經典科幻文學:《基本上無害 Mostly Harmless》 第17章4

Random didn’t like being bossed around by a bird, but she followed it to the mouth of the cave anyway, still fingering the rock in her pocket.

蘭登不喜歡讓只鳥對自己指手畫腳，可還是跟着它去了洞口，雖然一隻手仍然擺弄着口袋裏的石頭。

‘Rain,’ said the bird. ‘You see? Just rain.’

“雨。”鳥說，“看見了？只是雨。”

‘I know what rain is.’

“我知道雨是什麼。”

Sheets of the stuff were sweeping through the night, moonlight sifting through it.

那東西正一片片地掃過黑夜，還有月光從中間篩過。

‘So what is it?’

“那麼它是什麼？”

‘What do you mean, what is it? Look, who are you? What were you doing in that box? Why have I spent a night running through the forest fending off demented squirrels to find that all I’ve got at the end of it is a bird asking me what rain is. It’s just water falling through the bloody air, that’s what it is. Anything else you want to know or can we go home now?’

“你什麼意思？它是什麼？我說，你是誰？你在那個盒子裏幹嘛？爲什麼我在森林裏跑了一夜對付瘋瘋癲癲的松鼠結果只是只問我雨是什麼的鳥？雨不過是從該死的空氣裏掉下來的水它就是這個。你還有什麼想知道？或者我們可以動身回家了？”

There was a long pause before the bird answered, ‘You want to go home?’

鳥沉默了很久纔回答說：“你想回家？”

‘I haven’t got a home!’ Random almost shocked herself, she screamed the words so loudly.

“我沒家！”蘭登幾乎把自己嚇了一跳，她吼得真夠大聲的。

‘Look into the rain…’ said the bird Guide.

“往雨裏看。”指南鳥說。

‘I’m looking into the rain! What else is there to look at?’

“我在往雨裏看！除了那個還有什麼可看的？”

What do you see?’

“你看見了什麼？”

‘What do you mean, you stupid bird? I just see a load of rain. It’s just water, falling.’

“你什麼意思，你這傻鳥？我就看見一堆一堆的雨。那就是水，天上掉下來的。”

‘What shapes do you see in the water?’

“你在水裏看見了什麼形狀？”

‘Shapes? There aren’t any shapes. It’s just, just…

“形狀？哪有什麼形狀？那不過是，不過是……”

‘Just a mish mash,’ said the bird Guide.

“不過是片大雜燴。”指南鳥說。