12 The Storm after the Calm

CHAPTER 12 The Storm after the Calm Jo was right about their peaceful week with Bess being the calm before the storm. Two days after she left, a moral earthquake shook Plumfield to its core. As with a fair bit of the trouble that happened with Jo's boys, she found Tommy at its center. Actually, it was Tommy's hens that were truly

十二章平静后的风暴乔说得对，他们那平静的一周，贝丝是暴风雨前的平静。 她离开两天后，一场道德地震彻底震撼了普卢姆菲尔德。 就像乔的孩子们遇到的很多麻烦一样，她发现汤米是问题的中心。 事实上，汤米的母鸡才是真正

at the bottom of the trouble. They were simply laying too many eggs. After he sold all of them and collected a good sum, Father Bhaer insisted he put the money in a piggy bank. As the little bank became heavy with coins, Tommy's imagination filled with all the wonderful things he could buy. When Jo gave him the four quarters she owed him from the last batch of eggs, Tommy discovered that he was now just one dollar short of the five he'd promised Father Bhaer he would save before breaking open his bank. Tommy raced off to show the shiny money to Nat, who was saving his own money for a new fiddle. "I wish I had those four quarters to add to my savings," Nat said. "I've only got two dollars toward a new fiddle." "Maybe I'll lend you some," Tommy said. "I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do with my coins!" Just then, the boys were interrupted by a voice

在麻烦的底部。 它们只是下了太多的蛋。 当他卖掉了所有的画，赚了一大笔钱后，巴尔神父坚持要把钱放进存钱罐里。 随着小银行里的硬币越来越多，汤米的想象中充满了他能买到的所有美好的东西。 当乔把欠他的最后一批鸡蛋的四美分硬币给他时，汤米发现他现在只差一美元了，他曾答应巴尔神父在开银行前存五美元。 汤米跑去给纳特看那些亮闪闪的钱，纳特正在攒钱买一把新小提琴。 纳特说：“我希望我能有这四个季度来增加我的储蓄。” “我只有两美元买一把新小提琴。” “也许我可以借给你一些，”汤米说。 “我还没决定怎么处理我的硬币呢！”就在这时，男孩们被一个声音打断了

from outside the barn shouting for them to come and see a jolly great snake that Dan had caught. Without thinking, Tommy set the money down beside some old farm equipment. The snake was very interesting, and the rest of the day filled up so quickly that Tommy soon forgot to retrieve his quarters from the barn. No matter, he thought before falling asleep, the only person who knows they are there is Nat. The next morning, just as school was getting started, Tommy rushed in to the schoolroom and said, "Who took my dollar?" "What are you talking about?" Franz asked. Tommy explained, and Nat seconded his story. At once, everyone declared they knew nothing about it and began to look at Nat suspiciously. The poor boy became more upset and confused each time another boy denied taking the money. "Well," Franz said, "somebody must have taken it."

从谷仓外面喊着让他们来看丹抓住的一条快乐的大蛇。 汤米不假思索地把钱放在一些旧农用设备旁边。 这条蛇非常有趣，这一天的时间过得很快，汤米很快就忘了从谷仓里取回他的住处。 没关系，他在入睡前想，唯一知道他们在那里的人是纳特。 第二天早上，学校刚开始上课，汤米冲进教室说：“谁拿了我的1美元？”“你在说什么？”弗朗茨问。 汤米解释道，纳特赞同他的说法。 每个人都立即宣布他们对此一无所知，并开始怀疑地看着纳特。 每当另一个男孩否认拿钱时，这个可怜的男孩就变得更加沮丧和困惑。 “嗯，”弗兰兹说，“一定是有人拿走了。”

Tommy shook his fist in front of everyone and shouted, "Thunder turtles! If I get a hold of the thief... he'll be sorry!" "Keep cool, Tommy," Dan said. "We shall find him out. Thieves always get caught." The boys all came forward with wild suggestions for what had happened. But Nat could hold his tongue no longer. "I know you think it was me!" Franz looked at him and said, "You are the only one who knew where the money was..." "I can't help that—I didn't take it. I tell you, I didn't take it!" Nat cried. Father Bhaer heard the commotion and came into the classroom to ask what all the fuss was about. A cloud came over his face when Tommy told him the whole story. He said sternly, "Sit down this instant, all of you." Then he gave them a very good speech about the truth and value of honesty and asked each boy just one question: Did they take the money?

汤米在大家面前挥舞着拳头喊道：“雷龟！如果我抓住那个小偷… 他会后悔的！”“保持冷静，汤米，”丹说。 “我们会找到他的。小偷总是会被抓住的。” 孩子们都挺身而出，对所发生的事情提出了大胆的建议。 但纳特再也忍不住了。 “我知道你认为是我干的！”弗兰兹看着他说：“你是唯一知道钱在哪里的人……” “我没办法——我没拿。 我告诉你，我没有拿！”Nat哭了。 巴尔神父听到了骚动，走进教室问这是怎么回事。 当汤米把整个事情告诉他时，他的脸上露出了阴云。 他严厉地说：“你们都马上坐下。” 然后，他给他们做了一场关于诚实的真理和价值的精彩演讲，并问了每个男孩一个问题：他们拿钱了吗？

Every single boy said no. When he came to Nat, Father Bhaer's voice softened, for the boy looked so sad. "Now, Nat," he said, "give me an honest answer. Did you take the money?" Nat said, "No, sir!" Father Bhaer was very quiet for a moment, and then he said. "I am sorry, Nat, but the evidence is quite against you. We will not punish you until we have proof, but I urge you to tell me the truth. If you are innocent, I will be the first to apologize." Nat dropped his head onto his arms and sobbed. "I didn't take it. I didn't." "There is nothing more that can be done now," Father Bhaer said, "and we will not speak of this again. Whoever did take the money will have a hard enough time regaining our trust. Let's get back to our lessons now, shall we?" The next week was ever so painful for poor Nat. The boys simply refused to talk to him—

每个男孩都拒绝了。当他来到纳特身边时，巴尔神父的声音变得柔和了，因为这个男孩看起来很悲伤。 “现在，纳特，”他说，“给我一个诚实的答案。 你拿钱了吗？”纳特说：“不，先生！”巴尔神父沉默了一会儿，然后说。 “对不起，纳特，但证据对你很不利。 在我们有证据之前，我们不会惩罚你，但我恳请你告诉我真相。 如果你是无辜的，我会第一个道歉。” 纳特把头埋在胳膊上抽泣起来。 “我没有拿。我没有。” “现在没有什么可以做的了，”巴尔神父说，“我们不会再谈论这件事了。 不管是谁拿了钱都很难重新获得我们的信任。 现在我们回去上课吧，好吗？”接下来的一周对可怜的纳特来说非常痛苦。 男孩们干脆拒绝和他说话

and for a boy who loved their company, it was the worst thing that could have happened. Only one person in all of Plumfield believed him, and that was Daisy. She would not hear a bad word spoken against Nat by any of the boys, especially her brother Demi. Even though he was pretty sure Nat had taken the money, Dan stood up for him, too. Still, it made for a very lonely time for the boy. One afternoon, Dan caught one of the boys bothering Nat by the stream. He broke up the little fight, and once the other boy was gone, Nat said, "That look on your face—I know when you're hiding something. You know who did it! You have to tell, Dan. I can't bear this much longer. If I had anywhere to go, I'd run away, I would." Dan could not stand to see his dear friend this upset and quickly turned away, muttering, "You won't have to wait for long..." Over the next few days, Dan was moody and

对于一个喜欢他们陪伴的男孩来说，这是可能发生的最糟糕的事情。 整个普卢姆菲尔德只有一个人相信他，那就是黛西。 她不愿听到任何一个男孩说纳特坏话，尤其是她的哥哥德米。 虽然丹很确定纳特拿了钱，但他也替他说话。 尽管如此，这还是让男孩度过了一段非常孤独的时光。 一天下午，丹发现一个男孩在小溪边骚扰纳特。 他结束了这场小争吵，当另一个男孩走后，纳特说：“你脸上的表情——我知道你在隐瞒什么。 你知道是谁干的！你必须说出来，丹。 我再也受不了了。 如果我有地方可去，我会逃跑的，我会的。” 丹不忍心看到他亲爱的朋友如此沮丧，赶紧转过身去，嘴里嘟囔着：“你不用等太久……” 在接下来的几天里，丹喜怒无常