It was market-day, and from all the country round Goderville the peasants and their wives were coming toward the town.
这是集市日，从戈代维尔的全国各地，农民和他们的妻子都赶往镇上。 —

The men walked slowly, throwing the whole body forward at every step of their long, crooked legs.
男人们走路慢悠悠的，每迈出一步都要用他们弯曲的长腿将整个身体往前倾。 —

They were deformed from pushing the plough which makes the left-shoulder higher, and bends their figures side-ways;
他们因为长期推犁而变得畸形，左肩更高，身体向一侧弯曲； —

from reaping the grain, when they have to spread their legs so as to keep on their feet.
因为他们收割谷物时必须张开腿才能站稳。 —

Their starched blue blouses, glossy as though varnished, ornamented at collar and cuffs with a little embroidered design and blown out around their bony bodies, looked very much like balloons about to soar, whence issued two arms and two feet.
他们的淀粉蓝大褂闪闪发亮，看起来像是上了磨光漆，衣领和袖口还有一些刺绣的装饰，鼓鼓囊囊地包裹着他们瘦削的身材，有点像即将升空的气球，从那里突出两只手臂和两只脚。

Some of these fellows dragged a cow or a calf at the end of a rope.
其中一些家伙拖着一头牛或一只小牛犊。 —

And just behind the animal followed their wives beating it over the back with a leaf-covered branch to hasten its pace, and carrying large baskets out of which protruded the heads of chickens or ducks.
紧随在动物后面的是他们的妻子，用一根布满树叶的树枝拍打着牲畜的背部，以加速前行，她们还背着大篮子，篮子里伸出鸡或鸭的头颅。 —

These women walked more quickly and energetically than the men, with their erect, dried-up figures, adorned with scanty little shawls pinned over their flat bosoms, and their heads wrapped round with a white cloth, enclosing the hair and surmounted by a cap.
这些女人走得比男人快，精力充沛，她们挺直的、干瘪的身材上别着一块扎在平坦胸部上的短披肩，头上包着白布，把头发包起来，顶着一顶帽子。

Now a char-a-banc passed by, jogging along behind a nag and shaking up strangely the two men on the seat, and the woman at the bottom of the cart who held fast to its sides to lessen the hard jolting.
一辆双层马车经过，拖着一匹破烂的老马，把坐在车上的那两个男人和在车底的那个女人都晃得不行，女人紧紧抓住马车的边缘来减缓剧烈的颠簸。

In the market-place at Goderville was a great crowd, a mingled multitude of men and beasts.
在戈德维尔的市场上聚集了一大群人，男人和牲畜混杂在一起。 —

The horns of cattle, the high, long-napped hats of wealthy peasants, the head-dresses of the women came to the surface of that sea.
牛的角，富有农民高高的帽子，女人的头饰，点缀在那片人海之上。 —

And the sharp, shrill, barking voices made a continuous, wild din, while above it occasionally rose a huge burst of laughter from the sturdy lungs of a merry peasant or a prolonged bellow from a cow tied fast to the wall of a house.
急促的尖声狗吠声不断拼接成一片狂野的噪音，其中偶尔夹杂着鲁莽农民的嘻笑声或者一头被绑在房子墙上的牛发出的低沉的吼声。

It all smelled of the stable, of milk, of hay and of perspiration, giving off that half-human, half-animal odor which is peculiar to country folks.
这一切都闻起来像马厩里的味道，有着奶香、干草和汗臭的味道，散发出一种既有人类又有动物的气味，这是乡村人特有的气味。

Maitre Hauchecorne, of Breaute, had just arrived at Goderville and was making his way toward the square when he perceived on the ground a little piece of string.
当勃罗特镇的奥雾康先生刚到达戈德维尔广场，正在往广场走的时候，他在地上发现了一小段细绳。 —

Maitre Hauchecorne, economical as are all true Normans, reflected that everything was worth picking up which could be of any use, and he stooped down, but painfully, because he suffered from rheumatism.
节俭如所有真正的诺曼底人一样，奥雾康先生想到任何能有用的东西都值得捡起来，虽然因为风湿病他弯下腰来有些费劲。 —

He took the bit of thin string from the ground and was carefully preparing to roll it up when he saw Maitre Malandain, the harness maker, on his doorstep staring at him.
他从地上捡起这块细绳，正准备小心翼翼地卷起来时，他看见马具制造商马朗丹先生正站在门口盯着他看。 —

They had once had a quarrel about a halter, and they had borne each other malice ever since.
他们曾经因为一根系绳的事情争吵过，从那以后，他们互相怀恨在心。 —

Maitre Hauchecorne was overcome with a sort of shame at being seen by his enemy picking up a bit of string in the road.
奥雾康先生被自己的敌人看见捡起一段绳子在路上感到一种羞愧。 —

He quickly hid it beneath his blouse and then slipped it into his breeches, pocket, then pretended to be still looking for something on the ground which he did not discover and finally went off toward the market-place, his head bent forward and his body almost doubled in two by rheumatic pains.
他迅速将它藏在他的衬衣下面，然后塞进他的马裤口袋里，然后假装还在地上找东西，虽然他并没有发现什么，最终他弯着腰，头低下，因风湿痛感而几乎折叠在一起，向市场走去。

He was at once lost in the crowd, which kept moving about slowly and noisily as it chaffered and bargained.
他立即在人群中迷失了方向，人群缓慢而喧闹地挪动着，一边讨价还价，一边闲逛。 —

The peasants examined the cows, went off, came back, always in doubt for fear of being cheated, never quite daring to decide, looking the seller square in the eye in the effort to discover the tricks of the man and the defect in the beast.
农民们检查着牛，离开再回来，总是犹豫不决，生怕被人欺骗，永远不敢下定决心，他们会直视卖方的眼睛，努力找出他的欺骗手法以及牲口的瑕疵。

The women, having placed their great baskets at their feet, had taken out the poultry, which lay upon the ground, their legs tied together, with terrified eyes and scarlet combs.
妇女们把巨大的篮子放在脚边，从里面拿出家禽，放在地上，它们的腿绑在一起，眼神惊恐，红冠鸡冠格外鲜艳。

They listened to propositions, maintaining their prices in a decided manner with an impassive face or perhaps deciding to accept the smaller price offered, suddenly calling out to the customer who was starting to go away:
他们听着提议，保持着冷静的表情来维持自己的价格，或者也许决定接受提供的较低价格，突然叫住了一个正打算离开的顾客：

“All right, I’ll let you have them, Mait’ Anthime.”
“好吧，我就让你们们买了，梅特安蒂姆先生。”

Then, little by little, the square became empty, and when the Angelus struck midday those who lived at a distance poured into the inns.
然后，一点点地，广场上变得空荡荡的，当回声教堂的钟声敲响正午时，那些住在较远处的人涌入旅馆。

At Jourdain’s the great room was filled with eaters, just as the vast court was filled with vehicles of every sort—wagons, gigs, chars-a-bancs, tilburies, innumerable vehicles which have no name, yellow with mud, misshapen, pieced together, raising their shafts to heaven like two arms, or it may be with their nose on the ground and their rear in the air.
在乔尔丹的旅馆里，大厅里坐满了吃饭的人，就像广阔的庭院里停满了各种车辆 —— 马车、小马车、观光车、马车塔博雷，以及数不尽的没有名字的车辆，被泥水染成黄色，丑陋不堪，拼凑在一起，将它们的车轴高举向天空，或者头朝地，屁股朝天。

Just opposite to where the diners were at table the huge fireplace, with its bright flame, gave out a burning heat on the backs of those who sat at the right.
就在就餐的人旁边，巨大的壁炉熊熊燃烧着，给坐在右侧的人们的背部带来灼热的热量。 —

Three spits were turning, loaded with chickens, with pigeons and with joints of mutton, and a delectable odor of roast meat and of gravy flowing over crisp brown skin arose from the hearth, kindled merriment, caused mouths to water.
三个转动的烤肉架上挂满了鸡肉、鸽子和羊腿，肉香和肉汁的味道扑鼻而来，引起了欢乐，让人垂涎欲滴。

All the aristocracy of the plough were eating there at Mait’ Jourdain’s, the innkeeper’s, a dealer in horses also and a sharp fellow who had made a great deal of money in his day.
农民贵族们正在梅·朱尔丹（酒店老板）的那里用餐，他是一位马匹交易商，也是个机灵的人，一生中赚了很多钱。

The dishes were passed round, were emptied, as were the jugs of yellow cider.
盘盘菜肴被传递着，一桶桶黄色苹果酒也被倒空了。 —

Every one told of his affairs, of his purchases and his sales.
每个人都在谈论自己的事情，讲述自己的购买和销售情况。 —

They exchanged news about the crops.
他们交换着农作物的消息。 —

The weather was good for greens, but too wet for grain.
天气对蔬菜来说很好，但对谷物来说太潮湿了。

Suddenly the drum began to beat in the courtyard before the house.
突然间，院子里的鼓声响起。 —

Every one, except some of the most indifferent, was on their feet at once and ran to the door, to the windows, their mouths full and napkins in their hand.
除了一些最不在乎的人外，所有人都立刻站起来，跑到门口、窗户前去，嘴里塞满了食物，手中拿着餐巾。

When the public crier had finished his tattoo he called forth in a jerky voice, pausing in the wrong places:
当公告人结束他的敲击声时，他用一种断断续续的声音喊道，停在了错误的地方：

“Be it known to the inhabitants of Goderville and in general to all persons present at the market that there has been lost this morning on the Beuzeville road, between nine and ten o’clock, a black leather pocketbook containing five hundred francs and business papers.
“特此通知戈德维尔的居民和所有参加市集的人们，今天早上九点到十点之间，在布莱沃路上丢失了一个黑色皮夹，里面装有五百法郎和业务文件。 —

You are requested to return it to the mayor’s office at once or to Maitre Fortune Houlbreque, of Manneville.
请立即将其归还给市长办公室或曼内维尔的福尔图恩·乌尔布雷克律师。 —

There will be twenty francs reward.”
将有二十法郎的酬金。”

Then the man went away. They heard once more at a distance the dull beating of the drum and the faint voice of the crier.
然后那个人离开了。他们又听到了鼓声和吆喝声越来越远。 —

Then they all began to talk of this incident, reckoning up the chances which Maitre Houlbreque had of finding or of not finding his pocketbook again.
然后他们开始议论起这件事情，计算着福尔图恩·乌尔布雷克律师找回皮夹的机会和可能性。

The meal went on. They were finishing their coffee when the corporal of gendarmes appeared on the threshold.
晚餐继续进行着。当他们喝完咖啡时，宪兵队的军官出现在门槛上。

He asked:
他问道：

“Is Maitre Hauchecorne, of Breaute, here?”
“布雷奥特的福尔图恩·欧什科恩先生在这里吗？”

Maitre Hauchecorne, seated at the other end of the table answered:
坐在桌子另一边的福尔图恩·欧什科恩回答道：

“Here I am, here I am.”
“我在这里，我在这里。”

And he followed the corporal.
然后他跟着军官走了。

The mayor was waiting for him, seated in an armchair.
市长坐在一张扶手椅上等着他。 —

He was the notary of the place, a tall, grave man of pompous speech.
他是这地方的公证人，一个讲话夸大的高大、严肃的人。

“Maitre Hauchecorne,” said he, “this morning on the Beuzeville road, you were seen to pick up the pocketbook lost by Maitre Houlbreque, of Manneville.”
“奥舍科恩大师，”他说，” 今天早晨在波泽维尔路上，有人看见你捡起了曼纳维尔的奥勃鲁克大师丢失的钱包。”

The countryman looked at the mayor in amazement frightened already at this suspicion which rested on him, he knew not why.
这个乡下人惊讶地看着市长，已经因为这个无端指责而感到害怕，他不知道为什么。

“I—I picked up that pocketbook?”
“我——我捡起那个钱包吗？”

“Yes, YOU.”
“是的，是你。”

“I swear I don’t even know anything about it.”
“我发誓我对此一无所知。”

“You were seen.”
“有人看见了你。”

“I was seen—I? Who saw me?”
“我被看见了——我？谁看见我的？”

“M. Malandain, the harness-maker.”
“马兰丹先生，那个马具制造商。”

Then the old man remembered, understood, and, reddening with anger, said:
然后老人想起来了，明白了，愤怒地脸红了起来，说：

“Ah! he saw me, did he, the rascal?
“啊！他看见我了，是不是， —

He saw me picking up this string here, M’sieu le Maire.”
这个坏蛋？他看见我捡起这缕绳子，市长先生。”

And fumbling at the bottom of his pocket, he pulled out of it the little end of string.
他在口袋底部摸索着，拿出了一小截绳子。

But the mayor incredulously shook his head:
但市长不信地摇了摇头。

“You will not make me believe, Maitre Hauchecorne, that M. Malandain, who is a man whose word can be relied on, has mistaken this string for a pocketbook.”
“郝什考恩先生，你不能让我相信马兰汀先生错把这根绳子当作钱包。”

The peasant, furious, raised his hand and spat on the ground beside him as if to attest his good faith, repeating:
农民气得抬起手，吐唾沫在地上，好像在证明自己的真诚，再次重复道：

“For all that, it is God’s truth, M’sieu le Maire. There! On my soul’s salvation, I repeat it.”
“尽管如此，这事是真的，市长先生。我发誓在我灵魂的救赎上，我说的是真的。”

The mayor continued:
市长继续说道：

“After you picked up the object in question, you even looked about for some time in the mud to see if a piece of money had not dropped out of it.”
“在你拾起这件东西之后，你甚至在泥泞中找了一阵子，看有没有掉出一块钱来。”

The good man was choking with indignation and fear.
这个善良的人因愤怒和恐惧而无法言喻。

“How can they tell—how can they tell such lies as that to slander an honest man!
“他们怎么能编造谎言来诽谤一个诚实的人呢？他们怎么能这样？ —

How can they?”
”

His protestations were in vain; he was not believed.
他的抗议毫无效果；没有人相信他。

He was confronted with M. Malandain, who repeated and sustained his testimony.
他面对马兰汀，后者重复并坚持他的证言。 —

They railed at one another for an hour.
他们互相责骂了一个小时。 —

At his own request Maitre Hauchecorne was searched.
在他的要求下，郝什考恩先生被搜查了一遍， —

Nothing was found on him.
什么都没找到。

At last the mayor, much perplexed, sent him away, warning him that he would inform the public prosecutor and ask for orders.
最后市长困惑不解地把他打发走，并警告他会向公诉人报告并索要命令。

The news had spread. When he left the mayor’s office the old man was surrounded, interrogated with a curiosity which was serious or mocking, as the case might be, but into which no indignation entered.
消息传开了。当他离开市长办公室时，老人被围了起来，受到了严肃或嘲笑的审问，但没有任何愤怒的情绪。 —

And he began to tell the story of the string.
然后他开始讲述这个线的故事。 —

They did not believe him.
他们不相信他。 —

They laughed.
他们笑了。

He passed on, buttonholed by every one, himself buttonholing his acquaintances, beginning over and over again his tale and his protestations, showing his pockets turned inside out to prove that he had nothing in them.
他继续前行，每个人都拉着他说话，他也拉着熟人们说话，一遍又一遍地讲述他的故事和抗议，并翻出口袋来证明里面什么也没有。

They said to him:
他们对他说：

“You old rogue!”
“你这老流氓！”

He grew more and more angry, feverish, in despair at not being believed, and kept on telling his story.
他越来越愤怒，发烧，绝望地不被人相信，并继续讲他的故事。

The night came. It was time to go home.
夜幕降临。是时候回家了。 —

He left with three of his neighbors, to whom he pointed out the place where he had picked up the string, and all the way he talked of his adventure.
他与三个邻居一起离开，并向他们指出了他捡到线的地方，一路上他一直谈论着他的冒险经历。

That evening he made the round of the village of Breaute for the purpose of telling every one.
那天晚上，他去布雷奥特村告诉每个人的目的。 —

He met only unbelievers.
他只遇到了不信任的人。

He brooded over it all night long.
他整夜都在思考。

The next day, about one in the afternoon, Marius Paumelle, a farm hand of Maitre Breton, the market gardener at Ymauville, returned the pocketbook and its contents to Maitre Holbreque, of Manneville.
第二天下午一点左右，伊莫维尔的市场园丁Maitre Breton的一个农场工人Marius Paumelle将钱包及其内容归还给Manneville的Maitre Holbreque。

This man said, indeed, that he had found it on the road, but not knowing how to read, he had carried it home and given it to his master.
这个人确实说他在路上找到了它，但他不识字，所以他就把它带回家给了他的主人。

The news spread to the environs.
消息传开了。 —

Maitre Hauchecorne was informed.
Maitre Hauchecorne得到了消息。 —

He started off at once and began to relate his story with the denoument.
他立刻出发，开始讲述他的故事，揭示了结局。 —

He was triumphant.
他很得意。

“What grieved me,” said he, “was not the thing itself, do you understand, but it was being accused of lying.
他说：“让我痛心的不是事情本身，你明白吗，而是被指责说谎。 —

Nothing does you so much harm as being in disgrace for lying.”
没有什么比因为说谎而受到耻辱更有害的了。”

All day he talked of his adventure.
他整天谈论着他的冒险经历。 —

He told it on the roads to the people who passed, at the cabaret to the people who drank and next Sunday when they came out of church.
他在路上告诉经过的人，在小酒馆里告诉喝酒的人，在下个星期天教堂出来的时候也告诉他们。 —

He even stopped strangers to tell them about it.
他甚至还向陌生人讲述。 —

He was easy now, and yet something worried him without his knowing exactly what it was.
他现在很轻松，但有些不知道是什么困扰着他。 —

People had a joking manner while they listened.
人们听的时候总是开玩笑的口气。 —

They did not seem convinced.
他们似乎并不相信。 —

He seemed to feel their remarks behind his back.
他似乎能感觉到他们背后的议论。

On Tuesday of the following week he went to market at Goderville, prompted solely by the need of telling his story.
下周二他去了Goderville的市场，仅仅是因为需要讲述他的故事。

Malandain, standing on his doorstep, began to laugh as he saw him pass. Why?
站在门口的马兰丹看到他过去就开始笑。为什么？

He accosted a farmer of Criquetot, who did not let him finish, and giving him a punch in the pit of the stomach cried in his face:
他找了一个来自Criquetot的农民搭讪，但对方根本不让他说完，给了他一个胃部重击，冲他的脸喊道：“哦，你这个大骗子！”然后转身离开。 —

“Oh, you great rogue!” Then he turned his heel upon him.
郝海仑一言不发，变得越来越不安。为什么他们叫他“大骗子”？

Maitre Hauchecorne remained speechless and grew more and more uneasy.
郝海仑不解地深感焦虑。 —

Why had they called him “great rogue”?
为什么他们称他为“大骗子”？

When seated at table in Jourdain’s tavern he began again to explain the whole affair.
在乔丹酒馆的桌子上坐下后，他又开始解释整个事情。

A horse dealer of Montivilliers shouted at him:
一个来自蒙蒂维利耶的马贩子大声喊道：

“Get out, get out, you old scamp!
“滚出去，滚出去，你这个老流氓！ —

I know all about your old string.”
我知道你的那一套玩意儿。”

Hauchecorne stammered:
奥斯纳姆结结巴巴地说：

“But since they found it again, the pocketbook!”
“但是他们又找到了，钱包！”

But the other continued:
但是那个人继续说道：

“Hold your tongue, daddy;
“闭嘴，老头子； —

there’s one who finds it and there’s another who returns it.
有人找到了，还有人归还了。 —

And no one the wiser.”
又没人知道。”

The farmer was speechless. He understood at last.
这个农民哑口无言。他终于明白了。 —

They accused him of having had the pocketbook brought back by an accomplice, by a confederate.
他们指责他找了个同伙，一个合伙人把钱包还了回来。

He tried to protest. The whole table began to laugh.
他试图提出抗议，但整个桌子开始笑了起来。

He could not finish his dinner, and went away amid a chorus of jeers.
他无法完成自己的晚餐，带着一片嘲笑的合唱走开了。

He went home indignant, choking with rage, with confusion, the more cast down since with his Norman craftiness he was, perhaps, capable of having done what they accused him of and even of boasting of it as a good trick.
他愤怒地回到家里，怒气冲冲、狼狈不堪，更加沮丧的是，他这个诺曼底的狡猾之人，也许真的有能力做出他们指责他做的事情，甚至还会夸耀这是一个好招数。 —

He was dimly conscious that it was impossible to prove his innocence, his craftiness being so well known.
他模模糊糊地意识到自己无法证明自己的清白，因为他的机智太出名了。 —

He felt himself struck to the heart by the injustice of the suspicion.
他感到被怀疑不公平地打入了心坎。

He began anew to tell his tale, lengthening his recital every day, each day adding new proofs, more energetic declarations and more sacred oaths, which he thought of, which he prepared in his hours of solitude, for his mind was entirely occupied with the story of the string.
他重新开始讲述自己的故事，每天加长故事的篇幅，每一天都加入新的证据，更有力的宣誓，这些都是他在孤独时准备的，他的思维完全被这条绳子的故事所占据。 —

The more he denied it, the more artful his arguments, the less he was believed.
他越是否认，辩论得越巧妙，就越是不被相信。

“Those are liars proofs,” they said behind his back.
“那是骗子的证据，”他们在他背后说。

He felt this. It preyed upon him and he exhausted himself in useless efforts.
他感受到了这一点。它折磨着他，他在无用的努力中筋疲力尽。

He was visibly wasting away.
他明显消瘦下去。

Jokers would make him tell the story of “the piece of string” to amuse them, just as you make a soldier who has been on a campaign tell his story of the battle.
戏谑的人们会让他讲述 “一根绳子” 的故事来逗乐，就像你让一名参加过战役的士兵讲述他的战斗一样。 —

His mind kept growing weaker and about the end of December he took to his bed.
他的思维越来越虚弱，到了12月底，他躺到了床上。

He passed away early in January, and, in the ravings of death agony, he protested his innocence, repeating:
他在一月初去世，临死前痛苦地嘶喊着声称自己无辜，并不停地重复：

“A little bit of string—a little bit of string.
“一小段绳子，一小段绳子。看， —

See, here it is, M’sieu le Maire.”
尊敬的市长，就在这里。”