董繼平 譯

儒勒·列那爾（Jules Renard，1864-1910），法國小說家、散文家、劇作家，龔古爾學(xué)院成員。他早年當(dāng)過鐵路職員和家庭教師，1889年與友人合辦文學(xué)刊物《法蘭西水星》，后又創(chuàng)辦刊物《白皮雜志》。他最初熱衷于詩歌創(chuàng)作，后來轉(zhuǎn)向小說和散文，作品主要有《胡蘿卜須》（1894）、《自然記事》（1896）、《愉快的分手》（1898）和《八天》（1906）等。盡管他作品眾多，但由于他一生中多半生活在鄉(xiāng)間，因此他最有名的作品都涉及自然，尤其是《自然記事》中寫動植物的篇什，字里行間充滿濃郁的詩意，在法國文壇上產(chǎn)生過不小的影響。

鴿 子

無論它們像屋頂上沉悶的鼓那樣發(fā)出噪音;

還是從遮陰處出來，一個筋斗便驟然展翅飛進(jìn)陽光，然后回到遮陰處;

還是它們前伸的脖子像蛋白石戒指那樣生生死死;

還是它們在傍晚的森林中熟睡，如此緊密地群集在一起，以至于那棵橡樹的最高枝條不堪負(fù)重這類著色的果實(shí)，有斷裂的危險;

還是那邊的那兩只突然開始流露出瘋狂的信號，開始抽搐;

還是其中之一流亡歸來，攜帶著一窩雛鳥，猶如想到遙遠(yuǎn)的朋友而飛翔——要是我有鴿子的翅膀就好了……（啊！愛的誓言！）;

然而，盡管起初很有趣，到最后它們也厭倦了。

它們就是沒法保持安靜，它們在自己的旅程上從來不學(xué)任何東西。

它們相當(dāng)愚蠢地度過整整一生。它們堅持認(rèn)為，雛鳥是通過你的嘴喙而創(chuàng)造出來的。

歸根到底，它們的喉嚨有什么東西，又無法咽下去——它們對這種遺傳的癡迷令人難以忍受。

PIGEONS

Whether theyre making a noise like a muffled drum on the roof;

or coming out of the shade， tumbling and bursting into the sun and then going back into the shade;

or their darting neck is living and dying like an opal ring;

or theyre falling asleep in the evening in the forest， so tightly packed that the highest branch of the oak tree is threatening to break under this load of painted fruit;

or those two over there suddenly start exchanging frantic signals and fall into convulsions;

or one of thems returning from exile carrying a litter， flying like the thought of a faraway friend—had I the wings of a dove...（Ah！ A pledge of love?。?

but， though amusing to begin with， in the end， theyre boring.

They just cant keep still and they never learn anything on their travels.

They spend their whole lives being rather silly. They persist in thinking babies are made through your beak.

And in the long run， this hereditary obsession of theirs that theyve got something in their throats that they cant swallow becomes unbearable.

蝙 蝠

夜晚侍候了這么久，因此它都破爛不堪了。

它的頂部沒有磨破，比如群星，但在底部，如同拖曳在地面石頭和樹木之間的衣裙，在那下面不健康的隧洞和潮濕的地窖中。

一塊夜的碎片爬進(jìn)每個角落。蒺藜把它刺穿，寒意把它凍結(jié)起來，泥淖把它弄臟。每天早晨，當(dāng)夜晚消散的時候，骯臟的破布就亂糟糟地掉落下來。

那就是蝙蝠誕生的方式。

因?yàn)樗鼈兡菢诱Q生，它們就不能面對明亮的日光。

當(dāng)太陽落下，我們享受涼爽空氣的時候，蝙蝠就從它們倒掛身子的古老屋梁上松開自己。

它們笨拙的飛行方式打擾我們。它們沒有羽毛、鯨須般的翅膀在我們四周摸索。它們更多是依靠耳朵，而不是那無用的、疼痛的眼睛來覓路。

我的朋友蒙住它的臉，我驚恐地轉(zhuǎn)過身去，因?yàn)檫@種生物可能撞到我的身上。

人們說，它們會通過吮吸我們的血來殺死我們。

這是夸張的說法。

它們無害，它們絕不會碰你。

這些夜的女兒并不恨光芒。它們只是在尋找它們可以用沙沙作響的翅膀扇熄的蠟燭。

BATS

The night has been serving so long that its getting worn out.

Its not wearing out at the top， like the stars， but at the bottom， like a dress trailing on the ground between the stones and the trees， down there in unhealthy tunnels and damp cellars.

A shred of night creeps into every single corner. Thorns are piercing it， cold is freezing it， its being fouled by mud. And every morning， when night lifts， dirty rags fall off， haphazardly.

Thats how bats are born.

And because theyre born like that， they cant face bright daylight.

When the suns gone down and were enjoying the cool air， the bats unhitch themselves from the old beams where theyve been hooked.

Were disturbed by their awkward way of flying. Their featherless， whaleboned wings are feeling around us. They find their way more by their ears than by their useless， sore eyes.

My friend covers her face and I turn my head away， frightened because this nasty creature may knock into me.

People say that they would kill us by sucking our blood.

Its an exaggeration.

Theyre harmless， theyll never touch you.

These daughters of the night dont hate light. Theyre just looking for candles that they can blow out with their rustling wings.

烏 鶇

1 ▲ 松鴉：“你這悲慘的家伙，總是穿著一身黑衣！”

烏鶇：“很抱歉，牧師，這是我得到的唯一禮服?！?/p>

2 ▲ 那只烏鶇有著黃色的嘴喙……它肯定患了黃疸病。

THE BLACKBINRD

I ▲ The jay： “Always dressed in black， you miserable fellow！”

The blackbird： “Im sorry， minister， its the only suit Ive got.”

II▲That blackbird with his yellow beak …… he must have jaundice.

喜 鵲

它的身上始終留有一點(diǎn)去年的積雪。地面上，它雙足并用向前跳動，然后漫不經(jīng)心地起飛，徑直飛向一棵樹。

有時候，它錯過了那棵樹，便落到旁邊的樹上。

它如此常見，也如此受人輕視，以至于它似乎不朽，整天都穿著晚禮服（當(dāng)然是尾巴），嘮叨著離開。無疑，它聰明得讓人難以忍受——

在我們所有的鳥兒中，它最具法蘭西屬性。

THE MAGPINE

Hes always got a little snow left on him from last winter. He hops along the ground with his feet together. Then he casually takes off， heading straight for a tree.

Sometimes he misses it and lands on the one next to it.

Hes so common and so despised that he seems immortal， wearing evening dress （tails， of course） all day long， nattering away. Hes certainly unbearably smart—

hes the most French of all our birds.

黃 鸝

我對它說：“馬上把那顆櫻桃還給我！”

“當(dāng)然要還給你。”那只黃鸝回答。

它把那顆櫻桃還給我，然而，那上面還有它每年都吞吃掉的三千條骯臟的昆蟲孑孓。

The Golden Oriole

I said to him： “Give that cherry back to me immediately！”

“Certainly.”the oriole replied.

He gives me the cherry and， with it， the three hundred thousand larvae of nasty insects which he swallows every year.