Some of these fellows dragged a cow or a calf9 at the end of a rope. And just behind the animal followed their wives beating it over the back with a leaf-covered branch to hasten its pace, and carrying large baskets out of which protruded10 the heads of chickens or ducks. These women walked more quickly and energetically than the men, with their erect11, dried-up figures, adorned12 with scanty13 little shawls pinned over their flat bosoms14, and their heads wrapped round with a white cloth, enclosing the hair and surmounted15 by a cap.
Now a char-a-banc passed by, jogging along behind a nag16 and shaking up strangely the two men on the seat, and the woman at the bottom of the cart who held fast to its sides to lessen17 the hard jolting18.
In the market-place at Goderville was a great crowd, a mingled19 multitude of men and beasts. The horns of cattle, the high, long-napped hats of wealthy peasants, the head-dresses of the women came to the surface of that sea. And the sharp, shrill20, barking voices made a continuous, wild din21, while above it occasionally rose a huge burst of laughter from the sturdy lungs of a merry peasant or a prolonged bellow22 from a cow tied fast to the wall of a house.
It all smelled of the stable, of milk, of hay and of perspiration23, giving off that half-human, half-animal odor which is peculiar24 to country folks.
Maitre Hauchecorne, of Breaute, had just arrived at Goderville and was making his way toward the square when he perceived on the ground a little piece of string. Maitre Hauchecorne, economical as are all true Normans, reflected that everything was worth picking up which could be of any use, and he stooped down, but painfully, because he suffered from rheumatism25. He took the bit of thin string from the ground and was carefully preparing to roll it up when he saw Maitre Malandain, the harness maker26, on his doorstep staring at him. They had once had a quarrel about a halter, and they had borne each other malice27 ever since. Maitre Hauchecorne was overcome with a sort of shame at being seen by his enemy picking up a bit of string in the road. He quickly hid it beneath his blouse and then slipped it into his breeches, pocket, then pretended to be still looking for something on the ground which he did not discover and finally went off toward the market-place, his head bent28 forward and his body almost doubled in two by rheumatic pains.
He was at once lost in the crowd, which kept moving about slowly and noisily as it chaffered and bargained. The peasants examined the cows, went off, came back, always in doubt for fear of being cheated, never quite daring to decide, looking the seller square in the eye in the effort to discover the tricks of the man and the defect in the beast.
The women, having placed their great baskets at their feet, had taken out the poultry29, which lay upon the ground, their legs tied together, with terrified eyes and scarlet30 combs.
They listened to propositions, maintaining their prices in a decided31 manner with an impassive face or perhaps deciding to accept the smaller price offered, suddenly calling out to the customer who was starting to go away:
“All right, I'll let you have them, Mait' Anthime.”
Then, little by little, the square became empty, and when the Angelus struck midday those who lived at a distance poured into the inns.
At Jourdain's the great room was filled with eaters, just as the vast court was filled with vehicles of every sort—wagons, gigs, chars-a-bancs, tilburies, innumerable vehicles which have no name, yellow with mud, misshapen, pieced together, raising their shafts32 to heaven like two arms, or it may be with their nose on the ground and their rear in the air.
Just opposite to where the diners were at table the huge fireplace, with its bright flame, gave out a burning heat on the backs of those who sat at the right. Three spits were turning, loaded with chickens, with pigeons and with joints33 of mutton, and a delectable34 odor of roast meat and of gravy35 flowing over crisp brown skin arose from the hearth36, kindled37 merriment, caused mouths to water.
All the aristocracy of the plough were eating there at Mait' Jourdain's, the innkeeper's, a dealer38 in horses also and a sharp fellow who had made a great deal of money in his day.
The dishes were passed round, were emptied, as were the jugs39 of yellow cider. Every one told of his affairs, of his purchases and his sales. They exchanged news about the crops. The weather was good for greens, but too wet for grain.
Suddenly the drum began to beat in the courtyard before the house. Every one, except some of the most indifferent, was on their feet at once and ran to the door, to the windows, their mouths full and napkins in their hand.
When the public crier had finished his tattoo40 he called forth41 in a jerky voice, pausing in the wrong places:
“Be it known to the inhabitants of Goderville and in general to all persons present at the market that there has been lost this morning on the Beuzeville road, between nine and ten o'clock, a black leather pocketbook containing five hundred francs and business papers. You are requested to return it to the mayor's office at once or to Maitre Fortune Houlbreque, of Manneville. There will be twenty francs reward.”
Then the man went away. They heard once more at a distance the dull beating of the drum and the faint voice of the crier. Then they all began to talk of this incident, reckoning up the chances which Maitre Houlbreque had of finding or of not finding his pocketbook again.
The meal went on. They were finishing their coffee when the corporal of gendarmes42 appeared on the threshold.
He asked:
“Is Maitre Hauchecorne, of Breaute, here?”
Maitre Hauchecorne, seated at the other end of the table answered:
“Here I am, here I am.”
And he followed the corporal.
The mayor was waiting for him, seated in an armchair. He was the notary43 of the place, a tall, grave man of pompous44 speech.
“Maitre Hauchecorne,” said he, “this morning on the Beuzeville road, you were seen to pick up the pocketbook lost by Maitre Houlbreque, of Manneville.”
The countryman looked at the mayor in amazement45 frightened already at this suspicion which rested on him, he knew not why.
“I—I picked up that pocketbook?”
“Yes, YOU.”
“I swear I don't even know anything about it.”
“You were seen.”
“I was seen—I? Who saw me?”
“M. Malandain, the harness-maker.”
Then the old man remembered, understood, and, reddening with anger, said:
But the mayor incredulously shook his head:
“You will not make me believe, Maitre Hauchecorne, that M. Malandain, who is a man whose word can be relied on, has mistaken this string for a pocketbook.”
The peasant, furious, raised his hand and spat48 on the ground beside him as if to attest49 his good faith, repeating:
The mayor continued:
“After you picked up the object in question, you even looked about for some time in the mud to see if a piece of money had not dropped out of it.”
The good man was choking with indignation and fear.
His protestations were in vain; he was not believed.
He was confronted with M. Malandain, who repeated and sustained his testimony52. They railed at one another for an hour. At his own request Maitre Hauchecorne was searched. Nothing was found on him.
At last the mayor, much perplexed53, sent him away, warning him that he would inform the public prosecutor54 and ask for orders.
The news had spread. When he left the mayor's office the old man was surrounded, interrogated55 with a curiosity which was serious or mocking, as the case might be, but into which no indignation entered. And he began to tell the story of the string. They did not believe him. They laughed.
He passed on, buttonholed by every one, himself buttonholing his acquaintances, beginning over and over again his tale and his protestations, showing his pockets turned inside out to prove that he had nothing in them.
They said to him:
He grew more and more angry, feverish57, in despair at not being believed, and kept on telling his story.
The night came. It was time to go home. He left with three of his neighbors, to whom he pointed58 out the place where he had picked up the string, and all the way he talked of his adventure.
That evening he made the round of the village of Breaute for the purpose of telling every one. He met only unbelievers.
He brooded over it all night long.
The next day, about one in the afternoon, Marius Paumelle, a farm hand of Maitre Breton, the market gardener at Ymauville, returned the pocketbook and its contents to Maitre Holbreque, of Manneville.
This man said, indeed, that he had found it on the road, but not knowing how to read, he had carried it home and given it to his master.
The news spread to the environs. Maitre Hauchecorne was informed. He started off at once and began to relate his story with the denoument. He was triumphant59.
“What grieved me,” said he, “was not the thing itself, do you understand, but it was being accused of lying. Nothing does you so much harm as being in disgrace for lying.”
All day he talked of his adventure. He told it on the roads to the people who passed, at the cabaret to the people who drank and next Sunday when they came out of church. He even stopped strangers to tell them about it. He was easy now, and yet something worried him without his knowing exactly what it was. People had a joking manner while they listened. They did not seem convinced. He seemed to feel their remarks behind his back.
On Tuesday of the following week he went to market at Goderville, prompted solely60 by the need of telling his story.
He accosted62 a farmer of Criquetot, who did not let him finish, and giving him a punch in the pit of the stomach cried in his face: “Oh, you great rogue!” Then he turned his heel upon him.
Maitre Hauchecorne remained speechless and grew more and more uneasy. Why had they called him “great rogue”?
A horse dealer of Montivilliers shouted at him:
“Get out, get out, you old scamp! I know all about your old string.”
“But since they found it again, the pocketbook!”
But the other continued:
“Hold your tongue, daddy; there's one who finds it and there's another who returns it. And no one the wiser.”
The farmer was speechless. He understood at last. They accused him of having had the pocketbook brought back by an accomplice65, by a confederate.
He tried to protest. The whole table began to laugh.
He went home indignant, choking with rage, with confusion, the more cast down since with his Norman craftiness67 he was, perhaps, capable of having done what they accused him of and even of boasting of it as a good trick. He was dimly conscious that it was impossible to prove his innocence68, his craftiness being so well known. He felt himself struck to the heart by the injustice69 of the suspicion.
He began anew to tell his tale, lengthening70 his recital71 every day, each day adding new proofs, more energetic declarations and more sacred oaths, which he thought of, which he prepared in his hours of solitude72, for his mind was entirely73 occupied with the story of the string. The more he denied it, the more artful his arguments, the less he was believed.
He was visibly wasting away.
Jokers would make him tell the story of “the piece of string” to amuse them, just as you make a soldier who has been on a campaign tell his story of the battle. His mind kept growing weaker and about the end of December he took to his bed.
He passed away early in January, and, in the ravings of death agony, he protested his innocence, repeating:
“A little bit of string—a little bit of string. See, here it is, M'sieu le Maire.”
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收听单词发音
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1
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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starched
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| adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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varnished
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| 浸渍过的，涂漆的 | |
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ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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10
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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12
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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13
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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14
bosoms
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| 胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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15
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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16
nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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17
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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18
jolting
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| adj.令人震惊的 | |
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19
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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20
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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21
din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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22
bellow
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| v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道 | |
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23
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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24
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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25
rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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26
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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27
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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28
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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29
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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30
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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31
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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32
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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33
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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34
delectable
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| adj.使人愉快的；美味的 | |
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35
gravy
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| n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快 | |
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36
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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37
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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38
dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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39
jugs
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| （有柄及小口的）水壶( jug的名词复数 ) | |
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40
tattoo
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| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
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41
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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42
gendarmes
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| n.宪兵，警官( gendarme的名词复数 ) | |
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43
notary
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| n.公证人，公证员 | |
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44
pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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45
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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46
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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47
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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48
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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49
attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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50
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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51
slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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52
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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53
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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54
prosecutor
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| n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人 | |
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55
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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56
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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57
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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58
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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59
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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60
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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61
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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62
accosted
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| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
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63
tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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64
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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66
jeers
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| n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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67
craftiness
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| 狡猾，狡诈 | |
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68
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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69
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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70
lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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71
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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72
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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73
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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74
liars
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| 说谎者( liar的名词复数 ) | |
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75
preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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76
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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