雙語故事:互相相助! The Help!

But one night he working late at the Scanlon-Taylor mill, lugging two-by-fours to the truck, 1splinters slicing all the way through the glove. He too small for that kind a work, too skinny, but he needed the job. He was tired. It was raining. He slip off the loading dock, fell down on the drive. Tractor trailer didn't see him and crushed his lungs fore he could move. By the time I found out, he was dead.

一天晚上，他在斯坎倫-泰勒軋機廠幹到很晚，拖着的木料往貨車上裝，木刺劃破手套，扎得滿手都是。他太瘦，個頭又小，幹不了那重活兒，可他需要那份工作。他累得支撐不住，天又下雨，他滑倒了，從裝卸月臺上摔下來，一頭栽進車道。拖車司機沒瞧見他，他還沒來得及挪身，車就從他身上碾過去了。等我找到他的時候，他已經斷氣了。

That was the day my whole world went black. Air look black, sun look black. I laid up in bed and stared at the black walls a my house. Minny came ever day to make sure I was still breathing, feed me food to keep me living. Took three months fore I even look out the window, see the world still there. I was surprise to see the world didn't stop just cause my boy did.

從那天起，我整個世界都黑了。空氣是黑的，太陽是黑的。我躺在牀上直愣愣地盯着屋裏黑的牆壁。明尼每天都來看我，以確保我還有氣息，她餵我進食，讓我殘喘地活下去。整整三個月後，我才擡眼看窗戶外頭，看外頭的世界是否照舊。我惶惑地發現整個世界竟然沒有因爲我兒子的死停下半分。

Five months after the funeral, I lifted myself up out a bed. I put on my white uniform and put my little gold cross back around my neck and I went to wait on Miss Leefolt cause she just have her baby girl. But it weren't too long before I seen something in me had changed. A bitter seed was planted inside a me. And I just didn't feel so accepting anymore.

葬禮之後又過了五個月，我起身下牀。我穿上白色制服，又把小小的金十字架戴回脖子上，隨後前去服侍李弗特小姐，她剛生下個女娃。但沒過多久我便發現我的心已不復從前。苦澀的種子在我體內悄然埋下，我不再那麼容易敞開胸懷了。

"GET THE HOUSE straightened up and then go on and fix some of that chicken salad now," say Miss Leefolt.

"把屋子規整規整，再去把雞肉沙拉準備好。"李弗特太太呼喝着。

It's bridge club day. Every fourth Wednesday a the month. A course I already got everthing ready to go—made the chicken salad this morning, ironed the tablecloths yesterday. Miss Leefolt seen me at it too. She ain't but twenty-three years old and she like hearing herself tell me what to do.

每個月的第四個禮拜三是她們的橋牌聚會日。我已經將裏裏外外拾掇停當——一大早做好了雞肉沙拉，桌布也在昨天熨燙平整。李弗特太太親眼瞧着我做完這些。她不過才二十三歲，卻很喜歡對我指手畫腳，差使我做這幹那。

She already got the blue dress on I ironed this morning, the one with sixty-five pleats on the waist, so tiny I got to squint through my glasses to iron. I don't hate much in life, but me and that dress is not on good terms.

她已經把我今早熨好的藍裙子穿上了，那條在腰上密匝匝打了六十五個小褶的裙子，我得戴起眼鏡眯上眼才能把那些綠豆大的褶給燙準了。我對家常日子沒啥抱怨的，可我和那條裙子實在處不到一塊兒去。

"And you make sure Mae Mobley's not coming in on us, now. I tell you, I am so burned up at her—tore up my good stationery into five thousand pieces and I've got fifteen thank-you notes for the Junior League to do…"

"還有，你要管住梅·莫布利，別讓她來煩我們。我告訴你吧，她可是把我惹火了，她把我好端端的信紙撕個粉碎，我可還有十五封青年聯盟會的感謝信要寫吶……"

I arrange the-this and the-that for her lady friends. Set out the good crystal, put the silver service out. Miss Leefolt don't put up no dinky card table like the other ladies do. We sat at the dining room table. Put a cloth on top to cover the big L-shaped crack, move that red flower centerpiece to the sideboard to hide where the wood all scratched. Miss Leefolt, she like it fancy when she do a luncheon. Maybe she trying to make up for her house being small. They ain't rich folk, that I know. Rich folk don't try so hard.

我還在忙着爲她的那些太太小姐們準備這個支應那個。我搬出花哨的玻璃杯盞，擺上銀質刀叉。李弗特太太沒能像其他闊太太那樣添置上一張小巧精緻的牌桌，我們只得坐在餐桌前打牌。我們在桌上鋪上桌布遮住L型的裂隙，又把紅色鏤花桌飾挪到櫥櫃那兒，好擋住坑坑窪窪剝落掉渣的木櫃。李弗特太太大概想彌補屋子狹小的不足，着意把餐會拾掇得富貴體面。我知道他們不太富裕，富庶人家可不會這麼費勁。

I'm used to working for young couples, but I spec this is the smallest house I ever worked in. It's just the one story. Her and Mister Leefolt's room in the back be a fair size, but Baby Girl's room be tiny. The dining room and the regular living room kind a join up. Only two bathrooms, which is a relief cause I worked in houses where they was five or six. Take a whole day just to clean toilets. Miss Leefolt don't pay but ninety-five cents an hour, less than I been paid in years. But after Treelore died, I took what I could. Landlord wasn't gonna wait much longer. And even though it's small, Miss Leefolt done the house up nice as she can. She pretty good with the sewing machine. Anything she can't buy new of, she just get her some blue material and sew it a cover.

我過去常幫年輕夫婦操持家務，可我揣度着這家是我見過門戶最小的人家。整套房子上下不過一層，她和李弗特先生的後屋尚且寬敞，可是梅的房間小得立不住腳。餐廳連着起居室混作一處。他們只有兩個衛生間，這倒爲我省下不少事，我從前碰上的人家通常都有五六間，光爲他們清理廁所就得花上我整整一天。李弗特太太每個鐘點只付我九十五美分，我早不止這個價了，但打崔勞死後，我也顧不上挑肥揀瘦，我已經拖欠不起房租了。儘管屋子小得轉不開身，可李弗特太太還是費心盡力把它裝點得光鮮體面。她很擅長縫連補綴，一旦買不起新傢什，她便扯些藍布頭，自裁自縫出個布套子把舊傢什裝扮上。

譯文參考自中國城市出版社版本