海伦·凯勒自传《我的生活》第23期

　　第十一章

　　In the autumn I returned to my Southern home with a heart full of joyous memories. As I recallthat 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 thattangled 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!