I
一
One of my friends had said to me:—
我的一个朋友对我说——
"If you happen to be near Bordj-Ebbaba while you are in Algeria, be sure and go to see my old friend Auballe, who has settled there.”
“如果您去阿尔及利亚，碰巧在埃巴巴堡附近时，一定要去看看我的老朋友奥巴尔，他定居在那里。”
I had forgotten the name of Auballe and of Ebbaba, and I was not thinking of this planter, when I arrived at his house by pure accident. For a month, I had been wandering on foot through that magnificent district which extends from Algiers to Cherchell, Orléansville, and Tiaret. It is at the same time wooded and bare, grand and charming. Between two hills, one comes across large pine forests in narrow valleys, through which torrents rush in the winter. Enormous trees, which have fallen across the ravine, serve as a bridge for the Arabs, and also for the tropical creepers, which twine round the dead stems, and adorn them with new life. There are hollows, in little known recesses of the mountains, of a terribly beautiful character, and the sides of the brooks, which are covered with oleanders, are indescribably lovely.
我已忘了奥巴尔和埃巴巴的名字，在我纯粹偶然来到了他的房子时，我没有想起就是这个种植园主。一个月里，我步行漫游在那雄伟的地方，它从阿尔及尔一直延伸到舍尔沙勒、奥尔良维尔和提亚雷特。它树木繁多，同时又是光秃的，宏伟而迷人。在两座山丘间，在冬天有急流穿过的狭窄山谷里，人们会偶遇高大的松树林。已经倒在了峡谷间的那些巨大的树，被阿拉伯人当作桥，它们已经死去的树干上缠绕着热带蔓生植物，为树装饰上了新的生命。在山上几乎不知名的凹陷处有水洼，形状漂亮极了。小溪边铺满了夹竹桃，难以言喻的可爱。
But what has left behind it the most pleasant recollections of that excursion, is the long after-dinner walks along the slightly wooded roads on those undulating hills, from which one can see an immense tract of country from the blue sea as far as the chain of the Quarsenis, on whose summit there is the cedar forest of Teniet-el-Haad.
但是，在游览之后留下的最美好的记忆，是在晚饭后，在那些起伏的山丘上，沿着细细的、茂密的丛林久久地散着步，从那里可以看见国家的广阔土地，从蓝色的大海直到瓦塞尔尼斯山脉，山峰上有泰尼耶阿比德的雪松林。
On that day I lost my way. I had just climbed to the top of a hill, whence, beyond a long extent of rising ground, I had seen the extensive plain of Metidja, and then, on the summit of another chain, almost invisible in the distances that strange monument which is called The Tomb of the Christian Woman, and which was said to be the burial-place of the kings of Mauritania. I went down again, going southward, with a yellow landscape before me, extending as far as the fringe of the desert, as yellow as if all those hills were covered with lions' skins sewn together, sometimes a pointed yellow peak would rise out of the midst of them, like the bristly back of a camel.
那天，我迷路了。我刚爬上山丘顶，在一长片上坡的土地那边，我看见了广阔的米提贾平原。接着，看到另一个几乎远得看不见的山脉的山峰，有一座奇怪的、名为女基督徒之墓的纪念碑，据说是毛里塔尼亚王室的埋葬之地。我又朝着南面向下走，在我前方是一片黄色的风景，一直延伸到沙漠的边缘，黄得就像是所有那些山丘都被覆盖上了缝在一起的狮子皮，有时在它们之间会耸立着尖锐的、黄色的山峰，就像是骆驼背上的刚毛一样。
I walked quickly and lightly, like as one does when following tortuous paths on a mountain slope. Nothing seems to weigh on one in those short, quick walks through the invigorating air of those heights, neither the body, nor the heart, nor the thoughts, nor even cares. On that day I felt nothing of all that crushes and tortures our life; I only felt the pleasure of that descent. In the distance I saw an Arab encampment, brown pointed tents, which seemed fixed to the earth, like limpets are to a rock, or else gourbis, huts made of branches, from which a gray smoke rose. White figures, men and women, were walking slowly about, and the bells of the flocks sounded vaguely through the evening air.
我轻快地走着，就像走在山坡的曲折小道上一样。一个人在那些高地的清爽空气中轻快地走着，似乎什么都不会成为负担，无论是身体、心灵、思维，甚至是烦恼。那天，我完全感受不到任何压垮和折磨我们生活的东西，我只感受到那下山的快乐。我看见远处有一个阿拉伯人的宿营地，褐色的、尖锐的帐篷，看起来像是固定在了地上，像是岩石上的帽贝，还有其他的用树枝做的小屋、小棚，从里面升起了灰色的烟。男男女女的白色身影慢慢地走着，羊群的铃铛在夜色中虚无缥缈地响着。
The arbutus trees on my road hung down under the weight of their purple fruit, which was falling on the ground. They looked like martyred trees, from which blood-colored sweat was falling, for at the top of every tier there was a red spot, like a drop of blood.
我沿途的杨梅属树，被它们紫色果实的重量压得低低的，果实掉在了地上。它们看上去像是被杀害的树，从上面正掉下血色的汗，因为在每一排的顶端都有一个红色的点，就像一滴血。
The earth all round them was covered with it, and as my feet crushed the fruit, they left blood-colored traces behind them, and sometimes, as I went along, I would jump and pick one, and eat it.
它们周围的地上都被铺满了果实。当我的脚碾碎果实时，会在它们身下留下血色的痕迹。有时候，在我沿着路走时，我会跳起来摘一个吃。
All the valleys were by this time filled with a white vapor, which rose slowly, like the steam from the flanks of an ox, and on the chain of mountains that bordered the horizon, on the outskirts of the desert of Sahara, the sky was in flames. Long streaks of gold alternated with streaks of blood—blood again! Blood and gold, the whole of human history—and sometimes between the two there was a small opening in the greenish azure, far away like a dream.
这时，白色的雾气充满了整个山谷，慢慢地上升，就像是牛的两肋的水汽一样。在接近地平线的山脉上，在撒哈拉沙漠的边界，天空在燃烧。长条的金色与长条的血色交替着——又是血！血和金子，整个人类的历史——有时候，在这绿色天空中的两者间，有一个小开口，离得很远，就像梦一样。
How far away I was from all those persons and things with which one occupies oneself on the boulevards, far from myself also, for I had become a kind of wandering being, without thought or consciousness, far from any road, of which I was not even thinking, for as night came on, I found that I had lost my way.
我离所有那些置身于林阴大道的人和物有多远啊，和我自己也很远，因为我变成了一种漫游的生物，没有思想和意识，远离任何一条路，我甚至没去记住这条路，因为当夜晚来临时，我发现我迷路了。
The shades of night were falling onto the earth like a shower of darkness, and I saw nothing before me but the mountains, in the far distance. Presently, I saw some tents in the valley, into which I descended, and tried to make the first Arab I met understand in which direction I wanted to go. I do not know whether he understood me, but he gave me a long answer, which I did not in the least understand. In despair, I was about to make up my mind to pass the night wrapped up in a rug near the encampment, when among the strange words he uttered, I fancied that I heard the name, Bordj-Ebbaba, and so I repeated:
夜色落在地上，就像是黑暗的阵雨，在我前方的远处，除了山什么都看不到。不久，我在到达的山谷看到了一些帐篷，并且试图让我遇见的第一个阿拉伯人明白我想要去的方向。我不知道他是否明白我，但是，他给了我一个很长的答案，我丝毫不明白。我绝望了，准备下决心裹条毯子在宿营地附近过一晚上。就在他发出了这些奇怪的单词的时候，我猜想我听到了那个名字，埃巴巴堡，于是我重复道：
"Bordj-Ebbaba.”
“埃巴巴堡。”
"Yes, yes."
“是的，是的。”
I showed him two francs that were a fortune to him, and he started off, while I followed him.
我给了他两法郎，对于他来说是笔财富，于是他出发了，而我跟着他。
Ah! I followed that pale phantom which strode on before me bare-footed along stony paths, on which I stumbled continually, for a long time, and then suddenly I saw a light, and we soon reached the door of a white house, a kind of fortress with straight walls, and without any outside windows. When I knocked, dogs began to bark inside, and a voice asked in French:
啊！我跟着那个在我前面光着脚大步沿着石子路走的白影走了很长时间，我不断被绊倒，然后，突然我看见一道光，我们很快到了一座白色房子的门那里，一座有着笔直的墙而没有任何外面窗户的堡垒。我敲了门，狗开始在里面叫，一个声音用法语问道：
"Who is there?"
“谁啊？”
"Does Monsieur Auballe live here?" I asked.
“奥巴尔先生住这里吗？”我问道。
"Yes."
“是。”
The door was opened for me, and I found myself face to face with Monsieur Auballe himself, a tall man in slippers, with a pipe in his mouth and the looks of a jolly Hercules.
门为我打开了，我发现自己和奥巴尔先生自己面对着面，他是个高个男人，穿着拖鞋，嘴里叼着一个烟斗，一副快乐的大力士的模样。
As soon as I mentioned my name, he put out both his hands and said:
我一提到我的名字，他就伸出他的两只手，说道：
"Consider yourself at home here, Monsieur."
“把这里当您的家，先生。”
A quarter of an hour later I was dining ravenously, opposite to my host, who went on smoking.
一刻钟后，我大口地吃起晚饭来，对面是继续抽烟的主人。
I knew his history. After having wasted a great amount of money on women, he had invested the remnants of his fortune in Algerian landed property and taken to money-making. It turned out prosperously; he was happy, and had the calm look of a happy and contented man. I could not understand how this fast Parisian could have grown accustomed to that monstrous life in such a lonely spot, and I asked him about it.
我知道他的故事。在浪费了一大笔钱在女人身上后，他把剩下的财产投资到了阿尔及利亚的房产上，并以此赚钱。后来生意很兴隆，他很开心，露出一个高兴且满足的人的镇定表情。我无法理解这样放纵的一个巴黎人，怎能习惯在如此寂寞的地方过着那样难以置信的生活，关于这个，我问了他。
"How long have you been here?" I asked him.
“您来这里多久了？”我问他。
"For nine years."
“有九年了。”
"And have you not been intolerably dull and miserable?"
“您不觉得难以忍受的无聊和痛苦吗？”
"No, one gets used to this country, and ends by liking it.
“不觉得，一个人习惯了这个国家，最后都会喜欢上它的。
You cannot imagine how it lays hold on people by those small, animal instincts that we are ignorant of ourselves. We first become attached to it by our organs, to which it affords secret gratifications which we do not inquire into. The air and the climate overcome our flesh, in spite of ourselves, and the bright light with which it is inundated keeps the mind clear and fresh, at but little cost. It penetrates us continually by our eyes, and one might really say that it cleanses the somber nooks of the soul.”
您无法想象它是如何控制人的，靠那些我们自己忽视了的细小的动物的本能。起初，我们的器官开始依恋它，它给予了我们探究不到的幽静的满意。不谈我们自己，空气和气候征服了我们的肉身，并被明亮的光线淹没了，使我们的思想清晰而新鲜，不费什么力。通过双眼，光线频繁渗透进我们，有人可能会说它净化了灵魂的阴暗处。
"But what about women?"
“但是女人呢？”
"Ah...! There is rather a dearth of them!"
“啊！是有点儿缺乏女人！”
"Only rather?"
“只是有点儿吗？”
"Well, yes... rather.
“嗯，是的……有点儿。
For one can always, even among the Arabs, find some complaisant, native women, who think of the nights of Roumi.”
因为即使是在阿拉伯人中，也总能找到一些喜欢欧洲人的温顺的当地女人。”
He turned to the Arab, who was waiting on me, who was a tall, dark fellow, with bright, black eyes, that flashed beneath his turban, and said to him:
奥巴尔转向那个正等着我的阿拉伯人，他是个高高的、皮肤黑黑的家伙，在他的头巾下有双闪烁的、明亮的黑眼睛，奥巴尔对他说道：
"I will call you when I want you, Mohammed." And then, turning to me, he said:
“我会在需要你的时候叫你的，穆罕默德。”然后，他又转向我说道：
"He understands French, and I am going to tell you a story in which he plays a leading part."
“他懂法语，我会给您讲一个故事，他在里面充当了重要的角色。”
As soon as the man had left the room, he began:
那男人一离开房间，奥巴尔就开始说：
"I had been here about four years, and scarcely felt quite settled yet in this country, whose language I was beginning to speak, and forced, in order not to break altogether with those passions that had been fatal to me in other places, to go to Algiers for a few days, from time to time.
“我来这里大约四年的时候，还没觉得完全安定在这个国家，我刚开始说它的语言，为了不完全断绝我在其他地方的那些对我来说不幸的激情，我被迫时不时地去阿尔及尔几天。
"I had bought this farm, this bordj, which had been a fortified post, and was within a few hundred yards from the native encampment, whose man I employ to cultivate my land. Among the tribe that had settled here, and which formed a portion of the Oulad-Taadja, I chose, as soon as I arrived here, that tall fellow whom you have just seen, Mohammed ben Lam'har, who soon became greatly attached to me. As he would not sleep in a house, not being accustomed to it, he pitched his tent a few yards from my house, so that I might be able to call him from my window.
“我买下了这个堡所在的农场，以前曾是一个加强哨所，在宿营地几百码内，我雇了当地人来耕作土地。从定居在这里的奥拉德－塔贾的部分部落之中，我一到这里就选中了那个您刚刚见过的高个家伙，叫穆罕默德·本·拉姆哈尔，很快他就隶属于我了。因为他不习惯睡在房子里，所以他在离我房子几码处搭了他的帐篷，这样我就能从我的窗户那儿叫他了。
"You can guess what my life was, I dare say? Every day I was busy with cleanings and plantations; I hunted a little, I used to go and dine with the officers of the neighboring fortified posts, or else they came and dined with me. As for pleasures... I have told you what they consisted in. Algiers offered me some which were rather more refined, and from time to time a complaisant and compassionate Arab would stop me when I was out for a walk, and offer to bring one of the women of his tribe to my house at night. Sometimes I accepted, but more frequently I refused, from fear of the disagreeable consequences and troubles it might entail upon me.
“我敢说您也猜到了我的生活是什么样的吧？每天我都忙于清洗和耕种，打点儿猎，习惯和附近的加强哨所的军官一起吃晚餐，或者他们过来和我一起吃。作为消遣的是……我已经告诉您他们主要消遣些什么。阿尔及尔带给我的是些更完美的东西。在我外出散步的时候，不时总会有一个殷勤的、有同情心的阿拉伯人拦下我，提供给我他部落的一个女人，带回我的房子过夜。有时我接受了，但是更多时候我拒绝了，害怕不愉快的结果和可能带给我的麻烦。
"One evening, at the beginning of summer, as I was going home, after going over the farm, as I wanted Mohammed, I went into his tent without calling him, as I frequently did, and there I saw a woman, a girl, sleeping almost naked, with her arms crossed under her head, on one of those thick, red carpets, made of the fine wool of Djebel-Amour, and which are as soft and as thick as a feather bed. Her body, which was beautifully white under the ray of light that came in through the raised covering of the tent, appeared to me to be one of the most perfect specimens of the human race that I had ever seen, and most of the women about here are beautiful and tall, and are a rare combination of features and shape. I let the edge of the tent fall in some confusion, and returned home.
“初夏的一个晚上，在我察看完农场正要回家时，因为我要找穆罕默德，所以我就像平常一样没叫他就进了他的帐篷。我在那里看到一个女人，是个女孩，几乎裸体睡着，把她的双臂交叉放在头下，躺在其中一张用阿穆尔山的精致羊毛做的厚厚的红毯子上，那毯子和羽毛床一样又软又厚。她的身体，在从被掀起的帐篷罩间透过的光线下白得很漂亮，显现在我面前的是我所见过的人类最漂亮的模样之一，并且这里的大多数女人都是漂亮的、高个的，是少有的容貌与身形的综合体。我在混乱中把帐篷沿放了下来，回了家。
"I love women! The sudden flash of this vision had penetrated and scorched me, and had rekindled in my veins that old, formidable ardor to which I owe my being here. It was very hot for it was July, and I spent nearly the whole night at my window, with my eyes fixed on the black Mohammed's tent made on the ground.
“我爱女人！这画面的突然闪现，渗透、灼烧着我，又重新点燃了我血脉中那以前想来这里的强烈的*欲情**。因为是七月，所以天气很热，我几乎整晚都在我的窗边，眼睛盯着穆罕默德的帐篷在地上形成的黑影。
"When he came into my room the next morning, I looked him closely in the face, and he hung his head, like a man who was guilty and in confusion. Did he guess that I knew? I, however, asked him, suddenly:
“第二天当他来我房间时，我仔细地看着他的脸，他垂着他的脑袋，就像一个心虚的、混乱的人。他猜到我已经知道了吗？尽管如此，我突然问他：
“'So you are married, Mohammed?' and I saw that he got red, and he stammered out: 'No, mo'ssieuia!’
“‘那么，穆罕默德，你已经结婚了吧？’我看到他的脸变红了，他支支吾吾地说道：‘没有，先生!'
"I used to make him speak French to me, and to give me Arabic lessons, which was often productive of a most incoherent mixture of languages; however, I went on:
“我习惯让他对我说法语，并且让他教我阿拉伯语，我经常说出的大多数是不连贯的混合语言。尽管如此，我继续说着：
“'Then why is there a woman in your tent?'
“‘那么，为什么在你的帐篷里有个女人呢?'
“'She comes from the South,' he said, in a low, apologetic voice.
“‘她来自南方，’他用低低的、带有歉意的声音说道。
“'Oh! So she comes from the South? But that does not explain to me how she comes to be in your tent.'
“‘哦！那么她来自南方？但是，那对我来说无法解释她怎么会在你帐篷里的。’
"Without answering my question, he continued:
“他没回答我的问题，继续说道：
“'She is very pretty.'
“‘她很漂亮。’
“'Oh! Indeed. Another time, please, when you happen to receive a pretty woman from the South, you will take care that she comes to my gourbi, and not to yours. You understand me, Mohammed?'
“‘哦！确实。下次当你偶然得到来自南方的一个漂亮女人时，请你记住把她带到我的帐篷来，而不是你的。懂了吗，穆罕默德?'
“'Yes, mo'ssieuia,' he repeated, seriously.
“‘是的，先生，’他严肃地重复道。
"I must acknowledge that during the whole day I was in a state of aggressive excitement at the recollection of that Arab girl lying on the red carpet, and when I went in at dinner time, I felt very strongly inclined to go to Mohammed's tent again. During the evening, he waited on me just as usual, and hovered round me with his impassive face, and several times I was very nearly asking him whether he intended to keep that girl from the South, who was very pretty, in his camel skin tent for a long time.
“我必须承认，我整一天对那个躺在红毯子上的阿拉伯女孩的回忆，都处在一种侵略性的、激动的状态。当我吃晚饭的时候，我感到极其想再去穆罕默德的帐篷。晚上，他像平时一样服侍我，带着一副冷漠的表情在我旁边转悠，有几次，我几乎要问他，是否打算把那个来自南方的漂亮的女孩长期留在他的驼皮帐篷里。
"Towards nine o'clock, still troubled with that longing for female society which is as tenacious as the hunting instinct in dogs, I went out to get some fresh air, and to stroll about a little round that cone of brown skin through which I could see a brilliant speck of light. I did not remain long, however, for fear of being surprised by Mohammed in the neighborhood of his dwelling. When I went in an hour later, I clearly saw his outline in the tent, and then, taking the key out of my pocket, I went into the bordj, where besides myself, there slept my steward, two French laborers, and an old cook whom I had picked up in the Algiers. As I went up stairs, I was surprised to see a streak of light under my door, and when I opened it, I saw a girl with the face of a statue sitting on a straw chair by the side of the table, on which a wax candle was burning; she was bedizened with all those silver gew-gaws which women in the South wear on their legs, arms, breast, and even on their stomach. Her eyes, which were tinged with kohl, to make them look larger, regarded me earnestly, and four little blue spots, finely tatooed on her skin, marked her forehead, her cheeks, and her chin. Her arms, which were loaded with bracelets, were resting on her thighs, which were covered by the long, red silk skirt that she wore.
“九点左右的时候，我仍然困扰于对女性陪伴的渴望中，就像狗的猎捕本能一样，我出去呼吸了点新鲜空气，在那褐色外表的帐篷周围闲逛了一下，我可以看到里面还有一个光点。尽管如此，我没停留得太长，因为害怕被在他住所附近的穆罕默德惊吓到了。当我进来一个小时后，我清楚地看到帐篷里他的轮廓，然后我从我的口袋里拿出了钥匙，走进了堡。堡里除了我，还住着我的管家、两名法国工人，还有一名我从阿尔及尔挑选的年纪大的厨子。当我上楼的时候，我很奇怪看到我的门下有一道光，而当我打开它的时候，我看见一位面如雕像的女孩正坐在一张桌子旁的稻草椅子上，桌子上一支蜡烛正在燃烧。她穿戴着所有那些南方的姑娘会戴在她们腿上、手臂上、胸前甚至是肚子上的银制便宜货。她的眼睛带着淡淡的眼影，使它们看起来更大，她认真地凝视着我。她的皮肤上精致地纹着四个蓝色的小斑点，标记在她的前额、双颊和下巴上。她戴着手镯的手臂搁在她的大腿上，上面盖着她穿着的红色的长裙子。
"When she saw me come in, she got up and remained standing in front of me, covered with her barbaric jewels, in an attitude of proud submission.
“当她看见我进来的时候，她站了起来，原地站在我面前，身上满是她粗野的宝石，一副带着骄傲的服从的态度。
“'What are you doing here?' I said to her in Arabic.
“‘你在这里做什么？’我用阿拉伯语对她说。
“'I am here because Mohammed told me to come.'
“‘我在这里，是因为穆罕默德叫我过来。’
“'Very well, sit down.'
“‘好吧，坐下。’
"So she sat down and lowered her eyes, while I examined her attentively.
“于是她坐下了，眼睛往下看着，而我留意地审视着她。
"She had a strange, regular, delicate, and rather bestial face, but mysterious as that of a Buddha. Her lips, which were rather thick and covered with a reddish efflorescence, which I discovered on the rest of her body as well, indicated a slight admixture of negro blood, although her hands and arms were of an irreproachable whiteness.
“她有一张奇怪而规则的、精致又还有点野性的脸，但是和一尊佛一样神秘。她那有点儿厚的嘴唇，表面的红色有点泛白，我在她身体其余部分也发现了，表明她是黑人的混血，虽然她的手和胳膊无可厚非的白。
"I hesitated what to do with her, and felt excited, tempted and rather confused, so in order to gain time and to give myself an opportunity for reflection, I put other questions to her, about her birth, how she came into this part of the country, and what her connection with Mohammed was. But she only replied to those that interested me the least, and it was impossible for me to find out why she had come, with what intention, by whose orders, nor what had taken place between her and my servant. However, just as I was about to say to her: 'Go back to Mohammed's tent,' she seemed to guess my intention, for getting up suddenly, and raising her two bare arms, on which the jingling bracelets slipped down to her shoulders, she crossed her hands behind my neck and drew me towards her with an irresistible air of suppliant longing.
“我犹豫着该对她做什么，觉得很激动、很受诱惑，还有点儿迷惑。所以为了获得时间给自己一个思考的机会，我问了她其他问题，关于她的出生，她是怎么来到这个国家的这个地方的，还有她和穆罕默德是什么关系。但是，她只是回答那些我不太感兴趣的，我没法知道她为什么来这里、出于什么企图、受谁的吩咐，也没法知道她和我的仆人间发生了什么。尽管如此，就像我正准备对她说的：‘回穆罕默德的帐篷里去，’她似乎猜到了我的意图，因为她突然起身，举起她的两只赤裸的胳膊，上面叮当作响的手镯滑到了肩上，她把她的手交叉在了我的脖子后，一副不可抗拒又恳求的渴望的样子。
"Her eyes, which were bright from emotion, from that necessity of conquering man, which makes the looks of an impure woman as seductive as those of the feline tribe, allured me, enchained me, deprived me of all the power of resistance, and filled me with impetuous ardor. It was a short, sharp struggle of the eyes only, that eternal struggle between those two human brutes, the male and the female, in which the male is always beaten.
“她的眼睛明亮，出自情感，出自征服男人的必要，使得一个不纯洁的女人的面容和那些猫族一样诱人，吸引了我、束缚了我、剥夺了我所有的抵抗能力，让我充满了冲动的*欲情**。这仅仅是一场在眼睛之间短暂、锐利的斗争，在男人和女人那两种人形兽类之间永恒的斗争，男人总是败者。
"Her hands, which had clasped behind my head, drew me irresistibly, with a gentle, increasing pressure, as if by mechanical force towards her red lips, on which I suddenly laid mine while, at the same moment, I clasped her body, that was covered with jingling silver rings, in an ardent embrace.
“她的手紧扣在我脑后，用一种温柔的、渐大的力量，好像是机械力量一般，把我拉向她的红唇，无法抗拒，同时当我紧握住她那被叮当作响的银饰盖住的身体时，我突然把我的嘴唇贴了上去，来了个热情的拥抱。
"She was as strong, as healthy, and as supple as a wild animal, with all the motions, the ways, the grace, and even something of the odor of a gazelle, which made me find a rare, unknown zest in her kisses, which was as strange to my senses as the taste of tropical fruits.
“她所有的动作、举止、优雅，就像一只野兽那样强壮、健康和柔软，甚至气味都和羚羊一样，使我在她的吻中找到一种稀有而莫名的兴趣，对我来说是种奇怪的感觉，就像品尝热带水果一样。
"Soon—I say soon, although it may have been towards morning—I wished to send her away, as I thought that she would go in the same way that she had come; I did not, even, at the moment, ask myself what I should do with her, or what she would do with me, but as soon as she guessed my intention, she whispered:
“尽管已经快到早上了，很快——我指很快我就想把她送走，因为我认为她应该像来时一样离开。此时，我甚至没问自己，应该和她做什么，或者她会对我做什么，但是，当她一猜到我的意图时，她低声说道：
“'What do you expect me to do if you get rid of me now? I shall have to sleep on the ground in the open air at night. Let me sleep on the carpet, at the foot of your bed.'
“‘如果您现在要摆脱我，您希望我怎么做呢？晚上我会不得不睡在户外的地上。让我睡在您床脚边的地毯上吧。’
"What answer could I give her, or what could I do? I thought that no doubt Mohammed also would be watching the window of my room, in which a light was burning, and questions of various natures, that I had not put to myself during the first minutes, formulated themselves clearly in my brain.
“我能给她什么答案，或者我能做什么呢？我想毫无疑问穆罕默德也会看着我房间窗户燃着的亮光吧，各种各样一开始我没提出的问题，清晰地浮现在我的脑海里。
“'Stop here,' I replied, 'and we will talk.'
“‘留在这里，’我回答道，‘我们来谈谈。’
"My resolution was taken in a moment. As this girl had been thrown into my arms, in this manner, I would keep her; I would make her a kind of slave-mistress, hidden in my house, like women in a harem are. When the time should come that I no longer cared for her, it would be easy for me to get rid of her in some way or another, for on African soil those sort of creatures almost belong to us, body and soul, and so I said to her:
“我立刻做出了我的决定。因为这个女孩已经投入了我的怀抱，照这样的话，我会留下她，我会把她当做是一种奴隶*妇情**，藏在我的房子里，就像妻妾中的女人一样。到我不再关心她的时候，我用种种方法很容易摆脱掉她，因为在非洲土地上，那些人的身体和灵魂总是属于我们的，于是我对她说：
“'I wish to be kind to you, and I will treat you so that you shall not be unhappy, but I want to know who you are and where you come from?'
“‘我希望对你好，我会善待你，你不会不高兴的。但是，我想知道你是谁、你从哪里来?'
"She saw clearly that she must say something, and she told me her story, or rather a story, for no doubt she was lying from beginning to end, like all Arabs always do, with or without any motive.
“她清楚地知道她必须说些什么，她告诉了我她的经历，或者更可以说是一个故事，因为毫无疑问她从头到尾都在撒谎，就像所有的阿拉伯人做的一样，有又或是没有任何动机。
"That is one of the most surprising and incomprehensible signs of the native character—the Arabs always lie. Those people in whom Islam has become so incarnate that it has become part of themselves, to such an extent as to model their instincts and modifies the entire race, and to differentiate it from others in morals just as much as the color of the skin differentiates a negro from a white man, are liars to the backbone, so that one can never trust a word that they say. I do not know whether they owe that to their religion, but one must have lived among them in order to know the extent to which lying forms part of their being, of their heart and soul, until it has become a kind of second nature, a very necessity of life, with them.
“那是当地人本质里最令人吃惊又无法理解的标志之一——阿拉伯人总是撒谎。那些伊斯兰教的人们已经变得将它内化成了他们自己的一部分，到了一种像是去模拟他们的本能和改变整个种族的程度，并从精神上与其他人区分开来，就像从皮肤的颜色上区分开黑人与白人，撒谎者已将其深入骨髓，以至于一个人决不能相信他们所说的每个字。我不知道他们是否把那归因于他们的宗教信仰。但是，一个人必须要生活在他们中，才能将它变成他们生活中非常必要的第二天性，为的是了解撒谎到了构成他们存在、心灵和灵魂的部分的程度。
"Well, she told me that she was the daughter of a Caidi of the Ouled Sidi Cheik, and of a woman whom he had carried off in a raid against the Touaregs. The woman must have been a black slave, or, at any rate, have sprung from a first cross of Arab and negro blood. It is well known that negro women are in great request for harems, where they act as aphrodisiacs. Nothing of such an origin was to be noticed, however, except the purple color of her lips, and the dark nipples of her elongated breasts, which were as supple as if they were on springs. Nobody who knew anything about the matter, could be mistaken in that. But all the rest of her belonged to the beautiful race from the South, fair, supple and with a delicate face which was formed on straight and simple lines like those of a Hindoo figure. Her eyes, which were very far apart, still further heightened the somewhat god-like looks of this desert marauder.
“然后，她告诉我，她是乌利德·西迪·谢赫酋长的女儿，母亲是他在对图阿雷格的一次袭击中抢来的。那个女人一定是个黑奴，或者至少是阿拉伯人与黑人初次结合的混血。众所周知，黑人女人在妻妾中是十分受欢迎的，她们担当起刺激性欲的作用。尽管如此，除了她的嘴唇是紫色的，她拉长的、软得像在弹簧上一样的乳房上的乳头是深色的，看不出来她有这样一种血统。知道任何关于这点的，没人会弄错。但是，所有她其余的部分都属于南方的、白皙的、顺从的漂亮种族，一张精致的脸呈现在笔直又简单的线条上，就像一个印度人的轮廓一样。她的眼睛分得很开，更加显得这个沙漠掠夺者的面容有点像神一样。
"I knew nothing exactly about her real life. She related it to me in incoherent fragments, that seemed to rise up at random from a disordered memory, and she mixed up deliciously childish observations with them; a whole vision of a Nomad world, born of a squirrel's brain that had leapt from tent to tent, from encampment to encampment, from tribe to tribe. And all this was done with the severe looks that this reserved people always preserve, with the appearance of a brass idol, and rather comic gravity.
“我完全不知道有关她的真实生活。她和我谈及的是些不连贯的片段，似乎是从无序的记忆中胡乱地跳出来的，她对此还混杂了些有趣的幼稚的评价。她描述了一副游牧民世界的全景，她的思维天生像松鼠一样，跳跃在帐篷与帐篷间、宿营地与宿营地间、部落与部落间。并且说这些的时候，她带着含蓄的人总会保持的严肃的表情，样子像个黄铜偶像，有点儿滑稽的庄严。
"When she had finished, I perceived that I had not remembered anything of that long story, full of insignificant events, that she had stored up in her flighty brain, and I asked myself whether she had not simply been making fun of me by her empty and would-be serious chatter, which told me nothing about her, nor about any real facts connected with her life.
“当她说完了，我感到我没记住她储存在她突发奇想的头脑里的那个长故事里的任何事情，全是无关紧要的些事。于是我问自己，她是否不仅仅用她的空洞又自许的认真的唠叨来拿我寻开心，既没告诉我关于她的什么事，也没有关系她生活的任何事实。
"And I thought of that conquered race, among whom we have encamped, or, rather, who are encamping among us, whose language we are beginning to speak, whom we see every day, living under the transparent linen of their tents, on whom we have imposed our laws, our regulations, and our customs, and about whom we know nothing, nothing more whatever, I assure you, than if we were not here, and solely occupied in looking at them, for nearly sixty years. We know no more about what is going on in those huts made of branches, and under those small canvas cones that are fastened to the ground by stakes, which are within twenty yards of our doors, than we know what the so-called civilized Arabs of the Moorish houses in Algiers do, think, and are. Behind the white-washed walls of their town houses, behind the partition of their gourbi, which is made of branches, or behind that thin, brown, camel-haired curtain which the wind moves, they live close to us, unknown, mysterious, cunning, submissive, smiling, impenetrable. What if I were to tell you, that when I look at the neighboring encampment through my field glasses, I guess that there are superstitions, customs, ceremonies, a thousand practices of which we know nothing, and which we do not even suspect! Never previously, in all probability, did a conquered race know so well how to escape so completely from the real domination, the moral influence and the inveterate, but useless, investigations of the conquerors.
“于是，我想起了那个被征服的种族，我们在他们中扎营，或者更可以说是他们在我们中扎营。我们开始说他们的语言，我们每天都看见住在帐篷里透明的亚麻布下的他们。我们把我们的法律、规章和习俗强加于他们，我们对他们毫不了解，我向您保证，无论是什么都不了解，就像我们不在这里一样，而只是在将近六十年里专注于看着他们而已。在那些用树枝做的小屋里和那些用树桩固定在地上的、离我们的门二十码以内的小帆布圆锥物下正发生着什么，我们也不知道阿尔及尔的摩尔式房子里所谓文明的阿拉伯人在做些什么、想些什么、是什么样的。在他们粉刷成白色的城区住宅的墙后面，在他们用树枝做成的帐篷的隔墙后，或是在那被风吹动的、薄薄的、褐色的驼毛门帘后，他们和我们住得很近，是那样陌生的、神秘的、狡猾的、顺从的、微笑的和难以理解的。让我告诉您，当我通过我的望远镜看着附近的宿营地时，我猜想这里有我们不知道的甚至是没想过的迷信、习俗、礼节和一千种习惯！以前，一个被征服的民族从未有可能清楚地知道如何完全逃离征服者真正的统治、精神上的影响和根深蒂固却没用的探究。
"Now I suddenly felt the insurmountable, secret barrier which incomprehensible nature had set up between the two races, more than I had ever felt it before, between this girl and myself, between this woman who had just given herself to me, who had yielded herself to my caresses and to me, who had possessed her, and, thinking of it for the first time, I said to her: 'What is your name?'
“此刻，我突然感到无法理解的天性建立在两个民族之间无法逾越的、神秘的屏障前，我前所未有地觉得在这个姑娘和我自己间，在这个刚刚对我投怀送抱、屈服于我的爱抚的女人和占有了她的我之间，并且，我第一次想到了要对她说：‘你的名字叫什么?'
"She did not speak for some moments, and I saw her start, as if she had forgotten that I was there, and then, in her eyes that were raised to mine, I saw that that moment had sufficed for her to be overcome by sleep, by irresistible, sudden, almost overwhelming sleep, like everything that lays hold of the mobile senses of women, and she answered, carelessly, suppressing a yawn:
“她有一会儿没说话，我看见她惊跳了一下，好像她已经忘了我在那里，然后，在她抬起来看我的眼里，我看到那刻足以征服她的睡意，是无法抗拒的、突然的、没法抵抗的睡意，就像每样控制住女人们的易变感情的东西，她忍住一个呵欠不经意地回答道：
“'Allouma.'
“‘阿萝玛。’
“'Do you want to go sleep?'
“‘你想去睡觉吗?'
“'Yes,' she replied.
“‘嗯，’她回答道。
“'Very well then, go to sleep!'
“‘很好，去睡吧!'
"She stretched herself out tranquilly by my side, lying on her stomach, with her forehead resting on her folded arms, and I felt almost immediately that fleeting, untutored thoughts were lulled in repose, while I began to ponder, as I lay by her side, and tried to understand it all. Why had Mohammed given her to me? Had he acted the part of a magnanimous servant, who sacrifices himself for his master, even to the extent of giving up the woman whom he had brought into his own tent, to him? Or had he, on the other hand, obeyed a more complex and more practical, though less generous impulse, in handing over this girl who had taken my fancy, to my embrace? An Arab, when it is a question of women, is rigorously modest and unspeakably complaisant, and one can no more understand his rigorous and easy morality, than one can all the rest of his sentiments. Perhaps, when I accidentally went to his tent, I had merely forestalled the benevolent intentions of this thoughtful servant, who had intended this woman, who was his friend and accomplice, or perhaps even his mistress, for me.
“她在我旁边平静地伸展开身子，俯身躺下，她的额头搁在她交叉的手臂上，我几乎立刻感到我那瞬间的、粗野的想法平静地停了下来。而当我躺在她身边的时候，我开始沉思，试着想弄明白一切。为什么穆罕默德把她给了我呢？他在扮演一个心胸宽阔的仆人的角色吗？为了他的主人牺牲了他自己，甚至到了放弃掉为了自己而带到他的帐篷的女人的程度。另一方面，或者他是在遵守一个虽然不慷慨的，但是更复杂更实际的念头，才把这个让我迷恋的女孩交给我，送到我的怀抱吗？当遇到有关女人的问题时，阿拉伯人会绝对地谦让的，并且是无法形容的殷勤，没人能理解他的严格的和宽容的道德，也没人能理解所有他其余的情感。也许，当我偶然走进他的帐篷的时候，我只不过是阻止了这个有思想的仆人乐善好施的意图，他曾打算把这个女人给我，她是他的朋友、同谋，或者也许更可以说是他的*妇情**。
"All these suppositions assailed me, and fatigued me so much, that, at last, in my turn, I fell into a profound sleep, from which I was roused by the creaking of my door, and Mohammed came in, to call me as usual. He opened the window, through which a flood of light streamed in, and fell onto Allouma who was still asleep; then he picked up my trousers, coat and waistcoat from the floor in order to brush them. He did not look at the woman who was lying by my side, did not seem to know or remark that she was there, and preserved his ordinary gravity, demeanor and looks. But the light, the movement, the slight noise which his bare feet made, the feeling of the fresh air on her skin and in her lungs, roused Allouma from her lethargy. She stretched out her arms, turned over, opened her eyes, and looked at me and then Mohammed with the same indifference; then she sat up in bed and said: 'I am hungry.'
“所有这些推测质问着我，使我如此劳累，最后轮到我也酣睡起来，我被我的门的吱呀声弄醒了，穆罕默德走了进来，像平常一样叫我。他打开了窗户，一大片阳光涌了进来，照在了还在睡觉的阿萝玛的身上。然后，他从地上捡起我的裤子、外套和背心，为了刷刷它们。他没有看正躺在我身边的女人，好像不知道或者没注意到她在那里，保持着他一贯的严肃态度、举止和表情。但是，阳光、动作、他的赤脚发出的轻微的声音和新鲜的空气带给她的皮肤和她的肺的感觉，把阿萝玛从昏睡中唤醒了。她伸了伸胳膊，转过身，睁开了眼睛望了望我，然后，同样漠然地望了望穆罕默德，然后她从床上坐了起来，说道：‘我饿了。’
“'What would you like?'
“‘你想吃什么呢?'
“'Kahoua.'
“‘咖啡。’
“'Coffee and bread and butter?'
“‘咖啡和黄油面包吗?'
“'Yes.'
“‘嗯。’
"Mohammed remained standing close to our bed, with my clothes under his arm, waiting for my orders.
“穆罕默德仍站在我们的床的附近，我的衣服在他胳膊下夹着，等着我的命令。
“'Bring breakfast for Allouma and me,' I said to him.
“‘把阿萝玛和我的早餐拿过来，’我对他说。
"He went out, without his face betraying the slightest astonishment or anger, and as soon as he had left the room, I said to the girl:
“他出去了，脸上没有露出一点儿惊讶和生气，他一离开房间后，我便对那个女孩说：
“'Will you live in my house?'
“‘你愿意住在我的房子里吗?'
“'I should like to, very much.'
“‘我很愿意。’
“'I will give you a room to yourself, and a woman to wait on you.'
“‘我会给你一间自己的房间，还有一个服侍你的女人。’
“'You are very generous, and I am grateful to you.'
“‘您太慷慨了，感谢您。’
“'But if you behave badly, I shall send you away immediately.'
“‘但是，如果你表现不好，我会立刻将你驱逐走。’
“'I will do everything that you wish me to.'
“‘我会做您希望我做的每件事。’
"She took my hand, and kissed it as a token of submission, and just then Mohammed came in, carrying a tray with our breakfast on it, and I said to him:
“她拿起我的手亲了一下，作为顺从的标志，就在这时候，穆罕默德进来了，拿着放有我们早餐的盘子，我对他说道：
“‘Allouma is going to live here. You must spread a carpet on the floor of the room at the end of the passage, and get Abd-El-Kader-El-Hadara's wife to come and wait on her.’
“‘阿萝玛将会住在这里。你必须在过道尽头的房间的地板上铺上地毯，让阿卜迪尔－卡代雷尔－埃勒－哈达拉的妻子过来服侍她。’
“'Yes, mo'ssieuia.’
“‘是的，先生。’
"That was all.
“交待完了。
"An hour later, my beautiful Arab was installed in a large, airy, light room, and when I went in to see that everything was in order, she asked me in a supplicating voice, to give her a wardrobe with a looking-glass in the doors. I promised her one, and then I left her squatting on the carpet from Djebel-Amour, with a cigarette in her mouth, and gossiping with the old Arab woman I had sent for, as if they had known each other for years.”
“一小时后，我的漂亮的阿拉伯女人被安置在了一间宽敞的、通风的、明亮的房间里。当我进去看看每样东西是否弄好时，她用恳求的声音要我给她一个门上带镜子的衣柜。我答应给她一个，然后我留下她就走了。她正蹲坐在阿穆尔山的地毯上，嘴里叼着一根烟，和我派过去的老阿拉伯女人闲谈，好像她们互相认识多年一样。”
II
二
"For a month I was very happy with her, and I got strangely attached to this creature belonging to another race, who seemed to me almost to belong to some other species, and to have been born on a neighboring planet.
“我和她一起开心地过了一个月，我奇怪地依恋着属于另一个种族的人，她对我来说，好像几乎是属于出生在附近一个星球上的其他一些物种。
"I did not love her; no, one does not love the women of that primitive continent. This small, pale blue flower of Northern countries never unfolds between them and us, or even between them and their natural males, the Arabs. They are too near to human animalism, their hearts are too rudimentary, their feelings are not refined enough to rouse that sentimental exaltation in us, which is the poetry of love. Nothing intellectual, no intoxication of thought or feeling is mingled with that sensual intoxication which those charming nonentities excite in us. Nevertheless, they captivate us like the others do, but in a different fashion, which is less tenacious, and, at the same time, less cruel and painful.
“我不爱她，不爱，一个人不会爱原始大陆的女人。这在北方国家的淡蓝的小花，是绝不会在她们和我们之间开放的，甚至也不会在她们和她们的普通的阿拉伯男人间开放。她们与人类的兽性很接近，她们的心太原始，她们的感觉还不够精炼得足以去唤醒我们感情上的兴奋，即爱的诗意。那些迷人的、微不足道的人带给我们*欲肉**上的陶醉，没有混合智慧、思想或感觉上的陶醉。然而，她们像其他人做的一样迷惑住了我们，但用的是一种不同的方式，没有那么顽强，同时也没有那么残忍和痛苦。
"I cannot even now explain precisely what I felt for her. I said to you just now that this country, this bare Africa, without any arts, void of all intellectual pleasures, gradually captivates us by its climate, by the continual mildness of the dawn and sunset, by its delightful light, and by the feeling of well-being with which it fills all our organs. Well, then! Allouma captivated me in the same manner, by a thousand hidden, physical, alluring charms, and by the procreative seductiveness, not of her embraces, for she was of thoroughly oriental supineness in that respect, but of her sweet self-surrender.
“尽管这样，我无法准确地说明我对她是什么感觉。我刚刚对您说了，这个国家、这光秃的非洲，没有任何艺术，缺乏所有智力的乐趣，逐渐靠它的气候、黎明与日落的连续的温和，令人愉快的光线，还有充斥着所有我们器官的安宁感迷住了我们。阿萝玛用同样的方式迷住了我，用无数神秘的、肉体的、迷人的魅力，还有性欲的诱惑，不是她的拥抱，而是她甜蜜的屈从，因为在那方面她有完全的东方的慵懒。
"I left her absolutely free to come and go as she liked, and she certainly spent one afternoon out of two with the wives of my native agricultural laborers. Often also, she would remain for nearly a whole day admiring herself in front of a mahogany wardrobe with a large looking-glass in the doors that I had got from Miliana.
“我完全让她出入自由，她总是会花上两个下午中的一个去和我的当地务农者的妻子在一起。她也会经常呆在我从米利亚纳得到的门上带有一面大镜子的桃花心木衣柜前，欣赏自己几乎一整天。
"She admired herself conscientiously, standing before the glass doors, in which she followed her own movements with profound and serious attention. She walked with her head somewhat thrown back, in order to be able to see whether her hips and loins swayed properly; went away, came back again, and then, tired with her own movements, she sat down on a cushion and remained opposite to her own reflection, with her eyes fixed on her face in the glass, and her whole soul absorbed in that picture.
“她认真地欣赏自己，站在带镜子的门前，随着她自己的动作，陶醉又认真地注意着自己。她把头稍微向后扭着走路，为了能够看见她的臀和腰是否摆动得合适。她走开，又回来，然后试着她自己的动作，她对着她自己的影子坐在一张垫子上，眼睛盯着镜子里自己的脸，她全部的精神都全神贯注在那画面上。
"Soon, I began to notice that she went out nearly every morning after breakfast, and that she disappeared altogether until evening, and as I felt rather anxious about this, I asked Mohammed whether he knew what she could be doing during all these long hours of absence, but he replied very calmly:
“很快我开始注意到，她几乎每天早上早餐后就出去了，直到晚上前一直消失不在，因为对此我感到有点儿担忧，所以我问穆罕默德，他是否知道她所有这么长时间不在的时候会做些什么，然而他非常冷静地回答道：
“'Do not be uneasy. It will be the Feast of Ramadan soon, and so she goes to say her prayers.'
“‘您别担心。马上就是斋月节了，所以她去表达她的祈祷了。’
"He also seemed delighted at having Allouma in the house, but I never once saw anything suspicious between them, and so I accepted the situation as it was, and let time, accident, and life act for themselves.
“他好像也很高兴阿萝玛在屋里，但是，我一次也没看见过他们之间的可疑之处，所以我接受了这个情形，让时间、偶发事件和生活顺其自然吧。
"Often, after I had inspected my farm, my vineyards, and my clearings, I used to take long walks. You know the magnificent forests in this part of Algeria, those almost impenetrable ravines, where fallen pine trees hem the mountain torrents, and those little valleys filled with oleanders, which look like oriental carpets stretching along the banks of the streams. You know that at every moment, in these woods and on these hills, where one would think that nobody had ever penetrated, one suddenly sees the white dome of a shrine that contains the bones of a humble, solitary marabout, which was scarcely visited from time to time, even by the most confirmed believers, who had come from the neighboring villages with a wax candle in their pocket, to set up before the tomb of the saint.
“我经常在视察过我的农场、葡萄园和开垦地后，习惯再多散会儿步。您知道，在阿尔及利亚这个地方雄伟的森林，那些被倒下的松树挡住了山上的急流而几乎难以渗透的峡谷，那些长满了夹竹桃的小山谷，看起来像是河岸边延伸的东方的地毯。您知道，时不时在这些人们以为从未有人涉足的林间山上，可以突然看见神殿的白色圆顶，里面有某个谦卑的、孤独的伊斯兰教隐士的尸骨，几乎无人造访，偶尔有来自邻村最坚定的信仰者，兜里揣着蜡烛，为了在圣人的墓前立起。
"Now one evening as I was going home, I was passing one of these Mohammedan chapels, and, looking in through the door, which was always open, I saw a woman praying before the altar. That Arab woman, sitting on the ground in that dilapidated building, into which the wind entered as it pleased, and heaped up the fine, dry pine needles in yellow heaps in the corners. I went near to see better, and recognized Allouma. She neither saw nor heard me, so absorbed was she with the saint, to whom she was speaking in a low voice, as she thought that she was alone with him, and telling this servant of God all her troubles. Sometimes she stopped for a short time to think, to try and recollect what more she had to say, so that she might not forget anything that she wished to confide to him; then, again, she would grow animated, as if he had replied to her, as if he had advised her to do something that she did not want to do, and the reasons for which she was impugning, and I went away as I had come, without making any noise, and returned home to dinner.
“然后一天晚上，当我要回家的时候，我经过这些伊斯兰教的小礼拜堂中的一间，并且从那扇一直开着的门往里面望，我看见一个女人正在圣坛前祷告。那个阿拉伯女人坐在那座荒废的建筑的地上，风任意地往里吹，使得又细又干的松针在角落堆成了黄色的一堆。我走近以便看得更清楚，我认出那是阿萝玛。她既没看见我也没听见我，她如此地入迷，低声地对着圣人说话，就好像她认为自己和他单独在一起，向这个上帝的随从倾诉着她所有的烦恼。有时她短暂地停下来去思考，试着想想她还必须说点什么，那样她才不会忘记她想要对他透露的任何事情。接着，她又会变得活泼，好像是圣人回答了她一样，好像他建议了她去做一些她不想做的事情一样，她因此而被驳斥。我像来的时候一样离开了，没有发出任何声响，然后回家去吃晚餐。
"That evening, when I sent for her, I saw that she had a thoughtful look, which was not usual with her.
“那天晚上，我把她叫过来，我看到她沉思的表情，她平时不这样。
“'Sit down there,' I said, pointing to her place on the couch by my side. As soon as she had sat down, I stooped to kiss her, but she drew her head away quickly, and, in great astonishment, I said to her:
“‘坐这里吧，’我说道，对她指了指我旁边的睡椅。她一坐下，我就弯腰去亲她，但是她快速地把头扭开，我十分吃惊地对她说：
“'Well, what is the matter?'
“‘有什么问题?'
“'It is the Ramadan,' she said.
“‘现在是斋月节，’她说道。
"I began to laugh, and said: 'And the Marabout has forbidden you to allow yourself to be kissed during the Ramadan?'
“我开始笑起来，说道：‘那么是那个伊斯兰教隐士禁止你在斋月节的时候被亲喽?'
“'Oh, yes; I am an Arab woman, and you are a Roumi!'
“‘噢，是。我是个阿拉伯女人，你是个欧洲人!'
“'And it would be a great sin?'
“‘这是一种重大的罪行吗?'
“'Oh, yes!'
“‘噢，是!'
“'So you ate nothing all day, until sunset?'
“‘那么你一整天什么都没吃，一直到日落?'
“'No, nothing.'
“‘是的，没吃。’
“'But you had something to eat after sundown?'
“‘但是，你在日落后吃了一些东西吧?'
“'Yes.'
“‘嗯。’
“'Well, then, as it is quite dark now, you ought not to be more strict about the rest than you are about your mouth.'
“‘那么，既然现在天色已经十分暗了，你对其余的部分不应该比你的嘴更严了。’
"She seemed irritated, wounded, and offended, and replied with an amount of pride that I had never noticed in her before:
“她看起来生气了，受到了伤害，受到了冒犯，她用我从未在她身上看到过的傲慢回答道：
“'If an Arab girl were to allow herself to be touched by a Roumi during the Ramadan, she would be cursed for ever.'
“‘如果一个阿拉伯女孩允许自己在斋月节被一个欧洲人碰触，那么她将永远被诅咒。’
“'And that is to continue for a whole month?'
“‘那要连续一整个月吗?'
“'Yes, for the whole of the month of Ramadan,' she replied, with great determination.
“‘是的，斋月节的一整个月。’她十分坚决地回答道。
"I assumed an irritated manner and said: 'Very well, then, you can go and spend the Ramadan with your family.'
“我假装用生气的方式说道：‘那好吧，那么你可以走了，和你的家人去过斋月节吧。’
"She seized my hands, and, laying them on my heart, she said:
“她抓住我的双手，然后把它们放在我的心上，她说道：
“'Oh! Please do not be unkind, and you shall see how nice I will be. We will keep Ramadan together, if you like. I will look after you, and spoil you, but don't be unkind.’
“‘噢！请您别这么刻薄，您会看到我对您如何好的。我们可以一起过斋月节，如果您愿意的话。我会照顾您、宠爱您，但是，您别这么刻薄。’
"I could not help smiling at her funny manner and her unhappiness, and I sent her to go to sleep at home, but, an hour later, just as I was thinking about going to bed, there came two little taps at my door, which were so slight, however, that I scarcely heard them; but when I said: 'Come in,' Allouma appeared carrying a large tray covered with Arab dainties; fried balls of rice, covered with sugar, and a variety of other strange, Nomad pastry.
“对于她滑稽的举止和忧愁，我情不自禁地笑了，我打发她回房去睡觉。然而，一个小时后，正当我打算上床的时候，我的门被轻轻敲了两下，尽管轻得让我几乎听不见。但当我说‘进来’时，阿萝玛端着一个装满了阿拉伯美味的大盘子出现在那里，有裹了糖的油炸米团，还有其他种类的奇怪的游牧民糕点。
"She laughed, showing her white teeth, and repeated: 'Come, we will keep Ramadan together.'
“她笑了，露出她洁白的牙齿回答道：‘来吧，我们一起过斋月节。’
"You know that the fast, which begins at dawn and ends at twilight, at the moment when the eye can no longer distinguish a black from a white thread, is followed every evening by small, friendly entertainments, at which eating is kept up until the morning, and the result is that for such of the natives as are not very scrupulous, Ramadan consists of turning day into night, and night into day. But Allouma carried her delicacy of conscience further than this. She placed her tray between us on the divan, and taking a small, sugared ball between her long, slender fingers, she put it into my mouth, and whispered: 'Eat it, it is very good.'
“您知道，斋戒禁食是从黎明开始到黄昏结束的，当眼睛不再能分辨出黑线和白线的时候。接着是每天晚上的友谊的小娱乐，一直持续到天亮，结果因为这些当地人不太认真，斋月节成了把白天变成晚上，把晚上变成白天。但是，阿萝玛把她良心上的食物看得更重要。她把她的盘子放在长沙发椅上我们两人之间，用她细长的手指拿起一个裹了糖的小丸子，她把它放进我的嘴里，并轻轻说道：‘吃了它吧，很好吃。’
"I munched the light cake, which was really excellent, and asked her: 'Did you make that?'
“我用力嚼着这松软的糕点，味道真的很不错，我问她：‘那是你做的吗?'
“'Yes.'
“‘是的。’
“'For me?'
“‘是为我做的吗?'
“'Yes, for you.'
“‘是的，是为您做的。’
“'To enable me to support Ramadan?'
“‘为了让我忍受斋月节吗?'
“'Oh! Don't be so unkind! I will bring you some every day.’
“‘噢！别这么刻薄！我每天都会为您带些来的。’
"Oh! The terrible month that I spent! A sugared, insipidly sweet month; a month that nearly drove me mad; a month of spoiling and of temptation, of anger and of vain efforts against an invincible resistance, but at last the three days of Beiram came, which I celebrated in my own fashion, and Ramadan was forgotten.
“噢！我过了多么可怕的一个月啊！满是糖和淡淡的甜味的一个月，几乎快把我逼疯了的一个月，糟蹋、诱惑以及对无法征服的抵抗的徒劳的一个月。但是，最后我用自己的方式庆祝了到来的为期三天的拜兰节，忘掉了斋月节。
"The summer went on, and it was very hot, and in the first days of autumn, Allouma appeared to me to be preoccupied and absent-minded, and, seemingly, taking no interest in anything, and, at last, when I sent for her one evening, she was not to be found in her room. I thought that she was roaming about the house, and I gave orders to look for her. She had not come in, however, and so I opened my window, and called out:
“夏天还没过去，天气十分热。在秋天的前几天，阿萝玛出现在我面前，看起来有点走神、心不在焉，对任何事都没有兴趣。最后，有一天晚上我派人去叫她，没在她的房间找到她。我以为她正在屋子里随便走走，我下令去寻找她。尽管如此，她没有过来。于是，我打开窗户叫道：
“'Mohammed,' and the voice of the man, who was lying in his tent, replied:
“‘穆罕默德。’躺在帐篷里的那个男人的声音回答道：
“'Yes, mo'ssieuia.’
“‘我在这里，先生。’
“'Do you know where Allouma is?'
“‘你知不知道阿萝玛在哪里?'
“'No, mo'ssieuia... it is not possible... is Allouma lost?’
“‘不知道，先生……这不可能……阿萝玛失踪了吗?'
"A few moments later, my Arab came into my room, so agitated that he could not master his feelings, and I said:
“过了一会儿，我的阿拉伯仆人如此激动地来到我的房间，以至于没法控制他的情绪，我说道：
“'Is Allouma lost?'
“‘阿萝玛失踪了吗?'
“'Yes, she is lost.'
“‘是的，她失踪了。’
“'It is impossible.'
“‘这不可能。’
“'Go and look for her,' I said.
“‘去找她吧。’我说道。
"He remained standing where he was, thinking, seeking for her motives, and unable to understand anything about it. Then he went into the empty room, where Allouma's clothes were lying about, in oriental disorder. He examined everything, as if he had been a police officer, or, rather, he smelt like a dog, and then, incapable of a lengthened effort, he murmured, resignedly:
“他还是站在原地，思考着寻求着她的动机，没能弄明白关于这件事情的任何情况。接着，他去了那间空房，里面以一种东方式的混乱散放着阿萝玛的衣服。他检查了每样东西，好像他是一个警察官一样，或者说他闻起来的样子更像是只狗，然后在他后续的努力无能为力后，他服从地低声说道：
“'She has gone, she has gone!'
“‘她离开了，她离开了!'
"I was afraid that some accident had happened to her; that she had fallen into some ravine and sprained herself, and I immediately sent all the men about the place off with orders to look for her until they should find her, and they hunted for her all that night, all the next day, and all the week long, but nothing was discovered that could put us upon her track. I suffered, for I missed her very much; my house seemed empty, and my existence a void. And then, disgusting thoughts entered my mind. I feared that she might have been carried off, or even murdered, but when I spoke about it to Mohammed, and tried to make him share my fears, he invariably replied:
“我害怕她出了什么意外，比如她掉进了某个峡谷扭伤了自己，我立刻下令派当地所有的人出去寻找她，直到他们找到她。他们搜寻了她整晚，次日一整天，一整个星期之久，但是，我们没有找到她的任何踪迹。我很痛苦，因为我十分想念她。我的屋子看起来空空的，我的生活变得空虚。然后，我的脑子产生了令人厌恶的想法。我担心她可能被人抢走了，或者甚至是被谋杀了。但是，当我对穆罕默德谈起，并努力使他能体会到我的害怕的时候，他总是回答道：
“'No; gone away.'
“‘不是的，她离开了。’
"Then he added the Arab word r'ezale, which means gazelle, as if he meant to say that she could run quickly, and that she was far away.
“接着，他又加了个阿拉伯词语雷扎尔，意为羚羊，好像他的意思是她跑得快，她已经远去了。
"Three weeks passed, and I had given up all hopes of seeing my Arab mistress again, when one morning Mohammed came into my room, with every sign of joy in his face, and said to me:
“三个礼拜过去了，我已经放弃了所有能再次看到我的阿拉伯情人的希望。一天早上，穆罕默德来到我的房间，脸上充满了喜悦的标志，对我说道：
“'Mo'ssieuia, Allouma has come back.’
“‘先生，阿萝玛回来了。’
"I jumped out of bed and said:
“我从床上跳了下来，说道：
“'Where is she?'
“‘她在哪里?'
“'She does not dare to come in! There she is, under the tree.'
“‘她不敢进来！她在那边，在树下面。’
"And stretching out his arm, he pointed out to me, through the window, a whitish spot at the foot of an olive tree.
“他伸出他的手臂，从窗户里向我指出一棵橄榄树下的一个白影。
"I got up immediately, and went out to where she was. As I approached what looked like a mere bundle of linen thrown against the gnarled trunk of the tree, I recognized the large, dark eyes, the tattooed stars, and the long, regular features of that semi-wild girl who had so captivated my senses. As I advanced towards her, I felt inclined to strike her, to make her suffer pain, and to have my revenge, and so I called out to her from a little distance:
“我立刻起了床，走去她那里。当*靠我**近一个丢在粗糙的树干边看起来就像是一团亚麻制品时，我认出了那个曾迷住了我的半野性的女孩又大又黑的眼睛、星星纹身和长长的规则的脸型。当我朝她向前走时，我感觉有点想打她，为了使她遭受痛苦，为我*仇报**，于是我在离她一定距离的时候喊道：
“'Where have you been?'
“‘你一直都在哪里?'
"She did not reply, but remained motionless and inert, as if she were scarcely alive, resigned to my violence, and ready to receive my blows. I was standing up, close to her, looking in stupefaction at the rags with which she was covered, at those bits of silk and muslin, covered with dust, torn and dirty, and I repeated, raising my hand, as if she had been a dog:
“她没回答，只是静静地、木讷地呆着，就像她几乎没了生命，顺从地对待我的*力暴**，并准备好了接受我的殴打。*靠我**近她站住，愣愣地看着她裹着的破旧衣服，那些丝绸和棉布上布满了灰尘，又破又脏，我举起我的手，好像她是一条狗一样，我重复说道：
“'Where have you come from?'
“‘你从哪里来的?'
“'From yonder,' she said, in a whisper.
“‘从那边来的，’她轻声说道。
“'Where is that?'
“‘那边是哪里?'
“'From the tribe.'
“‘从部落里来。’
“'What tribe?'
“‘什么部落?'
“'Mine.'
“‘我的部落。’
“'Why did you go away?'
“‘你为什么要离开?'
"When she saw that I was not going to beat her, she grew rather bolder, and said in a low voice: 'I was obliged to do it.... I was forced to go, I could not stop in the house any longer.'
“当她看到我没准备打她时，她变得更加大胆些，低声说道：‘我必须那样做……我被迫离开，我不能再留在房里了。’
"I saw tears in her eyes, and immediately felt softened. I leaned over her, and when I turned round to sit down, I noticed Mohammed, who was watching us at a distance, and I went on, very gently:
“我看到她眼里的泪水，立刻心软了下来。我朝她俯身下去，当我转身坐下时，我发现穆罕默德正在远处看着我们，我继续十分温柔地说道：
“'Come, tell me why you ran away?'
“‘好吧，告诉我为什么你要逃跑?'
"Then she told me, that for a long time in her Nomad's heart she had felt the irresistible desire to return to the tents, to lie, to run, to roll on the sand; to wander about the plains with the flocks, to feel nothing over her head, between the yellow stars in the sky and the blue stars in her face, except the thin, threadbare, patched stuff, through which she could see spots of fire in the sky, when she awoke during the night.
“接着，她告诉我，长久以来，在她游牧民的内心里，她感到了想要返回帐篷的不可抵抗的欲望，想在沙地上躺着、奔跑、打滚，想在平原间和羊群漫步，想让她头的上方，天空中黄色的星星和她的脸上蓝色的星星之间什么也感受不到，除了在夜里她醒来的时候，能够通过薄薄的、破旧的、修补过的帐篷上看到天空中点点火星。
"She made me understand all that in such simple and powerful words, that I felt quite sure that she was not lying, and pitied her, and I asked her:
“她用如此简单、有力的词语来使我明白一切，我十分确信她没有在撒谎，并且同情她，我问她：
“'Why did you not tell me that you wished to go away for a time?'
“‘为什么你不告诉我你想离开一阵子呢?'
“'Because you would not have allowed me...'
“‘因为您可能不同意……’
“'If you had promised to come back, I should have consented.'
“‘如果你承诺会回来，我会同意的。’
“'You would not have believed me.'
“‘您可能会不相信我。’
"Seeing that I was not angry, she began to laugh, and said:
“看到我没有生气，她开始笑了，说道：
“'You see that is all over; I have come home again, and here I am. I only wanted a few days there. I have had enough of it now, it is finished and passed; the feeling is cured. I have come back, and have not that longing any more. I am very glad, and you are very kind.'
“‘您看，一切都过去了，我又回家来了，我就在这里。如今我已经呆够了，那已经结束了、过去了，我的感觉已经恢复了。我已经回来了，不再有那种渴望了。我十分开心，您很和蔼。’
“'Come into the house,' I said to her.
“‘来屋子里吧。’我对她说道。
"She got up, and I took her hand, her delicate hand, with its slender fingers, and triumphant in her rags, with her bracelets and her necklace ringing, she went gravely towards my house, where Mohammed was waiting for us, but before going in, I said:
“她站了起来，我握着她的手，她那拥有细长指头的精致的手，她得意地裹在她破旧的衣服里，伴着她的手镯和响铃的响声，她严肃地朝我的屋子走去，穆罕默德正在那里等着我们，但在进去前我说道：
“'Allouma, whenever you want to return to your own people, tell me, and I will allow you to go.'
“‘阿萝玛，无论何时你想要回到你自己的民族，告诉我，我会答应你去的。’
“'You promise?'
“‘您保证?'
“'Yes, I promise.'
“‘是的，我保证。’
“'And I will make you a promise also. When I feel ill or unhappy'—and here she put her hand to her forehead, with a magnificent gesture—‘I shall say to you: "I must go yonder," and you will let me go.’
“‘我也向您保证。当我感觉不舒服或是不高兴的时候’——说到这里，她把手放到她的额前，做出一个优美的手势——‘我会对您说：“我必须去那里了，”您就会让我去。’
"I went with her to her room, followed by Mohammed, who was carrying some water, for there had been no time to tell the wife of Abd-el-Kader-el-Hadam that her mistress had returned. As soon as she got into the room, and saw the wardrobe with the looking-glass in the door, she ran up to it, like a child does when it sees its mother. She looked at herself for a few seconds, made a grimace, and then in a rather cross voice, she said to the looking-glass:
“我陪她去了她的房间，穆罕默德跟在后面，手里拿着水，因为没时间去告诉阿卜迪尔－卡代雷尔－埃勒－哈达拉的妻子，她的女主人已经回来了。她一进到房间里，看到那个门上带镜子的衣柜，她就跑上前去，就像一个孩子看见母亲时做的那样。她看了自己一会儿，做了个鬼脸，然后用有点儿生气的声音对着镜子说道：
“'Just you wait a moment; I have some silk dresses in the wardrobe. I shall be beautiful in a few minutes.'
“‘你只要等一会儿，我有一些丝绸衣服就在衣柜里。我马上就会变得漂亮。’
"And I left her alone, to act the coquette to herself.
“然后，我留下她一个人离开了，让她自己搔首弄姿。
"Our life began its usual course again, as formerly, and I felt more and more under the influence of the strange, merely physical attractions of that girl, for whom, at the same time, I felt a kind of paternal contempt. For two months all went well, and then I felt that she was again becoming nervous, agitated, and rather low-spirited, and one day I said to her:
“我们的生活又开始了像从前一样的平常的过程，我感到越来越受那个女孩奇特的仅仅是肉体上吸引的影响，同时，我对她感到一种父亲般的高傲。两个月以来都过得很好，接着我感到她又变得紧张、不安起来了，有点儿没精神，有一天，我对她说道：
“'Do you want to return home again?'
“‘你是不是又想回家了?'
“'Yes.'
“‘是的。’
“'And you did not dare to tell me?'
“‘你不敢告诉我吗?'
“'I did not venture to.'
“‘我不敢啊。’
“'Go, if you wish to; I give you leave.'
“‘去吧，如果你想去，我让你离开。’
"She seized my hands and kissed them, as she did in all her outbursts of gratitude, and the same morning she disappeared.
“她抓住我的手，并亲了亲，亲得好像是所有的感谢之情都爆发了出来，当天早上她就消失了。
"She came back, as she had done the first time, at the end of about three weeks, in rags, covered with dust, and satiated with her Nomad life of sand and liberty. In two years she returned to her own people four times in this fashion.
“她回来了，就和她第一次做的一样，大约三个星期末的时候，穿着破旧的衣服，满身灰尘，尝够了她的沙地和自由的游牧民生活。两年里，她以这样的方式四次回到她自己的民族。
"I took her back, gladly, without any feelings of jealousy, for with me jealousy can only spring from love as we Europeans understand it. I might very likely have killed her if I had surprised her in the act of deceiving me, but I should have done it, just as one half kills a disobedient dog, from sheer violence. I should not have felt those torments, that consuming fire—Northern jealousy. I have just said that I should have killed her like a disobedient dog, and, as a matter of fact, I loved her somewhat in the same manner as one loves some very highly bred horse or dog, which it is impossible to replace. She was a splendid animal, a sensual animal, an animal made for pleasure, and which possessed the body of a woman.
“我高兴地带她回来，没有任何嫉妒的感觉，因为对于我来说，嫉妒只能源于爱情，如我们欧洲人理解的一样。如果我吃惊地发现她有欺骗我的行为，我很有可能会杀了她。但是如果我要这么做，也只是像一个人把一条不听话的狗打得半死一样，纯粹出于*力暴**。我不会感到那些烈火般的痛苦——北方式的嫉妒。我刚刚说过，我会像杀掉一条不听话的狗一样杀了她，事实上我爱她，有点儿和一个人爱驯养得很好的马或是狗的方式是一样的，是无可取代的。她是只华丽的动物、一只色情的动物、一只供人娱乐的动物，并拥有一个女人的身体。
"I cannot tell you what an immeasurable distance separated our two souls, although our hearts perhaps occasionally warmed towards each other. She was something belonging to my house, she was part of my life, she had become a very agreeable, daily, regular requirement with me, to which I clung, and which the sensual man in me loved, that in me which was only eyes and sensuality.
“我没法告诉您在我们两个的灵魂间相隔有多么不可估量的一个距离，虽然我们的内心可能偶尔互相温暖。她是属于我屋子的一样东西，她是我生活中的一部分，她变成了我的一样十分惬意的、日常的、习惯性的必备品，我依赖它，我身中的这个*欲肉**的男人爱它，我身中只有眼睛和*欲肉**爱它。
"Well, one morning, Mohammed came into my room with a strange look on his face, that uneasy look of the Arabs, which resembles the furtive look of a cat, face to face with a dog, and when I noticed his expression, I said:
“哎，一天早上，穆罕默德一脸奇怪的表情来到我的房间，那种阿拉伯人不安的表情，类似一只猫面对一条狗时偷偷摸摸的表情，当我注意到他的脸色后，我说道：
“'What is the matter, now?'
“‘你现在有什么事吗?'
“'Allouma has gone away.'
“‘阿萝玛离开了。’
"I began to laugh, and said: 'Where has she gone to?'
“我开始笑起来，并说道：‘她去哪里了?'
“'Gone away altogether, mo'ssieuia!’
“‘彻底地离开了，先生!'
“'What do you mean by gone away altogether; you are mad, my man.'
“‘你说彻底地离开了是什么意思？你疯了啊，我的兄弟。’
“'No, mo'ssieuia.’
“‘没，先生。’
“'Why has she gone away? Just explain yourself; come!'
“‘她为什么要离开？你尽管解释一下，说吧!'
"He remained motionless, and evidently did not wish to speak, and then he had one of those explosions of Arab rage, which make us stop in streets in front of two demoniacs, whose oriental silence and gravity suddenly give place to the most violent gesticulations, and the most ferocious vociferations, and I gathered, amidst his shouts, that Allouma had run away with my shepherd, and when I had partially succeeded in calming him, I managed to extract the facts from him one by one.
“他原地一动不动，显然不愿讲话，接着，他爆发了阿拉伯式的愤怒，像可以使我们驻足在街上的两个发了疯的人面前，东方式的沉默和严肃突然被最激烈的姿势和最凶猛的喧嚷取代了。我从他的叫喊中推断出阿萝玛和我的牧羊人跑了，当我勉强能使他镇定下来后，我努力让他一点点地讲出事实。
"It was a long story, but at last I gathered that he had been watching my mistress, who used to meet a sort of vagabond whom my steward had hired the month before, behind the neighboring cactus woods, or in the ravine where the oleanders flourished. The night before, Mohammed had seen her go out without seeing her return, and he repeated, in an exasperated manner: 'Gone, mo'ssieuia; she has gone away!’
“这是个很长的故事，但是最后我推断出他一直都在观察我的情人，她经常和我的管家在上个月雇佣的这个流浪汉见面，在附近的仙人掌丛林后，或者在长满夹竹桃的峡谷里。前天晚上，穆罕默德看见她出去了却没有回来，他用一种恼怒的方式重复道：‘走了，先生；她离开了!'
"I do not know why, but his conviction, the conviction that she had run away with this vagabond, laid hold of me irresistibly in a moment. It was absurd, unlikely, and yet certain in virtue of that very unreasonableness, which constitutes female logic.
“我不知道为什么，但是他的确信，确信她已经和这个流浪汉跑了，立刻不可抗拒地侵蚀了我。这是荒谬的、不可能的，但也是确定的，由于女性逻辑的组成是十分无理性的。
"Boiling over with indignation, I tried to recall the man's features, and I suddenly remembered having seen him the previous week, standing on a mound amidst his flock, and watching me. He was a tall Bedouin, the color of whose bare limbs was blended with that of his rags; he was a type of a barbarous brute, with high cheek bones, and a hooked nose, a retreating chin, thin legs, and a tall carcass in rags, with the shifty eyes of a jackal.
“我愤慨地发怒着，我设法回想起这个男人的容貌，我突然记起来，几周前我见过他，他站在一个土墩上他的羊群中看着我。他是个高高的贝多因人，他赤裸的肢体的颜色和他破旧的衣服的颜色混合在一起。他是一种野蛮的粗鲁人类型，他长着高高的颧骨，一副鹰钩鼻，下凹的下巴，瘦瘦的腿和破旧的衣服里那长长的躯体，还有一双豺那样变化的眼睛。
"I did not doubt for a moment that she had run away with that beggar. Why? Because she was Allouma, a daughter of the desert. A girl from the pavement in Paris would have run away with my coachman, or some thief in the suburbs.
“我顿时觉得毫无疑问她和这个乞丐跑了。因为她就是阿萝玛啊，沙漠的女儿。一个来自巴黎街道上的女孩就会和我的车夫跑掉，或者市郊的某个小偷。
“'Very well,' I said to Mohammed. Then I got up, opened my window, and began to draw in the stifling South wind, for the sirocco was blowing, and I thought to myself:
“‘很好。’我对穆罕默德说道。然后，我起身打开窗户，让沉闷的南方的风吹进来，因为正刮着非洲热风，我心里想着：
"Good heavens! She is... a woman, like so many others. Does anybody know what makes them act, what makes them love, what makes them follow, or throw over a man? One certainly does know, occasionally; but often one does not, and sometimes one is in doubt. Why did she run away with that repulsive brute? Why? Perhaps, because the wind had been blowing regularly from the South, for a month; that was enough; a breath of wind! Does she know, do they know, even the cleverest of them, why they act? No more than a weather-cock that turns with the wind. An imperceptible breeze, makes the iron, brass, zinc, or wooden arrow revolve, just in the same manner as some imperceptible influence, some undiscernible impression moves the female heart, and urges it on to resolutions, and it does not matter whether they belong to town or country, the suburbs or the desert.
“我的老天啊！她是个……女人，和很多其他女人一样。有谁知道是什么让她们去行动，什么让她们去爱，什么让她们跟随或者抛弃一个男人？偶尔，人肯定会明白，但常常是不明白的，有时他是满腹怀疑的。为什么她和那个令人厌恶的畜生跑了？为什么呢？可能是因为这一个月来，从南方一直有规律地刮着风，那就够了，一阵风！她、她们，甚至是她们中最聪明的，知道她们为什么行动吗？不会比随风转动的风标知道得多。一阵觉察不到的微风，使铁的、铜的、锌的或者是木质的箭头转动，正和一些察觉不到的影响同样的方式，一些无法看出的印象鼓动了女性的心，促使了她们的决定，她们属于城里或者农村，市郊或者沙漠，这并不重要。
"They can then feel, provided that they reason and understand, why they have done one thing rather than another, but, for the moment, they do not know, for they are the playthings of their own sensibility, the thoughtless, giddy-headed slaves of events, of their surroundings, of chance meetings, and of all the sensations with which their soul and their body trembles!”
“如果她们去推理并理解的话，她们可以感觉到为什么她们做了一件事而不是另一件事，但是，当时她们不知道，因为她们是自己感性上的玩物，是事件、环境、偶遇和所有她们灵魂和肉体担忧的感觉的欠考虑的、草率的奴隶！”
Monsieur Auballe had risen, and, after walking up and down the room once or twice, he looked at me, and said, with a smile:
奥巴尔先生站了起来，在房间里来回走了一两次后，笑着说道：
"That is love in the desert!"
“那是沙漠里的爱情！”
"Suppose she were to come back?" I asked him.
“假设她回来了呢？”我问他道。
"Horrid girl!" he replied.
“可怕的女孩！”他重复道。
"But I should be very glad if she did return to me."
“但是，如果她回到我身边，我会很高兴的。”
"And you would pardon the shepherd?"
“您会宽恕那个牧羊人吗？”
"Good heavens, yes! With women, one must always pardon... or else pretend not to see things."
“我的老天啊，会的！对于女人，一个人必须一直宽恕……否则就装作没看见。”