It came to him one Sunday after mass.
在周日弥撒后， —

He was walking home from church along the by-road that led to his house when he saw ahead of him Martine, who was also going home.
这个念头突然闪过他的脑海。他从教堂走回家的路上，沿着通往他家的小路上看到了也在回家的Martine。

Her father walked beside his daughter with the important gait of a rich farmer.
她的父亲走在他女儿身旁，笔直而重要的步伐表现出他身为富有农场主的地位。 —

Discarding the smock, he wore a short coat of gray cloth and on his head a round-topped hat with wide brim.
他换下了工作服，穿着一件灰色布料的短外套，头上戴着一顶带宽檐的圆顶帽。

She, laced up in a corset which she wore only once a week, walked along erect, with her squeezed-in waist, her broad shoulders and prominent hips, swinging herself a little.
她裹着一件每周只穿一次的紧身胸衣，笔直地走着，她被压挤的腰，宽阔的肩膀和突出的臀部，微微地摇摆着。 —

She wore a hat trimmed with flowers, made by a milliner at Yvetot, and displayed the back of her full, round, supple neck, reddened by the sun and air, on which fluttered little stray locks of hair.
她戴着一顶花边装饰的帽子，是Yvetot的一个帽子师傅制作的，展示着她丰满、圆润、柔软的后颈，被阳光和空气晒得发红，上面飘动着几缕飘逸的头发。

Benoist saw only her back;
Benoist只看到了她的背影； —

but he knew well the face he loved, without, however, having ever noticed it more closely than he did now.
但他很清楚他所爱的那张脸，尽管他从来没有比现在更仔细地观察过。

Suddenly he said: “Nom d’un nom, she is a fine girl, all the same, that Martine.
突然他说道：“天呐，她可真是个美丽的女孩啊，这个Martine。 —

” He watched her as she walked, admiring her hastily, feeling a desire taking possession of him.
当她走过时，他看着她，匆匆地欣赏她，感受到一种占据他心灵的欲望。 —

He did not long to see her face again, no.
他并不渴望再见到她的面容，不是。 —

He kept gazing at her figure, repeating to himself:
他继续凝视着她的身姿，对自己不停地说道： —

“Nom d’un nom, she is a fine girl.”
“天哪，她是个漂亮的姑娘。”

Martine turned to the right to enter “La Martiniere, ” the farm of her father, Jean Martin, and she cast a glance behind her as she turned round.
马尔丁转向右边，走进她父亲让·马丁的农场，“拉·马丁尼埃”，当她转身时，她扔了一个回眸。 —

She saw Benoist, who looked to her very comical.
她看见了本瓦，他看起来很滑稽。 —

She called out: “Good-morning, Benoist.” He replied:
她喊道：“早上好，本瓦。”他回答： —

“Good-morning, Martine; good-morning, mait Martin,” and went on his way.
“早上好，马尔丁；早上好，马丁夫人”，然后继续他的路程。

When he reached home the soup was on the table.
当他回到家时，汤已经摆在桌上了。 —

He sat down opposite his mother beside the farm hand and the hired man, while the maid servant went to draw some cider.
他坐在他母亲对面，旁边是农场工人和雇佣工，女仆去倒了一些苹果酒。

He ate a few spoonfuls, then pushed away his plate.
他吃了几勺，然后推开了餐盘。 —

His mother said:
他母亲说：

“Don’t you feel well?”
“你感觉不舒服吗？”

“No. I feel as if I had some pap in my stomach and that takes away my appetite.”
“不，我感觉好像胃里有一些稀粥，这让我没有胃口。”

He watched the others eating, as he cut himself a piece of bread from time to time and carried it lazily to his mouth, masticating it slowly.
他看着其他人吃饭，偶尔从面包上切下一块懒散地送进嘴里，慢慢地咀嚼着。 —

He thought of Martine. “She is a fine girl, all the same.
他想起了马尔蒂娜。“她是个好姑娘，不过。 —

” And to think that he had not noticed it before, and that it came to him, just like that, all at once, and with such force that he could not eat.
”想到他以前竟没有注意到这一点，而这一切突然间如此强烈地涌上心头，以至于他无法进食。

He did not touch the stew. His mother said:
他没有动那碗炖肉。他妈妈说：

“Come, Benoist, try and eat a little;
“来吧，贝努瓦，尝尝吧， —

it is loin of mutton, it will do you good.
这是羊腰肉，对你有好处。 —

When one has no appetite, they should force themselves to eat.”
当一个人没有胃口的时候，他们应该强迫自己吃东西。”

He swallowed a few morsels, then, pushing away his plate, said:
他吃了几口，然后推开盘子，说道：

“No. I can’t go that, positively.”
“不行。我绝对吃不下。”

When they rose from table he walked round the farm, telling the farm hand he might go home and that he would drive up the animals as he passed by them.
从餐桌上起身后，他绕着农场走了一圈，告诉农工可以回家，他会路过时会把动物赶起来。

The country was deserted, as it was the day of rest.
乡间人烟稀少，因为今天是休息日。 —

Here and there in a field of clover cows were moving along heavily, with full bellies, chewing their cud under a blazing sun.
田地里偶尔有几头牛沉重地走动着，胀着肚子在骄阳下悠闲地咀嚼着食物。 —

Unharnessed plows were standing at the end of a furrow;
没有系着缰绳的犁车站在犁行的尽头； —

and the upturned earth ready for the seed showed broad brown patches of stubble of wheat and oats that had lately been harvested.
翻起的土地上露出了刚刚收割过的小麦和燕麦的宽宽的褐色根零。

A rather dry autumn wind blew across the plain, promising a cool evening after the sun had set.
秋天的风吹过平原，太阳落山以后将会有一个凉爽的晚上。 —

Benoist sat down on a ditch, placed his hat on his knees as if he needed to cool off his head, and said aloud in the stillness of the country:
贝努瓦坐在一个水沟旁边，把帽子放在膝盖上，好像他需要冷却一下头脑，然后在乡间寂静中大声说道： —

“If you want a fine girl, she is a fine girl.”
“如果你想要一个漂亮的女孩，她就是一个漂亮的女孩。”

He thought of it again at night, in his bed, and in the morning when he awoke.
晚上他又想起来了，在床上，早上醒来时也想起来了。

He was not sad, he was not discontented, he could not have told what ailed him.
他不伤感，也不不满足，他无法说出自己到底哪里不对劲。 —

It was something that had hold of him, something fastened in his mind, an idea that would not leave him and that produced a sort of tickling sensation in his heart.
有东西抓住了他，某种东西钉在他的脑海中，它产生了一种在心中产生刺痛的感觉。

Sometimes a big fly is shut up in a room.
有时候，一个大苍蝇关在房间里。 —

You hear it flying about, buzzing, and the noise haunts you, irritates you. Suddenly it stops;
你听到它飞来飞去，嗡嗡作响，这个声音困扰着你，激怒着你。突然间，它停下来了； —

you forget it; but all at once it begins again, obliging you to look up.
你忘了它；但突然它又开始了，迫使你抬头看。 —

You cannot catch it, nor drive it away, nor kill it, nor make it keep still.
你无法抓住它，也无法赶走它，杀死它，或使它保持安静。 —

As soon as it settles for a second, it starts off buzzing again.
它一旦停下一秒钟，就会再次开始嗡嗡作响。

The recollection of Martine disturbed Benoist’s mind like an imprisoned fly.
对马丁的回忆扰乱了贝努瓦斯的思绪，就像被囚禁的苍蝇一样。

Then he longed to see her again and walked past the Martiniere several times.
然后他渴望再次见到她，并多次经过马丁尼埃尔学校。 —

He saw her, at last, hanging out some clothes on a line stretched between two apple trees.
他终于看到她在两棵苹果树之间的绳子上晾着衣服。

It was a warm day. She had on only a short skirt and her chemise, showing the curves of her figure as she hung up the towels.
那是一个温暖的日子。她只穿着一条短裙和她的衬衫，展现出她挂毛巾时的曲线。 —

He remained there, concealed by the hedge, for more than an hour, even after she had left.
他躲在树篱里待了一个多小时，甚至在她离开后还呆着。 —

He returned home more obsessed with her image than ever.
他回家时，对她的形象更加困扰。

For a month his mind was full of her, he trembled when her name was mentioned in his presence.
一个月来他心里一直惦记着她，每当有人在他面前提到她的名字，他就会颤抖。 —

He could not eat, he had night sweats that kept him from sleeping.
他无法吃饭，晚上出汗，无法入睡。

On Sunday, at mass, he never took his eyes off her.
星期天在弥撒中，他从未移开眼睛盯着她。 —

She noticed it and smiled at him, flattered at his appreciation.
她注意到了并对他微笑，为他的欣赏感到受宠若惊。

One evening, he suddenly met her in the road.
一个晚上，他突然在路上遇见了她。 —

She stopped short when she saw him coming.
她在看到他走过来时惊愕了一下。 —

Then he walked right up to her, choking with fear and emotion, but determined to speak to her.
然后他走向她，胸口充满了恐惧和情感，但决心要和她说话。 —

He began falteringly:
他开始支吾地说：

“See here, Martine, this cannot go on like this any longer.”
“听着，马尔丁，这不能再这样下去了。”

She replied as if she wanted to tease him:
她回答得好像她想逗他玩：

“What cannot go on any longer, Benoist?”
“什么不能再继续下去了，贝诺瓦？”

“My thinking of you as many hours as there are in the day, ” he answered.
“我一天到晚都在想你，”他回答道。

She put her hands on her hips.
她双手叉腰。

“I do not oblige you to do so.”
“我没有逼着你这样做。”

“Yes, it is you,” he stammered;
“是你，”他结结巴巴地说， —

“I cannot sleep, nor rest, nor eat, nor anything.”
“我无法入睡，无法休息，无法进食，无法做任何事情。”

“What do you need to cure you of all that?” she asked.
“你需要什么来治愈你所有这些？”她问道。

He stood there in dismay, his arms swinging, his eyes staring, his mouth agape.
他惊慌失措地站在那里，胳膊摇晃着，眼睛瞪着，嘴巴张开。

She hit him a punch in the stomach and ran off.
她打了他一拳，然后跑了。

From that day they met each other along the roadside, in by-roads or else at twilight on the edge of a field, when he was going home with his horses and she was driving her cows home to the stable.
从那天起，他们在路边相遇，或者在小路上相见，在黄昏时分在田边，当他带着马回家时，她正把牛赶回马厩。

He felt himself carried, cast toward her by a strong impulse of his heart and body.
他感到自己被心脏和身体的强烈冲动推向她。 —

He would have liked to squeeze her, strangle her, eat her, make her part of himself.
他想把她捏碎、掐死、吃掉，让她成为他的一部分。 —

And he trembled with impotence, impatience, rage, to think she did not belong to him entirely, as if they were one being.
他颤抖着无助、不耐烦和愤怒，因为她并不完全属于他们，就好像他们是一个整体。

People gossiped about it in the countryside.
乡下的人们对此议论纷纷。 —

They said they were engaged.
他们说他们订婚了。 —

He had, besides, asked her if she would be his wife, and she had answered “Yes.”
他还问过她是否愿意做他的妻子，她回答说“是的”。

They, were waiting for an opportunity to talk to their parents about it.
他们正在等待一个机会与父母谈论这件事。

But, all at once, she stopped coming to meet him at the usual hour.
但突然间，她不再按照通常的时间来见他了。 —

He did not even see her as he wandered round the farm.
他甚至在农场周边也见不到她。 —

He could only catch a glimpse of her at mass on Sunday.
他只能在周日的弥撒的时候瞥见她。 —

And one Sunday, after the sermon, the priest actually published the banns of marriage between Victoire-Adelaide Martin and Josephin-Isidore Vallin.
有一次周日，在布道之后，牧师竟然公布了维多亚-阿德莱德·马丁和约瑟芬-伊西多·瓦林之间的婚约。

Benoist felt a sensation in his hands as if the blood had been drained off.
贝努瓦感到他的手仿佛失去了血液， —

He had a buzzing in the ears;
耳朵里嗡嗡作响； —

and could hear nothing; and presently he perceived that his tears were falling on his prayer book.
而他什么也听不到;不久他发现自己的泪水落在祈祷书上。

For a month he stayed in his room.
一个月后，他回到了自己的房间。 —

Then he went back to his work.
然后他又回到了工作岗位上。

But he was not cured, and it was always in his mind.
但他并没有痊愈，而且一直放在他心里。 —

He avoided the roads that led past her home, so that he might not even see the trees in the yard, and this obliged him to make a great circuit morning and evening.
他避开了通往她家的路，以免甚至看到院子里的树木，这使他不得不每天早晚绕远路。

She was now married to Vallin, the richest farmer in the district.
她现在已经嫁给了区域内最富有的农场主瓦林。 —

Benoist and he did not speak now, though they had been comrades from childhood.
贝努瓦和他已经不再说话，尽管他们是童年的伙伴。

One evening, as Benoist was passing the town hall, he heard that she was enceinte.
一个晚上，在贝努瓦经过市政厅时，他听说她怀孕了。 —

Instead of experiencing a feeling of sorrow, he experienced, on the contrary, a feeling of relief.
与感受到悲伤相反，他却感到了一种解脱的情感。现在一切都结束了。 —

It was over, now, all over.
—

They were more separated by that than by her marriage.
这让他们的距离比她的婚姻更远。 —

He really preferred that it should be so.
他确实更希望如此。

Months passed, and more months. He caught sight of her, occasionally, going to the village with a heavier step than usual.
几个月过去了，又是几个月。他偶尔看到她走向村庄，步伐比平时更沉重。 —

She blushed as she saw him, lowered her head and quickened her pace.
她一看到他就红了脸，低下头加快了脚步。 —

And he turned out of his way so as not to pass her and meet her glance.
他改变路线，不想与她擦肩而过，也不想与她对视。

He dreaded the thought that he might one morning meet her face to face, and be obliged to speak to her.
他担心将来的一天可能会与她面对面，不得不和她说话。 —

What could he say to her now, after all he had said formerly, when he held her hands as he kissed her hair beside her cheeks?
现在，他对她能说什么呢？尤其是在之前他握着她的手，亲吻她的脸颊和头发时，她曾做出过那么可怕的事情。 —

He often thought of those meetings along the roadside.
他经常想起那些在路边的相遇。 —

She had acted horridly after all her promises.
她在承诺之后表现得很可怕。

By degrees his grief diminished, leaving only sadness behind.
慢慢地，他的悲伤减少了，只剩下了一丝伤感。 —

And one day he took the old road that led past the farm where she now lived.
有一天，他走上了通往她现在居住的农场的旧路。 —

He looked at the roof from a distance. It was there, in there, that she lived with another!
他远远地看着屋顶。她与另一个人住在那里！ —

The apple trees were in bloom, the cocks crowed on the dung hill.
苹果树开满了花，公鸡在粪堆上啼鸣。 —

The whole dwelling seemed empty, the farm hands had gone to the fields to their spring toil.
整个住宅似乎空无一人，农场工人都去田间劳作了。 —

He stopped near the gate and looked into the yard.
他停在门口，望着院子里。 —

The dog was asleep outside his kennel, three calves were walking slowly, one behind the other, towards the pond.
狗睡在狗屋外面，三只小牛慢慢地一个接一个地走向池塘。 —

A big turkey was strutting before the door, parading before the turkey hens like a singer at the opera.
一只大火鸡在门前昂首阔步，像歌剧演唱家一样在火鸡母鸡面前炫耀。

Benoist leaned against the gate post and was suddenly seized with a desire to weep.
贝努瓦斯特靠在门柱上，突然感到想哭。 —

But suddenly, he heard a cry, a loud cry for help coming from the house.
但突然，他听到了一声呼救，一声来自房子的响亮呼救。 —

He was struck with dismay, his hands grasping the wooden bars of the gate, and listened attentively.
他惊愕地握着门前的木杆，专心地倾听。 —

Another cry, a prolonged, heartrending cry, reached his ears, his soul, his flesh.
又是一声呼号，一声持久而令人心碎的呼号，传到他的耳朵、灵魂和肉体中。 —

It was she who was crying like that!
她就是在那样哭喊！ —

He darted inside, crossed the grass patch, pushed open the door, and saw her lying on the floor, her body drawn up, her face livid, her eyes haggard, in the throes of childbirth.
他急忙进入房间，穿过草坪，推开门，看到她躺在地板上，身体紧缩着，脸色苍白，眼神疲惫，正经历分娩的痛楚。

He stood there, trembling and paler than she was, and stammered:
他站在那里，颤抖着比她还要苍白，结结巴巴地说道：

“Here I am, here I am, Martine!”
“我在这里，我在这里，玛蒂娜！”

She replied in gasps:
她气喘吁吁地回答道：

“Oh, do not leave me, do not leave me, Benoist!”
“哦，不要离开我，不要离开我，贝努瓦！”

He looked at her, not knowing what to say, what to do. She began to cry out again:
他看着她，不知道该说什么，该做什么。她又开始喊叫起来：

“Oh, oh, it is killing me. Oh, Benoist!”
“哦，哦，太痛了。哦，贝努瓦！”

She writhed frightfully.
她痛苦地扭动着。

Benoist was suddenly seized with a frantic longing to help her, to quiet her, to remove her pain.
贝努瓦突然被一个疯狂的渴望所抓住，想要帮助她，安抚她，减轻她的痛苦。 —

He leaned over, lifted her up and laid her on her bed;
他俯身将她抱起，放到床上； —

and while she kept on moaning he began to take off her clothes, her jacket, her skirt and her petticoat.
在她不停地呻吟着的同时，他开始脱去她的衣服，外套，裙子和衬裙。 —

She bit her fists to keep from crying out.
她咬紧拳头，不让自己喊出声。 —

Then he did as he was accustomed to doing for cows, ewes, and mares:
然后，他像他经常为牛、母羊和母马所做的那样： —

he assisted in delivering her and found in his hands a large infant who was moaning.
他帮助她分娩，并在手中接住了一个正在哭泣的大婴儿。

He wiped it off and wrapped it up in a towel that was drying in front of the fire, and laid it on a bundle of clothes ready for ironing that was on the table.
他擦干并用一条在火炉前晾着的毛巾包裹起来，将它放在桌子上放着准备熨烫的一堆衣物上。 —

Then he went back to the mother.
然后他回到了母亲那里。

He took her up and placed her on the floor again, then he changed the bedclothes and put her back into bed.
他抱起她，把她放回了地板上，然后换了床单，把她放回床上。 —

She faltered:
她结巴地说道：

“Thank you, Benoist, you have a noble heart.
“谢谢你，贝努瓦，你有一颗高尚的心。 —

” And then she wept a little as if she felt regretful.
”然后她有些后悔地哭泣了一下。

He did not love her any longer, not the least bit.
他已经不再爱她了，一点也不。这一切都结束了。 —

It was all over. Why? How?
为什么？怎么会这样？ —

He could not have said.
他说不出来。 —

What had happened had cured him better than ten years of absence.
发生的一切比十年的离别更好地治愈了他。

She asked, exhausted and trembling:
她问道，筋疲力尽地颤抖着：

“What is it?”
“怎么了？”

He replied calmly:
他平静地回答道：

“It is a very fine girl.”
“是个漂亮的女孩。”

Then they were silent again.
然后他们又沉默了。 —

At the end of a few moments, the mother, in a weak voice, said:
几秒钟后，母亲用虚弱的声音说：

“Show her to me, Benoist.”
“让我看看她，贝努瓦。”

He took up the little one and was showing it to her as if he were holding the consecrated wafer, when the door opened, and Isidore Vallin appeared.
他抱起小孩，像拿圣饼一样向她展示，这时门开了，伊西多尔·瓦兰出现了。

He did not understand at first, then all at once he guessed.
起初他不明白，后来突然猜到了。

Benoist, in consternation, stammered out:
贝瓦斯特吃惊地结结巴巴地说道：

“I was passing, I was just passing by when I heard her crying out, and I came—there is your child, Vallin!”
“我正好路过，听到她在哭叫，所以就过来了——你的孩子在这里，瓦兰！”

Then the husband, his eyes full of tears, stepped forward, took the little mite of humanity that he held out to him, kissed it, unable to speak from emotion for a few seconds;
丈夫的眼里泪水汪汪，上前接过他递给自己的婴儿，激动得说不出话来几秒钟； —

then placing the child on the bed, he held out both hands to Benoist, saying:
然后他把孩子放在床上，双手伸向贝瓦斯特，说道：

“Your hand upon it, Benoist.
“贝瓦斯特，来给我们握个手吧。 —

From now on we understand each other.
从现在开始我们彼此都明白了。 —

If you are willing, we will be a pair of friends, a pair of friends!
如果你愿意，我们可以成为一对朋友，一对朋友！” —

” And Benoist replied: “Indeed I will, certainly, indeed I will.”
贝瓦斯特回答道：“当然愿意，当然愿意。”