Chapter IX
第九章
The next important event in my life was my visit to Boston, in May, 1888. As if it were yesterday I remember the preparations, the departure with my teacher and my mother, the journey, and finally the arrival in Boston. How different this journey was from the one I had made to Baltimore two years before! I was no longer a restless, excitable little creature, requiring the attention of everybody on the train to keep me amused. I sat quietly beside Miss Sullivan, taking in with eager interest all that she told me about what she saw out of the car window: the beautiful Tennessee River, the great cotton-fields, the hills and woods, and the crowds of laughing negroes at the stations, who waved to the people on the train and brought delicious candy and popcorn balls through the car. On the seat opposite me sat my big rag doll, Nancy, in a new gingham dress and a beruffled sunbonnet, looking at me out of two bead eyes. Sometimes, when I was not absorbed in Miss Sullivan's descriptions, I remembered Nancy's existence and took her up in my arms, but I generally calmed my conscience by making myself believe that she was asleep.
1888年5月的波士顿之旅是我生命中的又一件大事。当时的情景历历在目,仿佛就发生在昨天。总之,在苏立文小姐和妈妈的陪伴下,我最终到了波士顿。同我两年前的巴尔的摩之行相比,这次旅行迥然不同。我不再是那个兴奋好动,到处找乐,引得一车人注意的小丫头了。这一次,我安静地坐在苏立文小姐身边,聚精会神地“听”她讲述车窗外的风景:秀美的田纳西河,广袤的棉花地,群山和森林,站台上,一群有说有笑的黑人朝乘客们挥手示意,从车窗送进来美味的糖果和爆米花。我把我的大布娃娃南希放在了对面的座位上,她穿着新的花格子衣服,头戴花边遮阳软帽,用两只玻璃眼珠看着我。偶尔,当我听不大懂苏立文小姐描述的时候,我就想起了南希,我还把她抱在怀里;但是在通常情况下,我会让自己相信南希正在睡觉,所以我会变得很安静。
As I shall not have occasion to refer to Nancy again, I wish to tell here a sad experience she had soon after our arrival in Boston. She was covered with dirt—the remains of mud pies I had compelled her to eat, although she had never shown any special liking for them. The laundress at the Perkins Institution secretly carried her off to give her a bath. This was too much for poor Nancy.
可是我再也没有机会提到南希了,在此,我愿意讲述她随我到波士顿后的不幸经历。她满身污渍——大多是被我强迫喂食的“泥巴馅饼”的剩余物,尽管她从未显露出喜欢吃这种食品的丝毫热情。帕金斯盲人学院的洗衣女工瞒着我给她洗了一个澡,这对可怜的南希来说简直是灭顶之灾。