Flight Over Little Egypt 飞跃“小埃及”
Flight Over Little Egypt 飞跃“小埃及”
◎ G. Edgar Hall
March 18, 1925. Though only five years of age, I well remember the day the great tornado swept over “Little Egypt”, as the southern tip of Illinois is called. The little coal-mining town in which we lived lay directly in its path. The howling wind sounded as if a dozen locomotives were roaring past. We huddled in the kitchen as the roaring filled our ears and seemed to shake our very bones.
那是1925年3月18日。我虽然只有5岁，可对那天席卷伊利诺伊州南端，被称做“小埃及”的巨大龙卷风还是记忆犹新。我们居住的小煤城正是龙卷风途径之地。呼啸的狂风听上去就像十几辆火车呼啸而过。我们蜷缩在厨房里。声响震耳欲聋，似乎要摇散我们的骨头。
Suddenly it was over. The quietness felt unnatural and an eerie, uneasy felling gripped us. Opening the door, my mother stood transfixed as she gazed upon the awful scene. Debris lay everywhere. The street was impassable. People, some obviously in shock, milled around like cattle, unsure of what to do .The strange silence was suddenly broken by a subdued, pitiful whining at Mother’s feet.
突然间，风停了，寂静得让人感到不自然。一种怪异和不安的感觉紧紧抓住了我们的心。打开门后，妈妈凝视着那可怕的景象目瞪口呆。到处都是瓦砾碎片。街道已无法通行。人们漫无目的地转悠，有些人显然惊魂未定，不知道要做什么。突然，妈妈脚旁传来一声令人怜悯的轻声哀鸣，打破了这奇怪的沉静。
Trembling violently, a wet and frightened little poodle lay wedged between the door and the screen.
一只惊恐万分、剧烈颤抖的湿漉漉的小卷毛狗挤在门和纱门中间。
“My stars,” my mother said, bending over. “Wherever did you come from?”
“哎呀，天哪，”我妈妈惊愕地说道，弯下身去，“你是从哪儿来的？”
The bedraggled little dog timidly wagged his tail and began licking Mother’s hand.
神情颓废的小狗胆怯地摇了摇尾巴，开始舔母亲的手。
Jacky, as we named him, accepted our large family without reservation. We in turn lavished our love upon the displaced but lucky little poodle.
我们管它叫杰基。它毫无保留地接受了我们这个大家庭，而我们也把爱倾注给这只失去了家但很幸运的小卷毛狗。
Almost immediately we realized Jacky was an exceptional dog—a very smart one. Surrounded by masses of curly hair, his dark inquisitive eyes sparkled with life.
我们几乎立刻就发现杰基的不同寻常——它是一只非常聪明的狗。它的眼睛藏在那浓密卷曲的深色毛发里，闪闪发光，充满活力。
The little dog had been a part of our family for about two years when a hobo knocked at the back door and asked if we could give him something to eat. The request wasn’t at all unusual. In those days, many hobos stopped at our cornet. Mother brought a plate of food to the porch where he waited. As he sat down to eat, we boys gathered around him. He began telling us all the places he’d been and the many things he’d seen. We were spell-bound by his tales.
在这只小狗成为我们家的一员约两年后，一天，有个流浪汉敲我们家后门，问我们能否给他点儿吃的。这种要求没有什么不寻常的。在那些日子里，许多流浪汉来我们家。他在门廊那里等待，妈妈给他端去一盘食物。他一坐下来吃时，我们几个男孩子就围在他身旁。他开始给我们讲他去过的地方，他见到的许多东西。我们都听得入迷了。
All of a sudden he stopped. We looked in the direction he was staring, and there stood Jacky. For several moments they looked at one another. Then a huge smile came across the old hobo’s face.
他突然停了下来。我们朝他凝视的方向望去，看到杰基站在那儿。他们俩互相瞧了一阵子，然后那老流浪汉的脸上充满笑意。
“You little rascal,” he said, calling him by some strange sounding name. “What are you doing here?”
“你这个小流氓，”他叫道，然后说出一些奇怪的名字，“你在这里干什么？”
The little dog became hysterical with joy. He was all over the hobo, barking and jumping as if he would never stop. There was no doubt he knew the hobo and knew him well. After caressing and talking to Jacky, the old hobo uttered a brief command. Immediately, Jacky controlled his enthusiasm and lay down obediently at the old man’s feet.
那小狗变得欣喜若狂，围着流浪汉又叫又蹦，似乎没有停下来的意思。毫无疑问，它认识这流浪汉，而且很熟悉。和杰基一番亲热与交谈后，老流浪汉发出一声简短的命令。杰基立刻控制住自己的热情，顺从地卧倒在老人的脚旁。
“Boys, where did you get this dog?” asked the hobo.
“孩子们，你们从哪儿弄来这条狗的？”流浪汉问道。
“We found him lodged between the door and the screen during the big tornado of ‘25’,” said my brother.
“1925年那次大龙卷风过后，我们发现它夹在门和纱门之间。”我哥哥回答说。
“Yes, sir. It adds up,” said the hobo. “I was with a circus in Missouri in March of ‘25’. That was sure some blow. The big tent was ripped to shreds. Everything was demolished.”
“没错，这就对上号了，”流浪汉说道。“1925年3月我跟着一个马戏团在密苏里州。那场大风的威力可真够大的。马戏团的大篷被撕成碎片，所有的东西都给毁了。
“This poodle was the number-one top show dog. He’s so valuable he was insured for hundreds of dollars. Lucky dog, he is blowed all that distance and not getting hurt. ”
“这只小狗是顶尖的表演狗。它非常值钱，保险金就好几百美元。它真走运。给风卷走那么远也没受伤。”
Suddenly the hobo asked, “Do you have a barrel hoop, boy?”
突然，那流浪汉问道：“孩子，你们有桶圈吗？”
“Sure, I’ll get you one,” said my brother, running quickly to an old barrel, he lifted off one of the steel bands. He deshed back and handed it to the hobo.
“当然有，我给你找一个，”我哥哥说道。他快步跑向一个旧桶，摘下一个钢圈，急速跑回，把它交给了流浪汉。
From beneath his old battered hat the hobo’s blue eyes sparkled. A smile broke through his heavy gray beard.
流浪汉破旧的帽子下面，蓝眼睛闪烁着光芒，长着浓密灰色大胡子的脸上绽放出笑容。
“Watch this,” he said. “Les you boys been to a circus you ain’t never seen anything like this.”
“注意看这个，”他说，“除非你们去过马戏团，要不然你们还从来没有见过呢。”
He walked out into the yard and held the loop a couple of feet above the ground.
他走进院子，把钢圈举在手里，高度应该有两英尺。
“Get ready,” he said to Jacky, again using that strange-sounding name. Jacky trembled with excitement. On command he sprang forward and leaped through the loop—forward, then backward. As commands continued, he hurled through the hoop, turning end over end. He danced on his hind legs, then on his front legs. My brothers and I stared in awe as the knowledgeable old hobo put Jacky through his circus tricks.
“准备好，”他对杰基说，还是用的那个听着怪怪的名字。杰基激动得浑身颤抖。一听到命令，它就猛地向前蹦跳，跃起穿过钢圈，先是往前跳，再往回跳。继续发出命令，它跳来跳去，两头来回地奔跑。它先是用后腿跳着舞步，而后用前腿。博闻广识的老流浪汉让杰基表演着马戏团的绝活，我和我兄弟们都看呆了。
Then with a forlorn look about him, he straightened up. “I guess I best be gone,” he mumbled and headed slowly towards the gate. Without hesitation, Jacky followed at his heels.
随后他直起身子，露出一副愁苦的脸色。“我想我最好还是走吧，”他嘟囔了一句，慢慢朝大门走去。杰基毫不迟疑地跟在他脚后。
“Jacky, come back!” all three of us called. But it did no good. Tears trickled down our cheeks. We knew we had lost him.
“杰基，回来！”我们三个人异口同声地叫道，但是没有用。泪水一滴滴从我们的脸颊上流下来。我们知道，我们失去了杰基。
Then the hobo paused. Looking down at Jacky, he said, “Our circus days is over, friend. Over and done. And the tramping life’s no life for you. You best stay here.” Jacky stood, watching the hobo walk away, still poised to follow.
然后，那流浪汉停下脚步，低头看着杰基，说道：“我们马戏团的日子已经过去了，朋友。一去不复返了。流浪的生活不是你该过的生活。你最好留在这儿。”杰基站住了，看着流浪汉离去，但是仍作着跟随的准备。
Reaching the gate the man stood motionless for several seconds, and then slowly turned around. “Boys, a circus dog never forgets the big top,” he said. “You’d better lock him in the house till morning. I’d hate to see you lose him.”
到了门口，流浪汉纹丝不动地站了几秒钟，然后慢慢转过身来。“孩子们，马戏班的狗永远忘不了那大顶篷，”他说道，“你们最好把它关在屋里，直到明天早上。我可不愿意看到你们失去它。”
So we did. Jacky lived with us for many years, and although he was the smartest dog we ever had, we could never persuade him to perform circus tricks again. We figured he’d taken the hobo’s words to heart and put his circus days behind him once and for all.
我们照他的话做了。杰基和我们生活了许多年，虽然它是我们曾经养过的最聪明的狗，但我们再也没能说服它表演马戏班绝活。我们想，它牢记着流浪汉的话，把马戏班的日子永远忘记了。
