羊皮卷的故事（16）

"How shall I begin?"

“我该怎样开始呢？”

"In the morning you are to report to Silvio at the baggage wagons¹.

早上你先到管行李车的西尔维那儿去，

He will release, in your charge,

他会给你一件红色的袍子，

one of our fintest seamless robes.

算在你的帐上。

It is woven from the hair of a goat

这袍子是山羊毛织成的，

and will withstand even the heaviest rains

可以防雨。

and it is dyed red from the roots of the madder plant

它是用茜草根的浆液染红的，

so that the color will always hold fast.

经得起风吹日晒，永远不会褪色。

Near the hem² you will find sewn on the inside, a small star.

袍子里面绣着一颗小星星，

This is the mark of Tola whose

是托勒工厂的标志，

guild³ makes the finest robes in all the world.

他们做出的袍子，品质式样全是一流的。

Next to the star is my mark,

我们的标志绣在小星星的旁边，

a circle within a square.

是个四方的框框，里面有个圆圈。

Both these marks are known and respected throughout the land

几乎每个人都认得这两个标志，

and we have sold countless⁴ thousands of these robes.

我们不知道已经卖出多少件这种袍子了。

I have dealt with the Jews so long

我和犹太人打了多年交道，

that I only know their name for such a garment as this. It is called an abeyah.

他们管这种袍子叫‘阿布昂’。

"Take the robe and a donkey and depart at dawn for Bethlehem,

你拿到袍子以后，牵上驴子，天一亮就到伯利恒去。

the village which our caravan⁵ passed through before arriving here.

我们来这儿前，曾经路过那个村庄。

None of our sellers ever visit there.

到目前为止，我们还没有人去那儿推销过。

They report that it is a waste of their time

据说，那里的人太穷了，

because the people are so poor,

去那里卖东西是白费功夫。

yet many years ago I sold hundreds of robes among the shepherds there.

可是多年以前，我曾经亲自卖过几百件袍子给当地的牧羊人。

Remain in Bethlehem until you have sold the robe."

你就留在伯利恒，卖掉袍子再回来。

Hafid nodded, attempting in vain to conceal⁶ his excitement.

海菲点点头，掩饰不住心中的兴奋。

"At what price shall I sell the robe, master?"

“一件袍子要卖多少钱呢？”

"I will enter a charge of one silver denarius against your name on my ledger⁷.

“你回来跟我结帐的时候，

When you return, you will remit⁸ one silver denarius to me.

交给我一块银币就行了。

Keep all that you receive

赚下的多，

in excess of this as your commission,

你就自己留着吧。

so, in fact, you set the price of the robe yourself.

这样的话，你就可以自己定价了。

You may visit the market place

伯利恒的市场在南门口，

which is at the south entry of town

你可以先到那儿看看。

or you may wish to consider calling on each dwelling⁹ in the town itself,

或是打算挨家挨户拜访，都随便你，

of which I am certain there are over a thousand.

那儿大概有一千多户人家，

1 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

2 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

3 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

6 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

7 ledger   

n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿

参考例句：

• The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺，然后又埋头写起分类帐。
• She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的，家庭分类账记得清楚详细。

8 remit   

v.汇款，汇寄；豁免（债务），免除（处罚等）

参考例句：

• I hope you'll remit me the money in time.我希望你能及时把钱汇寄给我。
• Many immigrants regularly remit money to their families.许多移民定期给他们的家人汇款。

9 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。