年邁的淘金人

年輕槍手咧嘴一笑，說：「你這個老傻瓜，你現在就會跳舞了。」他開始朝著老人的腳下開槍。

每

天

一

篇

譯

文

故

事

年邁的淘金人

孫寶成 | 編譯

一位年邁的淘金人，牽著一頭疲憊的老騾子，慢吞吞地走進鎮子。老人直奔鎮上唯一的酒吧，打算潤潤自己乾渴的喉嚨。他走到酒吧，把老騾子系在拴馬的欄杆上。

他站住腳，從臉和衣服上擦去浮塵，一個年輕槍手走出酒吧，一手持槍，一手拿著一瓶威士忌。年輕槍手看著老人笑了，說：「嘿，老頭，你有沒有跳過舞？」

老人抬頭看著槍手說：「沒有，我不會跳舞，從未都沒想過跳舞。」一大群人聚集過來，槍手咧嘴一笑，說：「好吧，你這個老傻瓜，你現在就會跳舞了。」他開始朝著老人的腳下開槍。

老淘金人不想讓腳趾被打掉，也不想讓靴子被打破，很快就像熱鍋上的跳蚤一樣跳起來，大家狂笑不止。年輕的槍手打完最後一發子彈，仍在大笑，把槍裝進皮套，轉身回酒吧。老人轉向騾子的包裹，拿出一把雙管獵槍，把兩個擊錘都拉起來。響亮、聽得見的雙擊聲清晰地穿過沙漠的空氣。

人群立刻停止了大笑。年輕的槍手聽到聲音，緩緩地轉過身。那種安靜幾乎令人窒息。

在人群的注視下，年輕的槍手盯著老人和那支大口徑雙筒獵槍。他連口水都難以咽下去了……那桿獵槍在老人手裡紋絲不動。

老人說：「小子，你吻過騾子的屁股嗎？」

小惡霸艱難地咽下口水，說：「沒有，但我一直想吻。」

從中可吸取兩個教訓：1，不要浪費彈藥。2，不要招惹老人。

An Old Prospector

An old prospector shuffled into town leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town to clear his parched throat. He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail.

As he stood there brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?"

The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance, -- and just never wanted to." A crowd had gathered quickly and the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you"re gonna" dance now," and started shooting at the old man"s feet.

The old prospector in order to not get a toe blown off or his boots perforated was soon hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet and everybody was laughing fit to be tied. When the last bullet had been fired the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers back. The loud, audible double clicks carried clearly through the desert air.

The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds, too, and he turned around very slowly. The quiet was almost deafening.

The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels. He found it hard to swallow.. The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man"s hands.

The old man said, "Son, did you ever kiss a mule"s ass?"

The boy bully swallowed hard and said, "No. But I"ve always wanted to."

There are two lessons for us all here: 1. Don"t waste ammunition. 2. Don"t mess with old people.

薦讀

喜歡這篇文章嗎？立刻分享出去讓更多人知道吧！