雙語(yǔ)|現(xiàn)代散文:艾青 畫(huà)鳥(niǎo)的獵人

The Hunter and Bird Painting 畫(huà)鳥(niǎo)的獵人

◎ Ai Qing ◎ 艾青

A man wanted to learn hunting and offered to apprentice himself to a hunter，to whom he said，“One's got to have a speciality．Of all the different trades，I like hunting best．I hope I can go inside a woods with a shotgun and shoot down any bird I want to.”

一個(gè)人想學(xué)打獵，找到一個(gè)打獵的人，拜他做老師。他向那打獵的人說(shuō)：“人必須有一技之長(zhǎng)，在許多職業(yè)里面，我所選中的是打獵，我很想持槍到樹(shù)林里去，打到那我想打的鳥(niǎo)。”

The hunter checked on the quality of the would-be hunter's shotgun and saw it was all right．He also found the man to be quite determined to learn hunting．So he told him the different characteristics of various birds as well as how to aim and shoot．He also advised him to practise shooting on various kinds of birds.

于是打獵的人檢查了那個(gè)徒弟的槍，槍是一支好槍，徒弟也是一個(gè)有決心的徒弟，就告訴他各種鳥(niǎo)的性格，和有關(guān)瞄準(zhǔn)與射擊的一些知識(shí)，并且囑咐他必須尋找各種鳥(niǎo)去練習(xí)。

Thereupon，the man believed that the hunter's words had already made a good hunter of himself．So he went inside a woods，shotgun in hand．However，to his great dismay，wherever he went，all the birds just flew away even before he raised his shotgun.

那個(gè)人聽(tīng)了獵人的話，以為只要知道如何打獵就已經(jīng)能打獵了，于是他持槍到樹(shù)林。但當(dāng)他一進(jìn)入樹(shù)林，走到那里，還沒(méi)有舉起槍，鳥(niǎo)就飛起了。

So he went to call on the hunter again，saying，“Birds are clever．They discover me before I see them．They're gone before I raise my shotgun.”

于是他又來(lái)找獵人，他說(shuō)：“鳥(niǎo)是機(jī)靈的，我沒(méi)有看見(jiàn)它們，它們先看見(jiàn)我，等我一舉起槍，鳥(niǎo)早已飛走了。”

“Do you mean you want to shoot at only birds that can't fly？”asked the hunter.

獵人說(shuō)：“你是想打那不會(huì)飛的鳥(niǎo)么？”

“Honestly，”the man replied，“how nice it would be if birds couldn't fly when I go hunting！”

他說(shuō)：“說(shuō)實(shí)在的，在我想打鳥(niǎo)的時(shí)候，要是鳥(niǎo)能不飛該多好呀！”

“Go home and look for a piece of cardboard，”said the hunter.“Hang it up on a tree after you paint a bird on it．Then shoot at this bird，and you'll make it.”

獵人說(shuō)：“你回去，找一張硬紙，在上面畫(huà)一只鳥(niǎo)，把硬紙掛在樹(shù)上，朝那鳥(niǎo)打——你一定會(huì)成功。”

The man，after arriving home，did what the hunter had told him to do．But，alas，he fired several times without hitting the painted bird．He had no choice but to go and see the hunter again，saying，“I've done everything the way you suggested，but without success.”The hunter asked him why and the man replied，“Maybe I've painted the bird too small，or fired from a place not close enough.”

那個(gè)人回家，照獵人所說(shuō)的做了，試驗(yàn)著打了幾槍，卻沒(méi)有一槍能打中。他只好再去找獵人。他說(shuō)：“我照你說(shuō)的做了，但我還是打不中畫(huà)中的鳥(niǎo)。”獵人問(wèn)他是什么原因，他說(shuō)：“可能是鳥(niǎo)畫(huà)得太小，也可能是距離太遠(yuǎn)。”

The hunter went on after pondering for a moment，“I've been deeply touched by your strong will．Now you go home and hang up on the tree a larger sheet of cardboard for you to shoot at．You'll make it this time，I'm sure.”

那獵人沉思了一陣向他說(shuō)：“對(duì)你的決心，我很感動(dòng)，你回去，把一張大一些的紙掛在樹(shù)上，朝那紙打——這一次你一定會(huì)成功。”

The man asked apprehensively，“Shoot from the same distance？”

那個(gè)人很擔(dān)憂地問(wèn)：“還是那個(gè)距離么？”

“It's up to you to decide.”

獵人說(shuō)：“由你自己去決定。”

“There'll also be a bird painted on the cardboard？”

那人又問(wèn)：“那紙上還是畫(huà)著鳥(niǎo)么？”

“No.”

獵人說(shuō)：“不。”

The man asked with a forced smile，“You mean I'm to target the cardboard only？”

那人苦笑了，說(shuō)：“那不是打紙么？”

The hunter explained in good earnest，“What I mean is this：Keep firing at the cardboard as many times as you like．Then paint a bird wherever there is a hole．As a result，there will be as many birds as your holes．That's the way for you to be absolutely certain about your success.”

獵人很嚴(yán)肅地告訴他說(shuō)：“我的意思是，你先朝著紙只管打，打完了，就在有孔的地方畫(huà)上鳥(niǎo)，打了幾個(gè)孔，就畫(huà)幾只鳥(niǎo)——這對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)，是最有把握的了。”

艾青是詩(shī)人，同時(shí)也是散文家。《畫(huà)鳥(niǎo)的獵人》是他的寓言作品，選自人民出版社1979年出版的《艾青詩(shī)選》。文章諷刺人們常借空想安慰自己，虛而無(wú)實(shí)，無(wú)濟(jì)于事，自欺欺人，不禁使讀者想起那膾炙人口的典故“畫(huà)餅充饑”和“望梅止渴”。