On the following morning, she perceived on awaking, that she had been asleep. This singular thing astonished her. She had been so long unaccustomed to sleep! A joyous1 ray of the rising sun entered through her window and touched her face. At the same time with the sun, she beheld2 at that window an object which frightened her, the unfortunate face of Quasimodo. She involuntarily closed her eyes again, but in vain; she fancied that she still saw through the rosy3 lids that gnome's mask, one-eyed and gap-toothed. Then, while she still kept her eyes closed, she heard a rough voice saying, very gently,--
"Be not afraid. I am your friend. I came to watch you sleep. It does not hurt you if I come to see you sleep, does it? What difference does it make to you if I am here when your eyes are closed! Now I am going. Stay, I have placed myself behind the wall. You can open your eyes again."
There was something more plaintive4 than these words, and that was the accent in which they were uttered. The gypsy, much touched, opened her eyes. He was, in fact, no longer at the window. She approached the opening, and beheld the poor hunchback crouching5 in an angle of the wall, in a sad and resigned attitude. She made an effort to surmount6 the repugnance7 with which he inspired her. "Come," she said to him gently. From the movement of the gypsy's lips, Quasimodo thought that she was driving him away; then he rose and retired8 limping, slowly, with drooping10 head, without even daring to raise to the young girl his gaze full of despair. "Do come," she cried, but he continued to retreat. Then she darted11 from her cell, ran to him, and grasped his arm. On feeling her touch him, Quasimodo trembled in every limb. He raised his suppliant12 eye, and seeing that she was leading him back to her quarters, his whole face beamed with joy and tenderness. She tried to make him enter the cell; but he persisted in remaining on the threshold. "No, no," said he; "the owl9 enters not the nest of the lark13."
Then she crouched14 down gracefully15 on her couch, with her goat asleep at her feet. Both remained motionless for several moments, considering in silence, she so much grace, he so much ugliness. Every moment she discovered some fresh deformity in Quasimodo. Her glance travelled from his knock knees to his humped back, from his humped back to his only eye. She could not comprehend the existence of a being so awkwardly fashioned. Yet there was so much sadness and so much gentleness spread over all this, that she began to become reconciled to it.
He was the first to break the silence. "So you were telling me to return?"
She made an affirmative sign of the head, and said, "Yes."
He understood the motion of the head. "Alas16!" he said, as though hesitating whether to finish, "I am--I am deaf."
"Poor man!" exclaimed the Bohemian, with an expression of kindly17 pity.
He began to smile sadly.
"You think that that was all that I lacked, do you not? Yes, I am deaf, that is the way I am made. 'Tis horrible, is it not? You are so beautiful!"
There lay in the accents of the wretched man so profound a consciousness of his misery19, that she had not the strength to say a word. Besides, he would not have heard her. He went on,--
"Never have I seen my ugliness as at the present moment. When I compare myself to you, I feel a very great pity for myself, poor unhappy monster that I am! Tell me, I must look to you like a beast. You, you are a ray of sunshine, a drop of dew, the song of a bird! I am something frightful20, neither man nor animal, I know not what, harder, more trampled21 under foot, and more unshapely than a pebble22 stone!"
Then he began to laugh, and that laugh was the most heartbreaking thing in the world. He continued,--
"Yes, I am deaf; but you shall talk to me by gestures, by signs. I have a master who talks with me in that way. And then, I shall very soon know your wish from the movement of your lips, from your look."
"Well!" she interposed with a smile, "tell me why you saved me."
He watched her attentively23 while she was speaking.
"I understand," he replied. "You ask me why I saved you. You have forgotten a wretch18 who tried to abduct24 you one night, a wretch to whom you rendered succor25 on the following day on their infamous26 pillory27. A drop of water and a little pity,--that is more than I can repay with my life. You have forgotten that wretch; but he remembers it."
She listened to him with profound tenderness. A tear swam in the eye of the bellringer, but did not fall. He seemed to make it a sort of point of honor to retain it.
"Listen," he resumed, when he was no longer afraid that the tear would escape; "our towers here are very high, a man who should fall from them would be dead before touching28 the pavement; when it shall please you to have me fall, you will not have to utter even a word, a glance will suffice."
Then he rose. Unhappy as was the Bohemian, this eccentric being still aroused some compassion29 in her. She made him a sign to remain.
"No, no," said he; "I must not remain too long. I am not at my ease. It is out of pity that you do not turn away your eyes. I shall go to some place where I can see you without your seeing me: it will be better so."
He drew from his pocket a little metal whistle.
"Here," said he, "when you have need of me, when you wish me to come, when you will not feel too ranch30 horror at the sight of me, use this whistle. I can hear this sound."
He laid the whistle on the floor and fled.
第二天早上她醒来的时候，明白自己睡了一个好觉，这件奇怪的事使她惊讶起来，她已经很久不习惯睡觉了。愉快的朝阳从窗洞口射进来，照到她的脸上，看见太阳的时候，她看见窗口还有一个使她害怕的东西——伽西莫多不幸的形象。她不自觉地用手遮住眼睛，可是没用，她老是觉得透过自己玫瑰色的眼皮看见了那个用来扮演侏儒的假面具：独眼，缺牙齿。她一直闭着双眼，但却听见一个粗哑的声音温柔地向她说道：“别害怕。我是你的朋友，我是来看你睡觉的。我来看你睡觉，这对你没有什么坏处吧，不是吗？
当你闭着眼睛的时候，我在这里看你有什么关系呢？你瞧，我躲到墙后面去了，你可以睁开眼睛了。”
这几句话的声调里含有比这几句话本身更为惨痛的成分，受了感动的埃及姑娘睁开了眼睛，他真的已经不在窗口了。她走到窗前去，看见那可怜的驼子坐在墙角，带着痛苦的顺从的表情。她努力克制住对他的厌恶，向他温和地说：“来吧。”看见埃及姑娘的嘴唇在动，他以为她是在赶他走，于是他站起来，低着头一跛一跛地慢慢走开去了，甚至不敢抬起充满失望的眼睛向那姑娘看一眼。“来吧！”她喊道，可是他继续走远了。于是她冲出小屋向他跑去，抓住了他的胳膊。感觉到姑娘的接触，伽西莫多便浑身哆嗦起来。
他抬起恳求的眼睛，看见姑娘想把他拉到她身边去，他脸色就变得又欢快又温柔。她想把他拉进小屋，可是他坚持要待在门槛上。“不，不，”他说道，“鸱枭可不能到云雀的窝里去。”
于是她姿态优美地坐在她的垫褥上，羊儿躺在她的脚边，两人好一会没有动弹，默默地彼此对望着，一个是那样优美，一个是那么难看。每一刻她都在他身上发现更多的丑陋，她的目光从他的弯腿看到他的驼背，从他的驼背看到他的独眼。她不明白全身如此奇形怪状的人怎么能够生存。但是他脸上表现出那样的悲哀和痛苦，使她有点心软了。
他首先说起话来：“那么你是叫我回来吗？”
她肯定地点点头答道：“是呀。”
他明白点头的意思。“哎！”他说，似乎犹豫着不想说下去，“因为……
我是聋子。”
“可怜的人！”埃及姑娘带着善意的同情喊道。
他痛苦地微笑起来。“你发现我不只有这个缺陷，不是吗？是呀，我是聋子，我生来就是这副模样，这真是可怕，不是吗？你呢，你却这么漂亮！”
在那不幸的人的语气里，有一种对于自身不幸的深深的感慨，使她没有勇气回答，何况即使回答，他也是听不见的。他接着说道：“我从来没有象现在这样明白自己的丑陋。我把自己同你比较的时候，我就非常怜悯自己，我是多么可怜的不幸的怪物呀！我一定使你把我当成野兽啦。你呀，你是一道阳光，一滴露珠，一支鸟儿的歌！我呢，我却是一个可怕的东西，不象人也不是禽兽，是某种比脚下的石头更粗硬、更难看、更不成形的东西！”
于是他笑起来了，那是世界上最痛心的笑声。他接着说道：“是呀，我是聋子。但你可以用表情用手势对我讲话，我有一个主人曾经教给我这种办法。这样，从你嘴唇的动作和你的眼光，我很快就会明白你的意思。”
“好呀！”她微笑着说道，“告诉我你为什么要救我。”
她讲话的时候，他注意地看着她。
“我明白了，”他回答道，“你问我为什么要救你，你忘了，一天晚上，有个坏家伙想把你抢走，第二天你却在他们的可耻的刑台上帮助了他。我即使付出性命也报答不了那滴水和那怕是一丁点儿的同情心呀。你已经忘掉那个坏家伙了，但他却还记得呢。”
她非常感动地听着他的话，一滴眼泪在那敲钟人的眼睛里滚动，却没有落下来，他好象在努力把它往肚里吞。
“听我说，”他不再担心眼泪掉下来了才说道，“那边有两座很高的钟塔，一个人假若从那里掉下去，还没有掉到地上就会摔死。要是你愿意我从那里摔下去，你连一句话也不用说，只要用眼睛表示一下就行了。”
于是他站了起来。这个怪人啊，那埃及姑娘虽然自己十分悲伤，却还对他产生了几分同情。她做了个手势叫他不要走。
“不，不，”他说道，“我不应该待得太久。你看着我，我就觉得不自在。你不肯掉转头去不看我，那是出于怜悯。我要去待在一个我看得见你，你却看不见我的地方，这样会好一些。”
他从衣袋里掏出一只金属的小口哨说：“拿去吧。你需要我的时候，你想叫我来的时候，你不太害怕看见我的时候，就把这只口哨吹响吧。口哨的声音我是听得见的。”
他把口哨放在地上便走了开去。
收听单词发音 |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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surmount
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| vt.克服；置于…顶上 | |
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repugnance
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| n.嫌恶 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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suppliant
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| adj.哀恳的；n.恳求者，哀求者 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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abduct
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| vt.诱拐，拐带，绑架 | |
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succor
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| n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助 | |
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infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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pillory
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| n.嘲弄；v.使受公众嘲笑；将…示众 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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