Chapter 4 (2) Kapitel 4 (2)

"Do you think," suggested Mr. Havisham, "that he will be fond of you?" "Well," said Cedric, "I think he will, because, you see, I'm his relation, too, and I'm his boy's little boy besides, and, well, don't you see--of course he must be fond of me now, or he wouldn't want me to have everything that I like, and he wouldn't have sent you for me." "Beh", disse Cedric, "penso che lo farà, perché, vedete, sono anche suo parente, e sono anche il figlio di suo figlio, e, beh, non vedete... naturalmente deve essere affezionato a me ora, o non vorrebbe che avessi tutto ciò che mi piace, e non vi avrebbe mandato a prendermi". "Oh!" remarked the lawyer, "that's it, is it?" osservò l'avvocato, "è così, vero?". "Yes," said Cedric, "that's it. Don't you think that's it, too? Of course a man would be fond of his grandson." È ovvio che un uomo sia affezionato a suo nipote". The people who had been seasick had no sooner recovered from their seasickness, and come on deck to recline in their steamer-chairs and enjoy themselves, than every one seemed to know the romantic story of little Lord Fauntleroy, and every one took an interest in the little fellow, who ran about the ship or walked with his mother or the tall, thin old lawyer, or talked to the sailors. Le persone che avevano sofferto il mal di mare non avevano fatto in tempo a riprendersi e a salire sul ponte per rilassarsi sulle loro sedie a vapore e divertirsi, che tutti sembravano conoscere la romantica storia del piccolo Lord Fauntleroy, e tutti si interessavano al piccolo, che correva per la nave o passeggiava con la madre o con il vecchio avvocato alto e magro, o parlava con i marinai. Every one liked him; he made friends everywhere. He was ever ready to make friends. When the gentlemen walked up and down the deck, and let him walk with them, he stepped out with a manly, sturdy little tramp, and answered all their jokes with much gay enjoyment; when the ladies talked to him, there was always laughter in the group of which he was the center; when he played with the children, there was always magnificent fun on hand. Quando i signori camminavano su e giù per il ponte e lo lasciavano camminare con loro, lui usciva con un passo virile e robusto e rispondeva a tutte le loro battute con grande allegria; quando le signore parlavano con lui, c'erano sempre risate nel gruppo di cui era il centro; quando giocava con i bambini, c'era sempre un magnifico divertimento. Among the sailors he had the heartiest friends; he heard miraculous stories about pirates and shipwrecks and desert islands; he learned to splice ropes and rig toy ships, and gained an amount of information concerning "tops'ls" and "mains'ls," quite surprising. Tra i marinai ebbe gli amici più cari; ascoltò storie miracolose di pirati, naufragi e isole deserte; imparò a impiombare le corde e ad armare le navi giocattolo, e acquisì una quantità di informazioni sulle "cime" e sulle "rande" davvero sorprendente. His conversation had, indeed, quite a nautical flavor at times, and on one occasion he raised a shout of laughter in a group of ladies and gentlemen who were sitting on deck, wrapped in shawls and overcoats, by saying sweetly, and with a very engaging expression: La sua conversazione aveva a volte un sapore marinaresco e in un'occasione suscitò un grido di scherno in un gruppo di signore e signori seduti sul ponte, avvolti in scialli e cappotti, dicendo con dolcezza e con un'espressione molto accattivante:

"Shiver my timbers, but it's a cold day!" "Tremate, ma è una giornata fredda!". It surprised him when they laughed. He had picked up this sea-faring remark from an "elderly naval man" of the name of Jerry, who told him stories in which it occurred frequently. Aveva appreso questa osservazione marinaresca da un "anziano uomo di marina" di nome Jerry, che gli aveva raccontato storie in cui ricorreva spesso. To judge from his stories of his own adventures, Jerry had made some two or three thousand voyages, and had been invariably shipwrecked on each occasion on an island densely populated with bloodthirsty cannibals. A giudicare dai racconti delle sue avventure, Jerry aveva fatto circa due o tremila viaggi e ogni volta era naufragato su un'isola densamente popolata da cannibali assetati di sangue. Judging, also, by these same exciting adventures, he had been partially roasted and eaten frequently and had been scalped some fifteen or twenty times. Inoltre, a giudicare da queste stesse emozionanti avventure, era stato parzialmente arrostito e mangiato di frequente ed era stato scotennato circa quindici o venti volte.

"That is why he is so bald," explained Lord Fauntleroy to his mamma. "Ecco perché è così calvo", spiegò Lord Fauntleroy alla mamma. "After you have been scalped several times the hair never grows again. Jerry's never grew again after that last time, when the King of the Parromachaweekins did it with the knife made out of the skull of the Chief of the Wopslemumpkies. Jerry non è più cresciuto dopo l'ultima volta, quando il Re dei Parromachaweekin l'ha fatto con il coltello ricavato dal cranio del Capo dei Wopslemumpkies. He says it was one of the most serious times he ever had. He was so frightened that his hair stood right straight up when the king flourished his knife, and it never would lie down, and the king wears it that way now, and it looks something like a hair-brush. Era così spaventato che i suoi capelli si rizzavano in piedi quando il re brandiva il coltello, e non si sarebbero più sciolti; ora il re li porta così, e sembrano una specie di spazzola per capelli. I never heard anything like the asperiences Jerry has had! I should so like to tell Mr. Hobbs about them!" Vorrei tanto raccontarle a Mr. Hobbs!". Sometimes, when the weather was very disagreeable and people were kept below decks in the saloon, a party of his grown-up friends would persuade him to tell them some of these "asperiences" of Jerry's, and as he sat relating them with great delight and fervor, there was certainly no more popular voyager on any ocean steamer crossing the Atlantic than little Lord Fauntleroy. A volte, quando il tempo era molto inclemente e le persone erano tenute sottocoperta nel salone, un gruppo di amici adulti lo convinceva a raccontare loro alcune di queste "esperienze" di Jerry, e mentre lui si sedeva a raccontarle con grande piacere e fervore, di certo non c'era viaggiatore più popolare del piccolo Lord Fauntleroy su qualsiasi piroscafo che attraversasse l'Atlantico. He was always innocently and good-naturedly ready to do his small best to add to the general entertainment, and there was a charm in the very unconsciousness of his own childish importance. Era sempre innocentemente e bonariamente pronto a fare del suo meglio per contribuire al divertimento generale, e c'era un fascino nella stessa inconsapevolezza della sua importanza infantile.

"Jerry's stories int'rust them very much," he said to his mamma. "Le storie di Jerry li intridono molto", disse alla mamma. "For my part--you must excuse me, Dearest--but sometimes I should have thought they couldn't be all quite true, if they hadn't happened to Jerry himself; but as they all happened to Jerry --well, it's very strange, you know, and perhaps sometimes he may forget and be a little mistaken, as he's been scalped so often. Being scalped a great many times might make a person forgetful." Essere scotennati molte volte può rendere una persona smemorata". It was eleven days after he had said good-bye to his friend Dick before he reached Liverpool; and it was on the night of the twelfth day that the carriage in which he and his mother and Mr. Havisham had driven from the station stopped before the gates of Court Lodge. Elf Tage nach dem Abschied von seinem Freund Dick erreichte er Liverpool, und in der Nacht des zwölften Tages hielt die Kutsche, in der er mit seiner Mutter und Mr. Havisham vom Bahnhof gefahren war, vor dem Tor von Court Lodge. Passarono undici giorni da quando aveva salutato il suo amico Dick prima di raggiungere Liverpool; e fu nella notte del dodicesimo giorno che la carrozza con cui lui, sua madre e il signor Havisham erano partiti dalla stazione si fermò davanti ai cancelli di Court Lodge. They could not see much of the house in the darkness. In der Dunkelheit konnten sie nicht viel von dem Haus sehen. Cedric only saw that there was a drive-way under great arching trees, and after the carriage had rolled down this drive-way a short distance, he saw an open door and a stream of bright light coming through it. Cedric sah nur, dass es eine Einfahrt unter großen, gewölbten Bäumen gab, und nachdem die Kutsche ein kurzes Stück diese Einfahrt hinuntergerollt war, sah er eine offene Tür und einen hellen Lichtstrahl, der durch die Tür drang. Cedric vide solo che c'era un vialetto sotto grandi alberi arcuati e, dopo che la carrozza ebbe percorso un breve tratto, vide una porta aperta da cui entrava un flusso di luce intensa.