Magpie over the Hill山崗那邊的喜鵲

I" llay often that summer on a slope of sand and coarse grass， close to the Cornish sea， trying to catch thoughts; and I was trying very hard when I saw them coming hand in hand.

那年夏天，我經常躺在康沃爾海岸附近一道長著粗草的沙坡上，盡力厘清心中的想法。我正苦思冥想，突然看到他們手拉著手走來。

She was dressed in blue linen， and a little cloud of honey-coloured hair; her small face had serious eyes the colour of the chicory flowers she was holding up to sniff at—a clean sober little maid， with a very touching upward look of trust. Her companion was a strong， active boy of perhaps fourteen， and he， too， was serious—his deep-set， blacklashed eyes looked down at her with a queer protective wonder; the while he explained in a soft voice broken up between two ages， that exact process which bees adopt to draw honey out of flowers. Once or twice this hoarse but charming voice became quite fervent， when she had evidently failed to follow; it was as if he would have been impatient， only he knew he must not， because she was a lady and younger than himself， and he loved her.

女孩身穿藍色亞麻布衣，蜜色的頭發(fā)扎成一小團；她的小臉蛋上有一雙透著認真的眼睛，顏色就像她舉起來聞的菊苣花——她是一個純潔樸素的小姑娘，抬眼的神情楚楚動人，充滿信任。她的同伴是一個強壯活潑的男孩，大概有十四歲。男孩也一臉認真——他垂下睫毛烏黑的深邃雙眼，以不解卻又關切的目光看著女孩，同時用處于變聲期的嗓音輕聲解釋蜜蜂從鮮花中采蜜的詳細過程。有一兩次女孩顯然沒有聽懂，于是男孩沙啞卻迷人的聲音變得相當激動。他好像本來就不耐煩，只是知道自己不能這樣，因為對方是一位淑女，年齡比自己小，況且自己又愛她。

They sat down just below my nook， and began to count the petals of a chicory flower， and slowly she nestled in to him， and he put his arm round her. Never did I see such sedate， sweet lovering， so trusting on her part， so guardianlike on his. They were like， in miniature—though more dewy， —those sober couples who have long lived together， yet whom one still catches looking at each other with confidential tenderness， and in whom， one feels， passion is atrophied from never having been in use.

他們在我躺著的隱蔽處的正下方坐下來，開始數(shù)一朵菊苣花的花瓣。隨后，女孩慢慢地向男孩依偎過去，男孩則伸出胳膊摟住她。我從未見過如此沉著又甜美的愛戀，女孩十分信任男孩，男孩則像極了護花使者。他們如同那種長期生活在一起的穩(wěn)重夫妻的縮影——不過更加純潔清新，人們仍會發(fā)現(xiàn)他們以私密柔情對視，但也會感覺到他們的激情因從未釋放而衰退。

Long I sat watching them in their cool communion， half-embraced， talking a little， smiling a little， never once kissing. They did not seem shy of that; it was rather as if they were too much each other’s to think of such a thing. And then her head slid lower and lower down his shoulder， and sleep buttoned the lids over those chicory-blue eyes. How careful he was， then， not to wake her， though I could see his arm was getting stiff！ He still sat， good as gold， holding her， till it began quite to hurt me to see his shoulder thus in chancery1. But presently I saw him draw his arm away ever so carefully， lay her head down on the grass， and lean forward to stare at something. Straight in front of them was a magpie， balancing itself on a stripped twig of thorn-tree. The agitating bird， painted of night and day， was making a queer noise and flirting one wing， as if trying to attract attention. Rising from the twig， it circled， vivid and stealthy， twice round the tree， and flew to another a dozen paces off. The boy rose; he looked at his little mate， looked at the bird， and began quietly to move toward it; but uttering again its queer call， the bird glided on to a third thorn-tree. The boy hesitated then—but once more the bird flew on， and suddenly dipped over the hill. I saw the boy break into a run; and getting up quickly， I ran too.

我久坐在原地觀望著他們淡定傳情、半摟半抱，偶爾淺談幾句，偶爾微微含笑，卻從未親吻過一次。他們看起來并不羞于親吻，更像是彼此過于交融，所以想不起親吻這件事來。隨后，女孩的頭沿著男孩的肩膀越滑越低，睡意緊緊合上了她那雙藍如菊苣花的眼睛。男孩當時多么小心，生怕驚醒女孩，我看得出他那條胳膊漸漸變得僵硬！他依然乖乖地坐在那里抱著女孩。我看見他的肩膀如此進退兩難，開始心疼不已。但是，過了一會兒，我看到他小心翼翼地抽走了胳膊，把女孩的頭放倒在草地上，然后傾身向前凝視著什么。原來在兩人的正前方有一只喜鵲，它在一棵山楂樹的小禿枝上平衡著身體。這只黑白相間的鳥兒躁動不安，發(fā)出一種奇怪的聲音，還扇動著一側翅膀，仿佛在設法引起男孩的注意。它從樹枝上飛起，繞著那棵樹飛了兩圈，動作輕快而不易察覺，然后飛到了十幾步開外的另一棵樹上。男孩站起身，看看小伴侶，又瞧瞧喜鵲，接著悄悄地朝鳥兒走去。但是，鳥兒又發(fā)出奇怪的叫聲，輕快地飛到了第三棵山楂樹上。這時，男孩舉棋不定，而喜鵲再次飛了起來，突然俯沖飛過山崗。我看見男孩猛地拔腿飛奔，于是馬上站起身，跟著跑了起來。

When I reached the crest there was the black and white bird flying low into a dell， and there the boy， with hair streaming back， was rushing helter-skelter down the hill. He reached the bottom and vanished into the dell. I， too， ran down the hill. For all that I was prying and must not be seen by bird or boy， I crept warily in among the trees to the edge of a pool that could know but little sunlight， so thickly arched was it by willows， birch-trees， and wild hazel. There， in a swing of boughs above the water， was perched no pied bird， but a young， dark-haired girl with， dangling， bare， brown legs. And on the brink of the black water goldened， with fallen leaves， the boy was crouching， gazing up at her with all his soul. She swung just out of reach and looked down at him across the pool. How old was she， with her brown limbs， and her gleaming， slanting eyes？ Or was she only the spirit of the dell， this elf-thing swinging there， entwined with boughs and the dark water， and covered with a shift of wet birch leaves. So strange a face she had， wild， almost wicked， yet so tender; a face that I could not take my eyes from. Her bare toes just touched the pool， and flicked up drops of water that fell on the boy’s face.

我跑到山頂后，只見那只黑白相間的鳥兒正低飛進入一個小山谷；而男孩跑得頭發(fā)向后飄揚，也急匆匆地沖下山去。他到達山麓，消失在小山谷里。我也跑下了山，想探個究竟，又不能讓鳥兒或男孩看到，于是我躡手躡腳地鉆進樹林，走到一個池塘邊。那周圍的柳樹、樺樹和野榛樹密密匝匝地形成拱狀綠蔭，只能讓細微的陽光照射進來。池水上方搖晃的大樹枝上沒有雜色小鳥棲息，只有一個黑發(fā)少女懸垂著赤裸的褐色雙腿。幽暗池水的邊緣因落葉染成了金色，男孩蹲伏在那里，仰頭全神貫注地凝望著少女。少女在他探不到的地方一邊晃動雙腿，一邊低頭俯視池塘邊的他。這個褐色四肢、明眸吊眼的姑娘多大年齡了呢？要么她只是小山谷的精靈？是一個搖晃著雙腿，深藏在樹枝和幽暗池水之間，身穿濕漉漉樺樹葉連衣裙的精靈？她有一張非常奇異的臉龐，狂野、近乎邪惡卻又十分溫柔；那是一張我無法移開目光的臉龐。她赤裸的腳趾剛好觸到水面，輕輕地彈起水珠，落在男孩的臉上。

From him all the sober steadfastness was gone; already he looked as wild as she， and his arms were stretched out trying to reach her feet. I wanted to cry to him： “Go back， boy， go back！” but could not; her elf eyes held me dumb—they looked so lost in their tender wildness.

男孩身上所有的沉著堅定都煙消云散了，他看上去已經像那個少女一樣瘋狂，他伸出雙臂試圖去摸她的雙腳。我想對他大喊：“回來，孩子，回來吧！”但我喊不出來。少女那雙小精靈似的眼睛使我說不出話來——那雙眼睛看起來像是陷入了溫柔的野性之中。

And then my heart stood still， for he had slipped and was struggling in deep water beneath her feet. What a gaze was that he was turning up to her—not frightened， but so longing， so desperate; and hers how triumphant， and how happy！

隨后，我心頭一緊，只見男孩已經滑倒，正在少女腳下的深水中奮力掙扎。他用怎樣的目光仰望著少女啊——不是驚恐，而是如此渴望、如此不顧一切；而少女的目光又是多么得意、多么快樂啊！

And then he clutched her foot， and clung， and climbed; and bending down， she drew him up to her， all wet， and clasped him in the swing of boughs.

接著，男孩緊緊抓住少女的一只腳，又緊緊握著爬上去。少女彎下腰，把渾身濕透的男孩拉到她身旁，又隨著樹枝的搖擺緊緊抱住他。

I took a long breath then. An orange gleam of sunlight had flamed in among the shadows and fell round those two where they swung over the dark water， with lips close together and spirits lost in one another’s， and in their eyes such drowning ecstasy！ And then they kissed！ All round me pool， and leaves， and air seemed suddenly to swirl and melt—I could see nothing plain！ ... What time passed—I do not know—before their faces slowly again became visible！ His face the sober boy’s—was turned away from her， and he was listening; for above the whispering of leaves a sound of weeping came from over the hill. It was to that he listened.

我長出了口氣。一道橘黃色的陽光從陰影中照進來，落在男孩與少女身旁。他們倆在幽暗的水面上方搖晃，嘴唇緊貼在一起，靈魂迷失在對方的靈魂之中，眼中流露出足以淹沒一切的狂喜！緊接著，他們親吻起來！在我周圍，池塘、樹葉和空氣仿佛突然開始旋轉、融化——我什么都看不清了！……在我慢慢又可以看清他們的臉龐之前，我不知道過去了多少時間！他的臉龐——那個沉著男孩的臉龐——從少女身邊轉開，他在傾聽，因為山崗的那一邊傳來哭泣聲，蓋過了樹葉的颯颯聲。他傾聽的就是這個哭泣聲。

And even as I looked he slid down from out of her arms; back into the pool， and began struggling to gain the edge. What grief and longing in her wild face then！ But she did not wail. She did not try to pull him back; that elfish heart of dignity could reach out to what was coming， it could not drag at what was gone. Unmoving as the boughs and water， she watched him abandon her.

就在我看著時，男孩從少女的懷抱里滑下來，又回到池塘，開始奮力向池邊游去。此時，少女狂野的臉龐露出何等的悲傷和渴望啊！但是，她沒有痛哭，也沒有試圖把男孩拉回來。她那顆高貴的精靈之心能觸到即將到來的東西，卻不能拽住已經失去的東西。她像樹枝和池水一樣一動不動，望著男孩棄她而去。

Slowly the struggling boy gained land， and lay there， breathless. And still that sound of lonely weeping came from over the hill.

奮力游向池邊的男孩慢慢爬上岸，他躺在那里，上氣不接下氣。然而，仍有孤寂的哭泣聲從山的另一邊傳來。

Listening， but looking at those wild， mourning eyes that never moved from him， he lay. Once he turned back toward the water， but fire had died within him; his hands dropped， nerveless—his young face was all bewilderment.

男孩躺在那里傾聽，但又望著那雙從未離開他的狂野又悲傷的眼睛。他一度回身朝向水面，但他內心的火已經熄滅了。他的雙手落下，有氣無力——他年輕的臉龐滿是困惑。

And the quiet darkness of the pool waited， and the trees， and those lost eyes of hers， and my heart. And ever from over the hill came the little fair maiden’s lonely weeping.

平靜幽暗的湖水等待著，樹木、少女那恍惚的雙眼和我的心也在等待著。那個美麗小女孩孤寂的哭聲不斷地從小山那邊傳來。

Then， slowly dragging his feet， stumbling， half-blinded， turning and turning to look back， the boy groped his way out through the trees toward that sound; and， as he went， that dark spirit-elf， abandoned， clasping her own lithe body with her arms， never moved her gaze from him.

隨后，男孩一路摸索著穿過樹林，朝那個哭泣聲走去。他腳步拖拖拉拉、踉踉蹌蹌，視線模模糊糊，還不時地轉身回望。看著男孩離去，那個被拋棄的憂郁精靈用胳膊緊緊抱住自己柔軟的身體，目光始終沒有從男孩身上移開。

I， too， crept away， and when I was safe outside in the pale evening sunlight， peered back into the dell. There under the dark trees she was no longer， but round and round that cage of passion， fluttering and wailing through the leaves， over the black water， was the magpie， flighting on its twilight wings.

我也悄悄離開了。待我平安走回暗淡的夕陽中，我又回頭瞥了一眼小山谷。少女已經不在那片漆黑的樹下，但有只喜鵲在暮色中拍動翅膀哀號著穿過樹葉，越過幽暗水面，繞著那個激情迸發(fā)的地方一圈一圈地飛。

I turned and ran and ran till I came over the hill and saw the boy and the little fair， sober maiden sitting together once more on the open slope， under the high blue heaven. She was nestling her tear-stained face against his shoulder and speaking already of indifferent things. And he—he was holding her with his arm and watching over her with eyes that seemed to see something else.

我轉身跑起來，一直跑上小山，看到男孩和沉著美麗的小女孩又一次并肩坐在高高的藍天下，坐在開闊的山坡上。女孩把淚水沾濕的臉龐依偎在男孩的肩上，已經在說著無關緊要的事情。而男孩——他用一只胳膊摟住女孩，眼睛望著她，仿佛看到了別的什么。

And so I lay， hearing their sober talk and gazing at their sober little figures， till I awoke and knew I had dreamed all that little allegory of sacred and profane love， and from it had returned to reason， knowing no more than ever which was which.

我就那樣躺著，聽著他們冷靜地交談，凝視著他們沉著的小小身影，直到我醒來，知道自己夢到的一切是神圣而又世俗的愛情小寓言，知道自己已從夢中醒來回歸理性，卻像以往一樣分不清夢里夢外。

*本名宋金柱，焦作大學學術委員會委員，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 in chancery處于尷尬困境，進退兩難。