版权所有(草稿)

因为家有一女,所以更加喜欢这本小说,因此决定自己翻译一个全新的版本,希望大家喜欢,并提出帮助和指正

CHAPTER FIVE

BEING NEIGHBORLY

比邻而居

The atmosphere of the whole house being summerlike, Laurie led the way from room to room, letting Jo stop to examine whatever struck her fancy. And so, at last they came to the library, where she clapped her hands and pranced, as she always did when especially delighted. It was lined with books, and there were pictures and statues, and distracting little cabinets full of coins and curiosities, and Sleepy Hollow chairs, and queer tables, and bronzes, and best of all, a great open fireplace with quaint tiles all round it.

屋内温暖如夏，劳瑞带着乔一个房间一个房间的浏览，然后在乔感兴趣的地方停下来让她好好欣赏。最后当他们来到图书室，乔不由得击掌赞叹，这可是她开心时的经典动作。房间里有成排成排的书，有油画和雕塑，还有满是硬币和奇珍异品的陈列柜，以及舒适的睡椅，古朴的桌子，精美的青铜器，最引人注目的还是还是那无与伦比的壁炉，壁炉的四周更是饰满了古色古香的瓷砖。

"What richness!" sighed Jo, sinking into the depth of a velour chair and gazing about her with an air of intense satisfaction. "Theodore Laurence, you ought to be the happiest boy in the world," she added impressively.

“太华丽了！”，乔由衷的赞叹，一屁股坐进深深的天鹅绒椅子里，无比满意地打量着四周，“西奥多·劳伦斯，你是世界上最幸福的男孩”，她再次由衷地补充。

"A fellow can't live on books," said Laurie, shaking his head as he perched on a table opposite.

“一个人不能靠书活着”，劳瑞高坐在对面的桌子上，摇着头回答。

Before he could more, a bell rang, and Jo flew up, exclaiming with alarm, "Mercy me! It's your grandpa!"

他还没来得急往下多说，门铃响了，乔一下子蹦起来，惊叫了一声，“天呀，你爷爷回来了！”

"Well, what if it is? You are not afraid of anything, you know," returned the boy, looking wicked.

“嗨，那又怎样？你知道，你无所畏惧”，劳瑞捉黠地以其人之道还治其人之身。

"I think I am a little bit afraid of him, but I don't know why I should be. Marmee said I might come, and I don't think you're any the worse for it," said Jo, composing herself, though she kept her eyes on the door.

“我还是有点怕你爷爷，我也不知道为什么。妈咪说我可以来，我觉得你不会因此而变得更糟吧”，乔一边回答一边让自己镇定一些，尽管她的双眼一直紧盯门口。

"I'm a great deal better for it, and ever so much obliged. I'm only afraid you are very tired of talking to me. It was so pleasant, I couldn't bear to stop," said Laurie gratefully.

“恰恰相反，现在我的确好多了，并十分感激。我只是担心你跟我聊天累着了。这真是一个愉快的下午，真让人舍不得结束”，劳瑞感激不尽。

"The doctor to see you, sir," and the maid beckoned as she spoke.

“医生来给你看病，先生”，女仆过来传话。

"Would you mind if I left you for a minute? I suppose I must see him," said Laurie.

“我离开一小会儿你不介意吧？我想我不得不去接待他”，劳瑞告诉乔。

"Don't mind me. I'm happy as a cricket here," answered Jo.

“别管我，当我是这里一只开心的蛐蛐”，乔回答。

Laurie went away, and his guest amused herself in her own way. She was standing before a fine portrait of the old gentleman when the door opened again, and without turning, she said decidedly, "I'm sure now that I shouldn't be afraid of him, for he's got kind eyes, though his mouth is grim, and he looks as if he had a tremendous will of his own. He isn't as handsome as my grandfather, but I like him."

劳瑞走开了，他的小客人自娱自乐。门再度打开时，乔正站在一幅肖像前，那是一幅老劳伦斯先生的画像，她头也没回便斩钉截铁地说，“现在我确信我用不着怕他了，因为他有一双那么和蔼的眼睛，尽管他的嘴角是那么刚硬有力，你看，他看起来似乎那么意志坚定。他没我爷爷英俊，不过我挺喜欢。”

"Thank you, ma'am," said a gruff voice behind her, and there, to her great dismay, stood old Mr. Laurence.

“谢谢你的夸奖，女士”，她的背后突然传来粗哑的嗓音，劳伦斯老先生正站在她的背后，乔惊呆了。

Poor Jo blushed till she couldn't blush any redder, and her heart began to beat uncomfortably fast as she thought what she had said. For a minute a wild desire to run away possessed her, but that was cowardly, and the girls would laugh at her, so she resolved to stay and get out of the scrape as she could. A second look showed her that the living eyes, under the bushy eyebrows, were kinder even than the painted ones, and there was a sly twinkle in them, which lessened her fear a good deal. The gruff voice was gruffer than ever, as the old gentleman said abruptly, after the dreadful pause, "So you're not afraid of me, hey?"

可怜的乔，脸红的不能再红了，心狂跳着，几乎让她难以忍受，想想她刚才都说了些什么呀。有一阵子逃掉的欲望几乎掘住了她，可是那会是多么怯懦，大家会耻笑她的，最终她还是决定坚持住，告诉自己一定要想办法克服困境。她再看了一眼，看到劳伦斯先生眨动的双眼，在那双浓眉下，感觉比画像上还要更加和蔼一些，这一眼让乔的恐惧顿时消失了很多。一阵可怕的静默之后，老先生突然冒出一句，“这么说你不怕我了，是不是？”，声音更加粗哑。

"Not much, sir."

“没那么怕，先生”

"And you don't think me as handsome as your grandfather?"

“你觉得我没你爷爷英俊？”

"Not quite, sir."

“没这么绝对，先生”

"And I've got a tremendous will, have I?"

“我意志坚定？”

"I only said I thought so."

“我只是说我这么以为”

"But you like me in spite of it?"

“不过你仍然喜欢我？”

"Yes, I do, sir."

“没错，先生，我的确喜欢你”

 That answer pleased the old gentleman. He gave a short laugh, shook hands with her, and, putting his finger under her chin, turned up her face, examined it gravely, and let it go, saying with a nod, "You've got your grandfather's spirit, if you haven't his face. He was a fine man, my dear, but what is better, he was a brave and an honest one, and I was proud to be his friend."

乔的回答很令老先生开心，他笑了一声，跟她握握手，手放到她的下巴上，抬起她的脸，仔细打量了一番放下了，一边点着头一边说，“ 跟你爷爷真像，除了没长他那张脸。你爷爷是个好人，孩子，更让人尊敬的是，还是个勇敢而诚实的人，我以他为朋友而骄傲。”

"Thank you, sir," And Jo was quite comfortable after that, for it suited her exactly.

“谢谢你，先生”，这番交流之后，乔坦然多了，因为劳伦斯的话让她很是受用。

"What have you been doing to this boy of mine, hey?" was the next question, sharply put.

“你跟我的孙子聊什么了，孩子？”，这是劳伦斯先生提出的第二个问题，尖锐。

"Only trying to be neighborly, sir." And Jo told how her visit came about.

“只是想跟你们做邻居，先生”，乔告诉他自己来访的原因。

"You think he needs cheering up a bit, do you?"

你觉得他需要些快乐，是吗？“

"Yes, sir, he seems a little lonely, and young folks would do him good perhaps. We are only girls, but we should be glad to help if we could, for we don't forget the splendid Christmas present you sent us," said Jo eagerly.

“没错，先生，他看起来有些孤独，他身边多些年轻人于他应是好事一件。我们只是些小女子，可是如果我们能有所帮助的话，我们将很乐意，因为我们一直未曾忘记你送给我们的精美的圣诞礼物。“

"Tut, tut, tut! That was the boy's affair. How is the poor woman?"

“啊，嗯，啊！都是我孙子弄的。那个叫哈默的可怜女人怎样了？”，老劳伦斯显然不善于被人当面提到自己的善意，连忙转换了话题。

"Doing nicely, sir." And off went Jo, talking very fast, as she told all about the Hummels, in whom her mother had interested richer friends than they were.

“好多了，先生”，乔拉开了话匣子，讲得飞快，把哈默家的一切都跟老先生汇报了一番，并提到她们的妈妈对她的关心胜过普通的朋友。

"Just her father's way of doing good. I shall come and see your mother some fine day. Tell her so. There's the tea bell, we have it early on the boy's account. Come down and go on being neighborly."

“跟她父亲的善举一样，告诉你母亲，天气好的时候我去拜访她。喝茶的时间到了，因为劳瑞的缘故，我们的茶吃的比较早，下去吧，让我们睦邻友好。

"If you'd like to have me, sir."

“如果您愿意的话，先生”

"Shouldn't ask you, if I didn't." And Mr. Laurence offered her his arm with old-fashioned courtesy.

“能不愿意吗，请”，劳伦斯先生按旧式礼仪将胳膊伸给乔挽着。

"What would Meg say to this?" thought Jo, as she was marched away, while her eyes danced with fun as she imagined herself telling the story at home.

“玫会如何评论呢？”，乔一边走，一边想象着回到家讲这段故事的场景，两眼闪着快乐的火花。

"Hey! Why, what the dickens has come to the fellow?" said the old gentleman, as Laurie came running downstairs and brought up with a start of surprise at the astounding sight of Jo arm in arm with his redoubtable grandfather.

“嘿！你这孩子究竟吃了什么灵丹妙药？”，当老先生看到劳瑞跑下楼梯，以及劳瑞那一脸的震惊——由于见到乔跟他那令人敬畏的祖父竟胳膊挽着胳膊，不由开心地调侃。

"I didn't know you'd come, sir," he began, as Jo gave him a triumphant little glance.

“我不知道你回来了，爷爷”，劳瑞忙不迭地回答，而乔则在旁边送给他胜利的一睇。

"That's evident, by the way you racket downstairs. Come to your tea, sir, and behave like a gentleman." And having pulled the boy's hair by way of a caress, Mr. Laurence walked on, while Laurie went through a series of comic evolutions behind their backs, which nearly produced an explosion of laughter from Jo.

“这还用说，看看你是怎么飞下楼的就知道了。该喝茶了，先生，表现得要像个绅士”，劳伦斯先生一边说，一边爱抚地理了理劳瑞的头发，然后继续往前走，而劳瑞则跟在他们身后飞速地想象着这幕戏剧性的发展，乔得意得要爆笑起来。

The old gentleman did not say much as he drank his four cups of tea, but he watched the young people, who soon chatted away like old friends, and the change in his grandson did not escape him. There was color, light, and life in the boy's face now, vivacity in his manner, and genuine merriment in his laugh.

老先生茶喝得不少，四杯，话却说得不多，大多数时候只是安静地看着两个年轻人像老朋友一样畅谈，他孙子身上发生的巨大变化显然逃不过他久经沧桑的眼睛——精神焕发，神采飞扬，生机勃勃，风采照人，还有，笑声连连。

"She's right, the lad is lonely. I'll see what these little girls can do for him," thought Mr. Laurence, as he looked and listened. He liked Jo, for her odd, blunt ways suited him, and she seemed to understand the boy almost as well as if she had been one herself.

“乔说得不错，这孩子是孤独了些，我要看看这些小姑娘们能帮他些什么”，劳伦斯先生一边看，一边听，一边想。他喜欢乔，因为乔的直率和直爽是最投他口味的，尤其是看起来她竟然非常理解劳瑞，好像是知己又知彼。

 

设若劳伦斯爷孙俩真如乔以前所说的那样“古板而严谨”，她的来访也不可能取得这么好的效果，因为真正“古板而严谨”的人总是会令她不知所措，可是当她发现他们是那么平易近人，那么容易相处，她便立刻恢复了自己，从而留下了良好的印象。当乔示意要走了大家站起来时，劳瑞却说他还有更多东西介绍给乔，然后将乔带到了花房。花房里因为乔要来早已亮起了灯光，当乔在花丛中四处走动时，觉得仿佛进入了一个童话世界，她醉心地欣赏着两边的花墙、柔和的灯光、芬芳的空气以及四周垂下来的长青藤和丛丛绿树。与此同时，她的朋友劳瑞则一路上采摘着鲜花，直到盈满了双手。劳瑞将鲜花帮好了，脸上洋溢着乔乐意见到的笑容，说“请把这些鲜花给你母亲；告诉她，我非常喜欢她送的药。”

They found Mr. Laurence standing before the fire in the great drawing room, but Jo's attention was entirely absorbed by a grand piano, which stood open.

他们走进恢宏的画像室时，看到劳伦斯先生正站在炉火前，不过乔的目光却完全被屋子里那架敞开的大钢琴吸引了。

"Do you play?" she asked, turning to Laurie with a respectful expression_r_r.

“你弹琴吗？”，乔转身面对劳瑞，几乎以崇拜的口气问道。

"Sometimes," he answered modestly.

“有时弹”，劳瑞平淡地回答。

"Please do now. I want to hear it, so I can tell Beth."

“能不能弹一首让我听听，回去我要转告贝思。”

"Won't you first?"

“你先来一首？”

"Don't know how. Too stupid to learn, but I love music dearly."

“我不会弹，太笨了学不会，不过我倒是很喜欢音乐。”

 

于是劳瑞坐下来，而乔则将一边将太阳花和茶玫瑰凑向鼻端享受着花香，一边倾听着劳瑞的演奏。劳瑞演奏的真是棒极了，何况他还那么谦虚，乔对这个男孩子的崇拜和敬佩越发增加了。乔真希望贝思也能有机会过来听一听，可是她并没有将之提出来，而是一味儿地赞美劳瑞，知道他羞红了脸，害得他的爷爷赶快过来救场。

"That will do, that will do, young lady. Too many sugarplums are not good for him. His music isn't bad, but I hope he will do as well in more important things. Going? well, I'm much obliged to you, and I hope you'll come again. My respects to your mother. Good night, Doctor Jo."

“呵，够了，乔小姐，够了，过多的赞美对他并不好。他的钢琴谈得的确不赖，不过我倒希望他也能在其他更重要的事情上表现良好。要回去？呵，真是太感谢你了，希望你下回光临。代我问候你的妈妈，再见，大医生。”

He shook hands kindly, but looked as if something did not please him. When they got into the hall, Jo asked Laurie if she had said something amiss. He shook his head.

老先生虽然亲切地跟乔握手道别，可是乔却觉得似乎有什么事情让他不那么开心。当劳瑞和乔走到大厅，乔忍不住问劳瑞是不是她做错了什么，劳瑞摇摇头，“不关你的事，那是因为我，他不喜欢听我弹琴”。

"No, it was me. He doesn't like to hear me play."

"Why not?"

“为什么？”

"I'll tell you some day. John is going home with you, as I can't."

“有时间我再告诉你，约翰会送你回家，抱歉我不能送你。”

"No need of that. I am not a young lady, and it's only a step. Take care of yourself, won't you?"

“没那必要，我又不是娇小姐，再说只有几步路。照顾好自己，OK?”

"Yes, but you will come again, I hope?"

“没问题，希望你下回再来，好吗？“

"If you promise to come and see us after you are well."

“我也没问题，不过我有个前提条件，你好了后要答应过来看我们。”

"I will."

“好”

"Good night, Laurie!"

“再见，劳瑞”

"Good night, Jo, good night!"

“再见，乔，再见!”

 

下午的冒险全将完了，大家恨不得变成一个人去篱笆对面的那个大房子里参观参观，因为每个人都发现那里有非常吸引自己的东西。马崎夫人颇想跟对面的老先生谈谈自己的父亲，他还没有忘记自己的老朋友；玫渴望着在花房里漫步；贝思为没见到那架大钢琴而叹息；安米则急不可耐地想见识一下那些精美的油画和雕塑。

"Mother, why didn't Mr. Laurence like to have Laurie play?" asked Jo, who was of an inquiring disposition.

“妈妈，为什么劳伦斯先生不喜欢让劳瑞弹琴？”，乔可是个藏不住问题的人。

 

“我也不确切知道，可能是因为他的儿子，也就是劳瑞的父亲的缘故吧，他娶了个意大利太太，一个音乐家，这件事让劳瑞的爷爷很不开心，可是劳瑞的爸爸也不想低头。其实那个意大利女人是个好人，多才多艺，也很可爱，只是劳瑞的爷爷无法喜欢她，他们结婚后大家就再也没见面。很不幸，他们双双去世了，那时劳瑞还很小，老先生便把他接回家。劳瑞出生在意大利，我想那孩子小时候不是很强壮，他的爷爷很害怕失去他，所以总是小心翼翼。劳瑞天生就喜欢音乐，他对音乐的爱好显然遗传自他母亲，我敢说他爷爷担忧他有一天会成为音乐家。结果，劳瑞弹琴的才华让他想起了他内心不喜欢的那个意大利女人，所以用乔的话说他便生气了。”

"Dear me, how romantic!" exclaimed Meg.

“天呀，太浪漫了！”，玫尖叫起来。

"How silly!" said Jo. "Let him be a musician if he wants to, and not plague his life out sending him to college, when he hates to go."

“真是愚不可及！如果他想成为音乐家就让他成为音乐家，而不是折磨他把他送去念大学，要是他根本不想去的话。”

"That's why he has such handsome black eyes and pretty manners, I suppose. Italians are always nice," said Meg, who was a little sentimental.

“我明白了，他为什么有那么迷人的黑眼睛和优雅的举止，因为意大利人都是那么英俊儒雅”，玫可是有些情迷意大利。

"What do you know about his eyes and his manners? You never spoke to him, hardly," cried Jo, who was not sentimental.

“你是怎么注意到他的眼睛和举止的？你又从来没跟他讲话”，玫的话让乔有些吃惊，不由得大叫起来，她可不是玫那样情窦初生的少女。

"I saw him at the party, and what you tell s hows that he knows how to behave. That was a nice little speech about the medicine Mother sent him."

“我在晚会上见到过他，是你告诉我他举止优雅的，再说他对妈妈送的药也颇有礼貌地表示了谢意。”

"He meant the blanc mange, I suppose."

“也许他感谢的不是那些药，而是你做的那些甜点。”

"How stupid you are, child! He meant you, of course."

“你真笨！他当然是感谢你，想都不用想。”

"Did he?" And Jo opened her eyes as if it had never occurred to her before.

“是吗？”，乔睁大了眼，她可是从未往自己身上想。

"I never saw such a girl! You don't know a compliment when you get it," said Meg, with the air of a young lady who knew all about the matter.

“真是没见过比你还笨的笨蛋！别人赞美你了你都不知道”，玫说得得意洋洋，对这种事她仿佛了如指掌。

 

“你就别胡扯了，拜托你你不要糊涂人装明白破坏我的快乐心情了。劳瑞是个好男生，我很喜欢，可我并不会对什么赞美之类的废话而自作多情，我可不是那样的人。劳瑞没有母亲，我们会好好待他，他可以过来看我们，是不是，妈妈？”

"Yes, Jo, your little friend is very welcome, and I hope Meg will remember that children should be children as long as they can."

“对极了，乔，我们非常欢迎你的那位小朋友。我希望玫记住，孩子们要尽可能珍惜自己的童年。”

"I don't call myself a child, and I'm not in my teens yet," observed Amy.

“我不是十几岁了，不是孩子了”，玫抗议。

"What do you say, Beth?"

“贝思，你说呢？”

 

“我在想我们的‘朝圣’”，贝思完全没听到她们刚才那段对话，“我们要下定决心到达目的地，怎样才能穿过篱笆通过那扇小门、努力爬上那个陡坡、到达那边神气无比的房子，那里将是我们的‘至美宫殿’”。

"We have got to get by the lions first," said Jo, as if she rather liked the prospect.

“我们首先要越过那些障碍”，展望前景乔似乎信心百倍。