諾貝爾文學經典:《寵兒》第1章Part 12
"I had milk," she said. "I was pregnant with Denver but I had milk for my baby girl. I hadn'tstopped nursing her when I sent her on ahead with Howard and Buglar."Now she rolled the dough out with a wooden pin. "Anybody could smell me long before he sawme. And when he saw me he'd see the drops of it on the front of my dress. Nothing I could doabout that. All I knew was I had to get my milk to my baby girl. Nobody was going to nurse herlike me. Nobody was going to get it to her fast enough, or take it away when she had enough anddidn't know it. Nobody knew that she couldn't pass her air if you held her up on your shoulder,only if she was lying on my knees. Nobody knew that but me and nobody had her milk but me. Itold that to the women in the wagon. Told them to put sugar water in cloth to suck from so when Igot there in a few days she wouldn't have forgot me. The milk would be there and I would be therewith it.""Men don't know nothing much," said Paul D, tucking his pouch back into his vest pocket, "butthey doknow a suckling can't be away from its mother for long."
"Then they know what it's like to send your children off when your breasts are full."
"We was talking 'bout a tree, Sethe.""After I left you, those boys came in there and took my 's what they came in there for. Held me down and took it. I told Mrs. Garner on em. She hadthat lump and couldn't speak but her eyes rolled out tears. Them boys found out I told on olteacher made one open up my back, and when it closed it made a tree. It grows there still.""They used cowhide on you?""And they took my milk.""They beat you and you was pregnant?"
"我那時候有奶水，"她說，"我懷着丹芙，可還有奶水給小女兒。直到我把她和霍華德、巴格勒先送走的時候，我還一直奶着她呢。"她用擀麪杖把麪糰擀開。"人們沒看見我就聞得着。所以他一見我就看到了我裙子前襟的奶漬。我一點辦法都沒有。我只知道我得爲我的小女兒生奶水。沒人會像我那樣奶她。沒人會像我那樣，總是儘快喂上她，或是等她吃飽了、可自己還不知道的時候就馬上拿開。誰都不知道她只有躺在我的腿上才能打嗝，你要是把她扛在肩膀上她就不行了。除了我誰也不知道，除了我誰也沒有給她的奶水。我跟大車上的女人們說了。跟她們說用布蘸上糖水讓她咂，這樣幾天後我趕到那裏時，她就不會忘了我。奶水到的時候，我也就跟着到了。""男人可不懂那麼多，"保羅·D說着，把煙口袋又揣回馬甲兜裏，"可他們知道，一個吃奶的娃娃不能離開娘太久。"
"那他們也知道你乳房漲滿時把你的孩子送走是什麼滋味。"
"我們剛纔在談一棵樹，塞絲。""我離開你以後，那兩個傢伙去了我那兒，搶走了我的奶水。他們就是爲那個來的。把我按倒，吸走了我的奶水。我向加納太太告了他們。她長着那個包，不能講話，可她眼裏流了淚。那些傢伙發現我告了他們-學校老師-讓一個傢伙劃開我的後背，傷口癒合時就成了一棵樹。它還在那兒長着呢。""他們用皮鞭抽你了？""還搶走了我的奶水。""你懷着孩子他們還打你？"
