芒果街上的小屋埃德娜的鷺鷥兒

埃德娜的鷺鷥兒

　　鷺鷥兒，細高個的瘦骨美人，塗著紅紅的唇膏，綁著藍色的阿婆頭巾，因為疏忽了而穿著一隻藍襪和一隻綠襪的她，是我們認識的惟一喜歡玩的大人。她帶著她的狗波波散步，一個人大聲笑。那個鷺鷥兒。她不需要別人陪她一起笑。她就那麼笑。

　　她是埃德娜的女兒，擁有隔壁那所大房子的女人，前後加起來有三套公寓。每個星期埃德娜都會沖著某個人尖叫，每個星期都有人得搬走。有一次她趕出去一個懷孕的女人，只因為她養了只小鴨……那可是只漂亮的小鴨。可鷺鷥兒住在這裡，埃德娜不能趕走她，因為鷺鷥兒是她的女兒。

　　鷺鷥兒是有一天忽然來到的，像是不知從哪裡冒出來的。安琪·法加斯正在教我們怎麼吹口哨。然後我們就聽到有人在吹——美妙得像皇帝的夜鶯——我們回頭的時候，鷺鷥兒就在那裡了。

　　有時我們去逛街就帶上她。可她從來不進店裡去。如果她進了店，就會不停地四下張望，好像一頭第一次被關進屋子裡的野生動物。

　　她喜歡糖。我們去賓尼先生的雜貨店時，她會給我們錢幫她帶一些。她說要看清是那種軟糖再買，因為她的牙齒疼。然後她答應下星期去看牙醫，可下星期到了，她也沒去。

　　鷺鷥兒能在每一處看見美麗的事物。有時我正在跟她講一個笑話，她會停下來說：月亮多美呀像個氣球。或者有人在唱歌時，她會指著幾朵雲彩說：看，馬龍·白蘭度。或者一個眨眼睛的斯芬克司女妖。或者我左腳的鞋子。

　　有一次埃德娜的幾個朋友過來拜訪，問鷺鷥兒願不願意和他們去玩賓戈牌。汽車發動機嗡嗡響著，鷺鷥兒站在樓梯上想要不要去。我應該去嗎，媽？她對著二樓紗窗後面那個灰色的影子發問。我不管，紗窗說，你想去就去。鷺鷥兒看著地面。你怎麼認為，媽？做你想做的，我怎麼知道？鷺鷥兒又看了看地面。開著發動機的汽車等了十五分鐘，然後他們走了。那晚我們拿出那副紙牌來時，我們讓鷺鷥兒發牌。

　　如果她想的話，鷺鷥兒本來可以成為很多種人的。這不僅是因為她口哨吹得好，她還很會唱歌和跳舞。她年輕的時候有很多工作機會，可她從來沒做過。她結婚了，搬進了城外一所漂亮的大房子裡。我弄不明白的一件事情就是，為什麼鷺鷥兒住在芒果街上，她本來可以不住的；為什麼她有自己的真正的大房子卻要睡在她媽媽的客廳沙發上？她說她只是來看看，下週末她丈夫會來接她回家。可週末來了又去了，鷺鷥兒還在這裡。這沒什麼。我們很高興，因為她是我們的朋友。

　　我喜歡給她看我從圖書館帶出來的書。書很棒，鷺鷥兒說，然後就用手撫摩起來，似乎她可以像讀布萊葉盲文一樣地讀它們。很棒，很棒，可我再也不能讀書了。我頭痛。我下星期得去看眼科醫生。我過去寫過童書的，我告訴過你嗎？

　　一天我把「海象和木匠」全都背了下來，因為我想讓鷺鷥兒聽聽。「日光光，耀海洋；光芒萬里長……」鷺鷥兒看著天空，好幾次她的眼睛變濕了。我終於背到了最後幾行：「無人應一嗓，此事不荒唐：可憐小牡蠣，個個被吃光……」她看著我，久久不開口。最後她說，你有著我見過的最漂亮的牙齒，然後便走到裡面去了。

　　Ruthie, tall skinny lady with red lipstid blue babushka, one blue sod one green because she fot, is the only grown-up we know who likes to play. She takes her dog Bobo for a walk and laughs all by herself, that Ruthie. She doesn't need anybody to laugh with, she just laughs.

　　She is Edna's daughter, the lady who owns the big buildi door, three apartments front and back. Every week Edna is screaming at somebody, and every week somebody has to move away. Once she threw out a pregnant lady just because she owned a duck……and it was a nice duck too. But Ruthie lives here and Edna 't throw her out because Ruthie is her daughter.

　　Ruthie came one day, it seemed, out of nowhere. Angel Vargas was trying to teach us how to whistle. Then we heard someone whistling——beautiful like the Emperor's nightingale——and wheurned around there was Ruthie.

　　Sometimes we go shopping and take her with us, but she never es ihe stores and if she does she keeps looking around her like a wild animal in a house for the first time.

　　She likes dy. When we go to Mr. Benny's grocery she gives us moo buy her some. She says make sure it's the soft kind because her teeth hurt. Then she promises to see the dentist week, but whe week es, she doesn't go.

　　Ruthie sees lovely things everywhere. I might be telling her a joke and she'll stop and say：The moon is beautiful like a balloon. Or somebody might be singing and she'll point to a few clouds：Look, Marlon Brando. Or a sphinx winking. Or my left shoe.

　　One friends of Edna's came to visit and asked Ruthie if she wao go with them to play bingo. The car motor was running, and Ruthie stood oeps w whether to go. Should I go, Ma? She asked the gray shadow behind the sed-floor s. I don't care, says the s, go if you want. Ruthie looked at the ground. What do you think, Ma? Do what you want, how should I know? Ruthie looked at the ground some more. The car with the motor running waited fifteen minutes and then they left. When we brought out the deck of cards that night, we let Ruthie deal.

　　There were many things Ruthie could have been if she wao. Not only is she a good whistler, but she sing and daoo. She had lots of job offers when she was young, but she ook them. She got married instead and moved away to a pretty house outside the city. Only thing I 't uand is why Ruthie is living on Mango Street if she doesn't have to, why is she sleeping on a cou her mother's living room when she has a real house all her own, but she says she's just visiting a weekend her husband's going to take her home. But the weekends e and go and Ruthie stays. No matter. We are glad because she is our friend.

　　I like showing Ruthie the books I take out of the library. Books are wonderful, Ruthie says, and then she runs her hand over them as if she could read them in braille. They're wonderful, wonderful, but I 't read anymore. I get headaches. I o go to the eye doctor week. I used to write children's books once, did I tell you?

　　One day I memorized all of「The Walrus and the Carpenter」because I wanted Ruthie to hear me.「The sun was shining on the sea, shining with all his might……」Ruthie looked at the sky and her eyes got watery at times. Finally I came to the last lines：「But answer came there none——and this was scarcely odd, because they'd eaten every one……」She took a long time looking at me before she opened her mouth, and then she said, You have the most beautiful teeth I have ever seen,a inside.

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