经典双语笑话 第11期:另一则寓言笑话

 And the Same Vein¹ 另一则寓言笑话

The Ndele tribesmen of Africa were'a poor but proud people. 非洲的恩德拉部落是个贫穷但骄傲的民族。

Living as they did in the savannah regions south of the Sahara, they had only grass with which to build their houses, but these were nonetheless beautifully designed and spacious². 由于位在撒哈拉沙漠南部的大草原地区，他们只能用草来造房子，但他们的房屋仍然设计美观，内部宽敞。

In fact, the king's palace was all of three stories tall until the tragic³ events which I will now relate. 实际上，在我所要叙及的不幸事件之前，国王的皇宫都是三层楼的建筑。事情是这样的：

The Ndele had always believed that as long as the king sat on the traditional golden throne, no harm could come to the tribe. 恩德拉族人自古以来都相信，只要国王坐在那张传统黄金打造的王座上，老天就不会降灾害于他们。

In recent times, however, the kings had taken to sending their heirs to Europe to be educated. 可是最近非洲国王们都热衷于把他们的继承人送到欧洲深造。

One particular crown prince came back from Oxford⁴ with nothing but contempt for the ancient beliefs of his people.  其中一位王储由牛津大学归国，他除了鄙视该族人的古老迷信外，什么也没学回来。

No sooner had he been crowned king than he had the golden throne removed to the palace attic⁵ and replaced with a comfortable steel-framed easy-chair. 他一登上王位就立刻把那张宝座搬到皇宫阁楼收藏，并换上一张钢框的舒适安乐椅。

Sure enough, as soon as the young king settled his posterior into the new royal seat, an earthquake struck the entire territory of the Ndele, 果然，那位年轻的国王刚坐下不久，地震就袭击了恩德拉族境内，

hundreds of homes were destroyed, and the old golden throne came crashing through the two intervening floors directly onto the foolish monarch,squashing him like a bug⁶. 好几百栋的房子损毁，而原来那张黄金宝座也一路撞穿两个夹层楼正中那名愚蠢的统治者，他就像一只小虫般被压得扁扁的。

And the moral of the story is: Those who live in grass houses should not stow thrones. 这则故事的真义就是："住在茅草房子的人们不可把国王的御座收藏起来!"

1 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

2 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

3 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

6 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。