原文
"We tied the horse and then rapped at the kitchen door. Nobody came but
the door was open and we could hear somebody in the pantry, going on
dreadfully. We couldn't make out the words but Diana says she knows they
were swearing by the sound of them. I can't believe that of Mr.
Blair, for he is always so quiet and meek; but at least he had great
provocation, for Marilla, when that poor man came to the door, red as
a beet, with perspiration streaming down his face, he had on one of his
wife's big gingham aprons. 'I can't get this durned thing off,' he said,
'for the strings are tied in a hard knot and I can't bust 'em, so you'll
have to excuse me, ladies.' We begged him not to mention it and went in
and sat down. Mr. Blair sat down too; he twisted the apron around to
his back and rolled it up, but he did look so ashamed and worried that
I felt sorry for him, and Diana said she feared we had called at an
inconvenient time. 'Oh, not at all,' said Mr. Blair, trying to smile
. . . you know he is always very polite . . . 'I'm a little busy . . .
getting ready to bake a cake as it were. My wife got a telegram today
that her sister from Montreal is coming tonight and she's gone to the
train to meet her and left orders for me to make a cake for tea. She
writ out the recipe and told me what to do but I've clean forgot half
the directions already. And it says, 'flavor according to taste.' What
does that mean? How can you tell? And what if my taste doesn't happen to
be other people's taste? Would a tablespoon of vanilla be enough for a
small layer cake?"
語彙など
- tie:〜を結ぶ,くくる
- rap:ノックする
- pantry:食料品室
- go on:ののしる
- dreadfully:すごく
- make out:理解する,分かる
- swear:悪態をつく,ののしる
- meek:おとなしい,柔和な
- provocation:怒り,興奮
- red as a beet:真っ赤な
- perspiration:汗
- gingham:ギンガム(チェックまたはストライプの平織り洋服地)
- durned:いまいましい、ひどく嫌な,= darned
- string:ひも
- hard knot:固い結び目
- bust:壊す
- excuse:退出[中座]を許す
- twist:ひねる
- roll up:丸める
- ashamed:恥じて
- inconvenient time:都合の悪い時
- polite:礼儀正しい
- as it were:言うなれば
- telegram:電報,電信
- order:指令,命令
- writ:書く
- recipe:レシピ,調理法
- clean:完全に
- direction:指示,命令
- flavor:風味を添える
- taste:好み
- tablespoon:(料理の盛り付け用の)大さじ
- vanilla:バニラ
- layer cake:(クリーム・ジャムなどをはさんで何層にも重ねたスポンジケーキ),レイヤー･ケーキ