The Break-Up Of A Great Drought
旱情解除
William Hale White
威廉·黑尔·怀特
For three months there had been hardly a drop of rain. The wind had been almost continuously north-west, and from that to east. Occasionally there were light airs from the south-west, and vapour rose, but there was nothing in it; there was no true south-westerly breeze, and in a few hours the weather-cock returned to the old quarter. Not infrequently the clouds began to gather, and there was every sign that a change was at hand. The barometer at these times fell gradually day after day until at last it reached a point which generally brought drenching storms, but none appeared, and then it began slowly to rise again and we knew that our hopes were vain, and that a week at least must elapse before it would regain its usual height and there might be a chance of declining. At last the disappointment was so keen that the instrument was removed. It was better not to watch it, but to hope for a surprise. The grass became brown, and in many places was killed down to the roots; there was no hay; myriads of swarming caterpillars devoured the fruit trees; the brooks were all dry; water for cattle had to be fetched from ponds and springs miles away; the roads were broken up; the air was loaded with grit; and the beautiful green of the hedges was choked with dust. Birds like the rook, which fed upon worms, were nearly starved, and were driven far and wide for strange food. It was pitiable to see them trying to pick the soil of the meadow as hard as a rock. The everlasting glare was worse than the gloom of winter, and the sense of universal parching thirst became so distressing that the house was preferred to the fields. We were close to a water famine! The Atlantic, the source of all alike, was asleep, and what if it should never wake! We know not its ways, it mocks all our science. Close to us lies this great mystery, incomprehensible, and yet our very breath depends upon it. Why should not the sweet tides of soft moist air cease to stream in upon us? No reason could be given why every green herb and living thing should not perish; no reason, save a faith which was blind. For aught we knew, the ocean- begotten aerial current might forsake the land and it might become a desert.
三个月来几乎没有下一滴雨。差不多一直刮西北风，或者转成东风。偶而几丝微风从西南方向飘来，雾气升起，可是里面什么也没有。没有真正的西南风，而过不了几小时，风信标又转向老方位了。不时看到云块开始聚集，大有天色马上要变的样子。遇上这种时候，晴雨计的水银柱便一天比一天降低终于降到在一般情况下准有一场透雨的标度。而事实上并没有下雨。接着水银柱又缓慢上升，于是我们知道希望又落空了。至少得再过一个星期，它才能恢复到平常的高度，然后或许会再出现下降的机会。最后，失望的情绪如此强烈，连晴雨计也给挪开了，最好不要看它，而希望出乎意外地下场雨。草都焦黄了，好些地方连根枯死。收不到干草了，无数毛毛虫成群结队地吞噬着果树；小河干得见底，饮牲口的水要到几英里以外的池塘或山泉去取。路都晒裂了缝，空气里带着砂砾；美丽的绿色树篱盖满尘土，透不过气来。以食虫为生的鸟如白嘴鸦之类几乎饿死，不得已到处寻找从未尝试过的食物。看到它们在草地上啄坚硬如石的土壤，真叫人可怜。日复一日的强烈阳光比冬天阴沉沉的天色更令人难受。大家感得世间万物都在遭受焦渴之苦，所以万分沮丧，宁肯呆在室内，不愿到田间去。我们几乎是遭到了早灾！一切生命之源的大西洋在沉睡。如果它竟永远不醒又该怎么办呢？我们不了解它的脾气，它叫我们的一切科学无能为力。它就躺在我们身旁，伟大而神秘，无从了解，可是我们的生命全依靠着它。那甜蜜的潮湿气流为什么一定要再流到陆地上空呢？没有理由可以说明为什么每一棵青草和每一个生灵不该灭亡，除了盲目的信仰，找不到任何理由。或许那生于大洋的气流会遗弃这片土地，使它变成沙漠。
One night grey bars appeared in the western sky, but they had too often deluded us, and we did not believe in them. On this particular evening they were a little heavier, and the window-cords were damp. The air which came across the cliff was cool, and if we had dared to hope we should have said it had a scent of the sea in it. At four o'clock in the morning there was a noise of something beating against the panes - they were streaming! It was impossible to lie still, and I rose and went out of doors. No creature was stirring, there was no sound save that of the rain, but a busier time there had not been for many a long month. Thousands of millions of blades of grass and corn were eagerly drinking. For sixteen hours the downpour continued, and when it was dusk I again went out. The watercourses by the side of the roads had a little water in them, but not a drop had reached those at the edge of the fields, so thirsty was the earth. The drought, thank God, was at an end!
一天夜里，西方天空出现了灰色的条块，可是，由于受骗的次数太多，我们再也不相信这些了。但这天夜里云块比平时浓密些，而且窗帘的索子也是湿润的。越过崖壁吹来的风凉意袭人。要是我们还敏于希望的话，我们该说风里还带着海洋的气味。凌晨四时，有什么东西敲打着窗玻璃发出了嘈杂声响－－原来玻璃上在哗哗地淌水呢！不可能再躺着不动了，我起身走出门去。一切生物都没有动静；除了雨声，什么声音也没有。可是几个月来从来也没有这样忙碌的时刻。千千万万青草和庄稼的时片正在开怀痛饮，瓢泼大雨接连下了十六个小时。黄昏时分我又出去一趟。路旁的水道里有了一点积水，可是没有一滴能流到田头的沟渠里，因为大地实在干渴极了。感谢上帝，旱情总算解除了。
