海倫·凱勒自傳《我的生活》第10期

Chapter V

第五章

I recall many incidents of the summer of 1887 that followed my soul's sudden awakening. I did nothing but explore with my hands and learn the name of every object that I touched; and the more I handled things and learned their names and uses, the more joyous and confident grew my sense of kinship with the rest of the world.

我想起了許多1887年夏天發生的事，正是這些事激發了我靈魂的覺醒。那時我做不了什麼，可是我會用自己的雙手去探索，去認知我觸摸到的每一件物體。我摸到的東西越多，瞭解這些東西的名稱和用途越廣，我對自己同世界血脈相連的感受就越強烈，我的喜悅之情和信心也隨之增長。

When the time of daisies and buttercups came Miss Sullivan took me by the hand across the fields, where men were preparing the earth for the seed, to the banks of the Tennessee River, and there, sitting on the warm grass, I had my first lessons in the beneficence of nature. I learned how the sun and the rain make to grow out of the ground every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, how birds build their nests and live and thrive from land to land, how the squirrel, the deer, the lion and every other creature finds food and shelter. As my knowledge of things grew I felt more and more the delight of the world I was in. Long before I learned to do a sum in arithmetic or describe the shape of the earth, Miss Sullivan had taught me to find beauty in the fragrant woods, in every blade of grass, and in the curves and dimples of my baby sister's hand. She linked my earliest thoughts with nature, and made me feel that "birds and flowers and I were happy peers."

當雛菊和毛茛爭芳吐豔的時候，蘇立文小姐牽着我的手穿過田野。沿着田納西河的兩岸，農人們正在做着播種的準備。坐在溫暖的草地上，我首次感受到了大自然對人類的饋贈。我瞭解到了陽光和雨水如何滋潤土地上的每一棵樹木，令它們長勢繁茂，開花結果。我還知道了鳥兒們如何搭建巢穴，如何遷徙生存；松鼠、鹿、獅子和各種動物如何覓食逃生。隨着知識的增長，我對我所生存的這個世界越來越感興趣。很早以前我就學會了做算術題，或者描述大地的輪廓。蘇立文小姐教我學會了發現之美——在芬芳林木的擁抱中，在每一片草葉上，在我小妹妹蜷曲柔弱、像長了酒窩的小手上，我的確找到了美。她將我人生最初的思想同大自然連接在一起，她讓我感受到了“鳥兒、花朵和我都是快樂的同伴”。

But about this time I had an experience which taught me that nature is not always kind. One day my teacher and I were returning from a long ramble. The morning had been fine, but it was growing warm and sultry when at last we turned our faces homeward. Two or three times we stopped to rest under a tree by the wayside. Our last halt was under a wild cherry tree a short distance from the house. The shade was grateful, and the tree was so easy to climb that with my teacher's assistance I was able to scramble to a seat in the branches. It was so cool up in the tree that Miss Sullivan proposed that we have our luncheon there. I promised to keep still while she went to the house to fetch it.

正是在那個時候，我也有了一種個人體驗，那就是大自然並不總是溫情脈脈的。一天，我和老師正從一次長距離散步中返回。那天一早的天氣還是好好的，但是當我們往家走的時候就變得燠熱難耐起來。有那麼兩三次，我們停在路邊的大樹下歇息。最後，我們來到了離家不遠的一棵野生櫻桃樹下。樹蔭下涼爽宜人，那棵樹也很容易攀爬，在老師的幫助下，我還能爬到樹上騎在枝椏間。坐在樹枝間的感覺妙不可言，蘇立文小姐打算在這裏進行我們的午餐。我答應她坐在樹杈上不動，於是老師去家裏拿午飯。

Suddenly a change passed over the tree. All the sun's warmth left the air. I knew the sky was black, because all the heat, which meant light to me, had died out of the atmosphere. A strange odour came up from the earth. I knew it, it was the odour that always precedes a thunderstorm, and a nameless fear clutched at my heart. I felt absolutely alone, cut off from my friends and the firm earth. The immense, the unknown, enfolded me. I remained still and expectant; a chilling terror crept over me. I longed for my teacher's return; but above all things I wanted to get down from that tree.

突然，有一種變化從樹叢之間掃過。周圍所有的光和熱都散去了，我知道天色變黑了，因爲所有的熱度，對我而言也意味着光，已經消失在了空氣之中。接着，地上也泛起一股奇怪的味道，在一場雷雨到來之前，我總會聞到這種味道。一種難以名狀的恐懼攫住了我的心，我感到了徹底的孤立無助，某種力量切斷了我同朋友和堅實大地的聯繫。浩瀚、未知的氣氛將我緊緊圍裹，我佇立不動，翹首企盼，一陣驚駭感襲遍了我的全身。我急切地盼着老師快些返回，一心想從樹上爬下來。