诗翁彼豆故事集 第24期:三兄弟的传说(1)

　　5. The Tale of the Three Brothers 5. 三兄弟的传说

　　There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding¹ road at twilight². 从前，在一个黎明时分，有三兄弟在一条僻静的羊肠小道上赶路。

　　In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade³ through and too dangerous to swim across. 后来，他们来到了一条河边，水太深了无法蹚过，游过去也太危险。

　　However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous⁴ water. 然而，三兄弟精通魔法，因此他们只是一挥魔杖，危险莫测的水上就出现了一座桥。

　　They were halfway⁵ across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded⁶ figure. 当他们走到桥中央时，一个戴兜帽的身影挡住了他们的去路。

　　And Death spoke⁷ to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of the three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. 死神对他们说话了。他生气去了三个新的祭品——因为旅行者通常都会淹死在这条河里。

　　But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade⁸ him. 但是死神很狡猾。他假装恭贺兄弟三人的魔法，说他们凭借着聪明而躲过了死神，每人可以获得一样东西作为奖励。

　　So the oldest brother, who was a combative⁹ man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels¹⁰ for its owner, a wand worthy¹² of a wizard who had conquered Death! 老大是一位好战的男子汉，因此他要了一根世间最强大的魔杖：一根在决斗中永远能帮主人获胜的魔杖，一根征服了死神的巫师值得拥有的魔杖！

　　So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother. 于是死神就走到岸边一棵接骨木树前，用悬垂的树枝做了一根魔杖，送给了老大。

　　Then the second brother, who was an arrogant¹³ man, decided¹⁴ that he wanted to humiliate¹⁵ Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. 老二是一位傲慢的男子汉，他决定继续侮辱死神，想要的是能够让死人复活的能力。

　　So Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead. 于是死神就从河堤上捡起一块石头给了老二，告诉他这块石头有起死回生的能力。

　　And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. 然后死神问最年轻的老三要什么。

　　The youngest brother was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. 老三是最谦虚也是最聪明的一个，而且他不相信死神。

　　So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth¹⁶ from that place without being followed by Death. 因此他要一件东西，可以让他离开那里而不被死神跟随。

　　And Death, most unwillingly¹⁷, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility. 于是死神极不情愿地把自己的隐形衣给了他。

　　Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way, and they did so talking with wonder of the adventure they had had and admiring Death's gifts. 然后死神站在一边让兄弟三人继续赶路，他们就谈论着刚才的奇遇，赞赏着死神的礼物，往前走去。

　　In due course the brothers separated, each for his own destination. 后来兄弟三人分了手，朝着各自的目的地前进。

　　The first brother traveled on for a week more, and reaching a distant village, he sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel. 老大走了一个多星期，来到一个遥远的小山村，跟一位巫师争吵起来。

　　Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel¹¹ that followed. 自然，他用那根接骨木做成的“老魔杖”做武器，无疑任何决斗都会胜出。

　　Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made him invincible¹⁸. 对手倒地而亡后，老大继续前行，走进了一个旅馆，大声夸耀自己从死神手上得来的强大魔杖如何战无不胜。 

1 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

3 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

4 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

5 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

6 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

9 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

10 duels   

n.两男子的决斗( duel的名词复数 )；竞争，斗争

参考例句：

• That's where I usually fight my duels. 我经常在那儿进行决斗。” 来自英语晨读30分（初三）
• Hyde Park also became a favourite place for duels. 海德公园也成了决斗的好地方。 来自辞典例句

11 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

12 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

13 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 humiliate   

v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace

参考例句：

• What right had they to bully and humiliate people like this?凭什么把人欺侮到这个地步呢？
• They pay me empty compliments which only humiliate me.他们虚情假意地恭维我，这只能使我感到羞辱。

16 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

17 unwillingly   

adv.不情愿地

参考例句：

• He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
• Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。

18 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。