海倫·凱勒
PART ONE
第一部分
The Story of My Life
關於我一生的故事
Chapter 1
第一章節
It is with a kind of fear that I begin to write the history of my life.
起初，我著手寫我一生的故事的時候，我有點兒害怕。
I have,as it were, a superstitious hesitation in lifting the veil that clings about my childhood like a golden mist.
似乎，在我的內心深處一直堅信我的童年時光就像秋天的早晨，那在晨光中逐漸驅散的薄霧一樣美好，以至於我在揭開這個面紗時表現得迷信般的猶豫不決
The task of writing an autobiography is a difficult one.
對於我來說，寫一個自傳真的是太難了。
When I try to classify my earliest impressions,I find that fact and fancy look alike across the years that link the past with the present.
當我嘗試對過去的記憶進行分類時，我發現，從過去到現在的這些年的時光，記憶和事實幾乎沒什麼差別。
The woman paints the child’s experiences in her own fantasy.
如果要寫自傳的話，也是一個成熟女性用她的幻想描繪她年少的經歷。
A few impressions stand out vividly from the first years of my life; but “the shadows of the prison-house are on the rest.”
在我生病之前的一些時光裡面，有一些印象還是能夠在我腦海裡面生動地浮現，但是在那之後，都是“黑暗的影像”。
Besides,many of the joys and sorrows of childhood have lost their poignancy; and many incidents of vital importance in my early education have been forgotten in the excitement of great discoveries.
此外，童年時期的許多愉悅和悲傷的事情在我的記憶中也沒有那麼深刻了，並且許多在我的早期教育中至關重要的事件，在我體會到那些激動人心的發現後，也黯然失色了。
In order, therefore,not to be tedious I shall try to present in a series of sketches only the episodes that seem to me to be the most interesting and important.
因此，為了不讓這本書看起來乏味，我將嘗試寫一些在我的記憶碎片中，對於我最深刻和重要的片段。
I was born on June 27,1880,in Tuscumbia,a little town of northern Alabama.
我於1880年6月27日出生在阿拉巴馬州北部的小鎮圖斯坎比亞。
The family on my father’s side is descended from Caspar Keller,a native of Switzerland,who settled in Maryland.
我父親一方的家庭是卡斯珀·凱勒的後代，我曾祖父，也就是卡斯珀·凱勒是定居在馬里蘭州的本土瑞士人。
One of my Swiss ancestors was the first teacher of the deaf in Zurich and wrote a book on the subject of their education—rather a singular coincidence;though it is true that there is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.
我的一位瑞士祖先是蘇黎世的第一位聾人老師，並且他寫了一本關於以他們的教育為主題的書—這並非是一個簡單的巧合；確實，繼承先祖的財富的國王才是國王，沒有財富的國王並非是一個國王。
My grandfather,Caspar Keller’s son,“entered” large tracts of land in Alabama and finally settled there.
我的祖父，也就是斯珀·凱勒的兒子，“進入”了阿拉巴馬州的大片土地，最後定居在那裡。
I have been told that once a year he went from Tuscumbia to Philadelphia on horseback to purchase supplies for the plantation, and my aunt has in her possession many of the letters to his family, which give charming and vivid accounts of these trips.
我知道每年他都會騎馬從塔斯坎比亞到費城為種植園購買物資，而我的姨媽擁有許多他給家人的信件，這些信件深深的吸引了我，也留下了一個一個他活靈活現的旅行畫面。
My Grandmother Keller was a daughter of one of Lafayette’s aides,Alexander Moore,and granddaughter of Alexander Spotswood,an early Colonial Governor of Virginia.
我的祖母凱勒是亞歷山大·摩爾的女兒，亞歷山大·摩爾曾經是拉菲特的助手之一；我的祖母也是早期弗吉尼亞州早期殖民地總督亞歷山大·斯波茲伍德的孫女。
She was also second cousin to Robert E.Lee.
她還是羅伯特·李的第二個表妹。
My father,Arthur H. Keller,was a captain in the Confederate Army,and my mother,Kate Adams,was his second wife and many years younger.
我的父親亞瑟·凱勒是同盟軍的上尉，我的母親凱特·亞當斯是比他小的第二任妻子。
Her grandfather,Benjamin Adams,married Susanna E.Goodhue,and lived in Newbury,Massachusetts,for many years.
我母親的祖父本傑明·亞當斯與蘇珊娜結婚，並在馬薩諸塞州的紐伯裡生活了很多年。
Their son,Charles Adams,was born in Newburyport,Massachustts,and moved to Helena,Arkansas.
他們的兒子查爾斯·亞當斯出生在馬薩諸塞州的紐伯裡波特，並搬到阿肯色州的海倫娜。
When the Civil War broke out, he fought on the side of the South and becomes a brigadier-general.
南北戰爭爆發時，他以旅長的身份在南方一側作戰。
He married Lucy Helen Everett,who belonged to the same family of Everetts as Edward Everett and Dr. Edward Everett Hale.
之後，他與露西·海倫·埃弗裡特結婚。露西·海倫·埃弗裡特與愛德華·埃弗裡特和愛德華·埃弗裡特·黑爾屬於埃弗裡茨的同一個家庭。
After the war was over, the family moved to Memphis,Tennessee.
戰爭結束後，一家人搬到了田納西州的孟菲斯。
I lived, up to the time of the illness that deprived me of my sight and hearing, in a tiny house consisting of a large square room and a small one, in which the servant slept.
在我的視力和聽力因為疾病剝奪了之後，我居住在一個小房子裡面，這個小房子有一個大房型房間和一個小房間，這個小房間是我的僕人睡的。
It is a custom in the South to build a small house near the homestead as an annex to be used on occasion.
南部的習俗是在宅基地附近建一棟小房子，用於偶爾使用的附屬建築。
Such a house my father built after the Civil War,and when he married my mother they went to live in it.
我父親在南北戰爭之後建造了這樣的房屋，當他與我的母親結婚時，他們就住在裡面。
It was completely covered with vines, climbing roses and honeysuckles.
它被葡萄藤，薔薇和金銀花完全覆蓋。
From the garden it looked like an arbour.
從花園裡看起來像個涼亭。
The little porch was hidden from view by a screen of yellow roses and Southern smilax.
小門廊一片黃玫瑰和南方的菝葜遮住了視線。
It was the favourite haunt of humming-birds and bees.
蜂鳥和蜜蜂經常出沒在其中。
The Keller homestead, where the family lived, was a few steps from our little rose-bower.
一家人住的凱勒宅基地離我們的小薔薇花園只有幾步之遙。
It was called “lvy Green” because the house and the surrounding trees and fences were covered with beautiful English ivy.
之所以稱其為“綠意盎然”，是因為房子，周圍的樹木和籬笆由英國的常青藤常年覆蓋著。
Its old-fashioned garden was the paradise of my childhood.
其中的老式花園是我童年的天堂。
Even in the days before my teacher came,I used to feel along the square stiff boxwood hedges,and,guided by the sense of smell would find the first violets and lilies.
在我的老師來之前的幾天裡，我就一直沿著方形的黃楊木籬笆摸索，在嗅覺的引導下，我發現了第一批紫羅蘭和百合。
There,too,after a fit of temper,I went to find comfort and to hide my hot face in the cool leaves and grass.
在心情不好的時候，我也在那裡找到了舒適的地方，把我的灼熱的臉藏在涼爽的樹葉和草叢中。
What joy it was to lose myself in that garden of flowers, to wander happily from spot to spot,until,coming suddenly upon a beautiful vine,I recognized it by its leaves and blossoms, and knew it was the vine which covered the tumble-down summer-house at the farther end of the garden!
這是多麼愉快的事情啊！迷失在鮮花洋溢的花園，從花園的一個地方漫步到另一個地方，當我突然來到美麗的葡萄樹前，並通過它的葉子和花朵認出了它，也清楚在不遠處花園的盡頭，這些藤蔓覆蓋了倒塌的避暑別墅。
Here,also,were trailing clematis, drooping jessamine, and some rare sweet flowers called butterfly lilies,because their fragile petals resemble butterflies’ wings.
在這裡，還有尾隨的鐵線蓮，下垂的茉莉花和一些稀有的甜美花朵，稱為蝴蝶百合，因為它們的脆弱花瓣像蝴蝶的翅膀。
But the roses—they were loveliest of all.
還有一大片最可愛的薔薇。
Never have I found in the greenhouses of the North such heart-satisfying roses as the climbing roses of my southern home.
即使在我北方的溫室裡面，我也沒發現能夠如此令人心花怒放的薔薇，而這些薔薇竟在我南方的家裡。
They used to hang in long festoons from our porch, filling the whole air with their fragrance,untainted by any earthy smell; and in the early morning, washed in the dew, they felt so soft, so pure,I could not help wondering if they did not resemble the asphodels of God’s garden.
它們曾經在我們的門廊上懸掛著長長的花彩，空氣中洋溢著它們不含任何泥土味的芳香；清晨，在露珠的洗禮後，它們是如此的柔軟，如此的純淨，以至於讓我情不自禁的想知道是否它們和上帝花園中的水仙相似。
The beginning of my life was simple and much like every other little life.
如同其他人的小生活一樣，我的生活的開始是簡單的。
I came,I saw,I conquered, as the first baby in the family always does.
如同其他的家庭裡面的第一個小孩子一樣，我來到這個世界，睜開我的雙眼，開始哭泣。
There was the usual amount of discussion as to a name for me.
對我的名字的選取，家人們經過了大量的討論。
The first baby in the family was not to be lightly named,everyone was emphatic about that.
在家庭裡面第一個孩子的名稱通常都不是簡單的選定的，每個家庭都特別重視這個。
My father suggested the name of Mildred Campbell,an ancestor whom he highly esteemed, and he declined to take any further part in the discussion.
我父親提出了米爾德雷德·坎貝爾的名字，這個名字是我父親家族中一個十分受人尊敬的祖先，但是在討論中，這個提議否定了。
My mother solved the problem by giving it as her wish that I should be called after her mother, whose maiden name was Helen Everett.
我的母親解決了這個問題，並希望我能以她的少女時期的姓海倫·埃弗裡特的名字叫我。
But in the excitement of carrying me to church my father lost the name on the way,very naturally, since it was one in which he had declined to have a part.
但是，由於帶我去教堂的時候特別激動，我的父親在路上很自然的忘記了，因為他不想有一個相同的名稱。
When the minister asked him for it,he just remembered that it had been decided to call me after my grandmother, and he gave her name as Helen Adams.
當牧師問他的時候，他突然想到以我祖母的名字給我命名，並給我命名海倫·亞當斯。
I am told that while I was still in long dresses I showed many signs of an eager,self-asserting disposition.
有人告訴我，當我一直穿著長裙時，我表現出了許多渴望、自信的性格跡象。
Everything that I saw other people do I insisted upon imitating.
當我看到其他人時，我始終保持模仿。
At six months I could pipe out “How d’ye”,and one day I attracted every one’s attention by saying “tea,tea,tea” quite plainly.
六個月後，我可以發出“ How d'ye”的聲音，有一天，我很明白地說“ tea，tea，tea”吸引了所有人的注意力。
Even after my illness I remembered one of the words I had learned in these early months.
即使在我生病之後，我仍然記得我在我只有幾個月學到的單詞中的一個。
It was the word “water”,and I continued to make some sound for that word after all other speech was lost.
那是“water”這個單詞，在我忘記其他的詞彙的發音之後，我一直記得這個單詞的發音。
I ceased making the sound “wah-wah” only when I learned to spell the word.
當我學習拼寫這個單詞的時候，我才停止發出“wah-wah”的聲音。
They tell me I walked the day I was a year old.
他們告訴我我到一歲的時候才會走路。
My mother had just taken me out of the bath-tub and was holding me in her lap, when I was suddenly attracted by the flickering shadows of leaves that danced in the sunlight on the smooth floor.
當我看到在地板上由陽光照射下的樹葉的影子，並深深吸引的時候，我的母親剛好把我從浴缸裡拿出來，並把我抱在她的大腿上。
I slipped from my mother’s lap and almost ran toward them.
之後，我從我母親的大腿上滑下來，並跑向這些影子。
The impulse gone,I fell down and cried for her to take me up in her arms.
隨著我的跌倒，衝動消失了，並對著她哭，希望她把我抱在懷裡。
These happy days did not last long.
這些快樂的日子並沒有持續多久。
One brief spring,musical with the song of robin and mocking-bird,one summer rich in fruit and roses, one autumn of gold and crimson sped by and left their gifts at the feet of an eager, delighted child.
一個短暫的春天，伴隨著知更鳥和嘲諷鳥的歌聲，一個夏天，盛產水果和薔薇，一個秋天，掛滿金色和豔紅的果實，在一個渴望而又高興的孩子的腳下飛奔而過。
Then,in the dreary month of February,came the illness which closed my eyes and ears and plunged me into the unconsciousness of a new-born baby.
然後，在二月的一個沉悶的月份裡，疾病閉上了我的眼睛，使我陷入了新生嬰兒的昏迷狀態。
They called it acute congestion of the stomach and brain.
在他們的談話中，我瞭解到這是胃和腦的急性充血。
The doctor thought I could not live.
醫生說我可能命不久矣。
Early one morning,however,the fever left me as suddenly and mysteriously as it had come.
然而，某天的清晨，發燒突然消失正如它突然和神奇地降臨。
There was great rejoicing in the family that morning, but no one, not even the doctor, knew that I should never see or hear again.
那天早上一家人非常高興，但是沒有一個人，甚至醫生，都不知道我再也看不見和聽不到了。
I fancy I still have confused recollections of that illness.
我想我仍然對這個病的回憶感到困惑。
I especially remember the tenderness with which my mother tried to soothe me in my waling hours of fret and pain, and the agony and bewilderment with which I awoke after a tossing half sleep, and turned my eyes, so dry and hot, to the wall away from the once-loved light, which came to me dim and yet more dim each day.
我尤其記得在我煩惱和痛苦的艱難時刻，我的母親每天努力撫慰我的溫柔，撫慰在我半睡半醒後醒來的痛苦和困惑，讓我的又幹又熱的眼睛，轉向牆壁，遠離我曾經一度喜歡的陽光，因為陽光對於我來說會讓我越來越昏暗。
But,except for these fleeting memories, if,indeed,they be memories, it all seems very unreal, like a nightmare.
但是，除了那些稍縱即逝的記憶，如果說是真實的記憶的話，那一切似乎都是虛幻的，就像一場噩夢。
Gradually I got used to the silence and darkness that surrounded me and forgot that it had ever been different, until she came—my teacher—who was to set my spirit free.
逐漸地，我開始習慣於寂靜和黑暗環繞著我，並漸漸忘記了我是不一樣的，直到我的老師的到來，她釋放了我的精神。
But during the first nineteen months of my life I had caught glimpses of broad, green fields,a luminous sky, trees and flowers which the darkness that followed could not wholly blot out.
但是在我與我的老師相處開始的十九個月裡，即使黑暗無法完全消除，我瞥見了廣闊的綠色田野，明亮的天空，樹木和花朵。
If we have once seen,“the day is ours, and what the day has shown.”
好像我可以看見一樣，“這一天是我的，和真實所見的世界一樣。”
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