《我弥留之际》As I Lay Dying(二)(翻译系列52)

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SO I saved out the eggs and baked yesterday. The cakes turned out right well. We depend a lot on our chickens. They are good layers, what few we have left after the possums and such. Snakes too,in the summer. A snake will break up a hen-house quicker than anything.

因此，我省下鸡蛋，并于昨日烤了蛋糕。蛋糕烤得蛮不错，主要还是我们养的鸡帮了大忙。虽然在鼠害等灾害后，我们的鸡已所剩不多了，可它们都是生蛋好手。夏天还有蛇灾。蛇糟蹋鸡窝比什么都快。

So after they were going to cost so much more than Mr Tull thought,and after I promised that the difference in the number of eggs would make it up,I had to be more careful than ever because it was on my final say-so we took them.

还有，由于养鸡成本增加，在超出屠尔先生设想很多后，我不得不向他承诺，鸡蛋的产量会把费用弥补回来。这时，我就需要格外上心了，因为那是我作的最后保证，随后我们才决定养那些鸡。

We could have stocked cheaper chickens,but I gave my promise as Miss Lawington said when she advised me to get a good breed,because Mr Tull himself admits❶ that a good breed of cows or hogs pays in the long run.

我们本来也可以养些便宜鸡种，可是，上回老温小姐劝我买好品种时，我已经答应她了。毕竟，哪怕屠尔先生自己承认说，从长远来看，养牛和猪，也是优良品种更划算。

So when we lost so many of them we couldn't afford to use the eggs ourselves,because I could not have had Mr Tull chide me when it was on my say-so we took them. So when Miss Lawington❷ told me about the cakes I thought that I could bake them and earn enough,at one time to increase the net value of the flock the equivalent of two head.

所以，当我们失去了许多鸡后，我们再也舍不得吃蛋，因为我不能让屠尔先生来责怪我，毕竟，当初我作了保证才养鸡。因此，当老温小姐跟我提起蛋糕的事，我想可以烤蛋糕挣得更多。每回赚的钱，加在整群鸡的净值里，就等于两头赚了。

And that by saving the eggs out one at a time,even the eggs wouldn't be costing anything. And that week they laid so well that I not only saved out enough eggs above what we had engaged to sell,to bake the cakes with,I had saved enough so that the flour and the sugar and the stove wood would not be costing anything.

这样，每回可以少放一个蛋，如此一来，连鸡蛋本身也不值钱了。那个星期母鸡下了很多蛋，我不单留出了准备卖的蛋，还留出了烤蛋糕的蛋，而且剩下的蛋换成钱，也足够买面粉、糖和柴禾了。

So I baked yesterday, more careful than ever I baked in my life,and the cakes turned out right well❸. But when we got to town this morning Miss Lawington told me the lady had changed her mind and was not going to have the party after all.

并且，就在昨天，我烤了蛋糕，比我这辈子任何一次烘焙都要小心。蛋糕烤出来品相还蛮像样。但是，今天早上我们进城，老温小姐告诉我说，那位买蛋糕的太太变卦了，她最后不想举办宴会了。

"She ought to taken those cakes anyway," Kate says.

"Well," I say,"I reckon she never had no use for them now."

"She ought to taken them," Kate says."But those rich town ladies can change their minds. Poor folks cant."

“不管怎么说她也应该把预定的蛋糕买走。”柯特说。
“唉，”我说，“我想事到如今，这些蛋糕对她也没用了。”
“她应该买下蛋糕，”柯特说，“而且这些城里的阔太随时能改变主意。我们这些穷人可学不来。”

Riches is nothing in the face of the Lord❹,for He can see into the heart."Maybe I can sell them at the bazaar(集市，义卖) Saturday," I say. They turned out real well.

"You cant get two dollars a piece for them," Kate says.

"Well,it isn't like they cost me anything," I say.

在老天面前财富算得了什么呢？因为它能够看透人心。“没准星期六我可以拿到集市上卖掉。”我说。蛋糕烤得还真不赖。
“你一个蛋糕连两块钱都收不回来。”柯特说。
“唉，反正蛋糕也没花什么本钱啊。”我说。

I saved them out and swapped a dozen of them for the sugar and flour. It isn't like the cakes cost me anything,as Mr Tull himself realises that the eggs I saved were over and beyond what we had engaged(从事，雇佣) to sell,so it was like we had found the eggs or they had been given to us.

我省下鸡蛋，并用一打鸡蛋换来糖和面粉，蛋糕没花钱。屠尔先生也明白，我省下来的蛋已超过我们打算要卖掉的，因此这些蛋就像捡来的，或者说和别人白给的一样。

"She ought to taken those cakes when she same as gave you her word," Kate says. The Lord can see into the heart. If it is His will that some folks has different ideas of honesty from other folks,it is not my place to question His decree(法令,判决;政令).

"I reckon she never had any use for them," I say. They turned out real well, too.

“既然她事先跟你说好了，那她就该把那些鸡蛋糕买下来，”柯特继续唠叨。
老天可以看透人心。如果那是他的旨意：某些人对诚实的看法可以跟别人不一样，那就更不该由我来对他的旨意表示怀疑了。
“我估计，她本就不需要蛋糕，”我说。这些蛋糕确实真不错。

The quilt(被子) is drawn up to her chin, hot as it is,with only her two hands and her face outside. She is propped on the pillow,with her head raised so she can see out the window,and we can hear him every time he takes up the adze or the saw. If we were deaf we could almost watch her face and hear him,see him❺.

天那么热，被子却一直拉到她下巴，只有手和脸露在外面。她高枕斜靠，望着窗外。每次他用斧锯，我们听得分明。哪怕我们不用耳朵，单看她的脸，我们似乎就能感受到卡什的动作。

Her face is wasted away so that the bones draw just under the skin in white lines. Her eyes are like two candles when you watch them gutter down into the sockets(插孔槽;窝,孔穴) of iron candle-sticks❻. But the eternal and the everlasting salvation and grace is not upon her.

她的脸瘦得只剩皮包骨，就像一根根白色的棱条。她的眼像两支蜡烛，烛泪正滴进烛台槽孔。可是永恒的救赎，却并没降到她头上。

By William Faulkner

威廉福克纳著

黄思明译

按：

❶第三段突然提到屠尔讲过买牛和猪，这和前文说的养鸡好像不搭边，似乎很突兀，但是我们注意到小说用了两个good breed，那就知道它这里是强调“优良品种”，也就是多花了钱买鸡也是值得的。所以我把admits翻译成“承认说”。

❷Miss Lawington，通常翻译喜欢用“劳温顿”，这里我用“老温”不是说这位女子多老，而是用了中文里“老”也是一个姓氏，不放给这位姑娘按和“老”姓氏，反正都是小说，无所谓了。下文有个名字Kate ，我给译成“柯特”，同样的道理，也是取了中文姓氏“柯”。

❸the cakes turned out right well，这一句话，小说用了好几次，我翻译时就用了不同的翻译。这里我译成“蛋糕烤出来品相还蛮像样”，下面我又译成了“这些蛋糕确实真不错”。

❹the Lord，欧美的“主，上帝”的意思，引申为“阁下，大人，勋爵，领主”等等意思，这里我仍然用中国人自己的方式，那就是老天。

❺If we were deaf we could almost watch her face and hear him,see him这句话，我看还是不要直译为好，假设我们是聋子，不论是自己还是读者，都会觉得有几分感官的不适，所以我把它译成“哪怕我们不用耳朵，单看她的脸，我们似乎就能感受到卡什的动作。”

❻Her eyes are like two candles when you watch them gutter down into the sockets of iron candle-sticks,这句话很生动形象，是一个比喻句描写，一个忧伤的女人立刻仿佛就在眼前。这一段前后意思稍稍有点不搭，前面是她生动的眼泪描写，紧接着是一个“but”，我还以为是转折，结果它说“永恒的救赎，并没降到她头上”，这好像不是转折关系，倒像是因果关系，因为没有降临永恒的救赎，她才有这样一双悲戚的双眼。这是否是作者的一个笔误呢？也未可知，莫若用“Because”。一开始，我确实这么想，但是经过仔细思考，觉得也未尝不能用“转折”来理解，她都如此可怜了，老天是不是应该怜悯一下这么可怜的人了呢？一个“但是”就能强调老天的这种“视万物为刍狗”，老子说，天地不仁，以万物为刍狗，大概也是作者要表达的同样意思吧。