海倫·凱勒自傳《我的生活》第5期
About this time I found out the use of a key. One morning I locked my mother up in the pantry, where she was obliged to remain three hours, as the servants were in a detached part of the house. She kept pounding on the door, while I sat outside on the porch steps and laughed with glee as I felt the jar of the pounding. This most naughty prank of mine convinced my parents that I must be taught as soon as possible. After my teacher, Miss Sullivan, came to me, I sought an early opportunity to lock her in her room. I went upstairs with something which my mother made me understand I was to give to Miss Sullivan; but no sooner had I given it to her than I slammed the door to, locked it, and hid the key under the wardrobe in the hall. I could not be induced to tell where the key was. My father was obliged to get a ladder and take Miss Sullivan out through the window--much to my delight. Months after I produced the key.
就是在那個時候，我發現自己會使用鑰匙了。一天早晨，我把母親鎖在了儲藏室裏，她被迫在裏面待了三個小時，因爲那時僕人們都出去幹活了。母親不停地敲打房門，我能感覺到敲擊房門的震動聲，可我卻坐在走廊的臺階上咯咯地笑。這類令人頭疼的惡作劇使我的父母意識到，我必須儘快接受教育。記得在我的老師蘇立文小姐到來後，我還找了一個機會把她鎖在了自己房間裏。當時母親領我上樓去見蘇立文小姐，她想讓我明白她要把我交給老師。可是沒多久我就砰地一下把門關上，而且還上了鎖。然後，我又把鑰匙藏在了走廊裏的衣櫥裏。家人並沒有哄我交出鑰匙。結果，我的父親只得搬了一把梯子，把蘇立文小姐從窗口接了出來。這出小把戲讓我高興了好一陣兒。幾個月之後我才交出了鑰匙。When I was about five years old we moved from the little vine-covered house to a large new one. The family consisted of my father and mother, two older half-brothers, and, afterward, a little sister, Mildred. My earliest distinct recollection of my father is making my way through great drifts of newspapers to his side and finding him alone, holding a sheet of paper before his face. I was greatly puzzled to know what he was doing. I imitated this action, even wearing his spectacles, thinking they might help solve the mystery. But I did not find out the secret for several years. Then I learned what those papers were, and that my father edited one of them.
在我五歲大的時候，我們從藤蘿覆蓋的小房子搬到了一個新建的大房子裏。這個家庭由我的父母，兩個同父異母的哥哥，還有後來出生的小妹妹米爾德萊德組成。我最早而且印象最深的有關父親的記憶，就是我搖搖晃晃地穿過一堆堆的報紙來到他身邊，這時我就會發現他總是獨自拿着一沓報紙擺在面前。我會感到極其迷惑，很想知道他在做什麼。我也會模仿他的動作，甚至戴上了他的眼鏡，因爲我想眼鏡或許能幫我解開未知的祕密。但是若干年過去了，我沒有發現什麼祕密。後來我才瞭解到那些報紙的來歷——我的父親是在對文章進行編輯校對。My father was most loving and indulgent, devoted to his home, seldom leaving us, except in the hunting season. He was a great hunter, I have been told, and a celebrated shot. Next to his family he loved his dogs and gun. His hospitality was great, almost to a fault, and he seldom came home without bringing a guest. His special pride was the big garden where, it was said, he raised the finest watermelons and strawberries in the county; and to me he brought the first ripe grapes and the choicest berries. I remember his caressing touch as he led me from tree to tree, from vine to vine, and his eager delight in whatever pleased me.
我的父親是那種極其眷顧家庭的人，除了狩獵季節，他很少離開我們。他是一個出色的獵人，有着一手好槍法。在家庭之外，他最愛他的狗和獵槍。另外，他還是一個極其好客的人，這幾乎成了他的一個性格弱點，他很少有不帶客人回家的時候。他最引以爲豪的地方就是我們家的大花園，據說，他培育的西瓜和草莓是全縣最好的，我還記得他把最先成熟的葡萄和精選的漿果摘給我吃。他充滿慈愛地領着我在果樹和藤蘿之間穿行，他積極樂觀的情緒時刻感染着我。
He was a famous story-teller; after I had acquired language he used to spell clumsily into my hand his cleverest anecdotes, and nothing pleased him more than to have me repeat them at an opportune moment.
父親是一個很會講故事的人，在我掌握了語言以後，他常常會笨拙地在我手上拼寫字詞，並以此來講述他的那些奇聞逸事。在“講完”故事後，他會讓我馬上“複述”出來，再也沒有什麼比重複故事更令他高興的事了。I was in the North, enjoying the last beautiful days of the summer of 1896, when I heard the news of my father's death. He had had a short illness, there had been a brief time of acute suffering, then all was over. This was my first great sorrow--my first personal experience with death.
1896年，當時我住在北方，正愜意地享受着夏日最後的時光，就是在那個時候，我聽到了父親的死訊。他死於一次突發疾病，經歷了短暫的痛苦後，人就這麼離去了。父親的死亡是我人生中第一次感受到的巨大悲慟——也使我第一次對死亡有了自己的認識。How shall I write of my mother? She is so near to me that it almost seems indelicate to speak of her.
我又如何描述我的母親呢？她離我是那麼近，對我而言，用語言來描述她是近乎失禮的舉動。For a long time I regarded my little sister as an intruder. I knew that I had ceased to be my mother's only darling, and the thought filled me with jealousy. She sat in my mother's lap constantly, where I used to sit, and seemed to take up all her care and time. One day something happened which seemed to me to be adding insult to injury.
有很長一段時間，我都把我的小妹妹視做一個入侵者。當時，我知道我已經不再是母親唯一的寶貝，我的心裏充滿了嫉妒。妹妹總是坐在母親的膝蓋上，那裏本是我坐的位置，而現在卻被她完全佔領了，她受到了所有的呵護與關愛。有一天，發生了一件不愉快的事情，那件事使我覺得受到了莫大的侮辱。At that time I had a much-petted, much-abused doll, which I afterward named Nancy. She was, alas, the helpless victim of my outbursts of temper and of affection, so that she became much the worse for wear. I had dolls which talked, and cried, and opened and shut their eyes; yet I never loved one of them as I loved poor Nancy. She had a cradle, and I often spent an hour or more rocking her. I guarded both doll and cradle with the most jealous care; but once I discovered my little sister sleeping peacefully in the cradle. At this presumption on the part of one to whom as yet no tie of love bound me I grew angry. I rushed upon the cradle and over-turned it, and the baby might have been killed had my mother not caught her as she fell. Thus it is that when we walk in the valley of twofold solitude we know little of the tender affections that grow out of endearing words and actions and companionship. But afterward, when I was restored to my human heritage, Mildred and I grew into each other's hearts, so that wewere content to go hand-in-hand wherever caprice led us, although she could not understand my finger language, nor I her childish prattle.
那時我有一個成天抱在手裏，既寵又恨的洋娃娃，後來我給她起名叫南希。唉，實際上，這個娃娃只是供我發脾氣的犧牲品，所以，她總是一副破衣爛衫的樣子。我有會說話的洋娃娃，也有會哭和會眨眼睛的洋娃娃，但是我從來都不會像愛我的破南希那樣愛她們。南希有一個搖籃，我經常花一個小時甚至更多的時間把她放在搖籃裏搖動。我無比關切地守護着娃娃和她的搖籃。但是有一次，我發現我的小妹妹安靜地躺在搖籃裏熟睡。現在只能做出這樣的推測，那時根本就沒有愛和親情的紐帶能束縛住我的憤怒。於是，我衝過去把搖籃翻了個個兒，要不是母親上前抓住了她，妹妹也許會被我殺死。所以說，當我們行走在備感孤獨的幽谷之中，我們纔會逐漸瞭解到充滿關愛的言行以及友情所帶給我們的感動。後來，當我重新恢復了人類友愛的本性後，我和米爾德萊德已經成長爲彼此交心的姊妹。無論世事如何變化，我們倆都願意手拉手地面對眼前的一切，雖然她不懂我的手語，而我也不明白她那些孩子氣的語言。
