Chapter 31

They met once, Mr. and Mr. Kumar, the baker and the teacher. The first Mr. Kumar had expressed the wish to see the zoo. "All these years and I've never seen it. It's so close by, too. Will you show it to me?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," I replied. "It would be an honour."

We agreed to meet at the main gate the next day after school.

I worried all that day. I scolded myself, "You fool! Why did you say the main gate? At any time there will be a crowd of people there. Have you forgotten how plain he looks? You'll never recognize him!" If I walked by him without seeing him he would be hurt. He would think I had changed my mind and didn't want to be seen with a poor Muslim baker. He would leave without saying a word. He wouldn't be angry-he would accept my claims that it was the sun in my eyes-but he wouldn't want to come to the zoo any more. I could see it happening that way. I had to recognize him. I would hide and wait until I was certain it was him, that's what I would do. But I had noticed before that it was when I tried my hardest to recognize him that I was least able to pick him out. The very effort seemed to blind me.

At the appointed hour I stood squarely before the main gate of the zoo and started rubbing my eyes with both hands.

"What are you doing?"

It was Raj, a friend.

"I'm busy."

"You're busy rubbing your eyes?"

"Go away."

"Let's go to Beach Road."

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Well, you'll miss him if you keep rubbing your eyes like that."

"Thank you for the information. Have fun on Beach Road."

"How about Government Park?"

"I can't, I tell you."

"Come on."

"Please, Raj, move on!"

He left. I went back to rubbing my eyes.

"Will you help me with my math homework, Pi?"

It was Ajith, another friend.

"Later. Go away."

"Hello, Piscine."

It was Mrs. Radhakrishna, a friend of Mother's. In a few more words I eased her on her way.

"Excuse me. Where's Laporte Street?"

A stranger.

"That way."

"How much is admission to the zoo?"

Another stranger.

"Five rupees. The ticket booth is right there."

"Has the chlorine got to your eyes?"

It was Mamaji.

"Hello, Mamaji. No, it hasn't."

"Is your father around?"

"I think so."

"See you tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Mamaji."

"I am here, Piscine."

My hands froze over my eyes. That voice. Strange in a familiar way, familiar in a strange way. I felt a smile welling up in me.

"Salaam alaykum, Mr. Kumar! How good to see you."

"Wa alaykum as-salaam. Is something wrong with your eyes?"

"No, nothing. Just a bit of dust."

"They look quite red."

"It's nothing."

He headed for the ticket booth but I called him back.

"No, no. Not for you, master."

It was with pride that I waved the ticket collector's hand away and showed Mr. Kumar into the zoo.

He marvelled at everything, at how to tall trees came tall giraffes, how carnivores were supplied with herbivores and herbivores with grass, how some creatures crowded the day and others the night, how some that needed sharp beaks had sharp beaks and others that needed limber limbs had limber limbs. It made me happy that he was so impressed.

He quoted from the Holy Qur'an: "In all this there are messages indeed for a people who use their reason."

We came to the zebras. Mr. Kumar had never heard of such creatures, let alone seen one. He was dumbfounded.

"They're called zebras," I said.

"Have they been painted with a brush?"

"No, no. They look like that naturally."

"What happens when it rains?"

"Nothing."

"The stripes don't melt?"

"No."

I had brought some carrots. There was one left, a large and sturdy specimen. I took it out of the bag. At that moment I heard a slight scraping of gravel to my right. It was Mr. Kumar, coming up to the railing in his usual limping and rolling gait.

"Hello, sir."

"Hello, Pi."

The baker, a shy but dignified man, nodded at the teacher, who nodded back.

An alert zebra had noticed my carrot and had come up to the low fence. It twitched its ears and stamped the ground softly. I broke the carrot in two and gave one half to Mr. Kumar and one half to Mr. Kumar. "Thank you, Piscine," said one; "Thank you, Pi," said the other. Mr. Kumar went first, dipping his hand over the fence. The zebra's thick, strong, black lips grasped the carrot eagerly. Mr. Kumar wouldn't let go. The zebra sank its teeth into the carrot and snapped it in two. It crunched loudly on the treat for a few seconds, then reached for the remaining piece, lips flowing over Mr. Kumar's fingertips. He released the carrot and touched the zebra's soft nose.

It was Mr. Kumar's turn. He wasn't so demanding of the zebra. Once it had his half of the carrot between its lips, he let go. The lips hurriedly moved the carrot into the mouth.

Mr. and Mr. Kumar looked delighted. "A zebra, you say?" said Mr. Kumar.

"That's right," I replied. "It belongs to the same family as the ass and the horse."

"The Rolls-Royce of equids," said Mr. Kumar.

"What a wondrous creature," said Mr. Kumar.

"This one's a Grant's zebra," I said.

Mr. Kumar said, "Equus burchelli boehmi."

Mr. Kumar said, "Allahu akbar."

I said, "It's very pretty."

We looked on.

第三十一章

    库马尔先生和库马尔先生，面包师和教师，见过一次面。第一位库马尔先生表示想去动物园看看。“这么多年了，我从没去动物园看过。而且它就在附近。你能带我去吗？”他问。

    “可以，当然可以，”我答道，“我很高兴能带你去。"

    我们约好第二天放学后在大门口见面。

    那一整天我都在担心。我骂自己说：“你这个笨蛋！你为什么要说在大门口见面？不管什么时候那个地方总是有一大堆人。你忘了他长得多平常吗？你决不会认出他来的！”

    如果我从他身边走过却没有看见他，他会伤心的。他会以为我改变了主意，不想让人看见我和一个贫穷的穆斯林面包师在一起。他会一句话也不说就离开。他不会生气的，他会接受我的说法，说那是因为阳光太刺眼，但是他再也不想到动物园来了。我能看见事惰像这样发生。我一定得认出他来。我要躲起来，等到我能肯定是他时再出来，我就那么做。但是我以前就注意到，每当我特别努力地想要认出他时，反而无法将他认出来。努力本身似乎让我看不见了。

    在约定的时间，我站在正对着动物园大门的地方，开始用两只手揉眼睛。

    “你在干什么？”

    是拉吉，一个朋友。

    “我在忙。．”

    “你在忙着揉眼睛？”

    “走开。"

    “我们到海滩路去吧。"

    “我在等人。”

    “哼，如果你像这样不停地揉眼睛，你会看不到他的。"

    “谢谢你告诉我。祝你在海滩路玩得好。

    “到政府公园去怎么样？”

    “我不能去，我告诉你。"

    “去吧！”

    “求求你，拉吉，你走吧！”

    他走了。我又开始揉眼睛。

    “你能帮我做数学作业吗，派？”

    是阿吉特，另一个朋友。

    “过会儿吧。走开。"

    “你好，派西尼。’’

    是拉达克里希南太太，母亲的一个朋友。我用几句话把她打发走了。

    “对不起，请问拉波特大街在哪里？”

    是个陌生人。

    “ 在那边。"

    “动物园门票要多少钱？”

    另一个陌生人。

    “五卢比。售票处在那边。"

    “氯进了你眼睛吗？”

    是玛玛吉。

    “你好，玛玛吉。不，不是的。”

    “你父亲在吗？”

    “我想他在。"

    “明天早晨见。"

    “再见，玛玛吉。”

    “我在这儿，派西尼。”

    我的手在眼睛上僵住了。那个声音。我感到熟悉的陌生声音，我感到陌生的熟悉声音。我感到微笑从心底洋溢上来。

    "Salaam alaylcum．(阿拉伯语，意为“上帝与你同在。”)库马尔先生！看见你真好。”

    “Wa alaykum鹊一salaam.（阿拉伯语，意为“愿上帝与你同在。”）你的眼睛不舒服吗？”

    “不，没什么。只是进了灰尘。"

    “看上去很红。"

    “没关系。”

    他朝售票处走去，但是我把他叫了回来。

    “不，不。你不用买票，师傅。"

    我自豪地挥挥手，让检票员把手缩了回去，然后带库马尔先生进了动物园。

    一切都令他惊奇。他看见高大的长颈鹿来到高大的树下；食肉动物吃食草动物，而食草动物吃草；一些动物白天聚集在一起，而另一些动物则夜晚聚集在一起；一些需要尖嘴的动物长了尖嘴，而另一些需要灵活的四肢的动物长了灵活的四肢。他对这一切感到惊讶不已。

    他引用了《古兰经》里的一句话：“对于敏悟的人其中确有迹象。(<古兰经’第三十章<罗马人>，第二十四节。)"

    我们来到斑马笼前。库马尔先生从来没有听说过这种动物，更不用说看见过了。他惊讶得目瞪口呆。

    “它们叫斑马。"我说。

    “它们身上的条纹是用刷了漆的吗？”

    “不，不。它们天生就那样。’’

    “下雨的时候会怎么样？”

    “不会怎么样。¨

    “条纹不会被雨冲掉吗？”

    “ 会。”

    我带了几根胡萝卜。现在还剩下一根，是又大又结实的那种。我把它从包里拿了出来。就在那时，我听见右边有轻微的砂砾的刮擦声。是库马尔先生，像往常一样一瘸一拐摇

    摇摆摆地朝栏杆走来。

    “你好，先生。”

    “你好，派。"

    害羞但庄重的面包师对教师点了点头，教师也对他点了点头。

    一匹警觉的斑马注意到了我手里的胡萝卜，走到了低矮的围栏前。它抽动几下耳朵，轻轻地在地上跺了跺脚。我把胡萝卜掰成两半，一半给了库马尔先生，另一半给了库马尔

    先生。“谢谢，派西尼。”一位说；“谢谢，派。"另一位说。库马尔先生先走过去，把手伸进围栏里。斑马迫不及待地用厚厚的有力的黑色嘴唇夹住了胡萝卜。库马尔先生不肯松

    手。斑马用牙咬住胡萝卜，猛地咬成了两半。它大声地嚼了几秒钟这顿美餐，接着又去吃剩下的那半根，嘴唇从库马尔先生的手指上滑过。他松开胡萝卜，碰了碰斑马柔软的鼻子

    。

    轮到库马尔先生了。他对斑马没有这么高的要求。它刚用嘴唇夹住半根胡萝卜，他就松手了。嘴唇急急忙忙把胡萝卜送进嘴里。

    库马尔先生和库马尔先生看上去很高兴。

    “一匹斑马，你是说？’’库马尔先生说。

    “对，”我答道，“它和驴和马是同一科的。‘

    “马科动物中的劳斯莱斯。"库马尔先生说。

    “多么奇妙的动物啊。"库马尔先生说。

    “这匹是格兰特斑马。”我说。

    库马尔先生说：“Equus burchelli b。ehmi．（拉丁语，意为“格兰特斑马”。）”

    库马尔先生说：“Allabu akbar.”（阿拉伯语，意为_上帝是伟犬的”。）

    我说：“它非常漂亮。"

    我们继续看。