11 Anxiety in America

CHAPTER 11 Anxiety in America When Mr. Hobbs's young friend left him to become Lord Fauntleroy, Mr. Hobbs became quite lonely. No one else came to his grocery store to chat the way Cedric had. No one else would read the newspapers with him. Or discuss politics. Or work on arithmetic while Mr. Hobbs added up his accounts. At first, Mr. Hobbs just kept hoping that Cedric would come back. He kept expecting to see the boy standing in the doorway in his white suit, saying in his cheerful little voice,

第十一章美国的焦虑当霍布斯先生的年轻朋友离开他去当方特勒罗伊勋爵时，霍布斯先生感到非常孤独。 没有人会像塞德里克那样来他的杂货店聊天。 没有人愿意和他一起读报。 或者讨论政治。或者在霍布斯先生算账的时候做算术。 一开始，霍布斯先生一直希望塞德里克能回来。 他一直期待着看到那个穿着白色西装的男孩站在门口，用他愉快的小声音说：

"Hallo, Mr. Hobbs!" But as the days passed and this didn't happen, Mr. Hobbs began to feel very dull. He didn't even enjoy his newspaper. He would read a little and then put it down, staring at the wall for a long time. At night, when the store was closed, he would walk slowly until he reached the house where Cedric and his mother used to live. There was a sign on it that read HOUSE FOR RENT. Mr. Hobbs would stop near the sign and shake his head. After a while, he would walk back home, feeling gloomier than he had before. This went on for weeks, until Mr. Hobbs remembered Cedric's other friend, the shoeshine boy, Dick. Mr. Hobbs had never met Dick, but he felt that it was time. They were both friends of Cedric's. They had something in common.

“你好，霍布斯先生！”但日子一天天过去，这一切并没有发生，霍布斯先生开始感到非常无聊。 他甚至不喜欢看报纸。 他会读一会儿，然后放下，盯着墙看很长时间。 晚上，当商店关门时，他会慢慢地走到塞德里克和他母亲曾经住过的房子前。 上面有一个牌子，上面写着“房子出租”。 霍布斯先生会在牌子旁边停下来，摇着头。 过了一会儿，他会走回家，感觉比以前更沮丧。 这样持续了好几个星期，直到霍布斯先生想起塞德里克的另一个朋友，那个擦鞋的男孩迪克。 霍布斯先生从未见过迪克，但他觉得是时候了。 他们都是塞德里克的朋友。 他们有一些共同点。

So one day when Dick was hard at work shining a customer's boots, a short, stout man with a heavy face stopped on the sidewalk and stared at Dick's sign. It said: PROFESSOR DICK TIPTON CAN'T BE BEAT. The man stared at the sign for so long, that when Dick was done with his customer, he asked if the man needed his shoes shined. The stout man came forward and put his foot on the rest. "Yes," he said. Once Dick started working, the man pointed to the sign and asked, "Where did you get that?" "From a friend o' mine," said Dick. "A little feller. He's in England now. Gone back to be one o' those lords." "Lord Fauntleroy—goin' to be the Earl of Dorincourt?" Mr. Hobbs asked. Dick almost dropped his brush. "Do you

所以有一天，当迪克正在卖力地给一位顾客擦靴子的时候，一个矮矮胖胖、脸很重的男人停在人行道上，盯着迪克的牌子。 上面写着：迪克·蒂普顿教授无人能敌。 那人盯着牌子看了很长时间，当迪克和他的顾客谈完后，他问那个人是否需要擦鞋。 那个粗壮的人走上前来，把脚踩在其余部分上。 “是的，”他说。迪克一开始工作，那人就指着牌子问：“你从哪儿弄来的？”“我的一个朋友送的，”迪克说。 “一个小男孩。他现在在英国。 回去当那些贵族中的一员了。” “方特勒罗伊勋爵要当多林科特伯爵吗？”霍布斯先生问。 迪克差点把他的刷子掉在地上。 “你

know him?" he asked.

认识他吗？”他问。

"I've known him," said Mr. Hobbs, "ever since he was born. We're lifetime friends, that's what we are." He pulled the splendid gold watch out of his pocket and opened it so Dick could see what was carved inside. "When this you see, remember me," he read aloud. They started talking about Cedric, now Lord Fauntleroy, living in England, and they couldn't stop. Dick said he was the nicest boy he had ever met. Mr. Hobbs said it was a pity they had to make an earl out of him, as he would have been perfect for the grocery business. Soon enough, Mr. Hobbs decided that Dick should pay a visit to his store. Dick was pleased about the visit. He had been a street kid nearly his whole life, but he had big plans. Someday he wanted to own a real business, like Mr. Hobbs did. So to be

“从他出生起，”霍布斯先生说，“我就认识他了。 我们是一辈子的朋友，就是这样。” 他从口袋里掏出那块华丽的金表，把它打开，让迪克看看里面刻着什么。 “当你看到这些的时候，请记住我，”他大声朗读。 他们开始谈论住在英国的塞德里克，也就是现在的方特勒罗伊勋爵，他们停不下来。 迪克说他是他所见过的最好的男孩。 霍布斯先生说，很遗憾他们不得不把他培养成伯爵，因为他本来是做杂货生意的最佳人选。 很快，霍布斯先生决定让迪克去他的店里看看。 迪克对这次访问感到高兴。 他几乎一辈子都是街头流浪儿，但他有宏伟的计划。 他希望有一天能像霍布斯先生那样拥有一家真正的企业。 因此

invited to visit a respectable man who owned a corner store, and even had a horse and wagon, seemed to him quite an event. This was the beginning of a true friendship. Dick visited Mr. Hobbs more and more often, and they read newspaper articles about England. Mr. Hobbs was especially interested in anything having to do with earls. They continued to write to Cedric, and Cedric wrote them back. Mr. Hobbs and Dick found great pleasure in their letters. They talked them over and enjoyed every word. They spent days going over the letters they sent, and read them almost as often as the letters they received. It was hard for Dick to write his letters. All his knowledge of reading and writing came from the short time he had lived with his older brother, Ben. He had never been to

被邀请去拜访一个在街角开了一家商店的体面人，他甚至有一匹马和一辆马车，这对他来说似乎是件大事。 这是一段真正友谊的开始。 迪克越来越频繁地拜访霍布斯先生，他们在报纸上读有关英国的文章。 霍布斯先生对任何与伯爵有关的东西都特别感兴趣。 他们继续给塞德里克写信，塞德里克也给他们回信。 霍布斯先生和迪克从他们的信中发现了极大的乐趣。 他们仔细地讨论着，每个字都听得津津有味。 他们花了好几天的时间来审阅他们寄来的信，阅读的次数几乎和他们收到的信一样多。 迪克很难写信。 他所有的阅读和写作知识都来自于他和哥哥本住在一起的短暂时光。 他从来没有去过