In all the seven bygone years, Hester Prynne had never before been false to the symbol on her bosom. It may be that it was the talisman of a stern and severe, but yet a guardian spirit, who now forsook her; as recognising that, in spite of his strict watch over her heart, some new evil had crept into it, or some old one had never been expelled. As for little Pearl, the earnestness soon passed out of her face.
在过去的七今年头中，海丝特·白兰还从来没有就她胸前的标记说过假话。很可能，那红字虽是一个严苛的符咒，但同时也是一个守护神，不过现在那守护神抛弃了她，正是由于看到了这一点，尽管红字依然严格地守在她心口，但某个新的邪恶已经钻了进去，或者说某个旧的邪恶始终没有被驱逐出来。至于小珠儿呢，那种诚挚的神情很快就从她脸上消失了。 

But the child did not see fit to let the matter drop. Two or three times, as her mother and she went homeward, and as often at suppertime, and while Hester was putting her to bed, and once after she seemed to be fairly asleep, Pearl looked up, with mischief gleaming in her black eyes.
但那孩子仍不肯就此罢休。在她母亲领她回家的路上，她又问了两三次，在吃晚饭时和海丝特送她上床时又问了两三次，在她象是已经入睡之后又问了一次：珠儿抬起头来，黑眼睛中闪着捣蛋的光芒。

"Mother," said she, "what does the scarlet letter mean?"
“妈妈，”她说，“这红字到底是什么意思？”

And the next morning, the first indication the child gave of being awake was by popping up her head from the pillow, and making that other inquiry, which she had so unaccountably connected with her investigations about the scarlet letter-
第二天一早，那孩子醒来的第一个表示，就是从枕头上猛地把头一抬，问起另外那个问题，不知为什么她总是把那个问题同探询红字的问题搅在一起—— 

"Mother!- mother!- why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?"
“妈妈！——妈妈！——牧师于嘛总用手捂住心口呢？”

"Hold thy tongue, naughty child!" answered her mother, with an asperity that she had never permitted to herself before. "Do not tease me; else I shall shut thee into the dark closet!"
“闭嘴，调皮鬼！”她母亲回答说，语气之严厉，是她以前从来不准自己有的。“别缠我了，要不我就把你关进橱柜里去了！”