Jerome K. Jerome «Three men in a boat» — Ch. XIV (4/12)

Jerome K. Jerome «Three men in a boat» — Ch. XIV (4/12)

@english_frank

Джером К. Джером «Трое в лодке, не считая собаки» — Глава XIV

He said that was the advantage of Irish stew (он сказал, это достоинство ирландского рагу): you got rid of such a lot of things (вы избавляетесь от массы вещей; to get rid of). I fished out a couple of eggs that had got cracked, and put those in (я выудил пару яиц, которые разбились, и положил их в котел). George said they would thicken the gravy (Джордж сказал, они сделают подливку гуще).

I forget the other ingredients, but I know nothing was wasted (я забыл другие ингредиенты, но знаю, что ничего не было потрачено впустую); and I remember that, towards the end, Montmorency, who had evinced great interest in the proceedings throughout (помню, что под конец Монморенси, который проявлял огромный интерес ко всему процессу; throughout — на всем протяжении, все время; во всех отношениях), strolled away with an earnest and thoughtful air (ушел с серьезным и задумчивым видом), reappearing, a few minutes afterwards, with a dead water-rat in his mouth (появившись снова через несколько минут, /неся/ дохлую водяную крысу во рту = в зубах), which he evidently wished to present as his contribution to the dinner (которую он, очевидно, хотел преподнести как свой вклад в обед; to present — преподносить, дарить; contribution — вклад, взнос, пожертвование); whether in a sarcastic spirit, or with a genuine desire to assist, I cannot say (/делал ли он это/ в саркастическом настроении или с искренним желанием помочь — не могу сказать).

 

He said that was the advantage of Irish stew: you got rid of such a lot of things. I fished out a couple of eggs that had got cracked, and put those in. George said they would thicken the gravy.

I forget the other ingredients, but I know nothing was wasted; and I remember that, towards the end, Montmorency, who had evinced great interest in the proceedings throughout, strolled away with an earnest and thoughtful air, reappearing, a few minutes afterwards, with a dead water-rat in his mouth, which he evidently wished to present as his contribution to the dinner; whether in a sarcastic spirit, or with a genuine desire to assist, I cannot say.


We had a discussion as to whether the rat should go in or not (у нас возник спор, стоит ли класть крысу или нет; discussion — дискуссия, дебаты, прения). Harris said that he thought it would be all right (сказал, полагает, будет нормально), mixed up with the other things, and that every little helped (если смешать ее с остальными компонентами, и что каждая мелочь пригодится); but George stood up for precedent (но Джордж настаивал на прецеденте = указывал на отсутствие прецедента; to stand up for — защищать, отстаивать). He said he had never heard of water-rats in Irish stew (сказал, что никогда не слышал о том, чтобы водяных крыс /клали/ в ирландское рагу), and he would rather be on the safe side, and not try experiments (и предпочел бы лучше не проводить опытов; to be on the safe side — на всякий случай, для большей надежности: «быть на безопасной стороне»).

Harris said:

 "If you never try a new thing, how can you tell what it's like (если никогда не пробуешь ничего нового, как /сможешь/ узнать, что это такое)? It's men such as you that hamper the world's progress (такие люди, как ты, препятствуют мировому прогрессу). Think of the man who first tried German sausage (подумай/вспомни о человеке, который первым попробовал немецкие сосиски)!"

It was a great success, that Irish stew (оно было большим успехом = имело большой успех, это ирландское рагу). I don't think I ever enjoyed a meal more (не думаю, что я когда-либо больше наслаждался пищей /чем теперь/). There was something so fresh and piquant about it (в нем было что-то такое свежее и острое; piquant — пикантный, острый). One's palate gets so tired of the old hackneyed things (язык так устал от старых банальных ощущений; palate — небо /верхняя стенка ротовой полости/; вкус, склонность): here was a dish with a new flavour, with a taste like nothing else on earth (а тут было блюдо с новым ароматом, со вкусом, как ни у чего другого на земле).

 

We had a discussion as to whether the rat should go in or not. Harris said that he thought it would be all right, mixed up with the other things, and that every little helped; but George stood up for precedent. He said he had never heard of water-rats in Irish stew, and he would rather be on the safe side, and not try experiments.

Harris said:

"If you never try a new thing, how can you tell what it's like? It's men such as you that hamper the world's progress. Think of the man who first tried German sausage!"

It was a great success, that Irish stew. I don't think I ever enjoyed a meal more. There was something so fresh and piquant about it. One's palate gets so tired of the old hackneyed things: here was a dish with a new flavour, with a taste like nothing else on earth.


And it was nourishing, too (и оно было сытно к тому же). As George said, there was good stuff in it (как сказал Джордж, в нем хороший наполнитель; stuff — материя; материал, вещество; набивка, наполнитель; продукты). The peas and potatoes might have been a bit softer (горох и картофель могли бы быть немного мягче), but we all had good teeth, so that did not matter much (но у нас у всех были хорошие зубы, так что это не имело большого значения): and as for the gravy, it was a poem (а что касается подливки, то она была /настоящей/ поэмой) — a little too rich, perhaps, for a weak stomach, but nutritious (несколько слишком густой для слабого желудка, но /зато/ питательной).

We finished up with tea and cherry tart (мы закончили чаем с вишневым пирогом). Montmorency had a fight with the kettle during tea-time, and came off a poor second (Монморенси вступил в бой с чайником в это время и вышел побежденным: «бедным вторым»; tea-time — время вечернего чая; to come off second-best — потерпеть поражение, неудачу).

Throughout the trip, he had manifested great curiosity concerning the kettle (на всем протяжении путешествия он проявлял огромное любопытство по отношению к чайнику; to manifest — делать явным; обнаруживать/ся/, проявлять/ся/). He would sit and watch it, as it boiled, with a puzzled expression (он сидел и наблюдал, как тот кипит, с озадаченным видом), and would try and rouse it every now and then by growling at it (и пытался разозлить его время от времени, рычанием: «рыча на него»; to rouse — пробуждать/ся/; вспугивать дичь; раздражать, выводить из себя). When it began to splutter and steam, he regarded it as a challenge (когда он начинал брызгаться и пускать пар, Монморенси расценивал это как вызов; to splutter — лопотать; разбрызгивать/ся/, плеваться; шипеть), and would want to fight it, only, at that precise moment (и хотел сразиться с ним, но только в этот самый момент), some one would always dash up and bear off his prey before he could get at it (кто-нибудь всегда подбегал и уносил его добычу прежде, чем он мог добраться до нее).

 

And it was nourishing, too. As George said, there was good stuff in it. The peas and potatoes might have been a bit softer, but we all had good teeth, so that did not matter much: and as for the gravy, it was a poema little too rich, perhaps, for a weak stomach, but nutritious.

We finished up with tea and cherry tart. Montmorency had a fight with the kettle during tea-time, and came off a poor second.

Throughout the trip, he had manifested great curiosity concerning the kettle. He would sit and watch it, as it boiled, with a puzzled expression, and would try and rouse it every now and then by growling at it. When it began to splutter and steam, he regarded it as a challenge, and would want to fight it, only, at that precise moment, some one would always dash up and bear off his prey before he could get at it.