过年三记 - 散步

我是腊月二十九晚上回到阿克哈拉的。

I returned to Akhahara on the evening of the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month.

大年三十我们大扫除了一通，晚上我们一边吃年夜饭，一边商量明天怎么过年。

On New Year's Eve, we did a thorough cleaning and discussed how to celebrate the New Year while enjoying our reunion dinner.

后来妈妈想出一个主意来，她说：“我们一大早起来，穿得厚厚的、暖暖和和的。把家里的三条狗也带上，一起穿过村子进入荒原。一直向南面走，直到走累了为止。”

Later, Mom came up with an idea. She said, “We will get up early, dress warmly, and take our three dogs along. We will walk through the village into the wilderness, heading south until we tire ourselves out.”

她还说：“这一次要去到最远的——远得从未去过的地方看看。”

She also mentioned, “This time, we want to go the farthest—somewhere we’ve never been before.”

我们都是喜欢散步的。

We all enjoy walking.

于是，大年初一早上，我们吃得饱饱的上路了。

So on the morning of the first day of the lunar New Year, we set off after a hearty breakfast.

最近这几天天气非常暖和，清晨一丝微风也没有，天空明净地向前方的地平线倾斜。

The weather had been very warm in recent days, with not a single breeze in the early morning, and the sky was clear, sloping towards the horizon ahead.

远远的积雪的沙丘上，牛群缓缓向沙漠腹心移动，红色衣裙的放牛人孤独地走在回村的途中。

On the distant snow-covered dunes, a herd of cattle slowly moved towards the heart of the desert, with a solitary herdsman in a red dress walking back to the village.

除此之外，视野中空空荡荡，大地微微起伏。

Apart from that, the view was empty, and the land rolled gently.

十七岁的大狗阿黄已经很老很老了，皮松肉懒的。

At seventeen, the big dog Ah Huang was already very old, with loose skin and a lazy demeanor.

牙齿缺了好几颗，剩下的牙也断的断，烂的烂，没一颗好牙。

Several of its teeth were missing, and the remaining ones were either broken or decayed; none were healthy.

狗最爱的骨头它是嚼不动的，只能吃些馍馍剩菜。

The bones that dogs love, it could no longer chew, and could only eat scraps of bread and leftover food.

阿黄是我今年回家看到的家里的新成员。原来的大狗琼瑶死了。

Ah Huang was the new member of our family I saw this year. The original big dog, Qiong Yao, had passed away.

阿黄原先是邻居家的狗。

Ah Huang used to belong to our neighbor.

后来邻居搬家，嫌它太老了就不要它了。

Later, when the neighbor moved away and abandoned it because it was too old, we brought it home. It spent its days lazily lying in the sun against the wall and would barely acknowledge us after being called three times.

于是我们就把它带回了家。它一副懒洋洋的模样，整天趴在墙根下晒太阳，叫它三声才爱理不理地横你一眼。

But once outside, it transformed, full of energy! It dashed far ahead, leaving behind Sai Hu and her puppy, Xiao Dan Dan, running from the east to the west, then back from the west to the east.

但一出了门就立刻变了样，精神抖擞。远远甩开赛虎和赛虎的狗宝宝小蛋蛋，从东边跑到西边远远的地方，再从西边跑回东边的远方。

At times, it chased after wild rabbits, and at other times, it dug furiously in the red willow thickets, never able to stay still.

一会儿逮着野兔子狂追，一会儿在红柳丛中拼命扒土，一刻也静不下来。

It often ran off to places we couldn’t see, causing Sai Hu and Dan Dan to search for it anxiously.

总是跑着跑着就跑到我们看不到的地方，急得赛虎和蛋蛋四处找它。

Several times, we didn’t see it for quite a while, prompting us to quicken our pace, calling out loudly while looking around.

有好几次半天也没见它出现，我们便加快脚步，一边四面寻找，一边大声呼喊。

Just when we were exhausted from calling, it would appear out of nowhere like a ghost.

结果喊到筋疲力尽时，它却幽灵一样从背后冒了出来。

Xiao Dan Dan was so excited and nervous to walk such a long distance for the first time.

小狗蛋蛋第一次走这么远的路，一路上兴奋又紧张。

I thought it idolized Ah Huang; it looked eager to venture into the world with Ah Huang but was too scared to stray far from me and Mom.

我想它是崇拜阿黄的，看上去它极想跟着阿黄闯世界去，却又不敢远离我和我妈。

So it kept running back and forth between us and Ah Huang in the distance. In the end, I estimated it traveled more distance alone than the total distance we all covered together.

于是便不停地在我们和远远的阿黄之间来回奔波。结果，它一个人走的路估计比我们四个加起来走的路还要多。

Sai Hu, being a mother now, was very understanding and didn’t run around at all.

赛虎已经是妈妈了，非常懂事，一点也不乱跑。

Most of the time, she walked beside us, sometimes chasing after Dan Dan or looking for Ah Huang.

大部分时间跟在我们脚边一步一步地走，偶尔去追赶一下蛋蛋，有时也会去找阿黄。

But Ah Huang was always fierce towards her, snarling and baring its teeth, forbidding her to come close.

但阿黄总是对它好凶，龇牙咧嘴的，不许它靠近。

The vast Gobi stretched endlessly as the two of us and three dogs walked small and feeble amidst the undulating earth.

戈壁坦阔无边，我们两人三狗微渺弱小地行走在大地的起伏之中。

At times, we would reach a higher point and see even farther away to the elevated ground. The wind picked up, and the three dogs stood in the wind, gazing out into the distance, their ears twitching slightly.

有时来到高处，看到更远处的高地。起风了，三条狗蹲立在风中向远方眺望，狗耳朵吹得微微抖动。

We adjusted our collars, loosened our scarves to cover our foreheads, and continued walking.

我们把衣领竖起来，解下围巾包住脑门，继续往前走。

Gradually, we walked into a broad, dried-up old riverbed. This was a gully carved by a mountain flood.

渐渐走进了一道干涸宽阔的旧河床里。这是一条山洪冲刷出来的沟壑。

Every early summer during storms, floodwaters would pass through here, rushing towards the lower Ulungur River valley.

每年初夏暴雨时分，洪水都会从这里经过，奔向地势低的乌伦古河谷。

The long wind blew away the snow on the flat land, exposing the color of the earth. Walking on it, the mud and sand felt fine and elastic beneath our feet, with the shaded riverbank still covered in thick snow.

长长的风刮去平坦处的积雪，裸露出大地的颜色。走在上面，脚下的泥沙细腻而有弹性，背阴的河岸下白雪皑皑。

Sai Hu and Dan Dan plunged into the snow and rolled around. Mom and I took the opportunity to shove both little muddy dogs into a snow pile and scrubbed them with snow, giving them a proper bath.

赛虎和蛋蛋一头扑进雪地里打滚。我和我妈顺势把两条小脏狗塞进雪堆里，用碎雪又搓又揉，好好给它们洗了个澡。

By the time we were done, our fingers were nearly frozen.

等洗完了，我们的手指头都快冻僵了。

The further we went, the stronger the wind became, and the bluer the sky appeared. Mom said that just around the next sand dune there would be trees.

越往前走风越大，天空越蓝。我妈说拐过前面的那座沙丘就会有树。

Soon after, we indeed saw trees.

不久后，果然就看到了树。

Having walked so far across the empty wilderness, the sudden sight of trees was beyond description.

已经走过那么远的空无一物的荒野，突然看到树，真是难以言喻的感觉。

In Akhahara, I thought trees only grew near the wet banks of the U River; I never imagined there would be some in the Gobi so far from any water source.

在阿克哈拉，以为树只长在湿润的乌河两岸，想不到离水源那么远的戈壁滩中也有。

There were about ten trees altogether, all poplars. Three were quietly growing side by side a bit farther off, while the others made up a small grove.

一共大约十来棵，都是杨树。有三棵在远一点的地方安静地并排生长着，其余的凑成了一片小小的树林。

The grove was filled with reeds, red willows, and bell-thorns. We left the riverbed and walked toward the three trees.

林子里长着芨芨草、红柳和铃铛刺等灌木。我们走出河床，向三棵树那边走去。

We noticed round traces beneath where the yurt had been set up. These trees had no bark at all for about two meters above the ground.

看到树下有毡房驻扎过的圆形痕迹。这些树离地两米高的地方一点树皮也没有。

They must have been nibbled by camels. Although their smooth, sturdy wood was exposed, they were still alive.

肯定是被骆驼啃的。虽然裸露着光滑结实的木质，但它们并没有死亡。

Mom described what she observed of camels eating leaves from trees: they first grasp the base of a branch with their mouths, then strip the branch all the way to the tips.

我妈向我描述了一下她所观察到的骆驼吃树叶的情景：先用嘴衔住树枝的根端，然后顺着枝子一路撸到枝梢上。

Thus, every leaf on that branch was completely stripped and swallowed.

于是，这条树枝上的全部树叶一片不剩地全都撸进了嘴里。

It was both efficient and elegant. Camels are quite clever, unlike cows and horses, which merely munch through areas with a lot of leaves without any strategy.

又利索又优美。骆驼真聪明，不像牛和马，只会逮着叶子多的地方猛啃一通，一点也不讲策略。

Continuing south after leaving the grove, the wind grew stronger.

出了林子继续向南，风越来越大。

It was almost noon, and Sai Hu and Dan Dan were both panting with their tongues out. Only Ah Huang remained lively, darting around, elusive.

快中午了，赛虎和蛋蛋都累得直吐舌头。只有阿黄仍兴致勃勃地东跑西跑，神出鬼没。

We climbed to a higher ground, where the ground was covered with sun-baked, charred fist-sized flat pebbles, neatly laid out underfoot, appearing dark over a large area.

我们又走上一处高地，这里满地都是被晒得焦黑的拳头大小的扁形卵石，一块一块平整地排列在脚下，放眼望去黑压压一大片。

And about two hundred meters away, there was another dune blanketed in white granite fragments.

而大约两百米远的地方，又有一个铺满白色花岗岩碎片的沙丘。

These two protruding high grounds, one black and one white, stood closely beside each other, distinctly separated at their connection.

两块隆出大地的高地就这样一黑一白地紧挨在大地上，相连处截然分明。

The sky was a smooth blue, and the sun appeared like a sudden glowing orb.

天空光滑湛蓝，太阳像是突然降临的发光体一般。

Every time I looked up at this sun, it felt as though I was seeing it for the first time in life—my heart stirred slightly, the sense of wonder fleeting, but the sudden emptiness that returned to reality was hard to heal.

每当抬头看到这太阳，都好像是有生以来第一次看到一样——心里微微一动，惊奇感转瞬即逝，但记起现实后的那种猛然而至的空洞感却难以愈合。

The moon floated quietly on the other side of the sky, its edge thin and sharp.

月亮静静地浮在天空的另一边，边缘薄而锋利。

Even though I had a scarf wrapped around my head, the wind still made my forehead and the back of my head feel icy and painful.

虽然脑袋上包着围巾，但我的额头和后脑勺还是被风吹得冰冷发疼。

My throat also ached a little. We all began to head back. The return journey faced the wind, so we fell into silence.

咽喉也有些疼。大家便开始往回走。回去的路恰好迎着风，于是我们都不再说话了。

Only the sound of the wind filled the world, whistling smoothly north and south, unobstructed. Ah Huang finally seemed tired, no longer running about.

满世界只有风声，呜呜地南北纵行、通达无碍。阿黄终于也累了似的，再也不乱跑了。

The three dogs walked in a row beside us. Sai Hu, whose health wasn’t great to begin with, was now limping from exhaustion.

三条狗并成一排跟在我们脚边。赛虎本来就身体不好，更是累得一瘸一瘸。

Mom and I had to take turns carrying her as we walked.

我和我妈只好轮流抱着它走。

Mom scolded Ah Huang along the way: “Why didn’t you listen when we called you earlier? You just ran around on your own. Hmph, it’s no use being obedient now or wagging your tail! We’re ignoring you!”

我妈边走边骂阿黄：“刚才我们叫你，为什么不理？就只顾自己瞎跑。哼，现在再听话再摇尾巴也没有用了！不理你！”