幻梦园 The Garden of Dreaming

作者：David Slagle

那个小姑娘慢慢走到森林中。偶尔走到森林下，因为森林的华盖彻底遮挡住天空，翠绿的树叶犹如密布的云。噢！偶尔还走到森林上，因为地面上布满着树根！别绊着，小姑娘，别绊着。现在……她走到了森林外。

The child slowly makes her way into the forest. And sometimes beneath the forest as the canopy of leaves weaves a green blanket against the clouds. Oh! And sometimes over the forest when there are roots! Don’t trip, little girl, don’t trip. And now… she’s going through it.

向我走来。

Toward me.

呦！

Eep!

我站在路边的阴影中，这条路出自小姑娘的村庄，那里聚集着无数个人类。我头上的小花苞躲在叶丛后面偷偷看。我的四蹄紧张地在地上踏出浅坑，我紧紧抱住树妈妈的枝干，紧贴胸口，树皮上熟悉的触感能让我安下心。

I stand in the shadows beyond the path leading away from the girl’s village where countless humans have gathered. The small bud on my head peeks out from behind a bush. My hooves dig nervous furrows into the ground, and I hug the branch from Mother Tree tightly to my chest, comforted by the familiar, swirly feeling of the bark.

在树林中，我是安全的。或者应该再后退几步。

It’s safe here, in the trees. Or maybe a few more steps behind them.

就、就几步……

J-just a few more…

虽然山下的村落里有那么多人类，但这个小姑娘却独自一人。

Even with so many humans in the village filling the hillside with life, the girl is alone.

我把树枝握得更紧了些，提醒我自己必须要完成的事。是时候该向前走了，莉莉娅。就一步。你能做到的——树妈妈病了。她需要这个小姑娘的梦。我迈出了一步。或者，至少，我的蹄挪动了一下。哦。这一步并不是很大。好吧，莉莉娅，再迈出一步。这一次我颤抖着抬起蹄，不等自己开始害怕，立刻放下去。

I hold my branch tighter, reminding myself of what I have to do. It’s time to move forward, Lillia. Just one step. You can do this—Mother Tree is sick. She needs the girl’s dream. I take the step. Or, at least, my hoof shifts a little. Oh. That didn’t go very far. Okay, Lillia, another one. This time I lift one shaky hoof up, and before I can get too afraid, I slam it back down.

坏菜。这一步倒退了。

Whoopsie. That was backward.

小姑娘停了下来，坐在一棵树下，距离我并不远，刚好足够让我听到她的声音。她怀里抱着一只布娃娃，把脸埋进去轻轻哭泣。

The girl stops to sit beneath a tree not far from where I’m watching, just close enough that I can hear her crying softly into a ragged doll cradled in her arms.

没人为她擦眼泪……但她并不完全孤单。在一切表象之下，透过我的树枝，我能感到一股充满潜能的震颤——她的梦境。

There’s no one to wipe away her tears… but she’s not entirely alone. Beneath everything, vibrating with potential in my branch… I can feel it—her dream.

树干最顶端垂着的花苞颤抖着散发出活力的光辉，它感受到了那个孩子和她的梦。和我头上的小花一样，这朵发光的花苞和树干都来自树妈妈，所以它们受到梦的吸引，同时也吸引着那股沉睡的魔法。晶莹的花粉从花瓣之间撒下，我身边的暗影退去，先我一步从亮处逃散。

The bud dangling from the tip of the bough shudders to radiant life now that it senses the child and her dream. Like the small flower on my head, the glowing bud and branch are also from Mother Tree—drawn to dreams just as much as the slumbering magic is drawn to them. Glittering pollen drifts from between its petals, and the shadows around me recede, fleeing the light before I can.

我、我的蹄露出来了？呦！

My— My hoof is showing? Eep!

我一时间忙乱着缩回四条腿，落脚的阴影越来越小，我摇摇晃晃几乎要摔倒。手中的树枝连带着微光的花苞一起摇晃，散发出的花粉像一团云雾，从叶子间的缝隙穿过，飘向那个小姑娘。然后，阴影又变了，我踉跄着走进前方的空地，她就在那里等着我。

I sprawl and contort all four of my legs to fit in the shrinking shadow, wobbling as my balance threatens to give. The glimmering bud swings wildly as the bough sways with me, casting clouds of dust-like pollen that drift toward the girl through the leaves. And then, as the shadows move again, I stumble into the clearing where she awaits.

我只能躲在手中的枝条后面偷偷看她，害怕得不敢眨眼。

All I can do is peer at her from behind my branch, too afraid to blink.

但她没有看见我。她的脸埋在布娃娃里，泪水被吸干。她的啜泣变成呜咽，呜咽变成轻叹。花苞放出的花粉渐渐落在她身边，她的双眼在微光中渐渐闭合。她靠在树边睡去，布娃娃从手中滑落。

But she doesn’t see me. She presses her face into the doll, hiding her tears. Her sobs turn into whimpers, her whimpers into sighs. The pollen from the bud gradually settles around her, twinkling as the girl’s eyes slowly flutter closed. She slumps against the tree, the doll sliding from her grasp.

我依然有点害怕，不敢动。有东西从树枝上的花苞里飞了出来，舞动着来到我头顶。那是我的老朋友，一个小小的梦，从我离开树妈妈的神秘花园以后就一直与我同行。它似乎感知到了有另一个梦藏在小女孩的脑海中，在空中舞动着向她飞去。

I’m still afraid to move. Something twirls out of the bough’s bud and dances above my head. It’s my old friend, a little dream that’s traveled with me since I first left Mother Tree’s mystical garden. As if sensing the other dream still snuggled inside the girl, my glittering friend dances through the air toward her.

“好险，”那个梦前后乱飞，我不禁说出了声。

“That was a close one,” I say as the dream flits back and forth.

它从小姑娘上方掠过，留下一串亮晶晶的轨迹，落在她的皮肤上，让她轻轻咂嘴耸鼻。她喘息的声音突然变大，害得我跳了起来，红着脸落回到地上。我摸了摸头顶的小花苞，不知道它是不是跟我的脸一样红。那个孩子依然在熟睡。

It skims above the girl and leaves a trail of sparkles that tickle her skin until she smacks her lips and wrinkles her nose. She snorts so loudly that I leap again, landing with a blush. I touch the petals of the small bud on my head, wondering if they’re flushing as red as my cheeks. The child remains fast asleep.

她的梦怎么没出来？

Why isn’t her dream coming out?

我的朋友继续绕着小姑娘旋转，努力召唤另一个梦。但我的目光则落在旁边地上的布娃娃身上，小姑娘的一只手垂下来，手指紧紧捏在一起，似乎是在寻找布娃娃。

My friend continues to spin around the girl, trying to summon the other dream. But my eyes are drawn to the doll on the ground instead, the girl’s hand hanging as if she still reaches for it, her fingers squeezing tight.

在离开花园，离开家之前，我曾经认为梦是人们闭上眼以后最渴望的东西。但现在，我看到他们渴望的、他们追求的、他们不肯放弃的东西……只会让他们悲伤。而我最渴望的——遇见那些做梦的人类，则给树妈妈带来伤害。

Before I left the garden—the place that was my home—I used to think that dreams were the things people wanted most every time they closed their eyes. But now, I see that the things they want, that they reach for and hold on to… only make them sad. The thing I wanted most, which was to meet the dreamers, hurt Mother Tree.

有没有可能，梦境并不是我们渴望的东西？

What if dreams aren’t the things we want?

我放下了树枝。这一次你能做到的，莉莉娅。闭上双眼，就像睡觉一样。我磕磕绊绊地向前走，跪到小姑娘身旁，捡起她的布娃娃。

I put down my branch. This time you can do it, Lillia. Just close your eyes, like you’re sleeping. Stumbling forward, I kneel beside the girl and take up her doll.

有没有可能，梦其实是我们需要的东西？

What if dreams are the things we need?

我把布娃娃放回到小女孩手中，距离人类这么近，即使是这么小的人类，也还是让我心惊肉跳。她感觉到布娃娃放在胸前，轻轻翻身坐起，把它搂在怀中。她小小的手臂勉刚刚足够环抱我。她搂住布娃娃的同时，也把我拉得更近，越来越近。

I start to hand the doll back to the girl, wary of getting this close, even to such a small human. Instinctively, she rolls over as she feels it against her chest, sitting up to pull the doll into a hug. Her tiny arms are just long enough to wrap around me as well. As she hugs the doll, she pulls me in closer, and closer.

那一刻，我们都找到了自己绽放所需的东西。

And in that moment, we both find what we need to bloom.

小姑娘的梦终于形成了夜光的旋涡，与我的好朋友环绕着舞动起来，让这座森林中充满了壮美的奇观，我从头到蹄的每一寸都感受得到。

The girl’s dream finally emerges in a luminous swirl, spiraling and dancing alongside my old friend, and filling the forest with so much wonder that I can feel it all the way down to my hooves.

我想蹦起来！

I want to prance!

就像一种未被命名的颜色，每个梦都难以言说。这个梦中是小姑娘的姐姐吗？在姐妹二人道别以后以梦相拥？她是在拿布娃娃当姐姐，回忆她披甲离家之前的温存？或者说，这些只不过是她在搂紧布娃娃的时候想要抓住的东西，而她的梦境则更加深远——更加真实？

Like a color that has no name, each dream is so hard to describe. Is this dream the girl’s sister, wrapping her in its arms although the sisters have already said goodbye? Is it the doll she pretends is her sister before she put on armor and left everything else behind? Or are these only the things the child grasped too hard while hugging her doll, and her dream is something deeper—something truer?

“你想姐姐了吧？”我在她耳畔轻语，“你需要她的爱。”

“You miss your sister, don’t you?” I whisper into her ear. “You need her love.”

让她得到、看到、感受到那份爱，就是我要做的。我融入拥抱中，放出飞旋的梦境粉尘，我头上的花苞缓缓打开。

Giving her that love, seeing it and feeling it, is what I need, too. I melt into the hug, and send dream dust spiraling as the small bud on my head twirls open.

两个梦蜿蜒着落入树枝顶端的花苞。“我会把你的梦悄悄说给树听。我不会忘记的。”我对小姑娘说，“我很高兴能够遇见你。”我又补充了一句。

Both dreams curl into the large bud on my branch. “I’ll whisper your dream to the tree. I’ll remember,” I tell the girl. “I’m glad I got to meet you,” I add.

希望她的梦也能听到我的话。

I hope her dream hears me, too.

我放开了小姑娘，让她轻轻躺下。几声叹息后，她放开了一切束缚她梦境的顾虑。

I let go of the girl and lay her down gently. With her sighs, she releases all that’s been trapping her dream.

和许许多多的凡人一样，她的姐姐可能永远也不会回来给她渴望的爱。所以她需要梦。所以永远都有梦，只要她没有忘记闭上眼，就永远不会孤单。

Like so many mortals, her sister may never come back to give her the love she desires. That’s why she needs to dream. That’s why it will always be there, and she’ll never be alone, as long as she remembers to close her eyes.

所以说，梦是有魔力的……那个小姑娘也是。

That’s why dreams are magical… and the little girl is, too.

我打了个喷嚏，我头顶的花苞飘出花粉，带着小姑娘的魔法，随风飘向树妈妈。

I sneeze, and the dust-pollen in the bud on my head swirls away, carrying the magic of the child’s dream into a wind that blows toward Mother Tree.

“坏菜，”我满脸通红，突然意识到自己暴露在外面。不等赞叹的感觉彻底褪去，我慌忙跳回了森林中。

“Whoopsie,” I blush, realizing I’m in the open. And before the feeling of wonder completely fades, I prance back into the forest.

小姑娘睁开双眼，舒服地打了个哈欠。阳光透过树叶从天上照下来。她惊讶地发现自己依然还在森林中，在惊诧之中掉落了布娃娃。然后，慢慢地，她想起来布娃娃所寄托的一切，包括将布娃娃送给她的人，随后她把娃娃捡了起来。

The girl opens her eyes with a well-rested yawn. The sun is shining through the leaves above her. She’s surprised to find herself still in the forest, and drops her doll in shock. Then, slowly, she remembers what it means to her—who gave it to her—and picks it back up.

她抱紧布娃娃，开始跑向空地的另一侧。

She holds the doll tight and starts to run through the clearing.

“奶奶，奶奶！姐姐回家了吗？”她高声喊道，“我看见她了。我看见她了！”

“O-Ma, O-Ma! Has sister returned?” she cries to her grandmother. “I just saw her. I saw her!”

小姑娘的身影消失了，但在她身后，她跑过的地方，亮晶晶的花粉催开了一朵朵梦之花。

The girl’s small outline disappears, but in her wake, following the path where she ran, dream blossoms sprout from sparkling pollen.

或许当小姑娘回到这里，她会摘下一朵。而且她心里会明白，即使无法紧紧抓住，姐姐的爱永远都在绽放盛开。

Perhaps when the child returns, she will pick one of these flowers. And know that in her heart—though it can’t be held—the love of her sister will always bloom.