中譯英現代散文

◎ 冰 心

雨聲漸漸的住了,窗簾後隱隱的透進清光來。推開窗戶一看,呀!涼雲散了,樹葉上的殘滴,映著月兒,好似螢光千點 〔1〕 ,閃閃爍爍的動著。——真沒想到苦雨孤燈之後,會有這麼一幅清美的圖畫! 〔2〕

憑窗站了一會兒,微微的覺得涼意侵入。轉過身來,忽然眼花繚亂,屋子裡的別的東西,都隱在光雲裡;一片幽輝,只浸著牆上畫中的安琪兒 〔3〕 。——這白衣的安琪兒,抱著花兒,揚著翅兒,向著我微微的笑。

“這笑容彷彿在那兒看見過似的,什麼時候,我曾……”我不知不覺的便坐在窗口下想,——默默的想。

嚴閉的心幕,慢慢的拉開了,湧出五年前的一個印象。——一條很長的古道。驢腳下的泥,兀自滑滑的。田溝裡的水,潺潺的流著。近村的綠樹,都籠在溼煙裡。弓兒似的新月,掛在樹梢 〔4〕 。一邊走著,似乎道旁有一個孩子,抱著一堆燦白的東西。驢兒過去了,無意中回頭一看。——他抱著花兒,赤著腳兒,向著我微微的笑。

“這笑容又彷彿是那兒看過似的!”我仍是想——默默的想 〔5〕 。

又現出一重心幕來,也慢慢的拉開了,湧出十年前的一個印象。——茅簷下的雨水,一滴一滴的落到衣上來。土階邊的水泡兒 〔6〕 ,泛來泛去的亂轉。門前的麥壠和葡萄架子,都濯得新黃嫩綠的非常鮮麗。——一會兒好容易雨晴了,連忙走下坡兒去。迎頭看見月兒從海面上來了,猛然記得有件東西忘下了,站住了,回過頭來。這茅屋裡的老婦人——她倚著門兒,抱著花兒,向著我微微的笑。

這同樣微妙的神情,好似遊絲一般,飄飄漾漾的合了攏來,綰在一起。

這時心下光明澄靜,如登仙界 〔7〕 ,如歸故鄉。眼前浮現的三個笑容,一時融化在愛的調和裡看不分明瞭。

Smile

◎ Bing Xin

As the rain gradually ceased to patter, a glimmer of light began to filter into the room through the window curtain. I opened the window and looked out. Ah, the rain clouds had vanished and the remaining raindrops on the tree leaves glistened tremulously under the moonlight like myriads of fireflies. To think that there should appear before my eyes such a beautiful sight after the miserable rain on a lonely evening!

Standing at the window for a while, I felt a bit chilly. As I turned round, my eyes suddenly dazzled before the bright light and could not see things distinctly. Everything in the room was blurred by a haze of light except the angel in a picture on the wall. The angel in white was smiling on me with a bunch of flowers in his arms, his wings flapping.

“I seem to have seen the same smile before. When was that? …” Before I knew, I had sunk into a chair under the window, lost in meditation.

A scene of five years ago slowly unveiled before my mind’s eye. It was a long ancient country road. The ground under my donkey’s feet was slippery with mud. The water in the field ditches was murmuring. The green trees in the neighbouring village were shrouded in a mist. The crescent new moon looked as if hanging on the tips of the trees. As I passed along, I somewhat sensed the presence of a child by the roadside carrying something snow white in his arms. After the donkey had gone by, I happened to look back and saw the child, who was barefoot, looking at me smilingly with a bunch of flowers in his arms.

“I seem to have seen the same smile somewhere before!” I was still thinking to myself.

Another scene, a scene of ten years ago, slowly unfolded before my mind’s eye. Rainwater was falling drop by drop onto my clothes from the eaves of a thatched cottage. Beside the earthern doorstep, bubbles in puddles of rainwater were whirling about like mad. Washed by the rain, the wheat fields and grape trellises in front of the cottage door presented a picturesque scene of vivid yellow and tender green. After a while, it cleared up at long last and I hurried down the slope. Up ahead I saw the moon rising high above the sea. Suddenly it occurred to me that I had left something behind. When I stopped and turned round, my eyes fell on an old woman at her cottage door smiling at me, a bunch of flowers in her arms.

The three subtle smiles, drifting in the air towards each other like gossamer, became interwoven.

At this moment all was bright, clear and calm in my heart. I felt as if I were ascending to heaven or on the way back to my hometown. In my mind’s eye, the three smiling faces now merged into a harmonious whole of love and became indistinguishable.

這篇散文是我國著名女作家冰心(1900—1999)的早期成名之作,於1921年1月發表在《小說月報》第一期上。冰心的散文以秀麗典雅、純真無邪著稱。她早期信奉“愛的哲學”,泛愛宇宙中的一切,尤其是對母親、兒童和自然美的愛。《笑》正體現了她的這種思想。她謳歌超現實的“愛”,也就是對當時社會的黑暗和汙濁的不滿和失望。

註釋

〔1〕 “螢光千點”譯為myriads of fireflies,比thousands of fireflies更切近美文(belles lettres)。

〔2〕 “真沒想到……!”譯為To think that …!是英語慣用句型,以感嘆的語氣表達某種想不到的事。

〔3〕 “安琪兒”即“天使”,是angel一詞的音譯。天使為西方教堂所崇奉,其形象常為帶翅膀的男性小孩。

〔4〕 “弓兒似的新月,掛在樹梢”譯為The crescent new moon looked as if hanging on the tips of the trees,其中looked as if是增加的成分,變隱喻為明喻。

〔5〕 “我仍是想——默默的想”譯為I was still thinking to myself。To think to oneself是英語習慣用語,作“一個人暗自在想”解。

〔6〕 “水泡兒”指雨水坑中的水泡兒,故譯為bubbles in puddles of rainwater,其中in puddles of rainwater原文中雖無其詞,但卻有其意。

〔7〕 “仙界”指“極樂世界”,也可譯為the land of the divine。現譯為heaven,較簡潔。


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