Mumu（1）

木木

In one of the outlying streets of Moscow, in a grey house with white columns and a balcony, warped all askew, there was once living a lady, a widow, surrounded by a numerous household of serfs. Her sons were in the government service at Petersburg; her daughters were married; she went out very little, and in solitude lived through the last years of her miserly and dreary old age. Her day, a joyless and gloomy day, had long been over; but the evening of her life was blacker than night.

在莫斯科一条偏僻的街上有一座灰色的房子：白色的柱子，歪歪扭扭的阳台。这里曾经住着一位太太，她是一个拥有很多家奴的老寡妇。太太的儿子们是远在彼得堡工作的公务人员，女儿们也皆已成家。她很少出门，就这样，她孤独、吝啬、乏味地过着自己的晚年生活。她早已不再年轻，之前的生活沉闷而无趣，而晚年的时光却比黑夜更加暗淡无光。

Of all her servants, the most remarkable personage was the porter, Gerasim, a man full twelve inches over the normal height, of heroic build, and deaf and dumb from his birth. The lady, his owner, had brought him up from the village where he lived alone in a little hut, apart from his brothers, and was reckoned about the most punctual of her peasants in the payment of the seignorial dues. Endowed with extraordinary strength, he did the work of four men; work flew apace under his hands, and it was a pleasant sight to see him when he was ploughing, while, with his huge palms pressing hard upon the plough, he seemed alone, unaided by his poor horse, to cleave the yeilding bosom of the earth, or when, about St. Peter's Day, he plied his scythe with a furious energy that might have mown a young birch copse up by the roots, or swiftly and untiringly wielded a flail over two yards long; while the hard oblong muscles of his shoulders rose and fell like a lever. His perpetual silence lent a solemn dignity to his unwearying labour. He was a splendid peasant, and, except for his affliction, any girl would have been glad to marry him.... But now they had taken Gerasim to Moscow, bought him boots, had him made a full—skirted coat for summer, a sheepskin for winter, put into his hand a broom and a spade, and appointed him porter.

在她的所有家奴中，最出众的是一个名叫格拉西姆的看门人。此人身材高大，比常人足足高出十二英寸，身体健壮，但却先天性聋哑。格拉西姆独自住在乡下的一间小茅草屋里，弟兄们都各过各的了。太太是从乡下把他带到莫斯科的，他可是太太所有的农奴中交地租最准时的一个。他天生力大无穷，干起活来一个人能顶四个人、十分麻利。看他干活是一件很有趣的事：犁地时，他用他那双大手往犁上用力一压，仿佛无需他那可怜的马的帮助就能独自犁开大地那柔软的胸怀；过圣彼得节时，他挥动着镰刀，那劲头好像可以把一颗小白桦树连根砍断；他可以轻快而不知疲倦地连续挥舞着两码长的连枷，而他那坚实的臂膀上的肌腱也如杠杆似的上下起伏。永久的沉默加之他不知疲倦的劳作更显得他是那么严肃而有尊严。他是一个非常棒的农奴，如果不是先天性残疾的话，哪一位农家女孩会不想嫁给他呢……但是如今，他们把格拉西姆带到了莫斯科，让他穿上了靴子，夏有长衫，冬有羊皮袄，给了他一把扫帚和铁锹，指派他去看门。

At first he intensely disliked his new mode of life. From his childhood he had been used to field labour, to village life. Shut off by his affliction from the society of men, he had grown up, dumb and mighty, as a tree grows on a fruitful soil. When he was transported to the town, he could not understand what was being done with him; he was miserable and stupefied, with the stupefaction of some strong young bull, taken straight from the meadow, where the rich grass stood up to his belly, taken and put in the truck of a railway train, and there, while smoke and sparks and gusts of steam puff out upon the sturdy beast, he is whirled onwards, whirled along with loud roar and whistle, whither—God knows! What Gerasim had to do in his new duties seemed a mere trifle to him after his hard toil as a peasant; in half—an—hour, all his work was done, and he would once more stand stock—still in the middle of the courtyard, staring open—mouthed at all the passers—by, as though trying to wrest from them the explanation of his perplexing position; or he would suddenly go off into some corner, and flinging a long way off the broom or the spade, throw himself on his face on the ground, and lie for hours together without stirring, like a caged beast. But man gets used to anything, and Gerasim got used at last to living in town. He had little work to do; his whole duty consisted in keeping the courtyard clean, bringing in a barrel of water twice a day, splitting and dragging in wood for the kitchen and the house, keeping out strangers, and watching at night. And it must be said he did his duty zealously. In his courtyard there was never a shaving lying about, never a speck of dust; if sometimes, in the muddy season, the wretched nag, put under his charge for fetching water, got stuck in the road, he would simply give it a shove with his shoulder, and set not only the cart but the horse itself moving. If he set to chopping wood, the axe fairly rang like glass, and chips and chunks flew in all directions. And as for strangers, after he had one night caught two thieves and knocked their heads together—knocked them so that there was not the slightest need to take them to the police—station afterwards—every one in the neighbourhood began to feel a great respect for him; even those who came in the day—time, by no means robbers, but simply unknown persons, at the sight of the terrible porter, waved and shouted to him as though he could hear their shouts. With all the rest of the servants, Gerasim was on terms, hardly friendly—they were afraid of him—but familiar; he regarded them as his fellows. They explained themselves to him by signs, and he understood them, and exactly carried out all orders, but knew his own rights too, and soon no one dared to take his seat at the table. Gerasim was altogether of a strict and serious temper, he liked order in everything; even the cocks did not dare to fight in his presence, or woe betide them! Directly, he caught sight of them, he would seize them by the legs, swing them ten times round in the air like a wheel, and throw them in different directions. There were geese, too, kept in the yard; but the goose, as is well known, is a dignified and reasonable bird; Gerasim felt a respect for them, looked after them, and fed them; he was himself not unlike a gander of the steppes. He was assigned a little garret over the kitchen; he arranged it himself to his own liking, made a bedstead in it of oak boards on four stumps of wood for legs—a truly Titanic bedstead; one might have put a ton or two on it—it would not have bent under the load; under the bed was a solid chest; in a corner stood a little table of the same strong kind, and near the table a three—legged stool, so solid and squat that Gerasim himself would sometimes pick it up and drop it again with a smile of delight. The garret was locked up by means of a padlock that looked like a kalatch or basket—shaped loaf, only black; the key of this padlock Gerasim always carried about him in his girdle. He did not like people to come to his garret.

起初，他对他的新生活非常厌恶。从小他就习惯了农田里的庄稼活，习惯了乡下的生活。由于先天性的残疾，他与世隔绝，长大后，他沉默不语却强壮无比，如同长在沃土上的一棵大树。被带到城里之后，他无法搞清楚自己的处境。他迷茫、忧郁，如同一头健壮却惊慌失措的小牛，从一片长满齐胸高的嫩草地上被硬生生地拉了出来，装上了车；它强壮的身躯被烟雾、火焰和蒸汽所遮掩，只能任凭喧嚣的火车把它晃晃悠悠地带向前方，至于被带到哪里——天知道！比起以前的农活，格拉西姆现在的工作对他来说只能算是零星的碎活。每天他用半个小时就能把所有的活干完，然后便又一动不动地立在院子中央，张着嘴，看着过往的行人，好像从他们身上可以得出他为什么会落入如此困境的答案。有时，他会突然冲进某个角落里，把扫帚和铲子用力往远处一扔，脸向下扑倒在地，就这样静静地趴上好几个小时，像笼子中的野兽一般。但是，人是可以适应任何东西的，格拉西姆最终也适应了他在城里的生活。指派给他的活并不多，无非就是保持院落的清洁，一天运两次水，一次一桶，劈柴并搬运到厨房和室内供大家使用，防止陌生人进入宅院以及守夜。但应该说，他干活时是充满热情的。在他的院子里，从来不会有一点木屑、一丝灰尘。雨天，如果可怜的老马由他驾着来打水，拉着水车陷在路上，他会很轻松地用肩膀一推，连车带马便脱离了困境。他劈柴的时候，斧头就像劈在玻璃上一样发出清脆的声音，同时木屑和木块也四处飞溅。至于防止陌生人进入宅院的活，一天晚上他逮住了两个小偷，然后便抓住他们俩的脑袋互相一撞，由于用劲过大，也省去了交送警察局的麻烦。从那以后，周围邻居没有一个不佩服他的，甚至当白天有人来访，看见这个厉害的看门人时都会冲他挥手大叫，仿佛他可以听见他们的叫声，尽管他们不是盗贼而仅仅是陌生人。对于其他仆人，格拉西姆仅仅表示友好而不深交——他们都害怕他——但他把他们当成自己人。他们利用手势跟他交流，他都能懂得他们的意思并能正确无误地按吩咐办事，同时他也知道自己的权利，很快，在吃饭时，就没有一个人胆敢霸占他的座位了。格拉西姆是个既严谨又严肃的人，他喜欢按规矩办事。甚至连公鸡都不敢在他面前打架，否则它们就会遭殃。一旦被他看到，他便会抓住鸡腿，如同转动轮子一样在空中转上十来圈，然后把它们抛向四面八方。院子里还养着鹅。众所周知，鹅是高贵、明理的家禽，格拉西姆对它们格外敬重，悉心照顾着、喂养着它们，而他自己就像一只来自大草原的公鹅。他被分配住在厨房之上的一间小阁楼里，并随其所愿地装饰他的小窝。他做了一张橡木床板，用四块木头当作床腿——这真是个大家伙，简直可以承受一到两吨的重量，而不会弯曲。床下放着一个坚实的箱子，墙角倚着一张同样坚实的小桌，桌子旁边有一个三只腿的凳子，它坚实却矮胖，格拉西姆常常笑眯眯地把它拿起来看看，然后又放下。阁楼用一把挂锁锁着，锁子形似圆弧形的面包或者篮子状的面包，只不过锁子是黑色的；格拉西姆总是把钥匙挂在腰带上，随身携带。他不喜欢别人去他的阁楼。

So passed a year, at the end of which a little incident befell Gerasim.

这样一年过去了，年末的时候，格拉西姆遇到了一件意外的事。

The old lady, in whose service he lived as porter, adhered in everything to the ancient ways, and kept a large number of servants. In her house were not only laundresses, sempstresses, carpenters, tailors and tailoresses, there was even a harness—maker—he was reckoned as a veterinary surgeon, too, —and a doctor for the servants; there was a household doctor for the mistress; there was, lastly, a shoemaker, by name Kapiton Klimov, a sad drunkard. Klimov regarded himself as an injured creature, whose merits were unappreciated, a cultivated man from Petersburg, who ought not to be living in Moscow without occupation—in the wilds, so to speak; and if he drank, as he himself expressed it emphatically, with a blow on his chest, it was sorrow drove him to it. So one day his mistress had a conversation about him with her head steward, Gavrila, a man whom, judging solely from his little yellow eyes and nose like a duck's beak, fate itself, it seemed, had marked out as a person in authority. The lady expressed her regret at the corruption of the morals of Kapiton, who had, only the evening before, been picked up somewhere in the street.

格拉西姆是个看门人，他所伺候的女主人喜欢按老规矩办事，她有很多仆人。在她房子里不仅有洗衣女工、缝衣妇、木匠、男女裁缝，甚至还有马具匠（同时也充当兽医）、为仆人看病的大夫，还有专门为女主人看病的大夫，最后还有一个名叫卡皮通? 克里莫夫的鞋匠，他是一个嗜酒如命的人。克里莫夫总觉得自己受到了伤害，才能得不到赏识。可以这么说，他觉得自己本是一个来自彼得堡的、有教养的人，却沦落到了莫斯科的一个荒蛮之处，还找不到一份像样的工作。如果他喝了酒，他便把原因归结于伤心过度，并捶胸顿足地反复强调。所以，一天他的女主人就和她的管家谈到了他。管家名叫加夫里拉，从他那小小的黄眼睛和如同鸭嘴的鼻子上就能看出他是个天生就很会发号施令的人。太太对卡皮通的自甘堕落觉得有些惋惜，就在前天夜里他还因醉倒在街的某处而被拖了回来。

'Now, Gavrila, ' she observed, all of a sudden, 'now, if we were to marry him, what do you think, perhaps he would be steadier? '

“对了，加夫里拉，” 太太突然说道， “如果我们帮他娶个老婆，也许他会有所收敛，你觉得呢？”

'Why not marry him, indeed, ' m? He could be married, 'm, ' answered Gavrila, 'and it would be a very good thing, to be sure, ' m. '

“对呀，为什么不帮他找个老婆呢，太太？ “他应该成个家，太太。” 加夫里拉答道， “这是一件好事情，确实是，太太。”

'Yes; only who is to marry him? '

“是呀，只是把谁嫁给他呢？”

'Ay, ' m. But that's at your pleasure, 'm. He may, any way, so to say, be wanted for something; he can't be turned adrift altogether. ' 'I fancy he likes Tatiana. '

“呃。但是这个得您说了算，太太。可以说他还是有可取之处的，总而言之，他应该还不会是被解雇的那种。” “我猜他是不是喜欢塔蒂亚娜。”

Gavrila was on the point of making some reply, but he shut his lips tightly.

加夫里拉想要说些什么，可是又把嘴紧紧地闭上了。

'Yes! let him marry Tatiana, 't he lady decided, taking a pinch of snuff complacently, ' Do you hear? '

“好！那就把塔蒂亚娜嫁给他吧。” 太太就这么决定了，高兴地吸了一撮鼻烟， “你听见了吗？”

'Yes, ' m, 'Gavrila articulated, and he withdrew.

“是的，太太，” 加夫里拉清楚地回答道，并恭敬地退了出来。

Returning to his own room (it was in a little lodge, and was almost filled up with metal—bound trunks), Gavrila first sent his wife away, and then sat down at the window and pondered. His mistress's unexpected arrangement had clearly put him in a difficulty. At last he got up and sent to call Kapiton. Kapiton made his appearance.... But before reporting their conversation to the reader, we consider it not out of place to relate in few words who was this Tatiana, whom it was to be Kapiton's lot to marry, and why the great lady's order had disturbed the steward.

加夫里拉回到自己的房间后（这是一间小屋，里面几乎挤满了包着一层金属的箱子），先把老婆支开了，然后坐在窗前陷入了沉思。很显然，女主人出乎意料的安排使他陷入了困境。最终，他还是站了起来，派人把卡皮通找来。卡皮通来了。但是在转述他们的谈话之前，我们觉得有必要向读者说明一下卡皮通有幸将要娶到的塔蒂亚娜是谁，而且为什么我们这位伟大太太的命令会使管家很为难。

Tatiana, one of the laundresses referred to above (as a trained and skilful laundress she was in charge of the fine linen only), was a woman of twenty—eight, thin, fair—haired, with moles on her left cheek. Moles on the left cheek are regarded as of evil omen in Russia—a token of unhappy life.... Tatiana could not boast of her good luck. From her earliest youth she had been badly treated—she had done the work of two, and had never known affection; she had been poorly clothed and had received the smallest wages. Relations she had practically none; an uncle she had once had, a butler, left behind in the country as useless, and other uncles of hers were peasants—that was all. At one time she had passed for a beauty, but her good looks were very soon over. In disposition, she was very meek, or, rather, scared; towards herself, she felt perfect indifference; of others, she stood in mortal dread; she thought of nothing but how to get her work done in good time, never talked to any one, and trembled at the very name of her mistress, though the latter scarcely knew her by sight. When Gerasim was brought from the country, she was ready to die with fear on seeing his huge figure, tried all she could to avoid meeting him, even dropped her eyelids when sometimes she chanced to run past him, hurrying from the house to the laundry. Gerasim at first paid no special attention to her, then he used to smile when she came his way, then he began even to stare admiringly at her, and at last he never took his eyes off her. She took his fancy, whether by the mild expression of her face or the timidity of her movements, who can tell? So one day she was stealing across the yard, with a starched dressing—jacket of her mistress's carefully poised on her outspread fingers... some one suddenly grasped her vigorously by the elbow; she turned round and fairly screamed; behind her stood Gerasim. With a foolish smile, making inarticulate caressing grunts, he held out to her a gingerbread cock with gold tinsel on his tail and wings. She was about to refuse it, but he thrust it forcibly into her hand, shook his head, walked away, and turning round, once more grunted something very affectionately to her. From that day forward he gave her no peace; wherever she went, he was on the spot at once, coming to meet her, smiling, grunting, waving his hands; all at once he would pull a ribbon out of the bosom of his smock and put it in her hand, or would sweep the dust out of her way. The poor girl simply did not know how to behave or what to do. Soon the whole household knew of the dumb porter's wiles; jeers, jokes, sly hints were showered upon Tatiana. At Gerasim, however, it was not every one who would dare to scoff; he did not like jokes; indeed, in his presence, she, too, was left in peace. Whether she liked it or not, the girl found herself to be under his protection. Like all deaf—mutes, he was very suspicious, and very readily perceived when they were laughing at him or at her. One day, at dinner, the wardrobe—keeper, Tatiana's superior, fell to nagging, as it is called, at her, and brought the poor thing to such a state that she did not know where to look, and was almost crying with vexation. Gerasim got up all of a sudden, stretched out his gigantic hand, laid it on the wardrobe—maid's head, and looked into her face with such grim ferocity that her head positively flopped upon the table. Every one was still. Gerasim took up his spoon again and went on with his cabbage—soup. 'Look at him, the dumb devil, the wood—demon! 't hey all muttered in under—tones, while the wardrobe—maid got up and went out into the maids' room. Another time, noticing that Kapiton—the same Kapiton who was the subject of the conversation reported above—was gossiping somewhat too attentively with Tatiana, Gerasim beckoned him to him, led him into the cartshed, and taking up a shaft that was standing in a corner by one end, lightly, but most significantly, menaced him with it. Since then no one addressed a word to Tatiana. And all this cost him nothing. It is true the wardrobe—maid, as soon as she reached the maids' room, promptly fell into a fainting—fit, and behaved altogether so skilfully that Gerasim's rough action reached his mistress's knowledge the same day. But the capricious old lady only laughed, and several times, to the great offence of the wardrobe—maid, forced her to repeat' how he bent your head down with his heavy hand, 'and next day she sent Gerasim a rouble. She looked on him with favour as a strong and faithful watchman. Gerasim stood in considerable awe of her, but, all the same, he had hopes of her favour, and was preparing to go to her with a petition for leave to marry Tatiana. He was only waiting for a new coat, promised him by the steward, to present a proper appearance before his mistress, when this same mistress suddenly took it into her head to marry Tatiana to Kapiton.

塔蒂亚娜是上面提到的洗衣女工之一（因为她技艺娴熟，所以专负责洗上好的亚麻质地的衣物），她二十八岁，身体瘦弱，一头金发，左脸颊上有几颗痣。在俄国，左脸长痣被认为是凶兆，象征着命不好。塔蒂亚娜可一点也不幸运。从小她就受人虐待：一个人得干两个人的活，没有人对她有一丝的同情，她的衣服破烂不堪，拿到的工资也少得可怜。她几乎没有亲戚，她以前有个叔叔，曾经做过管事，但后来因为不中用了，所以被遣回了乡下。她还有几个叔叔、舅舅，可是他们却都是农奴——除此之外，别无他人。她也曾是个美人，但美貌却如昙花一现，转瞬即逝。她性情温顺，或者说软弱更为贴切；她对自己漠不关心，对他人害怕至极；除了怎样按时把她的活干完，别的她什么都不想，她也从来不与任何人交谈，一听到女主人的名字，她便瑟瑟发抖，尽管她的女主人还未必认识她。当格拉西姆从乡下被带来时，第一眼看到他那魁梧的身躯，她就差点被吓晕了过去，之后她便想尽一切办法避免撞见格拉西姆。有时她急着从房间赶到洗衣房，偶尔从他身边经过时，她甚至会闭着眼睛跑过去。起初，格拉西姆并未注意到她。渐渐地，当塔蒂亚娜从他旁边经过时，他便开始展现笑意。后来他开始有些爱慕地盯着她看。最后，他再也不愿把目光从她身上移开。她使他着迷，这是由于她那温和的表情还是因为她那带有怯意的举止呢？——谁知道呢？一天，正当她小心翼翼地用张开的手掌托着太太刚浆洗过的晨衣，从院中悄悄走过时——突然，有人用力拉住了她的臂肘，她扭头看去，大声地尖叫起来，原来站在她身后的是格拉西姆。他傻笑着，一边咿咿呀呀地表示对她的好感，一边把一只尾巴和翅膀上饰有金边的公鸡姜饼递给了她。她不愿收下，但格拉西姆却把姜饼硬塞到她手里，摇着头就要走开，然后又转过头来，咿咿呀呀地说了些什么，以示对她的好感。从那以后，他便搅得她不能安宁，无论她到哪，他都会立马出现来见她，笑着，不清楚地咿咿呀呀，向她挥着手。他会突然地从他的衣服兜里掏出一条丝带，塞到她手里，或者用扫帚将她前方路上的灰尘扫去。可怜的女孩简直不知道该怎么办才好。很快，全院人都看出了哑巴看门人的意图，于是戏弄、嘲笑、调侃的话向塔蒂亚娜接踵而来。然而却没有人敢开格拉西姆的玩笑，因为他不喜欢开玩笑，事实上，当格拉西姆在塔蒂亚娜旁边时，也没人敢开她的玩笑。不论女孩愿不愿意，她发现自己已经在他的保护之下。他同其他聋哑人一样多疑，一旦有人嘲笑他或塔蒂亚娜时，他都会立即觉察到。有一次在吃午饭的时候，管理太太衣物的婆娘（塔蒂亚娜的上司）像大家所称的那样，对塔蒂亚娜唠叨个不停，使得这个小可怜不知道该看哪里，羞恼得几乎哭了出来。突然，格拉西姆站了起来，伸出他的大手，抓住了管衣婆的头，十分凶狠地看着她的脸，以致于吓得她把头都碰到了饭桌上。这时所有的人都惊呆了。随后，格拉西姆又拿起了他的汤勺，继续喝他的菜汤。 “看他，真是个哑巴恶魔，树怪！” 他们都低声细语道，而管衣婆却站了起来，回佣人的房间去了。又有一次，格拉西姆发现卡皮通——就是上文我们所提到的那个卡皮通——正在与塔蒂亚娜搭讪，且态度太过专注，于是他便打手势让卡皮通过去，把他带到了车棚。然后他拿了一根立在墙角的棍子威胁卡皮通，动作虽然不大，但却非常奏效。从那以后，再也没有人敢和塔蒂亚娜闲聊了。而这些事却未给格拉西姆造成丝毫影响。那次管衣婆一回到佣人的房间就晕倒了，她还十分巧妙地在同一天把格拉西姆对她动粗的事传到了女主人的耳朵里。不过他们的女主人是个做事随心所欲的人，她听说了这件事后，只是把它当作了笑料，并且让管衣婆极为难堪的是，太太曾几次迫使她一遍遍地讲述格拉西姆是如何用手按倒她的头的。次日，太太给了格拉西姆一卢布作为奖励。她赞赏这个看门人，觉得他身体强壮而又忠实可靠。格拉西姆对他的女主人特别敬畏，但是与此同时，他又希望得到太太的赏识，并且他正准备去求太太把塔蒂亚娜嫁给他，并带她离开这里。万事俱备，就差管家曾答应给他的一件新外套，因为他想在太太面前表现得更得体些，谁知这位女主人却突发奇想地要把塔蒂亚娜嫁给卡皮通。

The reader will now readily understand the perturbation of mind that overtook the steward Gavrila after his conversation with his mistress. 'My lady, ' he thought, as he sat at the window, 'favours Gerasim, to be sure' — (Gavrila was well aware of this, and that was why he himself looked on him with an indulgent eye) — 'still he is a speechless creature. I could not, indeed, put it before the mistress that Gerasim's courting Tatiana. But, after all, it's true enough; he's a queer sort of husband. But on the other hand, that devil, God forgive me, has only got to find out they're marrying Tatiana to Kapiton, he'll smash up everything in the house, ' pon my soul! There's no reasoning with him; why, he's such a devil, God forgive my sins, there's no getting over him nohow... 'pon my soul! '

读者现在应该能搞清楚，为什么女主人与管家加夫里拉的谈话会使管家很为难了吧。 “太太是很喜欢格拉西姆的，这是明摆着的。” 管家坐在窗户旁想着（加夫里拉对此了如指掌，因此他对待格拉西姆也较为宽松）， “但不管怎样，他毕竟不会说话。事实上，我总不能告诉太太他也喜欢塔蒂亚娜吧。况且，不可否认，他会是一个奇怪的丈夫。但是，另一方面，如果那个怪物——愿上帝宽恕——知道了他们要把塔蒂亚娜嫁给卡皮通，他会把房子全拆了的，我敢发誓，这是绝对的！跟他没办法说理，因为他是个怪物，愿上帝宽恕我的罪过，不论怎么解释他都不会罢休的，绝对不会！我敢发誓！”

Kapiton's entrance broke the thread of Gavrila's reflections. The dissipated shoemaker came in, his hands behind him, and lounging carelessly against a projecting angle of the wall, near the door, crossed his right foot in front of his left, and tossed his head, as much as to say, 'What do you want? '

卡皮通的到来打断了加夫里拉的思绪。鞋匠吊儿郎当地走了进来，双手背后，闲散地往门边一块突起的墙上一靠，然后把右脚架在左脚上，晃着脑袋，好像在说： “找我干什么？”

Gavrila looked at Kapiton, and drummed with his fingers on the window—frame. Kapiton merely screwed up his leaden eyes a little, but he did not look down, he even grinned slightly, and passed his hand over his whitish locks which were sticking up in all directions. 'Well, here I am. What is it? '

加夫里拉一边瞅着卡皮通，一边用手指敲着窗棂。卡皮通微微眯着他那暗灰色的眼睛，目光呆滞，但却没有向下看，他甚至还咧嘴冷笑了一下，接着用手捋了捋他又硬又乱的、像四面八方竖起的白发。 “好了，我来了。什么事？”

'You're a pretty fellow, ' said Gavrila, and paused. 'A pretty fellow you are, there's no denying! '

“你是个挺不错的人，” 加夫里拉说，接着停顿了一下又说道， “不可否认，你确实不错！”

Kapiton only twitched his little shoulders.

卡皮通只是晃了晃他那瘦小的肩膀。

'Are you any better, pray? ' he thought to himself.

“难道你比我强吗？” 他暗自想道。

'Just look at yourself, now, look at yourself, ' Gavrila went on reproachfully; 'now, what ever do you look like? '

“瞧瞧你自己，快瞧瞧，” 加夫里拉继续斥责道， “看看你是个什么样子？”

Kapiton serenely surveyed his shabby tattered coat, and his patched trousers, and with special attention stared at his burst boots, especially the one on the tip—toe of which his right foot so gracefully poised, and he fixed his eyes again on the steward.

卡皮通镇定地扫了一遍自己：破烂不堪的衣服，补了又补的裤子，还特别留意了一下那双开了口的靴子，尤其看了看右脚趾优雅地露在外面的那只。然后，他又把目光移到了管家身上。

'Well? '

“怎么了？”

'Well? ' repeated Gavrila. 'Well? And then you say well? You look like old Nick himself, God forgive my saying so, that's what you look like. '

“怎么了？” 加夫里拉重复道， “怎么了？还敢说 ‘怎么了’ ？你简直就像撒旦——愿上帝宽恕我这样说话——你和它几乎没有什么差别。”

Kapiton blinked rapidly.

卡皮通快速地眨了眨眼睛。

'Go on abusing me, go on, if you like, Gavrila Andreitch, ' he thought to himself again.

“继续诋毁我吧，随你好了，加夫里拉? 安德烈伊奇。” 他又暗自想到。

'Here you've been drunk again, ' Gavrila began, 'drunk again, haven't you? Eh? Come, answer me! ' 'Owing to the weakness of my health, I have exposed myself to spirituous beverages, certainly, ' replied Kapiton.

“你又喝醉了吧，” 加夫里拉问道， “是不是又喝醉了？ “啊？快点，回答我！” “因为身体不好，所以我就喝了些酒。” 卡皮通回答道。

'Owing to the weakness of your health!... They let you off too easy, that's what it is; and you've been apprenticed in Petersburg.... Much you learned in your apprenticeship! You simply eat your bread in idleness. '