第6 窃眠者

　　谁从婴儿的眼中窃去了睡眠？我必须知道。

　　母亲把她的水壶夹在腰间，去邻村汲水。

　　正午时分。孩童的戏耍时间已经结束，池塘里的鸭子沉默无声。

　　牧童在榕树的树荫下睡去了。

　　白鹤庄严而安静地立在芒果树旁的泥沼中。

　　此时，窃眠者进来，从婴儿的眼中偷走了睡眠，飞走了。

　　当母亲回来时，发现婴儿在屋里的地板上爬着。

　　谁从婴儿的眼中窃去了睡眠？我必须知道。我一定要找到她，把她锁起来。

　　我一定要去那个黑洞里查找，在那里，一条小溪从圆的、有皱纹的石头中汩汩流出。

　　I must look into that dark cave, where, through boulders and scowling stones, trickles a tiny stream.

　　I must search in the drowsy shade of the bakula grove, where pigeons coo in their corner, and fairies' anklets tinkle in the stillness of starry nights.

　　In the evening I will peep into the whispering silence of the bamboo forest, where fireflies squander their light, and will ask every creature I meet, ”Can anybody tell me where the Sleep-stealer lives?“

　　Who stole sleep from baby's eyes? I must know.

　　Shouldn't I give her a good lesson if I could only catch her!

　　I would raid her nest and see where she hoards all her stolen sleep.

　　I would plunder it all, and carry it home.

　　I would bind her two wings securely, set her on the bank of the river, and then let her play at fishing with a reed among the rushes and water-lilies.

　　When the marketing is over in th