第四章 收拾行裝
The next day, which was Friday, we collected all these things together. In the evening we met to pack.
第二天是星期五,晚上我們把那些東西堆在一起,準(zhǔn)備收拾。
We got a big suitcase for the clothes. There were two large baskets with lids, for the food and for the pans and things to cook with. We moved the table over to the window. Then we put everything in the middle of the floor.
我們帶一個(gè)大箱子裝衣服,還有兩個(gè)有蓋的籃子,一個(gè)裝食品,一個(gè)裝鍋和烹飪的東西。我們把桌子搬到窗口,然后把東西一股腦地堆在中間的地板上。
After we had done that, we sat there and we looked at it.
做完這些事,我們坐在那兒,愣愣地看著這一堆東西。
I said that I would pack.
我說(shuō),打包的事交給我了。
I think that I am very good at packing. It is one of the things that I do best. So I told the others that I would organize it. They agreed to this idea too quickly. That was rather strange. George lit his pipe and sat back in the armchair. Harris put his feet on the table and lit a cigarette.
我對(duì)自己的打包能力十分自負(fù),覺(jué)得是我最拿手的一件事,所以我對(duì)他們倆說(shuō)我來(lái)負(fù)責(zé)。他們馬上欣然同意,毫不猶豫,速度之快有點(diǎn)令我感到蹊蹺。喬治點(diǎn)上了煙斗,把自己埋在扶手椅中;哈里斯把腳蹺到桌子上,也點(diǎn)了一支香煙。
This was not, of course, what I had expected. When I said that I would organize it, I meant that I would tell them what to do. Then I would sit and watch them do it.
當(dāng)然這可出乎我的意料。我的打算是我來(lái)組織這個(gè)工作,我告訴他們?cè)趺锤桑缓笪易谀莾嚎此麄兏伞?/p>
However, I said nothing, and I started to pack the clothes. It took much longer than I had expected, but in the end it was finished. I sat on the suitcase and closed it. George and Harris watched me with great interest.
盡管如此,我還是二話沒(méi)說(shuō)開(kāi)始裝衣服?;ǖ臅r(shí)間可真不少,但我終于還是干完了。我坐在箱子上合住蓋。喬治和哈里斯頗有興致地望著我。
'Aren't you going to put the boots in?' Harris asked.
“這些靴子你要不要裝進(jìn)去呀?”哈里斯問(wèn)。
I looked round, and saw the boots. Why did Harris wait until I had closed the suitcase?
我回頭一看,看見(jiàn)了靴子。這個(gè)哈里斯,怎么非等我蓋上箱子才說(shuō)?
George laughed quietly.
喬治悄悄笑了起來(lái)。
I opened the suitcase, and I put the boots in. It was not easy! And just as I was going to close the suitcase again, an awful idea came to me. Had I packed my toothbrush?
我又把箱子打開(kāi),把靴子裝進(jìn)去,真不容易啊。我剛想合上箱子蓋,忽然又冒出一個(gè)糟糕的念頭,我的牙刷裝進(jìn)去了沒(méi)有?
Of course, I had to look for it, and, of course, I could not find it. I had to take everything out again. I found George's toothbrush. I found Harris's toothbrush, but I could not find mine. In the end, I found it inside a boot.
毫無(wú)疑問(wèn),我還得找,可我怎么都找不著。我把所有的東西都掏出來(lái),找到了喬治的牙刷,也找到了哈里斯的牙刷,偏偏就是沒(méi)有我的。最后還是在一只靴子里找到了。
I packed everything again.
我把東西重新裝好。
When I had finished, George asked if the soap was in the suitcase. I said I did not care about the soap. I threw down the lid of the suitcase, and I closed it again. Then I found my cigarettes were inside it.
等到收拾完了,喬治問(wèn)肥皂裝了沒(méi)有。我才不管什么肥皂不肥皂的呢!我使勁把蓋子壓下去,合上,這才發(fā)現(xiàn)我的煙又給裝進(jìn)去了。
I finished the suitcase at five past ten, and the food was still not packed!
收拾完箱子已經(jīng)是晚上十點(diǎn)過(guò)五分了,可是吃的東西還沒(méi)裝呢!
Harris said, 'We have to start the holiday in twelve hours. Perhaps George and I had better do the rest of the packing.'
哈里斯說(shuō):“咱們還有十二個(gè)小時(shí)就要出發(fā)了,其余的東西還是讓我和喬治來(lái)收拾吧。”
I agreed, and I sat down.
我沒(méi)有意見(jiàn),坐在一旁看他們干。
They began quite happily. I said nothing. I only waited. I looked at all the plates and cups, and bottles, and tomatoes, and cakes, etc. I felt that it was soon going to get exciting.
他們一開(kāi)始還挺高興。我一言不發(fā),走著瞧吧。看著一大堆盤子、杯子、瓶子、西紅柿、和蛋糕什么的,我覺(jué)得不一會(huì)兒就會(huì)有好戲看了。
It did. They started by breaking a cup. That was just to show you what they could do and to get you interested. Then Harris packed a pan on top of a tomato and. well, they had to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon.
果不其然。開(kāi)始是杯子打了,這無(wú)非想顯示他們很能干,好引起你的興趣。接著哈里斯把鍋壓在西紅柿上,瞧,只得用茶匙把它們一點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)舀出來(lái)。
And then it was George's turn, and he stepped on the butter. I did not say anything, but I got up and went over to the table and watched them. This annoyed them more than anything, and it made them worried and excited. They stepped on things, and they put things behind them. And then they could not find them when they wanted them. They packed soft things at the bottom of the basket, and then put heavy things on top of them.
輪到喬治了。他一腳踩在黃油上面。我一聲沒(méi)吭,起身走到桌子邊上看看究竟怎么回事。這更讓他們惱怒、煩惱和激動(dòng),一會(huì)兒又踩著什么了;一會(huì)兒把東西擱到身后,轉(zhuǎn)身又忘了,找不著;一會(huì)兒把軟的東西放到籃子底,把重的壓在上面了。
Then it got worse. After George got the butter off his shoe, they tried to put it in the teapot. At first they could not get it in. Then, when they did get it in, they decided that the teapot was the wrong place. But they could not get the butter out again. However, in the end they did manage to get it out and they put it down on a chair. Harris sat on it, and when he stood up, the butter stuck to his trousers. Then they looked for the butter all over the room. In the end, George got behind Harris, and he saw it.
形勢(shì)越發(fā)糟糕了。喬治把黃油從鞋上拿下來(lái),他們使勁把它塞進(jìn)茶壺里。開(kāi)始還裝不進(jìn)去,后來(lái)裝進(jìn)去了,他們才恍然大悟這兒可不是放黃油的好地方。這次又取不出來(lái)了。終于取出來(lái)了,他們把黃油放在椅子上,哈里斯一屁股坐上去,起身時(shí)全粘到褲子上了。他們四處亂找,后來(lái)喬治轉(zhuǎn)到哈里斯背后,才發(fā)現(xiàn)了黃油。
'There it is!' he cried.
“在這兒!”他叫道。
'Where?' Harris asked, and he turned round quickly.
“在哪兒呀?”哈里斯問(wèn),不住地轉(zhuǎn)著身子。
'Stand still!' George shouted.
“別動(dòng)!”喬治吼道。
When they got the butter off Harris, they packed it in the teapot again.
他們總算把黃油從身上取下來(lái),又裝進(jìn)茶壺里去了。
Montmorency was in all this, of course. He sat down on things just when George and Harris were going to pack them; he put his leg into the sugar;he ran away with the teaspoons. He pretended that the oranges were rats, and he got into the food basket and killed three of them.
這樣的大混亂里,當(dāng)然少不了“元帥”。喬治和哈里斯裝東西的時(shí)候,它就坐在上面,一會(huì)兒把腳伸進(jìn)糖罐里,一會(huì)兒叼著勺子到處跑,一會(huì)兒假裝桔子是老鼠,躥進(jìn)裝食品的籃子里——一下消滅了三個(gè)。
The packing was completed at ten to one in the morning, and we all went to bed. George said, 'What time shall I wake you two?'
凌晨一點(diǎn)差十分,東西包裝完畢,大家準(zhǔn)備去睡覺(jué)。喬治問(wèn):“明天什么時(shí)候叫醒你們?”
Harris said, 'Seven.'
哈里斯說(shuō):“七點(diǎn)。”
I said 'Six.'
我說(shuō):“六點(diǎn)。”
In the end we said, 'Wake us at half past six, George.'
最后我們說(shuō):“喬治,六點(diǎn)半叫我們。”