蛙声阵阵

前言：夜幕下蛙鸣司空见惯，看看梭罗怎么看待这些我们习以为常的蛙鸣。

深夜，我听见马车从远处桥上颠簸地开过。Late in the evening I heard the distant rumbling of wagons over bridges。

——这种声音在夜间听起来比其他任何声音都显得格外遥远

—a sound heard farther than almost any other at night。

——比如，狗叫声，还有远处牛棚里传来忧郁的母牛哞哞声。—the baying of dogs, and sometimes again the lowing of some disconsolate cow in a distant barn-yard.

同时，环湖岸边却回荡着牛蛙的叫声，In the mean-while all the shore rang with the trump of bullfrogs,

它们代表了古代酒鬼的顽固不化的精灵，依然不知悔改，在它们冥湖上放声轮唱。the sturdy spirits of ancient wine-bibbers and wassailers, still unrepentant, trying to sing a catch in their Stygian lake

——如果瓦尔登湖上的仙女原谅我做这样的比喻，因为这里尽管没有水生植物，但青蛙遍地都是。—if the Walden nymphs will pardon the comparison, for though there are almost no weeds, there are frogs there

——它们倒是乐于遵循古老宴席上狂欢乱叫的规则—who would fain keep up the hilarious rules of their old festal tables,

虽然它们的声音越发沙哑了，却表现得一本正经，though their voices have waxed hoarse and solemnly grave,

于是嘲笑欢乐，美酒也失去了醇味，mocking at mirth, and the wine has lost its flavor,

仅仅成了灌饱它们腹部的液体，朦胧醉意断断乎不会淹没往昔的记忆，and become only liquor to distend their paunches, and sweet intoxication never comes to drown the memory of the past,

只会使它们肚子里胀饱，顿觉沉甸甸、胀鼓鼓的。but mere saturation and waterloggedness and distention.

那个大佬牛蛙，下巴颏儿支在心形叶子上，好像垂涎的嘴角下挂了一块餐巾，The most aldermanic, with his chin upon a heart-leaf, which serves for a napkin to his drooling chaps,

它在北岸底下豪饮了一口水酒，就把酒杯向后头传递，同时一迭连声地吆喝道：特尔——尔——乌恩克，特尔——尔——尔——乌恩克，特尔——尔——尔——尔——乌恩克！under this northern shore quaffs a deep draught of the once scorned water, and passes round the cup with the ejaculation tr-r-r-oonk, tr-r-r—oonk, tr-r-r-oonk!

这口令马上从远处的水面重复后又传了过来，and straightway comes over the water from some distant cove the same password repeated,

那是另一只职位稍低的牛蛙满意地喝下一口酒后发出同样的口令；where the next in seniority and girth has gulped down to his mark;

这一声酒令在湖边绕了一周，and when this observance has made the circuit of the shores,

司酒令的牛蛙很满意，大声喝道：特尔——尔——尔——乌恩克，

then ejaculates the master of ceremonies, with satisfaction, tr-r-r-oonk!

于是，每一只牛蛙依次重复着同样的声音，一直传递给那只喝得最少、漏水最快、肚子最瘪的牛蛙，传递中一点儿没出错；

and each in his turn repeats the same down to the least distended, leakiest, and flabbiest paunched, that there be no mistake;

稍后，酒碗又一遍遍地往下传递，直到太阳将晨雾驱散时为止，

and then the howl goes round again and again, until the sun disperses the morning mist,

这时只有老牛蛙还没有喝醉跌进湖里，而且喊着特尔——尔——尔——乌恩克，等待回应，但到头来还是徒劳。

and only the patriarch is not under the pond, but vainly bellowing troonk from time to time, and pausing for a reply.

后语：“寂寂江山摇落处，怜君何事到天涯” - 面对生活的单调，可能沉默是金！