King of the Pumpkins 南瓜王

高齐云选译

“Deep in the middle of the woods，” said my mother， “is the place where the king of the pumpkins lives.” “But pumpkins live in fields1， not in forests，” I said to my mother. She wouldnt listen to me. “Im telling you，” she said， “the king of the pumpkins lives in the middle of the woods and the woods that he lives in are the woods right next to our house， the woods you can see out of the window over there.” She pointed2 with her hand to the woods that were just outside the window behind our house. “He doesnt live in a field like the other pumpkins，” mother went on， “because hes not an ordinary pumpkin. Hes the King Pumpkin.”

“森林深处，”我母亲说，“是南瓜王生活的地方。”“但南瓜生活在田野里，而不是森林里，”我对母亲说，她不听我的。“我告诉你，”她说，“南瓜王住在树林里面，他住的树林就是我们家旁边的树林，你可以从那边的窗户看到的那片树林。”她用手指了指我们家后窗外的树林。“他不像其他南瓜那样生活在田野里。”母亲接着说，“因为他不是一个普通的南瓜。他是南瓜王。”

I shut up and believed her， like you do when youre a kid. Firstly， I knew that it wasnt worth3 fighting with my mother. She always won4. Secondly， when youre a kid， you always believe what grown-ups tell you， no matter how stupid5 it is. Like Santa Claus and stuff like that. Kids always believe it， even though they know its stupid. Still， I wanted to go and find the king of the pumpkins， partly because I was bored， partly because I was curious6， and also—of course—because I wanted to know if my mother really was talking nonsense7 or not.

我閉上嘴，决定相信她，就像你小时候那样。首先，我知道这不值得和我妈妈争论，她总是赢。其次，当你还是个孩子的时候，你总是相信大人告诉你的事，不管这有多傻，像圣诞老人之类的。孩子们总是会相信，即使他们知道这很愚蠢。尽管如此，我还是决定去找南瓜王，一方面是因为我很无聊，另一方面是因为我很好奇。当然了，也因为我想知道妈妈是不是真的在胡说八道。

Mother often talked nonsense， I have to say that. There was the time she told me that the moon was made of cheese. I knew that was nonsense. Then there were all the stories she told me. Stories about frogs， princesses， princes and shoes. Stories about donkeys and unicorns8， gnomes9 and elves， magic mirrors and magic cooking pots. Stories about why the stars are exactly the way they are， why the river that runs through our town has the name that it has， stories about where the sun comes from， why the sky is so far away and why the elephant has a long trunk10. Some of these stories， I think， might have been true. I was never sure， and it was difficult to find out. This time， though， with this story about the king of the pumpkins， it was going to be easy to find out if she was telling the truth or not.

妈妈经常胡说八道，我必须得这么说。有一次，她告诉我月亮是奶酪做的。我知道那是胡说八道。还有她给我讲的所有故事，关于青蛙、公主、公主和鞋子的故事，关于驴和独角兽，侏儒和精灵，魔镜和魔法锅的故事，关于星星为什么是这样的故事，为什么流经我们城镇的河流会叫现在那个名字，关于太阳从哪里来的故事，为什么天空那么遥远，为什么大象有一个长长的鼻子。其中有些故事，我想有可能是真的。我从不确定，而且很难弄明白是不是真的。不过，这一次关于南瓜王的故事，就很容易弄清她说的是不是真的了。

Some people used to call my mother a witch11， but I knew that she wasnt a witch. Maybe just a bit strange. And she used to talk nonsense. It might be also because of the black cat we had. People say that witches always have black cats， and we had a black cat. But Mog wasnt a witchs cat. He was just a regular12 black cat. Mog could talk， though， I have to say that. Maybe that isnt so regular in a cat， now I think about it.

以前有人叫我媽妈巫婆，但我知道她不是。也许她只是有点奇怪，她过去常常胡说八道，也许也是因为我们养了一只黑猫。人们说女巫总是养黑猫，而我们就有一只黑猫。但莫格不是女巫的猫，它只是一只普通的黑猫。不过，莫格可以说话，我还是得说，也许这在猫身上并不常见，现在我想起来这一点了。

Anyway， I was telling you about the time I went to find the king of the pumpkins. I set off with Mog the cat into the woods to look for the king of the pumpkins. Wed lived in that house near the woods all my life， but I had never gone into the middle of the woods. This was the first time. I was happy I had Mog with me. I was a bit scared， even though I didnt really think that the king of the pumpkins lived there.

不管怎样，我要告诉你我这次去找南瓜王的经历。我和猫莫格一起到树林里去找南瓜王。虽然我们一辈子都住在森林附近的那所房子里，但我从来没有到过森林里面，这是第一次。我很高兴有莫格和我在一起。我有点害怕，尽管我并不真的认为南瓜王住在那里。

“Watch out for the wolves13！” said Mog.

“小心狼。”莫格说。

“Yes...and the grandmothers too！” I joked.

“好的……还有祖母们！”我开玩笑说。

“Lets not leave the path！” said Mog.

“我们不要离开这条路！”莫格说。

When people said my mother was a witch， I told them that witches dont have children. “Yeah，” they answered， “thats true. But you look more like an elf than a regular kid.” I looked in the mirror to see if I looked like an elf or not. I think I looked like a regular kid， but you never can tell really.

当人们说我母亲是女巫时，我告诉他们女巫没有孩子。“是的。”他们回答说，“那倒是真的。但你看起来更像一个小精灵，而不是一个普通的孩子。”我照了照镜子，想看看自己是不是像一个小精灵。我觉得我看起来像个普通的孩子，但你永远也无法彻底断定。

“Do you think hes real？” I asked Mog.

“你认为它是真的吗？”我问莫格。

“Who， the wolf？ He certainly is，” answered Mog.

“谁？狼？它当然是真的。”莫格答道。

“No， not the wolf. I know the wolf is real，” I said to Mog.

“不，不是狼。我知道狼是真的。”我对莫格说。

Sometimes I could hear the wolf howling14 at night. I knew he was real.

有时我能听到狼在夜里嚎叫，我知道它是真的。

“No， not the wolf. The king of the pumpkins. Do you think hes real？”

“不，不是狼，是南瓜之王。你觉得它是真的吗？”

“Dont know，” said the cat. “Guess well just have to find out.”

“不知道。”猫说，“我想我们得弄清楚。”

We walked on into the forest. The trees got taller and taller and taller. The path got narrower15 and narrower and narrower.

我们走进了森林，树越来越高了，路越来越窄了。

“What does he do， then， this king of the pumpkins？” asked Mog.

“那这位南瓜王是做什么的呢？”莫格问道。

“I dont know really，” I said. “I guess he just kind of is head pumpkin， boss pumpkin. He decides on pumpkin rules and pumpkin laws， and punishes16 people who break them.”

“我真的不知道。”我說，“我想它就是南瓜的头，南瓜首领。它制定南瓜规则和南瓜法，并惩罚违反这些规则的南瓜。”

“Oh， I see，” said Mog. He was quiet for a bit， then said， “What kind of things are pumpkin rules17 then？”

“哦，我明白了。”莫格说。他沉默了一会儿，然后说：“那南瓜的规矩是什么？”

“Erm， how big you can grow. What colour you have to be. Stuff like that.”

“呃，你能长多大，你必须是什么颜色，诸如此类的事情。”

“Youre making this up， arent you？” asked Mog.

“你在瞎编，是吧？”莫格问道。

“Yeah，” I said.

“是的。”我说。

At last， we got to the middle of the forest. At least， I think it was the middle of the forest， but its difficult to say exactly. There was a clearing， a big space where there were no trees. In the middle of the clearing was the king of the pumpkins. I think it was the king of the pumpkins. It looked like a man at first. He was quite tall and had legs and arms made from sticks. He was wearing an old black coat. His head was a pumpkin. His head was the biggest pumpkin I had ever seen. Me and Mog went up close to him. He didnt say anything.

终于，我们来到了森林的中央。至少我认为那是森林的中央，但很难说清楚是不是。这是一片空地，一个没有树的大空地，在空地中间的那个是南瓜王。我认为是南瓜王。一开始它看起来像个人，它很高，腿和胳膊都是用棍子做的，穿着一件旧的黑色外套，头是个南瓜。它的头是我见过的最大的南瓜。我和莫格走近它，它什么也没说。

“Is that it？” asked Mog.

“是它吗？”莫格问道。

“I guess so，” I said.

“我想是的。”我说。

“Disappointing18，” said Mog.

“真令人失望。”莫格说。

“Do you think hes the real king of the pumpkins？” I asked Mog.

“你觉得它是真正的南瓜王吗？”我问莫格。

“Who knows？” answered the cat.

“谁知道呢？”猫回答说。

As we walked back along the path out of the forest， I started to think about what was real and what was not. Could things that were made up also be true？ What was the difference between “story” and “history”？ One is real and the other isnt—is that it？

当我们沿着走出森林的小路往回走时，我开始思考什么是真的，什么不是。编出来的东西也可能是真的吗？“故事”和“历史”有什么区别？一个是真的，另一个不是——是吗？

“What about all those other things that Mother talks about？ Do you think theyre real？” I asked Mog.

“妈妈说的其他事情呢？你认为它们是真的吗？”我问莫格。

“Hmm...Im not sure，” said Mog. “Those stories she tells sometimes...about why the night is black and the day is blue， about golden eggs and girls with golden hair， about why people have ten fingers， ten toes， two feet， two hands and two eyes...sometimes I think shes crazy， and sometimes I think she might be right...”

“嗯……我不确定。”莫格说，“她有时讲的那些故事……关于为什么夜晚是黑色的，白天是蓝色的，关于金色的鸡蛋和金色头发的女孩，关于为什么人们有十个手指、十个脚趾、两只脚、两只手和两只眼睛……有时候我觉得她疯了，有时候我觉得她可能是对的……”

I knew what Mog meant. I felt the same way. “Maybe the stories arent true，” I said， “but what they mean is.”

我知道莫格的意思，我也有同样的感觉。“也许這些故事不是真的，”我说，“但它们的内涵是真的。”

（英语原文选自：learnenglish.britishcouncil.org）

【Notes】

1. field  n. 领域;牧场;旷野;草地; 田地

2. point  vt. 指向;vi. 表明;指向

3. worth  adj. 值……的

4. win  vi. 赢;获胜;成功

5. stupid  adj. 愚蠢的;麻木的;乏味的

6. curious  adj. 好奇的，有求知欲的;古怪的

7. nonsense  n. 胡说;废话

8. unicorn  n. 独角兽;麒麟

9. gnome  n. 小矮人;土地神;格言

10. trunk  n. 树干;躯干;象鼻

11. witch  n. 巫婆，女巫

12. regular  adj. 定期的;有规律的;合格的;整齐的;普通的

13. wolf  n. 狼

14. howl  v. （狗、狼等）嚎叫

15. narrow  adj. 狭窄的，有限的

16. punish  vt. 惩罚

17. rule  v. 统治，管理;支配;规定

18. disappointing  adj. 令人失望的;令人扫兴的