“Mother!” yelled Charlie, rushing in on them like a hurricane. “Look! I’ve got it! Look, Mother, look! The last Golden Ticket! It’s mine! I found some money in the street and I bought two bars of chocolate and the second one had the Golden Ticket and there were crowds of people all around me wanting to see it and the shopkeeper rescued me and I ran all the way home and here I am! IT’s THE FIFTH GOLDEN TICKET, MOTHER, AND I’VE FOUND IT!”

“妈妈!”查理大叫着,像一股旋风似的冲进他们的房间,“瞧,我得到它了!瞧,妈妈,瞧!最后一张金奖券!它是我的了!我在街上捡到一点儿钱,买了两块巧克力糖,第二块里面藏着这张金奖券,接着一大群人围着我要看它,店老板替我解了围。我一路上跑着回家。我回来啦!这是第五张金奖券,妈妈,我找到它了!”

Charlie burst through the front door, shouting, “Mother! Mother! Mother!”

查理冲进前门大叫:“妈妈!妈妈!妈妈!”

Then, very softly, Grandpa Joe said, “You’re pulling our legs, Charlie, aren’t you? You’re having a little joke?”

最后,约瑟夫爷爷很轻很轻地说:“你在跟我们开玩笑,对吗,查理?你在开一个小小的玩笑?”

Mrs Bucket simply stood and stared, while the four old grandparents, who were sitting up in bed balancing bowls of soup on their laps, all dropped their spoons with a clatter and froze against their pillows.

巴克特太太只是站在一旁看着。四位老人家正坐在床上,盛汤的盘子平放在膝上,他们拿着的汤匙一下子全咔哒一声落下来。他们靠着枕头呆若木鸡。

Mrs Bucket was in the old grandparents’ room, serving them their evening soup.

巴克特太太正在四位老人家的房间里侍候着他们吃晚餐的汤。

For about ten seconds there was absolute silence in the room. Nobody dared to speak or move. It was a magic moment.

房间里足足有十秒钟鸦雀无声。没有人敢说一句话,没有人敢动一动。这真是一个迷人的时刻。

Grandpa Joe leaned forward and took a close look, his nose almost touching the ticket. The others watched him, waiting for the verdict.

约瑟夫爷爷俯身向前,靠近点看,他的鼻子几乎碰到了奖券。其他人看着他,等着他证实。

Then very slowly, with a slow and marvellous grin spreading all over his face, Grandpa Joe lifted his head and looked straight at Charlie. The colour was rushing to his cheeks, and his eyes were wide open, shining with joy, and in the centre of each eye, right in the very centre, in the black pupil, a little spark of wild excitement was slowly dancing. Then the old man took a deep breath, and suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, an explosion seemed to take place inside him. He threw up his arms and yelled “Yippeeeeeeee!” And at the same time, his long bony body rose up out of the bed and his bowl of soup went flying into the face of Grandma Josephine, and in one fantastic leap, this old fellow of ninety-six and a half, who hadn’t been out of bed these last twenty years, jumped on to the floor and started doing a dance of victory in his pyjamas.

接着约瑟夫爷爷的脸上一点儿一点儿地绽开一个美丽的笑容,他抬起头来直望着查理。他的两颊泛起红霞,他的两眼睁大,闪着快乐的光芒,每只眼睛的正中心,在黑色的瞳孔里,慢慢地跳动着狂喜的小火花。接着,这位老人家深深地吸了一口气,突然,事前毫无动静,他体内好像来了一个大爆炸。他挥起双臂,放声大叫:“好啊啊啊啊啊啊啊!”与此同时,他瘦长的身体已经起来,离开了床,他那碗汤泼到了约瑟芬奶奶的脸上。这位九十六岁半、二十多年没有下过床的老先生一下子跳到了地板上,穿着他的睡衣,开始跳起胜利的舞蹈来。

“I am not!” cried Charlie, rushing up to the bed and holding out the large and beautiful Golden Ticket for him to see.

“我没有开玩笑!”查理叫着,冲到床前,把那张又大又漂亮的金奖券递给他看。

“Cripes!” he cried. “What’s going on in here?”

“哎呀,”他叫道,“这里出什么事啦?”

“Yippeeeeeeeeee!” he shouted. “Three cheers for Charlie! Hip, hip, hooray!”

“好啊啊啊啊啊啊啊!”他高声欢呼,“为查理三呼万岁!万岁,万岁,万万岁!”

At this point, the door opened, and Mr Bucket walked into the room. He was cold and tired, and he looked it. All day long, he had been shovelling snow in the streets.

正在这时候,门打开了,巴克特先生走进房间。他看上去是在街上铲了一天的雪。

“Show him the ticket, Charlie!” shouted Grandpa Joe, who was still dancing around the floor like a dervish in his striped pyjamas. “Show your father the fifth and last Golden Ticket in the world!”

“查理,给他看看奖券!”约瑟夫爷爷叫道,他穿着睡衣,在地板上团团转地狂舞,“给你爸爸看看这世界上的第五张,也是最后一张金奖券吧!”

“I don’t believe it!” he said. “It’s not possible.”

“我不相信!”他说,“这是不可能的。”

“Let me see it, Charlie,” Mr Bucket said, collapsing into a chair and holding out his hand. Charlie came forward with the precious document.

“让我看看,查理。”巴克特先生说着便瘫倒在一把椅子上,伸出一只手。查理拿着那张贵重的奖券走过去。

It was a very beautiful thing, this Golden Ticket, having been made, so it seemed, from a sheet of pure gold hammered out almost to the thinness of paper. On one side of it, printed by some clever method in jet-black letters, was the invitation itself — from Mr Wonka.

这张金奖券非常漂亮,看来是用纯金打成的金箔,薄得几乎像纸。奖券的一面,用巧妙的办法印上了乌黑发亮的字,是旺卡先生发的邀请信。

“Read it aloud,” said Grandpa Joe, climbing back into bed again at last. “Let’s all hear exactly what it says.”

“把信大声念出来,”约瑟夫爷爷说,他终于重新爬回床上去,“让大家听听到底说些什么。”

It didn’t take them long to tell him what had happened.

他们连忙把所发生的事情原原本本地告诉了他。

“Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Golden Ticket, from Mr Willy Wonka! I shake you warmly by the hand! Tremendous things are in store for you! Many wonderful surprises await you! For now, I do invite you to come to my factory and be my guest for one whole day — you and all others who are lucky enough to find my Golden Tickets. I, Willy Wonka, will conduct you around the factory myself, showing you everything that there is to see, and afterwards, when it is time to leave, you will be escorted home by a procession of large trucks. These trucks, I can promise you, will be loaded with enough delicious eatables to last you and your entire household for many years. If, at any time thereafter, you should run out of supplies, you have only to come back to the factory and show this Golden Ticket, and I shall be happy to refill your cupboard with whatever you want. In this way, you will be able to keep yourself supplied with tasty morsels for the rest of your life. But this is by no means the most exciting thing that will happen on the day of your visit. I am preparing other surprises that are even more marvellous and more fantastic for you and for all my beloved Golden Ticket holders — mystic and marvellous surprises that will entrance, delight, intrigue, astonish, and perplex you beyond measure. In your wildest dreams you could not imagine that such things could happen to you! Just wait and see! And now, here are your instructions: the day I have chosen for the visit is the first day in the month of February. On this day, and on no other, you must come to the factory gates at ten o’clock sharp in the morning. Don’t be late! And you are allowed to bring with you either one or two members of your own family to look after you and to ensure that you don’t get into mischief. One more thing — be certain to have this ticket with you, otherwise you will not be admitted. (Signed) Willy Wonka.”

我,威利·旺卡,祝贺你,这张金奖券的幸运得主!我热烈地握你的手!大批东西已经为你储备着!许多你意想不到的好东西正等着你来取!现在我谨邀请你到我的工厂做客一整天——包括你和其他几位找到我的金奖券的幸运儿。我,威利·旺卡,将亲自带领你们参观工厂,让你们看这里所有的东西。最后在临走时,将有一队大卡车送你们回家。我可以向你保证,这些卡车装有足够的美味食物,够你和你的全家吃上许多年。今后你如果缺少食物,只要到工厂来出示金奖券,我将乐意用你所想要的食物重新装满你的橱柜。这样,你就可以一生吃上美味佳肴了。但这还比不上你在参观那天将碰到的最刺激的事。我正准备带给你和所有亲爱的奖券得主别的更不可思议、更奇妙的意外惊喜。这些不可思议和奇妙的意外东西将使你们感到无限着迷、狂喜、好奇、惊讶和迷惑不解。即使做最荒诞的梦,你们也想象不出会碰到这样的事情!就等着瞧吧!现在我给你以下的通知:参观日期我已定在二月的第一天。就在这一天而不在其他任何一天,你必须在上午十时整到达工厂的大门口。千万不要迟到!你可以带一两位家人来照顾你,并保证你不淘气。还有一件事——必须带着这张奖券,否则恕不接待。威利·旺卡(签字)

Mr Bucket held the lovely Golden Ticket up close to his eyes. His hands were trembling slightly, and he seemed to be overcome by the whole business. He took several deep breaths. Then he cleared his throat, and said, “All right, I’ll read it. Here we go.”

巴克特先生把那张可爱的奖券凑到眼前。他的手微微发抖,看来这件事使他受不了。他深深地吸了几口气。接着他清了清喉咙说:“好吧,我来念。信是这样写的。”

“Cripes!” said Mr Bucket. “I think you’re right!”

“哎呀!”巴克特先生说,“我想你是对的!”

“The first day of February!” cried Mrs Bucket. “But that’s tomorrow!. Today is the last day of January. I know it is!”

“二月的第一天!”巴克特太太叫道,“那就是明天啊!今天是一月的最后一天。我知道是的!”

“Now don’t over-excite yourself, Grandpa,” Mrs Bucket said. “And don’t fluster poor Charlie. We must all try to keep very calm. Now the first thing to decide is this who is going to go with Charlie to the factory?”

“你不要过分激动,爷爷,”巴克特太太说,“不要弄得可怜的查理晕头转向。我们都必须尽力保持镇静。现在第一件要决定的事情是——谁和查理一起进工厂?”

“I will!” shouted Grandpa Joe, leaping out of bed once again. “I’ll take him! I’ll look after him! You leave it to me!”

“我去!”约瑟夫爷爷大叫一声,再次跳下床来,“我陪他去!我照顾他!这件事包在我身上好了!”

Mrs Bucket smiled at the old man, then she turned to her husband and said, “How about you, dear? Don’t you think you ought to go?”

巴克特太太对老人家笑了笑,接着转向她的丈夫说:“你怎么样,亲爱的?你不认为你应该去吗?”

“You’re just in time!” shouted Grandpa Joe. “There’s not a moment to lose. You must start making preparations at once! Wash your face, comb your hair, scrub your hands, brush your teeth, blow your nose, cut your nails, polish your shoes, iron your shirt, and for heaven’s sake, get all that mud off your pants! You must get ready, my boy! You must get ready for the biggest day of your life!”

“你正好赶上!”约瑟夫爷爷叫道,“现在一分钟也不能浪费了。你必须马上准备!洗脸,梳头发,擦手,刷牙,擤鼻涕,剪指甲,擦皮鞋,熨衬衫。天哪,刷掉你裤子上的泥巴!你必须做好准备,我的孩子!你必须为你一生中最重大的日子做好准备!”

“There’s no must about it, my dear,” Mr Bucket said gently. “Mind you, I’d love to go. It’ll be tremendously exciting. But on the other hand… I believe that the person who really deserves to go most of all is Grandpa Joe himself. He seems to know more about it than we do. Provided, of course, that he feels well enough…”

“没有什么必须不必须的,我亲爱的,”巴克特先生温和地说,“告诉你,我很想去。那太叫人高兴了。但从另一方面说…我相信真正最配得上去的人是约瑟夫爷爷,对这件事他看来比我们知道得都多。当然,这要看他的身体行不行…”

“But you must.”

“但是你必须去。”

“Yippeeeeee!” shouted Grandpa Joe, seizing Charlie by the hands and dancing round the room.

“好啊啊啊啊啊啊啊!”约瑟夫爷爷叫道,拉住查理的双手,绕着房间跳舞。

“He certainly seems well enough,” Mrs Bucket said, laughing. “Yes… perhaps you’re right after all. Perhaps Grandpa Joe should be the one to go with him. I certainly can’t go myself and leave the other three old people all alone in bed for a whole day.”

“他的身体看来的确很好,”巴克特太太哈哈笑着说,“不错…也许还是你说得对。也许应该由约瑟夫爷爷带他去。我当然不能去,不能全天把其他三位老人家单独丢在床上。”

“Well…” Mr Bucket said, pausing to think about it, “no… I’m not so sure that I should.”

“这个嘛…”巴克特先生说了一声,停下来想了想,“不…我可不能断定该由我去。”

“Hallelujah!” yelled Grandpa Joe. “Praise the Lord!”

“赞美主!”约瑟夫爷爷大声说,“赞美主!”

At that point, there came a loud knock on the front door. Mr Bucket went to open it, and the next moment, swarms of newspapermen and photographers were pouring into the house. They had tracked down the finder of the fifth Golden Ticket, and now they all wanted to get the full story for the front pages of the morning papers. For several hours, there was complete pandemonium in the little house, and it must have been nearly midnight before Mr Bucket was able to get rid of them so that Charlie could go to bed.

这时候,前门响起很重的敲门声。巴克特先生走去开门,转眼间一群群新闻记者和摄影师像潮水一样涌进屋来。他们已经追查到第五张金奖券的得主是谁,现在要来采访事情的全部经过,准备刊登在早报的头版上。小房子里闹了好几个钟头。等到巴克特先生把他们全打发走,好让查理能上床睡觉时,已经接近半夜了。


yewandou

一个人要有坚强的毅力,否则他将一事无成

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