关于本书
这部经典小说讲述了小萨拉·克鲁的生活。她是一个善于思考、富有想象力的女孩，从印度被送到伦敦的一所寄宿学校。在应对严格的新环境带来的种种挑战时，故事展现了她的坚韧和内心世界。这是一个感人的故事，关乎童年、社会地位，以及在突如其来的困境中仍保持尊严的力量。
开篇
1
1
Sara
萨拉
Once on a dark winter's day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London
在一个阴暗的冬日，当黄色的雾那么浓、那么重地笼罩在伦敦的街道上，
that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night,
以至于路灯都点亮了，商店的橱窗也像在夜里一样亮着煤气灯光的时候，
an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares.
一个模样古怪的小女孩和她的父亲坐在一辆出租马车里，被相当缓慢地拉着穿过那些宽阔的大街。
She sat with her feet tucked under her, and leaned against her father, who held her in his arm,
她把双脚缩在身下坐着，靠在父亲身上，父亲用手臂搂着她，
as she stared out of the window at the passing people with a queer old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes.
她盯着窗外过往的行人，大眼睛里带着一种奇特的、老派的若有所思。
She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face.
她是这么小的一个女孩，谁也想不到会在她的小脸上看到这样的神情。
It would have been an old look for a child of twelve, and Sara Crewe was only seven.
即使对一个十二岁的孩子来说，这也算是一种老成的神情，而萨拉·克鲁才只有七岁。
The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time
然而事实是，她总是在做梦，想着一些奇怪的事情，连她自己也记不起有哪个时候
when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to.
她不是在想着关于大人们和他们所属的那个世界的事情。
She felt as if she had lived a long, long time.
她觉得自己好像已经活了很久很久。
At this moment she was remembering the voyage she had just made from Bombay with her father, Captain Crewe.
此刻她正在回想她刚刚和父亲克鲁上尉一起从孟买过来的那段航程。
She was thinking of the big ship, of the Lascars passing silently to
她在想那艘大船，想船上默默地走来
and fro on it, of the children playing about on the hot deck, and of some young officers' wives
走去的印度水手，想在炎热的甲板上玩耍的孩子们，还想到几位年轻军官的太太，
who used to try to make her talk to them and laugh at the things she said.
她们总是想方设法让她和她们说话，并且笑她说的那些话。
Principally, she was thinking of what a queer thing it was
她主要在想，这是一件多么奇怪的事：
that at one time one was in India in the blazing sun, and then in the middle of the ocean,
一会儿人在烈日炎炎的印度，接着又到了大洋中央，
and then driving in a strange vehicle through strange streets where the day was as dark as the night.
然后又坐着一辆陌生的车子，穿行在陌生的街道上，那里的白天黑得就像夜晚一样。
She found this so puzzling that she moved closer to her father.
她觉得这件事太令人困惑了，于是往父亲身边挪得更近了些。