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Lions and Tigers and Bears
狮子、老虎和熊
Bill Buford
比尔·比福德
So I thought I'd spend the night in Central Park, and, having stuffed my small rucksack with a sleeping bag, a big bottle of mineral water, a map, and a toothbrush, I arrived one heavy, muggy Friday evening in July to do just that: to walk around until I got so tired that I'd curl up under a tree and drop off to a peaceful, outdoorsy sleep. Of course, anybody who knows anything about New York knows the city's essential platitude—that you don't wander around Central Park at night—and in that, needless to say, was the appeal: it was the thing you don't do. And, from what I can tell, it has always been the thing you don't do, ever since the Park's founding commissioners, nearly a hundred and fifty years ago, decided that the place should be closed at night. Ogden Nash observed in 1961:
就这样，我打算在中央公园过夜，于是便往背包里塞了一个睡袋、一大瓶矿泉水、一张地图和一支牙刷，在七月份一个极其闷热潮湿的周五傍晚赶到了这里。我打算四处游荡，走累了就在树下蜷作一团，在野外睡个安稳觉。当然，凡是了解纽约的人都知道有关这座城市的一句老话——你夜晚不能在中央公园闲逛——不用说，往往不能做的事情反而更诱人。据我所知，早在近150年前，这座公园创建时期的主管人员就做出决定，公园在夜里应该关闭，从那时起，这就成了你不能做的事情。奥格登·纳什在1961年评论到：
If you should happen after dark
天黑离公园，
To find yourself in Central Park,
切莫再流连；
Ignore the paths that beckon you
幽径虽迷人，到处有陷阱。
And hurry, hurry to the zoo,
快去动物园，
And creep into the tiger's lair.
钻进老虎洞，
Frankly, you'll be safer there.
诸君听我劝，此处最安全。
