海倫·凱勒自傳《我的生活》第24期

Later in the morning we made preparations for a barbecue. A fire was kindled at the bottom of a deep hole in the ground, big sticks were laid crosswise at the top, and meat was hung from them and turned on spits. Around the fire squatted negroes, driving away the flies with long branches. The savoury odour of the meat made me hungry long before the tables were set.

天亮以後，我們就忙着爲野外燒烤做準備。我們在一個深深的土坑裏燃起篝火，把大的柴枝架在火堆頂部，然後再把肉掛在上面炙烤，於是肉噝噝地冒着煙，誘人的香味在空氣中瀰漫。火堆周圍蹲坐着一圈黑人，他們不停地用長樹枝驅趕着飛蛾。不等餐桌布置好，香噴噴的味道就令我飢腸轆轆了。

When the bustle and excitement of preparation was at its height, the hunting party made its appearance, struggling in by twos and threes, the men hot and weary, the horses covered with foam, and the jaded hounds panting and dejected--and not a single kill! Every man declared that he had seen at least one deer, and that the animal had come very close; but however hotly the dogs might pursue the game, however well the guns might be aimed, at the snap of the trigger there was not a deer in sight. They had been as fortunate as the little boy who said he came very near seeing a rabbit—he saw his tracks. The party soon forgot its disappointment, however, and we sat down, not to venison, but to a tamer feast of veal and roast pig.

就在忙碌而興奮的準備工作達到高潮時，狩獵晚會也開始登場了。獵手們疲憊不堪，但熱情不減。馬兒們大汗淋漓，口吐白沫；那些老馬則氣喘吁吁，垂頭喪氣——因爲一頭獵物都沒有打到！每個人都聲稱自己至少見到了一頭鹿，而且曾經距離獵物非常近，然而不管那些獵犬是多麼盡忠職守，獵人的槍口瞄得是多麼地準確無誤，偏偏就在扣動扳機的一剎那，鹿兒倏忽不見了。講述狩獵經過時，他們幸福得像個小男孩。小男孩不是經常說，他曾近距離地看到了一隻兔子——他還看到了兔子的足跡。無論結果怎樣，失望的情緒很快就被晚會的歡笑驅散了。我們圍坐在一起，根本不提野味的事。總之，我們仍會好好地享受小牛肉和烤乳豬這類家庭美食。

One summer I had my pony at Fern Quarry. I called him Black Beauty, as I had just read the book, and he resembled his namesake in every way, from his glossy black coat to the white star on his forehead. I spent many of my happiest hours on his back. Occasionally, when it was quite safe, my teacher would let go the leading-rein, and the pony sauntered on or stopped at his sweet will to eat grass or nibble the leaves of the trees that grew beside the narrow trail.

那年夏天，我把我的小馬駒也帶到了弗恩採石場。我管它叫“黑美人”，這是我剛剛讀過的一本書的名字。我的小馬“人如其名”，從他油光閃亮的黑色“外套”，到他額頭的白色星形，無不俊朗非凡。我在他背上度過了最快樂的時光。有時候，在保證安全的前提下，我的老師也會鬆開繮繩，於是我的小馬駒就會悠閒地在林中漫步，興之所至，他還會停下來吃草，或者是啃食路邊小樹的葉子。

On mornings when I did not care for the ride, my teacher and I would start after breakfast for a ramble in the woods, and allow ourselves to get lost amid the trees and vines, with no road to follow except the paths made by cows and horses. Frequently we came upon impassable thickets which forced us to take a roundabout way. We always returned to the cottage with armfuls of laurel, goldenrod, ferns and gorgeous swamp-flowers such as grow only in the South.

當我不想在早上騎馬的時候，我和我的老師就會在早餐後去森林裏散步。我們讓自己完全迷失在藤蘿綠樹之間，除了被牛兒馬兒踩出的小徑，我們無路可尋。因此，那些攔住去路的灌木叢常常迫使我們迂迴行進。總之，我們最終會滿載而歸地回到小屋，我們的懷裏抱滿了大束的月桂樹枝、一枝黃花、蕨菜和只有在南方纔有的沼澤花卉。

Sometimes I would go with Mildred and my little cousins to gather persimmons. I did not eat them; but I loved their fragrance and enjoyed hunting for them in the leaves and grass. We also went nutting, and I helped them open the chestnut burrs and break the shells of hickory-nuts and walnuts--the big, sweet walnuts!

有時候，我也會和米爾德萊德，還有我的小表妹們一起去摘柿子。我並不吃它們，但是我喜歡聞柿子的香味，喜歡在樹葉間和草地上搜索果實的感覺。我們還去採集堅果，而且，我會幫她們剝開栗子的刺皮，或者敲開核桃和山胡桃的硬殼——那些核桃又大又香甜！

At the foot of the mountain there was a railroad, and the children watched the trains whiz by. Sometimes a terrific whistle brought us to the steps, and Mildred told me in great excitement that a cow or a horse had strayed on the track. About a mile distant there was a trestle spanning a deep gorge. It was very difficult to walk over, the ties were wide apart and so narrow that one felt as if one were walking on knives. I had never crossed it until one day Mildred, Miss Sullivan and I were lost in the woods, and wandered for hours without finding a path.

山腳下有一條鐵路，我們這些孩子會看着火車呼嘯而過。嚇人的汽笛聲常常會把我們吸引到臺階上。米爾德萊德興奮地告訴我，有一頭牛或者一匹馬還在鐵軌上游蕩呢。鐵路沿線大約一英里之外的深谷中，橫跨着一座高架橋。你很難從那裏通過，峽谷很寬，橋樑極窄，走在上面就像行走在刀刃上。我從來沒有去過那裏。直到有一天，米爾德萊德、蘇立文小姐和我在森林裏迷了路，我們轉了好幾個小時都沒有找到一條回家的路。

Suddenly Mildred pointed with her little hand and exclaimed, "There's the trestle!" We would have taken any way rather than this; but it was late and growing dark, and the trestle was a short cut home. I had to feel for the rails with my toe; but I was not afraid, and got on very well, until all at once there came a faint "puff, puff" from the distance.

突然，米爾德萊德指着前方驚叫起來：“那兒有一座高架橋！”我知道，走任何一條路都比走那條路強；但是此時天色漸晚，高架橋是離家最近的通道。於是，我不得不用腳尖探索着橋欄行走。我一點都不害怕，而且感覺良好。走着走着，從遠處隱隱約約地傳來一陣陣噝噝聲。

"I see the train!" cried Mildred, and in another minute it would have been upon us had we not climbed down on the crossbraces while it rushed over our heads. I felt the hot breath from the engine on my face, and the smoke and ashes almost choked us. As the train rumbled by, the trestle shook and swayed until I thought we should be dashed to the chasm below. With the utmost difficulty we regained the track. Long after dark we reached home and found the cottage empty; the family were all out hunting for us.

“我看見火車了！”米爾德萊德喊道。如果我們不爬到下面的橋桁上，那麼一分鐘後，火車就會衝我們迎面駛來。當時，我能夠感覺到火車頭的蒸汽瀰漫在四周，煙霧和灰塵幾乎令我們窒息。當火車從我們身邊隆隆駛過時，鐵橋也被震得晃動起來，我想我們很可能會掉進腳下的深谷裏。費了好一番周折，我們總算又回到了鐵軌上。到家時天早已經黑了，小屋裏闃無一人，原來家人們全都出去找我們了。