《羅克斯維爾火車站的貓》（節選五）

瓊·克雷格黑德·喬治

Then something moved in the hollow of the maple tree.

It was Ringx， the racoon. Not knowing if Ringx was an enemy like Shifty had turned out to be， Rachet climbed out of the deep hollow and onto a limb. Being a young cat， she knew how to climb up a tree but not how to get down. She stared at the ground below and miaowed the helpless kitten cry for mother， but in vain.

Ringx heard Rachets cry and came from deep in the hollow to peer at the cat. Her beady eyes gleamed in a black furry mask， and her ears were laid back. Rachet took one look at the growling bandit face and leaped. She crashed through the tree limbs， grabbed one， couldnt hold on， and dropped twelve feet to the ground. Landing on all fours， she ran under the bridge and climbed up into the steel supports. On a high beam twenty feet up， she spit. With that adult cat comment， she discarded the kitten in her and grew up. No more miaows.

She was on her own amid people， storm， snake， fox， and raccoon. She stayed high on the bridge infrastructure until the rain let up. It was already very late at night when she stirred. She could hunt now. This is the time cats operate secretly and best—but so do Shifty and Ringx.

Below her two mice came out of the papers and junk. They searched the debris for tasty garbage the swollen Olga River had washed ashore from the parks and towns upriver. Rachet riveted her eyes on the mice. When they ran into a sodden paper bag， she jumped from arch to beam. They came out. She stopped. They disappeared. She ran. When she had worked her way down to the ground， she crept， body low， to a rock near them and sat still. By sitting stone-still and then running， she inched closer to the mice without their realizing she was there. Then suddenly with a flash of her paw she caught one. This time she did not lift it in curiosity but carried the food up to her spot on the steel beam and dined.

Another mouse took its place—then another. Rachet had found a cat smorgasbord in the heart of fox and racoon territory. She would need all her cat wits to mouse here with Shifty and Ringx around.

After she had eaten， she washed her mouth with her tongue， then her cheeks and the back of her neck with her paw. There she found a burr. Scratching it with her hind foot， she dislodged it. It fell into the water and floated with the current to a tidal cove.

A sparrow picked it up and flew landward. Suddenly chased by a hawk， the bird veered and dropped the burr. There it would lie all winter. When spring came it would send out roots and leaves and make more burrs to be dispersed by animals. Burrs were hitchhikers. Rachet had given it a ride from the field to the river to a bird， then from a flying bird to a new home. Rachet was unaware of her part in the burdocks scheme to spread burdocks. High on the scaffolding， she sat sphinxlike and catnapped.

就在那時，楓樹洞里有東西動了一下。

那是浣熊林克斯。拉齊特不知道林克斯是不是敵人，就像初遇赤狐希夫蒂那樣，于是爬出深深的樹洞，爬上一個樹枝。她是一只小貓，知道如何爬上一棵樹卻不知道如何爬下來。她盯著樹下的地面，喵喵叫，那是無助的小奶貓叫媽媽的聲音，但是沒用。

林克斯聽到了拉齊特的叫聲，就從樹洞深處爬出來，盯著小貓。林克斯圓溜溜的小眼睛在黑色毛茸茸的面孔中閃閃發光，她的耳朵朝后貼在頭上。拉齊特看了一眼那張低吼的強盜嘴臉，然后一躍而下。她從樹枝間掉落，抓住了一個，沒能抓牢，從12英尺高的地方掉落地上。拉齊特四腳著地，然后跑到橋下，爬上了橋的鋼架。她爬到20英尺高的橫梁上，轉頭吐了口口水。吐口水是成年貓表達不屑的方式，拉齊特以此表示自己不再是小奶貓，她長大了，不會再像小奶貓那樣喵喵叫了。

面對人類、暴風雨、蛇蟲、狐貍和浣熊，拉齊特只能自食其力。她一直待在高高的橋梁鋼架上，直到雨停。她醒來已是深夜。她現在可以狩獵了。這是貓咪秘密行動的最佳時機——對赤狐希夫蒂和浣熊林克斯而言也是如此。

就在拉齊特下方，有兩只老鼠從廢紙和垃圾堆里鉆出來了。他們在垃圾堆中尋找可口的食物，那些都是漲水的奧爾加河從上游的公園和城鎮沖下來的。拉齊特的眼睛緊盯著老鼠。老鼠跑進一個淋濕的紙袋時，拉齊特從拱梁跳到橫梁上。老鼠出來。拉齊特停下。老鼠消失不見。拉齊特往前跑。拉齊特一路從鋼架跑到地面，然后俯下身子，匍匐前進，來到老鼠旁邊的一塊石頭處，靜坐不動。拉齊特一會兒像石頭一樣靜止不動，一會兒往前跑，一點兒一點兒地靠近老鼠。老鼠都沒有覺察到拉齊特的到來。突然，她爪子一揮，抓住了一只。這一次，拉齊特沒有好奇地把老鼠舉起來查看，而是叼著老鼠爬到她在鋼梁上的藏身處，然后進餐。

又一只老鼠就位——然后還有一只。就在狐貍和浣熊的地盤中心，拉齊特找到了一個食物豐盛的貓咪自助餐館。因為赤狐希夫蒂和浣熊林克斯窺伺左右，拉齊特需要動用自己所有的智慧來捉老鼠。

一番飽食之后，拉齊特用舌頭舔舔嘴巴，然后是兩頰，再用爪子撓撓后脖頸。她在后脖頸上發現了一個牛蒡刺果。拉齊特用后爪撓了一下，蹭掉了它。刺果掉入河水，順著水流漂到了一個水灣處。

一只麻雀銜起了刺果朝岸邊飛去。突然一只鷹飛過來追逐麻雀，麻雀一個轉向，扔掉了刺果。刺果整個冬天都會待在那里。春天來臨的時候，它會生根長葉，長出更多的刺果，讓動物們播撒。刺果善于搭便車。拉齊特把它從田野帶到河里，交給了小鳥，然后飛鳥帶它到了新家。牛蒡有傳宗接代的計劃，拉齊特是傳播者之一，但她并不知情。拉齊特坐在高高的大橋鋼架上，像神秘的斯芬克斯雕像，正在打瞌睡呢。

【背景知識】拉齊特繼續成長。要適應殘酷的環境，她必須快快長大。她在像小奶貓一樣呼喚媽媽未果之后，縱身一躍，終于長大。她鋌而走險，在狐貍和浣熊的核心地帶找到了安居之所，溫飽問題徹底解決，還能像獅身人面像一樣打個瞌睡呢。

【第一段】第三句like Shifty had turned out to be指原來拉齊特分不清敵友，被赤狐追殺。這一次她碰見浣熊，先逃開再說。譯文沒有按照字面翻譯為“就像希夫蒂后來證明的那樣”，是為了譯文更簡潔明晰。最后一句中用一個分句“那是一只無助的小奶貓叫媽媽的聲音”來翻譯詞組the helpless kitten cry for mother，屬分句翻譯技巧，否則譯文的定語會太長。

【第二段】此處的描寫充滿趣味。浣熊平時的耳朵并不會貼在頭上，這樣做是表示憤怒和威脅。作者把浣熊描寫為“強盜”嘴臉，反映出貓咪心理視角的不屑，所以才有后面的吐口水。最后兩句的譯文沒有緊貼原文，按照語義進行了適當增譯。短句she discarded the kitten in her（她拋棄了體內的小貓咪）不宜直譯。

【第三段】作者采用全知視角，文字夾敘夾議。最后的補充成分暗示了拉齊特仍然面臨危險。

【第四段】這是一段完整的貓咪捕食老鼠過程的描寫。拉齊特走走停停，竭力讓自己神不知鬼不覺地接近老鼠，完成致命一擊。譯文應力求簡潔，再現原文的動態節奏。最后一句中的lift it in curiosity（好奇地舉起來），譯文中添加了“查看”。

【第五段】原文富有趣味，同樣是夾敘夾議。所謂smorgasbord指瑞典或斯堪的納維亞式自助餐館，食物豐盛。譯文中如果出現瑞典或斯堪的納維亞會顯得突兀，于是僅僅點出了“食物豐盛”的意思，省略掉瑞典式或斯堪的納維亞式。這是一個危機四伏的環境，而絕境求生正顯示出貓咪拉齊特的勇敢和智慧。

【第六段】吃飽喝足了，拉齊特舒舒服服地進行梳洗打扮。不料卻在身上發現了一顆牛蒡刺果。作者風趣的用意讓人不禁莞爾。

【第七段】該段一邊傳播生態知識，一邊用富有情趣的視角描述牛蒡刺果和貓咪。最后兩句特別具有幽默感。倒數第二句（Rachet was unaware of her part in the burdocks scheme to spread burdocks）如果直譯會是“拉齊特沒有意識到她在牛蒡自我傳播計劃中所扮演的角色”，過于冗長。譯文顛倒了語序，使之符合中文習慣，而且用“傳宗接代”來表達幽默感。最后一句中有sphinxlike（像獅身人面像似的）。如直譯，只說貓咪像獅身人面像會顯得不倫不類，譯文點出了其神秘的特征，譯為“像神秘的斯芬克斯雕像”。

【小結】該原文選段風格多樣，有簡潔生動的動作描寫，有夾敘夾議的混合視角，有文化專有詞語的深刻寓意，還有隱含在字里行間的幽默和風趣。譯者需要詳加辨別，保持原文的節奏，恰當處理文化意象，并盡力再現原文的美學效果。