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One evening in October, in the year 1815, there was a knock on the door of the Bishop of Digne's house.
1815年十月的一个晚上，迪涅主教的家门口响起了敲门声。
'Come in,' said the bishop.
“请进。”主教说道。
The bishop was a kind man; everyone in the town of Digne knew that.
这位主教是个善良的人，住在迪涅镇上的每个人都知道。
Poor people, hungry people, miserable people, they all came to the door of the bishop's house.
穷苦的人，挨饿的人，生活不幸的人，他们都会来敲主教家的门。
The bishop's sister looked at the man at the door that night, and she was afraid.
那天晚上，主教的妹妹看着门口的那个男人，心里感到害怕。
'Look at him!' she whispered to the bishop. 'He is a big man, and a dangerous one. He carries a yellow card, so he was once a prisoner, a bad man.'
“瞧瞧他！”她低声对主教说道，“他是个危险的大个子。他身上带着一张黄卡，说明他曾经是个囚犯，一个恶棍。”
But the bishop did not listen.
但是主教没有理会她的话。
'Come in, my friend,' he said to the man at the door. 'Come in. You must eat dinner with us, and sleep in a warm bed tonight.'
“进来吧，我的朋友。”他对门口的男人说，“进来吧。您一定要和我们一起吃顿晚饭，然后今晚在暖和的床铺上睡一宿。”
The man stared at the bishop.
那个男人有些惊讶地看着主教。
'My name is Jean Valjean,' he said. 'I was a prisoner in Toulon for nineteen years. Here is my yellow card, see?'
“我叫冉阿让。”他说，“我在土伦监狱坐了十九年牢。这是我的黄卡，看见没？
People everywhere shut their doors in my face, but not you. Why not?'
不管我走到哪儿，他们都把我拒之门外，你却没这么做。为什么呢？”
'Because, my friend, in the eyes of God you are my brother,' said the bishop, smiling. 'So, come in, and sit by our fire.'
“因为，我的朋友，在上帝的眼里，您就是我的兄弟。”主教微笑着说道，“所以，进来吧，坐在炉火旁边。”
The bishop turned to his sister. 'Now, sister, our friend Jean Valjean needs a good dinner. Bring out the silver dinner plates. It's a special night tonight.'
主教转头对他的妹妹说：“你瞧，妹妹，我们的朋友冉阿让需要好好地吃一顿晚餐。把银餐盘拿出来吧。这是个特别的夜晚。”
'Not the silver plates!' whispered the bishop's sister.
“别拿银餐盘！”主教的妹妹低声说道。
Her eyes went quickly to Jean Valjean, then back to the bishop's face.
她瞟了眼冉阿让，又转过头看着主教。
'Yes, the silver plates,' said the bishop. 'And the silver candlesticks too.
“就拿银餐盘。”主教说道，“再把银烛台也拿出来。
The church has these beautiful things, but they are for our visitors. And our visitor tonight must have only the best.'
教会拥有这些漂亮的东西，但它们是为我们的客人准备的。我们今晚就要拿最好的来招待客人。”
And so Jean Valjean sat down with the bishop and his sister and ate from silver plates.
于是，冉阿让与主教和主教的妹妹一起坐到了餐桌旁，用银餐盘吃晚餐。
He ate hungrily, it was his first good meal for weeks.
他吃得狼吞虎咽，这是他几个星期以来吃到的第一顿像样的饭。
'You're a good man,' he said to the bishop. 'Perhaps the only good man in France.'
“你是一个好人。”他对主教说，“可能是法国唯一的好人。”
But Valjean could not take his eyes away from the silver plates.
但冉阿让无法把目光从银餐盘上移开。
After the meal, the bishop's sister put the silver plates away, and Valjean's eyes watched.
吃过饭之后，主教的妹妹把银餐盘收了起来，冉阿让全都看在眼里。
He saw the place, and he remembered it. In the night, in his warm bed in the bishop's house, he thought about the plates.
他看见了收餐盘的地方，并记住了位置。晚上，躺在主教家暖和的床铺上时，他一直想着那些餐盘。
They were big, heavy, so much silver in them!
它们又大又沉，肯定用了很多白银！
'I can sell those plates,' he thought. 'For just one of them, I can eat well for months!'
“我可以把那些盘子卖了。”他心想，“只要卖一个，就足够我几个月好吃好喝了！”
Nineteen years in prison is a long time, and nineteen hard years change a man.
狱中的十九年是很长一段时间，十九年的苦难会改变一个人。
