ONCE more I was in the town, in a two-storied white house which remindedme of a coffin meant to hold a lot of people. —
再一次我在这个城镇里,住在一间两层的白色房子里,它让我想起一个棺材,可以容纳很多人。 —

It was a new house, but it lookedas if were in ill health, and was bloated like a beggar who has suddenlybecome rich and has over-eaten. —
这是一座新房子,但看起来好像不太健康,像是一个突然变得富有并吃得过多的乞丐。 —

It stood sidewise to the street, and had eightwindows to each floor, but where the face of the house ought to have beenthere were only four windows. —
它斜插在街道旁,每层有八扇窗户,但在房子本应有脸的地方,只有四扇窗户。 —

The lower windows looked on a narrowpassage and on the yard, and the upper windows on the laundress’s littlehouse and the causeway.
下层的窗户面向一条窄巷和小院,上层窗户面向洗衣妇的小屋和人行道。

No street, as I understood the term, existed. —
我理解的街道并不存在。 —

In front of the house a dirtycauseway ran in two directions, cut in two by a narrow dike. —
房子前面有一条脏兮兮的人行道,交叉成两条。 —

To the left, itextended to the House of Detention, and was heaped with rubbish and logs,and at the bottom stood a thick pool of dark-green filth. —
向左,它通向拘留所,堆满了垃圾和木头,在底部有一池黏稠的深绿脏水。 —

On the right, at theend of the causeway, the slimy Xvyexdin Pond stagnated. —
在右边,人行道的尽头是枯萎的兹维德金池塘。 —

The middle of thecauseway was exactly opposite the house, and half of it was strewn with filthand over-grown with nettles and horse sorrel, while in the other half thepriest Doriedont Pokrovski had planted a garden in which was a summerhouseof thin lathes painted red. —
人行道的中间正对着房子,一半被垃圾和长满荨麻和马酸模的地方,另一半是神父多里东特·波克罗夫斯基种植的一个花园,里面有一个薄木红漆夏日屋。 —

If one threw stones at it, the lathes splitwith a crackling sound.
如果有人往上扔石头,木板会发出断裂的声音。

The place was intolerably depressing and shamelessly dirty. —
这个地方让人无法忍受,无耻地肮脏。 —

The autumnhad ruthlessly broken up the filthy, rotten earth, changing it into a sort of redresin which clung to one’s feet tenaciously. —
秋天无情地打破了污秽腐朽的土壤,把它变成一种粘在人脚上的像红脂的东西。 —

I had never seen so much dirt inso small a space before, and after being accustomed to the cleanliness of thefields and forests, this corner of the town aroused my disgust.
我从未见过这么小空间里这么多脏东西,习惯了田野和森林的干净后,这个城镇的角落让我感到恶心。

Beyond the causeway stretched gray, broken-down fences, and in thedistance I recognized the little house in which I had lived when I was shop-boy. —
人行道的尽头是灰色破败的篱笆,远处我认出了我当店员时住过的小屋。 —

The nearness of that house depressed me still more. I had known mymaster before; —
那个房子的附近让我更加沮丧。我以前认识我的主人; —

he and his brother used to be among mother’s visitors. —
他和他的兄弟曾是母亲的访客之一。 —

Hisbrother it was who had sung so comically :
他的兄弟是那个滑稽地唱道:

  “Andrei — papa, Andrei — papa — ”
“安德烈 ─ 爸爸,安德烈 ─ 爸爸 ─”

They were not changed. The elder, with a hook nose and long hair, waspleasant in manner and seemed to be kind; —
他们没有变。长鼻子和长发的长兄举止愉快,似乎很和蔼; —

the younger, Victor, had thesame horse-like face and the same freckles. —
更年轻的维克多,有着相同像马一样的面孔和相同的雀斑。 —

Their mother, grandmother’ssister, was very cross and fault-finding. The elder son was married. —
他们的母亲,奶奶的姐妹,脾气很坏,爱挑毛病。长子已经结婚。 —

His wifewas a splendid creature, white like bread made from Indian corn, with verylarge, dark eyes. —
他的妻子是个出色的女子,皮肤白如玉米面做的面包,又大又黑的眼睛。 —

She said to me twice during the first day:
在第一天里她两次对我说:

  “I gave your mother a silk cloak trimmed with jet.”
“我送了你妈妈一件丝绸披风镶有黑玛瑙。”

Somehow I did not want to believe that she had given, and that mymother had accepted, a present. —
我不知何故并不愿相信她真的送过,也不愿相信我的母亲接受了礼物。 —

When she reminded me of it again, I said:
当她再提起时,我说:

  “You gave it to her, and that is the end of the matter; there is nothing toboast about.”
“你送给她了,这件事就此结束;没什么值得夸耀的。”

  She started away from me. “Wh-a-at? To whom are you speaking?”
她冲我走开了。“什么?你在跟谁说话?”

  Her face came out in red blotches, her eyes rolled, and she called herhusband.
她的脸憋得通红,眼睛转动,然后叫来她的丈夫。

  He came into the kitchen, with his compasses in his hand and a pencilbehind his ear, listened to what his wife had to say, and then said to me :
他带着圆规和耳后插着铅笔,走进厨房,听完妻子的话,然后对我说:

“You must speak properly to her and to us all. There must be noinsolence. —
“你必须对她和我们都说话得体,不能傲慢无礼。 —

” Then he said to his wife, impatiently, “Don’t disturb me with yournonsense!”
然后他不耐烦地对他的妻子说:“别拿你的废话来打扰我!

  “What do you mean — nonsense? If your relatives — ”
“你说什么 — 废话?如果你的亲戚 —”

  “The devil take my relatives!” cried the master, rushing away.
“该死的我的亲戚!”主人大喊着冲开了。

I myself was not pleased to think that they were relatives ofgrandmother. —
我自己并不高兴想到他们是祖母的亲戚。 —

Experience had taught me that relatives behave worse to oneanother than do strangers. —
经验告诉我,亲戚之间互相对待比陌生人更糟糕。 —

Their gossip is more spiteful, since they knowmore of the bad and ridiculous sides of one another than strangers, and theyfall out and fight more often.
他们的闲话更加恶毒,因为他们彼此了解更多对方的不好和可笑的一面,他们经常吵架打架。

I liked my master. He used to shake back his hair with a gracefulmovement, and tuck it behind his ears, and he reminded me somehow of“Good Business. —
我喜欢我的主人。他总是用优美的动作甩开头发,把它塞到耳后,让我不知怎么地想起了“好生意”。 —

” He often laughed merrily; his gray eyes looked kindly uponme, and funny wrinkles played divertingly about his aquiline nose.
他经常开心地笑着;他那双灰色的眼睛慈祥地望着我,好笑的皱纹围绕着他的鹰钩鼻。

  “You have abused each other long enough, wild fowl,” he would say to hismother and his wife, showing his small, closely set teeth in a gentle smile.
“你们够互相折磨对方久了,野鸭子,”他对母亲和妻子说,微笑着露出他的小小牙齿。

The mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law abused each other all day. —
岳母和儿媳妇整天互相抨击。 —

Iwas surprised to see how swiftly and easily they plunged into a quarrel. —
我吃惊地看到她们如此迅速、轻松地陷入争吵之中。 —

Thefirst thing in the morning, with their hair unbrushed and their clothesunfastened, they would rush about the rooms as if the house were on fire,and they fussed about all day, only pausing to take breath in the dining-roomat dinner, tea, or supper. —
一大清早,头发未梳齐,衣服未系好,她们就像房子失火般在屋子里乱闯,在整天忙忙碌碌中,只有在饭桌上吃饭、泡茶或吃晚餐时才停下来喘口气。 —

They ate and drank till they could eat and drink nomore, and at dinner they talked about the food and disputed lethargically,preparing for a big quarrel. —
他们吃喝直到吃喝不下,对于晚餐她们漫不经心地谈论食物,准备一场大争吵。 —

No matter what it was that the mother-in-lawhad prepared, the daughter-in-law was sure to say: —
无论岳母做了什么,儿媳总是说: —

—“My mother did not cook it this way.”
“我妈不是这样做的。”

  “Well, if that is so, she did it badly, that’s all.”
“哦,如果是这样,那她做得不好,就这样。”

  “On the contrary, she did it better.”
“恰恰相反,她做得更好。”

  “Well, you had better go back to your mother.”
“你最好回你妈家。”

  “I am mistress here.”
“我在这里是主人。”

  “And who am I?”
“那我是谁?”

  Here the master would intervene.
这时主人会出面干预。

  “That will do, wild fowl! What is the matter with you? Are you mad?”
“野鸭子,就这样吧!你怎么了?你发疯了吗?”

For some inexplicable reason everything about that house was peculiarand mirth-provoking. —
由于某种莫名其妙的原因,那个房子的一切都很奇怪,令人发笑。 —

The way from the kitchen to the dining-room laythrough a small closet, the only one in the house, through which they carriedthe samovar and the food into the dining-room. —
从厨房到餐厅的路线穿过一个小壁橱,这是房子里唯一的一个,通过它他们将烧水壶和食物搬到餐厅。 —

It was the cause of merrywitticisms and often of laughable misunderstandings. —
这引起了欢乐的警句,常常导致令人发笑的误解。 —

I slept in the kitchen,between that door and the one leading to the stairs. —
我睡在厨房里,就在那扇门和通往楼梯的门之间。 —

My head was hot fromthe heat of the cooking-stove, but the draft from the stairs blew on my feet.
我头发烫得难受,因为灶台太热了,而来自楼梯的风却吹在我的脚上。

  When I retired to bed, I used to take all the mats off the floor and wrap themround my feet.
当我上床睡觉时,我总是把地板上的所有垫子都拿下来裹在脚上。

The large reception-room, with its two pier-glasses, its pictures in giltframes, its pair of card-tables, and its dozen Vienna chairs, was a dreary,depressing place. —
大接待室里有两面镜架,镶着金框的画,一对牌桌和十二把维也纳椅,令人沮丧而郁闷。 —

The small drawing-room was simply packed with a medleyof soft furniture, with wedding presents, silver articles, and a tea-service. —
小客厅里放满了琳琅满目的软家具,结婚礼物,银器和一套茶具。 —

Itwas adorned with three lamps, one larger than the other two.
房间里装饰着三盏灯,一盏比另外两盏大。

In the dark, windowless bedroom, in addition to the wide bed, therewere trunks and cupboards from which came the odors of leaf tobacco andPersian camomile. —
在黑暗,没有窗户的卧室里,除了宽大的床外,还有穆斯林和柜子散发出烟草叶和波斯甘菊的气味。 —

These three rooms were always unoccupied, while theentire household squeezed itself into the little dining-room. —
这三间房间总是空着,而整个家庭都挤在小餐厅里。 —

Directly afterbreakfast, at eight o’clock, the master and his brother moved the table, and,laying sheets of white paper upon it, with cases, pencils, and saucerscontaining Indian ink, set to work, one at each end of the table. —
早饭后的八点,主人和他的兄弟移动桌子,摊开白纸,在桌子上摆放着盒子、铅笔和装有烟墨的小碟,各自在桌子的一端开始工作。 —

The table wasshaky, and took up nearly the whole of the room, and when the mistress andthe nurse came out of the nursery they had to brush past the corners.
桌子不稳,几乎占据了整个房间的空间,当女主人和保姆走出育儿室时,他们不得不擦过桌角。

  “Don’t come fussing about here!” Victor would cry.
“不要在这里瞎搞!”维克多会喊道。

  “Vassia, please tell him not to shout at me,” the mistress would say to herhusband in an offended tone.
“瓦西娅,请告诉他不要对我大喊大叫,”女主人以被冒犯的口气对她丈夫说。

  “All right; but don’t come and shake the table,” her husband would replypeaceably.
“好吧,但不要过来摇晃桌子,”她丈夫平和地回答。

  “I am stout, and the room is so small.”
“我很胖,而房间太小。”

  “Well, we will go and work in the large drawing-room.”
“嗯,那我们去大客厅工作。”

  But at that she cried indignantly:
但她愤然地哭道:

  “Lord! why on earth should you work in the large drawing-room?”
“天哪!你们为什么要去大客厅工作呢?”

  At the door of the closet appeared the angry face of Matrena Ivanovna,flushed with the heat of the stove. She called out :
壁橱的门口,满脸愤怒,被火炉的热气脸红的马特列娜·伊万诺芙娜出现。她大声喊道:

  “You see how it is, Vassia? She knows that you are working, and yet shecan’t be satisfied with the other four rooms.”
“你看现在怎么样了,瓦西娅?她知道你在工作,但还是对其他四个房间不满。”

  Victor laughed maliciously, but the master said:
维克多恶意地笑了,但主人说道:

  “That will do!”
“够了!”

  And the daughter-in-law, with a venomously eloquent gesture, sank intoa chair and groaned :
儿媳妇恶毒地做了一个手势,坐到椅子上呻吟道:

  “I am dying! I am dying!”
“我要死了!我要死了!”

“Don’t hinder my work, the devil take you! —
“别妨碍我工作,见鬼去吧! —

” roared the master, turningpale with the exertion. —
“怒气冲冲地喊着,主人面色苍白地吼道。 —

“This is nothing better than a mad-house. —
“这简直就是个疯人院。” —

Here am Ibreaking my back to feed you. Oh, you wild fowl!”
我在这里弯腰替你们操劳。哦,你们这些狂野的家把!

At first these quarrels used to alarm me, especially when the mistress,seizing a table knife, rushed into the closet, and, shutting both the doors,began to shriek like a mad thing. —
起初,这些争吵让我感到害怕,特别是当女主人拿起一把餐刀,冲进壁橱,关上双门,开始像疯了一样尖叫时。 —

For a minute the house was quiet, then themaster, having tried to force the door, stooped down, and called out to me :
一分钟后,屋子里安静了,然后主人试图破门而入,弯腰下去喊我:

“Climb up on my back and unfasten the hook. —
“爬上我的背,解开挂钩。” —

” I swiftly jumped on hisback, and broke the pane of glass over the door; —
我迅速跳上他的背,打破了门上的玻璃窗; —

but when I bent down, themistress hit me over the head with the blade of the knife. —
但当我弯腰时,女主人用刀刃打在了我的头上。 —

However, Isucceeded in opening the door, and the master, dragging his wife into thedining-room after a struggle, took the knife away from her. —
然而,我成功地打开了门,主人和他的妻子在搏斗后,把她拖进餐厅,并夺走了刀。 —

As I sat in thekitchen rubbing my bruised head, I soon came to the conclusion that I hadsuffered for nothing. —
当我坐在厨房里揉着受伤的头时,我很快得出结论我是为了没必要的事情受到了苦。 —

The knife was so blunt that it would hardly cut a pieceof bread, and it would certainly never have made an incision in any one’sskin. —
那把刀太钝了,几乎无法切开一片面包,肯定不可能在任何人的皮肤上划出伤口。 —

Besides, there had been no need for me to climb on the master’s back. —
此外,我没有必要爬到主人的背上。 —

Icould have broken the glass by standing on a chair, and in any case it wouldhave been easier for a grown person to have unfastened the hook, since hisarms would have been longer. —
我本可以站在椅子上打破玻璃,无论如何,一个成年人解开挂钩会更容易一些,因为他的手臂会更长。 —

After that episode the quarrels in the houseceased to alarm me.
在那次事件之后,房子里的争吵不再让我感到恐惧。

The brothers used to sing in the church choir; —
兄弟们常常在教堂唱诗班; —

sometimes they used tosing softly over their work. —

The elder would begin in a baritone :
有时他们在工作时低声唱着。

  “The ring, which was the maiden’s heart, I cast from me into the sea.”
“我把那枚戒指,即那位少女的心,扔进了大海。”

  And the younger would join with his tenor:
并年幼者用他的男中音加入:

  “And I with that very ring Her earthly joy did ruin.”
“我用那枚戒指毁了她的尘世快乐。”

The mistress would murmur from the nursery: “Have you gone out ofyour minds? —
女主人从托儿所嘟囔道:“你们是不是疯了?孩子睡了。” —

Baby is asleep,” or: “How can you, Vassia, a married man, besinging about girls? —
“你怎么能,瓦西亚,一个已婚男子,唱着女人的歌?” —

Besides, the bell will ring for vespers in a minute.”
“而且,钟很快就要敲晚祷了。”

  “What’s the matter now? We are only singing a church tune.”
“怎么了?我们只是唱着教堂的歌曲。”

But the mistress intimated that it was out ox place to sing church tuneshere, there, and everywhere. —
女主人示意这里不适合唱教堂的歌曲,随处都唱。 —

Besides, and she pointed eloquently to the littledoor.
“而且,”她指了指小门。

  “We shall have to change our quarters, or the devil knows what willbecome of us,” said the master.
“我们得改变地方,否则鬼知道会发生什么。”主人说。

  He said just as often that he must get another table, and he said it forthree years in succession.
“他三年来总说要另外找张桌子。”

When I listened to my employers talking about people, I was alwaysreminded of the boot-shop. —
当我听到我的雇主讨论人们时,总是想起了鞋店。 —

They used to talk in the same way there. —
他们在那里也是这样谈话的。 —

It wasevident to me that my present masters also thought themselves better thanany one in the town. —
对我来说,现在的雇主也认为自己比城里任何人都要好。 —

They knew the rules of correct conduct to the minutestdetail, and, guided by these rules, which were not at all clear to me, theyjudged others pitilessly and unsparingly. —
他们熟知正确行为规范的细节,并根据这些规则无情地、毫不留情地评判他人。 —

This sitting in judgment aroused inme a ferocious resentment and anger against the laws of my employers, andthe breaking of those laws became a source of pleasure to me.
对我做法官的愤恨和愤怒激发了我对雇主法律的强烈不满,违反这些法规成了我的快乐源泉。

I had a lot of work to do. I fulfilled all the duties of a housemaid, washedthe kitchen over on Wednesday, cleaning the samovar and all the coppervessels, and on Saturday cleaned the floor of the rest of the house and bothstaircases. —
我有很多工作要做。我履行了女仆的所有职责,星期三清洗厨房,擦拭茶炊和所有的铜器,星期六清洁房子的地板和两个楼梯。 —

I had to chop and bring in the wood for the stoves, wash up,prepare vegetables for cooking, and go marketing with the mis — tress,carrying her basket of purchases after her, be — sides running errands to theshops and to the chemist.
我必须砍木柴,洗碗,准备烹饪的蔬菜,并和女主人一起去菜市场,帮她提着购物篮,还要跑腿去商店和药店。

  My real mistress, grandmother’s sister, a noisy, indomitable, implacablyfierce old woman, rose early at six o’clock, and after washing herself in ahurry, knelt before the icon with only her chemise on, and complained longto God about her life, her children, and her daughter-in-law.
我的实际女主人是祖母的姐姐,一个吵闹、顽固、严厉的老太太,六点钟早早起床,匆匆洗漱后,只穿着内衣跪在圣像前,向上帝长时间地诉说她的生活、孩子和儿媳的不满。

“Lord,” she would exclaim, with tears in her voice, pressing her two firstfingers and her thumbs against her forehead — “Lord, I ask nothing, I wantnothing; —
她会哭着说:“主啊,我什么也不求,我什么也不想要;只求你赐予我平静和安宁,主啊,凭借你的力量!” —

only give me rest and peace, Lord, by Thy power!”
她的哭泣会把我惊醒,半睡半醒中,我从毯子下面偷偷看着,带着恐惧倾听她激情的祈祷。

Her sobs used to wake me up, and, half asleep, I used to peep from underthe blanket, and listen with terror to her passionate prayers. —
请给我平静和安宁,主啊,凭借你的力量!” —

The autumnmorning looked dimly in at the kitchen window through panes washed by therain. —
秋天的清晨透过被雨水洗净的窗户朦胧地照进了厨房。 —

On the floor in the cold twilight her gray figure swayed from side toside; —
在寒冷的黄昏里,她那灰色的身影在地板上摇摆不定; —

she waved her arms alarmingly. Her thin, light hair fell from her smallhead upon her neck and shoulders from under the swathing handkerchief,which kept slipping off. —
她惊慌地挥动着双臂。她细长的光发从包裹着的手绢下滑落在她的颈项和肩膀上,手绢总是滑落不止。 —

She would replace it angrily with her left hand,muttering “Oh, bother you!”
她会生气地用左手重新扎好,嘟哝着“哎呀,讨厌你!”

  Striking her forehead with force, beating her breast and her shoulders,she would wail:
  用力敲打着自己的额头,拍打着胸膛和肩膀,她开始哀叹:

“And my daughter-in-law — punish her, O Lord, on my account! —
“还有我的儿媳妇——上帝啊,请为了我来惩罚她!” —

Makeher pay for all that she has made me suffer! —
“让她为我所受的一切痛苦付出代价!” —

And open the eyes of my son —open his eyes and Victor’s! —
“打开我儿子的眼睛——打开他和维克多的眼睛!” —

Lord, help Victor; be merciful to him!”
“主啊,帮助维克托;对他要怜悯!”

  Victorushka also slept in the kitchen, and, hearing the groans of hismother, would cry in a sleepy voice :
  维克托也睡在厨房里,听到母亲的哀叹声,便昏昏欲睡地说道:

  “Mamasha, you are running down the young wife again. It is reallydreadful.”
  “妈妈,你又在说年轻妻子的坏话了。真是可怕。”

“All right; go to sleep,” the old woman would whisper guiltily. —
“好吧,去睡吧”,老妇人有些愧疚地轻声说。 —

She wouldbe silent for a minute perhaps, and then she would begin to murmurvindictively, “May their bones be broken, and may there be no shelter forthem on earth. Lord!”
她沉默了一会儿,然后开始怨恨地喃喃自语,“让他们的骨头碎裂,让地球上无处可遁。主啊!”

  Even grandfather had never prayed so terribly.
  甚至祖父也从未如此可怕地祈祷过。

  When she had said her prayers she used to wake me up.
  祈祷完毕后,她通常会把我叫醒。

“Wake up! You will never get on if you do not get up early. Get thesamovar ready! —
“起床!如果你不早起,就永远无法成功。准备好茶炊吧! —

Bring the wood in! Didn’t you get the sticks ready overnight?’
把木柴拿进来!你昨晚没准备好柴火吗?”

I tried to be quick in order to escape hearing the frothy whisper of theold woman, but it was impossible to please her. —
我试图快点走开,避免听到老太太沫沫的耳语,但是无论如何她总是无法满足。 —

She went about the kitchenlike a winter snow-storm, hissing:
她在厨房里来回走动,就像冬日的暴风雪,嘶嘶作响地说:

“Not so much noise, you little devil! —
“别这么吵,小家伙!” —

Wake Victorushka up, and I will giveyou something! —
“把维克托鲁什卡叫醒,我会给你东西! —

Now run along to the shop!”
“现在去店里!”

On weekdays I used to buy two pounds of wheaten bread and twocopecks’ worth of rolls for the young mistress. —
工作日里,我经常给年轻女主人买两磅面包和两个便士的面包圈。 —

When I brought it in, thewomen would look at it suspiciously, and, weighing it in the palms of theirhands, would ask :
当我端进来时,女人们会怀疑地看着它,再用手掌称重,问道:

“Wasn’t there a make-weight? No? Open your mouth!” And then theywould cry triumphantly: —
“难道没有附加的部分吗?没有?张开你的嘴!”然后她们会得意地说: —

“He has gobbled up the make-weight; here are thecrumbs in his teeth! —
“他已经吞下了多余的部分;看,牙齿里还有面包屑! —

You see, Vassia?”
你看,瓦西亚?”

I worked willingly enough. It pleased me to abolish dirt from the house,to wash the floors, to clean the copper vessels, the warm-holes, and the door-handles. —
我心甘情愿地工作。让我开心的是可以清除房子里的污垢,洗地板,擦洗铜器,暖气孔和门把手。 —

More than once I heard the women remark about me in theirpeaceful moments:
不止一次,我在她们平静的时刻听到她们评价我:

  “He is zealous.”
“他很勤奋。”

  “And clean.”
“而且干净。”

  “Only he is very impudent.”
“只是他非常放肆。”

  “Well, Mother, who has educated him?’
“嗯,母亲,是谁教育他的呢?”

They both tried to educate me to respect them, but I regarded them ashalf witted. —
他们试图教育我尊敬他们,但我把他们视为愚蠢的。 —

I did not like them; I would not obey them, and I used to answerthem back. —
我不喜欢他们;我不听从他们,我还会顶嘴。 —

The young mistress must have noticed what a bad effect theirspeeches had upon me, for she said with increasing frequency:
年轻的女主人一定注意到了他们的言论对我产生的恶劣影响,因为她开始更加频繁地说:

“You ought to remember from what a poor family you have been taken. —
“你应该记住你来自一个贫穷的家庭。” —

Igave your mother a silk cloak trimmed with jet.”
我送给你母亲一件镶嵌着玛瑙的丝绸披风。”

  One day I said to her:
“有一天,我对她说:

  “Do you want me to skin myself to pay for the cloak?”
“你是想让我剥皮来偿还这件披风吗?”

  “Good gracious!” she cried in a tone of alarm, “this boy is capable ofsetting fire to the place!”
“天哪!”她惊恐地叫道,“这个男孩有烧毁这地方的可能!”

  I was extremely surprised. Why did she say that?
我感到非常惊讶。她为什么会这样说呢?

  They both complained to the master about me on this occasion, and hesaid to me sternly:
他们两人在这个场合向主人抱怨了我,他严肃地对我说:

“Now, my boy, you had better look out. —
“现在,我的小伙子,你最好小心点。” —

” But one day he said coolly to hiswife and his mother: “You are a nice pair! —
但有一天他冷淡地对妻子和母亲说:“你们这么好配。” —

You ride the boy as if he were agelding! —
你对那个男孩骑得就像他是一匹阉马一样! —

Any other boy would have run away long ago if you had not workedhim to death first.”
如果你没有先把他累死,任何其他男孩早就跑掉了。

  This made the women so angry that they wept, and his wife stamped herfoot, crying:
这让女人们很生气,她们哭了起来,他的妻子跺着脚喊道:

“How can you speak like that before him, you long-haired fool? —
“你这个长发傻瓜,在他面前怎么可以说这样的话? —

What canI do with him after this? And in my state of health, too!”
得了,这下我该怎么办啊?而我还身体不好!”

  The mother cried sadly:
母亲伤心地哭道:

  “May God forgive you, Vassia Vassilich! Only, mark my words, you arespoiling that boy.”
“愿上帝原谅你,瓦西里奥!别忘了我的话,你正在宠坏那男孩。”

  When they had gone away raging, the master said to me sternly:
当他们生气离开时,主人严厉地对我说:

“You see, you little devil, what rows you cause! —
“你看到了吧,你这个小恶魔,你惹出了多大麻烦! —

I shall take you back toyour grandfather, and you can be a rag-picker again.”
我要把你送回你爷爷那里,你可以重新去捡废品。”

  This insult was more than I could bear, and I said:
这种侮辱让我无法忍受,我说道:

“I had a better life as a rag-picker than I have with you. —
“做废品收集员时比跟着你过得更好。 —

You took me as apupil, and what have you taught me ? To empty the dish-water!”
你把我当徒弟,我学到了什么?倒倒餐盘水!”

  He took me by the hair, but not roughly, and looked into my eyes, sayingin a tone of astonishment :
他揪住我的头发,但并不粗暴,凝视着我的眼睛,以惊讶的口吻说道:

  “I see you are rebellious. That, my lad, won’t suit me. N-o-o.”
“我看出你造反了。孩子,这在我这儿行不通。不-行。”

  I thought that I should be sent away for this, but a few days later he cameinto the kitchen with a roll of thick paper, a pencil, a square, and a ruler inhis hands.
我认为我应该为此被赶走,但几天后他拿着一卷厚纸、一支铅笔、一个方尺和一个尺子走进厨房。

  “When you have finished cleaning the knives, draw this.”
“当你清理完刀具后,画这个。”

  On one sheet of paper was outlined the fagade of a two-storied house,with many windows and absurd decorations.
一张纸上勾勒出了一座两层楼房的正面,有许多窗户和荒谬的装饰。

“Here are compasses for you. Place dots on the paper where the ends ofthe lines come, and then draw from point to point with a ruler, lengthwisefirst — that will be horizontal — and then across — that will be vertical. —
“这里有圆规给你。将直线的端点标在纸上,然后用尺子从点到点画线,先是水平的 —— 那是横的 —— 然后是竖直的。 —

Nowget on with it.”
现在开始吧。”

I was delighted to have some clean work to do, but I gazed at the paperand the instruments with reverent fear, for I understood nothing aboutthem. —
我很高兴有些干净的工作要做,但我望着纸和仪器,虔敬地感到恐惧,因为我一无所知。 —

However, after washing my hands, I sat down to learn. —
然而,洗完手后,我坐下来学习。 —

I drew all thehorizontal lines on the sheet and compared them. —
我在纸上画了所有的水平线并进行比较。 —

They were quite good,although three seemed superfluous. —
它们相当不错,尽管有三条看起来多余。 —

I drew the vertical lines, and observedwith astonishment that the face of the house was absurdly disfigured. —
我画了垂直线,惊讶地发现房子的正面变得荒谬地毁损。 —

Thewindows had crossed over to the partition wall, and one came out behind thewall and hung in mid-air. —
窗户移到了隔断墙后面,一个悬在半空中。 —

The front steps were raised in the air to the heightof the second floor; —
前台阶升到了第二层的高度; —

a cornice appeared in the middle of the roof; —
一个檐口出现在屋顶中央; —

and adormer-window on the chimney.
烟囱上有一个阁楼窗。

For a long time, hardly able to restrain my tears, I gazed at thosemiracles of inaccuracy, trying to make out how they had occurred; —
很长时间,我几乎忍不住眼泪,凝视这些错误的奇迹,努力弄清它们是怎么发生的。 —

and notbeing able to arrive at any conclusion, I decided to rectify the mistakes by theaid of fancy. I drew upon the fagade of the house, upon the cornices, and theedge of the roof, crows, doves, and sparrows, and on the ground in front ofthe windows, people with crooked legs, under umbrellas which did not quitehide their deformities. —
而无法得出任何结论,我决定通过幻想来纠正错误。我在房子的外墙、檐部和屋顶边缘绘制了乌鸦、鸽子和麻雀,在窗前的地面上,画了一些腿有残疾的人,他们撑着伞遮掩着自己的畸形。 —

Then I drew slanting lines across the whole, and tookmy work to my master.
然后我在整个画面上画上了倾斜的线条,并把我的作品带给了我的老师。

  He raised his eyebrows, ruffled his hair, and gruffly inquired :
他扬起眉毛,拨乱了头发,粗声粗气地问道:

  “What is all this about?”
“这到底是怎么回事?”

“That is rain coming down,” I explained. —
“那是雨水落下,”我解释道。 —

“When it rains, the house lookscrooked, because the rain itself is always crooked. —
“下雨时,房子看起来歪斜,因为雨水本身总是歪的。 —

The birds — you see, theseare all birds — are taking shelter. —
这些鸟——你看,这些都是鸟——正在躲雨。 —

They always do that when it rains. Andthese people are running home. —
下雨时它们总是这么做。还有这些人正在往家奔跑。 —

There — that is a lady who has fallen down,and that is a peddler with lemons to sell.”
那儿——那是一个摔倒的女士,那是一个提着柠檬出售的小贩。”

  “I am much obliged to you,” said my master, and bending over the tabletill his hair swept the paper, he burst out laughing as he cried:
“非常感谢你,”我的主人说,然后俯身向着这张书法作品,他的头发掠过纸张,他笑着喊道:

  “Och! you deserve to be torn up and thrown away yourself, you wildsparrow!”
“喔!你真该被撕碎扔掉,你这只狂麻雀!”

  The mistress came in, and having looked at my work, said to herhusband:
主人的妻子进来了,看了看我的作品,对她的丈夫说:

  “Beat him!”
“打他!”

  But the master said peaceably:
但主人平和地说:

  “That’s all right; I myself did not begin any better.”
“没事;我自己开始也没好到哪儿去。”

  Obliterating the spoiled house with a red pencil, he gave me some paper.
用红铅笔把褪色的房子涂掉后,他给了我一些纸。

  “Try once more.”
“再试一次。”

The second copy came out better, except that a window appeared inplace of the front door. —
第二份复印品效果更好,只是一个窗户代替了前门。 —

But I did not like to think that the house was empty,so I filled it with all sorts of inmates. —
但我不喜欢认为房子是空的,所以我让房子里住满了各种人。 —

At the windows sat ladies with fans intheir hands, and cavaliers with cigarettes. —
窗户上坐着手持扇子的女士,还有手持香烟的骑士。 —

One of these, a non-smoker, wasmaking a “long nose” at all the others. —
其中一个不抽烟的人在向其他人比划着“伸长鼻子”。 —

A cabman stood on the steps, and nearhim lay a dog.
一位马车夫站在台阶上,旁边还躺着一只狗。

  “Why, you have been scribbling over it again!” the master exclaimedangrily.
“噢,你又在上面乱涂乱画!”主人生气地说道。

  I explained to him that a house without inhabitants was a dull place, buthe only scolded me.
我解释给他听,空房子很无聊,所以我把里面填满了各种居民,但他只是责骂我。

  “To the devil with all this foolery! If you want to learn, learn! But this isrubbish!”
“去你的!所有这些愚蠢的事情!如果你想学习,就好好学!这些都是垃圾!”

  When at length I learned to make a copy of the fagade which resembledthe original he was pleased.
最终我学会了一份和原件相似的门面的复制品,他很高兴。

  “There, you see what you can do! Now, if you choose, we shall soon geton,” and he gave me a lesson.
“看到了吧,你所能做到的!现在,如果你愿意,我们就能快速进步了。”然后他给了我一堂课。

“Make a plan of this house, showing the arrangement of the rooms, theplaces of the doors and win — dows, and the rest. —
“绘制这座房子的平面图,显示房间的布置、门窗的位置等等。 —

I shall not show you how.
我不会告诉你如何做。

  You must do it by yourself.”
你必须自己完成。”

I went to the kitchen and debated. How was I to do it? —
我走进厨房,开始犹豫。我该如何做呢? —

But at this pointmy studies in the art of drawing came to a standstill.
但是此时我的绘画学习停滞不前了。

  The old mistress came to me and said spitefully:
老主人走到我跟前恶狠狠地说:

  “So you want to draw?”
“所以你想学画吗?”

Seizing me by the hair, she bumped my head on the table so hard thatmy nose and lips were bruised. —
她抓住我的头发,将我的头猛撞到桌子上,弄得我的鼻子和嘴唇都青肿了。 —

Then she darted upon and tore up the paper,swept the instruments from the table, and with her hands on her hips saidtriumphantly:
接着她扑到我身边,撕碎了纸张,从桌上掀掉了工具,然后双手叉腰得意洋洋地说道:

“That was more than I could stand. —
“我再也忍不住了。 —

Is an outsider to do the work whilehis only brother, his own flesh and blood, goes elsewhere?”
一个局外人难道要在我的弟弟身边,我自己的骨肉之躯,旁人却去其他地方吗?”

The master came running in, his wife rushed after him, and a wild scenebegan. —
主人跑了进来,他的妻子紧随其后,一场混乱的场面开始了。 —

All three flew at one another, spitting and howling, and it ended inthe women weeping, and the master saying to me :
三个人你一言我一语,大声争吵,最后女人们哭了起来,主人对我说:

“You will have to give up the idea for a time, and not learn. —
“你必须暂时放弃这个想法,不要再学了。 —

You can seefor yourself what comes of it!”
你自己看看,这就是结果!”

  I pitied him. He was so crushed, so defenseless, and quite deafened bythe shrieks of the women. I had realized before that the old woman did notlike my studying, for she used to hinder me purposely, so I always asked herbefore I sat down to my drawing:
我怜惜他。他如此沮丧,如此无助,被女人们的尖叫声弄得耳朵生疼。之前我就已经意识到老女人并不喜欢我学习,她总是故意给我添堵,所以我每次坐下来画画之前总会问她:

  “There is nothing for me to do?”
“我没有事可做吗?”

  She would answer frowningly:
她板着脸回答说:

“When there is I will tell you,” and in a few minutes she would send meon some errand, or she would say: —
“等有时机了我会告诉你的”,然后几分钟后她会让我去做一些差事,或者她会说: —

“How beautifully you cleaned the staircasetoday! —
“你今天把楼梯打扫得多么漂亮啊! —

The corners are full of dirt and dust. Go and sweep them!”
角落里全是灰尘和污垢。去扫一下!”

  I would go and look, but there was never any dust.
我会去看,但从来没有灰尘。

  “Do you dare to argue with me?” she would cry.
“你敢和我争论吗?” 她会喊道。

One day she upset kvass all over my drawings, and at another time shespilt oil from the image lamp over them. —
有一天她把葡萄干水淋在我的画上,另一次她把灯油洒在画上。 —

She played tricks on me like a younggirl, with childish artfulness, and with childish ignorance trying to concealher artfulness. —
她像一个小女孩一样跟我玩把戏,用孩子气的狡猾,试图隐藏她的狡猾。 —

Never before or since have I met a person who was so soonput into a temper and for such trivial reasons, nor any one so passionatelyfond of complaining about every one and everything. —
以前和以后从未遇到过一个人像她一样容易生气,而且是出于如此微不足道的原因,也从未遇到过一个如此热衷于抱怨一切和每个人的人。 —

People, as a rule, aregiven to complaining, but she did it with a peculiar delight, as if she weresinging a song.
通常人们爱抱怨,但她却愉快地这样做,仿佛在唱歌一样。

Her love for her son was like an insanity. —
她对她的儿子的爱犹如疯狂。 —

It amused me, but at the sametime it frightened me by what I can only describe as its furious intensity.
这让我觉得好笑,但同时也让我感到害怕,因为我只能用狂热的强度来描述它。

  Sometimes, after her morning prayers, she would stand by the stove, withher elbows resting on the mantel-board, and would whisper hotly:
有时候,在她的早晨祷告之后,她会站在炉灶旁,手肘搁在壁炉板上,热切地低声说:

“My luck! My idol! My little drop of hot blood, like a jewel! Light as anangel! He sleeps. —
“我的幸运!我的宝贝!我那一点点像宝石一样的热血!像天使一样轻盈!他在睡觉。 —

Sleep on, child! Clothe thy soul with happy dreams! —
孩子,继续睡吧!让你的灵魂裹上快乐的梦! —

Dreamto thyself a bride, beautiful above all others, a princess and an heiress, thedaughter of a merchant! —
给自己做梦吧,梦见一个比所有人都美丽的新娘,一位公主和继承人,一个商人的女儿! —

As for your enemies, may they perish as soon asthey are born! —
至于你的敌人,愿他们在出生时就消失! —

And your friends, may they live for a hundred years, and maythe girls run after you like ducks after the drake!”
至于你的朋友,愿他们活到一百岁,愿姑娘们像鸭子追随雄鸭一样追随你!

All this was inexpressibly ludicrous to me. —
这一切对我来说是无比荒谬的。 —

Coarse, lazy Victor was like awoodpecker, with a woodpecker’s large, mottled nose, and the samestubborn and dull nature. —
粗鲁懒惰的维克多就像一只啄木鸟,有着啄木鸟那宽大斑驳的鼻子,同样固执钝感。 —

Sometimes his mother’s whispers awoke him, andhe muttered sleepily:
有时他母亲的低语唤醒了他,他懒洋洋地嘟囔着:

“Go to the devil, Mamasha! What do you mean by snorting right in myface? —
“去见鬼吧,妈妈!你开火就在我脸上? —

You make life unbearable.”
你让生活无法忍受。”

  Sometimes she stole away humbly, laughing:
有时她默默地离去,笑着说:

  “Well, go to sleep! Go to sleep, saucy fellow!”
“好了,去睡吧!去睡吧,狂妄的家伙!”

  But sometimes her legs seemed to give way, her feet came down heavilyon the edge of the stove, and she opened her mouth and panted loudly, as ifher tongue were on fire, gurgling out caustic words.
但有时她的腿似乎要抽筋,脚沉重地踩在火炉边,她张开嘴,喘着大气,仿佛舌头着了火一般,咕噜着说尖刻的话语。

“So-o? It’s your mother you are sending to the devil. Ach! you! Myshame! —
“这样?你要把你妈送给鬼。啊!你!我的羞耻! —

Accursed heart-sore! The devil must have set himself in my heart toruin you from birth!”
被咒的痛心!鬼肯定已经在我心里设了局,从你出生就要毁了你!”

She uttered obscene words, words of the drunken streets. It was painfulto listen to her. —
她说出了污秽的话语,醉酒街道上的话语。听起来令人痛苦。 —

She slept little, fitfully jumping down from the stovesometimes several times in the night, and coming over to the couch to wakeme.
她睡得很少,有时在夜里跳下火炉,几次走到沙发上叫醒我。

  “What is it?”
“怎么了?”

“Be quiet!” she would whisper, crossing herself and looking at somethingin the darkness. —
“保持安静!”她轻轻地说着,交叉着手,凝视着黑暗中的某个地方。 —

“O Lord, Elias the prophet, great martyr Varvara, save mefrom sudden death!”
“主啊,先知以利亚,伟大的殉道者瓦尔瓦拉,保佑我免受突然死亡之苦!”

She lighted the candle with a trembling hand. Her round, nosy face wasswollen tensely; —
她颤抖着点燃了蜡烛,她那圆润的脸庞因为紧张而肿胀; —

her gray eyes, blinking alarmingly, gazed fixedly at thesurroundings, which looked different in the twilight. —
她灰色的眼睛惊恐地眨着,凝视着在黄昏中显得截然不同的周围环境。 —

The kitchen, which waslarge, but encumbered with cupboards and trunks, looked small by night.
厨房虽然很大,但被橱柜和箱子塞得显得很小。

There the moonbeams lived quietly; the flame of the lamp burning before theicon quivered; —
在那里,月光在安静地生活;在圣像前燃烧着的灯火摇曳起伏; —

the knives gleamed like icicles on the walls ; —
刀子在墙上闪闪发光,就像冰柱一样; —

on the floor theblack frying-pans looked like faces without eyes.
在地板上,黑色的煎锅看起来像没有眼睛的脸孔。

The old woman would clamber down cautiously from the stove, as if shewere stepping into the water from a river-bank, and, slithering along withher bare feet, went into the corner, where over the wash-stand hung a ewerthat reminded me of a severed head. —
老妇人小心翼翼地从炉子上爬下来,仿佛从河岸踏进水里一样,赤脚滑行,走到角落里,那里的洗脸台上挂着一个使我想起一颗被砍下的头颅的水壶。 —

There was also a pitcher of waterstanding there. —
那里还放着一个水罐。 —

Choking and panting, she drank the water, and then lookedout of the window through the pale-blue pattern of hoar-frost on the panes.
她喘着气,喝了点水,然后透过窗户望出去,透过玻璃上苍白的霜纹图案。

  “Have mercy on me, O God! have mercy on me!” she prayed in a whisper.
“上帝,怜悯我!怜悯我!”她轻声祷告着。

Then putting out the candle, she fell on her knees, and whispered in anaggrieved tone : —
然后吹灭蜡烛,她跪下来,用一种委屈的口吻低声说: —

“Who loves me, Lord? To whom am I necessary?’
“主谁爱我?我对谁重要?”

Climbing back on the stove, and opening the little door of the chimney,she tried to feel if the flue-plate lay straight, soiling her hands with soot, andfell asleep at that precise moment, just as if she had been struck by aninvisible hand. —
她爬回炉子上,打开烟囱的小门,试图摸摸烟道板是否平稳,弄脏了手指,就在那一瞬间,她像被无形的手击中一样入睡了。 —

When I felt resentful toward her I used to think what a pity itwas that she had not married grandfather. —
当我对她感到怨恨时,我曾经想过她没有嫁给祖父真是一个遗憾。 —

She would have led him a life!
她一定会让他过得很不舒服的!

  She often made me very miserable, but there were days when her puffyface became sad, her eyes were suffused with tears, and she said verytouchingly :
她常常让我很痛苦,但也有那么些天,她的浮肿的脸变得悲伤,眼睛含着泪水,非常感人地说道:

“Do you think that I have an easy time? —
“你觉得我过得轻松吗? —

I brought children into theworld, reared them, set them on their feet, and for what”? —
我生了孩子,把他们抚养成人,让他们立足社会,然后呢”? —

To live with themand be their general servant. —
和他们一起生活,成为他们的佣人。 —

Do you think that is sweet to me”?
你觉得这对我是种享受吗?

  My son has brought a strange woman and new blood into the family. Is itnice for me? Well?”
我的儿子娶了位陌生的女人,引入了新的血统到家庭中。这对我来说美好吗?好吗?

  “No, it is not,” I said frankly.
“不,不是”,我坦率地说道。

“Aha! there you are, you seel” And she began to talk shamelessly abouther daughter-in-law. —
“啊哈!你看吧,你明白了吧!”她开始无羞耻地谈论她的儿媳。 —

“Once I went with her to the bath and saw her. —
“有一次我跟她一起去澡堂,看到了她。 —

Do youthink she has anything to flatter herself about? —
你觉得她有什么好自恋的? —

Can she be called beautiful?”
她算得上美丽吗?

  She always spoke objectionably about the relations of husband and wife.
她总是谈论夫妻间的关系令人不悦。

  At first her speeches aroused my disgust, but I soon accustomed myself tolisten to them with attention and with great interest, feeling that there wassomething painfully true about them.
起初,她的言辞引起了我的反感,但我很快习惯了认真聆听,并且对他们产生了极大的兴趣,感觉其中有一种痛苦地真实。

“Woman is strength; she deceived God Himself. —
“女人就是力量;她甚至欺骗了上帝。 —

That is so,” she hissed,striking her hand on the table. —
“是的,在这点上,”她咝咝地说着,一手拍在桌子上。 —

“Through Eve are we all condemned to hell.
“我们都因夏娃而被定罪入地狱。

  What do you think of that?”
  你觉得如何?”

On the subject of woman’s power she could talk endlessly, and it alwaysseemed as if she were trying to frighten some one in these conversations. —
关于女人的力量,她可以没完没了地谈论,在这些谈话中总是像是在试图吓唬某人。 —

Iparticularly remembered that “Eve deceived God.”
我特别记得那个“夏娃欺骗了上帝”。

Overlooking our yard was the wing of a large building, and of the eightflats comprised in it, four were occupied by officers, and the fifth by theregimental chaplain. —
我们的院子对面是一座大楼的一翼,其中包括的八套公寓有四套是军官住的,另一套是团牧师住的。 —

The yard was always full of officers’ servants andorderlies, after whom ran laundresses, house — maids, and cooks. —
院子里总是挤满了军官的仆人和执役,后面跟着洗衣妇、女仆和厨师。 —

Dramasand romances were being carried on in all the kitchens, accompanied bytears, quarrels, and fights. —
厨房里正在发生各种戏剧和浪漫故事,伴随着眼泪、争吵和打斗。 —

The soldiers quarreled among themselves andwith the landlord’s workmen; —
士兵们之间发生争吵,也和房东的工人们打架; —

they used to beat the women.
他们对待女人是惩罚的。

The yard was a seething pot of what is called vice, immorality, the wild,untamable appetites of healthy lads. —
院子里是一个沸腾的锅,被称作邪恶、道德败坏,健康青年们无法控制的欲望。 —

This life, which brought out all the cruelsensuality, the thoughtless tyranny, the obscene boastful — ness of theconqueror, was criticized in every detail by my employers at dinner, tea, andsupper. —
这种生活展现出征服者所有的残暴淫虐、轻率暴虐、下流狂妄,每一个细节都在我的雇主们的晚餐、茶点和晚餐中受到批评。 —

The old woman knew all the stories of the yard, and told them withgusto, rejoicing in the misfortunes of others. —
老妇人知道院子里的一切故事,她兴高采烈地讲述着这些,为别人的不幸感到快乐。 —

The younger woman listened tothese tales in silence, smiling with her swollen lips. —
年轻女人默默地听着这些故事,嘴唇肿胀的笑容。 —

Victor used to burst outlaughing, but the master would frown and say:
维克多过去总是会笑出声来,但主人总是皱着眉头说:

  “That will do, Mamasha!”
“够了,妈妈!”

“Good Lord! I mustn’t speak now, I suppose! —
“天哪!我现在也不能说话了吗,我猜! —

” the story-tellercomplained; but Victor encouraged her.
”讲故事的人抱怨道;但维克多鼓励她。

  “Go on, Mother! What is there to hinder you? We are all your ownpeople, after all.”
“继续,妈妈!有什么能阻止你呢?毕竟我们都是你自己的人。

  I could never understand why one should talk shamelessly before one’sown people.
我从来不明白为什么人们在自己人面前就可以放荡不羁。

The elder son bore himself toward his mother with contemptuous pity,and avoided being alone with her, for if that happened, she would surelyoverwhelm him with complaints against his wife, and would never fail to askhim for money. —
大儿子对待他的母亲带着轻蔑的怜悯,避免与她单独相处,因为一旦发生这种情况,她肯定会向他抱怨他的妻子,并且一定会要他给钱。 —

He would hastily press into her hand a ruble or so or severalpieces of small silver.
他匆匆塞给她一卢布或几枚小银币。

  “It is not right, Mother; take the money. I do not grudge it to you, but itis unjust.”
“这是不对的,妈妈;拿着这笔钱吧。我不吝啬给你,但这是不公平的。”

  “But I want it for beggars, for candles when I go to church.”
“但我想拿给乞丐,去教堂点蜡烛。”

  “Now, where will you find beggars there ? You will end by spoilingVictor.”
“现在,你在那儿哪里能找到乞丐呢?你最终会宠坏维克多。”

  “You don’t love your brother. It is a great sin on your part.”
“你不爱你的兄弟。这是你的一大罪过。”

  He would go out, waving her away.
他挥手示意她离开。

Victor’s manner to his mother was coarse and derisive. —
维克多对待母亲的方式粗鲁而讥讽。 —

He was verygreedy, and he was always hun — gry. —
他非常贪婪,总是饥肠辘辘。 —

On Sundays his mother used to bakecustards, and she always hid a few of them in a vessel under the couch onwhich I slept. —
每逢星期天,他的妈妈都会烤蛋奶羹,并总会在我睡觉的沙发下的一个容器里藏几个。 —

When Victor left the dinner-table he would get them out andgrumble:
维克多离开餐桌时,他会拿出来,嘀咕着:

  “Couldn’t you have saved a few more, you old fool?”
“你能不能再省留几个,你这个老傻瓜?”

  “Make haste and eat them before any one sees you.”
“快点吃掉,别让别人看见你。”

  “I will tell how you steal cakes for me behind their backs.”
“我会告诉他们你在他们背后给我偷蛋糕。”

Once I took out the vessel and ate two custards, for which Victor nearlykilled me. —
有一次我拿出容器,吃了两个蛋奶羹,结果维克多差点杀了我。 —

He disliked me as heartily as I disliked him. —
他对我一点也不客气,就像我对他一样讨厌。 —

He used to jeer at meand make me clean his boots about three times a day, and when I slept in theloft, he used to push up the trap-door and spit in the crevice, trying to aim atmy head.
他经常取笑我,让我每天擦他的鞋三次,我晚上睡在阁楼上时,他总是推开活板门,往缝隙里吐口水,目标是我的头。

  It may be that in imitation of his brother, who often said “wild fowl,”
也许是因为他哥哥经常说“wild fowl”,

  Victor also needed to use some catch-words, but his were all senseless andparticularly ab — surd.
维克多也需要使用一些流行语,但他的全都毫无意义,尤其荒谬。

  “Mamasha! Left wheel! where are my socks?”
“妈妈啊!向左转!我的袜子在哪?”

  And he used to follow me about with stupid questions.
他经常跟在我后面问一些愚蠢的问题。

“Alesha, answer me. Whv do we write ‘sinenki’ and pronounce it‘phiniki? —
“阿列莎,回答我。我们为什么写‘sinenki’却发音‘phiniki’呢?” —

Why do we say ‘Kolokola’ and not ‘Okolokola”? —
为什么我们说‘Kolokola’而不是‘Okolokola’?” —

Why do we say‘K’derevou’ and not ‘gdye plachou?”
为什么我们说‘K’derevou’而不是‘gdye plachou’?”

I did not like the way any of them spoke, and having been educated inthe beautiful tongue which grand — mother and grandfather spoke, I couldnot understand at first how words that had no sort of connection came to becoupled together, such as “terribly funny,” “I am dying to eat,” “awfullyhappy. —
我不喜欢他们任何一个说话的方式,由于我接受了祖父母所说的美丽语言的教育,起初我无法理解那些毫无连接的词是如何耦合在一起的,比如“可怕有趣”,“我等不及要吃”,“非常快乐”。 —

” It seemed to me that what was funny could not be terrible, that to behappy could not be awful, and that people did not die for something to eat.
我觉得有趣的事情不可能可怕,快乐不可能可怕,人不会因为要吃东西而死。

  “Can one say that?” I used to ask them; but they jeered at me:
“可以这么说吗?”我常问他们;然而他们嘲笑我:

  “I say, what a teacher! Do you want your ears plucked?”
“噢,这可真是一个好老师!难道你想被拔耳朵吗?”

But to talk of “plucking” ears also appeared incorrect to me. —
但是说“拔耳朵”对我来说也显得不正确。 —

One could“pluck” grass and flowers and nuts, but not ears. —
人们可以拔草、采花和摘坚果,但不能拔耳朵。 —

They tried to prove to methat ears could be plucked, but they did not convince me, and I saidtriumphantly:
他们试图向我证明耳朵是可以拔的,但他们并没有说服我,于是我得意地说:

  “Anyhow, you have not plucked my ears.”
“无论如何,你们也没有拔我的耳朵。”

All around me I saw much cruel insolence, filthy shamelessness. —
我周围充斥着许多残忍的傲慢、污秽的无耻。 —

It wasfar worse here than in the Kunavin streets, which were full of “houses ofresort” and “street-walkers. —
这里比昆那文街道上更糟糕,那里有许多“色情场所”和“街头妓女”。 —

” Beneath the filth and brutality in Kunavin therewas a something which made itself felt, and which seemed to explain it all —a strenuous, half-starved existence and hard work. —
在昆那文的肮脏和残暴之下,有一种隐约可感的东西,似乎可以解释一切——艰辛、半饥饿的生存和辛苦的工作。 —

But here they wereoverfed and led easy lives, and the work went on its way without fuss orworry. —
而这里,他们吃得过多,生活轻松,工作无忧无虑地进行着。 —

A corrosive, fretting weariness brooded over all.
一种侵蚀性的、烦人的疲倦笼罩着一切。

My life was hard enough, anyhow, but I felt it still harder whengrandmother came to see me. —
我的生活已经够艰难了,但当祖母来看我时,我觉得它变得更加艰难。 —

She would appear from the black flight ofsteps, enter the kitchen, cross herself before the icon, and then bow low toher younger sister. —
她会从黑色的台阶中出现,走进厨房,在圣像前藏身,然后向她的妹妹鞠躬。 —

That bow bent me down like a heavy weight, and seemedto smother me.
那只弓弯曲得把我按下去像一块沉重的重物,仿佛要把我闷死。

  “Ah, Akulina, is it you?” was my mistress’s cold and negligent greeting tograndmother.
“啊,阿库丽娜,是你吗?”主母冷淡地对祖母打招呼。

I should not have recognized grandmother. —
我几乎认不出祖母了。 —

Her lips modestlycompressed, her face changed out of knowledge, she set herself quietly on abench near the door, keeping silence like a guilty creature, except when sheanswered her sister softly and submissively. —
她的嘴唇谨慎地紧闭着,脸色变得面目全非,她静静地坐在门边的长椅上,像个有罪的人那样保持沉默,只有在温和顺从地回答姊姊时才偶尔开口。 —

This was torture to me, and Iused to say angrily :
这使我痛苦不堪,我常生气地说:

  “What are you sitting there for?”
“你在那儿干嘛?”

  Winking at me kindly, she replied:
她友好地眨了眨眼睛,回答道:

  “You be quiet. You are not master here.”
“安静点,你不是这儿的主人。”

  “He is always meddling in matters which do not concern him, howeverwe beat him or scold him,” and the mistress was launched on her complaints.
“不管我们怎么打他或者骂他,他总是插手闲事。”主母开始抱怨起来。

  She often asked her sister spitefully:
她经常恶意地问她的姐姐:

  “Well, Akulina, so you are living like a beggar?”
“阿库丽娜,看来你现在过得像个乞丐?”

  “That is a misfortune.”
“这是一个不幸。”

  “It is no misfortune where there is no shame.”
“没有耻辱的地方,就没有不幸。”

  “They say that Christ also lived on charity.”
“有些呆子,异端和你这个老傻瓜说的,他听了。”

“Blockheads say so, and heretics, and you, old fool, listen to them! —
“胡说八道,异端说的,你这老傻瓜听了!” —

Christwas no beggar, but the Son of God. He will come, it is said, in glory, to judgethe quick and dead — and dead, mind you. —
基督不是乞丐,而是上帝之子。据说,他将以荣耀降临,审判活人和死者 — 死者,你知道。 —

You will not be able to hideyourself from Him, Matushka, although you may be burned to ashes. —
你无法向他隐藏自己,瑪圖夏卡,即使你被烧成灰烬。 —

He ispunishing you and Vassili now for your pride, and on my account, because Iasked help from you when you were rich.”
他正在因你们的骄傲惩罚你和瓦西里,也因我,因为我曾从你们富有时寻求帮助。

“And I helped you as much as it was in my power to do,” answeredgrandmother, calmly, “and God will pay us back, you know. —
“我帮助你已经尽了我所能做的,”祖母平静地回答,“上帝会回报我们的,你知道。 —

” <“It was little enough you did, little enough.”
“你所做的实在太少了,太少了。”

Grandmother was bored and worried by her sister’s untiring tongue. —
祖母被她姐姐喋喋不休的口水烦透了,又为此感到担忧。 —

Ilistened to her squeaky voice and wondered how grandmother could put upwith it. —
我听着她尖细的声音,想知道祖母是如何忍受的。 —

In that moment I did not love her.
那一刻我并不爱她。

  The young mistress came out of her room and nodded affably tograndmother.
年轻的女主人走出自己的房间,友好地向祖母点点头。

  “Come into the dining-room. It is all right; come along!”
“进餐厅去吧,没事的;走吧!”

  The master would receive grandmother joyfully.
主人会欣然接待祖母。

  “Ah, Akulina, wisest of all, how are you? Is old man Kashirin still alive?”
“啊,阿库利娜,最睿智的人,你好吗?卡什林老人还活着吗?”

  And grandmother would give him her most cordial smile.
祖母会给他一个最热情的微笑。

  “Are you still working your hardest?”
“你还在努力地工作吗?”

  “Yes; always working, like a convict.”
“是的;像囚犯一样一直在工作。”

Grandmother conversed with him affectionately and well, but in the toneof a senior. —
奶奶跟他亲切地交谈,但带着长辈的口吻。 —

Sometimes he called my mother to mind.
有时他让我想起我母亲。

  “Ye-es, Varvara Vassilievna. What a woman! A heroine, eh?”
“是的,瓦尔瓦拉·瓦西里耶夫娜。多么了不起的女人啊!”

  His wife turned to grandmother and put in:
他的妻子转向奶奶说道:

  “Do you remember my giving her that cloak — black silk trimmed withjet?”
“你还记得我送给她那件斗篷吗 —— 真丝黑色,镶着黑色的玛瑙吗?”

  “Of course I do.”
“我当然记得。”

  “It was quite a good one.”
“那是相当不错的一件。”

“Ye-es,” muttered the master, “a cloak, a palm ; and life is a trickster. —
“是呀,”主人嘟囔着,“一件斗篷,一根手掌;生活就像一个骗子。” —

”11 A play on the words “ tal’ma, cloak ; —
一串关于“斗篷(cloak)”,“手掌(palm)”,“骗子(trickster)”的打趣话。 —

pal’ma, palm ; shelma, trickster.
“你们在说什么?”他的妻子疑心地问。

  “What are you talking about?” asked his wife, suspiciously.
“我?哦,没什么特别的。美好的时光和好人很快就会消逝。”

  “I? Oh, nothing in particular. Happy days and good people soon passaway.”
“我不知道你怎么了,”我的女主人不安地说。

  “I don’t know what is the matter with you,” said my mistress, uneasily.
然后奶奶被带去看新生的宝宝,当我正在把桌子上脏杯子盘子收拾干净时,主人对我说:

  Then grandmother was taken to see the new baby, and while I wasclearing away the dirty cups and saucers from the table the master said to me:
“你的奶奶是个好老太太。”

  “She is a good old woman, that grandmother of yours.”
“是个好老太太。”

  I was deeply grateful to him for those words, and when I was alone withgrandmother, I said to her, with a pain in my heart:
我对他说的那些话深表感激,当我独自与奶奶在一起时,心中感到痛苦:

  “Why do you come here? Why? Can’t you see how they — ”
“你为什么来这里?为什么?你难道看不见他们是怎么样的吗?”

“Ach, Olesha, I see everything,” she replied, looking at me with a kindsmile on her wonderful face, and I felt conscience-stricken. —
“啊,奥莱夏,我什么都能看见。”奶奶用一种和蔼的微笑看着我回答道,我感到愧疚。 —

Why, of courseshe saw everything and knew everything, even what was going on in my soulat that moment. —
她当然是什么都能看见,什么都知道,甚至包括我灵魂深处此刻正在发生的事情。 —

Looking round carefully to see that no one was coming, sheembraced me, saying feelingly:
她仔细四下看了看确保没有人来,感情地拥抱着我,说道:

“I would not come here if it were not for you. What are they to me? —
“如果不是为了你,我也不会来这里。他们对我来说算什么? —

As amatter of fact, grandfather is ill, and I am tired with looking after him. —
实际上,爷爷病了,我照顾他累了。” —

I havenot been able to do any work, so I have no money, and my son Mikhail hasturned Sascha out. —
我一直都无法工作,所以没有钱,我的儿子Mikhail把Sascha赶了出去。 —

I have him now to give food and drink, too. —
我现在给他吃喝。 —

Theypromised to give you six rubles a month, and I don’t suppose you have had aruble from them, and you have been here nearly half a year. —
他们答应给你每月六卢布,我想你没从他们那里拿到一卢布,你已经在这里待了将近半年。 —

” Then shewhispered in my ear : “They say they have to lecture you, scold you, they saythat you do not obey ; —
然后她在我耳边低声说:“他们说他们必须训斥你,责备你,说你不服从; —

but, dear heart, stay with them. Be patient for twoshort years while you grow strong. —
但是,亲爱的,留在他们身边吧。忍耐两年,等你变得强壮。 —

You will be patient, yes?”
你会忍耐的,对吗?

I promised. It was very difficult. That life oppressed me; —
我答应了。这很困难。那种生活压迫着我; —

it was athreadbare, depressing existence. —
那是一种破旧、令人沮丧的存在。 —

The only excitement was about food, and Ilived as in a dream. —
唯一的刺激就是食物,而我生活如在梦中。 —

Sometimes I thought that I would have to run away, butthe accursed winter had set in. —
有时我想我必须逃跑,但那该死的冬天已经来临。 —

Snow-storms raged by night, the wind rushedover the top of the house, and the stanchions cracked with the pressure ofthe frost. —
暴风雪在夜晚肆虐,风猛烈地吹过房顶,柱子因冻结的压力而嘎吱作响。 —

Whither could I run away?
我能往哪里逃?

  They would not let me go out, and in truth it was no weather for walking.
他们不让我出去,而事实上天气也不适合散步。

The short winter day, full of the bustle of housework, passed with elusiveswiftness. —
短暂的冬日里,充满了家务忙碌的喧嚣,很快就过去了。 —

But they made me go to church, on Saturday to vespers and onSunday to high mass.
但是他们让我去教堂,周六去参加晚祷,周日去参加弥撒。

I liked being in church. Standing somewhere in a corner where there wasmore room and where it was darker, I loved to gaze from a distance at theiconastasis, which looked as if it were swimming in the candlelight flowing inrich, broad streams over the floor of the reading-desk. —
我喜欢待在教堂里。站在角落里,那里有更多空间,更昏暗,我喜欢远远地凝视着那些似乎在蜡烛光中漂浮的圣像画,那光流成丰富而宽广的流淌过朗读台的地板。 —

The dark figures of theicons moved gently, the gold embroidery on the vestments of the priestsquivered joyfully, the candle flames burned in the dark-blue atmosphere likegolden bees, and the heads of the women and children looked like flowers.
图标中的黑影轻轻移动,神职人员的长袍上的金色刺绣欢快地颤动,蜡烛火焰在深蓝色的空气中燃烧,如同黄金的蜜蜂,而妇女和儿童的头部则宛如花朵。

All the surroundings seemed to blend harmoniously with the singing thechoir. —
所有周围的一切似乎都与唱诗班的歌声和谐相融。 —

Everything seemed to be imbued with the weird spirit of legends. —
一切似乎都充满了传奇般的怪异精神。 —

Thechurch seemed to oscillate like a cradle, rocking in pitch-black space.
教堂似乎在黑暗的空间中像一个摇篮一样摇晃。

Sometimes I imagined that the church was sunk deep in a lake in whichit lived, concealed, a life peculiar to itself, quite different from any other formof life. —
有时我想象教堂深深地沉没在某个湖中,在那里它隐匿着独特的生命,与任何其他形式的生命大相径庭。 —

I have no doubt now that this idea had its source in grandmother’sstories of the town of Kitej, and I often found myself dreamily swaying,keeping time, as it were, with the movement around me. —
我确信这个想法源自祖母讲述的Kitej镇的故事,我常常发现自己梦幻般地摇摆,时不时配合着周围的运动。 —

Lulled intosomnolence by the singing of the choir, the murmur of prayers, the breath ofthe congregation, I concentrated myself upon the melodious, melancholystory:
在唱诗班的歌声、祈祷的低语和信众的呼吸声中被催眠,我把注意力集中在旋律悦耳、忧伤的故事上:

“They are closing upon us, the accursed Tatars. —
“他们正在包围我们,这些可恶的鞑靼人。 —

Yes, these unclean beastsare closing in upon Kitej The glorious ; —
是的,这些不洁的野兽正在包围Kitej的荣光; —

yea, at the holy hour of matins.
是的,在神圣的晨诗时分。

  O Lord, our God!
主啊,我们的上帝!

  Holy Mother of God!
圣母玛利亚!

  Save Thy servantsTo sing their morning praises,To listen to the holy chants!
拯救你的仆人们,能够歌颂他们的早晨颂歌,能够倾听圣歌!

Oi, let not the TatarsJeer at holy church;Let them not put to shameOur women and maidens; —
哦,不要让鞑靼人讥讽圣堂; —

Seize the little maids to be their toys,And the old men to be put to a cruel death!
不要让他们羞辱我们的妇女和少女;

  And the God of Sabaoth heard,The Holy Mother heard,These human sighs,These Christians’ plaints.
  萨巴俄特的上帝听见了,圣母听见了,这些人类的叹息,这些基督徒的哀求。

And He said, the Lord of Sabaoth,To the Holy Angel Michael,‘Go thou, Michael,Make the earth shake under Kitej ; —
上帝萨巴俄特之主对圣天使米迦勒说:“米迦勒,你去,使基特杰大地震动; —

Let Kitej sink into the lake!’
让基特杰沉入深潭!”

  And there to this dayThe people do pray.
直至今日,人们仍然在那里祈祷。

  Never resting, and never wearyFrom matins to vespers.
从早祷到晚祷,永无休止,永不疲倦。

  Through all the holy offices.
在所有神圣的仪式中。

  Forever and evermore!”
永永远远地!”

At that time my head was full of grandmother’s poetry, as full as a beehive ofhoney. —
那时候,我的脑海里充满了奶奶的诗歌,就像一个装满蜂蜜的蜂巢一样。 —

I used even to think in verse.
我甚至开始用诗歌来思考。

I did not pray in church. I felt ashamed to utter the angry prayers andpsalms of lamentation of grandfather’s God in the presence of grandmother’sGod, Who, I felt sure, could take no more pleasure in them than I did myself,for the simple reason that they were all printed in books, and of course Heknew them all by heart, as did all people of education. —
我不在教堂里祈祷。在奶奶的上帝面前,我觉得羞愧,不愿在爷爷的上帝怒气冲冲的祷文和哀歌中表达自己,因为我确信,他也不会比我更欣赏那些祷文,因为它们都印在书上,自然他和所有有教养的人一样已经都能背诵了。 —

And this is why, whenmy heart was oppressed by a gentle grief or irritated by the petty grievancesof every day, I tried to make up prayers for myself. —
因此,当我的心被柔和的悲伤压抑,或者被日常琐事激怒时,我试着自己编写祷文。 —

And when I began tothink about my uncongenial work, the words seemed to form themselves intoa complaint without any effort on my part :
当我开始想到那份不合心意的工作时,词句似乎自然而然地组成了一种抱怨:

“Lord, Lord! I am very miserable! Oh, let me grow up quickly. For thislife I can’t endure. —
“主啊,主啊!我非常悲伤!啊,让我快点长大吧。我实在无法忍受这种生活。 —

O Lord, forgive! From my studies I get no benefit. For thatdevil’s puppet. —
主啊,原谅!我的学业毫无益处。那个恶魔操纵着我。 —

Granny Matrena, Howls at me like a wolf, And my life is verybitter!”
玛特琳娜奶奶,像狼一样对我咆哮,我的生活非常痛苦!”

To this day I can remember some of these prayers. —
直到今天,我还记得这些祷文。 —

The workings of thebrain in childhood leave a very deep impression; —
童年时期大脑的运作留下了深刻的印记; —

often they influence one’swhole life.
往往影响着一个人的整个人生。

I liked being in church; I could rest there as I rested in the forests andfields. —
我喜欢待在教堂里;在那里我可以像在森林和田野里一样休息。 —

My small heart, which was already familiar with grief and soiled by themire of a coarse life, laved itself in hazy, ardent dreams. —
我那敏感的小心脏,早已熟悉悲伤,被乡村的泥泞玷污,沉浸在朦胧而炽热的梦境之中。 —

But I went to churchonly during the hard frosts, or when a snow-storm swept wildly up thestreets, when it seemed as if the very sky were frozen, and the wind sweptacross it with a cloud of snow, and the earth lay frozen under the snow-driftsas if it would never live again.
但我只在严寒时节去教堂,或者当暴风雪狂卷着大街小巷,仿佛整个天空都冻结,风带着一片雪云横扫而过的时候,大地被冻结在白雪覆盖下,像永远无法复苏。

When the nights were milder I used to like to wander through the streetsof the town, creeping along by all the darkest corners. —
当夜晚变得温和时,我喜欢漫步在小镇的街头,匍匐在所有最黑暗的角落。 —

Sometimes I seemedto walk as if I had wings, flying along like the moon in the sky. —
有时候我似乎走路就像长着翅膀一样,在雪地中像天上的月亮一样飞翔。 —

My shadowcrept in front of me, extinguishing the sparkles of light in the snow, bobbingup and down comically. —
我的影子悄悄地爬在我前面,在雪中熄灭了光芒,滑稽地上下起伏。 —

The night watchman patrolled the streets, rattle inhand, clothed in a heavy sheepskin, his dog at his side. —
夜间巡逻的守夜人在街上走动,手里拿着拨浪鼓,身穿厚重的羊皮大衣,身边还有一只狗。 —

Vague outlines ofpeople came out of yards and flitted along the streets, and the dog gavechase. —
一些人影模糊地从院子里走出来,在街道上飘忽不定,狗便追赶起来。 —

Sometimes I met gay young ladies with their escorts. —
有时候我遇到一些年轻欢快的女士和她们的同伴。 —

I had an ideathat they also were playing truant from vespers.
我有个想法,认为她们也是从晚祷中逃跑出来的。

Sometimes through a lighted fortochka 2 there came a peculiar smell,faint, unfamiliar, suggestive of a kind of life of which I was ignorant. —
有时候透过一扇点亮的小窗,飘来一种奇异的味道,微弱、陌生,让我联想到一种我不了解的生活。 —

I usedto stand under the windows and inhale it, trying to guess what it was to livelike the people in such a house lived. —
我常常站在窗下,吸入这种味道,试图猜测那些房屋中的人是如何生活的。 —

It was the hour of vespers, and yet theywere singing merrily, laughing, and playing on a sort of guitar. —
那时正是晚祷的时刻,然而他们却欢快地唱歌、笑着、弹着一种类似吉他的乐器。 —

The deep,stringy sound flowed through the fortochka.
深沉、有弹性的声音穿过窗口流淌出来。

  2 A small square of glass in the double window which is set on hinges andserves as a ventilator.
一个小片玻璃窗,在两层窗户之间设有铰链,用作通风。

Of special interest to me were the one-storied, dwarfed houses at thecorners of the deserted streets, Tikhonovski and Martinovski. —
我对我特别感兴趣的是在空无一人的街道拐角处的矮小平房,蒂霍诺夫斯基和马丁诺夫斯基。 —

I stood thereon a moonlight night in mid-Lent and listened to the weird sounds — itsounded as if some one were singing loudly with his mouth closed — whichfloated out through the fortochka together with a warm steam. —
我站在一个令人毛骨悚然的清明月夜街头,听着异样的声音 —— 好像有人闭着嘴大声唱歌 —— 伴随着暖暖的蒸汽从窗户中飘出。 —

The wordswere indistinguishable, but the song seemed to be familiar and intelligible tome; —
词语无法辨认,但这首歌对我来说似曾相识,也让我理解。 —

but when I listened to that, I could not hear the stringy sound whichlanguidly interrupted the flow of song. —
但当我听到这个时候,无法听见那种躁动的声音,慢悠悠地打断了歌声的流动。 —

I sat on the curbstone thinking what awonderful melody was being played on some sort of insupportable violin —in supportable because it hurt me to listen to it. —
我坐在路边的台阶上,想着在某种令人无法忍受的小提琴上演奏的多么美妙的旋律 — 无法忍受是因为听起来会让我感到痛苦。 —

Some — times they sang soloudly that the whole house seemed to shake, and the panes of the windowsrattled. —
有时他们唱得很大声,整栋房子似乎都在震动,窗户的玻璃片响着。 —

Like tears, drops fell from the roof, and from my eyes also.
和眼泪一样,滴水从屋顶落下,也从我的眼睛中滴落。

  The night watchman had come close to me without my being aware of it,and, pushing me off the curbstone, said:
夜间的警卫走近我时,我没注意到,他把我从台阶上推开,说道:

  “What are you stuck here for?”
“你在这里干什么呢?”

  “The music,” I explained.
“那音乐啊。”我解释道。

  “A likely tale! Be off now!”
“很有可能!现在赶紧走!”

I ran quickly round the houses and returned to my place under thewindow, but they were not playing now. —
我急忙围着房子跑了一圈,回到窗户下的位置,但他们现在没有再演奏了。 —

From the fortochka proceededsounds of revelry, and it was so unlike the sad music that I thought I must bedreaming. —
从门廊传来欢乐的声音,让我觉得这不像是在演奏我梦见的那首悲伤的音乐。 —

I got into the habit of running to this house every Saturday, butonly once, and that was in the spring, did I hear the violoncello again, andthen it played without a break till midnight. —
我每周六都习惯去这所房子,但只有一次是在春天,我再次听到大提琴的声音,然后它一直不间断地演奏到半夜。 —

When I reached home I got athrashing.
当我回到家时,我挨了一顿揍。

These walks at night beneath the winter sky througn the deserted streetsof the town enriched me greatly. —
在这座城市荒凉的街道上漫步夜晚的经历很大程度上丰富了我的内心。 —

I purposely chose streets far removed fromthe center, where there were many lamps, and friends of my master whomight have recognized me. —
我有意选择了远离市中心的街道,那里有许多灯光,以免碰到我的主人的朋友,他们可能会认出我。 —

Then he would find out how I played truant fromvespers. —
然后他就会发现我是怎么从晚祷中逃课的。 —

No “drunkards,” “street-walkers,” or policemen interfered with mein the more remote streets, and I could see into the rooms of the lower floorsif the windows were not frozen over or curtained.
在更停的街道上,没有“醉汉”、“妓女”或警察来干扰我,我可以看到底层房间里的情况,只要窗户没有结冰或被帷幕挡住。

  Many and diverse were the pictures which I saw through those windows.
通过这些窗户,我看到了许多各种各样的画面。

I saw people praying, kissing, quarreling, playing cards, talking busily andsoundlessly the while. —
我看到人们祈祷、亲吻、争吵、打牌、忙碌地交谈着。 —

It was a cheap panoramic show representing a dumb,fish-like life.
这是一场廉价的全景展示,展示着仿佛无言鱼般的生活。

I saw in one basement room two women, a young one and another whowas her senior, seated at a table ; —
我看到在一个地下室房间里,两个女人坐在一张桌子前; —

opposite them sat a school-boy reading tothem. —
在她们对面坐着一个男学生给她们读书。 —

The younger woman listened with puckered brows, leaning back in herchair; —
年轻女人皱着眉听着,靠在椅子上; —

but the elder, who was thin, with luxuriant hair, suddenly covered herface with her hands, and her shoulders heaved. —
但是那位瘦削、拥有浓密头发的年长女士却突然用双手掩面,肩膀抽动。 —

The school-boy threw downthe book, and when the younger woman had sprung to her feet and goneaway, he fell on his knees before the woman with the lovely hair and began tokiss her hands.
学生把书扔下,当年轻女人跳起离开房间时,他跪在那位拥有美丽头发的女士面前并开始亲吻她的手。

Through another window I saw a large, bearded man with a woman in ared blouse sitting on his knee. —
透过另一个窗户,我看到一个大胡子男人,他膝上坐着一个穿着红衬衫的女人。 —

He was rocking her as if she had been a baby,and was evidently singing something, opening his mouth wide and rolling hiseyes. —
他摇晃着她,就像她是个婴儿一样,并且明显在唱着什么,张开嘴并翻动着眼睛。 —

The woman was shaking with laughter, throwing herself backward andswinging her feet. —
女人笑得抖动,向后仰倒并摇晃着脚。 —

He made her sit up straight again, and again began to sing,and again she burst out laughing. —
他又让她坐直,再次开始唱歌,她再次爆发出笑声。 —

I gazed at them for a long time, and wentaway only when I realized that they meant to keep up their merriment allnight.
我长时间凝视着他们,直到意识到他们打算整晚保持欢乐。

There were many pictures of this kind which will always remain in mymemory, and often I was so attracted by them that I was late in returninghome. —
我脑海中会永远留住许多这样的画面,而且我对它们常常着迷,以至于回家的时候总是迟到。 —

This aroused the suspicions of my employers, who asked me :
这引起了我的雇主们的怀疑,他们问我:

  “What church did you go to? Who was the officiating priest?”
“你去了哪个教堂?主持弥撒的神父是谁?”

They knew all the priests of the town; —
他们认识镇上所有的神父; —

they knew what gospel would beread, in fact, they knew everything. —
他们知道将会宣读哪一段福音,实际上,他们什么都知道。 —

It was easy for them to catch me in a lie.
他们很容易就能发现我的谎言。

Both women worshiped the wrathful God of my grandfather — the GodWho demanded that we should approach Him in fear. —
两位妇女都崇拜着我的祖父那位可怕威严的上帝——那位要求我们须带着恐惧来接近他的上帝。 —

His name was ever ontheir lips; even in their quarrels they threatened one another:
他的名字总在她们的唇边;甚至在她们争吵的时候,她们也会互相威胁:

  “Wait! God will punish you! He will plague you for this! Just wait!”
“等着吧!上帝会惩罚你的!他会因为这个而降灾给你!等着瞧!”

On the Sunday in the first week of Lent the old woman cooked somebutters and burned them all. —
在四旬期的第一个星期的星期日,老妇人煮了一些黄油,结果全给烧焦了。 —

Flushed with the heat of the stove, she criedangrily:
因为火炉的热浪,她愤怒地喊道:

“The devil take you!” And suddenly, sniffing at the frying-pan, her facegrew dark, and she threw the utensil on the floor and moaned : —
“鬼扯了你!” 突然,嗅着煎锅,她的脸变得阴沉,然后她把锅扔到地上,并呻吟道: —

“Bless me,the pan has been used for flesh food! It is unclean! —
“求主保佑啊,这个煎锅用来煮肉食了!它被玷污了! —

It did not catch when Iused it clean on Monday.”
上个星期一我用的时候却没事。”

  Falling on her knees, she entreated with tears :
跪下来,带着眼泪恳求道:

“Lord God, Father, forgive me, accursed that I am! —
“主啊,父啊,原谅我,我这个可恶的人! —

For the sake of Thysufferings and passion forgive me! —
因为你的受难和磨难,请原谅我!” —

Do not punish an old fool, Lord!”
主啊,不要惩罚一个老傻瓜!”

  The burned fritters were given to the dog, the pan was destroyed, but theyoung wife began to reproach her mother-in-law in their quarrels.
烤糕被给了狗吃,平底锅被毁了,但年轻妻子在他们的争吵中开始责备公婆。

  “You actually cooked fritters in Lent in a pan which had been used forflesh-meat.”
“你居然在斋期用过肉类的锅里煮糕点。”

They dragged their God into all the household affairs, into every cornerof their petty, insipid lives, and thus their wretched life acquired outwardsignificance and importance, as if every hour was devoted to the service of aHigher Power. The dragging of God into all this dull emptiness oppressedme, and I used to look involuntarily into the corners, aware of beingobserved by invisible beings, and at night I was wrapped in a cloud of fear. —
他们把他们的上帝牵扯进所有家务事,每一个琐碎生活的角落,因此他们悲惨的生活获得了外在的重要性,仿佛每个小时都致力于更高力量的服务。把上帝牵扯进所有这无趣空洞中让我感到压抑,我不由自主地看向角落,意识到被看不见的存在观察着我,而夜晚我被恐惧的云层所笼罩。 —

Itcame from the corner where the ever-burning lamp flickered before the icon.
它来自那个在圣像前永远点燃的灯前。

On a level with this shelf was a large window with two sashes joined by astanchion. —
在这个架子的水平面上,有一个有着一个支架连接的两扇窗户。 —

Fathomless, deep-blue space looked into the window, and if onemade a quick movement, everything became merged in this deep-blue gulf,and floated out to the stars, into the deathly stillness, without a sound, justas a stone sinks when it is thrown into the water.
深不可测的深蓝色宇宙透过窗户看进来,如果一个人做出快速的动作,一切就会融入这深蓝色的海洋,并漂流到星星间,在死寂中,没有声音,就像一块石头被扔进水中时沉没。

I do not remember how I cured myself of this terror, but I did curemyself, and that soon. —
我不记得自己是如何治愈这种恐惧的,但我确实治愈了自己,而且很快。 —

Grandmother’s good God helped me, and I think itwas then that I realized the simple truth, namely, that no harm could cometo me; —
祖母的仁慈上帝帮助了我,我想那时我认识到了简单的真理,即没有伤害会降临于我; —

that I should not be punished without fault of my own; —
我不会无缘无故受到惩罚; —

that it was notthe law of life that the innocent should suffer; —
无辜者不应该受苦; —

and that I was not responsiblefor the faults of others.
我不应为别人的过错负责。

I played truant from mass too, especially in the spring, the irresistibleforce of which would not let me go to church. —
我也常逃避弥撒,特别是在春天,春天那不可抗拒的力量让我无法去教堂。 —

If I had a seven-copeck piecegiven me for the collection, it was my destruction. —
如果我给了一个七戈比克硬币作为捐款,那就等于是给了我毁灭的机会。 —

I bought hucklebones,played all the time mass was going on, and was inevitably late home. —
我买了骨牌,一直在弥撒期间玩,总是回家迟到。 —

Andone day I was clever enough to lose all the coins which had been given me forprayers for the dead and the blessed bread, so that I had to take some oneelse’s portion when the priest came from the altar and handed it round.
有一天,我足够聪明,把给我的为亡者祈祷和祝福面包的硬币都丢了,以至于当神父从坛台拿出来分给大家时,我不得不拿别人的一份。

I was terribly fond of gambling, and it became a craze with me. —
我非常喜欢赌博,甚至痴迷于此。 —

I wasskilful enough, and strong, and I swiftly gained renown in games ofhucklebones, billiards, and skittles in the neighboring streets.
我很娴熟,很强壮,在附近的街道上,我很快就在猜枚子、台球和保龄球比赛中声名鹊起。

During Lent I was ordered to prepare for communion, and I went toconfession to our neighbor Father Dorimedont Pokrovski. —
在四旬斋期间,我被要求准备领圣餐,于是去向我们邻居的神父多里米东特·波克罗夫斯基忏悔。 —

I regarded him asa hard man, and had committed many sins against him personally. —
我把他当做一个刻薄的人,对他个人犯了许多罪。 —

I hadthrown stones at the summer-house in his garden, and had quarreled withhis children. —
我曾向他花园里的凉亭扔石头,还与他的孩子吵架。 —

In fact he might call to mind, if he chose, many similar actsannoying to him. —
事实上,他如果愿意的话,还可以回忆起我对他不少令他不爽的行为。 —

This made me feel very uneasy, and when I stood in thepoor little church awaiting my turn to go to confession my heart throbbedtremulously.
这让我感到非常不安,当我站在那个破旧的小教堂里等着轮到我忏悔时,我的心怦怦地跳着。

  But Father Dorimedont greeted me with a good-natured, grumblingexclamation.
但多里米东特神父却友好地、抱怨地招呼我。

  “Ah, it is my neighbor! Well, kneel down! What sins have youcommitted?”
“啊,是我的邻居!好吧,跪下!你犯了什么罪?”

He covered my head with a heavy velvet cloth. —
他用一块沉重的天鹅绒布盖住我的头。 —

I inhaled the odor of waxand incense. It was difficult to speak, and I felt reluctant to do so.
我闻到了蜡和香之间的气味。说话变得困难,而且我很不愿意说。

  “Have you been obedient to your elders?”
“你是否听话?”

  “No.”
“没有。”

  “Say, 1 have sinned.’ ”
“说,我犯了罪。”

  To my own surprise I let fall :
令我自己惊讶的是,我说出:

  “I have stolen.”
“我偷了。”

  “How was that? Where?” asked the priest, thoughtfully and withouthaste.
“怎么了?在哪里偷的?”神父问道,深思熟虑,没有急躁。

  “At the church of the three bishops, at Pokrov, and at Nikoli.”
“在Pokrov的三位主教教堂,还有在尼古拉的教堂。”

  “Well, that is in all the churches. That was wrong, my child; it was a sin.
“好吧,所有的教堂都在那里。孩子,那是错误,是罪过。

  Do you understand?”
你明白吗?”

  “I understand.”
“我明白。”

  “Say, ‘I have sinned.’ What did you steal for? Was it for something toeat?”
“说‘我犯了罪。’你偷东西是为了什么?是为了吃吗?”

  “Sometimes and sometimes it was because I had lost money at play, and,as I had to take home some blessed bread, I stole it.”
“有时是为了吃,有时是因为在赌博中输了钱,我得带一些圣餐回家,所以我偷了。”

  Father Dorimedont whispered something indistinctly and wearily, andthen, after a few more ques — tions, suddenly inquired sternly:
Dorimedont神父无精打采地低声说了些不太清楚的话,然后在问了几个问题后,突然严厉地询问道:

  “Have you been reading forbidden books?”
“你读过禁书吗?”

  Naturally I did not understand this question, and I asked : ’
当然,我不明白这个问题,便问道:

  “What books do you mean?”
“你指的是哪些书?”

  “Forbidden books. Have you been reading any?”
“禁书。你读过吗?”

  “No; not one.”
“没有,一本都没有。”

  “Your sins are remitted. Stand up!”
“你的罪已经得到赦免。站起来!”

I glanced at his face in amazement. He looked thoughtful and kind. —
我惊讶地瞥了一眼他的脸。他看起来深思熟虑,仁慈。 —

I feltuneasy, conscience-stricken. In sending me to confession, my employers hadspoken about its terrors, impressing on me to confess honestly even myslightest sins.
我感到不安,良心不安。雇主让我去忏悔时,曾谈到忏悔的恐怖,要我坦白甚至最轻微的罪过。

  “I have thrown stones at your summer-house,” I deposed.
“我曾向你那座夏室扔过石块,”我说。

  The priest raised his head and, looking past me, said:
牧师抬起头,看着我背后说道:

  “That was very wrong. Now go!”
“那样做是非常错误的。现在走吧!”

  “And at your dog.”
“还有扔石头给你家狗。”

  “Next!” called out Father Dorimedont, still looking past me.
“下一个!”多里米登特神父还是看着我背后喊道。

I came away feeling deceived and offended. —
我走后感到被欺骗和冒犯。 —

To be put to all that anxietyabout the terrors of confession, and to find, after all, that it was not only farfrom terrible, but also uninteresting! —
要经历所有有关忏悔恐吓的焦虑,结果发现,它不仅远非可怕,而且无聊透顶! —

The only interesting thing about it wasthe question about the forbidden books, of which I knew nothing. —
唯一有趣的是关于禁书的问题,我一无所知。 —

Iremembered the schoolboy reading to the women in that basement room,and “Good Business,” who also had many black, thick books, withunintelligible illustrations.
我记得那个学童在地下室的妇女面前读书,还有“好生意”那位也有很多黑色的厚书,附有难以理解的插图。

  The next day they gave me fifteen copecks and sent me to communion.
第二天他们给了我十五个戈比并派我前去领圣餐。

  Easter was late. The snow had been melted a long time, the streets were dry,the roadways sent up a cloud of dust, and the day was sunny and cheerful.
复活节来得很晚。雪融化已经很久了,街道早已干燥,道路上升腾起一阵尘土,阳光明媚。

Near the church was a group of workmen gambling with hucklebones. —
教堂附近有一群工人在用骰子赌博。 —

Idecided that there was plenty of time to go to communion, and asked if Imight join in.
我觉得还有足够的时间去领圣餐,便问是否可以加入。

  “Let me play.”
“让我来玩。”

“The entrance-fee is one copeck,” said a pock-marked, ruddy-faced man,proudly. —
“入场费是一戈比克,”一个布满麻子的、面色红润的人骄傲地说。 —

Not less proudly I replied: “I put three on the second pair to theleft.” “The stakes are on! —
我同样骄傲地回答道:“我押中间第二对。” —

” And the game began. I changed the fifteen-copeckpiece and placed my three copecks on the pair of hucklebones. —
“下注了!”游戏开始了。我拿出了那枚价值十五戈比克的铜钱,押下了三戈比克在两枚牛骨上。 —

Whoever hitthat pair would receive that money, but if he failed to hit them, he had to giveme three copecks. —
只要有人击中那对牛骨,他就能获得那笔钱,但如果未能击中,他就得给我三戈比克。 —

I was in luck. Two of them took aim and lost. —
我运气不错,两名玩家都没能成功。 —

I had won sixcopecks from grown-up men. My spirits rose greatly. —
我从成年人那里赢得了六戈比克。我的心情大好起来。 —

But one of the playersremarked :
但其中一名玩家说道:

  “You had better look out for that youngster or he will be running awaywith his winnings.”
“你最好小心那个小家伙,否则他会拿着赢钱跑了。”

This I regarded as an insult, and I said hotly: —
我认为这是一种侮辱,便愤怒地说: —

“Nine copecks on the pairat the extreme left. —
“在最左边的那一对上押九戈比克。” —

” However, this did not make much impression on theplayers. —
然而,这对玩家并没有产生太大的影响。 —

Only one lad of my own age cried:
只有一个和我年龄相仿的男孩叫道:

  “See how lucky he is, that little devil from the Zvezdrinki; I know him.”
“看看他多么幸运,那个来自Zvezdrinki的小魔鬼;我认识他。”

  A thin workman who smelt like a furrier said maliciously:
一个闻起来像皮货商的瘦工人恶意地说道:

  “He is a little devil, is he Goo-oo-ood!”
“他是个小鬼,是吗,好-好!”

Taking a sudden aim, he coolly knocked over my stake, and, bendingdown to me, said : —
他突然瞄准,冷静地打翻了我的地桩,并弯下腰来对我说: —

“Will that make you howl?’
“这样会让你嚎叫吗?”

  “Three copecks on the pair to the right!”
“押右侧的一对三个戈比!”

“I shall have another three,” he said, but he lost. —
“我还要再押三个,”他说,但输了。 —

One could not putmoney on the same “horse” more than three times running, so I chose othernucklebones and won four more copecks. —
一个人不能连续在同一“马”上押钱超过三次,所以我选了其他的骨子,赢了另外四个戈比。 —

I had a heap of nucklebones. Butwhen my turn came again, I placed money — three times, and lost it all.
我有一堆骨子。但轮到我时,我押了钱——三次,全输了。

  Simultaneously mass was finished, the bell rang, and the people came out ofchurch.
同时弥撒结束了,钟声响起,人们走出教堂。

“Are you married?” inquired the furrier, intending to seize me by thehair; —
“你结婚了吗?”皮货商问道,想要抓住我的头发; —

but I eluded him, and overtaking a lad in his Sunday clothes I inquiredpolitely:
但我躲开了他,追上了一个穿着周日衣服的小伙子,礼貌地问道:

  “Have you been to communion ?”
“你领了圣餐吗?”

  “Well, and suppose I have; what then?” he answered, looking at mecontemptuously.
“那又怎样?所以呢?”他蔑视地看着我回答说。

  I asked him to tell me how people took communion, what words thepriest said, and what I ought to have done.
我请他告诉我人们如何领圣餐,神父说了什么,以及我应该做什么。

  The young fellow shook me roughly and roared out in a terrifying voice :
那个年轻人粗暴地摇了摇我,用令人恐惧的声音大声喊道:

“You have played the truant from communion, you heretic! —
“你为逃避圣餐而玩忽职守,异端! —

Well, I amnot going to tell you anything. —
“好吧,我不会告诉你任何事情。 —

Let your father skin you for it!”
“让你父亲为此揍你!”

I ran home expecting to be questioned, and certain that they woulddiscover that I had not been to communion; —
我跑回家,期待着被询问,肯定他们会发现我没有去参加圣餐; —

but after congratulating me, theold woman asked only one question :
但老婆婆只问了一个问题:

  “How much did you give to the clerk? Much?”
“你给了职员多少钱?很多吗?”

  “Five copecks,” I answered, without turning a hair.
“五戈比克斯,”我毫不在意地回答。

  “And three copecks for himself; that would leave you seven copecks,animal!”
“再给他三戈比克斯;这样你就还有七戈比克斯,畜生!”

It was springtime. Each succeeding spring was clothed differently, andseemed brighter and pleasanter than the preceding one. —
当时是春天。每个春天都穿着不同的衣服,看起来比之前的更明亮更愉快。 —

The young grass andthe fresh green birch gave forth an intoxicating odor. —
嫩草和新鲜的白桦散发出一种令人陶醉的气味。 —

I had an uncontrollabledesire to loiter in the fields and listen to the lark, lying face downward on thewarm earth; —
我无法控制地渴望在田野里闲逛,倾听着云雀的歌声,趴在温暖的泥土上; —

but I had to clean the winter coats and help to put them away inthe trunks, to cut up leaf tobacco, and dust the furniture, and to occupymyself from morning till night with duties which were to me both unpleasantand needless.
但我却要整理冬衣,帮忙把它们收好放进箱子里,切碎叶烟草,擦拭家具,从早到晚都忙于对我来说又讨厌又不必要的事情。

In my free hours I had absolutely nothing to live for. —
在我空闲的时候,我绝对没有任何生活的动力。 —

In our wretchedstreet there was nothing, and beyond that I was not allowed to go. —
在我们那个可怜的街道里什么都没有,而且我不被允许去更远。 —

The yardwas full of cross, tired workmen, untidy cooks, and washer-women, andevery evening I saw disgusting sights so offensive to me that I wished that Iwas blind.
院子里挤满了脾气暴躁、疲倦的工人,不整洁的厨师和洗衣女工,每天晚上我都看到令我恶心的景象,触目惊心到让我希望自己是个瞎子。

I went up into the attic, taking some scissors and some colored paperwith me, and cut out some lace-like designs with which I ornamented therafters. —
我拿着剪刀和彩纸上了阁楼,然后剪出一些像蕾丝一样的设计,用它们装饰了屋檐。 —

It was, at any rate, something on which my sorrow could feed. —
至少,这是我悲伤可以依赖的东西。 —

Ilonged with all my heart to go to some place where people slept less,quarreled less, and did not so wearisomely beset God with complaints, anddid not so frequently offend people with their harsh judgments.
我全心渴望去一个人们睡眠更少、争吵更少,不那么厌烦地向上帝抱怨,也不那么频繁地用他们严厉的判断冒犯别人的地方。

On the Saturday after Easter they brought the miraculous icon of OurLady of Vlandimirski from the Oranski Monastery to the town. —
复活节后的星期六,他们从Oranski修道院把奇迹般的圣母圣像乌拉迪米尔思基送到了镇上。 —

The imagebecame the guest of the town for half of the month of June, and blessed allthe dwellings of those who attended the church. —
这幅画在六月的上半月里成为了该镇的客人,祝福了出席教堂的所有人的住所。 —

It was brought to myemployers’ house on a weekday. —
这幅画是在一个工作日带到了我雇主家。 —

I was cleaning the copper things in thekitchen when the young mistress cried out in a scared voice from her room:
当我在厨房清洁铜器时,年轻的女主人从她的房间里尖叫起来:

  “Open the front door. They are bringing the Oranski icon here.”
“开门。他们要把Oranski圣像带到这里来。”

I rushed down, very dirty, and with greasy hands as rough as a brickopened the door. —
我匆忙下去,满身肮脏,双手油腻得粗糙,像砖头一样打开了门。 —

A young man with a lamp in one hand and a thurible in theother grumbled gently:
一个年轻人一手拿着灯,一手拿着香炉,轻声抱怨道:

  “Are you all asleep? Give a hand here!”
“你们都睡着了吗?这里来帮帮忙!”

Two of the inhabitants carried the heavy icon-case up the narrowstaircase. —
两个居民扛起沉重的圣像盒穿过窄窄的楼梯。 —

I helped them by supporting the edge, of it with my dirty handsand my shoulder. —
我用肮脏的手和肩膀支撑着盒子的边缘来帮助他们。 —

The monk came heavily behind me, chanting unwillinglywith his thick voice :
和我一起,那个修士沉重地后退,用他粗哑的声音唱道:

  “Holy Mother of God, pray for us!”
“圣母玛利亚,为我们祈祷吧!”

  I thought, with sorrowful conviction:
我想,怀着悲痛的信念:

  “She is angry with me because I have touched her with dirty hands, andshe will cause my hands to wither.”
“她生我的气,因为我用脏手触摸过她,她会让我的手枯萎。”

They placed the icon in the corner of the anti-chamber on two chairs,which were covered with a clean sheet, and on each side of it stood twomonks, young and beautiful like angels. —
他们把圣像放在内厅角落的两把椅子上,椅子上盖着一条干净的床单,两旁站着两位修士,他们像天使一样年轻美丽。 —

They had bright eyes, joyfulexpressions, and lovely hair.
他们明亮的眼睛,愉悦的表情和可爱的头发。

  Prayers were said.
祷告进行着。

  “O, Mother Renowned,” the big priest chanted, and all the while he wasfeeling the swollen lobe of his ear, which was hidden in his luxuriant hair.
“哦,闻名的圣母”,大祭司吟唱着,同时在摸着自己肿起的耳垂,被他浓密的头发遮挡着。

  “Holy Mother of God, pray for u-u-us!” sang the monks, wearily.
修士们疲惫地唱着:“上帝的圣母,请为我们祈祷!”

I loved the Holy Virgin. According to grandmother’s stories it was shewho sowed on the earth, for the consolation of the poor, all the flowers, allthe joys, every blessing and beauty. —
我热爱圣母玛利亚。根据奶奶的故事,正是她为了慰藉穷人,在大地上撒下了所有的花朵,所有的欢乐,每一个祝福和美丽。 —

And when the time came to salute her,without observing how the adults conducted themselves toward her, I kissedthe icon palpitatingly on the face, the lips. —
当需要向她致敬时,我不顾大人们怎样对待她,兴奋地在圣像的脸上、嘴唇上吻了一下。 —

Some one with pow — erful handshurled me to the door. —
有人用强有力的手把我猛地推到门口。 —

I do not remem — ber seeing the monks go away,carrying the icon, but I remember very well how my employers sat on thefloor around me and debated with much fear and anxiety what wouldbecome of me.
我不记得看到修士们离开时的情形,但我清楚地记得我的雇主们坐在我周围的地板上,焦虑不安地讨论着我将会怎么样。

  “We shall have to speak to the priest about him and have him taught,”
“我们必须跟牧师谈谈他,并让他受教育,”

  said the master, who scolded me without rancor.
主人责备我并没有怨恨。

“Ignoramus! How is it that you did not know that you should not kiss thelips? —
“无知!你怎么不知道不应该吻她的嘴唇? —

You must have been taught that at school.”
你在学校应该学过这个的。”

For several days I waited, resigned, wondering what actually wouldhappen to me. —
几天来我一直等待着,顺从地想知道将会发生什么。 —

I had touched the icon with dirty hands; —
我用脏手触碰了那个图标; —

I had saluted it in aforbidden manner ; I should not be allowed to go unpunished.
我以一种不应该的方式向它致敬;我不应该被放过。 

  But apparently the Mother of God forgave the involuntary sin which hadbeen prompted by sheer love, or else her punishment was so light that I didnot notice it among the frequent punishments meted out to me by these goodpeople.
但显然圣母玛利亚原谅了那个出自纯粹爱意的无意之罪,或者她的惩罚是如此轻微,以至于我在这些善良人士经常对我的惩罚中没有察觉出来。

  Sometimes, to annoy the old mistress, I said compunctiously :
有时,为了惹老女主人的恼火,我心怀愧疚地说:

  “But the Holy Virgin has evidently forgotten to punish me.”
“但圣母显然忘记惩罚我了。”

  “You wait,” answered the old woman, maliciously. “We shall see.”
“你等着瞧,”老妇人恶意地回答。“我们会看到的。”

  While I decorated the rafters of the attic with pink tea-wrappers, silverpaper, leaves from trees, and all kinds of things, I used to sing anything thatcame into my head, setting the words to church melodies, as the Kalmucksdo on the roads.
在我用粉色茶包、银纸、树叶等装饰阁楼的横梁时,我会随心所欲地唱歌,将歌词与教堂旋律结合在一起,就像卡尔慕克人在路上做的那样。

  “I am sitting in th
“我坐在山巅上”。