整個冬天他都在吃著桔子，

All winter he eats tangerines,

有時是在餐桌上吃，有時是在公共汽車上吃，

sometimes at the table,

有時吃著吃著

sometimes on a bus.

雪就從書櫥的內部下下來了；

Sometimes, as he’s eating,

有時他不吃，只是慢慢地剝著，

snow falls inside the bookcase.

彷彿有什麼在那裏面居住。

Sometimes instead of eating,

he simply peels, slowly,

整個冬天他就這樣吃著桔子，

as if something lives within.

吃著吃著他就想起了在一部什麼小說中

女主人公也曾端上來一盤桔子，

So he eats tangerines, all winter long,

其中一個一直滾落到故事的結尾……

and while eating recalls a novel

但他已記不清那是誰寫的。

in which the heroine also brought to the table

他只是默默地吃著桔子。

a dish of tangerines. One kept rolling

他窗臺上的桔子皮愈積愈厚。

till the end of the story.

But he can’t name the author.

他終於想起了小時候的醫院床頭

He simply eats the tangerine in silence.

擺放著的那幾個桔子，

The peels on his windowsill rise higher.

那是母親不知從什麼地方給他弄來的；

弟弟嚷嚷著要吃，媽媽不讓，

At last an image comes, several tangerines,

是他分給了弟弟；

in childhood, placed near his hospital bed.

但最後一個他和弟弟都捨不得吃，

His mother had found them somewhere.

一直擺放在床頭櫃上。

Though his little brother begged one, mother refused.

He shared, but neither

（那最後一個桔子，後來又怎樣了呢？）

would eat the last tangerine,

which stayed on the night stand.

整個冬天他就這樣吃著桔子，

尤其是在下雪天，或灰濛濛的天氣裏；

Who knows what became of it?

他吃得特別慢，彷彿

他有的是時間，

So he eats tangerines all winter,

彷彿，他在吞食著黑暗；

especially on snowy days, gray days.

他就這樣吃著、剝著桔子，擡起頭來，

He eats slowly, as if

窗口閃耀雪的光芒。

there’s plenty of time,

as if he’s devouring darkness.

He eats, peels, and when he lifts his head,

snow glitters at the window.