PS：啊，挺可爱的“故事”呢。要对路易斯·卡罗尔的作品有一定了解（不过应该没有人没读过吧）才能知道一些梗。

(资料图片仅供参考)

译者：南·政

未经译者允许，禁止无端转载

《爱丽丝梦游拉莱耶》

（Alice At R'lyeh）

默里·尤因

by Murray Ewing

“What a curious thing,” said Alice

“多么奇怪啊，”爱丽丝说

“One might easily lose one’s balance,”

“一个人很容易失衡，”

As she walked through the labyrinthine tangles

当她穿过迷宫般混乱缠结

Of the sea-risen city’s impossible angles

升上海面的不应存在角度之城

“One must call this place most non-Euclidean,”

“这里一定是最非欧几里得的地方，”

Alice mused, in the mathematical idiom,

爱丽丝沉思着，用数学的惯用语自语，

“I feel lost in black seas of infinity...

“我觉得自己迷失在无尽的黑海……”

“I do hope I shan’t be too late for tea!”

“希望我不要太迟错过茶点！”

Soon she came to an odd sort of door

不久，她来到一扇奇怪的门前

Which might have been set in the floor

可能是嵌立在地板上的

On its surface was carved — a Jabberwock?

它的表面雕刻着——一只贾巴沃克？

“And who might answer if I were to knock?”

“如果我敲门的话，会有谁来应门呢？”

So she took herself on an unrectangular stroll,

于是她不规则的漫步起来，

(“What rabbit might emerge from this size of hole?”)

（“这么大的洞会钻出怎样的兔子？”）

Round the lintel, the threshold and jambs of that portal

环绕着门楣、门槛和门框

(“It won’t be pink-eyed, and it may not be mortal.”)

（“它不会有粉红的眼睛，也可能不会致命。”）

Said Alice, “I’ve been faced with such problems before,

爱丽丝说着，“我以前遇过这样的问题，”

“Although then, I recall, it was a much smaller door,

“尽管我记得那时那扇门要小得多，”

“And I had a Drink-Me drink I could take,

“我喝下一杯‘喝了我吧’饮料，”

“And a key made of gold, and an Eat-Me cake.

“拿到一把金钥匙和一块‘吃了我吧’蛋糕。”

“I’ve been through a mirror — beyond the silvered pane —

“我穿过一面镜子——越过银白的玻璃——”

“And though I’m not sure I could do that again,

“虽然我不确定能否再做一次，”

“I should certainly not be defeated by this!”

“但我当然不会被这所打败！”

(Alice thought herself quite the adventuress.)

（爱丽丝自认为是个十足的冒险家。）

At that moment came wand’ring a gentlemanly man

这时漫步而来一位绅士

Somnambulistically pond’ring a book in his hand

梦游沉思时手里持着一本书

He stopped beside Alice and, raising his finger,

他停在爱丽丝身边，举起他的手指

Said, “By this door it does not do to linger!

他说，“不可在这门边徘徊！”

“For I know of what waits in the darkness below

“因为我知道什么等待在黑暗之下”

“Know of, as nightmares may lead one to know

“清楚知道，就像噩梦会让一个人所记得”

“It’s a Thing such as must shun the light of the day

“这是一个见不得光的事物”

“For this is the nightmare corpse-city R’lyeh!”

“因为这是噩梦般的死尸之城拉莱耶！”

“What Thing?” questioned Alice, and Lovecraft (’twas he)

“那是什么？”爱丽丝发问，并且洛夫克拉夫特（就是他）

Shook his lantern-jawed head at her curiosity

对着她摇了摇他脸型瘦长的脑袋

“As you ask, and so you will not be tempted to look

“随你问，这样你就不会被诱惑去看了”

“I will read you a passage from my commonplace book:

“我给你读一段我的书中摘录：”

“I have written,” he said, “for so dreamed it have I:

“我写过，”他说，“因为我做过这样的梦：”

“‘That which is not dead may eternal lie!’”

“那永恒沉睡的并非亡者！”

“It may lie,” said Alice, “but I find it uncouth —

“这可能是个谎言，”爱丽丝说道，“尽管我觉得这不礼貌——”

“I was always taught to do my best to tell the truth!”

“但我总是被教导要尽可能说实话！”

Lovecraft, unperturbed, turned a page or two to find

洛夫克拉夫特，仍泰然自若，翻了一两页寻找着

The passage that he hoped would change this little lady’s mind

他希望这段话能改变这位小女士的想法

While Alice turned her ear towards that door set in the ground

同时爱丽丝把耳朵扭向地上那扇门

She thought she’d heard a distant stirring sound...

她觉得自己听到了远处的动静……

“‘If I say my somewhat extravagant imagination,

“如果我说我的想象力略有夸张，”

“‘Yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon

“创作了一个同时具有章鱼、龙的特征”

“‘And’,” quoted Lovecraft, “‘a human caricature’” —

“并且，”洛夫克拉夫特引证道，“还有怪诞的人形”——

“Of its precise nature,” Alice said, “you seem unsure” —

“对它的明确本质，”爱丽丝说，“你似乎并不确定——”

“‘A pulpy and tentacled head,’” he progressed,

“一个柔软黏滑且有触手的脑袋，”他接着说，

“‘Surmounted a body, both scaled and grotesque!

“耸立于覆盖着鳞片且畸状怪异的身躯之上！”

“‘And flapped,’” he continued, “‘rudimentary wings.’”

“然后扇动，”他继续说道，“退化的翅翼。”

“Rudimentary?” “Rudimentary!” And that settled the thing.

“退化的？” “退化的！”就这样确定了。

“‘A mountain walked or stumbled!’”

“一座蹒跚行进的高山！”

(“Or perhaps,” put in Alice, “it gyred and it gimbled?”)

（“或者，”爱丽丝说，“它打着旋、歪歪扭扭？”）

“Astir after years to be measured, most strictly,

“历经多年后苏醒，尽可能严格来讲，”

“In vigintillions! (That’s ten to the sixty-three.)

“是恒久长远！”（那等于10的63次方）

“But this monster is merely the mask of what’s worse —

“但这怪物不过是更可怕之物的面具”

“The faceless monstrosity of the cold universe!

“冰冷宇宙中的无面可怖之物！”

“The meaninglessness of our bleak situation

“我们的沮丧处境毫无意义！”

“The smallness of Man amidst dark obfuscation!”

“黑暗之中人类是如此渺小！”

“What you say,” ventured Alice, “may be true, in its way,

“你的话，”爱丽丝大胆表示，“或许在某种程度上是对的，”

“Though with ‘nonsense’ for ‘meaninglessness’, if I may

“不过，如果允许的话，我想用‘荒谬’来代替‘毫无意义’，”

“And for ‘bleak’, I’d put ‘curious’, for it seems so to me

“至于‘沮丧’，我想说‘奇异’，因为在我看来”

“That the world’s full of wonders, not monstrosity.

“这个世界充满着不可思议，而不是怪物。”

“And ‘smallness’? Why, small I have been, on occasion

“至于‘渺小’？为什么，我有时是渺小的，”

“And also quite large, yet I’m of the persuasion

“有时也挺大的，不过按我的理念来看”

“That best is being middle-sized, like I am

“最好还是中等的身材，就像我一样”

“So instead have the ‘perfect-middle-sizedness of Man’.

“所以，取而代之的是‘完美的——中等身材的——人’。”

“If you please, Mr Lovecraft, I’ll venture to prove

“如果你愿意，洛夫克拉夫特先生，我将大胆证明”

“(And I hope that you won’t think me forward or rude)

“（希望你不要觉得我太过鲁莽无礼）”

“That the way that you look at the world is quite wrong

“你看待世界的方式是非常错误的”

“My argument, truly, is not overlong:—

“我的论述，实际上，并不算太长：——”

“Caterpillars are dopy, and Hatters are mad,

“毛毛虫很愚钝（注：有药瘾的双关），帽匠很疯狂”

“And the Mouse and the mournful Mock Turtle are sad,

“老鼠和忧伤的素甲鱼很伤心，”

“And the White Rabbit’s late, and the Red Queen is vexed

“白兔迟到了，红皇后很生气”

“And ‘Why is a Raven like a Writing Desk?’”

“以及‘为什么乌鸦像写字台’呢？”

“What kind of an argument is that?” Lovecraft cried

“这是一种怎样的论述？”洛夫克拉夫特喊出声

“A nonsensical argument,” Alice replied,

“一番无稽之谈，”爱丽丝回复道，

“For if it’s all nonsense, or meaninglessness

“如果一切都是无稽之谈，或者毫无意义”

“You can take your conclusions any way you think best!”

“你就能用任何你认为最好的方式得出你的结论！”

“I prefer logic and reason,” he sighed

“我更喜欢逻辑和理性，”他叹了口气

Alice swished her skirts and said, “Oh, so do I

爱丽丝挥动着裙摆说道，“哦，我也一样”

“For logic and reason, it must surely be said,

“从逻辑和理性上讲，我必须说，”

“Say that meaning is not in the world, but one’s head.”

“意义并不存在于世界上，而是存在于一个人的脑海里。”

“That’s easy for you to say, little girl,

“你说的倒容易，小姑娘，”

“You’re fictional — you don’t have to live in the world!”

“你是虚构的——你不必生活在这个世界上！”

“I agree, Mr Lovecraft, that may well be true,

“我同意，洛夫克拉夫特先生，这或许是真的，”

“But, as to being fictional, now, so are you!”

“但，说到是虚构的，现在，你也是虚构的！”

At that moment, with Lovecraft about to reply,

洛夫克拉夫特正要回答，就在那时，

A “nasty slopping sound” came from deep down behind

从后面的深处传来一声“令人不快的溅水声”

Those gargantuan doors, which then queerly recessed

那些不可思议地嵌着的巨门，

And gave out a smoky tenebrousness

散发出晦暗的烟雾

Then up from that “darkness almost material”

然后从那“几乎是有形物质的黑暗”中

It lumbered, slobberingly immemorial —

那垂着涎缓慢移动的，古老的——

Cthulhu, not dead, nor now dreaming, arose

克苏鲁，并未死亡，并未做梦，出现了

“I perceive,” noted Alice, “that he’s wearing no clothes!”

“我看出来了，”爱丽丝说“他没穿衣服！”

“It lives!” Lovecraft howled against the winds that wracked the world

“它活着！”洛夫克拉夫特在破坏世界的狂风中咆哮

“This is no time for social niceties, young girl!

“现在不是讲究社交礼节的时候，小姑娘！”

“Run! Don’t look back! Close your mind up to its taint!

“快跑！切勿回头！让你的思想远离它的污染！”

“As for me, I must sit down, I think I’m going to faint!”

“至于我，我必须坐下来，我想我要昏过去了！”

But as Cthulhu’s flabby paws reached out to pick up Alice

但当克苏鲁用松软的爪子去抓爱丽丝

A smile appeared in the air, a toothy white abyss,

一个微笑出现在空中，一道露齿的白色深渊，

And then a pair of yellow eyes, and pricked-up furry ears

接着是一双黄色眼睛，和竖起的毛绒双耳

The Cheshire Cat said, “Just what are you planning, Cthulhu dear?”

柴郡猫说，“你在计划着什么？亲爱的克苏鲁？”

“To eat her? Eat them both? Gobble them down like juicy mice?

“吃掉她？把他们都吃掉？像多汁的老鼠那样全狼吞虎咽地吞下？”

“It hardly proves your point, you know, and besides, it isn’t nice.

“你知道，这很难证明你的意图，而且，这不怎么美妙。”

“Remember, dear, that fantasists are notoriously hard to swallow

“记住了，亲爱的，幻想家是出了名的难以吞下（注：忍受的双关）”

“And fictional girls are worse: they disappear, and leave you hollow!”

“虚构的女孩更加糟糕：她们消失不见，并让你感到空虚！”

Cthulhu roared and raged in a violent display

克苏鲁怒不可遏地咆哮着

“Oh, save me,” said the Cat, quite bored, “That’s what you always say!”

“哦，饶了我吧，”猫不耐烦的说，“你总是这么说！”

“Ph’nglui!” Cthulhu gibbered, “R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!”

“Ph’nglui！”克苏鲁呢喃着无法理解的话，“R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn！”

“Language!” warned the Cheshire Cat, then to Alice, “I beg your pardon.”

“噤声！”柴郡猫警告着，然后对爱丽丝说，“请你原谅。”

“Now go back to your dreaming bed,” the Cat said to Cthulhu

“现在返回你的梦床上去吧，”猫对克苏鲁说

And, grumbling nonsense, that’s just what the giant monster did do

不满地乱语着，这就是那个巨大的怪物所做的

Then Alice sighed, and brushed her skirts, and flattened down her hair

爱丽丝叹了口气，理了理裙子，把头发梳平

(For it had started to stand up). “That gave me quite a scare!”

（因为它已经开始站起来了）。“那吓了我一跳！”

Then Lovecraft woke. “It’s gone!” he said. He was quite pale and shaken.

然后洛夫克拉夫特醒来了。“它不见了！”他说。他浑身颤抖，脸色发白。

“I feared for my sanity, and was promptly overtaken!”

“我担心着自己的理智，结果很快就超过了承受能力！”

The Cheshire Cat still grinned its grin from ear to brindled ear

柴郡猫仍然咧着嘴，从一只耳朵咧到另一只斑纹耳朵那边

“Oh, you ca’n’t help that,” it quietly purred, “we’re all mad here.”

“哦，你对那没办法，”它轻声咕噜着，“这儿的我们都疯了。”

Then the grin of the Cheshire Cat slowly widened

然后柴郡猫慢慢地咧开嘴笑

Till its chortlewidth spanned the entire horizon

它的笑声横跨过整个地平线

Then was gone. Lovecraft dabbed his forehead with a cloth.

然后就消失了。洛夫克拉夫特用一块手帕擦了擦额头。

“I think that was no cat, but the daemon Azathoth...”

“我想那不是猫，而是恶魔阿撒托斯……”

“It is time,” Alice said, “to wake up and go back home.”

“是时候了，”爱丽丝说“该醒来回家了。”

“But shall you wake, or shall I?” Lovecraft said, with a moan

“但是应该你醒，还是我醒？”洛夫克拉夫特说着，发出一声呻吟

“If I wake, you’re a dream — and if you wake, then it’s me!”

“如果我醒了，那你就是一场梦——而如果你醒了，那梦就会是我！”

She took his hand. “We shall awake simultaneously.”

她牵住他的手。“我们将一同醒来。”

Then, “Once upon a time,” she said, and “Happily ever after,”

然后，“很久很久以前”，她说着，“从此幸福生活在一起，”

And “Meaninglessness is nonsense, when it’s taken without laughter,

“无意义就是荒谬，当它没有欢笑的时候，”

“And laughter is what people do, so let us do it quick

“笑是人的天性，让我们快些笑吧”

“To wake us up, and make us laugh, I have a limerick:—

“为了让我们醒来，让我们放声大笑，我有一首五行趣诗：——”

There was an old young man from Providence

一位来自普罗维登斯的老气青年

Who, considering the scientific evidence,

考虑着科学的证据来发言

Said, “If only we knew,

他说，“如果我们只知道，”

“How to add two and two

“怎样去做到二加二，”

“We’d think it better to live on in ignorance!”

“我们就会觉得生活在蒙昧之中更棒！”

“How true,” Lovecraft said, and allowed himself a smile

“太对了，”洛夫克拉夫特说，挤出一丝微笑

Both awoke, and that weird locale was silent for a while —

两个人都醒了，那个不可思议的地方沉默了一会——

Until you, who’d thought yourself just the reader of this rhyme

直到你，一个认为自己只是读这首诗的读者

Realised you'd been left stranded in this nightmare for all time!

意识到你一直被困在这个梦魇之中！

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