這首Macavity the Mystery Cat 《貓卡帝：神秘的貓》選自T.S.艾略特唯一一部為年輕讀者而寫的詩集《老負(fù)鼠的貓經(jīng)》（Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats）, 出版于1939年。此詩尤其適合有一定雙語基礎(chǔ)的青少年閱讀。
Macavity: The Mystery Cat
Thomas Stearns Eliot
Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw—
For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime—Macavity's not there!
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime—Macavity's not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air—
But I tell you once and once again, Macavity's not there!
Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he's half asleep, he's always wide awake.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square—
But when a crime's discovered, then Macavity's not there!
He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's
And when the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke's been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair
Ay, there's the wonder of the thing! Macavity's not there!
And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty's gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair—
But it's useless to investigate—Macavity's not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
It must have been Macavity!'—but he's a mile away.
You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumb;
Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:
At whatever time the deed took place—MACAVITY WASN'T THERE !
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!
貓卡帝：神秘的貓
托馬斯. 艾略特
譯/李雪梅
貓卡帝是只神秘貓，外號叫暗爪：
他目無法紀(jì)性桀驁，行兇犯罪頭號。
倫敦警察束手無策，機(jī)動(dòng)空警沒招：
每當(dāng)他們趕到現(xiàn)場，貓卡帝早逃掉！
貓卡帝，貓卡帝，貓卡帝是第一，
他打破了所有法律，還違背了重力。
他能懸浮在空氣，魔法師都驚奇，
可當(dāng)你們趕到那里，貓卡帝早逃匿！
你會(huì)搜查地下室，你會(huì)望天看地，
可我再次告訴你，貓卡帝不在那里！
貓卡帝長著米色毛，個(gè)子又瘦又高；
你看見他一定知道，他的眼睛深凹。
他雙眉緊蹙常思考，頭頂鼓包包；
他外套骯臟不愛好，胡須亂糟糟。
他的腦袋左看右搖，活像毒蛇放哨；
當(dāng)你以為他在瞇覺，他卻全神偷瞄。
貓卡帝，貓卡帝，貓卡帝是第一，
他是墮落的魔鬼，披著貓的皮。
大街小巷行蹤詭秘，他會(huì)跟你偶遇；
可是一旦案發(fā)時(shí)，貓卡帝不在那里！
他貌似體面（可人說，他打牌時(shí)作弊）
倫敦警察檔案里，沒有他的痕跡。
當(dāng)儲糧柜遭劫，當(dāng)珠寶箱被洗，
當(dāng)牛奶瓶丟失，獅子狗被掐死，
暖棚玻璃打碎，格子架全倒地，
唉，你說奇怪不奇怪！貓卡帝他不在！
外交部的辦公室，一份協(xié)議錯(cuò)置，
海軍部的作戰(zhàn)計(jì)劃還有地圖丟失，
過道樓梯時(shí)不時(shí)，灑些細(xì)屑碎紙。
可是調(diào)查沒用處，貓卡帝不在此！
每當(dāng)損失被披露，安全局有說詞：
貓卡帝難逃罪責(zé)！可就是沒他蹤跡。
三里之外只見他，吮著拇指休息；
或者比劃盤算著，難解的除法題。
貓卡帝，貓卡帝，貓卡帝是第一，
從來沒有哪只貓，既虛偽又和氣。
他總是不在現(xiàn)場，證據(jù)綽綽有余，
不論案發(fā)在何時(shí)，他就是沒有蹤跡！
臭名昭著的惡貓，人人都知幾分，
（比如蒙哥杰瑞，比如骨離豆奔），
他們都是毛毛兵，行事只是奉命；
只有貓王掌控全局，尊如拿破侖！
＊蘇格蘭場（New Scotland Yard，又稱Scotland Yard、The Yard），是英國首都倫敦警察廳Metropolitan Police Service的代稱。
托馬斯·艾略特（Thomas Stearns Eliot, 1888 – 1965) ，是二十世紀(jì)文壇影響深遠(yuǎn)的詩人、評論家、劇作家，詩歌現(xiàn)代派運(yùn)動(dòng)領(lǐng)袖。他出生于美國密蘇里州，1906年入哈佛大學(xué)學(xué)哲學(xué)和比較文學(xué)，接觸過梵文和東方文化，對黑格爾派哲學(xué)頗感興趣，也曾受法國象征主義文學(xué)的影響。1914年他結(jié)識了美國意象派詩人龐德，并于一戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)后移居英國倫敦。1927年取得英國國籍，1965年逝于倫敦。
艾略特1922年發(fā)表的《荒原》（ The Waste Land)為他贏得了國際聲譽(yù)，被看作是二十世紀(jì)最有影響力的詩作、英美現(xiàn)代詩歌的里程碑。全詩極少用韻， 大多是有節(jié)奏的自由體。 他于1935至1941年間寫成《四個(gè)四重奏》（Four Quartets ），于1943年結(jié)集出版。此詩集為他贏得了1948年度的諾貝爾文學(xué)家獎(jiǎng)。這是一組哲學(xué)宗教冥想詩，語言節(jié)奏性強(qiáng)，讀來自然流暢，被認(rèn)為是艾略特登峰造極的詩作。艾略特晚年致力于詩劇創(chuàng)作。
