雙語全文 ● 魯迅——藥

Medicine

 

Ⅰ

 

It was autumn， in the small hours of the morning. The moon had gone down， but the sun had not yet risen， and the sky appeared a sheet of darkling blue. Apart from night-prowlers， all was asleep. Old Shuan suddenly sat up in bed. He struck a match and lit the grease-covered oillamp， which shed a ghostly light over the two rooms of the teahouse.

 

“Are you going now， Dad？” queried an old woman’s voice. And from the small inner room a fit of coughing was heard.

 

“H’m.”

 

Old Shuan listened as he fastened his clothes， then stretching out his hand said， “Let’s have it.”

 

After some fumbling under the pillow his wife produced a packet of silver dollars which she handed over. Old Shuan pocketed it nervously，patted his pocket twice， then lighting a paper lantern and blowing out the lamp went into the inner room. A rustling was heard， and then more coughing. When all was quiet again， Old Shuan called softly， “Son！... Don’t get up！... Your mother will see to the shop.”

 

Receiving no answer， Old Shuan assumed his son must be sound asleep again； so he went out into the street. In the darkness nothing could be seen but the grey roadway. The lantern light fell on his pacing feet. Here and there he came across dogs， but none of them barked. It was much colder than indoors， yet Old Shuan’s spirits rose， as if he had grown suddenly younger and possessed some miraculous life-giving power. He had lengthened his stride. And the road became increasingly clear， the sky increasingly bright.

 

Absorbed in his walking， Old Shuan was startled when he saw the crossroad lying distinctly ahead of him. He walked back a few steps to stand under the eaves of a shop， in front of its closed door. After some time he began to feel chilly.

 

藥

 

一

 

秋天的后半夜，月亮下去了，太陽還沒有出，只剩下一片烏藍(lán)的天：除了夜游的東西，什么都睡著。華老栓忽然坐起身，擦著火柴，點(diǎn)上遍身油膩的燈盞，茶館的兩間屋子里，便彌滿了青白的光。

 

“小栓的爹，你就去么？”是一個(gè)老女人的聲音。里邊的小屋子里，也發(fā)出一陣咳嗽。

 

“唔。”老栓一面聽，一面應(yīng)，一面扣上衣服；伸手過去說，“你給我罷。”

 

華大媽在枕頭底下掏了半天，掏出一包洋錢，交給老栓，老栓接了，抖抖的裝入衣袋，又在外面按了兩下；便點(diǎn)上燈籠，吹熄燈盞，走向里屋子去了。那屋子里面，正在窸窸窣窣的響，接著便是一通咳嗽。老栓候他平靜下去，才低低的叫道，“小栓……你不要起來。……店么？你娘會(huì)安排的。”

 

老栓聽得兒子不再說話，料他安心睡了；便出了門，走到街上。街上黑沉沉的一無所有，只有一條灰白的路，看得分明。燈光照著他的兩腳，一前一后的走。有時(shí)也遇到幾只狗，可是一只也沒有叫。天氣比屋子里冷得多了；老栓倒覺爽快，仿佛一旦變了少年，得了神通，有給人生命的本領(lǐng)似的，跨步格外高遠(yuǎn)。而且路也愈走愈分明，天也愈走愈亮了。

 

老栓正在專心走路，忽然吃了一驚，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)里看見一條丁字街，明明白白橫著。他便退了幾步，尋到一家關(guān)著門的鋪?zhàn)?，蹩進(jìn)檐下，靠門立住了。好一會(huì)，身上覺得有些發(fā)冷。

 

“Uh， an old chap.”

 

“Seems rather cheerful....”

 

Old Shuan started again and， opening his eyes， saw several men passing. One of them even turned back to look at him， and although he could not see him clearly， the man’s eyes shone with a lustful light， like a famished person’s at the sight of food. Looking at his lantern， Old Shuan saw it had gone out. He patted his pocket—the hard packet was still there. Then he looked round and saw many strange people， in twos and threes，wandering about like lost souls. However， when he gazed steadily at them，he could not see anything else strange about them.

 

Presently he saw some soldiers strolling around. The large white circles on their uniforms， both in front and behind， were clear even at a distance；and as they drew nearer， the dark red border could be seen too. The next second， with a trampling of feet， a crowd rushed past. Thereupon the small groups which had arrived earlier suddenly converged and surged forward. Just before the crossroad， they came to a sudden stop and grouped themselves in a semi-circle.

 

Old Shuan looked in that direction too， but could only see people’s backs. Craning their necks as far as they would go， they looked like so many ducks， held and lifted by some invisible hand. For a moment all was still；then a sound was heard， and a stir swept through the onlookers. There was a rumble as they pushed back， sweeping past Old Shuan and nearly knocking him down.

 

“Hey！ Give me the cash， and I’ll give you the goods！” A man clad entirely in black stood before him， his eyes like daggers， making Old Shuan shrink to half his normal size. This man was thrusting one huge extended hand towards him， while in the other he held a roll of steamed bread， from which crimson drops were dripping to the ground.

 

Hurriedly Old Shuan fumbled for his dollars， and trembling he was about to hand them over， but he dared not take the object. The other grew impatient， and shouted， “What are you afraid of？ Why not take it？” When Old Shuan still hesitated， the man in black snatched his lantern and tore off its paper shade to wrap up the roll. This package he thrust into Old Shuan’s hand， at the same time seizing the silver and giving it a cursory feel. Then he turned away， muttering， Old fool.... ”

 

“哼，老頭子。”

 

“倒高興……。”

 

老栓又吃一驚，睜眼看時(shí)，幾個(gè)人從他面前過去了。一個(gè)還回頭看他，樣子不甚分明，但很像久餓的人見了食物一般，眼里閃出一種攫取的光。老栓看看燈籠，已經(jīng)熄了。按一按衣袋，硬硬的還在。仰起頭兩面一望，只見許多古怪的人，三三兩兩，鬼似的在那里徘徊；定睛再看，卻也看不出什么別的奇怪。

 

沒有多久，又見幾個(gè)兵，在那邊走動(dòng)；衣服前后的一個(gè)大白圓圈，遠(yuǎn)地里也看得清楚，走過面前的，并且看出號(hào)衣上暗紅色的鑲邊。——一陣腳步聲響，一眨眼，已經(jīng)擁過了一大簇人。那三三兩兩的人，也忽然合作一堆，潮一般向前趕；將到丁字街口，便突然立住，簇成一個(gè)半圓。

 

老栓也向那邊看，卻只見一堆人的后背；頸項(xiàng)都伸得很長(zhǎng)，仿佛許多鴨，被無形的手捏住了的，向上提著。靜了一會(huì)，似乎有點(diǎn)聲音，便又動(dòng)搖起來，轟的一聲，都向后退；一直散到老栓立著的地方，幾乎將他擠倒了。

 

“喂！一手交錢，一手交貨！”一個(gè)渾身黑色的人，站在老栓面前，眼光正像兩把刀，剌得老栓縮小了一半。那人一只大手，向他攤著；一只手卻撮著一個(gè)鮮紅的饅頭，那紅的還是一點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)的往下滴。

 

老栓慌忙摸出洋錢，抖抖的想交給他，卻又不敢去接他的東西。那人便焦急起來，嚷道，“怕什么？怎的不拿！”老栓還躊躇著；黑的人便搶過燈籠，一把扯下紙罩，裹了饅頭，塞與老栓；一手抓過洋錢，捏一捏，轉(zhuǎn)身去了。嘴里哼著說，“這老東西……。”

 

“Whose sickness is this for？” Old Shuan seemed to hear someone ask；but he made no reply. His whole mind was on the package， which he carried as carefully as if it were the sole heir to an ancient house. Nothing else mattered now. He was about to transplant this new life to his own home，and reap much happiness. The sun too had risen； lighting up the broad highway before him， which led straight home， and the worn tablet behind him at the crossroad with its faded gold inscription：“Ancient Pavilion.”

 

Ⅱ

 

When Old Shuan reached home， the shop had been cleaned， and the rows of tea-tables were shining brightly； but no customers had arrived. Only his son was sitting at a table by the wall， eating. Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead， his lined jacket was sticking to his spine， and his shoulder blades stuck out so sharply， an inverted V seemed stamped there. At this sight， Old Shuan’s brow， which had been clear， contracted again. His wife hurried in from the kitchen， with expectant eyes and a tremor to her lips.

 

“Get it？”

 

“Yes.”

 

They went together into the kitchen， and conferred for a time. Then the old woman went out， to return shortly with a dried lotus leaf which she spread on the table. Old Shuan unwrapped the crimson-stained roll from the lantern paper and transferred it to the lotus leaf. Little Shuan had finished his meal， but his mother exclaimed hastily：

 

“Sit still， Little Shuan！ Don’t come over here.”

 

Mending the fire in the stove， Old Shuan put the green package and the red and white lantern paper into the stove together. A red-black flame flared up， and a strange odour permeated the shop.

 

“這給誰治病的呀？”老栓也似乎聽得有人問他，但他并不答應(yīng)；他的精神，現(xiàn)在只在一個(gè)包上，仿佛抱著一個(gè)十世單傳的嬰兒，別的事情，都已置之度外了。他現(xiàn)在要將這包里的新的生命，移植到他家里，收獲許多幸福。太陽也出來了；在他面前，顯出一條大道，直到他家中，后面也照見丁字街頭破匾上“古□亭口”這四個(gè)黯淡的金字。

 

二

 

老栓走到家，店面早經(jīng)收拾干凈，一排一排的茶桌，滑溜溜的發(fā)光。但是沒有客人；只有小栓坐在里排的桌前吃飯，大粒的汗，從額上滾下，夾祅也帖住了脊心，兩塊肩胛骨高高凸出，印成一個(gè)陽文的“八”字。老栓見這樣子，不免皺一皺展開的眉心。他的女人，從灶下急急走出，睜著眼睛，嘴唇有些發(fā)抖。

 

“得了么？”

 

“得了。”

 

兩個(gè)人一齊走進(jìn)灶下，商量了一會(huì)；華大媽便出去了，不多時(shí)，拿著一片老荷葉回來，攤在桌上。老栓也打開燈籠罩，用荷葉重新包了那紅的饅頭。小栓也吃完飯，他的母親慌忙說：

 

“小栓——你坐著，不要到這里來。”

 

一面整頓了灶火，老栓便把一個(gè)碧綠的包，一個(gè)紅紅白白的破燈籠，一同塞在灶里；一陣紅黑的火焰過去時(shí)，店屋里散滿了一種奇怪的香味。

 

“Smells good！ What are you eating？” The hunchback had arrived. He was one of those who spend all their time in teahouses， the first to come in the morning and the last to leave. Now he had just stumbled to a corner table facing the street， and sat down. But no one answered his question.

 

“Puffed rice gruel？”

 

Still no reply. Old Shuan hurried out to brew tea for him.

 

“Come here， Little Shuan！” His mother called him into the inner room，set a stool in the middle， and sat the child down. Then， bringing him a round black object on a plate， she said gently：

 

“Eat it up ... then you’ll be better.”

 

Little Shuan picked up the black object and looked at it. He had the oddest feeling， as if he were holding his own life in his hands. Presently he split it carefully open. From within the charred crust a jet of white vapour escaped， then scattered， leaving only two halves of a white flour steamed roll. Soon it was all eaten， the flavour completely forgotten， only the empty plate left. His father and mother were standing one on each side of him，their eyes apparently pouring something into him and at the same time extracting something. His small heart began to beat faster， and， putting his hands to his chest， he began to cough again.

 

“Have a sleep； then you’ll be all right， ” said his mother.

 

Obediently， Little Shuan coughed himself to sleep. The woman waited till his breathing was regular， then covered him lightly with a much patched quilt.

 

Ⅲ

 

The shop was crowded， and Old Shuan was busy， carrying a big copper kettle to make tea for one customer after another. But there were dark circles under his eyes.

 

“Aren’t you well， Old Shuan？... What’s wrong with you？” asked one greybeard.

 

“好香！你們吃什么點(diǎn)心呀？”這是駝背五少爺?shù)搅?。這人每天總在茶館里過日，來得最早，去得最遲，此時(shí)恰恰蹩到臨街的壁角的桌邊，便坐下問話，然而沒有人答應(yīng)他。“炒米粥么？”仍然沒有人應(yīng)。老栓匆匆走出，給他泡上茶。

 

“小栓進(jìn)來罷！”華大媽叫小栓進(jìn)了里面的屋子，中間放好一條凳，小栓坐了。他的母親端過一碟烏黑的圓東西，輕輕說：

 

“吃下去罷，——病便好了。”

 

小栓撮起這黑東西，看了一會(huì)，似乎拿著自己的性命一般，心里說不出的奇怪。十分小心的拗開了，焦皮里面竄出一道白氣，白氣散了，是兩半個(gè)白面的饅頭。——不多工夫，已經(jīng)全在肚里了，卻全忘了什么味；面前只剩下一張空盤。他的旁邊，一面立著他的父親，一面立著他的母親，兩人的眼光，都仿佛要在他身里注進(jìn)什么又要取出什么似的；便禁不住心跳起來，按著胸膛，又是一陣咳嗽。

 

“睡一會(huì)罷，——便好了。”

 

小栓依他母親的話，咳著睡了。華大媽候他喘氣平靜，才輕輕的給他蓋上了滿幅補(bǔ)釘?shù)膴A被。

 

三

 

店里坐著許多人，老栓也忙了，提著大銅壺，一趟一趟的給客人沖茶；兩個(gè)眼眶，都圍著一圈黑線。

 

“老栓，你有些不舒服么？——你生病么？”一個(gè)花白胡子的人說。

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Nothing？... No， I suppose from your smile， there couldn’t be，” the old man corrected himself.

 

“It’s just that Old Shuan’s busy，” said the hunchback. “If his son ...” But before he could finish， a heavy-jowled man burst in. He had over his shoulders a dark brown shirt， unbuttoned and fastened carelessly by a broad dark brown girdle at his waist. As soon as he entered， he shouted to Old Shuan：

 

“Has he taken it？ Any better？ Luck’s with you， Old Shuan. What luck！ If not for my hearing of things so quickly....”

 

Holding the kettle in one hand， the other straight by his side in an attitude of respect， Old Shuan listened with a smile. In fact， all present were listening respectfully. The old woman， dark circles under her eyes too， came out smiling with a bowl containing tealeaves and an added olive， over which Old Shuan poured boiling water for the newcomer.

 

“This is a guaranteed cure！ Not like other things！” declared the heavyjowled man. “Just think， brought back warm， and eaten warm！ ”

 

“Yes indeed， we couldn’t have managed it without Uncle Kang’s help.”The old woman thanked him very warmly.

 

“A guaranteed cure！ Eaten warm like this. A roll dipped in human blood like this can cure any consumption！”

 

The old woman seemed a little disconcerted by the word“consumption，” and turned a shade paler； however， she forced a smile again at once and found some pretext to leave. Meanwhile the man in brown was indiscreet enough to go on talking at the top of his voice until the child in the inner room was woken and started coughing.

 

“So you’ve had such a stroke of luck for your Little Shuan！ Of course his sickness will be cured completely. No wonder Old Shuan keeps smiling.” As he spoke， the greybeard walked up to the man in brown， and lowered his voice to ask：

 

“Mr. Kang， I heard the criminal executed today came from the Xia family. Who was it？ And why was he executed？”

 

“沒有。”

 

“沒有？——我想笑嘻嘻的，原也不像……”花白胡子便取消了自己的話。

 

“老栓只是忙。要是他的兒子……”駝背五少爺話還未完，突然闖進(jìn)了一個(gè)滿臉橫肉的人，披一件玄色布衫，散著紐扣，用很寬的玄色腰帶，胡亂捆在腰間。剛進(jìn)門，便對(duì)老栓嚷道：

 

“吃了么？好了么？老栓，就是運(yùn)氣了你！你運(yùn)氣，要不是我信息靈……。”

 

老栓一手提了茶壺，一手恭恭敬敬的垂著；笑嘻嘻的聽。滿座的人，也都恭恭敬敬的聽。華大媽也黑著眼眶，笑嘻嘻的送出茶碗茶葉來，加上一個(gè)橄欖，老栓便去沖了水。

 

“這是包好！這是與眾不同的。你想，趁熱的拿來，趁熱吃下。”橫肉的人只是嚷。

 

“真的呢，要沒有康大叔照顧，怎么會(huì)這樣……”華大媽也很感激的謝他。

 

“包好，包好！這樣的趁熱吃下。這樣的人血饅頭，什么癆病都包好！”

 

華大媽聽到“癆病”這兩個(gè)字，變了一點(diǎn)臉色，似乎有些不高興；但又立刻堆上笑，搭赸著走開了。這康大叔卻沒有覺察，仍然提高了喉嚨只是嚷，嚷得里面睡著的小栓也合伙咳嗽起來。

 

“原來你家小栓碰到了這樣的好運(yùn)氣了。這病自然一定全好；怪不得老栓整天的笑著呢。”花白胡子一面說，一面走到康大叔面前，低聲下氣的問道，“康大叔——聽說今天結(jié)果的一個(gè)犯人，便是夏家的孩子，那是誰的孩子？究竟是什么事？”

 

“Who？ Son of Widow Xia， of course！ Young rascal！”

 

Seeing how they were all hanging on his words， Mr. Kang’s spirits rose even higher. His jowls quivered， and he made his voice as loud as he could.

 

“The rogue didn’t want to live， simply didn’t want to！ There was nothing in it for me this time. Even the clothes stripped from him were taken by Red-eye， the jailer. Our Old Shuan was the luckiest， and after him Third Uncle Xia. He pocketed the whole reward——twenty-five taels of bright silver—and didn’t have to spend a cent！”

 

Little Shuan walked slowly out of the inner room， his hands to his chest，coughing repeatedly. He went to the kitchen， filled a bowl with cold rice，added hot water to it， and sitting down started to eat. His mother， hovering over him， asked softly：

 

“Do you feel better， son？ Still as hungry as ever？”

 

“A guaranteed cure！” Kang glanced at the child， then turned back to address the company. “Third Uncle Xia is really smart. If he hadn’t informed， even his family would have been executed， and their property confiscated. But instead？ Silver！ That young rogue was a real scoundrel！ He even tried to incite the jailer to revolt！ ”

 

“No！ The idea of it！” A man in his twenties， sitting in the back row，expressed indignation.

 

“You know， Red-eye went to sound him out， but he started chatting with him. He said the great Qing empire belongs to us. Just think： is that kind of talk rational？ Red-eye knew he had only an old mother at home， but had never imagined he was so poor. He couldn’t squeeze anything out of him； he was already good and angry， and then the young fool would‘scratch the tiger’s head，’ so he gave him a couple of slaps.”

 

“Red-eye is a good boxer. Those slaps must have hurt！” The hunchback in the corner by the wall exulted.

 

“The rotter was not afraid of being beaten. He even said how sorry he was.”

 

“Nothing to be sorry about in beating a wretch like that，” said Greybeard.

 

“誰的？不就是夏四奶奶的兒子么？那個(gè)小家伙！”康大叔見眾人都聳起耳朵聽他，便格外高興，橫肉塊塊飽綻，越發(fā)大聲說，“這小東西不要命，不要就是了。我可是這一回一點(diǎn)沒有得到好處；連剝下來的衣服，都給管牢的紅眼睛阿義拿去了。——第一要算我們栓叔運(yùn)氣；第二是夏三爺賞了二十五兩雪白的銀子，獨(dú)自落腰包，一文不花。”

 

小栓慢慢的從小屋子走出，兩手按了胸口，不住的咳嗽；走到灶下，盛出一碗冷飯，泡上熱水，坐下便吃。華大媽跟著他走，輕輕的問道，“小栓，你好些么？——你仍舊只是肚餓？……”

 

“包好，包好！”康大叔瞥了小栓一眼，仍然回過臉，對(duì)眾人說，“夏三爺真是乖角兒，要是他不先告官，連他滿門抄斬?，F(xiàn)在怎樣？銀子！——這小東西也真不成東西！關(guān)在牢里，還要?jiǎng)窭晤^造反。”

 

“阿呀，那還了得。”坐在后排的一個(gè)二十多歲的人，很現(xiàn)出氣憤模樣。

 

“你要曉得紅眼睛阿義是去盤盤底細(xì)的，他卻和他攀談了。他說：這大清的天下是我們大家的。你想：這是人話么？紅眼睛原知道他家里只有一個(gè)老娘，可是沒有料到他竟會(huì)那么窮，榨不出一點(diǎn)油水，已經(jīng)氣破肚皮了。他還要老虎頭上搔癢，便給他兩個(gè)嘴巴！”

 

“義哥是一手好拳棒，這兩下，一定夠他受用了。”壁角的駝背忽然高興起來。

 

“他這賤骨頭打不怕，還要說可憐可憐哩。”

 

花白胡子的人說，“打了這種東西，有什么可憐呢？”

 

Kang looked at him superciliously and said disdainfully， “You misunderstood. The way he said it， he was sorry for Red-eye.”

 

His listeners’ eyes took on a glazed look， and no one spoke. Little Shuan had finished his rice and was perspiring profusely， his head steaming.

 

“Sorry for Red-eye—crazy！ He must have been crazy！” said Greybeard，as if suddenly he saw light.

 

“He must have been crazy！” echoed the man in his twenties.

 

Once more the customers began to show animation， and conversation was resumed. Under cover of the noise， the child was seized by a paroxysm of coughing. Kang went up to him， clapped him on the shoulder， and said：

 

“A guaranteed cure！ Don’t cough like that， Little Shuan！ A guaranteed cure！”

 

“Crazy！” agreed the hunchback， nodding his head.

 

Ⅳ

 

Originally， the land adjacent to the city wall outside the West Gate had been public land. The zigzag path slanting across it， trodden out by passersby seeking a short cut， had become a natural boundary line. Left of the path，executed criminals or those who had died of neglect in prison were buried. Right of the path were paupers’ graves. The serried ranks of grave mounds on both sides looked like the rolls laid out for a rich man’s birthday.

 

The Qing Ming Festival that year was unusually cold. Willows were only beginning to put forth shoots no larger than grains. Shortly after daybreak， Old Shuan’s wife brought four dishes and a bowl of rice to set before a new grave in the right section， and wailed before it. When she had burned paper money she sat on the ground in a stupor as if waiting for something； but for what， she herself did not know. A breeze sprang up and stirred her short hair， which was certainly whiter than in the previous year.

 

Another woman came down the path， grey-haired and in rags. She was carrying an old， round， red-lacquered basket， with a string of paper money hanging from it； and she walked haltingly. When she saw Old Shuan’s wife sitting on the ground watching her， she hesitated， and a flush of shame spread over her pale face. However， she summoned up courage to cross over to a grave in the left section， where she set down her basket.

 

康大叔顯出看他不上的樣子，冷笑著說，“你沒有聽清我的話：看他神氣，是說阿義可憐哩！”

 

聽著的人的眼光，忽然有些板滯：話也停頓了。小栓已經(jīng)吃完飯，吃得滿身流汗，頭上都冒出蒸氣來。

 

“阿義可憐——瘋話，簡(jiǎn)直是發(fā)了瘋了。”花白胡子恍然大悟似的說。

 

“發(fā)了瘋了。”二十多歲的人也恍然大悟的說。

 

店里的坐客，便又現(xiàn)出活氣，談笑起來。小栓也趁著熱鬧，拼命咳嗽：康大叔走上前，拍他肩膀說：

 

“包好！小栓——你不要這么咳。包好！”

 

“瘋了。”駝背五少爺點(diǎn)著頭說。

 

四

 

西關(guān)外靠著城根的地面，本是一塊官地；中間歪歪斜斜一條細(xì)路，是貪走便道的人，用鞋底造成的，但卻成了自然的界限。路的左邊，都埋著死刑和瘐斃的人，右邊是窮人的叢冢。兩面都已埋到層層疊疊，宛然闊人家里祝壽時(shí)候的饅頭。

 

這一年的清明，分外寒冷；楊柳才吐出半粒米大的新芽。天明未久，華大媽已在右邊的一坐新墳前面，排出四碟菜，一碗飯，哭了一場(chǎng)?；^紙，呆呆的坐在地上；仿佛等候什么似的，但自己也說不出等候什么。微風(fēng)起來，吹動(dòng)他短發(fā)，確乎比去年白得多了。

 

小路上又來了一個(gè)女人，也是半白頭發(fā)，襤褸的衣裙；提一個(gè)破舊的朱漆圓籃，外掛一串紙錠，三步一歇的走。忽然見華大媽坐在地上看他，便有些躊躇，慘白的臉上，現(xiàn)出些羞愧的顏色；但終于硬著頭皮，走到左邊的一坐墳前，放下了籃子。

 

That grave was directly opposite Little Shuan’s， separated only by the path. As Old Shuan’s wife watched the other woman set out four dishes and a bowl of rice， then stand up to wail and burn paper money， she thought， “It must be her son in that grave too.” The older woman took a few aimless steps and stared vacantly around， then suddenly she began to tremble and stagger backward： she felt giddy.

 

Fearing sorrow might send her out of her mind， Old Shuan’s wife got up and stepped across the path， to say quietly， “Don’t grieve， let’s go home.”

 

The other nodded， but her eyes were still fixed， and she muttered，“Look！ What’s that？”

 

Looking where she pointed， Old Shuan’s wife saw that the grave in front had not yet been overgrown with grass. Ugly patches of soil still showed. But when she looked carefully， she was surprised to see at the top of the mound a wreath of red and white flowers.

 

Both of them suffered from failing eyesight， yet they could see these red and white flowers clearly. There were not many， but they were placed in a circle； and although not very fresh， were neatly set out. Little Shuan’s mother looked round and found her own son’s grave， like most of the rest，dotted with only a few little， pale flowers shivering in the cold. Suddenly she had a sense of futility and stopped feeling curious about the wreath.

 

Meantime the old woman had gone up to the grave to look more closely. “They have no roots，” she said to herself. “They can’t have grown here. Who could have been here？ Children don’t come here to play， and none of our relatives have ever been. What could have happened？” She puzzled over it， until suddenly her tears began to fall， and she cried aloud：

 

“Son， they all wronged you， and you do not forget. Is your grief still so great that today you worked this wonder to let me know？”

 

She looked all around， but could see only a crow perched on a leafless bough.“I know，” she continued. “They murdered you. But a day of reckoning will come， Heaven will see to it. Close your eyes in peace.... If you are really here， and can hear me， make that crow fly on to your grave as a sign.”

 

那墳與小栓的墳，一字兒排著，中間只隔一條小路。華大媽看他排好四碟菜，一碗飯，立著哭了一通，化過紙錠；心里暗暗地想，“這墳里的也是兒子了。”那老女人徘洄觀望了一回，忽然手腳有些發(fā)抖，蹌蹌踉踉退下幾步，瞪著眼只是發(fā)怔。

 

華大媽見這樣子，生怕他傷心到快要發(fā)狂了；便忍不住立起身，跨過小路，低聲對(duì)他說，“你這位老奶奶不要傷心了，——我們還是回去罷。”

 

那人點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)頭，眼睛仍然向上瞪著；也低聲吃吃的說道，“你看，——看這是什么呢?”

 

華大媽跟了他指頭看去，眼光便到了前面的墳，這墳上草根還沒有全合，露出一塊一塊的黃土，煞是難看。再往上仔細(xì)看時(shí)，卻不覺也吃一驚；——分明有一圈紅白的花，圍著那尖圓的墳頂。

 

他們的眼睛都已老花多年了，但望這紅白的花，卻還能明白看見?；ㄒ膊缓芏啵瑘A圓的排成一個(gè)圈，不很精神，倒也整齊。華大媽忙看他兒子和別人的墳，卻只有不怕冷的幾點(diǎn)青白小花，零星開著；便覺得心里忽然感到一種不足和空虛，不愿意根究。那老女人又走近幾步，細(xì)看了一遍，自言自語的說，“這沒有根，不像自己開的。——這地方有誰來呢？孩子不會(huì)來玩；——親戚本家早不來了。——這是怎么一回事呢？”他想了又想，忽又流下淚來，大聲說道：

 

“瑜兒，他們都冤枉了你，你還是忘不了，傷心不過，今天特意顯點(diǎn)靈，要我知道么？”他四面一看，只見一只烏鴉，站在一株沒有葉的樹上，便接著說，“我知道了。——瑜兒，可憐他們坑了你，他們將來總有報(bào)應(yīng)，天都知道；你閉了眼睛就是了。——你如果真在這里，聽到我的話，——便教這烏鴉飛上你的墳頂，給我看罷。”

 

The breeze had long since dropped， and the dry grass stood stiff and straight as copper wires. A faint， tremulous sound vibrated in the air， then faded and died away. All around was deathly still. They stood in the dry grass， looking up at the crow； and the crow， on the rigid bough of the tree，its head drawn in， stood immobile as iron.

 

Time passed. More people， young and old， came to visit the graves.

 

Old Shuan’s wife felt somehow as if a load had been lifted from her mind and， wanting to leave， she urged the other：

 

“let’s go.”

 

The old woman sighed， and listlessly picked up the rice and dishes. After a moment’s hesitation she started slowly off， still muttering to herself：

 

“What could it mean？”

 

They had not gone thirty paces when they heard a loud caw behind them. Startled， they looked round and saw the crow stretch its wings， brace itself to take off， then fly like an arrow towards the far horizon.

 

April 1919

 

微風(fēng)早經(jīng)停息了；枯草支支直立，有如銅絲。一絲發(fā)抖的聲音，在空氣中愈顫愈細(xì)，細(xì)到?jīng)]有，周圍便都是死一般靜。兩人站在枯草叢里，仰面看那烏鴉；那烏鴉也在筆直的樹枝間，縮著頭，鐵鑄一般站著。

 

許多的工夫過去了；上墳的人漸漸增多，幾個(gè)老的小的，在土墳間出沒。

 

華大媽不知怎的，似乎卸下了一挑重?fù)?dān)，便想到要走；一面勸著說，“我們還是回去罷。”

 

那老女人嘆一口氣，無精打采的收起飯菜；又遲疑了一刻，終于慢慢地走了。嘴里自言自語的說，“這是怎么一回事呢？……”

 

他們走不上二三十步遠(yuǎn)，忽聽得背后“啞——”的一聲大叫；兩個(gè)人都竦然的回過頭，只見那烏鴉張開兩翅，一挫身，直向著遠(yuǎn)處的天空，箭也似的飛去了。

 

一九一九年四月。

 

微風(fēng)早經(jīng)停息了；枯草支支直立，有如銅絲。一絲發(fā)抖的聲音，在空氣中愈顫愈細(xì)，細(xì)到?jīng)]有，周圍便都是死一般靜。兩人站在枯草叢里，仰面看那烏鴉；那烏鴉也在筆直的樹枝間，縮著頭，鐵鋳一般站著。