015 撒谎的无赖

旁白 neutral

After the king and the duke had fallen asleep in the hut on the raft, Jim said to me," Do you think the duke and the king are rascals?"

等国王和公爵在木筏上的小屋里睡着后，吉姆对我说：“你觉得公爵和国王是坏蛋吗？”

旁白 neutral

" Yes, I do," I replied." From the books I've read, I've learned that many kings are rascals."

“是的，我觉得是，”我回答。“从我读过的书里，我知道很多国王都是坏蛋。”

旁白 neutral

" Then I hope we don't meet any more of them," said Jim." These two are all I can stand."

“那我希望我们别再遇到这样的了，”吉姆说。“这两个我就已经受够了。”

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I went to sleep while Jim kept watch

我睡觉的时候，吉姆在放哨。

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He was supposed to wake me later so that I could take my turn to watch, but he let me sleep

他本该晚点叫醒我，好让我轮班放哨，但他没叫醒我。

旁白 neutral

When I awoke, it was dawn. I saw Jim sitting with his head bent low, and I knew he was feeling sad

我醒来时天已经亮了。我看到吉姆低着头坐着，我知道他很难过。

旁白 neutral

I asked him if he was thinking about his wife and children

我问他是不是在想他的妻子和孩子。

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" Yes, I am," he replied." I miss them so much

“是的，我在想，”他回答。“我太想他们了。

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I'm afraid I'll never see my little Elizabeth and my little Johnny again."

我怕再也见不到我的小伊丽莎白和小约翰尼了。”

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I tried to comfort him. I was thinking that black slaves had all the same feelings as white people

我尽力安慰他。我在想，黑奴和白人有着完全相同的感情。

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They loved their families just as much. I began to wonder how anyone could sell a man and separate him from his family

他们同样深爱自己的家人。我开始想不通，怎么会有人卖掉一个人，害得他骨肉分离。

旁白 neutral

The king and the duke wished they could stage the Royal Nonesuch again because they had made so much money

国王和公爵真想再演一场《皇家奇观》，因为那让他们赚了好多钱。

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But they were afraid news of their trick might have spread to other towns

可他们又怕骗人的消息可能已经传到了别的镇上。

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If it had, they would need to think of a new scam

如果真是那样，他们就得想个新骗局了。

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Meanwhile, they bought themselves fine new clothes at the next town we came to

这期间，我们到了下一个小镇，他们给自己买了上好的新衣服。

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They even bought some new clean clothes for me

他们甚至也给我买了几件干净的新衣服。

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They told me that it was easier to fool people if you looked rich and respectable, and they proved this to me the next day

他们告诉我，要是你看起来又有钱又体面，骗人就容易多了，而且第二天他们就用行动向我证明了这点。

旁白 neutral

The king and the duke asked me to take them in our canoe to the nearest steamboat wharf

国王和公爵让我用小划子送他们到最近的蒸汽船码头。

旁白 neutral

There we could board a big steamboat. Then they could arrive at the next town as if they were very important people

在那儿我们可以搭上一艘大蒸汽船。然后他们就能像大人物似的抵达下一个小镇。

旁白 neutral

They said that I could pretend to be their servant, Adolphus

他们说我呢，可以假扮成他们的仆人，名叫阿道弗斯。

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I didn't like that name, but I was so excited to be riding on a steamboat for the first time in my life that I didn't object

我不喜欢那个名字，但我太激动了，毕竟这是我第一次坐汽船，所以没有反对。

旁白 neutral

As we boarded the steamboat, the king started a conversation with a friendly and trusting young man

我们登上汽船时，国王跟一个友善、容易轻信人的年轻人攀谈起来。

旁白 neutral

" When I first saw you, I thought you might be Mr. Harvey Wilks," the young man said

“我第一眼看到您时，还以为您可能是哈维·威尔克斯先生，”年轻人说。

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The king replied," No, I am Alexander Blodgett — but who is Mr. Wilks?"

国王回答：“不，我是亚历山大·布洛杰特——不过，威尔克斯先生是谁？”

旁白 neutral

" Well, everyone in our town has been waiting for Harvey Wilks and his brother William — William can't hear or speak — to arrive from England

“哦，我们镇上所有人都在等哈维·威尔克斯和他弟弟威廉——威廉听不见也不会说话——从英国过来。

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They are coming to see their brother Peter, who lived in our town

他们要来看望他们的兄弟彼得，他就住在我们镇上。

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When Peter fell very ill a month ago, he wrote to them asking them to come, but I'm afraid Peter passed away yesterday."

一个月前彼得很不舒服的时候，曾写信让他们来，可是恐怕昨天彼得已经去世了。”

旁白 neutral

" Didn't Peter have any other relatives?" asked the king

“彼得没有其他亲戚了吗？”国王问。

旁白 neutral

" He did have a brother George, who lived nearby

“他确实有个兄弟叫乔治，就住在附近。

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But George and his wife both died a few months ago, leaving three daughters."

不过乔治夫妇几个月前都死了，留下三个女儿。”

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Then the young man's face brightened." But at least Peter left a letter for Harvey

接着年轻人的脸亮了起来。“但至少彼得给哈维留了封信。

旁白 neutral

People in town say that the letter tells Harvey where Peter hid all his money

镇上的人说，那封信会告诉哈维彼得把所有的钱藏在哪里。

旁白 neutral

Peter wanted to be sure that Harvey would share the money with George's three daughters because their father was a poor man."

彼得想确保哈维会把钱分给乔治的三个女儿，因为她们的父亲是个穷人。”

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" Why, what are the dear girls' names?" asked the king keenly

“哦，这些可爱的姑娘叫什么名字？”国王急切地问。

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" Mary Jane is the oldest — she's 19. Then there's Susan, who is 15, and Joanna, 14."

“玛丽·简最大，十九岁。然后是苏珊，十五岁，还有乔安娜，十四岁。”

旁白 neutral

The king shook his head at the sadness of their young lives, and then continued his questioning: " Was Peter Wilks a wealthy man?"

国王对她们年轻生命的遭遇摇了摇头，接着继续问道：“彼得·威尔克斯很有钱吗？”

旁白 neutral

" Oh, yes," replied the young man innocently

“哦，是的。”年轻人天真地回答。

旁白 neutral

" He owned several houses and land. People say he had three or four thousand dollars hidden away somewhere."

“他拥有好几栋房子和土地。人们说他藏了三四千美元在什么地方。”

旁白 neutral

" Have Harvey and William Wilks ever come to visit before?"

“哈维和威廉·威尔克斯以前来过吗？”

旁白 neutral

" No," said the young man." Everyone in town is very curious to meet them."

“没有，”年轻人说，“镇上的人都很好奇想见他们。”

旁白 neutral

By the time we got off that steamboat, the king had found out everything there was to know about Peter Wilks

等我们下那艘汽船的时候，国王已经打听清楚了关于彼得·威尔克斯的一切。

旁白 neutral

The friendly young man was continuing south to New Orleans where he would board a ship to South America

那个友善的年轻人继续南下前往新奥尔良，之后要搭船去南美洲。

旁白 neutral

So there was no one to stop the king and the duke from pretending to be Harvey and William Wilks

所以没人能阻止国王和公爵假扮成哈维和威廉·威尔克斯。

旁白 neutral

And that is just what they did

他们也正是这么做的。

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The king and the duke walked from the steamboat wharf into the town

国王和公爵从汽船码头走进了镇上。

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I followed them, carrying their suitcases. There they met some men who had gathered to watch the steamboat arrive

我提着他们的行李箱跟在后面。他们在那里遇见了一些聚在一起看汽船抵达的男人。

旁白 neutral

The king asked anxiously," Can anyone tell me where Mr. Peter Wilks lives?"

国王焦急地问：“谁能告诉我彼得·威尔克斯先生住在哪里？”

旁白 neutral

" I'm very sorry, sir," said one of the men." Peter Wilks has died."

“我很遗憾，先生，”其中一个人说，“彼得·威尔克斯已经去世了。”

旁白 neutral

The king grabbed the man and sobbed on his shoulder," Oh no! Our poor brother!" Then the duke started crying too

国王抓住那人，伏在他肩头抽泣起来：“哦，不！我们可怜的兄弟！”然后公爵也哭了起来。

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The townspeople gathered around and said how sorry they were

镇上的人聚拢过来，说他们很遗憾。

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Then they led us to a house where three girls were standing in a doorway

然后他们领我们到了一栋房子前，三个女孩正站在门口。

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The oldest girl — I knew she must be Mary Jane — was red-haired and beautiful

最大的女孩——我知道她一定是玛丽·简——红头发，很漂亮。

旁白 neutral

She ran to hug the king, who she thought was her uncle Harvey

她跑过去拥抱国王，她以为那是她的叔叔哈维。

旁白 neutral

The other two girls cried and hugged the duke, who they thought was their deaf uncle William

另外两个女孩哭着拥抱了公爵，她们以为那是她们耳聋的叔叔威廉。

旁白 neutral

I felt ashamed of these two liars and ashamed of myself for being with them

我为这两个骗子感到羞愧，也为和他们在一起感到羞愧。