OLD SEMYON, nicknamed Canny, and a young Tatar, whom no one knew by name, were sitting on the river-bank by the camp-fire; —
老赛克莫恩，外号狡猾的卡尼，和一个年轻的鞑靼人，没人知道他的名字，坐在河岸旁的篝火旁； —

the other three ferrymen were in the hut. —
另外三名摆渡工在小屋里。 —

Semyon, an old man of sixty, lean and toothless, but broad shouldered and still healthy-looking, was drunk; —
赛克莫恩，一个六十岁的老人，瘦削无齿，但宽肩膀，看起来依然健康，喝醉了； —

he would have gone in to sleep long before, but he had a bottle in his pocket and he was afraid that the fellows in the hut would ask him for vodka. —
他早就应该进去睡觉了，但口袋里有一瓶酒，他担心小屋里的人会向他要伏特加。 —

The Tatar was ill and weary, and wrapping himself up in his rags was describing how nice it was in the Simbirsk province, and what a beautiful and clever wife he had left behind at home. —
鞑靼人病了，疲惫不堪，裹着破烂的衣物描述着西伯利亚省有多么美好，他家里留下的漂亮而聪明的妻子。 —

He was not more than twenty five, and now by the light of the camp-fire, with his pale and sick, mournful face, he looked like a boy.
他还不过二十五岁，如今在营火光亮的照射下，带着苍白和病态的沮丧脸庞，看起来像个男孩。

“To be sure, it is not paradise here,” said Canny. “You can see for yourself, the water, the bare banks, clay, and nothing else. —
“确实，这里不是天堂。” 卡尼说，“你自己看，水，光秃的岸，黏土，什么都没有。 —

… Easter has long passed and yet there is ice on the river, and this morning there was snow…”
….复活节早就过去了，河上还有结冰，今早还下雪了…”

“It’s bad! it’s bad!” said the Tatar, and looked round him in terror.
鞑靼人说，“糟糕！糟糕！”看起来惊恐地四处张望。

The dark, cold river was flowing ten paces away; —
黑压压的寒冷河水只有十步之遥； —

it grumbled, lapped against the hollow clay banks and raced on swiftly towards the far-away sea. —
它咆哮着，拍打着空心的黏土岸边，迅速奔向遥远的大海。 —

Close to the bank there was the dark blur of a big barge, which the ferrymen called a “karbos. —
靠近河岸处有一个大驳船的黑色模糊，摆渡工称之为“卡尔博斯”。 —

” Far away on the further bank, lights, dying down and flickering up again, zigzagged like little snakes; —
在更远处的河岸上，灯光交错，像小蛇般时亮时灭； —

they were burning last year’s grass. And beyond the little snakes there was darkness again. —
它们在燃烧去年的草。再往前是黑暗。 —

There little icicles could be heard knocking against the barge. —
隐约可以听到小冰柱碰击驳船的声音。 —

It was damp and cold….
天气潮湿寒冷。

The Tatar glanced at the sky. There were as many stars as at home, and the same blackness all round, but something was lacking. —
鞑靼人抬头看了看天空。这里和家乡一样有很多星星，四周一片黑暗，但缺少了什么。 —

At home in the Simbirsk province the stars were quite different, and so was the sky.
在西伯利西省的家乡，星星和天空都完全不同。

“It’s bad! it’s bad!” he repeated.
“糟糕！糟糕！”他重复着。

“You will get used to it,” said Semyon, and he laughed. —
“你会习惯的，”谢缅说着，笑了起来。 —

“Now you are young and foolish, the milk is hardly dry on your lips, and it seems to you in your foolishness that you are more wretched than anyone; —
“现在你还年轻愚蠢，奶都还没干，你以为自己比别人更可怜； —

but the time will come when you will say to yourself: ‘I wish no one a better life than mine. —
但有一天你会对自己说：‘没有比我的生活更美好的了。 —

’ You look at me. Within a week the floods will be over and we shall set up the ferry; —
’ 你看着我。一周后洪水会退去，我们会建起渡船； —

you will all go wandering off about Siberia while I shall stay and shall begin going from bank to bank. —
你们都会在西伯利亚四处游荡，而我会留下并且开始在岸边来回穿梭。 —

I’ve been going like that for twenty-two years, day and night. —
我已经这样走了22年，日夜不停。 —

The pike and the salmon are under the water while I am on the water. —
狗鱼和鲑鱼在水下，而我在水上。 —

And thank God for it, I want nothing; God give everyone such a life.”
感谢上帝，我什么都不缺；愿上帝赐予每个人这样的生活。”

The Tatar threw some dry twigs on the camp-fire, lay down closer to the blaze, and said:
鞑靼人往篝火上扔了些干树枝，靠近火堆躺下，说道：

“My father is a sick man. When he dies my mother and wife will come here. They have promised.”
“我父亲病了。等他去世，我母亲和妻子会来这里。她们已经答应了。”

“And what do you want your wife and mother for? —
“你想要你的妻子和母亲干什么呢？ —

” asked Canny. “That’s mere foolishness, my lad. —
问道：“这纯粹是愚蠢，我的小伙子。 —

It’s the devil confounding you, damn his soul! Don’t you listen to him, the cursed one. —
这是魔鬼在迷惑你，该死的灵魂！别听他的，那可恶的家伙。 —

Don’t let him have his way. He is at you about the women, but you spite him; —
不要让他得逞。他在拿女人开涮你，但你得顶住他； —

say, ‘I don’t want them!’ He is on at you about freedom, but you stand up to him and say: —
说：“我不需要她们！”他在嘲笑你的自由，但你要反击, 说： —

‘I don’t want it!’ I want nothing, neither father nor mother, nor wife, nor freedom, nor post, nor paddock; —
“我不需要！”我什么都不要，不要父亲也不要母亲，不要妻子，不要自由，不要宅地； —

I want nothing, damn their souls!”
我什么都不想要，该死他们的灵魂！”

Semyon took a pull at the bottle and went on:
谢缅喝了一口酒，继续说道：

“I am not a simple peasant, not of the working class, but the son of a deacon, and when I was free I lived at Kursk; —
“我不是普通的农民，也不是工人阶级的人，我是牧师的儿子，以前在库尔斯克住； —

I used to wear a frockcoat, and now I have brought myself to such a pass that I can sleep naked on the ground and eat grass. —
我过去穿禧服，现在我把自己逼到了这个地步，裸睡在地上，吃草。 —

And I wish no one a better life. I want nothing and I am afraid of nobody, and the way I look at it is that there is nobody richer and freer than I am. —
我也不希望别人过得更好。我什么都不想要, 我谁也不怕, 我这么看待自己更富有, 更自由。 —

When they sent me here from Russia from the first day I stuck it out; I want nothing! —
从俄国被送来这里的那一天起我挺住了；我什么都不想要！ —

The devil was at me about my wife and about my home and about freedom, but I told him: —
魔鬼在找我说我妻子和家庭和自由，但我告诉他： —

‘I want nothing.’ I stuck to it, and here you see I live well, and I don’t complain, and if anyone gives way to the devil and listens to him, if but once, he is lost, there is no salvation for him: —
“我什么都不要。” 我坚持住了，你看现在我生活得很好，我不抱怨，但是任何一旦给了魔鬼一点，一旦听他的，他就完蛋了，永远没救治: —

he is sunk in the bog to the crown of his head and will never get out.
他深陷泥潭到头顶，永远也出不来。

“It is not only a foolish peasant like you, but even gentlemen, well- educated people, are lost. —
“不仅是像你这样愚蠢的农民，甚至绅士，受过良好教育的人，都会迷失方向。 —

Fifteen years ago they sent a gentleman here from Russia. —
十五年前，他们从俄罗斯派来了一个绅士。 —

He hadn’t shared something with his brothers and had forged something in a will. —
他与兄弟们没有分享某件事，并在遗嘱中伪造了一些东西。 —

They did say he was a prince or a baron, but maybe he was simply an official—who knows? —
他们说他是王子或男爵，但也许他只是一个官员，谁知道呢？ —

Well, the gentleman arrived here, and first thing he bought himself a house and land in Muhortinskoe. —
嗯，这位绅士来到这里，第一件事就是在穆霍尔廷斯科买了房子和土地。 —

‘I want to live by my own work,’ says he, ‘in the sweat of my brow, for I am not a gentleman now,’ says he, ‘but a settler. —
“我想靠自己的劳动生活，”他说，“靠我自己的汗水谋生，因为我现在不是绅士了”，他说，“而是一个定居者”。 —

’ ‘Well,’ says I, ‘God help you, that’s the right thing. —
“好吧”，我说，“愿上帝帮助你，这样做是正确的。 —

’ He was a young man then, busy and careful; —
他当时是个年轻人，勤奋并细心； —

he used to mow himself and catch fish and ride sixty miles on horseback. —
他自己割草，捕鱼，骑马六十英里。 —

Only this is what happened: from the very first year he took to riding to Gyrino for the post; —
但发生了这样的事情：从第一年起，他就开始骑马去吉里诺取邮件； —

he used to stand on my ferry and sigh: ‘Ech, Semyon, how long it is since they sent me any money from home! —
他站在我的渡口上叹气：“呃，谢缅昂，我家多久没给我寄钱了啊！ —

’ ‘You don’t want money, Vassily Sergeyitch,’ says I. ‘What use is it to you? —
“瓦西里·谢尔盖耶维奇，你不需要钱”，我说，“那对你有什么用呢？ —

You cast away the past, and forget it as though it had never been at all, as though it had been a dream, and begin to live anew. —
你把过去抛在脑后，忘记它，就像从来没有发生过一样，就像是一个梦，开始新的生活。 —

Don’t listen to the devil,’ says I; ‘he will bring you to no good, he’ll draw you into a snare. —
不要听恶魔的话”，我说；“他不会带给你任何好处，他会把你引入陷阱。 —

Now you want money,’ says I, ‘but in a very little while you’ll be wanting something else, and then more and more. —
现在你需要钱”，我说，“但很快你会需要别的东西，然后是更多的东西。 —

If you want to be happy,’ says I, the chief thing is not to want anything. —
如果你想幸福”，我说，主要的是不要想要任何东西。 —

Yes…. If,’ says I, ‘if Fate has wronged you and me cruelly it’s no good asking for her favor and bowing down to her, but you despise her and laugh at her, or else she will laugh at you. —
是的….‘如果’，我说，‘如果命运残忍地对待了你和我，那么寻求她的恩宠并屈膝于她是没有用的，反而你要蔑视她，嘲笑她，否则她会嘲笑你。 —

’ That’s what I said to him….
那就是我对他说的….

“Two years later I ferried him across to this side, and he was rubbing his hands and laughing. —
“两年后，我把他摆渡到这边，他磨着手笑了起来。 —

‘I am going to Gyrino to meet my wife,’ says he. ‘She was sorry for me,’ says he; —
‘我要去吉林诺见我的妻子，’他说。‘她为我感到难过，’他说； —

‘she has come. She is good and kind.’ And he was breathless with joy. —
‘她来了。她是善良的。’他由喜悦喘不过气来。 —

So a day later he came with his wife. A beautiful young lady in a hat; in her arms was a baby girl. —
于是一天后他带着妻子来了。一个戴着帽子的美丽年轻女士；她的怀中是一个女婴。 —

And lots of luggage of all sorts. And my Vassily Sergeyitch was fussing round her; —
还有各种各样的行李。我的瓦西里·谢尔盖奇围着她忙碌； —

he couldn’t take his eyes off her and couldn’t say enough in praise of her. —
他眼睛无法离开她，并且赞美得不亦乐乎。 —

‘Yes, brother Semyon, even in Siberia people can live! —
‘是的，塞缪尔兄弟，即使在西伯利亚人们也能生活！ —

’ ‘Oh, all right,’ thinks I, ‘it will be a different tale presently. —
‘噢，好吧，’我想，‘不久将会变得不同。 —

’ And from that time forward he went almost every week to inquire whether money had not come from Russia. —
自那时起，他几乎每周都去询问是否有从俄罗斯寄来的钱。 —

He wanted a lot of money. ‘She is losing her youth and beauty here in Siberia for my sake,’ says he, ‘and sharing my bitter lot with me, and so I ought,’ says he, ‘to provide her with every comfort….’
他需要大量的金钱。‘她在西伯利亚为了我而失去了青春和美貌，’他说，‘为了我与我共度艰难，我应该，’他说，‘为她提供一切舒适….’

“To make it livelier for the lady he made acquaintance with the officials and all sorts of riff-raff. —
“为了让女士过得更愉快，他结识了官员和各种各样的无赖。 —

And of course he had to give food and drink to all that crew, and there had to be a piano and a shaggy lapdog on the sofa—plague take it! —
当然，他不得不供给那帮人食物和饮料，还要有一架钢琴和一只毛绒绒的膝上狗—可恶！ —

… Luxury, in fact, self-indulgence. The lady did not stay with him long. How could she? —
…… 奢华，实际上是纵容自己。那位女士没待在他身边很久。她怎么可能呢？ —

The clay, the water, the cold, no vegetables for you, no fruit. —
泥土、水、寒冷，没有蔬菜给你，也没有水果。 —

All around you ignorant and drunken people and no sort of manners, and she was a spoilt lady from Petersburg or Moscow. —
周围都是无知和醉酒的人，没有任何礼貌，而她是来自彼得堡或莫斯科的宠坏的夫人。 —

… To be sure she moped. Besides, her husband, say what you like, was not a gentleman now, but a settler—not the same rank.
…可以肯定她郁闷。此外，她的丈夫，不管你怎么说，现在已经不是绅士了，而是一个定居者—地位不一样了。

“Three years later, I remember, on the eve of the Assumption, there was shouting from the further bank. —
“三年后，我记得，在守护圣母升天节的前夕，在对岸传来喧哗声。 —

I went over with the ferry, and what do I see but the lady, all wrapped up, and with her a young gentleman, an official. —
我坐船到对岸，见到她，裹得严严实实，身边还有一个年轻绅士，一个官员。 —

A sledge with three horses…. I ferried them across here, they got in and away like the wind. —
一辆三匹马的雪橇…我把他们渡到这里，他们上车后像风一样飞驰而去。 —

They were soon lost to sight. And towards morning Vassily Sergeyitch galloped down to the ferry. —
他们很快就消失在视线中。凌晨时分，瓦西里谢尔盖奇骑马冲下码头。 —

‘Didn’t my wife come this way with a gentleman in spectacles, Semyon?’ ‘She did,’ said I; —
‘谢缪尼，我妻子和一个戴眼镜的绅士是从这边过的吗？’ ‘是的，’我说； —

‘you may look for the wind in the fields!’ He galloped in pursuit of them. —
‘你可以在田野里找风了！’ 他追着他们去了。 —

For five days and nights he was riding after them. —
他骑马追了他们五天五夜。 —

When I ferried him over to the other side afterwards, he flung himself on the ferry and beat his head on the boards of the ferry and howled. —
几天后我再把他渡到对岸时，他扑在码头上，用头撞击木板，哭喊。 —

‘So that’s how it is,’ says I. I laughed, and reminded him ‘people can live even in Siberia! —
“所以事情就是这样的，”我说。我笑着提醒他“人在西伯利亚也能生存！ —

’ And he beat his head harder than ever….
”他比以往更加用力地撞击头部……

“Then he began longing for freedom. His wife had slipped off to Russia, and of course he was drawn there to see her and to get her away from her lover. —
“然后他开始渴望自由。他的妻子溜到了俄罗斯，自然而然地，他被吸引到那里去看她，并将她从情人那里带走。 —

And he took, my lad, to galloping almost every day, either to the post or the town to see the commanding officer; —
而他，我的小伙子，几乎每天都骑马，或者去邮局或城里找见指挥官。 —

he kept sending in petitions for them to have mercy on him and let him go back home; —
他不停地递交请愿书，请求宽恕他并让他回家； —

and he used to say that he had spent some two hundred roubles on telegrams alone. —
他常说他光是发电报就花了两百卢布。 —

He sold his land and mortgaged his house to the Jews. He grew gray and bent, and yellow in the face, as though he was in consumption. —
他卖了自己的土地，抵押了房子给犹太人，变得苍老驼背，脸色黄瘦，似乎患上了结核病。 —

If he talked to you he would go, khee—khee—khee,… and there were tears in his eyes. —
如果他跟你说话，就会说着“咳-咳-咳”，眼里含泪。 —

He kept rushing about like this with petitions for eight years, but now he has grown brighter and more cheerful again: —
他不停地这样递交请愿书达八年，但现在又变得更加明亮和开朗： —

he has found another whim to give way to. You see, his daughter has grown up. —
他找到了另一个宠爱的对象。你看，他的女儿已经长大了。 —

He looks at her, and she is the apple of his eye. —
他看着她，她是他的掌上明珠。 —

And to tell the truth she is all right, good-looking, with black eyebrows and a lively disposition. —
说实话，她很出色，长相漂亮，有着黑眉毛和活泼性格。 —

Every Sunday he used to ride with her to church in Gyrino. —
每个星期天，他都会和她一起骑马去吉林诺的教堂。 —

They used to stand on the ferry, side by side, she would laugh and he could not take his eyes off her. —
他们站在渡船上，肩并肩，她笑着，他眼睛离不开她。 —

‘Yes, Semyon,’ says he, ‘people can live even in Siberia. Even in Siberia there is happiness. —
‘是的，谢缅，请看，即使在西伯利亚人们也能生活。即使在西伯利亚也有幸福。 —

Look,’ says he, ‘what a daughter I have got! —
瞧，’他说，‘我有多好的女儿啊！ —

I warrant you wouldn’t find another like her for a thousand versts round. —
我敢说你们八百里外都找不到另一个像她这样的。 —

’ ‘Your daughter is all right,’ says I, ‘that’s true, certainly. —
‘你女儿很不错，’我说，‘确实是这样，毋庸置疑。 —

’ But to myself I thought: ‘Wait a bit, the wench is young, her blood is dancing, she wants to live, and there is no life here. —
但心里想着：‘等一等，姑娘还年轻，热血方刚，她渴望生活，而这里没有生活。 —

’ And she did begin to pine, my lad…. She faded and faded, and now she can hardly crawl about. Consumption.
她开始憔悴了，我的小伙子….她日渐消瘦，现在几乎无法四处走动。患了结核病。

“So you see what Siberian happiness is, damn its soul! You see how people can live in Siberia. —
“你看到西伯利亚的幸福是什么样子了，该死的！你看到人们怎么在西伯利亚生活。 —

… He has taken to going from one doctor to another and taking them home with him. —
… 他开始四处求医，将医生请回家。 —

As soon as he hears that two or three hundred miles away there is a doctor or a sorcerer, he will drive to fetch him. —
只要听说两三百英里外有医生或巫师，他就会驱车去接。 —

A terrible lot of money he spent on doctors, and to my thinking he had better have spent the money on drink. —
他在医生身上花费了大笔钱，我想他还不如把钱花在喝酒上。 —

… She’ll die just the same. She is certain to die, and then it will be all over with him. —
… 她还是会死的。她肯定会死，然后他就完了。 —

He’ll hang himself from grief or run away to Russia—that’s a sure thing. —
他会因悲伤而上吊，或者逃到俄罗斯去—那是肯定的。 —

He’ll run away and they’ll catch him, then he will be tried, sent to prison, he will have a taste of the lash….”
他会逃跑，他们会抓住他，然后他会接受审判，入狱，品尝鞭笞….

“Good! good!” said the Tatar, shivering with cold.
“好！好！” 塔塔尔人说着，颤抖着。

“What is good?” asked Canny.
“好什么？” 卡尼问道。

“His wife, his daughter…. What of prison and what of sorrow! —
“他的妻子，他的女儿…. 监狱又怎样，悲伤又怎样！ —

—anyway, he did see his wife and his daughter…. You say, want nothing. But ‘nothing’ is bad! —
—无论如何，他至少见到了他的妻子和女儿…. 你说，什么都不想要。但‘什么都没有’是不好的！ —

His wife lived with him three years—that was a gift from God. ‘Nothing’ is bad, but three years is good. —
他的妻子跟他一起生活了三年—那是上帝的恩赐。‘什么都没有’是不好的，但三年是好的。 —

How not understand?”
怎么不理解呢？”

Shivering and hesitating, with effort picking out the Russian words of which he knew but few, the Tatar said that God forbid one should fall sick and die in a strange land, and be buried in the cold and dark earth; —
颤抖着、犹豫着，费力挑选着他所知道的寥寥俄文词汇，塔塔尔人说，但愿人不要在陌生的土地上生病死去，然后被埋在寒冷黑暗的土壤中。 —

that if his wife came to him for one day, even for one hour, that for such happiness he would be ready to bear any suffering and to thank God. Better one day of happiness than nothing.
如果他的妻子来找他一天，甚至是一个小时，他愿意为这样的幸福承受任何痛苦，并感谢上帝。与其什么都没有，倒不如拥有一天的幸福。

Then he described again what a beautiful and clever wife he had left at home. —
然后，他再次描述了他在家里留下的那位美丽聪明的妻子。 —

Then, clutching his head in both hands, he began crying and assuring Semyon that he was not guilty, and was suffering for nothing. —
然后，他双手抱头哭泣，向谢缅恳求他并不是有罪，正在受苦还是无辜的。 —

His two brothers and an uncle had carried off a peasant’s horses, and had beaten the old man till he was half dead, and the commune had not judged fairly, but had contrived a sentence by which all the three brothers were sent to Siberia, while the uncle, a rich man, was left at home.
他的两个兄弟和一个叔叔抢走了一个农民的马，并痛打一个老人至半死，乡会没有公正判决，而是通过了一个判决，让三个兄弟被送到西伯利亚，而那位有钱的叔叔则留在家里。

“You will get used to it!” said Semyon.
“你会习惯的！”谢缅说。

The Tatar was silent, and stared with tear-stained eyes at the fire; —
塔塔尔人沉默了，泪眼朦胧地盯着火； —

his face expressed bewilderment and fear, as though he still did not understand why he was here in the darkness and the wet, beside strangers, and not in the Simbirsk province.
他的脸上表现出困惑和恐惧，仿佛仍然不明白为什么自己会在黑暗潮湿中，身边是陌生人，而不是在辛比尔斯克省。

Canny lay near the fire, chuckled at something, and began humming a song in an undertone.
卡尼靠近火堆，对着某事轻声笑着，开始低声哼着歌。

“What joy has she with her father?” he said a little later. —
“她和她父亲在一起有什么快乐？”他稍后说道。 —

“He loves her and he rejoices in her, that’s true; —
“他爱她，他为她感到欢欣，那是真的； —

but, mate, you must mind your ps and qs with him, he is a strict old man, a harsh old man. —
但是，伙计，你必须在他面前小心翼翼，他是一个严厉的老人，一个苛刻的老人。 —

And young wenches don’t want strictness. They want petting and ha-ha-ha! and ho- ho-ho! —
年轻姑娘不喜欢苛刻。她们想要宠爱和哈哈哈！和嘿嘿嘿！ —

and scent and pomade. Yes…. Ech! life, life,” sighed Semyon, and he got up heavily. —
还有香水和发胶。是的…. 噫！生活，生活，”谢缅叹了口气，沉重地站了起来。 —

“The vodka is all gone, so it is time to sleep. —
“伏特加都喝光了，所以是时候睡觉了。 —

Eh? I am going, my lad….”
呃？我走了，小伙子….”

Left alone, the Tatar put on more twigs, lay down and stared at the fire; —
独自一人，鞑靼人放下更多的树枝，躺下来盯着火； —

he began thinking of his own village and of his wife. —
他开始想着自己的村庄和自己的妻子。 —

If his wife could only come for a month, for a day; and then if she liked she might go back again. —
如果他的妻子能来一个月，一个日子；然后如果她愿意的话，她可以再回去。 —

Better a month or even a day than nothing. —
一个月甚至一个日子总比没有强。 —

But if his wife kept her promise and came, what would he have to feed her on? —
但如果他妻子遵守诺言来了，他要拿什么来养她呢？ —

Where could she live here?
她在这里该住在哪里？

“If there were not something to eat, how could she live?” the Tatar asked aloud.
“如果没有吃的东西，她怎么可能生存？”鞑靼人大声问道。

He was paid only ten kopecks for working all day and all night at the oar; —
划船一整天一整夜只挣到十戈比； —

it is true that travelers gave him tips for tea and for vodkas but the men shared all they received among themselves, and gave nothing to the Tatar, but only laughed at him. —
诚然，旅行者们给他茶水和伏特加的小费，但船上的人把所有收入分给彼此，什么都不给鞑靼人，只是嘲笑他。 —

And from poverty he was hungry, cold, and frightened. —
由于贫穷，他又饥饿又寒冷，又害怕。 —

… Now, when his whole body was aching and shivering, he ought to go into the hut and lie down to sleep; —
…现在，当他浑身酸痛发抖时，他应该进小屋躺下睡觉； —

but he had nothing to cover him there, and it was colder than on the river-bank; —
但那里没有东西给他盖，而且比河岸还要冷； —

here he had nothing to cover him either, but at least he could make up the fire….
这里也没有东西给他盖，但至少他可以加火。

In another week, when the floods were quite over and they set the ferry going, none of the ferrymen but Semyon would be wanted, and the Tatar would begin going from village to village begging for alms and for work. —
另一个星期，等洪水完全退去，渡船开始运营时，除了谢谢门之外，其他渡口的人都不需要了，鞑靼人将开始挨村乞讨饥饱和工作。 —

His wife was only seventeen; she was beautiful, spoilt, and shy; —
他妻子只有十七岁；她美丽、被宠坏，又害羞； —

could she possibly go from village to village begging alms with her face unveiled? —
她可能去村村乞讨，脸上索然无味吗？ —

No, it was terrible even to think of that….
不，甚至想到这一点就太可怕了……

It was already getting light; the barge, the bushes of willow on the water, and the waves could be clearly discerned, and if one looked round there was the steep clay slope; —
天色渐亮；渡船、水上的柳树丛和波浪清晰可见，如果四处张望，就会看到陡峭的红土坡； —

at the bottom of it the hut thatched with dingy brown straw, and the huts of the village lay clustered higher up. —
坡底下是用暗褐色稻草盖的小屋，村庄的茅草屋高高聚集在上面。 —

The cocks were already crowing in the village.
村庄里的公鸡已经开始啼叫。

The rusty red clay slope, the barge, the river, the strange, unkind people, hunger, cold, illness, perhaps all that was not real. —
那生锈的红土坡、渡船、河流、陌生而冷漠的人们、饥饿、寒冷、疾病，也许这一切都不是真实的。 —

Most likely it was all a dream, thought the Tatar. He felt that he was asleep and heard his own snoring. —
最有可能这一切都是梦，塔塔尔人想着。他感觉自己在睡觉，听到自己的鼾声。 —

… Of course he was at home in the Simbirsk province, and he had only to call his wife by name for her to answer; —
……当然，他正处在辛比尔斯克省的家里，只需叫一声妻子的名字她就能回答； —

and in the next room was his mother…. What terrible dreams there are, though! —
隔壁房间里是他的母亲……有多可怕的梦啊！ —

What are they for? The Tatar smiled and opened his eyes. What river was this, the Volga?
这是什么河，伏尔加河吗？

Snow was falling.
雪花纷纷飘落。

“Boat!” was shouted on the further side. “Boat!”
“船！”那边有人喊道。“船！”

The Tatar woke up, and went to wake his mates and row over to the other side. —
塔塔尔人醒来，去叫醒他的伙伴们，划船过去对岸。 —

The ferrymen came on to the river-bank, putting on their torn sheepskins as they walked, swearing with voices husky from sleepiness and shivering from the cold. —
渡船工人们走在河岸上，穿着破旧的羊皮衣，嘴里嘟囔着因睡意而粗哑的咒骂，从寒冷中打着哆嗦。 —

On waking from their sleep, the river, from which came a breath of piercing cold, seemed to strike them as revolting and horrible. —
从睡梦中醒来，感觉河水带来一股刺骨寒冷的气息，仿佛让他们感到厌恶和可怕。 —

They jumped into the barge without hurrying themselves. —
他们毫不匆忙地跳进了驳船。 —

… The Tatar and the three ferrymen took the long, broad-bladed oars, which in the darkness looked like the claws of crabs; —
……鞑靼人和三个渡船夫拿起了长长的、宽大刀刃的桨，在黑暗中看起来像是蟹的爪； —

Semyon leaned his stomach against the tiller. —
谢缅把肚子靠在舵柄上。 —

The shout on the other side still continued, and two shots were fired from a revolver, probably with the idea that the ferrymen were asleep or had gone to the pot-house in the village.
对岸的喊声仍在继续，还有两声从左轮手枪里开出的枪响，可能是以为渡船夫睡着了或是去了村子里的酒吧。

“All right, you have plenty of time,” said Semyon in the tone of a man convinced that there was no necessity in this world to hurry—that it would lead to nothing, anyway.
“好吧，你们有足够的时间，”谢缅说着，声音中透着一种确信世上无需匆忙这种事情——因为它也不会有所带来，无论如何。

The heavy, clumsy barge moved away from the bank and floated between the willow-bushes, and only the willows slowly moving back showed that the barge was not standing still but moving. —
笨重而笨拙的驳船从岸边移开，在柳树丛间漂流，只有柳树缓慢后退的样子表明驳船并未停下而是在移动。 —

The ferrymen swung the oars evenly in time; —
渡船夫把桨有条不紊地震动； —

Semyon lay with his stomach on the tiller and, describing a semicircle in the air, flew from one side to the other. —
谢缅躺在舵柄上，画着一个在空中的半圆，从一边飞到另一边。 —

In the darkness it looked as though the men were sitting on some antediluvian animal with long paws, and were moving on it through a cold, desolate land, the land of which one sometimes dreams in nightmares.
在黑暗中，看起来就好像这些人坐在某种古老的动物身上，它们有着长长的爪子，正在通过一个寒冷而荒凉的土地，有时在噩梦中才做梦到这样的土地。

They passed beyond the willows and floated out into the open. —
他们穿过柳树，漂出开阔地带。 —

The creak and regular splash of the oars was heard on the further shore, and a shout came: —
在另一岸传来桨声的吱吱声和规律的水花声，还有一个喊声： —

“Make haste! make haste!”
“快点！快点！”

Another ten minutes passed, and the barge banged heavily against the landing-stage.
又过了十分钟，驳船重重地撞击到了泊岸。

“And it keeps sprinkling and sprinkling,” muttered Semyon, wiping the snow from his face; —
“零零星星地下着，下个不停，”谢缅喃喃自语，从脸上擦去雪花； —

“and where it all comes from God only knows.”
“这些都是从哪里来的，只有上帝知道。”

On the bank stood a thin man of medium height in a jacket lined with fox fur and in a white lambskin cap. —
在河岸边站着一个中等身材、身穿铺有狐狸毛的夹克和白色羊皮帽的瘦小男人。 —

He was standing at a little distance from his horses and not moving; —
他站在离自己的马有些距离的地方，一动不动； —

he had a gloomy, concentrated expression, as though he were trying to remember something and angry with his untrustworthy memory. —
他脸上带着忧郁而专注的表情，仿佛在试图回忆什么并对自己不靠谱的记忆感到愤怒。 —

When Semyon went up to him and took off his cap, smiling, he said:
当谢缅上前拿下他的帽子微笑时，他说：

“I am hastening to Anastasyevka. My daughter’s worse again, and they say that there is a new doctor at Anastasyevka.”
“我正赶往阿纳斯塔希耶夫卡。我女儿病情加重了，他们说那里有一位新医生。”

They dragged the carriage on to the barge and floated back. —
他们将马车拖到渡船上又顺流而下。 —

The man whom Semyon addressed as Vassily Sergeyitch stood all the time motionless, tightly compressing his thick lips and staring off into space; —
谢缅称呼为瓦西里·谢尔盖埃维奇的男人一直站在那里一动不动，紧闭厚厚的嘴唇盯着远方； —

when his coachman asked permission to smoke in his presence he made no answer, as though he had not heard. —
当他的马车夫请求在他面前吸烟时，他没有回答，仿佛没听见一样。 —

Semyon, lying with his stomach on the tiller, looked mockingly at him and said:
躺在船尾，肚子朝下的谢缅嘲笑地看着他说：

“Even in Siberia people can live—can li-ive!”
“即使在西伯利亚，人们也能生存—能生存呀！”

There was a triumphant expression on Canny’s face, as though he had proved something and was delighted that things had happened as he had foretold. —
卡尼的脸上带着胜利的表情，仿佛他证明了什么，并很高兴事情发展如他所预言的那样。 —

The unhappy helplessness of the man in the foxskin coat evidently afforded him great pleasure.
狐皮大衣男子的不幸无助显然让他极为快乐。

“It’s muddy driving now, Vassily Sergeyitch,” he said when the horses were harnessed again on the bank. —
“现在车子很难开，瓦西里·谢尔盖埃维奇，”在马匹再次套上马具时，谢缅说。 —

“You should have put off going for another fortnight, when it will be drier. —
“你应该再延迟出发一个星期，等干燥了再走。 —

Or else not have gone at all. … If any good would come of your going—but as you know yourself, people have been driving about for years and years, day and night, and it’s always been no use. —
或者干脆不去。… 如果出发有好处的话—但你自己也知道，多年来人们一直日夜奔波，结果总是无济于事。 —

That’s the truth.”
“那就是事实。”

Vassily Sergeyitch tipped him without a word, got into his carriage and drove off.
瓦西里·谢尔盖奇默默地给了他小费，坐上马车，驶离了。

“There, he has galloped off for a doctor!” said Semyon, shrinking from the cold. —
“看，他已经飞奔去找医生了！”谢缅恐寒而退。 —

“But looking for a good doctor is like chasing the wind in the fields or catching the devil by the tail, plague take your soul! —
“可要找一位好医生就像在田野中追逐风或者抓住魔鬼的尾巴，该死你的魂！ —

What a queer chap, Lord forgive me a sinner!”
多么古怪的家伙，主啊，宽恕一个罪人！”

The Tatar went up to Canny, and, looking at him with hatred and repulsion, shivering, and mixing Tatar words with his broken Russian, said: —
鞑靼人走到卡尼身边，带着憎恶和反感地看着他，颤抖着，用断断续续的俄语夹杂着鞑靼语说道： —

“He is good… good; but you are bad! You are bad! —
“他好…好；但你坏！你坏！ —

The gentleman is a good soul, excellent, and you are a beast, bad! —
先生是个好人，优秀的，而你是个野兽，坏！ —

The gentleman is alive, but you are a dead carcass. —
先生还活着，而你是个死尸。 —

… God created man to be alive, and to have joy and grief and sorrow; —
…上帝创造人是为了活着，拥有快乐和悲伤和悲哀； —

but you want nothing, so you are not alive, you are stone, clay! —
但你什么都不想要，所以你不算活着，你是石头，泥土！ —

A stone wants nothing and you want nothing. —
石头什么都不想要，你也什么都不想要。 —

You are a stone, and God does not love you, but He loves the gentleman!”
你是块石头，上帝不喜欢你，但他喜欢先生！”

Everyone laughed; the Tatar frowned contemptuously, and with a wave of his hand wrapped himself in his rags and went to the campfire. —
众人都笑了；鞑靼人鄙夷地皱着眉头，挥了挥手，裹紧自己的破布走向了篝火。 —

The ferrymen and Semyon sauntered to the hut.
渡船夫和谢缅漫步走向小屋。

“It’s cold,” said one ferryman huskily as he stretched himself on the straw with which the damp clay floor was covered.
“好冷，”一个渡船工嘶哑地说道，他躺在湿漉漉的泥土地上覆盖着的稻草上。

“Yes, it’s not warm,” another assented. “It’s a dog’s life….”
“是的，确实不暖和，”另一个附和道。“这是一种艰难的生活……”

They all lay down. The door was thrown open by the wind and the snow drifted into the hut; —
他们都躺了下来。门被风吹开，雪飘进了小屋； —

nobody felt inclined to get up and shut the door: —
没有人想起去起来关上门： —

they were cold, and it was too much trouble.
他们感到很冷，而且关门也太麻烦了。

“I am all right,” said Semyon as he began to doze. “I wouldn’t wish anyone a better life.”
“我没事，”谢缅昂说着开始打瞌睡。“我不希望别人有更好的生活。”

“You are a tough one, we all know. Even the devils won’t take you!”
“你真是个坚强的人，我们都知道。就连魔鬼都不会收你！”

Sounds like a dog’s howling came from outside.
外面传来一阵像狗嚎的声音。

“What’s that? Who’s there?”
“那是什么？谁在那里？”

“It’s the Tatar crying.”
“是鞑靼人在哭。”

“I say…. He’s a queer one!”
“我说……他真是一个古怪的家伙！”

“He’ll get u-used to it!” said Semyon, and at once fell asleep.
“他会习惯的！”谢缅昂说着就睡着了。

The others were soon asleep too. The door remained unclosed.
其他人也很快入睡了。门仍然没有关上。