翠鸟
Ceyx was king of Thessaly.Halcyone the daughter of Aeolus was his wife,and devotedly attached to him.Now Ceyx was in deep affliction(affliction n.痛苦,苦恼)for the loss of his brother.He thought best to make a voyage to Claros in Ionia,to consult the oracle of Apollo.But as soon as he disclosed his intention to his wife Halcyone,a shudder ran through her frame(frame n.结构,体格vt.构成,设计,制定,使适合,陷害vi.<英方>有成功希望n.帧,画面,框架),and her face grew deadly pale.She said,“Dear husband,let me go with you,otherwise I shall suffer,not only the real evils which you must encounter(encounter v.遭遇,遇到,相遇n.遭遇,遭遇战争),but those also which my fears suggest.”
刻宇克斯是色萨利的国王。他的妻子是埃俄罗斯的女儿哈尔库俄涅。她对丈夫情意缱绻,夫唱妇随。现在刻宇克斯正为丧弟之痛而万分忧伤。他认为他最好去伊奥尼亚的克拉洛斯走一趟,请教阿波罗的神谕。他刚跟妻子哈尔库俄涅谈起自己的打算,她就浑身战栗,面如土色。她说,“亲爱的夫君,让我跟你一起去吧。否则的话,我将痛苦万分,不仅为你必定面临的真正的灾难担忧,而且还要为我所担心发生的灾难而愁肠百结。”
These words weighed heavily on the mind of King Ceyx,but he could not bear to expose her to the dangers of the sea.He answered,therefore,with these words:“I promise,by the rays of my father the Daystar,that if fate permits I will return berore the moon shall have twice rounded her orb.”When he had thus spoken,he ordered the vessel to be drawn out of the shiphouse and the oars and sails to be put aboard.When Halcyone saw these preparations,she shuddred,as if with a presentiment of evil.With tears and sobs she said farewell(farewell n.辞别,再见,再会int.再会,别了!(常含有永别或不容易再见面的意思)),and then fell senseless to the ground.
哈尔库俄涅的这番话沉重地压在刻宇克斯国王的心头。可是他不忍心让她经受海上的风险。于是他这样回答,“我以父王太白星的光辉起誓,如果命运允许的话,我保证在月亮第二次盈亏复圆以前赶回来。”说完这些话,他下令将船只拖出船坞,配备好桨橹帆篷。哈尔库俄涅看到这些准备工作不寒而栗,仿佛充满不祥的预感。她泪流满面,哭哭啼啼地跟他道了别便倒在地上不省人事。
Meanwhile they glide out of the harbor,and the breeze plays among the ropes.The seamen draw in their oars and hoist their sails.When half or less of their course was passed,as night drew on,the sea began to whiten with swelling waves,and the east wind to blow a gale(gale n.大风,(突发的)一阵).Rain falls in torrents,as if the skies were coming down to unite with the sea.Skill fails,courage sinks,and death seems to come on every wave.The men are stupefied with terror(terror n.恐怖,可怕的人,恐怖时期,恐怖行动).
这时,刻宇克斯一伙已经驶出港口,微风阵阵掠过绳缆。海员们收起桨,挂起帆。夜晚来临时,他们已经走了将近一半的路程,可是东风越刮越紧,海面泛白,掀起阵阵波澜。大雨倾盆,仿佛天塌下来要与海相会合。技术才能都无济于事,勇气胆量消失殆尽,阵阵波涛带来的仿佛只是死亡。人人吓得目瞪口呆。
Presently the mast is shattered by a stroke of lightning,the rudder broken,and the triumphant surge curling over looks down upon the wreck,then falls,and crushes it to fragments.Ceyx holds fast to a plank(plank n.厚木板,支架,(政党的)政纲条款vt.铺板,立刻付款vi.睡在板上),calling for help—alas,in vain—upon his father and his fatherinlaw.But oftenest on his lips was the name of Halcyone.He prays that the waves may bear his body to her sight and that it may receive burial at her hands.At length the waters overwhelm him,and he sinks.