英語聽書《白鯨記》第764期

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so now, Starbuck saw long coils of the umbilical cord of Madame Leviathan, by which the young cub seemed still tethered to its dam. Not seldom in the rapid vicissitudes of the chase, this natural line, with the maternal end loose, becomes entangled with the hempen one, so that the cub is thereby trapped. Some of the subtlest secrets of the seas seemed divulged to us in this enchanted pond. We saw young Leviathan amours in the deep.**The sperm whale, as with all other species of the Leviathan, but unlike most other fish, breeds indifferently at all seasons; after a gestation which may probably be set down at nine months, producing but one at a time; though in some few known instances giving birth to an Esau and Jacob:—a contingency provided for in suckling by two teats, curiously situated, one on each side of the anus; but the breasts themselves extend upwards from that. When by chance these precious parts in a nursing whale are cut by the hunter's lance, the mother's pouring milk and blood rivallingly discolor the sea for rods. The milk is very sweet and rich; it has been tasted by man; it might do well with strawberries. When overflowing with mutual esteem, the whales salute more hominum.

這時，斯達(dá)巴克所看到的，就是這般情況。原來是一條鯨太太的一大卷臍帶，而那條小鯨似乎還跟它母親連在一起。在變化多端的追捕中，這并不是罕見的事，這根天然繩子，往往一從母鯨后邊脫落下來，就跟那根麻繩糾纏在一起，所以也把那只小鯨給套住了。在這個令人迷惑的大池里，好象海洋的一些極難解的秘密也向我們展現(xiàn)出來了。我們竟看到了小鯨在海底里的親昵景象。（原注：抹香鯨，和其它鯨類一樣（不過不同于其它大多數(shù)魚類），一年四季都能生育。它的受孕期大概是九個月，每次只生一條小鯨；雖然偶爾也會有雙胞胎。為防這樣的意外事項，它們長有兩只奶頭，乳部的位置非常奇怪，生在肛門的兩邊，而胸脯卻跟它隔得頗遠(yuǎn)。這種希奇的部位偶然被獵人戳到的時候，母鯨所流出來的奶和血就會使周圍好幾英里的海水都變了色。鯨乳芳甜濃冽，人們曾吃到這東西，據(jù)說摻上野楊梅，十分可口。鯨在彼此愛慕得情不自禁的時候，也會象人類一樣接吻。）