There was both truth and error in the impression; the child and mother were estranged, but through Hester's fault, not Pearl's. Since the latter rambled from her side, another inmate had been admitted within the circle of the mother's feelings, and so modified the aspect of them all, that Pearl, the returning wanderer, could not find her wonted place, and hardly knew where she was.
這種印象有正確的一面，也有錯(cuò)誤的一面；孩子和母親是變得生疏了，但那要?dú)w咎于海絲特，而不是珠兒。自從孩子從她身邊走開，另外一個(gè)親人來到了母親的感情圈內(nèi)，從而改變了他們?nèi)说牡匚唬灾轮閮哼@個(gè)歸來的流浪兒，找不到她一向的位置，幾乎不知自己身在何方了。

"I have a strange fancy," observed the sensitive minister, "that this brook is the boundary between two worlds, and that thou canst never meet thy Pearl again. Or is she an elfish spirit, who, as the legends of our childhood taught us, is forbidden to cross a running stream? Pray hasten her; for this delay has already imparted a tremor to my nerves."
“我有一種奇怪的幻想，”敏感的牧師說，“這條小溪是兩個(gè)世界之間的分界線，你永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)再和珠兒相會(huì)了。要不，說不定她是個(gè)小精靈，象我們兒時(shí)的童話所教的，她是不準(zhǔn)渡過流淌的溪流的吧？請(qǐng)你趕快催催她；這么耽擱著，已經(jīng)把我的神經(jīng)弄得顫抖起來了。”

"Come, dearest child!" said Hester encouragingly, and stretching out both her arms. "How slow thou art! When hast thou been so sluggish before now? Here is a friend of mine, who must be thy friend also. Thou wilt have twice as much love, henceforward, as thy mother alone could give thee! Leap across the brook, and come to us. Thou canst leap like a young deer!"
“過來，乖寶貝兒！”海絲特給孩子鼓勁說，同時(shí)伸出了雙臂?！澳阕叩锰v騰了！你什么時(shí)候象現(xiàn)在這樣懶洋洋過？這兒有我的一個(gè)朋友，他也該是你的朋友。從今以后，你就不只有你媽媽一個(gè)人的愛了，你要得到雙倍的愛的！跳過小溪，到我們這兒來。你不是可以象一頭小鹿一樣地跳嘛！”

Pearl, without responding in any manner to these honey-sweet expressions, remained on the other side of the brook. Now she fixed her bright, wild eyes on her mother, now on the minister, and now included them both in the same glance; as if to detect and explain to herself the relation which they bore to one another. For some unaccountable reason, as Arthur Dimmesdale felt the child's eyes upon himself, his hand- with that gesture so habitual as to have become involuntary- stole over his heart. At length, assuming a singular air of authority, Pearl stretched out her hand, with the small forefinger extended, and pointing evidently towards her mother's breast. And beneath, in the mirror of the brook, there was the flower-girdled and sunny image of little Pearl, pointing her small forefinger too.
珠兒對(duì)這些甜蜜的話語不理不睬，仍然呆在小溪的對(duì)岸。此時(shí)她那一對(duì)明亮而狂野的脖子，時(shí)而盯著她母親，時(shí)而盯著牧師，時(shí)而同時(shí)盯住他們兩個(gè)；仿佛耍想弄清并給自己解釋他們兩人之間的關(guān)系。出于某種難以名狀的原因，阿瑟·丁梅斯代爾感到孩子助目光落在他身上時(shí)，他的手以習(xí)慣成自然的姿勢(shì)，悄悄捂到了心口上。最后，珠兒作出一副獨(dú)特的不容置辯的神情，伸出她小小的食指，顯然是指著她母親的胸部。在她腳下，映在鏡面般的溪水中的那個(gè)戴著花環(huán)、浴滿陽光的小珠兒的影象，也指點(diǎn)著她的小小的食指。

"Thou strange child, why dost thou not come to me?" exclaimed Hester.
“你這個(gè)怪孩子，為什么不到我身邊來呢？”海絲特叫道。

Pearl still pointed with her forefinger; and a frown gathered on her brow; the more impressive from the childish, the almost baby-like aspect of the features that conveyed it. As her mother still kept beckoning to her, and arraying her face in a holiday suit of unaccustomed smiles, the child stamped her foot with a yet more imperious look and gesture. In the brook, again, was the fantastic beauty of the image, with its reflected frown, its pointed finger, and imperious gesture, giving emphasis to the aspect of little Pearl.
珠兒依舊用她的食指指點(diǎn)著；眉間漸漸皺起；由于這姿態(tài)表情來自一個(gè)滿臉稚氣、甚至象嬰兒般面孔的孩子，就給人印象尤深。而由于她母親仍在不斷呼喚她，而且臉上堆滿非比尋常的笑容，那孩子便以更加專橫的神情和姿態(tài)使勁跺著兩腳。同樣，在小溪中那個(gè)美得出奇的形象，也映出了皺著的眉頭、伸出的手指和專橫的姿態(tài)，為小珠兒的模樣平添了效果。