Chapter 15 HESTER AND PEARL
第十五章　海絲特和珠兒

Her final employment was to gather sea-weed, of various kinds, and make herself a scarf, or mantle, and a head-dress, and thus assume the aspect of a little mermaid. She inherited her mother's gift for devising drapery and costume. As the last touch to her mermaid garb, Pearl took some eel-grass, and imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother's. A letter- the letter A- but freshly green, instead of scarlet! The child bent her chin upon her breast, and contemplated this device with strange interest; even as if the one only thing for which she had been sent into the world was to make out its hidden import.
她最后一件事是采集各種海草，給自己做了一條圍巾或披肩，還有一圈頭飾，把自己打扮成一個小人魚的模樣。她倒是繼承了她母親那種制做服裝衣飾的天才。珠兒拿過一片大葉藻給她那身人魚的裝束做最后的點綴：她在自己的胸前，盡力模仿著她所極熟悉的她母親胸上的裝飾，也為自己佩了一個。一個字母“A"；，不過不是腥紅的，而且鮮綠的！這孩子把下額抵到胸口，懷著奇妙的興致端詳著這一玩藝兒，仿佛她誕生到這個世界上的唯一目的就是弄清其隱秘的含義。

"I wonder if mother will ask me what it means?" thought Pearl.
“我不知道媽媽會不會問我這是什么意思！”珠兒想道。

Just then, she heard her mother's voice, and flitting along as lightly as one of the little sea-birds, appeared before Hester Prynne, dancing, laughing, and pointing her finger to the ornament upon her bosom.
就在這時，她聽到了她母親的呼喚，就象一只小海鳥似的一路輕快地跑跳著，來到海絲特·白蘭的面前，又跳又笑地用手指著自己胸前的裝飾。

"My little Pearl," said Hester, after a moment's silence, "the green letter, and on thy childish bosom, has no purport. But dost thou know, my child, what this letter means which thy mother is doomed to wear?"
“我的小珠兒，”海絲特沉默了一會兒之后說，“那綠色的字母，在你童稚的胸口是沒有意義的。不過，我的孩子，你可知道你媽媽非戴不可的這個字母的意思嗎？”。

"Yes, mother," said the child. "It is the great letter A. Thou hast taught me in the?hornbook."
“知道的，媽媽，”那孩子說?！澳鞘且粋€大寫的A宇。你已經(jīng)在字帖上教過我了。”

Hester looked steadily into her little face; but, though there was that singular expression which she had so often remarked in her black eyes, she could not satisfy herself whether Pearl really attached any meaning to the symbol. She felt a morbid desire to ascertain the point.
海絲特目不轉(zhuǎn)睛地盯著她的小臉；然而，孩子那黑眼睛中雖然帶著平時極其獨特的表情，她卻說不準珠兒是否當真把什么意思同那象征聯(lián)系到了一起。她感到有一種病態(tài)的欲望想弄明白這一點。

"Dost thou know, child, wherefore thy mother wears this letter?"
“孩子，你知道你媽媽為什么要戴這個字母嗎？”

"Truly do I!" answered Pearl, looking brightly into her mother's face. "It is for the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart!"
“我當然知道！”珠兒說著，閃光的眸子緊盯著她母親的面孔?！斑@和牧師用手捂住心口都是出于同樣的原因！”