Childhood dreams come back to haunt me
童年的梦重又萦绕我心头
Running along the brook, down to the hatchery, what heavenly joy this was when school was over!
放学后,有什么比沿着小溪跑到孵卵处更能给人如在天堂般的快乐!
We would play in the hay, the constant tweeting of the hatchlings—a constant background symphony.
我们会在干草中嬉戏,孵出的小鸟不停地鸣叫,这是不间断的背景交响乐。
Then on to our old haunt, the hazel grove.
接着,到我们经常去的小榛树林。
No hazards there, nothing but the healing sound of silence.
那儿除了有治疗功用的寂静之外,没有任何危险的东西。
There was that freckled little girl with her hazel eyes who would come with us.
有一个长着雀斑的、淡褐色眼睛的小女孩会跟着我们。
Oh, was she a cutie! “when I grow up, I'm going to marry you.” I said to her on more than one occasion.
噢,她真漂亮!“我长大了要娶你,”我不止一次这么对她说,
“don't count your chickens before they're hatched!” she would invariably reply with a haughty laugh.
“不要在蛋还没孵出时就数鸡!”她总是高傲地笑着回答。
“time will tell.” I would sigh to myself.
“等着瞧,”我会对自己叹气道。
At least, I did not detect any note of rejection or hatred, she was just playing hard to get.
至少,我没有从中听出任何拒绝或者憎恨的意思。她只是让我觉得很难做到。
Well, time has moved on, and my hasty words of all those years ago have come back to haunt me.
好了,时间过去了,这么多年前我说的草率的话重又萦绕在我心头。
I did marry that girl, but now she is gross and fat.
我的确娶了那个女孩,但是,她现在既粗俗,又肥胖。
Some people talk of marriage as a safe haven, heaven even, but for me it has turned out to be nothing less than purgatory here on earth.
有的人说婚姻是安全的避难所,甚至说是天堂,但对于我来说,它简直是地球上的炼狱。
My innocent childhood dreams have vanished in a haze, trapped as I am in a monotonous routine of bondage.
由于如今的我已深陷在单调乏味的日常生活的束缚中而难以自拔,那么童年时间的天真梦想自然也就随着薄雾的消失而消失殆尽了。
How am I to heal my broken heart?
我如何为我破碎的心疗伤呢?
Would I feel better if I took a hatchet to her, just to end this nightmare?
如果我向她举起一把短柄斧,结束这场噩梦,我会感觉好一些吗?
Nonsense! Let me hasten to say that I could never do such a thing!
胡说八道!让我赶快说我永远不能做这样的事情!
Anyway, it would be far too hazardous for my own well-being.
总之,对于我自己的幸福来说,那样太冒险了。
I would get caught, and then what?
我会被捕,然后呢?