1. Jean Valjean

FOREWORD

It is the year 1796, and the people of France are hungry. Not the rich people, of course. They have food, they have warm clothes, they have beautiful houses. No, it is the poor people of France...

Jean Valjean is one of these poor people. He is a young man, big, strong, and a good worker – but he has no work, he cannot find work, and he is hungry. He lives with his sister in the village of Brie. Her husband is dead, and she has seven children. It is a cold hard winter, and there is no food in the house. No bread, nothing – and seven children!

Jean Valjean is a good man, he is not a thief. But how can a man just sit there, when his sister's children cry all night because they are hungry? What can a man do?

He leaves his house at night, and goes down the village street. He puts his hand through the window of the bakery – crash! – he takes a loaf of bread, and he runs. He runs fast, but other people run faster.

France is not kind to poor people. France sends Jean Valjean to prison for five years. After four years he escapes. They find him, and bring him back. They give him six more years. Once again, he escapes, and two days later, they find him. And they give him another eight years. Nineteen years in prison – for a loaf of bread!

In 1815, when he leaves prison, Jean Valjean is a different man. Prison changes people. Years of misery, years of back-breaking work, years of cruel prison guards. These things change a man. Once there was love in Jean Valjean's heart. Now, there is only hate.

One evening in October, in the year 1815, there was a knock on the door of the bishop of Digne's house.

Come in,' said the bishop. The bishop was a kind man; everyone in the town of Digne knew that. Poor people, hungry people, miserable people – they all came to the door of the bishop's house.

The bishop's sister looked at the man at the door that night, and she was afraid.

Look at him!' she whispered to the bishop. 'He is a big man, and a dangerous one. He carries a yellow card, so he was once a prisoner – a bad man.'

But the bishop did not listen. 'Come in, my friend,' he said to the man at the door. 'Come in. You must eat dinner with us, and sleep in a warm bed tonight.'

The man stared at the bishop. 'My name is Jean Valjean,' he said. 'I was a prisoner in Toulon for nineteen years. Here is my yellow card, see? People everywhere shut their doors in my face – but not you. Why not?'

Because, my friend, in the eyes of God you are my brother,' said the bishop, smiling. 'So, come in, and sit by our fire.' The bishop turned to his sister. 'Now, sister, our friend Jean Valjean needs a good dinner. Bring out the silver dinner plates. It's a special night tonight.'

Not the silver plates!' whispered the bishop's sister. Her eyes went quickly to Jean Valjean, then back to the bishop's face.

Yes, the silver plates,' said the bishop. 'And the silver candlesticks too. The church has these beautiful things, but they are for our visitors. And our visitor tonight must have only the best.'

And so Jean Valjean sat down with the bishop and his sister and ate from silver plates. He ate hungrily – it was his first good meal for weeks.

You're a good man,' he said to the bishop. 'Perhaps the only good man in France.'

But Valjean could not take his eyes away from the silver plates. After the meal, the bishop's sister put the silver plates away, and Valjean's eyes watched. He saw the place, and he remembered it.

Valjean could not take his eyes away from the silver plates.

In the night, in his warm bed in the bishop's house, he thought about the plates. They were big, heavy – so much silver in them! 'I can sell those plates,' he thought. 'For just one of them, I can eat well for months!'

Nineteen years in prison is a long time, and nineteen hard years change a man.

By morning Valjean was a long way from the bishop's house. But how do you carry big silver plates? How do you hide them? People in Digne began to whisper...

Did you see him? That big man, carrying six silver plates? Where did he get them from, eh?'

Those plates came from the church. A man like that doesn't have silver plates!'

No! And he carries a yellow card, did you see? So he was a prisoner once. He's a thief – he stole those plates!'

The police heard the whispers. They went after Jean Valjean, found him, and took him back to the bishop's house in the afternoon. But there, they had a surprise.

My dear friend!' the bishop said to Jean Valjean. 'I'm so pleased to see you. You forgot the candlesticks! I gave you the silver plates and the candlesticks, you remember? but you forgot to take the candlesticks when you left.'

But this man is a thief!' said one of the policemen.

No, no, of course not,' said the bishop, smiling. 'I gave the silver to Monsieur Valjean.'

You mean he can go? He is free?' said the policeman.

Of course,' the bishop said.

All this time Jean Valjean stared at the bishop, and said not one word. The policemen went away, and the Bishop of Digne went into his house and came out again with the two silver candlesticks. They were tall and heavy and beautiful. The bishop put the candlesticks into Jean Valjean's hands.

Jean Valjean, my brother,' he said. 'You must leave your bad life behind you. This is God's silver, and I am giving it to you. With it, you can begin a new, good life. I am buying your soul for God.'

Jean Valjean left the town of Digne, with his silver plates and his silver candlesticks. Suddenly, he was a rich man, but he did not understand why.

What's happening to me?' he thought. 'Everything is changing. How can I hate people when this bishop is so good to me? What shall I do? How shall I live?'

Prisoner Valjean did not understand anything. He sat down by the road, with his head in his hands, and cried. He cried for the first time in nineteen years.

How long did he sit there, crying? What did he do next, and where did he go? Nobody knows, but when the sun came up on a new day, he was a changed man.

bakery n. a shop where bread and cakes are sold 面包店；糕饼店

loaf n. bread that is shaped and baked in one piece （面包的）一条

escape v. to get away from a place 逃跑

misery n. great suffering 痛苦，苦难

back-breaking adj. physically difficult and making you very tired 累死人的，非常繁重的

bishop n. a priest with a high rank in some Christian churches 主教

miserable adj. extremely unhappy 悲惨的；痛苦的

whisper v. to say something very quietly 低语，耳语

stare v. to look for a long time without moving your eyes 注视，盯着看

everywhere adv. in or to every place 到处；各处

silver n. a valuable shiny, light grey metal 银

special adj. not ordinary or usual 特殊的

put away to put something in the place where it is usually kept 收起，放好

steal v. to take something that belongs to others 偷盗

go after to follow or chase someone or something 追赶

surprise n. an unexpected or unusual event 意想不到的事

go away to leave a place or person 离去

soul n. the part of a person that contains their character, thoughts, and feelings 灵魂

1. 冉阿让

引言

时为1796年，法国人民正在忍饥挨饿。当然，不包括那些富人。富人不缺食物，他们穿着暖和的衣服，住着漂亮的房子。法国的穷苦百姓却……

冉阿让是这些穷苦百姓中的一员。他年纪轻轻，块头大，身体壮，而且工作勤快——但是他没有工作，也找不到工作，只能饿着肚子。他和姐姐住在一个叫布里的村子里。姐姐死了丈夫，独自拉扯着七个孩子。这是一个严寒的冬天，家里没有吃的了。没有面包，什么都没有——却有七个孩子要养活！

冉阿让是个好人，他不是一个贼。但是，当姐姐的孩子们因为挨饿而整夜啼哭的时候，一个男子汉怎么能干坐在那儿呢？一个男子汉能做些什么呢？

他趁着夜色出了门，沿着村里的街道一直走。他打碎了面包店的橱窗——哗啦！然后伸手进去，拿起一条面包就跑。他跑得很快，但是有人跑得比他还快。

法国不是个善待穷人的国家。冉阿让被判了五年监禁。坐了四年牢之后，他越狱了。他们找到了他，把他抓了回来，又给他加了六年刑。他再次越狱，两天后，他们抓到了他，这一回又给他加了八年刑。他坐了十九年的牢——就为了一条面包！

1815年，冉阿让出狱的时候，已经不再是当初那个他了。监狱会改变一个人。年复一年的悲惨境遇，年复一年累垮脊背的苦力活儿，年复一年监狱看守的残酷虐待，这些都会改变一个人。从前，冉阿让的心里装的是爱。现在，他的心里只有恨。

1815年十月的一个晚上，迪涅主教的家门口响起了敲门声。

“请进。”主教说道。这位主教是个善良的人，住在迪涅镇上的每个人都知道。穷苦的人，挨饿的人，生活不幸的人——他们都会来敲主教家的门。

那天晚上，主教的妹妹看着门口的那个男人，心里感到害怕。

“瞧瞧他！”她低声对主教说道，“他是个危险的大个子。他身上带着一张黄卡，说明他曾经是个囚犯——一个恶棍。”

但是主教没有理会她的话。“进来吧，我的朋友。”他对门口的男人说，“进来吧。您一定要和我们一起吃顿晚饭，然后今晚在暖和的床铺上睡一宿。”

那个男人有些惊讶地看着主教。“我叫冉阿让。”他说，“我在土伦监狱坐了十九年牢。这是我的黄卡，看见没？不管我走到哪儿，他们都把我拒之门外，你却没这么做。为什么呢？”

“因为，我的朋友，在上帝的眼里，您就是我的兄弟。”主教微笑着说道，“所以，进来吧，坐在炉火旁边。”主教转头对他的妹妹说：“你瞧，妹妹，我们的朋友冉阿让需要好好地吃一顿晚餐。把银餐盘拿出来吧。这是个特别的夜晚。”

“别拿银餐盘！”主教的妹妹低声说道。她瞟了眼冉阿让，又转过头看着主教。

“就拿银餐盘。”主教说道，“再把银烛台也拿出来。教会拥有这些漂亮的东西，但它们是为我们的客人准备的。我们今晚就要拿最好的来招待客人。”

于是，冉阿让与主教和主教的妹妹一起坐到了餐桌旁，用银餐盘吃晚餐。他吃得狼吞虎咽——这是他几个星期以来吃到的第一顿像样的饭。

“你是一个好人。”他对主教说，“可能是法国唯一的好人。”

但冉阿让无法把目光从银餐盘上移开。吃过饭之后，主教的妹妹把银餐盘收了起来，冉阿让全都看在眼里。他看见了收餐盘的地方，并记住了位置。

晚上，躺在主教家暖和的床铺上时，他一直想着那些餐盘。它们又大又沉——肯定用了很多白银！“我可以把那些盘子卖了。”他心想，“只要卖一个，就足够我几个月好吃好喝了！”

狱中的十九年是很长一段时间，十九年的苦难会改变一个人。

到了早上，冉阿让已经离开主教家很远了。但是，怎么才能带着硕大的银餐盘上路呢？怎么才能把它们藏起来呢？迪涅镇的居民开始窃窃私语……

“你看见他了吗？那个背着六个银餐盘的大块头男人？他是从什么地方弄来那些餐盘的呢？”

“那些餐盘是教会的。他那种人根本就不会有银餐盘！”

“不是吧！他身上有张黄卡，你看见没？这么说他从前坐过牢。他是个贼——他偷了那些餐盘！”

警察听到了这些小声的议论。他们去追捕冉阿让，并抓到了他，下午的时候，警察把他带回了主教家。不过，到了那里，发生了一件令他们意想不到的事情。

“我亲爱的朋友！”主教对冉阿让说，“见到您真是太高兴了。您忘了拿那些烛台！我把银餐盘和烛台都送给您了，您记得吗？可您走的时候忘记带走烛台了。”

“这个人可是个贼啊！”一个警察说道。

“不，不，当然不是。”主教微笑着说道，“银器是我送给冉阿让先生的。”

“您的意思是他可以走了？他自由了？”警察说道。

“当然。”主教说。

整个过程中，冉阿让一直盯着主教，一言不发。警察走了以后，迪涅主教走进屋里，又拿着那两个银烛台走了出来。它们又高又沉，非常漂亮。主教把烛台交到了冉阿让的手里。

“冉阿让，我的弟兄，”他说，“您一定要把行恶的生活抛在身后。这是上帝的银器，现在我把它送给您。有了它，您可以开始诚实的新生活。我是在为上帝买您的灵魂。”

冉阿让带着他的银餐盘和银烛台离开了迪涅镇。突然之间，他变成了一个富人，却不知道为什么会这样。

“我这是怎么了？”他心想，“一切都变了。主教对我这么好，我怎么还能去恨别人呢？我应该做些什么？我应该怎样生活呢？”

囚犯冉阿让什么都想不明白。他坐在路边，双手抱着头哭了起来。他十九年来第一次哭了起来。

他坐在那里哭了多长时间？他接下来做了什么，去了哪里？没有人知道，但是新的一天太阳升起的时候，他成了一个改过自新的人。