小说原名《The Lost Phoebe》（1912），中文名《失去的菲比》。是德莱塞的短篇代表作之一。小说歌颂农家夫妇间纯朴、真挚的爱情。作者把现实和梦境，回忆和想象，怀念和幻觉，心灵上的痛苦和行动上的痴狂有机地交织起来，把主人公对亡妻的感情表现得真切动人。

原文

译文

原文

The Lost Phoebe

By

Broadcast: Saturday, August 21, 2004

Old Henry Reifsneider and his wife Phoebe loved one another the way people do who have lived together a long, long time. They were simple farm people. Their world was their fruit trees, corn field and backyard with its pigs and chickens. The rest of the world was far away like stars in the sky.

Sometimes Henry worried about death. During his worries, he would raise his old voice and say "Phoebe, where is my corn pipe? You are always taking things that belong to me". "Now you hush, Henry," his wife would say, "If you keep talking like that, I will go away. And then what would you do? There is nobody to look after you. You can't find it on the table where you put it." Old Henry knew his wife would never leave him. The only leaving he feared was death. He often wondered how he could live without Phoebe. In the evening, when he went to the door to see that they were safely shut-in, it warmed his heart to know Phoebe was there with him. When Henry moved during the night, she always spoke to him "Now, Henry, be quiet. You are as jumpy as a chicken." "Well, I cannot sleep, Phoebe". "If you stop rolling around so much, you will sleep. Then I can get some rest too." Knowing she was there, beside him in the dark made Henry quiet again.

When she wanted him to get a pail of water, Henry liked to say "Do this…, do that…. always asking me to do something. Women are never satisfied". Phoebe would smile. She could see the inner happiness shining in his eyes. Henry talked sharply, but he never forgot to get water and wood for the fire. In this way, they lived happily in their simple world.

One day, in the early spring, Phoebe became sick and died. Old Henry watched them put her body in the earth. Neighbors asked Henry to come and live with them. But he would not live. He wanted to be near the place where his Phoebe lay in the earth. He tried to work around the farm, but it was difficult to return to an empty house at night. At night he read the newspaper, but most of the time, he just sat, looking at the floor, wondering where Phoebe was and how soon he would die.

For five months, he lived like this. Then there was a change. It happened one night after he had gone to bed. There was a bright moon in the sky, its silver light fell on the old chair and table in the bedroom. The moonlight on the chair and the half open door made a shadow, the shadow looked like Phoebe. She was sitting by the table, the way she had done so many times before.

"Phoebe," he called in a weak voice, "have you come back?" The shadow in the chair did not move. Henry got up and slowly walked toward it. When he came near the table, he saw that there was nothing on the chair but his old coat. Another night, he thought he saw her again. He felt a soft wind blow in the room. When the wind blew away, the shadow of Phoebe went away too. A third night, when he was sleeping, she came to the bed and put her hand on his head. "Oh, my Henry," she said gently, "I am sorry you are alone". He awoke and was sure he saw her leave the room. Phoebe had come back.

Night after night he waited. Then one morning he awoke with a surprising new thought. Perhaps she was not dead. Perhaps Phoebe had just gone away. They had argued about the corn pipe and she had left the house. Yes, that was it. She was always making jokes about leaving him. This time she had really gone.

That morning, he started to walk to the nearest neighbors. "Why, hello, Henry," said farmer Dodge, he was taking grain to market. "Where are you going this morning?" "Have you seen Phoebe?" asked Henry.

"Phoebe who? " Farmer Dodge knew Henry's Phoebe was dead.

"My Phoebe", Henry said "Whom do you think I mean?"

"You must be joking", said farmer Dodge. "You cannot be talking about your Phoebe. She is dead."

"Dead? not my Phoebe. She left me this morning while I was sleeping. We argued about my corn pipe last night, and that is why she left. But I can find her. She went over to Matilda Race's farm-yep that is where she is." Henry started to walk fast down the road.

"The poor old man is sick in his mind", Dodge said to himself. "He has been leaving alone too long". Henry met no one until he reached Matilda Race's farm. His Phoebe and Matilda Race had been good friends. Phoebe must be here. He opened the gate and walked to the house. Matilda opened the door. "Why, Henry Reifsneider, What a surprise!"

"Is Phoebe here?" Henry asked.

"Phoebe? Which Phoebe?"

"Why, my Phoebe of course." Henry smiled a little. "You do not have to keep it a secret. She is here, isn't she?" he looked inside the house.

"Well," Matilda Race said "You poor old man, come in and sit down. I like to get you some coffee and food. I will take you to Phoebe. I know where she is. While Matilda was working in the kitchen, she talked to Henry. But he was not listening. He was thinking about Phoebe. He decided she was not there. "I will go now", he said, getting up, "I think she went over to the Mary Farm". Then he was out on the road again.

It was like this for many weeks. Every night he returned to his house to see if Phoebe had come back, soon everyone in the area knew old Henry and answered his questions. "I have not seeing her", they would say, or "No, Henry, she has not been here today."

For several years Henry walked in the sun and rain, looking for Phoebe. His white hair grew longer and longer. His black hat was the brown color of the earth and his clothes were dusty and torn.

It was in the seventh year of looking when Henry came to Red Hill. It was late at night and he was tired and sleepy. Years of walking and very little food had made him thin. Each passing year seemed to bring him closer to Phoebe. Tonight he felt that Phoebe was nearer than she had ever been before. After a while, he fell asleep with his head resting on his knees. When he awoke, it was still dark. The moon shone brightly through the trees. Henry saw a light move across the road, it danced through the woods. Was it Phoebe? He jumped up, he was sure he could see her in that light. Yes, there she was, the young Phoebe he had known many years ago. Suddenly he remembered her young beauty, her warm friendly smile, the blue dress she had worn the day he first met her.

"Phoebe", he called "have you really come? Have you really answered me?" He began to feel young and strong again. He ran to follow the moving light. Then a soft wind blew through the leaves and she was gone. "Phoebe", he cried, "Do not leave me, please, please stay with me!" He went as fast as his old legs would go. When he came to the top of the hill, he looked down into the valley of shadows below. Tears of happiness came into his eyes when he saw Phoebe again. Yes, there she was, down in the valley, smiling up at him. She was in the same blue dress. She waved her hand and seemed to say "Come, come with me."

Henry felt the strong pull of a new world where he and Phoebe were always be-together, he gave a happy cry "Wait, Phoebe, wait. I am coming".

The next day, some farmer boys found Henry at the bottom of the hill. His body was broken. There was a soft happy smile on his face, the same smile he had known when Phoebe was alive.[End]

You have just heard the Lost Phoebe written by Theodore Dricer. It was published by World Publishing Company in 1947 in the book Best Short Stories of Theodore Dricer. Your story teller was Sharp O'Neal. This story is copyrighted. All rights reserved for VOA Special English. This is Shirelly Greefeik.

译文

菲比生前

老亨利和他妻子菲比的爱就像其他别的生活在一起多年的夫妇一样。他们是普通的农民，他们的果树、田地和后院的猪、鸡就是他们的世界，其余的东西对他们来说就像天上的星星一样遥不可及。

亨利有时会担心死亡。这个时候，他就会提高苍老的嗓子对妻子说：“菲比，我的烟斗在哪里？你总是乱放我的东西！”

“你静一静吧，亨利。”他妻子说：“如果你总是那样的话，我会离开你的，那看你怎么办？到时没有人照顾你。（烟斗）你自己放在桌子上你就找不到吗？”

老亨利知道他的妻子是不会离开他的，除非他死，这也是他所害怕的。他常常在想，离开了菲比，他如何能生活下去。

晚上，当他看到门被安全地锁上，而菲比和他在一起了，他心里就感觉很温暖。半夜，当亨利翻身的时候，菲比通常会对他说：“亨利，请安静。你不要像只小鸡一样动来动去。”

“嗯，我睡不着啊，菲比。”

“如果你不翻来覆去的话，你就会睡得着，我也会得到休息.”知道在这黑夜里，菲比就在自己身旁，亨利再次安静下来。

当菲比叫他去提桶水时，亨利总是说“让我做这让我做那，女人真是麻烦啊！”菲比通常只是微笑不语。她能从他的双眼里看到他内心的幸福。虽然，亨利说话总是直来直去的，但他从来不忘记去提水，不忘记用木柴生火。就这样，他们在他们的世界里过得简单而快乐的生活。

菲比死后

一个早春的一天，菲比因病而死，老亨利眼看着人们把她的尸体埋进土里。邻居们让亨利过来跟他们一起住，但他不愿意，他想住在离菲比埯葬的地方近一点的地方。他尝试着干些农活，但是当晚上回到家中，看着空空的房子他总是无法忍受。夜晚，他读书、看报，但大多数时间，他只是呆呆地坐着，看着地板，想着菲比现在在哪里以及多久他便会死。

他就这样生活了5个月，然后生活有了些改变。它发生在他已睡觉了的一个夜晚。一轮明月悬挂在夜空，银色的光线倾泻在房间的旧椅子和桌子上，月光照着半掩的门上及椅子上，影出一个影子来。这个影子看起来很像菲比，她正坐在桌子旁边，这个动作是她以前经常做的。

“菲比，”亨利轻轻叫道，“是不是你回来了?”

椅子上的这个影子没有动，亨利爬起床来并慢慢地走近它。但当他走近桌子时，他除了看到他的一件旧大衣在椅子上外，什么也没有。第二天晚上，他觉得他又看见她了，他感到一股轻柔的风吹拂进房间里。当风吹走了，菲比的影子也离开了。第三天晚上，当亨利睡着时，她来到他床前，把她的手放在他的额头上，“我亲爱的亨利，“他温柔地说，”我很难过留下你独自一人。“他醒过来并确信他看见菲比在房间里，菲比回来了。

他一晚接一晚地等。然而一天早上他醒来时突然有了一个奇怪的新想法:也许菲比并没有死，也许地只是离开而已。他们以前曾为了烟斗而争吵，她便会离家出走。对！应该是这样的了。她以前一直跟他开玩笑说离开他，这一次她是真的离开了。

于是这个早上，他便开始走去最近的邻居处找寻。“喂，亨利，”农夫大治正要把谷物运到市场去，看见亨利便说道,“这么早你要去哪里呢？”

“你有没有看见菲比？”亨利问道。

“哪个菲比？”农夫大治知道亨利的菲比已经死了。

“我的菲比，”亨利说，”难道你以为我说谁了？”

“你开玩笑啊！”大治说，“你不能再说你的菲比了，她已经死了。”

“死了？那不是我的菲比。今天早上当我还在睡觉时她离开我了，她离开我的原因是由于我们昨天为了我的烟斗而吵架了。但我能找到她，她去了Matilda的农场吧,对！她应该在那儿。”亨利说着快步地沿着小路走下去。

“这可怜的老头儿脑子一定有问题了，”大治自言自语道，“他单独生活的时间太长了。”

当亨利到达Matilda农场，看到一个人了没有。菲比和Matilda曾是好朋友。菲比肯定在这儿的。他打开大门并走进屋子里，Matilda出来开门说“很惊讶你怎么会有这里，亨利？”

“菲比在这儿吗？”他问。

“菲比？哪个菲比呢？”

“当然是我的菲比了。”亨利轻轻地笑了一下，“你不要瞒我了，她在这儿的，对吗？”他看着屋里问。

“嗯，”Matilda说，“你这个老头啊，进来坐吧！我给你冲点咖啡及食物，我会带你到菲比处，我知道她在哪儿。”Matilda边在厨房里露干活，边对亨利说。但是他没有听到，他在想着他的菲比，他确认她不在那里，“我要走了，”他说着抬起脚，“我想她去了玛丽农场 ”。然后他出了门再次踏上寻找的征途。

像这样过了几周，每晚亨利回到家中就会看看菲比是否回来了，很快附近人人都认识了老亨利和懂得如何回答他的问题了。“我没有看见她。”他们会说，或者说，“不，亨利！她今天不在这儿。”

这几年来，无论是烈日还是下雨，亨利都坚持寻找菲比。他的白头发越来越长了，黑色的帽子变成泥土般的棕色，他的衣服变得破烂不堪。

亨利之死

当寻找去到第七个年头时，亨利来到红山。夜已深，他感到又累又困，数年的步行及缺少食物使他消瘦。每个逝去的年份好像将他与菲比的距离越拉越近。今晚他感到菲比比以往都离他更近。一阵后，他把头埋在膝盖上睡着了，当他醒来时，仍然是漆黑一片，月光透过树叶洒下来。亨利看到路上有一道光线在移动，它通过树林起舞。难道是菲比？他跳起来，他坚信在光线中能够看到她。是的，就是她，是他多年前认识的那个年轻的菲比。突然他记起她的年轻美丽，她那柔和友善的微笑，以及他第一次见到她时她穿的那条蓝色的裙子。

“菲比，”他大叫，“你真的来了？你是不是真的应我呀？”他开始再次感到年轻和强壮。他跟着移动的光线跑。然后一阵微风吹过树叶，她就消失了。“菲比，” 他哭叫着，“请不要离开我，请留下来陪我！”他迈开年迈的双腿，以最快的速度跑。当他跑到山顶，他看到山谷下的影子，当他再次见到菲比，他的眼里含着幸福的泪光。对！她就在那里，就在山谷下，正冲他微笑。她穿着那条蓝色的裙子，（向他）招手好像在说：“来，过来和我在一起。”

亨利感到一个新世界强烈地吸引着他，在那里他和菲比永远在一起，他幸福地哭了，“等等，菲比！等等我，我就来了！”

第二天，一些农民的孩子在山脚下发现了亨利的尸体，他的身体已经摔烂。他的脸上带着温柔而幸福的微笑，这微笑和菲比在世时一模一样。