她懂得许多莫名其妙的道理,还有许多规矩, 这一切都是孩子们所不理解的。
She was so full of mysterious lore and had SO many rules of behaviour that the children sometimes found her quite puzzling.
譬如说,人死了,不说死掉,而说"老掉了";
For instance, i someone died, you should not say he was dead but "he has passed away".
死了人或生了孩子的屋里,是不应该走进去的:饭粒子落在 地上,必须捡起来,最好是吃下去;
You should not enter a room where someone had died or a child had been bomn.
晒裤子用的竹竿底下,是万不可 钻过去的,等等。
On no account must you walk under the bamboo pole on which trousers or pants were hanging out to dry.
平时她不许孩子们乱走动",拔一株草,翻一块石 头,就说是顽皮,要去告诉母亲去。
If they pulled up a weed or tured over a stone, she would say they were naughty and threaten to tell their mother.
起初,孩子们并不怎么喜欢她。
In the beginning, the children did not think much of her.
尤其是当她不留心踩死了鲁迅所心爱的隐鼠,这更使鲁迅十分生气。
Lu Xun was especially angry with her when she inadvertently stepped on and killed his favourite little mouse.
但是,有一件事,出乎意料之外,使鲁迅对她发生了敬意,因为,她 对孩子们能够讲述一些"长毛"(关于太平天国))的故事,又一件事,更 使鲁迅对她发生了很大的敬意,那就是,她不知从什么地方替鲁迅找 到了3一部为他日夜所渴望的绘图《山海经》。
However, one thing which unexpectedly made Lu Xun feel respect for her was that she often told the children stories of the "Long Hairs"(the Taiping Rebellion).
鲁迅对于绘图《山海经》的渴望己不止一天了。
Lu Xun had been longing for an illustrated copy of the Book of Hills and Seas for sometime.
这事是由和他家 同住在这个台门Q里的远房叔祖玉田老人惹起来的。
The whole business started with a distant great-uncle named Yutian, who was living in the same compound.
他是一个胖胖的 和蔼的老人,爱种一点珠兰、茉莉之类的花木。
A fat and kindly old man, he liked to grow flowers such as chloranthus and jasmine.
他在家里无人可以攀 谈,所以就很喜欢和孩子们来往,有时简直称呼他们为"小友"。
The old man a was a lonely soul with no one to talk to, so he liked the children's company and often even called them his "young friends.
他 的藏书很丰富,其中有一本叫《花镜》,上面印着许多好看的花草和 树木,是一部孩子们最心爱的书。
He owned a big collection of books, one of which was called The Mirror of Flowers\* with many beautiful ilustrations of flowers and trees.
孩子们怀着十分迫切的心 情,都急于想看这本充满着奇异图画的书,但又不好意思通着老人去 寻找。
Eager as they were to look at the book with such strange pictures, the children did not like to press him to find it.
想买吧,不知到哪里去买,大街离 得很远,只有正月间才能够去玩一趟,那时书铺的门却又是关着的。
The main street was a long way from their home, and the New Year holiday was the only time in the year when they were able to gO there to look around, but during that period the bookshops were closed.
玩得热闹的时候倒也不觉得有什么,一到静下来,可就想起了那绘图 的《山海经》。
As long as the children were playing, it was not so bad.
But the moment they sat down they would think of the Book of Hills and Seas.
过了十多天,也许是一个月吧,长妈妈在她请假回家转来的时 候,一见面,就将一包书递给了鲁迅。
About a fortnight Or a month later, Mama Chang came back after some leave at home and the moment she saw Lu Xun, she handed him a package. "Here, son!" she said cheerfully. "I've bought you that Book of Holy Seas with pictures." What an unexpected piece of news!
他赶紧接过来,打开纸包一看,是四本小 小的书。
He hastened to take the package and unwrap the paper.
虽然这是一部 纸张很黄,图像很坏,连动物的眼睛也都是长方形的,刻工印工都很 粗糙的书,但它正是鲁迅所日夜盼望的书。
Although the paper was yellow and the drawings very poor SO much so that even the animals' eyes were oblong, and both the engraving and printing were very crude, nevertheless, it was Lu Xun's most treasured book.
后来,鲁迅把这一位贫农 妇女和自己对她的深厚感情,写在一篇充满激情的散文里。
Later, in a highly impassioned essay Lu Xun paid tribute to this country woman of peasant origin and described his own deep affection for her.
鲁迅从长妈妈的手里,连带着她 的那一份无比深厚的情意接受了过来。
Lu Xun received it from Mama Chang's hands along with her incomparably deep affection for him.
这是幼年的鲁迅第一次读到的 比一切别的书更加使他感动的书。
It touched the young Lu Xun more deeply than any other book he had read.
在家庭里,祖母特别喜爱鲁迅。
Of all the children at home, his grandmother loved Lu Xun most.
夏夜,鲁迅躺在一株大桂花树下 的小板桌上乘凉,祖母摇着芭蕉扇坐在桌旁,一面摇着扇子,一面讲 故事给他听,或是叫他猜谜语。
On summer evenings when Lu Xun was lying on a small wooden table under an osmanthus tree to enjoy the evening cool, she would sit by the table with a palm-leaf fan in her hand.