【胡宗锋英译专栏】贾平凹：寡妇

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寡 妇

Widow

Translated from the Chinese by Hu Zongfeng& Robin Gilbank

一入冬就邪法儿地冷。石块都裂了，酥如糟糕。人不敢在屋外尿，出尿成冰棍儿撑在地上。太白山的男人耐不过女人，冬天里就死去许多。  孩子，睡吧睡吧，一睡着全当死了，把什么苦愁都忘了。那爹就是睡著了吗？不要说爹。娘将一颗瘪枣塞进三岁孩子的口里，自己睡去。孩子嚼完瘪枣，馋性未尽又吮了半晌的指头，拿眼在黑暗中瞧娘头顶上的一圈火焰，随即亦瞧见灯蕊一般的一点火焰在屋梁上移动，认得那是一只小鼠。倏忽间听到一类声音，像是牛犁水田，又像是猫舔浆糊。后来就感觉到炕上有什么在蠕动。孩子看了看，竟是爹在娘的身上，爹和娘打架了！爹疯牛一般，一条一块的肌肉在背上隆起，急不可耐，牙在娘的嘴上啃，脸上啃；可怜的娘兀自闭眼，头发零乱，浑身痉挛。孩子嫌爹太狠，要帮娘，拿拳头打爹的头，爹的头一下子就不动了。爹被打死了吗？孩子吓慌了，呆坐起定眼静看，后来就放下心，爹的头是死了，屁股还在活着。遂不管他们事体，安然复睡。

It became evily cold in the winter. The rocks were cracked as crisps as spoiled cakes. People dare not to pee outside, for the urine would erected on the ground likean ice-lolly. Men in the Mountai Taibai have been unable to compete with the women, many of them died in winter. “my child, sleep. To sleep is to be dead, you forgot all the worries and pains. ” “Is that my dad had gone sleep?” “Don’t talk about your dad.” The mother staff a shranked date into the three-year-old’s mouth and wentto sleep by her. After finished the shranked date, the boy suck his finger greedyly for a while. In the darkiness, he looked at the circle of flame abouthis mother’s head. He then saw the wick like flame moved on the beam of the room, he could tell that it was a mouse. Suddenly, he heard a kind of sound, which like a bull was plough the water field, or the catlicking the starch paste. Later he felt something was wrigging on the kang. The boy observed further and found that it was his dad above his mom. His dad was fighting with his mom. His dad like a mad bull, the muscles on his back bumped, he was too anxious to wait and bite his mom’s mouth and face with his teeth. His poor mom with her eyes closed and hair in disorder, her body twiched convulsively. The boy hates his dad for being so ferciously, and he wanted to help his mom. He hit his dad’s head with his fist, and the dad’s head paused moving. “HadI beaten my dad dead?” the boy was frightened. He sat up and looked fixedly and then felt at ease. For his dad’s head was dead, but his buttuck still alive. He then went to sleep and take no notice of their business.

天明起来，炕上睡着娘，娘把被角搂在怀里。却没见了爹。临夜，孩子又看见了爹。爹依旧在和娘打架。孩子亦不再帮娘，欣赏被头外边露出的娘的脚和爹的脚在蹬在磨在蹬，十分有趣。天明了炕下又只是娘的一双鞋和他的一双鞋。

When the day broke, his mom was sleeping onthe kang, hugging the edge of the quilt in her arms, but there was no shadow ofhis dad. The next night, he saw his dad again, and his dad and mom was againfighting. The child did’t help his mom anymore, instead he enjoyed his dad andmom’s feet kicking and scratching each other, it was vey funny. When the daybroke, again he only found his and his mom’s shoes there beaneath the kang.

又一个晚上，娘与孩子坐上炕的时侯，孩子问爹今夜还来吗？娘说爹不会来，永远也不会来了。娘骗人，你以为我没有看见爹每夜来打你吗？娘抱住了孩子，疑惑万状，遂面若土色，浑身直抖。他们守捱到半夜，却无动静，娘肯定了孩子在说梦话，於门窗上多加了横杠蒙头睡去。孩子不信爹不来了的，等娘睡熟，仍睁着眼睛。果然爹又出现在炕上。爹一定是要和儿子捉迷藏了，赤着身子贴墙往娘那边挪。爹，这样会冷着身子的！因为爹的头上没有火焰。但爹不说话，腮帮子鼓鼓的。爹在被人抬着装进一口棺木中时口里是塞了两个核桃的。爹，那核桃还没吃吗？爹还是不说话，继续朝娘挪去。孩子生气了，很恨爹，续而又埋怨娘，怎么还要骗我说爹永远不会回来呢？孩子想让爹叫出声来，让娘惊醒而感到骗人的难堪，便手在炕头摸，摸出个东西向爹掷去。掷出去的竟是砖枕头，恰砸在爹身子中间的那个硬挺的东西上。娘醒过来。娘，我打着爹了。爹在哪儿？灯点亮了，却没有爹，但孩子发现爹贴在墙上的那个地方上，有一个光溜的木橛。你这孩子，盯一个木橛吓娘！娘在被窝里换下代洗的裤衩，挂在那木橛上。木橛潮潮的，娘说天要变了，木橛也潮露水。

Again in one night, the mom and the child was sitting on the kang, the child asked whether his dad was coming tonight?  Hismom said that his dad won’t come, and he would never come again. “Mom, you arecheating, don’t you think I have never seen my dad came every night to beatyou?”  The mom hold the child in her armsand felt very puzzled. Her face then turned into grey and shivered. They waiteduntil midnight and found nothing had happened. The mom was certain that thechild was talking in sleep, she put one more stick to latch the door and windowand then went to sleep with her head covered by the quilt. The boy didn’tbelieve that his dad was not coming. When his mom falled asleep, his eyesremained wide open. As expectd, his dad again appeared on the kang. His dad wasgoing to play hide-and-seek with the child. With his naked body against thewall, his dad moved towards his mom. “Daddy, this will make you catch a cold.” Becausethere was no flame above his dad’s head. But his dad said nothing, his cheekswollen. When his dad was carried into a coffin, they had put two wolnuts intohis mouth. “Daddy, you did not eat the wolnuts?”  But his dad remained silently, and went onmoving toward his mom. The boy was irritated, he hated his dad and complainedhis mom for cheating him by saying that his dad won’t come back forever. Theboy wanted to make his dad cry out, so as to awaken his mom and make her feelembarssed for being cheating him. The boy fumbled on the kang and foundsomething and throws it toward his dad.  Itturned that the thing he had threw out was a brick pillow, it hit right on theerected thing in the middle of his dad’s body. His mom was awakened. “Mom, Ihit my dad.” “Where is your dad?”  Thelamp was on but there was no shadow of his dad. The boy found that on the wallwhere his dad leaned to, there appeared a smooth peg. “ You little thing, howcould you frighten me with a peg?” His mom put off her underwear benneath thequilt for wash and hung it on the peg. The peg became moistened. The mom saidthat the weather is going to change for the peg had dew on it.

翌日，娘携著孩子往山坡上的坟丘去焚纸，发现坟丘塌开一个洞。惊骇入洞，棺木早已开启，爹在里边睡的好好的，但身子中间的那个东西齐根没有了。

孩子在与同伴玩耍时，将爹打娘的事说了出去。数年后，娘想改嫁，人都说她年青，说她漂亮，人却都不娶她。

The next day, the mom took the child to thegrave on the slope to burn touch paper. They found that the tomb was tumbledwith a hole. Panic-striken, they entered the hole and discovered that thecoffin was alreay open, the dad was sleeping sound and safe in it, only thething in the middle of his body vanished from its root.

When the child played with other kids, hetold them about his dad beating his mom. Many years later, when his mom wantedto get remarried, although all the people said that she was young andbeautiful, yet nobody was willing to marry her.

英译作者胡宗锋与著名作家贾平凹。

胡宗锋，西北大学外国语学院院长、陕西省翻译协会主席胡宗锋教授。自2008年以来，胡宗锋教授带领其翻译团队一直致力于陕西作家作品的英译工作。他们不仅翻译完成了贾平凹先生的《废都》《土门》《高兴》《白夜》《老生》外，还翻译了陈忠实、穆涛、方英文、红柯、吴克敬、叶广芩等陕西文坛名家作品。在胡宗锋教授的带领下，西北大学外国语学院已经形成了一支以青年教师为主力，以译介陕西作家作品传播中国文化为使命的工作团队，他们会让更多的优秀作家作品走出国门，让世界了解中国，不断增进相互的理解与沟通，为实现中西文化的共融共通助力！