诺贝尔文学经典:《宠儿》第2章Part 10

And, for some reason she could not immediately account for, the moment she got close enough tosee the face, Sethe's bladder filled to capacity. She said, "Oh, excuse me," and ran around to theback of 124. Not since she was a baby girl, being cared for by the eight year-old girl who pointedout her mother to her, had she had an emergency that unmanageable. She never made the outhouse. Right in front of its door she had to lift her skirts, and the water she voided was endless. Like ahorse, she thought, but as it went on and on she thought, No, more like flooding the boat whenDenver was born.
So much water Amy said, "Hold on, Lu. You going to sink us you keep that up."But there was no stopping water breaking from a breaking womb and there was no stopping now.
She hoped Paul D wouldn't take it upon himself to come looking for her and be obliged to see hersquatting in front of her own privy making a mudhole too deep to be witnessed without shame. Just about the time she started wondering if the carnival would accept another freak, it tidied herself and ran around to the porch.
No one was there. All three were insidePaul D andDenver standing before the stranger, watching her drink cup after cup of water.
"She said she was thirsty," said Paul D. He took off his cap.
"Mighty thirsty look like."
The woman gulped water from a speckled tin cup and held it out for more. Four times Denverfilled it, and four times the woman drank as though she had crossed a desert. When she wasfinished a little water was on her chin, but she did not wipe it away. Instead she gazed at Sethewith sleepy eyes. Poorly fed, thought Sethe, and younger than her clothes suggested — good laceat the throat, and a rich woman's hat. Her skin was flawless except for three vertical scratches onher forehead so fine and thin they seemed at first like hair, baby hair before it bloomed and ropedinto the masses of black yarn under her hat.
"You from around here?" Sethe asked her.

这时，由于某种一时说不清的缘由，塞丝刚刚走近得能看到那张脸，膀胱就涨满了。她说了句，“噢，请原谅”，便小跑着绕到124号的后面。自打她还是个小女孩、由那个指出她母亲的八岁女孩照看的时候起，她还从来没出过这么难以控制的紧急事故。她没有能够赶到厕所，只好在厕所门前就撩起裙子，没完没了地尿了起来。跟匹马似的，她心想，可是尿着尿着她又想，不对，更像生丹芙时在那只小船上的羊水泛滥。
那么多水，急得爱弥说道：“憋住，露。你要是没完没了，我们会沉船的。”可是从一个开了口的子宫里涌出的羊水不可能止住，现在的尿也不可能止住。
她希望保罗?D不会那么体贴地来找她，以免让他看见她蹲在自己家的厕所门前，滋出一个深得让人不好意思看的泥坑。她正纳闷狂欢节能否添上一个新怪物呢，停了。她整好衣服跑回门廊。
人不见了。三个人都进了屋———保罗?D和丹芙站在那个陌生人面前，看着她一杯接一杯地喝水。
“她说她渴了，”保罗?D说。他摘下帽子。
“看来是真渴了。”
那个女人端着一只带斑纹的锡杯大口吞水，吞完了就递过来再要。丹芙一共给她满了四回，这个女人也一饮而尽了四回，仿佛刚刚穿过了沙漠。她喝完之后下巴上沾了点水，但她没有抹去，而是用惺忪的眼睛盯着塞丝。喂养得很糟，塞丝想，而且比衣着显得更年轻———脖子上的花边挺不错，还戴了顶贵妇人的帽子。她的皮肤上没什么瑕疵，只在脑门上有三竖道精致而纤细的划痕，乍看上去就像头发，婴儿的头发，还没有长浓，没有搓成她帽子底下大团的黑毛线。
“你是从这儿附近来的吗？”塞丝问她。