下雪的季节
The Season of Snow
周领顺
Zhou Lingshun
下雪的季节
下雪的季节，稀罕的，也就是那个雪哟！
For the season of snow, a most welcome sight for the eyes is the snow itself.
“千里冰封，万里雪飘”的世界晶莹剔透，银装素裹；“山舞银蛇，原驰蜡象”的大地玉洁冰清，清爽而浪漫。
Ice-bound and snow-covered, the vast landscape is a crystal white with all colors drained away from it, and the undulating plain a romantic purity of icy powder with white mountains meandering their way across it.
我喜欢下雪，喜欢看那悄无声息、飘然而至的漫天飞舞的大雪；喜欢在飞雪中傻站着，看自己转眼间变成须发皆白的耄耋老翁；喜欢看棱角分明的雪花飘落于掌心又转瞬消融的踪影；喜欢看雪天在白皑皑一望无垠的原野上村庄房屋被大雪“淹没”而露出的只是冒烟的烟囱。大雪纷飞里，总能瞥见人们堆雪人找鼻子、装眼睛忙碌的身影，老远就能听到大人小孩借东讨西的那份激情。春节了，还能看到雪帘中通红的春联透出的那份喜庆，正月里最好看的，是远处雪地里走亲串友在雪白的背景上游动的点点绿红。我喜欢走在雪地里，感受那咯吱咯吱的响声；喜欢看小鸟成群结队飘落而至匆忙觅食转眼间又扑棱棱飞走的身形……。抓一把雪，揉成蛋儿，塞入同伴的衣领；邀同学于树下，朝树身上跺一脚，看雪面儿抖落的壮观，听人家数落还要提防对方的“报复”行动。农民盼下雪呀，盼它个“正月十五雪打灯”、“瑞雪兆丰年”；城里人盼下雪呀，盼它增加湿润、减少疾病。孩子们盼下雪，盼的可能是雪地里的嬉戏；青年人盼下雪，玉树下相机里留下的是芳姿倩影。
I love snow. I love to watch fluffy snowflakes swirling and twirling down gently and silently from the heavens. I love to stand in the fluttering snow and to be dusted white shortly over the hair and beard like an old man. I love to catch pointed snowflakes on the palm and see them melt instantly. I love to gaze upon the village houses that are submerged in a white mantle of snow, with only their smoking chimneys being distinctly visible. Amid snow flurries there are always people who are busily immersed in building a snowman, adding a nose here, putting eyes there, or are loudly enthusiastic in borrowing items from one household to another. Shining through the fringes of snowy icicles hanging off the cave is the festivity of the red couplets pasted on the front door for celebrating the Chinese Spring Festival. The most pleasing sight for the Chinese lunar January is the tiny human figures of different colors moving about in the distant snow. I also appreciate the crunchy protest of the snow beneath the boots, or the sight of little birds that land on the ground in flocks in a hurried forage for food and then flap away in a rush of wings. And the snow tricks, too. One scoops up some snow, shapes it into a ball and slips it into the collar of a playmate. Or one induces a pal to go under a snow-covered tree, and stomps at its trunk, sending snow cascading down onto the victim; while he is enjoying the spectacular scene, he is bombarded with complaints from his adversary and at the same time has to watch out for a counterstroke. Snow is a blessing, expected by farmers for the bountiful harvest it can herald for the coming autumn, by urban people for a moistened air and a reduced spread of diseases, by children for play and games in the snow, and by young people for the pictures they can take of themselves against snow-laden trees.
下雪的季节
小时候，那个雪下得就格外的大。一夜无声，感觉天不该亮的时候窗户却已发白，窥视窗外，谁知早已是大雪封门。白雪映着青光，满目都是玉雕的树枝丫丫。裹在被窝里，就喜欢听大人在院里扫雪，也喜欢跟着大人手托竹竿、拴上箩圈将积雪从草房子上刮下。大人们望着雪，说要是雪变成白面可就不忍饥了；小孩子们望着雪，说要是雪能变成白糖，想啥时候解馋就能解馋。房檐下常常挂着冰柱，小孩子用力地咀嚼，牙冰木了，嘴却不闲，还说自己吃的是冰棍儿，人家吃的冰棍儿也不过就是多了一点点甜。漫天雪地里，最多的感受还是浪漫。带着狗，在沟沟坎坎的雪地里寻找黄色的出气孔。陡然间，看到一只野兔从雪底下窜出来，惊愕之余，孩子和狗就拼命地在雪野深一脚浅一脚地狂奔，嘴里哈着白气，身上冒着热汗。捉到了，是惊喜；捉不到，也乐此不疲。茫茫的原野上，到处似乎都是一个模样，迷失方向也是常有的事，有时还要驻足观瞧，想努力找到人的足迹。
I used to see much heavier snowfalls when I was small. Snow drifted down, soundless, during the night, and dawn awoke early to reveal a white world outside the window and unexpectedly a snow-blocked front door as well. The snow was glowing white with a bluish tint, and turned trees and their branches all into statues of white crystal. It was a joy snuggling warm under the cozy bed cover and listening to my parents clearing snow in the courtyard, or sometimes helping them scrape snow off the roof of the thatched house with a bamboo pole attached with a flat basket on its top. Snow being so white, how parents wished it were flour that could satisfy hunger, how children wished it were castor sugar that they could taste whenever they wanted to. There were often icicles dangling from the eave and they were a tasteless delicacy for children. Though their teeth got numbed from chewing on these icicles, they did not forget to pretend that they were eating popsicles, ones that were just lacking in a sweet flavor. In the vast stretches of snow, the most frequent sensation was the romantic ambiance. Out in the lumpy snow, followed by a dog, children were trying to stalk hares by way of locating their brownish breathing holes; at any moment a hare could suddenly burst into view from beneath the snow. Immediately the children and the dog limped along in their desperate chase after it, breathing frostily and sweating heatedly. It was a delight if they managed to catch it, and if not, they would never feel frustrated. As the immense snow blanket seemed to be disguising the world in the same uniform, losing the sense of direction was not uncommon, and one had to stop from time to time to look for human trails to follow.
在乡下，大雪天围着火堆烤火也别有一番情趣。烤一把粉条，眼见在火苗中粉条由细变粗；执一把铁勺，听黄豆爆裂的声响，享受满屋飘着的香气。想吃咸的吗？就有人积极，撒入的却是一把盐似的雪。看哪，孩子们闹翻了，旋即重归于好，一起凝视雪水如何在铁勺里、在那咝咝声中消逝。烤火？还想长点见识。听大人们侃大山，侃中原比不上东北，那里雪更大，天更冷，尿出来的干脆就是冰棍棍儿，掉地上也不烂，之后准能听到唏嘘声不断；侃冰河里刨个洞，就有鱼儿往上跳，之后还能听到咂嘴声，说鱼肉有啥好吃，刺又多又乱；侃冰河上能开坦克车，就忍不住再尝试到池塘的冰面上沿冰，去寻找那份惊险。
In rural villages, snow days were also happy moments when villagers sat around a fire warming themselves. Bean starches swelled thick over the fire in no time. And beans, frying in an iron vessel over the fire, gave off crackling sounds and an inviting aroma as well. What about adding a salty taste to the beans? Someone mischievously sprinkled some snow into the vessel! Alas, children fell out with each other for that, but they reconciled instantly, watching together the sizzling evaporation of the snowy water in the vessel. Around the fire for warmth only? No. Something eye-opening would enhance the fun. Adults shot the breeze about how much colder it was in the northeast than in the central region for heavier snows and lower temperatures. They said in the northeast pee would come out frozen and remain unbroken even when hitting the ground, which was followed by disbelieving hisses from the listeners. Hearing that fish would jump right out of a river through the hole cut into its frozen surface, someone smacked his mouth hungrily but comforted himself by saying what was the good in eating fish with so many tiny bones in it. And the frozen rivers there, as adults said, could even support a tank driving across, and that sparked a craving in the child listeners for an adventure of skating on a frozen pond.
下雪的季节
正月一过，就很难觅到雪的踪迹。不过，苍天或许有情，在桃花烂漫的初春时节，差不多还要恩赐人间一场与桃花共舞的飞雪。“三月还下桃花雪呢”，也就成了缠绵于雪的人们新的希冀。
After the lunar January, snow is a rarity. However, the heavens may shed mercy on snow lovers and shower down in early spring when peach flowers are in brilliant bloom an occasional snow, whirling in the air together with flying peach petals. Thus the wish for snow lingers into March in the heart of people loving snow.
又是一个下雪的季节。我渴望感受多雪的故乡和我那风情万种的北国。
It is another season of snow now. I yearn for the snow in my hometown and the wintry charms of my central north.
（周领顺、Lus Shih 译）
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