4 The Change

CHAPTER 4 The Change Mr. Barrow," Miss Minchin exclaimed as she swept graciously into her office. "I am so delighted to see you again!" But when Mr. Barrow stood up to greet her, he did not look happy. "Miss Minchin," he told her, looking grave, "perhaps you should sit down." Miss Minchin went stiff. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "That," Mr. Barrow said, sitting down, "is

第四章变化巴罗先生，”明钦小姐大摇大摆地走进办公室，大声说道。 “我很高兴再次见到你！”但当巴罗先生站起来迎接她时，他看起来并不高兴。 “明钦小姐，”他神情严肃地对她说，“也许你该坐下来。” 明钦小姐僵住了。“出什么事了？”她问。 “那，”巴罗先生坐下来说，“是

putting it rather mildly." Mr. Barrow then revealed what he had come to tell her: how the diamond mines had failed, and about the late Captain Crewe. "Excuse me," Miss Minchin gasped. "The late Captain Crewe?" "He's dead, ma'am," Mr. Barrow confirmed. "He died of jungle fever and bad business. But that's not the half of it." "There's more?" Miss Minchin asked. "Captain Crewe died without a cent, quite out of his mind, raving about his little girl." Miss Minchin could hardly breathe—not from pity, mind you, but out of anger. She felt that, somehow, she had been cheated out of what was rightfully hers. Cheated by the late Captain Crewe, by Barrow and Skipworth, even by Sara. She spoke slowly. "Are you telling me... that he left the child nothing? That he left

说得委婉点。” 巴罗先生随后透露了他来是要告诉她的事情：钻石矿是怎样失败的，还有克鲁船长的事。 “对不起，”明钦小姐喘着气说。 “已故的克鲁船长？”“他死了，夫人，”巴罗先生证实道。 “他死于丛林热和生意不好。 但这还不是问题的一半。” “还有更多?”明钦小姐问。 “克鲁船长死时身无分文，神志不清，对他的小女儿大加赞扬。” 明钦小姐几乎喘不过气来——注意，不是出于怜悯，而是出于愤怒。 她觉得，不知怎的，她被骗走了本该属于她的东西。 被已故的克鲁船长欺骗，被巴罗和斯基普沃斯欺骗，甚至被萨拉欺骗。 她说得很慢。“你是在告诉我…… 他什么都没给孩子留下？ 他离开了

me nothing? That Sara is in there right now, having a grand party at my expense, for which I shall never see one penny?" "Yes, I'm afraid the child is a beggar." Mr. Barrow did not mince words. "But before you think of turning her out into the street, think about how that would look for your school. And by the way," he added dryly, "Barrow and Skipworth is not responsible for her— you are." Miss Minchin could not believe her ears. But her mind was indeed working at top speed. She was nothing if not a shrewd businesswoman and knew just what Mr. Barrow meant. After a long silence, she spoke. "Yes—better to keep her," she agreed, "and to make use of her." Her eyes narrowed shrewdly. "I can assure you, sir, that I will make good use of her!" Their conversation was cut short by the

我没有什么?萨拉现在就在里面，用我的钱办一个盛大的宴会，而我却一分钱也拿不到？”“是的，恐怕这孩子是个乞丐。” 巴罗先生直言不讳。 “但在你考虑把她扔到街上之前，想想这对你的学校会有什么影响。 顺便说一句，”他干巴巴地补充道，“巴罗和斯基普沃思不对她负责——应该由你负责。” 明钦小姐简直不敢相信自己的耳朵。 但她的思维确实在以最快的速度运转。 她是个精明的商人，完全明白巴罗先生的意思。 沉默了很久之后，她开口了。 “是的——最好留下她，”她同意道，“好好利用她。” 她机敏地眯起眼睛。 “我可以向您保证，先生，我会好好利用她的！”他们的谈话被打断了

sound of singing. It was the students, Miss Minchin thought foggily. They had started without her. She ran back down the hall. "Stop your singing this minute!" she screamed with fury. She threw open the door and rushed into the room. "Everybody quiet!" The startled girls stopped in midchorus. "Sara Crewe!" Miss Minchin ordered. "Come here this instant!" The crowd parted, and Sara walked quietly to the front of the room. "Yes, Miss Minchin," she replied. "Do you have a black frock in your grand princess wardrobe?" Miss Minchin asked in a mocking tone. "Why, I'm sure that Sara has a frock in every color," Lavinia said under her breath. "A black frock?" Miss Amelia repeated. "Sister, what are you talking about?" "I have an old black velvet dress," Sara said

歌声。是学生干的，明钦小姐模糊地想。 他们没等她就出发了。 她跑回大厅。 “马上别唱了！”她愤怒地叫道。 她猛地打开门，冲进房间。 “大家安静!”受惊的女孩们在合唱中停下来。 “萨拉·克鲁!”明钦小姐命令道。 “马上给我过来！”人群散开了，萨拉静静地走到房间前面。 “是的，明钦小姐，”她回答。 “你的大公主衣橱里有一件黑色连衣裙吗？”明钦小姐用嘲弄的语气问道。 “啊，我敢肯定萨拉有各种颜色的连衣裙，”拉维尼娅压低声音说。 “一件黑色的连衣裙？”阿米莉亚小姐重复了一遍。 “姐姐，你在说什么呀？”“我有一件旧的黑色天鹅绒连衣裙，”萨拉说

timidly, "but I have outgrown it. It is too short." "That is too bad," Miss Minchin said. "Go take off that ridiculous pink thing and put the black one on. You are done with finery!" In shock, the other girls became speechless. "Sister, what has happened?" Miss Amelia cried. Miss Minchin did not mince words. "Captain Crewe is dead," she said. "He died penniless, leaving this spoiled little princess on my hands." The girls let out a gasp. Miss Amelia fell heavily into the nearest chair. Becky, still standing at the party's edges, started to cry. But Sara was another story: she actually made no fuss at all. Although her eyes got quite big and she turned pale, she stood very still and looked at Miss Minchin without saying a word, before turning and walking silently out of the room.

胆怯地说，“但我已经长大了。 它太短了。”“那太糟糕了，”明钦小姐说。 “去把那可笑的粉色衣服脱下来，穿上那件黑色的。 你不穿华服了！”其他女孩震惊得说不出话来。 “姐姐，出什么事了？”阿米莉亚小姐哭了。 明钦小姐直言不讳。 “克鲁船长死了，”她说。 “他死时身无分文，把这个被宠坏的小公主留给了我。” 姑娘们倒吸了一口气。阿米莉亚小姐重重地跌坐在最近的椅子上。 贝基仍然站在聚会的边缘，哭了起来。 但萨拉是另一回事：她实际上一点也不大惊小怪。 虽然她的眼睛睁得很大，脸色也变白了，但她一动不动地站着，一言不发地看着明钦小姐，然后转身默默地走出了房间。

Looking around at what was left of the lavish party, Miss Minchin was enraged. "Girls!" she ordered. "Put down your cake and go back to your rooms right now!" She turned to face Becky, whose face was streaming with tears. "And you," she said, "stop your wailing and clean up this mess. This party is over!" Upstairs, a trembling Mariette was helping Sara to change into the old black dress Miss Minchin had ordered her to put on. Mariette had also grown very fond of Sara, and feared it would be the last thing she was allowed to do for the girl. Sara hardly seemed to notice Mariette. "My papa is dead," she kept saying quietly to herself alone. "My papa is dead." Emily, too, had been draped in a piece of black cloth. Mariette had thought it fitting. "Oh, Emily!" Sara cried. "Do you hear?

明钦小姐环顾了一下宴会上剩下的东西，非常生气。 “姑娘们！”她命令道。“放下你的蛋糕，马上回你的房间去！”她转过身来面对着贝基，贝基的脸上满是泪水。 “还有你，”她说，“别哭了，把这烂摊子收拾干净。 派对结束了！”在楼上，颤抖的玛丽埃特正帮萨拉换上明钦小姐吩咐她穿的那件黑色旧衣服。 玛丽埃特也变得非常喜欢萨拉，担心这将是她被允许为这个女孩做的最后一件事。 萨拉似乎没有注意到玛丽埃特。 “我爸爸死了，”她一个人静静地对自己说。 “我爸爸死了。”爱米丽也裹着一块黑布。 玛丽埃特认为这是合适的。 “噢,艾米丽!”Sara叫道。“你听见了吗？”