居伊·德·莫泊桑/Guy de Maupassant
As the mayor was about to sit down to breakfast,word was brought to him that the rural policeman,with two prisoners,was awaiting him at the Hotel de Ville.He went there at once and found old Hochedur standing guard before a middle-class couple whom he was regarding with a severe expression on his face.
The man,a fat old fellow with a red nose and white hair,seemed utterly dejected;while the woman,a little roundabout individual with shining cheeks,looked at the official who had arrested them,with defiant eyes.
“What is it?What is it,Hochedur?”
The rural policeman made his deposition.
He had gone out that morning at his usual time,in order to patrol his beat from the forest of Champioux as far as the boundaries of Argenteuil.He had not noticed anything unusual in the country except that it was a fine day,and that the wheat was doing well,when the son of old Bredel,who was going over his vines,called out to him:
“Here,Daddy Hochedur,go and have a look at the outskirts of the wood.In the first thicket you will find a pair of pigeons who must be a hundred and thirty years old between them!”
He went in the direction indicated,entered the thicket,and there he heard words which made him suspect a flagrant breach of morality.Advancing,therefore,on his hands and knees as if to surprise a poacher,he had arrested the couple whom he found there.
The mayor looked at the culprits in astonishment,for the man was certainly sixty,and the woman fifty-five at least,and he began to question them,beginning with the man,who replied in such a weak voice that he could scarcely be heard.
“What is your name?”
“Nicholas Beaurain.”
“Your occupation?”
“Haberdasher,in the Rue des Martyrs,in Paris.”
“What were you doing in the wood?”
The haberdasher remained silent,with his eyes on his fat paunch,and his hands hanging at his sides,and the mayor continued:
“Do you deny what the officer of the municipal authorities states?”
“No,monsieur.”
“So you confess it?”
“Yes,monsieur.”
“What have you to say in your defence？”
“Nothing,monsieur.”
“Where did you meet the partner in your misdemeanor?”
“She is my wife,monsieur.”
“Your wife?”
“Yes,monsieur.”
“Then-then-you do not live together-in Paris?”
“I beg your pardon,monsieur,but we are living together!”
“But in that case-you must be mad,altogether mad,my dear sir,to get caught playing lovers in the country at ten oclock in the morning.”
The haberdasher seemed ready to cry with shame,and he muttered:“It was she who enticed me!I told her it was very stupid,but when a woman once gets a thing into her head-you know-you cannot get it out.”
The mayor,who liked a joke,smiled and replied:“In your case,the contrary ought to have happened.You would not be here,if she had had the idea only in her head.”
Then Monsieur Beauain was seized with rage and turning to his wife,he said:“Do you see to what you have brought us with your poetry?And now we shall have to go before the courts at our age,for a breach of morals!And we shall have to shut up the shop,sell our good will,and go to some other neighborhood!Thats what it has come to.”
Madame Beaurain got up,and without looking at her husband,she explained herself without embarrassment,without useless modesty,and almost without hesitation.
Of course,monsieur,I know that we have made ourselves ridiculous.Will you allow me to plead my cause like an advocate,or rather like a poor woman?And I hope that you will be kind enough to send us home,and to spare us the disgrace of a prosecution.
Years ago,when I was young,I made Monsieur Beaurain’s acquaintance one Sunday in this neighborhood.He was employed in a draper’s shop,and I was a saleswoman in a ready-made clothing establishment.I remember it as if it were yesterday.I used to come and spend Sundays here occasionally with a friend of mine,Rose Leveque,with whom I lived in the Rue Pigalle,and Rose had a sweetheart,while I had none.He used to bring us here,and one Saturday he told me laughing that he should bring a friend with him the next day.I quite understood what he meant,but I replied that it would be no good;for I was virtuous,monsieur.
The next day we met Monsieur Beaurain at the railway station,and in those days he was good-looking,but I had made up my mind not to encourage him,and I did not.Well,we arrived at Bezons.It was a lovely day,the sort of day that touches your heart.When it is fine even now,just as it used to be formerly,I grow quite foolish,and when I am in the country I utterly lose my head.The green grass,the swallows flying so swiftly,the smell of the grass,the scarlet poppies,the daisies,all that makes me crazy.It is like champagne when one is not accustomed to it!
“Well,it was lovely weather,warm and bright,and it seemed to penetrate your body through your eyes when you looked and through your mouth when you breathed.Rose and Simon hugged and kissed each other every minute,and that gave me a queer feeling!Monsieur Beaurain and I walked behind them,without speaking much,for when people do not know each other,they do not find anything to talk about.He looked timid,and I liked to see his embarrassment.At last we got to the little wood;it was as cool as in a bath there,and we four sat down.Rose and her lover teased me because I looked rather stern,but you will understand that I could not be otherwise.And then they began to kiss and hug again,without putting any more restraint upon themselves than if we had not been there;and then they whispered together,and got up and went off among the trees,without saying a word.You may fancy what I looked like,alone with this young fellow whom I saw for the first time.I felt so confused at seeing them go that it gave me courage,and I began to talk.I asked him what his business was,and he said he was a linen drapers assistant,as I told you just now.We talked for a few minutes,and that made him bold,and he wanted to take liberties with me,but I told him sharply to keep his place.Is not that true,Monsieur Beaurain?”
Monsieur Beaurain,who was looking at his feet in confusion,did not reply,and she continued:“Then he saw that I was virtuous,and he began to make love to me nicely,like an honorable man,and from that time he came every Sunday,for he was very much in love with me.I was very fond of him also,very fond of him!He was a good-looking fellow,formerly,and in short he married me the next September,and we started in business in the Rue des Martyrs.”
“It was a hard struggle for some years,monsieur.Business did not prosper,and we could not afford many country excursions,and,besides,we had got out of the way of them.One has other things in ones head,and thinks more of the cash box than of pretty speeches,when one is in business.We were growing old by degrees without perceiving it,like quiet people who do not think much about love.One does not regret anything as long as one does not notice what one has lost.”
“And then,monsieur,business became better,and we were tranquil as to the future!Then,you see,I do not exactly know what went on in my mind,no,I really do not know,but I began to dream like a little boarding-school girl.The sight of the little carts full of flowers which are drawn about the streets made me cry;the smell of violets sought me out in my easy-chair,behind my cash box,and made my heart beat!Then I would get up and go out on the doorstep to look at the blue sky between the roofs.When one looks up at the sky from the street,it looks like a river which is descending on Paris,winding as it flows,and the swallows pass to and fro in it like fish.These ideas are very stupid at my age!But how can one help it,monsieur,when one has worked all ones life？A moment comes in which one perceives that one could have done something else,and that one regrets,oh!yes,one feels intense regret!Just think,for twenty years I might have gone and had kisses in the woods,like other women.I used to think how delightful it would be to lie under the trees and be in love with someone!And I thought of it every day and every night!I dreamed of the moonlight on the water,until I felt inclined to drown myself.”
“I did not venture to speak to Monsieur Beaurain about this at first.I knew that he would make fun of me,and send me back to sell my needles and cotton!And then,to speak the truth,Monsieur Beaurain never said much to me,but when I looked in the glass,I also understood quite well that I no longer appealed to any one!”
“Well,I made up my mind,and I proposed to him an excursion into the country,to the place where we had first become acquainted.He agreed without mistrusting anything,and we arrived here this morning,about nine oclock.”
“I felt quite young again when I got among the wheat,for a woman’s heart never grows old!And really,I no longer saw my husband as he is at present,but just as he was formerly!That I will swear to you,monsieur.As true as I am standing here I was crazy.I began to kiss him,and he was more surprised than if I had tried to murder him.He kept saying to me:’Why,you must be mad!You are mad this morning!What is the matter with you?I did not listen to him,I only listened to my own heart,and I made him come into the wood with me.That is all.I have spoken the truth,Monsieur le Maire,the whole truth.”
The mayor was a sensible man.He rose from his chair,smiled,and said:“Go in peace,madame,and when you again visit our forests,be more discreet.”
村长正要坐下来吃早餐，突然有人来，打断了这顿早餐，说是乡村警察抓到两个可疑的人，正在办公室里等着他去判决。村长立刻赶往那里，看见巡查员霍希多尔老人表情严肃地站在大门前，而他的身后，则站着一对中产阶级男女。
那个男的是一个红鼻子、白头发的胖老头，看起来非常沮丧，与他相反的是，那个女的却容光焕发，并用一种蔑视的目光注视着抓捕她的警察。
“这是怎么回事，霍希多尔，说说发生了什么事情？”
这个乡村警察将事情讲叙了一遍。
今天早晨，他像往常一样从康比西斯树林到阿金迪尔的边界上巡逻。放眼望去，真是美好的一天，灿烂的阳光照耀在这片碧绿的田野上，小麦在快乐地成长，四周没有任何异常情况。这时，正在整理枝藤的年轻人布雷德尔向他喊道：
“这里，霍希多尔爷爷，过来看看这个树林！在第一个灌木丛里，你会发现一对调情的鸽子，但是，他们的年龄加起来一定有130多岁了！”
他顺着年轻人所指的方向走去，并钻进浓密的树丛里。这时，他就听到一对男女的说话声和喘息声。这让他马上想到一对伤风败俗的狗男女。于是，他趴在地上，就像一位出人意料的潜入者，慢慢地向声响的方向移动。最终，当场抓住了这对**的男女。
村长非常惊讶地打量着这对疑犯。因为那个男的看上去应该有60多岁了，而那个女的至少也有55岁了。然后，他开始先审问那个男的，而男人回答的声音很小，小到几乎听不清楚。
“姓名？”
“尼古拉斯·博文。”
“职业？”
“小商人，在巴黎的烈士街。”
“你们在树林里干什么？”
小商人沉默了，两眼紧盯着他那肥肥的圆肚皮，两只手垂放在两侧。村长继续问道：
“你对乡政府乡村巡查员所说的情况有什么异议吗？”
“没有，长官。”
“那么，你承认这一切？”
“是的，长官。”
“你还有什么需要辩解的吗？”
“没有，长官。”
“那你在哪里遇见你的同伙的？”
“长官，她是我的妻子。”
“你的妻子？”
“是的，长官。”
“那么……那么，你们不是一起住在巴黎吗？”
“长官，我请求您的宽恕，但我们一直都住在一起。”
“不过，如果真的如你们所说，你一定疯了，你们都疯了，我亲爱的先生。上午10点来到这个长满杂草的树林里，做出那种事情，还被当场发现！”
小商人羞愧得眼泪都要流出来了，用极低微的声音说道：“是她怂恿我的！而且，我也告诉过她这是一件丢人而又愚蠢的事，但是，你也明白，当一个女人决定要做某件事情时，你是无法阻拦的！”
村长面带笑容，揶揄着回答道：“可是，这件事情你也有责任，如果你能做到拒绝她，就不会有这些事情发生了。如果你坚持自己的意见，只让这些想法留在脑子里，现在你就不会被拘押在这里了，不是吗？”
村长的一席话激起了博文先生的怒气，他转向他的妻子斥责道：“你不是说要把我们带到一个诗情画意的地方吗？现在却面临这种尴尬的境地！像我们这个年纪的人，还要因为伤风败俗去面对法庭的审问！如果是这样的结果，商店就不得不关闭，我们又该怎么面对街坊邻居，原来的地方就无法待下去了，后果很可能是这样。”
博文太太站起来，正眼都不看她的丈夫，镇定从容，没有一点的羞愧和不安，她毫不犹豫地解释道：
“村长先生，当然，我知道我们所做的事情是多么荒谬、多么可笑。但是，请允许我像律师那样，或者更恰当地说，像一个可怜的女人一样进行自我辩护。在听完我的故事后，希望你能大发善心，让我们回家，并赦免对我们这种不光彩事情的起诉。”
“许多年前，当还是少女的时候，我与博文先生在一个星期天，而且就在这个村庄里认识的。当时，他在一家服装店当伙计，我在一家服装店当营业员。到现在，这些事情还清楚地印在我的脑海里，就像昨天才刚刚发生的那样。过去，每个星期天我基本上都与一个名叫露丝·雷维克的女友来这里玩。我和她都住在比加香街。露丝有一个非常帅气的男朋友，但我没有。他经常带我们来这里玩。一个周末，露丝的男友笑着对我说，下次他要带一个朋友来。我十分了解话语中隐含的意思。我装出一种毫不在乎的态度回答：‘没有必要，我可以照顾自己的。’先生，说这些话，只是因为我还是比较保守。”
“不久，我们在火车站见到了博文先生。那时的他是个非常帅气的小伙子。但是，我没有因此而迁就他，而且之后也没有迁就过他。随后，我们来到贝松。那天天气特别好，是一种让你心旷神怡的天气，就和现在的天气一样好。正是因为今天和那天一样，我才会变得如此愚蠢。当我来到这片美丽的大自然中，就迷失了自我，绿油油的小草，轻快飞越的燕子，到处散发着青草、罂粟花、白**的气息。这一切都让我着迷、疯狂！就像是一位滴酒不沾的姑娘，突然喝下了整瓶的香槟。”
“天气真的太好了，风和日丽，晴空万里。当两人看着对方时，好像可以看透对方的一切，甚至呼吸一下，就可以看见你的心房。每隔几分钟，露丝和西蒙就要亲吻一下，这让我感觉怪异。博文先生和我跟在他们的背后，因为彼此都不了解，没有什么话题可聊。他们也找不到适合的话题。他看起来比较拘谨，而我则很喜欢看他尴尬的表情，非常有趣。最后，我们来到一片小树林里，一种凉爽的感觉笼罩全身，就像冲凉一样。我们四个人坐在草地上。露丝和西蒙取笑我，因为我的表情相当严肃。但是，你要理解我不可能像他们俩那样。他们又开始接吻、拥抱，将我们两个人当作透明人一般，毫无顾虑。最后，他们站起来，没留一句话，就到树林中去了。设想一下我当时要面临的情形，单独与一个第一次见面的男青年在一起。他们离开后，我有点不知所措，可是这让我有勇气和他讲话。我问了他的工作，和我前面提及的一样，他是个小店铺的伙计。我们就这样闲聊了几分钟，然而，这反而让他的胆子更大了，竟然将我当成随便的人。我非常严肃地告诉他，于是回到了自己原来的位置。博文先生，我所说的都是真的吧？”
有些迷糊的博文先生一直盯着自己的脚尖，默不作答。她继续说道：“这时，他发现我是一个自重的女孩，便以令人尊重的方式追求我。从那天起，每逢星期天他就会过来，因为他已经陷入爱的泥潭中，无法自拔，而我也深深爱上了他。说实话，当时他的确拥有令人着迷的面孔。简而言之，第二年的9月，我们就结婚了。婚后，我们在烈士街上开了一家店铺。”
“前些年，我们的日子过得非常艰辛，生意不景气，我们也无法支付郊游的费用。就这样，我们也慢慢地没有了那份**，头脑中被各种事情塞得满满的，思考的第一件事情就是钱柜，而不是甜言蜜语。不知不觉，我们老了，成了循规蹈矩的人，也不去思考什么是爱情。只要感觉不到有什么丢失或缺少，我们就不会去想。”
“先生，现在，我们的生意越来越好了，平静地面对未来。之后，我也不确定为什么脑子里会有这样的想法，应该说，我是完全不知道为什么，我开始怀念少女时代的梦想了。只要一看见大街上载满鲜花的小卡车，我就会泪流满面。当我坐在账台背后的圈手椅上，紫罗兰的芬芳让我的心怦怦乱跳。接着，我慢慢站起来，走到门前，望着屋脊间蔚蓝的天空。当我们在街心观看天空时，天空宛如一条河流，蜿蜒地流经巴黎。空中的燕子就像河里游来游去的鱼。当然，我也知道这个年龄的人有这样的遐想是一件多么可笑的事情！但是，先生，对一个已经劳碌了一生的人而言，该怎么做才能抑制住这样的渴望呢？有时还会感觉有其他的事情可以做，然而，我也会想起一些令人后悔的事情，想一想，我原本可以和其他女人一样，来到这个树林里，并与爱人亲吻。我过去经常幻想和爱人躺在着绿树丛林中恋爱，这是一件多么浪漫、多么美妙的事情啊！而且，不论是白天还是晚上，我一直遐想。我还梦想着水面上的月光，甚至想跳下去淹死自己。”
“最初，我还不敢对博文先生吐露这些想法。我知道他会取笑我，并且会劝我静下心来去推销线团和缝衣针。另外，说实话，尽管博文光先生很少说，不过，当我看到镜子中自己时，也非常清楚，自己不再是那个令众人着迷的少女了。”
“最终，我下定决心，提出到我们第一次相识的树林郊游。他也毫不犹豫地同意了。今天早上，我们大约9点来到这里。”
“当我穿越一望无垠的麦田时，我感觉自己再次回到了年轻的时候，因为女人的心是从来不会变老的。实际上，我向你发誓，先生，当我站在那里时，我感觉身边的丈夫突然变回当年那个英俊倜傥的小伙子，这真让我着迷。我开始疯狂地亲吻他。他却感到极为震惊，仿佛我要杀了他似的。他不停地说道：‘你疯了！你怎么大清早就发疯了！发生什么事呢？’这些话我一句也没听进去，而只听自己心中的话。然后，我将他拖进树林里，亲热起来。事情就是这样，亲爱的村长先生，每一句话都是实话。”
村长也是个通情达理的人，他站起来，友善地说道：“你们安心回巴黎吧，太太！可是，下次你们拜访这个树林时，可要谨慎些，找个更隐蔽的地方……”
词汇笔记
morality[m?r?liti]n.道德；美德
My mother has strict ideas about morality.
我母亲有严格的道德观。
astonishment[?st?ni?m?nt]n.惊讶
They all stared with astonishment.
他们全都惊讶地瞪着眼。
paris[p?ris]n.巴黎
They are honeymooning in Paris.
他们正在巴黎度蜜月。
misdemeanor[，misdimi:n?]n.坏事
As soon as the beautiful girl kneels down in front of the hunter,said:oh,dear,forgive me to your dry misdemeanor!
美丽的姑娘一下跪在猎人面前，说：“唉，亲爱的，原谅我对你干的坏事！”
小试身手
那个男的是一个红鼻子、白头发的胖老头，看起来非常沮丧。
只要感觉不到有什么丢失或缺少，我们就不会去想。
我原本可以和其他女人一样，来到这个树林里，并与爱人亲吻。
短语家族
I knew that he would make fun of me,and send me back to sell my needles and cotton!
make fun of：取笑某人
I also understood quite well that I no longer appealed to any one!
no longer：不再