十分钟英语话剧

罗密欧与朱丽叶剧本片段 分享如下JULIETO fortune，fortune！allmen call thee fickle[fikel]：If thou artfickle，what dost thou[咬舌尖] with him．Thatis renown'dfor faith？Be fickle，fortune；For then，Ihope，thou wilt not keep him long，Butsend him back．[l1] 朱丽叶 命运啊命运！谁都说你反复无常；要是你真的反复无常，那么你怎样对待一个忠贞不贰的人呢？愿你不要改变你的轻浮的天性，因为这样也许你会早早打发他回来。CAPULETho，daughter！areyou up？[l2] 凯普莱特喂，女儿！你起来了吗？JULIETWhois't that calls？is it my lord father？[l3] 朱丽叶 谁在叫我？是我的父亲吗？CAPULETWhy，hownow，Juliet！[l4] 凯普莱特啊！怎么，朱丽叶！JULIETFather，Iam not well．[l5] 朱丽叶 父亲，我不大舒服。CAPULETEvermoreweeping for your cousin's death？What，wiltthou wash him from his grave with tears？[l6] An ifthou couldst，thou couldst not make him live；Therefore，havedone：some grief showsmuch of love；But much ofgrief shows still some wantof wit．[l7] 凯普莱特老是为了你表兄的死而掉泪吗？什么！你想用眼泪把他从坟墓里冲出来吗？就是冲得出来，你也没法子叫他复活；所以还是算了吧。适当的悲哀可以表示感情的深切，过度的伤心却可以证明智慧的欠缺。JULIETYetlet me weep for such a feeling loss．朱丽叶 可是让我为了这样一个痛心的损失而流泪吧。CAPULETThat not the friend which you weep for.Well，girl，thouweep'st not so much for his death，Asthat the villain lives which slaughter'd him．[l8] 凯普莱特 他不是你用眼泪哭得回来的。好，孩子，人已经死了，你也不用多哭他了；顶可恨的是那杀死他的恶人仍旧活在世上。JULIETWhatvillain？朱丽叶 什么恶人？CAPULETThatsame villain，Romeo．凯普莱特 就是罗密欧那个恶人。JULIETGodPardon him！I do，withall my heart；And yet no manlike he doth grieve my heart．[l9] 朱丽叶 饶恕他！我愿意全心饶恕他；可是没有一个人像他那样使我心里充满了悲伤。CAPULETThatis，becausethe traitormurderer lives．凯普莱特 那是因为这个万恶的凶手还活在世上。JULIETAy，father，fromthe reach of these my hands：Would none but Imight vengemy cousin's death[元音e]！[l10] 朱丽叶 是的，父亲，我恨不得把他抓住在我的手里。但愿我能够独自报复这一段杀兄之仇！CAPULETWewill have vengeancefor it．But now I'll tell thee joyful tidings，girl．[l11] 凯普莱特 我们一定要报仇的。但是现在，我得告诉你一个好消息。JULIETAndjoy comes well in such a needy time：What are they，Ibeseechyour my lord？朱丽叶 在这样不愉快的时候，好消息来得真是再适当没有了请问父亲，是什么好消息呢？CAPULETMarry，mychild，early next Thursday morn!The gallant，youngand noble gentleman，The County Paris，at Saint Peter'sChurch，Shall happily make thee there a joyfulbride．[l12] 凯普莱特 哈哈，我的孩子，星期四的早晨，那位风流年少的贵人，帕里斯伯爵，就要在圣彼得教堂里娶你做他的幸福的新娘了。JULIETNow，bySaint Peter's Church and Peter too，He shall notmake me there a joyful bride.[l13] I pray you， I will not marry yet；[l14] and，whenI do，I swear，Itshall be Romeo，whom you know Ihate，Rather than Paris．[l15] These are news indeed！[l16] 朱丽叶 凭着圣彼得教堂和圣彼得的名字起誓，我决不让他娶我做他的幸福的新娘。我现在还不愿意出嫁，就是要出嫁，我可以发誓，我也宁愿嫁给我所痛恨的罗密欧，不愿嫁给帕里斯。真是些好消息！CAPULETSoft！takeme with you，take me with you．[l17] How！willthou none？doth thou not give us thanks？Isthou not proud？doth thou not count thy blest，Unworthyas thou is，that we have wrought So worthy agentleman to be thou bridegroom？[l18] 凯普莱特 且慢！讲明白点，讲明白点儿。怎么！你不要嫁人吗？你不谢谢我们吗？你不称心吗？我们替你找到了这么一位高贵的绅士做你的新郎，你还不想想这是多大的福气吗？JULIETNotproud，you have；butthankful，that you have：Proud can Inever be of what I hate；But thankfuleven for hate，that is meant love．[l19] 朱丽叶 我没有喜欢，只有感激；你们不能勉强我喜欢一个我对他没有好感的人，可是我感激你们爱我的一片好心。CAPULETHownow，hownow，chop-logic！Whatis this？'Proud，'and'I thank you，'and'I thank you not；' Andyet 'not proud，'mistressminion，you，Thankme no thankings，nor，proudme no prouds，Butfettle your fine joints 'gainst Thursday next，Togo with Paris to Saint Peter's Church，OrI will drag thee on a hurdle thither．Out，yougreen-sickness carrion！out，you baggage！[l20] 凯普莱特 怎么！怎么！胡说八道！这是什么话？什么“喜欢”“不喜欢”，“感激”“不感激”！好丫头，我也不要你感谢，我也不要你喜欢，只要你预备好星期四到圣彼得教堂里去跟帕里斯结婚；你要是不愿意，我就把你装在木笼里拖了去!不要脸的死丫头！JULIETGoodfather，I beseech you on my knees，Hearme with patience but to speak a word．[l21] 朱丽叶 好爸爸，我跪下来求求您，请您耐心听我说一句话。CAPULETHangthee！disobedientwretch！Itell thee what：[l22] getthee to church o' Thursday，Ornever after look me in the face：Speaknot，replynot，donot answer me；Myfingers itch．凯普莱特 不孝的畜生！我告诉你，星期四给我到教堂里去，不然以后再也不要见我的面。不许说话，不要回答我；我的手指痒着呢。JULIETIsthere no pity sitting in the clouds，That sees into the bottom of my grief？I'll to thefriar，to know his remedy：Ifall else fail，myselfhave power to die．[l23] [l24] 朱丽叶 天知道我心里是多么难过，难道它竟会不给我一点慈悲吗？啊，我要到神父那儿去向他求救；要是一切办法都已用尽，我还有死这条路。JULIETAreyou at leisure，holyfather，now；Orshall I come to you at evening mass？朱丽叶 （叩门声）[l25] 神父，您现在有空吗？还是让我在晚祷的时候再来？FRIARLAURENCEMyleisure serves me，pensive daughter，now．[l26] 劳伦斯 我还是现在有空，多愁的女儿。JULIETOshut the door！and when thou hast done so，Come weep withme；past hope，pastcure，past help！[l27] 朱丽叶 啊！把门关了！关了门，陪着我哭吧。没有希望、没有补救、没有挽回了！FRLARLAURENCE[l28] Ah，Juliet，Ialready know thy grief；It strains me past the compass of my wits：Ihear thou must，andnothing may prorogueit，OnThursday next be married to this county．劳伦斯 啊，朱丽叶！我早已知道你的悲哀，实在想不出一个万全的计策。我听说你在星期四必须跟这伯爵结婚，而且毫无拖延的可能了。JULIETHelpme , friar, in thy wisdom.[l29] Ifnot ,thou call my resolution wise.[l30] Godjoin'd my heart and Romeo's, thou our hands;Andere this hand, by thee to Romeo seal'd,Shall be thelabel to another deed,Or my true heartwith treacherous revoltTurn to another,this shall slay them both:[l31] Benot so long to speak; I long to die.[l32] 朱丽叶 神父，用你的智慧帮帮我。如果不能，那么只要你赞同我的决心。上帝把我的心和罗密欧的心结合在一起,你把我们的双手结合，要是我这一只已经由你证明和罗密欧缔盟的手，再去和别人缔结新盟，或是我的忠贞的心起了叛变，投进别人的怀里，那么这把刀可以割下这背盟的手，诛戮这叛变的心。所以，神父，。不要老是不说话；不然，我只有一死。FRIARLAURENCEHold,hold,daughter: I do spy a kind of hope,[l33] Whichcraves as desperate an execution.If thou has the strength of will to slay thyself.Then is it likely thou wilt undertakeA thing copest with death himself to scape from it.And,if thou darest, I'll give thee remedy.劳伦斯 住手，女儿；我已经望见了一线希望，可是那必须用一种非常的手段，如果你有视死如归的决心，那么你应该愿意尝试一种与死差不多的方法来逃脱它。倘然你敢冒险一试，我就可以把办法告诉你。JULIETO,bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,From off thebattlements of yonder tower;Or walk inthievish ways; or bid me lurkWhere serpentsare; chain me with roaring bears;Things that, tohear them told, have made me tremble;And I will do itwithout fear or doubt,To live anunstain'd wife to my sweet love.[l34] 朱丽叶 啊！只要不嫁给帕里斯，你可以叫我从那边塔顶的雉堞上跳下来；你可以叫我在盗贼出没、毒蛇潜迹的路上匍匐行走；把我和咆哮的怒熊锁禁在一起；无论什么使我听了战栗的事，只要可让我活着对我的爱人做一个纯洁无瑕的妻子，我都愿意毫不恐惧、毫不迟疑地做去。FRIARLAURENCEHold, daughter,To-morrownight this distilled liquor drink thou off;When presentlythrough all thy veins shall runA cold anddrowsy humour,And in thisborrow'd likeness of shrunk deathThou shaltcontinue two and forty hours.[l35] Now, when the bridegroom in the morningcomesTo rouse theefrom thy bed, there art thou dead:Then, as themanner of our country is,In thy bestrobes uncover'd on the bierThou shalt beborne to that same ancient vaultWhere all thekindred of the Capulets lie.[l36] and that very night,Shall Romeo bearthee hence to Mantua.[l37] And this shall free thee from thispresent shame;If no inconstanttoy, nor womanish fear,Abate thy valourin the acting it.[l38] 劳伦斯 好女孩，这一个药瓶你拿去，到了星期三的晚上，你就把这里面炼就的液汁一口喝下，那时就会有一阵昏昏沉沉的寒气通过你全身的血管，接着脉搏就会停止跳动；在这种与死无异的状态中，你必须经过四十二小时。当那新郎在早晨来催你起身的时候，他们会发现你已经死了；然后，照着我们国里的规矩，他们就要替你穿起盛装，用柩车载着你到凯普莱特族中祖先的坟茔里。等你一醒过来，当夜就叫罗密欧带着你到曼多亚去。只要你不临时变卦，不中途气馁，这一个办法一定可以使你避免这一场眼前的耻辱。JULIETGiveme，giveme！O，tell not me of fear！[l39] 朱丽叶 给我！给我！啊，不要对我说起害怕两个字！FRIARLAURENCEHold；getyou gone，bestrong and prosperousIn this resolve：I'llsend a friar with speed To Mantua，with my lettersto thy lord．劳伦斯 拿着；你去吧，愿你立志坚强，前途顺利！我就叫一个弟兄飞快到曼多亚，带我的信去送给你的丈夫。JULIETLovegive me strength！and strength shall help afford．Farewell，dearfather！[l40] 朱丽叶 爱情啊，给我力量吧！只有力量可以搭救我。再会，亲爱的神父！by 聚有戏

《孔雀东南飞》（英文搞笑话剧）Wanderseveryfivemiles焦仲卿Johnny(Jforshort)刘兰芝Lunch(Lforshort)焦母Johnny’smother(JMforshort)刘母Lunch’smother(LMforshort)太守之子Mayor’sson(MSforshort)强盗Burglars(ABandC)Prologue(J作被打状跑上台,内砸出一卷纸筒,J被打中,狼狈不堪)J:EverybodysaysthatI’mhenpecked,butinfact,I’masstrongasatiger,(小声)whilemywifeisWuSong.(指着上台处的门大声道)I’mnotafraidofyou!(内砸出一脸盆,J接住当成盾牌护着头)Then,I’mafraidofwhom?MywifeLunchisthemostfamouswomanintheneighbor-hood.Sheisbraverthanme,smarterthanmeandstrongerthanme.AllthisIdonotcare.Ionlywanthertobetenderthanme.Butsheisnot!Havingawifelikethisisjustlikelivinginthehell!(内又砸出一卷纸筒,击中J)MyGod!Whocanhelpme?(下)Act1(序幕结束时,JM作窃听状)JM(拄拐棍上):Ican!(对门内)Lunch!Lunch!Whereareyou?L(扎着围裙,拿着锅铲,从门内跳出来):I’mhere!What’supmum?JM:I’vetoldyouagainandagainthatyoushouldcallme“mymostbeautifulgracefulanddearestmother-in-law”.L:OK.Mymostbeautifulgracefulanddearestmother-in-law,what’sup?JM:Sinceyoumarriedmysonyouhavebehavedsobadly.Youhavebeensorude,sobrusque,solazy……L:But……JM:Neverinterruptme!L:Neverinterruptme!SinceImarriedyourson,thatterribleJohnny,Ihavebeenworkinghardalldaylong,cookingandwashing.Ihaveraisedtensofthousandsofpigsandducksandchickenand……JM:Butallthoseyouhavedonearenotasvaluableasagrandson!L(生气地挥动着锅铲):Oh,youwantagrandson,don’tyou?(开始解围裙)Goandaskyourson.I’mleaving!(扯下围裙,扔在JM的脸上,下)Act2(LM坐在台上打毛线,L拿着锅铲上)L:Mum,I’mback!LM:Youareback?Why?Whathappened?L:Iwaskickedoutbymymostbeautifulgracefulanddearestmother–in-law.LM(惊讶,但随即露出幸灾乐祸的神情):See!Ihavealreadytoldyou!WhenyouinsistedonmarryingthatterribleJohnny,Itoldyouthatheisuglystupidandpoor,butyoudidnotlistentome.Lookatyourself……L:But,mum……LM:Neverinterruptme!L:Mum,I’mnotinterruptingyou.IjustwanttotellyouthatyouarealwaysrightOK?AndI’llmarrywhomeveryouwantmeto.LM(大喜):Nicegirl!Justnow,Imetthemayor’ssoninthemarket.Hesaid:“IfyoudaughterHaven’tbeenmarried,Ireallyreallywanttomarryher!”Nowyouarefreeagain,I’llgoandtellhim.(下)L(惊愕):What?Themayor’sson?Themostfamousplayboyintheneighbor-hood?(手中的锅铲掉在地上)WhatasillythingIhavedone!(下)Act3(J睡眼惺忪上)J(边走边道):Lunch!Lunch!Wherearemysocks?(走了几步,在地上捡起袜子)Heretheyare!(闻一下) Er!Howsmelly!Theyarestilldirty!(突然想起)Lunchhasgone!Ihavetowashthemmyself.(他的肚子似乎咕咕叫了起来)Oh,I’msohungry!Butthere’snobreakfast!(捡起地上的围裙)ThisiswhatLunchalwayswears!Imisshersomuch,andherexcellentcookingskill!Nowshehasgone.Ihavetocookformymotherandmyself.JM(上):Where’smybreakfast?Where’sLunch?Hasn’tshegotupyet?J:Mum,can’tyouremember?Lunchhasgone!JM(沉吟片刻):Well,totellyouthetruthJohnny,asonwithoutawifeisuseless.Lunchisanicegirl,goandtakeherback!J(立正敬礼):Yesmadam!Act4(J开心地走着，忽然跳出来三个强盗)A:Heyyou!Stopandlistentous!Theroadisbuiltbyme!(抬脚重重地踩在一块大石头上)B:AndIplantedonetree!(亦抬脚踩在同一块石头上)C:Ifyouwanttogobythisstreet---(欲踩石头，但踩到了A的脚)AB&C:Giveusallyourmoney!J(搜遍了每一个口袋，掏出1角硬币):Is1maoenough?(三强盗晕倒状，接着三人聚在一边商量)A:Whatbadluck!Thisguyisbroken!B:Ifwecannotrobanymoneytoday,wewillhavenothingtoeattonight!C:Iheardthatthemayor’ssonisgoingtomarryMissLiuLanzhinextmonth.WEcangoandrobthewedding!A&B:Goodidea!J(惊讶):What?What?Lunchisgoingtogetmarried?It’simpossible!AB&C:Why?Aprettygirlandarichman,whatagoodcouple!J:ButLunchismywife!Wehaven’tgotdivorcedyet!(突然有了主意)I’vegotanidea!Youaregoingtorobthewedding,don’tyou?I’llgowithyou.YoutakethemoneyandItakethebride.B:Haveyougotanyexperience?J:No.ButI’vegotthis!(J脱下鞋子从里面摸出一张支票，上书＄1，000，000)Act5(转眼已到了婚礼之期．MS意气风发用红绸牵着新娘上，J盖着红盖头极不情愿地被拉上台)(J和三强盗跃至台中)ABC&J:Heyyou!Stopandlistentous!A:Theroadisbuiltbyme!B:AndIplantedonetree.C:Ifyouwanttogobythisstreet---J:Giveusallyourmoney!(L听到J的声音，掀起了盖头)L(惊喜万分):Johnny!(不顾一切地飞奔到J的身边并躲到了的身后)(MS大怒，挥拳向J打来．J矮身一躲，MS打中了J身后的L，L晕倒)J(火冒三丈):Howdareyoubeatmywife!（挥拳向MS冲去）(J与MS混战，JM上，以拐杖击晕MS)(J将MS胸前的新郎标志扯下戴在自己胸前)J(扶起L，关切地问):Honey,howareyou?L(哭状):Ihurtalot!J:Don’tcrybaby.I’llgoandfetchthemedicine. (下)L(起身去追):Waitforme! (跑下)(音乐起 CanYouCelebrate)

《项链》就不错Necklace The girl was one of those pretty and charming young creatures who sometimes are born, as if by a slip of fate, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no expectations, no way of being known, understood, loved, married by any rich and distinguished man; so she let herself be married to a little clerk of the Ministry of Public Instruction. She dressed plainly because she could not dress well, but she was unhappy as if she had really fallen from a higher station; since with women there is neither caste nor rank, for beauty, grace and charm take the place of family and birth. Natural ingenuity, instinct for what is elegant, a supple mind are their sole hierarchy, and often make of women of the people the equals of the very greatest ladies. Mathilde suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born to enjoy all delicacies and all luxuries. She was distressed at the poverty of her dwelling, at the bareness of the walls, at the shabby chairs, the ugliness of the curtains. All those things, of which another woman of her rank would never even have been conscious, tortured her and made her angry. The sight of the little Breton peasant who did her humble housework aroused in her despairing regrets and bewildering dreams. She thought of silent antechambers hung with Oriental tapestry, illumined by tall bronze candelabra, and of two great footmen in knee breeches who sleep in the big armchairs, made drowsy by the oppressive heat of the stove. She thought of long reception halls hung with ancient silk, of the dainty cabinets containing priceless curiosities and of the little coquettish perfumed reception rooms made for chatting at five o'clock with intimate friends, with men famous and sought after, whom all women envy and whose attention they all desire. When she sat down to dinner, before the round table covered with a tablecloth in use three days, opposite her husband, who uncovered the soup tureen and declared with a delighted air, "Ah, the good soup! I don't know anything better than that," she thought of dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestry that peopled the walls with ancient personages and with strange birds flying in the midst of a fairy forest; and she thought of delicious dishes served on marvellous plates and of the whispered gallantries to which you listen with a sphinxlike smile while you are eating the pink meat of a trout or the wings of a quail. She had no gowns, no jewels, nothing. And she loved nothing but that. She felt made for that. She would have liked so much to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after. She had a friend, a former schoolmate at the convent, who was rich, and whom she did not like to go to see any more because she felt so sad when she came home. But one evening her husband reached home with a triumphant air and holding a large envelope in his hand. "There," said he, "there is something for you." She tore the paper quickly and drew out a printed card which bore these words: The Minister of Public Instruction and Madame Georges Ramponneau request the honor of M. and Madame Loisel's company at the palace of the Ministry on Monday evening, January 18th. Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she threw the invitation on the table crossly, muttering: "What do you wish me to do with that?" "Why, my dear, I thought you would be glad. You never go out, and this is such a fine opportunity. I had great trouble to get it. Every one wants to go; it is very select, and they are not giving many invitations to clerks. The whole official world will be there." She looked at him with an irritated glance and said impatiently: "And what do you wish me to put on my back?" He had not thought of that. He stammered: "Why, the gown you go to the theatre in. It looks very well to me." He stopped, distracted, seeing that his wife was weeping. Two great tears ran slowly from the corners of her eyes toward the corners of her mouth. "What's the matter? What's the matter?" he answered. By a violent effort she conquered her grief and replied in a calm voice, while she wiped her wet cheeks: "Nothing. Only I have no gown, and, therefore, I can't go to this ball. Give your card to some colleague whose wife is better equipped than I am." He was in despair. He resumed: "Come, let us see, Mathilde. How much would it cost, a suitable gown, which you could use on other occasions--something very simple?" She reflected several seconds, making her calculations and wondering also what sum she could ask without drawing on herself an immediate refusal and a frightened exclamation from the economical clerk. Finally she replied hesitating: "I don't know exactly, but I think I could manage it with four hundred francs." He grew a little pale, because he was laying aside just that amount to buy a gun and treat himself to a little shooting next summer on the plain of Nanterre, with several friends who went to shoot larks there of a Sunday. But he said: "Very well. I will give you four hundred francs. And try to have a pretty gown." The day of the ball drew near and Madame Loisel seemed sad, uneasy, anxious. Her frock was ready, however. Her husband said to her one evening: "What is the matter? Come, you have seemed very queer these last three days." And she answered: "It annoys me not to have a single piece of jewelry, not a single ornament, nothing to put on. I shall look poverty-stricken. I would almost rather not go at all." "You might wear natural flowers," said her husband. "They're very stylish at this time of year. For ten francs you can get two or three magnificent roses." She was not convinced. "No; there's nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich." "How stupid you are!" her husband cried. "Go look up your friend, Madame Forestier, and ask her to lend you some jewels. You're intimate enough with her to do that." She uttered a cry of joy: "True! I never thought of it." The next day she went to her friend and told her of her distress. Madame Forestier went to a wardrobe with a mirror, took out a large jewel box, brought it back, opened it and said to Madame Loisel: "Choose, my dear." She saw first some bracelets, then a pearl necklace, then a Venetian gold cross set with precious stones, of admirable workmanship. She tried on the ornaments before the mirror, hesitated and could not make up her mind to part with them, to give them back. She kept asking: "Haven't you any more?" "Why, yes. Look further; I don't know what you like." Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb diamond necklace, and her heart throbbed with an immoderate desire. Her hands trembled as she took it. She fastened it round her throat, outside her high-necked waist, and was lost in ecstasy at her reflection in the mirror. Then she asked, hesitating, filled with anxious doubt: "Will you lend me this, only this?" "Why, yes, certainly." She threw her arms round her friend's neck, kissed her passionately, then fled with her treasure. The night of the ball arrived. Madame Loisel was a great success. She was prettier than any other woman present, elegant, graceful, smiling and wild with joy. All the men looked at her, asked her name, sought to be introduced. All the attaches of the Cabinet wished to waltz with her. She was remarked by the minister himself. She danced with rapture, with passion, intoxicated by pleasure, forgetting all in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, in a sort of cloud of happiness comprised of all this homage, admiration, these awakened desires and of that sense of triumph which is so sweet to woman's heart. She left the ball about four o'clock in the morning. Her husband had been sleeping since midnight in a little deserted anteroom with three other gentlemen whose wives were enjoying the ball. He threw over her shoulders the wraps he had brought, the modest wraps of common life, the poverty of which contrasted with the elegance of the ball dress. She felt this and wished to escape so as not to be remarked by the other women, who were enveloping themselves in costly furs. Loisel held her back, saying: "Wait a bit. You will catch cold outside. I will call a cab." But she did not listen to him and rapidly descended the stairs. When they reached the street they could not find a carriage and began to look for one, shouting after the cabmen passing at a distance. They went toward the Seine in despair, shivering with cold. At last they found on the quay one of those ancient night cabs which, as though they were ashamed to show their shabbiness during the day, are never seen round Paris until after dark. It took them to their dwelling in the Rue des Martyrs, and sadly they mounted the stairs to their flat. All was ended for her. As to him, he reflected that he must be at the ministry at ten o'clock that morning. She removed her wraps before the glass so as to see herself once more in all her glory. But suddenly she uttered a cry. She no longer had the necklace around her neck! "What is the matter with you?" demanded her husband, already half undressed. She turned distractedly toward him. "I have--I have--I've lost Madame Forestier's necklace," she cried. He stood up, bewildered. "What!--how? Impossible!" They looked among the folds of her skirt, of her cloak, in her pockets, everywhere, but did not find it. "You're sure you had it on when you left the ball?" he asked. "Yes, I felt it in the vestibule of the minister's house." "But if you had lost it in the street we should have heard it fall. It must be in the cab." "Yes, probably. Did you take his number?" "No. And you--didn't you notice it?" "No." They looked, thunderstruck, at each other. At last Loisel put on his clothes. "I shall go back on foot," said he, "over the whole route, to see whether I can find it." He went out. She sat waiting on a chair in her ball dress, without strength to go to bed, overwhelmed, without any fire, without a thought. Her husband returned about seven o'clock. He had found nothing. He went to police headquarters, to the newspaper offices to offer a reward; he went to the cab companies--everywhere, in fact, whither he was urged by the least spark of hope. She waited all day, in the same condition of mad fear before this terrible calamity. Loisel returned at night with a hollow, pale face. He had discovered nothing. "You must write to your friend," said he, "that you have broken the clasp of her necklace and that you are having it mended. That will give us time to turn round." She wrote at his dictation. At the end of a week they had lost all hope. Loisel, who had aged five years, declared: "We must consider how to replace that ornament." The next day they took the box that had contained it and went to the jeweler whose name was found within. He consulted his books. "It was not I, madame, who sold that necklace; I must simply have furnished the case." Then they went from jeweler to jeweler, searching for a necklace like the other, trying to recall it, both sick with chagrin and grief. They found, in a shop at the Palais Royal, a string of diamonds that seemed to them exactly like the one they had lost. It was worth forty thousand francs. They could have it for thirty-six. So they begged the jeweler not to sell it for three days yet. And they made a bargain that he should buy it back for thirty-four thousand francs, in case they should find the lost necklace before the end of February. Loisel possessed eighteen thousand francs which his father had left him. He would borrow the rest. He did borrow, asking a thousand francs of one, five hundred of another, five louis here, three louis there. He gave notes, took up ruinous obligations, dealt with usurers and all the race of lenders. He compromised all the rest of his life, risked signing a note without even knowing whether he could meet it; and, frightened by the trouble yet to come, by the black misery that was about to fall upon him, by the prospect of all the physical privations and moral tortures that he was to suffer, he went to get the new necklace, laying upon the jeweler's counter thirty-six thousand francs. When Madame Loisel took back the necklace Madame Forestier said to her with a chilly manner: "You should have returned it sooner; I might have needed it." She did not open the case, as her friend had so much feared. If she had detected the substitution, what would she have thought, what would she have said? Would she not have taken Madame Loisel for a thief? Thereafter Madame Loisel knew the horrible existence of the needy. She bore her part, however, with sudden heroism. That dreadful debt must be paid. She would pay it. They dismissed their servant; they changed their lodgings; they rented a garret under the roof. She came to know what heavy housework meant and the odious cares of the kitchen. She washed the dishes, using her dainty fingers and rosy nails on greasy pots and pans. She washed the soiled linen, the shirts and the dishcloths, which she dried upon a line; she carried the slops down to the street every morning and carried up the water, stopping for breath at every landing. And dressed like a woman of the people, she went to the fruiterer, the grocer, the butcher, a basket on her arm, bargaining, meeting with impertinence, defending her miserable money, sou by sou. Every month they had to meet some notes, renew others, obtain more time. Her husband worked evenings, making up a tradesman's accounts, and late at night he often copied manuscript for five sous a page. This life lasted ten years. At the end of ten years they had paid everything, everything, with the rates of usury and the accumulations of the compound interest. Madame Loisel looked old now. She had become the woman of impoverished households--strong and hard and rough. With frowsy hair, skirts askew and red hands, she talked loud while washing the floor with great swishes of water. But sometimes, when her husband was at the office, she sat down near the window and she thought of that gay evening of long ago, of that ball where she had been so beautiful and so admired. What would have happened if she had not lost that necklace? Who knows? who knows? How strange and changeful is life! How small a thing is needed to make or ruin us! But one Sunday, having gone to take a walk in the Champs Elysees to refresh herself after the labors of the week, she suddenly perceived a woman who was leading a child. It was Madame Forestier, still young, still beautiful, still charming. Madame Loisel felt moved. Should she speak to her? Yes, certainly. And now that she had paid, she would tell her all about it. Why not? She went up. "Good-day, Jeanne." The other, astonished to be familiarly addressed by this plain good-wife, did not recognize her at all and stammered: "But--madame!--I do not know--You must have mistaken." "No. I am Mathilde Loisel." Her friend uttered a cry. "Oh, my poor Mathilde! How you are changed!" "Yes, I have had a pretty hard life, since I last saw you, and great poverty--and that because of you!" "Of me! How so?" "Do you remember that diamond necklace you lent me to wear at the ministerial ball?" "Yes. Well?" "Well, I lost it." "What do you mean? You brought it back." "I brought you back another exactly like it. And it has taken us ten years to pay for it. You can understand that it was not easy for us, for us who had nothing. At last it is ended, and I am very glad." Madame Forestier had stopped. "You say that you bought a necklace of diamonds to replace mine?" "Yes. You never noticed it, then! They were very similar." And she smiled with a joy that was at once proud and ingenuous. Madame Forestier, deeply moved, took her hands. "Oh, my poor Mathilde! Why, my necklace was paste! It was worth at most only five hundred francs!"