12 A Time of Sharing

CHAPTER 12 A Time of Sharing E dward opened his eyes the next morning to see two children staring at him. A boy and a girl stood watching him in silence. Edward stared right back at them. "Who are you?" the girl asked. "I am the future king," Edward said. "The future king?" the boy asked. "King of what?" "The king of England," Edward replied.

第十二章分享的时光第二天早上，爱德华睁开眼睛，看见两个孩子在盯着他看。 一个男孩和一个女孩站在那里默默地看着他。 爱德华也盯着他们。 “你是谁？”女孩问。 “我是未来的国王，”爱德华说。 “未来的国王？”男孩问。 “什么国王？”“英格兰国王，”爱德华回答。

The children looked at each other in amazement. "Can—can he be telling the truth?" the girl whispered. "Well," the boy said thoughtfully, "I've never seen the future king, so I can't say that he isn't." "If you truly are the future king," he added, "then we'll believe you." "I truly am," Edward replied. He smiled. At long last someone believed him. "Then you should come inside," the girl said. "Our mother is just making breakfast. You can join us." Edward followed the children into the house. Their mother welcomed him warmly. She noticed the state of his clothes and the dirt on his face. Her children told her that he was the future king of England. She watched him sit at her table and eat a bowl of oatmeal. He certainly was proper and polite. She felt pity for this poor boy.

孩子们惊奇地面面相觑。 “他——他说的是真话吗？”女孩低声说。 “嗯，”男孩若有所思地说，“我从来没有见过未来的国王，所以我不能说他不是。” “如果你真的是未来的国王，”他补充说，“那么我们就会相信你。” “真的。”爱德华回答。 他笑了。终于有人相信了他。 “那么你应该进来，”女孩说。 “我们的妈妈正在做早餐。 你可以加入我们。”爱德华跟着孩子们进了屋子。 他们的母亲热情地欢迎他。 她注意到他的衣服和脸上的污垢。 她的孩子们告诉她，他是英国未来的国王。 她看着他坐在她的桌旁，吃着一碗燕麦粥。 他当然很得体，很有礼貌。 她同情这个可怜的男孩。

"We're happy to have you here, Your Majesty," she said. "It is an honor to have you at our table." Edward finished his breakfast. He sat back in his chair, full and satisfied. The woman and her children were getting ready to go out to work. As she walked out the door, she asked Edward to clean up the breakfast dishes. What? he thought. The future king of England washing dishes? He almost protested, but then he thought again. i should repay her kindness with a bit of kindness. It's the least I can do. He did not do a very good job. He was surprised at how hard it was to clean the wooden spoons and bowls. It took him a very long time. It was far from a perfect job, but Edward was proud of himself. He had learned to do something completely new. Edward continued to help the widow

“我们很高兴您能来，陛下。”她说。 “您的光临是我们的荣幸。” 爱德华吃完了早饭。 他靠在椅背上，饱餐一顿，心满意足。 这位妇女和她的孩子们正准备外出工作。 当她走出门外时，她让爱德华把早餐的盘子洗干净。 怎么啦？他想。未来的英格兰国王在洗碗？ 他几乎要抗议，但又想了想。 我应该以一点善意来回报她的好意。 这是我最起码能做的。他做得不太好。 他惊讶地发现，要清洗木勺和木碗是多么困难。 这花了他很长时间。 这工作远非完美，但爱德华为自己感到自豪。 他学会了做一些全新的事情。 爱德华继续帮助寡妇

throughout the morning. He peeled some apples— very poorly—and swept the floor— just as poorly. Just before noon, the widow sent him out to the barn with her son to help feed the cows. Edward did as she asked. He followed the younger boy's instructions and poured grain into the trough for the cows. He was not used to this difficult work. The boy noticed that Edward was struggling with the bag of grain. "Can I get you a cup of water?" he asked. "You look very thirsty." "Yes, please," Edward said. "That is very kind of you." The younger boy ran back to the house while Edward continued his work. Suddenly Edward heard a familiar voice behind him and dropped the bag of grain. "Have you given up your princely ways?" Mr. Canty asked. Edward turned around slowly. Mr. Canty stood with his hands on his hips. He smiled

整个上午。他削了几个苹果皮——很差——扫地——也一样差。 快到中午的时候，寡妇打发他和儿子到牲口棚去帮忙喂牛。 爱德华照她说的做了。他遵照小儿子的指示，把谷物倒进喂牛的槽里。 他不习惯这项艰苦的工作。 男孩注意到爱德华正在费力地拿着那袋粮食。 “我给你倒杯水好吗？”他问。 “你看起来很渴。”“好的，谢谢。”爱德华说。 “你真是太好了。” 小男孩跑回了家，爱德华继续他的工作。 突然，爱德华听到身后有一个熟悉的声音，扔下了那袋谷物。 “你放弃了你的王侯作风了吗？”康第先生问。 爱德华慢慢地转过身来。 康第先生双手叉腰站着。 他笑了

meanly at Edward. The boy thought about running, but he was trapped. He knew he had no hope of escape. Hugo approached the barn door. He was surprised to see Edward inside. He and Mr. Canty had stumbled upon the barn when they were looking for shelter. They certainly hadn't expected to find the boy here. Without a word, Mr. Canty grabbed Edward's arm while Hugo put a hand over the boy's mouth. They moved so quickly and quietly that no one in the house heard a thing.

他刻薄地看着爱德华。男孩想跑，但他被困住了。 他知道自己没有逃跑的希望了。 雨果走近谷仓的门。 他惊讶地看到爱德华在里面。 他和康第先生在寻找避雨处的时候，偶然发现了这个谷仓。 他们当然没有想到会在这里找到那个男孩。 康第先生一言不发地抓住爱德华的胳膊，雨果则用手捂住爱德华的嘴。 他们走得又快又安静，房子里谁也没听见。