《魔法師的外甥》第29期:安德魯舅舅的麻煩開始了(6)

You see, the foolish old man was actuAlly beginning to imagine the Witch would fall in love with him. The two drinks probably had something to do with it, and so had his best clothes. But he was, in any case, as vain as a peacock; that was why he had become a Magician.

He unlocked' the door, went downstairs, sent the housemaid out to fetch a hansom (everyone had lots of servants in those days) and looked into the drawingroom. There, as he expected, he found Aunt Letty. She was busily mending a mattress. It lay on the floor near the window and she was kneeling on it.

"Ah, Letitia my dear," said Uncle Andrew, "I - ah have to go out. Just lend me five pounds or so, there's a good gel." ("Gel" was the way he pronounced girl.)

"No, Andrew dear," said Aunty Letty in her firm, quiet voice, without looking up from her work. "I've told you times without number that I will not lend you money."

"Now pray don't be troublesome, my dear gel," said Uncle Andrew. "It's most important. You will put me in a deucedly awkward position if you don't."

"Andrew," said Aunt Letty, looking him straight in the face, "I wonder you are not ashamed to ask me for money."

There was a long, dull story of a grown-up kind behind these words. All you need to know about it is that Uncle Andrew, what with "managing dear Letty's business matters for her", and never doing any work, and running up large bills for brandy and cigars (which Aunt Letty had paid again and again) had made her a good deal poorer than she had been thirty years ago.

"My dear gel," said Uncle Andrew, "you don't understand. I shall have some quite unexpected expenses today. I have to do a little entertaining. Come now, don't be tiresome."

"And who, pray, are you going to entertain, Andrew?" asked Aunt Letty.

"A - a most distinguished visitor has just arrived."

"Distinguished fiddlestick!" said Aunt Letty. "There hasn't been a ring at the hell for the last hour."

At that moment the door was suddenly flung open. Aunt Letty looked round and saw with amazement that an enormous woman, splendidly dressed, with bare arms and flashing eyes, stood in the doorway. It was the Witch.

你看，這愚蠢的老傢伙開始想像女巫會愛上他，這很可能是那兩杯酒和漂亮衣服起的作用。不過，無論怎麼說，他和孔雀一樣愛慕虛榮，這就是他爲什麼變成魔法師的原因。

他鎖上門，走下樓，打發一個女傭去叫一輛雙輪雙座的馬車（那年月，每個人都有許多僕人），然後朝客廳張望，他如願以償地在客斤裏找到了蕾蒂姨媽，她正在修補一塊墊子。墊子鋪在窗戶旁邊，她跪在上面。

“呀，蕾蒂婭，我親愛的，”安德每舅舅說，“我——我要出門。借我五英鎊什麼的，有個很不錯的古娘。”（他總是將“姑娘”說成“古娘”。）

“不，親愛的安德魯．”蕾蒂姨媽頭也不擡，用堅定、平靜的口氣說說，“我說過無數次了，我不會借錢給你的。”

“請你別搗亂，親愛的古娘，”安德魯舅舅說，“這是最重要的事。你如果不借就讓我非常難堪。”

“安德魯，”苦蒂姨媽直直地盯着他，“我覺得奇怪的是，你向我借錢居然不覺得羞恥。”

這些話隱藏着一段長長的、枯操的、屬於大人之間的往事。你只需知道，安德魯舅舅打着“爲親愛的蕾蒂照管財產”的旗號，卻什麼也不幹，還喝白蘭地、抽雪茄，欠下一大堆賬（蕾蒂姨媽曾一次一次地爲他付錢），這樣一來，就弄得蕾蒂比三十年前窮得多了。

“親愛的古娘，”安德魯舅舅說，“你不知道，我今天會有一些意想不到的花費。我不得不招待客人，借給我吧，別讓我着急。”

“你到底要招待誰，安德魯，”蕾蒂姨媽問。

“哦——來了一個尊貴的客人。”

“尊貴的客人？什麼破玩意兒! ”曹蒂姨媽說，“你到底還是沒有說服我。”

就在這時，門突然被撞開了蕾蒂姨媽一回頭，吃驚地看見一個女巨人，衣着華麗，手臂裸露，目光炯炯地站在門口。這正是女巫。