《卡布尔商人》

卡布尔商人

The Cabuliwallah

我五岁的女儿米妮片刻不停地说话。我真的觉得，她这一生中连一分钟都没安静过。她母亲常为此烦恼，想让她闭上嘴，但我却不想管她。

My five years’ old daughter Mini cannot live without chattering. I really believe that in all her life she has not wasted a minute in silence. Her mother is often vexed at this, and would stop her prattle, but I would not.

要是看到米妮安静下来，那可太不正常了，我也会受不了。所以，我和她的交谈总是十分热闹。

To see Mini quiet is unnatural, and I cannot bear it long. And so my own talk with her is always lively.

比如有一夫早晨，我正写着新小说的第十七章，小米妮悄悄走进房间，把她的小手放在我的手里，说：“爸爸！看门人拉姆达亚尔把乌鸦叫做‘武鸭’！

One morning, for instance, when I was in the midst of the seventeenth chapter of my new novel, my little Mini stole into the room, and putting her hand into mine, said: “Father! Ramdayal the door-keeper calls a crow a krow!

他什么都不懂，对不对？”

He doesn’t know anything, does he?”

还没等我向她解释世上有不同的语言，她又兴致勃勃地转到了另一个话题。“爸爸，你觉得呢？

Before I could explain to her the differences of language in this world, she was embarked on the full tide of another subject. “What do you think, Father?

博拉说云里有一头大象，正用象鼻往外喷水，所以才会下雨！”

Bhola says there is an elephant in the clouds, blowing water out of his trunk, and that is why it rains!”

正当我坐着准备回答上一个问题时，她又突然转开了话题：“爸爸！妈妈和你是怎么认识的，她跟你是什么关系？”

And then, darting off anew, while I sat still making ready some reply to this last saying, “Father! what relation is Mother to you?”

“我的好小姨子！”我不由自主地自言自语道，但还是板着脸设法回答她：“去和博拉玩吧，米妮！我正忙着呢！”

“My dear little sister in the law!” I murmured involuntarily to myself, but with a grave face contrived to answer: “Go and play with Bhola, Mini! I am busy!”

我房间的窗户正对着马路。孩子坐在我的桌旁、我的脚边，轻轻地用双手拍着膝盖玩耍。

The window of my room overlooks the road. The child had seated herself at my feet near my table, and was playing softly, drumming on her knees.

我正在努力写第十七章。在故事里，男主角普罗塔普·辛格刚把女主角坎钱拉塔抱在怀里，正准备带着她从城堡三楼的窗户逃出去。就在这时，米妮突然停下了玩耍，跑向窗户，大声叫道：“卡布尔商人！卡布尔商人！”

I was hard at work on my seventeenth chapter, where Protrap Singh, the hero, had just caught Kanchanlata, the heroine, in his arms, and was about to escape with her by the third story window of the castle, when all of a sudden Mini left her play, and ran to the window, crying, “A Cabuliwallah! a Cabuliwallah!”

果然，下面的街上正走着一个卡布尔商人，脚步很慢。他穿着自己家乡那种宽大而脏乱的衣服，头上包着高高的头巾；背上背着一个袋子，手里拿着几盒葡萄。

Sure enough in the street below was a Cabuliwallah, passing slowly along. He wore the loose soiled clothing of his people, with a tall turban; there was a bag on his back, and he carried boxes of grapes in his hand.

我说不出女儿看到这个人时心里是怎么想的，但她开始大声叫他。“哎呀！”我想，“他要进来了，我的第十七章永远也写不完了！”

I cannot tell what were my daughter’s feelings at the sight of this man, but she began to call him loudly. “Ah!” I thought, “he will come in, and my seventeenth chapter will never be finished!”

就在这时，那个卡布尔商人转过身，抬头看向孩子。她一看到他，吓得魂飞魄散，转身跑向母亲寻求保护，不见了踪影。

At which exact moment the Cabuliwallah turned, and looked up at the child. When she saw this, overcome by terror, she fled to her mother’s protection, and disappeared.