第10章 卡拉维拉县有名的跳蛙 马克·吐温 (3)

　　“And the feller took it, and looked at it careful, and turned it round this way and that, and says, H’m—so ’tis. 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 p’ints about that frog that’s any better’n any other frog.’

　　“Maybe you don’t,’ Smiley says. Maybe you understand frogs and maybe you don’t understand ’em; 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 Dan’l, with his forepaws just even with Dan’l’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 Dan’l 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 Dan’l, and says again, very deliberate, Well,’ he says, I don’t see no p’ints about that frog that’s any better’n any other frog.’

　　“Smiley he stood scratching his head and looking down at Dan’l 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 Dan’l by the nap of the neck, and hefted him, and says, ’Why blame my cats if he don’t weigh five pound！’ 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 bannanner, and—”

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

　　卡拉维拉县有名的跳蛙

　　[美国] 马克·吐温

　　马克·吐温（1835-1910），美国杰出的小说家，美国文学史上最重要的作家之一，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年代到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》和他的姊妹篇《汤姆·索亚历险记》等。

　　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，但直到现在，我也没打听个所以然来。于是，我就想，我朋友肯定不认识什么列昂尼达斯·W.斯迈雷先生，说不定此人是他瞎编的；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·斯迈雷的斑斑劣迹全抖出来，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。