4. 人人爱赢家 Everybody loves a winner

4. Everybody loves a winner
4. 人人爱赢家

When Jason got home, his mother was very excited. ‘We saw you on the news last night,’ she said. ‘With your cheque for five million pounds. You’re rich and famous!’
贾森到家时，他的母亲非常激动。“我们在昨晚的新闻中看到你啦。”她说，“还有你那张五百万英镑的支票。你有钱有名了！”

‘I’m in trouble, Mum,’ said Jason. ‘Please phone the police. Say, “My son was at home on Saturday afternoon. He watched the football on television.” Please.’
“我惹麻烦了，妈妈。”贾森说，“求你打电话给警察，说‘星期六下午我儿子呆在家里，他在看电视里的足球赛。’求你了。”

‘I can’t say that,’ said his mother. ‘It isn’t true.’
“我不能那么说。”他的母亲说，“那不是真的。”

‘Would you like ten thousand pounds?’ asked Jason suddenly.
“你想要一万英镑吗？”贾森突然问。

‘No,’ said Lily Williams. ‘I always tell the truth.’
“不要。”莉莉·威廉斯说，“我从来都说实话。”

‘Twenty thousand,’ said Jason.
“两万英镑。”贾森说。

‘Why do you want me to tell a lie to the police?’ asked Lily. ‘What did you do on Saturday afternoon?’ She looked at Jason. ‘You did something bad. Is that it? And now you want me to tell a lie for you. But I don’t tell lies.’
“你为什么想让我对警察撒谎？”莉莉问。“星期六下午你做什么了？”她看着贾森，“你做坏事了，是不是？现在你想让我帮你撒谎。但我不说谎话。”

‘Thirty thousand!’ said Jason. ‘Please, Mum! Help me! I slept in a police cell last night, and I was in court this afternoon. Now they’re going to send me to the Crown Court. Mum – thirty thousand pounds! Think about it.’
“三万英镑！”贾森说。“求你了，妈妈！帮帮我！昨晚我睡在警察局的小牢房里，今天下午我又上了法庭。现在他们要把我送往刑事法庭。妈妈——三万英镑！考虑一下。”

‘OK, son,’ said Lily Williams slowly. ‘For thirty thousand pounds. I think I can tell a lie. But what did you do on Saturday afternoon? Tell me.’
“好吧，儿子。”莉莉·威廉斯慢悠悠地说，“为了三万英镑，我想我可以撒个谎。不过星期六下午你干什么了？告诉我。”

‘For thirty thousand pounds, I think I can tell a lie,’ said Lily.
“为了三万英镑，我想我可以撒个谎。”莉莉说。

‘Nothing,’ said Jason. ‘I didn’t do anything.’
“什么也没干。”贾森说，“我什么也没干。”

‘So why are they sending you to the Crown Court?’
“那他们为什么要送你上刑事法庭？”

Jason didn’t answer, and his mother looked at him. ‘And what about your Dad? He was at home on Saturday afternoon. You weren’t, and he knows that. What do you want him to say to the police?’
贾森没有回答，他的母亲看着他：“还有你爸怎么办？星期六下午他在家。你没在家，他是知道的。你想让他跟警察说什么？”

‘OK, OK,’ said Jason. ‘Dad can have thirty thousand pounds too. But not today. My lottery cheque is at the court, and I’ve only got ￡2 in my pocket!’
“好吧，好吧。”贾森说，“爸爸也会得到三万英镑，但不是今天。我的彩票支票在法庭，我现在兜里只有两英镑！”

Jason did not sleep well that night. On Wednesday morning at ten o’clock he went to the police station.
那天晚上，贾森没睡好。星期三上午10点，他去了警察局。

‘I’m here,’ he said.
“我来了。”他说。

‘You’ve got a visitor,’ said the policeman. ‘It’s your wife. She wants to see you.’
“你有位访客。”警察说，“是你老婆。她想见你。”

‘My wife?’ said Jason. ‘But…’
“我老婆？”贾森说，“可是……”

The policeman opened a door and called, ‘He’s here, Mrs Williams!’
警察打开门喊道：“他在这儿，威廉斯太太！”

A young woman came into the room. ‘Hullo, Jason.’
一个年轻女人走进房间：“嘿，贾森。”

Fiona Williams was small and fat. She had long yellow hair and a big red mouth. She looked at Jason, but she talked to the policemen.
菲奥娜·威廉斯矮矮胖胖。她有一头黄色长发和一张红色的大嘴。她看了看贾森，却对警察说了起来。

‘Jason is my husband,’ she said. ‘Our son was born two years ago. His name’s Jack. I loved Jason, but he wasn’t very nice to me. Sometimes he hit me. One night he broke two of my teeth. Then the baby was ill and cried a lot. Jason hit him too. Jack was only two months old, and Jason hit him – a little baby!’
“贾森是我老公。”她说，“我们的儿子两年前出生的。他叫杰克。我爱贾森，可他对我并不好。有时他还打我。有天晚上他打掉了我两颗牙。后来孩子病了，哭得很厉害。贾森也打他。杰克那时只有两个月大，贾森竟然打他——一个小婴儿！”

‘That’s a lie!’ said Jason. ‘I didn’t—’
“撒谎！”贾森说，“我没有——”

‘Oh yes, you did!’ Fiona said. She spoke to the policeman again. ‘So I left him, and took the baby with me. Jason didn’t look for us. He didn’t want us, and he never gave me any money for our son. He went home to his mother and father, and he forgot about little Jack and me. I forgot about Jason too. Then I saw him on television, with a cheque from Sunshine Lotteries for five million pounds. Well, I’m his wife, Jack’s his son – and we want half of his money!’
“哦，你有！”菲奥娜说。她接着又对警察说：“因此我离开了他，带走了孩子。贾森没有找我们。他不想要我们，从没有为了我们的孩子给我任何钱。他回了他爸妈家，忘了小杰克和我。我也忘了贾森。后来我在电视上看到他，还有阳光彩票公司给的五百万英镑的支票。对了，我是他老婆，杰克是他儿子——他的钱我们想要一半！”

‘Well, Mr Williams,’ said the policeman. ‘Is this woman your wife?’
“嗯，威廉斯先生，”警察说，“这个女人是你老婆吗？”

‘Don’t ask him, ask me!’ Fiona said. ‘He’s my husband, and I can prove it. I’m going to get a good lawyer, and I’m going to get that two and a half million pounds!’
“别问他，问我！”菲奥娜说，“他是我老公，我可以证明。我会找个好律师，我要得到那二百五十万英镑！”

‘Everybody wants my money!’ said Jason. ‘I’m going to see my lawyer!’
“谁都想要我的钱！”贾森说，“我要见我的律师！”

So on Wednesday afternoon Jason went to Sally Cash’s office. It was in a big building with ‘Evans, Robinson, Dennis and Day’ over the door.
于是星期三下午贾森去了萨莉·卡什的办公室。办公室在一座大楼里，门上写着“埃文斯、鲁宾逊、丹尼斯和戴”。

‘Why isn’t your name there too?’ asked Jason.
“门上怎么没有你的名字？”贾森问。

‘Because I’m young and not very important,’ said Sally with a smile. ‘I work for Mr Dennis.’
“因为我很年轻，又不是重要人物。”萨莉笑着说，“我在丹尼斯先生手下工作。”

Sally’s office was very small. There were books on the table and on all the chairs. Sally moved the books off one chair, and Jason sat down.
萨莉的办公室很小。桌上和所有的椅子上都放着书。萨莉拿开一把椅子上的书，贾森坐了下来。

‘So, Jason,’ Sally said, ‘you have a wife and son.’
“这么说，贾森，”萨莉说，“你有妻子和儿子。”

‘How do you know that?’ said Jason.
“你怎么知道？”贾森说。

‘Your wife’s lawyer telephoned me this afternoon,’ said Sally. ‘Your wife wants some of your lottery money. And because she’s your wife, and has a two-year-old son, she can get it easily.’
“今天下午你妻子的律师给我打电话了。”萨莉说，“你妻子想分一些你的彩票奖金。而且因为她是你的妻子，还带着一个两岁的儿子，她会轻松地拿到这笔钱。”

‘I’m not going to give her anything,’ Jason said. ‘She left me. She went away with a new lover, and she took our baby with her. She never wrote or telephoned. I looked for her, but I couldn’t find her. I cried every night…’
“我不会给她一分钱。”贾森说，“她离开了我。她跟一个新相好跑了，还带走了我们的孩子。她从没写过信，也没打过电话。我找过她，但是找不到。我每天晚上都会哭……”

‘Your wife tells a different story. She left you because you hit her, and the baby. Is that true?’
“你的妻子可不是这么说的。她离开你是因为你打她和孩子。是真的吗？”

‘I don’t remember,’ Jason said angrily. ‘It was a long time ago. She just wants my money. Everybody wants my money! But it was my lottery ticket, so it’s my money!’
“我不记得了。”贾森生气地说，“那是很久以前的事了。她只是想要我的钱。谁都想要我的钱！但那是我的彩票，所以是我的钱！”

‘Mmm,’ said Sally. ‘Perhaps it was Mrs Emma Carter’s lottery ticket. She remembered the numbers because they were important to her.’
“，”萨莉说，“也许那是埃玛·卡特太太的彩票。她记得那些号码，因为它们对她很重要。”

‘Huh,’ said Jason. ‘That old woman just wants my money because she saw me on television. She thought of a good story about the numbers, and now she says that it was her ticket. Did the ticket have her name on it?’
“哼，”贾森说，“那个老女人只不过想要我的钱，因为她在电视上看到了我。她给那些号码编了个很妙的故事，于是就说那是她的彩票。彩票上有她的名字吗？”

‘No. There are no names on lottery tickets.’
“没有。彩票上没有名字。”

‘So she can’t prove that it was her ticket,’ said Jason. ‘She can’t take my money away from me.’
“所以她不能证明那是她的彩票。”贾森说，“她不能从我这儿把钱拿走。”

‘Perhaps she can, and perhaps she can’t. We don’t know. But she’s going to need a good lawyer. And lawyers are expensive. It isn’t going to be easy for her.’
“也许她能，也许她不能，我们不知道。但她会需要一个好律师，而请律师是很费钱的。这对她来说可不容易。”

‘So that old woman wants all the money. Fiona wants half of it. My Mum wants thirty thousand pounds, my Dad wants thirty thousand pounds…’
“所以那个老女人想要所有的钱。菲奥娜想要一半。我妈要三万英镑，我爸要三万英镑……”

‘You’re forgetting me,’ said Sally.
“你忘记我了。”萨莉说。

‘I don’t understand,’ Jason said.
“我不明白。”贾森说。

‘I told you. Lawyers are expensive. And I’m doing a lot of work for you. You can’t pay me now, because your cheque is at the court. But I can wait.’
“我告诉过你，请律师很费钱。而我正在为你做很多事。你现在无法付我钱，因为你的支票在法庭。不过我可以等。”

‘Oh, thanks very much,’ said Jason. ‘Very kind of you.’
“哦，非常感谢。”贾森说，“你真好。”

Sally smiled. ‘Now, let’s talk about the bag-snatching.’
萨莉笑了：“现在，咱们来说说抢包的事吧。”

‘I didn’t do it.’
“我没干过。”

Sally looked tired. ‘Jason, I want to help you, but it’s very difficult. Mrs Carter saw your face in the street, and then she saw you on television. She’s going to stand up in the court and say, “That’s the man! He stole my bag, my money, and my lottery ticket.”‘
萨莉看起来有些厌烦：“贾森，我想帮你，但这很难。卡特太太在街上看见了你的脸，后来她又在电视上看到你。她会站在法庭上说，‘就是这个人！他偷了我的包、我的钱，还有我的彩票。’”

‘But it isn’t true,’ said Jason. ‘I was at home. I watched the football on television. Ask my Mum!’
“可这不是真的。”贾森说，“当时我在家里。我在看电视上的足球赛。可以问我妈！”

‘How much money are you giving her, Jason?’ Sally asked quietly. ‘Thirty thousands pounds, was it?’
“你打算给她多少钱，贾森？”萨莉轻声地问，“三万英镑，对吧？”

Jason’s face went red. He wanted to hit Sally. She looked at his red, angry face, and waited. Then she said:
贾森的脸红了，他想打萨莉。萨莉看着他那张通红的、愤怒的脸，等了一会儿。然后她说：

Sally looked at his red, angry face, and waited.
萨莉看着他那张通红的、愤怒的脸，等了一会儿。

‘Jason, in the Crown Court a lot of people are going to look at you. They’re going to think, “This is a nasty young man. He hits people – his wife, his baby, old women in the street. He steals things. He wins five million pounds in the lottery, but he doesn’t want to give a penny to his wife and son. And he tells lies.” They’re not going to like you, Jason. And that’s not going to help you. So, please, tell the truth. Say that you’re sorry. You’re young. You can begin again, stay out of trouble. But you must tell the truth to the court.’
“贾森，在刑事法庭上会有很多人看着你。他们会想，‘这是个龌龊的年轻人。他打人——他的妻子，他的孩子，街上的老太太。他偷东西。他中了五百万英镑彩票，可他一分钱都不给妻子和孩子。而且他还撒谎。’他们是不会喜欢你的，贾森。而这对你没有好处。所以，请说实话。说你很抱歉。你很年轻，你可以从头开始，远离麻烦。但你必须在法庭上说实话。”

Jason thought for a minute. Then he looked at Sally. ‘OK,’ he said slowly, ‘perhaps I took the old woman’s bag. But that lottery ticket wasn’t in her bag. It’s my ticket. I bought it, I paid for it, with my money. OK?’
贾森想了一会儿，然后他看着萨莉。“好吧。”他缓缓说道，“可能我拿了那个老女人的包，但那张彩票不在她的包里。那是我的彩票。我买的，我付的钱，用我的钱。行吗？”

Sally Cash did not answer. She looked at Jason for two or three long minutes. Then she said slowly, ‘OK, Jason. You stole the bag, but it was your lottery ticket.’
萨莉·卡什没有回答。她看着贾森，看了足有两三分钟。然后她慢慢地说：“好吧，贾森。你偷了包，但彩票是你的。”