当天鹅把我的姐姐变成一只天鹅

When the swans turned my sister into a swan

我晚上要去湖边，从挤牛奶的地方：

I would go to the lake, at night, from milking:

太阳会像天鹅一样，从芦苇丛中往外望，

The sun would look out through the reeds like a swan,

一只天鹅的红喙；而喙会张开，

A swan’s red beak; and the beak would open

里面有黑暗，有许多星星，还有月亮。

And inside there was darkness, the stars and the moon.

在外边湖中，一个女孩会发出笑声。

Out on the lake, a girl would laugh.

“姐姐，这是你的粥，姐姐”，

“Sister, here is your porridge, sister,”

我会呼喊；而芦苇丛低声又絮语，

I would call; and the reeds would whisper,

“去睡吧，去睡吧，小天鹅。”

“Go to sleep, go to sleep, little swan.”

我的腿全硬了，长出了蹼，而我的翅膀

My legs were all hard and webbed, and the silky

丝绸般的羽毛，像星星一样，沉入

Hairs of my wings sank away like stars

荡进芦苇丛又荡出的涟漪：

In the ripples that ran in and out of the reeds:

透过水的叠音和嘶嘶声，我听到了

I heard through the lap and hiss of water

有人叫“妹妹……妹妹”，在远处的岸边，

Someone’s “Sister . . . sister,” far away on the shore,

而当我张开喙回答的时候

And then as I opened my beak to answer

我听到我沙哑的笑声跑到了岸上

I heard my harsh laugh go out to the shore

而看到——终于看到，从湖那绿色的

And saw - saw at last, swimming up from the green

低丘游出，白色石头的天鹅们：

Low mounds of the lake, the white stone swans:

那白色的，有名字的天鹅们……“这都是一个梦。”

The white, named swans . . . “It is all a dream,”

我低语着，从草褥的软毛听见

I whispered, and reached from the down of the pallet

湖床的叠音和嘶嘶声。

To the lap and hiss of the floor.

“睡吧，小妹妹”，天鹅们都唱着歌

And “Sleep, little sister,” the swan all sang

在湖床的月亮、星星和青蛙那里。

From the moon and stars and frogs of the floor.

但我的天鹅姐姐叫着：“睡了吧，小妹妹。”

But the swan my sister called, “Sleep at last, little sister,”

整晚都用黑色的翅膀，抚摸我的翅膀。

And stroked all night, with a black wing, my wings.