NIGHT. Varka, the little nurse, a girl of thirteen, is rocking the cradle in which the baby is lying, and humming hardly audibly:
NIGHT. Varka, the little nurse, a girl of thirteen, is rocking the cradle in which the baby is lying, and humming hardly audibly: 1，夜晚。十三岁的小护士瓦尔卡正在晃动婴儿躺的摇篮，并轻轻地哼着：

“Hush-a-bye, my baby wee, While I sing a song for thee. —-
“嘘嘘，我的小宝贝，我为你唱首歌。 —-

” A little green lamp is burning before the ikon; —-
一个小小的绿灯在圣像前燃烧着； —-

there is a string stretched from one end of the room to the other, on which baby-clothes and a pair of big black trousers are hanging. —-
从房间的一端到另一端拉起了一根绳子，上面挂着婴儿衣服和一条大黑裤子。 —-

There is a big patch of green on the ceiling from the ikon lamp, and the baby-clothes and the trousers throw long shadows on the stove, on the cradle, and on Varka. . —-
在圣像灯的照射下，天花板上有一个大片绿色，婴儿衣服和裤子在炉子、摇篮和瓦尔加身上投下长长的影子。 —-

. . When the lamp begins to flicker, the green patch and the shadows come to life, and are set in motion, as though by the wind. —-
当灯开始闪烁时，绿色斑块和影子就活了起来，仿佛被风吹动着。 —-

It is stuffy. There is a smell of cabbage soup, and of the inside of a boot- shop.
空气很闷。有一股白菜汤和靴店内部的味道。

The baby’s crying. For a long while he has been hoarse and exhausted with crying; —-
婴儿在哭泣。他已经哭得嗓子沙哑、筋疲力尽； —-

but he still goes on screaming, and there is no knowing when he will stop. And Varka is sleepy. —-
但他还在继续尖叫，谁都不知道他什么时候会停下来。而瓦尔加很困。 —-

Her eyes are glued together, her head droops, her neck aches. —-
她的眼睛紧闭着，头垂下来，脖子疼。 —-

She cannot move her eyelids or her lips, and she feels as though her face is dried and wooden, as though her head has become as small as the head of a pin.
她不能动眼皮或嘴唇，感觉脸已经干燥而木质，头变得像针尖一样小。

“Hush-a-bye, my baby wee,” she hums, “while I cook the groats for thee. . . .”
“嘘嘘，我的小宝贝，当我为你煮粥……”

A cricket is churring in the stove. Through the door in the next room the master and the apprentice Afanasy are snoring. —-
炉子里有只蟋蟀在刺耳地叫着。通过隔壁的门，主人和学徒阿法纳西在打鼾。 —-

. . . The cradle creaks plaintively, Varka murmurs—and it all blends into that soothing music of the night to which it is so sweet to listen, when one is lying in bed. —-
……摇篮哀伤地吱吱作响，瓦尔加喃喃而语——所有的声音融合成那夜晚如此甜美的安慰音乐，当一个人躺在床上听时。 —-

Now that music is merely irritating and oppressive, because it goads her to sleep, and she must not sleep; —-
现在，那音乐只是令人烦躁和压抑，因为它激励她入睡，而她不能入睡； —-

if Varka—God forbid!—should fall asleep, her master and mistress would beat her.
如果瓦尔加——万不得已地！——睡着了，她的主人和女主人会打她。”

The lamp flickers. The patch of green and the shadows are set in motion, forcing themselves on Varka’s fixed, half-open eyes, and in her half slumbering brain are fashioned into misty visions. —-
灯光闪烁。绿色的斑块和阴影在瓦尔卡僵化、半睁的眼睛上设置为运动，并在她半沉睡的大脑中形成了朦胧的幻影。 —-

She sees dark clouds chasing one another over the sky, and screaming like the baby. —-
她看见乌云在天空中追逐，而像婴儿一样尖叫着。 —-

But then the wind blows, the clouds are gone, and Varka sees a broad high road covered with liquid mud; —-
但是风吹起来，乌云消失了，瓦尔卡看见一条宽阔的大路，上面到处都是泥泞。 —-

along the high road stretch files of wagons, while people with wallets on their backs are trudging along and shadows flit backwards and forwards; —-
在大路上排列着一队队的马车，而人们背着钱包辛苦地走着，阴影在前后闪过； —-

on both sides she can see forests through the cold harsh mist. —-
在两边，她可以透过寒冷的烟雾看见森林。 —-

All at once the people with their wallets and their shadows fall on the ground in the liquid mud. —-
突然，那些带着钱包和阴影的人们都跌倒在泥泞的地上。 —-

“What is that for?” Varka asks. “To sleep, to sleep!” they answer her. —-
“这是为了什么？”瓦尔卡问道。“为了睡觉，为了睡觉！”他们回答她。 —-

And they fall sound asleep, and sleep sweetly, while crows and magpies sit on the telegraph wires, scream like the baby, and try to wake them.
他们一动不动地睡着，甜甜地睡着，而乌鸦和喜鹊停在电线上，像婴儿一样尖叫着，试图把他们叫醒。

“Hush-a-bye, my baby wee, and I will sing a song to thee,” murmurs Varka, and now she sees herself in a dark stuffy hut.
“嘘，宝贝，我会给你唱一首歌，”瓦尔卡低声说着，此时她看见自己在一个黑暗闷热的小屋里。

Her dead father, Yefim Stepanov, is tossing from side to side on the floor. —-
她的已故父亲，叶菲姆·斯捷潘诺夫，正翻来覆去地在地板上挣扎。 —-

She does not see him, but she hears him moaning and rolling on the floor from pain. —-
她看不见他，但能听见他呻吟着，在地板上因疼痛而翻滚。 —-

“His guts have burst,” as he says; the pain is so violent that he cannot utter a single word, and can only draw in his breath and clack his teeth like the rattling of a drum:
“他的肠子破了，”他说；这疼痛如此剧烈，以至于他无法说出一句话，只能呼吸和咯咯咯地咬牙切齿地发出声音，就像敲鼓一样：

“Boo—boo—boo—boo. . . .”
“布——布——布——布……”

Her mother, Pelageya, has run to the master’s house to say that Yefim is dying. —-
她的母亲，佩拉格娅，已经去了主人的家，告诉他叶菲姆正快要死了。 —-

She has been gone a long time, and ought to be back. —-
她已经离开很长时间了，应该回来了。 —-

Varka lies awake on the stove, and hears her father’s “boo—boo—boo. —-
Varka躺在炉子上，听到父亲的“嘘嘘嘘”。 —-

” And then she hears someone has driven up to the hut. —-
接着她听到有人开车来到小屋。 —-

It is a young doctor from the town, who has been sent from the big house where he is staying on a visit. —-
来的是一位年轻医生，他被派来探望他住的大房子。 —-

The doctor comes into the hut; he cannot be seen in the darkness, but he can be heard coughing and rattling the door.
医生走进小屋；在黑暗中看不见他，但可以听到他咳嗽和拨动门的声音。

“Light a candle,” he says.
“点一支蜡烛。”他说。

“Boo—boo—boo,” answers Yefim.
Yefim回答说：“嘘嘘嘘。”

Pelageya rushes to the stove and begins looking for the broken pot with the matches. —-
Pelageya匆忙来到炉子前，开始找着带火柴的破罐子。 —-

A minute passes in silence. The doctor, feeling in his pocket, lights a match.
一分钟的寂静过去了。医生从口袋里摸出火柴点燃了。

“In a minute, sir, in a minute,” says Pelageya. —-
“先生，等一会儿，再等一会儿。”Pelageya说。 —-

She rushes out of the hut, and soon afterwards comes back with a bit of candle.
她冲出小屋，不久后拿着一点蜡烛回来了。

Yefim’s cheeks are rosy and his eyes are shining, and there is a peculiar keenness in his glance, as though he were seeing right through the hut and the doctor.
Yefim的脸颊红润，眼睛闪闪发亮，眼神中有一种特殊的敏锐，仿佛能透过小屋和医生看到里面。

“Come, what is it? What are you thinking about? —-
“来吧，怎么了？你在想什么呢？”医生弯下腰问他。“啊哈！你已经有很长时间了吗？” —-

” says the doctor, bending down to him. “Aha! —-
“什么？死了，尊敬的您，我的时辰到了……我不能再活下去了。” —-

have you had this long?”
“Come, what is it? What are you thinking about?（来吧，怎么了？你在想什么呢？）”医生问道，弯下腰。

“What? Dying, your honour, my hour has come. . . . I am not to stay among the living.”
“What? Dying, your honour, my hour has come. . . . I am not to stay among the living.（什么？死了，尊敬的您，我的时辰到了……我不能再活下去了。）”

“Don’t talk nonsense! We will cure you!”
“别胡说！我们会治好你的！”

“That’s as you please, your honour, we humbly thank you, only we understand. —-
“全凭您的意思，大人，我们谨此恭敬，只是我们明白。” —-

. . . Since death has come, there it is.”
. . . 因为死亡已经来临，就是这样了。”

The doctor spends a quarter of an hour over Yefim, then he gets up and says:
医生花了一个小时给叶菲姆看病，然后站起来说：

“I can do nothing. You must go into the hospital, there they will operate on you. Go at once . . —-
“我无能为力。你必须去医院，在那里他们会给你动手术的。马上去吧. . . —-

. You must go! It’s rather late, they will all be asleep in the hospital, but that doesn’t matter, I will give you a note. Do you hear?”
. 你必须去！现在已经挺晚了，医院里的人都会睡着了，但没有关系，我会给你一封信。听到了吗？”

“Kind sir, but what can he go in?” says Pelageya. “We have no horse.”
“亲切的先生，但是他该乘什么去呢？”佩拉格娅说。“我们没有马。”

“Never mind. I’ll ask your master, he’ll let you have a horse.”
“不要紧。我会问问你们主人，他会让你们借马的。”

The doctor goes away, the candle goes out, and again there is the sound of “boo—boo—boo. —-
医生走了，蜡烛熄灭了，又听到了“呜—呜—呜”的声音。 —-

” Half an hour later someone drives up to the hut. —-
半小时后，有人开着马车来到了小屋。 —-

A cart has been sent to take Yefim to the hospital. —-
派来一辆马车把叶菲姆送到医院。 —-

He gets ready and goes. . . .
他收拾好准备出发. . . .

But now it is a clear bright morning. Pelageya is not at home; —-
但现在已经是一个明亮的早晨了。佩拉格娅不在家； —-

she has gone to the hospital to find what is being done to Yefim. Somewhere there is a baby crying, and Varka hears someone singing with her own voice:
她去医院看看他们对叶菲姆做了些什么。某个地方有个婴儿在哭泣，瓦尔卡听到有人用她自己的声音唱歌：

“Hush-a-bye, my baby wee, I will sing a song to thee.”
“宝贝，安静入睡，我要给你唱首歌。”

Pelageya comes back; she crosses herself and whispers:
Pelegeya 回来了; 她交叉自己，并悄悄地低声说道:

“They put him to rights in the night, but towards morning he gave up his soul to God. . . . —-
“他们在夜里把他治好了，但朝向天亮时，他将自己的灵魂交给上帝. . . —-

The Kingdom of Heaven be his and peace everlasting. . . . —-
愿他得到天国的安慰和永恒的和平. . . —-

They say he was taken too late. . . . He ought to have gone sooner. . . .”
他们说他来得太迟了. . . 他早应该离去了. . .”

Varka goes out into the road and cries there, but all at once someone hits her on the back of her head so hard that her forehead knocks against a birch tree. —-
Varka 走到路上哭泣，但突然有人狠狠地打她后脑勺，使她的额头砰地撞上了一棵白桦树。 —-

She raises her eyes, and sees facing her, her master, the shoemaker.
她抬起眼睛，看到了她的主人，鞋匠，正面对着她说道。

“What are you about, you scabby slut?” he says. “The child is crying, and you are asleep!”
“你这个嗑过的娼妇在干什么？”他说。“孩子在哭泣，你却在睡觉！”

He gives her a sharp slap behind the ear, and she shakes her head, rocks the cradle, and murmurs her song. —-
他狠狠地拍了拍她的耳后，她摇动摇篮，轻声低语着她的歌。 —-

The green patch and the shadows from the trousers and the baby-clothes move up and down, nod to her, and soon take possession of her brain again. —-
绿色的斑块和裤子和婴儿衣物上的影子上下摇摆着，向她点头，很快又占据了她的头脑。 —-

Again she sees the high road covered with liquid mud. —-
她再次看到高速公路上覆盖着液体泥巴。 —-

The people with wallets on their backs and the shadows have lain down and are fast asleep. —-
那些背上背包的人和影子躺下并沉沉地睡着了。 —-

Looking at them, Varka has a passionate longing for sleep; —-
看着他们，Varka 强烈地渴望睡觉; —-

she would lie down with enjoyment, but her mother Pelageya is walking beside her, hurrying her on. —-
她很想愉快地躺下，但她的母亲 Pelegeya 正在她身边走着，催促着她赶路。 —-

They are hastening together to the town to find situations.
他们一起匆忙赶往城里寻找工作。

“Give alms, for Christ’s sake!” her mother begs of the people they meet. —-
“行行好，给个施舍吧！”她的母亲恳求路人们。 —-

“Show us the Divine Mercy, kind-hearted gentlefolk!”
“让我们看到神圣的怜悯，善良的绅士们！”

“Give the baby here!” a familiar voice answers. “Give the baby here! —-
“把孩子给我！”一个熟悉的声音回答说。“把孩子给我！” —-

” the same voice repeats, this time harshly and angrily. —-
同一个声音重复着，这次变得冷酷和愤怒。 —-

“Are you asleep, you wretched girl?”
“你在睡觉吗，可恶的丫头？”

Varka jumps up, and looking round grasps what is the matter: —-
瓦尔卡跳了起来，环顾四周意识到了问题所在： —-

there is no high road, no Pelageya, no people meeting them, there is only her mistress, who has come to feed the baby, and is standing in the middle of the room. —-
在这里没有大道，也没有佩拉吉娅，没有人迎接他们，只有她的女主人，她来喂孩子，正站在房间中间。 —-

While the stout, broad-shouldered woman nurses the child and soothes it, Varka stands looking at her and waiting till she has done. —-
在这个肥胖、宽肩膀的女人哺乳和安抚孩子的时候，瓦尔卡站在一边看着她，等她做完。 —-

And outside the windows the air is already turning blue, the shadows and the green patch on the ceiling are visibly growing pale, it will soon be morning.
而窗外的空气已经变成了蓝色，天花板上的阴影和绿色的斑块明显变得苍白起来，很快就要天亮了。

“Take him,” says her mistress, buttoning up her chemise over her bosom; —-
“拿着吧，”她的女主人说着，扣上衣襟盖住她的胸膛； —-

“he is crying. He must be bewitched.”
“他在哭。他一定是被施了魔法。”

Varka takes the baby, puts him in the cradle and begins rocking it again. —-
瓦尔卡接过孩子，把他放在摇篮里，又开始摇晃起来。 —-

The green patch and the shadows gradually disappear, and now there is nothing to force itself on her eyes and cloud her brain. —-
绿色的斑块和阴影逐渐消失，现在没有什么会强迫她的眼睛和脑子，使她迷迷糊糊的了。 —-

But she is as sleepy as before, fearfully sleepy! —-
但她仍然感到非常困倦，可怕的困倦！ —-

Varka lays her head on the edge of the cradle, and rocks her whole body to overcome her sleepiness, but yet her eyes are glued together, and her head is heavy.
瓦尔卡把头靠在摇篮边缘上，摇动着她的整个身体来克服自己的睡意，但她的眼睛仍然紧闭着，她的头非常沉重。

“Varka, heat the stove!” she hears the master’s voice through the door.
“瓦尔卡，给火炉加热！”她通过门听到了主人的声音。

So it is time to get up and set to work. —-
是时候起床准备工作了。 —-

Varka leaves the cradle, and runs to the shed for firewood. She is glad. —-
瓦尔卡离开摇篮，跑向棚子取柴火。她感到高兴。 —-

When one moves and runs about, one is not so sleepy as when one is sitting down. —-
当一个人动来动去时，不像坐着时那样困倦。 —-

She brings the wood, heats the stove, and feels that her wooden face is getting supple again, and that her thoughts are growing clearer.
她带来了木柴，烧热炉子，感觉自己的僵硬的脸开始灵活起来，思绪也变得更加清晰。

“Varka, set the samovar!” shouts her mistress.
“瓦尔卡，给茶炊烧水！”她的女主人大喊道。

Varka splits a piece of wood, but has scarcely time to light the splinters and put them in the samovar, when she hears a fresh order:
瓦尔卡劈开一块木头，但她仅仅来得及点燃火柴，将它们放进茶炊，就听到了新的命令：

“Varka, clean the master’s goloshes!”
“瓦尔卡，擦擦主人的雨靴！”

She sits down on the floor, cleans the goloshes, and thinks how nice it would be to put her head into a big deep golosh, and have a little nap in it. —-
她坐在地板上，清洁着雨靴，心里想着如果能把头伸进一个大而深的雨靴里，在里面小睡一会该有多好。 —-

. . . And all at once the golosh grows, swells, fills up the whole room. —-
. . . 突然，那双雨靴变大了，膨胀了，填满了整个房间。 —-

Varka drops the brush, but at once shakes her head, opens her eyes wide, and tries to look at things so that they may not grow big and move before her eyes.
瓦尔卡放下刷子，却立刻摇了摇头，睁大眼睛，试图让眼前的事物不要变大、不要晃动。

“Varka, wash the steps outside; I am ashamed for the customers to see them!”
“瓦尔卡，洗洗外面的台阶，我为顾客看到它们感到羞愧！”

Varka washes the steps, sweeps and dusts the rooms, then heats another stove and runs to the shop. —-
瓦尔卡洗洗台阶，扫扫房间，然后烧另一个炉子，去商店。 —-

There is a great deal of work: she hasn’t one minute free.
那里工作很多：她没有一分钟是空闲的。

But nothing is so hard as standing in the same place at the kitchen table peeling potatoes. —-
但是没有什么比站在厨房的桌子前削土豆更辛苦的了。 —-

Her head droops over the table, the potatoes dance before her eyes, the knife tumbles out of her hand while her fat, angry mistress is moving about near her with her sleeves tucked up, talking so loud that it makes a ringing in Varka’s ears. —-
她的头低垂在桌子上，土豆在她眼前跳舞，刀子从她手中掉下，而她那胖胖、生气勃勃的女主人就在她附近晃动着，大声说话使得瓦尔卡的耳朵嗡嗡作响。 —-

It is agonising, too, to wait at dinner, to wash, to sew, there are minutes when she longs to flop on to the floor regardless of everything, and to sleep.
令人痛苦的是，等待晚餐时，洗衣服时，缝纫时，她有时会渴望无视一切，直接倒在地板上睡觉。

The day passes. Seeing the windows getting dark, Varka presses her temples that feel as though they were made of wood, and smiles, though she does not know why. —-
时间过去了，看着窗户变暗，瓦尔卡按压着自己像木头一样的太阳穴，微笑着，尽管她不知道为什么。 —-

The dusk of evening caresses her eyes that will hardly keep open, and promises her sound sleep soon. —-
黄昏轻抚着她那已经难以保持睁开的眼睛，给她许下很快能入睡的诺言。 —-

In the evening visitors come.
晚上有客人来。

“Varka, set the samovar!” shouts her mistress. —-
“瓦尔卡，准备好茶炊！”女主人喊道。 —-

The samovar is a little one, and before the visitors have drunk all the tea they want, she has to heat it five times. —-
瓦尔卡准备了一个小小的茶炊，然而在客人们喝完他们想要的所有茶之前，她不得不加热五次。 —-

After tea Varka stands for a whole hour on the same spot, looking at the visitors, and waiting for orders.
喝完茶后，瓦尔卡站在同一个地方整整一个小时，望着客人们，等待着指令。

“Varka, run and buy three bottles of beer!”
“瓦尔卡，去买三瓶啤酒！”

She starts off, and tries to run as quickly as she can, to drive away sleep.
她出发了，尽量快速地跑，以驱散睡意。

“Varka, fetch some vodka! Varka, where’s the corkscrew? Varka, clean a herring!”
“瓦尔卡，去拿些伏特加！瓦尔卡，开瓶器在哪儿？瓦尔卡，把一条鲱鱼清洗一下！”

But now, at last, the visitors have gone; —-
但是现在，客人们终于离开了。 —-

the lights are put out, the master and mistress go to bed.
灯灭了，主人和女主人上床睡觉了。

“Varka, rock the baby!” she hears the last order.
“瓦尔卡，摇摇宝宝！”她听到最后的命令。

The cricket churrs in the stove; the green patch on the ceiling and the shadows from the trousers and the baby-clothes force themselves on Varka’s half-opened eyes again, wink at her and cloud her mind.
炉子里的蟋蟀叽叽喳喳地叫着；天花板上的绿斑和来自裤子和婴儿衣物的阴影再次留意地盯着瓦尔卡半开着的眼睛，对她眨眼，使她的思绪变得模糊。

“Hush-a-bye, my baby wee,” she murmurs, “and I will sing a song to thee.”
“嘘嘘，我的小宝贝，”她低声说，“我要给你唱一首歌。”

And the baby screams, and is worn out with screaming. —-
宝宝尖叫着，因为尖叫而筋疲力尽。 —-

Again Varka sees the muddy high road, the people with wallets, her mother Pelageya, her father Yefim. She understands everything, she recognises everyone, but through her half sleep she cannot understand the force which binds her, hand and foot, weighs upon her, and prevents her from living. —-
瓦尔卡再次看到泥泞的大路，那些背着皮夹的人，她的母亲佩拉格亚，她的父亲叶菲姆。她明白一切，认识每个人，但在半睡半醒之间，她却无法理解束缚她、压在她身上、阻止她生活的力量。 —-

She looks round, searches for that force that she may escape from it, but she cannot find it. —-
她环顾四周，寻找那个力量以便摆脱它，但她找不到。 —-

At last, tired to death, she does her very utmost, strains her eyes, looks up at the flickering green patch, and listening to the screaming, finds the foe who will not let her live.
最后，她筋疲力尽，竭尽全力，慢慢地抬起眼睛，仰望那闪烁的绿洲，并且倾听尖叫声，找到了阻止她生活的敌人。

That foe is the baby.
那个敌人就是宝宝。

She laughs. It seems strange to her that she has failed to grasp such a simple thing before. —-
她笑了。她觉得之前没有明白这么简单的事情真是奇怪。 —-

The green patch, the shadows, and the cricket seem to laugh and wonder too.
那片绿洲、阴影和蟋蟀似乎也在笑，也在惊奇。

The hallucination takes possession of Varka. She gets up from her stool, and with a broad smile on her face and wide unblinking eyes, she walks up and down the room. —-
幻觉占据了瓦尔卡。她从凳子上站起来，脸上展开宽广的笑容，眼睛睁得大大的，走来走去。 —-

She feels pleased and tickled at the thought that she will be rid directly of the baby that binds her hand and foot. —-
她感到高兴和痒痒的，想到自己将很快摆脱束缚她手脚的宝宝。 —-

. . . Kill the baby and then sleep, sleep, sleep. . . .
. . 杀掉宝宝，然后睡觉，睡觉，睡觉. . . .

Laughing and winking and shaking her fingers at the green patch, Varka steals up to the cradle and bends over the baby. —-
笑着、眨眼、对着绿洲晃动手指，瓦尔卡悄悄走到摇篮前，腰身弯下。 —-

When she has strangled him, she quickly lies down on the floor, laughs with delight that she can sleep, and in a minute is sleeping as sound as the dead.
当她勒死他以后，她迅速躺到地板上，高兴地笑着可以睡觉，并且一分钟内睡得像死一样沉。