Anne dari Green Gables

Anne fra Grønnebakken

Anne of Green Gables

KAPITEL I.

CHAPTER I.

Fru

Mrs.

Rachel Lynde bliver overrasket

Rachel Lynde Is Surprised

FRU

MRS.

Rachel Lynde boede netop der, hvor hovedvejen gennem Avonlea dykkede ned i en lille lavning,

Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow,

kranset af elletræer og pragtsporer

fringed with alders and ladies’

og gennemskåret af en bæk, der havde sit udspring langt inde i skovene på det gamle Cuthbert-sted;

eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place;

den havde ord for at være en lunefuld,

it was reputed to be an intricate,

hovedkulds bæk på sit tidligere løb gennem de skove,

headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods,

med mørke hemmeligheder af dybe huller og små fald;

with dark secrets of pool and cascade;

men når den nåede Lyndes Lavning, var den et stille,

but by the time it reached Lynde’s Hollow it was a quiet,

velopdragent lille vandløb,

well-conducted little stream,

for ikke selv en bæk kunne løbe forbi fru

for not even a brook could run past Mrs.

Rachel Lyndes dør uden skyldigt hensyn til anstand og sømmelighed;

Rachel Lynde’s door without due regard for decency and decorum;

den var formodentlig klar over, at fru

it probably was conscious that Mrs.

Rachel sad ved sit vindue

Rachel was sitting at her window,

og holdt et skarpt øje med alt, hvad der kom forbi,

keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed,

fra bække og børn og opefter,

from brooks and children up,

og at hvis hun bemærkede noget sært eller upassende, ville hun aldrig få fred, før hun havde opsporet årsagen og alle omstændighederne dertil.

and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof.

Der findes masser af mennesker,

There are plenty of people,

i Avonlea og uden for det,

in Avonlea and out of it,

som kan passe nøje på naboernes

who can attend closely to their neighbors’

sager ved at forsømme deres egne;

business by dint of neglecting their own;

men fru

but Mrs.

Rachel Lynde var et af de dygtige væsener, der kan styre både sine egne anliggender og andre folks oven i købet.

Rachel Lynde was one of those capable creatures who can manage their own concerns and those of other folks into the bargain.

Hun var en fremragende husmoder;

She was a notable housewife;

hendes arbejde blev altid gjort, og gjort godt;

her work was always done and well done;

hun

she

„bestyrede“

“ran”

Syforeningen,

the Sewing Circle,

hjalp med at bestyre søndagsskolen

helped run the Sunday-school,

og var den stærkeste støtte for Menighedens Hjælpeforening og Ydremissionens Understøttelsesselskab.

and was the strongest prop of the Church Aid Society and Foreign Missions Auxiliary.

Og med alt dette fandt fru

Yet with all this Mrs.

Rachel dog rigelig tid til at sidde i timevis ved sit køkkenvindue

Rachel found abundant time to sit for hours at her kitchen window,

og strikke tæpper af

knitting

„bomuldsgarn“ —

“cotton warp” quilts —

hun havde strikket seksten af dem,

she had knitted sixteen of them,

som husmødrene i Avonlea plejede at fortælle med ærefrygtig stemme —

as Avonlea housekeepers were wont to tell in awed voices —

og holde et skarpt øje med hovedvejen, der krydsede lavningen og snoede sig op ad den stejle røde bakke hinsides.

and keeping a sharp eye on the main road that crossed the hollow and wound up the steep red hill beyond.

Eftersom Avonlea lå på en lille trekantet halvø, der stak ud i Sankt

Since Avonlea occupied a little triangular peninsula jutting out into the Gulf of St.

Lawrence-bugten,

Lawrence,

med vand på to sider,

with water on two sides of it,

måtte enhver, som rejste ud eller ind, komme over den bakkevej og således uset løbe spidsrod for fru

anybody who went out of it or into it had to pass over that hill road and so run the unseen gauntlet of Mrs.

Rachels altseende øje.

Rachel’s all-seeing eye.