There was, at Montfermeil, near Paris, during the first quarter of this century, a sort of cook-shop which no longer exists. —
在巴黎附近的蒙费尔美市，在本世纪初的时候，有一家已经不复存在的小饭店。 —

This cook-shop was kept by some people named Thenardier, husband and wife. —
这家小饭店由名叫泰纳尔迪埃的夫妇经营。 —

It was situated in Boulanger Lane. Over the door there was a board nailed flat against the wall. —
它位于布朗杰小巷。门上有一块平平贴在墙上的板子。 —

Upon this board was painted something which resembled a man carrying another man on his back, the latter wearing the big gilt epaulettes of a general, with large silver stars; —
板子上画着一个像是一个人背着另一个人的图案，后者穿着大的镀金肩章，带着大大小小的银星； —

red spots represented blood; the rest of the picture consisted of smoke, and probably represented a battle. —
红色斑点代表鲜血；其余的图案由烟雾构成，很可能代表一场战斗。 —

Below ran this inscription: AT THE SIGN OF SERGEANT OF WATERLOO (Au Sargent de Waterloo).
下面有这样的铭文：滑铁卢军士之标记（Au Sargent de Waterloo）。

Nothing is more common than a cart or a truck at the door of a hostelry. —
在旅馆门前，车子或货车比比皆是。 —

Nevertheless, the vehicle, or, to speak more accurately, the fragment of a vehicle, which encumbered the street in front of the cook-shop of the Sergeant of Waterloo, one evening in the spring of 1818, would certainly have attracted, by its mass, the attention of any painter who had passed that way.
然而，在1818年春天的一个晚上，挡住滑铁卢军士小饭店门前道路的一辆车辆，更准确地说，部分车辆，肯定会引起任何经过那里的画家的注意，因为它的庞大。

It was the fore-carriage of one of those trucks which are used in wooded tracts of country, and which serve to transport thick planks and the trunks of trees. —
它是用于运送厚木板和树干的树林车辆的前部。 —

This fore-carriage was composed of a massive iron axle-tree with a pivot, into which was fitted a heavy shaft, and which was supported by two huge wheels. —
这个前部由一个巨大的铁车轴、一个可以安装重的车轴的轴心、以及被两个巨大车轮支撑的一个厚实的轴组成。 —

The whole thing was compact, overwhelming, and misshapen. —
整个结构紧凑、笨重、丑陋。 —

It seemed like the gun-carriage of an enormous cannon. —
它看起来像是一门巨炮的炮架。 —

The ruts of the road had bestowed on the wheels, the fellies, the hub, the axle, and the shaft, a layer of mud, a hideous yellowish daubing hue, tolerably like that with which people are fond of ornamenting cathedrals. —
路面的车辙已经使车轮、环边、车轴、轴和轴驱下面沾满了一层黄色腥腥的泥巴色，相当像人们喜欢用来装饰大教堂的颜色。 —

The wood was disappearing under mud, and the iron beneath rust. —
木头被泥浆掩盖，铁被锈蚀。 —

Under the axle-tree hung, like drapery, a huge chain, worthy of some Goliath of a convict. —
在轴下方悬挂着一条巨大的链条，足以配得上某个大力士级别的囚犯。 —

This chain suggested, not the beams, which it was its office to transport, but the mastodons and mammoths which it might have served to harness; —
这根链子似乎并非为了运输横梁，而是为了驯服可能会用它来套索的乳齿象和猛犸象； —

it had the air of the galleys, but of cyclopean and superhuman galleys, and it seemed to have been detached from some monster. —
它看起来像是舰队的，但是是巨大而超人类的舰队，看起来好像从某种怪物身上脱落下来的一部分； —

Homer would have bound Polyphemus with it, and Shakespeare, Caliban.
霍默本来会用它来绑住波吕克修斯，而莎士比亚会绑住卡里班；

Why was that fore-carriage of a truck in that place in the street? —
为什么这辆卡车的前部装置停在街上的那个位置？ —

In the first place, to encumber the street; —
首先，是为了堵塞街道； —

next, in order that it might finish the process of rusting. —
其次，是为了加速生锈的过程； —

There is a throng of institutions in the old social order, which one comes across in this fashion as one walks about outdoors, and which have no other reasons for existence than the above.
在这个形形色色的旧社会秩序中，人们在户外行走时会偶然遇到各种机构，它们存在的唯一理由就是上述所述；

The centre of the chain swung very near the ground in the middle, and in the loop, as in the rope of a swing, there were seated and grouped, on that particular evening, in exquisite interlacement, two little girls; —
链子的中间部分禠离地或中间靠近地面摆动，像秋千绳子一样，在环圈里，两个小女孩在那个晚上坐在那里并成组; —

one about two years and a half old, the other, eighteen months; —
一个大约两岁半，另一个十八个月； —

the younger in the arms of the other. A handkerchief, cleverly knotted about them, prevented their falling out. —
一个抱着另一个。打着巧妙的环结的手帕防止它们掉出去； —

A mother had caught sight of that frightful chain, and had said, “Come! —
一位母亲看到了那条可怕的链子，说：“快！ —

there’s a plaything for my children.”
那是孩子们的玩具。”;

The two children, who were dressed prettily and with some elegance, were radiant with pleasure; —
这两个穿着漂亮而优雅的孩子喜笑颜开； —

one would have said that they were two roses amid old iron; their eyes were a triumph; —
人们会说它们就像是两朵玫瑰盛开在废铁中；它们的眼睛是胜利的； —

their fresh cheeks were full of laughter. One had chestnut hair; the other, brown. —
它们新鲜的脸颊洋溢着笑容。一个人头发是栗色的，另一个是棕色的。 —

Their innocent faces were two delighted surprises; —
他们天真的脸庞是两个令人愉悦的惊喜； —

a blossoming shrub which grew near wafted to the passers-by perfumes which seemed to emanate from them; —
一棵盛开的灌木丛生长在附近，向路人们飘来一股仿佛从她们身上散发出来的香气； —

the child of eighteen months displayed her pretty little bare stomach with the chaste indecency of childhood. —
十八个月大的孩子展示她俏皮的小肚子，展现出童年特有的贞洁的不端之美。 —

Above and around these two delicate heads, all made of happiness and steeped in light, the gigantic fore-carriage, black with rust, almost terrible, all entangled in curves and wild angles, rose in a vault, like the entrance of a cavern. —
在这两个纤弱头颅的上方和周围，充满幸福并沐浴在光芒中，这个巨大的前车厢，锈迹斑斑，几乎可怕，充斥着曲线和狂乱的角度，就像是一个洞穴的入口。 —

A few paces apart, crouching down upon the threshold of the hostelry, the mother, not a very prepossessing woman, by the way, though touching at that moment, was swinging the two children by means of a long cord, watching them carefully, for fear of accidents, with that animal and celestial expression which is peculiar to maternity. —
一段距离外，蜷缩在客栈门槛上的母亲，其实并不是一个很有魅力的女人，尽管在那一刻是令人感动的，她正在用一根长绳摇摆着两个孩子，小心翼翼地看着她们，生怕发生意外，带着那种特有于母性的动物与天使般的表情。 —

At every backward and forward swing the hideous links emitted a strident sound, which resembled a cry of rage; —
每一次前后摇摆，丑陋的铁环都发出尖锐的声音，如同一声愤怒的呐喊； —

the little girls were in ecstasies; the setting sun mingled in this joy, and nothing could be more charming than this caprice of chance which had made of a chain of Titans the swing of cherubim.
小女孩们陶醉其中；夕阳也融入了这种欢乐，再没有比这更迷人的事情了，巨人的链条竟成为天使之摇椅的古怪移情。

As she rocked her little ones, the mother hummed in a discordant voice a romance then celebrated:–
摇着自己的孩子，母亲用不和谐的声音哼唱着一首当时很受欢迎的曲子：–

“It must be, said a warrior.”
“必须要有一个勇士。”

Her song, and the contemplation of her daughters, prevented her hearing and seeing what was going on in the street.
她的歌声和看着女儿们的样子，让她没有察觉街上正在发生的事情。

In the meantime, some one had approached her, as she was beginning the first couplet of the romance, and suddenly she heard a voice saying very near her ear:–
与此同时，有人靠近她，正在她开始唱这首曲子的第一句时，突然她听到一个声音很近地在她耳边说道：–

“You have two beautiful children there, Madame.”
“您这里有两个漂亮的孩子，夫人。”

“To the fair and tender Imogene–”
“对于美丽温柔的伊莫金–”

replied the mother, continuing her romance; then she turned her head.
母亲回答道，继续着她的曲子；然后她转过头。

A woman stood before her, a few paces distant. —
一位女士站在距离她几步之远。 —

This woman also had a child, which she carried in her arms.
这个女人还带着一个孩子，抱在怀里。

She was carrying, in addition, a large carpet-bag, which seemed very heavy.
她还背着一个很重的大地毯袋。

This woman’s child was one of the most divine creatures that it is possible to behold. —
这个女人的孩子是可能最令人着迷的生物之一。 —

lt was a girl, two or three years of age. —
她是一个两三岁的女孩。 —

She could have entered into competition with the two other little ones, so far as the coquetry of her dress was concerned; —
在打扮的俏皮上，她可以和其他两个小孩一较高下； —

she wore a cap of fine linen, ribbons on her bodice, and Valenciennes lace on her cap. —
她戴着精致的亚麻帽，胸前系着丝带，头上还带着瓦伦西亚蕾丝。 —

The folds of her skirt were raised so as to permit a view of her white, firm, and dimpled leg. —
裙摆升起，露出她白皙、结实和有酒窝的小腿。 —

She was admirably rosy and healthy. The little beauty inspired a desire to take a bite from the apples of her cheeks. —
她的面庞玫瑰红润健康。小美人儿让人忍不住想啃一口她脸颊上的苹果。 —

Of her eyes nothing could be known, except that they must be very large, and that they had magnificent lashes. She was asleep.
不知她的眼睛怎样，只知道肯定很大，并且有着华丽的睫毛。她正在睡觉。

She slept with that slumber of absolute confidence peculiar to her age. —
她以她这个年龄特有的绝对信任的方式入睡。 —

The arms of mothers are made of tenderness; —
母亲的臂膀充满柔情； —

in them children sleep profoundly.
孩子在母亲怀里会沉沉地睡去。

As for the mother, her appearance was sad and poverty-stricken. —
而母亲，显得悲伤和贫困。 —

She was dressed like a working-woman who is inclined to turn into a peasant again. She was young. —
她穿着像一个愿意重新成为农民的工薪阶层妇女。她年轻。 —

Was she handsome? Perhaps; but in that attire it was not apparent. —
她漂亮吗？也许吧；但穿着那身衣服看不出来。 —

Her hair, a golden lock of which had escaped, seemed very thick, but was severely concealed beneath an ugly, tight, close, nun-like cap, tied under the chin. —
她的头发，一缕金发逃逸出来，似乎又浓又密，但被一个丑陋、紧绷、类似修女般的帽子严密遮住，扎在下巴下面。 —

A smile displays beautiful teeth when one has them; but she did not smile. —
微笑时，美丽的牙齿会展现出来，但她没有微笑。 —

Her eyes did not seem to have been dry for a very long time. She was pale; —
她的眼睛看起来好像已经很久没有干燥了。她很苍白； —

she had a very weary and rather sickly appearance. —
她显得非常疲倦，有点虚弱。 —

She gazed upon her daughter asleep in her arms with the air peculiar to a mother who has nursed her own child. —
她用母亲抱着自己的孩子时特有的神情凝视着怀中熟睡的女儿。 —

A large blue handkerchief, such as the Invalides use, was folded into a fichu, and concealed her figure clumsily. —
一块大蓝手绢，像伤兵院使用的那种，被折叠成围巾，笨拙地掩盖着她的身体。 —

Her hands were sunburnt and all dotted with freckles, her forefinger was hardened and lacerated with the needle; —
她的手被太阳晒黑，布满雀斑，食指被针头刮伤而变硬； —

she wore a cloak of coarse brown woollen stuff, a linen gown, and coarse shoes. It was Fantine.
她穿着一件粗布褐色披风，一条亚麻裙子，和粗鞋。她是芳汀。

It was Fantine, but difficult to recognize. —
她是芳汀，但很难辨认出来。 —

Nevertheless, on scrutinizing her attentively, it was evident that she still retained her beauty. —
然而，仔细观察她时，很明显她仍保留着美丽。 —

A melancholy fold, which resembled the beginning of irony, wrinkled her right cheek. —
一道忧郁且带有讽刺色彩的折痕出现在她的右脸颊上。 —

As for her toilette, that aerial toilette of muslin and ribbons, which seemed made of mirth, of folly, and of music, full of bells, and perfumed with lilacs had vanished like that beautiful and dazzling hoar-frost which is mistaken for diamonds in the sunlight; —
至于她的盛装，那种轻盈的用薄纱和丝带打造的盛装，看起来仿佛充满了欢乐、疯狂和音乐，装饰着铃铛，散发着丁香花的香气，就像那被太阳误认为是钻石在闪光的美丽霜冻； —

it melts and leaves the branch quite black. —
它消融了，只留下了枝条变得全黑。 —

Ten months had elapsed since the “pretty farce.”
十个月已经过去自从那场“美丽的闹剧”。

What had taken place during those ten months? It can be divined.
在这十个月里发生了什么？可以猜想。

After abandonment, straightened circumstances. —
在被遗弃之后，情况变得艰难。 —

Fantine had immediately lost sight of Favourite, Zephine and Dahlia; —
Fantine立刻就看不见了Favourite，Zephine和Dahlia； —

the bond once broken on the side of the men, it was loosed between the women; —
男性间的关系一旦断裂，女性间的联系也变得松散； —

they would have been greatly astonished had any one told them a fortnight later, that they had been friends; —
如果有人在两周后告诉她们她们曾经是朋友，她们一定会感到非常惊讶； —

there no longer existed any reason for such a thing. Fantine had remained alone. —
现在已经没有任何理由继续保持这样的关系。Fantine孤独地留下了。 —

The father of her child gone,–alas! such ruptures are irrevocable,– she found herself absolutely isolated, minus the habit of work and plus the taste for pleasure. —
孩子的父亲离开了，啊！这样的裂痕是无法挽回的，她发现自己完全孤立无援，失去了工作的习惯，却追求享乐。 —

Drawn away by her liaison with Tholomyes to disdain the pretty trade which she knew, she had neglected to keep her market open; —
受Tholomyes的交往影响，她开始轻视自己懂得的小买卖，忽略了保持自己的市场； —

it was now closed to her. She had no resource. —
她的市场现在已对她关闭。她别无他法。 —

Fantine barely knew how to read, and did not know how to write; —
Fantine几乎不懂阅读，也不懂写作； —

in her childhood she had only been taught to sign her name; —
在她的童年，她只学会了签字； —

she had a public letter-writer indite an epistle to Tholomyes, then a second, then a third. —
她找了一位书信代笔写信给Tholomyes，然后第二封，第三封。 —

Tholomyes replied to none of them. Fantine heard the gossips say, as they looked at her child: —
Tholomyes没回复其中任何一封。当人们看着她的孩子时，Fantine听到他们说： —

“Who takes those children seriously! One only shrugs one’s shoulders over such children!” —
“谁会认真对待这些孩子！对这样的孩子，人们只是耸了耸肩膀！” —

Then she thought of Tholomyes, who had shrugged his shoulders over his child, and who did not take that innocent being seriously; —
然后她想起了Tholomyes，他对自己的孩子耸了耸肩，并没有认真对待那个无辜的生命； —

and her heart grew gloomy toward that man. But what was she to do? —
她对那个男人的心便变得沉闷起来。但是她该怎么办呢？ —

She no longer knew to whom to apply. She had committed a fault, but the foundation of her nature, as will be remembered, was modesty and virtue. —
她不再知道该找谁求助了。她犯了个错误，但她的本性基础，正如大家所知，是谦虚和美德。 —

She was vaguely conscious that she was on the verge of falling into distress, and of gliding into a worse state. —
她隐约意识到自己正快陷入困境，滑向更糟糕的境地。 —

Courage was necessary; she possessed it, and held herself firm. —
勇气是必需的；她拥有勇气，坚定地挺着自己。 —

The idea of returning to her native town of M. sur M. occurred to her. —
她想起回到自己的家乡M. sur M。 —

There, some one might possibly know her and give her work; —
那里，可能会有人认识她，并给她工作； —

yes, but it would be necessary to conceal her fault. —
是的，但她必须隐瞒自己的过错。 —

In a confused way she perceived the necessity of a separation which would be more painful than the first one. —
她以模糊的方式意识到必须进行一场比第一次更为痛苦的分离。 —

Her heart contracted, but she took her resolution. —
她的心被捆紧，但她下定了决心。 —

Fantine, as we shall see, had the fierce bravery of life. —
正如我们将看到的，芳汀有着对生活的勇猛勇气。 —

She had already valiantly renounced finery, had dressed herself in linen, and had put all her silks, all her ornaments, all her ribbons, and all her laces on her daughter, the only vanity which was left to her, and a holy one it was. —
她已经英勇地放弃了华丽服饰，让自己穿上了亚麻布，把自己所有的丝绸、饰品、丝绸带和花边都留给了女儿，这是她唯一留给自己的虚荣，也是一种神圣的虚荣。 —

She sold all that she had, which produced for her two hundred francs; —
她卖掉了所有的家当，为她赚了两百法郎； —

her little debts paid, she had only about eighty francs left. —
付清了小债后，她手头只剩下大约80法郎。 —

At the age of twenty-two, on a beautiful spring morning, she quitted Paris, bearing her child on her back. —
22岁那年，一个美丽的春季早晨，她带着她的孩子背井离乡，离开了巴黎。 —

Any one who had seen these two pass would have had pity on them. —
任何看到这两人经过的人都会对他们感到遗憾。 —

This woman had, in all the world, nothing but her child, and the child had, in all the world, no one but this woman. —
这个女人在世界上除了她的孩子，一无所有，孩子在世界上除了这个女人，也没有别人。 —

Fantine had nursed her child, and this had tired her chest, and she coughed a little.
芳汀哺养着她的孩子，这让她的胸口感到疲倦，她偶尔会咳嗽一下。

We shall have no further occasion to speak of M. Felix Tholomyes. —
我们将不再谈及费利克斯·托洛米耶先生。 —

Let us confine ourselves to saying, that, twenty years later, under King Louis Philippe, he was a great provincial lawyer, wealthy and influential, a wise elector, and a very severe juryman; —
让我们限于说，在二十年后的路易·菲利普国王统治时期，他成为了一位卓越的省级律师，富有和有影响力，一位明智的选民，以及一个非常严厉的陪审团成员； —

he was still a man of pleasure.
他仍然是一个玩乐之人。

Towards the middle of the day, after having, from time to time, for the sake of resting herself, travelled, for three or four sous a league, in what was then known as the Petites Voitures des Environs de Paris, the “little suburban coach service,” Fantine found herself at Montfermeil, in the alley Boulanger.
在正午时分，芳汀为了休息自己不时乘坐每里收三到四便士的当时被称为“巴黎周边小马车”的Petites Voitures des Environs de Paris，在那时她来到了蒙费雷伊的布兰日胡同。

As she passed the Thenardier hostelry, the two little girls, blissful in the monster swing, had dazzled her in a manner, and she had halted in front of that vision of joy.
当她经过泰纳迪埃旅店时，两个在秋千上欢乐玩耍的小女孩让她眼花缭乱，她在那幸福的景象前停下来。

Charms exist. These two little girls were a charm to this mother.
魅力存在。这两个小女孩对这位母亲来说是一种魅力。

She gazed at them in much emotion. The presence of angels is an announcement of Paradise. —
她满含情感地凝视着她们。天使的存在是对天堂的宣告。 —

She thought that, above this inn, she beheld the mysterious HERE of Providence. —
她觉得，在这个客栈上方，她看到了上帝的神秘存在。 —

These two little creatures were evidently happy. —
这两个小家伙显然很快乐。 —

She gazed at them, she admired them, in such emotion that at the moment when their mother was recovering her breath between two couplets of her song, she could not refrain from addressing to her the remark which we have just read:–
她凝视着她们，她欣赏着她们，情感如此激动，以至于当她们的母亲在唱着歌的两个段落之间喘息时，忍不住向她发表了我们刚才读到的评论：

“You have two pretty children, Madame.”
“你有两个漂亮的孩子，夫人。”

The most ferocious creatures are disarmed by caresses bestowed on their young.
最凶猛的生物也会被给予他们幼崽的爱抚所驯服。

The mother raised her head and thanked her, and bade the wayfarer sit down on the bench at the door, she herself being seated on the threshold. —
母亲抬起头，感谢她，并请那路过的旅人坐在门口的长椅上，她自己坐在门槛上。 —

The two women began to chat.
这两位女士开始闲谈。

“My name is Madame Thenardier,” said the mother of the two little girls. “We keep this inn.”
“我叫特纳第埃夫人。”那两个小女孩的母亲说。“我们经营这家客栈。”

Then, her mind still running on her romance, she resumed humming between her teeth:–
然后，她的脑子还在继续想着她的浪漫故事，又开始自言自语地哼唱起来：

“It must be so; I am a knight, And I am off to Palestine.”
“必须如此；我是一名骑士，我要去巴勒斯坦。”

This Madame Thenardier was a sandy-complexioned woman, thin and angular– the type of the soldier’s wife in all its unpleasantness; —
这位特纳第埃夫人是一个浅色皮肤的女人，瘦高有棱角 - 具有所有讨人厌的军人妻子的特征； —

and what was odd, with a languishing air, which she owed to her perusal of romances. —
而奇怪的是，又带着一种病态的神情，这是她在读浪漫小说时养成的。 —

She was a simpering, but masculine creature. —
她是一个媚笑但男性化的生物。 —

Old romances produce that effect when rubbed against the imagination of cook-shop woman. —
当旧的浪漫小说碰撞到炉灶女人的想象力时，就会产生这种效果。 —

She was still young; she was barely thirty. —
她还很年轻；她才刚过三十岁。 —

If this crouching woman had stood upright, her lofty stature and her frame of a perambulating colossus suitable for fairs, might have frightened the traveller at the outset, troubled her confidence, and disturbed what caused what we have to relate to vanish. —
如果这个蹲着的女人站直了，她高大的身材和适合参加市集的体格可能会在一开始吓到旅人，动摇她的信心，让我们要叙述的事情消失。 —

A person who is seated instead of standing erect–destinies hang upon such a thing as that.
一个坐着而不是直立的人–命运就取决于这么一个细微的事情。

The traveller told her story, with slight modifications.
旅人讲述了她的故事，稍作修改。

That she was a working-woman; that her husband was dead; —
她是个工作的女人；她丈夫已经去世； —

that her work in Paris had failed her, and that she was on her way to seek it elsewhere, in her own native parts; —
她在巴黎的工作失败了，现在正前往她的故乡寻找工作； —

that she had left Paris that morning on foot; —
她当天早上步行离开巴黎； —

that, as she was carrying her child, and felt fatigued, she had got into the Villemomble coach when she met it; —
因为抱着孩子感到疲累，所以碰巧看到维勒蒙勃尔车，便上了车； —

that from Villemomble she had come to Montfermeil on foot; —
她从维勒蒙勃尔步行来到蒙特费尔； —

that the little one had walked a little, but not much, because she was so young, and that she had been obliged to take her up, and the jewel had fallen asleep.
小孩走了一点路，但不多，因为她年纪太小，所以她把孩子抱起来，宝贝就睡着了。

At this word she bestowed on her daughter a passionate kiss, which woke her. —
听到这个词，她热情地亲吻了女儿一下，把她弄醒。 —

The child opened her eyes, great blue eyes like her mother’s, and looked at–what? Nothing; —
孩子睁开了眼睛，那双像母亲一样的蓝眼睛，看着–什么？什么也没有； —

with that serious and sometimes severe air of little children, which is a mystery of their luminous innocence in the presence of our twilight of virtue. —
带着那种儿童们那种严肃有时候又严格的神情，这是他们那种充满天真的光明，在我们的美德黄昏面前的一个奥秘。 —

One would say that they feel themselves to be angels, and that they know us to be men. —
人们会觉得他们自己是天使，而且他们知道我们是人。 —

Then the child began to laugh; and although the mother held fast to her, she slipped to the ground with the unconquerable energy of a little being which wished to run. —
然后孩子开始笑了；尽管母亲紧紧抱着她，但她还是下意不移地想要奔跑，那是一个渴望奔跑的小生命不可战胜的活力。 —

All at once she caught sight of the two others in the swing, stopped short, and put out her tongue, in sign of admiration.
她立刻看到秋千上的另外两个孩子，停下来，伸出了舌头，表示赞美。

Mother Thenardier released her daughters, made them descend from the swing, and said:–
泰纳尔迪埃太太放开她的女儿们，让她们从秋千上下来，说道：–

“Now amuse yourselves, all three of you.”
“现在你们三个尽情玩吧。”

Children become acquainted quickly at that age, and at the expiration of a minute the little Thenardiers were playing with the new-comer at making holes in the ground, which was an immense pleasure.
孩子们在那个年龄很快就会互相熟悉，一分钟后，小泰纳尔迪埃家的孩子们和新来的孩子一起玩起来挖地洞，这是一种极大的乐趣。

The new-comer was very gay; the goodness of the mother is written in the gayety of the child; —
新来的孩子非常开朗；母亲的善良写在孩子的开朗上； —

she had seized a scrap of wood which served her for a shovel, and energetically dug a cavity big enough for a fly. —
她抓起一块木头，用作铲子，努力地挖了一个足以容纳一只苍蝇的洞。 —

The grave-digger’s business becomes a subject for laughter when performed by a child.
当一个孩子来做墓穴挖掘者的时候，这个本来严肃的工作变成了笑料。

The two women pursued their chat.
这两个女人继续聊天。

“What is your little one’s name?”
“你们小孩的名字叫什么？”

“Cosette.”
“柯赛特(Cosette)。”

For Cosette, read Euphrasie. The child’s name was Euphrasie. —
对于柯赛特，就读作尤佛瑞丝(Euphrasie)。这个孩子的名字是尤佛瑞丝。 —

But out of Euphrasie the mother had made Cosette by that sweet and graceful instinct of mothers and of the populace which changes Josepha into Pepita, and Francoise into Sillette. —
但是母亲把尤佛瑞丝变成了柯赛特，这是母亲和大众独有的那种甜美而优雅的本能，可以把约瑟法(Josepha)变成佩皮塔(Pepita)，弗朗索瓦(Francoise)变成西莱特(Sillette)。 —

It is a sort of derivative which disarranges and disconcerts the whole science of etymologists. —
这是那种会搞乱和搅乱整个词源学的后缀。 —

We have known a grandmother who succeeded in turning Theodore into Gnon.
我们认识一个祖母，成功地把特奥多尔(Theodore)变成了她所说的”诺恩”(Gnon)。

“How old is she?”
“她多大了？”

“She is going on three.”
“她即将三岁了。”

“That is the age of my eldest.”
“这是我大女儿的年龄。”

In the meantime, the three little girls were grouped in an attitude of profound anxiety and blissfulness; —
与此同时，三个小女孩聚集在一起，表现出深切的焦虑和幸福； —

an event had happened; a big worm had emerged from the ground, and they were afraid; —
有一件事发生了；一条大虫从地下爬出来，她们感到害怕； —

and they were in ecstasies over it.
她们对此感到欣喜若狂。

Their radiant brows touched each other; one would have said that there were three heads in one aureole.
她们光芒四射的额头相互贴在一起；人们会觉得这里有三个头在同一个光环中。

“How easily children get acquainted at once!” —
“孩子们总是很容易一见如故！” —

exclaimed Mother Thenardier; “one would swear that they were three sisters!”
Thenardier太太惊叹道；”仿佛她们是三姐妹一样！”

This remark was probably the spark which the other mother had been waiting for. —
这番话可能是另一个母亲一直在等待的火种。 —

She seized the Thenardier’s hand, looked at her fixedly, and said:–
她握住Thenardier太太的手，凝视着她，说：–

“Will you keep my child for me?”
“能替我照看我的孩子吗？”

The Thenardier made one of those movements of surprise which signify neither assent nor refusal.
Thenardier太太做了一个既不表示同意也不表示拒绝的动作。

Cosette’s mother continued:–
Cosette的母亲继续说：–

“You see, I cannot take my daughter to the country. My work will not permit it. —
“你知道，我无法带我的女儿去农村。我的工作不允许。 —

With a child one can find no situation. People are ridiculous in the country. —
有了孩子就无法找到工作。人们在农村是荒谬的。” —

It was the good God who caused me to pass your inn. —
这是仁慈的上帝让我路过了你的客栈。 —

When I caught sight of your little ones, so pretty, so clean, and so happy, it overwhelmed me. —
当我看到你家的孩子们，那么漂亮、那么干净、那么幸福，我感到无比感动。 —

I said: `Here is a good mother. That is just the thing; that will make three sisters.’ —
我说：“这里有一个好妈妈。那正合适；这样就会有三个姐妹了。” —

And then, it will not be long before I return. —
然后，我很快就会回来。 —

Will you keep my child for me?”
你能帮我看管我的孩子吗？

“I must see about it,” replied the Thenardier.
“我得考虑一下,“泰纳第埃回答说。

“I will give you six francs a month.”
我每个月给你六法郎。

Here a man’s voice called from the depths of the cook-shop:–
在炊事房深处传来一个男人的声音：-

“Not for less than seven francs. And six months paid in advance.”
“不少于七法郎。并且要提前支付六个月的租金。”

“Six times seven makes forty-two,” said the Thenardier.
“六乘以七等于四十二，”泰纳尔迪埃太太说。

“I will give it,” said the mother.
“我会支付的，”母亲说。

“And fifteen francs in addition for preliminary expenses,” added the man’s voice.
“另外还要十五法郎作为预付费用，”那男人的声音补充道。

“Total, fifty-seven francs,” said Madame Thenardier. And she hummed vaguely, with these figures:–
“一共五十七法郎，”泰纳尔迪埃太太说。然后她用这些数字含糊地哼唱道：-

“It must be, said a warrior.”
“必须如此，”一个勇士说。

“I will pay it,” said the mother. “I have eighty francs. —
“我会付钱的。”母亲说道。“我有八十法郎。 —

I shall have enough left to reach the country, by travelling on foot. —
“我会有足够的钱剩下来，可以步行到乡下去。 —

I shall earn money there, and as soon as I have a little I will return for my darling.”
“我会在那里赚钱，一有点钱就立刻回来把我的宝贝接回来。”

The man’s voice resumed:–
男人的声音又响了起来：–

“The little one has an outfit?”
“小家伙有衣服吗？”

“That is my husband,” said the Thenardier.
“那是我老公，”泰拿尔代太太说。

“Of course she has an outfit, the poor treasure.–I understood perfectly that it was your husband. —
“当然她有衣服，那个可怜的宝贝.–我完全明白那就是你的老公。 —

–And a beautiful outfit, too! a senseless outfit, everything by the dozen, and silk gowns like a lady. —
–而且是一整套衣服！无意义的一整套，一切都是成双成对，还有像女士的丝裙。 —

It is here, in my carpet-bag.”
在我的手提箱里。”

“You must hand it over,” struck in the man’s voice again.
“你必须把它交出来，”男人的声音再次插进来。

“Of course I shall give it to you,” said the mother. —
“当然我会给你的，”母亲说道。 —

“It would be very queer if I were to leave my daughter quite naked!”
“要是我把我女儿赤身裸体地留下，那才奇怪呢！”

The master’s face appeared.
老板的脸出现了。

“That’s good,” said he.
“好的，”他说。

The bargain was concluded. The mother passed the night at the inn, gave up her money and left her child, fastened her carpet-bag once more, now reduced in volume by the removal of the outfit, and light henceforth and set out on the following morning, intending to return soon. —
交易达成。母亲在客栈住了一夜，交出了钱，离开了她的孩子，重新系紧手提箱，现在移除了那套衣服后，体积缩小了，变得轻便起来，第二天一早就启程了，打算很快返回。 —

People arrange such departures tranquilly; —
人们安静地安排这样的离别； —

but they are despairs!
但它们却是绝望！

A neighbor of the Thenardiers met this mother as she was setting out, and came back with the remark:–
泰拿尔一家的邻居遇到这位母亲正在启程，回来后说：

“I have just seen a woman crying in the street so that it was enough to rend your heart.”
“我刚刚在街上看到一个妇人哭得让人心碎。”

When Cosette’s mother had taken her departure, the man said to the woman:–
当珂赛特的母亲离开时，那个男人对那个女人说：

“That will serve to pay my note for one hundred and ten francs which falls due to-morrow; —
“那将用来支付我明天到期的110法郎借据； —

I lacked fifty francs. Do you know that I should have had a bailiff and a protest after me? —
我缺了50法郎。你知道我本来会有一个追债官和抗议书跟在我后头吗？ —

You played the mouse-trap nicely with your young ones.”
你和你的小家伙们玩得真厉害。”

“Without suspecting it,” said the woman.
“毫不知情，”那女人说。