《远大前程》第3章 给匹普的一次机会(3)

　Whatever the fault he had from the start，
　　Remember，reader，he had a good heart．’
　　‘ Did you invent that yourself，Joe？’I asked，surprised .
　　‘I did，'said Joe proudly．‘It came to me in a moment．From my own head．But，Pip，sad to say，there wasn't enough money for the gravestone．My poor mother needed it．In bad health，she was．She died soon after．Found peace at last．’Joe's blue eyes were watery．‘I was lonely then，and I met your sister．Now，Pip，’Joe looked firmly at me，because he knew I was not going to agree with him，‘your sister is a fine woman！’
　　I could think of nothing better to say than‘I'm glad you think so，Joe．’
　　‘ So am I，'said Joe．‘I'm glad I think so．Very kind of her，bringing you up by hand．Such a tiny baby you were！So when I offered to marry your sister，I said，“And bring the poor little child to live with us．There's room for him at the forge！”’
　　I put my arms round Joe's neck and cried into his shirt．
‘Don't cry，old boy！’he said．‘Always the best of friends，you and me！’ As I dried my tears，he continued，‘So here we are，Pip！Now if you teach me a bit（and I warn you now that I'm very stupid）Mrs Joe must never know．And why？Because she likes to be-in charge-you know-giving the orders．’
无论怎样的过失，他是创家立业的。
　　记住，读者，他有一颗好心。”
　　“乔，你自己想出来的吗？”我惊讶地问道。
　　“就是我，”乔自豪地说，“从我自己头脑里不加思索地出来了。但是，匹普，悲哀地说，我没有足够的钱去立这块墓碑。我可怜的妈妈需要钱，她身体不好。不久，她就离开了人间，最后找到了安宁。”乔的蓝眼睛湿润了。“我从此孤独一人。后来，我认识了你姐姐，匹普，”乔紧紧地盯着我。因为他知道我不会赞成他的，“你姐姐是个好女人！”
　　我想不出比这更好的语言“我很高兴你这样想，乔。”
　　“彼此，彼此，”乔说，“我很高兴这样想，她太仁慈了，亲手把你带大，你是这么小小的婴儿！当时，我向你姐提出结婚，我说，‘带着这个可怜的小孩子和我们一起生活吧，在锻工车间里有间屋子给他！’”
　　我搂着乔的脖子，啼哭着，泪水湿透他的衬衫。
　　“不要哭，老伙计！”他说，“你和我永远是最好的朋友！”当我擦干眼泪，他继续说，“我们就在这儿，匹普！现在你如果教我一点儿（我提醒你，我很笨），决不能让乔夫人知道。为什么呢？因为她喜欢——下命令——你知道——就是发号施令。”