4 Heartbreak Comes Quickly

CHAPTER 4 Heartbreak Comes Quickly Outside, the sun shone and the air smelled fresh, but inside the class room not a breath of air was stirring. As Tom watched two bluebirds float lazily through the sky, he felt that recess would never come. He looked at Becky, who was busy with her studies, and thought that she was even prettier than Amy Lawrence, whom he had first courted in school. When noon finally came, the students quickly poured out of the schoolhouse to race home for lunch. As Becky got up from her seat, Tom whispered in her ear: "Go on out with the rest of 'em. When you

外面，阳光明媚，空气清新，但教室里一点空气也没有。 汤姆看着两只蓝鸟懒洋洋地在天空中飞翔，他觉得课间休息永远不会到来。 他看着正忙着学习的贝基，觉得她甚至比他在学校里第一次追求的艾米·劳伦斯还要漂亮。 当中午终于到来的时候，学生们迅速涌出校舍，跑回家吃午饭。 贝基从座位上站起来时，汤姆在她耳边悄悄说：“跟他们出去吧。 当你

get to the corner, give 'em the slip, turn through the lane, and come back. I'll meet up with you." Soon enough, the two classmates were back at the now empty school. They sat together with a blank page before them. Tom handed Becky his pencil. He held her hand, guiding it, and a short while later, another house appeared on the page. Becky smiled up at him. "Do you like rats?" Tom asked, after their interest in art had faded. "No, I hate them!" "Well I hate them, too—live ones. But I'm talking about dead ones." "No, I don't care for rats. What I like is chewing gum." "Oh, I should say so. I wish I had some now."

跑到拐角处，躲开他们，穿过小巷，然后回来。 我会和你见面的。”很快，这两个同学回到了现在空荡荡的学校。 他们坐在一起，面前是一张白纸。 汤姆把铅笔递给贝基。 他握着她的手，引导着她的手，不一会儿，另一所房子出现在纸上。 贝基抬头对他笑了笑。“你喜欢老鼠吗？”在他们对艺术的兴趣减退之后，汤姆问道。 “不，我恨他们！”“唉，我也恨他们——活的。 但我说的是死人。” “不，我不喜欢老鼠。 我喜欢的是口香糖。” “哦，我是这么说的。我希望我现在就有一些。”

"I've got some." So Tom and Becky sat quietly and chewed gum for a while, dangling their legs against the bench. "Was you ever at a circus?" Tom asked. "Yes, and my pa promised to take me again if I'm good." "I been to the circus three or four times. I'm going to be a clown in the circus when I grow up." "Oh, that'll be nice. They're so lovely, all spotted up and such." "And they get buckets of money—I hear even a dollar a day." Tom then took a deep breath— "Say, Becky, was you ever engaged?" "No." "Would you like to?" "I don't know. What's it like?"

“我有一些。”于是汤姆和贝基安静地坐着，嚼了一会儿口香糖，把腿吊在长凳上。 “你去过马戏团吗？”汤姆问。 “是的，我爸爸答应过，如果我表现好，他还会带我去。” “我去过三四次马戏团。 我长大后要当马戏团的小丑。” “哦，那太好了。他们太可爱了，浑身都是斑点什么的。” “而且他们能赚大钱——我听说一天甚至能赚到一美元。” 汤姆深吸了一口气——“喂，贝基，你订过婚吗？”“没有。” “你愿意吗？”“我不知道。 它是什么样子的？”

"Like? Why, it ain't like anything. You just tell a boy you won't have anyone but him, ever ever ever, and then you kiss and that's all. Anyone can do it." "What do you kiss for?" "Well, that's what everyone does. You remember what I wrote down on the paper for you?" "Yes." "What was it?" "I won't tell you." "I'll tell you," Tom said, and he reached over and put his arm around Becky's waist and whispered "I love you" into her ear. "Now you whisper it to me—just the same way." Becky hesitated for a moment. Tom turned his face away and she bent over timidly, whispering faintly in his ear:

“喜欢吗?怎么，它不像任何东西。 你只要告诉一个男孩，除了他你谁也不要，永远永远永远，然后你们接吻，就这样。 任何人都能做到。”“你接吻是为了什么？”“嗯，每个人都是这样。 你还记得我在纸上给你写的吗？”“是的。” “那是什么？”“我不会告诉你的。” “我来告诉你。”汤姆说着，伸手搂住贝基的腰，在她耳边轻声说：“我爱你。” “现在你小声对我说——用同样的方式。” 贝基犹豫了一会儿。 汤姆转过脸去，她胆怯地弯下腰，在他耳边轻声说：

"I—love—you." Then she sprang up and ran around the desks and benches and into a corner of the room, where she hid her face behind her arms. "Now, Becky," Tom said, trying to comfort her, "it's all over. All over but the kiss—and you mustn't be afraid of that." Becky stayed that way, her back to him in the corner, face buried in her arms for a while. Tom kept talking, trying to convince her of the virtues of a kiss, until finally she turned and let her arms drop. Tom kissed her gently. "Now it's done. You ain't ever to love anyone but me, Becky, and you ain't ever to marry anyone else, either." "I'll never love anyone else, Tom, and you ain't ever to, either." "Of course not. That's a part of it. When

“看看”。然后她跳起来，绕过课桌和长凳，跑到房间的一个角落里，用胳膊捂住脸。 “现在，贝基，”汤姆说，试图安慰她，“一切都结束了。 除了吻，全身都是——你不必害怕。” 贝基就这样呆在角落里，背对着他，脸埋在怀里好一会儿。 汤姆不停地说，试图使她相信亲吻的好处，直到最后她转过身来，垂下了双臂。 汤姆轻轻地吻了她一下。“现在搞定了。 除了我，你不能爱任何人，贝基，你也不能和别人结婚。” “我再也不会爱别人了，汤姆，你也永远不会。” “当然不是。这是一部分。 当

we walk to school or play at parties, we'll always be together." "It's so nice. I never heard of it before." "It's wonderful! Why, me and Amy Lawrence—" And Tom stopped, realizing his mistake instantly. "Oh, Tom. I-I'm not the first you been engaged to." Becky began to cry. "No, Becky, no," Tom pleaded. "Don't cry. I don't care for Amy anymore." But Becky kept on crying. Tom tried to put his arm around her neck but she pushed him away. Watching Becky cry made his heart ache. He stood there uneasily, not sure what to do or say. "Becky, I-I don't care for anybody but you."

我们走路上学，或者在聚会上玩耍，我们永远在一起。” “这太好了。我以前从来没听说过。” “这是太棒了!嘿，我和艾美·劳伦斯——”汤姆停了下来，立刻意识到自己错了。 “哦,汤姆。我不是你第一个订婚对象" 贝基哭了起来。“不，贝基，不，”汤姆恳求道。 “别哭了。我不再喜欢艾米了。” 可贝基还是哭个不停。汤姆想搂住她的脖子，但她把他推开了。 看着贝基哭，他的心都痛了。 他局促不安地站在那里，不知道该做什么或说什么。 “贝基，除了你，我谁也不喜欢。”