The Drover’s Wife (I)

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【导读】《赶牲口人的妻子》是亨利·劳森以丛林女性为主人公的短篇佳作，展示了澳大利亚早期丛林女性生活的困苦和艰辛。小说描写了女主人公在等待钻到家里的毒蛇出洞期间对自己过去艰苦丛林生活的种种回忆。在这个没有名字的“她”的故事中，赶牲口的丈夫“常年出去放羊，留她和孩子独自在家”。然而，恶劣的生活并没有把顽强的赶牲口人的妻子击垮，反而激起了她与困难作斗争的勇气和智慧。在大黑狗“鳄鱼”的帮助下，在孩子们的协助下，她成功地将钻到房子里伺机攻击孩子的大蛇“扔进了火炉”。小说最后，她的儿子伸出胳膊，搂着她的脖子说：“妈妈，我长大了绝不会去赶牲口。”让读者对赶牲口人的妻子的丛林生活遭遇唏嘘不已。

亨利·劳森借助丛林狭窄的女性生存空间叙事视角，给读者如实呈现出丛林女性生存的心酸与凄惨。《赶牲口人的妻子》讲述了丛林女性“赶牲口人的妻子”面对困难英勇抗争的故事，塑造了一个积极乐观的丛林女性形象。这部作品让我们得以管窥劳森复杂而矛盾的女性思想，又能了解劳森“有能力解救世界，却无能力解救自己”的内心焦虑。

The two-roomed house is built of round timber,slabs,and stringybark,and floored with split slabs.A big bark kitchen standing at one end is larger than the house itself,veranda included.

房子共有两个房间，由圆木、石板和细长而干枯的树皮搭成，铺地的石板处处是裂缝。房子尽头是一间用树皮搭成的厨房，算上阳台，厨房看上去比房子要大。

[2]Bush3bush〈澳〉未开垦的丛林地。all around—bush with no horizon,for the country is flat.No ranges in the distance.The bush consists of stunted,rotten native apple-trees.No undergrowth.Nothing to relieve the eye save the darker green of a few she-oaks which are sighing above the narrow,almost waterless creek.Nineteen miles to the nearest sign of civilisation—a shanty on the main road.

[2]周围到处都是丛林，一眼望不到头，因为乡村地势平坦，远处也看不到任何山脉。丛林中生长着原生苹果树，矮小、枯朽。树下没长灌丛。除了几株深绿的木麻黄，实在没什么可看的，起风时，木麻黄的悲鸣会从几近干涸的狭长小溪上空飘过。至少要走19英里才有人迹——干道边上搭了座棚屋。

[3]The drover,an ex-squatter4squatter（合法）取得放牧权者。,is away with sheep.His wife and children are left here alone.

[3]房子主人原本已经在公地定居放牧，如今赶牲口为生，现在出去牧羊了，留下妻子和孩子们独自在丛林里生活。

[4]Four ragged,dried-up-looking children are playing about the house.Suddenly one of them yells: “Snake!Mother,here’s a snake!”

The gaunt,sun-browned bushwoman dashes from the kitchen,snatches her baby from the ground,holds it on her left hip,and reaches for a stick.

[4]四个穿着破烂、干瘪瘦弱的孩子在房子周围玩耍，突然，一个小孩儿大叫起来:“蛇！妈妈，有条蛇！”

只见一个面容憔悴、皮肤被晒得黝黑的丛林女人从厨房里冲出来，一手拎起地上的婴儿搁在左胯上，另一只手去够木棍。

[5]“Where is it?”

“Here! Gone in the wood-heap,” yells the eldest boy—a sharp-faced urchin5urchin贫穷肮脏的儿童；顽童。of eleven.“Stop there,mother! I’ll have him.Stand back! I’ll have the beggar!”

“Tommy,come here,or you’ll be bit.Come here at once when I tell you,you little wretch6wretch坏蛋；恶棍。!”

[5]“在哪儿？”“这里！钻到柴堆下面去了。”她的大儿子喊道。这个11岁的小顽童看上去很机灵。“妈妈别动，我来对付它。你往后退！我来对付这个家伙！”

“汤米，过来，它会咬你的。小坏蛋，快点过来！”

[6]The youngster comes reluctantly,carrying a stick bigger than himself.Then he yells,triumphantly:

“There it goes—under the house!”and darts away with club uplifted.At the same time the big,black,yelloweyed dog-of-all-breeds,who has shown the wildest interest in the proceedings,breaks his chain and rushes after that snake.He is a moment late,however,and his nose reaches the crack in the slabs just as the end of its tail disappears.Almost at the same moment the boy’s club comes down and skins the aforesaid nose.Alligator takes small notice of this,and proceeds to undermine7undermine从根基处破坏；挖……墙角。the building;but he is subdued after a struggle and chained up.They cannot afford to lose him.

[6]小家伙手上提着一根比他还高的木棍，很不情愿地退了回来，然后，以胜利者的姿态大喊道：

“往那儿去了，钻到房子下面了！”一边说，一边高举木棍快速追过去。这时，家中那只黄眼睛大黑狗对眼前的一切很是兴奋，它挣脱锁链，朝着蛇的方向猛冲过去，可惜迟了一步，鼻子刚碰到石板裂缝，蛇尾就从那儿消失了。正在这时，汤米的大棒挥了下来，蹭掉了狗鼻子上的一块皮。黑狗“鳄鱼”对此毫不在意，继续刨地找蛇。他们颇费周折才把它重新拴了起来。他们可不能让它有半点闪失。

[7]The drover’s wife makes the children stand together near the dog-house while she watches for the snake.She gets two small dishes of milk and sets them down near the wall to tempt it to come out;but an hour goes by and it does not show itself.

[7]赶牲口人的妻子一边让孩子们围在一起站在狗窝旁，一边留意着蛇的动向。她拿了两小碟牛奶放到墙角，想把它引出来；但是过了一个钟头，它也没出来。

[8]It is near sunset,and a thunderstorm is coming.The children must be brought inside.She will not take them into the house,for she knows the snake is there,and may at any moment come up through a crack in the rough slab floor;so she carries several armfuls of firewood into the kitchen,and then takes the children there.The kitchen has no floor—or,rather,an earthen one—called a “ground floor” in this part of the bush.There is a large,roughly-made table in the centre of the place.She brings the children in,and makes them get on this table.They are two boys and two girls—mere babies.She gives some supper,and then,before it gets dark,she goes into house,and snatches up some pillows and bedclothes—expecting to see or lay her hand on the snake any minute.She makes a bed on the kitchen table for the children,and sits down beside it to watch all night.

[8]时近傍晚，一场雷暴就要来临。不能让孩子们露天待着，但她不能领他们到屋子里，因为蛇还在那儿，随时可能从凹凸石板地的某个缝里钻出来。她抱了几把柴火到厨房，把孩子们也都弄到那里。厨房没有地板，是泥土地面。当然，在丛林深处，那就是地板了。厨房中间是一张大大的、做工粗糙的桌子。她把孩子们领进厨房，并让他们坐到桌子上去。她有两男两女，女孩儿还都小得很。等她做好晚饭，天也快黑了。她到屋里拿了几个枕头和一些床单被褥——拿时一直想着会不会看到或摸到那条蛇。她让孩子睡在厨房的大桌上，自己则打算坐在桌边守一晚上。

[9]She has an eye on the corner,and a green sapling8sapling幼树。club laid in readiness on the dresser by her side;also her sewing basket and a copy of theYoung Ladies’ Journal.She has brought the dog into the room.

[9]她紧紧盯着墙角，身边的碗橱上备着一根小树做的绿色木棍，旁边还放着她的针线筐和一本《淑女》杂志。她把狗也拉进屋里来了。

[10]Tommy turns in9turn in休息，上床睡觉。,under protest10under protest不情愿地。,but says he’ll lie awake all night and smash that blinded snake.

His mother asks him how many times she has told not to swear.

[10]汤米不情愿地睡下，但他说要一整夜躺着绝不睡着，亲手将那条“瞎了眼”的蛇摔死。

妈妈问他，她说过多少次了，不要随便发誓。

[11]He has his club with him under the bedclothes,and Jacky protests:

“Mummy! Tommy’s skinnin’ me alive wif his club.Make him take it out.”

Tommy: “Shet up you little—! D’yer want to be bit with the snake?”

Jacky shuts up.

[11]他将木棒随身放到被褥下面，这时杰基抗议道：“妈妈，汤米用木棍把我弄醒了，快让他拿出去。”

汤米说：“闭嘴，你个小……！你难道想被蛇咬？”

杰基闭上了嘴。

[12]“If yer bit,” says Tommy,after a pause,“you’ll swell up,an smell,an’turn red an’ green an’ blue all over till yer bust.Won’t he mother?”

“Now then,don’t frighten the child.Go to sleep,” she says.

[12]“如果被咬了，”汤米停了一会儿说，“浑身就会肿起来，然后就会青一块紫一块，然后就会死去。是这样吗，妈妈？”

“好了，好了，不要吓杰基了。睡吧。”她说。

[13]The two younger children go to sleep,and now and then Jacky complains of being “skeezed.” More room is made for him.Presently Tommy says:“Mother! Listen to them little possums.I’d like to screw their blanky necks.”

[13]两个小一点的孩子上床睡觉了，杰基时不时会嚷一句“别挤我”，于是，他睡的地方更大了。这时，汤米说：“妈妈，你听，好像有几只小负鼠，我真想把它们脖子拧断。”

[14]And Jacky protests drowsily.

“But they don’t hurt us,the little blanks!”

Mother: “There,I told you you’d teach Jacky to swear.” But the remark makes her smile.Jacky goes to sleep.

[14]杰基很困乏地反对说。

“那些小笨蛋又不会伤害我们。”

妈妈说：“看，我让你不要说脏话，杰基也跟你学了。”说完，她自己也笑了。杰基接着睡了。

[15]Presently Tommy asks:

“Mother! Do you think they’ll ever extricate11extricate（使）摆脱，脱离。the kangaroo?”

“Lord! How am I to know,child? Go to sleep.”

“Will you wake me if the snake comes out?”

“Yes.Go to sleep.”

[15]一会儿，汤米又问：“妈妈！你说这些小袋鼠它们能逃过大袋鼠吗？”

“天哪！我怎么知道？快睡吧！”

“蛇出来的话，一定要把我叫醒！”

“知道了，睡吧！”

[16]Near midnight.The children are all asleep and she sits there still,sewing and reading by turns.From time to time she glances round the floor and wall-plate,and,whenever she hears a noise,she reaches for the stick.The thunderstorm comes on,and the wind,rushing through the cracks in the slab wall,threatens to blow out her candle.She places it on a sheltered part of the dresser and fixes up a newspaper to protect it.At every flash of lightning,the cracks between the slabs gleam like polished silver.The thunder rolls,and the rain comes down in torrents.

[16]时近午夜。孩子都入睡了，她一直坐在那儿，一会儿做做针线活儿，一会儿翻翻杂志。时不时地，她会看看地板和墙面，每当听到什么动静，她就抄起棍子。外面雷暴还在肆虐，风透过石板墙缝呼呼吹进来，快将蜡烛吹灭了。她把蜡烛挪到碗柜避风处，用报纸遮起来。每一次闪电，石板的裂缝处都会现出耀眼的银光。外面雷声隆隆，暴雨如注。

[17]Alligator lies at full length on the floor,with his eyes turned towards the partition.She knows by this that the snake is there.There are large cracks in that wall opening under the floor of the dwelling-house.

[17]“鳄鱼”伸直身子躺在地板上，眼睛盯着房间的隔断处。她因此知道蛇就藏在那个地方，因为房门地板下面有几处大的裂缝。

[18]She is not a coward,but recent events have shaken her nerves.A little son of her brother-in-law was lately bitten by a snake,and died.Besides,she has not heard from her husband for six months,and is anxious about him.

[18]并不是她胆小懦弱，但近来发生的事情确实让她有些崩溃。她小叔子的小儿子前不久刚被一条蛇咬死了。而且，丈夫一走六个月，杳无音信，她心里很是担心。

[19]He was a drover,and started squatting here when they were married.The drought ruined him.He had to sacrifice12sacrifice廉价卖出。the remnant of his flock and go droving again.

[19]他此前曾靠赶牲口为生，婚后就在这里定居放牧了。干旱摧毁了一切，让他不得不贱卖掉剩下的牲口，重新赶牲口谋生。

[20]He intends to move his family into the nearest town when he comes back,and,in the meantime,his brother,who keeps a shanty on the main road,comes over about once a month with provisions.The wife has still a couple of cows,one horse,and a few sheep.The brother-inlaw kills one of the latter occasionally,gives her what she needs of it,and takes the rest in return for other provisions.

[20]他计划回来后就搬到最近的镇上住。干道边的栅屋是他弟弟的，差不多每个月一次，他弟弟会带些补给过来。她现在家里还有几头牛、一匹马和几只羊。小叔子偶尔会杀一只羊，她需要的部分给她留下，剩下的都会带走，就算交换补给了。

[21]She is used to being left alone.She once lived like this for eighteen months.As a girl she built the usual castles in the air;but all her girlish hopes and aspirations have long been dead.She finds all the excitement and recreation she needs in theYoung Ladies’ Journal,and Heaven help her! Takes a pleasure in the fashion plates.

[21]她习惯了独自留守。她曾经像这样独自一人带着孩子生活了18个月。出嫁前她也有过女孩儿空中阁楼般的梦想，然而这些希望和抱负在现实面前早就消失殆尽了。她所需要的生活的激情和消遣都在《淑女》杂志里了，上帝保佑！那些时尚图样还能带给她快乐。

[22]Her husband is an Australian,and so is she.He is careless,but a good enough husband.If he had the means he would take her to the city and keep her there like a princess.They are used to being apart,or at least she is.“No use fretting13fret烦恼。,” she says.He may forget sometimes that he is married;but if he has a good cheque when he comes back he will give most of it to her.When he had money he took her to the city several times—hired a railway sleeping compartment,and put up at the best hotels.He also bought her a buggy,but they had to sacrifice that along with the rest.

[22]她的丈夫是澳大利亚人，她也是。他粗心但心肠很好。只要有条件，他就带她到城里转转，像公主一般待她。他们习惯了分开的生活，至少她习惯了。“烦恼没有用。”她总是说。他有时或许忘记自己已经结婚了，不过，只要挣得一大笔钱，回来时就会把大部分留给她。过去他有钱的时候，好几次带她乘火车卧铺去城里，住最好的宾馆。他还曾给她买过一架轻便马车，但是后来和其他东西一样都贱卖了。

[23]The last two children were born in the bush—one while her husband was bringing a drunken doctor,by force,to attend to her.She was alone on this occasion,and very weak.She had been ill with fever.She prayed to God to send her assistance.God sent Black Mary—the “whitest” gin in all the land.Or,at least,God sent King Jimmy first,and he sent Black Mary.He put his black face round the door post,took in the situation at a glance,and said cheerfully: “All right,missus—I bring my old woman,she down along a creek.”

[23]最小的两个孩子都是在丛林里出生的——其中一个孩子还是她丈夫强行拉来个醉酒的医生给接生的。这种时候她都感到很孤单，身体也很虚弱。她还曾发烧病倒，当时祈祷上帝能帮帮她。于是上帝派来了黑玛丽——当地“最白的”土著。或者，至少上帝先派来了吉米王，是他叫来了黑玛丽。吉米面色黝黑，他把脸靠在门柱上，看了看她的状况，高兴地说：“夫人，放心吧，我叫我老婆了，她正沿着小溪赶过来。”

[24]One of the children died while she was here alone.She rode nineteen miles for assistance,carrying the dead child.■

(To be continued)

[24]在丛林独自生活期间，一个孩子夭折了。那次，她背着孩子的尸体骑了19英里才找到人帮忙。□

（未完待续）