3 Running away

Chapter 3 Running away As Oliver crouched in the cellar, Mr. Bumble was nailing an advertisement to the workhouse door.

奥利弗蹲在地窖里的时候，班布尔先生正在济贫院的门上钉一张广告。

The next day, Mr. Bumble dragged Oliver from the cellar. "There are two men coming to see you," he said, "so make sure you behave." Oliver watched as the first man pulled up outside the door, in a donkey cart laden with soot. "Whoah!" he shouted, hitting the donkey on the head with a great thump from his whip. "Mr. Gamfield," said Mr. Bumble, stepping out to greet him.

第二天，班布尔先生把奥利弗从地窖里拖了出来。 “有两个人要来看你，”他说，“所以你一定要守规矩。” 奥利弗看着第一个人在门外停了下来，他坐着一辆装满煤烟的驴车。 “哇！”他大叫一声，用鞭子重重地打在驴子的头上。 “甘菲尔先生。”班布尔先生说着，走出来迎接他。

Mr. Gamfield stared at Oliver. "He's a very small boy. But I need an apprentice to climb chimneys and sweep out soot. Some of the chimneys are narrow and twisting. This brat will fit nicely." "Please don't make me go," cried Oliver. "I won't go with him! I won't!" "Don't be so insolent," said Mr. Bumble. "I've heard about chimney sweeps." Oliver said. "You can die up a chimney. They light a fire to make you hurry down, and you get smothered in the smoke." "Nonsense!" said Mr. Gamfield. "I just gets a nice crackling blaze going and the boys come down quicker than anything."

甘菲尔德先生盯着奥利弗。 “他是个很小的男孩。但我需要一个徒弟爬烟囱扫烟灰。 有些烟囱又窄又弯曲。 这个小家伙会很合适的。” “请不要逼我走，”奥利弗叫道。 “我不和他一起去！”我不会!”“别这么无礼，”班布尔先生说。 “我听说过扫烟囱的事。” 奥利弗说。“你可以死在烟囱里。 他们点火让你赶紧下来，然后你就被烟呛死了。” “胡说！”甘菲尔德先生说。 “我只是让火焰噼里啪啦地燃烧起来，男孩们比什么都快下来。”

"Then I'll frizzle in flames. I'm not going," replied Oliver firmly. Mr. Gamfield clambered back into his donkey cart. "I don't want a rebellious boy. You've spoiled him, Mr. Bumble." With that, he whipped the donkey until it trotted away. Mr. Bumble shook Oliver until his teeth rattled. "Keep your mouth shut or no one will want you," he bellowed. "You've ruined that chance. Don't ruin the next. Look! Here it comes now." He pointed to a thin, spidery man coming up to the door. The man had a gloomy air. "I am Mr. Sowerberry," he introduced himself. "I arrange funerals and I need help." He looked at Oliver closely. "This boy will do, but he's so thin, he's not worth five pounds. I'll give you three pounds for him. Take it or leave it."

“然后我会在火焰中打滚。 我不去。”奥利弗坚定地回答。 甘菲尔德先生爬回他的驴车上。 “我不想要一个叛逆的男孩。 你把他惯坏了，班布尔先生。” 说完，他抽打驴，直到它小跑了。 班布尔先生把奥利弗摇得牙齿格格作响。 “闭上你的嘴，否则没人要你。”他吼道。 “你毁了这个机会。 不要毁了下一个。看！现在它来了。” 他指着向门口走来的一个瘦瘦的、像蜘蛛一样的人。 那人神色阴郁。“我是索尔贝里先生，”他自我介绍道。 “我安排葬礼，我需要帮助。” 他仔细打量着奥利弗。 “这个男孩还行，但他太瘦了，不值五英镑。 我给你三英镑买他。 要么接受，要么放弃。”

Mr. Bumble was disgusted, but there was nothing he could do. He was eager to see the last of Oliver. "Glad you're going, Oliver. Behave, or else..." he threatened. Back at his shop, Mr. Sowerberry showed Oliver a dusty basement. A dim light filtered in, through a grimy pane of glass barred with rusty iron rails. "You'll sleep here, you little bag of bones," he said.

班布尔先生很反感，但他也无能为力。 他渴望见到奥利弗的最后一面。 “很高兴你要去，奥利弗。 老实点，不然……”他威胁道。 回到店里，索尔贝里先生带奥利弗看了一间满是灰尘的地下室。 昏暗的光线透过一层布满锈栏杆的肮脏的玻璃照了进来。 “你就睡在这儿吧，你这个小皮包骨，”他说。

Oliver looked around the shadowy room. It was stacked with empty coffins and planks of wood. Drapes of black cloth hung from hooks in the walls, billowing occasionally in the breeze, as though first they breathed... and then were lifeless. The only place to sleep- a recess behind the coffins where a thin mattress was thrust- looked like a grave. "And this is Noah, my apprentice," Mr. Sowerberry went on, taking him to the kitchen. "Noah, give Oliver his supper." Noah looked cross. "What work is he going to do?" he asked, sulkily.

奥利弗环顾了一下阴暗的房间。 里面堆满了空棺材和木板。 墙上的钩子上挂着黑布，偶尔在微风中翻腾，仿佛它们先呼吸…… 然后就没有生命了。唯一可以睡觉的地方——棺材后面的一个凹处，里面放着一张薄薄的床垫——看起来像个坟墓。 “这是诺亚，我的学徒，”索尔贝里先生继续说，把他带到厨房。 “诺亚，给奥利弗吃晚饭。” 诺亚看起来很生气。“他要做什么工作？”他不高兴地问。