雙語賞析《新月集》第17期: 流放的地方 The land of the Exile

MOTHER, the light has grown grey in the sky; I do not know what the time is.
There is no fun in my play, so I have come to you. It is Saturday, our holiday.
Leave off your work, mother; sit here by the window and tell me where the desert of Tep?ntar in the fairy tale is?
The shadow of the rains has covered the day from end to end.
The fierce lightning is scratching the sky with its nails.
When the clouds rumble and it thunders, I love to be afraid in my heart and cling to you.
When the heavy rain patters for hours on the bamboo leaves, and our windows shake and rattle at the gusts of wind, I like to sit alone in the room, mother, with you, and hear you talk about the desert of Tep?ntar in the fairy tale.
Where is it, mother, on the shore of what sea, at the foot of what hills, in the kingdom of what king?
There are no hedges there to mark the fields, no footpath across it by which the villagers reach their village in the evening, or the woman who gathers dry sticks in the forest can bring her load to the market. With patches of yellow grass in the sand and only one tree where the pair of wise old birds have their nest, lies the desert of Tep?ntar.
I can imagine how, on just such a cloudy day, the young son of the king is riding alone on a grey horse through the desert, in search of the princess who lies imprisoned in the giant's palace across that unknown water.
When the haze of the rain comes down in the distant sky, and lightning starts up like a sudden fit of pain, does he remember his unhappy mother, abandoned by the king, sweeping the cow-stall and wiping her eyes, while he rides through the desert of Tep?ntar in the fairy tale?
See, mother, it is almost dark before the day is over, and there are no travellers yonder on the village road.
The shepherd boy has gone home early from the pasture, and men have left their fields to sit on mats under the eaves of their huts, watching the scowling clouds.
Mother, I have left all my books on the shelf--do not ask me to do my lessons now.
When I grow up and am big like my father, I shall learn all that must be learnt.
But just for to-day, tell me, mother, where the desert of Tep?ntar in the fairy tale is?

媽媽，天空上的光成了灰色了；我不知道是什麼時候了。
我玩得怪沒勁兒的，所以到你這裏來了。這是星期六，是我們的休息日。
放下你的活計，媽媽；坐在靠窗的一邊，告訴我童話裏的特潘塔沙漠在什麼地方？
雨的影子遮掩了整個白天。
兇猛的電光用它的爪子抓着天空。
當烏雲在轟轟地響着，天打着雷的時候，我總愛心裏帶着恐懼爬伏到你的身上。
當大雨傾瀉在竹葉子上好幾個鐘頭，而我們的窗戶爲狂風震得格格發響的時候，我就愛獨自和你坐在屋裏，媽媽，聽你講童話裏的特潘塔沙漠的故事。
它在哪裏，媽媽，在哪一個海洋的岸上，在哪些個山峯的腳下，在哪一個國王的國土裏？
田地上沒有此疆彼壤的界石，也沒有村人在黃昏時走回家的，或婦人在樹林裏撿拾 枯枝而捆載到市場上去的道路。沙地上只有一小塊一小塊的黃色草地，只有一株樹，就是那一對聰明的老鳥兒在那裏做窩的，那個地方就是特潘塔沙漠。
我能夠想象得到，就在這樣一個烏雲密佈的日子，國王的年輕的兒子，怎樣地獨自 騎着一匹灰色馬，走過這個沙漠，去尋找那被囚禁在不可知的重洋之外的巨人宮裏的公主。
當雨霧在遙遠的天空下降，電光像一陣突然發作的痛楚的痙攣似地閃射的時候，他 可記得他的不幸的母親，爲國王所棄，正在掃除牛棚，眼裏流着眼淚，當他騎馬走過童話裏的特潘塔沙漠的時候？
看，媽媽，一天還沒有完，天色就差不多黑了，那邊村莊的路上沒有什麼旅客了。
牧童早就從牧場上回家了，人們都已從田地裏回來，坐在他們草屋的檐下的草蓆上，眼望着陰沉的雲塊。
媽媽，我把我所有的書本都放在書架上了——不要叫我現在做功課。
當我長大了，大得像爸爸一樣的時候，我將會學到必須學的東西的。
但是，今天你可得告訴我，媽媽，童話裏的特潘塔沙漠在什麼地方？