諾貝爾文學經典:《寵兒》第4章Part 3
"It's a tree, Lu. A chokecherry tree. See, here's the trunk — it's red and split wide open, full of sap,and this here's the parting for the branches. You got a mighty lot of branches. Leaves, too, looklike, and dern if these ain't blossoms. Tiny little cherry blossoms, just as white. Your back got awhole tree on it. In bloom. What God have in mind, I wonder. I had me some whippings, but Idon't remember nothing like this. Mr. Buddy had a right evil hand too. Whip you for looking athim straight. Sure would. I looked right at him one time and he hauled off and threw the poker atme. Guess he knew what I was a-thinking.'"
Sethe groaned and Amy cut her reverie short — long enough to shift Sethe's feet so the weight,resting on leaf-covered stones, was above the ankles.
"That better? Lord what a way to die. You gonna die in here, you know. Ain't no way out of it. Thank your Maker I come along so's you wouldn't have to die outside in them weeds. Snake comealong he bite you. Bear eat you up. Maybe you should of stayed where you was, Lu. I can see byyour back why you didn't ha ha. Whoever planted that tree beat Mr. Buddy by a mile. Glad I ain'tyou. Well, spiderwebs is 'bout all I can do for you. What's in here ain't enough. I'll look outside.
Could use moss, but sometimes bugs and things is in it. Maybe I ought to break them blossomsopen. Get that pus to running, you think? Wonder what God had in mind. You must of didsomething. Don't run off nowhere now."
Sethe could hear her humming away in the bushes as she hunted spiderwebs. A humming sheconcentrated on because as soon as Amy ducked out the baby began to stretch. Good question, shewas thinking. What did He have in mind? Amy had left the back of Sethe's dress open and now atail of wind hit it, taking the pain down a step. A relief that let her feel the lesser pain of her soretongue. Amy returned with two palmfuls of web, which she cleaned of prey and then draped onSethe's back, saying it was like stringing a tree for Christmas.
“是棵樹，露。一棵苦櫻桃樹。看哪，這是樹幹———通紅通紅的，朝外翻開，盡是汁兒。從這兒分杈。你有好多好多的樹枝。好像還有樹葉，還有這些，要不是花纔怪呢。小小的櫻桃花，真白。你背上有一整棵樹。正開花呢。我納悶上帝是怎麼想的。我也捱過鞭子，可從來沒有過這種樣子。巴迪先生的手也特別黑。你瞪他一眼就會挨鞭子。肯定會。我有一回瞪了他，他就大叫大嚷，還朝我扔火鉗子。我猜大概他知道我在想什麼。”
塞絲呻吟起來。愛彌暫時中斷了想入非非，把塞絲的兩隻腳挪到鋪滿樹葉的石頭上，不讓腳踝太吃勁。
“這樣好一點嗎？主啊，這麼個死法。知道嗎，你會死在這兒的。逃不掉了。感謝上帝吧，我打這兒路過了，所以你不用死在雜草叢裏了。蛇路過會咬你。熊會吃了你。也許你該留在原來的地方，露。我從你的後背看出來你爲什麼不留在那兒，哈哈。甭管那棵樹是誰種的，他都比巴迪先生狠上一百倍。幸虧我不是你。看來，我只能去給你弄點蜘蛛網來。這屋裏的還不夠。我得上外面找找去。
用青苔也行，只怕裏頭會有蟲子什麼的。也許我該掰開那些花，把膿擠出去，你覺得呢？真納悶上帝當時是怎麼想的。你肯定幹了什麼。現在哪兒也別逃了。”
塞絲聽得見她在樹叢裏哼着歌兒找蜘蛛網。她用心聆聽着哼唱聲，因爲愛彌一出去那嬰兒就開始踢騰。問得好，她心想。上帝當時是怎麼想的？愛彌讓塞絲背上的裙衣敞着，一陣輕風拂過，痛楚減輕了一層。這點解脫讓她感覺到了相對輕微一些的舌頭上的疼痛。愛彌抓着兩大把蜘蛛網回來了。她弄掉粘上的小蟲子，把蜘蛛網敷在塞絲的背上，說這就像裝飾聖誕樹一樣。
