卡拉维拉县有名的跳蛙 The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

马克·吐温/Mark Twain

马克·吐温（1835—1910），美国杰出的小说家，也是美国文学史上第一个用口语写作的作家，开创了一代文风，被福克纳称为“美国文学之父”。马克·吐温幼年家境贫寒，被迫放弃学业外出谋生。丰富的生活经历对他后期的创作影响很大。19世纪70年代至90年代是他创作的鼎盛时期，其代表作有《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》及其姊妹篇《汤姆·索亚历险记》等。

In compliance with the request of a friend of mine, who wrote me from the East, I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and inquired after my friend's friend, Leonidas W. Smiley, as requested to do, and I hereunto append the result. I have a lurking suspicion that Leonidas W. Smiley is a myth; that my friend never knew such a personage; and that he only conjectured that if I asked old Wheeler about him, it would remind him of his infamous Jim Smiley, and he would go to work and bore me to death with some exasperating reminiscence of him as long and as tedious as it should be useless to me. If that was the design, it succeeded.

I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the barroom stove of the dilapidated tavern in the decayed mining camp of Angel's, and I noticed that he was fat and bald-headed, and had an expression of winning gentleness and simplicity upon his tranquil countenance. He roused up, and gave me good day. I told him a friend of mine had commissioned me to make some inquiries about a cherished companion of his boyhood named Leonidas W. Smiley—Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, a young minister of the Gospel, who he had heard was at one time a resident of Angel's Camp. I added that if Mr. Wheeler could tell me anything about this Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, I would feel under many obligations to him.

Simon Wheeler backed me into a corner and blockaded me there with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the monotonous narrative which follows this paragraph. He never smiled, he never frowned, he never changed his voice from the gentle-flowing key to which he tuned his initial sentence, he never betrayed the slightest suspicion of enthusiasm; but all through the interminable narrative there ran a vein of impressive earnestness and sincerity, which showed me plainly that, so far from his imagining that there was anything ridiculous or funny about his story, he regarded it as a really important matter, and admired its two heroes as men of transcendent genius in finesse. I let him go on in his own way, and never interrupted him once.

"Rev. Leonidas W. H'm, Reverend Le—well, there was a feller here once by the name of Jim Smiley, in the winter of '49—or may be it was the spring of' 50—I don't recollect exactly, somehow, though what makes me think it was one or the other is because I remember the big flume warn't finished when he first come to the camp; but anyway, he was the curiousest man about always betting on anything that turned up you ever see, if he could get anybody to bet on the other side; and if he couldn't he'd change sides. Any way that suited the other man would suit him—any way just so's he got a bet, he was satisfied. But still he was lucky, uncommon lucky; he most always come out winner. He was always ready and laying for a chance; there couldn't be no solitary thing mentioned but that feller'd offer to bet on it, and take any side you please, as I was just telling you. If there was a horse-race, you'd find him flush or you'd find him busted at the end of it; if there was a dog-fight, he'd bet on it; if there was a cat-fight, he'd bet on it; if there was a chicken-fight, he'd bet on it; why, if there was two birds setting on a fence, he would bet you which one would fly first; or if there was a camp-meeting, he would be there regular to bet on Parson Walker, which he judged to be the best exhorter about here, and so he was too, and a good man. If he even see a straddle-bug start to go anywheres, he would bet you how long it would take him to get to—to wherever he was going to, and if you took him up, he would foller that straddle-bug to Mexico but what he would find out where he was bound for and how long he was on the road. Lots of the boys here has seen that Smiley, and can tell you about him. Why, it never made no difference to him—he'd bet on anything—the dangdest feller. Parson Walker's wife laid very sick once, for a good while, and it seemed as if they warn't going to save her; but one morning he come in, and Smiley up and asked him how she was, and he said she was considerable better—thank the Lord for his infinite mercy—and coming on so smart that with the blessing of Prov'dence she'd get well yet; and Smiley, before he thought, says, 'Well, I'll resk two-and-ahalf she don't anyway.'

"Thish-yer Smiley had a mare—the boys called her the fifteenminute nag, but that was only in fun, you know, because of course she was faster than that—and he used to win money on that horse, for all she was so slow and always had the asthma, or the distemper, or the consumption, or something of that kind. They used to give her two or three hundred yards'start, and then pass her under way; but always at the fag end of the race she'd get excited and desperate like, and come cavorting and straddling up, and scattering her legs around limber, sometimes in the air, and sometimes out to one side among the fences, and kicking up more dust and raising more racket with her coughing and sneezing and blowing her nose—and always fetch up at the stand just about a neck ahead, as near as you could cipher it down.

"And he had a little small bull-pup, that to look at him you'd think he warn't worth a cent but to set around and look ornery and lay for a chance to steal something. But as soon as money was up on him he was a different dog; his under-jaw'd begin to stick out like the forecastle of a steamboat, and his teeth would uncover and shine like the furnaces. And a dog might tackle him and bully-rag him, and bite him, and throw him over his shoulder two or three times, and Andrew Jackson—which was the name of the pup—Andrew Jackson would never let on but what he was satisfied, and hadn't expected nothing else—and the bets being doubled and doubled on the other side all the time, till the money was all up; and then all of a sudden he would grab that other dog jest by the joint of his hind leg and freeze to it—not chaw, you understand, but only just grip and hang on till they threw up the sponge, if it was a year. Smiley always come out winner on that pup, till he harnessed a dog once that didn't have no hind legs, because they'd been sawed off in a circular saw, and when the thing had gone along far enough, and the money was all up, and he come to make a snatch for his pet holt, he see in a minute how he'd been imposed on, and how the other dog had him in the door, so to speak, and he peared surprised, and then he looked sorter discouraged-like, and didn't try no more to win the fight, and so he got shucked out bad. He give Smiley a look, as much as to say his heart was broke, and it was his fault, for putting up a dog that hadn't no hind legs for him to take holt of, which was his main dependence in a fight, and then he limped off a piece and laid down and died. It was a good pup, was that Andrew Jackson, and would have made a name for himself if he'd lived, for the stuff was in him and he had genius—I know it, because he hadn't no opportunities to speak of, and it don't stand to reason that a dog could make such a fight as he could under them circumstances if he hadn't no talent. It always makes me feel sorry when I think of that last fight of his, and the way it turned out.

"Well, thish-yer Smiley had rat-tarriers, and chicken cocks, and tomcats and all them kind of things, till you couldn't rest, and you couldn't fetch nothing for him to bet on but he'd match you. He fetched a frog one day, and took him home, and said he calculated to educate him; and so he never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. And you bet you he did learn him, too. He'd give him a little punch behind, and the next minute you'd see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut—see him turn one summerset, or may be a couple, if he got a good start, and come down flat-footed and all right, like a cat. He got him up so in the matter of fetching flies, and kept him in practice so constant, that he'd nail a fly every time as fur as he could see him. Smiley said all a frog wanted was education, and he could do most anything—and I believe him. Why, I've seen him set Daniel Webster down here on this floor—Daniel Webster was the name of the frog—and sing out, 'Flies, Daniel, flies!' and quicker you could wink he'd spring straight up and snake a fly off on the counter there, and flop down on the floor again as solid as a gob of mud, and fall to scratching the side of his head with his hind foot as indifferent as if he hadn't no idea he'd been doing any more than any frog might do. You never see a frog so modest and straightforward as he was, for all he was so gifted. And when it come to fair and square jumping on a dead level, he could get over more ground at one straddle than any animal of his breed you ever see. Jumping on a dead level was his strong suit, you understand; and when it come to that, Smiley would ante up money on him as long as he had a red. Smiley was monstrous proud of his frog, and well he might be, for fellers that had traveled and been everywheres all said he laid over any frog that ever they see.

"Well, Smiley kept the beast in a little lattice box, and he used to fetch him down-town sometimes and lay for a bet. One day a feller—a stranger in the camp, he was—come acrost him with his box, and says:

"What might it be that you've got in the box?"

"And Smiley says, sorter indifferent-like, 'It might be a parrot, or it might be a canary, maybe, but it ain't—it's only just a frog.'

"And the feller took it, and looked at it careful, and turned it round this way and that, and says, 'H'm—so it is. Well, what's he good for?'

"'Well,' Smiley says, easy and careless, 'he's good enough for one thing, I should judge—he can outjump any frog in Calaveras county.'

"The feller took the box again, and took another long, particular look, and give it back to Smiley, and says, very deliberate, 'Well,' he says, 'I don't see no points about that frog that's any better than any other frog.'

"'Maybe you don't,' Smiley says. 'Maybe you understand frogs and maybe you don't understand them; maybe you've had experience, and maybe you ain't only a amature, as it were. Anyways, I've got my opinion, and I'll resk forty dollars that he can outjump any frog in Calaveras county.'

"And the feller studied a minute, and then says, kinder sad like,'Well, I'm only a stranger here, and I ain't got no frog; but if I had a frog, I'd bet you.'

"And then Smiley says, 'That's all right—that's all right—if you'll hold my box a minute, I'll go and get you a frog.' And so the feller took the box, and put up his forty dollars along with Smiley's, and set down to wait.

"So he set there a good while thinking and thinking to himself, and then he got the frog out and prized his mouth open and took a teaspoon and filled him full of quail-shot—filled him pretty near up to his chin—and set him on the floor. Smiley he went to the swamp and slopped around in the mud for a long time, and finally he fetched a frog, and fetched him in, and give him to this feller, and says:

"'Now, if you're ready, set him alongside of Daniel, with his forepaws just even with Daniel's, and I'll give the word.' Then he says, 'One—two—three—git!' and him and the feller touched up the frogs from behind, and the new frog hopped off lively, but Daniel give a heave, and hysted up his shoulders—so—like a Frenchman, but it warn't no use—he couldn't budge; he was planted as solid as a church, and he couldn't no more stir than if he was anchored out. Smiley was a good deal surprised, and he was disgusted too, but he didn't have no idea what the matter was, of course.

"The feller took the money and started away; and when he was going out at the door, he sorter jerked his thumb over his shoulder—so—at Daniel, and says again, very deliberate, 'Well,' he says, 'I don't see no points about that frog that's any better than any other frog.'

"Smiley he stood scratching his head and looking down at Daniel a long time, and at last he says, 'I do wonder what in the nation that frog throw'd off for—I wonder if there ain't something the matter with him—he's pears to look mighty baggy, somehow.' And he ketched Daniel by the nap of the neck, and hefted him, and says, 'Why blame my cats if he don't weigh five pounds!' and turned him upside down and he belched out a double handful of shot. And then he see how it was, and he was the maddest man—he set the frog down and took out after that feller, but he never ketched him. And—"

[Here Simon Wheeler heard his name called from the front yard, and got up to see what was wanted.] And turning to me as he moved away, he said: "Just set where you are, stranger, and rest easy—I ain't going to be gone a second."

But, by your leave, I did not think that a continuation of the history of the enterprising vagabond Jim Smiley would be likely to afford me much information concerning the Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, and so I started away.

At the door I met the sociable Wheeler returning, and he buttonholed me and recommenced:

"Well, thish-yer Smiley had a yaller one-eyed cow that didn't have no tail, only just a short stump like a banana, and—"

However, lacking both time and inclination, I did not wait to hear about the afflicted cow, but took my leave.

东部的一个朋友写了封信来。受他之托，我拜访了脾气好但喜欢絮叨的老西蒙·威勒，想从他那打听我朋友的朋友列昂尼达斯·W.斯迈雷的下落。这件受人之托的事究竟结果如何，我来做个交代。我一直怀疑列昂尼达斯·W. 斯迈雷根本不存在；我的朋友也肯定不认识这样一个人；他准是琢磨着——只要我向老威勒一打听，就会让他想起那个臭名昭著的吉姆·斯迈雷来，接着他就会把吉姆·斯迈雷令人生气的往事全抖出来，那些乏味又冗长且与我毫不相干的事准会让我烦死。如果朋友存心这么干，那他的确做到了。

在安吉尔矿区那破烂不堪的歪歪斜斜的酒馆里，我找到了西蒙·威勒，他正靠着酒吧间的炉子舒舒服服地打盹。他很胖、秃头，一脸的安详，透着亲切和质朴。他站起身来向我问好。我告诉他，朋友托我来打听他儿时的一位挚友——列昂尼达斯·W.斯迈雷，也就是年轻的福音传教士列昂尼达斯·W.斯迈雷神父，听说他曾在安吉尔矿区住过。我还说，如果威勒先生能告诉我有关这位神父的消息，我将不胜感激。

西蒙·威勒把我逼到墙角，用椅子挡住我的去路。然后，他坐在椅子上，讲了一通枯燥无味的事情，这在以下的段落将会提到。他脸上毫无笑意，也没有皱一皱眉头，从说第一句话开始，他的语调就没变过，也没有流露出丝毫热情。他那无休止的言语中透着一种热心和诚挚，这分明使我感觉到虽然他决不认为这个故事有什么可笑或有趣的地方，但他把它看成一件重要的事情，并对故事里的两位主人公推崇备至，认为他们智谋超群。于是，我一直没打断他，让他按自己的思路讲下去。

“列昂尼达斯神父，嗯，列神父——嗯，这里以前倒是有一个叫吉姆·斯迈雷的，那是四九年冬天——也许是五零年春天——不知怎的，我也记得不太清楚了。反正不是四九年就是五零年，因为他刚来矿区时，大水槽还没有建好呢！别的不说，就说他本人，他可算得上是天下最古怪的人了。只要有人愿意和他打赌，他就打赌。无论别人怎么个赌法，他都奉陪到底——不论什么方式，只要能赌起来，他就很满足了。尽管这样，他还是很有运气，并且不是一般的好运，要知道，十场他能赢九场。他随时都准备赌，一直寻找这样的机会；只要有人提出要赌，不论大赌小赌、下注哪边，他都照赌不误。这些我已经跟你讲过了。要是赛马的话，他不是赢个大满贯，就会输个精光；斗狗，他赌；斗猫，他赌；斗鸡，他也赌；就是篱笆上落了两只鸟，他也会跟你赌哪只会先飞走；如果矿区里有聚会，他一定会准时到场并拿沃尔克牧师打赌说，沃尔克牧师是这一带最棒的训诫者。本来也是，沃尔克牧师的确是个好人。如果看见一只屎壳郎朝哪儿爬，他甚至会跟你赌它要多久才到那里——只要你和他赌，不论它爬向哪里，哪怕是去墨西哥，他也会跟着这只屎壳郎，看看它要去哪里，要花多长时间。住这儿的小伙子们差不多都见过斯迈雷，都能给你讲讲他这个人。为什么呢？他的事都一个样——什么都赌——那家伙特有意思。有一次，沃尔克牧师的太太病得严重，都好几天了，眼看就没救了。一天早上，牧师进来了，斯迈雷站起身来问他太太的病情，他说好多了——多亏主大发慈悲——有了主的保佑，她很快就会好的。他还没讲完，斯迈雷来了一句：‘这样吧，我押两块五，赌她病好不了，一定好不了。’

“斯迈雷养了一匹母马——小伙子们都叫它‘一刻钟老爷马’。这仅是玩笑话，你知道它当然不会跑这么慢——他还经常靠这匹马赢钱呢。因为它跑得很慢，不是得哮喘，就是生瘟热、有肺病之类的。于是，他们总让它先跑两三百码，但在半路就会追上它；但快接近终点时，它就精神起来了，不顾一切地向前冲，疲软地两腿乱甩。有时踢空，有时踢到篱笆上，搅得尘土飞扬，再加上咳嗽、打喷嚏、擤鼻涕，就显得闹闹哄哄的了——它冲到裁判席前时，总比别的马多出一个头，正好能让人看个明白。

“他还养了只小公狗，单看外表，你肯定以为它一钱不值，只配拴在那儿，而且看起来还给人一种贼溜溜的感觉，好像总想偷点什么。然而，一旦它成为赌注，就不一样了——下巴向前伸着，就像汽船的前甲板；下槽牙露着，发出跟炉火一样的烈光。如果别的狗想攻击它、期负它或是咬住它把它接二连三地甩出去，那安德鲁·杰克逊呢——那条狗的名字——安德鲁·杰克逊总不会轻易表露它的喜好，好像它根本就不期盼什么似的——而人们押在另一条狗上的赌注的倍数也一翻再翻，直到没钱再押了为止；这时，安德鲁·杰克逊就一口咬住那条狗的后腿，死死咬住不肯松口——你知道吗，它并不是撕咬，只是咬住不放松，哪怕是咬上一年，也要等到那只狗认输。斯迈雷总能靠这只狗大赢一把，但他却栽在了一条没有后腿的狗身上，因为那条狗的后腿让锯片给锯掉了。那次，两条狗斗了好久，押赌双方的钱也用完了。安德鲁·杰克逊还是习惯性地去咬对方的后腿，不一会儿，它就发现自己上当了，那条狗涮了它一把。这么说吧，当时，它好像大吃一惊后就丧气起来，也不尽力去打赢这场比赛了；它让人骗惨了。它看了斯迈雷一眼，好像是说它伤透了心——这都是斯迈雷的错，怎么弄了这么一个没后腿的狗来让它咬呢，要知道，它获胜全靠咬后腿这招。接着，它一瘸一拐地离开，最后倒在路边死了。安德鲁·杰克逊的确是条好狗，要是它还活着，准能出名，要知道，它胚子好，又聪明——这些我都看在眼里，只是它不能说话而已。如果它没真本事，就不可能赢那么多次了。唉，一想起它最后那场战斗和它的下场，我就为它难过。

“哎，斯迈雷还养过拿耗子的狗、小公鸡、雄猫等这类小动物呢。不论你跟他赌什么，他都能跟你“兵对兵，将对将”，让你赌个没完。有一天，他逮到了一只青蛙，把它带回家里，说是要好好训练一番；整整三个月，他什么事也不干，就只在后院里教那只青蛙跳。你猜得没错，他把那只青蛙训练出来了。他只要在青蛙后面戳一下，那青蛙就会像油炸圈饼一样在空中打个转——要是起跳恰到好处，说不定它还会翻一两个筋斗呢，然后像猫一样，稳稳当当地落到地上。他还一遍又一遍地训练它逮苍蝇，练到最后，不论苍蝇飞出有多远，只要它看见了，都逃不出它的掌心。斯迈雷说青蛙爱学习，并且学什么会什么——这话我信。为什么呢？我就亲见他把丹尼尔·韦伯斯特放在这地板上——那青蛙名叫丹尼尔·韦伯斯特——然后，大喊道：‘苍蝇，丹尼尔，苍蝇！’眨眼工夫，那青蛙就直跳起来把那边柜台上的一只苍蝇给吞了下去，接着，它就如烂泥般噗的一声落到地上，还旁若无人似的用后腿挠着头，好像觉得自己并不比其他青蛙出色。别看他有能耐，你还真找不出这么朴实率直的青蛙了。只要是竖直往上跳，它能跳得比别的青蛙高出一个身子。要知道，从平地往上跳是它的强项。只要是拿这只青蛙打赌，斯迈雷就会把注一并押上去。对他的青蛙，他可是万分自豪呢。不过话又说回来，就是那些见多识广的老江湖也都说从没见过这么棒的青蛙。

“斯迈雷用一个小笼子装着那只青蛙，还经常带着它逛街，设赌局。一天，一个汉子——一个外乡人——来到矿区，正碰上提着青蛙笼子的斯迈雷。外乡人问道：‘你的笼子里装着什么呀？’

“斯迈雷板着脸说：‘你以为它是只鹦鹉，或是只鸟雀吧，可它偏不是——这是只青蛙。’

“外乡人拿过笼子，翻来倒去地仔细瞅了又瞅，说道：‘哦——果然是只青蛙呢。它能做什么呀？’

“斯迈雷不紧不慢地说：‘噢，它有一件看家本领，就是——它跳得比这儿所有的蛙都高。’

“那汉子拿过笼子，又仔仔细细地瞅了半天后才还给他，然后非常小心地说道：‘是吗？我看它和别的青蛙也没什么两样嘛。’

“‘你也许瞧不出来，’斯迈雷说，‘可能你对青蛙了如指掌，也可能你就是门外汉；可能你养过青蛙，也可能业余玩玩。不管怎么样，我想说的就是，我赌四十块钱，赌它比这儿任何一只青蛙都跳得高。’

“外乡人琢磨了一会，有点为难的样子：‘噢，我人生地不熟的，又没带青蛙。如果我有一只的话，我一定跟你赌。’

“于是，斯迈雷就说：‘这个容易——这个容易——你替我拿一下笼子，我这就去给你逮一只来。’这样，那汉子拎着笼子，把他的和斯迈雷的四十块钱放在一起，就坐下来等他。

“那汉子坐着想来想去，然后从笼子里把青蛙抓了出来，扒开它的嘴，用勺子给它灌了一肚子火枪的铁砂子——几乎灌到了它的下巴——然后把它放到了地上。而斯迈雷呢，他径直去了沼泽地，在烂泥中抓了一通，总算逮了只青蛙。他把青蛙抓了回来，交给那个汉子：

‘现在，你有青蛙了，要是你准备好了，就把它和丹尼尔并排放着吧，前爪放齐，我喊口号。’接着斯迈雷喊道：‘一——二——三——蹦！’他和汉子都从后面戳了那两只青蛙，那只新来的青蛙蹦得特有劲，而丹尼尔却只耸了耸肩膀——这个样子——像极了法国人。但耸肩一点作用也不起啊——它像生了根似的，动也不动；又如抛锚了一般，寸步难移。斯迈雷甚是纳闷，又呕火；他当然想不通这到底是怎么回事。

“那个外乡人拿了钱就走；出门时，还转过身来用大拇指——就像这样——指着丹尼尔，一字一顿地说道：‘呃，我看它和别的青蛙没什么两样嘛。’

“斯迈雷站在那里抓耳挠腮，还低头端详了丹尼尔好一阵子，最后，他说：‘真闹不明白这只青蛙怎么就栽了呢——难不成它犯了什么毛病——看起来，它肚子胀得不轻呢。’他揪着青蛙脖子上的皮，把它掂了起来：‘它没五磅重才怪呢！’然后，他把蛙头朝下，没想到，丹尼尔居然打嗝吐出满满两大把铁砂来。斯迈雷这才明白过来，他气疯了——放下青蛙就去追那个汉子，但哪里追得到呢。”

（这时，西蒙·威勒听到前院有人喊他，就站起来去看有什么事。）他一边往外走，一边回过头来对我说：“朋友，就坐在这里，歇一下——我马上就来。”

对不住您了，再听下去，就是牛皮糖吉姆·斯迈雷的故事了，再怎么样，也打听不出列昂尼达斯·W.斯迈雷神父的下落啊。于是，我马上起身离开。

在门口，我碰上了正往回走的威勒，他拽住我，又滔滔不绝起来：

“还有，这个斯迈雷有一头没有尾巴的独眼母牛，看起来就像一根香蕉，还有呢——”

然而，我是既没时间，也没这个嗜好听他讲这些。所以，在他开口讲那头苦难的母牛之前，我就撤了。

心灵小语

《卡拉维拉县有名的跳蛙》发表于1865年，是马克·吐温早期的短篇小说作品。作品的创作素材取自马克·吐温在西部旅行时听到的赌徒轶事。小说诙谐风趣，但也没有什么深意。在这个故事中，马克·吐温形象地展示了当时正在开发的美国西部地区的特殊风情。

W词汇笔记

commission [kə'miʃən] v. 委任；委托制作；使服役

例 He commissioned a statue of his wife.

他请人制作他妻子的雕像。

betray [bi'trei] v. 背叛；出卖；泄露（秘密）；露出……迹象

例 Trust yourself only, and another shall not betray you.

只要信任你自己，旁人就不会出卖你。

curious ['kjuəriəs] adj. 好奇的；古怪的

例 But there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious about.

但是仍然还有很多不被我们所了解和令我们十分好奇的答案。

mercy ['mə:si] n. 怜悯；宽恕；仁慈

例 I bless him for his mercy.

我为他的仁慈而祝福他。

S小试身手

如果朋友存心这么干，那他的确做到了。

译____________________________________________

我想说的就是，我赌四十块钱，赌它比这儿任何一只青蛙都跳得高。

译____________________________________________

然而，我是既没时间，也没这个嗜好听他讲这些。

译____________________________________________

P短语家族

In compliance with the request of friend of mine...

in compliance with：按照……

造____________________________________________

Heregarded it as a really important matter...

regard...as：把……认作

造____________________________________________