赌徒的悲叹 The Gambler’s Woe

作者： Anthony Reynolds

我的天，好大一袋子钱呐你！赌桌上赢来的，对不对？行，祝你身体健康。干杯。

My, that’s quite the haul ye have, there! Won at the tables, was it? Well, here’s to your very good health. Cheers.

噢，算了吧，我才不跟你玩色子。不再赌啦，我很自觉的。不过想当年……怎么了？河流之王来了呗。对，两件大衣，老恶魔塔姆·肯奇。就是他。

Oh, no, I’ll not be rollin’ the dice with ye. Not a gamblin’ man no more, or so I tells me self. There were a time, though... What happened? The River King happened, that’s what. Aye, Two-Coats, that old devil Tahm Kench. He’s what happened.

我那时候穷得就是一坨臭狗屎——请你原谅，住在一个廉租房里。名下没有一点财产。后来才有了一枚金海妖。哦，就是这个。我可以告诉你是怎么来的，但你肯定会说我在骗你，呵呵。

I was bilge-poor, beg your pardon, and livin’ in a flophouse. Had nothin’ to me name, not ‘til a single gold Krakenaye, this one ‘erecome into my possession. I could tell you how, but you’d call me a liar, heh.

所以，有了这枚金币，我应该还了债务，再找一艘新船入伙。我是个鱼叉手，知道吧。得好好打算一下今后的日子。得有计划，对吧。叉鱼太苦了，哪怕我再年轻几岁也受不了。

So, with this one coin, what I oughta done was pay me debts, and find a new crew to join. I was a harpooner, see. Shoulda put aside whatever was left for the future. Been responsible, like. Harpoonin’s a harsh life, even for a younger man.

但就是这个时候，河流之王找上了我。 “为什么要在别人的船上干活呢。”他说，“当牛做马，为了几个子卖命，你什么时候才能有一艘自己的船呀？” 我胆子要再大一些，是吧。一枚金币当然不够买一艘船，但他有个主意，没错。

But that’s when the River King found me. “Why work someone else’s ship,” he says, “slavin’ away, riskin’ your life for next t’ nothin’, when ye might ‘ave a ship o’ your own?” I just had to think bigger, like. O’ course, one Kraken won’t buy a ship, but ‘e had an answer to that, didn’t he.

色子咯。骨头色子这么一扔，我就有钱自己干事业了。其他人去替我卖命，我就坐着，舒舒服服地，吃肉就行。而且喝了几杯之后，你懂得的，那个恶魔的话越听越有道理。所以，我被贪心迷了眼睛，就听了他的。

Dice. One good throw o’ the bones, an’ I’d ‘ave enough to start me own little operation. Others could do the danger work, while I sits back, nice and plum, enjoyin’ the profits. An’ after a few more drinks, you understand, that crooked devil’s advice starts to make a lot o’ sense to my ears. So, blinded by greed and possibility, I went along wi’ it.

那天晚上迷迷糊糊的，我醒来时已经是第二天下午了。我的头痛得突突响！完全想不起来去了哪里——反正是寻开心的地方——但床头柜上放着我昨晚赢来的钱！买一艘船还有剩的！ 啊，可是河流之王啊，让我尝到了甜头，我就想要更多。为什么我拉尔斯有一艘船就满足了？我什么时候能有一支船队呢？只要再让我走运几回……

That night were a blur. I awoke well after noon the next day, me head fairly poundin’! Had no idea where I wassome fancy bawdy-house, as it turns outbut on the dresser were me previous night’s winnings... more than enough to purchase me self a ship! Ah, but the River King, ‘e’d given me a taste for somethin’ more. Why should young Lars content his self with a single ship, when he could ‘ave a fleet? Just needed to chance me hand a few more times...

这就是比尔吉沃特。要想赚大钱，就看你敢不敢一次又一次地，搏上一切。

That’s Bilgewater. There’s riches to be had, if you’re willin’ to risk everything, over and over.

穿着两件大衣的老家伙怂恿着我，玩色子已经满足不了我了。我走进了更大的赌场。从密室里的卡牌游戏，到私设的赌桌上，赌注有高有低。我输得一塌糊涂，又赚得盆满钵满。我就像是在一个诱人的漩涡里不停地、不停地打转。我感到饥渴，感到欲望，我被这个漩涡拽着，越来越深。

With old Two-Coat’s arm around me, I was led from the dice tables to other halls of avaricefrom backroom card games to gamblin’ and bettin’ parlors, high and low. I spent a fortune, lost a fortune, then made it all back again. Around and around in that allurin’ spiral I went. I was feelin’ the hunger, the yearning, and it was pullin’ me down like a whirlpool.

过了好几年，突然有一天——我要很难为情地说，我忘了我干这些都是为了什么。我也忘了我是谁。我有钱了，但还是嫌少。我还要更多。

Years passed, an’ somewhere along the way, I’m ashamed to say I forgot what I was doing all this for. I forgot who I was. I had it all, but it never were enough. I wanted more.

然后我的赌运就开始一泻千里。逼得我加倍下注，破釜沉舟，指望着靠大注来翻身。很快，我就比刚开始的时候更惨了。睡在阴沟里，逮老鼠吃——那还是运气好的时候。只要任何人对我有一丝善意，我就问人讨钱，借钱，偷钱。为了追梦，我一个朋友都没了。

And then I started losin’ big. That made me double-down, go for broke, all-or-nothin’, looking for the big stakes to put me back on top. Pretty soon, I was in a worse state than I’d been to start with. Sleepin’ in the gutter, catching rats to eat if I were lucky. I begged, borrowed and stole from everyone who’d ever shown me any kindness. Lost all me mates, chasing the dream.

这个塔姆·肯奇，你明白吗，别人过得越惨，他就吃得越饱。他呀，不知道有多老了，比尔吉沃特肯定都比他年轻。创世之初就有他了，饱餐着人心里的绝望、贪婪和悲痛。我知道，我这都是自找的，但都是他教我的啊。你可能会说，是他把我带到了悬崖边上，但真正把我踢下去的，不就是我自己这个蠢货吗？那个老贪吃鬼，只会幸灾乐祸。

‘E feeds on misery, see, does Tahm Kench. As old as sin, ‘e is, and older than Bilgewater by far. Been ‘round from the start of things, gorgin’ his self on the desperation what comes with the greed and sorrow in men’s hearts. I mean, I’d done it to me self, but it were him what give me the means. Ye might say, ‘e took me to the cliff’s edge, but I were the numpty what threw me self off, beg your pardon, and that old glutton revelled in me despair.

然后他又来了。在我最凄惨的时候。我只能从水坑里舀水喝，还把自己的腿给卖了换吃的。那天夜里黑透了，他哼着花言巧语的小曲儿，把这枚金海妖塞进了我的手心，还跟我心知肚明地挤了挤眼睛。

Came to me once more, ‘e did, when I was at me very lowest, drinkin’ from puddles, havin’ sold me own leg to be used for chum. In the darkest night, whisperin’ an’ cajolin’, ‘e pressed this gold Kraken back into me hand, with a knowin’ wink.

就是我一开头就有的那一枚！就是因为这枚要命的金币，才让我走到这副田地！唉，然后他张开大嘴，跟我说：“还不算晚，拉尔斯。永远都不晚。跟我来，我再给你找个大富大贵的机会……”

‘Twere the same one I’d ‘ad back at the start! It were this damn coin what started me on that wretched path! Eh, ‘e opened his mouth up wide, and says, “It’s not too late, Lars. Never too late. Come with me, an’ we’ll find you a fortune again...”

哪怕我都混成那样了，我还是动心了。多新鲜呐！但是，只有蛇母才知道为什么，我竟然拒绝了。两件大衣的老东西笑了，说只要我改了主意，他就会来。

Even after everythin’, I was tempted. ‘Course I was! But no. I resistedMother Serpent knows how. Two-Coats only laughed. Said he’d be there when I changed me mind.

而且我很明白，那种诱惑一直都在，哪怕是今天，没有一天不在。

And, sure enough, the temptation’s still there, now, every day.

所以我就这样了。没有朋友，一文不名。那些好日子啊，全都被我浪费了。也记不得多少了。所以我也说不上那时候到底开不开心了。

So here I am. Friendless. Broke. All the best years of me life behind me, wasted in those lost decades. Can’t remember most of it, neither, so I’ve no idea if I even enjoyed me self.

好啦。我废话说完了。有个教训你记好了——看紧你的钱包，永远，永远不要跟河流之王做交易。能输的东西，可不只是钱啊……

Anyways. Enough o’ my ramblin’. There’s a lesson to be learned, ‘erekeep your purse strings tight, and never, ever make a deal wi’ the River King. Ye’ve always got more to lose...