狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第24章Part 9

There was one man whom she several times observed at work very early, and often with a girl of about her own age seated near him' He was a very poor man, who seemed to have no regular employment, but now went roaming about the banks of the river when the tide was low, looking out for bits and scraps in the mud; and now worked at the unpromising little patch of garden-ground before his cottage; and now tinkered up a miserable old boat that belonged to him; or did some job of that kind for a neighbour, as chance occurred. Whatever the man's labour, the girl was never employed; but sat, when she was with him, in a listless, moping state, and idle.
Florence had often wished to speak to this man; yet she had never taken courage to do so, as he made no movement towards her. But one morning when she happened to come upon him suddenly, from a by-path among some pollard willows which terminated in the little shelving piece of stony ground that lay between his dwelling and the water, where he was bending over a fire he had made to caulk the old boat which was lying bottom upwards, close by, he raised his head at the sound of her footstep, and gave her Good morning.
'Good morning,' said Florence, approaching nearer, 'you are at work early.'
'I'd be glad to be often at work earlier, Miss, if I had work to do.'
'Is it so hard to get?' asked Florence.
'I find it so,' replied the man.
Florence glanced to where the girl was sitting, drawn together, with her elbows on her knees, and her chin on her hands, and said:
'Is that your daughter?'

她好幾次注意到有一位男子很早就起來幹活。有一位年齡和她差不多的女孩子時常坐在他的近旁。他是一個很窮苦的人，似乎沒有固定的職業；有時在退潮以後在河岸上走來走去，在淤泥中尋找什麼碎片和廢物；有時在他茅舍前可憐的一小塊園地上耕種；有時修補他的一條小而破爛的舊船；或者碰上機會，就給鄰居幹這樣一類的活兒。不管這男子幹什麼活，女孩子從來不幫着幹，而是耷拉着臉，沒精打采地、無所事事地坐在他的身邊。
弗洛倫斯時常想跟這人談話，可是她從來沒有鼓起勇氣來這樣做，因爲他從來沒有朝向她。但是有一天早上，當她從一些截去樹稍的柳樹中間的一條小路出來，走到他的住屋和河流中間的一小塊漸次傾斜、石子很多的地中的時候，她突然間遇見了他；他在那裏向着一個火堆彎下身子；那條老舊的小船底朝天地躺在近旁，那個火堆是生起來給這條小船堵縫眼用的；他聽到她的腳步聲，就擡起頭來，向她問候早安。
“早上好，”弗洛倫斯向前走近一些，說道，“您這麼早就起來幹活了。”
“如果我有活幹的話，小姐，我會高興時常更早起來幹活的。”
“很難找到活幹嗎？”弗洛倫斯問道。
“·我覺得難找，”那人回答道。
弗洛倫斯向女孩子坐的地方看了一眼，她縮成一團，胳膊肘支在膝蓋上，兩手託着下巴。弗洛倫斯問道：
“她是您的女兒嗎？”