9 The Man in the Forest

CHAPTER 9 The Man in the Forest Henry flinched, as if discovered in a crime. They had won after all! The fools who had stayed behind had beaten the enemy. He could hear cheering behind him. He turned away, amazed and angry. He felt that he had been wronged. He had fled, he told himself, because total defeat was coming. He had done a good thing by saving himself. Henry was a little piece of the army, and it was the duty of every little piece to rescue itself if it could. Later, the officers could fit the little pieces back

第九章森林里的人亨利畏缩了一下，仿佛被发现犯了什么罪似的。 他们终于赢了！留下来的傻瓜们打败了敌人。 他能听到身后的欢呼声。 他转过身去，既惊讶又生气。 他觉得自己受了冤枉。 他逃跑了，他告诉自己，因为彻底的失败就要来了。 他救了自己，做了一件好事。 亨利是军队中的一员，每一员都有责任尽其所能自救。 稍后，警官们可以把这些小碎片装回去

together to make a whole army again. His actions had been wise, Henry assured himself. Thoughts of his friends came to him. They had held strong and won. This thought made Henry grow bitter. It seemed that their foolishness had betrayed him. He thought he had done the smart thing by running, and now he felt a great anger at his friends who had not done the same. Henry knew that his friends would make fun of him when he returned to camp. He began to pity himself when he thought of how badly they would treat him. He left the field and went into a thick patch of woods. He wanted to get away from hearing the few shots that were still being fired. The ground was covered with vines and bushes, and the trees grew close together. Henry had to force his way through. The thorns from the bushes tore at his legs, and

重新组成一支完整的军队。 亨利确信自己的行为是明智的。 他想起了他的朋友们。 他们坚韧不拔，取得了胜利。 这种想法使亨利变得痛苦。 似乎是他们的愚蠢出卖了他。 他认为自己逃跑是明智之举，现在他对那些没有这么做的朋友感到非常愤怒。 亨利知道当他回到营地时，他的朋友们会取笑他。 当他想到他们会怎样恶劣地对待他时，他开始怜悯自己。 他离开田地，走进一片茂密的树林。 他想远离仍在响起的几声枪响。 地上长满了藤蔓和灌木，树木长得很近。 亨利不得不强行通过。 灌木上的刺刺着他的腿，而且

the branches blocked the way. Henry couldn't make peace with the forest. He made so much noise that he was afraid other men would hear him. He went far into the forest, looking for a dark place where he could be alone. After a time, the sound of gunfire grew faint. The cannons boomed far in the distance. The sun blazed among the trees. The insects were making noises in a rhythm. They seemed to be grinding their teeth in unison. A woodpecker worked at the side of a tree, and a bird flew by. Far away was the rumble of death, but here Henry could only hear the sounds of nature. This landscape made him feel better. It was peaceful. A pinecone fell from a tree and landed near a squirrel, which quickly ran away. Henry saw that this was the law of nature. The squirrel had understood that there was danger and had taken to its legs right away.

树枝挡住了路。 亨利无法与森林和平相处。 他发出那么大的噪音，他担心别人会听到他。 他走进森林深处，寻找一个可以独自一人的黑暗的地方。 过了一会儿，枪声变得微弱了。 大炮在远处轰鸣。 太阳在树林中闪耀。 昆虫有节奏地发出声音。 他们似乎在一起咬牙切齿。 一只啄木鸟在树旁工作，一只鸟飞过。 远处是死亡的隆隆声，但在这里亨利只能听到大自然的声音。 这景色使他感觉好多了。 一切都很平静。一个松果从树上掉下来，落在一只松鼠旁边，松鼠很快就跑开了。 亨利认为这是自然规律。 松鼠意识到有危险，立刻爬了起来。

Henry went farther into the deep forest. Finally he reached a place where the high, curved branches seemed to form a chapel. Pine needles made a gentle brown carpet and there was a soft light. Near the entrance he stopped, shocked at the sight before him. In front of Henry sat a dead man with his back against a tree. The man was dressed in a uniform that had once been blue, but was now faded to a sad shade of green. The eyes that were staring at Henry had changed to a dull color, like the side of a fish. The mouth was open. Its once red lips had changed to a terrible yellow. Little ants ran over the man's gray skin. One was carrying some sort of bundle along his upper lip. Henry gave a shriek as he saw the body. He couldn't move or turn his eyes away from the man. It was as if he had been turned to stone for a few moments. He stared into the

亨利向森林深处走去。 最后，他来到了一个地方，那里高大弯曲的树枝似乎形成了一个小教堂。 松针铺成一层柔和的棕色地毯，灯光柔和。 快到门口时，他停了下来，眼前的景象令他震惊。 亨利面前坐着一个死人，背靠着一棵树。 那人穿着一件曾经是蓝色的制服，但现在已经褪成了一种悲哀的绿色。 盯着亨利的眼睛已经变成了一种暗淡的颜色，就像鱼的侧面。 嘴巴张着。它曾经红红的嘴唇变成了可怕的黄色。 小蚂蚁在男人灰色的皮肤上跑来跑去。 有一个人的上唇上挎着什么东西。 亨利看到尸体时尖叫了一声。 他无法动弹，也无法把目光从那个人身上移开。 有那么一会儿，他仿佛变成了石头。 他凝视着窗外。

strange eyes. Slowly, Henry put one hand behind him and rested it against a tree. Leaning on this, he drew back step-by-step, his face still looking toward the man. He was scared that if he turned his back the body might jump up and chase after him. The branches pushed against Henry and threatened to knock him over. His feet caught in the vines. He imagined touching the body and shook terribly. At last he broke free of the branches and vines, and fled. He didn't watch where he was going. He just ran. In his imagination, Henry was being chased by the sight of the black ants crawling on the gray face. After a time, he paused and listened. He was out of breath from running. Henry imagined some strange voice would come from the dead man's throat and yell after him. Behind him, the trees around the body

奇怪的眼睛。亨利慢慢地把一只手放在身后，靠在一棵树上。 他靠着这个，一步一步地往后退，脸仍然望着那个人。 他害怕如果他转过身去，那具尸体会跳起来追他。 树枝顶着亨利，似乎要把他撞倒。 他的脚被藤蔓缠住了。 他想象着触摸尸体的情景，颤抖得厉害。 最后他挣脱了树枝和藤蔓，逃走了。 他没看路。 他只是跑了。在他的想象中，亨利被黑蚂蚁在灰色的脸上爬行的景象所追赶。 过了一会儿，他停下来听了听。 他跑得上气不接下气。 亨利想象着某个奇怪的声音会从死者的喉咙里出来，在他身后大喊大叫。 在他身后，树木环绕着尸体

moved in a soft wind. There was a sad silence.

在柔和的风中移动。一阵悲伤的沉默。