骆驼梁实秋写的

骆驼梁实秋写的(2)

时间：2021-08-31

　　梁实秋-《骆驼》英译

　　The Camel

　　Few places in Taipei are of much appeal to me except the zoo which I used to frequent for its two attractions, namely, the teahouse commanding a pleasant distant view from the window over the surrounding farmlands with fresh green vegetation and meandering streams, and the two camels.

　　Some people like to amuse themselves by watching the playfulness of clever monkeys which, though slightly manlike, are after all simple-minded animals. That's why people cannot help feeling a sense of superiority and throwing them handfuls of peanuts. Some people enjoy seeing lions jumping through a fiery hoop, dogs doing easy sums, or tigers turning a somersault. But it was with a different state of mind for me to watch the camels playing a tragic role. They had few onlookers and were separated by a fir log across the entrance instead of a fence. Lying on the muddy ground, they resembled huge artichokes when looked at from afar. And it gave me quite a shock to take a closer look. Their hair was falling off in patches, faintly revealing blood-stains on the skin. They were gasping for breath, with mouth wide open, chin drooping and watery big eyes seemingly brimming with tears of longing for their beloved ones. They were so skinny that their ribs showed through distinctly, their necks thin and long, and their tails like a worn-out broom. Nothing remained of their humps but the dried up skin resting on their backs like a gunnysack. O how did they get into such a pitiful plight? O where was the majestic appearance of the "ships of the desert"?

　　That, however, is not what a camel looks like in my mind's eye. In my childhood, the jingling of big bronze camel bells in my home town would always send me rushing outdoors to see a caravan arriving with a load of coal. The camels, sometimes numbering about ten, would stand roped up in a line, one after another, by the road. At the loud call of the coal trader, whose face was smeared all over with coal dust, the camels would submissively kneel down, ready to be unloaded. Foaming at the mouth, they kept chewing the cud. Sometimes, close at their heels was a calf trying ever so hard to catch up at a quickened pace. These heavily-built, docile pack animals were just amazing and adorable.

　　Camels do not adapt to the climate of subtropical zones. Northern African countries are known for their brave military camel corps in the deserts, but the camels involved are one-humped dromedaries, not the two-humped Bactrian camels as we are familiar with. The two camels soon disappeared from the zoo, and the specimen room did not have room enough to exhibit them. So, from then on, I seldom visited the zoo. I understand "failed acclimatization" is a face-saving excuse commonly used in officialese to refer to someone's removal from a position. Now the dismal fadeaway of the two camels must be for some similar reasons. How could the two big animals born and brought up in the vast northern plains of China long survive confinement in a small place like the zoo? How could they endure the sweltering heat? Of course, consequently they pined away with weariness and spent their days moping around until they died. How sad they must have been over their thinning hair! Who is to blame for having mischievously brought them to Taipei to undergo untold sufferings? They certainly deserve our deep sympathies!

　　In fact, camels find it difficult to subsist not only in this hot region, but also in the northern plains of China. Nowadays, with the introduction of mechanized transportation, nobody will ever drive a drove of camels, all strung together, through the open street. Camels used to play a useful role as "ships of the desert", but now, I hear, they have been largely replaced by modern means of transport. As tame animals, they are unable to live all by themselves in a wild state. I wonder if they can still manage to live and breed once they cease to be at man's service. Sad to say, people all sneeringly call them one of the most stupid categories of animals because all they can do is submit and endure passively. They kneel down obediently to be loaded with heavy weights. They exist on low-grade diets, such as tape grass, thistles and thorns, which most mammals refuse to eat. They drink saltish filthy water. They trek for three days and nights without drinking any water, not because they have water stored in their stomachs, but because the fat inside their bodies produce water through oxidation. The hump is considered a delicacy. I have never eaten it, but, I think, it must taste no better than a bear's paw. While probably few people new bemoan the possible extinction of camels, Pekingese, which are good at playing up to man, have become a pet with all. O if only we could do something to prevent this useful animal from its silent withdrawal from the world stage!

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