第 8 页

After that，we could not take our eyes off the fish． It really was a fine fish．We were still looking at it when another man came in．He had a glass of beer in his hand，and he also looked at the fish．

'That's a fine， big fish， isn't it？'George said to him．

'Ah，yes，'the man replied．He drank some of his beer，and then he added，'Perhaps you weren't here when it was caught？'

'No，'we said，and we explained that we did not live there．We said that we were only there on holiday．

'Ah， well，'the man went on，'it was nearly five years ago that I caught that fish．'

'Oh，did you catch it then？'I asked．

'Yes，'he replied．'I caught him by the lock…Well，good-night to you．'

Five minutes later a third man came in and described how he had caught the fish， early one morning． He left， and another man came in and sat down by the window．

Nobody spoke for some time．Then George turned to the man and said，'Excuse me，I hope you don't mind， but my friend and I， who are only on holiday here， would like to ask you a question．Could you tell us how you caught that fish？'

'Who told you that I caught that fish？'he asked．

We said that nobody had told us．We just felt that he was the man who had caught it．

'Well， that's very strange，'he answered， with a little laugh．' You're right． I did catch it．'And he went on to tell us how he had done it，and that it had taken him half an hour to land it．

When he left， the landlord came in to talk to us．We told him the different stories we had heard about his fish．He was very amused and we all laughed about it．And then he told us the re－al story of the fish．

He said that he had caught it himself， years ago， when he was a boy．It was a lovely，sunny afternoon，and instead of go－ing to school， he went fishing． That was when he caught the fish． Everyone thought he was very clever． Even his teacher thought he had done well and did not punish him．

He had to go out of the room just then， and we turned to look at the fish again． George became very excited about it， and he climbed up onto a chair to see it better．

And then George fell，and he caught hold of the glass case to save himself．It came down， with George and the chair on top of it．

'Is the fish all right？'I cried．

'I hope so， 'George said． He stood up carefully and looked round．But the fish was lying on the floor-in a thousand pieces！

It was not a real fish．

14 干活、洗衣和钓鱼

第二天早晨我们很晚才醒，直到十点钟才出发。我们已经打定主意，今天要好好地玩上一天。

我们一致同意，今天改划船，不拉纤了。哈里斯说乔治和我应该划船，他来掌舵。我根本不同意。我说应该让他和乔治划船，而让我休息休息。我觉得在这次旅程中，我干的活太多了，对此我愈发不能忍受了。

每次我都觉得自己干的活太多了。这倒不是我不喜欢干活。我热爱工作，也感到工作很有趣。我能坐着几个小时看要干的活儿。你给我多少工作，我都不嫌多，因为我喜欢收藏，书房里都堆满了。

这些工作，我可爱惜呢。很多放在书房里有年头了，可是一点灰尘都没有。那是因为我爱护它们。

尽管我喜欢工作，可我不想把别人的工作也揽过来。往往是我没要求，它却找上门来，真让我烦恼。

乔治劝我对这个问题不必太在意。实际上，他觉得我应该再多干点呢。我把他说的这些只当成安慰我的话。

我注意到，无论在哪条船上，每个人都觉得自己把所有的活都干了。哈里斯觉得乔治和我让他干了所有的活。乔治说哈里斯除了睡觉吃饭，什么也没干。只有他——乔治，才真正把什么都包了。他说，从来没有见过象我和哈里斯这么懒的人。

哈里斯听了此话又好气，又好笑。

“什么？！乔治干活？”他笑道。“他只要干上半个小时准得要了他的命！你见过乔治干过活没有？”他转过脸来问我。

我同意哈里斯的话，确实没见乔治干过活。

“哼！你们怎么会知道我干的活呢？”乔治反驳哈里斯一句。“你总在睡，睡，还是睡！你看见过哈里斯醒的时候吗？除了吃饭？”他转过脸来问我。

我只能说实话，支持乔治的说法，哈里斯在船上确实没干过什么。

“哦，得了，我总比老杰干得多吧，”哈里斯回答说。

“是的，想比他干得更少有点不大可能，”乔治附和道。

“他呀，把自己当成船上的乘客，不必工作！”哈里斯说。

这就是他们对我的报答！我把他们两个和这条破船从金斯敦一直拉到这里，为他们安排好一切，照顾他们一路，这就是他们对我的报答！

最后我们决定由哈里斯和乔治把船划到雷丁，从雷丁以后由我来拉纤。

将近十一点钟，我们到了雷丁。我们没在那里久留，因为河水很不干净，然而雷丁以上那一段河上风光就非常可爱了。左边有戈灵，右边是斯特雷特利，都是景致优美的地方。我们本来打算当天赶到沃灵福德，可是斯特雷特利这一带景色使我们流连忘返。我们便在桥边弃舟登岸，走进了这个小村庄，在一个小酒馆吃了午餐，“元帅”在这里也玩得很开心。

我们在斯特雷特利住了两天，把衣服洗了。这次是我们在河里自己洗的，乔治告诉我们怎么洗，我们就怎么洗。结果是令人不堪回首的失败。没洗之前，我们的衣服已经很脏了，但是还可以对付穿。可是，洗了之后呢，反倒比以前更糟了。不过，从雷丁到亨利的河水一下子更清澈了，因为我们把河里所有污物都收集到一起，洗到我们的衣服里去了。斯特雷特利的洗衣妇管我们要了平常价格的三倍才肯给我们洗。

我们照单付款，一声也没报怨我们的花费。

斯特雷特利和戈灵附近的河上可是个钓鱼的绝佳去处，你可以坐在这儿，整整钓上一天。

确实有人整天坐着钓鱼，当然，不过就是钓不着。也许你能钓上一两只死猫，可你别想钓着鱼。你在河边散步时，鱼游过来，一半身子站在水外，张着嘴要面包。要是你去游泳，它们全都游过来，瞪着你看，挡着你的路。可是想抓住它们，没门。

第二天晚上，乔治，我，还有“元帅”去沃灵福德转了一圈（哈里斯不知道上哪儿去了）。回来的时候，经过河边一家小酒馆，我们歇了歇脚。

我们走进去，坐下来。还有一位老先生也在那里，抽着烟斗，我们便和他聊起来。

他对我们说，今天天气很好。我们对他说，昨天天气也不错。然后我们一起预测，明天天气大概也不会坏。

我们又告诉他我们在河上度假旅行，明天就又要启程了。接着，谈话沉默了一会儿，我们四处打量着屋子，最后眼光转到墙上挂着的一个玻璃匣子，里面装着一条大鱼。

那位老先生看到我们正盯着那条鱼。

“啊，”他说，“真是条大鱼，是吧？”

“是啊，是啊，”我答道。

“那是……”老人继续说，“十六年前了，我在桥边钓上来的。”

“哦，是吗？”乔治问道。

“是的，”老人答道。“他们说河里有一条这样的鱼。我就说，我要把它钓上来，真的就钓上来了。现在这么大个的鱼很少见了。好吧，再见吧。”说着就走了出去。

我们一直还目不转睛地看着那条鱼，真是条出色的鱼。我们正看着，又进来一个人。他手里拿着一杯啤酒，眼睛也盯着那条鱼。

“可真是条大鱼啊！”乔治对那人说。

“啊，是的，”那人回答说。接着喝了一口啤酒，又说道：“这条鱼给钓上来的时候，你们也许还不在这儿吧？”

“不在，”我们对他说，我们不住在这儿，只是来这里度假。

“啊，是这样，”那人说，“五年前吧，我钓到了这条鱼。”

“那么，这鱼是你钓到的了？”我问。

“正是的。”他答。“在那边水闸下钓到的……好吧，那么再见吧。”

五分钟之后，进来了第三个客人，跟我们描述了一番他是怎么样一大早就钓着这条鱼的。他走了，又来了一位，在窗口坐下来。

有一会儿，我们都没说话。然后乔治转过去向那个人说道：“请原谅，希望您别介意。我的朋友和我在此度假，恕我们冒昧问您一个问题。能否请您谈一谈您是怎样钓到那条鱼的，好吗？”

“谁告诉你们说那条鱼是我钓着的？”他问。

我们说，谁也没有告诉我们，不过我们觉得那条鱼是他钓着的。

“啊！真是奇事，”他回答道，笑了起来。“一点不错，是我钓着的。”接着他又描述了他怎么钓着的，怎么花了半个小时才把这条鱼拖上岸的。

他走了以后，酒店老板进了屋，来和我们聊天。我们就把刚才听到的各人的故事给他又讲了一遍。他觉得非常有趣，我们一起捧腹大笑。然后他告诉了我们这条鱼真正的来历。

他告诉我们这鱼是他自己钓上来的。那时他还是个毛孩子呢！记得那是个阳光明媚的下午，他没去上学，溜出去钓鱼，就是那会儿把鱼钓上来的。大家都夸他聪明，就连老师也说他干得不错，因此没有惩罚他。

这时，老板有事要出去一下，我们又转过头来看着这条鱼发呆。乔治心情激动，抑制不住，连忙爬到椅上看个真切。

突然，乔治摔了下去，他伸手抓住玻璃匣子支撑他一下，谁知它也滑下来，乔治连人带椅一齐压在上面。

“鱼没事吧？”我叫了一声。

“但愿没事。”乔治说着，小心翼翼地站起身，四下看了看。可是鱼躺在地上——给摔成了几千瓣了。

原来，这根本就不是一条真鱼。　　We left Streatley early the next morning．We were going to Culham， and we wanted to spend the night there．Between Streatley and Walling ford the river is not very inter－esting．Then from Cleeve there is quite a long piece of the river which has no locks． Most people are pleased about this because it makes everything much easier，but I quite like locks，myself． I remember that George and I nearly had an accident in a lock once…

It was a lovely day， and there were a lot of boats in the lock．Someone was taking a photograph of us all， and the photographer was hoping to sell the picture to the people in the lock．I did not see the photographer at first， but suddenly George started to brush his trousers，and he fixed his hair and put on his hat． Then he sat down with a kind，but sad，expression on his face，and he tried to hide his feet．

My first idea was that he had seen a girl that he knew，and I looked round to see who it was．Everybody in the lock had stopped moving and they all had fixed expressions on their faces．All the girls were smiling prettily，and all the men were trying to look brave and handsome．

Then I saw the photographer and at once I understood．I wondered if I would be in time．Our boat was the first one in the lock， so I must look nice for the man's photograph．

So I turned round quickly and stood in the front of the boat．I arranged my hair carefully，and I tried to make myself look strong and interesting．

We stood and waited for the important moment when the man would actually take the photograph．Just then，someone behind me called out，'Hi！ Look at your nose！'

I could not turn round to see whose nose it was，but I had a quick look at George's nose．It seemed to be all right．I tried to look at my own nose，and that seemed to be all right，too．

'Look at your nose，you stupid fool！'the voice cried again， more loudly this time．

And then another voice called，'Push your nose out！You two，with the dog！'

We could not turn round because the man was just going to take the photograph．Was it us they were calling to？What was the matter with our noses？Why did they want us to push them out？

But now everybody in the lock started shouting， and a very loud， deep voice from the back called，'Look at your boat！You，in the red and black caps！If you don't do something quickly， there'll be two dead bodies in that photograph！'

We looked then， and we saw that the nose of our boat was caught in the wooden gate at the front of the lock．The water was rising， and our boat was beginning to turn over．Quickly，we pushed hard against the side of the lock， to move the boat．The boat did move， and George and I fell over on our backs．

We did not come out well in that photograph because the man took it just as we fell over．We had expressions of' Where am I？'and' What's happened？'on our faces，and we were waving our feet about wildly． In fact， our feet nearly filled the photograph． You could not see much else．

Nobody bought the photographs． They said they did not want photographs of our feet．The photographer was not very pleased…

We passed Wallingford and Dorchester，and we spent the night at Clifton Hampden，which is a very pretty little village．

The next morning we were up early，because we wanted to be in Oxford by the afternonn．By half past eight we had fin－ished breakfast and we were through Clifton lock．At half past twelve we went through Iffley lock．

From there to Oxford is the most difficult part of the river．First the river carries you to the right，then to the left；then it takes you out into the middle and turns you round three times．We got in the way of a lot of other boats；a lot of other boats got in our way-and a lot of bad words were used．

However，at Oxford we had two good days．There are a lot of dogs in the town． Montmorency had eleven fights on the first day and fourteen on the second．This made him very happy．

If you are thinking of taking a trip on the river， and you are going to start from Oxford， take your own boat（unless you can take someone else's without being discovered）． The boats that you can hire on the Thames above Marlow are all right： they do not let too much water in， and they have seats and things． But they are not really boats which you want people to see．The person who hires one of these boats is the kind of person who likes to stay under the trees．He likes to travel early in the morning or late at night， when there are not many people about to look at him．When he sees someone he knows， he gets out of the boat and hides behind a tree．I remember that some friends and I hired one of these boats one summer…

We had written to ask for a boat， and， when we arrived at the boathouse， we gave our names．The man said，'Oh，yes．'And then he called out to another man，'Jim，fetch “The Queen of the Thames”．'

Five minutes later，Jim came back with a very old piece of wood． He had clearly just dug it up from a hole in the ground． When he dug it up， he had damaged it very badly．

We asked Jim what it was．

'It's“The Queen of the Thames”，'he answered．

We laughed at this，and then one of us said，'All right．Now go and fetch the real boat．'

They said that this was the real boat…

15 来到牛津

第二天一大早我们就离开了斯特雷特利。我们计划去卡拉姆，在那里过夜。从斯特雷特利到沃灵福德一带，河上风光平淡无奇。从克利夫以上，好长一段河面上没有一座水闸。对于此，大多数人很满意，因为这样，任何事情容易多了。对我个人来说，我是十分喜欢水闸的。我还想起有一次乔治和我在一个水闸差点惹出祸来……

那天天气真好，水闸里挤满了船。有人在给我们照相，摄影师想借此把照片卖给水闸里的游客。起初，我没有看见摄影师，却突然看见乔治慌慌张张地把裤子拉平，把头发摆弄摆弄，又把帽子戴上。他坐下来，脸上装出一副和善，但又忧郁的表情，还拼命把两只脚藏起来。

我马上猜想他突然看见了自己认识的姑娘。我四下张望，看看她到底是谁。可是水闸里的人一个个都变成了木头人似的，一动不动，脸上的表情绷得紧紧的。所有的姑娘们都做出优雅的微笑状，所有的男人们都摆出一副勇敢、潇洒的表情。

后来，我看到了摄影师才恍然大悟。我还赶得上吗？我们的船在水闸最前一排，我可一定要在照片上显得好看才行。

于是，我赶快扭过身子，站在船头，仔细理了一下头发，尽量让自己显得英勇又机敏。

我们站在那儿，等待着拍照的关键时刻。这时，忽然我背后有人喊了起来。

“喂！瞧你的鼻子！”

我当然不能回头去看究竟是谁的鼻子，不过，我偷偷照了一眼乔治的鼻子，那鼻子好好的。我又使劲看看自己的鼻子，也是好端端的。

“瞧瞧你的鼻子！你这个傻瓜！”那人又扯大了嗓门叫道。

接着，又有一个声音喊道：“把你们的鼻子挪开，你们两个，带狗的！”

我们实在不能转身，因为摄影师马上就要拍照了。他们是在吆喝我们吗？我们的鼻子出什么问题了？干吗要我们把鼻子挪开呢？

现在，整个水闸里的人都咆哮起来了。从我们背后传来一个洪亮的声音：“看看你们的船！你们两个戴红帽子和黑帽子的家伙。你们要是动作再不快点，照片上会照上两个死人了！”

这时，我们才转身一看，看见我们的船鼻子卡在水闸前的木门里。水在不断升高，我们的船眼看就要翻了。我们赶紧使劲向闸门推，总算是把船推离了水闸，可我们两个摔了个仰面朝天。

照片出来时我们简直不成样子。因为恰在我们摔倒的一霎那，摄影师拍了照。我们脸上一副“我这是在哪儿啊？”和“出什么事了？”的表情，四只脚在空中乱舞。说句实在的，我们的脚几乎把照片占满了，没剩下多少风景好看了。

没有一个人买照片。他们说他们才不愿意买只有我们四只脚的照片呢。摄影师呢，也满心不快。

我们又驶过沃灵福德，多切斯特，在克利夫顿·汉普登过夜，那是个风光十分绮丽的小村庄。

第二天早晨我们起得很早，因为我们想下午的时候赶到牛津。还不到八点半我们就吃完了早餐，通过了克利夫顿水闸。十二点半，我们又驶过了伊夫雷水闸。

可是从那里到牛津的那段水道是最难航行的。一开始，水流一会儿把你冲向右，一会儿冲向左；接着又把你冲到河中央，打三个转。一会儿我们的船撞上了很多别人的船；一会儿别人的船又挡了我们的道——总不免谩骂声起，恶语伤人。

还好，我们在牛津愉快地玩了两天。城里有很多狗，“元帅”到的第一天就打了十一次架；第二天又打了十四次。这下子可过足了瘾。

要是你打算从牛津出发开始河上旅行，最好还是带自己的船去（当然，带了别人的船去也可以，只要别人不察觉）。泰晤士河上在马洛以前租的船倒还不错：不会进太多的水，有坐的地方，配备也齐全。可这些船的外表都不是能让你出风头、摆架子的。租这种游船的人都是性格温和的人，喜欢停在树荫之下。他们大多清晨或者黄昏之后才划船，因为那会儿，没有多少人看他们。他们一旦看见熟人，就会跳出船，躲到树后面去。我还记得有一年夏天，我和几个朋友也租了那样一条船……

我们预先写信去订了一条船。我们到了船坞，报上自己的姓名。那个人说：“哦，对了。”接着，他又叫出来另一个人，“吉姆，去把那艘'泰晤士河皇后号'拖来。”

五分钟之后，吉姆拖着一截古老的烂木头回来了。很显然是他刚才从地底下挖掘出来的，而且挖掘出土的时候还碰坏了许多地方。

我们问吉姆这玩意是什么。

“是'泰晤士河皇后号'，”他回答说。

我们大声笑话着，然后其中一人说：“行了，快去把真船拖过来吧！”

可他们说，这的确是条真真正正的游船。　　We left Oxford on the third day， to go back home．The weather changed， and， when we left Oxford， it was raining．It continued to rain，not heavily，but all the time．

When the sun is shining，the river turns everything into a golden dream． But when it rains， the river is brown and miser-able．

It rained all day，and，at first，we pretended we were enjoy－ing it．We said that it was a nice change．We added that it was good to see the river in all kinds of weather．Harris and I sang a song about how good it was to be free and to be able to enjoy the sun and the rain．

George thought it was much more serious， and he put up the umbrella．

Before lunch， he put the cover on the boat， and it stayed there all afternoon． We just left a little hole， so that we could see out． We stopped for the night， just before Day's lock， and I cannot say that we spent a happy evening．

The rain came down without stopping．Everything in the boat was wet．Supper was not a success．We were all tired of cold meat， and we talked about our favourite foods．When we passed the cold meat to Montmorency， he refused our offer．He went and sat at the other end of the boat， alone．

We played cards after supper．We played for about an hour and a half， and George won ten pence． Harris and I lost five pence each．We decided to stop then， because the game was getting too exciting．

After that we had some whisky，and we sat and talked．George told us about a man he had known．This man had slept on the river， in a wet boat， like ours， and it had made him very ill． Ten days later， the poor man died， in great pain．George said he was quite a young man， so it was very sad．

Then Harris remembered one of his friends who had camped out on a wet night．When he woke up the next morning，he was in great pain， and he was never able to walk again．

So then，of course， we began to talk about other illnesses．Harris said it would be very serious if one of us became ill be－cause we were a long way from a doctor．

After this we really needed something to make us feel a bit happier， so George sang to us． That really made us cry．

After that we could think of nothing else to do， so we went to bed．Well…we undressed and we lay down in the boat．We tried to go to sleep but it was four hours before we did so．At five o'clock we all woke up again， so we got up and had break-fast．