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Chapter 1. The cyclone
第一章 旋风来了
Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife.
多萝茜和亨利叔叔、爱姆婶婶，住在堪萨斯州大草原的中部。叔叔是个农人，婶婶是他的妻子。
Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles.
他们的房子很小，因为建屋子的木材要从很远的地方用货车运过来，很不容易。
There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cookstove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds.
所以他们住的一间屋子只是由四垛板壁、一个屋顶和一堂地板构成。屋子里有一个锈迹斑斑的烧饭炉灶，一个放着盆碟的橱，一张桌子，三四把椅子，两张床。
Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner.
亨利叔叔和爱姆婶婶的大床，放在角落里，多萝茜的小床，放在另外一个角落里。
There was no garret at all, and no cellar--except a small hole dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, might enough to crush any building in its path.
屋子里没有阁楼，也没有地下室——只有那么一个小洞，直掘到地下面，这洞叫做“旋风的地洞”。在大旋风刮来时，全家人可以躲进里面去。因为凡是旋风经过的地方，不论什么屋子它都有可能吹倒。
It was reached by a trap door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole.
在地板的中央，有一扇活动的木门，那里有一座梯子，走下去就进入了那又黑又小的地洞里。
When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side.
多萝茜站在门口，向四周眺望，茫茫的灰色的大草原，望不到尽头。
Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions.
在那一片宽阔平坦的原野上没有一棵树，也没有一间小屋子。草原一直伸展到天边。
The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it.
太阳烤炙着这片耕作过的田地，把它变成一片灰色的布满许多裂缝的荒野。
Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere.
甚至原野上的草也不是绿色的。因为太阳灼烧着它们的顶部长叶，使得它们不论从何处看，都是灰色的。
Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.
有一次，屋子油漆过了，太阳却把油漆晒起了泡，雨把它褪尽了，这屋子和别的东西一样变得暗淡灰蒙蒙。
When Aunt Em came there to live, she was a young, pretty wife.
当初爱姆婶婶刚来这里的时候，她还是个年青貌美新嫁娘。
The sun and wind had changed her, too.
太阳和风也把她的样儿改变了。
They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also.
它们从她的眼睛里，拿走了光辉，留下了一种沉重的灰色；它们从她的面颊上和嘴唇上，拿走了红润，也只剩下灰色。
She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now.
如今她消瘦而且憔悴，不再微笑。
When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.
多萝茜是一个孤儿，第一次来到爱姆婶婶身边时，婶婶被这女孩子的笑声吓了一跳。无论什么时候，每当多萝茜的快活的声音传到婶婶的耳朵里，她总要尖叫起来，并且把手压在心头；她带着惊奇，看着这个小女孩子——因为她在不论什么东西上都能够找寻出笑料来。
Uncle Henry never laughed.
亨利叔叔从来不笑。
He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was.
他从早到晚在地里努力干活儿，不知道什么是快乐。
He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke.
从他的长须直到他粗糙的鞋子，也全是灰色的，他看起来庄重严肃，很少说话。
It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings.
让多萝茜好笑的是托托，在多萝茜和四周一切事物一样都逐渐褪变成灰色时，托托带来了不同的色彩。
Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose.
托托不是灰色的，它是一只小黑狗，有着柔软滑顺的长毛，一对小黑眼睛，在它那只有趣的极小的鼻子两边，快乐地眨着。
Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly.
多萝茜整天跟它在一块儿玩着，并且十分喜欢托托。
Today, however, they were not playing.
然而，今天他们没有一块儿玩。
Uncle Henry sat upon the doorstep and looked anxiously at the sky, which was even grayer than usual.
亨利叔叔坐在门口的阶沿上，烦恼地望着比平时更加灰暗的天空。
Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in her arms, and looked at the sky too.
多萝茜抱着托托，站在门口，也望着天空。
Aunt Em was washing the dishes.
爱姆婶婶正在洗盆子。
