評論
打印
Slowly， Old Mrs White went back into the house．Her husband looked up and saw something strange in her face.
慢慢地，年邁的懷特太太又回到了屋里。她的丈夫打量著她，瞧見她臉上有一種奇怪的表情。
"What's the matter?" he asked.
“怎么啦？”他問。
"Nothing," his wife answered，and she sat down to finish her breakfast. She began to think about Tom Morris again and suddenly she said to her husband, "Your friend drank a lot of whisky last night! A monkey's paw! What a story!"
“沒事兒，”妻子說著就坐下來繼續吃她的早餐。她又開始想湯姆·莫里斯的事。突然，她對丈夫說，“昨天晚上你的朋友喝了太多的威士忌！講了神奇的猴爪！可怕的故事！”
Mr White did not answer her because just then the post man arrived． He brought two letters for them—but there was no money in them． After breakfast the two old people forgot about the money and the monkey's paw.
懷特先生沒有回答她，因為這時候郵差到了，郵差為他們帶來了兩封信，但里面并沒有錢。早餐后，兩位老人已忘記了錢和猴爪的事。
Later in the day, at about one o'clock, Mr and Mrs White sat down to eat and then they began to talk about money again. They did not have very much money, so they often needed to talk about it.
這一天晚些時候，大約1點左右，懷特夫婦坐下來吃東西；又開始了有關錢的談論，他們沒有富足的錢，所以他們常常需要談論錢。
"That thirty thousand pounds," Mrs White said, "we need it!"
“我們需要 30 000英磅。”懷特太太說。
"But it didn't come this morning," her husband answered. "Let's forget it!"
“可今天上午一分錢也沒得到，”他丈夫說，“還是讓我們忘掉它吧！”
Then he said, "But that thing moved. The monkey's paw moved in my hand! Tom's story was true!"
接著，他說，“但那東西確實移動了。猴爪在我的手里動了！湯姆的故事是真的！”
"You drank a lot of whisky last night．Perhaps the paw didn't move," Mrs White answered.
“你昨晚喝多了。也許猴爪并未移動。”懷特太太回答道。
"It moved!" Mr White cried angrily.
“它移動了！”懷特先生惱怒地叫了起來。
At first his wife did not answer，but then she said, "Well， Herbert laughed about it…"
開始，他妻子沒有理他，好一會兒才說：“赫伯特也嘲笑過這件事。”
Suddenly she stopped talking． She stood up and went over to the window.
突然，她止住話音，站起來向窗戶走去。
"What's the matter?" her husband asked.
“怎么啦？”她丈夫問。
"There's a man in front of our house," Mrs White answered. "He's a stranger—very tall—and well－dressed. He's looking at our house... Oh, no... it's OK... He's going away..."
“我們的房子前面有一個人，是一個高個子穿著講究的陌生人，他朝我們這邊看，呵，不，好了，他已經走了……”懷特太太告訴他丈夫。
"Come and sit down! Finish eating!" Mr White said.
“坐下來，吃完你的飯！”懷特先生說。
The old woman did not listen to her husband. "He isn't going away," she went on. "He's coming back. I don't know him—he's a stranger. Yes, he's very well—dressed..."
老婦人并沒有聽丈夫的話。“他沒走，”她繼續說，“他又回來了，我不認識他，他是陌生人。不錯，他穿得很講究……”
Suddenly Mrs White stopped. She was very excited. "He's coming to the door... Perhaps he's bringing the money!"
突然，懷特太太不說話了，她很興奮，“他正朝我們的門口走來……也許他給我們帶來了錢！”
And she ran out of the room to open the front door.
她跑出房間，打開了前門。
The tall, well－dressed stranger stood there. For a minute he said nothing, but then he began, "Good afternoon. I'm looking for Mr and Mrs White."
穿著講究的高個子陌生人站在那兒。他什么也沒說。好一會兒，他才開始說話。“下午好，我正要找懷特夫婦。”
"Well, I'm Mrs White," the old woman answered. "What can I do for you?"
“哦，我就是懷特太太，”老婦人答道，“我能為你做些什么嗎？”
At first the stranger did not answer, but then he said, "Mrs White, I'm from Maw and Meggins. Can I come in and talk to you?"
陌生人頓了頓才說，“懷特太太，我從莫和麥金森來，我能進去跟您談談嗎？”
Maw and Meggins had a big factory and Herbert White worked there on the machinery.
莫和麥金森有一個大工廠，赫伯特·懷特在那兒作機器操作工。
"Yes, of course," Mrs White answered. "Please come in."
“當然可以，請進吧。”懷特太太答道。
The well－dressed stranger came into the little living－room and Mr White stood up.
穿著講究的陌生人進了小客廳，懷特先生站了起來。
"Are you Mr White?" the stranger began. Then he went on, "I'm from Maw and Meggins."
“你是懷特先生嗎？”陌生人問。他又繼續介紹，“我從莫和麥金森來。”
