柳林風聲：Wayfarers All 天涯旅人

The Water Rat was restless, and he did not exactly know why. To all appearance the summer’s pomp was still at fullest height, and although in the tilled acres green had given way to gold, though rowans were reddening, and the woods were dashed here and there with a tawny fierceness, yet light and warmth and colour were still present in undiminished measure, clean of any chilly premonitions of the passing year. But the constant chorus of the orchards and hedges had shrunk to a casual evensong from a few yet unwearied performers; the robin was beginning to assert himself once more; and there was a feeling in the air of change and departure. The cuckoo, of course, had long been silent; but many another feathered friend, for months a part of the familiar landscape and its small society, was missing too and it seemed that the ranks thinned steadily day by day. Rat, ever observant of all winged movement, saw that it was taking daily a southing tendency; and even as he lay in bed at night he thought he could make out, passing in the darkness overhead, the beat and quiver of impatient pinions, obedient to the peremptory call.

河鼠心煩意亂，焦躁不安，也不知究竟因為什么。從表面看，大自然還保持著盛夏欣欣向榮的氣象，盡管莊稼地的翠綠已讓位給金黃，花楸樹變紅了，叢林已有多處染上了烈焰般的赤褐，然而光照、氣溫和色彩依舊沒有減退，看不出一年行將逝去的蕭瑟跡象。不過，果園里樹籬間那弦歌不輟的大合唱已削減，只剩下幾個不知疲倦的演唱者，偶爾表演一曲黃昏之歌。知更鳥又開始大出風頭?？諝饫锸幯环N變遷和別離的意蘊。杜鵑自然早就沉默了，許多別的羽毛界朋友，幾個月來一直是這幅熟悉的風景畫和那個小小社會的一部分，也逐漸隱沒不見，他們的隊伍看來正一天天減員。河鼠向來密切關(guān)注著所有羽翼界的活動，看到他們正日漸趨向南遷。甚至夜間躺在床上，他也能聽出那急于南行的鳥兒們聽從造化的指令，撲打著翅膀掠過夜空。

Nature’s Grand Hotel has its Season, like the others. As the guests one by one pack, pay, and depart, and the seats at the table-d’hote shrink pitifully at each succeeding meal; as suites of rooms are closed, carpets taken up, and waiters sent away; those boarders who are staying on, en pension, until the next year’s full re-opening, cannot help being somewhat affected by all these flittings and farewells, this eager discussion of plans, routes, and fresh quarters, this daily shrinkage in the stream of comradeship. One gets unsettled, depressed, and inclined to be querulous. Why this craving for change? Why not stay on quietly here, like us, and be jolly? You don’t know this hotel out of the season, and what fun we have among ourselves, we fellows who remain and see the whole interesting year out. All very true, no doubt the others always reply; we quite envy you—and some other year perhaps—but just now we have engagements— and there’s the bus at the door—our time is up! So they depart, with a smile and a nod, and we miss them, and feel resentful. The Rat was a self-sufficing sort of animal, rooted to the land, and, whoever went, he stayed; still, he could not help noticing what was in the air, and feeling some of its influence in his bones.

自然界的大飯店，也和其他大飯店一樣，有它自己的旺季和淡季。旅客們一個又一個收拾行裝，結(jié)帳離店，公共餐廳里每開過一頓飯，坐椅就撤去一批，怪凄涼的。一套套房間關(guān)閉了，地毯卷起來了，侍者辭退了。而那些長住的客人，則留下等待來年飯店全面開業(yè)。他們眼瞅著大批旅伴飛走的飛走，告別的告別，熱烈地談?wù)撝乱徊降挠媱?、路線和新居，眼瞅著伙伴的人數(shù)日漸削減，心情難免不受影響。他會感到心緒不寧，郁郁寡歡，煩躁易怒。你們干嗎要變換環(huán)境?干嗎不老老實實呆在這兒，安安生生過日子?這家飯店在淡季的模樣，你沒見識過;你哪里知道，我們這些留下來共賞四時美景的動物，享有多少樂趣?？赡切┐蚨ㄖ饕庖叩膭游锟偸腔卮鹫f：當然，這無疑是事實;我非常羨慕你們——也許改年我們也留下來——不過現(xiàn)在我們有約會——公共汽車就停在門口，出發(fā)的時刻到啦!于是，他點頭微笑，走啦，撇下我們苦苦思念他們，心頭窩著火。河鼠是一種知足常樂的動物，扎根在這片土地上，不管誰走，他反正不走;盡管如此，他還是不免覺察到空氣里有種變化，打骨節(jié)里感受到它的影響。

It was difficult to settle down to anything seriously, with all this flitting going on. Leaving the water-side, where rushes stood thick and tall in a stream that was becoming sluggish and low, he wandered country-wards, crossed a field or two of pasturage already looking dusty and parched, and thrust into the great sea of wheat, yellow, wavy, and murmurous, full of quiet motion and small whisperings. Here he often loved to wander, through the forest of stiff strong stalks that carried their own golden sky away over his head—a sky that was always dancing, shimmering, softly talking; or swaying strongly to the passing wind and recovering itself with a toss and a merry laugh. Here, too, he had many small friends, a society complete in itself, leading full and busy lives, but always with a spare moment to gossip, and exchange news with a visitor. Today, however, though they were civil enough, the field-mice and harvest-mice seemed preoccupied. Many were digging and tunnelling busily; others, gathered together in small groups, examined plans and drawings of small flats, stated to be desirable and compact, and situated conveniently near the Stores. Some were hauling out dusty trunks and dress-baskets, others were already elbow-deep packing their belongings; while everywhere piles and bundles of wheat, oats, barley, beech-mast and nuts, lay about ready for transport.

處處都在忙著辭行送別，行色匆匆，在這種時候，要安下心來干點正事，是很難的。河岸邊，燈芯草叢已經(jīng)長得又高又密，河水已經(jīng)流得緩慢，水位低落了。河鼠離開了河岸，漫無目地的朝田野走去。他走過一兩塊龜裂的布滿塵埃的牧場地，一頭鉆進一大片麥田。麥子金黃燦燦，麥浪翻滾，沙沙作響，充滿了寧靜的動作和呢喃細語。河鼠常喜歡在這里漫游，穿行在粗壯的麥稈叢林之間。麥稈在他頭上高高地支起一片金色的天空——那天空總在不停地婆娑起舞，閃閃發(fā)光，細語綿綿，有時被過路的風刮得歪歪斜斜，風一過，它又把頭一昂，開懷大笑，恢復(fù)故態(tài)。在麥田里，河鼠也有許多小友，整個兒一個小社會，過著豐足忙碌的的生活，?？梢部偰艹槌銎炭臻e，和來訪的客人聊會兒閑天，互換個信息。但今天，不知怎的，野鼠和田鼠盡管挺客氣，卻似乎心不在焉。有些在忙著挖洞掘壕;另一些則分成小組，在研究一套套小居室的規(guī)劃和草圖，考慮如何才能構(gòu)造得緊湊適用，而且要建在倉庫附近。有的正把積滿塵土的箱籠和衣簍拖出來，有的已經(jīng)在埋頭捆扎自己的財物;遍地都是一堆堆一捆捆的小麥、燕麥、大麥、果實、干果，等待運走。

‘Here’s old Ratty!’ they cried as soon as they saw him. ‘Come and bear a hand, Rat, and don’t stand about idle!’

“河鼠兄來啦!”他們一見河鼠，便喊了起來。“快過來幫一手，河鼠，別在那兒愣著!”

‘What sort of games are you up to?’ said the Water Rat severely. ‘You know it isn’t time to be thinking of winter quarters yet, by a long way!’

“你們在玩什么游戲呀?”河鼠繃著臉說。“你們該懂得，現(xiàn)在還不是考慮過冬住所的時候，早著吶!”

‘O yes, we know that,’ explained a field-mouse rather shamefacedly; ‘but it’s always as well to be in good time, isn’t it? We really MUST get all the furniture and baggage and stores moved out of this before those horrid machines begin clicking round the fields; and then, you know, the best flats get picked up so quickly nowadays, and if you’re late you have to put up with ANYTHING; and they want such a lot of doing up, too, before they’re fit to move into. Of course, we’re early, we know that; but we’re only just making a start.’

“是啊，這我們懂，”一只田鼠有點不好意思地說。“不過，及早作準備總是好的，對不?我們必須趕在那些可怕的機器開始軋軋地翻地之前，把這些家具、行李和儲備糧搬走。再說，你也知道，現(xiàn)如今最好的套間很快就給搶光了，要是你晚了一步，你就得隨便找個地方將就住下;而且，新住所還得先修整拾掇一番，才能搬進去呀。當然，現(xiàn)在是早了點兒，這我們知道;不過我們也只是剛開個頭。”

‘O, bother STARTS,’ said the Rat. ‘It’s a splendid day. Come for a row, or a stroll along the hedges, or a picnic in the woods, or something.’

“開什么頭，”河鼠說。“天氣這么好，跟我一道劃劃船，或者在樹籬邊散散步，或者到樹林里去野餐，或者干點別的什么不好嗎?”

‘Well, I THINK not TO-DAY, thank you,’ replied the field-mouse hurriedly. ‘Perhaps some OTHER day—when we’ve more TIME----‘

“噢，今兒個不去了，謝謝你。”田鼠忙說。“也許改天等我們有空——”

The Rat, with a snort of contempt, swung round to go, tripped over a hat-box, and fell, with undignified remarks.

河鼠輕蔑地哼了一聲，轉(zhuǎn)身要走，不想蹴到一只帽盒，摔倒了，嘴里不干不凈地罵了幾句。

‘If people would be more careful,’ said a field-mouse rather stiffly, ‘and look where they’re going, people wouldn’t hurt themselves—and forget themselves. Mind that hold-all, Rat! You’d better sit down somewhere. In an hour or two we may be more free to attend to you.’

“要是人們小心在意些，”一只田鼠尖刻地說，“走路留神看道，人們就不致傷著自己，不致失態(tài)了。注意那只大旅行袋，河鼠!你最好找個地方坐坐。再過一兩個鐘頭，我們也許就有空閑陪陪你了。”

‘You won’t be “free” as you call it much this side of Christmas, I can see that,’ retorted the Rat grumpily, as he picked his way out of the field.

“你所說的‘空閑’，只怕在圣誕節(jié)以前，是不會有的。”河鼠沒好氣地反唇相譏。他在行李堆中擇路走出了麥田。

He returned somewhat despondently to his river again—his faithful, steady-going old river, which never packed up, flitted, or went into winter quarters.

河鼠灰溜溜地回到了河邊。那是他忠實的穩(wěn)重的老河，它從不收拾行裝，從不開溜;也從不搬到別的住宅去過冬。

In the osiers which fringed the bank he spied a swallow sitting. Presently it was joined by another, and then by a third; and the birds, fidgeting restlessly on their bough, talked together earnestly and low.

他看見，岸邊的一排杞柳林里，棲著一只燕子。不一會又來了一只，跟著又來了第三只。。燕子們在枝頭不停地動彈，熱烈地低聲交談。

‘What, ALREADY,’ said the Rat, strolling up to them. ‘What’s the hurry? I call it simply ridiculous.’

“怎么，這就要走?”河鼠踱到他們跟著，問道：“著什么慌呀?我說，這簡直滑稽可笑。”

‘O, we’re not off yet, if that’s what you mean,’ replied the first swallow. ‘We’re only making plans and arranging things. Talking it over, you know—what route we’re taking this year, and where we’ll stop, and so on. That’s half the fun!’

“噢，如果你是說要走，我們還不走哩，”第一只燕子回答說。“我們，只是籌劃籌劃，安排安排。只是談?wù)?，今年打算走哪條路線;在哪歇腳，諸如此類。這也挺有趣哩。”

‘Fun?’ said the Rat; ‘now that’s just what I don’t understand. If you’ve GOT to leave this pleasant place, and your friends who will miss you, and your snug homes that you’ve just settled into, why, when the hour strikes I’ve no doubt you’ll go bravely, and face all the trouble and discomfort and change and newness, and make believe that you’re not very unhappy. But to want to talk about it, or even think about it, till you really need----‘

“有趣?”河鼠說，“我真不理解。要是你們非離開這個愉快的好地方不可，非離開想念你們的朋友和剛剛安頓好的舒適的家不可，到該走的時候，我不懷疑，你們會勇敢地飛走，面對一切艱難險阻、變化莫測的新環(huán)境，還要擺出一副高高興興的樣子。可是，還沒到非走不可的時候，就談?wù)撈饋?，哪怕只是想一想，這未免——”

‘No, you don’t understand, naturally,’ said the second swallow. ‘First, we feel it stirring within us, a sweet unrest; then back come the recollections one by one, like homing pigeons. They flutter through our dreams at night, they fly with us in our wheelings and circlings by day. We hunger to inquire of each other, to compare notes and assure ourselves that it was all really true, as one by one the scents and sounds and names of long-forgotten places come gradually back and beckon to us.’

“你當然理解不了，”第二只燕子說。“首先，我們內(nèi)心感到一種騷動，一種甜蜜的不安。然后，往事就像信鴿一樣，一樁樁一件件飛了回來。它們夜間在我們夢中遨翔，白天就隨我們一道在空中盤旋。當那些早已忘掉的地方，它們的氣味、聲響和名稱一個個飛回來向我們招手時，我們就渴望互相詢問，交流信息，好讓自己確信這一切都是真實的。”

‘Couldn’t you stop on for just this year?’ suggested the Water Rat, wistfully. ‘We’ll all do our best to make you feel at home. You’ve no idea what good times we have here, while you are far away.’

“今年你們能不能留下不走，就呆一年行不行?”河鼠巴巴地向他們建議。“我們要盡力使你們過得舒適愜意。你們走得老遠，根本想不到我們這兒過得多么開心。”

‘I tried “stopping on” one year,’ said the third swallow. ‘I had grown so fond of the place that when the time came I hung back and let the others go on without me. For a few weeks it was all well enough, but afterwards, O the weary length of the nights! The shivering, sunless days! The air so clammy and chill, and not an insect in an acre of it! No, it was no good; my courage broke down, and one cold, stormy night I took wing, flying well inland on account of the strong easterly gales. It was snowing hard as I beat through the passes of the great mountains, and I had a stiff fight to win through; but never shall I forget the blissful feeling of the hot sun again on my back as I sped down to the lakes that lay so blue and placid below me, and the taste of my first fat insect! The past was like a bad dream; the future was all happy holiday as I moved southwards week by week, easily, lazily, lingering as long as I dared, but always heeding the call! No, I had had my warning; never again did I think of disobedience.’

“有一年我試著留下來的，”第三只燕子說。“我越來越喜歡這地方，所以到了該走的時候，我就留下了，沒跟別的燕子一塊兒走。開頭幾星期，情況還算好，可后來，哎呀呀，黑夜那么長;好無聊啊!白天不見陽光，陰凄凄的!空氣又潮又冷，一畝地里也找不到一只蟲子!不行，這樣可不中;我的勇氣垮掉了，于是在一個暴風雨的寒夜，我起飛了。;那天東風刮得緊，我在內(nèi)陸飛得挺順利。飛過高山峽谷時，下起了大雪，我努力拼搏一番，才穿過山隘。當我迅速飛到大湖上時，我又一次感到背上曬著暖融融的太陽;嘗到第一只肥胖的蟲子的美味，那種幸福的感覺真是再也忘不掉!過去的時光就像一場惡夢，未來全是快樂的假日。一周又一周，我不停地往南飛，飛得輕松，飛得悠閑，需要逗留多久就多久，只是隨時注意傾聽南方的呼喚。所以，我不能留下，我有過教訓，再也不敢違抗南方的召喚了。”

‘Ah, yes, the call of the South, of the South!’ twittered the other two dreamily. ‘Its songs its hues, its radiant air! O, do you remember----‘ and, forgetting the Rat, they slid into passionate reminiscence, while he listened fascinated, and his heart burned within him. In himself, too, he knew that it was vibrating at last, that chord hitherto dormant and unsuspected. The mere chatter of these southern-bound birds, their pale and second-hand reports, had yet power to awaken this wild new sensation and thrill him through and through with it; what would one moment of the real thing work in him— one passionate touch of the real southern sun, one waft of the authentic odor? With closed eyes he dared to dream a moment in full abandonment, and when he looked again the river seemed steely and chill, the green fields grey and lightless. Then his loyal heart seemed to cry out on his weaker self for its treachery.

“是啊，是啊，南方在召喚，南方在召喚!”另兩只燕子做夢似地呢喃著。“南方的歌。南方的色彩，南方明朗的空氣!噢，你可記得——”他們忘掉了河鼠，只顧沉湎在熱情的回憶里。河鼠聽得出神，他的心開始燒得火辣辣的。他暗自明白，那根弦，那根一直沉睡著、沒被覺察的弦，終于也震顫起來了。光是這幾只南飛鳥兒的閑談，他們那并不生動的第二手敘述，就足以撩撥起這種如醉如狂的新感受，激得他渾身上下躁動不已。如果親自去體驗一下，感受南方太陽熱情的撫摩，南方香風輕柔的吹拂，那將會是怎樣一番滋味?他閉上雙眼，有一刻兒大膽地縱情沉溺在幻夢里，等他再睜眼時，那條河似乎成了鉛灰色，冷冰冰的，綠色的田野變得暗淡無光了。這時，他那顆忠貞的心，似乎在大聲譴責他那個軟弱的自我的背叛。

‘Why do you ever come back, then, at all?’ he demanded of the swallows jealously. ‘What do you find to attract you in this poor drab little country?’

“那你們?yōu)槭裁催€要回來?”他猜疑地問燕子。“這片可憐的灰暗的小天地，還有什么可吸引你們的地方?”

‘And do you think,’ said the first swallow, ‘that the other call is not for us too, in its due season? The call of lush meadow-grass, wet orchards, warm, insect-haunted ponds, of browsing cattle, of haymaking, and all the farm-buildings clustering round the House of the perfect Eaves?’

第一只燕子說：“在適當?shù)募竟?jié)到來時，你以為我們會感受不到另一種召喚嗎?那豐茂的草地，濕潤的果園，滿是蟲子的暖水池塘，吃草的牛羊，翻曬的干草，理想的屋檐，房子周圍的各種農(nóng)場設(shè)施，不是也在召喚我們嗎?”

‘Do you suppose,’ asked the second one, that you are the only living thing that craves with a hungry longing to hear the cuckoo’s note again?’

第二只燕子說：“你以為只有你才渴望再一次聽到杜鵑的啼聲嗎?”

‘In due time,’ said the third, ‘we shall be home-sick once more for quiet water-lilies swaying on the surface of an English stream. But to-day all that seems pale and thin and very far away. Just now our blood dances to other music.’

“到一定的時候，”第三只燕子說，“我們又會患起思鄉(xiāng)病;想念著英國溪水上漂著的幽靜的睡蓮。不過在今天，那些似乎都顯得那么蒼白，單薄，遙遠。這一刻，我們的血液是和著另一種音樂翩翩起舞。”

They fell a-twittering among themselves once more, and this time their intoxicating babble was of violet seas, tawny sands, and lizard-haunted walls.

他們又自顧自地互相唧喳起來。這回他們那興奮的話題是蔚藍的海洋、金黃的沙灘，和壁虎爬上爬下的圍墻。

Restlessly the Rat wandered off once more, climbed the slope that rose gently from the north bank of the river, and lay looking out towards the great ring of Downs that barred his vision further southwards—his simple horizon hitherto, his Mountains of the Moon, his limit behind which lay nothing he had cared to see or to know. To-day, to him gazing South with a new-born need stirring in his heart, the clear sky over their long low outline seemed to pulsate with promise; to-day, the unseen was everything, the unknown the only real fact of life. On this side of the hills was now the real blank, on the other lay the crowded and coloured panorama that his inner eye was seeing so clearly. What seas lay beyond, green, leaping, and crested! What sun-bathed coasts, along which the white villas glittered against the olive woods! What quiet harbours, thronged with gallant shipping bound for purple islands of wine and spice, islands set low in languorous waters!

河鼠又一次焦躁不安地走開了。他爬上大河北岸那緩緩的斜坡，躺了下來，極目朝南望去。南邊那條環(huán)形的大丘陵帶，擋住了他的視線，他看不到以南更遠的地方——迄今為止，那就是他的地平線，他的夢幻山脈，他目光的極限，在那以外，就沒有什么值得他去看或去了解的東西了。今天，他極目南眺時，由于一種新的渴求在心中翻騰，那綿亙低矮的丘陵上面的晴空，仿佛顫動著希望。今天，看不到的東西成了至關(guān)重要的，不了解的東西成了生活中唯一的真實。山這邊，是真正的空虛;山那邊，展現(xiàn)著一派熙熙攘攘、五彩紛呈的生活全景，他內(nèi)心的眼睛現(xiàn)在看得很清楚。那邊有碧波蕩漾、白浪翻滾的海洋!有沐浴在陽光下的沙灘，白色的別墅在橄欖林的掩映下閃光!有寧靜的港灣，停滿了氣派的船舶，準備開往盛產(chǎn)美酒和香料的紫色島嶼，那些島嶼低低隆起在水波不興的海面上。

He rose and descended river-wards once more; then changed his mind and sought the side of the dusty lane. There, lying half-buried in the thick, cool under-hedge tangle that bordered it, he could muse on the metalled road and all the wondrous world that it led to; on all the wayfarers, too, that might have trodden it, and the fortunes and adventures they had gone to seek or found unseeking—out there, beyond—beyond!

他站了起來，又一次朝河岸走去。隨后，他改變主意，轉(zhuǎn)向塵土飛揚的小徑那邊。他躺了下來，在小徑兩側(cè)茂密陰涼枝杈交錯的矮樹籬的掩蔽下，他可以默默觀望那條碎石子路，想著它通向的那個奇妙世界，還可以細細觀察走在路上的往來行人，想著他們將去尋求或不尋自來的種種好運、奇遇，在那邊，在遠方!

Footsteps fell on his ear, and the figure of one that walked somewhat wearily came into view; and he saw that it was a Rat, and a very dusty one. The wayfarer, as he reached him, saluted with a gesture of courtesy that had something foreign about it—hesitated a moment—then with a pleasant smile turned from the track and sat down by his side in the cool herbage. He seemed tired, and the Rat let him rest unquestioned, understanding something of what was in his thoughts; knowing, too, the value all animals attach at times to mere silent companionship, when the weary muscles slacken and the mind marks time.

一陣腳步聲傳到他耳中，一個走乏了的動物的身影映入他眼簾。原來那是只老鼠，一只風塵仆仆的老鼠。那只過路的老鼠走到他跟前時，用一種帶點外國味兒的姿態(tài)向他致意，遲疑了片刻，然后愉快地微笑著，離開道路，來到陰涼的樹籬下，在他身旁坐下。他顯得很疲乏，河鼠讓他在那兒休息。沒有問什么，因為他多少明白老鼠此時的心情，也懂得所有的動物有時遵循的一個信念：當疲乏的身體松弛下來，大腦需要寧靜時，無言的相互作伴是最有益處的。

The wayfarer was lean and keen-featured, and somewhat bowed at the shoulders; his paws were thin and long, his eyes much wrinkled at the corners, and he wore small gold ear rings in his neatly-set well-shaped ears. His knitted jersey was of a faded blue, his breeches, patched and stained, were based on a blue foundation, and his small belongings that he carried were tied up in a blue cotton handkerchief.

這位過路的老鼠很瘦，尖臉，肩背微躬，爪子細長，眼角布滿皺紋，纖巧優(yōu)美的耳朵上，戴著小小的金耳環(huán)。他穿著一件褪了色的藍針織上衣，褲子底色原是藍的，打了補丁，滿是泥污。他隨身攜帶的微薄財物，用一塊藍布手帕包著。

When he had rested awhile the stranger sighed, snuffed the air, and looked about him.

這位陌生老鼠歇了一會，然后嘆口氣，用鼻子嗅了嗅空氣，環(huán)視四周。

‘That was clover, that warm whiff on the breeze,’ he remarked; ‘and those are cows we hear cropping the grass behind us and blowing softly between mouthfuls. There is a sound of distant reapers, and yonder rises a blue line of cottage smoke against the woodland. The river runs somewhere close by, for I hear the call of a moorhen, and I see by your build that you’re a freshwater mariner. Everything seems asleep, and yet going on all the time. It is a goodly life that you lead, friend; no doubt the best in the world, if only you are strong enough to lead it!’

“那是苜蓿，微風吹來陣陣暖香，”他評論說。“牛在我們背后吃草，吃幾口，輕輕地噴一下鼻息。遠處有農(nóng)人收割莊稼的聲音，那邊，樹林前面，農(nóng)舍升起一縷青色的炊煙。河流就在附近不遠，因為我聽到紅松雞的叫聲。從你的體格看，我想你一定是一位內(nèi)河水手。一切都像在沉睡，可一切又都在進行。朋友，你日子過得蠻不錯，只要你身強力壯能干活，你的生活無疑是世上最美好的生活。”

‘Yes, it’s THE life, the only life, to live,’ responded the Water Rat dreamily, and without his usual whole-hearted conviction.

“是啊，這才叫生活，唯一值得過的生活，”河鼠做夢似地回答說，可是不像平日那樣信心十足。

‘I did not say exactly that,’ replied the stranger cautiously; ‘but no doubt it’s the best. I’ve tried it, and I know. And because I’ve just tried it—six months of it—and know it’s the best, here am I, footsore and hungry, tramping away from it, tramping southward, following the old call, back to the old life, THE life which is mine and which will not let me go.’

“我倒也不完全是這個意思，”陌生老鼠謹慎地說，“不過這無疑是最好的生活：我嘗試過，所以我知道。正因為我剛剛領(lǐng)略過——生活過六個月——所以知道它是最好的。你瞧，我現(xiàn)在腳走疼了，肚子餓了，就要離開這種生活，往南邊流浪，聽從那個老呼喚，回到那種老生活。那是我自己的生活，它不允許我離開它。”

‘Is this, then, yet another of them?’ mused the Rat. ‘And where have you just come from?’ he asked. He hardly dared to ask where he was bound for; he seemed to know the answer only too well.

“難道說，他又是一個南行的動物?”河鼠暗想。他問道：“你剛從哪兒來?”他不敢問老鼠要往哪兒去，因為答案是什么，他似乎已很清楚。

‘Nice little farm,’ replied the wayfarer, briefly. ‘Upalong in that direction’—he nodded northwards. ‘Never mind about it. I had everything I could want—everything I had any right to expect of life, and more; and here I am! Glad to be here all the same, though, glad to be here! So many miles further on the road, so many hours nearer to my heart’s desire!’

“從一個可愛的小農(nóng)莊來，”過路老鼠簡短地回答。“就在那個方向，”他沖北邊點點頭。“這無關(guān)緊要。我在那兒什么都不缺。我有權(quán)希望從生活中得到的一切，我都有，甚至更多;可現(xiàn)在，我來到了這里;不過，來這里，我也喜歡，同樣喜歡!因為我已經(jīng)走了那么多路，離我渴望的地方又近了許多!”

His shining eyes held fast to the horizon, and he seemed to be listening for some sound that was wanting from that inland acreage, vocal as it was with the cheerful music of pasturage and farmyard.

他目光炯炯地緊盯著地平線;像在傾聽某種聲音，那是內(nèi)陸地帶所缺少的，盡管那里有牧場和農(nóng)莊的歡快音樂。

‘You are not one of US,’ said the Water Rat, ‘nor yet a farmer; nor even, I should judge, of this country.’

“你和我們不屬一類，”河鼠說，“你不是農(nóng)家老鼠，而且依我看，也不是本國老鼠。”

‘Right,’ replied the stranger. ‘I’m a seafaring rat, I am, and the port I originally hail from is Constantinople, though I’m a sort of a foreigner there too, in a manner of speaking. You will have heard of Constantinople, friend? A fair city, and an ancient and glorious one. And you may have heard, too, of Sigurd, King of Norway, and how he sailed thither with sixty ships, and how he and his men rode up through streets all canopied in their honour with purple and gold; and how the Emperor and Empress came down and banqueted with him on board his ship. When Sigurd returned home, many of his Northmen remained behind and entered the Emperor’s body-guard, and my ancestor, a Norwegian born, stayed behind too, with the ships that Sigurd gave the Emperor. Seafarers we have ever been, and no wonder; as for me, the city of my birth is no more my home than any pleasant port between there and the London River. I know them all, and they know me. Set me down on any of their quays or foreshores, and I am home again.’

“不錯，”外來的老鼠說。“我呀，我是一只航海老鼠，我最初啟航的港口是君士坦丁堡，雖說我在那也可說是一只外國鼠。朋友，你聽說過君土坦丁堡嗎?一座美麗的城市，一座古老而光榮的城市!你大概也聽說過挪威國王西格爾德吧?他曾率領(lǐng)六十艘船駛往那里，他和他的隨從騎馬進城時，滿街都懸掛紫色和金色的天篷向他致敬。君土坦丁堡的皇帝和皇后駕臨他的船，和他一道宴飲。西格爾德回國時，他手下的北歐人有許多留下沒走，參加了皇帝的御林軍，我的一位生長在挪威的祖先，也隨著西格爾德贈送給皇帝的一艘船留下了。打那以后，我們這個家族一直是海員。對我來說，我出生的城市固然是我的家，它和倫敦之間的任何一個可愛的港口也都是我的家。我對它們了如指掌，它們也都熟識我。隨便我來到它們的任何一個碼頭或者海灘，俄就等于到了家。”

‘I suppose you go great voyages,’ said the Water Rat with growing interest. ‘Months and months out of sight of land, and provisions running short, and allowanced as to water, and your mind communing with the mighty ocean, and all that sort of thing?’

“我想，你一定常去遠洋航行吧?”河鼠來了興趣。“成年累月看不到陸地，食物短缺，飲水也要配給，但你的心總和大洋相通，總在思念著這一切吧?”

‘By no means,’ said the Sea Rat frankly. ‘Such a life as you describe would not suit me at all. I’m in the coasting trade, and rarely out of sight of land. It’s the jolly times on shore that appeal to me, as much as any seafaring. O, those southern seaports! The smell of them, the riding-lights at night, the glamour!’

“根本不是這樣，”航海鼠坦白地說。“你說的那種生活對我也不適合。我只是做海岸營生，很少離開陸地。吸引我的是岸上的快樂時光，和航海一樣。南方的那些海港，它們的氣味，夜晚的那些停泊燈，多么令人神往啊!”

‘Well, perhaps you have chosen the better way,’ said the Water Rat, but rather doubtfully. ‘Tell me something of your coasting, then, if you have a mind to, and what sort of harvest an animal of spirit might hope to bring home from it to warm his latter days with gallant memories by the fireside; for my life, I confess to you, feels to me to-day somewhat narrow and circumscribed.’

“是啊，也許你選中的是一種更好的生活方式，”河鼠略帶疑惑地說。“如果你愿意，那就請給我講講你的海岸生活好嗎?講講一只生氣勃勃的動物能從那里帶回些什么，使他以后可以在爐邊回憶許多光輝的往事，來告慰晚年。至于我的生活嘛，實話對你說，今天我覺得它怪狹隘，怪局限的。”

‘My last voyage,’ began the Sea Rat, ‘that landed me eventually in this country, bound with high hopes for my inland farm, will serve as a good example of any of them, and, indeed, as an epitome of my highly-coloured life. Family troubles, as usual, began it. The domestic storm-cone was hoisted, and I shipped myself on board a small trading vessel bound from Constantinople, by classic seas whose every wave throbs with a deathless memory, to the Grecian Islands and the Levant. Those were golden days and balmy nights! In and out of harbour all the time—old friends everywhere—sleeping in some cool temple or ruined cistern during the heat of the day—feasting and song after sundown, under great stars set in a velvet sky! Thence we turned and coasted up the Adriatic, its shores swimming in an atmosphere of amber, rose, and aquamarine; we lay in wide land-locked harbours, we roamed through ancient and noble cities, until at last one morning, as the sun rose royally behind us, we rode into Venice down a path of gold. O, Venice is a fine city, wherein a rat can wander at his ease and take his pleasure! Or, when weary of wandering, can sit at the edge of the Grand Canal at night, feasting with his friends, when the air is full of music and the sky full of stars, and the lights flash and shimmer on the polished steel prows of the swaying gondolas, packed so that you could walk across the canal on them from side to side! And then the food—do you like shellfish? Well, well, we won’t linger over that now.’ He was silent for a time; and the Water Rat, silent too and enthralled, floated on dream-canals and heard a phantom song pealing high between vaporous grey wave-lapped walls.

“我上次出海，”海上老鼠說開了。“是希望辦一處內(nèi)陸農(nóng)莊，于是我就登上了這片國土。這次航海，可以看作是我歷次航海的一個例證，確實也是我豐富多采的生活的一個縮影。開頭，照例是由家庭糾紛引起的。家務(wù)風暴的警鐘敲響了，我就乘上一艘小商船，由君士坦丁堡啟航，駛?cè)牍糯澜绲暮Ｑ螅ＥD群島和東地中海行進，海上的每一個浪頭都蕩漾著令人難忘的回憶。那些日子，白天陽光燦爛，夜間和風習習。船不停地進港出港，到處都遇到老朋友。在炎熱的白天，我們睡在陰涼的廟宇或廢水池里，太陽落山后，就在嵌滿星星的天鵝絨般的天幕下，縱情飲宴，放聲高歌!從那里，我們又轉(zhuǎn)向亞德里亞海沿岸;那里的海岸彌漫著琥珀色、玫瑰色、藍晶色的空氣。我們碇泊在陸地環(huán)抱的寬闊的港灣里，我們在古老而豪華的城市里游逛。末了，有一天早晨，我們順著一條金燦燦的航道駛進了威尼斯。威尼斯真是一座美麗的城市啊!在那里，老鼠可以自由自在地溜達閑逛，盡情玩樂!要是游倦了，晚上可以坐在大運河邊，和朋友們一道吃喝。那時，空中樂聲悠揚，頭上一天繁星，河里滿是搖擺的游艇，船頭熠熠發(fā)亮，一只只游艇緊緊挨著，你都能踩著它們叢一岸走到另一岸!說到吃的，你喜歡吃貝嗎?得，得，那個，咱們現(xiàn)在還是少談為妙。”他沉默了一陣;河鼠也默不作聲。他聽得入了迷，仿佛乘上一只夢中游艇漂呀漂，聽到一首高亢的魔歌，在霧氣蒙蒙、波浪拍擊的河墻之間回響。

‘Southwards we sailed again at last,’ continued the Sea Rat, ‘coasting down the Italian shore, till finally we made Palermo, and there I quitted for a long, happy spell on shore. I never stick too long to one ship; one gets narrow-minded and prejudiced. Besides, Sicily is one of my happy hunting-grounds. I know everybody there, and their ways just suit me. I spent many jolly weeks in the island, staying with friends up country. When I grew restless again I took advantage of a ship that was trading to Sardinia and Corsica; and very glad I was to feel the fresh breeze and the sea-spray in my face once more.’

“然后我們又向南駛?cè)ィ?rdquo;海上老鼠接著說，“沿著意大利的海岸航行，來到巴勒摩。在那兒，我離船上岸，逗留了很長一段快樂時光。我從不死守住一條船;那會使人變得頭腦閉塞，思想偏頗。再說，西西里島是我愛去的一個地方。那里的人我都認識，他們的風尚很合我的口味。我在島上和朋友們一道，在鄉(xiāng)間愉快地過了好幾個星期。等到我呆膩了，我就搭上一艘駛向薩丁尼亞和科西加的商船。我又一次感到新鮮的海風和浪沫撲打在臉上，好不愜意。”

‘But isn’t it very hot and stuffy, down in the—hold, I think you call it?’ asked the Water Rat.

“可在那個你們管它叫貨艙的地方，是不是悶熱得很?”河鼠問。

The seafarer looked at him with the suspicion go a wink. ‘I’m an old hand,’ he remarked with much simplicity. ‘The captain’s cabin’s good enough for me.’

航海鼠拿眼瞄著他，眼皮像是眨巴了一下。“我是個行家里手，”他率直地說。“船長室對我來說夠好的了。”

‘It’s a hard life, by all accounts,’ murmured the Rat, sunk in deep thought.

“人家都說，航海生活是很艱苦的，”河鼠喃喃地說，他陷入了沉思。

‘For the crew it is,’ replied the seafarer gravely, again with the ghost of a wink.‘From Corsica,’ he went on, ‘I made use of a ship that was taking wine to the mainland. We made Alassio in the evening, lay to, hauled up our wine-casks, and hove them overboard, tied one to the other by a long line. Then the crew took to the boats and rowed shorewards, singing as they went, and drawing after them the long bobbing procession of casks, like a mile of porpoises. On the sands they had horses waiting, which dragged the casks up the steep street of the little town with a fine rush and clatter and scramble. When the last cask was in, we went and refreshed and rested, and sat late into the night, drinking with our friends, and next morning I took to the great olive-woods for a spell and a rest. For now I had done with islands for the time, and ports and shipping were plentiful; so I led a lazy life among the peasants, lying and watching them work, or stretched high on the hillside with the blue Mediterranean far below me. And so at length, by easy stages, and partly on foot, partly by sea, to Marseilles, and the meeting of old shipmates, and the visiting of great ocean-bound vessels, and feasting once more. Talk of shell-fish! Why, sometimes I dream of the shell-fish of Marseilles, and wake up crying!’

“對于水手來說是艱苦的，”航海鼠嚴肅地說，若有若無地又眨了一下眼睛，“在科西加，我搭上一艘運葡萄酒去大陸的船，”航海鼠接著說。“傍晚時我們到達阿拉西奧，船駛進港口。我們把酒桶抬起，扔下船去，用一根長繩把酒桶一個個連結(jié)起來，然后水手乘上小艇，朝岸邊劃去，一邊唱歌，小艇后面拖著一長串上下漂浮的酒桶，像一哩路長的一串海豚。河灘上，有馬匹等著，馬拉著酒桶，叮叮咚咚沖上小鎮(zhèn)陡峭的街道。運完最后一桶酒，我們就打個尖，歇一會兒，晚上和朋友們一道喝酒，直到深夜。第二天早上，我就到大橄欖林里去呆上一段時間，好好休息。這時我已經(jīng)暫時不去海島，不過還常同海港和航行打交道。所以我在農(nóng)人當中過著懶散的生活，躺著看他們干活，或者伸長四肢躺在高高的山坡上，遠在腳下就是蔚藍的地中海。于是，我就這樣輕輕松松，一程又一程，或步行，或乘船，最終來到了馬賽，會見了同船的老伙伴，訪問了遠洋巨輪，又一次吃喝飲宴。這不是又談到鮮貝了!是啊，有時我做夢夢見馬賽的鮮貝，竟哭醒了!”

‘That reminds me,’ said the polite Water Rat; ‘you happened to mention that you were hungry, and I ought to have spoken earlier. Of course, you will stop and take your midday meal with me? My hole is close by; it is some time past noon, and you are very welcome to whatever there is.’

“這話倒提醒了我，”知禮的河鼠說，“你偶爾提到你餓了，我該早點說才是。你當然不反對留下來和我共進午餐啰?我的洞就在附近;現(xiàn)在中午已過了，歡迎你來我家用點便飯啦。”

‘Now I call that kind and brotherly of you,’ said the Sea Rat. ‘I was indeed hungry when I sat down, and ever since I inadvertently happened to mention shell-fish, my pangs have been extreme. But couldn’t you fetch it along out here? I am none too fond of going under hatches, unless I’m obliged to; and then, while we eat, I could tell you more concerning my voyages and the pleasant life I lead—at least, it is very pleasant to me, and by your attention I judge it commends itself to you; whereas if we go indoors it is a hundred to one that I shall presently fall asleep.’

“噢，你心腸真好，真夠朋友!”航海鼠說，“我坐下時，確實是餓了，后來一提到鮮貝，就餓得胃痛。不過，你能不能把午餐拿到這兒來?除非萬不得已，我是不太喜歡進茅屋的。再說，咱們一邊吃，我一邊還可以接著給你講，講我的航海經(jīng)歷和愉快的生活。我很高興講這些事，而從你關(guān)注的神情來看，你也很愛聽。如果進屋去，十有八九我會馬上睡著的。”

‘That is indeed an excellent suggestion,’ said the Water Rat, and hurried off home. There he got out the luncheon-basket and packed a simple meal, in which, remembering the stranger’s origin and preferences, he took care to include a yard of long French bread, a sausage out of which the garlic sang, some cheese which lay down and cried, and a long-necked straw-covered flask wherein lay bottled sunshine shed and garnered on far Southern slopes. Thus laden, he returned with all speed, and blushed for pleasure at the old seaman’s commendations of his taste and judgment, as together they unpacked the basket and laid out the contents on the grass by the roadside.

“這是個好主意。”河鼠說，急忙跑回家去。他拿出午餐籃子，裝好一頓簡單的午飯。考慮到來客的出身和嗜好：他特意拿了一個幾碼長的法國面包，三根香腸;腸里的大蒜在唱歌……一塊躺在那兒喊叫的干酪，還有一只用稻草裹著的長頸瓶，瓶里裝著遙遠南方山坡上密制窖藏的葡萄美酒。裝滿一籃后，他飛速跑回河邊。他倆揭開籃子蓋，把食物一樣樣取出擺在路邊的草地上。聽到老海員一個勁兒夸他的口味和判斷力，河鼠高興得滿臉泛紅。

The Sea Rat, as soon as his hunger was somewhat assuaged, continued the history of his latest voyage, conducting his simple hearer from port to port of Spain, landing him at Lisbon, Oporto, and Bordeaux, introducing him to the pleasant harbours of Cornwall and Devon, and so up the Channel to that final quayside, where, landing after winds long contrary, storm-driven and weather-beaten, he had caught the first magical hints and heraldings of another Spring, and, fired by these, had sped on a long tramp inland, hungry for the experiment of life on some quiet farmstead, very far from the weary beating of any sea.

航海鼠稍稍填飽了肚子，就接著講他最近一次航海的經(jīng)歷。帶領(lǐng)著這位單純的聽者遍游西班牙所有的港口，登陸里斯本、波爾圖和波爾多，來到英國的康威爾郡和德文郡那些可愛的港口，然后溯海峽上行，到達最后的港灣地帶。他頂著暴風雨和惡劣的天氣，逆風航行了很長時間，終于登上了陸地，迎來了又一個春天的迷人氣息。這一切激勵著他匆匆奔向內(nèi)陸腹地，一心想體驗?zāi)撤N寧靜的農(nóng)莊生活，遠遠避開海上的顛簸勞頓。

Spell-bound and quivering with excitement, the Water Rat followed the Adventurer league by league, over stormy bays, through crowded roadsteads, across harbour bars on a racing tide, up winding rivers that hid their busy little towns round a sudden turn; and left him with a regretful sigh planted at his dull inland farm, about which he desired to hear nothing.

河鼠聽得出神，激動得渾身顫抖，一里里隨著這位冒險家穿過風雨如晦的海灣，船只擁擠的碇泊處，乘著洶涌的潮水，越過港口的沙洲，駛上千回百轉(zhuǎn)的河流，河的急轉(zhuǎn)彎處隱藏著繁忙的小城鎮(zhèn)。最后航海鼠在他那座沉悶的內(nèi)陸農(nóng)莊長住下來時，河鼠便遺憾地嘆了口氣，再也不想聽有關(guān)這座農(nóng)莊的故事了。

By this time their meal was over, and the Seafarer, refreshed and strengthened, his voice more vibrant, his eye lit with a brightness that seemed caught from some far-away sea-beacon, filled his glass with the red and glowing vintage of the South, and, leaning towards the Water Rat, compelled his gaze and held him, body and soul, while he talked. Those eyes were of the changing foam-streaked grey-green of leaping Northern seas; in the glass shone a hot ruby that seemed the very heart of the South, beating for him who had courage to respond to its pulsation. The twin lights, the shifting grey and the steadfast red, mastered the Water Rat and held him bound, fascinated, powerless. The quiet world outside their rays receded far away and ceased to be. And the talk, the wonderful talk flowed on—or was it speech entirely, or did it pass at times into song—chanty of the sailors weighing the dripping anchor, sonorous hum of the shrouds in a tearing North-Easter, ballad of the fisherman hauling his nets at sundown against an apricot sky, chords of guitar and mandoline from gondola or caique? Did it change into the cry of the wind, plaintive at first, angrily shrill as it freshened, rising to a tearing whistle, sinking to a musical trickle of air from the leech of the bellying sail? All these sounds the spell-bound listener seemed to hear, and with them the hungry complaint of the gulls and the sea-mews, the soft thunder of the breaking wave, the cry of the protesting shingle.

吃完飯;航海鼠恢復(fù)了體力，精神抖擻，說話聲更加震顫，雙目炯炯，仿佛從遙遠海域的燈塔借得了熠熠火光。他往杯里斟滿了殷紅透亮的南國美酒，身子歪向河鼠，目光逼人，用他的故事抓住了河鼠的整個身心;那對眼睛是變幻莫測的灰綠色，如同洶涌起伏的北方誨洋，而杯中的酒，閃耀著熱烈的紅寶石光芒，恰似南方的心臟，為有勇氣與它脈搏合拍的人而跳動。這兩重光芒：游移不定的灰光和固定不變的紅光主宰了河鼠，把他牢牢縛住，使他心迷神馳，無力抗拒。這兩重光以外的清靜世界遠遠退去，不復(fù)存在了。只有航海鼠的話音，那滔滔不絕的奇妙的話音。它究竟是說話，還是時而變成了歌唱，變成水手們起錨時高唱的號子，帆索在呼嘯的東北風里的嗡嗡低吟，日落時澄黃色的天空下漁人拉網(wǎng)的歌謠，游艇或帆船上彈奏吉他或曼陀林的琴音?這話音似又變成了風聲，開始是嗚咽悲鳴，隨后逐漸轉(zhuǎn)強，變成咆哮怒吼，又越升越高，成了撕心裂肺的尖叫，然后又漸漸降低，成了滿帆邊緣在空氣里振動的悅耳的顫音。這位著了魔的聆聽者，仿佛聽到了所有這些聲音，還夾雜著海鷗和海燕饑餓的悲鳴，浪禱拍岸時輕柔的轟響，沙灘表示抗議的呼喊。河鼠揣著一顆怦怦狂跳的心，隨著這位冒險家游歷了十幾個海港，經(jīng)歷了戰(zhàn)斗，脫險，聚會，交友，見義勇為的壯舉。

Back into speech again it passed, and with beating heart he was following the adventures of a dozen seaports, the fights, the escapes, the rallies, the comradeships, the gallant undertakings; or he searched islands for treasure, fished in still lagoons and dozed day-long on warm white sand. Of deep-sea fishings he heard tell, and mighty silver gatherings of the mile-long net; of sudden perils, noise of breakers on a moonless night, or the tall bows of the great liner taking shape overhead through the fog; of the merry home-coming, the headland rounded, the harbour lights opened out; the groups seen dimly on the quay, the cheery hail, the splash of the hawser; the trudge up the steep little street towards the comforting glow of red-curtained windows.

他時而在海島探寶，時而在平靜的瀉湖釣魚，時而又整天躺在溫暖的白沙上打盹。他聽他講深海捕魚，用一哩長的大網(wǎng)撈起銀光閃閃的魚群;聽他講突如其來的危險，在月黑風高的夜晚，排山巨浪的狂吼，還有大霧天頭頂上忽地冒出巨輪高聳的船頭;聽他講返回故里的歡樂，船頭繞過海岬，駛進燈火通明的海港;碼頭上人影晃動，人群在歡呼，大纜索啪地甩了過去，水沫四濺;他們吃力地走上陡峭的小街，向那掛紅窗幔的溫煦快意的燈光走去。

Lastly, in his waking dream it seemed to him that the Adventurer had risen to his feet, but was still speaking, still holding him fast with his sea-grey eyes.‘And now,’ he was softly saying, ‘I take to the road again, holding on southwestwards for many a long and dusty day; till at last I reach the little grey sea town I know so well, that clings along one steep side of the harbour. There through dark doorways you look down flights of stone steps, overhung by great pink tufts of valerian and ending in a patch of sparkling blue water. The little boats that lie tethered to the rings and stanchions of the old sea-wall are gaily painted as those I clambered in and out of in my own childhood; the salmon leap on the flood tide, schools of mackerel flash and play past quay-sides and foreshores, and by the windows the great vessels glide, night and day, up to their moorings or forth to the open sea. There, sooner or later, the ships of all seafaring nations arrive; and there, at its destined hour, the ship of my choice will let go its anchor. I shall take my time, I shall tarry and bide, till at last the right one lies waiting for me, warped out into midstream, loaded low, her bowsprit pointing down harbour. I shall slip on board, by boat or along hawser; and then one morning I shall wake to the song and tramp of the sailors, the clink of the capstan, and the rattle of the anchor-chain coming merrily in. We shall break out the jib and the foresail, the white houses on the harbour side will glide slowly past us as she gathers steering-way, and the voyage will have begun! As she forges towards the headland she will clothe herself with canvas; and then, once outside, the sounding slap of great green seas as she heels to the wind, pointing South!

后來，河鼠在白日夢里仿佛看到，探險鼠已經(jīng)站起身來，但仍在說個不停，那雙海灰色的眸子仍舊緊緊盯著他。“現(xiàn)在，”他輕輕地說：“我又上路了，朝著西南方向，風塵仆仆地一連走許多天，直到到達我熟悉的那個坐落在海港峭壁上的灰黃色濱海小鎮(zhèn)……在那兒，從昏暗的門道向下望去，可以看到一行石階，上面覆蓋著長長的粉紅色纈草，石階的盡頭，便是藍瑩瑩的海水。古老的海堤上的鐵環(huán)或樁柱上，系著一些小艇，漆成鮮艷的色調(diào)，跟我小時候常爬進爬出的那些小艇一個樣。漲潮時，鮭魚隨波跳躍，一群群的鯖魚銀光閃閃，歡蹦嬉戲，游過碼頭和海灘邊。巨輪日夜不停地在窗前徐徐滑過，駛向碇泊處或大海。所有的航海國家的船只，早晚都要抵達那里，在一定的時辰，我選中的那條船就會拋錨。我不急于上船，而是靜候時機，直到我相中的那條船駛進河中央，載滿了貨，船首朝向海港時，我才乘小艇或攀著纜索悄悄溜上船去。于是早晨一覺醒來，我就會聽到水手的歌聲和沉重的腳步聲，絞盤的嘎吱聲，還有收錨索時歡快的哐啷聲。我們扯起船首三角帆和前桅帆。船離岸時，港邊的白色房屋就從我們身邊慢慢滑開，航海就此開始!當船向海岬緩緩駛?cè)r，她全身披滿了白帆;一到外海，她便迎著汪洋大海的萬頃碧波，乘風破浪，直指南方!

‘And you, you will come too, young brother; for the days pass, and never return, and the South still waits for you. Take the Adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes!’ ‘Tis but a banging of the door behind you, a blithesome step forward, and you are out of the old life and into the new! Then some day, some day long hence, jog home here if you will, when the cup has been drained and the play has been played, and sit down by your quiet river with a store of goodly memories for company. You can easily overtake me on the road, for you are young, and I am ageing and go softly. I will linger, and look back; and at last I will surely see you coming, eager and light-hearted, with all the South in your face!’

“你呢，小兄弟，你也要來的;因為光陰一去不復(fù)返，南方在等著你。冒一次險吧!注意聽從召喚，趁著時機還沒有溜走!你只消砰地關(guān)上身后的門，邁開可喜的一步，你就走出了舊生活，跨入了新生活!過了很久很久，有一天，杯中的酒飲干了，好戲演完了，如果愿意，你就溜溜達達往家走，在你安靜的河邊坐下來，揣著滿腦子精彩的回憶，款待你的朋友們。你攆上我毫不費力，因為你年輕。而我已經(jīng)上了年紀，行動遲緩了。我會一步一回頭盼著你，總有一天我準會看到你步履匆匆，心情愉快，面對著偌大的南方，走過來的!”

The voice died away and ceased as an insect’s tiny trumpet dwindles swiftly into silence; and the Water Rat, paralysed and staring, saw at last but a distant speck on the white surface of the road.

他的話音越來越小。聽不見了，就像一只蟲子的小喇叭由強變?nèi)?，杳無聲息了。河鼠楞愣地癱在那兒，最后只見白色的路面上，遠處一個小點。

Mechanically he rose and proceeded to repack the luncheon-basket, carefully and without haste. Mechanically he returned home, gathered together a few small necessaries and special treasures he was fond of, and put them in a satchel; acting with slow deliberation, moving about the room like a sleep-walker; listening ever with parted lips. He swung the satchel over his shoulder, carefully selected a stout stick for his wayfaring, and with no haste, but with no hesitation at all, he stepped across the threshold just as the Mole appeared at the door.

河鼠木木地站起來，動手收拾午餐籃子，仔仔細細，不慌不忙。他木木地回到家里;歸攏一些小件必需品和他珍愛的特殊物品，裝進一只背包。他慢條斯理從容不迫地干著，在屋里來回轉(zhuǎn)游，像個夢游者，張著嘴不住地傾聽。然后，他把背包甩到肩上，仔細挑選了一根粗棍，準備上路。他半點也不著急，可也毫不遲疑，一腳邁出了家門。就在這當兒，鼴鼠出現(xiàn)在門外。

‘Why, where are you off to, Ratty?’ asked the Mole in great surprise, grasping him by the arm.

“喂，鼠兄，你要去哪?”鼴鼠一把抓住河鼠的胳臂，驚愕地問。

‘Going South, with the rest of them,’ murmured the Rat in a dreamy monotone, never looking at him. ‘Seawards first and then on shipboard, and so to the shores that are calling me!’ He pressed resolutely forward, still without haste, but with dogged fixity of purpose; but the Mole, now thoroughly alarmed, placed himself in front of him, and looking into his eyes saw that they were glazed and set and turned a streaked and shifting grey—not his friend’s eyes, but the eyes of some other animal! Grappling with him strongly he dragged him inside, threw him down, and held him.

“去南方，跟別的動物一道。”河鼠夢囈般地喃喃道，連看也沒看他一眼。“先去海邊，再乘船，到那些呼喚我的海岸去!”河鼠堅決地徑直往前走，仍舊不慌不忙，但是毫不動搖。鼴鼠慌了神，忙用身子擋住他，同時盯著他的眼睛瞧。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，河鼠目光呆滯，凝固，出現(xiàn)一種波浪般浮動的灰色條紋，不是他朋友的眼睛，而是別的什么動物的眼睛!他用力把他抓牢，拖回屋里，推倒在地上，按住不放。

The Rat struggled desperately for a few moments, and then his strength seemed suddenly to leave him, and he lay still and exhausted, with closed eyes, trembling. Presently the Mole assisted him to rise and placed him in a chair, where he sat collapsed and shrunken into himself, his body shaken by a violent shivering, passing in time into an hysterical fit of dry sobbing. Mole made the door fast, threw the satchel into a drawer and locked it, and sat down quietly on the table by his friend, waiting for the strange seizure to pass. Gradually the Rat sank into a troubled doze, broken by starts and confused murmurings of things strange and wild and foreign to the unenlightened Mole; and from that he passed into a deep slumber.

河鼠拼命掙扎了一陣，然后。像是突然間泄了氣，躺著一動不動，虛乏無力，閉著眼睛，直打哆嗦。鼴鼠隨即扶他起來，坐在椅子上。他全身癱軟，蜷縮成一團，身子劇烈地抽搐，過后，爆發(fā)出一陣歇斯底里的干嚎。鼴鼠關(guān)緊了門，把背包扔進一個抽屜，鎖好，然后靜靜地坐在朋友身邊的桌子上，等著這陣奇怪的邪魔過去。漸漸地，河鼠沉入了驚悸不寧的淺睡，間或驚醒過來，嘴里面咕噥著，在懵懂的鼴鼠聽來，全是些荒誕不經(jīng)的異國事情。過后，河鼠就睡熟了。

Very anxious in mind, the Mole left him for a time and busied himself with household matters; and it was getting dark when he returned to the parlour and found the Rat where he had left him, wide awake indeed, but listless, silent, and dejected. He took one hasty glance at his eyes; found them, to his great gratification, clear and dark and brown again as before; and then sat down and tried to cheer him up and help him to relate what had happened to him.

鼴鼠心緒焦慮不安，暫時離開河鼠，忙了一陣家務(wù)。天快黑時，他回到客廳，看到河鼠仍呆在原地，完全清醒了，只是沒精打采，一聲不吭，神情沮喪。他匆匆看了一下河鼠的眼睛，發(fā)現(xiàn)那雙眼睛又變得像以前一樣清澈、烏黑、棕黃，這使他頗為滿意。于是他坐下來，試圖使河鼠打起精神，講講剛才發(fā)生的事情。

Poor Ratty did his best, by degrees, to explain things; but how could he put into cold words what had mostly been suggestion? How recall, for another’s benefit, the haunting sea voices that had sung to him, how reproduce at second-hand the magic of the Seafarer’s hundred reminiscences? Even to himself, now the spell was broken and the glamour gone, he found it difficult to account for what had seemed, some hours ago, the inevitable and only thing. It is not surprising, then, that he failed to convey to the Mole any clear idea of what he had been through that day.

可憐的河鼠竭力一樁樁一件件作著解釋：可是那些多半屬暗示性的東西，他用冷冰冰的語言又怎么說得清呢?他怎能對另一個人復(fù)述那曾經(jīng)向他歌唱的迷人的海聲，又怎能再現(xiàn)航海鼠的千百種往事的魔力?現(xiàn)在魔法已破，魅力消失了，幾小時前那似乎是不可避免的天經(jīng)地義的事情;連他自己也很難解釋了。所以，他沒能使鼴鼠明白他那天的經(jīng)歷，就不奇怪了。

To the Mole this much was plain: the fit, or attack, had passed away, and had left him sane again, though shaken and cast down by the reaction. But he seemed to have lost all interest for the time in the things that went to make up his daily life, as well as in all pleasant forecastings of the altered days and doings that the changing season was surely bringing.

對鼴鼠來說，有一點是顯而易見的，就是那陣狂熱病，盡管使河鼠受到打擊，情緒低落，但終究已經(jīng)過去，他又清醒過來了。一時間，他似乎對日常生活中那些瑣事沒了興趣，對季節(jié)變換必然帶來的變化和活動，也無心去作安排了。

Casually, then, and with seeming indifference, the Mole turned his talk to the harvest that was being gathered in, the towering wagons and their straining teams, the growing ricks, and the large moon rising over bare acres dotted with sheaves. He talked of the reddening apples around, of the browning nuts, of jams and preserves and the distilling of cordials; till by easy stages such as these he reached midwinter, its hearty joys and its snug home life, and then he became simply lyrical.

后來，鼴鼠像是漫不經(jīng)心地把話題轉(zhuǎn)到正在收獲的莊稼，堆得高高的車子，奮力拉車的馬匹，越長越高的草垛，還有那冉冉升起的一輪皓月，照著光地上遍布的一捆捆莊稼。他講到處處蘋果在變紅，野果在變黃，講到制作果醬、蜜漬水果、蒸餾酒類;就這么一樣一樣，輕輕松松就談到了隆冬，冬天的熱鬧歡樂，溫暖舒適的屋內(nèi)生活。這時，他簡直變得詩意盎然了。

By degrees the Rat began to sit up and to join in. His dull eye brightened, and he lost some of his listening air.

漸漸地，河鼠坐了起來，和他交談了。他呆滯的眼睛又亮了，懨懨的神情消退了。

Presently the tactful Mole slipped away and returned with a pencil and a few half-sheets of paper, which he placed on the table at his friend’s elbow.

隨后，乖覺的鼴鼠悄悄溜開，拿來一支鉛筆，幾頁紙，放在朋友肘旁的桌子上。

‘It’s quite a long time since you did any poetry,’ he remarked. ‘You might have a try at it this evening, instead of—well, brooding over things so much. I’ve an idea that you’ll feel a lot better when you’ve got something jotted down—if it’s only just the rhymes.’

“你好久沒作詩了，”鼴鼠說，“今晚你可以寫點詩試試，而不必——呃，老是冥思苦想了。我估摸著，你要是寫下幾行——哪怕只是幾個韻腳你就會覺著好過多了。”

The Rat pushed the paper away from him wearily, but the discreet Mole took occasion to leave the room, and when he peeped in again some time later, the Rat was absorbed and deaf to the world; alternately scribbling and sucking the top of his pencil. It is true that he sucked a good deal more than he scribbled; but it was joy to the Mole to know that the cure had at least begun.

河鼠倦怠地把紙筆推開，可是細心的鼴鼠找個由頭離開了客廳。過了一會，他從門邊往里窺看時，只見河鼠已在聚精會神，兩耳不聞窗外事。他時而在紙上寫字，時而嘬著鉛筆頭。盡管嘬鉛筆頭的時間比寫字的時間多得多，可鼴鼠還是快慰地看到，他的療法到底開始奏效。