The Field of Boliauns

One fine day in harvest—it was indeed Lady-day in harvest, that everybody knows to be one of the greatest holidays in the year—Tom Fitzpatrick was taking a ramble through the ground, and went along the sunny side of a hedge; when all of a sudden he heard a clacking sort of noise a little before him in the hedge. "Dear me," said Tom, "but isn't it surprising to hear the stonechatters singing so late in the season?" So Tom stole on, going on the tops of his toes to try if he could get a sight of what was making the noise, to see if he was right in his guess.

收获季节里一个晴朗的日子——那天正是收获期里的圣母节，人人都知道那是一年中最盛大的节日之一——汤姆·菲茨帕特里克正在田间闲逛，沿着一道树篱的向阳一侧走着；忽然，他听到前方树篱里传来一阵咔嗒咔嗒的声音。“哎呀，”汤姆说，“这个季节都这么晚了，居然还能听见石鹏鸟叫，真是奇怪。”于是汤姆蹑手蹑脚地踮着脚尖走近，想看看是什么发出的声音，验证一下自己的猜测对不对。

The noise stopped; but as Tom looked sharply through the bushes, what should he see in a nook of the hedge but a brown pitcher, that might hold about a gallon and a half of liquor.

声音停了下来；可是汤姆仔细透过灌木丛望去，却在树篱的一个角落里看见了什么——一只棕色的陶罐，大概能装下一加仑半的酒。

And by-and-by a little wee teeny tiny bit of an old man, with a little motty of a cocked hat stuck upon the top of his head, a deeshy daushy leather apron hanging before him, pulled out a little wooden stool, and stood up upon it, and dipped a little piggin into the pitcher, and took out the full of it, and put it beside the stool, and then sat down under the pitcher, and began to work at putting a heel-piece on a bit of a brogue just fit for himself.

不一会儿，一个矮矮小小、瘦瘦干干的小老头，头顶戴着一顶小小的三角帽，身前系着一条小小的皮围裙，拿出一个小木凳，站了上去，把一只小勺伸进罐子里，舀了满满一勺，放在凳子旁边，然后坐到罐子下面，开始在一只正合他自己脚的小皮鞋上钉后跟。

"Well, by the powers," said Tom to himself, "I often heard tell of the Lepracauns, and, to tell God's truth, I never rightly believed in them—but here's one of them in real earnest. If I go knowingly to work, I'm a made man. They say a body must never take their eyes off them, or they'll escape."

“哎呀，天哪，”汤姆自言自语道，“我常听人说起莱普雷康，说实话，我从来没真正相信过——可这不，眼前就有一个真真切切的。要是我聪明地下手，我就发达了。据说绝不能把目光从他们身上移开，不然他们就会逃走。”

Tom now stole on a little further, with his eye fixed on the little man just as a cat does with a mouse. So when he got up quite close to him, "God bless your work, neighbour," said Tom.

汤姆又悄悄靠近了一点，目光紧紧盯着那小老头，就像猫盯着老鼠一样。等他靠得相当近了，便说：“愿上帝保佑你的活计，邻居。”汤姆说。

The little man raised up his head, and "Thank you kindly," said he.

小老头抬起头来，说：“多谢你的好意。”

"I wonder you'd be working on the holiday!" said Tom.

“真没想到你在假日里还干活！”汤姆说。

"That's my own business, not yours," was the reply.

“那是我自己的事，不关你的事。”对方答道。

"Well, may be you'd be civil enough to tell us what you've got in the pitcher there?" said Tom.

“那好吧，也许你能大方点，告诉我们你那罐子里装的是什么？”汤姆说。

"That I will, with pleasure," said he; "it's good beer."

“这个嘛，我很乐意告诉你，”他说，“是上好的啤酒。”

"Beer!" said Tom. "Thunder and fire! where did you get it?"

“啤酒！”汤姆说。“我的天哪！你从哪儿弄来的？”

"Where did I get it, is it? Why, I made it. And what do you think I made it of?"

“从哪儿弄来的，是吧？那是我自己酿的。你猜猜我是用什么酿的？”

"Devil a one of me knows," said Tom; "but of malt, I suppose, what else?"

“鬼才知道，”汤姆说，“不过我猜是用麦芽酿的，还能是什么？”

"There you're out. I made it of heath."

“你猜错了。我是用石楠酿的。”

"Of heath!" said Tom, bursting out laughing; "sure you don't think me to be such a fool as to believe that?"

“用石楠！”汤姆说着，放声大笑起来，“你不会真以为我傻到相信这个吧？”

"Do as you please," said he, "but what I tell you is the truth. Did you never hear tell of the Danes?"

“随你怎么想，”他说，“可我告诉你的都是实话。你从没听说过丹麦人吗？”

"Well, what about them?" said Tom.

“那，他们怎么了？”汤姆问。

"Why, all the about them there is, is that when they were here they taught us to make beer out of the heath, and the secret's in my family ever since."

“哦，关于他们的事就是这样：他们在这儿的时候，教会了我们用石楠酿啤酒，这秘方从那时起就一直留在我家里。”

"Will you give a body a taste of your beer?" said Tom.

“你能让我尝尝你的啤酒吗？”汤姆说。

"I'll tell you what it is, young man, it would be fitter for you to be looking after your father's property than to be bothering decent quiet people with your foolish questions. There now, while you're idling away your time here, there's the cows have broke into the oats, and are knocking the corn all about."

“我告诉你吧，年轻人，你与其在这儿拿些傻问题打搅安分清静的人，不如回去照看你父亲的家产。瞧，你在这儿磨蹭浪费时间的工夫，牛都闯进燕麦地里了，把庄稼踩得乱七八糟。”

Tom was taken so by surprise with this that he was just on the very point of turning round when he recollected himself; so, afraid that the like might happen again, he made a grab at the Lepracaun, and caught him up in his hand; but in his hurry he overset the pitcher, and spilt all the beer, so that he could not get a taste of it to tell what sort it was. He then swore that he would kill him if he did not show him where his money was.

汤姆被这话吓了一跳，差点就转身跑开，幸好他及时醒悟过来；于是，生怕这种事再发生一次，他一把抓住了莱普雷康，把他攥在手里；可是慌乱之中他碰倒了罐子，啤酒全洒了，他连尝一口看看味道如何的机会都没了。于是他发誓说，要是不告诉他钱藏在哪儿，就要杀了他。

Tom looked so wicked and so bloody-minded that the little man was quite frightened; so says he, "Come along with me a couple of fields off, and I'll show you a crock of gold."

汤姆看起来那么凶狠、那么杀气腾腾，吓得那小老头魂飞魄散；于是他说：“跟我走，过去几块田地远，我给你看一罐金子。”

So they went, and Tom held the Lepracaun fast in his hand, and never took his eyes from off him, though they had to cross hedges and ditches, and a crooked bit of bog, till at last they came to a great field all full of boliauns, and the Lepracaun pointed to a big boliaun, and says he, "Dig under that boliaun, and you'll get the great crock all full of guineas."

于是他们上路了，汤姆紧紧攥着莱普雷康，片刻也没有移开目光，尽管一路要穿过树篱和沟渠，还有一段曲折的沼泽地，最后终于来到了一大片长满野灌木的田野，莱普雷康指着一丛大野灌木，说：“就在那丛野灌木下面挖，你会挖到装满金币的大罐子。”

Tom in his hurry had never thought of bringing a spade with him, so he made up his mind to run home and fetch one; and that he might know the place again he took off one of his red garters, and tied it round the boliaun.

汤姆匆忙之中忘了带铁锹，于是决定跑回家去拿一把；为了记住那个地方，他解下自己一只红袜带，系在了那丛野灌木上。

Then he said to the Lepracaun, "Swear ye'll not take that garter away from that boliaun." And the Lepracaun swore right away not to touch it.

然后他对莱普雷康说：“你发誓不把那袜带从那丛野灌木上拿走。”莱普雷康立刻发誓绝不碰它。

"I suppose," said the Lepracaun, very civilly, "you have no further occasion for me?"

“我想，”莱普雷康非常有礼貌地说，“你不再需要我了吧？”

"No," says Tom; "you may go away now, if you please, and God speed you, and may good luck attend you wherever you go."

“是的，”汤姆说，“你现在可以走了，如果你愿意的话，愿上帝保佑你一路平安，愿好运伴随你到任何地方。”

"Well, good-bye to you, Tom Fitzpatrick," said the Lepracaun; "and much good may it do you when you get it."

“那好，再见了，汤姆·菲茨帕特里克，”莱普雷康说，“等你拿到手的时候，但愿它能给你带来好处。”

So Tom ran for dear life, till he came home and got a spade, and then away with him, as hard as he could go, back to the field of boliauns; but when he got there, lo and behold! not a boliaun in the field but had a red garter, the very model of his own, tied about it; and as to digging up the whole field, that was all nonsense, for there were more than forty good Irish acres in it.

于是汤姆拼了命地跑，一直跑回家拿到铁锹，然后又拼命赶回那片长满野灌木的田野；可是他到了那儿一看，天哪！田里没有一丛野灌木不系着一条红袜带，和他自己那条一模一样；至于要把整片田都挖开，那简直是异想天开，因为那里足足有四十多爱尔兰亩地。

So Tom came home again with his spade on his shoulder, a little cooler than he went, and many's the hearty curse he gave the Lepracaun every time he thought of the neat turn he had served him.

于是汤姆扛着铁锹又回了家，心情比出发时冷静了不少，每当他想起那小老头对他耍的这个绝妙花招，便忍不住咒骂个不停。