In the winter of 1608 the English in Jamestown were hungry again. So John Smith went to Werowocomoco and asked Powhatan for corn. He took many beautiful glass beads with him, because the Indians loved these things. But Powhatan wanted more than beads.
1608年的冬天,詹姆斯敦的英國(guó)人又遭遇了饑荒。于是約翰·史密斯來(lái)到威爾沃科莫科村,向波瓦坦要谷物。他帶了很多漂亮的玻璃珠子,因?yàn)橛〉诎踩讼矚g這些東西。但波瓦坦想要的不僅于此。
'You can have corn,' he said, 'but you must build one of your big English houses for me — with windows of glass. And you must give me some guns.'
“你可以拿走谷物,”他說(shuō),“但你必須為我建造一座你們英國(guó)人那樣的大房子——有玻璃窗戶的那種。你還必須得給我一些槍炮。”
'A house — yes,' said Smith. 'Tomorrow my men can bring things from Jamestown and begin to build a house for you. But guns — no. Friends do not need guns.'
“一幢房子——好吧,”史密斯說(shuō)道,“明天我的人會(huì)從詹姆斯敦帶東西過(guò)來(lái),開始為你建造一棟房子。但至于槍炮——那不行。朋友之間是不需要什么槍炮的。”
Powhatan smiled, but he was angry, very angry. 'Yes, we are friends,' he said. 'Tonight you must stay here and eat with us. Tomorrow you can have your corn.'
波瓦坦笑了一下,但實(shí)際上他生氣了,非常非常生氣。“是啊,我們是朋友,”他說(shuō),“你今晚必須待在這里,和我們一同用餐。明天就可以拿到谷物了。”
That night Pocahontas came to John Smith. She was afraid. 'My father is angry,' she said. 'He wants to kill you, and all your men. You must be careful!'
那天晚上,波卡洪塔斯來(lái)找約翰·史密斯。她非常害怕。“我父親生氣了。”她說(shuō),“他想殺了你,以及你手下所有的人。你千萬(wàn)要小心啊!”
John Smith took her hands. 'What a good friend you are, Pocahontas!' he said. 'How can I thank you?'
約翰·史密斯握住了她的手。“你是一個(gè)多么好的朋友啊,波卡洪塔斯!”他說(shuō),“我該如何感謝你呢?”
Pocahontas looked into his blue eyes. 'You are my King,' she said quietly. 'My King — now, and always.'
波卡洪塔斯凝望著他那雙藍(lán)眼睛。“你就是我的首領(lǐng),”她低聲說(shuō)道,“我的首領(lǐng)——現(xiàn)在是,永遠(yuǎn)都是。”
So Smith and his men carried their guns all the time and they watched very carefully. The next morning Opekankanu and his women came with the corn.
于是史密斯和他的手下始終槍不離身,非常小心地戒備著。第二天早上,奧皮坎卡努和他的女人們帶來(lái)了谷物。
'There is your corn,' Opekankanu said. 'Now, give us your guns!' He smiled. 'Look behind you!'
“這是你們的谷物,”奧皮坎卡努說(shuō)。“現(xiàn)在,把你們的槍交給我們!”他笑著說(shuō),“看看你們的背后!”
Smith looked. And seven hundred Indians came out of the forest, with bows and arrows.
史密斯看了一下。有大約七百名印第安人從森林里冒了出來(lái),手里都拿著弓箭。
How can ten men fight seven hundred? In a second, John Smith had his hand in Opekankanu's hair, and his gun in Opekankanu's face.
十個(gè)人怎么打得過(guò)七百個(gè)人?突然,約翰·史密斯用手抓住了奧皮坎卡努的頭發(fā),同時(shí)把槍頂在奧皮坎卡努的臉上。
'My gun can kill you,' he said angrily, 'before an arrow can get to me.' He looked at Opekankanu's men. 'Do you want Opekankanu to die?' he called.
“我的槍能殺死你,”他憤怒地說(shuō)道,“在箭射中我之前。”他看著奧皮坎卡努的手下。“你們想讓奧皮坎卡努死嗎?”他喊道。
The Indians were afraid of John Smith. To them, he was a King, and it is not easy to kill a King. They put down their bows and arrows, and went away into the forest. Opekankanu, too, was afraid. His women put the corn in Smith's boat, and Smith and his men went back down the river to Jamestown.
印第安人很害怕約翰·史密斯。對(duì)他們來(lái)說(shuō),他就像是首領(lǐng),而殺死首領(lǐng)并非易事。他們放下弓箭,撤回了森林。奧皮坎卡努也很害怕。他的女人們把谷物放進(jìn)了史密斯的船里,史密斯和他的手下順河而下回到了詹姆斯敦。
Powhatan and Opekankanu were angry. 'We don't want these Englishmen in our country,' Powhatan said. 'We must kill them — kill them all!'
波瓦坦和奧皮坎卡努都暴跳如雷。“我們不想再讓這些英國(guó)人待在我們的領(lǐng)土上,”波瓦坦說(shuō),“我們必須殺了他們——把他們?nèi)細(xì)⒘?”
'No, father!' said Pocahontas. 'We must learn to be friends with the English. John Smith says—'
“不,父親!”波卡洪塔斯說(shuō)道,“我們必須學(xué)會(huì)和英國(guó)人做朋友。約翰·史密斯說(shuō)——”
'Be quiet!' Powhatan said. 'John Smith is our enemy. Stay away from him! Do you understand?'
“住嘴!”波瓦坦說(shuō),“約翰·史密斯是我們的敵人。離他遠(yuǎn)點(diǎn)兒!你明白嗎?”
'But you gave him to me, father. Do you remember? I loved his blue eyes then, and I love them now. I cannot stay away from him.'
“但你把他交給了我,父親。你還記得嗎?我那時(shí)很喜歡他的那雙藍(lán)眼睛,現(xiàn)在我也喜歡它們。我不能離開他。”
Pocahontas did visit John Smith after that, but not very often. It wasn't easy for her. There was often fighting between the English and the Indians now, and dead men do not make friends.
此后波卡洪塔斯的確去看過(guò)約翰·史密斯,但并不是很頻繁。因?yàn)檫@對(duì)她來(lái)說(shuō)并不容易。現(xiàn)在英國(guó)人和印第安人之間經(jīng)常發(fā)生沖突,發(fā)生傷亡后雙方就沒法再做朋友了。
More ships and more men came from England — and more guns. Jamestown was now a town of five hundred people — five hundred hungry people. The English wanted the Indians' corn, and the Indians wanted the Englishmen's guns.
從英國(guó)來(lái)了更多的船和人,還有更多的槍炮。詹姆斯敦現(xiàn)在是一個(gè)擁有五百個(gè)人——五百個(gè)饑餓的人——的城鎮(zhèn)。英國(guó)人想得到印第安人的谷物,而印第安人則想要英國(guó)人的槍炮。
One day, in October 1609, Pocahontas went to Jamestown, but she could not find John Smith.
1609年l0月的一天,波卡洪塔斯來(lái)到了詹姆斯敦,但卻找不到約翰·史密斯。
'Where is he?' she asked some Englishmen.
“他在哪兒?”她問一些英國(guó)人。
'Smith? He left Jamestown a month ago,' one man said. 'He had a bad accident with some gunpowder. He was very ill. So he went home to England.'
“史密斯嗎?一個(gè)月前他就離開詹姆斯敦了,”一個(gè)人說(shuō)道,“火藥走火讓他傷得不輕。他病得很厲害,所以回英國(guó)老家去了。”
'Ill?' Pocahontas said. 'John Smith is ill?'
“病了?”波卡洪塔斯問道,“約翰·史密斯病了?”
'Yes,' the man said. 'It was a very bad accident. And six weeks on a ship... perhaps he's dead now.'
“是的,”那個(gè)人說(shuō)道,“那是一次很嚴(yán)重的事故。而且他還要在船上待六個(gè)星期……也許他現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)死了。”
'Did — did he leave a letter for me?' Pocahontas asked.
“那——那他有沒有留給我一封信?”波卡洪塔斯問道。
The man laughed. 'A letter for you, little girl? But you can't read! Why? Is it important?'
那個(gè)人笑了:“留給你信,小姑娘?可你不識(shí)字啊!為什么問這個(gè)?很重要嗎?”
'No,' she said. 'It's not important.' But of course it was.
“不,”她說(shuō),“并不重要。”但這當(dāng)然很重要。
She went away into the forest and cried for a long time. Where was John Smith, her Englishman with blue eyes, the colour of the sky?
她走進(jìn)森林,哭了很久。約翰·史密斯在哪兒?她那有著一雙天藍(lán)色眼睛的英國(guó)人在哪兒呢?