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Chapter XII
第十二章
After my first visit to Boston, I spent almost every winter in the North. Once I went on a visit to a New England village with its frozen lakes and vast snow fields. It was then that I had opportunities such as had never been mine to enter into the treasures of the snow.
在我第一次访问了波士顿后，几乎每一个冬天我都在北方度过。我曾经去过新英格兰地区的一个村庄，那里的冻湖和广袤的雪原令我印象深刻。如果没有身临其境，我是永远也体会不到与雪融为一体的美妙感受的。
I recall my surprise on discovering that a mysterious hand had stripped the trees and bushes, leaving only here and there a wrinkled leaf. The birds had flown, and their empty nests in the bare trees were filled with snow. Winter was on hill and field. The earth seemed benumbed by his icy touch, and the very spirits of the trees had withdrawn to their roots, and there, curled up in the dark, lay fast asleep. All life seemed to have ebbed away, and even when the sun shone the day was
我惊奇地发现，冬天的大树和灌木会遭受一只神秘的自然之手的摧残，枝条上只剩下一些皱巴巴的叶子。鸟儿全都飞走了，枯枝败叶间的鸟巢里装满了雪。山头和田野里也是一派冬天的气象，在冰雪的触摸下，大地也被冻得僵硬麻木了。树木的灵魂纷纷退缩到根部，它们蜷曲在幽暗的地下进入梦乡。所有的生物似乎都退到幕后，甚至连白天的阳光也变得
Shrunk and cold,
短暂而寒冷，
As if her veins were sapless and old,
如同她那老迈而枯萎的血脉，
And she rose up decrepitly
她要同衰老拼死一搏，
For a last dim look at earth and sea.
为了再看一眼她心中的大地和海洋。（这段诗句取自詹姆斯·拉塞尔·洛威尔的诗集《郎佛尔骑士显圣》（1848），郎佛尔是亚瑟王传奇中的圆桌骑士之一。）
The withered grass and the bushes were transformed into a forest of icicles.
干枯的草丛和灌木也都变成了一片挂满冰凌的森林。
Then came a day when the chill air portended a snowstorm. We rushed out-of-doors to feel the first few tiny flakes descending. Hour by hour the flakes dropped silently, softly from their airy height to the earth, and the country became more and more level. A snowy night closed upon the world, and in the morning one could scarcely recognize a feature of the landscape. All the roads were hidden, not a single landmark was visible, only a waste of snow with trees rising out of it.
随后而来的是一股强冷空气，这预示着暴风雪的来临。我们冲出屋外，去迎接最先降落的小雪片。一个小时又一个小时过去了，雪片悄无声息地坠落，广袤的原野变得白茫茫一片。雪夜紧紧地将世界围裹起来，第二天一早，你几乎辨认不出眼前的景物；所有的道路都隐匿不见了，也见不到任何一个标记性的建筑，只剩下一片被皑皑白雪覆盖的森林。
In the evening a wind from the northeast sprang up, and the flakes rushed hither and thither in furious m阬閑. Around the great fire we sat and told merry tales, and frolicked, and quite forgot that we were in the midst of a desolate solitude, shut in from all communication with the outside world. But during the night the fury of the wind increased to such a degree that it thrilled us with a vague terror. The rafters creaked and strained, and the branches of the trees surrounding the house rattled and beat against the windows, as the winds rioted up and down the country.
夜晚再度降临的时候，一股来自东北部的狂风会将雪片吹得漫天飞舞。围坐在熊熊燃烧的炉火旁，我们一边讲逗趣的故事，一边尽情嬉戏，全然忘记了被风雪隔绝在孤立无援的屋子里。但是随着风势的加大，我们也感到了莫名的恐惧。房椽吱吱作响，围着房子的树枝哗啦哗啦地击打着窗户，一切都在狂风的势力之下苟延残喘。
