英文名著分集阅读 维克多·雨果《悲惨世界》part3
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Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
原文
Chapter 3: Cosette
Monsieur Madeleine is of course Jean Valjean.
You knew that already after Denya.
He sells the bishop's silver plates, but keeps the candlesticks.
He comes to Montroy,builds his factory, works hard, is kind to other people.
He makes a new good life, and is true to the bishop of Denya.
But after Valjean left prison in Toulon and before he came to Denya, he was hungry, and in a street in Toulon he stole some money from a boy, just one franc, to buy bread.
Because he did this, the law in France says that prisoner Valjean must go back to prison and stay there for life.
He can never be a free man again.
And so we meet Javert.
Before Montroy,he was a prison guard at Toulon.
The law is his god, and he hates all criminals.
He remembers Jean Valjean, that big strong man, very well.
He wants to see him in prison again, and he Inspector Javert is going to put him there.
Jean Valjean remembers Javert now.
He remembers the cold eyes, the hard voice, the cruel prison guard's smile.
He remembers and is afraid.
He knows that Javert is his enemy for life, but he remembers Fantine, too.
He remembers her dying words, “Please take care of Cosette, please.”
How can he leave this little girl without a mother, without a friend in the world?
He must find her, Javert or no Javert.
Monsieur and Madame Thenardier lived in a village called Montfermeil near Paris.
There was no water in the village, and the nearest water was a small river in a wood 15 minutes ' walk away.
People carried the water in buckets to their houses.
Cosette hated that wood.
At night, the trees made noises.
She was frightened of the noises, frightened of the dark, and with a heavy bucket of water it was a long walk home.
One dark winter night in 1823, Madame Thenardier sent Cosette out to the river for water.
Cosette ran to the river.
And then, with her heavy bucket of water, she began to walk home.
The trees were noisy tonight, whispering and laughing at her.
And the little girl began to cry.
“Oh, please God, help me, please, dear God.”
And suddenly the bucket was gone.
A great hand came down and took it from her.
She looked up and saw big man in an old yellow coat.
Sometimes we know without words when something good is happening.
The little girl knew that now, and she was not frightened of the big man, not a bit.
The man spoke to her child, “This is a very heavy bucket. Shall I carry it for you?”
“Yes, monsieur.”
“How old are you?”
“I'm 8 years old, monsieur.”
“Where is your mother?”
“I don't know,”said the child, “I haven't got a mother.”
“What's your name?”
“Cosette.”
The big man stopped, he put the bucket down and looked into Cosette's face.
“Why are you carrying a heavy bucket of water at this time of night, who sent you?”
“Madame Thenardier.”
“I would like to talk to this Madame Thenardier. Shall we go and see her?”
“Yes,monsieur.”
Cosette was not afraid of the tree noises now.
This big man with his gentle voice was a new and wonderful thing in her life.
They walked to the Thenardier's house.
“Please,monsieur, can I carry the bucket now?”
“But why?”
“I can't ask people for help. Madame says she hits me when I do that,” Cosette said, “she hits me all the time.”
He gave her the bucket.
The Thenardiers were very surprised to see Cosette's new friend, this big man in the old yellow coat.
Inside the house, the big man looked at Cosette.
He saw her thin clothes, her dirty hair, her big frightened eyes.
She was small for her 8 years.
Her hands were red from kitchen work, and she had no shoes.
“Why does this child have no shoes on her feet on this cold winter night?” He said to Madame Thenardier.
Madame Thenardier looked at Cosette angrily.
“Go into the kitchen, Cosette. There is work to do, go. And are you?Monsieur.” Thenardier said.
“I am here for Fantine, the child's mother,” said the big man. “You don't need to know my name. Fantine is dead, so you can get no more money from her here.”
He put some money on the table is 1500 francs.
“Now call the child I'm taking her away.”
When Jean Valjean and Cosette left Montfermeil, Cosette did not look back.
She never wanted to see Madame Thenardier again.
She put her cold little hand into Valjean's great hand and looked up into his face.
“Monsieur,”she said, “can I, can I call you Father?”
Valjean looked down at her big round eyes.
“Yes,” he said.
He did not know love, he did not understand love, but in that moment, suddenly he felt a father's love for this small child.
“Yes,” he said again, “yes, you can call me father, it's a good name.”
Hand in hand,they walked away on the road to Paris.
In Paris,Cosette learn to laugh, and to sing like a bird, and to be happy.
Jean Valjean learned to be father and mother to this child, and he loved her dearly.
But they lived quietly, moved house often, and only went out at night.
Because Javert too was in Paris.
When Valjean escaped from Montroy, Javert came to Paris to look for him. He was now an important inspector in the Paris police.
Every criminal in Paris was afraid of Inspector Javert.
Once Valjeansaw Javert by the river, and the next day he looked for a new place to live.
He found one behind the high walls of a girl school.
The school gave Valjean a job as a gardener, and he lived in a little house in the big gardens.
Cosette lived in the school, but every day, she came to the gardener's little house for one hour.
They talked,and they sang, and they read books.
It was the happiest hour in the day for her and for Jean Valjean.
And so the years passed.
翻译
第三章：珂赛特
马德兰先生当然就是冉阿让。
在迪涅镇发生的那些事之后，你其实就已经知道了。
他卖掉了主教给的银餐盘，却留下了那对银烛台。
他来到蒙特勒伊，建起工厂，拼命工作，对他人仁慈宽厚。
他开启了一段崭新而向善的人生，也没有辜负迪涅主教的期望。
但是，在冉阿让离开土伦监狱、抵达迪涅镇之前，他曾饱受饥饿之苦。在土伦的一条街上，为了买面包，他从一个男孩那里偷了钱——仅仅只有一法郎。
就因为这个，法国的法律规定，囚犯冉阿让必须重返监狱，并在那里度过余生。
他再也无法成为一个自由人了。
于是，我们认识了沙威。
在来到蒙特勒伊之前，他是土伦监狱的一名狱卒。
法律就是他的神明，他痛恨一切罪犯。
他非常清楚地记得冉阿让——那个高大强壮的男人。
他想再次看到冉阿让身陷囹圄，而他沙威警长，就要亲手把他送进去。
此时的冉阿让也想起了沙威。
他记得那双冰冷的眼睛、那副生硬的嗓音，还有狱卒那残忍的微笑。
他回忆起了这一切，心中充满恐惧。
他知道沙威将是他一生的死敌，但他同样想起了芳汀。
他记起了她临终前的话语：“求您照顾珂赛特，求求您了。”
他怎么能把这个没有母亲、在世上举目无亲的小女孩孤零零地丢下呢？
他必须找到她，无论有没有沙威的阻拦。
德纳第夫妇住在巴黎附近一个叫蒙费梅伊的村子里。
村里没有水，最近的水源在十五分钟路程外的一片树林里的一条小河。
人们只能提着水桶把水扛回家。
珂赛特恨透了那片树林。
一到夜里，树木就会发出各种声响。
她害怕那些声音，害怕黑暗，而且提着沉甸甸的水桶，回家的路显得格外漫长。
1823年一个漆黑的冬夜，德纳第太太又打发珂赛特去河边打水。
珂赛特一路小跑来到河边。
然后，提着那桶沉重的水，她开始往回走。
今晚树林里的树木喧闹不止，仿佛在对着她窃窃私语、嘲笑她。
小女孩忍不住哭了起来。
“哦，上帝啊，求求您帮帮我，仁慈的上帝啊。”
突然，水桶从她手里消失了。
一只宽大的手伸下来，替她接过了水桶。
她抬起头，看到一个穿着破旧黄外套的高大男人。
有时候，无需言语，我们也能感觉到好事正在发生。
小女孩此刻就明白了，她一点儿也不害怕这个高大的男人。
男人用对孩子说话的温柔语气对她说：“这桶水太沉了。我帮你提好吗？”
“好的，先生。”
“你几岁了？”
“我8岁了，先生。”
“你妈妈在哪儿？”
“我不知道，”孩子说，“我没有妈妈。”
“你叫什么名字？”
“珂赛特。”
高大的男人停下脚步，放下水桶，端详着珂赛特的脸。
“这么晚了，谁派你出来提这么重的一桶水？”
“德纳第太太。”
“我想和这位德纳第太太谈谈。我们一起去见见她好吗？”
“好的，先生。”
此时的珂赛特已经不再害怕树林里的声响了。
这个说话温柔的高大男人，成了她生命中一个全新而美好的存在。
他们一起走到了德纳第家。
“先生，求求您，现在我可以自己提水桶了吗？”
“为什么呢？”
“我不能向别人求助。太太说，如果我要是求助，她就会打我。”珂赛特说，“她总是打我。”
他把水桶还给了她。
看到珂赛特的新朋友——这个穿着破旧黄外套的高大男人，德纳第夫妇感到非常惊讶。
在屋里，高大男人仔细打量着珂赛特。
他看到她单薄的衣服、脏乱的头发，还有那双充满惊恐的大眼睛。
八岁的她，个头比同龄人小得多。
她的双手因为干厨房的粗活而通红，脚上连双鞋都没有。
“这么冷的冬夜，这孩子怎么连双鞋都没穿？”他问德纳第太太。
德纳第太太恶狠狠地瞪了珂赛特一眼。
“进厨房去，珂赛特。还有活儿要干呢，快去。那么您呢，先生？”德纳第太太问道。
“我是为了这孩子母亲芳汀的事来的，”高大男人说，“你们不必知道我的名字。芳汀已经死了，你们再也别想从她那儿要到一分钱了。”
他把一些钱放在桌上——那是1500法郎。
“现在把孩子叫来，我要带她走。”
当冉阿让和珂赛特离开蒙费梅伊时，珂赛特没有回头。
她再也不想见到德纳第太太了。
她把冰冷的小手放进冉阿让宽大的手掌里，仰起头看着他的脸。
“先生，”她说，“我，我可以叫您父亲吗？”
冉阿让低头看着她那双圆溜溜的大眼睛。
“可以。”他说。
他曾经不懂得爱，也不明白什么是爱，但在那一刻，他突然对这个小小的孩子生出了一种深沉的父爱。
“可以，”他又说了一遍，“是的，你可以叫我父亲，这是一个很好的称呼。”
他们手牵着手，走在通往巴黎的路上。
在巴黎，珂赛特学会了笑，学会了像小鸟一样唱歌，学会了感受快乐。
冉阿让也学着同时扮演这个孩子的父亲和母亲，他深深地爱着她。
但他们过着深居简出的生活，经常搬家，并且只在夜里出门。
因为沙威也来到了巴黎。
当冉阿让从蒙特勒伊逃脱后，沙威便来到巴黎搜寻他。此时的沙威已经是巴黎警察局里一位举足轻重的警长。
巴黎的每一个罪犯都对沙威警长闻风丧胆。
有一次，冉阿让在河边看见了沙威，第二天他便立刻寻找新的住处。
他在一家女子学校高高的围墙后找到了一个安身之所。
学校给冉阿让提供了一份园丁的工作，他住在大花园里的一栋小房子中。
珂赛特就在那所学校里生活，但每天，她都会来到园丁的小屋里待上一个小时。
他们聊天、唱歌、读书。
这是她和冉阿让一天中最幸福的一个小时。
就这样，岁月悄然流逝。
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