UNCLE TOM'S CABIN
作者简介：
哈丽特．斯陀夫人(Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe，1811-1896)是美国小说家。父亲莱门．碧邱(Lyman Beecher)以及丈夫卡尔文．斯陀(Calvin Stowe)都是杰出的公理教会牧师。史陀夫人生于康乃狄格州。1832年随其父搬至俄亥俄州的辛辛那提市；1836年偕夫返回新英格兰。由于痛恨逃奴法案(the Fugitive Slave Law)的通过，遂于1852年出版其成名作黑奴吁天录(Uncle Tom's Cabin)，描写黑奴牛马不如的悲惨生活。许多批评家认为，此部小说是美国南北内战(Civil War, 1861-1865)的导因之一。尽管它在艺术及文学上技巧有不少缺点，但这部作品却是举世公认最伟大的、有关人道主义的文件。
In Kentucky Mr. Shelby, the land owner, was widely known as a kind man. He treated all his slaves well. One day, however, he was forced to sell some of his slaves to Mr. Haley, a slave dealer from New Orleans, to whom he owed much money. From Shelby's slaves Haley picked Uncle Tom, a loyal middle-aged Negro, and Harry, a five-year-old Negro boy, the only son of Mrs. Shelby's personal maid, Eliza. In spite of his wife's objection, Mr. Shelby finally agreed to Haley's choices.
Eliza told her husband, George Harris, about this serious matter. George, working on a neighboring farm, hated his stern master. He had long planned to make his escape to Canada.
After dinner the Shelby slaves got together for a religious meeting in the cabin of Uncle Tom. They sang songs and listened to young George Shelby's reading from the Bible.
In the living room Mr. Shelby signed the papers concerning the sale of Uncle Tom and little Harry. When she learned that her son had definitely been sold, Eliza fled with the child immediately. In the meantime, Uncle Tom, hearing of the sale, silently accepted his master's decision.
The next morning, after discovering his loss, Haley started to chase Eliza. However, she had made a good start. Moreover, the kind Mrs. Shelby delayed Haley by purposely serving him and the other pursuers a late breakfast . When she came to the Ohio River, Eliza jumped into it, just a short distance ahead of the pursuers. With God's help, she safely reached the other side of the river and found shelter at a Quaker settlement in Ohio.
Haley hired Marks and Loker, two active slave-catchers, to track down Eliza. He promised to give her to them in return for their trouble. They set off at once.
Meanwhile, Uncle Tom was taken away, irons on the leg. Young George Shelby, in tears, promised to buy him back some day. On their trip along the Mississippi River, Haley kept buying more slaves, among whom were a Negro woman and a ten-month-old baby. Soon the baby was sold; the woman escaped the next day. Haley took this as a bad omen.
On the Mississippi steamship there was a gentleman from New Orleans, Mr. Augustine St. Clare. He was traveling along with his daughter, Eva, a six-year-old little girl. Eva was a lovely little lady and Uncle Tom began to like her very much. It happened that Eva accidentally fell into the river. Uncle Tom jumped to save her from being drowned. In gratitude St. Clare bought Tom from Haley.
Mr. Augustine St. Clare and his wife, Marie, were quite different from one another in their personalities. The husband, disgusted with the slave trade, was humane and generous toward his own servants, but the wife was cruel to her slaves. Luckily, because Eva liked him, Uncle Tom was treated comparatively better than other slaves were. Eva read the Bible to Tom and helped him learn how to write.
At the same time, George Harris made his escape and family joined his wife in the settlement in Ohio. Soon Marks, Loker, and their followers arrived to catch them. With the help of two Quakers, George and his wife wounded one of their pursuers and got to Canada in safety.
Many years passed. Life on St. Clare's farm was usual except that Eva's health was failing. As her health became worse, she expressed more and more pity for the slaves. Many times she had tried to persuade her father to free Uncle Tom. One day she told Tom that she had heard the voices of the angels; shortly afterwards she died.
After Eva's death St. Clare took her wishes seriously. He treated Uncle Tom even better than before. In return, Tom encouraged him to read the Bible and believe in God. Though St. Clare was interested, he did not become a Christian because he was suddenly killed one evening when he tried to separate two quarreling men. Against her husband's will, Marie sold all the slaves to the slave market.
Along with Emmeline, a 15-year-old girl, Tom was sold to a cruel land owner Simon Legree. Legree controlled his slaves by his fists, whips, and dogs. He wanted to make Tom his assistant. However, instead of treating the other slaves harshly, Tom helped them. One day he gave some cotton to a sick woman. For this he was severely punished. Cassy, a woman slave, came to console him.
Being a superstitious man, Legree believed that Cassy had power over him. Thus, Cassy decided to work on his superstition and escape with Emmeline. They succeeded at last, but Legree blamed Tom for their escape. He wanted Tom to tell him where the woman had gone. Tom refused and was cruelly beaten. In fact, he was wounded so badly that he could neither speak nor stand.
Two days later George Shelby arrived to take Tom back to Kentucky. He came too late, however. Tom was dying. Angrily George knocked Legree down to the ground. Later, he helped Cassy and Emmeline reach Canada, where Cassy had a happy reunion with Eliza and George Harris Elisa, in fact, turned out to be Cassy's long-lost daughter.
Back in Kentucky, George Shelby, in memory of Uncle Tom, freed all the slaves on his plantation.
注解：
slave dealer 贩奴商
objection 反对
stern 严厉的
cabin 小屋
pursuers 追捕者
shelter 庇护所
Quaker settlement 教友派信徒定居地
omen 预兆
to be disgusted with 厌恶
humane 慈悲的
comparatively 比较地
failing 变坏的；恶化的
shortly afterwards 不久之后
console 安慰
superstitious 迷信的
knock down 打倒
reunion 团圆