Unit 11A - Maheegun My Brother
Maheegun My Brother
Eric Acland
The year I found Maheegun, spring was late in coming. That day, I was spearing fish with my grandfather when I heard the faint crying and found the shivering wolf cub.
As I bent down, he moved weakly toward me. I picked him up and put him inside my jacket. Little Maheegun gained strength after I got the first few drops of warm milk in him. He wiggled and soon he was full and warm.
My grandfather finally agreed to let me keep him.
That year, which was my 14th, was the happiest of my life.
Not that we didn't have our troubles. Maheegun was the most mischievous wolf cub ever. He was curious too. Like looking into Grandma's sewing basket—which he upset, scattering thread and buttons all over the floor. At such times, she would chase him out with a broom and Maheegun would poke his head around the corner, waiting for things to quiet down.
That summer Maheegun and I became hunting partners. We hunted the grasshoppers that leaped about like little rockets. And in the fall, after the first snow our games took us to the nearest meadows in search of field mice. By then, Maheegun was half grown. Gone was the puppy-wool coat. In its place was a handsome black mantle.
The winter months that came soon after were the happiest I could remember. They belonged only to Maheegun and myself. Often we would make a fire in the bushes. Maheegun would lay his head between his front paws, with his eyes on me as I told him stories.
It all served to fog my mind with pleasure so that I forgot my Grandpa's repeated warnings, and one night left Maheegun unchained. The following morning in sailed Mrs. Yesno, wild with anger, who demanded Maheegun be shot because he had killed her rooster. The next morning, my grandpa announced that we were going to take Maheegun to the north shack.
By the time we reached the lake where the trapper's shack stood, Maheegun seemed to have become restless. Often he would sit with his nose to the sky, turning his head this way and that as if to check the wind.
The warmth of the stove soon brought sleep to me. But something caused me to wake up with a start. I sat up, and in the moon-flooded cabin was my grandfather standing beside me. "Come and see, son," whispered my grandfather.
Outside the moon was full and the world looked all white with snow. He pointed to a rock that stood high at the edge of the lake.
On the top was the clear outline of a great wolf sitting still, ears pointed, alert, listening.
"Maheegun," whispered my grandfather.
Slowly the wolf raised his muzzle. "Oooo-oo-wow-wowoo-oooo!"
The whole white world thrilled to that wild cry. Then after a while, from the distance came a softer call in reply. Maheegun stirred, with the deep rumble of pleasure in his throat. He slipped down the rock and headed out across the ice.
"He's gone," I said.
"Yes, he's gone to that young she-wolf." My grandfather slowly filled his pipe. "He will take her for life, hunt for her, protect her. This is the way the Creator planned life. No man can change it."
I tried to tell myself it was all for the best, but it was hard to lose my brother.
For the next two years I was as busy as a squirrel storing nuts for the winter. But once or twice when I heard wolf cries from distant hills, I would still wonder if Maheegun, in his battle for life, found time to remember me.
It was not long after that I found the answer.
Easter came early that year and during the holidays I went to visit my cousins.
My uncle was to bring me home in his truck. But he was detained by some urgent business. So I decided to come back home on my own.
A mile down the road I slipped into my snowshoes and turned into the bush. The strong sunshine had dimmed. I had not gone far before big flakes of snow began drifting down.
The snow thickened fast. I could not locate the tall pine that stood on the north slope of Little Mountain. I circled to my right and stumbled into a snow-filled creek bed. By then the snow had made a blanket of white darkness, but I knew only too well there should have been no creek there.
I tried to travel west but only to hit the creek again. I knew I had gone in a great circle and I was lost.
There was only one thing to do. Camp for the night and hope that by morning the storm would have blown itself out. I quickly made a bed of boughs and started a fire with the bark of an old dead birch. The first night I was comfortable enough. But when the first gray light came I realized that I was in deep trouble. The storm was even worse. Everything had been smothered by the fierce whiteness.
The light of another day still saw no end to the storm. I began to get confused. I couldn't recall whether it had been storming for three or four days.
Then came the clear dawn. A great white stillness had taken over and with it, biting cold. My supply of wood was almost gone. There must be more.
Slashing off green branches with my knife, I cut my hand and blood spurted freely from my wound. It was some time before the bleeding stopped. I wrapped my hand with a piece of cloth I tore off from my shirt. After some time, my fingers grew cold and numb, so I took the bandage off and threw it away.
How long I squatted over my dying fire I don't know. But then I saw the gray shadow between the trees. It was a timber wolf. He had followed the blood spots on the snow to the blood-soaked bandage.
"Yap... yap... yap... yoooo!" The howl seemed to freeze the world with fear.
It was the food cry. He was calling, "Come, brothers, I have found meat." And I was the meat! Soon his hunting partner came to join him. Any time now, I thought, their teeth would pierce my bones.
Suddenly the world exploded in snarls. I was thrown against the branches of the shelter. But I felt no pain. And a great silence had come. Slowly I worked my way out of the snow and raised my head. There, about 50 feet away, crouched my two attackers with their tails between their legs. Then I heard a noise to my side and turned my head. There stood a giant black wolf. It was Maheegun, and he had driven off the others.
"Maheegun...Maheegun...," I sobbed, as I moved through the snow toward him. "My brother, my brother," I said, giving him my hand. He reached out and licked at the dried blood.
I got my little fire going again, and as I squatted by it, I started to cry. Maybe it was relief or weakness or both—I don't know. Maheegun whimpered too.
Maheegun stayed with me through the long night, watching me with those big eyes. The cold and loss of blood were taking their toll.
The sun was midway across the sky when I noticed how restless Maheegun had become. He would run away a few paces—head up, listening—then run back to me. Then I heard. It was dogs. It was the searching party! I put the last of my birch bark on the fire and fanned it into life.
The sound of the dogs grew louder. Then the voices of men. Suddenly, as if by magic, the police dog team came up out of the creek bed, and a man came running toward my fire. It was my grandfather.
The old hunter stopped suddenly when he saw the wolf. He raised his rifle. "Don't shoot!" I screamed and ran toward him, falling through the snow. "It's Maheegun. Don't shoot!"
He lowered his rifle. Then I fell forward on my face, into the snow.
I woke up in my bedroom. It was quite some time before my eyes came into focus enough to see my grandfather sitting by my bed.
"You have slept three days," he said softly. "The doc says you will be all right in a week or two."
"And Maheegun?" I asked weakly.
"He should be fine. He is with his own kind."
参考译文——美尔根，我的兄弟
美尔根，我的兄弟
埃瑞克·阿克兰
我发现美尔根的那年，春天姗姗来迟。那天，我和爷爷正在叉鱼的时候，我听到了微弱的叫声，发现了那个正在颤抖的小狼崽。
当我弯下腰去时，他无力地向我这边靠近。我把他抱起来，放进了夹克里。在我给小美尔根喂了几滴热牛奶之后，他有了力气。他扭了几下，很快就吃饱了，身上也暖和起来。
爷爷最后同意让我养这只小狼。
那年，我14岁，是我一生之中最快乐的时光。
但这并不是说我们没有麻烦。美尔根是我所知道的最顽皮的小狼，他还充满了好奇。比如说他想看看奶奶的针线筐里有什么——他将针线筐掀翻在地，弄得线和纽扣满地都是。每当这个时候，奶奶就会拿着扫帚将美尔根赶出去，而他则把头从墙角探出来，等着奶奶气消了。
那年夏天我和美尔根成了打猎伙伴。我们捕捉像小火箭一样蹦来蹦去的蚂蚱。秋天，下过第一场雪之后，我们去最近的草地上玩捉田鼠的游戏。那时，美尔根已经长成半大了，幼犬绒毛织成的外套不见了，取而代之的是一件漂亮的黑色披风。
那之后冬天很快到来，那是我记忆中最幸福的时光。那些时光只属于我和美尔根。我们常在灌木丛中生起一堆火。当我给美尔根讲故事时，他经常把头放在前爪之间，眼晴盯着我看。
这一切使我高兴过了头，结果有一天晚上我忘记了爷爷的再三叮嘱，没有把美尔根拴起来。第二天早晨，耶斯诺太太怒气冲冲地找过来，要求开枪打死美尔根，因为他弄死了她的鸡。第三天早晨，爷爷宣布我们要把美尔根带到北边的小棚屋去。
猎棚在一个湖泊旁边，当我们来到这儿时，美尔根看起来变得躁动不安。他常常蹲坐着，鼻子朝天，不停地将头扭来扭去，好像是在辨别风向。
火炉的温暖很快让我睡着了。但不知是什么使我猛然惊醒。我坐起来，看见爷爷站在我旁边，小屋里洒满了月亮的清辉。“过来看，孩子。”爷爷低声地说。
外面是一轮满月，世界因被白雪覆盖显得一片银白。爷爷指着湖边一块高耸的岩石，
岩石上面有一个清晰的大狼的轮廓，他静静地坐着，耳朵竖起，像在警觉地在听着什么。
“是美尔根。”爷爷低声说。
那只狼慢慢抬起口鼻。“嗷……嗷……喔……喔……嗷！”
那野性的叫声给整个白色的世界注入了活力。过了一会儿，从远处传来了轻柔一些的回应声。美尔根激动起来，用嗓子连续发出低沉的、愉悦的吼声。他快速跑下岩石，穿过冰面离开了。
“他走了。”我说。
“是的，他去找那只年轻的母狼了。”爷爷慢慢地装满烟斗。“他将陪她度过一生，为她猎食,保护她，这是上帝安排好了的生活方式，没人能改变它。”
我极力告诉自己这样是最好的结果，但失去兄弟仍让我很难过。
在接下来的两年里，我像为冬天储存坚果的松鼠一样忙。但有一两次当我听见从远处山里传来的狼叫时，我依然想知道美尔根，在他为生存而斗争之余，是否还记得我。
不久我便找到了答案。
那一年复活节来得早，在假期里我去表哥家做客。
我的舅舅原计划用他的卡车送我回家，但是由于他被一些紧急的事情绊住了，所以，我决定自己单独回家。
沿着路走了一英里后，我蹬上雪鞋，拐进灌木丛中。强烈的太阳光已经暗淡下来。我没走多远，大片大片的雪花就开始飘落。
雪很快就下了厚厚的一层。我找不到小山北坡上的那棵高高的松树的准确位置。我往右拐绕了一个圈子，跌跌撞撞地走进了一个冰雪覆盖的河床。那时雪已下得四处一片白茫茫，使得我辨不清方向，但是我清楚地记得在自己要去的地方应该没有小溪。
我努力向西走，结果又一次遇到了那条小溪。我知道我是绕了个大圈子，我迷路了。
我只能做一件事，那就是宿营过夜，希望第二天早晨醒来时，发现暴雪已经平息。我很快用树枝搭了个床，用枯死的桦树的树皮生火。第一个晚上，我感觉非常舒服。但是当次日第一缕晨光来临时，我意识到我麻烦大了。暴雪下得更大了。一切都被可怕的白雪厚厚地覆盖了。
第二天暴雪仍然下个没完。我开始糊涂了，记不清暴雪下了三天还是四天。
接着是一个晴朗的早晨，白雪茫茫，万籁倶寂，寒冷刺骨。我储存的木头快要用光了。必须得多砍些才行。
在用刀砍青树枝时，我伤到了手，鲜血马上从伤口喷涌出来。血流了一段时间才止住。我从衬衫上撕下一块布包裹住伤口。过了一会儿，我的手指变得冰冷、麻木，所以我把那绷带扯下来扔了。
我不知道在那个快要熄灭了的火堆旁蹲了多久。但之后我看见了两棵树之间有个灰色的影子。那是一只大灰狼。他沿着雪上的血迹找到那条浸透人血的绷带。
“嗷……嗷……!”那狼嚎声好像令整个世界毛骨悚然。
这是狼找到食物后发出的叫声，他在叫“快过来呀，兄弟们，我已经找到肉了”。而我就是那块肉。很快他的猎食伙伴来到了他这里。我想，他们的牙齿现在随时会咬碎我的骨头。
突然，周围充满了龇牙咧嘴的低吼声。我被甩到之前为过夜而搭起的容身处的树枝上，但我并没有感到疼痛。接着是一阵长时间的寂静。我慢慢地从雪中爬出来，抬起头。在离我大约50英尺的远处，那两只袭击我的狼夹着尾巴蹲伏着。接着我听见从我身旁传来的叫声，我扭头看，一只大黑狼站在那儿。是美尔根，是他赶走了其他的狼。
“美尔根……美尔根……”我一边抽泣着一边在雪地上向他爬去，“我的兄弟，我的兄弟。” 我喊道，向他伸出手。他伸过头来舔已经干了的血。
我又点燃了那个小火堆，然后蹲在火堆旁哭起来。也许是因为脱险了或是虚弱或者是两者兼有——我不知道。美尔根也在呜咽。
美尔根陪我度过了那个漫漫长夜，一直用他那双大眼睛看着我。寒冷的天气加上失血让我非常难受。
太阳正中高照时，我发现美尔根变得极其躁动不安。他跑几步——抬起头听——然后又跑回我身边。接着我也听见了。是狗的叫声。是搜寻队伍！我把剩下的桦树皮全部放进火堆里，然后扇火使它再次燃烧起来。
狗的叫声越来越大了，然后是人的声音。突然一队警犬神奇地从河床向我跑来，还有一个人朝我的火堆跑来。那是我爷爷。
老猎手爷爷看到那只狼，突然停了下来。他举起了猎枪。“别开枪！”我尖叫着向他跑去，结果跌倒在雪里。“那是美尔根。别开枪！”
他放下了猎枪。接着我向前摔倒在雪地里。
我在我的卧室里醒了。过了好长的一段时间，我的眼睛才找到焦点，看到我爷爷坐在床边。
“你已经睡了三天了。”他轻轻地说，“医生说，过一两个星期你就会好。”
“美尔根呢？”我无力地问。
“他和他的同类在一起，应该会很好。”
Key Words:
chase [tʃeis]
n. 追求，狩猎，争取
vt. 追捕，狩猎
bent [bent]
bend的过去式和过去分词 adj. 下定决心的，弯曲的
poke [pəuk]
n. 刺，戳，袋
vt. 拨开，刺，戳
cub [kʌb]
n. 幼兽，年轻人
thread [θred]
n. 线，细丝，线索，思路，螺纹
vt. 穿线
faint [feint]
n. 昏厥，昏倒
adj. 微弱的，无力的，模
mischievous ['mistʃivəs]
adj. 调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的
curious ['kjuəriəs]
adj. 好奇的，奇特的
upset [ʌp'set]
adj. 心烦的，苦恼的，不安的
stove [stəuv]
n. 炉子，火炉窑;烘房；【主英】温室
announced [ə'naunst]
宣布的
check [tʃek]
n. 检查，支票，账单，制止，阻止物，检验标准，方格图
protect [prə'tekt]
vt. 保护，投保
outline ['əutlain]
n. 轮廓，大纲
vt. 概述，画出轮廓
squirrel ['skwirəl]
n. 松鼠，松鼠皮毛
vt. 储存
alert [ə'lə:t]
adj. 警觉的，灵敏的
bark [bɑ:k]
v. (狗)吠，咆哮
n. 狗吠，咆哮
pine [pain]
n. 松树，松木
vi. 消瘦，憔悴，渴望
circle ['sə:kl]
n. 圈子，圆周，循环
v. 环绕，盘旋，包围
creek [kri:k]
n. 小湾，小溪 Creek n. 克里克族，克里克人，
slope [sləup]
n. 倾斜，斜坡，斜面，斜线，斜率
vt. 使
locate [ləu'keit]
vt. 把 ... 设置在，使坐落于，找出
blanket ['blæŋkit]
n. 毛毯，覆盖物，排字版
stillness ['stilnis]
n. 静止，沉静
supply [sə'plai]
n. 补给，供给，供应，贮备
vt. 补给，供
freeze [fri:z]
v. 冻结，冷冻，僵硬，凝固
n. 结冰，冻结
bandage ['bændidʒ]
n. 绷带
numb [nʌm]
adj. 麻木的，失去知觉的，无动于衷的
bleeding ['bli:diŋ]
n. 出血；渗色 adj. 流血的；同情的 v. 出血；
timber ['timbə]
n. 木材，木料
shadow ['ʃædəu]
n. 阴影，影子，荫，阴暗，暗处
vt. 投阴
confused [kən'fju:zd]
adj. 困惑的；混乱的；糊涂的 v. 困惑（confu
pierce [piəs]
n. 皮尔斯
relief [ri'li:f]
n. 减轻，解除，救济(品), 安慰，浮雕，对比
silence ['sailəns]
n. 沉默，寂静
vt. 使安静，使沉默
shelter ['ʃeltə]
n. 庇护所，避难所，庇护
v. 庇护，保护，
weakness ['wi:knis]
n. 软弱
hunter ['hʌntə]
n. 猎人，猎犬，猎马，搜寻者 Hunter: 亨特（姓
fell [fel]
动词fall的过去式
n. 兽皮
bark [bɑ:k]
v. (狗)吠，咆哮
n. 狗吠，咆哮
creek [kri:k]
n. 小湾，小溪 Creek n. 克里克族，克里克人，
rifle ['raifl]
n. 步枪
参考资料：