The Horse Dealer's Daughter
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贩马者的女儿
By DH Lawrence
'Well, Mabel, and what are you going to do with yourself?' asked Joe, with foolish flippancy. He felt quite safe himself. Without listening for an answer, he turned aside, worked a grain of tobacco to the tip of his tongue, and spat it out. He did not care about anything, since he felt safe himself.
“好啦，玛贝尔，你怎么打算？”乔的问话愚蠢又刻薄。他感觉良好，等不及回答，他就转过脸去，吐掉了舌尖上的一丝烟叶。他对一切都无所谓，什么都不必担心。
The three brothers and the sister sat round the desolate breakfast table, attempting some sort of desultory consultation. The morning's post had given the final tap to the family fortunes, and all was over. The dreary dining-room itself, with its heavy mahogany furniture, looked as if it were waiting to be done away with.
兄弟三个和妹妹围坐在黯淡凄凉的早餐桌前，扯着些没有边际的话题。早晨的邮件将这个家庭的命运推向了边缘，再也没有希望了。阴沉的饭厅以及笨重的桃花心木家具，似乎在等待着死神的降临。
But the consultation amounted to nothing. There was a strange air of ineffectuality about the three men, as they sprawled at table, smoking and reflecting vaguely on their own condition. The girl was alone, a rather short, sullen-looking young woman of twenty-seven. She did not share the same life as her brothers. She would have been good-looking, save for the impassive fixity of her face, 'bull-dog', as her brothers called it.
遗憾的是，家庭会议毫无结果。一种挫败的生疏的气氛萦绕在这三个男人间，他们懒散的围坐在餐桌周围，吃烟，心不在焉的想着各自的处境。屋子里的姑娘她相当瘦小，脸色阴郁，已是27岁的成年女子。她独自一人，过着与她兄弟们完全全不同的生活，她本有着姣好的容貌，但由于她脸上一成不变的表情令人望而生畏，“斗牛犬”，正如她兄弟们叫她的那样。
There was a confused tramping of horses' feet outside. The three men all sprawled round in their chairs to watch. Beyond the dark holly-bushes that separated the strip of lawn from the highroad, they could see a cavalcade of shire horses swinging out of their own yard, being taken for exercise. This was the last time. These were the last horses that would go through their hands. The young men watched with critical, callous look. They were all frightened at the collapse of their lives, and the sense of disaster in which they were involved left them no inner freedom.
远远的，外面传来模糊的沉重的马蹄声，男人们瘫坐的椅子里往外张望。越过将狭长的草坪从大路分开的冬青灌木丛，可以看见一大群夏尔马摇晃着走出马厩，这是最后一次训练了，这也是最后一批经手的马匹了。三个年轻人带着挑剔冷漠的表情望着这一切，生活的崩塌令他们不知所措，陷进失败的沼泽的感觉没有留给他们选择的自由。
Yet they were three fine, well-set fellows enough. Joe, the eldest, was a man of thirty-three, broad and handsome in a hot, flushed way. His face was red, he twisted his black moustache over a thick finger, his eyes were shallow and restless. He had a sensual way of uncovering his teeth when he laughed, and his bearing was stupid. Now he watched the horses with a glazed look of helplessness in his eyes, a certain stupor of downfall.
但是，兄弟三个关系不错，手足之情牢不可破。乔，年龄最大，红脸膛，33岁的他高大魁梧，帅气，热烈奔放，易激动。他肥厚的手指拧着他那黑漆漆的髭须，淡蓝色的眼睛显得焦躁不安。当他露齿而笑时显出他性感的一面，但他的举止风度却令人不敢恭维。现在，他为某种幻灭感所携裹，正凝望着马队，他目光呆滞，无能为力。
The great draught-horses swung past. They were tied head to tail, four of them, and they heaved along to where a lane branched off from the highroad, planting their great hoofs floutingly in the fine black mud, swinging their great rounded haunches sumptuously, and trotting a few sudden steps as they were led into the lane, round the corner. Every movement showed a massive, slumbrous strength, and a stupidity which held them in subjection. The groom at the head looked back, jerking the leading rope. And the cavalcade moved out of sight up the lane, the tail of the last horse, bobbed up tight and stiff, held out taut from the swinging great haunches as they rocked behind the hedges in a motionlike sleep.
大队的役马过去了。四个一组，从头到尾被栓在一起，在一条从大路岔开去的小路前，它们停下来无所顾忌地踢踏着脚下细黑的污泥，剧烈地摇晃着它们巨大浑圆的臀部，当它们被赶往拐角处的小路时，又疾走几步。每一次一动都显得困难重重，试图使这些马匹顺从的努力看起来也愚不可及。走在前面的马夫转过头来，猛扯缰绳。不一会功夫，马队上了小路，从视线中消失了，突然，最后一匹马的尾巴翘地老高，僵直紧绷，与那些摇晃着它们那巨大浑圆的臀部的昏昏欲睡的挡在树篱后的马队形成了鲜明的对比。
Joe watched with glazed hopeless eyes. The horses were almost like his own body to him. He felt he was done for now. Luckily he was engaged to a woman as old as himself, and therefore her father, who was steward of a neighbouring estate, would provide him with a job. He would marry and go into harness. His life was over, he would be a subject animal now.
乔无助地，目光呆滞地凝望着。他想象着自己的身体就如同那些马匹一样，他觉得自己已经完了。值得庆幸的是，他和一个跟他一般年龄的姑娘订了婚，姑娘的父亲是附近一个农庄的管理者，也许能给他一个工作。他将结婚，受人奴役。人生结束了，从此将过着与受人支配的动物并无二致的生活。
He turned uneasily aside, the retreating steps of the horses echoing in his ears. Then, with foolish restlessness, he reached for the scraps of bacon-rind from the plates, and making a faint whistling sound, flung them to the terrier that lay against the fender. He watched the dog swallow them, and waited till the creature looked into his eyes. Then a faint grin came on his face, and in a high, foolish voice he said:
'You won't get much more bacon, shall you, you little b----?'
The dog faintly and dismally wagged its tail, then lowered his haunches, circled round, and lay down again.
他不安地转向一边，可是马匹退却的脚步声仍萦绕于耳际，挥之不去。然后，带着笨拙有焦躁不安的心情，他伸手去拿碟子里小片的咸猪肉皮，同时发出一声虚弱的哨音，猛地扔给了靠在壁炉挡板边的小猎狗。他注视着小猎狗吞下猪肉皮，直至这小家伙抬头看他的眼睛。这时，他脸上浮现出一丝笑意，然后以高昂却笨拙的声音说：
“没有了，是吧，你这小----”
小猎狗闷闷地微微摇了摇尾巴，然后垂下狗屁股，将身子蜷成一团，重又躺下了。
The Horse Dealer's Daughter(two)(2008-09-09 17:41:54)标签：杂谈
There was another helpless silence at the table. Joe sprawled uneasily in his seat, not willing to go till the family conclave was dissolved. Fred Henry, the second brother, was erect, clean-limbed, alert. He had watched the passing of the horses with more sang-froid. If he was an animal, like Joe, he was an animal which controls, not one which is controlled. He was master of any horse, and he carried himself with a well-tempered air of mastery. But he was not master of the situations of life. He pushed his coarse brown moustache upwards, off his lip, and glanced irritably at his sister, who sat impassive and inscrutable.
餐桌周围也是一片无助的沉默。乔瘫坐在椅子上，在家庭会议结束之前，他不想离开。第二个兄弟佛瑞德.亨利，他身材挺拔，手足匀称，机灵敏捷。望着马队走过，他显得更加镇静自若。如果他是个动物，像乔一样，他也是个动物的领导者，而不是被领导的动物。他熟悉每一匹马的习性，并能恰当合理控制自己的脾性。然而他也不是生活角逐中的胜利者，推了推唇上的棕色胡子，不无恼火地看了他妹妹一眼。她坐在那里，面无表情，令人难以捉摸。
'You'll go and stop with Lucy for a bit, shan't you?' he asked. The girl did not answer.
'I don't see what else you can do,' persisted Fred Henry.
'Go as a skivvy,' Joe interpolated laconically.
The girl did not move a muscle.
'If I was her, I should go in for training for a nurse,' said Malcolm, the youngest of them all. He was the baby of the family, a young man of twenty-two, with a fresh, jaunty museau.
“你将去和露西暂住一起，是吧？”他问到，但却没有得到回答。
“我觉得你什么都做不了。”佛瑞德.亨利不肯善罢甘休。
“去做女佣得了。”乔横插一杠。
“我是她啊，干脆做个看护得了。”马尔科姆也不甘寂寞，一副不通世故，洋洋得意的嘴脸。他是这个家里最小的一个，只有22岁。
But Mabel did not take any notice of him. They had talked at her and round her for so many years, that she hardly heard them at all.
但玛贝尔对他置若罔闻。他们在她周围喋喋不休了这么多年，她压根儿就没当回事儿。
The marble clock on the mantel-piece softly chimed the half-hour, the dog rose uneasily from the hearthrug and looked at the party at the breakfast table. But still they sat on in ineffectual conclave.
'Oh, all right,' said Joe suddenly, a propos of nothing. 'I'll get a move on.'
半小时过去了，壁炉台上的大理石锺轻轻地响了起来，炉前小地毯上的小猎狗不安的站了起来，张望着餐桌周围的所有人。但他们仍坐在那里，进行着那毫无进展的家庭会议。
“噢，好吧，”乔突然说道，a propos of nothing “我活动活动。”
He pushed back his chair, straddled his knees with a downward jerk, to get them free, in horsy fashion, and went to the fire. Still he did not go out of the room; he was curious to know what the others would do or say. He began to charge his pipe, looking down at the dog and saying, in a high, affected voice:
'Going wi' me? Going wi' me are ter? Tha'rt goin' further than tha counts on just now, dost hear?'
他向后推了推椅子，为了舒活筋骨，他以马步的姿势叉开两膝迅速蹲了下去，然后朝着壁炉走去。但他没有离开这间屋子，他很想知道其他人会做些什么或者说些什么。他开始装他的烟斗，低头看着那条狗，以一种高昂却又装模作样的声音问到：
“跟我？还是跟他们？必须马上作出决定，听到没有？”
The Horse Dealer's Daughter(three)(2008-09-09 17:49:04)标签：杂谈
The dog faintly wagged its tail, the man stuck out his jaw and covered his pipe with his hands, and puffed intently, losing himself in the tobacco, looking down all the while at the dog with an absent brown eye. The dog looked up at him in mournful distrust. Joe stood with his knees stuck out, in real horsy fashion.
小狗微微晃了晃尾巴。乔伸长下巴，用手盖住了他的烟斗，狠狠的吸了一口，一直盯着小狗那迷离恍惚的眼神，他在烟雾中完全迷失了。小猎狗抬头望着他，眼神里满是令人神伤的疑惑。乔站在那里，伸长的两膝像极了马的姿势。
'Have you had a letter from Lucy?' Fred Henry asked of his sister.
“你收到露西的信了吗？”佛瑞德.亨利问他妹妹。
'Last week,' came the neutral reply.
“上周收到的。”淡淡的回答。
'And what does she say?'
“她怎么说？”
There was no answer.
没有回答。
'Does she ask you to go and stop there?' persisted Fred Henry.
“她邀请你跟她一起住？”佛瑞德.亨利打破砂锅问到底。
'She says I can if I like.'
“只要我愿意。”
'Well, then, you'd better. Tell her you'll come on Monday.'
“那么，这样最好了。告诉他你星期一就去。”
This was received in silence.
没有声息。
'That's what you'll do then, is it?' said Fred Henry, in some exasperation.
“你就这种态度？”佛瑞德.亨利有些火了。
But she made no answer. There was a silence of futility and irritation in the room. Malcolm grinned fatuously.
仍然没有回答。屋子里安静极了，充满了徒劳无益和愤怒。马尔科姆在那里傻笑。
'You'll have to make up your mind between now and next Wednesday,' said Joe loudly, 'or else find yourself lodgings on the kerbstone.'
“从现在到下周三你必须作出决定。”乔大声说到，“否则，自己露宿街头。”
The face of the young woman darkened, but she sat on immutable.
霎时，玛贝尔脸色阴沉，但她仍无动于衷。
'Here's Jack Fergusson!' exclaimed Malcolm, who was looking aimlessly out of the window.
“杰克.菲尔古森来了。”马尔科姆叫了起来，他的望着窗外游移不定。
'Where?' exclaimed Joe, loudly.
“在哪？”乔大声问道。
The Horse Dealer's Daughter(four)(2008-09-09 17:51:32)标签：杂谈
'Just gone past.'
“刚刚过去。”
'Coming in?'
“进来了？”
Malcolm craned his neck to see the gate.
马尔科姆伸长脖子望着门口。
'Yes,' he said.
“嗯。”他答道。
There was a silence. Mabel sat on like one condemned, at the head of the table. Then a whistle was heard from the kitchen. The dog got up and barked sharply. Joe opened the door and shouted:
'Come on.'
又没有声息了。玛贝尔坐在餐桌最前方，像个被审判者。不一会儿功夫，口哨声在厨房那边响起，小猎狗跳起来尖声狂吠。乔打开门叫道：
“进来吧。”
After a moment a young man entered. He was muffled up in overcoat and a purple woollen scarf, and his tweed cap, which he did not remove, was pulled down on his head. He was of medium height, his face was rather long and pale, his eyes looked tired.
不一会儿一个年轻人进来了，厚厚的大衣将他包裹的严严实实，一条紫色羊毛披肩，一顶软尼斜纹便帽罩在他头上。他中等身材，相当长的面孔，苍白的脸色，眼神看起来疲惫不堪。
'Hello, Jack! Well, Jack!' exclaimed Malcolm and Joe. Fred Henry merely said, 'Jack.'
“你好，杰克。”马尔科姆和乔打了招呼。佛瑞德.亨利只是淡淡叫了声“杰克”。
'What's doing?' asked the newcomer, evidently addressing Fred Henry.
“怎么样？”很明显，杰克在问佛瑞德.亨利。
'Same. We've got to be out by Wednesday.--Got a cold?'
“老样子，下周三我们就要滚蛋了。感冒了？”
'I have--got it bad, too.'
“嗯，糟透了。”
'Why don't you stop in?'
“怎么不呆在家里?”
'Me stop in? When I can't stand on my legs, perhaps I shall have a chance.' The young man spoke huskily. He had a slight Scotch accent.
“家里？我的碰碰运气，总得自食其力啊!”这个年轻人声音沙哑，有点苏格兰口音。
'It's a knock-out, isn't it,' said Joe, boisterously, 'if a doctor goes round croaking with a cold. Looks bad for the patients, doesn't it?'
“优胜劣汰，是吧？”乔有点不着边际，“一个医生感冒了，到处传染嘶哑的嗓音，这对病人来说可不大好，对吧？”
The young doctor looked at him slowly.
年轻医生慢慢转向他。
'Anything the matter with you, then?' he asked sarcastically.
“关你什么事？”医生语带讽刺。
'Not as I know of. Damn your eyes, I hope not. Why?'
“当然不。狗咬吕洞宾，不识好人心，我可不想这样，为何？”
'I thought you were very concerned about the patients, wondered if you might be one yourself.'
“我还以为你高尚无比呢，却不知你只在乎你自己。”
'Damn it, no, I've never been patient to no flaming doctor, and hope I never shall be,' returned Joe.
“该死，不，我可从来不是冷漠医生的病人，恐怕永远不会。”乔反唇相讥。
At this point Mabel rose from the table, and they all seemed to become aware of her existence. She began putting the dishes together. The young doctor looked at her, but did not address her. He had not greeted her. She went out of the room with the tray, her face impassive and unchanged.
这是玛贝尔站了起来，他们似乎到现在才意识到她的存在。她开始收拾桌上的餐具。年轻医生看着她，但并没有和她说话，他从来没有和她说过话。她端着托盘离开了房间，脸上的表情一如既往。
'When are you off then, all of you?' asked the doctor.
“你们什么时候离开，所有人？”医生问道。
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