On the Far Side of the Mountain (Excerpt V)

By Jean Craighead George

Alice and I could raise chickens—no, they’re domestic birds and wouldn’t look right in the wilderness—pheasant and quail would be better. I put my elbows on my knees and hold my head in both hands. I don’t like that idea either. Alice would undoubtedly name them and then we couldn’t eat them. You can’t eat pets. Alice named that pig she talks to, and now the man who owns it can’t butcher it.

[2] Across the rushing stream grows a carpet of dark moss. I wade over to it and lie down in its cool greenery. I can’t go back to Alice just yet. I’m not ready to talk about Frightful. I’m just not. I close my eyes.

[3] The leaves above me jangle like wind chimes. The vireos twitter as they carry food to their nestlings. A squirrel family scampers over the leaves, rattling them noisily, which is one of the ways squirrels communicate with each other. It means “I’ve found a nut crop.”

[4] The birdcalls grow more frenzied as twilight approaches. The males are making their last territorial announcements before darkness falls. The tree frogs start singing, and I open my eyes.I am looking up into the trees.

艾丽斯和我可以养鸡啊——不行，它们是家养动物，在野外看着不对劲儿——野鸡和鹌鹑会更好。我两肘撑在膝盖上，双手捧着脑袋沉思。我也不喜欢这个主意。艾丽斯肯定会给它们起名字，然后我们就不能吃它们了。你不能吃宠物啊。艾丽斯给那个听她讲话的猪起了个名字，现在猪的主人都不能杀它了。

[2]溪水淙淙流淌，对岸有一片厚厚的深绿色苔藓。我涉水而过，躺在那凉爽的绿地上。我还不能回去见艾丽斯。我还没想好谈“惊悚”的事儿。我没准备好。我闭上双眼冥思苦想。

[3]我头顶的树叶像风铃一样叮铃铃作响。绿鹃鸟儿一边往鸟巢运送食物一边吱吱喳喳地叫。有一家子松鼠从树叶顶上蹦蹦跳跳掠过去，弄得树叶哗啦啦响。这是松鼠之间交流的方式之一，意思是“我找到好多坚果了”。

[5] A limb just above me resembles a shotgun.

“I would never use a gun,” I say out loud. I would be forever tied to stores for bullets, and the friendly spirit of my mountaintop would be violated. The birds would not come and sit on my hand, Baron Weasel would move out,and Jessie Coon James would no longer trust me. Something happens to a person when he picks up a gun, and the animals sense it. They depart.

[6] “No guns,” I say.

In frustration I pick up a stone and throw it. It flies down the rocky stream bed and forcibly cracks against a boulder.

“Stones,” I say. “I’ll make a sling.”

A sling is the answer. I jump to my feet. Ammunition lies everywhere, and the birds and beasts are not afraid of stones.

[7] No sooner do I solve one problem than I face another. How do you make a sling? Not a slingshot, the forked stick with an elastic band attached to it, but the powerful sling with which David killed Goliath.

[4]暮色渐渐加深，鸟儿们叫得更欢了。雄鸟在天黑之前需要最后宣布它们的领地。树蛙开始唱歌，这时我睁开了眼睛。我朝上看头顶的树木。

[5]头顶的一个树枝很像猎枪的样子。

“我永远都不能用枪。”我大声说道。如果用枪，我就会永远为储存子弹忙活，而且我那片山林的友好气氛也会被破坏。鸟儿们不会再来站到我的手上，黄鼠狼“男爵”也会搬走，浣熊“杰西·詹姆士”也不会再信任我。当一个人拿起枪，那个人就变了，动物们能感觉得到。它们会离你而去。

[6]“决不能用枪。”我说。

万般沮丧的我捡起一块石头扔了出去。石头飞落到满是岩石的河床上，猛地撞上了一块巨石。

“石头啊，”我说，“我要做个投石器。”

投石器就是好办法。我一下子跳起来。投石器的弹药到处都是，而且鸟儿和野兽也不怕石头。

[7]刚解决了一个问题，立马就有了下一个问题。你怎么做投石器呢？不要弹弓，就是绑上松紧带的那种带岔的树枝，而要圣经故事里大卫杀死歌利亚的那种强力投石器。

[8] I try to remember the pictures I’ve seen of huge Goliath falling to earth with little David standing beneath him, his sling at his side. I see a short strap with two long cords fastened to both ends. That’s all there was to it, I think, also recalling the sling my uncle made when I was a kid. To operate it, a stone is put in the strap; the ends of the strings are held and whirled above the head. When the stone is speeding, it is aimed, one string is released, and the stone zings to its mark.

[9] I should go to the library and ask Miss Turner for a book on how to make a sling, but I can’t. I don’t want to tell her about Frightful. I don’t want to tell anyone.

[8]我试着去回忆看过的那些画面：高大的歌利亚跌倒在地，矮小的大卫站在旁边，手里拿着投石器。我看到一块短皮兜，两头拴着长长的带子。我想，就是这种东西，还想起小时候叔叔给我做的投石器。方法就是把石头放在皮兜里；手抓住绳索的头儿，然后在头顶甩起来。当石头飞快旋转，瞄准，然后松开一条绳索，石头就会呼啸着飞向目标。

[9]我应该到图书馆去，跟特纳小姐要一本讲如何制作投石器的书，但我不能去。我不想告诉她“惊悚”的事儿。我不想告诉任何人。

【背景知识】用来捕猎的好帮手猎鹰“惊悚”不在了，山姆一直在冥思苦想替代的方法。养家禽不行，养野鸟也不行，用猎枪狩猎更不行。最后，山姆想到了投石器，这也许是个出路。这一选段情景交融，既有山姆的内心独白，也有对周边景物的细致描绘，让人读来趣味盎然。

【第一段】山姆自言自语，想到养鸡和养野禽，然后逐一否定。译文要体现山姆意识流的特点，不能太刻板，可以适当表现儿童的语气。第二句译文在动作之后补出谓语“沉思”，否则译文会显得不完整。

【第二段】这里对环境的描写很细致，句子短小，意识流特点明显，体现山姆因为失去“惊悚”，心中的创伤还没有愈合。最后一句的译文仍然补出谓语“冥思苦想”，这样中文的意思更明晰一点。

【第三段】这一段是纯粹的景物描写：树叶、鸟儿、松鼠，让读者身临其境，感受到大自然的无限生机和趣味。

【第四段】天色变暗，鸟儿们反而叫得更欢。这些都是山林生活的常识。最后一句承前启后，引出山姆对使用猎枪的想法。

【第五段】第三句体现出意识流的特点，省略了假设从句“如果用枪”，译文补了出来。短语the friendly spirit不宜译作“友好的精神”，根据上下文译为“友好气氛”比较顺畅。英文里鸟儿可以sit（坐）到手上，中文里还是“站”更合适。Something happens to a person（有人会发生什么事）译为“那个人就变了”，是提取出原文的真实意义。

【第六段】词语answer如果译为“答案”，在中文里不通畅，所以译为“好办法”。而ammunition（弹药）的意思在上下文里有点跳脱，所以补出“投石器的弹药”。

【第七段】该段出现了两个人名，需要查证一下，他们是《圣经·旧约》里的人物大卫和歌利亚，山姆小时候看过这些故事，还有相应的图画。英文读者也许熟悉这两个人物，但中文读者一般觉得陌生，所以译文补出了“圣经故事里”。

【第八段】这一段的动作描写很传神，但要注意中英文的习惯不同。比如英文的to operate是不定式，中文就可以用“方法是”来表达，如果用“去操作它”，就会显得呆板有翻译腔。

【第九段】这里还是山姆的意识流，反映他内心的伤痛、烦躁和挣扎。原文的短句句式应该加以保留。

【小结】此次选段有一些景物刻画，但重心还是山姆的意识流描写，有语句短、不很连贯、逻辑关系隐含等特点。这些特点在中文里可以尽量再现，但考虑到中文的顺畅，很多地方还需要补足一些成分，像定语、谓语、从句、背景知识等。增译是这一段文学翻译练习的核心。 □