“There was my poor old Aunt Emily (это была моя бедная старая тетя Эмили),” thought Mr Wigg out loud (подумал мистер Вигг вслух громко). “She was run over by an omnibus (она была переехана омнибусом). Sad (печально). Very sad (очень печально). Unbearably sad (невыносимо печально). Poor Aunt Emily (бедная тетя Эмили). But they saved her umbrella (но они спасли ее зонтик). That was funny (это было смешно), wasn’t it (не правда ли)?” And before he knew where he was (и перед тем как он осознал, где он находился), he was heaving (он тяжело дышал /пытаясь удержаться/:
“It’s no good (не получается: «от этого нет толку»),” he said, blowing his nose (высмаркиваясь: «дуя свой нос»). “I give it up (я сдаюсь;
skirt [skq:t] heaving ['hi:vIŋ] bursting ['bq:stIŋ]
Mr Wigg dried his eyes.
“There’s only one thing for it,” he said. “We must think of something serious. Something sad, very sad. And then we shall be able to get down. Now — one, two, three! Something very sad, mind you!”
They thought and thought, with their chins on their hands.
Michael thought of school, and that one day he would have to go there. But even that seemed funny today and he had to laugh.
Jane thought: “I shall be grown up in another fourteen years!” But that didn’t sound sad at all but quite nice and rather funny. She could not help smiling at the thought of herself grown up, with long skirts and a handbag.
“There was my poor old Aunt Emily,” thought Mr Wigg out loud. “She was run over by an omnibus. Sad. Very sad. Unbearably sad. Poor Aunt Emily. But they saved her umbrella. That was funny, wasn’t it?” And before he knew where he was, he was heaving and trembling and bursting with laughter at the thought of Aunt Emily’s umbrella.
“It’s no good,” he said, blowing his nose. “I give it up. And my young friends here seem to be no better at sadness than I am. Mary, can’t you do something? We want our tea.”
To this day Jane and Michael cannot be sure of what happened then (и по сей день: «до этого дня» Джейн и Майкл не могут быть уверенными в (том), что произошло потом). All they know for certain is that (все, /что/ они знают точно, это то что), as soon as Mr Wigg had appealed to Mary Poppins (как только мистер Вигг обратился к Мэри Поппинс), the table below began to wriggle on its legs (стол внизу начал изгибаться на своих ножках). Presently it was swaying dangerously (потом он закачался: «был качающимся» опасно), and then with a rattle of china and with cakes lurching off their plates on to the cloth (а затем с дребезжанием фарфора и с кексами, накренившихся со своих тарелок на скатерть), the table came soaring through the room (стол воспарил, набирая высоту через комнату), gave one graceful turn (дал один грациозный поворот), and landed beside them so that Mr Wigg was at its head (и сделал посадку рядом с ними таким образом, что мистер Вигг был во главе его).
“Good girl (хорошая девочка)!” said Mr Wigg, smiling proudly upon her (улыбаясь гордо ей: «на нее»). “I knew you’d fix something (я знал: ты наведешь порядок: «устроишь/приведешь в порядок нечто»). Now (теперь), will you take the foot of the table and pour out, Mary (ты займешь место за другим концом стола и разольешь чай;
Mr Wigg smiled contentedly (мистер Вигг улыбнулся удовлетворенно).