万圣节之白色新娘

说起万圣节，大多数人想到的就是鬼节了，那么，你知道橡树下的白色新娘吗？

Polly was the sweetest, prettiest girl in Goldsboro, yes sir. All the local boys were chasing her, and quite a number of the fellows from the surrounding countryside were too. All the girls were jealous of Polly ‘cause they didn’t have no sweethearts to take them to the local dances. They all wanted Polly to choose her man so things could go back to normal. But Polly was picky. None of the local boys suited her, and neither did the fellows from the back country.

波莉是Goldsboro最甜美，最漂亮的姑娘，是的先生，你没有听错。所有当地的男孩都追求她，还有一些附近乡村的也是她的拥趸。其余所有的姑娘都嫉妒她，她们都希望波莉赶快选择一个如意郎君，这样生活就可以恢复正常。但是波莉太挑剔，不过是当地还是乡村的男孩子，都不入她的法眼。

Then one day, George Dean came home from university, and Polly was smitten. Polly completely dropped all her other beaus when George came courting, and it wasn't long before George proposed and Polly accepted.

一天，George Dean 从大学回来，波莉对他倾心。在乔治上门求爱时，她拒绝了之前所有的追求者。不就乔治就向她求婚了，波莉也欣然答应。

Polly started making preparations for the wedding and shopping for items to fill her new home. George wasn’t too interested in all the fripperies and wedding details. He left the womenfolk to get on with it and started spending time down at the pool hall with some of his buddies. And that’s where he met Helene, the owner’s saucy daughter. She had bold black eyes and ruby red lips, and a bad-girl air that fascinated George. He spent more and more time at the pool hall, and less and less time with Polly, who finally noticed in spite of all the hustle and bustle.

波莉开始筹备婚礼，同时也为新家添置一些东西。乔治对与这些琐碎的事情和婚礼的细节并不感冒。他离开女人堆 ，和他的朋友在台球房打发时间。在那里他遇见了海琳，台球房主人的漂亮女儿，他有着黑色的大眼睛，鲜红的嘴唇，一种“坏女孩”的特质吸引着乔治。他在台球房的时间越来越多，和波莉在一起的时间则越来越少，尽管波莉忙碌但是发现了未婚夫的不忠。

Of course, Polly was furious. She immediately confronted George with the story, and he couldn’t deny it. Suddenly, George had to toe the mark. His pool-hall visits were over, and he spent every free hour he wasn’t at work by her side. That didn’t sit well with George, but his family backed Polly up, so he went along with it.

当然，波莉勃然大怒，她要乔治承认发生的一切，当然乔治没有抵赖。乔治突然觉得自己应该承担责任。他再也没有去台球房，只要他不工作他就陪着波莉。虽然这不是他的本意，但是他的家庭非常支持波莉，他也只能乖乖照做。

The day of the wedding dawned clear and bright. The guests filled the sanctuary, and the pastor and the best man waited patiently in the ante-chamber for the arrival of the groom. But George didn’t come. Eventually, they went searching for the missing bridegroom, and found out he'd left town with Helene an hour before the wedding. With dread, Polly’s mother went to tell her daughter what had happened. Polly, all bright and shining and lovely in her long white dress and soft wedding veil, turned pale when her mother broke the news. Then she stiffened, grabbing her left arm as a sudden pain ripped through it. She was dead from a massive heart attack long before she hit the floor.

婚礼的那天黎明，天气晴朗明亮。宾客们都已经到达婚礼地点。牧师和伴郎都在前厅等待着新郎。但是乔治没有来。最后他们都在到处寻找走失的新郎。怀着担心忐忑，波莉的母亲告诉了波莉，乔治逃走的事情，他在婚礼前1小时就和海琳一起离开了这座城。当她说完，穿着光鲜亮丽、美丽可人白色长裙、头戴面纱的波莉，脸色惨白。她僵住了，紧紧的抓着她的左臂，好像有一阵疼痛贯穿。她死于严重的心脏病发作，最后倒在地上。

A few days later, Polly was buried in the churchyard, still wearing her white wedding dress and veil. The whole town came to the funeral and wept at the passing of such a beautiful young girl. George and Helene, who had spent the week happily honeymooning in the Outer Banks, arrived home at the very moment that the black-clad crowd exited the churchyard. Their arrival caused a commotion. The minister had to pull Polly’s father off George before he killed him. And both George and Helene’s family disowned the couple right there in the street in front of everyone. The couple fled town in disgrace.

几天以后，波莉被埋在教堂的后院，还是穿着她的白色礼服裙，头戴面纱。整个镇子都来参加她的葬礼，无不为这个漂亮年轻的女孩扼腕叹息。乔治和海琳在外岛度蜜月，回到家乡的时候正好看见送葬人群从教堂后院出来。他们的出现引起了一阵骚动。牧师拉住了波莉的父亲以免他杀了乔治。乔治和海琳的家人在街上当着所有人的面和他们断绝关系。这对新人颜面尽失，仓皇离开小镇。

Time passed, and eventually the scandal was forgotten. Until the day George’s father passed away. It was rumored that he was to be buried in the local churchyard just a few plots away from the girl who had almost become his daughter. Suddenly, the story of Polly's jilting was revived and folks wondered aloud if George would dare attend his father's funeral. But George was too clever for them. He waited at an inn outside of town until it was dark, and then he went to the churchyard to pay his last respects to his father.

时间流逝，人们最后都忘了这件丑闻。直到乔治的父亲去世。传言他将会埋在当地教堂的后院，离曾经将成为他儿媳的波莉墓碑不远处。一时间，波莉的事情又被重提，人们都好奇乔治敢不敢回来参加父亲的葬礼。但是乔治很聪明，他一直在镇外的一家小旅馆里待到天黑，然后才到教堂的后院见他父亲最后一面，以示敬意。

As he unburdened himself at his father’s graveside, George heard a sweet female voice calling his name. “George. Sweetheart.” George looked up in sudden hope. Was that his mother, come to forgive him? Then he saw, rising up from a grassy mound under a spreading oak tree, a figure in a long white gown and a soft veil. Her eyes and her lips were yellow flames beneath the veil, and the rotted wedding dress glowed with a white-yellow light. It was Polly.

当他出现在父亲的墓园旁边，乔治听到一个甜美的女声说着：“乔治，我的心肝。”乔治突然心存希望，以为是他的母亲，要来原谅他。他看到在一棵茂盛的橡树下面的草丘，慢慢出现一个人影，穿着长裙，带着面纱。面纱后面的眼睛和嘴唇都发黄，有些破旧发烂的婚纱泛着黄白色的光。那是波莉。

George’s body stiffened, shudders of fear coursing up and down his arms and legs. He put a shaking hand to his mouth and staggered backward, the other hand outstretched out ward off the specter floating toward him. The spectral bride cackled with angry laughter and swooped forward until its hand closed over George’s outstretched one in a terrible parody of a handshake. The grip of the spectral bride was so cold it burned the skin, and so hard that the bones crunched as it squeezed. “Come along into the church, George,” the glowing bride whispered. Through the veil, George could see maggots crawling in and out of Polly’s flaming eye sockets.

乔治的身体僵住了，一股寒意从上往下蔓延到手臂和大腿。他用发抖的手捂住嘴，然后开始慢慢后退，另一只手伸长，试图阻止幽灵的靠近。这个鬼新娘高声狰狞的笑着，突然向前，摸到乔治伸出来试图阻挡的那只手。她的手是那么冰凉似乎可以冻住皮肤，她握得是那么用力，骨头都因为挤压而发出声响。“乔治，来吧，跟着我去教堂”这个发光的新娘小声说道。面纱背后，乔治看见波莉发光的眼窝处，有蛆虫在里面爬来爬去。

“Nooo! Polly, no!” George screamed in terror, but he could not wrench his hand free. The ghost dragged him step by halting step toward the front door of the church. His hand was a red-hot agony of pain, though the rest of his body was shaking with cold.

“不!波莉，我不要去!”乔治惊恐地尖叫道，但是他的手无法挣脱。幽灵把他拖拽到教堂的前门，他被抓住的手灼热发烫，痛不欲生，身体的其他部位则冷的发抖。

“No!” George gave a final cry of despair and wrenched again at his hand. And suddenly, he was free. The spectral bride gave a roar of rage as George ran pell-mell down the church lane and out into the street.

“不!”乔治最后一次歇斯底里、绝望地大叫，想要挣脱。突然他自由了。女鬼愤怒的大叫，乔治跑到了教堂的草坪上，接着冲到了街上。

“You’re mine, George Dean! If not in this world, than in the next,” the spectral bride howled after him.“

你是我的，乔治·迪恩，要不是今生就是来世。”女鬼向他咆哮道。

By the time George reached his room, the fiery pain in his hand and arm was seeping through his entire body. He rang desperately for the house maid and begged her to send for a doctor. Then he fell into bed and stared at his hand, which was black and withered, as if it had been scorched long ago by a fire. Black and red streaks were climbing up his arm so fast he could almost see them move.

乔治终于回到他自己的房间，他的手和手臂都是灼热的疼痛，开始向整个身体蔓延，他急忙央求女佣找个医生来，然后他就倒在床上看自己的手，已经烧焦发黑，像是被长时间的火烤。黑色和红色的线条不断的在手臂上蔓延，整个过程之快，连乔治都可以看到它们在移动。

George was unconscious when the doctor arrived, and the swelling was already extending into his chest and neck. There was nothing the physician could do. The injury was too severe and had spread too far. Within two days, George was dead. Polly had gotten her man at last.

在医生到达的时候，乔治已经失去了意识，肿胀已经蔓延至胸部和脖子处，医生也无能为力。伤势太过严重，传播得也快。两天内乔治就死了。波莉最终得到了她的如意郎君。

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