CHAPTER EIGHT Queequeg's Coffin KAPITEL ACHT Queequegs Sarg 챕터 8 퀴퀘그의 관 第八章 奎奎格的棺材 第八章 奎奎格的棺材

CHAPTER EIGHT

Queequeg’s Coffin

The months passed and we continued hunting whales.

Captain Ahab spent most of his time below the deck in his cabin. He studied his charts and maps and the movement of sperm whales. His obsession with Moby Dick filled his days and his nights.

When Ahab came on deck he walked noisily from bow to stern, and often stopped to stare at the sea. Quando Achab saliva sul ponte, camminava rumorosamente da prua a poppa e spesso si fermava a guardare il mare. He looked more and more angry. The whales we had caught and the barrels of oil we had stored meant nothing to him.

Ahab often stood in front of the mast where the gold coin was nailed. It was still shiny; it was made of pure gold and we felt it was sacred. Он все еще блестел, был сделан из чистого золота, и мы чувствовали, что он священен. It was from South America. On it were images of palm trees, alpacas, volcanoes, stars and suns. Su di essa c'erano immagini di palme, alpaca, vulcani, stelle e soli. It had a Spanish poetic quality. Это была испанская поэзия. On its round border you could read the words "Republica del Ecuador: Quito". So this bright coin came from a country beneath the great equator, up in the Andes mountains. Questa moneta brillante proviene da un paese al di sotto del grande equatore, sulle montagne delle Ande.

For Ahab the coin represented his determination to make the voyage a success.

Starbuck, being a religious man, saw the Trinity in the coin. Stubb, instead, saw the signs of the zodiac in it, and the promise of a lot of money. When Flask looked at it he thought about how many cigars he could buy.

It was our good luck charm - it might help us find Moby Dick. Era il nostro portafortuna: poteva aiutarci a trovare Moby Dick.

One evening, while Ahab was looking at his maps, Starbuck came to his cabin. He was worried, and said, "We have a serious problem, Captain. The barrels of oil are leaking - they’re losing precious whale oil! We have to check all of the barrels. " "Let the barrels leak! I don’t care!" said Ahab.

"You don’t care!" cried Starbuck in despair. gridò Starbuck disperato. "What will the owners say, sir? When we return to Nantucket after this long voyage the owners will want to see whole oil-barrels full of whale oil! We don’t have a choice - we have to check all of the barrels. That way we can see which barrels are leaking and mend them." In questo modo possiamo vedere quali sono i barili che perdono e ripararli". Starbuck’s face was bright red. Il volto di Starbuck era rosso vivo.

"It will take too long," Ahab cried angrily. "We’re approaching Japan soon and my maps say we are sure to find Moby Dick in those waters. We’re not stopping to fix some old barrels! " "We’ve traveled over twenty thousand miles to find this oil - we can’t lose it now," said Starbuck, trying to be calm. At this point Ahab lost control and pulled a gun from the rack on the wall and pointed it at Starbuck. A questo punto Achab perse il controllo, estrasse una pistola dalla rastrelliera sulla parete e la puntò contro Starbuck. В этот момент Ахав потерял контроль над собой, достал со стеллажа на стене пистолет и направил его на Старбака.

Ahab was furious, and said, "Remember, there is one God to rule over the earth, and there is one captain to rule over this ship. Achab si infuriò e disse: "Ricordati che c'è un solo Dio che governa la terra e c'è un solo capitano che governa questa nave". And I am the lord and master here! E io sono il signore e il padrone qui! Now go! " Starbuck stared bravely at his captain and said, "I could tell you to beware of me, but you would laugh. "Starbuck fissò coraggiosamente il suo capitano e disse: "Potrei dirle di guardarsi da me, ma lei riderebbe. " Старбак храбро посмотрел на своего капитана и сказал: "Я мог бы сказать вам, чтобы вы остерегались меня, но вы будете смеяться. But I’m telling you to beware of yourself - you are your greatest enemy. " Starbuck turned around and started walking away. Ahab called out, "You talk bravely but I see you still obey me. Achab chiamò: "Parli con coraggio, ma vedo che mi obbedisci ancora". " Starbuck continued walking away. Ahab then spoke to himself, "You think I’m my greatest enemy? Yes, there’s truth in that." Then he called Starbuck back.

"Starbuck," he said in a sad, low voice, "you’re a good man. Tell the mates to empty the hold where the barrels are and find the leaks. Dite ai compagni di svuotare la stiva dove si trovano i barili e di trovare le falle. Прикажите товарищам опорожнить трюм, где находятся бочки, и найти места утечек. Go!" Ahab put the gun back on the rack.

Starbuck ordered the crew to bring the barrels out of the hold and everyone worked to find the barrels which were leaking. It was a hard job to move and examine all the heavy barrels. It was terribly hot and damp in the hold. La stiva era terribilmente calda e umida. В трюме было ужасно жарко и сыро. Queequeg put all of his strength into his work and soon became very ill with a high fever.

"What’s wrong, Queequeg?" I asked, but he could not hear me. He had a strange look on his face as he lay on the deck.

"Queequeg, say something to me!" I said nervously. I felt his forehead and it was burning and wet with sweat.

I helped him to his feet and another crew member and I took him to his hammock. He had never been ill before.

"I’m going to get the ship’s doctor!" I said.

"No!" said Queequeg with a weak voice. "Get carpenter for me. " "The carpenter? Are you crazy? " "Get carpenter," he repeated. "Please tell me why," I said.

Queequeg explained that he had once seen coffins in Nantucket and they reminded him of the funeral canoes of his people. Queequeg spiegò che una volta aveva visto delle bare a Nantucket e che gli ricordavano le canoe funerarie del suo popolo.

He liked this idea because on his island people were sent out to sea in a canoe when they died.

When a sailor died at sea his body was put inside his hammock and then thrown into the water, where he was usually eaten by sharks. Queequeg did not want this to happen to him.

"Get carpenter," he said again. "He make my canoe. " I did not want my dear friend to die, but I did not want him to get upset. "Non volevo che il mio caro amico morisse, ma non volevo che si arrabbiasse. So I called the ship’s carpenter and he carefully took Queequeg’s measurements and built him a coffin. When it was ready Queequeg got inside because he wanted to try it out. Inside he had a paddle for his trip to the other world and his little idol Yojo. All'interno aveva una pagaia per il suo viaggio all'altro mondo e il suo piccolo idolo Yojo. Then he asked for the steel head of his harpoon. He closed his eyes peacefully and lay still inside his new coffin. Chiuse gli occhi serenamente e rimase immobile nella sua nuova bara.

I knelt down beside him and felt terribly sad and lonely. Mi inginocchiai accanto a lui e mi sentii terribilmente triste e sola. I thought about our wonderful friendship; I did not want it to end like this.

How could Queequeg possibly die? Come può Queequeg morire? He was the strongest man on the Pequod. He had saved many men from death. Was this his time to die? A young sailor played the tambourine and it sounded like Queequeg’s funeral march.

I have discovered that there is a big difference between primitive people and modern people. Modern people get sick and sometimes it takes them many months to get well. But primitive people can easily get better in a day.

Luckily, that is what happened to Queequeg.

He suddenly got up from his coffin and climbed out.

"Queequeg not dead!" he said with a loud voice. "I remember something Queequeg not do. "Ricordo una cosa che Queequeg non fa. Queequeg die another day. " He got better as quickly as he got sick, and we could not understand why. "È migliorato con la stessa rapidità con cui si è ammalato, e non riuscivamo a capire perché. We asked him if dying depended on our will and his answer was, "Certainly! " We were very surprised and happy that he was well again. His coffin became a sea chest where he kept his clothes and his idol Yojo. La sua bara è diventata una cassa marina dove ha conservato i suoi vestiti e il suo idolo Yojo. He even started decorating the top of the coffin with the same strange designs he had on his body.