The Blanket　半床毛毯

The Blanket　半床毛毯

◎ Floyd Dell

Petey hadn’t really believed that Dad would be doing it—sending Granddad away. “Away” was what they were calling it. Not until now could he believe it of his father.

彼得不相信爸爸真的會(huì)這么做——把爺爺送走。“送走”是他們的說(shuō)法?，F(xiàn)在他相信了爸爸的話。

But here was the blanket that Dad had bought for Granddad, and in the morning he’d be going away. This was the last evening they’d be having together. Dad was off seeing that girl he was to marry. He would not be back till late, so Petey and Granddad could sit up and talk.

但是這個(gè)毛毯是爸爸前日就買好了送給爺爺?shù)模诙煸绯繝敔斁蜁?huì)離開。今晚是他和爺爺在一起的最后一個(gè)晚上了。爸爸走了，和那個(gè)就要與他結(jié)婚的女人一起走的，他不到深夜是不會(huì)回來(lái)的。于是彼得可以和爺爺坐起來(lái)說(shuō)話。

It was a fine September night, with a silver moon riding high. They washed up the supper dishes and then took their chairs out onto the porch. “I’ll get my fiddle,” said the old man, “and play you some of the old tunes.”

那是個(gè)晴朗的九月夜晚，銀色的月光灑落在溪谷上。他們吃完晚飯后，爺孫倆一塊洗碗碟，然后爺孫把椅子搬到屋外的走廊上，坐在月光下。“我去拿口琴來(lái)，”爺爺說(shuō)，“給你吹幾支老曲子。”

But instead of the fiddle he brought out the blanket. It was a big double blanket, red with black stripes.

一會(huì)兒，爺爺從屋里出來(lái)了，拿來(lái)的不是口琴，而是那床毛毯。那是條大大的雙人毛毯。紅色與黑色條紋相間。

“Now, isn’t that a fine blanket!” said the old man, smoothing it over his knees. “And isn’t your father a kind man to be giving the old fellow a blanket like that to go away with? It cost something, it did—look at the wool of it! There’ll be few blankets there the equal of this one!”

“這是一條多好的毛毯啊！”老人輕撫著膝頭的毛毯說(shuō)，“你爸真孝順，給我這老家伙帶這么床高級(jí)毛毯走。你看這毛，一定很貴的。以后冬天晚上不會(huì)冷了。那里不會(huì)有這么好的毛毯的！”

It was like Granddad to be saying that. He was trying to make it easier. He had pretended all along that he wanted to go away to the great brick building—the government place. There he’d be with so many other old fellows, having the best of everything... But Petey hadn’t believed Dad would really do it, not until this night when he brought home the blanket.

爺爺總是這么說(shuō)。為了避免難堪，他一直假裝著很想去政府辦的養(yǎng)老院的樣子，去那個(gè)地方與其他許多老家伙一起共度晚年，擁有最好的一切……可彼得當(dāng)時(shí)并沒(méi)想到爸爸真會(huì)這么做，直到這個(gè)夜晚看到爸爸帶回這床毛毯。

“Oh, yes, it’s a fine blanket.” said Petey. He got up and went into the house. He wasn’t the kind to cry and, besides, he was too old for that. He’d just gone in to fetch Granddad’s fiddle.

“哦，是的，是床好毛毯。”彼得附和著走進(jìn)小屋。他不是個(gè)好哭的孩子，況且，他早已過(guò)了好哭鼻子的年齡了。他是進(jìn)屋給爺爺拿口琴的。

The blanket slid to the floor as the old man took the fiddle and stood up. He tuned up for a minute, and then said, “This is one you’ll like to remember.”

爺爺湊合著站起來(lái)接過(guò)口琴時(shí)，毛毯滑落到了地板上。他調(diào)整了好一會(huì)，然后說(shuō)：“你會(huì)記住這支曲子的。”

Petey sat and looked out over the gully. Dad would marry that girl. Yes, that girl who had kissed Petey and fussed over him, saying she’d try to be a good mother to him, and all...

彼得坐在那里，怔怔地望著遠(yuǎn)方。爸爸就要娶那個(gè)姑娘了。是的，那個(gè)姑娘親過(guò)他了，還發(fā)誓要對(duì)他好，說(shuō)她會(huì)努力做個(gè)好媽媽的……

The tune stopped suddenly. Granddad said, “It’s a fine girl your father’s going to marry. He’ll be feeling young again with a pretty wife like that. And what would an old fellow like me be doing around their house, getting in the way? An old nuisance, what with my talks of aches and pains. It’s best that I go away, like I’m doing. One more tune or two, and then we’ll be going to sleep. I’ll pack up my blanket in the morning.”

曲子突然停了下來(lái)。爺爺說(shuō)：“你爸要娶的這個(gè)姑娘不錯(cuò)。有個(gè)這么漂亮的妻子，他會(huì)感覺(jué)又變年輕了。我這個(gè)老頭兒又何必待在這兒礙事呢？我一會(huì)兒這病一會(huì)兒那疼，討人嫌呢。還是走為好啊，這樣才像我做的事。再吹一兩支曲子吧，然后我們就上床睡覺(jué)。睡到明天早晨，我就帶上我的毛毯走人。”

They didn’t hear the two people coming down the path. Dad had one arm around the girl, whose bright face was like a doll’s. But they heard her when she laughed, right close by the porch. Dad didn’t say anything, but the girl came forward and spoke to Granddad prettily: “I won’t be here when you leave in the morning, so I came over to say good-bye.”

他們沒(méi)有聽到爸爸和那個(gè)美人正沿著鄉(xiāng)間小道走來(lái)的聲音。父親一只手臂摟著那個(gè)姑娘，她就像個(gè)瓷娃娃一樣。直到走近門廊，爺孫倆才聽到她的笑聲，琴聲戛然而止。爸爸什么也沒(méi)說(shuō)，那個(gè)女孩走到爺爺面前，恭敬地對(duì)爺爺說(shuō)：“明天早晨不能來(lái)送您了，我現(xiàn)在來(lái)跟您告別的。”

“It’s kind of you.” said Granddad, with his eyes cast down. Then, seeing the blanket at his feet, he stooped to pick it up. “And will you look at this,” he said. “The fine blanket my son has given me to go away with.”

“謝謝了。”爺爺說(shuō)。然后，低頭看到腳邊的毛毯，爺爺彎下腰把它拾起來(lái)。“你看，”爺爺局促地說(shuō)，“這是兒子送我的離別禮物。多好的毛毯！”

“Yes,” she said. “It’s a fine blanket.” She felt the wool and repeated in surprise, “A fine blanket—I’ll say it is!” She turned to Dad and said to him coldly, “That blanket really cost something.”

“是不錯(cuò)。”她摸了一下毛毯，感覺(jué)著這上好的呢絨而驚嘆了一番，“好高級(jí)呀——我就說(shuō)它呢！”她轉(zhuǎn)向爸爸，冷冷地說(shuō)，“一定花了不少錢吧。”

Dad cleared his throat and said, “I wanted him to have the best...”

爸爸清了清嗓子，說(shuō)道：“我想給他一床最好的毛毯……”

“It’s double, too.” she said, as if accusing Dad.

“還是雙人的呢。”她說(shuō)道，像是在指責(zé)爸爸。

“Yes,” said Granddad, “it’s double—a fine blanket for an old fellow to be going away with.”

“是啊，”爺爺說(shuō)，“是床雙人毛毯——一床一個(gè)老家伙即將帶走的毛毯。”

The boy went suddenly into the house. He was looking for something. He could hear that girl scolding Dad. She realized how much of Dad’s money—her money, really—had gone for the blanket. Dad became angry in his slow way. And now she was suddenly going away in a huff...

彼得突然轉(zhuǎn)身跑進(jìn)了房間。他在找什么東西。他可以聽到那女孩還在責(zé)備爸爸。她意識(shí)到爸爸花了多少錢——實(shí)際上是她的錢——花在這個(gè)毛毯上。爸爸似乎有點(diǎn)動(dòng)怒了。現(xiàn)在，她怒氣沖沖地掉頭就走……

As Petey came out, she turned and called back, “All the same, he doesn’t need a double blanket!” And she ran off up the path.

彼得出來(lái)的時(shí)候，她正回頭沖爸爸喊道：“甭解釋，他根本用不著雙人毛毯。”然后她又跑上了小徑。

Dad was looking after her as if he wasn’t sure what he ought to do.

爸爸看著她，仿佛不確定自己應(yīng)該做些什么。

“Oh, she’s right,” Petey said. “Here, Dad,”—and he held out a pair of scissors. “Cut the blanket in two.”

“哦，她說(shuō)得對(duì)，”彼得說(shuō)，“這兒，爸爸，給”——他伸出手，遞給爸爸一把剪刀，“把毛毯剪成兩塊。”

“That’s not a bad idea,” said Granddad gently. “I don’t need so much of a blanket.”

“這倒是個(gè)好主意，”爺爺溫和地說(shuō)，“我用不著這么大的毛毯。”

“Yes,” the boy said harshly, “a single blanket’s enough for an old man when he’s sent away. We’ll save the other half, Dad. It’ll come in handy later.”

“是的，”男孩說(shuō)，“把老人家送走時(shí)，給床單人毛毯就不錯(cuò)了。我們還能留下一半，以后遲早總有用處的，爸爸。”

“Now what do you mean by that?” asked Dad.

“你這是什么意思？”爸爸問(wèn)道。

“I mean,” said the boy slowly, “that I’ll give it to you, Dad—when you’re old and I’m sending you—away.”

“我的意思是，”彼得一字一句地說(shuō)道，“那我就等你老了，送你走時(shí)，給你這一半，也要把你送走。”

There was a silence. Then Dad went over to Granddad and stood before him, not speaking. But Granddad understood. He put out a hand and laid it on Dad’s shoulder. And he heard Granddad whisper, “It’s all right, son. I knew you didn’t mean it ... ” And then Petey cried.

一片沉寂的聲音。好半天，爸爸走到爺爺面前，呆呆地，沒(méi)有一句話。但爺爺理解。他伸出一只手來(lái)，把它放在爸爸的肩膀上。爸爸聽到爺爺喃喃地說(shuō)：“沒(méi)關(guān)系，孩子。我知道你不是這么想的……”然后，彼得哭了。

But it didn’t matter—because they were all crying together.

但這沒(méi)什么……因?yàn)樗麄兌伎蘖?，哭成了一團(tuán)。

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