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While Genie was walking slowly down street one day, she heard an odd rapping on the pavement behind her.
有一天，吉妮在街上慢慢走著，忽然聽到后面人行道上傳來奇怪的敲擊聲。
Looking round, she saw Rob Grey hobbling on crutches.
回頭一看，原來是羅伯.格雷拄著拐杖一瘸一拐地走過來。
"Why, what is the matter?" cried Genie. "I haven't seen you for a week, and now you are walking in that way."
“怎么了？發生了什么事？”吉妮不禁失聲喊道。“一個星期沒見你，你走路怎么這個樣子？”
I shall have to walk in this way as much as a week longer, Genie.
接下來至少一個星期我都得這樣走路，吉妮。
I sprained my ankle by stopping too quick—no, not too quick, either, for there was something in my way.
我太快停下來，所以摔壞了膝蓋。不，也不是因為停得太快，是因為有東西擋了我的路。
"What was it?" asked Genie.
“是什么？”吉妮問。
"One of the Commandments," replied Rob. "You remember how that lecturer talked to us about 'holding the fort'?"
“就是其中一條戒律，”羅伯繼續說，“你記得老師跟我們講過的‘守住堡壘’那條戒律嗎？
Well, I thought I should like to do it; but it's a pretty long war, you know—all a lifetime, and no vacations—furloughs, I think they call them."
啊，我那時想我應該這么做；可是你知道，這是一場持久戰——整整一生，沒有假期——暫時的休息都不行，我想他們是這么說的。
"If there was nothing to fight, we should not need to be soldiers," said Genie.
“如果沒有什么需要我們為之戰斗，那么我們就不需要成為戰士了。”吉妮說。
Well, I thought I would try; but the first day, when we came out of the schoolhouse, Jack Lee snatched my books out of my hand, and threw them into the mud.
嗯，我想我會試著去做；但是我們離開校舍的第一天，杰克.李忽然把我手里的書搶了過去，丟在爛泥地里。
I started after him as fast as I could run.
我馬上跑去追他，
I meant to throw him where he had thrown the books,
滿腦子想著要抓到他，把他推到扔我書的那塊爛泥地里。
when, all of a sudden, I thought of the Commandment about returning good for evil.
可是忽然間，我想起了‘以德報怨’那條戒律。
I stopped short—so short, that, somehow, my foot twisted under me.
我突然停住腳步——那么突然，不知道為什么就把腳給扭了。
So, you see, it was one of the commandments.
所以，你看，就是一條戒律把我絆倒的。
"If one must stumble at them, it is a good thing to fall on the right side," said Genie, with a wise nod of her head.
“如果一個人必須被戒律絆倒，那么倒向正確的一邊也是一件好事。”吉妮一邊說，一邊睿智地點頭。
"The whole thing puzzles me, and makes me feel—well, like giving it up," said Rob.
“這件事情讓我困惑，使我想要，嗯，想要放棄，”羅伯說，
It might have served me right when I was chasing Jack; but when I thought of the Commandment, I really tried to do the right thing.
如果是在我追杰克的時候摔倒，我能想得通，可是當我想起戒律的時候，我是真想做正確的事情啊。
"You did do it, Rob," said Genie. "You 'held the fort' that time."
“羅伯，你確實做了正確的事情，”吉妮說，“那一刻你守住了堡壘。”
Why, don't you see—you are only a wounded soldier.
怎么，你還不明白嗎——只不過你是一名負傷的戰士。
"I never thought of that," said Rob. "If I believe that way…"
“我從來沒這么想過，”羅伯說，“要是我這么想的話……”
He began to whistle, and limped off to school without finishing the sentence.
他吹起了口哨，抬起腳一瘸一拐地往學校走去，話也沒說完。
But Genie knew, by the way he behaved that day, that he had made up his mind to hold the fort.
但是吉妮明白，從羅伯那天的舉動就知道，他已經下定決心，要“守住城堡”。
