书城外语爱在尘埃堆积的角落(英文爱藏双语系列)
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第33章 父子伙伴情 (2)

I couldn’t think of a thing to say. I grabbed up the bar of chocolate and hid it next to my chest before I turned around. Father picked me up by the shoulder straps of my overalls and took me over to the woodpile. I didn’t know anybody could spank as hard as he did!

Then he stood me on my feet and asked if I thought I had deserved it. He said it wasn’t so much that I’d taken the chocolate, but that I’d tried to hide it from him.

“Son,” he said, “I know you help to earn the family money. We might say the chocolate was yours in the first place. You could have had it if you’d asked for it, but I won’t have you being sneaky about things. Now, do you want to keep your money separated from mine—or are we partners?”

I never knew till then how much I wanted my money to go in with Father’s. When I went to sleep my hand was still hurting—from where he squeezed it when we shook hands.

我喜欢吃各种各样的巧克力,不过,最喜欢的还是无糖巧克力。妈妈买了一块这样的巧克力,而我怎么也控制不住不去想它。

在扬谷场帮爸爸扬场时,我突然想到一个好主意。我可以从那块巧克力上切下一点儿来吃。这样,妈妈一定会发现少了,但是我会在她想到是有人偷吃了巧克力之前,向她坦白事情的真相。或许,我还有可能不会挨揍呢。

一直等到妈妈外出去喂鸡之后,我才跟父亲说想回家喝点水。但是,当我刚拿到巧克力准备用刀切的时候,便听到妈妈回来了。于是,我将巧克力藏进衬衣的前襟里,急忙离开。在回去帮爸爸干活之前,我先去了谷仓,并把巧克力藏在那里。

从那以后的整个下午,我都不敢去看爸爸一眼。每一次他跟我说话,都让我心惊肉跳。我的双手开始剧烈地颤抖,于是他问我怎么了。我跟他说,只是因为双手觉得冷而已。我知道,爸爸不会相信这个理由,每次他朝我看时,我的心跳就会加速。我不再想要那块巧克力了,只希望能有个机会,神不知鬼不觉地把它放回去。

在赶牛回来的路上,我稍稍冷静下来,也可以更清醒地思考了。我对自己说,我并没有真的偷那一整块巧克力,因为我本打算只切下一小片的。如果当初妈妈没有回来,我拿的也就只是那么一小片。如果我把整个巧克力都放回去的话,那么我就没做过什么错事。

我几乎要决定把巧克力放回去了,但是只想想那巧克力,似乎就可以让我的舌头尝到它那又苦又滑的美味了。我想,如果我只是切下薄薄的一小片,妈妈可能永远也发现不了。

在我快要走近牛群时,我想起了爸爸说过的话——家里的钱有一部分是属于我的,因为那是我帮忙挣回来的。那为什么不能说是用我的钱买的这块巧克力呢?这样的话,一切问题都解决了。

然而,当我赶着牛群往家走的时候,我又开始烦恼起来。快走到火车道上时,我决定听从上帝的安排。我捡起一根带着皂荚的干草梗,然后把它抛向天空,根据草梗落地的情况来决定处理巧克力的方法。落地时,如果草梗指向西,我就把整个巧克力都放回去;如果指向南,我就切下薄薄的一片;如果指向东,就算是我用自己的钱买下了整个巧克力,而算不上是偷。

我尽可能地将草梗抛向高空。落地时,草梗的方向大体是指向西方,不过稍稍有些偏南。

那天夜晚,我怎么也无法入睡,一直在回想着那根草梗指向南方的程度到底有多大。最后,我从床上爬起来,悄悄溜进院子,从劈木墩上拿了斧头,便去了谷仓。我拿出巧克力,把它放在低一点的畜栏横栏上。月光很明亮,足可以动手切巧克力了。

就在我准备要切的时候,父亲喊道:“儿子!”

我不知道能说些什么。在转身之前,我抓起巧克力把它藏在胸前。爸爸一把抓住我的背带,把我拎到木堆上。我不知道还有谁像他那样打屁股打得如此狠!

打完之后,爸爸把我拉起来,问我觉不觉得应该挨打。他说,之所以打我,并不是因为我偷了巧克力,而是因为我隐瞒了他。

他说:“儿子,我知道你一直在帮家里挣钱。我们或许可以说那块巧克力是你的。如果你向我们开口要了,我们就会给你。但是,我绝不允许你做卑劣的事情。现在,你是要把你的钱与我的分开——还是我们合伙?”

在这之前,我从来都不知道我是多想把自己的钱与父亲的合在一起。我回去睡觉的时候,手还在痛——我和爸爸握手结盟时,被他用力攥的。

记忆填空

1. I waited until Mother was feeding the chickens. Then I Father I thought I’d go in for a drink of . I got the bar down, but I heard Mother coming just when I had the knife to whack. So I slipped the chocolate into the of my shirt and left quickly. Before I went back to help Father, I went to the barn and the chocolate there.

2. I couldn’t think a thing to say. I grabbed up the bar of chocolate and hid it to my chest before I turned around. Father picked me up by the straps of my overalls and took me over to the woodpile. I didn’t know could spank as hard as he did!

佳句翻译

1. 从那以后的整个下午,我都不敢去看爸爸一眼。

2. 我几乎要决定把巧克力放回去了,但是只想想那巧克力,似乎就可以让我的舌头尝到它那又苦又滑的美味了。

3. 他说,之所以打我,并不是因为我偷了巧克力,而是因为我隐瞒了他。

短语应用

1. Then I told Father I thought I’d go in for a drink of water.

go in:参加;(太阳等)被云遮住;放得进

2. ...if Mother hadn’t come along when she did.

come along:出现;一起来;陪伴;进步