The Ant-Lion1蟻獅

“He can’t get it; he can’t get a hold of it，” Morvenna cried. She thrust suddenly with the end of a twig， trying to push the ant up the shifting sand-slope of the pit. But her brother， lying opposite her， filled his cheeks with air and blew hard. The ant fell back to the pit-bottom， and in a moment the little fury of jaws burst out at it， seized it， vanished again. Only a flurry of sand in the bottom of the little pit marked for a few seconds the ant’s last struggle.

“它抓不到，它抓不住?！蹦哪群暗?。她突然用一根小樹枝的梢頭戳了一下，試圖把螞蟻從小坑的流沙坡推上去。她的弟弟卻趴在對面，鼓起腮幫子使勁吹氣。螞蟻又落回了坑底。這時，有一對小顎立即怒氣沖沖地朝螞蟻伸過去，一下子逮住它，然后又不見了蹤影。只有小坑底一陣沙子亂動，表明螞蟻最后掙扎了幾秒鐘。

The two children sat up slowly. They looked at each other with a kind of guilt. Max’s face was quite red; Morvenna’s mouth was open.

兩個孩子慢慢坐起，面面相覷，一副內(nèi)疚的樣子。馬克斯臉色通紅；莫文娜張著嘴巴。

“How many would he kill， I wonder？” Max said. “That’s three we’ve given him， but they were all little ones. I’ll get a meat-ant and see what he does.”

“我想知道它會咬死多少？”馬克斯說，“我們已經(jīng)給了它三只，但給的都是小不點兒。我去抓一只食肉蟻，看看它會做什么?！?/p>

“Oh no， Max， don’t. I don’t want you to.” Morvenna clenched her hands， but she could not help looking round in the grass for the meat-ant track that led to the anthill further up the slope. Max went across to it， holding his twig， and bent down. Morvenna gave a scream. “If you do， Maxie， I’ll kill the lion. I will， truly.”

“噢，不，馬克斯，不要。我不希望你那樣做?！蹦哪任站o雙手，但她不由得環(huán)顧草地四周，尋找食肉蟻爬向坡上蟻冢的路徑。馬克斯拿著小樹枝走到蟻冢旁，彎下了腰。莫文娜發(fā)出一聲尖叫：“馬克西，你要是那樣做，我就滅了蟻獅。我真的說到做到?！?/p>

“Don’t you dare，” Max said. “It’s the first ant-lion we’ve ever seen and we might never find another. I want to show it to everyone.” He came back， holding his twig gingerly and turning it from end to end as the red ant rushed along it. Meat-ants could bite.

“你可不敢?！瘪R克斯說，“這是我們見到的第一只蟻獅，我們可能永遠都不會再找到另一只了。我想給大家瞧瞧。”馬克斯回來時小心翼翼地拿著小樹枝。食肉紅蟻順著小樹枝匆匆爬，他就把樹枝掉轉(zhuǎn)過來拿著另一端。食肉蟻可是會咬人的。

“Now I’ll put it in，” he said. “Look， Morv.” He shook the twig hard over the little pit， but the ant was obstinate and clung. Angry， intent， he finally dislodged it with a blade of grass.

“現(xiàn)在我要把它放進去?！瘪R克斯說，“瞧，莫芙?！彼谛】由戏绞箘艙u晃樹枝，但那只食肉蟻十分頑強，緊抓樹枝不放。馬克斯既生氣又著急，最終用一片草葉把食肉蟻拂了下去。

Morvenna sat with her hands over her eyes. “No， I won’t look，” she said. “It’s awful of you.”

莫文娜雙手捂眼坐在那里?！安?，我不看?！彼f，“你可真狠?！?/p>

But the ant was in the pit. She peered through the crack between her fingers and saw it. It looked big and strong， frenziedly pulling down the sand of the slope in its struggle to escape. Perhaps it might get away. She took down her hands and leaned forward.

不過，那只食肉蟻就在坑里。莫文娜透過手指之間的縫隙看到了它。那只食肉蟻又大又壯，狂亂地扒拉坡上的沙子，掙扎著要逃出小坑。它也許可以逃脫。莫文娜放下雙手，向前傾身。

Under the sand at the pit-bottom crouched the lion， big as a real lion， waiting for the ant to slide down a little further. But this one was so big， bigger than the ant-lion itself. Max said， “Now we’ll see some sport.”

坑底的沙子下面蹲伏著那只蟻獅，像真獅子一般威風凜凜，它等待著食肉蟻再往下滑一點。但是，那只食肉蟻也很大，比蟻獅還大。馬克斯說：“這下我們有好戲看嘍?！?/p>

The ant was puzzled at the sand that slipped so treacherously and persistently away as it climbed. It stopped， slid， went down almost to the bottom. For a moment there was a stir in the sand there， and Morvenna jumped. The ant might have seen it， too; at any rate it gathered all its strength and made a rush at the slope. The sand slid quickly， but the ant was determined; he had almost reached the top. “Good ant，” Morvenna cried; but Max pushed with his twig， and down went the ant to the bottom.

那只食肉蟻對沙子感到不解，因為它往上爬時，沙子很不牢靠，不斷滑下。它一停下來就滑了下去，差點兒滑到坑底。一時間，坑底的沙子出現(xiàn)一陣騷動，莫文娜跳了起來。那只食肉蟻可能也看到了蟻獅；不管怎樣，它使出全身力氣猛沖上坡。沙子滑得飛快，但那只食肉蟻決心已定，快沖到坡頂了。“好樣的。”莫文娜叫道，但馬克斯用小樹枝推了一下，那只食肉蟻又滑到了坑底。

For a moment nothing happened. “It’s too big，” Max said， and his lips pursed. The two children stared down， lying on their stomachs， heads almost together. The ant hesitated， and began to struggle up against the slope.

一時間，什么也沒發(fā)生?！疤罅?。”馬克斯說著，噘起了嘴。兩個孩子趴在地上，向下盯著，腦袋幾乎貼在一起。那只食肉蟻猶豫了一下，又開始掙扎著爬坡。

But now the ant-lion moved. Quick， dexterous， it thrust its stumpy forelegs from the sand and began to jerk its head. Sand flew up， hindering the big ant， setting the walls slipping down. “Ah，” Max breathed. “Look at that now.”

但這時，蟻獅動了起來。它迅速又靈巧地把短粗的前腿伸出沙子，然后開始猛烈搖頭。沙子揚起，擋住了大食肉蟻，也讓流沙坡往下滑?！鞍?，”馬克斯低聲說道，“快瞧那個?！?/p>

The ant slipped and slipped， staying in the one place. It was growing tired， but it was clearly in a panic; its legs worked frantically. The hot shadows of the tree above moved across and across; the cicadas filled the afternoon with their monotonous shrill. The battle swayed. Morvenna moved aside; her rib was against a knotted root of the tree; and as she moved Max gave a shout of triumph. “Oh， what happened？” She thrust him aside and peered down.

食肉蟻一滑再滑，但始終留在原地。它越來越累，卻顯然驚慌失措，只見幾條腿瘋狂蹬踹。坡上那棵樹的炙熱陰影來回搖晃；單調(diào)的刺耳蟬鳴響徹整個下午。戰(zhàn)局動蕩不定。莫文娜往邊上挪了挪，肋骨靠著那棵樹多結(jié)的根部。她剛一挪動，馬克斯就發(fā)出了勝利的歡呼?！班?，發(fā)生了什么事兒？”莫文娜把馬克斯推到一邊，低頭往下看。

The ant-lion had seized the meat-ant by one leg. Those relentless tool-jaws hung on. The ant， caught at last， was putting out a desperate effort; his free legs thrashed wildly.

蟻獅已經(jīng)抓住了食肉蟻的一條腿。它那如工具鉗般的無情口器緊咬不放。食肉蟻最終還是被捉住了，它拼命掙扎，沒被咬住的幾條腿使勁亂踹。

“I ought to save him，” Morvenna thought. “I oughtn’t to let …” But she no longer wanted to put down her twig， even if Max would let her. She clung to the tree-root with one hand and stared down.

“我應該救它?！蹦哪认?，“我不應該讓……”不過，即使馬克斯讓她把小樹枝伸下去，她也不想再那樣做了。她一只手緊緊抓住樹根，低頭盯著坑里。

The ant grew weaker， slower， his struggle more spasmodic. The lion saw his chance now; he released the leg and made for the ant’s body， seizing him by the abdomen. There was a wild scurry in the pit now， the ant rearing in the fountaining sand. They could see those shovel-jaws working.

食肉蟻越來越虛弱，動作越來越慢，它的掙扎越發(fā)時斷時續(xù)。蟻獅此刻看到了機會，放開了食肉蟻的那條腿，迅速向其身體爬去，一下子咬住對方的腹部。這時，坑里陷入一片混亂，食肉蟻在如流水般的沙子中挺立起來。兩個孩子可以看到蟻獅那鏟子似的口器不斷動著。

A wagtail hopped on the fence， other ants ran placidly about their business， the creek below made its endless liquid noise over the rocks， and the creatures in it engaged in their soundless struggle. The golden air should have been full of their shrieks and groanings.

一只鹡鸰在柵欄上跳來跳去，其他螞蟻平靜地忙著自己的事兒，下面的小溪漫過巖石，發(fā)出無止無休的汩汩聲，而坑里的兩個小東西正在無聲地扭打。金色的空氣中本該充滿它們的尖叫和呻吟。

Now the ant fell. All was over; his waist almost severed， his legs quivering in the air， he lay helpless. How quickly， how ruthlessly， the ant-lion pulled him down， avoiding the last kicks of those thin useless legs， touching him， severing abdomen from body， hiding him in the sand to serve for larder， where the other ants lay. The creature seemed like a little machine. He sent a shudder through Morvenna as she watched him.

這時，食肉蟻倒下了。一切都結(jié)束了；它的腰幾乎斷了，腿在空中微微顫抖；它無助地躺在那里。蟻獅何其快速、何其無情，它把食肉蟻拽到坑底，避開對方無用細腿的最后幾下蹬踢，再按住其身，切斷其腹部，將對方藏在用作食物儲存室的沙子里——那里還躺著其他螞蟻。這只小生物就像一臺小機器。莫文娜看著它，不寒而栗。

Slowly， the lion and his victim sank into the sand. Now they were only humps， sand-covered; now they had vanished. There lay the pit.

慢慢地，蟻獅和它的受害者沉入沙中。它們先是變成裹著沙子的小鼓包，而后銷聲匿跡。只見小坑留在那里。

Max sat up slowly. His eyes looked large and dark.

馬克斯慢慢坐起來，眼睛看起來又大又黑。

“Are you going to put in another？” Morvenna asked. She half-hoped， half-feared it.

“你打算再放一只食肉蟻進去嗎？”莫文娜問。她既希望又害怕。

“No，” Max said. He stood up， not looking at the pit or at Morvenna. “Enough’s enough.”

“不放了。”馬克斯說。他站起來，既沒看坑，也沒瞅莫文娜?！皦蛄?，夠了?！?/p>

“Are you going to bring Harry down and show it to him？” Morvenna persisted.

“你打算帶哈里來看蟻獅嗎？”莫文娜執(zhí)意問道。

“Oh， shut up，” said Max. He stood uncertainly for a moment， detaching himself from the scene， from the afternoon， from Morvenna. Then he set off down the creek-bank， running faster and faster. Morvenna stood hesitating; then she too began to run. At last they stopped， far from the pit， exhausted and panting.

“噢，閉嘴?！瘪R克斯說。他心里沒底，站了一會兒，好讓自己從眼下的場景中、從下午的經(jīng)歷中、從莫文娜的身旁抽離。隨后，他沿著溪岸出發(fā)，跑得越來越快。莫文娜站在那里舉棋不定。接著，她也開始奔跑。最后，兩個孩子停在遠離小坑的地方，筋疲力盡、氣喘吁吁。

“What shall we do now？” Morvenna said.

“我們現(xiàn)在怎么辦呢？”莫文娜問道。

* 本名宋金柱，焦作大學學術(shù)委員會委員，河南省作家協(xié)會會員。迄今已在外文出版社、譯林出版社、人民文學出版社等出版譯著多部。另在《英語世界》《當代外國文學》《譯林》等刊物上發(fā)表譯文多篇。

1原文出自1951年7月25日出版的《公報》雜志（The Bulletin），選用時有刪節(jié)。