The Last Day of Autumn秋盡之日

The frosted dew on the grass sparkled purple and deep red， reflecting the colours in the eastern sky. In her nest， in a dying foxglove flower at the end of the garden， Silverbell woke up and shivered.

草葉上的霜露閃爍著紫色和深紅色的光芒，映照出東方天空的色彩。在花園盡頭那朵奄奄一息的毛地黃花中，銀鈴兒從她的巢中醒來，打了個寒戰。

Fluttering into the air， she stretched stiffly and looked over the suburban garden. Her breath steamed in the air. “One more day，” she said brightly.

她撲騰著飛入空中，僵硬地伸展開身體，俯瞰著這座郊區花園。她呼出的氣在空中凝結成白霧。“還有一天。”她開心地說。

She flew around the garden， teasing colour back into drooping sunflowers， encouraging one last late rose to bloom， polishing each holly berry.

她在花園里飛來飛去，逗弄垂頭喪氣的向日葵，讓它們重拾色彩；鼓勵最后一朵遲開的玫瑰綻放；擦亮每一顆冬青漿果。

There was a bumblebee lying motionless on the garden path. Its antennae twitched as she landed in front of it. She walked around it， murmuring soothing words as she checked its wings and stroked its back. She put her hands on the bee’s face and closed her eyes for a moment. The bee seemed to glow golden for a second， and it fluttered its wings with new energy. She patted its back， and it buzzed gratefully before flying away.

花園小徑上躺著一只一動不動的熊蜂。銀鈴兒降落在它面前時，它的觸角微微抽動了一下。銀鈴兒圍著它走動，邊檢查它的翅膀、撫摸它的背，邊低聲對它說安慰的話。銀鈴兒將雙手放在熊蜂的臉上，閉目片刻。熊蜂似乎瞬間發出了金色的光芒，它用新生的力量振動起翅膀。銀鈴兒拍拍它的背，熊蜂發出嗡嗡的聲響以示感激，然后飛走了。

Silverbell looked after it， smiling.

銀鈴兒望著它，微笑著。

“You’re out late，” said an emotionless voice behind her. She turned. An indistinct， human-shaped figure shimmered gauzy-white behind her， the garden visible through it.

“你出來得太晚了。”銀鈴兒身后傳來一個冷漠的聲音。她轉過身。一道模糊的人形影子在她身后閃爍，像白紗一樣透明，透過它花園清晰可見。

“It’s still morning，” said Silverbell.

“現在還是早晨。”銀鈴兒說。

“That’s not what I meant，” said the Spirit of Winter.

“我不是這個意思。”冬之魂回答道。

“I know.”

“我知道。”

“Most of your kind are already hibernating in the Enchanted Forest， recharging until the spring.”

“你的同類大多已在魔法森林里冬眠，等到春天再恢復能量。”

“I’ve still got time，” said Silverbell cheerfully.

“我還有時間呀。”銀鈴兒快樂地說著。

“It’s futile. That bee won’t last the winter. Most of these flowers will be dead in a week， no matter what you do.”

“這是徒勞的。那只熊蜂熬不過冬天。無論你做什么，這些花大多一周內就會死去。”

“But the people love them so much at this time of year，” said Silverbell. “They like to see nature hanging on as long as possible.”

“但每年這個時候人們特別喜歡它們。”銀鈴兒說，“人們喜歡看到大自然盡可能久地保持生機。”

“Except wasps.”

“除了黃蜂。”

“Yes， the wasps were a mistake，” admitted Silverbell.

“是的，黃蜂的確是個錯誤。”銀鈴兒承認。

The Spirit of Winter tilted its head. Even though the figure had no visible features， Silverbell had the feeling of being looked over and was suddenly conscious of her frayed， drooping wings and the grey streaks in her hair.

冬之魂歪了歪頭。盡管這個身影沒有明顯的面部特征，但銀鈴兒感覺自己被打量了一番。她突然意識到自己的翅膀已破損、下垂，頭發上也有了灰色條紋。

“You need to save your magic，” the Spirit observed1， without particular concern. “Or you won’t have enough to fly to the Forest. You’re already very weak.”

“你需要保存你的魔法。”冬之魂漠不關心地說，“否則你將沒有足夠的力量飛到森林。你已經很虛弱了。”

“Don’t worry about me，” said Silverbell. “You’ll have the place to yourself from tomorrow.”

“別擔心我。”銀鈴兒說，“從明天起，這地方就歸你了。”

The Spirit faded away， leaving a patch of hard frost on the grass， and Silverbell went back to work.

冬之魂消失了，在草地上留下一片硬霜，銀鈴兒繼續忙活。

By mid-afternoon， she sat on a fence post and surveyed the garden with a mixture of satisfaction and sadness. “It was a good summer，” she said to herself.

下午三點左右，銀鈴兒坐在柵欄柱上，以既滿足又傷感的心情打量著花園。“這里曾有一個美好的夏天。”她自言自語道。

She flew up， higher than the rooftops， and turned west. She hadn’t flown one street before her eyes were caught by a small creature limping slowly across the road， and she descended again.

她飛了起來，高過屋頂，向西轉去。她還沒飛過一條街，就被一個蹣跚穿越道路的小動物吸引住了目光，她再次降落。

It was a hedgehog， small and shivering in the cold. “Hey， buddy，” she said to it， reaching up to stroke its face. “You shouldn’t be out now.”

那是一只小刺猬，它在寒風中顫抖著。“嘿，伙計。”銀鈴兒對它說，伸手去撫摸它的臉。“你不該在這個時候出來。”

Silverbell took a longing look towards the western horizon， where the sun was starting to set. Then she looked back at the hedgehog. It was obviously too thin to survive hibernation.

銀鈴兒深情地望了一眼西邊的地平線，太陽已經開始下落。然后，她回頭看了看刺猬。它顯然太瘦弱了，無法熬過冬眠。

She took a deep breath， placed both hands on the hedgehog’s side， and gasped as she released all of her remaining magic. The two of them were enveloped in a golden glow， and when it faded， the hedgehog was noticeably fatter. It snuffled its nose at her before continuing into the garden.

銀鈴兒深吸一口氣，將雙手放在刺猬身側，氣喘吁吁地釋放出所有剩余的魔法。她與刺猬被金色的光芒包裹。光芒消失時，刺猬明顯胖了些。它用鼻子嗅了嗅銀鈴兒，然后繼續往花園里走。

She stood watching until it had vanished under a hedge. Then her legs buckled. With the last of her strength， she flew up onto the roof of the house， almost collapsing as she reached the ridge. Leaning back on a chimney stack， she sat facing the sunset， eyes closed.

銀鈴兒站在那里望著，直到刺猬消失在樹籬下，然后她的雙腿開始發軟。她用最后的力氣飛到房子的屋頂上，飛到屋脊時差點倒下。她靠在煙囪邊，面朝夕陽坐著，閉上了眼睛。

Something furry nuzzled her face. She half-opened her eyes. It was the bumblebee. “Hi，” she muttered， reaching out a hand. “Thanks for staying with me.”

有什么毛茸茸的東西蹭了蹭她的臉。她半睜開眼，是那只熊蜂。“嗨。”她喃喃道，伸出一只手。“謝謝你陪著我。”

The bee nudged her again， insist-ently. This time she looked around. It took her arm gently in its mandibles2 and pulled and buzzed. Then， smiling weakly， she pulled herself up， threw one leg over the bee’s back， and hung on. It took off over the houses， flying west.

熊蜂不住地蹭她的臉。這次她環顧起四周。熊蜂用它的顎輕輕地咬住銀鈴兒的手臂，拉了拉，發出嗡嗡的聲響。然后，銀鈴兒虛弱地笑了笑，爬起來把一條腿跨到熊蜂的背上，再緊緊抱住它。熊蜂載著銀鈴兒越過一座座房屋，向西飛去。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

1 observe〈正式〉說話；評論。

2 mandible（昆蟲的）顎。