Mikan (Mandarin Orange) : Part 2 / 蜜柑 (2) 作者/ 芥川龍之介

Practice Translating Japanese Literary Works into English (2) 日本の文学作品を英語に翻訳する練習 (2)    Mikan (Mandarin Orange)  by Ryunosuke Akutagawa Several minutes later, I suddenly felt as if I was being threatened by something. While glancing around unexpectedly, I found the girl at some point changed her seat from my opposite to my side, trying to open the window repeatedly. However, it seems that the heavy glass window would not be lifted as she wished. Her cheeks, full of cracks, were getting redder and redder. Often times, the sound of her breathless sniffling reached my ears relentlessly. Of course, this was sure enough to arouse some sympathy of mine. In spite of that, it was obvious that the train was about to approach the portal at the end of a tunnel mouth through seeing the mountainsides covered merely with dry grass brightly reflected by twilight. At that moment, the mountain landscapes were also approaching the window near at hand. Nevertheless, the girl was deliberately trying to drop open the closed window. I could not understand why she did so. No, I could not but think she was doing it only on a whim. Therefore, with hostility still brewing deep inside of me toward her, I was watching her struggle severely to lift the window by her frostbitten hands with a flinty-eyed look, hoping that her attempt would never succeed forever. Then, with a tremendous, appalling noise, the train rushed into the tunnel right away, at which moment the window was dropped open at last. The air from the square holes, as dark as melted soot, suddenly turned into suffocating thick smoke which began to fill the car densely. Having a naturally weak throat, I could not even have sufficient time covering my face with a handkerchief. Thanks to the showering smoke, I was forced to cough so violently that I could barely breathe. Nonetheless, the girl seemed not to care about me at all, while poking her head out the window with the hair at the girls' topknot side fluttering in the wind of darkness, she stared intently in the direction that the train was heading. If it had not instantly become bright outside the window and the cool smells of earth, dried grass and water started to drift in, then having finally stopped coughing, I would have ruthlessly scolded the strange girl and made her close the window once again. (to be continued) ----- [cb]蜜柑 (2) 作者/ 芥川龍之介 【原文】 それから幾分か過ぎた後であつた。ふと何かに脅されたやうな心もちがして、思はずあたりを見まはすと、何時いつの間にか例の小娘が、向う側から席を私の隣へ移して、頻に窓を開けようとしてゐる。が、重い硝子戸は中々思ふやうにあがらないらしい。あの皸だらけの頬は愈赤くなつて、時々鼻洟をすすりこむ音が、小さな息の切れる声と一しよに、せはしなく耳へはいつて来る。これは勿論私にも、幾分ながら同情を惹くに足るものには相違なかつた。しかし汽車が今将に隧道の口へさしかからうとしてゐる事は、暮色の中に枯草ばかり明い両側の山腹が、間近く窓側に迫つて来たのでも、すぐに合点の行く事であつた。にも関らずこの小娘は、わざわざしめてある窓の戸を下さうとする、――その理由が私には呑みこめなかつた。いや、それが私には、単にこの小娘の気まぐれだとしか考へられなかつた。だから私は腹の底に依然として険しい感情を蓄へながら、あの霜焼けの手が硝子戸を擡げようとして悪戦苦闘する容子を、まるでそれが永久に成功しない事でも祈るやうな冷酷な眼で眺めてゐた。すると間もなく凄じい音をはためかせて、汽車が隧道へなだれこむと同時に、小娘の開けようとした硝子戸は、とうとうばたりと下へ落ちた。さうしてその四角な穴の中から、煤を溶したやうなどす黒い空気が、俄に息苦しい煙になつて、濛々と車内へ漲り出した。元来咽喉を害してゐた私は、手巾を顔に当てる暇さへなく、この煙を満面に浴びせられたおかげで、殆息もつけない程咳きこまなければならなかつた。が、小娘は私に頓着する気色も見えず、窓から外へ首をのばして、闇を吹く風に銀杏返しの鬢の毛を戦がせながら、ぢつと汽車の進む方向を見やつてゐる。その姿を煤煙と電燈の光との中に眺めた時、もう窓の外が見る見る明くなつて、そこから土の匂や枯草の匂や水の匂が冷かに流れこんで来なかつたなら、漸咳きやんだ私は、この見知らない小娘を頭ごなしに叱りつけてでも、又元の通り窓の戸をしめさせたのに相違なかつたのである。[/cb]  [cb](続く)[/cb] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzspXW2LNgw Leader of the Band        /  Dan Fogelberg  [Lyrics] An only child alone and wild, a cabinet maker's son His hands were meant for different work And his heart was known to none He left his home and went his lone and solitary way And he gave to me a gift I know I never can repay A quiet man of music denied a simpler fate He tried to be a soldier once, but his music wouldn't wait He earned his love through discipline, a thundering velvet hand His gentle means of sculpting souls took me years to understand The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing old But his blood runs through my instrument and his song is in my soul My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man I'm just a living legacy to the leader of the band My brother's lives were different for they heard another call One went to Chicago and the other to St Paul And I'm in Colorado when I'm not in some hotel Living out this life I've chose and come to know so well I thank you for the music and your stories of the road I thank you for the freedom when it came my time to go I thank you for the kindness and the times when you got tough And papa, I don't think I said I love you near enough The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing old But his blood runs through my instrument and his song is in my soul My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man I'm just a living legacy to the leader of the band I am a living legacy to the leader of the band

[cb]蜜柑 (2) 作者/ 芥川龍之介 [中文翻譯] 幾分鐘之後，我覺得像是被什麼東西騷擾一般，不自主地望向四周，看到這個女孩不知打從何時已經從前面的坐位坐到我身旁了，她吃力地想把車窗打開。然而卻始終抬不起那沉甸甸的玻璃窗。女孩那張乾裂的面龐愈發顯得通紅，一陣又一陣擤鼻涕的聲音和喘息聲不停地傳進我耳朵。這種窘境本該讓我對她產生幾分同情，不過因為那時暮色中的列車正經過兩旁滿佈枯草的山坡，即將駛進隧道的這回事正被我意識到。女孩根本不在意這些，卻特意地打開已經關掉的車窗 --- 我實在無法理解她為何要這樣做。除了可能是她心血來潮，我實在想不出其他的理由。積壓著不滿情緒的我，用祈求她不要成功的冷漠眼神，瞧著她那雙凍傷的手，掙扎著要打開車窗的艱苦困境。火車在"啪"一陣巨響後駛進隧道。就在此時，女孩想要弄開的車窗也嘩啦一聲掉下來。混有煤屑的可怕黑煙由四方形的洞口湧進，化成嗆喉的煙霧瀰漫整個車廂。喉嚨本來不好的我來不及用手帕遮面搞得一臉是灰，嗽得連氣也喘不過來。女孩根本沒理會我，只見她把頭伸出窗外，銀杏髮髻旁的髮絲在黑暗中被風吹拂著，她直直地望向火車的行駛方向。當我在煤煙和燈光中看著這景象時，窗外已經漸漸回復光亮了。要不是泥土、枯草和水的清涼氣味漸漸地滲入車廂，已經止住咳嗽的我必定好好地臭罵那女孩一頓，要她把車窗重新關好。 (待續) [/cb]