讲故事的人

讲故事的人

The Storyteller

那是一个炎热的下午，火车车厢也相应地闷热难耐，下一站是坦普尔库姆，差不多还要一个小时才能到达。车厢里的乘客有一个小女孩、一个更小的女孩，还有一个小男孩。

It was a hot afternoon, and the railway carriage was correspondingly sultry, and the next stop was at Templecombe, nearly an hour ahead. The occupants of the carriage were a small girl, and a smaller girl, and a small boy.

孩子们的一位姑妈坐在一个角落的座位上，而对面较远的角落座位上坐着一位单身汉，他是这群人的陌生人，但这两个小女孩和小男孩显然占据了整个包厢。

An aunt belonging to the children occupied one corner seat, and the further corner seat on the opposite side was occupied by a bachelor who was a stranger to their party, but the small girls and the small boy emphatically occupied the compartment.

无论是姑妈还是孩子们，都在以一种有限却执着的方式不停说话，让人联想到一只屡赶不走的家蝇的纠缠。

Both the aunt and the children were conversational in a limited, persistent way, reminding one of the attentions of a housefly that refuses to be discouraged.

姑妈的大多数话似乎都是以“别”开头的，而孩子们几乎所有的话都是以“为什么？”开头的。单身汉没有大声说出任何话。

Most of the aunt’s remarks seemed to begin with “Don’t,” and nearly all of the children’s remarks began with “Why?” The bachelor said nothing out loud.

“别这样，西里尔，别这样，”姑妈大声喊道，因为那个小男孩开始拍打座位的坐垫，每拍一下就扬起一团灰尘。

“Don’t, Cyril, don’t,” exclaimed the aunt, as the small boy began smacking the cushions of the seat, producing a cloud of dust at each blow.

“过来看看窗外吧，”她补充道。

“Come and look out of the window,” she added.

孩子不情愿地走到窗边。“为什么那些羊正被赶出那个田野呢？”他问道。

The child moved reluctantly to the window. “Why are those sheep being driven out of that field?” he asked.

“我猜它们正被赶到另一片草更多的田野去，”姑妈无力地说道。

“I expect they are being driven to another field where there is more grass,” said the aunt weakly.

“但是那片田野里有很多草啊，”男孩抗议道，“那里除了草什么也没有。姑妈，那片田野里有很多草啊。”

“But there is lots of grass in that field,” protested the boy; “there’s nothing else but grass there. Aunt, there’s lots of grass in that field.”

“也许另一片田野里的草更好吧，”姑妈愚蠢地建议道。

“Perhaps the grass in the other field is better,” suggested the aunt fatuously.

“为什么更好呢？”这个迅速而不可避免的问题随之而来。

“Why is it better?” came the swift, inevitable question.

“噢，看那些奶牛！”姑妈惊呼道。沿线几乎每一片田野里都有奶牛或公牛，但她的语气却像是在提醒大家注意某种罕见的奇景。

“Oh, look at those cows!” exclaimed the aunt. Nearly every field along the line had contained cows or bullocks, but she spoke as though she were drawing attention to a rarity.

“为什么另一片田野里的草更好呢？”西里尔坚持问道。

“Why is the grass in the other field better?” persisted Cyril.