Grandfather’s Tiger爺爺的虎仔

Timothy， our tiger cub， was found by my grandfather on a hunting expedition in the Terai jungles near Dehra， in northern India. Because Grandfather lived in Dehra and knew the jungles well， he had been persuaded to accompany the hunting party.

我們的虎仔提莫西是爺爺在印度北部德拉附近特萊叢林狩獵時發現的。因為爺爺生活在德拉，熟悉叢林，所以他就被說服陪同狩獵隊前往。

Strolling down a forest path some distance from the main party， Grandfather discovered a little abandoned tiger， about eighteen inches long， hidden among the roots of a banyan tree. After the expedition ended， Grandfather took the tiger home to Dehra， where Grandmother gave him the name Timothy.

爺爺順著一條與大隊人馬有段距離的森林小路溜達，發fa7YKWbF6+wdcbJ9piYPR9nxhMxiM1jLUHlS9UbCJmw=現了一只被遺棄的虎仔。這只虎仔身長18英寸左右，躲在一棵榕樹的樹根間。狩獵結束后，爺爺將虎仔帶回了德拉，奶奶給它取名提莫西。

Timothy’s favorite place in the house was the living room. He would snuggle down comfortably on the sofa， reclining there with serene dignity and snarling only when anyone tried to take his place. One of his chief amusements was to stalk whomever was playing with him， and so， when I went to live with my grandparents， I became one of the tiger’s pets. With a crafty look in his eyes， and his body in a deep crouch， he would creep closer and closer to me， suddenly making a dash for my feet. Then， rolling on his back and kicking with delight， he would pretend to bite my ankles.

提莫西在家里最喜歡待的地方就是客廳。它常常會舒適地偎依在沙發上，安詳而又威風地臥在那里，只有當有人試圖占它的位置時它才會咆哮。它的一項主要娛樂就是，無論是誰跟它玩耍，它都會悄悄潛近，因此，當我和爺爺奶奶住在一起時，我就成了虎仔的玩伴之一。它會悄悄地靠近我，眼神狡黠，身體深蹲，突然撲向我的腳。之后，它會仰面翻滾，歡快地踢蹬，假裝咬我的腳踝。

By this time he was the size of a full-grown golden retriever， and when I took him for walks in Dehra， people on the road would give us a wide berth. At night he slept in the quarters of our cook， Mahmoud. “One of these days，” Grandmother declared， “we are going to find Timothy sitting on Mahmoud’s bed and no sign of Mahmoud！”

它已長到一只成年金毛獵犬那么大了，而當我帶它在德拉溜達時，路人常常會遠遠避開。夜里它睡在我們的廚師馬哈茂德的房間。“總有一天，”奶奶斷言，“我們會發現提莫西坐在馬哈茂德的床上，卻見不到馬哈茂德的蹤影！”

When Timothy was about six months old， his stalking became more serious and he had to be chained up more frequently. Even the household started to mistrust him and， when he began to trail Mahmoud around the house with what looked like villainous intent， Grandfather decided it was time to transfer Timothy to a zoo.

當提莫西六個來月大時，它越發喜歡跟蹤人，于是我們不得不更加頻繁地拴住它。就連家人也開始不信任它了，而當它似乎開始帶著惡意在房子周圍追蹤馬哈茂德時，爺爺決定該把提莫西移交給動物園了。

The nearest zoo was at Lucknow， some two hundred miles away. Grandfather reserved a first-class compartment on the train for himself and Timothy and set forth. The Lucknow zoo authorities were only too pleased to receive a well-fed and fairly civilized tiger.

距離最近的動物園位于勒克瑙，大約在200英里開外。爺爺為自己和提莫西在火車上預定了頭等座，就出發了。勒克瑙動物園方面很高興接收一只飼養良好、頗有教養的虎仔。

Grandfather had no opportunity to see how Timothy was getting on in his new home until about six months later， when he and Grandmother visited relatives in Lucknow. Grandfather went to the zoo and directly to Timothy’s cage. The tiger was there， crouched in a corner， full-grown， his magnificent striped coat gleaming with health.

直到大約六個月后爺爺和奶奶探望勒克瑙的親戚時，爺爺才有機會看到提莫西在新家過得怎樣。爺爺去了動物園，直接走到了提莫西的籠邊。虎兒就在那兒，蹲伏在一個角落，已經完全長大了，帶虎紋的漂亮皮毛閃著健康的光澤。

“Hello， Timothy，” Grandfather said.

“你好，提莫西。”爺爺說。

Climbing the railing， he put his arms through the bars of the cage. Timothy approached and allowed Grandfather to put both arms about his head. Grandfather stroked the tiger’s forehead and tickled his ears. EacItMrQZSaAass7NhFnarvLA==h time Timothy growled， Grandfather gave him a smack across the mouth， which had been his way of keeping the tiger quiet when he lived with us.

他爬上欄桿，胳膊伸過籠子的柵欄。提莫西走上前，讓爺爺雙臂抱住它的腦袋。爺爺撫摸著虎兒的額頭，給它的耳朵撓癢癢。每當提莫西咆哮時，爺爺總會拍一下它的嘴巴。提莫西跟我們住在一起時，爺爺就是這樣讓虎仔保持安靜的。

Timothy licked Grandfather’s hands. Then he showed nervousness， springing away when a leopard in the next cage snarled at him. Grandfather shooed the leopard off and Timothy returned to licking his hands. Every now and then the leopard would rush at the bars， and Timothy would again slink back to a neutral corner.

提莫西舔著爺爺的手。隨后，當鄰近籠子里的一頭豹子向它咆哮時，它露出緊張不安的神情，縱身跳開。爺爺趕開了豹子，提莫西又返回舔起了他的手。豹子不時地沖向柵欄，提莫西又再次溜回一個不遠不近的角落。

A number of people had gathered to watch the reunion， when a keeper pushed his way through the crowd and asked grandfather what he was doing. “I’m talking to Timothy，” said Grandfather. “Weren’t you here when I gave him to the zoo six months ago？”

許多人聚在那里觀看這場重逢，這時一個飼養員擠過人群，問爺爺在做什么。“我在跟提莫西嘮嗑呢。”爺爺說，“六個月前我把它送到動物園時你不在這里嗎？”

“I haven’t been here very long，” said the surprised keeper. “Please continue your conversation. I have never been able to touch that tiger myself. I find him very bad-tempered.”

“我到這里時間不是很久。”這位面露驚訝的飼養員說，“請繼續嘮嗑吧。我壓根兒沒能親手碰過這只老虎哩。我發現它脾氣很壞。”

Grandfather had been stroking and slapping Timothy for about five minutes when he noticed another keeper observing him with some alarm. Grandfather recognized him as the keeper who had been there when he had delivered Timothy to the zoo. “You remember me，” said Grandfather. “Why don’t you transfer Timothy to a different cage， away from this stupid leopard？”

爺爺一直在撫摸、輕輕拍打著提莫西，大約過了五分鐘，這時他注意到另一位飼養員正在有些驚慌地觀察著他。爺爺認出他是飼養員，當初把提莫西送到動物園時這人就在。“你還記得我吧。”爺爺說，“為什么不把提莫西轉移到另一個籠子里，遠離這只愚蠢的豹子呢？”

“But sir，” stammered the keeper. “It is not your tiger.”

“可是，先生，”飼養員結結巴巴地說，“這不是你的虎仔。”

“I realize that he is no longer mine，” said Grandfather testily. “But at least take my suggestion.”

“我明白他不再屬于我了，”爺爺惱火地說，“但至少接受我的建議啊。”

“I remember your tiger very well，” said the keeper. “He died two months ago.”

“我清楚記得你的虎仔。”飼養員說，“它兩個月前死了。”

“Died？” exclaimed Grandfather.

“死了？”爺爺大聲嚷道。

“Yes， sir， of pneumonia. This tiger was trapped in the hills only last month， and he is very dangerous！”

“是的，先生，死于肺炎。這只虎是上個月才在山里捕到的，非常危險！”

The tiger was still licking Grandfather’s arms and apparently enjoying it more all the time. Grandfather withdrew his hands from the cage in a motion that seemed to take an age. With his face near the tiger’s he mumbled， “Goodnight， Timothy.” Then， giving the keeper a scornful look， Grandfather walked briskly out of the zoo.

虎兒還在舔著爺爺的胳膊，顯然它始終喜歡這樣做。爺爺從籠子里抽出手，這個動作似乎花了很長時間。他把臉貼近虎兒的臉，喃喃地說：“晚安，提莫西。”說完，爺爺輕蔑地看了飼養員一眼，快步走出了動物園。

* 本名宋金柱，焦作大學學術委員會委員，河南省作家協會會員。迄今已在外文出版社、譯林出版社、人民文學出版社等出版譯著多部。另在《英語世界》《當代外國文學》《譯林》等刊物上發表譯文多篇。