IX—Fun in the Cherry Orchard
第九章——樱桃园里的乐趣

THE NEXT MORNING Henry thought and thought about taking the other children to pick cherries with him.
第二天早上,亨利一直在琢磨着带其他孩子们一起去摘樱桃。

At last he told his sisters about it as they ate bread and milk for breakfast.
最后,在大家吃面包喝牛奶当早餐时,他把这个想法告诉了姐妹们。

“Dr. Moore said he wanted more children to help. Do you think all of us ought to go, Jessie?”
“摩尔医生说他需要更多的孩子帮忙。杰西,你觉得我们大家都该去吗?”亨利问道。

“Well,” said Jessie, “I don’t know. You see, there are four of us. If Grandfather is looking for us, it would be easier to see four than one.”
“嗯,”杰西说,“我不知道。你看,我们一共有四个人。如果爷爷在找我们,四个人比一个人更容易被发现。”

“Yes, that’s so,” answered Henry. “But we can go down the hill and through the streets two by two. I’ll take Benny and go ahead. Then in a little while you and Violet can come with the dog.”
“是啊,没错,”亨利回答,“但我们可以两个两个地下山穿过街道。我先带本尼走。过一会儿你和维奥莱特再带着狗过来。”

“Good!” said Jessie. “Watch can tell where you go.”
“好主意!”杰西说,“沃奇能告诉我们你们去哪儿了。”

The children took down the clothesline and shut the door of the car. Everything was in order. Then they started out.
孩子们收好晾衣绳,关上车厢门。一切收拾妥当后,他们就出发了。

When they arrived at the orchard, they soon saw that they were not the only workers. The doctor was there, and the cook, and two men carrying ladders and baskets.
到达果园后,他们很快发现自己并不是唯一的工人。医生在那里,厨师也在,还有两个扛着梯子和篮子的男人。

“Good morning, Henry,” said Mrs. Moore. “Can you work today?”
“早上好,亨利,”摩尔太太说,“你今天能干活吗?”

“Oh, yes,” said Henry. “These are my sisters, Jessie and Violet. They can pick cherries, too. Benny is too young to climb trees, but we had to bring him.”
“哦,能的,”亨利说,“这是我的姐妹,杰西和维奥莱特。她们也能摘樱桃。本尼太小了爬不了树,但我们不得不把他带来。”

“Maybe he can carry baskets,” said Dr. Moore, smiling at Benny. “You see, this is a big cherry year, and we have to work fast, once we begin. Maybe he can help fill the little baskets from the big ones.”
“也许他可以帮忙提篮子,”摩尔医生笑着对本尼说,“你知道,今年樱桃大丰收,一旦开始我们就得抓紧干。也许他能帮忙把大篮子里的樱桃装进小篮子里。”

“Eat all you want,” said Mrs. Moore. “The cherries are beautiful this year.”
“想吃多少就吃多少,”摩尔太太说,“今年的樱桃长得真好。”

The children didn’t eat all they wanted, but every now and then a big red cherry went into someone’s mouth.
孩子们并没有放开肚皮吃,但时不时还是会有人往嘴里塞一颗大红樱桃。

Henry and the girls went up the ladders and began to pick cherries. Watch barked for awhile. He did not like to have Jessie climbing the ladder. Then he sat down and looked at her up in the tree.
亨利和女孩们爬上梯子开始摘樱桃。沃奇叫了一阵子,它不喜欢杰西爬梯子。然后它坐下来,仰头看着树上的她。

Benny hurried here and there, carrying baskets to the pickers and eating all the cherries he wanted. Everyone in the orchard liked Benny. The doctor laughed delightedly at him, and sweet Mrs. Moore fell in love with him at once. By and by he sat down beside her and carefully filled small baskets with cherries from the big baskets.
本尼跑来跑去,给采摘者们送篮子,还随心所欲地吃着樱桃。果园里每个人都喜欢本尼。医生被他逗得开怀大笑,和蔼的摩尔太太也立刻爱上了他。渐渐地,他在她身边坐下,小心翼翼地把大篮子里的樱桃装进小篮子里。

The men laughed at the funny things Benny said, and Watch barked happily. By and by the doctor left the orchard to make some calls.
工人们被本尼说的趣事逗乐了,沃奇也欢快地叫着。过了一会儿,医生离开果园去出诊了。

At last Mrs. Moore said, “I never had such happy cherry pickers before. You are having such a good time out here that I don’t want to go in the house.” She smiled.
最后摩尔太太说:“我以前从没见过这么快乐的摘樱桃工。你们在这儿玩得这么开心,我都不想回屋里去了。”她微笑着说。

Mary, the cook, seemed to think the same thing, for she came again and again into the orchard.
厨娘玛丽似乎也有同感,因为她一趟又一趟地来到果园。

After awhile the cook went in to get dinner, but the children still picked cherries. At noon Dr. Moore came home.
过了一会儿,厨娘进去准备午饭了,但孩子们还在继续摘樱桃。中午时分,摩尔医生回来了。

“You must stay to dinner,” he said to the children. “We can eat here in the orchard under the trees. Will your mother be watching for you?” When he asked this, he looked at Henry in a queer way.
“你们一定要留下来吃午饭,”他对孩子们说,“我们可以在果园的树下吃。你们的妈妈会在等你们吗?”问这话时,他用一种奇怪的眼神看着亨利。

Henry did not know what to say. But at last Jessie said, “No. Our mother and father are dead.”
亨利不知道该怎么回答。最后还是杰西说:“不会了。我们的爸爸妈妈都去世了。”

“Then you must stay,” said Mrs. Moore. “Here comes Mary.”
“那你们必须留下来,”摩尔太太说,“玛丽来了。”

The cook put a table under the trees, and they all sat around it and ate a delicious dinner. Then Mary went into the house and came out again with big bowls of cherry dumplings.
厨娘在树下摆了一张桌子,大家围坐在一起享用了一顿美味的午餐。然后玛丽走进屋里,又端着几大碗樱桃饺子出来了。

“I can smell something good!” cried Benny. “Is it cherries?”
“我闻到好东西的味道了!”本尼喊道,“是樱桃吗?”

“Yes, my little dear,” said Mary. “Cherry dumplings. The cherries are cooked in the dumplings.”
“是的,我的小宝贝,”玛丽说,“是樱桃饺子。樱桃包在饺子里煮熟的。”

Benny ate his cherry dumpling and then went to sleep with the dog for a pillow. But Henry and Jessie and Violet began to work again. Mrs. Moore looked out of the window at them.
本尼吃完他的樱桃饺子,就把狗当枕头睡着了。但是亨利、杰西和维奥莱特又开始干活了。摩尔太太透过窗户看着他们。

“Just see how those children work,” she said to Dr. Moore. “And they are so polite, too. I wonder who they are.”
“看看那些孩子干得多卖力,”她对摩尔医生说,“而且他们还那么有礼貌。我真想知道他们是谁。”

Dr. Moore said nothing. After awhile he went out to the orchard. “You have worked long enough,” he said.
摩尔医生什么也没说。过了一会儿,他走到果园里。“你们干得够久了,”他说。

He gave them four dollars and all the cherries they could carry.
他给了他们四美元,还让他们带走了所有能拿得动的樱桃。

“That is too much,” said Henry.
“这太多了,”亨利说。

“No,” said Dr. Moore, “it is just right. You see, you are better than most workers, because you are so happy. Come again.”
“不,”摩尔医生说,“刚刚好。要知道,你们比大多数工人都强,因为你们干活时那么快乐。以后再来啊。”

“I’ll come every day,” said Benny.
“我每天都要来,”本尼说。

They all laughed.
大家都笑了。

Dr. Moore saw that the children did not all leave the orchard at the same time, but started down the street two by two.
摩尔医生注意到孩子们并没有同时离开果园,而是两个两个地沿着街道走去。

“I wish I knew who they are,” he said to himself.
“真希望我知道他们是谁,”他自言自语道。

When the cherry pickers got back to their little home, they looked everything over carefully. But things were just as they had left them. The door was still closed, and the milk and butter were in the refrigerator. The children made a happy supper of bread and butter and cherries and then went to bed in the boxcar.
当摘樱桃的孩子们回到他们的小家时,仔细地检查了一番。但一切都和他们离开时一样。门依然关着,牛奶和黄油还在冰箱里。孩子们用面包、黄油和樱桃做了一顿快乐的晚餐,然后在货车车厢里上床睡觉了。

That same night Dr. Moore sat reading the paper. All at once he saw the word LOST and began to read.
就在当天晚上,摩尔医生正坐着看报纸。突然他看到了“寻人启事”这个词,便开始读了起来。

“LOST. Four children, two boys and two girls. Somewhere around Greenfield or Silver City. Five thousand dollars to anyone who can find them. James Henry Alden.”
“寻人启事。四个孩子,两男两女。大概在格林菲尔德或银城附近。凡能找到者酬谢五千美元。詹姆斯·亨利·奥尔登。”

Dr. Moore sat up. “Five thousand dollars!” he said. “James Henry Alden! Oh, my! Oh, my!”
摩尔医生猛地坐直了身子。“五千美元!”他说,“詹姆斯·亨利·奥尔登!天哪!天哪!”

He sat still for a long time, thinking and laughing to himself.
他静静地坐了很久,一边思考一边暗自偷笑。

“The four children are living in a boxcar, but I shall not tell Mr. Alden that they are his grandchildren,” he said.
“这四个孩子住在货车车厢里,但我不会告诉奥尔登先生他们是他的孙辈,”他说。

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