尼诺和忠狗3

As Nello was a proud, quiet and sensitive boy, he was saddened. He stopped visiting the old red mill on the slope and ordered Patrasche not to go, either.

　　One day, Alois found Nello by chance alone among the cornfields by the canal, ran to him, held him close, and began to cry.

　　"Why are you crying?"

　　"Tomorrow is my birthday, but my father says that I may not invite you to the party."

　　On Alois's birthday, Nello and Patrasche went home by themselves to the dark little hut and ate a meal of black bread.

At the millhouse all the children of the village were singing and laughing, eating big round cakes, and dancing in the great barn.

　　"Never mind, Patrasche," he said, with his arms round the dog's neck as they both sat at the door of the hut.

The sounds of the party at the mill came to them in the night air. "Never mind," said Nello. "It will all be changed by and by."

　　The old man Daas asked, "This is Alois's birthday, isn't it?"

　　Nello said yes by gesture.

　　"And why don't you go there?" his granther asked.

　　"You are too sick for me to leave you," said the boy in a low voice.

　　"What's the matter? Did you quarrel with Alois?" the old man went on.

　　"No, Granther. Never," said the boy quickly. "To tell you the truth, Mr. Cogez didn't let her invite me to the party."

　　"You have done something wrong, haven't you?"

　　"Nothing. I drew a picture of Alois on a piece of pine. That's all."

　　"Ah!" said the old man. And then there was a short silence in the hut. He understood. He drew Nello's head to his chest gently and said in a trembling voice,

"You are poor, very poor. God help you!" Then Nello rose and went to the door of the hut, stood in the quiet autumn night,

and watched the stars and the tall poplars bow in the wind.Now Nello had a secret which only Patrasche knew.

There was a small building beside the hut. Only Nello entered it. Here he made an easel of rough wood and put a great piece of gray paper on it and drew a picture.

He had no money to buy paint, and so he drew only in black and white.　The figure which he was drawing in chalk was an old man sitting on a fallen tree.

Nello hoped to enter this picture in a contest. The contest, they said, would be open to every young man who had talent, scholar or peasant,

under eighteen years of age. And they also said that a prize of two hundred francs a year would be given to the best one,

and that three of the best artists in the town of Antwerp would choose the best one.

　　It was a cold winter day. At dawn Nello put the big picture on his little green milk cart and started out. Sometimes his heart danced with hope and sometimes it

sank low with fear. With the help of Patrasche, he took the picture into town and left it with the judges. The results of the contest were to be given

on the twenty-fourth of December. Nello and Patrasche were coming back from Antwerp. On their way home they found a pretty doll on the road.

It was about six inches tall, and was all red and golden. It had a tambourine in its hand. Though it was on the road, it was not dirty or damaged at all.

It was a nice toy. Nello tried to find its owner, but he could not. He thought Alois would be very glad to have such a nice doll.

　　It was night when he passed the millhouse. He knew the little window of her room. There was a shed with a sloping roof below the window.

He climbed it and knocked softly on the window. There was a little light in her room. Alois opened it and looked out fearfully.

Nello put the doll into her hands. "Here is a doll I found in the snow, Alois. Take it," he said in a soft voice. Before she could thank him,

he got down from the shed roof and ran off through the darkness.That night there was a fire at the mill. The mill itself and the main house were safe,

but some other buildings and a great deal of corn were burned. All the people in the village ran out of their houses in surprise.

The miller was insured and lost nothing. But he became very angry and said that the fire wasn't an accident.

　　Nello was awakened from his sleep and hurried to the millhouse to help. Mr. Cogez pushed him aside angrily and said roughly,

"You were walking around here after dark. I believe that you know more about the fire than anyone else."

　　When Nello heard this, he was surprised but said nothing. Nevertheless, the miller spoke ill of him to many of the villagers the next day.

So some said, "He was seen in the millyard that night," and others said,

"He has a grudge against Mr. Cogez because Mr. Cogez told him to keep away from his daughter."

　　The villagers sided with the rich landowner. Their families all hoped to have the riches of Alois in the future for their sons.

So they began to look at Nello coldly and speak ill of him. At the houses and farms where Nello and Patrasche carried the milk every morning,

people took a quick look at them and spoke harshly to them.

　　"You are so cruel to the boy," the miller's wife said to her husband.  is an innocent and honest boy, I'm sure. And his heart may be filled with sorrow,

but he would never dream of doing bad things."

　　But Mr. Cogez was an obstinate man. So once he said something, he held fast to his opinion, though he knew that he was wrong.

　　One day, a buyer came from Antwerp and began to buy milk from the farms in the village. Almost all of the villagers sold milk to the buyer,

but only three or four took pity on Nello. As the cans which Patrasche drew were very light, the coins in Nello's purse were very small.

　　因为尼洛是个自尊心很强、沉默又敏感的男孩，所以他觉得很难过。他不再去拜访山坡上的那座红磨坊，同时命令帕特拉斯基也不可以去。

　　有一天，爱露薏偶然看见尼洛一个人在运河旁边的玉米田里，她便跑向他，紧紧地抱住他并开始哭了起来。

　　『你为什幺哭呢？』

　　『明天是我的生日，但我爸爸不准我邀请你来参加派对。』

　　爱露薏丝生日那天，尼洛和帕特拉斯基两个独自回到阴暗的小茅屋里，并吃了一餐黑面包。在磨坊里，所有村子里的小孩都在唱着、笑着、吃着生日大圆蛋糕，并在巨大的谷仓里跳着舞。

　　『没关系，帕特拉斯基，』当他们俩坐在茅屋门口时，他搂着这只狗的脖子说。磨坊里派对阵阵的声音在夜空中向他们传来。『没关系，』尼洛说。『所有这一切不久都将会改变。』

　　老先生达斯问道：『这是爱露薏丝的生日，不是吗？』

　　尼洛点点头。

　　『那为什幺你不到那边去呢？』他爷爷问道。

　　尼洛低声说：『您病得太重，我不能离开您。』

　　『怎幺啦？你和爱露薏丝吵架了吗？』老先生继续问道。

　　『没有，爷爷，从来没有，』这男孩很快地说。『老实跟您说吧，寇盖兹先生没有让她邀请我去参加派对。』

　　『你做错事了，是不是？』

　　『没有。我在一块松木板上画了一张爱露薏丝的画像。如此而已。』

　　『哦，』老先生说。然后小茅屋里寂静了一会儿。他了解了。他轻轻地将尼洛的头搂进他的怀里并用颤抖的声音说：『你很可怜，非常可怜。愿上帝帮助你！』

　　然后尼洛起身走到茅屋门口，站在寂静的秋夜里，望着星星及随风摇曳