Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger

文/赫克托·休·芒羅 譯/王鑫昊 審訂/寧一中

It was Mrs. Packletide’s pleasure and intention that she should shoot a tiger.Not that the lust to kill had suddenly descended on her, or that she felt that she would leave India safer and more wholesome than she had found it, with one fraction less of wild beast per million of inhabitants. The compelling motive for her sudden deviation22 deviation偏離；違背。towards the footsteps of Nimrod33寧錄，英勇的獵戶。出自《圣經·創(chuàng)世記》10∶8—10∶9。was the fact that Loona Bimberton had recently been carried eleven miles in an aeroplane by an Algerian aviator, and talked of nothing else; only a personally procured44 procure（設法）獲得。tiger-skin and a heavy harvest of Press photographs could successfully counter that sort of thing. Mrs. Packletide had already arranged in her mind the lunch she would give at her house in Curzon Street, ostensibly in Loona Bimberton’s

帕克泰德夫人打死一只老虎，這可是能讓她高興的事。不是因為她突然就對老虎動了殺機，也不是因為她覺得在印度，讓每百萬居民中的野獸數量稍少一點，就會使印度比以前更安全一些。促使她突然轉向、步寧錄后塵的動機是：魯娜·賓波頓最近乘了一架阿爾及利亞飛行員開的飛機，飛了11英里，而后除了對此事喋喋不休外，就不談其他的事；只有親自獵虎獲取一張虎皮，有大量照片見諸報刊，才可能成功抵制此事。帕克泰德夫人心中早已策劃好，她要在寇松街的住所辦一場午宴，表面上是為了請魯娜·賓波頓，卻把那張虎皮毯擺在最顯眼的honour, with a tiger-skin rug occupying most of the foreground and all of the conversation. She had also already designed in her mind the tiger-claw broach that she was going to give Loona Bimberton on her next birthday. In a world that is supposed to be chiefly swayed5sway支配；影響。by hunger and by love Mrs. Packletide was an exception; her movements and motives were largely governed by dislike of Loona Bimberton.位置，所有的交談也不離虎皮毯這件事。要在魯娜·賓波頓下次生日時送她的虎爪胸針，帕克泰德夫人也早在心中設計好了。在一個人們本應主要受饑餓與愛情支配的世界里，帕克泰德夫人卻是個例外；控制她的行為與動機的，主要是對魯娜·賓波頓的厭惡。

[2] Circumstances proved propitious6propitious吉利的。.Mrs. Packletide had offered a thousand rupees for the opportunity of shooting a tiger without over-much risk or exertion,and it so happened that a neighbouring village could boast of being the favoured rendezvous7rendezvous光顧的場所。of an animal of respectable antecedents, which had been driven by the increasing infirmities of age to abandon game-killing and con fi ne its appetite to the smaller domestic animals.The prospect of earning the thousand rupees had stimulated the sporting8sporting好賭的；投機的。and commercial instinct of the villagers; children were posted night and day on the outskirts of the local jungle to head the tiger back in the unlikely event of his attempting to roam away to fresh huntinggrounds, and the cheaper kinds of goats were left about with elaborate carelessness to keep him satisfied with his present quarters. The one great anxiety

[2]一切都順風順水。帕克泰德夫人已懸賞一千盧比，不用冒多大風險、費多大氣力就有機會打到一只老虎。正巧，鄰近村莊揚言稱，有一只品種名貴的老虎喜歡在當地出沒，已經老態(tài)龍鐘，日益體衰，難以獵食，只靠捕一些小點兒的家畜填填肚皮。村民們一想到有一千盧比可賺，湊湊熱鬧掙點錢的心便激起來了。無論白天黑夜，都有孩子們在當地的叢林附近把守站崗，萬一老虎要轉向新獵場（這種可能性很?。?，他們會把它趕回去。精心挑選的幾只便宜些的山羊，也故意隨便散放著，讓老虎對自己當前的棲息場所感到滿足。唯一讓人們特別擔心的是，老虎在那位夫人定好的射獵日期前因年邁而一命嗚呼。白天was lest he should die of old age before the date appointed for the memsahib’s shoot. Mothers carrying their babies home through the jungle after the day’s work in the fi elds hushed their singing lest they might curtail the restful sleep of the venerable herd-robber.干完田里的活兒，母親們帶著孩子穿過叢林回家時，也不高聲唱歌，就怕驚擾那位“尊貴的畜獵者”寧靜的休息。

[3] The great night duly arrived, moonlit and cloudless. A platform had been constructed in a comfortable and conveniently placed tree, and thereon crouched Mrs. Packletide and her paid companion,Miss Mebbin. A goat, gifted with a particularly persistent bleat9bleat羊的咩咩聲。, such as even a partially deaf tiger might be reasonably expected to hear on a still night, was tethered at the correct distance. With an accurately sighted rifle and a thumb-nail pack of patience cards the sportswoman awaited the coming of the quarry.

[3]美好的夜晚如期而至，明月朗朗，萬里無云。在一棵舒適而又位置便利的樹上搭建了一座平臺，帕克泰德夫人和她雇來的同伴梅賓小姐就趴在上面。距離不遠不近的地方拴著一只山羊，不斷發(fā)出咩咩的叫聲，是那種在這寂靜的夜晚、哪怕一只半聾的老虎也能聽得見的聲響。手持一桿校準的獵槍，帶著一副微型單人紙牌，這位女獵手就守在此處等著老虎的到來。

[4] “I suppose we are in some danger?” said Miss Mebbin.

[5] She was not actually nervous about the wild beast, but she had a morbid dread of performing an atom100 atom一點兒。more service than she had been paid for.

[6] “Nonsense,” said Mrs. Packletide;“it’s a very old tiger. It couldn’t spring up here even if it wanted to.”

[7] “If it’s an old tiger I think you ought to get it cheaper. A thousand rupees is a lot of money.”

[8] Louisa Mebbin adopted a protective elder-sister attitude towards money

[4]“我想咱們現在有些危險??？”梅賓小姐說。

[5]她倒不是因這只野獸感到緊張，而是服務范圍哪怕超過一丁點兒報酬所值，她就會心神不安。

[6]“胡說，”帕克泰德夫人說道，“這是只年邁的虎。就是它想跳起來也跳不動啊。”

[7]“若這只虎上了年紀，我想，你就該少出點錢。一千盧比可不是小數目。”

[8]對于金錢，無論是哪一國家的貨幣，無論多大面值，in general, irrespective of11irrespective of不管；無論。nationality or denomination12denomination面額。. Her energetic intervention had saved many a trouble from dissipating13dissipate揮霍（金錢等）。itself in tips in some Moscow hotel, and francs and centimes14centime生?。ǚ▏泿艈挝唬lung to her instinctively under circumstances which would have driven them headlong from less sympathetic hands. Her speculations as to the market depreciation of tiger remnants15remnant剩余部分；殘余；幸存者；零料。were cut short by the appearance on the scene of the animal itself. As soon as it caught sight of the tethered goat it lay flat on the earth,seemingly less from a desire to take advantage of all available cover than for the purpose of snatching a short rest before commencing the grand attack.露易莎·梅賓都持有一種大姐大的保護態(tài)度。因為努力交涉，她在莫斯科某旅館節(jié)省了不少錢，沒當小費付出去；法郎和生丁也本能地貼著她，在某些場合,若是不會節(jié)省的人，早就把這些錢拱手給了他人。她正在想著老虎的零料貶值的事，突然老虎出現了，打斷了她的思考。一看到那只拴著的山羊，老虎就平臥在地，似乎并非利用一切條件作掩護，而是在展開猛攻之前，先搶時間稍事休息。

[9] “I believe it’s ill,” said Louisa Mebbin, loudly in Hindustani16Hindustani印度斯坦語。, for the bene fi t of the village headman, who was in ambush in a neighbouring tree.

[10] “Hush!” said Mrs. Packletide,and at that moment the tiger commenced ambling17amble（馬）緩行；從容地走；漫步。towards his victim.

[11] “Now, now!” urged Miss Mebbin with some excitement; “If he doesn’t touch the goat we needn’t pay for it.”(The bait was an extra.)

[12] The ri fl e fl ashed out with a loud report, and the great tawny18tawny黃褐色的。beast sprang to one side and then rolled over

[9]“我想它肯定病了?！甭兑咨っ焚e操著印度斯坦語喊道。聲音不小，為了讓埋伏在臨旁樹上的村長聽到。

[10]“噓！”帕克泰德夫人說，就在這時，那只老虎站了起來，開始慢慢地靠近獵物。

[11]“快，快！”梅賓小姐略顯激動地催促著，“老虎要是沒咬上那只羊，咱們就不用付錢了。”（羊作誘餌的錢另算。）

[12]獵槍“砰”的一聲，發(fā)出了一陣巨響。那只碩大的黃褐色猛獸跳向一邊，然后滾in the stillness of death. In a moment a crowd of excited natives had swarmed19swarm擠滿。on to the scene, and their shouting speedily carried the glad news to the village,where a thumping20thumping重擊。of tom-toms211 tom-tom桶子鼓；咚咚鼓。took up the chorus of triumph. And their triumph and rejoicing found a ready echo in the heart of Mrs. Packletide; already that luncheon-party in Curzon Street seemed immeasurably nearer.到地上，一動不動地，死了。霎時，一群興奮不已的當地村民蜂擁而至，見到此象，他們歡呼雀躍，這個好消息迅速傳進村子，村里鑼鼓喧天，如勝利的合唱般響徹村落。村民勝利的喜悅自然也在帕克泰德夫人心中產生共鳴；寇松街的午宴似乎指日可待了。

[13] It was Louisa Mebbin who drew attention to the fact that the goat was in death-throes22deaththroes臨終的劇痛；死前的掙扎。from a mortal bulletwound, while no trace of the rifle’s deadly work could be found on the tiger. Evidently the wrong animal had been hit, and the beast of prey had succumbed23succumb屈服；死亡。to heart-failure, caused by the sudden report of the ri fl e, accelerated by senile24senile衰老的；高齡所致的。decay. Mrs. Packletide was pardonably annoyed at the discovery; but,at any rate, she was the possessor of a dead tiger, and the villagers, anxious for their thousand rupees, gladly connived25connive默許；附合。at the fi ction that she had shot the beast.And Miss Mebbin was a paid companion. Therefore did Mrs. Packletide face the cameras with a light heart, and her pictured fame reached from the pages of theTexas Weekly Snapshotto the illustrated Monday supplement of theNovoe Vremya. As for Loona Bimber-

[13]還是露易莎·梅賓提醒大家注意，身中致命的槍傷、臨死掙扎的是那只羊，而在老虎身上見不到任何槍傷的痕跡。顯然，獵槍打錯了對象，老虎的死是由于突然的一聲槍響，加之高齡和衰弱的身體，心臟病發(fā)而亡。帕克泰德夫人對這一發(fā)現有些氣惱，這也情有可原；但無論如何，一只老虎總算到手，而村民們因對一千盧比的熱望，也欣然默許是她射殺了這只野獸。而梅賓小姐是花錢雇來的。就這樣，帕克泰德夫人面對照相機，心情很輕松。從《得克薩斯每周快照》到俄國的《新時代》星期一插圖增刊，打虎照使她聲名鵲起。魯娜·賓波頓呢，她一連好幾周對有插圖的報紙看都不看，收到虎爪胸針的贈禮ton, she refused to look at an illustrated paper for weeks, and her letter of thanks for the gift of a tiger-claw broach was a model of repressed emotions. The luncheon-party she declined; there are limits beyond which repressed emotions become dangerous.后寫答謝信時，她對情緒的克制堪稱典范。對那場午宴，她謝絕了；情緒的克制畢竟有個限度，超出限度就危險了。

[14] From Curzon Street the tigerskin rug travelled down to the Manor House26manor house（中世紀莊園主的）宅邸。, and was duly inspected and admired by the county, and it seemed a fi tting and appropriate thing when Mrs.Packletide went to the County Costume Ball27costume ball化裝舞會。in the character of Diana28羅馬神話中的處女守護神，狩獵女神和月亮女神。.

[15] “How amused every one would be if they knew what really happened,”said Louisa Mebbin a few days after the ball.

[16] “What do you mean?” asked Mrs. Packletide quickly.

[17] “How you shot the goat and frightened the tiger to death,” said Miss Mebbin, with her disagreeably pleasant laugh.

[18] “No one would believe it,” said Mrs. Packletide, her face changing colour as rapidly as though it were going through a book of patterns before posttime.

[19] “Loona Bimberton would,” said Miss Mebbin. Mrs. Packletide’s face settled on an unbecoming29unbecoming不合身的；不相配的；難看的。shade of

[14]那張虎皮毯從寇松街一路運到了領主莊園，果然全郡的人都去瞻仰。繼而當地舉行化裝舞會時，帕克泰德夫人裝扮成獵神戴安娜，真是恰當不過。

[15]“大家若知道了真相，該會覺得多么可笑?！蔽钑滋旌螅兑咨っ焚e說道。

[16]“什么意思？”帕克泰德夫人急急地問。

[17]“就是你怎么打死了羊，嚇死了老虎的事啊。”梅賓小姐回答，臉上的笑容令人很是不快。

[18]“沒人會相信的?！迸量颂┑路蛉苏f。她的臉色急劇變化著，像是在寄送之前，急速地翻閱一本畫冊一樣。

[19]“魯娜·賓波頓就會吧。”梅賓小姐說。帕克泰德夫人頓時臉色發(fā)青，煞是難看。

[20]“你不會泄密吧？”她問道。

[21]“我看準了達爾菁附greenish white.

[20] “You surely wouldn’t give me away?” she asked.

[21] “I’ve seen a weekend cottage near Darking that I should rather like to buy,” said Miss Mebbin with seeming irrelevance. “Six hundred and eighty,freehold. Quite a bargain, only I don’t happen to have the money.”

[22] Louisa Mebbin’s pretty weekend cottage, christened30christen給……施洗禮；(施洗時)為……命名，給……取名為。by her “Les Fauves,” and gay in summer-time with its garden borders31border（草坪邊等的）狹長花壇。of tiger-lilies322 tiger-lily卷丹，又稱虎皮百合，百合科百合屬植物。,is the wonder and admiration of her friends.

[23] “It is a marvel how Louisa manages to do it,” is the general verdict.

[24] Mrs. Packletide indulges in no more big-game shooting.

[25] “The incidental expenses are so heavy,” she confides to inquiring friends. ■近的一幢度假別墅，想買下來?！泵焚e小姐好似漫不經心地說道，“680鎊，產權終身，真劃算，只是不巧，我就缺這筆錢?！?/p>

[22]露易莎·梅賓給她美麗的度假別墅取名為“野獸”。夏天，花園里開滿卷丹花，一派生機盎然。在朋友們眼里，這套別墅堪稱奇觀，大家贊不絕口。

[23]“露易莎·梅賓居然買上了這么好的別墅，真是不可思議?！比藗兌歼@么說。

[24]帕克泰德夫人從此不再沉迷于打猛獸了。

[25]“額外的花銷太大?！彼龑μ絾柧烤沟呐笥褌兲孤兜馈?□