琼·克雷格黑德·乔治　吴文安

Kapu turned into the wind. The pack turned into the wind. Their ruffs and manes swept back. They squinted to protect their eyes until they could barely see where they were going. They did not need to see. They were on the snow-covered trail to their den. Their guides were the sounds of the stunted willows jangling to their right and the sigh of the reindeer moss beneath the wind-packed snow. And there was another guide： their innate sense of direction. They knew at all times exactly where they were.

A long-tailed jaeger flew over the wolves. The bird saw them running hard， which usually meant they were hunting. A wolf kill is a banquet for mammals and birds. The jaeger looked down on the ribbon of wolves and followed them. Then they took to the open tundra and traced graceful Ss， not the V-shaped formation of a pack about to make a kill. The bird turned away toward the frozen Arctic Ocean.

The Avalik Pack reached their nursery den on the riverbank. Kapu got down on his side and clawed through the snow to the den entrance. He raked out grass and wind-blown debris.

Silver sniffed the den. It smelled of Aaka and Sweet Fur Amy. She backed away. She was not pleased. She would seek the den where Kapu and Zing had been born.

Raw Bones felt her discontent. “Come with me，” he whimpered， and started off for his family den on the Colville River embankment. He loped into the ice mist and was gone. Silver did not follow him.

Kapu let him go.

Silver was not housecleaning but looking off to the north. Sweet Fur Amy sensed her grandmothers reluctance to den clean and scrambled through the entrance. She dug furiously， piling up icy stones. When she backed out， Zing went in. He kicked the stones and dirt out onto the playground as his contribution to the family.

It was the smell of the earth and the sight of everyone working that finally inspired Silver. She crawled into the tunnel and all the way back to the nursery. With her forepaws she dug the room wider， then scooped out a cozy bed for her pups and herself. She was content with the Avalik den.

Raw Bones returned as Silver came out of the den. The low rumbles of protest in his chest were audible as he entered the group， but he stopped complaining when he looked at Silver. Her face had softened. She wore the gentle look of an expectant wolf mother who had found a place for her pups. She glanced at him. His pups， her eyes said， would be born here. Her digging the nursery had worked the magic.

卡普转身逆风而行。狼群也转身逆风而行。他们的颈毛在风中飘扬。他们眯着眼睛避开冷风，几乎看不清奔跑的方向。他们不需要看清方向。这大雪覆盖的小径就通向他们的巢穴。右边矮柳丛刺耳的呼啸以及雪层之下石蕊的吟唱都在指引着他们。此外，本能的方向感也指引着他们。无论何时，他们都知道自己在哪里。

一只长尾贼鸥在狼群上空飞过。贼鸥看到狼群在努力奔跑，这通常意味着狼群在狩猎。狼群杀死的猎物对哺乳动物和鸟类而言都是盛宴。贼鸥俯视着地面上迤逦前行的一队狼，紧紧跟随。然后狼群来到开阔的冻原，摆出了优雅的S队形，而不是狼群猎杀时的V队形。贼鸥于是调转方向，飞往冰冻的北冰洋。

阿瓦里克河狼群来到了河边的育儿巢。卡普侧躺下来，用爪子刨雪，寻找巢穴的入口。他把杂草和大风堆积的杂物扒了出来。

银白嗅了嗅巢穴。里面有阿卡和香毛艾米的气味。银白倒退几步。她并不高兴。她想去找卡普和津出生的巢穴。

生骨能感觉到银白不满意。“跟我来。”生骨咕哝道，然后朝着科尔维尔河河堤上自己家的巢穴跑去。生骨慢悠悠地迈着大步跑进了冰雾中，消失不见。银白却没有跟他而去。

卡普由他而去。

银白并没有开始清扫巢穴，而是望向北方。香毛艾米觉察到奶奶不愿意清扫巢穴，就从入口爬了进来。她拼命地往下挖，把冰冷的石块堆起来。然后艾米退出去，津再进来。津把石头和泥土从洞里踢了出去，踢到外面的空地上，这是他为家人干的活儿。

银白闻到了泥土的气息，又看到大家都在忙碌，终于受到了鼓舞。银白爬进了地道，然后一直爬回育儿巢。银白用前爪把房间挖得更大一点，然后又为狼崽儿和自己刨出了一个温暖舒适的床铺。她对阿瓦里克河的巢穴终于满意了。

生骨回来的时候，银白正好爬出了巢穴。生骨又回到狼群，但大家都听得见他胸口发出了不满的咕噜声。不过当他看到银白，就不再抱怨了。银白的脸色非常柔和。那种温柔的脸色表明一个待产的狼妈妈已经为狼崽儿找到了小窝。银白瞥了生骨一眼。银白的眼睛在说，他的狼崽儿将要在这儿出生。经过她魔法般的挖掘，育儿巢已经无可挑剔。

【背景知识】经历了一段生活无忧的时期，狼群应该享受成果了——产崽儿、育儿。他们在风中优雅地奔跑，跑向自己的育儿巢穴。狼妈妈对育儿巢一向非常挑剔，但在大家的共同努力下，最后狼妈妈接受了阿瓦里克河传统的育儿巢，准备在此产崽儿。

【第一段】这一段是充满感情和富有诗意的描写。第四句中的squinted to protect their eyes（直译：眯缝眼睛来保护他们的眼睛），译文把“保护”明晰化为“避开冷风”。第六句的原文主語是They，译文改为“小径”，因为“他们跑在大雪覆盖通往巢穴的小径上”有翻译腔。第七句和第八句中都出现了guide（向导），是隐喻，照搬到译文中会显得有点怪，所以改为动词“指引着”。

【第二段】难点是隐喻ribbon（带子），这里指狼群排成一列在苔原上奔跑的S队形好像飘扬的丝带，很形象生动。但中文里很难接受狼群跑起来像丝带的比喻，所以译文译为“迤逦前行的一队狼”。

【第三段】短语nursery den即狼群育崽儿的巢穴。而got down on his side意思不太清楚，译者可以想象狼侧躺在地上刨土的样子。

【第四段】银白是卡普的妈妈，她不愿意在儿媳妇产崽儿的地方生孩子，所以犹豫。

【第五段】生骨一直有异心，总是想趁机搞分裂，所以想抓住机会脱离狼群。他慢悠悠地跑，是想让怀孕的银白跟上来。单词lope指慢悠悠地大步跑，译文把这个词的意思充分表达，使译文清楚且意思全面。

【第六段】狼群里的其他狼觉察到银白不愿意留下来，就赶紧做出行动，留住银白。playground（直译：游乐场，操场）必须根据具体情况来翻译。对狼群来说，这不过是一片可以玩耍的空地而已。而contribution如果翻译为“贡献”则过于正式，不太适合形容狼群。

【第七段】inspire（直译：鼓舞;赋予灵感）在这里指银白受到启发和鼓舞，直译即可。而cozy bed的译文把cozy的两个意思（comfortable and warm）全都翻译出来，确保译文达意。

【第八段】该段最难翻译的词语是magic。首先要判断这一句的意义。根据上文，一开始银白对这个巢穴并不满意。而现在银白告诉丈夫，她要在这里产崽儿。为什么？是银白施加了魔法。经过银白的挖掘，令人不满的地方如今没有问题了。银白的挖掘就像魔法一样神奇有效。magic一词在这里也是隐喻，不容易翻译。如直译为“她对育儿巢进行的挖掘已经施加了魔法”在中文里难以理解，所以译文将“魔法”提前，后面添加了“已经无可挑剔”，表明原来不好的育儿巢已经没有问题可以放心使用了。

【小结】这一选段里有精彩的描写和精妙的用词，而且使用了几个隐喻，给翻译造成困难。译文要灵活机动，根据中文的习惯适当处理。原文的隐喻不一定要照搬过来，通过其他途径传递原文的特点也基本可行。