[铁路边的孩子们]――有爱就有希望

　　伊迪丝・内斯比特（Edith Nesbit， 1858～1924），英国著名小说家和诗人，其代表作包括奇幻魔法故事系列三部曲《五个孩子和一个怪物》（Five Children and It）、《五个孩子和凤凰与魔毯》（The Phoenix and the Carpet）、《五个孩子和一个护身符》（The Story of the Amulet）以及儿童小说《铁路边的孩子们》（The Railway Children）等。 　　《铁路边的孩子们》于1904年在《伦敦杂志》（The London Magazine）上连载，1906年正式出版，后被译成几十种语言，还曾多次被改编成音乐剧、电影、电视剧和动画片等。这部小说讲述了三个孩子在父亲蒙冤被捕后随母亲从大城市搬到铁路附近的乡下居住，在那里发生了许多传奇故事，最后父亲在好心人的帮助下洗清了冤屈。 　　下文选自小说第六章，讲述了三个孩子勇敢拯救一列火车及车上乘客的故事。 　　"Look"―cried Peter， suddenly―"the tree over there！" 　　"It's moving！" cried Bobbie. "Oh， look！ And so are the others." 　　"It's ALL coming down，" Peter tried to say， but he found there was hardly any voice to say it with. And， indeed， just as he spoke， rock and trees and grass and bushes slipped and fell on the line with a blundering1） crash. 　　"Look what a great mound2） it's made！" said Bobbie. 　　"Yes，" said Peter， slowly. Then he stood upright. "The 11.29 down hasn't gone by yet. We must let them know at the station， or there'll be a most frightful accident." 　　"Let's run，" said Bobbie， and began. 　　But Peter cried， "Come back！" and looked at Mother's watch. "No time，" he said， "it's two miles away， and it's past eleven. If we had anything red， we could get down on the line and wave it." 　　"But the train wouldn't see us till it got round the corner， and then it could see the mound just as well as us，" said Phyllis. 　　"If we only had something red，" Peter repeated， "we could go round the corner and wave to the train." 　　"We might wave， anyway." 　　"They'd only think it was just US， as usual. We've waved so often before. Anyway， let's get down." 　　They got down the steep stairs. Phyllis was red-faced. "Oh， how hot I am！" she said， "I wish we hadn't put on our flannel3） petticoats4）." 　　"Oh， yes，" Bobbie cried. "THEY'RE red！ Let's take them off." 　　They did， and with the petticoats rolled up under their arms， ran along the railway. Peter led， but the girls were not far behind. They reached the corner that hid the mound. 　　"Now，" said Peter， taking hold of the largest flannel petticoat. 　　"You're not"―Phyllis faltered5）―"you're not going to TEAR them？" 　　"Shut up，" said Peter. 　　"Oh， yes，" said Bobbie， "tear them into little bits if you like. Don't you see， Phil， if we can't stop the train， there'll be a real live accident， with people KILLED. Oh， horrible！" 　　Peter divided each petticoat into three pieces. "Now， we've got six flags." He looked at the watch again. "And we've got seven minutes. We must have flagstaffs6）." The young saplings7） had to be broken off. Two came up by the roots. The leaves were stripped from them. 　　"We must cut holes in the flags， and run the sticks through the holes，" said Peter. And the holes were cut. Two of the flags were set up in heaps of loose stones between the sleepers8） of the down line. Then Phyllis and Roberta took each a flag. "I shall have the other two myself，" said Peter. 　　Perhaps Peter had not rightly calculated the number of minutes it would take the 11.29 to get from the station to the place where they were， or perhaps the train was late. Anyway， it seemed a very long time that they waited. 　　And Bobbie began to feel sick. Her hands grew very cold and trembled so that she could hardly hold the flag. And then came the distant rumble9） and hum10） of the metals. 　　"Stand firm，" said Peter， "and wave like mad！ When it gets to that big furze11） bush step back， but go on waving！ Don't stand ON the line， Bobbie！" 　　The train came along very， very fast. 　　"They don't see us！ They won't see us！ It's all no good！" cried Bobbie. 　　The two little flags on the line swayed12） as the train shook and loosened the heaps of loose stones. One of them fell on the line. Bobbie jumped forward and caught it up， and waved it； her hands did not tremble now. 　　"Keep off the line， you silly cuckoo！" said Peter. 　　But Bobbie cried， "Not yet， not yet！" and waved her two flags right over the line. 　　"Oh， stop， stop， stop！" cried Bobbie. No one heard her. At least Peter and Phyllis didn't， for the oncoming rush of the train covered the sound of her voice with a mountain of sound. But afterwards she used to wonder whether the engine itself had not heard her. It seemed almost as though it had―for it slackened13）swiftly， slackened and stopped， not twenty yards from the place where Bobbie's two flags waved over the line. She saw the great black engine stop dead， but somehow she could not stop waving the flags. And when the driver and the fireman had got off the engine and Peter and Phyllis had gone to meet them and pour out their excited tale of the awful mound just round the corner， Bobbie still waved the flags but more and more feebly14） and jerkily15）. 　　When the others turned towards her she was lying across the line with her hands flung forward and still gripping the sticks of the little red flannel flags. 　　“看，”彼得突然大叫，“那边的那棵树！” 　　“它在动！”伯比大喊，“哎呀，看啊！其他的树也在动！” 　　“全都在往下滑。”彼得竭力想说，却发现自己几乎发不出一点儿声音。事实上，就在他说这话的时候，石头、树木、青草和灌木全都滑落了下来，笨拙地砸落到了铁轨上。 　　“看啊，落了好大一堆！”伯比说。 　　“是啊。”彼得慢悠悠地说，然后站了起来。“11：29的下行列车还没有经过这里，我们必须得让车站的人知道，要不然就会发生一场很恐怖的车祸。” 　　“我们跑着去吧。”伯比说着就跑了起来。 　　但彼得却大喊：“回来！”他看了眼妈妈的手表。“来不及了，”他说，“车站离这儿有两英里，而且现在已经过了11点了。我们要是有红色的东西，就可以跑下去到铁轨上挥动它。” 　　“可是火车要拐过弯来才会看到我们，那时他们不光能看见我们，也同样能看到那个大土堆了。”菲莉丝说。 　　“要是我们有红色的东西就好了，”彼得重复道，“我们就能到拐弯的地方，朝着火车挥动它。” 　　“至少我们可以挥挥手啊。” 　　“他们只会觉得那不过是我们而已，就像平常一样。我们以前就经常朝火车挥手。不管怎样，我们先下去吧。” 　　他们下了那陡峭的台阶，菲莉丝满脸通红。“哦，热死我了！”她说，“我真希望我们没穿这些法兰绒衬裙。” 　　“哎呀，对啊，”伯比大喊，“裙子是红色的！我们把裙子脱下来吧。” 　　她们脱下裙子，把它们卷起来夹在胳膊底下，然后沿着铁路跑。彼得打头，但女孩们也没落下多远。他们来到正好挡住了那个大土堆的拐弯处。 　　“现在。”彼得手里握着那条最大的法兰绒衬裙说。 　　“你不是，”菲莉丝结结巴巴地说，“你不是要把它们撕开吧？” 　　“闭嘴。”彼得说。 　　“哦，好吧，”伯比说，“如果你想这样做就把它们撕成小块吧。菲尔（编注：菲莉丝的昵称），难道你还不明白，如果我们不能使那趟火车停下来，就会有一场真实的车祸上演，会死人的。哦，太可怕了！” 　　彼得将每一条衬裙撕成了三片。“现在，我们就有六面旗子了。”他又看了一眼表。“我们还有七分钟。我们还得有旗杆。”他们只得去折小树苗了。两棵树苗被他们连根拔起，上面的叶子也被撸掉了。 　　“我们必须在这些旗子上戳几个洞，再把树枝穿过去。”彼得说着在旗子上戳了几个洞出来。然后他们将两面旗子插在下行铁路两条枕木中间那堆松散的石头上。接着菲莉丝和罗伯塔（译注：伯比的大名）一人拿了一面旗子。“另外两面旗子我来拿。”彼得说。 　　或许是彼得没有算对11：29的下行列车从火车站开到他们现在待的地方需要的分钟数，又或许是火车晚点了。总之，他们似乎等了很长一段时间。 　　伯比开始觉得难受了。她的手变得十分冰凉，还不住地颤抖，几乎都拿不住旗子了。正在那时，远处传来金属碰撞铁轨发出的隆隆声。 　　“站稳了，”彼得说，“拼命挥旗子！当火车开到那株巨大的荆豆灌木时就向后退，但一定要接着挥旗子！别站在铁轨上，伯比！” 　　火车一路前行，开得很快，很快。 　　“他们没有看见我们！他们不会看见我们的！这样一点儿用也没有！”伯比叫道。 　　火车引起的震动使得铁路上原本就松松垮垮的那堆石头愈发松散，插在上面的那两面小旗也因此摇摇晃晃，其中一面倒在了铁轨上。伯比向前一跃将它捡起来，握在手里挥动起来，她的手现在不抖了。 　　“快离开铁轨，你这个傻妞！”彼得说。 　　但伯比一边大喊道：“还不行，还不行！”一边站在铁轨上挥动着她手里的两面旗子。 　　“喂，停下，停下，停下！”伯比大喊。没有人听见她的喊声。至少彼得和菲莉丝没有听见，因为迎面冲过来的火车发出的巨大轰鸣声盖住了她的声音。但事后她总想知道是否火车头没有听见她的声音。看上去就好像是火车头听见了她的声音似的，因为它迅速减速，减速，并停在了距离伯比在铁路上挥动两面旗子的位置不到20码的地方。她看见那个巨大的黑色火车头完全停下来了，但不知为何她却无法停止挥动手里的旗子。当火车司机和司炉工从火车头上下来时，彼得和菲莉丝早已迎上前去，激动地向他们讲述拐弯处出现那堆可怕东西的事情，而此时伯比还在挥动着旗子，不过越来越没有力气，越来越不稳。 　　当其他人转向伯比时，她正横躺在铁路上，双手耷拉在身前，手里还紧紧握着插有那两面小小的红色法兰绒旗子的棍子。 　　1. blundering [?bl?nd?r??] adj. 极笨拙的 　　2. mound [ma?nd] n. 一大堆；土墩，小丘 　　3. flannel [?fl?nl] n. 法兰绒 　　4. petticoat [?pet?k??t] n. 衬裙 　　5. falter [?f??lt?（r）] vt. 结结巴巴地说；支支吾吾地说 　　6. flagstaff [?fl?��st��?f] n. 旗杆 　　7. sapling [?s?pl??] n. 树苗；幼树 　　8. sleeper [?sli?p?（r）] n. 枕木 　　9. rumble [?r?mbl] n. 隆隆声 　　10. hum [h?m] n. 嗡嗡声 　　11. furze [f??z] n. [植]荆豆（花） 　　12. sway [swe?] vi. 摇摆；摇动 　　13. slacken [?sl?k?n] vi. 放慢 　　14. feebly [?fi?bli] adv. 无力地 　　15. jerkily [?d???k?li] adv. 不平稳地；时断时续地