It was late in the Third Month. Murasaki’s spring garden was coming ever more to life with blossoms and singing birds. —-
初春时节,紫式部的花园里开满了花朵，鸟儿在歌唱。 —-

Elsewhere spring had departed, said the other ladies, and why did it remain here? —-
其他地方已经离开了春天，其他女士们说，为什么这里还留着春天？ —-

Genji thought it a pity that the young women should have only distant glimpses of the moss on the island, a deeper green each day. —-
源氏觉得年轻的女性只能远远望见小岛上的青苔，每天都变得更加深绿，真是遗憾。 —-

He had carpenters at work on Chinese pleasure boats, and on the day they were launched he summoned palace musicians for water music. —-
他让木匠们在中国式的游船上工作，当游船下水的那一天，他召集了宫廷音乐家演奏水上音乐。 —-

Princes and high courtiers came crowding to hear.
王子和高官们都前来观赏。

Akikonomu was in residence at Rokujō. Now was the time, thought Murasaki, for a proper answer to the poem about the garden that “awaits the spring. —-
秋纪善定居六条。现在是时候，想想紫式部，应该对那首等待春天的诗作出适当的回复。 —-

” Genji agreed. It would have been good to show these spring blossoms to the empress herself, but casual visits were out of the question for one in her position. —-
源氏同意。让皇后亲自来欣赏这些春天的花朵会很好，但由于她的身份，随意拜访是不可能的。 —-

Numbers of her young women who were thought likely to enjoy such an outing were therefore rowed out over the south lake, which ran from her southwest quarter to Murasaki’s southeast, with a hillock separating the two. —-
选了一些有可能喜欢这样的出行的年轻女性划船穿过南湖，从她的西南区到紫式部的东南区，两地之间有一个小山丘分开。 —-

The boats left from the hillock. Murasaki’s women were stationed in the angling pavilion at the boundary between the two quarters.
游船从山丘下水。紫式部的女性驻扎在两个区域间的钓鱼亭。

The dragon and phoenix boats were brilliantly decorated in the Chinese fashion. —-
龙舟和凤舟都是按中国风格精心装饰的。 —-

The little pages and helmsmen, their hair still bound up in the page-boy manner, wore lively Chinese dress, and everything about the arrangements was deliciously exotic, to add to the novelty, for the empress’s women, of this southeast quarter. —-
幼小的侍童和舵手，头发还以小男孩的方式绑着，穿着生动的中国服饰，一切安排都很新奇，为了增添对皇后的女士们来说，这个东南区的新奇感。 —-

The boats pulled up below a cliff at an island cove, where the smallest of the hanging rocks was like a detail of a painting. —-
船停在一个岛湾的悬崖下，这里最小的悬崖石就像一幅画的细节。 —-

The branches caught in mists from either side were like a tapestry, and far away in Murasaki’s private gardens a willow trailed its branches in a deepening green and the cherry blossoms were rich and sensuous. —-
一侧被雾气笼罩的树枝像挂毯，远处的紫式部私家花园里，一棵柳树摇曳着深绿的枝条，樱花浓郁而芬芳。 —-

In other places they had fallen, but here they were still at their smiling best, and along the galleries wisteria was beginning to send forth its lavender. —-
在其他地方已经凋谢，但这里它们依然笑靥如花，廊桥上的藤蔓开始散发淡紫色。 —-

Yellow yamabuki reflected on the lake as if about to join its own image. —-
湖面上的黄色花蜀葵仿佛要与自己的倒影融为一体。 —-

Waterfowl swam past in amiable pairs, and flew in and out with twigs in their bills, and one longed to paint the mandarin ducks as they coursed about on the water. —-
水禽成双游过，它们嘴里叼着树枝进进出出，人们渴望能画出鸳鸯们在水面上游动的样子。 —-

Had that Chinese woodcutter been present, he might well have gazed on until his ax handle rotted away. —-
若是那位中国樵夫在场，他可能会凝视着直到斧柄腐烂消失。 —-

Presently it was evening.
不久就到了傍晚时分。

“The breezes blow, the wave flowers brightly blossom.
“微风吹拂，波花绽放明媚。

Will it be the Cape of Yamabuki?”
到底是不是山吹岬？”

“Is this the lake where flows the River of Ide,
“这是流出井泉河的湖吗，

That yamabuki should plunge into its depths?”
以至于山吹树会俯冲其中？”

“There is no need to visit Turtle Mountain.
“不必游览龟山，

‘Ageless’ shall be the name of our pleasure boats.”
‘长命’必将是我们游船的名字。”

“Our boats row out into the bright spring sun,
“我们的船划向明媚的春日，

And water drops from the oars like scattering petals.”
浆水如花瓣四处飞洒。”

Poem followed poem. The young women seemed to forget that the day must end and they must go home.
一首首诗歌接连而来。年轻女子们似乎忘记了时间将要结束，她们不得不回家。

In the gathering twilight, to the sonorous strains of “The Royal Deer,” the boats were pulled up once more at the angling pavilion and the women reluctantly disembarked. —-
在蔓延的暮色中，伴随着“皇家鹿”的雄壮乐曲，船只再次靠岸停泊在垂钓亭前，女人们依依不舍地下船。 —-

It was a building of simple but very great elegance. —-
这是一座简单却非常优雅的建筑。 —-

The lengths to which the competitive young women had gone with their dress and grooming made one think of a tapestry upon which blossoms had fallen. —-
这群好胜的年轻女子们在服饰和打扮上做足了功夫，让人联想到一块落满花朵的挂毯。 —-

The music, all very novel, went on and on, for Genji had chosen musicians whose repertory did not permit of monotony.
音乐一直持续不断，因为源氏选择了那些曲目丰富、不会单调的音乐家。

It was night, and they seemed indefatigable. —-
夜幕降临，他们似乎无法停歇。 —-

Flares having been put out in the garden, they were invited to the moss carpet below the verandas, and the princes and high courtiers had places above with the kotos and flutes in which they took such pride. —-
弄堂下铺设着苔藓地毯，照明弹在花园中点缀，王子和高官们坐在上面，与引以为荣的箏和笛手同欢。 —-

The most accomplished of the professional flutists struck up a melody in the sōjō mode, in which the courtiers joined most brilliantly with their kotos, and as they moved on to “How Grand the Day” even the most ignorant of the footmen off among the horses and carriages seemed to respond. —-
最杰出的专业长笛手演奏了一曲“惹起诚”，朝臣们用箏巧妙配合，当他们转到“昼光多荣”时，马车间的些许无知雇工似乎也产生了共鸣。 —-

The sky and the music, the spring modes and echoes, all seemed better here — no one could fail to see the difference. —-
这里的天空、音乐、春意和回响都显得更加美好——任何人都能察觉到这种不同。 —-

The night was passed in music. With “Joy of Spring” the mode shifted to an intimate minor. —-
一夜皆欢歌。在“春之乐”中，音调转为亲密的小调。 —-

Prince Hotaru twice sang “Green Willow,” in very good voice. Genji occasionally
螢火的王子两次唱起“青柳”，声音很美。源氏随口应和。

Morning came. From behind her fences Akikonomu listened to the morning birds and feared that her autumn garden had lost the contest.
早晨来临。秋子目听早起的鸟鸣，担心自己的秋季花园是否败给了他人。

Though a perpetual spring radiance seemed to hang over this Rokujō mansion, there were those who had complained of a want of interesting young ladies. —-
这座六条第宅园永远笼罩着春日的光辉，但也有人抱怨缺乏有趣而年轻的女子。 —-

Now the rumors were of a new lady in the northeast quarter, and how pretty she was and how attentive Genji seemed to be. —-
现在谣传是东北坊出现了一位新女子，她长得漂亮，源氏似乎对她格外关注。 —-

The anticipated stream of letters had commenced. —-
预期中的来信已经开始涌现。 —-

Several of those whose sta- tion in life made them confident that their candidacy was acceptable already had their intermediaries at work. —-
几位相信自己的求爱有望成功的人已经让中间人开始行动。 —-

Others seemed to be keeping their ardor rather more to themselves. —-
其他人似乎把热情保守得多一些。 —-

It is to be imagined that several of the suitors, Tō no Chūjō‘s son, for instance, would have dropped their suits if they had known who she really was.
可想而知，一些追求者，比如藤长子，如果知道她的真实身份，可能会放弃追求。

Prince Hotaru, Genji’s brother, had lost his wife of some years and for three years had been living a lonely bachelor’s life. —-
螢火王子，源氏的兄弟，失去了妻子好几年，三年来一直过着孤独的单身生活。 —-

He was now quite open with his suit. Pretending to be hopelessly drunk, he was very amusing indeed as he gamboled about all willow-like with a spray of wisteria in his cap. —-
他现在对他的求爱态度变得非常坦诚。假装喝醉的他，像柳树一样优雅地在房间里嬉戏，头上插着一枝紫藤。 —-

Quite as expected, thought Genji, though he gave no sign that he noticed.
源氏心里觉得一切如此顺理成章，虽然他没有露出任何表示。

The wine flagon came around once more and the prince pretended to be in great discomfort. —-
酒杯再次被递过来，王子假装感到非常难受。 —-

“If there were not something rather special to keep me here, I think I would be trying to escape. —-
“要不是有什么特别的事让我留下，我想我会试图逃离这里。 —-

It is too much, oh, really too much.” He refused to drink any more.
太过分了，哦，真的太过分了。” 他拒绝再喝。

“Lavender holds me and puts me in mind of things.
“薰衣草困住了我，让我想起了一些事情。

I mean, let them say what they will, to throw myself in.”
我是说，不管别人如何评价，我会毫不犹豫地投入其中。”

He generously divided his wisteria and put a sprig in Genji’s cap.
他慷慨地分开他的紫藤，把一枝插在源氏的帽子上。

Genji smiled broadly.
源氏笑得很开心。

“Please hold yourself in abeyance beneath these flowers,
“请在这些花下保持克制，

To judge if the plunge would have the proper effect.”
看看跳进去是否会产生恰当的效果。”

The prince accepted this suggestion, it seemed, and stayed on. —-
王子似乎接受了这个建议，并留了下来。 —-

The morning concert was if anything livelier than the evening concert had been.
今天的早间音乐会比昨晚的还要更加热闹。

Today there was to be a reading of the Prajnapāramitā Sutra commissioned by Empress Akikonomu. —-
今天将朗诵《摩诃般若波罗蜜多心经》，这是由秋好内更后亲自定制的。 —-

Many of the guests had been given rooms in which to change to formal dress. —-
许多客人被安排在房间里更换礼服。 —-

Though some had previous engagements and excused themselves, Genji’s prestige had removed any doubt that it would be a grand and solemn occasion. —-
尽管有些人因有先前的约会而请假，但源氏的威望消除了任何怀疑，使这成为一场盛大而庄严的盛会。 —-

He led the assembly to Akikonomu’s quarter at noon.
他在中午带领大家前往秋子的住所。

Murasaki had prepared the floral offerings. —-
紫凝准备了插花。 —-

She chose eight of her prettiest little girls to deliver them, dressing four as birds and four as butterflies. —-
她挑选了八个最漂亮的小女孩去送花，将其中四个打扮成鸟，四个打扮成蝴蝶。 —-

The birds brought cherry blossoms in silver vases, the butterflies yamabuki in gold vases. —-
鸟儿带来了银花瓶中的樱花，蝴蝶带来了金花瓶中的山吹花。 —-

In wonderfully rich and full bloom, they completed a perfect picture. —-
在绚烂丰盛的花朵中，形成了一幅完美的画面。 —-

As the party rowed out from the hillock to Akikonomu’s end of the lake, a breeze came up to scatter a few cherry petals. —-
船从小山坡驶向秋子住所的湖边时，微风吹来，飘落了几片樱花瓣。 —-

The skies were clear and happy, and the little girls were charming in the delicate spring haze. —-
天空晴朗欢快，小女孩们在春日的薄雾中显得迷人。 —-

Akikonomu had declined Murasaki’s offer of awnings and had instead put out seats for the orchestra in one of the galleries adjoining her main hall. —-
秋子拒绝了紫凝提供的遮阳篷，反而在她主厅旁的一间厅堂里摆放了乐师的座位。 —-

The little girls came to the stairs with their flowers. —-
小女孩们拿着花来到楼梯前。 —-

Incense bearers received them and set them out before the holy images.
拜香使接过花并将其摆放在神像前。

Yūgiri delivered this poem from Murasaki:
梦憶代表紫凝朗诵了这首诗：

“Low in your grasses the cricket awaits the autumn
“蟋蟀深草中等待秋天，

And views with scorn these silly butterflies.”
轻蔑地看着这些愚蠢的蝴蝶。”

Akikonomu smiled, recognizing an answer to her poem about the autumn leaves.
秋子微笑着，认出这是对她有关秋叶的诗的回应。

“No, Your Majesty, nothing surpasses that garden,” said one of the women, still drunk with the joys of the day before.
“陛下，没有什么能超过那个花园”，一位女性喝醉了昨天的快乐仍在说。

The music for the dance of the Kalavinka bird rang forth to the singing of warblers, to which the waterfowl on the lake added their clucks and chirps, and it was with very great regret that the audience saw the dance come to an end. —-
卡拉温卡鸟的舞蹈音乐响起，与湖上的水禽的啾啾声相和，观众非常遗憾地看到舞蹈结束。 —-

The butterflies seemed to fly higher than the birds as they disappeared behind a low fence over which poured a cascade of yamabuki. —-
蝴蝶似乎比鸟飞得更高，它们消失在一片低矮篱笆后，篱笆上倾泻着一丛山吹。 —-

Akikonomu’s assistant chamberlain asked that courtiers of appropriate rank distribute gifts: —-
秋宫女的侍从大臣要求相应级别的朝臣分发礼物： —-

to the birds, white robes lined with red, and to the butterflies robes of pale russet lined with yellow. —-
给鸟儿白色衬红的长袍，给蝴蝶淡褐色衬黄的长袍。 —-

It would seem that Akikonomu had made careful preparations. —-
秋宫女似乎做了精心准备。 —-

Then came gifts for the musicians, white singlets and bolts of cloth. —-
然后是给音乐家的礼物，白色背心和布匹。 —-

Yūgiri received a lady’s ensemble, most conspicuously a lavender robe lined with blue.
弓剑收到了一套女士服装，其中最显眼的是一件薰衣草色的衬蓝色长袍。

This was Akikonomu’s reply:
这是秋宫女的回答：

“I weep in my longing to follow your butterflies.
“我泪流满面渴望追随你的蝴蝶。

You put up fences of yamabuki between us.”
你在我们之间竖起了山吹的围栏。”

Are the grand ones of the realm consistently good at poetry? One is sometimes disappointed.
朝廷的贵族们是否一贯擅长诗歌？有时会让人失望。

I had forgotten: Murasaki had had lavish gifts for her guests too. —-
我忘了：紫原对她的客人也准备了丰厚的礼物。 —-

But I fear that the details would be tiresome. —-
但我担心细节会令人厌烦。 —-

In any event, there were tasteful diversions morning and night to keep the least of the serving women happy, and there were these poetic exchanges.
无论如何，早晚都有雅致的娱乐来取悦最低贱的侍女，还有这些诗歌交流。

Murasaki and Tamakazura sometimes wrote to each other, now that they had been introduced. —-
紫和玉葬偶尔互相写信，因为她们已经互相介绍。 —-

It was too early perhaps to know whether Tamakazura was a comrade to turn to for help, but she did seem to be quietly good-natured and not the sort to cause trouble. —-
或许现在还为时过早，不过玉葬似乎是一个温和善良、不惹麻烦的同伴。 —-

People were on the whole favorably disposed towards her. —-
人们总体上对她持有好感。 —-

She had many suitors by now, but it did not seem that Genji was ready for a decision. —-
她现在有很多求婚者，但似乎源氏还没有做好决定。 —-

Perhaps not quite sure, indeed, that he wished to be consistent in the role of the good parent, he considered telling her father everything.
或许他并不确定是否愿意一直扮演好父亲的角色，他考虑要不要把一切告诉她的父亲。

Yūgiri was permitted to approach her curtains and she favored him with direct replies. —-
已经允许夕霧接近她的帷幕，她对他给予直接的回复。 —-

She was uncomfortable at the need to do so, but her Women quite approved. —-
她对这样做感到不舒服，但她的女官们非常赞成。 —-

He was always very solemn and proper. Tō no Chūjō’s sons, who were his constant companions, were seen sighing and mooning about the house, and now and again they dropped hints of their interest. —-
他总是非常庄重礼貌。当藤壶的儿子们成为他的常伴时，他们常常在家里叹息悲愁，不时透露出他们的兴趣。 —-

She was much disturbed, not because she disliked them but because they were victims of false appearances. —-
她感到很困扰，并不是因为她讨厌他们，而是因为他们受到了虚假外表的影响。 —-

It was not a matter she could discuss openly with Genji, however. —-
不过这不是她可以公开与源氏讨论的事情。 —-

He was charmed at the evidences, shy and girlish, that she considered him her guardian. —-
她显然非常珍惜他，在表现得害羞和少女心思的迹象中，她视他如监护者。 —-

He could not have said that she looked very much like her mother, but there was an indefinable resemblance in tone and manner. —-
他无法说她很像她的母亲，但在语气和举止上，有一种难以言喻的相似之处。 —-

She was clearly the more intelligent of the two
两人中，她明显更聪明一些。

The Fourth Month came, and the change to bright summer clothes. —-
四月来临，人们换上了鲜艳的夏季服饰。 —-

Even the skies seemed to favor the occasion. —-
甚至天空似乎也在配合这个场合。 —-

Genji passed his spare time, of which he had a great deal, in music and the like. —-
源氏把他有很多的空闲时间用在音乐等方面。 —-

It was as he had expected: the flood of love letters was rising. —-
正如他所预料的那样：情书的洪水正在上涨。 —-

Looking them over as he visited her apartments, he encouraged her to answer the more likely ones. —-
他在逛她的公寓时浏览了这些情书，鼓励她回复那些比较有可能的。 —-

These promptings had the effect of putting her on guard.
这些提醒使她警惕起来。

Prince Hotaru was already describing the torments of unrequited love.
螢王已经在描述那种单相思的痛苦。

Genji smiled. “He was my favorite brother when we were boys. We kept nothing from each other. —-
源氏微笑着说：“他是我们小时候最喜欢的弟弟。我们没有对彼此隐瞒什么。 —-

Or rather he kept one thing from me, his romantic life. He was very secretive about that. —-
或者说他有一件事对我隐瞒，那就是他的恋情。他对此非常神秘。 —-

It is interesting and at the same time a little sad that he should still burn with such a youthful flame. —-
他现在仍然燃烧着那样年轻的火焰是有趣的，同时也有点悲伤。 —-

You must answer. When a lady really matters to him, there is no one quite like him, I often think, for letting her know it. —-
你必须回复。我常想，当一个女士真的对他重要时，没有人能像他那样让她知道。 —-

And he is most amusing company.”
而且他是最有趣的伴侣。”

He made his brother seem very attractive, but she looked away in embarrassment.
他让他的弟弟看起来很迷人，但她尴尬地转过了头。

General Higekuro was on the whole a very earnest and serious man, but he seemed bent on illustrating the truth that even the most superior of men, even Confucius himself, can stumble as he makes his way through the wilderness of love. —-
檜黑将军总体上是一个很认真严肃的人，但他似乎执意要说明一个真理，即即使是最优秀的人，即使是孔子自己，在爱情的荒野中也会跌跌撞撞。 —-

Yet his letters were interesting.
然而他的信件很有趣。

Genji’s attention was caught by a bit of azure Chinese paper gently but richly perfumed and folded into a tiny knot.
源氏的注意被一张浅蓝色的中国纸吸引，上面轻轻地但丰盛地洒上了香水，折成了一个小结。

“You haven’t even opened it,” he said, undoing the knot himself. —-
“你甚至还没有打开它，”他说，自己解开了这个结。 —-

The hand was a strong one in the modern style. This was the poem:
这只手是现代风格中的强有力的手。

“You cannot know how deep my feelings are.
“你无法知道我的感情有多深。

Their colors are hidden, like waters among the rocks.”
它们的颜色像岩石间的水一样隐藏着。”

“And whose feelings might they be?” he asked. Her answer was evasive.
“这些感情可能属于谁？”他问道。她的回答是含糊的。

He summoned Ukon. “You must rate them carefully and have her answer the ones that seem deserving. —-
他召见了右近。“你必须认真评估它们，并让她回答那些看起来值得的。 —-

The dissolute gallants of our day are capable of anything, but sometimes they are not wholly to blame. —-
我们这个时代的放荡不羁者什么事都做得出来，但有时候他们并不完全该受责备。 —-

My own experience has been that a lady can at the outset seem cold and unfeeling and unaware of the gentler things, and if she is of no importance I can call her impertinent and forget about her. —-
根据我的经验，一个女士起初可能看起来冷漠无情、对温柔的事物毫不在意，如果她不重要，我可以称她为无礼并将她忘记。 —-

Yet in idle exchanges about birds and flowers the lady who teases with silence can seem very interesting. —-
然而，在有关鸟和花的闲谈中，那种用沉默来取悦的女士却显得非常有趣。 —-

If the man does forget, then of course part of the responsibility is hers; —-
如果男人忘记了，那么责任的一部分当然是她的； —-

but a lady is not well advised to answer by return messenger a note that has not meant a great deal to the man who sent it, and profuse answers all saturated with sensibility can come to seem very tiresome. —-
但是一个女士最好不要立即通过回信来回应一封对她发件人意义不大的便笺，过于充斥着感性的回答会变得非常烦人。 —-

But Prince Hotaru and General Higekuro are grown men who know what they are doing.
但武春和桂黒将军是成年人，知道他们在做什么。

Your lady should not risk giving them the impression that she is unfeeling and unsympathetic. —-
你的女士不应该冒险给他们留下不感性和不同情的印象。 —-

When it comes to lesser people, you must judge each on his own merits. —-
在处理次要人物时，你必须根据各自的优点来判断。 —-

Some may be serious and some may not. The genuine should be recognized.”
有些人可能认真，有些人可能不是。真诚的应当被认可。”

Tamakazura was very beautiful as she listened with averted gaze to this long discourse. —-
当听着这长篇讲话时，玉兔朵拉非常美丽，目光却背过去。 —-

Her dress was dignified and fashionable, a robe of pink lined with blue and a singlet that caught the colors of the season. —-
她的裙子庄重而时尚，一袭粉色，内衬着蓝色的连衣裙，配上抓住季节色彩的内衬。 —-

She had had a certain air of rustic stolidity, but, though traces remained, it was rapidly giving way to a subtler, more delicate sort of calm. —-
她曾有过一种乡村的沉稳气质，但虽然痕迹仍在，却正在迅速让位于更为微妙、更为精致的平静。 —-

No one could have found fault with her dress, and her beauty seemed to glow ever more brightly. —-
没有人能挑剔她的服装，她的美丽似乎变得更加耀眼。 —-

Genji was beginning to think that she was too good to let go.
源氏开始觉得，她实在太过优秀，不舍得放手。

Ukon looked smilingly from the one to the other. —-
宇今笑着看着两人。 —-

He was much too youthful for the role of father. —-
他太年轻，扮演父亲这个角色不合适。 —-

They were far more like husband and wife.
他们更像夫妻。

“I have not delivered letters from anyone else,” said Ukon. “I did accept the few which you have seen. —-
“我并没有收到其他人的信件”，宇今说。“只接受了你看到的几封。 —-

It seemed altogether too rude to turn them back. —-
拒绝他人的信件似乎太过无礼。 —-

My lady has answered only the ones which you have specifically told her to answer, and those very reluctantly.”
主人回复了你特别要她回复的那几封，但都很勉强。

“And whose is the one in the boyish little knot?” He was smiling. “The hand is very good.”
“还有卷着稚气发髻的那封是谁的？”他笑了。“笔迹很好。”

“He was very insistent indeed. Captain Kashiwagi, the minister’s son. —-
“他确实很坚持。是大臣的儿子柏木将军。 —-

He has known our Miruko for a rather long time and is making use of her services. —-
他与我们的珠子认识了很长一段时间，现在正在利用她的服务。 —-

I gather that there is no one else he can ask.”
我得知他找不到其他人来帮忙。”

“Charming. He may not be very important yet, but he is not to be dismissed. —-
“迷人。他可能现在还不很重要，但不容忽视。” —-

In some ways he is as highly thought of as the best of them, and he is a good deal more dependable than his brothers. —-
在某些方面，他被认为和他的兄弟们一样出色，但比他的兄弟们更为可靠。 —-

He will eventually learn the truth, but for the moment it seems best to keep him in ignorance. —-
他最终会了解真相，但目前最好让他保持无知。 —-

Yes, he does write a very good hand.” He examined it admiringly. —-
“他的字写得很好。”他欣赏地检查了一下。 —-

“You may think it strange of me,” he said to Tamakazura, “but I think you would have a difficult time if you were dropped down in that enormous family of your father’s, all of them as good as strangers. —-
“也许你会觉得我很奇怪，”他对玉桧说，“但如果你被放到你父亲那么庞大的家族中，所有人对你都几乎是陌生的，你会感到非常困难的。” —-

The time will come, when you have found a place for yourself. —-
当你为自己找到一个位置时，时机就会到来。 —-

Prince Hotaru is a bachelor at the moment, but he is, I fear, a promiscuous sort, and the gossips associate him with innumerable women, some of whom are called ladies-in-waiting and others of whom go by less dignified names. —-
虽然秽草王现在是单身，但我担心他是个纵欲的人，八卦传言他和无数女人有关系，有些被称为侍女，有些则有了更不体面的称呼。 —-

A lady of tolerance and very great skill might possibly steer her way through, but the first sign of jealousy would be fatal. —-
一个宽容并且非常有技巧的女士可能能够成功地穿越其中，但第一个嫉妒的迹象将是致命的。 —-

It is all in all a situation calling for tact and caution.
这是一个需要机智和谨慎的情况。

“There is General Higekuro. He has been married for some years but it appears that he is not at all happy with his wife, and so he has turned to you. —-
“这里有日下将军。他已经结婚多年了，但似乎对他的妻子并不满意，所以他转向了你。 —-

There are people who do not look favorably upon his suit. —-
有些人并不看好他的求婚。 —-

I can quite see the arguments, and am reluctant to hand down an opinion. —-
我很理解这些论点，不愿下定论。 —-

You might not find it easy to tell your own father how you feel, but you are no longer a child and I see no reason why you should not presently come to your own conclusions. —-
你可能不会轻易告诉你自己的父亲你的感受，但你不再是一个孩子，我认为你很快就会得出自己的结论。 —-

Perhaps you can think of me as a sort of substitute for your mother and we can tell ourselves that we have gone back to the old days. —-
或许你可以把我当作你母亲的替代者，我们可以告诉自己我们已经回到了过去的日子。 —-

The last thing I would wish is to make you unhappy. —-
我最不希望的是让你不开心。 —-

” He looked at her solemnly.
” 他严肃地看着她。

She was extremely uncomfortable and would have preferred not to answer; —-
她极其不舒服，宁愿不回答； —-

but she was, as he said, no longer a child. —-
但正如他所说，她不再是一个孩子。 —-

“I have been an orphan ever since I can remember,” she said quietly, “ and I fear that I have no thoughts in the matter.”
“自我记忆起我一直是个孤儿，”她平静地说，“我害怕我在这件事上没有想法。”

He could see her point. “Well, as they say, a foster parent sometimes does better than a real parent. —-
他能理解她的观点。“嗯，俗话说得好，养父有时比亲生父母更好。 —-

You will find me an unusually devoted foster parent. —-
你会发现我是一个异常专注的养父。 —-

” He preferred not to say what he was really thinking. —-
” 他宁愿不说出他真正在想的。 —-

Though he had dropped a hint or two, she had pretended not to notice. —-
虽然他暗示了一两句，她却装作没有注意到。 —-

He sighed and went out.
他叹了口气，走了出去。

He paused to admire a luxuriant new growth of Chinese bamboo swaying in the breeze.
他停下来欣赏一片繁茂的新生的中国竹子在微风中摇曳。

“The bamboo so firmly rooted within our hedges
“那些坚实地生长在我们篱笆内的竹子

Will send out distant shoots to please its convenience?”
会长出远处的嫩芽来让自己方便吗？”

He raised the blind. She slipped away, but not before she had given him an answer:
他拉开百叶窗。她悄悄溜走，但在她离开之前已经给了他一个回答：

“Why should the young bamboo at this late date
“年轻的竹子何必在这个时候

Go forth in search of roots it has left behind, and make trouble for itself?”
去找寻它留在背后的根呢，给自己惹麻烦呢？”

He had to feel sorry for her.
他对她感到难过。

She was by no means as much at home as her poem suggested. —-
她并不像她的诗表达的那样感到自在。 —-

She longed to announce herself to her father. —-
她渴望向她的父亲宣布自己的存在。 —-

Yet she knew, from what she had read and seen, and she was seeing more, that the father from whom she had been separated from infancy was not likely to be as thoughtful as Genji had been. —-
然而她知道，从她读到的和看到的，她正在看到更多的东西，从她从婴儿时期就与之分离的父亲不太可能像源氏那样体贴。 —-

She held her tongue, increasingly aware of how difficult it would be to do otherwise.
她保持沉默，越来越意识到要做出另外的选择是多么的困难。

She pleased him more and more “There is something singularly appealing about her,” he said to Murasaki. —-
她让他越来越喜欢，“她身上有一种奇特的吸引力，”他对紫上说。 —-

“Her mother was a little too solemn and humorless. —-
“她的母亲有点太庄重和缺乏幽默。 —-

She is very quick and bright, and somehow a Person immediately wants to be friends with her. —-
她非常聪明和敏捷，不知何故一个人立刻想和她做朋友。” —-

I am very sure now that she will not be an embarrassment.”
我现在非常确定她不会让人尴尬。

Familiar with his inability to let well enough alone, she had guessed what was happening. —-
熟悉他总是不知足的性格，她已经猜到正在发生什么。 —-

“It must be rather difficult for her not to have any secrets and to be so completely dependent on you.”
“她不拥有任何秘密并且完全依赖于你，这一定很困难。”

“And why should she not be dependent on me?”
“她为什么不应该依赖于我呢？”

She smiled. “Can you think that I have forgotten all the sighs and pains your way of doing things produced in my own younger years?”
她微笑着。“你难道以为我忘记了你以前那种做事方法带给我的叹息和痛苦吗？”

How quick she was! “You find very odd and foolish things to worry about. —-
她是多么敏锐啊！“你总是找一些奇怪和愚蠢的事情来担心。 —-

Do you think she would permit anything of the sort?” He changed the subject; —-
你认为她会允许这种事发生吗？”他改变了话题； —-

but she had surveyed the scene and come to her conclusions, and he had to admit that there were matters on his conscience.
但她已经审视了整个场景并得出了结论，他不得不承认自己心中还有事。

He thought a great deal about Tamakazura. —-
他一直在想着玉充(译注：Tamakazura)。 —-

He often visited her and he was of service to her in many ways. —-
他经常去看她，还在许多方面为她提供帮助。 —-

One quiet evening after a rainfall, when the green of the maples and oaks was clean and rich, he looked up into a singularly affecting twilight sky and intoned a phrase from Po Chü —-
一个在雨后宁静的傍晚，枫树和橡树的绿叶干净而丰富，他仰望着一片特别动人的暮色天空，并吟诵了一句王维的诗句 —-

-i: “It is gentle, it is fresh.” At such times it was more than anything the fresh glow of the new lady that he was thinking of. —-
：“温柔清新。”这种时候，他想的最多的是新妇人清新的光芒。 —-

He slipped quietly away to her apartments. —-
他悄悄地来到她的房间。 —-

At her writing desk, she bowed courteously and turned shyly away, very beautiful indeed. —-
在她的写字台前，她客气地鞠了一躬又羞涩地转过身去，确实非常美丽。 —-

Suddenly, gently, she was exactly like her mother. He wanted to weep.
突然间，她温柔地，确切地像她的母亲。他想哭了。 —-

“You must forgive me, but I cannot help it. —-
“请原谅我，但我无能为力。 —-

When I first saw you I did not think you looked so very much like her, and yet there have been times when I could have mistaken you for her. —-
当我第一次见到你时，并没有觉得你很像她，但有时候我却会误以为你是她。 —-

Yūgiri is not in the least like me and so I had come to think that children do not on the whole resemble parents. —-
幽霁和我一点也不像，所以我原以为孩子们通常不会像父母。 —-

And then I come on an instance like this.”
但是我碰到了这样一个例外。”

There was an orange in the fruit basket before her.
她面前的水果篮里有一个橙子。

“Scented by orange blossoms long ago,
“原来一起弹丸紧握过的袖口，

The sleeve she wore is surely the sleeve you wear.
它上面留下了过往橙花的芬芳。

“So many years have gone by, and through them all I have been unable to forget. —-
“这么多年过去了，但我一直无法忘怀。 —-

Sometimes I feel as if I might be dreaming — and as if the dream were too much for me. —-
有时候我觉得自己可能在做梦，而且这个梦对我来说太过强烈。 —-

You must not dismiss me for my rudeness.”
请不要因为我的无礼而对我置之不理。”

And he took her hand.
他握住了她的手。

Nothing like this had happened to her before. But she must not lose her composure.
她从未经历过这样的事情。但她不能失去镇定。

“The sleeve bears the scent of that blossom long ago.
“这袖口承载着往昔花香。

Then might not the fruit as quickly vanish away?”
那么水果是否也会就此消失？”

He found this quiet confusion delightful. —-
他觉得这种静谧的困惑很讨人喜欢。 —-

She sat with bowed head, unable to think what to make of his behavior and what to do next. —-
她低着头坐着，不知道如何看待他的行为，也不知道接下来该怎么办。 —-

The hand in his was soft, her skin smooth and delicate. —-
他握着的手很柔软，皮肤光滑细腻。 —-

He had made his confession because beauty and pain had suddenly come to seem very much alike. She was trembling.
他坦白是因为美和痛苦突然间显得如此相似。她在颤抖。

“Am I so objectionable, then? I have worked hard to keep our secret, and you must help me. —-
“那么，难道我那么讨厌吗？我为了保守我们的秘密而努力，你必须帮助我。” —-

You have always been important to me. Now you are important in a new way. —-
你一直对我很重要。现在你以一种新的方式变得重要。 —-

I wonder if there has ever been anything quite like it. —-
我想是否曾经有过类似的事情。 —-

I can think of no reason that you should prefer those others to me. —-
我想不出你应该为什么偏爱他们而不是我。 —-

I cannot imagine feelings deeper than my own, and I cannot bear the thought of passing you on to them and their frivolity.”
我无法想象比我更深的感情，也无法忍受把你传递给他们和他们的轻浮。

It all seemed rather beyond the call of paternal duty.
这似乎有点超出了亲子责任的范畴。

The night was a lovely one. The breeze was rustling the bamboo, the wind had stopped, and a bright moon had come out. —-
那个夜晚很美。微风拂动着竹林，风停了，一轮明亮的月亮升起。 —-

Her women had tactfully withdrawn. Though he saw a great deal of her, a better opportunity did not seem likely to present itself. —-
她的侍女们已经圆满地退出。虽然他和她相处很多，但更好的机会似乎不太可能出现。 —-

From the momentum, perhaps, which his avowal had given him, he threw off his robe with practiced skill — it was a soft one that made no sound — and pulled her down beside him.
或许因为他坦白的动力，他熟练地扔掉了他的长袍——它是一件没有声音的柔软长袍——然后把她拉到他身边。

She was stunned. What would her women think? She was sobbing helplessly. —-
她震惊了。她的侍女会怎么想？她无助地抽泣着。 —-

Her father might treat her coldly, but at least he would protect her from such outrages.
她的父亲可能会冷淡地对待她，但至少他会保护她免受这种侮辱。

Yes, of course: she had a right to weep. He turned to the work of calming her. “So you reject me. —-
是的，当然：她有权哭泣。他开始工作，试图平息她的情绪。“所以你拒绝我。” —-

I am shattered. Ladies must often depend on men who are nothing to them — it is the way of the world — and I should have thought that I was rather a lot to you, at least in terms of what I have done for you. —-
我粉碎了。女士们经常不得不依赖于对她们毫无意义的男人 — 这是世界的常规 — 而我本以为我对你来说至少做了很多。 —-

This unfriendliness is not at all easy to accept. But enough. It will not happen again. —-
这种冷漠并不容易接受。但够了。不会再发生了。 —-

My comfort will be in heaping restraint upon virtuous restraint.”
我的安慰将在于对美德的约束不断堆积。

She was so like her mother that the resemblance was scarcely to be borne. —-
她如此像她的母亲，以至于相似之处几乎无法忍受。 —-

He knew that this impetuous behavior did not become his age and eminence. —-
他知道这种冲动的行为并不符合他的年龄和地位。 —-

Collecting himself, he withdrew before the lateness of the hour brought her women to mistaken conclusions.
收拾心情，他在夜晚将她赶走，以免引起她的女人们产生错误的结论。

“It will not be easy to forget that I have caused such revulsion. —-
“我引起如此强烈的反感，将不容易忘记。” —-

You may be very sure that you will not succeed in driving anyone else quite so thoroughly mad, and that my limitless, bottomless feelings for you will keep me from doing anything unseemly in the future. —-
你可以非常确信你不会成功地让任何人都疯狂，而我对你无尽无底的感情将使我不会在未来做出任何不体面的事。 —-

A quiet talk for old times’ sake is all I ask. —-
我只要求老时光中的一次安静的谈话。 —-

Can you not be persuaded to grant me that much?”
你难道不能被说服给我那么多吗？

She was unable to reply.
她无法回答。

“Such coldness, I would not have thought you capable of it. —-
“如此冷漠，我本以为你不会做到这一点。” —-

You do seem to hate me most extravagantly.” He sighed. —-
“你似乎恨我极度。”他叹了口气。 —-

“We must let no one guess what has happened.” And he left.
“我们不能让任何人猜到发生了什么事情。” 然后他离开了。

She was no child, but among ladies her age she was remarkable in not having had the company of anyone of even modest experience. —-
她不是个孩子，但在她这个年龄的女士中，她不曾有过任何哪怕有过一点经验的人的陪伴。 —-

She could not imagine a worse outrage, or a stranger fate than hers had been. —-
她无法想象比她的更大的侮辱，或比她更奇怪的命运。 —-

Her women thought she must be ill and could not think what to suggest.
她的女官们认为她一定是生病了，不知道该提出什么建议。

“His Lordship has done so much for us,” whispered Hyōbu. “Really more than we deserve. —-
“阁下为我们做了这么多事情，”Hyōbu悄声说道。“实在是我们应得的更多了。 —-

I doubt that even your honorable father could be kinder and more considerate.”
我怀疑即使您尊敬的父亲也不可能比他更善良更体谅。”

She wanted to reply that his kindness had taken a curious turn. Her lot was a very strange one!
她想要回答，说他的善意变得有些古怪了。她的命运实在是太奇怪了！

A letter came from him early in the morning. —-
清早他来信了。 —-

She was still in bed and said that she was not feeling well; —-
她还在床上，说自己感觉不舒服； —-

but with her women pressing ink and brush on her she reluctantly looked at it. —-
但在女官们的催促下递上她还是勉强看了看。 —-

Though it seemed very prim on white paper, the contents were rather different.
尽管它在白纸上看起来很正式，内容却有些不同。

“You have cut so deeply that I shall never be whole again. —-
“你伤得太深了，我将永远无法完整。 —-

And what, I wonder, will they all be thinking?
我想他们都会怎么想呢？

“Although I scarcely saw the tender grasses,
“尽管我几乎看不到温柔的草，

They look as if I had tied them all in knots.
它们看起来好像我把它们都打成了结。

“Which seems silly of them.”
“这看起来很傻。”

Even here he somehow managed a suggestion of the avuncular. He was impossible! —-
即使在这里，他还是以一种伯父般的建议出现。他真是让人难以捉摸！ —-

But her women would think it odd if she did not answer. —-
但她的女人们会觉得奇怪，如果她不回复。 —-

She finally wrote this and no more on a sheet of thick, businesslike Michinoku paper:
她最终在一张厚实、商务风格的Michinoku纸上写下了这句话，再也没有写了：

“I have noted the contents of your letter, and must apologize for being too unwell to reply.”
“我已注意到你的来信内容，必须为自己身体不适无法回信向你道歉。”

He smiled. She had a certain flair.
他笑了。她确实有一种特殊的风采。

One might have hoped that he would pursue the matter no further; —-
也许人们本可以希望他不再深究这件事； —-

but he had made his confession and was not “the pine of Ota” he once had been. —-
但他已经表白，不再是他曾经的“太田松”。 —-

He quite overwhelmed her with letters. She felt as if the trap were closing and closing, and finally she took to her bed, physically ill. —-
他给她写了很多信。她感到陷阱不断地逼近，最终她病倒在床上。 —-

There were very few who knew the truth, and outsiders as well as people who might have been called part of the family seemed to think him a model father. —-
知情的人寥寥无几，外人以及可以称为家庭一部分的人似乎认为他是一个模范父亲。 —-

How they would all laugh when they learned the truth! —-
当他们得知真相时，他们一定会大笑吧！ —-

And her real father, to whom she was nothing, would doubtless laugh more derisively than the rest. —-
而她那位真正的父亲，对她不屑一顾的人，无疑会比其他人更加讥讽。 —-

She had nowhere to turn.
她无处可去。

Hotaru and Higekuro had sensed that Genji considered them acceptable candidates and were energetically pleading their cases; —-
蛍和髭黑感觉到玄光子认为他们是可以接受的候选人，他们积极地为自己辩护； —-

and one hears that the water among the rocks, similarly if obliquely encouraged, and still ignorant of the true state of affairs, was complaining at great length and very nervously.
听说那些石头间的水，在被类似的、虽然间接的鼓励下，仍然对事态的真相一无所知，却在长篇大论地焦虑不安地抱怨。