《曾达的囚徒》第3期:头发的颜色(1)（在线收听）

Chapter 2 The colour of men's hair

第2章 头发的颜色

On the way to Ruritania I decided to spend a night in Paris with a friend．The next morning he came with me to the station，and as we waited for the train，we watched the crowds．

去卢里塔尼亚的途中我决定在巴黎的一个朋友处过一夜。第二天早晨他跟我一起来到火车站，等车时我们看着站台上的人群，

We noticed a tall，dark，very fashionable lady，and my friend told me who she was．

我们看到一位个子高、肤色棕黑、非常时髦的女士。我的朋友告诉我她的身份。

'That's Madame Antoinette de Mauban．She's travelling on the same train as you，but don't fall in love with her．'

“那位是安东纳特·德·莫班女士，她和你坐同一列火车，但是你可别爱上她。”

'Why not？'I asked，amused．

“为什么不行？”我觉得很有意思。

'Ah，'said my friend，'all Paris knows that she's in love with Duke Michael of Strelsau．And he，as you know，is the half-brother of the new King of Ruritania．

“哎呀，”我的朋友说，“全巴黎都知道她爱着斯特莱索的迈克尔公爵，他是卢里塔尼亚新国王同父异母的兄弟。

Although he's only the second son and will never be king himself，he's still an important man and very popular，I hear，with many Ruritanians．

虽然他只不过是次子，他也决不能当国王，他仍然是个重要人物，而且我听说他也受到许多人的爱戴。

The lovely Madame Antoinette won't look twice at you，Rudolf．'

鲁道夫，那位可爱的安冬纳特女士不会朝你看第二眼的。”

I laughed，but he had woken my interest in the lady．I did not speak to her during the journey，and when we arrived in Ruritania，I left the train at Zenda，a small town outside the capital．

我笑了，但他的话引起了我对那位女士的兴趣。旅途中我没跟她说话。我们到达卢里塔尼亚以后，我在靠近首都的小城曾达下了车，

But I noticed that Madame de Mauban went on to Strelsau，the capital．

但我注意到莫班女士去了首都斯特莱索。

I was welcomed very kindly at my hotel．It belonged to a fat old lady and her pretty daughter．

在旅店我受到了很热情的接待。这家旅店是一位胖老太太和她可爱的女儿开的。

From them I learned that the coronation was to be on the day after next，and not in three weeks．

从她们那儿我听说加冕典礼是后天而不是三星期后举行。

The old lady was more interested in Duke Michael of Strelsau than in the new King．The Castle of Zenda and all the land around it belonged to the Duke，but the old lady said，

老太太对迈克尔公爵比对新国王更感兴趣。虽然曾达城堡和附近所有的土地都属于这位公爵，老太太却说，

'It's not enough．Duke Michael should be king．He spends all his time with us．Every Ruritanian knows him，but we never see the new King．'

“这些还不够，迈克尔公爵应该当国王。他总是和我们在一起，每个卢里塔尼亚人都认识他，而新国王我们却从来没见过。”

But the daughter cried，'Oh no，I hate Black Michael．I want a red Elphberg-and the King，our friend Johann says，is very red．

她女儿却说，“哦，不，我讨厌黑迈克尔！我希望一个红头发的艾尔弗伯格当国王。听我们的朋友约翰说，新国王的头发非常红。

Johann works for the Duke and he's seen the King．In fact，the King's staying just outside Zenda now，'she added．'He's resting at the Duke's house in the forest before going on to Strelsau on Wednesday for his coronation．

他见过国王。事实上，国王现在就在曾达。”她又说，“他星期五去斯特莱索加冕。在此之前，他呆在公爵的林中住地休养。

The Duke's already in Strelsau，getting everything ready．'

公爵已经去了斯特莱索，为国王准备好一切。”

'They're friends？'I asked．

“他们是朋友吗？”

'Friends who want the same place and the same wife，'the pretty girl replied．'The Duke wants to marry his cousin，Princess Flavia，but people say she's going to be King Rudolf's wife and the Queen．'

“朋友，只不过两人想得到同样的地方和同一个女人。”漂亮姑娘回答，“公爵想和他的表妹弗蕾维亚公主结婚，可是据说弗蕾维亚会成为国王鲁道夫的妻子和王后。”

Just then their friend，Johann，entered the room．

就在这时，她们的朋友约翰走进了房间。

'We have a visitor，Johann，'the girl's mother said，and Johann turned towards me．But when he saw me，he stepped back，with a look of wonder on his face．

“我们来了个客人，约翰。”姑娘的母亲说。约翰就转向我。当他看见我后，他后退了一步，脸上露出惊奇的表情。

'What's the matter，Johann？'the daughter asked．

“怎么啦？”姑娘问。

'Good evening，sir，'Johann said，still staring at me．He did not seem to like what he saw．

“晚上好，先生。”约翰说，仍然紧盯着我。他看上去不喜欢他所看见的东西。

The girl began to laugh．'It's the colour of your hair，sir，'she explained．'We don't often see that colour here． It's the Elphberg red-not Johann's favourite colour．'

姑娘笑了起来。“是因为你的头发，先生。”她解释道。“我们在这儿不常见到这种颜色的头发。这是艾尔弗伯格家族的红色。这可不是约翰最喜欢的颜色。”

The next day I decided to walk through the forest for a few miles and take the train to Strelsau from a little station along the road．I sent my luggage on by train and after lunch，I started out on foot．

第二天，我决定步行数英里穿过森林，然后从路边的一个小站上火车去斯特莱索。我把行李交火车托运了。午饭后我开始步行。

First，I wanted to see the Castle of Zenda and in half an hour I had climbed the hill to it．There were two buildings the old one，with a moat around it，and the new，modern building．

首先我想看看曾达的城堡。半小时后我爬到了城堡所在的山上。那儿有两幢建筑物，一旧一新，旧的被一道护城河所环绕，新的是一座现代的建筑。

Duke Michael could have friends to stay with him in the new castle，but he could go into the old castle when he wanted to be alone．The water in the moat was deep，and if he pulled up the drawbridge over the moat，no one could get to him．

迈克尔公爵可以和朋友一起呆在新城堡里，但假如他想要一个人呆着，他可以去旧城堡。壕沟里的水很深，如果他拉起跨越壕沟的吊桥，没人能靠近他。

I stayed there for some time and looked at the castle，and then I walked on through the forest for about an hour．It was beautiful and I sat down to enjoy it．Before I knew what had happened，I was asleep．

我在那儿呆了一会儿，看着城堡，然后我走了差不多一个小时穿过森林。森林很美，我坐下来欣赏。一会儿我就睡着了。