It was a nice day.
这天天气不错。
All the days had been nice. There had been rather more than seven of them so far, and rain hadn't been invented yet. But clouds massing east of Eden suggested that the first thunderstorm was on its way, and it was going to be a big one.
每天天气都不错。创世未久，也就七天出点头，雨还没被创造出来。但聚集在伊甸园东方的浓云，预示着第一场雷雨即将降临，而且势头显然不小。
The angel of the Eastern Gate put his wings over his head to shield himself from the first drops.
东门天使抬起翅膀掩在头顶，遮挡最初的几点雨滴。
"I'm sorry," he said politely. "What was it you were saying?"
“抱歉。”他彬彬有礼地说，“你刚才说什么？”
"I said, that one went down like a lead balloon," said the serpent.
“我在说，那家伙可算栽了，摔得跟个秤砣似的。”蛇说道。
"Oh. Yes," said the angel, whose name was Aziraphale.
“哦，是啊。”天使说。他名叫亚茨拉菲尔。
"I think it was a bit of an overreaction, to be honest," said the serpent. "I mean, first offense and everything. I can't see what's so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil, anyway."
“说实话，我觉得有点过了，反应过度。”蛇说，“毕竟这只是初犯啊。再说了，我就搞不懂明辨善恶有什么不好。”
"It must be bad," reasoned Aziraphale, in the slightly concerned tones of one who can't see it either, and is worrying about it, "otherwise you wouldn't have been involved."
“肯定不好。”亚茨拉菲尔分析道。但他的语气不太自信，似乎自己也没搞明白有何不好，因此还有点担心。“要不然也不会有你搅和进去。”
"They just said, Get up there and make some trouble," said the serpent, whose name was Crawly, although he was thinking of changing it now. Crawly, he'd decided, was not him.
“他们只是跟我说，到那儿去找点麻烦。”蛇说。他叫克蠕戾，不过现在正琢磨着改名。克蠕戾，他心想，这名字和自己不太搭调。
"Yes, but you're a demon. I'm not sure if it's actually possible for you to do good," said Aziraphale. "It's down to your basic, you know, nature. Nothing personal, you understand."
“对，但你是个恶魔。我不知道你有没有做好事的能力。”亚茨拉菲尔说，“这关系到你的本能，你知道，天性。哦，咱们就事论事，没别的意思。”
"You've got to admit it's a bit of a pantomime, though," said Crawly. "I mean, pointing out the Tree and saying 'Don't Touch' in big letters. Not very subtle, is it? I mean, why not put it on top of a high mountain or a long way off? Makes you wonder what He's really planning."
“但你得承认，这戏演得有点过了吧。”克蠕戾说，“我的意思是，指着一棵树说‘不要碰’，这三个字还都特别大。有点夸张，对吧？我是说，干吗不把这棵树放到山顶上，或是随便什么天涯海角？老是让你心里不免琢磨，他究竟是怎么打算的。”
"Best not to speculate, really," said Aziraphale. "You can't second-guess ineffability, I always say. There's Right, and there's Wrong. If you do Wrong when you're told to do Right, you deserve to be punished. Er."
“最好不要妄自揣度，真的。”亚茨拉菲尔说，“我总是说，别妄想看透他老人家不可言喻的心思。这世上有对也有错。如果让你行善，你却做了坏事，那就应该受到惩罚。嗯。”
They sat in embarrassed silence, watching the raindrops bruise the first flowers.
他们陷入难堪的沉默，静静地看着雨滴捶打初开的花朵。
Eventually Crawly said, "Didn't you have a flaming sword?"
克蠕戾最终说道：“你不是有把炎剑吗？”
"Er," said the angel. A guilty expression passed across his face, and then came back and camped there.
“呃。”天使说。愧疚的表情从他脸上一闪而过，打了个转儿又跑回来，盘踞在那儿不走了。
"You did, didn't you?" said Crawly. "It flamed like anything."
“你有，对吧？”克蠕戾说，“烧得跟什么似的。”
"Er, well --"
“呃，嗯…”
"It looked very impressive, I thought."
“我觉得它看起来挺像那么回事儿的。”
"Yes, but, well --"
“是的，但，嗯…”
"Lost it, have you?"
“你给弄丢了？”
"Oh no! No, not exactly lost, more --"
“哦，不！不，不能算丢，更像是…”
"Well?"
“嗯？”
Aziraphale looked wretched. "If you must know," he said, a trifle testily, "I gave it away."
亚茨拉菲尔一副可怜兮兮的样子。“如果你一定要问的话，”他略显焦躁地说，“我把它送人了。”
Crawly stared up at him.
克蠕戾盯着他。
"Well, I had to," said the angel, rubbing his hands distractedly. "They looked so cold, poor things, and she's expecting already, and what with the vicious animals out there and the storm coming up I thought, well, where's the harm, so I just said, look, if you come back there's going to be an almighty row, but you might be needing this sword, so here it is, don't bother to thank me, just do everyone a big favor and don't let the sun go down on you here."
“哦，我没办法啊。”天使心烦意乱地搓着手说，“他们都冻坏了，可怜的小东西们。而且她已经怀孕了。园子外面还有凶猛的野兽，雷雨也要来了。我就想，呃，这能有什么坏处呢？所以我跟他们说，听着，如果你们回园子来，恐怕大家都得受神罚，但你们也许用得着这把剑。拿去吧，不用谢我，好好过日子就算帮大家一个大忙了，愿阳光永远照耀在你们身上。”
He gave Crawly a worried grin.
他很不自在地冲克蠕戾笑了笑。
"That was the best course, wasn't it?"
“这对大家都好，不是吗？”
"I'm not sure it's actually possible for you to do evil," said Crawly sarcastically. Aziraphale didn't notice the tone.
“我不知道你是否有可能做坏事。”克蠕戾讥讽道。但亚茨拉菲尔没听出他的语气。
"Oh, I do hope so," he said. "I really do hope so. It's been worrying me all afternoon."
“哦，希望如此。”他说，“真的希望如此。这事儿已经烦了我一下午了。”
They watched the rain for a while.
他们又看了会儿雨。
"Funny thing is," said Crawly, "I keep wondering whether the apple thing wasn't the right thing to do, as well. A demon can get into real trouble, doing the right thing." He nudged the angel. "Funny if we both got it wrong, eh? Funny if I did the good thing and you did the bad one, eh?"
“有趣的是，”克蠕戾说，“我老在想苹果那档子事到底算不算好事。一个恶魔如果做了好事，那可有大麻烦了。”他捅捅天使，“要是咱俩都做错了，就有意思了，嗯？如果我做了好事，而你做了坏事，嗯？”
"Not really," said Aziraphale.
“不可能。”亚茨拉菲尔说。
Crawly looked at the rain.
克蠕戾看着雨。
"No," he said, sobering up. "I suppose not."
“是的。”他严肃起来，“我想也不可能。”
Slate-black curtains tumbled over Eden. Thunder growled among the hills. The animals, freshly named, cowered from the storm.
灰黑色的帘布在伊甸上空翻卷，雷电在群山间咆哮。刚刚得到名字的动物们都在暴雨中瑟瑟发抖。
Far away, in the dripping woods, something bright and fiery flickered among the trees.
远方雨水滴答的密林中，有个东西在树木间闪耀，明晃晃，热腾腾。
It was going to be a dark and stormy night.
今晚会是个黑沉沉的雷雨夜。