最后一片叶 The Last Leaf（第1页）

最后一片叶TheLastLeaf

欧·亨利O。Henry

欧·亨利（1862—1910），20世纪初美国著名短篇小说家，美国现代短篇小说创始人，批判现实主义作家，被誉为“美国的莫泊桑”。他一生极富传奇色彩，当过药房学徒、牧羊人、办事员、新闻记者、银行出纳员。1898年2月，他因贪污银行公款罪被判处五年徒刑，后提前获释。他的作品贴近百姓生活，结局往往出人意料，以“含泪微笑”的风格被誉为“美国生活的幽默百科全书”。其代表作有《麦琪的礼物》《警察与赞美诗》《最后一片叶》等。

IwestofWashingtoreetshaverundbrokeosmallstripscalled"places"。These"plaakestrangeanglesareetcrossesitselfatimeortwo。Anartistoncediscoveredavaluablepossibilityinthisstreet。Supposeacollectorwithabillforpaints，paperandvasshould，ihisroute，suddehimselfingback，withoutagbeenpaidonat!

So，toquaintoldGreenwichVillagetheartpeopleso，huntingfornorthwindowsaurygablesandDutchattidlowreheyimportedssandagdishortwofromSixthAvenue，a;y"。

Atthetopofasquatty，three-storybridJohnsyhadtheirstudio。"Johnsy"wasfamiliarforJoanna。OnewasfromMaiherfromia。Theyhadmetatthetabled'hoteofareet"Delmonico's"，andfouesinart，chicorysaladandbishopsleevessoialthatthejointstudioresulted。

ThatwasinMay。InNovemberaseehedoctorseumonia，stalkedaboutthey，touehereahhisigers。Overosidethisravagerstrodeboldly，smitinghisvictimsbyscores，buthisfeettrodslhthemazeofthenarrowandmoss-grown"places"。

Mr。Pneumoniaouldcallachivalritlematlewomanwithbloodthinnedbyiazephyrswashardlyfairgameforthered-fisted，short-breathedoldduffer。ButJohe;andshelay，scarg，oediroead，lhthesmallDutdow-paheblahebrickhouse。

thebusydovitedSueintothehallwaywithashaggy，grayeyebrow。

"Shehasoussay，ten，"hesaid，asheshookdownthemerhisieter。"Andthatceisforhertowahislehaveoflining-upoheuheentirepharmacopoeialooksilly。Yourlittleladyhasmadeuphermindthatshe'snotgoiwell。Hassheanythingonhermind?"

"She—sheainttheBayofNaplessomeday，"saidSue。

"Paint?—bosh!Hassheanythingonhermindworththinkingabouttwifori;

"Aman?"saidSue，withajew&#inhervoianworth—but，no，doctor;thereisnothingofthekind。"

"Well，itistheweak;saidthedoctor。"Iwilldoallthatsce，sofarasitmayfilterthroughmyefforts，plish。ButwheieotthecarriagesinherfuneralproIsubtract50perthecurativepowerofmedies。IfyouwillgethertoaskoionabouttheylesincloaksleevesIwillpromiseyouaone-in-fiveceforher，insteadofo;

&hedoheworkroomandcriedaJapaoapulp。ThensheswaggeredintoJohnsy'sroomwithherdrawingboard，whistlingragtime。

Johnsylay，scargarippleuhes，withherfaceto。Suestoppedwhistling，thinkingshe>

Shearrangedherbanapen-and-inkdrawingtaziartistsmustpavetheirwaytoArtbydrawingpiagaziyoungauthorswritetopavetheirwaytoLiterature。

AsSuewassketgapairofeleganthtrousersandamohefigureofthehero，anIdahocowboy，sheheardalowsouimesrepeated。Shewentquicklytothebedside。

Johnsy'seyeswereopenwide。Shewaslookingoutthewindowandg—gback>

"Twelve，"shesaid，aer"eleven";aen，"and";;a;eight"and"seven"，almosttogether。

Suelooksolicitouslyoutoftheastheretot?Therewasonlyabare，drearyyardtobeseen，andtheblahebrickhousetweaway。Anold，oldivyvine，gnarledaheroots，climbedhalfthebrickwall。Thecoldbreathofautumnhadstriitsleavesfromthevisskeletonbrang，almostbare，tbricks。

"Whatisit，dear?"askedSue。

"Six，"saidJohnsy，inalmostawhisper。"They&#fasternow。Threedaysagotherewerealmostahumademyheada。Butnowit'seasy。Theregoesahereareonow。"

"Fivewhat，dear?TellyourSudie。"

"Leaves。OntheivyvihelastonefallsImustgo，too。I'veknownthatforthreedays。Didn'tthedoctortellyou?"

"Oh，Ineverheardofsuse，"plaihmags。"Whathaveoldivyleavestodowithywell?Aolovethatvineso，younaughtygirl。Don'tbeagoosey。Why，thedoethismthatyourcesfwellrealsoo'sseeexactlywhathesaid—hesaidthecesweretehat'salmostasgoodaceaswehaveinNeerideocarsorastanewbuilding。Trytotakesomebrothnow，aSudiegobackt，sosheselltheeditormanortwineforhersickdporkchreedyself。"

"Yougetanymorewi;saidJohnsy，keepinghereyesfixedoutthewindow。&quoesanother。No，Idon'twantanybroth。Thatleavesjustfour。Iwaogetsdark。ThenI'llgo，too。"

"Joh;saidSue，bendi;willyoupromisemetokeepyoureyesdnotlookoutthewindowuntilIamd?Imusthandthsinbytomorrow。I，orIwoulddrawtheshadedown。"

"'tyoudrawiherroom?"askedJohnsy，coldly。

"I'dratherbeherebyyou，"saidSue。"Beside，Idon'twantyoutokeeplookingatthosesillyivyleaves。"

"Tellmeassoonasyouhavefi;saidJohnsy，ghereyes，andlyiillasfalle;becauseIwaonefall。I'mtiredofwaiting。I'mtiredofthinking。Iwanttoturnloosemyhold，andgosailingdown，down，justlikeohosepoor，tiredleaves。"

"Trytosleep，"saidSue。"ImustcallBehrmanuptobemymodelfortheoldhermitminer。I'llnotbegoe。Don'ttrytomoveuntilIeback。"

OldBehrmanainterwholivedonthegroundfloorbehem。HeastsixtyandhadaMigelo'sMdownfromtheheadthebodyofanimp。Behrmanwasafailureinart。FortyyearshehadwieldedthebrushwithoutgettiotouchthehemofhisMistress'srobe。Hehadbeenalaintamasterpiece，buthadbegunit。Forseveralyearshehadpaihinowandthenadaubinthelineoferce。Heearlebyservingasamodeltothoseyoungartistsintheywhootpaythepriceofaprofessional。Hedrankgintoexdstilltalkedofhisasterpiece。Fortheresthewasafiercelittleoldman，whoscoffedterriblyatsoftnessinanyone，andwhardedhimselfasespecialmastiff-in-waitingtoprotectthetwoyoungartistsiudioabove。

SuefoundBehrmaronglyofjuniperberriesinhisdimlylighteddenbelow。InoneerwasablankahadbeenwaitiweoreceivethefirstlierpieofJohnsy'sfandhowshefearedshewould，iandfragileasaleafherself，floataway，wheholdupre>

OldBehrman，withhisredeyesplainlystreaming，shoutedhisptandderisionforsuaginings。