While we were rounding up a bunch of the Triangle-O cattle in the Frio bottoms a projecting branch of a dead mesquite caught my wooden stirrup and gave my ankle a wrench that laid me up in camp for a week.
当我们在弗里奥低地里聚集一群三角牛时，一根突出的枯槐树枝勾住了我的木制马镫，脚踝扭伤，让我在营地休养了一个星期。

On the third day of my compulsory idleness I crawled out near the grub wagon, and reclined helpless under the conversational fire of Judson Odom, the camp cook. —
在我被迫休息的第三天，我在饭车附近爬出来，无助地躺在那里，承受着厨师贾德森·奥多姆的闲聊轰炸。 —

Jud was a monologist by nature, whom Destiny, with customary blundering, had set in a profession wherein he was bereaved, for the greater portion of his time, of an audience.
贾德本性是一个独白家，命运的盲目安排让他在一份几乎没有观众的职业中失去了很大一部分时间。

Therefore, I was manna in the desert of Jud’s obmutescence.
因此，在贾德的沉默寂静荒漠中，我就成了一种天赐的精神食粮。

Betimes I was stirred by invalid longings for something to eat that did not come under the caption of “grub.” I had visions of the maternal pantry “deep as first love, and wild with all regret,” and then I asked:
有时候，我被对除了“吃食品”以外的东西的渴望所激发，我心中浮现出母亲的储藏室，它“深如初恋，饱含一切后悔”，于是我问道：”贾德，你会做煎饼吗？”

“Jud, can you make pancakes?”
贾德，你会做煎饼吗？

Jud laid down his six-shooter, with which he was preparing to pound an antelope steak, and stood over me in what I felt to be a menacing attitude. —
朱德将他的六管连发手枪放下，他本来打算用它来磨砂一块羚羊牛排，然后站在我身边，我感到他的姿态有些威胁性。 —

He further endorsed my impression that his pose was resentful by fixing upon me with his light blue eyes a look of cold suspicion.
他用他那淡蓝色的眼睛盯着我，给我一种寒冷的疑虑之感，这更加证实了我对他不满的印象。

“Say, you,” he said, with candid, though not excessive, choler, “did you mean that straight, or was you trying to throw the gaff into me? —
“喂，你，”他生气地说道，虽然没有过火，但显然是生气了，” 你是认真的，还是在针对我说话？ —

Some of the boys been telling you about me and that pancake racket?”
有些人给你讲过关于我和那个煎饼的事吗？”

“No, Jud,” I said, sincerely, “I meant it. —
“不，朱德，”我衷心地说道，”我是认真的。 —

It seems to me I’d swap my pony and saddle for a stack of buttered brown pancakes with some first crop, open kettle, New Orleans sweetening. —
在我看来，我愿意拿我的马和鞍座来换一堆涂上黄油的棕色煎饼，再加上一些初采的新奥尔良甜汁。 —

Was there a story about pancakes?”
有关煎饼的故事吗?”

Jud was mollified at once when he saw that I had not been dealing in allusions. —
一看到我没有在暗示什么，朱德马上消了气。 —

He brought some mysterious bags and tin boxes from the grub wagon and set them in the shade of the hackberry where I lay reclined. —
他从食品车上拿来一些神秘的袋子和锡盒，放在我躺着的刺槐树阴凉处。 —

I watched him as he began to arrange them leisurely and untie their many strings.
我看着他悠闲地开始整理它们，解开它们众多的绳子。

“No, not a story,” said Jud, as he worked, “but just the logical disclosures in the case of me and that pink-eyed snoozer from Mired Mule Canada and Miss Willella Learight. —
“不，不是一个故事，”Jud边工作边说道，“而只是关于我和那个来自加拿大的粉红眼睛的懒鬼以及Willella Learight小姐的逻辑揭示。 —

I don’t mind telling you.
我不介意告诉你。

“I was punching then for old Bill Toomey, on the San Miguel. —
“那时候我为圣米歇尔的比尔·图米打工。有一天， —

One day I gets all ensnared up in aspirations for to eat some canned grub that hasn’t ever mooed or baaed or grunted or been in peck measures. —
我对吃一些罐装食物的渴望让我陷入了困境，这些食物从来没有咩咩叫、哞哞叫或哼哼叫，也从来没有参与量的测量。 —

So, I gets on my bronc and pushes the wind for Uncle Emsley Telfair’s store at the Pimienta Crossing on the Nueces.
所以，我上了我的野马，顶着风，前往纽塞斯特尔费尔大叔的皮缅塔交叉口商店。

“About three in the afternoon I throwed my bridle rein over a mesquite limb and walked the last twenty yards into Uncle Emsley’s store. —
“下午三点左右，我把马缰绳扔在刺槐树枝上，走着最后二十码进入了纽塞斯特尔费尔大叔的商店。 —

I got up on the counter and told Uncle Emsley that the signs pointed to the devastation of the fruit crop of the world. —
我上了柜台，告诉纽塞斯特尔费尔大叔世界上的水果产量将会被摧毁的迹象。 —

In a minute I had a bag of crackers and a long-handled spoon, with an open can each of apricots and pineapples and cherries and greengages beside of me with Uncle Emsley busy chopping away with the hatchet at the yellow clings. —
一分钟内，我拿到了一袋饼干和一把长柄勺子，旁边有一罐开口的杏子、菠萝、樱桃和龙眼，伯父埃姆斯利正忙着用斧头剁黄桃。 —

I was feeling like Adam before the apple stampede, and was digging my spurs into the side of the counter and working with my twenty-four-inch spoon when I happened to look out of the window into the yard of Uncle Emsley’s house, which was next to the store.
我感觉自己就像被苹果大军追逐之前的亚当，我用铁勺刺激着柜台边，用我二十四英寸长的勺子工作着，突然我瞥见了窗外埃姆斯利伯父的院子，位于商店旁边。

“There was a girl standing there–an imported girl with fixings on– philandering with a croquet maul and amusing herself by watching my style of encouraging the fruit canning industry.
“那里站着一个女孩，一个穿着华丽服饰的外地女孩，她用槌杆嬉戏，并且对我鼓励水果罐头工业的风格表示兴趣。

“I slid off the counter and delivered up my shovel to Uncle Emsley.
我从柜台上滑下来，把铁铲交给了埃姆斯利伯父。

”‘That’s my niece,’ says he; ‘Miss Willella Learight, down from Palestine on a visit. —
“那是我的侄女，”他说道，”威勒拉·利特小姐，从巴勒斯坦来探亲。 —

Do you want that I should make you acquainted?’
你希望我给你介绍吗？”

”‘The Holy Land,’ I says to myself, my thoughts milling some as I tried to run ‘em into the corral. —
“圣地，”我对自己说，一边想把我的思绪驱赶进围栏，”为什么不呢？” —

‘Why not? —
—

There was sure angels in Pales–Why, yes, Uncle Emsley,’ I says out loud, ‘I’d be awful edified to meet Miss Learight.’
巴勒斯的确有天使-是的，艾姆斯利叔叔，’我大声说道，’ 如果能见到利赖特小姐，我一定会受益匪浅。

“So Uncle Emsley took me out in the yard and gave us each other’s entitlements.
“于是艾姆斯利叔叔带我到后院，给了我们彼此的权利。

“I never was shy about women. —
“我从来不怕女人。 —

I never could understand why some men who can break a mustang before breakfast and shave in the dark, get all left-handed and full of perspiration and excuses when they see a bold of calico draped around what belongs to it. —
我从来不明白，为什么有些男人可以在早餐前驯服野马，黑暗中刮脸，但当他们看到一块布裹着本属于它的东西时，却变得手足无措、满身汗水和借口。 —

Inside of eight minutes me and Miss Willella was aggravating the croquet balls around as amiable as second cousins. —
短短八分钟内，我和威勒拉小姐愉快地玩起了槌球，就像亲戚一样。 —

She gave me a dig about the quantity of canned fruit I had eaten, and I got back at her, flat-footed, about how a certain lady named Eve started the fruit trouble in the first free-grass pasture–‘Over in Palestine, wasn’t it?’ says I, as easy and pat as roping a one-year-old.
她对我吃了那么多罐头水果表示了不满，我立马反击说-‘是不是在巴勒斯坦那边发生了第一个自由牧场里的水果问题呢？’就像驯服一头一岁的小牛一样，我说得轻松自如。

“That was how I acquired cordiality for the proximities of Miss Willella Learight; —
“这就是我对利赖特小姐亲切的感觉形成的方式； —

and the disposition grew larger as time passed. —
而这种感觉随着时间的推移越来越强烈。 —

She was stopping at Pimienta Crossing for her health, which was very good, and for the climate, which was forty per cent. —
她停在皮缅塔十字路口是为了她的健康，非常健康，也是为了气候，比巴勒斯坦热百分之四十。 —

hotter than Palestine. —
—

I rode over to see her once every week for a while; —
有一段时间我每周骑过去看她一次， —

and then I figured it out that if I doubled the number of trips I would see her twice as often.
然后我算出来，如果我把旅行次数加倍，我就能见她两次。

“One week I slipped in a third trip; —
“有一周我加了第三次旅行， —

and that’s where the pancakes and the pink-eyed snoozer busted into the game.
那就是煎饼和红眼精灵闯入游戏的地方。

“That evening, while I set on the counter with a peach and two damsons in my mouth, I asked Uncle Emsley how Miss Willella was.
“那天晚上，当我坐在柜台上嘴里含着一个桃子和两个黄杏子时，我问艾姆斯利叔叔威勒拉小姐怎么样了。

”‘Why,’ says Uncle Emsley, ‘she’s gone riding with Jackson Bird, the sheep man from over at Mired Mule Canada.’
“艾姆斯利叔叔说：’ 她和来自迷失的骡子加拿大的牧羊人杰克逊·伯德一起去骑马了。’

“I swallowed the peach seed and the two damson seeds. —
“我吞下了桃子核和两颗黄杏子的种子。 —

I guess somebody held the counter by the bridle while I got off; —
我想有人用缰绳拴住柜台，我才下来； —

and then I walked out straight ahead till I butted against the mesquite where my roan was tied.
然后我径直走出去，一直走到撞上了我的栓住的豆科植物。

”‘She’s gone riding,’ I whisper in my bronc’s ear, ‘with Birdstone Jack, the hired mule from Sheep Man’s Canada. —
”‘她去骑马了，’我低声对着我的马对耳朵说，’ 和来自牧羊人加拿大的伯德石杰克一起。 —

Did you get that, old Leather-and-Gallops?’
“你明白了吗，老皮革和加洛普斯？”

“That bronc of mine wept, in his way. —
“我那只野马以他自己的方式哭泣。 —

He’d been raised a cow pony and he didn’t care for snoozers.
他曾经是一匹牧牛马，不喜欢懒散的人。”

“I went back and said to Uncle Emsley: —
“我回去对艾姆斯利叔叔说： —

‘Did you say a sheep man?’
‘你说是一个养羊人？’”

”‘I said a sheep man,’ says Uncle Emsley again. —
“‘我说的是养羊人，’艾姆斯利叔叔再次说道。 —

‘You must have heard tell of Jackson Bird. He’s got eight sections of grazing and four thousand head of the finest Merinos south of the Arctic Circle.’
‘你一定听说过杰克逊·伯德。他拥有八个牧场，有着南极圈以南最好的美利奴羊种。’”

“I went out and sat on the ground in the shade of the store and leaned against a prickly pear. —
“我走出去坐在商店的阴凉处，靠在一棵仙人掌上。” —

I sifted sand into my boots with unthinking hands while I soliloquised a quantity about this bird with the Jackson plumage to his name.
“我不假思索地用手往靴子里倒沙子，一边对着这个名字中带有杰克逊羽毛的人自言自语。”

“I never had believed in harming sheep men. I see one, one day, reading a Latin grammar on hossback, and I never touched him! —
“我从未相信要伤害养羊人。有一天，我看到一个人在马背上读拉丁文法书，我从未碰他！” —

They never irritated me like they do most cowmen. —
“他们从未像其他牧牛人那样激怒我。 —

You wouldn’t go to work now, and impair and disfigure snoozers, would you, that eat on tables and wear little shoes and speak to you on subjects? —
你现在不会去糟蹋和损毁懒散的人，他们在桌子上进食，穿小鞋子，还跟你谈论各种话题，对吧？” —

I had always let ‘em pass, just as you would a jack-rabbit; —
我一直都让它们走过去，就像你对待杰克兔一样； —

with a polite word and a guess about the weather, but no stopping to swap canteens. —
用礼貌的话和关于天气的猜测，但不停下来交换水壶。 —

I never thought it was worth while to be hostile with a snoozer. —
我从来不觉得与一个打瞌睡的人生气是值得的。 —

And because I’d been lenient, and let ‘em live, here was one going around riding with Miss Willella Learight!
而且因为我宽容地让它们活下来，现在有一个人带着威莱拉·利拉特小姐骑着马四处兜风！

“An hour by sun they come loping back, and stopped at Uncle Emsley’s gate. —
“太阳下山之后一个小时，他们就蹦蹦跳跳地回来了，在埃姆斯利叔叔的大门口停下来。 —

The sheep person helped her off; —
那个养羊的人帮她下了马； —

and they stood throwing each other sentences all sprightful and sagacious for a while. —
然后他们站在一起，互相扔出一些活泼而聪明的句子。 —

And then this feathered Jackson flies up in his saddle and raises his little stewpot of a hat, and trots off in the direction of his mutton ranch. —
然后这个有羽毛的杰克逊骑在马鞍上，举起他那个像炖菜罐的小帽子，往养羊牧场的方向马车。 —

By this time I had turned the sand out of my boots and unpinned myself from the prickly pear; —
这时，我已经清除了我的靴子里的沙子，并从仙人掌上解脱下来； —

and by the time he gets half a mile out of Pimienta, I singlefoots up beside him on my bronc.
我一直快马加鞭地追赶，当他离皮门塔半英里时，我就带着我的马单脚走到他身边。

“I said that snoozer was pink-eyed, but he wasn’t. —
“我说Snoozer眼睛发红，但其实不是。 —

His seeing arrangement was grey enough, but his eye-lashes was pink and his hair was sandy, and that gave you the idea. —
他的眼睛安排得够灰，但他的睫毛是粉红色的，头发则是金黄色的，这让你有了那种想法。” —

Sheep man?–he wasn’t more than a lamb man, anyhow–a little thing with his neck involved in a yellow silk handkerchief, and shoes tied up in bowknots.
“羊人？他不过是只小羔羊，脖子上裹着一条黄丝绸手帕，鞋子系着蝴蝶结。”

”‘Afternoon!’ says I to him. —
”‘下午好!‘我对他说。’ —

‘You now ride with a equestrian who is commonly called Dead-Moral-Certainty Judson, on account of the way I shoot. —
你现在和一个经常被称为死定事的朱德森一起骑马，因为我枪法准。” —

When I want a stranger to know me I always introduce myself before the draw, for I never did like to shake hands with ghosts.’
“当我想让生人认识我时，我总是在开枪之前先介绍自己，因为我从不喜欢和幽灵握手。”

”‘Ah,’ says he, just like that–‘Ah, I’m glad to know you, Mr. Judson. I’m Jackson Bird, from over at Mired Mule Ranch.’
”‘啊，’他就像这样说——’啊，很高兴认识你，Judson先生。我是杰克逊·伯德，来自Mired Mule牧场。’”

“Just then one of my eyes saw a roadrunner skipping down the hill with a young tarantula in his bill, and the other eye noticed a rabbit-hawk sitting on a dead limb in a water-elm. —
“就在那时，我的一只眼睛看见一只大腿跳着带着一个小蜘蛛的飞鸟沿着山坡下来，另一只眼睛注意到一只兔鹰坐在一棵水柏树的死枝上。” —

I popped over one after the other with my forty-five, just to show him. —
我连续用我的四十五口径枪打掉它们，只是为了向他展示一下。 —

‘Two out of three,’ says I. ‘Birds just naturally seem to draw my fire wherever I go.’
“我说：‘我发现，无论我走到哪里，鸟儿总是不自觉地吸引我的枪火。’”

”‘Nice shooting,’ says the sheep man, without a flutter. —
“‘好厉害的射击，’绵羊人平静地说道， —

‘But don’t you sometimes ever miss the third shot? —
‘但是你难道从来没有打不中第三枪吗？’” —

Elegant fine rain that was last week for the young grass, Mr. Judson?’ says he.
“‘朱德森先生，上个星期对于这片年轻的小草来说，下着优雅的小雨，’他说道。”

”‘Willie,’ says I, riding over close to his palfrey, ‘your infatuated parents may have denounced you by the name of Jackson, but you sure moulted into a twittering Willie–let us slough off this here analysis of rain and the elements, and get down to talk that is outside the vocabulary of parrots. —
“‘威利，’我骑近他的马，说道，‘你虽然被你执迷不悟的父母以杰克逊的名字谴责了，但你确实变成了一个咯咯叫的威利 - 我们不妨放下对雨和自然力量的分析，谈些某些鹦鹉词汇之外的事情吧。’” —

That is a bad habit you have got of riding with young ladies over at Pimienta. —
“‘你有一个坏习惯，就是在皮米恩塔陪伴年轻女士们一同骑马。 —

I’ve known birds,’ says I, ‘to be served on toast for less than that. —
我见过有鸟因为这样而被用来做吐司呢，’我说道。” —

Miss Willella,’ says I, ‘don’t ever want any nest made out of sheep’s wool by a tomtit of the Jacksonian branch of ornithology. —
“‘威莱拉小姐，’我说道，‘千万不要让杰克逊家族的一只山雀把绵羊毛做成你的巢穴。’” —

Now, are you going to quit, or do you wish for to gallop up against this Dead-Moral-Certainty attachment to my name, which is good for two hyphens and at least one set of funeral obsequies?’
现在，你是要退出，还是希望追根究底这个与我的名字有关的死板道德确定性吧，这个名字需要两个连字符和至少一套葬礼仪式。”

“Jackson Bird flushed up some, and then he laughed.
“杰克逊·伯德红了一下脸，然后笑了起来。

”‘Why, Mr. Judson,’ says he, ‘you’ve got the wrong idea. —
“‘嗯，朱德森先生，’他说，‘你误会了。 —

I’ve called on Miss Learight a few times; —
我只是去拜访李赖特小姐几次而已； —

but not for the purpose you imagine. —
但不是你所想的那种目的。 —

My object is purely a gastronomical one.’
我的目的纯粹是为了美食。’

“I reached for my gun.
“我伸手拿起枪。

”‘Any coyote,’ says I, ‘that would boast of dishonourable–’
“‘任何自称不名誉的家伙，’我说，‘都不值一提。’

”‘Wait a minute,’ says this Bird, ‘till I explain. —
“‘等一下，’伯德说，‘让我解释一下。 —

What would I do with a wife? —
我会娶一个妻子干什么呢？ —

If you ever saw that ranch of mine! —
如果你曾经见过我那个牧场！ —

I do my own cooking and mending. —
伙计，我自己做饭修补。 —

Eating–that’s all the pleasure I get out of sheep raising. —
吃饭，那是我养羊能得到的全部享受了。 —

Mr. Judson, did you ever taste the pancakes that Miss Learight makes?’
朱德森先生，你有没有尝过李赖特小姐做的煎饼？’

”‘Me? No,’ I told him. ‘I never was advised that she was up to any culinary manoeuvres.’
“‘我？没有，’我告诉他，‘我从来没听说她会搞烹饪手法。’

”‘They’re golden sunshine,’ says he, ‘honey-browned by the ambrosial fires of Epicurus. —
“‘它们就像金色的阳光，’他说，‘被伊壁鸠鲁的神圣之火烤成的蜜糖般的金黄色。 —

I’d give two years of my life to get the recipe for making them pancakes. —
我可以舍弃两年的生命去获得制作那些煎饼的配方。 —

That’s what I went to see Miss Learight for,’ says Jackson Bird, ‘but I haven’t been able to get it from her. —
“这就是为什么我去找Learight小姐，” 杰克逊·伯德说，”但我没能从她那里得到它。 —

It’s an old recipe that’s been in the family for seventy-five years. —
这是一道家族已传承了七十五年的古老食谱。 —

They hand it down from one generation to another, but they don’t give it away to outsiders. —
他们世代相传，但不会把它交给外人。 —

If I could get that recipe, so I could make them pancakes for myself on my ranch, I’d be a happy man,’ says Bird.
如果我能得到那个食谱，这样我就可以在自家的牧场里给自己做煎饼，我会很开心的，”伯德说。

”‘Are you sure,’ I says to him, ‘that it ain’t the hand that mixes the pancakes that you’re after?’
“我对他说，” 你确定你追求的不是搅拌煎饼的那双手吗？

”‘Sure,’ says Jackson. ‘Miss Learight is a mighty nice girl, but I can assure you my intentions go no further than the gastro–’ but he seen my hand going down to my holster and he changed his similitude–‘than the desire to procure a copy of the pancake recipe,’ he finishes.
“是的，”杰克逊说，”Learight小姐是个非常好的女孩，但我可以向你保证，我的意图不过是满足胃口–“但他看到我伸手到皮套里，他改口说–“获得煎饼食谱副本的愿望，” 他结束说道。

”‘You ain’t such a bad little man,’ says I, trying to be fair. —
“你不是个坏小子，”我说，试图公平对待。 —

‘I was thinking some of making orphans of your sheep, but I’ll let you fly away this time. —
‘我在想把你的羊弄成孤儿，但这一次我就放过你飞走吧。 —

But you stick to pancakes,’ says I, ‘as close as the middle one of a stack; —
‘但你要牢记，’ 我说，’ 就像一叠煎饼中间那个一样，坚持吃煎饼； —

and don’t go and mistake sentiments for syrup, or there’ll be singing at your ranch, and you won’t hear it.’
不要把情感当成糖浆，否则你的牧场会响起歌声，而你却听不见。’

”‘To convince you that I am sincere,’ says the sheep man, ‘I’ll ask you to help me. —
“为了让你相信我是真心的，” 羊人说，”我要求你帮助我。 —

Miss Learight and you being closer friends, maybe she would do for you what she wouldn’t for me. —
Learight小姐和你更亲近，也许她会为你做和她没有为我做的事情。 —

If you will get me a copy of that pancake recipe, I give you my word that I’ll never call upon her again.’
如果你能给我一份那个煎饼的食谱，我保证永远不再麻烦她。’

”‘That’s fair,’ I says, and I shook hands with Jackson Bird. ‘I’ll get it for you if I can, and glad to oblige.’ And he turned off down the big pear flat on the Piedra, in the direction of Mired Mule; —
“那很公平，” 我说，并与杰克逊·伯德握手。’如果我能的话，我会帮你拿到的，非常乐意。’ 他顺着皮埃德拉的大梨坡向下走，朝着Mir骡子方向走去； —

and I steered northwest for old Bill Toomey’s ranch.
我则向西北方向驶向比尔·图米的牧场。

“It was five days afterward when I got another chance to ride over to Pimienta. —
“5天后，我有机会再次骑马去皮敏塔。 —

Miss Willella and me passed a gratifying evening at Uncle Emsley’s. —
威莱拉小姐和我在姨父艾姆斯利家度过了愉快的晚上。 —

She sang some, and exasperated the piano quite a lot with quotations from the operas. —
她唱了一些，用歌剧中的引语让钢琴感到十分急躁。 —

I gave imitations of a rattlesnake, and told her about Snaky McFee’s new way of skinning cows, and described the trip I made to Saint Louis once. —
我模仿了一条响尾蛇，并告诉她有关斯内基·麦克菲新的剥牛皮方式的事情，还描述了我曾去过的圣路易斯之行。 —

We was getting along in one another’s estimations fine. —
我们对彼此的评估都不错。我想， —

Thinks I, if Jackson Bird can now be persuaded to migrate, I win. —
如果杰克逊·伯德现在被说服迁移，我就赢了。 —

I recollect his promise about the pancake receipt, and I thinks I will persuade it from Miss Willella and give it to him; —
我记得他关于煎饼食谱的承诺，我想我会说服威勒拉小姐把它给他， —

and then if I catches Birdie off of Mired Mule again, I’ll make him hop the twig.
然后，如果我再次抓住鸟儿从泥潭的小毛驴上跳下来，我就会让他离开。

“So, along about ten o’clock, I put on a wheedling smile and says to Miss Willella: —
“所以，大约十点钟，我摆出一个讨好的微笑，对威勒拉小姐说： —

‘Now, if there’s anything I do like better than the sight of a red steer on green grass it’s the taste of a nice hot pancake smothered in sugar-house molasses.’
‘现在，如果有什么东西我比在绿草上看到一只红色公牛更喜欢的话，那就是品尝一块热腾腾的加满糖房糖浆的美味煎饼。’

“Miss Willella gives a little jump on the piano stool, and looked at me curious.
“威勒拉小姐在钢琴凳上轻轻跳起来，好奇地看着我。

”‘Yes,’ says she, ‘they’re real nice. —
“‘是的，’她说，‘他们真的很好。 —

What did you say was the name of that street in Saint Louis, Mr. Odom, where you lost your hat?’
奥多姆先生，你说你丢帽子的圣路易斯街道名字是什么？’”

”‘Pancake Avenue,’ says I, with a wink, to show her that I was on about the family receipt, and couldn’t be side-corralled off of the subject. —
“‘煎饼大道，’我说，眨了眨眼睛，给她看我在谈论家族秘方，不能被离题。 —

‘Come, now, Miss Willella,’ I says; —
“‘来吧，威莱拉小姐，’我说； —

‘let’s hear how you make ‘em. —
‘告诉我们你是怎么做的。 —

Pancakes is just whirling in my head like wagon wheels. —
煎饼像车轮一样在我脑袋里转。 —

Start her off, now–pound of flour, eight dozen eggs, and so on. —
开始吧，一磅面粉，八打蛋等等。 —

How does the catalogue of constituents run?’
成分表应该是怎样的？’

”‘Excuse me for a moment, please,’ says Miss Willella, and she gives me a quick kind of sideways look, and slides off the stool. —
“‘请原谅我一会儿，’威莱拉小姐说，她斜向我看了一眼，从凳子上滑了下来。 —

She ambled out into the other room, and directly Uncle Emsley comes in in his shirt sleeves, with a pitcher of water. —
她缓步走进另一个房间，接着Emsley叔叔穿着衬衫袖子，手里拿着一壶水进来了。 —

He turns around to get a glass on the table, and I see a forty-five in his hip pocket. —
他转身从桌子上拿起一个玻璃杯，我看见他的兜里有一支45口径手枪。 —

‘Great post- holes!’ thinks I, ‘but here’s a family thinks a heap of cooking receipts, protecting it with firearms. —
‘天啊！’ 我想，‘一家人竟然如此看重烹饪秘方，还要用枪来保护它。’ —

I’ve known outfits that wouldn’t do that much by a family feud.’
我知道有些家族争端无法解决这么简单。

”‘Drink this here down,’ says Uncle Emsley, handing me the glass of water. —
”喝掉这玩意儿，” Uncle Emsley 递给我一杯水。 —

‘You’ve rid too far to-day, Jud, and got yourself over-excited. —
“你今天骑得太远了，Jud，让自己过度兴奋了。 —

Try to think about something else now.’
现在试着想想其他事情吧。”

”‘Do you know how to make them pancakes, Uncle Emsley?’ I asked.
”你知道怎么做那些薄煎饼吗，Emsley 叔叔？” 我问。

”‘Well, I’m not as apprised in the anatomy of them as some,’ says Uncle Emsley, ‘but I reckon you take a sifter of plaster of Paris and a little dough and saleratus and corn meal, and mix ‘em with eggs and buttermilk as usual. —
”嗯，我对它们的解剖比一些人了解的少，”Emsley 叔叔说，“但我猜你需要拿一些石膏粉、一点面团、小苏打和玉米粉，和通常一样用鸡蛋和酪乳混合。” —

Is old Bill going to ship beeves to Kansas City again this spring, Jud?’
Bill 今年春天会再次把牛运到堪萨斯城吗，Jud？”

“That was all the pancake specifications I could get that night. —
那就是我那天晚上了解到的全部薄煎饼配方。 —

I didn’t wonder that Jackson Bird found it uphill work. —
我不奇怪 Jackson Bird 觉得这是艰难的工作。 —

So I dropped the subject and talked with Uncle Emsley for a while about hollow-horn and cyclones. —
所以我放弃了这个话题，和 Emsley 叔叔聊了一会儿关于空心角和龙卷风的事。 —

And then Miss Willella came and said ‘Good-night,’ and I hit the breeze for the ranch.
然后 Willella 小姐过来说了声晚安，我就朝牧场走去。

“About a week afterward I met Jackson Bird riding out of Pimienta as I rode in, and we stopped on the road for a few frivolous remarks.
“大约一周后，当我骑着马进入皮蒙塔的时候，我遇到了杰克逊·伯德，他正骑着马从皮蒙塔外出，我们在路上停下来闲聊了一会儿。”

”‘Got the bill of particulars for them flapjacks yet?’ I asked him.
“‘你得到那些煎饼的清单了吗？’ 我问他。

”‘Well, no,’ says Jackson. —
“‘嗯，没有，’杰克逊说。 —

‘I don’t seem to have any success in getting hold of it. —
‘我似乎没能成功地找到它。你尝试了吗？ —

Did you try?’
’

”‘I did,’ says I, ‘and ‘twas like trying to dig a prairie dog out of his hole with a peanut hull. —
“‘我尝试了，’我说‘那就像用花生壳来挖土拨鼠洞一样困难。 —

That pancake receipt must be a jookalorum, the way they hold on to it.’
那个煎饼的方子一定是个谜，他们对它守口如瓶。’

”‘I’m most ready to give it up,’ says Jackson, so discouraged in his pronunciations that I felt sorry for him; —
“‘我几乎要放弃了，’杰克逊说，带着沮丧的口气，我为他感到难过。 —

‘but I did want to know how to make them pancakes to eat on my lonely ranch,’ says he. —
‘但是我真的想知道怎么做那些煎饼，在我孤独的牧场上吃一顿，’他说。 —

‘I lie awake at nights thinking how good they are.’
‘晚上我躺在床上都在想它们有多好吃。’

”‘You keep on trying for it,’ I tells him, ‘and I’ll do the same. —
“‘你继续努力，’我告诉他，‘我也会这么做。 —

One of us is bound to get a rope over its horns before long. —
我们中的其中一个很快就会在它的角上套上绳子。嗯， —

Well, so- long, Jacksy.’
再见，杰克西。”

“You see, by this time we were on the peacefullest of terms. —
“你看，此时我们之间关系很和平。 —

When I saw that he wasn’t after Miss Willella, I had more endurable contemplations of that sandy-haired snoozer. —
当我看到他对威莱拉小姐没有兴趣，我对那个头发沙色的人能够更容忍。” —

In order to help out the ambitions of his appetite I kept on trying to get that receipt from Miss Willella. —
为了帮助他的胃口，我一直试图从威莱拉小姐那里得到那个收据。 —

But every time I would say ‘pancakes’ she would get sort of remote and fidgety about the eye, and try to change the subject. —
但每次我说“煎饼”她似乎就有点远离并且坐立不安，还试图转换话题。 —

If I held her to it she would slide out and round up Uncle Emsley with his pitcher of water and hip-pocket howitzer.
如果我坚持要她讲，她就会叫上埃姆斯利大叔，他手里拿着一壶水和口袋里的手枪。

“One day I galloped over to the store with a fine bunch of blue verbenas that I cut out of a herd of wild flowers over on Poisoned Dog Prairie. —
有一天，我骑马来到店里，带着一束漂亮的蓝色马鞭草，是我在被毒狗草原上的一群野花中剪下来的。 —

Uncle Emsley looked at ‘em with one eye shut and says:
埃姆斯利大叔一只眼睛闭着看着它们，说道：

”‘Haven’t ye heard the news?’
“’你没听说这个消息吗？’

”‘Cattle up?’ I asks.
“’牛跑了吗?‘我问。

”‘Willella and Jackson Bird was married in Palestine yesterday,’ says he. ‘Just got a letter this morning.’
“’威莱拉和杰克逊·伯德昨天在巴勒斯坦结婚了，’ 他说，’我刚收到一封信这早晨。’

“I dropped them flowers in a cracker-barrel, and let the news trickle in my ears and down toward my upper left-hand shirt pocket until it got to my feet.
“我把花放在了一个乡村酒吧里，听着新闻一点一点地向我的耳边流动，直到它到达我的上衣左上口袋，再流到我的脚边。”

”‘Would you mind saying that over again once more, Uncle Emsley?’ says I. ‘Maybe my hearing has got wrong, and you only said that prime heifers was 4.80 on the hoof, or something like that.’
““恩斯利叔叔，你能再说一遍吗？”我说。“也许我的听力出问题了，你只是说优质母牛卖4.80美元一只，或者是这样的吗？”“我说。“也许我的听力出问题了，你只是说优质母牛卖4.80美元一只，或者是这样的吗？”

”‘Married yesterday,’ says Uncle Emsley, ‘and gone to Waco and Niagara Falls on a wedding tour. —
““昨天结婚了，”恩斯利叔叔说，“去沃科和尼亚加拉大瀑布度蜜月了。” —

Why, didn’t you see none of the signs all along? —
““你怎么一点迹象都没看见？ —

Jackson Bird has been courting Willella ever since that day he took her out riding.’
杰克逊·伯德从那天他带她出去兜风起，就一直在追求威莉拉。”

”‘Then,’ says I, in a kind of yell, ‘what was all this zizzaparoola he gives me about pancakes? —
““那么，”我大声喊道，“他给了我一些关于煎饼的废话是什么意思？ —

Tell me that.’
告诉我。”

“When I said ‘pancakes’ Uncle Emsley sort of dodged and stepped back.
“当我说到‘煎饼’时，恩斯利叔叔有些躲闪并后退了。

”‘Somebody’s been dealing me pancakes from the bottom of the deck,’ I says, ‘and I’ll find out. —
““有人在给我从牌底藏煎饼，”我说，“我会找出真相的。 —

I believe you know. Talk up,’ says I, ‘or we’ll mix a panful of batter right here.’
“我相信你知道。快说，”我说，“否则我们就在这里搅拌一锅面糊。”

“I slid over the counter after Uncle Emsley. —
“我在往柜台上滑动时， —

He grabbed at his gun, but it was in a drawer, and he missed it two inches. —
跟在伯父埃姆斯利后面。他朝抽屉里拿枪，但差了两英寸。” —

I got him by the front of his shirt and shoved him in a corner.
我抓住他衬衫前面，把他推到了墙角。

”‘Talk pancakes,’ says I, ‘or be made into one. Does Miss Willella make ‘em?’
“对着我说’谈论煎饼’，我还是把你做成煎饼。威莱拉小姐会做煎饼吗？”

”‘She never made one in her life and I never saw one,’ says Uncle Emsley, soothing. —
“她从来没有做过一个煎饼，我也没见过一个，”伯父埃姆斯利安抚地说。“冷静下来，朱德，冷静下来。 —

‘Calm down now, Jud–calm down. —
你太激动了，你头部的伤影响了你的理智。” —

You’ve got excited, and that wound in your head is contaminating your sense of intelligence. —
“别想着煎饼了。” —

Try not to think about pancakes.’
“伯父埃姆斯利，”我说，“除非是出于我的天性本能，我头部没有受伤。”

”‘Uncle Emsley,’ says I, ‘I’m not wounded in the head except so far as my natural cognitive instincts run to runts. —
“杰克逊·伯德告诉我，他到威莱拉小姐那里是为了弄清她做煎饼的方法，并请我帮他弄到配料的提货单。我照他说的做了, 结果你看到了。我被糊弄了吗？还是我被一个红眼睛的懒汉陷害了？” —

Jackson Bird told me he was calling on Miss Willella for the purpose of finding out her system of producing pancakes, and he asked me to help him get the bill of lading of the ingredients. —
“她从未做过一个煎饼，而我从未见过一个。”伯父埃姆斯利说。“冷静一点，朱德，冷静一点。别糟蹋了你的智商。别想煎饼。” —

I done so, with the results as you see. —
“他们双方直接进行了最后的争论。 —

Have I been sodded down with Johnson grass by a pink-eyed snoozer, or what?’
我完全是按照他们说的去做的，可是现在发生了这种事。这究竟是怎么回事？”

”‘Slack up your grip in my dress shirt,’ says Uncle Emsley, ‘and I’ll tell you. Yes, it looks like Jackson Bird has gone and humbugged you some. —
“’放松你对我的衬衫的握力，”艾姆斯利叔叔说，“我会告诉你的。是的，看起来杰克逊·伯德已经在某种程度上欺骗了你。” —

The day after he went riding with Willella he came back and told me and her to watch out for you whenever you got to talking about pancakes. —
他和威莱拉一起骑马的第二天回来告诉我和她，无论你何时开始谈论煎饼，我们都要小心。 —

He said you was in camp once where they was cooking flapjacks, and one of the fellows cut you over the head with a frying pan. —
他说你曾经在一个煎饼烹饪的营地，一个家伙用煎锅砍在你的头上。 —

Jackson said that whenever you got overhot or excited that wound hurt you and made you kind of crazy, and you went raving about pancakes. —
杰克逊说，每当你感到过热或激动时，伤口会让你疼痛，并让你有点疯狂，你会胡言乱语地说起煎饼。 —

He told us to just get you worked off of the subject and soothed down, and you wouldn’t be dangerous. —
他告诉我们要让你不再谈论这个话题，并平息下来，这样你就不会有危险。 —

So, me and Willella done the best by you we knew how. Well, well,’ says Uncle Emsley, ‘that Jackson Bird is sure a seldom kind of a snoozer.’”
所以，我和威莱拉尽力帮助你。好吧，好吧，”艾姆斯利叔叔说，“那个杰克逊·伯德确实是一个罕见的懒人。”

During the progress of Jud’s story he had been slowly but deftly combining certain portions of the contents of his sacks and cans. —
在朱德讲故事的过程中，他慢慢而熟练地结合了他的袋子和罐头的某些部分。 —

Toward the close of it he set before me the finished product–a pair of red-hot, rich-hued pancakes on a tin plate. —
接近尾声时，他将成品放在我面前-一对炙热、鲜艳的红煎饼放在锡盘上。 —

From some secret hoarding he also brought a lump of excellent butter and a bottle of golden syrup.
他还从某个秘密的地方拿来一块优质黄油和一瓶金黄色糖浆。

“How long ago did these things happen?” I asked him.
我问他这些事情是多久之前发生的。

“Three years,” said Jud. “They’re living on the Mired Mule Ranch now. —
“三年了，”Jud说道。”他们现在在Mired Mule牧场生活着。 —

But I haven’t seen either of ‘em since. —
但是我自那以后再也没有见过他们俩。 —

They say Jackson Bird was fixing his ranch up fine with rocking chairs and window curtains all the time he was putting me up the pancake tree. —
他们说杰克逊·伯德一直在修整他的牧场，装上摇椅和窗帘，而我正被他上的煎饼树上呢。 —

Oh, I got over it after a while. —
哦，过了一段时间我就释然了。 —

But the boys kept the racket up.”
但是那些家伙们还在闹个不停。

“Did you make these cakes by the famous recipe?” I asked.
“你是按照那个著名的食谱做的这些煎饼吗？”我问道。

“Didn’t I tell you there wasn’t no receipt?” said Jud. “The boys hollered pancakes till they got pancake hungry, and I cut this recipe out of a newspaper. How does the truck taste?”
“难道我没告诉过你没有食谱吗？” Jud说道。”那些家伙吵着要吃煎饼，我就从一张报纸上剪下了这个食谱。食物味道怎么样？”

“They’re delicious,” I answered. —
“很美味，”我回答道。” —

“Why don’t you have some, too, Jud?”
为什么你不吃点呢，Jud？”

I was sure I heard a sigh.
我确定我听到了一个叹息声。

“Me?” said Jud. “I don’t ever eat ‘em.”
“我？”Jud说道。”我从不吃它们。”