原文
"Oh, I'm so glad she's pretty. Next to being beautiful oneself--and
that's impossible in my case--it would be best to have a beautiful bosom
friend. When I lived with Mrs. Thomas she had a bookcase in her sitting
room with glass doors. There weren't any books in it; Mrs. Thomas kept
her best china and her preserves there--when she had any preserves to
keep. One of the doors was broken. Mr. Thomas smashed it one night
when he was slightly intoxicated. But the other was whole and I used to
pretend that my reflection in it was another little girl who lived in
it. I called her Katie Maurice, and we were very intimate. I used to
talk to her by the hour, especially on Sunday, and tell her everything.
Katie was the comfort and consolation of my life. We used to pretend
that the bookcase was enchanted and that if I only knew the spell I
could open the door and step right into the room where Katie Maurice
lived, instead of into Mrs. Thomas' shelves of preserves and china. And
then Katie Maurice would have taken me by the hand and led me out into a
wonderful place, all flowers and sunshine and fairies, and we would have
lived there happy for ever after. When I went to live with Mrs. Hammond
it just broke my heart to leave Katie Maurice. She felt it dreadfully,
too, I know she did, for she was crying when she kissed me good-bye
through the bookcase door. There was no bookcase at Mrs. Hammond's. But
just up the river a little way from the house there was a long green
little valley, and the loveliest echo lived there. It echoed back every
word you said, even if you didn't talk a bit loud. So I imagined that it
was a little girl called Violetta and we were great friends and I loved
her almost as well as I loved Katie Maurice--not quite, but almost, you
know. The night before I went to the asylum I said good-bye to Violetta,
and oh, her good-bye came back to me in such sad, sad tones. I had
become so attached to her that I hadn't the heart to imagine a bosom
friend at the asylum, even if there had been any scope for imagination
there."
語彙など
- next to:〜の次に,ほとんど〜
- bosom friend:親友
- china:(陶)磁器
- preserve:保存するもの
- smash:壊す
- slightly:少し
- intoxicated:酔って
- whole:そのまま
- used to:よく〜したものだ
- pretend:〜のふりをする
- reflection:鏡映,映像
- intimate:親密な
- by the hour:何時間も続けて,長い間
- comfort:慰め,安らぎ
- consolation:慰め
- enchant:〜に魔法をかける
- spell:呪文
- instead of:〜するのではなくて
- shelf:棚
- take A by the hand: Aの手を取る
- fairy:妖精
- for ever:永久に
- dreadfully:すごく
- echo:反響,こだま
- asylum:孤児院
- in sad tone:悲しい口調で
- attached:結び付いている
- have the heart to:〜する気になる
- scope:余地