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Chapter 1 Sara
第一章 萨拉
Once on a dark winter's day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London
一个晦暗的冬日，黄色的浓雾沉甸甸地笼罩着伦敦的街道，
that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night,
像夜晚一样，人们点起了灯火，商店的橱窗里闪烁着煤气灯光，
an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares.
有一辆出租马车缓慢地在大街上行驶着，一个模样古怪的小女孩同她父亲坐在车中。
She sat with her feet tucked under her, and leaned against her father, who held her in his arm,
她蜷缩着双足坐着，斜依着父亲，被父亲搂在怀里，
as she stared out of the window at the passing people with a queer old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes.
一双大眼睛凝视着车窗外过往的行人，异样的目光带着几分少年老成的忧虑。
She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face.
她年纪还小，人们料想不到能在她的小脸上看到这样的眼神。
It would have been an old look for a child of twelve, and Sara Crewe was only seven.
即使对一个十二岁的孩子说来，这样的眼神也显得老气横秋，何况萨拉·克鲁才七岁。
The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things
可是，事实上她总是在幻想着、思考着一些古怪的事情，
and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to.
她自己也不知道有什么时候不在想关于成人们的事情和他们所属的那个世界。
She felt as if she had lived a long, long time.
她觉得她好像已经活得很久，很久了。
At this moment she was remembering the voyage she had just made from Bombay with her father, Captain Crewe.
这时她想起了她和父亲——克鲁上尉——最近从孟买出发的那次航行。
She was thinking of the big ship, of the Lascars passing silently to and fro on it, of the children playing about on the hot deck,
她想到那条大船、船上默默地来往的印度水手、在炎热的甲板上嬉戏的儿童，
and of some young officers' wives who used to try to make her talk to them and laugh at the things she said.
还有一些年青军官的太太，她们常常逗她讲话，并且对她所说的话报以嬉笑声。
Principally, she was thinking of what a queer thing it was that at one time one was in India in the blazing sun,
她主要在想：多奇怪呀，一个人好像刚刚还在印度的烈日下，
and then in the middle of the ocean, and then driving in a strange vehicle through strange streets where the day was as dark as the night.
一转眼就到了大洋当中，没有多久又乘在这新奇的马车中，行驶在这些新奇的街道上，这儿白天也像夜间那样黑暗。
She found this so puzzling that she moved closer to her father.
她对此感到迷惑费解，就向父亲更靠紧些。
"Papa," she said in a low, mysterious little voice which was almost a whisper, "papa."
“爸爸，”她神秘地说，声音低柔得简直像是耳语，“爸爸。”
"What is it, darling?" Captain Crewe answered, holding her closer and looking down into her face. "What is Sara thinking of?"
“什么事，宝贝儿？”克鲁上尉回答，低头看着她的脸，把她搂得更紧些。“萨拉正在想什么呢？”
