2 Soapy’s Choice
2 苏比的选择
Soapy sat on a seat in Madison Square, New York, and looked up at the sky.
苏比坐在纽约麦迪逊广场的长椅上，仰望着天空。
A dead leaf fell onto his arm.
一片枯叶落在了他的胳膊上。
Winter was coming, and Soapy know that he must make his plans.
冬天就要来了，苏比知道他必须做打算了。
He moved unhappily on his seat.
他在长椅上不安地挪动着身子。
He wanted three months in a nice, warm prison, with food and good friends.
他想要在一所舒适温暖的监狱里待上三个月，那里有食物和好朋友。
This was how he usually spent his winters.
这通常是他过冬的方式。
And now it was time, because, at night on his seat in the square, three newspapers did not keep out the cold.
现在时机到了，因为晚上在广场的长椅上，三份报纸已经挡不住寒冷了。
So Soapy decided to go to prison, and at once began to try his first plan.
于是苏比决定进监狱，并立刻开始尝试他的第一个计划。
It was usually easy.
这通常很容易。
He ate dinner in an expensive restaurant.
他在一家昂贵的餐厅吃晚饭。
Then he told them he had no money and they called a policeman.
然后他告诉人家自己没钱，他们就会叫警察来。
Nice and easy, with no trouble.
简单顺利，毫无麻烦。
So Soapy left his seat, and walked slowly along the street.
于是苏比离开长椅，沿着街道慢慢走着。
Soon he came to a bright restaurant on Broadway.
很快他来到了百老汇一家灯火通明的餐厅。
Ah! This was all right.
啊！这家不错。
He just had to get to a table in the restaurant and sit down.
他只要走到餐厅的一张桌子旁坐下就行了。
That was all, because, when he sat down, people could only see his coat and his shirt, which were not very old.
这就够了，因为当他坐下时，人们只能看到他的外套和衬衫，这些还不太旧。
Nobody could see his trousers.
没人能看到他的裤子。
He thought about the meal—not too expensive, but good.
他盘算着这顿饭——不用太贵，但要好吃。
But when Soapy went into the restaurant, the waiter saw Soapy’s dirty old trousers and terrible shoes.
但当苏比走进餐厅时，侍者看到了他那条又脏又旧的裤子和那双糟糕透顶的鞋子。
Strong hands turned him round and helped him out into the street again.
几双有力的大手把他转过身来，又把他“请”回了街上。
Slowly and carefully he picked up a stone and threw it at the window.
他慢慢地、小心翼翼地捡起一块石头，朝窗户扔去。（注：原文此处开头似有缺失，根据上下文补全语义）
The glass broke with a loud noise.
玻璃哗啦一声碎了。
People ran round the corner and Soapy was happy, because the man in front was a policeman.
人们从拐角跑过来，苏比很高兴，因为面前的人是个警察。
Soapy did not move.
苏比没有动。
He stood there with his hands in his pockets, and he smiled.
他双手插在口袋里站在那里，微笑着。
‘I’ll soon be in prison now,’ he thought.
“我很快就要进监狱了，”他想。
The policeman came up to Soapy, ‘Who did that?’ he asked.
警察走到苏比跟前问道：“是谁干的？”
‘Perhaps I did,’ Soapy replied.
“也许是我吧，”苏比回答。
But the policeman knew that people who break windows do not stop to talk to policemen.
但警察知道，砸窗户的人不会停下来跟警察说话。
They run away.
他们会逃跑。
And just then the policeman saw another man, who was running to catch a bus.
就在这时，警察看见另一个人正跑着去赶公交车。
So the policeman ran after him.
于是警察追了过去。
Soapy watched for a minute.
苏比看了一会儿。
Then he walked away.
然后他走开了。
No luck again!
又没运气！
He began to feel cross.
他开始感到恼火了。
But on the opposite side of the road he saw a little restaurant.
但在马路对面，他看到了一家小餐馆。
‘Ah, that’ll be all right,’ he thought, and he went in.
“啊，那家应该没问题，”他想，于是走了进去。
This time nobody looked at his trousers and his shoes.
这次没人看他的裤子和鞋子。
He enjoyed his meal, and then he looked up at the waiter, smiled and said, ‘I haven’t got any money, you know. Now, call the police. And do it quickly, I’m tired!’
他美美地吃了一顿，然后抬头看着侍者，笑着说：“你知道，我没钱了。现在，叫警察吧。快点叫，我累了！”
‘No police for you!’ the waiter answered. ‘Hey! Jo!’
“不给你叫警察！”侍者答道，“嘿！乔！”
Another waiter came, and together they threw Soapy out into the cold street.
另一个侍者过来了，两人一起把苏比扔到了寒冷的街上。
Soapy lay there, very angry.
苏比躺在那里，非常生气。
With difficulty, he stood up.
他艰难地站了起来。
His nice warm prison was still far away, and Soapy was very unhappy.
他那舒适温暖的监狱仍遥遥无期，苏比非常沮丧。
He felt worse because a policeman, who was standing near, laughed and walked away.
更糟的是，附近站着的一个警察笑了笑就走开了。
Soapy moved on, but he walked for a long time before he tried again.
苏比继续往前走，但走了很久才再次尝试。
This time it looked easy.
这次看起来很容易。
A nice young woman was standing in front of a shop window.
一位漂亮的年轻女子站在商店橱窗前。
Not very far away there was also a policeman.
不远处还有一个警察。
Soapy moved nearer to the young woman.
苏比向那位年轻女子靠近了一些。
He saw that the policeman was watching him.
他看到警察正在注视着他。
Then he said to the young woman, with a smile, ‘Why don’t you come with me, my dear? I can give you a good time.’
于是他笑着对年轻女子说：“亲爱的，跟我走吧？我能让你玩得开心。”
The young woman moved away a little and looked more carefully into the shop window.
年轻女子稍微挪开了一点，更仔细地看向橱窗里。
Soapy looked at the policeman.
苏比看了看那个警察。
Yes, he was still watching.
是的，他还在看着。
Then he spoke to the young woman again.
于是他又对年轻女子说话了。
In a minute she would call the policeman.
再过一分钟她就会叫警察了。
Soapy could almost see the prison doors.
苏比几乎都能看到监狱的大门了。
Suddenly, the young woman took hold of his arm.
突然，年轻女子抓住了他的胳膊。
‘OK,’ She said happily. ‘If you buy me a drink. Let’s go before that policeman sees us.’
“好啊，”她高兴地说，“只要你请我喝一杯。趁那个警察没看见我们，快走吧。”
And poor Soapy walked away with the young woman, who still held on to his arm.
可怜的苏比只好和那个紧抓着他胳膊的年轻女子一起走开了。
He was very unhappy.
他非常不开心。
At the next corner he ran away from the woman.
在下一个拐角处，他从女人身边逃跑了。
Suddenly he was afraid.
他突然害怕起来。
‘I’m never going to get to prison,’ he thought.
“我永远也进不了监狱了，”他想。
Slowly, he walked on and came to a street with a lot of theatres.
他慢慢地走着，来到了一条有很多剧院的街道。
There were a lot of people there, rich people in their best clothes.
那里有很多人，都是穿着盛装的富人。
Soapy had to do something to get to prison.
苏比必须做点什么才能进监狱。
He did not want to spend another night on his seat in Madison Square.
他不想再在麦迪逊广场的长椅上过一夜了。
What could he do?
他能做什么呢？
Then he saw a policeman near him, so he began to sing and shout and make a lot of noise.
这时他看到附近有个警察，于是他开始唱歌、喊叫，制造很大的噪音。
This time they must send him to prison.
这次他们肯定会把他送进监狱了。
But the policeman turned his back to Soapy and said to a man who was standing near, ‘He’s had too much to drink, but he’s not dangerous. We’ll leave him alone tonight.’
但警察背对着苏比，对旁边一个男人说：“他喝多了，但没有危险。今晚就让他去吧。”
What was the matter with the police?
警察到底怎么了？
Soapy was really unhappy now, but he stopped making a noise.
苏比现在真的很难过，但他停止了喧哗。
How could he get to prison?
他怎么才能进监狱呢？
The wind was cold, and he pulled his thin coat around him.
风很冷，他把单薄的外套裹紧了。
But, just then, inside a shop, he saw a man with an expensive umbrella.
但就在这时，在一家商店里，他看到一个拿着昂贵雨伞的男人。
The man put his umbrella down near the door, and took out a cigarette.
那人把伞放在门边，掏出一支香烟。
Soapy went into the shop, picked up the umbrella, and, slowly, he began to walk away.
苏比走进商店，拿起雨伞，慢慢地向外走去。
The man came quickly after him. ‘That’s my umbrella,’ he said.
那人迅速追了上来。“那是我的伞，”他说。
‘Oh, is it?’ Soapy replied. ‘Then why don’t you call a policeman? I took it, and you say it’s your umbrella. Go on, then. Call a policeman! Look! There’s one on the corner.’
“哦，是吗？”苏比答道，“那你为什么不叫警察？我拿了它，你说它是你的伞。那就叫啊！叫警察！看！拐角那儿就有一个。”
The umbrella man looked unhappy. ‘Well, you know, perhaps I’ve made a mistake. I took it from a restaurant this morning. If it’s yours, well, I’m very sorry…’
拿伞的男人看起来很不高兴。“嗯，你知道，也许我搞错了。我今天早上从一家餐厅拿的。如果是你的，那么，我很抱歉……”
‘Of course it’s my umbrella,’ Soapy said.
“这当然是我的伞，”苏比说。
The policeman looked at them—and the umbrella man walked away.
警察看了看他们——拿伞的男人走开了。
The policeman went to help a beautiful young girl to cross the road.
警察转身去帮一位漂亮的年轻女孩过马路了。
Soapy was really angry now.
苏比现在真的生气了。
He threw the umbrella away and said many bad things about policemen.
他把伞扔掉，说了许多关于警察的坏话。
Just because he wanted to go to prison, they did not want to send him there.
就因为他想进监狱，他们反而不想送他进去了。
He could do nothing wrong!
他怎么做都不算犯错！
He began to walk back to Madison Square and home— his seat.
他开始往回走，回到麦迪逊广场，回到他的家——那张长椅。
But on a quiet corner, Soapy suddenly stopped.
但在一个安静的拐角处，苏比突然停下了脚步。
Here, in the middle of the city, was a beautiful old church.
在这里，在城市中心，有一座美丽的古老教堂。
Through one purple window he could see a soft light, and sweet music was coming from inside the church.
透过一扇紫色的窗户，他可以看到柔和的灯光，甜美的音乐从教堂内传出。
The moon was high in the sky and everything was quiet.
月亮高悬夜空，万籁俱寂。
For a few seconds it was like a country church and Soapy remembered other, happier days.
有那么几秒钟，这里就像一座乡村教堂，苏比想起了过去那些更快乐的日子。
He thought of the days when he had a mother, and friends, and beautiful things in his life.
他想起了那些有母亲、有朋友、生活中充满美好事物的时光。
Then he thought about his life now—the empty days, the dead plans.
接着他想到了自己现在的生活——空虚的日子，破灭的计划。
And then a wonderful thing happened.
然后一件美妙的事情发生了。
Soapy decided to change his life and be a new man.
苏比决定改变自己的生活，做一个新人。
‘Tomorrow,’ he said to himself, ‘I’ll go into town and find work. My life will be good again. I’ll be somebody important. Everything will be different. I’ll…’
“明天，”他对自己说，“我要进城去找工作。我的生活会重新好起来。我会成为一个重要人物。一切都会不同。我会……”
Soapy felt a hand on his arm.
苏比感觉有一只手搭在了他的胳膊上。
He jumped and looked round quickly—into the face of a policeman!
他吓了一跳，猛地回过头——正对着一张警察的脸！
‘What are you doing here?’ asked the policeman.
“你在这里干什么？”警察问。
‘Nothing,’ Soapy answered.
“没干什么，”苏比回答。
‘Then come with me,’ the policeman said.
“那就跟我走吧，”警察说。
‘Three months in prison,’ they told Soapy the next day.
第二天，他们告诉苏比：“监禁三个月。”
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