The curse of the monkey's paw - Iseult Gillespie

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Ruan Xiu Ze 阮修泽

The windows shuddered, the chimney howled,

窗戶劇烈震動，煙囪發出尖嘯，

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

雨水猛烈拍打著懷特夫婦家的屋頂，

as they sat fireside with their son, Herbert.

他們與他們的兒子 赫伯特坐在火爐邊。

They were expecting someone...

他們在等某個人……

When a knock finally sounded at the door,

終於，敲門聲傳來，

Mr. White rose and welcomed his old friend,

懷特先生起身去歡迎他的老朋友，

Sergeant-Major Morris.

莫里斯軍士長。

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

軍士長訴說著來自 遙遠土地的英雄故事，

深深吸引這一家人， 時間也過得很快——

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

直到懷特先生問及軍士長 剛提到的一個物件。

Slowly, the sergeant produced the object from his pocket:

軍士長慢慢地從口袋裡掏出此物品：

a mummified monkey’s paw.

乾燥保存的猴掌。

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

他解釋說，為了教訓 干涉命運會帶來的後果，

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

一名聖人賦予這個猴掌魔力， 可以幫三個人實現三個願望。

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

軍士長說，他得到猴掌的時間，

是在第一個人許下了 第三個死亡願望之後。

for death.

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

赫伯特問他為何沒有自己用來許願，

the sergeant tensed and replied simply that he had.

軍士長緊繃起來，

簡要地回答說他已經許過了。

Suddenly, he flung the paw into the fire,

突然，他把猴掌扔進爐火中，

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

懷特先生大叫， 把猴掌從火焰中抽出。

And despite the sergeant’s warnings,

儘管軍士長嚴正警告，

Mr. White persuaded him to part with the paw.

懷特先生仍說服他放棄猴掌。

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

他們的客人離開後，

赫伯特開玩笑建議他的父親 許願還清他們家剩下的房屋貸款。

for the rest of their home’s mortgage money.

Mr. White chuckled and wished for £200.

懷特先生笑了，許下 希望得到兩百英鎊的願望。

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

但話才一說完， 他便恐懼地尖叫起來。

The paw had curled in his grasp.

他抓著的猴掌蜷曲起來。

The Whites soon bid each other good night.

沒多久，懷特一家人互道晚安。

But as Mr. White sat staring into the dying flames

但當懷特先生坐在那裡凝視著

火爐中逐漸熄滅的搖曳火焰時，

that flickered in the fireplace,

they morphed into blazing faces before him.

火焰竟在他面前變成燃燒的臉孔。

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

他伸手去拿一杯水來澆熄 這幻象，但他這麼做時，

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

猴掌輕輕掠過他的手。

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

晨光緩解了夜晚的不安，

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

這家人們互相開起猴掌魔力的玩笑。

Herbert left for work,

赫伯特出門去工作，

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

懷特夫婦和平常一樣度過一天。

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

但夜晚來臨時，

懷特太太發現有名男子 在他們的家門口，

who appeared to be deliberating whether to enter.

似乎在考慮要不要進入。

She ushered him in and he broke the news:

她把他迎進來，他則捎來了消息：

Herbert had died, caught in the factory machinery.

赫伯特被工廠的機械夾死了。

To the Whites’ horror.

讓懷特夫婦害怕的是，

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

男子繼續說，公司會賠償他們

in the form of £200.

兩百英鎊。

They buried Herbert at a cemetery down the road,

他們把赫伯特葬在附近的墓園，

and over the following days,

在接下來的幾天，

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

冰冷沉重的哀痛籠罩著他們家。

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

有天晚上，當懷特先生 試著安慰哭泣的妻子時，

she bolted up, possessed by an idea.

她猛然坐起來，腦中閃過一個念頭。

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

他們還有猴掌—— 而懷特先生還有兩個願望。

He could will their son back to life.

他可以讓他們的兒子復生。

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

但，想到猴掌和赫伯特殘破的屍體

reanimated after 10 days buried, petrified Mr. White.

要在埋葬十天後復活， 就讓懷特先生很驚恐。

Mrs. White, however, was insistent.

然而，懷特太太很堅持。

She hurried him downstairs to find the paw.

她催促他下樓去找出猴掌。

And, moved by his wife’s desperation,

受到妻子絕望的影響，

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

懷特先生緊握住猴掌， 許願希望赫伯特復生，

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

接著便讓猴掌落在地上。

At first nothing happened,

一開始，什麼都沒有發生，

and Mr. White felt a sneaking sense of relief.

而懷特先生暗暗鬆了一口氣。

His suspicions that the paw was just an inanimate token

他懷疑這猴掌只是個無生命的象徵，

and the death of his beloved son a sick coincidence

他親愛兒子的死亡則只是 讓人毛骨悚然的巧合，

were affirmed.

這想法此時得到證實。

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

但當他點了蠟燭後，

一陣風吹來，將火焰吹熄。

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

不久後，懷特先生聽到 門口傳來輕輕的敲門聲。

Gradually, it crescendoed into a booming knock.

敲門聲越來越大， 變成震耳欲聾的猛敲聲。

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

他試圖阻止，但懷特夫人衝去開門。

Her shaking hands struggled with its stubborn bolt,

她的雙手緊張到發抖， 打不開緊扣的門栓，

and she begged her husband for help.

她轉向丈夫求助。

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

然而，懷特先生正瘋狂地 在地板上爬行，驚恐至極，

hands outstretched, searching for the monkey’s paw.

他不斷向外伸手尋找猴掌。

The knocks quickened and crashed at the door.

敲門聲越來越快，變成猛力的撞擊。

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

懷特太太尖叫一聲， 用最後的力氣把門栓扯開，

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

此時懷特先生設法抓住了猴掌，

吞吐地說出他的第三個 也是最後一個願望。

The door opened to reveal their empty, lamplit street,

門打開了，

看到的是空無一人的 街道，被街燈照亮。

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

一道冷氣的氣流湧入屋內……

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

W. W. 雅各布斯 1902 年的 短篇小說《猴掌》

到此結束。