As the mayor was about to sit down to breakfast, word was brought to him that the rural policeman, with two prisoners, was awaiting him at the Hotel de Ville. He went there at once and found old Hochedur standing guard before a middle-class couple whom he was regarding with a severe expression on his face.
正当市长准备坐下享用早餐时，有人把农村警察和两名囚犯的消息带到了他的市政厅。他立即前往那里，发现老霍谢迪尔正在中产阶级夫妇前站岗，他满脸严肃地看着他们。

The man, a fat old fellow with a red nose and white hair, seemed utterly dejected;
这个男人是一个胖胖的老人，红鼻子，白发，看起来十分沮丧。 —

while the woman, a little roundabout individual with shining cheeks, looked at the official who had arrested them, with defiant eyes.
而那个女人是一个圆圆的个体，脸颊发亮，用挑衅的眼神看着逮捕他们的官员。

“What is it? What is it, Hochedur?”
“怎么了？怎么了，霍谢迪尔？”

The rural policeman made his deposition:
农村警察进行了他的陈述： —

He had gone out that morning at his usual time, in order to patrol his beat from the forest of Champioux as far as the boundaries of Argenteuil.
那天早上他像往常一样出门，巡视从尚皮约森林到昂热特伊界限这段他负责的地区。 —

He had not noticed anything unusual in the country except that it was a fine day, and that the wheat was doing well, when the son of old Bredel, who was going over his vines, called out to him:
他在乡间并没有注意到任何异常，只是天气很好，麦田也长得很好。就在这时，老布勒德尔的儿子正在检查他的葡萄藤时向他喊道： —

“Here, Daddy Hochedur, go and have a look at the outskirts of the wood.
“嗨，霍斯杜尔爸爸，去看看森林的外围吧。” —

In the first thicket you will find a pair of pigeons who must be a hundred and thirty years old between them!”
在第一个灌木丛里，你会发现一对鸽子，它们加起来至少有一百三十岁了！”

He went in the direction indicated, entered the thicket, and there he heard words which made him suspect a flagrant breach of morality.
他朝着指示的方向走去，进入了灌木丛，在那里他听到了一些令他怀疑道德败坏的话语。 —

Advancing, therefore, on his hands and knees as if to surprise a poacher, he had arrested the couple whom he found there.
于是，他趴在地上，像要捉住一个偷猎者一样，逮住了那对情侣。

The mayor looked at the culprits in astonishment, for the man was certainly sixty, and the woman fifty-five at least, and he began to question them, beginning with the man, who replied in such a weak voice that he could scarcely be heard.
市长惊讶地看着这对罪犯，因为这个男人显然已经六十岁了，而女人至少有五十五岁，他开始质问他们，先从男人开始，男人的回答声音非常微弱，几乎听不到。

“What is your name?”
“你叫什么名字？”

“Nicholas Beaurain.”
“尼古拉斯·博兰。”

“Your occupation?”
“你的职业是什么？”

“Haberdasher, in the Rue des Martyrs, in Paris.”
“在巴黎烈士街上的小饰品商。”

“What were you doing in the wood?”
“你在森林里做什么？”

The haberdasher remained silent, with his eyes on his fat paunch, and his hands hanging at his sides, and the mayor continued:
这位饰品商沉默不语，眼睛盯着自己的大肚子，手垂在身旁，市长继续问道：

“Do you deny what the officer of the municipal authorities states?”
“你是否否认市政当局的官员所陈述的事实？”

“No, monsieur.”
“不，先生。”

“So you confess it?”
“那么你承认了？”

“Yes, monsieur.”
“是的，先生。”

“What have you to say in your defence?”
“你有什么为自己辩护的话？”

“Nothing, monsieur.”
“没有，先生。”

“Where did you meet the partner in your misdemeanor?”
“你在哪里遇到与你一同犯罪的伙伴？”

“She is my wife, monsieur.”
“她是我的妻子，先生。”

“Your wife?”
“你的妻子？”

“Yes, monsieur.”
“是的，先生。”

“Then—then—you do not live together-in Paris?”
“那么—那么—你们不是住在一起-在巴黎吗？”

“I beg your pardon, monsieur, but we are living together!”
“请原谅，先生，但我们是住在一起的！”

“But in that case—you must be mad, altogether mad, my dear sir, to get caught playing lovers in the country at ten o’clock in the morning.”
“但是，那样的话，你一定是疯了，完全疯了，我亲爱的先生，竟然在上午十点当外面假扮情侣被抓住。”

The haberdasher seemed ready to cry with shame, and he muttered: “It was she who enticed me!
这位小玩意似乎羞愧得快要哭了，喃喃地说道：“是她勾引我的！我跟她说这太愚蠢了，但是当一个女人一旦有了这种想法——你知道的——就根本挥之不去。” —

I told her it was very stupid, but when a woman once gets a thing into her head—you know—you cannot get it out.”

The mayor, who liked a joke, smiled and replied:
喜欢开玩笑的市长微笑着回答道： —

“In your case, the contrary ought to have happened.
“在你的案子中，相反的事情应该发生了。 —

You would not be here, if she had had the idea only in her head.”
如果她仅仅是在脑子里想过，你就不会在这里了。”

Then Monsieur Beauain was seized with rage and turning to his wife, he said: “Do you see to what you have brought us with your poetry?
于是，波兰先生被愤怒所抓住，转向他的妻子说：“你看到你因为你的诗歌给我们带来了什么吗？ —

And now we shall have to go before the courts at our age, for a breach of morals!
而现在，我们要在我们这个年纪去面对法院，因为违反道德！ —

And we shall have to shut up the shop, sell our good will, and go to some other neighborhood!
而且我们将不得不关闭商店，出售我们的经营权，去别的地方！ —

That’s what it has come to.”
事情就变成了这样。”

Madame Beaurain got up, and without looking at her husband, she explained herself without embarrassment, without useless modesty, and almost without hesitation.
波兰夫人站了起来，不看一眼她的丈夫，毫不尴尬、毫不虚伪地向他解释，几乎毫不犹豫。

“Of course, monsieur, I know that we have made ourselves ridiculous.
“当然，先生，我知道我们把自己变得可笑了。 —

Will you allow me to plead my cause like an advocate, or rather like a poor woman?
你是否允许我像一名辩护人或者说像一个可怜的女人来为自己辩护？ —

And I hope that you will be kind enough to send us home, and to spare us the disgrace of a prosecution.
而且我希望你能够很好心地让我们回家，免去被起诉的耻辱。”

“Years ago, when I was young, I made Monsieur Beaurain’s acquaintance one Sunday in this neighborhood.
“多年前，我年轻时在这个附近结识了Boaurain先生。 —

He was employed in a draper’s shop, and I was a saleswoman in a ready-made clothing establishment.
他在一家布料店工作，而我则是一家成衣店的售货员。 —

I remember it as if it were yesterday.
我记得它仿佛就是昨天发生的事情。 —

I used to come and spend Sundays here occasionally with a friend of mine, Rose Leveque, with whom I lived in the Rue Pigalle, and Rose had a sweetheart, while I had none.
我曾经和我的朋友Rose Leveque偶尔在这里度过周日，我们住在Pigalle大街上，而Rose有个情人，而我没有。 —

He used to bring us here, and one Saturday he told me laughing that he should bring a friend with him the next day.
他经常带我们来这里，有一天星期六他告诉我，他打算第二天带一个朋友来。 —

I quite understood what he meant, but I replied that it would be no good;
我很明白他的意思，但我回答说没有用； —

for I was virtuous, monsieur.
因为我是有节操的，先生。

“The next day we met Monsieur Beaurain at the railway station, and in those days he was good-looking, but I had made up my mind not to encourage him, and I did not.
“第二天我们在火车站碰到了Boaurain先生，那时他很帅，但我已经下定决心不鼓励他，所以我没有。 —

Well, we arrived at Bezons. It was a lovely day, the sort of day that touches your heart.
好吧，我们到达了Bezons。那是个美好的日子，一种触动你心灵的那种日子。 —

When it is fine even now, just as it used to be formerly, I grow quite foolish, and when I am in the country I utterly lose my head.
当它依然是那样美好，就像从前一样，我变得非常愚蠢，当我在乡村的时候，我完全失去了头脑。 —

The green grass, the swallows flying so swiftly, the smell of the grass, the scarlet poppies, the daisies, all that makes me crazy.
绿草地，燕子迅速飞翔，草的香气，鲜红的罂粟花，雏菊，所有这一切都让我疯狂。 —

It is like champagne when one is not accustomed to it!
这就像是对于不习惯它的人来说的香槟！

“Well, it was lovely weather, warm and bright, and it seemed to penetrate your body through your eyes when you looked and through your mouth when you breathed.
“嗯，那天天气很好，温暖明亮，当你看着的时候，似乎透过你的眼睛进入你的身体，当你呼吸时也是如此。 —

Rose and Simon hugged and kissed each other every minute, and that gave me a queer feeling!
罗斯和西蒙每分钟都拥抱亲吻，这让我感到奇怪！ —

Monsieur Beaurain and I walked behind them, without speaking much, for when people do not know each other, they do not find anything to talk about.
布朗和我跟在他们身后，不多说话，因为当人们不认识对方时，他们找不到任何可以聊的事情。 —

He looked timid, and I liked to see his embarrassment.
他看起来很胆怯，我喜欢看到他的尴尬。最后， —

At last we got to the little wood;
我们到达了小树林；那里非常凉爽， —

it was as cool as in a bath there, and we four sat down.
就像在浴缸里一样，我们四个人坐了下来。 —

Rose and her lover teased me because I looked rather stern, but you will understand that I could not be otherwise.
罗丝和她的情人嘲笑我因为我看起来相当冷峻，但你会明白我无法有其他表情。 —

And then they began to kiss and hug again, without putting any more restraint upon themselves than if we had not been there;
然后他们又开始亲吻和拥抱，没有任何约束，就好像我们不在场一样。 —

and then they whispered together, and got up and went off among the trees, without saying a word.
然后他们低声耳语，站起来走进树林，一言不发。 —

You may fancy what I looked like, alone with this young fellow whom I saw for the first time.
你可以想象我独自一人与这个我第一次见面的年轻人在一起是什么样子。 —

I felt so confused at seeing them go that it gave me courage, and I began to talk.
他们走后我感到如此困惑，以至于我变得有勇气开始说话。 —

I asked him what his business was, and he said he was a linen draper’s assistant, as I told you just now.
我问他是做什么生意的，他说他是一名亚麻布商店助理，就像我刚才告诉你的一样。 —

We talked for a few minutes, and that made him bold, and he wanted to take liberties with me, but I told him sharply to keep his place.
我们聊了几分钟，这让他变得大胆，他想对我采取不适当的行为，但我严厉地告诉他保持他的位置。 —

Is not that true, Monsieur Beaurain?”
这不是真的吗，博兰先生？”

Monsieur Beaurain, who was looking at his feet in confusion, did not reply, and she continued:
博兰先生尴尬地低头看着脚，没有回答，她继续说道： —

“Then he saw that I was virtuous, and he began to make love to me nicely, like an honorable man, and from that time he came every Sunday, for he was very much in love with me.
“然后他看到我很有品德，开始像一个体面的人一样对我示爱，从那时起他每个星期天都来，因为他非常爱我。 —

I was very fond of him also, very fond of him!
我也非常喜欢他！ —

He was a good-looking fellow, formerly, and in short he married me the next September, and we started in business in the Rue des Martyrs.
他以前是个相貌不错的家伙，总之我们在九月份结婚，开始在Rue des Martyrs经商。

“It was a hard struggle for some years, monsieur.
“那几年非常艰难，先生。 —

Business did not prosper, and we could not afford many country excursions, and, besides, we had got out of the way of them.
生意不景气，我们不能经常去乡间游玩，而且我们不再习惯了。 —

One has other things in one’s head, and thinks more of the cash box than of pretty speeches, when one is in business.
一个人头脑里会有其他事情，当一个人在经商时，他会更多的想着现金箱，而不是美丽的言辞。 —

We were growing old by degrees without perceiving it, like quiet people who do not think much about love.
我们渐渐老去而不自知，就像那些不太在乎爱情的安静人。 —

One does not regret anything as long as one does not notice what one has lost.
只要不注意到自己失去了什么，就不会后悔任何事情。

“And then, monsieur, business became better, and we were tranquil as to the future!
“然后，先生，生意变得更好了，我们对未来感到安宁！ —

Then, you see, I do not exactly know what went on in my mind, no, I really do not know, but I began to dream like a little boarding-school girl.
然后，你看，我不太清楚我脑海中到底发生了什么，不，我真的不知道，但我开始像个小寄宿学校的女孩一样做梦了。 —

The sight of the little carts full of flowers which are drawn about the streets made me cry;
街上拉着装满鲜花的小车的景象让我哭了起来； —

the smell of violets sought me out in my easy-chair, behind my cash box, and made my heart beat!
紫罗兰的香味找到我在舒适的椅子上，在我的钱箱后面，让我的心跳！ —

Then I would get up and go out on the doorstep to look at the blue sky between the roofs.
然后我会起身走到门口，看着屋顶间的蓝天。 —

When one looks up at the sky from the street, it looks like a river which is descending on Paris, winding as it flows, and the swallows pass to and fro in it like fish.
当人们从街上抬头看天空时，它看起来像一条流经巴黎的河流，蜿蜒流淌，燕子在其中来回穿梭，就像鱼儿一样。 —

These ideas are very stupid at my age!
这些想法在我这个年纪非常愚蠢！ —

But how can one help it, monsieur, when one has worked all one’s life?
但是，先生，当一个人一生都在工作时，怎么能免俗呢？ —

A moment comes in which one perceives that one could have done something else, and that one regrets, oh! yes, one feels intense regret!
有一刻，你会意识到自己本可以做其他事情，然后会感到遗憾，哦！是的，你会感到强烈的遗憾！ —

Just think, for twenty years I might have gone and had kisses in the woods, like other women.
想想看，二十年来，我本可以去森林里享受亲吻，就像其他女人一样。 —

I used to think how delightful it would be to lie under the trees and be in love with some one!
我曾经觉得躺在树下，与某个人相爱是多么令人愉快啊！ —

And I thought of it every day and every night!
我每天每夜都想着这个！ —

I dreamed of the moonlight on the water, until I felt inclined to drown myself.
我梦见月光洒在水面上，以至于我感到想要淹死自己。

“I did not venture to speak to Monsieur Beaurain about this at first.
一开始我不敢向波兰鄙看塔先生提起这件事。 —

I knew that he would make fun of me, and send me back to sell my needles and cotton!
我知道他会取笑我，并让我回去卖我的针线！ —

And then, to speak the truth, Monsieur Beaurain never said much to me, but when I looked in the glass, I also understood quite well that I no longer appealed to any one!
而且，坦白说，波兰鄙看塔先生从不对我多说什么，但当我看着镜子的时候，我也很清楚我已经不再吸引任何人了！

“Well, I made up my mind, and I proposed to him an excursion into the country, to the place where we had first become acquainted.
嗯，我下定决心，向他提议到乡间游玩，去我们初次相识的地方。 —

He agreed without mistrusting anything, and we arrived here this morning, about nine o’clock.
他毫不怀疑地同意了，我们今天早上九点到达这里。

“I felt quite young again when I got among the wheat, for a woman’s heart never grows old!
当我置身于麦田中时，我感到自己又年轻了，因为女人的心永远不会老！ —

And really, I no longer saw my husband as he is at present, but just as he was formerly!
实际上，我不再看到我丈夫现在的样子，只看到他以前的样子！ —

That I will swear to you, monsieur.
我向您发誓，先生。 —

As true as I am standing here I was crazy.
就在我站在这里的时候，我是疯了。 —

I began to kiss him, and he was more surprised than if I had tried to murder him.
我开始亲吻他，他比我试图谋杀他还要吃惊。 —

He kept saying to me:
他一直对我说： —

‘Why, you must be mad! You are mad this morning!
“嗯，你一定疯了！你今天早上疯了吗？ —

What is the matter with you?’ I did not listen to him, I only listened to my own heart, and I made him come into the wood with me.
你怎么了？”我没有听他说的话，我只听自己的心声，我让他跟我走进了树林。 —

That is all. I have spoken the truth, Monsieur le Maire, the whole truth.”
就这样。我说的都是真话，市长先生，完全是真话。”

The mayor was a sensible man.
市长是个明智的人。 —

He rose from his chair, smiled, and said:
他起身笑了笑，说： —

“Go in peace, madame, and when you again visit our forests, be more discreet.”
“夫人，请您安心，下次再来我们的森林时，要更加谨慎些。”