001 糟糕透顶的一天

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The first Wednesday of every month was always a " Perfectly Awful Day " at the John Grier Home for Orphans

在约翰·格里尔孤儿院，每个月的第一个星期三总是“糟糕透顶的一天”。

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That's when the trustees and the ladies' committee visited us

那是理事们和女士委员会来探访的时候。

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Of course, we gave them tea and sandwiches

当然，我们会给他们提供茶和三明治。

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But this was more than a social call

但这不仅仅是社交来访。

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These men and women were also inspecting us

这些男女理事们也在视察我们。

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Everything at our orphanage had to be perfect

孤儿院里的一切都必须尽善尽美。

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There was so much work to do!

有太多活要干了！

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And as the oldest orphan, I — Jerusha Abbott — did most of it

而作为最年长的孤儿，我——杰鲁莎·阿伯特——做了大部分。

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One Wednesday I was on my feet at five o'clock in the morning

一个星期三，我早上五点就起床忙碌了。

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I mopped floors, dusted chairs, and made beds

我拖地板、擦椅子、铺床。

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I helped to scrub and dress 97 squirming orphans

我帮忙给九十七个扭来扭去的孤儿擦洗和穿衣。

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I also reminded them to behave

我还提醒他们要守规矩。

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" If a trustee or lady speaks to you, what do you say?"

“如果有理事或女士跟你讲话，你该说什么？”

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The children looked at each other and burst into giggles

孩子们互相看了看，然后咯咯地笑了起来。

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" You say,' Yes, sir ' or ' No, ma'am.'

“你要说‘是的，先生’或‘不，女士’。

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Remember your manners and be polite to anyone you meet today."

记住你的礼貌，对今天见到的任何人都要有礼貌。”

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Mrs. Lippett, the matron at the orphanage, rushed me through these extra chores

孤儿院的女舍监利佩特太太催着我赶快做完这些额外的杂活。

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She appeared calm to our guests

她在我们的客人面前显得很镇定。

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But behind the scenes, she was often quite frantic

但在幕后，她常常相当慌乱。

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This Wednesday, like all the others, finally dragged to a close

这个星期三就像其他所有星期三一样，终于慢吞吞地结束了。

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As our guests were leaving, I returned to my regular duties in Room F

等客人们离开后，我回到F室继续日常工作。

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I was in charge of eleven little girls, ages four to seven

我负责照看十一个四到七岁的小女孩。

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It was time for supper

晚饭时间到了。

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So I straightened their dresses and wiped their noses

于是我帮她们整理好裙子，擦干净鼻子。

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Then I sent them off to the dining room

然后送她们去餐厅。

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I stayed upstairs and sank into a window seat

我留在楼上，瘫坐在窗边的座位上。

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I pressed my aching head against the cool glass

我把发疼的脑袋贴在冰凉的玻璃上。

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The day seemed like a success

这一天似乎还算顺利。

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The ladies and gentlemen had made their rounds, read their reports, and sipped their tea

先生女士们巡视了一圈，读了报告，品了茶。

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From my seat, I watched their carriages and automobiles rolling out of the orphanage gates

我坐着，看着他们的马车和汽车从孤儿院大门驶出。

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In my mind I followed them to the big houses dotting the hills

我在心里跟着他们，去了那些点缀在山丘上的大房子。

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I imagined myself riding home in one of those carriages

想象自己坐着其中一辆马车回家。

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I wore a fur coat and a velvet hat

穿着皮草大衣，戴着天鹅绒帽子。

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But then I tried to picture the inside of my imaginary house... and I couldn't

可当我拼命回想那栋想象中的房子里面是什么样……却怎么也想不出来。

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That was because I'd never been in a real house in all my 18 years

那是因为，长到十八岁，我从来就没进过真正的房子。

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" Je-ru-sha Ab-bott, you are want-ed in the of-fice

“杰——鲁——莎·阿——伯——特，办——公——室——有——请。

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And I think you'd better hurry up!"

我劝你最好快点！”

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Tommy Dillon came singing up the stairs

汤米·狄伦一路唱着歌上楼来了。

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He'd recently joined the choir, so he sang all the time

他最近刚加入唱诗班，所以什么时候都在唱。

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I pulled myself away from the window." Who wants me?" I asked anxiously

我硬让自己从窗边离开。“谁找我？”我担心地问。

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" Mrs. Lip-pett and I think she's mad."

"利佩特太太和我都觉得她疯了。"

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" Oh no!" I groaned

"哦，不！"我呻吟道。

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" What did I do? Were the sandwiches too thick today?

"我做了什么？今天的三明治切得太厚了吗？

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Did a lady visitor see the hole in an orphan's stocking?"

还是有位女访客看到了孤儿袜子上的破洞？"

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Tommy shrugged. He had no idea, but he followed me downstairs

汤米耸耸肩。他一无所知，但还是跟着我下了楼。

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The long lower hallway was dark

楼下长长的走廊一片漆黑。

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One last trustee stood in the open door

最后一位理事站在敞开的门口。

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He was a tall man

他是个高个子男人。

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He motioned for an automobile to pull up to the door

他示意一辆汽车开到门前。

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As the automobile approached, its headlights cast the man's shadow against the wall

汽车驶近时，车灯把他的影子投射在墙上。

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The shadow had very long arms and legs

那影子有非常长的手臂和腿。

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Suddenly my anxiety melted, and I began to laugh

突然，我的焦虑消散了，我开始笑了起来。

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" That shadow looks just like a giant daddy longlegs!" I whispered to Tommy

“那影子看起来就像一只巨大的长腿蜘蛛！”我小声对汤米说。

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He laughed too

他也笑了。

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" Good luck!" he sang as he left me outside Mrs. Lippett's door

“祝你好运！”他把我留在利佩特太太门口时，半说半唱地讲道。

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I can find the humor in most things

我能从大多数事情中发现有趣之处。

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So, still smiling about Daddy Longlegs, I knocked on Mrs. Lippett's door

于是，我依然为长腿蜘蛛的事笑着，敲响了利佩特太太的门。

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Much to my surprise, the matron looked almost as cheerful as I did

令我非常惊讶的是，女院长看起来几乎和我一样愉快。

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" Sit down, Jerusha. I have something to say to you."

“请坐，杰鲁莎。我有话要对你说。”

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I dropped into the nearest chair

我一屁股坐在了最近的椅子上。

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An automobile flashed past the window

一辆汽车从窗外一闪而过。

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Mrs. Lippett glanced at it

利佩特太太瞥了一眼。

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" Did you notice the gentleman who just left?"

“你注意到刚才离开的那位先生了吗？”

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" I only saw his back."

“我只看到了他的背影。”

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" He's one of our wealthiest trustees

“他是我们最富有的理事之一。

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Over the years he has given large sums of money to the orphanage

这些年来，他给了孤儿院大笔捐款。

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But I'm not allowed to mention his name."

但我不被允许提到他的名字。”

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I didn't know what to say

我不知道该说什么。

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I wasn't used to talking to her about trustees and their strange requests

我不习惯和她谈论理事们以及他们奇怪的要求。

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" In the past he has taken an interest in several of our boys

“过去他曾对我们这里的几个男孩产生过兴趣。

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Do you remember Charles Benton or Henry Freize?

你还记得查尔斯·本顿或亨利·弗赖兹吗？

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Mr. — I mean, this trustee — sent them both through college

那位先生——我是说，这位理事——供他们两个念完了大学。

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They repaid him with hard work and success. That's all he required."

他们用努力和成功作为回报。那就是他所要求的全部。”

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The matron glanced at the window again, as if expecting the gentleman to return

女舍监又看了一眼窗外，仿佛在期待那位先生回来。

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" So far he has only helped boys

“到目前为止，他只帮助过男孩。

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I've never been able to interest him in helping girls

我一直没能让他对帮助女孩感兴趣。

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No matter how smart they were. I guess he dislikes girls." Mrs. Lippett paused

不管她们有多聪明。我猜他不喜欢女孩。”利佩特太太顿了顿。

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She seemed to expect a reply here

她似乎在这里期待着一个回应。

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So I said the first thing that came into my head." Yes, ma'am."

所以我想也没想就脱口而出。“是的，夫人。”

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Satisfied, Mrs. Lippett continued

满意了，利佩特太太继续说道。

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" Today at our meeting, the question of your future came up."

“今天在我们的会议上，提到了你未来的问题。”

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" Yes, ma'am," I replied politely

“是的，夫人。”我礼貌地回答。

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Inside I was filled with a mix of curiosity — and dread

我的内心充满了好奇——又混杂着恐惧。