床罩

Upon waking next morning about daylight, I found Queequeg’s arm thrown over me in the most loving and affectionate manner.

第二天天剛亮我醒來時，發現魁魁格的手臂正以最深情款款的姿態摟在我身上。

You had almost thought I had been his wife.

你幾乎要以為我是他的妻子了。

The counterpane was of patchwork, full of odd little parti-coloured squares and triangles; and this arm of his tattooed all over with an interminable Cretan labyrinth of a figure, no two parts of which were of one precise shade—owing I suppose to his keeping his arm at sea unmethodically in sun and shade, his shirt sleeves irregularly rolled up at various times—this same arm of his, I say, looked for all the world like a strip of that same patchwork quilt.

那床罩是拼布做的，滿是古怪的小塊雜色方格與三角形；而他這條手臂上刺滿了一個沒完沒了、像克里特迷宮般的圖紋，沒有哪兩處的色調是一模一樣的——我想這是因為他在海上把手臂沒個準地時而曬太陽、時而藏陰影，襯衫袖子又在不同時候隨意捲起的緣故——我是說，他這同一條手臂，看上去活脫脫就像那床拼布被的一塊布條。

Indeed, partly lying on it as the arm did when I first awoke, I could hardly tell it from the quilt, they so blended their hues together; and it was only by the sense of weight and pressure that I could tell that Queequeg was hugging me.

的確，我剛醒時那手臂有一部分正壓在被子上，我幾乎分不清它和被子，兩者的色調融成了一片；我只能憑那份重量與壓迫感，才曉得魁魁格正摟著我。

My sensations were strange. Let me try to explain them.

我的感覺很奇怪。容我試著解釋一下。

When I was a child, I well remember a somewhat similar circumstance that befell me; whether it was a reality or a dream, I never could entirely settle.

我清楚記得，小時候曾遇上一件多少有點類似的事；那究竟是真實還是夢，我始終沒法完全弄明白。

The circumstance was this.

事情是這樣的。

I had been cutting up some caper or other—I think it was trying to crawl up the chimney, as I had seen a little sweep do a few days previous; and my stepmother who, somehow or other, was all the time whipping me, or sending me to bed supperless,—my mother dragged me by the legs out of the chimney and packed me off to bed, though it was only two o’clock in the afternoon of the 21st June, the longest day in the year in our hemisphere.

我當時正在搗什麼蛋——我想是想爬煙囪，因為幾天前我看過一個掃煙囪的小童那麼做；而我那後母——不知怎地，她老是抽我、或罰我不吃晚飯就上床——把我從煙囪裡拽著腿拖出來，趕我去睡覺，儘管那才是六月二十一日下午兩點，是我們這半球一年中白晝最長的一天。

I felt dreadfully.

我難受極了。

But there was no help for it, so up stairs I went to my little room in the third floor, undressed myself as slowly as possible so as to kill time, and with a bitter sigh got between the sheets.

但這也沒法子，於是我上樓回到三樓我那小房間，盡可能慢吞吞地脫衣服好打發時間，然後苦苦嘆了口氣，鑽進被窩。

I lay there dismally calculating that sixteen entire hours must elapse before I could hope for a resurrection.

我躺在那兒，淒慘地盤算著：得整整熬過十六個鐘頭，我才能盼到「復活」。

Sixteen hours in bed! the small of my back ached to think of it.

在床上躺十六個鐘頭！一想到就教我的後腰發痠。

And it was so light too; the sun shining in at the window, and a great rattling of coaches in the streets, and the sound of gay voices all over the house.

而且天又那麼亮；陽光從窗子照進來，街上馬車轔轔作響，整幢屋子裡都是歡快的人聲。

I felt worse and worse—at last I got up, dressed, and softly going down in my stockinged feet, sought out my stepmother, and suddenly threw myself at her feet, beseeching her as a particular favour to give me a good slippering for my misbehaviour; anything indeed but condemning me to lie abed such an unendurable length of time.

我越來越難受——最後我爬起來穿好衣服，只穿著襪子輕手輕腳下了樓，找到後母，猛地撲倒在她腳邊，懇求她開個恩，為我的頑皮狠狠拿拖鞋抽我一頓；只要別罰我這麼難熬地在床上躺那麼久，怎樣都行。

But she was the best and most conscientious of stepmothers, and back I had to go to my room.

但她是天底下最好、最盡責的後母，於是我只好乖乖回房去。

For several hours I lay there broad awake, feeling a great deal worse than I have ever done since, even from the greatest subsequent misfortunes.

有好幾個鐘頭，我清醒地躺在那兒，那感覺比我此後經歷過的任何最大的不幸都還要難受得多。

At last I must have fallen into a troubled nightmare of a doze; and slowly waking from it—half steeped in dreams—I opened my eyes, and the before sun-lit room was now wrapped in outer darkness.

最後我必定是迷迷糊糊墜入了一場不安的惡夢般的瞌睡；待我慢慢甦醒——半浸在夢裡——睜開眼，原先灑滿陽光的房間，這會兒已被外頭的黑暗整個裹住了。

Instantly I felt a shock running through all my frame; nothing was to be seen, and nothing was to be heard; but a supernatural hand seemed placed in mine.

霎時一陣震顫貫穿我全身；什麼也看不見，什麼也聽不到；但彷彿有一隻超自然的手被放進了我的手裡。

My arm hung over the counterpane, and the nameless, unimaginable, silent form or phantom, to which the hand belonged, seemed closely seated by my bed-side.

我的手臂垂在床罩外，而那隻手所屬的、那叫不出名字、無法想像、寂靜無聲的形體或幽靈，彷彿正緊挨著我的床邊坐著。

For what seemed ages piled on ages, I lay there, frozen with the most awful fears, not daring to drag away my hand; yet ever thinking that if I could but stir it one single inch, the horrid spell would be broken.

在彷彿一個個世代層層堆疊的漫長時間裡，我僵在那兒，被最可怕的恐懼凍住，不敢把手抽開；卻又始終想著：只要我能把它哪怕挪動一英寸，那駭人的魔咒就會破除。

I knew not how this consciousness at last glided away from me; but waking in the morning, I shudderingly remembered it all, and for days and weeks and months afterwards I lost myself in confounding attempts to explain the mystery.

我不知道這份知覺最後是怎麼從我身上悄悄溜走的；但早晨醒來時，我打著哆嗦把這一切都記了起來，此後一連好幾天、好幾週、好幾個月，我都困在一次次徒勞的嘗試裡，想解開這個謎。

Nay, to this very hour, I often puzzle myself with it.

不，直到此時此刻，我還常常為它困惑不已。

Now, take away the awful fear, and my sensations at feeling the supernatural hand in mine were very similar, in their strangeness, to those which I experienced on waking up and seeing Queequeg’s pagan arm thrown round me.

如今，把那可怕的恐懼抽掉，我當年感到那隻超自然之手握在我手裡的感覺，其怪異之處，與我醒來見魁魁格那條異教徒手臂摟在我身上的感覺，竟十分相像。

But at length all the past night’s events soberly recurred, one by one, in fixed reality, and then I lay only alive to the comical predicament.

但昨夜種種終於一件件清醒地浮現，成了確鑿的現實，這才使我躺在那兒只意識到眼前這滑稽的困境。

For though I tried to move his arm—unlock his bridegroom clasp—yet, sleeping as he was, he still hugged me tightly, as though naught but death should part us twain.

因為儘管我想挪開他的手臂——解開他那「新郎般的擁抱」——他卻睡得正熟，仍把我緊緊摟著，彷彿除了死，誰也拆不開我倆。

I now strove to rouse him—“Queequeg!”—but his only answer was a snore.

我這會兒使勁要把他弄醒——「魁魁格！」——可他唯一的回應是一聲鼾。

I then rolled over, my neck feeling as if it were in a horse-collar; and suddenly felt a slight scratch.

於是我翻過身，脖子像套進了一個馬軛裡；忽然覺得被輕輕劃了一下。

Throwing aside the counterpane, there lay the tomahawk sleeping by the savage’s side, as if it were a hatchet-faced baby.

掀開床罩，只見那把戰斧正睡在這野人身旁，活像個「斧頭臉」的嬰兒。

A pretty pickle, truly, thought I; abed here in a strange house in the broad day, with a cannibal and a tomahawk!

真是進退兩難啊，我心想；大白天躺在一幢陌生屋子的床上，身邊還有個食人族和一把戰斧！

“Queequeg!—in the name of goodness, Queequeg, wake!”

「魁魁格！——看在老天份上，魁魁格，醒醒！」

At length, by dint of much wriggling, and loud and incessant expostulations upon the unbecomingness of his hugging a fellow male in that matrimonial sort of style, I succeeded in extracting a grunt; and presently, he drew back his arm, shook himself all over like a Newfoundland dog just from the water, and sat up in bed, stiff as a pike-staff, looking at me, and rubbing his eyes as if he did not altogether remember how I came to be there, though a dim consciousness of knowing something about me seemed slowly dawning over him.

最後，靠著一陣猛扭，外加不停大聲規勸他「這樣婚姻般地摟著一個同性男子實在不成體統」，我總算逼出他一聲哼；不一會兒，他縮回手臂，像隻剛從水裡上來的紐芬蘭犬那樣渾身一抖，便在床上坐起，挺得像根戟桿，望著我，揉著眼睛，彷彿不大記得我怎麼會在這兒，雖然一絲「依稀認得我」的意識似乎正慢慢在他心頭甦醒。

Meanwhile, I lay quietly eyeing him, having no serious misgivings now, and bent upon narrowly observing so curious a creature.

這期間，我靜靜躺著打量他，這會兒已沒什麼大顧慮，一心要細細觀察這麼一個稀奇的傢伙。

When, at last, his mind seemed made up touching the character of his bedfellow, and he became, as it were, reconciled to the fact; he jumped out upon the floor, and by certain signs and sounds gave me to understand that, if it pleased me, he would dress first and then leave me to dress afterwards, leaving the whole apartment to myself.

最後，他似乎拿定了主意、認清了同床者的身分，並且彷彿就此釋懷；他一躍下床，用某些手勢和聲響讓我明白：若我願意，他可以先更衣，然後讓我隨後再穿，把整個房間留給我一個人。

Thinks I, Queequeg, under the circumstances, this is a very civilized overture; but, the truth is, these savages have an innate sense of delicacy, say what you will; it is marvellous how essentially polite they are.

我心想，魁魁格啊，在這種情況下，這可是個很文明的提議；可說實在的，這些「野人」天生就有一種體貼分寸，隨你怎麼說都好；他們骨子裡有多麼有禮，著實令人驚嘆。

I pay this particular compliment to Queequeg, because he treated me with so much civility and consideration, while I was guilty of great rudeness; staring at him from the bed, and watching all his toilette motions; for the time my curiosity getting the better of my breeding.

我特地這樣讚許魁魁格，是因為他待我如此周到客氣，而我卻犯了大不敬之罪：躺在床上盯著他瞧，看著他梳洗打扮的一舉一動；那一陣子，我的好奇心壓過了我的教養。

Nevertheless, a man like Queequeg you don’t see every day, he and his ways were well worth unusual regarding.

不過話說回來，像魁魁格這樣的人可不是天天見得著的，他這個人和他那套做派，著實值得格外端詳一番。

He commenced dressing at top by donning his beaver hat, a very tall one, by the by, and then—still minus his trowsers—he hunted up his boots.

他更衣是從頭頂開始的——先戴上他那頂海狸皮帽（順帶一提，帽子高得很），然後——褲子都還沒穿——就去找他的靴子。

What under the heavens he did it for, I cannot tell, but his next movement was to crush himself—boots in hand, and hat on—under the bed; when, from sundry violent gaspings and strainings, I inferred he was hard at work booting himself; though by no law of propriety that I ever heard of, is any man required to be private when putting on his boots.

他究竟為何這麼做，我說不上來，但他下一個動作是——手裡拎著靴、頭上戴著帽——硬把自己塞到床底下去；從那一陣陣猛烈的喘氣與使勁聲，我推斷他正費勁地在穿靴子；雖然我從沒聽過哪條禮節規矩，要求一個人穿靴子時非得避人不可。

But Queequeg, do you see, was a creature in the transition stage—neither caterpillar nor butterfly.

但魁魁格嘛，你瞧，是個處在過渡階段的生物——既不是毛蟲，也還不是蝴蝶。

He was just enough civilized to show off his outlandishness in the strangest possible manners.

他開化的程度，恰好足以用最古怪的方式把他那股異域味兒顯擺出來。

His education was not yet completed. He was an undergraduate.

他的「教育」還沒修完。他是個大學部還沒畢業的肄業生。

If he had not been a small degree civilized, he very probably would not have troubled himself with boots at all; but then, if he had not been still a savage, he never would have dreamt of getting under the bed to put them on.

他若不是稍稍開化了一點，大概根本懶得去管什麼靴子；可話說回來，他若不是還是個野人，又絕不會想到要鑽到床底下去穿靴。

At last, he emerged with his hat very much dented and crushed down over his eyes, and began creaking and limping about the room, as if, not being much accustomed to boots, his pair of damp, wrinkled cowhide ones—probably not made to order either—rather pinched and tormented him at the first go off of a bitter cold morning.

最後，他鑽了出來，帽子被擠得凹陷不堪、壓到了眼睛上，便開始在屋裡咯吱咯吱、一瘸一拐地走動，彷彿因不大習慣穿靴，他那雙又潮又皺的牛皮靴——多半也不是訂做的——在這冰寒清晨剛上腳時，把他夾得、磨得夠嗆。

Seeing, now, that there were no curtains to the window, and that the street being very narrow, the house opposite commanded a plain view into the room, and observing more and more the indecorous figure that Queequeg made, staving about with little else but his hat and boots on; I begged him as well as I could, to accelerate his toilet somewhat, and particularly to get into his pantaloons as soon as possible.

這會兒我見窗上沒掛簾子，街又很窄，對面那屋子把房裡看得一清二楚，又越看越覺得魁魁格那副只戴著帽、穿著靴、別的幾乎沒穿便晃來晃去的模樣實在不成體統；於是我盡量好言央求他，把梳洗的速度加快些，尤其請他盡快把長褲穿上。

He complied, and then proceeded to wash himself.

他照辦了，接著便去洗漱。

At that time in the morning any Christian would have washed his face; but Queequeg, to my amazement, contented himself with restricting his ablutions to his chest, arms, and hands.

在清晨那個時辰，任何基督徒都會洗一洗臉；可魁魁格呢，叫我吃驚的是，他洗來洗去只滿足於洗洗胸膛、手臂和雙手。

He then donned his waistcoat, and taking up a piece of hard soap on the wash-stand centre table, dipped it into water and commenced lathering his face.

然後他穿上背心，從洗臉架兼中央桌上拿起一塊硬肥皂，往水裡一蘸，便往臉上抹起泡沫來。

I was watching to see where he kept his razor, when lo and behold, he takes the harpoon from the bed corner, slips out the long wooden stock, unsheathes the head, whets it a little on his boot, and striding up to the bit of mirror against the wall, begins a vigorous scraping, or rather harpooning of his cheeks.

我正瞧著看他把刮鬍刀擱在哪兒，不料——你瞧瞧——他竟從床角拿起那支魚叉，抽出長長的木柄，褪去叉頭的護套，在靴子上略略蹭利，便大步走到牆上那塊小鏡子前，開始猛刮起——不，該說是猛「叉」起——他的兩頰來。

Thinks I, Queequeg, this is using Rogers’s best cutlery with a vengeance.

我心想，魁魁格啊，這可真是把羅傑斯名牌刀具用到極致了。

Afterwards I wondered the less at this operation when I came to know of what fine steel the head of a harpoon is made, and how exceedingly sharp the long straight edges are always kept.

後來等我知道了魚叉頭是用何等上好的鋼打造、那長而筆直的刃口又總是磨得多麼鋒利，便不再那麼為這套刮鬍法稱奇了。

The rest of his toilet was soon achieved, and he proudly marched out of the room, wrapped up in his great pilot monkey jacket, and sporting his harpoon like a marshal’s baton.

他剩下的梳洗很快就完成了，於是他裹著那件厚厚的領航員短外套，神氣活現地舉著魚叉、像揮著元帥權杖一般，昂首走出了房間。