Julie’s Wolf Pack (Excerpt IX) 《朱莉的狼群》（节选九）

琼·克雷格黑德·乔治

Kapu suddenly pricked up his ears and looked toward the Avalik River. With a swing of his tail he bounded down the embankment and trotted along the shore to meet Willow Pup Julie.

“Kapu，” she called. “Kapu， Im back.” He knew why she had come. He did not take time to adjust to her presence but let her scramble up the embankment to the playground.

“Ee-lie.” She dropped to her knees. “The little pups are sick.”

She picked up listless Tiny Whimper. Silver and Aaka watched intently. Willow Pup Julie whimpered wolf pup talk and stroked the little head. She held one limp paw between her fingers.

“Kapu，” she said， “I must take the pups home， all right？ I will feed them rich milk from bottles. When they are strong， I will return them to you.” Kapu stared into her eyes. He understood her intent by the mothering tone in her voice. He did not take the pup back， nor did Silver come for them. Julie tucked fragile Tiny Whimper into her parka and glanced at Aaka and Sweet Fur Amy to see if they objected. They did not reach for the puppy. Their alpha had not， so they would not. Kapu was beginning to direct the behavior of the pack. The pups would go with Willow Pup Julie. Although they responded to Kapus wish， each individual quickly expressed its feelings. Aaka walked to Kapus side and nuzzled his chin. Sweet Fur Amy took a deep breath of Julie in through her nostrils and relaxed her tail and face. The pups were in loving hands. Silver lay wearily on her side， and Raw Bones slunk off to the top of the embankment， put his head on his paws， and rumbled a protest from deep in his chest. Zing， the loyal beta， kept his eye on the disgruntled Raw Bones， whose rank was about to sink to an all-time low without the pups.

Kapu was close to achieving the highest form of wolf government—leadership that holds strong individuals together but allows for personalities and feelings. Kapu was close to greatness. He lifted his head high.

Feeling the pack was with her， Willow Pup Julie put No Growl into her parka with Tiny Whimper and pressed them close to her body.

“Theyll be all right，” she said， locking her gaze on Silvers golden eyes. The mother looked away. After a moment she turned and looked unblinkingly into Julies eyes. “Trust” was the message. With a soft whimper of affection， Willow Pup Julie walked down the embankment to the rivers edge and strode off along it. Released from ice by the sun， the water chortled and leaped beside her， accompanying her happy song—“Pups， little pups， little pups.”

卡普突然竖起耳朵，朝着阿瓦里克河方向看去。他甩了甩尾巴，大步跑下河堤，然后沿着河边小跑着去迎接柳树娃朱莉。

“卡普，”朱莉喊道，“卡普，我回来了。”卡普知道朱莉为什么回来。他没有来得及问候朱莉，就让她爬上河堤来到狼群的家门口。

“哎呀，”朱莉跪到地上，说，“小狼崽儿们病了。”

朱莉抱起无精打采的小啜泣。银白和阿卡在一旁专注地看着。柳树娃朱莉一边抚摸着小狼崽儿的头，一边呜呜地学狼崽儿的叫声。朱莉握着一只无力的狼爪。

“卡普，”她说，“我必须把狼崽儿带回家，好吗？我会拿瓶子喂他们好奶水。等他们长得强壮了，就把他们还给你。”卡普盯着朱莉的眼睛看。从朱莉慈爱的声音里，卡普明白了朱莉的意图。卡普没有夺回狼崽儿，银白也没有跑过来抢夺。朱莉把脆弱的小啜泣裹到自己的大衣里，又瞥了一眼阿卡和香毛艾米，看她们是不是反对。她们也没有过来抢夺狼崽儿。她们的头狼没有这么做，她们也不会。卡普已经开始主导狼群的行为。狼崽儿们会被柳树娃朱莉带走。他们顺从了卡普的意愿，但每一只狼也都很快表示出自己的感情。阿卡走到卡普身边，用鼻子蹭了蹭他的下巴。香毛艾米用鼻子深吸了一口朱莉的气味，然后尾巴放松了，脸上的表情也放松了。狼崽儿是交到富有爱心的人手里了。银白疲惫地侧卧在地上。而生骨偷偷溜到河堤高处，头趴在前爪上，胸腔深处发出咕噜声，表示抗议。津，忠诚的副头领，盯着心怀不满的生骨。这一下，没有了狼崽儿，生骨在狼群的地位要一落千丈，跌落谷底。

卡普已经接近狼群治理的最高境界了——在他的领导下，每一只狼都能团结起来，同时得以保持个性和情感。卡普已经接近狼群头领的伟大境界。于是卡普高高昂起了头。

柳树娃朱莉察觉到狼群跟她的想法一致，就把不吼也放进自己的大衣，跟小啜泣放在一起，让他们紧紧贴着自己的身子。

“他們会好好的。”朱莉盯着银白金黄色的眼睛说。狼妈妈银白把眼睛转向一边。过了一会儿，银白转过头，眼睛一眨不眨地盯着朱莉的眼睛——意思是“我信任你”。朱莉亲昵地轻轻哼了一声，走下河堤，沿着河边大步往远处走去。阳光融化了河面的坚冰，河水汩汩流淌，在朱莉身边跳跃着，给朱莉快乐的歌声伴奏——“狼崽儿，小狼崽儿，小狼崽儿”。

【背景知识】生骨和银白生下的狼崽儿病了。通过遥望观察，朱莉知道了这一情况，于是亲自来救治狼崽儿。从狼群里带走狼崽儿不是一件容易的事，多亏朱莉跟狼群相处多年，颇得狼群的信任，她才能平平安安带走两只生病的小狼。这一选段描述了朱莉跟狼群交流的细节，细致逼真。

【第一段】第一段原文使用的动词细腻准确。首先是bound。查阅在线柯林斯词典，这一词语的解释是：If a person or animal bounds in a particular direction， they move quickly with large steps or jumps. 因此译文使用了“大步跑”。另外一个词是trot，意思又有所不同：When an animal such as a horse trots， it moves fairly fast， taking quick small steps. You can also say that the rider of the animal is trotting. 译文使用了“小跑”。

【第二段】第二句中的He did not take time to adjust to her presence 如果直译会是“卡普没有花时间适应朱莉的到来”，太难懂。实际上这一句是说卡普本来应该跟好久不见的朱莉亲热一番，问候一下，却等不及，就直接让朱莉去探望生病的狼崽儿了。译文直接翻译了原文的深层含义。另外，这里的动词scramble也使用得极为准确生动：If you scramble over rocks or up a hill， you move quickly over them or up it using your hands to help you. 朱莉迫不及待要照料生病的狼崽儿，所以直接爬上了河堤。英文playground一般指孩子们的游乐场，此处指狼窝附近的游玩场所，译文直接使用了“家门口”，因为狼群的“游乐场”听起来很怪。

【第三段】这一段和第六段有两个狼崽儿的名字需要翻译。译文尽力保持原文的特色，仍然根据词意来翻译名字，分别为“小啜泣”和“不吼”。英文中的人名一般不强调意义，但人们一般会给宠物或动物起有意义的名字。文学作品英译汉时，如果名字强调字面意思，就可以翻译意义，如果字面意义不重要，则可以采取音译。

【第四段】第二句中的rich milk本意是“营养丰富的奶水”，过于繁琐，译文简化为“好奶水”。香毛艾米的特长是嗅觉灵敏，所以她闻了一下朱莉，确定她没有敌意，因此尾巴放松，“脸上表情”也放松了。译文添加了“表情”（“狼的脸”在中文里很少用）。这一段逐个描写狼群的表情和姿态，活灵活现。副头领津看到生骨生闷气，颇有幸灾乐祸的味道。

【第五段】译文使用了范畴词“境界”来描述卡普的进步。包括生骨在内，狼群中的所有成员现在都臣服在卡普脚下了，所以卡普显得“伟大”。

【第六段】原文中简单的短语with her，在译文中被明晰化为“跟她的想法一致”，否则不容易理解。“不吼”的称呼有意思，让人联想到金庸《笑傲江湖》中的不戒和尚。

【第七段】第四句“‘Trust was the message.”十分简洁，译文对应为“意思是‘我信任你”。最后几句话描写的场景十分动人：河面解冻，河水汩汩，朱莉的歌声响起，让人产生了无限遐想。

【小结】该选段的原文特点是用词精确、描写细腻。译文也需要根据情况使用恰当的中文词语，并在一些短句中添加必要成分，让中文句子通顺完整。至于原文中特别细腻的场面描写，译文也要尽力再现，同时保证中文简洁生动。