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康妮在小屋里找到了些谷粒。她用手拿着去饲它们，它们并不吃，只有一只母鸡在她手上猛啄了一下，把康妮吃了一惊，但是她却焦苦着想把些什么东西给它们吃，给这些不思饮食的孵卵的母鸡，她拿了一罐子水给它们，其中-只喝了一口，她喜欢极了。 Now she came every day to the hens, they were the only things in the world that warmed her heart. Clifford's protestations made her go cold from head to foot. Mrs Bolton's voice made her go cold, and the sound of the business men who came. An occasional letter from Michaelis affected her with the same sense of chill. She felt she would surely die if it lasted much longer. 现在，她每天都来看这些母鸡。它们是世界上唯一可以使她的心温暖起来的东西了。克利福的主张使她全身发冷，波太太的声音和那些到家里来的企业界的人们的声音，使她发冷。蔑克里斯偶尔地写给她的信，也使她觉得同样的冷颤。她觉得如果没有什么新的事情来到，她定要死了。 Yet it was spring, and the bluebells were coming in the wood, and the leaf-buds on the hazels were opening like the spatter of green rain. How terrible it was that it should be spring, and everything cold-hearted, cold-hearted. Only the hens, fluffed so wonderfully on the eggs, were warm with their hot, brooding female bodies! Connie felt herself living on the brink of fainting all the time. 虽然，这是春天了，吊钟花在树林里开花了，擦子树正在发芽，好象一些青色的雨滴似的。多么可怕哟，已是春天了，一切都是这样的冷，这样的无情，只有那些母鸡，这样奇异地筵松着毛羽伏在卵上，是在他们母性的孵化的热力中温暖着！康妮不住地觉得自己就要晕顾了。 Then, one day, a lovely sunny day with great tufts of primroses under the hazels, and many violets dotting the paths, she came in the afternoon to the coops and there was one tiny, tiny perky chicken tinily prancing round in front of a coop, and the mother hen clucking in terror. The slim little chick was greyish brown with dark markings, and it was the most alive little spark of a creature in seven kingdoms at that moment. Connie crouched to watch in a sort of ecstasy. Life, life! pure, sparky, fearless new life! New life! So tiny and so utterly without fear! Even when it scampered a little, scrambling into the coop again, and disappeared under the hen's feathers in answer to the mother hen's wild alarm-cries, it was not really frightened, it took it as a game, the game of living. For in a moment a tiny sharp head was poking through the gold-brown feathers of the hen, and eyeing the Cosmos. 有一天，那是阳光华丽的可爱的一天，莲馨花在擦树下一簇一簇地开着，小径上缀满着许多紫罗兰花，她在午后来到鸡笼边。在一个鸡笼前面，一只很小很小的小鸡在傲然自得地瞒跚着，母鸡在惊骇地叫喊。这只纤小的小鸡是棕灰色的，带了些黑点，在这时候，这整个大地上最有生气的东西，就是这只小对外开放了。康妮蹲了下去，在一种出神人化的状态中注视着它。这是生命！这是生命！这是纯洁的，闪光的，无恐惧的新生命！这样的纤小，而这样的毫无畏惧！甚至它听着了母鸡的惊叫而蹒跚地走进笼子里去藏在母鸡的毛羽下面，它也不是真正惧怕什么，它只当作那是一种游戏，一种生活的游戏，瞧！一会儿过后，一只小小的尖头儿，从母鸡的金棕色的毛羽里铭丁出来，探视着这花花的大干世界。 Connie was fascinated. And at the same time, never had she felt so acutely the agony of her own female forlornness. It was becoming unbearable. 康妮给这一幅美丽的画图迷住了。而同时，她的被遗弃的妇人的失望的感觉浓厚到他一向所没有过的程度，那使她忍受不了。 
她现在只有一个欲望，便是到林中这块空地上去，其他的一切都不过是苦痛的梦。但是为了尽她的主妇的职务，她有时是整天留在家里的。那时，她觉得自己也仿佛空虚上去，成为空虚而疯狂了。 One evening, guests or no guests, she escaped after tea. It was late, and she fled across the park like one who fears to be called back. The sun was setting rosy as she entered the wood, but she pressed on among the flowers. The light would last long overhead. 有一天黄昏的时候，用过茶点以后，她不管家里有客没有，她便逃了出来，天已晚了，她飞跑着穿过了花园，好象她怕被人叫回去似的，当她进树林里去时，攻瑰色的太阳，正向西方沉没，但是她在花丛中赶紧走着，大地上的光明还可以继续多时的。 She arrived at the clearing flushed and semi-conscious. The keeper was there, in his shirt-sleeves, just closing up the coops for the night, so the little occupants would be safe. But still one little trio was pattering about on tiny feet, alert drab mites, under the straw shelter, refusing to be called in by the anxious mother. 她脸色徘红，神情恍馏地走到林中的空地上。那守猎的人，只穿着衬衣，正在关闭鸡笼的门，这样小鸡才可以安全度夜，但是还有三只褐色的活泼的小鸡，在那稻草棚下乱窜着，而不听从的焦急的呼唤 'I had to come and see the chickens!' she said, panting, glancing shyly at the keeper, almost unaware of him. 'Are there any more?' " 我忍不住要赶来看看这些小鸡！"她一边气喘着说，一边羞赧地望了望了那守猎人，好象不太留意他似的，添了些新生的么？" 'Thurty-six so far!' he said. 'Not bad!' " 到现在已经有三十六只了。"她说，"还不坏？" 
他也一样感觉着一种奇异的快乐，去等候着这些小生命的出世。 Connie crouched in front of the last coop. The three chicks had run in. But still their cheeky heads came poking sharply through the yellow feathers, then withdrawing, then only one beady little head eyeing forth from the vast mother-body. 康妮蹲在最后的一个笼子面前，那三只小鸡已经进去了。但是她们的毫无忌畏挑战头儿，从那黄色毛羽中钻了出来，一会儿又藏了进去，只有一只小头儿，还在那广大的母体的上向外窥视着。 'I'd love to touch them,' she said, putting her lingers gingerly through the bars of the coop. But the mother-hen pecked at her hand fiercely, and Connie drew back startled and frightened. " 我真喜欢摸摸它们，"她说着，把她的手指胆怯的从笼格里伸了进去，但是那只母鸡凶悍地把她的手啄丁一下，康妮吓得向后惊退。 'How she pecks at me! She hates me!' she said in a wondering voice. 'But I wouldn't hurt them!' " 你看它怎么啄我！它恨我呢！"她用一种惊异的声音说，"但是我并不伤害它们呀！" The man standing above her laughed, and crouched down beside her, knees apart, and put his hand with quiet confidence slowly into the coop. The old hen pecked at him, but not so savagely. And slowly, softly, with sure gentle lingers, he felt among the old bird's feathers and drew out a faintly-peeping chick in his closed hand. 站在她旁边的他，笑了起来，然后在她旁边蹲了下去，两膝开着，自信地把手慢慢地伸进笼里，老母鸡虽然也啄了他一下，但是没有那样凶悍。缓缓地，轻轻地，他用他那稳当而温和的手指，在老母鸡和毛羽中探索着，然后把一只微弱地嗽卿的小鸡握在手中，拿了出来。 
喏！"他说着，伸手把小鸡交给她，她把那小东西接在手里，它用那两条小得象火柴杆似的腿儿站着，它的微小的、飘摇不定的生命颤战着，从它那轻巧的两脚传到康妮的手上。但是它勇敢地抬起它的清秀美丽的小头儿，向四周观望着，嗽的叫了一声。"多么可爱！多么无忌惮"她温柔地说。" The keeper, squatting beside her, was also watching with an amused face the bold little bird in her hands. Suddenly he saw a tear fall on to her wrist. 那守猎人，蹲在她的旁边，也在欣赏着她手里的那只无畏惧的小鸡、忽然地，他看见一滴眼泪落在她腕上。 And he stood up, and stood away, moving to the other coop. For suddenly he was aware of the old flame shooting and leaping up in his loins, that he had hoped was quiescent for ever. He fought against it, turning his back to her. But it leapt, and leapt downwards, circling in his knees. 他站了起来，走到另一个笼前去，因为他突然觉得往昔的火焰正在他的腰边发射着，飞腾着，这火焰是他一向以为永久地熄灭了的。他和这火焰狰扎着，他背着康妮翻转身去，但是这火焰蔓延着，，向下蔓延着，把他的两膝包围了。 He turned again to look at her. She was kneeling and holding her two hands slowly forward, blindly, so that the chicken should run in to the mother-hen again. And there was something so mute and forlorn in her, compassion flamed in his bowels for her. 他重新回转身去望着她。她正跪在地上，盲目地，慢慢地伸着两手，让那小鸡回到母鸡那里去，她的神情是这样的缄默这样的颠沛，他的脏腑里，不禁燃烧着对她哀怜的情绪。 Without knowing, he came quickly towards her and crouched beside her again, taking the chick from her hands, because she was afraid of the hen, and putting it back in the coop. At the back of his loins the lire suddenly darted stronger. He glanced apprehensively at her. Her face was averted, and she was crying blindly, in all the anguish of her generation's forlornness. His heart melted suddenly, like a drop of fire, and he put out his hand and laid his lingers on her knee. 他自己也不知道在做着什么，他迅速地向她走过去，在她旁边重新蹲下去，他她手里接过了小鸡。因为她正在害怕那母．鸡，正要把它放回笼里去，在他的两腰背后，火焰骤然激发起来，比以前更为；虽烈了。他惶恐地望着她，她的脸孔躲了过去，在她孤独凄凉的无限苦楚中盲目地哭泣着。他的心突然熔化了，象一点火花，他的手伸了出来，把手指放在她的膝上。 
不要哭。"他温柔地说。 But then she put her hands over her face and felt that really her heart was broken and nothing mattered any more. 她听了，把两手掩着脸，觉得她的心真是碎了，一切都无关重要了。 He laid his hand on her shoulder, and softly, gently, it began to travel down the curve of her back, blindly, with a blind stroking motion, to the curve of her crouching loins. And there his hand softly, softly, stroked the curve of her flank, in the blind instinctive caress. 他把手放在她的肩上，温柔地，轻轻地，他的手沿着她的背后滑了下去，不能自主地用着一种盲目的抚慰的动作，直到了她的弯曲着腰际。在那儿，温柔地，温柔地，用着一种盲目的本能的抚慰，他爱抚着她的腰窝。 She had found her scrap of handkerchief and was blindly trying to dry her face. 她找到了她的小手绢，盲目地揩着眼泪。
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