英譯現(xiàn)代散文●駱駝 ◎ 梁實秋

駱駝

The Camel

◎　梁實秋

◎　Liang Shiqiu

臺北沒有什么好去處。我從前常喜歡到動物園走動走動，其中兩個地方對我有誘惑。一個是一家茶館，有高屋建瓴之勢，憑窗遠眺，一片油綠的田疇，小川蜿蜒其間，頗可使人目曠神怡。另一值得看的便是那一雙駱駝了。

Few places in Taipei are of much appeal to me except the zoo which I used to frequent for its two attractions, namely, the teahouse commanding a pleasant distant view from the window over the surrounding farmlands with fresh green vegetation and meandering streams, and the two camels.

有人喜歡看猴子，看那些乖巧伶俐的動物，略具人形，而生活究竟簡陋，于是令人不由的生出優(yōu)越之感，掏一把花生米擲進去。有人喜歡看獅子跳火圈，狗作算術(shù)，老虎翻筋斗，覺得有趣。我之看駱駝則是另外一種心情，駱駝扮演的是悲劇的角色。它的檻外是冷清清的，沒有游人圍繞，所謂檻也只是一根杉木橫著攔在門口。地上是爛糟糟的泥。它臥在那里，老遠一看，真像是大塊的毛姜。逼近一看，可真嚇人!一塊塊的毛都在脫落，斑駁的皮膚上隱隱的露著血跡。嘴張著，下巴垂著，有上氣無下氣的在喘。水汪汪的兩只大眼睛好像是眼淚撲簌的盼望著能見親族一面似的。腰間的肋骨歷歷可數(shù)，頸子又細又長，尾巴像是一條破掃帚。駝峰只剩下了干皮，像是一只麻袋搭在背上。駱駝為什么落到這悲慘地步呢?難道“沙漠之舟”的雄姿即不過如是么?

Some people like to amuse themselves by watching the playfulness of clever monkeys which, though slightly manlike, are after all simpleminded animals. That's why people cannot help feeling a sense of superiority and throwing them handfuls of peanuts. Some people enjoy seeing lions jumping through a fiery hoop, dogs doing easy sums, or tigers turning a somersault. But it was with a different state of mind for me to watch the camels playing a tragic role. They had few onlookers and were separated by a fir log across the entrance instead of a fence. Lying on the muddy ground, they resembled huge pieces of ginger when looked at from afar. And it gave me quite a shock to take a closer look. Their hair was falling off in patches, faintly revealing blood-stains on the skin. They were gasping for breath, with mouth wide open, chin drooping and watery big eyes seemingly brimming with tears of longing for their beloved ones. They were so skinny that their ribs showed through distinctly, their necks thin and long, and their tails like a worn-out broom. Nothing remained of their humps but the dried up skin resting on their backs like a gunnysack. O how did they get into such a pitiful plight? O where was the majestic appearance of the“ships of the desert”?

我心目中的駱駝不是這樣的。兒時在家鄉(xiāng)，一聽見大銅鈴玎玎珰珰就知道送煤的駱駝隊來了，往往奪門出視。一根細繩穿系著好幾只駱駝，有時是十只八只的，一順的立在路邊。滿臉煤污的煤商一聲吆喝，駱駝便乖乖的跪下來給人卸貨，嘴角往往流著白沫，口里不住地嚼——反芻。有時還跟著一只小駱駝，幾乎用跑步在后面追隨著。面對著這樣龐大而溫馴的馱獸，我們不能不驚異的欣賞。

That, however, is not what a camel looks like in my mind's eye. In my childhood, the jingling of big bronze camel bells in my home town would always send me rushing outdoors to see a caravan arriving with a load of coal. The camels, sometimes numbering about ten, would stand roped up in a line, one after another, by the road. At the loud call of the coal trader, whose face was smeared all over with coal dust, the camels would submissively kneel down, ready to be unloaded. Foaming at the mouth, they kept chewing the cud. Sometimes, close at their heels was a calf trying ever so hard to catch up at a quickened pace. These heavily-built, docile pack animals were just amazing and adorable.

是亞熱帶的氣候不適于駱駝居住。非洲北部的國家有駱駝兵團，在沙漠中馳騁，以驍勇善戰(zhàn)著名，不過那駱駝是單峰駱駝，不是我們所說的雙峰駱駝。動物園的那一雙駱駝不久就不見了，標本室也沒有空間容納它們。我從此也不大常去動物園了。我常想：公文書里罷黜一個人的時候常用“人地不宜”四字，總算是一個比較體面的下臺的借口。這駱駝之黯然消逝，也許就是類似“人地不宜”之故罷?生長在北方大地之上的巨獸，如何能局促在這樣的小小圈子里，如何能耐得住這炎熱的郁蒸?它們當(dāng)然要憔悴，要悒悒，要委頓以死。我想它們看著身上的毛一塊塊脫落，真的要變成為“有板無毛”的狀態(tài)，心里多么凄涼!真不知是什么人惡作劇，把它們運到此間，使得它們嘗受這一段酸辛，使得我們也感嘆!

Camels do not adapt to the climate of subtropical zones. Northern African countries are known for their brave military camel corps in the deserts, but the camels involved are one-humped dromedaries, not the two-humped Bactrian camels as we are familiar with. The two camels soon disappeared from the zoo, and the specimen room did not have room enough to exhibit them. So, from then on, I seldom visited the zoo. I understand“failed acclimatization”is a face-saving excuse commonly used in officialese to refer to someone's removal from a position. Now the dismal fadeaway of the two camels must be for some similar reasons. How could the two big animals born and brought up in the vast northern plains of China long survive confinement in a small place like the zoo? How could they endure the sweltering heat? Of course, consequently they pined away with weariness and spent their days moping around until they died. How sad they must have been over their thinning hair! Who is to blame for having mischievously brought them to Taipei to undergo untold sufferings? They certainly deserve our deep sympathies!

其實，駱駝不僅是在這炎蒸之地難以生存，就是在北方大陸其命運也是在日趨于衰微。在運輸事業(yè)機械化的時代，誰還肯牽著一串串的駱駝?wù)袚u過市?沙漠地帶該是駱駝的用武之地了，但現(xiàn)在沙漠里聽說也有了現(xiàn)代的交通工具。駱駝是馴獸，自己不復(fù)能在野外繁殖謀生。等到為人類服務(wù)的機會完全消滅的時候，我不知道它將如何繁衍下去。最悲慘的是，大家都譏笑它是獸類中最蠢的當(dāng)中的一個;因為它只會消極的忍耐。給它背上馱五磅的重載，它會跪下來承受。它肯食用大多數(shù)哺乳動物所拒絕食用的荊棘苦草，它肯飲用帶鹽味的臟水。它奔走三天三夜可以不喝水，并不是因為它的肚子里儲藏著水，是因為它在體內(nèi)由于脂肪氧化而制造出水。它的駝峰據(jù)說是美味，我雖未嘗過，可是想想熊掌的味道，大概也不過爾爾。像這樣的動物若是從地面上消逝，可能不至于引起多少人惋惜。尤其是在如今這個世界，大家所最歡喜豢養(yǎng)的乃是善伺人意的哈巴狗，像駱駝這樣的“任重而道遠”的家伙，恐怕只好由它一聲不響的從這世界舞臺上退下去罷!

In fact, camels find it difficult to subsist not only in this hot region, but also in the northern plains of China. Nowadays, with the introduction of mechanized transportation, nobody will ever drive a drove of camels, all strung together, through the open street. Camels used to play a useful role as“ships of the desert”, but now, I hear, they have been largely replaced by modern means of transport. As tame animals, they are unable to live all by themselves in a wild state. I wonder if they can still manage to live and breed once they cease to be at man's service. Sad to say, people all sneeringly call them one of the most stupid categories of animals because all they can do is submit and endure passively. They kneel down obediently to be loaded with heavy weights. They exist on low-grade diets, such as tape grass, thistles and thorns, which most mammals refuse to eat. They drink saltish filthy water. They trek for three days and nights without drinking any water, not because they have water stored in their stomachs, but because the fat inside their bodies produce water through oxidation. The hump is considered a delicacy. I have never eaten it, but, I think, it must taste no better than a bear's paw. While probably few people now bemoan the possible extinction of camels, Pekingese, which are good at playing up to man, have become a pet with all. O if only we could do something to prevent this useful animal from its silent withdrawal from the world stage!

梁實秋(1902—1987)，北京人，原籍浙江杭縣(今余杭)，著名現(xiàn)代散文家、翻譯家、教育家?！恶橊劇芬晃氖撬暮笃谏⑽?，寫于臺北，文章托物遣懷，流露出久居臺灣的老一代人嘆老感時、懷鄉(xiāng)思國的情懷。