第十八章 阴暗的日子 D

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN D
第十八章 D
Here the clock struck twelve, and both forgot themselves in watching Beth, for they fancied a change passed over her wan face. The house was still as death, and nothing but the wailing of the wind broke the deep hush. Weary Hannah slept on, and no one but the sisters saw the pale shadow which seemed to fall upon the little bed. An hour went by, and nothing happened except Laurie's quiet departure for the station. Another hour, still no one came, and anxious fears of delay in the storm, or accidents by the way, or, worst of all, a great grief at Washington, haunted the girls.
这时钟敲了十二点，两人都忘情地注视着贝思，因为他们觉得她苍白的脸上有了变化。房子像死一般寂静，只有风的哀号打破了这深沉的寂静。疲惫不堪的汉娜继续睡着，除了两姐妹，谁也没有看见那似乎落在小床上的苍白阴影。一个小时过去了，除了劳里默默地去车站外，什么也没有发生。又过了一个小时，还是没有人来。姑娘们担心暴风雨会耽搁，或者路上会发生意外，或者最糟糕的是，华盛顿会发生一场大灾难。
It was past two, when Jo, who stood at the window thinking how dreary the world looked in its winding sheet of snow, heard a movement by the bed, and turning quickly, saw Meg kneeling before their mother's easy chair with her face hidden. A dreadful fear passed coldly over Jo, as she thought, "Beth is dead, and Meg is afraid to tell me."
两点多钟，乔站在窗前，想着白雪覆盖下的世界显得多么凄凉。她听到床边有动静，连忙转过身来，看见梅格跪在母亲的安乐椅前，把脸埋了起来。一种可怕的恐惧冷冷地掠过乔的心头，她想:“贝思死了，梅格不敢告诉我。”
She was back at her post in an instant, and to her excited eyes a great change seemed to have taken place. The fever flush and the look of pain were gone, and the beloved little face looked so pale and peaceful in its utter repose that Jo felt no desire to weep or to lament. Leaning low over this dearest of her sisters, she kissed the damp forehead with her heart on her lips, and softly whispered, "Good-by, my Beth. Good-by!"
她立刻又回到了她的岗位上，在她激动的眼睛里，似乎发生了很大的变化。发烧涨红了脸，痛苦的表情消失了，那可爱的小脸在完全平静的状态下显得那么苍白、那么平静，乔根本不想哭，也不想哀悼。她俯下身来，看着她最亲爱的妹妹，把心放在唇上，吻了吻她潮湿的额头，轻声说:“再见，我的贝思。再见!”
As if awaked by the stir, Hannah started out of her sleep, hurried to the bed, looked at Beth, felt her hands, listened at her lips, and then, throwing her apron over her head, sat down to rock to and fro, exclaiming, under her breath, "The fever's turned, she's sleepin' nat'ral, her skin's damp, and she breathes easy. Praise be given! Oh, my goodness me!"
如果引起的轰动,汉娜开始从她的睡眠,匆匆奔向床上,看着贝思,感觉她的手,听着她的嘴唇,然后,把围裙戴在头上,来回坐下来的岩石,大声叫着,在她的呼吸,“发烧的转过身来,她的nat 'ral,她的皮肤潮湿,她呼吸很容易。赞美给!哦，我的天哪!”
Before the girls could believe the happy truth, the doctor came to confirm it. He was a homely man, but they thought his face quite heavenly when he smiled and said, with a fatherly look at them, "Yes, my dears, I think the little girl will pull through this time. Keep the house quiet, let her sleep, and when she wakes, give her..."
女孩们还没来得及相信这个令人高兴的事实，医生就来证实了。他是一个平凡的人，但当他微笑着用父亲般的目光看着他们说:“是的，我亲爱的孩子们，我想这小女孩这次会挺过来的。保持家里安静，让她睡觉，等她醒来，给她……”
What they were to give, neither heard, for both crept into the dark hall, and, sitting on the stairs, held each other close, rejoicing with hearts too full for words. When they went back to be kissed and cuddled by faithful Hannah, they found Beth lying, as she used to do, with her cheek pillowed on her hand, the dreadful pallor gone, and breathing quietly, as if just fallen asleep.
谁也没听见他们将要说什么，因为两人蹑手蹑脚地走进黑暗的大厅，坐在楼梯上，紧紧地拥抱在一起，喜悦之情溢美之词。当他们回去让忠诚的汉娜亲吻和拥抱时，发现贝思像往常一样躺着，用手托着脸颊，可怕的苍白消失了，平静地呼吸着，好像刚睡着。
"If Mother would only come now!" said Jo, as the winter night began to wane.
“要是妈妈现在就来就好了!”冬夜渐渐过去时，乔说。
"See," said Meg, coming up with a white, half-opened rose, "I thought this would hardly be ready to lay in Beth's hand tomorrow if she—went away from us. But it has blossomed in the night, and now I mean to put it in my vase here, so that when the darling wakes, the first thing she sees will be the little rose, and Mother's face."
“你看，”梅格拿着一朵半开的白玫瑰走了过来，“我想，如果贝思——离开我们的话，这朵玫瑰明天很难放在她手里。但是它在夜里开了花，现在我想把它插在我的花瓶里，这样，当宝宝醒来的时候，她首先看到的将是小玫瑰和妈妈的脸。”
Never had the sun risen so beautifully, and never had the world seemed so lovely as it did to the heavy eyes of Meg and Jo, as they looked out in the early morning, when their long, sad vigil was done.
清晨，梅格和乔结束了漫长而悲伤的守夜，向外望去，在他们沉重的眼睛里，太阳从没有像现在这样美丽地升起，世界从没有像现在这样可爱。
"It looks like a fairy world," said Meg, smiling to herself, as she stood behind the curtain, watching the dazzling sight.
“这看起来像一个童话世界，”梅格站在帘子后面，看着这令人眼花缭乱的景象，自言自语地笑着说。
"Hark!" cried Jo, starting to her feet.
“听!”乔叫道，跳了起来。
Yes, there was a sound of bells at the door below, a cry from Hannah, and then Laurie's voice saying in a joyful whisper, "Girls, she's come! She's come!"
是的，下面的门铃响了，汉娜叫了一声，然后是罗瑞的声音，欢快地低声说:“姑娘们，她来了!她来了!”