I
我

Everybody in Fecamp knew Mother Patin’s story.
费康普的每个人都知道帕坦夫人的故事。 —

She had certainly been unfortunate with her husband, for in his lifetime he used to beat her, just as wheat is threshed in the barn.
她在丈夫还活着的时候确实很不幸，因为他经常像将麦子在谷仓里脱粒一样打她。

He was master of a fishing bark and had married her, formerly, because she was pretty, although poor.
他是一艘渔船的船长，以前曾因为她漂亮而穷而娶她。

Patin was a good sailor, but brutal.
帕坦是一个出色的水手， —

He used to frequent Father Auban’s inn, where he would usually drink four or five glasses of brandy, on lucky days eight or ten glasses and even more, according to his mood.
但残忍。他经常光顾奥班父亲的客栈，在幸运的日子里会喝四五杯白兰地，甚至在心情好时喝八九杯甚至更多。 —

The brandy was served to the customers by Father Auban’s daughter, a pleasing brunette, who attracted people to the house only by her pretty face, for nothing had ever been gossiped about her.
白兰地是由奥班父亲的女儿上菜给客人的，她是一个漂亮的棕发女孩，凭借她漂亮的面孔吸引了人们来到这家客栈，因为关于她从来没有闲言碎语。

Patin, when he entered the inn, would be satisfied to look at her and to compliment her politely and respectfully.
帕坦进入客栈后，只需看着她并礼貌而尊重地称赞她就心满意足了。 —

After he had had his first glass of brandy he would already find her much nicer;
在喝了第一杯白兰地后，他就觉得她更漂亮了；在第二杯后， —

at the second he would wink;
他会眨眼； —

at the third he would say.
第三杯时他会说话。 —

“If you were only willing, Mam’zelle Desiree——” without ever finishing his sentence;
“如果你愿意，黛丝瑞小姐——”他的话一直没有说完； —

at the fourth he would try to hold her back by her skirt in order to kiss her;
到第四次，他会试图拉住她的裙子来亲吻她； —

and when he went as high as ten it was Father Auban who brought him the remaining drinks.
到了第十次，奥邦神父会给他带来剩下的饮料。

The old innkeeper, who knew all the tricks of the trade, made Desiree walk about between the tables in order to increase the consumption of drinks;
老旅店老板知道所有这些生意的技巧，让黛丝瑞在桌子之间走动，以增加饮料的消费； —

and Desiree, who was a worthy daughter of Father Auban, flitted around among the benches and joked with them, her lips smiling and her eyes sparkling.
而黛丝瑞，作为奥邦神父的好女儿，从长凳间飞快穿梭，与他们开玩笑，嘴角微笑，眼睛闪亮。

Patin got so well accustomed to Desiree’s face that he thought of it even while at sea, when throwing out his nets, in storms or in calms, on moonlit or dark evenings.
帕坦变得如此习惯黛丝瑞的脸，以至于即使在海上时，当他撒网时，无论是在暴风雨中还是在平静的夜晚， —

He thought of her while holding the tiller in the stern of his boat, while his four companions were slumbering with their heads on their arms.
当他们四个同伴都枕着手臂睡觉时，他也想着她。 —

He always saw her, smiling, pouring out the yellow brandy with a peculiar shoulder movement and then exclaiming as she turned away:
他总是看见她笑着，用一种独特的肩膀动作倒出黄色白兰地，然后转身时大声说道：“好了，现在，你满意了吗？” —

“There, now; are you satisfied?”
在他脑海中经常出现她的身影，他被一种无法抗拒的欲望压倒，想要娶她，再也无法忍耐，他向她求婚。

He saw her so much in his mind’s eye that he was overcome by an irresistible desire to marry her, and, not being able to hold out any longer, he asked for her hand.
他见到她的次数太多，以至于不可抵挡地想要娶她，无法再坚持下去了，他向她求了婚。

He was rich, owned his own vessel, his nets and a little house at the foot of the hill on the Retenue, whereas Father Auban had nothing.
他很富有，拥有自己的船只、渔网和一座小房子，位于Retenue山脚下，而他的神父Auban一无所有。 —

The marriage was therefore eagerly agreed upon and the wedding took place as soon as possible, as both parties were desirous for the affair to be concluded as early as convenient.
因此，婚事得到了热切的同意，婚礼尽快举行了，因为双方都希望尽早结束这件事。

Three days after the wedding Patin could no longer understand how he had ever imagined Desiree to be different from other women.
结婚后的第三天，帕坦已经无法理解自己曾经怎么会认为迪丽热想与其他女人不同。 —

What a fool he had been to encumber himself with a penniless creature, who had undoubtedly inveigled him with some drug which she had put in his brandy!
他真是个傻瓜，竟然和一个没有一文钱的人绑在一起，肯定是被她用某种药物催眠了，她把药放在白兰地里！

He would curse all day lung, break his pipe with his teeth and maul his crew.
他会整天咒骂，用牙齿咬断烟斗，折磨自己的船员。 —

After he had sworn by every known term at everything that came his way he would rid himself of his remaining anger on the fish and lobsters, which he pulled from the nets and threw into the baskets amid oaths and foul language.
在对每一样东西都念叨脏话和诅咒之后，他会对鱼和龙虾发泄剩下的愤怒，把它们从渔网中拽出来，扔进篮子里。 —

When he returned home he would find his wife, Father Auban’s daughter, within reach of his mouth and hand, and it was not long before he treated her like the lowest creature in the world.
当他回家时，他发现他的妻子，奥班神父的女儿，就在他的嘴巴和手的伸程之内，不久他对她的态度就像对世界上最下贱的生物一样。 —

As she listened calmly, accustomed to paternal violence, he grew exasperated at her quiet, and one evening he beat her.
当她平静地倾听时，习惯了父亲的暴力，他对她的镇定感到恼火，一天晚上他打了她。 —

Then life at his home became unbearable.
接着，他家变得无法忍受。

For ten years the principal topic of conversation on the Retenue was about the beatings that Patin gave his wife and his manner of cursing at her for the least thing.
在过去的十年里，关于帕丁打妻子以及对她做任何小事都骂她的方式成为了雷腾纽上讨论的主要话题。 —

He could, indeed, curse with a richness of vocabulary in a roundness of tone unequalled by any other man in Fecamp.
事实上，他可以用一种在费康普任何其他男人身上无与伦比的词汇的丰富性和音调的圆润来诅咒。 —

As soon as his ship was sighted at the entrance of the harbor, returning from the fishing expedition, every one awaited the first volley he would hurl from the bridge as soon as he perceived his wife’s white cap.
一旦他的渔船从入口的港口被发现，从钢桥上一旦他看到他妻子的白色帽子，每个人都在等待着他会发出的第一声咆哮。

Standing at the stern he would steer, his eye fixed on the bows and on the sail, and, notwithstanding the difficulty of the narrow passage and the height of the turbulent waves, he would search among the watching women and try to recognize his wife, Father Auban’s daughter, the wretch!
站在船尾，他紧盯着船头和帆，尽管狭窄的通道和汹涌的浪涛使情况变得困难，但他还是会搜寻着那些观察的女人们，试图认出他的妻子，也就是奥班神父的女儿，这个可怜的女人！

Then, as soon as he saw her, notwithstanding the noise of the wind and waves, he would let loose upon her with such power and volubility that every one would laugh, although they pitied her greatly.
当他一看见她，尽管风声和巨浪嘈杂，他会毫不留情地对她说出种种话，动作迅捷、语速飞快，以至于所有人都会笑起来，尽管他们深感同情。 —

When he arrived at the dock he would relieve his mind, while unloading the fish, in such an expressive manner that he attracted around him all the loafers of the neighborhood.
他到达码头后，一边卸载鱼货一边释放心中的压力，以极具表现力的方式吸引了周围所有的懒汉。 —

The words left his mouth sometimes like shots from a cannon, short and terrible, sometimes like peals of thunder, which roll and rumble for five minutes, such a hurricane of oaths that he seemed to have in his lungs one of the storms of the Eternal Father.
这些词从他的嘴里脱口而出，有时像炮弹般短暂而可怕，有时像五分钟持续的雷鸣声，仿佛他的肺中装着父亲永恒的风暴一般，狂风暴雨般的诅咒让人感到震撼。

When he left his ship and found himself face to face with her, surrounded by all the gossips of the neighborhood, he would bring up a new cargo of insults and bring her back to their dwelling, she in front, he behind, she weeping, he yelling at her.
当他离开了船舱，发现自己与她面对面，被周围所有邻居们八卦的目光所包围，他会千方百计挖苦她，把她带回到他们的住所，她走在前面，他在后面，她哭泣，他对她大喊大叫。

At last, when alone with her behind closed doors, he would thrash her on the slightest pretext.
最后，当他们独处在关上门后，他会以最微小的借口殴打她。 —

The least thing was sufficient to make him raise his hand, and when he had once begun he did not stop, but he would throw into her face the true motive for his anger.
最小的事情就足以让他举起手来，一旦开始，他就不会停止，而且还会向她扔出他愤怒的真实动机。 —

At each blow he would roar: “There, you beggar!
每一击之间他都会咆哮：“就是这样，你这个乞丐！就是这样， —

There, you wretch! There, you pauper!
你这个卑鄙小人！就是这样，你这个穷酸！” —

What a bright thing I did when I rinsed my mouth with your rascal of a father’s apology for brandy.”
我真聪明，居然用你那个混账父亲道歉的劣质白兰地漱了口。

The poor woman lived in continual fear, in a ceaseless trembling of body and soul, in everlasting expectation of outrageous thrashings.
这可怜的女人生活在不断的恐惧中，身心不停地颤抖，永远期待着残暴的殴打。

This lasted ten years. She was so timorous that she would grow pale whenever she spoke to any one, and she thought of nothing but the blows with which she was threatened;
这持续了十年。她非常胆小，每当和任何人说话时，她都会脸色苍白，心里只想着受到的打击； —

and she became thinner, more yellow and drier than a smoked fish.
而且她变得越来越瘦，比熏鱼还黄、还干。

II
II

One night, when her husband was at sea, she was suddenly awakened by the wild roaring of the wind!
有一天晚上，丈夫在海上时，她突然被狂风的咆哮声惊醒了！

She sat up in her bed, trembling, but, as she hear nothing more, she lay down again;
她坐起来，颤抖着，但因为没有听到其他声音，她又躺了下去； —

almost immediately there was a roar in the chimney which shook the entire house;
几乎立刻，烟囱里传来一声轰隆，震动着整个房子； —

it seemed to cross the heavens like a pack of furious animals snorting and roaring.
它似乎像一群狂躁的动物呼噜呼噜地穿过天空。

Then she arose and rushed to the harbor.
然后她站起身冲向港口。 —

Other women were arriving from all sides, carrying lanterns.
其他女人从各个方向赶来，手持着灯笼。 —

The men also were gathering, and all were watching the foaming crests of the breaking wave.
男人们也聚集在一起，大家都在注视着波浪翻腾的浪尖。

The storm lasted fifteen hours.
风暴持续了十五个小时。 —

Eleven sailors never returned;
十一个水手没有回来； —

Patin was among them.
帕丁就在其中。

In the neighborhood of Dieppe the wreck of his bark, the Jeune-Amelie, was found.
在迪耶普附近发现了他的帆船Jeune-Amelie的残骸。 —

The bodies of his sailors were found near Saint-Valery, but his body was never recovered.
他的水手的尸体被发现在圣瓦勒里附近，但他的尸体从未被找到。 —

As his vessel seemed to have been cut in two, his wife expected and feared his return for a long time, for if there had been a collision he alone might have been picked up and carried afar off.
由于他的船似乎被切成两半，他的妻子长时间期待并担心他的归来，因为如果发生碰撞，只有他可能会被救起并带到远处。

Little by little she grew accustomed to the thought that she was rid of him, although she would start every time that a neighbor, a beggar or a peddler would enter suddenly.
她逐渐习惯了摆脱他的想法，尽管每当邻居、乞丐或小贩突然进来时，她都会吓一跳。

One afternoon, about four years after the disappearance of her husband, while she was walking along the Rue aux Juifs, she stopped before the house of an old sea captain who had recently died and whose furniture was for sale.
在她的丈夫失踪约四年后的一个下午，她在犹太街（Rue aux Juifs）走着，停在一位最近去世的老海船长的房子前，他的家具正在出售。 —

Just at that moment a parrot was at auction.
就在那时，一个鹦鹉正在拍卖会上。 —

He had green feathers and a blue head and was watching everybody with a displeased look.
它有绿色的羽毛和蓝色的头，用不满的眼神观察着每个人。 —

“Three francs!” cried the auctioneer.
“三法郎！”拍卖人喊道， —

“A bird that can talk like a lawyer, three francs!”
“一只像律师一样会说话的鸟，三法郎！”

A friend of the Patin woman nudged her and said:
帕丁夫人的一个朋友用肘推了她一下，说：

“You ought to buy that, you who are rich.
“你应该买下它，你这个有钱人。 —

It would be good company for you.
它会给你带来快乐的伴侣。” —

That bird is worth more than thirty francs. Anyhow, you can always sell it for twenty or twenty-five!”
“那只鸟值三十法郎以上。无论如何，你总可以卖出二十或二十五法郎！”

Patin’s widow added fifty centimes, and the bird was given her in a little cage, which she carried away.
帕坦的寡妇再加上五十个塞尔，就把鸟装在一个小笼子里给她拿走了。 —

She took it home, and, as she was opening the wire door in order to give it something to drink, he bit her finger and drew blood.
她把它带回家，当她打开笼子的铁丝门给它喝东西时，它咬了她的手指，流出了血。

“Oh, how naughty he is!” she said.
“哦，它是多么淘气啊！”她说。

Nevertheless she gave it some hemp-seed and corn and watched it pruning its feathers as it glanced warily at its new home and its new mistress.
尽管如此，她还是给它喂了一些麻籽和谷物，看着它梳理羽毛，又警惕地瞥着它的新家和新女主人。 —

On the following morning, just as day was breaking, the Patin woman distinctly heard a loud, deep, roaring voice calling:
第二天清晨，就在天亮时，帕坦的寡妇清楚地听到一个大而深沉的声音喊道：” 你要起床了，肉饼！” —

“Are you going to get up, carrion?”
她的恐惧如此之大，以至于她把头藏在被子里，因为帕坦与她在一起时，他醒来后会把那些耳熟能详的话喊进她的耳朵里。

Her fear was so great that she hid her head under the sheets, for when Patin was with her as soon as he would open his eyes he would shout those well-known words into her ears.
请速速清醒过来，肉饼！”

Trembling, rolled into a ball, her back prepared for the thrashing which she already expected, her face buried in the pillows, she murmured:
颤抖着，卷成一团，她已经预料到接下来的殴打，脸埋在枕头里，低声说道： —

“Good Lord! he is here! Good Lord!
“天哪！他在这儿！天哪！ —

he is here! Good Lord! he has come back!”
他在这儿！天哪！他回来了！”

Minutes passed; no noise disturbed the quiet room. Then, trembling, she stuck her head out of the bed, sure that he was there, watching, ready to beat her.
几分钟过去了；寂静的房间没有任何声音。然后，颤抖着，她探出头来，确信他就在那儿，注视着她，随时准备殴打她。 —

Except for a ray of sun shining through the window, she saw nothing, and she said to her self:
除了窗户透进来的一束阳光，她什么也没有看到，她对自己说： —

“He must be hidden.”
“他一定躲起来了。”

She waited a long time and then, gaining courage, she said to herself: “I must have dreamed it, seeing there is nobody here.”
她等了很久，然后鼓起勇气对自己说：“刚才一定是个梦，因为这里没有人。”

A little reassured, she closed her eyes, when from quite near a furious voice, the thunderous voice of the drowned man, could be heard crying:
少许安心后，她闭上了眼睛，这时从很近的地方传来了一声愤怒的声音，那声音如溺水者般的雷鸣般高亢，喊道： —

“Say! when in the name of all that’s holy are you going to get up, you b——?”
“喂！你什么时候才起床，你这个笨蛋？”

She jumped out of bed, moved by obedience, by the passive obedience of a woman accustomed to blows and who still remembers and always will remember that voice!
她被顺从的动作推醒，这种顺从是一个习惯了遭受打击的女人被动作出的，她永远都会记得那个声音！ —

She said: “Here I am, Patin; what do you want?”
她说：“我在这里，帕坦；你想要什么？”

Put Patin did not answer. Then, at a complete loss, she looked around her, then in the chimney and under the bed and finally sank into a chair, wild with anxiety, convinced that Patin’s soul alone was there, near her, and that he had returned in order to torture her.
帕坦没有回答。于是，她完全迷失了方向，环顾四周，然后看向烟囱和床底下，最后坐下来，因为极度的焦虑而狂野，她相信帕坦的灵魂就在那里，靠近她，他回来是为了折磨她。

Suddenly she remembered the loft, in order to reach which one had to take a ladder.
突然，她想起了阁楼，要到那里必须爬上梯子。他肯定躲在那里， —

Surely he must have hidden there in order to surprise her.
准备给她一个突然惊吓。 —

He must have been held by savages on some distant shore, unable to escape until now, and he had returned, worse that ever.
他一定被野蛮人困在某个遥远的海岸，直到现在才得以逃脱，而他回来了，比以往更糟糕。 —

There was no doubting the quality of that voice.
那个声音的品质无可怀疑。 —

She raised her head and asked:
她抬起头问道： —

“Are you up there, Patin?”
“你在上面吗，帕坦？”

Patin did not answer. Then, with a terrible fear which made her heart tremble, she climbed the ladder, opened the skylight, looked, saw nothing, entered, looked about and found nothing.
帕廷没有回答。然后，一种可怕的恐惧使她的心颤抖，她爬上了梯子，打开了天窗，看了看，什么也没有看到，进去了，四下里看了看也没有找到任何东西。 —

Sitting on some straw, she began to cry, but while she was weeping, overcome by a poignant and supernatural terror, she heard Patin talking in the room below.
坐在一些稻草上，她开始哭泣，但当她哭泣时，被一种尖锐和超自然的恐惧压倒，她听到帕廷在楼下的房间里说话。

He seemed less angry and he was saying: “Nasty weather!
他似乎不那么生气了，他说：“糟糕的天气！狂风啊！ —

Fierce wind! Nasty weather!
糟糕的天气！ —

I haven’t eaten, damn it!”
我都还没吃饭呢，该死的！”

She cried through the ceiling: “Here I am, Patin;
她透过天花板喊道：“我在这儿，帕廷； —

I am getting your meal ready.
我正在准备你的饭。 —

Don’t get angry.”
别发火。”

She ran down again. There was no one in the room.
她再次跑下来，房间里没有人。 —

She felt herself growing weak, as if death were touching her, and she tried to run and get help from the neighbors, when a voice near her cried out:
她感到自己虚弱起来，仿佛死神正在接触她，她试图跑去找邻居求助，当一声在她附近喊道： —

“I haven’t had my breakfast, by G—!”
“我还没吃早饭，该死的！”

And the parrot in his cage watched her with his round, knowing, wicked eye. She, too, looked at him wildly, murmuring:
鹦鹉笼里的鹦鹉用他那又圆又狡猾的眼睛看着她。她也狂野地看着它，喃喃道：“啊！ —

“Ah! so it’s you!”
原来是你！”

He shook his head and continued:
他摇了摇头，继续说道： —

“Just you wait! I’ll teach you how to loaf.”
“你等着！我会教你怎么偷懒。”

What happened within her? She felt, she understood that it was he, the dead man, who had come back, who had disguised himself in the feathers of this bird in order to continue to torment her;
她内心发生了什么？她感觉到，她明白了那是他，那个已故之人，他化身成这只鸟的羽毛，为了继续折磨她； —

that he would curse, as formerly, all day long, and bite her, and swear at her, in order to attract the neighbors and make them laugh.
像从前一样，他会整天咒骂她，咬她，诅咒她，以吸引邻居们，让他们开心笑。 —

Then she rushed for the cage and seized the bird, which scratched and tore her flesh with its claws and beak.
于是，她冲向鸟笼，抓住那只鸟，它用爪子和嘴巴划伤了她的皮肤。 —

But she held it with all her strength between her hands.
但她用尽全力抓住它，双手紧紧地握着。 —

She threw it on the ground and rolled over it with the frenzy of one possessed.
她将它扔到地上，用着被附身的疯狂滚了过去。 —

She crushed it and finally made of it nothing but a little green, flabby lump which no longer moved or spoke.
她捏碎了它，最终只剩下一个绿色的、软弱无力的小块，不再动弹也不再说话。 —

Then she wrapped it in a cloth, as in a shroud, and she went out in her nightgown, barefoot;
然后她用布包裹着它，就像殓衣一样，她穿着睡袍，赤脚走了出去； —

she crossed the dock, against which the choppy waves of the sea were beating, and she shook the cloth and let drop this little, dead thing, which looked like so much grass.
她穿过被汹涌的海浪袭击着的码头，晃动着布料，放下了这个看起来像一捆草的小东西。 —

Then she returned, threw herself on her knees before the empty cage, and, overcome by what she had done, kneeled and prayed for forgiveness, as if she had committed some heinous crime.
然后她回来，跪在空的笼子前，被自己所做的事情所压倒，跪下来祈求宽恕，好像她犯了某种可恶的罪行。