The little governess
家庭女教师
Oh dear, she wished she wasn’t travelling at night.
唉，她真希望不是在夜间赶路。
She would much rather have travelled by day, much rather.
她宁愿在白天旅行，真的宁愿如此。
But the lady at the Governess Agency had said: ‘Take an evening boat. Then you can get into a “Ladies Only” carriage on the train next day, and that will be much safer than sleeping in a foreign hotel. Don’t leave your seat on the train except to go and wash your hands, and when you do that, make sure you lock the door. The train arrives at Munich at eight o’clock in the morning, and Frau Arnholdt says that the Hotel Grunewald is only one minute away. She will arrive at six the same evening, so you can have a nice quiet day to rest and practise your German. When you want something to eat, I advise you to go to the nearest baker’s and get a cake and some coffee. You haven’t been abroad before, have you?’
但家庭女教师介绍所的女士说过：“坐晚班船吧。这样第二天你就能坐上火车的‘女士专用’车厢，那比在外国旅馆过夜安全多了。在火车上除了去洗手间，不要离开座位；去的时候，一定要把门锁好。火车早上八点到达慕尼黑，阿恩霍尔特太太说格吕内瓦尔德酒店离车站只有一分钟路程。她当天晚上六点才会到，所以你可以安安静静地休息一天，顺便练练德语。想吃东西的话，我建议你去最近的面包店买块蛋糕和咖啡。你以前没出过国，对吧？”
‘No.’
“没有。”
‘Well, I always tell my girls that it’s better to believe that other people are all bad than all good. It sounds hard, but we’ve got to be women of the world, haven’t we?’
“嗯，我总是告诉我手下的姑娘们，与其相信别人都是好人，不如相信他们都是坏人。这话听起来刻薄，但我们得做懂世故的女人，不是吗？”
It was nice on the boat. The attendant in the Ladies’ Sitting Room was so kind, and changed her money for her and helped her to find a comfortable place to lie down.
船上很不错。女士休息室的服务员非常友善，帮她换了钱，还帮她找了个舒服的地方躺下。
She lay there and watched the other passengers taking off their hats and arranging themselves for the night.
她躺在那里，看着其他乘客摘下帽子，安顿下来准备过夜。
The attendant put a green shade over the lamp and sat with her sewing on her knees. ‘I like travelling very much,’ thought the little governess. She smiled as she fell asleep.
服务员给灯罩上了绿色的灯罩，膝上放着针线活坐着。“我很喜欢旅行，”小家庭女教师心想。她微笑着睡着了。
But when the boat stopped and she moved sleepily forward with all the people who knew where to go and what to do—then she felt afraid. Just a little afraid, just enough to wish—oh, that it was day and that she had someone, another woman, to travel with her.
但当船停下，她睡眼惺忪地跟着那些知道该去哪儿、该做什么的人群往前走时——她感到害怕了。只是有一点害怕，刚好足以让她盼望——哦，要是现在是白天就好了，要是身边有个人，另一个女人陪她一起旅行就好了。
‘Tickets, please. Show your tickets. Have your tickets ready.’
“请出示车票。请拿出车票。准备好您的车票。”
She was off the boat. Immediately, a man in a leather hat came forward and touched her on the arm. ‘Where for, Miss?’ He spoke English—he must be a guard or an official of some kind with a hat like that. But then—without asking—he took her bag and started pushing past people, shouting: ‘This way!’ He had such a rude, determined voice.
她下了船。立刻，一个戴皮帽的男人走上前来碰了碰她的胳膊。“去哪儿，小姐？”他说的是英语——戴着那种帽子，他一定是警卫或什么官员。但接着——也不问一声——他就拿过她的包，开始推开人群往前挤，嘴里喊着：“这边走！”他的声音粗鲁又坚决。
‘But I don’t want help with my bag.’ What a horrible man! ‘I don’t want any help. I can carry it myself.’ He walked so fast that she had to run, and she tried to pull the bag out of his hand. He took no notice, but continued down the long, dark platform and across the railway line. She was sure that he was a robber as she, too, crossed the railway line. On the other side—oh, thank goodness!—there was a train with ‘Munich’ written on it.
“可我不需要帮忙拎包。”多讨厌的人啊！“我不要任何帮助。我自己能拎。”他走得太快了，她不得不跑起来，试图从他手里夺回包。他毫不理会，继续沿着昏暗的长站台走去，穿过了铁轨。当她跟着穿过铁轨时，确信他就是个强盗。到了另一边——哦，谢天谢地！——停着一列写着“慕尼黑”的火车。
The man stopped. ‘Here?’ asked the rude voice.
男人停了下来。“这儿？”那个粗鲁的声音问道。
‘Yes, a Ladies’ carriage.’ She opened her little purse to find something small enough to give to this horrible man, while he threw the bag into an empty carriage. There was a ‘Ladies Only’ notice stuck to the window. She got into the train and gave him a coin.
“是的，女士车厢。”她打开小钱包，想找点零钱打发这个讨厌的家伙，这时他把包扔进了一节空车厢。车窗上贴着“女士专用”的告示。她上了火车，递给他一枚硬币。
‘What’s this?’ shouted the man, looking at it angrily. ‘What have you given me? It isn’t enough!’ Did he think that he could trick her like that just because she was a girl and travelling alone at night? Never, never! She kept her purse safe in her hand and refused, simply refused, to see or hear him.
“这是什么？”男人生气地看着硬币喊道，“你给我的是什么？这不够！”难道就因为她是女孩、独自夜行，他就以为能这样骗她吗？绝不，绝不！她把钱包紧紧攥在手里，拒绝，干脆拒绝看他或听他说话。
‘Ah no. Ah no. This is not enough. You make a mistake.’ He jumped onto the train and threw the money back at her.
“啊不，啊不。这不够。你搞错了。”他跳上火车，把钱扔回给她。
Trembling with terror, she put out an icy hand and took the money. ‘That’s all you’re going to get,’ she said. For a minute he stood, staring at her with his sharp eyes. Then he said something she did not understand, and disappeared into the dark. Oh, how thankful she was! How simply terrible that had been. As she stood up to see if her bag was all right, she saw her face in the mirror—white, with big, round eyes. ‘You’re all right now,’ she said to the mirror face, feeling that it was more frightened than she was.
她吓得发抖，伸出冰冷的手接过钱。“你只能拿到这么多，”她说。他站了一会儿，用锐利的眼睛盯着她。然后说了句她听不懂的话，消失在黑暗中。哦，她多么庆幸啊！刚才真是太可怕了。当她站起来检查包是否完好时，她在镜子里看到了自己的脸——苍白，睁着圆圆的大眼睛。“你现在没事了，”她对镜中的脸说，觉得那张脸比她自己还要害怕。
People stood talking in groups on the platform; a strange light from the station lamps made their faces green. A boy was selling tea; a woman offered blankets for hire. White smoke floated in the dark air. ‘How strange it all is,’ thought the little governess, ‘and the middle of the night, too.’ She looked out from her safe corner of the carriage. She was not frightened any more, but proud that she had not given that man any money. ‘I can take care of myself—of course I can. The great thing is not to—’
人们三五成群地站在站台上聊天；车站灯光发出的怪异光线把他们的脸照得发绿。一个男孩在卖茶；一个女人出租毯子。白烟在黑暗的空气中飘浮。“这一切多奇怪啊，”小家庭女教师想，“而且还是在半夜。”她从车厢安全的角落里向外望去。她不再害怕了，反而为自己没给那个男人钱而感到自豪。“我能照顾好自己——当然能。最重要的是不要——”
Suddenly there was a sound of men’s voices and loud laughter. It came nearer. The little governess froze in her corner as four young men passed, staring in at her through the window. One of them, bursting with the joke, pointed at the ‘Ladies Only’ notice, and they all stopped to stare at the little girl in the corner. Oh dear, they were in the next carriage. She heard them talking and laughing, and then there was a sudden silence before one of them, a tall thin fellow with black hair, threw open her door.
突然传来男人的说话声和大笑声。声音越来越近。四个年轻男人经过时，小家庭女教师在角落里僵住了，他们透过窗户盯着她看。其中一个人被逗乐了，指着“女士专用”的告示，他们都停下来盯着角落里的小女孩。天哪，他们就在隔壁车厢。她听到他们说笑，然后突然安静下来，接着其中一个黑发高瘦的年轻人猛地拉开了她的车门。
‘We invite you to share our carriage, Mademoiselle,’ he said in French. She could see the others, standing behind him. She sat very straight and very still. ‘Please be so kind,’ said the tall man, and behind him one of the others exploded into screams of laughter. ‘The young lady is too serious,’ said the man. Then they all went laughing back to their carriage and she was alone again.
“我们邀请您来我们的车厢坐坐，小姐，”他用法语说道。她能看到其他人站在他身后。她坐得笔直，一动不动。“请赏光，”高个子男人说，他身后的另一个人爆发出刺耳的笑声。“这位小姐太严肃了，”那人说。然后他们都笑着回到了自己的车厢，她又独自一人了。
‘Close the doors! Close the doors!’ Someone ran up and down beside the train.
“关门！关门！”有人在火车旁来回跑动喊着。
‘I wish it wasn’t dark. I wish there was another woman in my carriage. I’m frightened of the men next door.’ The little governess looked out of the window, and saw—the man in the leather hat coming back again. His arms were full of luggage. But—what was he doing? He tore the ‘Ladies Only’ notice off the window, while an old man climbed into the carriage. ‘But this is for ladies only.’
“真希望天没这么黑。真希望车厢里还有别的女人。隔壁那些男人让我害怕。”小家庭女教师望向窗外，看到——那个戴皮帽的男人又回来了。他怀里抱满了行李。但是——他在干什么？他撕下了窗上的“女士专用”告示，与此同时一位老先生爬进了车厢。“可这是女士专用车厢啊。”
‘Oh, no, Miss. You make a mistake.’
“哦，不，小姐。您弄错了。”
‘Close the doors!’ A whistle blew and the train started.
“关门！”哨声响起，火车开动了。
Tears came to her eyes, but through them she saw the old man taking off his hat. He looked very old. Ninety, at least. But he had a nice face, pink, with little blue eyes. And he asked her, so politely, ‘Would you like me to move to another carriage, Mademoiselle?’
她眼泪涌了上来，但透过泪水她看到老先生摘下了帽子。他看起来很老了。至少九十岁。但他面容慈祥，脸色红润，长着小小的蓝眼睛。他非常有礼貌地问她：“小姐，需要我搬到别的车厢去吗？”
What, make him carry all those heavy things? She couldn’t do that! ‘No, it’s quite all right.’
什么，让他搬着那些沉重的东西挪地方？她做不到！“不用，没关系。”
‘Ah, a thousand thanks.’
“啊，万分感谢。”
The train left the station and rushed into the dark. She looked out of the window but could see nothing—just the occasional light on a hill or the shape of a tree. In the carriage next door the young men were singing—the same song again and again. ‘I wouldn’t dare go to sleep if I were alone in here,’ thought the little governess. She was glad that the old man was there. Really, he looked so nice, sitting there, so straight-backed and neat, reading his German newspaper. Some old men were horrible, but he… He put down his newspaper. ‘Do you speak German, Mademoiselle?’
火车驶离车站，冲进夜色中。她望向窗外，什么也看不见——只有山上偶尔的灯光或树木的轮廓。隔壁车厢的年轻人们在唱歌——一遍又一遍地唱着同一首歌。“如果只有我一个人在这里，我可不敢睡觉，”小家庭女教师心想。她很庆幸有这位老先生在。真的，他看起来那么和蔼，坐在那里，腰背挺直，衣着整洁，读着他的德文报纸。有些老头很讨厌，但他……他放下报纸。“小姐，您讲德语吗？”
‘Yes, a little,’ said the little governess, blushing a deep pink.
“是的，会一点，”小家庭女教师说，脸涨得通红。
‘Ah, then, perhaps you would like to look at my papers. I have several here.’
“啊，那么，也许您愿意看看我的报纸。我这里有好几份。”
First, she took off her hat, and put it safely with her bag. How kindly the old man watched her as her little hand turned over the big white pages. Her beautiful golden hair hung over her face. How sad to be a poor little governess and have such wonderful hair! Perhaps the kind old man was thinking that. Perhaps he thought, ‘Poor little girl, travelling all alone at night. I wish I could be a grandfather to her and look after her!’
首先，她摘下帽子，把它和包放在一起。老先生慈祥地看着她的小手翻动着宽大的白纸页。她美丽的金发垂在脸上。可怜的小家庭女教师却有着如此迷人的秀发，真让人惋惜！也许这位善良的老人正在这么想。也许他想：“可怜的小姑娘，深夜独自旅行。真希望我能做她的祖父，照顾她！”
‘Thank you very much,’ she smiled, giving back the papers.
“非常感谢，”她微笑着归还了报纸。
‘But you speak German extremely well,’ said the old man. ‘You have been in Germany before, of course?’
“但您的德语说得极好，”老先生说，“您以前肯定来过德国吧？”
‘Oh, no, this is the first time I have ever been abroad at all.’
“哦，不，这是我第一次出国。”
‘Really! I am surprised. I had the feeling you had travelled a great deal before. Well, you will like Munich,’ said the old man. ‘Munich is a wonderful city. Museums, pictures, theatres, shops—you can find everything in Munich. I have travelled all over Europe, but I am always glad to get back to Munich.’
“真的吗！我很惊讶。我还以为您以前经常旅行呢。好吧，您会喜欢慕尼黑的，”老先生说，“慕尼黑是个美妙的城市。博物馆、画作、剧院、商店——在慕尼黑你能找到一切。我游遍了欧洲，但总是很高兴回到慕尼黑。”
‘I am not going to stay in Munich,’ said the little governess shyly. ‘I am going to be governess to a doctor’s family in Augsburg.’
“我不打算待在慕尼黑，”小家庭女教师害羞地说，“我要去奥格斯堡的一个医生家当家庭女教师。”
Ah, he knew Augsburg. A fine city, too. ‘But you should take a little holiday in Munich before you go.’
啊，他知道奥格斯堡。那也是个好城市。“但在去之前，你应该在慕尼黑度个小假。”
‘Oh, I am afraid I could not do that,’ said the little governess seriously. ‘Also, if one is alone…’ He understood. He, too, looked serious, and they were both silent after that. The train flew on through the night. It was warm in the carriage. There were distant noises of doors opening and closing, rain on the windows. She fell asleep.
“哦，恐怕我不能那样做，”小家庭女教师认真地说，“而且，如果是一个人的话……”他明白了。他也变得严肃起来，之后两人都沉默了。火车在夜色中飞驰。车厢里很暖和。远处传来开关门的声音，雨水打在窗户上。她睡着了。
A sudden loud noise woke her. What had happened? The old man sat frowning. ‘Ha! ha! ha!’ came from the next carriage.
一声突如其来的巨响吵醒了她。发生了什么事？老先生皱着眉头坐着。“哈！哈！哈！”隔壁车厢传来笑声。
‘Such thoughtless young men,’ said the old man. ‘I am afraid that they have woken you up with their noisy behaviour.’ No, not really. She wanted to wake up now. She looked at her watch. Half-past four. A cold blue light filled the window. She looked out on fields, white houses, trees. How pretty it was! How pretty and how different! Even those pink clouds in the sky looked foreign. She rubbed her cold hands together, and felt very happy.
“这些年轻人真是不懂事，”老先生说，“恐怕他们的吵闹把你吵醒了。”不，其实没有。她现在倒是想醒着了。她看了看表。四点半。冷蓝色的晨光充满了车窗。她望着外面的田野、白色的房子和树木。多美啊！多么美丽又多么不同！连天上的粉云都显得充满异域风情。她搓着冰冷的双手，感到非常快乐。
The train began to go more slowly. It gave a long whistle. They were coming to a town. Tall pink and yellow houses went by. A woman threw open her window and stared out at the train. More women appeared. And then—Look! What lovely flowers—and at the railway station, too! Colours you would never see at home.
火车开始减速。拉了一声长笛。他们快到一座城镇了。高大的粉色和黄色房屋掠过眼前。一个女人推开窗户凝视着火车。更多的女人出现了。然后——看！多可爱的花——火车站也有！这些颜色在国内是永远见不到的。
The train stopped. A fat woman walked along the platform, carrying baskets of strawberries. Oh, she was thirsty! She was very thirsty!
火车停了。一个胖女人提着几篮草莓沿着站台走来。哦，她渴了！她非常渴！
The old man got up, smiling, and put his coat on. She smiled back at him as he left the carriage. While he was gone, the little governess looked at herself in the mirror and arranged her hair像a girl who is quite old enough to travel by herself. But she was so thirsty! She opened the window, and the fat woman with the strawberries came to her immediately. ‘How much?’ asked the little governess. ‘Oh, my goodness! Much too expensive!’ And she sat down in her corner again.
老先生微笑着站起来，穿上外套。他离开车厢时，她也对他报以微笑。他不在的时候，小家庭女教师照了照镜子，整理了一下头发，像个完全能够独自旅行的姑娘一样。但她实在太渴了！她打开窗户，卖草莓的胖女人立刻走了过来。“多少钱？”小家庭女教师问。“哦，天哪！太贵了！”于是她又坐回了角落。
A whistle blew. She hoped the old man would not be left behind. Oh, here he was! And she smiled at him like an old friend as he came back into the carriage, holding—a basket of strawberries! ‘Mademoiselle, please accept these…’
哨声响了。她希望老先生没有被落下。哦，他回来了！当他提着一篮草莓回到车厢时，她像对待老朋友一样对他微笑。“小姐，请收下这些……”
‘What, are they for me?’ She looked alarmed, uncertain.
“什么，这是给我的吗？”她看起来惊慌又犹豫。
‘Certainly, for you,’ said the old man. ‘I myself am no longer able to eat strawberries. Please. Try one.’
“当然是给你的，”老先生说，“我自己已经吃不了草莓了。请尝尝。尝一个吧。”
‘Oh, thank you!’ she gasped. ‘They look so delicious.’
“哦，谢谢！”她喘着气说，“它们看起来太好吃了。”
‘Eat them all up,’ said the old man, looking pleased and friendly. They were so big and juicy that she had to take two bites of each one. The juice ran all over her fingers. While she was eating them, she pretended to herself that the old man was her grandfather. What a perfect grandfather he would be!
“把它们全吃了吧，”老先生说，显得高兴又友善。草莓又大又多汁，每个她都得咬两口。果汁流得满手都是。吃的时候，她暗自假装这位老先生就是她的祖父。他该是个多么完美的祖父啊！
When she had finished the strawberries, she felt that she had known him for years. She told him all about Frau Arnholdt and the arrangements for meeting her in Munich. Frau Arnholdt would not arrive until the evening. He listened, and then he said, ‘I wonder if you would let me show you a little of Munich today. Just the English Garden, and perhaps a museum… It would be so much more pleasant for you than sitting in a hotel room, and it would give an old man a great deal of pleasure.’
吃完草莓后，她觉得好像认识他好多年了。她把阿恩霍尔特太太的事以及在慕尼黑见面的安排都告诉了他。阿恩霍尔特太太要到晚上才到。他听完说：“不知你是否愿意让我今天带你逛逛慕尼黑的一小部分。就去英国花园，或许再去个博物馆……这比坐在酒店房间里愉快多了，也能给我这个老头子带来莫大的快乐。”
She said ‘yes’ immediately, and only wondered later if that had been a sensible thing to do. After all, she really did not know him. But he was so old and so kind—not to mention the strawberries. And it was her last day, really, her last day to enjoy herself.
她立刻答应了，事后才琢磨这样做是否明智。毕竟，她真的不认识他。但他年纪那么大，又那么善良——更别提那些草莓了。而且这也是她最后一天了，真的是她最后能尽情玩乐的一天。
‘I will take you to your hotel,’ he said, ‘and call for you there at ten o’clock.’ He gave her a card with his name on it. So then everything was arranged, everything was all right. And the little governess began to feel excited at being abroad, and enjoyed looking out of the window at all the new and foreign things, and talking about them all to the kind old grandfather until they reached Munich. He guided her carefully through the crowds at the station, and took her straight to her hotel. ‘I will call for you at ten o’clock,’ he said, and then he was gone.
“我会送你去酒店，”他说，“十点再来接你。”他给了她一张印有名字的名片。于是一切都安排好了，一切都妥当了。小家庭女教师开始对出国感到兴奋，愉快地望着窗外所有新鲜陌生的事物，并把它们一一讲给那位善良的“老祖父”听，直到抵达慕尼黑。他小心翼翼地领着她穿过车站的人群，直接把她送到了酒店。“我十点来接你，”他说完就走了。
‘This way, Miss,’ said a waiter, who had been staring at the little governess and the old man.
“这边请，小姐，”一位侍者说，他一直盯着小家庭女教师和那位老先生。
She followed him up the stairs to a dark bedroom. Ugh! What an ugly, cold room! How horrible it would be to spend the whole day here! ‘Is this the room Frau Arnholdt ordered for me?’ asked the little governess.
她跟着他上楼来到一间昏暗的卧室。呃！多么丑陋阴冷的房间！在这里待上一整天该多难受啊！“这是阿恩霍尔特太太为我预订的房间吗？”小家庭女教师问。
The waiter kept staring at her—he seemed to think there was something peculiar about her. He began to whistle, then changed his mind. ‘Certainly,’ he said.
侍者一直盯着她——似乎觉得她有点古怪。他开始吹口哨，随即又打消了念头。“当然，”他说。
Well, why didn’t he go? Why did he stare at her like that? ‘Go away,’ said the little governess, in her cold English way. His little eyes widened in surprise. ‘Go away at once,’ she repeated icily.
哎，他怎么还不走？为什么那样盯着她？“出去，”小家庭女教师用她那冷淡的英式口吻说道。他的小眼睛惊讶地睁大了。“马上出去，”她冷冷地重复道。
He went to the door, but then he turned round. ‘And your gentleman friend,’ he said. ‘Shall I send him upstairs to you when he comes?’
他走到门口，却又转过身来。“还有您那位男士朋友，”他说，“他来的时候要我让他上楼找您吗？”
Big white clouds over the white streets—and sunshine everywhere. Tall trees on both sides of the streets, trams full of fat, smiling people, a sound of laughter from open windows. And beside her, looking neater and more beautifully brushed than ever, her grandfather, who was showing her Munich. She wanted to run, to hang on his arm, to cry, ‘Oh, I am so very happy!’
洁白的街道上飘着大朵白云——到处阳光明媚。街道两旁耸立着高大的树木，电车上挤满了胖胖的、面带微笑的人们，敞开的窗户里传出阵阵笑声。而在她身旁，衣着比以往更加整洁漂亮的“祖父”正带她游览慕尼黑。她想奔跑，想挽住他的手臂，大喊：“哦，我太幸福了！”
He guided her across the roads, waiting while she looked at everything and watching her with his kind eyes. She ate bread and meat and drank beer out of a huge glass like a flower vase. It didn’t make you drunk like English beer. And then they went to look at pictures in the museum.
他领着她过马路，在她驻足观赏时耐心等待，用慈祥的目光注视着她。她吃着面包和肉，用花瓶般巨大的玻璃杯喝啤酒。这种啤酒不像英国啤酒那样容易醉人。然后他们去博物馆看画展。
When they came out of the museum, it was raining. The grandfather put up his umbrella, and held it over her as they walked to a restaurant to have lunch. ‘It will be easier if you take my arm,’ he said. ‘And, you know, that is the custom here in Germany.’ So she took his arm and walked beside him, and the walk was so interesting that he forgot to put the umbrella down even when the rain stopped.
走出博物馆时下雨了。“祖父”撑起伞，遮在她头顶，两人走向一家餐厅吃午饭。“如果你挽着我的胳膊会方便些，”他说，“而且你知道，这在德国是习俗。”于是她挽起他的胳膊走在他身旁，这段路太有趣了，以至于雨停了他都忘了收伞。
After lunch they went to the English Garden. ‘I wonder what the time is,’ said the little governess. ‘My watch has stopped. We’ve seen so many things that I feel it must be quite late.’
午饭后他们去了英国花园。“不知道现在几点了，”小家庭女教师说，“我的表停了。我们看了这么多东西，我觉得一定很晚了。”
‘Late!’ he laughed, ‘late! But there is so much more to see, and you have not yet tried our delicious ice-cream!’
“晚！”他笑道，“晚！但还有好多东西没看呢，而且你还没尝过我们美味的冰淇淋呢！”
‘Oh,’ cried the little governess, ‘I have enjoyed myself more than I can say. It has been wonderful! But Frau Arnholdt is calling at the hotel for me at six, so I should be there by five.’
“哦，”小家庭女教师叫道，“我玩得开心极了，简直无法形容。今天太棒了！但阿恩霍尔特太太六点会到酒店找我，所以我五点前得回去。”
‘And you shall be there, but first we will sit down in this café and have a chocolate ice-cream.’
“你会准时到的，但首先我们要在这家咖啡馆坐下，吃点巧克力冰淇淋。”
She was happy again. The ice-cream slipped down beautifully, and she sat with her back to the clock that pointed to twenty-five minutes to seven. ‘Really and truly,’ she said, ‘this has been the happiest day of my life.’ Her grateful baby heart was full of love for her dear old grandfather.
她又快乐起来了。冰淇淋顺滑可口，她背对着指向六点三十五分的时钟坐着。“千真万确，”她说，“这是我一生中最快乐的一天。”她那充满感激的孩童般的心里，满是对亲爱的老祖父的爱意。
When they left the English Garden, the day was almost over. ‘You see those big buildings there,’ said the old man. ‘That is where I live—I and my old housekeeper who looks after me.’ She was very interested. ‘Now, before I take you back to your hotel, will you come up for a few minutes and see my little home?’ Of course, she would love to.
离开英国花园时，天色已近黄昏。“你看那边那些大楼，”老先生说，“我就住在那儿——我和我的老管家，她照顾我的生活。”她对此很感兴趣。“现在，在我送你回酒店之前，你要不要上去坐几分钟，看看我的小窝？”当然，她很乐意。
The passage was quite dark. ‘Ah, I suppose my old woman has gone out to buy me a chicken.’ He opened the door, and shy but curious, she went into a strange room. She did not know quite what to say. It wasn’t pretty, but it was neat, and, she supposed, comfortable for such an old man. ‘Well, what do you think of my little home?’ He took a bottle and two pink glasses out of a cupboard. ‘If ever you want to spend one or two days in Munich, there will always be a place for you here, and an old man ready to look after you.’ He poured some wine into the pink glasses, and his hand shook a little as he poured. It was very quiet in the room.
过道里很暗。“啊，我想我的老太婆出去给我买鸡了。”他打开门，她既羞涩又好奇地走进了一间陌生的房间。她不知道该说什么才好。房间不算漂亮，但很整洁，她想，对于这样一位老人来说应该算舒适了。“怎么样，你觉得我的小窝如何？”他从橱柜里拿出一瓶酒和两个粉色玻璃杯。“如果你哪天想在慕尼黑待上一两天，这里永远有你的一席之地，还有一个随时准备照顾你的老头子。”他往粉色杯子里倒酒，倒酒的手微微颤抖。房间里非常安静。
She said, ‘I think I ought to go now.’
她说：“我想我现在该走了。”
‘But you will have a little glass of wine with me—just one tiny glass before you go?’ said the old man.
“但你不陪我喝一小杯酒吗——就走之前喝一小杯？”老先生说。
‘No, really, no. I never drink wine, or anything like that.’ And although she was afraid she was being awfully rude, she was quite determined. ‘No, really, please.’
“不，真的不行。我从不喝酒，也不喝类似的东西。”尽管担心这样显得非常无礼，但她态度坚决。“不，真的，请不要。”
‘Well, will you sit here by me for five minutes while I drink your health?’
“那好吧，你能在我旁边坐五分钟，让我为你的健康干一杯吗？”
The little governess sat down on the edge of the sofa, and he sat beside her and drank. ‘Have you really been happy today?’ asked the old man, and he sat so close to her that she could feel his knee against hers. Before she could answer, he took her hands in his. ‘And are you going to give me one little kiss before you go?’ he asked, pulling her towards him.
小家庭女教师在沙发边缘坐下，他紧挨着她坐着喝酒。“你今天真的开心吗？”老先生问，他坐得离她那么近，她都能感觉到膝盖碰到了他的膝盖。还没等她回答，他就抓住了她的双手。“走之前能不能给我一个小小的吻？”他问，把她拉向自己。
It was a dream. It wasn’t true! It wasn’t the same old man at all. Ah, how horrible! The little governess stared at him in terror. ‘No, no no!’ she gasped, pulling away from him.
这是一场梦。这不是真的！这根本不是刚才那位老先生了。啊，太可怕了！小家庭女教师惊恐地盯着他。“不，不，不！”她喘着气挣脱开来。
‘One little kiss. A kiss. Just a little kiss, my dear.’ He pushed his face into hers, his lips smiling. How his little blue eyes shone!
“就一个小吻。一个吻。就亲一下，亲爱的。”他把脸凑向她，嘴唇带着笑意。他那双蓝色的小眼睛闪闪发光！
‘Never—never. How can you!’ She jumped up, but he was too quick for her, and he pushed her against the wall and pushed his hard old body against hers. Although she fought him, shaking her head desperately from side to side, he kissed her on the mouth. On the mouth! Where nobody had ever kissed her before…
“绝不——绝不。你怎么能这样！”她跳了起来，但他动作更快，把她推到墙上，用他那坚硬衰老的身躯压住她。尽管她拼命反抗，绝望地左右摇头，他还是吻了她的嘴。吻了嘴！那是从来没有人亲吻过的地方……
She ran, ran down the street until she found a wide road with trams and a policeman standing in the middle. ‘I want to get a tram to the station,’ cried the little governess.
她跑啊跑，沿着街道狂奔，直到找到一条有电车行驶、中间站着警察的宽阔马路。“我要坐电车去火车站，”小家庭女教师哭喊道。
‘Excuse me?’
“你说什么？”
‘The station!’
“火车站！”
‘There—there’s a tram now,’ and he watched, very much surprised, as the little girl with her hat on one side and tears pouring down her face, jumped on to the tram and sat there with her hands over her mouth.
“那儿——现在有辆电车来了，”他惊讶地看着这个帽子歪戴、泪流满面的小女孩跳上电车，坐在那里双手捂着嘴。
When the little governess reached the Hotel Grunewald, the same waiter who had shown her to her room was there, putting glasses on the tables. He seemed oddly pleased to see her and to answer her questions. ‘Oh, yes, the lady came. I told her you had arrived and then gone out again with a gentleman. She asked me when you were coming back again—but of course I could not say. And then she went to see the manager.’ He picked up a glass and examined it closely. He smiled as he put it down again.
当小家庭女教师赶到格吕内瓦尔德酒店时，之前带她去房间的那位侍者正在桌边摆放杯子。看到她回来并回答她的询问时，他似乎有一种莫名的快意。“哦，是的，那位女士来过。我告诉她你已经到了，然后又跟一位先生出去了。她问我你什么时候回来——但我当然说不准。然后她就去找经理了。”他拿起一只杯子仔细端详。放下杯子时，他笑了。
‘Where is the lady now?’ asked the little governess, shaking so violently that she had to hold her handkerchief up to her mouth.
“那位女士现在在哪儿？”小家庭女教师问，浑身剧烈颤抖，不得不把手帕捂在嘴上。
‘How should I know?’ cried the waiter, and he pushed past her to greet some new guests coming through the door of the hotel. ‘That’s it! That’s it!’ he thought. ‘That will teach her.’ And as he picked up the new guests’ luggage, he repeated again the little governess’s words, ‘Go away. Go away at once. Shall I! Shall I!’ he shouted to himself.
“我怎么知道？”侍者嚷道，擦身而过，去迎接刚进酒店大门的新客人。“这就对了！这就对了！”他想，“这下该给她个教训了。”当他提起新客人的行李时，他又在心里重复了一遍小家庭女教师说过的话：“出去。马上出去。我该不该让他上来！我该不该！”他对自己吼道。
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