THE THREE CODEPENDENT GOATS GRUFF 三只小羊

正文

Once on a lovely mountainside lived three goats who were related as siblings. Their name was Gruff, and they were a very close family. During the winter months they lived in a lush, green valley, eating grass and doing other things in a naturally goatish manner. When summer came, they would travel up the mountainside to where the pasture was sweeter. This way, they did not overgraze their valley and kept their ecological footprints as small as possible.
从前，山腰上住着三只小羊，一家手足亲密无间。冬天时，他们生活在山谷的萋萋草地中，吃吃小草，晒晒太阳，干着羊该干的事。每到夏天，他们便爬上山去，前往更为甜美的草场。这样一来，便可避免过度放牧，尽可能减少对生态环境的影响。
To get to this pasture, the goats had to cross a bridge over a wide chasm. When the first days of summer came, one goat set out to cross the bridge. This goat was the least chronologically accomplished of the siblings and thus had achieved the least superiority in size. When he reached the bridge, he lashed on his safety helmet and grasped the handrail. But as he began to cross, a menacing growl came from beneath the bridge.
有座横跨万丈深渊的大桥是前往草地的必经之路。夏日刚至，便有羊动身前去。这只羊系三羊手足中在纵向时空上生命刻度位列最末、因而体格发育程度最末者。抵达大桥时，小羊正了正头盔，牢牢把住扶手。正待迈步时，桥下传来一声威胁性咆哮。
Over the railing and onto the bridge leaped a troll—hairy, dirt-accomplished, and odourenhanced. ‘Yaaarrrgh!!’ intoned the troll. ‘I am the keeper of this bridge, and while goats may have the right to cross it, I’ll eat any that try!’
一个毛发狂野，饱经风霜，气味强劲的巨魔从深渊一跃而起，双脚狠狠撑在桥上。“哇呀呀呀！”巨魔吟咏道，“我是守桥巨魔。我承认山羊客观上享有通过这座桥的权利，不过，我也不介意尝尝送上门来的嚼头！”
‘But why, Mr Troll?’ bleated the goat.
“但为什么呢，巨魔先生？”小羊怯声咩咩。
‘Because I’m a troll, and proud of it. I have a troll’s needs, and those needs include eating goats, so you better respect them or else.’
“因为我生来就是巨魔，我也自豪自己是巨魔。吃羊正是我们巨魔天生的需求。你最好放尊重点，不然后果你懂的。”
The goat was frightened. ‘Certainly, sir,’ he stammered. ‘If eating me would help you become a more complete troll, nothing would please me more. But I really can’t commit to that course of action without first consulting my siblings. Will you excuse me?’ And the goat ran back to the valley.
小羊吓坏了，战战兢兢地说：“当然，巨魔先生。要是能帮助您圆满魔格，我很荣幸给您吃了。但在我同手足协商之前，不能就此事给出任何实质性承诺。恕我失陪！”然后。小羊便扭头赶回山谷。
Next, the middle sibling goat came up to the bridge. This goat was more chronologically advanced than the first goat and so enjoyed an advantage in size (although this did not make him a better or more deserving goat). He was about to cross the bridge when the troll stopped him.
接着，年纪排行中间的小羊也来到桥前。这只羊的生命刻度在纵向时空上较上一只羊靠前，因而在体格上占据客观优势（尽管这并不意味着他更为优秀或更应受到优待）。在他正欲过桥时，那只巨魔拦住了他。
‘Nature has made me a troll,’ he said, ‘and I embrace my trollhood. Would you deny me my right to live the life of a troll as fully and effectively as I can?’
“自然造就我为巨魔。”巨魔说道，“我全然接纳我的魔性。难不成你想否定我在魔道上自我实现、尽我所长的权利吗？”
‘Me? Never!’ exclaimed the goat proudly.
“我？不可能！”中羊自豪地拔高声量。
‘Then stand still there while I come over and eat you up. And don’t try to run away; I would take that as a personal affront.’ He began to invade the goat’s caprinal space.
“那就乖乖站好，等我过来吃了你。别想着逃跑，这何尝不是一种人身攻击。”说着，他便一步步侵犯山羊的私人空间。
‘However,’ blurted the goat, ‘I have a very close family, and it would be selfish of me to allow myself to be eaten without asking their opinion. I have respect for their feelings, too. I would hate to think that my absence would cause them any emotional stress, if I hadn’t first …’
“但是！”中羊急忙补充：“我和家人感情非常要好。如果不先征求他们的意见就擅自选择让别人吃了，未免有些自私。我也很尊重他们的感受，很难想象自己的缺席了他们的生活会造成何等情感困扰。所以我得先……”
‘Go then!’ screamed the troll.
“走吧那你！”巨魔叫道。
‘I’ll rush back here as soon as we reach a consensus,’ the goat said, ‘for it’s not fair to keep you in suspense.’
“等我们达成共识后，我会马上赶回来的。”中羊补充，“让您久等就太失礼了。”
‘You’re too kind,’ sighed the troll, and the goat ran back to the valley. As his hunger grew, the troll began to feel a real grievance towards the goats. If he didn’t get to eat at least one of them, he was determined to go to the authorities.
“你太客气了。”巨魔叹了口气，眼睁睁看中羊回去。没过多久，怨从饿边生。巨魔暗下决心，要是连一只羊都没吃到，就要反映给当局。
When the third goat came to the bridge, the troll discovered that he was nearly twice the troll’s size, with large, sharp horns and hard, heavy hooves. The troll felt his physical-intimidation prerogative fading fast. As fear turned his insides into jelly, the troll sank to his knees and pleaded, ‘Oh, please, please forgive me! I was using you and your goat siblings for my own selfish ends. I don’t know what drove me to it, but I’ve seen the error of my ways.’
然后，第三只羊赶到了桥边。这次是大羊，体格几乎有巨魔的两倍，其犄角巨大锋利，蹄子坚实厚重。巨魔只感自己雄体威严不攻自灭，心惊胆颤匍匐求饶：“啊！求求你，求求你宽恕我吧！我不该贪为私欲觊觎你们一家。我不知道自己这是着了什么道，但我已经知错了！”
The goat, too, got down on what passed for knees in goats and said, ‘Now, now, you can’t take all the blame for yourself. Our presence and supreme edibility put you in this situation. My siblings and I all feel terrible. Please, you must forgive us.’
大羊也弯下算是可以称为膝盖的部位跪在地上：“好了好了，不能把错全拦自己身上啊。是我们存在本身和极高的实用价值让你陷得如此境地。我们兄弟几个都很内疚，还请你原谅我们。”
The troll began to sob. ‘No, no, it’s all my fault. I threatened and bullied you all, just for the sake of my own survival. How selfish I was!’
巨魔闻言抽泣起来：“不，不，都是我的错，都是我只顾着自己生存，威胁你们，欺负你们。我太自私了！”
But the goat would have none of this. ‘We were the selfish ones. We only wanted to save our own skins, and we totally neglected your needs. Please, eat me now!’
大羊听不得他这般自责：“我们才是真正自私的家伙。我们光顾着保全自己的性命，却完全漠视你的需求。请吧，现在就吃了我吧！”
‘No,’ the troll said, ‘you must butt me off this bridge for my insensitivity and selfishness.’
“弗。”巨魔说，“我这么麻木不仁自私自利，理当被你踹下桥去！”
‘I’ll do no such thing,’ said the goat, ‘since we all tempted you in the first place. Here, have a chomp. Go ahead.’
“岂有此理，分明是我们招诱你在先！行了，来一口吧，放开吃！”
‘I’m telling you,’ the troll insisted, standing up, ‘I’m the guilty one here. Now, knock me off this bridge and be quick about it!’
“我话就这么撂这儿了，”巨魔起身强调，“有罪的是我。就现在，把我踹下桥去，立刻，马上！”
‘Look,’ said the goat, rearing to his full height, ‘no one is going to take away my blame for this, not even you, so eat me before I pop you in the nose.’
“你给我听好，”大羊也缓缓长身直立，昂首阖视：“没人比我更罪一筹，你算老几。现在要么吃我一拳，要么把我吃了。”
‘Don’t play guiltier-than-thou with me, Hornhead!’
“少搁这假惺惺装纯了，蠢角货！”
‘“Hornhead”? You smelly hairball! I’ll show you guilt!’ And with that, they wrestled and bit and punched and kicked as each sought to don the mantle of blame.
“蠢角货？你个熏毛精，今天我就让你见识见识什么叫罪该万死！”话音一落，两人便扭作一团，拳打脚踢，左撕右咬，谁都不愿便宜对方独享黑锅。
The other two goats bounded up to the bridge and sized up the fight. Feeling guilty at not accepting enough of the blame, they joined the others in a whirling ball of hair, hooves, horns, and teeth. But the little bridge was not built to carry such weight. It shook and swayed and finally buckled, hurling the troll and the three codependent goats Gruff into the chasm. On their way down, they each felt relieved that they would finally get what they deserved, plus, as a bonus, a little extra guilt for the fate of the others.
另两只羊跳到桥上打量这场咬架，直感愧疚不已，纷纷加入战场。毛发、蹄子、角和牙纠缠在一起，扭成一团球。但这兽球总重明显超出小桥预设的载荷极限，几番颤悠，最终崩裂，缠着四只滚入深渊。一路坠来，他们只觉解脱，总算沦落到自己应得的下场！通体畅快中，夹杂一丝为他人命运感的自责。

注解

Sibling

“sibling”一词没有性别含义，使用”sibling”而不是直接说”兄弟”或”姐妹”，避免了对任何一种性别的偏好或歧视，体现了作者在处理性别问题上的中性和政治确风格，更加包容和平等，贴合全书追求政治正确的主题。