死荫之谷 The Valley of the Shadow
Excerpt of Little Women
十四岁那年的整个暑假，我捧着《小妇人》这本让我着了迷的书在阁楼里反复阅读着，每每读到贝思因为帮助他人而染上猩红热，不久便离开人世时，眼泪就会止不住地往下掉。那时我总和妈妈说，如果世界可以停下来就好了，我永远不用长大，你们也会一直在我身边。妈妈笑着说：“傻孩子，如果永远没有人死去，那地球就挤得站不下了。”
爱，是我们离开人世时唯一能带着的东西。
把每天当作生命的最后一天好好度过，善待亲人朋友，善待自己，善待每一个陌生人。
文字难度：★★★
when the first bitterness was over, the family ac-cepted the inevitable, and tried to bear it cheerfully, helping one another by the increased affection which comes to bind households tenderly together in times of trouble. They put away their grief, and each did his or her part toward making that last year a happy one.
最初的痛苦过去了，全家人接受了那不可避免的事实。他们试图达观地直面它，用更多的爱相互帮助。在困境中，这种爱温柔地将全家人连在一起。他们抛开悲伤，每个人都尽自己的力量，让贝思最后一年过得快乐。
The pleasantest room in the house was set apart for Beth, and in it was gathered everything that she most loved, flowers, pictures, her piano, the little 1)worktable, and the beloved 2)pussies. Father’s best books found their way there, Mother’s easy chair, Jo’s desk, Amy’s finest sketches.
家里最舒适的屋子被腾出来给贝思，她最喜欢的东西都集中到那间屋子里——花朵、图画、她的钢琴、小工作桌以及得宠的猫咪们。爸爸最好的书本也摆进了屋，还有妈妈的安乐椅、乔的书桌、艾美最好的素描。
Here, cherished like a household saint in its 3)shrine, sat Beth, tranquil and busy as ever, for nothing could change the sweet, unselfish nature, and even while preparing to leave life, she tried to make it happier for those who should remain behind. The feeble fingers were never idle, and one of her pleasures was to make little things for the school children daily passing 4)to and fro, to drop a pair of 5)mittens from her window for a pair of purple hands, a 6)needlebook for some small mother of many dolls, penwipers for young penmen 7)toiling through forests of 8)pothooks, 9)scrapbooks for picture-loving eyes, and all manner of pleasant devices, till the reluctant climbers of the ladder of learning found their way strewn with flowers, as it were, and came to regard the gentle giver as a sort of fairy godmother, who sat above there, and showered down gifts miraculously suited to their tastes and needs. If Beth had wanted any reward, she found it in the bright little faces that always turned up to her window, with nods and smiles, and the 10)droll little letters which came to her, full of blots and gratitude.
贝思坐在这里，像是供奉在壁龛里的家庭圣贤。她像往常一样宁静、忙碌，什么也改变不了她那温顺、无私的本性，即便准备告别人世，她也试图使继续活着的人们快乐一些。她那虚弱的手指从未闲过，她的乐事之一便是为每天从屋旁经过的学童们制作小东西—在窗口放一双手套，这是为冻紫了的手准备的；放个针线包，给某位拥有许多玩具娃娃的小母亲；放一些拭笔布，给那些在歪七竖八的笔划丛林里辛勤劳作的小书法家们；放一些剪贴簿，给那些喜爱图画的孩子们；还有各种各样令人愉快的小玩意，直到那些极不情愿攀登学问阶梯的孩子们发现，他们前进的道路上鲜花灿烂。这时他们把那亲切的馈赠者看作是童话中的仙女。她坐在那上边的屋子里，给他们抛投各种奇迹般契合他们品味和需要的礼物。那些带着微笑的小脸蛋常在她的窗下仰视，朝她点头笑着。她还收到了一些引人发笑的小小信件，里面满是感激，也满是涂改。倘使贝思企求什么回报的话，她已从中得到了。
The first few months were very happy ones, and Beth often used to look round, and say “How beautiful this is!” as they all sat together in her sunny room, the babies kicking and 11)crowing on the floor, mother and sisters working near, and father reading, in his pleasant voice, the wise old books which seemed rich in good and comfortable words.
最初几个月是非常幸福的。当大家都坐在她那洒满阳光的屋子里时，贝思常常环视屋内，说：“这多美妙啊！”梅格的两个孩子在地上踢着、欢闹着；妈妈和姐姐们在近旁做着活儿；爸爸用悦耳的声音读着那些古老而充满智慧的书，听起来佳句连篇，给人无限安慰。
By-and-by, Beth said the needle was “so heavy”, and put it down forever. Talking 12)wearied her, faces troubled her, pain claimed her for its own, and her tranquil spirit was sorrowfully perturbed by the ills that 13)vexed her feeble flesh. Those who loved her best were forced to see the thin hands stretched out to them 14)beseechingly, to hear the bitter cry, “Help me, help me!” and to feel that there was no help. Then the natural rebellion over, the old peace returned more beautiful than ever. With the wreck of her frail body, Beth’s soul grew strong, and though she said little, those about her felt that she was ready.
不久，贝思便说针“太重了”，她永远地放下了针；说话使她疲倦，看到人们的脸孔使她心烦；疼痛攫住了她，病痛搅乱了她那平静的心灵，折磨着她那虚弱的肉体。那些深爱她的人被迫看着她哀求地向自己伸出瘦弱的双手，听她痛苦地喊着：“救救我！救救我！”，同时他们也感受到了绝望的滋味。后来，那种本能的反抗便结束了，她又恢复了以往的平和，比从前更静美。带着虚弱的病体，贝思反而愈发坚强了。尽管她很少说话，但她身边的人感到她已做好了远行的准备。
Jo never left her for an hour since Beth had said “I feel stronger when you are here.” She slept on a couch in the room, waking often to renew the fire, to feed and lift. Precious and helpful hours to Jo, for now her heart received the teaching that it needed. Lessons in patience were so sweetly taught her that she could not fail to learn them, charity for all, the lovely spirit that can forgive and truly forget unkindness, the loyalty to duty that makes the hardest easy, and the sincere faith that fears nothing, but trusts undoubtingly.
有一次贝思对乔说：“你在这里我感到有力些。”从此，乔离开她的时间再也没有超过一小时。她睡在屋里的长沙发上，夜里常醒来添柴火，喂她食物，扶她坐起来。这些时光对乔来说既宝贵又有益。现在她真诚地接受了她所需要的教导：忍耐，这一人生课程以这样美好的方式教给了她，她不可能学不会；博爱，这种可贵的精神能宽恕别人并真正地忘却不善良的行为；尽职，它化艰难为平易；以及那无所畏惧且毫不怀疑的真诚信念。
Often when she woke, Jo found Beth reading in her well-worn little book, heard her singing softly, to 15)beguile the sleepless night, or saw her lean her face upon her hands, while slow tears dropped through the fingers, and Jo would lie watching her.
乔夜里醒来时，常发现贝思在读着她那本翻得很旧了的小书，听到她低低地唱着，以打发不眠之夜，或者看到贝思手捧着脸，眼泪慢慢地顺着指间滴下来。这时，乔总是躺着注视她。
Seeing this did more for Jo than the wisest sermons, the saintliest hymns, the most 16)fervent prayers that any voice could utter. For with eyes made clear by many tears, and a heart softened by the tenderest sorrow, she recognized the beauty of her sister’s life—uneventful, 17)unambitious, yet full of the genuine virtues which “smell sweet, and blossom in the dust.”
最有智慧的说教、最圣洁的赞美诗，以及世界上最虔诚的祷告，都不及这景象对乔的影响那么巨大。泪水涤净眼睛，最易揪心的痛苦软化心灵，因此她看到了妹妹的生命之美—平淡无奇、抱负不大，却充满真正的美德，“散发着芬芳，在尘埃中怒放”。
“Oh, Beth, so much, so much!” And Jo’s head went down upon the pillow beside her sister's.
“哦，贝思，你给我的太多，太多了！”乔的头落到了妹妹旁边的枕头上。
“Then I don't feel as if I'd wasted my life. I have tried to do right. And now, when it's too late to begin even to do better, it's such a comfort to know that someone loves me so much, and feels as if I’d helped them.”
“那么我就不会感到自己浪费了生命。我只想去做正确的事情。现在，想开始做得更好也已经晚了。可是知道了有个人这么爱我，感到自己帮助过她们，这让我觉得很安慰。”
“More than any one in the world, Beth. I used to think I couldn’t let you go, but I’m learning to feel that I don’t lose you, that you’ll be more to me than ever, and death can’t part us, though it seems to.”
“我爱你胜过世上任何人，贝思。我过去认为我不能放你走，可是我现在学着体会我并没有失去你，将来你对我的意义会更大，尽管死亡好像会把我们分开，但其实是分不开的。”
“I know it cannot, and I don’t fear it any longer, for I’m sure I shall be your Beth still, to love and help you more than ever. You must take my place, Jo, and be everything to Father and Mother when I’m gone. They will turn to you, don’t fail them, and if it’s hard to work alone, remember that I don’t forget you, and that you’ll be happier in doing that than writing splendid books or seeing all the world, for love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go, and it makes the go easy.”
“我知道分不开的，我不再害怕死亡了。我确信我仍然是你的贝思，我会比以前更爱你，更多地帮助你。乔，我走后你得代替我，做爸爸妈妈的贴心人。他们会依赖你的，别让他们失望。要是独力承担一切很难忍受，就想想我没有忘记你吧，想想做这件事，你会感到比写伟大著作或者周游世界更加快乐。因为爱是我们离开人世时唯一能带着的东西，它使生命的结束变得轻松。”
“I’ll try, Beth.” And then and there Jo 18)renounced her old ambition, pledged herself to a new and better one, acknowledging the poverty of other desires, and feeling the blessed 19)solace of a belief in the immortality of love.
“我会试着去做的，贝思。”乔当即放弃了她以前的抱负，发誓实现这一新的、更好的抱负。她承认了其他愿望的空泛。对不朽之爱的信念，使她感受到蒙受神宠一般的慰藉。
So the spring days came and went, the sky grew clearer, the earth greener, the flowers were up fairly early, and the birds came back in time to say goodbye to Beth.
就这样，春天一天天过去了，天空变得更加晴朗，地上的草愈发青翠，百花早早盛开，候鸟及时飞回来向贝思道别。
Seldom except in books do the dying utter memorable words, see visions, or depart with 20)beatified 21)coun-tenances, and those who have sped many parting souls know that to most the end comes as naturally and simply as sleep. As Beth had hoped, the “tide went out easily”, and in the dark hour before dawn, on the bosom where she had drawn her first breath, she quietly drew her last, with no farewell but one loving look, one little sigh.
书里描写的垂死之人会说出难忘的话语，看到幻象，或带着极为幸福的神态辞世，这些在生活中都极少发生。那些多次送终的人知道，对大多数人来说，生命的结束如同睡眠一般自然、简单。正如贝思所希望的那样，“潮汐轻易地退去了”，黎明前的黑暗时刻，她偎依在来到人世第一次呼吸时所依的那个胸膛上，静静地咽了气，没有道别，只深情地望了一眼，低微地叹了一声。
When morning came, for the first time in many months the fire was out, Jo’s place was empty, and the room was very still. But a bird sang 22)blithely on a 23)budding 24)bough, close by, the 25)snowdrops blossomed freshly at the window, and the spring sunshine streamed in like a 26)benediction over the 27)placid face upon the pillow, a face so full of painless peace that those who loved it best smiled through their tears.
早晨来临时，这许多个月以来的第一次，炉火熄灭了，乔的位置空了，屋子里寂静无声。然而，附近一只鸟栖息在新叶初发的树枝上欢快地唱着，窗边的雪花莲刚刚绽开。春日的阳光泻进屋里，照在枕头上那宁静的脸庞上，像是为她祝福—那张脸浮现着没有疼痛的安详，于是深爱她的人泪眼婆娑地笑了。
作者简介：
路易莎·梅·奥尔科特（1832-1888），美国儿童小说家，出生在马萨诸塞州的一个平民家庭，她的父亲布朗逊·奥尔科特是一位哲学家和教育家。奥尔科特10岁时便已热心于业余戏剧演出，15岁时写出第一部情节剧，21岁开始发表诗歌及小品。1868年，一位出版商建议她写一部关于“女孩子的书”，她便根据孩提的记忆写成了《小妇人》。本书出版后获得了巨大成功，被译成100多种文字，并多次被搬上银幕，收到读者和评论家的一致好评，被称为美国最优秀的家庭小说之一，奥尔科特也因此进入著名小说家的行列。
好书推荐—《小妇人》
《小妇人》是一部以美国南北战争为背景，以19世纪美国新英格兰地区一个普通家庭四个姐妹之间的生活琐事为蓝本的带有自传色彩的家庭伦理小说。马奇家四姐妹对自主权力的追求，以及她们对家庭的忠诚眷顾，成为贯穿全书的两条主要线索。在作者笔下，马奇家的女人个个都是艺术家，乔写作，艾米绘画，贝思弹琴，梅格演出、管理家务，在母亲的引导和生活的磨砺下，她们拥有了勤勉、自重、友爱、向善、坚忍、乐观的品质，一步步走向梦想中的殿堂……
小说受到当时的大思想家爱默生的影响，强调个人尊严与自立自律的观念，内容平实细腻，结构单纯而寓意深远，富有强烈的感染力，马奇一家的天伦之爱深深地感动了读者。那些家庭成员身上体现出来的对家的眷恋，对爱的忠诚以及对亲情的渴望，揭示了生活的真谛，使读者体验到生活中的真善美。
小妇人（Little Woman）英文PDF文字原版下载：http://www.joyen.net/soft/endown/read/201107/182.html