诺贝尔文学经典:《宠儿》第4章Part 3

"It's a tree, Lu. A chokecherry tree. See, here's the trunk — it's red and split wide open, full of sap,and this here's the parting for the branches. You got a mighty lot of branches. Leaves, too, looklike, and dern if these ain't blossoms. Tiny little cherry blossoms, just as white. Your back got awhole tree on it. In bloom. What God have in mind, I wonder. I had me some whippings, but Idon't remember nothing like this. Mr. Buddy had a right evil hand too. Whip you for looking athim straight. Sure would. I looked right at him one time and he hauled off and threw the poker atme. Guess he knew what I was a-thinking.'"
Sethe groaned and Amy cut her reverie short — long enough to shift Sethe's feet so the weight,resting on leaf-covered stones, was above the ankles.
"That better? Lord what a way to die. You gonna die in here, you know. Ain't no way out of it. Thank your Maker I come along so's you wouldn't have to die outside in them weeds. Snake comealong he bite you. Bear eat you up. Maybe you should of stayed where you was, Lu. I can see byyour back why you didn't ha ha. Whoever planted that tree beat Mr. Buddy by a mile. Glad I ain'tyou. Well, spiderwebs is 'bout all I can do for you. What's in here ain't enough. I'll look outside.
Could use moss, but sometimes bugs and things is in it. Maybe I ought to break them blossomsopen. Get that pus to running, you think? Wonder what God had in mind. You must of didsomething. Don't run off nowhere now."
Sethe could hear her humming away in the bushes as she hunted spiderwebs. A humming sheconcentrated on because as soon as Amy ducked out the baby began to stretch. Good question, shewas thinking. What did He have in mind? Amy had left the back of Sethe's dress open and now atail of wind hit it, taking the pain down a step. A relief that let her feel the lesser pain of her soretongue. Amy returned with two palmfuls of web, which she cleaned of prey and then draped onSethe's back, saying it was like stringing a tree for Christmas.

“是棵树，露。一棵苦樱桃树。看哪，这是树干———通红通红的，朝外翻开，尽是汁儿。从这儿分杈。你有好多好多的树枝。好像还有树叶，还有这些，要不是花才怪呢。小小的樱桃花，真白。你背上有一整棵树。正开花呢。我纳闷上帝是怎么想的。我也挨过鞭子，可从来没有过这种样子。巴迪先生的手也特别黑。你瞪他一眼就会挨鞭子。肯定会。我有一回瞪了他，他就大叫大嚷，还朝我扔火钳子。我猜大概他知道我在想什么。”
塞丝呻吟起来。爱弥暂时中断了想入非非，把塞丝的两只脚挪到铺满树叶的石头上，不让脚踝太吃劲。
“这样好一点吗？主啊，这么个死法。知道吗，你会死在这儿的。逃不掉了。感谢上帝吧，我打这儿路过了，所以你不用死在杂草丛里了。蛇路过会咬你。熊会吃了你。也许你该留在原来的地方，露。我从你的后背看出来你为什么不留在那儿，哈哈。甭管那棵树是谁种的，他都比巴迪先生狠上一百倍。幸亏我不是你。看来，我只能去给你弄点蜘蛛网来。这屋里的还不够。我得上外面找找去。
用青苔也行，只怕里头会有虫子什么的。也许我该掰开那些花，把脓挤出去，你觉得呢？真纳闷上帝当时是怎么想的。你肯定干了什么。现在哪儿也别逃了。”
塞丝听得见她在树丛里哼着歌儿找蜘蛛网。她用心聆听着哼唱声，因为爱弥一出去那婴儿就开始踢腾。问得好，她心想。上帝当时是怎么想的？爱弥让塞丝背上的裙衣敞着，一阵轻风拂过，痛楚减轻了一层。这点解脱让她感觉到了相对轻微一些的舌头上的疼痛。爱弥抓着两大把蜘蛛网回来了。她弄掉粘上的小虫子，把蜘蛛网敷在塞丝的背上，说这就像装饰圣诞树一样。