自译 契诃夫短篇小说 A TRIFLE FROM REAL LIFE 家长里短

A TRIFLE FROM REAL LIFE 家长里短

原作契诃夫 Translated by Marian Fell 1915

NIKOLAI ILITCH BIELAYEFF was a young gentleman of St. Petersburg, aged thirty-two, rosy, well fed, and a patron of the race-tracks. Once, toward evening, he went to pay a call on Olga Ivanovna with whom, to use his own expression, he was dragging through a long and tedious love-affair. And the truth was that the first thrilling, inspiring pages of this romance had long since been read, and that the story was now dragging wearily on, presenting nothing that was either interesting or novel.

石克廉是位年轻的先生，三十二岁，衣食富足，气色红润，开着一家赛马场。有天晚上，他去一位杨玉兰杨女士家串门，用他自己的话说，他和这位杨女士谈的不是恋爱，完全是没完没了的折磨。其实他俩曾经也挺恩爱，只是开头那几页的澎湃早已翻过，现在只剩下了又臭又长的续集，让人昏昏欲睡。

Not finding Olga at home, my hero threw himself upon a couch and prepared to await her return.

到家一看玉兰不在，小石找了张沙发坐下，想等她回来。

“Good evening, Nikolai Ilitch!” he heard a child’s voice say. “Mamma will soon be home. She has gone to the dressmaker’s with Sonia.”

“石叔叔，晚上好！”他听到一个稚嫩的声音，“我妈妈马上就回来。她陪蓉蓉买裙子去了。”

On the divan in the same room lay Aliosha, Olga’s son, a small boy of eight, immaculately and picturesquely dressed in a little velvet suit and long black stockings. He had been lying on a satin pillow, mimicking the antics of an acrobat he had seen at the circus. First he stretched up one pretty leg, then another; then, when they were tired, he brought his arms into play, and at last jumped up galvanically, throwing himself on all fours in an effort to stand on his head. He went through all these motions with the most serious face in the world, puffing like a martyr, as if he himself regretted that God had given him such a restless little body.

另一张长榻上躺着龙龙，玉兰的小儿子，龙龙才八岁，穿着一身丝绒的小衣服，踩着黑色的长袜，收拾得干干净净、整整齐齐。他躺在缎子枕头上，学人家耍杂技的扮着怪相。先是扳腿，扳累了又抡胳膊，然后又兔子似的蹦来蹦去，还四脚朝天地仰着，想用脑袋把自己支起来。玩归玩，他脸上的表情可郑重得很，气喘得和小牛一样，好像在怪罪老天给他安排了一个这么闲不住的小身子。

“Ah, good evening, my boy!” said Belayeff. “Is that you? I did not know you were here. Is mamma well?”

“晚上好啊，小宝贝！”小石说道，“是你吗？我才看见你。你妈妈还好吗？”

Aliosha seized the toe of his left shoe in his right hand, assumed the most unnatural position in the world, rolled over, jumped up, and peeped out at Bielayeff from under the heavy fringes of the lampshade.

龙龙拿右手抓住左脚，扭得跟麻花一样，又滚了滚、跳了跳，从台灯罩的一大圈流苏底下瞅着石克廉。

“Not very,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “Mamma is never really well. She is a woman, you see, and women always have something the matter with them.”

“不好。”他耸了耸肩膀，“妈妈老是愁着脸。她是个女人，女人老有不高兴的事。”

From lack of anything better to do, Belayeff began scrutinizing Aliosha’s face. During all his acquaintance with Olga he had never bestowed any consideration upon the boy or noticed his existence at all. He had seen the child about, but what he was doing there Belayeff, somehow, had never cared to think.

闲着也是闲着，小石细细端详起龙龙的模样。认识玉兰这么久了，跟龙龙说话这还是头一次呢，他都忘了还有这么个人。他倒不是没见过这孩子，只是从来没注意过。

Now, in the dusk of evening, Aliosha’s pale face and fixed, dark eyes unexpectedly reminded Belayeff of Olga as she had appeared in the first pages of their romance. He wanted to pet the boy.

这会儿正赶上傍晚，龙龙那张雪白的脸和那对一动不动的黑眼睛让他想起了玉兰，记起了那些激情澎湃的日子。他想抱抱这孩子。

“Come here, little monkey,” he said, “and let me look at you!”

“宝贝过来，”他说道，“让叔叔看看你！”

The boy jumped down from the sofa and ran to Bielayeff.

孩子从沙发上蹦着就起来了，跑到了小石身边。

“Well,” the latter began, laying his hand on the boy’s thin shoulder. “And how are you? Is everything all right with you?”

“真乖。”小石拍着龙龙的小肩膀，开口道，“你多大了？在家里开心吗？”

“No, not very. It used to be much better.”

“以前开心，现在不开心。”

“In what way?”

“为什么？”

“That’s easy to answer. Sonia and I used to learn only music and reading before, but now we have French verses, too. You have cut your beard!”

“蓉蓉和我以前只学唱歌和念书，现在还要学法国话。你剪胡子了！”

“Yes.”

“这你都看出来了。”

“So I noticed. It is shorter than it was. Please let me touch it — does that hurt?”

“嗯，叔叔你胡子比以前短了。我想摸摸——剪胡子疼吗？”

“No, not a bit.”

“不疼，一点都不疼。”

“Why does it hurt if you pull one hair at a time, and not a bit if you pull lots? Ha! Ha! I’ll tell you something. You ought to wear whiskers! You could shave here on the sides, here, and here you could let the hair grow—”

“为什么拔一根头发很疼，拔好多头发就不疼呢？真奇怪！叔叔我跟你说，你应该留一把大胡子！你下次把两边的胡子剪掉，然后把这里的头发留长了——”

The boy nestled close to Belayeff and began to play with his watch-chain.

孩子窝在小石身旁，摆弄起他的表链。

“Mamma is going to give me a watch when I go to school, and I am going to ask her to give me a chain just like yours — Oh, what a lovely locket! Papa has a locket just like that; only yours has little stripes on it, and papa’s has letters. He has a portrait of mamma in his locket. Papa wears another watch-chain now made of ribbon.”

“妈妈说等我上学就给我买一块表，到时候我也让她给我买条一样的——哇，这个小盒坠真好看！我爸爸也有个这样的，不过他的写着字，叔叔的画着道道。他的坠子里还放着妈妈的相片。我爸爸现在不戴那条了，他现在那条是丝带做的。”

“How do you know? Do you ever see your papa?”

“谁告诉你的？你见过你爸爸吗？”

“I — n-no — I—”

“没，没有，我……”

Aliosha blushed deeply at being caught telling a fib and began to scratch the locket furiously with his nail. Belayeff looked searchingly into his face and repeated:

龙龙的脸涨得通红，仿佛说假话被人抓住了一样，他的指甲在表链上扣来扣去。小石紧盯着他，重复道：

“Do you ever see your papa?”

“你见过你爸爸吗？”

“N — no !”

“没，没有！”

“Come, tell me honestly! I can see by your face that you are not telling the truth. It’s no use quibbling now that the cat is out of the bag. Tell me, do you see him? Now then, as between friends!”

Aliosha reflected.

“少来这套！别装了，我都看出来了。说实话，你见过他吗？你说，我不告诉别人！”

“You won’t tell mamma?” he asked.

“你保证不告诉我妈妈？”他问道。

“What an idea!”

“我告诉她干嘛！”

“Honour bright?”

“说话算话？”

“Honour bright!”

“说话算话！”

“Promise!”

“拉钩！”

“Oh, you insufferable child! What do you take me for?”

“这孩子！你还说不说了？”

Aliosha glanced around, opened his eyes wide, and said:

龙龙四下打量了一圈，睁大了眼睛，开口道：

“For heaven’s sake don’t tell mamma! Don’t tell a soul, because it’s a secret. I don’t know what would happen to Sonia and Pelagia and me if mamma should find out. Now, listen. Sonia and I see papa every Thursday and every Friday. When Pelagia takes us out walking before dinner we go to Anfel’s confectionery and there we find papa already waiting for us. He is always sitting in the little private room with the marble table and the ash-tray that’s made like a goose without a back.”

“千万别告诉她！这个秘密就咱们俩知道。要是让妈妈知道，我、蓉蓉还有潘阿姨就要挨骂了。是这么回事，我和蓉蓉每个周四周五都去看我爸爸。每天晚饭之前潘阿姨带我们出去溜达，我们一路跑到点心铺去，爸爸就在那儿等我们。他老是待在同一个小房间里，里面有一张石头桌子，还摆着一个烟灰缸，像个缺了后背的天鹅。”

“What do you do in there?”

“你们都干什么了？”

“We don’t do anything. First we say how do you do, and then papa orders coffee and pasties for us. Sonia likes pasties with meat, you know, but I can’t abide them with meat. I like mine with cabbage or eggs. We eat so much that we have a hard time eating our dinner afterward so that mamma won’t guess anything.”

“什么也没干。我们先和他问好，然后爸爸就点了咖啡和馅饼给我们吃。蓉蓉喜欢吃肉馅的，我可不喜欢，我喜欢卷心菜鸡蛋的。我们吃得特别多，等回到家还得使劲吃饭，这样妈妈就不会发现了。”

“What do you talk about?”

“你们都说什么了？”

“With papa? Oh, about everything. He kisses us and hugs us and tells us the funniest jokes. Do you know what? He says that when we grow bigger he is going to take us to live with him. Sonia doesn’t want to go, but I wouldn’t mind. Of course it would be lonely without mamma, but I could write letters to her. Isn’t it funny, we might go and see her then on Sundays, mightn’t we? Papa says, too, he is going to buy me a pony. He is such a nice man! I don’t know why mamma doesn’t ask him to live with her and why she won’t let us see him. He loves mamma very much. He always asks how she is and what she has been doing. When she was ill he took hold of his head just like this — and ran about the room. He always asks us whether we are obedient and respectful to her. Tell me, is it true that we are unfortunate?”

“跟我爸爸吗？什么都说。他亲我们，搂着我们，还给我们讲了好多好多笑话。叔叔你知道吗？他说等我们长大了就把我们接走。蓉蓉不想走，我倒没什么。我也舍不得离开妈妈，可我还可以给她写信啊，我们周天还可以过来看她啊。爸爸还说要给我买一匹小马。他真好！不知道妈妈为什么不要他，也不许我们去见他了。他很爱妈妈。他每次都问妈妈好不好，妈妈在家干什么。要是听说妈妈病了，他就这样低着头——然后在屋子里走来走去。他经常问我们在家乖不乖，听不听妈妈的话。叔叔，你说我们可怜吗？”

“H’m — why do you ask?”

“这——问这个干什么？”

“Because papa says we are. He says we are unfortunate children, and that he is unfortunate, and that mamma is unfortunate. He tells us to pray to God for her and for ourselves.”

“爸爸说我们很可怜。他说不光我们可怜，他也可怜，妈妈也可怜。他告诉我们为了妈妈和我们自己要好好听话。”

Aliosha fixed his eyes on the figure of a stuffed bird, and became lost in thought.

龙龙的目光汇聚到一只小鸟标本上，陷入了沉思。

“Well, I declare—” muttered Belayeff. “So, that’s what you do, you hold meetings at a confectioner’s? And your mamma doesn’t know it?”

“我明白了……”小石自言自语道，“这么说你们一直在点心铺偷偷和他见面？你妈妈还一直不知道？”

“N-no. How could she? Pelagia wouldn’t tell her for the world. Day before yesterday papa gave us pears. They were as sweet as sugar. I ate two!”

“当然了。潘阿姨不会告诉她的。前天爸爸还给我们吃梨，梨可甜了，我吃了两个！”

“H’m. But — listen to me, does papa ever say anything about me?”

“嗯。那个——你爸爸，你爸爸提没提过我？”

“About you? What shall I say?” Aliosha looked searchingly into Belayeff’s face and shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing special,” he answered.

“提你？叔叔你问这个干嘛？”龙龙不解地望着石克廉，耸了耸肩，答道，“他没说什么。”

“Well, what does he say, for instance?”

“你少来，他都说什么了？”

“You won’t be angry if I tell you?”

“我说了你不会生气吧？”

“What an idea! Does he abuse me?”

“我不生气！他是不是骂我了？”

“No, he doesn’t abuse you, but, you know, he is angry with you. He says that it is your fault that mamma is unhappy, and that you have ruined mamma. He is such a funny man! I tell him that you are kind and that you never scold mamma, but he only shakes his head.”

“没有，他没骂你，可，可是他挺生你的气的。他说妈妈不开心都是因为叔叔，说叔叔害了妈妈。他说的不对！我告诉他你对妈妈可好了，从来没骂过她，但他只是摇了摇头。”

“So he says I have ruined her?”

“他说我害了她？”

“Yes — don’t be angry, Nikolai Ilitch !”

“是啊——别生气，石叔叔！”

Belayeff rose and began pacing up and down the room.

石克廉站起身，在房间里来回踱步。

“How strange this is — and how ridiculous!” he muttered shrugging his shoulders and smiling sarcastically. “It is all his fault and yet he says I have ruined her! What an innocent baby this is! And so he told you I had ruined your mother?”

“岂有此理——亏他说得出来！”他扭着肩膀，讥讽地嘲笑着，“他还有脸说我害了她！这傻孩子！他告诉你我害了你妈妈？”

“Yes, but — you promised not to be angry!”

“是啊，叔叔你——你说好不生气的！”

“I’m not angry and — and it is none of your business anyway. Yes, this is — this is really ridiculous! Here I have been caught like a mouse in a trap, and now it seems it is all my fault!”

“不用你管。我不生气，我不生气。好，好，有他的，真有他的。我叫他抓了个现行，在他跟前丢了那么大的脸，他还敢给我泼脏水！”

The door-bell rang. The boy tore himself from Belayeff’s arms and ran out of the room. A moment later a lady entered with a little girl. It was Aliosha’s mother, Olga Ivanovna. Aliosha skipped into the room behind her, singing loudly and clapping his hands. Belayeff nodded and continued to walk up and down.

门铃响了。孩子挣脱出小石的怀抱，跑出了房间。一眨眼的工夫，一位太太带着一个小姑娘走了进来。是龙龙的妈妈，杨玉兰。龙龙跟在她身后蹦蹦跳跳地进了屋，一边唱着歌一边拍着手。石克廉点头打了个招呼，接着来回溜达。

“Of course!” he muttered. “Whom should he blame but me? He has right on his side! He is the injured husband.”

“妈的！”他自语道，“我拿他有什么办法？他占着理呢！毕竟这帽子戴在他头上。”

“What is that you are saying?” asked Olga Ivanovna.

“说什么呢？”杨玉兰问道。

“What am I saying? Just listen to what your young hopeful here has been preaching. It appears that I am a wicked scoundrel and that I have ruined you and your children. You are all unhappy, and I alone am frightfully happy. Frightfully, frightfully happy!”

“问你儿子去！你听听这小子的话，我都成流氓了，你们这一家子合着都叫我给害了。你不是不高兴吗，我可高兴极了。我高兴，我太高兴了！”

“I don’t understand you, Nikolai. What is the matter?”

“你什么意思，克廉？怎么了？”

“Just listen to what this young gentleman here has to say!” cried Belayeff pointing to Aliosha.

“你自己问！”石克廉冲龙龙怒吼道。

Aliosha flushed and then grew suddenly pale and his face became distorted with fear.

龙龙的脸霎时从通红变得煞白，整个人都吓呆了。

“Nikolai Ilitch!” he whispered loudly. “Hush!” Olga Ivanovna looked at Aliosha in surprise, and then at Belayeff, and then back again at Aliosha.

“石叔叔！”龙龙也顾不得说悄悄话了，“嘘！”杨玉兰吃惊地看着龙龙，又看了看石克廉，又看回了龙龙。

“Ask him!” Belayeff continued. “That idiot of yours, Pelagia, takes them to a confectioner’s and arranges meetings there between them and their papa. But that isn’t the point. The point is that papa is the victim, and that I am an abandoned scoundrel who has wrecked the lives of both of you!”

“你问去！”石克廉继续道，“你那个什么潘婶偷偷带着他们去见他们爸爸。这倒不算什么。他竟然还有脸哭惨，说都是我这个下三滥把你们俩给害苦了！”

“Nikolai Ilitch!” groaned Aliosha. “You gave me your word of honour!”

“石叔叔！”龙龙乞求道，“你都说好了！”

“Leave me alone!” Belayeff motioned to him impatiently. “This is more important than words of honour. This hypocrisy, these lies are intolerable!”

“谁跟你说好了！”石克廉大吼道，“小孩丫丫知道什么。告诉你，轮不到他来装好人，往我脑袋上扣屎盆子！”

“I don’t understand!” cried Olga Ivanovna, the tears glistening in her eyes. “Listen, Aliosha,” she asked, turning to her son. “Do you really see your father?”

“你着什么急啊！”杨玉兰眼里闪烁着泪光，“龙龙，你告诉我，”她问道，“你真去见你爸爸了吗？”

But Aliosha did not hear her, his eyes were fixed with horror on Belayeff.

可龙龙并没有听见她的话，他恐惧的目光完全凝聚在石克廉身上。

“It cannot be possible!” his mother exclaimed, “I must go and ask Pelagia.”

“不可能！”杨玉兰尖叫道，“我得去问问潘婶。”

Olga Ivanovna left the room.

杨玉兰夺门而出。

“But Nikolai Ilitch, you gave me your word of honour!” cried Aliosha trembling all over.

“石叔叔，咱们都拉钩了！”龙龙哆嗦着哭泣道。

Belayeff made an impatient gesture and went on pacing the floor. He was absorbed in thoughts of the wrong that had been done him, and, as before, was unconscious of the boy’s presence: a serious, grown-up person like him could not be bothered with little boys. But Aliosha crept into a corner and told Sonia with horror how he had been deceived. He trembled and hiccoughed and cried. This was the first time in his life that he had come roughly face to face with deceit; he had never imagined till now that there were things in this world besides pasties and watches and sweet pears, things for which no name could be found in the vocabulary of childhood.

石克廉不屑地一摆手，继续徘徊着。他脑子里装满了自己的冤屈，把龙龙完全忘在了九霄云外：大人哪有搭理小毛孩的工夫。龙龙爬到墙角，惶恐地告诉蓉蓉自己被骗了。他打着哆嗦，哭得一抽一抽的。这个孩子平生第一次遭到了欺骗的摧残。他从未想过原来这世上除了馅饼、手表和甜梨之外还有别的东西，原来童年的字典里也有查不到的词汇。