Julie of the Wolves (Excerpt IV)《狼女朱莉》（节选四）

琼·克雷格黑德·乔治

She knew what it was—she should not depend upon the wolves for survival. She must go on her own. Instantly she felt relieved， her legs moved， her hands stopped shaking， and she remembered that when Kapugen was a boy， he had told her， he made snares of rawhide and caught little birds.

“Buntings， beware！” she shouted and slid down to her camp. Stepping out of her pants， she slipped off her tights and cut a swath of cloth from the hip with her ulo. She tore the cloth into small strips， then ate some stew， and started off to hunt birds. Every so often she tied a bit of red cloth to a clump of grass or around a conspicuous stone. If she was going to hunt in this confusing land， she must leave a trail to lead her home. She could not smell her way back as the wolves did.

As she tied the first piece of cloth to a bent sedge， she looked down on a small pile of droppings. “Ee-lie，” she said. “A bird roost. Someone sleeps here every night.” Quickly she took the thongs from her boots， made a noose， and placed it under the sedge. Holding the pull-rope， she moved back as far as she could and lay down to await the return of the bird.

The sun slid slowly down the sky， hung still for a moment， then started up again. It was midnight. A flock of swift-flying Arctic terns darted overhead， and one by one dropped into the grasses. Ruddy turnstones called sleepily from their scattered roosts， and sandpipers whistled. The creatures of the tundra were going to sleep， as they did also at noon in the constant daylight. Each called from his roost—all but the little bird of the sedge. It had not come back.

A bird chirped three feet from her face， and Miyax rolled her eyes to the left. A bunting on a grass blade tucked its bill into the feathers on its back， fluffed， and went to sleep. Where， she asked， was the bird of the sedge？ Had it been killed by a fox or a weasel？

She was about to get to her feet and hunt elsewhere， but she remembered that Kapugen never gave up. Sometimes he would stand motionless for five hours at a seal breathing hole in the ice waiting for a seal to come up for a breath. She must wait， too.

The sun moved around the sky， and， when it was directly behind her， the sleeping bunting lifted its head and chirped. It hopped to a higher blade of grass， preened， and sang its morning song. The sleep was over. Her bird had not come back.

她知道做錯什么了——她不应该依靠狼群活下去。她必须自我救赎。想通之后，她立刻感觉放松下来，腿能动了，双手也不再颤抖。她这才想起来，父亲卡普根曾告诉她，他小时候，曾用兽皮做的圈套捉到过小鸟。

“美洲雀儿们，你们要小心了！”她大喊一声，下滑到自己的营地。她褪掉外裤，又脱下紧身裤，用自己的幽鲁刀从裤子臀部割下一段布条。她把布条再撕成窄细的布绺儿，然后吃了一些炖肉，就出发去捕鸟。每走一段，她都会在草丛里或显眼的石头上拴一根红布条儿。想在这样让人迷路的地方打猎，她必须留下记号以便循原路回家。狼群可以通过嗅觉找到原路，她不能。

她在一棵弯倒的莎草上绑了第一根布条儿，这时她俯身看到地上有一小堆儿粪便。“天哪，”她说道，“这儿有一个鸟窝。有只鸟儿每天晚上都在这儿睡觉呢。”她快速从靴子上取下皮条，做了一个套索，放在莎草下面。她手拿拽绳，向后退到尽可能远的地方，趴下来等候鸟儿回家。

太阳慢慢地在天边滑下去，有一阵儿停止不动，然后再次爬升。已是午夜时分。有一群快速飞行的北极燕鸥从头顶掠过，一只接一只落到草丛里。分散在各处窝里的红色翻石鹬睡意朦胧地叫着，矶鹬吹起了口哨。冻原上的生灵们即将进入梦乡，就像在极昼的正午一样。每一只鸟儿都已回巢，并且发出叫声——唯有那只在莎草旁筑巢的小鸟儿除外。它还没有回家。

有只鸟儿啁啾了几声，离米娅克斯的脸大概有三英尺远。米娅克斯的眼睛瞅向左边。一只美洲雀落在草叶上，把喙插到后背的羽毛里，抖了抖羽毛，悄然入梦。米娅克斯心中问道，家在莎草旁的这只鸟儿去哪里了呢？難道是被狐狸或黄鼠狼杀死了吗？

她刚要站起身来，到别处捕鸟，突然想起父亲卡普根永不放弃的做法。有的时候，父亲会在海豹的换气孔旁边一动不动站在冰上五个小时，只为等海豹出来换气。她也必须等待。

太阳在天边移动。等太阳正在她背后的时候，那只睡觉的美洲雀抬起头，叫了几声。然后它跳到一个更高的草叶上，用嘴巴梳理羽毛，唱起了晨曲。它已走出梦乡。但她的鸟儿仍然没有回家。

【背景知识】察觉到狼群即将迁徙远行，米娅克斯心中惶恐，因为她不可能再依赖狼群生存了。她必须自己设法活下去，于是想到了捕鸟。这一选段细致地描述了米娅克斯从准备工具到设立套索，以及耐心等待鸟儿归巢的全程。

【第一段】第一句中的it指代做错的事情。第二句意思很简单，却有不同的译法，比如“自食其力、自力更生、依靠自己”等，充分展现出文学翻译的弹性阐释空间。译文使用了“自我救赎”，突出显示她必须靠自己挽救生命，走出荒原。第三句如果直译，会显得文气中断，不连贯，所以译文补出了“想通之后”。译文还添加了“这才”，使得句子逻辑更加明晰。

【第二段】开头的句子是表现米娅克斯有了主意之后很兴奋，大喊大叫，译文也力求彰显这种氛围。幽鲁刀（ulo）是爱斯基摩人经常随身携带的一种工具，刀为半圆形。最后两句中，confusing land（直译即“让人迷惑的土地”）如直译语义不清，所以明晰化为“让人迷路的地方”。而最后一句译文按照中文习惯反向译出，不是人“通过嗅觉找到原路”，而是狼群。

【第三段】这里的someone在译文中明晰化为“有只鸟儿”。最后一句的lay down不能翻译为“躺下”，根据具体情景应该是“趴下”。

【第四段】倒数第二句each called from his roost的译文补足了逻辑关系：每一只鸟儿都在窝里叫，因为它们都已经回家了。这一段原文中出现了多种鸟类，需要译者仔细查证，确定鸟名。原文描写细腻，诗意盎然，蕴含着作者的一片爱心，也需要译者仔细体察。

【第五段】此处原文对鸟儿的举动刻画得细致入微，这来源于作者对鸟儿的精心观察。译者自当需要多多查证，以便通过译文准确地还原当时情景。

【第六段】第一句如果译为“想起父亲卡普根永不放弃”，句子显得不完整，所以添加了类别词“的做法”。

【第七段】北极极昼的太阳是在天边滑行，并不会升到正上方的高空。米娅克斯趴在地上等了好久。睡眠结束，美洲雀可爱的举止跃然纸上。原文文字简洁生动，译文选择的空间很大，比如The sleep was over可以译为“睡眠时间结束、睡眠结束、美梦结束、该起床了”等。

【小结】如何抓捕猎物、设置什么陷阱、野生动植物的名称、野生动植物的习性等都是生态文学常见的描写对象。这些都充分展现在该选段当中。文中涉及的爱斯基摩文化词语也需要查证清楚才可翻译。更重要的，这一选段通过简洁的文字营造出一种诗意氛围，给译者带来了巨大的阐释空间和遣词造句的多重选择。译者需要参照原文，从整体上把握译文的风格，尽量再现原作的意境和韵味。                                                                                  □