It was in the economy of this régime that Tess Durbeyfield had undertaken to fill a place. Her first day's experiences were fairly typical of those which followed through many succeeding days. A familiarity with Alec d'Urberville's presence - which that young man carefully cultivated in her by playful dialogue, and by lastingly calling her his cousin when they were alone - removed much of her original shyness of him, without, however, implanting any feeling which could engender shyness of a new and tenderer kind. But she was more pliable under his hands than a mere companionship would have made her, owing to her unavoidable dependence upon his mother, and, through that lady's comparative helplessness, upon him.
苔丝就是在这种组织里答应去填补一个位置。她头一天的生活体验相当典型地代表着在后来许多日子里她所经历的生活。对于阿历克·德贝维尔同她见面，她也习以为常了——这是这个青年小心翼翼地在她身上培养起来的感情，是他通过说一些俏皮话、通过当他们单独在一起开玩笑时叫他堂妹培养起来的——苔丝同他熟悉起来，当初她对他的羞怯也消除了不少，不过，她也没有被注入某种新的感情，以至于产生一种新的和更加温柔的羞怯。但是，她做什么事都顺从着他，已经超出了一个伙伴的程度，这是因为她不得不依靠他的母亲，而他的母亲又对她没有什么帮助，所以她只好依靠他了。

She soon found that whistling to the bullfinches in Mrs d'Urberville's room was no such onerous business when she had regained the art, for she had caught from her musical mother numerous airs that suited those songsters admirably. A far more satisfactory time than when she practised in the garden was this whistling by the cages each morning. Unrestrained by the young man's presence she threw up her mouth, put her lips near the bars, and piped away in easeful grace to the attentive listeners.
当她恢复了吹口哨的技艺的时候，不久她就发现，在德贝维尔夫人的屋子里，对着红腹灰雀吹口哨并不是十分繁重的事，因为她从她的善于唱歌的母亲那儿学会的大量曲调，对那些歌喉婉转的鸟儿非常合适。同当初在院子里练习吹口哨相比，现在每天早晨站在鸟笼子旁边吹这种口哨，的确是叫人满意快乐的了。那个青年不在身边，她感到无拘无束，就撅起嘴巴，靠近鸟笼子，对着那些留神细听的小鸟儿轻松优美地吹起来。

Mrs d'Urberville slept in a large four-post bedstead hung with heavy damask curtains, and the bullfinches occupied the same apartment, where they flitted about freely at certain hours, and made little white spots on the furniture and upholstery. Once while Tess was at the window where the cages were ranged, giving her lesson as usual, she thought she heard a rustling behind the bed. The old lady was not present, and turning round the girl had an impression that the toes of a pair of boots were visible below the fringe of the curtains. Thereupon her whistling became so disjointed that the listener, if such there were, must have discovered her suspicion of his presence. She searched the curtains every morning after that, but never found anybody within them. Alec d'Urberville had evidently thought better of his freak to terrify her by an ambush of that kind.
德贝维尔夫人睡在一张大四柱床上，床上挂着厚实的锦缎帐子，红腹灰雀也养在同一间房里，在一定的时间里它们可以在房里自由自在地飞来飞去，把家具和垫子上弄得到处都是白色的小点。有一次，苔丝站在挂着一排鸟笼子的窗户像往常一样教小鸟儿唱歌时，她觉得她听见床后有一种细小的摩擦声。那个老太太当时不在，姑娘转过身去，在她的印象中好像看见帐沿下有一双靴子的尖头。因此，她吹的口哨立刻就乱了调子，如果真的有人的话，那么那个人也肯定发现苔丝怀疑到他的存在了。自此以后，她每天早晨都要搜查一遍帐子，但是从来没有发现有人在那儿。显然阿历克·德贝维尔已经完全想到了他的怪诞行为，如果他用那种埋伏的把戏，肯定要把苔丝吓坏的。

①石碑上雕刻的急躁女神（like Impatience on a monument），可参考莎士比亚《第十二夜》第二幕第四场第113页“她坐在那儿，就像石碑上雕刻的忍耐女神”（She sat like a Patience on a monument）一句。