托马斯·哈代著名的小说莫过于《德伯家的苔丝》,但他也创作了大量的短篇故事。其中大多数取材于哈代在英格兰南部居住时,周围村庄的人们给他讲述的故事。 Thomas Hardy is probably best known for his novels such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles, but he also wrote a great number of short stories. Many of them were based on stories told by people in the villages around where he lived in the south of England. 人有相似,无论他们生活在城镇还是乡村,在当代还是一百年前。 People are the same, whether they live in the town or the country, today or a hundred years ago. 一个牧羊少年惊恐地睁大了双眼,从他的小棚屋中往外窥视一个女人和一个并非她丈夫的男人秘密约会。 From his hut a young shepherd boy watches, wide-eyed and afraid, a secret meeting between a woman and a man who is not her husband. 一个年轻女教师原本要回家嫁给一个比自己大得多的男人,却因做了一时冲动的事而改变了自己的生活。 A young teacher, going home to marry a much older man, has a moment of madness that will change her life. 不过,还是让我们从一座孤零零的村舍的敲门声说起吧。屋内灯光明亮、气氛欢快,人们伴随着音乐翩翩起舞,玩得很开心。屋外大雨滂沱,顺着山间小路走来的陌生人凝视着灯火通明的窗户。他是该继续赶路,还是停下来歇歇、坐在温暖的炉火边吃点东西呢? But we begin with a knock on the door at a lonely cottage. Inside, all is bright and cheerful, with music and dancing, and people enjoying themselves. Outside, the rain beats down, and the stranger following the footpath across the wild hills stares at the lighted windows. Should he go on, or can he stop for a while, to find rest and food and a seat by a warm fire?
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During this conversation the other visitors had not taken much notice of the stranger, because they were discussing what the fiddler should play next. They were just getting up to start another dance when there was a second knock at the door. At this sound, the stranger turned his back to the door, and seemed very busy trying to light his pipe.,
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“请进!”牧羊人芬内尔再次喊道。很快,另一个人走了进来。又是一个陌生人。,
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Come in!' called ShepherdFennel a second time. In a moment another man entered. He too was a stranger.,
This one was very different from the first. There was a more cheerful look about him. He was several years older, with greying hair and a full, reddish face. Under his long wet coat he was wearing a dark grey suit.,
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“请让我在这儿休息几分钟吧,朋友们,”他说,“要不然我还没到卡斯特桥就会全身湿透了。”,
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I must ask to rest here for a few minutes, friends,' he said, 'or I shall be wet to the skin before I reach Casterbridge.',
Make yourself at home, sir,' replied Fennel, a little less warmly than when welcoming the first stranger. The cottage was not large, there were not many chairs, and these newcomers brought cold, wet air into the room.,
The second visitor took off his coat and hat, and sat down heavily at the table, which the dancers had pushed into the chimney corner. He found himself sitting next to the first stranger, who smiled politely at him and passed him the mug of mead. The second man took it, lifted it to his mouth, and drank without stopping, watched by Mrs Fennel, who was not pleased at this free drinking of her best mead.,
At last the man in the grey suit put down the mug with a happy sigh. 'That's wonderful mead, shepherd!' he said. 'I haven't tasted anything as good as that for many years.',
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“我很高兴你喜欢这酒,先生!”牧羊人芬内尔答道。,
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I'm pleased you enjoy it, sir!' replied ShepherdFennel.,
It's goodishmead,' agreed his wife, a little coldly. 'Made from our own honey, o'course, and it is trouble enough to make, I can tell ye. But we may not make any more — honey sells well, and we don't need much mead for ourselves.',
Oh, but you can't stop making this!' cried the man in grey. He took the mug again and drank the last drop. 'I love mead, as much as I love going to church on Sundays, or giving money to the poor!',
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“哈哈哈!”坐在壁炉边的男人笑了起来,似乎被这个陌生人的小笑话给逗乐了。,
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Ha, ha, ha!' said the man by the fire, who seemed to enjoy the stranger's little joke.,
The old mead of those days, made with the best honey and the freshest eggs, tasted very strong, but it did not taste as strong as it actually was. Before long, the stranger in grey became very cheerful and red in the face. He made himself comfortable in his chair, and continued the conversation.,
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“呃,我说,我这是要去卡斯特桥。”他说。,
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Well, as I say, I'm on my way to Casterbridge,' he said.,
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“那么您不住在那儿啰?”牧羊人芬内尔问。,
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You don't live there then?' said ShepherdFennel.,
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“现在还不是,不过我打算很快就搬过去。”,
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Not yet, although I plan to move there soon.',
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“您这是准备去做点买卖吗?”牧羊人问道。,
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Going to start a business, perhaps?' asked the shepherd.,
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“不,不,”他的妻子说,“一看就知道这位先生很有钱,什么都不用做。”,
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No, no,' said his wife. 'It is easy to see that the gentleman is rich, and doesn't need to work at anything.',
Rich is not the word for me, madam,' replied the man in grey. 'I have to work, and I do work. And even if I only get to Casterbridge by midnight tonight, I must begin work there at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Yes, hot or cold, rain or snow, I must do my day's work tomorrow.',
Well, it's the work that I have to do, that's all. Now I must leave you, friends. But before I go, there's time for one more drink to your baby's health. Only, the mug is empty.',
Of course you do,' said ShepherdFennel quickly. He went to the dark place under the stairs where the best mead was kept, and filled the mug. His wife followed him and spoke worriedly to him in a low voice.,
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“我一点都不喜欢那个人的样子!他足足喝了够十个人喝的酒!别再把最好的酒给他了!”,
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I don't like the look o' the man at all! He's drunk enough for ten men already! Don't give him any more o' the best!',
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“可是他在我们家呀,亲爱的,而且今晚又那么潮湿阴冷。一杯蜂蜜酒又有什么呢?”,
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But he's in our house, my love, and 'tis a miserable wet night. What's a mug of mead more or less?',
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“那好吧,仅此一次,”她说道,难过地看着蜂蜜酒,“可他是谁?究竟是干什么的?”,
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Very well, just this time then,' she said, looking sadly at the mead. 'But who is he, and what kind of work does he do?',
While the man in grey drank his mead, Fennel asked him again about his work, but the man did not reply at once. Suddenly the first stranger spoke from his seat by the fire.,
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“人人都可以知道我是干什么的——我是和轮子打交道的。”,
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Anybody may know what I do — I work with wheels.',
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“人人也都可以知道我是干什么的,”灰衣人说道,“如果他们足够聪明、能够发现的话。”,
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And anybody may know what I do,' said the man in the grey suit, 'if they're clever enough to find it out.',
There was a short silence, which the shepherd's wife broke by calling for a song. The second mug of mead had made the stranger's face even redder and more cheerful than before, and he offered to sing the first song. This is what he sang:,
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我的工作最最奇怪,,
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My job is the strangest one,,
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诚实的牧羊人们——,
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Honest shepherds all—,
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全世界的人都能看见;,
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Work that all the world can see;,
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我把顾客绑住,带往高处,,
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My customers I tie, and I take them up so high,,
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送他们到遥远的国度!,
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And send 'em to a far country!,
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没有人吭声,除了那个坐在壁炉边的人。他用低沉悦耳的声音附和着歌曲的最后一部分:,
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No one spoke, except the man near the fire, who joined in the last part, with a deep, musical voice:,
None of the people in the room understood what the singer meant, except the man near the fire; who continued smoking, and said calmly, 'Go on, stranger! Sing on!',
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我不用太多东西,,
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The man in grey drank again from his mug, and sang:,
Now it was clear to everybody in the room that the stranger was answering the shepherd's question in song. They all looked at him, their eyes and mouths wide open in horror.,