The Ant-Lion1蚁狮

“He can’t get it; he can’t get a hold of it，” Morvenna cried. She thrust suddenly with the end of a twig， trying to push the ant up the shifting sand-slope of the pit. But her brother， lying opposite her， filled his cheeks with air and blew hard. The ant fell back to the pit-bottom， and in a moment the little fury of jaws burst out at it， seized it， vanished again. Only a flurry of sand in the bottom of the little pit marked for a few seconds the ant’s last struggle.

“它抓不到，它抓不住。”莫文娜喊道。她突然用一根小树枝的梢头戳了一下，试图把蚂蚁从小坑的流沙坡推上去。她的弟弟却趴在对面，鼓起腮帮子使劲吹气。蚂蚁又落回了坑底。这时，有一对小颚立即怒气冲冲地朝蚂蚁伸过去，一下子逮住它，然后又不见了踪影。只有小坑底一阵沙子乱动，表明蚂蚁最后挣扎了几秒钟。

The two children sat up slowly. They looked at each other with a kind of guilt. Max’s face was quite red; Morvenna’s mouth was open.

两个孩子慢慢坐起，面面相觑，一副内疚的样子。马克斯脸色通红；莫文娜张着嘴巴。

“How many would he kill， I wonder？” Max said. “That’s three we’ve given him， but they were all little ones. I’ll get a meat-ant and see what he does.”

“我想知道它会咬死多少？”马克斯说，“我们已经给了它三只，但给的都是小不点儿。我去抓一只食肉蚁，看看它会做什么。”

“Oh no， Max， don’t. I don’t want you to.” Morvenna clenched her hands， but she could not help looking round in the grass for the meat-ant track that led to the anthill further up the slope. Max went across to it， holding his twig， and bent down. Morvenna gave a scream. “If you do， Maxie， I’ll kill the lion. I will， truly.”

“噢，不，马克斯，不要。我不希望你那样做。”莫文娜握紧双手，但她不由得环顾草地四周，寻找食肉蚁爬向坡上蚁冢的路径。马克斯拿着小树枝走到蚁冢旁，弯下了腰。莫文娜发出一声尖叫：“马克西，你要是那样做，我就灭了蚁狮。我真的说到做到。”

“Don’t you dare，” Max said. “It’s the first ant-lion we’ve ever seen and we might never find another. I want to show it to everyone.” He came back， holding his twig gingerly and turning it from end to end as the red ant rushed along it. Meat-ants could bite.

“你可不敢。”马克斯说，“这是我们见到的第一只蚁狮，我们可能永远都不会再找到另一只了。我想给大家瞧瞧。”马克斯回来时小心翼翼地拿着小树枝。食肉红蚁顺着小树枝匆匆爬，他就把树枝掉转过来拿着另一端。食肉蚁可是会咬人的。

“Now I’ll put it in，” he said. “Look， Morv.” He shook the twig hard over the little pit， but the ant was obstinate and clung. Angry， intent， he finally dislodged it with a blade of grass.

“现在我要把它放进去。”马克斯说，“瞧，莫芙。”他在小坑上方使劲摇晃树枝，但那只食肉蚁十分顽强，紧抓树枝不放。马克斯既生气又着急，最终用一片草叶把食肉蚁拂了下去。

Morvenna sat with her hands over her eyes. “No， I won’t look，” she said. “It’s awful of you.”

莫文娜双手捂眼坐在那里。“不，我不看。”她说，“你可真狠。”

But the ant was in the pit. She peered through the crack between her fingers and saw it. It looked big and strong， frenziedly pulling down the sand of the slope in its struggle to escape. Perhaps it might get away. She took down her hands and leaned forward.

不过，那只食肉蚁就在坑里。莫文娜透过手指之间的缝隙看到了它。那只食肉蚁又大又壮，狂乱地扒拉坡上的沙子，挣扎着要逃出小坑。它也许可以逃脱。莫文娜放下双手，向前倾身。

Under the sand at the pit-bottom crouched the lion， big as a real lion， waiting for the ant to slide down a little further. But this one was so big， bigger than the ant-lion itself. Max said， “Now we’ll see some sport.”

坑底的沙子下面蹲伏着那只蚁狮，像真狮子一般威风凛凛，它等待着食肉蚁再往下滑一点。但是，那只食肉蚁也很大，比蚁狮还大。马克斯说：“这下我们有好戏看喽。”

The ant was puzzled at the sand that slipped so treacherously and persistently away as it climbed. It stopped， slid， went down almost to the bottom. For a moment there was a stir in the sand there， and Morvenna jumped. The ant might have seen it， too; at any rate it gathered all its strength and made a rush at the slope. The sand slid quickly， but the ant was determined; he had almost reached the top. “Good ant，” Morvenna cried; but Max pushed with his twig， and down went the ant to the bottom.

那只食肉蚁对沙子感到不解，因为它往上爬时，沙子很不牢靠，不断滑下。它一停下来就滑了下去，差点儿滑到坑底。一时间，坑底的沙子出现一阵骚动，莫文娜跳了起来。那只食肉蚁可能也看到了蚁狮；不管怎样，它使出全身力气猛冲上坡。沙子滑得飞快，但那只食肉蚁决心已定，快冲到坡顶了。“好样的。”莫文娜叫道，但马克斯用小树枝推了一下，那只食肉蚁又滑到了坑底。

For a moment nothing happened. “It’s too big，” Max said， and his lips pursed. The two children stared down， lying on their stomachs， heads almost together. The ant hesitated， and began to struggle up against the slope.

一时间，什么也没发生。“太大了。”马克斯说着，噘起了嘴。两个孩子趴在地上，向下盯着，脑袋几乎贴在一起。那只食肉蚁犹豫了一下，又开始挣扎着爬坡。

But now the ant-lion moved. Quick， dexterous， it thrust its stumpy forelegs from the sand and began to jerk its head. Sand flew up， hindering the big ant， setting the walls slipping down. “Ah，” Max breathed. “Look at that now.”

但这时，蚁狮动了起来。它迅速又灵巧地把短粗的前腿伸出沙子，然后开始猛烈摇头。沙子扬起，挡住了大食肉蚁，也让流沙坡往下滑。“啊，”马克斯低声说道，“快瞧那个。”

The ant slipped and slipped， staying in the one place. It was growing tired， but it was clearly in a panic; its legs worked frantically. The hot shadows of the tree above moved across and across; the cicadas filled the afternoon with their monotonous shrill. The battle swayed. Morvenna moved aside; her rib was against a knotted root of the tree; and as she moved Max gave a shout of triumph. “Oh， what happened？” She thrust him aside and peered down.

食肉蚁一滑再滑，但始终留在原地。它越来越累，却显然惊慌失措，只见几条腿疯狂蹬踹。坡上那棵树的炙热阴影来回摇晃；单调的刺耳蝉鸣响彻整个下午。战局动荡不定。莫文娜往边上挪了挪，肋骨靠着那棵树多结的根部。她刚一挪动，马克斯就发出了胜利的欢呼。“噢，发生了什么事儿？”莫文娜把马克斯推到一边，低头往下看。

The ant-lion had seized the meat-ant by one leg. Those relentless tool-jaws hung on. The ant， caught at last， was putting out a desperate effort; his free legs thrashed wildly.

蚁狮已经抓住了食肉蚁的一条腿。它那如工具钳般的无情口器紧咬不放。食肉蚁最终还是被捉住了，它拼命挣扎，没被咬住的几条腿使劲乱踹。

“I ought to save him，” Morvenna thought. “I oughtn’t to let …” But she no longer wanted to put down her twig， even if Max would let her. She clung to the tree-root with one hand and stared down.

“我应该救它。”莫文娜想，“我不应该让……”不过，即使马克斯让她把小树枝伸下去，她也不想再那样做了。她一只手紧紧抓住树根，低头盯着坑里。

The ant grew weaker， slower， his struggle more spasmodic. The lion saw his chance now; he released the leg and made for the ant’s body， seizing him by the abdomen. There was a wild scurry in the pit now， the ant rearing in the fountaining sand. They could see those shovel-jaws working.

食肉蚁越来越虚弱，动作越来越慢，它的挣扎越发时断时续。蚁狮此刻看到了机会，放开了食肉蚁的那条腿，迅速向其身体爬去，一下子咬住对方的腹部。这时，坑里陷入一片混乱，食肉蚁在如流水般的沙子中挺立起来。两个孩子可以看到蚁狮那铲子似的口器不断动着。

A wagtail hopped on the fence， other ants ran placidly about their business， the creek below made its endless liquid noise over the rocks， and the creatures in it engaged in their soundless struggle. The golden air should have been full of their shrieks and groanings.

一只鹡鸰在栅栏上跳来跳去，其他蚂蚁平静地忙着自己的事儿，下面的小溪漫过岩石，发出无止无休的汩汩声，而坑里的两个小东西正在无声地扭打。金色的空气中本该充满它们的尖叫和呻吟。

Now the ant fell. All was over; his waist almost severed， his legs quivering in the air， he lay helpless. How quickly， how ruthlessly， the ant-lion pulled him down， avoiding the last kicks of those thin useless legs， touching him， severing abdomen from body， hiding him in the sand to serve for larder， where the other ants lay. The creature seemed like a little machine. He sent a shudder through Morvenna as she watched him.

这时，食肉蚁倒下了。一切都结束了；它的腰几乎断了，腿在空中微微颤抖；它无助地躺在那里。蚁狮何其快速、何其无情，它把食肉蚁拽到坑底，避开对方无用细腿的最后几下蹬踢，再按住其身，切断其腹部，将对方藏在用作食物储存室的沙子里——那里还躺着其他蚂蚁。这只小生物就像一台小机器。莫文娜看着它，不寒而栗。

Slowly， the lion and his victim sank into the sand. Now they were only humps， sand-covered; now they had vanished. There lay the pit.

慢慢地，蚁狮和它的受害者沉入沙中。它们先是变成裹着沙子的小鼓包，而后销声匿迹。只见小坑留在那里。

Max sat up slowly. His eyes looked large and dark.

马克斯慢慢坐起来，眼睛看起来又大又黑。

“Are you going to put in another？” Morvenna asked. She half-hoped， half-feared it.

“你打算再放一只食肉蚁进去吗？”莫文娜问。她既希望又害怕。

“No，” Max said. He stood up， not looking at the pit or at Morvenna. “Enough’s enough.”

“不放了。”马克斯说。他站起来，既没看坑，也没瞅莫文娜。“够了，够了。”

“Are you going to bring Harry down and show it to him？” Morvenna persisted.

“你打算带哈里来看蚁狮吗？”莫文娜执意问道。

“Oh， shut up，” said Max. He stood uncertainly for a moment， detaching himself from the scene， from the afternoon， from Morvenna. Then he set off down the creek-bank， running faster and faster. Morvenna stood hesitating; then she too began to run. At last they stopped， far from the pit， exhausted and panting.

“噢，闭嘴。”马克斯说。他心里没底，站了一会儿，好让自己从眼下的场景中、从下午的经历中、从莫文娜的身旁抽离。随后，他沿着溪岸出发，跑得越来越快。莫文娜站在那里举棋不定。接着，她也开始奔跑。最后，两个孩子停在远离小坑的地方，筋疲力尽、气喘吁吁。

“What shall we do now？” Morvenna said.

“我们现在怎么办呢？”莫文娜问道。

* 本名宋金柱，焦作大学学术委员会委员，河南省作家协会会员。迄今已在外文出版社、译林出版社、人民文学出版社等出版译著多部。另在《英语世界》《当代外国文学》《译林》等刊物上发表译文多篇。

1原文出自1951年7月25日出版的《公报》杂志（The Bulletin），选用时有删节。