Lu Xun Complete Works/zh-en/Gou mao shu

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中文 (Original)	English (Translation)
= 狗·猫·鼠 — Dogs, Cats and Mice =	= Dogs, Cats and Mice = 狗·猫·鼠 (Dogs, Cats and Mice)
Part of the Lu Xun's Complete Works translation project.	von Lu Xun (鲁迅, 1881-1936)
== Chinese Original Text (中文原文) ==	Uebersetzt aus dem Chinesischen.
Total: 5,184 characters in 1 section(s).	----
=== Section 1 ===	== Section 1 ==
從去年起，仿佛聽得有人說我是仇貓的。那根據自然是在我的那一篇《兔和貓》；這是自畫招供，當然無話可說，——但倒也毫不介意。一到今年，我可很有點擔心了。我是常不免於弄弄筆墨的，寫了下來，印了出去，對於有些人似乎總是搔著癢處的時候少，碰著痛處的時候多。萬一不謹，甚而至於得罪了名人或名教授，或者更甚而至於得罪了“負有指導青年責任的前輩”之流，可就危險已極。為什麽呢？因為這些大腳色是“不好惹”的。怎地“不好惹”呢？就是怕要渾身發熱之後，做一封信登在報紙上，廣告道：“看哪！狗不是仇貓的麽？魯迅先生卻自己承認是仇貓的，而他還說要打‘落水狗’！”這“邏輯”的奧義，即在用我的話，來證明我倒是狗，於是而凡有言說，全都根本推翻，即使我說二二得四，三三見九，也沒有一字不錯。這些既然都錯，則紳士口頭的二二得七，三三見千等等，自然就不錯了。	Since last year, I seem to have heard people saying that I am a cat-hater. The evidence for this is naturally my essay "Rabbits and Cats" — a self-drawn confession, about which there is nothing to be said — but I did not mind in the least. This year, however, I have become rather worried. I am one who cannot help dabbling with the pen from time to time; I write things down and send them off to be printed, and for certain people it seems I scratch where it itches less often than I hit where it hurts. Should I, through the slightest carelessness, happen to offend some famous personage or distinguished professor, or worse still, one of those "elders charged with the responsibility of guiding the youth," then I would be in extreme danger. Why? Because such grand figures are "not to be trifled with." How "not to be trifled with"? I fear that after getting heated all over, they would write a letter and publish it in the newspaper, proclaiming: "Look here! Is not the dog the enemy of the cat? Yet Mr. Lu Xun himself admits to being a cat-hater, and he still talks about beating 'dogs in the water'!" The subtle meaning of this "logic" lies in using my own words to prove that I am in fact a dog, whereby all my utterances are fundamentally overturned — even if I say two times two is four or three times three is nine, not a single word would be correct. Since all of these are wrong, then the gentleman's pronouncements that two times two is seven or three times three is a thousand, and so forth, would naturally be correct.
我於是就間或留心著查考它們成仇的“動機”。這也並非敢妄學現下的學者以動機來褒貶作品的那些時髦，不過想給自己預先洗刷洗刷。據我想，這在動物心理學家，是用不著費什麽力氣的，可惜我沒有這學問。後來，在覃哈特博士（Dr.O.Dähmhardt）的《自然史底國民童話》裏，總算發見了那原因了。據說，是這麽一回事：動物們因為要商議要事，開了一個會議，鳥、魚、獸都齊集了，單是缺了象。大家議定，派夥計去迎接它，拈到了當這差使的鬮的就是狗。“我怎麽找到那象呢？我沒有見過它，也和它不認識。”它問。“那容易，”大眾說，“它是駝背的。”狗去了，遇見一匹貓，立刻弓起脊梁來，它便招待，同行，將弓著脊梁的貓介紹給大家道：“象在這裏！”但是大家都嗤笑它了。從此以後，狗和貓便成了仇家。	I therefore began from time to time to investigate the "motives" behind their enmity. This was not an attempt to presumptuously imitate the current fashion among scholars of judging works by their motives; I merely wished to clear my own name in advance. As I see it, this would require no great effort from an animal psychologist, but unfortunately I do not possess such learning. Later, in Dr. O. Dahnhardt's *Natural History in Folk Tales*, I finally discovered the reason. It goes like this: the animals, having important matters to discuss, convened a meeting. Birds, fish, and beasts all assembled — only the elephant was absent. They decided to send a messenger to welcome it, and the lot fell upon the dog. "How shall I find the elephant? I have never seen it, nor do I know it," the dog asked. "That is easy," everyone said. "It has a hunched back." Off the dog went, and encountering a cat that had just arched its back, the dog escorted it along and introduced the arch-backed cat to the assembly: "Here is the elephant!" But everyone burst out laughing at it. From that day on, dogs and cats became enemies.
日爾曼人走出森林雖然還不很久，學術文藝卻已經很可觀，便是書籍的裝潢，玩具的工致，也無不令人心愛。獨有這一篇童話卻實在不漂亮；結怨也結得沒有意思。貓的弓起脊梁，並不是希圖冒充，故意擺架子的，其咎卻在狗的自己沒眼力。然而原因也總可以算作一個原因。我的仇貓，是和這大大兩樣的。	Although the Germanic peoples have not been out of their forests very long, their scholarship and literature are already quite impressive, and even the bindings of their books and the craftsmanship of their toys are all delightful. Only this particular tale is really not very attractive; the grudge is formed in a rather pointless way. The cat arches its back not from any pretension or deliberate posturing — the fault lies entirely in the dog's own lack of discernment. Nevertheless, a reason can still count as a reason, I suppose. My hatred of cats, however, is of a very different sort.
其實人禽之辨，本不必這樣嚴。在動物界，雖然並不如古人所幻想的那樣舒適自由，可是嚕囌做作的事總比人間少。它們適性任情，對就對，錯就錯，不說一句分辯話。蟲蛆也許是不乾淨的，但它們並沒有自鳴清高；鷙禽猛獸以較弱的動物為餌，不妨說是兇殘的罷，但它們從來就沒有豎過“公理”“正義”的旗子，使犧牲者直到被吃的時候為止，還是一味佩服贊嘆它們。人呢，能直立了，自然是一大進步；能說話了，自然又是一大進步；能寫字作文了，自然又是一大進步。然而也就墮落，因為那時也開始了說空話。說空話尚無不可，甚至於連自己也不知道說著違心之論，則對於只能嗥叫的動物，實在免不得“顏厚有忸怩”。假使真有一位一視同仁的造物主，高高在上，那麽，對於人類的這些小聰明，也許倒以為多事，正如我們在萬生園裏，看見猴子翻筋鬥，母象請安，雖然往往破顏一笑，但同時也覺得不舒服，甚至於感到悲哀，以為這些多余的聰明，倒不如沒有的好罷。然而，既經為人，便也只好“黨同伐異”，學著人們的說話，隨俗來談一談，——辯一辯了。	In truth, one need not draw such a sharp line between humans and animals. In the animal kingdom, though things are not as comfortable and free as the ancients imagined, there is certainly less fuss and pretense than in the world of men. Animals follow their natures and act on their feelings: right is right and wrong is wrong, and they never utter a word of self-justification. Maggots may be unclean, but they never proclaim their own purity; birds of prey and fierce beasts take weaker animals for food — one might call them cruel — but they have never once raised the banner of "justice" or "righteousness," causing their victims to admire and praise them right up until the moment of being devoured. Humans, now — the ability to stand upright was certainly a great advance; the ability to speak was certainly another great advance; the ability to write essays was certainly yet another great advance. But with these came decline, for that was also when the uttering of empty words began. Uttering empty words might still be forgivable, but when one does not even realize one is speaking against one's own convictions, then compared to animals who can only howl, one truly cannot help but feel "thick-skinned and ashamed." If there really were an impartial Creator on high, He would perhaps regard these petty human cleverness as meddlesome — just as we, watching monkeys turn somersaults and elephants curtsy at the zoo, may break into a smile but at the same time feel uncomfortable, or even sad, thinking it would be better if they did not possess such superfluous cleverness. However, since one has already become human, one might as well "attack those who differ and ally with one's own kind," learn to speak as people do, and follow custom to have a chat — or a debate.
現在說起我仇貓的原因來，自己覺得是理由充足，而且光明正大的。一、它的性情就和別的猛獸不同，凡捕食雀、鼠，總不肯一口咬死，定要盡情玩弄，放走，又捉住，捉住，又放走，直待自己玩厭了，這才吃下去，頗與人們的幸災樂禍，慢慢地折磨弱者的壞脾氣相同。二、它不是和獅虎同族的麽？可是有這麽一副媚態！但這也許是限於天分之故罷，假使它的身材比現在大十倍，那就真不知道它所取的是怎麽一種態度。然而，這些口實，仿佛又是現在提起筆來的時候添出來的，雖然也像是當時湧上心來的理由。要說得可靠一點，或者倒不如說不過因為它們配合時候的嗥叫，手續竟有這麽繁重，鬧得別人心煩，尤其是夜間要看書，睡覺的時候。當這些時候，我便要用長竹竿去攻擊它們。狗們在大道上配合時，常有閑漢拿了木棍痛打；我曾見大勃呂該爾（P.Bruegel d.Ä）的一張銅版畫Allegorie der Wollust上，也畫著這回事，可見這樣的舉動，是中外古今一致的。自從那執拗的奧國學者弗羅特（S.Freud）提倡了精神分析說——Psychoanalysis，聽說章士釗先生是譯作“心解”的，雖然簡古，可是實在難解得很——以來，我們的名人名教授也頗有隱隱約約，檢來應用的了，這些事便不免又要歸宿到性欲上去。打狗的事我不管，至於我的打貓，卻只因為它們嚷嚷，此外並無惡意，我自信我的嫉妒心還沒有這麽博大，當現下“動輒獲咎”之秋，這是不可不預先聲明的。例如人們當配合之前，也很有些手續，新的是寫情書，少則一束，多則一捆；舊的是什麽“問名”“納采”，磕頭作揖，去年海昌蔣氏在北京舉行婚禮，拜來拜去，就十足拜了三天，還印有一本紅面子的《婚禮節文》，《序論》裏大發議論道：“平心論之，既名為禮，當必繁重。專圖簡易，何用禮為？……然則世之有志於禮者，可以興矣！不可退居於禮所不下之庶人矣！”然而我毫不生氣，這是因為無須我到場；因此也可見我的仇貓，理由實在簡簡單單，只為了它們在我的耳朵邊盡嚷的緣故。人們的各種禮式，局外人可以不見不聞，我就滿不管，但如果當我正要看書或睡覺的時候，有人來勒令朗誦情書，奉陪作揖，那是為自衛起見，還要用長竹竿來抵禦的。還有，平素不大交往的人，忽而寄給我一個紅帖子，上面印著“為舍妹出閣”，“小兒完姻”，“敬請觀禮”或“闔第光臨”這些含有“陰險的暗示”的句子，使我不化錢便總覺得有些過意不去的，我也不十分高興。	Now, as I come to state my reasons for hating cats, I feel they are perfectly sufficient, and entirely aboveboard. First, the cat's temperament differs from that of other predators: whenever it catches a sparrow or a mouse, it is never willing to dispatch it in one bite but must toy with it to its heart's content — letting it go, catching it again, catching it again, letting it go — until it has had enough of the game, and only then does it eat. This is quite similar to the nasty human habit of taking pleasure in others' misfortunes and slowly tormenting the weak. Second, is it not of the same family as the lion and the tiger? Yet what a fawning manner it has! But perhaps this is merely a matter of natural endowment — if its body were ten times its current size, one really does not know what attitude it would assume. These grounds for complaint, however, seem to have been added just now as I take up the pen, though they also seem like reasons that surged up in my mind at the time. To be more reliable, perhaps I should simply say it was because of the caterwauling they make when mating — such elaborate proceedings! — disturbing everyone else, especially when one is trying to read or sleep at night. At such times, I would take a long bamboo pole and attack them. When dogs mate in the street, idlers often beat them with sticks; I once saw a copperplate engraving by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, *Allegorie der Wollust*, that also depicted this, which shows such behavior is universal across time and place. Ever since that obstinate Austrian scholar Sigmund Freud promoted psychoanalysis — which I hear Mr. Zhang Shizhao has translated as "heart-analysis," concise and archaic, but truly difficult to understand — our own famous personages and distinguished professors have also begun to invoke it in a vague sort of way, and such matters inevitably end up being attributed to sexual desire. I do not concern myself with the beating of dogs; as for my attacks on cats, they were solely because of the noise, with no malice whatsoever. I trust that my jealousy has not yet grown so expansive, and in these times when "the slightest move invites censure," this must be stated in advance. For instance, people also have quite elaborate procedures before mating: the modern way is to write love letters, a bundle at least, a bale at most; the old way involved "inquiring the name" and "presenting betrothal gifts," with kowtowing and bowing. Last year, the Jiang family of Haichang held a wedding in Beijing, bowing back and forth for a full three days, and even printed a red-covered volume of *Wedding Ritual Protocol*, whose preface declared at length: "Considered impartially, since it is called a ritual, it must naturally be elaborate. If one aims only for simplicity, what need is there for ritual? ... Thus those in the world who aspire to ritual may rise! Let them not retreat to the rank of commoners, to whom ritual does not extend!" Yet I felt no irritation at all — because I was not required to attend. This also shows that my grudge against cats really has the simplest of reasons: merely because they insist on yowling in my ears. One can ignore other people's various rituals if one is not involved, and I could not care less; but if someone were to come and order me to recite love letters or accompany them in bowing just when I wanted to read or sleep, then in self-defense I would still have to resist with a long bamboo pole. Furthermore, when acquaintances with whom I rarely associate suddenly send me a red invitation card printed with "for my humble sister's wedding" or "for my son's nuptials," "respectfully requesting your attendance" or "the honor of your entire household's presence" — sentences containing "sinister implications" that make me feel guilty if I do not spend money — I am not entirely pleased either.
但是，這都是近時的話。再一回憶，我的仇貓卻遠在能夠說出這些理由之前，也許是還在十歲上下的時候了。至今還分明記得，那原因是極其簡單的：只因為它吃老鼠，——吃了我飼養著的可愛的小小的隱鼠。	But all this is recent talk. Thinking further back, my hatred of cats began long before I could articulate these reasons — perhaps when I was around ten years old. I still remember clearly: the reason was extremely simple. It was only because the cat ate mice — ate the adorable little "hidden mouse" I had been keeping.
聽說西洋是不很喜歡黑貓的，不知道可確；但Edgar Allan Poe的小說裏的黑貓，卻實在有點駭人。日本的貓善於成精，傳說中的“貓婆”，那食人的慘酷確是更可怕。中國古時候雖然曾有“貓鬼”，近來卻很少聽到貓的興妖作怪，似乎古法已經失傳，老實起來了。只是我在童年，總覺得它有點妖氣，沒有什麽好感。那是一個我的幼時的夏夜，我躺在一株大桂樹下的小板桌上乘涼，祖母搖著芭蕉扇坐在桌旁，給我猜謎，講故事。忽然，桂樹上沙沙地有趾爪的爬搔聲，一對閃閃的眼睛在暗中隨聲而下，使我吃驚，也將祖母講著的話打斷，另講貓的故事了——	I hear that in the West they are not very fond of black cats, though I do not know if this is certain; but the black cat in Edgar Allan Poe's story is indeed rather frightening. Japanese cats are skilled at becoming spirits, and the "Cat Hag" of legend, who devours humans, is even more terrifying in her cruelty. In old China there were once "cat ghosts," but recently one seldom hears of cats working mischief — the old arts seem to have been lost, and cats have become honest. But in my childhood, I always felt there was something uncanny about them, and had no fondness for them at all. One summer night when I was small, I lay on a little board table under a large cassia tree to cool off. My grandmother sat beside the table, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan, posing riddles and telling me stories. Suddenly, from up in the cassia tree came the scratching sound of claws on bark, and a pair of gleaming eyes descended through the darkness with the sound, startling me and interrupting my grandmother's story. She began telling cat stories instead —
“你知道麽？貓是老虎的先生。”她說。“小孩子怎麽會知道呢，貓是老虎的師父。老虎本來是什麽也不會的，就投到貓的門下來。貓就教給它撲的方法，捉的方法，吃的方法，像自己的捉老鼠一樣。這些教完了；老虎想，本領都學到了，誰也比不過它了，只有老師的貓還比自己強，要是殺掉貓，自己便是最強的腳色了。它打定主意，就上前去撲貓。貓是早知道它的來意的，一跳，便上了樹，老虎卻只能眼睜睜地在樹下蹲著。它還沒有將一切本領傳授完，還沒有教給它上樹。”	"Do you know? The cat was the tiger's teacher," she said. "How would a small child know — the cat was the tiger's master. The tiger originally knew nothing at all and enrolled itself under the cat's tutelage. The cat taught it the method of pouncing, the method of catching, the method of eating — just like its own way of catching mice. When all this had been taught, the tiger thought: I have learned every skill now; no one can surpass me; only my teacher the cat is still stronger than I am. If I kill the cat, I shall be the mightiest of all. Having made up its mind, it lunged at the cat. But the cat had known its intention all along. With one leap, it was up in the tree, and the tiger could only squat below, staring helplessly. The cat had not yet transmitted all its skills — it had not yet taught the tiger to climb trees."
這是僥幸的，我想，幸而老虎很性急，否則從桂樹上就會爬下一匹老虎來。然而究竟很怕人，我要進屋子裏睡覺去了。夜色更加黯然；桂葉瑟瑟地作響，微風也吹動了，想來草席定已微涼，躺著也不至於煩得翻來覆去了。	That was fortunate, I thought — lucky that the tiger was so impatient, otherwise a tiger might have climbed down from the cassia tree. But it was still frightening, and I wanted to go inside to sleep. The night grew darker; the cassia leaves rustled as a breeze stirred. I imagined the sleeping mat must have cooled by now, and I would no longer toss and turn restlessly.
幾百年的老屋中的豆油燈的微光下，是老鼠跳梁的世界，飄忽地走著，吱吱地叫著，那態度往往比“名人名教授”還軒昂。貓是飼養著的，然而吃飯不管事。祖母她們雖然常恨鼠子們嚙破了箱櫃，偷吃了東西，我卻以為這也算不得什麽大罪，也和我不相干，況且這類壞事大概是大個子的老鼠做的，決不能誣陷到我所愛的小鼠身上去。這類小鼠大抵在地上走動，只有拇指那麽大，也不很畏懼人，我們那裏叫它“隱鼠”，與專住在屋上的偉大者是兩種。我的床前就帖著兩張花紙，一是“八戒招贅”，滿紙長嘴大耳，我以為不甚雅觀；別的一張“老鼠成親”卻可愛，自新郎、新婦以至儐相、賓客、執事，沒有一個不是尖腮細腿，像煞讀書人的，但穿的都是紅衫綠褲。我想，能舉辦這樣大儀式的，一定只有我所喜歡的那些隱鼠。現在是粗俗了，在路上遇見人類的迎娶儀仗，也不過當作性交的廣告看，不甚留心；但那時的想看“老鼠成親”的儀式，卻極其神往，即使像海昌蔣氏似的連拜三夜，怕也未必會看得心煩。正月十四的夜，是我不肯輕易便睡，等候它們的儀仗從床下出來的夜。然而仍然只看見幾個光著身子的隱鼠在地面遊行，不像正在辦著喜事。直到我熬不住了，怏怏睡去，一睜眼卻已經天明，到了燈節了。也許鼠族的婚儀，不但不分請帖，來收羅賀禮，雖是真的“觀禮”，也絕對不歡迎的罷，我想，這是它們向來的習慣，無法抗議的。	In the faint light of the bean-oil lamp in a house centuries old, it was the world of scampering mice — darting about, squeaking — often with an air even more imposing than that of "famous personages and distinguished professors." A cat was kept in the house, but it ate its fill and ignored its duties. Although my grandmother and the others often resented the mice for gnawing through boxes and chests and stealing food, I did not think these offenses amounted to much, nor were they any concern of mine. Besides, such misdeeds were most likely committed by the big mice, and one could not falsely accuse the little mice I loved. These little mice generally scurried about on the ground, were only the size of a thumb, and were not very afraid of people. In our parts they were called "hidden mice," a different species from the great ones that lived exclusively in the rafters. Pasted on the wall beside my bed were two colored prints: one was "Pigsy Takes a Bride," covered with long snouts and big ears, which I found rather inelegant; the other, "The Mouse Wedding," was delightful — from the bridegroom and bride to the groomsmen, guests, and attendants, every one had a pointed face and slender legs, looking exactly like scholars, yet they all wore red jackets and green trousers. I thought that only the hidden mice I loved could put on such a grand ceremony. I have grown coarser now, and when I encounter a wedding procession on the street, I merely regard it as an advertisement for sexual intercourse and pay little attention. But in those days, my longing to witness "The Mouse Wedding" ceremony was intense — even if, like the Jiang family of Haichang, they bowed for three nights running, I doubt I would have grown weary of watching. The night of the fourteenth of the first month was the night I would not willingly go to sleep, waiting for their procession to emerge from under my bed. But all I ever saw were a few naked hidden mice parading across the floor, with no sign of wedding festivities. By the time I could hold out no longer and went sullenly to sleep, it was already dawn when I opened my eyes — the Lantern Festival had arrived. Perhaps the wedding rites of mouse-kind not only dispense with invitation cards and the collection of congratulatory gifts, but even genuine "spectators" are absolutely unwelcome, I thought. This is their age-old custom, against which there is no appeal.
老鼠的大敵其實並不是貓。春後，你聽到它“咋！咋咋咋咋！”地叫著，大家稱為“老鼠數銅錢”的，便知道它的可怕的屠伯已經光降了。這聲音是表現絕望的驚恐的，雖然遇見貓，還不至於這樣叫。貓自然也可怕，但老鼠只要竄進一個小洞去，它也就奈何不得，逃命的機會還很多。獨有那可怕的屠伯——蛇，身體是細長的，圓徑和鼠子差不多，凡鼠子能到的地方，它也能到，追逐的時間也格外長，而且萬難幸免，當“數錢”的時候，大概是已經沒有第二步辦法的了。	The mouse's greatest enemy is actually not the cat. In spring, when you hear it cry "Zha! Zha-zha-zha-zha!" — what everyone calls "the mouse counting its coins" — you know its dreadful executioner has arrived. That sound expresses the ultimate terror of despair; even upon encountering a cat, the mouse would not cry like that. The cat is frightening, to be sure, but as long as the mouse can scurry into a small hole, the cat can do nothing, and the chances of escape are still many. Only that terrible executioner — the snake — has a body that is long and slender, with roughly the same diameter as the mouse; wherever the mouse can go, it can go too. The chase lasts far longer, and escape is virtually impossible. When the mouse is "counting its coins," there is probably no second recourse left.
有一回，我就聽得一間空屋裏有著這種“數錢”的聲音，推門進去，一條蛇伏在橫梁上，看地上，躺著一匹隱鼠，口角流血，但兩脅還是一起一落的。取來給躺在一個紙盒子裏，大半天，竟醒過來了，漸漸地能夠飲食，行走，到第二日，似乎就復了原，但是不逃走。放在地上，也時時跑到人面前來，而且緣腿而上，一直爬到膝髁。給放在飯桌上，便檢吃些菜渣，舐舐碗沿；放在我的書桌上，則從容地遊行，看見硯臺便舐吃了研著的墨汁。這使我非常驚喜了。我聽父親說過的，中國有一種墨猴，只有拇指一般大，全身的毛是漆黑而且發亮的。它睡在筆筒裏，一聽到磨墨，便跳出來，等著，等到人寫完字，套上筆，就舔盡了硯上的余墨，仍舊跳進筆筒裏去了。我就極願意有這樣的一個墨猴，可是得不到；問那裏有，那裏買的呢，誰也不知道。“慰情聊勝無”，這隱鼠總可以算是我的墨猴了罷，雖然它舐吃墨汁，並不一定肯等到我寫完字。	Once, I heard that very sound of "coin-counting" coming from an empty room. I pushed the door open and went in. A snake lay draped across a beam. On the floor lay a hidden mouse, blood seeping from the corner of its mouth, but its flanks still rising and falling. I took it and placed it in a paper box. After half a day, it actually revived, and gradually became able to eat, drink, and walk about. By the second day, it seemed to have recovered completely, yet it did not run away. Set on the floor, it would constantly run toward people and climb up their legs, all the way to the kneecap. Placed on the dining table, it would pick at scraps of food and lick the rims of bowls; placed on my writing desk, it would stroll about at leisure, and upon seeing the inkstone would lick up the freshly ground ink. This delighted me enormously. I had heard my father speak of a creature in China called the ink-monkey, only the size of a thumb, its entire body of fur jet-black and glossy. It slept in the brush holder, and as soon as it heard the grinding of ink, it would leap out and wait. When the person finished writing and capped the brush, it would lick clean all the remaining ink on the inkstone and hop back into the brush holder. I desperately wanted such an ink-monkey but could not obtain one; when I asked where they could be found or bought, no one knew. "A poor consolation is better than none" — this hidden mouse could surely serve as my ink-monkey, even though it did not necessarily wait until I had finished writing before licking the ink.
現在已經記不分明，這樣地大約有一兩月；有一天，我忽然感到寂寞了，真所謂“若有所失”。我的隱鼠，是常在眼前遊行的，或桌上，或地上。而這一日卻大半天沒有見，大家吃午飯了，也不見它走出來，平時，是一定出現的。我再等著，再等它一半天，然而仍然沒有見。	I can no longer remember clearly, but this went on for about a month or two. One day, I suddenly felt lonely — truly what is called "as if something were lost." My hidden mouse was always in sight, parading about on the table or the floor. But on this day I had not seen it for most of the morning. Everyone sat down to lunch, and still it did not appear; usually it would certainly have come out. I waited more, another half-day, but still there was no sign of it.
長媽媽，一個一向帶領著我的女工，也許是以為我等得太苦了罷，輕輕地來告訴我一句話。這即刻使我憤怒而且悲哀，決心和貓們為敵。她說：隱鼠是昨天晚上被貓吃去了！	Mama Chang — a serving woman who had always looked after me — perhaps thought I had been waiting too painfully, and came softly to tell me something. This instantly filled me with rage and grief, and I resolved to wage war against all cats. She said: the hidden mouse had been eaten by the cat last night!
當我失掉了所愛的，心中有著空虛時，我要充填以報仇的惡念！	When I have lost what I loved and feel emptiness in my heart, I fill it with thoughts of vengeance!
我的報仇，就從家裏飼養著的一匹花貓起手，逐漸推廣，至於凡所遇見的諸貓。最先不過是追趕，襲擊；後來卻愈加巧妙了，能飛石擊中它們的頭，或誘入空屋裏面，打得它垂頭喪氣。這作戰繼續得頗長久，此後似乎貓都不來近我了。但對於它們縱使怎樣戰勝，大約也算不得一個英雄；況且中國畢生和貓打仗的人也未必多，所以一切韜略、戰績，還是全部省略了罷。	My revenge began with the tabby cat kept in our house and gradually expanded to include all cats I encountered. At first I merely chased and ambushed them; later my methods grew more ingenious — I could hit them on the head with a thrown stone, or lure them into an empty room and beat them until they hung their heads in dejection. This campaign went on for quite some time, and after that the cats seemed to stop coming near me. But no matter how many victories I won over them, I could hardly be called a hero; besides, there are probably not many people in China who spend their entire lives fighting cats, so all strategy and battle records may as well be omitted entirely.
但許多天之後，也許是已經經過了大半年，我竟偶然得到一個意外的消息：那隱鼠其實並非被貓所害，倒是它緣著長媽媽的腿要爬上去，被她一腳踏死了。	But many days later — perhaps more than half a year had passed — I chanced upon an unexpected piece of news: the hidden mouse had not in fact been killed by the cat; rather, it had climbed up Mama Chang's leg, and she had trampled it to death with one step.
這確是先前所沒有料想到的。現在我已經記不清當時是怎樣一個感想，但和貓的感情卻終於沒有融和；到了北京，還因為它傷害了兔的兒女們，便舊隙夾新嫌，使出更辣的辣手。“仇貓”的話柄，也從此傳揚開來。然而在現在，這些早已是過去的事了，我已經改變態度，對貓頗為客氣，倘其萬不得已，則趕走而已，決不打傷它們，更何況殺害。這是我近幾年的進步。經驗既多，一旦大悟，知道貓的偷魚肉，拖小雞，深夜大叫，人們自然十之九是憎惡的，而這憎惡是在貓身上。假如我出而為人們驅除這憎惡，打傷或殺害了它，它便立刻變為可憐，那憎惡倒移在我身上了。所以，目下的辦法，是凡遇貓們搗亂，至於有人討厭時，我便站出去，在門口大聲叱曰：“噓！滾！”小小平靜，即回書房，這樣，就長保著禦侮保家的資格。其實這方法，中國的官兵就常在實做的，他們總不肯掃清土匪或撲滅敵人，因為這麽一來，就要不被重視，甚至於因失其用處而被裁汰。我想，如果能將這方法推廣應用，我大概也總可望成為所謂“指導青年”的“前輩”的罷，但現下也還未決心實踐，正在研究而且推敲。	This was something I had certainly not anticipated. I can no longer recall clearly what I felt at the time, but my feelings toward cats never did become reconciled. After I moved to Beijing, because a cat had harmed the baby rabbits, old grudges combined with new grievances, and I employed even harsher measures. The epithet "cat-hater" has been bandied about ever since. But now all this is already a thing of the past. I have changed my attitude and become quite civil toward cats. If absolutely necessary, I merely chase them away and never injure them, much less kill them. This is my progress in recent years. With more experience, one eventually reaches a great enlightenment: cats steal fish and meat, snatch chicks, and yowl loudly in the dead of night — nine out of ten people naturally detest them, and this detestation rests upon the cat. If I were to step forward and drive away this detestation by injuring or killing the cat, it would instantly become an object of pity, and the detestation would shift onto me. Therefore, my current method is: whenever cats create a disturbance and someone expresses annoyance, I step to the doorway and shout loudly: "Shoo! Scram!" After a brief calm, I return to my study. In this way, I permanently maintain my credentials as a defender of hearth and home. In fact, this is exactly what Chinese government troops have always done in practice — they are never willing to clear out the bandits or crush the enemy completely, because once they did, they would cease to be valued, and might even be disbanded for having outlived their usefulness. I think that if this method could be applied more broadly, I might well hope to become one of those so-called "elders" who "guide the youth." But for now I have not yet resolved to put it into practice, and am still studying and deliberating.
一九二六年二月二十一日。	February 21, 1926.

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