《走出非洲》雙語圖形版本連續(xù)8個

英文版的原作者是(丹麥)凱倫布里克森(Karen Blixen)。

中文翻譯版于1989年在吳少秋兄主持下由廣東旅游出版社出版。原創(chuàng)照片由廣東攝影師許欣和陳嘉實地攝影并提供。在此一并鳴謝。

本次選段是關(guān)于作者和一個非洲土著小孩的故事，挺有意思的。

誠然我盡心盡力，但他的病情似乎沒有起色。一次有一次，我給他清洗、包扎傷口，除此之外，無能為力。就這樣拖了很久。有時候，舊瘡口好了，新瘡口又出現(xiàn)了。最后，我決定還是把他送進蘇格蘭教會醫(yī)院。

As far as my doctoring of him went, things did not, however, look hopeful. For a long time I kept on washing and bandaging his leg, but the disease was beyond me. From time to time he would grow a little better, and then the sores would break out in new places. In the end I made up my mind to take him to the hospital of the Scotch Mission.

我的決定夠嚇人的，后果難以預(yù)料，卡曼特一定想了很多很多——他自己是不愿意去的。他的經(jīng)歷和人生哲學決定了他不會做出過多的抗爭。但當我開車把他送到教會，把他留在寬大的醫(yī)院大樓里，置身子完全陌生和神秘的環(huán)境時，他開始顫抖個不停。

This decision of mine for once was sufficiently fatal, and had in it enough possibilities, to make an impression on Kamante––he did not want to go. He was prevented by his career and his philosophy from protesting much against anything, but when I drove him to the Mission, and delivered him there in the long hospital building, in surroundings entirely foreign and mysterious to him, he trembled.

蘇格蘭教會和法國羅馬天主教教會都是我的鄰居。蘇格蘭教會在西北十二英里遠的地方，海拔高度比農(nóng)場高五百英尺。法國羅馬天主教教會在東面十英里的地方，地勢比較平坦，海拔高度比農(nóng)場低五百英尺。我本來對傳教機構(gòu)不抱好感，但我和這兩個教會的私人關(guān)系都還不錯。令人遺憾的是，這兩家教會居然會成為死對頭。

I had the Church of Scotland Mission as a neighbour twelve miles to the North West, five hundred feet higher than the farm; and the French Roman Catholic Mission ten miles to the East, on the flatter land, and five hundred feet lower. I did not sympathize with the Missions, but personally I was on friendly terms with them both, and regretted that between themselves they should live in a state of hostility.

法國神父是我最要好的朋友。我常常在禮拜天早上和法拉騎馬去聽他們作彌撒，一半是為了練練法語，一半是為了騎馬在去教會的路上好好玩玩。那條路穿過林業(yè)部的古老的種植園，園里金合歡樹清晨散發(fā)出的新鮮濃厚的香甜味道令人精神煥發(fā)。

The French Fathers were my best friends. I used to ride over with Farah, to hear Mass with them on Sunday morning, partly in order to speak French again, and partly because it was a lovely ride to the Mission. For a long way the road ran through the Forest Department’s old wattle plantation, and the virile fresh pinaceous scent of the wattletrees was sweet and cheering in the mornings.

羅馬教堂不管建在哪里，都可以把它的本色帶到那里，這不是常人能做到的。整座教堂都是法國神父自己設(shè)計，并在當?shù)亟堂竦膸椭陆ㄔ炱饋淼模麄円源藶楹朗怯械览淼?。教會擁有一座在這塊殖民地歷史最悠久、管理良好的咖啡園。教會就位于這座咖啡園的中央。走進大院，拾梯而上，平臺頂端，聳立著高大、造型優(yōu)美、屋頂建有一座鐘樓的教堂。教堂的兩側(cè)分別是教會的拱頂飯?zhí)煤托薜涝旱姆孔印Ｖ劣诮虝W校和磨坊，都在河邊。進入教堂大院前，還要過一座拱橋。教堂建筑全是用灰色石頭砌成的，你策馬離開使，回頭欣賞大地中的美麗景致，真會以為置身于瑞士南部的一個州，或者意大利的北部。

It was an extraordinary thing to see how the Church of Rome was carrying her atmosphere with her wherever she went. The Fathers had planned and built their Church themselves, with the assistance of their Native congregation, and they were with reason very proud of it. There was here a fine big grey Church with a bell tower on it; it was laid out on a broad courtyard, above terraces and stairs, in the midst oftheir coffee plantation, which was the oldest in the Colony and very skilfully run. On the two other sides of the court were the arcaded Refectory and the Convent buildings, with the school and the mill down by the river, and to get into the drive up to the Church you had to ride over an arched bridge. It was all built in grey stone, and as you came riding down upon it, it looked neat and impressive in the landscape, and might have been lying in a Southern canton of Switzerland, or in the North of Italy.

彌撒結(jié)束后，熱情友好的法國教父會在教堂門口等我出來，領(lǐng)我穿過院子，來到寬敞涼爽的飯?zhí)?，請我喝一小杯葡萄酒。坐在那里聽他們講述他們所知道的一切發(fā)生在殖民地、包括它最偏僻角落的事情。那感覺，絕對的無與倫比。他們也必然會借助無拘無束的閑話，想方設(shè)法從你口里套出你掌握的全部新聞，就像一小群靜不下來的褐色蜜蜂——他們也確實都長著又長又密的胡子——緊緊地釘在花上吸蜜。他們對殖民地生活充滿了興趣，但與此同時，他們不過是逆來順受的樂天派，為了服從某種神秘的最高意志，用法國人的方式，背井離鄉(xiāng)來到這里。你難免會想到，假如沒有這種神秘的權(quán)威，那些法國神父，連同灰色石頭筑成的教堂和高大的鐘樓，連同全部的拱形建筑、學校乃至他們的井井有條的種植園和教會的其他組成部分，都會不復(fù)存在。一聲解散令下，這些能動的或不能動的都會馬上把殖民地的事物拋在腦后，齊齊徑直飛返巴黎。

The friendly Fathers lay in wait for me at the Church door, when Mass was over, to invite me to un petit verre de vin , across the courtyard in the roomy and cool Refectory; there it was wonderful to hear how they knew of everything that was going on in the Colony, even to the remotest corners of it. They would also, under the disguise of a sweet and benevolent conversation, draw from you any sort of news that you might possibly have in you, like a small lively group of brown, furry bees,–for they all grew long, thick beards,–hanging on to a flower for its store of honey. But while they were so interested in the life of the Colony, they were all the time in their own French way exiles, patient and cheerful obeisants to some higher orders of a mysterious nature. If it had not been for the unknown authority that kept them in the place, you felt they would not be there, neither would the Church of grey stone with the tall bell tower, nor the arcades, the school or any other part of their neat plantation and Mission station. For when the word of relief had been given, all of these would leave the affairs of the Colony to themselves and take a bee line back to Paris.

我去教堂和飯?zhí)脮r一直守候著坐騎的法拉，在回農(nóng)場的途中肯定會注意到我的興致盎然。他本人是穆罕默德的虔誠信徒，滴酒不沾，但他把彌撒和葡萄酒皆視作我宗教信仰的組成儀式。

Farah, who had been holding the two ponies while I had been to Church, and to the Refectory, on the way back to the farm would notice my cheerful spirits,–he was himself a pious Mohammedan and did not touch alcohol, but he took the Mass and the wine as coordinant rites of my religion.

法國教父有時會騎摩托車來農(nóng)場吃早飯。他們常給我講拉封丹的寓言故事，并就咖啡種植問題提供寶貴建議。

The French Fathers sometimes rode on their motor bicycles to the farm and lunched there, they quoted the fables of Lafontaine to me, and gave me good advice on my coffee plantation.

我對蘇格蘭教會卻了解不深。蘇格蘭教會所在地地勢較高，視野開闊，美景無限，四周的基庫尤村盡收眼底。盡管如此，它還是讓我覺得它有眼無珠，什么都看不見。蘇格蘭教會的人不遺余力地動員原住民換上歐洲人的服裝，無論怎么看，這在任何方面都不會給任何人帶來任何好處。但蘇格蘭教會的附屬醫(yī)院卻無疑是一流的。我在非洲期間，主持該院工作的亞瑟醫(yī)生是一位樂施善助、精明能干的腦科醫(yī)生。我農(nóng)場里不少人的性命，都是這間醫(yī)院救的。

The Scotch Mission I did not know so well. There was a splendid view, from up there, over all the surrounding Kikuyu country, but all the same the Mission station gave me an impression of blindness, as if it could see nothing itself. The Church of Scotland was working hard to put the Natives into European clothes, which, I thought, did them no good from any point of view. But they had a very good hospital at the Mission, and at the time when I was there, it was in charge of a philanthropic, clever head doctor, Dr. Arthur. They saved the life of many of the people from the farm.

卡曼特在蘇格蘭教會留醫(yī)三個月期間，我只見過他一面。那天，我騎馬去基庫尤火車站的路上，途經(jīng)教會醫(yī)院，注意到院子里的卡曼特。其他正在康復(fù)的病人三三兩兩地聚在一起，他卻獨自站在一旁。那天，他的病已經(jīng)大有好轉(zhuǎn)，人跑得動了。他一眼看見我，便向我跑來，然后隔著籬笆伴著我向前跑，一直跑到院子的盡頭。在籬笆的另一側(cè)，他不停地跑呀，跑呀，就像你騎馬跑過馬圈時里頭跟著跑的小駒子一樣。他的目光盯在我的坐騎上，但一聲不吭。跑到院子的邊緣后，他不得不停下腳步。我扭頭向后看，他一動不動地站著，昂著頭，目不轉(zhuǎn)睛地凝視著我，真真正正像一頭目送主人遠去的小馬駒。我向他連連揮手，剛開始，他沒有做出絲毫的反應(yīng)，突然，他的兩條胳膊刷地伸向天空，端端的就像兩桿長矛，但也就是舉了那么一下。

At the Scotch Mission they kept Kamante for three months. During that time I saw him once. I came riding past the Mission on my way to the Kikuyu railway station, and the road here for a while runs along the hospital grounds. I caught sight of Kamante in the grounds, he was standing by himself at a little distance from the groups of other convalescents. By this time he was already so much better that he could run. When he saw me he came up to the fence and ran with me as long as it was following the road. He trotted along, on his side of the fence, like a foal in a paddock when you pass it on horseback, and kept his eyes on my pony, but he did not say a word. At the corner of the hospital grounds he had to stop, and when as I rode on, I looked back, I saw him standing stock still, with his head up in the air, and staring after me, in the exact manner of a foal when you ride away from it. I waved my hand to him a couple of times, the first time he did not react at all, then suddenly his arm went straight up like a pump spear, but he did not do it more than once.