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程阳：差点命令总统改变美元的可口可乐【中英文双语对话】
程阳：差点命令总统改变美元的可口可乐
【不是玩笑】&1953年，当时的可口可乐总裁写信给经常一起打猎玩耍的美国总统艾森豪威尔，郑重其事地建议总统下令制造7.5美分的硬币。虽然艾森豪威尔喜欢喝可乐，虚怀若谷的艾森豪威尔总统成功克制了自己向该总裁脑袋开一枪的情绪。结果是，如你所见，并没有美分硬币的问世。
&===================
史上50大商业对手：可口可乐vs.百事可乐
/business/c//content_149326.htm
Erika Fry 日
Why is the battle between Coke and Pepsi -- two ultimately
similar types of sugar water -- the most important struggle in the
history of capitalism? Simply put, their rivalry transcends time,
distance, and culture.
可口可乐与百事可乐，这两种糖水说到底很相似。为什么把它们之间战斗列为资本主义历史上最重要的争斗？简而言之，原因是它们的角逐超越了时间、距离与文化。
It has divided restaurants, presidents, and nations. It has been
waged in supermarkets, stadiums, and courtrooms. Its many foot
soldiers include Santa Claus, Cindy Crawford, Michael Jackson, Max
Headroom, Bill Gates, and Bill Cosby.
这场角逐割裂了不同的餐厅、总统、国家。而超市、体育馆、法庭无一例外地成为了战场。圣诞老人、辛迪&克劳馥、迈克尔&杰克逊、麦克斯&海杜姆（电视节目中的虚拟明星——译注）、比尔&盖茨、比尔&考斯比（美国电影演员——译注）都在战斗中摇旗呐喊。
In 1886 an Atlanta chemist introduced Coca-Cola, a tasty "potion
for mental and physical disorders." Pepsi-Cola followed seven years
later, though it would be decades (and two bankruptcies) before
Coke acknowledged the company in the way it had other competitive
threats: lawsuits.
1866年，一名亚特兰大的化学家推出了可口可乐，一种可口的“精神和身体紊乱饮剂”。七年后，百事可乐诞生了。但在几十年（以及两次破产）之后，可口可乐才以诉讼——这种对待其他竞争威胁的方式正视它的存在。
Pepsi-Cola had made hay during the Depression. Like Coke, the
drink cost a nickel, but it came in a 12-ounce bottle nearly twice
the size of Coke's dainty, wasp-waisted one. But by the 1950s,
Pepsi was still a distant No. 2. It nabbed Alfred Steele, a former
Coke adman, who arrived embittered and ambitious. His motto: "Beat
Coke." Coca-Cola refused to call Pepsi by name -- the drink was
"the Imitator," "the Enemy," or, generously, "the Competition" --
but it began tinkering with its business (and imitating Pepsi) to
stay ahead.
百事可乐在大萧条中大赚了一笔。像可口可乐一样，百事可乐的售价也是五美分，但它的12盎司（340毫升）瓶子几乎是可口可乐娇小细腰瓶的两倍。然而，到20世纪50年代，百事可乐仍然是远远落后的第二名。公司招来了可口可乐的前广告人阿尔弗雷德&斯蒂尔。他对前雇主充满怨气，而且雄心勃勃。他的座右铭是“打败可口可乐”。可口可乐则拒绝直呼百事可乐这一名称——而将这种饮料称作“模仿者”、“敌人”、或者泛泛而论的“竞争者”——但它也开始修补自己的业务（甚至还不惜模仿百事可乐），以保持领先。
In 1979, for the first time in the rivalry's history, Pepsi
overtook Coke's sales in supermarkets. It didn't last, and by 1996,
Fortune declared that the cola wars had ended. Since then Pepsi,
with its increasing focus on health and snacks, has as good as
surrendered. America's favorite two soft drinks? Coke and Diet
1979年，在这场角逐中，百事可乐在超市的销量首次超过了可口可乐。但这一反超并未持续，到了1996年，《财富》宣布可乐之战已经结束。自此，百事越来越重视健康和小食品市场，实际上也就是缴械投降了。美国人最喜欢的两种软饮料？可口可乐和健怡可口可乐。
Winner:Coke
获胜者：可口可乐（财富中文网）
=====================
口可乐为什么能70年不涨价？
| 壹读百科
壹读微信号：yiduiread
如果我们穿越回2000年，生活会怎么样呢？那时候大米一元一斤，猪肉五元一斤，汽油100块可以加28升，北京二环附近的房价是4000元一平米……
只有可乐，依然巍然不动地维持着低价。事实上，可乐曾经在一个非常长的时间内价格一动不动地维持在低位，有多长时间呢？70年。
现代史中，还没有哪一个商品的价格能巍然不动到它那种程度。
想知道为什么？下面壹读君（微信：yiduiread）就分三大部分五大要点来说一说。
从不让别人帮拧瓶盖的值班壹读君
头三十年不涨价因为一份坑爹的合同
想想看，第一杯可乐1886年在美国卖出，此后经历了大萧条、两次世界大战、咖啡因与焦糖短缺等等令人焦头烂额的事，一直到1959年左右，可乐的单价都是5美分。
而在同时期，咖啡价格上涨7倍。
经济学家都会觉得，这是在逗我玩吗？
第一杯可乐在这家药店的冷饮柜台卖出
实际上，可口可乐并没有闲心思逗经济学家们玩儿，只是不断的节外生枝，让可口可乐一直在推迟涨价大业。
这一推就是70年。
首先是在1899年，可口可乐总裁的办公室来了两个律师，希望买下可口可乐的装瓶权，由可口可乐向瓶装商供应可乐。而在当时，饮料装在瓶子里卖出是一件稀奇事，可乐主要在冷饮柜台一杯一杯地卖，场景一般是这样的
而日常人们喝可乐的画风则是这样的
面对“瓶装可乐”这样革命性的建议，总裁先生做出了英明的决策——就像南云忠一决定让航母上的飞机卸下炸弹换装鱼雷、诺兰&布什内尔拒绝向苹果公司投资5万美元换取三分之一股权一样英明。他认为，可乐就是冷饮柜台的生意，瓶装可乐似乎不太能赚钱。
幸好对方一再坚持。于是，很可能是为了赶走软磨硬泡的律师，总裁签下了一份合同：以一个固定不变的价格向瓶装商供应可乐。
结果瓶装可乐一经推出大受欢迎。这对于可口可乐来说真是个不太好的消息，钱都让瓶装商赚了，如果瓶装商看着形势好抬高可乐的价格，这里面的利润可口可乐公司不光一分钱赚不着不说，价格提高导致的需求减少还会让可口可乐受损。
必须想个办法，阻止瓶装商提高可乐价格。
合同是死的，人的脑袋是活的。可口可乐于是大面积地铺排广告，主要广告位是在商店旁边，打上这样几个大字：来一瓶可乐吧，只要5美分！
墙面上广告写着：美味！清爽！可口可乐，缓解疲劳，5美分
他们还做了很多印着“可口可乐，只要5美分”的小刀到处发
当人们被这些广告严重洗脑，把可乐和5美分划上等号的时候，试图抬高价格的瓶装商就变成了“杀千刀的黑心贩子”。于是可口可乐和瓶装商就这样杠着，5美分的可乐也就一直这样红红火火地畅销着，直到1921年，瓶装商终于投降，合同得以重新签订。
自动售货机只有一个投币口怎么办？
这下，可口可乐的手脚都松绑了，可以为所欲为了？理论上说是的，但实际上，要涨价，可口可乐还面临着别的问题。
首先是，那些大量的广告牌一个个去改成本太高，同时，可乐5美分的概念已经太深入人心了，贸然改价还是会招骂。
这就是传说中的：自己吹的牛，含着泪也要那啥……
这样的心理经历我们每个人都有过。当你知道一件商品的价格时，你会把这个价格当成这个商品内在的一部分，根深蒂固地觉得这个商品就该是这个价，如果价格有所提高，会激起消费者内心的反抗情绪。所以这么多年，你可以看到，很多时候商家想涨价，不是直接换价签，而是仍然保持一样的价格，但减少商品的分量。如果哪天你到常去的咖啡厅买咖啡发现咖啡淡了，可能就是这个原因。
除此之外，一个更大的问题来源于当时自动售货机的普及。
这则广告可能在暗示，赢得女生好感的好办法是给她们买含糖量极高的碳酸饮料
到1950年的时候，全美境内有46万台自动售货机，可口可乐的售货机就占了其中的85%。大量的可乐依赖自动售货机卖出。当时的售货机无法找零，只有一个投币口——就是为了5美分一瓶的可乐设计的。这么多的机器，都报废了重新做是不可能的了，只能在别的方面想招儿。
可口可乐首先排除的是多次投币购买可乐的方案，比如一瓶可乐6分钱，这样很可能降低消费者的购买欲望。但如果只能投一次币的话，那就只有一角钱这个选项，这样又会太贵。
有没有什么办法让可乐的价格定在5分钱到1角钱之间，并且还能在现有自动售卖机上实现呢？
1953年，当时的可口可乐总裁写信给经常一起打猎玩耍的美国总统艾森豪威尔，郑重其事地建议总统下令制造7.5美分的硬币。
虽然艾森豪威尔喜欢喝可乐
虚怀若谷的艾森豪威尔总统成功克制了自己向该总裁脑袋开一枪的情绪。结果是，如你所见，并没有7.5美分硬币的问世。
但可口可乐公司并没有放弃，又想出来一个变相涨价的办法：到自动贩卖机面前买可乐的人，每9个人里面会有一个人投了5美分的硬币后，拿到的是一个没有可乐的可乐瓶，而这个“幸运的”人将要再投一个硬币进去才能拿到一瓶真正的可乐。
这样一算，平均下来，一瓶可乐的钱就能涨到5.625分钱，看上去很不错哦。
但是个人就可以想到，那些个拿空瓶的哥们儿心里该是个什么咆哮状。为了避免被一群愤怒的消费者拿着“可口可乐，只要5美分”的小刀上门讨个说法，明智的可口可乐公司最终还是放弃大范围推广此方案。
5美分可乐最终还是死了
到了40年代末，在通货膨胀的压力下，5美分可乐再也撑不住了。大约在1940年以后，长久的通货膨胀一直伴随着美国人民。70年代也发生了一件重要的事情，美元与黄金脱钩，美国进入了肆无忌惮高速印美钞的时代。
大萧条时期美国街头的报童，背景中广告乱入
1951年，可口可乐停止在广告上显示“5美分”，当时有媒体报道可乐在全国范围内有卖6分钱的、7分钱还有10分的。1959年是最后一瓶5美分可乐卖出的年份。
就这样可口可乐被迫当了近70年不涨价的良心商家。
这样的低价让对手也不好受，百事可乐20世纪初期的日子一直不太好过，1934年百事可乐以鱼死网破的决心推出以5美分12盎司一瓶（比可口可乐多将近一倍）的可乐后，才大获全胜了一回。
大打价格战的百事可乐提出的口号是：“同样5美分，我们大”
但这也不全是坏事，正因为可乐没办法提高价格，公司赚钱只有一条路：卯足劲儿卖出尽可能多的可乐，摊低成本，薄利多销。可乐现在成为全球饮料，很大一部分原因在于此。
二战期间，可口可乐公司与军方合作，在除南极洲以外的所有大陆展开可口可乐的装瓶生产线，把5美分可乐卖给士兵。你可以把这理解为爱国，也可以把这理解为会做生意。
二战期间，可口可乐的宣传画
今天，在美国亚马逊上买一听罐装可乐要35.5美分，这罐可乐大约有12盎司。算起来，虽然价格比5美分6.5盎司时期翻了几倍，但相比其他商品，真的算是良心了。
好了，今天的百科就到这里，麻烦哪位通知可口可乐公司给壹读君（微信：yiduiread）打钱。
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日常生活中的百科、文艺背后的历史，热点深处的冷知识。用轻幽默、有情趣的方式一起涨姿势、正三观。
【原文链接中，4:43语音对话，从这句开始】All prices change. That's basic economics.
And yet, know what the price of Coca-Cola was in 1886? A
http://weku.fm/post/why-coke-cost-nickel-70-years#stream/0
Why Coke Cost A Nickel For 70 Years
By NPR: DAVID KESTENBAUM & NOV 15, 2012
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An oilcloth sign advertising Coca-Cola from
1905.& VIEW SLIDESHOW 1 of 9
An oilcloth sign advertising Coca-Cola from 1905.
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
Listen Listening...4:34
Originally published on November 19,
P that's fundamental to how economies work.
And yet: In 1886, a bottle of Coke cost a nickel. It was also a
and 1930. In fact, 70 years after the first
Coke was sold, you could still buy a bottle for a nickel.
Three wars, the Great Depression, hundreds of competitors — none
of it made any difference for the price of Coke. Why not?
In 1899, two lawyers paid a visit to the president of Coca-Cola.
At the time, Coke was sold at soda fountains. But the lawyers were
interested in this new idea: selling drinks in bottles. The lawyers
wanted to buy the bottling rights for Coca-Cola.
The president of Coca-Cola didn't think much of the whole bottle
thing. So he made a deal with the lawyers: He'd let them sell Coke
in bottles, and he'd sell them the syrup to do it. According to the
terms of the deal, the lawyers would be able to buy the syrup at a
fixed price. Forever.
Andrew Young, an economist at West Virginia University, says the
president of Coke may have signed the contract just to get the guys
out of his office.
"Anytime you've got two lawyers in your office, you probably
want them to leave," Young says. "And he's saying, 'I'll sign this
piece of paper if you'll just please leave my office.' "
Bottled drinks, of course, took off. And Coca-Cola was in a
bind. If the bottlers or a corner store decided to raise the price
of a bottle of Coke, Coca-Cola wouldn't get any extra money.
So, if you're Coca-Cola, you want to somehow keep the price down
at 5 cents so you can sell as much syrup as possible to the
bottlers. What do you do?
"One thing you do is blanket the entire nation with Coca-Cola
advertising that basically has '5 cents' prominently featured,"
Young says.
The company couldn't actually put price tags on the bottles of
Coke saying "5 cents." But it could paint a giant ad on the side of
a building right next to the store that says, "Drink Coca-Cola, 5
"Since everybody was brainwashed — people saw these ads all over
— it was hard for anyone to increase the price," says Daniel Levy,
a professor of Economics at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and at
Emory University in Atlanta.
That contract with the bottlers eventually got renegotiated. But
the price of Coke stayed at a nickel. That was partly due to
another obstacle: the vending machine.
The Coca-Cola vending machines were built to take a single coin:
Levy says the folks at Coca-Cola thought about converting the
vending machines to take a dime. But doubling the price was too
much. They wanted something in between.
So they asked the U.S. Treasury to issue a 7.5-cent coin. At one
point, the head of Coca-Cola asked President Eisenhower for help.
(They were hunting buddies.) No luck.
In the end, inflation killed the nickel Coke. The price of the
ingredients rose. In the late 1940s, some stores sold Cokes for 6
cents. The last nickel Coke seems to have been in 1959.
The nickel price had lasted over 70 years. And in retrospect,
Andrew Young says, it wasn't a bad thing for the company. It's one
reason Coke is everywhere today. The company couldn't raise the
price. So it did the only thing it could: It sold as many Cokes as
Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
Transcript
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
Listening...
Originally published on November 19,
LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:
【原文链接中，4:43语音对话，从这句开始】
All prices change. That's basic economics. And yet, know what
the price of Coca-Cola was in 1886? A nickel.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
In 1900? A nickel.
WERTHEIMER: 1910, still a nickel.
INSKEEP: 1920, a nickel.
WERTHEIMER: David Kestenbaum, with our Planet Money Team, has
the strange story of why Coke price got stuck for so long.
DAVID KESTENBAUM, BYLINE: Daniel Levy stumbled on this economic
mystery while he was on a tour of the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta
with his kids. The tour guide just mentioned that for decades Coke
had cost a nickel. And Levy thought wait, what?
DANIEL LEVY: And I said can you say that again? And he repeat
that. And I, kind of, grabbed my head. Right? I said how can that
KESTENBAUM: Levy is an economist at Bar Ilan University and
Emory University, and he enlisted a colleague.
ANDREW YOUNG: Daniel came and said that he'd found this crazy
thing, do you want to help me out with this project?
KESTENBAUM: This is Andrew Young, now an economist at West
Virginia University. The more the two thought about it, the same
price for 70 years, the stranger it seemed. Think of all that had
LEVY: We had Great Depression.
YOUNG: Three wars, Spanish-American, World War I, World War
LEVY: Competitors including Pepsi - hundreds of competitors.
YOUNG: Prohibition.
LEVY: Various lawsuits, and none of these things made any
difference.
KESTENBAUM: Andrew Young found one story that seems to explain
part of the mystery. In 1899, two lawyers, from Chattanooga,
Tennessee, pay a visit to the president of Coca-Cola. At the time,
Coca-Cola is sold at soda fountains. But the lawyers are interested
in this new thing - bottles - selling drinks in bottles. They want
to buy the bottling rights. And the president of Coke thinks pfft
bottles. So he agrees to sell them the syrup to make Coca-Cola for
a fixed price forever. The contract had no end date.
YOUNG: My best take on it is, I mean, any time you got two
lawyers in you office you probably want them to leave. Right? And
he's saying I'll sign this piece of paper if you all just please
leave my office.
KESTENBAUM: Bottled drinks took off and Coca-Cola was in a bind:
If the bottlers or a corner store decided to raise the price of a
bottle of Coke, Coca-Cola wouldn't get any extra money. So if
you're Coca-Cola, you want to somehow keep the price down at five
cents, so you could sell as much as possible. What do you do?
YOUNG: Well, one thing you do is blanket the entire nation with
Coca-Cola advertising that basically has five cents prominently
KESTENBAUM: Think about how brilliant this was. The company
couldn't actually put a sticker on the bottles of Coke saying five
cents. But it could paint an ad on the side of a building right
next to the store that says drink Coca-Cola - five cents.
Here's Daniel Levy.
LEVY: Point is that since everyone was brainwashed, people saw
these ads all over. It was hard for anyone to increase the
KESTENBAUM: That weird contract with the bottlers eventually got
renegotiated. But still, the price of Coke stayed a nickel, in part
because of another obstacle - this one about the size of a
refrigerator and painted red - the vending machine. The Coca-Cola
vending machines were built to take a single coin, a nickel.
Levy says the folks at Coca-Cola thought about converting the
vending machines to take a dime. But that would double the price.
Really, what they wanted was something in between.
LEVY: It is so a clever idea, what they came up with. They said
how about we ask the Treasury to issue a seven and a half cent
KESTENBAUM: The U.S. Treasury, the government?
LEVY: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
KESTENBAUM: At one point, the head of Coca-Cola asked the
president of the United States - Eisenhower - for help. They were
hunting buddies. But no luck.
The thing that finally undoes the nickel Coke is inflation. The
price of the ingredients, of everything, starts to go up and up. In
the late 1940s, some stores sold Cokes for six cents, seven cents.
The last nickel Coke seems to have been in 1959.
The nickel price had lasted over 70 years. And in retrospect,
Andrew Young says, it wasn't a bad thing for the company. It's one
reason Coke is everywhere today. The company couldn't raise the
price so it did the only thing it could. It sold as many Cokes as
YOUNG: At one point, associated with the military, there were
Coca-Cola bottling operations on every continent except for
Antarctica during World War II. All there to make sure that our
soldiers could always get Coca-Cola for a nickel.
KESTENBAUM: Nickel Coke appears to be the longest documented
case of a price not changing, in modern history.
David Kestenbaum, NPR News.
WERTHEIMER: It's NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright
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MY father's family name being Pirrip, and my christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.
I give Pirrip as my father's family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister - Mrs Joe Gargery, who married the blacksmith. As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days were long before the days of photographs), my first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones. The shape of the letters on my father's, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, `Also Georgiana Wife of the Above,' I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly. To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine - who gave up trying to get a living, exceedingly early in that universal struggle - I am indebted for a belief I religiously entertained that they had all been born on their backs with their hands in their trousers-pockets, and had never taken them out in this state of existence.
Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things, seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening. At such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettle and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above,
and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were
and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, and that the low leaden line beyond, and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing, and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip.
`Hold your noise!' cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch. `Keep still, you little devil, or I'll cut your throat!'
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, who limped, and shivered, an and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
`O! Don't cut my throat, sir,' I pleaded in terror. `Pray don't do it, sir.'
`Tell us your name!' said the man. `Quick!'
`Pip, sir.'
`Once more,' said the man, staring at me. `Give it mouth!'
`Pip. Pip, sir.'
`Show us where you live,' said the man. `Pint out the place!'
I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.
The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets. There was nothing in them but a piece of bread. When the church came to itself - for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet - when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling, while he ate the bread ravenously.
`You young dog,' said the man, licking his lips, `what fat cheeks you ha' got.'
I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.
`Darn Me if I couldn't eat em,' said the man, with a threatening shake of his head, `and if I han't half a mind to't!'
I earnestly expressed my hope that he wouldn't, and held tighter to the tombstone on partly, to partly, to keep myself from crying.
`Now lookee here!' said the man. `Where's your mother?'
`There, sir!' said I.
He started, made a short run, and stopped and looked over his shoulder.
`There, sir!' I timidly explained. `Also Georgiana. That's my mother.'
`Oh!' said he, coming back. `And is that your father alonger your mother?'
`Yes, sir,' said I; ` late of this parish.'
`Ha!' he muttered then, considering. `Who d'ye live with - supposin' you're kindly let to live, which I han't made up my mind about?'
`My sister, sir - Mrs Joe Gargery - wife of Joe Gargery, the blacksmith, sir.'
`Blacksmith, eh?' said he. And looked down at his leg.
After darkly looking at his leg and me several times, he came closer to my tombstone, took me by both arms, and tilted me back as far so that his eyes looked most powerfully down into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his.
`Now lookee here,' he said, `the question being whether you're to be let to live. You know what a file is?'
`Yes, sir.'
`And you know what wittles is?'
`Yes, sir.'
After each question he titled me over a little more, so as to give me a greater sense of helplessness and danger.
`You get me a file.' He tilted me again. `And you get me wittles.' He tilted me again. `You bring 'em both to me.' He tilted me again. `Or I'll have your heart and liver out.' He tilted me again.
I was dreadfully frightened, and so giddy that I clung to him with both hands, and said, `If you would kindly please to let me keep upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn't be sick, and perhaps I could attend more.'
He gave me a most tremendous dip and roll, so that the church jumped over its own weather-cock. Then, he held me by the arms, in an upright position on the top of the stone, and went on in these fearful terms:
`You bring me, to-morrow morning early, that file and them wittles. You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder. You do it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person sumever, and you shall be let to live. You fail, or you go from my words in any partickler, no matter how small it is, and your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate. Now, I ain't alone, as you may think I am. There's a young man hid with me, in comparison with which young man I am a Angel. That young man hears the words I speak. That young man has a secret way pecooliar to himself, of getting at a boy, and at his heart, and at his liver. It is in wain for a boy to attempt to hide himself from that young man. A boy may lock his door, may be warm in bed, may tuck himself up, may draw the clothes over his head, may think himself comfortable and safe, but that young man will softly creep and creep his way to him and tear him open. I am a keeping that young man from harming of you at the present moment, with great difficulty. I find it wery hard to hold that young man off of your inside. Now, what do you say?'
I said that I would get him the file, and I would get him what broken bits of food I could, and I would come to him at the Battery, early in the morning.
`Say Lord strike you dead if you don't!' said the man.
I said so, and he took me down.
`Now,' he pursued, `you remember what you've undertook, and you remember that young man, and you get home!'
`Goo-good night, sir,' I faltered.
`Much of that!' said he, glancing about him over the cold wet flat. `I wish I was a frog. Or a eel!'
At the same time, he hugged his shuddering body in both his arms - clasping himself, as if to hold himself together - and limped towards the low church wall. As I saw him go, picking his way among the nettles, and among the brambles that bound the green mounds, he looked in my young eyes as if he were eluding the hands of the dead people, stretching up cautiously out of their graves, to get a twist upon his ankle and pull him in.
When he came to the low church wall, he got over it, like a man whose legs were numbed and stiff, and then turned round to look for me. When I saw him turning, I set my face towards home, and made the best use of my legs. But presently I looked over my shoulder, and saw him going on again towards the river, still hugging himself in both arms, and picking his way with his sore feet among the great stones dropped into the marshes here and there, for stepping-places when the rains were heavy, or the tide was in.
The marshes were just a long black horizontal line then, as I stopp and the river was just another horizontal line, not nearly so br and the sky was just a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed. On the edge of the river I could faintly make out the only two black things in all the prospect that seemed to one of these was the beacon by which the sailors steered - like an unhooped cask upon a pole - an ugly thing w the other a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it which had once held a pirate. The man was limping on towards this latter, as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back to hook himself up again. If gave me a terrible turn when I and as I saw the cattle lifting their heads to gaze after him, I wondered whether they thought so too. I looked all round for the horrible young man, and could see no sings of him. But, now I was frightened again, and ran home without stopping.
我父亲的姓是皮利普，而我的教名是菲利普。在我幼年时期，无论是皮利普还是菲利普，我既发不出这么长的音节，又咬字不清，只能发出皮普。所以，我干脆就把自己叫做皮普，以后别人也就跟着叫我皮普了。
我说皮利普是我父亲的姓，那是有根据的，因为我父亲的墓碑上刻着他的姓，而且我姐姐也这么说。我姐姐嫁给了铁匠乔&葛奇里，现在是葛奇里夫人了。至于我，从来没有见到过父亲和母亲，也没有看到过他们两位的照片（其实在他们的时代还不知道什么是照片呢）。最初在我的想象中也有父母亲的模样，那是根据他们的墓碑字形乱造出来的。我父亲墓碑上的字体使我产生了一个奇怪的想法，认为他是个方方正正。胖胖墩墩的黑皮汉子，有一头的黑色鬈发。再看看墓碑上镌刻的另外几个字。&及上述者之妻乔其雅娜&，我又得出一个幼稚的结论：我的母亲脸上生着雀斑，而且体弱多病。在我父母的坟边，整齐地排着五块小小的菱形石碑，每一块大约有一英尺半高。这就是我五位小兄长的坟墓。在这大千世界的现实斗争中，他们早早地放弃了求生，一个接一个离世而去。此情此景，使我萌生出一种类似宗教情感的信念，坚信我的五位小兄长一生出来就双手插在裤袋里，面孔朝天，而且从来没有把手拿出来过，和现在躺在墓中的样子相同。
我们的家乡是一片沼泽地区。那儿有一条河流。沿河蜿蜒而下，到海不足二十英里。我领略世面最初、最生动的印象似乎得自于一个令人难以忘怀的下午，而且正是向晚时分。就在那时我才弄清楚，这一片长满荨麻的荒凉之地正是乡村的教堂墓地；已故的本教区居民菲利普&皮利普及上述者之妻乔其雅娜已死，双双埋葬于此；还有阿历克山大、巴斯奥鲁米、亚布拉罕、特比亚斯和罗吉尔，他们的五位婴儿已死，也都埋葬于此。就在那时我才弄清楚，在这坟场的前面，一片幽暗平坦的荒凉之地便是沼泽，那里沟渠纵横，小丘起伏，闸门交错，还有散布的零星牲畜，四处寻食；从沼泽地再往前的那一条低低的铅灰色水平线正是河流；而那更远的、像未开化的洞穴并刮起狂风的地方，自然就是大海。就在那时我才弄清楚，面对这片景色而越来越感到害怕，并哇地一声哭起来的小不点儿，正是我皮普。
&闭嘴！&突然响起一声令人毛骨悚然的叫喊，同时，有一个人从教堂门廊一边的墓地里蹿了出来。&不许出声，你这个小鬼精；你只要一出声我就掐断你的脖子！&
这是一个面容狰狞的人，穿了一身劣质的灰色衣服，腿上挂了一条粗大沉重的铁镣。他头上没有帽子，只用一块破布扎住头，脚上的鞋已经破烂。看上去他曾在水中浸泡过，在污泥中忍受过煎熬。他的腿被石头碰伤了，脚又被小石块割破，荨麻的针刺和荆棘的拉刺使得他身上出现一道道伤口。他一跛一跛地走着，全身发着抖，还瞪着双眼吼叫着。他一把抓住我的下巴，而他嘴巴里的牙齿在格格打战。
&噢，先生，不要扭断我的脖子，&我惊恐地哀求着，&请你不要这样对待我，先生，我求你了。&
&告诉我你叫什么名字！&那个人说道，&快讲！&
&我叫皮普，先生。&
&你再说一遍！&那人说着，目光紧紧地盯住我，&张开嘴说清楚些。&
&皮普，皮普，先生。&
&告诉我你住在哪里，&那人说道，&把方向指给我看！&
我把我们村子的位置指给他看。村子就坐落在距离教堂一英里多远的平坦河岸上，四周矗立着赤杨树和截梢树。
这人打量了我一会儿，便把我头朝下地倒拎起来，我口袋里的东西也就掉了下来。其实口袋里只有一片面包，没有任何别的东西。等教堂又恢复原状时&&因为刚才他猛然把我头朝下地翻了个个儿，我看到教堂的尖顶在我的脚下&&而现在，我是说，教堂又恢复了原样时，我已经被他按坐在一块高高的墓碑上，全身打着哆嗦，而他却狼吞虎咽地吃起了那块面包。
&你这条小狗，&他一面舔着嘴唇，一面说道，&你这张小脸蛋倒生得肥肥的。&
从我的年龄来说，虽然我的个头不大，体质也不强壮，但是我的脸蛋儿确实有些肥。
&他妈的，我吃不了你的脸蛋儿才怪呢，&他说着，威胁性地摇晃了一下脑袋，&我真想把你这脸蛋吃掉。&
我连忙恳切地希望他无论如何不要吃我的脸蛋儿，同时紧紧地抓住他把我按上去的那块墓碑。这样，一则我可以坐稳不至于摔下来，二则可以忍住眼泪不至于哭出来。
&看着我，&那人说道，&你妈妈在什么地方？&
&在那里，先生。&我答道。
听了我的话，他大吃一惊，立刻拔脚就逃，跑了几步又停下来，口过头看了看。
&就在那里，先生！&我心惊肉跳地向他解释着，&那里写着乔其雅娜几个字，那就是我的妈妈。&
&噢！&他说道，又跑了回来，&那么和你妈妈葬在一起的是你的爸爸喽？&
我答道：&一点不错，先生，是我爸爸。那里写着&已故的本教区居民&。&
&哈！&他嘟嘟哝哝、若有所思地说道，&你和谁住在一起&&假设我不杀你，让你活下去，你和谁一起生活？当然，我还没有决定究竟让不让你活下去。&
&我和姐姐一起生活，先生，她就是乔&葛奇里夫人，也就是铁匠乔&葛奇里的妻子，先生。&
&哦，是铁匠？&他一面说着，一面低下头去看他的腿。
他忧郁而又阴沉地看看他的腿，又看看我。这么来回看了几次之后，他走近我坐着的墓碑，两手抓住我的双肩，尽量把我的身体向后按，以使他那双威严无比、咄咄逼人的眼睛紧盯着我的双眼，似乎眼光射进了我的眼球深处，而我的两眼只能无可奈何地仰望着他的眼睛。
他对我说道：&仔细听着，现在的问题是究竟让不让你活。我问你，你懂不懂什么是锉子？&
&懂，先生。&
&我再问你，你懂不懂什么是食物？&
&懂，先生。&
他每提出一个问题，便把我的身体向后按一点儿，为的是使我感到无路可走，危险迫在眼前。
&我要你给弄一把锉子来，&他把我又按了一下说，&再给我弄些吃的东西来。&说着，他又把我向后按了一下。&这两样东西都要拿来。&他再一次把我向后按。&你要不拿来，我就把你的心肝五脏都掏出来。&说完，他又把我向后按了一下。
我简直怕得要命，给弄得头晕目眩，禁不住用双手把他紧紧抓住。我对他说：&请你大发慈悲吧，让我的身体直起来，再这样说不定我会吐出来，身体一直我就会听清楚你讲的究竟是什么了。&
于是他猛力地把我一推，使我滚到地上，这一滚似乎连教堂都跳了起来，而且跳得比屋顶上面的定风针还要高。然后，他又抓住我的两臂，把我提到墓碑的上头，直坐在上面，而他却继续讲着那些令人恐惧的话。
&明天一大清早，你要把锉子和吃的东西带给我。你要把这些东西都送到那边的老炮台前给我。你为我办事，而且不透半句风声，不露一丝痕迹，不让任何人知道你遇到一个像我这样的人，或者遇到过什么人，我才会留你一条活命。要是你不给我办事，或者你哪怕有半句话不听我的，不论这话多么微不足道，我一定会把你的心肝五脏挖出来，放在火上烤熟，再把它们吃掉。你要晓得，不要以为我只是孤零零一个人，和我一块儿正躲着一个年轻小伙子呢。你别以为我是个恶魔，和那个年轻伙伴比起来，我简直是个天使。他正躲在那儿听我们讲话。这个年轻人还有一套奇特的秘密方法，会捉小男孩，挖出小男孩的心吃，然后再挖出肝来吃。小孩子想让这个年轻人不知道他，想躲着年轻人都是不行的。即使小孩子锁上了房门，睡在温暖的床上，用被子裹住自己，再把衣服蒙在头上，以为自己既舒服又保险，可这青年人会轻轻地爬呀，爬呀，一直爬到小孩的床边，把他的胸膛撕开。不过你放心，我现在花了很大的劲，已经使这个青年人不会加害你。当然，我也没法子让他永远不伤害你，因为这是很难的。好了，现在你有什么要说的？&
我说我一定带给他一把锉子，一定为他带些吃的东西，哪怕只能是残剩粗食。我说明天一大清早我一定会来到炮台前把东西交给他。
&那么你发誓，要是你不送来，天主就用雷电劈死你。&那人说道。
我照他的活起了誓，他这才把我从墓碑顶上抱下来，并且继续说道：
&听着，不要忘记你说过的话、该做的事；也不要忘记那个年轻人。现在，你可以回家了。&
&晚&&晚安，先生！&我吓得连话也说不清楚了。
&够了，不要再说了！&他说着，用目光扫视着四周一片阴冷潮湿的沼泽滩地。&我真希望变成一只青蛙，要么，一条泥鳅也行。&
他一边咒骂着，一边用两条胳膊紧紧地抱住自己发抖的身体，好像一不抱紧，整副身体的骨架就要散掉。他抬起两条伤腿一跛一拐地向着低矮的教堂围墙走去。我看着他离开，走进了尊麻丛生、荆棘萦绕、长满青草的坟堆之中。从我幼稚的想象出发，他好像在躲闪坟中死人伸出来的手，生怕它们一把拖住他的脚踝，把他拉进坟墓同住。
他走到那堵低矮的教堂围墙前，从墙头上爬过去。他的两条腿看上去简直冻得麻木僵直，不听使唤了。过了墙头，他又回过头来望了望我。看到他转过脸，我立刻头也不回地朝着家里奔去，拼命地迈动着我的两条腿。然后，我掉过头，看到他正朝着大河走去。他仍然把身体紧紧地用两条臂膀裹着，拖着疼痛的双脚在许多大石块中拣道而行。因为这里是一片沼泽地，一遇大雨，或者潮水上涌，就难以通行，所以把大石块放在沼泽地中可以作为垫脚石。
在我停下来用目光追随着他的身影时，整个沼泽地已成为一条既长又黑的水平线，而那条河流却成为另一条水平线，虽然它没有前者那么宽，那么黑。这时的天空已变成一行交织的带子，怒红浓黑相间。我模模糊糊地分辨出，在大河边上直挺挺地站着两个幽灵般的黑东西。其中之一是航标灯，水手就要依靠它来掌舵。这航标灯好像是一只脱了箍的桶，高挂在杆子上。你越是走近它，它越显得丑陋。另一个黑东西是绞刑架，还有一根铁链悬在上面。那里曾经吊死过一个海盗。现在，那人正一瘸一拐地向着绞刑架走去，仿佛他就是复活了的海盗，已经从绞刑架上走下来，现在正回去重新吊上绞刑架。我如此想着。这可怕的想象使我毛骨悚然。吃草的牲畜也抬起头凝视着他的身影，我真想知道，牛儿所想是否和我的一样。我环视四周，寻找那个令人恐怖的年轻人，然而连一点迹象也没有。这时，我惊慌失措，没命地向家里奔去，再也不敢停留一下。
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