一成不变的修鞋匠【1】（笑话，译文）
译自法语by me, 英语由Gemini proofread过
The Unchanging Cobbler
A gentleman leaves his home, a pair of shoes in hand, and goes to the cobbler who has a shop on the corner of the street. He leaves the shoes with the repairman for resoling.
The war erupts. The man is mobilized, then he endures the “Phoney War【2】”, and then he is taken as a prisoner. He eventually escapes by disguising himself as a German soldier, only to be captured by the Russians. He is sent to the Gulag, and at last, forty years later, he is liberated.
He comes home and by chance finds the cobbler's receipt at the bottom of an old wallet, which traveled with him for forty years. Miraculously, the shop and the cobbler are still there.
“Good morning, sir. In 1939, I left a pair of shoes with you for resoling.”
“Do you have the receipt?” asks the old cobbler.
“Here you are.”
The cobbler goes to the back of the shop, searches for a moment, and then asks his customer:
“Your shoes, they're quite worn, with the white toe and grey laces?”
“Yes, yes, they are.”
“Good. You’ll have to come back. They should be ready by Tuesday evening.”
一成不变的修鞋匠
一位绅士走出家门，提着一双鞋，到街拐角的修鞋店。他让修鞋匠帮他换鞋底。
战争爆发了。他应征入伍，参加“奇怪战争【2】”，当了俘虏，扮成德国兵逃离，却被俄国人逮捕。他被关进古拉格【3】，最后，40年后，他被释放。
回到家里，他在那个一直陪伴着他40年的老钱包底儿里偶然找到修鞋匠的收据。修鞋店和修鞋匠仍奇迹般地存在着。
“早上好，先生，在1939年，我把一双鞋留在您这儿让您给换底。”
“您有收据吗？” 老修鞋匠问。
“这儿那。”
修鞋匠走到店铺后面，找了一会儿，问他的顾客：
“您的鞋，是已经咧成老虎大嘴，白鞋头，灰鞋带吗？”
“对，对， 没错。”
“那好，您还得再来一次，星期二傍晚就可以取了。”
【1】. p. 59. LE CORDONNIER IMMUABLE。1000 Blagues <Les Meilleures>. Rajko Zobec. Z-R Edition.
【2】. Drôle de Guerre. 奇怪战争。假战争。静坐战。 这是一个历史专有名词，特指第二次世界大战初期，从1939年9月英国和法国对德国宣战，到1940年5月德国真正发动西线闪电战之间的一段时期。在此期间，尽管英法已经对德宣战，但西线陆地上几乎没有发生大规模的军事冲突。双方军队在坚固的防线（如法国的马奇诺防线）后对峙，只有一些小规模的空中侦察和海上冲突。这种“宣而不战”的奇怪状态，因此得名“奇怪战争”。这段沉寂期最终在1940年5月10日被打破，德军闪击荷兰、比利时和法国，战争进入了激烈阶段。(from Deepseek)
下面是Gemini的注释：
Meaning of "Drôle de Guerre"
The term "Drôle de Guerre" refers to the period at the start of World War II, specifically from September 1939 (when the UK and France declared war on Germany following the invasion of Poland) up until May 1940 (when Germany launched the invasion of France and the Low Countries).
- Literal Translation: Funny War, Strange War, or Phoney War.
- Contextual Meaning: It describes a period of relative inactivity and lack of large-scale combat on the Western Front.
Why the Quotation Marks?
The quotation marks serve two main purposes in this text:
- To Mark a Specific Historical Term (Colloquialism): The phrase is not the formal name of the period, but the nickname or popular expression given to it by the people at the time, particularly the French and British forces. The author uses quotes to signal that this is a specific, well-known historical term of art, not a literal description made by the narrator.
- To Emphasize the Paradox: The word "drôle" (funny, strange) is a stark contrast to the word "guerre" (war). The quotes highlight the irony of a "war" where nothing seemed to be happening.
【3】. Gulag. 古拉格。下面的解释选自p. 673. The Penguin Encyclopedia. The Penguin Books. London. England. 2004。
