美国语文第五册 第224期:两手空空的礼物

 　　They were two princes doomed¹ to death;  命中注定，两位王子在劫难逃，

　　Each loved his beauty and his breath:  让人钦羡，青春鲜活风华正茂，

　　Leave us our life and we will bring fair gifts unto our lord, the king.   尊敬的父王，能否免我们一死，从主那里，给您带来珍贵礼物。

　　They went together. In the dew, a charmed bird before them flew.   露水清寒，两人同时走向死亡，小鸟振翼，施以魔法悄然而至，

　　Through sun and thorn one followed it;  又飞来一只，穿过阳光下荆棘，

　　Upon the other's arm it lit.  落在臂膀，王子霎时全身通明。

　　A rose, whose faintest flush was worth all buds that ever blew on earth, 嫣红玫瑰，绽放乃是最美宿命，娇嫩蓓蕾，怎能错过世上花期，

　　One climbed the rocks to reach; ah, well,  枝蔓攀缘，拼命挣扎欲爬崖顶，

　　Into the other's breast it fell.  没承想到，竟然跌进他人心尖。

　　Weird² jewels, such as fairies wear, 犹如仙女魔饰佩环叮当，

　　When moons go out, to light their hair,  粉墨登场，月光流世，映亮凌乱毛发，

　　One tried to touch on ghostly ground;  一位王子，触摸阴森地面，

　　Gems⁴ of quick fire the other found.  另位发现，生者宝石耀眼。

　　One with the dragon fought to gain the enchanted⁵ fruit, and fought in vain;  佩戴龙饰王子，拼命挣抱，施加魔法宝贝，转眼不见。

　　The other breathed the garden's air  另位王子嗅到，芳香满园，

　　And gathered precious apples there.  得来不费功夫，奇珍异果。

　　Backward to the imperial gate  两人潜回，皇家宫殿门口，

　　One took his fortune, one his fate:  各自带回，财富或是噩运，

　　One showed sweet gifts from sweetest lands,  收获丰盈者，上天馈赠礼物，

　　The other, torn and empty hands.  双手空空者，魂灵撕裂痛苦。

　　At bird, and rose, and gem³, and fruit,  小鸟、玫瑰，宝石或异果，

　　The king was sad, the king was mute;  国王悲恸不止，缄默无言，

　　At last he slowly said: My son,  最后缓缓开口，儿子们，

　　True treasure is not lightly won.  真正宝物，并非轻易得到。

　　Your brother's hands, wherein you see only these scars, show more to me than if a kingdom's price I found  你哥哥的手，当然你也看见，唯独那疤痕，意义不同寻常，良心才发现，难道王位价值，

　　In place of each forgotten wound.  就能忘记或替代，所有心灵伤口？

1 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

2 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

3 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

4 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

5 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。