1 A Great Surprise

Little Lord Fauntleroy Retold from the Frahces Hodgson Burnett original

《方特勒罗伊小爵爷》改编自弗朗切斯·霍奇森·伯内特原著

CHAPTER 1 A Great Surprise "Dearest," Cedric said to his mama. "Dearest, is my papa better?" Cedric called his mama Dearest, just like his papa had. Cedric's papa had been terribly ill, and Cedric had been sent away until he got better. But when the boy returned, he found Dearest sitting in her chair by the window. She was dressed in black, and her pretty face looked very sad. Cedric went to her. He felt her arms tremble. There was something in her face

“最亲爱的。”塞德里克对妈妈说。 “最亲爱的，我爸爸好些了吗？”塞德里克叫他妈妈“亲爱的”，就像他爸爸一样。 塞德里克的爸爸病得很重，塞德里克一直被送走，直到病情好转。 但当男孩回来时，他发现最亲爱的正坐在窗边的椅子上。 她穿着黑色的衣服，漂亮的脸看上去很悲伤。 塞德里克走向她。他感到她的手臂在颤抖。 她的脸上有某种表情

that made his heart beat fast with worry. "Dearest," he said again quietly, "is Papa well?" Suddenly he knew what to do. He wrapped his arms around her neck, and he kissed her again and again. She put her face on his shoulder and started sobbing. She was holding on to him tightly, as if she would never let go. "Yes, he is well," Dearest said at last. "But we—we have no one left but each other."

这使他担心得心跳加速。 “最亲爱的，”他又平静地说，“爸爸好吗？”突然，他知道该怎么做了。 他搂住她的脖子，一遍又一遍地吻她。 她把脸靠在他的肩上，开始抽泣起来。 她紧紧地抓着他，好像永远不会放手似的。 “是的，他很好，”最亲爱的终于说。 “但我们除了彼此，谁也没有了。”

Cedric was only a little boy, but somehow he understood. His big, handsome papa was not coming back. He was dead. A few years passed. Dearest cried whenever he asked about his papa, so Cedric secretly decided not to talk about him. He remembered a few things about his papa. His name was Captain Cedric Errol. He was very tall and had blue eyes and a mustache. Cedric remembered how wonderful it felt when his papa carried him around on his shoulders. That's what Cedric remembered most. He also knew that his papa was not from New York, where he and Dearest lived. His papa was from England. Cedric thought that was why his papa's family never visited. They were too far away.

塞德里克只是个小男孩，但不知怎么的，他明白了。 他高大英俊的爸爸不回来了。 他死了。几年过去了。 每当最亲爱的问起他爸爸时，他就会哭，所以塞德里克暗自决定不谈论他。 他想起了一些关于他爸爸的事。 他的名字是塞德里克·埃罗尔上尉。 他个子很高，蓝眼睛，留着小胡子。 塞德里克还记得爸爸把他扛在肩上时的感觉有多么美妙。 这是塞德里克记得最深的。 他也知道他爸爸不是他和最亲爱的住的纽约人。 他爸爸是英国人。 塞德里克认为这就是为什么他爸爸的家人从不来看他。 他们离得太远了。

His mama's family never visited either, but that was because she had no family. She was an orphan. Before Dearest married his papa, she had worked for a rich old lady who was not kind to her. One day, Captain Errol was visiting the old lady's house and noticed Cedric's mama running up the stairs. From that moment on, the captain couldn't stop thinking about her. She looked so sweet, so innocent. He came back to visit again and again. He fell in love with her, and soon— quicker than anyone could have guessed— they were planning to get married. This marriage made some people very unhappy, even angry. The captain's father was especially upset. He was the Earl of Dorincourt, a rich and important nobleman who lived in a fine, beautiful castle. He was known for having a terrible temper. He also hated America and Americans.

他妈妈的家人也从来没有来过，但那是因为她没有家人。 她是个孤儿。在最亲爱的嫁给他爸爸之前，她曾为一位对她不好的有钱老太太工作。 一天，埃罗尔上尉去拜访老太太的家，注意到塞德里克的妈妈正跑上楼。 从那一刻起，船长就无法停止对她的思念。 她看起来那么可爱，那么天真。 他一次又一次地回来拜访。 他爱上了她，很快——比任何人想象的都要快——他们打算结婚了。 这段婚姻让一些人非常不开心，甚至愤怒。 船长的父亲尤其心烦意乱。 他是多林考特伯爵，一位富有而重要的贵族，住在一座精美的城堡里。 他的坏脾气是出了名的。 他也憎恨美国和美国人。

The earl had two sons who were older than Captain Cedric. The oldest son was a lord. He would one day become the Earl of Dorincourt, after the old earl died. If the first son died, the second son would become the earl's heir. As for the third son, he would only become a lord if both of his brothers died. More than likely, he would never be the Earl of Dorincourt. He would never even be very rich, since most of the family fortune would go to his older brothers. Captain Cedric knew this, but it didn't matter to him. He was a kind young man, and very handsome. He was also brave and generous. Everyone loved him. His older brothers were not handsome or kind or smart. They wasted their time and money and had very few real friends. The earl's two older sons were a disappointment. They embarrassed him. His heirs were not an honor to his noble name.

伯爵有两个儿子，年龄都比塞德里克船长大。 大儿子是位领主。 老伯爵死后，他有一天会成为多林考特伯爵。 如果第一个儿子死了，第二个儿子将成为伯爵的继承人。 至于第三个儿子，只有他的两个哥哥都死了，他才能成为领主。 更有可能的是，他永远不会成为多林科特伯爵。 他甚至永远也不会很富有，因为家里的大部分财产都归了他的哥哥们。 塞德里克上尉知道这一点，但这对他来说并不重要。 他是一个善良的年轻人，非常英俊。 他也很勇敢和慷慨。 每个人都喜欢他。他的哥哥们既不英俊，也不善良，也不聪明。 他们浪费时间和金钱，很少有真正的朋友。 伯爵的两个大儿子令人失望。 他们使他难堪。他的继承人不是他高贵姓氏的荣誉。