螃蟹 The Crab

魯迅/文 蔡力堅/譯

老螃蟹覺得不安了，覺得全身太硬了。自己知道要蛻殼了。

他跑來跑去的尋。他想尋一個窟穴，躲了身子，將石子堵了穴口，隱隱的蛻殼。他知道外面蛻殼是危險的。身子還軟，要被別的螃蟹吃去的。這并非空害怕，他實在親眼見過。他慌慌張張的走。

旁邊的螃蟹問他說：“老兄，你何以這般慌？”

他說：“我要蛻殼了。”

“就在這里蛻不很好么？我還要幫你呢。”

“那可太怕人了。”

“你不怕窟穴里的別的東西，卻怕我們同種么？”

“我不是怕同種。”

“那還怕什么呢？”

“就怕你要吃掉我。”

One day， an old crab was restless. Feeling stiff and tight all over his body， he realized that time had come for him to shed his old shell.

He dashed around， trying to find a hole to hide himself， so that he could block the entrance with rocks and change his shell while in hiding. He knew the perils of changing his shell in the open. His new shell would be soft， and he could fall prey to2 other crabs. This fear was real. He saw tragedies like that unfold right before his eyes. Panicked， he continued his desperate search3.

“Hey， dude， why are you freaking out like that？” asked a crab who happened to stand nearby.

“Im going to shed my shell，” answered the old crab.

“But this is a great place to do your job. Besides， I can help you.”

“Thats too scary.”

“Why arent you afraid of other creatures lurking in a hole？ Were all crabs. Were brothers4. Theres nothing to be afraid of.”

“Im not scared because youre also a crab.”5

“Then what are you scared of？”

“Im scared because you want to eat me.”

1魯迅的《螃蟹》運用象征的手段反映現實，講述即將蛻殼而新生的老螃蟹怎樣提防在自己“身子還軟”時“被同種吃掉”，揭露了聲言要“幫”自己的“同種”而實則想趁機吃“同種”的險惡居心。文章給人的啟迪是：蛻變而獲新生之事物，在幼弱階段時，往往面臨被舊事物扼殺的風險。? 2 fall prey to的意思是be hunted and killed by，也就是“要被……吃去的”。? 3雖然原文是“他慌慌張張的走”，但所指的仍然是在“慌慌張張”尋找（一個洞），上文已經提到他在尋找，故此處用he continued his desperate search。

4所謂“同種”，也就是說都是螃蟹，既然都是螃蟹，也就是兄弟。在這樣的語境里，如此表達似乎更加直接、更加達意，也更加適合語域的需要。? 5與注4所述情況一樣。