世紀文學經典:《百年孤獨》第13章Part6

He never looked better, nor had he been loved more, nor had the breeding of his animals been wilder. There was a slaughtering of so many cows, pigs, and chickens for the endless parties that the ground in the courtyard turned black and muddy with so much blood. It was an eternal execution ground of bones and innards, a mud pit of leftovers, and they had to keep exploding dynamite bombs all the time so that the buzzards would not pluck out the guests' eyes. Aureli-ano Segun-do grew fat, purple-colored, turtle-shaped, because of an appetite comparable only to that of José Arcadio when he came back from traveling around the world. The prestige of his outlandish voracity, of his immense capacity as a spendthrift, of his unprecedented hospitality went beyond the borders of the swamp and attracted the best-qualified gluttons from all along the coast. Fabulous eaters arrived from everywhere to take part in the irrational tourneys of capacity and resistance that were organized in the house of Petra Cotes. Aureli-anoSegun-do was the unconquered eater until the luckless Saturday when Camila Sagastume appeared, a totemic female known all through the land by the good name of "The Elephant." The duel lasted until dawn on Tuesday. During the first twenty-four hours, having dispatched a dinner of veal, with cassava, yams, and fried bananas, and a case and a half of champagne in addition, Aureli-ano Segun-do was sure of victory. He seemed more enthusiastic, more vital than his imperturbable adversary, who possessed a style that was obviously more professional, but at the same time less emotional for the large crowd that filled the house. While Aureli-ano Segun-do ate with great bites, overcome by the anxiety of victory, The Elephant was slicing her meat with the art of a surgeon and eating it unhurriedly and even with a certain pleasure. She was gigantic and sturdy, but over her colossal form a tenderness of femininity prevailed and she had a face that was so beautiful, hands so fine and well cared for, and such an irresistiblepersonal charm that when Aureli-ano Segun-do saw her enter the house he commented in a low voice that he would have preferred to have the tourney in bed and not at the table. Later on, when he saw her consume a side of veal without breaking a single rule of good table manners, he commented seriously that that delicate, fascinating, and insatiable proboscidian was in a certain way the ideal woman. He was not mistaken. The reputation of a bone crusher that had preceded The Elephant had no basis. She was not a beef cruncher or a bearded lady from a Greek circus, as had been said, but the director of a school of voice. She had learned to eat when she was already the respectable mother of a family, looking for a way for her children to eat better and not by means of any artificial stimulation of their appetites but through the absolute tranquility of their spirits. Her theory, demonstrated in practice, was based on the principle that a person who had all matters of conscience in perfect shape should be able to eatuntil overcome by fatigue. And it was for moral reasons and sporting interest that she left her school and her home to compete with a man whose fame as a great, unprincipled eater had spread throughout the country. From the first moment she saw him she saw that Aureli-ano Segun-do would lose not his stomach but his character. At the end of the first night, while The Elephant was boldly going on, Aureli-ano Segun-do was wearing himself out with a great deal of talking and laughing. They slept four hours. On awakening each one had the juice of forty oranges, eight quarts of coffee, and thirty raw eggs. On the second morning, after many hours without sleep and having put away two pigs, a bunch of bananas, and four cases of champagne, The Elephant suspected that Aureli-ano Segun-do had unknowingly discovered the same method as hers, but by the absurd route of total irresponsibility. He was, therefore, more dangerous than she had thought. Nevertheless, when Petra Cotes brought two roast turkeys to the table, Aureli-ano Segun-do was a step away from being stuffed.
"If you can't, don't eat any more," The Elephant said to him. "Let's call it a tie."
She said it from her heart, understanding that she could not eat another mouthful either, out of remorse for bringing on the death of her adversary. But Aureli-ano Segun-do interpreted it as another challenge and he filled himself with turkey beyond his incredible capacity. He lost consciousness. He fell face down into the plate filled with bones, frothing at the mouth like a dog, and drowning in moans of agony. He felt, in the midst of the darkness, that they were throwing him from the top of a tower into a bottomless pit and in a last flash of consciousness he realized that at the end of that endless fall death was waiting for him.
"Take me to Fernanda," he managed to say.

他從來沒有象現在這麼愉快，人家從來沒有象現在這麼喜歡他，他的牲畜從來沒有象現在這樣控制不住地繁殖。為了沒完沒了的酒宴，宰了那麼多的牛。豬、雞，院子裡的泥土被血弄得烏七八糟、粘搭搭的，骨頭和內臟不斷扔在這兒，吃剩的食物不斷倒在這兒，幾乎每小時都要把這些東西嗶嗶喇喇地燒掉，免得兀鷹來啄客人的眼睛。奧雷連諾第二發胖了，面孔泛起了紫紅色，活象烏龜的嘴臉，可一切都怪他那出奇的胃口，甚至周遊世界回來的霍。 阿卡蒂奧也無法跟他相比。奧雷連諾第二難以思議的暴食，他那空前未聞的揮霍，他那無比的好客精神，這種名聲傳出了沼澤地帶，引起了著名暴食者們的注意。許多驚人的暴食都從沿海各地來到了馬孔多，參加佩特娜。柯特家中舉行的荒謬為饕餮比賽。奧雷連諾第二是經常取得勝利的，直到一個不幸的星期六卡米娜·薩加斯篤姆來到為止；這個女人體型上很象圖騰塑像，是蜚聲全國的“母象”。比賽延續到星期二早晨。第一個晝夜，吃掉了一隻小牛，外加配萊：木薯、山藥和油炸番蕉，而且喝完了一箱半香擯酒，奧雷連諾第二完全相信自己的勝利。他認為，他的精神和活力都超過沉著的對手；她進食的方式當然是比較內行的，可是正因為這樣，就不大使擠滿屋子的大部分觀眾感到興趣。當奧雷連諾第二渴望勝利、大口咬肉的時候，“母象”卻用外科醫生的技術把肉切成塊，不慌不忙地吃著，甚至感到一定的愉快。她長得粗壯肥胖，可是女性的溫柔勝過了她的茁壯：她有一副漂亮的面孔和一雙保養很好的雅緻的手兒，還有那麼不可抗拒的魅力，以致奧雷連諾第二看見她走進屋子的時候，甚至說他寧願跟她在床上比賽，而不在桌邊比賽，接著，他看見“母象”吃掉了一整條豬腿，一點沒有違背進食的禮貌和規矩，他就十分認真他說，這個雅緻、進人、貪饞的女人在某種意義上倒是個理想的女人。他並沒有看錯，以往傳說“母象”是個貪婪的兀鷹，這是沒有根據的。她既不是傳說的“絞肉機”，也不是希臘雜技團中滿臉絡腮子的女人，而是音樂學校校長。當她已經是個可敬的母親時，為了找到一種能使孩子吃得更多的辦法，她也學會了巧妙地狼吞虎嚥，但不是靠人為地刺激胃口，而是靠心靈的絕對寧靜。她那實踐檢驗過的理論原則是：一個人只要心地平靜，就能不停地吃到疲乏的時候。就這樣，由於心理的原因和競技的興趣，她離開了自己的學校和家庭，想跟全國聞名的放肆的暴食者決一雌雄。“母象”剛一看見奧雷連諾第二，立即明白他要輸的不是肚子，而是性格。的確，到第一夜終了的時候，她還保持著自己的戰鬥力，而奧雷連諾第二卻因說說笑笑消耗了自己的力量。他倆睡了四個小時。然後，每人喝了五十杯橙子汁、八升咖啡和三十隻生雞蛋。第二天早上，在許多小時的不眠之後，吃掉了兩頭豬、一串香蕉和四箱香檳酒。“母象”開始懷疑奧雷連諾第二不知不覺地採用了她自己的辦法，但完全是不顧後果地瞎吃。因此，他比她預料的更危險。佩特娜·柯特把兩隻烤火雞拿上桌子的時候，奧雷連諾第二已經快要昏厥了。
“如果不行，你就別吃啦，”“母象”向他說。“就算不分勝負吧。”
她是真心誠意說的，因為她自己也無法再吃一塊肉了；她知道對手每吃一口都會加快他的死亡。可是奧雷連諾第二把她的話當成新的挑戰，便噎地吃完了整隻火雞，超過了自己不可思議的容量，失去了知覺。他伏倒在一盤啃光的骨頭上，象瘋狗似地嘴裡流出泡沫，發出臨死的稀噓聲。在他突然陷入的黑暗中，他覺得有人從塔頂把他摔進無底的深淵；在最後的剎那間，他明白自己這樣掉到底就非死不可了。
“把我抬到菲蘭達那兒去吧，”他還來得及說出這麼一句。