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English to Italian: "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
Source text - English “I want some poison”, she said to the druggist. She was over thirty then, still a slight woman, though thinner than usual, with cold, haughty black eyes in a face the flesh of which was strained across the temples and about the eyesockets as you imagine a lighthouse-keeper's face ought to look.
“I want some poison”, she said.
“Yes, Miss Emily. What kind? For rats and such? I'd recom—“.
“I want the best you have. I don't care what kind”.
The druggist named several. “They'll kill anything up to an elephant. But what you want is—“.
“Arsenic”, Miss Emily said. “Is that a good one?”.
“Is . . . arsenic? Yes, ma'am. But what you want—“.
“I want arsenic”.
The druggist looked down at her. She looked back at him, erect, her face like a strained flag. “Why, of course”, the druggist said. “If that's what you want. But the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for”.
Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted back in order to look him eye for eye, until he looked away and went and got the arsenic and wrapped it up. The Negro delivery boy brought her the package; the druggist didn't come back. When she opened the package at home there was written on the box, under the skull and bones: "For rats".
Translation - Italian “Voglio del veleno”, disse al farmacista. Aveva, ormai, superato la trentina: ancora snella, e anzi più magra del solito; con occhi neri, freddi e sprezzanti, in un viso tirato alle tempie e intorno alle orbite, come quello che si immagina debba avere il guardiano di un faro.
“Voglio del veleno”, disse.
“Sì, Miss Emily. Quale tipo di veleno? Per topi o bestie simili? Io le sugge…”.
”Il migliore che ha in negozio. Non importa quale”.
Il farmacista ne nominò diversi. “Questi ucciderebbero un elefante. Ma quello di cui lei ha bisogno è…”.
”Arsenico”, disse Miss Emily. “Va bene l’arsenico?”.
”L’arsenico? Sì, signora, ma ciò che serve a lei…”.
”A me serve dell’arsenico”.
Il farmacista abbassò gli occhi per guardarla. Lei ricambiò lo sguardo, diritta, con una faccia che pareva una bandiera tesa al vento. “Certamente”, le disse. “Come vuole. Però, deve dirmi quale uso intende farne. Sa, è la legge…”.
Miss Emily si limitò a fissarlo negli occhi, col capo piegato all’indietro, finché lui non distolse lo sguardo, andò a prendere l’arsenico e lo incartò. Ma rimase nel retrobottega. Il pacchetto le fu consegnato dal fattorino negro. Quando lo aprì, a casa, lesse sulla scatola, sotto il teschio e le due ossa incrociate: “Per topi”.
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