The small boy's illness seemed not serious. Yet hewas clearly very worried about something. Whateverwas it?
小男孩的病似乎并不太重。但他显然在为什么事忧心忡忡。究竟是什么事呢？
A Day's Wait
一天的等待
by Ernest Hemingway
欧内斯特·海明威
He came into the room to shut the windows while wewere still in bed and I saw he looked ill. He wasshivering, his face was white, and he walked slowly as though it ached to move.
他走进我们房间关窗户的时候，我们还未起床。我见他一副病容，全身哆嗦，脸色苍白，步履缓慢，好像一动就会引起疼痛。
“What's the matter, Schatz?”
“你怎么啦，宝贝？”
“I've got a headache.”
“我头痛。”
“You better go back to bed.”
“你最好回床上去睡。”
“No. I'm all right.”
“不，我没啥病。”
“You go to bed. I'll see you when I'm dressed.”
“你先去睡。我穿好衣服来看你。”
But when I came downstairs he was dressed, sitting by the fire, looking a very sick andmiserable boy of nine years. When I put my hand on his forehead I knew he had a fever.
可是当我来到楼下时，他已穿好衣服，坐在火炉旁。这个9岁的男孩，看上去病得厉害，一副可怜的.模样。我用手摸了摸他的额头，知道他发烧了。
“You go up to bed,” I said, “You're sick.”
“你到楼上去睡，”我说，“你病了。”
“I'm all right,” he said.
“我没有病，”他说。
When the doctor came he took the boy's temperature.
医生来后，量了孩子的体温。
“What's it?” I asked him.
“多少度？”我问医生。
“One hundred and two.”
“102度。”
Downstairs, the doctor left three different medicines in different colored capsules withinstructions for giving them. One was to bring down the fever, another a purgative, the third toovercome an acid condition. The germs of influenza can only exist in an acid condition, heexplained. He seemed to know all about influenza and said there was nothing to worry about ifthe fever did not go above one hundred and four degrees. This was a light epidemic of flu andthere was no danger if you avoided pneumonia.
下楼后，医生留下用不同颜色胶囊包装的三种药丸，并嘱咐如何服用。一种药退烧，另一种润肠、通便，还有一种是去酸。他解释说，流感细菌只能在酸性环境中生存。他似乎对流感很内行，并说，如果发烧不超过104度，就用不着担心。这是轻度流感，只要当心不引起肺炎，就无危险。