One evening the Count said, 'You must write to your London office and tell Mr Hawkin that you'll be here for another month.'
一天晚上伯爵說:“你必須給你倫敦的辦公室寫信,告訴霍金先生你要在這兒再待上一個(gè)月。”
When I heard this, I went cold. Another month! But what could I do? I worked for Mr Hawkin, and the Count's business was important to him, so if the Count needed me, then I had to stay. I wrote my letter, but I knew that the Count planned to read it. I could not tell Mr Hawkin that I was a prisoner in Castle Dracula!
聽到這句話,我感到渾身冰涼。再待一個(gè)月!可我又能怎么辦呢?我是為霍金先生工作的,伯爵的生意對(duì)于他來說非常重要,所以如果伯爵需要我,那我就必須留下來。于是我寫了封信,但我知道伯爵肯定會(huì)看。我不能告訴霍金先生我成了德拉庫拉城堡中的囚徒!
That evening the Count did not stay and talk with me, but before he left the room, he turned to me and said, 'My young friend, sleep only in this room or your bedroom. You must never fall asleep in any other room in the castle. You will be in danger if you do.'
那天晚上伯爵沒有留下來跟我談活,但他臨走前轉(zhuǎn)過身來對(duì)我說:“我年輕的朋友,你只能睡在這個(gè)房間或你的臥室里。你決不能在城堡的其他任何房間里睡覺,否則你會(huì)有危險(xiǎn)的。”
When he left, I went to my room, but I could not rest and began to walk round the castle. Many of the doors were locked, but I found one which was open. I pushed back the door and saw that there was a window in the room. It was a beautiful night and the mountains looked wonderful in the soft yellow light of the moon. Suddenly, something moved below me. It was the Count. Slowly, he came out of the window—first those hands, like the hands of an animal, and then his head. He began to move down the wall, head first. With his black cloak around him, he looked like a horrible black bird—and my blood ran cold. What was Count Dracula?
他一離開,我就到我的房間里去了,但我卻無法入睡,于是就在城堡里轉(zhuǎn)來轉(zhuǎn)去。許多門都上著鎖,但我發(fā)現(xiàn)有一扇門是開著的。我推門而入,看見屋里有一扇窗戶。這是個(gè)美好的夜晚,群山在柔黃色的月光下顯得那么美妙。突然,有什么東西在我下方移動(dòng),原來是伯爵。他正慢慢地爬出窗外——先是那雙像動(dòng)物一樣的手,然后是他的腦袋。他開始頭朝下地順著墻向下爬。黑色的斗篷罩在他身上,使他看起來像一只可怕的黑鳥——我嚇得渾身發(fā)冷。德拉庫拉伯爵到底是什么東西?
I shivered, and sat down for a minute. The room was warm and friendly. I think that many years ago it was a room for the ladies of the castle, and I decided not to go back to my cold, dark room, but to sleep in this room. So I lay down and closed my eyes.
我顫抖著坐了一會(huì)兒。這間屋子既暖和又舒適。我想多年以前,它應(yīng)該是城堡里貴婦人的房間,我決定不回我那間又冷又黑的屋子了,而在這間屋里睡覺。于是我躺下來閉上了眼睛。
Suddenly I felt that I was not alone. In the moonlight from the window I saw three beautiful young women. They were watching me, and talking quietly. 'He is young and strong,' one of them said.
忽然我感覺自己不是獨(dú)自一人。在從窗戶透進(jìn)來的月光下,我看見三個(gè)漂亮的年輕女子。她們正觀察著我,并悄悄地交談著。“他既年輕又強(qiáng)壯。”其中一個(gè)說道。
'Yes. There are kisses for all of us,' another answered.
“是的。我們都可以吻他。”另一個(gè)回答道。
I was excited and afraid. I knew that I wanted those soft red mouths to touch me.
我既興奮又害怕。我知道我想讓那些柔軟的紅唇吻我。
One of the women came nearer. Her strong white teeth touched my neck. I closed my eyes and waited. 'Kiss me! Kiss me!' I thought.
其中一個(gè)女子漸漸走近我。她堅(jiān)硬而潔白的牙齒觸到了我的脖頸。我閉上眼睛等待著。“吻我!吻我!”我在想。
Suddenly there was a cry of anger. It was the Count! He pulled the woman away from me, and her bright blue eyes turned red with a wild anger. I looked at the Count and his eyes were burning with all the fires of hell.
突然傳來一聲怒吼。是伯爵!他把那女子從我身邊拉開,她那明亮的藍(lán)眼睛因狂怒而變得通紅。我望著伯爵,他的眼睛里燃燒著地獄之火。
'Get off him!' he cried. 'He's not for you! Stay away from him.' A second later, the women were no longer there. They did not leave by the door, but they were no longer there!
“離開他!”他喊道,“他不是你們的!不要靠近他。”剎那間,那些女子便不見了。她們不是從屋門走出去的,但她們確實(shí)已不在那兒了!
I remember no more of that night. When I woke, I was in bed in my room. My gold cross lay on the table next to me, bright in the morning sun.
那天晚上的其他事情我已記不起來了。當(dāng)我醒來的時(shí)候,我已經(jīng)躺在自己房間的床上了。我的金十字架放在旁邊的桌上,在清晨的陽光下閃閃發(fā)光。
I knew then that those women were vampires, and that they wanted my blood.
現(xiàn)在我知道那些女子是吸血鬼了,她們想吸我的血。
Two nights later, the Count came to me. 'Write to Mina,' he said. 'Tell her that your work in Transylvania is finished and that you are coming home.'
兩天之后,伯爵來到我這里。“寫信給明娜,”他說道,“告訴她你在特蘭西瓦尼亞的工作已經(jīng)完成了,準(zhǔn)備回家。”
How pleased I was when I heard this! But then the Count said, 'Say that you are at Bistritz, and put June 29th on the letter.'
當(dāng)我聽到這句話時(shí)是多么高興呀!但接著伯爵說道:“就說你在畢斯特里茲,信上注明6月29號(hào)。”
I shivered when he said this. I knew then that the Count planned to kill me on that day. What could I do? There was nothing. I could only wait and try to escape. But the Count took away all my other clothes and my travel papers, and he locked the door of my room.
他說這句話的時(shí)候,我在發(fā)抖。我知道伯爵是打算在那天殺死我。可我又能怎么辦呢?別無選擇。我只能等待時(shí)機(jī)逃脫。可是伯爵拿走了我其他所有的衣服和旅行證件,并鎖上了我的房門。
A week or two later, I heard noises in the castle, the sound of men working. 'Perhaps one of them will take a letter out of the castle for me,' I thought.
一兩個(gè)星期以后,我聽到城堡里有喧鬧聲,是人們干活的聲音。“也許他們中有人能幫我把信帶出城堡。”我想。
But it was too late! It was already June 29th, and that evening from my window I saw the Count leave the castle, with my letter to Mina in his hand. He was going to post it! I knew that I must do something before it was too late.
但是太晚了!已經(jīng)是6月29號(hào)了,那天晚上透過窗戶我看見伯爵離開了城堡,手里拿著我寫給明娜的信。他準(zhǔn)備把信寄走!我想我必須在一切還猶為未晚前做點(diǎn)什么。
Vampires can only come out at night, so I knew that there was no danger during the day. The next morning I decided to visit the Count's room to see what I could find. To do this I had to get into it by the window. This was possible because his room was just below my bedroom, and there were little holes in the wall between the stones. I could put my feet in these, and I could use the heavy curtains from my window to hold onto. It was dangerous, but I had to try.
吸血鬼只能在夜里出來,因此我知道白天不會(huì)有危險(xiǎn)。第二天早晨我決定去窺探一下伯爵的房間,看看能找到什么。我只有通過窗戶才能進(jìn)到他的房間里去。這是可以做到的,因?yàn)樗奈葑觿偤迷谖业呐P室下面,而且墻上的石頭之間都有小洞,我可以把腳放在這些洞里,再抓著窗戶上厚厚的窗簾。這很危險(xiǎn),但我必須試一試。
Slowly I moved down the wall. Once or twice I almost fell, but at last I found myself in the Count's bedroom.
我慢慢地順著墻向下移動(dòng)。有那么一兩次我差點(diǎn)掉下去,但最后我還是到了伯爵的臥室里。
The room was empty. The Count was not there. I looked for the castle keys, but I could not find them. Over in one corner of the room there was some gold, and on the other side of the room there was a big wooden door. It was open and I saw that there were some stairs going down. I went down them, and I came to another door. This was open too, and I found myself in a room with a stone floor. Slowly, I looked around me. There were about fifty wooden boxes in the room. They were coffins, and they were full of earth. In one of them lay the Count! I could not say if he was dead or asleep. His eyes were open and looked cold and stony, but his face did not look like the face of a dead man. His lips were still very red, but he did not move. Slowly I went nearer. I thought perhaps that he had the castle keys on him. But when I looked at those cold, stony eyes, my blood ran cold. Afraid, I turned and ran back to the window. I did not stop to think until I was back in my room.
屋子是空的,伯爵不在屋里。我找了找城堡的鑰匙,但沒找到。屋子的一個(gè)角落里有一些金子,另一邊有一扇很大的木門。門是開著的,我看見有樓梯直通到下面。我下了樓梯來到另一扇門前。這扇門也是開著的,我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己已經(jīng)進(jìn)了一間石頭鋪地的屋子。我慢慢地環(huán)視了一下四周。屋里有大約50個(gè)木箱子。是棺材,里面裝滿了土,而伯爵就躺在其中一個(gè)棺材里!我看不出他是死了還是睡著了。他雙目圓睜,看起來陰森森的,了無生氣,但他的臉卻并不像一個(gè)死人的臉。他的嘴唇依然是鮮紅的,但他一動(dòng)不動(dòng)。我慢慢地靠近他。我想也許他身上有城堡的鑰匙。但當(dāng)我看著那雙冷酷的眼睛時(shí),我的血都涼了。我嚇得轉(zhuǎn)身跑回窗前。直到回到我的屋里,我才喘了口氣想了想剛才的事情。
That night the Count came to me again. 'Tomorrow you will return to England,' he said—and I knew that tomorrow was the day of my death.
那晚,伯爵又來到我的屋里。“明天你就回英國吧。”他說——但我知道明天就是我的死期。
I lay down on my bed, but I did not sleep very well. During the night I heard women's voices outside my door, and then the Count, saying, 'Wait. Your time has not yet come. Tomorrow night—you can have him then.' The women laughed, a low, sweet sound, and I shook with fear.
我躺在床上,但并沒有睡好。晚上我聽到門外有女人的說話聲,然后又聽到伯爵說:“等一等,還沒到時(shí)候呢。明天晚上——他就是你們的了。”女人們笑了起來,聲音很低,也很悅耳,我卻嚇得渾身發(fā)抖。
Morning came at last, and I was still alive. 'I must escape,' I thought. But first I had to get the keys.
天終于亮了,我仍然活著。“我必須逃跑。”我想。但首先我要拿到鑰匙。
Once again, I went down the wall and into the Count's room. I ran down the stairs, to the room with the coffins.
我又一次順著墻爬到伯爵的屋內(nèi)。我跑下樓梯,來到了放棺材的屋子。
The Count was there, in his coffin, but he looked younger and his hair was no longer white. There was blood on his mouth, which ran down across his neck. My hands were shaking, but I had to touch him, to look for the keys. I felt all over his body, but they weren't there. Suddenly I wanted to kill Count Dracula. I took a workman's hammer, and began to bring it down hard on to that horrible, smiling face. But just then the head turned and the Count's burning eyes looked at me. His bloody mouth smiled more horribly than ever. I dropped the hammer and stood there, shaking. What could I do now?
伯爵就躺在他的棺材里,但他看起來年輕了,頭發(fā)也不再是白的了。他嘴上有血,順著脖子流下來。我的手開始發(fā)抖,但我必須要接觸他才能找鑰匙。我摸遍了他的全身,但并沒有找到鑰匙。突然我想殺死德托庫拉伯爵。我拿起一把工人用的鐵錘,開始向那張可怕的、微笑著的臉使勁砸去。正在這時(shí)伯爵的頭轉(zhuǎn)了過來,用一雙憤怒的眼睛看著我。他血淋淋的嘴笑得比先前更恐怖了。我丟了鐵錘站在那里,渾身顫抖。我該怎么辦呢?
Just then I heard the sound of voices. The workmen were coming back. I hurried back up the stairs to the Count's room. Below, I heard the noise of a key. The workmen were opening a door. So there was another door to the outside down there! I listened carefully, and heard the sound of hammers. They were getting the coffins ready for a journey—perhaps to England! I remembered the Count's words about his plans to visit my country.
正在那時(shí),我聽到有說話的聲音。工人們回來了。我趕緊上樓回到伯爵的房間。我聽到了下面有鑰匙的響聲。工人們正在開門。那么下面還有另外一扇門通到外面的!我仔細(xì)聽著,好像有錘子的聲音。他們正準(zhǔn)備把這些棺材運(yùn)出去——可能是運(yùn)到英國吧!我記得伯爵說過他打算去我的國家。
I turned to run back downstairs, to find this open door. But I was too late. A cold wind ran through the castle and, with a crash, the door at the top of the stairs closed and locked itself. I could not get back down the stairs.
我轉(zhuǎn)身朝樓下跑去,想找到這扇開著的門。但我來得太晚了。一股陰風(fēng)刮過城堡,“嘭”的一聲,樓梯上面的門自動(dòng)關(guān)上,鎖住了。我無法從樓梯上下去了。
Soon I saw from the window the heavy carts full of coffins, and the workmen drove away. I was alone in the castle with those terrible vampire women.
很快我透過窗戶看見一輛輛裝滿棺材的馬車,由工人們趕著遠(yuǎn)去了。只剩下我和那些可怕的女吸血鬼留在城堡里。
While I was writing these words in my diary, I decided what to do. I must try to escape. I shall try to get down the wall outside. The window is high above the ground, but I have to try. I shall take some of the gold with me—if I escape, perhaps it will be helpful later.
當(dāng)我在日記中寫下這些話時(shí),我已經(jīng)決定怎么做了。我必須設(shè)法逃走。我要順著外面的墻爬下去。窗戶離地面很高,但我還是要試一下。我要帶上一些金子——如果我能逃脫,或許這些金子以后會(huì)有用的。
If I die, it will be better than the death that waits for me here. Goodbye, Mina! Will I ever see you again?
如果我死了,那也比在這兒等死要好。再見了,明娜!我還能再見到你嗎?
* * *
write to write and send a letter to sb. 給某人寫信。
plan v. intend. 計(jì)劃,打算。
wonderful adj. be good and admirable. 極好的,奇妙的。
cloak n. sleeveless outer garment hanging loosely from the shoulders, usu. worn out of doors. 斗篷,披風(fēng)。
shiver v. tremble, esp. from cold or fear. 顫抖,哆嗦。
excited adj. feeling or showing excitement 興奮的,激動(dòng)的。
hell n. place believed in some religions to be the home of devils and of wicked people after death. 地獄。
get off leave. 離開。
escape v. get free; getaway (from imprisonment or control). 逃脫,逃走。
decide v. make up one's mind. 決定。
curtain n. piece of material hung to cover a window, and usu. movable sideways. 窗簾。
hold onto keep grasping or gripping sb. / sth.; not let go of sb. / sth. 抓住某人或某物。
coffin n. box in which a dead body is buried or cremated. 棺材。
stony adj. hard, cold, and unsympathetic. 冷酷的。
not...until up to the time of (a specified event). 直到……才……
sweet adj. pleasing to hear, melodious. 悅耳的。
hammer n. tool with a heavy metal head at right angles to the handle, used for breaking things, driving nails in, etc. 錘子。
horrible adj. causing horror. 可怕的,令人恐懼的。
burning adj. intense; extreme. 強(qiáng)烈的,極端的。
get ready for 為……作好準(zhǔn)備。
journey n. (distance covered in) travelling, usu. by land, from one place to another, often far away. 旅行。
through prep. from one side of (a surface or screen) to the other. 穿過。
crash n. (loud noise made by a) violent fall, blow or breakage. 墜落(聲),撞擊(聲)。
cart n. vehicle with two or four wheels used for carrying loads and usu. pulled by a horse. (通常為馬拉的兩輪或四輪)馬車。