諾貝爾文學經典:《寵兒》第12章Part 3

Buglar, Howard, the woman in the bonnet and Sethe came to look and then laughed along withBaby Suggs at the sight of the sly, steely old black man: agent, fisherman, boatman, tracker,savior, spy, standing in broad daylight whipped finally by two pails of blackberries. Paying themno mind he took a berry and put it in the three week-old Denver's mouth. The women shrieked.
"She's too little for that, Stamp."
"Bowels be soup."
"Sickify her stomach."
But the baby's thrilled eyes and smacking lips made them follow suit, sampling one at a time theberries that tasted like church. Finally Baby Suggs slapped the boys' hands away from the bucketand sent Stamp around to the pump to rinse himself. She had decided to do something with thefruit worthy of the man's labor and his love. That's how it began.
She made the pastry dough and thought she ought to tell Ella and John to stop on by because threepies, maybe four, were too much to keep for one's own. Sethe thought they might as well back itup with a couple of chickens. Stamp allowed that perch and catfish were jumping into the boat —didn't even have to drop a line. From Denver's two thrilled eyes it grew to a feast for ninety people.
124 shook with their voices far into the night. Ninety people who ate so well, and laughed somuch, it made them angry. They woke up the next morning and remembered the meal-fried perchthat Stamp Paid handled with a hickory twig, holding his left palm out against the spit and pop ofthe boiling grease; the corn pudding made with cream; tired, overfed children asleep in the grass,tiny bones of roasted rabbit still in their hands — and got angry.

巴格勒、霍華德、戴軟帽的女人和塞絲都趕過來看，然後就同貝比·薩格斯一起笑話這個狡猾而剛強的老黑人：地下使者、漁翁、艄公、縴夫、救星、偵探；捱了兩桶黑莓的鞭打後，他終於站在了光天化日之下。他對他們毫不在意，徑自拿起一顆莓子，放進三個星期大的丹芙嘴裡。女人們尖叫起來。
"她還太小哪。斯坦普。"
"腸子要化成湯兒了。"
"會鬧肚子的。"
然而小寶寶激動的眼睛和吧嗒的嘴脣使得他們都跟著依樣學樣，一顆一顆地品嚐著教堂味道的莓子。最後，貝比·薩格斯把男孩們的手從桶裡打出去，打發斯坦普到壓水井那裡去沖洗。她已經決定了，要用果子做件對得起這個男人的勞動和愛心的事情。就是那樣開始的。
她揉好了做糕點的麵糰，覺得應該招呼艾拉和約翰來做客，因為三個或者四個餡餅對於一家人來說太多了。塞絲認為他們還可以再添上一對雞。斯坦普說，鱸魚和鯰魚正在往船裡頭蹦呢——連線都不用放。從丹芙的兩隻激動的眼睛開始，聚餐變成了一個九十人的宴會。
124號的喧鬧聲在深夜迴盪。九十個人吃得這麼好，笑得這麼歡，這反而讓他們心生怒氣。他們第二天早晨醒來，想起斯坦普·沛德用一根胡桃樹枝穿著鱸魚油炸，伸出左手掌擋住四處飛濺的滾沸的油星；想起用奶油做的玉米布丁；想起吃撐了的孩子們疲倦地睡倒在草窠裡，手上還拿著烤兔肉的小骨頭——於是生起氣來。