萧红·小黑狗 My Black Puppy

As usual， the two big dogs were sleeping on the wooden platform in front of the gate. Staring at them， I realized I was again thinking of the black pup I once owned.

像从前一样，大狗是睡在门前的木台上。望着这两只狗我沉默着。我自己知道又是想起我的小黑狗来了。

One morning two months ago， when I went out to empty the chamber pot， I saw the landlady’s housemaid Xiaoyu squatting near the rear corner of the house. Her fluffy yellow hair and unbuttoned jacket still remain fresh in my mind to this day. But with only a view of her back， I could hardly figure what she was up to.

前两个月的一天早晨，我去倒脏水。在房后的角落处，房东的使女小钰蹲在那里。她的黄头发毛蓬着，我记得清清的，她的衣扣还开着。我看见的是她的背面，所以我不能预测这是发生了什么!

I wanted to ask her， and began to soften my tone. However， before I could even open my mouth， her hands began to tremble. Ah! In her tender hands I glimpsed a small pup， eyes closed.

我斟酌着我的声音，还不等我向她问，她的手已在颤抖，唔!她颤抖的小手上有个小狗在闭着眼睛，我问：

“Where did you get it?” I asked.

“哪里来的?”

“Come and see.”

“你来看吧!”

Thus saying， she tossed her fluffy hair， and I saw in her hands another pup， also with its eyes closed.

她说着，我只看她毛蓬的头发摇了一下，手上又是一个小狗在闭着眼睛。

No， not only two. I couldn’t tell how many， there must have been a bunch of them. Full of joy， I became as childlike as Xiaoyu. I ran back to my room and grabbed the hand of Pingsen， who was still in bed.

不仅一个两个，不能辨清是几个，简直是一小堆。我也和孩子一样，和小钰一样欢喜着跑进屋去，在床边拉他的手：

“Pingsen… Ah… Er…”

“平森……啊，……喔喔……”

The soles of my shoes resounded on the floor， while I failed to utter a single coherent word， as if my mouth had lost its function. We were locked in a mutual stare， for him out of astonishment， and for me out of happiness. Finally I managed to tell him that the big dog of the landlord had given birth.

我的鞋底在地板上响，但我没说出一个字来，我的嘴废物似的啊喔着。他的眼睛瞪住，和我一样，我是为了欢喜，他是为了惊愕。最后我告诉了他，是房东的大狗生了小狗。

Four days later， another bitch， a white spotted dog， gave birth too.

过了四天，别的一只母狗也生了小狗。

By and by all the pups were able to open their eyes. We played with them all day. To give them a new home， we put them all in a wooden box.

以后小狗都睁开眼睛了。我们天天玩着它们，又给小狗搬了个家，把它们都装进木箱里。

Seeing that the old dog had eaten up one of its pups， Xiaoyu opposed letting it live with its litter any longer， for fear that it would do the same to the rest. Hence we purposely put the two litters together in the same box under the care of the white spotted dog. And it was this that led to the fight between the two dogs.

争吵就是这天发生的：小钰看见老狗把小狗吃掉一只，怕是那只老狗把它的小狗完全吃掉，所以不同意小狗和那个老狗同居，大家就抢夺着把余下的叁个小狗也给装进木箱去，算是那只白花狗生的。

The old dog， though not much more than skin and bones with a smattering of hair， somehow followed up. The spotted dog， taking the advantage of being younger， did not flinch， but snarled menacingly， ready to fight. These two dogs were usually very peaceful， never biting anyone. Yet now they were like two little bears， engaged in a brawl so vicious that neither the landlord’s sons and daughters nor their servants and housemaids could break them up. Pingsen and I were not able to be of any more help. The two dogs chased and wrestled with each other all over the courtyard. They were crazy， and so were the people around them. Amid the confusion， the spotted dog bit a nipple off the old dog and held it in its mouth.

那个毛褪得稀疏、骨格突露、瘦得龙样似的老狗，追上来。白花狗仗着年轻不惧敌，哼吐着开仗的声音。平时这两条狗从不咬架，就连咬人也不会。现在凶恶极了。就像两条小熊在咬架一样。房东的男儿、女儿、听差、使女，又加我们两个，此时都没有用了。不能使两个狗分开。两个狗满院疯狂地拖跑。人也疯狂着。在人们吵闹的声音里，老狗的乳头脱掉一个，含在白花狗的嘴里。

Eventually the two dogs were beaten apart. When the old dog tried to chase after the spotted dog again， the latter， leaving the bitten-off nipple on the ground， had already leapt in the wooden box， reassuming her role as mother to all the pups.

人们算是把狗打开了。老狗再追去时，白花狗已经把乳头吐到地上，跳进木箱看护它的一群小狗去了。

The old dog， bleeding and in pain， milled around in the courtyard， while in the wooden box its three pups were found suckling at the breast of the spotted dog， which was not their real mother.

脱掉乳头的老狗，血流着，痛得满院转走。木箱里它的叁个小狗却拥挤着不是自己的妈妈，在安然地吃奶。

Some days later， I took a pup into my room and sat it on the table. Fearful and unable to move， it was trembling all over. With a sense of pride， I said joyfully to Pingsen：

有一天，把个小狗抱进屋来放在桌上，它害怕，不能迈步，全身有些颤，我笑着像是得意，说：

“Hey! Come and have a look!”

“平森，看小狗啊!”

But his response was the opposite of my expectation.

他却相反，说道：

“Humph! Now you think they are lovable， but nobody will care a fig when they grow up and starve to death.”

“哼!现在觉得小狗好玩，长大要饿死的时候，就无人管了。”

I understood what he meant to say， and the smile on my face froze. In silence I took the pup out of the room. I was not happy with his words， I didn’t want to see the pups die of starvation， but I didn’t know what to say. I gazed through the back window at the vacant ground， where the sunshine was almost completely blocked out by the surrounding buildings of wealthy families. Under some wooden boards， a dead little pup had been left to rot away. It must have been there for quite some time， since flies were buzzing around the place. I sank into a sort of hallucination， in which I became the dead pup， listening to the buzz of the flies feeding themselves on my body.

这话间接的可以了解。我笑着的脸被这话毁坏了，用我寞寞的手，把小狗送了出去。我心里有些不愿意，不愿意小狗将来饿死。可是我却没有说什么，面向后窗，我看望后窗外的空地;这块空地没有阳光照过，四面立着的是有产阶级的高楼，几乎是和阳光绝了缘。不知什么时候，小狗是腐了、乱了，挤在木板下，左近有苍蝇飞着。我的心情完全神经质下去，好像躺在木板下的小狗就是我自己，像听着苍蝇在自己已死的尸体上寻食一样。

Pingsen walked over. I pretended to have seen nothing， for fear that he would use the dead pup as a proof of his words and launch into a longer lecture. However， he had already discovered the pup himself， and began talking：

平森走过来，我怕又要证实他方才的话。我假装无事，可是他已经看见那个小狗了。我怕他又要象征着说什么，可是他已经说了：

“A little dog has died in such a sunless place， and you feel sorry for it? What about the old beggars who can’t get any food and are left to die in the gutter or on the dark street? Women， children， even young men out of a job all face the same fate.”

“一个小狗死在这没有阳光的地方，你觉得可怜么?年老的叫化子不能寻食，死在阴沟里，或是黑暗的街道上;女人，孩子，就是年轻人失了业的时候也是一样。”

I felt like crying. But I held back my tears， because people often say women settle everything with a fit of crying and I didn’t want to do so. Nonetheless， tears finally found their way down my cheeks. He said， “Hush! Why cry? It is the way of the world these days that people die from hunger， cold and darkness. Control yourself! Take care of our own business， girl!”

我愿意哭出来，但我不能因为人都说女人一哭就算了事，我不愿意了事。可是慢慢的我终于哭了!他说：“悄悄，你要哭么?这是平常的事，冻死，饿死，黑暗死，每天都有这样的事情，把持住自己。渡我们的桥梁吧，小孩子!”

Embarrassed， I wiped away my tears， though I remained in a pensive mood the whole day.

我怕着羞，把眼泪拭干了，但，终日我是心情寞寞。

The days passed， and another two of the twelve pups were found to be missing， which made the remaining ones more precious than ever. They wagged their tails， learned to bark after the big dogs， and roamed all over the courtyard in a little pack. Whenever a stranger appeared at the gate， they would run forward after the big dogs， but they never tried to bite， and only wagged their tails as a token of hospitality. Perhaps they were still too young to understand their duty to safeguard the property of their master.

过了些日子，十二个小狗之中又少了两个。但是剩下的这些更可爱了。会摇尾巴，会学着大狗叫，跑起来在院子就是一小群。有时门口来了生人，它们也跟着大狗跑去，并不咬，只是摇着尾巴，就像和生人要好似的，这或是小狗还不晓得它们的责任，还不晓得保护主人的财产。

The landlady was sat in her armchair in the courtyard， smoking and enjoying the cool air. She began to talk casually， and the topic shifted to the pups：

天井中纳凉的软椅上，房东太太吸着烟。她开始说家常话了。结果又说到了小狗：

“What’s the use of having all those pups? Not one of them is good-looking! Take them far off to the road and leave them there. Another bunch will be born in autumn. What a nuisance!”

“这一大群什么用也没有，一个好看的也没有，过几天把它们远远地送到马路上去。秋天又要有一群，厌死人了!”

Sitting by the landlady was a night watchman in his sixties. Straining his eyes， he stammered out a mean suggestion：

坐在软椅旁边的是个60多岁的老更倌。眼花着，有主意的嘴结结巴巴地说：

“Tomorrow， send them to the river in a bag…”

“明明……天，用麻……袋背送到大江去……”

Young as Xiaoyu was， she still managed to speak out：

小钰是个小孩子，她说：

“No need to send them to the river. There will be adopters.”

“不用送大江，慢慢都会送出去。”

The pups ran all around the courtyard. They were most adorable when they slept together， this one’s head resting on another one’s neck， their round bellies pressed against each other. When we had visitors， we would ask them to adopt one or two， and a few good-looking ones were thus picked up and taken away.

小狗满院跑跳。我最愿意看的是它们睡觉，多是一个压着一个脖子睡，小圆肚一个个的相挤着。是凡来了熟人的时候都是往外介绍，生得好看一点的抱走了几个。

I chose a black one as mine， its ears being the biggest and its belly the most protruding. A friend of ours then took away two more in a basket. Thus we were left with only two pups， one black and one yellow， to which the big dogs both tried to give more love， vying with each other to lick their fur. Now the pups could no longer form a pack in the yard.

其中有一个耳朵最大，肚子最圆的小黑狗，算是我的了。我们的朋友用小提篮带回去两个，剩下的只有一个小黑狗和一个小黄狗。老狗对它两个非常珍惜起来，争着给小狗去舐绒毛。这时候，小狗在院子里已经不成群了。

I came back home from the street， opened the window and began to read a novel. Seeing me， the yellow pup stood up on its hind legs and scratched the gauze window mischievously.

我从街上回来，打开窗子。我读一本小说。那个小黄狗挠着窗纱，和我玩笑似的竖起身子来挠了又挠。

“How come I haven’t seen my black pup these days?” I thought.

我想：“怎么几天没有见到小黑狗呢?”

I called Xiaoyu. Many others living in the same courtyard also came to help. We searched every nook and cranny of the yard， but to no avail. It was not to be found in the street either. My big-eared pup was missing!

我喊来了小钰。别的同院住的人都出来了，找遍全院，不见我的小黑狗。马路上也没有可爱的小黑狗，再也看不见它的大耳朵了!它忽然是失了踪!

Three days later， someone adopted the yellow pup.

又过叁天，小黄狗也被人拿走。

Xiaoyu， herself a motherless young girl， told me what she had seen：

没有妈妈的小钰向我说：

“Every time the pups of our neighbor bark， our big dogs are reminded of theirs and begin to search all over the yard， even jumping on the roof to look around. Unable to see their own kids， they howl so sadly!”

“大狗一听隔院的小狗叫，它就想起它的孩子。可是满院急寻，上楼顶去张望。最终一个都不见，它哽哽地叫呢!”

One by one the thirteen pups had gone. Like two months before， the big dogs slept lonely on the wooden platform.

十叁个小狗一个不见了!和两个月以前一样，大狗是孤独地睡在木台上。

Pingsen’s feet， his dove-shaped feet， were perched on the bed sheet—he was sleeping. I was writing， I was thinking， three flies were flying against the windowpane. ...

平森的小脚，鸽子形的小脚，栖在床单上，他是睡了。我在写，我在想，玻璃窗上的叁个苍蝇在飞…… □