1 Tom and the Widow

CHAPTER 1 Scene: The Mississippi Valley Forty to fifty years ago (1835–1845) Tom and the Widow You don't know about me unless you've read a book called The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that doesn't matter. That book was written by Mr. Mark Twain and he told the truth, mainly. There were some things he stretched, though. That's nothing. I've never met anyone who hasn't lied at one time or another, except Aunt Polly, or the widow. That's Tom's Aunt Polly.

第一章场景：密西西比河谷四十到五十年前（1835-1845）汤姆和寡妇你不知道我，除非你读过一本叫《汤姆·索亚历险记》的书，不过没关系。 那本书是马克·吐温先生写的，他讲的基本上是实话。 不过，他还是做了一些事情。 这是什么。除了波莉姨妈和那个寡妇，我从来没见过一个人不撒过谎。 那是汤姆的姨妈波莉。

She and the Widow Douglas are both in that book, which is mostly a true book, as I said before. The way that book ends, Tom and I found the money that the robbers had hidden in the cave and it made us rich. Six thousand dollars each, all in gold. Judge Thatcher put it in the bank for us and we could each get a dollar a day. We didn't know what to do with all that money anyway. The Widow Douglas took me in as a son and promised to civilize me. It was rough living in the house all the time. The widow was so regular and decent in all of her ways. When I couldn't stand it any longer, I ran away. I got into my old rags and felt free and satisfied. But Tom Sawyer hunted me down and said he was planning to start a gang, a band of robbers. He said I might join in if I went back to the widow and acted properly. So I went back. The widow cried over me and called me a poor lost lamb. She called me a lot of other

她和道格拉斯寡妇都在那本书里，就像我之前说的，那是一本真实的书。 在那本书的结尾，汤姆和我找到了强盗们藏在山洞里的钱，这使我们发了财。 每人六千美元，全是金子。 撒切尔法官把钱存进了银行，我们每人每天可以得到一美元。 反正我们也不知道怎么花那么多钱。 道格拉斯寡妇把我当儿子收养，并答应教化我。 一直住在这所房子里很难熬。 这个寡妇在一切方面都是那么规规矩矩，规规矩矩。 当我再也无法忍受的时候，我跑掉了。 我穿上旧衣服，感到自由和满足。 可是汤姆·索亚找到了我，说他打算组织一帮强盗。 他说如果我回到寡妇那里好好表现，我就可以加入。 所以我回去了。寡妇为我哭泣，叫我可怜的迷途羔羊。 她给我打过很多次电话

names, too, but she never meant any harm. She put me in some new clothes again and I couldn't do anything but sweat and feel all cramped up. Then the old things started up again. The widow rang a bell for supper and I had to come in on time. When I got to the table I couldn't start eating right away. I had to wait for the widow to lower her head and grumble a little over the food. There was nothing wrong with the food, except that everything was separate. I was used to eating a stew full of odds and ends. Things in a stew get mixed up and the juice kind of swaps around and everything goes better. The widow's sister, Miss Watson, had just come to live with her. She set after me on my first night back with a spelling-book. She worked with me for about an hour, until the widow made her ease up. I couldn't stand it much longer. I went up to my room, sat by the window, and tried to think of something cheerful, but it was no use. I got so down-hearted and lonesome I

还有名字，但她从来没有恶意。 她又给我穿上了一些新衣服，我什么也做不了，只是出汗，觉得全身局促。 然后，旧的事情又开始了。 寡妇按铃准备吃晚饭，我不得不准时回家。 当我到了餐桌上，我不能马上开始吃。 我只好等着那个寡妇低下头，对着食物嘀咕了几句。 食物没有什么问题，只是每样东西都是分开的。 我习惯了吃一锅杂七杂八的炖菜。 炖菜里的东西会混在一起，汁液会互换，一切都会变得更好。 寡妇的妹妹沃森小姐刚刚搬来和她住在一起。 我回来的第一个晚上，她拿着一本拼写书追着我。 她和我一起工作了大约一个小时，直到寡妇让她放松下来。 我再也受不了了。 我上楼回到自己的房间，坐在窗边，试图想一些令人愉快的事情，但无济于事。 我变得如此沮丧和孤独，我

wished I had some company. Pretty soon I heard a twig snap down in the dark. I sat still and listened. I could just barely hear a "me-yow! meyow!" I said, "me-yow! me-yow!" as softly as I could and then I put out the light and climbed out of the window onto the shed. I slipped down to the ground and crawled in among the trees. And sure enough, there was Tom waiting for me. We went along a short path. Just as we passed the kitchen, I fell over a root and made a noise. We crouched down and laid still. Miss Watson's slave, Jim, was sitting at the kitchen door. "Who's there?" he said. He listened some more and walked near us. For minutes and minutes there wasn't a sound. He couldn't see us, but he must have known someone was nearby. He sat down on the ground near me and Tom and said he knew someone was there. He told us he would wait until we showed ourselves. He leaned against a tree and stretched

真希望有人陪我。 不一会儿，我听到黑暗中有一根小树枝啪地一声倒下了。 我静静地坐着听着。我几乎听不到“me-yow!”meyow !”我说：“是我！我-你！”然后我熄灭了灯，爬出窗户，来到棚子上。 我滑到地上，爬进树丛里。 果然，汤姆在那里等着我。 我们沿着一条小路走。 就在我们经过厨房的时候，我被一根树根绊倒了，发出了声音。 我们蹲下来静静地躺着。 沃森小姐的奴隶吉姆正坐在厨房门口。 “谁在那儿？”他说。他又听了一会儿，走近我们。 几分钟又几分钟，一点声音也没有。 他看不见我们，但他肯定知道附近有人。 他坐在我和汤姆旁边的地上，说他知道有人在那里。 他告诉我们他会等到我们露面。 他靠在一棵树上伸懒腰

his legs out until one of them almost touched mine. Soon he began to breathe heavily and then he started snoring, so Tom and I could finally get away. When Tom and I got to the edge of the hilltop, we looked down into the village and could see three or four lights twinkling. The stars over us were sparkling. Down by the village was the river. It was a whole mile wide and awfully still and grand. We found Jo Harper and Ben Rogers, and two or three more of the boys. We untied a little boat, floated down the river to the big scar on the hillside, and went ashore. We went to a clump of bushes, where Tom made everybody swear to keep the place a secret. Then he showed us a hole in the hill, right in the thickest part of the bushes. We lit candles and crawled in on our hands and knees. After a minute or two the cave opened up. Tom ducked under a wall in the cave and crawled into another hole. We followed along the narrow path until

他伸出双腿，直到有一条几乎碰到了我的腿。 不久，他开始喘不过气来，然后开始打鼾，所以汤姆和我终于可以离开了。 当汤姆和我到达山顶边缘时，我们向下看了看村庄，可以看到三四个灯在闪烁。 我们头顶上的星星闪闪发光。 村庄下面是一条河。 它有整整一英里宽，非常安静，非常壮观。 我们找到了乔·哈伯和本·罗杰斯，还有另外两三个男孩。 我们解开了一条小船，顺流而下，来到山坡上的大伤疤上，上岸了。 我们来到一丛灌木丛，汤姆让每个人都发誓对这个地方保密。 然后他指给我们看山上的一个洞，就在灌木丛最茂密的地方。 我们点上蜡烛，手脚并用爬了进去。 一两分钟后，山洞打开了。 汤姆躲到山洞的一堵墙下面，爬进另一个洞里。 我们沿着狭窄的小路一直走，直到