Genji was suffering from repeated attacks of malaria. —
源氏一再被疟疾困扰。 —

All manner of religious services were commissioned, but they did no good.
各种宗教仪式都被委托，但毫无效果。

In a certain temple in the northern hills, someone reported, there lived a sage who was a most accomplished worker of cures. —
在北山的某座寺庙里，有人报告称住着一个非常擅长治疗的圣人。 —

“During the epidemic last summer all sorts of people went to him. —
“去年夏天的瘟疫期间，各种人都去找他。” —

He was able to cure them immediately when all other treatment had failed. —
他能够在其他治疗方式均无效时立即治愈他们。 —

You must not let it have its way. You must summon him at once.”
你不能让疾病肆虐。你必须立即召唤他。”

Genji sent off a messenger, but the sage replied that he was old and bent and unable to leave his cave.
源氏派了一个信使，但那位圣人答复说他老了，弯腰驼背，无法离开山洞。

There was no help for it, thought Genji: he must quietly visit the man. —
源氏想，没有别的办法，他必须悄悄地去拜访那个人。 —

He set out before dawn, taking four or five trusted attendants with him.
清晨前就动身，带上四五个值得信赖的侍从。

The temple was fairly deep in the northern hills. —
寺庙相当隐秘地在北山里。 —

Though the cherry blossoms had already fallen in the city, it being late in the Third Month, the mountain cherries were at their best. —
虽然城里的樱花已经落了，因为是三月下旬，山樱却是盛开的。 —

The deepening mist as the party entered the hills delighted him. —
当一行人进入山中时，深蒙的山雾使他愉悦。 —

He did not often go on such expeditions, for he was of such rank that freedom of movement was not permitted him.
他并不经常进行这样的远行，因为他的身份高贵，不允许自由活动。

The temple itself was a sad place. The old man’s cave was surrounded by rocks, high in the hills behind. —
寺庙本身是一个悲哀的地方。那位老人的山洞四周被高岩环绕。 —

Making his way up to it, Genji did not at first reveal his identity. —
上山的路上，源氏一开始没有透露自己的身份。 —

He was in rough disguise, but the holy man immediately saw that he was someone of importance.
他伪装了一下，但那位圣人马上就看出他是个重要人物。

“This is a very great honor. You will be the gentleman who sent for me? —
“这是非常荣幸的。您就是那位派人请我来的绅士吗？” —

My mind has left the world, and I have so neglected the ritual that it has quite gone out of my head. —
“我已不问世间，忽略了仪式，已经完全出了我的脑子。” —

I fear that your journey has been in vain. —
“我担心您的行程是徒劳的。” —

” Yet he got busily to work, and he smiled his pleasure at the visit.
”然而他忙着工作，对这位访客笑了笑。

He prepared medicines and had Genji drink them, and as he went through his spells and incantations the sun rose higher. —
他准备了药物，让源氏喝下，然后在念咒语时太阳已经升得很高。 —

Genji walked a fewsteps from the cave and surveyed the scene. —
源氏走出洞穴几步，审视着风景。 —

The temple was on a height with other temples spread out below it. —
寺庙坐落在高处，下面散布着其他寺庙。 —

Down a winding path he saw a wattled fence of better workmanship than similar fences nearby. —
他看见一条蜿蜒的小路旁边有一道编织篱笆，比附近的篱笆工艺精良。 —

The halls and galleries within were nicely disposed and there were fine trees in the garden.
庭院内的大厅和长廊布置得很好，花园里有优美的树木。

“Whose house might that be?”
“那是谁的房子？”

“A certain bishop, I am told, has been living there in seclusion for the last two years or so.”
“据说有位主教已经在那里隐居了大约两年。”

“Someone who calls for ceremony — and ceremony is hardly possible in these clothes. —
“一个需要庄严礼仪的人——而这身衣服里很难有庄严礼仪。” —

He must not know that I am here.”
他不应该知道我在这里。”

Several pretty little girls had come out to draw water and cut flowers for the altar.
几个可爱的小女孩出来汲水、剪花供奉水可以。

“And I have been told that a lady is in residence too. —
“我听说寺中还有一位女士。 —

The bishop can hardly be keeping a mistress. —
主教怎么可能会养情妇呢。 —

I wonder who she might be.”
我想知道她可能是谁。”

Several of his men went down to investigate, and reported upon what they had seen. —
数名手下下去调查，然后报告了他们所见到的情况。 —

“Some very pretty young ladies and some older women too, and some little girls.”
“一些非常漂亮的年轻女士和一些老妇人，还有一些小女孩。”

Despite the sage’s ministrations, which still continued, Genji feared a new seizure as the sun rose higher.
尽管智者还在继续施为，玉岭仍然担心会再次发作，就在太阳升起之时。

“It is too much on your mind,” said the sage. “You must try to think of something else.”
“你心事重重，”智者说，“你必须试着想点别的事情。”

Genji climbed the hill behind the temple and looked off toward the city. —
玉岭爬上了庙后的小山，眺望着城市。 —

The forests receded into a spring haze.
森林在春日的薄雾中渐渐隐没。

“Like a painting,” he said. “People who live in such a place can hardly want to be anywhere else.”
“像一幅画一样，”他说。“住在这样的地方的人几乎不会想去其他地方。”

“Oh, these are not mountains at all,” said one of his men. —
“哦，这根本就不是山脉，”他的手下之一说。 —

“The mountains and seas off in the far provinces, now — they would make a real picture. —
“远在各省的山海，才真正能成为一幅画。 —

Fuji and those other mountains.”
富士山和其他山脉。”

Another of his men set about diverting him with a description of the mountains and shores of the West Country. —
另一名手下开始用描述西国山海来转移他的注意力。 —

“In the nearer provinces the Akashi coast in Harima is the most beautiful. —
“在较近的省份，播州淡路的明石海岸最美。” —

There is nothing especially grand about it, but the view out over the sea has a quiet all its own. —
对这里并没有什么特别宏伟的地方，但面朝大海的景色有着独特的宁静感。 —

The house of the former governor — he took his vows not long ago, and he worries a great deal about his only daughter — the house is rather splendid. —
前总督的府邸——他不久前出家了，非常担心他的独女——这座房子相当华丽。 —

He is the son or grandson of a minister and should have made his mark in the world, but he is an odd sort of man who does not get along well with people. —
他是某位大臣的儿子或孙子，本应在世人间有所作为，但他是一个与人不太和睦的怪人。 —

He resigned his guards commission and asked for the Harima post. —
他辞去了卫队职务，并请求调到播磨。 —

But unfortunately the people of the province do not seem to have taken him quite seriously. —
但不幸的是，这个省的人们似乎没有全然看重他。 —

Not wanting to go back to the city a failure, he became a monk. —
不愿回城市以失败而终，他参了个僧。 —

You may ask why he should have chosen then to live by the sea and not in a mountain temple. —
你或许会问他为什么选在那时来海边而非山间寺庙。 —

The provinces are full of quiet retreats, but the mountains are really too remote, and the isolation would have been difficult for his wife and young daughter. —
这些省道上有许多安静的避难所，但是山太遥远了，孤立的环境对他的妻女来说会很困难。 —

He seems to have concluded that life by the sea might help him to forget his frustrations.
他似乎得出结论，海边的生活或许可以帮助他忘却挫折。

“I was in the province not long ago and I looked in on him. —
“不久前我曾去过那个省，顺路看了看他。” —

He may not have done well in the city, but he could hardly have done better in Akashi. —
他在城里或许表现不佳，但在明石他几乎做得不能再好。 —

The grounds and the buildings are really very splendid. —
庭园和建筑真的相当壮观。 —

He was, after all, the governor, and he did what he could to make sure that his last years would be comfortable. —
毕竟能成为总督，他尽力确保晚年过得舒适。 —

He does not neglect his prayers, and they would seem to have given him a certain mellowness.”
他不忽略祷告，看来这些祷告给了他一种柔和感。

“And the daughter?” asked Genji.
“那女儿呢？”源氏问道。

“Pretty and pleasant enough. Each successive governor has asked for her hand but the old man has turned them all away. —
“漂亮而令人愉快。每位接任的州知事都曾向她求婚，但老人都拒绝了他们。 —

He may have ended up an insignificant provincial governor himself, he says, but he has other plans for her. —
他可能最终会成为一个无足轻重的省知事，但他对她有其他打算。 —

He is always giving her list instructions. —
他总是给她列出详细的指示。 —

If he dies with his grand ambitions unrealized she is to leap into the sea.”
如果他以未实现宏伟抱负而死，她就必须跳入海中。”

Genji smiled.
源氏微笑着。

“A cloistered maiden, reserved for the king of the sea,” laughed one of his men. —
“一位屏风红人，为大海之王所保留，”他的一个手下笑着说。 —

“A very extravagant ambition.”
“一个非常奢侈的抱负。”

The man who had told the story was the son of the present governor of Harima. —
讲述这个故事的人是播磨现任州知事的儿子。 —

He had this year been raised to the Fifth Rank for his services in the imperial secretariat.
今年由于他在朝廷秘书省的服务而被提升为五品。

“I know why you lurk around the premises,” said another. —
“我知道你在这个地方晃荡的原因，”另一人说。 —

“You’re a lady’s man, and you want to spoil the old governor’s plans.”
“你是个桃花运，你想破坏老知事的计划。”

And another: “You haven’t convinced me. She’s a plain country girl, no more. —
还有一个人说：“你没说服我。她是一个平凡的乡村姑娘，不过如此。 —

She’s lived in the country most of her life with an old father who knows nothing of the times and the fashions.”
她在乡间大部分时间与一个一无所知时事和时尚的老父亲一起生活。”

“The mother is the one. She has used her connections in the city to find girls and women from the best families and bring them to Akashi. —
“母亲才是关键。她利用她在城市的关系，从最好的家庭找到女孩和妇女并带到明石。 —

It makes your head spin to watch her.”
看着她让你眼花缭乱。”

“If the wrong sort of governor were to take over, the old man would have his worries.”
“如果一个不好的统治者接管了，老人会有担忧。”

Genji was amused. “Ambition wide ad deep as the sea. —
源氏觉得很有趣。“野心如海那么广阔深远。” —

But alas, we would not see her for the seaweed.”
“可惜，我们看不到她了，只能看到海草。”

Knowing his fondness for oddities, his men had hoped that the story would interest him.
知道他喜欢稀奇事物，他的人们希望这个故事会吸引他。

“It is rather late, sir, and seeing as you have not had another attack, suppose we start for home.”
“现在已经很晚了，先生，考虑到您没有再发作，我们该回家了。”

But the sage objected. “He has been possessed by a hostile power. —
但贤者反对道。“他已经被敌对力量占据。” —

We must continue our services quietly through the night.”
我们必须悄悄地继续我们的服务整夜。

Genji’s men were persuaded, and for Genji it was a novel and amusing excursion.
源氏的人被说服了，对于源氏来说，这是一个新奇有趣的行程。

“We will start back at daybreak.”
“我们将在天亮时回去。”

The evening was long. He took advantage of a dense haze to have a look at the house behind the wattled fence. —
夜晚很长。他利用浓雾来看看篱笆后面的房子。 —

Sending back everyone except Koremitsu, he took up a position at the fence. —
除了是光辉，他让所有人都退回去，他站在篱笆旁。 —

In the west room sat a nun who had a holy image before her. —
在西房间里坐着一个有着圣像的尼姑。 —

The blinds were slightly raised and she seemed to be offering flowers. —
百叶窗微微升起，她似乎在献花。 —

She was leaning against a pillar and had a text spread out on an armrest. —
她靠在柱子上，手扶着扶手，上面展开着一本经卷。 —

The effort to read seemed to take all her strength. —
阅读的努力似乎耗尽了她的所有力量。 —

perhaps in her forties, she had a fair, delicate skin and a pleasantly full face, though the effects of illness were apparent. —
也许她已经四十多岁了，皮肤白皙细腻，脸庞丰腴宜人，尽管疾病的影响显而易见。 —

The features suggested breeding and cultivation. —
特征显示出她的高贵和教养。 —

Cut cleanly at the shoulders, her hair seemed to him far more pleasing than if it had been permitted to trail the usual length. —
发型修剪整洁，齐肩而止，这让他觉得比那些一直垂至腰际的发型更加迷人。 —

Beside her were two attractive women, and little girls scampered in and out. —
她身边有两位迷人的女性，小女孩们在她身边快乐奔跑。 —

Much the prettiest was a girl of perhaps ten in a soft white singlet and a russet robe. —
年纪大约十岁、身穿柔软白色背心和赭色长袍的女孩最美丽。 —

She would one day be a real beauty. Rich hair spread over her shoulders like a fan. —
她将来肯定会成为一个真正的美人。丰盈的秀发如扇般铺散在肩头。 —

Her face was flushed from weeping.
她因为哭泣而脸颊通红。

“What is it?” The nun looked up. “Another fight? —
“怎么了？”修女抬起头。“又是打架吗？” —

” He thought he saw a resemblance. Perhaps they were mother and daughter.
他觉得他们之间有几分相似。也许她们是母女关系。

“Inuki let my baby sparrows loose.” The child was very angry. “I had them in a basket.”
“伊奴基放飞了我的麻雀宝宝。”女孩非常生气。“它们本来在篮子里。”

“That stupid child,” said a rather handsome woman with rich hair who seemed to be called Shōnagon and was apparently the girl’s nurse. —
“那个愚蠢的孩子，”一个相貌俊美、头发浓密的女人说道，她似乎被称为女将军，显然是这个女孩的保姆。 —

“She always manages to do the wrong thing, and we are forever scolding her. —
“她总是做错事，我们总是在责备她。” —

Where will they have flown off to? They were getting to be such sweet little things too! —
它们会飞到哪里去呢？它们正变得如此可爱！ —

How awful if the crows find them.” She went out.
如果被乌鸦发现了那该多糟糕。” 她走了出去。

“What a silly child you are, really too silly,” said the nun. —
“你真是个傻孩子，实在太傻了，”修女说。 —

“I can’t be sure I will last out the day, and here you are worrying about sparrows. —
“我无法确定我是否能撑过今天，而你却在担心麻雀。” —

I’ve told you so many times that it’s a sin to put birds in a cage. Come here.”
“我告诉过你很多次把鸟关在笼子里是一种罪恶。过来。”

The child knelt down beside her. She was charming, with rich, unplucked eyebrows and hair pushed childishly back from the forehead. —
孩子跪在她旁边。她很迷人，眉毛浓密且未修剪，头发孩子般地往后梳。 —

How he would like to see her in a few years! —
如果他能在几年后看她那该有多好！ —

And a sudden realization brought him close to tears: —
突然意识到的感觉让他近乎流泪： —

the resemblance to Fujitsubo, for whom he so yearned, was astonishing.
她与他如此渴望的藤壶的相似之处令人惊讶。

The nun stroked the girl’s hair. “You will not comb it and still it’s so pretty. —
修女抚摸着女孩的头发。“你从不梳理它，但它还是如此漂亮。 —

I worry about you, you do seem so very young. Others are much more grown up at your age. —
我担心你，你看起来实在太年幼。其他人在你这个年纪都更成熟。 —

Your poor dead mother: she was only ten when her father died, and she understood everything. —
你可怜的已故母亲：她父亲去世时还只有十岁，但她什么都懂。 —

What will become of you when I am gone?”
当我不在的时候你将会怎样？”

She was weeping, and a vague sadness had come over Genji too. —
她在哭泣，一种模糊的悲伤也袭上了源次。 —

The girl gazed attentively at her and then looked down. —
女孩专注地看着她，然后低下头。 —

The hair that fel over her forehead was thick and lustrous. —
垂落在她额头上的头发又浓又亮。 —

“Are these tender grasses to grow without the dew
“这些嫩草难道要没有露水生长

Which holds itself back from the heavens that would receive it?”
它自己抑制了想收留它的天空的露水吗？”

There were tears in the nun’s voice, and the other woman seemed also to be speaking through tears:
修女的声音中带着泪水，另一个女人似乎也是含泪说话：

“It cannot be that the dew will vanish away
“这露水不该在夏季到来之前消失，

Ere summer comes to these early grasses of spring.”
在这初春的嫩草上。”

The bishop came in. “What is this? Your blinds up? —
主教进来了。“怎么回事？你把百叶窗打开了吗？ —

And today of all days you are out at the veranda? —
今天偏偏要在阳台上？我刚被告知源氏将军去了修道院治疗疟疾。他伪装前来，我得知时已经来不及去拜访了。” —

I have just been told that General Genji is up at the hermitage being treated for malaria. He came in disguise and I was not told in time to pay a call.”
“我们这么露出在外可真是丢脸。你不觉得他看到了吗？”她放下了百叶窗。

“And what a sight we are. You don’t suppose he saw us?” She lowered the blinds.
“整个世界都在谈论那位耀眼的人。你不想见见他吗？

“The shining one of whom the whole world talks. Wouldn’t you like to see him? —
人说，足以让一个圣人摆脱世俗的最后痕迹，仿佛新的岁月被加添到了他的生命里。 —

Enough to make a saint throw off the last traces of the vulgar world, they say, and feel as if new years had been added to his life. —
我要写张便条。” —

I will get off a note.”
他匆忙离去，源氏也退出了。多么意外的发现！

He hurried away, and Genji too withdrew. What a discovery! —
正是为了这样无法预料的奖赏，他那些热衷于追寻爱情的追随者才如此不停地觊觎。 —

It was for such unforeseen rewards that his amorous followers were so constantly on the prowl. —
对他来说，如此难得的外出，却带来了如此大发现！她是一个完全美丽的孩子。 —

Such a rare outing for him, and it had brought such a find! She was a perfectly beautiful child. —
她是谁？他开始策划： —

Who might she be? He was beginning to make plans: —
这个孩子必须代替那个她如此相似的人。 —

the child must stand in the place of the one whom she so resembled.
待续。

As he lay down to sleep, an acolyte came asking for Koremitsu. —
当他躺下睡觉时，一个侍僧前来找光秀。 —

The cell was a narrow one and Genji could hear everything that was said.
这个牢房很窄，源氏能听到一切。

“Though somewhat startled to learn that your lord had passed us by, we should have come immediately. —
“虽然有点惊讶您的主子已经错过我们，但我们应该立即前来。” —

The fact is that his secrecy rather upset us. —
事实上，他的秘密行动有点让我们失望。 —

We might, you know, have been able to offer shabby accommodations.”
你知道的，我们也许可以提供简陋的住宿。”

Genji sent back that he had been suffering from malaria since about the middle of the month and had been persuaded to seek the services of the sage, of whom he had only recently heard. —
源氏回复说，自从月中以来，他一直患着疟疾，并被说服寻求他最近才听说的圣人的帮助。 —

“Such is his reputation that I hated to risk marring it by failing to recover. —
“他的名声如此显赫，我不想冒险破坏它，因此才采取了秘密行动。我们会立即下山。” —

That is the reason for my secrecy. We shall come down immediately.”
主教本人现身了。他虽是教士，但是一位不同寻常的人，极具礼貌且颇有名望。

The bishop himself appeared. He was a man of the cloth, to be sure, but an unusual one, of great courtliness and considerable fame. —
源氏为自己粗糙的伪装感到羞愧。 —

Genji was ashamed of his own rough disguise.
主教谈到了他在山中的隐居生活。

The bishop spoke of his secluded life in the hills. —
他一再催促源氏前往他的住所。 —

Again and again he urged Genji to honor his house. —
“那是一间小木屋，和这里没什么两样，但你可能会觉得小溪凉爽宜人。” —

“It is a log hut, no better than this, but you may find the stream cool and pleasant.”
源氏跟着他去了，尽管有点为自己被女人夸奖的夸张词语所困扰，这些女人并没有见过他。

Genji went with him, though somewhat embarrassed at the extravagant terms in which he had been described to women who had not seen him. —
他想更多地了解那个小女孩。 —

He wanted to know more about the little girl. —
让我们继续了解这段故事。 —

The flowers and grasses in the bishop’s garden, though of the familiar varieties, had a charm all their own. —
主教花园里的花草虽是熟悉的品种，却有着独特的魅力。 —

The night being dark, flares had been set out along the brook, and there re lanterns at the eaves. —
夜色深沉，小溪边点着火把，檐下挂着灯笼。 —

A delicate fragrance drifted through the air, mixing with the stronger incense from the altar and the very special scent which had been burnt into Genji’s robes. —
空气中飘散着淡淡的芬芳，与祭坛上更浓烈的香气交汇，还有一种特殊的气味弥漫在源氏的衣袍上。 —

The ladies within must have found the blend unsettling.
里面的贵妇们肯定会觉得这种混合味道令人难以适从。

The bishop talked of this ephemeral world and of the world to come. —
主教谈论着这个短暂的世界和来世。 —

His own burden of sin was heavy, thought Genji, that he had been lured into an illicit and profitless affair. —
源氏想，主教自己的罪恶之重是如此沉重，他会遭受来世更加严酷的惩罚，因为他曾被诱入一段不正当且毫无意义的关系中。 —

He would regret it all his life and suffer even more terribly in the life to come. —
他将终生懊悔，并在来世受到更加可怕的折磨。 —

What joy to withdraw to such a place as this! —
能退隐到如此地方，何等快乐！ —

But with the thought came thoughts of the young face he had seen earlier in the evening.
但是随之而来的是对先前在晚上看到的那张年轻脸庞的思念。

“Do you have someone with you here? I had a dream that suddenly begins to make sense.”
“你在这里有伴吗？我有一个梦境，现在突然开始有了意义。”

“How quick you are with your dreams, sir! I fear my answer will disappoint you. —
“你对梦境如此敏感！恐怕我的回答会让你失望。 —

It has been a very long time since the Lord Inspector died. —
自从那位神官过世以来已经很久了。 —

I don’t suppose you will even have heard of him. He was my brother-in-law. —
我想你可能甚至没听说过他。他是我的姐夫。 —

His widow turned her back on the world and recently she has been ill, and since I do not go down to the city she has come to stay with me here. —
他的遗孀抛弃尘世，最近她病了，因为我不去城里，她来到这里和我借住。 —

It was her thought that I might be able to help her.”
她认为我或许可以帮助她。”

“I have heard that your sister had a daughter. —
“我听说过你姐姐有一个女儿。 —

I ask from no more than idle curiosity, you must believe me.”
我只是出于好奇，你必须相信我。”

“There was an only daughter. She too has been dead these ten years and wore. —
“她只有一个女儿。那个女孩已经去世十年了。 —

He took very great pains with her education and hoped to send her to court; —
他很用心地教育她，希望能送她到宫廷； —

but he died before that ambition could be realized, and the nun, my sister, was left to look after her. —
但他在实现这个愿望之前去世了，修女，也就是我姐姐，被留下来照顾她。 —

I do not know through whose offices it was that prince Hyōbu began visiting the daughter in secret. His wife is from a very proud family, you know, sir, and there were unpleasant incidents, which finally drove the poor thing into a fatal decline. —
我不知道是谁介绍的她开始秘密见那个女孩。你知道，他的妻子来自一个很自豪的家族，发生了一些不愉快的事件，最终使这可怜的女孩病倒。 —

I saw before my own eyes how worry can destroy a person.”
我亲眼看到了忧虑如何毁掉一个人。”

So the child he had seen would be the daughter of prince Hyōbu and the unfortunate lady; —
于是，他见过的那个孩子就是那个可怜女士和那位不幸夫人的女儿； —

and it was Fujitsubo, the prince’s sister, whom she so resembled. —
她很像是那位亲王的妹妹——藤壁。 —

He wanted more than ever to meet her. She was an elegant child, and she did not seem at all spoiled. What a delight if he could take her into his house and make her his ideal!
他更加渴望见到她。她是一个优雅的孩子，看起来一点也不被宠坏。如果他能把她带到自己的家里，让她成为他的理想，那该多好啊！

“A very sad story.” He wished to be completely sure. “Did she leave no one behind?”
“一个非常悲伤的故事。”他想要确信。“她没有留下任何人吗？”

“She had a child just before she died, a girl, a great source of worry for my poor sister in her declining years.”
“她在去世前刚生下一个孩子，一个女孩，给我可怜的姐姐增添了很多忧虑。”

There could be no further doubt. “What I am about to say will, I fear, startle you — but might I have charge of the child? —
不再有疑问。“我将要说的话，恐怕会使你震惊——但我是否可以照顾这个孩子？ —

I have rather good reasons, for all the suddenness of my proposal. —
我有相当好的理由，尽管提议显得突然。 —

If you are telling yourself that she is too young — well, sir, you are doing me an injustice. —
如果你自己认为她还太小——那么，先生，你对我是不公正的。” —

Other men may have improper motives, but I do not.”
其他男人可能有不当动机，但我没有。

“Your words quite fill me with delight. —
“你的话让我感到非常高兴。 —

But she is indeed young, so very young that we could not possibly think even in jest of asking you to take responsibility for her. —
但她确实很年轻，非常年轻，我们甚至开玩笑也不可能让您为她负责。 —

Only the man who is presently to be her husband can take that responsibility. —
只有即将成为她丈夫的人才能承担这份责任。 —

In a matter of such import I am not competent to give an answer. —
在这样重要的事情上，我不适合给出答案。 —

I must discuss the matter with my sister. —
我必须和我妹妹商量一下这件事。 —

” He was suddenly remote and chilly.
”他突然显得冷漠而冷淡。

Genji had spoken with youthful impulsiveness and could not think what to do next.
源氏说话时带着年轻的冲动，不知道接下来该怎么办。

“It is my practice to conduct services in the chapel of Lord Amitābha. —
“我有个习惯，在阿弥陀佛堂里举行仪式。 —

” The bishop got up to leave. “I have not yet said vespers. —
”主教站起来准备离开。“我还没有念晚祷。 —

I shall come again when they are over.”
诗句念完后，我会再来。”

Genji was not feeling well. A shower passed on a chilly mountain wind, and the sound of the waterfall was higher. —
源氏感觉不舒服。一阵凉风带着阵雨吹过来，瀑布的声音更响亮了。 —

Intermittently came a rather sleepy voice, solemn and somehow ominous, reading a sacred text. —
一个有些昏昏欲睡的声音间歇性地响起，庄严而略带不祥，诵读着一段经文。 —

The most insensitive of men would have been aroused by the scene. Genji was unable to sleep. —
即使是最麻木的人也会被这个场景所激发。源氏无法入睡。 —

The vespers were very long and it was growing late. —
晚祷祈祷时间很长，时间也渐渐晚了。 —

There was evidence that the women in the inner rooms were still up. —
有证据表明内室的女人们还没睡着。 —

They were being quiet, but he heard a rosary brush against an armrest and, to give him a sense of elegant companionship, a faint rustling of silk. —
她们虽然很安静，但他听到念珠刮过扶手的声音，还有为了让他感到优雅的陪伴，传来的丝绸轻柔的沙沙声。 —

Screens lined the inside wall, very near at hand. —
屏风紧贴在内墙上，非常近。 —

He pushed one of the center panels some inches aside and rustled his fan. —
他把中间的一个屏风推开一些，发出了沙沙声。 —

Though they must have thought it odd, the women could not ignore it. —
尽管她们一定认为这很奇怪，但她们却无法无视此事。 —

One of them came forward, then retreated a step or two.
其中一个向前走了一步，然后又退了两步。

“This is very strange indeed. Is there some mistake?”
“这真的太奇怪了。难道是有什么误会吗？”

“The guiding hand of the Blessed One makes no mistakes on the darkest nights. —
“至圣者的指引从未在最黑暗的夜晚出错。”那是一个有教养的青年声音。 —

” His was an aristocratic young voice.
“它指引向何处呢？”那位女人犹豫地回答。

“And in what direction does it lead?” the woman replied hesitantly. —
“这真是令人困惑。” —

“This is most confusing.”
“非常突然和令人困惑，我相信。”

“Very sudden and confusing, I am sure.
“自从游者第一次看到嫩草起芽，他的袖子就再也无法避免湿露。”

“Since first the wanderer glimpsed the fresh young grasses
“我可以请你把我的话传达给你们夫人吗？”

His sleeves have known no respite from the dew.
“我的袖子从未停歇，受到露水的滋润。”

“Might I ask you to pass my words on to your lady?”
“请把我的话传达给你们夫人。”

“There is no one in this house to whom such a message can possibly seem appropriate.”
“在这所房子里没有任何人会觉得这样的消息合适。”

“I have my reasons. You must believe me.”
“我有我的理由。你必须相信我。”

The woman withdrew to the rear of the house.
女人退到了房子的后面。

The nun was of course rather startled. “How very forward of him. —
那位修女当然有些吃惊。“他这样做太过分了。 —

He must think the child older than she is. And he must have heard our poems about the grasses. —
他一定认为那个孩子比她实际年龄大。而且他一定听过我们关于草的诗歌。 —

What can they have meant to him?” She hesitated for rather a long time. —
那对他意味着什么呢？”她犹豫了很长一段时间。 —

persuaded that too long a delay would be rude, she finally sent back:
她被说服了，觉得拖得太久会显得粗鲁，最终送回了消息:

“The dew of a night of travel — do not compare it
夜行归来的露水——不可与浸湿山人衣袖的露水相比

With the dew that soaks the sleeves of the mountain dweller. It is this last that refuses to dry.”
那最后一滴是不肯干燥的。

“I am not used to communicating through messengers. —
“我不习惯通过信使传达信息。 —

I wish to speak to you directly and in all seriousness.”
我希望能直接而严肃地和你交谈。”

Again the old nun hesitated. “There has been a misunderstanding, surely. —
老尼姑再次犹豫了。“肯定发生了误会。 —

I can hardly be expected to converse with such a fine young gentleman.”
我不可能和这样一个优雅的年轻绅士交谈。”

But the women insisted that it would be rude and unfeeling not to reply.
但女人们坚持认为不回应是不礼貌且不体贴的。

“I suppose you are right. Young gentlemen are easily upset. —
“我想你是对的。年轻绅士很容易受伤。 —

I am humbled by such earnestness.” And she came forward.
我对这样的诚意感到谦卑。”她走向前。

“You will think me headstrong and frivolous for having addressed you without warning, but the Blessed One knows that my intent is not frivolous at all. —
“你会认为我冲动且轻浮，毫无警告地与你交谈，但被祝福者知道我的意图绝非轻浮。” —

” He found the nun’s quiet dignity somewhat daunting.
他觉得尼姑的宁静庄严有些令人畏惧。

“We must have made a compact in another life, that we should be in such unexpected conversation.”
“我们一定在另一个生命中达成了协议，让我们会有这样意想不到的对话。”

“I have heard the sad story, and wonder if I might offer myself as a substitute for your late daughter. —
“我听说了悲伤的故事，并想知道我是否可以替代你已故女儿。 —

I was very young when I lost the one who was dearest to me, and all through the years since I have had strange feelings of aimlessness and futility. —
我在失去我最亲爱的人时还很年轻，从那以后多年来一直感到失落和无助。 —

We share the same fate, and I wonder if I might not ask that we be companions in it. —
我们分享同样的命运，我想知道是否可以请求我们在其中成为伴侣。” —

The opportunity is not likely to come again. —
机会不太可能再次出现。 —

I have spoken, I am sure you see, quite without reserve.”
我说话非常坦率，我相信你明白。

“What you say would delight me did I not fear a mistake. —
“你的话让我很高兴，但我担心会出错。 —

It is true that there is someone here who is under my inadequate protection; —
的确有一个在我无能保护之下的人在这里； —

but she is very young, and you could not possibly be asked to accept her deficiencies. —
但她还很年轻，你不可能要求她完美无缺。 —

I must decline your very kind proposal.”
我必须谢绝你的慷慨提议。”

“I repeat that I have heard the whole story. —
“我已经听说了整个故事。 —

Your admirable reticence does not permit you to understand that my feelings are of no ordinary sort.”
你那种令人钦佩的保留让你无法理解我的感情并不寻常。

But to her they seemed, though she did not say so, quite outrageous.
不过在她看来，虽然没有明说，却是完全无礼的。

The bishop came out.
主教走了出来。

“Very well, then. I have made a beginning, and it has given me strength. —
“好吧，那么，我已经开始了，这给了我力量。 —

” And Genji pushed the screen back in place.
“源氏推开了屏风。

In the Lotus Hall, voices raised in an act of contrition mingled solemnly with the roar of the waterfall and the wind that came down from the mountain.
在莲花殿里，忏悔的声音与瀑布的轰鸣和从山上吹下来的风庄严地交织在一起。

This was Genji’s poem, addressed to the bishop:
下面是源氏写给主教的诗:

“A wind strays down from the hills to end my dream,
“一缕山风飘然而下，终结我的梦想，

And tears well forth at these voices upon the waters.”
在水面上，这些声音让泪水涌出。

And this the bishops reply:
主教回答道：

“These waters wet your sleeves. Our own are dry,
“你的袖子被水打湿了。我们的是干燥的，

And tranquil our hearts, washedd lean by mountain waters.
被山泉水洗净的心灵平静。

“Such is the effect of familiarity with these scenes.”
“这就是熟悉这些景象的效果。”

There were heavy mists in the dawn sky, and bird songs came from Genji knew not where. —
黎明时分云雾缭绕，鸟鸣不知从何处传来。 —

Flowering trees and grasses which he could not identify spread like a tapestry before him. —
他无法辨认的开花树木和草本植物像挂毯般铺展在他面前。 —

The deer that now paused to feed by the house and now wandered on were for him a strange and wonderful sight. —
有时停下来在房子附近觅食，有时漫步，对他来说是一种陌生而奇妙的景象。 —

He quite forgot his illness. Though it was not easy for the sage to leave his retreat, he made his way down for final services. —
他完全忘记了自己的疾病。虽然离开幽居对圣贤来说并不容易，但他为做最后的服务而下山。 —

His husky voice, emerging uncertainly from a toothless mouth, had behind it long years of discipline, and the mystic incantations suggested deep and awesome powers.
他沙哑的声音从没有牙齿的口中轻轻发出，背后有着多年的修行，神秘的咒语显示出深厚而可怕的力量。

An escort arrived from the city, delighted to see Genji so improved, and a message was delivered from his father. —
有人从城里来接，看到源氏恢复了精神，感到高兴，并传达了他父亲的讯息。 —

The bishop had a breakfast of unfamiliar fruits and berries brought from far down in the valley.
主教吃了一顿从山下带来的陌生水果和浆果早餐。

“I have vowed to stay in these mountains until the end of the year, and cannot see you home. —
“我已经发誓要呆在这些山中直到年底，无法送你回去。 —

” He pressed wine upon Genji. “And so a holy vow has the perverse effect of inspiring regrets.”
“他逼迫源氏喝酒。“所以，神圣的誓言竟然激起了遗憾。”

“I hate to leave your mountains and streams, but my father seems worried and I must obey his summons. —
“我舍不得离开你的山川，但父亲似乎很担心，我必须遵从他的召唤。” —

I shall come again before the cherry blossoms have fallen.
在樱花凋零之前，我将再次归来。

“I shall say to my city friends:‘Make haste to see
“我将对我的城市朋友们说：‘快来看

Those mountain blossoms. The winds may see them first.’”
那些山间的花朵。也许风先看过它们。’”

His manner and voice were beautiful beyond description.
他的举止和声音美丽无法形容。

The bishop replied:
主教回答道：

“In thirty hundreds of years it blooms but once.
“三百年之后方才绽放一次。

My eyes have seen it, and spurn these mountain cherries.”
我亲眼见过，对这些山樱花置之不理。”

“A very great rarity indeed,” Genji said, smiling, “a blossom with so long and short a span.”
“真是非常难得的珍品，”源氏微笑着说道，“有着如此漫长而短暂的一生。”

The sage offered a verse of thanks as Genji filled his cup:
贤者在源氏斟满酒杯时高声吟颂道：

“My mountain door of pine has opened briefly
“山门松扉稍显开启

To see a radiant flower not seen before.”
得见如此灿烂不可方物。”

There were tears in his eyes. His farewell present was a sacred mace which had special protective powers. —
他眼眶布满泪痕。告别礼物是一件具有特殊保护力量的神圣权杖。 —

The bishop too gave farewell presents: a rosary of carved ebony which Prince Shōtoku had obtained in Korea, still in the original Chinese box, wrapped in a netting and attached to a branch of cinquefoil pine; —
主教也赠送了告别礼物：一串由文殊菩萨在朝鲜获得的雕刻乌木念珠，仍在原来的中式盒子里，用网袋包着挂在松树枝上； —

several medicine bottles of indigo decorated with sprays of cherry and wisteria and the like; —
数瓶靛蓝色药瓶，上面装饰着樱花、紫藤等花卉图案； —

and other gifts as well, all of them appropriate to the mountain setting. —
还有其他礼物，都与山间环境相得益彰。 —

Genji’s escort had brought gifts for the priests who had helped with the services, the sage himself and the rest, and for all the mountain rustics too. —
源氏的护送人员带来了礼物给帮助过仪式的神职人员，贤者本人和其他人，还有所有的山野村民。 —

And so Genji started out.
源氏于是出发了。

The bishop went to the inner apartments to tell his sister of Genji’s proposal.
主教去内宅告诉他的妹妹源氏的提议。

“It is very premature. If in four or five years he has not changed his mind we can perhaps give it some thought.”
“这还为时过早。如果四五年后他还没有改变主意，或许我们可以考虑一下。”

The bishop agreed, and passed her words on without comment.
主教同意，没有做出评论，将她的话传达给了源氏。

Much disappointed, Genji sent in a poem through an acolyte:
感到非常失望，源氏通过一个年轻僧侣送去了一首诗：

“Having come upon an evening blossom,
“Having come upon an evening blossom,

The mist is loath to go with the morning sun.”
雾似乎不愿随着早晨的阳光消失。

She sent back:
她回信道：

“Can we believe the mist to be so reluctant?
“我们能相信雾是如此不情愿吗？

We shall watch the morning sky for signs of truth.”
我们将观察早晨的天空，寻找真相的迹象。”

It was in a casual, cursive style, but the hand was a distinguished one.
这信笔飘逸，但字迹非常优雅。

He was about to get into his carriage when a large party arrived from the house of his father-in-law, protesting the skill with which he had eluded them. —
当他正要上马车时，一大群人从他岳父家赶来，责备他用巧计躲开他们。 —

Several of his brothers-in-law, including the oldest, Tō no Chūjō, were among them.
其中有几位姻亲，包括大哥藤壶中将。

“You know very well that this is the sort of expedition we like best. —
“你很清楚这是我们最喜欢的类型的远征。 —

You could at least have told us. Well, here we are, and we shall stay and enjoy the cherries you have discovered.”
你至少应该告诉我们一声。好吧，我们来了，我们会留下来享受你发现的樱花。”

They took seats on the moss below the rocks and wine was brought out.1t was a pleasant spot, beside cascading waters. —
他们坐在石头下的苔藓上，拿出了酒来。这是一个愉快的地方，瀑布旁边。 —

Tō no Chūjō took out a flute, and one of his brothers, marking time with a fan, sang “To the West of the Toyora Temple. —
藤壶中将拿出了一支长笛，其中一位兄弟打着扇子节拍，唱起了“外豫章”。 —

” They were handsome young men, all of them, but it was the ailing Genji whom everyone was looking at, so handsome a figure as he leaned against a rock that he brought a shudder of apprehension. —
他们都是英俊的年轻人，但所有人的目光都集中在病弱的玉忌击身上，他靠在石头上时如此英俊，以至于引起了人们的不安。 —

Always in such a company there is an adept at the flageolet, and a fancier of the shō pipes as well.
在这样的聚会中总会有一个善于吹笛子的人，也有一个热衷于吹箫的人。

The bishop brought out a seven-stringed Chinese koto and pressed Genji to play it. —
主教拿出了一把七弦中国琴，要求玉忌击演奏。 —

“Just one tune, to give our mountain birds a pleasant surprise.”
“只演奏一支曲子，让我们的山鸟们感到惊喜。”

Genji protested that he was altogether too unwell, but he played a passable tune all the same. —
源氏坚称自己病得太厉害了，但他还是演奏了一个还算不错的曲子。 —

And so they set forth. The nameless priests and acolytes shed tears of regret, and the aged nuns within, who had never before seen such a fine gentleman, asked whether he might not be a visitor from another world.
于是他们启程了。那些无名的僧侣和侍僧们悲恸不已，而从未见过如此俊俏绅士的老尼姑们纷纷问他是否来自另一个世界。

“How can it be,” said the bishop, brushing away a tear, “that such a one has been born into the confusion and corruption in which we live?”
主教擦去眼泪，问道：“这样一个人竟出生在我们生活的混乱腐朽之中，怎么能够呢？”

The little girl too thought him very grand. “Even handsomer than Father,” she said.
小女孩也觉得他很潇洒。“比父亲还帅呢。”她说。

“So why don’t you be his little girl?”
“那你就做他的小女儿好了。”

She nodded, accepting the offer; and her favorite doll, the one with the finest wardrobe, and the handsomest gentleman in her pictures too were thereupon named “Genji.”
她点头接受了这个提议；于是，她最喜欢的洋娃娃，那位衣着华丽的绅士图画中的英俊男士也因此被命名为“源氏”。

Back in the city, Genji first reported to his father upon his excursion. —
回到城里，源氏首先向父亲报告了他的远行。 —

The emperor had never before seen him in such coarse dress.
皇帝从未见过他穿得这般朴素。

He asked about the qualifications of the sage, and Genji replied in great detail.
他询问了圣人的资历，源氏详细回答了。

“I must see that he is promoted. Such a remarkable record and I had not even heard of him.”
“我必须晋升他。竟有如此卓越的履历，我居然都没听说过。”

Genji’s father-in-law, the Minister of the Left, chanced to be in attendance. —
源氏的岳父——左大臣恰巧在场。 —

“I thought of going for you, but you did after all go off in secret. —
“我本来想替你去的，但你毕竟还是秘密离去。 —

Suppose you have a few days’ rest at Sanjō. —
你可能在三条休息几天。 —

I will go with you, immediately.”
我立刻和你一起去。”

Genji was not enthusiastic, but he left with his father-in-law all the same. —
源氏并不热切，但他还是和岳父一同离开。 —

The minister had his own carriage brought up and insisted that Genji get in first. —
大臣让自己的马车驶过来，坚持让源氏先上车。 —

This solicitude rather embarrassed him.
这种关心反而让他感到尴尬。

At the minister’s Sanjō mansion everything was in readiness. —
在大臣位于三条的府邸，一切已经准备就绪。 —

It had been polished and refitted until it was a jeweled pavilion, perfect to the last detail. —
这里经过打磨和重新装修，变成了一座宝石般的亭台楼阁，每一个细节都完美无缺。 —

As always, Genji’s wife secluded herself in her private apartments, and it was only at her father’s urging that she came forth; —
和往常一样，源氏的妻子躲在她的私宅里，只有在她父亲的催促下才出来； —

and so Genji had her before him, immobile, like a princess in an illustration for a romance. —
所以源氏把她摆在眼前，像一个插画中的公主一般静止不动。 —

It would have been a great pleasure, he was sure, to have her comment even tartly upon his account of the mountain journey. —
他确信，即使她稍微尖刻地评论一下他的山行经历，也会让他很高兴。 —

She seemed the stiffest, remotest person in the world. —
她似乎是世界上最呆板、最疏远的人。 —

How odd that the aloofness seemed only to grow as time went by.
多么奇怪，随着时间的推移，这种疏远似乎只会加深。

“It would be nice, I sometimes think, if you could be a little more wifely. —
“我有时候会觉得，如果你能多点夫人风度就好了。 —

I have been very ill, and I am hurt, but not really surprised, that you have not inquired after my health.”
我病得很重，你没有询问我的健康状况，我感到很受伤，但并不感到意外。”

“Like the pain, perhaps, of awaiting a visitor who does not come?”
“像等待一个不来的客人的痛苦一样？”

She cast a sidelong glance at him as she spoke, and her cold beauty was very intimidating indeed.
她说话时侧目瞥视着他，她那种冷艳的美令人望而生畏。

“You so rarely speak to me, and when you do you say such unpleasant things. —
“你很少和我说话，而你说话时总是说些不愉快的事情。 —

‘A visitor who does not come’— that is hardly an appropriate way to describe a husband, and indeed it is hardly civil. —
‘不来的客人’——这绝不是形容丈夫的恰当方式，而且也不够礼貌。 —

I try this approach and I try that, hoping to break through, but you seem intent on defending all the approaches. —
我尝试这种方法，又尝试那种方法，希望突破，但你似乎坚决捍卫所有的方法。 —

Well, one of these years, perhaps, if I live long enough.”
哎，也许有一天，如果我还活着的话。

He withdrew to the bedchamber. She did not follow. —
他退到了卧室。她没有跟着进去。 —

Though there were things he would have liked to say, he lay down with a sigh. —
虽然有一些话他想说，但他叹了口气躺了下来。 —

He closed his eyes, but there was too much on his mind to permit sleep.
他闭上眼睛，但心里有太多事情，无法入睡。

He thought of the little girl and how he would like to see her grown into a woman. —
他想起那个小女孩，想看着她长大成人。 —

Her grandmother was of course right when she said that the girl was still too young for him. —
她祖母说她还太小，这当然是正确的。 —

He must not seem insistent. And yet — was there not some way to bring her quietly to Nijō and have her beside him, a comfort and a companion? —
他不应该显得很坚持。但是 — 难道没有某种方法可以悄悄地把她带到二条，让她陪在他身边，成为他的慰藉和伴侣？ —

prince Hyōbu was a dashing and stylish man, but no one could have called him remarkably handsome. —
兵部亲王是一个英俊时尚的男人，但没有人会说他非常英俊。 —

Why did the girl so take after her aunt? —
为什么那个女孩这么像她的姑姑？ —

perhaps because aunt and father were children of the same empress. —
或许是因为姑姑和父亲都是同一位皇后的孩子。 —

These thoughts seemed to bring the girl closer, and he longed to have her for his own.
这些想法似乎让女孩更加亲近，他渴望拥有她作为自己的。

The next day he wrote to the nun. He would also seem to have communicated his thoughts in a casual way to the bishop. —
第二天他给修女写信。还似乎以一种随意的方式将他的想法告诉了主教。 —

To the nun he said:
给修女他说：

“I fear that, taken somewhat aback by your sternness, I did not express myself very well. —
“我担心，被你的严肃所吓到，我没有表达得很好。” —

I find strength in the hope that something of the resolve demanded of me to write this letter will have conveyed itself to you.”
我在希望中找到了力量，希望我写这封信所需的决心会传达到你身上。

With it was a tightly folded note for the girl:
随信附上了一个紧紧折叠的条子给那个女孩：

“The mountain blossoms are here beside me still.
“山间的花还在我身旁。

All of myself I left behind with them.
我将我的全部留在了它们那里。

“I am fearful of what the night winds might have done.”
“我担心夜风会做些什么。”

The writing, of course, and even the informal elegance of the folding, quite dazzled the superannuated woman who received the letter. —
当然，信件中的文字，甚至是折叠的随意优雅，都让接收信件的老年妇女感到眼花缭乱。 —

Somewhat overpowering, thought the grandmother.
祖母觉得有些压抑。

She finally sent back: “I did not take your farewell remarks seriously; —
她最终回信说：“我并没有认真对待你的告别话语； —

and now so soon to have a letter from you — I scarcely know how to reply. —
现在你这么快就收到你的来信 — 我几乎不知道怎么回答。 —

She cannot even write’Naniwa’ properly, and how are we to expect that she give you a proper answer?
她甚至连‘石镜’都写不对，我们又怎么能期待她给你一个合适的回答呢？

“Brief as the time till the autumn tempests come
“秋风到来之前的时光如此短暂

To scatter the flowers — so brief your thoughts of her.
撒下花朵 — 你对她的想念也是如此短暂。

“I am deeply troubled.”
“我深感忧虑。”

The bishop’s answer was in the same vein. —
主教的回答也是同样的语调。 —

Two or three days later Genji sent Koremitsu off to the northern hills.
两三天后，源氏派小纪光去北山。

“There is her nurse, the woman called Shōnagon. Have a good talk with her.”
“那里是她的护士，那个名叫凑的女人。好好和她谈谈吧。”

How very farsighted, thought Koremitsu, smiling at the thought of the girl they had seen that evening.
想到那天晚上见到的那个女孩，是多么有远见啊，想着这个，是惠光微笑了。

The bishop said that he was much honored to be in correspondence with Genji. Koremitsu was received by Shōnagon, and described Genji’s apparent state of mind in great detail. —
主教说他很荣幸能与玉凑通信。是惠光见到了凑，然后详细描述了玉凑的心情状态。 —

He was a persuasive young man and he made a convincing case, but to the nun and the others this suit for the hand of a mere child continued to seem merely capricious. —
他是一个有说服力的年轻人，他提出了一个令人信服的理由，但对于尼姑和其他人来说，这个对一个年幼女孩的求婚看起来仍然只是一时兴起而已。 —

Genji’s letter was warm and earnest. There was a note too for the girl:
玉凑的信很温暖而认真。还有一封给那个女孩的纸条：

“Let me see your first exercises at the brush.
“让我看看你的第一次练习。

“No Shallow Spring, this heart of mine, believe me.
“这颗心并不是浅浅的泉水，请相信。

And why must the mountain spring then seem so distant?”
“为什么山泉如此遥远呢?”

This was the nun’s reply:
这是尼姑的回答：

“You drink at the mountain stream, your thoughts turn elsewhere.
“你在山泉处饮水，心思却飘远。

Do you hope to see the image you thus disturb?”
你期待打断的倒映会是什么?”

Koremitsu’s report was no more encouraging. —
惠光的汇报并不乐观。 —

Shōnagon had said that they would be returning to the city when the nun was a little stronger and would answer him then.
凑说等尼姑身体好一点就会回城，并会在那时回复他。

Fujitsubo was ill and had gone home to her family. —
藤壶生病了，回家去找家人了。 —

Genji managed a sympathetic thought or two for his lonely father, but his thoughts were chiefly on the possibility of seeing Fujitsubo. —
惠光对他孤独的父亲有些同情，但他的思绪主要在想着能否见到藤壶。 —

He quite halted his visits to other ladies. —
他几乎停止了去拜访其他女士。 —

All through the day, at home and at court, he sat gazing off into space, and in the evening he would press Omyōbu to be his intermediary. —
整天无论在家还是在朝廷，他都坐在那里发呆，晚上则会请求大明妇来做他们之间的中介。 —

How she did it I do not know; but she contrived a meeting. —
她是如何做到的我不知道；但她设法让他们见面了。 —

It is sad to have to say that his earlier attentions, so unwelcome, no longer seemed real, and the mere thought that they had been successful was for Fujitsubo a torment. —
不得不说，他先前的关注虽然让人不悦，但现在却不再显得真实，这种想法对藤壁来说是一种折磨。 —

Determined that there would not be another meeting, she was shocked to find him in her presence again. —
她决定不会再见面，却震惊地发现他又出现在她面前。 —

She did not seek to hide her distress, and her efforts to turn him away delighted him even as they put him to shame. —
她并没有掩饰她的困扰，她试图驱逐他却让他开心，同时也令他感到羞愧。 —

There was no one else quite like her. In that fact was his undoing: —
没有人能比得上她。这个事实让他心神不宁： —

he would be less a prey to longing if he could find in her even a trace of the ordinary. —
如果他在她身上找到了一点点普通的痕迹，他可能就不会如此渴望了。 —

And the tumult of thoughts and feelings that now assailed him — he would have liked to consign it to the Mountain of Obscurity. —
此刻袭来的思绪和情感的混乱，他愿意把它全部忘却在湮灭山中。 —

It might have been better, he sighed, so short was the night, if he had not come at all.
他叹息道，时间如此短促，如果他根本没来或许会更好。

“So few and scattered the nights, so few the dreams.
“如此少又零散的黑夜，如此少的梦。”

Would that the dream tonight might take me with it.”
愿今夜之梦带走我。”

He was in tears, and she did, after all, have to feel sorry for him.
他在流泪，而她终究是得为他感到难过。

“Were I to disappear in the last of dreams
“若我在最后的梦里消失

Would yet my name live on in infamy?”
是否我的名字还会流传千古？”

She had every right to be unhappy, and he was sad for her. —
她很有理由不开心，他为她感到难过。 —

Omyōbu gathered his clothes and brought them out to him.
大名涂拾起他的衣服，拿出去给他。

Back at Nijō he spent a tearful day in bed. —
回到二条宫，他在床上度过了一个泪流满面的一天。 —

He had word from Omyōbu that her lady had not read his letter. —
他从大名涂那里得知她的主子还没有看到他的信。 —

So it always was, and yet he was hurt. He remained in distraught seclusion for several days. —
事情总是这样，但他心里很受伤。他愁云惨淡地独自躲开了数天。 —

The thought that his father might be wondering about his absence filled him with terror.
父亲可能正在想念他，这让他感到恐惧。

Lamenting the burden of sin that seemed to be hers, Fujitsubo was more and more unwell, and could not bestir herself, despite repeated messages summoning her back to court. —
负罪的沉重担子似乎压在了藤壶身上，她的病情越来越重，虽然一再有传讯召她回宫，她却无法奋起。 —

She was not at all her usual self — and what was to become of her? —
她丝毫不像平时那样 — 她的命运会怎样呢？ —

She took to her bed as the weather turned warmer. —
天气变暖后，她开始卧床不起。 —

Three months had now passed and her condition was clear; —
三个月已经过去，她的病情显而易见； —

and the burden of sin now seemed to have made it necessary that she submit to curious and reproving stares. —
罪孽的沉重似乎使她必须忍受怪异而指责的目光。 —

Her women thought her behavior very curious indeed. —
她的侍女们觉得她的举止非常奇怪。 —

Why had she let so much time pass without informing the emperor? —
她为什么让这么长时间过去了还不告诉皇帝呢？ —

There was of course a crucial matter of which she spoke to no one. —
当然，有一件关键的事情她没有告诉任何人。 —

Ben, the daughter of her old nurse, and Omyōbu, both of whom were very close to her and attended her in the bath, had ample opportunity to observe her condition. —
她老时护士的女儿悲哀和大名涂，这两人都与她很亲近，陪她洗澡，有充分机会观察她的状况。 —

Omyōbu was aghast. Her lady had been trapped by the harshest of fates. —
大名主惊讶万分。她的女主被困在了最残酷的命运中。 —

The emperor would seem to have been informed that a malign spirit had possession of her, and to have believed the story, as did the court in general. —
皇帝似乎得知了一个邪恶的灵魂占据了她的身体，并相信了这个故事，就像整个朝廷一样。 —

He sent a constant stream of messengers, which terrified her and allowed no pause in her sufferings.
他派出了源源不断的使者，这让她感到恐惧，没有让她的痛苦有任何间歇。

Genji had a strange, rather awful dream. He consulted a soothsayer, who said that it portended events so extraordinary as to be almost unthinkable.
源氏做了一个奇怪而可怕的梦。他请教了一个占卜师，后者说这个梦预示了一系列非常不可思议的事件。

“It contains bad omens as well. You must be careful.”
“它包含了坏兆头。你必须小心。”

“It was not my own dream but a friend’s. —
“这不是我的梦，而是朋友的。 —

We will see whether it comes true, and in the meantime you must keep it to yourself.”
我们将看看它是否会实现，同时你必须保密。”

What could it mean? He heard of Fujitsubo’s condition, thought of their night together, and wondered whether the two might be related. —
这意味着什么？他听说了藤壶的状况，想起了他们在一起的那个夜晚，不禁怀疑这两件事是否有关。 —

He exhausted his stock of pleas for another meeting. —
他用尽了种种理由请求再次见面。 —

Horrified that matters were so out of hand, Omyōbu could do nothing for him. —
在事情如此失控的情况下，大名主无能为力。 —

He had on rare occasions had a brief note, no more than a line or two; —
他偶尔收到一两行简短的便条； —

but now even these messages ceased coming.
但现在甚至这些消息也停止了。

Fujitsubo returned to court in the Seventh Month. The emperor’s affection for her had only grown in her absence. —
藤壶在七月份回到了朝廷。皇帝对她的感情在她离开期间只增不减。 —

Her condition was now apparent to everyone. —
现在她的状况已经显而易见。 —

A slight emaciation made her beauty seem if anything nearer perfection, and the emperor kept her always at his side. —
轻微的消瘦让她的美貌看起来更加完美，皇帝总是让她待在他身边。 —

The skies as autumn approached called more insistently for music. —
当秋天临近时，天空更加迫切地呼唤着音乐。 —

Keeping Genji too beside him, the emperor had him try his hand at this and that instrument. —
皇帝让源氏坐在他身边，试着弹奏各种乐器。 —

Genji struggled to control himself, but now and then a sign of his scarcely bearable feelings did show through, to remind the lady of what she wanted more than anything to forget.
源氏努力控制自己，但时不时地他难以忍受的感情表现出来，提醒着那位女士她最希望忘记的事情。

Somewhat improved, the nun had returned to the city. —
修好一些后，尼姑已经回到城市。 —

Genji had someone make inquiry about her residence and wrote from time to time. —
源氏打探了一下她的住所，并不时写信给她。 —

It was natural that her replies should show no lessening of her opposition, but it did not worry Genji as it once had. —
她的回信自然地表现出了对他的反对，并没有让源氏对此感到担忧，就像从前那样。 —

He had more considerable worries. His gloom was deeper as autumn came to a close. —
当秋天渐行渐近，他的忧郁加深了。 —

One beautiful moonlit night he collected himself for a visit to a place he had been visiting in secret. —
一个美丽月光下的夜晚，他鼓起勇气前往他一直秘密造访的地方。 —

A cold, wintry shower passed. The address was in Rokujō, near the eastern limits of the city, and since he had set out from the palace the way seemed a long one. —
一场寒冷的冬雨过去了。那个地址在六条附近，靠近城市的东部边界，自从他离开宫殿以来，这条路似乎漫长而曲折。 —

He passed a badly neglected house, the garden dark with ancient trees.
他经过了一座状况糟糕的房子，园子里长满了古老的树木。

“The inspector’s house,” said Koremitsu, who was always with him. —
“那是巡查员的房子，”总是跟随在他身边的是是是说。 —

“I called there with a message not long ago. —
“我不久前去那里送过话。” —

The old lady has declined so shockingly that they can’t think what to do for her.”
“老夫人的状态下降得太严重了，他们束手无策。”

“You should have told me. I should have looked in on her. Ask, please, if she will see me.”
“你应该告诉我才对。我本该去看望她的。请问，她愿意见我吗。”

Koremitsu sent a man in with the message.
是是是诗等等送了一个人去传话。

The women had not been expecting a caller, least of all such a grand one. —
这些妇女并没有料到会有客人来访，更不用说是这样一个尊贵的客人了。 —

For some days the old lady had seemed beyond helping, and they feared that she would be unable to receive him. —
几天来，老太太看起来无法帮助了，他们担心她可能无法见到他。 —

But they could hardly turn such a gentleman away — and so a cushion was put out for him in the south room.
但是他们几乎无法拒绝这样一个绅士——于是在南房间为他放了一个坐垫。

“My lady says that she fears you will find it cluttered and dirty, but she is determined at least to thank you for coming. —
“我夫人说她担心你会觉得这里凌乱肮脏，但她决心至少要感谢你前来。 —

You must find the darkness and gloom unlike anything you have known.”
你一定会觉得这样黑暗阴郁是你从未经历过的。”

And indeed he could not have denied that he was used to something rather different.
而事实上，他不能否认自己习惯了相当不同的环境。

“You have been constantly on my mind, but your reserve has it difficult for me to call. —
“你一直在我心里，但是你的保守让我难以拜访。 —

I am sorry that I did not know sooner of illness.”
很抱歉，我早些不知道你生病。”

“I have been ill for a very long time, but in this last extremity — it was good of him to come. —
“我病了很长一段时间，但在这最后的时刻——他来看我真是太好了。 —

” He caught the sad, faltering tones as she gave the message to one of her women. —
”他听到她带着悲伤、支吾的语调把信息传递给她的一个女人。 —

“I am sorry that I cannot receive him properly. —
“很抱歉，我接待不周。 —

As for the matter he has raised, I hope that he will still count the child among those important to him when she is no longer a child. —
至于他提到的事情，我希望当她不再是个孩子时，他仍然把这个孩子视为重要的人之一。 —

The thought of leaving her uncared for must, I fear, create obstacles along the road I yearn to travel. —
考虑到留下她无人照料的想法恐怕会在我渴望走的道路上造成障碍。 —

But tell him, please, how good it was of him. —
但请告诉他，他的到来真是太好了。 —

I wish the child were old enough to thank him too.”
我希望这个孩子已经大了能亲自感谢他。”

“Can you believe,” he sent back, “that I would put myself in this embarrassing position if I were less than serious? —
“你能相信吗，”他回复道，“如果我不是认真的话，我会把自己置于这种令人尴尬的位置吗？ —

There must be a bond between us, that I should have been so drawn to her since I first heard of her. It all seems so strange. —
“我们之间一定有一种纽带，自从我第一次听说她以来我就如此被她吸引。一切都显得如此奇怪。 —

The beginnings of it must have been in a different world. —
“它的开始一定是在另一个世界。 —

I will feel that I have come in vain if I cannot hear the sound of her young voice.”
“如果我不能听到她年轻的声音，我会觉得自己来是徒劳。”

“She is asleep. She did not of course know that you were coming.”
“她正在睡觉。她当然不知道你要来。”

But just then someone came scampering into the room. —
但就在那时，有人跑进了房间。 —

“Grandmother, they say the gentleman we saw at the temple is here. Why don’t you go out and talk to him?”
“奶奶，他们说我们在寺庙见过的那位绅士在这里。你为什么不出去和他说话呢？”

The women tried to silence her.
女人们试图让她安静下来。

“But why? She said the very sight of him made her feel better. I heard
“但是为什么呢？她说看到他就觉得好受多了。我听说

Though much amused, Genji pretended not to hear. —
尽管很好笑，源氏装作没听到。 —

After proper statements of sympathy he made his departure. —
表达了适当的同情之后，他离开了。 —

Yes, she did seem little more than an infant. —
是的，她看起来几乎只是一个幼儿。 —

He would be her teacher.
他将成为她的老师。

The next day he sent a letter inquiring after the old lady, and with it a tightly folded note for the girl:
第二天，他送去了一封询问老太太情况的信，信封里还夹着一张密封的便条给那个女孩：

“Seeking to follow the call of the nestling crane
“寻找小鹤鸣召唤的声音”

The open boat is lost among the reeds.
小船迷失在芦苇丛中。

“And comes again and again to you?”
“而且一次又一次地来到你面前？”

He wrote it in a childish hand, which delighted the women. —
他用一个让女人们感到高兴的孩子气的手写成了它。 —

The child was to model her own hand upon it, no detail changed, they said.
他说小女孩应该按照它来模仿她自己的手，不改变任何细节。

Shōnagon sent a very sad answer: “It seems doubtful that my lady, after whom you were so kind as to inquire, will last the day. —
女将军送来了一封非常悲伤的回信：“我家主，您曾经这么亲切地询问的人，看来很难支撑到今天。 —

We are on the point of sending her off to the mountains once more. —
我们正打算再次送她上山去。 —

I know that she will thank you from another world.”
我知道她会在另一个世界里感谢您。”

In the autumn evening, his thoughts on his unattainable love, he longed more than ever, unnatural though the wish may have seemed, for the company of the little girl who sprang from the same roots. —
在秋天的傍晚，他想起了自己无法得到的爱，他比以往任何时候都更渴望，尽管这个愿望可能看起来很不自然，他渴望与那个与他同根的小女孩在一起。 —

The thought of the evening when the old nun had described herself as dew holding back from the heavens made him even more impatient — and at the same time he feared that if he were to bring the girl to Nijō he would be disappointed in her.
老尼姑把自己比作天上凝聚的露珠的那个夜晚的描述让他更加焦躁——与此同时他也担心如果他把女孩带到二条，他会对她失望。

“I long to have it, to bring it in from the moor,
“我渴望拥有它，从荒地上把它带回来，

The lavender that shares its roots with another.”
与另一个共享根基的薰衣草。”

In the Tenth Month the emperor was to visit the Suzaku palace. —
十月里，皇帝要参观朱雀殿。 —

–>From all the great families and the middle and upper courtly ranks the most accomplished musicians and dancers were selected to go with him, and grandees and princes of the blood were busy at the practice that best suited their talents. —
–>从所有大家族和中上层宫廷阶级中挑选出最优秀的音乐家和舞蹈家和他一起去，大臣和王子们都在忙着练习适合自己才能的节目。 —

Caught up in the excitement, Genji was somewhat remiss in inquiring after the nun.
被这兴奋所困扰，源氏有些疏忽了打听那个尼姑的消息。

When, finally, he sent off a messenger to the northern hills, a sad reply came from the bishop: —
最终，当他派人去北山询问时，主教送来了一封悲伤的回复： —

“We lost her toward the end of last month. —
“我们在上个月的末尾失去了她。 —

It is the way of the world, I know, and yet I am sad.”
这是世界的方式，我知道，但我感到伤心。”

If the news shocked even him into a new awareness of evanescence, thought Genji, how must it be for the little girl who had so occupied the nun’s thoughts? —
如果新闻甚至让他也震惊到了对不稳定性的新认识，源氏想，那么对这位修女将思念地对小姑娘的感受会是怎样呢？ —

Young though she was, she must feel utterly lost. —
她虽然年幼，但一定感到无比迷茫。 —

He remembered, though dimly how it had been when his mother died, and he sent off an earnest letter of sympathy. —
他依稀记得母亲去世时的情形，于是写了一封诚挚的慰问信。 —

Shōnagon’s answer seemed rather warmer. —
紫式部的回信似乎更加热情。 —

He went calling on an evening when he had nothing else to occupy him, some days after he learned that the girl had come out of mourning and returned to the city. —
一个没什么事的傍晚，他前去拜访，几天前他得知小姑娘结束了服丧期，返回城里。 —

The house was badly kept and almost deserted. The poor child must be terrified, he thought. —
房子打理很不好，几乎荒废。可怜的孩子一定害怕，他想。 —

He was shown to the same room as before. —
他被带到了之前的同一个房间。 —

Sobbing, Shōnagon told him of the old lady’s last days. —
紫式部抽泣着告诉他老太太的最后时光。 —

Genji too was in tears.
源氏也哭了。

“My young lady’s father would seem to have indicated a willingness to take her in, but she is at such an uncomfortable age, not quite a child and still without the discernment of an adult; —
“我的小姑娘的父亲似乎表示愿意接她，但她正值尴尬的年纪，不是小孩子，还没有成年人的眼光； —

and the thought of having her in the custody of the lady who was so cruel to her mother is too awful. —
让她留在对她母亲如此残忍的女人的监护下太可怕了。 —

Her sisters will persecute her dreadfully, I know. —
她的姐妹们会残酷地迫害她，我知道。 —

The fear of it never left my lady’s mind, and we have had too much evidence that the fear was not groundless. —
对此的担忧从未离开过我的小姐的脑海，我们太多次有证据表明，这种担忧并不是没有根据的。 —

We have been grateful for your expressions of interest, though we have hesitated to take them seriously. —
我们对你们表示的兴趣表示感激，尽管我们一直没有认真对待。 —

I must emphasize that my young lady is not at all what you must think her to be. —
我必须强调，我的年轻女士并不是你们认为的样子。 —

I fear that we have done badly by her, and that our methods have left her childish even for her years.”
我担心我们对她做得不好，我们的方式让她的孩子气甚至超过了她的年龄。

“Must you continue to be so reticent and apologetic? —
“你是否必须继续如此含蓄和道歉？ —

I have made my own feelings clear, over and over again. —
我已经一遍又一遍地表达了我的感受。 —

It is precisely the childlike quality that delights me most and makes me think I must have her for my own. —
正是这种孩子气的品质让我最为愉悦，让我觉得我必须拥有她。 —

You may think me complacent and self-satisfied for saying so, but I feel sure that we were joined in a former life. —
你可能认为我自满和自鸣得意，但我确信我们在前世就已经结合在一起了。 —

Let me speak to her, please.
让我和她谈谈，好吗。

“Rushes hide the sea grass at Wakanoura.
“若求禾苇藏湾浦，

Must the waves that seek it out turn back to sea?
海浪馈赠铺归处？

“That would be too much to ask of them.”
“这对它们实在是太过分要求了。”

“The grass at Wakanoura were rash indeed
“藏湾浦的草，

To follow waves that go it knows not whither.
不能追随那去不知何方的海浪，

“It would be far, far too much to ask.”
“这实在是太过分了。”

The easy skill with which she turned her poem made it possible for him to forgive its less than encouraging significance. —
她在诗中巧妙转折的能力让他能原谅那不太令人鼓舞的含义。 —

“After so many years,” he whispered, “the gate still holds me back.”
“经过这么多年，”他低声说道，“这扇门依然拦住了我。”

The girl lay weeping for her grandmother. —
姑娘躺在那里为她的奶奶哭泣。 —

Her playmates came to tell her that a gentleman in court dress was with Shōnagon. —
她的玩伴们过来告诉她，一位身穿宫廷装束的绅士正和承香殿在一起。 —

perhaps it would be her father?
或许这会是她的父亲吗？

She came running in. “Where is the gentleman, Shōnagon? Is Father here?”
她跑进来。“绅士在哪里，承香殿？父亲在这里吗？”

What a sweet voice she had!
她的声音多么甜美啊！

“I’m not your father, but I’m someone just as important. Come here.”
“我不是你的父亲，但我和他一样重要。过来。”

She saw that it was the other gentleman, and child though she was, she flushed at having spoken out of turn. —
她看到那位是其他绅士，作为一个孩子，她对自己说话失礼感到有些尴尬。 —

“Let’s go.” She tugged at Shōnagon’s sleeve. —
“走吧。” 她拉着承香殿的袖子。 —

“Let’s go. I’m sleepy.”
“走吧。我困了。”

“Do you have to keep hiding yourself from me? Come here. You can sleep on my knee.”
“你一直要躲着我吗？过来吧。你可以睡在我的膝盖上。”

“She is really very young, sir.” But Shōnagon urged the child forward, and she knelt obediently just inside the blinds.
“她还很小，先生。” 但承香殿催促着那孩子靠近，她顺从地跪在障子里。

He ran his hand over a soft, rumpled robe, and, a delight to the touch, hair full and rich to its farthest ends. —
他抚摸着柔软、凌乱的袍子，头发丰盈浓密，触感上令人愉悦。 —

He took her hand. She pulled away — for he was, after all, a stranger.
他握住了她的手。她挣脱了 — 毕竟他是一个陌生人。

“I said I’m sleepy.” She went back to Shōnagon.
“我说我困了。” 她回到承香殿那里。

He slipped in after her. “I am the one you must look to now. You must not be shy with me.”
他跟在她身后溜了进去。“现在你必须看着我。你不必害羞。”

“Please, sir. You forget yourself. You forget yourself completely. —
“先生，请你收敛一些。你完全忘了自己。 —

She is simply not old enough to understand what you have in mind.”
她根本还太小，无法理解你心中所想。”

“It is you who do not understand. I see how young she is, and I have nothing of the sort in mind. —
“你误会了。我看得出她是多么年轻，我心目中并没有这种打算。 —

I must again ask you to be witness to the depth and purity of my feelings.”
我必须再次请你作证我情感的深意和纯真。”

It was a stormy night. Sleet was pounding against the roof.
那是一个暴风雨的夜晚。雨夹雪砸在屋顶上。

“How can she bear to live in such a lonely place? It must be awful for her. —
“她怎么能忍受生活在这样一个孤寂的地方？对她来说一定很糟糕。 —

” Tears came to his eyes. He could not leave her. “I will be your watchman. —
泪水涌上他的眼眶。他无法离开她。“我会成为你的守护者。 —

You need one on a night like this. Come close to me, all of you.
在这样的夜晚，你们需要一个守夜人。靠近我，你们都。

Quite as if he belonged there, he slipped into the girl’s bedroom. —
他轻而易举地溜入女孩的卧室。 —

The women were astounded, Shōnagon more than the rest. He must be mad! —
那些女人目瞪口呆，尤其是碎葉更是如此。他一定是疯了！ —

But she was in no position to protest. Genji pulled a singlet over the girl, who was trembling like a leaf. —
但由于无法抗议，她也没处可去。源氏给女孩穿上一件汗衫，她在颤抖如叶子。 —

Yes, he had to admit that his behavior must seem odd; —
是的，他不得不承认自己的行为似乎有些奇怪； —

but, trying very hard not to frighten her, he talked of things he thought would interest her.
但他竭尽全力不要吓到她，谈论他认为会吸引她兴趣的事物。

“You must come to my house. I have all sorts of pictures, and there are dolls for you to play with.”
“你必须来我家。我有各种图片，还有玩具娃娃可以让你玩。”

She was less frightened than at first, but she still could not sleep. —
她比起一开始更不那么害怕了，但她仍然无法入睡。 —

The storm blew all through the night, and Shōnagon quite refused to budge from their side. —
暴风雨一整夜都在吹，小书童坚决不离开他们身边。 —

They would surely have perished of fright, whispered the women, if they had not had him with them. —
如果没有他与她们同在，那些女人们肯定会惊吓而死。 —

What a pity their lady was not a little older!
要是她们的主人再大一点就好了！

It was still dark when the wind began to subside and he made his departure, and all the appearances were as of an amorous expedition. —
风停下来的时候还很黑，他便离开了，一切看起来都像是一次恋爱的远行。 —

“What I have seen makes me very sad and convinces me that she must not be out of my sight. —
“我看到的让我非常难过，也让我确信她不能离开我的视线。 —

She must come and live with me and share my lonely days. —
她必须来和我住在一起，分享我的孤独日子。 —

This place is quite impossible. You must be in constant tenor.”
这个地方简直不可行。你必须常常提心吊胆。”

“Her father has said that he will come for her. —
“她的父亲说他会来接她。 —

I believe it is to be after the memorial services.”
我相信是在举行追悼仪式之后。”

“Yes, we must think of him. But they have lived apart, and he must be as much of a stranger as I am. —
“是的，我们得想到他。但他们一直分开，他对她一定和我一样陌生。 —

I really do believe that in this very short time my feelings for her are stronger than his. —
我真的相信在这短时间内，我对她的感情比他更浓烈。 —

” He patted the girl on the head and looked back smiling as he left.
” 他轻拍那女孩的头，微笑着离开时回头看了一眼。

There was a heavy mist and the ground was white. —
大雾弥漫，地面覆盖着白霜。 —

Had he been on his way from a visit to a woman, he would have found the scene very affecting; —
如果他正从拜访女人的路上归来，他会觉得这景象非常动人； —

but as it was he was vaguely depressed. Passing the house of a woman he had been seeing in secret, he had someone knock on the gate. —
但是实际上他感到有些沮丧。经过他暗地里见过的一个女人的房子时，他让一个人敲了门。 —

There was no answer, and so he had someone else from his retinue, a man of very good voice, chant this poem twice in tones that could not fail to attract attention:
没有回应，于是他让他的随从里的另一个有很好嗓音的男人用引人注目的声调吟唱这首诗两次:

“Lost though I seem to be in the mists of dawn,
“尽管我似乎迷失在晨雾之中，

I see your gate, and cannot pass it by.”
我看见了你的大门，不能不驻足。”

She sent out an ordinary maid who seemed, however, to be a woman of some sensibility:
她派出了一个普通的使女，但似乎是一个有些感性的女人:

“So difficult to pass? Then do come in.
“难道路过这里很困难吗？那就请进吧。

No obstacle at all, this gate of grass.”
这大门草草就可打开。”

Something more was needed to end the night, but dawn was approaching. —
需要更多的事情来结束这个夜晚，但黎明即将到来。 —

Back at Nijō, he lay smiling at the memory of the girl. —
回到二条城，他躺在那里，微笑着想起那个女孩。 —

The sun was high when he arose and set about composing a letter. —
当他起床时，太阳已经很高了，他开始写一封信。 —

A rather special sort of poem seemed called for, but he laid his brush aside and deliberated for a time, and presently sent some pictures.
一种非常特别的诗似乎是必要的，但是他放下毛笔思考了一会儿，随后寄去了一些图片。

Looking in on his daughter that same day, prince Hyōbu found the house vaster and more cavernous than he had remembered it, and the decay astonishingly advanced since the grandmother’s death.
同一天探望他的女儿时，兵部卿王发现这座房子比他记忆中更加宽敞和洞穴般，并且自从祖母去世以来，衰败的程度惊人地加剧了。

“How can you bear it for even a moment? You must come and live with me. I have plenty of room. —
“你怎么能忍受片刻？你必须和我一起住。我这里有大量的空间。 —

And Nurse here can have a room of her own. —
保姆在这里可以有一个房间。 —

There are other little girls, and I am sure you will get on beautifully together. —
还有其他的小女孩，我相信你们会相处得很好。” —

” Genji’s perfume had been transferred to the child. “What a beautiful smell. —
“玉环的香气已传递给了孩子。”多么美丽的气味。 —

But see how rumpled and ragged you are. I did not like the idea of having you with an ailing lady and wanted you to come and live with me. —
“但是你看起来皱巴巴的，破破烂烂的。我不喜欢你待在一个有病的女士身边，想让你来和我住。” —

But you held back so, and I have to admit that the lady who is to be your mother has not been happy at the idea herself. —
“但是你却犹豫不定，我不得不承认，将要成为你母亲的那位女士对这个想法也并不开心。” —

It seems very sad that we should have waited for this to happen.”
“我们竟然要等到这件事发生才意识到，太令人伤心了。”

“Please, my lord. We may be lonely, but it will be better for us to remain as we are at least for a time. —
“求您，我主。我们可能会很孤独，但暂时保持现状对我们来说会更好。 —

It will be better for us to wait until she is a little older and understands things better. —
“等她再大一点，对事情有更多了解时再说会更好。 —

She grieves for her grandmother and quite refuses to eat.”
“她为奶奶悲痛欲绝，完全不愿意进食。”

She was indeed thinner, but more graceful and elegant.
她变得更瘦了，但更加优雅和端庄。

“Why must she go on grieving? Her grandmother is gone, and that is that. She still has me. —
“为什么她还要继续悲痛？她的奶奶已经走了，就是这样。她还有我。” —

” It was growing dark. The girl wept to see him go, and he too was in tears. —
天色渐黑。女孩哭着看着他离去，他也泪流满面。 —

“You mustn’t be sad. Please. You mustn’t be sad. —
“你不能伤心。请。你不能伤心。 —

I will send for you tomorrow at the very latest.”
我最迟明天会派人去接你。”

She was inconsolable when he had gone, and beyond thinking about her own future. —
他走后，她伤心欲绝，超出了对自己未来的思考。 —

She was old enough to know what it meant, that the lady who had never left her was now gone. —
她已经足够了解其含义，那位从未离开过她的女士现在离去了。 —

Her playmates no longer interested her. She somehow got through the daylight hours, but in the evening she gave herself up to tears, and Shōnagon and the others wept at their inability to comfort her. —
她的玩伴已经不再吸引她。白天她还能勉强坚持，但到了晚上就会沉浸在眼泪中，凤丹和其他人为无法安慰她而感到悲伤。 —

How, they asked one another, could they possibly go on?
彼此问道，他们究竟怎么继续下去呢？

Genji sent Koremitsu to make excuses. He wanted very much to call, but he had received an ill-timed summons from the palace.
源赖光派小光去打个招呼。他十分想去，但接到了宫中一个不合时宜的召唤。

“Has he quite forgotten his manners?” said Shōnagon. —
“他是不是忘了他的礼数？”紫式部说。 —

“I know very well that this is not as serious an affair for him as for us, but a man is expected to call regularly at the beginning of any affair. —
“我很清楚，对他来说，这件事不像对我们那样严重，但一个男人应该在任何关系的开始定期登门拜访。 —

Her father, if he hears of it, will think that we have managed very badly indeed. —
如果她父亲听说了，会认为我们处理得极其糟糕。 —

You are young, my lady, but you must not speak of it to anyone. —
你还年轻，我的女士，但你不能对任何人提及此事。 —

” But the girl was not listening as attentively as Shōnagon would have wished.
然而，那女孩并没有像紫式部希望的那样听得那么仔细。

Koremitsu was permitted a hint or two of their worries. —
光允许稍微透露一两个他们的担忧。 —

“Perhaps when the time comes we will be able to tell ourselves that what must be must be, but at the moment the incompatibility overshadows everything. —
“也许到时候我们能告诉自己，必须发生的事情必定会发生，但此刻这种不协调盖过了一切。 —

And your lord says and does such extraordinary things. —
你的主人说和做的事情真是奇怪。 —

Her father came today and did not improve matters by telling us that nothing must be permitted to happen. —
她的父亲今天来了，告诉我们任何问题都不能发生也没让事情好转。 —

What could be worse than your lord’s way of doing things? —
有什么比你的主人的做法更糟糕的呢？ —

” She was keeping her objections to a minimum, however, for she did not want Koremitsu to think that anything of real importance had occurred.
然而，她尽量减少异议，因为她不想让小光认为发生了真正重要的事情。

Puzzled, Koremitsu returned to Nijō and reported upon what he had seen and heard. —
小光困惑地回到二条，报告他所见所闻。 —

Genji was touched, though not moved to pay a visit. —
源赖光感动了，但并未被打动而前去拜访。 —

He was worried about rumors and the imputation of recklessness and frivolity that was certain to go with them. —
他担心谣言和随之而来的荣誉和轻浮的指责。 —

He must bring the girl to Nijō.
他必须把女孩带到二条。

He sent several notes, and in the evening dispatched Koremitsu, his most faithful and reliable messenger. —
他送去了几张纸条，并在晚上派遣了他最忠实可靠的信使惟光。 —

Certain obstacles prevented Genji’s calling in person, said Koremitsu, but they must not be taken to suggest a want of seriousness.
惟光说，有一些障碍阻止了源氏亲自前来，但不能因此认为他不认真。

“Her royal father has said that he will come for her tomorrow. We are feeling rather pressed. —
“她的皇家父亲说他明天会来接她。我们感到时间有限。 —

It is sad, after all, to leave a familiar place, however shabby and weedy it may be. —
无论多么破旧和杂草丛生，离开一个熟悉的地方总是令人伤感。 —

You must forgive us. We are not entirely ourselves.”
请谅解我们。我们现在不是完全受自己控制。”

She gave him short shrift. He could see that they were busy at needle-work and other preparations.
她对他无动于衷。他看到她们正忙着做针线活和其他准备工作。

Genji was at his father-in-law’s house in Sanjō. His wife was as always slow to receive him. —
源氏在三条的岳父家。他的妻子一如往常迟迟不见他。 —

In his boredom and annoyance he took out a Japanese koto and pleasantly hummed “The Field in Hitachi. —
在无聊和恼怒中，他拿出了一把日本箜篌，愉快地哼唱着《常陸野》。 —

” Then came Koremitsu’s unsettling report. He must act. —
接着惟光带来令人不安的报告。他必须行动了。 —

If he were to take her from her father’s house, he would be called a lecher and a child thief. He must swear the women to secrecy and bring her to Nijō immediately.
如果他要把她从她父亲家带走，他会被称为情色狂和掠夺儿童者。他必须让这些女人发誓保守秘密，并立即把她带到二条。

“I will go early in the morning. Have my carriage left as it is, and order a guard, no more than a man or two.”
“我明天一早会去。让我的马车照旧放着，再派一个护卫，不要多于一两个人。”

Koremitsu went to see that these instructions were carried out. Genji knew that he was taking risks. —
惟光去看这些指示是否得到执行。源氏知道自己在冒风险。 —

People would say that his appetites were altogether too varied. —
人们会说他的欲望太过广泛。 —

If the girl were a little older he would be credited with having made a conquest, and that would be that. —
如果这位女孩再大一点，他将被认为是征服了她，那就是这样。 —

Though Prince Hyōbu would be very upset indeed, Genji knew that he must not let the child go. —
虽然兵部卿会非常沮丧，源氏知道他不能放走这个孩子。 —

It was still dark when he set out. His wife had no more than usual to say to him.
在他出发时天还很黑。他的妻子没有比往常更多的话要对他说。

“I have just remembered some business at Nijō that absolutely has to be taken care of. —
“我突然想起有些要在二条处理的事情，一定要处理好。” —

I should not be long.”
我不会花很长时间。”

Her women did not even know that he had gone. —
她的侍女们甚至不知道他已经离开。 —

He went to his own rooms and changed to informal court dress. —
他去了自己的房间，换上了便服。 —

Koremitsu alone was on horseback.
光明子骑在马上。

When they reached their destination one of his men pounded on the gate. —
当他们到达目的地时，他的一个下人敲击了大门。 —

Ignorant of what was afoot, the porter allowed Genji’s carriage to be pulled inside. —
没有注意到正在发生的事，守门人容许源氏的车辆驶入院内。 —

Koremitsu went to a corner door and coughed. Shōnagon came out.
光明子走到一个角落的门口咳嗽。示那言出来。

“My lord is here.”
“我的主人在这里。”

“And my lady is asleep. You pick strange hours for your visits. —
“而我的女主人正在睡觉。你选择了奇怪的时间来访。 —

” Shōnagon suspected that he was on his way home from an amorous adventure.
” 示例怀疑他是从一次风流韵事回家的路上。

Genji had joined Koremitsu.
源氏加入了光明子。

“There is something I must say to her before she goes to her father’s.”
“在她去父亲那里之前，我必须对她说一些话。”

Shōnagon smiled. “And no doubt she will have many interesting things to say in reply.”
晶言公微笑着说道：“毫无疑问，她也会有很多有趣的回应。”

He pushed his way inside.
他挤进了屋内。

“Please, sir. We were not expecting anyone. The old women are a dreadful sight.”
“先生，请。我们并没有预料到有人来访。那些老妇人看起来很可怕。”

“I will go wake her. The morning mist is too beautiful for sleep.”
“让我们走吧。清晨的薄雾太美丽了，不应该浪费在睡觉上。”

He went into her bedroom, where the women were too surprised to cry out. —
他走进她的卧室，那里的妇人们惊讶得无法喊出声来。 —

He took her in his arms and smoothed her hair. —
他将她搂在怀里，抚平她的头发。 —

Her father had come for her, she thought, only half awake.
她以为是她父亲来接她了，只有半睡半醒。

“Let’s go. I have come from your father’s. —
“走吧。我是从你父亲那里来的。” —

” She was terrified when she saw that it was not after all her father. “You are not being nice. —
当她看到其实并不是她父亲时，她感到害怕。“你不友好。” —

I have told you that you must think of me as your father. —
我已经告诉过你，你必须将我当作你的父亲。 —

” And he carried her out.
然后他将她抱走。

A chorus of protests now came from Shōnagon and the others.
此时，晶言等人开始一起抗议。

“I have explained things quite well enough. —
“我已经解释得足够清楚了。” —

I have told you how difficult it is for me to visit her and how I want to have her in a more comfortable and accessible spot; —
我已经告诉过你，我找他很困难，我希望她在一个更舒适、更方便的地方。” —

and your way of making things easier is to send her off to her father. —
把她送给她父亲，这样就会方便些。 —

One of you may come along, if you wish.”
“如果你们愿意，你们中的一位可以跟来。”

“Please, sir.” Shōnagon was wringing her hands. “You could not have chosen a worse time. —
“先生，请原谅。” 小野左内揪着衣角说道。“这个时候选这个时候实在不太好。 —

What are we to say when her father comes? —
当她父亲来接她时我们该怎么说呢？ —

If it is her fate to be your lady, then perhaps something can be done when the time comes. —
如果她注定要成为您的女士，也许到时候可以有所作为。 —

This is too sudden, and you put us in an extremely difficult position.”
这太突然了，您把我们置于一个极为困难的境地。”

“You can come later if you wish.”
“如果你愿意的话，以后再来。”

His carriage had been brought up. The women were fluttering about helplessly and the child was sobbing. —
他的马车已经拉过来了。女子们束手无策，孩子哭泣。 —

Seeing at last that there was nothing else to be done, Shōnagon took up several of the robes they had been at work on the night before, changed to presentable clothes of her own, and got into the carriage.
最终明白别无选择，小野左内拿起前一天晚上她们做的几件衣裳，换上了整洁的衣服，并上了车。

It was still dark when they reached Nijō, only a short distance away. —
在到达二条时，天还是很黑。 —

Genji ordered the carriage brought up to the west wing and took the girl inside.
源氏命人把马车开到西厢，带着女孩进去。

“It is like a nightmare,” said Shōnagon. “What am I to do?”
“这简直像一场噩梦，”小野左内说。“我该怎么办呢？”

“Whatever you like. I can have someone see you home if you wish.”
“你想怎么样都行。我可以让人送你回家。”

Weeping helplessly, poor Shōnagon got out of the carriage. —
可怜的小野左内无助地哭泣着下了马车。 —

What would her lady’s father think when he came for her? —
当她的主人父亲前来接她时会怎么想呢？ —

And what did they now have to look forward to? —
他们现在有什么期待？ —

The saddest thing was to be left behind by one’s protectors. —
最悲伤的是被自己的保护者抛下。 —

But tears did not augur well for the new life. —
但眼泪并不是新生活的好兆头。 —

With an effort she pulled herself together.
她努力让自己振作起来。

Since no one was living in this west wing, there was no curtained bedchamber. —
由于没有人住在这栋西厢，所以没有帘子的卧室。 —

Genji had Koremitsu put up screens and curtains, sent someone else to the east wing for bedding, and lay down. —
源氏让是首先鸣的设置屏风和帘子，派其他人去东厢找寝具，然后躺下。 —

Though trembling violently, the girl managed to keep from sobbing aloud.
尽管颤抖不已，女孩设法忍住没有哭出声来。

“I always sleep with Shōnagon,” she said softly in childish accents.
“我总是和昭南言一起睡觉，”她用幼稚的口音轻声说道。

“Imagine a big girl like you still sleeping with her nurse.”
“想象一下像你这样的大女孩还和保姆一起睡觉。”

Weeping quietly, the girl lay down.
女孩默默地哭了起来躺下。

Shōnagon sat up beside them, looking out over the garden as dawn came on. —
昭南坐在他们身旁，凝视着园林，黎明即将到来。 —

The buildings and grounds were magnificent, and the sand in the garden was like jewels. —
建筑和庭院是宏伟的，园中的沙砾如宝石。 —

Not used to such affluence, she was glad there were no other women in this west wing. —
不习惯这样的富裕，她很高兴这栋西厢里没有别的女人。 —

It was here that Genji received occasional callers. —
源氏在这里接待偶尔前来的客人。 —

A few guards beyond the blinds were the only attendants.
帷幕外面只有几名护卫。

They were speculating on the identity of the lady he had brought with him. —
他们在猜测他带来的那位女士的身份。 —

“Someone worth looking at, you can bet.”
“可以肯定是一个值得一看的人。”

Water pitchers and breakfast were brought in. The sun was high when Genji arose. —
水壶和早餐被端了进来。当源氏起床时，太阳已经很高了。 —

“You will need someone to take care of you. —
“你需要有人照顾你。 —

Suppose you send this evening for the ones you like best. —
今晚可以叫来你最喜欢的人。 —

” He asked that children be sent from the east wing to play with her. —
” 他要求从东厢房派人过来陪她玩。 —

“Pretty little girls, please.” Four little girls came in, very pretty indeed.
“漂亮的小姑娘们，来吧。” 四个小姑娘进来，确实非常漂亮。

The new girl, his Murasaki, still lay huddled under the singlet he had thrown over her.
他的新女孩，他的紫，仍然蜷缩在他扔在她身上的短袍下。

“You are not to sulk, now, and make me unhappy. —
“你不要闷闷不乐，让我难过。 —

Would I have done all this for you if I were not a nice man? —
如果我不是一个好人，我会为你做这一切吗？ —

Young ladies should do as they are told. —
年轻女孩应该听从指示。 —

” And so the lessons began.
” 于是，课程开始了。

She seemed even prettier here beside him than from afar. —
在他旁边，她似乎比远处看起来更漂亮。 —

His manner warm and fatherly, he sought to amuse her with pictures and toys he had sent for from the east wing. —
他热情而慈爱地试图用他从东厢房送来的图片和玩具来逗她开心。 —

Finally she came over to him. Her dark mourning robes were soft and unstarched, and when she smiled, innocently and unprotestingly, he had to smile back. —
最后，她走向他。她深色的丧服柔软无领，当她天真无邪地微笑时，他不得不回以微笑。 —

She went out to look at the trees and pond after he had departed for the east wing. —
他离开去东翼后，她走出去看树木和池塘。 —

The flowers in the foreground, delicately touched by frost, were like a picture. —
前景中那些被霜覆盖的花朵宛如一幅画。 —

Streams of courtiers, of the medium ranks and new to her experience, passed back and forth. —
穿梭来来往往的各级宫廷侍从是她新鲜体验的一部分。 —

Yes, it was an interesting place. She looked at the pictures on screens and elsewhere and (so it is with a child) soon forgot her troubles.
是的，这是一个有趣的地方。她看着屏幕和其他地方的图画，很快就（就像孩子那样）忘记了自己的烦恼。

Staying away from court for several days, Genji worked hard to make her feel at home. —
不去宫廷几天，源氏努力让她感觉像家一样。 —

He wrote down all manner of poems for her to copy, and drew all manner of pictures, some of them very good. —
他为她写下各种各样的诗歌供她抄写，并画了各种各样的图片，其中一些非常出色。 —

“I sigh, though I have not seen Musashi,” he wrote on a bit of lavender paper. —
“我叹息，虽未见过武藏，”他在一张薰衣草色纸条上写道。 —

She took it up, and thought the hand marvelous. —
她拿起来，觉得字迹非凡。 —

In a tiny hand he wrote beside it:
在它旁边，他以小号字写道:

“Thick are the dewy grasses of Musashi,
“草上露满武藏，

Near this grass to the grass I cannot have.”
在这片草旁，我也无法亲近。”

“Now you must write something.”
“现在你也要写点什么。”

“But I can’t.” She looked up at him, so completely without affectation that he had to smile.
“但我写不出来。” 她抬头看着他，没有丝毫矫揉造作，让他忍俊不禁。

“You can’t write as well as you would like to, perhaps, but it would be wrong of you not to write at all. —
“或许你写不像你想象中那么好，但不写一点是不对的。 —

You must think of me as your teacher.”
你必须把我看作是你的老师。”

It was strange that even her awkward, childish way of holding the brush should so delight him. —
奇怪的是，即使是她笨拙、孩子气的握笔方式也能让他如此高兴。 —

Afraid she had made a mistake, she sought to conceal what she had written. —
害怕犯了错误，她试图掩盖她写的内容。 —

He took it from her.
他从她手中接过。

“I do not know what it is that makes you sigh.
“我不知道是什么让你叹息。”

And whatever grass can it be I am so near to?”
“我怎么会如此接近草地呢？”

The hand was very immature indeed, and yet it had strength, and character. —
那只手确实非常稚嫩，但却有力量和个性。 —

It was very much like her grandmother’s. —
很像她祖母的样子。 —

A touch of the modern and it would not be at all unacceptable. —
加入一点现代元素并不会有什么不可接受的地方。 —

He ordered dollhouses and as the two of them played together he found himself for the first time neglecting his sorrows.
他订购了玩偶屋，当他们两个一起玩耍时，他第一次忽视了自己的忧伤。

Prince Hyōbu went for his daughter on schedule. —
兵部卿准时去接他的女儿。 —

The women were acutely embarrassed, for there was next to nothing they could say to him. —
女性们感到尴尬，因为他们几乎无话可说。 —

Genji wished to keep the girl’s presence at Nijō secret, and Shōnagon had enjoined the strictest silence. —
源氏希望保持女孩在二条的存在秘密，而紫式部已经要求严格保密。 —

They could only say that Shōnagon had spirited the girl away, they did not know where.
他们只能说紫式部把女孩带走了，但不知道去了哪里。

He was aghast. “Her grandmother did not want me to have her, and so I suppose Shōnagon took it upon herself, somewhat sneakily I must say, to hide her away rather than give her to me. —
他大吃一惊。“她的祖母不希望我得到她，所以我想紫式部把她藏起来了，我必须说，有点暗中进行，而不是把她交给我。” —

” In tears, he added: “Let me know if you hear anything.”
含泪补充道：“如果你听到任何消息，请告诉我。”

Which request only intensified their confusion.
这个请求只是加剧了他们的困惑。

The prince inquired of the bishop in the northern hills and came away no better informed. —
王子询问过北山的主教，但毫无获得更多信息。 —

By now he was beginning to feel some sense of loss (such a pretty child); —
到现在为止，他开始感到一些失落（这样一个漂亮的孩子）; —

and his wife had overcome her bitterness and, happy at the thought of a little girl to do with as she pleased, was similarly regretful.
他的妻子已经克服了她的苦涩，并且在想到一个可以随意处置的小女孩时，也同样心存遗憾。

Presently Murasaki had all her women with her. —
现在紫没有了她的女眷。 —

She was a bright, lively child, and the boys and girls who were to be her playmates felt quite at home with her. —
她是一个聪明活泼的小孩，和要和她一起玩的男孩女孩们相处得非常融洽。 —

Sometimes on lonely nights when Genji was away she would weep for her grandmother. —
有时在孤独的夜晚，源氏不在家时，她会为她的祖母哭泣。 —

She thought little of her father. They had lived apart and she scarcely knew him. —
她对她的父亲并不在意。他们分开住，而她几乎不认识他。 —

She was by now extremely fond of her new father. —
到了现在她已经非常喜欢她的新父亲。 —

She would be the first to run out and greet him when he came home, and she would climb on his lap, and they would talk happily together, without the least constraint or embarrassment. —
每次父亲回家，她总是第一个跑出去迎接他，然后爬到他膝上，他们会愉快地交谈，毫不拘束。 —

He was delighted with her. A clever and watchful woman can create all manner of difficulties. —
他对她感到高兴。一个聪明机警的女人能制造各种麻烦。 —

A man must be always on his guard, and jealousy can have the most unwelcome consequences. —
一个男人必须时刻警惕，嫉妒会带来最讨厌的后果。 —

Murasaki was the perfect companion, a toy for him to play with. —
紫是完美的伴侣，对他而言是一个玩物。 —

He could not have been so free and uninhibited with a daughter of his own. —
如果是他自己的女儿，他不可能如此自由无拘束。 —

There are restraints upon paternal intimacy. —
对父女之间的亲密也有所保留。 —

Yes, he had come upon a remarkable little treasure.
是的，他发现了一个非常了不起的小宝藏。