漁夫和他的妻子

湖北省潛江市園林高中 倪達虎編譯

Once upon a time,there was a fisherman who lived with his wife in a small house by the sea,and every day he went out fishing.One day,his line suddenly went down,far down below,and when he drew it up,he brought out a large flounder.從前，有個漁夫，他和妻子住在海邊的一間小漁舍里。漁夫每天都去釣魚。有一天，忽然釣鉤猛地往下沉，沉得好深。他把釣鉤拉上來，發(fā)現(xiàn)了一條很大的比目魚。

And the flounder told him that he was a prince cast by magic and asked to be put back to water.“Oh,I certainly will not keep a flounder that can speak,”said the fisherman.Then,he put it back to the water and went home.比目魚對他說：“我是一位中了魔法的王子，請把我放回水里。”“哎，”漁夫說，“一條會說話的比目魚，我怎么會強留它呢？”說著，他把比目魚放回水里就回家了。

“Haven’t you got anything?”asked his wife.“Yes”,he answered,“I got a flounder,but he said he was a prince cast by magic,so I set him free.”他妻子問道，“今天你什么也沒釣到嗎？”“釣到了，”他回答說，“我釣到了一條比目魚，可他說他是一位中了魔法的王子，我就把他放了。”

“You should have wished for a beautiful villa.He would satisfy us.”said the wife.He did not want to make his wife angry.So he went to the sea,though he was not willing to.妻子說，“你該提希望得到一座漂亮小別墅的愿望呀。他會滿足咱們的愿望的。”漁夫不太愿意去，可又不想惹他妻子生氣，于是，就去了海邊。

Standing on the seashore,the fisherman said,“Flounder,I set you free without any requirements,and my wife won’t forgive me.She wants a small villa.”漁夫站在海岸上說“：比目魚啊，我沒有提要求就放了你，我老婆對此不依不饒。她想要一幢小別墅。”

“Go home,”said the flounder,“She already had a villa.”The fisherman went home and found a villa standing there instead of the small house.“回去吧，”比目魚說，“她已經(jīng)有一幢小別墅啦。”漁夫回到家，看到以前的小漁舍不見了，原地上已矗立起一幢小別墅。

They lived one or two weeks in the villa.One day,the wife suddenly said,“Listen!This villa is too small.I want to live in a stone palace.Go to find the flounder and have him give us a palace.”他們在小別墅里生活了一兩個星期。有一天，妻子突然說“：聽著！這房子太小了。我要住在一座石頭建造的大宮殿里。快去找比目魚，叫他送咱們一座宮殿。”

“No,”said the husband,“He has just given us a villa.He would be unhappy if I ask him again.”The wife said,“Go ahead！He is able and ready to help us.”The fisherman left with a heavy heart.“不行啊，老婆，”丈夫說，“比目魚剛剛送給咱們一幢別墅，我再去找他，他會不高興的。”妻子大聲說“：快去吧！他做得到，也會樂意這么做的。”漁夫心情沉重地離開了。

When he came to the sea,the water was muddy but still very calm.He told the flounder his wife wanted to live in a stone palace.The flounder said,“Go home！She is now at the palace gate.”他來到海邊時，海水已變得混濁不清，不過仍然很平靜。漁夫告訴比目魚他的妻子想住在一座石頭建造的宮殿里。比目魚說“：回去吧，她現(xiàn)在正站在宮殿門前呢。”

The fisherman really saw a grand stone palace.“That’s good enough.Let’s get satisfied and live in this pretty palace,”said the fisherman.漁夫回到家，他果然看見了石頭建造的宮殿，非常宏偉壯觀。漁夫說，“這已經(jīng)夠好啦。咱們就好好地住在這座美麗的宮殿里吧，總該心滿意足啦。”

However,the wife would never get satisfied.Her ambition increased day by day.One morning,she woke up with the thought of controlling the sun and the moon.然而，妻子總是感到不滿足，她的野心在不斷地膨脹。一天早上她醒來，居然萌生了想控制太陽和月亮的念頭。

Threatened by his wife,the fisherman had to come to the flounder again.In the sky,thunder rumbled and lightning flashed.There were black waves in the sea.在妻子的威逼下，漁夫不得不又一次來到海邊請求比目魚的幫助。天空雷鳴電閃，一片漆黑，大海掀起滾滾的黑色巨浪。

The flounder asked,“Then,what on earth does she want?”The fisherman said,“She wants to be the owner of the sun and the moon.”比目魚問：“那么，她到底想要什么呢？”漁夫回答說，“她想要當(dāng)太陽和月亮的主人。”

“Go home,”said the flounder,“She is in that shabby shed again.”Since then,they lived in the shabby shed until today.“回去吧，”比目魚說，“她又重新住進了那個破漁舍。”就這樣，他們一直在那兒生活到今天。

啟 示

Happiness lies in contentment;Greed leads to disaster.知足常樂；貪婪必定釀成大錯。