牛津書蟲系列 遠離塵囂 1 Gabriel Oak falls in love

1 Gabriel Oak falls in love

1 蓋伯瑞爾·奧克在戀愛

Gabriel Oak was a sensible man of good character， who had been brought up by his father as a shepherd， and then managed to save enough money to rent his own farm on Norcombe Hill，in Dorset. He was twenty-eight，a tall，well-built man，who did not seem，however，to think his appear-ance was very important.

蓋伯瑞爾·奧克有頭腦，性格好，他的父親把他帶大成為一個牧羊人。以后他設法攢足了錢在多塞特的諾科姆租下自己的農常他28歲，身材高大魁梧，不過他好像并不認為自己的外表很重要。

One winter morning he was in one of his fields on the side of Norcombe Hill . Looking over his gate，Gabriel could see a yellow cart，loaded with furniture and plants，coming up the road. Right on top of the pile sat a handsome young woman As Gabriel was watching，the cart stopped at the top of the hill，and the driver climbed down to go back and fetch some-thing that had fallen off.

一個冬日的早晨，他正在諾科姆山邊的一塊地里。越過大門，蓋伯瑞爾能夠看到一輛黃色的裝滿家具和花木的馬車朝路這邊駛來。在那一堆東西的頂上坐著一位面容姣好的年輕女人。當蓋伯瑞爾正盯著看時，馬車在山頂停了下來。車夫爬下馬車，回去揀掉了的東西。

The girl sat quietly in the sunshine for a few minutes. Then she picked up a parcel lying next to her，and looked round to see if the driver was coming back. There was no sign of him. She unwrapped the parcel，and took out the mirror it con-tained. The sun shone on her lovely face and hair. Although it was December，she looked almost summery，sitting there in her bright red jacket with the fresh green plants around her. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled，thinking that only the birds could see her. But behind the gate Gabriel Oak was watching too.

姑娘在太陽下靜靜地坐了幾分鐘，然后她拿起身邊的一個包袱，四下看看車夫是否回來了。沒有車夫的影子。她打開包袱，從里面拿出鏡子。太陽照在她漂亮的臉上和頭發(fā)上。身著紅色上衣坐在那里，被鮮綠的花木簇擁著，雖然是在12月，看上去她像在夏日。她看著鏡子里的自己笑了，以為只有鳥會看到。但是在大門后邊蓋伯瑞爾也正在看著。

‘She must be rather vain，’he thought. ‘She doesn't need to look in that mirror at all! ’

“她一定很虛榮，”他想，“她根本不需要照鏡子!”

As the girl smiled and blushed at herself，she seemed to be dreaming，dreaming perhaps of men's hearts won and lost. When she heard the driver's footsteps，she packed the mirror away. The cart moved on downhill to the toll-gate. Gabriel followed on foot. As he came closer he could hear the driver arguing with the gatekeeper.

當姑娘看到鏡子里的自己笑著羞紅了臉時，她似乎在做夢，也許幻想著贏得的和失去的男人心。當聽到車夫的腳步聲時，她收起了鏡子。馬車繼續(xù)向山下的路卡駛去。蓋伯瑞爾徒步跟隨著。當他走近時，他聽到車夫在和守卡人爭吵。

‘My mistress's niece，that's her on top of the furniture，is not going to pay you the extra twopence ，’said the driver. ‘She says she's offered you quite enough already. ’

“我的女主人的侄女就坐在家具上，不會再給你兩便士，”車夫說。“她說她給你的錢已足夠了。”

‘Well，if she doesn't pay the toll，your mistress's niece can't pass through the gate，’replied the gatekeeper.

“好吧，如果你的女主人的侄女不付過路錢，她就不能從路卡通過，”守卡人回答。

Gabriel thought that twopence did not seem worth bothering about, so he stepped forward. ‘Here，’he said，handing the coins to the gatekeeper，‘let the young woman pass. ’

蓋伯瑞爾覺得不值得為兩便士如此勞神，所以他走向前。“給，”他說，把硬幣遞給了守卡人，“讓這個姑娘過去。”

The girl in the red jacket looked carelessly down at Gabriel，and told her man to drive on，without even thanking the farmer. Gabriel and the gatekeeper watched the cart move away. ‘That's a lovely young woman，’said the gatekeeper.

穿紅色上衣的姑娘不經意地向下看看蓋伯瑞爾，吩咐車夫繼續(xù)趕路，甚至都沒有謝一聲農夫。蓋伯瑞爾和守卡人看著馬車走遠了。“那個年輕姑娘很漂亮，”守卡人說。

‘But she has her faults，’answered Gabriel.

“不過她有她的缺點，”蓋伯瑞爾回答。

‘True，farmer. ’

“沒錯，農夫。”

‘And the greatest of them is what it always is with women. ’

“最嚴重的缺點總是與女人為伴。”

‘Wanting to win the argument every time?Oh，you're right. ’

“每次都想取勝?噢，你說得對。”

‘No，her great fault is that she's vain. ’

“不，她最大的缺點是虛榮。”

A few days later，at nearly midnight on the longest night of the year，Gabriel Oak could be heard playing his flute on Nor-combe Hill. The sky was so clear and the stars so visible that the earth could almost be seen turning. In that cold，hard air the sweet notes of the flute rang out. The music came from a little hut on wheels，standing in the corner of a field. Shep-herds'huts like this are used as a shelter during the winter and spring，when shepherds have to stay out all night in the fields，looking after very young lambs.

幾天后，在一年中夜最長的那個午夜，可以聽到蓋伯瑞爾·奧克在諾科姆山上吹笛子。天空是那樣晴朗，星星是那樣清晰可辨，似乎都能看到地球在轉動。在那寒冷的空中回蕩著甜美的笛聲。在田野的一隅停著一輛車，車上有一間棚屋，音樂即從此傳出。冬春兩季里，當牧羊人必須整夜呆在戶外田野里照料羊羔時，他們的這種棚屋就權當做遮風避寒處。

Gabriel's two hundred and fifty sheep were not yet paid for He knew that，in order to make a success of the farming business，he had to make sure they produced a large number of healthy lambs. So he was determined to spend as many nights as necessary in the fields，to save his lambs from dying of cold or hunger.

蓋伯瑞爾的250只羊還沒有付錢。他懂得若想靠養(yǎng)羊發(fā)跡，他就得保證這些羊能生出大批健康的羊羔。所以他決定需要多少個夜晚留在田野上他就化多少個夜晚，以免羊羔被凍死、餓死。

The hut was warm and quite comfortable inside. There was a stove，and some bread and beer on a shelf. On each side of the hut was a round hole like a window，which could be closed with a piece of wood. These air-holes were usually kept open when the stove was burning， because too much smoke in a small，airless hut could kill the shepherd.

棚屋里很溫暖也很舒眼。有一個爐子，架子上有面包和啤酒。在棚屋的兩側各有一個像窗戶的圓孔.可以用一塊木頭關上。當爐子燃著火時，這些通氣孔通常是開著的，因為狹孝不通風的小屋中若有過多的煙，會使牧羊人喪生的。

From time to time the sound of the flute stopped， and Gabriel came out of his hut to check his sheep. Whenever he discovered a half-dead new lamb，he brought the creature into the hut. In front of the stove it soon came back to life，and then he could return it to its mother.

笛聲不時地停下來，蓋伯瑞爾走出他的小屋查看羊群。一旦發(fā)現一只半死的新生羊羔，他就把那可憐的東西帶到屋里。新生羊羔在爐子前很快就活過來了，然后他就把羊羔送還給它的媽媽。

He noticed a light further down the hill. It came from a wooden hut at the edge of a field. He walked down to it and put his eye to a hole in the wood. Inside，two women were feeding a sick cow. One of the women was middle-aged. The other was young and wore a cloak. Gabriel could not see her face.

蓋伯瑞爾注意到在山下有燈光。燈光來自田地邊的一座木屋。他下山走近木屋，把眼睛湊向木屋的一個洞。里邊兩個女人正在喂一頭生病的母牛。其中一個是中年婦女，另一個年輕，穿著一件斗篷。蓋伯瑞爾看不到她的臉。

‘ I think she'll be all right now，aunt，’said the younger woman. ‘I can come and feed her again in the morning. What a pity I lost my hat on the way here!’Just then the girl dropped her cloak，and her long hair fell on to the shoulders of her red jacket. Gabriel recognized the girl of the yellow cart and the mirror，the girl who owed him twopence.

“姑媽，我想她很快會好的，”年輕些的那個女人說。“早晨我可以再來喂她。多可惜，我來這里的路上把帽子丟了!”就在這個時候，姑娘脫掉了斗篷，長長的頭發(fā)披在她的紅色上衣的肩上。蓋伯瑞爾認出這個姑娘就是坐在黃色馬車上照鏡子的姑娘，那個欠他兩便士的姑娘。

The women left the hut，and Gabriel returned to his sheep.

兩個女人離開了小屋，蓋伯瑞爾也回到羊群中。

As the sun was rising the next morning， Gabriel waited out-side his hut until he saw the young woman riding up the hill. She was sitting sideways on the horse in the usual lady's posi-tion. He suddenly thought of the hat she had lost，searched for it，and found it among some leaves on the ground. He was just going to go up to her to give it back， when the girl did some-thing very strange. Riding under the low branches of a tree，she dropped backwards flat on the horse's back，with her feet on its shoulders. Then，first looking round to make sure no one was watching，she sat up straight again and pulled her dress to her knees，with her legs on either side of the horse. This was obviously easier for riding，but not very ladylike. Gabriel was surprised and amused by her behaviour. He waited until she returned from her aunt's hut，and stepped out into the path in front of her.

第二天早晨當太陽升起時，蓋伯瑞爾在他的小屋外等著，后來他看見那個姑娘騎馬上山來。她以女士通常所用的姿勢雙腿朝向一邊地坐在馬上。突然他想起她丟失的帽子，就去找尋，他在地上的落葉中發(fā)現了那頂帽子。他正打算上前把帽子還給那位姑娘，那位姑娘卻做了件很特別的事。騎馬行進在一棵樹的矮枝下，她向后平躺在馬背上，兩腳搭在馬的肩上。接著，她先四下看看，確信沒有人在看她時，又重新坐直，把裙子拉至膝部，兩腿分開，搭在馬的兩側。這樣騎起來當然容易些，只是不像女士所為。蓋伯瑞爾對她的行為覺得又驚奇又有趣。他一直等到她從她的姑媽屋里返回時，才走到路上停在她的面前。

‘I found a hat，’he said.

“我找到了一頂帽子，”他說。

‘It's mine，’she said. She put it on and smiled. ‘It flew away. ’

“是我的，”她說。她把帽子戴上笑了笑。“是被風刮跑的。”

‘At one o'clock this morning?’

“是在今天凌晨一點的時候?”

‘Well，yes. I needed my hat this morning. I had to ride to the hut in that field，where there's a sick cow belonging to my aunt. ’

“是的。我今早需要我的帽子。我得騎馬去那塊地里的那間小屋，那兒，我姑媽的一頭牛生病了。”

‘Yes，I know. I saw you. ’

“對，我知道。我看見你了。”

‘Where?’she asked，horrified.

“在哪兒?”她問，大吃一驚。

‘Riding all the way up the hill，along the path，’said Gabriel，thinking of her unladylike position on the horse's back.

“我看見你沿著這條路一路騎馬上了山，”蓋伯瑞爾說，想到了她騎在馬上不雅觀的姿勢。

A deep blush spread from her head to her neck. Gabriel turned sympathetically away，wondering when he dared look at her again. When he turned back，she had gone.

她從頭到脖子變得緋紅。蓋伯瑞爾同情地轉身走開，不知道什么時候自己敢再看她。當他回身時，她已走了。

Five mornings and evenings passed. The young woman came regularly to take care of the sick cow，but never spoke to Gabriel. He felt very sorry he had offended her so much by telling her he had seen her when she thought she was alone.

以后的五個早晚，這個姑娘都定期來照料病牛，但一直沒與蓋伯瑞爾講話。蓋伯瑞爾對惹惱她深感不安，因為他告訴她自己看見了她，而她卻以為那時無人在旁。

Then，one freezing night，Gabriel returned，exhausted，to his hut. The warm air from the stove made him sleepy，and he forgot to open one of the air-holes before going to sleep. The next thing he knew was that the girl with the lovely face was 10 with him in the hut，holding his head in her arms.

在一個滴水成冰的夜晚，蓋伯瑞爾精疲力盡地回到自己的小屋。爐子里散出的熱氣讓他感到瞌睡，在睡著前，他忘記打開一個通氣孔。接下來他知道的就是那位面容姣好的姑娘和他一起在屋里，用胳膊扶著他的頭。

‘Whatever is happening?’he asked，only half-conscious.

“究竟發(fā)生了什么事?”他迷迷糊糊地問。

‘Nothing now，’she answered，‘but you could have died in this hut of yours. ’

“現在沒事了，”她回答說，“你本來也許會死在你的這間小屋里。”

‘Yes，I suppose I could，’said Gabriel. He was hoping he could stay there，close to her, for a long time He wanted to tell her so，but he knew he could not express himself well，so he stayed silent. ‘How did you find me?’he asked in the end.

“是的，我想會的，”蓋伯瑞爾說。他希望能挨著她呆很長時間。他想讓她知道，但他明白他不是很會表達自己的心情，所以就沉默不語。“你是怎么發(fā)現我的?”他最后問道。

‘Oh，I heard your dog scratching at the door，so I came to see what the matter was. I opened the door，and found you unconscious. It must have been the smoke from the stove. ’

“我聽到你的狗在抓門，就來看是怎么回事。我打開門，發(fā)現你正昏迷不醒。一定是爐子里的煙熏的。”

‘I believe you saved my life，Miss——I don't know your name.

“我想你救了我的命，小姐——我不知道你的名字。”

‘There's no need to know it. I probably won't see you again. ’

“沒有必要知道。我也許不會再見到你。”

‘My name is Gabriel Oak. ’

“我叫蓋伯瑞爾·奧克。”

‘Mine isn't. You sound very proud of your name. ’

“我的名字不一樣。你好像很為你的名字驕傲。”

‘Well，it's the only one I shall ever have. ’

“是的，它將是我唯一的名字。”

‘I don't like mine. ’

“我不喜歡我的名字。”

‘I should think you'll soon get a new one. ’

“我想不久你就會有一個新名字。”

‘Well!That's my business，Gabriel Oak. ’

“哼，那是我的事，蓋伯瑞爾·奧克。”

‘I'm not very clever at talking，miss，but I want to thank you. Come，give me your hand!’

“我不很善于交談，小姐，不過我想謝謝你。來，把手給我!”

She hesitated，then offered her hand. He took it，but held it for only a moment. ‘I'm sorry，’he said. ‘I didn't mean to let your hand go so quickly. ’

她有點猶豫，接著伸出了手。他接住她的手，但只握了一下。“很抱歉，”他說。“我并不是故意這么快就松開你的手。”

‘You may have it again then. Here it is. ’

“那你還可以再握祝給你。”

Gabriel held it longer this time. ‘How soft it is，even in winter，not rough at all! ’he said.

蓋伯瑞爾這一次握得時間長一些。“多么柔軟呵，即便在冬天也一點不粗糙!”他說。

‘there，that's long enough，’she said，but without pulling it away. ‘But I suppose you're thinking you'd like to kiss it?You may if you want to. ’

“喂，你握的時間夠長了，”她說，但并沒有抽回手。“我猜你是否正在考慮要吻我的手?如果你愿意，你可以這么做。”

‘I wasn't thinking any such thing，’said Gabriel，‘but—’

“我根本沒這么想，”蓋伯瑞爾說，“不過——”

‘Oh no you won't!’She pulled her hand sharply away. ‘Now discover my name，’she added，laughing，and left.

“歐，不，你不可以!”她突然把手抽了回去。“現在看你能不能搞清我叫什么名字，”她加了一句，笑著走掉了。