11 The Magic

CHAPTER 11 The Magic Sara did not know how long she had slept, but when she came to slowly the next morning, eyes still closed, she knew that she needed to sleep longer. Even Miss Minchin let her sleep an extra hour on Sundays. Or perhaps she was still sleeping— dreaming, really. How else could she feel so warm and comfortable? When she put out her hand, how else could she feel covered by a warm quilt? How else could she hear the

萨拉不知道自己睡了多久，但当第二天早上她慢慢醒来时，眼睛仍然闭着，她知道她需要再睡一会儿。 就连明钦老师也让她在星期天多睡一个小时。 也许她还在睡觉——真的在做梦。 不然她怎么能感到如此温暖和舒适呢？ 当她伸出手时，她怎么能感觉到被温暖的被子盖着呢？ 不然她怎么能听到

gentle crackling of a fire in her rusty old grate? A bit later, she opened her eyes. And like a miracle, the dream continued. Along with all of the things she had pretended—the thick, soft blue Indian rug, the soft sofa with cushions to curl up on, and a tiger-skin rug in front of the fire—was a small folding table. It was covered with a white cloth, topped with a small, piping hot feast of savory soups, sandwiches, toast, and muffins. How, she did not know, but somehow she was sleeping in a new bed, covered in warm, fluffy blankets. At the foot of the bed were a warm silk robe and a pair of quilted slippers. Best of all, in a pile by the chair near the fire were some lovely books. Looking all around, she could see rose- colored lamps, wall hangings and pictures, colorful rugs and cushions, flowers in pretty vases, and any number of other wonderful,

她那生锈的旧壁炉里发出的轻轻的噼啪声？ 过了一会儿，她睁开了眼睛。 就像奇迹一样，梦继续着。 除了她假装的所有东西——又厚又软的蓝色印度地毯，带靠垫的柔软沙发，壁炉前的虎皮地毯——还有一张小折叠桌。 上面盖着一块白布，上面放着热气腾腾的小大餐，有美味的汤、三明治、烤面包和松饼。 怎么回事，她不知道，但不知怎么的，她睡在一张新床上，盖着温暖、蓬松的毯子。 床脚上放着一件暖和的丝绸长袍和一双绗缝拖鞋。 最好的是，在靠近火炉的椅子旁有一堆可爱的书。 她环顾四周，可以看到玫瑰色的灯，墙上的挂饰和图画，彩色的地毯和靠垫，漂亮的花瓶里的花，以及许多其他奇妙的东西，

magical things. "Why does it not melt away?" she panted. "Oh, I never had such a dream before!" Springing out of bed, she ran around the room touching everything. She brought her hand as close as she could to the fire. "It's hot!" she cried, pulling back. She put on the robe and pressed the material to her cheek. "It's so warm and soft!" she cried. She tasted some of the lovely food that had been left for her on the table. "Delicious!" she cried. "And it's real, all of it! I am not dreaming!" Suddenly, she saw a little note resting upon the pile of books. "To the little girl in the attic," the note said, "from a friend." Reading those words, Sara did a strange thing. She put her face down on the page and burst into tears. "Somebody cares for me," she sobbed. "I do have a friend." Imagine, if you can, what the rest of the morning was like. Right away, Sara knocked

神奇的事情。“为什么它不融化呢？”她喘着气说。 “哦，我从来没有做过这样的梦！”她一跃而起，在房间里跑来跑去，摸遍了所有的东西。 她把手尽量靠近炉火。 “好热啊！"她叫道，一面往后退。 她穿上长袍，把布料紧贴在脸颊上。 “它是如此温暖和柔软！”她叫道。 她尝了尝桌上留给她的美味佳肴。 “好吃！”她叫道。“这一切都是真的！”我不是在做梦！”突然，她看见那堆书上有一张小纸条。 “给阁楼上的小女孩，”纸条上写道，“一个朋友送的。” 看到这些话，萨拉做了一件奇怪的事。 她把脸埋在纸上，突然哭了起来。 “有人关心我，”她抽泣着说。 “我确实有一个朋友。”如果可以的话，想象一下这个上午剩下的时间是怎样的。 萨拉马上敲门

on the wall for Becky, and the two girls spent the next few hours sitting before the blazing fire. At first Becky was speechless from fear. But once Becky got over her own disbelief, they both gobbled up the food. Even more important, their hearts were fed by the magical kindness of Sara's secret friend. Somehow, their fear of Miss Minchin faded into the background. Sara decided that she would keep the wonders that had happened to them a secret, if such a thing were possible. Soon, of course, they would have to go downstairs to work, but that day both girls did so with courage. They had extra color in their cheeks and spring in their steps. Everyone at the school had heard about what happened the night before, so they all expected Sara to come down looking humbled and shamefaced. But instead, she seemed to float around looking even more

两个女孩在熊熊燃烧的炉火前坐了几个小时。 起初，贝基吓得说不出话来。 但贝基一克服了自己的怀疑，他们俩就狼吞虎咽地把食物吃光了。 更重要的是，他们的心被萨拉的秘密朋友神奇的善良所充实。 不知怎的，他们对明钦小姐的恐惧渐渐消失了。 萨拉决定，如果可能的话，她要把发生在他们身上的奇迹保密。 当然，很快她们就得下楼去工作了，但那天两个女孩都勇敢地下楼去了。 他们面颊红润，步伐轻快。 学校里的每个人都听说了前一天晚上发生的事情，所以他们都认为萨拉会带着谦卑和羞愧的表情下来。 但相反，她似乎在四处漂浮，看得更多了

regal than usual. "She doesn't even look hungry," Lavinia whispered to Jessie. Lavinia knew about Sara's punishment and was not the least bit sorry to have told on her. "Perhaps she is just pretending she had a good breakfast!" Miss Minchin sternly warned Sara, "Remember that you are in disgrace. It is rude of you to go around looking like you had just come into a fortune!" The weather on this day was possibly even worse than it was the last time Sara had gone out to run errands—wetter, muddier, and colder. Her basket was heavier, and the cook was more testy. But somehow, today she could bear it all. Even if the magic was gone when she returned to her room that night, she thought, she would still always be grateful and know that it had saved her. When she pushed open the door to her room that night, she gasped. She shut the

比平时高贵。“她看起来都不饿。”拉维尼娅小声对杰西说。 拉维尼娅知道萨拉受到惩罚的事，却一点也不后悔告发了她。 “也许她只是假装早餐吃得很好！”明钦小姐严厉地警告萨拉：“记住，你丢脸了。 你到处走来走去，一副刚发了财的样子，真没礼貌！”这一天的天气可能比萨拉上次外出办事的时候还要糟糕——更潮湿、更泥泞、更冷。 她的篮子更重了，厨师也更暴躁了。 但不知怎的，今天她能忍受这一切。 她想，即使那天晚上回到房间时魔法消失了，她也会永远心存感激，因为她知道是魔法救了她。 那天晚上，当她推开房间的门时，她倒吸了一口气。 她关上了门。

door and, standing with her back to it, looked from side to side. Not only was the magic still there, but it had new life. A freshly built fire was blazing, even more merrily than before. More finery, pictures, and pillows filled the room. And best of all, a delicious dinner had been made, steamy hot, just waiting for her on the table. And all the dirty breakfast plates had been cleared away. When Becky came in, she started giggling like someone who was out of her mind. The two girls sat down to dinner like two princesses. From then on, every day Sara returned to her room, something new had been added. And when there was no more space left in Sara's room, the magic began to spill over into Becky's room. Sara said to herself, "Is this my attic room? And am I that same cold, raggedy, damp little girl? I must be living in a fairy story."

她背靠着门站着，左顾右望。 魔力不仅还在，而且有了新的生命。 一堆新燃起的火比以前更旺了。 房间里摆满了更多的饰物、图画和枕头。 最棒的是，一顿美味的晚餐已经做好了，热气腾腾，就在桌子上等着她。 所有的脏早餐盘子都被清理干净了。 贝基一进来，就像疯了一样咯咯地笑起来。 两个女孩像两个公主一样坐下来吃饭。 从那以后，萨拉每天回到她的房间，都添上一些新的东西。 萨拉的房间已经没有地方了，魔法开始蔓延到贝基的房间。 萨拉自言自语道：“这是我的阁楼吗？ 我还是那个又冷又破又湿的小女孩吗？ 我一定是生活在童话里。”