The Crescent Moon 06: Sleep-Stealer
A bilingual presentation of 'Sleep-Stealer' from The Crescent Moon, with Rabindranath Tagore's English text and Zheng Zhenduo's Chinese translation.
Sleep-Stealer
Who stole sleep from baby’s eyes? I must know.
Clasping her pitcher to her waist mother went to fetch water from the village nearby.
It was noon. The children’s playtime was over; the ducks in the pond were silent.
The shepherd boy lay asleep under the shadow of the banyan tree.
The crane stood grave and still in the swamp near the mango grove.
In the meanwhile the Sleep-stealer came and, snatching sleep from baby’s eyes, flew away.
When mother came back she found baby traveling the room over on all fours.
Who stole sleep from our baby’s eyes? I must know. I must find her and chain her up.
I must look into that dark cave, where, though boulders and scowling stones, trickles a tiny stream.
I must search in the drowsy shade of the bakula grove, where pigeons coo in their corner, and fairies’ anklets tinkle in the stillness of starry nights.
In the evening I will peep into the whispering silence of the bamboo forest, where fireflies squander their light, and will ask every creature I meet, “can anybody tell me where the Sleep-stealer lives?”
Who stole sleep from baby’s eyes? I must know.
Shouldn’t I give her a good lesson if I could only catch her!
I would raid her nest and see where she hoards all her stolen sleep.
I would plunder it all, and carry it home.
I would bind her two wings securely, set her on the bank of the river, and then let her play at fishing with a reed among the rushes and water-lilies.
When the marketing is over in the evening, and the village children sit in their mothers’ laps, then the night birds will mockingly din her ears with:
“Whose sleep will you steal now?”
Original author: Rabindranath Tagore.
偷睡眠者
谁从孩子的眼里把睡眠偷去了呢？我一定要知道。
妈妈把她的水罐夹在腰间，走到近村汲水去了。
这是正午的时候，孩子们游戏的时间已经过去了; 池中的鸭子沉默无声。
牧童躺在榕树的荫下睡着了。
白鹤庄重而安静地立在蒙果树边的泥泽里。
就在这个时候，偷睡眠者跑来，从孩子的两眼里捕捉睡眠，便飞去了。
当妈妈回来时，她看见孩子四肢着地在屋里爬着。
谁从孩子的眼里把睡眠偷去了呢？我一定要知道，我一定要找到她，把她锁起来。
我一定要向那个黑洞里张望。在这个洞里，有一道小泉从圆的和有皱纹的石上滴下来。
我一定要到醉花林中的沉寂的树荫里探寻。在这林中，鸽子在它们住的地方咕咕地叫着，仙女的脚环在繁星满天的静夜里叮当地响着。
我要在黄昏时向静静的、萧萧的竹林里窥望。在这林中，萤火虫闪闪地耗费它们的光明。只要遇见一个人，我便要问他: “谁能告诉我偷睡眠者住在什么地方？”
谁从孩子眼里把睡眠偷去了呢？我一定要知道。
只要我能抓住他，便不会给他一顿好教训！
我要闯入他的巢穴，看看他把所有偷来的睡眠藏在什么地方。
我要把它都夺来，带回家去。
我要把她的双翼缚得紧紧的，把她放在河边，然后叫她拿一根芦苇，在灯心草和睡莲间钓鱼为戏。
黄昏，街上已经收拾了。村里的孩子们都坐在妈妈的膝上时，夜鸟便会讥笑地在她耳边说：
“你现在还想偷谁的睡眠呢？”
原作者：Rabindranath Tagore。中文译者：郑振铎。