the last leaf

The Last Leaf

By O Henry

One day Joanna, an artist, got very sick. She was counting the leaves on a vine, thinking she would die when the last leaf fell. What happened to the last leaf eventually? Did Joanna die? Read on to find the ending of the story.

一天艺术家Joanna病的非常严重。她正在数枯藤树上还剩下的树叶，当树叶全部掉落后也就是她死的时候了。当最后一片叶子掉落后会发生什么呢？Joanna会不会死？

Sue and Joanna were friends. They lived together in a small apartment. It was in Greenwich Village in New York City.

Sue 和 Joanna是好朋友。他们一同住在纽约格林威治镇的一个小的公寓楼里面。

Sue and Joanna were artists. They loved to paint.

Sue 和 Joanna是艺术家。他们都热爱画画。

Many artists live in Greenwich Village. Most of them are poor. Sue and Joanna were poor, too. They saved their money to pay the rent. Although their apartment was small, they liked it very much. It had beautiful, big windows.

许多画家都住在格林威治。大部分的人也都是穷人。当然Sue和Joanna也不例外。他们攒钱付房租。尽管他们的公寓很小，但他们非常喜欢，因为有一副又大又漂亮的窗口。

One day in November Joanna got sick. She felt very weak. She began to cough. She got into bed. 在十一月的一天Joanna生病了。她自己感到非常的虚弱。她开始咳嗽，她不得不在床上养病。

Day after day Joanna stayed in bed. She did not move. She did not eat. It was hard for her to breathe. Joanna stared out the window all day. As soon as she got up, she looked across the alley（小巷）to the house next door. She stared at the red brick wall on the side of the house.

日子一天天过去，Joanna依然躺在床。她不能动弹，她不能吃东西。她甚至连呼吸都觉得困难。Joanna的目光整天盯着窗外。她一起床要么就眺望着从小巷到房间的另一扇门，要么就盯着看房屋对面的红砖砌的墙。

Joanna often said softly, “I will not get better.”

Joanna常常轻声的对自己说“我的病不会好了”。

One afternoon the doctor spoke to Sue. The doctor said, “Joanna is very sick. I am afraid she may die. Joanna has pneumonia（肺炎）.”

一天下午医生对Sue说“Joanna病的很严重，恐怕她会死，她得的是肺炎”。

Sue was worried. She said, “What can Joanna do to get better?”

Sue担心的说“那怎么样可以让Joanna的病好转起来呢？”

The doctor said, “There is something Joanna can do. She must want to live. She must want to get well. She must believe she will get well.”

医生说“那只有靠她自己了，她一定要有活下去的信念，她一定会好起来的，她将来会过得很好。”

The doctor thought for a moment. Then he said, “What would Joanna love to do? What is important to her?”

医生思考了一会，然后说“什么是Joanna喜欢做的，那什么就是对她来说最重要的”。 Sue said, “Joanna is an artist. She would love to go to Italy. She would love to paint the Bay of Naples.”

Sue 说“ joanna 是一个画家。她喜欢去意大利。她想要画那不勒斯的港湾”。

The doctor said, “Joanna should think about that. I will try to help her get well. I will do everything I can. But she must want to live.”

医生说“那就这个就是让她能够活下去的信念，我会尽力帮助她好转起来。我会尽我所能，但是首先她要有活下去的信念”。

Later that day Sue went into Joanna’s room. Sue took some drawing paper with her. Sue drew beautiful pictures for children’s books. She used the money she earned to help pay the rent.

接下爱的一天Sue 进了Joanna的房间。她带了一些她的画纸。Sue给孩子们书上画漂亮的图片。她用她赚的钱去付房租。

Sue saw Joanna lying on the bed. Joanna’s eyes were wide open. She was looking out the window. Joanna was counting. Sue listened.

Sue 看到Joanna 躺在病床上。Joanna的眼睛张的很大，正在看着窗外。Sue听到Joanna的数数声。

“Twelve,” said Joanna. “Eleven. Ten. Nine.” Joanna kept staring out the window.

Joanna看着窗外，只听到Joanna在数“12，11，10，9.”

Sue said to herself, “What is Joanna counting?” Sue walked across the room. She looked out the window. She looked across the alley. She saw the red brick wall on the side of the house. She saw a long vine（藤）. It was climbing up the brick wall.

Sue对她说“Joanna 你在数什么？”Sue走进房间，看着窗外，那是一栋小巷，在房屋对面是一面红砖砌的墙，一条长藤爬满了红砖墙。

Once there were many leaves on that vine. But now there were just a few leaves on the vine. The cold winds had blown the leaves away.

就在以前还有很多树叶在那条藤上，可是现在只有一些树叶留在藤上了。一股冷风迫使树叶从藤上掉落下来。

Joanna spoke again. “Eight,” she said. “I see only eight leaves.”

Joanna 又开始数了起来“8” 她说“现在只剩下8片叶子留在藤上了”。

“Joanna , dear,” said Sue. “What are you talking about?”

Sue说“亲爱的，你在胡说些什么呢？”

Joanna, turned to Sue. Joanna said, “Three days ago that vine was filled with leaves. But now there are only eight leaves on the vine. Most of the leaves are gone. I watched them fall. It will be winter soon.”

Joanna转过头对着Sue说“3天之前藤上还长满了树叶。可是现在还只剩下8片叶子了。大部分的都已经凋落了。冬天就要来了，我看着它们从树上掉落下来。”

Joanna turned toward the window again. “Look,” she said. “There goes another leaf. See it floating to the ground? Now there are seven. There are seven leaves on the vine.”

Joanna 又转头看着窗外“看啊，又一片树叶从藤上掉下来了，还在地上翻滚”现在就只剩下7片树叶了。”

Sue came near the bed. “Joanna,” she asked, “why are you counting the leaves?”

她走到床前对Joanna说“你为何要数树叶呢？”

Joanna looked at Sue. Joanna said, “I’m waiting for the last leaf to fall. Then I will go, too.”

Joanna看着Sue 然后对Joanna说“我正等待最后一片叶子掉落，然后我就可以离去了。”

Sue stared at her friend. “What do you mean?” Sue asked.

Sue盯着她的好朋友“为什么这么想？”

Joanna said, “When the last leaf falls, then I will die, too. I have known that for three days. Didn’t the doctor tell you?”

Joanna 说“当最后一片叶子掉落时，我也要马上就要死去了。我还只剩下3天的时间了，医生难道没对你说吗?”

“Don’t be silly,” said Sue. “Of course you’ll get better. I spoke to the doctor today. He told me that.”

Sue说“你别傻了，你一定能好起来，我今天问过医生，他都告诉我了。”

Sue said, “Never mind the leaves — think about yourself. Think about what you would like to do. Think about getting well! You must try to get stronger. I’ll bring you some hot soup.”

Sue说“不要管树叶什么的了—想想你自己，想象你最想做什么事情，想象你可以康复！你一定能够强壮起来的。我给你熬些热汤喝。”

Joanna stared out the window. “I’m not very hungry,” she said. “Look. Another leaf just fell. Now there are six.”

Joanna 盯着窗外然后说“我不是很饿，看啊，又有一片叶子掉落了，现在只剩下6片了。”

Joanna turned to Sue. “No, I don’t want any soup,” she said. “I just want to look out the window. I want to see the last leaf fall. When it falls, I will die, too.”

Joanna 转过头对着Sue说“我并不需要汤，我只想能够看着窗外最后叶子的掉落，然后我再离去。”

Sue said, “Joanna, please close your eyes. Don’t look out the window. I’m going to draw here at the desk. Don’t look at the leaves until I have finished. Please listen to me.”

Sue说“Joanna，请你闭上你的眼睛。不要看着窗外，请听我说，我现在要画副照片，在我还没有完成时，你不要看树叶.”

“Can’t you draw in the other room?” Joanna asked.

Joanna说“你就不能在其它房间里画吗。”

Sue said, “I like the light from this window.”

Sue说“我喜欢这个窗口的采光。”

Sue came near the bed. She pulled the covers over Joanna. “Remember,” said Sue, “don’t look at those leaves.”

Sue 来到床前。她把被子盖在Joanna的身上。“记住了”Sue说，“不要看窗外的树叶。”

“All right,” said Joanna. “But tell me when you are finished. I want to see the last leaf fall.” Joanna说“好的，但是当你画完作品时，我想要看到最后一片叶子的掉落。”

Joanna closed her eyes. “I’m tired,” she said. “I’m very, very tired. I want to let go of everything.1 I want to go sailing down, down, down, like one of those poor, tired leaves.”

Joanna闭上了她的眼睛，她说“我累了，我真的非常，非常累，我想抛开一切。我想要自由自在的离去，就像那些掉落的树叶一样。”

“Yes,” said Joanna, “I’m very tired. I want to go sailing down, down, down, like one of those poor, tired leaves.”

“Try to sleep,” said Sue. “I must go downstairs now. I’m going to ask Mr. Bahaman to come up here. I must draw a picture of an old man with a white beard. Mr. Bahaman said that I could draw him. I’ll be back right away.”

Sue说“你尽量闭上眼睛睡觉，我现在必须下楼了，我打算要请Mr.Bahaman来这里，我想要画张长满白胡须的老人，Mr.Bahaman说我可以画他，我会马上回来。”

Mr. Bahaman was an artist who lived in the building. Bahaman had been painting for more than forty years. Nobody bought his paintings. But he still dreamed of painting a great picture. He often said, “One day I will paint a great painting. I will paint a great work of art!”

Mr.Bahaman 是一名画家 他也住在那栋楼上。Bahaman 已经画了超过40年的画。没有人会买他的画。但是他一直梦想者能画一副杰作。他常常说“终有一天我能画一副杰作，是的，我能画一副很有名气的杰作！”

People laughed at Bahaman. Then he said, “I’ll do it. You’ll see.” Meanwhile he earned money by driving a taxi.

人们笑话Bahaman。然后他说，“你看着把，我能做到。”同时他也靠开出租车赚钱。

Sue knocked on Bahaman’s door.

Sue 敲着Bahaman的门。

“Come in, ” he called.

他叫道“请进。”

The old man looked at Sue. He saw that she was very unhappy.

老人看着Sue。他明显能看出她脸上不开心的表情。

“What is wrong?” he asked.

他说“发生什么事了”

Sue told him what Joanna had said.

Sue告诉他Joanna发生的一切。

“What?” said Bahaman. “What?” he said again. “She thinks she will die because leaves fall from a

vine!” Brahman rubbed his beard. “Why do you let Joanna talk that way?” he asked angrily.

“什么？”Bahaman说道，“什么？”他又说到，“她就因为树叶要凋落，所以她就想到要死” Brahaman 用手摸着他的胡须。他很愤怒的说到“为什么让Joanna谈这个？”

Sue said, “Joanna is very ill. She is weak. She doesn’t know what she is saying.”

Sue 说，“Joanna 病了，现在她非常的虚弱，连她都不知道自己再说什么。”

“Poor Joanna,” Bahaman said. “She is sick. And it is cold in New York.”

Bahaman说“可怜的Joanna，她病了，在这个纽约很冷的城市。”

Bahaman thought for a moment. Then his eyes began to shine. “Someday I will paint a great

painting,” he said happily. “I will have plenty of money. Then you and Joanna can take a vacation.

You can go to some place where it’s warm.”

Bahaman 思考了一会儿。眼泪似乎情不自禁的在他的眼眶里打转。“有朝一日，我会画出一

副杰作。”他说这个的时候很开心。“我会有很多很多的钱。然后你和Joanna能到外面度假。

你们能去一些温暖的地方。”

Sue smiled. “Yes, Mr. Bahaman,” she said. “But now come upstairs with me. I want you to sit in

the chair by the window. I want to draw you.”

Sue微笑道“是的，Bahaman先生，”。“但是你现在随我上楼，我想画张你做在窗前的画。”

They went upstairs. Sue quietly opened the door. She looked inside. She saw that Joanna was

asleep in bed. Sue and Bahaman walked to the window. They looked outside. They saw the brick

wall. They stared at the vine. Then they looked at each other. There was fear in their eyes.

他们上了楼。Sue轻轻的打开了门，她看着里面，看到Joanna正躺在床上睡觉。Sue和Bahaman

走到窗口前，他们看着窗外，看到了红砖，看到了枯藤。然后他们互相看着对方，这感觉令

他们感到恐惧。

Suddenly they heard a tapping at the window. They looked outside again. It was beginning to rain. Then it began to snow.

突然他们听到有东西在敲打这窗口。他们再一次看着窗外。下雨了，随后就开始下雪。

Bahaman sat down in the chair. Sue began to draw him.

Bahaman坐在椅子上。Sue开始画他。

Sue was sleeping the next morning. Suddenly she heard Joanna’s voice. Joanna was calling her. Sue went into Joanna’s room. Joanna was in bed. She was staring at the window. The shade was down, It covered the window.

在第二天的早上，Sue正在睡觉，突然她听到Joanna的声音，是Joanna正在叫她。Sue走到Joanna的房间。Joanna在床上看着窗外，窗帘把窗口遮住了。

“Raise the shade,” said Joanna. “I want to look outside.”

Joanna说“把窗帘拉开，我想想看看外面。”

Sue was worried, but she slowly pulled up the shade.

Sue紧张地把窗帘轻轻的拉开。

It had rained all night. It had snowed now and then. Strong winds had blown. But there was one leaf against the brick wall. There still was one leaf! It was the last leaf on the vine.

昨天下了一整天的雨。现在又在下雪，大风也尽情的肆虐，但是依然有一片叶子在红砖墙上。还有一片叶子！尽然还有一片叶子留在枯藤上。

The leaf was bright green. It had yellow edges. It hung bravely from the vine.

这片叶子显得格外的绿，在叶子的边缘有点黄，但是它却顽强的挂在枯藤上。

“It’s the last leaf,” said Joanna. “I’m surprised it’s still there. I thought it would fall during the night. I heard the wind. It howled（呼啸）for hours.”

“这是最后叶子，”Joanna说到。“我非常的惊奇，它尽然还在。我认为经过了一晚上，它会掉在地上，是的，我还听到外面的风呼啸了几个小时。”

Joanna turned to Sue. Joanna said, “I know the leaf will fall today. And I will die at the same time.”

Joanna 转过头对着Sue说，“我知道这片叶子会在今天掉落。我知道在今天我也会同样死去。”

“Please don’t say that,” said Sue. “You must think about getting better.”

“请不要说这个，”Sue说“你现在考虑的是如何让病好起来。”

But Joanna did not answer.

但是Joanna没有作答。

All day Joanna looked out the window. All day the last leaf hung on to the vine. Evening came. Joanna stared out the window. it was darker now, but she could see the last leaf. It was still there. She saw it clearly against the brick wall.

整个一天Joanna都看着窗外，但是这片叶子始终毅力的挂在藤上。到了晚上，Joanna看着窗外，天色已经黑了，但是她还是能够看到最后一片叶子，它还在那儿，她还能清晰的看到它。

Sue came into the room at night. She pulled down the window shade. She turned off the light.

Cold winds blew again that night. It rained. Early the next morning, Joanna said, “Raise the shade.”

到了晚上Sue来到了房间。她把窗帘拉上，然后关了灯。冷风依然在晚上呼啸。到了第二天的早上正在下雨，“把窗帘拉开。”

The leaf was still there!

叶子还在那儿。

Joanna kept looking at the leaf. She looked at it for a long time.

Joanna 看着这片叶子，并且盯了很久。

Suddenly Joanna called out, “I’ve been thinking, Sue,” she said. “I was wrong! I was so very wrong! Something made that last leaf stay.”

突然Joanna叫道，“Sue，我已经思考过了，是我错了，真的是我错了！一定是有什么情况使它毅然的挂在树上。”

Joanna kept staring at the leaf. “Yes,” she said. “Something made that last leaf stay. It was to show me how foolish I was. It’s wrong to want to die. It’s foolish and it’s wrong!”

Joanna一直盯着这片叶子看。“是的”她说。“一定有什么情况使得这片叶子挂在树上。你看我多么的愚蠢啊，去死是错误的，并且是愚蠢的！”

Joanna’s voice got stronger. “Please bring me some soup. And I’d like some tea. And put some pillows behind my head, I want to sit up.”

Joanna的声音开始有力起来。“请给我带些汤，以及我喜欢的茶。放些枕头顶在我的投下，我想要做起来。”

An hour later Joanna said, “I’d like to go to Italy someday. I’d like to paint the Bay of Naples.” 一天之后的Joanna说“我想某天要去意大利，以及我想要画那不勒斯港湾。”

The doctor came by later. He spoke to Sue in the hall of the apartment.

随后医生对Sue说他等在公寓的大厅里。

“Joanna is improving,” he said. “She is getting better. But now I must hurry downstairs. I must see someone named Bahaman. He’s an artist, I believe. He is old and weak. He has pneumonia, too.” 他说“Joanna 现在有好转了，”他说“他正在慢慢的康复，但是我现在必须马上下楼。我要去看一个名叫Bahaman的老人。我认为他是一名作家。他又老又瘦，并且也得了肺炎。”

The doctor looked sad. He said, “Mr. Bahaman is very, very sick. There is nothing we can do for him now. I must send him to the hospital. He’ll be more comfortable there.”

医生看起来很难过。他说，“Bahaman先生现在病的非常严重。现在我们已经对他无能为力了。我现在马上要送他到医院。他在那儿会舒服一点。”

The next day the doctor spoke to Sue again. He told her, “Joanna will get well. She is out of danger. She is out of danger at last. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

又是一天医生对Sue说。他告诉她，“Joanna康复得很好，她已经脱离了生命危险。他在最好哦脱离了生命危险。你不用再那么担心了。”

That afternoon Sue sat down at the edge of Joanna’s bed. She looked at Joanna, who was reading a book.

那天下午Sue做在Joanna床的边上。她看着Joanna正在读一本书。

“I have something to tell you,” Sue said. “Mr. Bahaman died today. He became sick two days ago. That’s when he was found in his room. His clothing and shoes were soaking wet. He was shaking from the cold.”

Sue说“我必须要告诉你一件事。”Mr.Bahaman 今天已经死了。他在两天前病的。那天从他房间找到他的时候，他的衣服和鞋子是全身湿透了。他全身在颤抖。

“Mr. Bahaman had been out all night. He had been outside in the rain and the snow. The police found a ladder and his brushes and his paint in the alley.”

“Mr.Bahaman 一晚上都在外面。在雨雪交加的晚上他一直在外面。警察在巷子口找到了一个梯子、画笔以及颜料.”

Sue stopped. She took a deep breath. Then she said, “Look out the window, dear. Look at the last leaf on the wall. Didn’t you wonder why it never moved? It didn’t even move when the wind blew. Oh, Joanna, it’s Bahaman’s greatest work of art! He painted the leaf on the brick wall! He painted it there the night that the last leaf fell.”

Sue 停了下来，她深深的吸了一口气。然后她说，“看窗外，亲爱的。看那墙上的最后一片叶子。你没有想过这篇叶子不会动吗？不管风多么大，它都不会动。哦，Joanna，这是Bahaman的伟大的杰作！他把叶子画在红砖墙上！当最后一片叶子掉落时他把它画在了墙上。