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在贬了一下莎莉还显稚嫩的技术后,克鲁伊大婶掀开烤锅盖,映入眼帘的是一张烤得整洁的油饼,那是城里的糕点店争相接受的上等品。显然,它将成为款待客人的主要食品。现在,克鲁伊大婶开始认真地张罗起晚饭来。 "Here you, Mose and Pete! get out de way, you niggers! Get away, Mericky, honey,--mammy'll give her baby some fin, by and by. Now, Mas'r George, you jest take off dem books, and set down now with my old man, and I'll take up de sausages, and have de first griddle full of cakes on your plates in less dan no time."" 嗨,莫思,贝特!快让开路,你们这些小鬼。滚开,波莉,妈妈的小心肝,我会尽快给宝宝弄点东西吃。乔治少爷,请拿走这些书,坐下来陪着那个老头,我立刻把香肠和刚出锅的烙饼给你们送来。" "They wanted me to come to supper in the house," said George; "but I knew what was what too well for that, Aunt Chloe."" 他们想让我回大宅子吃晚饭,但我知道在哪儿能吃到好吃的饭菜。"乔治说。 "So you did--so you did, honey," said Aunt Chloe, heaping the smoking batter-cakes on his plate; "you know'd your old aunty'd keep the best for you. O, let you alone for dat! Go way!" And, with that, aunty gave George a nudge with her finger, designed to be immensely facetious, and turned again to her griddle with great briskness." 宝贝,你知道就好。"克鲁伊大婶说着把冒着热气的烙面饼放在了乔治的盘子上,"你知道大婶我会把最好吃的留给你。你就独自在这儿享用吧,想怎么吃就怎么吃。"说完,她开玩笑地用手指头碰了一下乔治,然后又很快回到烤锅那儿去了。 "Now for the cake," said Mas'r George, when the activity of the griddle department had somewhat subsided; and, with that, the youngster flourished a large knife over the article in question." 现在吃饼啰!"当克鲁伊大婶着实忙了一阵后,乔治一面喊着,一面挥动一把大刀向烙饼砍了下去。 
我的天啊,乔治少爷,"克鲁伊大婶急忙抓住乔治的胳膊,"不能用这么大的刀切烙饼!那样会毁掉涂在上面的东西。这把薄点的刀,我把它磨得很快,是专用来对付它的。看,这样很容易就把饼切好了。来,赶快吃吧。没有什么东西比这个更好吃了。" "Tom Lincon says," said George, speaking with his mouth full, "that their Jinny is a better cook than you."" 汤米·林肯说,他家的詹妮厨师比你手艺高。"嘴里塞满了烙饼的乔治说道。 "Dem Lincons an't much count, no way!" said Aunt Chloe, contemptuously; "I mean, set along side _our_ folks. They 's 'spectable folks enough in a kinder plain way; but, as to gettin' up anything in style, they don't begin to have a notion on 't. Set Mas'r Lincon, now, alongside Mas'r Shelby! Good Lor! and Missis Lincon,--can she kinder sweep it into a room like my missis,--so kinder splendid, yer know! O, go way! don't tell me nothin' of dem Lincons!"--and Aunt Chloe tossed her head as one who hoped she did know something of the world." 林肯家的人手艺一点也不高!"克鲁伊大婶面带鄙夷地说,"如果跟我们全家比较,他们还算说得过去。但他们的风度、气派却不能和我们相比。就拿林肯先生和我家老爷来比吧,还有林肯太太,她进门时,哪有我家太太的派头?去他的吧,不提林肯这家人了!"克鲁伊大婶摇着头,好像在这个世上,有人希望她不知道什么事似的。 "Well, though, I've heard you say," said George, "that Jinny was a pretty fair cook."" 噢,但我也听你说詹妮的厨技不错啊!"乔治说道。 "So I did," said Aunt Chloe,--"I may say dat. Good, plain, common cookin', Jinny'll do;--make a good pone o' bread,--bile her taters _far_,--her corn cakes isn't extra, not extra now, Jinny's corn cakes isn't, but then they's far,--but, Lor, come to de higher branches, and what _can_ she do? Why, she makes pies--sartin she does; but what kinder crust? Can she make your real flecky paste, as melts in your mouth, and lies all up like a puff? Now, I went over thar when Miss Mary was gwine to be married, and Jinny she jest showed me de weddin' pies. Jinny and I is good friends, ye know. I never said nothin'; but go 'long, Mas'r George! Why, I shouldn't sleep a wink for a week, if I had a batch of pies like dem ar. Why, dey wan't no 'count 't all."" 我以前或许说过这话,"克鲁伊大婶说,"她做家常饭还行,玉米面包也做得不错,马铃薯和玉米糕点也还说得过去,起码现在她做饭不太好,以前詹妮做的玉米糕还算可以,但她怎么会烹调高档的食品?她可以让肉馅饼表面有光泽,但那皮又是怎样的啊?她能发出松软的面吗?她做的饼看起来能像一朵浮云,入口即化吗?我看过詹妮为玛莉小姐的婚事做的喜饼。你知道我和詹妮是好朋友,我没说过她的坏话。但是,乔治少爷,如果我做出那样一堆饼,我会整个星期都睡不好觉的。那是怎样的喜饼啊!" 
我想,詹妮会自以为她做的春饼还不错呢。" "Thought so!--didn't she? Thar she was, showing em, as innocent--ye see, it's jest here, Jinny _don't know_. Lor, the family an't nothing! She can't be spected to know! 'Ta'nt no fault o' hem. Ah, Mas'r George, you doesn't know half 'your privileges in yer family and bringin' up!" Here Aunt Chloe sighed, and rolled up her eyes with emotion." 她当然感觉良好,不是吗?她还向我夸耀过自己的手艺呢,你知道吗?问题就出在这儿。詹妮不知道自己的手艺到底怎样,她的主人也不怎么样,她怎能指望从主人那儿得到指点呢。所以责任不在詹妮。啊,乔治少爷,你是身在福中不知福啊!"克鲁伊大婶叹息着,她的眼睛动情地眨着。 "I'm sure, Aunt Chloe, I understand I my pie and pudding privileges," said George. "Ask Tom Lincon if I don't crow over him, every time I meet him."" 克鲁伊大婶,我心里明白我吃的馅饼和布丁是最好的,"乔治说,"不信你可以去问汤米·林肯,每次我碰到他,我都会夸耀我在家中所享有的福气。" Aunt Chloe sat back in her chair, and indulged in a hearty guffaw of laughter, at this witticism of young Mas'r's, laughing till the tears rolled down her black, shining cheeks, and varying the exercise with playfully slapping and poking Mas'r Georgey, and telling him to go way, and that he was a case--that he was fit to kill her, and that he sartin would kill her, one of these days; and, between each of these sanguinary predictions, going off into a laugh, each longer and stronger than the other, till George really began to think that he was a very dangerously witty fellow, and that it became him to be careful how he talked "as funny as he could." 小主人的几句玩笑逗得克鲁伊大婶大笑起来,她仰靠在椅背上,直笑得眼泪顺着黑色的脸庞滚下。一会儿,她用手拍打着乔治,一会儿,她又用手指捅他,让他走开,不然总有一天他会要了她的老命的。她一边说着这残酷的预言,一边不停地笑着,一次比一次长久、欢快,直搞得乔治也感到自己真是一位危险人物,他今后要小心说话,再也不能胡言乱语了。 "And so ye telled Tom, did ye? O, Lor! what young uns will be up ter! Ye crowed over Tom? O, Lor! Mas'r George, if ye wouldn't make a hornbug laugh!"" 你真对汤米这样说了吗?老天,你们这几个小鬼真是敢说敢做!你对汤米吹嘘了,是吗?乔治少爷,你这样做不怕人笑话吗?" 
是的,"乔治说,"我这样对他说:'汤米,你该去看一看克鲁伊大婶做的真正的馅饼。'" "Pity, now, Tom couldn't," said Aunt Chloe, on whose benevolent heart the idea of Tom's benighted condition seemed to make a strong impression. "Ye oughter just ask him here to dinner, some o' these times, Mas'r George," she added; "it would look quite pretty of ye. Ye know, Mas'r George, ye oughtenter feel 'bove nobody, on 'count yer privileges, 'cause all our privileges is gi'n to us; we ought al'ays to 'member that," said Aunt Chloe, looking quite serious." 很遗憾,汤米不会看到的。"克鲁伊大婶说。看来,汤米对馅饼的无知已在她那善良的心中留下了深刻的印象。"乔治少爷,你该让他来我家吃饭,那会为你增光的。不过,乔治少爷,你要永远记住,我们一切福分都源自上帝,所以不要因为吃到好馅饼而自视情高啊。"克鲁伊大婶神情严肃地说。 "Well, I mean to ask Tom here, some day next week," said George; "and you do your prettiest, Aunt Chloe, and we'll make him stare. Won't we make him eat so he won't get over it for a fortnight?"" 好吧,我约他下周来家里玩,"乔治说,"克鲁伊大婶,你要尽全力来做饭,我们要让他吃完饭后半个月还回味无穷,好不好?" "Yes, yes--sartin," said Aunt Chloe, delighted;"you'll see. Lor! to think of some of our dinners! Yer mind dat ar great chicken pie I made when we guv de dinner to General Knox? I and Missis, we come pretty near quarrelling about dat ar crust. What does get into ladies sometimes, I don't know; but, sometimes, when a body has de heaviest kind o' 'sponsibility on 'em, as ye may say, and is all kinder _`seris'_ and taken up, dey takes dat ar time to be hangin' round and kinder interferin'! Now, Missis, she wanted me to do dis way, and she wanted me to do dat way; and, finally, I got kinder sarcy, and, says I, `Now, Missis, do jist look at dem beautiful white hands o' yourn with long fingers, and all a sparkling with rings, like my white lilies when de dew 's on 'em; and look at my great black stumpin hands. Now, don't ye think dat de Lord must have meant _me_ to make de pie-crust, and you to stay in de parlor? Dar! I was jist so sarcy, Mas'r George."" 这样当然好啊,"克鲁伊大婶兴奋地说,"你就等着吧,老天,想想以前操办的宴席,多么风光啊!还记得那次科诺克斯将军来时,我为他准备的鸡肉馅饼吗?那次,我和太太差点为了馅饼皮而吵起来,我真不懂太太们在想什么。你责任重大,忙得不亦乐乎,但她们却要插上一脚,在你身边转来转去。那天,太太一会儿让我这样,一会儿又要求我那样,最后我只好顶撞太太了。我说,现在看看你白嫩的双手,太太,你的手指上戴满了金色的戒指,就像我种的白色合欢花一样;再看看我这双粗黑的双手,难道你不明白,你呆在客厅,我做馅饼是上帝的安排吗?啊,乔治少爷,那天我是如此莽撞。" "And what did mother say?" said George." 妈妈说什么呢?"乔治问。 
说什么?她笑着眯着眼睛说,'啊,克鲁伊大婶,我想你说的很对。'然后她便回到客厅去了。我是那样无礼,她本该敲碎我的脑壳。但话说回来,有小姐太太在厨房,我可是干不出什么来的。" "Well, you made out well with that dinner,--I remember everybody said so," said George." 记得每个人都说,那顿饭很棒。"乔治说。 "Didn't I? And wan't I behind de dinin'-room door dat bery day? and didn't I see de General pass his plate three times for some more dat bery pie?--and, says he, `You must have an uncommon cook, Mrs. Shelby.' Lor! I was fit to split myself." 是真的吗?那天我不是躲在餐厅后面吗?我不是亲眼目睹科诺克斯将军三次要求添馅饼吗?我还听他说,'希尔比太太,你家厨师的手艺真是不俗啊!'当时,我听了真是太高兴了。" "And de Gineral, he knows what cookin' is," said Aunt Chloe, drawing herself up with an air. "Bery nice man, de Gineral! He comes of one of de bery _fustest_ families in Old Virginny! He knows what's what, now, as well as I do--de Gineral. Ye see, there's _pints_ in all pies, Mas'r George; but tan't everybody knows what they is, or as orter be. But the Gineral, he knows; I knew by his 'marks he made. Yes, he knows what de pints is!"" 将军对烹调真是在行,"克鲁伊大婶伸直身子得意地说,"他是个好人!他是弗吉尼亚一个旧式人家的孩子,他就像我一样识货。乔治少爷,馅饼样式多样,各具特色。你知道吗?并不是每个人都像将军那样在行,可以品出不同的味道。他知道其中的奥妙,从他的话中,你就能听出他是这方面的行家。"
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