诺贝尔文学经典:《宠儿》第3章Part 4

"I never saw you in no earrings," said Denver. "Where are they now?"
"Gone," said Sethe. "Long gone," and she wouldn't say another word. Until the next time when allthree of them ran through the wind back into the house with rainsoaked sheets and petticoats. Panting, laughing, they draped the laundry over the chairs and table. Beloved filled herself withwater from the bucket and watched while Sethe rubbed Denver's hair with a piece of toweling.
"Maybe we should unbraid it?" asked Sethe.
"Oh uh. Tomorrow." Denver crouched forward at the thought of a fine-tooth comb pulling her hair.
"Today is always here," said Sethe. "Tomorrow, never."
"It hurts," Denver said.
"Comb it every day, it won't."
"Ouch."
"Your woman she never fix up your hair?" Beloved asked.
Sethe and Denver looked up at her. After four weeks they still had not got used to the gravellyvoice and the song that seemed to lie in it. Just outside music it lay, with a cadence not like theirs.

"我从来没见你戴过耳环，"丹芙说，"它们现在在哪儿呢？"
"没了，"塞丝说。"早没了。"然后她不再说一个字。再开口要等到下一回，当她们三个抱着淋透的床单和衬裙、顶着大风跑回家时。她们喘着，笑着，把浆洗的衣物搭在桌椅上。宠儿用桶里的水把自己灌了个饱，看塞丝用一块浴巾擦干丹芙的头发。
"我们是不是该把辫子解开？"塞丝问道。
"呃呃。明天吧。"丹芙想到一把篦子揪着她的头发，就蜷起身子。
"今天的事今天完，"塞丝说，"明天，那可不行。"
"疼。"丹芙说。
"天天梳就不疼了。"
"哎哟。"
"你的女人她从来不给你梳头吗？"宠儿问。
塞丝和丹芙抬头看着她。四个星期过去了，她们仍然没有习惯那低沉的嗓音，以及似乎是躺在里面的歌声。它就躺在音乐之外，调子与她们的不同。