There was a great stir in the milk-house just after breakfast. The churn revolved as usual, but the butter would not come. Whenever this happened the dairy was paralyzed. Squish, squash, echoed the milk in the great cylinder, but never arose the sound they waited for.剛吃過早飯，牛奶房里就一番混亂。攪黃油的機器照常運轉著，但是黃油就是攪不出來。只要出現了這種事，奶牛場就癱瘓了。裝在大圓桶里的牛奶不停地稀里嘩啦地響著，但就是聽不到他們盼望聽到的出黃油的聲音。

Dairyman Crick and his wife, the milkmaids Tess, Marian, Retty Priddle, Izz Huett, and the married ones from the cottages; also Mr Clare, Jonathan Kail, old Deborah, and the rest, stood gazing hopelessly at the churn; and the boy who kept the horse going outside put on moon-like eyes to show his sense of the situation. Even the melancholy horse himself seemed to look in at the window in inquiring despair at each walk round.奶牛場老板克里克和他的太太，住在場內的擠奶姑娘苔絲、瑪麗安、萊蒂·普里德爾、伊茨·體特，住在場外茅屋里的結了婚的女工，還有克萊爾先生、約納森·凱爾、老德波娜以及其他的人，都站在那兒瞪著攪黃油的機器，誰也沒有辦法；在外面趕馬使機器轉動的小伙子眼睛瞪得大大的，對這件事情表現得很關心。就是那匹憂傷的馬，每走一圈也似乎要用絕望的神氣向窗戶里看上一眼。

''Tis years since I went to Conjuror Trendle's son in Egdon - years!' said the dairyman bitterly. 'And he was nothing to what his father had been. I have said fifty times, if I have said once, that I don't believe in en; though a' do cast folks' waters very true. But I shall have to go to 'n if he's alive. O yes, I shall have to go to 'n, if this sort of thing continnys!'“我沒有見到愛敦荒原上的魔術師特倫德爾的兒子，已經有好多年啦！”奶牛場老板痛苦地說。“他同他的父親比起來，可是差遠了。我曾經說過我不相信他，這個話我已經說過五十次了；不過他從人拉的尿中可以預言出一些名堂來倒是真的。但是這次我非得去找他不可了，就是不知道他還活著沒有。唉，不錯，如果黃油還是攪不出來，我一定得去找他了！”

Even Mr Clare began to feel tragical at the dairyman's desperation.看見奶牛場老板絕望的樣子，就連克萊爾先生也開始感到悲哀起來。

'Conjuror Fall, t'other side of Casterbridge that they used to call "Wide-O", was a very good man when I was a boy,' said Jonathan Kail. 'But he's rotten as touchwood by now.'“在我小的時候，卡斯特橋那邊住著個魔術師，名叫福爾①，大家習慣叫他‘大圓圈’，他倒是一個道行高的人，”約納森·凱爾說。“不過他現在老得不中用了。”

'My grandfather used to go to Conjuror Mynterne, out at Owlscombe, and a clever man a' were, so I've heard grandf'er say, continued Mr Crick. 'But there's no such genuine folk about nowadays!'“我的爺爺曾經找過魔術師米頓恩，他住在貓頭鷹崗，我聽我的爺爺說，他是一個很厲害的人。”克里克先生接著說。“不過眼下找不到他這樣有真本事的人了！”

Mrs Crick's mind kept nearer to the matter in hand.克里克太太心里想的只是眼前的事。