《浮生六记》英译(1.16)

卷一 闺房记乐（16）  作者：沈复         

余堂伯父素存公早亡，无后，吾父以余嗣焉。墓在西跨塘福寿山祖茔之侧，每年春日，必挈芸拜扫。王二姑闻其地有戈园之胜，请同往。芸见地下小乱石有苔纹，斑驳可观，指示余曰：“以此叠盆山，较宣州白石为古致。”余曰：“若此者恐难多得。”王曰：“嫂果爱此，我为拾之。”即向守坟者借麻袋一，鹤步而拾之．每得一块，余曰“善”，即收之；余曰“否”，即去之。未几，粉汗盈盈，拽袋返曰：“再拾则力不胜矣。”芸且拣且言曰：“我闻山果收获，必借猴力，果然。”王愤撮十指作哈痒状，余横阻之，责芸曰：“人劳汝逸，犹作此语，无怪妹之动愤也。”归途游戈园，稚绿娇红，争妍竞媚。王素憨，逢花必折，芸叱曰：“既无瓶养：又不簪戴，多折何为？！”王曰：“不知痛痒者，何害？”余笑曰：“将来罚嫁麻面多须郎，为花泄忿。”王怒余以目，掷花于地，以莲钩拨入池中，曰，“何欺侮我之甚也！”芸笑解之而罢。         

林语堂  译：

Six Chapters of A Floating Life

Chapter One: Wedded Bliss （16）

By Shen Fu

My uncle Such'un died early without an heir, and my father made me succeed his line. His tomb was situated on the Hill of Good Fortune and Longevity in Hsikuat' ang by the side of our ancestral tombs, and I was accustomed to go there with Yun and visit the grave every spring. As there was a beautiful garden called Koyuan in its neighborhood, Miss Wang begged to come with us. Yun saw that the pebbles on this hill had beautiful grains of different colours, and said to me," If we were to collect these pebbles and make them into a grotto, it would be even more artistic than one made of Hsuanchow stones." I expressed the fear that there might not be enough of this kind. "If Yun really likes them, I'll pick them for her," said Miss Wang. So she borrowed a bag from the watchman, and went along with a stork's strides collecting them. Whenever she picked up one, she would ask for my opinion. If I said "good," she would put it into the bag; and if I said "no," she would throw it away. She stood up before long and came back to us with the bag, perspiring all over. "My strength will fail me if I am going to pick any more," she said. "I have been told," said Yun, as she was selecting the good ones in the bag, "that mountain fruits must be gathered with the help of monkeys, which seems quite true." Miss Wang was furious and stretched both her hands as if to tease her. I stopped her and said to Yun by way of reproof, "You cannot blame her for being angry, because she is doing all the work and you stand by and say such unkind things."

Then on our way back, we visited the Koyuan Garden, in which we saw a profusion of flowers of all colours. Wang was very childish; she would now and then pick a flower for no reason, and Yun scolded her, saying, "What do you pick so many flowers for, since you are not going to put them in a vase or in your hair?” “Oh! what's the harm? These flowers don't feel anything." "All right," I said, "you will be punished for this one day by marrying a pock-marked bearded fellow for your husband to avenge the flowers." Wang looked at me in anger, threw the flowers to the ground and kicked them into the pond. "Why do you all bully me?" she said. However, Yun made it up with her, and she was finally pacified.