ONCE more I found myself at grandfather’s. “Well, robber, what do you want? —
再一次我发现自己在爷爷家。“好吧，小偷，你想要什么？” —

” were his words of greeting; andhe accompanied them by rapping his fingers on the table. —
他打招呼的话语，并用手指敲击着桌子。 —

“I am not going to feed you any longer; —
“我不再想养你了; —

let yourgrandmother do it.”
让你奶奶来养你吧。”

　　“And so I will,” said grandmother. “Ekh! what ill-luck. Just think of it.”
“那我就养他吧，如果你想的话，”奶奶说。“啊！多不走运。想想看。”

　　“All right, feed him if you want to,” cried grandfather; then growing calmer, he explained to me:
“好吧，如果你想的话，就让她来养他，”爷爷叫道; 然后变得更加冷静，他向我解释道：

　　“She and I live quite separately now; we have nothing to do with each other.”
“她和我现在过着完全分开的生活; 我们再没有任何关系。”

Grandmother, sitting under the window, was making lace with swift movements; —
坐在窗下的奶奶正在迅速地做着花边; —

the shuttle snapped gaily, andthe pillow, thickly sewn with copper pins, shone like a golden hedgehog in the spring sunlight. —
穿梭机开心地响着, 装着铜针的枕头在春日的阳光下闪闪发光，像只金色的刺猬。 —

And grandmotherherself one would think she had been cast in copper was unchanged. —
奶奶自己本身，一个人会觉得她是被铜铸造的，没有变化。 —

But grandfather was more wizened, morewrinkled; —
但是爷爷更加干枯，更多皱纹; —

his sandy hair had grown gray, and his calm, self-important manner had given way to a fumingfussiness; —
他的金黄头发变成灰白色了，他镇定而自大的举止已经变成了焦躁的烦躁; —

his green eyes had grown dim, and had a suspicious expression. —
他的绿色眼睛变得昏暗，带着疑惑的表情。 —

Laughingly, grandmother told me ofthe division of property which had taken place between herself and grandfather; —
奶奶笑着告诉我关于财产的分割，这已经发生在她和爷爷之间； —

he had given her all the pots andpans and crockery ware, saying:
爷爷把所有的锅碗瓢盆都给了她，说：

　　“Here is your little lot, and don’t you ask me for anything else.”
这就是你的所有财产，别再向我要别的东西了。

Thereupon he took all her old clothes and things, including a cloak of fox fur, and sold them for seven hundredroubles, and put the money out at interest to his Jew godson, the fruit merchant. —
于是他拿走了她所有的旧衣物和物品，包括一件狐狸皮斗篷，卖了七百卢布，并将这笔钱放给他的犹太教教子，一个水果商，做利息。 —

Finally the malady of avaricefastened upon him, and he became lost to shame; —
最后，贪婪的疾病侵袭了他，他变得无耻起来。 —

he began to go about amongst his old acquaintances, his formercolleagues, rich merchants, and complaining that he had been ruined by his children, would ask for money tohelp him in his poverty. —
他开始在他的旧相识中，他以前的同事中间，富有的商人们中间走动，抱怨说被自己的孩子毁了，请求他们资助他这个穷人。 —

He profited by their regard for him, for they gave to him generously large sums in noteswhich he flourished boastfully in grandmother’s face, taunting her, like a child:
他利用他们对他的尊敬，他们慷慨地给了他大笔钞票，他得意洋洋地在祖母面前炫耀着这些钞票，讥讽地说：

　　“Look, fool, they won’t give you a hundredth part of that.”
“看，傻瓜，他们可不会给你那么多。”

　　The money which he obtained in this way he put out at interest with a new friend of his a tall, bald furrier called,in the village, Khlist (a horsewhip), and his sister, a shopkeeper a fat, red-cheeked woman with brown eyes, darkand sweet like virgin-honey.
他以这种方式得到的钱放给了他的一个新朋友，一个高个子秃头毛皮商，在村子里叫做Khlist（鞭子），还有他的姐妹，一个肥胖、面颊红润的女人，棕色的眼睛，深邃而甜美，就像贞洁的蜂蜜。

All expenses in the house were carefully divided: —
家中的所有开支都被精心分配： —

one day the dinner was prepared by grandmother fromprovisions bought with her own money; —
有一天，午餐是祖母用自己的钱买的食材准备的； —

and the next day it was grandfather who provided the food and hisdinners were never as good as hers, for grandmother bought good meat while he bought such stuff as liver andlights and scraps of meat. —
第二天，又是爷爷提供食物，而他做的饭永远不及她的好，因为祖母买的是好肉，而他买的却是像肝脏、肺和肉渣这样的东西。 —

They each had their own store of tea and sugar, but the tea was brewed in the sameteapot, and grandfather would say anxiously :
他们各自有自己的茶叶和糖的存货，但茶是泡在同一个茶壶里，爷爷会焦急地说：

　　“Wait! Wait a moment! … How much have you put in?”
“等等！等一会儿！……你放了多少？”

　　Shaking the tea-leaves out on to his palm, he would carefully measure them out, saying :
他会把茶叶倒在手掌上，仔细地称量出来，说道：

　　“Your tea is finer than mine, so I ought to put in less, as mine is a large leaf.”
“你的茶比我的好，所以我应该放得少一些，因为我的叶子较大。”

　　He was very particular that grandmother should pour out his tea and her own both equally strong, and that sheshould fill her cup only as often as he filled his.
他非常在意祖母倒他的茶和她自己的茶是否一样浓，以及她的杯子只在他倒满的时候才装满。

　　“What about the last one?” she asked, just before she had poured out all the tea.
“最后一个怎么样？”她问道，就在她倒完茶之前。

　　Grandfather looked into the teapot and said :
爷爷看着茶壶说：

　　“There ‘s plenty there for the last one.”
“最后一个还有很多呢。”

　　Even the oil for the image-lamp he bought separately and this after fifty years of united labor!
甚至为神像灯买油这件事，他单独买了，这是在经过五十年的共同劳动之后！

　　These tricks of grandfather amused and disgusted me at the same time, but to grandmother they were simplyfunny.
爷爷的这些花招一会儿让我感到好笑，一会儿让我感到厌恶，但在奶奶看来，它们只是简直不可思议。

　　“You be quiet!” she would say pacifyingly to me.
“你安静点！”她会安抚地对我说。

“What of it? He is an old, old man, and he is getting silly; that ‘s all. —
“怎么了？他是个老人了，而且开始变傻了；就这样。 —

He must be eighty, or not far off it. Let himplay the fool; —
他可能已经八十岁了，或者差不多了。让他耍点小聪明吧； —

what harm does it do any one? And I will do a little work for myself and you never mind !”
这对谁有害呢？我会给自己做点事，你不用担心！”

I also began to earn a little money; —
我也开始挣一点钱； —

in the holidays, early in the morning, I took a bag and went about the yardsand streets collecting bones, rags, paper and nails. —
假期的时候，一大早我拿着袋子到院子和街道上去收集骨头、破布、纸和钉子。 —

Rag-merchants would give two greevin (twenty kopecks) for apood (forty pounds) of rags and paper, or iron, and ten or eight kopecks for a pood of bones. —
废品商人会给一石（四十磅）废布、废纸、废铁两格里文（二十戈比克）, 或者骨头一石的十克比克或八克比克。 —

I did this work onweek days after school too, and on Saturdays I sold articles at thirty kopecks or half a rouble each, andsometimes more if I was lucky. —
我做这项工作也在工作日的放学后和周六，有时候卖的物品每个三十克比克或者一个卢布，有时候如果幸运的话甚至更多。 —

Grandmother took the money away from me and put it quickly into the pocket ofher skirt, and praised me, looking down:
奶奶从我手里拿走钱，迅速放进裙子口袋里，低头称赞：

　　“There! Thank you, my darling. This will do for our food… . You have done very well.”
“看！谢谢你，我的宝贝。这足够我们吃的了……你做得非常好。”

One day I saw her holding five kopecks of mine in her hands, looking at them, and quietly crying; —
有一天我看到她抱着我的五戈比克在手里，看着它们，静静地哭着； —

and onemuddy tear hung from the tip of her spongy, pumicestone-like nose.
从她多孔、似磨砂石的鼻子尖悬挂着一滴泥泞的泪珠。

A more profitable game than rag-picking was the theft of logs and planks from the timber-yards on the banks ofthe Oka, or on the Island of Pesk, where, hi fair time, iron was bought and sold in hastily built booths. —
比拾废布更有利可图的事情是从奥卡河岸或佩斯克岛的木材场偷取日志和木板，在展会的时候，铁器在匆忙搭建的摊位上买卖。 —

After thefairs the booths used to be taken down, but the poles and planks were stowed away in the boathouses, andremained there till close on the time of the spring floods. —
展会后，摊位会被拆除，但支柱和木板会被存放在船屋里，一直留到春季洪水来临。 —

A small houseowner would give ten kopecks for a goodplank, and it was possible to steal two a day. —
一块好木板可卖十戈比克，一天可以偷两块。 —

But for the success of the undertaking, bad weather was essential,when a snowstorm or heavy rains would drive the watchmen to hide themselves under cover.
为了这项行动的成功，恶劣的天气至关重要，当暴风雪或大雨时，看守员会躲在掩护下。

I managed to pick up some friendly accomplices one ten-year-old son of a Morduan beggar, Sanka Vyakhir, akind, gentle boy always tranquilly happy; —
我设法拉拢了一些友好的同谋，包括一个十岁的莫尔杜安乞丐的儿子，善良温和、永远平静快乐的桑卡·维亚希尔； —

kinless Kostrom, lanky and lean, with tremendous black eyes, who inhis thirteenth year was sent to a colony of young criminals for stealing a pair of doves ; —
家无依靠的科斯特罗姆，瘦长瘦削，有着巨大的黑眼睛，在十三岁时因偷了一对鸽子而被送去一个年轻罪犯的殖民地； —

the little Tartar Khabi, atwelve-year-old “strong man,” simple-minded and kind; —
小小的塔塔尔哈比，一个十二岁的“壮汉”，天真善良； —

blunt-nosed Yaz, the son of a graveyard watchman andgrave-digger, a boy of eight, taciturn as a fish, and suffering from epilepsy; —
鼻子钝圆的亚兹，墓地看守和坟墓挖掘工的儿子，一个八岁的沉默如鱼，患有癫痫病的男孩； —

and the eldest of all was the son of awidowed dress-maker, Grishka Tchurka, a sensible, straightforward boy, who was terribly handy with his fists.
以及年龄最大的是一个寡妇裁缝的儿子，格里什卡·丘尔卡，一个头脑清晰、直率的男孩，用拳头很厉害。

　　We all lived in the same street.
我们都住在同一条街上。

Theft was not counted as a crime in our village; —
在我们村庄，偷窃不被视为一种罪行； —

it had become a custom, and was practically the only means thehalf-starved natives had of getting a livelihood. —
它已经成为一种习惯，几乎是那些半饿死的本地人获取生计的唯一手段。 —

Fairs lasting a month and a half would not keep them for a wholeyear, and many respectable householders “did a little work on the river” catching logs and planks which wereborne along by the tide, and carrying them off separately or in small loads at a time; —
展会持续一个半月，却无法维持他们一整年的生计，许多尊敬的家庭主妇“在河上干点活”，捕捉被潮水冲走的日志和木板，然后分开带走或以小批量运走； —

but the chief form thisoccupation took was that of thefts from barges, or in a general prowling up and down the Volga or Oka on thelookout for anything which was not properly secured. —
但这种职业的主要形式是从驳船上偷窃，或者在伏尔加河或奥卡河上闲逛，寻找任何没有得到妥善保护的东西。 —

The grown-up people used to boast on Sundays of theirsuccesses, and the youngsters listened and learned.
成年人常在周日夸耀他们的成功，而年幼的孩子们则聆听并学习。

In the springtime, during the spell of heat before the fair, when the village streets were full of drunken workmen,cabmen, and all classes of working folk, the village children used to rummage in their pockets. —
在春天，即在集市之前酷热的季节里，当村庄的街道上挤满了喝醉的工人、车夫和各类劳动人民时，村庄的孩子们常常在他们的口袋中搜寻。 —

This was lookedupon as legitimate business, and they carried it on under the very eyes of their elders. —
这被视为合法的行为，他们在长辈们的眼皮底下进行这些活动。 —

They stole his tools fromthe carpenter, the keys from the heedless cabman, the harness from the dray-horse, and the iron from the axles ofthe cart. —
他们从木匠那里偷取工具，从疏忽的车夫那里偷取钥匙，从拉车的马的挽具那里偷取，还从车辆的轮轴那里偷取铁件。 —

But our little band did not engage in that sort of thing. —
但我们的小团伙不会参与这种行为。 —

Tchurka announced one day in a tone ofdecision :
Tchurka在某天坚定地宣布：

　　“I am. not going to steal. Mamka does not allow it.”
“我不会偷窃。妈妈不允许。”

　　“And I am afraid to,” said Khabi.
“我也害怕，”Khabi说。

Kostrom was possessed by an intense dislike for the little thieves; —
Kostrom对那些小偷深感厌恶； —

he pronounced the word “thieves” withpeculiar force, and when he saw strange children picking the pockets of tipsy men he drove them away, and if hehappened to catch one of them he gave him a good beating. —
他特别强调“小偷”这个词，并且当看到陌生的孩子们偷窃喝醉人的口袋时，他会把他们赶走，如果他碰巧抓到其中一个，他会狠狠打他一顿。 —

This large-eyed, unhappy-looking boy imaginedhimself to be grown-up; —
这个大眼睛、看起来不幸的男孩以为自己已经长大； —

he walked with a peculiar gait, sideways, just like a porter, and tried to speak in a thick,gruff voice, and was very reserved and self-possessed, like an old man.
他以一种特殊的步态行走，侧身，就像一个车夫，试图用粗哑的声音说话，非常自信和沉着，就像一个老人。

　　Vyakhir believed that to steal was to sin.
Vyakhir相信偷窃是一种罪孽。

But to take planks and poles from Pesk, that was not accounted a sin; —
但从Pesk那里拿走板条和杆子并不被视为犯罪； —

none of us were afraid of that, and we soordered matters as to make it very easy to succeed. —
我们当中没有人害怕这件事，我们安排得很容易成功。 —

Some evening, when it was beginning to grow dark, or byday, if it was bad weather, Vyakhir and Yaz set out for Pesk, crossing the creek by the wet ice. —
有天晚上开始变暗时，或者白天如果天气不好，维亚赫尔和亚兹出发去佩斯克，通过湿冰渡溪。 —

They wentopenly, for the purpose of drawing on themselves the attention of the watchmen, while we four crossed overseparately without being seen. —
他们公然行动，目的是引起守卫的注意，而我们四个分别悄悄过河，没有被发现。 —

While the watchmen, suspicious of Yaz and Vyakhir, were occupied in watchingthem, we betook ourselves to the boathouse, which we had fixed upon beforehand, chose something to carry off,and while our fleet-footed companions were teasing the watchmen, and luring them to pursuit, we made offhome. —
当注意力被亚兹和维亚赫尔激起时，怀疑的守卫正忙着盯着他们，我们前往了预先选好的船屋，选择了一些物品带走，而灵活的同伴们在引诱守卫追赶的时候，我们就溜回家去了。 —

Each one of us had a piece of string with a large nail, bent like a hook, at the end of it, which we fastenedin the plank or pole, and thus were able to drag it across the snow and ice. —
我们每个人手里都有一根绳子，上面系着一根大钉子，像钩一样弯曲，我们把它固定在木板或杆上，这样就能拖着它穿过雪地和冰面。 —

The watchmen hardly ever saw us, andif they did see us they were never able to overtake us.
守卫们几乎从来没有看见我们，即使看到了我们，他们也从未能追上我们。

When we had sold our plunder we divided the gains into six shares, which sometimes came to as much as five orseven kopecks each. —
当我们出售赃物时，我们将收益分成六份，有时每份甚至会有五到七戈比克。 —

On that money it was possible to live very comfortably for a day, but Vyakhir’s mother beathim if he did not bring her something for a glass of brandy or a little drop of vodka. —
在那笔钱上，可以过非常舒适的一天，但是Vyakhir的母亲会打他，如果他不给她带来一杯白兰地或者一点伏特加。 —

Kostrom was saving hismoney, dreaming of the establishment of a pigeon-hunt. —
Kostrom一直在省钱，梦想着建立一个鸽子猎场。 —

The mother of Tchurka was ill, so he tried to work asmuch as possible. —
Tchurka的母亲生病了，所以他试图尽可能多地工作。 —

Khabi also saved his money, with the object of returning to his native town, whence he hadbeen brought by his uncle who had been drowned at Nijni soon after his arrival. —
Khabi也在存钱，目的是回到他的故乡，他是被他在尼日尔淹死的叔叔接到那里的。 —

Khabi had forgotten what thetown was called; —
Khabi忘记了那个城镇叫什么； —

all he remembered was that it stood on the Kama, close by the Volga. For some reason wealways made fun of this town, and we used to tease the cross-eyed Tartar by singing:
他只记得它靠近伏尔加河的卡马河。出于某种原因，我们总是取笑这个城镇，我们常常调戏那个斜眼的鞑靼人，唱着：

“On the Kama a town there is, But nobody knows where it is! —
“卡马河畔有个城，可谁也搞不懂！ —

Our hands to it will never reach, Our feet to find itwe cannot teach.”
我们的手永远到不了，我们的脚也找不到。”

　　At first Khabi used to get angry with us, but one day Vyakhir said to him in his cooing voice, which justified hisnickname:
　首先Khabi会对我们生气，但有一天Vyakhir用他那叫人称“珍珠”的声音对他说：

　　“What is the matter with you? Surely you are not angry with your comrades.”
“你怎么了？你不是生我们这些同志的气吧。”

　　The Tartar was ashamed of himself, and after that he used to join us in singing about the town on the Kama.
鞑靼人为自己感到羞愧，之后他就会加入我们一起唱关于卡马河畔城镇的歌。

But all the same we preferred picking up rags and bones to stealing planks. —
但是我们更喜欢捡破烂和骨头而不是偷木板。 —

The former was particularlyinteresting in the springtime, when the snow had melted, and after the rain had washed the street pavementsclean. —
春天，雪消融了，雨水冲刷了街道，捡破烂和骨头变得尤为有趣。 —

There, by the place where the fair was held, we could always pick up plenty of nails and pieces of iron inthe gutter, and occasionally we found copper and silver coins; —
在那里，在集市举办的地方，我们总能在排水沟里捡到大量的钉子和铁片，有时我们还会找到铜币和银币； —

but to propitiate the watchman, so that he wouldnot chase us away or seize our sacks, we had to give him a few kopecks or make profound obeisances to him.
但为了讨好看守，不让他赶我们走或抢走我们的袋子，我们不得不给他几个戈比或向他深深鞠躬。

But we found it no easy task to get money. —
但我们发现筹钱并不容易。 —

Nevertheless, we got on very well together, and though we sometimesdisputed a little amongst ourselves, I do not remember that we ever had one serious quarrel.
然而，我们相处得非常好，虽然我们有时会争吵一点，但我不记得我们曾经有过一次严重的争吵。

Our peacemaker was Vyakhir, who always had some simple words ready, exactly suited to the occasion, whichastonished us and put us to shame. —
我们的调停人是维亚赫尔，他总是能准备一些简单的话，恰到好处，让我们感到惊讶并自惭形愧。 —

He uttered them himself in a tone of astonishment. —
他自己以惊讶的口气说出这些话。 —

Yaz’s spiteful salliesneither offended nor upset him ; —
亚兹恶意的嘲弄既没使他生气，也没让他心烦； —

in his opinion everything bad was unnecessary, and he would reject it calmlyand convincingly.
在他看来，一切坏事都是不必要的，他会平静而令人信服地拒绝它们。

　　“Well, what is the use of it?” he would ask, and we saw clearly that it was no use.
“好吧，这有什么用呢？”他会问，我们清楚地看到这毫无意义。

　　He called his mother “my Morduan,” and we did not laugh at him.
他称呼他的母亲为“我的莫尔迪安”，我们没有笑他。

“My Morduan rolled home tipsy again last evening,” he would tell us gaily, flashing his round, gold-coloredeyes. —
“昨晚我的莫尔迪安又醉醺醺地滚回家，”他欢快地告诉我们，闪着他那圆圆的金色眼睛。 —

“She kept the door open, and sat on the step and sang like a hen.”
“她把门开着，坐在门阶上唱歌，像母鸡一样。”

　　“What did she sing?” asked Tchurka, who liked to be precise.
“她唱什么？”喜欢准确的丘尔卡问道。

　　Vyakhir, slapping his hands on his knees, reproduced his mother’s song in a thin voice :
维亚基尔拍着膝盖，用细声音重新演绎他妈妈的歌声：

“Shepherd, tap thy window small,Whilst we run about the mall; —
“牧羊人，在你小窗上轻轻敲打， —

Tap, tap again, quick bird of night,With piping music, out of sight,On the village cast thy spell.”
敲打，再敲打，夜晚的鸟啊，

　　He knew many passionate songs like this, and sang them very well.
吹奏着乐曲，隐藏在视线之外，

“Yes,” he continued, “so she went to sleep on the doorstep, and the room got so cold I was shivering from headto foot, and got nearly frozen to death; —
在村庄里施展你的咒语。” —

but she was too heavy for me to drag her in. —
他知道很多像这样的热情歌曲，并演唱得很好。 —

I said to her this morning,‘What do you mean by getting so dreadfully drunk? —
“是的，”他接着说，“所以她就睡在门槛上，房间变得很冷，我浑身发抖，几乎冻僵了； —

’ ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘it is all right. —
但是她太重了，我没法把她拖进去。” —

Bear with me a little longer. Ishall soon be dead.’
“我今天早上对她说，‘你怎么能醉得这么厉害呢？

“She will soon be dead,” repeated Tchurka, in a serious tone. —
’‘哦，’她说，‘没事的。 —

“She is already dropsical.”
你等我再忍耐一下，我很快就会死了。”“她很快就会死了，”严肃地重复道丘尔卡。“她已经水肿了。”

　　“Would you be sorry?” I asked.
“你会难过吗？”我问道。

“Of course I should,” exclaimed Vyakhir, astonished. —
“我当然会的，”维亚赫惊讶地说道。 —

“She is all right with me, you know.”
“你知道，对我来说她没事的。”

　　And all of us, although we knew that the Morduan beat Vyakhir continually, believed that she was “all right,”
虽然我们都知道莫杜安经常打维亚赫，但我们都相信她“没事”，

　　and sometimes even, when we had had a bad day, Tchurka would suggest:
有时候，当我们过得不顺利时，丘尔卡会建议说：

　　“Let us put our kopecks together to buy Vyakhir’s mother some brandy, or she will beat him.”
“我们凑钱给维亚赫的母亲买点白兰地，不然她会打他。”

　　The only ones in our company who could read and write were Tchurka and I. Vyakhir greatly envied us, andwould murmur, as he took himself by his pointed, mouse-like ears:
我们团队里唯一会读写的是丘尔卡和我。维亚赫非常羡慕我们，他会在扯着尖尖的像老鼠一样的耳朵的时候喃喃自语：

“As soon as my Morduan is buried I shall go to school too. —
“等我莫杜安死了，我也要去上学了。 —

I shall go on my knees to the teacher and beg him totake me, and when I have finished learning I will go as gardener to the Archbishop, or perhaps to the Emperorhimself.”
我会跪求老师收留我，等我学完了，我会去当大主教的园丁，甚至可能是皇帝的。”

In the spring the Morduan, in company with an old man, who was a collector for a church building-fund, and abottle of vodka, was crushed by the fall of a wood-stack; —
春天，莫杜安和一名为教堂建设基金收集器之老人一起，因一堆木柴倒塌而被压死； —

they took the woman to the hospital, and practicalTchurka said to Vyakhir :
他们把女人送去了医院，实干的丘尔卡对维亚赫说：

　　“Come and live with me, and my mother will teach you to read and write.”
“来和我一起住吧，我妈会教你读写。”

And in a very short time Vyakhir, holding his head high, could read the inscription : —
非常短的时间内，维亚赫昂首挺胸，就能读出“杂货店”的招牌； —

“Grocery Store,” only heread “Balakeinia,” and Tchurka corrected him:
他读成了“巴拉肯尼亚”，丘尔卡纠正他说：

　　“Bakaleinia, my good soul.”
“是‘巴克莱尼亚’，亲爱的。”

“I know but the letters jump about so. —
“我知道，但是信件跳来跳去的。 —

They jump because they are pleased that they are being read.”
它们跳是因为它们很高兴有人在读它们。”

He surprised us all, and made us laugh very much by his love of trees and grass. —
他让我们都感到惊讶，通过他对树木和草的热爱让我们大笑不止。 —

The soil of the village wassandy and vegetation was scanty in some of the yards stood a miserable willow tree, or some straggling elderbushes, or a few gray, dry blades of grass hid themselves timidly under a fence but if one of us sat on them,Vyakhir would cry angrily :
村庄的土壤是沙质的，一些院子里植被稀少，有些可怜的柳树，或一些散乱的接骨木，或一些灰色干枯的草叶躲在篱笆下，但如果我们中的一人坐在上面，Vyakhir会生气地大叫：

“Why must you sit on the grass? Why don’t you sit on the gravel? —
“你为什么要坐在草地上？为什么不坐在砾石上？ —

It is all the same to you, isn’t it?”
对你来说都一样，不是吗？”

In his opinion there was no sense in breaking off branches from the willow, or plucking elder flowers, or cuttingweeping willow twigs on the banks of the Oka ; —
在他看来，从柳树上摘下树枝，采摘接骨木花，或在奥卡河岸边剪下垂柳树枝，都是没有意义的； —

he always expressed great surprise when we did this, shruggedhis shoulders, and spread out his hands:
每当我们这样做时，他总是表现出极大的惊讶，耸耸肩，摊开双手：

“Why on earth do you want to break everything? —
“你到底想干嘛呢？ —

Look what you have done, you devils !” And before hisastonishment we were ashamed.
看看你们都干了些什么，你们这些恶魔！” 在他震惊的目光下，我们感到羞愧。

We had contrived a very merry game for Saturdays, and we were preparing for it all the week by collecting allthe troddendown bast shoes we could find and storing them in convenient corners. —
我们为周六设法准备了一个非常愚快的游戏，整个星期我们都在准备，收集所有可以找到的破鞋，然后把它们存放在方便的角落。 —

Then on Saturday eveningwhen the Tartar porters came home from the Siberian ports, we took up a position at the cross-roads and peltedthe Tartars with shoes.
然后在星期六晚上，当鞑靼搬运工从西伯利亚港口回来时，我们在十字路口就位，用鞋子扔鞑靼人。

At first this used to irritate them, and they ran after us, and abused us ; —
起初这使他们感到恼火，他们追着我们跑，并辱骂我们； —

but the game soon began to interest them,and knowing what they might expect they appeared on the field of battle also armed with a quantity of bastshoes, and what is more, they found out where we kept our war materials and stole them. —
但游戏很快开始吸引他们，他们知道可以期待什么，他们也拿着大量的破鞋出现在战场上，而且更重要的是，他们找到了我们存放战争物资的地方，并偷走了它们。 —

We made a complaintabout this “It is not playing the game ! —
我们对此提出了抱怨：“这不公平！”。 —

” Then they divided the shoes, giving us half, and the fight began.
然后他们把鞋子分成两份，把一半给了我们，然后开始了争斗。

Generally they drew themselves up in an open place, in the middle of the cross-roads, and with yells we ranround them, hurling the shoes. —
通常他们站在十字路口的开阔地方，尖叫着，我们围着他们跑，扔着鞋子。 —

They also yelled, and laughed loud enough to deafen any one when one of usburied his head in the sand, having been thrown down by a shoe adroitly hurled under his feet.
他们也尖叫着，笑声震耳欲聋，当我们中的一个被狡猾地扔在脚下的鞋子击倒并埋在沙地里时。

This game would be carried on with zest for a long time, sometimes till it was nearly dark; —
这个游戏会玩很长时间，有时玩到天色已经近暗为止； —

and the inhabitantsused to gather round, or watch us from corners, and grumble, because they thought it was the right thing to do.
居民们会聚集在一起，或者从角落里看着我们，抱怨，因为他们认为这是正常的做法。

The dusty shoes flew about like crows in the damp air; —
在潮湿的空气中，尘土飞舞的鞋子像乌鸦一样飞来飞去； —

sometimes one of us was hit hard, but the pleasure of thegame was greater than pain or injury.
有时候我们中的人会被狠狠击中，但游戏的乐趣比疼痛或伤害更大。

The Tartars were not less keen on it than we were; —
鞑靼人对此同样热衷； —

often when we had finished playing we went with them to aneating-house where they fed us with a special sweet kind of preserve made with fruit, and after supper we drankthick, brick-colored tea, with sweet-meats. —
时常我们结束游戏后会和他们一起去饭店，他们会用一种特殊的果酱对我们接待，晚饭后我们喝浓浓的、砖红色的茶，并吃糖果。 —

We liked these people, whose strength matched their great size; —
我们喜欢这些人，他们的力量与他们的体型相匹配； —

therewas something about them so childlike and transparent. —
他们有种童心未泯、烂漫透明的感觉。 —

The points which most struck me about them were theirmeekness, their unwavering good-nature, and their grave, impressive respect for each other.
他们最让我印象深刻的特点是他们的温和、坚定的好性情，以及彼此之间庄严、令人印象深刻的尊敬。

They all laughed so heartily that the tears ran down their faces; —
他们都笑得肆意，眼泪顺着脸颊流下； —

and one of them, a native of Kassimov, with abroken nose, was a man renowned for his strength. —
其中一位来自卡西莫夫，鼻子断了的人，以其力量闻名。 —

One day he carried, from a barge which was at some distancefrom the shore, a bell weighing twenty-seven poods, and he roared out laughing as he cried: “Voo! Voo!”
一天，他从离岸边相当距离处的一只驳船上扛起了一个称重27品脱的铃铛，他哈哈大笑着喊道：“Voo！Voo！”

　　One day he made Vyakhir sit on the palm of his hand, and lifting him on high, he said :
　　有一天，他让Vyakhir坐在他手心上，把他高高举起，说道：

　　“Look where you are living now, right up in the sky.”
　　“看看你现在住在哪里，就在天空上面。”

In bad weather we used to assemble at Yaz’s home, in the burial-ground, where his father’s lodge was. —
在恶劣天气里，我们经常在Yaz家聚会，就在墓地那里，他父亲的小屋就在那里。 —

Thisfather was an individual with hoisted bones, long arms, and a small head; —
这个父亲是一个有着高高骨骼、长手臂和小脑袋的人； —

mud-colored hair grew on his face. Hishead looked like a burdock set on his long, thin neck, as on a stalk. —
他脸上长着土色的头发。他的头看起来像是种在细长脖子上的牛蒡。 —

He had a delightful way of half closing hisyellow eyes and muttering rapidly :
他有一种迷人的方式，将他的黄色眼睛半闭，然后迅速地喃喃自语：

　　“God give us rest. Ouch !”
　　“天主让我们休息吧。哎呀！”

　　We bought three zolotniks of tea, eight portions of sugar, some bread, and, of course, a portion of vodka forYaz’s father, who was sternly ordered about by Tchurka :
　　我们买了三份茶叶、八份糖、一些面包，当然还有一份伏特加给Yaz的父亲，他被Tchurka严厉地命令着：

　　“Good for nothing peasant, get the samovar ready.”
　　“一个没用的农民，准备好煮水壶。”

The peasant laughed and prepared the tin samovar; —
那个农民笑了笑，准备好锡制水壶； —

and while we discussed business as we waited for tea to beready, he gave us good advice :
我们等着茶煮好的时候，一边讨论生意，他给了我们一些好建议：

“Look here! The day after tomorrow is the month’s mind of Trusov, and there will be some feasting going onthere. —
“听着！后天是Trusov的月祭日，那里会有一些聚会。 —

… There ‘s a place to pick up bones.”
… 那里有个地方可以捡到骨头。”

　　“The cook collects all the bones at Trusov’s,” observed Tchurka, who knew everything.
　　“厨师在Trusov那里收集所有的骨头，”精通一切的Tchurka说道。

　　Vyakhir said dreamily, as he looked out of the window on the graveyard:
　　Vyakhir迷梦般地望着窗外的墓地说道：

　　“We shall soon be able to go out to the woods.”
“我们很快就可以去树林了。”

Yaz was always silent, looking at us all expressively with his sad eyes. —
亚兹总是沉默的，用他那悲伤的眼睛有表情地看着我们。 —

In silence he showed us his toys woodensoldiers which he had found in a rubbish pit, horses without legs, pieces of copper, and buttons.
他默默地向我们展示了他在垃圾堆中找到的玩具木兵，没有腿的马，铜片和纽扣。

　　His father set the table with cups and saucers of various patterns, and brought in the samovar. Kostrom sat downto pour out tea, and he, when he had drunk his vodka, climbed on the stove, and stretching out his long neck,surveyed us with vinous eyes, and muttered :
他父亲摆上了各种样式的茶杯和茶碟，并拿来沙漠炉。科斯特龙坐下来倒茶，当他喝了伏特加后，就爬到炉子上，伸出他那长长的脖子，用微醉的眼睛审视着我们，嘟囔道：

“Ouch ! So you must take your ease, as if you were not little boys at all, eh”? —
“噢！这样舒适，仿佛你根本不是小孩子一样，对吧”？ —

Ach! thieves … God give usrest !”
“天哪！贼人…天主保佑我们！”

　　Vyakhir said to him :
维亚赫对他说：

　　“We are not thieves at all.”
“我们根本不是贼人。”

　　“Well little thieves then.”
“那就是小贼。”

　　If Yaz’s father became too tiresome, Tchurka cried angrily :
如果亚兹的父亲变得太讨厌，楚尔卡生气地叫喊：

　　“Be quiet, you trashy peasant !”
“闭嘴，你这个下等农民！”

Vyakhir, Tchurka and I could not bear to hear the man counting up the number of houses which contained peoplein ill-health, or trying to guess how many of the villagers would die soon; —
维亚赫，楚尔卡和我无法忍受听到他数算患病人口的房屋数量，或试图猜测多少村民不久会死去； —

he spoke so calculatingly andpitilessly, and seeing that what he said was objectionable to us, he purposely teased and tormented us:
他说话时极具算计和无情，明知他说的会引起我们的反感，他故意逗弄和折磨我们：

“Oh, so you are afraid, young masters’? Well, well ! —
“哦，所以你们害怕了，年轻主人们？嗯，好吧！” —

And before long a certain stout person will die ekh ! —
不久一个肥胖的人就会死去，嘿！ —

Andlong may he rot in his grave !”
他该在坟墓里长久腐烂！

　　We tried to stop him, but he would not leave off.
我们试图阻止他，但他不肯罢休。

　　“And, you know, you’ve got to die too; you can’t live long in this cesspool !”
“而且，你要知道，你也得死；在这个污水坑里你活不长久！”

“Well,” said Vyakhir, “that’s all right; —
“好吧，”维亚克尔说，“没关系； —

and when we die they will make angels of us.”
当我们死后，他们会把我们变成天使。”

　　“Yo u?” exclaimed Yaz’s father, catching his breath in amazement. “You? Angels?”
“你？”犹太兹的父亲惊讶地喘着气说。“你？天使？

　　He chuckled, and then began to tease us again by telling us disgusting stories about dead people.
他轻笑了一声，然后又开始讲述死人的恶心故事来戏弄我们。

　　But sometimes this man began to talk in a murmur, lowering his voice strangely:
但有时这个人开始低声喃喃自语：

“Listen, children … wait a bit ! The day before yesterday they buried a female … —
“孩子们，听着……稍等一下！前天他们埋葬了一位女性…… —

and I knew her history,children… . What do you think the woman was?”
我知道她的故事，孩子们……你们认为那位女人是怎样的？”

He often spoke about women, and always obscenely ; —
他经常谈论女人，而且总是淫秽地说； —

yet there was something appealing and plaintive about hisstories he invited us to share his thoughts, as it were and we listened to him attentively. —
但他的故事总是富有吸引力和哀求之感，他似乎邀请我们分享他的思想，我们则专心听着。 —

He spoke in an ignorantand unintelligent manner, frequently interrupting his speech by questions ; —
他以一种愚昧和不理智的方式说话，经常在讲话中插入问题； —

but his stories always left somedisturbing splinters or fragments in one’s memory.
但他的故事总是在记忆中留下一些令人不安的碎片或片段。

“They ask her: ‘Who set the place on fire ?’ ‘I did! —
“他们问她：‘是谁放火的？’‘是我！ —

’ ‘How can that be, foolish woman, when you were not athome that night, but lying ill in the hospital? —
，“这怎么可能，愚蠢的女人，那天晚上你不在家，而是躺在医院里生病。” —

’ ‘I set the place on fire.’ That ‘s the way she kept on… . Why?
，“我放火烧了那个地方。”她一直重复着……为什么呢？

　　Ouch! God give us rest.”
，“唉！愿上帝让我们安息。”

He knew the life story of nearly every female inhabitant of the place who had been buried by him in that bare,melancholy graveyard, and it seemed as if he were opening the doors of houses, which we entered, and saw howthe occupiers lived; —
他了解这个地方几乎每位被他埋葬在那片光秃秃、忧郁的墓地的女性居民的生平故事，他仿佛打开了我们进入的房屋的门，看见了居住者们的生活； —

and it made us feel serious and important. —
这让我们感到庄重而重要。 —

He would have gone on talking all night till themorning apparently, but as soon as the lodge window grew cloudy, and the twilight closed in upon it, Tchurkarose from the table and said : .
他似乎会一直说话到天亮，但当亭柱的窗户变得模糊、暮色笼罩时，楚尔卡便从桌前起身，并说：

　　“I am going home, or Mamka will be frightened. Who is coming with me?”
，“我要回家了，不然妈咪会被吓着。谁跟我一起来？”

　　We all went away then. Yaz conducted us to the fence, closed the gate after us, and pressing his dark, bony faceagainst the grating, said in a thick voice:
我们都离开了。亚兹带着我们走到围墙边，关上了大门，然后把他那张黑黝黝的瘦脸压在栅栏上，厚重地说道：

　　“Good-by.”
，“再见。”

We called out “Good-by” to him too. —
我们也回答着对他说：“再见。” —

It was always hard to leave him in the graveyard. —
总是很难离开他在墓地里。 —

Kostrom said one day,looking back:
科斯特罗姆有一天回头看着说：

　　“We shall come and ask for him one day and he will be dead.”
，“总有一天我们会来找他，而他已经去世了。”

“Yaz has a worse life than any of us,” Tchurka said frequently; —
“亚兹的生活比我们任何人都糟糕，”楚尔卡经常说； —

but Vyakhir always rejoined:
但维亚赫尔总是回答说:

　　“We don’t have a bad time any of us!”
我们中没有人度过不好的时光！

And when I look back I see that we did not have a bad time. —
回首往事，我发现我们并没有度过不好的时光。 —

That independent life so full of contrasts was veryattractive to me, and so were my comrades, who inspired me with a desire to be always doing them a good turn.
那种充满对比的独立生活对我非常有吸引力，我的同伴们也启发了我想要时刻帮助他们的欲望。

My life at school had again become hard; —
我在学校的生活又变得很难； —

the pupils nicknamed me “The Ragman” and “The Tramp,” and oneday, after a quarrel, they told the teacher that I smelt like a drain, and that they could not sit beside me. —
同学们给我起了绰号“废品商”和“流浪汉”，有一天，在一次争吵后，他们告诉老师说我身上像下水道一样臭，他们无法坐在我旁边。 —

Iremember how deeply this accusation cut me, and how hard it was for me to go to school after it. —
我记得这个指控是多么地伤人，以及这之后对我来说上学是多么地困难。 —

The complainthad been made up out of malice. —
投诉是恶意捏造的。 —

I washed very thoroughly every morning, and I never went to school in theclothes I wore when I was collecting rags.
每天早上我都洗得非常干净，我从不穿着收废品时的衣服去上学。

However, in the end I passed the examination for the third class, and received as prizes bound copies of theGospels and the “Fables of Krilov,” and another book unbound which bore the unintelligible title of “Fata-Morgana” ; —
然而，最终我通过了第三级考试，获得了《福音书》和《克里洛夫寓言》的精装本作为奖品，还有一本无装订的书，上面写着难以理解的标题“Fata-Morgana”； —

they also gave me some sort of laudatory certificates. —
他们还给我一些赞颂的证书。 —

When I took my presents home, grandfatherwas delighted, and announced his intention of taking the books away from me and locking them up in his box.
当我把礼物带回家时，祖父很高兴，宣布要把这些书拿走，锁在他的箱子里。

But grandmother had been lying ill for several days, penniless, and grandfather continually sighed and squeakedout: —
但祖母已经病了几天，身无分文，祖父不断地叹息着说： —

“You will eat me out of house and home. Ugh! You! —
“你会把我家搞垮的，呸！你！ —

” so I took the books to a little shop, where I sold themfor fifty-five kopecks, and gave the money to grandmother; —
”所以我把书拿到一个小店里卖了五角五分，然后把钱给了祖母； —

as to the certificates I spoiled them by scribblingover them, and then handed them to grandfather, who took them without turning them over, and so put themaway, without noticing the mischief I had done, but I paid for it later on.
至于证书，我毁坏了它们，乱涂了一气，然后交给了祖父，他接过来也没翻看，就把它们收了起来，没注意到我的恶作剧，但后来我为此付出了代价。

　　As school had broken up I began to live in the streets once more, a d I found it better than ever.
因为学校放假了，我又开始在街头度日，这比以往更好。

It was in the middle of spring, and money was earned easily; —
当时正值春季，赚钱很容易； —

on Sundays the whole company of us went out intothe fields, or into the woods, where the foliage was fresh and young, early in the morning, and did not return tilllate in the evening, pleasantly tired, and drawn together closer than ever.
每个星期天，我们整个团伙都会一早出去田野或树林，那里的绿叶嫩青，早上出门，直到傍晚才回来，愉快地累了，感情更加亲密。

But this form of existence did not last long. —
但这种生活方式没有持续多久。 —

My stepfather, dismissed for getting into debt, had disappearedagain, and mother came back to grandfather, with my little brother Nikolai, and I had to be nurse, forgrandmother had gone to live at the house of a rich merchant in the town, where she worked at stitching shrouds.
因为继父因欠债而遭解雇后又消失了，母亲带着我小弟弟尼古拉回到祖父家，我不得不充当保育员，因为祖母去了镇上一个富商家里，给人家缝裁缝衣。

Mother was so weak and anemic that she could hardly walk, and she had a terrible expression in her eyes as shelooked about her. —
母亲虚弱贫血，几乎走不动路，眼神中带着一种可怕的表情。 —

My brother was scrofulous, and covered with painful ulcers, and so weak that he could noteven cry aloud and only whimpered when he was hungry. —
我弟弟患有淋巴结结核，浑身长满痛苦的溃疡，虚弱得甚至大声哭都办不到，只有在饥饿时哼哼。 —

When he had been fed he slumbered, breathing with astrange sound like the soft mewing of a kitten.
当他吃饱后，他开始打盹，呼吸着一种奇怪的声音，像小猫咪柔和的喵喵叫声。

　　Observing him attentively, grandfather said :
细心观察着他，爷爷说：

　　“He ought to have plenty of good food; but I have not got enough to feed you all.”
“他应该有足够的好食物；但我没有足够的养活你们所有人。”

　　Mother, sitting on the bed in the corner, sighed, and said in a hoarse voice:
坐在角落床上的母亲叹了口气，用嘶哑的声音说：

　　“He does not want much.”
“他并不需要很多。”

　　“A little for one and a little for another soon mounts up.”
“一个需要一点，另一个需要一点，很快就会积少成多。”

　　He waved his hand as he turned to me:
他转向我时挥了挥手：

　　“Nikolai must be kept out in the sun in some sand.”
“尼古莱必须在阳光下被埋在一些沙里。”

I dragged out a sack of clean sand, turned it out in a heap in a place where the sun was full on it, and buried mybrother in it up to his neck, as grandfather told me. —
我拖出一袋干净的沙子，把它倒出，在太阳照射充分的地方成堆，按照爷爷的指示，将我弟弟埋在沙子里直至颈部。 —

The little boy loved sitting in the sand; —
小男孩喜欢坐在沙子里； —

he cooed sweetly, andflashed his bright eyes upon me extraordinary eyes they were, without whites, just blue pupils surrounded bybrilliant rings.
他甜蜜地叫着，用他那明亮的双眼看着我，非同寻常的眼睛，没有白色的眼球，只是被明亮环绕的蓝色瞳孔。

I became attached to my little brother at once. —
我立刻对我的小弟弟产生了感情。 —

It seemed to me that he understood all my thoughts as I lay besidehim on the sand under the window, whence the sound of grandfather’s shrill voice proceeded:
对我来说，他似乎能理解我所有的想法，当我和他躺在窗户下的沙子里时，传来爷爷尖锐声音的声响：

　　“If he dies and he won’t have much difficulty about it you will have a chance to live.”
“如果他死了而他并不会有太大困难，你将有机会活下去。”

　　Mother answered by a long fit of coughing.
母亲以持续的咳嗽作为回答。

Getting his hands free, the little boy held them out to me, shaking his small white head; —
小男孩挣脱开双手，向我伸出手，摇着他那小小的白头； —

he had very little hair,and what there was was almost gray, and his tiny face had an old and wise expression. —
他的头发很少，而且几乎是灰白的，他那微小的脸上带着一种古老而聪慧的表情。 —

If a hen or a cat came nearus Kolai would gaze at it for a long time, then he would look at me and smile almost significantly. —
如果一只母鸡或一只猫靠近我们，科赖会盯着它看很长时间，然后看着我，几乎带着一种意味深长的微笑。 —

That smile ofhis disturbed me. Was it possible that he felt that I found it dull being with him, and was longing to run out to thestreet and leave him there?
他那微笑让我感到不安。他难道觉得我待在他身边很无聊，渴望跑到街上去离开他吗？

The yard was small, close, and dirty; —
院子很小、狭窄和肮脏； —

from the gate were built a succession of sheds and cellars ending at thewashhouse. —
从大门口延伸出一系列棚屋和地窖，最终通向洗衣房。 —

All the roofs were made of pieces of old boats logs, boards, and damp bits of wood which had beensecured by the inhabitants of the neighborhood when the ice was breaking on the Oka, or at flood-time and thewhole yard was an unsightly conglomeration of heaps of wood of all sorts, which, being saturated with water,sweated in the sun and emitted an intensified odor of rottenness.
所有的房顶都是用旧船桅、木板和潮湿的木头建造的，这些都是邻里居民在沃卡河冰开始破裂或涨水的时候囤积的各种木料，整个院子是一堆堆木头的丑陋混合物，完全被阳光暴晒着，散发着一股腐臭的气味。

　　Next door there was a slaughter-house for the smaller kind of cattle, and almost every morning could be heardthe bellowing of calves and the bleating of sheep, and the smell of blood became so strong sometimes that itseemed to me that it hovered in the air in the shape of a transparent, purple net.
隔壁是一家小牲畜屠宰场，几乎每天早晨都能听到小牛的哞叫和羊的咩叫声，有时血腥气味变得如此浓烈，仿佛悬浮在空中呈现出一种透明的紫色网。

When the animals bellowed as the butt-end of the ax struck them between the horns, Kolai would blink and blowout his lips, as if he wanted to imitate the sound; —
当动物在被斧头击中角间时哞叫，科赖会眨眨眼睛，嘟起嘴唇，好像想模仿那声音； —

but all he could do was to breathe:
但他只能做到呼吸:

　　“Phoo . .”
“呼. .”

　　At midday grandfather, putting his head out of the window, would call:
中午时分，爷爷从窗户探出头来，喊道:

　　“Dinner!”
“吃饭了!”

He used to feed the child himself, holding him on his knees, pressing potatoes and bread into Kolai’s mouth, andsmearing them all over his thin lips and pointed chin. —
他自己喂孩子，把他放在膝盖上，把土豆和面包塞进科赖的嘴里，把它们抹在他瘦削的嘴唇和尖下巴上。 —

When he had given him a little food grandfather would liftup the little boy’s shirt, poke his swollen stomach with his fingers, and debate with himself aloud :
给他一点食物后，爷爷会掀起小男孩的衬衫，用手指戳他肿胀的肚子，并自言自语地思考：

　　“Will that do? Or must I give him some more?”
那样就够了吗？还要再给他一些吗？

　　Then my mother’s voice would be heard, proceeding from her dark corner :
然后，我母亲的声音从她黑暗的角落传出：

　　“Look at him! He is reaching for the bread.”
“看他！他在伸手拿面包。”

“Stupid child! How can he possibly know how much he ought to eat? —
“愚蠢的孩子！他怎么可能知道自己应该吃多少呢？” —

” And again he gave Kolai something tochew.
然后他又给科莱一些东西咀嚼。

I used to feel ashamed when I looked on at this feeding business; —
当我看着这个喂食的过程时，我感到羞耻； —

a lump seemed to rise in my throat and makeme feel sick.
一块东西似乎在我喉咙里升起，让我感到恶心。

　　“That will do,” grandfather would say, at length. “Take him to his mother.”
“够了，”爷爷最终会说。“把他送到他妈妈那里去。”

I took Kolai; he wailed and stretched his hands out to the table. —
我拿起科莱；他哭泣着，伸手伸向桌子。 —

Mother, raising herself with difficulty, came tomeet me, holding out her hideously dry, fleshless arms, so long and thin just like branches broken off aChristmas-tree.
母亲费力地站起来，走到我这里，伸出她那可怕干燥的、皮包骨的胳膊，又细又长就像从一颗圣诞树上折下的树枝。

She had become almost dumb, hardly ever uttering a word in that passionate voice of hers, but lying in silence allday long in her corner slowly dying. —
她几乎变得哑口无言，极少用那种激动的声音发出一句话，而整天都悄悄地躺在角落里，慢慢地死去。 —

That she was dying I felt, I knew yes. And grandfather spoke too often, inhis tedious way, of death, especially in the evening, when it grew dark in the yard, and a smell of rottenness,warm and woolly, like a sheep’s fleece, crept in at the window.
我感到她在死去，我知道是的。爷爷也经常说起死亡，以他令人厌烦的方式，尤其是在傍晚，当院子里变黑的时候，一股腐烂的气味，温暖而毛茸茸的，像羊毛一样蔓延到窗户里。

　　Grandfather’s bed stood in the front corner, almost under the image, and he used to lie there with his headtowards it and the window, and mutter for a long time in the darkness:
爷爷的床放在前角落，几乎就在圣像下面，他经常躺在那里，头朝着圣像和窗户，并在黑暗中喃喃自语很久：

“Well the time has come for us to die. How shall we stand before our God? —
“我们的死期到了。我们将如何面对上帝？ —

What shall we say to Him? All ourlife we have been struggling. —
我们要对祂说什么？我们一生都在挣扎。 —

What have we done”? And with what object have we done it?’
“我们做了什么？又是出于什么目的呢？”

I slept on the floor between the stove and the window ; —
“我睡在火炉和窗户之间的地板上；” —

I had not enough room, so I had to put my feet in theoven, and the cockroaches used to tickle them. —
“我没有足够的空间，所以不得不把脚放在炉子里，而蟑螂们常常使劲挠我的脚。” —

This corner afforded me not a little malicious enjoyment, forgrandfather was continually breaking the window with the end of the oven-rake, or the poker, during his cookingoperations ; —
“这个角落为我带来了不少恶毒的快感，因为爷爷在做饭时经常用火炉铲的一头或炉铲打破窗户，这让我觉得很滑稽，也很奇怪，我觉得像爷爷这么聪明的人不会想到削短火炉铲。” —

and it was very comical to see, and very strange, I thought, that any one so clever as grandfathershould not think of cutting down the rake.
“有一天有东西正在锅里煮，他着急了，使用火炉铲时如此粗心大意，以至于打破了窗框，两块玻璃，还把锅子弄倒在炉边摔碎了。”

　　One day when there was something boiling in a pot on the fire he was in a hurry, and he used the rake socarelessly that he broke the window-frame, two panes of glass, and upset the saucepan on the hearth and broke it.
“老人怒气冲冲地坐在地板上哭了起来。”

　　The old man was in such a rage that he sat on the floor and cried.
“他发火得厉害，让我觉得很好笑。”

　　“OLord! OLord!”
“主啊！主啊！”

That day, when he had gone out, I took a bread knife and cut the oven-rake down to a quarter or a third of itssize; —
那一天，当他出去后，我拿起面包刀把炉耙削成了四分之一到三分之一的大小； —

but when grandfather saw what I had done, he scolded me:
但是当爷爷看到我做的事情时，他责骂我说：

“Cursed devil! It ought to have been sawn through with a saw. —
“可恶的家伙！本来应该用锯子锯成两段的。 —

We might have made rolling-pins out of the end,and sold them, you devil’s spawn !”
我们本可以把末端做成擀面杖，然后卖掉，你这恶魔的种子！”

　　Throwing his arms about wildly, he ran out of the door, and mother said :
他疯狂地挥舞着胳膊跑出了门，母亲说：

　　“You ought not to have meddled …”
“你不该乱动手……”

She died one Sunday in August about midday. —
她在八月的一个星期天中午去世了。 —

My stepfather had only just returned from his travels, and hadobtained a post somewhere. —
我的继父刚刚从旅行中回来，找到了一份职位。 —

Grandmother had taken Kolai to him to a newly done-up flat near the station, andmother was to be carried there in a few days.
奶奶带着科赖到了他在车站附近的一间新装修的公寓，母亲几天后也将被搬到那里去。

　　In the morning of the day of her death she said to me in a low but a lighter and clearer voice than I had heardfrom her lately :
在她去世的那天的早上，她用低沉但比我最近听到她的声音更轻更清晰的声音对我说：

　　“Go to Eugen Vassilev, and ask him to come to me.”
“去找尤金·瓦西列夫，让他来见我。”

　　Lifting herself up in bed by pressing her hands against the wall, she added:
她抬起身体，用手靠在墙上坐在床上，接着说：

　　“Run quickly!”
“快点！”

　　I thought she was smiling, and that there was a new light in her eyes.
我觉得她在微笑，眼睛里有一种新的光芒。

My stepfather was at Mass, and grandmother sent me to get some snuff for her; —
我的继父去参加弥撒，奶奶让我去给她买点烟草； —

there was no prepared snuff athand, so I had to wait while the shopkeeper got it, then I took it back to grandmother.
那里没有预备好的烟草，所以我不得不等待店主取来，然后我把它拿回给奶奶。

　　When I returned to grandfather’s, mother was sitting at the table dressed in a clean, lilac-colored frock, with herhair prettily dressed, and looking as splendid as she used to look.
当我回到祖父家时，妈妈坐在桌子旁，穿着一件清洁的丁香色连衣裙，头发精美打理，看起来和过去一样辉煌。

　　“You are feeling better?” I asked, with a feeling of inexplicable fear.
“你感觉好些了吗？”我问，深感莫名恐惧。

　　Looking at me fixedly, she said:
她凝视着我，说：

　　“Come here! Where have you been? Eh?”
“过来！你去了哪里？嗯？”

Before I had time to reply, she seized me by the hair, and grasping in her other hand a long, flexible knife, madeout of a saw, she flourished it several times and struck me with the flat of it. —
在我来得及回答之前，她抓住我的头发，另一只手拿着一个长长的柔韧的锯制成的刀，挥舞了几次，用平刀砸了我一下。 —

It slipped from her hands to thefloor.
它从她手中滑落到地板上。

　　“Pick it up and give it to me… .”
“捡起来给我。”

I picked up the knife and threw it on the table, and mother pushed me away from her. —
我捡起刀扔到桌子上，妈妈把我推开。 —

I sat on the ledge of thestove and watched her movements in a state of terror.
我坐在炉架上，惊恐地看着她的动作。

Rising from the chair she slowly made her way towards her own corner, lay down on the bed, and wiped herperspiring face with a handkerchief. —
她从椅子上站起来，慢慢走向自己的角落，躺在床上，用手帕擦拭着额头上的汗水。 —

Her hands moved uncertainly; twice she missed her face and touched thepillow instead.
她的手动作不确定；她两次没碰到自己的脸，而是碰到了枕头。

　　“Give me some water. …”
“给我些水。。。”

I scooped some water out of a pail with a cup, and lifting her head with difficulty, she drank a little. —
我用杯子从桶里舀了些水，费力地抬起她的头，她喝了一点。 —

Then shepushed my hand away with her cold hand, and drew a deep breath. —
接着她用冰冷的手推开了我的手，深吸了一口气。 —

Then after looking at the corner where theicon was, she turned her eyes on me, moved her lips as if she were smiling, and slowly let her long lashes droopover her eyes. —
然后她看了图标所在的角落，把目光转向我，嘴唇微动，好像在微笑，然后慢慢让她长长的睫毛垂落在眼睛上。 —

Her elbows were pressed closely against her sides, and her hands, on which the fingers wereweakly twitching, crept about her chest, moving towards her throat. —
她的手肘紧贴在身体两侧，手指微弱地抽搐着，慢慢向胸前游动，朝着她的喉咙。 —

A shadow fell upon her face, invading everypart of it, staining the skin yellow, sharpening the nose. —
一道影子落在她的脸上，侵入了她的每一个部分，把皮肤染成黄色，鼻子变得更加尖锐。 —

Her mouth was open as if she were amazed at something,but her breathing was not audible. —
她张着嘴，好像对于什么事情感到惊讶，但她的呼吸却听不见。 —

I stood, for how long I do not know, by my mother’s bedside, with the cup inmy hand, watching her face grow frozen and gray.
我站在母亲的床边，手里拿着杯子，不知道站了多久，看着她的脸逐渐变得冰冷和灰暗。

　　When grandfather came in I said to him:
当爷爷进来时，我对他说：

　　“Mother is dead.”
“母亲去世了。”

　　He glanced at the bed.
他扫了一眼床。

　　“Why are you telling lies?”
“你为什么说谎？”

　　He went to the stove and took out the pie, rattling the dampers deafeningly.
他走到炉子跟前，掀起馅饼，舌战炉灶般的震耳欲聋。

　　I looked at him, knowing that mother was dead, and waiting for him to find it out.
我看着他，知道母亲去世了，等着他发现。

My stepfather came in dressed in a sailor’s pea-jacket, with a white cap. —
我的继父身穿水手的羊毛夹克，戴着一顶白色帽子走了进来。 —

He noiselessly picked up a chair andtook it over to mother’s bed, when suddenly he let it fall with a crash to the floor and cried in a loud voice, like atrumpet :
他无声地拿起一把椅子走到母亲的床前，突然把椅子摔到地上发出巨响，高声喊道，就像吹号角一样：

　　“Yes she is dead ! Look !”
“是的，她去世了！看！”

　　Grandfather, with wide-open eyes, softly moved away from the stove with the damper in his hand, stumbling likea blind man.
爷爷睁大眼睛，手里拿着活塞，犹如盲人般踉跄地离开炉子。

　　A few days after my mother’s funeral, grandfather said to me :
在我母亲葬礼后的几天，爷爷对我说：

“Now, Lexei you must not hang round my neck. —
“现在，莱克西，你不能一直依赖我。 —

There is no room for you here. You will have to go out into theworld.”
这里没有你的容身之地。你必须走出去，融入这个世界。”

　　And so I went out into the world.
于是我踏上了走向世界的旅程。

The End
完。