Julie’s Wolf Pack (Excerpt I)《朱莉的狼群》（节选一）

琼·克雷格黑德·乔治　吴文安

The wolves of the Avalik River ran in and out among the musk oxen. Their ruffs rippled like banners. Ice crystals danced up from their feet. The pack swirled like a twist of wind-blown snow. Their yellow eyes flashed and dimmed in the coming and going of the ice mist. Like the snow， they made no sound.

The musk oxen stopped and stared at the enemy. Then they lowered their shaggy heads and pawed down to the new grass growing under the snow. Their breath rose in steamy clouds and froze on their brows.

Kapu， the young leader of the wolf pack， reared on his hind legs， leaped to point the way， and led his clan to a turquoise-blue rise on the treeless Arctic tundra.

He carried himself proudly， with his chest forward and head high. His black fur was brushed to a shine by the wind. His body was strongly muscled. He was the leader of the wolf pack that had saved the life of the young Eskimo girl， Miyax—whose English name was Julie Edwards—when she was lost on the Arctic tundra. She， in turn， had saved them by leading them to a new food source and during the great caribou famine. The Yupik and Iñupiat Eskimos of Kangik called them “Julie’s wolf pack.”

Kapu was keenly aware of Julie. She was not far away. He whisked his tail. She had read his message to the oxen， for she was no longer afraid that he would kill one. The villagers collected the wool from these sturdy animals to weave into light， warm clothing， and they zealously protected them.

“We are not hunting you，” Kapu had said to the oxen with his body movements. “We chase you for the joy of it. We are wolves of the caribou.”

Kapu and his followers were having fun. The shaggy herd deciphered this and returned to their grazing. Julie deciphered it and told her father， Kapugen. He chuckled and slipped his arm around her shoulders. The two walked quietly home.

Kapu wagged his tail. Chasing the oxen was a fine wolf joke. His rime-gray mate， Aaka， playfully spanked the ground with her forepaws， her rear end in the air. Zing—the beta， or second in command—enjoyed the joke even more than Kapu. His breathing came faster， and the pupils of his eyes enlarged ever so slightly. He smiled by lifting his lips from his glistening teeth. Pearly-white Silver， Kapu’s mother， and her ill-tempered new mate， Raw Bones， also smiled. But Amy， Kapu’s night-black daughter， did not get the joke. She was not old enough to know that her pack preferred caribou to musk oxen. Nor did she know that some packs harvest only deer and ignore moose， or harvest moose and caribou and ignore deer. Others take elk; a few take musk oxen. When the Avalik River Pack had a choice， they were wolves of the caribou. Wolves have their cultures.

阿瓦里克河的狼群在麝牛群中跑进跑出。狼群的颈毛好似旗帜一般飘扬。冰晶在他们脚下飞舞。狼群在麝牛群中兜着圈子，好像旋风卷着雪花飞扬。冰雾之中，狼群时隐时现，他们的黄色眼睛也一会儿闪现一会儿隐没。恰似飞扬的大雪，狼群并没有半点声响。

麝牛群停下了脚步，盯着天敌。然后它们低下长着长毛的头，用蹄子刨开积雪，寻找雪下面新长出来的嫩草。它们呼出的水汽形成白雾，在眉毛上结了冰。

卡普，狼群年轻的头领，后腿直立起来，跳起来给大家指路，然后带领狼群奔向没有树木的北极冻原上一片青绿色的高坡。

卡普挺胸抬头，姿态很豪迈。他乌黑的毛发被大风梳理得闪光发亮。他肌肉结实身体健壮。他就是狼群的头领，正是他救了爱斯基摩女孩米娅克斯一命。米娅克斯的英语名字是朱莉·爱德华，她曾经在北极冻原上迷了路。反过来，米娅克斯又救了狼群的命。在冻原上北美驯鹿大匮乏之时，米娅克斯带领狼群寻找到了新的食物来源。因此坎吉克镇的尤皮克人和伊努皮亚特人（都属于爱斯基摩人）把这些狼称为“朱莉的狼群”。

卡普能敏锐地感觉到朱莉的存在。朱莉就在不远处。卡普甩了甩尾巴。朱莉看懂了他向麝牛传达的消息，因而不再害怕卡普会杀死麝牛。村民要从这些健壮的动物身上剪取牛毛，然后织成轻便暖和的服装。村民们会不惜一切保护麝牛。

“我们不会猎杀你们，”卡普用身体动作告诉这些麝牛，“我们追逐你们只是为了快乐。我们是吃北美驯鹿的狼。”

卡普和他的手下只是在取乐。那群长毛麝牛弄懂了这一点，回去吃草了。朱莉也明白了，告诉了父亲卡普根。卡普根笑了笑，伸出胳膊揽住她的肩膀。父女俩安静地走回家。

卡普摇摇自己的尾巴。追逐麝牛是狼群很好的娱乐项目。卡普的伴侣，灰白色的阿卡，这时用前爪拍击地面来逗乐，屁股撅在空中。津，狼群中的二号头领，比卡普更喜欢这种娱乐。他变得呼吸急促，瞳孔微微放大。津微笑着张开嘴唇，露出亮闪闪的牙齿。而珍珠白色的银白，卡普的母亲，还有她坏脾气的伴侣生骨，也都露出了微笑。但艾米，卡普乌黑的女儿，却不懂这种娱乐。她年纪太小，不知道自己的族群更喜欢驯鹿而不是麝牛。她也不知道有些狼群只猎杀梅花鹿，不理会驼鹿，或者只猎杀驼鹿和驯鹿，不理会梅花鹿。其他狼群猎杀麋鹿;有一些猎杀麝牛。当这群阿瓦里克河的狼群有所选择，他们就只以北美驯鹿为食。狼群各有自己的文化。

【背景知识】前两部著作（《狼女朱莉》《朱莉》）的主角都是朱莉，狼群只是配角。到了第三部《朱莉的狼群》，狼群成了主角，而朱莉只是配角。在此，作者近距离描写狼群以及其中的各种角色，把狼群的生活展现给读者，栩栩如生，活灵活现。

【第一段】第一段是纯粹的场面描写，有的英文句子很不容易译为中文。比如第四、第五句，译者就不能按照字面来翻译，需要想象当时的情景，然后按照中文常用的描写句子来处理。

【第二段】第一句中的enemy不宜译为“敌人”，因为这一群狼并非麝牛的敌人，仅仅是自然界的“天敌”而已。短语new grass growing不能译为“新草”，不符合中文习惯，所以译为“新长出来的嫩草”。

【第三段】该段只有一句话，句中的treeless不易翻译，只能意译为“没有树木的”。

【第四段】第一句中的proudly不好直译为“骄傲地”，译文调整了语序，意译为“姿态很豪迈”。这一段补充介绍了前两部著作的故事情节，点明书名的来历。最后一句中Eskimos的译文放在句中不好安排，所以放在了括号中。

【第五段】第一句译文添加了“存在”，使句子显得更完整。接下来，作者解释了狼群和村民关系紧张的原因：麝牛是村民的经济来源，会不惜一切保护，绝不容狼群侵犯。所以只有不伤害麝牛，狼群才能长久待下去。

【第六段】这一段是全知视角，借助卡普的语言，说明狼群很聪明，完全了解朱莉的担忧所在。

【第七段】麝牛懂得了狼群的意图，卡普根也相信了女儿，彼此间的紧张关系得以化解。

【第八段】该段逐一描写狼群成员的外表和行为，妙趣横生，令人捧腹。最后进一步阐明狼群文化：不是所有的狼群都猎食同样的动物，它们各有偏爱。

【小结】该选段大多属场面和个体描写。有群体画面，有个体特写，有心理活动，也有动作描绘。有些句子以及詞语无法简单地直译，只能结合上下文或添加词语，或调整语序，或脱离形式仅提取意义，目的是让中文更顺畅，加强文学性。                                                                                                    □