龐貝城里的小狗
Louis Untermeyer
路易斯·昂特邁耶
This is the second part of a story about a dog and a boy, set in the ancient city of Pompeii just before its destruction by earthquake and volcano in AD 79. The boy, Tito, was a blind orphan boy of twelve or thirteen. The dog, Bimbo, was not only dog, but nurse, pillow, playmate, mother and father to Tito. The day before the volcano, Bimbo had snatched from the bakery some raisin and sugar cakes for Tito's breakfast.
這是關(guān)于一只狗和一個(gè)男孩的故事的第二部分。故事發(fā)生在公元79年的龐貝古城,就在它被地震和火山摧毀之前。這個(gè)十二三歲的男孩蒂托是一個(gè)失明的孤兒,而那只叫賓博的狗, 對(duì)蒂托而言不只是狗,還是看護(hù)者、枕頭、玩伴和父母。就在火山爆發(fā)前一天,賓博還從面包店叼來(lái)了些帶糖和葡萄干的蛋糕,給蒂托當(dāng)早餐。
The next morning there were two of the beloved raisin and sugar cakes for his [Tito's] breakfast. Bimbo was unusually active and thumped his bit of a tail until Tito was afraid he would wear it out. The boy could not imagine whether Bimbo was urging him to some sort of game or was trying to tell something. After a while, he ceased to notice Bimbo. He felt drowsy. Last night's late hours had tired him. Besides, there was a heavy mist in the air—no, a thick fog rather than a mist—a fog that got into his throat and scraped it and made him cough. He walked as far as the marine gate to get a breath of the sea. But the blanket of haze had spread all over the bay and even the salt air seemed smoky.
蒂托第二天的早飯是兩塊他很喜歡吃的帶糖和葡萄干的蛋糕。賓博異常活躍,不停地?fù)u著尾巴,尾巴尖敲打出聲響。蒂托甚至害怕它會(huì)把尾巴給搖斷了。蒂托搞不明白賓博這樣做是為了讓他陪它玩呢,還是想告訴他什么事情。過了一會(huì)兒他就不管賓博了。他感到昏昏欲睡,昨天晚上睡得很晚,現(xiàn)在他感到很疲倦。而且空氣中起了厚厚的霧靄——確切地說(shuō),是濃霧。那霧進(jìn)到他的嗓子里像手撓一樣,他不由地咳嗽了幾聲。他走到船的門口想呼吸一下海風(fēng),但是那層厚厚的煙霧已經(jīng)彌漫了整個(gè)海灣,甚至連海風(fēng)中都充滿煙霧。
He went to bed before dusk and slept. But he did not sleep well. He had too many dreams—dreams of ships lurching in the Forum, of losing his way in a screaming crowd, of armies marching across his chest, of being pulled over every rough pavement of Pompeii.
天還沒黑他就上床睡覺了。但是他睡得并不好,老是做夢(mèng)——夢(mèng)到船在廣場(chǎng)里翻了,夢(mèng)到自己在叫喊的人群中迷路了,夢(mèng)到軍隊(duì)從他的胸膛上踏過,還夢(mèng)到自己被拖過龐貝城每一條崎嶇不平的人行道。