《她一无是处》，1853 年
She was Good for Nothing, 1853
市长站在敞开的窗户前。
the mayor stood at the open window.
他看上去很精神，因为他衬衫的褶边（他还在上面别了一枚胸针）以及袖口的褶饰都非常精致。
he looked smart, for his shirt-frill, in which he had stuck a breast-pin, and his ruffles, were very fine.
他把下巴刮得格外光滑，尽管稍微刮破了一点，还在那个地方贴了一小片报纸。
he had shaved his chin unmonly smooth, although he had cut himself slightly, and had stuck a piece of newspaper over the place.
“听着，小家伙！” 他喊道。
“hark ‘ee, youngster!” cried he.
他说话的这个男孩正是一个穷苦洗衣妇的儿子，当时正从这所房子前经过。
the boy to whom he spoke was no other than the son of a poor washer-woman, who was just going past the house.
男孩停了下来，恭敬地摘下帽子。
he stopped, and respectfully took off his cap.
这顶帽子的帽檐在中间破了，所以他能很容易地把它卷起来放进兜里。
the peak of this cap was broken in the middle, so that he could easily roll it up and put it in his pocket.
他穿着虽破旧但干净且缝补得很好的衣服，站在市长面前，脚上穿着沉重的木鞋，看上去谦卑得就好像站在国王本人面前一样。
he stood before the mayor in his poor but clean and well-mended clothes, with heavy wooden shoes on his feet, looking as humble as if it had been the king himself.
“你是个有礼貌的好孩子。” 市长说。
“You are a good and civil boy,” said the mayor.
“我猜你妈妈正在河边忙着洗衣服，而你正要把兜里装着的东西给她送去。这对你妈妈可不好。你兜里装了多少（酒）啊？”
“I suppose your mother is busy washing the clothes down by the river, and you are going to carry that thing to her that you have in your pocket. It is very bad for your mother. how much have you got in it?”
“只有半品脱。” 男孩结结巴巴地用惊恐的声音回答道。
“only half a quartern,” stammered the boy in a frightened voice.
“而且她今天早上已经喝了同样多的量了？”
“And she has had just as much this morning already?”
“不，是昨天。” 男孩回答道。
“No, it was yesterday,” replied the boy.
“两个半品脱就是一品脱了。” 市长说。“她真是一无是处。这些人可真让人悲哀。告诉你妈妈她应该为自己感到羞愧。你可别变成个酒鬼，不过我看你也会的。可怜的孩子！好了，走吧。”
“two halves make a whole,” said the mayor. “She’s good for nothing. what a sad thing it is with these people. tell your mother she ought to be ashamed of herself. don’t you bee a drunkard, but I expect you will though. poor child! there, go now.”
男孩手里拿着帽子继续往前走，风把他金色的头发吹得竖了起来。
the boy went on his way with his cap in his hand, while the wind fluttered his golden hair till the locks stood up straight.
他转过街角，走进通往河边的小巷，他母亲正站在齐腰深的水里，在洗衣凳旁用一根沉重的木棒捶打着亚麻布。
he turned round the corner of the street into the little lane that led to the river, where his mother stood in the water by her washing bench, beating the linen with a heavy wooden bar.
磨坊的水闸已经拉起，水流湍急，床单被水流拖着走，差点把洗衣凳掀翻，所以洗衣妇不得不靠在凳子上稳住它。
the floodgates at the mill had been drawn up, and as the water rolled rapidly on, the sheets were dragged along by the stream, and nearly overturned the bench, so that the washer-woman was obliged to lean against it to keep it steady.
“我差点就被冲走了，” 她说，“你来了真是太好了，因为我需要点东西来提提神。水里面很冷，我已经在这儿站了六个小时了。你给我带什么来了吗？”
“I have been very nearly carried away,” she said; “it is a good thing that you are e, for I want something to strengthen me. It is cold in the water, and I have stood here six hours. have you brought anything for me?”
男孩从口袋里掏出瓶子，母亲把它放到嘴边，喝了一小口。
the boy drew the bottle from his pocket, and the mother put it to her lips, and drank a little.
“啊，这感觉真好，让我暖和多了，” 她说，“这就跟吃了一顿热饭一样，而且还没那么贵。喝点吧，我的孩子；你看起来脸色很苍白；你穿着单薄的衣服在发抖，秋天真的来了。哦，水好冷啊！我希望我不会生病。不过不会的，我可不能害怕生病。再给我一点，你也可以喝一小口，但只能一小口；你可不能养成喝酒的习惯，我可怜的、亲爱的孩子。”
“Ah, how much good that does, and how it warms me,” she said; “it is as good as a hot meal, and not so dear. drink a little, my boy; you look quite pale; you are shivering in your thin clothes, and autumn has really e. oh, how cold the water is! I hope I shall not be ill. but no, I must not be afraid of that. Give me a little more, and you may have a sip too, but only a sip; you must not get used to it, my poor, dear child.”
她边说边走上男孩站着的桥，然后上了岸。
She stepped up to the bridge on which the boy stood as she spoke, and came on shore.
水从她裹在身上的草垫以及长袍上滴下来。
the water dripped from the straw mat which she had bound round her body, and from her gown.
“我用我这双可怜的手辛苦干活，忍受着痛苦，” 她说，“但我心甘情愿这么做，为的是能把你诚实地、正当地养大，我亲爱的孩子。”
“I work hard and suffer pain with my poor hands,” said she, “but I do it willingly, that I may be able to bring you up honestly and truthfully, my dear boy.”
就在这时，一个比她年纪稍大些的女人朝她们走了过来。
At the same moment, a woman, rather older than herself, came towards them.
她看上去很可怜，一条腿瘸了，一只瞎了的眼睛上耷拉着一大绺假卷发。
She was a miserable-looking object, lame of one leg, and with a large false curl hanging down over one of her eyes, which was blind.
这绺卷发本是用来遮住那只瞎眼的，但却让缺陷更加明显了。
this curl was intended to conceal the blind eye, but it made the defect only more visible.
她是洗衣妇的朋友，邻居们都叫她 “卷毛瘸腿玛莎”。
She was a friend of the laundress, and was called, among the neighbors, “Lame martha, with the curl.”
“哦，你这可怜的人儿；你站在水里干活，多辛苦呀！” 她叫道。
“oh, you poor thing; how you do work, standing there in the water!” she exclaimed.
“你确实需要点什么来暖和暖和身子，可那些恶毒的人却因为你喝的那几口酒就叫嚷起来。”
“You really do need something to give you a little warmth, and yet spiteful people cry out about the few drops you take.”
然后，玛莎在短短几分钟内，就把市长对她儿子说的话原原本本地讲给了洗衣妇听，这些话她都偷听到了；她非常气愤，竟然有人能像市长那样，当着一个母亲的面，对她自己的孩子说她喝那几口酒的事；她更气愤的是，就在那天，市长要举办一场晚宴，宴会上会有葡萄酒，浓烈醇厚的葡萄酒，而且是整瓶整瓶地喝。
And then martha repeated to the laundress, in a very few minutes, all that the mayor had said to her boy, which she had overheard; and she felt very angry that any man could speak, as he had done, of a mother to her own child, about the few drops she had taken; and she was still more angry because, on that very day, the mayor was going to have a dinner-party, at which there would be wine, strong, rich wine, drunk by the bottle.
“很多人会喝得比他们应该喝的还多，但他们可不把那叫喝酒！他们都没事，而你才是真的一无是处！” 玛莎愤愤地喊道。
“many will take more than they ought, but they don’t call that drinking! they are all from the bottle.
“他就那样跟你说话，是吗，我的孩子？” 洗衣妇说，说话时嘴唇直打哆嗦。
“And so he spoke to you in that way, did he, my child?” said the washer-woman, and her lips trembled as she spoke.
“他说你有个一无是处的妈妈。哼，也许他说得对，但他不该对我的孩子说这种话。从那户人家出来后，我遭遇了多少事啊！”
“he says you have a mother who is good for nothing. well, perhaps he is right, but he should not have said it to my child. how much has happened to me from that house!”
“是啊，” 玛莎说，“我记得你在那儿当佣人，市长的父母还在世的时候你就住在那房子里；那都是多少年前的事了。从那以后吃了好多桶盐呢，人肯定会口渴的。” 玛莎笑了笑。
“Yes,” said martha; “I remember you were in service there, and lived in the house when the mayor’s parents were alive; how many years ago that is. bushels of salt have been eaten since then, and people may well be thirsty,” and martha smiled.
“市长今天的大型晚宴本该推迟的，但消息来得太晚了。男仆告诉我说，晚宴都已经做好了，这时来了一封信，说市长在哥本哈根的弟弟死了。”
“the mayor’s great dinner-party to-day ought to have been put off, but the news came too late. the footman told me the dinner was already cooked, when a letter came to say that the mayor’s younger brother in copenhagen is dead.”
“死了！” 洗衣妇叫道，脸色变得像死人一样苍白。
“dead!” cried the laundress, turning pale as death.
“是啊，千真万确。” 玛莎回答说，“可你干嘛这么放在心上呀？我猜你很多年前在那儿当佣人的时候就认识他了吧？”
“Yes, certainly,” replied martha; “but why do you take it so much to heart? I suppose you knew him years ago, when you were in service there?”
“他死了？” 她惊叫道，“哦，他是那么善良、好心的一个人，像他这样的人可不多见啊。” 她边说边流下了眼泪。
“Is he dead?” she exclaimed. “oh, he was such a kind, good-hearted man, there are not many like him,” and the tears rolled down her cheeks as she speaking.
接着她喊道：“哦，天哪；我感觉好难受啊：我觉得天旋地转的，我受不了了。瓶子空了吗？” 然后她靠在了木板上。
then she cried, “oh, dear me; I feel quite ill: everything is going round me, I cannot bear it. Is the bottle empty?” and she leaned against the plank.
“天哪，你真的病了。” 另一个女人说，“来，振作点；也许会好起来的。不，说真的，我看你是真病了；我最好还是扶你回家吧。”
“dear me, you are ill indeed,” said the other woman. “e, cheer up; perhaps it will pass off. No, indeed, I see you are really ill; the best thing for me to do is to lead you home.”
“可我那边的衣服还没洗完呢？”
“but my washing yonder?”
“我会照看的。来，挽着我的胳膊。”
“I will take care of that. e, give me your arm.
男孩可以留在这儿照看亚麻布，我会回来洗完这些衣服的；这只是小事一桩。
the boy can stay here and take care of the linen, and I’ll e back and finish the washing; it is but a trifle.”
洗衣妇的双腿在她身下直打颤，她说：“我在冰冷的水里站得太久了，从早上到现在一整天都没吃东西。仁慈的上天啊，帮帮我，让我能回到家吧；我烧得厉害。哦，我可怜的孩子。” 说着她便放声大哭起来。
the limbs of the laundress shook under her, and she said, “I have stood too long in the cold water, and I have had nothing to eat the whole day since the morning. o kind heaven, help me to get home; I am in a burning fever. oh, my poor child,” and she burst into tears.
而他，那个可怜的男孩，也哭了起来，他独自坐在河边，守着那些潮湿的亚麻布。
And he, poor boy, wept also, as he sat alone by the river, near to and watching the damp linen.
两个女人走得很慢。
the two women walked very slowly.
洗衣妇在小巷里跌跌撞撞地走着，转过街角，来到市长居住的那条街上；就在她走到市长家门前时，她瘫倒在了人行道上。
the laundress slipped and tottered through the lane, and round the corner, into the street where the mayor lived; and just as she reached the front of his house, she sank down upon the pavement.
许多人围了过来，瘸腿玛莎跑进房子里去求助。
many persons came round her, and Lame martha ran into the house for help.
市长和他的客人们来到了窗前。
the mayor and his guests came to the window.
“哦，是那个洗衣妇，” 他说，“她酒喝得有点多了。她真是一无是处。对她那漂亮的小儿子来说可真够惨的。我很喜欢那个男孩；但他母亲真是一无是处。”
“oh, it is the laundress,” said he; “she has been a little drop too much. She is good for nothing. It is a sad thing for her pretty little son. I like the boy very well; but the mother is good for nothing.”
过了一会儿，洗衣妇缓过神来，他们把她扶到她那简陋的住处，让她上了床。
After a while the laundress recovered herself, and they led her to her poor dwelling, and put her to bed.
好心的玛莎给她热了一杯加了黄油和糖的啤酒 —— 她觉得这是最好的药 —— 然后赶忙跑到河边，把衣服洗了又漂洗了一下，当然洗得很糟糕，但她已经尽力了。
Kind martha warmed a mug of beer for her, with butter and sugar — she considered this the best medicine — and then hastened to the river, washed and rinsed, badly enough, to be sure, but she did her best.
然后她把亚麻布拖上岸，尽管还是湿的，然后把它放进了一个篮子里。
then she drew the linen ashore, wet as it was, and laid it in a basket.
傍晚前，她和洗衣妇一起坐在那间简陋的小屋里。
before evening, she was sitting in the poor little room with the laundress.
市长家的厨师给了她一些烤土豆和一大块肥美的肉给生病的女人。
the mayor’s cook had given her some roasted potatoes and a beautiful piece of fat for the sick woman.
玛莎和男孩非常喜欢这些好吃的东西；但生病的女人只能说她觉得这香味很滋补。
martha and the boy enjoyed these good things very much; but the sick woman could only say that the smell was very nourishing, she thought.
不久后，男孩被安置在床上，和他母亲睡的是同一张床；但他睡在她的脚边，盖着一床用蓝白相间的碎布拼成的旧被子。
by-and-by the boy was put to bed, in the same bed as the one in which his mother lay; but he slept at her feet, covered with an old quilt made of blue and white patchwork.
这时洗衣妇感觉好了一些。
the laundress felt a little better by this time.
热啤酒让她有了些力气，美食的香味也让她觉得很惬意。
the warm beer had strengthened her, and the smell of the good food had been pleasant to her.
“多谢你，好心人。” 她对玛莎说。
“many thanks, you good soul,” she said to martha.
“现在男孩睡着了，我要把一切都告诉你。他很快就睡着了。他闭着眼睛躺在那儿，看起来多么温柔可爱呀！他不知道他母亲受过多少苦；愿上天保佑他永远也别知道。我在市长的父亲，也就是那位顾问家里当佣人，碰巧他最小的儿子，那个大学生回家了。我那时还是个年轻任性的女孩，但很诚实；我可以当着上天的面发誓。那个大学生快乐又开朗，勇敢又深情；他身上的每一滴血都是善良而高尚的；世上再也找不到比他更好的人了。他是这户人家的少爷，而我只是个女仆；但他真诚而高尚地爱着我，还把这事告诉了他母亲。她对他来说就像人间的天使；她是那么睿智又慈爱。”
“Now the boy is asleep, I will tell you all. he is soon asleep. how gentle and sweet he looks as he lies there with his eyes closed! he does not know how his mother has suffered; and heaven grant he never may know it. I was in service at the counsellor’s, the father of the mayor, and it happened that the youngest of his sons, the student, came home. I was a young wild girl then, but honest; that I can declare in the sight of heaven. the student was merry and gay, brave and affectionate; every drop of blood in him was good and honorable; a better man never lived on earth. he was the son of the house, and I was only a maid; but he loved me truly and honorably, and he told his mother of it. She was to him as an angel upon earth; she was so wise and loving.
他外出旅行去了，出发前，他把一枚金戒指戴在了我的手指上；他刚一离开家，我的女主人就派人来叫我。
he went to travel, and before he started he placed a gold ring on my finger; and as soon as he was out of the house, my mistress sent for me.
她温柔而诚挚地把我拉到她身边，说话的样子就好像天使在说话一样。
Gently and earnestly she drew me to her, and spake as if an angel were speaking.
她清清楚楚、实实在在地向我表明了我和他之间的差别。
She showed me clearly, in spirit and in truth, the difference there was between him and me.
“他现在是因为你漂亮的脸蛋而喜欢你，” 她说，“但美貌不会长久。你没有像他那样受过教育。你们在心智和地位上并不平等，而这其中就潜藏着不幸。”
‘he is pleased now,’ she said, ‘with your pretty face; but good looks do not long. You have not been educated like he has. You are not equals in mind and rank, and therein lies the misfortune.
“我尊重穷人，” 她接着说，“在上帝眼中，他们可能比许多富人占据更高的地位；但在尘世之中，我们必须谨防走上错误的道路，以免我们的计划落空，就像一辆行驶在危险道路上的马车会翻车一样。我知道一个不错的人，一个工匠，他想娶你。我指的是埃里克，那个做手套的。他是个鳏夫，没有孩子，而且境况不错。你愿意考虑一下吗？” 她所说的每一个字都像一把刀刺痛了我的心；但我知道她是对的，这个想法沉重地压在我心头。
‘I esteem the poor,’ she added. ‘In the sight of God, they may occupy a higher place than many of the rich; but here upon earth we must beware of entering upon a false track, lest we are overturned in our plans, like a carriage that travels by a dangerous road. I know a worthy man, an artisan, who wishes to marry you. I mean Eric, the glovemaker. he is a widower, without children, and in a good position. will you think it over?’ Every word she said pierced my heart like a knife; but I know she is right, and the thought pressed heavily upon me.
我吻了她的手，流下了苦涩的泪水，回到房间扑倒在床上时，我哭得更厉害了。
I kissed her hand, and wept bitter tears, and I wept still more when I went to my room, and threw myself on the bed.
我度过了一个可怕的夜晚；天知道我遭受了怎样的痛苦，又是怎样挣扎的。
I passed through a dreadful night; God knows what I suffered, and how I struggled.
接下来的那个星期天，我去了教堂祈祷，祈求能得到指引我人生道路的光亮。
the following Sunday I went to the house of God to pray for light to direct my path.
我走出教堂时，埃里克朝我走来，这似乎是上天的安排；于是我心里不再有任何疑虑。
It seemed like a providence that as I stepped out of church Eric came towards me; and then there remained not a doubt in my mind.
我们在地位和境遇方面彼此相配。
we were suited to each other in rank and circumstances.
甚至在那时，他就是个家境殷实的人。
he was, even then, a man of good means.
我走向他，握住他的手，说：“你对我的感情还是一如既往吗？”“是的，一直都是。” 他说。
I went up to him, and took his hand, and said, ‘do you still feel the same for me?’ ‘Yes; ever and always,’ said he.
“那么，你愿意娶一个敬重你、尊重你的姑娘为妻吗？尽管她无法给予你爱情，但那份感情或许以后会有。”“会有的。” 他说；于是我们携手，我回到女主人那里。
‘will you, then, marry a maiden who honors and esteems you, although she cannot offer you her love? but that may e.’ ‘Yes, it may e,’ said he; and we joined our hands together, and I went home to my mistress.
她儿子给我的那枚金戒指，我一直贴身戴着。
the gold ring which her son had given me I wore next to my heart.
白天我没法把它戴在手指上，只有晚上上床睡觉时才会戴上。
I could not place it on my finger during the daytime, but only in the evening, when I went to bed.
我亲吻那枚戒指，直到嘴唇几乎要出血，然后我把它交给女主人，并告诉她，下星期就要为我和那个手套匠张贴结婚预告了。
I kissed the ring till my lips almost bled, and then I gave it to my mistress, and told her that the banns were to be put up for me and the glovemaker the following week.
然后女主人张开双臂搂住我，亲吻了我。
then my mistress threw her arms round me, and kissed me.
她可没说我 “一无是处”；很可能那时的我比现在要好；但那时我还不知道这世上的种种不幸。
She did not say that I was ‘good for nothing;’ very likely I was better then than I is now; but the misfortunes of this world, were unknown to me then.
在米迦勒节，我们结了婚，头一年我们诸事顺遂。
At michaelmas we were married, and for the first year everything went well with us.
我们雇了一个熟练工人和一个学徒，而你是我们的女仆，玛莎。”
we had a journeyman and an apprentice, and you were our servant, martha.”
“啊，是啊，你是一位亲切、善良的女主人，” 玛莎说，“我永远也忘不了你和你丈夫对我有多好。”
“Ah, yes, and you were a dear, good mistress,” said martha, “I shall never forget how kind you and your husband were to me.”
“是啊，你和我们在一起的那些年很幸福，虽然一开始我们没有孩子。
“Yes, those were happy years when you were with us, although we had no children at first.
那个大学生我再也没见过。
the student I never met again.
不过我见过他一次，尽管他没看见我。
Yet I saw him once, although he did not see me.
他来参加他母亲的葬礼。
he came to his mother’s funeral.
我看见他了，脸色苍白得像死人一样，神情极为忧伤，站在他母亲的墓前；因为那是他的母亲。
I saw him, looking pale as death, and deeply troubled, standing at her grave; for she was his mother.
过了一阵子，他父亲去世的时候，他在国外，没回家来。
Sometime after, when his father died, he was in foreign lands, and did not e home.
我知道他一直没结婚，我想他成了一名律师。
I know that he never married, I believe he became a lawyer.
他已经把我忘了，就算我们碰面了，他也认不出我了，因为我已经容颜不再，也许这样反倒最好。”
he had forgotten me, and even had we met he would not have known me, for I have lost all my good looks, and perhaps that is all for the best.”
然后她谈起了那些艰难困苦的日子，那时厄运降临到了他们头上。
And then she spoke of the dark days of trial, when misfortune had fallen upon them.
“我们有五百美元，” 她说，“街上有一所房子要卖两百美元，所以我们觉得把它拆了在原地盖一所新房子挺划算的；于是就把它买下来了。
“we had five hundred dollars,” she said, “and there was a house in the street to be sold for two hundred, so we thought it would be worth our while to pull it down and build a new one in its place; so it was bought.
建筑工人和木匠估算了一下，盖那所新房子要花一千零二十美元。
the builder and carpenter made an estimate that the new house would cost ten hundred and twenty dollars to build.
埃里克有信用，所以他在主要城镇借了钱。
Eric had credit, so he borrowed the money in the chief town.
但是送钱来的船长遭遇了海难，钱全没了。
but the captain, who was bringing it to him, was shipwrecked, and the money lost.
就在这个时候，我那亲爱的、正在那儿睡觉的小男孩出生了，而我丈夫也得了一场严重的慢性病。
Just about this time, my dear sweet boy, who lies sleeping there, was born, and my husband was attacked with a severe lingering illness.
有四分之三年的时间，我都得给他穿衣脱衣。
For three quarters of a year I was obliged to dress and undress him.
我们的还款逾期了，又借了更多的钱，最后我们所有的东西都没了，都被变卖了，然后我丈夫也去世了。
we were backward in our payments, we borrowed more money, and all that we had was lost and sold, and then my husband died.
从那以后，为了孩子，我一直工作、辛苦劳作、努力打拼。
Since then I have worked, toiled, and striven for the sake of the child.
我既洗粗亚麻布也洗细亚麻布，可我还是没能让自己的生活好过些；这都是上帝的旨意。
I have scrubbed and washed both coarse and fine linen, but I have not been able to make myself better off; and it was God’s will.
到了合适的时候，他会把我接到他身边，但我知道他永远不会抛弃我的孩子。”
In his own time he will take me to himself, but I know he will never forsake my boy.”
然后她就睡着了。
then she fell asleep.
早上她感觉精神好多了，觉得自己身体也足够强壮，可以继续干活了。
In the morning she felt much refreshed, and strong enough, as she thought, to go on with her work.
但她刚一踏进冰冷的水里，突然一阵晕眩袭来；她的手在空中痉挛地抓着，向前迈了一步，就摔倒了。
but as soon as she stepped into the cold water, a sudden faintness seized her; she clutched at the air convulsively with her hand, took one step forward, and fell.
她的头靠在岸上，但脚还在水里；她那双只用一小缕稻草系着的木鞋被水流冲走了，玛莎来给她送咖啡的时候就是这么发现她的。
her head rested on dry land, but her feet were in the water; her wooden shoes, which were only tied on by a wisp of straw, were carried away by the stream, and thus she was found by martha when she came to bring her some coffee.
与此同时，市长派了一个信使到她家，说她必须马上到他那儿去，因为他有话要对她说。
In the meantime a messenger had been sent to her house by the mayor, to say that she must e to her immediately, as he had something to tell her.
但已经太晚了；已经派人去请外科医生来给她手臂放血了，但这个可怜的女人已经死了。
It was too late; a surgeon had been sent for to open a vein in her arm, but the poor woman was dead.
“她是喝酒喝死的。” 残忍的市长说。
“She has drunk herself to death,” said the cruel mayor.
在那封告知他弟弟死讯的信中提到，弟弟在遗嘱里留了一笔六百美元的遗产给那个曾做过他母亲女仆的手套匠的遗孀，可以酌情以大额或小额的方式支付给这位遗孀或她的孩子。
In the letter, containing the news of his brother’s death, it was stated that he had left in his will a legacy of six hundred dollars to the glovemaker’s widow, who had been his mother’s maid, to be paid with discretion, in large or small sums to the widow or her child.
“我记得我弟弟和她之间有点什么事，” 市长说，“她不在了倒是件好事，这样这孩子就能得到全部遗产了。我会把他交给正直的人抚养，让他将来能成为一个受人尊敬的劳动者。” 上帝的福佑降临在这些话语之上。
“there was something between my brother and her, I remember,” said the mayor; “it is a good thing that she is out of the way, for now the boy will have the whole. I will place him with honest people to bring him up, that he may bee a respectable working man.” And the blessing of God rested upon these words.
市长派人把男孩叫到跟前，承诺会照顾他，但又极其残忍地补充说他母亲死了是件好事，因为 “她一无是处”。
the mayor sent for the boy to e to him, and promised to take care of him, but most cruelly added that it was a good thing that his mother was dead, for “she was good for nothing.”
他们把她抬到了教堂墓地，就是埋葬穷人的那块墓地。
they carried her to the churchyard, the churchyard in which the poor were buried.
玛莎在坟上撒了沙子，还在上面种了一棵玫瑰树，男孩就站在她身旁。
martha strewed sand on the grave and planted a rose-tree upon it, and the boy stood by her side.
“哦，我可怜的母亲！” 他哭喊着，泪水顺着脸颊流淌下来。
“oh, my poor mother!” he cried, while the tears rolled down his cheeks.
“他们说的她一无是处，这是真的吗？”
“Is it true what they say, that she was good for nothing?”
“不，当然不是真的，” 老仆人抬起眼睛望着天空回答道，“她非常了不起；我很多年前就知道，从她生命的最后一晚过后，我对此就更加确定无疑了。我说她是个善良、高尚的女人，天上的上帝知道我所言属实，尽管世人现在可能还会说她一无是处。”
“No, indeed, it is not true,” replied the old servant, raising her eyes to heaven; “she was worth a great deal; I knew it years ago, and since the last night of her life I am more certain of it than ever. I say she was a good and worthy woman, and God, who is in heaven, knows I am speaking the truth, though the world may say, even now she was good for nothing.”
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