葉子1A Girl Named Leaf

園中開著艷艷的花，有蝴蝶兒飛，也有鳥兒叫。小姑娘葉子，唱著歌，在打旋舞。為了撲蝴蝶把裙子扯破。媽媽站在門口。

Gorgeous flowers were in full bloom， with butterflies dancing and birds singing. A little girl named Leaf ran after the butterflies， singing and spinning， without caring that her dress had got caught and torn. Her mother stood at the door and said reproachfully：

“葉子，你這樣孩子?！?/p>

“Leaf， watch what you’re doing！”

她什么都不聽見，花枝一排一排地倒在腳下，把蝴蝶撲在手里。

Ignoring her mother， she deftly caught a butterfly in her hand after trampling down quite a few rows of flowers.

太陽把雪照成水了，從房檐滴到了滿階。后來樹枝發(fā)芽，樹葉成蔭了。后園里又飛著去年的蝴蝶。五月來到，后園和去年一樣，蝴蝶戲著小姑娘們玩，蝴蝶被撲著?？墒侨~子，她不撲蝴蝶了，盡管在那兒幽思，望著天上多彩的云，望著插向云中的樹梢，一會用扇子遮住她幽思的眼睛。

The snow on the roof began to melt in the sun， dripping from the eaves onto the steps in front of the door. Later， the trees sprouted and offered shade. Fluttering in the back garden were last year’s butterflies. It was May now. Like last spring， little girls were frolicking with butterflies， trying to catch one or two of them. Yet instead of getting involved in the play， Leaf was sitting there， lost in thought， first gazing at the clouds and the sky-piercing treetops， then shielding her pensive eyes with a fan.

媽媽站在門口。

Her mother， standing at the door， asked with concern：

“葉子，你為什么總坐在那兒想啊，臉兒怕瘦了？”

“Leaf， why do you always sit there in thought？ You’re wasting away with worry.”

她常常在園里靜思，暑假慢慢地來到，表哥——鶯，回來了。以后花園里，又是旋舞，撲蝴蝶。葉子的歌聲天天在后園里鮮明著。鶯哥和葉子坐在樹下，樹葉有時落在腿上，后來樹葉繞著腿。

She often sat there， lost in quiet reverie， until the summer holiday came and her cousin Oriole came back. They frolicked with butterflies in the garden， her songs resounding in the air. They sat side by side under a tree， watching as the leaves fell， some landing on their lap， some floating around their feet.

暑假過去，鶯哥回學(xué)校了，園里飛發(fā)樹葉。只因沒有蜂兒，鳥雀回巢，蝴蝶飛過墻東不再回來，一切被鶯哥帶了去似的。2葉子倒在床上害病，臉兒漸漸黃，爸媽著急，醫(yī)生來了一個又一個，藥瓶擺在床頭，臉兒更黃更瘦。3

When the holiday was over， Oriole left for school. With tree leaves falling over the garden， bees were no longer to be seen， birds went back to their nests， and the butterflies disappeared beyond the eastern wall， as if all were leaving with him. Leaf fell ill， and her cheeks gradually sank in. Her parents， burning with worry， invited one doctor after another. Bottles of pills were laid by her bed. Her face grew sallow and thin.

外面飄起白白的雪，媽媽問：

Outside， white snowflakes began to fall. Mother asked：

“為什么病呢？對媽媽說?！?/p>

“Why are you so sick？ Tell me， my child.”

葉子只是默默地等著寒假4，常常翻著日歷，十號，十一號……十五號了，她慰鶯哥哥接近著她了，穿得干凈的衣裳，坐在窗里望。真的有人在叫門，葉子心跳著。媽媽去開了門，穿著青制服，青制帽，踏著雪響，鶯哥微笑著。他問：“葉子呢？”

Leaf remained silent. She did nothing but wait for the winter holiday. She flipped through the calendar and counted the days： the tenth， eleventh ... fifteenth. She knew her cousin Oriole was coming back soon， so she put on her clean clothes， and sat by the window， looking out. Finally there came a knock at the gate. Her heart missed a beat. Her mother went to open the gate and let in a boy in a black cap and uniform， snow crunching under his feet. It was Oriole， grinning. “Where is Leaf？” he asked.

說話時他看著葉子在窗里向他笑了笑。媽媽說著關(guān)于葉子病的話走進客廳了。媽媽又說：“葉子，半年是鬧著病，臉兒黃瘦?！?/p>

Then he saw Leaf was smiling at him behind the window， while her mother led him to the main room， telling him more about the girl’s condition. She added， “Leaf has been ill for half a year now. Her face has become pale and haggard.”

鶯哥慌忙著去見葉子，可是他走進內(nèi)室了，衣上帶著冷氣。走近葉子的床，向她問：“病了吧？很弱?！?/p>

Oriole hurried on into her room， bringing in a gust of cold air. Stepping close to her bed， he asked， “How do you feel now？ Still weak？”

她感到茫然了，眼睛無力地瞅著床，沒有答話，把頭低下。他沒有再問，心痛著走進內(nèi)室去。媽媽在客廳里說著葉子的病時，葉子在屋里聽著哭了，面向著飛雪的窗外5。

Unable to find the words， she lowered her head， eyes fixed on the sheets. With a heavy heart， he silently went back to the main room， where Leaf’s mother told him more about her. Overhearing their conversation， Leaf sobbed， raising her head only to see a world of whirling snow outside the window.

在東房鶯哥常常發(fā)悶6，有時整夜不滅燈，后來咳嗽，都說孩子大了應(yīng)該定親。他的叔叔來，說誰家的女子好，問他：“你愿意不？我想你的學(xué)費都是舅家供給，又是住在舅家，不能信意吧？”他的叔叔又指著葉子的爸爸和媽媽說：“并且舅父和舅母也同意?！?/p>

Oriole stayed in the eastern room. He often appeared depressed， and sometimes the light in his room remained on all night. Later he developed a cough. Elders began to show concern for his marriage， saying a boy his age should be engaged. An uncle on his father’s side came and introduced a girl to him， asking， “What do you think of her？” Pointing towards Leaf’s parents， he continued， “They’ve been supporting your education and accommodation. Since they agree with me， how could you refuse？”

就是那夜，他整夜尋思著。第二天他的爸爸戴著沒有耳朵的帽子背著包袱來了，沒有進客廳，簡直到東房去。唉，鶯哥怎不難過呢。媽媽死了，爸爸上山去打柴，自己住在舅家。于是他哭了，爸爸也哭了。

An inner debate kept him awake all night. The next day his father came with a parcel on his back and a cap without earflaps on his head. He went straight into Oriole’s room without going to greet his host in the main room. Alas， how should Oriole feel？ His mother had died， and his father had to venture into the mountains to collect firewood for a living. He was living as a guest in his uncle’s house. He sobbed， and so did his father.

葉子走進東房，火爐在地心，沒生火，窗上全是冰霜。她招呼別人，把爐子生上火，又到自己房里拿了厚的被子給鶯哥。媽媽罵了她：“什么事都用得著你！”

Leaf went into the eastern room. Though a stove stood at the center， it was not lit. A layer of frost covered the windowpanes. She called the housemaid to make a fire and brought a thickly-padded quilt from her room to spread over Oriole’s. However， her mother scolded her， saying， “Is it any of your business？”

窮人沒有親戚。到晚間，他的爸爸又戴著沒有耳朵的帽子走了，去經(jīng)風(fēng)霜。

As the proverb goes， a poor man has no relatives. When night fell， his father left， wearing his flapless cap to shield himself from the wind and snow.

葉子在鶯哥的房里，可是鶯哥一天比一天病重。葉子常常挨罵，可是鶯哥的病只有沉重。

Leaf often came to the room of her cousin， whose condition worsened day by day. She was often reprimanded， and her cousin’s health kept deteriorating.

媽媽說：“不要以為你還是小孩子，你是十四五歲啦，鶯哥都該娶媳婦了，不可以總在一塊。”

Her mother said， “You’re a young woman now， no longer a child. Your cousin is old enough to get married. You shouldn’t spend so much time together.”

媽媽又接著說：“自己該明白吧，他那樣窮，并且親已訂妥?！?/p>

She continued， “He should know the reality of the situation： he is penniless and already engaged too.”

鶯哥八天不能起床，可憐的鶯哥，連葉子也不能多見。在那間空洞的房里只有爸爸陪著他。起先舅母拿錢給請醫(yī)生，現(xiàn)在不給他請醫(yī)生了。于是可憐的鶯哥走在死路上。

Oriole had been bedridden for eight days. Now his father was the only one in his company， and he was not allowed to see Leaf very often. At first， Leaf’s mother had paid for a doctor， but now she stopped. That meant the poor boy was destined to die.

每天夜里，別人都睡了的時候，那個管家——王四要給東房送書，這是葉子背著媽媽叫送的。

Every night when others were asleep， Wang， the butler， would take a few books to the eastern room as arranged by Leaf， unbeknown to her mother.

昨夜特別的，鶯哥總是不睡，想說的話，又像不愿意說似的。肺痛得也像輕了些，但是他的眼睛想哭。

Yesterday Oriole had another sleepless night： he seemed to have a lot to say but refrained. The pain in his lungs seemed to have lessened， but his eyes were filled with tears.

“爸爸，葉子怎么總不過來呢？我還拿她幾本書，怎么還不來取呀？又病了嗎？爸爸叫葉子來，呵，葉子一定要來?！彼f時把眼淚滴到枕頭上。

“Dad， why hasn’t Leaf come？ She has sent me a few books， and she needs to take them back. Is she well？ Dad， go to call her. Ask her to come.” Tears began to roll down his cheeks onto his pillow.

爸爸只得答應(yīng)了去找葉子：

His father had to promise him：

“好吧，不要難過，你再睡一會，亮了天我去叫她?！?/p>

“Alright， don’t worry. Just rest for a while， I’ll go call her when it’s morning.”

天是大亮了，還不去叫葉子，讓老頭子怎樣去找葉子呢？住在別人家里7，自己的兒子有病，怎敢擾亂別人呢8？

Now it was broad daylight， but his father still didn’t move. In this house his son was just a free lodger， how could he dare to cause more trouble to the girl？

還不到中午，鶯哥被裝進棺材里。

Before noon， Oriole was already in the coffin.

送棺材的人們站到大門口，只有鶯哥的爸爸和棺材往東下去。

The pallbearers were waiting at the gate， and together with Oriole’s father they headed towards the east of the village.

蝶兒飛著，鳥兒叫著，又到五月了，葉子坐在后園冥想，鶯哥的爸爸擔(dān)著柴草經(jīng)過后門了。

With butterflies dancing and birds chirping， May arrived once again. Leaf sat in the back garden， lost in her thoughts， while Oriole’s father， as before， walked past the back door with a bundle of firewood on his shoulder.

1本文是民國時期才女作家蕭紅（1911—1942）的短篇小說，講的是因貧富懸殊而遭父母阻隔的表兄妹之戀的故事，文字凄婉感人。

2英譯將當(dāng)前這句話與上一句的“園里飛發(fā)樹葉”合在一起譯為一個長句。注意主從成分的安排。" 3注意這句話里兩個“黃”字的譯法。

4譯文先將“葉子只是默默地”單獨譯為一句，以便和上一段更緊密地銜接。" 5譯文所加raising her head是對上文“把頭低下”（lowered her head）的呼應(yīng)，以求連貫。" 6譯文將“在東房”單獨譯成一句話，以利語義連貫。

7“住在別人家里”指舅舅為鶯哥提供住宿，而且是免費的，故有a free lodger之謂。

8譯文對“讓老頭子怎樣去找葉子呢？”和“怎敢擾亂別人呢？”兩個問句在語義上有所融合。