CHAPTER XI

 Dirty is paying us a visit and my little boy is sitting at her feet.

 

She has buried her fingers in her hair and is reading, reading, reading. . . .

 

She is learning the Ten Commandments by heart. She stammers¹ and repeats herself, with eyes fixed² in her head and a despairing mouth:

 

"Thou shalt . . . Thou shalt not . . . Thou shalt . . ."

 

The boy watches her with tender compassion³.

 

He has already learnt a couple of the commandments by listening to her and helps her, now and then, with a word. Then he comes to me and asks, anxiously:

 

"Father, must Dirty do all that the Ten Commandments say?"

 

"Yes."

 

He sits down by her again. His heart is overflowing⁴ with pity, his eyes are moist. She does not look at him, but plods⁵ on bravely:

 

"Thou shalt . . . Thou shalt not . . ."

 

"Father, when I grow big, must I also do all that the Ten Commandments say?"

 

"Ye-es."

 

He looks at me in utter despair. Then he goes back to Dirty and listens, but now he keeps his thoughts to himself.

 

Suddenly, something seems to flash across his mind.

 

He comes to me again, puts his arms on my knee and looks with his green eyes firmly into mine:

 

"Father, do you do all that the Ten Commandments say?"

 

"Ye-e-es."

 

He looks like a person whose last hope has escaped him. I would so much like to help him; but what, in Heaven's name, can I do?

 

Then he collects himself, shakes his head a little and says, with great tears in his eyes:

 

"Father, I don't believe that I can do all those things that the Ten Commandments say."

 

And I draw him to me and we cry together because life is so difficult, while Dirty plods away like a good girl.

该作者的其它作品
《The Pond》
《The Old Room》
《The Spider and Other Tales》

1 stammers   

n.口吃，结巴( stammer的名词复数 )v.结巴地说出( stammer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She stammers when she feels nervous. 她紧张时就口吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The little child stammers in the presence of strangers. 那小孩在陌生人面前说话就结巴。 来自辞典例句

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

4 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

5 plods   

v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的第三人称单数 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作）

参考例句：

• He plods away at his lessons until he learns them. 他埋头学习功课直到学会为止。 来自辞典例句
• Mr. Weaver stretches, yawns, rises reluctantly and plods heavily into the bathroom. 韦佛先生伸伸懒腰打了个呵欠，勉强起床，迈着沉重的脚步走进浴室去。 来自辞典例句