White Fang / Белый Клык. Книга для чтения на английском языке

After that, the she-wolf in her hunting avoided the left fork. For she knew that in the lynx’s lair was a litter of kittens, and she knew the lynx for a fierce, bad-tempered creature and a terrible fighter. It was all very well for half a dozen wolves to drive a lynx, spitting and bristling, up a tree; but it was quite a different matter for a lone wolf to encounter a lynx – especially when the lynx was known to have a litter of hungry kittens at her back.

But the Wild is the Wild, and motherhood is motherhood, at all times fiercely protective whether in the Wild or out of it; and the time was to come when the she-wolf, for her grey cub’s sake, would venture the left fork, and the lair in the rocks, and the lynx’s wrath.

Chapter IV

The Wall of the World

By the time his mother began leaving the cave on hunting expeditions, the cub had learned well the law that forbade his approaching the entrance. Not only had this law been forcibly and many times impressed on him by his mother’s nose and paw, but in him the instinct of fear was developing. Never, in his brief cave-life, had he encountered anything of which to be afraid. Yet fear was in him. It had come down to him from a remote ancestry through a thousand thousand lives. It was a heritage he had received directly from One Eye and the she-wolf; but to them, in turn, it had been passed down through all the generations of wolves that had gone before. Fear! – that legacy of the Wild which no animal may escape nor exchange for pottage[76].

So the grey cub knew fear, though he knew not the stuff of which fear was made. Possibly he accepted it as one of the restrictions of life. For he had already learned that there were such restrictions. Hunger he had known; and when he could not appease his hunger he had felt restriction. The hard obstruction of the cave-wall, the sharp nudge of his mother’s nose, the smashing stroke of her paw, the hunger unappeased of several famines, had borne in upon him that all was not freedom in the world, that to life there were limitations and restraints[77]. These limitations and restraints were laws. To be obedient to them was to escape hurt and make for happiness.

He did not reason the question out in this man fashion. He merely classified the things that hurt and the things that did not hurt. And after such classification he avoided the things that hurt, the restrictions and restraints, in order to enjoy the satisfactions and the remunerations of life.

Thus it was that in obedience to the law laid down by his mother, and in obedience to the law of that unknown and nameless thing, fear, he kept away from the mouth of the cave. It remained to him a white wall of light. When his mother was absent, he slept most of the time, while during the intervals that he was awake he kept very quiet, suppressing the whimpering cries that tickled in his throat and strove for noise.

Once, lying awake, he heard a strange sound in the white wall. He did not know that it was a wolverine, standing outside, all a-trembling with its own daring, and cautiously scenting out the contents of the cave. The cub knew only that the sniff was strange, a something unclassified, therefore unknown and terrible – for the unknown was one of the chief elements that went into the making of fear.

The hair bristled upon the grey cub’s back, but it bristled silently. How was he to know that this thing that sniffed was a thing at which to bristle? It was not born of any knowledge of his, yet it was the visible expression of the fear that was in him, and for which, in his own life, there was no accounting. But fear was accompanied by another instinct – that of concealment. The cub was in a frenzy of terror, yet he lay without movement or sound, frozen, petrified into immobility, to all appearances dead[78]. His mother, coming home, growled as she smelt the wolverine’s track, and bounded into the cave and licked and nozzled him with undue vehemence of affection. And the cub felt that somehow he had escaped a great hurt.

But there were other forces at work in the cub, the greatest of which was growth. Instinct and law demanded of him obedience. But growth demanded disobedience. His mother and fear impelled him to keep away from the white wall. Growth is life, and life is for ever destined to make for light[79]. So there was no damming up the tide of life that was rising within him – rising with every mouthful of meat he swallowed, with every breath he drew. In the end, one day, fear and obedience were swept away by the rush of life, and the cub straddled and sprawled toward the entrance.

Unlike any other wall with which he had had experience, this wall seemed to recede from him as he approached. No hard surface collided with the tender little nose he thrust out tentatively before him. The substance of the wall seemed as permeable and yielding as light. And as condition, in his eyes, had the seeming of form, so he entered into what had been wall to him and bathed in the substance that composed it.

It was bewildering. He was sprawling through solidity. And ever the light grew brighter. Fear urged him to go back, but growth drove him on. Suddenly he found himself at the mouth of the cave. The wall, inside which he had thought himself, as suddenly leaped back before him to an immeasurable distance. The light had become painfully bright. He was dazzled by it. Likewise he was made dizzy by this abrupt and tremendous extension of space. Automatically, his eyes were adjusting themselves to the brightness, focusing themselves to meet the increased distance of objects. At first, the wall had leaped beyond his vision. He now saw it again; but it had taken upon itself a remarkable remoteness. Also, its appearance had changed. It was now a variegated wall, composed of the trees that fringed the stream, the opposing mountain that towered above the trees, and the sky that out-towered the mountain.

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Примечания

1

saving their breath for the work of their bodies – (зд.) чтобы не тратить сил, необходимых для движения

2

evinced no inclination – (уст.) не выказывали ни малейшего желания

3

did cut up more’n usual – (разг.) возни было больше, чем обычно

4

I was one fish short – (разг.) мне не хватило одной рыбы

5

you’re down in the mouth some – (разг.) что-то ты совсем загрустил

6

Now and again – (разг.) Время от времени

7

it’s a blame misfortune to be out of ammunition – (разг.) жаль, что патроны почти кончились

8

why didn’t the dogs pitch into it? – (зд.) почему собаки на него не набросились?

9

No chance at all – (разг.) Паршиво (У него не было ни одного шанса)

10

lashed to the sled – (разг.) приторочены к саням

11

They do get on the nerves horrible – (разг.) Они уже достали до печенок; надоели хуже некуда

12

they’d spring up a bunch of moose – (охотн.) подняли (спугнули) бы стадо лосей

13

the Wild – (разг.) северная глушь

14

that’ll fix you fool critters – (зд.) теперь, зверюги, никуда не денетесь

15

we ain’t loaded to kill – (разг.) нам нечем их пугнуть

16

She’s the decoy for the pack. – (разг.) Стая выпускает ее как приманку.

17

hadn’t the heart to rouse you – (разг.) жалко было будить тебя

18

with the air of one resigned to misfortune – (разг.) с видом полной покорности судьбе

19

I’ll be ding-dong-danged – (сленг) Да будь я проклят

20

they’ll have you an’ me – (сленг) могут и до нас добраться

21

You’re off colour – (разг.) Ты просто не в духе

22

You’d better stick by the sled – (разг.) Лучше не отходи далеко от саней

23

taking advantage of the cut-offs – (разг.) сократил расстояние, пройдя напрямик

24

they’re sure of us – (зд.) мы от них не уйдем (станем их добычей)

25

I wouldn’t be s’prised to see it wag its tail. – (разг.) Того и гляди хвостом вилять станет.

26

that critter’s the cause of all our trouble – (разг.) эта скотина и является причиной всех наших несчастий

27

They’ve half got you a’ready – (разг.) Считай, что ты уже попался

28

This was not Bill’s way – (разг.) На Билла это было не похоже

29

almighty blue – (разг.) здорово хандрит; совсем скис

30

his traces trailing behind him – (разг.) волоча за собой по снегу постромки

31

I won’t stand it – (разг.) Я этого не потерплю

32

Don’t take no chances! – (разг.) Не рискуй понапрасну!

33

saw to it that he had a generous supply of firewood – (разг.) насобирал побольше хвороста

34

circle had a continuous tendency to draw in upon him – (разг.) круг постепенно сжимался все теснее и теснее

35

they still kept their feet – (разг.) все еще держались на ногах

36

lack of sleep was telling upon – (разг.) недостаток сна начинал сказываться

37

licked her chops with the pleasure of anticipation – (разг.) облизывалась в предвкушении

38

the jaws snapping together a scant six inches from his thigh – (разг.) челюсти щелкнули буквально сантиметрах в двадцати от его бедра

39

the need for sleep was becoming overpowering – (разг.) он уже засыпал на ходу (не мог бороться со сном)

40

the Factor – (зд.) начальник фактории

41

were rushing him – (разг.) всей стаей бросились на него

42

on haunches – (разг.) усевшись на задние лапы

43

roused with a sudden start – (разг.) внезапно вздрогнул и проснулся

44

you lemme alone – (разг.) отстаньте от меня

45

to forego the kill it had hunted down – (разг.) оставить загнанную добычу

46

resembling an abashed country swain – (разг.) напоминая сконфуженного влюбленного простака

47

was laying up trouble for himself – (разг.) сам себе создавал трудности

48

flung their customary patience and caution to the wind – (разг.) отбросил свое привычное терпение и осторожность

49

he was foredoomed – (разг.) его судьба была предопределена (он был обречен на гибель)

50

strove to placate her wrath – (разг.) старались усмирить ее гнев

51

and it came not often – (разг.) а такое бывало нечасто

52

red-written on the snow – (зд.) кровью написанное на снегу

53

like good friends who have come to an understanding – (разг.) как добрые друзья, которые наконец-то поняли друг друга

54

solitary ones would back off, turn-tail – (разг.) одиночки отступали, поворачивали назад

55

to be squabbling with the dogs – (разг.) ввязаться в собачью драку

56

Bound by bound he gained. – (разг.) С каждым прыжком он приближался к цели.

57

the blow did not fall – (разг.) удара так и не последовало

58

to stand him in good stead in the days to come – (разг.) сослужить ему хорошую службу в будущем

59

The wear and tear of spring storms and melting snows – (разг.) Буйство весенних ливней и тающих снегов

60

his sleep was fitful – (разг.) он спал урывками (то и дело просыпался)

61

bellied cautiously inside – (разг.) осторожно вполз внутрь

62

he was very careful in keeping a respectful distance – (разг.) старался держаться от нее на почтительном расстоянии

63

Something might happen. – (зд.) Всякое может случиться.

64

came up well to leeward – (разг.) подошел с подветренной стороны

65

impregnable armour – (зд.) страшное оружие

66

bad temper got the best of her – (разг.) дала волю своему гневу

67

quit her antics – (уст.) перестала дергаться

68

did not hesitate a moment – (разг.) ни секунды не колебался

69

the forerunner of the growl – (разг.) предвестник будущего рычания

70

were one with him – (разг.) были с ним заодно

71

with swift, calculating stroke – (разг.) быстрым, точным движением

72

caused the mother the most trouble – (разг.) больше всех доставлял матери хлопот

73

encountered hard obstruction on the end of his tender nose – (разг.) его нежный нос натыкался на твердую преграду

74

were no part of his mental make-up – (разг.) не принимали участия в его умственном развитии

75

ranged far and wide – (разг.) рыскал повсюду

76

exchange for pottage – (разг.) променять на чечевичную похлебку

77

limitations and restraints – (разг.) ограничения и запреты

78

to all appearances dead – (разг.) с виду мертвый

79

to make for light – (разг.) стремиться к свету