珍珠(四) 

(A Chinese Mermaid Tale)

Written and illustrated by Linda Yi | Chinese Translations by 竻竻

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Chapter 9 – First Meeting 

第九章 – 初遇

His name was Hai, and it was from the 大海– the sea – that Hai earned his living. Hai was a fisherman, just like his grandfather had been. It was grandfather, Yeye, who had raised Hai – for Hai’s baba  and mama died when Hai was but a babe. 

他的名字叫海，大海的海。他靠海生活，家里世世代代都是渔民。海是爷爷带大的，他的爸爸妈妈在他很小的时候就离开了人世。

 To this day, the villagers still spoke of the day the sea rose in a terrible rage, and swallowed people whole. 

直到现在，村民们还时不时提起灾难降临的那一天。那时，大海发怒般地咆哮着，狂风堆起层层巨浪，生生吞没了许多无助的村民。

 That day, Hai’s mama had gone down to the docks to meet her husband, just as she’d always done. She would greet him with a warm smile, and two sturdy wooden pails. Together, they’d move the day’s catch from net, to pails, and then to market. But that day, Hai’s bababrought back no fish. He had leapt from the boat and shouted at Hai’s mamato run! The skies behind him had darkened, and lightning forked over a purple sky. Out on the sea, waves became hills, and hills became mountains – mountains that rolled and crashed into each other in blue green fury.

那天，海的妈妈照例来到码头迎接打渔归来的丈夫。平日里她总是提着两个木桶，微笑着迎接他，然后他们一起把一天收获的鱼倒进桶里，再提到市场上卖。可是，那天，海的爸爸什么鱼也没捞到。他从船上蹦下来，大声朝着海的妈妈喊道“快跑，快跑！”他身后乌云密布，一道闪电无情地划破紫红色的天际。海面上，巨浪像山峰一样层层堆叠，并且越堆越高，直到最后，山峰轰隆一声倒塌、碎裂，激起惊涛骇浪，摇晃着整个大地。

 When it was all over, the sea was once again calm, and the baby Hai was an orphan. And so ,Yeyetook Hai in. As the years passed, Yeyetaught Hai how to weave fishing nets so they were strong and unbreakable. Hetaught Hai to light incense sticks before heading out to sea, and to always leave small offerings for the dragons of old. 

风暴过去后，大海又恢复了平静。可是，海却在一夜之间成为了一名孤儿。爷爷收留了海，并把他拉扯大。是爷爷教会了海如何织网、捕鱼。他还时常教导海，要在出发之前烧一炷香，还要留一点贡品(供品)给龙王。

“Wei-shenme ?” Hai had once asked. “but why?” 

“但是why?”，我们为什么要这么做呀？海曾经不解地问道。

 “Always pray to the Dragons,” Yeye had replied. “For they rule all waters and control all tides.” Yeye had smiled down at Hai, before placing a hand on his shoulder. “We pray to the dragons, for they protect us.” 

 爷爷回答说：“一定要记得拜龙王，因为呀，他掌管着大海，控制着潮汐的变化。”爷爷朝孙子笑笑，爱怜地把手搭在他瘦小的肩膀上，然后继续道：“我们拜龙王，就是要求他保我们平安。”

Yet one morning, on the day Hai turned 16, Yeye had gone out to sea alone. “I’ll be fine,” Yeyetold Hai with a laugh. “You may sleep in for once.”Hai smiled, before closing his eyes against the first rays of morning sun. As he did so, he saw Yeye light a stick of incense. 

然而，在海十六岁那年的一天，爷爷不得不一个人出海。“我一个人没事，今天你终于能睡个懒觉啦！”爷爷笑着说道。海也笑了。在他闭上双眼前，海看到了清晨的阳光，还看到爷爷站在阳光下，缓缓点起了一炷香。

But by evening, Yeye had still not returned. The incense that his grandfatherhad lit had long since burnt to ash. A few days later, Yeye’sboat washed ashore… but hewas not there. 

到了傍晚，一炷香早已经烧成了灰烬，可是爷爷依旧没有回来。几天后，爷爷的船被海浪冲到了岸上，却不见爷爷的踪影。

From that day on, Hai fished alone. He also stopped burning incense before setting out to sea. What was the point? The Dragons weren’t listening. They weren’t even real….

从那天起，海开始自己生活，自己出海打渔。他再也不烧香拜龙王了。烧香有什么用呢？龙王对人们的祈福根本毫不在意，再说了，也许这世上根本没有所谓的龙王存在。。

**

What was real, Hai thought to himself, was the heat.

真真实实存在的，海心里想着，是夏天滚滚的热浪。

The day sweltered, blanketing the land and sea. Dawn had long since gone, and the morning sun hung in the sky, hurling down relentless rays. Hai set his nets aside and wiped his brow with a piece of cloth. 

炎热的夏日像蒸笼一样覆盖了陆地和大海。黎明太短，几乎每一天都是艳阳高照。海在毒辣的阳光照射下专心工作了一阵，终于决定休息一下。他直起腰，把渔网放在一边，用一块布擦了擦额头上的汗。

Hai usually welcomed the pulsing waves of humidity which descended each summer. The summer heat, coupled with plentiful rains, meant good harvest from the land – and from the sea. 

每当天气开始潮热起来，海就很开心。潮湿闷热的天气往往说明近期将会有一场大雨，而大雨也就意味着收成。

At least... It usually did. Hai’s nets were unusually empty today. 

不过今天，情况似乎有点反常。到现在为止，海的渔网还是空空的，什么也没捞上来。

The sun blazed. Hai wiped his brow again. He leaned over the side of his boat to dip the cloth into the sea. His eyes closed, briefly, at the feeling of cool water against his hand. Perhaps he'd go for a swim? The fish weren't coming today...

阳光炙烤着宁静的海面。海再次抬手擦了擦额头上的汗。他侧身撒网的时候，双手碰到了清凉的海水。啊，海水真舒服啊！要不要下去游个泳呢？反正今天也捕不到鱼。

Not for the first time, Hai’s mind drifted back to land. The hand still holding the cloth drifted lazily in the water. As a sea breeze ran its fingers through his hair, Hai thought of the same wind which made twin braids dance against the colors of sunrise. Eyes closed, he saw in his mind’s eye the girl. The one who always came to stand at the dock at dawn.

想到这，海的思绪又飘回了陆地。和煦的海风吹过他的头发，让他想起曾经见过的那个女孩，她的一对可爱的辫子也是这样在风里起舞。他闭上眼睛，脑海里一下子浮现出那个女孩的模样—那个总是在黎明时分来到码头眺望大海的女孩。

Hai had first seen the girl at the open market. Two months ago, Hai had taken his daily catch to market. He had passed by a barefooted girl, who was standing by a fruit stand. As Hai walked past, he saw her bite into a lychee fruit. Her eyes sparkled with joy, and she had laughed. 

其实，海是在村庄的集市上第一次见到那个女孩的。两个月前，海把自己捕到的鱼带到市场上卖，那时候他碰巧路过一个小摊，摊子前站着一个光脚的女孩。海亲眼看到她咬着一颗荔枝，欢快地笑着，明亮的眼睛里荡漾着喜悦的光芒。

The memory of her laughter startled Hai’s eyes open. He blinked against the sun, but his eyes were still seeing the childlike joy which spread over her face - as if she had never tasted the fruit before. It was this look that stayed with him. 

一想到女孩明媚的笑声，海也忍不住微笑了起来。他在阳光下眨眨眼，脑海里闪现的却依然是女孩脸上那天真的仿佛孩子般的喜悦的神情—就好像她从没吃过那个水果一样。海一直忘不了那个神情。

She looked so incredibly...happy. 

她看起来真的很。。开心。

The rosy flush on her cheek reminded him of the red ribbons they sold at the market. Hai imagined giving the girl one of those ribbons, and seeing that look of joy on her face.

女孩脸上的红晕让他想起市场上卖的那些红丝带。海想象着自己买了一个这样的丝带送给她，然后看着她脸上喜悦的表情。

Here, Hai shook his head, pulling back from such fanciful thoughts. 

想到这，海猛地摇了摇头，似乎是想摆脱这些不切实际的想法。

Give her ribbons? When he couldn't even muster up the courage to look directly at her, let alone speak? Hai’s eyes traveled to his right hand, and he blushed a ruddy red. What would fine ribbons look like in his sea calloused hands? He sighed, and then remembered the cloth he still held underwater. Hai leaned over the boat once more, to wring it dry. As he did, a flash of gold and rose met his eyes.

送她丝带？他根本没勇气正眼看她一次，更别提和她说话了！海的眼神飘到了自己的右手手腕上，随即感觉到脸上升起一阵热流。他有些自惭形秽地想道：“我这样的粗糙的手，怎么配戴那些质地优良的丝带呢？”他叹了一口气，转念想起自己的手还浸在海水里。他探了探身子，想把那块布拧干，却看到水中闪过一抹亮丽的金色和玫瑰色。

It was a carp –  the most unusual he’d ever seen. It had scales of rose coral which glimmered under the sun. The carp swam cautiously up to Hai’s boat, and then darted away. Soon, it came swimming back once more. 

那是一头鲤鱼—而且是他见过的最奇异的一条！它玫瑰色鳞片在阳光的照射下闪着璀璨的光芒。鲤鱼有些迟疑地一点点靠近海的渔船，然后又一下子窜了出去。但是很快，它又游回来了。

Hai suddenly remembered that he still had part of steamed bun - a man-tou-   in his pocket, a remnant from breakfast. He fished it out, broke off a small piece, and held it out to the carp. It swam even closer. Hai dipped his hand into the water. The carp ate the bun from his finger. Hai chuckled, partly at the strange behavior of the creature, and partly from the tickling feeling of the carp's mouth as it ate.

海想起自己口袋里还有一块吃了一半的馒头，那是他早饭剩下的。他掏出了那块馒头，掰下一小块，然后伸手喂给小鲤鱼。鲤鱼见状，游得更近了一些。海把手放进水里，鲤鱼便上前，就着他的手吃掉了这块馒头。海咯咯笑了起来。他一方面是被这鱼儿奇怪的举动逗笑了，一方面是由于鲤鱼的嘴碰到手掌时，那种痒痒的麻麻的感觉让他忍不住有点想笑。

The rose carp was so close that Hai could make out the patterns upon its back. Eight large scales ran from its head to its tail. The first and biggest scale was colored rose, the second one of sapphire blue, the third colored a ruby red ... the scales shimmered like jewels. Without thinking, Hai reached out a finger and stroked the rose carp's back. Instead of darting away, it stayed, tail drifting lazily in the water.

玫瑰色的鲤鱼游的太近了，以至于海都能够看到它背上的纹路。它从头到尾一共有八片大鳞片，第一个也是最大的一个鳞片是玫瑰色的，第二个是蓝宝石般的深蓝，第三个是红宝石一样的大红色。。。这些鳞片像珠宝一样闪着耀眼的光芒。海没有多想，便伸出手抚摸鲤鱼的背。奇怪的是，鲤鱼没有受惊逃跑，而是依旧停留在原地，美丽的尾巴在水中悠闲地打着转。

"What a strange one you are", murmured Hai. 

“你真是一只奇怪的鱼啊！”海低声说道。

Chapter 10 – Missing

第十章 – 失踪

Each morning, the rose-colored carp would swim beside Hai as he rowed out to sea, coral scales glinting under the first rays of dawn. And each day, out in the open sea, Hai would pause in his task to scatter a few choice morsels of his breakfast for the rose carp to eat.

每天一早，玫瑰色的鲤鱼都会陪着海一起打渔。每一天，海都会在捕鱼的间隙歇一歇，然后把自己的早餐喂给鲤鱼吃。

One day, the carp did not come.

可是，有一天，鲤鱼没来。

The sun was already red and blazing, glaring down at the sea with all its might. As Hai gathered his nets, he cast a puzzled eye into the water, straining to see a flash of rose within its blue. The morning grew hotter while Hai filled his nets. Today’s catch was plentiful: fat crabs with turquoise backs and red tipped claws; tiger striped clams whose tightly closed shells hid sweet tender meat; and plump juicy shrimp with waving whiskers and dancing feet.

那时候的太阳已经在天空中高高挂起，酷热的光芒一波一波洒在海面。当海收起网，准备出发时，他疑惑地看了一眼蔚蓝的海水，却没有看到那条玫瑰色的的鲤鱼。清晨的温度越来越高，海捕到的海鲜也渐渐多了起来：肥美的大螃蟹、虎纹蛤蜊、还有肉质鲜美的海虾。

Hai’s nets were now fit to burst, yet he stayed out on the water for many minutes more, hoping that the carp might come. 

他的网快要被这些鱼虾撑破了，但他依旧不想马上离开，而是继续在水面观望着。他期待着那条玫瑰色的鲤鱼现身。

A puffy white cloud drifted across the light blue sky. In the ocean below, Hai’s small fishing boat drifted quietly upon the rich blue sea. The sun sat, high and yellow, above. Hai reached for his oars, and reluctantly rowed back to shore. Any later and he would miss the afternoon market.

一朵雪白的流云在蔚蓝的天空中悠闲地散着步。黄澄澄的大太阳依旧热烈地当空照着。在一望无际的海面上，海的那艘小渔船静静地漂浮着。时间一分一秒地流逝着，直到某一刻，海终于拿起了船桨，有些不情愿地把船往回划。他必须赶快回去，否则，就没法在下午的集市里卖海鲜了。

Chapter 11 – The Bargain

第十一章 – 交易

Sha rarely arrived at market before Hai. In fact, Sha rarely ventured into the market during the day – preferring to visit the village taverns at night. But today was different. Today, Sha had something of value to sell. 

沙比海先到达了下午的集市。其实，沙很少早晨上集市来--他一般都是大晚上的跑来集市附近的酒馆喝酒。但今天不一样，他要卖一样很值钱的东西。

Sha grinned at the thought, revealing yellowing teeth. Those teeth, slightly protruding, were brown at the roots, and planted upon a bed of red and inflamed gums. His hair, unwashed and oily, was already beginning to gray before its time. Sha wrote this off as another stroke of bad luck – yet another sign that the heavens were against him. 

想到这，沙坏坏地笑了，露出一口参差不齐的黄牙。他的头发看起来根本没洗过，又油又臭，而且还过早地沾染了几分灰白。沙又把他的白发归咎于运气差—-这分明是老天和他过不去嘛！

The only luck Sha ever happened upon was when his parents had died, the old fools that they were. The gold and silver they had left behind had allowed Sha to spend his days in idle drink and play. The gold was gone now, though. And the silver was dwindling too…

沙唯一碰上的一次好运就是他父母离世的那会儿，他们留下的金银供他过了好几年锦衣玉食的生活。只不过，那些财富早就被他挥霍光了，现在他手头的银子更是一天比一天少了。。

Sha snorted in derision and took another swallow of liquor. The stuff burned down his throat and pooled in his belly, giving off waves of heat. He smacked his lips before grinning again, showing off those horrible teeth. Sha looked down at a wooden pail, and thought to himself: His luck was changing…this, this was a sign!

沙不屑地哼了一声，转头吞了一口酒。酒精顺着他的喉咙到他的胃里，带来了一阵阵炽热的烧灼感。他满足地咂咂嘴，然后微微一笑，露出那一口可怕的牙齿。他低头看着手上的木桶，美滋滋地想：现在我总算是转运了！这桶里的东西就是最好的证明！  

*

Hai reached the shore. He fastened his boat and gathered his catch for the day into dual wooden pails. Hooking the pails onto a bamboo shaft, Hai bent his knees and hoisted the shaft onto his shoulder.  Straightening, he set off towards the market.  

海的小船终于靠了岸。他仔细地把船用绳子系好，并且把自己捞到的海鲜一个个转移到木桶里去。他把木桶挂在一条竹扁担上，然后弯腰屈膝扛起了扁担。把扁担牢牢固定在自己肩上后，他才直起了腰，转身朝集市的方向走去。

Hai walked by the ribbon vendor selling her “pretty ribbons for pretty girls”. He passed by a cart carrying steamed buns filled with pork. As he walked, Hai’s eyes were drawn to a crowd of children, who were huddled around the village drunkard. Hai paused at this unusual sight. Sha was not popular with the village children – he often reeked of rice liquor and was foul tempered to boot.  Curiosity piqued, Hai drew closer to the crowd. 

在路上，海遇到了卖丝带的小贩，还路过了一个肉包铺子。他走着走着，突然看见一群孩子围着那个村里有名的醉汉。这个奇怪的现象引起了海的注意。原来，被孩子们包围的人正是沙。沙在村里一直不怎么受孩子们待见。他爱喝酒，所以身上总是散发着一股难闻的酒味，加上他脾气又差极了，孩子们自然不喜欢他。不过，今天他怎么会出现在这里呢？海感到十分好奇，于是决定凑上前去看个究竟。

* 

Sha was gloating, fairly crowing over something Hai couldn’t yet see. There, by Sha’s feet, was a wooden pail – just like the two Hai carried. "Stupid creature" Sha chortled, his rough voice catching with glee.  He leered down at a small girl who had been peering curiously into the pail.  The girl took a hasty step back.  

  从他的角度看去，沙似乎正在幸灾乐祸地盯着什么东西看。他的脚边放着一只木桶，就和海自己提的那两个一模一样。“真是个蠢东西！”沙得意忘形地呵呵笑道。一个小女孩好奇地探头往木桶里看，沙斜了她一眼，把小女孩吓得后退了一步。

Stupid creature swam right up to me" Sha continued with a cackle and a cough. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and gave the pail a rude kick.  

“这个蠢东西，看到我就自己送上门来，你说傻不傻？”沙言毕，又咯咯笑了起来，还不忘抹了抹嘴边的唾沫星子，顺便朝着木桶恶狠狠地踢了一脚。

Water sloshed over the sides and splashed onto his shoes.  Sha eyed the children gathered around him crowed: "Feast your eyes on this, you little fools!"  He pointed at the bucket by his feet. "A beauty isn't she? Have you ever seen such a color on a fish? A rose carp will fetch me a pretty penny at market, I should think!!”

他这一脚下去，木桶晃了晃，里边的水哗啦溅了出来，弄湿了他的鞋子。沙指着木桶，大声对周围的孩子喊道：“来来来，你们这群小屁孩，都给我过来看看，我抓的这鱼怎么样？很正吧，啊？没见过这种颜色的鱼吧？我可告诉你们，这是玫瑰鲤鱼，拿到市场上去，能卖大价钱的！”

Hai froze.

海一听，彻底惊呆了。

When he breathed in again, the first breath came swift and shallow. It was as if a strip of cloth had been wra­­pped around his chest – and had been bound much too tight. Still carrying his own bountiful catch of the day, Hai walked - in what he hoped was a nonchalant pace - toward the crowd of gathered children.  He stopped right in front of Sha.  

极度的震惊和担忧令他几乎无法呼吸。等他缓过劲来时，他感觉仿佛有人用一条麻布紧紧捆住了他的胸膛。不过，他还是逼自己冷静了下来，随即挑起了扁担，迈着他自认为轻快的步伐走进人群中，停在了沙的面前。

"Brother Sha, what do you have there?"

“兄弟，你这里面装的是什么？”

As Hai spoke, he slid a casual glance over to the pail sitting between them.  In it, swimming in fitful circles, was a rose-colored carp. A row of rainbow scales shimmered down the length of its back.  A trickle of cold sweat ran a jagged path along Hai’s spine.

海一边说，一边假装不在意地朝他们之间的木桶看了一眼。桶里，一条玫瑰色的鲤鱼有些着急地反复绕着圈游着。它背后美丽的鳞片折射出彩虹色的光芒。海看着鲤鱼，一排冷汗刷地一下顺着他的脊柱流了下来。

"My catch of the day" smirked Sha.  He stuck a bamboo shaft into the pail, prodding roughly at the carp.  The rose carp darted and whirled frantically about – trying to evade the cruel jabs.  

“我今天抓的鱼，怎么样，还不错吧？”沙得意地笑道。他把一根竹子插进桶里，漫不经心地戳着那条粉鲤鱼。鱼儿焦急地左右游动，想躲开那尖利的竹竿。

"Look at the stupid creature dance!" Sha crowed.

“你们看，看看这蠢东西跳舞！”沙尖声叫道。

Hai’s fingers balled into fists.  His nails dug half-moons into his palms.  How he wanted to knock that smirk off of Sha’s face! Hai clenched his fists tighter and took a deep breath. It took every ounce of self-restraint to keep the roiling anger out of his voice, yet when Hai spoke, his voice was steady and calm. 

海的手握成了拳头，指甲嵌进肉里，留下了半月形的指痕。他多么想一拳打掉沙脸上那个得意忘形的的表情！海把拳头又握得紧了一些，然后深深地吸了一口气。他用尽自己最大的努力控制住自己的怒气，所以当他再次开口时，语气仍然是不变的平静。

He looked at the fish, and then turned to face Sha. "She certainly is a pretty one" Hai said. 

他看了看这条鱼，转过头对沙说道：“的确是一条漂亮的鱼，

"How much?"

你打算卖多少钱？”

Sha narrowed his eyes at Hai, regarding the young man with shrewd calculation. Unpleasant as he was, Sha was no fool.  He could tell that the young man standing before him wanted the rose-colored fish, and wanted it badly.   

沙眯起眼睛，上上下下仔细打量着面前的小伙子。虽然沙不讨人喜欢，但他可不笨。他看得出来，这小伙子很想要他的玫瑰色鲤鱼—而且是，非常地想要。

Sha grinned, baring rotting teeth.  "A pretty silver piece might do it" he said with a sly grin, knowing quite well that such riches were beyond Hai’s reach.  

沙狡黠地笑了，再次露出他那一口黄牙。他说：“也不贵，就一两银子，一手交钱，一手交货。”沙说完以后，得意极了，他知道，海根本拿不出这么多钱。

Hai’s face fell.

听罢，海的脸色果然不太好。

Sha gloated. He felt a rush of power, reveling at seeing this righteous young man squirm. But Hai was no novice at haggling, and he quickly recovered his composure. "An entire silver piece for such a small fish?” “If we aren't going to speak sense, brother Sha, then we're done here." Hai moved his shoulders up and down, as if to dislodge some bothersome fly. He began to turn away.  

沙在边上看着，心里别提有多开心了。在那一瞬间他感受到了一种无与伦比的满足感。不过，海也不是个初出茅庐的傻小伙儿，他难过了一会儿，马上恢复了以往的表情。他质问道:”就这么一条小鱼，值一两银子？兄弟，你如果不讲道理，我们也没什么可谈的了。”说完，海一转身，假装想走。

"Now wait but a moment, brother Hai,"

“别别别，兄弟你别着急吗!”

Sha called out, a plastic grin pasted to his face.  Sha pointed at the twin pails Hai still carried with him.  "What has the sea blessed you with today?" Sha saw, quite clearly, that Hai’s buckets were filled to the brim with large meaty clams and plump juicy shrimp.  An entire day’s work, which Sha had neglected to do.  Sha’s stomach rumbled in complaint.  

沙叫道。他马上挤出一个假笑，上前拦住了海。然后他伸出手指了指海扁担上的两大桶海鲜。“今天又捞到什么好东西啦？”沙看到海的木桶里满满当当地装了各种鲜美的蛤蜊和海虾。这可是海一天的劳动成果啊！沙看着这些海鲜，肚子不争气地开始咕咕叫了起来。

"I'm feeling generous today," Sha continued, greedy eyes fixed upon Hai’s plentiful catch.  Sha gave what he believed to be a long suffering sigh. He produced something closer to a wheezing squelch, breathing out the sour stench of stale wine. He splayed five fingers across his chest, thumb resting on his collar bone. "So, this old fool will give you my rose-colored beauty in exchange for what you have there in your buckets...All of it."

沙贪婪地盯着海的两桶海鲜，假装痛苦地叹了口气。然后他打了一嗝，顿时空气中弥漫着潮湿陈旧的酒味。沙撑开五指，把手放在自己的胸口，大拇指正好对准自己的锁骨。他开口说道：“今天小爷我心情好，就不跟你多计较了。这样，我也不要你的钱，就拿你这两桶海鲜，换我的这条美人鱼，怎么样？”

Hai glanced down at the rose carp.  He looked back into Sha’s bloodshot eyes.   

海瞥了一眼粉鲤鱼，然后抬起头，直直看向沙那双布满血丝的眼睛，回答说：

"Hao.Deal."

“好，成交。”

*

To be continued in Pearl (Part 5)

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