介绍:
The news of what had happened that night at Versailles spread to Paris and beyond, but it was not until three days later that the full impact of that disastrous
banquet was felt.
Michel Floret, one of the few gardeners who had not left the marquis’s employment, had come into the kitchen to take shelter from the rain. He was warming himself by the stove, for these days the kitchen had become a meeting
place for all the remaining staff. Bernard, the coachman, was sitting there too. “I ’ve been thinking,” he said gloomily.
“Well, don’t,” said Jean Rollet, the chef, who with one look could reduce a cabbage to compost.
“Thinking isn’t going to get you anywhere.”
“Go on, Bernard, take no notice,” said Michel. “You have the right to think. Cooks aren’t kings yet.”
“That’s it. That’s what I think. I f the king had agreed to the declaration of human rights, we’d all love him, wouldn’t we?”
那天晚上，Versailles发生的事情传到了巴黎和其他地方，而三天后，这一事件的全部影响才显现出来。
Michel Floret是少数几个没有解除雇佣的园丁之一，他来到厨房避雨，呆在炉子旁取暖，这些天厨房成了一个留下的仆人会面的地方。Bernard车夫也坐在那儿。
“我一直在想，”他沮丧地说。
“哦，不，” 厨师Jean Rollet说，期待着可以减少白菜堆肥的数量。
“思考不会给你带来任何好处。”
“继续，Bernard，别在意，” Michel说。“你有权利思考。厨师还没成为国王。”
“就是这样。这正是我所想的。如果国王通过了《人权宣言》，我们都会爱他，不是吗？”
Jean sniffed. “You might. I have a more discerning palate myself.
“Shh,” said Agathe, the scullery maid, “not so loud. What if the marquis were to hear you?”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” said Michel. “What did he call the footmen? Furniture? He thinks we don’t have a thought in our heads.”
“I tell you, the king had better watch out,” said Jean,“otherwise he’ll find himself abolished.”
“And the marquis too,” added Bernard.
Jean吸了吸鼻子。“你会的。我自己有更敏锐的味觉。”
“嘘，”Agathe说，“女帮厨，“别那么大声。如果侯爵听到你怎么办？“
“我才不担心这个呢，” Michel说。“他怎么称呼仆人的？家具？他认为我们脑子里没有想法。”
“我告诉你，国王最好小心点，” Jean说，“否则他会发现自己被废除了。”
“侯爵也是，” Bernard补充道。
Just then the door to the kitchen opened and four of Count Kalliovski’s grooms came in, their coats trailing water on the floor. No one in the kitchen said anything, for the count’s men looked as mean and as brutal as their master. Jean snapped his fingers, and Agathe went to get wine, bread, and cheese for them.
“I t took us an age to get here. The road to Versailles is blocked,” said one of the grooms.
“Blocked by what?” said Jean.
“Women. Women, heaven help us! Maybe ten, twenty, thirty thousand of them.” “Why? What are they doing?”
“Gone to get bread, and to kill the queen while they’re about it.”
Agathe was so startled by this that she dropped the lid of an iron pan on the flagstones with a deafening crash.
这时，通向厨房的门打开了， Kalliovski伯爵的四位侍从进来了，衣服拖在地板上。厨房里没有人说什么，因为伯爵的人看上去和他们的主人一样残忍。Jean打了个响指，Agathe为他们去拿酒，面包和奶酪。
“我们花了好长时间才到这里。去Versailles的路堵了，”其中一位马夫说。
“被什么挡住了？”Jean说。
“女人。上帝保佑我们！大概有一万，二万还是三万个。“为什么？他们在做什么？”
“去抢面包，抢面包的时顺便杀了王后。”
Agathe很震惊，石板碰到了铁锅盖，发出了震耳欲聋的声音。
“Where do all these women come from?” asked Bernard.
“Women from the market in Paris started it, then other women joined them, thousands of them, all armed with pitchforks, swords, guns; they’re even dragging a cannon.”
Jean looked around at the kitchen staff. “We’d best be on the lookout. We don’t want them taking a fancy to this château as they march past.”
Michel started to chuckle.
“What’s so funny about that?” asked Jean.
“Nothing,” said Michel. “I t’s just that war will fall down when it’s pushed, like children’s building bricks, and serve him right.”
One of the count’s men helped himself to another glass of wine and sat back in his chair. “Don’t worry. I overheard him say he didn’t think they’d bother with you today.”
“这些女人都来自哪儿？” Bernard问道。
“是巴黎市场的妇女们首先开始的，然后其他女性加入其中，成千上万的人，都手持干草叉，剑、枪，甚至还拖着大炮。”
Jean环顾厨房里的工作人员。“我们最好注意一下。我们不想让他们路过的时候看上这座城堡。”
Michel咯咯地笑了起来。
“那有什么好笑的？姬恩问道。
“没什么，”Michel说。“我不认为战争会被推倒，就像推倒孩子的积木一样。”
伯爵的一个仆人又喝了一杯酒，坐在椅子上。“别担心。我无意中听到伯爵说他认为那些人今天不会打扰你们。”
“Is that a threat or a promise?” asked Jean.
Upstairs in the library, the marquis, like a startled stag caught in a forest of books, was taken completely off guard by Kalliovski’s unannounced arrival. I t took him a moment or two to take in the count’s appearance. His hair, instead of being powdered white, was black: Instead of his usual finery he was wearing a plain black woolen jacket and woolen breeches with black riding boots that did not even have a red heel. As he placed his hat on a table the marquis saw that pinned to it was the revolutionary cockade. He stared at it in disbelief.
“What foolish things you all did at your party this week, citizen,” said the count, helping himself to a glass of cognac. “Drinking to the health of the royal family, in short forgetting your loyalties to the nation. Really, citizen, was this wise?”
“Citizen, citizen,” repeated the marquis. “What nonsense is this?”
Kalliovski clicked his heels. “I am Citizen Kalliovski, a friend of the Revolution, at your service.”
“这是一种威胁还是一种承诺？”Jean问道。
侯爵在楼上的图书馆里，像受惊的鹿一样被困在一片森林里，直到Kalliovski突然来到。侯爵花了一两分钟才消化伯爵来这里的事实。他的头发，不是白色的，是黑色的。没穿常穿的朴素的黑色羊毛夹克、羊毛马裤和黑色马靴，甚至鞋上没有红跟。他把帽子放在桌上，侯爵看到钉在帽子上的革命帽章。难以置信地盯着它看。
“上周在聚会上你做了些什么蠢事，”伯爵说，为自己倒了一杯酒。“为王室的健康而饮酒，简言之，你忘记了对国家的忠诚。是吗，公民，这是明智的吗？”
“公民，公民，”侯爵重复说。“这是什么糊话？”“
Kalliovski点了点脚跟。“我是公民kalliovski，革命的朋友，为您效劳。”
“Impossible!” said the marquis. Then he laughed out loud. “Very good! I ’d forgotten what a wit you are; you’ve come in disguise! Oh, very clever indeed.”
“I am in deadly earnest,” replied Citizen Kalliovski.
“I am here on business. As soon as the papers are signed, I will be gone.”
“What papers?”
“Have you already forgotten my very generous offer to you?”
“不可能的！侯爵说。然后他大声笑了起来。“非常好！我忘了你有多聪明，你是乔装打扮过来的！哦，真的很聪明。
“我是非常认真的，” 公民kalliovski回答。
“我是来这里办事的。文件签字后，我就走了。”
“什么文件？”
“你忘了我借给你钱要求的回报了吗？”
----每周一/三/五晚更----
【文本翻译均为电台英伦好声音读给你听所有，转载请联系播主并注明】
大家还在听
