Past the bamboo grove behind New Railway Village

它在鐵路新村後面的竹林中，

my pals and I used to jump the fence

我和同伴經常翻柵欄進去，

that kept the bull from the cows.

那裏，一頭公牛與成群母牛隔開。

We’d bunch around the dairyman

我們喜歡圍著工人看他擠奶，

and hear the milk chirr into the pail.

聽奶水射入桶中發出的哧哧聲。

Once, outside the wire,

有一次，我和同伴站在柵欄外

we stung the bull with slingshots—

用彈弓打那隻公牛，牠

when it bellowed, the dairyman

發出痛苦吼叫，驚動了飼養員，

chased us off, but we watched

他衝出想抓我們，而我們

from the bamboo while a calf,

鑽進竹林跑掉。就是在那裏，

steaming hot, slipped free of its mother’s body

我目睹了生殖和死亡的過程——

and stood up. We saw

牛犢熱漉漉的從母牛體內落下

it was a male, and males

很快便站立，看得我目瞪口呆。

were killed at birth. When the bright blade

更讓我目瞪口呆的是生下公牛，

slid into its throat and out,

飼養員會把牠們殺死，當

blood gushed,

尖利的刀刺入牛犢體內又拔出，

covering the earth like a carpet.

噴湧的血像地毯，鋪滿一地。