悬壶济世（2）

有一天上课，学生不专心，跑到我书架上去抽书，恰好抽出《一个婴儿的诞生》那本书来，书是西班牙文写的，里面有图表，有画片。

One day during class, the students were distracted and wandered to my bookshelf, pulling out a book titled "The Birth of a Baby." The book was written in Spanish, filled with diagrams and images.

有彩色的照片，从妇女如何受孕到婴儿的出生，都有非常明了的解说。

There were colorful photos along with clear explanations of everything from how a woman conceives to the birth of a baby.

我的学生们看见这本书立刻产生好奇心，于是我们放开算术，讲解这本书花了两星期。

My students immediately became curious about the book, so we set aside arithmetic and spent two weeks discussing its content.

她们一面看图片一面小声尖叫，好似完全不明白一个生命是如何形成的，虽然我的学生中有好几个都是三四个孩子的母亲了。

They gasped and squealed quietly while looking at the pictures, seemingly entirely unaware of how life is created, even though several of my students were mothers already, with three or four children.

“真是天下怪事，没有生产过的老师，教已经生产过的妈妈们孩子是如何来的。”荷西说着笑个不住。

"It’s indeed a strange world—teachers who have never given birth teaching mothers who have how children come into being," José joked with a laugh.

“以前她们只会生，现在知道是怎么回事了，这是知难行易的道理。”

"They only knew how to give birth before; now they understand how it happens. This is the truth of knowing how to act upon difficulty," he continued.

起码这些妇女能多得些常识，虽然这些常识并不能使她们的生活更幸福和健康些。

At least these women could gain some common knowledge, even if that knowledge didn’t improve their lives in terms of happiness or health.

有一天我的一个学生法蒂玛问我：“三毛，我生产的时候请你来好吗？”

One day, one of my students, Fatima, asked me, "Sanmao, will you come when I give birth?"

我听了张口结舌的望着她，我几乎天天见到法蒂玛，居然不知道她怀孕了。

I was stunned and stared at her—I saw Fatima almost every day and had no idea she was pregnant.

“你，几个月了？”我问她。她不会数数目，自然也不知道几个月了。

"How many months along are you?" I asked. She couldn’t count, so she didn’t know.

我终于说服了她，请她将缠身缠头的大块布料拿下来，只露出里面的长裙子。

I finally convinced her to remove the large cloth wrapped around her head and body, revealing only a long skirt underneath.

“你以前生产是谁帮忙的？”我知道她有一个三岁的小男孩。

"Who helped you when you gave birth before?" I knew she had a three-year-old son.

“我母亲。”她回答我。

"My mother," she replied.

“这次再请你母亲来好了，我不能帮忙你。”

"Then let’s have your mother come again this time. I can’t help you," I said.

她头低下去：“我母亲不能来了，她死了。”

She looked down, "My mother can’t come; she’s dead."

我听她那么说只好不响了。“去医院生好么？不怕的。”我又问她。

Hearing this, I fell silent. "Would it be better to go to the hospital? It’s not scary," I asked her again.

“不行，医生是男的。”她马上一口拒绝了我。

"No way, the doctor is a man," she immediately rejected the idea.

我看看她的肚子，大概八个月了，我很犹豫的对她说：“法蒂玛，我不是医生，我也没有生产过，不能替你接生。”

I looked at her belly; it seemed she was about eight months along. Hesitantly, I said, "Fatima, I’m not a doctor, and I’ve never given birth myself; I can’t help you."

她马上要哭了似的对我说：“求求你，你那本书上写得那么清楚，你帮我忙，求求你——。”

She seemed on the verge of tears and pleaded, "Please, your book describes everything so clearly. Help me, I beg you—."

我被她一求心就软了，想想还是不行，只好硬下心来对她说：“不行，你不要乱求我，你的命会送在我手上。”

I softened at her request, but reminding myself that it wasn’t right to cave in, I hardened my heart and said, "No, don’t beg me. Your life could depend on me."

“不会啦，我很健康的，我自己会生，你帮帮忙就行了。”

"That won’t happen! I’m very healthy; I can give birth myself, just help me a bit," she insisted.

“再说吧！”我并没有答应她。

"Let’s wait and see!" I did not agree to her.

一个多月过去了，我早就忘记了这件事。

More than a month passed, and I had forgotten all about it.

那天黄昏，一个不认识的小女孩来打门，我一开门，她只会说：“法蒂玛，法蒂玛。”

One evening, a little girl I didn’t recognize knocked on the door. As soon as I opened it, she just said, "Fatima, Fatima."

其他西班牙文不会，我一面锁门出来，一面对小女孩说：“去叫她丈夫回来，听懂吗？”她点点头飞也似的跑了。

She didn’t know any other Spanish words. I locked the door behind me and said to the girl, "Go get her husband back. Do you understand?" She nodded and ran off as if flying.

去到法蒂玛家一看，她痛得在地上流汗，旁边她三岁的小男孩在哭，法蒂玛躺的席子上流下一滩水来。

Upon reaching Fatima’s home, I found her sweating on the floor in pain, with her three-year-old son crying nearby. A puddle of water was on the mat under Fatima.

我将孩子一把抱起来，跑到另外一家邻居处一送，另外再拖了一个中年妇女跟我去法蒂玛家。

I quickly picked up the child and ran to a neighbor’s house to ask for help, dragging a middle-aged woman with me back to Fatima’s home.

此地的非洲人很不合作，他们之间也没有太多的爱心，那个中年女人一看见法蒂玛那个样子，很生气的用阿拉伯文骂我，（后来我才知道，此地看人生产是不吉利的。）然后就掉头而去。

The local Africans were not very cooperative, and there wasn’t much compassion among them. When the middle-aged woman saw Fatima’s condition, she angrily scolded me in Arabic (I later learned that witnessing a birth is considered unlucky). She turned around and left.

我只有对法蒂玛说：“别怕，我回去拿东西，马上就来。”

I could only say to Fatima, "Don’t be afraid; I’ll go get something and come right back."

我飞跑回家，一下子冲到书架上去拿书，打开生产那一章飞快的看了一遍，心里又在想：“剪刀、棉花、酒精，还要什么？还要什么？”

I dashed home, ran to my bookshelf, grabbed the book, and quickly flipped to the chapter on childbirth, thinking, "Scissors, cotton, alcohol—what else do I need?"

这时我才看见荷西已经回来了，正不解的呆望着我。

That’s when I noticed José had returned and was staring at me in confusion.

“哎呀，有点紧张，看情形做不下来。”我小声的对荷西说，一面轻轻的在发抖。

"Ah, I’m a bit nervous; it looks serious," I whispered to José, trembling slightly.

“做什么？做什么？”荷西不由得也感染了我的紧张。

"What’s going on? What’s happening?" José caught my nervousness.

“去接生啊！羊水都流出来了。”我一手抱着那本书，另外一只手抱了一大卷棉花，四处找剪刀。

"I’m going to help deliver a baby! Her water has broken," I said, clutching the book in one hand and a large roll of cotton in the other while searching for scissors.

“你疯了，不许去。”荷西过来抢我的书。

"You’re crazy, you can’t go," José rushed over to grab the book from me.

“你没有生产过，你去送她的命。”他大声吼我。

"You’ve never given birth; you’ll be risking her life," he yelled at me.

我这时清醒了些，强词夺理的说：“我有书，我看过生产的记录片——。”

At this point, I became a bit more lucid and argued, "I have the book! I’ve watched childbirth documentaries—."

“不许去。”荷西跑上来用力捉住我，我两手都拿了东西，只好将手肘用力打在他的肋骨上，一面挣扎一面叫着：“你这个没有同情心的冷血动物，放开我啊！”

"You can’t go!" José lunged at me to grab my arm. With both hands full, I elbowed him hard in the ribs while struggling, shouting, "You heartless, cold-blooded creature, let me go!"

“不放，你不许去。”他固执的抓住我。

"I won’t let you go," he stubbornly held on to me.

我们正在扯来扯去的打架时，突然看见法蒂玛的丈夫满脸惶惑的站在窗口向里面望，荷西放开了我，对他说：“三毛不能去接生，她会害了法蒂玛。我现在去找车，你太太得去医院生产。”

As we were fighting, suddenly Fatima's husband appeared at the window, looking worried. José released me and said to him, "Sanmao can’t help deliver; she will harm Fatima. I’m going to find a car; your wife needs to go to the hospital."

法蒂玛终于在政府医院顺利生下了一个小男孩，因是本地人，西国政府免费的。

Fatima ended up giving birth to a baby boy at the government hospital without any issues. Since she was a local, the Spanish government covered the costs.

她出院回来后非常骄傲，她是附近第一个去医院生产的女人，医生是男的也不再提起了。

When she returned home, she was very proud, as she was the first woman in the neighborhood to give birth at a hospital, and no one mentioned that the doctor was a man anymore.

一天清晨，我去屋顶上晒衣服，突然发觉房东筑在我们天台上的羊栏里多了一对小羊，我兴奋极了，大声叫荷西：“快上来看啊！生了两个可爱的小羊。”

One morning, while I was on the rooftop hanging out the laundry, I suddenly noticed that our landlord had built a sheep pen on the terrace, and there was a pair of baby lambs inside. I was extremely excited and shouted to José, "Come see! Two adorable lambs have been born!"

他跑上来看了看说：“这种小羊烤来吃最合适。”

He ran over, took a look, and said, "These little lambs would be perfect for roasting."

我吓了一跳，很气的问他：“你说什么鬼话。”

I was taken aback and angrily asked, "What nonsense are you saying?"

一面将小羊赶快推到母羊身边去。

I immediately pushed the lambs back toward their mother.

这时我方发觉母羊生产过后，身体内拖出来一大块像心脏似的东西，大概是衣胞吧？看上去恶心极了。

At that moment, I noticed that the mother sheep had delivered and something that looked like a large heart was dragged out of her—probably the placenta? It looked utterly disgusting.

过了三天，这一大串脏东西还挂在体外没有落下来，“杀掉吃吧！”房东说。

Three days later, that large piece of filth was still hanging outside her body. "Kill it and eat it!" the landlord said.

“你杀了母羊，小羊吃什么活下来？”我连忙找理由来救羊。

"You kill the mother sheep, how will the lambs survive?" I quickly found reasons to save the lambs.

“这样拖着衣胞也是要死的。”房东说。

"Dragging the placenta like this is going to kill her," the landlord replied.

“我来给治治看，你先不要杀。”我这句话冲口而出，自己并不知道如何去治母羊。

"I'll try to treat her; don’t kill her yet," I blurted, although I had no idea how to treat a sheep.

在家里想了一下，有了，我去拿了一瓶葡萄酒，上天台捉住了母羊，硬给灌下去，希望别醉死就有一半把握治好。

After thinking for a minute, I had an idea. I went to grab a bottle of wine, seized the mother sheep on the terrace, and forced it down her throat, hoping she wouldn’t die from the drunkenness and that it would help her heal.

这是偶尔听一个农夫讲的方法，我一下给记起来了。

This was a method I’d overheard from a farmer; I recalled it instantly.

第二日房东对我说：“治好了，肚里脏东西全下来了，已经好啦！请问你用什么治的？真是多谢多谢！”

The next day, the landlord told me, "She’s better now; all the dirty stuff has come out. She’s fine! May I ask what you used to treat her? Thank you so much!"

我笑笑，轻轻的对他说：“灌了一大瓶红酒。”

I smiled gently and replied, "I gave her a whole bottle of red wine."

他马上又说：“多谢多谢！”再一想回教徒不能喝酒，他的羊当然也不能喝，于是一脸无可奈何的样子走掉了。

He immediately said, "Thank you, thank you!" Then he thought about it and realized that as a Muslim, he couldn’t drink wine, nor could his sheep, and left looking quite helpless.

我这个巫医在谁身上都有效果，只有荷西，非常怕我，平日绝不给我机会治他，我却千方百计要他对我有信心。

It seems my skills as a veterinarian worked on everyone except José, who was very afraid of me and never gave me a chance to treat him. Yet I endeavored to convince him to trust me.

有一日他胃痛，我给他一包药粉——“喜龙—Ｕ”，叫他用水吞下去。

One day, he had a stomachache, so I gave him a packet of powder—"Vitamin U"—and told him to swallow it with water.

“是什么？”他问。我说：“你试试看再说，对我很灵的。”

"What is it?" he asked. I said, "Just try it; it works for me very well."

他勉强被我灌下一包，事后不放心，又去看看包药的小塑胶口袋，上面中文他不懂，但是恰好有个英文字写着——维他命Ｕ——他哭丧着脸对我说：“难道维他命还有Ｕ种的吗？怎么可以治胃痛呢？”

Reluctantly, he swallowed a packet, but later, not feeling reassured, went to check the small plastic bag the medicine came in. Although he couldn’t understand the Chinese on it, one English word caught his eye—Vitamin U—and he looked at me with a long face, saying, "Is there really a type of vitamin U? How can it treat a stomachache?"

我实在也不知道，抓起药纸来一看，果然有，我笑了好久。他的胃痛却真好了。

I honestly didn’t know, but looking at the label, it did indeed say that. I laughed for a long time. His stomachache did get better, though.

其实做兽医是十分有趣的，但是因为荷西为了上次法蒂玛生产的事，被我吓得心惊肉跳之后，我客串兽医之事便不再告诉他。

Being a veterinarian was extremely interesting; however, after José was so scared from the ordeal with Fatima’s delivery, I decided not to tell him about my experiences in treating animals anymore.

渐渐的他以为我已经不喜欢玩医生的游戏了。

Gradually, he believed I had lost interest in playing doctor.

上星期我们有三天假，天气又不冷不然，于是我们计划租辆吉普车开列大沙漠中去露营。

Last week, we had a three-day holiday, and since the weather was neither too cold nor too hot, we planned to rent a jeep and go camping in the great desert.

当我们正在门口将水箱、帐篷、食物搬上车时，来了一个很黑的女邻居，她头纱并没有拉上，很大方的向我们走过来。

As we were loading the water tank, tent, and food into the vehicle at the door, a very dark-skinned female neighbor came over, her veil pulled back, and approached us confidently.

在我还没有说话之前，她非常明朗的对荷西说：“你太太真了不起，我的牙齿被她补过以后，很久都不痛了。”

Before I could say anything, she brightly told José, "Your wife is incredible; my teeth haven’t hurt for a long time since she filled them."

我一听赶紧将话题转开，一面大声说：“咦，面包呢？怎么找不到啊！”一面独自咯咯笑起来。

Upon hearing this, I quickly changed the subject, loudly exclaiming, "Hey, where’s the bread? I can’t find it!" while chuckling to myself.

果然，荷西啼笑皆非的望着我：“请问阁下几时改行做牙医了？”

Indeed, José looked at me with a bewildered smile, "May I ask when did you start practicing dentistry?"

我看没有什么好假装了，仰仰头想了一下，告诉他：“上个月开始的。”

Seeing there was no point in pretending anymore, I shrugged and replied, "Started last month."

“补了几个人的牙？”他也笑起来了。

"How many teeth have you filled?" he asked, chuckling.

“两个女人，一个小孩，都不肯去医院，没办法，所以……事实上补好他们都不痛了，足可以咬东西。”我说的都是实在的。

"Two women and a little boy; they didn’t want to go to the hospital. There was no choice, so… actually, they have no pain now and can chew properly," I said, all of which was true.

“用什么材料补的？”

"What materials did you use?"

“这个不能告诉你。”我赶紧回答他。

"I can’t tell you that," I quickly replied.

“你不说我不去露营。”居然如此无赖的要挟我。

"If you don’t tell me, I won’t go camping," he shamelessly threatened.

好吧！我先跑开一步，离荷西远一点，再小声说：“不脱落，不透水，胶性强，气味芳香，色彩美丽，请你说这是什么好东西？”

Fine! I took a step back, distancing myself from José, and whispered, "It doesn’t fall off, it’s waterproof, has strong adhesion, smells fragrant, and looks beautiful; can you guess what this good stuff is?"

“什么？”他马上又问，完全不肯用脑筋嘛！

"What?" He immediately asked, completely unwilling to think!

“指—甲—油。”我大叫起来。

"Nail polish," I shouted.

“哇，指甲油补人牙齿！”

"Wow, nail polish to fill teeth!"

他被吓得全部头发唰一下完全竖起来，像漫画里的人物一样好看极了，我看他吓得如此，一面笑一面跑到安全地带，等他想起来要追时，这个巫医已经逃之夭夭了。

He looked so surprised that his hair stood up straight, just like a character from a comic book—quite a sight! Seeing him so startled, I laughed and ran to safety. By the time he thought about chasing me, this witch doctor had already made her escape.