The guinea-fowl likes to hide her nest in out-of-the-way places, and it was one of my greatest delights to hunt for the eggs in the long grass. I could not tell Martha Washington when I wanted to go egg-hunting, but I would double my hands and put them on the ground, which meant something round in the grass, and Martha always understood. When we were fortunate enough to find a nest I never allowed her to carry the eggs home, making her understand by emphatic signs that she might fall and break them.
　　珍珠雞喜歡把巢藏匿在偏僻角落里，我最大的快樂之一就是搜尋草窩里的雞蛋。我找雞蛋的時(shí)候無法直接對(duì)瑪莎·華盛頓說，我會(huì)攥起拳頭，再把它們放在草地上，這表示有什么東西在草地上滾動(dòng)，而瑪莎總能領(lǐng)會(huì)我的意圖。運(yùn)氣好的話，我們就會(huì)找到一個(gè)雞窩，可是我從來不會(huì)讓瑪莎把雞蛋帶回家，我會(huì)做出強(qiáng)烈的手勢(shì)讓她明白，她應(yīng)該把雞蛋扔在地上打碎。
　　The sheds where the corn was stored, the stable where the horses were kept, and the yard where the cows were milked morning and evening were unfailing sources of interest to Martha and me. The milkers would let me keep my hands on the cows while they milked, and I often got well switched by the cow for my curiosity.
　　像谷倉(cāng)，馬廄，還有每天早晚給奶牛擠奶的庭院都是我和瑪莎最感興趣的地方。擠奶工給牛擠奶的時(shí)候會(huì)讓我把兩手放在牛身上。為了滿足自己的好奇心，我經(jīng)常對(duì)牛又?jǐn)Q又掐。
　　The making ready for Christmas was always a delight to me. Of course I did not know what it was all about, but I enjoyed the pleasant odours that filled the house and the tidbits that were given to Martha Washington and me to keep us quiet. We were sadly in the way, but that did not interfere with our pleasure in the least. They allowed us to grind the spices, pick over the raisins and lick the stirring spoons. I hung my stocking because the others did; I cannot remember, however, that the ceremony interested me especially, nor did my curiosity cause me to wake before daylight to look for my gifts.
　　為圣誕節(jié)做準(zhǔn)備總會(huì)令我歡欣鼓舞。當(dāng)然，我并不知道這是一個(gè)什么樣的節(jié)日，但是彌漫在房子里的香味令我陶醉其中，而花樣繁多的美食也會(huì)讓我和瑪莎·華盛頓安靜下來。我們倆也會(huì)有不順心的時(shí)候，但是這絲毫也不妨礙我們享受節(jié)日的快樂。大人們會(huì)允許我們倆幫他們研磨香料，挑揀葡萄干，或者用勺子攪拌餡料。我也像其他人那樣把自己的長(zhǎng)襪掛起來，雖然不知道為什么這么做，可是這種儀式令我興味盎然。這倒不是為了好奇，而是因?yàn)橐挥X醒來，我就可以在襪子里找到禮物。
　　Martha Washington had as great a love of mischief as I. Two little children were seated on the veranda steps one hot July afternoon. One was black as ebony, with little bunches of fuzzy hair tied with shoestrings sticking out all over her head like corkscrews. The other was white, with long golden curls. One child was six years old, the other two or three years older. The younger child was blind--that was I--and the other was Martha Washington. We were busy cutting out paper dolls; but we soon wearied of this amusement, and after cutting up our shoestrings and clipping all the leaves off the honeysuckle that were within reach, I turned my attention to Martha's corkscrews. She objected at first, but finally submitted. Thinking that turn and turn about is fair play, she seized the scissors and cut off one of my curls, and would have cut them all off but for my mother's timely interference.
　　瑪莎·華盛頓同我一樣喜歡搞惡作劇。記得那年7月一個(gè)炎熱的午后，有兩個(gè)小孩兒坐在走廊的臺(tái)階上，一個(gè)是黑人小姑娘，梳著一束束俏皮的像螺絲錐一樣的頭發(fā)；另一個(gè)是白人小姑娘，有著一頭長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的金色鬈發(fā)。其中一個(gè)孩子六歲，另一個(gè)只有兩歲或三歲大。那個(gè)年幼的小孩是個(gè)盲童——這個(gè)孩子就是我——另一個(gè)孩子是瑪莎·華盛頓。當(dāng)時(shí)我們倆正埋頭剪紙娃娃玩兒，可是沒多久我們就厭倦了這個(gè)游戲，于是，我們倆又開始剪樹葉，我們把能夠到的金銀花葉子都剪了下來。接著，我開始把注意力轉(zhuǎn)到瑪莎那像螺絲錐的頭發(fā)上，起初她反對(duì)我打她頭發(fā)的主意，但最終還是屈服了。就這樣，我們倆輪流玩起了公平的游戲，她抓過剪刀剪掉我的一束鬈發(fā)。我想，要不是媽媽及時(shí)制止，她一定會(huì)把我的頭發(fā)都剪光的。
　　Belle, our dog, my other companion, was old and lazy and liked to sleep by the open fire rather than to romp with me. I tried hard to teach her my sign language, but she was dull and inattentive. She sometimes started and quivered with excitement, then she became perfectly rigid, as dogs do when they point a bird. I did not then know why Belle acted in this way; but I knew she was not doing as I wished. This vexed me and the lesson always ended in a one-sided boxing match. Belle would get up, stretch herself lazily, give one or two contemptuous sniffs, go to the opposite side of the hearth and lie down again, and I, wearied and disappointed, went off in search of Martha.
　　貝拉是我們家的狗，也是我的另一個(gè)伙伴，她又老又懶，喜歡在壁爐旁睡覺，而不太愿意同我玩耍。于是我努力教她我的“手勢(shì)語(yǔ)言”，但是她總是反應(yīng)遲鈍，心不在焉。有時(shí)候，她會(huì)興奮得渾身顫抖，變得躍躍欲試，就像狗兒們將目標(biāo)鎖定在一只鳥時(shí)所做的那樣。我并不知道貝拉為什么會(huì)有如此表現(xiàn)，但是我知道她肯定沒有按照我的要求去做。這令我十分懊惱，所以，我的訓(xùn)練課總是以對(duì)貝拉一通亂捶作為結(jié)束。而貝拉則會(huì)爬起來伸伸懶腰，然后輕蔑地打一兩個(gè)響鼻兒，再跑到壁爐的另一邊就地一躺。為此，我感到既無奈又失望，最后我只有丟下貝拉去找瑪莎玩。
　　Many incidents of those early years are fixed in my memory, isolated, but clear and distinct, making the sense of that silent, aimless, dayless life all the more intense.
　　早年的很多事情都被我牢牢地記在心里，雖然互不相干，但是它們是如此清晰，宛如歷歷在目，它們加劇了我對(duì)沉寂、無助而迷惘的生活的思考。
　　One day I happened to spill water on my apron, and I spread it out to dry before the fire which was flickering on the sitting-room hearth. The apron did not dry quickly enough to suit me, so I drew nearer and threw it right over the hot ashes. The fire leaped into life; the flames encircled me so that in a moment my clothes were blazing. I made a terrified noise that brought Viny, my old nurse, to the rescue. Throwing a blanket over me, she almost suffocated me, but she put out the fire. Except for my hands and hair I was not badly burned.
　　記得有一天，我不小心把圍裙弄濕了，于是，我把圍裙鋪在客廳的壁爐邊烘烤。濕圍裙不會(huì)那么快就被烤干的，所以我就讓它離火源更近一些，結(jié)果正好碰到了余燼。圍裙一下子燒著了，火苗圍繞在我身邊，甚至連我的衣服都被引燃了。我驚慌失措的吵鬧驚動(dòng)了我的老保姆維妮，她急忙跑過來救我。維妮把一條毯子蓋在我身上，我給憋得幾近窒息，不過她還是把火給撲滅了。所以除了雙手和頭發(fā)被燒了一下外，我并無大礙。

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