牛津书虫系列《神秘及幻想故事集》Chapter2 附中英双语文本

随着每一个日子过去，我的恐惧感一增再增。我，一个男人，一个强健的男子汉，竟然到了害怕一只猫的地步！我为什么要这样心惊胆寒，这样被一只愚蠢的畜生搞得六神无主？白天黑夜，我都不得安宁。我总做些最可怕的噩梦，脑子里尽是些阴暗、邪恶的念头。我憎恨一切事，憎恨所有人——也憎恨生活本身。
One day my wife and I needed to get something from the cellar underneath the house．The cat followed us down the steps and threw itself in front of me．I almost fell on my face and，mad with anger，I took hold of an axe and tried to kill the animal．But my wife caught my arm to stop me，and then anger exploded in my mind．I turned and drove the axe deep into her head．She fell dead on the floor，without a sound．
有一天，我和我妻子需要到房子下面的地窖里去取点东西，那只猫也跟着我们下了台阶，并且一个箭步蹿到了我前头，害得我差点儿摔了个嘴啃泥。我气得发疯，抄起一柄斧头就想劈死这畜生，可是，我妻子拽住我的胳膊，要阻止我。这时，怒火在我心中爆发，我转过身，将斧头深深劈进了她的脑袋。她一声没哼，登时倒在地上断了气。
After this horrible murder，I calmly made plans to hide the body．I knew I couldn't take it out of the house，either by day or night，because the neighbours would see me．So I had to think of other ways… I could cut the body up into very small pieces and then burn them in a fire．I could hide the body under the floor．Or I could put the body in a box and then ask someone to carry the box away… Finally，I thought of a better idea．I decided to hide the body behind the walls of the cellar．
干完了这桩恐怖的杀人勾当，我镇定自若地谋划起匿尸灭迹的事来。我知道，无论白天还是黑夜，我都不能把尸首运出这房子，因为那样做会让邻居瞧见。所以我只好想些别的法子……我可以把尸体切成极小的碎块，扔到火里烧掉。我可以把尸体藏在地板下面。我还可以把尸体装到箱子里，再请人将箱子搬走……最后，我想出了一个更好的主意。我决定将尸体藏在地窖墙壁的背后。
I knew immediately which wall to choose．There was a wall in the cellar round the bottom of an old chimney，which was no longer used．This wall had bricks in the front and back but was empty in the middle．I started work at once． I took out some of the bricks from the front wall and carefully put the body against the back wall．Then I put back the bricks and covered them with plaster．I made sure that the plaster did not look new，and soon the wall looked just the same as all the other walls．When I had finished my work，I looked at the plaster．‘I've never done a better piece of work！’I said to myself happily．
我马上就知道应该选择哪一面墙了。地窖里有一面墙是围着一个废弃不用的旧烟囱底座砌起来的，它的正面和背面都垒着砖头，但中间部分却是空的。我马上动手开干。我从正面墙上拆下一些砖块，小心翼翼地将尸体贴着后面的墙放好，然后把砖块砌回去，再用灰泥将砖墙抹平。我把灰泥抹得使它看上去不像是新的，过不多久这面墙就和其他几面看着一模一样了。我忙活完，望着墙上的灰泥，高兴地自言自语道：“我还从没干过这么漂亮的活计呢！”
I then looked around for the cat，to kill it．It had brought too much unhappiness into my life，and so it，too，must now die．I looked for it everywhere，but it had disappeared．I was free at last！That night I had a deep，peaceful sleep-I，who had just killed my wife，slept well！
然后我四下里找那只猫，要杀了它。它给我的生活带来了太多的不幸，所以，现在它也必须去见阎王爷。我找遍了每一个角落，但是它已无影无踪了。我终于自由了！当天夜里，我太太平平地酣睡了一场——我，一个刚刚杀害了自己爱妻的家伙，居然睡了个好觉！
Three days passed and still the cat did not appear．I was now a happy man，happier than I had been for a long time．I wasn't worried by what I had done．People had asked a few questions and the police had visited my house，but they had found nothing．
三天过去了，那只猫仍然没有出现。我现在快乐极了，是很久以来最快乐的时候。我对自己犯下的罪行并不担心。人们来问了几个问题，警察也到我家来过了，但他们什么也没有发现。
On the fourth day the police visited again and began to search the house．They looked into all the rooms and then went down into the cellar．I went with them，feeling calm and safe．I watched them as they looked everywhere．They seemed quite happy that there was nothing there and they got ready to leave．I was very happy．I was sure that I was safe，but I wanted to say something，just a word or two，to show how unworried I was．