Flight Over Little Egypt　飛躍“小埃及”

Flight Over Little Egypt　飛躍“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。我雖然只有5歲，可對那天席卷伊利諾伊州南端，被稱做“小埃及”的巨大龍卷風(fēng)還是記憶猶新。我們居住的小煤城正是龍卷風(fēng)途徑之地。呼嘯的狂風(fēng)聽上去就像十幾輛火車呼嘯而過。我們蜷縮在廚房里。聲響震耳欲聾，似乎要搖散我們的骨頭。

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.

突然間，風(fēng)停了，寂靜得讓人感到不自然。一種怪異和不安的感覺緊緊抓住了我們的心。打開門后，媽媽凝視著那可怕的景象目瞪口呆。到處都是瓦礫碎片。街道已無法通行。人們漫無目的地轉(zhuǎn)悠，有些人顯然驚魂未定，不知道要做什么。突然，媽媽腳旁傳來一聲令人憐憫的輕聲哀鳴，打破了這奇怪的沉靜。

Trembling violently, a wet and frightened little poodle lay wedged between the door and the screen.

一只驚恐萬分、劇烈顫抖的濕漉漉的小卷毛狗擠在門和紗門中間。

“My stars,” my mother said, bending over. “Wherever did you come from?”

“哎呀，天哪，”我媽媽驚愕地說道，彎下身去，“你是從哪兒來的？”

The bedraggled little dog timidly wagged his tail and began licking Mother’s hand.

神情頹廢的小狗膽怯地?fù)u了搖尾巴，開始舔母親的手。

Jacky, as we named him, accepted our large family without reservation. We in turn lavished our love upon the displaced but lucky little poodle.

我們管它叫杰基。它毫無保留地接受了我們這個大家庭，而我們也把愛傾注給這只失去了家但很幸運的小卷毛狗。

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.

我們幾乎立刻就發(fā)現(xiàn)杰基的不同尋?！且恢环浅Ｂ斆鞯墓贰Ｋ难劬Σ卦谀菨饷芫砬纳钌l(fā)里，閃閃發(fā)光，充滿活力。

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.

在這只小狗成為我們家的一員約兩年后，一天，有個流浪漢敲我們家后門，問我們能否給他點兒吃的。這種要求沒有什么不尋常的。在那些日子里，許多流浪漢來我們家。他在門廊那里等待，媽媽給他端去一盤食物。他一坐下來吃時，我們幾個男孩子就圍在他身旁。他開始給我們講他去過的地方，他見到的許多東西。我們都聽得入迷了。

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.

他突然停了下來。我們朝他凝視的方向望去，看到杰基站在那兒。他們倆互相瞧了一陣子，然后那老流浪漢的臉上充滿笑意。

“You little rascal,” he said, calling him by some strange sounding name. “What are you doing here?”

“你這個小流氓，”他叫道，然后說出一些奇怪的名字，“你在這里干什么？”

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.

那小狗變得欣喜若狂，圍著流浪漢又叫又蹦，似乎沒有停下來的意思。毫無疑問，它認(rèn)識這流浪漢，而且很熟悉。和杰基一番親熱與交談后，老流浪漢發(fā)出一聲簡短的命令。杰基立刻控制住自己的熱情，順從地臥倒在老人的腳旁。

“Boys, where did you get this dog?” asked the hobo.

“孩子們，你們從哪兒弄來這條狗的？”流浪漢問道。

“We found him lodged between the door and the screen during the big tornado of ‘25’,” said my brother.

“1925年那次大龍卷風(fēng)過后，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)它夾在門和紗門之間?！蔽腋绺缁卮鹫f。

“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.”

“沒錯，這就對上號了，”流浪漢說道?！?925年3月我跟著一個馬戲團(tuán)在密蘇里州。那場大風(fēng)的威力可真夠大的。馬戲團(tuán)的大篷被撕成碎片，所有的東西都給毀了。

“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. ”

“這只小狗是頂尖的表演狗。它非常值錢，保險金就好幾百美元。它真走運。給風(fēng)卷走那么遠(yuǎn)也沒受傷?！?

Suddenly the hobo asked, “Do you have a barrel hoop, boy?”

突然，那流浪漢問道：“孩子，你們有桶圈嗎？”

“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.

“當(dāng)然有，我給你找一個，”我哥哥說道。他快步跑向一個舊桶，摘下一個鋼圈，急速跑回，把它交給了流浪漢。

From beneath his old battered hat the hobo’s blue eyes sparkled. A smile broke through his heavy gray beard.

流浪漢破舊的帽子下面，藍(lán)眼睛閃爍著光芒，長著濃密灰色大胡子的臉上綻放出笑容。

“Watch this,” he said. “Les you boys been to a circus you ain’t never seen anything like this.”

“注意看這個，”他說，“除非你們?nèi)ミ^馬戲團(tuán)，要不然你們還從來沒有見過呢?！?

He walked out into the yard and held the loop a couple of feet above the ground.

他走進(jìn)院子，把鋼圈舉在手里，高度應(yīng)該有兩英尺。

“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.

“準(zhǔn)備好，”他對杰基說，還是用的那個聽著怪怪的名字。杰基激動得渾身顫抖。一聽到命令，它就猛地向前蹦跳，躍起穿過鋼圈，先是往前跳，再往回跳。繼續(xù)發(fā)出命令，它跳來跳去，兩頭來回地奔跑。它先是用后腿跳著舞步，而后用前腿。博聞廣識的老流浪漢讓杰基表演著馬戲團(tuán)的絕活，我和我兄弟們都看呆了。

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.

隨后他直起身子，露出一副愁苦的臉色?！拔蚁胛易詈眠€是走吧，”他嘟囔了一句，慢慢朝大門走去。杰基毫不遲疑地跟在他腳后。

“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，回來！”我們?nèi)齻€人異口同聲地叫道，但是沒有用。淚水一滴滴從我們的臉頰上流下來。我們知道，我們失去了杰基。

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，那流浪漢停下腳步，低頭看著杰基，說道：“我們馬戲團(tuán)的日子已經(jīng)過去了，朋友。一去不復(fù)返了。流浪的生活不是你該過的生活。你最好留在這兒?！苯芑咀×?，看著流浪漢離去，但是仍作著跟隨的準(zhǔn)備。

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.”

到了門口，流浪漢紋絲不動地站了幾秒鐘，然后慢慢轉(zhuǎn)過身來?！昂⒆觽?，馬戲班的狗永遠(yuǎn)忘不了那大頂篷，”他說道，“你們最好把它關(guān)在屋里，直到明天早上。我可不愿意看到你們失去它。”

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.

我們照他的話做了。杰基和我們生活了許多年，雖然它是我們曾經(jīng)養(yǎng)過的最聰明的狗，但我們再也沒能說服它表演馬戲班絕活。我們想，它牢記著流浪漢的話，把馬戲班的日子永遠(yuǎn)忘記了。

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