彼得·潘 作者：[英]詹姆斯·巴里 翻译：杨静远 PETER PAN 英文  中文  双语对照  双语交替 首页  目录  上一章

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Chapter 17 WHEN WENDY GREW UP

第十七章 温迪长大了

I hope you want to know what became of the other boys. They were waiting below to give Wendy time to explain about them; and when they had counted five hundred they went up. They went up by the stair, because they thought this would make a better impression. They stood in a row in front of Mrs. Darling, with their hats off, and wishing they were not wearing their pirate clothes. They said nothing, but their eyes asked her to have them. They ought to have looked at Mr. Darling also, but they forgot about him.

我希望你们都愿意知道别的孩子的下落如何。他们都在下面等着，好让温迪有时间做解释；他们数到五百下的时候，就走上楼来。他们是沿楼梯走上来的，因为，这样会给人一个好印象。他们在达林太太面前站成一排，脱掉了帽子，心里但愿他们没有穿海盗衣。他们没有说话，眼睛却在恳求达林太太收留他们。他们本该也望着达林先生，可是他们忘了看他。

Of course Mrs. Darling said at once that she would have them; but Mr. Darling was curiously depressed, and they saw that he considered six a rather large number.

当然，达林太太立刻就说她愿意收留他们；可是达林先生很不高兴，孩子们知道，他是嫌六个太多了。

"I must say, he said to Wendy, "that you don't do things by halves." a grudging remark which the twins thought was pointed at them.

“我得告诉你，”达林先生对温迪说，“你做事可不要做半截子事。”这话里有气，孪生子觉得是冲他们来的。

The first twin was the proud one, and he asked, flushing, "Do you think we should be too much of a handful, sir? Because, if so, we can go away."

老大比较高傲，他红着脸对达林先生说：“先生，你是嫌我们人太多吧？那样的话，我们可以走开。”

"Father!" Wendy cried, shocked; but still the cloud was on him. He knew he was behaving unworthily, but he could not help it.

“爸爸！”温迪激动地叫了一声；但是，达林先生还是满脸阴云。他知道，他这样做很不体面，可他又有什么办法？

"We could lie doubled up," said Nibs.

“我们几个可以挤在一起。”尼布斯说。

"I always cut their hair myself," said Wendy.

“我总是自己修剪头发。”温迪说。

"George!" Mrs. Darling exclaimed, pained to see her dear one showing himself in such an unfavourable light.

“乔治！”达林太太惊叹了一声，看到她亲爱的丈夫表现得这样不光彩，心里很难过。

Then he burst into tears, and the truth came out. He was as glad to have them as she was, he said, but he thought they should have asked his consent as well as hers, instead of treating him as a cypher (zero) in how own house.

达林先生突然哭了起来，于是真相大白。他说，他也和太太一样，愿意收留他们；只不过他们在征求太太的意见时，也应征求他的意见才对，不该在他自己家里把他看成一个可有可无的人。

"I don't think he is a cypher," Tootles cried instantly. "Do you think he is a cypher, Curly?"

“我并不觉得他是一个可有可无的人。”图图立刻大声说，“你呢，卷毛？”

"No, I don't. Do you think he is a cypher, Slightly?"

“我不觉得，你呢，斯莱特利？”

"Rather not. Twin, what do you think?"

“我也不，孪生子，你们呢？”

It turned out that not one of them thought him a cypher; and he was absurdly gratified, and said he would find space for them all in the drawing-room if they fitted in.

到头来，没有一个孩子认为达林先生是个可有可无的人；说也荒唐，他竟心满意足了。他说，要是合适的话，他可以把他们统统安置在客厅里。

"We'll fit in, sir," they assured him.

“合适极了，先生。”孩子们向他担保。

"Then follow the leader," he cried gaily. "Mind you, I am not sure that we have a drawing-room, but we pretend we have, and it's all the same. Hoop la!"

“那么，跟我来。”他兴冲冲地喊，“请注意，我不敢肯定我有一间客厅，不过我们可以假装有一间客厅，反正一样。啊哈！”

He went off dancing through the house, and they all cried "Hoop la!" and danced after him, searching for the drawing-room; and I forget whether they found it, but at any rate they found corners, and they all fitted in.

他跳着舞步，满屋子转着，孩子们也全都高喊“啊哈！”跳着舞步，跟在他后面，寻找那间客厅。他们究竟找到客厅没有，我也记不清了；可不管怎么样，他们总可以找到一些旮旯儿，满合适地住下了。

As for Peter, he saw Wendy once again before he flew away. He did not exactly come to the window, but he brushed against it in passing so that she could open it if she liked and call to him. That is what she did.

至于彼得，他飞走以前还来看了温迪一次。他并没有专门来到窗前，只是在飞过时蹭了一下窗子，如果温迪愿意的话，她可以打开窗子呼唤他。温迪果真这样做了。

"Hullo, Wendy, good-bye," he said.

“喂，温迪，再见了。”他说。

"Oh dear, are you going away?"

“啊，亲爱的，你要走了吗？”

"Yes."

“是的。”

"You don't feel, Peter," she said falteringly, "that you would like to say anything to my parents about a very sweet subject?"

“彼得，你不想跟我父母谈谈那件甜蜜蜜的事儿吗？”温迪有点迟疑地说。

"No."

“不。”

"About me, Peter?"

“关于我的事，彼得？”

"No."

“不。”

Mrs. Darling came to the window, for at present she was keeping a sharp eye on Wendy. She told Peter that she had adopted all the other boys, and would like to adopt him also.

达林太太这时走到窗子前来，她现在一直在密切地监视着温迪。她告诉彼得，她已经收养了所有其余的孩子，也愿意收养他。

"Would you sent me to school?" he inquired craftily.

“你要送我去上学？”彼得机警地问。

"Yes."

“是的。”

"And then to an office?"

“然后再送我上办公室？”

"I suppose so."

“我想是这样。”

"Soon I would be a man?"

“我很快就要变成一个大人？”

"Very soon."

“很快。”

"I don't want to go to school and learn solemn things," he told her passionately. "I don't want to be a man. O Wendy's mother, if I was to wake up and feel there was a beard!"

“我不愿意去学校学那些正儿八经的东西，”彼得愤愤地对达林太太说，“我不要变成大人。温迪妈妈，要是我一觉醒来，摸到自己有胡子，那该多别扭！”

"Peter," said Wendy the comforter, "I should love you in a beard"; and Mrs. Darling stretched out her arms to him, but he repulsed her.

“彼得！”温迪安慰他说，“你有胡子我也会爱你的。”达林太太向他伸出两臂，但是彼得拒绝了她。

"Keep back, lady, no one is going to catch me and make me a man."

“太太，你靠后站吧，谁也不能把我变成一个大人。”

"But where are you going to live?"

“可是你到哪儿去住呢？”

"With Tink in the house we built for Wendy. The fairies are to put it high up among the tree tops where they sleep at nights."

“和叮叮铃一起住在我们给温迪盖的小屋子里。仙子们会把它高高地抬上树梢的，她们夜里就住在树上。”

"How lovely," cried Wendy so longingly that Mrs. Darling tightened her grip.

“多可爱呀。”温迪羡慕地喊道。达林太太不由得把她抓得更紧。

"I thought all the fairies were dead," Mrs. Darling said.

“我以为所有的仙子都死了呐。”达林太大说。

"There are always a lot of young ones," explained Wendy, who was now quite an authority, "because you see when a new baby laughs for the first time a new fairy is born, and as there are always new babies there are always new fairies. They live in nests on the tops of trees; and the mauve ones are boys and the white ones are girls, and the blue ones are just little sillies who are not sure what they are."

“总会有许多年轻的仙子生出来。”温迪解释说。关于仙子的事，她现在可说是个行家了。“因为，每个婴孩第一次笑出声的时候，就有一个新的仙子诞生了；既然总是有新的婴孩，就总是有新的仙子，他们住在树梢上的巢里。绛色的是男的，白色的是女的，蓝色的是些小傻瓜，说不准他们是男是女。”

"I shall have such fun," said Peter, with eye on Wendy.

“我乐趣可多了。”彼得用一只眼瞅着温迪说。

"It will be rather lonely in the evening," she said, "sitting by the fire."

“晚上一个人坐在火炉边怪寂寞的。”温迪说。

"I shall have Tink."

“我有叮叮铃做伴。”

"Tink can't go a twentieth part of the way round," she reminded him a little tartly.

“叮叮铃有好些事干不了。”她有点尖酸地提醒他。

"Sneaky tell-tale!" Tink called out from somewhere round the corner.

“背后嚼舌头的家伙！”叮叮铃不知从哪儿钻出来，骂了一句。

"It doesn't matter," Peter said.

“那没关系。”彼得说。

"O Peter, you know it matters."

“彼得，这有关系，你知道的。”温迪说。

"Well, then, come with me to the little house."

“那好，你跟我一起到小屋子去吧。”

"May I, mummy?"

“妈妈，我可以去吗？”

"Certainly not. I have got you home again, and I mean to keep you."

“当然不可以，你好不容易回家了，我决不让你再离开。”

"But he does so need a mother."

“可是他真需要一个母亲哪。”

"So do you, my love."

“你也需要一个母亲啊，乖乖。”

"Oh, all right," Peter said, as if he had asked her from politeness merely; but Mrs. Darling saw his mouth twitch, and she made this handsome offer: to let Wendy go to him for a week every year to do his spring cleaning. Wendy would have preferred a more permanent arrangement; and it seemed to her that spring would be long in coming; but this promise sent Peter away quite gay again. He had no sense of time, and was so full of adventures that all I have told you about him is only of halfpenny-worth of them. I suppose it was because Wendy knew this that her last words to him were these rather plaintive ones:

“那就拉倒吧。”彼得说，好像他邀请温迪去只是出于礼貌。但是，达林太太看到彼得的嘴抽动了，于是她提出一个慷慨的建议：每年让温迪去他那儿住上一个礼拜，帮他搞春季的大扫除。温迪宁愿有一个更长远的安排，而且她觉得，春天要等很久才到来。但是，这个许诺却使彼得高高兴兴地走了。他没有时间观念，他有那么多冒险的事要做，我告诉你们的，只不过是其中微乎其微的一点点。我想，大概温迪深知这一点，所以，她最后向他说了一句这样悲伤的话：

"You won't forget me, Peter, will you, before spring cleaning time comes?"

“你不会忘记我吧，彼得？在春季大扫除以前，你会忘记我吗？”

Of course Peter promised; and then he flew away. He took Mrs. Darling's kiss with him. The kiss that had been for no one else, Peter took quite easily. Funny. But she seemed satisfied.

当然不会，彼得向她担保；然后．他飞走了。他带走了达林太太的一吻。她的吻是谁也得不到的，彼得却不费力地得到了，真滑稽。可是温迪也感到满足了。

Of course all the boys went to school; and most of them got into Class III, but Slightly was put first into Class IV and then into Class V. Class I is the top class. Before they had attended school a week they saw what goats they had been not to remain on the island; but is was too late now, and soon they settled down to being as ordinary as you or me or Jenkins minor (the younger Jenkins). It is sad to have to say that the power to fly gradually left them. At first Nana tied their feet to the bed-posts so that they should not fly away in the night; and one of their diversions by day was to pretend to fall off buses (the English double-deckers); but by and by they ceased to tug at their bonds in bed, and found that they hurt themselves when the let go to the bus. In time they could not even fly after their hats. Want of practice, they called it; but what it really was that they no longer believed.

自然，孩子们都给送进了学校；他们多数人上第三班。不过，斯菜特利先给安插到第四班；后来，又改上第五班。第一班是最高班。他们上学还不到一个礼拜，就已经懊悔，觉得他们离开永无乡真是冤枉；可是太迟了。他们很快也就安下心来，像你、我或小詹金斯一样过日子了。说来怪可怜的，他们渐渐失去了飞的本领。起初，娜娜把他们的脚绑在床柱上，防止他们夜里飞走；白天，他们的一种游戏是假装从公共汽车上掉下来；可是渐渐地他们发现，只要不拽住那根绑带，他们从公共汽车掉下时，就会摔伤。到后来，帽子被风刮走，他们都不能飞过去抓住它。他们说，这是因为缺少练习；其实，这话真正的意思是，他们不再相信这一切了。

Michael believed longer than the other boys, though they jeered at him; so he was with Wendy when Peter came for her at the end of the first year. She flew away with Peter in the frock she had woven from leaves and berries in the Neverland, and her one fear was that he might notice how short it had become; but he never noticed, he had so much to say about himself.

迈克尔比别的孩子相信得时间长些，虽然他们老是讥笑他；所以，第一年末彼得来找温迪时，他还和温迪在一起。温迪和彼得一起飞走时，身上穿着她在永无岛时，用树叶和浆果编织成的罩褂，她生怕彼得看出这罩褂已经变得多么短了；可是彼得根本没注意，他自己的事，他还说不完呢。

She had looked forward to thrilling talks with him about old times, but new adventures had crowded the old ones from his mind.

温迪盼着和他谈起那些激动人心的往事，可是新的冒险趣事已经从他脑中挤走了那些旧的冒险趣事。

"Who is Captain Hook?" he asked with interest when she spoke of the arch enemy.

温迪提起那个大敌时，彼得很感兴趣地问：“胡克船长是谁？”

"Don't you remember," she asked, amazed, "how you killed him and saved all our lives?"

“你不记得了吗？”温迪惊讶地问，“你是怎么杀的他，救了我们大家的命？”

"I forget them after I kill them," he replied carelessly.

“我杀了他们以后，就把他们忘记了。”彼得漫不经心地回答。

When she expressed a doubtful hope that Tinker Bell would be glad to see her he said, "Who is Tinker Bell?"

温迪希望，叮叮铃看到她会高兴，但又怀疑这一点；彼得问：“叮叮铃是谁？”

"O Peter," she said, shocked; but even when she explained he could not remember.

“啊，彼得。”温迪万分惊讶地说；即使她做了解释，彼得仍旧想不起来。

"There are such a lot of them," he said. "I expect she is no more."

“他们这种小东西多的是，”他说，“我估摸她已经不在了。”

I expect he was right, for fairies don't live long, but they are so little that a short time seems a good while to them.

我想彼得大概说对了，因为，仙子是活不长的；不过，因为她们很小，所以很短的时间，在她们看来也显得很长。

Wendy was pained too to find that the past year was but as yesterday to Peter; it had seemed such a long year of waiting to her. But he was exactly as fascinating as ever, and they had a lovely spring cleaning in the little house on the tree tops.

还有一点也使温迪感到难过：过去的一年，对于彼得来说，仿佛只是昨天；可在她看来，这一年等起来真长啊。不过，彼得还像以前一样招人喜欢，他们在树梢上的小屋里，痛痛快快地进行了一次春季大扫除。

Next year he did not come for her. She waited in a new frock because the old one simply would not meet; but he never came.

下一年，彼得没有来接她。她穿上一件新罩褂等着他，因为那件旧的已经穿不下了；可是，彼得没有来。

"Perhaps he is ill," Michael said.

“彼得许是病了吧。”迈克尔说。

"You know he is never ill."

“你知道，彼得是从来不病的。”

Michael came close to her and whispered, with a shiver, "Perhaps there is no such person, Wendy!" and then Wendy would have cried if Michael had not been crying.

迈克尔凑到温迪跟前，打了个冷颤，悄悄说：“也许根本就没有这样一个人吧，温迪！”要不是迈克尔哭了，温迪也会哭的。

Peter came next spring cleaning; and the strange thing was that he never knew he had missed a year.

再下一年，彼得又来接她去进行春季大扫除了；奇怪的是，他竟不知道他漏掉了一年。

That was the last time the girl Wendy ever saw him. For a little longer she tried for his sake not to have growing pains; and she felt she was untrue to him when she got a prize for general knowledge. But the years came and went without bringing the careless boy; and when they met again Wendy was a married woman, and Peter was no more to her than a little dust in the box in which she had kept her toys. Wendy was grown up. You need not be sorry for her. She was one of the kind that likes to grow up. In the end she grew up of her own free will a day quicker than other girls.

这是小姑娘温迪最后一次见到彼得。有一个时期，为了彼得的缘故，她努力不让自己越来越痛苦。当她在常识课上得了奖时，她觉得自己是对彼得不忠实。但是，一年年过去了，这位粗心大意的孩子再也没来。等到他们再见面时，温迪已经是一位结了婚的妇人，彼得对于她，只不过成了她收藏玩具的匣子里的一点灰尘。温迪长大了。你不必为她感到遗憾，她属于喜欢长大的那一类人，她是心甘情愿长大的，而且心甘情愿比别的女孩子长得更快一点。

All the boys were grown up and done for by this time; so it is scarcely worth while saying anything more about them. You may see the twins and Nibs and Curly any day going to an office, each carrying a little bag and an umbrella. Michael is an engine- driver (train engineer). Slightly married a lady of title, and so he became a lord. You see that judge in a wig coming out at the iron door? That used to be Tootles. The bearded man who doesn't know any story to tell his children was once John.

男孩子们这时全都长大了，完事了，不值得再提起他们。你随便哪一天都可以看到孪生子、尼布斯和卷毛提着公文包和雨伞向办公室走去。迈克尔是位火车司机。斯莱特利娶了一位贵族女子，所以他成了一位勋爵。你看见一位戴假发的法官从铁门里走出来吗？那就是过去的图图。那个从来不会给他的孩子讲故事的有胡子的男人，他曾经是约翰。

Wendy was married in white with a pink sash. It is strange to think that Peter did not alight in the church and forbid the banns (formal announcement of a marriage).

温迪结婚时，穿着一件白衣，系着一条粉红饰带。想来也挺奇怪，彼得竟没有飞进教堂，去反对这桩婚礼。

Years rolled on again, and Wendy had a daughter. This ought not to be written in ink but in a golden splash.

岁月如流水，温迪有了一个女儿。这件事不该用墨水写下，而应用金粉大书特书。

She was called Jane, and always had an odd inquiring look, as of from the moment she arrived on the mainland she wanted to ask questions. When she was old enough to ask them they were mostly about Peter Pan. She loved to hear of Peter, and Wendy told her all she could remember in the very nursery from which the famous flight had taken place. It was Jane's nursery now, for her father had bought it at the three per cents. (mortgage rate) from Wendy's father, who was no longer fond of stairs. Mrs. Darling was now dead and forgotten.

女儿名叫简，她总带着一种好发问的古怪神情，仿佛她一来到世上，就有许多问题要问。等她长到可以发问的时候，她的问题多半是关于彼得的。她爱听彼得的事，温迪把她自己所能记得起的事情全讲给女儿听。她讲这些故事的地点，正是那间发生过那次有名的飞行的育儿室。现在，这里成了简的育儿室；因为，她父亲以百分之三的廉价从温迪的父亲手里买下了这房子。温迪的父亲已经不喜欢爬楼梯了。达林太太已经去世，被遗忘了。

There were only two beds in the nursery now, Jane's and her nurse's; and there was no kennel, for Nana also had passed away. She died of old age, and at the end she had been rather difficult to get on with; being very firmly convinced that no one knew how to look after children except herself.

现在育儿室里只有两张床了，简的床和她的保姆的床，狗舍已经没有了，因为娜娜也死了。她是老死的，最后几年，她的脾气变得很难相处；因为她非常固执己见，认为除了她，谁也不懂得怎样看孩子。

Once a week Jane's nurse had her evening off; and then it was Wendy's part to put Jane to bed. That was the time for stories. It was Jane's invention to raise the sheet over her mother's head and her own, this making a tent, and in the awful darkness to whisper:

简的保姆每礼拜有一次休假，这时候，就由温迪照看简上床睡觉。这是讲故事的时候。简发明了一种游戏，她把床单蒙在母亲和自己的头上，当作一顶帐篷。在黑暗里，两人说着悄悄话：

"What do we see now?"

“咱们现在看见什么啦？”

"I don't think I see anything to-night," says Wendy, with a feeling that if Nana were here she would object to further conversation.

“今晚我什么也没看见。”温迪说，她心想，要是娜娜在的话，她一定不让她们再谈下去。

"Yes, you do," says Jan, "you see when you were a little girl."

“你看得见，”简说，“你是一个小姑娘的时候，就看得见。”

"That is a long time ago, sweetheart," says Wendy. "Ah me, how time flies!"

“那是很久很久以前的事啦，我的宝贝，”温迪说，“唉，时间飞得多快呀！”

"Does it fly," asks the artful child, "the way you flew when you were a little girl?"

“时间也会飞吗？”这个机灵的孩子问，“就像你小时候那样飞吗？”

"The way I flew? Do you know, Jane, I sometimes wonder whether I ever did really fly."

“像我那样飞！你知道吧，简，我有时候真闹不清我是不是真的飞过。”

"Yes, you did."

“你飞过。”

"The dear old days when I could fly!"

“我会飞的那个好时光，已经一去不回了。”

"Why can't you fly now, mother?"

“你现在为什么不能飞，妈妈？”

"Because I am grown up, dearest. When people grow up they forget the way."

“因为我长大了，小亲亲。人一长大，就忘了怎么飞了。”

"Why do they forget the way?"

“为什么忘了怎么飞？”

"Because they are longer gay and innocent and heartless. It is only the gay and innocent and heartless who can fly."

“因为他们不再是快活的、天真的、没心没肺的。只有快活的、天真的、没心没肺的才能飞。”

"What is gay and innocent and heartless? I do wish I were gay and innocent and heartless."

“什么叫快活的、天真的、没心没肺的？我真希望我也是快活的、天真的、没心没肺的。”

Or perhaps Wendy admits she does see something.

或许温迪这时候真的悟到了什么。

"I do believe," she says, "that it is this nursery."

“我想，这都是因为这间育儿室的缘故。”她说。

"I do believe it is," says Jane. "Go on."

“我想也是，”简说，“往下讲吧。”

They are now embarked on the great adventure of the night when Peter flew in looking for his shadow.

于是她们开始谈到了大冒险的那一夜，先是彼得飞进来找他的影子。

"The foolish fellow," says Wendy, "tried to stick it on with soap, and when he could not he cried, and that woke me, and I sewed it on for him."

“那个傻家伙，”温迪说，“他想用肥皂把影子粘上，粘不上他就哭，哭声把我惊醒了，我就用针线给他缝上。”

"You have missed a bit," interrupts Jane, who now knows the story better than her mother. "When you saw him sitting on the floor crying, what did you say?"

“你漏掉了一点。”简插嘴说，她现在比母亲知道的还清楚，“你看见他坐在地板上哭的时候，你说什么来着？”

"I sat up in bed and I said, `Boy, why are you crying?'"

“我在床上坐起来，说：‘孩子，你为什么哭？’”

"Yes, that was it," says Jane, with a big breath.

“对了，就是这样。”简说，出了一大口气。

"And then he flew us all away to the Neverland and the fairies and the pirates and the redskins and the mermaid's lagoon, and the home under the ground, and the little house."

“后来，他领着我飞到了永无乡，那儿还有仙子，还有海盗，还有印第安人，还有人鱼的礁湖；还有地下的家，还有那间小屋子。”

"Yes! which did you like best of all?"

“对了！你最喜欢的是什么？”

"I think I liked the home under the ground best of all."

“我想我最喜欢的是地下的家。”

"Yes, so do I. What was the last thing Peter ever said to you?"

“对了，我也最喜欢。彼得最后对你说的话是什么？”

"The last thing he ever said to me was, `Just always be waiting for me, and then some night you will hear me crowing.'"

“他最后对我说的话是：‘你只要老是等着我，总有一夜你会听到我的叫声。’”

"Yes,"

“对了。”

"But, alas, he forgot all about me," Wendy said it with a smile. She was as grown up as that.

“可是，唉！他已经完全把我给忘了。”温迪微笑着说。她已经长得那么大了。

"What did his crow sound like?" Jane asked one evening.

“彼得的叫声是什么样的？”简有一晚问。

"It was like this," Wendy said, trying to imitate Peter's crow.

“是这样的。”温迪说，她试着学彼得叫。

"No, it wasn't," Jane said gravely, "it was like this"; and she did it ever so much better than her mother.

“不对，不是这样，”简郑重地说，“是这样的。”她学得比母亲强多了。

Wendy was a little startled. "My darling, how can you know?"

温迪有点吃惊：“宝贝，你怎么知道的？”

"I often hear it when I am sleeping," Jane said.

“我睡着的时候常常听到。”简说。

"Ah yes, many girls hear it when they are sleeping, but I was the only one who heard it awake."

“啊，是啊，许多女孩睡着的时候都听到过，可是只有我醒着听到过。”

"Lucky you," said Jane.

“你多幸运。”简说。

And then one night came the tragedy. It was the spring of the year, and the story had been told for the night, and Jane was now asleep in her bed. Wendy was sitting on the floor, very close to the fire, so as to see to darn, for there was no other light in the nursery; and while she sat darning she heard a crow. Then the window blew open as of old, and Peter dropped in on the floor.

有一夜悲剧发生了。那是在春天，晚上刚讲完了故事，简躺在床上睡着了。温迪坐在地板上，靠近壁炉，就着火光补袜子；因为，育儿室里没有别的亮光。补着补着，她听到一声叫声。窗子像过去一样吹开了，彼得跳了进来，落在地板上。

He was exactly the same as ever, and Wendy saw at once that he still had all his first teeth.

彼得还和从前一样，一点没变，温迪立刻看到，他还长着满口的乳牙。

He was a little boy, and she was grown up. She huddled by the fire not daring to move, helpless and guilty, a big woman.

彼得还是一个小男孩，可温迪已经是一个大人了。她在火边缩成一团，一动也不敢动，又尴尬又难堪，一个大女人。

"Hullo, Wendy," he said, not noticing any difference, for he was thinking chiefly of himself; and in the dim light her white dress might have been the nightgown in which he had seen her first.

“你好，温迪。”彼得招呼她，他并没有注意到有什么两样，因为他主要只想到自己；在昏暗的光下，温迪穿的那件白衣服，很可看作是他初见她时穿的那件睡衣。

"Hullo, Peter," she replied faintly, squeezing herself as small as possible. Something inside her was crying Woman, Woman, let go of me."

“你好，彼得。”温迪有气无力地回答。她紧缩着身子，尽量把自己变得小些。她内心有个声音在呼叫：“女人呐女人，你放我走。”

"Hullo, where is John?" he asked, suddenly missing the third bed.

“喂，约翰在哪儿？”彼得问，突然发见少了第三张床。

"John is not here now," she gasped.

“约翰现在不在这儿。”温迪喘息着说。

"Is Michael asleep?" he asked, with a careless glance at Jane.

“迈克尔睡着了吗？”他随便瞄了简一眼，问道。

"Yes," she answered; and now she felt that she was untrue to Jane as well as to Peter.

“是的。”温迪回答，可她立刻感到自己对简和彼得都不诚实。

"That is not Michael," she said quickly, lest a judgment should fall on her.

“那不是迈克尔。”她连忙改口说，否则要遭报应。

Peter looked. "Hullo, is it a new one?"

彼得走过去看：“喂，这是个新孩子吗？”

"Yes."

“是的”

"Boy or girl?"

“男孩还是女孩？”

"Girl."

“女孩。”

Now surely he would understand; but not a bit of it.

现在彼得该明白了吧，可是他一点也不明白。

"Peter," she said, faltering, "are you expecting me to fly away with you?"

“彼得，”温迪结结巴巴地说，“你希望我跟你一起飞走吗？”

"Of course; that is why I have come." He added a little sternly, "Have you forgotten that this is spring cleaning time?"

“当然啦，我正是为这个来的。”彼得有点严厉地又说，“你忘记了这是春季大扫除的时候了吗？”

She knew it was useless to say that he had let many spring cleaning times pass.

温迪知道，用不着告诉他有好多次春季大扫除都被他漏过去了。

"I can't come," she said apologetically, "I have forgotten how to fly."

“我不能去，”她抱歉地说，“我忘了怎么飞了。”

"I'll soon teach you again."

“我可以马上再教你。”

"O Peter, don't waste the fairy dust on me."

“啊，彼得，别在我身上浪费仙尘了。”

She had risen; and now at last a fear assailed him. "What is it?" he cried, shrinking.

温迪站了起来；这时，彼得突然感到一阵恐惧。“怎么回事？”他喊，往后退缩着。

"I will turn up the light," she said, "and then you can see for yourself."

“我去开灯，”温迪说，“你自己一看就明白了。”

For almost the only time in his life that I know of, Peter was afraid. "Don't turn up the light," he cried.

就我所知，彼得有生以来，这是第一次害怕了。“别开灯。”他叫道。

She let her hands play in the hair of the tragic boy. She was not a little girl heart-broken about him; she was a grown woman smiling at it all, but they were wet eyed smiles.

温迪用手抚弄着这可怜的孩子的头发。她已经不是一个为他伤心的小女孩，她是一个成年妇人，微笑地看待这一切；可那是带泪的微笑。

Then she turned up the light, and Peter saw. He gave a cry of pain; and when the tall beautiful creature stooped to lift him in her arms he drew back sharply.

然后温迪开了灯。彼得看见了，他痛苦地叫了一声；这位高大、美丽的妇人正要弯下身去把他抱起来，他陡然后退。

"What is it?" he cried again.

“怎么回事？”他又喊了一声。

She had to tell him.

温迪不得不告诉他。

"I am old, Peter. I am ever so much more than twenty. I grew up long ago."

“我老了，彼得。我已经二十好几了，早就长大成人了。”

"You promised not to!"

“你答应过我你不长大的！”

"I couldn't help it. I am a married woman, Peter."

“我没有办法不长大……我是一个结了婚的女人，彼得。”

"No, you're not."

“不，你不是。”

"Yes, and the little girl in the bed is my baby."

“是的，床上那个小女孩，就是我的娃娃。”

"No, she's not."

“不，她不是。”

But he supposed she was; and he took a step towards the sleeping child with his dagger upraised. Of course he did not strike. He sat down on the floor instead and sobbed; and Wendy did not know how to comfort him, though she could have done it so easily once. She was only a woman now, and she ran out of the room to try to think.

可是，彼得想这小女孩大概真是温迪的娃娃；他高高举起了手中的短剑，朝熟睡的孩子走了几步。不过，当然他没有砍她。他坐在地板上抽泣起来。温迪不知道怎样安慰他才好，虽然她曾经很容易做到这一点。她现在只是一个女人，于是她走出房间去好好想想。

Peter continued to cry, and soon his sobs woke Jane. She sat up in bed, and was interested at once.

彼得还在哭，哭声很快就惊醒了简。简在床上坐起来，马上对彼得感兴趣了。

"Boy," she said, "why are you crying?"

“孩子，”她说，“你为什么哭？”

Peter rose and bowed to her, and she bowed to him from the bed.

彼得站起来，向她鞠了一躬；她也在床上向彼得鞠了一躬。

"Hullo," he said.

“你好。”彼得说。

"Hullo," said Jane.

“你好。”简说。

"My name is Peter Pan," he told her.

“我叫彼得·潘。”他告诉她。

"Yes, I know."

“是，我知道。”

"I came back for my mother," he explained, "to take her to the Neverland."

“我回来找我母亲，”彼得解释说，“我要带她去永无乡。”

"Yes, I know," Jane said, "I have been waiting for you."

“是，我知道，”简说，“我正等着你哩。”

When Wendy returned diffidently she found Peter sitting on the bed-post crowing gloriously, while Jane in her nighty was flying round the room in solemn ecstasy.

温迪忐忑不安地走回房间时，她看到彼得坐在床柱上得意洋洋地叫喊着，简正穿着睡衣狂喜地绕着房间飞。

"She is my mother," Peter explained; and Jane descended and stood by his side, with the look in her face that he liked to see on ladies when they gazed at him.

“她是我的母亲了。”彼得对温迪解释说；简落下来，站在彼得旁边，她脸上露出了姑娘们注视他时的神情，那是彼得最喜欢看到的。

"He does so need a mother," Jane said.

“他太需要一个母亲了。”简说。

"Yes, I know." Wendy admitted rather forlornly; "no one knows it so well as I."

“是呀，我知道，”温迪多少有点凄凉地承认，“谁也没有我知道得清楚。”

"Good-bye," said Peter to Wendy; and he rose in the air, and the shameless Jane rose with him; it was already her easiest way of moving about.

“再见了。”彼得对温迪说；他飞到了空中，不知羞的简，也随他飞起；飞行已经是她最容易的活动方式了。

Wendy rushed to the window.

温迪冲到了窗前。

"No,no," she cried.

“不，不。”她大喊。

"It is just for spring cleaning time," Jane said, "he wants me always to do his spring cleaning."

“只是去进行春季大扫除罢了，”简说，“他要我总去帮他进行春季大扫除。”

"If only I could go with you," Wendy sighed.

“要是我能跟你们一道去就好了。”温迪叹了一口气。

"You see you can't fly," said Jane.

“可你不能飞呀。”简说。

Of course in the end Wendy let them fly away together. Our last glimpse of her shows her at the window, watching them receding into the sky until they were as small as stars.

当然，温迪终于还是让他们一道飞走了。我们最后看到温迪时，她正站在窗前，望着他们向天空里远去，直到他们小得像星星一般。

As you look at Wendy, you may see her hair becoming white, and her figure little again, for all this happened long ago. Jane is now a common grown-up, with a daughter called Margaret; and every spring cleaning time, except when he forgets, Peter comes for Margaret and takes her to the Neverland, where she tells him stories about himself, to which he listens eagerly. When Margaret grows up she will have a daughter, who is to be Peter's mother in turn; and thus it will go on, so long as children are gay and innocent and heartless.

你再见到温迪时，会看到她头发变白了，身体又缩小了，因为，这些事是老早老早以前发生的。简现在是普通的成年人了，女儿名叫玛格丽特；每到春季大扫除时节，除非彼得自己忘记了，他总是来带玛格丽特去永无乡。她给彼得讲他自己的故事，彼得聚精会神地听着。玛格丽特长大后，又会有一个女儿，她又成了彼得的母亲。事情就这样周而复始，只要孩子们是快活的、天真的、没心没肺的。

THE END

（完）

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