《曾达的囚徒》第1期:拉森狄尔家族与艾尔弗伯格家族(1)（在线收听）

1 The Rassendylls-and the Elphbergs

1 拉森狄尔家族与艾尔弗伯格家族

'I wonder when you're going to do something useful， Rudolf，'my brother's wife said．She looked at me crossly over the breakfast table．

“我在想你究竟什么时候才会做一些有用的事儿，鲁道夫。”我的嫂嫂说。她在餐桌的那头生气地望着我。

'But why should I do anything，Rose？'I answered，calmly eating my egg．'I've got nearly enough money for the things I want，and my brother，Robert，is a lord-Lord Burlesdon．I'm very happy．'

“但我干嘛要做事呢，罗丝？”我一边回答她，一边从容地吃着鸡蛋。“我的钱够多的，差不多想要什么就能买什么，再说我哥哥罗伯特又是一位贵族——伯利斯顿勋爵，我挺幸福。”

'You're twenty-nine，and you've done nothing except…'

“可你都29岁了，你还什么都没干，除了……”

'Play about？It's true．We Rassendylls are a rich and famous family，and we don't need to do anything．'

“除了胡闹？你说对了，我们拉森狄尔家的人又有钱又有名，而且我们什么也不用做。”

This made Rose angry．'Rich and famous families usually behave worse than less important families，'she said．

我这么说让罗丝生气了。“又有钱又有名的人家通常比那些普通人家更不规矩！”

When I heard this，I touched my dark red hair．I knew what she meant．

听了她的话，我用手摸摸我的深红色头发。我懂她的意思。

'I'm so pleased that Robert's hair is black！'she cried．

“我真高兴罗伯特的头发是黑色的！”她说道。

Just then my brother，Robert，came in．When he looked at Rose，he could see that there was something wrong．

正在此时，我哥哥罗伯特走了进来，他一看罗丝，就看出有些不对头。

'What's the matter，my dear？'he said．

“怎么了，亲爱的？”他问道。

'Oh，she's angry because I never do anything useful，and because I've got red hair，'I said．

“她生气了，因为我从没做过什么有用的事儿，而且我还长着红头发。”我说。

'Well，I know he can't do much about his hair，or his nose…'Rose began．

“当然，我知道他对他的头发和鼻子无能为力……”罗丝说。

'No，the nose and the hair are in the family，'my brother agreed．'And Rudolf has both of them．'

“是的，这样的鼻子和这样的头发是祖传的，”我哥哥同意她的话，“而且鲁道夫两样都占了。”

In the room there were many family pictures，and one of them was of a very beautiful woman，Lady Amelia，who lived a hundred and fifty years ago．I stood up and turned to look at it．

房间里有很多家族成员的画像，其中一幅画着一位非常美丽的女人，阿米莉亚夫人，她生活在150年以前。我站了起来，转身去看她。

'If you took that picture away，Robert，'Rose cried，'we could forget all about it．'

“如果你把那画像拿走，罗伯特，”罗丝说，“我们就可以把这件事忘掉。”

'Oh，but I don't want to forget about it，'I replied．'I like being an Elphberg．'

“哦，可是我并不想忘掉它。”我回答。“我喜欢做艾尔弗伯格家族的一员。”

But perhaps I should stop for a moment and explain why Rose was angry about my nose and my hair and why I，a Rassendyll，said I was an Elphberg．After all，the Elphbergs are the royal family of Ruritania，and have been for hundreds of years．

也许我应该停下来一会儿，解释一下为什么罗丝对我的鼻子和头发那么生气，究竟又为什么，我，一个姓拉森狄尔的，会说我自己是艾尔弗伯格家族的一员。毕竟艾尔弗伯格家族是卢里塔尼亚的王族，而且，几百年来一直如此。