Alan Austen went up certain dark and creaky stairs and peered about for a long time on the dime landing before he found the name he wanted written obscurely on one of the doors. He pushed open this door and found himself in a tiny room, which contained no furniture but a plain kitchen table, a chair and a rocking-chair. On one of the dirty buff-coloured walls were a couple of shelves, containing in all perhaps a dozen bottles and jars. An old man sat in the rocking-chair, reading a newspaper. Alan, without a word, handed him the card he had been given.
艾伦·奥斯丁走进漆黑的楼梯间里，踏着吱吱作响的楼梯，向楼上走去。他在光线昏暗的楼梯口眯着眼看了好一阵子，才在其中一扇房门上找到了他想要找的那个名字，尽管字迹有些模糊不清。他推门进去。房间很小，几乎没什么家具，只有一张不起眼的餐桌、一把普普通通的椅子和一把摇椅。淡黄色的墙壁脏兮兮的，其中一面墙上装着三两副货架，上面摆放着大概十几个瓶瓶罐罐。一位老人坐在摇椅上，正看着报纸。艾伦默不作声地把自己之前收到的那张卡片递给了老人。
"Sit down, Mr. Austen," said the old man very politely. "I am glad to make your acquaintance." "Is it true," asked Alan, "that you have a certain mixture that has-er-quite extraordinary effects?" "My dear sir," replied the old man, "my stock in trade is not very large -I don't deal in laxatives-but such as it is, it is varied. I think nothing I sell has effects which could be precisely described as ordinary."
“请坐，奥斯丁先生，”老人非常有礼貌地说。“很高兴认识你。” “听说您这里有那种……呃……效果非同寻常的药水，”艾伦问道，“这是真的吗？”“亲爱的先生，”老人回答说，“我这里药品的存货并不多——我可不卖泻药什么的——不过，我这里药的品种也不算少。而且我觉得，我卖的药的效果都不是“寻常”二字能够描述得了的。”
"Well, the fact is. . ." began Alan. "Here, for example," interrupted the old man, reaching for a bottle from the shelf. "Here is a liquid as colourless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, wine, or any other beverage. It is also quite imperceptible to any known method of autopsy."
“嗯，是这么回事......”艾伦打算切入正题。“比如这个，”老人打断他的话，伸手取下货架上的一个瓶子。“这种药水看上去跟水没什么两样，无色、基本无味，掺在咖啡、葡萄酒或任何其他饮料中完全不会被察觉到，且几乎不会被任何已知的尸检方法检验出来。”
"Do you mean it is a poison?" cried Alan, very much horrified. "One might call it a life-cleaner. Lives need cleaning sometimes." Said the old man. "I want nothing of that sort," said Alan. "Do you know the price of this?” the old man continued. “For one teaspoonful, which is sufficient, I ask five thousand dollars. Never less. Not a penny less."
“您的意思是它是一种毒药？”艾伦非常惊恐地喊了起来。“我们可以管它叫‘生命清洁剂’。有时候，我们的生命也需要清洁一下。”老人回答说。“我可不想买那种东西”艾伦说。“你知道它有多贵吗？”老人继续说道，“只要一茶匙，保证‘药到病除’，但这一茶匙我要收五千美元，一分钱不能少。”
"I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive," said Alan apprehensively. "Oh dear, no," said the old man. " Young people who need a love potion for example, very seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love potion."
“希望您的药水可别都这么贵，”艾伦有些担忧地说。“放心吧，不会的，”老人接话道。“比如，需要爱情魔药的年轻人，就很少有人付得起五千美元，否则他们也不会需要爱情魔药了。”
"I am glad to hear that," said Alan. "So, you really do sell love potions?" "If I did not sell love potions," said the old man, reaching for another bottle, "I should not have mentioned this other matter to you. It is only when one is in a position to oblige that one can afford to be so confidential."
“您这么说我就放心了，”艾伦说。“所以，您这里真的在卖爱情魔药？”“如果我没有出售爱情魔药的话，”老人说，伸手去拿另一个瓶子，“我也不会跟你提刚才那种药了。若没那个本事，怎会如此坦诚相告？”
"And these potions," said Alan. "They are not just-just-er-" "Oh, no," said the old man. "Their effects are permanent, and extend far beyond the mere casual impulse. But they include it. Oh, yes they include it. Bountifully, insistently. Everlastingly."
“还有，这种爱情魔药，”艾伦说，“它不只是……仅仅……呃……”“当然不是，”老人回答说，“它的药效是永久性的，远不止一时的冲动。但冲动也是它的药效之一。哦，对了，药效中绝对包括冲动，而且是那种浓烈的、持久的、永恒的冲动。”
"Dear me!" said Alan, attempting a look of scientific detachment. "How very interesting!" "For indifference," said the old man, they substitute devotion. For scorn, adoration. Give one tiny measure of this to the young lady-its flavour is imperceptible in orange juice, soup, or cocktails-and however gay and giddy she is, she will want nothing but solitude and you. She will not want to go out, because she will be afraid of the pretty girls you may meet when she’s away." "She will actually be jealous?" cried Alan in a rapture. "Yes, she will want to be everything to you. If you are an hour late, she will be terrified. She will think you are killed, or that some siren has caught you."
“哦，天哪！”艾伦说，努力让自己看上去更加科学客观。“这太有趣了！”老人接着说：“我的爱情魔药能够将冷漠替代成热爱；能够将轻蔑替代成爱慕。只要取很少的剂量让那位少女喝下——掺在橙汁、汤或鸡尾酒中很难察觉到它的味道——无论她多么轻浮、多么轻佻，她都会彻底发生改变，除了与你厮守一生，别无他求。她将不再喜欢出去抛头露面，因为她会害怕她不在你身边时，你会遇到漂亮女孩。”“她真的会嫉妒吗？”艾伦已按捺不住自己的狂喜，喊了起来。“是的，她会想要成为你生命中的一切。如果你晚回家一个小时，她就会担惊受怕。她会认为你被杀害了，或者认为你被某个狐狸精勾引走了。”
"Dear me!" said Alan, attempting a look of scientific detachment. "How very interesting!" "For indifference," said the old man, they substitute devotion. For scorn, adoration. Give one tiny measure of this to the young lady-its flavour is imperceptible in orange juice, soup, or cocktails-and however gay and giddy she is, she will want nothing but solitude and you. She will not want to go out, because she will be afraid of the pretty girls you may meet when she’s away." "She will actually be jealous?" cried Alan in a rapture. "Yes, she will want to be everything to you. If you are an hour late, she will be terrified. She will think you are killed, or that some siren has caught you."
“哦，天哪！”艾伦说，努力让自己看上去更加科学客观。“这太有趣了！”老人接着说：“我的爱情魔药能够将冷漠替代成热爱；能够将轻蔑替代成爱慕。只要取很少的剂量让那位少女喝下——掺在橙汁、汤或鸡尾酒中很难察觉到它的味道——无论她多么热情，轻浮，她都会彻底发生改变，除了与你厮守一生，别无他求。她将不再喜欢出去抛头露面，因为她会害怕她不在你身边时，你会遇到漂亮女孩。”“她真的会嫉妒吗？”艾伦已按捺不住自己的狂喜，喊了起来。“是的，她会想要成为你生命中的一切。如果你晚回家一个小时，她就会担惊受怕。她会认为你被杀害了，或者认为你被某个狐狸精勾引走了。”
"I can hardly imagine Diana like that!" cried Alan, overwhelmed with joy. "You will not have to use your imagination," said the old man. "And, by the way, since there are always sirens, if by any chance you should, later on, slip a little, you need not worry. She will forgive you, in the end. She will be terribly hurt, of course, but she will forgive you-in the end. And, of course, she will never give you the least, the very least, grounds for-uneasiness."
“我很难想象黛安娜会那样！”艾伦继续喊着说道，已完全喜形于色。“你不必去过多想象了，”老人说。 “而且，顺便说一下，因为世上总会有狐狸精，即便你万一不小心开了个小差儿，你也不必担心。她最后一定会原谅你。当然，她会受到极大的伤害。但她最终肯定会原谅你。而且，当然，她绝对不会让你感到任何不自在，一点儿也不会。”
"And how much," said Alan, "is this wonderful mixture?" "It is not as dear," said the old man, "as the life-cleaner, as I sometimes call it. No. That is five thousand dollars, never a penny less. One has to be older than you are, to indulge in that sort of thing. One has to save up for it."
艾伦问：“这么神奇的药水要多少钱？”“没有生命清洁剂那么贵，”老人回答说，“我有时把那种药称为‘生命清洁剂’。那东西可不便宜，要五千美元，而且一分钱不能少。你还年轻，还不到沉溺于那种药水的年纪。年轻人得多存些钱才买得起。”
"But the love potion?" said Alan. "Oh, that," said the old man, opening the drawer in the kitchen table, and taking out a tiny, rather dirty-looking phial. "That is just a dollar." "I can't tell you how grateful I am," said Alan, watching him fill it. "I like to oblige," said the old man. "Then customers come back, later in life, when they are better off, and want more expensive things. Here you are. You will find it very effective." "Thank you again," said Alan. "Good-bye." "Au revoir," said the man.
“那爱情魔药呢？”艾伦问道。“哦，那个啊，”老人边说边拉出了餐桌的抽屉，取出一个看起来很脏的小药瓶。“一瓶只要一美元。”“真是感激不尽，”艾伦一边说，一边看着老人装满小药瓶。“很高兴为你效劳，”老人说， “以后，顾客的年纪再长些，经济状况更好了，想要买更贵的东西的时候，他们就会成为我的回头客。拿好了。你会发现它是非常有效的。”“再次感谢您，”艾伦说。最后，艾伦与老人相互道别。