Ch5-A Fireside Tale

CHAPTER FIVE A Fireside Tale "Hello, Mary!" said Augusta. She kissed the old woman on her wrinkled cheek. With the firelight on her face, Mary seemed to glow. Her warm, snug cottage was the opposite of the Big House. It smelled of damp leaves and moss, bread and chocolate. Firelight danced on the earthen floor and stone walls. Rain dripped

“你好，玛丽！”奥古斯塔说。 她吻了吻老妇人布满皱纹的脸颊。 炉火照在玛丽的脸上，她似乎容光焕发。 她那温暖舒适的小屋就在大房子的对面。 它散发着潮湿的树叶、苔藓、面包和巧克力的味道。 火光在土地板和石墙上舞动。 雨水滴

through the roof, pinging into a couple of tin buckets. "And who do we have here, Miss Augusta?" Mary asked. "Two poor children from town," said Augusta. "I want you to tell them about me—how I truly love the poor and try to help them." Mary smiled. "Please, sit down first," she said. Jack, Annie, and Augusta sat down on three rickety wooden chairs. "Would you children like some hot cocoa?" Mary asked. Jack and Annie nodded eagerly.

穿过屋顶，撞进几个锡桶里。 “奥古斯塔小姐，这是谁呀？”玛丽问道。 “两个城里来的穷孩子，”奥古斯塔说。 “我想让你告诉他们关于我的事——我如何真正地爱穷人，并努力帮助他们。” 玛丽笑了。“请先坐下，”她说。 杰克、安妮和奥古斯塔坐在三把摇摇晃晃的木椅上。 “孩子们，你们想喝点热可可吗？”玛丽问道。 杰克和安妮急切地点点头。

"Yes, please, Mary," said Augusta. "But would you tell them—" "Yes, I will tell them all about you," said Mary. She picked up a pot sitting on the hearth. She poured steaming cocoa into three mugs and handed them to Jack, Annie, and Augusta. The cocoa smelled delicious. Jack took a sip and licked his lips. "Yum," he said. His insides felt warm for the first time all day. "Now, Mary?" asked Augusta. "In time, my child," Mary said to Augusta. "Tell me, what have you been doing today?" "I delivered cakes in town," Augusta said proudly. "Then I found these poor children in our kitchen looking for work. I've tried to help them.

“是的，玛丽，”奥古斯塔说。 “是的，我会告诉他们关于你的一切，”玛丽说。 她拿起壁炉上的一个锅。 她把热气腾腾的可可倒进三个杯子里，递给杰克、安妮和奥古斯塔。 可可闻起来很香。 杰克抿了一口，舔了舔嘴唇。 “好极了，”他说。他的内心整天第一次感到温暖。 “现在呢，玛丽？”奥古斯塔问。 “到时候，我的孩子。”玛丽对奥古斯塔说。 “告诉我，你今天都干了些什么？”“我在镇上送蛋糕，”奥古斯塔自豪地说。 “然后我发现这些可怜的孩子在厨房里找工作。 我试过帮助他们。

But they say I am snobby. I brought them here so you could tell them the truth about me." "Ah, I see, Miss Augusta. How did you try to help them?" said Mary. "I've tried to discover what they are good for," said Augusta. "But it appears they are good for nothing." "Really?" Mary fixed her twinkling eyes on Jack and Annie. "Well, let us start with this, children: tell me something you like to do. No, wait—what do you love to do?" "Uh… well, I love to read," said Jack. "And write," said Annie. "Read and write?" said Augusta. "I don't think so."

但是他们说我势利。我把他们带到这里来，好让你告诉他们关于我的真相。” “啊，我明白了，奥古斯塔小姐。你是怎么帮助他们的？”玛丽说。 奥古斯塔说：“我试图发现它们的优点。 “但看起来它们毫无用处。” “真的吗?”玛丽目不转睛地盯着杰克和安妮。 “好吧，让我们从这个开始，孩子们：告诉我你们喜欢做什么。 不，等等——你喜欢做什么？”“嗯……嗯，我喜欢读书，”杰克说。 “还要写，”安妮说。“读书写字？”奥古斯塔说。 “我不这么认为。”

Mary ignored Augusta and kept looking at Jack and Annie. "What do you like to read and write?" asked Mary. "Facts mostly," said Jack. "True stories." "Jack writes facts down all the time," said Annie. "Honestly, Mary," said Augusta. "Soon they'll be telling you that they are actors, too—and have performed in a play by William Shakespeare. Can we talk about me now?" "Actually, that's true," Jack said to Mary. "We were in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Annie and I were fairies. I had stage fright, but Will—" "William Shakespeare himself," said Annie.

玛丽不理睬奥古斯塔，一直看着杰克和安妮。 “你喜欢读什么和写什么？”玛丽问。 “主要是事实。”杰克说。 “真实故事”。“杰克总是把事实写下来，”安妮说。 “说真的，玛丽，”奥古斯塔说。 “很快他们就会告诉你，他们也是演员，而且还在莎士比亚的戏剧里演过戏。 我们现在能谈谈我吗？”“事实上，这是真的，”杰克对玛丽说。 “我们在《仲夏夜之梦》里。 安妮和我是仙女。我怯场，可是威尔——”“威廉·莎士比亚本人，”安妮说。

"He helped me get over it," said Jack. He looked straight at Augusta. Augusta rolled her eyes. "Will was so nice," said Annie. "And smart," said Jack. "Of course he was!" said Mary. "You can tell that from his stories." "Oh, please stop. Don't tell Mary those ridiculous things!" Augusta said. "What about me, Mary?" "Wait, child, I have a question for them," Mary said. She leaned forward and spoke in a whisper. "Where is summer? Can you answer me that?"

“他帮我克服了，”杰克说。 他直勾勾地看着奥古斯塔。 奥古斯塔翻了个白眼。“威尔人真好，”安妮说。 “而且很聪明。”杰克说。“当然啦！”玛丽说。 “你可以从他的故事中看出这一点。” “哦，请别这样。别把那些荒唐的事告诉玛丽！”奥古斯塔说。 “那我呢，玛丽？”“等等，孩子，我有个问题要问他们。”玛丽说。 她身体前倾，低声说话。 “夏天在哪里？”你能回答我吗？”