Plurk paste

The Shadow
by Hans Christian Andersen (1847)

(1)

IN very hot climates, where the heat of the sun has great power, people are usually as brown as mahogany; and in the hottest countries they are negroes, with black skins. A learned man once travelled into one of these warm climates, from the cold regions of the north, and thought he would roam about as he did at home; but he soon had to change his opinion. He found that, like all sensible people, he must remain in the house during the whole day, with every window and door closed, so that it looked as if all in the house were asleep or absent. The houses of the narrow street in which he lived were so lofty that the sun shone upon them from morning till evening, and it became quite unbearable. This learned man from the cold regions was young as well as clever; but it seemed to him as if he were sitting in an oven, and he became quite exhausted and weak, and grew so thin that his shadow shrivelled up, and became much smaller than it had been at home.

The sun took away even what was left of it, and he saw nothing of it till the evening, after sunset. It was really a pleasure, as soon as the lights were brought into the room, to see the shadow stretch itself against the wall, even to the ceiling, so tall was it; and it really wanted a good stretch to recover its strength. The learned man would sometimes go out into the balcony to stretch himself also; and as soon as the stars came forth in the clear, beautiful sky, he felt revived. People at this hour began to make their appearance in all the balconies in the street; for in warm climates every window has a balcony, in which they can breathe the fresh evening air, which is very necessary, even to those who are used to a heat that makes them as brown as mahogany; so that the street presented a very lively appearance. Here were shoemakers, and tailors, and all sorts of people sitting.

In the street beneath, they brought out tables and chairs, lighted candles by hundreds, talked and sang, and were very merry. There were people walking, carriages driving, and mules trotting along, with their bells on the harness, “tingle, tingle,” as they went. Then the dead were carried to the grave with the sound of solemn music, and the tolling of the church bells. It was indeed a scene of varied life in the street.

One house only, which was just opposite to the one in which the foreign learned man lived, formed a contrast to all this, for it was quite still; and yet somebody dwelt there, for flowers stood in the balcony, blooming beautifully in the hot sun; and this could not have been unless they had been watered carefully. Therefore some one must be in the house to do this. The doors leading to the balcony were half opened in the evening; and although in the front room all was dark, music could be heard from the interior of the house. The foreign learned man considered this music very delightful; but perhaps he fancied it; for everything in these warm countries pleased him, excepting the heat of the sun. The foreign landlord said he did not know who had taken the opposite house—nobody was to be seen there; and as to the music, he thought it seemed very tedious, to him most uncommonly so. “It is just as if some one was practicing a piece that he could not manage; it is always the same piece. He thinks, I suppose, that he will be able to manage it at last; but I do not think so, however long he may play it.”


(2)
Once the foreigner woke in the night. He slept with the door open which led to the balcony; the wind had raised the curtain before it, and there appeared a wonderful brightness over all in the balcony of the opposite house. The flowers seemed like flames of the most gorgeous colors, and among the flowers stood a beautiful slender maiden. It was to him as if light streamed from her, and dazzled his eyes; but then he had only just opened them, as he awoke from his sleep. With one spring he was out of bed, and crept softly behind the curtain. But she was gone—the brightness had disappeared; the flowers no longer appeared like flames, although still as beautiful as ever. The door stood ajar, and from an inner room sounded music so sweet and so lovely, that it produced the most enchanting thoughts, and acted on the senses with magic power.





影子
漢斯‧克里斯蒂安‧安徒生著〈1847〉

〈一〉

　　炎熱氣候區的驕陽炙烤，人們經常曬成深沉的赤褐色；而某些極熱國家的黑皮膚民族，則被稱作**黑鬼。有位來自寒冷北邊的學者，到這溫暖氣候帶的國家之一旅行，原先認為會像在家鄉時一樣怡然自得，但他很快改變了想法。學者發覺必須整天待在屋子並且緊閉每扇門窗，如同那些聰明且實際的人們一樣。也因此屋子從外頭看起來，屋主不是已經入睡就是人不在家。他所居住的狹窄街道裡，這排房屋過於高聳巍峨，導致朝夕都被日照曝曬，這點讓人越來越無法忍受。北方來的學者年輕聰穎，但待在此地彷彿坐在爐子前，他看起來似乎虛弱又焦慮，還變得非常削瘦，連他的影子也萎縮得比以前在家鄉時還小。

註：原文是negroes，對黑人的蔑稱。

　　太陽狠狠帶走了一切，即使還殘留在那裡，他卻看不見任何一點影子。直到傍晚日落之後，才真正變得令人感到愉快。房間內馬上充滿了燈光，影子能夠在牆上伸展，甚至延到天花板上，變得高大起來，而它似乎也因為獲得良好伸展而回復了力量。學者有時候也會到陽台邊去放鬆。當繁星在潔淨美麗的夜空閃爍時，他覺得活了過來。人們此時紛紛出現在陽台或街道上。在溫暖氣候地區，每扇窗外都有可以呼吸傍晚清新空氣的露台，儘管大家被曝曬得跟桃花心木一樣黑，街道卻依然呈現出生動的景象，這裡有鞋匠、裁縫師以及形形色色的人們。

　　陽台下方的街道上，他們搬出桌椅並點亮無數支蠟燭，談天、唱歌無不歡暢。人們散步著、馬車行進著，領著騾子走路時，馬具上的鈴鐺叮噹響著，還有遠在墓園伴隨著莊嚴音樂及教堂鐘聲即將下葬的離世者。街道上呈現出一幕多采多姿的生活情境。

　　在異鄉學者住處對面，獨有一幢與之形成對比的房子，十分寂靜似乎沒有人煙，然而陽台上的花卉在烈陽下豔麗綻放，除非有人小心翼翼照料，否則不可能會如此漂亮，所以此幢房屋必定有人居住。通往陽台的門扉在傍晚時分半開啟著，雖然前廳一片黑暗，卻能聽見從那裡傳出音樂。這位異國學者享受著音樂，也或許音樂存在於他的幻想，不管怎樣在這溫暖的國度裡，所有的一切都令他喜悅──除了那炙熱的太陽之外。外國房東表示他也不知道對面住了誰──或許根本沒有人在那裡，至於音樂嘛，對他來說很乏味也沒什麼特別。「這就好比某人一直在重複練習某個段落，卻一直彈不好，那人覺得自己終究會練成，但無論他練了多久，我可不這麼認為。」










＊＊＊下篇待續＊＊＊
19號 renew中文，加翻兩句。
因為這次翻了快六百字，等於明天的作業也交了〈艸〉，我19號決定休息下〈喂