# ■ 3 An opportunity for Pip

I always knew I would be apprenticed to Joe as soon as I was old enough，and so I used to spend most of the day helping him in the forge．However，I also attended the village evening school，which was organized by an ancient relation of Mr Wopsle's．Her teaching mostly consisted of falling asleep while we children fought each other，but Mr Wopsle's young cousin，Biddy，tried to keep us under control and teach us to read，write and count．Mr Wopsle‘examined’us every three months．In fact he did not ask us any questions at all，but read aloud from Shakespeare，waving his arms dramatically and enjoying the sound of his own voice．

One night，about a year after the escaped convicts had been caught，I was sitting by the kitchen fire，writing a letter to Joe．I didn't need to，because he was sitting right next to me，but I wanted to practise my writing．After an hour or two of hard work，I passed this letter to him．

‘Pip，old boy！’cried Joe，opening his kind blue eyes very wide．‘What a lot you've learnt！Here's a J and an O，that's for Joe，isn't it，Pip？’

I wondered whether I would have to teach Joe from the beginning，so I asked，‘How do you write Gargery，Joe？’

‘I don't write it at all，'said Joe．‘But，you know，I am fond of reading．Give me a good book or newspaper，a good fire and I ask no more．Well！When you come to a J and an O，how interesting reading is！’

‘ Didn't you ever go to school，Joe，when you were young？’

‘No，Pip．You see，my father drank a lot，and when he drank，he used to hit my mother，and me too，sometimes．So she and I ran away from him several times．And she used to say，“Now，Joe，you can go to school．”But my father had such a good heart that he didn't want to be without us．So he always came to find us，and took us home，and hit us．So you see，Pip，I never learnt much．’

‘Poor Joe！’

‘But remember，Pip，my father had a good heart．’

I wondered about that，but said nothing．

‘He let me become a blacksmith，which was his job too，only he never worked at it．I earned the money for the family，until he died．And listen to this，Pip，I wanted to put this on his gravestone：

Whatever the fault he had from the start，

Remember，reader，he had a good heart．’

‘ Did you invent that yourself，Joe？’I asked，surprised.

‘I did，'said Joe proudly．‘It came to me in a moment．From my own head．But，Pip，sad to say，there wasn't enough money for the gravestone．My poor mother needed it．In bad health，she was．She died soon after．Found peace at last．’Joe's blue eyes were watery．‘I was lonely then，and I met your sister．Now，Pip，’Joe looked firmly at me，because he knew I was not going to agree with him，‘your sister is a fine woman！’

I could think of nothing better to say than‘I'm glad you think so，Joe．’

‘ So am I，'said Joe．‘I'm glad I think so．Very kind of her，bringing you up by hand．Such a tiny baby you were！So when I offered to marry your sister，I said，“And bring the poor little child to live with us．There's room for him at the forge！”’

I put my arms round Joe's neck and cried into his shirt．

‘Don't cry，old boy！’he said．‘Always the best of friends，you and me！’ As I dried my tears，he continued，‘So here we are，Pip！Now if you teach me a bit（and I warn you now that I'm very stupid）Mrs Joe must never know．And why？Because she likes to be-in charge-you know-giving the orders．’

‘Joe，’I asked，‘why don't you ever rebel？’

‘Well，'said Joe，‘ to start with，your sister's clever．And I'm not．And another thing，and this is serious，old boy，when I think of my poor mother's hard life，I'm afraid of not behaving right to a woman．So I'd much rather seem a bit weak with Mrs Joe than shout at her，or hurt her，or hit her．I'm just sorry she scolds you as well，Pip，and hits you with the stick．I wish I could take all the scolding myself．But there it is，Pip．’

Just then we heard the sound of a horse on the road．Mrs Joe and Uncle Pumblechook were returning from market．The carriage arrived，and in a rush of cold air，they were in the kitchen．

‘Now，'said Mrs Joe，excitedly throwing off her cloak，‘if this boy isn't grateful tonight，he never will be！’

‘She's offering the boy a great opportunity，’agreed Pumblechook．Trying to look grateful，I looked at Joe，making the word‘She？’with my lips．He clearly did not know either．

‘You were speaking of a she？’he said Politely to them．

‘She is a she，I suppose，’Mrs Joe replied crossly．‘Unless you call Miss Havisham a he．And even you wouldn't do that．’

‘The rich Miss Havisham who lives all alone in the big house in town？’asked Joe．

‘There aren't any other Miss Havishams that I know of！She wants a boy to go and play there．She asked Uncle Pumblechook if he knew of anyone．And Uncle Pumblechook，thinking of us as he always does，suggested this boy．And what's more，Uncle Pumblechook，realizing that this boy's fortune may be made by going to Miss Havisham's，has of-fered to take him into town tonight in his carriage，and let him sleep in his own house，and deliver him tomorrow to Miss Havisham's．And just look！'she cried，catching hold of me．‘Look at the dirt on this by！’

I was washed from top to toe in Mrs Joe's usual violent manner，and handed over，in my tightest Sunday clothes，to Mr Pumblechook．In the carriage taking me into town，I cried a little．I had never been away from Joe before，and I had no idea what was going to happen to me at Miss Havisham's．

Mr Pumblechook seemed to agree with my sister that I should be punished as much as possible，even when eating，and so for breakfast next morning he gave me a large piece of bread with very little butter，and a cup of warm water with very little milk，and insisted on checking my learning．

‘What's seven and thirteen，boy？’He continued testing me all through breakfast．‘And nine？And eleven？’

So I was glad to arrive at Miss Havisham's house at about ten o’clock．It was a large house，made of old stone，and with iron bars on the windows．We rang the bell，and waited at the gate．Even then Mr Pumblechook said，‘And fourteen？’but I pretended not to hear him．Then a young lady came to open the gate，and let me in．Mr Pumblechook was following me when she stopped him．

‘Do you wish to see Miss Havisham？'she asked．

‘If Miss Havisham wishes to see me，’answered Mr Pumblechook，a little confused．

‘Ah！'said the girl，‘but you see，she doesn't．’

Mr Pumblechook dared not protest but he whispered angrily to me before he turned away，‘Boy！Behave well here and re-member those who brought you up by hand！’I thought he would come back and call through the gate，‘And sixteen？’but he did not．

The young lady took me through the untidy garden to the house．Although she called me ‘boy，'she was the same age as me，but she seemed much older than me．She was beautiful，and as proud as a queen．We went through many dark passages until we reached a door，where she left me，taking her candle with her．

I knocked at the door and was told to enter．I found myself in a large room，where the curtains were closed to allow no daylight in，and the candles were lit．In the centre of the room，sitting at a table，was the strangest lady I have ever seen，or shall ever see．She was wearing a wedding dress made of rich material．She had a bride's flowers in her hair，but her hair was white．There were suitcases full of dresses and Jewels around her，ready for a journey．She only had one white shoe on．‘Then I realized that over the years the white wedding dress had become yellow，and the flowers in her hair had died，and the bride inside the dress had grown old．Everything in the room was ancient and dying．The only brightness in the room was in her dark old eyes，that stared at me．

‘Who are you？'said the lady at the table．

‘Pip，madam．Mr Pumblechook's boy．Come-to play．’

‘Come close．Let me look at you．’As I stood in front of ＊her，I noticed that her watch and a clock in the room had both stopped at twenty minutes to nine．

‘You aren't afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since you were born？’asked Miss Havisham．

I am sorry to say I told a huge lie by saying，‘No．’

‘Do you know what ths is？'she asked，putting her hand on her left side．

‘Yes，madam．’It made me think of my convict's travel-ling companion．‘Your heart，madam，’I added．

‘My heart！Broken！'she cried almost proudly，with a strange smile．Then she said，‘I am tired．I want to see some-thing different．Play．’

No order could be more difficult to obey in that house and that room．I was desperate enough to consider rushing round the table pretending to be Pumblechook's carriage，but I could not make myself do it，and just stood there helplessly．

‘I'm very sorry，madam，’I said，‘my sister will be very angry with me if you complain，but I can't play just now．Everything is so strange，and new，and sad…’I stopped，afraid to say more．Miss Havisham looked down at her dress，and then at her face in the mirror on the table．

‘So strange to him，so well-known to me，'she whispered．

‘So new to him，so old to me．And so sad to us both！Call Es-tella！’

When Estella finally came，with her candle，along the dark passage，Miss Havisham picked up a jewel from her table and put it in Estella's hair．‘Very pretty，my dear．It will be yours one day．Now let me see you play cards with this boy．’

‘With this boy！But he's a common working boy！’

I thought I heard Miss Havisham whisper，‘Well！You can break his heart！'she sat，like a dead body ready for the grave，watching us play cards in the candle-light．I almost wondered if she was afraid that daylight would turn her into dust．

‘What coarse hands this boy has！And what thick boots！’cried Estella in disgust，before we had finished our first game．I was suddenly aware that what she said was true．

‘What do you think of her？’ Whispered Miss Havisham to me．

‘I think she's very proud，’I whispered back．

‘Anything else？’

‘I think she's very pretty．’

‘Anything else？’

‘I think she's very rude．And-and I'd like to go home．’

‘And never see her again，although she's so pretty？’

‘I don't know．I'd-I'd like to go home now．’

Miss Havisham smiled．‘You can go home．Come again in six days'time．Estella，give him some food．GO，Pip．’

And so I found myself back in the overgrown garden in the bright daylight．Estella put some bread and meat down on the ground for me，like a dog．I was so offended by her behaviour towards me that tears came to my eyes．As soon as she saw this，She gave a delighted laugh，and pushed me out of the gate．I walked the four miles home to the forge，thinking about all I had seen．As I looked sadly at my hands and boots，I remembered that I was only a common working boy，and wished I could be different．

My sister was curious to know all the details of my visit，and kept asking me question after question．Somehow I felt I could not，or did not want to，explain about Miss Havisham and her strange house．I knew my sister would not understand．And the worst of it was，that old fool Pumblechook arrived at tea-time，to ask more questions．Just looking at his fishy staring eyes and open mouth made me want to keep silent．

‘Leave this boy to me，madam，’he told Mrs Joe．‘I'll make him concentrate．Now，boy，what's forty-three and seventy-two？’

‘I don't know，’I said．I didn't care，either．

‘Is it eighty-five，for example？’he joked．

‘Yes！’I answered，although I knew it wasn't．My sister hit me hard on the head．

‘Boy！’he continued．‘Describe Miss Havisham．’

‘Very tall and dark，’I said，lying．

‘Is she，uncle？’asked my sister eagerly．

‘Oh yes，’answered Mr Pumblechook．So I knew immediately that he had never seen her．‘This is the way to get information from this boy，’he added quietly to Mrs Joe．

‘How well you make him obey you，uncle！'said Mrs Joe．

‘ Now，boy！What was she doing when you arrived？’

‘She was sitting in a black carriage，’I replied．

Mr Pumblechook and Mrs Joe stared at each other．‘In a black carriage？’they repeated．

‘Yes，’I said，becoming more confident．‘And Miss Estella，her niece，I think，handed in gold plates with cake and wine through the windows．

‘Was anybody else there？’asked Mr Pumblechook．

‘Four dogs，huge ones．They ate meat out of a silver basket．’

‘Where was this carriage，boy？’

‘In her room．But there weren't any horses．’

‘Can this be possible，uncle？’asked Mrs Joe．

‘She's a strange woman，madam．It's quite possible．What did you play at，boy？’

We played with flags，’I answered．What lies I was telling！‘Estella waved a blue one，and I had a red one，and Miss Havisham waved one with little gold stars on，out of the carriage window．’

Fortunately they asked no more questions，and were still discussing the wonderful things I had seen，when Joe came in from the forge．When I saw his blue eyes open wide in surprise，I felt very sorry I had lied，and that evening，as soon as I found Joe alone for a moment，I confessed to him that I had lied about my visit to Miss Havisham．

‘Is none of it true，Pip？’he asked，shocked．‘No black carriage ? But at least there were dogs， weren't there，Pip？No？Not even one dog？’

‘No，Joe，I'm sorry．’

‘Pip，old boy！’His kind face looked very unhappy．‘If you tell lies，where do you think you'll go when you die？’

‘I know，Joe，it's terrible．I don't know what happened．Oh I wish I didn't have such thick boots and such coarse hands！I'm so miserable，Joe．That beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham's said I was common．And I know I am！Somehow that made me tell lies．’ ‘One thing to remember，Pip，’ said Joe，lighting his pipe slowly，‘is that lies are always wrong．You can't stop being common by telling lies．That's not the way to do it．And you're learning all the time，Pip！Look at that letter you wrote me last night！Even the King had to start learning at the beginning, didn't he？That reminds me，any flags at Miss Havisham's？No？That's a pity．Look here，Pip，this is a true friend speaking to you．Take my advice．No more lies，live well, and die happy.’

Encouraged by Joe's honest words I went to bed，but I couldn't stop myself thinking that Estella would consider Joe's boots too thick and his hands too coarse，and our whole family common．That was a day I shall never forget．

■ 3 給匹普的一次機會

我總是想，一到學徒的年齡，我就做喬的徒弟。因此，我常常在鍛爐前，白天花費大部分時間幫助喬幹活。但是，我也參加村辦夜校，這所學校是由伍甫賽先生的一位遠房親戚創辦的。她的教學主要是由睡覺、孩子們相互打鬧而組成。但是，伍甫賽先生的表妹，畢蒂，設法把我們控制住，教我們讀、寫和算術。伍甫賽先生每三個月就“考”我們一次。事實上，他什麼問題也不問我們，只是揮動著雙臂，用他那特有的激動人心、興高采烈的聲調，大聲朗讀莎士比亞的作品。

一天晚上，這大約是兩個逃犯被捕的一年以後，我正在廚房火爐旁坐著，給喬寫封信，我並不需要這樣做，因為他就緊靠在我旁邊坐著。但是，我是想鍛鍊我的寫作。經過一兩小時的努力後，我把這封信遞給他：

“親愛的喬，我希望你很好，馬上我就能把我所學的東西教給你，多麼可愛的喬，愛你的匹普”

“匹普，好小子！”喬喊著，睜大他那仁慈的藍眼睛，“你學了這麼多了！這兒是一個J和O，這是喬字，對嗎，匹普？”

我不知道是否必須從頭教喬，所以，我問道，“你寫出葛吉瑞。喬，怎麼樣？”

“我一點也不會寫，”喬說，“但是，你知道，我愛好讀，給我一本好書或者報紙，一盆爐火，不要更多。喂！當你寫出一個J和O，讀它多麼有趣呀！”

“喬，你小時候未曾上過學？”

“沒有，匹普，你知道，我爸爸酗酒，當他酗酒時，常打我媽媽，有時候也打我。因此，她和我幾次逃離他，她過去對我說，‘唉，喬，你能上學了。’可是，我爸爸有如此的好心，他不能沒有我們。因此，他總是來找我們，並把我們帶回家，繼續揍我們。這樣你就明白了，匹普，我一點也沒學習過。”

“可憐的喬！”

“但是記住，匹普，我爸爸有一副好心腸。”

這話讓我驚奇，但是沒說什麼。

“他讓我當了一名鐵匠，鐵匠也是他的工作，只是他從來不幹這活。直到他死，都是我為家裡掙錢。聽著這一點，匹普，在他的墓碑上我要這樣寫：

無論怎樣的過失，他是創家立業的。

記住，讀者，他有一顆好心。”

“喬，你自己想出來的嗎？”我驚訝地問道。

“就是我，”喬自豪地說，“從我自己頭腦裡不加思索地出來了。但是，匹普，悲哀地說，我沒有足夠的錢去立這塊墓碑。我可憐的媽媽需要錢，她身體不好。不久，她就離開了人間，最後找到了安寧。”喬的藍眼睛溼潤了。“我從此孤獨一人。後來，我認識了你姐姐，匹普，”喬緊緊地盯著我。因為他知道我不會贊成他的，“你姐姐是個好女人！”

我想不出比這更好的語言“我很高興你這樣想，喬。”

“彼此，彼此，”喬說，“我很高興這樣想，她太仁慈了，親手把你帶大，你是這麼小小的嬰兒！當時，我向你姐提出結婚，我說，‘帶著這個可憐的小孩子和我們一起生活吧，在鍛工車間裡有間屋子給他！’”

我摟著喬的脖子，啼哭著，淚水溼透他的襯衫。

“不要哭，老夥計！”他說，“你和我永遠是最好的朋友！”當我擦乾眼淚，他繼續說，“我們就在這兒，匹普！現在你如果教我一點兒（我提醒你，我很笨），決不能讓喬夫人知道。為什麼呢？因為她喜歡——下命令——你知道——就是發號施令。”

“喬，”我問道，“你為什麼不反抗呢？”

“唉，”喬說，“首先，你姐姐聰明，而我不行。另一方面，這一點是重要的，老夥計，每當想起我可憐的媽媽苦難的生活，我害怕對女人採取不良的行為。因為，我必須對喬太太軟弱一點兒，不能高聲呼喊她、傷害她和打她。我很抱歉，她也責罵你，匹普，用棍子打你，我希望全部的責罵由我一人承擔。可是，不現實，匹普。”

正在這時，我們聽到路上的馬蹄聲，喬夫人和潘波趣舅舅趕集回來了。馬車一到，衝進一股冷風，他們進了廚房。

“嘿，”喬夫人說，激動地脫掉她的斗篷，“如果這孩子今晚不感恩的話，那他就是一個忘恩負義的傢伙！”

“她給這孩子提供了一個很好的機會，”潘波趣應和著說。我盡力表現出一副感恩的樣子看著喬，隨口吐出個字“她？”，他也不明白什麼意思。

“你們正在談論她？”他有禮貌地對他們說。

“我想像的，她就是她唄，”喬夫人不高興地回答，“你總不能把郝薇香小姐叫他吧，即使你也不會這樣叫吧。”

“在鎮上，獨住一幢大宅裡腰纏萬貫的郝薇香小姐嗎？”喬問道。

“我所知道的沒有第二個郝薇香小姐！她想要一個孩子到她那兒去玩玩。她問起潘波趣舅舅是否有認識的小孩子，潘波趣舅舅總是先想到我們，提到了這個孩子。還有，潘波趣舅舅認識到郝薇香小姐可以給這個孩子帶來好運。所以，今天晚上，用他的馬車帶他到鎮上，讓他睡在潘波趣舅舅家裡，明天把他送到郝薇香小姐家裡。瞧！”她抓著我喊了起來，“看看這個髒孩子！”

喬夫人以常用的粗暴手法給我從頭到腳洗了洗澡，給我穿上最好的衣服，把我交給潘波趣先生。我小聲哭著，上了馬車到了鎮上。以前我從來沒有離開喬，對我來講，在郝薇香小姐家將會發生什麼，我不敢想。

潘波趣先生似乎贊成我姐姐想盡一切辦法要懲罰的做法，甚至在吃飯時也不放過。所以，第二天吃早飯，他給我一大塊麵包，夾了一點點黃油，一杯溫水加很少一點牛奶，並堅持檢查我的學習。

“7加13得幾，孩子？”整個早餐中，他不斷地考我，“加9？加 11？”

大約10點時分，到達郝薇香小姐家，我很高興。那是一座寬大的住宅，用舊石所砌，窗戶架有鐵欄杆。我們按了門鈴後，在門口耐心等候，潘波趣先生連這時也不放過，說：“加14？”不過，我假裝沒聽見他說的什麼。接著，一位年輕的小姐過來打開了門，讓我進去。潘波趣先生想跟著我進來，卻被她阻止了。

“你想見郝薇香小姐嗎？”她問道。

“如果郝薇香小姐想見我，”潘波趣先生有點慌亂地說。

“噢！”那女孩說，“可是，你明白，她不想見你。”

潘波趣先生不敢堅持主張，但是，他在返回之前，惡狠狠地小聲對我講：“孩子！在這兒要規矩點，記住是誰親手把你養大！”我想他會回來，通過門縫喊，“加16？”但是，他沒有這樣做。

那個年輕的小姐領著我穿過一座不整潔的花園來到這所房子。儘管她叫我“孩子，”她的年紀和我一樣大，可是，看上去她比我還大點。她長得很漂亮，卻像王后一樣傲慢。我們穿過了幾條漆黑的過道，才來到了一個房間門口，在這兒她帶蠟燭離開了我。

我敲了敲門，裡面叫我進去。我發現自己在一個大房間裡，這裡的窗簾關得緊緊的，不讓一縷日光透進來，但點著很多蠟燭。在屋子的中央，桌子旁坐著的是一位我從沒有見過而且將不會再見到的，特別奇怪的夫人。她穿著一身由高級材料做的結婚禮服，頭上戴著新娘花朵，但她已是滿頭銀髮了。她周圍有些衣箱及珠寶，像似準備旅行。她只穿著一隻白鞋，這時我才辨認出來，這麼多年來白色的結婚禮服已經變黃了，頭上戴的花朵已經乾癟了，新娘已經老了。屋裡的一切都顯得既古老又死氣沉沉的。在屋子裡僅有一光點是她那雙黑色的老眼，瞪著我。

“你是誰？”夫人在桌子旁問。

“匹普，夫人，潘波趣先生的孩子，來這兒玩的。”

“過來，靠近點兒，讓我瞧瞧你。”當我站在她的面前時，我發現她的手錶和屋子裡的鐘表都停止在8點40分。

“你害怕一個自你出世以來就沒有見過陽光的女人嗎？”郝薇香小姐問道。

“不怕。”很抱歉我說的不是實話。

“你知道這是什麼地方嗎？”她的手放在左邊胸口問道。

“知道，夫人。”這使我想起我的那個囚犯的同夥，“您的心臟，夫人，”我補充說。

“我的心臟！心碎啦！”她似乎很得意，譏笑著喊叫。然後，她說：“我累了，想看點新花樣，玩。”

在這座住宅和這間房屋裡，沒有比服從這命令更困難的事情，我挖空心思去琢磨，扮演潘波趣的馬車衝著桌子轉。可是，我自己不能做這個遊戲，我正沒有辦法地站在那兒。

“很抱歉，夫人。”我說，“如果您向我姐姐告狀，她會對我發怒的。但是，現在我不能玩。初來乍到的，這裡的一切很陌生，很新鮮，也太淒涼了……”。我住口了，害怕說得太多。郝薇香小姐對著桌子上的鏡子俯視她的衣服，然後，照了照自己的臉。

“對他來說，如此陌生，對我來講習以為常，”她自言自語道，“對他新鮮，對我陳舊，而對我們倆是太淒涼了！叫艾絲黛拉！”

最終，艾絲黛拉拿著蠟燭沿著漆黑的過道來了，郝薇香小姐從桌子上拿起一塊寶石放在艾絲黛拉頭上。“天哪，真漂亮，它將歸你一天，讓我看看你和這孩子玩牌。”

“和這個孩子！他是一個普通人家的孩子。”

我想我聽到郝薇香小姐小聲說：“喂！你能夠打碎他的心！”她坐下，像一具要入墓的屍體，在燭光下看著我們玩牌。

我幾乎在想，如果她懼怕陽光，就把她送進塵埃裡。

“這個孩子的雙手多麼粗糙！靴子多麼的笨重！”我們打完第一局之前，艾絲黛拉厭惡地喊著。我忽然意識到，她是對的。

“你認為她怎麼樣？”郝薇香小姐耳語對我說。

“我認為她很傲慢，”我小聲回敬了一句。

“還有呢？”

“我認為她很美。”

“還有呢？”

“我認為她不友好，還有——還有我想回家了。”

“不想再見到她了，儘管她很漂亮？”

“我不知道。現在，我想回家了。”

郝薇香小姐笑著說：“你會很快回家的，6天以後再來。艾絲黛拉，給他些吃的。去吧，匹普。”

我發現自己在強烈的陽光下回到了那個長滿藤蔓的花園裡。艾絲黛拉給我拿了些麵包和肉食，放在地上，像喂狗一樣。我被她的行為觸怒了，我的眼淚奪眶而出。一看到這一切，她得意地一笑，就把我推出了門外。我走了4英里的路回到鐵匠鋪，想起我所看到的一切。當我傷心地看著我的雙手和靴子，我記住了，我只是一個普通家庭的孩子，我希望我能改變這一切。

我姐姐好奇地想知道我出訪的細節，一個問題接著一個問題地問我。不曉得什麼緣故，我感到不可能，確實不能解釋郝薇香小姐和她那奇怪的住宅，我知道我姐姐不會明白的。更糟糕的是老傻瓜潘波趣在喝茶的時間倒會來問更多的問題。看著他瞪著那魚眼，張著嘴巴，這使我保持了沉默。

“把這孩子交給我，夫人，”他告訴喬夫人，“我會讓他聚精會神。喂，孩子，43加72等於幾？”

“不知道，”我說，我什麼也不在乎。

“舉個例子，是85嗎？”他開玩笑說。

“是！”我回答，儘管我知道不是那個數。我姐姐狠狠地打了我的頭。

“孩子！”他繼續說，“描述一下郝薇香小姐。”

“又黑又高”，我撒謊地說。

“她是這樣的嗎，舅舅！”我姐姐關切地問道。

“噢，是的。”潘波趣先生回答。因此，我馬上明白了，他從來沒有見過她。“這是從這個孩子那裡得到消息的方法”，他對喬夫人溫和地補充說。

“怎樣讓他更好地順從你，舅舅！”喬夫人說。

“喂，孩子！當你到達時她正在幹什麼？”

“她正坐在一個黑馬車上，”我回答說。

潘波趣先生和喬夫人互相瞅了瞅，“在黑馬車上？”他們重複著說。

“是的，”我變得更自信地說，“我想還有她的侄女艾絲黛拉小姐，通過窗戶遞進來盛有蛋糕和葡萄酒的金盤子。”

“那裡還有其它人嗎？”潘波趣先生問。

“有4只巨大的狗，它們從銀籠子裡探出頭吃肉。”

“這個馬車在哪兒？孩子。”

“在她的房間。但是，沒有馬。”

“這可能嗎？舅舅。”喬夫人問道。

“她是個怪女人，夫人，那是很可能的。你玩什麼啦，孩子？”

“我們玩旗子，”我回答說，我撒的彌天大謊! “艾絲黛拉揮舞著藍色的一面旗，我有紅色的一面旗，郝薇香小姐在馬車窗戶外面揮動著一面旗，上面鑲著小金星。”

幸運的是他們再沒有問題，仍然在討論我所見到漂亮的東西，這時喬從鍛工車間進來了。當我看到他吃驚地瞪著藍色的大眼睛時，我對自己編造的謊言很內疚。我一發現喬獨自呆一會兒時，就向他供認了關於我去拜訪郝花香小姐所編造的謊話。

“那全不是真的？匹普！”他搖著頭問，“沒有黑的馬車？但是，至少有狗吧，對嗎？匹普，沒有？一條狗也沒有？”

“沒有，喬，很抱歉。”

“匹普，老夥計！”他慈祥的臉上看上去很不高興，“如果你說謊，當你死了，想想你會去哪兒？”

“我知道，喬，那是可怕的，我不知道發生什麼事情，我希望我沒有如此笨重的靴子和粗糙的雙手！我是如此悲慘，喬。在郝薇香小姐家那個漂亮的年輕小姐說我是普通人家。我知道我是！莫名其妙地讓我說謊。”

“有一件事情要記住，匹普，”喬點上菸斗說，“說謊總是錯誤的，你不能通過說謊來改變普通人家的身份，那樣做是沒有出路的。你所有的時間都在學習，匹普！看看你昨天晚上給我寫的那封信！即使是國王開始也要從頭做起，不是嗎？這倒提醒我，郝薇香小姐家有旗子嗎？沒有？實在可憐。看這兒，匹普，這是一個真正的朋友對你說的話，記住我的勸告，不再說謊，才能活得自在，死得痛快。”

我被喬誠實的話語鼓勵著去睡覺了。但是，自己靜不下心，一直在想，艾絲黛拉認為喬的靴子太笨重，他的雙手太粗糙和我們的普通世家。那是我難忘的一天。