Does that matter? Can’t you just wear a flower instead?
这有什么要紧?难道不可以就戴朵花吗?
No, I couldn’t do that. Everybody else will be wearing jewellery. I can’t be the only woman who isn’t wearing jewellery.
不,我不能戴花。别的人都戴首饰,唯有我一个人不戴首饰,这怎么能行呢?
Why don’t you borrow some? Do you have a friend who might lend you some?
那为什么不去借点首饰呢?你有没有朋友可以借给你首饰呢?
Let me think. Maybe I could ask Jeanne. She married a man with a lot of money. I’ll go and see her on Friday after I get the new dress.
我想想看。或许我可以去问问让娜。她嫁给了一位很有钱的男人。等我买好新衣服,星期五就去看她。
So I called on you and asked if I could borrow some jewellery. Do you remember now?
于是我去看望你,问你可不可以借给我一些首饰。现在想起来了吧。
Yes, I remember.
我想起来了。
You were very kind. You brought out all your jewellery and you told me I could take anything I wanted. There were so many beautiful things that it was hard to choose. And then I saw a lovely diamond necklace with a big blue stone in the centre.
你太好了。当时你把所有的珠宝首饰全都拿了出来,而且说,我要什么就可以拿什么。漂亮的首饰太多了,实在难挑选。后来我终于看中了一条美丽的钻石项链,中间还嵌着一颗大蓝宝石。
I remember. You tried it on and it looked wonderful on you. I’m sure you looked beautiful that evening. You were always a pretty girl.
我想起来了。你还把项链戴上试了试,戴在你身上真是太好看了。我相信那天晚上你一定很美。你总是那么漂亮。
Perhaps in those days I was. Pierre and I did have a very good time at the ball. But that was the last moment of happiness in our lives. That night everything changed.
那时候,我也许是个漂亮姑娘。我和比尔在舞会上的确玩得很痛快。不过,那是我们一生中最后的幸福时刻。那天晚上一切都变了。
Why? What happened?
为什么?发生什么事了?
On our way home that night I looked down and saw that the necklace was not around my neck any more. I told Pierre. We rushed back to the palace and looked for it.We asked everyone there if they had found a necklace, but without luck. We couldn’t find it;
那天晚上在回家的路上,我低头一看,发现项链不再挂在我的脖子上了。我告诉了比尔。我们马上赶回王宫去寻找。我们询问了那儿的每一个人,问他们是不是拾到了一条项链。可是,真倒霉。我们找不到那条项链;它丢失了。
But I don’t understand. You returned the necklace to me the next afternoon. I remember very well.
不过,我还不懂。我记得很清楚,你们第二天下午就把项链还给我了。
Yes, Jeanne, I brought a necklace to you. It was exactly like your necklace, but it was a different one. It cost us thirty-six thousand francs.
是的,让娜。我还给你的那一条项链,完全像你原来的那条一样,但那是另外的一条。它花了我们36000法郎。
Thirty-six thousand francs!
36000法郎!
Pierre and I borrowed the money and bought the necklace. During the next ten years we both worked day and night to pay back the money we had borrowed. That’s why I now look so old. Well, after all these years we’ve at last paid back all the money.
我和比尔借了一笔钱,买下了那条项链。在后来的10年时间里,我们两人为了偿还这笔借款不分昼夜地干活。这就是为什么我现在看起来这样老的原因。好了,过了这些年之后,我们终于还清了全部借款。
My dear friend, Mathilde. Let me tell you something. That necklace you borrowed from me wasn’t a real diamond necklace. It wasn’t valuable at all. The stones in the necklace were made of glass. It was worth five hundred francs at the most.
玛蒂尔德,我亲爱的朋友。让我告诉你吧。你向我借的那条项链并不是一条真的钻石项链。那条项链根本不值钱。项链中的宝石是玻璃做的。它最多值500法郎。
Good afternoon, Jeanne.
下午好,让娜。
(Looking at the other woman) I’m sorry, but I don’t think I know you.
(瞅着玛蒂尔德)很抱歉,我想我不认识你呀。
In fact you do. Many years ago we knew each other very well. I’m Mathilde Loisel.
其实,你是认识我的。很多年以前,我们彼此很熟悉。我是玛蒂尔德·卢瓦泽尔。
Mathilde! Oh yes. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you. Where have you been all these years, Mathilde? I hope you weren’t ill. You don’t look very well.
玛蒂尔德!真的是你呀!对不起,我没有认出你来。这些年你上哪儿去了,玛蒂尔德?我想你没有病吧,你的脸色看来不太好。
No, Jeanne, I wasn’t ill. I know I look older than my age now. That’s because of hard work-ten years of hard work.
没病,让娜,我没生过病。我知道我看上去比我的年纪要大些,那是因为劳累的缘故--10年的劳累呀!
I’m sorry, Mathilde. Have times been hard for you?
玛蒂尔德,我真替你难过。这些年来境况不太好吧?
Yes, very hard. Years of hard work, very little food, only a small cold room to live in and never a moment’s rest.
是的,境况很不好。多年劳累,食不果腹,斗室寒舍,从无休息。
Mathilde! I didn’t know. I’m sorry. But what happened?
玛蒂尔德!我还不知道这些情况哩。我真难过。但是,这是怎么回事呢?
I don’t know if I should tell you. But I will. It was all because of your necklace, your beautiful diamond necklace.
我不知道该不该告诉你。不过,我想还是告诉你吧。那全都是因为你的那条项链,你那条漂亮的钻石项链呀!
My necklace?
我的项链呀?
Do you remember one afternoon ten years ago when I came to your house and borrowed a necklace of yours? Pierre, my husband, was working in a government office. We’d been invited to a ball at the palace so I needed to borrow some jewellery.
10年前的一个下午,我到你家借过一条项链,你还记得吗?我的丈夫比尔当时在政府的一个部门工作。我们被邀请参加一个宫庭舞会,所以我需要借一点珠宝首饰。
Mathilde! I’ve got some wonderful news. We’ve been invited to the ball at the palace.
玛蒂尔德!我有一个极好的消息。我们被邀请去参加宫庭舞会。
Really? I can’t believe it.
真的吗?我不相信。
But it’s true. I was the only person in my office who was invited. I’ve written to accept the invitation.
可这是真的。我们办公室只有我受到邀请。我已经写信表示接受邀请了。
Oh, Pierre, how wonderful! But I don’t think we can go. I haven’t got an evening dress for the ball! And a new dress costs over four hundred francs.
啊,比尔,太棒了!不过,我想我们去不成。我没有参加舞会的晚礼服啊!而一件新的晚礼服得花400多法郎。
Four hundred! That’s a lot of money. But, just this once. After all, this ball is very important.
400法郎!这倒是很大一笔钱。不过,就只这么一次。要知道,这次舞会很重要啊。
But there’s another thing, Pierre. I have no jewellery to wear.
不过,比尔,还有一件事。我还没有首饰戴哩。
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