《100篇精选故事》——O. Henry著

à  《黄油的礼物》

à  《咖啡馆里的世界主义者》

à  《两回合之间》

à  《天窗房间》

à  《爱的服务》

à  《玛吉的出场》

à  《警察与圣诞颂歌》

à  《一只黄色狗的回忆》

à  《伊基·肖恩斯坦的爱情药水》

à  《陈设房间》

à  《最后的叶子》

à  《诗人和农夫》

à  《失语症漫游》

à  《市政报告》

à  《布丁的证明》

I

《黄油的礼物》

一美元八十七美分。就这些了。而其中六十美分是硬币。那是通过一枚一枚地把杂货商、蔬菜商和屠夫磨得眼睛都红了才攒下来的。三次，德拉数了数，还是一美元八十七美分。明天就是圣诞节了。

ONE DOLLAR AND EIGHTY-SEVEN CENTS. T h a t was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheek burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. 

显然，剩下的也没什么好做的了，除了瘫在那张破旧的小沙发上大哭一场。所以德拉就这么做了。这个情景引发了一个道德反思：生活就是由哭泣、抽泣和微笑组成的，抽泣占了大多数。

There was clearly nothing left to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating. 

当屋子的女主人正从第一阶段过渡到第二阶段时，不妨看看这个家。一个每周租金八美元的单元房。它并没有穷得不能描述，但绝对能让人感到，它似乎在警觉着可能会被“乞讨队”盯上。

While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it cer­ tainly had that word on the look-out for the mendicancy squad. 

楼下的门厅里有一个信箱，任何信都放不进去，还有一个电铃，哪个人的手指也无法引得铃声响起。旁边还有一个卡片，上面写着“詹姆斯·迪林厄姆·杨先生”。

In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name 'Mr. James Dillingham Young.' 

“迪林厄姆”这个名字是在曾经的某个繁荣时期挂上的，那时詹姆斯·杨每周能赚三十美元。现在，当收入缩水到二十美元时，"迪林厄姆"这两个字已经看起来模糊不清，仿佛在认真考虑是不是要简化成一个谦虚的“D”。但每当詹姆斯·杨先生回到家，进入楼上那间单元房时，他总是被叫做“吉姆”，并且会受到“詹姆斯·迪林厄姆·杨夫人”的热烈拥抱，而她，就是我们熟悉的德拉。

The 'Dillingham' had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, the letters of 'Dillingham' looked blurred, as though they were thinking seri­ ously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called 'Jim' and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good. 

德拉止住了哭声，拿起粉扑擦了擦脸颊。她站在窗边，呆呆地望着一只灰猫沿着灰色的围栏走，身后是灰色的后院。明天就是圣诞节，而她仅有的一美元八十七美分，根本买不了什么给吉姆的礼物。她已经为了这个准备了好几个月，但最后的结果是这样。每周二十美元的收入，根本不够用。开销总是比预想的要大，永远都是。只剩下这美元八十七美分，来给吉姆买个礼物——她的吉姆。她曾经无数次地想象，自己能给吉姆买一个什么既好又特别的礼物。一个既珍贵又优雅的东西——差不多要配得上吉姆拥有的荣耀。

Delia finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard. To-morrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Some­ thing fine and rare and sterling - something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honour of being owned by Jim. 

屋里有一面大镜子，可能你也见过那种在八美元房租的单元里看到的镜子。一个非常瘦且灵活的人，能通过快速地观察自己在镜子中分割成一条条的纵向反射，得出自己外貌的比较准确的印象。德拉就是这样，身形纤瘦，早已掌握了这种技巧。

There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Per­ haps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art. 

突然，她从窗前转过身，站到镜子前。她的眼睛闪闪发亮，但脸色却在短短二十秒内失去了血色。她迅速地把头发放下，任其垂到膝盖以下。

Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its colour within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length. 

詹姆斯·迪林厄姆·杨夫妇有两样珍贵的物品，他们都为之骄傲。一件是吉姆的金表，那是他的父亲和祖父的传家宝；另一件是德拉的头发。如果示巴女王住在对面的公寓里，德拉一定会把头发晾在窗外，来贬低女王的珠宝和馈赠。如果所罗门王是大楼管理员，底下堆满了他的所有宝藏，吉姆每次经过时，都会偷偷拿出他的手表，看看他是否因嫉妒而抓着自己的胡须。

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy. 

于是，德拉那美丽的头发如瀑布般洒下，闪烁着光泽，像一阵棕色的水流。它垂到膝盖以下，几乎成了她的衣裳。然后，她又迅速地把头发绑起来。她犹豫了一下，静静地站了一会儿，眼泪一滴滴洒落在那块陈旧的红地毯上。

So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and shin­ ing like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet. 

她穿上了那件旧棕色外套，戴上了那顶旧棕色帽子，裙摆一转，眼里依然闪烁着光彩，她飞快地走出门，下楼奔向街头。

On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out of the door and down the stairs to the street. 

她停在了一个招牌前，上面写着：“Mme. Sofronie 各种发饰”。她跑上了一层楼，气喘吁吁地站定。那位女士，身材高大，皮肤白皙，看起来一点也不像“索夫罗妮”。

Where she stopped the sign read: 'Mme. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds.' One flight up Della ran, and collected herself, pant­ ing. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the 'Sofronie.' 

“你愿意买吗？”德拉问。

'Will you buy my hair?' asked Della. 

“我买头发，”女士回答。“脱下帽子，让我看看它怎么样。”

'I buy hair,' said Madame. 'Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it.' 

头发如瀑布般滑落。

Down rippled the brown cascade. 

“二十美元，”女士说，一边用熟练的手法抚摸着那团头发。

'Twenty dollars,' said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand. 

“快给我，”德拉说。

'Give it to me quick,' said Della. 

接下来的两个小时，简直像是飞起来的。她全身心投入地搜寻着商店，为吉姆选礼物。

Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present. 

最终，她找到了。它简直就是为吉姆量身定做的，其他店里再也找不到一样的。它是一条铂金怀表链，设计简单而高雅，凭借它的实质价值而非华丽装饰彰显自身的价值——正如所有好东西应有的样子。它甚至配得上那块手表。看到它的那一刻，她知道，这一定是吉姆的。它就像吉姆一样，安静而有价值——这个描述完全适合他。它值二十一美元，她为此付了钱，剩下87美分，匆匆回家。有了这条链子，吉姆在任何场合下都可以自信地查看时间了。尽管他的手表很贵，但有时因为那条旧皮带，他会偷偷地看一下表。

She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation - as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value - the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87 cents. W ith that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain. 

德拉回到家后，她的激动稍稍平复，理智和谨慎占了上风。她拿出卷发棒，点燃煤气炉，开始修补被爱与慷慨所带来的“创伤”。这总是一项艰巨的任务，亲爱的朋友们一项巨大的任务。

When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task, dear friends - a mammoth task. 

四十分钟后，她的头发变成了密集的小卷发，看起来就像一个逃课的小男孩。她站在镜子前，长时间地注视着自己的倒影，仔细地打量。

Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close- lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically. 

“如果吉姆不杀了我，”她自言自语，“在第二眼看到我之前，他应该会说我看起来像个康尼岛的歌舞女郎。但我能怎么办呢——哦！一美元八十七美分能买什么呢？”

'If Jim doesn't kill me,' she said to herself, 'before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do - oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents?' 

七点钟，咖啡煮好了，煎锅也已经加热好，准备煎羊排。

At seven o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove, hot and ready to cook the chops. 

吉姆从来不迟到。德拉把怀表链折叠在手里，坐在门口的餐桌边。然后她听到了他从楼梯上传来的脚步声，她的脸色变得苍白，短短一瞬。她有个习惯，在日常的小事上默默祈祷，现在她低声祈祷道：“上帝啊，求你让他觉得我还漂亮。”

Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit of saying little silent prayers about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: 'Please God, make him think I am still pretty.' 

吉姆推开门，站在那里一动不动，像是猎犬闻到鹌鹑的气味。他的眼睛紧紧盯着德拉，眼中有一种她无法解读的神情，让她感到害怕。那并不是愤怒、惊讶、不满、恐惧，或她曾预料过的任何情绪。他只是定定地盯着她，脸上带着那种奇特的表情。

Jim stepped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face. 

德拉从桌子上跳下来，走向他。

Della wriggled off the table and went for him. 

“吉姆，亲爱的，”她喊道，“别那样看着我。我剪了头发并卖了它，因为如果没有给你买个礼物，我就没法过圣诞节了。它会再长出来的——你不介意吧？我必须这么做。我的头发长得特别快。说一声‘圣诞快乐’，吉姆，咱们开心点。你不知道，我为你准备了一个多么漂亮——多么美好的礼物。”

'Jim, darling,' she cried, 'don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold it because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again - you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say "Merry Christmas!" Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice - what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you.' 

“你剪了头发？”吉姆艰难地问道，仿佛他经过了极大的努力，才意识到这个显而易见的事实。

'You've cut off your hair?' asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labour. 

“剪了，卖了，”德拉回答，“你还是喜欢我吗？即使没有头发，我不还是我吗？”

'Cut it off and sold it,' said Della. 'Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?' 

吉姆疑惑地环顾着四周。

Jim looked about the room curiously.

“你说你的头发没了？”他说话的语气几乎有些傻乎乎的。

'You say your hair is gone?' he said with an air almost of idiocy. 

“你不用找它，”德拉说，“它卖了，我告诉你——卖了，而且也没了。今天是圣诞夜，亲爱的。对我好一点吧，因为它是为你卖的。也许我头发上的每一根发丝都是有数目的，”她突然变得温柔而严肃，“但是没有人能数清我对你的爱。吉姆，我去做菜好吗？”

'You needn't look for it,' said Della. 'It's sold, I tell you - sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered,' she went on with a sudden serious sweetness, 'but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?' 

吉姆好像从恍若梦境的状态中醒了过来。他抱住了德拉。接下来十秒钟，让我们低头看一看别的地方，仔细观察一个无关紧要的物体吧。每周八美元还是一年百万——有什么区别呢？一个数学家或幽默家会给你错误的答案。魔法师们带来了珍贵的礼物，但那并不在其中。这个深沉的命题，稍后会有光明的解释。

Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year - what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on. 

吉姆从外套口袋里拿出一个包裹，丢到了桌子上。

Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table. 

“德拉，别搞错了，”他说，“关于我这点，你可别弄错了。我不认为有什么理发、刮胡子、洗发水什么的，能让我不喜欢我的女孩。不过，如果你拆开这个包裹，你就知道为什么我开始时让你觉得有些困惑。”

'Don't make any mistake, Dell,' he said, 'about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going awhile at first.' 

白皙纤细的手指灵巧地拆开了绳子和纸。接着，德拉发出了一声欣喜的尖叫；然后，哦不！瞬间，情绪激动的女性转变成了歇斯底里的泪水和哀嚎，迫使她立刻寻求所有“公寓主”的安慰与慰藉。

White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat. 

因为那一套梳子——一套侧梳和背梳——就在那儿，德拉曾在百老汇的一家橱窗里长时间地崇拜过它们。美丽的梳子，纯正的玳瑁，镶有宝石的边缘——正好是那种与她那美丽的、已逝的头发搭配的颜色。她知道这些梳子很贵，她的心已经不止一次地渴望和向往它们，尽管她从未抱有任何得到它们的希望。如今，它们成了她的，但那些应该装饰在它们上的美丽发丝却已经不复存在。

For there lay The Combs - the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped for long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoiseshell, with jewelled rims - just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone. 

但她紧紧抱住梳子，最终，她终于抬起头，用迷蒙的眼神和微笑说道：“吉姆，我的头发长得真快！”

But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: 'My hair grows so fast, Jim!' 

接着，德拉像只被烫伤的小猫一样跳了起来，喊道：“哦，哦！”

And then Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, 'Oh, oh!' 

吉姆还没有看到他的漂亮礼物。德拉急切地把它拿出来，放在她张开的手掌上。那块朴素的金属似乎反射着她明亮而热切的精神光辉。

Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit. 

“这不是很棒吗，吉姆？我到处找，才找到它。现在你得每天看一百次时间了。把你的表给我看看，我想看看它戴上去的样子。”

'Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it.' 

然而，吉姆并没有按她的要求做。他摔倒在沙发上，把手放在脑后，露出微笑。

Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled. 

“德拉，”他说，“咱们把圣诞礼物收起来，先不拿出来用。它们现在太漂亮了，不能马上用。我卖了手表，才凑够钱给你买梳子。现在，咱们还是把菜做了吧。”

'Dell,' said he, 'let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em awhile. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on.' 

如你所知，智者——那三位带着礼物来到马槽的贤人——是多么的聪明，真是智慧非凡。他们发明了赠送圣诞礼物的艺术。因为他们智慧，他们的礼物无疑是睿智的，可能还带有在重复时可以交换的特权。而我在这里笨拙地为你讲述了这两个愚笨的孩子在一间公寓里做出的不明智的牺牲，他们为彼此放弃了家中最珍贵的宝物。但在对今天的智慧之士的最后一句话中，可以说，所有送礼物的人中，这两个人是最聪明的。所有送与收礼物的人中，他们是最聪明的。到处都是他们最聪明。他们就是那三位智者——魔法师。

The magi, as you know, were wise men - wonderfully wise men - who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the unevent­ ful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days, let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi. 

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