A TRIFLE FROM REAL LIFE 家長里短

原作契訶夫 Translated by Marian Fell 1915

NIKOLAI ILITCH BIELAYEFF was a young gentleman of St. Petersburg, aged thirty-two, rosy, well fed, and a patron of the race-tracks. Once, toward evening, he went to pay a call on Olga Ivanovna with whom, to use his own expression, he was dragging through a long and tedious love-affair. And the truth was that the first thrilling, inspiring pages of this romance had long since been read, and that the story was now dragging wearily on, presenting nothing that was either interesting or novel.

石克廉是位年輕的先生，三十二歲，衣食富足，氣色紅潤，開著一家賽馬場。有天晚上，他去一位楊玉蘭楊女士家串門，用他自己的話說，他和這位楊女士談的不是戀愛，完全是沒完沒了的折磨。其實他倆曾經(jīng)也挺恩愛，只是開頭那幾頁的澎湃早已翻過，現(xiàn)在只剩下了又臭又長的續(xù)集，讓人昏昏欲睡。

Not finding Olga at home, my hero threw himself upon a couch and prepared to await her return.

到家一看玉蘭不在，小石找了張沙發(fā)坐下，想等她回來。

“Good evening, Nikolai Ilitch!” he heard a child’s voice say. “Mamma will soon be home. She has gone to the dressmaker’s with Sonia.”

“石叔叔，晚上好！”他聽到一個稚嫩的聲音，“我媽媽馬上就回來。她陪蓉蓉買裙子去了?！?/p>

On the divan in the same room lay Aliosha, Olga’s son, a small boy of eight, immaculately and picturesquely dressed in a little velvet suit and long black stockings. He had been lying on a satin pillow, mimicking the antics of an acrobat he had seen at the circus. First he stretched up one pretty leg, then another; then, when they were tired, he brought his arms into play, and at last jumped up galvanically, throwing himself on all fours in an effort to stand on his head. He went through all these motions with the most serious face in the world, puffing like a martyr, as if he himself regretted that God had given him such a restless little body.

另一張長榻上躺著龍龍，玉蘭的小兒子，龍龍才八歲，穿著一身絲絨的小衣服，踩著黑色的長襪，收拾得干干凈凈、整整齊齊。他躺在緞子枕頭上，學(xué)人家耍雜技的扮著怪相。先是扳腿，扳累了又掄胳膊，然后又兔子似的蹦來蹦去，還四腳朝天地仰著，想用腦袋把自己支起來。玩歸玩，他臉上的表情可鄭重得很，氣喘得和小牛一樣，好像在怪罪老天給他安排了一個這么閑不住的小身子。

“Ah, good evening, my boy!” said Belayeff. “Is that you? I did not know you were here. Is mamma well?”

“晚上好啊，小寶貝！”小石說道，“是你嗎？我才看見你。你媽媽還好嗎？”

Aliosha seized the toe of his left shoe in his right hand, assumed the most unnatural position in the world, rolled over, jumped up, and peeped out at Bielayeff from under the heavy fringes of the lampshade.

龍龍拿右手抓住左腳，扭得跟麻花一樣，又滾了滾、跳了跳，從臺燈罩的一大圈流蘇底下瞅著石克廉。

“Not very,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “Mamma is never really well. She is a woman, you see, and women always have something the matter with them.”

“不好?！彼柫寺柤绨颍皨寢尷鲜浅钪?。她是個女人，女人老有不高興的事。”

From lack of anything better to do, Belayeff began scrutinizing Aliosha’s face. During all his acquaintance with Olga he had never bestowed any consideration upon the boy or noticed his existence at all. He had seen the child about, but what he was doing there Belayeff, somehow, had never cared to think.

閑著也是閑著，小石細(xì)細(xì)端詳起龍龍的模樣。認(rèn)識玉蘭這么久了，跟龍龍說話這還是頭一次呢，他都忘了還有這么個人。他倒不是沒見過這孩子，只是從來沒注意過。

Now, in the dusk of evening, Aliosha’s pale face and fixed, dark eyes unexpectedly reminded Belayeff of Olga as she had appeared in the first pages of their romance. He wanted to pet the boy.

這會兒正趕上傍晚，龍龍那張雪白的臉和那對一動不動的黑眼睛讓他想起了玉蘭，記起了那些激情澎湃的日子。他想抱抱這孩子。

“Come here, little monkey,” he said, “and let me look at you!”

“寶貝過來，”他說道，“讓叔叔看看你！”

The boy jumped down from the sofa and ran to Bielayeff.

孩子從沙發(fā)上蹦著就起來了，跑到了小石身邊。

“Well,” the latter began, laying his hand on the boy’s thin shoulder. “And how are you? Is everything all right with you?”

“真乖?！毙∈闹堼埖男〖绨?，開口道，“你多大了？在家里開心嗎？”

“No, not very. It used to be much better.”

“以前開心，現(xiàn)在不開心。”

“In what way?”

“為什么？”

“That’s easy to answer. Sonia and I used to learn only music and reading before, but now we have French verses, too. You have cut your beard!”

“蓉蓉和我以前只學(xué)唱歌和念書，現(xiàn)在還要學(xué)法國話。你剪胡子了！”

“Yes.”

“這你都看出來了?！?/p>

“So I noticed. It is shorter than it was. Please let me touch it — does that hurt?”

“嗯，叔叔你胡子比以前短了。我想摸摸——剪胡子疼嗎？”

“No, not a bit.”

“不疼，一點都不疼?！?/p>

“Why does it hurt if you pull one hair at a time, and not a bit if you pull lots? Ha! Ha! I’ll tell you something. You ought to wear whiskers! You could shave here on the sides, here, and here you could let the hair grow—”

“為什么拔一根頭發(fā)很疼，拔好多頭發(fā)就不疼呢？真奇怪！叔叔我跟你說，你應(yīng)該留一把大胡子！你下次把兩邊的胡子剪掉，然后把這里的頭發(fā)留長了——”

The boy nestled close to Belayeff and began to play with his watch-chain.

孩子窩在小石身旁，擺弄起他的表鏈。

“Mamma is going to give me a watch when I go to school, and I am going to ask her to give me a chain just like yours — Oh, what a lovely locket! Papa has a locket just like that; only yours has little stripes on it, and papa’s has letters. He has a portrait of mamma in his locket. Papa wears another watch-chain now made of ribbon.”

“媽媽說等我上學(xué)就給我買一塊表，到時候我也讓她給我買條一樣的——哇，這個小盒墜真好看！我爸爸也有個這樣的，不過他的寫著字，叔叔的畫著道道。他的墜子里還放著媽媽的相片。我爸爸現(xiàn)在不戴那條了，他現(xiàn)在那條是絲帶做的?！?/p>

“How do you know? Do you ever see your papa?”

“誰告訴你的？你見過你爸爸嗎？”

“I — n-no — I—”

“沒，沒有，我……”

Aliosha blushed deeply at being caught telling a fib and began to scratch the locket furiously with his nail. Belayeff looked searchingly into his face and repeated:

龍龍的臉漲得通紅，仿佛說假話被人抓住了一樣，他的指甲在表鏈上扣來扣去。小石緊盯著他，重復(fù)道：

“Do you ever see your papa?”

“你見過你爸爸嗎？”

“N — no !”

“沒，沒有！”

“Come, tell me honestly! I can see by your face that you are not telling the truth. It’s no use quibbling now that the cat is out of the bag. Tell me, do you see him? Now then, as between friends!”

Aliosha reflected.

“少來這套！別裝了，我都看出來了。說實話，你見過他嗎？你說，我不告訴別人！”

“You won’t tell mamma?” he asked.

“你保證不告訴我媽媽？”他問道。

“What an idea!”

“我告訴她干嘛！”

“Honour bright?”

“說話算話？”

“Honour bright!”

“說話算話！”

“Promise!”

“拉鉤！”

“Oh, you insufferable child! What do you take me for?”

“這孩子！你還說不說了？”

Aliosha glanced around, opened his eyes wide, and said:

龍龍四下打量了一圈，睜大了眼睛，開口道：

“For heaven’s sake don’t tell mamma! Don’t tell a soul, because it’s a secret. I don’t know what would happen to Sonia and Pelagia and me if mamma should find out. Now, listen. Sonia and I see papa every Thursday and every Friday. When Pelagia takes us out walking before dinner we go to Anfel’s confectionery and there we find papa already waiting for us. He is always sitting in the little private room with the marble table and the ash-tray that’s made like a goose without a back.”

“千萬別告訴她！這個秘密就咱們倆知道。要是讓媽媽知道，我、蓉蓉還有潘阿姨就要挨罵了。是這么回事，我和蓉蓉每個周四周五都去看我爸爸。每天晚飯之前潘阿姨帶我們出去溜達(dá)，我們一路跑到點心鋪去，爸爸就在那兒等我們。他老是待在同一個小房間里，里面有一張石頭桌子，還擺著一個煙灰缸，像個缺了后背的天鵝?！?/p>

“What do you do in there?”

“你們都干什么了？”

“We don’t do anything. First we say how do you do, and then papa orders coffee and pasties for us. Sonia likes pasties with meat, you know, but I can’t abide them with meat. I like mine with cabbage or eggs. We eat so much that we have a hard time eating our dinner afterward so that mamma won’t guess anything.”

“什么也沒干。我們先和他問好，然后爸爸就點了咖啡和餡餅給我們吃。蓉蓉喜歡吃肉餡的，我可不喜歡，我喜歡卷心菜雞蛋的。我們吃得特別多，等回到家還得使勁吃飯，這樣媽媽就不會發(fā)現(xiàn)了?！?/p>

“What do you talk about?”

“你們都說什么了？”

“With papa? Oh, about everything. He kisses us and hugs us and tells us the funniest jokes. Do you know what? He says that when we grow bigger he is going to take us to live with him. Sonia doesn’t want to go, but I wouldn’t mind. Of course it would be lonely without mamma, but I could write letters to her. Isn’t it funny, we might go and see her then on Sundays, mightn’t we? Papa says, too, he is going to buy me a pony. He is such a nice man! I don’t know why mamma doesn’t ask him to live with her and why she won’t let us see him. He loves mamma very much. He always asks how she is and what she has been doing. When she was ill he took hold of his head just like this — and ran about the room. He always asks us whether we are obedient and respectful to her. Tell me, is it true that we are unfortunate?”

“跟我爸爸嗎？什么都說。他親我們，摟著我們，還給我們講了好多好多笑話。叔叔你知道嗎？他說等我們長大了就把我們接走。蓉蓉不想走，我倒沒什么。我也舍不得離開媽媽，可我還可以給她寫信啊，我們周天還可以過來看她啊。爸爸還說要給我買一匹小馬。他真好！不知道媽媽為什么不要他，也不許我們?nèi)ヒ娝?。他很愛媽媽。他每次都問媽媽好不好，媽媽在家干什么。要是聽說媽媽病了，他就這樣低著頭——然后在屋子里走來走去。他經(jīng)常問我們在家乖不乖，聽不聽媽媽的話。叔叔，你說我們可憐嗎？”

“H’m — why do you ask?”

“這——問這個干什么？”

“Because papa says we are. He says we are unfortunate children, and that he is unfortunate, and that mamma is unfortunate. He tells us to pray to God for her and for ourselves.”

“爸爸說我們很可憐。他說不光我們可憐，他也可憐，媽媽也可憐。他告訴我們?yōu)榱藡寢尯臀覀冏约阂煤寐犜?。?/p>

Aliosha fixed his eyes on the figure of a stuffed bird, and became lost in thought.

龍龍的目光匯聚到一只小鳥標(biāo)本上，陷入了沉思。

“Well, I declare—” muttered Belayeff. “So, that’s what you do, you hold meetings at a confectioner’s? And your mamma doesn’t know it?”

“我明白了……”小石自言自語道，“這么說你們一直在點心鋪偷偷和他見面？你媽媽還一直不知道？”

“N-no. How could she? Pelagia wouldn’t tell her for the world. Day before yesterday papa gave us pears. They were as sweet as sugar. I ate two!”

“當(dāng)然了。潘阿姨不會告訴她的。前天爸爸還給我們吃梨，梨可甜了，我吃了兩個！”

“H’m. But — listen to me, does papa ever say anything about me?”

“嗯。那個——你爸爸，你爸爸提沒提過我？”

“About you? What shall I say?” Aliosha looked searchingly into Belayeff’s face and shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing special,” he answered.

“提你？叔叔你問這個干嘛？”龍龍不解地望著石克廉，聳了聳肩，答道，“他沒說什么。”

“Well, what does he say, for instance?”

“你少來，他都說什么了？”

“You won’t be angry if I tell you?”

“我說了你不會生氣吧？”

“What an idea! Does he abuse me?”

“我不生氣！他是不是罵我了？”

“No, he doesn’t abuse you, but, you know, he is angry with you. He says that it is your fault that mamma is unhappy, and that you have ruined mamma. He is such a funny man! I tell him that you are kind and that you never scold mamma, but he only shakes his head.”

“沒有，他沒罵你，可，可是他挺生你的氣的。他說媽媽不開心都是因為叔叔，說叔叔害了媽媽。他說的不對！我告訴他你對媽媽可好了，從來沒罵過她，但他只是搖了搖頭?！?/p>

“So he says I have ruined her?”

“他說我害了她？”

“Yes — don’t be angry, Nikolai Ilitch !”

“是啊——別生氣，石叔叔！”

Belayeff rose and began pacing up and down the room.

石克廉站起身，在房間里來回踱步。

“How strange this is — and how ridiculous!” he muttered shrugging his shoulders and smiling sarcastically. “It is all his fault and yet he says I have ruined her! What an innocent baby this is! And so he told you I had ruined your mother?”

“豈有此理——虧他說得出來！”他扭著肩膀，譏諷地嘲笑著，“他還有臉說我害了她！這傻孩子！他告訴你我害了你媽媽？”

“Yes, but — you promised not to be angry!”

“是啊，叔叔你——你說好不生氣的！”

“I’m not angry and — and it is none of your business anyway. Yes, this is — this is really ridiculous! Here I have been caught like a mouse in a trap, and now it seems it is all my fault!”

“不用你管。我不生氣，我不生氣。好，好，有他的，真有他的。我叫他抓了個現(xiàn)行，在他跟前丟了那么大的臉，他還敢給我潑臟水！”

The door-bell rang. The boy tore himself from Belayeff’s arms and ran out of the room. A moment later a lady entered with a little girl. It was Aliosha’s mother, Olga Ivanovna. Aliosha skipped into the room behind her, singing loudly and clapping his hands. Belayeff nodded and continued to walk up and down.

門鈴響了。孩子掙脫出小石的懷抱，跑出了房間。一眨眼的工夫，一位太太帶著一個小姑娘走了進(jìn)來。是龍龍的媽媽，楊玉蘭。龍龍跟在她身后蹦蹦跳跳地進(jìn)了屋，一邊唱著歌一邊拍著手。石克廉點頭打了個招呼，接著來回溜達(dá)。

“Of course!” he muttered. “Whom should he blame but me? He has right on his side! He is the injured husband.”

“媽的！”他自語道，“我拿他有什么辦法？他占著理呢！畢竟這帽子戴在他頭上。”

“What is that you are saying?” asked Olga Ivanovna.

“說什么呢？”楊玉蘭問道。

“What am I saying? Just listen to what your young hopeful here has been preaching. It appears that I am a wicked scoundrel and that I have ruined you and your children. You are all unhappy, and I alone am frightfully happy. Frightfully, frightfully happy!”

“問你兒子去！你聽聽這小子的話，我都成流氓了，你們這一家子合著都叫我給害了。你不是不高興嗎，我可高興極了。我高興，我太高興了！”

“I don’t understand you, Nikolai. What is the matter?”

“你什么意思，克廉？怎么了？”

“Just listen to what this young gentleman here has to say!” cried Belayeff pointing to Aliosha.

“你自己問！”石克廉沖龍龍怒吼道。

Aliosha flushed and then grew suddenly pale and his face became distorted with fear.

龍龍的臉霎時從通紅變得煞白，整個人都嚇呆了。

“Nikolai Ilitch!” he whispered loudly. “Hush!” Olga Ivanovna looked at Aliosha in surprise, and then at Belayeff, and then back again at Aliosha.

“石叔叔！”龍龍也顧不得說悄悄話了，“噓！”楊玉蘭吃驚地看著龍龍，又看了看石克廉，又看回了龍龍。

“Ask him!” Belayeff continued. “That idiot of yours, Pelagia, takes them to a confectioner’s and arranges meetings there between them and their papa. But that isn’t the point. The point is that papa is the victim, and that I am an abandoned scoundrel who has wrecked the lives of both of you!”

“你問去！”石克廉繼續(xù)道，“你那個什么潘嬸偷偷帶著他們?nèi)ヒ娝麄儼职帧＿@倒不算什么。他竟然還有臉哭慘，說都是我這個下三濫把你們倆給害苦了！”

“Nikolai Ilitch!” groaned Aliosha. “You gave me your word of honour!”

“石叔叔！”龍龍乞求道，“你都說好了！”

“Leave me alone!” Belayeff motioned to him impatiently. “This is more important than words of honour. This hypocrisy, these lies are intolerable!”

“誰跟你說好了！”石克廉大吼道，“小孩丫丫知道什么。告訴你，輪不到他來裝好人，往我腦袋上扣屎盆子！”

“I don’t understand!” cried Olga Ivanovna, the tears glistening in her eyes. “Listen, Aliosha,” she asked, turning to her son. “Do you really see your father?”

“你著什么急??！”楊玉蘭眼里閃爍著淚光，“龍龍，你告訴我，”她問道，“你真去見你爸爸了嗎？”

But Aliosha did not hear her, his eyes were fixed with horror on Belayeff.

可龍龍并沒有聽見她的話，他恐懼的目光完全凝聚在石克廉身上。

“It cannot be possible!” his mother exclaimed, “I must go and ask Pelagia.”

“不可能！”楊玉蘭尖叫道，“我得去問問潘嬸?！?/p>

Olga Ivanovna left the room.

楊玉蘭奪門而出。

“But Nikolai Ilitch, you gave me your word of honour!” cried Aliosha trembling all over.

“石叔叔，咱們都拉鉤了！”龍龍哆嗦著哭泣道。

Belayeff made an impatient gesture and went on pacing the floor. He was absorbed in thoughts of the wrong that had been done him, and, as before, was unconscious of the boy’s presence: a serious, grown-up person like him could not be bothered with little boys. But Aliosha crept into a corner and told Sonia with horror how he had been deceived. He trembled and hiccoughed and cried. This was the first time in his life that he had come roughly face to face with deceit; he had never imagined till now that there were things in this world besides pasties and watches and sweet pears, things for which no name could be found in the vocabulary of childhood.

石克廉不屑地一擺手，繼續(xù)徘徊著。他腦子里裝滿了自己的冤屈，把龍龍完全忘在了九霄云外：大人哪有搭理小毛孩的工夫。龍龍爬到墻角，惶恐地告訴蓉蓉自己被騙了。他打著哆嗦，哭得一抽一抽的。這個孩子平生第一次遭到了欺騙的摧殘。他從未想過原來這世上除了餡餅、手表和甜梨之外還有別的東西，原來童年的字典里也有查不到的詞匯。