50 GREAT SHORT STORIES·《Putois》(1)

原文来自：《50 GREAT SHORT STORIES》 P118

When we were children, our tiny garden, which you could go from end to end of in twenty strides, seemed to us a vast universe, made up of joys and terrors," said Monsieur Bergeret. “当我们还是小孩子的时候，我们的小花园——在二十步之内你就可以从一端走到另一端，对我们来说就是一个巨大的宇宙，充斥着快乐与恐惧。”MB说。 "Do you remember Putois, Lucien?" asked Zoe, smiling as was her wont, with lips compressed and her nose over her needlework. “Lucien，你还记得Putois吗？”Zoe问到，她惯常般微笑着，嘴唇紧闭，鼻子盖在她的针线活上。 "Do I remember Putois!...Why, of all the figures which pass before my childhood's eyes, that of Putois remains the clearest in my memory. Not a single feature of his face or his character have I forgotten. He had a long head..’’ “我记得Putois！为什么，在我童年的记忆中，Putois在我印象里最清楚。他的脸或者他这个人的特征我一点都没忘。他有一个长脑袋……” P119

"A low forehead," added Mademoiselle Zoé. “低低的额头。”MZ补充到。 Then, antiphonally, in a monotonous voice, with mock gravity, the brother and sister recited the following points of a kind of police description: 然后，兄妹二人用单调的声音，假装严肃地异口同声地用警方描述的方式，一一列举了以下几点。 "A low forehead." “低低的额头。” "Wall-eyed." “眼睛斜视” "Furtive looking." “看起来偷偷摸摸的” "A crow's foot on his temple." “他的太阳穴有鱼尾纹。” "High cheek-bones, red and shiny." “高颧骨，红润有光泽。” "His ears were ragged." “他的耳朵很粗糙。” "His face was blank and expressionless." “他面无表情。” "It was only by his hands, which were constantly moving, that you divined his thoughts." “只有通过他不断动的手你才能明白他的想法。” "Thin, rather bent, weak in appearance." “瘦，相当的驼背，外表看起来很虚弱。” "In reality of unusual strength." “实际上有不同寻常的力气。” "He could easily bend a five-franc piece between his thumb and forefinger." “他能够用他的大拇指和食指，轻松地掰弯一个五法郎的硬币” "His thumb was huge." “他的大拇指很大。” "He spoke with a drawl." “他说话拖拖拉拉。” "His tone was unctuous." “他语气油腔滑调的。” Suddenly Monsieur Bergeret cried eagerly: "Zoe! We have forgotten his yellow hair and his scant beard. We must begin again." 突然，MB着急地大叫：“Zoe！我们忘记了他黄色的头发和他稀疏的胡子。我们必须重新开始。” Pauline had been listening with astonishment to this strange recital. She asked her father and her aunt how they had come to learn this prose passage by heart, and why they recited it like a Litany. Pauline 一直惊讶地听着这段奇怪的赘述。她问她的爸爸和她的姑姑他们是如何把这段背下来的，以及为什么他们会把它背得像祷文。 Monsieur Bergeret replied gravely: "Pauline, what you have just heard is the sacred text, I may say the liturgy of the Bergeret family. It is right that it should be transmitted to you in order that it may not perish with your aunt and me. Your grandfather, my child, your grandfather, Eloi Bergeret, who was not one to be amused with trifles, set a high value on this passage, principally on account of its origin. He entitled it 'The Anatomy of Putois.' And he was accustomed to say that in certain respects he set the anatomy of Putois above the anatomy of Quaresmeprenant. 'If the description written by Zenomanes,' he said, 'is more learned and richer in rare and precious terms, the description of Putois greatly excels it in the lucidity of its ideas and the clearness of its style.' Such was his opinion, for in those days Doctor Ledouble, of Tours, had not yet expounded chapters thirty, thirty-one and thirty-two of the fourth book of Rabelais.” MB严肃地说：“Pauline，你刚才听到的确实是神圣的经文，可以说是Bergeret家族的祷文。它应该传给你，这样它就不会和你的姑姑还有我一起灭亡。你的爷爷，我的孩子，你爷爷Eloi Bergeret——一个不以小事为乐的人——非常重视这段话，主要是因为它的起源。他将其命名为‘Putois解剖”。他习惯于说，在某些方面，他将‘Putois解剖’置于‘Quarespresent解剖’之上。‘如果这段描述由Zenomanes写’，他说，‘（Zenomanes）在罕见和珍贵的术语上更具学术性和丰富性，那么对Putois的描述在思想和风格的清晰方面都非常出色。’这就是他的观点，因为那时候，图尔的Ledouble医生还没有写Rabelais第四本书的第30、31和32章。” 编者补充：

此处的“解剖”是指“解剖式描述”。在《巨人传》第四部中，对封斋教主（Quaresmeprenant）有解剖式描述。

《巨人传》作者：Francois Rabelais。

Tours，图尔（

Tours

），法国中西部城市。