sylvia, to carry the linen to the poor woman recommended by the newspaper: —
昨天下午我和我妈妈、我妹妹西尔维亚一起去送床单给报纸推荐的那位穷妇人： —

I carried the bundle; Sylvia had the paper with the initials of the name and the address. —
我提着包袱；西尔维亚拿着写着名字缩写和地址的纸。 —

We climbed to the very roof of a tall house, to a long corridor with many doors. —
我们走了很多楼梯，来到一条长廊，廊上有许多门。 —

My mother knocked at the last; it was opened by a woman who was still young, blond and thin, and it instantly struck[15] me that I had seen her many times before, with that very same blue kerchief that she wore on her head.
我妈妈敲了最后一扇门；门被一位年轻、金发、瘦削的女人打开了，我立刻觉得我以前见过她很多次，她戴着头上那条蓝色的头巾。

“Are you the person of whom the newspaper says so and so?” asked my mother.
“您是报纸上提到的那位吗？”我妈妈问道。

“Yes, signora, I am.”
“是的，夫人，是我。”

“Well, we have brought you a little linen. —
“好吧，我们给你带了一点亚麻布。 —

” Then the woman began to thank us and bless us, and could not make enough of it. —
”然后那位妇人开始感谢我们，祝福我们，不停地称赞亚麻布。 —

Meanwhile I espied in one corner of the bare, dark room, a boy kneeling in front of a chair, with his back turned towards us, who appeared to be writing; —
与此同时，我发现在这个空荡荡、昏暗的房间的一个角落里，有一个男孩跪在一把椅子前面，背对着我们，似乎在写作； —

and he really was writing, with his paper on the chair and his inkstand on the floor. —
而他确实正在写字，纸放在椅子上，墨水瓶放在地板上。 —

How did he manage to write thus in the dark? —
他是如何在黑暗中写字的呢？ —

While I was saying this to myself, I suddenly recognized the red hair and the coarse jacket of Crossi, the son of the vegetable-pedler, the boy with the useless arm. —
在我心里问着这个问题的时候，我突然认出了Crossi，那个卖菜的儿子，那个手臂无用的男孩，他红头发、穿着粗糙的夹克。 —

I told my mother softly, while the woman was putting away the things.
我轻声告诉我的母亲，当那位妇人收拾东西的时候。

“Hush!” replied my mother; “perhaps he will feel ashamed to see you giving alms to his mother: —
“嘘！”我的母亲回答道，“也许他会因为看到你给他母亲施舍而感到羞愧； —

don’t speak to him.”
不要和他说话。”

But at that moment Crossi turned round; I was embarrassed; —
但就在那时，Crossi转过了身；我感到尴尬； —

he smiled, and then my mother gave me a push, so that I should run to him and embrace him. —
他微笑了，然后我的母亲把我推了一把，叫我跑过去拥抱他。 —

I did embrace him: he rose and took me by the hand.
我拥抱了他：他站起身，拉着我的手。

“Here I am,” his mother was saying in the meantime to my mother, “alone with this boy, my husband in America these seven years, and I sick in addition, so that I can no longer make my rounds with my vegetables, and earn a few cents. —
“与此同时，他一直在对我母亲说，“我跟这个孩子独处，我丈夫已经在美国七年了，而我又生病了，所以再也无法推着我的菜做生意了，赚几分钱。 —

We have not even a table left for my poor Luigino to do his work on. —
我们甚至再也没有一张桌子让我可怜的Luigino做工作了。 —

When there was a bench down at the door, he could, at least, write on the bench; —
当门口还有一条长凳时，他至少可以在长凳上写字；” —

but that has been taken away. He has not even a little light so that he can[16] study without ruining his eyes. —
但这已经被夺走了。他甚至没有一点光线，可以不伤害眼睛地学习。 —

And it is a mercy that I can send him to school, since the city provides him with books and copy-books. —
而且我可以送他去学校，因为城市会提供给他书本和习字簿。 —

Poor Luigino, who would be so glad to study! —
可怜的Luigino，他会很高兴去学习！ —

Unhappy woman, that I am!”
我这个不幸的女人！

My mother gave her all that she had in her purse, kissed the boy, and almost wept as we went out. —
我母亲把她钱包里所有的钱都给了她，亲吻了这个男孩，我们走出去时几乎要哭了。 —

And she had good cause to say to me: “Look at that poor boy; —
她有充分理由对我说：“看看那个可怜的男孩； —

see how he is forced to work, when you have every comfort, and yet study seems hard to you! Ah! —
看看他被迫工作，当你有所有的舒适，然而学习对你来说却很艰难！啊！ —

Enrico, there is more merit in the work which he does in one day, than in your work for a year. —
Enrico，他一天所做的工作中有比你一年的努力更有价值。 —

It is to such that the first prizes should be given!”
应该将第一名奖给这样的人！