牛津书虫系列《勃朗特一家的故事》Chapter2 附中英双语文本

圣诞节学校也不放假，对我来说，要爬过寒风呼啸的山峦去看我的女儿们太困难了。所以，我和布兰韦尔姨妈、儿子和小女儿安妮留在霍沃斯的家中。屋外，寒风把雪卷到墓碑上空，窗户上都结了冰。
On Christmas Day little Anne looked lonely．She asked me about her sisters．
圣诞节那天小安妮显得很孤单。她向我问起姐姐们。
'Don't worry，my dear，'I said．'They are happy，with the other girls at school．You shall go to Cowan Bridge，too，when you are older．'
“别担心，亲爱的。”我说，“她们和其他孩子在学校里很快活。你长大了也要去考恩桥学校。”
I remember how strangely she looked at me then．She was only four，and very pretty．She smiled at me，but her face went very white，and her hands started to shake．I don't know why．I thought she was cold，and I put some more wood on the fire．Then Aunt Branwell read her a story from the Bible，and I for－got about it．
我记得她听了以后那么奇怪地看着我，她只有4岁，非常漂亮。她冲我笑了笑，可是脸却变得非常苍白，双手也开始颤抖起来。我不知道是怎么回事。我以为她冷，就往火里加了些木头。然后布兰韦尔姨妈给她念圣经里的一个故事，我就把这事忘了。
In February a letter came．It was in an adult's handwriting，not Maria' Many children in the school have been ill，and your daughter Maria...
2月份时来了一封信，不是玛丽亚写的，而是一个成年人的笔迹。“亲爱的勃朗特先生，”上面写道，“恐怕有个坏消息要通知您。学校里有很多孩子都病了，您的女儿玛丽亚……”
My hand began to shake badly，and I dropped the letter on the floor．As I picked it up，I could see only one word—dead ...If your daughter Maria does not come home soon，she will be dead．
我的手剧烈地哆嗦起来，信纸滑落到地板上。我捡起来，只看见一个字——“死……如果您的女儿玛丽亚不赶快回家的话，她会死的。”
I went over the hills to bring her back．My Maria was in a small bed in a cold room upstairs，coughing badly．Elizabeth and Charlotte and Emily stood beside her，waiting for me．They looked so sad and ill and frightened．I remember the big eyes in their small white faces．But I did not bring them home then；the school doctor said it was not necessary． So I took Maria home across the cold，windy moors to Haworth．I sat be－side her in the coach and held her hand all the way．I remem－ber how cold her hand was in mine．Thin cold fingers，that did not move at all．
我翻山越岭去接她回家。我的小玛丽亚躺在楼上一间冰冷房间的小床上，剧烈地咳嗽着。伊丽莎白、夏洛蒂和爱米丽站在床边等着我。她们看上去好像病了，又伤心又惊恐不安。我记得她们苍白的小脸上大大的眼睛！但是我没有把她们也接回家；学校的医生说用不着。于是我只带着玛丽亚穿过寒风呼啸的荒野回到霍沃斯。一路上我在马车里坐在她身旁，握着她的手。我还记得她的手在我手心里是多么的冰凉埃手指又细又凉，一动也不动。
It was too late to save her．She lay in bed upstairs for nearly three months，but she was too ill to eat．Her poor face was white，I remember，and it seemed thin and small like a dead child's．Only her eyes looked alive—big dark eyes in a thin white face．'Don't cry，father，'she said to me once．' I shall be with mother soon，you know．And with God．'
要挽救她的生命还是太晚了。她在楼上的床上躺了近三个月，病得不能吃东西。我记得她那苍白的小脸看上去那么瘦小，像个死孩子一样。只有眼睛看上去还是活生生的——瘦削、苍白的脸上大大的黑眼睛。“别哭，爸爸。”有一次她对我说，“你知道，我很快就要和妈妈在一起了。和上帝在一起。”
I buried Maria beside her mother，and a month later I buried Elizabeth there，too．She became ill at school，and a woman from the school brought her home．I brought Charlotte and Emily home two weeks later．They were here when Elizabeth died．Her body lay all night in a wooden box on the table，and her little sisters and brother kissed her before she was buried．
我把玛丽亚埋在她妈妈的旁边。1个月以后我又掩埋了伊丽莎白，她在学校生了病，被学校的一个女人送回了家。两周后我把夏洛蒂和爱米丽接了回来。伊丽莎白死时她们都在家。她的尸体在桌上的木盒里放了整夜，下葬前她的小妹妹们和小弟弟亲吻了她。
I had wanted so much for these two girls，and now I had nothing．I stood in the church，and looked at the summer flow－ers I had put on their grave．I remembered how my wife had held the girls in her arms，and how she had smiled at me when we looked at them．'They have come back to you now，Maria，'I said．'I am sorry．I am so sorry，my love．'