A Cock Crowed公鸡报晓

Madame Berthe d 'Avancelles had up till that time resisted all the prayers of her despairing adorer, Baron Joseph de Croissard. He had pursued her ardently in Paris during the winter, and now he was giving fêtes and shooting parties in her honor at his Chateau at Carville, in Normandy.

约瑟夫·德克罗瓦萨尔男爵对贝尔特·德阿旺塞尔夫人展开了无望的追求，在那之前，她都没有答应他的任何请求。冬天的时候，男爵就曾在巴黎发起猛烈的爱情攻势，现在则在他位于诺曼底卡尔维尔的城堡里为她举行宴会和狩猎活动。

Monsieur d 'Avancelles, her husband, saw nothing and knew nothing, as usual. It was said that he lived apart from his wife on account of physical weakness, for which Madame d' Avancelles would not pardon him. He was a short, stout, bald man, with short arms, legs, neck, nose and everything else, while Madame d 'Avancelles, on the contrary, was a tall, dark and determined young woman, who laughed in her husband's face with sonorous laughter, while he called her openly Mrs. Housewife, who looked at the broad shoulders, strong build and fair moustaches of her titled admirer, Baron Joseph de Croissard, with a certain amount of tenderness.

德阿旺塞尔夫人的丈夫像往常一样什么也没看见，什么也不知道。据说他不和妻子住在一起，因为他体弱多病，德阿旺塞尔夫人因为这一点无法原谅丈夫。德阿旺塞尔夫人的丈夫腿短，胳膊短，脖子短，鼻子短，总之是个一切都短还秃顶的矮胖子。而德阿旺塞尔夫人却完全不同，是一个身材高挑、深色皮肤、意志坚决的少妇。当丈夫公然叫她 “主妇夫人” 时，她会当着丈夫的面放声大笑。但对待她的爱慕者——约瑟夫·德克罗瓦萨尔男爵时，她则有些含情脉脉。拥有爵位的男爵有着宽阔的肩膀、强壮的体格和漂亮的小胡子。

She had not, however, granted him anything as yet. The baron was ruining himself for her, and there was a constant round of fêting, hunting parties and new pleasures, to which he invited the neighboring nobility. All day long the hounds gave tongue in the woods, as they followed the fox or the wild boar, and every night dazzling fireworks mingled their burning plumes with the boars, while the illuminated windows of the drawing—room cast long rays of light onto the wide lawns, where shadows were moving to and fro.

但是，她还没有对他有过任何表示。男爵对她不遗余力：不断地邀请附近的贵族参加为她举办的狩猎活动、宴会和各种新颖的娱乐活动。整个白天，林子里都是猎狗追逐狐狸和野猪时发出的犬吠声；每个夜晚，炫眼的烟花绽放，和烤野猪的烟火夹杂在一起。客厅里灯火通明，灯光透过窗户在大草坪上投下长长的光线，草坪上人影攒动。

It was autumn, the russet—colored season of the year, and the leaves were whirling about on the grass like flights of birds. One noticed the smell of damp，earth in the air, of the naked earth, like one smells the odor of the bare skin, when a woman's dress falls off her, after a ball.

正值秋天，这是一个金黄色的季节，草地上的落叶像飞鸟似的盘旋。人们闻到空气中散发着裸露泥土的潮湿气味，就像一位刚参加完舞会的女士脱去衣裙后，她裸露的肌肤散发出来的气味。

One evening, in the previous spring, during an entertainment, Madame d 'Avancelles had said to Monsieur de Croissard, who was worrying her by his importunities: If I do succumb to you, my friend, it will not be before the fall of the leaf. I have too many things to do this summer to have any time for it. He had not forgotten that bold and amusing speech, and every day he became more pressing, every day he pushed his approaches nearer—to use a military phrase—and gained a step in the heart of the fair, audacious woman, who seemed only to be resisting for form's sake.

去年春天的一个晚上，在一次宴会上，德阿旺塞尔夫人就曾对百般追求她、令她很苦恼的德克罗瓦萨尔先生说： “亲爱的朋友，我即使答应你，也绝对不会在叶落之前。这个夏天我有太多的事情要做，根本没有时间。” 他没有忘记那席大胆而又风趣的话，于是一天比一天逼得紧，用军事术语来说，就是日日逼近，逐步赢得这位美丽、大胆的女人的芳心。她的抗拒似乎只是做做样子而已。

It was the day before a large wild—boar hunt, and in the evening Madame Berthe said to the baron with a laugh: "Baron, if you kill the brute, I shall have something to say to you. " And so, at dawn he was up and out, to try and discover where the solitary animal had its lair. He accompanied his huntsmen, settled the places for the relays, and organized everything personally to insure his triumph, and when the horns gave the signal for setting out, he appeared in a closely fitting coat of scarlet and gold, with his waist drawn in tight, his chest expanded, his eyes radiant, and as fresh and strong as if he had just got out of bed. They set off, and the wild boar set off through the underwood as soon as he was dislodged, followed by the hounds in full cry, while the horses set off at a gallop through the narrow sides cut in the forest, while the carriage which followed the chase at a distance, drove noiselessly along the soft roads.

一场大规模的猎野猪活动即将举行。前一天晚上，贝尔特夫人笑着对男爵说： “如果你杀死猎物，我会有一些话跟你说。” 于是，第二天一大清早，男爵就起床了，出去探寻野猪这种独居动物的洞穴。他和随从一起，安排好了替换猎犬的地点，事事亲力亲为，以确保自己能获胜。出发的号角一响，男爵就身着红金相间的紧身猎装出现了。他的腰带束得紧紧的，显得上身很魁梧，双眼炯炯有神，而且精神抖擞，体魄强健，就像刚刚睡饱一样。狩猎开始了。野猪刚被逐出老窝就在林下的灌木丛中乱窜，后面跟着狂吠的猎犬；猎手们骑着马在林间小道中疾行；松软的大路上，马车静静地前行，远远地跟着狩猎队伍。

From mischief, Madame d 'Avancelles kept the baron by her side, and lagging behind at a walk in an interminably long and straight drive, over which four rows of oaks hung, so as to form almost an arch, while he, trembling with love and anxiety, listened with one ear to the young woman's bantering chatter, while with the other he listened to the blast of the horns and to the cry of the hounds as they receded in the distance.

德阿旺塞尔夫人顽皮地把男爵留在身旁，放慢脚步落到众人后面，走在一条极其长而直的大路上，大路上方笼罩着四排橡树，形成了一个拱形。男爵这时由于爱意和担忧而瑟瑟发抖，他一耳听着这个少妇打趣唠叨，另一耳听着号角声和渐渐远去的犬吠声。

"So you do not love me any longer? " she observed. "How can you say such things? " he replied. And she continued: "But you seem to be paying more attention to the sport than to me. " He groaned, and said: "Did you not order me to kill the animal myself? " And she replied gravely: "Of course I reckon upon it. You must kill it under my eyes. "

“你不爱我了吗？” 她说道。 “你怎么会说出这样的话呢？” 他回答。她接着说： “我看你更在乎狩猎，而不是我。” 他抱怨道： “不是你命令我必须亲自杀死猎物的吗？” 她严肃地回答： “当然，我是这样想的。你必须在我面前杀死猎物才算数。”

Then he trembled in his saddle, spurred his horse until it reared, and, losing all patience, exclaimed: "But, by Jove, Madame, that is impossible if we remain here. " Then she spoke tenderly to him, laying her hand on his arm, or stroking his horse's mane, as if from abstraction, and said with a laugh: "But you must do it or else so much the worse for you. "

坐在马鞍上的男爵全身颤栗，用马刺刺得马立了起来。他失去了耐性，喊道： “我的天啊，夫人，如果光呆在这儿，我怎么杀死猎物啊？” 这时，阿旺塞尔夫人用温柔的声音和他说话，把手搭在他的胳膊上，或者漫不经心地摸着马的鬃毛，笑着说： “可是你必须那样做，否则的话，事情可要糟糕得多。”

Just then they turned to the right, into a narrow path which was overhung by trees, and suddenly, to avoid a branch which barred their way, she leaned towards him so closely, that he felt her hair tickling his neck, and he suddenly threw his arms brutally round her, and putting his thick moustache onto her forehead, he gave her a furious kiss.

就在这时他们向右转，走上一条树木茂盛的小道。为了避开挡路的树枝，阿旺塞尔夫人突然向男爵靠去，两人挨得如此之近，以至于男爵都感到她的头发挠着自已的脖子。他突然粗暴地抱住她，把浓浓的胡子贴在她的额头上，给了她一个狂热的吻。

At first she did not move, and remained motionless under that mad caress; then she turned her head with a jerk, and either by accident or design her little lips met his, under their wealth of light hair, and a moment afterwards, either from confusion or remorse, she struck her horse with her riding—whip, and went off at full gallop, and they rode on like that for some time, without exchanging a look.

起初她并没有挣扎，一 动不动地接受这种疯狂的爱抚；突然她头一转，不知是巧合还是早有预谋，在浓密的金发下，她的小嘴唇碰到了他的嘴唇上。或许是尴尬，或许是懊悔，她随后一扬鞭，疾驰而去，他们就这样骑着马跑了一会儿，没有互看一眼。

The noise of the hunt came nearer, the thickets seemed to tremble, and suddenly the wild boar broke through the bushes, covered with blood, and trying to shake off the hounds who had fastened onto him, and the baron, uttering a shout of triumph, exclaimed: "Let him who loves me, follow me! " And he disappeared in the copse, as if the wood had swallowed him up.

狩猎的嘈杂声近了，灌木丛里好像有动静。突然一头浑身是血的野猪从树丛里面窜出来，试图摆脱猎狗们的纠缠。男爵发出胜利的吼叫，喊道： “爱我的跟我来！” 随后男爵好像被树林吞掉似的，消失在林中。

When she reached an open glade a few minutes later, he was just getting up, covered with mud, his coat torn, and his hands bloody, while the brute was lying stretched out at full length, with the baron's hunting knife driven into its shoulder up to the hilt.

几分钟后，当她到达一片开阔的空地时，男爵正站起来，他上衣已经撕破，手淌着血，浑身粘着土，而野猪正四仰八叉地躺在地上，男爵的猎刀由其肩部插入，只露出刀柄。

The quarry was cut at night by torchlight. It was a warm and dull evening, and the wan moon threw a yellow light onto the torches which made the night misty with their resinous smoke. The hounds devoured the wild boar's stinking entrails, and snarled and fought for them, while the prickers and the gentlemen, standing in a circle round the spoil, blew their horns as loud as they could. The flourish of the hunting—horns resounded beyond the woods on that still night and was repeated by the echoes of the distant valleys, awaking the timid stags, rousing the yelping foxes, and disturbing the little rabbits in their gambols at the edge of the rides.

分割猎物是借助火把的光亮进行的。那是一个温暖且阴暗的晚上，朦胧的月色在火把上投下一层黄色的光。火把上树脂冒出的烟使得整个夜晚雾蒙蒙的。猎狗们嚎叫、争抢着吞食野猪臭烘烘的内脏。猎手和绅士们则站成一圈把战利品围住，用尽全力吹着号角。响亮的狩猎号角声在宁静的夜空飞扬，越过树林，在远处的山谷激起层层回响，惊醒了胆小的牡鹿和尖叫的狐狸，惊扰了在小路边嬉戏的小兔子们。

The frightened night—birds flew over the eager pack of hounds, while the women, who were moved by all these gentle and violent things, leaned rather heavily on the men's arms; and turned aside into the forest rides, before the hounds had finished their meal, and Madame d 'Avancelles, feeling languid after that day of fatigue and tenderness, said to the baron: Will you take a turn in the park, my friend? And without replying, but trembling and nervous, he went with her, and immediately they kissed each other. They walked slowly under the almost leafless trees through which the moonbeams filtered, and their love, their desires, their longing for a closer embrace became so vehement, that they nearly yielded to it at the foot of a tree.

受了惊的夜鸟在激烈争食的狗群上空盘旋，女人们在这些既温柔又暴力的情形的刺激下，紧紧地靠在男人的胳膊上，还没等猎狗们享用完大餐，就转身朝林中的小路走去。经历了一天的劳累和柔情蜜意后，略感疲倦的阿旺塞尔夫人对男爵说： “我的朋友，愿意和我一起到林中转转吗？” 男爵没有回答，只是发抖和紧张。他和她一起走了出去，很快，他们亲吻起来。他们在几乎没什么叶子的树下慢慢地散步，月光穿透树枝倾泻下来。他们的爱情、他们的渴望、他们想要紧紧拥抱对方的欲望如此强烈，以至于在一棵树下他们差点把持不住。

The horns were not sounding any longer, and the tired hounds were sleeping in the kennels. "Let us return, " the young woman said, and they went back.

号角声停止了，疲惫的猎狗们也已回窝睡觉。少妇说道： “我们也回去吧。” 他们往回走去。

When they got to the chateau and before they went in, she said in a weak voice: "I am so tired that I shall go to bed, my friend. " And as he opened his arms for a last kiss, she ran away, saying as a last good—bye: "No. I am going to sleep. Let him who loves me follow me! "

到达城堡进门之前，阿旺塞尔夫人用疲惫的声音说： “我太累了，我要回去睡觉了，我的朋友。” 男爵张开双臂想要吻别，但她逃脱了，告别似的说道： “不……我要去睡了……爱我的人就跟我来吧！”

An hour later, when the whole silent chateau seemed dead; the baron crept stealthily out of his room, and went and scratched at her door, and as she did not reply, he tried to open it, and found that it was not locked.

一个小时以后，整个城堡像死去一般无声无息。男爵蹑手蹑脚地溜出自己的房间，走到她的房前，轻轻敲她的房门，里面没有回应，他设法打开，才发现门根本没有锁。

She was in a reverie, resting her arms against the window ledge, and he threw himself at her knees, which he kissed madly, through the nightdress. She said nothing, but buried her delicate fingers caressingly in his hair, and suddenly, as if she had formed some great resolution, she whispered with her daring look: "I shall come back, wait for me. " And stretching out her hand, she pointed with her finger to an indistinct white spot at the end of the room; it was her bed.

她双臂撑在窗台上沉思，男爵扑向她，隔着她的睡衣疯狂地亲吻她的膝盖。她什么也没说，只是把纤细的手指插入男爵的头发爱抚他。突然，她好像下了很大的决心，表情坚定，轻声地说： “我就来，等着我。” 她伸出手，用手指指着屋子尽头的一个模糊的白点，那是她的床。

Then, with trembling hands and scarcely knowing what he was doing, he quickly undressed, got into the cool sheets, and stretching himself out comfortably, he almost forgot his love in the pleasure he found, tired out as he was, in the contact of the linen. She did not return, however, no doubt finding amusement in making him languish. He closed his eyes with a feeling of exquisite comfort, and reflected peaceably while waiting for what he so ardently longed for. But by degrees his limbs grew languid and his thoughts became indistinct and fleeting, until his fatigue gained the upper hand and he fell asleep.

他根本不知道自已在做什么，用颤抖的双手迅速地脱掉衣服，钻进了凉飕飕的被窝，舒服地伸展着四肢。虽然疲惫，但身体接触亚麻被褥时感到十分惬意，这让他几乎忘记了自己的爱情。然而，她没有过来，肯定是在吊他的胃口，好让他等得心焦。他闭着眼睛，感到浑身极其舒畅，在等待着自己热切期待的事情的同时，静静地思索。但是渐渐地，他的四肢变得无力，意识也开始模糊游离，最后疲倦占了上风，他睡着了。

He slept that unconquerable, heavy sleep of the worn—out hunter, and he slept until daylight; and then, as the window had remained half open, the crowing of a cock suddenly woke him, and the baron opened his eyes, and feeling a woman's body against his, finding himself, much to his surprise, in a strange bed, and remembering nothing for a moment, he stammered:

他睡得很沉，就像精疲力竭的猎人一样，一觉睡到天亮才醒。由于窗子是半开着的，他被公鸡的啼鸣突然惊醒。男爵睁开眼睛，感觉到身旁有女人的身体，他吃惊地发现自已在一张陌生的床上，一时记不起来发生过什么，于是结结巴巴地问：

"What? Where am I? What is the matter? "

“怎么回事？我这是在哪里？发生了什么事啊？”

Then she, who had not been asleep at all, looking at this unkempt man, with red eyes and swollen lips, replied in the haughty tone of voice in which she occasionally spoke to her husband:

她根本没睡着，看着这个头发蓬乱、眼睛通红、嘴唇肿胀的男人，用偶尔对丈夫说话时的那种傲慢的口吻答道：

"It is nothing; it is only a cock crowing. Go and sleep again, Monsieur, it has nothing to do with you. "

“没什么，只是一只公鸡在打鸣。继续睡吧，先生，那不关你的事。”