贾母欢喜道："这茶想的到，且是地方，东西都干净。”
"Tea -- splendid!This is just the place for it," remarked the Lady Dowager."Everything here is so clean."
一面说，一面又看见柱子上挂的黑漆嵌蚌的对子，命湘云念道：§芙蓉影破归兰桨，菱藕香深泻竹桥。
As the old lady made this observation, she noticed two inscriptions inlaid in mother-of-pearl on the black lacquer tablets hanging on the pillars.She asked someone to read them to her.
湘云念道：芙蓉影破归兰桨，菱藕香深写竹桥。
Xiangyun complied: Magnolia oars shatter the reflections of lotus; Caltrops and lotus-root scent the bamboo bridge.
贾母听了又抬头看匾，因回头向薛姨妈道:"我先小时，家里也有这么一个亭子，叫做什么'枕霞阁'。
The Lady Dowager glanced up again at the inscription on the board above her head, then turned to Aunt Xue."When I was young we had a pavilion like this too at home," she said."It was called Pillowed Iridescence or something of the sort.
我那时也只象他姐妹们这么大年纪，同着几个人，天天玩去。
When I was about the same age as these young people are now, I used to go with the others every day there to play.
谁知那日一下子失了脚掉下去，几乎没淹死，好容易救上来了，到底叫那木钉把头碰破了。
One day I slipped and fell down into the water.
I nearly drowned.
They had a terrible job getting me out.
And even then I caught my head on one of the wooden pegs on the way up.
如今这鬃角上那指头顶儿大的一个坑儿，就是那碰破的。
I've still got a place big enough to put the tip of a linger in where it hit me.
It's on the side here, just where the hair begins.
众人都怕经了水，又怕冒了风，都说活不得了，谁知竟好了。”
Of course, at the time everyone thought it was all up with me.
They were sure that after being all that time in the water I'd catch my death of cold.
But I got over it.”
可知老祖宗从小儿的福寿就不小，神差鬼使碰出那个窝儿来，好盛福寿的。
Obviously our Old Ancestress was destined from birth to good luck and a long life: that's why the gods dented her head to hold her good luck!
寿星老儿头上原是一个窝儿，因为万福万寿盛满了，所以倒凸高出些来了。”
The God of Longevity originally had a dent in his head too, but it was so stuffed with good fortune it swelled up instead into a bump."
未及说完，贾母与众人都笑软了。
Before she had finished, the Lady Dowager and all the others were quite limp from laughing.
贾母笑道:"这猴儿惯的了不得了，只管拿我取笑起来，恨的我撕你那油嘴。”
"This monkey's so dreadfully spoilt, she even makes fun of me," declared the old lady."I ought to tear out that glib tongue of yours."
贾母笑道：“明日叫你黑家白日跟着我，我倒常笑笑儿，也不许你回屋里去。”
"I'll make you stay with me day and night to keep me laughing," threatened the Lady Dowager."I won't let you go home."
贾母笑道：“我倒喜欢他这么着，况且他又不是那真不知高低的孩子。
‘But I like her cheekiness!”said Grandmother Jia. ‘After all, there's no harm in it.
She knows what's what underneath it all, of course she does.
横竖礼体不错就罢了，没的倒叫他从神儿似的作什么。”
so long as the young people don't break the main rules of propriety.Why should we expect them to behave like angels?”
说着，一齐进人亭子，献过茶，凤姐忙着摆桌子，要怀箸。
Now that everyone was in the pavilion tea was served, after which Xifeng set the tables.
上面一桌，贾母、薛姨妈、宝钗、黛玉、宝玉；东边一桌，史湘云、王夫人、迎、探、惜；西边靠门一桌，李纨和凤姐的，虚设坐位，二人皆不敢坐，只在贾母、王夫人两桌上伺候。
Grandmother Jia sat with Aunt Xue, Bao-chai, Dai-yu and Bao-yu at a centre table, and Xiang-yun, Lady Wang, Ying-chun, Tan-chun and Xi-chun at a table on the east side of the room.
凤姐吩咐:"螃蟹不可多拿来，仍旧放在蒸笼里，拿十个来，吃了再拿。”
‘We shan't want all the crabs at once,' said Xi-feng to the servants bringing them in. ‘Ten will be enough to start with.
The others can go back into the steamer.”
一面又要水洗了手，站在贾母跟前剥蟹肉，头次让薛姨妈。
Having called for water to wash her hands, she stood by the old lady and shelled a crab, offering the meat to Aunt Xue.
头次让薛姨妈，薛姨妈道：“我自己掰着吃香甜，不用人让。”
She offered the first meat, as a courtesy, to Aunt Xue. ‘No thank you,' said Aunt Xue. ‘I don't need anyone to do it for me.
I like doing it myself and getting crabby fingers.
I think they taste better when you eat them with your fingers.”
凤姐便奉与贾母。
Xi-feng gave the crab-meat she had prepared to Grandmother Jia.
二次的便与宝玉，又说:"把酒烫的热热的拿来。”
the second to Baoyu.She then sent for piping hot wine
又命小丫头们去取菊花叶儿、桂花蕊熏的绿豆面子来，预备洗手。
She also sent a little maid to fetch mung-bean flour scented with chrysanthemum leaves and cassia for cleaning the lingers with and removing the smell of crab.
史湘云陪着吃了一个，就下座来让人，又出至外头，命人盛两盘子与赵姨娘、周姨娘送去。
Xiangyun, after eating one crab with her guests, left her seat to help the others and also went outside to give instructions that two dishes of crabs should be sent to the concubines Zhao and Zhou.