Chapter 18

CHAPTER XVIII Anne to the Rescue ALL things great are wound up with all things little. At first glance it might not seem that the decision of a certain Canadian Premier to include Prince Edward Island in a political tour could have much or anything to do with the fortunes of little Anne Shirley at Green Gables. But it had. It was a January the Premier came, to address his loyal supporters and such of his nonsupporters as chose to be present at the monster mass meeting held in Charlottetown. Most of the Avonlea people were on Premier's side of politics; hence on the night of the meeting nearly all the men and a goodly proportion of the women had gone to town thirty miles away. Mrs. Rachel Lynde had gone too. Mrs. Rachel Lynde was a red-hot politician and couldn't have believed that the political rally could be carried through without her, although she was on the opposite side of politics. So she went to town and took her husband-Thomas would be useful in looking after the horse-and Marilla

第十八章 安妮出手相助 天下大事皆由小事积成。 乍一看，某位加拿大总理决定把爱德华王子岛纳入他的政治巡视行程，这件事好像和绿山墙的小安妮·雪莉的命运没多大关系，甚至毫无关系。 可它偏偏有关系。 一月份，总理来了，他要在夏洛特敦举行的大型群众集会上，向忠诚的支持者发言，也向愿意到场的反对者发言。 阿冯利大多数人在政治上都支持总理； 所以集会当晚，几乎所有男人，还有不少女人都出发去了三十英里外的镇上。 雷切尔·林德太太也去了。 雷切尔·林德太太是个铁杆政客，她才不相信这场政治集会没了她能顺利举办——哪怕她在政治上站在总理的对立面。 所以她进城了，还带上了丈夫托马斯——托马斯能帮忙照看马——还带上了玛丽拉

Cuthbert with her. Marilla had a sneaking interest in politics herself, and as she thought it might be her only chance to see a real live Premier, she promptly took it, leaving Anne and Matthew to keep house until her return the following day. Hence, while Marilla and Mrs. Rachel were enjoying themselves hugely at the mass meeting, Anne and Matthew had the cheerful kitchen at Green Gables all to themselves. A bright fire was glowing in the old-fashioned Waterloo stove and blue-white frost crystals were shining on the windowpanes. Matthew nodded over a FARMERS" ADVOCATE on the sofa and Anne at the table studied her lessons with grim determination, despite sundry wistful glances at the clock shelf, where lay a new book that Jane Andrews had lent her that day. Jane had assured her that it was warranted to produce any number of thrills, or words to that effect, and Anne's fingers tingled to reach out for it. But that would mean Gilbert Blythe's triumph on the morrow. Anne turned her back on the clock shelf and tried to imagine it wasn't there. "Matthew, did you ever study geometry when you went to school?"

卡思伯特。 玛丽拉自己本身对政治也偷偷挺感兴趣，她觉得这可能是她唯一能见到活生生的真正总理的机会，所以马上就答应去了，把安妮和马修留在家里看家，说好第二天回来。 所以，当玛丽拉和雷切尔太太在群众集会上玩得开心的时候，安妮和马修就独享了绿山墙明亮温馨的厨房。 老式滑铁卢炉里，炉火熊熊，窗玻璃上蓝白色的霜花闪着光。 马修在沙发上拿着《农民报》打盹，安妮在桌边咬着牙用功学习，尽管她总忍不住瞟时钟架，那上面放着简·安德鲁斯那天借给她的一本新书。 简跟她说，这本书保证能让人超级激动，反正差不多就是这个意思，安妮听得心痒痒，手都忍不住要去拿了。 可要是去看书，明天几何考试吉尔伯特就得赢了。 安妮转过身背对着时钟架，努力假装它不存在。 "马修，你上学的时候学过几何吗？"

"Well now, no, I didn't," said Matthew, coming out of his doze with a start. "I wish you had," sighed Anne, "because then you'd be able to sympathize with me. You can't sympathize properly if you've never studied it. It is casting a cloud over my whole life. I'm such a dunce at it, Matthew." "Well now, I dunno," said Matthew soothingly. "I guess you're all right at anything. Mr. Phillips told me last week in Blair's store at Carmody that you was the smartest scholar in school and was making rapid progress. `Rapid progress" was his very words. There's them as runs down Teddy Phillips and says he ain't much of a teacher, but I guess he's all right." Matthew would have thought anyone who praised Anne was "all right." "I'm sure I'd get on better with geometry if only he wouldn't change the letters," complained Anne. "I learn the proposition off by heart and then he draws it on the blackboard and puts different letters from what are in the book and I get all mixed up. I don't think a teacher should take such a mean advantage, do you? We're studying agriculture now and I've found out at last

"哎呀，我没学过，" 马修猛地从瞌睡里醒过来，开口说道。 "我真希望你学过，" 安妮叹气道，"那样你就能理解我了呀。 你要是没学过，就没法好好体会我的痛苦。 它现在就是我头顶上的一片乌云呀。 马修，我几何学得太差劲了。" "唔，我可不这么想，" 马修柔声安慰道。 "我觉得你不管做什么都很棒。 上周菲利普斯先生在卡莫迪布莱尔商店跟我说，你是学校里最聪明的学生，进步非常快。 "进步飞快"就是他的原话。 虽然有些人看不起泰迪·菲利普斯，说他不算什么好老师，可我觉得他挺不错的。" 马修觉得，凡是夸安妮的人，都"挺不错"。 "要是菲利普斯先生不瞎换字母的话，我几何肯定能学好，" 安妮抱怨道。 "我把命题背得滚瓜烂熟，结果他在黑板上画图，标上去的字母和课本上不一样，我就全搞混了。 我觉得老师不该耍这种小把戏，你说呢？ 我们现在在学农业，我终于弄明白

what makes the roads red. It's a great comfort. I wonder how Marilla and Mrs. Lynde are enjoying themselves. Mrs. Lynde says Canada is going to the dogs the way things are being run at Ottawa and that it's an awful warning to the electors. She says if women were allowed to vote we would soon see a blessed change. What way do you vote, Matthew?" "Conservative," said Matthew promptly. To vote Conservative was part of Matthew's religion. "Then I'm Conservative too," said Anne decidedly. "I'm glad because Gil-because some of the boys in school are Grits. I guess Mr. Phillips is a Grit too because Prissy Andrews's father is one, and Ruby Gillis says that when a man is courting he always has to agree with the girl's mother in religion and her father in politics. Is that true, Matthew?" "Well now, I dunno," said Matthew. "Did you ever go courting, Matthew?" "Well now, no, I dunno's I ever did," said Matthew, who had certainly never thought of such a thing in his whole existence. Anne reflected with her chin in her hands.

是什么让道路变成红色的了。 这可太让人开心了。 不知道玛丽拉和林德太太现在玩得开心吗？ 林德太太说，渥太华现在的治国方式把加拿大搞得一团糟，这对选民来说是个严重警告。 她说如果允许女性投票，我们很快就能看到可喜的变化。 你投的是哪个党呀，马修？" "保守党，" 马修马上就说。 投保守党是马修信仰的一部分。 "那我也投保守党，" 安妮坚定地说。 "我很高兴，因为吉——因为学校里有些男孩子是自由党人。 我觉得菲利普斯先生也是自由党人，因为普里西·安德鲁斯的爸爸就是，鲁比·吉利斯说，男人追求女孩子的时候，宗教上要附和女孩妈妈，政治上要附和女孩爸爸， 对不对呀，马修？" "嗯，这个嘛，我不清楚，" 马修说。 "马修，你以前追过女孩子吗？" "哎呀，没有，我这辈子从来没想过这回事，" 马修说，他这一辈子确实从来没动过这个念头。 安妮双手托着下巴，陷入了沉思。

"It must be rather interesting, don't you think, Matthew? Ruby Gillis says when she grows up she's going to have ever so many beaus on the string and have them all crazy about her; but I think that would be too exciting. I'd rather have just one in his right mind. But Ruby Gillis knows a great deal about such matters because she has so many big sisters, and Mrs. Lynde says the Gillis girls have gone off like hot cakes. Mr. Phillips goes up to see Prissy Andrews nearly every evening. He says it is to help her with her lessons but Miranda Sloane is studying for Queen's too, and I should think she needed help a lot more than Prissy because she's ever so much stupider, but he never goes to help her in the evenings at all. There are a great many things in this world that I can't understand very well, Matthew." "Well now, I dunno as I comprehend them all myself," acknowledged Matthew. "Well, I suppose I must finish up my lessons. I won't allow myself to open that new book Jane lent me until I'm through. But it's a terrible temptation, Matthew. Even when I turn my back on it I can see it there just as plain. Jane said she cried herself sick over it. I love a book that makes

“这一定相当有意思，你说对不对，马修？ 鲁比·吉利斯说，她长大以后要钓一大堆追求者，让他们全都为她疯狂； 可我觉得那也太刺激了。 我只要有一个心智正常的就够了。 不过鲁比在这方面可懂不少，因为她有好几个姐姐，林德太太说吉利斯家的姑娘抢手得很。 菲利普斯先生几乎每天晚上都去找普里茜·安德鲁斯。 他说他是去帮她补习功课，可是米兰达·斯隆也在准备女王学院的考试，我觉得她比普里茜更需要帮忙，因为她要笨得多，可他从来都不会晚上去帮她补习。 这世上有好多事儿我都弄不太明白，马修。” “唔，说实话，我自己也不见得全都懂，”马修承认道。 “好啦，我想我得赶紧做完功课了。 没做完功课，我绝不打开简借给我的这本新书。 可它太勾引人了，马修。 就算我背过身去，也能清清楚楚看见它放在那儿。 简说她看这本书都哭坏了。 我就喜欢那种能让

me cry. But I think I'll carry that book into the sitting room and lock it in the jam closet and give you the key. And you must NOT give it to me, Matthew, until my lessons are done, not even if I implore you on my bended knees. It's all very well to say resist temptation, but it's ever so much easier to resist it if you can't get the key. And then shall I run down the cellar and get some russets, Matthew? Wouldn't you like some russets?" "Well now, I dunno but what I would," said Matthew, who never ate russets but knew Anne's weakness for them. Just as Anne emerged triumphantly from the cellar with her plateful of russets came the sound of flying footsteps on the icy board walk outside and the next moment the kitchen door was flung open and in rushed Diana Barry, white faced and breathless, with a shawl wrapped hastily around her head. Anne promptly let go of her candle and plate in her surprise, and plate, candle, and apples crashed together down the cellar ladder and were found at the bottom embedded in melted grease, the next day, by Marilla, who gathered them up and thanked mercy the house hadn't been set on fire.

我哭出来。 不过我打算把这本书拿到客厅，锁进果酱橱，把钥匙交给你。 马修，我功课做完之前你绝对不能把钥匙给我，就算我跪着求你也不行。 虽说嘴上说要抵制诱惑，可拿不到钥匙的话，抵制起来可要容易多啦。 对了，我去地窖拿些褐苹果好不好，马修？ 你不想吃几个吗？” “唔，那我也吃点，”马修说道，他自己从来不吃褐苹果，但是知道安妮特别爱吃。 安妮端着满满一盘褐苹果，刚兴高采烈走出地窖，就听见外面结冰的木板路上传来急匆匆的脚步声，紧接着厨房门被猛地推开，戴安娜·巴里冲了进来，她脸色发白，上气不接下气，头上匆匆裹了一块披肩。 安妮大吃一惊，手里的蜡烛和盘子一下子掉了，盘子、蜡烛和苹果顺着地窖梯子滚了下去，第二天玛丽拉在窖底找到它们的时候，全都浸在融化的油脂里，玛丽拉捡完东西，一个劲儿谢天谢地房子没着火。