near forgotten; then my father, stern and upright, the servants, the nursery, all the familiar things of home. Then the front door and the busy streets, with traffic to and fro: I looked and marvelled, and looked half doubtfully again into the woman’s face and turned the pages over, skipping this and that, to see more of this book, and more, and so at last I came to myself hovering and hesitating outside the green door in the long white wall, and felt again the conflict and the fear.
“`And next (а /что/ потом)?’ I cried (воскликнул я), and would have turned on (и хотел уже перевернуть /страницу/ дальше), but the cool hand of the grave woman delayed me (но прохладная рука серьезной женщины удержала меня; to delay — задерживать, замедлять; препятствовать).
“`Next (дальше)?’ I insisted (настаивал я), and struggled gently with her hand (и мягко боролся с ее рукой; gently — мягко, нежно, кротко), pulling up her fingers with all my childish strength (оттягивая вверх ее пальцы всеми моими детскими силами), and as she yielded and the page came over she bent down upon me like a shadow and kissed my brow (и когда она уступила, и страница перевернулась, она склонилась надо мной, как призрак, и поцеловала меня в лоб; shadow — тень; призрак).
yield [jJld], shadow ['Sxdqu], brow [brau]
“`And next?’ I cried, and would have turned on, but the cool hand of the grave woman delayed me.
“`Next?’ I insisted, and struggled gently with her hand, pulling up her fingers with all my childish strength, and as she yielded and the page came over she bent down upon me like a shadow and kissed my brow.
“But the page did not show the enchanted garden (но страница не показала зачарованного сада), nor the panthers (ни пантер), nor the girl who had led me by the hand (ни девушки, которая вела меня за руку), nor the playfellows who had been so loth to let me go (ни товарищей по играм, которые так не хотели отпускать меня). It showed a long grey street in West Kensington (она показала длинную серую улицу в Западном Кенсингтоне), on that chill hour of afternoon before the lamps are lit (в тот холодный послеполуденный час перед тем, как зажигают лампы; to light — зажигать), and I was there (и я был там), a wretched little figure (несчастная маленькая фигурка), weeping aloud (плачущая во весь голос), for all that I could do to restrain myself (несмотря на все мои усилия: «что я мог сделать, чтобы» сдержаться), and I was weeping (и я плакал) because I could not return to my dear playfellows (потому что я не мог вернуться к моим дорогим приятелям по играм) who had called after me (которые кричали вслед мне), `Come back to us (вернись к нам)! Come back to us soon (возвращайся скорее)!’ I was there (я был там). This was no page in a book (это была не страница в книге), but harsh reality (а суровая действительность); that enchanted place and the restraining hand of the grave mother at whose knee I stood had gone (то зачарованное место и сдерживающая рука печальной матери, у колен которой я стоял, исчезли; to go — уходить; исчезать; grave — важный, степенный, серьезный; мрачный, печальный) — whither have they gone (куда они пропали)?”
wretched ['reCId], aloud [q'laud], whose [hHz]
“But the page did not show the enchanted garden, nor the panthers, nor the girl who had led me by the hand, nor the playfellows who had been so loth to let me go. It showed a long grey street in West Kensington, on that chill hour of afternoon before the lamps are lit, and I was there, a wretched little figure, weeping aloud, for all that I could do to restrain myself, and I was weeping because I could not return to my dear play-fellows who had called after me, `Come back to us! Come back to us soon!’ I was there. This was no page in a book, but harsh reality; that enchanted place and the restraining hand of the grave mother at whose knee I stood had gone — whither have they gone?”
He halted again, and remained for a time (он остановился опять и