The Man and the Tiger

¤¹¡ÑºàÊ×Í

Seiksan Prasertkun, translated by Marcel Barang

1

1

The last rays of the day doused the treetops, turning the whole jungle into a blaze of light.

áʧÊØ´·éÒ¢ͧÇѹ ÊÒ´ÂÍ´ äÁ騹 ·Ñ駻èÒà»Å觻ÃСÒ   

Before long, everything began to fade and blur.

¨Ò¡¹Ñé¹äÁè¹Ò¹·Ø¡ÍÂèÒ§ ¡ç«Õ´àÅ×͹ŧÍÂèÒ§ÃÇ´ àÃçÇ   

A piercing cold fell on the land like sadness.

¤ÇÒÁ àÂç¹àÂÕºá¼è¤ÅØÁ ·ÑèÇÍÒ³ÒºÃÔàdzÃÒÇ ¤ÇÒÁâÈ¡àÈÃéÒ

Some instinct impelled him to start moving.

ÊÑ­ªÒµ­Ò³ºÒ§ÍÂèÒ§àÃÕ¡ÃéͧãËéÁѹàÃÔèÁ¢ÂѺ µÑÇ    ...   

He didn't know how long he had been crouching under the jutting rock.

Áѹàͧ ¡ç¤§ äÁèÃÙé ÇèÒËÁͺ ÍÂÙèµÃ§ËÅ׺ËÔ¹ áË觹Õé ¹Ò¹ à·èÒ ã´ áÅéÇ

He had no comprehension of time, as time has no meaning in a life without dreams and no meaning either in a life without memory.

ÁѹäÁèʹ 㨡ÒÅ àÇÅÒ    à¾ÃÒСÒÅ àÇÅÒ äÁèà¤ÂÁÕ ¤ÇÒÁËÁÒÂÊÓËÃѺ ªÕÇÔµ·Õè»ÃÒȨҡ ¤ÇÒÁã½è ½Ñ¹ áÅÐÂÔè§ äÁèÁÕ ¤ÇÒÁËÁÒ ã´ÊÓËÃѺ ªÕÇÔµ·Õè»ÃÒȨҡ ¤ÇÒÁ·Ã§¨Ó   

For him, life was his next breath, life was situations he could not evade, life was his own being ... unpretentious and hence, requiring no interpretation.

ÊÓËÃѺÜÁѹ    ªÕÇÔµ¤×ÍÅÁËÒ ã¨à©¾ÒÐ˹éÒ    ¤×Íʶҹ¡ÒÃ³ì ·ÕèàÅÕè§ äÁè¾é¹    ¤×Í µÑǵ¹·Õè»ÃÒȨҡ»Ãا áµè§    ¡ÃзÑ觻ÃÒȨҡ¡ÒÃµÕ ¤ÇÒÁ

For all this, his life was not empty.

áµè ·Ñé§ËÁ´¹Õé ÁÔ ä´éËÁÒ ¤ÇÒÁÇèÒÁѹ´Óç ÍÂÙèÍÂèÒ§ÇèÒ§ à»ÅèÒ   

Vacant as his brain might be, his life was in the way he moved, in the grace of his gait, in his perfect balance, when the circumstances were right.

Ëéǧ¤Ô´¢Í§ÁѹÍÒ¨ ¨ÐÇèÒ§ à»ÅèÒ    ·ÇèÒªÕÇÔµ¢Í§Áѹ¤×Í    ÅÕÅÒ¡ÒÃà¤Å×è͹ äËÇÍÂèҧ˹Öè§ à»ç¹ÅÕÅÒ·Õ觴§ÒÁÂÔè§ Å§ µÑÇÂÔè§ ã¹ÂÒÁ·Õèà§×è͹ä¢à¾Õº ¾ÃéÍÁ

He rose to his feet slowly but with a fluid coordination of every motion until the bristling line stretching from the tip of his nose to the bush of his tail was like the single brush stroke of an inspired artist.

ÁѹÅØ¡¢Öé¹ Â×¹ªéÒæ áµèÁըѧËÇÐ ¨Ð⤹    ·Ø¡ÍÒ¡Ñ»¡ÔÃÔÂÒ ´Ù»ÃÐÊÒ¹ÊÍ´¤Åéͧ¡Ñ¹ ä»ËÁ´    ¨¹ ã¹·Õè ÊØ´¨Ò¡ »ÅÒ ¨ÁÙ¡ ¶Ö§ »ÅÒÂËÒ§    ¡ÅÒ à»ç¹ àÊé¹ÊкѴàËÂÕ´ÂÒÇ    ÃÒÇ¡ÒõÇÑ´¾Ùè¡Ñ¹ à¾Õ§ ¤ÃÑé§ à´ÕÂǢͧ¨ÔµÃ¡Ã ÍÒÃÁ³ì ¶Ö§

Where the light beams of dusk met his dry fire-colored fur, they drew flames.

àÃ×͹ÃèÒ§ÊÕ ä¿ áË駡ÃзºÅÓ á´´ ã¡Åé ¤èÓ à»ç¹ºÒ§ Êèǹ áÅеç¹Ñé¹ ´ÙÃÒÇà»ÅÇ à¾ÅÔ§

His massive neck stretched forward to the utmost, his head slightly lowered, he kept his eyes fastened on an approaching herd of animals jostling their way along a small path down below.

¤Í¡ÓÂӢͧÁѹÂ×´ ä» ´éҹ˹éÒ ÊØ´àËÂÕ´ ËÑÇ¡éÁ µèÓàÅç¡ ¹éÍ    µÒà¾è§ ¹Ôè§ ÍÂÙè¡Ñº á¶ÇÊѵÇì ½Ù§Ë¹Öè§ «Öè§ à´Ô¹àºÕ´¡Ñ¹ÁÒº¹·Ò§ à´Ô¹àÅç¡æ    ¢éÒ§ÅèÒ§

An eerie clanging of cow bells filled the mountain pass as he stealthily stepped after the herd.

àÊÕ§¡Ãд֧áÇèÇÇѧàǧ ä» ·Ñé§Ëغ ¢³Ð·ÕèÁѹ¡éÒǵÒÁ ä»ÍÂèÒ§à§Õº¡ÃÔº    ...   

He knew that the flatland in the hollow of the mountain gradually narrowed before the path skirted the last hill and met the dirt track further down.

ÁѹÃÙéÇèÒ·ÕèÃÒº ã¹áÍè§ à¢Ò ¨Ð¤èÍÂæ    ˴᤺ŧ    ¡è͹·Õè·Ò§ à´Ô¹ ¨ÐµÑ´ ¼èÒ¹ËÇèÒ§à¹Ô¹ ÊØ´·éÒ áÅÐÅҴŧ ä» ÊÙ趹¹½Øè¹¢éÒ§ÅèÒ§   

There weren't many opportunities left for him to approach the herd of cows from above.

âÍ¡ÒÊ·ÕèÁѹ ¨Ð à´Ô¹µÒÁ½Ù§ÇÑÇ ¨Ò¡ ÁØÁ ÊÙ§ àËÅ×Í ÍÕ¡ äÁèÁÒ¡¹Ñ¡

He knew that the ridge on which he had been dwelling from the first not only kept receding at the end of the pass, but also offered him little by way of protective cover.

ÁѹÃÙéÇèÒÊѹà¹Ô¹·ÕèÁѹ ÍÒÈѾÃÒ§ µÑÇÁÒ µÑé§ áµèáá äÁè à¾Õ§ÅÒ´ µèÓŧàÃ×èÍÂæ    µÃ§·Ò§ÍÍ¡¨Ò¡Ëغ    ËÒ¡ Âѧ¤ÅÒ ¤ÇÒÁáàÃ×éÍŧ ä»ÁÒ¡¨¹ÁѹÍÒ¨»Ô´ºÑ§ µÑÇ àͧ äÁè ä´é   

Over there, there wasn't a single tall tree left standing, only low-lying shrubbery and some bushes which were full of thorns and execrated a thin-skinned animal like him.

·Õè¹Ñè¹äÁèÁÕ äÁé ãË­è àËÅ×Í áÁé áµèµé¹à´ÕÂÇ Âѧ áµè¾ØèÁàµÕéÂæ «Ö觺ҧ¡Í à»ç¹¾§Ë¹ÒÁ    ...    ˹ÒÁ·ÕèÁѹªÔ§ªÑ§Ãѧà¡Õ¨à¾ÃÒÐÁѹ à»ç¹ÊѵÇì ˹ѧºÒ§

But he also knew that there was no spot better suited for an assault, because an assault at that point would be totally unexpected.

áµèÁѹ ¡çÃÙé ÇèÒ äÁèÁըش ä˹·ÕèàËÁÒСѺ ¡ÒÃâ¨ÁµÕ à·èҡѺ ¨Ø´¹Õé ¨Ø´·Õè ÍÕ¡ ½èÒÂ˹Öè§ äÁè·Ñ¹¤Ò´ ¤Ô´    ...   

He had never hunted fellow animals for any reason other than hunger, never killed to fulfil a craving for power, and never borne the expectations of animals of the same kind.

ÁѹäÁèà¤ÂÅèÒÊѵÇì Í×è¹ ´éÇÂà赯 ¼Å·ÕèÁÒ¡¡ÇèÒ ¤ÇÒÁËÔÇ äÁèà¤Â ¦èÒà¾×èÍʹͧ ¤ÇÒÁµéͧ¡Òà ´éÒ¹ ÍÓ¹Ò¨ áÅÐ äÁèà¤ÂÁÕ¢éÍàÃÕ¡Ãéͧ Íѹ ã´¨Ò¡ÊѵÇì ¾Ñ¹¸Øìà´ÕÂǡѹ

He stayed mostly by himself.

ÁѹÍÂÙè â´ÂÅӾѧ à»ç¹ Êèǹ ãË­è

Not counting the times when heaven and earth primed him for love, he could be considered to be one of the most solitary animals in the world, both solitary and lonely.

ËÒ¡äÁè¹Ñº Ëéǧ àÇÅÒ·Õè ¿éÒ´Ô¹ ÊÑè§ ãËéÁÕ ¤ÇÒÁÃÑ¡ áÅéÇ ¡çÍÒ¨ ¨Ðµéͧ¶×Í ÇèÒÁѹ à»ç¹ÊѵÇì â´´à´ÕèÂÇ·Õè ÊØ´ª¹Ô´Ë¹Öè§ ·Ñé§â´´à´ÕèÂÇ áÅÐÊѹâ´É

Solitude and loneliness may be deemed to amount to simplicity, but simplicity always pro ceeds from sophistication.

¤ÇÒÁâ´´à´ÕèÂÇ áÅÐÊѹâ´É¹Ñº à»ç¹ ¤ÇÒÁàÃÕº§èÒ áµè ¡ç àªè¹à´ÕÂǡѺ ¤ÇÒÁàÃÕº§èÒ ·Ñ駻ǧ ã¹âÅ¡ ÊÔ觹Õé ¤×ͼžǧ áËè§ ¤ÇÒÁ«Ñº«é͹

Although he did not care how long he had crouched under the jutting rock and was indifferent even to the number of rainy seasons he had breathed through, the fact remained that his ancestors had left their footprints in the world for an uninterrupted span of no fewer than five million years and that he was the ultimate perfection of his line.

¢³Ð·ÕèÁѹ àͧ äÁèʹ ã¨ÇèÒËÁͺ ¾Ñ¡ ÍÂÙèµÃ§ËÅ׺ËÔ¹¹Ñé¹ ÁÒ¹Ò¹ à·èÒ ã´ äÁèáÂáÊÇèÒ µÑÇ àͧ à´Ô¹ ½èÒÄ´Ù ½¹ÁÒ¡Õè ¤ÃÑé§ Ë¹    ¢éÍà·ç¨ ¨ÃÔ§ Âѧ¤§ÁÕ ÍÂÙèÇèÒ    ºÃþºØÃØÉ ¢Í§Áѹ ä´é ½Ò¡ÃÍ à·éÒ äÇ麹 ¾×é¹¾ÔÀ¾¹Õé ÍÂèÒ§µèÍà¹×èͧÂÒǹҹ äÁè µèÓ¡ÇèÒ    5    ÅéÒ¹»ÕÁÒ áÅéÇ áÅÐÁѹ¤×Í¡ÒÃÍÍ¡ Ẻ ¤ÃÑé§ ÊØ´·éÒ¢ͧÊÒ ¾Ñ¹¸Øì

He was able to snuff out other lives in the blink of an eye, able to jump over a distance twice the length of his own body, to run at the speed of a king hawk in flight, even swim over unbelievable distances in times of need.

ÁѹÊÒÁÒö»ÅÔ´ªÕÇÔµÍ×è¹ ä´éÀÒ 㹾ÃÔºµÒ ¡ÃÐâ´´ ä´é ÊÙ§¡ÇèÒÊͧ à·èҢͧ ¤ÇÒÁÂÒÇ µÑÇ àͧ ÇÔè§ ´éÇ ¤ÇÒÁ àÃçÇ äÁèá¾é¾­ÒàËÂÕèÂÇÂÒÁàËÔ¹ºÔ¹    ¡ÃзÑè§ÇèÒ ¹éÓ ä´é à»ç¹ÃÐÂзҧ àËÅ×Í àª×èÍ ã¹ÂÒÁ¨Ó à»ç¹

Indeed, he was the embodiment of superiority, a free spirit capable of taking care of himself, an individuality no one could ignore.

ãªè    Áѹ¤×ÍÃÙ»¸ÃÃÁ¢Í§¤ÇÒÁ à˹×Í¡ÇèÒ    ¤×ÍÇÔ­­Ò³    ÍÔÊÃзÕèÊÒÁÒö´Ùáŵ¹ àͧ ä´é    ¤×ͻѨਡÀÒ¾·ÕèÁÔÇèÒ ¼Ùé ã´ ¡ç äÁèÍÒ¨Áͧ¢éÒÁ

Every time he roared, the whole jungle fell quiet.

·Ø¡¤ÃÑé§ ·ÕèÁѹÊè§ àÊÕ§¡Ö¡¡éͧ ¤ÓÃÒÁ ·ÑèÇ ·Ñ駻èÒ ¨Ðà§Õº¡ÃÔº   

Whenever he grandly surveyed his realm, all lives gave him a wide berth.

ÂÒÁ·ÕèÁѹàÂ×éͧÂèÒ§µÃǨµÃÒÍҳҨѡà   ·Ø¡ªÕÇÔµ ÃÑ¡ÉÒÃÐÂÐËèÒ§

But then again, he had never deemed any of this to be a matter of pride, let alone of arrogance.

áµè ¡ç ÍÕ¡¹Ñè¹áËÅР   Áѹ äÁèà¤Â ÂÖ´¶×Í ÊÔè§ àËÅèÒ¹Õé à»ç¹ ¤ÇÒÁÀÒ¤ÀÙÁÔ ã¨    ÍÂèÒÇèÒ áµèàÂèÍËÂÔè§ ·Ãй§

When his mother had deserted him after he had grown almost as big as she was, the only thing he knew he had to do was find himself his own place somewhere, a place which would be not merely his lair but a whole world in which he would lead his life the way he knew how, a place which, though he would walk alone, would be at one with his soul, and in which not even the hint of a stranger's footstep would be tolerated.

àÁ×èÍáÁè·Ôé§ ä»    ËÅѧ¨Ò¡ÁѹàµÔº ã˭訹 àÃ×͹ÃèÒ§à¡×ͺ ¨Ð à·èҡѹ ÊÔè§à´ÕÂÇ·ÕèÁѹÃÙé ÇèÒµéͧ·Ó¤×ÍËÒ ¾×é¹·ÕèÊÑ¡ áËè§ ãËé µÑÇ àͧ ¾×é¹·Õè «Öè§ÁÔ ä´é à»ç¹ á¤èËÅ׺¹Í¹    ËÒ¡ à»ç¹âÅ¡ ·Ñé§âÅ¡·ÕèÁѹ ¨Ð ãªé ÃÑ¡ÉÒÇÔ¶ÕªÕÇÔµ    ·Õè «Öè§Áѹ ¨Ðµéͧ à´Ô¹ â´ÂÅӾѧ    ·ÇèÒ à»ç¹ Íѹ˹Öè§ Íѹà´ÕÂǡѺ ¨ÔµÇÔ­­Ò¹¢Í§Áѹ    ·Õè «Öè§Áѹ äÁèÍҨ͹حҵ áÁéÀÒ¾»ÃÒ¡¯¢Í§ÃÍ µÕ¹ ¼Ùé Í×è¹

He didn't come by such a land by accident.

ÁѹäÁè ä´é¤é¹ ¾º´Ô¹á´¹´Ñ§ ¡ÅèÒÇ â´ÂºÑ§àÍÔ­

His whole body bore traces of clashes ... jagged gnashes and scratches from sharp fangs and claws.

·Ñé§ àÃ×͹ÃèÒ§¢Í§ÁѹÁÕÃÔéÇÃÍ¢ͧ¡ÒûзР   ¢Ù´¢Õ´    áËÇè§àÇéÒ ´éǤÁ à¢ÕéÂÇ áÅÐÃÍ àÅçº

Only the expression in his eyes never changed, quiet but unyielding, shining and deep like gemstones in an expanse of water.

¤§áµèáÇÇµÒ à·èÒ¹Ñé¹ ·Õè äÁèà¤Â à»ÅÕè¹    ʧº ¹Ôè§ áµè äÁèÂÍÁ¾èÒ ·Ñé§ àÃ×ͧ ·Ñé§ÅÖ¡    ´ÙÃÒÇÍÑ­Á³Õ ã¹Ëéǧ ¹éÓ

He had been defeated before he was fully grown, before he had found a territory of his own, but he had not accepted defeat easily.

Áѹà¤Â¾èÒÂá¾éÁÒ¡è͹·Õè¨Ðâµ àµçÁ·Õè    ¡è͹ ¨ÐÁÕÍҳҨѡà à»ç¹¢Í§µ¹ àͧ áµèÁѹ ¡ç äÁèÍÒ¨ÂÍÁÃѺ ¡ÒþèÒÂá¾é ä´é â´Â§èÒÂ

Having his own territory was a must, because it was the only way for him to be himself.

Áѹ¨Óà»ç¹µéͧÁÕÍҳҨѡâͧµ¹ àͧ    à¾ÃÒйÑè¹ à»ç¹ÇÔ¸Õà´ÕÂÇ·ÕèÁѹ ¨Ð ä´é à»ç¹ µÑÇ àͧ

He knew no other way but his own.

ÁѹäÁèÃÙé ¨Ñ¡ÇÔ¶Õ Í×蹹͡¨Ò¡ÇԶբͧµ¹ àͧ

It had been a long time since he had waged war against intruders, and a longer time still since he had wandered in search of his promised land.

¹Ò¹ÁÒ¡áÅéÇ·ÕèÁѹ äÁè ä´é·Óʧ¤ÃÒÁ¡Ñº ¼ÙéºØ¡ÃØ¡ áÅР   ¹Ò¹ÂÔè§ ¡ÇèÒ¹Ñé¹ ÍÕ¡·ÕèÁѹ äÁèµéͧàÃèÃè͹áÊǧËÒ    "´Ô¹á´¹·Õè¾ÃÐà¨éÒ ÊÑ­­Ò"

Everything had come to him once he had refused to acknowledge defeat.

·Ø¡ÍÂèÒ§ä´éÁÒàÁ×èÍÁѹ äÁèÂÍÁÃѺ ¡ÒþèÒÂá¾é   

And yet ...

¡ÃйÑ鹡çµÒÁ    ...   

... and yet of late he had come to feel under threat once again, but he didn't know what it was that threatened him.

à¾Ôè§àÃçÇæ    ¹Õé àͧ·ÕèÁѹàÃÔèÁÃÙé ÊÖ¡ ¶Ù¡¤Ø¡¤ÒÁ ÍÕ¡ ¤ÃÑé§ Ë¹Öè§ áµèÁѹ ¡ç äÁèÃÙé ÇèÒ Íѹ ã´¤×Í ÊÔ觷Õè¤Ø¡¤ÒÁ

The other party didn't manifest itself in the form of claw scratches on bark or footprints on the ground, but all of a sudden he had begun to feel his world was shrinking.

½èÒµç¢éÒÁ äÁè ä´é»ÃÒ¡¯ µÑÇ ã¹ÃÙ»¢Í§ÃÍ àÅ纺¹à»Å×Í¡ äÁéËÃ×ÍÃÍ µÕ¹º¹ ¼ÔÇ´Ô¹ áµè ÍÂÙèæ    Áѹ ¡çàÃÔèÁÃÙé ÊÖ¡ÇèÒâÅ¡¢Í§ µÑÇ àͧàÅç¡Å§

Many of the trees he used were gone.

µé¹äÁé·ÕèÁѹ ãªé¶ÙËÅѧËÒ ä»ËÅÒµ鹠  

Deep jungle had turned into open fallow land.

´§´Ôº¡ÅÒÂà»ç¹ ·Øè§âÅè§

Streams dried up faster than before.

ÊÒ¹éÓàË×Í´ áË駡ÇèÒ·Õèà¤Â

The mountains bore wounds as if they had been gnawed by awesome fangs.

ÀÙà¢ÒÁÕºÒ´á¼ÅÃÒÇ ¶Ù¡¢º¡Ñ´ ´éÇ à¢ÕéÂÇ¡ÃÒÁ ¢¹Ò´ÁËÖÁÒ

For the first time in his life he began to feel as though his teeth and claws were powerless, as though he didn't have what he had, as though he wasn't what he was.

à»ç¹Ëéǧáá æ 㹪ÕÇÔµ    ...    ·ÕèÁѹàÃÔèÁÃÙé ÊÖ¡¤ÅéÒÂàË§Ò à¢ÕéÂÇà»ÅÕèÂÇ àÅ纠   ÃÙé ÊÖ¡ÃÒÇ äÁèÁÕ ÊÔ觷ÕèÁѹÁÕ äÁè à»ç¹ ÊÔ觷ÕèÁѹ à»ç¹

The last rays of the day doused the treetops, turning the whole jungle into a blaze of light.

áʧÊØ´·éÒ¢ͧÇѹ ÊÒ´ÂÍ´ äÁ騹 ·Ñ駻èÒà»Å觻ÃСÒÂ

Before long, everything began to fade and blur.

¨Ò¡¹Ñé¹äÁè¹Ò¹·Ø¡ÍÂèÒ§ ¡ç«Õ´àÅ×͹ŧÍÂèÒ§ÃÇ´ àÃçÇ

A piercing cold fell on the land like sadness.

¤ÇÒÁ àÂç¹àÂÕºá¼è¤ÅØÁ ·Ñé§ÍÒ³ÒºÃÔàdzÃÒÇ ¤ÇÒÁâÈ¡àÈÃéÒ

He quickened his steps ahead of the cow herd until he reached the last rows of trees on the ridge, without taking his eyes off the scene down below, and when everything in the pass began to turn a blurred indigo, he crouched once again, his back lower than the bushes, his four legs tense with stealth.

ÁѹàÃè§½Õ à·éÒ¡éÒÇÅéÓ Ë¹éÒ½Ù§ÇÑÇ ä»¨¹ ÊØ´·ÔÇ äÁé ÊØ´·éÒ    º¹Êѹà¹Ô¹ â´Â äÁèÅÐÊÒµҨҡÀÒ¾¢éÒ§ÅèÒ§ áÅÐàÁ×èÍ·Ø¡ÍÂèÒ§ ã¹ËغàÃÔèÁ¡ÅÒ à»ç¹ÊÕ¤ÃÒÁ¤ÅéÓ Áѹ ¡çÂèÍ µÑÇŧ ÍÕ¡ ¤ÃÑé§ Ë¹Öè§ ËÅѧàµÕé¡ÇèÒ¾ØèÁ äÁé    ÊÕè¢ÒÊÅѺ¡Ñ¹Âèͧ 仢éҧ˹éÒÍÂèÒ§à§Õº¡ÃÔº

A short distance away was the end of the pass leading to the dirt track.

ÍÕ¡ äÁè ä¡Å ¨Ð ¶Ö§·Ò§ÍÍ¡¨Ò¡Ëغ ä» ÊÙ趹¹½Øè¹

He pulled himself short by the last bushes and was still as a statue.

ÁѹËÂØ´ µÑÇ àͧ äÇé·Õè äÁé¾ØèÁ ÊØ´·éÒ ¹Ôè§Ê¹Ô·ÃÒÇÀÒ¾»Ñé¹

Only his eyes kept following the progress of the approaching file of bulky animals.

¤§áµèÊÒµÒÇÒÇ à·èÒ¹Ñé¹ ·Õèà¾è§¨Ñº á¶ÇÊѵÇì ãË­è·Õè ã¡Åé à¢éÒÁÒ

He heard the shouts of another kind of animal hollering at the cows up front, but he did not understand the meaning of such shouts.

Áѹä´éÂÔ¹ àÊÕ§ÊѵÇì ÍÕ¡ª¹Ô´Ë¹Öè§ µÐ⡹ ãÊè ¡ÅØèÁÇÑÇ ·Õè à´Ô¹¹Ó ˹éÒ    ·ÇèÒ ¡ç äÁè à¢éÒ ã¨ ¤ÇÒÁËÁÒ¢ͧ àÊÕ§ Ẻ¹Õé

Actually, this was almost the first time he had heard them.

¨ÃÔ§æ áÅéǹÕèà¡×ͺ ¨Ð à»ç¹ ¤ÃÑé§ áá ·ÕèÁѹà¤Â ä´éÂÔ¹ àÊÕ§´Ñ§ ¡ÅèÒÇ

They felt unfamiliar and he didn't like them.

ÁѹÃÙéÊÖ¡ äÁèªÍº áÅÐ äÁè¤Øé¹à¤Â   

Beneath the white clouds as under the gaze of the stars, no other animal had ever dared to make such a rumpus in his presence.

äÁèÇèÒ ãµéàÁ¦¢ÒÇËÃ×Í ã¹ ¤×¹´ÒÇ´ÒÉ äÁèà¤ÂÁÕÊѵÇì Í×è¹ ã´¡ÅéÒÊè§ àÊÕ§ ãÊèÁѹ

The ting-a-linging was very close now.

àÊÕ§¡êͧá¡ê§ ã¡Åé à¢éÒÁÒÁÒ¡ áÅéÇ

He knew this was the time to act.

ÁѹÃÙéÇèÒ¹Õè¤×ÍËéǧÂÒÁ·Õèµéͧ·ÓÍÐäÃ

He didn't decide, because he was an animal who had never borne the brunt of contradiction in himself, never shed tears of remorse or rejoiced over an achievement.

ÁѹäÁè ä´éµÑ´ ÊÔ¹ 㨠   à¾ÃÒÐÁѹ à»ç¹ÊѵÇì ·Õè äÁèà¤Âµéͧ·¹ ·Ø¡¢ì ÍÂÙè¡Ñº ¤ÇÒÁ ¢Ñ´áÂé§ ã¹ µÑÇ àͧ äÁèà¤ÂËÅÑè§ ¹éÓµÒÊÓ¹Ö¡ ¼Ô´ ã¹àÃ×èͧ Íѹ ã´    ËÃ×Í»ÅÒº»Å×éÁ¡Ñº ¤ÇÒÁ ÊÓàÃç¨ ã¹àÃ×èͧ ä˹

He faced life without turning his eyes away and did only what was necessary, without fear of what stood ahead and without regret of what lay behind.

Áѹ༪ԭ˹éҡѺªÕÇÔµ â´Â äÁèËźµÒ áÅзÓ੾ÒÐ ÊÔ觷Õè¨Ó à»ç¹ â´Â äÁèÁÕ ¤ÇÒÁ ËÇÒ´ËÇÑè¹ ¡Ñº à赯 ¡Òóì àº×éͧ ˹éÒ áÅÐ äÁèÁÕ ¤ÇÒÁ àÊÕ 㨡Ѻ à赯 ¡Òóì Âé͹ËÅѧ

He moved in total harmony with the environment around him, because in truth he was a part of it: the precipitous cliffs, the jungle streams, the seasons ... all things.

Áѹà¤Å×è͹äËÇÍÂèÒ§»ÃÐÊÒ¹ÊÍ´¤Åéͧ¡Ñº ÊÀÒ¾Ãͺ µÑÇ·Ø¡»ÃСÒà   à¾ÃÒÐá·é ¨ÃÔ§ áÅéÇÁѹ¤×Í Êèǹ˹Öè§ ¢Í§ ÊÔè§ àËÅèÒ¹Ñé¹ âµÃ¡¼Ò    »èÒ¸Òà   Ä´Ù ¡ÒÅ    ...    ÊÃþ ÊÔè§

In the split second he knew he had to act, his whole body was on the move.

ã¹àÊÕéÂÇ ¢³Ð·ÕèÁѹÃÙé ÇèÒµéͧ·ÓÍÐäà   ¾Åѹ ·Ñé§ àÃ×͹ÃèÒ§ ¡ç¢ÂѺà¤Å×è͹ à»ç¹ ͧ¤ìÃÇÁ

At a gallop, just as the first cows reached the narrowest point at the end of the pass, he lunged at them with a speed he himself could not have held in check.

Áѹ¤Çº·ÐÂÒ¹à¢éÒËÒ½Ù§ÇÑÇ ·ÕèÁÒ ¶Ö§¨Ø´á¤º ÊØ´¢Í§ »ÅÒÂËغ¾Í´Õ ´éÇ ¤ÇÒÁ àÃçÇ·Õè áÁéÁѹ àͧ ¡ç ËÂØ´ÂÑé§ äÁè ä´é

The whole herd stood stock-still before scurrying every which way.

ÇÑÇ·Ñ駽٧¼§ÐªÐ§Ñ¡¡è͹ ¨Ð ºèÒ ËÑǡѹ 令¹ÅзÔÈÅзҧ

The hectic clatter of cow bells resounded like the crackle of bamboo clumps in jungle fire season, and were redoubled by the frantic yells of the herder, and with the dust kicked up by panicked hooves, the end of the mountain pass turned instantly into a battleground.

àÊÕ§¡Ãд֧ÃÐÃÑÇÃÒÇ àÊÕ§ä¼è ·Ñé§¡Í»Ð·Ø ã¹Ä´Ù ä¿»èÒ    ÂÔè§ ¼ÊÒ¹¡Ñº àÊÕ§µÐ⡹àÍÐÍТͧ ¼Ùé à»ç¹¹Ò áÅмÊÁ¡Ñº äͽØè¹·Õè¤ÅØ駵ź ¢Öé¹ÁÒ¨Ò¡¡éÒÇ ÂèӵСØ    ºÃÔàdz·Ò§ÍÍ¡¨Ò¡Ëغ¾Åѹ à»ÅÕ蹡ÅÒ à»ç¹´Ñè§Ê¹ÒÁú

He sank his fangs into the gullet of the nearest cow straying by, but this turned out to be a mistake.

Áѹ§Ñº¤ÍËÍÂÇÑÇ·ÕèàµÅÔ´ à¢éÒÁÒ ã¡Åé·Õè ÊØ´ äÇé µÑÇ˹Öè§ áµè¹Ñè¹ ¡ÅѺ à»ç¹ ¤ÇÒÁ ¼Ô´¾ÅÒ´

The cow was fully grown and powered by fright, and it struggled with all its strength to shake him loose, but as soon as he felt his hind legs losing their firm grip on the ground, he released his clamp and instantly broke into a gallop toward a breakaway young cow which was seeking salvation through the jungle.

ÇÑǵÑǹÕé âµ àµçÁ·Õè    ÁÔË¹Ó «éÓ Âѧ ¶Ù¡ÊÁ·º ´éǾÅѧ áËè§ ¤ÇÒÁ¡ÅÑÇ    ¨Ö§ÊкѴ ÊÙé¡Ñº ÁѹÍÂèÒ§ ÊØ´ áç áµè·Ñ¹·Õ·ÕèÁѹÃÙé ÊÖ¡ÇèÒ¢ÒËÅѧ à¡ÒдԹ äÁè á¹è¹ ¡ç¤ÅÒ à¢ÕéÂÇ ¾ÃéÍÁ ·Ñ駤Ǻ à¢éÒËÒÇÑÇ ÃØè¹ µÑÇ˹Öè§ «Öè§ áµ¡½Ù§ ¡ÅѺ ä»·Ò§á¹Ç»èÒ

The big cow bolted down the path leading to the track together with the rest of the herd, leaving a trail of splattered blood drops behind.

»ÅèÍÂãËéà¨éÒ µÑÇ ãË­è¾Øè§ÍÍ¡ 仵ÒÁ àÊé¹·Ò§ ÊÙ趹¹ ¾ÃéÍÁ¡Ñº µÑÇ Í×è¹æ â´Â ·Ôé§Ë´ àÅ×Í´¡ÃÐà«ç¹

He was on the young cow in a trice and in a trice had broken its neck bone.

ÁÑ¹ä» ¶Ö§ÇÑÇ µÑÇ·ÕèÊͧ ã¹ ªÑèÇ àÇÅÒ¾ÃÔºµÒ áÅÐ ãªé Íա˹Öè§ ¾ÃÔºµÒµÑ´ ¡Ãд١¡éÒ¹¤Í¢Í§à¨éÒ ÇÑÇ ÃØè¹ µÑǹÑé¹

That he did so in no time was less because his fangs had the sharpness of knife blades than because of the clenching power of his jaws, to which hardly anything on earth could compare.

Áѹãªé àÇÅÒ ¹é͹Դ    ÁÔãªèà¾ÃÒÐÁÕ à¢ÕéÂǤÁ¡ÃÔºÃÒÇ ãºÁÕ´    ËÒ¡ ´éÇ á確¢Í§¢Ò¡ÃÃä¡Ã «Ö觺¹ ¾×é¹¾ÔÀ¾ÂÒ¡·Õè ¨ÐËÒ ¤ÇÒÁ˹ѡ ˹èǧ Íѹ ã´ÁÒà·Õº·Ò¹

The dust settled.

½Ø蹨ҧ

The whole mountain pass became tranquil.

·Ñé§Ëغà§ÕºʧѴ   

As pointed stars began to burn in the open sky, he tore away at his first mouthful in days with a quiet mien.

¢³ÐàÇÔé§ ¿éÒàº×éͧ º¹àÃÔèÁÁÕá©¡´ÒÇÃÐÂÔº    Áѹ©Õ¡ ÍÒËÒà ¤Óáá ã¹ÃͺËÅÒÂÇѹ ´éÇÂÍÒ¡ÒÃʧº ¹Ô觠  

The expression in his eyes was unchanged, shining and deep in the dark like a pair of stars in the ether.

áÇǵҷÕèäÁèà¤Â à»ÅÕè¹ ·Ñé§ÅÖ¡ ·Ñé§ àÃ×ͧ ÍÂÙè ã¹ ¤ÇÒÁ Á×´´ÙÃÒÇáÇÇ´ÒÇ ÍÕ¡ ¤Ùè˹Öè§ ã¹ àÍ¡À¾    ...   

2

2

The last rays of the day doused the treetops, turning the whole jungle into a blaze of light.

áʧÊØ´·éÒ¢ͧÇѹ ÊÒ´ÂÍ´ äÁ騹 ·Ñ駻èÒà»Å觻ÃСÒ   

Before long, everything began to fade and blur.

¨Ò¡¹Ñé¹äÁè¹Ò¹·Ø¡ÍÂèÒ§ ¡ç«Õ´àÅ×͹ŧÍÂèÒ§ÃÇ´ àÃçÇ   

A piercing cold fell on the land like sadness.

¤ÇÒÁ àÂç¹àÂÕºá¼è¤ÅØÁ ·ÑèÇÍÒ³ÒºÃÔàdzÃÒÇ ¤ÇÒÁâÈ¡àÈÃéÒ

Some instinct impelled him to stop moving.

ÊÑ­ªÒµ­Ò³ºÒ§ÍÂèÒ§ºÑ§¤Ñº ãËé à¢Òµéͧ ËÂØ´¢ÂѺ µÑÇ

It could be this minute or in the next hour or in the next ten that the tiger would come to feed on the body of the cow.

ÁѹÍÒ¨¨Ð à»ç¹¹Ò·Õ¹Õé ËÃ×Í ªÑèÇâÁ§Ë¹éÒ    ¡ÃзÑè§ ÍÕ¡    10 ªÑèÇâÁ§¶Ñ´ ä»·Õè àÊ×Í µÑǹÑé¹ ¨Ð à¢éÒÁÒ¡Ô¹ «Ò¡ÇÑÇ ªÒǺéÒ¹   

He had no way of knowing when.

à¢Ò äÁèÁÕ·Ò§ÃÙé ä´éÇèÒÁѹ ¨Ð à¢éÒÁÒàÁ×èÍäÃ

He only knew that after the sun had sunk beyond the treetops, he shouldn't make any noise that would jar the polyphony of the jungle.

ÃÙéáµè à¾Õ§ÇèÒËÅѧ¨Ò¡ µÐÇѹ ÅѺÂÍ´ äÁé ä» áÅéÇ à¢Ò äÁè¤ÇáèÍ àÊÕ§ ã´æ    ·Õè ¢Ñ´áÂ駡Ѻ ÊÃþÊÓà¹Õ§ áËè§ä¾Ã¾Ä¡Éì

He sat on a high shooting platform with his back against the fork of a branch, his right leg folded close to his body, knee cocked, as it were, because he knew that he would have to rest his right elbow on it to fire downward.

à¢Ò ¹Ñè§ àÍÒËÅѧ¾Ô§¤º äÁé ÍÂÙ躹 ËéÒ§ ÊÙ§    ¢Ò¢ÇÒÂèÍ à¢éÒËÒ µÑǤÅéÒªѹà¢èÒ    à¾ÃÒÐ à¢ÒÃÙé ÇèÒ ¨Ðµéͧ ãªéÁѹÇÒ§ÈÍ¡¢ÇÒ ã¹ÂÒÁ·ÕèµéͧÂÔ§ ŧ·Õè µèÓ   

His left leg was stretched out on the platform, yet slightly raised and ready to jerk up to receive his left elbow if necessary.

¢Ò«éÒ¢ͧà¢ÒÇÒ§ÃҺŧ¡Ñº ¾×é¹ ËéÒ§ áµè ¡ç Âѧ§Í à¢éÒËÒ µÑÇàÅç¡ ¹éÍ áÅÐ ¾ÃéÍÁ·Õè ¨Ð¡Ãд¡ÁÒÃѺ ¢éÍÈÍ¡¢éÒ§«éÒ¶éÒ ¨Ó à»ç¹

He knew that his opponent was the most advanced form of life in the jungle, the true owner of these very grounds, who was likely to know how to distinguish between the sound of the wind through treetops and the sound of breathing of other animals, let alone know his way in every direction.

à¢ÒÃÙé ÇèÒ ¤ÙèµèÍ ÊÙé¢Í§ à¢Ò¤×;Ѳ¹Ò¡Òà ÊÙ§ ÊØ´¢Í§ªÕÇÔµ ã¹»èÒ    ¤×Íà¨éÒ ¢Í§·Õèá·é ¨ÃÔ§¢Í§ ¾×é¹·ÕèµÃ§¹Õé «Öè§ÂèÍÁ ¨ÐµéͧÃÙé ¨Ñ¡¨Óṡá¡ àÊÕ§ÃÐËÇèÒ§ÅÁà»èÒÂÍ´ äÁé¡Ñº ÅÁËÒ 㨢ͧÊѵÇì Í×è¹    ÍÂèÒÇèÒ áµèÃÙé ¨Ñ¡·Ò§ ä»·Ò§ÁÒ ·Ñ駠   8    ·ÔÈ

But he had no other option than to confront it.

áµè à¢Ò ¡ç äÁèÁÕ·Ò§ àÅ×Í¡ à»ç¹ Í×蹹͡¨Ò¡ ¨Ðµéͧ༪ԭ˹éҡѺ Áѹ

"Why me" he had asked his father, who was the best hunter in the village, the first man everyone turned to as soon as the news spread that a tiger had killed a cow.

"·ÓäÁµéͧà»ç¹©Ñ¹ ´éÇÂ" à¢ÒàÍè»ҡ¶ÒÁ¾èÍ «Öè§ à»ç¹¾ÃÒ¹Á×Í©Áѧ¢Í§ËÁÙèºéÒ¹ à»ç¹¤¹áá ·Õè ·Ñ駺ҧ¶ÒÁËÒàÁ×èÍ¢èÒÇ àÊ×Í¡Ô¹ ÇÑÇ á¾ÃèÍÍ¡ ä»

"Because I'm too old" his father had answered pithily.

"à¾ÃÒСÙá¡è áÅéÇ"    ¾è͵ͺ ÊÑé¹æ

"I can't go after him, I can't sit up there.

"¡ÙÍÍ¡µÒÁÁѹäÁè äËÇ ¹Ñè§ ËéÒ§ ¡ç äÁè ä´é

My throat wheezes, and my hands shake.

»Ò¡¡çäÍ    Á×Í ¡çÊÑè¹   

You're my son.

ÁÖ§à»ç¹ÅÙ¡¡Ù    ÁÖ§    µéͧÂÔ§ Áѹ á·¹¡Ù    ...    "

You must take my place and shoot him.."

"Suppose I don't come back in good time.

"áÅéǶéÒ ºÑ§àÍÔ­©Ñ¹ äÁè ä´é ¡ÅѺÁÒºéÒ¹¾Í´ÕÅèР  

What will you do then, dad"

¾èͨР   ·Ó Âѧä§"

"I reckon I'd have to go after him myself"

"¡Ù¡ç¤§µéͧÍÍ¡ÅèÒÁѹ àͧ"

"I don't understand.

"©Ñ¹äÁè à¢éÒ ã¨   

Old as you are, if you won't go after a tiger, who is to say anything?

¾èÍá¡è»èÒ¹¹Õé ¶éÒ äÁèÍÍ¡µÒÁ àÊ×Í ã¤Ã ¨ÐÁÒÇèÒ ä´é   

Besides ... why don't we ask for help from the district"

ÍÕ¡ÍÂèÒ§    ...    ·ÓäÁàÃÒ äÁè¢Í ¤ÇÒÁ ªèÇ àËÅ×Í·Ò§ÍÓàÀÍ"

He remembered that as soon as the words had left his mouth, his father had glared at him long and hard, so long and so hard he was reminded of the times he did something wrong as a child.

à¢Ò¨Ó ä´éÇèÒ¾ÍËÅØ´»ÃÐ⤹Ñé¹ ÍÍ¡ ä»    ¾èÍ ¡ç¨éͧ˹éÒ ¡ÅѺÁÒà¹Ôè¹¹Ò¹    ¹Ò¹ áÅÐ ¹Ô觨¹ à¢ÒÍ´ äÁè ä´é·Õè ¨Ð¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§µÍ¹·ÓÍÐäà ¼Ô´ ã¹ÇÑ à´ç¡   

His father had never beaten or even chided him, but he'd glare at him with eyes that almost made him want to go down on his knees.

¾èÍäÁè¤èÍÂµÕ áÅÐÂÔè§ äÁèà¤Â´èÒ áµèÁÑ¡ ¨Ð¨éͧÁͧ ´éÇÂÊÒµҷÕè·Ó ãËé à¢Òá·º ¨Ð ¹Ñè§Å§¤Ø¡à¢èÒ»¯Ô­Ò³

"It's a question of pride, isn't it, dad" he asked humbly.

"ÈÑ¡´ÔìÈÃÕãªèÁÑé¾èÍ"à¢ÒàÍè ¢Öé¹ÍÂèÒ§ à¡Ã§ ã¨

"More than pride ... I'm a hunter: if a tiger makes it into our village, what will I call myself"

"ÂÔ觡ÇèÒÈÑ¡´ÔìÈÃÕ    ...    ¡Ù à»ç¹¾ÃÒ¹    ¶éÒ àÊ×Í à¢éÒËÁÙèºéÒ¹¹Õé ä´é    ¡Ù ¨ÐàÃÕ¡ µÑÇ àͧÇèÒÍÐäÃ"

Having said, his father went inside to pick up the 30-06 rifle in a corner of the room, took a rag and dusted off every part of the gun, then removed the bolt and inspected it carefully, brought the rifle up to check the coils in the gun barrel, reinserted the bolt, shouldered the weapon and pulled the trigger as a test.

¾Ù´¨º¾èÍ¡ç à´Ô¹ à¢éÒ ä» ËÂÔºäÃà¿ÔÅ ¢¹Ò´    30-06    ÍÍ¡ÁÒ¨Ò¡ ÁØÁËéͧ àÍÒ ¼éÒÅÙºäÅéÃͽØè¹ÍÍ¡¨Ò¡·Ø¡«Í¡ ÁØÁ    ¨Ò¡¹Ñé¹ ¡ç»Å´ÅÙ¡àÅ×è͹ÍÍ¡ÁÒ µÃǨÍÂèÒ§¾Ô¹Ô¨¾Ôà¤ÃÒÐËì ¡ »×¹ ¢Öé¹Êèͧ´Ù à¡ÅÕÂÇ ã¹ÅÓ¡Åéͧ »ÃСͺÅÙ¡àÅ×è͹ à¢éÒ ä»ãËÁè ¢Öé¹ÅÓ áÅÐÅÑè¹ ä¡ à»ç¹¡Ò÷´Êͺ

"When the sun's gone down some, we'll go out together.

"à´ÕëÂÇÃèÁ˹èÍ    àÃÒÍÍ¡ä» ´éÇ¡ѹ   

The cow was almost fully grown, he won't have dragged it far" his father said as if giving out orders.

ÇÑÇÁѹÃØè¹ áÅéÇ    ¤§ÅÒ¡ ä» äÁè ä´é ä¡ÅËÃÍ¡"    ¾è;ٴ àËÁ×͹ÍÍ¡ ¤Ó ÊÑè§

Before leaving the house, he asked for permission to pay his respects to the relics of his mother, which were kept in an urn inside.

¡è͹ŧ¨Ò¡àÃ×͹ à¢Ò¢Í µÑÇ à¢éÒ ä» äËÇéâ¡È ¡Ãд١áÁè   

His father nodded in assent, the harshness in his eyes suddenly melting.

¾è;Âѡ˹éÒ͹حҵ¾ÃéÍÁ¡Ñº Å´áÇǵҡÃéÒÇŧÇٺ˹Öè§

He hastened to look away because he was aware his father, when he thought of his mother, didn't like to be watched by anyone, not even by his only son.

à¢ÒÃÕºËѹ ˹éÒ ä»·Ò§ Í×è¹    à¾ÃÒÐÃÙé ´ÕÇèÒ àÇÅÒ¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§áÁè    ¾èÍ äÁè ÍÂÒ¡ ãËé ã¤Ã Êѧࡵ àËç¹ äÁèÇèÒÅÙ¡ªÒ¤¹à´ÕÂǢͧ µÑÇ àͧËÃ×Í ¼Ùé ã´ ·Ñé§ ÊÔé¹

From birth to old age, his father had always behaved as though weakness was a crime.

µÑé§ áµèà¡Ô´ ¨¹ á¡è    ¾èÍ·ÓÃÒǡѺ ÇèÒ ¤ÇÒÁÍè͹áÍ à»ç¹ÍÒª­Ò¡ÃÃÁ

Be that as it may, his hunting skills were acknowledged by the whole village, and even more so the size of his heart.

áµè äÁèÇèÒ ¨ÐÍÂèÒ§äà ¡çµÒÁ ½ÕÁ×;ÃÒ¹¢Í§¾èÍ à»ç¹·ÕèÂÍÁÃѺ ¡Ñ¹ ·Ñé§ËÁÙèºéÒ¹    ÂÔè§ ¢¹Ò´¢Í§ ËÑÇ ã¨ ´éÇ áÅéÇ

There were people talking about him way beyond the village, not just because he was testy but also because he knew how to give.

ÁÕ¤¹¾Ù´¶Ö§¡Ñ¹ ÍÂÙèËÅÒµӺŠäÁè à¾Õ§à¾ÃÒоèÍ´Ø    ËÒ¡ Âѧ à»ç¹à¾ÃÒоèÍÃÙé ¨Ñ¡ ãËé   

All his life, he had never wanted anything, it seemed.

·Ñ駪ÕÇÔµ´Ù àËÁ×͹¾èÍ äÁèà¤Âµéͧ¡ÒÃÍÐäà  

Whatever he could give away, he gave away without counting, be it things or time or even labor.

Íѹ ä˹ ãË餹 Í×è¹ ä´é¾èÍ¡ ãËéËÁ´ äÁèÇèÒÁѹ ¨Ð à»ç¹ ÊÔ觢ͧ àÇÅÒ    ËÃ×Í áÁé áµè áç§Ò¹

His father was right: the tiger hadn't taken the cow far away at all.

¾è;ٴ¶Ù¡ àÊ×;ҫҡÇÑÇ ä» äÁè ä¡Å ¨ÃÔ§æ    ...   

After tracking the tiger to just beyond the mountain pass, his father found it had taken its quarry along the edge of a dry stream to a recess in the bank, then had dragged it along the stream bed, which was strewn with rocks the size of fists.

ËÅѧ¨Ò¡á¡ÐÃÍÂÁѹ仨¹¾é¹¨Ò¡Ëغ    ¾èÍ ¡ç¾ºÇèÒÁѹ¾ÒàËÂ×èÍ ä»µÒÁ¢ÍºËéÇ áË駨¹ ¶Ö§ºÃÔàdz·ÕèµÅÔ觾ѧÅÒ´ áÅéÇÅҡŧ 仵ÒÁ¡é¹ËéÇ «Öè§ àµçÁ ä» ´éÇ¡é͹ËÔ¹ ¢¹Ò´ à·èÒ¡Ó»Ñé¹

His father looked intently at the forking of the stream ahead and, seeing that a tree trunk had fallen across it and a big boulder stood diagonally opposite the stream mouth, he deduced right away that the body of the cow would be there.

¾èÍà¾è§Áͧ价Õè»Ò¡ËéÇÂá¡¢éҧ˹éÒ àËç¹Áբ͹ äÁéÅéÁ ¢ÇÒ§ áÅÐÁÕËÔ¹ ¢¹Ò´ ãË­è µÑ駵ÃÐ˧èÒ¹àÂ×éͧ»Ò¡ËéÇ ÍÂÙè¡é͹˹Öè§ ¡çºÍ¡ à¢Ò·Ñ¹·ÕÇèÒ«Ò¡ÇÑÇ ¹èÒ ¨Ð ÍÂÙèµÃ§¹Ñé¹

It was a sandy depression which ran deep down the side of the bank.

Áѹà»ç¹áÍ觷ÃÒ·ÕèÂغÅ֡ŧ 仨ҡ¢éÒ§µÅÔ觠  

The body had been covered with dry leaves and branches and could almost have escaped detection, and if the tiger came out along the smaller stream bed to feed on its quarry, neither man nor animal coming from the direction of the main stream could ever see it, as it would be screened by the boulder.

«Ò¡ÊѵÇìàÅÕé§ ¢Í§ªÒǺéÒ¹ ¶Ù¡¤ÅØÁ äÇé ´éÇ 㺠äÁé áÅСÔè§ äÁé áË駨¹à¡×ͺ Êѧࡵ äÁèÍÍ¡ áÅжéÒ à¨éÒ àÊ×Í µÑǹÕé à´Ô¹ÍÍ¡ÁÒµÒÁÅÓËéÇÂàÅç¡à¾×èÍ¡Ô¹ «Ò¡    ¤¹ËÃ×ÍÊѵÇì ·ÕèÁÒ¨Ò¡·ÔÈËéÇ ãË­è ¨Ð äÁèÁÕ·Ò§Áͧ àËç¹ÁѹàÅ    à¹×èͧ¨Ò¡ÁÕËÔ¹¡é͹¹Ñé¹ º´ºÑ§ ÍÂÙè   

Even coming from the opposite side, it would not be seen either, since the depression was concealed by the brink of the banks at the confluence.

¶Ö§ÁÒ¨Ò¡ ½Ñ觵ç¢éÒÁ ¡ç ¨ÐÁͧ äÁè àËç¹ ÍÕ¡ àªè¹¡Ñ¹    à¹×èͧ¨Ò¡áÍ觴ѧ ¡ÅèÒÇËź ÍÂÙè¡Ñº ¤ÇÒÁªÑ¹¢Í§µÅÔè§ËéÇÂá¡   

The only direction from which it could be seen was upstream of the smaller waterway, which tumbled down from on high ...

·Ò§à´ÕÂÇ·Õè¨Ð àËç¹Áѹ    ¤×ÍÁÒ¨Ò¡µÍ¹º¹¢Í§ÅÓËéÇÂàÅç¡ «Öè§äËÅàÅÒÐŧÁÒ¨Ò¡ ¤ÇÒÁ ÊÙ§

... and no one could come from that direction but the tiger itself.

áµè àÊé¹·Ò§¹Ñé¹ ¡çÁÔãªè àÊé¹·Ò§·Õè ã¤Ã ¨Ð à¢éÒÁÒ ä´é    ¹Í¡¨Ò¡ µÑÇÁѹ àͧ

His father shook his head at the cleverness of the tiger, while warning his son to never for a moment underestimate it.

¾èÍÊèÒÂËÑÇ ãËé ¤ÇÒÁ©ÅÒ´¢Í§ àÊ×Í ¾ÃéÍÁ¡Ñº àµ×͹ à¢ÒÇèÒ ¨Ðµéͧ äÁè»ÃÐÁÒ· à»ç¹ Íѹ¢Ò´   

His father respected all of the animals he had ever hunted, and had always told him that, although necessity would force him to kill, he must do so out of respect for his opponent.

¾è͹Ѻ¶×Í ÊѵÇì ·Ø¡ µÑÇ·Õè¾èÍà¤ÂÅèÒ áÅÐÊ͹ à¢ÒÁÒ µÅÍ´ÇèÒ áÁé ¤ÇÒÁ¨Ó à»ç¹ ¨Ð ºÑ§¤Ñº ãËéµéͧ ¦èÒ áµè ¡ç¢Í ãËé·Ó ´éÇ ¤ÇÒÁà¤Òþ ã¹ ¤ÙèµèÍ ÊÙé   

His father had never boasted of hunting feats, let alone drawn satisfaction from the taking of lives.

¾èÍäÁèà¤ÂÅèÒÊѵÇì ÍÇ´ ã¤Ã    ÍÂèÒÇèÒ áµè ¨Ð¾Í 㨠㹡ÒûÅÔ´ªÕÇÔµ Í×è¹

He didn't know, but perhaps this was the secret reason why his father had sent him to study in town, so he could break away from the lonely life of a hunter that was his father's lot.

à¢Ò äÁèÃÙé ...    ºÒ§·Õ¹Ñè¹ÍÒ¨ ¨Ð à»ç¹à赯 ¼Åàº×éͧ ÅÖ¡·Õè·Ó ãËé¾èÍÊè§ ãËé à¢Ò ä»àÃÕ¹ ˹ѧÊ×Í ã¹àÁ×ͧ àÃÕ¹à¾×èÍ ãËéËÅØ´¾é¹ 仨ҡªÕÇÔµ¾ÃÒ¹Êѹâ´É Ẻ·Õè¾èÍ ãªéÁÒ

The last rays of the day doused the treetops, turning the whole jungle into a blaze of light.

áʧÊØ´·éÒ¢ͧÇѹ ÊÒ´ÂÍ´ äÁ騹 ·Ñ駻èÒà»Å觻ÃСÒ   

Before long, everything began to fade and blur.

¨Ò¡¹Ñé¹äÁè¹Ò¹·Ø¡ÍÂèÒ§ ¡ç«Õ´àÅ×͹ŧÍÂèÒ§ÃÇ´ àÃçÇ   

A piercing cold fell on the land like sadness.

¤ÇÒÁ àÂç¹àÂÕºá¼è¤ÅØÁ ·Ñé§ÍÒ³ÒºÃÔàdzÃÒÇ ¤ÇÒÁâÈ¡àÈÃéÒ

He nodded to his father, who was about to walk back to the village after he had helped him choose a tree and set up a platform and made all kinds of recommendations.

à¢Ò¾Âѡ˹éÒ ãËé¡Ñº ¾èÍ «Ö觡ÓÅѧ ¨Ð à´Ô¹ ¡ÅѺËÁÙèºéÒ¹    ËÅѧ¨Ò¡ ªèÇ à¢Ò àÅ×Í¡µé¹ äÁé ¢Ñ´ ËéÒ§ áÅÐá¹Ð¹Ó ÊÔ觵èÒ§æ ãË騹¤Ãº¶éǹ   

His father looked back at him with eyes full of concern and secret pride, but in the slits of those eyes he couldn't help feeling he saw the glint of tears.

¾èÍÁͧµÍº¡ÅѺÁÒ ´éÇÂÊÒµҷÕè ·Ñé§ à»ç¹Ëèǧ áÅлÅÒº»Å×éÁ áµè ã¹á©¡ ÁØÁàÅç¡æ    ¢Í§áÇÇµÒ ¤Ùè¹Ñé¹ à¢ÒÍ´ÃÙé ÊÖ¡ äÁè ä´éÇèÒÁѹÁÕ»ÃСÒ¢ͧËÂÒ´ ¹éÓ

He couldn't believe his father was crying, but his father didn't stick around for him to make further observations.

à¢Ò äÁè ÍÂÒ¡ ¨Ð àª×èÍÇèÒ¾èÍÃéͧäËé áµè¾èÍ ¡ç äÁè ÍÂÙè ãËé à¢Ò ÊѧࡵÁÒ¡ 仡ÇèÒ¹Õé

He waved his hand, then hurriedly turned his back and walked away without looking left or right.

¾èÍ⺡Á×͵ͺáÅéÇ ¡çÃÕºËѹ ËÅѧ à´Ô¹´ØèÁæ    ¨Ò¡ ä»

The whole jungle fell into the embrace of darkness.

·Ñ駻èÒµ¡ ÍÂÙè ã¹ÍéÍÁᢹ¢Í§ ¤ÇÒÁ Á×´    ...   

He wasn't certain how long he had been sitting still and silent, and anyway at this point it didn't really matter.

à¢Ò äÁè á¹è ã¨ÇèÒ µÑÇ àͧ ¹Ñè§ ÍÂÙèÍÂèÒ§à§Õº ¹Ôè§ à»ç¹ àÇÅÒ¹Ò¹ á¤è ä˹ áÅéÇ áÅÐ ¶Ö§µÍ¹¹Õé ºÒ§·ÕÁѹÍÒ¨ ¨Ð äÁèãªèàÃ×èͧ ÊӤѭ Íѹ 㴹ѡ

It had been a long time since he had last returned to visit his father and bow to the ashes of his mother, and a longer time still since he had left the village to go study in the capital.

¹Ò¹ÁÒ¡·Õà´ÕÂÇ·Õèà¢Ò äÁè ä´é ¡ÅѺÁÒàÂÕèÂÁ¾èÍ áÅÐ äËÇéáÁè ã¹â¡È    ¹Ò¹ÂÔè§ ¡ÇèÒ¹Ñé¹ ÍÕ¡    ·Õè à¢ÒÍÍ¡¨Ò¡ËÁÙèºéÒ¹¹Õé ä»àÃÕ¹µèÍ ã¹àÁ×ͧ ËÅǧ   

His studies over, he had worked for a living, changing jobs time and again before he was able to find a way to earn his keep to his satisfaction.

àÃÕ¹¨º·Ó§Ò¹ËÒàÅÕ駪վ à»ÅÕ蹧ҹËÅÒ ¤ÃÑé§ ¡ÇèÒ ¨ÐÊÒÁÒö¼¹Ö¡ ¡ÒÃËÒàÅÕé§ ªÕ¾ à¢éҡѺ ¤ÇÒÁ¾Í ã¨

But as time passed, he felt his own territory shrinking, to the point that, deep in his heart, he knew his survival was being threatened, not because someone was after his life, but because he had begun to feel as though he had no life.

áµè áÅéÇÂÔè§ ÍÂÙè ä» à¢Ò ¡çÃÙé ÊÖ¡ÇèÒ ¾×é¹·ÕèÊÓËÃѺ µ¹ àͧ˴᤺ŧ    ¡ÃзÑè§ÃÙé ÊÖ¡ ¶Ù¡¤Ø¡¤ÒÁ ¤ÇÒÁ ÍÂÙèÃÍ´ ã¹ ÊèǹÅÖ¡¢Í§ ËÑÇ ã¨    ÁÔãªè à»ç¹à¾ÃÒÐÁÕ ¼Ùé ã´ ÍÂÒ¡ ¨Ð àÍÒªÕÇÔµ à¢Ò    ËÒ¡ à»ç¹à¾ÃÒÐ à¢ÒàÃÔèÁÃÙé ÊÖ¡¤ÅéÒµ¹ àͧ äÁèÁÕªÕÇÔµ

He talked to others less and less, even though he pined for someone to talk with so much he almost had to implore heaven and earth.

à¢Ò¾Ù´¡Ñº ¤¹ ¹éÍÂŧ ·Ñé§æ    ·Õè ÍÂÒ¡ ¨Ð¾Ù´¡Ñº ã¤ÃÊÑ¡¤¹    ¨¹à¡×ͺµéͧ͸ÔÉ°Ò¹¡Ñº ¿éÒ´Ô¹   

But since there was no one he could talk with, he chose not to talk at all.

áµè ã¹àÁ×èͤ¹·Õè¾Ù´¡Ñ¹ ä´é äÁèÁÕ à¢Ò ¡ç àÅ×Í¡·Õè ¨Ð äÁè¾Ù´

Yet, how can plodding all by oneself along a road or along the path of fate be claimed to be any fun?

áµè¡Òà à´Ô¹ ÂèÓ ä»µÒÁÅӾѧ ä˹àÅ ¨ÐÍéÒ§ ä´éÇèÒ à»ç¹ ¤ÇÒÁÃ×è¹ÃÁÂìËÃÃÉÒ äÁèÇèÒ ¨Ð¡éÒÇ à·éÒ ä»º¹¶¹¹ÊÒÂ˹Öè§ ËÃ×Í¡éÒÇ à´Ô¹ 仺¹Ë¹·Ò§ áË觪еҡÃÃÁ

He had no choice but to go on walking like that.

à¢Ò à¾Õ§µéͧ à´Ô¹ ä»ÍÂèÒ§¹Ñé¹ ·Ñé§æ   

Though he didn't want to, he had to, because it was the only way he could reach certain goals.

·ÕèäÁè ÍÂÒ¡·Ó àªè¹¹Ñé¹ áµè à¢Òµéͧ·Ó àªè¹¹Ñé¹ à¾ÃÒÐÁѹ¡ÅÒ à»ç¹ÇÔ¶Õà´ÕÂÇ·Õè ¨Ð à´Ô¹ ä» ÊÙè¨Ø´ËÁÒºҧÍÂèÒ§

The vital space in which he could move and breathe shrank while the open fallow land in his heart expanded by the day.

¾×é¹·ÕèÊÓËÃѺ ¡ÒÃà¤Å×è͹ äËÇ ãªéªÕÇԵŴŧ ¢³Ð ¾×é¹·ÕèáÃéÒ§ÇèÒ§ à»ÅèÒ ã¹ ã¨¹Ñº Çѹ ÂÔè§ ¢ÂÒ   

Finally it came to the point where he had to choose between expanding the former or caring for the latter.

ã¹·Õè ÊØ´ ¡çÁÒ ¶Ö§¨Ø´·Õè à¢Ò ¨Ðµéͧ àÅ×Í¡ àÍÒÃÐËÇèÒ§¡Òúء àºÔ¡ ¾×é¹·ÕèÍÂèÒ§áá ¡Ñº ¡ÒôÙáÅ ¾×é¹·ÕèÍÂèÒ§ËÅѧ

But he came to realize that, in reality, they were the same battleground.

áµè à¢Ò ¡ç¾ºÇèÒá·é ¨ÃÔ§ áÅéÇÁѹ à»ç¹ÊÁÃÀÙÁÔ à´ÕÂǡѹ    ...   

The fist that flew out that day turned his letter of resignation into a redundant document.

¡Ó»Ñé¹·ÕèÅÑè¹ ÍÍ¡ ä» ã¹Çѹ ¹Ñé¹ ·Ó ãËé ãºÅÒÍÍ¡¨Ò¡§Ò¹¡ÅÒ à»ç¹ àÍ¡ÊÒÃÅé¹ à¡Ô¹

The table, chair and book shelves that collapsed on top of one another deprived him of the right to demand the last instalment of his salary, and the glares of the people who witnessed the event clearly meant he'd have a hard time finding himself a new job.

âµêР   à¡éÒÍÕé áÅЪÑé¹ ÇÒ§ ˹ѧÊ×Í·ÕèÅéÁÃÐà¹ÃйҴ    ·Ó ãËé à¢ÒËÁ´ÊÔ·¸Ô¾Ù´àÃ×èͧ à§Ô¹ à´×͹§Ç´ ÊØ´·éÒ áÅÐÊÒµҢͧ ¼Ù餹·Õè àËç¹à赯 ¡ÒÃ³ì ¡çºÍ¡ ªÑ´ÇèÒ à¢Ò¤§ËÒ§Ò¹ãËÁè ä´éÂÒ¡ àµçÁ·Õ

But as far as he was concerned, everything cleared up at once with an ease that amazed him.

áµèÊÓËÃѺ à¢Ò    ...¾Åѹ·Ø¡ ÊÔ觷ءÍÂèÒ§´ÙªèÒ§â»Ãè§âÅè§ ÊØ´µÒ   

The fallow land in his heart began to recede.

¾×é¹·ÕèáÃéÒ§ ã¹ ã¨Ë´á¤º   

He felt as though he owned the world in its entirety, because in that very moment he owned his soul again.

à¢ÒÃÙé ÊÖ¡ÃÒǡѺ à»ç¹à¨éÒ ¢Í§âÅ¡ ·Ñé§âÅ¡    à¾ÃÒÐ ã¹ËéǧÂÒÁ´Ñ§ ¡ÅèÒÇ à¢Ò ä´é à»ç¹à¨éÒ ¢Í§ÇÔ­­Ò³¢Í§ µÑÇ àͧ

His father had not asked once why he had come back, and actually his father was right: this was home and he needed no reason to return to it.

¾èÍäÁèà¤Â¶ÒÁ áÁé áµè ¤Óà´ÕÂÇÇèÒ à¢Ò ¡ÅѺÁÒºéÒ¹·ÓäÁ áÅÐ ¨ÃÔ§æ ¡ç ¶Ù¡¢Í§¾èÍ ã¹àÁ×èÍ·Õè¹Õè à»ç¹ºéÒ¹    Ëǹ ¤×¹äµéͧÁÕà赯 ¼Å

But his father could not help referring to his being back.

áµè¾èÍ ¡çÍ´ äÁè ä´é·Õè ¨ÐàÍè»ҡ ¶Ö§¡Òà ¡ÅѺÁҢͧ à¢Ò   

What he said was to the point as always, and it almost made him burst into tears.

¾è;ٴÊÑé¹æ    µÒÁ Ẻ©ºÑº¢Í§¾èÍ    ·ÇèÒ·Ó ãËé à¢Ò ¶Ö§¡Ñº µéͧËÅÑè§ ¹éÓµÒ

"I was wrong to send you off to get an education.

"¡Ù¼Ô´ àͧ·ÕèÊè§ÁÖ§ ä»àÃÕ¹ ˹ѧÊ×Í

I should've thought you'd never get along with the likes of them.

¹Ö¡áÅéÇÇèÒÁÖ§¤§ ÍÂÙè¡Ñº à¢Ò äÁèä´

You're too much like me"

ÁÖ§àËÁ×͹¡ÙÁÒ¡ à¡Ô¹ ä»"

He took the words as solace, and who says a grown man has no need for solace?

à¢Ò¶×Í ÇèÒ¹Ñ蹤×Í ¤Ó»Åͺâ¹ áÅéÇ ã¤ÃÇèÒ ¼ÙéªÒ·Õèâµ àµçÁ·Õè äÁèµéͧ¡Òà ¤Ó»Åͺâ¹    ...   

Who says that one who never bows to others doesn't have a heart?

ã¤ÃÇèÒ¤¹·Õè äÁè¡éÁ ãË餹 Í×è¹ äÁèÁÕ ËÑÇ ã¨

In the dead of night, all jungle noises suddenly stopped as if the world had come to an end.

´Ö¡Ê§Ñ´    ...    ¨Ùèæ    ÊÃþÊÓà¹Õ§ áËè§ÃÒµÃÕ ¡çà§ÕºËÒÂÃÒÇâÅ¡ ÊÔé¹ Êشŧ

He knew at once that this was the moment he had been waiting for, but the tears that flowed from his eyes made everything below look blurred.

à¢ÒÃÙé ä´é·Ñ¹·ÕÇèÒ¹Õè¤×͹ҷշÕèà½éҤ͠áµè ¹éÓµÒ·Õè àµçÁÅé¹ ·Ñé§Êͧ¢éÒ§ ¡ç·Ó ãËé·Ø¡ÍÂèÒ§¢éÒ§ÅèÒ§´Ù¾ÃèÒàÅ×͹ ä»ËÁ´   

Everything was already indistinct in the dark, but now he could hardly see any shape at all.

Áѹ¾ÃèÒàÅ×͹ÍÂÙè áÅéÇ ã¹ ¤ÇÒÁ Á×´ áµèºÑ´¹Õé à¢Òá·º ¨ÐÁͧ äÁè àËç¹ÃÙ»Åѡɳì¢Í§ ÊÔè§ ã´

As he raised his left hand to wipe his eyes dry, he heard a pebble tumbling down near the fork of the stream.

¢³Ð¡Á×Í¢éÒ§«éÒ ¢Öé¹àªç´ËÂÒ´ ¹éÓãÊÍÍ¡¨Ò¡´Ç§µÒ à¢Ò ä´éÂÔ¹ àÊÕ§¡é͹ËÔ¹¾ÅÔ¡·Ò§ËéÇÂá¡   

He reached out for the five-battery-powered torch to train it on the muzzle of the gun, but the strength of a sob sent it clinking against the barrel.

¾ÍàÍ×éÍÁÁ×Íä» ËÂÔº ä¿©Ò ¢¹Ò´ ËéÒ·è͹ÁÒ»ÃзѺ¡Ñº ¤Í »×¹ áç    ÊÐÍ×é¹ ¡ç·Ó ãËéÁѹ¡Ãзº¡Ñº ÅÓ¡Åéͧ´Ñ§ ¡Ôê¡

In the same split second, the powerful roar of a fully grown tiger resounded from the stream bed and, in the next instant, the shaft of light from the torch caught but the emptiness of rocks and sand.

ã¹àÊÕéÂÇÇÔ¹Ò·Õ¹Ñé¹ àͧ àÊÕ§ ¤ÓÃÒÁ¡Ö¡¡éͧ¢Í§ àÊ×Í·Õèâµ àµçÁ·Õè ¡ç´Ñ§ ÊзéÒ¹ ä» ·Ñé§ÅÓËéÇ áÅÐ ã¹¾ÃÔºµÒµèÍÁÒ    ÅÓáʧ¨Ò¡ ä¿©Ò ¡ç¨Ñº ä´é à¾Õ§ ¤ÇÒÁÇèÒ§ à»ÅèÒ ã¹ÃÙ»¢Í§¡é͹ËÔ¹ áÅÐáÍ觷ÃÒÂ

He switched off the torch and put the gun down.

à¢Ò»Ô´ÊÇÔµªì ä¿©Ò ¾ÃéÍÁ¡Ñº Å´ »×¹Å§   

His heart quivered, whether in fright or out of regret for the missed opportunity, or both, he couldn't say.

㨠àµé¹ÃÐÃÔ¡    ÃÐÃÑÇ    ºÍ¡ µÑÇ àͧ äÁè ¶Ù¡ÇèÒµ¡ 㨡ÅÑÇËÃ×Í àÊÕ 㨷Õè¾ÅÒ´ âÍ¡ÒÊ    ËÃ×Í ·Ñé§ÊͧÍÂèÒ§¼ÊÁ¡Ñ¹

He only knew that from now until dawn, he had to stay on the platform by himself, waiting for the sun to peer over the ridge before he could grope his way again.

à¢ÒÃÙé áµèÇèÒ¨Ò¡¹Õé 仨¹ÃØè§ÊÒ§ à¢Ò ¨Ðµéͧ ÍÂÙ躹 ËéÒ§µÒÁÅӾѧ ¹Ñè§ÃÍ ãËé µÐÇѹ â¼Åè¾é¹Êѹ à¢Ò¡è͹·Õè ¨Ð¤ÅÓËÒ·Ò§µèÍ ä»

Sitting alone merely to let empty hours elapse ...

¹Ñ觤¹à´ÕÂÇ à¾Õ§¼èÒ¹¾é¹ËéǧÂÒÁ·ÕèËÁ´ âÍ¡ÒÊ    ...   

That, he felt, was much harder than sitting out for the tiger.

Áѹà»ç¹ ÊÔ觷Õè à¢ÒÃÙé ÊÖ¡ÇèÒÂÒ¡ÅÓºÒ¡¡ÇèÒ ¹Ñè§ÃÍ àÊ×Í

3

3

The soft rays of the sun stroked the chine of the mountain with fingers of love.

áʧµÐÇѹ ¹ÇŹØèÁÅÙºäÅé·ÔÇ à¢ÒÃÒÇ ½èÒÁ×ͧ͢ ¤ÇÒÁÃÑ¡   

The warm breath of dawn spread out and sucked up the tears of the night, while a ribbon of mist lingered among the trees, reluctant to let go of its embrace.

äÍÍØè¹áËè§ÃØè§ÍÃسá¼è«Ñº ¹éÓµÒ áËè§ÃÒµÃÕ ¢³ÐÊÒÂËÁÍ¡¡ÃØè¹ Âѧ äÁèÂÍÁ¤ÅÒÂáÁ¡ äÁéÍÍ¡¨Ò¡ÍéÍÁ¡Í´

She had told him she had love to give, but sharing his life was not for her: she wasn't like him and didn't want to be ...

à¸ÍºÍ¡¡Ñºà¢ÒÇèÒ ¤ÇÒÁÃÑ¡¹Ñé¹ ÁÕ ãËé áµè ÍÂÙèÃèÇÁ äÁè»ÃÒö¹Ò    à¸Í äÁèÍÒ¨ à»ç¹ÍÂèÒ§ à¢Ò áÅÐ äÁèµéͧ¡Ò÷Õè ¨Ð à»ç¹    ...   

He thought of his first young woman as he bent over to check the traces of dew on leaves along the way.

à¢Ò¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§ Ë­Ô§ÊÒǤ¹áá ¢³Ð¡éÁŧ µÃǨÃÍ ¹éÓ¤éÒ§º¹ 㺠äÁé¢éÒ§·Ò§   

Every drop was still round and bright: no animal had recently walked this way.

·Ø¡ËÂÒ´Ë´Âѧ¡ÅÁãÊ äÁèºè§ºÍ¡    ÇèÒÁÕÊѵÇì ã´à¾Ôè§ à´Ô¹¼èÒ¹   

It was possible the tiger had come to the hiding place before midnight.

à»ç¹ ä» ä´éÇèÒ àÊ×Í à¢éÒÁÒ·Õè¨Ø´«è͹«Ò¡¡è͹ à·Õè§ ¤×¹

He had left the shooting platform as soon as he could see the lines in his palms clearly.

à¢Òŧ¨Ò¡ ËéÒ§ µÑé§ áµèàÃÔèÁÁͧ àËç¹ÅÒÂÁ×Í µÑÇ àͧ ªÑ´à¨¹   

Since then, he had skirted the stream fork looking for the trail.

¨Ò¡¹Ñé¹àÅÒÐËéÇÂá¡à¾×èÍ¤é¹ ËÒ·Ò§ à´Ô¹¢Í§Áѹ   

Prints in the sand and torn leaves had told him where the tiger had climbed up from the stream, but a little beyond that point the whole jungle was a thick jumble of bushes under tall trees.

Ã͵СØ·ÃÒÂáÅР㺠˭éÒ©Õ¡·Ó ãËé à¢ÒÃÙé ¨Ø´·ÕèÁѹäµè ¢Ö鹨ҡËéÇ áµè¾é¹¨Ò¡¨Ø´¹Õé ä» äÁè ä¡Å ·Ñ駻èÒ ¡ç àµçÁ ä» ´éǾØèÁ äÁéàµÕéÂæ ÍÑ´ á¹è¹¡Ñ¹ ÍÂÙè ãµéÃèÁ äÁé ÊÙ§   

It would be very hard to find footprints there.

Áѹà»ç¹àÃ×èͧ ÂÒ¡ÁÒ¡    ·Õè à¢Ò ¨Ð¤é¹ ËÒÃÍ µÕ¹

He decided to walk through the underbrush in the direction of the clearing ahead, because he thought it unlikely the tiger would have made a detour: it didn't have to, since it was used to walking unseen among bushes.

à¢ÒµÑ´ ÊÔ¹ ã¨ÅØÂá¹Ç äÁé¾ØèÁ àËÅèÒ¹Ñé¹ ä»ËÒ·ÕèâÅè§ àÍÒ¢éҧ˹éÒ    à¾ÃÒÐ ¤Ô´ÇèÒÍÂèÒ§äà àÊÕ àÊ×Í ¡ç¤§ äÁèÅ´àÅÕéÂÇ ä»·Ò§·ÔÈ Í×è¹    Áѹ äÁè¨Ó à»ç¹µéͧŴàÅÕéÂÇ    à¾ÃÒÐÊÓËÃѺ Áѹ¡Òà à´Ô¹ËÒ à¢éÒ ä» ã¹ ¤ÇÒÁáàÃ×é͹Ѻ à»ç¹àÃ×èͧ ¸ÃÃÁ´Ò

His two arms swam against the tide of shrubs, one hand still holding the gun, like a fighter up to his neck in emerald water struggling to get the advantage in the battlefield.

Êͧᢹ¢Í§à¢ÒáËÇ¡ÇèÒ¾ØèÁ äÁé ¢³ÐÁ×Í˹Öè§ Âѧ¡Ó »×¹    ´ÙÃÒǹѡú·Õè¡ÓÅѧÅͤͼèÒ¹Ëéǧ ¹éÓÊÕÁáµà¾×èÍ ¤ÇÒÁ ä´éà»ÃÕº ã¹ÊÁÃÀÙÁÔ

Fresh dew drops seeped into his clothes and his whole body was soaked.

¹éÓ¤éҧʴ «ÖÁ«èÒ¹ à¢éÒ ä» ã¹ àÊ×éÍ ¼éÒ¨¹ ·Ñé§ÃèÒ§¡Ò à»Õ¡ªØèÁ

Sweat flowed freely and the flesh on his face felt as if it was about to melt.

à˧×è;ÃÑ觼ÊÁ·ÓãËé ·Ñé§ á¼è¹Ë¹éÒ à¹×éÍ Ë¹Ñ§´ÙÃÒÇ ¨ÐËÅÍÁÅÐÅÒÂ

Bunches of vines ready to snare his arms and legs and even his neck made him lose his balance on occasion, but then, as he was nearing the end of his tether, he broke free of the bushes.

à¤Ã×Íà¶Ò·Õè¤Í¾ѹá¢é§¾Ñ¹¢Ò¡ÃзÑ觾ѹ¤ÃÙ´ÅÓ¤Í·Ó ãËé à¢Ò àÊÕ¡Ò֍ µÑÇ à»ç¹ºÒ§ ¤ÃÑé§ áµè áÅéÇ ã¹ÍÖ´ 㨷Õèà¡×ͺ ¨ÐËÁ´ ÊÔé¹ à¢Ò ¡çËÅØ´ÍÍ¡ÁÒ¨Ò¡·ÔÇ·ÖºµÃ§¹Ñé¹

Right in front of him was a grassy hillock, a barren expanse surrounded by jungle, with fuzzy splotches of soft sunlight here and there.

¢éҧ˹éÒà»ç¹à¹Ô¹ Ë­éÒàÅç¡æ    à»Ô´ âÅè§ ÍÂÙè¡ÅҧǧÅéÍÁ¢Í§»èÒ´§ á´´Íè͹ÊÒ´ºÒ§ Êèǹ¢Í§ÁѹÅÐÁع

He lowered himself to sit down and lean his back against the foot of the last tree before the grassy stretch, without forgetting to prop his gun against the trunk before he propped himself down.

à¢Ò·ÃØ´ µÑÇŧ ¹Ñ觾ԧ⤹ äÁé ÊØ´·éÒ¡è͹ ¶Ö§ ·Øè§ Ë­éÒ â´Â äÁè Å×Á·Õè ¨Ð¾Ô§ »×¹¡è͹¾Ô§ µÑÇ   

His glittering eyes swept the grassland like the pencil of rays from a torch, but before long they narrowed to a squint of distress.

´Ç§µÒáÇÇÇÒÇ¡ÇÒ´ ä»Ãͺ ·Øè§ àËÁ×͹¡ÒÃÊÒ´ÅÓáʧ¢Í§ ä¿©Ò áµè äÁè¹Ò¹Áѹ ¡ç¤ÅÕè¤ÅÒ à»ç¹ËÃÕèÃѹ·´    ...   

Actually, she didn't leave: only she never came in, he thought to himself, and given that she had never truly come inside, meeting her had sunk the nail home that he still hadn't met anyone.

¨ÃÔ§æ áÅéÇà¸Í äÁè ä´é¨Ò¡ ä» à¾Õ§ áµèà¸Í äÁèà¤Â à¢éÒÁÒ    ... à¢Ò¹Ö¡ 㹠㨠áÅÐà¹×èͧ¨Ò¡à¸Í äÁèà¤Â à¢éÒÁÒ¢éÒ§ ã¹ ä´éÍÂèÒ§á·é ¨ÃÔ§    ¡Òþºà¸Í¨Ö§ÂÔè§ µÍ¡ÂéÓÇèÒ à¢Ò Âѧ äÁèà¤Â¾º ã¤Ã

He didn't understand women, or may be he was too much to handle for young women at large ... he didn't know.

à¢Ò äÁè à¢éÒ ã¨ ¼Ùé Ë­Ô§    ËÃ×ͺҧ·Õ à¢ÒÍÒ¨ ¨Ð à»ç¹â¨·Âì·ÕèÂÒ¡ à¡Ô¹ ä»ÊÓËÃѺ Ë­Ô§ÊÒÇ ·Ñ駻ǧ    ... à¢Ò äÁèÃÙé

Some made as if to come close but then kept their distance; some got involved only superficially; others wanted to sample his difference, or was it his manhood?

ºÒ§¤¹·Ó·èÒà¢éÒÁÒ ã¡Åé áµè áÅéǶÍÂËèÒ§    ºéÒ§¾ÑǾѹ à¾Õ§ÀÒ¹͡    ºéÒ§ ÍÂÒ¡ÁÒÊÑÁ¼ÑʡѺ ¤ÇÒÁ ᵡµèÒ§¢Í§ à¢Ò    ...    ËÃ×Í ¤ÇÒÁ à»ç¹ ¼ÙéªÒ¨Ѵ ¢Í§ à¢Ò   

But in the end not one of them was able to contribute the part of his soul that had gone missing.

áµè¨¹ áÅéǨ¹ÃÍ´ ¡ç äÁèÁÕ ã¤ÃÊÒÁÒö¹Ó ¾ÒÇÔ­­Ò³ Êèǹ·ÕèËÒ 仢ͧ à¢ÒÁÒÊÁ·º

True love is one soul dwelling in two bodies ... he had found the phrase in an old book and still remembered the shiver he felt when he read the sentence for the first time.

ÃÑ¡á·é¤×ÍÇÔ­­Ò³à´ÕÂÇ·ÕèʶԵÍÂÙè ã¹ÊͧÃèÒ§    ... à¢Òà¤Â ÍèÒ¹¾º¢éÍ ¤ÇÒÁ àªè¹¹Õé ÍÂÙè ã¹µÓÃÒ âºÃÒ³ºÒ§àÅèÁ áÅÐ Âѧ¨Ó ¤ÇÒÁÃÙé ÊÖ¡ÊÑè¹ÊзéÒ¹¢Í§ µÑÇ àͧ ä´éàÁ×èÍ àËç¹»ÃÐ⤴ѧ ¡ÅèÒÇ à»ç¹ ¤ÃÑé§ áá

If one soul can live in two bodies, one body only harbors half a soul; the missing half must be found in someone else.

¶éÒÇÔ­­Ò³à´ÕÂÇ´Óç ÍÂÙè ã¹ÊͧÃèÒ§ ã¹Ãèҧ˹Öè§ ¡çÁÕ    ÇÔ­­Ò³ ÍÂÙè à¾Õ§ ¤ÃÖè§à´ÕÂÇ    ·Õè àËÅ×Í Âѧµéͧ¤é¹ ËÒÇèÒʶԵ ÍÂÙè ã¹ ¼Ùé ã´

When it is found, both sides know, and it must be a momentous match, mysterious and deep, more meaningful than everything.

àÁ×è;º·Ñé§Êͧ ½èÒ¤§ ¨ÐÃÙé áÅÐÁѹ¤§ à»ç¹¡ÒÃÊÑÁ¼ÑÊ·ÕèÂÔè§ ãË­è    ÅÕéÅѺ áÅÐÅÖ¡«Öé§ à˹×Í ¤Ó¨Ó¡Ñ´ ¤ÇÒÁ ·Ñé§ËÅÒ ·Ñ駻ǧ   

It must be an encounter rather than a groping for each other, a song of silence resounding in the depths of both hearts, an occurrence of universal magnitude seeping through to every particle of feeling.

Áѹ¤§à»ç¹¡ÒÃà¤Å×è͹ à¢éÒËҡѹÁÒ¡¡ÇèÒ¡ÒõԴµÒÁä¢Çè¤ÇéÒ à»ç¹º·à¾Å§ áËè§ ¤ÇÒÁà§Õº·Õè¡Ö¡¡éͧ ÍÂÙè ã¹ ÊèǹÅÖ¡ ÊØ´¢Í§ ËÑÇ ã¨ à»ç¹»ÃÒ¡¯¡Òóì ÃдѺ àÍ¡À¾·Õè «ÖÁÅ֡ŧ ÊÙèͳ٠áËè§ ¤ÇÒÁÃÙé ÊÖ¡

If true love is one soul dwelling in two bodies, true love knows no separation, because the soul that has found the missing half will not allow it to be severed and go missing again.

ËÒ¡ÃÑ¡á·é¤×ÍÇÔ­­Ò³à´ÕÂÇ«Öè§Ê¶Ôµ ÍÂÙè ã¹ÊͧÃèÒ§    ÃÑ¡á·éÂèÍÁ äÁèÁÕ¡ÒþÅÑ´¾ÃÒ¡    à¾ÃÒÐÇÔ­­Ò³ «Öè§¤é¹ ¾º Êèǹ·ÕèËÒ 仢ͧµ¹ÂèÍÁÁÔÍÒ¨¡ÃÕ´à©×͹ Êèǹ¹Ñé¹ ÍÍ¡ ä» ÍÕ¡   

It follows that, no matter how far apart the bodies find themselves, in the hearts the halves are sealed tight.

¨Ò¡¹Õéä»    ÁÔÇèÒ àÃ×͹ÃèÒ§ ¨Ð ÍÂÙèËèÒ§¡Ñ¹ à¾Õ§ ã´ ã¹ ã¨ÂèÍÁÁÕ ¤ÃÖ觷Õè àËÅ×ͼ¹Ö¡ á¹è¹

And when the sacred moment comes, when two bodies ruled by a single soul overlay and merge into one, to the outer reaches of the Milky Way there is nothing that can be as much one as this.

áÅÐàÁ×èÍËéǧÂÒÁ ÍѹÈÑ¡´ÔìÊÔ·¸Ôì ÁÒ ¶Ö§    àÁ×èÍÊͧÃèÒ§·Õè¶×Í ¤ÃͧÇÔ­­Ò³à´ÕÂÇ ä´é¼¹Ö¡ Ṻ à»ç¹Ë¹Öè§ à´ÕÂÇ    ... ÊØ´ ½Ñ觿ҡ·Ò§ªéÒ§à¼×Í¡    Åéǹ äÁèÁÕ Íѹ ã´ à»ç¹Ë¹Öè§ à´ÕÂÇ ä´é»Ò¹¹Ñé¹

For him, love should be like this and if it isn't like this, maybe it should be called something else.

ÊÓËÃѺà¢Ò ¤ÇÒÁÃÑ¡¤Çà à»ç¹ àªè¹¹Õé áÅжéÒ ËÒ¡Áѹ äÁè à»ç¹ àªè¹¹Õé ºÒ§·ÕÍÒ¨µéͧàÃÕ¡Áѹ ´éÇ ¶éÍ ¤Ó Í×è¹

It wouldn't matter at all if she left in order to weave the part that was hers so long as she was certain the part that stayed with him was also a part of herself, but if she left because she didn't want that part, how could the most momentous matter in life come to be?

ÁѹäÁè à»ç¹äÃàÅ    ËÒ¡à¸Í ¨Ð¨Ò¡ ä»à¾×èͶѡ·Í Êèǹ·Õè à»ç¹¢Í§à¸Í àͧ    µÃÒº ã´·Õèà¸Í àª×èÍÁÑè¹ ÇèÒ Êèǹ·Õè ÍÂÙè¡Ñº à¢Ò¤×Í Êèǹ˹Öè§ ¢Í§à¸Í ´éÇ áµè¶éÒ ËÒ¡à¸Í¨Ò¡ ä»à¾ÃÒÐ äÁèµéͧ¡ÒÃÁÕ Êèǹ¹Õé àÃ×èͧ ÃÒÇÂÔè§ ãË­è¢Í§ªÕÇÔµ¤§ äÁèÊÒÁÒöÃѧÊÃÃ¤ì ¢Öé¹ÁÒ ä´é

She had told him she had love to give, but sharing his life was not for her: she wasn't like him and didn't want to be ...

à¸ÍºÍ¡ÇèÒ¤ÇÒÁÃÑ¡¹Ñé¹ ÁÕ ãËé áµè ÍÂÙèÃèÇÁ äÁè»ÃÒö¹Ò    à¸Í äÁèÍÒ¨ à»ç¹ÍÂèÒ§ à¢Ò áÅÐ äÁèµéͧ¡Ò÷Õè ¨Ð à»ç¹    ...   

Actually, she didn't leave; only she never came in.

¨ÃÔ§æ áÅéÇà¸ÍÁÔ ä´é¨Ò¡ ä»    à¸Í à¾Õ§ áµè äÁèà¤Â à¢éÒÁÒ

The late morning sunshine warmed his face until he had to step out of his daze.

á´´ÊÒÂÍØè¹ ¼ÔÇ˹éҢͧ à¢Ò¨¹µéͧ¡éÒÇÍÍ¡¨Ò¡ÀÇѧ¤ì

He had nothing to quiet his stomach but the water in his flask, which was hooked to his father's old knapsack.

äÁèÁÕÍÐäõ¡ ¶Ö§·éͧ¹Í¡¨Ò¡ ¹éÓ ã¹¡Ãеԡ «Öè§ ¼Ù¡µÔ´ ÍÂÙè¡Ñº à»é 㺠à¡èҢͧ¾èÍ   

It was a soldier's knapsack from the war and he had seen it since as far back as he could remember.

Áѹà»ç¹à»é ·ËÒÃÊÁÑ ʧ¤ÃÒÁ·Õè à¢Ò àËç¹ÁÒ µÑé§ áµè¨Ó ¤ÇÒÁ ä´é   

Now it had gone off-color and pinpoints of mould showed through in various places, but his father still flung it over his back every time he had to spend the night outdoors.

¶Ö§Çѹ ¹Õé ÊբͧÁѹàÅ×͹«Õ´    ÁÕÃÍÂà»×èÍ·ÐÅØ à»ç¹ÃÙàÅç¡æ ÍÂÙèËÅÒ áËè§ áµè¾èÍ ¡ç ÂѧµÇÑ´ ¢Öé¹ËÅѧ·Ø¡ ¤ÃÑé§ ·ÕèµéͧÍÍ¡Ã͹ áÃÁ¹Í¡ªÒ¹ àÃ×͹   

This was the first time he had allowed him to shoulder the knapsack.

¾èÍ    à¾Ôè§ÂÍÁãËé à¢ÒÊоÒÂà»é 㺹Õé à»ç¹ ¤ÃÑé§ áá

His father had told him to return to the village if he failed, not to run after the tiger on his own, because tracking it was a hundred times more difficult than staking it out.

¾èͺ͡ÇèÒ¶éÒ¾ÅÒ´ ãËé ¡ÅѺ à¢éÒËÁÙèºéÒ¹¡è͹    ÍÂèÒ ´èǹµÒÁ àÊ×Í ä» â´ÂÅӾѧ    à¾ÃÒÐ äÅèÅèÒÁѹ ÂѧÂÒ¡¡ÇèÒ«ØèÁÂÔ§ ¹Ñº ÃéÍ à·èÒ

But how could he return to his father with an empty knapsack?

áµè à¢Ò ¨ÐÊоÒÂà»é à»ÅèÒ ¡ÅѺ ä»ËÒ¾èÍ ä´éÍÂèÒ§äà  

It was a piece of equipment his father never allowed anyone to touch.

Áѹà»ç¹à»éÊÑÁÀÒÃзÕè¾èÍ äÁèà¤ÂÂÍÁ ãËé ã¤ÃáµÐµéͧ   

Now that it was on his shoulder, it couldn't be filled with anything but victory.

àÁ×èÍÁÒÍÂÙ躹 á¼è¹ËÅѧ¢Í§ à¢Ò    ¢éÒ§ 㹤Çà ¨Ð ä´éºÃèتѪ¹Ð

With an effort to collect himself, he resumed his walk.

à¢ÒÍÍ¡ à´Ô¹ ÍÕ¡ ¤ÃÑé§ Ë¹Öè§ ËÅѧ¨Ò¡¾ÂÒÂÒÁ¨Ñ´ ¨Ôµ 㨠ãË黡µÔ

Right beyond the edge of the grassland, the jungle began to rise at a steep gradient.

ÊØ´¢Íº ·Øè§ Ë­éÒ¿Ò¡â¹é¹    á¹Ç»èÒàÃÔèÁäµèÃдѺ ÊÙèͧÈÒ ÊÙ§

He figured it would take him the best part of two hours to reach the top of the ridge.

à¢Ò ¤Ó¹Ç³´Ù áÅéÇ    ¡ÇèÒ ¨Ð ¢Öé¹ ä» ¶Ö§Êѹ à¢Ò¤§µéͧ ãªé àÇÅÒà¡×ͺÊͧ ªÑèÇâÁ§   

So far he hadn't seen any spot where the huge tiger was likely to while away the daytime hours, and the fact that it had come to the hiding place at night should mean it had walked a fair distance, probably from somewhere along the ridge.

à·èÒ·Õè¼èÒ¹ÁÒ à¢Ò Âѧ äÁè àË繨ش ã´·Õè àÊ×Íâ¤Ãè§ µÑǹÑé¹ ¤Çà ÍÒÈѼèÒ¹¾é¹Çѹ àÇÅҢͧÁѹ áÅСÒ÷ÕèÁѹ à¢éҨش«è͹«Ò¡¡ÅÒ§ ´Ö¡¹èÒ ¨Ð áÊ´§ÇèÒÁѹ à´Ô¹ÁÒ¤è͹¢éÒ§ ä¡Å    ¹èÒ ¨Ð à»ç¹·Õè ä˹ÊÑ¡ áË觺¹ÂÍ´ à¢Ò¹Ñé¹

The pattern of traces in the grass showed that his guess wasn't wrong.

ÃͪéÓº¹Åҹ˭éÒ Â×¹ÂѹÇèÒ à¢Òà´Ò äÇé äÁè ¼Ô´   

At the very least, last night the tiger had been through here, and when he had crossed the openspace and entered the jungle, the footprints visible on the soft soil had him standing pondering for a long time.

ÍÂèÒ§¹éÍ·Õè ÊØ´àÁ×èÍ ¤×¹Áѹà¤Â¼èÒ¹ÁÒ·Ò§¹Õé áÅÐàÁ×èÍ à¢Ò¢éÒÁ ·Øè§ à¢éÒ ÊÙè´§    ÃÍ µÕ¹·Õè»ÃÒ¡¯º¹ ¼ÔÇ´Ô¹¹ØèÁ ¡ç·Ó ãËé à¢Òµéͧ Â×¹ ¤Ô´ ÍÂÙè ¹Ô觹ҹ

They were much bigger than he had thought, bigger than the palm of his hand.

ÁѹãË­è¡ÇèÒ·Õè à¢Ò¤Ò´ äÇéÁÒ¡ ¢¹Ò´¡Ò§ ½èÒÁ×ͻԴ Âѧ äÁèÁÔ´ËÁ´

He must be a fully grown tiger, perhaps getting on in years.

¤§à»ç¹ àÊ×Í·Õèâµ àµçÁ·Õè    ¡ÃзÑ觤è͹¤ÅéÍÂ ä» ã¹·Ò§ á¡èà²èÒ    ...   

The air in the jungle was cooler and damper than outside as if of another world altogether, but he couldn't help feeling his forehead was bathed in sweat.

ÍÒ¡ÒÈ ã¹´§ àÂ繪×鹡ÇèÒ¢éÒ§¹Í¡ÃÒǡѺ ÍÂÙ褹ÅÐÀ¾ áµè à¢Ò ¡çÍ´ÃÙé ÊÖ¡ äÁè ä´éÇèÒº¹Ë¹éÒ¼Ò¡ÁÕà˧×èÍ «ÖÁ   

His hands were very cold.

Á×ÍàÂç¹à©Õº   

He changed his hold on the gun, no longer holding it loosely by his side but at the ready.

à»ÅÕè¹·èҤ͹ »×¹¨Ò¡ËÔéÇËéÍ äÇé¢éÒ§ µÑÇÁÒ à»ç¹¡ØÁ¡ÃЪѺ ¾ÃéÍÁÂÔ§

From now on every step must be noiseless, every move deliberate.

¨Ò¡¹Õéä» áµèÅСéÒÇ à´Ô¹µéͧà§Õº¡ÃÔº áµèÅСéÒÇÂèÒ§Åéǹµéͧ ¤Ô´

He felt like he was trespassing on the grounds of the great.

à¢ÒÃÙé ÊÖ¡àÊÁ×͹¡ÓÅѧÅèǧÅéÓ à¢éÒ ä» ã¹ÍҳҨѡâͧ ¼ÙéÁպحºÒÃÁÕ

His father had taken him with him into the jungle since he was as tall as a mouse-deer.

¾è;Òà¢Ò à´Ô¹»èÒÁÒ µÑé§ áµè µÑÇ à·èÒ¡ÃШ§   

He had stumbled and picked himself up until he knew how to move in a landscape that offered no recipe for success.

Ë¡ÅéÁË¡ÅØ¡    ¨¹¡ÃзÑè§àÃÕ¹ÃÙé·Õè ¨Ðà¤Å×è͹·Õè 仺¹ÀÙÁÔ »ÃÐà·È·Õè»ÃÒȨҡÊٵà ÊÓàÃ稠  

His father had taught him how to read the hills and the streams, memorize birdcalls, distinguish the chirping of the various kinds of cicadas.

¾èÍÊ͹ãËé ÍèÒ¹´Í ÍèÒ¹ËéÇ    ¨Óṡ àÊÕ§    ¹¡    á¡ àÊÕ§¨Ñ¡¨Ñè¹    àÃäà  

All this his father had taught him by taking him along with him.

·Ñé§ËÁ´¹Õé ¾èÍÊ͹ ´éÇ¡ÒÃ¾Ò à¢Ò à´Ô¹

But then, the moment he began to want to be one with the jungle, his father had told him to go out and walk by himself, walk toward a landscape he knew nothing about, even though by then the spirit of the jungle ... the spirit of his father ... had become a part of him.

áµè áÅéÇ ã¹ËéǧÂÒÁ·Õè à¢ÒàÃÔèÁ»ÃÒö¹Ò à»ç¹Ë¹Öè§ à´ÕÂǡѺ »èÒ    ¾èÍ ¡çºÍ¡ ãËé à¢ÒÍÍ¡ à´Ô¹ ä» â´ÂÅӾѧ à´Ô¹ ä» ÊÙèÀÙÁÔ »ÃÐà·È·Õè à¢Ò äÁè¤Øé¹à¤Â ·Ñé§æ    ·ÕèµÍ¹¹Ñé¹ ÇÔ­­Ò³»èÒ    ...    ÇÔ­­Ò³¾èÍ ä´é¡ÅÒ à»ç¹ Êèǹ˹Öè§ ¢Í§ à¢Ò ä» áÅéÇ

He had spent much time surveying a land deprived of trees and birdcalls, secretly watching people at each other's throats without any respect for rules, knowing tranquility in crowds, observing a solitude devoid of contentment, and experimenting with a life unconnected to anyone.

à¢Ò ãªé àÇÅÒ ¾Ñ¡ ãË­èà¾×èÍÊÓÃǨ´Ô¹á´¹ Íѹ»ÃÒȨҡµé¹ äÁé áÅÐ àÊÕ§¹¡Ãéͧ    áͺ´Ù ¼Ù餹 äÅèÅèҡѹ â´Â äÁèÁÕ¡µÔ¡Ò    ÊÑÁ¼ÑÊ ¤ÇÒÁà§ÕºʧѴ¡ÅÒ§½Ù§ª¹ Êѧࡵ ¤ÇÒÁâ´´à´ÕèÂÇ·Õè»ÃÒȨҡÊÓ¹Ö¡ Êѹâ´É áÅз´Åͧ ãªéªÕÇÔµ ẺäÃé ÊÒÂã¡Ѻ ¼Ùé ã´   

He had even tried to elbow his way to the top ...

à¤ÂáÁé áµèÅͧäµèàÅÒÐ ¢Öé¹ ä»º¹ â¤Ã§ ÊÃéÒ§·Õè á¹è¹·Öº    ...   

But finally, he had found that all this was the opposite to what he was, all this was in contradiction with the free soul he had brought along with him.

áµè ã¹·Õè ÊØ´ à¢Ò ¡ç¤é¹ ¾ºÇèÒ    Áѹ à»ç¹·Ø¡ÍÂèÒ§·ÕèµÃ§¢éÒÁ¡Ñº µÑÇ à¢Ò à»ç¹·Ø¡ÍÂèÒ§·Õè ¢Ñ´áÂ駡Ѻ ÇÔ­­Ò³ÍÔÊÃзÕè¾ÒµÔ´ µÑÇÁÒ

They were trying to turn him into a domestic animal who lowered its head to others merely for the sake of a daily pittance, for the sake of a beautiful pen and acceptance from the rest of the herd.

Áѹ¾ÂÒÂÒÁ·ÓãËé à¢Ò¡ÅÒ à»ç¹ÊѵÇì àÅÕé§ àª×èÍ§æ    ¡éÁ ËÑÇ ãËé¡Ñº ¼Ùé Í×è¹ à¾Õ§à¾×èÍ ãËé ä´éÁÒ «Öè§ ÍѵÃÒ ÍÒËÒûÃШÓÇѹ ãËé ä´éÁÒ «Ö觤͡ ¢Ñ§ ÍѹÊǧÒÁ áÅСÒÃÂÍÁÃѺ ¨Ò¡½Ù§ÊѵÇì ·Õè àª×èͧ áÅéÇ

But for him, these propositions were no different from jewel-studded fetters which, at the core, remained fetters.

áµèÊÓËÃѺ à¢Ò    ¢éÍàÊ¹Í àËÅèÒ¹Õé ÂèÍÁ äÁèµèÒ§ÍÐäáѺ â«èµÃǹ·Õè»ÃдѺ ´éÇÂྪùÔŨԹ´Ò â´Â á¡è¹á·éÁѹ Âѧ¤§ à»ç¹â«èµÃǹ

He stood fast against them with the spirit of the jungle, defending himself wildly with the spirit his father had bestowed on him.

à¢Ò Â×¹µéÒ¹Áѹ ´éÇÂÇÔ­­Ò³»èÒ    »éͧ¡Ñ¹ µÑÇ àͧÍÂèÒ§ºéÒ¤ÅÑè§ ´éÇÂÇÔ­­Ò³·Õè¾èÍ áºè§ ä» ãËé   

Some days he even had to look for clues to make sure he was still alive.

ºÒ§Çѹ¡ÃзÑ觵éͧµÒÁá¡ÐÃͪÕÇÔµà¾×èÍ ¨Ð ä´é á¹è ã¨ÇèÒÁѹ ÂѧÁÕ ÍÂÙè

He was rewarded with invisible whip lashes that flailed the depths of his being at all times to force him to bow his head.

ÁѹµÍºâµé ¡ÅѺÁÒ ´éÇÂÃÔéÇáÊé·ÕèÁͧ äÁè àËç¹    µÇÑ´ ãÊè ÊèǹÅÖ¡¢Í§ ¤ÇÒÁ à»ç¹ à¢Ò ÍÂÙè·Ø¡àÁ×èÍ àª×èÍÇѹ à¾×èͤء¤ÒÁ ºÑ§¤Ñº ãËéÂÍÁÈÔâÃÃÒº

Sundry accusations stabbed him to the quick ... from being an uncouth barbarian or an alien element to being mad or else so taken with himself as to be out of his mind.

¢éÍ¡ÅèÒÇËÒÊÒþѴ ·ÔèÁá·§ à¢éÒÁÒÃÒǤÁËÍ¡¤Á´Òº µÑé§ áµè»èÒ à¶×è͹ á¢ç§¡ÃдéÒ§ à»ç¹ ÊÔè§á»Å¡»ÅÍÁ    ¡ÃзÑè§ ¶Ö§ à»ç¹ºéÒËÃ×Í äÁè ¡çËŧ µÑÇ àͧ¨¹¢Ò´ÊµÔ

Because he kept refusing to admit defeat, his whole heart festered in sores and wounds.

àÁ×èÍà¢Ò äÁèÂÍÁ¨Ó¹¹ ·Ñé§ ËÑÇ ã¨¨Ö§ àµçÁ ä» ´éÇÂÃÔéÇÃͼ×è¹á¼Å

There were nights when he had lain hugging himself in a dark corner like a wounded animal of the wild.

ÁÕºÒ§¤èÓ ¤×¹·Õè à¢Ò¹Í¹¢´ µÑÇ ÍÂÙè ã¹ ÁØÁ Á×´ àËÁ×͹ÊѵÇì »èÒºÒ´ à¨çº   

He didn't wish to be pitied by anyone at such times, but dreamed of the stars scattered wide above the wide plain, dreamed of the Milky Way he used to stare at from a mountain top ... as if in yearning for his former home.

à¢Ò äÁè»ÃÒö¹ÒÊÒµÒÊÁྪàÇ·¹Ò¨Ò¡ ã¤Ã    ÂÒÁ¹Ñé¹ ä´é áµè ½Ñ¹ ¶Ö§´Ç§´ÒÇà¡Å×è͹¡Åè¹ à˹×Í ·Ø觡ÇéÒ§ ½Ñ¹ ¶Ö§·Ò§ªéÒ§à¼×Í¡·Õè à¢Òà¤ÂàËÁèÍÁͧ¨Ò¡ÂÍ´ à¢Ò    ...    ÃÒÇâËÂËÒºéÒ¹à¡Ô´ ´Ñé§à´ÔÁ

Above all, he dreamed of an animal of the same kind.

à˹×Í ÊÔè§ Í×è¹ ã´ à¢Ò ½Ñ¹ ¶Ö§ÊѵÇì ã¹ÊÒ ¾Ñ¹¸Øìà´ÕÂǡѹ

The more his soul was flailed, the more he dreamed of the missing half, waiting for the day it would find its fit in order to tend all of the injuries he had incurred, in order to muster the full might of one.

ÂÔè§ÇÔ­­Ò³ ¶Ù¡âºÂµÕ à¢ÒÂÔè§ à½éÒ ½Ñ¹ ¶Ö§ Êèǹ·ÕèËÒ 仠   ÃÍÇѹ ãËéËǹ ¤×¹ÁÒÊÁ·º    à¾×èÍ´ÙáÅ ¤ÇÒÁºÍºªéÓ·Õè¼èÒ¹ÁÒ ·Ñ駻ǧ    à¾×èͼ¹Ö¡ ¾Åѧ á¹è¹ à»ç¹Ë¹Öè§ à´ÕÂÇ

He dreamed of love in the highest definition of the term.

à¢Ò ½Ñ¹ ¶Ö§ ¤ÇÒÁÃÑ¡ ã¹ ¤ÇÒÁËÁÒ ÊÙ§ ÊØ´¢Í§ ¶éÍ ¤Ó    ...   

4

4

From on high, the sun overlaid the ground with tree shade.

µÐÇѹ ÊÙ§Êè§ à§Ò äÁéŧ·Òº«é͹ ¼ÔÇ´Ô¹   

Shimmering heat danced above the light-drenched upper foliage, but underneath the whole jungle was pleasantly cool.

äÍá´´ àµé¹ÃÐÂÔº ÍÂÙè    µÒÁÂÍ´¾ØèÁ·Õè ¶Ù¡áʧ à¡ÒР   ·ÇèÒ µèÓ ãµéŧÁÒ ·Ñ駻èÒ Âѧ¤ÃÖéÁ àÂç¹    ...   

He still crouched on the stone slab as if he was one with time.

ÁѹÂѧ¤§ËÁͺ ÍÂÙ躹á·è¹ËÔ¹ÃÒÇ à»ç¹Ë¹Öè§ à´ÕÂǡѺ ¡ÒÅ àÇÅÒ

The ridge there was a clear rock formation which had emerged after the primal waters had receded long ago.

Êѹà¢ÒµÃ§¹Ñé¹ à»ç¹ÅÒ¹ËÔ¹âÅè§ «Ö觻ÃÒ¡¯ µÑÇ ¢Öé¹ËÅѧ¨Ò¡ ½Ñ觷ÐàŶ´¶Í¹ҹÁÒ áÅéÇ   

It was the only openspace amid the tide of trees.

Áѹà»ç¹·ÕèâÅè§ à¾Õ§ áËè§à´ÕÂÇ¡ÅÒ§·ÔÇ äÁé   

It nestled against a rust-colored cliff and sloped down gradually toward the bottom of the mountain.

ÍÂÙèṺªÔ´¡Ñº á¼è¹¼ÒÊÕʹÔÁ áÅлÙÅҴŧÁÒ ¶Ö§¢Íº à¢Ò   

Beneath the jutting of the cliff, a stone slab had formed, like a throne fit for a king.

ãµéªÐ⧡¼ÒÁÕá·è¹ËÔ¹¡èÍ µÑÇ ¢Öé¹ ä»´Ø¨ºÑÅÅѧ¡ì¢Í§¾ÃÐÃÒªÒ

He lay crouched like a statue, his forelegs stretched out and parallel, claws hidden in the sturdy paws, his neck and head slightly raised, his deep eyes fixed on the bottom end of the ridge.

Áѹ¹Í¹ËÁͺàËÁ×͹ÀÒ¾»Ñé¹ Êͧ¢Ò˹éÒ Â×è¹ÍÍ¡ÁÒ ¤Ù袹ҹ¡Ñ¹ â´Â«è͹¡Ã§ àÅçº äÇé ã¹ÍØé§ µÕ¹¡ÓÂÓ    ¤Í áÅÐ ËÑǢͧÁѹ¡ ÊÙ§ ¢Öé¹àÅç¡ ¹éÍ ¢³Ð´Ç§µÒÅÖ¡ àÃ×ͧ·Í´µÃ§ÁÒ·Ò§ ÊØ´¢Íº à¢Ò

He had been here for a very long time, at one with the stone slab and the cliff, a component of dawn, a foreground to the twilight, a backdrop to the starry vault.

ÁѹÍÂÙè·Õè¹ÕèÁÒ¹Ò¹à¹Ôè¹ à»ç¹Ë¹Öè§ à´ÕÂǡѺ á·è¹ËÔ¹ áÅÐ á¼è¹¼Ò à»ç¹ ͧ¤ì »ÃСͺ¢Í§ÃØè§ÍÃس à»ç¹©Ò¡Ë¹éҢͧʹ¸ÂÒ áÅÐ à»ç¹ ¾×é¹ÅèÒ§¢Í§â´Á´ÒÇ

Because it was his own lair, he didn't think of hiding.

à¾ÃÒÐà»ç¹·Õè¢Í§Áѹ    Áѹ¨Ö§ äÁè ¤Ô´Ëź«è͹ÍÓ¾ÃÒ§   

The eyes that watched the access routes told clearly that he was ready to face anyone who would intrude.

ÊÒµҷÕè¨Ñº¨éͧµÃ§·Ò§ ¢Ö鹺͡ ªÑ´ÇèÒÁѹ ¾ÃéÍÁ༪ԭ˹éÒ    ¡Ñº ã¤Ã ¡çµÒÁ·ÕèºÑ§ÍÒ¨¡éÒÇÅéÓ

Of course, he didn't believe that any animal would dare approach his forbidden preserve, and he believed even less that an intruder could be friendly.

á¹èÅР   Áѹ äÁè àª×èÍÇèÒ ¨ÐÁÕÊѵÇì ã´¡ÅéÒ à¢éÒÁÒ Âѧ ¾×é¹·ÕèËǧ ËéÒÁ áÅÐÂÔè§ äÁè àª×èÍÇèÒ ¼Ùé à¢éÒÁÒ ¨Ð à»ç¹ÁԵà  

Instinct told him intruders must bring with them transgression and aggression.

ÊÑ­ªÒµ­Ò³ºÍ¡ÇèÒ¼Ùé¡éÒÇÅéÓ ÂèÍÁµéͧÁÒ ¾ÃéÍÁ¡ÒÃÅèǧ à¡Ô¹ àËÂÕº ÂèÓ

If there was an exception, it had to be the creatures he welcomed to perpetuate the race ... but this hadn't happened often.

ËÒ¡¨ÐÁÕ¢éÍ¡ àÇé¹ ¡ç¤§ á¤è ¼Ùé·ÕèÁѹ àª×éÍàªÔ­ ãËéÁÒ Ê׺·Í´ÊÒ ¾Ñ¹¸Øì    ... áµè¹Ñè¹ ¡ç à»ç¹àÃ×èͧ ·ÕèÁÔ ä´éºÑ§à¡Ô´ ¢Öé¹ ºè͹ѡ   

It had been a long time since he last met an animal of the same kind, so long ago he must now believe that life is to be led in solitude.

¹Ò¹ÁÒ¡áÅéÇ·ÕèÁѹ äÁèà¤Â¾º àËç¹ÊѵÇì ʻժÕÊìà´ÕÂǡѹ    ¹Ò¹¨¹Áѹµéͧ ÂÖ´¶×Í ÇèÒªÕÇÔµ¤×Í¡ÒôÓç ÍÂÙè â´ÂÅӾѧ

From on high, the sun overlaid the ground with tree shade, but on the naked rock formation torrid light jigged merrily, yet the shadow of the cliff kept his body cool, like a pavilion fit for a ruler.

µÐÇѹ ÊÙ§Êè§ à§Ò äÁéŧ·Òº«é͹ ¼ÔÇ´Ô¹    ·ÇèÒº¹ÅÒ¹ËÔ¹âÅè§ ¡ÅѺ»ÃÒ¡¯ÃÐÍØ á´´àÃÔ§ÃÓ    ÃèÁ¼Ò»éͧ àÃ×͹ÃèÒ§¢Í§Áѹ äÇé    ´ÙÃÒǾÅѺ¾ÅҢͧ ¼ÙéÁÕ ÍÓ¹Ò¨

He thought of the body of the cow he had hidden down there, thought of the offending noise of some kind that had brought him to a halt, thought of the doubt that had compelled him to come back and crouch on the stone slab up until now ...

Áѹ¹Ö¡¶Ö§«Ò¡ÇÑÇ ·Õè«è͹«Ø¡ ÍÂÙèàº×éͧ ÅèÒ§    ¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§ àÊÕ§á»Å¡»ÅÍÁºÒ§ÍÂèÒ§·Õè·Ó ãËéÁѹµéͧ ËÂØ´ªÐ§Ñ¡    ¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§ ¤ÇÒÁ äÁè á¹è 㨠«Öè§·Ó ãËéÁѹµéͧËǹ ¡ÅѺÁÒËÁͺ ÍÂÙ躹á·è¹ËÔ¹¨Çº¨¹ºÑ´¹Õé ...   

And then the whole cliff was as torn asunder by the might of his roar.

áÅÐ áÅéÇ ·Ñé§ á¼è¹¼Ò ¡ç àËÁ×͹»ÃÔá¡ ´éÇÂÊÐà·×͹ ¤ÓÃÒÁ

From on high, the sun overlaid the ground with tree shade.

µÐÇѹ ÊÙ§Êè§ à§Ò äÁéŧ·Òº«é͹ ¼ÔÇ´Ô¹   

Shimmering heat danced above the light-drenched upper foliage, but underneath the whole jungle was pleasantly cool.

äÍá´´ àµé¹ÃÐÂÔº ÍÂÙè    º¹ÂÍ´¾ØèÁ·Õè ¶Ù¡áʧ à¡ÒР   ·ÇèÒ µèÓ ãµéŧÁÒ ·Ñ駻èÒ Âѧ¤ÃÖéÁ àÂç¹    ...   

His whole body shook when he heard the roar rumbling down the ridge.

à¢ÒÊзéÒ¹ ä» ·Ñé§ÃèÒ§    àÁ×èÍ ä´éÂÔ¹ àÊÕ§ ¤ÓÃÒÁ¡Ñ§ÇÒ¹áÇèÇŧÁÒ¨Ò¡Êѹ à¢Ò   

His legs stopped moving of their own accord.

Êͧ¢ÒªÐ§Ñ¡â´Â äÁèµéͧÍÍ¡ ¤Ó ÊÑ觠  

His hands clenched the gun tighter than before.

ÊͧÁ×Í¡Ó»×¹ á¹è¹ ¢Ö鹡ÇèÒà´ÔÁ

It was obvious it was up there.

á¨èÁªÑ´ÇèÒÁѹ ÍÂÙ躹¹Ñé¹

What wasn't obvious was what he should do next.

·ÕèäÁè ªÑ´à¨¹¤×Í»ÃÒö¹Ò¢Í§ à¢Ò·Õè ¨Ð¡éÒǵèÍ ä»

He stood on a slope not very far from the top of the ridge.

à¢Ò Â×¹ ÍÂÙ躹 ¤ÇÒÁÅÒ´ªÑ¹ «Öè§ äÁèËèÒ§¨Ò¡ÊѹÀÙÁÒ¡¹Ñ¡   

Each of his steps up to now had taken an eternity.

áµèÅСéÒÇ·Õè¼èÒ¹ÁÒ¡Ô¹ àÇÅÒ¹Ò¹à¹Ôè¹ÃÒǹÔÃѹ´Ã   

He couldn't raise a foot faster than his eyes worked, and couldn't go forward farther than was wise.

à¢Ò äÁèÍÒ¨¡éÒÇ àÃçÇ à¡Ô¹ ¡Ò÷ӧҹ¢Í§ÊÒÂµÒ ·Ñé§ äÁèÍÒ¨¡éÒÇ ä¡Å 仡ÇèÒÊÓ¹Ö¡ ÃÐÁÑ´ÃÐÇѧ   

His hands gripped the gun in such a clammy grasp that they almost couldn't let go of it.

Á×Í·Õè¡Ó»×¹à˹ÕÂÇ˹Ѻ ¨¹á¡Ðà¡×ͺ äÁèÍÍ¡   

The sweat off his back soaked through the knapsack.

à˧×èͪØèÁ¨Ò¡ËÅѧàÊ×éÍ «ÖÁ ãÊèà»é

Yet from now on, each step would have to take even longer.

áµè¨Ò¡¹Õé áµèÅСéÒÇÍÒ¨µéͧ ãªé àÇÅÒÁÒ¡ÂÔè§ ¢Öé¹

For an instant, he almost turned back, because he had absolutely no way of knowing where the tiger could be lying in wait along the way to the top of the ridge.

ã¹Çٺ˹Öè§ à¢Òà¡×ͺ ¨ÐËѹ ËÅѧ ¡ÅѺ    à¾ÃÒÐ à¢Ò äÁèÁÕ·Ò§ÃÙé ä´éàÅÂÇèÒ àÊ×Í«ØèÁ ÍÂÙèµÃ§ ä˹º¹ àÊé¹·Ò§ ä» ÊÙèÊѹ à¢Ò    ...   

He didn't know which of the two was after the other.

äÁèÃÙé ÇèÒ à¢ÒËÃ×ÍÁѹ¡Ñ¹ á¹è·Õè¡ÓÅѧµÒÁËҡѹ

He thought of his own mauled body lying full length on a bamboo platform.

à¢Ò¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§ àÃ×͹ÃèÒ§ Íѹ¢Ò´ÇÔ蹢ͧµ¹ àͧ¹Í¹àËÂÕ´ÂÒÇ ÍÂÙ躹á¤Ãè äÁé   

Torchlight would show fang imprints and streaks of caked blood from top to toe.

ÁÕ¤ºäµéÊèͧ¨ÑºãËé àËç¹ÃÍ à¢ÕéÂÇ áÅФÃÒº àÅ×Í´à¡ÃÍСÃѧ µÑé§ áµè ËÑǨô à·éÒ   

The villagers gathered around would argue over a turn of events none of them had witnessed.

ªÒǺéÒ¹·Õè¡ÃÙÁÒËéÍÁÅéÍÁ    ÍÒ¨¨Ð à¶Õ§¡Ñ¹àÃ×èͧ ÅӴѺà赯 ¡ÒÃ³ì «Öè§ äÁèÁÕ ã¤Ã àËç¹ ´éǵҠ  

Some would insist he was on the run, others would call him a damn fool, and there should be some who would claim he had broken jungle rules in one way or another.

ºéÒ§ÍÒ¨Â×¹ÂѹÇèÒ à¢Ò ÇÔè§Ë¹Õ    ºÒ§¤¹¤§µÓ˹ÔÇèÒ à¢Òâ§èà¢ÅÒ áÅйèÒ ¨ÐÁÕ ÍÂÙè äÁè ¹éÍ·Õè ¤Ô´ÇèÒ à¢Ò·Ó ¼Ô´¨ÒÃÕµ»èÒ ã¹àÃ×èͧ ã´àÃ×èͧ ˹Öè§

But what was for sure was, no one would wonder what had made him go after the tiger against his father's advice.

áµè·Õè á¹èæ    ¤×Í    ¤§ äÁèÁÕ ã¤Ãʹ ã¨ÇèÒ Íѹ ã´·Ó ãËé à¢ÒµÔ´µÒÁ àÊ×Í ä» â´Â ¢Ñ´ ¤Ó ÊÑ觾èÍ   

And what was even more sure, before long the whole affair would be forgotten.

á¹èÂÔè§ ¡ÇèÒ¹Ñé¹ ÂèÍÁ à»ç¹    ¡ÒÃàÅ×͹ËÒ¢ͧàÃ×èͧ ÃÒÇ ã¹ àÇÅÒ äÁè¹Ò¹¹Ñ¡

He thought of his father, who would have to listen to the speculations of the villagers, thought of the old man, who, when he found himself alone, would surely be forever harking back to what had happened to his son.

à¢Ò¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§¾èÍ·Õè ¨ÐµéͧÃѺ ¿Ñ§¡ÒÃµÕ ¤ÇÒÁ¢Í§ ¼Ùé äÁèÃÙé àËç¹    ¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§¤¹à²èÒ «Öè§ ã¹·Õè ÊØ´ áÅéǤ§ ¨Ðµéͧ¨´¨ÓàÃ×èͧ ÃÒǢͧÅÙ¡ªÒ ÍÂÙè â´ÂÅӾѧ   

And that's when he thought of his return from town.

¨Ò¡¹Ñé¹ à¢Ò¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§¡Òà à´Ô¹·Ò§ ¡ÅѺÁÒ ÊÙèºéÒ¹à¡Ô´

If he was to stay here, then there was no turning back.

ËÒ¡¨Ð ÍÂÙè·Õè¹ÕèµèÍ ä» à¢ÒÂèÍÁ äÁèÍÒ¨ËǹËÅѧ ¡ÅѺ

He thought of the dark corner in the dark town where on some nights he had lain hugging himself like a wounded animal of the wild.

à¢Ò¹Ö¡ ¶Ö§ ÁØÁ Á×´ ã¹ ÁØÁàÁ×ͧ «Öè§ ã¹ºÒ§ ¤èÓ ¤×¹ µÑÇ àͧà¤Â¹Í¹¢´ µÑÇÃÒÇÊѵÇì »èÒºÒ´ à¨çº   

On those nights, he only dreamed of the stars scattered wide over the wide plain, dreamed of the Milky Way straddling the ridge.

ÂÒÁ¹Ñé¹ä´é áµè ½Ñ¹ ¶Ö§´Ç§´ÒÇà¡Å×è͹¡Åè¹ à˹×Í ·Ø觡ÇéÒ§    ... ½Ñ¹ ¶Ö§·Ò§ªéÒ§à¼×Í¡¾Ò´¤ÃèÍÁ·ÔÇ à¢Ò

Invisible whip lashes had flailed the depths of his being at all times to force him to become a domesticated animal.

ÃÔéÇáÊé·ÕèÁͧäÁè àËç¹µÇÑ´ ãÊè ÊèǹÅÖ¡¢Í§ ¤ÇÒÁ à»ç¹ à¢Ò ÍÂÙè·Ø¡àÁ×èÍ àª×èÍÇѹ à¾×èͤء¤ÒÁ ºÑ§¤Ñº ãËé à¢Ò¡ÅÒ à»ç¹ÊѵÇì àÅÕé§ àª×èÍ§æ    ...   

Because he kept refusing to admit defeat, his whole heart festered in sores and wounds.

àÁ×èÍà¢Ò äÁèÂÍÁ¨Ó¹¹ ·Ñé§ ËÑÇ ã¨¨Ö§ àµçÁ ä» ´éÇÂÃÔéÇÃͼ×è¹á¼Å    ...   

Now he was back on home ground.

ºÑ´¹Õéà¢ÒËǹ ¤×¹´Ô¹á´¹´Ñé§à´ÔÁ ¢Í§µ¹ àͧ áÅéÇ   

So where were all those complicated options?

ä˹    àÅ ¨ÐÁÕ·Ò§ àÅ×Í¡ÁÒ¡ÁÒÂÂÍ¡Âé͹   

When you make a choice, it means you give up all of the other options.

¤¹àÃÒàÁ×èÍÍÂÙè ã¹ÇÔ¶Õ·Õè àÅ×Í¡ àͧ    ÂèÍÁËÁÒ ¶Ö§¡Òà ÊÔé¹àÂ×èÍã¡Ѻ ·Ò§ àÅ×Í¡ Í×è¹

Freedom doesn't mean changing your mind as you change mood, but stepping onto the chosen path with a will.

ÍÔÊÃÀÒ¾ÁÔä´éËÁÒ ¶Ö§¡Òà à»ÅÕè¹ 㨵ÒÁ ÍÒÃÁ³ì    ËÒ¡ËÁÒ ¶Ö§ ¤ÇÒÁ à´ç´à´ÕèÂÇ·Õè¡éÒÇ ä»º¹ àÊé¹·Ò§·Õè»ÃÒö¹Ò

The path he had chosen had no room for fear.

àÊé¹·Ò§·Õè à¢Ò àÅ×Í¡ äÁèÁÕ·ÕèÇèÒ§ÊÓËÃѺ ¤ÇÒÁ ËÇÒ´¡ÅÑÇ

He guessed from the slant of the sun past the mountain's edge another forty minutes' walk at most would take him to the top.

à¢Ò¤Ð๨ҡÅÓáʧ «Öè§ÅʹŧÁÒ¨Ò¡ àËÅÕèÂÁ à¢ÒÇèÒ à´Ô¹ ÍÕ¡ äÁè à¡Ô¹ 40    ¹Ò·Õ ¡ç¹èÒ ¨Ð ¢Öé¹ ¶Ö§Êѹ   

Between the lines of trees along the slope, the ground was fairly clear.

ÃÐËÇèÒ§µé¹äÁé·ÕèàÃÕ§ äÅè¡Ñ¹ ÍÂÙ躹 ¤ÇÒÁÅÒ´ªÑ¹ à»ç¹ ¾×é¹·Õè¤è͹¢éÒ§âÅè§

There were no boulders or undergrowth where a tiger could crouch in wait.

äÁèÁÕ¡é͹ËÔ¹ ãË­èËÃ×Í ¤ÇÒÁáàÃ×éÍ·Õè àÊ×Í ¨Ð«ØèÁâ¨ÁµÕ ä´é   

He felt increasingly confident the battleground was up there.

à¢ÒÁÑè¹ ã¨ÁÒ¡ ¢Öé¹ÇèÒÊÁÃÀÙÁÔ ¤§ ¨Ð ÍÂÙè¢éÒ§º¹

Before venturing out again, he looked up at the treetops which overspread the jungle like a gloomy ceiling.

¡è͹ÍÍ¡à´Ô¹ ÍÕ¡ ¤ÃÑé§ à¢Òà§Â˹éÒ ¢Öé¹ÁͧÂÍ´ äÁé·Õè»Ã¡ ¼ÔÇ»èÒ à»ç¹à¾´Ò¹¤ÃÖéÁ   

Tiny chinks of light flickered all around, resembling clusters of stars on a dark night.

á©¡áʧàÅç¡æ    à»Å觻ÃСÒ    ÇÙºÇÒºÍÂÙè ·ÑèÇ    ÅÐÁéÒ ¡ÅØèÁ´ÒÇ ã¹ ¤×¹ à´×͹ Á×´

He still crouched on the stone slab as if he was one with time.

ÁѹÂѧ¤§ËÁͺ ÍÂÙ躹á·è¹ËÔ¹ÃÒÇ à»ç¹Ë¹Öè§ à´ÕÂǡѺ ¡ÒÅ àÇÅÒ    ...   

Slanting afternoon sunrays fell on patches of cliff and on his midriff, which seemed to radiate toward the heights above.

á´´à©Õ§ÂÒÁ ºèÒÂÊÒ´¡ÃзººÒ§ Êèǹ¢Í§ á¼è¹¼Ò¡Ñº ÅÓ µÑǵ͹¡ÅÒ§¢Í§Áѹ    ·Ó ãËéÁѹ´Ù´Ñè§ÁÕ»ÃСҾǾØè§ ¢Öé¹ ÊÙè ¤ÇÒÁ ÊÙ§àº×éͧ º¹   

His mane, white as cotton fiber, stood out against the deep shadow of the cliff in those parts that were not sundrenched.

à¤ÃÒ¢ÒÇàËÁ×͹½Í½éÒµѴ ¡Ñº ¤ÇÒÁÃèÁ·Öº¢Í§Ë¹éÒ¼Ò Êèǹ·Õè äÁè ä´éµéͧáʧ   

The emerald eyes glinted under a forehead serrated like parchment.

´Ç§µÒÊÕÁáµÇÒÇÇѺÍÂÙè ãµé˹éÒ¼Ò¡ Íѹ àµçÁ ä» ´éÇ¢մᩡ¤ÅéÒÂÍÑ¡¢Ã âºÃÒ³

With the quiet self-possession of the virtuous, he stared at the animal scaling the rocky incline toward him.

Áѹà¾è§´Ùà¢Òà˹ÕèÂÇ µÑÇ ¢Öé¹ÁÒº¹ÅÒ¹ËÔ¹ ´éÇÂÍÒ¡ÒÃʧº ¹Ôè§ÃÒÇ ¼Ùé·Ã§ÈÕÅ

And when he stopped, raised his head and looked toward the cliff, instantly his whole body froze as though under a spell.

áÅÐàÁ×èÍ à¢Òà§Â˹éÒ ¢Öé¹Áͧ ä»·Ò§ á¼è¹¼Ò    ¾Åѹ ·Ñé§ àÃ×͹ÃèÒ§·Õè¡ÓÅѧËÂÑ´ Â×¹ ¡çªÐ§Ñ¡¤éÒ§ÃÒǵéͧÁ¹µì

In his heart of hearts, he knew it wasn't fear, but awe overlaid and sealed with astonishment.

ã¹ ÊèǹÅÖ¡ ÊØ´¢Í§ÇÔ­­Ò³ à¢ÒÃÙé ´ÕÇèÒÁѹ äÁèãªè ¤ÇÒÁ¡ÅÑÇ    ËÒ¡ à»ç¹ ¤ÇÒÁÂÓ à¡Ã§·Õè¼¹Ö¡ ¼ÊÒ¹ à¢éҡѺ ¤ÇÒÁ µ×è¹µÐÅÖ§

It was almost the same feeling that arose at the sight of the sea glowing under the first rays of dawn or at the sight of a rainbow arching over a peak to touch melancholy clouds ...

Áѹà¡×ͺ¨Ð à»ç¹ ¤ÇÒÁÃÙé ÊÖ¡à´ÕÂǡѹ·Õèà¡Ô´ ¢Öé¹    ÂÒÁ àËç¹ ¼ÔÇ·ÐàÅ àÃ×ͧÃͧ ÍÂÙè ãµéáʧ à§Ò áËè§ÃØè§ÍÃس    ËÃ×Í àËç¹â¤é§ÃØ駾Ҵ¢éÒÁ ¢Ø¹ à¢Ò ÊÙèËÁè¹àÁ¦    ...   

... mysterious, beautiful, haunting and sacred.

ÅÕéÅѺ    ºÃÃà¨Ô´    ËÅÍ¡ËÅ͹áÅÐÈÑ¡´ÔìÊÔ·¸Ôì

He gripped his gun tighter without taking his eyes off the picture in front of him.

à¢Ò¡ÃЪѺ »×¹ á¹è¹ â´Â äÁèÂÍÁÅÐÊÒµҨҡÀÒ¾àº×éͧ ˹éÒ   

It crouched still like a sculpture of time, its eyes staring straight at him ...

ÁѹÂѧ¤§ËÁͺ ¹Ôè§ à»ç¹ÃÙ»ÊÅÑ¡¢Í§¡ÒÅ àÇÅÒ    ´Ç§µÒ¨éͧµÃ§ÁÒ    ...   

... eyes that seemed to pay no heed to anything, but were suffused with the power of life and shining deep with the radiance of freedom and self-confidence.

µÒ·Õè´ÙàËÁ×͹ äÁèáÂáʵèÍ ÊÔè§ ã´    ·ÇèÒà»ÕèÂÁÅé¹ ä» ´éǾÅѧªÕÇÔµ    ÅÖ¡ àÃ×ͧ ´éÇÂÃѧÊÕ áËè§ÍÔÊÃÀÒ¾ áÅÐ ¤ÇÒÁ àª×èÍÁÑè¹ ã¹ µÑÇ àͧ   

It looked as though bravery, contented calm, noble-mindedness, even love, had melted together into a single crystal drop.

´ÙÃÒǤÇÒÁ¡ÅéÒËÒ­ ¤ÇÒÁʧºÊѹâ´É ¤ÇÒÁ¡ÃéÒÇá¡Ã觷ҧ¨ÔµÇÔ­­Ò³    ËÃ×Í áÁé¡ÃзÑè§ ¤ÇÒÁÃÑ¡    ... ¶Ù¡ËÅÍÁÃÇÁ äÇé ã¹¼ÅÖ¡ á¡éÇ à¾Õ§Ë´à´ÕÂÇ

Instantly he felt in his heart faith arising.

¾Åѹà¢ÒÃÙé ÊÖ¡ ã¹ ã¨ÁÕÈÃÑ·¸ÒÊÁ·º

The massive dry fire-colored body crouched on the stone slab in front of the cliff curtain in reality was a monk absorbed in serene seclusion.

àÃ×͹ÃèÒ§ÊÕ ä¿ áË駷ÕèËÁͺ¡ÓÂÓ ÍÂÙ躹á·è¹ËԹ˹éÒÁèÒ¹¼Ò    á·é ¨ÃÔ§ áÅéǤ×͹ѡºÇª·Õè ÊÙéÍصÊ