書蟲三級 鐵路少年：2.彼得與煤

2．Peter and the coal
2．彼得與煤

You've often wanted something to happen,' said Mother, lighting the candle again. 'And now it has. This is an adventure, isn't it? I told Mrs Viney to leave our supper ready. I suppose she's put it in the other room. Let's go and see.'

“你們一直盼著有什么事情發(fā)生，”媽媽一邊說著，一邊重新點(diǎn)著了蠟燭，“現(xiàn)在終于發(fā)生了。這是個(gè)奇遇，對嗎？我告訴過瓦伊尼夫人，讓她給我們準(zhǔn)備好晚飯。我猜想她一定是把飯放在另一個(gè)房間里了。我們過去看看吧。”

They looked in the other room, but found no supper.

他們在那個(gè)房間里找了找，沒有找到晚飯。

What a horrible woman!' said Mother. 'She's taken the money, but got us nothing to eat at all!'

“這個(gè)女人太可惡了！”媽媽說，“她把錢拿走了，但一點(diǎn)兒吃的也沒給我們準(zhǔn)備！”

Then we can't have any supper,' said Phyllis, unhappily.

“那我們就沒晚飯吃了。”菲利斯沮喪地說。

Yes, we can,' said Mother. 'We can unpack one of the boxes. There's some food from the old house.'

“不，我們有東西可吃，”媽媽回答，“我們可以打開一個(gè)箱子，那里面裝著一些從老房子帶來的食物。”

They found candles in the box, and the girls lit them. Then Bobbie fetched coal and wood, and lit a fire. It was a strange supper—tomatoes, potato chips, dried fruit and cake. And they drank water out of tea-cups. After supper, they put sheets and blankets on the beds, then Mother went to her own room.

他們還在箱子中找出了蠟燭，女孩子們把它們點(diǎn)著。隨后，博比又找來一些煤和木頭，生起了火。那是一頓很奇怪的晚餐——西紅柿，土豆片，果脯和蛋糕。他們還用茶杯喝了點(diǎn)水。晚飯后，他們鋪好了床單和毯子，之后媽媽就進(jìn)了她自己的房間。

Very early next morning, Bobbie pulled Phyllis's hair to wake her. 'Wake up!' she said. 'We're in the new house, don't you remember?'

第二天一大早，博比就拽著菲利斯的頭發(fā)把她弄醒。“醒醒！”她說，“我們住到新房子里了，難道你忘了嗎？”

They wanted to surprise their mother and get the breakfast ready, but first they went to look outside. The house seemed to stand in a field near the top of a hill, and they could see a long way.

他們想給媽媽一個(gè)驚喜，把早飯準(zhǔn)備好，不過他們更想先到外面去看一看。這座房子好像是坐落于靠近山頂?shù)囊黄镆爸?，他們能看見一條長長的路。

This place is much prettier than our house in London,' said Phyllis.

“這個(gè)地方比我們在倫敦的家漂亮多了。”菲利斯說。

They saw the railway line at the bottom of the hill, and the big black opening of a tunnel. Further away, they could see a high bridge between the hills, but the station was too far away to see.

他們看見了山腳下的鐵路，還有穿山隧道又黑又大的入口。再往遠(yuǎn)眺，他們看見小山之間有一架高高的橋，不過，車站太遠(yuǎn)了，他們看不到。

Let's go and look at the railway,' said Peter. 'Perhaps there are trains passing.'

“我們?nèi)タ纯磋F路吧，”彼得說，“沒準(zhǔn)兒會(huì)有火車駛過呢。”

We can see them from here,' said Bobbie.

“在這兒我們也一樣能看到。”博比說。

So they sat down on a big, flat, comfortable stone in the grass. And when Mother came to look for them at eight o'clock, they were asleep in the sun.

于是，他們在草地中一塊又大又平、非常舒服的石頭上坐下了。8點(diǎn)鐘，當(dāng)媽媽過來找他們的時(shí)候，他們已經(jīng)在陽光下睡著了。

I've found another room,' Mother told them. 'The door is in the kitchen. Last night, we thought it was a cupboard.'

“我又發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)房間，”媽媽告訴他們說，“這個(gè)房間的門在廚房里。昨天晚上我們還以為那是一個(gè)柜櫥。”

There was a table in the little square room, and on the table was their supper.

這個(gè)正方形的小房間里擺著一張桌子，桌子上放著他們的晚飯。

There's a letter from Mrs Viney,' explained Mother. 'Her son broke his arm and she went home early. She's coming again later this morning.'

“屋里有一封瓦伊尼夫人寫的信，”媽媽解釋說，“她的兒子摔斷了胳膊，所以她提早回家去了。今天早晨晚些時(shí)候，她還會(huì)再來的。”

Cold meat and apple pie for breakfast!' laughed Peter. 'How funny!'

“早飯吃冷肉和蘋果派！”彼得大笑，“太滑稽了！”

But their supper made a wonderful breakfast.

但是，昨天的晚飯現(xiàn)在成了一頓不錯(cuò)的早餐。

All day, they helped Mother to unpack and arrange everything in the rooms. It was late in the afternoon when she said, 'That's enough work for today. I'll go and lie down for an hour, before supper.'

整整一天，孩子們都在幫媽媽打開箱子，歸置房間里的東西。傍晚的時(shí)候，媽媽說：“今天就干到這里吧。晚飯前，我需要去躺一個(gè)鐘頭。”

The children looked at each other.

孩子們面面相覷。

Where shall we go?' said Bobbie, although she already knew the answer.

“那我們該到哪兒去呢？”博比問道，雖然說這話時(shí)她心里已經(jīng)有了答案。

To the railway, of course!' cried Peter.

“當(dāng)然到鐵路上去啦！”彼得大喊。

At the bottom of the hill there was a wooden fence. And there was the railway, with its shining lines, telegraph wires and posts, and signals. They all climbed on to the top of the fence. Suddenly, they heard a noise, which grew louder every second. They looked along the line towards the dark opening of the tunnel. The next moment, the railway lines began to shake and a train came screaming out of the tunnel.

山腳下有一道木頭籬笆，鐵路就在那里，鐵軌亮閃閃的，還有電報(bào)線和電線桿以及各種標(biāo)志牌。他們都爬到了籬笆頂上去。突然，他們聽到了一個(gè)聲音，而且它很快就變得越來越大。順著鐵軌，他們往隧道黑暗的出口望去。轉(zhuǎn)眼之間，他們看見鐵軌開始顫動(dòng)，一列火車從隧道中呼嘯而出。

Oh!' said Bobbie, when it had gone. 'It was like a great wild animal going by!'

“哦！”火車駛過之后，博比感嘆，“簡直像是一頭龐大的野獸跑了過去！”

It was very exciting!' said Peter.

“真帶勁兒！”彼得說。

I wonder if it was going to London,' said Bobbie. 'London is where Father is.'

“不知道這火車是不是去倫敦的，”博比說，“爸爸還在倫敦呢。”

Let's go down to the station and find out,' said Peter.

“那我們下去，到車站去問問清楚吧。”彼得提議。

They walked along the edge of the line, beneath the telegraph wires, to the station. They went up on to the platform, and took a quick look into the Porter's room. Inside, the Porter was half asleep behind a newspaper.

于是，孩子們沿著鐵路，在電報(bào)線下面走著，來到了車站。他們登上站臺(tái)，迅速地往守道工的房間里瞧了瞧。屋里，守道工在報(bào)紙后面，已經(jīng)快睡著了。

There were a great many railway lines at the station. On one side of the big station yard was a large heap of coal, which the steam trains used for their engines. There was a white line on the wall behind, near the top of the heap. Later, when the Porter came out on to the platform, Peter asked about the white line.

車站里，一條條的鐵軌縱橫交錯(cuò)。在車站大院的一側(cè)，有一大堆煤，這是蒸汽火車發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的燃料。煤堆后面的墻上劃著一道白色的線，就在靠近煤堆頂部的位置。過了一會(huì)兒，守道工出來的時(shí)候，彼得問他那條白線是干什么用的。

It's to show how much coal there is in the heap,' said the Porter. 'So we shall know if anybody steals some.' The Porter was smiling, and Peter thought he was a nice, friendly person.

“那是用來標(biāo)明煤堆高度的，”守道工說，“這樣我們就能知道是不是有人偷煤了。”守道工和顏悅色的，彼得覺得他是一個(gè)善良的好人。

*　　*　　*

*　　*　　*

And so the days passed. The children did not go to school now, and Mother spent every day in her room, writing stories. Sometimes she managed to sell a story to a magazine, and then there were cakes for tea. The children did not forget their father, but they did not talk about him much, because they knew that Mother was unhappy. Several times, she had told them that they were poor now. But it was difficult to believe this because there was always enough to eat, and they wore the same nice clothes.

光陰流逝。孩子們現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不再上學(xué)了，媽媽每天都待在她的房間里寫故事。有時(shí)候，她也能想辦法把故事賣給雜志社，這樣，他們就可以有茶點(diǎn)吃了。孩子們并沒有忘記他們的父親，但他們并不經(jīng)常談起他，因?yàn)樗麄兌贾?，媽媽已?jīng)十分郁悶了。有幾次，媽媽告訴他們說，他們現(xiàn)在是窮人了。但孩子們很難相信這一點(diǎn)，因?yàn)樗麄冞€一直可以吃飽飯，還穿著過去的那些好衣服。

But then there were three wet days, when the rain came down, and it was very cold.

可后來連續(xù)下了三天雨，天又濕又冷。

Can we light a fire?' asked Bobbie.

“我們可以生火嗎？”博比問。

We can't have fires in June,' said Mother. 'Coal is very expensive.'

“我們不能在六月份就生火，”媽媽說，“煤很貴。”

After tea, Peter told his sisters, 'I have an idea. I'll tell you about it later, when I know if it's a good one.'

喝過茶后，彼得對姐妹倆說：“我有一個(gè)主意。在證實(shí)它是個(gè)好主意之后，我會(huì)把它告訴你們的。”

And two nights later, Peter said to the girls, 'Come and help me.'

第三天晚上，彼得對女孩子們說：“來幫我一個(gè)忙吧。”

On the hill, just above the station, there were some big stones in the grass. Between the stones, the girls saw a small heap of coal.

山坡上，就在車站上方的草叢中，有一些大石頭。在石頭中間，女孩子們看到了一小堆煤。

I found it,' said Peter. 'Help me carry it up to the house.'

“是我發(fā)現(xiàn)的，”彼得說，“幫我一起把它運(yùn)回家里吧。”

After three journeys up the hill, the coal was added to the heap by the back door of the house. The children told nobody.

往山上跑了三趟之后，孩子們終于把這些煤堆到了自家后門處的煤堆上。他們沒跟任何人講這件事情。

A week later, Mrs Viney looked at the heap by the back door and said, 'There's more coal here than I thought there was.'

一個(gè)星期之后，瓦伊尼夫人看著房子后門那里的煤堆說：“這煤比我印象中的要多。”

The children laughed silently and said nothing.

孩子們偷偷地笑了，還是什么也沒說。

But then came the awful night when the Station Master was waiting for Peter in the station yard. He watched Peter climb on to the large heap of coal by the wall and start to fill a bag.

但是，那個(gè)倒霉的夜晚終于到來了，車站站長在車站的院中等著彼得。他看見彼得爬上院墻旁邊的那個(gè)大煤堆，然后開始往一個(gè)袋子里裝煤。

Now I've caught you, you young thief!' shouted the Station Master. And he took hold of Peter's coat.

“這回我可抓到你了，你這個(gè)小竊賊！”站長大喊著，一邊抓住了彼得的大衣。

I'm not a thief,' said Peter, but he did not sound very sure about it.

“我不是小偷。”彼得說，不過他的聲音可不是那么理直氣壯。

You're coming with me to the station,' said the Station Master.

“跟我到車站去。”站長說。

Oh, no!' cried a voice from the darkness.

“哦，不！”在黑暗中，有個(gè)聲音哭喊著。

Not the Police station!' cried another voice.

“不要去警察局！”另一個(gè)聲音哭叫著。

No, the railway station,' said the man, surprised to hear more voices. 'How many of you are there?'

“不，是去火車站。”站長說，更多聲音的出現(xiàn)令他頗感驚訝，“你們一共有幾個(gè)人？”

Bobbie and Phyllis stepped out of the darkness.

博比和菲利斯從黑暗中走了出來。

We did it, too,' Bobbie told the Station Master. 'We helped carry the coal away, and we knew where Peter was getting it.'

“我們也參加了，”博比告訴站長，“我們幫他把煤運(yùn)走，而且我們也知道彼得是在哪里弄到的煤。”

No, you didn't,' said Peter, angrily. 'It was my idea.'

“不，不關(guān)你們的事，”彼得生氣地說，“這是我的主意。”

We did know,' said Bobbie. 'We pretended we didn't, but we did.'

“我們的確知道你從哪兒弄的煤，”博比說，“我們假裝不知道，其實(shí)我們都知道。”

The Station Master looked at them. 'You're from the white house on the hill,' he said. 'Why are you stealing coal?'

站長看看他們。“你們就住在山頂上的那個(gè)白房子里吧，”他說，“可是你們?yōu)槭裁匆得耗兀?rdquo;

I didn't think it was stealing,' said Peter. 'There's so much coal here. I took some from the middle of the heap, and I—I thought nobody would mind. And Mother says we're too poor to have a fire, but there were always fires at our other house, and—'

“我想這不算是偷，”彼得說，“這兒有這么多煤，我從煤堆中間挖走一些，我——我，想不會(huì)有人介意的。媽媽說，我們太窮了，不能生火，但在我們原來的房子里，我們一直都有爐火，而且——”

Don't!' Bobbie whispered to Peter.

“別說了！”博比低聲對彼得說。

There was a silence, and the Station Master thought for a minute. Then he said to Peter, 'I won't do anything this time. But remember, this coal belongs to the railway, and even from the middle of the heap, it's still stealing.'

室內(nèi)的氣氛陷入了沉默，站長想了想。然后他對彼得說：“這次我就不懲罰你們了。但你們記住，這煤屬于鐵路，即使是從煤堆中間挖，那也是偷。”

And the children knew he was right.

孩子們明白，他的話是對的。