自译 契诃夫短篇小说 老虎发威（下）

Next morning. Typical holiday weather. Temperature below freezing, a cutting wind, rain, mud, and a smell of naphthaline, because my maman has taken all her wraps out of her trunks. A devilish morning! It is the 7th of August, 1887, the date of the solar eclipse. I may here remark that at the time of an eclipse every one of us may, without special astronomical knowledge, be of the greatest service. Thus, for example, anyone of us can (1) take the measurement of the diameters of the sun and the moon; (2) sketch the corona of the sun; (3) take the temperature; (4) take observations of plants and animals during the eclipse; (5) note down his own impressions, and so on.

第二天一早，天气好得没话说。那叫一个冻得扎肉，风如刀割，烂泥遍地，大雨瓢泼，家里还弥漫着一股染料的味道，谁叫我妈从大衣柜里把她的围巾全拿出来了。这天是八七年八月七号，有日食。在这里我要说明一下，我们每一个人无论懂不懂天文，都可以在日食的时候作出极大的贡献。举例来说，①记录日月直径；②画出日冕；③测量温度；④观察日食时植物和动物的反应；⑤记录个人感想，等等等等。

It is a matter of such exceptional importance that I lay aside the “Past and Future of the Dog Licence” and make up my mind to observe the eclipse.

日食面前我破例扔下了“论养犬证之沿革”，决定观测这难得的奇遇。

We all get up very early, and I divide the work as follows: I am to measure the diameter of the sun and moon; the wounded officer is to sketch the corona; and the other observations are undertaken by Mashenka and the variegated young ladies.

我们都起了个大早，我分配了各人的任务：我来测日月直径，大爷负责画日冕，其他的工作都交给雅婷和那帮姑娘去干。

We all meet together and wait.

我们聚到一起，静静等着。

“What is the cause of the eclipse? “ asks Mashenka.

“为什么会日食？”雅婷问道。

I reply: “A solar eclipse occurs when the moon, moving in the plane of the ecliptic, crosses the line joining the centres of the sun and the earth.”

我回答说：“当月球运动到太阳和地球中间，如果三者正好处在一条直线时，月球就会挡住太阳射向地球的光，月球身后的黑影正好落到地球上，这时发生日食现象。”

“And what does the ecliptic mean?”

“真的有天狗吗？”

I explain. Mashenka listens attentively.

我解释了一通。雅婷聚精会神地听着。

“Can one see through the smoked glass the line joining the centres of the sun and the earth?” she enquires.

“用烟熏玻璃能看见连着太阳和地球的那条线吗？”她问道。

I reply that this is only an imaginary line, drawn theoretically.

我回答说根本没这么条线，这只是设想出来的。

“If it is only an imaginary line, how can the moon cross it?” Varenka says, wondering.

“可要是没这条线月亮怎么会挡住它呢？”娅宁不解道。

I make no reply. I feel my spleen rising at this naïve question.

我没说话，觉得血压有点高。

“It’s all nonsense,” says Mashenka’s maman. “Impossible to tell what’s going to happen. You’ve never been in the sky, so what can you know of what is to happen with the sun and moon? It’s all fancy.”

“胡说八道。”雅婷妈说道，“你们又没上过天，怎么知道天上是怎么回事？都是人编出来的。”

At that moment a black patch begins to move over the sun. General confusion follows. The sheep and horses and cows run bellowing about the fields with their tails in the air. The dogs howl. The bugs, thinking night has come on, creep out of the cracks in the walls and bite the people who are still in bed.

这时一个黑点渐渐遮住了太阳。四下乱成了一团。牲口们嗷嗷吼叫着在草场奔腾，尾巴飘扬在身后。狗也跟着一块嗥。虫子们以为晚上了，纷纷从犄角旮旯爬出来，叮咬那些还没起床的人。

The deacon, who was engaged in bringing some cucumbers from the market garden, jumped out of his cart and hid under the bridge; while his horse walked off into somebody else’s yard, where the pigs ate up all the cucumbers. The excise officer, who had not slept at home that night, but at a lady friend’s, dashed out with nothing on but his nightshirt, and running into the crowd shouted frantically: “Save yourself, if you can!”

庙里的僧人出来拉了一车黄瓜，这会儿吓得撂下车躲到桥底下去了，拉车的马溜溜达达进了别人家院子，那家养的猪一呼隆把黄瓜全吃了。乡里的收税官昨晚没在家睡，下榻在一位女性朋友家，只见他穿着睡衣就冲了出来，一股脑挤进人堆里，没命地大喊道：“快跑啊！天狗食日啦！”

Numbers of the lady visitors, even young and pretty ones, run out of their villas without even putting their slippers on. Scenes occur which I hesitate to describe.

不少姑娘，包括年轻漂亮的在内纷纷跑出家门，脚上连拖鞋都没穿。总之是乱了。

“Oh, how dreadful!” shriek the variegated young ladies. “It’s really too awful!”

“怕死人了！”那帮姑娘尖叫道，“怕死人了！”

“Mesdames, watch!” I cry. “Time is precious!”

“日食，日食！几位快看哪！”我高声道，“时间不等人！”

And I hasten to measure the diameters. I remember the corona, and look towards the wounded officer. He stands doing nothing.

我刚要记下直径，突然想起来日冕的事，于是瞅了瞅那位大爷。谁知他就那么站着啥事也不干。

“What’s the matter?” I shout. “How about the corona?

“画啊！”我咆哮道，“你倒是画啊！”

He shrugs his shoulders and looks helplessly towards his arms. The poor fellow has variegated young ladies on both sides of him, clinging to him in terror and preventing him from working. I seize a pencil and note down the time to a second. That is of great importance. I note down the geographical position of the point of observation. That, too, is of importance. I am just about to measure the diameter when Mashenka seizes my hand, and says:

他耸耸肩，无奈地朝两边看了看。一大帮姑娘贴的贴靠的靠，抓的抓抱的抱，整个把他围满了，根本腾不出手画图。我抄起一根铅笔，记下了日食的时间。这可不是小事。我也没忘写下观测点的地理位置，这同样非同小可。我正要测量直径，雅婷突然窜出来抓着我的手说：

“Do not forget to-day, eleven o’clock.”

“别忘了，十一点见。”

I withdraw my hand, feeling every second precious, try to continue my observations, but Varenka clutches my arm and clings to me. Pencil, pieces of glass, drawings — all are scattered on the grass. Hang it! It’s high time the girl realized that I am a man of violent temper, and when I am roused my fury knows no bounds, I cannot answer for myself.

我抽出手，心想时间不等人哪，得赶紧完成测量，结果娅宁揪着我胳膊就不松开了，死死缠着我不放。这下可好，铅笔、玻璃、图画——统统掉在了草地上。够了！该叫这倒霉娘们儿知道知道本大爷的厉害了，老虎一发威可不是闹着玩的。

I try to continue, but the eclipse is over.

我正要测绘，日食结束了。

“Look at me!” she whispers tenderly.

“看着我！”她柔声耳语道。

Oh, that is the last straw! Trying a man’s patience like that can but have a fatal ending. I am not to blame if something terrible happens. I allow no one to make a laughing stock of me, and, God knows, when I am furious, I advise nobody to come near me, damn it all! There’s nothing I might not do! One of the young ladies, probably noticing from my face what a rage I am in, and anxious to propitiate me, says:

我忍不了了！她吃了熊心豹子胆了敢这么惹我。把我惹急了真干出什么来我可不负责。我最恨别人拿我当笑话看，我火了，我真火了，谁再敢近我一步我撕了他！真把我惹急了谁也跑不了！有个姑娘大概看见了我脸上的火气，急忙解劝道：

“I did exactly what you told me, Nikolay Andreitch; I watched the animals. I saw the grey dog chasing the cat just before the eclipse, and wagging his tail for a long while afterwards.”

“阿肃，我都按你说的做了，我去看了动物在干什么。那条灰狗日食之前在追猫，日食之后摇了好久的尾巴。”

So nothing came of the eclipse after all.

得，这场日食算白费了。

I go home. Thanks to the rain, I work indoors instead of on the balcony. The wounded officer has risked it, and has again got as far as “I was born in . . .” when I see one of the variegated young ladies pounce down on him and bear him off to her villa.

我回了家。拜雨天所赐，我没去阳台，直接进了屋。隔壁大爷勇气可嘉，提笔刚写到“我出生在……”，结果就被一帮姑娘拉着上她们家去了。

I cannot work, for I am still in a fury and suffering from palpitation of the heart. I do not go to the arbour. It is impolite not to, but, after all, I can’t be expected to go in the rain.

我血往上涌，心脏病都快犯了，根本没心思动笔。我没赴亭子的约，照理说有点不对，不过下着雨我实在不想去。

At twelve o’clock I receive a letter from Mashenka, a letter full of reproaches and entreaties to go to the arbour, addressing me as “thou.” At one o’clock I get a second letter, and at two, a third. . . . I must go. . . . But before going I must consider what I am to say to her. I will behave like a gentleman.

十二点我收到雅婷的一封信，满篇都在怪我放她鸽子，还一个劲请我赶紧过去，信里她管我叫“郎”。一点钟我又收着一封，接着是第二封，第三封……我还是去吧，再不去我快疯了……不过我得先想想待会儿说什么，小姑娘家的总得给她留点面子。

To begin with, I will tell her that she is mistaken in supposing that I am in love with her. That’s a thing one does not say to a lady as a rule, though. To tell a lady that one’s not in love with her, is almost as rude as to tell an author he can’t write.

首先我得跟她讲明白，我对她压根就没意思。当然这话对女人家讲有点太无情，跟人家说你看不上她就好比跟作家说他不会写作一样。

The best thing will be to explain my views of marriage.

所以最好还是和她讲讲我对婚姻的看法。

I put on my winter overcoat, take an umbrella, and walk to the arbour.

我披上大衣，拿上雨伞，往亭子去了。

Knowing the hastiness of my temper, I am afraid I may be led into speaking too strongly; I will try to restrain myself.

我脾气急，一不注意容易把话说重了，得尽量控制点。

I find Nadenka still waiting for me. She is pale and in tears. On seeing me she utters a cry of joy, flings herself on my neck, and says:

到了亭子，雅宁还在那儿等我，脸色苍白，泪流不止。一见着我，她高兴得一声尖啸，扑啦一下搂住我的脖子，开口道：

“At last! You are trying my patience. . . . Listen, I have not slept all night. . . . I have been thinking and thinking. . . . I believe that when I come to know you better I shall learn to love you. . . .”

“你可来了！我等你等得好苦……阿肃，我昨天一宿都没合眼……我想过来想过去……我想等相处久了我一定会爱上你的……”

I sit down, and begin to unfold my views of marriage. To begin with, to clear the ground of digressions and to be as brief as possible, I open with a short historical survey. I speak of marriage in ancient Egypt and India, then pass to more recent times, a few ideas from Schopenhauer. Mashenka listens attentively, but all of a sudden, through some strange incoherence of ideas, thinks fit to interrupt me:

我坐下来，讲起了我的婚姻观。那么首先，为了缩短篇幅，避免误解，我想简单谈一谈历史。我讲了讲古埃及和古印度的婚嫁，然后讲了讲老年间的娶亲，又引用了叔本华的一些看法。雅婷聚精会神地听着，可突然间也不知怎么想的，她一下子打断了我，说道：

“Nicolas, kiss me!” she says.

“阿肃，来亲一个！”

I am embarrassed and don’t know what to say to her. She repeats her request. There seems no avoiding it. I get up and bend over her long face, feeling as I do so just as I did in my childhood when I was lifted up to kiss my grandmother in her coffin. Not content with the kiss, Mashenka leaps up and impulsively embraces me. At that instant, Mashenka’s maman appears in the doorway of the arbour. . . . She makes a face as though in alarm, and saying “sh-sh” to someone with her, vanishes like Mephistopheles through the trapdoor.

我臊得通红，把要说的话全忘了。她又说了一遍。我心想估计躲不开了，于是站起来在她那张长脸上俯下身，按着小时候我奶奶装棺材时亲她的那一下来了一口。结果光亲还不够，雅婷又跳起来咔嚓抱了我一下。说时迟那时快，雅婷妈出现在我们面前……她装作很吃惊的样子，对旁边的大娘说了声“嘘”，又悄没声不见了。

Confused and enraged, I return to our villa. At home I find Varenka’s maman embracing my maman with tears in her eyes. And my maman weeps and says:

我气得晕头转向，又回了家。一开门，整撞见娅宁妈和我妈抱在一块，老姐俩都噙着泪。我妈哭着说道：

“I always hoped for it!”

“这天我终于等到了！”

And then, if you please, Nadenka’s maman comes up to me, embraces me, and says:

这时雅宁妈走过来，抱了抱我，说道：

“May God bless you! . . . Mind you love her well. . . . Remember the sacrifice she is making for your sake!”

“祝你们幸福美满！好好对她……别忘了她为你付出的那么多！”

And here I am at my wedding. At the moment I write these last words, my best man is at my side, urging me to make haste. These people have no idea of my character! I have a violent temper, I cannot always answer for myself! Hang it all! God knows what will come of it! To lead a violent, desperate man to the altar is as unwise as to thrust one’s hand into the cage of a ferocious tiger. We shall see, we shall see!

我在婚礼现场。留下最后这几句话的时候，我朋友正在边上催我呢。你们把我想得太好欺负了！我可不是没脾气的人！老虎一发威你们就知道了！敢让我和人成家无异于把她往火坑里送。瞧好吧！瞧好吧！

* * * * *

And so, I am married. Everybody congratulates me and Varenka keeps clinging to me and saying:

就这样，我结婚了。大家都跟我道喜，娅宁还是压在我胳膊上，说道：

“Now you are mine, mine; do you understand that? Tell me that you love me!” And her nose swells as she says it.

“你是我的了，我的了，快说你爱我！你说呀！”她说着话鼻孔一张一张的。

I learn from my best man that the wounded officer has very cleverly escaped the snares of Hymen. He showed the variegated young lady a medical certificate that owing to the wound in his temple he was at times mentally deranged and incapable of contracting a valid marriage. An inspiration! I might have got a certificate too. An uncle of mine drank himself to death, another uncle was extremely absent-minded (on one occasion he put a lady’s muff on his head in mistake for his hat), an aunt of mine played a great deal on the piano, and used to put out her tongue at gentlemen she did not like. And my ungovernable temper is a very suspicious symptom.

我从朋友那儿听说那位大爷就巧妙逃过了钓女婿的套儿。他直接拿出医学证明，说自己负伤后心理受创，无法签订婚约。好计策啊！早知道我也搞一张去了。首先说我有家族病史：我有个叔叔喝酒喝死了，还有个叔叔是个马大哈（有次他把女人的暖手筒当帽子戴了），我有个婶婶天天弹钢琴，一遇见不顺眼的男的就冲人伸舌头。其次我这个暴脾气很可以算作有病。

But why do these great ideas always come too late? Why?

我后悔啊！这些好办法我怎么早就没想到呢？