“小妹妹，”赫蒂说，一丝微笑使她冷峻的脸色和缓了一些，“命运把你我联系在一起了。我目前也不顺心；不过我房间里有一块像巴儿狗那么大小的牛肉。我想尽法子找几个土豆，就差没有祷告。不如把你我两人的供应部门合并，做它一锅。可以在我的房间里做。假如能弄到一个洋葱加进去就好啦！喂，小妹妹，你会不会有几枚分市滑进去年冬天的海豹皮大衣的夹层里？我可以下楼到街角上老默塞比的摊子那儿去买一个。没有洋葱的嫩牛肉比没有糖果的招待会更差劲。”
“You may call me Cecilia，” said the artist. “No； I spent my last penny three days ago.”
“你叫我塞西莉亚好啦。”艺术家说。“不；三天前我就一分钱不剩了。”
“Then well have to cut the onion out instead of slicing it in.” said Hetty. “Id ask the janitressjanitress n.女性的守卫， 女性的门警 for one， but I dont want em hep just yet to the fact that Im pounding the asphaltasphalt n.沥青 for another job. But I wish we did have an onion.”
“那我们只好把应该加进去的洋葱剔除了。”赫蒂说。“我本来可以向女看门人要一个，但是我还不希望他们知道目前我到处奔波在找工作。但愿我们有个洋葱就好啦。”
In the shopgirls room the two began to prepare their supper.Cecilias part was to sit on the couch helplessly and beg to be allowed to do something， in the voice of a cooing ringdove. Hetty prepared the rib beef， putting it in cold salted water in the stewpan and setting it on the oneburner gasstove.
她们两人在女店员的房间里开始准备晚饭。塞西莉亚插不上手，只能坐在长沙发椅上，像小鸽子那样轻声轻气地央求让她干些什么。赫蒂整治好肋条牛肉，放在嫩锅里，加了凉水和盐，然后搁在只有一眼的煤气灶上。
“I wish we had an onion.” said Hetty， as she scraped the two potatoes.
“但愿我们有一个洋葱。”赫蒂一面刮土豆皮，一面说。
On the wall opposite the couch was pinned a flaming， gorgeousgorgeous adj.华丽的， 灿烂的 advertising picture of one of the new ferryboats of the P. U. F.F. Railroad that had been built to cut down the time between Los Angeles and New York City oneeighth of a minute.
长沙发椅对面的墙上钉着一幅色彩鲜艳的广告画，画的是铁路公司的一条新轮渡，有了它，洛杉矶和纽约市之间的行车时间可以缩短八分之一分钟。
Hetty， turning her head during her continuous monologuemonologue n.独白， 独角戏， saw tears running from her guests eyes as she gazed on the idealized presentment of the speeding， foamgirdled transport.
赫蒂一个人在自言自语，她偶一回头，只见她的客人正瞅着那幅被理想化了的轮渡乘风破浪图，眼泪刷刷直淌。
“Why， say， Cecilia， kid，” said Hetty， poising her knife， “is it as bad art as that？ I aint a critic； but I thought it kind of brightened up the room. Of course， a manicurepainter could tell it was a bum picture in a minute. Ill take it down if you say so. I wish to the holy Saint Potluck we had an onion.”
“喂，塞西莉亚，小妹妹，”赫蒂握着刀说，“那幅画难道有这么精？我不是评论家，不过我认为它多少给这个房间添了一点儿生气。当然啦，绣像画家一眼就能看出它的毛病。你看不顺眼，我可以马上摘掉。我真想求求灶神给我们找个洋葱。”
But the miniature miniaturepainter had tumbled down， sobbing， with her nose indenting the hardwoven drapery of the couch. Something was here deeper than the artistic temperamenttemperament n.气质， 性情， 易激动， 急躁 offended at crude lithographylithography n.平版印刷术。
但是瘦小的袖珍画画家伏在沙发椅上哭泣起来，她的鼻子顶着粗硬的沙发罩。这分明不是一幅粗劣的石印画触犯了艺术家气质的问题。
Hetty knew. She had accepted her role long ago. How scant the words with which we try to describe a single quality of a human being！ When we reach the abstract we are lost. The nearer to Nature that the babbling of our lips comes， the better do we understand. Figuratively （let us say）， some people are Bosoms， some are Hands， some are Heads， some are Muscles， some are Feet， some are Backs for burdens.
赫蒂明白。她早就承担了她的角色。我们试图描写一个人的某一品质时，我们的词汇有多么贫乏！等到我们描写抽象的事物时，我们简直无所适从。我们叙说的东西越接近自然，我们的理解就越深刻。我们不妨说得形象一些，有些人是“心胸”，有些人是“手”，有些人是“肌肉”，有些人是“脚”，有些人则是沉重负担的“背”。
Hetty was a Shoulder. Hers was a sharp， sinewysinewy adj.强壮有力的 shoulder； but all her life people had laid their heads upon it， metaphorically or actually， and had left there all or half their troubles. Looking at Life anatomically， which is as good a way as any， she was preordainedpreordain vt.预定， 预先注定命运 to be a Shoulder. There were few truer collarbones anywhere than hers.
赫蒂是“肩膀”。她的肩膀瘦削而结实；她活到这么大，人们总是把头靠在上面，不论是隐喻比方还是实际如此；他们把自己的烦恼全留在那里，或者留下一半儿。如果用解剖学的眼光来看生活（这种看法并不比任何别的看法差），她注定是要充当肩膀的。像她这么忠实可靠的锁骨到处都不多。
Hetty was only thirtythree， and she had not yet outlived the little pang that visited her whenever the head of youth and beauty leaned upon her for consolationconsolationn.（被）安慰， 起安慰作用的人或事物。 But one glance in her mirror always served as an instantaneous painkiller. So she gave one pale look into the crinkly old lookingglass on the wall above the gasstove， turned down the flame a little lower from the bubbling beef and potatoes， went over to the couch， and lifted Cecilias head to its confessionalconfessional adj.自白的， 忏悔的 n.（教堂中神甫听取忏悔的）忏悔室。
赫蒂只有三十三岁，每当年轻美丽的脑袋靠在她肩上寻求安慰时，她都不免感到一丝悲痛。不过她只要朝镜子瞧一眼，悲痛就能立即止住。因此，她朝煤气灶挨着的那面墙上起皱的镜子瞥了一眼，把已经煮滚的土豆牛肉锅底下的火苗捻低一些，走到长沙发椅前，捧起塞西莉亚的脑袋，搁在忏悔师的肩膀上。
“Go on and tell me， honey，” she said， “I know now that it aint art thats worrying you. You met him on a ferryboat， didnt you？ Go on， Cecilia， kid， and tell your—your Aunt Hetty about it.”
“只管告诉我吧，亲爱的。”她说，“现在我知道让你伤心的不是艺术。你是在轮渡上遇见他的，是吗？说吧，塞西莉亚，小妹妹，告诉你的——你的赫蒂姑姑。”
But youth and melancholy must first spend the surplussurplus n.剩余， 过剩， [会计］盈余 adj.过剩的， 剩余的vt.转让， 卖掉 of sighs and tears that waft and float the barque of romance to its harbor in the delectable islesislen.小岛， 岛vt.使成为岛屿 vi.住在岛屿上。 Presently， through the stringy tendons that formed the bars of the confessional， the penitent—or was it the glorified communicantcommunicant n.领圣餐者， 报道者， 通知者 adj.传达消息的 of the sacred flame—told her story without art or illuminationillumination n.照明， 阐明， 启发， 灯彩（通常用复数）。
但是青春和悲哀首先要舒发过剩的叹息和泪水，才能把浪漫史的扁舟漂送到欢愉海岛间的港湾。紧接着，忏悔者——是忏悔者还是值得赞美的圣火传播者？——贴着忏悔室栅栏似的筋位，诉说了她那既没有艺术，也没有火光的故事。
“It was only three days ago. I was coming back on the ferry from Jersey City. Old Mr. Schrum， an art dealer， told me of a rich man in Newark who wanted a miniature of his daughter painted. I went to see him and showed him some of my work. When I told him the price would be fifty dollars he laughed at me like a hyena. He said an enlarged crayoncrayon n.有色粉笔， 蜡笔， 粉笔画 twenty times the size would cost him only eight dollars.
“那只是三天前的事。我从泽西城搭轮渡回来。艺术品商人施伦姆老先生告诉我说，纽瓦克一个富翁找人替他的女儿画一幅袖珍画像。我去他那儿接洽，并把我的部分作品带给他看。当我对他说一幅画的润笔是五十元时，他像宠狗似的冲着我大笑。他说他买一幅比它大二十倍的蜡笔画也不过八块钱。
