MELITON SHISHKIN, a bailiff from the Dementyev farm, exhausted by the sultry heat of the fir-wood and covered with spiders’ webs and pine- needles, made his way with his gun to the edge of the wood. —
梅利顿·希什金，德门捷夫农场的一名法警，被萨拉逊孤林里闷热的天气搞得筋疲力尽，浑身是蜘蛛网和松针，提着枪朝着树林边缘走去。 —

His Damka—a mongrel between a yard dog and a setter—an extremely thin bitch heavy with young, trailed after her master with her wet tail between her legs, doing all she could to avoid pricking her nose. —
他的丹卡——一只杂种狗，混血儿，既是院子里的狗又是一只塞特犬，一只怀着一窝幼崽的瘦狗，拖着湿漉漉的尾巴跟在主人后面，尽量避免扎到自己的鼻子。 —

It was a dull, overcast morning. Big drops dripped from the bracken and from the trees that were wrapped in a light mist; —
早晨阴沉沉的天气。蕨类植物和挂满轻雾的树林里滴下大颗的水滴； —

there was a pungent smell of decay from the dampness of the wood.
气息中还带着一股因湿气所致的腐朽气味。

There were birch-trees ahead of him where the wood ended, and between their stems and branches he could see the misty distance. —
他前方是几棵白桦树，标志着树林的尽头，透过它们的茎和枝枝桠桠，他能看到远处笼罩在薄雾之中的景象。 —

Beyond the birch-trees someone was playing on a shepherd’s rustic pipe. —
在白桦树之外，有人在吹着牧羊人的简陋笛子。 —

The player produced no more than five or six notes, dragged them out languidly with no attempt at forming a tune, and yet there was something harsh and extremely dreary in the sound of the piping.
那人只吹响了五六个音符，悠长地拖着，没有着意组成旋律，但吹奏的声音却带有一种刺耳和沉闷的感觉。

As the copse became sparser, and the pines were interspersed with young birch-trees, Meliton saw a herd. —
当林木变得更稀疏，松树间点缀着年轻的桦树，梅利托看到了一群牲畜。 —

Hobbled horses, cows, and sheep were wandering among the bushes and, snapping the dry branches, sniffed at the herbage of the copse. —
被缚住的马、牛和羊在灌木丛中徜徉，撞开干枝，嗅着灌木丛中的草料。 —

A lean old shepherd, bareheaded, in a torn grey smock, stood leaning against the wet trunk of a birch-tree. —
一个瘦弱的老牧人，光着头，身穿一件破灰色工作衣，斜倚在一棵湿润的桦树干上。 —

He stared at the ground, pondering something, and played his pipe, it seemed, mechanically.
他一脸茫然地盯着地面，似乎心事重重，机械地吹着笛子。

“Good-day, grandfather! God help you!” Meliton greeted him in a thin, husky voice which seemed incongruous with his huge stature and big, fleshy face. —
“祖父，你好！愿上帝保佑你！”梅利托用一种细而沙哑的声音问候道，和他那高大的身材和饱满的脸显得格格不入。 —

“How cleverly you are playing your pipe! —
“你吹笛子的技艺真是高超！ —

Whose herd are you minding?”
你是在放谁家的群？”

“The Artamonovs’,” the shepherd answered reluctantly, and he thrust the pipe into his bosom.
“阿尔塔莫诺夫家的，”牧人不情愿地回答，并把笛子插进胸前。

“So I suppose the wood is the Artamonovs’ too?” Meliton inquired, looking about him. —
“那这片林子是阿尔塔莫诺夫家的吗？”梅利托环顾四周询问。 —

“Yes, it is the Artamonovs’; only fancy. —
“是的，是阿尔塔莫诺夫家的，难以置信。 —

.. I had completely lost myself. I got my face scratched all over in the thicket.”
..我竟然迷失了方向。我在灌木丛里被脸刮伤了。”

He sat down on the wet earth and began rolling up a bit of newspaper into a cigarette.
他坐在潮湿的土地上，开始卷起一小张报纸做起了香烟。

Like his voice, everything about the man was small and out of keeping with his height, his breadth, and his fleshy face: —
与他的身高、身材和饱满的脸相比，这个人的一切都显得小巧而不协调： —

his smiles, his eyes, his buttons, his tiny cap, which would hardly keep on his big, closely- cropped head. —
他那微笑、眼睛、纽扣、几乎无法挂在他大脑袋上的小帽子。 —

When he talked and smiled there was something womanish, timid, and meek about his puffy, shaven face and his whole figure.
当他说话和微笑时，他那浮肿、削平的脸和整个身形中都带着一种女性化、胆怯和温顺的气息。

“What weather! God help us!” he said, and he turned his head from side to side. —
“天气真糟！愿　上帝帮我们！”他说着，摇了摇头。 —

“Folk have not carried the oats yet, and the rain seems as though it had been taken on for good, God bless it.”
“人们还没收割燕麦呢，雨似乎下个不停，愿　上帝赐福。”

The shepherd looked at the sky, from which a drizzling rain was falling, at the wood, at the bailif’s wet clothes, pondered, and said nothing.
牧羊人看着正在下着蒙蒙细雨的天空，看着树林，看着管家沾满雨水的衣服，思考了一会儿，什么也没说。

“The whole summer has been the same,” sighed Meliton. —
“整个夏天都是这样，”梅利顿叹了口气。 —

“A bad business for the peasants and no pleasure for the gentry.”
“对农民来说是个坏事，对绅士们也没有乐事可言。”

The shepherd looked at the sky again, thought a moment, and said deliberately, as though chewing each word:
牧羊人又一次看着天空，沉思了一会儿，慢条斯理地说道，仿佛在咀嚼着每个字：

“It’s all going the same way…. There is nothing good to be looked for.”
“一切都在逐渐恶化……没有什么好事可期望。”

“How are things with you here?” Meliton inquired, lighting his cigarette. —
“你这边还好吗？”梅利顿点燃了他的香烟，问道。 —

“Haven’t you seen any coveys of grouse in the Artamonovs’ clearing?”
“你没有看到阿塔莫诺夫家那片空地上有鸟群吗？”

The shepherd did not answer at once. He looked again at the sky and to right and left, thought a little, blinked. —
牧羊人没有立刻回答。他再次看了看天空，左右张望了一下，思考了一会儿，眨了眨眼睛。 —

… Apparently he attached no little significance to his words, and to increase their value tried to pronounce them with deliberation and a certain solemnity. —
“…显然他觉得自己的话很有意义，为了增加其价值，努力缓慢而庄重地发出声音。 —

The expression of his face had the sharpness and staidness of old age, and the fact that his nose had a saddle-shaped depression across the middle and his nostrils turned upwards gave him a sly and sarcastic look.
他的脸上表情锐利、稳重，鼻子的中间有一个鞍状的凹陷，鼻孔朝上，使他看起来狡猾而讽刺。

“No, I believe I haven’t,” he said. —
“不，我想我没有看到过。”他说。 —

“Our huntsman Eryomka was saying that on Elijah’s Day he started one covey near Pustoshye, but I dare say he was lying. —
“我们的猎人埃里昂卡说，在以利亚日，他在普斯托希耶附近赶走了一群，但我敢说他在撒谎。 —

There are very few birds.”
那里鸟很少。”

“Yes, brother, very few…. Very few everywhere! —
“是的，兄弟，很少…到处都是很少的鸟！ —

The shooting here, if one is to look at it with common sense, is good for nothing and not worth having. —
说实话，这里的狩猎毫无意义，不值得一试。 —

There is no game at all, and what there is is not worth dirtying your hands over—it is not full-grown. —
根本没有猎物，而且有的也不值得弄脏手——根本还不成熟。 —

It is such poor stuff that one is ashamed to look at it.”
猎物实在太差了，看了都让人感到羞愧。”

Meliton gave a laugh and waved his hands.
梅利顿笑了笑，挥了挥手。

“Things happen so queerly in this world that it is simply laughable and nothing else. —
“这个世界发生的事情太古怪了，简直令人发笑而已。 —

Birds nowadays have become so unaccountable: —
如今的鸟儿变得让人捉摸不透了。 —

they sit late on their eggs, and there are some, I declare, that have not hatched them by St. Peter’s Day!”
他们孵蛋都等到很晚，确实有些，我声明，到圣彼得节还没有孵出来！

“It’s all going the same,” said the shepherd, turning his face upwards. —
“情况一直都是这样的，”牧羊人抬起头说道。 —

“There was little game last year, this year there are fewer birds still, and in another five years, mark my words, there will be none at all. —
“去年猎物就很少，今年还有更少的鸟，再过五年，记住我的话，就一点也没有了。” —

As far as I can see there will soon be not only no game, but no birds at all.”
据我所见，不仅猎物会很快没有了，连鸟都会全无。

“Yes,” Meliton assented, after a moment’s thought. “That’s true.”
“是的，”梅利顿斟酌片刻后表示同意。“确实如此。”

The shepherd gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
牧羊人苦笑着摇摇头。

“It’s a wonder,” he said, “what has become of them all! —
“想不通呢，”他说，“它们都去哪儿了！ —

I remember twenty years ago there used to be geese here, and cranes and ducks and grouse—clouds and clouds of them! —
我记得二十年前这里有鹅，有鹤，有鸭子和松鸡—成群结队的！ —

The gentry used to meet together for shooting, and one heard nothing but pouf-pouf-pouf! —
那些绅士们聚在一起打猎，只听见“哇哇哇”的枪声！ —

pouf-pouf-pouf! There was no end to the woodcocks, the snipe, and the little teals, and the water-snipe were as common as starlings, or let us say sparrows—lots and lots of them! —
“哇哇哇”的声音不绝于耳！仙鹤、鹬鹊，小绿翅鸭居然和家麻雀一样常见—好多好多！ —

And what has become of them all? We don’t even see the birds of prey. —
它们都去哪儿了呢？我们甚至看不到食肉鸟。 —

The eagles, the hawks, and the owls have all gone. —
鹰、鹰和猫头鹰都不见了。 —

… There are fewer of every sort of wild beast, too. —
……任何一种野生动物都少了。 —

Nowadays, brother, even the wolf and the fox have grown rare, let alone the bear or the otter. —
如今，兄弟，甚至狼和狐狸也变得稀少，更别提熊或水獭了。 —

And you know in old days there were even elks! —
你知道吧，古代甚至还有麋鹿！ —

For forty years I have been observing the works of God from year to year, and it is my opinion that everything is going the same way.”
四十年来，我每年观察上帝的作为，我认为一切都在朝着同一个方向发展。

“What way?”
“什么方向？”

“To the bad, young man. To ruin, we must suppose. —
“向坏的方向，年轻人。我们必须假定是毁灭。” —

.. The time has come for God’s world to perish.”
现在是上帝的世界毁灭的时候了。

The old man put on his cap and began gazing at the sky.
老人戴上帽子，开始凝视着天空。

“It’s a pity,” he sighed, after a brief silence. “O God, what a pity! —
“真遗憾。”他叹息着，经过短暂的沉默。“哦上帝，多么遗憾！ —

Of course it is God’s will; the world was not created by us, but yet it is a pity, brother. —
当然这是上帝的旨意；世界不是我们创造的，但还是遗憾，兄弟。 —

If a single tree withers away, or let us say a single cow dies, it makes one sorry, but what will it be, good man, if the whole world crumbles into dust? —
如果一棵树枯萎，或者说一头牛死去，这让人感到悲伤，但如果整个世界崩溃成尘埃，那又将会怎样呢？ —

Such blessings, Lord Jesus! The sun, and the sky, and the forest, and the rivers, and the creatures—all these have been created, adapted, and adjusted to one another. —
多么祝福啊，主耶稣！太阳、天空、森林、河流和生物——所有这些都被创造、适应和调整到彼此之间。 —

Each has been put to its appointed task and knows its place. —
每一样都被安排到自己的任务中，并知道自己的位置。 —

And all that must perish.”
但所有这一切都将毁灭。

A mournful smile gleamed on the shepherd’s face, and his eyelids quivered.
牧羊人脸上闪过一丝悲伤的微笑，眼睑颤动起来。

“You say—the world is perishing,” said Meliton, pondering. —
“你说——世界正在毁灭。”梅利顿思索着说。 —

“It may be that the end of the world is near at hand, but you can’t judge by the birds. —
“也许世界末日在即，但你不能以鸟类来判断。 —

I don’t think the birds can be taken as a sign.”
我觉得鸟类不太可能是一个征兆。”

“Not the birds only,” said the shepherd. —
“不仅仅是鸟，”牧羊人说。 —

“It’s the wild beasts, too, and the cattle, and the bees, and the fish. —
“还有野兽，牲畜，蜜蜂，和鱼。 —

… If you don’t believe me ask the old people; —
…如果你不相信我，问问老人们; —

every old man will tell you that the fish are not at all what they used to be. —
每个老人都会告诉你，鱼已经不再是过去的样子了。 —

In the seas, in the lakes, and in the rivers, there are fewer fish from year to year. —
在海洋、湖泊和河流中，每年鱼的数量都在减少。 —

In our Pestchanka, I remember, pike used to be caught a yard long, and there were eel-pouts, and roach, and bream, and every fish had a presentable appearance; —
在我们的佩斯恰卡（Pestchanka）里，我记得，人们曾经能钓到一码长的狼鳜鱼，还有鳗鱼、鳟鱼和鲦鱼，每种鱼都外观良好; —

while nowadays, if you catch a wretched little pikelet or perch six inches long you have to be thankful. —
而现在，即使你钓到一个可怜的小狼鳜鱼或者六英寸长的鲈鱼你都得感恩。 —

There are not any gudgeon even worth talking about. —
甚至没有可谈的鲫鱼。 —

Every year it is worse and worse, and in a little while there will be no fish at all. —
每年情况都越来越糟，再过一段时间将一无所获。 —

And take the rivers now… the rivers are drying up, for sure.”
再看看河流…河流确实在干涸。”

“It is true; they are drying up.”
“没错，它们在干涸。”

“To be sure, that’s what I say. Every year they are shallower and shallower, and there are not the deep holes there used to be. —
“确实，我就是这么说的。每年它们变得越来越浅，没有像过去那样深的洞。 —

And do you see the bushes yonder?” the old man asked, pointing to one side. —
还有你看那边的灌木？”老人指着一边问道。 —

“Beyond them is an old river-bed; it’s called a backwater. —
“在它们的后面是一个被称为回水的旧河床。 —

In my father’s time the Pestchanka flowed there, but now look; —
在我父亲那个时代，佩斯恰卡流经那里，但现在看看； —

where have the evil spirits taken it to? —
邪灵们把它带到哪里去了？ —

It changes its course, and, mind you, it will go on changing till such time as it has dried up altogether. —
它改变了自己的脉络，你要注意，它会一直改变，直到完全干涸。 —

There used to be marshes and ponds beyond Kurgasovo, and where are they now? —
库尔加索以外过去有沼泽和池塘，现在它们都去哪里了？ —

And what has become of the streams? Here in this very wood we used to have a stream flowing, and such a stream that the peasants used to set creels in it and caught pike; —
这片树林里过去有一条小溪流过，那条小溪流的水质很好，农民们在里面放上网捕到鲈鱼； —

wild ducks used to spend the winter by it, and nowadays there is no water in it worth speaking of, even at the spring floods. —
—

Yes, brother, look where you will, things are bad everywhere. Everywhere!”
野鸭们过冬在那里，可如今它几乎没有值得称道的水源，即便到了春天洪水时期。

A silence followed. Meliton sank into thought, with his eyes fixed on one spot. —
是的，兄弟，无论看到哪里，到处都是糟糕的情况。到处都是！ —

He wanted to think of some one part of nature as yet untouched by the all-embracing ruin. —
之后是一阵寂静。梅利通陷入思索，眼睛盯着某个地方。 —

Spots of light glistened on the mist and the slanting streaks of rain as though on opaque glass, and immediately died away again—it was the rising sun trying to break through the clouds and peep at the earth.
他想找到一处尚未被全面毁坏的自然之处。

“Yes, the forests, too…” Meliton muttered.
雾气和倾泻的雨上反射出光点，就像在不透明玻璃上一样，随即消失了——是太阳试图冲破云层、向地球张望。

“The forests, too,” the shepherd repeated. —
“是的，林子也…” 梅利通喃喃自语。 —

“They cut them down, and they catch fire, and they wither away, and no new ones are growing. —
“林子也是，” 牧羊人重复道。 —

Whatever does grow up is cut down at once; —
“它们被砍伐、被烧毁，它们在凋零，而新的没有再生长。 —

one day it shoots up and the next it has been cut down—and so on without end till nothing’s left. —
不管长出什么，立刻就被砍伐； —

I have kept the herds of the commune ever since the time of Freedom, good man; —
一天它长高了，第二天就被砍伐了—如此周而复始，直到没有一点剩下。 —

before the time of Freedom I was shepherd of the master’s herds. —
在自由时代之前，我是主人牧羊的牧羊人。 —

I have watched them in this very spot, and I can’t remember a summer day in all my life that I have not been here. —
我在这个地方看着它们，我不记得我的一生中有哪个夏天不在这里。 —

And all the time I have been observing the works of God. I have looked at them in my time till I know them, and it is my opinion that all things growing are on the decline. —
我一直在观察上帝的作品。我观察它们直到我了解它们，我认为一切生长的事物都在衰退。 —

Whether you take the rye, or the vegetables, or flowers of any sort, they are all going the same way.”
无论是黑麦，蔬菜，还是任何花卉，它们都在朝着同一个方向发展。

“But people have grown better,” observed the bailiff.
“但人们变得更好了。”看守说道。

“In what way better?”
“在哪方面更好了呢？”

“Cleverer.”
“更聪明。”

“Cleverer, maybe, that’s true, young man; but what’s the use of that? —
“更聪明，也许是真的，年轻人；但聪明有什么用呢？ —

What earthly good is cleverness to people on the brink of ruin? One can perish without cleverness. —
如果人们濒临崩溃，聪明有何益处呢？一个人可以在没有聪明的情况下灭亡。 —

What’s the good of cleverness to a huntsman if there is no game? —
如果没有猎物，猎人的聪明又有何用呢？ —

What I think is that God has given men brains and taken away their strength. —
我认为上帝给了人们大脑却拿走了他们的力量。 —

People have grown weak, exceedingly weak. Take me, for instance. —
人们变得虚弱，非常虚弱。以我为例。 —

.. I am not worth a halfpenny, I am the humblest peasant in the whole village, and yet, young man, I have strength. —
我一文不值，在整个村庄里是最低微的农民，但是，年轻人，我有力气。 —

Mind you, I am in my seventies, and I tend my herd day in and day out, and keep the night watch, too, for twenty kopecks, and I don’t sleep, and I don’t feel the cold; —
请注意，我七十多岁了，我白天夜晚看守我的牧群，也守夜工作二十戈比，我不睡不怕冷； —

my son is cleverer than I am, but put him in my place and he would ask for a raise next day, or would be going to the doctors. —
我的儿子比我聪明，但是让他取代我，第二天他会要求加薪，或者去看医生。 —

There it is. I eat nothing but bread, for ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’ and my father ate nothing but bread, and my grandfather; —
这就是现状。我什么都不吃，只吃面包，因为‘我们日用的食物，今日赐给我们’，我父亲也是只吃面包，我的祖父也是； —

but the peasant nowadays must have tea and vodka and white loaves, and must sleep from sunset to dawn, and he goes to the doctor and pampers himself in all sorts of ways. —
但是现在的农民却必须要茶、伏特加和白面包，必须从日落到黎明睡觉，必须去看医生，以各种方式纵容自己。 —

And why is it? He has grown weak; he has not the strength to endure. —
这是为什么呢？他们变得虚弱了；他们没有承受力。 —

If he wants to stay awake, his eyes close—there is no doing anything.”
如果他想保持清醒，他的眼睛会紧闭——什么也做不了。”

“That’s true,” Meliton agreed; “the peasant is good for nothing nowadays.”
“这是真的，”梅利顿同意道；“现在的农民一个也没用。”

“It’s no good hiding what is wrong; we get worse from year to year. —
“掩盖错误是没有好处的；我们一年比一年更糟。 —

And if you take the gentry into consideration, they’ve grown feebler even more than the peasants have. —
如果考虑到上层阶级，他们变得比农民更加虚弱。 —

The gentleman nowadays has mastered everything; —
如今的绅士什么都懂； —

he knows what he ought not to know, and what is the sense of it? —
他知道自己不应该知道的事，这有什么意义呢？ —

It makes you feel pitiful to look at him. —
看着他让人感到可怜。 —

… He is a thin, puny little fellow, like some Hungarian or Frenchman; —
他是个瘦弱的小家伙，像个匈牙利人或法国人； —

there is no dignity nor air about him; it’s only in name he is a gentleman. —
他身上没有尊严，没有气质；他只不过是名义上的绅士。 —

There is no place for him, poor dear, and nothing for him to do, and there is no making out what he wants. —
他没有位置，没有事可做，也无法了解他想要什么。 —

Either he sits with a hook catching fish, or he lolls on his back reading, or trots about among the peasants saying all sorts of things to them, and those that are hungry go in for being clerks. —
要么他拿钩子钓鱼，要么他仰躺着读书，要么他在农民中间游荡说些话，而那些饥饿的人却去当职员。 —

So he spends his life in vain. And he has no notion of doing something real and useful. —
所以他的一生都白费了。他没有要做真实而有用的事情的概念。 —

The gentry in old days were half of them generals, but nowadays they are—a poor lot.”
旧时的绅士一半是将军，但如今他们是一群穷人。

“They are badly off nowadays,” said Meliton.
“现在他们过得很不好，”梅利顿说。

“They are poorer because God has taken away their strength. You can’t go against God.”
“他们变得更穷是因为上帝带走了他们的力量。你不能违背上帝。”

Meliton stared at a fixed point again. After thinking a little he heaved a sigh as staid, reasonable people do sigh, shook his head, and said:
梅利顿又盯着一个固定的地方。思考了一会儿，他像沉着、理智的人那样叹了口气，摇了摇头，说道：

“And all because of what? We have sinned greatly, we have forgotten God.. and it seems that the time has come for all to end. —
“这都因为什么？我们犯了重罪，我们忘记了上帝。看来时候到了，一切都将终结了。 —

And, after all, the world can’t last for ever—it’s time to know when to take leave.”
终究，世界不可能永远存在下去——是时候该告别了。”

The shepherd sighed and, as though wishing to cut short an unpleasant conversation, he walked away from the birch-tree and began silently reckoning over the cows.
牧羊人叹了口气，仿佛想要结束一段不愉快的对话，走开了离白桦树，默默地数着奶牛。

“Hey-hey-hey!” he shouted. “Hey-hey-hey! Bother you, the plague take you! —
“嘿-嘿-嘿！”他喊道。“嘿-嘿-嘿！讨厌的家伙，该死的！ —

The devil has taken you into the thicket. Tu-lu-lu!”
鬼把你拐到灌木丛里去了。唔-呜-呜！”

With an angry face he went into the bushes to collect his herd. —
他怒气冲冲地走进灌木丛，去收拾他的牦牛。 —

Meliton got up and sauntered slowly along the edge of the wood. —
梅利顿站起来，慢慢地沿着树林边缘漫步。 —

He looked at the ground at his feet and pondered; —
他看着脚下的地面，思考着； —

he still wanted to think of something which had not yet been touched by death. —
他仍想找一些尚未被死亡触及的事情思考。 —

Patches of light crept upon the slanting streaks of rain again; —
斜坡上雨线上又爬出一块块光斑； —

they danced on the tops of the trees and died away among the wet leaves. —
它们在树梢上跳舞，最终消失在湿润的叶子间。 —

Damka found a hedgehog under a bush, and wanting to attract her master’s attention to it, barked and howled.
达姆卡在灌木丛下发现了一个刺猬，想要吸引主人的注意，便吠叫着。

“Did you have an eclipse or not?” the shepherd called from the bushes.
“你们看见日食了吗？”牧羊人从灌木丛中叫道。

“Yes, we had,” answered Meliton.
“是的，我们看到了，”梅利托回答说。

“Ah! Folks are complaining all about that there was one. —
“啊！人们都在抱怨，说有一个日食。 —

It shows there is disorder even in the heavens! —
这表明就连天上也有混乱！ —

It’s not for nothing…. Hey-hey-hey! Hey!”
这不是没有来由的….嘿-嘿-嘿！嘿！”

Driving his herd together to the edge of the wood, the shepherd leaned against the birch-tree, looked up at the sky, without haste took his pipe from his bosom and began playing. —
将羊群赶到树林边缘后，牧羊人靠在白桦树上，抬头朝天空看去，不急不躁地从怀里掏出烟斗开始吹奏。 —

As before, he played mechanically and took no more than five or six notes; —
他像以往一样机械地吹奏，只是吹了五六个音符； —

as though the pipe had come into his hands for the first time, the sounds floated from it uncertainly, with no regularity, not blending into a tune, but to Meliton, brooding on the destruction of the world, there was a sound in it of something very depressing and revolting which he would much rather not have heard. —
似乎这根烟斗是第一次到他手中，发出的声音不确定不规律，没有融为一曲，但对于想着世界毁灭的梅利托来说，其中有一种令人非常沮丧和厌恶的声音，他宁愿不要听见。 —

The highest, shrillest notes, which quivered and broke, seemed to be weeping disconsolately, as though the pipe were sick and frightened, while the lowest notes for some reason reminded him of the mist, the dejected trees, the grey sky. —
最高最尖锐的音符颤抖着断裂，似乎在绝望地哭泣，好像烟斗感到生病和恐惧，而最低的音符出于某种原因让他想起了雾气、忧郁的树木和灰色的天空。 —

Such music seemed in keeping with the weather, the old man and his sayings.
这样的音乐似乎符合着阴郁的天气、老人及他的言论。

Meliton wanted to complain. He went up to the old man and, looking at his mournful, mocking face and at the pipe, muttered:
梅利托想要抱怨。他走近老人，看着他悲伤而嘲讽的脸和烟斗，喃喃自语：

“And life has grown worse, grandfather. It is utterly impossible to live. Bad crops, want. —
“生活变得更糟了，爷爷。无法忍受。庄稼不好，贫困。 —

… Cattle plague continually, diseases of all sorts. —
牲畜不断患瘟疫，各种疾病。我们被贫困所压垮。” —

… We are crushed by poverty.”
…

The bailiff’s puffy face turned crimson and took a dejected, womanish expression. —
法警浮肿的脸变得绯红，带着一种沮丧、女人般的表情。 —

He twirled his fingers as though seeking words to convey his vague feeling and went on:
他转动手指，仿佛在寻找词语来表达他模糊的感觉，继续说道：

“Eight children, a wife… and my mother still living, and my whole salary ten roubles a month and to board myself. —
“八个孩子，一个妻子…还有我年迈的母亲，而我的整月工资只有十卢布，还要自己吃住。” —

My wife has become a Satan from poverty…. I go off drinking myself. I am a sensible, steady man; —
我的妻子因贫困而变得像撒旦….我自己也沉湎于酒。我是个明智、稳重的人； —

I have education. I ought to sit at home in peace, but I stray about all day with my gun like a dog because it is more than I can stand; —
我受过教育。我本应该安安稳稳地呆在家里，但整天拿着枪像只狗四处游荡，因为我无法忍受； —

my home is hateful to me!”
我家对我来说充满厌恶！

Feeling that his tongue was uttering something quite different from what he wanted to say, the bailiff waved his hand and said bitterly:
感觉到自己说的话与自己想说的完全不同，法警挥了挥手，愤然说道：

“If the world’s going to end I wish it would make haste about it. —
“如果世界要毁灭，那就快点吧。 —

There’s no need to drag it out and make folks miserable for nothing….”
没必要拖延，让人们无谓地痛苦….”

The old man took the pipe from his lips and, screwing up one eye, looked into its little opening. —
老人将烟斗从嘴里拿下来，眯起一只眼，看着小小的喷孔。 —

His face was sad and covered with thick drops like tears. —
他的脸悲伤，并布满了像泪水一样厚重的水珠。 —

He smiled and said:
他微笑着说道：

“It’s a pity, my friend! My goodness, what a pity! —
“真遗憾，朋友！天哪，多么可惜！ —

The earth, the forest, the sky, the beasts of all sorts—all this has been created, you know, adapted; —
地球、森林、天空、各种野兽—这一切都被创造了，你知道，被适应了； —

they all have their intelligence. It is all going to ruin. —
它们都拥有智慧。一切都将毁灭。” —

And most of all I am sorry for people.”
最重要的是我为人类感到抱歉。

There was the sound in the wood of heavy rain coming nearer. —
树林中传来雨声越来越大。 —

Meliton looked in the direction of the sound, did up all his buttons, and said:
Meliton朝着声音的方向看了一眼，系好了衣服的纽扣，说道：

“I am going to the village. Good-bye, grandfather. What is your name?”
“我要去村子了。再见，爷爷。你叫什么名字？”

“Luka the Poor.”
“卢卡贫穷者。”

“Well, good-bye, Luka! Thank you for your good words. Damka, ici!”
“好吧，再见，卢卡！谢谢你的好话。达姆卡，过来！”

After parting from the shepherd Meliton made his way along the edge of the wood, and then down hill to a meadow which by degrees turned into a marsh. —
与牧羊人Meliton告别后，他沿着树林边缘向下前行，然后穿过一片草地，逐渐变成一片沼泽地。 —

There was a squelch of water under his feet, and the rusty marsh sedge, still green and juicy, drooped down to the earth as though afraid of being trampled underfoot. —
他脚下泥水淌动，带着生机的褐色沼泽芦苇，像害怕被践踏一般垂向地面。 —

Beyond the marsh, on the bank of the Pestchanka, of which the old man had spoken, stood a row of willows, and beyond the willows a barn looked dark blue in the mist. —
沼泽地尽头，一排柳树旁边是老人提起的Pestchanka河，柳树后面看到一座谷仓在雾气中显得深蓝。 —

One could feel the approach of that miserable, utterly inevitable season, when the fields grow dark and the earth is muddy and cold, when the weeping willow seems still more mournful and tears trickle down its stem, and only the cranes fly away from the general misery, and even they, as though afraid of insulting dispirited nature by the expression of their happiness, fill the air with their mournful, dreary notes.
可以感受到那个悲惨无比、完全不可避免的季节的来临，田野变得昏暗，大地泥泞寒冷，垂柳看起来更加忧伤，泪水从树干上滑落，即使仅有的起舞的白鹤也远离这一片凄凉，就连它们也好像害怕因为表达自己的幸福而冒犯了沮丧的自然，它们填满空气的是哀怨、阴郁的鸣叫声。

Meliton plodded along to the river, and heard the sounds of the pipe gradually dying away behind him. He still wanted to complain. —
Meliton沿河前行，渐渐听不见那笛声。他仍然想要抱怨。 —

He looked dejectedly about him, and he felt insufferably sorry for the sky and the earth and the sun and the woods and his Damka, and when the highest drawn-out note of the pipe floated quivering in the air, like a voice weeping, he felt extremely bitter and resentful of the impropriety in the conduct of nature.
他沮丧地四处看着，感觉对天空、大地、太阳、树林和他的达姆卡感到无比的抱歉，当笛声中最高拉长的音符在空中颤抖时，像一个哭泣的声音，他感到极为痛苦和对自然的举止不当感到憎恶。

The high note quivered, broke off, and the pipe was silent.
高音颤抖着停下来，笛声哑然无声。