Clara E. Lynch 克拉拉· E·林奇

To the people of France in olden times Roland was the great hero. 在旧时的法国人看来，罗兰是一位伟大的英雄。

The story of his brave deeds was sung by minstrels nearly a thousand years ago. 他的英勇事迹早在一千年前就被吟游诗人歌颂。

Then it was written down in a long poem called "The Song of Roland." 然后被写在一首长诗《罗兰之歌》中。

A great general once ordered his army to sing a song about Roland as it went to battle so that his soldiers would try to be as brave as the great hero. 一位伟大的将军曾经命令他的军队在去战场的时候唱一首关于罗兰的歌，这样他的士兵就会像这位伟大的英雄一样勇敢。

Roland's boyhood 罗兰的童年

There once lived in Italy a woman named Bertha and her little boy, Roland. 从前，在意大利住着一个叫伯莎的女人和一位叫罗兰的小男孩。

They were so poor that a cave in the hillside was their only home, and often they did not have enough to eat. 他们很穷，山坡上的一个山洞是他们唯一的家，他们经常吃不饱。

But Roland, even when he was hungry, tried to be brave and cheerful for his mother's sake. 但是罗兰，即使在饥饿的时候，为了他的母亲，也努力表现得勇敢和快乐。

No one would have guessed that the little boy in ragged clothes was the nephew of the great king of France, whose name was known all over the world. 没有人会想到这个衣衫褴褛的小男孩是法国大国王的侄子，全世界都知道他的名字。

Roland himself did not know this. 罗兰自己并不知道这一点。

His mother never talked to him about her old home in France or about her brother, the great King Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, as he was often called. 他的母亲从来不跟他谈起她在法国的老家，也不跟他谈起她的哥哥，伟大的查理曼国王，或者人们常说的查理大帝。