The curse of the monkey's paw - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Jane Liu 校对人员: Bruce Wang

The windows shuddered, the chimney howled,

窗户微微颤动 烟囱发出阵阵低吼

and rain crashed upon Mr. and Mrs. White’s roof

烟囱呼啸而过，雨水冲向了他们的屋顶

as they sat fireside with their son, Herbert.

和儿子赫伯特坐在炉边时 窗户不寒而栗

They were expecting someone...

他们本来在等一个人

When a knock finally sounded at the door,

当敲门声终于响起时

Mr. White rose and welcomed his old friend,

怀特先生站起来欢迎 他的老朋友

Sergeant-Major Morris.

莫里斯中士

Time flew as the sergeant regaled the family with epic tales from faraway lands—

时光飞逝中士向 全家人讲述了来自遥远地区的史诗故事

until Mr. White asked about an artifact the sergeant had alluded to.

直到怀特先生询问 了中士提到的一件文物

Slowly, the sergeant produced the object from his pocket:

慢慢地中士从口袋里拿出了 那个物体

a mummified monkey’s paw.

一只木乃伊的猴子的爪子

He explained that, in order to teach the consequences of meddling with fate,

他解释说为了教导 干涉命运的后果

a holy man had imbued the paw with the power to grant three wishes to three men.

一个圣人赋予了爪子向三个人 许下三个愿望的权力

The sergeant said he’d obtained the paw after the first man made his final wish

中士说他是在第一个人 许下最后的死亡愿望

for death.

之后得到爪子的

When Herbert asked why he hadn’t used his wishes,

当赫伯特问他为什么没有 按照自己的意愿行事时

the sergeant tensed and replied simply that he had.

中士紧张地回答说 他已经实现了愿望

Suddenly, he flung the paw into the fire,

突然间他把爪子扔进火里

but Mr. White yelped and plucked it out of the flames.

但怀特先生大喊大叫把 它从火焰中拉出来

And despite the sergeant’s warnings,

尽管警长发出了警告

Mr. White persuaded him to part with the paw.

但怀特还是说服他 放弃了爪子

After their guest had gone, Herbert playfully suggested that his father wish

客人离开后赫伯特 调皮地建议

for the rest of their home’s mortgage money.

的剩余抵押贷款他的父亲还清房屋贷款

Mr. White chuckled and wished for £200.

怀特先生笑了起来希望能得到200英镑

But just as the utterance left his lips, he screamed out in terror.

但是就在那句话离开他的嘴唇时 他惊恐地尖叫起来

The paw had curled in his grasp.

爪子已经卷曲在他手中

The Whites soon bid each other good night.

怀特家族很快互相告别晚安

But as Mr. White sat staring into the dying flames

但是当怀特先生坐着盯着

that flickered in the fireplace,

壁炉里闪烁的快熄灭的火焰时

they morphed into blazing faces before him.

他们在他面前变成了燃烧的面孔

He reached for a water glass to extinguish the apparition, but as he did,

他伸手去拿水杯来扑灭 幻影但正如他所做的那样

the monkey’s paw grazed his hand ever so slightly.

猴子的爪子轻轻地擦了他的手

The morning's light soothed the night's disquiet,

清晨的光线缓解 了夜晚的忧虑

and the family joked with one another about the paw’s magical powers.

全家人互相开玩笑说爪子的神 奇力量

Herbert left for work,

赫伯特去工作了

and Mr. and Mrs. White passed their day as usual.

怀特夫妇照常度过 了美好的一天

But as evening loomed, Mrs. White noticed a man at their gate,

但是随着夜幕降临怀特太太 注意到他们门口有一个人

who appeared to be deliberating whether to enter.

他似乎在考虑 要不要进房

She ushered him in and he broke the news:

她把他引进屋里 他带来了惊人的消息

Herbert had died, caught in the factory machinery.

赫伯特因为被工厂的机器困住死了

To the Whites’ horror.

更令怀特惊恐不已的是

the company would reward them compensation, the man went on,

还告诉他该公司将

in the form of £200.

给她200英镑的补偿

They buried Herbert at a cemetery down the road,

他们将赫伯特埋葬在路边的一座墓地里

and over the following days,

在接 下来的几天里

the cold, heavy grief of their loss settled upon the home.

他们因逝世而遭受的冷酷 而沉重的悲痛降临在家中

One night, as Mr. White tried to comfort his weeping wife,

有一天晚上当怀特先生试图安慰 他哭泣的妻子时

she bolted up, possessed by an idea.

她猛然起身 脑海中闪过一个念头

They still had the monkey’s paw— and Mr. White had two remaining wishes.

他们还有猴子的爪子——怀特先生 还有两个愿望

He could will their son back to life.

他可以让他们的儿子复活

Yet the thought of the monkey's paw and Herbert's mangled body,

然而，想到猴子的爪子 和赫伯特被摧毁的尸体，在埋葬10天后

reanimated after 10 days buried, petrified Mr. White.

又恢复了活力，这让怀特感到震惊

Mrs. White, however, was insistent.

但是怀特夫人却坚持不懈

She hurried him downstairs to find the paw.

她赶紧把他带 到楼下去找爪子。

And, moved by his wife’s desperation,

而且，怀特

Mr. White clutched it and wished for Herbert to be alive again,

先生被妻子的绝望所感动， 抓住了它，希望赫伯特还活着，

then let the monkey’s paw fall to the floor.

然后让猴子的爪子 掉到地上。

At first nothing happened,

起初什么也没发生，

and Mr. White felt a sneaking sense of relief.

怀特先生偷偷地松了一口气。

His suspicions that the paw was just an inanimate token

他怀疑爪子 只是一个无生命的象征，

and the death of his beloved son a sick coincidence

而他心爱的儿子的死亡 是一个病态的巧合

were affirmed.

这一点得到了证实

But as he lit a candle, a gust of wind extinguished the flame.

但是当他点燃蜡烛时，一阵风把 火焰扑灭了。

A moment later, Mr. White heard a tap at the door.

片刻之后，怀特先生 听到有人敲门。

Gradually, it crescendoed into a booming knock.

渐渐地，它逐渐演 变为轰轰烈烈的敲门声。

He tried to restrain her, but Mrs. White rushed to the door.

他试图约束她， 但怀特太太冲到了门口。

Her shaking hands struggled with its stubborn bolt,

她握紧 的双手因其顽固的螺栓

and she begged her husband for help.

而挣扎，她恳求丈夫的帮助。

Mr. White, however, was scrambling on the floor in frenzied horror,

但是，怀特先生惊恐地爬到地板 上，张开

hands outstretched, searching for the monkey’s paw.

双手， 寻找猴子的爪子。

The knocks quickened and crashed at the door.

敲门声加快， 撞到了门口。

And with a final force, Mrs. White shrieked and wrenched the bolt free

怀特夫人尖叫一声， 用尽全力扯开门闩，

as Mr. White managed to seize the paw and choke out his third and final wish.

就在此时怀特先生抓住了猴爪 勉强说出了他的第三个也是最后一个愿望

The door opened to reveal their empty, lamplit street,

门开了，露出了 他们空荡荡的灯火通明的街道，

and a frigid draft of air rushed into the house...

一股寒冷的空气 冲进了房子...

Thus concludes W.W. Jacobs’ 1902 short story, “The Monkey’s Paw.”

W.W. Jacobs 1902 年的短篇小说《猴子的爪子》到此结束。