Chapter 7 萤火虫,萤火虫,你慢慢飞
七月金瓜凉拌葱,
小暑荷香露芳踪,
丰收豌豆藏园中,
大暑萤火漫草丛。
Chapter 7 Glowworm, glowworm, fly slowlyfrom night to dawn
Julyserves golden melonsliced with scallions,
The Minor Heattraces the aroma of lotus,
Harvest hides peas in the home garden,
The Major Heatsees numerous glowworms in the grass.
崇明特产金瓜丝在七月已是家家户户餐桌上的必备凉菜。这道号称“素海蜇”的蔬菜凭借稀有的“初咬脆、细嚼糯”口感和独有的鲜爽怡人,几乎是一道百吃不厌的夏季开胃菜。为此,每块自留地里都或多或少要种上一垄金瓜以便夏日消暑享用。
Golden melon slice is a specialty of Chongming, thus it is also an essential cold dish on the table of every household in July. Known as “Vegetarian jellyfish”, thedelicacy is a unique summer appetizer with the rarepleasant and unique taste. Therefore, each reserved plot is more or less planted with a ridge of golden melon to escape the summer heat.
金瓜和西瓜的生长规律相类似,满地爬藤,旱地而居,但金瓜的优点在于皮实,熟透也不会轻易炸裂。自六月末起,妈妈就会适时摘下,存入厨房备用,此处又是西瓜和金瓜的区别了,金瓜是蔬菜,归类就属食材,而西瓜归水果类,其优厚待遇就是不用呆在油烟味的厨房,而是天然的生鲜储藏处——床底,其便利在于午睡醒来或者散步归来,床下随便扒拉一个出来就能大快朵颐。
Golden melons and watermelonsfollow the same growth rules, covering the dry land with vines but the former is granted the advantage of comparatively thick skin that is not easy to burst. Since the end of June, mothers will reap the ripe ones and store them in the kitchen. Again, here comes the difference between the handling of these two kinds of melons. As a vegetable, golden ones will be classified as food for kitchen, while the green ones are fruit for natural refrigerator--under the bed. The convenience to grab one after nap is the chief convenience.
参与和妈妈拌金瓜丝的过程让人兴致盎然,金瓜洗净对切后煮熟,捞起两瓣去籽,随后开始刮瓤,待韧劲十足,顺滑醇厚的金瓜筋丝全部脱落,便可洒上盐浸泡几分钟,再以毛巾或纱布把多余水分拧除,最后拌上葱花,滴上麻油,即可乘盘作佳肴,与海蜇皮的做法如出一辙。
Participating in the golden melon slice making is exciting for every child. Firstly, cut the melon by half and remove the seeds afterwash and first round cooking, after whichall the flesh come off with natural slices. Secondly, sprinkle them with salt for a few minutes, then use a towel to remove excess water. Finally, mix the dried slices with green onion and esame oil to serve as a dish, the same practice as of jellyfish.
金瓜丝嚼得正酣之时,就不知不觉迈入了一候温风至的小暑。旧时的崇明农村并没有种荷花的习俗,所以“莲叶何田田,鱼戏莲叶间”的童趣经历在玩伴中屈指可数。然而,农场中的荷塘藕田却因着种植多样化和物种丰富性的综合考虑,会成片出现。于是,无限好的夕阳里,漫步于农场那广袤无垠的田间,循着“水殿风来暗香满”的芬芳,得见“金尘落飘蕊,雨露洗残红”的一方仙境。
Chewing the slices, one unconsciously enters the minor heat phase of the year. By ancient history, there was no custom of lotus planting, so the childhood experience described by the Book of Songs is rarely heard of in Chongming. However, the lotus ponds in nowadays farms appear by acres. Hence in the infinitely perfect sunset, one can stroll through the vast fields pursuing the lotus fragrance that will lead to thenice pond of fairy tales.
从“接天莲叶无穷碧,映日荷花别样红”到“出淤泥而不染,濯清涟而不妖”,古人对夏荷的可谓极尽溢美之词。但是,书上得来终觉浅,亲身的感受才更淳朴真切。光着小脚丫,踏上荷塘池边阴凉的田埂,小手轻抚莲瓣玉洁滑腻的表面,俯身嗅着初生的莲子清香,趁护塘人不在,还能顺手折下一片尚幼的荷叶,琢磨着绘本里那幅青蛙打荷叶伞的图案,不禁莞尔。常常猜测泰戈尔生如夏花的诗句,也许就是暗指这朵菩提莲。
From"lotus leaves touching the sky in boundless green. The lotus flowers specially red in shining sun" to "she grows in mud, yet never contaminates with it. She floats on waving water, yet never dances with it",ancient poems describe summer lotus in glamourto extreme. However, literal conclusion will not compare with the simple and honest feeling that is beyond expression. With bare feet, one step onto the cool field near lotus pond, gently stroking the lotus petals of clean and smooth surface, leaning over to smell the newborn lotus seeds, picking a young leave and pondering the possibility of frog playing the lotus leaf as its umbrella in the cartoons. It is often guessed that famous quote “Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves” by Tagore may allude to lotus.
赏莲归来,只见满院葱茏的豌豆在微风中向人频频招手。崇明有个孩提游戏就专属于这颗人见人爱的小豆子——寻找“小耳朵”。“小耳朵”是对某些豌豆叶片的昵称,由于先天缺陷无法正常舒展,就在茎部就封闭成一个小卷筒,外形看来就仿佛是个耳朵,故得名。和如今寻找四叶草一样,觅得一片小耳朵也是幸运的象征。
After the stroll, one can see the peas waving leaves in the breeze in the home garden. There is a long childish game about this cute little bean – looking for “little ears”. "Little ears" is a nickname for some pea leave of congenital defectsthat it is closed into a roll, resembling an ear or trumpet. Since it is rarely seen among the normal leaves, it becomesthe token of luck of finding one.
母亲通常在孩子和小耳朵捉迷藏时,做出一道和春笋汤一样经典的汤菜——盐齑竹笋豌豆汤,做法就是把豆瓣换成了豌豆,豌豆较豆瓣更粉糯浑圆,且因为外形小巧,一勺便八九颗入口,比嚼豆瓣的成就感要充分。外加豌豆本身就有提鲜的功能,以及蛋白质的饱腹感,便无需再入蛋花。整碗汤色泽鲜亮,碧波荡漾得惹人怜爱。喝着豌豆汤的孩子,就期待着萤火虫登场了。
Mother will make a classic soup when kinds are playing hide-and-seek with the little ears. The soup simply replaces the watercress in May salty bamboo soup to peas. Moreover, as peas are rounder and smaller, a spoonful can hold more substance. Plus the pea itself has the function of refreshing and the satiety of the protein, so there is no need to add the egg. The whole bowl of soup looks bright and lovable. On drinking the pea soup, children are expecting the glowworms totwinkle.
估计如今对萤火的浪漫心驰神往的城市人已经无从理解囊荧照读的艰苦境地,甚至心生憧憬也不一定。大暑一候腐草为萤,节气前后在芳草萋萋的河岸湖畔,就能隐约看到忽闪忽黯的幽蓝光芒,夜愈深则愈发持久。星月倒映在河面上,不时跳跃着萤火虫燃出的星芒点点,这时的蜿蜒的小河仿佛正是落九天的银河。
Currently urban residents fascinated by the romance of fireflies are unable to understand the hardships ofreading by the light of bagged fireflies. On the riverbank, one can faintly see the blue light shining, and the deeper the night, the longer it lasts. Especially when the moonlightgets reflected on the river, the starburst mix with flashes of the glowworms, the meandering river seems to be the Galaxy that has fallen for heaven.
男孩子此刻的游戏便是囊萤,相比会报复逮捕者的知了,萤火虫则具备了朴实木讷、来之则安之的宠物品质。被捉住后塞入透明容器的萤火虫会立刻将尾巴上的光源熄灭,直到将灯光关绝,被残害的危险警报解除,它才慢慢释放那盏随身的小灯,轻触容器壁和盖,寻找自由的可能。其实灯光下的萤火虫恰如小灰蛾般貌不惊人,但在夜幕的背景里,它却展示出与扑火飞蛾大相径庭的自爱品质,自立本领。
The boys’ most popular game at this moment is to bag the fireflies. Compared with the cicada that will revenge the arrester, the fireflies definitely have the pet quality. The fireflies that are caught and inserted into the transparent container will immediately extinguish the light source on its tail until the light is turned off, and the dangerous alarm disappears. It slowly releases the small light it carries in lifetime, and searches the exit of the container. Althoughthe insect is as normal as a small gray moth under the light, it shows the self-love quality and the self-reliance that differing from the fire-fighting moths.
七月就是这样,西瓜和甜瓜霸占了水果排名的前两名,暑假作业除了头三页,之后就再也没有进展,乘凉时抬头望菜园子的藤蔓上挂着的青葫芦,想象着第二天早上能幸运地蹦出一个葫芦娃弟弟来。
This is July. Melons occupy top two in the fruit rankings of the season. Summer homework gains no progress after first three pages reading. One looks up at the green cucurbit hanging on the vines in the garden, hoping that he or she can be lucky enough to have a brother out of it the next day per the famous Chinese cartoon.