吳銓高 英譯中[散文] 聰明的女孩

二觉陀

吳銓高 英譯中 [散文]

The Clever Girl
聰明的女孩
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The Clever Girl
by Amy Friedman and Jillian Gilliland
聰明的女孩
作者 : 埃米‧弗德曼 和 智利安‧吉利蘭

Once upon a time, there lived a poor farmer who had one trusted treasure.
This was his daughter, Hannah.
從前, 有一個貧窮的農夫, 擁有一筆可信賴的財寶。
就是他的女兒，[漢納]。

One day, the farmer became involved in a dispute with his neighbor over a cow.
有一天, 農夫和他的鄰居, 因為一頭母牛的事, 爭論不休。

Because they couldn't agree on a solution, the two men traveled to the palace to seek the magistrate's help.
他們不能自己解決紛爭，兩人一起到皇宮, 尋找裁判官裁決。

The magistrate was a kind man, but he was young and inexperienced. He listened carefully to both sides of the story.
裁判官是一位好官，可惜他年輕欠缺經驗。他仔細聆聽了雙方的陳詞後。

At last he said: "Instead of deciding the case, I will put a riddle to you. The man who answers best shall win the dispute. Do you agree to this?"
最後他說︰ "我暫時不下裁決 ! 我提出三個難題。誰人答得比對方好, 誰就勝訴。你們同意嗎？"

The two men nodded, certain that they could answer whatever question the magistrate might pose.
兩人點點頭，自信能回答裁判官提出的任何問題。

Then the magistrate asked: "Tell me this. What is the swiftest thing in the world? What is the sweetest thing? And what is the richest? Bring me your answers tomorrow."
然後裁判官問︰ "在世界上, 最迅速的是甚麼？ 最甜的是甚麼？ 最富有的是甚麼？ 明天給我答案。"

Back home, the neighbor asked his wife to help him solve the riddle.
回家後，農夫鄰居要他的妻子, 幫助他解答這些難題。

"Easy," she said as she scooped porridge into a bowl.
"Our gray mare is the swiftest thing in the world, for no one ever passes us on the road.
As for the sweetest thing, that is our honey.
And nothing can be richer than our chest full of gold that I've been saving these many years."
"容易極了 !"，他的妻子一邊將麥片粥放進碗內，一邊說。
"我們灰色的雌馬, 是世界上是最迅速的，騎著她, 從來沒有人在道路上能超越。至於最甜的東西，就是我們的蜜糖。
沒有甚麼比我們的錢箱更富有了, 錢箱內載滿了我多年積蓄的黃金。"

The farmer, in his turn, told his daughter of the magistrate's riddle.
農夫也將裁判官提出的難題，告訴他的女兒。

Hannah sat down beside him and touched his hand.
"Please, father, let me help," she said, for she wished nothing more than her father's happiness.
漢納坐在農夫旁邊, 一邊輕輕觸摸他的手，一邊說。
"父親，讓我幫你吧 !" 因為她全心全意, 希望父親愉快地生活。

When the farmer told her the three questions, she smiled. "That's easy," she said, and she explained to her father how to answer the riddle.
當農夫告訴她那三條難題時，她微笑著說。 "那倒容易 !"
並且, 她向父親解釋怎樣回答。

The next day the two men returned to the magistrate to answer the riddle.
第二天, 農夫和他的鄰居, 向裁判官回答三條難題。

First the neighbor offered his answers.
首先, 鄰居提供了他的答案。

Then the farmer said, "I humbly answer, sir. The swiftest thing in all the world is thought, for thought can run any distance in the twinkling of an eye. The sweetest thing is sleep, for when one is tired, nothing is sweeter. The richest thing is the earth, for it provides us with all our riches."
然後農夫說，"大人, 小民謙卑地回答。
在世界上, 最迅速的是思想。因為，思想在一眨眼間, 能跑任何距離。
最甜的東西是睡眠，因為當一個人疲倦的時候，沒有甚麼比睡眠更甜。
最富有的是大地，因為它為我們提供全部財富。"

The magistrate was impressed. "Tell me, good man, how did you know these answers?"
The farmer proudly told the magistrate of his clever daughter.
這些答案使裁判官留下了深刻印象。 "請告訴我，你怎樣知道這些答案的？"
農夫自豪地告訴裁判官, 是那聰明女兒告訴他的。

The magistrate listened thoughtfully and said, "I would like to make another test of your daughter's cleverness."
裁判官聽到後, 深思了一陣, 並且說，"我想再測試一次你女兒的智慧。"

He sent for 10 eggs, and these he gave to the farmer. "Take these eggs to Hannah and tell her to have them hatched by tomorrow."
他派人把十只雞蛋，交給農夫。 "把這些蛋帶給 [漢納] ! 並且, 告訴她在明天以前把小雞孵出。"

The farmer dashed home and gave the eggs to Hannah.
農夫趕快返家, 並且把十只雞蛋交給 [漢納]。

She laughed. "Father, take a handful of millet and return to the magistrate at once. Say to him, 'My daughter sends you this millet and says that if you plant, grow and harvest it by tomorrow, she will bring you the chicks.'"
[漢納]一邊笑, 一邊說。 "爸爸，你馬上把這些小米, 帶給裁判官。
對他說， '如果大人能將把這些小米, 明天種了而且收割，我的女兒會將那些小雞帶來。"

When the magistrate heard Hannah's answer, he laughed heartily. "Clever girl she is. I would like to meet her, but one more test. Tell her she must come to me, but she must come neither by day nor by night, neither riding nor walking, neither dressed nor undressed."
當裁判官聽到 [漢納] 的答案時，他開心地笑。 "她真是個聰明的女孩。
我想和她見面，再測試她一次。
告訴她, 她必須來見我，但是, 她必須既不在白天, 也不在夜晚，既不乘馬也不走路，既不穿衣服也不要光著身子到來。"

Once again the farmer ran home to tell his daughter of the magistrate's request.
再一次, 農夫跑回家, 告訴他女兒那裁判官的要求。

Hannah waited until dawn, then, when night was past but day not yet begun, she wrapped herself in fish netting, threw one leg over a goat's back and the other she kept on the ground. And she traveled in this way to the magistrate's home.
[漢納] 等待到黎明，那時，夜晚是過去了, 但白天還沒有開始，
她用魚網包裹著自己，把一條腿擱在山羊背上, 另一條腿踏在地上。
並且, 她以這種方法, 走到裁判官的家中。

When she arrived she cried out, "Sir, I am here, neither riding nor walking, neither dressed nor undressed, neither by day nor by night."
當到達時，她大聲呼喊，"大人，我來了 ! 既不騎馬也不走路，既不穿衣服也不是光著身子，既不在白天, 也不在夜晚。

The magistrate was so taken by Hannah's cleverness and so pleased with her wit that he proposed marriage to her at once, and in a short time they were wed.
裁判官確實被 [漢納] 的聰明感動, 而喜歡了她, 於是馬上向她求婚，
不久, 他們真的成了親。

"Understand, dear Hannah," said the magistrate on their wedding day, "you are not to use that cleverness of yours at my expense. You must not interfere in my cases. And if you ever give advice to anyone who comes to me for a judgment, I will turn you out of my house and send you back to your father."
"請聽清楚，親愛的 [漢納] "，在他們的婚禮中, 裁判官說，"你將不能用你的聰明, 佔我的便宜。你不可以干涉我審案。如果你提供意見給任何請求我裁判的人，我會將妳趕走, 並且送回娘家。"

"I promise you that," said Hannah, "but I ask you one promise in return. If you ever choose to send me away, allow me to take with me the one thing that I most treasure."
"我答應你!" [漢納] 說，"但是, 你也必須答應我一個要求。如果你真的將我趕走，允許我帶走一件我最心愛的東西。"

The magistrate readily promised, for he was not a selfish man. And for a long time the magistrate and Hannah lived together happily.
裁判官從容地答應了，因為他不是一個自私的人。於是, 裁判官和 [漢納] 一同愉快地生活了一段日子。

Then one day two farmers came to the magistrate hoping he might settle a dispute. One of the farmers owned a mare that had foaled in the marketplace. The colt had run beneath the wagon of the other farmer. Now the owner of the wagon claimed the colt as his own.
有一天, 兩個農夫到來, 請求裁判官解決爭端。
其中一個農夫擁有的一匹母馬, 在市場誕下了小馬。
小馬一出世便跑到另一個農夫的馬車下面。
擁有馬車的農夫聲稱小馬應該屬於他的。

The magistrate was preoccupied with other matters and was not listening closely. "The man who found the colt under his wagon is the true owner," he said carelessly.
裁判官全神貫注於其他事情, 沒有仔細聆聽。他粗心地說: "在馬車下發現小馬的那個人, 應該是小馬的真正主人。"

As the owner of the mare was leaving the palace, he met up with Hannah, who was wandering in the palace garden. The farmer looked so sad that Hannah could not help herself. "What is wrong, good man?" she asked. And the farmer told his tale.
當母馬的主人離開宮殿時，他遇見徘徊在宮殿花園的 [漢納]。
農夫看起來如此憤憤不平, [漢納] 禁不住問 : "大叔，發生了甚麼事 ?" 那母馬的主人將事情如實相告。

Saddened by her husband's decision, Hannah said, "Come back this afternoon, good sir. Bring with you a fishing net and stretch it across the road outside the garden gate. When the magistrate sees you, he will ask how you expect to catch fish on a dusty road. You must tell him it is just as easy to catch fish in a road as it is for a wagon to foal. In this way he shall see the injustice of his decision."
[漢納] 因為丈夫作出的裁決而不安, 她說，"大叔，今天下午你回來。
記得帶漁網, 並且在花園門外邊的道路, 把你的漁網張開。
當裁判官看見你時，他將會問你, 怎樣期望在一條佈滿灰塵的道路上能抓到魚。你必須告訴他, 在道路上抓魚, 就像馬車誕下小馬一樣容易。
這樣,他將會明白他的裁判是不公平的了。"

That afternoon the farmer returned to the magistrate's home. He stretched his fishing net across the road. When the magistrate saw him, he shouted, "What's this foolishness? How do you expect to catch fish on a road?"
那個下午, 母馬主人返回裁判官的家。
他在道路上伸展他的漁網。
當裁判官看見他時，裁判官大叫，"你幹甚麼傻事？
你怎樣期望在一條道路上抓到魚？"

And when the magistrate heard the farmer's answer, he frowned and said: "My decision was wrong. The colt belongs to the owner of the mare, of course."
當裁判官聽到農夫的答案時，他皺一下眉頭並且說︰ "我的決定是錯誤了。小馬理應屬於母馬的主人。"

The farmer, dancing with delight, cried, "Ah, your wife is a fine woman!"
農夫高興得手舞足蹈，高聲叫道，"啊，你的妻子真是個好人!"

When the magistrate heard this, he grew furious with Hannah. He ran to her and said, "You have broken your promise to me. Home you must go, this very day."
當裁判官聽到這番話，他對 [漢納] 很不滿。
並且向她說，"你對我不守諾言。你必須今天返娘家。"

Hannah looked steadily at her husband. "You are right," she said sadly, "but I ask you one favor. Share one last supper with me. We have been happy together, and I wish to part as friends."
[漢納] 鎮靜定地望了她的丈夫一眼。傷心地說，"你說得對 ! 但是, 我有一個請求。在我離開你之前, 請你與我分享一頓晚餐。
我們生活得很愉快，我希望像朋友般分開。"

The magistrate could not say no, for he truly loved Hannah.
裁判官沒有拒絕，因為他真的愛 [漢納]。

That night the two sat down together, and to the magistrate's delight, before him was spread a meal of all his favorite dishes. He ate and he ate until at last, so full he could not move, he fell fast asleep in his chair. 那天夜晚, 兩人一同坐下來，裁判官高興的是，在他面前, 擺滿了全部他最喜愛的酒菜。他吃了又吃, 直到最後，他飽到不能移動，就在他的椅子裡睡著了。

Quickly Hannah rose from the table. Without waking her husband, she had him carried out to her carriage.
[漢納] 迅速站起來。沒有驚醒她的丈夫，扶他上了馬車。

The next morning the magistrate opened his eyes and saw, to his amazement, that he lay in a bed in Hannah's father's cottage. "What's this?" he roared.
第二天早晨, 裁判官張開眼睛, 使他驚奇的是，他竟然躺在 [漢納] 父親的農舍內一張床上。 "你們攪甚麼鬼 ?" 他大聲吼叫。

"My dear husband," said Hannah gently, coming to his bedside, "You told me I might take the one thing I liked best in your house. I took you. It is you I most treasure."
"我親愛的丈夫"， [漢納] 來到他的床側溫柔地說，"你答應過我, 我可以帶走你屋內, 我最喜歡的東西。
我於是帶走你。你就是我最心愛的了。"

In the next moment the magistrate was laughing long and loud, for Hannah had again outwitted him.
"Hannah, I have been a fool. Please come home with me." And he got down on his knees and begged for her forgiveness.
過了一會, 裁判官高聲大笑，因為 [漢納] 再一次贏了他。
"漢納，我頁是個傻瓜。請與我一起回家。" 跟著, 他跪下並且乞求她的寬恕。

Afterward, whenever the magistrate had to make a difficult decision, he announced to one and all, "We shall consult my wife, for she is a clever woman, and very wise."
后來，無論何時, 當裁判官必須做艱難決定的時候，
他對大家宣佈，"我們將請教我的妻子，因為她是一個聰明的婦女，絕頂聰明。"

The Clever Girl 聰明的女孩 [完] [中譯 : 二覺陀]
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