双语 ● A Funny Memory 童真记趣
A Funny Memory 童真记趣
◎ Henry Rollin
Oh God! I think I was about seven and half when my sisters and I pulled this stupid stunt. I remember watching television with them and the show on happened to be our favorite program to watch. All of a sudden we heard my brother, Chris, yelling from the backyard. So we all headed out there to see what happened. When we finally located him, he was in a tree hanging from the highest tree branch. Crying, he explained to us that he had climbed up the tree and couldn’t get down. We thought, okay, one of us should climb up and get him off, but we couldn’t manage to get him moving down.
噢，我的天呐！我记得我跟妹妹们一起做这件蠢事的时候我才７岁半。我记得那时我们正在看电视，播的正好是我们最喜爱的一档节目。正在这时，我听到后院传来弟弟克里斯的叫喊声。所以我们所有人都跑到后院看发生了什么事。最后，当我们找到他时，他正在那根最高的树枝上大哭呢！他向我们解释说，他爬上这棵树之后就下不来了。我们想了一会儿，觉得我们中的一个人必须爬上这棵树，然后把他带下来。可我们当中没有一个人能够做到。
It was then my youngest sister, Ka, who was five and a half at the time had seen a similar situation. She suggested we grab a sheet, hold it under the branch Chris was hanging off of, and tell him to drop so we can catch him. My other sister, Yams, who is one year younger than me, peered at me to confirm the idea and I said “Yeah, let’s try that.”
这时，我最小的妹妹，只有５岁半的卡想起在一个节目里看过类似的情况。她建议我们抓住一张床单，然后站在克里斯所在的那根树枝下，让他跳下来，然后我们就可以接住他了。这时，另一个比我小一岁的妹妹杨思看了我一眼，想要问我觉得这个提议如何。我说：“那好吧！让我们试一下。”
So we grabbed a sheet from the closet and went to hold it beneath the tree. Now mind you, the ages holding this blanket were ranging from seven and a half to five and a half, thus the sheet was probably being held up to our waist and also close to touching the ground. But we were confident it could work.
于是，我们从壁橱里拿来一张床单，紧紧地抓住它，站在树底下。值得提醒的是，拉床单的人的年龄从5岁半到7岁半不等。也就是说，即使我们把床单拉到了腰的位置，它还是离地面很近。但我们却坚信这个方法行得通。
We looked up to Chris and he looked down at us a bit hesitant. I don’t blame him the poor guy. It was then we told him to let go and to fall on his back. Chris looked at me and asked “Are you sure I’ll land on the blanket?” Now, my brother at the age of four, had a cute squeaky voice. But because of a problem at birth with his tongue being a bit attached to the mouth, it came out more like this, “Ah you sho awill lan on da blanked?”, “Yup!”, I told him, “We’re sure!” and he let go.
我们抬头看了看克里斯，他正低头看着我们，看得出来他有些犹豫。我不会责怪这个可怜的小家伙。接着，我们叫他松手，背朝地往下跳。克里斯看了看我，问道：“你确定我会落在床单上？”现在，我的弟弟才四岁，说话声音细尖细尖的，很可爱。可由于一些先天因素，他有时说话会有点大舌头。所以这句话听上去更像是：你“切”定“窝”能落在那个“长”单上？“对的！”我很肯定地告诉他，“我们确定。”于是，他松开双手跳了下来。
Now when I think about Chris letting go of that branch, I think of his faith in me and my sisters and I also think how stupid he was to trust us, cause when that boy let go he was in for a big surprise. Chris fell right through that sheet and landed right on his stomach. And no matter how tight we held on to the sheet, he still managed to get through.
现在我想起克里斯放开那根树枝时，他对我和其他妹妹是多么信任啊！可我又觉得他太蠢了，他相信了我们。因为他不知自己松手后迎来的将是个大大的惊喜。克里斯正好掉在那张床单上。可他穿过那张床单，摔了个底朝天。尽管我们几个已经使出浑身力气抓紧那张床单，他还是穿了过去。
We were shocked and a bit worried and we looked at the ground where he landed. This tiny seventy pound boy had made a hole right through the sheet and landed. He was positioned like one of those chalk drawings you find after a homicide, with one arm near the head another to the side and the knee bent a bit. We might as well have drawn an outline because he wasn’t moving. So we bent down to check if he was still alive and when we asked him if he was okay he uttered these five words... “Ah stee hi da flow” in other words, “I still hit the floor!” Poor little man! But before you condemn us, Chris is fourteen now and he still bugs us about it, any tree he climbs he gets down on his own and, strangely, he wants to be a fireman when he grows up. Now he can write that he had personal experience about jumping and catching. See, no harm done...
我们吓坏了，看着摔在地上的克里斯，我们担心极了。这个只有70磅重的小男孩在那张床单上穿了一个大洞，最后落在了地上。他呆呆地躺在那儿，就像在凶案现场用粉笔画出的受害者一样。他的一只手放在脑袋旁边，另一只手放在身体旁边，膝盖微微曲着。我们甚至可以沿着他的身体划线，因为他一动不动地躺在那儿。于是，我们弯下腰看看他是不是还活着。当我们问他怎么样时，他说了以下五个字：“窝掉到地上！”意思就是说：“我还是掉到地上了！”可怜的小家伙！但是，你别责怪我们。现在克里斯已经14岁了，他仍旧对这件事情喋喋不休。现在无论爬上哪棵树，都是自己上，自己下。更奇怪的是，他长大了想当一名消防员。如今，他可以骄傲地说自己有攀高和接物的经验。看吧，什么坏处也没有呀……
