[翻译大赛NO.3]奶酪大餐

THE BOY WHO WANTED MORE CHEESE奶酪大餐KLAAS VAN BOMMEL was a Dutch boy, twelve years old, who lived where cows were plentiful. He was over five feet high, weighed a hundred pounds, and had rosy cheeks. His appetite was always good and his mother declared his stomach had no bottom. His hair was of a color half-way between a carrot and a sweet potato. It was as thick as reeds in a swamp and was cut level, from under one ear to another.
克拉斯·范·博梅尔是个十二岁的荷兰小男孩，他生活在一个遍地都是奶牛的地方。他有五英尺多高，一百多磅重，脸颊红扑扑的，胃口也特好。母亲说他的肚子简直就是个无底洞。他头发的颜色介乎于胡萝卜色和红薯色之间，长得跟沼泽地的芦苇一样浓密，齐整整地从一只耳朵下面剪到另一只耳朵下面。
Klaas stood in a pair of timber shoes, that made an awful rattle when he ran fast to catch a rabbit, or scuffed slowly along to school over the brick road of his village. In summer Klaas was dressed in a rough, blue linen blouse. In winter he wore woollen breeches as wide as coffee bags. They were called bell trousers, and in shape were like a couple of cow-bells turned upwards. These were buttoned on to a thick warm jacket. Until he was five years old, Klaas was dressed like his sisters. Then, on his birthday, he had boy's clothes, with two pockets in them, of which he was proud enough.
克拉斯穿着一双木鞋子。每次撒腿跑去追兔子的时候，或是趿拉着鞋子走在村里那条石砖路上去上学的时候，脚底下就会发出卡嗒卡嗒的声响。夏天，克拉斯穿一件粗糙的蓝色亚麻衬衫。冬天，他穿一条像咖啡袋那么宽大的羊毛裤。这种裤子叫做喇叭裤，形状就跟一对开口朝上的牛铃。穿法是把它们扣在一件又厚又暖和的夹克上。直到五岁的时候，克拉斯的装束还是跟家中的女孩子一样。后来，在他生日那天，他拥有了男孩子自己的衣服，衣服上有两个口袋，克拉斯甭提多得意了。
Klaas was a farmer's boy. He had rye bread and fresh milk for breakfast. At dinner time, beside cheese and bread, he was given a plate heaped with boiled potatoes. Into these he first plunged a fork and then dipped each round, white ball into a bowl of hot melted butter. Very quickly then did potato and butter disappear "down the red lane." At supper, he had bread and skim milk, left after the cream had been taken off, with a saucer, to make butter. Twice a week the children enjoyed a bowl of bonnyclabber or curds, with a little brown sugar sprinkled on the top. But at every meal there was cheese, usually in thin slices, which the boy thought not thick enough. When Klaas went to bed he usually fell asleep as soon as his shock of yellow hair touched the pillow. In summer time he slept till the birds began to sing, at dawn. In winter, when the bed felt warm and Jack Frost was lively, he often heard the cows talking, in their way, before he jumped out of his bag of straw, which served for a mattress. The Van Bommels were not rich, but everything was shining clean.
克拉斯出身于一家农户。每天的早餐是黑面包和鲜奶，午餐除了奶酪和面包，还有一盘热腾腾的土豆。他先是拿叉子伸向它们，再把每个圆滚滚、白色的土豆球泡进融化了的热乎乎的黄油里，很快土豆和黄油就进入他的嘴巴，消失不见了。晚餐时，饭桌上有面包和脱脂牛奶(去除牛乳的脂肪后留下来的)，还有一个小碟子用来蘸黄油。孩子们每周有两次可以吃上一碗酸凝乳或凝乳，上面还撒了点红糖。不过顿顿都有乳酪，经常都是切成薄片，小男孩总觉得切得不够厚。到睡觉时间时，他那一头浓密的黄头发一靠枕头，就睡着了。夏天，他睡到拂晓时鸟儿开始鸣啭时醒来。冬天，被窝很暖和，屋外冰天雪地，克拉斯经常是听到奶牛们在用它们自己的方式交谈后就一个鲤鱼打挺起床了。他的床是用稻草铺成的。范·博梅尔一家并不富裕，但家里总是收拾得干干净净的。
There was always plenty to eat at the Van Bommels' house. Stacks of rye bread, a yard long and thicker than a man's arm, stood on end in the corner of the cool, stone-lined basement. The loaves of dough were put in the oven once a week. Baking time was a great event at the Van Bommels' and no men-folks were allowed in the kitchen on that day, unless they were called in to help. As for the milk-pails and pans, filled or emptied, scrubbed or set in the sun every day to dry, and the cheeses, piled up in the pantry, they seemed sometimes enough to feed a small army.
范·博梅尔一家不愁没东西吃。在阴凉的石砌地下室的角落里立着一排排黑面包，足有一码长，比男人的手臂还粗。他们每周会把面团放进烤箱一次。烤面包是范·博梅尔家的大事。那一天，厨房是男人的禁地，除非他们被叫进去帮忙。至于家里的奶桶奶罐们，装满的或清空的，每日擦洗的或是放在太阳下晒干的，还有食品室里堆积的奶酪，有时候看起来都够喂饱一支小军队了。
But Klaas always wanted more cheese. In other ways, he was a good boy, obedient at home, always ready to work on the cow-farm, and diligent in school. But at the table he never had enough. Sometimes his father laughed and asked him if he had a well, or a cave, under his jacket.
但家里给的奶酪总不够克拉斯吃。从其他方面来说，他都算是个好男孩：在家里循规蹈矩，热心到奶牛场干活，在学校也勤奋读书。可是在饭桌上，他永远不知道满足。父亲有时候会取笑他说，在他的外套下是不是藏了一口井或是一个洞。
Klaas had three younger sisters, Trintj? Annek?and Saartj? which is Dutch for Kate, Annie and Sallie. These, their fond mother, who loved them dearly, called her "orange blossoms"; but when at dinner, Klaas would keep on, dipping his potatoes into the hot butter, while others were all through, his mother would laugh and call him her Buttercup. But always Klaas wanted more cheese. When unusually greedy, she twitted him as a boy "worse than Butter-and-Eggs"; that is, as troublesome as the yellow and white plant, called toad-flax, is to the farmer—very pretty, but nothing but a weed.
克拉斯有三个妹妹：凯特、安妮和雪莉。慈爱的母亲亲热地叫女儿“香橙花”。吃饭时，克拉斯还是习性不改，继续把自己的马铃薯浸到热乎乎的黄油里，把其他人的份都蘸光了。每当这时，母亲就会笑着说他是她的“黄油花”【1】。但每次克拉斯都会再叫道：“再来点奶酪”。要是贪吃得过了头，母亲就会笑他是个比“黄油鸡蛋草”【2】还要不得的男孩子，意思就是说他跟那种黄白色的植物——蛋黄草一样惹人心烦，那种植物对农户们来说，漂亮是漂亮，但不过是一棵野草。
【1】“Buttercup”金凤花
【2】“Butter-and-Eggs”蛋黄草
One summer's evening, after a good scolding, which he deserved well, Klaas moped and, almost crying, went to bed in bad humor. He had teased each one of his sisters to give him her bit of cheese, and this, added to his own slice, made his stomach feel as heavy as lead.
有个夏夜，在好一顿训斥之后——他自找的——克拉斯哭丧着脸，怏怏不乐地上床睡觉。他刚才把三个妹妹的奶酪都骗了一点过来加到自己的面包上，搞得肚子沉得像灌了铅一样。
Klaas's bed was up in the garret. When the house was first built, one of the red tiles of the roof had been taken out and another one, made of glass, was put in its place. In the morning, this gave the boy light to put on his clothes. At night, in fair weather, it supplied air to his room.
克拉斯的床在阁楼上。屋子刚建好的时候，屋顶上有一块红砖被拿走了，在那个位置上装上了一块玻璃砖。每天早上，男孩可以借着光线穿戴好。晴朗的夜晚，风就从那里钻进来。
A gentle breeze was blowing from the pine woods on the sandy slope, not far away. So Klaas climbed up on the stool to sniff the sweet piny odors. He thought he saw lights dancing under the tree. One beam seemed to approach his roof hole, and coming nearer played round the chimney. Then it passed to and fro in front of him. It seemed to whisper in his ear, as it moved by. It looked very much as if a hundred fire-flies had united their cold light into one lamp. Then Klaas thought that the strange beams bore the shape of a lovely girl, but he only laughed at himself at the idea. Pretty soon, however, he thought the whisper became a voice. Again, he laughed so heartily, that he forgot his moping and the scolding his mother had given him. In fact, his eyes twinkled with delight, when the voice gave this invitation:
从不远处的山坡上的松林吹来习习凉风。克拉斯爬起来，站到凳子上，呼吸甜甜的松木香气。他似乎看到了一团团光亮在树下起舞。有一束光似乎还朝着他家屋顶上的孔飞过来，等近了，就绕着烟囱玩耍。现在，它就在他前面穿来穿去，飞近了的时候似乎就在克拉斯的耳畔低语。那光亮看起来像是一百只萤火虫把它们幽冷的光亮凝聚成了一盏灯。克拉斯觉得那奇怪的光亮其实是一个可爱的女孩，可是他马上就觉得自己这个想法很可笑了。正那么想着，那低语声变成了声音。他又一次咯咯咯地笑起来，忘记了自己的烦恼和母亲的责骂。他眼里闪烁着快乐的光芒，因为——那束光亮向他发出邀请：
"There's plenty of cheese. Come with us."
“我们那有很多奶酪哟！跟我们来吧。”
To make sure of it, the sleepy boy now rubbed his eyes and cocked his ears. Again, the light-bearer spoke to him: "Come."
为了确定自己没有听错，睡意朦胧的小男孩揉了揉眼睛，又拉了拉耳朵。那束光亮又跟他说了一遍：“来吧！”
Could it be? He had heard old people tell of the ladies of the wood, that whispered and warned travellers. In fact, he himself had often seen the "fairies' ring" in the pine woods. To this, the flame-lady was inviting him.
可能吗？以前他曾听祖辈们提起过会与路人低语，发出警告的林中仙子。事实上，他自己也经常在松林里看见仙子的光环。而此时，光亮夫人就在邀请他。
Again and again the moving, cold light circled round the red tile roof, which the moon, then rising and peeping over the chimneys, seemed to turn into silver plates. As the disc rose higher in the sky, he could hardly see the moving light, that had looked like a lady; but the voice, no longer a whisper, as at first, was now even plainer:
那团幽冷的光亮绕着红砖瓦的屋顶移动着。月亮升起来了，照耀着烟囱，宛若银盘。当那个银盘又升高了些时，他几乎看不到那团有位夫人在里面的游移的光亮了，除了那把声音，此时不再是隐隐约约的低语声，而是可以清清楚楚地听到了：
"There's plenty of cheese. Come with us."
“我们那有很多奶酪哟！跟我们来吧。”
"I'll see what it is, anyhow," said Klaas, as he drew on his thick woolen stockings and prepared to go down-stairs and out, without waking a soul. At the door he stepped into his wooden shoes. Just then the cat purred and rubbed up against his shins. He jumped, for he was scared; but looking down, for a moment, he saw the two balls of yellow fire in her head and knew what they were. Then he sped to the pine woods and towards the fairy ring.
“无论如何，我要去探个究竟！”说着，克拉斯就套上他厚厚的羊毛长袜，准备爬下楼，溜到外面去，不惊扰任何人。他穿上放在门边的木鞋子。就在这时，猫发出呜呜的叫声，蹭了蹭他的小腿骨。克拉斯吓了一跳，不知道是什么东西。低头看去，只见两团黄亮亮的。克拉斯知道是猫儿仰着脸看着他【3】。紧跟着他就飞快地朝着仙子的光环向松林里跑去。What an odd sight! At first Klaas thought it was a circle of big fire-flies. Then he saw clearly that there were dozens of pretty creatures, hardly as large as dolls, but as lively as crickets. They were as full of light, as if lamps had wings. Hand in hand, they flitted and danced around the ring of grass, as if this was fun.
眼前的景象太神奇啦！起初克拉斯以为是一群大个头的萤火虫围成的圈圈。跟着，他看清楚是许许多多可爱的生灵，她们跟玩偶差不多大小，但就像蟋蟀那么欢快，全身泛着光芒，好像一盏盏长着翅膀的灯。她们手拉着手，乐陶陶在草地上飞舞。
Hardly had Klaas got over his first surprise, than of a sudden he felt himself surrounded by the fairies. Some of the strongest among them had left the main party in the circle and come to him. He felt himself pulled by their dainty fingers. One of them, the loveliest of all, whispered in his ear:
克拉斯还没从眼前那神奇的景象中回过神来，就发现自己被仙子们团团围住了。她们中一些比较强壮的飞离群体，来到他身边。他觉得自己被她们细巧的手指头拉着。其中一个，最可爱的那一个，在他耳畔低语：
"Come, you must dance with us."
“来吧，你一定要跟我们跳舞呀。”
Then a dozen of the pretty creatures murmured in chorus:
然后这群可爱的精灵们齐声低语：
"Plenty of cheese here. Plenty of cheese here. Come, come!"
“奶酪多多，奶酪多多，来吧，来吧！”
Klaas had not time to look hard at the fairies, for he was too full of the fun. He danced and danced, all night and until the sky in the east began to turn, first gray and then rosy. Then he tumbled down, tired out, and fell asleep. His head lay on the inner curve of the fairy ring, with his feet in the centre.
紧跟着，克拉斯觉得自己的脚后跟变得跟羽毛一样轻盈了。一会儿，他的两只手拉着仙子的手，兴高采烈地和她们跳起舞来了。这就像在庙会，成群的男孩女孩手拉着手在大街上大摇大摆地走，荷兰的小姐和年轻小伙子在庙会上也是如此。
Klaas had not time to look hard at the fairies, for he was too full of the fun. He danced and danced, all night and until the sky in the east began to turn, first gray and then rosy. Then he tumbled down, tired out, and fell asleep. His head lay on the inner curve of the fairy ring, with his feet in the centre.
克拉斯顾不上去认真看那些仙子，因为他玩得很尽兴。他跳啊跳，直到东边的天空蒙蒙亮，接着泛起红晕。他左摇右晃地倒下，睡着了。他的脑袋靠在光环的内环上，脚放在中心。
Klaas felt very happy, for he had no sense of being tired, and he did not know he was asleep. He thought his fairy partners, who had danced with him, were now waiting on him to bring him cheeses. With a golden knife, they sliced them off and fed him out of their own hands. How good it tasted! He thought now he could, and would, eat all the cheese he had longed for all his life. There was no mother to scold him, or daddy to shake his finger at him. How delightful!
克拉斯非常开心，一点也不觉得累，也不知道自己睡着了。他看到他的那些仙子伙伴们端来了奶酪招呼他。她们用一把金黄色的小刀切下一片奶酪，拿在手上送到他嘴边。真好吃啊！他可以，也要把自己一辈子渴求的奶酪都吃掉！这里没有母亲的责骂，没有父亲的训诫。真是太棒啦！
But by and by, he wanted to stop eating and rest a while. His jaws were tired. His stomach seemed to be loaded with cannon-balls. He gasped for breath.
可是吃啊吃，他想停下来休息一会儿，因为下巴酸了，肚子看起来就像装了一枚大炮弹。他喘了喘气。
But the fairies would not let him stop, for Dutch fairies never get tired. Flying out of the sky—from the north, south, east and west—they came, bringing cheeses. These they dropped down around him, until the piles of the round masses threatened first to enclose him as with a wall, and then to overtop him. There were the red balls from Edam, the pink and yellow spheres from Gouda, and the gray loaf-shaped ones from Leyden. Down through the vista of sand, in the pine woods, he looked, and oh, horrors! There were the tallest and strongest of the fairies rolling along the huge, round, flat cheeses from Friesland! Any one of these was as big as a cart wheel, and would feed a regiment. The fairies trundled the heavy discs along, as if they were playing with hoops. They shouted hilariously, as, with a pine stick, they beat them forward like boys at play. Farm cheese, factory cheese, Alkmaar cheese, and, to crown all, cheese from Limburg—which Klaas never could bear, because of its strong odor. Soon the cakes and balls were heaped so high around him that the boy, as he looked up, felt like a frog in a well. He groaned when he thought the high cheese walls were tottering to fall on him. Then he screamed, but the fairies thought he was making music. They, not being human, do not know how a boy feels.

可是仙子们一刻也不让他停下来，因为她们自己是从来不会觉得累的。她们从四面八方飞来，带来了奶酪。她们把奶酪扔在他身边。起初，这些奶酪像一堵墙一样把他围住，接着就没过他的头了。有来自埃达姆的包着红蜡衣的干酪，有来自豪达的粉色和黄色的圆形奶酪，还有来自莱顿的灰色条状奶酪。他往松林里延伸出来的那条小路看，啊，太可怕了!最高大强壮的仙子滚着来自弗里斯兰的大大的，圆圆的，扁扁的奶酪过来！每个奶酪都有车轮那么大，足以喂饱一个团的人了。仙子们沿路滚着沉重的圆盘，像在玩铁圈。她们欢闹着，拿着一根松枝赶着奶酪们前进，像贪玩的男孩子们一样。农家干酪、工厂乳酪、阿尔克马尔乳酪，值得一提的是，还有来自林堡的乳酪！克拉斯没法抗拒它，因为实在太香了！很快，蛋糕和滚球就被垒得高高的了，小男孩置身其中，他抬头往上看的时候，觉得自己就像一只蹲坐在井底的青蛙。发现奶酪墙好像摇摇欲坠，向他压下来时，克拉斯呻吟起来。可是当他尖叫起来的时候，仙子们还以为他在唱歌呢。他们不是人类，怎么明白一个小男孩会有怎样的感受呢。

At last, with a thick slice in one hand and a big hunk in the other, he could eat no more cheese; though the fairies, led by their queen, standing on one side, or hovering over his head, still urged him to take more.

终于，克拉斯一手拿着厚厚一片奶酪，一手拿着一大块，再也吃不下了，尽管仙子们在女王的带领下有的站在他旁边，有的在他头上飞旋，一直劝他再多吃点。

Klaas never would tell the story of his night with the fairies, nor has he yet settled the question whether they left him because the cheese-house of his dream had fallen, or because daylight had come.

就在这时，正担心着自己的肚皮会不会撑破，克拉斯看到那堆得像房子那么大的奶酪轰然倒塌了，直向他压过来，他惊恐地发出尖叫声，他想自己肯定要被压得像弗里斯兰奶酪那么瘪瘪的了。

But he wasn't! Waking up and rubbing his eyes, he saw the red sun rising on the sand-dunes. Birds were singing and the cocks were crowing all around him, in chorus, as if saluting him. Just then also the village clock chimed out the hour. He felt his clothes. They were wet with dew. He sat up to look around. There were no fairies, but in his mouth was a bunch of grass which he had been chewing lustily.

可是他没有！克拉斯醒了过来，揉了揉眼睛，他看到火红的太阳正从沙丘上升起来。鸟叫声和公鸡的啼叫声夹杂在一起，合唱一般，仿佛在向他施以仪仗礼。这时候，村庄里的时钟也敲响了。他发现身上的衣服都被露水打湿了。他坐起来，看了下四周。仙子们都不在了，但他嘴巴里塞了一把草，之前他津津有味地嚼着的就是它呀。

Klaas never would tell the story of his night with the fairies, nor has he yet settled the question whether they left him because the cheese-house of his dream had fallen, or because daylight had come.

克拉斯从没有讲起那天晚上和仙子们在一起的故事，他也不清楚仙子们是因为梦中的奶酪屋倒塌了，还是因为黎明到来而离开了他。

——选自Dutch Fairy Tales by William E. Griffis