滴水獸是一種設在屋簷的排水管，外觀通常以人類或動物的雕像作為裝飾。滴水獸蹲坐高高的屋角，凝視著天空，空洞的眼睛眨也不眨，直到黑夜降臨。到了夜晚，滴水獸聚到一起，聊天，嬉戲，還和人類開玩笑，看著他們落荒而逃……快要天亮了，他們又各自回到原來蹲坐的角落，默默地凝視著，空洞的眼睛眨也不眨，直到夜晚來臨。
圖/文：Eve Bunting/David Wiesner
The gargoyles squat high on corners staring into space, their empty eyes unblinking
滴水獸蹲坐在高高的屋簷，凝視著天空，空洞的眼睛眨也不眨。
til night comes.
直到黑夜降臨。
Then there is movement in the shadowy corners as the gargoyles creep on stubs of feet along the high ledges and peer, nearsighted, into rooms where mummies lie in boxes, long and thin as coffins, ribboned round with painted boats and figures dark as night.
這時，陰暗的角落有了動靜。滴水獸輕輕移動粗短的雙腿，沿著屋簷，慢慢地爬，雙眼窺視屋內。就在眼前，木乃伊躺在又長又窄，像是棺材的盒子裡，盒蓋上畫著船隻和人像，顏色暗沉，猶如黑夜。
And gargoyle-creep again to gape at suits of armor, shining, stiff, the helmets hinged on eyes as bloodless as their own.
滴水獸接著爬，驚訝地看著一套套閃亮、堅硬的盔甲。盔甲露出的眼睛和他們的一樣，毫無血色。
Or, tired of viewing, fly, if they have gargoyle wings, straight up to lick the stars with long, stone tongues green-pickled at the edges. Or land in sleeping trees to swing on branches, da-de-da, and feel the air move cool against their pockmarked stone.
如果看累了，飛吧！有翅膀的滴水獸鼓起雙翼直飛上天，舔舔星星，用他們布滿青苔長長的石舌頭。或是落入沉睡的樹林裡，在枝丫間搖擺晃蕩，蕩——呀——蕩，涼涼的空氣，在他們布滿坑洞的石頭身軀之間遊移。
Then down the swoop to where a fountain splashes dark, the water spitting from a cherub's mouth. They gargoyle-hunch around the rim and gargoyle-grunt with friends from other corners who have come for company.
接著他們飛撲而下，衝到噴泉池底下的暗處，泉水從小天使的嘴裡汨汨湧出。滴水獸弓起背，擠在池邊，咕嚕咕嚕，呼嚕呼嚕，和從其他屋簷來的朋友一起聊天。
They grunt of what they've seen and where they've been. How hot the corners when the sun is high, especially the ones beside the clock. How noisy, too.
他們聊見到的事情和去過的地方。他們說太陽高照時，屋角好炎熱、好炎熱，特別是靠近時鐘的地方，還分外吵鬧呢！
They grump of summer passing and the rain that pours in torrents through their gaping lips and chokes their throats with autumn's leaves.
他們抱怨盛夏走得太急；抱怨傾盆而下的大雨流過他們張開的嘴，讓秋天的落葉堵了他們的喉嚨！
And then those birds that come to rudely perch and leave behind their mottled stains.
還有那些鳥兒，想來就來，想走就走，只留下斑斑點點的印記。
They lap the water with their mossy tongues, split-splat each other with their claws and boom those gargoyle laughs that rumble thick because there is no space inside their solid stone for laughs to somersault.
他們用長滿苔蘚的舌頭吸吮雨水，用爪子互相拍打嬉戲。隆隆的笑聲低沉又厚重，因為厚實的石頭裡沒有地方能讓笑聲翻滾擴散。
A watchman hurries by and checks the sky for thunder. He's seen the gargoyles huddle there before, and once he told the man behind the frosted door and heard him snort his disbelief. "Gargoyles, indeed! You're seeing things."
一名守衛急忙過來，抬頭巡視天空，看看會不會打雷。他曾經看到滴水獸聚在這兒，也告訴過冰冷大門後的主管，只是主管哼了一聲並不相信：「滴水獸？真的？你見鬼了吧！」
So now he checks the sky to hide his fear.
所以，現在他只看看天空，把恐懼藏在心中！
The gargoyles rasp their wings and put their thumbs behind their crumbling ears to show their scorn.
滴水獸鼓動翅膀，用拇指按住易碎的耳朵，露出不屑的樣子。
They have no love of humans who have made them so and set them high on ledges where dark pigeons go. They stomp their feet and rumble-laugh to see the watchman close his eyes and turn away.
他們不愛人類，是人類把他們造成這樣，還把他們放在只有鴿子才到得了的高高突出的屋簷。他們用力跺腳，他們尖聲笑鬧，為了要看守衛緊閉雙眼，落荒而逃！
"Awk!" the gargoyles scream, and "Awk!" again, and spread their lips in mischief smiles.
「嗷——嗚！」滴水獸尖叫，接著又叫，「嗷——嗚！」他們咧開嘴大聲，淘氣地笑。
The watchman hunches down and hurries on.
守衛只好抱著頭，彎著腰，快快逃離。
It's almost morning now and so the gargoyles fly, or wingless crawl up walls as spiders do. They take their corners quietly and stare and stare, their empty eyes unblinking
天要亮了，滴水獸飛了起來。那些沒有翅膀的只能像蜘蛛一樣爬上牆。各自回到原來蹲坐的屋簷，默默地凝視著，凝視著，空洞的眼睛眨也不眨。
till night comes.
直到夜晚來臨。
打賞碼在此：
開媽——Julia，美籍華人，Kyle's Family的女主人，也是一個8歲小男孩的媽媽。Julia初中即移民美國，直至獲工商碩士學位後，回國居住。