诺贝尔文学经典:《宠儿》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、霍华德、戴软帽的女人和塞丝都赶过来看，然后就同贝比·萨格斯一起笑话这个狡猾而刚强的老黑人：地下使者、渔翁、艄公、纤夫、救星、侦探；挨了两桶黑莓的鞭打后，他终于站在了光天化日之下。他对他们毫不在意，径自拿起一颗莓子，放进三个星期大的丹芙嘴里。女人们尖叫起来。
"她还太小哪。斯坦普。"
"肠子要化成汤儿了。"
"会闹肚子的。"
然而小宝宝激动的眼睛和吧嗒的嘴唇使得他们都跟着依样学样，一颗一颗地品尝着教堂味道的莓子。最后，贝比·萨格斯把男孩们的手从桶里打出去，打发斯坦普到压水井那里去冲洗。她已经决定了，要用果子做件对得起这个男人的劳动和爱心的事情。就是那样开始的。
她揉好了做糕点的面团，觉得应该招呼艾拉和约翰来做客，因为三个或者四个馅饼对于一家人来说太多了。塞丝认为他们还可以再添上一对鸡。斯坦普说，鲈鱼和鲇鱼正在往船里头蹦呢——连线都不用放。从丹芙的两只激动的眼睛开始，聚餐变成了一个九十人的宴会。
124号的喧闹声在深夜回荡。九十个人吃得这么好，笑得这么欢，这反而让他们心生怒气。他们第二天早晨醒来，想起斯坦普·沛德用一根胡桃树枝穿着鲈鱼油炸，伸出左手掌挡住四处飞溅的滚沸的油星；想起用奶油做的玉米布丁；想起吃撑了的孩子们疲倦地睡倒在草窠里，手上还拿着烤兔肉的小骨头——于是生起气来。