I. Siōng-bóe Chi̍t-hio̍h | 上尾一葉 - 1. 兩人合租畫室

The Last Leaf /by O. Henry

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LasLea.shtml

Siōng-bóe Chi̍t-hio̍h | 上尾一葉

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1. Nn̄g-lâng ha̍p-cho͘ hit-keng ōe-sek

Tī Washington Tōa-tiâⁿ sai-pêng ê chi̍t-ê sió-khu ni̍h, ke-lō͘ hoâiⁿ-lâi ti̍t-khì, koh liah-khui chiâⁿ-chò kiò "só͘-chāi" (place) ê hāng-lō͘. Chiah-ê "só͘-chāi" oan-oan oat-oat. Ū-ê hāng-lō͘ ē hām ka-tī sio-tú, sīm-chì sio-tú nn̄g-pái. Bat ū chi̍t-ê gē-su̍t-ka hoat-hiān chit-tiâu ke-lō͘ ū bó͘-chióng kè-ta̍t. Ká-sú ū chi̍t-ê siu-siàu ê lâng lâi chit-tiâu ke boeh siu sek-liāu, ōe-chóa kap phâng-pò͘ ê chîⁿ, ē hoat-hiān ka-tī khang-chhiú kiâⁿ tò-tńg lâi, chi̍t-sián siàu mā bô siu tio̍h!

Só͘-í, chit-ê kî-te̍k ê Greenwich Chhun chin kín ín-lâi bē-chió gē-su̍t-ka, teh chhōe ǹg pak, 18-sè-kí gô-thâu-piah, Hô-lân lâu-kông, koh chhù-sòe kē ê pâng-keng. Á in koh ùi Tē-la̍k Ke chah lâi chi̍t-kóa siah ê tōa chiú-poe, hām chi̍t/nn̄g ê hóe-ko, chia tō chiâⁿ-chò gē-su̍t-ka ê chū-lo̍h.

Sue hām Johnsy ê ōe-sek siat tī chi̍t-tòng khoah koh é ê saⁿ-chàn lâu-á chhù ê lâu-kông téng. "Johnsy" it-poaⁿ mā kiò chò Joanna. Chi̍t-ê ùi Maine lâi, lēng-gōa hit-ê ùi California. Yin sī tī Tē-peh Ke ê "Delmonico’s" chhan-thiaⁿ chia̍h thò-chhan ê sî sio-tú, koh hoat-hiān yin tùi gē-su̍t, tùi kiok-kū (菊苣chicory) chheⁿ-chhài salad, kó͘-á-teng chhiú-ńg (bishop sleeves) sî-chong ê chhù-bī it-tì, chū án-ne yin ha̍p-cho͘ hit-keng ōe-sek.

He sī tī gō͘ goe̍h ê tāi-chì. Kàu cha̍p-it goe̍h, chi̍t-ê léng-khok, khòaⁿ bē-tio̍h ê chheⁿ-hūn-lâng, i-seng kiò i Hì-iām, lâi chit-ê chū-lo̍h kiâⁿ-ta̍h, i kō͘ peng-léng ê chéng-thâu-á chia bak chi̍t-ē, hia kha̍p chi̍t-ē. Tī tōa-tiâⁿ tang-pêng hit-thâu, chit-ê hāi-lâng-chiaⁿ tōa-táⁿ hoa̍h-pō͘, chi̍t-ē tō phah tó kúi-cha̍p-ê siū-hāi-chiá. M̄-koh tī chit-ê e̍h-kheh koh chhiūⁿ chheⁿ-thî ê "só͘-chāi," i ê kha-pō͘ pàng bān lo̍h-lâi.

Hì-iām Ss m̄-sī lí sim-ba̍k-tiong ū-gī-khì ê lāu sin-sū. Chi̍t-ê sin-khu liāu-siáu, hō͘ California sai-hong chhoe kah bīn bô hoeh-sek ê nńg-chiáⁿ cha-bó͘, sī bē-kham-tit chit-ê âng-kûn-thâu, kín-khùi-kháu ê lāu kang-ô͘ ê taⁿ-kek. M̄-koh, i iáu-sī kā yi bok, hāi yi tó lo̍h tī chi̍t-téng iû-chhat-kòe ê thih bîn-chhn̂g, bē-tín bē-tāng, kan-ta ba̍k-chiu kim-kim, thàng kòe sè-sè ê Hô-lân po-lê-thang, khòaⁿ tùi-bīn chng-á-chhù ê gōa-chhiûⁿ.

 Chi̍t-kang chá-khí, hit-ê bô-êng ê i-seng, chio Sue lâi-kàu pâng-keng gōa-kháu ê cháu-lông, i ê phú-sek ba̍k-bâi chhàng-chhàng.

"Góa khòaⁿ, yi ū cha̍p-hun chi it ê ki-hōe," i ná kóng ná kā tō͘-chiam ê chúi-gîn hiù lo̍h-khì. "Chit-ê ki-hoe chāi tī yi tio̍h ài ū boeh oa̍h lo̍h-khì ê ì-chì. Pēⁿ-lâng nā pâi-tūi boeh óng pin-gî-koán kiâⁿ, che tō hō͘ kui-ê tī-liâu piàn-chò chin bô ì-gī. Lí chit-ê sió ko͘-niû í-keng ka-tī koat-tēng bē hó khí-lâi ah. Yi sī m̄-sī ū siáⁿ-mih sim-sū?"

"Yi -- yi siūⁿ boeh ū chi̍t-kang khì ōe Naples Hái-oan." Sue kóng.

"Ōe-tô͘? -- siuⁿ hàm lah! Yi ê sim-koaⁿ-lāi ū siáⁿ-mi̍h ta̍t-tit yi siūⁿ koh siūⁿ ê -- chhin-chhiūⁿ kóng, chi̍t-ê cha-po͘-lâng?"

"Cha-po͘-lâng?" Sue kō͘ ná teh pûn kháu-khîm ê kháu-khì kóng. "Cha-po͘-lâng kám ū ta̍t-tit -- m̄-koh, bô neh, i-su; bô hit-lō mi̍h."

"Hmh, Án-ne tō khah bô hoat-tō͘ ah." i-seng kóng. "Góa ē chīn góa ê hoat-tō͘ lâi i-tī yi. M̄-koh, pēⁿ-lâng nā khai-sí teh sǹg ē ū kúi-tâi bé-chhia lâi sàng chhut-soaⁿ, góa tio̍h kā tī-liâu ê hāu-kó kiám-tiāu 50-pha. Lí nā ē-tàng hō͘ yi ū chhù-bī thê-chhut kôaⁿ-thiⁿ chhiú-ńg sin khoán-sek ê būn-tê, góa tō pó-chèng yi hó khí-lâi ê ki-hōe ē ùi cha̍p-hun chi-it thê-koân kàu gō͘-hun chi-it."

I-seng lī-khui liáu-āu, Sue ji̍p lâi kang-chok-sek, kā chi̍t-tiâu Ji̍t-pún chhan-kin khàu kah tâm-kô͘-kô͘. Jiân-āu, yi chhiú the̍h ōe-pang kiâⁿ ji̍p Johnsy ê khùn-pâng, chhùi ná kho͘ ragtime chiat-chàu ê siaⁿ-tiāu.

Johnsy tó leh, bīn ǹg thang-á, bîn-phōe-ē ê sin-khu tāng to bô-tāng. Sue kín thêng-chí kho͘-si-á, siūⁿ-kóng yi khùn khì ah.

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1. 兩人合租畫室

Tī Washington 大埕西爿 ê 一个小區 ni̍h, 街路橫來直去, koh 裂開成做叫 "所在" (place) ê 巷路. Chiah-ê "所在" 彎彎斡斡. Ū-ê 巷路 ē 和 ka-tī 相拄, 甚至相拄兩擺. Bat ū 一个藝術家發現這條街路 ū 某種價值. 假使 ū 一个收數 ê 人來這條街欲收色料, 畫紙 kap 帆布 ê 錢, ē 發現 ka-tī 空手行倒轉來, 一仙 siàu mā 無收著!

所以, 這个奇特 ê Greenwich 村真緊引來袂少藝術家, teh 揣 ǹg 北, 18 世紀鰲頭壁, Hô-lân 樓栱, koh 厝稅低 ê 房間. Á in koh ùi 第六街扎來一寡錫 ê 大酒杯, 和一兩个火鍋, chia tō 成做藝術家 ê 聚落.

Sue 和 Johnsy ê 畫室設 tī 一棟闊 koh 矮 ê 三層樓仔厝 ê 樓栱頂. "Johnsy" 一般 mā 叫做 Joanna. 一个 ùi Maine 來, 另外彼个 ùi California. Yin 是 tī 第八街 ê "Delmonico’s" 餐廳食套餐 ê 時相拄, koh 發現 yin 對藝術, 對 kiok-kū (菊苣 chicory) 生菜 salad, 鼓仔燈手䘼 (bishop sleeves) 時裝 ê 趣味一致, 自 án-ne yin 合租彼間畫室.

彼是 tī 五月 ê 代誌. 到十一月, 一个冷酷, 看袂著 ê 生份人, 醫生叫伊肺炎, 來這个聚落行踏, 伊 kō͘ 冰冷 ê 指頭仔 chia 沐一下, hia 磕一下. Tī 大埕東爿彼頭, 這个害人精大膽伐步, 一下 tō 拍倒幾十个受害者. M̄-koh tī 這个 e̍h-kheh koh 上青苔 ê "所在," 伊 ê 跤步放慢落來.

肺炎 Ss 毋是你心目中 ū 義氣 ê 老紳士. 一个身軀料小, hō͘ California 西風吹 kah 面無血色 ê 軟汫查某, 是袂堪得這个紅拳頭, 緊氣口 ê 老江湖 ê 打擊. M̄-koh, 伊猶是 kā 她 bok, 害她倒落 tī 一頂油漆過 ê 鐵眠床, 袂振袂動, 干焦目睭金金, 迵過細細 ê Hô-lân 玻璃窗, 看對面磚仔厝 ê 外牆.

 一工早起, 彼个無閒 ê 醫生, 招 Sue 來到房間外口 ê 走廊, 伊 ê 殕色目眉 chhàng-chhàng.

"我看, 她 ū 十分之一 ê 機會," 伊 ná 講 ná kā 度針 ê 水銀 hiù 落去. "這个機會在 tī 她著愛 ū 欲活落去 ê 意志. 病人 nā 排隊欲往殯儀館行, 這 tō hō͘ 規个治療變做真無意義. 你這个小姑娘已經 ka-tī 決定袂好起來 ah. 她是毋是有啥物心事?"

"她 -- 她想欲 ū 一工去畫 Naples 海灣." Sue 講.

"畫圖? -- siuⁿ hàm lah! 她 ê 心肝內 ū 啥物值得她想 koh 想 ê -- 親像講, 一个查埔人?"

"查埔人?" Sue kō͘ ná teh pûn 口琴 ê 口氣講. "查埔人 kám ū 值得 -- m̄-koh, 無 neh, 醫師; 無 hit-lō mi̍h."

"Hmh, Án-ne tō 較無法度 ah." 醫生講. "我 ē 盡我 ê 法度來醫治她. M̄-koh, 病人 nā 開始 teh 算 ē ū 幾台馬車來送出山, 我著 kā 治療 ê 效果減掉 50-pha. 你 nā ē-tàng hō͘ 她 ū 趣味提出寒天手䘼新款式 ê 問題, 我 tō 保證她好起來 ê 機會 ē ùi 十分之一提懸到五分之一."

醫生離開了後, Sue 入來工作室, kā 一條日本餐巾哭 kah 澹糊糊. 然後, 她手提畫枋行入 Johnsy ê 睏房, 喙 ná kho͘ ragtime 節奏 ê 聲調.

Johnsy 倒 leh, 面 ǹg 窗仔, 眠被下 ê 身軀動 to 無動. Sue 緊停止 kho͘-si-á, 想講她睏去 ah.

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1.

In a little district west of Washington Square the streets have run crazy and broken themselves into small strips called "places." These "places" make strange angles and curves. One Street crosses itself a time or two. An artist once discovered a valuable possibility in this street. Suppose a collector with a bill for paints, paper and canvas should, in traversing this route, suddenly meet himself coming back, without a cent having been paid on account!

 So, to quaint old Greenwich Village the art people soon came prowling, hunting for north windows and eighteenth-century gables and Dutch attics and low rents. Then they imported some pewter mugs and a chafing dish or two from Sixth Avenue, and became a "colony."

At the top of a squatty, three-story brick Sue and Johnsy had their studio. "Johnsy" was familiar for Joanna. One was from Maine; the other from California. They had met at the table d'hôte of an Eighth Street "Delmonico's," and found their tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves so congenial that the joint studio resulted.

That was in May. In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy fingers. Over on the east side this ravager strode boldly, smiting his victims by scores, but his feet trod slowly through the maze of the narrow and moss-grown "places."

 Mr. Pneumonia was not what you would call a chivalric old gentleman. A mite of a little woman with blood thinned by California zephyrs was hardly fair game for the red-fisted, short-breathed old duffer. But Johnsy he smote; and she lay, scarcely moving, on her painted iron bedstead, looking through the small Dutch window-panes at the blank side of the next brick house.

One morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway with a shaggy, grey eyebrow.

"She has one chance in - let us say, ten," he said, as he shook down the mercury in his clinical thermometer. " And that chance is for her to want to live. This way people have of lining-up on the side of the undertaker makes the entire pharmacopoeia look silly. Your little lady has made up her mind that she's not going to get well. Has she anything on her mind?"

"She - she wanted to paint the Bay of Naples some day." said Sue.

"Paint? - bosh! Has she anything on her mind worth thinking twice - a man for instance?"

"A man?" said Sue, with a jew's-harp twang in her voice. "Is a man worth - but, no, doctor; there is nothing of the kind."

"Well, it is the weakness, then," said the doctor. "I will do all that science, so far as it may filter through my efforts, can accomplish. But whenever my patient begins to count the carriages in her funeral procession I subtract 50 per cent from the curative power of medicines. If you will get her to ask one question about the new winter styles in cloak sleeves I will promise you a one-in-five chance for her, instead of one in ten."

After the doctor had gone Sue went into the workroom and cried a Japanese napkin to a pulp. Then she swaggered into Johnsy's room with her drawing board, whistling ragtime.

Johnsy lay, scarcely making a ripple under the bedclothes, with her face toward the window. Sue stopped whistling, thinking she was asleep.

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5. 今她是一个 khiàng 跤查某

5. Taⁿ yi sī chi̍t-ê khiàng-kha cha-bó͘

Yi o̍h ē-hiáu chò chhù ni̍h chho͘-tāng ê sit-thâu kap chàu-kha thó-ià ê khang-khòe. Yi sé óaⁿ-pôaⁿ, lù iû-sé-sé ê oe-á kap tiáⁿ-té, kā hún-âng ê chéng-kah mā lù kah ui khì. Yi sé chhn̂g-kin, sé saⁿ-khò͘, sé mô͘-kin, koh the̍h khì tiàu tī soh-á pha̍k-ta; ta̍k chá-khí yi the̍h pùn-sò kàu ke-lō͘ khì hiat, yi koh kōaⁿ chúi chiūⁿ lâu, múi peh chi̍t-chàn lâu, yi tio̍h hioh-khùn chhoán-khùi. Iáu-ū, yi chhēng pêng-bîn cha-bó͘ ê saⁿ, chhiú kōaⁿ nâ-á, káu kóe-chí-hâng, kàu kám-á-tiàm, kàu bah-tiam, tī hia kap lâng kóng-kè, jím-siū thí-chhiò, ūi-tio̍h boeh khiām chi̍t-sián gō͘-lî ê kan-khó͘ chîⁿ.

Ta̍k-kò-goe̍h in lóng tio̍h hêng chè, a̍h chioh sin chè thang thoa-iân sî-ji̍t.

Yin ang tī boeh-àm thè chi̍t-ê tiàm thâu-ke chò siàu, àm-sî óng-óng koh chò chhau-siá, chi̍t-ia̍h 5-ê tâng-chîⁿ. 

Chit-chióng seng-oa̍h keng-kòe 10 nî.

Cha̍p-tang liáu, in hêng-chheng só͘-ū ê chè, só͘-ū ê it-chhè, liân kāu-lāi ê lī-sit, hām in-ūi lī-sit só͘ lúi-chek ê siàu.

Loisel Tt chit-chūn khòaⁿ khí-lâi chhàu-lāu. Yi í-keng sī chi̍t-ê sàn-chhiah ka-têng ê khiàng-kha cha-bó͘, chho͘-ióng koh nāi-chhau. Thâu-chang loa̍h bô chê, kûn chhēng bô-chiàⁿ, siang-chhiú âng-âng, kóng-ōe tōa-siaⁿ, sé tē-pán ê chúi kō͘ chhiâng ê.

M̄-koh ū sî-chūn, tī yin ang khì siōng-pan ê sî,  yi ka-tī chē tī thang-á piⁿ, siūⁿ kú-kú í-chêng ê hit-ê àm-mê, hit-ê bú-hōe, hit-sî yi sī gōa-nī-á súi koh hiah-nī-á bê-lâng.

Yi nā bô phah-m̄-kìⁿ hit-tiâu phoa̍h-liān, tāi-chì ē án-chóaⁿ neh? Siáng ē chai? Siáng ē chai? Jîn-seng ū-kàu kî-koài, piàn-hòa bô-siông! Chi̍t-kiāⁿ sió-sió ê tāi-chì ē kiù lí ê miā, mā ē hāi-sí lâng.

Chi̍t-ê lé-pài-ji̍t, yi khì Champs Elysées kong-hn̂g sàn-pō͘, pâi-khián chi̍t-lé-pài ê sin-khó͘, hut-jiân yi chù-ì tio̍h chi̍t-ê chhōa gín-á teh sàn-pō͘ ê cha-bó͘. He sī Forester Tt, iáu-sī siàu-liân, iáu-sī súi, iáu-sī bê-lâng.

Loisel Tt kám-khài bān-hun. Tio̍h khì kap yi phah chio-ho͘ bô? Tio̍h, tiāⁿ-tio̍h ài. Kàu-taⁿ, yi í-keng kā chè lóng hêng liáu ah, yi ē-tàng kā yi kóng chhut it-chhè. Án-ne kám m̄-hó?

Yi kiâⁿ ǹg chêng.

"Gâu-chá, Jeanne."

Hit-ê cha-bó͘ soah bē jīn-tit yi. Chi̍t-ê pêng-bîn hū-lú hiah-nī chhin-bi̍t án-ne kā chio-ho͘, hō͘ yi chhoah chi̍t-tiô. Yi tiû-tû chi̍t-ē:

"M̄-koh... Hu-jîn... Góa m̄-chai... lí sī-m̄-sī jīn m̄-tio̍h lâng ah?"

"Bô lah. Góa sī Mathilde Loisel."

"Oh! ... Khó-liân ê Mathilde, lí ná ē piàn hiah chē."

"Lí ah, chū-chiông hit-nî, góa ji̍t-chí tō chin pháiⁿ kòe, siū chin chē khó͘, ... lóng sī in-ūi lí lah."

"In-ūi góa? ... Án-chóaⁿ kóng?"

"Lí it-tēng ē-kì-tit lí chioh góa hit-kōaⁿ phoa̍h-liān, hō͘ góa khì chham-ka Kàu-io̍k-pō͘ ê bú-hōe."

"Sī ah, iá án-chóaⁿ?"

"Hmh, góa kā phah m̄-kìⁿ."

"Ná ū khó-lêng án-ne? ... lí ū the̍h lâi hêng neh?"

"Góa hêng ê sī lēng-gōa chi̍t-kōaⁿ, kap lí ê oân-choân kāng-khoán. Chit 10-nî lâi, goán it-ti̍t teh hêng hit-ê kè-siàu. Lí ē lí-kái, tùi goán chit-chióng sàn-chhiah lâng, he chin bô kán-tan. M̄-koh, tāi-chì chóng-sǹg kiat-sok ah, taⁿ góa chiok hoaⁿ-hí."

Forester Tt siūⁿ chi̍t-ē, kóng:

"Lí sī kóng, lí bé chi̍t-tiâu soān-chio̍h phoa̍h-liān lâi pôe góa?"

"Sī ah. Lí mā bô chù-ì tio̍h, sī bô? Hit nn̄g-tiâu kāng-khoán kāng-khoán."

Yi chhiò-chhiò, kám-kak hong-sîn koh hoaⁿ-hí.

Forester Tt chhim-chhim kám-tōng, siang-chhiú khan yi, kóng:

"Oh, khó-liân ê Mathilder. M̄-koh góa hit-kōaⁿ sī ké ê. He kek-ke ta̍t 500 franc!"

[Soah]

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5.  今她是一个 khiàng 跤查某

她學會曉做厝 ni̍h 粗重 ê 穡頭 kap 灶跤討厭 ê 工課. 她洗碗盤, lù 油洗洗 ê 鍋仔 kap 鼎底, kā 粉紅 ê 指甲 mā lù kah ui 去. 她洗床巾, 洗衫褲, 洗毛巾, koh 提去吊 tī 索仔曝焦; 逐早起她提 pùn-sò 到街路去㧒, 伊 koh 捾水上樓, 每 peh 一層樓, 她著歇睏喘氣. 猶有, 她穿平民查某 ê 衫, 手捾籃仔, 到果子行, 到 kám 仔店, 到肉砧, tī hia kap 人講價, 忍受恥笑, 為著欲儉一仙五厘 ê 艱苦錢.

逐個月 in lóng 著還債, a̍h 借新債通拖延時日.

Yin 翁 tī 欲暗替一个店頭家做數, 暗時往往 koh 做抄寫, 一頁 5 个銅錢. 

這種生活經過 10 年.

十冬了, in 還清所有 ê 債, 所有 ê 一切, 連厚利 ê 利息, 和因為利息所累積 ê 數.

Loisel Tt 這陣看起來臭老. 她已經是一个散赤家庭 ê khiàng 跤查某, 粗勇 koh 耐操. 頭鬃捋無齊, 裙穿無正, 雙手紅紅, 講話大聲, 洗地板 ê 水 kō͘ 沖 ê.

M̄-koh 有時陣, tī yin 翁去上班 ê 時,  她 ka-tī 坐 tī 窗仔邊, 想久久以前 ê 彼个暗暝, 彼个舞會, 彼時 她是 gōa-nī-á 媠 koh hiah-nī-á 迷人.

她若無拍毋見彼條袚鍊, 代誌會按怎 neh? Siáng 會知? Siáng 會知? 人生有夠奇怪, 變化無常! 一件小小 ê 代誌會救你 ê 命, mā 會害死人.

一个禮拜日, 她去 Champs Elysées 公園散步, 排遣一禮拜 ê 辛苦, 忽然她注意著一个 chhōa 囡仔 teh 散步 ê 查某. 彼是 Forester Tt, 猶是少年, 猶是媠, 猶是迷人.

Loisel Tt 感慨萬分. 著去 kap 她拍招呼無? 著, 定著愛. 到今, 她已經 kā 債 lóng 還了 ah, 她會當 kā 她講出一切. Án-ne 敢毋好?

她行 ǹg 前.

"Gâu 早, Jeanne."

彼个查某煞袂認得她. 一个平民婦女 hiah-nī 親密 án-ne kā 招呼, 予她掣一趒. 她躊躇一下:

"M̄-koh... 夫人... 我毋知... 你是毋是認毋著人 ah?"

"無 lah. 我是 Mathilde Loisel."

"Oh! ... 可憐 ê Mathilde, 你那會變 hiah 濟."

"你 ah, 自從彼年, 我日子 tō 真歹過, 受真濟苦, ... lóng 是因為你 lah."

"因為我? ... 按怎講?"

"你一定會記得你借我彼捾袚鍊, 予我去參加教育部 ê 舞會."

"是 ah, iá 按怎?"

"Hmh, 我 kā 拍毋見."

"那有可能 án-ne? ... 你有提來還 neh?"

"我還 ê 是另外一捾, kap 你 ê 完全仝款. 這 10 年來, 阮一直 teh 還彼个價數. 你會理解, 對阮這種散赤人, 彼真無簡單. M̄-koh, 代誌總算結束 ah, 今我足歡喜."

Forester Tt 想一下, 講:

"你是講, 你買一條璇石袚鍊來賠我?"

"是 ah. 你 mā 無注意著, 是無? 彼兩條仝款仝款."

她笑笑, 感覺風神 koh 歡喜.

Forester Tt 深深感動, 雙手牽她, 講:

"Oh, 可憐 ê Mathilder. M̄-koh 我彼捾是假 ê. He 極加值 500 franc!"

[煞]

- -

5.

 She learned the rough work of the household, the odious labors of the kitchen. She washed the dishes, wearing out her pink nails on the greasy pots and the bottoms of the pans. She washed the dirty linen, the shirts and the towels, which she dried on a rope; she carried down the garbage to the street every morning, and she carried up the water, pausing for breath on every floor. And, dressed like a woman of the people, she went to the fruiterer, the grocer, the butcher, a basket on her arm, bargaining, insulted, fighting for her wretched money, sou by sou.

Every month they had to pay notes, to renew others to gain time.

The husband worked in the evening keeping up the books of a shopkeeper, and at night often he did copying at five sous the page.

And this life lasted ten years.

At the end of ten years they had paid everything back, everything, with the rates of usury and all the accumulation of heaped-up interest.

Mme. Loisel seemed aged now. She had become the robust woman, hard and rough, of a poor household. Badly combed, with her skirts awry and her hands red, her voice was loud, and she washed the floor with splashing water.

But sometimes, when her husband was at the office, she sat down by the window and she thought of that evening long ago, of that ball, where she had been so beautiful and so admired.

What would have happened if she had not lost that necklace? Who knows? Who knows? How singular life is, how changeable! What a little thing it takes to save you or to lose you.

Then, one Sunday, as she was taking a turn in the Champs Elysées, as a recreation after the labors of the week, she perceived suddenly a woman walking with a child. It was Mme. Forester, still young, still beautiful, still seductive.

Mme. Loisel felt moved. Should she speak to her? Yes, certainly. And now that she had paid up, she would tell her all. Why not?

She drew near.

“Good morning, Jeanne.”

The other did not recognize her, astonished to be hailed thus familiarly by this woman of the people. She hesitated—

“But—madam—I don’t know—are you not making a mistake?”

“No. I am Mathilde Loisel.”

Her friend gave a cry—

“Oh!—My poor Mathilde, how you are changed.”

“Yes, I have had hard days since I saw you, and many troubles,—and that because of you.”

“Of me?—How so?”

“You remember that diamond necklace that you lent me to go to the ball at the Ministry?”

“Yes. And then?”

“Well, I lost it.”

“How can that be?—since you brought it back to me?”

“I brought you back another just like it. And now for ten years we have been paying for it. You will understand that it was not easy for us, who had nothing. At last, it is done, and I am mighty glad.”

Mme. Forester had guessed.

“You say that you bought a diamond necklace to replace mine?”

“Yes. You did not notice it, even, did you? They were exactly alike?”

And she smiled with proud and naïve joy.

Mme. Forester, much moved, took her by both hands:—

“Oh, my poor Mathilde. But mine were false. At most they were worth five hundred francs!”

- -

4. 買仝款 ê 袚鍊去還

4. Bé kāng-khoán ê phoa̍h-liān khì hêng

Nn̄g-ê lâng sio-siòng, sim-chêng jû chháng-chháng. Lo̍h-bóe, Loisel koh kā saⁿ chhēng hó.

"Góa lâi khì," i kóng, "kō͘ kiâⁿ ê, iân-lō͘ sûn tò-tńg, khòaⁿ ē-tàng chhōe tio̍h bô."

Chū án-ne i kiâⁿ chhut-khì. Yi lâu tī hia, bú-hōe ê saⁿ iáu chhēng tio̍h, bô khùi-la̍t khì bîn-chhn̂g, gāng-gāng chē tī í-á, bô sim bô chiâⁿ, thâu-khak khang-khang.

Chhit-tiám chó-iū, yin ang tńg lâi, siáⁿ mā bô chhōe tio̍h.

Āu-lâi, i khì kéng-chhat-kio̍k, khì kúi-ā keng pò-siā thê-kiong siúⁿ-kim, mā khì bé-chhia-hâng; chóng-sī, jīm-hô ū chi̍t-sut-á hi-bāng ê só͘-chāi i lóng khì ah.

Bīn-tùi chit-ê khó-phà ê chai-lān, yi kāng-khoán kui-ji̍t kiaⁿ-hiâⁿ, tī chhù tán kui-kang. 

Boeh-àm ê sî, Loisel tńg lâi, bīn-bah sán koh pe̍h; siang-chhiú khang-khang.

"Lí tio̍h siá-phe hō͘ lín pêng-iú," i kóng, "kóng lí kā phoa̍h-liān ê tah-kau chhòng pháiⁿ khì ah, tng-teh sàng khì siu-lí. Án-ne lán chiah ū sî-kan thang tńg-se̍h."

Yi chiàu i kóng ê khì siá.

Kòe chi̍t lé-pài, in sit-khì só͘-ū ê hi-bāng. Loisel ná-chhiūⁿ lāu gō͘-hòe ah, án-ne kóng:

"Lán tio̍h siūⁿ pān-hoat lâi pôe-sióng chit-kiāⁿ chu-pó."

Tē-jī kang, in the̍h goân-pún té phoa̍h-liān ê a̍p-á, chiàu téng-bīn ê tiàm-hō khì chhōe hit-keng chu-pó tiàm.

"Hu-jîn, chit-kōaⁿ phoa̍h-liān m̄-sī goán chia bē chhut-khì ê. Goán bē ê kan-ta sī chit-ê a̍p-á."

Chū án-ne, in ùi chit-keng chu-pó tiàm kàu hit-keng chu-pó tiàm, chiàu in ê kì-tî boeh chhōe chi̍t-kōaⁿ kāng-khoán ê phoa̍h-liān -- siang-lâng lóng iu-chhiû koh tio̍h-kip kah kiông boeh phòa-pēⁿ.

Tī Palais Royal (Hông-kiong) Ke ê chi̍t-keng tiàm, in chhōe tio̍h chi̍t-kōaⁿ phoa̍h-liān, chāi in khòaⁿ, choa̍t-tùi kap in teh chhōe ê kāng-khoán. He tēng-kè 40,000 franc. Kóng-kè liáu, 36,000 khéng bē. 

In khún-kiû tiàm-thâu-ke, saⁿ-kang lāi mài bē chhut-khì. In koh kap i kóng tiâu-kiāⁿ, tī jī-goe̍h té í-chêng, nā chhōe tio̍h goân-lâi ê, thâu-ke khéng kō͘ 34,000 kā bé tò tńg-lâi.

Loisel ū in lāu-pē lâu hō͘ i ê 18,000 franc. Bô-kàu ê i tio̍h khì chioh.

I khì chioh-chîⁿ ah, chia chioh 1,000 franc, hia chioh 500, chia 5-ê kim-pè, hia 3-ê kim-pè. I chhiam chioh-tiâu, tēng chia̍h-la̍t ê ha̍p-iok, mā kap pàng tāng-lāi ê, kap chióng-chióng tāi-khoán-jîn chih-chiap. I koán bē-tio̍h āu-pòaⁿ sì-lâng, chhiam-miâ mā m̄-chai chò ē-kàu bô; tī bī-lâi ê khó͘-náu, boeh kàu ê kan-lân, bah-thé ê khó͘-chhó͘, cheng-sîn ê chiat-bôa tt ê ap-pek chi-hā, i kā 36,000 franc khǹg chhiūⁿ chu-pó tiàm ê kūi-tâi, kā hit-kōaⁿ sin ê soān-chio̍h phoa̍h-liān bé lo̍h-lâi.

Loisel Tt the̍h phoa̍h-liān khì hêng ê sî, Forester Tt kō͘ chi̍t-ê kòa-chhì ê khùi-kháu kóng:

"Lí eng-kai khah chá the̍h lâi hêng, in-ūi góa hoān-sè ài iōng tio̍h."

Yi bô phah-khui a̍p-á, hêng ê lâng chiok kiaⁿ yi phah-khui lâi khòaⁿ. Nā hoat-hiān he sī thè-ōaⁿ-phín, yi ē án-chóaⁿ siūⁿ, án-chóaⁿ kóng neh? Yi kám bē kā pêng-iú tòng-chò chha̍t?

Loisel Tt jīn-bat sàn-chhiah-lâng ê kan-khó͘ seng-oa̍h ah. Yi hián-chhut eng-hiông khì-khài, sêng-khún chiap-siū kàu-hùn. Khó-phà ê chè-bū tio̍h ài hêng. Yi boeh lâi hêng. In sî-tiāu ka-po̍k; in ōaⁿ tòa ê pâng-keng; in poaⁿ khì tòa chhù-téng ê lâu-kông keng.

- -

4. 買仝款 ê 袚鍊去還

兩个人 sio-siòng, 心情 jû chháng-chháng. 落尾, Loisel koh kā 衫穿好.

"我來去," 伊講, "kō͘ 行 ê, 沿路巡倒轉, 看會當揣著無."

自 án-ne 伊行出去. 她留 tī hia, 舞會 ê 衫猶穿著, 無氣力去眠床, 愣愣坐 tī 椅仔, 無心無 chiâⁿ, 頭殼空空.

七點左右, yin 翁轉來, 啥 mā 無揣著.

後來, 伊去警察局, 去幾若間報社提供賞金, mā 去馬車行; 總是, 任何有一屑仔希望 ê 所在伊 lóng 去 ah.

面對這个可怕 ê 災難, 她仝款規日驚惶, tī 厝等規工. 

欲暗 ê 時, Loisel 轉來, 面肉瘦 koh 白; 雙手空空.

"你著寫批予恁朋友," 伊講, "講你 kā 袚鍊 ê 搭鉤創歹去 ah, tng-teh 送去修理. Án-ne 咱才有時間通轉踅."

她照伊講 ê 去寫.

過一禮拜, in 失去所有 ê 希望. Loisel ná 像老五歲 ah, án-ne 講:

"咱著想辦法來賠償這件珠寶."

第二工, in 提原本貯袚鍊 ê 盒仔, 照頂面 ê 店號去揣彼間珠寶店.

"夫人, 這捾袚鍊毋是阮 chia 賣出去 ê. 阮賣 ê 干焦是這个盒仔."

自 án-ne, in ùi 這間珠寶店到彼間珠寶店, 照 in ê 記持欲揣一捾仝款 ê 袚鍊 -- 雙人 lóng 憂愁 koh 著急 kah 強欲破病.

Tī Palais Royal (皇宮) 街 ê 一間店, in 揣著一捾袚鍊, 在 in 看, 絕對 kap in teh 揣 ê 仝款. He 定價 40,000 franc. 講價了, 36,000 肯賣. 

In 懇求店頭家, 三工內莫賣出去. In koh kap 伊講條件, tī 二月底以前, 若揣著原來 ê, 頭家肯 kō͘ 34,000 kā 買倒轉來.

Loisel 有 in 老爸留予伊 ê 18,000 franc. 無夠 ê 伊著去借.

伊去借錢 ah, chia 借 1,000 franc, hia 借 500, chia 5 个金幣, hia 3 个金幣. 伊簽借條, 訂食力 ê 合約, mā kap 放重利 ê, kap 種種貸款人 chih 接. 伊管袂著後半世人, 簽名 mā 毋知做會到無; tī 未來 ê 苦惱, 欲到 ê 艱難, 肉體 ê 苦楚, 精神 ê 折磨 tt ê 壓迫之下, 伊 kā 36,000 franc 囥上珠寶店 ê 櫃台, kā 彼捾新 ê 璇石袚鍊買落來.

Loisel Tt 提袚鍊去還 ê 時, Forester Tt kō͘ 一个掛刺 ê 氣口講:

"你應該較早提來還, 因為我凡勢愛用著."

她無拍開盒仔, 還 ê 人足驚她拍開來看. 若發現彼是替換品, 她會按怎想, 按怎講 neh? 她敢袂 kā 朋友當做賊?

Loisel Tt 認捌散赤人 ê 艱苦生活 ah. 她顯出英雄氣概, 誠懇接受教訓. 可怕 ê 債務著愛還. 她欲來還. In 辭掉家僕; in 換蹛 ê 房間; in 搬去蹛厝頂 ê 樓栱間.

- -

4.

 They gazed at each other, crushed. At last Loisel dressed himself again.

“I’m going,” he said, “back the whole distance we came on foot, to see if I cannot find it.”

And he went out. She stayed there, in her ball dress, without strength to go to bed, overwhelmed, on a chair, without a fire, without a thought.

Her husband came back about seven o’clock. He had found nothing.

Then he went to police headquarters, to the newspapers to offer a reward, to the cab company; he did everything, in fact, that a trace of hope could urge him to.

She waited all day, in the same dazed state in face of this horrible disaster.

Loisel came back in the evening, with his face worn and white; he had discovered nothing.

“You must write to your friend,” he said, “that you have broken the clasp of her necklace and that you are having it repaired. That will give us time to turn around.”

She wrote as he dictated.

At the end of a week they had lost all hope. And Loisel, aged by five years, declared:—

“We must see how we can replace those jewels.”

The next day they took the case which had held them to the jeweler whose name was in the cover. He consulted his books.

“It was not I, madam, who sold this necklace. I only supplied the case.”

Then they went from jeweler to jeweler, looking for a necklace like the other, consulting their memory,—sick both of them with grief and anxiety.

In a shop in the Palais Royal, they found a diamond necklace that seemed to them absolutely like the one they were seeking. It was priced forty thousand francs. They could have it for thirty-six.

They begged the jeweler not to sell it for three days. And they made a bargain that he should take it back for thirty-four thousand, if the first was found before the end of February.

Loisel possessed eighteen thousand francs which his father had left him. He had to borrow the remainder.

He borrowed, asking a thousand francs from one, five hundred from another, five here, three louis there. He gave promissory notes, made ruinous agreements, dealt with usurers, with all kinds of lenders. He compromised the end of his life, risked his signature without even knowing whether it could be honored; and, frightened by all the anguish of the future, by the black misery which was about to settle down on him, by the perspective of all sorts of physical deprivations and of all sorts of moral tortures, he went to buy the new diamond necklace, laying down on the jeweler’s counter thirty-six thousand francs.

When Mme. Loisel took back the necklace to Mme. Forester, the latter said, with an irritated air:—

“You ought to have brought it back sooner, for I might have needed it.”

She did not open the case, which her friend had been fearing. If she had noticed the substitution, what would she have thought? What would she have said? Might she not have been taken for a thief?

Mme. Loisel learned the horrible life of the needy. She made the best of it, moreover, frankly, heroically. The frightful debt must be paid. She would pay it. They dismissed the servant; they changed their rooms; they took an attic under the roof.

 - -

3. 她沉醉 tī 美麗 ê 勝利

3. Yi tîm-chùi tī bí-lē ê sèng-lī

Hut-jiân yi hoat-hiān, tī chi̍t-ê o͘-toān a̍p-á ni̍h, ū chi̍t-kōaⁿ cheng-bí ê soān-chio̍h phoa̍h-liān, yi ê sim khai-sí giàn kah pi̍h-pho̍k thiàu. Yi kā the̍h khí-lâi, chhiú khu̍h-khu̍h chùn. Yi kā kat tī chhēng koân-niá saⁿ ê ām-kún, khiā tī kiàⁿ chêng thiòng kah sit-sîn. 

Chi̍t-khùn liáu, yi tiû-tû koh tio̍h-kip mn̄g:

"Lí ē-sái chioh góa chit-kiāⁿ, kan-ta chit-kiāⁿ tō hó bô?"

"Ē, ē, tong-jiân ē-sái tit."

Yi thiàu khí-lâi lám pêng-iú ê ām-kún, jia̍t-lia̍t kā chim, jiân-āu the̍h tio̍h chit-ê pó-pòe kín-kín lī-khui.

Àm-hōe ê ji̍t-chí kàu ah. Loisel Tt chin sêng-kong. Yi pí só͘-ū ê cha-bó͘ lóng khah súi, iu-ngá, tōa-pān, móa-bīn chhiò-iông, hoaⁿ-hoaⁿ hí-hí. Só͘-ū ê cha-po͘ lóng ti̍t-ti̍t khòaⁿ yi, mn̄g kóng he sī siáng, siūⁿ boeh kiò lâng kài-siāu. Pō͘ ni̍h ê lia̍t-ūi hù-koaⁿ mā lóng siūⁿ boeh kap yi thiàu-bú. Pō͘-tiúⁿ mā chù-ì tio̍h yi.

Yi thiàu-bú thiàu kah chiâⁿ hoaⁿ-hí koh jia̍t-chêng, thiòng kah ná chiú-chùi, siáⁿ lóng bô-siūⁿ, kan-ta tîm-chùi tī ka-tī bí-lē ê sèng-lī, tī ka-tī sêng-kong ê kong-êng, mā tîm-chùi tī chi̍t-chióng hēng-hok ê hûn-bū ni̍h, iā tō sī lâng-lâng tùi yi ê o-ló, him-siān, kap io̍k-bōng, he sī cha-bó͘ sim-koaⁿ ni̍h siōng bí-boán, siōng tiⁿ-bi̍t ê sèng-lī.

Yi tī tāi-khài thàu-chá 4-tiám ê sî lī-khui. Chū-chiông pòaⁿ-mê, yin ang tō hām 3-ê cha-po͘ tī chi̍t-keng sió kheh-pâng tok-ku ah -- hiah-ê lâng ê bó͘ lóng sńg kah chiâⁿ hoaⁿ-hí.

 Yin ang kā hit-niá ùi chhù chah lâi, boeh tńg thang chhēng ê saⁿ moa tī yi ê keng-thâu, che sī phok-sò͘ ê ji̍t-siông saⁿ, hit-lō sàn-chhiah khoán bô hoat-tō͘ pí-phēng bú-hōe saⁿ ê iu-ngá. Kak-chhat tio̍h chit-tiám, yi khí-pō͘ boeh cháu, bián-tit hō͘ hiah-ê moa hôa-lē phôe-saⁿ ê cha-bó͘ khòaⁿ tio̍h.

Loisel kā yi lia̍h tio̍h, kóng:

"Tī chia tán chi̍t-ē; lí tī gōa-kháu ē kôaⁿ tio̍h; góa khì kiò chi̍t-tâi bé-chhia lâi."

M̄-koh yi m̄-thiaⁿ, tō kín-kín ta̍h lo̍h khàm-á. Lâi-kàu ke-lō͘, in chhōe bô bé-chhia, tō ná kiâⁿ ná chhōe, ia̍t-chhiú hiu hn̄g-hn̄g teh kòe ê chhia-hu.

In óng Seine Hô kiâⁿ khì, sim-chêng bái, koh kôaⁿ kah phi̍h-phi̍h chhoah. Lo̍h-bóe tī hōaⁿ-piⁿ chhōe tio̍h chi̍t-tâi cháu àm-mê ê kū bé-chhia; tī Paris chit-chióng chhia kan-ta thiⁿ-àm chiah chhut-lâi, bē-su tī ji̍t-sî in mā in-ūi ka-tī ê phòa-sàm kám-kak kiàn-siàu.

Bé-chhia kā in sàng kàu Martyrs Lō͘ ê chhù mn̂g-kháu, in peh-chhiūⁿ tńg chhù ê khàm-á, sim-chêng bô hó. Tùi yi lâi kóng, tāi-chì í-keng kòe khì ah. Á i teh hoân-ló bîn-á-chài 10-tiám tio̍h ài khì Pō͘ ni̍h.

Yi thǹg lo̍h keng-thâu ê moa-saⁿ, khiā tī kiàⁿ chêng, boeh koh chi̍t-kái khòaⁿ ka-tī chit-sin ê kong-chhái. M̄-koh, hut-jiân yi tōa-siaⁿ kiò chhut-lâi. Yi ê ām-kún í-keng bô kòa phoa̍h-liān!

Yin ang, saⁿ thǹg chi̍t-pòaⁿ, mn̄g kóng:

"Lí sī án-chóaⁿ lah?"

Kiaⁿ chi̍t-tiô, yi oa̍t ǹg i kóng:

"Góa... góa... góa kā Forester Tt ê soān-chio̍h phoa̍h-liān phah m̄-kìⁿ ah!"

I chhoah chi̍t-ē, thiàu khí-lâi kóng:

"Siáⁿ? Ná ē? Ná ū chit-lō tāi-chì!"

In chhōe phiàn iûⁿ-chong ê kap-chōa, moa-saⁿ ê kap-chōa, lak-tē-á, sì-kè lóng chhōe. In lóng chhōe bô.

I mn̄g:

"Lí khak-tēng, lī-khui bú-hōe ê sî, i iáu tī-leh bô?"

"Sī ah, tī Pō͘ ni̍h ê chêng-thiaⁿ góa iáu ū bong tio̍h."

"Nā kóng sī lak tī ke-lō͘, lán eng-tong ē thiaⁿ tio̍h siaⁿ. Tiāⁿ-tio̍h sī lak tī bé-chhia téng."

"Tio̍h, ū khó-lêng. Lí ū kì hit-tâi chhia ê hō-bé bô?"

"Bô. Lí neh... lí kám ū chù-ì tio̍h?"

"Bô."

- -

3. 她沉醉 tī 美麗 ê 勝利

忽然她發現, tī 一个烏緞盒仔 ni̍h, 有一捾精美 ê 璇石袚鍊, 她 ê 心開始癮 kah pi̍h-pho̍k 跳. 她 kā 提起來, 手 khu̍h-khu̍h 顫. 她 kā 結 tī 穿懸領衫 ê 頷頸, 徛 tī 鏡前暢 kah 失神. 

一睏了, 她躊躇 koh 著急問:

"你會使借我這件, 干焦這件 tō 好無?"

"會, 會, 當然會使得."

她跳起來攬朋友 ê 頷頸, 熱烈 kā 唚, 然後提著這个寶貝緊緊離開.

暗會 ê 日子到 ah. Loisel Tt 真成功. 她比所有 ê 查某 lóng 較媠, 優雅, 大範, 滿面笑容, 歡歡喜喜. 所有 ê 查埔 lóng 直直看她, 問講彼是 siáng, 想欲叫人介紹. 部 ni̍h ê 列位副官 mā lóng 想欲 kap 她跳舞. 部長 mā 注意著她.

她跳舞跳 kah 誠歡喜 koh 熱情, 暢 kah ná 酒醉, 啥 lóng 無想, 干焦沉醉 tī ka-tī 美麗 ê 勝利, tī ka-tī 成功 ê 光榮, mā 沉醉 tī 一種幸福 ê 雲霧 ni̍h, 也 tō 是人人對她 ê o-ló, 欣羨, kap 慾望, 彼是查某心肝 ni̍h 上美滿, 上甜蜜 ê 勝利.

她 tī 大概透早 4 點 ê 時離開. 自從半暝, yin 翁 tō 和 3 个查埔 tī 一間小客房啄龜 ah -- hiah-ê 人 ê 某 lóng 耍 kah 誠歡喜.

 Yin 翁 kā 彼領 ùi 厝扎來, 欲轉通穿 ê 衫幔 tī 她 ê 肩頭, 這是樸素 ê 日常衫, hit-lō 散赤款無法度比並舞會衫 ê 優雅. 覺察著這點, 她起步欲走, 免得予 hiah-ê 幔華麗皮衫 ê 查某看著.

Loisel kā 她掠著, 講:

"Tī chia 等一下; 你 tī 外口會寒著; 我去叫一台馬車來."

M̄-koh 她毋聽, tō 緊緊踏落坎仔. 來到街路, in 揣無馬車, tō ná 行 ná 揣, 擛手咻遠遠 teh 過 ê 車夫.

In 往 Seine 河行去, 心情䆀, koh 寒 kah phi̍h-phi̍h 掣. 落尾 tī 岸邊揣著一台走暗暝 ê 舊馬車; tī Paris 這種車干焦天暗才出來, 袂輸 tī 日時 in mā 因為 ka-tī ê 破毿感覺見笑.

馬車 kā in 送到 Martyrs 路 ê 厝門口, in peh 上轉厝 ê 坎仔, 心情無好. 對她來講, 代誌已經過去 ah. Á 伊 teh 煩惱明仔載 10 點著愛去部 ni̍h.

她褪落肩頭 ê 幔衫, 徛 tī 鏡前, 欲 koh 一改看 ka-tī 這身 ê 光彩. M̄-koh, 忽然她大聲叫出來. 她 ê 頷頸已經無掛袚鍊!

Yin 翁, 衫褪一半, 問講:

"你是按怎 lah?"

驚一趒, 她越 ǹg 伊講:

"我... 我... 我 kā Forester Tt ê 璇石袚鍊拍毋見 ah!"

伊掣一下, 跳起來講:

"啥? 那會? 那有 chit-lō 代誌!"

In 揣遍洋裝 ê 敆逝, 幔衫 ê 敆逝, lak 袋仔, 四界 lóng 揣. In lóng 揣無.

伊問:

"你確定, 離開舞會 ê 時, 伊猶 tī-leh 無?"

"是 ah, tī 部 ni̍h ê 前廳我猶有摸著."

"若講是 lak tī 街路, 咱應當會聽著聲. 定著是 lak tī 馬車頂."

"著, 有可能. 你有記彼台車 ê 號碼無?"

"無. 你 neh... 你敢有注意著?"

"無."

- -

3.

 All at once she discovered, in a box of black satin, a superb necklace of diamonds, and her heart began to beat with boundless desire. Her hands trembled in taking it up. She fastened it round her throat, on her high dress, and remained in ecstasy before herself.

Then, she asked, hesitating, full of anxiety:—

“Can you lend me this, only this?”

“Yes, yes, certainly.”

She sprang to her friend’s neck, kissed her with ardor, and then escaped with her treasure.

The day of the party arrived. Mme. Loisel was a success. She was the prettiest of them all, elegant, gracious, smiling, and mad with joy. All the men were looking at her, inquiring her name, asking to be introduced. All the attaches of the Cabinet wanted to dance with her. The Minister took notice of her.

She danced with delight, with passion, intoxicated with pleasure, thinking of nothing, in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, in a sort of cloud of happiness made up of all these tributes, of all the admirations, of all these awakened desires, of this victory so complete and so sweet to a woman’s heart.

She went away about four in the morning. Since midnight—her husband has been dozing in a little anteroom with three other men whose wives were having a good time.

He threw over her shoulders the wraps he had brought to go home in, modest garments of every-day life, the poverty of which was out of keeping with the elegance of the ball dress. She felt this, and wanted to fly so as not to be noticed by the other women, who were wrapping themselves up in rich furs.

Loisel kept her back—

“Wait a minute; you will catch cold outside; I’ll call a cab.”

But she did not listen to him, and went downstairs rapidly. When they were in the street, they could not find a carriage, and they set out in search of one, hailing the drivers whom they saw passing in the distance.

They went down toward the Seine, disgusted, shivering. Finally, they found on the Quai one of those old night-hawk cabs which one sees in Paris only after night has fallen, as though they are ashamed of their misery in the daytime.

It brought them to their door, rue des Martyrs; and they went up their own stairs sadly. For her it was finished. And he was thinking that he would have to be at the Ministry at ten o’clock.

She took off the wraps with which she had covered her shoulders, before the mirror, so as to see herself once more in her glory. But suddenly she gave a cry. She no longer had the necklace around her throat!

Her husband, half undressed already, asked—

“What is the matter with you?”

She turned to him, terror-stricken:—

“I—I—I have not Mme. Forester’s diamond necklace!”

He jumped up, frightened—

“What? How? It is not possible!”

And they searched in the folds of the dress, in the folds of the wrap, in the pockets, everywhere. They did not find it.

He asked:—

“Are you sure you still had it when you left the ball?”

“Yes, I touched it in the vestibule of the Ministry.”

“But if you had lost it in the street, we should have heard it fall. It must be in the cab.”

“Yes. That is probable. Did you take the number?”

“No. And you—you did not even look at it?”

“No.”

 - -

2. 去揣朋友借珠寶

2. Khì chhōe pêng-iú chioh chu-pó

Yi kō͘ siū-khì ê gán-sîn khòaⁿ i, bô nāi-hoân tōa-siaⁿ kóng:

"Lí boeh kiò góa chhēng siáⁿ khì ah."

I bô siūⁿ tio̍h che, thun-thun thò͘-thò͘ kóng:

"Lí chhēng khì khòaⁿ-hì hit-su saⁿ, góa kám-kak chin hó-khòaⁿ..."

I kín ha̍p-chhùi, kiaⁿ chi̍t-tiô, khòaⁿ tio̍h in bó͘ teh khàu. Nn̄g tōa-lia̍p ba̍k-sái ùi yi ê ba̍k-kîⁿ lâu kàu chhùi-kak. I i-i ū-ū kóng:

"Lí án-chóaⁿ lah? Án-chóaⁿ lah?"

Kek chiok tōa ê khùi-la̍t, yi chiah ah-lo̍h ka-tī ê khó͘-náu, kā nn̄g-pêng tâm chhùi-phé chhit-ta, yi kō͘ pêng-chēng ê siaⁿ-tiāu kóng:

"Bô siáⁿ lah. Chú-iàu sī góa bô súi-saⁿ, bē-tàng khì chham-ka chit-ê àm-hōe. Kā chit-tiuⁿ khah-phìⁿ sàng hō͘ lín tông-sū, khòaⁿ siáng in thài-thài pí góa khah ū ha̍h-chhēng ê saⁿ."

I chiâⁿ ut-chut. I koh kóng:

"Lí khòaⁿ, Mathilde, chò chi̍t-su ha̍h-chhēng ê saⁿ, tī pa̍t-ê tiûⁿ-ha̍p mā ē-tàng chhēng, khah phok-sò͘ ê, tio̍h ài gōa-chē?"

Yi siūⁿ chi̍t-khùn, tiàm hia sǹg lâi sǹg khì, koh khó-lī tio̍h yi thê-khí ê sò͘-bo̍k, bē hō͘ chit-ê khiām tiuh-tiuh ê chit-oân sûi kā kī-choa̍t.

"Siōng chió," yi tiû-tû chi̍t-ē chiah hôe-tap:

"Góa m̄-chai chèng-khak ê sò͘-jī, m̄-koh chāi góa khòaⁿ, nā ū 400 franc tō ē-sái tit ah."

I ê bīn sió-khóa hoán-pe̍h, in-ūi i tú-hó ū khiām hiah-ê chîⁿ, siūⁿ boeh bé chi̍t-ki la̍h-chhèng, thang tī joa̍h-thiⁿ ê kúi-ê lé-pài-ji̍t hām chi̍t-kóa pêng-iú khì Nanterre pêng-goân phah pek-lêng-chiáu (lark).

M̄-koh i kóng:

"Án-ne hó. Góa hō͘ lí 400 franc. M̄-koh lí tio̍h kā saⁿ chò súi-súi."

Àm-hōe ê ji̍t-chí óa ah, m̄-koh Loisel Tt hián-tit ut-būn, put-an, iu-chhiû. Yi ê saⁿ chò hó ah. Chi̍t-àm, yin ang kā mn̄g:

"Sī án-chóaⁿ lah? Lí khòaⁿ, chòe kīn saⁿ-kang lí chiâⁿ kî-koài."

Yi ìn kóng:

"Góa hoân-ló ê sī, bô chu-pó, bô pó-chio̍h thang kòa. Án-ne chin iàn-khì. Góa chin siūⁿ mài khì chham-ka chit-ê àm-hōe." 

I kóng:

"Lí ē-sái chhah chhiⁿ-hoe ah. Chit-ê kùi-cheh án-ne chin sî-kiâⁿ. Khai 10 franc tō ē-tàng bé nn̄g/saⁿ lúi súi tang-tang ê mûi-kùi."

M̄-koh yi thiaⁿ bē ji̍p-khì.

"Bē iōng-tit; tī chi̍t-tui hó-gia̍h cha-bó͘ tiong-kan hián-chhut sàn-chhiah, bô pí he koh-khah hiān-sì ah-lah."

Yin ang hoah-siaⁿ kóng:

"Ū-kàu gōng! Soah bē-hiáu khì chhōe lín pêng-iú Forester Tt, kā chioh kúi-ê-á chu-pó. Lí kap yi ū kau-chêng, chò ē-kàu lah."

Yi hoaⁿ-hí kah kiò chhut-lâi:

"Bô m̄-tio̍h, góa soah bô siūⁿ tio̍h."

Keh-kang, yi khì yin pêng-iú tau, kóng khí ka-tī ê khùn-jiáu.

Forester Tt kiâⁿ óa tàu-kiàⁿ ê saⁿ-kūi, the̍h chi̍t-ê tōa a̍p-á chah kòe lâi, koh phah-khui, kā Loisel Tt kóng:

"Chhāi lí kéng, chhin-ài-ê."

Yi seng khòaⁿ kúi-ê chhiú-khoân, koh khòaⁿ chi̍t-ê chin-chu phoa̍h-liān, koh khòaⁿ chi̍t-ê an pó-chio̍h ê Venice kim si̍p-jī-kè, chò-kang chin iù. Yi tī kiàⁿ chêng chhì chiah-ê chng-thāⁿ-mi̍h, tiû-tû bē-tiāⁿ, m̄-chai kéng tó chi̍t-kiāⁿ hó. Yi tiu-tiu mn̄g:

"Lí kám iáu ū pa̍t-hāng?"

"Ū neh, ū. Tī chia. Góa m̄-chai tó chi̍t-hāng khah ha̍h lí ê ì."

- -

2. 去揣朋友借珠寶

她 kō͘ 受氣 ê 眼神看伊, 無耐煩大聲講:

"你欲叫我穿啥去 ah."

伊無想著 che, 吞吞吐吐講:

"你穿去看戲彼軀衫, 我感覺真好看..."

伊緊合喙, 驚一趒, 看著 in 某 teh 哭. 兩大粒目屎 ùi 她 ê 目墘流到喙角. 伊 i-i ū-ū 講:

"你按怎 lah? 按怎 lah?"

激足大 ê 氣力, 她才壓落 ka-tī ê 苦惱, kā 兩爿澹喙䫌拭焦, 她 kō͘ 平靜 ê 聲調講:

"無啥 lah. 主要是我無媠衫, 袂當去參加這个暗會. Kā 這張卡片送予恁同事, 看 siáng in 太太比我較有合穿 ê 衫."

伊誠鬱卒. 伊 koh 講:

"你看, Mathilde, 做一軀合穿 ê 衫, tī 別个場合 mā 會當穿, 較樸素 ê, 著愛偌濟?"

她想一睏, 踮 hia 算來算去, koh 考慮著她提起 ê 數目, 袂予這个儉 tiuh-tiuh ê 職員隨 kā 拒絕.

"上少," 她躊躇一下才回答:

"我毋知正確 ê 數字, m̄-koh 在我看, 若有 400 franc tō 會使得 ah."

伊 ê 面小可反白, 因為伊拄好有儉 hiah-ê 錢, 想欲買一支獵銃, 通 tī 熱天 ê 幾个禮拜日和一寡朋友去 Nanterre 平原拍百靈鳥 (lark).

M̄-koh 伊講:

"Án-ne 好. 我予你 400 franc. M̄-koh 你著 kā 衫做媠媠."

暗會 ê 日子倚 ah, m̄-koh Loisel Tt 顯得鬱悶, 不安, 憂愁. 她 ê 衫做好 ah. 一暗, yin 翁 kā 問:

"是按怎 lah? 你看, 最近三工你誠奇怪."

她應講:

"我煩惱 ê 是, 無珠寶, 無寶石通掛. Án-ne 真厭氣. 我真想莫去參加這个暗會." 

伊講:

"你會使插鮮花 ah. 這个季節 án-ne 真時行. 開 10 franc tō 會當買兩三蕊媠 tang-tang ê 玫瑰."

M̄-koh 她聽袂入去.

"袂用得; tī 一堆好額查某中間顯出散赤, 無比 he koh 較現世 ah-lah."

Yin 翁喝聲講:

"有夠戇! 煞袂曉去揣恁朋友 Forester Tt, kā 借幾个仔珠寶. 你 kap 她有交情, 做會到 lah."

她歡喜 kah 叫出來:

"無毋著, 我煞無想著."

隔工, 她去 yin 朋友兜, 講起 ka-tī ê 困擾.

Forester Tt 行倚鬥鏡 ê 衫櫃, 提一个大盒仔扎過來, koh 拍開, kā Loisel Tt 講:

"在你揀, 親愛 ê."

她先看幾个手環, koh 看一个真珠袚鍊, koh 看一个安寶石 ê Venice 金十字架, 做工真幼. 她 tī 鏡前試 chiah-ê 妝 thāⁿ 物, 躊躇袂定, 毋知揀佗一件好. 她 tiu-tiu 問:

"你敢猶有別項?"

"有 neh, 有. Tī chia. 我毋知佗一項較合你 ê 意."

- -

2.

She looked at him with an irritated eye and she declared with impatience:—

“What do you want me to put on my back to go there?”

He had not thought of that; he hesitated:—

“But the dress in which you go to the theater. That looks very well to me—”

He shut up, astonished and distracted at seeing that his wife was weeping. Two big tears were descending slowly from the corners of the eyes to the corners of the mouth. He stuttered:—

"What’s the matter? What’s the matter?”

But by a violent effort she had conquered her trouble, and she replied in a calm voice as she wiped her damp cheeks:—

“Nothing. Only I have no clothes, and in consequence I cannot go to this party. Give your card to some colleague whose wife has a better outfit than I.”

He was disconsolate. He began again:—

“See here, Mathilde, how much would this cost, a proper dress, which would do on other occasions; something very simple?”

She reflected a few seconds, going over her calculations, and thinking also of the sum which she might ask without meeting an immediate refusal and a frightened exclamation from the frugal clerk.

“At last," she answered hesitatingly:—

“I don’t know exactly, but it seems to me that with four hundred francs I might do it.”

He grew a little pale, for he was reserving just that sum to buy a gun and treat himself to a little shooting, the next summer, on the plain of Nanterre, with some friends who used to shoot larks there on Sundays.

But he said:—

“All right. I will give you four hundred francs. But take care to have a pretty dress.” 

The day of the party drew near, and Mme. Loisel seemed sad, restless, anxious. Yet her dress was ready. One evening her husband said to her:—

“What’s the matter? Come, now, you have been quite queer these last three days.”

And she answered:—

“It annoys me not to have a jewel, not a single stone, to put on. I shall look like distress. I would almost rather not go to this party.”

He answered:—

“You will wear some natural flowers. They are very stylish this time of the year. For ten francs you will have two or three magnificent roses.”

But she was not convinced.

“No; there’s nothing more humiliating than to look poor among a lot of rich women.”

But her husband cried:—

“What a goose you are! Go find your friend, Mme. Forester, and ask her to lend you some jewelry. You know her well enough to do that.”

She gave a cry of joy:—

“That’s true. I had not thought of it.”

The next day she went to her friend’s and told her about her distress.

Mme. Forester went to her mirrored wardrobe, took out a large casket, brought it, opened it, and said to Mme. Loisel:—

“Choose, my dear.”

She saw at first bracelets, then a necklace of pearls, then a Venetian cross of gold set with precious stones of an admirable workmanship. She tried on the ornaments before the glass, hesitated, and could not decide to take them off and to give them up. She kept on asking:—

“You haven’t anything else?”

“Yes, yes. Look. I do not know what will happen to please you.”

 - -

H. Phoa̍h-liān | 袚鍊 - 1. 得著教育部長 ê 請帖

The Necklace /by Guy de Maupassant

https://www.bartleby.com/195/20.html

Phoa̍h-liān | 袚鍊

Goân chok-chiá: Guy de Maupassant /gi de mopasóⁿ/

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1. Tit tio̍h Kàu-io̍k Pō͘-tiúⁿ ê chhiáⁿ-thiap

Yi sǹg sī chi̍t-ê súi koh bê-lâng ê cha-bó͘ gín-á, in-ūi miā-ūn ê chok-lōng, chhut-sì tī chi̍t-ê sin-súi kai-kip ê ka-têng. Yi bô kè-chng, bô ǹg-bāng, bô ki-hōe thang hông jīn-bat, liáu-kái, ì-ài, bô ki-hōe kè hō͘ chi̍t-ê ū chîⁿ koh chhut-sek ê cha-po͘; choăn yi khò môe-lâng kā chò hō͘ chi̍t-ê tī Kàu-io̍k-po͘ chia̍h thâu-lō͘ ê sió chit-oân. 

In-ūi bô-thang chng-thāⁿ, yi chhēng-chhah kán-tan; m̄-koh yi bē hoaⁿ-hí, kám-kak bô ha̍h ka-tī ê sin-hūn; in-ūi bô kai-kip kap bô tē-ūi ê cha-bó͘-lâng, tio̍h óa-khò ka-tī ê bí-lē, ngá-tì, kap bī-le̍k, bē-sái óa-khò sin-sè kap châi-hù. Yin thian-seng ê châi-lêng, pún-sèng ê iu-ngá, sim-su ê liú-lia̍h tō sī yin ê kai-kip; chiah-ê hō͘ pêng-bîn ê cha-bó͘-kiáⁿ kap siōng ko-sióng ê kùi-hū ē-tit pí-phēng.

Yi chhim-chhim siū-khó͘, jīn-ûi ka-tī seⁿ lâi tō sī boeh kòe ko-ngá, chhia-hoa ê seng-oa̍h. Yi ē siū-khó͘, in-ūi yi tòa sàn-chhiah ê chhù, piah phòa-kū, toh-í lak-chhat, pò͘-liāu àu-kó͘. Só͘-ū chiah-ê tāi-chì, kap yi kāng tē-ūi ê cha-bó͘ khó-lêng bē khì chù-ì, m̄-koh lóng hō͘ yi kan-khó͘ koh siong-sim. Khòaⁿ tio̍h hit-ê ùi Brittany lâi ê sió ko͘-niû thè yi chò pi-bî ê khang-khòe, sim-ni̍h tō ín-khí pi-ai ê kám-khài kap bô-piⁿ ê bāng-sióng. Yi hō͘ ka-tī ê sim-su thêng tī iu-chēng ê thiaⁿ-tn̂g, hia kòa Tang-hong lâi ê kòa-thán, tiám koân-kha ê tâng teng, iáu-ū nn̄g-ê chhēng khàm kha-thâu-u té-khò͘ ê lò-kha ka-po̍k, chē tī tōa phòng-í tuh-ku, in-ūi hóe-lô͘ ê sio-khì hō͘ in ài-khùn. Yi koh kā sim-su thêng tī khoan-khoah ê kheh-thiaⁿ, hia chong-sek kó-chá ê si-tiû, ū iù-tì ê ka-kū, khǹg kok-chióng tin-kùi ê kó͘-tóng, sim-su mā thêng tī hôa-lē ê sió kheh-pâng, hia phang kòng-kòng, chún-pī gō͘-tiám ê sî hām thōng chhin-bi̍t ê pêng-iú tī hia khai-káng, in lóng sī chhut-miâ, lâng-lâng kah-ì ê cha-po͘, só͘-ū cha-bó͘ lóng him-siān koh kî-thāi in ê chù-ì.

Yi chē lo̍h boeh chia̍h-pn̄g ê sî, toh-kin tú ōaⁿ saⁿ-kang, tùi-bīn chē yin ang; i hian khui oe-á kòa, móa sim boán-chiok kóng, "Ah, chit-oe thng chiâⁿ chán. Bô pí che koh khah hó ah," á yi teh siūⁿ ê, sī chia̍h iù-lō͘ ê chhài-sek, kō͘ kim sih-sih ê gîn-khì, piah-téng ê kòa-thán siù kó͘-chong jîn-bu̍t kap ná sian-kéng ê chhiū-nâ, lāi-bīn ū hi-kî ê chiáu-chiah; yi teh siūⁿ ê, sī kō͘ bêng-kùi chhan-pôaⁿ té ê hó-chia̍h mi̍h, ná chia̍h hún-âng chun-hî (鱒魚, trout) bah a̍h ian-chhun (鵪鶉, qail) si̍t, ná bî-chhiò khin-siaⁿ kóng kap thiaⁿ o-ló ê ōe. 

Yi bô súi-saⁿ, bô chu-pó, siáⁿ to bô. Á yi to̍k-to̍k kah-ì chiah-ê; yi kám-kak ka-tī seⁿ lâi tō sī kan-ta ūi tio̍h chiah-ê. Yi hui-siông hi-bāng tit lâng thiàⁿ, siū lâng him-siān, ū lâng giàn, ū lâng tui-kiû.

Yi ū chi̍t-ê hó-gia̍h pêng-iú, sī tha̍k kàu-hōe cha-bó͘ ha̍k-hāu ê tông-chhong, yi bô-ài koh khì chhōe yi, in-ūi lī-khui ê sî koh khah kan-khó͘. Yi kui-ji̍t teh khàu, in-ūi gêng-sim, hiō-hóe, sit-bōng, koh khùn-khó͘. 

M̄-koh, ū chi̍t-kang boeh-àm, yin ang hoaⁿ-thâu-hí-bīn tńg lâi, chhiú the̍h chi̍t-ê tōa phe-lông.

"Lí khòaⁿ," i kóng, "chia ū mi̍h-kiāⁿ boeh hō͘ lí."

Yi kín kā thiah-khui, the̍h chhut chi̍t-tiuⁿ khah-phìⁿ, téng-bīn ìn chiah-ê jī:

"Kàu-io̍k Pō͘-tiúⁿ Georges Rampouneau Ss k Tt* kiong-chhiáⁿ Loisel Ss k Tt tī chiaⁿ-goe̍h 18, pài-it, kong-lîm Kàu-io̍k-pō͘ chham-ka àm-hōe." [* Ss k Tt = Sian-siⁿ  kap Thài-thài]

Bô chhiūⁿ yin ang só͘ kî-thāi ê hiah hoaⁿ-hí, yi kā chhiáⁿ-thiap phiaⁿ tī toh-téng, ká-ná chin àu-náu, ná án-ne nauh:

"Lí kiò góa boeh án-chóaⁿ hó lah?"

"M̄-koh, chhin-ài ê, góa siūⁿ-kóng lí ē chin hoaⁿ-hí neh. Lí lóng bô teh chhut-mn̂g, á che sī chi̍t-ê ki-hōe, chin hó ê ki-hōe. Góa chhut bē-chió la̍t chiah tit-tio̍h che. Ta̍k-ê lóng siūⁿ boeh ài; lâng-lâng teh cheng-chhú, chin chió chit-oân tit-tio̍h iau-chhiáⁿ. Tī hia, lí ē-tàng tú tio̍h chē-chē ê koaⁿ-oân."

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1. 得著教育部長 ê 請帖

她算是一个媠 koh 迷人 ê 查某囡仔, 因為命運 ê 作弄, 出世 tī 一个薪水階級 ê 家庭. 她無嫁粧, 無 ǹg 望, 無機會通 hông 認 bat, 了解, 意愛, 無機會嫁予一个有錢 koh 出色 ê 查埔; choăn 她靠媒人 kā 做予一个 tī 教育部食頭路 ê 小職員. 

因為無通妝 thāⁿ, 她穿插簡單; m̄-koh 她袂歡喜, 感覺無合 ka-tī ê 身份; 因為無階級 kap 無地位 ê 查某人, 著倚靠 ka-tī ê 美麗, 雅致, kap 魅力, 袂使倚靠身世 kap 財富. Yin 天生 ê 才能, 本性 ê 優雅, 心思 ê 扭掠 tō 是 yin ê 階級; chiah-ê 予平民 ê 查某囝 kap 上高尚 ê 貴婦會得比並.

她深深受苦, 認為 ka-tī 生來 tō 是欲過高雅, 奢華 ê 生活. 她會受苦, 因為她蹛散赤 ê 厝, 壁破舊, 桌椅 lak 漆, 布料漚古. 所有 chiah-ê 代誌, kap 她仝地位 ê 查某可能袂去注意, m̄-koh lóng 予她艱苦 koh 傷心. 看著彼个 ùi Brittany 來 ê 小姑娘替她做卑微 ê 工課, 心 ni̍h tō 引起悲哀 ê 感慨 kap 無邊 ê 夢想. 她予 ka-tī ê 心思停 tī 幽靜 ê 廳堂, hia 掛東方來 ê 掛毯, 點懸跤 ê 銅燈, 猶有兩个穿崁跤頭趺短褲 ê 躼跤家僕, 坐 tī 大膨椅 tuh-ku, 因為火爐 ê 燒氣予 in 愛睏. 她 koh kā 心思停 tī 寬闊 ê 客廳, hia 裝飾古早 ê 絲綢, 有幼致 ê 家具, 囥各種珍貴 ê 古董, 心思 mā 停 tī 華麗 ê 小客房, hia 芳 kòng-kòng, 準備五點 ê 時和 thōng 親密 ê 朋友 tī hia 開講, in lóng 是出名, 人人佮意 ê 查埔, 所有查某 lóng 欣羨 koh 期待 in ê 注意.

她坐落欲食飯 ê 時, 桌巾 tú 換三工, 對面坐 yin 翁; 伊掀開鍋仔蓋, 滿心滿足講, "Ah, 這鍋湯誠讚. 無比這 koh 較好 ah," á 她 teh 想 ê, 是食幼路 ê 菜色, kō͘ 金 sih-sih ê 銀器, 壁頂 ê 掛毯繡古裝人物 kap ná 仙境 ê 樹林, 內面有稀奇 ê 鳥隻; 她 teh 想 ê, 是 kō͘ 名貴餐盤 té ê 好食 mi̍h, ná 食粉紅 chun-hî (鱒魚, trout) 肉 a̍h ian-chhun (鵪鶉, qail) 翼, ná 微笑輕聲講 kap 聽 o-ló ê 話. 

她無媠衫, 無珠寶, 啥 to 無. Á 她獨獨佮意 chiah-ê; 她感覺 ka-tī 生來 tō 是干焦為著 chiah-ê. 她非常希望得人疼, 受人欣羨, 有人癮, 有人追求.

她有一个好額朋友, 是讀教會查某學校 ê 同窗, 她無愛 koh 去揣她, 因為離開 ê 時 koh 較艱苦. 她規日 teh 哭, 因為凝心, 後悔, 失望, koh 困苦. 

M̄-koh, 有一工欲暗, yin 翁歡頭喜面轉來, 手提一个大 phe-lông.

"你看," 伊講, "chia 有物件欲予你."

她緊 kā 拆開, 提出一張卡片, 頂面印 chiah-ê 字:

"教育部長 Georges Rampouneau Ss k Tt* 恭請 Loisel Ss k Tt tī 正月 18, 拜一, 光臨教育部參加暗會." [* Ss k Tt = Sian-siⁿ  kap Thài-thài]

無像 yin 翁所期待 ê hiah 歡喜, 她 kā 請帖抨 tī 桌頂, ká-ná 真懊惱, ná án-ne nauh:

"你叫我欲按怎好 lah?"

"M̄-koh, 親愛 ê, 我想講你會真歡喜 neh. 你 lóng 無 teh 出門, á 這是一个機會, 真好 ê 機會. 我出袂少力才得著這. 逐个 lóng 想欲愛; 人人 teh 爭取, 真少職員得著邀請. Tī hia, 你會當拄著濟濟 ê 官員."

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1.

SHE was one of those pretty and charming girls, born by a blunder of destiny in a family of employees. She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood, loved, married by a man rich and distinguished; and she let them make a match for her with a little clerk in the Department of Education.

She was simple since she could not be adorned; but she was unhappy as though kept out of her own class; for women have no caste and no descent, their beauty, their grace, and their charm serving them instead of birth and fortune. Their native keenness, their instinctive elegance, their flexibility of mind, are their only hierarchy; and these make the daughters of the people the equals of the most lofty dames.

She suffered intensely, feeling herself born for every delicacy and every luxury. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the worn walls, the abraded chairs, the ugliness of the stuffs. All these things, which another woman of her caste would not even have noticed, tortured her and made her indignant. The sight of the little girl from Brittany who did her humble housework awoke in her desolated regrets and distracted dreams. She let her mind dwell on the quiet vestibules, hung with Oriental tapestries, lighted by tall lamps of bronze, and on the two tall footmen in knee breeches who dozed in the large armchairs, made drowsy by the heat of the furnace. She let her mind dwell on the large parlors, decked with old silk, with their delicate furniture, supporting precious bric-a-brac, and on the coquettish little rooms, perfumed, prepared for the five o’clock chat with the most intimate friends, men well known and sought after, whose attentions all women envied and desired.

When she sat down to dine, before a tablecloth three days old, in front of her husband, who lifted the cover of the tureen, declaring with an air of satisfaction, “Ah, the good pot-au-feu. I don’t know anything better than that,” she was thinking of delicate repasts, with glittering silver, with tapestries peopling the walls with ancient figures and with strange birds in a fairy-like forest; she was thinking of exquisite dishes, served in marvelous platters, of compliment whispered and heard with a sphinx-like smile, while she was eating the rosy flesh of a trout or the wings of a quail.

She had no dresses, no jewelry, nothing. And she loved nothing else; she felt herself made for that only. She would so much have liked to please, to be envied, to be seductive and sought after.

She had a rich friend, a comrade of her convent days, whom she did not want to go and see any more, so much did she suffer as she came away. And she wept all day long, from chagrin, from regret, from despair, and from distress.

But one evening her husband came in with a proud air, holding in his hand a large envelope.

“There,” said he, “there’s something for you.”

She quickly tore the paper and took out of it a printed card which bore these words:—

“The Minister of Education and Mme. Georges Rampouneau beg M. and Mme. Loisel to do them the honor to pass the evening with them at the palace of the Ministry, on Monday, January 18.”

Instead of being delighted, as her husband hoped, she threw the invitation on the table with annoyance, murmuring—

“What do you want me to do with that?”

“But, my dear, I thought you would be pleased. You never go out, and here’s a chance, a fine one. I had the hardest work to get it. Everybody is after them; they are greatly sought for and not many are given to the clerks. You will see there all the official world.”

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6. 猶會記得著用石頭

6. Iáu ē-kì-tit tio̍h iōng chio̍h-thâu

"Kì hō͘ hó," Summers Ss kóng, "thiu-khau liáu, tán ta̍k-ê lóng thiu hó chiah phah-khui khau-á. Harry, lí kā sè-hàn Dave tàu-kha-chhiú." Graves Ss khan sè-hàn gín-á ê chhiú, i tō koai-koai tòe i kiâⁿ kàu siuⁿ-á hia. "Ùi siuⁿ-á ni̍h the̍h chi̍t-ki chóa-khau chhut-lâi, Davy," Summers Ss kóng. "Harry, lí thè i ni tio̍h." Graves Ss gia̍h khí gín-á ê chhiú, kā chóa-khau ùi Dave tēⁿ ân ê kûn-thâu-bó the̍h khì ka-tī tēⁿ, Dave khiā tī piⁿ-á, kám-kak koài-kî lia̍h i khòaⁿ.

"Koh lâi sī Nancy," Summers Ss kóng. Nancy cha̍p-jī hòe, yi iô-tāng kûn-ki kiâⁿ ǹg chêng, koh ùi siuⁿ-á ni̍h chin kín thiu chi̍t-ki khau ê sî, yin tông-o̍h lóng chhoán chi̍t-ê tn̂g-khùi. "Sió Bill," Summers Ss kiò, bīn âng-âng, kha-tê tōa ê Billy ùi siuⁿ-á thiu chhut chóa-khau ê sî, hiám-á kā siuⁿ-á lòng tó khì. "Tessie," Summers Ss kiò. Yi tiû-tû chi̍t-khùn, kō͘ put-ho̍k ê ba̍k-kng sì-kè khòaⁿ chi̍t-ē, chhùi-tûn peⁿ ân kiâⁿ kàu siuⁿ-á hia. Yi lia̍h chi̍t-ki chóa-khau chhut-lâi, iap-āu tēⁿ tio̍h.

"Bill," Summers Ss kiò, Bill Hutchinson tō chhun-chhiú ji̍p siuⁿ-á, chhiú hôe lâi hôe khì, lo̍h-bóe chiah kiu chhut tēⁿ chi̍t-ki chóa-khau ê chhiú. 

Lâng-tīn tiām chiuh-chiuh. Chi̍t-ê cha-bó͘ gín-á sè-siaⁿ kóng, "Góa hi-bāng he m̄-sī Nancy," khin-khin ê siaⁿ thoân kàu lâng-tīn ê sì-kho͘-liàn-tńg.

"Kòe-khì m̄-sī chit-lō iūⁿ," Warner Lāu-sian kóng kah chheng-chheng chhó-chhó. "Lâng í-keng kap kòe-khì tōa bô-kāng ah."

"Hó ah," Summers Ss kóng, "kā chóa-khau phah-khui. Harry, lí phah-khui sè-hàn Dave ê khau-á."

Graves Ss phah-khui chóa-khau, kā gia̍h koân-koân hō͘ ta̍k-lâng lóng khòaⁿ ē-tio̍h he sī khang-pe̍h ê, ū chi̍t-phiàn ê hoah-siaⁿ. Kāng hit-sî, Nancy hām Sió Bill mā phah-khui in ê, nn̄g-lâng ba̍k-chiu chi̍t-ē kim, chhiò chhut-lâi, se̍h sin ǹg chèng-lâng, kā in ê chóa-khau gia̍h kàu thâu-khak téng.

"Tessie," Summers Ss kóng. Thêng chi̍t-ē liáu-āu, Summers Ss khòaⁿ khì Bill Hutchinson hia, á Bill kā i ê chóa-khau phah-khui, the̍h hō͘ lâng khòaⁿ. He sī khang-pe̍h ê.

"Nā án-ne, tō sī Tessie," Summers Ss kóng, i koh ah-kē siaⁿ-im kóng, "Bill, kā yi ê chóa-khau the̍h lâi khòaⁿ."

Bill Hutchinson kiâⁿ ǹg in bó͘, ùi yi ê chhiú kā chóa-khau ngē pak chhut-lâi. Téng-bīn ū chi̍t-ê o͘ tiám, he o͘ tiám sī Summers Ss cha-mê kō͘ thô͘-thòaⁿ kong-si pan-kong-sek ê te̍k-o͘ iân-pit ōe ê. Bill Hutchinson kā chóa-khau gia̍h koân, lâng-tīn chhut-hiān chi̍t-chūn jiáu-tāng.

"Hó ah, Hiong-chhin ah," Summers Ss kóng, "lán kóaⁿ-kín lâi kiat-sok."

Sui-jiân chhun-bîn í-keng bē-kì-tit gî-sek, mā bô tong-chho͘ hit-ê o͘ siuⁿ-á, in iáu ē-kì-tit tio̍h iōng chio̍h-thâu. Hiah-ê cha-po͘ gín-á chá-chêng kok ê chio̍h-thâu-tui í-keng khoán hó-sè; sàm ū siuⁿ-á chhut-lâi ê chóa-tiâu ê thô͘-kha mā iáu ū chio̍h-thâu. Delacroix kéng chi̍t-lia̍p tōa chio̍h-thâu, he yi tio̍h kō͘ siang-chhiú chiah poaⁿ ē tāng, tō oa̍t-sin ǹg Dunbar Tt kóng, "Tâng-chê, khah kín leh." 

Dunbar Tt siang-chhiú lóng the̍h sè-lia̍p chio̍h-thâu-á, ná phīⁿ-phēⁿ chhoán ná kóng, "Góa kin-pún bô hoat-tō͘ cháu. Lí tio̍h chò thâu-chêng, góa ùi āu-piah tòe lí."

Gín-á lóng ū the̍h chio̍h-thâu ah. Mā ū-lâng the̍h kúi-lia̍p-á sè-chio̍h-á hō͘ sè-hàn Devy Hutchinson.

Taⁿ, Tessie Hutchinson sī tī chheng chhut-lâi ê khang-tē ê tiong-ng, chhun-bîn kiâⁿ ǹg yi ê sî, yi choa̍t-bōng chhun-chhut siang-chhiú. "Án-ne bô kong-pêng ah," yi kóng. Chi̍t-lia̍p chio̍h-thâu kòng tio̍h yi ê pìn-piⁿ. Warner Lāu-sian hoah kóng, "Hiong-chhin ah, hiòng chêng, hiòng chêng."  Steve Adams tī chhun-bîn lâng-tīn ê siōng thâu-chêng, āu-piah tòe Graves Tt.

"Che bô kong-pêng lah," Hutchinson Tt chiam-siaⁿ kiò, á hit-sî lâng-tīn chò chi̍t-ē chhi̍h óa-khì.

[Soah]

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6. 猶會記得著用石頭

"記予好," Summers Ss 講, "抽 khau 了, 等逐个 lóng 抽好才拍開 khau 仔. Harry, 你 kā 細漢 Dave 鬥跤手." Graves Ss 牽細漢囡仔 ê 手, 伊 tō 乖乖綴伊行到箱仔 hia. "Ùi 箱仔 ni̍h 提一支紙 khau 出來, Davy," Summers Ss 講. "Harry, 你替伊 ni 著." Graves Ss 攑起囡仔 ê 手, kā 紙 khau ùi Dave 捏絚 ê 拳頭母提去 ka-tī 捏, Dave 徛 tī 邊仔, 感覺怪奇掠伊看.

"Koh 來是 Nancy," Summers Ss 講. Nancy 十二歲, 她搖動裙裾行 ǹg 前, koh ùi 箱仔 ni̍h 真緊抽一支 khau ê 時, yin 同學 lóng 喘一个長氣. "小 Bill," Summers Ss 叫, 面紅紅, 跤蹄大 ê Billy ùi 箱仔抽出紙 khau ê 時, 險仔 kā 箱仔挵倒去. "Tessie," Summers Ss 叫. 她躊躇一睏, kō͘ 不服 ê 目光四界看一下, 喙唇繃絚行到箱仔 hia. 她掠一支紙 khau 出來, iap 後捏著.

"Bill," Summers Ss 叫, Bill Hutchinson tō 伸手入箱仔, 手回來回去, 落尾才勼出捏一支紙 khau ê 手. 

人陣恬 chiuh-chiuh. 一个查某囡仔細聲講, "我希望彼毋是 Nancy," 輕輕 ê 聲傳到人陣 ê 四箍輾轉.

"過去毋是 chit-lō 樣," Warner 老先講 kah 清清楚楚. "人已經 kap 過去大無仝 ah."

"好 ah," Summers Ss 講, "kā 紙 khau 拍開. Harry, 你拍開細漢 Dave ê khau 仔."

Graves Ss 拍開紙 khau, kā 攑懸懸予逐人 lóng 看會著彼是空白 ê, 有一遍 ê 喝聲. 仝彼時, Nancy 和小 Bill mā 拍開 in ê, 兩人目睭一下金, 笑出來, 踅身 ǹg 眾人, kā in ê 紙 khau 攑到頭殼頂.

"Tessie," Summers Ss 講. 停一下了後, Summers Ss 看去 Bill Hutchinson hia, á Bill kā 伊 ê 紙 khau 拍開, 提予人看. 彼是空白 ê.

"若 án-ne, tō 是 Tessie," Summers Ss 講, 伊 koh 壓低聲音講, "Bill, kā 她 ê 紙 khau 提來看."

Bill Hutchinson 行 ǹg in 某, ùi 她 ê 手 kā 紙 khau 硬剝出來. 頂面有一个烏點, he 烏點是 Summers Ss 昨暝 kō͘ 塗炭公司辦公室 ê 特烏鉛筆畫 ê. Bill Hutchinson kā 紙 khau 攑懸, 人陣出現一陣擾動.

"好 ah, 鄉親 ah," Summers Ss 講, "咱趕緊來結束."

雖然村民已經袂記得儀式, mā 無當初彼个烏箱仔, in 猶會記得著用石頭. Hiah-ê 查埔囡仔早前 kok ê 石頭堆已經款好勢; sám 有箱仔出來 ê 紙條 ê 塗跤 mā 猶有石頭. Delacroix 揀一粒大石頭, he 她著 kō͘ 雙手才搬會動, tō 越身 ǹg Dunbar Tt 講, "同齊, 較緊 leh." 

Dunbar Tt 雙手 lóng 提細粒石頭仔, ná phīⁿ-phēⁿ 喘 ná 講, "我根本無法度走. 你著做頭前, 我 ùi 後壁綴你."

囡仔 lóng 有提石頭 ah. Mā 有人提幾粒仔細石仔予細漢 Devy Hutchinson.

今, Tessie Hutchinson 是 tī 清出來 ê 空地 ê 中央, 村民行 ǹg 她 ê 時, 她絕望伸出雙手. "Án-ne 無公平 ah," 她講. 一粒石頭摃著 yi ê 鬢邊. Warner 老先喝講, "鄉親 ah, 向前, 向前."  Steve Adams tī 村民人陣 ê 上頭前, 後壁綴 Graves Tt.

"這無公平 lah," Hutchinson Tt 尖聲叫, á 彼時人陣做一下 chhi̍h 倚去.

[煞]

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6.

"Remember," Mr. Summers said, "take the slips and keep them folded until each person has taken one. Harry, you help little Dave." Mr. Graves took the hand of the little boy, who came willingly with him up to the box. "Take a paper out of the box, Davy." Mr. Summers said. Davy put his hand into the box and laughed. "Take just one paper," Mr. Summers said. "Harry, you hold it for him." Mr. Graves took the child's hand and removed the folded paper from the tight fist and held it while little Dave stood next to him and looked up at him wonderingly.

"Nancy next," Mr. Summers said. Nancy was twelve, and her school friends breathed heavily as she went forward switching her skirt, and took a slip daintily from the box. "Bill, Jr.," Mr. Summers said, and Billy, his face red and his feet overlarge, near knocked the box over as he got a paper out. "Tessie," Mr. Summers said. She hesitated for a minute, looking around defiantly, and then set her lips and went up to the box. She snatched a paper out and held it behind her.

"Bill," Mr. Summers said, and Bill Hutchinson reached into the box and felt around, bringing his hand out at last with the slip of paper in it.

The crowd was quiet. A girl whispered, "I hope it's not Nancy," and the sound of the whisper reached the edges of the crowd.

"It's not the way it used to be," Old Man Warner said clearly. "People ain't the way they used to be."

"All right," Mr. Summers said. "Open the papers. Harry, you open little Dave's."

Mr. Graves opened the slip of paper and there was a general sigh through the crowd as he held it up and everyone could see that it was blank. Nancy and Bill. Jr. opened theirs at the same time, and both beamed and laughed, turning around to the crowd and holding their slips of paper above their heads.

"Tessie," Mr. Summers said. There was a pause, and then Mr. Summers looked at Bill Hutchinson, and Bill unfolded his paper and showed it. It was blank.

"It's Tessie," Mr. Summers said, and his voice was hushed. "Show us her paper. Bill."

Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office. Bill Hutchinson held it up, and there was a stir in the crowd.

"All right, folks." Mr. Summers said. "Let's finish quickly."

Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones. The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready; there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out of the box. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. "Come on," she said. "Hurry up."

Mr. Dunbar had small stones in both hands, and she said, gasping for breath, "I can't run at all. You'll have to go ahead and I'll catch up with you."

The children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles.

Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. "It isn't fair," she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, "Come on, come on, everyone." Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him.

"It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.

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