学一点俚语
赵宝斌 编辑整理
英语俚语是一种非正式的语言，通常用在非正式的场合，所以在用这些俚语是一定要考虑到所用的场合和对象，最好不要随意用这些俚语。下面是一些常用的俚语。
a bird in the hand is worth two the bush 一鸟在手，胜似二鸟在林
a blank slate 干净的黑板（新的一页，新的开始）
a bone to pick 可挑剔的骨头（争端，不满）
a cat nap 打个盹儿
a chip off the old block 大木头上砍下来的小木片（子肖其父）
a chip on one's shoulder 肩头的木片（自卑感，因为自卑而爱找别人麻烦；喜欢向人挑衅）
a ouch potato 躺椅上的马铃薯（懒鬼）
a cake walk 走去吃糕（易事）
a headache 头痛（麻烦事）
a knock out 击倒（美得让人倾倒）
a load off my mind 心头大石落地
a nut 傻子，疯子
a pain in the neck 脖子疼（苦事）
a piece of cake 一块蛋糕（小菜一碟，易事一件）
a pig 猪猡
a shot in the dark 盲目射击（瞎猜）
a short fuse 引线短（脾气火爆）
a sinking ship 正在下沉的船
a slam dunk 灌篮（轻而易举的事）
a slap in the face 脸上挨了一耳光（公然受辱）
a smoke screen 烟幕
a social butterfly 社交蝴蝶（善于交际，会应酬的人）
a stick in the mud 烂泥中的树枝
a thick skin 厚脸皮
a thorn in someone's side 腰上的荆棘（芒刺在背）
a turn coat 反穿皮袄的人（叛徒）
an uphill battle 上坡作战（在逆境中求胜）
a weight off my shoulders 放下肩头重担
ace 得满分（得到完美的结果）
all ears 全是耳朵（洗耳恭听）
all thumbs 满手都是大拇指（笨手笨脚）
an ace up my sleeve 袖里的王牌
an open and shut case明显的事件
ants in one's pants 裤裆里有蚂蚁（坐立不安）
back in the saddle重上马鞍（重整旗鼓）
back on track重上轨道（改过自新）
backfire逆火（弄巧成拙，适得其反）
ball and chain 铁球铁链，甜蜜的枷（老婆）
beat a dead horse 鞭打死马令其奔驰（徒劳）
beaten by the ugly stick 被丑杖打过（生得难看）
beggar can't be choosers 讨饭的谈不上挑三拣四
bet on it 下这一注稳赢（有把握，无疑）
bet your life 把命赌上（绝对错了）
better half 我的另一半
between a rack and a hard place 进退维谷（前有狼后有虎）
big headed 大脑袋（傲慢，自大）
bigger fish to fry 有更大的鱼要炸（有更重要的事要办）
bite off more than one can chew 贪多嚼不烂
bite the bullet 咬子弹（强忍痛苦）
birds of a feather flock together 羽毛相同的鸟总飞成一群（物以类聚）
blow up in you face 在眼前爆炸（事情完全弄砸了）
bologna 胡说，瞎说
break a let 折断一条腿（表演真实，演出成功）
break the ice 破冰（打破僵局）
bright聪明，灵光
brown nose 讨好，谄媚
bug somebody 使人讨厌
bull in a china shop 瓷器店里的蛮牛（笨拙的人，动辄弄坏东西的人）
bump into 撞上（巧遇）
burn brides 烧桥（过河拆桥）
burst your bubble 扎破泡泡（打破人的幻想，煞风景）
bury one's head in the sand把头埋在沙里（自欺欺人）
butterfingers奶油手指（抓不稳东西的人）
butterflies in my stomach肚里有只蝴蝶（心里紧张，七上八下）
buy the farm买下农场（归道山，死了）
call it a night一日事毕，可以睡觉了
can't teach an old dog new tricks老狗学不会新把戏
cash in my chips兑换筹码（睡觉，就寝）
chicken鸡（胆小鬼）
circle the wagons把篷车围成一圈（严阵以待）
clean up one's act自我检点，自我改进
come down in bucket倾盆大雨
come down in sheets整片整片地下（倾盆大雨）
cool your lips冷静下来
cost someone an arm and a leg要花上一条胳膊一条腿（代价昂贵）
count on something /doing something 这事靠得住
count your chickens before they hatch 蛋还没孵化，先数小鸡
crock 破瓦片（无用之物，废话）
cross the line 跨过线（做得太过分了）
cross that bridge when we come to it 到了桥头就过桥（船到桥头自然直）
cry over spilled milk 为泼了牛奶而哭（为过去的失败而懊丧）
cushion the blow 给垫着点儿（说话绵软一点，以免打击太重）
cut to the chase 抄捷径去追猎物（不绕圈子，开门见山，单刀直入）
daily grind 例行苦事，每天得干的苦工
days are numbered 来日无多
dead center 正当中
deadend street 死路，死巷子
dog 狗（丑八怪）
domino effect 骨牌效应
don't hold your breath 别憋着呼吸（别期望太高）
don't look a gift horse in the mouth 赠马不看牙（收人礼物别嫌好道歹）
down to the wire 最后关头
down under 南边（常指面半球的澳洲）
downhill from here 从此都是下坡路（自此每况愈下）
drop the ball 掉了球（失职）
empty nest 空巢（儿女长大离家）
every cloud has a silver lining 乌云也有银边（祸兮福所倚，塞翁失马）
fall into place 落实，就绪
fender bender 撞弯保险杠的车祸（小车祸）
fight tooth and nail 爪牙并施，拚命抵抗
fine line 细线（微妙的差别）
fish out of water 如鱼离水
flash in the pan 淘金盆里的反光（空欢喜一场，好景不长）
fork in the road 岔路
fox 狐狸（并无贬意）
framed 被陷害，遭栽赃
full throttle 加足马力
get a foot in the door 一脚已经进了门里（获得立足点，占一份）
get hitched 拴起来（结婚）
get off on the wrong foot 起步便错（第一印象不佳）
get the ball rolling 让球滚起来（动起手来）
get/give the green light 绿灯亮了（获准行动）
get up on the wrong side of the bed 起床下错边
give the shirt off one's back 连衬衫都肯脱给人（慷慨成性）
go one step too far 多走了一步（做得太过分了）
go out on a limb 爬高枝（担风险）
go overboard 过火
go to hell in a hand basket 坐着吊篮下地狱（一坏不可收拾）
go to one's head 上头上脸，冲昏头脑
go under 沉没（破产）
goose bumps 鸡皮疙瘩
grasp for straws 抓稻草（绝望中的挣扎，快要淹死的人连漂浮的稻草也抓）
guts 胆子
hot 惹火
have one's cake and eat it too 既想留着蛋糕，又想吃（既要鱼，又要熊掌）
hindsight is 20/20 事后的先见之明
hit stride 脚步走顺了
hit the books 撞书（用功）
hit the hay 倒在稻草上（睡觉、就寝）
hit the jackpot 中了头彩
hit the road 上路
hold a candle to 给他拿蜡烛都不配（元不能相比）
hold the key to my heart 掌管我心灵的钥匙
hold your horses 勒住你的马（慢来）
hang somebody out to dry 把……晾起来了（把……坑苦了）
in one's back pocket 在某人裤子后口袋里（是某人的囊中之物）
in the dark 在黑暗中（茫然，什么也不知道）
in the lime light 站在聚光灯圈里（出风头）
in the spotlight 站在聚光灯圈里（出风头）
it's Greek to me 希腊文（天书）
in the middle of nowhere 周围什么也没有（前不见村，后不着店）
joined at the hip 连体婴（死党，从不分开的两个人）
jump the gun 枪未响先偷跑（抢先）
just what the doctor ordered 正是大夫说的（对症下药）
keep an ear to the ground 一耳贴地（注意新动向）
keep one's fingers crossed/cross one's fingers 把手指交叉成十字架（暗祈上苍保佑）
kick the bucket 踢水桶（翘辫子）
kill two birds with one stone一 箭双雕，一举两得
kiss up to 讨好
kitty corner 小猫的角落（斜对角）
knuckle sandwich 指节骨三明治（饱以老拳）
landslide 山崩（压倒性的胜利）
last straw 最后一根稻草
left a bitter taste in one's mouth 留下满嘴苦味（留下不愉快的回忆）
left hanging 被晾起来了（被挂起来，悬而不决）
let sleeping dogs lie 别惊动睡着的狗（别无事生非，过去的事不要再提）
let the cat out of the bag 放出袋中猫（泄密，说漏嘴）
light a fire under your butt 在屁股下点一把火（促其行动）
light at the end of the tunnel 隧道末端的光（一线希望）
like hot cakes 象刚出炉的蛋糕（很受欢迎的东西，抢手货）
like looking for a needle in a haystack 如同在稻草堆里找一根针（大海捞针）
like pulling hen's teeth 跟拔母鸡的牙一样（艰苦不堪）
like shooting fish in a barrel 桶里射鱼（瓮中捉鳖）
like stealing candy from a baby 娃娃手里骗糖（易事）
ling winded 长舌，碎嘴
loose cannon 松动的大炮（一触即发的脾气）
lose one's marbles 疯了，神智不清
low blow 不正当的攻击，下流手段
make a mountain out of a molehill 把小土堆说成大山（小题大作）
make him and break the mold 上帝造了他以后就把模型砸了（再没有跟他一样的人了）
Monday morning quarterback 星期一早晨的四分卫（马后炮）
monkey business 猢狲把戏（胡闹）
monkey on one's back 背上的猴子（难以摆脱的负担）
more than you can shake a finger at 屈指难数
more than one way to skin a cat 剥猫皮各有巧妙不同（另有办法）
music to my ears 爱听的话
my old man 我的老头（我父亲）
nail in the coffin 棺材钉子（致使的一击，决定成败的最重要因素）
neck and neck 马脖子靠着马脖子（齐头并进，不分轩轾）
no sweat不出汗（没什么大不了）
not dealing with a full deck 脑子里少几张牌（头脑不正常）
nothing will leave these walls 话不传出这四堵墙之外（言不入六耳）
off the charts 好得没治了
off the deep end 暴跳如雷
off the fop of one's head 临时一想，随口一说
on a good note 尽欢而散
on a roll 做得很顺，势如破竹
on cloud nine 九霄云上
on fire 着火了（红火，手气旺）
on my nerves 惹我心烦
on pins and needles 如坐针毡，坐立不安
on tap 桶装啤酒（现成的，预备好的）
on the back burner 搁在靠后的炉子上（靠边站）
on the ball 看球看得准（做事有准备，有把握）
on the edge of my seat 坐在椅子前沿（专心地看和听）
on the rocks 触礁，搁浅；加冰块
on the same page 在同一页上（进度相同）
on the tip of my tongue 话到舌尖，呼之欲出
once in a blue moon 出蓝月亮的时候（稀罕，少见）
one foot in the grave 一脚已经入了坟（入土三尺）
one of a kind 独一无二
one step ahead of you 领先你一步
out of the pan and into the fire 跳出锅里，掉进火里（每况愈下）
out of the picture 不在画面里
out of this world 人世所无，只应天上有
pale in comparison 相形失色
peas in a pod一 荚之豆（好哥儿们）
pieces come together 拼图游戏凑成图案（诸事顺利，达成完美结果）
play it by ear不 用看谱（随机应变）
plenty of other fish in the sea 海里的鱼多得很（天涯何处无芳草）
poker face 扑克面孔（喜怒不形于色）
pop the question 提出大问题（求婚）
pot calling the kettle black 锅嫌壶黑（五十步笑百步）
pull oneself up by one's bootstraps 拎着鞋带把自己提起来（凭自己的力量重新振作起来）
pull the rug out from underneath someone 地毯从脚下被抽出（事出意外）
punch your lights out 揍得你两眼发黑
put all of one's eggs in one basket 鸡蛋都放在一个篮子里（孤注一掷）
put one's foot in one's mouth 把脚丫放进嘴里（说错话了）
put one's nose to the grindstone 鼻子冲着磨刀石（专心工作）
put the cart before the horse 车在马前（本末倒置）
put up the white flag 竖白旗（投降，放弃）
rain on your parade 游行时下雨（扫兴，浇冷水）
rain cats and dogs 天上下猫，天上下狗（倾盆大雨）
raise the bar 提高横竿（更上一层楼）
read someone like a book 对这个人一目了然
red handed 趁着手上的血还没洗净时候抓住，在犯罪现场被逮
red tape（扎公文的）红带子，官样文章（繁文缛节）
right down my alley 恰是我的路（正能者多劳的胃口）
rob the cradle 劫摇篮（老牛吃嫩草）
rock the boat晃船（无事生非，制造不安定）
rumple my feathers 逆指羽毛（逆批龙鳞）
seamless 天衣无缝
secret weapon 秘密武器
see right through someone 一眼看穿，洞烛其奸
shoot for the stars sick and tired 射星星（立志要高）
sit shotgun 厌烦
six one way, half a dozen the other一 边六个，一边半打（半斤八两）
skate on thin ice 在薄冰上滑冰（如履薄冰，身历险境）
skeleton in one's closet 壁橱里的骷髅（不可告人的事）
skin and bones 皮包骨
sleep on it 睡在上面（考虑一晚上）
small talk 寒喧，闲聊
smooth sailing 一帆风顺
snowball 滚雪球，越滚越大
snowball's chance in hell 雪球进了地狱（希望不大）
spark 火星（来电）
spineless 没脊梁（没有骨气）
split hairs 细分头发（吹毛求疵）
stab in the back 背后插刀（遭人暗算）
stallion 千里驹（貌美体健的男人）
stand someone up 对方失约，让人空等
stick a fork in him, he's done 用叉子戳他一下看看，他烤熟了吧
stop and smell the roses 停下来闻玫瑰（享受生活）
straw that broke the camel's back压断骆驼脊梁的稻草（最后致命的一击）
straight from the horse's mouth 听马说的（根据最可靠的消息来源）
strike out 三振出局
stud 种马（貌美体健的男人）
swing for the fence 打全垒打
take a hike 走路（滚蛋）
take a rain check 因雨停赛时送给观众下次免费来看的票（另一次机会）
take off 动身
take one for the team 为了全队挨一下（为了集体利益，牺牲个人利益）
take the word right out of someone's mouth 替我说了（你所说的正是我想要说的）
the ball is in someone's court 球在你那边（该你行动了）
the walls have ears 墙有耳朵（隔墙有耳）
the whole nine yards 整整九码（一举成功，美式足球的攻方一次需推进十码）
throw in the towel 扔毛巾（认输，放弃）
tie the knot 打结（结婚）
toe the line 循规蹈矩，沿着线走
tongue in cheek 闲磕牙（挖苦地）
too many cooks in the kitchen 厨房里厨子太多（筑室道谋，三个和尚没水渴）
twinkle in your mother's eye 母亲眼中的一闪灵光（未出娘胎）
twisted 脾气拧，别扭
two left feet 有两左脚（笨手笨脚）
under my skin 钻到我的皮下（让我极不舒服）
under the weather 受了风寒
until the cows come home 等到牛回家（空等，白等）
until you are blue in the face 干到脸发青（也是白干）
unwind 放松发条（轻松下来）
up for grabs 大家有份
up in the air 挂在空中（悬而未决）
walk in someone's shoes 穿他的鞋走走看（设身处地，经历相同）
walk on air（高兴得）脚不点地，飘飘然
washed up 像是洗过的（筋疲力尽，力气都放完了）
water off a duck's back 鸭背的水珠（马耳东风）
water under the bridge 桥下的水（逝水，覆水）
when hell freezes over 地狱结冰（绝不可能的事）
weed out 除去杂草（淘汰）
well rounded全 能，全才
when pigs fly 猪飞的时候（绝不可能）
not lift a finger 连手指都不动一动（袖手旁观）
wound up 上足发条（紧张，兴奋）
wrapped around his/her little finger 化为绕指柔（玩弄于股掌之间）
wring his neck 扭断他的脖子
Selected from the Top of My Head by Matt Weber
灰姑娘Today, I read the Grimm fairy tale of Cinderella to know that Cinderella is a good, honest little girl She has two sisters and a stepmother bad, they are very bad, do not let Cinderella into the restaurant to eat, but also off her beautiful clothes, one day, the king's son is a prince, by the age of marriage, so the king decided to held the ball for three consecutive days Invited to participate in national dance girl, hope that the election of a satisfactory Wang's wife Heard about two sisters, helping them quickly called Cinderella dressed, well dressed, after the ball went Cinderella also want to go to the dance, but she did not have clothes, she sad Later, a fairy gave her clothes Cinderella went to change clothes to attend the ball After three days later, Cinderella has become a queen The moral of the story let me know, and who are honest, good, not bad As the saying goes: " Bad mind people, should be the"
《项链》英文剧本
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!"
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