The warm autumn sun was beating down on the farmyard.
温暖的秋日阳光照耀着农家院子。 —

Under the grass, which had been cropped close by the cows, the earth soaked by recent rains, was soft and sank in under the feet with a soggy noise, and the apple trees, loaded with apples, were dropping their pale green fruit in the dark green grass.
草地下面，被奶牛吃得很短的草被最近的雨水浸湿了，软绵绵的，脚步下陷发出了潮湿的声音，苹果树上挂满了苹果，苹果呈淡绿色，在浓绿的草地上掉落下来。

Four young heifers, tied in a line, were grazing and at times looking toward the house and lowing.
四只年轻的小母牛被绑在一条线上吃草，有时朝着房子看，发出牛叫声。 —

The fowls made a colored patch on the dung-heap before the stable, scratching, moving about and cackling, while two roosters crowed continually, digging worms for their hens, whom they were calling with a loud clucking.
鸡鸭群在马厩前的粪堆上形成了一个五颜六色的斑点，扒拉着地，走动着，叽叽喳喳地叫着，而两只公鸡在不停地啼叫着，给母鸡挖蠕虫，他们用嘎嘎的声音叫着母鸡。

The wooden gate opened and a man entered.
木门打开了，一个人走了进来。 —

He might have been forty years old, but he looked at least sixty, wrinkled, bent, walking slowly, impeded by the weight of heavy wooden shoes full of straw.
他可能四十岁了，但他看起来至少六十岁，皱纹满布，佝偻着身躯，步行缓慢，因沉重的装满稻草的大木鞋而行动受限。 —

His long arms hung down on both sides of his body.
他双臂垂在身体两侧。 —

When he got near the farm a yellow cur, tied at the foot of an enormous pear tree, beside a barrel which served as his kennel, began at first to wag his tail and then to bark for joy.
当他走近农场时，一只黄色的杂种狗被绳子绑在一棵巨大的梨树下，旁边是一个当作狗窝的木桶。起初它摇动尾巴，然后欢叫起来。 —

The man cried:
男人大声喊道：

“Down, Finot!”
“安静，芬诺！”

The dog was quiet.
狗停靠下来了。

A peasant woman came out of the house. Her large, flat, bony body was outlined under a long woollen jacket drawn in at the waist.
一个农妇走出房子。她那高大、扁平、骨瘦如柴的身体，在长着一件系在腰部的羊毛夹克下一览无余。 —

A gray skirt, too short, fell to the middle of her legs, which were encased in blue stockings. She, too, wore wooden shoes, filled with straw.
一条灰色的长裙，太短了，落在她的腿中间，腿上穿着一双蓝袜子。她也穿着塞满稻草的木鞋。 —

The white cap, turned yellow, covered a few hairs which were plastered to the scalp, and her brown, thin, ugly, toothless face had that wild, animal expression which is often to be found on the faces of the peasants.
那顶白帽子已经发黄了，盖着几根粘在头皮上的头发，她那棕色、消瘦、丑陋、没有牙齿的脸上带着一种野兽般的表情，常常在农民的脸上能找到。

The man asked:
男人问道：

“How is he gettin’ along?”
“他还好吗？”

The woman answered:
女人回答道：

“The priest said it’s the end—that he will never live through the night.”
“牧师说，是个坏兆头——他今晚是活不过去了。”

Both of them went into the house.
他们俩走进了房子。

After passing through the kitchen, they entered a low, dark room, barely lighted by one window, in front of which a piece of calico was hanging.
经过厨房后，他们进入了一个低矮、黑暗的房间，只有一个窗户通过一块印花布勉强让一点光线透入。 —

The big beams, turned brown with age and smoke, crossed the room from one side to the other, supporting the thin floor of the garret, where an army of rats ran about day and night.
这间屋子的大梁因岁月和烟熏而变成了棕褐色，从一边到另一边支撑着阁楼的薄木地板，那里的一群老鼠整日活动不止。

The moist, lumpy earthen floor looked greasy, and, at the back of the room, the bed made an indistinct white spot.
潮湿、凹凸不平的泥土地板看上去油腻腻的，在屋子的后边，床铺成一个模糊的白点。 —

A harsh, regular noise, a difficult, hoarse, wheezing breathing, like the gurgling of water from a broken pump, came from the darkened couch where an old man, the father of the peasant woman, was dying.
从黑暗的长椅上传来一种刺耳而规律的声音，一种困难、嘶哑的喘息声，像是一个破了的水泵中流出来的流水声，那是一个正在临终的老人，是这位农妇的父亲。

The man and the woman approached the dying man and looked at him with calm, resigned eyes.
这个男人和这个女人走近临终的老人，用平静、顺从的眼神望着他。

The son-in-law said:
女婿说：

“I guess it’s all up with him this time;
“我想他这次没救了， —

he will not last the night.”
他今晚活不过去了。”

The woman answered:
这个女人回答道：

“He’s been gurglin’ like that ever since midday.
“他从午间开始就一直发出那样的呻吟声。 —

” They were silent.
”他们保持沉默。 —

The father’s eyes were closed, his face was the color of the earth and so dry that it looked like wood.
父亲的眼睛紧闭着，他的脸色如土地一般，干燥得像木头一样。 —

Through his open mouth came his harsh, rattling breath, and the gray linen sheet rose and fell with each respiration.
从他张开的嘴里传出沙哑的喘息声，灰色的亚麻被单随着每次呼吸而起伏。

The son-in-law, after a long silence, said:
女婿沉默良久后说道：

“There’s nothing more to do; I can’t help him.
“没什么可做的了，我帮不了他。 —

It’s a nuisance, just the same, because the weather is good and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
不过还是挺烦的，天气这么好，我们还有很多工作要做。”

His wife seemed annoyed at this idea.
他的妻子对这个想法似乎有些不悦。 —

She reflected a few moments and then said:
她沉思了一会儿，然后说道：

“He won’t be buried till Saturday, and that will give you all day tomorrow.”
“他要到周六才能被埋葬，那样你明天整天都有时间。”

The peasant thought the matter over and answered:
农民考虑了一下，回答道：

“Yes, but to-morrow I’ll have to invite the people to the funeral.
“是的，但明天我得去邀请人们参加葬礼。 —

That means five or six hours to go round to Tourville and Manetot, and to see everybody.”
那意味着要花五六个小时到Tourville和Manetot走一圈，去见各位。”

The woman, after meditating two or three minutes, declared:
妇人沉思了两三分钟后宣布：

“It isn’t three o’clock yet.
“现在还没有三点钟。 —

You could begin this evening and go all round the country to Tourville.
你可以今晚开始然后周围去Tourville这一带全走一遍。” —

You can just as well say that he’s dead, seem’ as he’s as good as that now.”
你也可以说他已经死了，因为他现在已经跟死人一样了。

The man stood perplexed for a while, weighing the pros and cons of the idea.
这个人困惑了一会儿，权衡了这个想法的利弊。 —

At last he declared:
最后他宣布:

“Well, I’ll go!”
“好吧，我去！”

He was leaving the room, but came back after a minute’s hesitation:
他正在离开房间，但经过一分钟的犹豫后又回来了。

“As you haven’t got anythin’ to do you might shake down some apples to bake and make four dozen dumplings for those who come to the funeral, for one must have something to cheer them.
“既然你没事，你可以摇下一些苹果来烤，再做四打饺子给那些来参加葬礼的人吃，因为他们需要一些慰藉。 —

You can light the fire with the wood that’s under the shed.
你可以用棚子下面的木头点火， —

It’s dry.”
那些木头都是干的。”

He left the room, went back into the kitchen, opened the cupboard, took out a six-pound loaf of bread, cut off a slice, and carefully gathered the crumbs in the palm of his hand and threw them into his mouth, so as not to lose anything.
他离开了房间，回到厨房，打开橱柜，拿出一个六磅重的面包，切了一片，小心地把面包屑捏在手心里，扔进嘴里，以免浪费。 —

Then, with the end of his knife, he scraped out a little salt butter from the bottom of an earthen jar, spread it on his bread and began to eat slowly, as he did everything.
然后，用刀的尾端，他从一个陶罐的底部刮了一点盐黄油，抹在面包上，慢慢地吃着，就像他做所有事情一样。

He recrossed the farmyard, quieted the dog, which had started barking again, went out on the road bordering on his ditch, and disappeared in the direction of Tourville.
他再次穿过农场，安抚了又开始叫的狗，走出了与他的沟渠相邻的道路，朝图尔维尔的方向消失了。

As soon as she was alone, the woman began to work.
她独自一人时开始工作。 —

She uncovered the meal-bin and made the dough for the dumplings.
她揭开面粉桶，做了饺子的面团。 —

She kneaded it a long time, turning it over and over again, punching, pressing, crushing it.
她揉了很久，反复翻转，揉压、捏碎。 —

Finally she made a big, round, yellow-white ball, which she placed on the corner of the table.
最后她做成了一个又大又圆，呈黄白色的球，放在桌角上。

Then she went to get her apples, and, in order not to injure the tree with a pole, she climbed up into it by a ladder.
然后她去摘苹果，为了不用杆子伤害树木，她通过梯子爬上去。 —

She chose the fruit with care, only taking the ripe ones, and gathering them in her apron.
她仔细选择了果实，只采摘成熟的，用围裙装起来。

A voice called from the road:
路上传来一声喊：

“Hey, Madame Chicot!”
“嘿，希科夫人！”

She turned round. It was a neighbor, Osime Favet, the mayor, on his way to fertilize his fields, seated on the manure-wagon, with his feet hanging over the side.
她转过身。是个邻居，奥西姆·法韦特，也是镇长，他正坐在满载粪肥的车上，双脚悬在车边。 —

She turned round and answered:
她转过身回答道：

“What can I do for you, Maitre Osime?”
“请问有什么需要，法韦特先生？”

“And how is the father?”
“那父亲好吗？”

She cried:
她哭着说：

“He is as good as dead.
“他已经奄奄一息了。 —

The funeral is Saturday at seven, because there’s lots of work to be done.”
葬礼定在周六晚上七点，因为还有很多事情要做。”

The neighbor answered:
邻居回答道：

“So! Good luck to you! Take care of yourself.”
“那好！祝你好运！照顾好自己。”

To his kind remarks she answered:”
对于他的友善言辞，她回答道：

“Thanks; the same to you.”
“谢谢，你也一样。”

And she continued picking apples.
她继续摘苹果。

When she went back to the house, she went over to look at her father, expecting to find him dead.
当她回到屋子时，她走过去看望她的父亲，预料到他已经去世了。 —

But as soon as she reached the door she heard his monotonous, noisy rattle, and, thinking it a waste of time to go over to him, she began to prepare her dumplings.
但是当她走到门口时，她听到他持续不断的嘶嘶声，她觉得去看他是浪费时间，于是她开始准备饺子。 —

She wrapped up the fruit, one by one, in a thin layer of paste, then she lined them up on the edge of the table.
她一个个用薄薄的面皮把水果包起来，然后在桌边排成一排。 —

When she had made forty-eight dumplings, arranged in dozens, one in front of the other, she began to think of preparing supper, and she hung her kettle over the fire to cook potatoes, for she judged it useless to heat the oven that day, as she had all the next day in which to finish the preparations.
当她做好四十八个饺子，分成十二个一组地排列好后，她开始想着准备晚餐，她把水壶挂在火上煮土豆，因为她判断那天烤炉是没用的，因为她还有整整一天的时间来完成准备工作。

Her husband returned at about five.
他丈夫大约五点钟回来了。 —

As soon as he had crossed the threshold he asked:
刚一踏入门槛，他就问道：

“Is it over?”
“结束了吗？”

She answered:
她答道：

“Not yet; he’s still gurglin’.”
“还没有；他还在咕咕响。”

They went to look at him.
他们走进去看望他。 —

The old man was in exactly the same condition.
老人的状态完全没有改变。 —

His hoarse rattle, as regular as the ticking of a clock, was neither quicker nor slower.
他沙哑的嘶嘶声规律地像钟表的滴答一样，快慢都没有变化。 —

It returned every second, the tone varying a little, according as the air entered or left his chest.
它每隔一秒钟发生一次，音调会因进入或离开他的胸腔而稍微变化。

His son-in-law looked at him and then said:
女婿看着他，然后说道：

“He’ll pass away without our noticin’ it, just like a candle.”
“他会默默离开的，就像一根蜡烛。”

They returned to the kitchen and started to eat without saying a word.
他们回到厨房，开始吃饭，一句话也没说。 —

When they had swallowed their soup, they ate another piece of bread and butter.
当他们吞下汤后，又吃了一片面包和黄油。 —

Then, as soon as the dishes were washed, they returned to the dying man.
然后，碗洗干净之后，他们回到垂死的人那里。

The woman, carrying a little lamp with a smoky wick, held it in front of her father’s face.
女人拿着一支有烟味的小灯，把它放在父亲的面前。 —

If he had not been breathing, one would certainly have thought him dead.
如果他没有呼吸，人们肯定会以为他已经死了。

The couple’s bed was hidden in a little recess at the other end of the room.
这对夫妇的床藏在房间的另一端的一个小隐蔽处。 —

Silently they retired, put out the light, closed their eyes, and soon two unequal snores, one deep and the other shriller, accompanied the uninterrupted rattle of the dying man.
他们默默地退场，熄灭了灯，闭上了眼睛，不久之后，两种不同的鼾声响起，一种沉重，另一种尖锐，伴随着慢慢消逝的人的喘息声。

The rats ran about in the garret.
老鼠在阁楼里跑来跑去。

The husband awoke at the first streaks of dawn.
丈夫在黎明的第一丝曙光中醒来。 —

His father-in-law was still alive. He shook his wife, worried by the tenacity of the old man.
他的岳父仍然活着。他摇醒妻子，对老人的顽强让他感到担忧。

“Say, Phemie, he don’t want to quit. What would you do?”
“喂，菲米，他不想死。你会怎么办？”

He knew that she gave good advice.
他知道她的建议总是好的。

She answered:
她回答道：

“You needn’t be afraid; he can’t live through the day.
“你不用担心；他今天活不过去。 —

And the mayor won’t stop our burying him to-morrow, because he allowed it for Maitre Renard’s father, who died just during the planting season.”
市长不会阻止我们明天把他埋葬，因为他在种植季节刚过世，市长也允许为雷纳德的父亲举行葬礼。”

He was convinced by this argument, and left for the fields.
这个观点让他信服，他离开去了田地。

His wife baked the dumplings and then attended to her housework.
他的妻子做了一些饺子，然后继续做家务。

At noon the old man was not dead.
中午时分，老人还没有死。 —

The people hired for the day’s work came by groups to look at him.
被雇来工作的人们分批来看他。 —

Each one had his say. Then they left again for the fields.
每个人都说了自己的话。然后他们再次回到田地。

At six o’clock, when the work was over, the father was still breathing.
六点钟时，工作结束时，父亲仍在呼吸。 —

At last his son-in-law was frightened.
最后儿子婿害怕了。

“What would you do now, Phemie?”
“菲米，你现在打算怎么办？”

She no longer knew how to solve the problem. They went to the mayor.
她不再知道如何解决这个问题。他们去找了市长。 —

He promised that he would close his eyes and authorize the funeral for the following day.
市长承诺他会闭上眼睛，并授权明天举行葬礼。 —

They also went to the health officer, who likewise promised, in order to oblige Maitre Chicot, to antedate the death certificate.
他们还去找了卫生官员，卫生官员也答应为了满足希克大师的要求，提前填写死亡证明。 —

The man and the woman returned, feeling more at ease.
男人和女人回来后，感觉放心多了。

They went to bed and to sleep, just as they did the preceding day, their sonorous breathing blending with the feeble breathing of the old man.
他们上床睡觉，就像前一天那样，他们的沉重呼吸与老人的微弱呼吸融为一体。

When they awoke, he was not yet dead.
当他们醒来时，他还没有死。

Then they began to be frightened.
然后他们开始害怕了。 —

They stood by their father, watching him with distrust, as though he had wished to play them a mean trick, to deceive them, to annoy them on purpose, and they were vexed at him for the time which he was making them lose.
他们站在他们的父亲旁边，怀疑地看着他，好像他有意欺骗他们，故意玩弄他们，惹恼他们，并对他耗费他们的时间感到恼怒。

The son-in-law asked:
女婿问道：

“What am I goin’ to do?”
“我该怎么办呢？”

She did not know. She answered:
她不知道。她回答道：

“It certainly is annoying!”
“这确实很烦人！”

The guests who were expected could not be notified.
无法通知那些预期会来的客人。 —

They decided to wait and explain the case to them.
他们决定等待并向他们解释情况。

Toward a quarter to seven the first ones arrived.
快到七点钟那会儿，第一批人到了。 —

The women in black, their heads covered with large veils, looking very sad.
穿着黑色长袍的妇女们，头上戴着大面积的面纱，看起来很悲伤。 —

Then men, ill at ease in their homespun coats, were coming forward more slowly, in couples, talking business.
接下来，那些身穿家常大衣的男人们缓慢地走过来，两个一组，谈论生意。

Maitre Chicot and his wife, bewildered, received them sorrowfully, and suddenly both of them together began to cry as they approached the first group.
迈特·希科和他的妻子感到困惑，悲伤地接待着他们，当他们走到第一批人面前时突然一起哭了起来。 —

They explained the matter, related their difficulty, offered chairs, bustled about, tried to make excuses, attempting to prove that everybody would have done as they did, talking continually and giving nobody a chance to answer.
他们解释了事情的经过，谈述了自己的困难，提供椅子，忙碌着，试图辩解，试图证明每个人都会像他们那样做，他们不断地说个不停，让别人无法回答。

They were going from one person to another:
他们从一个人走到另一个人：

“I never would have thought it;
“我从未想过，他能坚持这么久， —

it’s incredible how he can last this long!”
真是难以置信！”

The guests, taken aback, a little disappointed, as though they had missed an expected entertainment, did not know what to do, some remaining seated others standing.
来宾们吃惊地感到有些失望，仿佛错过了一个预期的娱乐节目，不知道该做什么，有些人坐着，有些人站着。 —

Several wished to leave. Maitre Chicot held them back:
有几个人想离开。Maitre Chicot 阻止他们：

“You must take something, anyhow!
“无论如何，你们必须拿点东西！ —

We made some dumplings; might as well make use of ‘em.”
我们做了一些水饺，不妨利用一下。”

The faces brightened at this idea.
这个主意让人们的脸色亮起来。 —

The yard was filling little by little;
院子里渐渐地填满了人； —

the early arrivals were telling the news to those who had arrived later.
早来的人正在将消息告诉后来的人。 —

Everybody was whispering.
每个人都在窃窃私语。 —

The idea of the dumplings seemed to cheer everyone up.
水饺的主意似乎让每个人都振奋起来。

The women went in to take a look at the dying man.
妇女们进去看了一下病人。 —

They crossed themselves beside the bed, muttered a prayer and went out again.
她们在床边交叉着自己，默念着祷告，然后出来了。 —

The men, less anxious for this spectacle, cast a look through the window, which had been opened.
男人们对于这个景象不太感兴趣，他们透过被打开的窗子瞥了一眼。

Madame Chicot explained her distress:
Madame Chicot解释了她的困扰：

“That’s how he’s been for two days, neither better nor worse.
“他已经这样两天了，既没有好转也没有恶化。 —

Doesn’t he sound like a pump that has gone dry?”
他不是听起来像一个干涸的水泵吗？”

When everybody had had a look at the dying man, they thought of the refreshments;
当每个人都看望过那个垂死的人后，他们就开始考虑点心了； —

but as there were too many people for the kitchen to hold, the table was moved out in front of the door.
但由于人太多，厨房容纳不下，餐桌就被移到门口了； —

The four dozen golden dumplings, tempting and appetizing, arranged in two big dishes, attracted the eyes of all.
摆在两个大盘子里的四打金色饺子，诱人又开胃，吸引了所有人的目光； —

Each one reached out to take his, fearing that there would not be enough. But four remained over.
每个人都伸手拿了自己的一份，担心不够吃。但还剩下了四个；

Maitre Chicot, his mouth full, said:
塞着满满的嘴，夏珂先生说道：“如果父亲还能看到这个场景，他一定会很伤心。他过去对这道菜可喜欢了。”；

“Father would feel sad if he were to see this.
一个大大咧咧的农民大声喊道： —

He loved them so much when he was alive.”
“他现在不会再吃了，轮到我们了。”

A big, jovial peasant declared:
这句话不但没有让宾客们感到悲伤，反而让他们振奋起来。现在是他们享用饺子的时候了；

“He won’t eat any more now. Each one in his turn.”
尽管对于费用有些困扰，但夏珂太太还是一直忙着去地下室拿苹果酒；

This remark, instead of making the guests sad, seemed to cheer them up.
酒壶很快被倒空了。现在大家都在开怀大笑， —

It was their turn now to eat dumplings.
高谈阔论；

Madame Chicot, distressed at the expense, kept running down to the cellar continually for cider.
他们开始像在节日里那样笑声震天； —

The pitchers were emptied in quick succession.
请你帮我从地窖里再拿点苹果酒。桶里的酒一下子就用完了。 —

The company was laughing and talking loud now.
这时候的客人开始喧闹起来了； —

They were beginning to shout as they do at feasts.
开始喊起口号来，就像在宴会上一样。

Suddenly an old peasant woman who had stayed beside the dying man, held there by a morbid fear of what would soon happen to herself, appeared at the window and cried in a shrill voice:
突然，一个老乡妇出现在窗户旁，一直守在临终的人身边，被对自己即将发生的事情所恐惧，她尖声喊道：

“He’s dead! he’s dead!”
“他死了！他死了！”

Everybody was silent. The women arose quickly to go and see.
众人一片寂静。女人们迅速站起来要去看看。 —

He was indeed dead. The rattle had ceased.
他确实已经死了。喘息声已经停止了。 —

The men looked at each other, looking down, ill at ease.
男人们相互看了看，低着头，心不在焉。 —

They hadn’t finished eating the dumplings.
他们还没有吃完饺子。 —

Certainly the rascal had not chosen a propitious moment. The Chicots were no longer weeping.
这个无赖显然选择了一个不吉利的时刻。奇科家族不再哭泣。 —

It was over; they were relieved.
一切都结束了，他们如释重负。

They kept repeating:
他们不断重复着：

“I knew it couldn’t ‘last.
“我就知道这事不能持续下去。 —

If he could only have done it last night, it would have saved us all this trouble.”
如果他昨晚能够做出决定，我们就不用遇到这些麻烦了。”

Well, anyhow, it was over. They would bury him on Monday, that was all, and they would eat some more dumplings for the occasion.
无论如何，这件事已经结束了。他们会在周一把他埋葬，得为这个场合再做些饺子。

The guests went away, talking the matter over, pleased at having had the chance to see him and of getting something to eat.
客人们离开了，边走边讨论着这件事，开心地有机会见到他并得到一些吃的。

And when the husband and wife were alone, face to face, she said, her face distorted with grief:
当丈夫和妻子独处时，她带着悲伤扭曲的面容说道：

“We’ll have to bake four dozen more dumplings!
“我们得再烤四打饺子！ —

Why couldn’t he have made up his mind last night?”
为什么他昨晚就不能做出决定呢？”

The husband, more resigned, answered:
丈夫更加顺从地回答道：

“Well, we’ll not have to do this every day.”
“嗯，我们不需要每天都这样做。”