本帖最后由 ヮ成熟、羙° 于 2014-6-2 21:47 编辑
盲人阿朴杜拉的故事 荷叶/译 我出生在巴格达，很小时父母就相继去世，成为孤儿。我从父母那儿继承了一小笔财产，日夜操劳以图发展，最后我拥有了八十头骆驼。我把这些骆驼租给行脚商人，我也经常和商人们一起到各地旅行，总能得到大笔的收益。 一天，我从巴索拉回来，从那儿进了一批货，打算去印度，中午停留在一个荒无人烟的地方，那里牧草丰茂，可以让我的骆驼饱餐一顿。我正在一棵树荫下休息，这时一个步行去巴索拉的苦行僧坐在我身边。我问他从哪来，要到哪去。很快我们就成为朋友，互相问过一些寻常的问题之后，我们拿出所带的食物，解决着饥渴问题。 我们正在吃东西时，这位苦行僧偶然提及在离我们坐的地方不远处有一个地方，那里藏有许多宝藏，假使把我八十头骆驼装得满满的，那的财宝还好像没有动过那样多。 听到这个消息，我因贪婪而乐不可支，我双臂抱住僧人的脖子，大叫道：“好僧人，我清楚地看出这个世界的财富对于你一钱不值。因此你知道宝藏在哪儿对你又有什么用途呢？独自一人，步行，你能带走的也不过是一点点。但告诉我它在什么地方，我用八十头骆驼去装，作为感激我会送给你一头骆驼。” 当然我的提议听起来不怎么慷慨，但对我这却是很大的数目。因为说这些话时，一丝贪婪掠过我的心底，我感觉剩下的七十九头骆驼简直没法和这一头骆驼相比。 苦行僧洞悉了我心中所想，但他对我的提议没做任何表示。 “我的兄弟，”他静静地说：“你和我同样知道，你这样做不公平，守口如瓶，把宝藏留给自己，这由我说了算。我告诉你宝藏的存在是对你的信任，我希望你永远感激我，把宝藏的一半分给我。你必须发誓，当骆驼装满宝藏后，你分一半给我，然后各走各的路。我想你能明白这是公平的，因为你给我四十头骆驼，我呢，会使你能买一千头骆驼。” 我当然不能否认苦行僧说得很有道理，但虽然如此，一想到他会像我一样富有，就难以忍受。然而这事没有商量，我只能接受他的条件，或者到死都在哀叹损失了大笔财富。于是，我召集骆驼，跟着苦行僧出发了。走了一段时间，我们来到了一个山谷模样的地方，山谷的出口如此狭小，我的骆驼只能一只一只地通过。这个狭小的山谷，或是空阔的地方，被两座山所关闭，这两座山很陡，无人能爬。 当我们来到这两座山之间时，苦行僧停了下来。 “让你的骆驼躺在这里，”他说：“这样我们能容易地往它们身上装东西，接下来我们去找宝藏。” 我照做了，回到苦行僧身边，他正在用一些干木头生火。生好火后，他往上面洒了些香水，又说了几句我听不懂的话，立刻就有一柱火苗窜向空中。他把火分成两部分，接着，我就看到了一个石柱，立于两山之间，它慢慢打开，露出了里面金碧辉煌的宫殿。 但对黄金的爱已经占据了我的心，我都没来得及停下来检查一下，就扑倒在我够得着的第一堆金子上，开始往我带来的麻袋里装。 苦行僧也同样装起来，但我很快就注意到他只装宝石，我觉得效仿他是明智的。最后，骆驼装得不能再装了，我们只能封闭宝藏，各走各的路。 然而，在做完这一切以前，苦行僧走向一个镂刻精美的大金花瓶前，从里面取出一个小木盒，藏在胸口的衣服里，只说里面装有一种特殊药膏。然后，他又点燃火，洒上香水，念了咒，石柱关闭了，合好如初。 下一件事就是分骆驼，装财宝，然后各人赶着自己的骆驼走出山谷，一直来到一个岔路口，然后我们分开了，苦行僧去巴索拉，我去巴格达。我们温柔地拥抱，我感激他有幸选择了我接受这些财富，真诚地道别后，我们背转身，匆忙追赶自己的骆驼了。 我就要追上自己的骆驼了，这时妒忌这个恶魔充斥了我的灵魂。“一个苦行僧要那么多财富有什么用？”我自言自语：“只有他一个人知道宝藏的秘密，他总是能得到他想要的东西。”我把骆驼停在路边，向苦行僧追去。 我跑得很快，没有多久就赶上了他。“兄弟，”我第一时间说：“几乎在我们分手时，我有了一个想法，也许你没想过。你的职业是苦行僧，过着平静的生活，只做善事，不问俗事。你不明白手里有这么多财富是多大的负担，还有就是一个生来不习惯使用骆驼的人，是管理不了那些固执的动物的。如果明智的话，你就会发现三十只已足够麻烦你了，你不会要求三十只以上的骆驼来拖累你。” “你说得对，”苦行僧非常理解我，他回答：“我承认我没想过这些，我不想和你争论，任选十头，赶到你那里前去。” 我选了十头最好的骆驼，我们各自上路了。我去追赶那些留下的骆驼。我如愿以偿，但却发现苦行僧很好对付，我后悔没有和他再要十头。我回头一看，我走了没几步，我叫住了他。 附；原文 Story of the Blind Baba-Abdalla 1 I was born,Commander of the Faithful, in Bagdad, and wasleft an orphan while I was yet a very young man, for my parents died within afew days of each other. I had inherited from them a small fortune, which I worked hard night and day to increase, till at last I found myself the owner ofeighty camels. These I hired out to travelling merchants, whom I frequentlyaccompanied on their various journeys, and always returned with large profits. One day I wascoming back from Balsora, whither I had taken a supply of goods, intended for India, andhalted at noon in a lonely place, which promised rich pasture for my camels. Iwas resting in the shade under a tree, when a dervish, going on foot towards Balsora, sat down by my side, and I inquired whence he had come and to what place he was going. We soon made friends, and after we had asked each other theusual questions, we produced the food we had with us, and satisfied ourhunger. While we wereeating, the dervish happened to mention that in a spot only a little way offfrom where we were sitting, there was hidden a treasure so great that if my eighty camels were loaded till they could carry no more, the hiding place wouldseem as full as if it had never been touched. At this newsI became almost beside myself with joy and greed, and I flung my arms round theneck of the dervish,exclaiming: "Good dervish, I see plainly that the riches of this world are nothing to you, therefore of what use is the knowledge of this treasure to you?Alone and on foot, you could carry away a mere handful. But tell me where itis, and I will load my eighty camels with it, and give you one of them as atoken of my gratitude." Certainly my offer does not sound very magnificent, but it was great to me, for at his wordsa wave of covetousness hadswept over my heart, and I almost felt as if the seventy-nine camels that wereleft were nothing in comparison. The dervish sawquite well what was passing in my mind, but he did not show what he thought ofmy proposal. "Mybrother," he answered quietly, "you know as well as I do, that youare behaving unjustly. It was open to me to keep my secret, and to reserve the treasure for myself. But the fact that I have told you of its existence shows that I had confidence in you, and that I hoped to earn your gratitude for ever,by making your fortune as well as mine. But before I reveal to you the secret of the treasure, you must swear that, after we have loaded the camels with asmuch as they can carry, you will give half to me, and let us go our own ways. Ithink you will see that this is fair, for if you present me with forty camels,I on my side will give you the means of buying a thousand more." I could notof course deny that what the dervish said was perfectly reasonable, but, inspite of that, the thought that the dervish would be as rich as I was unbearable to me. Still there was no use in discussing the matter, and I had toaccept his conditions or bewail to the end of my life the loss of immensewealth. So I collected my camels and we set out together under the guidance ofthe dervish. After walking some time, we reached what looked like a valley, butwith such a narrow entrance that my camels could only pass one by one. Thelittle valley, or open space, was shut up by two mountains, whose sides were formed of straight cliffs, which no human being could climb. When we were exactly between these mountains the dervish stopped. "Make your camels lie down in this open space," he said, "so that we can easily load them; then we will go to the treasure." I did what Iwas bid, and rejoined the dervish, whom I found trying to kindle a fire out of some dry wood. As soon as it was alight, he threw on it a handful of perfumes,and pronounced a few words that I did not understand, and immediately a thick column of smoke rose high into the air. He separated the smoke into two columns, and then I saw a rock, which stood like a pillar between the two mountains, slowly open, and a splendid palace appear within. But,Commander of the Faithful, the love of gold had taken such possession of myheart, that I could not even stop to examine the riches, but fell upon thefirst pile of gold within my reach and began to heap it into a sack that I had brought withme. The dervishlikewise set to work, but I soon noticed that he confined himself to collecting precious stones, and I felt I should be wise to follow his example. At lengththe camels were loaded with as much as they could carry, and nothing remained but to seal up the treasure, and go our ways. Before,however, this was done, the dervish went up to a great golden vase, beautifullychased, and took from it a small wooden box, which he hid in the bosom of hisdress, merely saying that it contained a special kind of ointment. Then he once more kindled the fire, threw on the perfume, and murmured the unknown spell, and the rock closed, and stood whole as before. The nextthing was to divide the camels, and to charge them with the treasure, after which we each took command of our own and marched out of the valley, till wereached the place in the high road where the routes diverge, and then weparted, the dervish going towards Balsora, and I to Bagdad. We embraced eachother tenderly, and I poured out my gratitude for the honour he had done me, insingling me out for this great wealth, and having said a hearty farewell weturned our backs, and hastened after our camels. I had hardly come up with mine when the demon of envy filled my soul. "What does adervish want with riches like that?" I said to myself. "He alone hasthe secret of the treasure, and can always get as much as he wants," and Ihalted my camels by the roadside, and ran back after him. I was a quick runner, and it did not take me very long to come up with him. "Mybrother," I exclaimed, as soon as I could speak, "almost at themoment of our leave-taking, a reflection occurred to me, which is perhaps newto you. You are a dervish by profession, and live a very quiet life, onlycaring to do good, and careless of the things of this world. You do not realise the burden that you lay upon yourself, when you gather into your hands such great wealth, besides the fact that no one, who is not accustomed to camelsfrom his birth, can ever manage the stubborn beasts. If you are wise, you will not encumber yourselfwith more than thirty, and you will find those trouble enough." "You areright," replied the dervish, who understood me quite well, but did notwish to fight the matter. "I confess I had not thought about it. I don’twant to fight it .Choose any ten you like, and drive them beforeyou." I selected ten of the best camels, and we proceeded along the road, to rejoin those I hadleft behind. I had got what I wanted, but I had found the dervish so easy todeal with, that I rather regretted I had not asked for ten more. I looked back.He had only gone a few paces, and I called after him. | 
发表于 2014-5-30 22:22:52
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