6 La Carlotta sings Margarita  
　 
　　On Friday morning La Carlotta had her break fast in bed．She drank her coffee and opened her morning let ters．One letter had no name on it. It was very short． 
　　　  
　　You are ill． You cannot sing Margarita tonight．Stay at home and don't go to the Opera House. Accidents can hap pen．Do you want to lose your voice-for ever？  
　　　 
　　La Carlotta was very， very angry. She got out of bed at once and did not finish her breakfast． 
　　'This is from Christine Daaé' s friends，' she thought．'They want her to sing again tonight．That Daaé girl is going to be sorry for this！ I，La Carlotta， I am the best opera singer in Paris．And nothing is going to stop me singing Margarita tonight！' 
　　At six o'clock that evening the dancers were in their dress ing-room．They talked and laughed and put on their red and black dresses for Faust．But Meg Giry was very quiet． 
　　'What's the matter，Meg？'Annie Sorelli asked． 
　　'It's the Opera ghost，Meg said．'My mother says he's angry．She's afraid that something's going to happen tonight．' 
　　'Oh，pooh！'the girl with black hair said．'Who's afraid of an old ghost？' 
　　An hour later Monsieur Armand and Monsieur Firmin went into Box 5 and sat down．They were not afraid of ghosts.Of course not．There were no ghosts in the Opera House． 
　　Then Monsieur Armand saw some flowers on the floor by the door of the box．'Firmin，'he whispered，'did you put those flowers there？' 
　　Monsieur Firmin looked．'No，I didn't，'he whispered back'Did you？' 
　　'Of course not， you fool！Shh，the music's beginning．' 
　　La Carlotta did not sing for the first hour．There were no strange voices in Box 5，and the two directors began to feel happier. Then La Carlotta came out onto the stage， and Mon sieur Firmin looked at Monsieur Armand． 
　　'Did you hear a voice just then？' he asked quietly． 
　　'No！'Monsieur Armand said，but he looked behind him twice， then three times， and suddenly felt cold． 
　　La Carlotta sang and sang， and nothing happened. Then she began a beautiful love song． 
　　'My love begins to-Co－ack！' 
　　Everybody stared．What was the matter with Carlotta's voice? What was that strange noise-Co－ack? 
　　Carlotta stopped and began the song again． 
　　'My love begins to-Co－ack！ 
　　I cannot forget my-Co-ack！' 
　　It was the noise of a toad！ People began to talk and laugh.Monsieur Firmin put his head in his bands．Then he felt Mon sieur Armand's hand on his arm．There was a voice in the box with them！ A man's voice，laughing 
　　Poor Carlotta tried again，and again． 
　　'I cannot forget my-Co－ack！' 
　　Then the two directors heard the voice again， behind them，in front of them， everywhere．'Her singing tonight is going to bring down the chandelier!'  
　　The two directors looked up at the top of the Opera House．Their faces were white．The famous chandelier， with its thou sand lights，broke away from its ropes and crashed down on to the people below． 
　　That was a terrible night for the Paris Opera House．One woman was killed by the chandelier， and many people were hurt．The Opera House closed for two weeks．And La Carlotta never sang again.  
　 
6．拉·卡洛塔演唱玛格丽塔 
　  
　　星期五早晨拉·卡洛塔在床上用早餐。她一边喝咖啡一边拆阅她的晨信。有一封信没有署名。它非常短。 
　　　  
　　你病了。今晚你不能演唱玛格丽塔。呆在家里不要去歌剧院。否则会有意外。你想失声吗？——永远？  
　　　  
　　拉·卡洛塔非常非常气愤。她立即下床，连早餐都没有吃完。 
　　“这是克丽斯廷·达埃的朋友写来的，”她想，“他们希望她今晚再次演唱。那个达埃姑娘将为此而感到懊悔！我，拉·卡洛塔，是巴黎最好的歌剧演唱家。没有什么能够阻止我今晚演唱玛格丽塔！” 
　　当天晚上6点钟舞蹈演员们都来到了她们的化妆室。她们一边笑谈着一边穿上她们的红黑的《浮士德》歌剧服。但是梅格·吉丽却一言不发。 
　　“怎么了，梅格？”安妮·索雷丽问。 
　　“是歌剧院的幽灵，”梅洛说，“我妈妈说他发怒了。她担心今晚会发生什么事。” 
　　“哦，呸！”那个黑发姑娘说，“谁会害怕什么幽灵？” 
　　一个小时以后阿尔芒先生和菲尔曼先生步入5号包厢坐下。他们从不害怕幽灵。歌剧院里根本就没有幽灵。 
　　随后阿尔芒先生发现包厢门边的地上放着一些鲜花。“菲尔曼，”他轻声问，“是你把那些鲜花放在那里的？” 
　　菲尔曼先生看了看。“不，我没有，”他反过来轻声问：“是你吗？” 
　　“当然不是，你这个傻瓜！嘘，歌剧开始了。” 
　　拉·卡洛塔在开始的一个小时里不演唱。5号包厢里没有异样的声音，于是两位经理开始感觉心情愉快了。接着拉·卡洛塔出现在舞台上，这时菲尔曼先生看着阿尔芒先生。 
　　“刚才你听到说话声了吗？”他轻声问。 
　　“没有！”阿尔芒先生说，但是他往身后看了两次，随后又看了第三次，并且突然感到一丝凉意。 
　　拉·卡洛塔唱啊唱，并没有发生什么事。接着她开始演唱一首优美的爱情歌曲。 
　　“我的爱始于——科-艾克！” 
　　众人面面相觑。卡洛塔的嗓音怎么了？那个陌生的杂音——科-艾克是什么？ 
　　卡洛塔停下来重新开始演唱。 
　　“我的爱始于——科-艾克！” 
　　“我无法忘记我的——科-艾克！” 
　　这是癞蛤蟆的鼓噪！人们开始交头接耳并且哄笑。菲尔曼先生把头埋进双手之中。然后他觉得阿尔芒先生的手放在了自己的手臂上。包厢里有一个声音！一个男人的声音，大笑着！ 
　　可怜的卡洛塔试了一次又一次。 
　　“我无法忘记我的——科-艾克！” 
　　接着这两位经理又听到了那个声音，它来自身后，身前，各个方向。“今晚她的演唱将会使枝形吊灯落下来！”  
　　两位经理抬头朝歌剧院的屋顶看去。他们的脸色变得惨白。那著名的有着上千盏灯的枝形吊灯，竟然脱离束缚它的绳索坠落在下面的观众席上。 
　　对于巴黎歌剧院来说那是一个可怕的夜晚。一名妇女被枝形吊灯砸死，另外许多人被砸伤。歌剧院为此关闭两周。而拉·卡洛塔从此再没有演唱过。 
　　　    


 