The Wagon to Longpuddle

去长池村的马车

It is a Saturday afternoon in autumn, in the High Street of a well-known town. A large carrier's wagon stands outside the Town Hall, and the horses wait quietly, eating from their nose-bags. On the side of the wagon, in large yellow letters, are the words, 'BURTHEN, CARRIER TO LONGPUDDLE.'

这是秋天一个周六的下午，一个众所周知的小镇上，一辆运客的马车正停在大路上，就在镇公所门口，拉车的几匹马安静地等在那里，就着马粮袋吃东西。马车的一侧用黄色的大字写着“伯森，去往长池村的马车”。

It is now half-past three by the clock on the Town Hall, and the wagon will leave at four. Slowly, people begin to arrive and take their seats. First, two women climb up, and then a third, who is the postmistress at Longpuddle. At five minutes to four, more people arrive. There is Mr Profitt, the schoolteacher, and Christopher Twink, the builder, with his old father. Then come a farmer and his wife, and last of all, Mr Flaxton, the church clerk.

这会儿，镇公所的大钟指到了3点半，马车准备4点出发。渐渐地，开始有人来搭车，各自找了座位安顿下来。最先上来的是两位妇人，接着上来的是长池村邮局的女局长。差5分4点的时候，又来了几位乘客，有学校教师普罗菲特先生，建筑工克里斯托弗·特温克和他的老爹。接着又来了一个农夫和他的老婆，最后来的是教堂执事弗拉克斯顿先生。

By now Burthen, the carrier, is getting the horses ready, and soon he climbs up to the driving seat.

这个时候，车夫伯森正在给马做准备，不一会儿他自己也登上了车夫的座位。

'Is everybody here?' he asks the passengers.

“都到齐了吗?”他问乘客们。

The people who are not there do not reply, of course, and a minute or two later the wagon begins to move along the High Street. When it comes to the bridge over the river at the bottom end of the town, the postmistress suddenly calls out to the carrier.

当然，没到的人也没办法回答他，于是一两分钟之后马车开始沿着大路出发了。马车走到镇子尽头的小河，正在过桥的时候，邮局女局长突然叫住了车夫。

'Mr Burthen,' she says. 'There's a man calling you, over there by the corner. I think he wants you to stop for him.'

“伯森先生，”她说，“那边的拐角上有个人在叫你。我想他可能想让你等他一下。”

Burthen stops the wagon, and waits while the man comes towards them. 'Now who's that, then?' he says. 'That's not a Longpuddle man.'

伯森停下马车，等那人赶过来。“那人是谁?”他说，“他不是长池村的人。”

'I've never seen him before,' says the schoolteacher.

“我以前从没见过他。”学校教师说。

Then the stranger arrives. 'Can you take another passenger for Longpuddle?' he asks.

陌生人赶到马车跟前，问：“你们能再搭一个人去长池村吗?”

'We can take one more,' says the carrier. 'Where are you from, sir? You're not from round here, are you?'

“我们可以再搭一个人，”车夫说，“你是从哪儿来的，先生?你不是这附近的人，对吧?”

'I am,' says the stranger. 'I was born at Longpuddle, and my father and grandfather before me.'

“我是这儿的人，”陌生人说，“我就生在长池村，我的父亲和祖父也都生在那里。”

The postmistress is watching him with interest. 'Oh!' she says suddenly. 'I know who you are! You're John Lackland's son — he who went to America thirty years ago with his wife and family.'

邮局女局长饶有兴趣地打量着他。“哦!”她突然说，“我知道你是谁了!你是约翰·拉克兰的儿子，他30年前带着老婆孩子去了美国。”

'That's right,' says the stranger, smiling. 'John Lackland was my father. And now I've come home to have a look at the old village, and find some old friends. Are the same families still living there?'

“没错，”陌生人笑着说，“约翰·拉克兰是我父亲。现在我回家来看看老村子，拜访几位老朋友。过去的那些人家还住在那儿吧?”

'Many of them are,' says the church clerk. 'Which names do you remember?'

“许多人家都还在，”教堂执事说，“你都记得哪些名字?”

'There was a boy called Tony Kytes, I remember.'

“我记得过去有个男孩叫托尼·凯茨。”

'Oh yes,' says the clerk. 'Tony Kytes is a married man now. Lives over at Mellstock, I think.'

“哦，是的，”教堂执事说，“托尼·凯茨现在已经结了婚。我想他搬到麦尔斯托克去了。”

'And he nearly got married to three women,' laughs the carrier. 'There's a good story about Tony and all his young women.'

“而且他差点儿娶了三个老婆，”车夫哈哈大笑起来，“托尼和他那几个姑娘可有一段儿不错的故事。”

'Tell me about it,' says John Lackland's son.

“跟我说说。”约翰·拉克兰的儿子说。

And this is the carrier's story.

于是，车夫讲起了这个故事。