Dear Utterson,
Four days ago, on the 9th of January, I received a letter by the evening post. It was in the handwriting of my old friend Henry Jekyll. I was rather surprised, as we were not in the habit of writing to each other, and I had had dinner with him the night before. When I came to read the letter, I was even more surprised. The letter said:
亲爱的厄特森，
4天前，也就是1月9日，我收到晚班邮差送来的一封信，是老朋友亨利·哲基尔的笔迹。我很奇怪，因为我们没有互相写信的习惯，并且前一天晚上还一起吃过晚饭。看到信的内容我就更奇怪了。信上说：
Dear Lanyon
You are one of my oldest friends. Although we have sometimes disagreed on scientific matters, I have always remained your friend. I would do anything for you, Lanyon-please will you do something for me now?
亲爱的兰伦，
你是我最老的朋友之一。尽管我们有时在科学问题上存在分歧，但我一直把你当朋友。我能为你做任何事，兰伦――你现在能为我做一些事吗？
Please, old friend, come to my house at once with this letter in your hand. Poole, my servant, has his orders. He will be here with a locksmith. Break the lock of my study door, and then you must go in there alone. Open the glass-fronted cupboard on the left-hand side and look on the fourth shelf from the top. On it you will find some packets of chemical powders, a small bottle and a book. Please take everything back to your house.
拜托老朋友，拿上这封信立马去一趟我家。我已吩咐过仆人普尔，让他找个锁匠等着，你们撬开我书房的锁，然后你得独自进屋，打开左边的玻璃柜，往下数到第四格，你会看到一些装有药粉的药包，一个小瓶子和一本书。请拿上这些回家。
If you leave as soon as you receive this letter, you should be back home before midnight. At that time you will receive a visit from a man. Please give him the bottle, the powders and the book, and I shall always be grateful to you.
如果你收到这封信就动身的话，午夜前应该能回家。这时会有人拜访你，请将瓶子，药包和书转交给他，我将感激不尽。
Do not fail me, Lanyon. Believe me, my life and my peace of mind depend on you. I am in fearful danger and only you can save me.
Your friend,
Henry Jekyll
别让我失望，兰伦。相信我，我的性命和内心的平静都靠你了。我处境危急，只有你能救我了。
你的朋友，
亨利·哲基尔
After reading this letter, I was sure that Doctor Jekyll was mad. But a friend is a friend, and so I went at once to his house. Jekyll's servant had received by the same post a letter similar to mine, and he was waiting for me with the locksmith. Together we went through the old laboratory and climbed the stairs to the doctor's private study. The door was very strong, with an excellent lock, but the locksmith knew his job. Soon the door stood open and I entered the study. I opened the cupboard and found the shelf. Sure enough, the powders, the bottle and the book were there, and I took them home with me.
看完这封信，我肯定哲基尔博士是疯了，但朋友就是朋友，所以我还是立马去了他家。哲基尔的仆人也收到晚班邮差的信，和我的差不多。他和锁匠已经在等着我了。我们一起穿过老实验室，上楼到博士的私人书房。书房的门很坚实，锁也很牢，但锁匠知道怎么做。不一会儿，门开了，我进书房，打开玻璃柜找到那个格子。当然，药包、小瓶子和书都在那，我把他们带回家了。
At home I looked at everything more carefully. There were several packets of white powder and a bottle of red strong-smelling liquid. The book contained nothing except a list of dates, going back several years. The last date was nearly a year ago. Here and there the doctor had added a few words. The word 'double' appeared very early in the list, followed by the word 'Failed!!' 'Double' appeared in the list several more times... What was Jekyll doing? The book looked like a list of unsuccessful experiments. How could I, by taking these things to my house, save my friends life and peace of mind? And what was the reason for this midnight visitor? I put my old gun in my pocket, then I put everything in a box for my midnight visitor to collect.
回到家，我仔细查看了一遍。那有几包白色粉末，一瓶红色的液体、气味刺鼻。书上除了一串日期什么也没有，但日期可追溯到几年前。最后的日期大概还是一年前。有些日期旁，博士加了简短的备注。“双份”在书上出现得很早，接着有“失败。”“双份”在书上出现多次……哲基尔在做什么？书就像是一份失败实验的清单。带这些东西回家，怎么能救我朋友的性命，还能让他内心平静呢？还有这次午夜来访又是什么原因？我把常用的枪放进口袋，再把那些东西都收进盒子里，等半夜上门来取的人。
At midnight exactly there was a knock on my door. A short man was standing in the shadows.
正好午夜时分，有人来敲我的门。有个矮个子的人站在暗处。
'Are you from Doctor Jekyll?' I asked. He bent his head. Although I could not see his face, there was something unpleasing about him and I was glad I had a weapon. I invited him into the house and there, in the bright light, I took a closer look at him.
“是哲基尔博士让你来的吗？”我问。他低着头，尽管我看不到他的脸，但他还是让我感到不舒服，我很庆幸自己带了枪。我让他进屋，在明亮的灯光下，我仔细看了看他。
His appearance was extremely strange. His clothes were well made and expensive, but they were far too large for him. He looked like a child wearing his fathers clothes, but there was nothing childlike about this man. He was short, as I have said, but very strong. At the same time there was a look of sickness and horror about him, and his face was a mask of pain, violence and hate. As a doctor I could perhaps feel sorry for him; as a man I felt only fear and dislike.
他外表很奇怪。衣服是上等料子、做工精良，但穿他身上太大了，就像是个穿着父亲衣服的孩子，可这人又一点都不像孩子。他子个矮，像我上面说的，但体格健壮。还有他看上去很难受、很害怕，脸被痛苦、不安和仇恨笼罩着。作为一个医生，我也许会为他难过，但作为一个普通人，我只感到恐惧和厌恶。
'Have you got it?' said the stranger impatiently, reaching out his hand and touching my arm. His touch made my blood run cold. I shook off his hand. 'Come, sir,' I said calmly. 'Sit down and introduce yourself.'
“你拿到了吗？”陌生人不耐烦地问，伸手抓着我的胳膊。他的触碰顿时让我心一凉，我甩开他的手。“这边，先生”我平静地说。“请坐，麻烦介绍下自己。”
'I apologize, Doctor Lanyon,' the stranger said more politely. 'Doctor Henry Jekyll sent me here on an important matter. I have to collect something from you.'
“抱歉，兰伦医生”陌生人彬彬有礼地说，“亨利·哲基尔博士让我到这办一件重要的事。我必须到你这拿点东西。”
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PS:本书为牛津系列简易读物，由英国著名作家罗斯玛丽·博德根据英国作家查罗伯特·路易莎·斯蒂文森的同名小说改写。
英文为书虫系列原文，译文是笔者翻译。本文仅因个人兴趣而译，故本文谢绝转载和各种商业用途，同时承诺若出现任何责任由作者承担，必要时可删除文章。