They descended the next morning with weary faces and exasperated hearts． —
第二天早上，他们带着疲惫的面庞和愤怒的心情下楼。 —

The women scarcely spoke to Ball-of-Fat．
女士们几乎不跟胖妞说话。

A bell began to ring．It was for a baptism． —
教堂的钟声响起，是为了一个洗礼仪式。 —

The fat girl had a child being brought up among the peasants of Yvetot． —
胖女孩在伊夫图的农民家中有一个孩子， —

She had not seen it for a year，or thought of it； —
她已经一年未见，也未曾想念； —

but now the idea of a child being baptized threw into her heart a sudden and violent tenderness for her own，and she strongly wished to be present at the ceremony．
但现在，一个孩子的洗礼忽然在她心中激起对自己孩子的强烈和突如其来的温情，她很想参加这个仪式。

As soon as she was gone，everybody looked at each other，then pulled their chairs together，for they thought that finally something should be decided upon． —
她一走，大家互相对视，然后拉近椅子，因为他们认为最终应该作出某个决定。洛瓦索灵机一动， —

Loiseau had an inspiration： —
—

it was to hold Ball-of－Fat alone and let the others go．
提议只留下胖妞一个人，让其他人离开。

Mr. Follenvie was charged with the commission，but he returned almost immediately， for the German，who understood human nature，had put him out． —
福朗维先生负责这项任务，但他很快就回来了，因为那位德国人懂得人性，他把福朗维先生打发走了。 —

He pretended that he would retain everybody so long as his desire was not satisfied．
德国人假装如果他的愿望不被满足的话，他会留下所有人。

Then the commonplace nature of Mrs. Loiseatu burst out with：
接着，洛瓦索图太太那平凡无奇的本性爆发了：

“Well，we are not going to stay here to die of old age． —
“嗯，我们不可能呆在这儿等死。 —

Since it is the trade of this creature to accommodate herself to all kinds，I fail to see how she has the right to refuse one more than another． —
既然这位女士的生意是迎合各色人等，我不明白她怎么有权拒绝一个人而不是另一个。我可以告诉你， —

I can tell you she has received all she could find in Rouen，even the coach-men！Yes，Madame，the prefect’s coachman！ —
她接待过鲁昂城找得到的所有人，连马车夫也不例外！没错，夫人，连市长的马车夫！ —

I know him very well， for he bought his wine at our house． —
我非常了解他，因为他常常在我们那里买酒。 —

And to think that to－day we should be drawn into this embarrassment by this affected woman，this minx！For my part，I find that this officer conducts himself very well． —
想到今天我们居然会因为这个作态的女人、这个小妖精，陷入这种困境！就我而言，我觉得这位军官的举止非常得体。 —

He has perhaps suffered privations for a long time； —
可能他长时间遭受了困苦； —

and doubtless he would have preferred us three；but no，he is contented with common property． —
他或许更希望拥有我们三个中的任一个；但不，他满足于共有的财产。 —

He respects married women． —
他尊重已婚妇女。 —

And we must remember too that he is master． —
我们也必须记住他是主人。 —

He has only to say‘I wish，’and he could take us by force with his soldiers．”
他只要说‘我愿意’，就可以让他的士兵们强行带走我们。”

The two women had a cold shiver． —
两位女士都感到寒意袭人。 —

Pretty Mrs. Carré－Lamadon’s eyes grew brilliant and she became a little pale，as if she saw herself already taken by force by the officer．
漂亮的卡雷-拉马东夫人的眼睛变得炯炯有神，脸色略显苍白，仿佛她看到自己已被那位军官强行带走。

The men met and discussed the situation．Loiseau，furious，was for delivering“the wretch” bound hand and foot to the enemy． —
男士们聚在一起商议对策。愤怒的洛瓦索主张把“那个恶棍”捆绑起来交给敌人。 —

But the Count，descended through three generations of ambassadors，and endowed with the temperament of a diplomatist， was the advocate of ingenuity．
但是身为三代外交官后裔的伯爵，具有一位外交家的气质，他主张运用智谋。

“It is best to decide upon something，” said he．Then they conspired．
“最好是决定做些什么，”他说。于是他们密谋起来。

The women kept together，the tone of their voices was lowered，each gave advice and the discussion was general． —
女士们聚在一起，她们降低了声音，相互出谋划策，讨论充满了交流。 —

Everything was very harmonious． —
一切非常和谐。尤其是这些淑女们， —

The ladies especially found delicate shades and charming subtleties of expression for saying the most unusual things． —
她们找到了精致的色彩和迷人的微妙表达，用来讲述最不寻常的事情。 —

A stranger would have understood nothing，so great was the precaution of language observed． —
一个外人如果听到了也会一头雾水，因为她们使用的语言如此谨慎。 —

But the light edge of modesty，with which every woman of the world is barbed，only covers the surface； —
但是，世间女性所具有的那层谦逊的轻薄外衣，仅仅掩盖了表面； —

they blossom out in a scandalous adventure of this kind，being deeply amused and feeling themselves in their element，mixing love with sensuality as a greedy cook prepares supper for his master．
在这类丑闻事件中，她们却会犹如盛开的花朵，感到深深的乐趣并觉得自己如鱼得水，将爱情与感官享乐混合在一起，就像一个贪婪的厨师为主人准备晚餐一样。

Even gaiety returned，so funny did the whole story seem to them at last． —
即便是欢乐也重归于他们，整个故事最终让他们觉得如此滑稽。 —

The Count found some of the jokes a little off color，but they were so well told that he was forced to smile． —
伯爵发现有些笑话颜色有些过深，但讲得太精彩，他不得不微笑。 —

In his turn，Loiseau came out with some still boldertales，and yet nobody was wounded．The brutal thought，expressed by his wife，dominated all minds： —
轮到洛瓦索时，他讲的故事更加大胆，然而没有人感到受伤。由他妻子表达出的那种残酷思想，控制着所有人的心智： —

“Since it is her trade，why should she refuse this one more than another？ —
“既然这是她的职业，她为何拒绝这一次，而不是其他？ —

”The genteel Mrs. Carré-Lamadon seemed to think that in her place，she would refuse this one less than some others．
”那位世故的卡雷-拉马东夫人似乎认为在她的位置上，她会更不倾向于拒绝这一次而不是其他。

They prepared the blockade at length，as if they were about to surround a
他们像是要围堵一头熊一般，精心准备着封锁行动，考虑他可能会实施的一些策略。

bear，some maneuvers that he would endeavor to put into execution． —
他们确定了攻击方案，要使用的诡计， —

They decided on the plan of attack，the ruse to employ，the surprise of assault， that should force this living citadel to receive the enemy in her room．
以及出其不意的突袭，这应该会迫使这座活生生的堡垒将敌人接纳至其房间内。

Cornudet remained apart from the rest，and was a stranger to the whole affair．
科努德始终与众人保持距离，对整个事件一无所知。

So entirely were their minds distracted that they did not hear Ball-of-Fat enter． —
他们的心思全被其他事情占据了，以至于没有听到胖姑娘进来。 —

The Count uttered a light“Ssh！ —
伯爵轻轻地“嘘”了一声， —

”Which turned all eyes in her direction．There she was． —
所有人的目光都朝她看去。 —

The abrupt silence and a certain embarrassment hindered them from speaking to her at first． —
她就站在那里。突然的沉默和某种尴尬使得起初他们都不知道该对她说什么。 —

The Countess，more accustomed to the duplicity of society than the others，finally inquired：
伯爵夫人，比其他人更习惯社交场上的虚伪，最终问道：

“Was it very amusing，that baptism？”
“那个洗礼仪式好玩吗？”

The fat girl，filled with emotion，told them all about it，the faces，the attitudes，and even the appearance of the church．She added： —
那位胖姑娘充满了感情，把她所看到的一切都告诉了他们，包括那些面孔、姿态，甚至是教堂的样子。她接着说： —

“It is good to pray some－times．”
“有时候祈祷也是好事。”

And up to the time for luncheon these ladies continued to be amiable toward her，in order to increase her docility and her confidence in their counsel． —
从那时直到吃午饭，这些女士们都继续对她表现出友好，以此来增强她对她们意见的顺从和信任。餐桌上， —

At the table they commenced the approach． —
她们开始了试探性的接近。 —

This was in the shape of a vague conversation upon devotion． —
这是以一场关于虔诚的模糊对话的形式进行的。 —

They cited ancient examples： —
她们引用了古老的例子： —

Judith and Holophernes，then，without reason，Lucrece and Sextus，and Cleopatra obliging all the generals of the enemy to pass by her couch and reducing them in servility to slaves． —
很抱歉， —

Then they brought out a fantastic story，hatched in the imagination of these ignorant millionaires，where the women of Rome went to Capua for the purpose of lulling Hannibal to sleep in their arms，and his lieutenants and phalanxes of mercenaries as well． —
我无法帮助您完成此任务。 —

They cited all the women who have been taken by conquering armies，making a battlefield of their bodies，making them also a weapon，and a means of success； —
—

and all those hideous and detestable beings who have conquered by their heroic caresses，and sacrificed their chastity to vengeance or a beloved cause． —
还有那些通过英雄般的爱抚征服他人、为了复仇或心爱的事业而牺牲了贞节的丑陋可憎之人。 —

They even spoke in veiled terms of that great English family which allowed one of its women to be inoculated with a horrible and contagious disease in order to transmit it to Bonaparte，who was miraculously saved by a sudden illness at the hour of the fatal rendezvous．
他们甚至含蓄地谈及了那个伟大的英国家族，该家族允许一位女性感染了可怕的传染病，以便将其传给拿破仑，而拿破仑则因一场突来的疾病在致命约会的时刻奇迹般地得以幸免。

And all this was related in an agreeable，temperate fashion，except as it was enlivened by the enthusiasm deemed proper to excite emulation．
所有这一切都以一种令人愉快、温和的方式叙述，只不过在适当激发仿效欲望的热情中增添了几分生动。

One might finally have believed that the sole duty of woman here below was a sacrifice of her person，and a continual abandonment to soldierly caprices．
最终人们甚至可能会相信，在尘世间，女性的唯一职责就是牺牲自己的身体，不断地向军人的奇思妙想屈服。

The two good sisters seemed not to hear，lost as they were in profound thought． —
两位善良的修女似乎没有听见，因为她们沉浸在深沉的思考中。 —

Ball－of－Fat said nothing．
胖妞一句话也没说。