Ray Bradbury A Sound of Thunder (24/25)

But the immediate thing was the sign painted on the office wall (но немедленно бросалась в глаза вывеска, нарисованная на стене офиса: immediate – немедленный), the same sign he had read earlier today on first entering (та же самая вывеска, которую он прочитал сегодня раньше, в /свой/ первый приход). Somehow (так или иначе, почему-то), the sign had changed (вывеска изменилась):

TYME SEFARI INC.

SEFARIS TU ANY YEER EN THE PAST.

YU NAIM THE ANIMALL.

WEE TAEK YU THAIR.

YU SHOOT ITT.

Eckels felt himself fall into a chair (почувствовал, как упал на стул). He fumbled crazily at the thick slime on his boots (он в безумии ощупывал толстый слой слизи, ила на своих башмаках). He held up a clod of dirt, trembling (дрожа, он показал комок грязи: to hold up – выставлять, показывать), "No, it can't be (этого не может быть). Nota little thing like that (не из-за такой же маленькой вещи, как эта). No!"

Embedded in the mud (втоптанная в грязь: to embed – вставлять, вмуровывать), glistening green and gold and black, was a butterfly (сияющая зеленым, золотым и черным, лежала бабочка), very beautiful and very dead (очень красивая и совершенно мертвая).

"Not a little thing like that (не такая малость)! Not a butterfly!" cried Eckels.

It fell to the floor (она упала на пол), an exquisite thing, a small thing that could upset balances (изящная, маленькая вещица, которая смогла нарушить равновесие: to upset – опрокинуть) and knock down a line of small dominoes and then big dominoes and then gigantic dominoes (и опрокинуть ряд маленьких костяшек домино, а потом больших, а потом гигантских), all down the years across Time (сквозь года вдоль времени: down the years – сквозь года). Eckels' mind whirled (закружилась голова, мысли спутались: to whirl – кружиться). It couldn't change things (она /бабочка/ не могла изменить положение вещей). Killing one butterfly couldn't be that important(убийство одной бабочки не могло быть таким важным)! Could it?

But the immediate thing was the sign painted on the office wall, the same sign he had read earlier today on first entering. Somehow, the sign had changed:

TYME SEFARI INC.

SEFARIS TU ANY YEER EN THE PAST.

YU NAIM THE ANIMALL.

WEE TAEK YU THAIR.

YU SHOOT ITT.

Eckels felt himself fall into a chair. He fumbled crazily at the thick slime on his boots. He held up a clod of dirt, trembling, "No, it can't be. Not a little thing like that. No!"

Embedded in the mud, glistening green and gold and black, was a butterfly, very beautiful and very dead.

"Not a little thing like that! Not a butterfly!" cried Eckels.

It fell to the floor, an exquisite thing, a small thing that could upset balances and knock down a line of small dominoes and then big dominoes and then gigantic dominoes, all down the years across Time. Eckels' mind whirled. It couldn't change things. Killing one butterfly couldn't be that important! Could it?