一
仆人
请对您的仆人开恩吧，我的女王！
女王
集会已经开过，我的仆人们都走了。你为什么来得这么晚呢？
仆人
您同别人谈过以后，就是我的时间了。
我来问有什么剩余的工作，好让您的最末一个仆人去做。
女王
在这么晚的时间你还想做什么呢？
仆人
让我做您花园里的园丁吧。
女王
这是什么傻想头呢？
1
SERVANT
Have mercy upon your servant,my queen!
QUEEN
The assembly is over and my servants are all gone.Why do you come at this late hour?
SERVANT
When you have finished with others,that is my time.
I come to ask what remains for your last servant to do.
QUEEN
What can you expect when it is too late?
SERVANT
Make me the gardener of your flower garden.
QUEEN
What folly is this?
仆人
我要搁下别的工作。
我把我的剑矛扔在尘土里。不要差遣我去遥远的宫廷；不要命令我做新的征讨。只求您让我做花园里的园丁。
女王
你的职责是什么呢？
仆人
为您闲散的日子服务。
我要保持你晨兴散步的草径清爽新鲜，您每一移步将有甘于就死的繁花以赞颂来欢迎您的双足。
我将在七叶树的枝间推送您的秋千；向晚的月亮将挣扎着从叶隙里吻您的衣裙。
我将在您床边的灯盏里添满香油，我将用檀香和番红花膏在您脚垫上涂画上美妙的花样。
SERVANT
I will give up my other work.
I throw my swords and lances down in the dust.Do not send me to distant courts;do not bid me undertake new conquests.But make me the gardener of your flower garden.
QUEEN
What will your duties be?
SERVANT
The service of your idle days.
I will keep fresh the grassy path where you walk in the morning,where your feet will be greeted with praise at every step by the flowers eager for death.
I will swing you in a swing among the branches of the saptaparna,where the early evening moon will struggle to kiss your skirt through the leaves.
I will replenish with scented oil the lamp that burns by your bedside,and decorate your footstool with sandal and saffron paste in wondrous designs.
女王
你要什么酬报呢？
仆人
只要您允许我像握着嫩柔的菡萏一般地握住您的小拳，把花串套上您的纤腕；允许我用无忧花的红汁来染您的脚底，以亲吻来拂去那偶然留在那里的尘埃。
女王
你的祈求被接受了，我的仆人，你将是我花园里的园丁。
QUEEN
What will you have for your reward?
SERVANT
To be allowed to hold your littlefists like tender lotusbuds and slip flower-chains over your wrists;to tinge the soles of your feet with the red juice of ashoka petals and kiss away the speck of dust that may chance to linger there.
QUEEN
Your prayers are granted,my servant,you will be the gardener of my flower garden.
二
“呵，诗人，夜晚渐临；你的头发已经变白。”
“在你孤寂的沉思中听到了来生的消息么？”
“是夜晚了，”诗人说，“夜虽已晚，我还在静听，因为也许有人会从村中呼唤。”
“我看守着，是否有年轻的飘游的心聚在一起，两对渴望的眼睛切盼有音乐来打破他们的沉默，并替他们说话。”
“如果我坐在生命的岸边默想着死亡和来世，又有谁来编写他们的热情的诗歌呢？”
“早现的晚星消隐了。”
“火葬灰中的红光在沉静的河边慢慢地熄灭下去。”
“残月的微光下，胡狼从空宅的庭院里齐声嗥叫。”
“假如有游子们离了家，到这里来守夜，低头静听黑暗的微语，有谁把生命的秘密向他耳边低诉呢，如果我关起门户，企图摆脱世俗的牵缠？”
2
"Ah,poet,the evening draws near;your hair is turning grey."
"Do you in your lonely musing hear the message of the hereafter?"
"It is evening,"the poet said,"and I am listening because some one may call from the village,late though it be."
"I watch if young straying hearts meet together and two pairs of eager eyes beg for music to break their silence and speak for them."
"Who is there to weave their passionate songs,if I sit on the shore of life and contemplate death and the beyond?"
"The early evening star disappears."
"The glow of a funeral pyre slowly dies by the slient river."
"Jackals cry in chorus from the courtyard of the deserted house in the light of the worn-out moon."
"If some wanderer leaving home,come here to watch the night and with bowed head listen to the murmur of the darkness,who is there to whisper the secrets of life into his ears if I,shutting my doors,should try to free myself from mortal bonds?"
“我的头发变白是一件小事。”
“我是永远和这村里最年轻的人一样的年轻，最年老的人一样的年老。”
“有的人发出甜柔单纯的微笑，有的人眼里含着狡狯的闪光。”
“有的人在白天流涌着眼泪，有的人的眼泪却隐藏在幽暗里。”
“他们都需要我，我没有时间去冥想来生。”
“我和每一个人都是同年的，我的头发变白了又该怎样呢？”
"It is a trifle that my hair is turning grey."
"I am ever as young or as old as the youngest and the oldest of this village."
"Some have smiles,sweet and simple,and some a sly twinkle in their eyes."
"Some have tears that well up in the daylight,and others tears that are hidden in the gloom."
"They all have need for me and I have no time to brood over the afterlife."
“I am of an age with each,what matter if my hair turns grey?”
三
早晨我把网撒在海里。
我从沉黑的深渊拉出奇形奇美的东西——有些微笑般地发亮，有些眼泪般地闪光，有的晕红得像新娘的双颊。
当我携带着这一天的担负回到家里的时候，我爱正坐在园里悠闲地扯着花叶。
我沉吟了一会，就把我捞得的一切放在她的脚前，沉默地站着。
她瞥了一眼说：“这是些什么怪东西？我不知道这些东西有什么用处！”
我羞愧得低了头，心想：“我并没有为这些东西去奋斗，也不是从市场里买来的；这不是一些配送给她的礼物。”
整夜的工夫我把这些东西一件一件地丢到街上。
早晨行路的人来了；他们把这些拾起带到远方去了。
3
In the morning I cast my net into the sea.
I dragged up from the dark abyss things of strange aspect and strange beauty-some shone like a smile,some glistened like tears,and some were flushed like the cheeks of a bride.
When with the day's burden I went home,my love was sitting in the garden idly tearing the leaves of a flower.
I hesitated for a moment,and then placed at her feet all that I had dragged up,and stood silent.
She glanced at them and said,“What strange things are these?I know not of what use they are!”
I bowed my head in shame and thought,“I have not fought for these,I did not buy them in the market;they are not fit gifts for her.”
Then the whole night through I flung them one by one into the street.
In the morning travellers came;they picked them up and carried them into far countries.
四
我真烦，为什么他们把我的房子盖在通向市镇的路边呢？
他们把满载的船只拴在我的树上。
他们任意地来去游逛。
我坐着看着他们；光阴都消磨了。
我不能回绝他们。这样我的日子便过去了。
日日夜夜他们的足音在我门前震荡。
我徒然地叫道：“我不认得你们。”
有些人是我的手指所认识的，有的人是我的鼻官所认识的，我脉管中的血液似乎认得他们，有些人是我的魂梦所认识的。
我不能回绝他们。我呼唤他们说：“谁愿意到我房子里来就请来吧，对了，来吧。”
清晨庙里的钟声敲起。
他们提着筐子来了。
他们的脚像玫瑰般红。熹微的晨光照在他们的脸上。
4
Ah me,why did they build my house by the road to the market town?
They moor their laden boats near my trees.
They come and go and wander at their will.
I sit and watch them;my time wears on.
Turn them away I cannot.And thus my days pass by.
Night and day their steps sound by my door.
Vainly I cry,“I do not know you.”
Some of them are known to my fingers,some to my nostrils,the blood in my veins seems to know them,and some are known to my dreams.
Turn them away I cannot.I call them and say,“Come to my house whoever chooses.Yes,come.”
In the morning the bell rings in the temple.
They come with their baskets in their hands.
Their feet are rosy-red.The early light of dawn is on their faces.
我不能回绝他们。我呼唤他们说：“到我园里来采花吧。到这里来吧。”
中午锣声在庙殿门前敲起。
我不知道他们为什么放下工作在我篱畔留连。
他们发上的花朵已经褪色枯萎了；他们横笛里的音调也显得乏倦。
我不能回绝他们。我呼唤他们说：“我的树荫下是凉爽的。来吧，朋友们。”
夜里蟋蟀在林中唧唧地叫。
是谁慢慢地来到我的门前轻轻地敲叩？
我模糊地看到他的脸，他一句话也没说，四围是天空的静默。
我不能回绝我的沉默的客人。我从黑暗中望着他的脸，梦幻的时间过去了。
Turn them away I cannot.I call them and I say,“Come to my garden to gather flowers.Come hither.”
In the midday the gong sounds at the palace gate.
I know not why they leave their work and linger near my hedge.
The flowers in their hair are pale and faded;the notes are languid in their flutes.
Turn them away I cannot.I call them and say,“The shade is cool under my trees.Come,friends.”
At night the crickets chirp in the woods.
Who is it that comes slowly to my door and gently knocks?
I vaguely see the face,not a word is spoken,the stillness of the sky is all around.
Turn away my silent guest I cannot.I look at the face through the dark,and hours of dreams pass by.
五
我心绪不宁。我渴望着遥远的事物。
我的灵魂在极想中走出，要去摸触幽暗的远处的边缘。
呵，“伟大的来生”，呵，你笛声的高亢的呼唤！
我忘却了，我总是忘却了，我没有奋飞的翅翼，我永远在这地点系住。
我切望而又清醒，我是一个异乡的异客。
你的气息向我低语出一个不可能的希望。
我的心懂得你的语言就像它懂得自己的语言一样。
呵，“遥远的寻求”，呵，你笛声的高亢的呼唤！
我忘却了，我总是忘却了，我不认得路，我也没有生翼的马。
我心绪不宁。我是自己心中的流浪者。
在疲倦时光的日霭中，你广大的幻象在天空的蔚蓝中显现！
呵，“最远的尽头”，呵，你笛声的高亢的呼唤！
我忘却了，我总是忘却了，在我独居的房子里，所有的门户都是紧闭的！
5
I am restless.I am athirst for faraway things.
My soul goes out in a longing to touch the skirt of the dim distance.
O Great Beyond.O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget,I ever forget,that I have no wings to fly,that I am bound in this spot evermore.
I am eager and wakeful.I am a stranger in a strange land.
Thy breath comes to me whispering an impossible hope.
Thy tongue is known to my heart as its very own.
O Far-to-seek,O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget,I ever forget,that I know not the way,that I have not the winged horse.
I am listless,I am a wanderer in my heart.
In the sunny haze of the languid hours,what vast vision of thine takes shape in the blue of the sky!
O Farthest End,O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget,I ever forget,that the gates are shut everywhere in the house where I dwell alone!
六
驯养的鸟在笼里，自由的鸟在林中。
时间到了，他们相会，这是命中注定的。
自由的鸟说：“呵，我爱，让我们飞到林中去吧。”
笼中的鸟低声说：“到这里来吧，让我俩都住在笼里。”
自由的鸟说：“在栅栏中间，哪有展翅的余地呢？”
“可怜呵，”笼中的鸟说，“在天空中我不晓得到哪里去栖息。”
自由的鸟叫唤说：“我的宝贝，唱起林野之歌吧。”
笼中的鸟说：“坐在我旁边吧，我要教你说学者的语言。”
自由的鸟叫唤说：“不，不！歌曲是不能传授的。”
笼中的鸟说：“可怜的我呵，我不会唱林野之歌。”
6
The tame bird was in a cage,the free bird was in the forest.
They met when the time came,it was a decree of fate.
The free bird cries,“O my love,let us fly to wood.”
The cage bird whispers,“Come hither,let us both live in the cage.”
Says the free bird,“Among bars,where is there room to spread one's wings?”
“Alas,”cries the cage bird,“I should not know where to sit perched in the sky.”
The free bird cries,“My darling,sing the songs of the woodlands.”
The cage bird says,“Sit by my side.I'll teach you the speech of the learned.”
The forest bird cries,“No,ah no!Songs can never be taught.”
The cage bird says,“Alas for me,I know not the songs of the woodlands.”
他们的爱情因渴望而更加热烈，但是他们永不能比翼双飞。
他们隔栏相望，而他们相知的愿望是虚空的。
他们在依恋中振翼，唱说：“靠近些吧，我爱！”
自由的鸟叫唤说：“这是做不到的，我怕这笼子的紧闭的门。”
笼里的鸟低声说：“我的翅翼是无力的，而且已经死去了。”
Their love is intense with longing,but they never can fly wing to wing.
Through the bars of the cage they look,and vain is their wish to know each other.
They flutter their wings in yearning,and sing,“Come closer,my love!”
The free bird cries,“It cannot be,I fear the closed doors of the cage.”
The cage bird whispers,“Alas,my wings are powerless and dead.”
七
呵，母亲，年轻的王子要从我们门前走过，——今天早晨我哪有心思干活呢？
教给我怎样挽发；告诉我应该穿哪件衣裳。
你为什么惊讶地望着我呢，母亲？
我深知他不会仰视我的窗户；我知道一刹那间他就要走出我的视线以外；只有那残曳的笛声将从远处向我呜咽。
但是那年轻的王子将从我们门前走过，这时节我要穿上我最好的衣裳。
呵，母亲，年轻的王子已经从我们门前走过了，从他的车辇里射出朝日的金光。
我从脸上掠开面纱，我从颈上扯下红玉的颈环，扔在他走来的路上。
你为什么惊讶地望着我呢，母亲？
7
O mother,the young Prince is to pass by our door,—how can I attend to my work this morning?
Show me how to braid up my hair;tell me what garment to put on.
Why do you look at me amazed,mother?
I know well he will not glance up once at my window;I know he will pass out of my sight in the twinkling of an eye;only the vanishing strain of the flute will come sobbing to me from afar.
But the young Prince will pass by our door,and I will put on my best for the moment.
O mother,the young Prince did pass by our door,and the morning sun flashed from his chariot.
I swept aside the veil from my face,I tore the ruby chain from my neck and flung it in his path.
Why do you look at me amazed,mother?
我深知他没有拾起我的颈环；我知道它在他的轮下碾碎了，在尘土上留下了红斑，没有人晓得我的礼物是什么样子，也不知道是给谁的。
但是那年轻的王子曾经从我们门前走过，我也曾经把我胸前的珍宝丢在他走来的路上了。
I know well he did not pick up my chain,I know it was crushed under his wheels leaving a red stain upon the dust,and no one knows what my gift was nor to whom.
But the young Prince did pass by our door,and I flung the jewel from my breast before his path.
八
当我床前的灯熄灭了，我和晨鸟一同醒起。
我在散发上戴上新鲜的花串，坐在洞开的窗前。
那年轻的行人在玫瑰色的朝霭中从大路上来了。
珠链在他的颈上，阳光在他的冠上。他停在我的门前，用切望的呼声问我，“她在哪里呢？”
为着深羞我说不出：“她就是我，年轻的行人，她就是我。”
黄昏来到，还未上灯。
我心绪不宁地编着头发。
在落日的光辉中年轻的行人驾着车辇来了。
他的驾车的马，嘴里喷着白沫，他的衣袍上蒙着尘土。
他在我的门前下车，用疲乏的声音问，“她在哪里呢？”
8
When the lamp went out by my bed I woke up with the early birds.
I sat at my open window with a fresh wreath on my loose hair.
The young traveller came along the road in the rosy mist of the morning.
A pearl chain was on his neck and the sun's rays fell on his crown.He stopped before my door and asked me with an eager cry,“Where is she?”
For very shame I could not say,“She is I,young traveller,she is I.”
It was dusk and the lamp was not lit.
I was listlessly braiding my hair.
The young traveller came on his chariot in the glow of the setting sun.
His horses were foaming at the mouth,and there was dust on his garment.
He alighted at my door and asked in a tired voice,“Where is she?”
为着深羞我说不出：“她就是我，愁倦的行人，她就是我。”
一个四月的夜晚。我的屋里点着灯。
南风温柔地吹来。多言的鹦鹉在笼里睡着了。
我的衷衣[1]和孔雀颈毛一样地华彩，我的披纱和嫩草一样地碧青。
我坐在窗前地上看望着冷落的街道。
在沉黑的夜中我不住地低吟着：“她就是我，失望的行人，她就是我。”
For very shame I could not say,“She is I,weary traveller,she is I.”
It is an April night.The lamp is burning in my room.
The breeze of the south comes gently.The noisy parrot sleeps in its cage.
My bodice is of the colour of the peacock's throat,and my mantle is green as young grass.
I sit upon the floor at the window watching the deserted street.
Through the dark night I keep humming,“She is I,despairing traveller,she is I.”
九
当我在夜中独赴幽会的时候，鸟儿不叫，风儿不吹，街道两旁的房屋沉默地站立着。
是我自己的脚镯越走越响使我羞怯。
当我坐在凉台上倾听他的足音，树叶不摇，河水静止像熟睡的哨兵膝上的刀剑。
是我自己的心在狂跳——我不知道怎样使它宁静。
当我爱来了，坐在我身旁，当我的身躯震颤，我的眼睫下垂，夜更深了，风吹灯灭，云片在繁星上曳过轻纱。
是我自己胸前的珍宝放出光明。我不知道怎样把它遮起。
9
When I go alone at night to my love-tryst,birds do not sing,the wind does not stir,the houses on both sides of the street stand silent.
It is my own anklets that grow loud at every step and I am ashamed.
When I sit on my balcony and listen for his footsteps,leaves do not rustle on the trees,and the water is still in the river like the sword on the knees of a sentry fallen asleep.
It is my own heart that beats wildly-I do not know how to quiet it.
When my love comes and sits by my side,when my body trembles and my eyelids droop,the night darkens,the wind blows out the lamp,and the clouds draw veils over the stars.
It is the jewel at my own breast that shines and gives light.I do not know how to hide it.
