英語聽書《白鯨記》第973期

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It's the old woman's tricks to be giving cobbling jobs. Lord! what an affection all old women have for tinkers. I know an old woman of sixty-five who ran away with a bald-headed young tinker once. And that's the reason I never would work for lonely widow old women ashore when I kept my job-shop in the Vineyard; they might have taken it into their lonely old heads to run off with me. But heigh-ho! there are no caps at sea but snow-caps. Let me see. Nail down the lid; caulk the seams; pay over the same with pitch; batten them down tight, and hang it with the snap-spring over the ship's stern. Were ever such things done before with a coffin? Some superstitious old carpenters, now, would be tied up in the rigging, ere they would do the job. But I'm made of knotty Aroostook hemlock; I don't budge. Cruppered with a coffin! Sailing about with a grave-yard tray! But never mind. We workers in woods make bridal bedsteads and card-tables, as well as coffins and hearses. We work by the month, or by the job, or by the profit; not for us to ask the why and wherefore of our work, unless it be too confounded cobbling, and then we stash it if we can. Hem! I'll do the job, now, tenderly.

這是老太婆要捉弄皮匠的差使。天呀，天下的老太婆多么愛看上皮匠呀。我就知道，有個(gè)六十五歲的老太婆，跟一個(gè)禿頂?shù)哪贻p皮匠私奔了。因此，我在維因耶德開作坊的時(shí)候，就從來不愿意給陸上的孤老寡婦干活兒；她們那些個(gè)孤老腦袋里，說不定還想跟我私奔呢。可是，嗨嗬！在海上，誰來管你這一套，有理也說不清。我不妨來試試看。把棺材蓋給釘住，縫縫隙隙給補(bǔ)補(bǔ)填填，給這東西涂上一層瀝青；把它敲得緊緊密密，系上彈簧繩子，掛在船梢上就得啦。用一只棺材來做成這種東西，先前可有人干過嘛？哼，有些迷信的老木匠，就一定要給緊縛在索具后才愿意來干這活兒。不過，我是用阿盧斯圖克（阿盧斯圖克——美國緬因州北部的一條河名。）的多瘤多節(jié)的鐵杉做出來的；我并不畏畏縮縮。船屁股吊只棺材！拖著一只墳場(chǎng)里的盒子駛來駛?cè)?！不過，管它呢。我們做木匠的，新婚的床架子和牌桌要做，棺材和棺架也同樣要做。我們這些做長工的、做零活的、掙錢的人，對(duì)我們的活兒是挨不上問為什么和什么理由的，除非實(shí)在真是太混蛋的補(bǔ)補(bǔ)弄弄的差使，那么，如果搪塞得了，我們還是不干的。唔！我還是來好好地做一做吧。