1. Monday morning at school started off with perfect normalcy.It began exactly like any other school morning. It wasn't until they reached the third-grade classroom that they noticed. "Hey, what's going on?" Jimmy Moore demanded. Instead of a cozy circle the desks and chairs had been rearranged in stiff, rigid rows. The point to Roger Clark wasn't that the desks had been rearranged. The point was, why? As if in answer, he heard two hands clap behind him. "What's this, what's this?" barked a stern, raspish voice.
星期一早晨的学校，一切都是以一种非常正常的方式开始了，跟平常上学的日子几乎一模一样。直到孩子们来到三年级的教室，才发现了异常—— “嘿，这是怎么回事？”吉米·摩尔急问道。教室里书桌和椅子的摆放方式从之前一个舒适的圆圈变成了呆板的一排排的布局。罗杰·克拉克关注的并不是书桌被重新布置这件事，而是“为什么会这样？”此时，他身后传来了一个人的鼓掌声，似乎是在回答他的疑问。然后是一个女人的声音：“这是怎么回事，这是怎么回事？”这声音听起来既严厉又刺耳。
2. She was tall and straight as a ruler, and was wearing an ancient tweed suit and a skirt that was nearly to the ankles. She bore a plant in one arm and a book in the other. Her hair was gray, like a witch's, in a bun, and there was no question that she had witch's eyes.
她身材挺拔，像是一把直尺，上身穿着一件古老的花呢套装，下身穿着一条几乎要盖住脚踝的裙子。她一只手端着一盆绿植，另一只手里拿着一本书。她的头发是灰色的——跟女巫的一样，头发扎成了一个圆发髻，而且毫无疑问她还张着一双女巫的眼睛。
3. "I am Miss Orville. 0-r-v-i-l-l-e," she spelled. She clasped her hands. "Prior to my retirement I taught boys and girls for forty-six years," she warned. "I am beyond trickery, so I advise you to try none. You are to be in my charge until the return of your normal teacher, miss Wilson, however long that may be. Since I have no knowledge of your individual abilities, perhaps a look at the weekend homework will shed some light. You have all completed it, I trust? Take out your notebooks, please. At once, at once, I say."
“我是奥维尔老师，0-r-v-i-l-l-e，”她拼出了自己的名字。然后，她紧握双手，告诫说：“退休以前，我教了46年的书。耍诡计对我毫无作用，所以我建议你们不要去尝试。在正式教你们的威尔逊老师回来之前，你们都归我管，无论这段时间有多长。由于我还不了解你们的个人能力，看看你们周末的家庭作业或许能给我点儿启发。我相信你们的家庭作业都完成了，是吧？请拿出你们的笔记本。我是说，立刻，立刻。”
4. “You call this chicken scrawl penmanship?” R-r-rip! A page was torn out and thrust at its owner. “Redo it at once, it assaults the intelligence.” Then, moving on, “What is this maze of ill-spelled words!!” Oh boy, Roger felt he was in for it for sure. He opened his book bag. It slid and, with a crash, fell to the floor. Books, pencil case spilled out. Baseball cards, water pistol, police whistle, kite string . . . “Ah," crowed Miss Awful, instantly at his desk. "We have come to play, have we?" And she fixed her witch's gaze on him…
“这潦草的笔迹是你的杰作？”刺啦一声！一页纸被撕掉并砸向它的主人。“马上重做，这是在挑战别人的智商。”然后，她继续说道：“这些拼写错误的单词究竟想表达的是什么！！？？”天啊，罗杰觉得自己肯定遇到麻烦了。他打开书 包，书包滑了下来，撞到了地板上——书本、铅笔盒散落一地，还有棒球卡、水枪、警哨、风筝线…… “呀，”这位可怕的代课老师立刻惊呼着出现在他书桌旁。“我们是来玩的，是吧？”她用她那女巫的眼神凝视着他......
5. The third grade was the last class to exit from the building on Monday. Mrs. Clark, Roger’s mother, noted that the children appeared strangely defeated. As for Roger, he quickly pulled his mother down the block in silence. When enough distance had been gained, words erupted from him. "No, we don't have a new teacher," he flared wildly. "We got a witch for a new teacher. It's the truth. She's from Hansel and Gretel, the same horrible eyes -- and she steals toys. Miss Awful, that's her name. Come on, I've got to hurry home. I don't have time to waste. I have so much homework to do!"
当天放学的时候，三年级是从学校大楼里最后一个出来的班级。罗杰的母亲克拉克太太注意到孩子们出来时都有些垂头丧气。至于罗杰，他快速地拉着妈妈一身不吭地穿过街区。当知道已经距离学校足够远时，他才开始滔滔不绝起来。“不，我们没有新老师，”他突然忿忿地说道，“是来了个女巫当我们的新老师了。这是事实。她来自《汉斯和格莱泰》，她们有同样可怕的双眼——她还会偷玩具。“可怕的老师”，这就是她的名字。快走吧，我得快点回家。我没有时间可浪费。我还有好多家庭作业要做！”

6. On Tuesday, together with the other mothers, Nancy Reeves finally remembered where previously she had seen Miss Orville. "I know who she is!” she said to Mrs. Clark. “Those old buildings near us on Hudson Street -- remember when they were torn down last year? Miss Orville was one of the tenants, She'd lived there for ages, and refused to budge until the landlord got a court order and deposited her on the sidewalk. Her picture was in the papers. Elderly retired schoolteacher . . . Poor old thing, evicted like that . . . I remember she couldn't keep any of the plants . . ."
星期二，南希·里夫斯和其他几位妈妈在一起时，记起了她之前在哪见过奥维尔老师。“我知道她是谁了！”她跟克拉克太太说道，“我们家附近哈德逊街旁的那几栋旧楼房——还记得去年它们被拆的时候吗？奥维尔老师就是其中一位房客，她在那里住了好多年。她拒不搬离，直到房东收到法院命令，并将她赶到人行道上。她的照片都上报纸了。一位退休的老教师......可怜的老人，就这样被赶出了家门......我记得她的那些绿植一盆也能没留住......”
7. Then it was Friday at St. Geoffrey's. Before lunch, Miss Orville told the class, "I am happy to inform you that miss Wilson will be back on Monday. This afternoon will be my final session with you." At lunch in the basement cafeteria, the third grade talked of nothing except how to get even with Miss Awful. “We could beat her up," Joey Lambert suggested. “Better idea” said Bruce Reeves. “We could go upstairs to the classroom before she gets back, and tie a string in front of the door. She’d trip and break her neck.
时间到了星期五，在圣·杰弗里学校。午餐前，奥维尔老师告诉全班同学：“我很高兴地通知你们，威尔逊老师会在下个星期一回来。今天下午的课将是我给你们上的最后一堂课。”午餐时，在地下室的食堂里，三年级的学生们都在谈论如何报复一下奥维尔老师—— “我们可以痛打她一顿，” 乔伊·兰伯特建议道。“不错的主意”布鲁斯·里夫斯说。“我们可以在她回到教室之前先上楼去到教室，然后在教室门前绑上一根绳子。她肯定会被绊倒，并摔得很惨。”
8. “She’s old,” Roger protested. “We can’t hurt her like that. She’s too old.” “That dopey old plant she’s always fussing over,” piped Midge Fuller. “We could rip off all the dopey leaves. That’d show her.” Roger pushed back his chair and stood up from the table. “We don’t want to do that,” he said, not understanding why he objected. It was a feeling inside, he couldn’t explain… “Aw, let’s forget about it,” he said. “Let’s call it quits.”
“她年纪很大了，”罗杰反对说，“我们不能那样伤害她。她太老了。”“那我们就对那盆她爱不释手而且又蠢又老的绿植下手，” 米基·富勒尖声说，“我们可以把它愚蠢的叶子都撕掉 。给她点儿颜色看看。”罗杰向后推开椅子，从座位上站了起来。“我们不想这样做，”他说。他也不明白自己为什么会反对，只是他内心的一种感觉，他也无法解释......“噢，让我们忘掉那些不愉快吧，”他说，“还是算了吧。”
9. “Well, you’ve put in an industrious week, I daresay…” Miss Orville recommenced the class after lunch. "To attend school is a privilege you must not mock. It is a priceless gift. If I have been severe with you this past week, it was for your benefit. The world needs good citizens --"
“嗯，你们过去的一个星期都很用功，我猜......”午饭后，奥维尔老师重新开始上课了。“上学是一种你们应该尊重的特权。它是一件无价的礼物。如果过去一周我对你们太严厉了，这对你们是有益处的。这个世界需要好公民，有用的人…… ”
10. She stopped speaking. She was staring at the plant, which she had not noticed before. The stalks twisted up bare and naked, where the leaves had been torn off. She turned and faced the class, and behind the spectacles her eyes were dim and faded. "Whoever is responsible, I beg of you only to be sorry," she said. When she returned to her desk, her back was straighter than ever, but it seemed to take her longer to cover the distance.
她的话停了。此时，她正盯着那盆绿植——她注意到了之前没有注意到的细节：它光秃秃的茎秆已经扭曲，叶子都被撕掉了。她转身面对全班同学，眼镜后面的双眼流露出昏暗、渐弱的神情。“不管是谁干的，我恳求你只要出来说声对不起就好，”她说。她朝讲桌的方向走去时，她的背比以往任何时候挺得都更加笔直，只是似乎这个距离比以往花费的时间更长了一些。
11. At the close of class that afternoon, miss Orville merely dismissed the boys and girls and did not leave her desk. The children ran out, some in regret, some silent, others cheerful and scampering. Only Roger stayed behind. Miss Orville was emptying the desk of her possessions, books, pads, a folder of maps. Roger went to the desk. He stood at the desk, rubbing his hand up and down his coat. “Yes?” Miss Orville asked. Roger stood back, hands at his side, and lifted his head erectly. “Flower," he spelled. "F- l-o-w-e-r." He squared his shoulders and looked at Miss Orville's brimming eyes. "Castle," Roger spelled. “C-a-s-t-l-e.” Then he walked from the room.
当天下午的课结束时，奥维尔老师只是放走了班里的孩子们，并没有离开讲桌。孩子们跑了出去，一些人带着些遗憾，一些人保持着沉默，其他的孩子们则开开心心、蹦蹦跳跳的离开了教室，只有罗杰留了下来。奥维尔老师正在清空讲桌上的私人物品、书本、便签簿和地图夹。罗杰走到讲桌前，站在那里，用手上下揉搓着自己的外套。“有事吗？”奥维尔老师问道。罗杰向后挪了挪脚步，双手放在身边，径直地抬起头来。“Flower，”他拼道，“F-l-o-w-e-r。”他端直了肩膀，看着奥维尔老师噙着泪水的双眼。“Castle，”罗杰继续拼道，“C-a-s-t-l-e。”然后，他走出了教室。