OK阅读网

我的生活海伦·凯勒自传
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

英文中文双语对照双语交替

首页目录上一章下一章

Chapter XI

第十一章

In the autumn I returned to my Southern home with a heart full of joyous memories. As I recall that visit North I am filled with wonder at the richness and variety of the experiences that cluster about it. It seems to have been the beginning of everything. The treasures of a new, beautiful world were laid at my feet, and I took in pleasure and information at every turn. I lived myself into all things. I was never still a moment; my life was as full of motion as those little insects that crowd a whole existence into one brief day. I met many people who talked with me by spelling into my hand, and thought in joyous sympathy leaped up to meet thought, and behold, a miracle had been wrought! The barren places between my mind and the minds of others blossomed like the rose.

带着满心欢喜，我在秋天返回了南方的家。这次奇妙的北方之行令我获益匪浅，一切似乎都刚刚开始，这是一个新宝藏，美丽的世界就躺在我的脚下。在每一次的惊讶中，我汲取快乐和知识。我把自己融入万物之中，从来不得片刻的安闲，就像那些成群结队的小昆虫一样，我会忙忙碌碌地度过短暂的一天。我遇到过许多人，他们通过在我手掌上拼写的方式同我“交谈”，于是，快乐而富于同情心的思想在两个对话者之间碰撞了，所以你看，这真是一个神奇的过程！就是说，在我的思想和别人的思想之间的贫瘠地带上，同样可以绽放出美丽的玫瑰。

I spent the autumn months with my family at our summer cottage, on a mountain about fourteen miles from Tuscumbia. It was called Fern Quarry, because near it there was a limestone quarry, long since abandoned. Three frolicsome little streams ran through it from springs in the rocks above, leaping here and tumbling there in laughing cascades wherever the rocks tried to bar their way. The opening was filled with ferns which completely covered the beds of limestone and in places hid the streams. The rest of the mountain was thickly wooded. Here were great oaks and splendid evergreens with trunks like mossy pillars, from the branches of which hung garlands of ivy and mistletoe, and persimmon trees, the odour of which pervaded every nook and corner of the wood--an illusive, fragrant something that made the heart glad. In places the wild muscadine and scuppernong vines stretched from tree to tree, making arbours which were always full of butterflies and buzzing insects. It was delightful to lose ourselves in the green hollows of that tangled wood in the late afternoon, and to smell the cool, delicious odours that came up from the earth at the close of day.

在距离图斯康比亚大约十四英里的山间小屋里，我和我的家人度过了整个秋天。人们把那里叫做弗恩采石场，因为在那附近有一个石灰石矿场，不过很久以前就废弃了。三条快活的小溪流从此地流过，这些来自山泉的溪流欢笑着左闪右跳一往直前，无论岩石怎样阻挡都无济于事。这座山的大部分地区都被茂密的森林所覆盖，山上有巨大的橡树，也有四季常青的树木。这些树的树干就像包裹着青苔的圆柱，树枝上挂满了常春藤和槲寄生的花环。附近还有柿子树，果实的甜美气息弥漫在密林中的每一个角落——这种虚幻朦胧的香味令人心情愉悦。野生的圆叶葡萄和斯卡巴农葡萄连成了一大片，葡萄藤上总会落满了各种各样的蝴蝶和嗡嗡飞舞的昆虫。在一天临近结束的黄昏时分，谷地散发着清爽宜人的气息，置身其间，的确令人心旷神怡。

Our cottage was a sort of rough camp, beautifully situated on the top of the mountain among oaks and pines. The small rooms were arranged on each side of a long open hall. Round the house was a wide piazza, where the mountain winds blew, sweet with all wood-scents. We lived on the piazza most of the time--there we worked, ate and played. At the back door there was a great butternut tree, round which the steps had been built, and in front the trees stood so close that I could touch them and feel the wind shake their branches, or the leaves twirl downward in the autumn blast.

我们的小屋只是个有些粗糙的露营地，但是它优雅地坐落在橡树和松树环绕的山顶之上。房子的四面都有一个开放的门厅，门厅的外围是一圈宽广的游廊。山风从这里吹过，带来了树木的醇香。我们大部分时间都住在游廊里——这里也是我们劳作、吃饭和玩耍的地方。房子后门还有一棵巨大的灰胡桃树，人们在它的周围修建了台阶。我离这些树木是如此之近，可以轻易地摸到被风吹拂的树枝，还有在阵阵秋风中滚动的树叶。

Many visitors came to Fern Quarry. In the evening, by the campfire, the men played cards and whiled away the hours in talk and sport. They told stories of their wonderful feats with fowl, fish and quadruped--how many wild ducks and turkeys they had shot, what "savage trout" they had caught, and how they had bagged the craftiest foxes, outwitted the most clever 'possums and overtaken the fleetest deer, until I thought that surely the lion, the tiger, the bear and the rest of the wild tribe would not be able to stand before these wily hunters. "To-morrow to the chase!" was their good-night shout as the circle of merry friends broke up for the night. The men slept in the hall outside our door, and I could feel the deep breathing of the dogs and the hunters as they lay on their improvised beds.

弗恩采石场有很多到访的游客。夜晚，男人们聚集在篝火旁玩扑克牌，或者是聊天消磨时光。他们讲述打鸟、钓鱼和捕猎的过人本事——比如，他们射杀了多少野鸭和火鸡，他们如何打捞凶蛮的鲑鱼，如何诱捕狡猾的狐狸，如何同聪明的负鼠斗智，如何追赶动作迅捷的驯鹿。我想，在这些老谋深算的猎手面前，像狮子、老虎、熊和其余的野生动物恐怕都要遭殃了。当三五成群的好兄弟们散去的时候，“明天去捕猎”的叫喊声成了他们道晚安的告别语。男人们都睡在门外的走廊里，而且，我能感觉到猎人和他们的狗儿熟睡后深沉的鼻息声。

At dawn I was awakened by the smell of coffee, the rattling of guns, and the heavy footsteps of the men as they strode about, promising themselves the greatest luck of the season. I could also feel the stamping of the horses, which they had ridden out from town and hitched under the trees, where they stood all night, neighing loudly, impatient to be off. At last the men mounted, and, as they say in the old songs, away went the steeds with bridles ringing and whips cracking and hounds racing ahead, and away went the champion hunters "with hark and whoop and wild halloo!"

黎明时分，我被咖啡的味道、猎枪的撞击，还有男人们沉重的脚步声吵醒了。我知道，他们正大步走出房子，去寻找狩猎季节的好运气。我还能感觉到马蹄踏地的震动，它们被拴在远离城镇的树下。站了一整夜后，马儿们高声嘶鸣，迫不及待地想脱离束缚。终于，男人们爬上了马背，就像老歌里吟唱的那样，他们策马扬鞭，在猎犬的簇拥下奔向战场；他们为赢得狩猎冠军而呼声四起，响彻云霄！

Later in the morning we made preparations for a barbecue. A fire was kindled at the bottom of a deep hole in the ground, big sticks were laid crosswise at the top, and meat was hung from them and turned on spits. Around the fire squatted negroes, driving away the flies with long branches. The savoury odour of the meat made me hungry long before the tables were set.

天亮以后，我们就忙着为野外烧烤做准备。我们在一个深深的土坑里燃起篝火，把大的柴枝架在火堆顶部，然后再把肉挂在上面炙烤，于是肉咝咝地冒着烟，诱人的香味在空气中弥漫。火堆周围蹲坐着一圈黑人，他们不停地用长树枝驱赶着飞蛾。不等餐桌布置好，香喷喷的味道就令我饥肠辘辘了。

When the bustle and excitement of preparation was at its height, the hunting party made its appearance, struggling in by twos and threes, the men hot and weary, the horses covered with foam, and the jaded hounds panting and dejected--and not a single kill! Every man declared that he had seen at least one deer, and that the animal had come very close; but however hotly the dogs might pursue the game, however well the guns might be aimed, at the snap of the trigger there was not a deer in sight. They had been as fortunate as the little boy who said he came very near seeing a rabbit--he saw his tracks. The party soon forgot its disappointment, however, and we sat down, not to venison, but to a tamer feast of veal and roast pig.

就在忙碌而兴奋的准备工作达到高潮时，狩猎晚会也开始登场了。猎手们疲惫不堪，但热情不减。马儿们大汗淋漓，口吐白沫；那些老马则气喘吁吁，垂头丧气——因为一头猎物都没有打到！每个人都声称自己至少见到了一头鹿，而且曾经距离猎物非常近，然而不管那些猎犬是多么尽忠职守，猎人的枪口瞄得是多么地准确无误，偏偏就在扣动扳机的一刹那，鹿儿倏忽不见了。讲述狩猎经过时，他们幸福得像个小男孩。小男孩不是经常说，他曾近距离地看到了一只兔子——他还看到了兔子的足迹。无论结果怎样，失望的情绪很快就被晚会的欢笑驱散了。我们围坐在一起，根本不提野味的事。总之，我们仍会好好地享受小牛肉和烤乳猪这类家庭美食。

One summer I had my pony at Fern Quarry. I called him Black Beauty, as I had just read the book, and he resembled his namesake in every way, from his glossy black coat to the white star on his forehead. I spent many of my happiest hours on his back. Occasionally, when it was quite safe, my teacher would let go the leading-rein, and the pony sauntered on or stopped at his sweet will to eat grass or nibble the leaves of the trees that grew beside the narrow trail.

那年夏天，我把我的小马驹也带到了弗恩采石场。我管它叫“黑美人”，这是我刚刚读过的一本书的名字。我的小马“人如其名”，从他油光闪亮的黑色“外套”，到他额头的白色星形，无不俊朗非凡。我在他背上度过了最快乐的时光。有时候，在保证安全的前提下，我的老师也会松开缰绳，于是我的小马驹就会悠闲地在林中漫步，兴之所至，他还会停下来吃草，或者是啃食路边小树的叶子。

On mornings when I did not care for the ride, my teacher and I would start after breakfast for a ramble in the woods, and allow ourselves to get lost amid the trees and vines, with no road to follow except the paths made by cows and horses. Frequently we came upon impassable thickets which forced us to take a roundabout way. We always returned to the cottage with armfuls of laurel, goldenrod, ferns and gorgeous swamp-flowers such as grow only in the South.

当我不想在早上骑马的时候，我和我的老师就会在早餐后去森林里散步。我们让自己完全迷失在藤萝绿树之间，除了被牛儿马儿踩出的小径，我们无路可寻。因此，那些拦住去路的灌木丛常常迫使我们迂回行进。总之，我们最终会满载而归地回到小屋，我们的怀里抱满了大束的月桂树枝、一枝黄花、蕨菜和只有在南方才有的沼泽花卉。

Sometimes I would go with Mildred and my little cousins to gather persimmons. I did not eat them; but I loved their fragrance and enjoyed hunting for them in the leaves and grass. We also went nutting, and I helped them open the chestnut burrs and break the shells of hickory-nuts and walnuts--the big, sweet walnuts!

有时候，我也会和米尔德莱德，还有我的小表妹们一起去摘柿子。我并不吃它们，但是我喜欢闻柿子的香味，喜欢在树叶间和草地上搜索果实的感觉。我们还去采集坚果，而且，我会帮她们剥开栗子的刺皮，或者敲开核桃和山胡桃的硬壳——那些核桃又大又香甜！

At the foot of the mountain there was a railroad, and the children watched the trains whiz by. Sometimes a terrific whistle brought us to the steps, and Mildred told me in great excitement that a cow or a horse had strayed on the track. About a mile distant there was a trestle spanning a deep gorge. It was very difficult to walk over, the ties were wide apart and so narrow that one felt as if one were walking on knives. I had never crossed it until one day Mildred, Miss Sullivan and I were lost in the woods, and wandered for hours without finding a path.

山脚下有一条铁路，我们这些孩子会看着火车呼啸而过。吓人的汽笛声常常会把我们吸引到台阶上。米尔德莱德兴奋地告诉我，有一头牛或者一匹马还在铁轨上游荡呢。铁路沿线大约一英里之外的深谷中，横跨着一座高架桥。你很难从那里通过，峡谷很宽，桥梁极窄，走在上面就像行走在刀刃上。我从来没有去过那里。直到有一天，米尔德莱德、苏立文小姐和我在森林里迷了路，我们转了好几个小时都没有找到一条回家的路。

Suddenly Mildred pointed with her little hand and exclaimed, "There's the trestle!" We would have taken any way rather than this; but it was late and growing dark, and the trestle was a short cut home. I had to feel for the rails with my toe; but I was not afraid, and got on very well, until all at once there came a faint "puff, puff" from the distance.

突然，米尔德莱德指着前方惊叫起来：“那儿有一座高架桥！”我知道，走任何一条路都比走那条路强；但是此时天色渐晚，高架桥是离家最近的通道。于是，我不得不用脚尖探索着桥栏行走。我一点都不害怕，而且感觉良好。走着走着，从远处隐隐约约地传来一阵阵咝咝声。

"I see the train!" cried Mildred, and in another minute it would have been upon us had we not climbed down on the crossbraces while it rushed over our heads. I felt the hot breath from the engine on my face, and the smoke and ashes almost choked us. As the train rumbled by, the trestle shook and swayed until I thought we should be dashed to the chasm below. With the utmost difficulty we regained the track. Long after dark we reached home and found the cottage empty; the family were all out hunting for us.

“我看见火车了！”米尔德莱德喊道。如果我们不爬到下面的桥桁上，那么一分钟后，火车就会冲我们迎面驶来。当时，我能够感觉到火车头的蒸汽弥漫在四周，烟雾和灰尘几乎令我们窒息。当火车从我们身边隆隆驶过时，铁桥也被震得晃动起来，我想我们很可能会掉进脚下的深谷里。费了好一番周折，我们总算又回到了铁轨上。到家时天早已经黑了，小屋里阒无一人，原来家人们全都出去找我们了。