5 Proud Soldiers Don’t Complain

CHAPTER 5 Proud Soldiers Don't Complain Sara's first night in the attic was the scariest of her life. The room itself was frightful enough, with its bare wood floor, its hard bed, and the wind howling overhead. But the toenail scratchings and shrill little squeaks coming from the walls were even scarier. She knew these were the rats. The most terrifying thing of all, however, was the idea that her papa could really be

萨拉在阁楼上度过的第一个晚上是她一生中最恐怖的一天。 房间本身已经够可怕的了，光秃秃的木地板，硬梆梆的床，头顶上呼啸的狂风。 但是从墙上传来的脚趾甲刮擦声和尖锐的吱吱声更可怕。 她知道这些是老鼠。 然而，最可怕的是想到她的爸爸真的是

dead: that she would never see him again, and that she was all alone in the world. No matter how many times she repeated it to herself, she still could not believe it. Miss Minchin, however, would be very helpful in convincing her. The next morning, Sara walked past the open door to what used to be her room. She caught a glimpse inside and saw that everything had been removed or changed. As if by some evil magician, any trace of the girl she used to be, and the life she used to lead when her papa was alive, had been erased— just like that. Miss Minchin must have taken all her finery to be sold to pay for her party, thought Sara. She didn't like thinking unkind thoughts about magic, or about grown-ups for that matter. Magic and pretend had always been her favorite things, her biggest source of strength, but now it seemed that no amount

她再也见不到他了，她在这个世界上孤身一人。 不管她对自己说了多少遍，她还是不相信。 不过，明钦小姐会很有助于说服她的。 第二天早上，萨拉走过一扇开着的门，来到她原来的房间。 她瞥了一眼里面，发现所有的东西都被移走或改变了。 就像某个邪恶的魔术师，她曾经是一个女孩的任何痕迹，以及她爸爸活着时她过的生活，都被抹去了——就这样。 明钦小姐一定是把她所有的衣服都卖掉了，好支付她的宴会费用，萨拉想。 她不喜欢去想那些对魔法不好的想法，也不喜欢去想那些对大人不好的想法。 魔法和假装一直是她最喜欢的东西，是她最大的力量来源，但现在似乎已经没有多少了

of magic or make-believe could help her. "Your new life begins today," Miss Minchin informed her when she went downstairs. "You will work for me, in exchange for my kindness of not turning you out onto the street. You will begin by overseeing the younger girls, teaching them French and other subjects." That, Sara thought, would not be so bad. She loved spending time with the younger girls and teaching them things, and their warm affection for her also gave Sara joy. Little did she know, however, that it was only the beginning of her toil. Miss Minchin would also send Sara on errands, at any time of day or night, and in the worst weather. She would have Sara deliver grown-up messages to people in town and pay her bills. An errand boy would never have been so clever or reliable. Although Sara was a slight little girl, the cook often

魔法或幻想都能帮到她。 “你的新生活从今天开始，”明钦小姐下楼时告诉她。 “你将为我工作，以换取我不把你赶出街头的好意。 你先监督那些年纪较小的女孩，教她们法语和其他科目。” 萨拉想，那样也不会太糟。 她喜欢花时间和小女孩们在一起，教她们一些东西，她们对她的热情也给了萨拉快乐。 然而，她一点也不知道，这只是她辛苦工作的开始。 明钦小姐还会派萨拉去跑腿，无论白天黑夜，无论天气多么恶劣。 她会让萨拉给镇上的人传递成年人的信息，帮她付账单。 一个跑腿的决不会这么聪明可靠。 虽然萨拉是个瘦小的小女孩，但她经常做饭

sent her out to buy groceries. Sara carried them back through the streets with a heavy basket on her arm. Miss Minchin ordered Sara to do all of the hard, unpleasant tasks the other servants would not do. As for the other servants, the cook and the housemaids, although they, too, were servants, it was easy to boss around the youngest and newest among them. Sara used to put on what they considered fancy airs, and Miss Minchin seemed to dislike her as well, so they thought that such treatment was fitting. Sara tried to remain strong and not to complain. She hoped that they all would see that she was a hard worker and would soften and be kinder toward her over time. But she was wrong. The harder she tried to please them and do as she was told, the meaner and more demanding everyone became.

让她出去买杂货。 萨拉挎着一个沉重的篮子，穿过街道把他们背了回来。 明钦小姐命令萨拉做所有其他仆人不愿做的艰苦、不愉快的工作。 至于其他的仆人，厨子和女仆，虽然他们也是仆人，但对他们当中最年轻和最年轻的人颐指气使是很容易的。 萨拉在她们看来总是装腔作势，而明钦小姐似乎也不喜欢她，所以她们认为这样对待她是恰当的。 萨拉努力保持坚强，不去抱怨。 她希望他们都能看到她是一个努力工作的人，随着时间的推移，她会变得温柔，对她更友善。 但她错了。她越是努力地取悦他们，越是按照吩咐去做，每个人就变得越刻薄，越苛求。

She grew sadder and lonelier as each day passed. The worst thing was going outside and seeing other people. When she had been Princess Sara, just the sight of her bright and eager face had caused people to smile, especially when she was back in India. But no one looked at her anymore. In fact, if they saw her by chance, they seemed to want to look away as quickly as possible. She must really have been a sight. Sometimes, when it was dark, she would stop in front of windows that were all lit up, and peer into the warm rooms filled with happy families. One family that seemed particularly happy lived in the same square as the school, two houses away. Sara called them the Large Family, not because the members of it were particularly large, but because there were so many of them—eight children in all. All eight of them, and their parents, too, seemed happy and fond of each

随着时间一天天过去，她变得越来越悲伤和孤独。 最糟糕的事情是走出去看到其他人。 当她还是萨拉公主的时候，只要看到她那张明亮而热切的脸，人们就会微笑，尤其是当她回到印度的时候。 但是没有人再看她一眼了。 事实上，如果他们碰巧看到她，他们似乎想尽快把目光移开。 她一定很引人注目。 有时天黑了，她会在灯火通明的窗前停下脚步，凝视着满是幸福家庭的温暖房间。 有一家人似乎特别幸福，他们就住在学校所在的广场上，隔着两幢房子。 萨拉称他们为“大家庭”，不是因为他们的成员特别多，而是因为他们的人数太多了——总共有八个孩子。 他们八个孩子，还有他们的父母，似乎都很开心，也都很喜欢他们

other and of the world. They were always telling jokes, giving each other little gifts, and going on outings together. The house right next door to the school had stood empty for a while. But soon those windows would be lit up as well. One day, when returning from her errands, she saw to her great delight a van parked in front of the house next door. She had an idea that, if she could see some of the furniture, she could guess something about the new neighbors. The furniture that was being delivered to this house looked familiar to Sara. It was teakwood, and other pieces covered with rich Oriental embroidery. Why, she had seen things just like these in India! She wondered if the single man, her new next-door neighbor, was from India as well. When she looked inside, she saw not a large happy family, but one lonely man. He was the Little Family, Sara thought to herself, for no

其他的和世界的。他们总是讲笑话，互相送小礼物，一起出去玩。 学校隔壁的房子已经空了一段时间了。 但很快那些窗户也会被点亮。 一天，当她办事回来时，她非常高兴地看到一辆面包车停在隔壁的房子前面。 她有一个想法，如果她能看到一些家具，她就能猜出一些关于新邻居的事情。 萨拉觉得送到这所房子里的家具很眼熟。 它是柚木做的，其他的东西上面绣着丰富的东方刺绣。 哎呀，她在印度也见过这样的事情！她想知道那个单身男人，她的新邻居，是不是也来自印度。 当她往里看时，她看到的不是一个幸福的大家庭，而是一个孤独的男人。 他是小家庭，萨拉心里想，因为没有