书城教材教辅新课标英语学习资源库-勇敢的小裁缝
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第14章 杜松子树(1)

The JuniperTree

杜松子树

It is now long ago, quite two thousand years, since there was a rich man who had a beautiful and pious wife, and they loved each other dearly. They had, however, no children, though they wished for them very much, and the woman prayed for them day and night, but still they had none. Now there was a courtyard in front of their house in which was a juniper tree, and one day in winter the woman was standing beneath it, paring herself an apple, and while she was paring(pare vt.剥, 削, 修, 削减, 消灭) herself the apple she cut her finger, and the blood fell on the snow. “Ah,” said the woman, and sighed right heavily, and looked at the blood before her, and was most unhappy, “ah, if I had but a child as red as blood and as white as snow.” And while she thus spoke, she became quite happy in her mind, and felt just as if that were going to happen. Then she went into the house and a month went by and the snow was gone, and two months, and then everything was green, and three months, and then all the flowers came out of the earth, and four months, and then all the trees in the wood grew thicker, and the green branches were all closely entwined(entwine v.(使)缠住, (使)盘绕), and the birds sang until the wood resounded(resound v.回响, 赞扬) and the blossoms(blossom vi.开花, 兴旺, 发展) fell from the trees, then the fifth month passed away and she stood under the juniper tree, which smelt so sweetly that her heart leapt, and she fell on her knees and was beside herself with joy, and when the sixth month was over the fruit was large and fine, and then she was quite still, and the seventh month she snatched at the juniperberries and ate them greedily(greedily adv.贪食地, 贪婪地), then she grew sick and sorrowful, then the eighth month passed, and she called her husband to her, and wept and said, “If I die then bury me beneath the juniper tree.” Then she was quite comforted and happy until the next month was over, and then she had a child as white as snow and as red as blood, and when she beheld it she was so delighted that she died.

这是很久很久以前的事情。大约在两千年前,一个富翁有一位漂亮而虔诚的妻子。他俩相亲相爱,却总没孩子,他们非常希望有孩子,因而妻子便日夜祈祷,可他们还是一直没得到孩子。他们的房前有一个院子,院子里长着棵杜松子树。有一年冬天里的一天,妻子站在树下削苹果,削着削着割破了手指头,血流出来滴在了雪地上。“唉,”女人叹了一口气,望着面前的血,心里很难过,“要是我有个孩子,红得像血,白得像雪,就好啦!”她说完了心里很高兴,好像愿望可以实现了。随后她回到家里,一个月过去了,雪融化了。两个月过去了,大地泛了青。三个月过去了,地里长出了鲜花。四个月过去了,森林里的树木都枝繁叶茂,绿阴成片,小鸟的歌声响彻林间,树上的花开始落到地上。第五个月过去了,女人站在杜松子树下了,树上发出阵阵清香,叫她闻得心花怒放,情不自禁地就跪在地上。第六个月过去了,树上已硕果累累,这时她的心情十分平静。过了第七个月,她摘杜松子吃,吃得很多很多,结果难受得病倒了。过了第八个月,她叫去她丈夫,涕哭着对他说:“如果我死了,就把我埋葬在杜松子树下。”说完,她心情倒变得轻松了。直到第九个月过去以后,她竟生下一个孩子,真是红得像血,白得像雪,她看着非常非常高兴,自己因此反倒死了。

Then her husband buried her beneath the juniper tree, and he began to weep sore, after some time he was more at ease, and though he still wept he could bear it, and after some time longer he took another wife.

丈夫把她埋在杜松子树下。起初,他哭得很厉害。过了一些日子,他哭得少些了。再过一些日子,他停止了哭泣。又过一些时候,他重新娶了一个妻子。

By the second wife he had a daughter, but the first wife"s child was a little son, and he was as red as blood and as white as snow. When the woman looked at her daughter she loved her very much, but then she looked at the little boy and it seemed to cut her to the heart, for the thought came into her mind that he would always stand in her way, and she was for ever thinking how she could get all the fortune for her daughter, and the evil one filled her mind with this till she was quite wroth with the little boy and she pushed him from one corner to the other and slapped(slap vt.拍, 掌击, 拍击) him here and cuffed(cuff vt.给……上袖口(或翻边), 用手铐铐) him there, until the poor child was in continual(continual adj.连续的, 频繁的, 持续不断的) terror, for when he came out of school he had no peace in any place.

他和第二个妻子生了一个女儿。第一个妻子的孩子是个漂亮男孩,嘴唇血红血红,皮肤雪白雪白。那女人非常疼爱自己的孩子,而每当看见男孩心里就怪不是滋味儿,认为他总是挡住了她的路。她老盘算着怎样让她女儿独得家产。她鬼迷心窍,对男孩恨之入骨,不是把他推来搡去,就是敲他一下拧他一把,弄得可怜的男孩时刻地提心吊胆。每天放学回家来,他就得不到安宁。

One day the woman had gone upstairs to her room, and her little daughter went up too, and said, “Mother, give me an apple.” “Yes, my child.”said the woman, and gave her a fine apple out of the chest, but the chest had a great heavy lid with a great sharp iron lock. “Mother,” said the little daughter, “is brother not to have one too.” This made the woman angry, but she said, “Yes.” When he comes out of school. And when she saw from the window that he was coming, it was just as if the devil entered into her, and she snatched(snatch v.攫取) at the apple and took it away again from her daughter, and said, “You shall not have one before your brother.” Then she threw the apple into the chest, and shut it. Then the little boy came in at the door, and the devil made her say to him kindly, “My son, will you have an apple.” And she looked wickedly(wickedly adv.坏透地, 不愉快地,顽皮地) at him. “Mother,” said the little boy,“how dreadful(dreadful adj.可怕的, <口>讨厌的) you look. Yes, give me an apple.” Then it seemed to her as if she were forced to say to him, “Come with me.” and she opened the lid of the chest and said, “Take out an apple for yourself.” and while the little boy was stooping inside, the devil prompted her, and crash. She shut the lid down, and his head flew off and fell among the red apples. Then she was overwhelmed(overwhelm vt.淹没, 覆没, 受打击, 制服, 压倒) with terror, and thought, “If I could but make them think that it was not done by me”. So she went upstairs to her room to her chest of drawers, and took a white handkerchief out of the top drawer, and set the head on the neck again, and folded the handkerchief so that nothing could be seen, and she set him on a chair in front of the door, and put the apple in his hand.