小豺与狮子

THE LITTLE JACKALS AND THE LION 1小豺与狮子 
Once there was a great big jungle; and in the jungle there was a great big Lion; and the Lion was king of the jungle. Whenever he wanted anything to eat, all he had to do was to come up out of his cave in the stones and earth and roar. When he had roared a few times all the little people of the jungle were so frightened that they came out of their holes and hiding-places and ran, this way and that, to get away. Then, of course, the Lion could see where they were. And he pounced on them, killed them, and gobbled them up.
很久以前，那里有一片很大的丛林，丛林中有一头很大的狮子；狮子是丛林之王。无论什么时候，只要他想吃东西，他所做的就是走出石头中的洞穴，朝脚下的土地咆哮。当他怒吼几声后，所有丛林中的小动物们都会非常害怕的从他们的洞中出来，躲藏起来或者逃跑，这样或者那样的，总之就是躲的远远的。但不论怎样，狮子总是能够看见他们躲在哪里，于是他就会向他们发出进攻，杀掉他们，或者吞下他们。
  He did this so often that at last there was not a single thing left alive in the jungle besides the Lion, except two little Jackals,
他频繁地那样做，所以最终，丛林中除了狮子一个人以外没有其它活着的动物了，也除了两只小豺，

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-- a little father Jackal and a little mother Jackal.
一只小豺爸爸和一只小豺妈妈。
  They had run away so many times that they w ere quite thin and very tired, and they could not run so fast any more. And one day the Lion was so near that the little mother Jackal grew frightened; she said, --
他们已经逃跑很多次了，所以他们现在非常的瘦弱、非常的累，他们再不能跑的飞快了。于是一天，当狮子离他们很近的时候，小豺妈妈变得非常的害怕；她说，
  ``Oh, Father Jackal, Father Jackal! I b'lieve our time has come! the Lion will surely catch us this time!''
“哦，豺爸爸，豺爸爸！我肯定我们的死期到了！狮子这次肯定能捉到我们！”
  ``Pooh! nonsense, mother!'' said the little father Jackal. ``Come, we'll run on a bit!''
“不，别乱说，豺妈妈！”小豺爸爸说道。“来，我们立刻跑的快一点！”
  And they ran, ran, ran very fast, and the Lion did not catch them that time.
然后，他们跑啊跑，跑的飞快，于是那次，狮子也还是没有捉到他们。
  But at last a day came when the Lion was nearer still and the little mother Jackal was frightened about to death.
但，最终有一天，当狮子一直不停的紧逼近他们，小豺妈妈害怕的要死。
  ``Oh, Father Jackal, Father Jackal!'' she cried; ``I'm sure our time has come! The Lion's going to eat us this time!''
“噢，豺爸爸，豺爸爸！”她哭着说：“我很肯定我们的死期到了！狮子吃我们的时候到了！”
  ``Now, mother, don't you fret,'' said the little father Jackal; ``you do just as I tell you, and it will be all right.''
“现在，豺妈妈，不要烦恼，”小豺爸爸说道：“你只要照着我说的那样做，那样一切都会好起来的。”
  Then what did those cunning little Jackals do but take hold of hands and run up towards the Lion, as if they had meant
之后那两个智慧的小豺们做了什么呢？！他们没有继续逃跑，他们两手紧握，走向狮子，就好像他们之前一直打算那样做的一样。

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to come all the time. When he saw them coming he stood up, and roared in a terrible voice, --
当狮子看见他们俩向他走来，他站了起来，一阵可怕的声音怒吼道，
  ``You miserable little wretches, come here and be eaten, at once! Why did 't you come before?''
“你们两个命运悲惨的小可怜虫们，立刻乖乖的过来让我吃了吧！为什么你们之前不这么听话的过来呢？”
  The father Jackal bowed very low.
豺爸爸弓低了自己的腰。
  ``Indeed, Father Lion,'' he said, ``we meant to come before; we knew we ought to come before; and we wanted to come before; but every time we started to come, a dreadful great lion came out of the woods and roared at us, and frightened us so that we ran away.''
“事实上，狮子父王，”他说道，“我们之前一直打算过来的；我们知道我们之前就应该过来；并且我们之前也想过来；但每次我们准备过来的时候，一只可怕的大狮子就从树林中跑出来，朝我们咆哮，我们很害怕，所以我们只能不停的跑。”
  ``What do you mean?'' roared the Lion. ``There's no other lion in this jungle, and you know it!''
“你们什么意思？”狮子怒吼道。“你们肯定知道，这个丛林中没有其他的狮子了！”
  ``Indeed, indeed, Father Lion,'' said the little Jackal, ``I know that is what everybody thinks; but indeed and indeed there is another lion! And he is as much bigger than you as you are bigger than I! His face is much more terrible, and his roar far, far more dreadful. Oh, he is far more fearful than you!''
“事实上，事实上，狮子父王，”小豺说道，“我知道每个人都是像你说的那样想的；但是事实上，也确实那里还有另一只狮子！你比我们大多少就像他比你大多少一样！他的脸更恐怖，他的吼声更加的，更加的比你的吼声让人害怕！” 
At that the Lion stood up and roared so that the jungle shook.
听了那些之后，狮子站了起来发出了可怕的怒吼声，以至于整个丛林都颤抖了。

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``Take me to this lion,'' he said; ``I'll eat him up and then I'll eat you up.''
“带我去找那只狮子，”他说，“我要吃掉他，之后我也会吃掉你们。”
  The little Jackals danced on ahead, and the Lion stalked behind. They led him to a place where there was a round, deep well of clear water. They went round on one side of it, and the Lion stalked up to the other.
小豺们在前面领路，狮子就在后面紧跟着。他们把他带到了一个清澈见底的深井边。
  ``He lives down there, Father Lion!'' said the little Jackal. ``He lives down there!''
“他住在那里，狮子父王！”小豺们说道。“他就住在那里面！”
  The Lion came close and looked down into the water, -- and a lion's face looked back at him out of the water!
狮子走进井边，朝井水里望去，——于是一只狮子的面庞出现在他面前！
  When he saw that, the Lion roared and shook his mane and showed his teeth. And the lion in the water shook his mane and showed his teeth. The Lion above shook his mane again and growled again, and made a terrible face. But the lion in the water made just as terrible a one, back. The Lion above could 't stand that. He leaped down into the well after the other lion.
当他看见了他，狮子发出怒吼声，甩了甩他头上的鬃毛、露出牙齿。同样，水中的狮子也甩了甩头上的鬃毛露出了牙齿。岸上的狮子再次甩动鬃毛发出咆哮声，于是出现了一张凶狠的面庞。但是水中的狮子也朝岸上的狮子露出了一张凶残的面庞。于是，岸上的狮子不能忍受那样，他在井中的狮子扑向他之后跳进了井中。
  But, of course, as you know very well, there was 't any other lion! It was only the reflection in the water!
但是，当然，就像你们非常清楚的知道这一切一样，那里根本就没有另一只狮子！它只是那只狮子在水中的倒影！

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So the poor old Lion floundered about and floundered about, and as he could 't get up the steep sides of the well, he was drowned dead. And when he was drowned the little Jackals took hold of hands and danced round the well, and sang, --
所以，可怜的老狮子在井中一直不停的挣扎捶打着，他然不能从陡峭光滑的井中爬出来了，最终，他被淹死了。后来，当他淹死后，小豺们紧紧的握住了他们的手，围绕着井边跳起了舞，唱到，——
  ``The Lion is dead! The Lion is dead!
“狮子死了！狮子死了哦！”
  ``We have killed the great Lion who would have killed us!
“我们杀死了本来要杀死我们的大狮子哦！”
  ``The Lion is dead! The Lion is dead!
“狮子死了！狮子死了！”
  ``Ao! Ao! Ao!''
“噢！噢！噢！”

[1] The four stories of the little Jackal, in this book, are adapted from stories in Old Deccan Days, a collection of orally transmitted Hindu folk tales, which every teacher would gain by knowing. In the Hindu animal legends the Jackal seems to play the rôle assigned in Germanic lore to Reynard the Fox, and to ``Bre'r Rabbit'' in the stories of our Southern negroes: he is the clever and humorous trickster who comes out of every encounter with a whole skin, and turns the laugh on every enemy, however mighty.
这本书中小豺的四个小故事，都是改编于《在德干半岛古老的日子里》，一部印度人口头传诵的老师增加知识的故事集。在印度的动物传说中，豺似乎就扮演了传达德国的所有知识给列那狐狸的角色，也就像我们南部黑人故事中的“Bre’r兔子”，他是很聪明和幽默的魔术师，通常全副伪装的出现在每个遇到他的人面前，且无论敌人多么的威武，都会嘲笑敌人。