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.

艾麗斯和我可以養雞啊——不行，它們是家養動物，在野外看著不對勁兒——野雞和鵪鶉會更好。我兩肘撐在膝蓋上，雙手捧著腦袋沉思。我也不喜歡這個主意。艾麗斯肯定會給它們起名字，然后我們就不能吃它們了。你不能吃寵物啊。艾麗斯給那個聽她講話的豬起了個名字，現在豬的主人都不能殺它了。

[2]溪水淙淙流淌，對岸有一片厚厚的深綠色苔蘚。我涉水而過，躺在那涼爽的綠地上。我還不能回去見艾麗斯。我還沒想好談“驚悚”的事兒。我沒準備好。我閉上雙眼冥思苦想。

[3]我頭頂的樹葉像風鈴一樣叮鈴鈴作響。綠鵑鳥兒一邊往鳥巢運送食物一邊吱吱喳喳地叫。有一家子松鼠從樹葉頂上蹦蹦跳跳掠過去，弄得樹葉嘩啦啦響。這是松鼠之間交流的方式之一，意思是“我找到好多堅果了”。

[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]暮色漸漸加深，鳥兒們叫得更歡了。雄鳥在天黑之前需要最后宣布它們的領地。樹蛙開始唱歌，這時我睜開了眼睛。我朝上看頭頂的樹木。

[5]頭頂的一個樹枝很像獵槍的樣子。

“我永遠都不能用槍。”我大聲說道。如果用槍，我就會永遠為儲存子彈忙活，而且我那片山林的友好氣氛也會被破壞。鳥兒們不會再來站到我的手上，黃鼠狼“男爵”也會搬走，浣熊“杰西·詹姆士”也不會再信任我。當一個人拿起槍，那個人就變了，動物們能感覺得到。它們會離你而去。

[6]“決不能用槍。”我說。

萬般沮喪的我撿起一塊石頭扔了出去。石頭飛落到滿是巖石的河床上，猛地撞上了一塊巨石。

“石頭啊，”我說，“我要做個投石器。”

投石器就是好辦法。我一下子跳起來。投石器的彈藥到處都是，而且鳥兒和野獸也不怕石頭。

[7]剛解決了一個問題，立馬就有了下一個問題。你怎么做投石器呢？不要彈弓，就是綁上松緊帶的那種帶岔的樹枝，而要圣經故事里大衛殺死歌利亞的那種強力投石器。

[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]我試著去回憶看過的那些畫面：高大的歌利亞跌倒在地，矮小的大衛站在旁邊，手里拿著投石器。我看到一塊短皮兜，兩頭拴著長長的帶子。我想，就是這種東西，還想起小時候叔叔給我做的投石器。方法就是把石頭放在皮兜里；手抓住繩索的頭兒，然后在頭頂甩起來。當石頭飛快旋轉，瞄準，然后松開一條繩索，石頭就會呼嘯著飛向目標。

[9]我應該到圖書館去，跟特納小姐要一本講如何制作投石器的書，但我不能去。我不想告訴她“驚悚”的事兒。我不想告訴任何人。

【背景知識】用來捕獵的好幫手獵鷹“驚悚”不在了，山姆一直在冥思苦想替代的方法。養家禽不行，養野鳥也不行，用獵槍狩獵更不行。最后，山姆想到了投石器，這也許是個出路。這一選段情景交融，既有山姆的內心獨白，也有對周邊景物的細致描繪，讓人讀來趣味盎然。

【第一段】山姆自言自語，想到養雞和養野禽，然后逐一否定。譯文要體現山姆意識流的特點，不能太刻板，可以適當表現兒童的語氣。第二句譯文在動作之后補出謂語“沉思”，否則譯文會顯得不完整。

【第二段】這里對環境的描寫很細致，句子短小，意識流特點明顯，體現山姆因為失去“驚悚”，心中的創傷還沒有愈合。最后一句的譯文仍然補出謂語“冥思苦想”，這樣中文的意思更明晰一點。

【第三段】這一段是純粹的景物描寫：樹葉、鳥兒、松鼠，讓讀者身臨其境，感受到大自然的無限生機和趣味。

【第四段】天色變暗，鳥兒們反而叫得更歡。這些都是山林生活的常識。最后一句承前啟后，引出山姆對使用獵槍的想法。

【第五段】第三句體現出意識流的特點，省略了假設從句“如果用槍”，譯文補了出來。短語the friendly spirit不宜譯作“友好的精神”，根據上下文譯為“友好氣氛”比較順暢。英文里鳥兒可以sit（坐）到手上，中文里還是“站”更合適。Something happens to a person（有人會發生什么事）譯為“那個人就變了”，是提取出原文的真實意義。

【第六段】詞語answer如果譯為“答案”，在中文里不通暢，所以譯為“好辦法”。而ammunition（彈藥）的意思在上下文里有點跳脫，所以補出“投石器的彈藥”。

【第七段】該段出現了兩個人名，需要查證一下，他們是《圣經·舊約》里的人物大衛和歌利亞，山姆小時候看過這些故事，還有相應的圖畫。英文讀者也許熟悉這兩個人物，但中文讀者一般覺得陌生，所以譯文補出了“圣經故事里”。

【第八段】這一段的動作描寫很傳神，但要注意中英文的習慣不同。比如英文的to operate是不定式，中文就可以用“方法是”來表達，如果用“去操作它”，就會顯得呆板有翻譯腔。

【第九段】這里還是山姆的意識流，反映他內心的傷痛、煩躁和掙扎。原文的短句句式應該加以保留。

【小結】此次選段有一些景物刻畫，但重心還是山姆的意識流描寫，有語句短、不很連貫、邏輯關系隱含等特點。這些特點在中文里可以盡量再現，但考慮到中文的順暢，很多地方還需要補足一些成分，像定語、謂語、從句、背景知識等。增譯是這一段文學翻譯練習的核心。 □