本帖最后由 ヮ成熟、羙° 于 2014-8-16 14:34 编辑
三个托钵僧的故事（10.2） 荷叶/译 我叫阿吉勃，是国王卡西勃的儿子，他统治着一个很大的王国，首都是世界上最好的港口城市。 当我继承父王的王位后，我最关注的是去视察大陆上的各个省份，和沿海的众多岛屿，以赢得臣民的拥护。这些旅程让我尝到了航海的甜头，于是，我决定到更远的地方去探索。我命令立刻组建一个大型舰队。当一切准备就绪后，我踏上了探险的航程。 四十天来，风和日例，顺风顺水。但第二天，刮起了一场可怕的风暴，刮得我们在海上漂泊了十天，最后，引航员承认他找不到方向了。于是，我们派一个水手爬到桅杆上去看看陆地在哪儿，他报告除了海和天之外，什么也看不见，只是后面有一大团黑色。 听到这些，引航员脸色惨白，捶胸顿足，哭道：“噢，阁下，我们完了，完了！”全体船员听到这些，都浑身发抖。当他恢复了一些，能够讲出他恐惧的理由时，他这样回答我们的问题，我们早已偏离了方向，大约第二天中午，我们就可以到达这团黑色附近。他说，这是著名的黑山。这座山由坚硬的物质构成，会把船上所有的铁和钉子都吸过去。由于引力很大，铁和钉子会被从船上吸出来，粘在山上。船就会带着上面的一切沉入水底。这正是为什么这座山靠近海的一侧会如此漆黑的原因。 引船员继续说，人们认为，这座山坡很坚固，但山顶上屹立着一个由数根柱子支撑的黄铜圆顶，圆顶上有一匹铜马雕像，马背上有一个骑手，骑手穿着铅做的铠甲。据说，只要这个雕像留在圆顶上，山脚下的船只就不会避免灭亡的命运。 说着，引船员又开始哭了起来。担心最后的时刻到了，所有船员都做了遗嘱，每个人的受益人都是他的同伴。 第二天正午，正如引航员所预料，我们靠近了黑山，我们看到所有的钉子从船上飞走，落到了山上，声音很恐怖。一会儿之后，船解体下沉，带着船上所有的人。只有我一人设法抓住了一块浮板，被风刮到了岸边，毫发无损。我非常高兴地发现自己来到了一段台阶底部，台阶直接通向山上，台阶很窄，只能容下一只脚，两边连一英寸的余地都没有。事实上，台阶如此狭窄陡峭，哪怕有一丝微风，我肯定会被吹到海里。 附：原文 My name is Agib, and I am the son of a king called Cassib, who reigned over a large kingdom, which had for its capital one of the finest seaport towns in the world. When I succeeded to my father's throne my first care was to visit the provinces on the mainland, and then to sail to the numerous islands which lay off the shore, in order to gain the hearts of my subjects. These voyages gave me such a taste for sailing that I soon determined to explore more distant seas, and commanded a fleet of large ships to be got ready without delay. Whenthey were properly fitted out I embarked on my expedition. For forty days wind and weather were all in our favour, but the next night a terrific storm arose, which blew us hither and thither for ten days, till thepilot confessed that he had quite lost his bearings. Accordingly a sailor was sent up to the masthead to try to catch a sight of land, and reported thatnothing was to be seen but the sea and sky, except a huge mass of blackness that lay astern. On hearing this the pilot grew white, and, beating his breast, he cried,"Oh, sir, we are lost, lost!" till the ship's crew trembled at they knew not what. When he had recovered himself a little, and was able to explain the cause of his terror, he replied, in answer to my question, that we had drifted far out of our course, and that the following day about noon we should come near that mass of darkness, which, said he, is nothing but the famousBlack Mountain. This mountain is composed of adamant, which attracts to itself all the iron and nails in your ship; and as we are helplessly drawn nearer, the force of attraction willbecome so great that the iron and nails will fall out of the ships and cling tothe mountain, and the ships will sink to the bottom with all that are in them.This it is that causes the side of the mountain towards the sea to appear of such a dense blackness. As may be supposed--continued the pilot--the mountain sides are very rugged, but on the summit stands a brass dome supported on pillars, and bearingon top the figure of a brass horse, with a rider on his back. This rider wearsa breastplate of lead, on which strange signs and figures are engraved, and itis said that as long as this statue remains on the dome, vessels will nevercease to perish at the foot of the mountain. So saying, the pilot began to weep afresh, and the crew, fearing theirlast hour had come, made their wills, each one in favour of his fellow. At noon next day, as the pilot had foretold, we were so near to the Black Mountain that we saw all the nails and iron fly out of the ships and dash themselves against the mountain with a horrible noise. A moment after the vessels fell asunder and sank, the crews with them. I alone managed to grasp a floatingplank, and was driven ashore by the wind, without even a scratch. What was myjoy on finding myself at the bottom of some steps which led straight up the mountain, for there was not another inch to the right or the left where a man could set his foot. And, indeed, even the steps themselves were so narrow andso steep that, if the lightest breeze had arisen, I should certainly have been blown into the sea. | 
发表于 2014-8-14 23:11:42
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