I remember a day when I was very small, and my mother took me to a fair, and I got lost. After searching without finding her, I set out for home by myself. I walked up one road, down another, expecting to stumble on something recognizable. But everywhere the unfamiliar houses seemed unfriendly and forbidding. Afraid to knock on any door, I crept close to a tree in an empty corner lot and fell into the sleep of exhaustion.
我還記得在很小的時候,有一天媽媽帶我逛集市,我迷了路.我焦急地尋找媽媽的身影,卻一無所獲,只好自己摸索著回家的道路.我踉蹌地從一條街走到另一條街,希望能撞見熟悉的東西.但是,到處都是氣勢洶洶、令人害怕的陌生房子.膽小的我不敢去敲響任何一扇門,只好跌跌撞撞地走近街角的空地,蜷縮在一棵樹旁,疲憊地睡著了.
At dusk I awakened. The first of night was seeping into the neighborhood, shadow by shadow. A pale wash of sunset pinked chimneys and rooftops. As I watched, the sky darkened to the deep, translucent blue of almost-evening, and a brilliant first star appeared-my own reliable wishing star, right where it belonged.
黃昏的時候,我醒了.黑夜的第一片投影正緩緩地滲入左鄰右舍.煙囪與屋頂沐浴在薄暮淡淡的餘暉中,散發著粉色的光暈.天空已沉澱成那種澄鬱參半、接近夜色的深藍.第一顆明星出現了,啊,我最信賴的許願星出現在了它一直堅守的位置.
Suddenly my world was righted. This was the magic time when wishes were made and faces washed, when daddies appeared and babies had baths-a friendly time. Without hesitation, I ran to the nearest door and banged on it. Within an hour I was safely home.
一瞬間,我的世界豁然開朗.這一刻充滿著魔力：人們虔誠地許願,洗去一臉辛勞,父親們回到家中,嬰孩們歡快地洗澡.黃昏,這是多麼溫馨友好的時光啊.於是,我毫不猶豫地衝向最近的一戶人家,用力敲門.不到一個小時,我就被平安送回了家中.
My parents asked why I had waited so long to seek help. I could not explain. I cannot now, except to say that the enchantment of dusk is still upon me, still smoothes away my fears and lifts my spirit. I dare more at dusk.
父母問我,為什麼等了這麼久才去尋求幫助.我無法解釋清楚,至今也不能.只能說黃昏的魔力依然影響著我,依然能撫平我的恐懼,振奮我的精神.一到黃昏,我就會變得更有膽量.
The lights come on, for one thing?the companionable lights. Have you ever walked home on a late winter afternoon, under a leaden sky in a steady snowfall, and been surprised by the silent coming-on of street lights? All in a moment, they line the road like transforming angels, their frosty halos sparkling, and you go the rest of the way guarded and at peace.
燈亮起來了,那就讓我們只說說友善可親的燈光吧.你是否也曾在晚冬的傍晚漫步歸家,天空暗沉,漫天飄雪,不經意間,街燈靜靜地亮起來,讓你驚喜不已?它們就像瞬息萬變的天使,守護在你身旁,讓你安心輕鬆地走完回家的路.
Dusk is for homecoming, a wonderfully hollow-and-hungry-for-dinner hour. Telling of his boyhood in a small English village, Laurie Lee writes exuberantly, "The day was over and we had used it, running errands or prowling the fields. We returned to the kitchen, back to its smoky comfort. Every stone in the path as I ran down home shook my bones with arriving joy."
黃昏是歸家的時候,是飢腸轆轆享用晚餐的時候,勞利·李曾興奮地描述過他在英國鄉村的童年生活："一天過完了,我們結束了四處跑腿、在鄉野間橫衝亂撞的一天,興沖沖地回到了廚房,那個炊煙騰騰、溫暖舒適的地方.奔跑在回家的小路上,每一塊踢到的石頭都讓我渾身的骨頭帶著回家的喜悅而震顫."
But almost as good as returning home at day's end is the exhilarating business of faring forth then. There is no better time to take a train to the city than in the precious interval between day and night, when the blue air seems strung with excitement, almost tasting of adventure. Or to walk in a quiet country lane as the sparrows cheep sleepily, and night insects awaken to begin a fine musical clamor. Listen to that cricket!
但是,在美麗的黃昏時刻出發,開始一段新的旅程,也像歸家一樣令人歡喜雀躍.在白天到黑夜那一段時間裡,暗藍的天空洋溢著無限激動,你乘著火車抵達城市,開始享受探險的樂趣,沒有比這更美妙的事了.或者,漫步於寧靜的鄉間小徑,麻雀在樹上一邊吱吱細語一邊打著瞌睡,夜蟲初醒,興奮地在準備一場奇妙音樂會.快聽,那蟋蟀正在高歌呢!
Meanwhile, nearly forgotten, the last lovely light of day is caught on a pond and behind a hill, back of your barn and around the corner. But when you look again, it will be gone.
此刻,你差點忘了那可愛的落日餘暉.它倒映在池塘裡,躲藏在小山和你家穀倉的背後,或是流連於一個偏僻的小角落.但是等你再去尋覓,它卻早已消失得無影無蹤了.
To go out……to go somewhere and meet the evening……
出去吧……到某處與黑夜相會……
