英譯現(xiàn)代散文●冬陽·童年·駱駝隊(duì) ◎ 林海音

冬陽·童年·駱駝隊(duì)

Winter Sun? Childhood? Caravan

◎　林海音

◎　Lin Haiyin

駱駝隊(duì)來了，停在我家門前。

The caravan of camels arrived and stopped in front of our home.

它們排列成一長(zhǎng)串，沉默的站著，等候人們的安排。天氣又干又冷。拉駱駝的摘下了他的氈帽，禿瓢兒上冒著熱氣，是一股白色的煙，融入干冷的大氣中。

Standing in a long string, they silently awaited their master's bidding. It was dry and cold. The camel driver took off his felt cap, his sweaty bald pate giving off puffs of whitish steam to blend into the dry and cold air.

爸爸在和他講價(jià)錢。雙峰的駝背上，每匹都馱著兩麻袋煤。我在想，麻袋里面是“南山高末”呢?還是“烏金墨玉”?我常?？匆婍槼墙置簵５陌讐ι?，寫著這樣幾個(gè)大黑字。但是拉駱駝的說，他們從門頭溝來，他們和駱駝，是一步一步走來的。

Father was haggling over prices with him. The camels had each two sacks of coal on their two-humped backs. I was curious about the sacks of“top-grade coal dust from Southern Mountain”or“black gold and inky jade”, as I often saw in ads splashed in large black Chinese characters over the white wall of the coal storehouse near the city wall. But the camel driver said he had trekked with the camels all the way from Mentougou, step by step.

另外一個(gè)拉駱駝的，在招呼駱駝們吃草料。它們把前腳一屈，屁股一撅，就跪了下來。

The camels knelt down by bending their front legs and sticking up their bottoms while another camel driver was giving out fodder to them.

爸爸已經(jīng)和他們講好價(jià)錢了。人在卸煤，駱駝在吃草。我站在駱駝的面前，看它們吃草料咀嚼的樣子：那樣丑的臉，那樣長(zhǎng)的牙，那樣安靜的態(tài)度。它們咀嚼的時(shí)候，上牙和下牙交錯(cuò)的磨來磨去，大鼻孔里冒著熱氣，白沫子沾滿在胡須上。我看得呆了，自己的牙齒也動(dòng)起來。

After father had finished bargaining, the camel drivers began unloading the coal while the camels were eating. I stood in front of the camels, lost in watching the way they were chewing the fodder as well as their ugly faces, long teeth and composure. They were busy grinding their upper and lower teeth together with steam let out of their nostrils and foam forming all over their beards. I looked blankly and involuntarily started grinding my teeth, too.

老師教給我，要學(xué)駱駝，沉得住氣的動(dòng)物。看它從不肯急，慢慢的走，慢慢的嚼;總會(huì)走到的，總會(huì)吃飽的。也許它天生是該慢慢的，偶然躲避車子跑兩步，姿勢(shì)很難看。

As my teacher told me, I should learn from the camel — an animal so calm and steady and so patient. It moves slowly, but never fails to reach the destination of its journey; it chews its food slowly, but never fails to get its fill. Maybe it is slow by nature. Occasionally it will take a few quickened steps to dodge a car, but in a very awkward manner though.

駱駝隊(duì)伍過來時(shí)，你會(huì)知道，打頭兒的那一匹，長(zhǎng)脖子底下總會(huì)系著一個(gè)鈴鐺，走起來，“鐺、鐺、鐺”的響。

When a caravan was approaching, people would hear the ding-dong of a bell tied under the long neck of the leading animal.

“為什么要一個(gè)鈴鐺?”我不懂的事就要問一問。

“What's the use of the bell?”I asked out of childish curiosity.

爸爸告訴我，駱駝很怕狼，因?yàn)槔菚?huì)咬它們，所以人類給他們帶上了鈴鐺，狼聽見鈴鐺的聲音，知道那是有人類在保護(hù)著，就不敢侵犯了。

Father explained that since camels were in danger of being attacked by wolves, a bell was hung on them to clang a warning to the latter that the former were under human protection.

我的幼稚心靈中卻充滿了和大人不同的想法，我對(duì)爸爸說：

However, as a naïve little child, I had a lot of ideas of my own, all different from those of grown-ups. I said,

“不是的，爸!它們軟軟的腳掌走在軟軟的沙漠上，沒有一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)聲音，你不是說，它們走上三天三夜都不喝一口水，只是不聲不響的咀嚼著從胃里倒出來的食物嗎?一定是拉駱駝的人類，耐不住那長(zhǎng)途寂寞的旅程，所以才給駱駝帶上了鈴鐺，增加一些行路的情趣。”

“No, dad! Camels walk noiselessly with the soft soles of their feet on soft sand. Didn't you tell me that they can keep walking three days and three nights without drinking a single drop of water, and all they do is chew their cud quietly? Camel drivers must be bored with the dull job. So they hang bells on their animals to make the journey more cheerful.”

爸爸想了想，笑笑說：

Father pondered for a moment and said smilingly,

“也許，你的想法更美些。”

“Your explanation sounds more picturesque.”

冬天快過完了，春天就要來，太陽特別的暖和，暖得讓人想把棉襖脫下來?？刹皇敲?駱駝也脫掉它的舊駝絨袍子啦!它的毛皮一大塊一大塊的從身上掉下來，垂在肚皮底下。我真想拿把剪刀替它們剪一剪，因?yàn)樘徽R了。拉駱駝的人也一樣，他們身上那件反穿大羊皮，也都脫下來了，搭在駱駝背的小峰上，麻袋空了，“烏金墨玉”都賣了，鈴鐺在輕松的步伐里響得更清脆。

As winter was drawing to an end and spring coming nearer, the sun became so warm that people felt like taking off their cotton-padded jackets. The camels, too, started to cast off their old hairy robes! Their hair was coming off in tufts and left dangling scruffily from under their bellies. How I wanted to shear it off! The camel drivers, too, took off the sheepskin over coats they had been wearing inside out and had them draped over the camels' backs. Now that the sacks had been emptied and the“black gold and inky jade”sold out, the caravan resumed its journey with brisk steps, the clanking bell sounding even more crisp and pleasing.

夏天來了，再不見駱駝的影子，我又問媽：

Summer came, but the camels were nowhere to be found. I again asked mother,

“夏天它們到哪里去?”

“Where are they gone in summer?”

“誰?”

“Who?”

“駱駝呀!”

“The camels.”

媽媽回答不上來了，她說：

Mother was at a loss for words, then said,

“總是問，總是問，你這孩子!”

“You're always asking questions ..., my child!”

夏天過去，秋天過去，冬天又來了，駱駝隊(duì)又來了，但是童年卻一去不還。冬陽底下學(xué)駱駝咀嚼的傻事，我也不會(huì)再做了。

Summer went, autumn went, and winter came again with the caravan. But my childhood was gone never to return. And never again would I commit the folly of mimicking the way a camel would chew under the winter sun.

可是，我是多么想念童年住在北京城南的那些景色和人物啊，我對(duì)自己說，把它們寫下來吧，讓實(shí)際的童年過去，心靈的童年永存下來。

I always cherish memories of the scenery and persons I saw in my childhood when I lived in the South End of Peking.

“Why not write about them so that the childhood of my heart will last forever when the childhood of my life is gone?”said I to myself.

就這樣，我寫了一本《城南舊事》。

Hence my book Old Stories from the South End.

我默默的想，慢慢的寫?？匆姸栂碌鸟橊勱?duì)走過來，聽見緩慢悅耳的鈴聲，童年重臨于我的心頭。

As I wrote contemplatively and slowly, I visualized the caravan approaching in the winter sun and heard the pleasant ding-dong of the camel bell. My childhood days returned to my mind.

本文作者林海音(1918—2001)，女，臺(tái)灣苗栗人，生于日本大阪，1923年隨父母回國(guó)，在北京度過了童年與青年時(shí)期，大學(xué)畢業(yè)后任北京《世界日?qǐng)?bào)》記者。1948年到臺(tái)灣，1955年主編《聯(lián)合報(bào)》副刊，1967年創(chuàng)辦和主編《純文學(xué)》月刊。回顧北京城南的歷歷往事所寫的《城南舊事》，是她最受讀者喜愛的一本書，后已改編成電影。她的作品洋溢著濃郁的鄉(xiāng)愁，具有典雅柔美的風(fēng)格。