是與否的故事

向紅

In a small kingdom， a boy named Yes lived in a small village. Yes was good at many things. He was the best， smartest and most liked person in the village.

在一個小王國里，有一個住在小村莊里名叫“是”的男孩。是擅長做很多事情。他是這個村莊里面最好、最聰明也是最受人喜愛的人。

Yes had a brother， and his name was No. No was jealous1 of his brother because he was not much good at anything himself. Whenever the villagers asked No for help， he says no because he didnt like people very much. Whenever someone asked Yes for a help， he would happily help， and he didnt know that it make No unhappy when he did.

是有一個弟弟，名叫“否”。否嫉妒他的哥哥，因為他自己什么也不擅長。不管何時村民們找否尋求幫助的時候，他都會拒絕，因為他不喜歡這些人。但是當(dāng)村民們向是尋求幫助的話，他會很樂意幫助他們。他并不知道當(dāng)他這樣做的時候，否會不高興。

One day， Yes and Nos father， Okay， went on a long journey and he left his two sons take care of all the animals. Yes took good care of the duck， the monkey， and the three-toed dog. No didnt want to do the boring things like taking care of the animals. So， No went down to the lake and threw2 stones into the water， not helping his brother.

有一天，是和否的父親，好，要出門遠行。他把所有的動物交給兩個兒子照顧，是照顧一只鴨子、一只猴子，還有一只三趾小狗。否不愿意做這些照顧動物的無聊工作，所以他并沒有幫助哥哥做這些，而是坐在湖邊，向里面扔石頭。

A few days after his father left， Yes asked his brother to watch the three-toed dog while he went to find some food to eat. Not doing what Yes had asked， No went to bed， closed his eyes， and forgot about the dog.

父親離開后的幾天，是讓弟弟幫他照看那只三趾的小狗，因為他要出去找些吃的回來。不管是跟他交代了什么，否依舊躺在床上，閉上眼睛，完全忘記了小狗的事情。

The King had a personal3 road nearby， and he traveled on it often. That day， the three-toed dog walked onto the road. The Kings carriage4 was passing by and had to turn to avoid5 hitting it. The King was thrown from the carriage and was badly injured6.

國王在附近有一條私人的道路，而且他經(jīng)常在上面馳騁。那天，這只三趾小狗跑到這條路中間去了，國王的馬車剛好經(jīng)過，為了不撞到這只小狗，馬車不得不急轉(zhuǎn)彎。國王從馬車上摔下來了，受了很嚴(yán)重的傷。

The King wanted to know why a three-toed dog had been on his road alone and he asked all the villagers for an explanation7. Yes was always honest8， so he told the King the story.

國王想知道為什么會有一只三趾小狗獨自出現(xiàn)在他的路上，就問當(dāng)?shù)氐拇迕褚獋€說法。是很誠實，就把整件事告訴了國王。

The King thought for a minute， and then he came up with an idea that he was quite happy with. Yes and No were to work in the castle9 as his personal servants10 as punishment11.

國王想了想，然后想出了一個他覺得很好的主意：讓是和否都去他的城堡里給他做仆人，以示懲罰。

The King needed help with many things around the castle because a King cannot be bothered12 with things of a kingdom. However， soon after his idea about the two brothers， the King knew that only Yes would be of any use to him as a servant.

城堡里的國王需要人幫他做很多事情，因為一個國王不能在治理國家的時候被打攪。然而，在那兩兄弟給他當(dāng)仆人之后，國王很快就知道只有是才是真正有用的仆人。

Whenever the King asked No to bring him anything， it would get thrown away or broken， without exception13. The King was quite sure that No was the worst servant in the world.

每當(dāng)國王叫否去拿東西的時候，那東西一定會被弄丟或者損壞，無一例外。國王非常肯定否是這個世界上最糟糕的仆人。

For the brothers the most important thing was to help pick the food for a great party. Cooks from all over the kingdom at the castles door were to give the King their food for the party. Of course， the King could not go and take the food himself， so he asked Yes and No to do it for him.

這兩兄弟最重要的任務(wù)就是幫忙為一個盛大的宴會挑選食物。來自這個國家各地的廚師會為國王的這個宴會獻上自己做的食物。當(dāng)然，國王自己肯定不會親自去做這件事，所以他讓是和否替他做。

The first cook came up to the door and said， “I bring my delicious strawberry pie for King！” The King heard this and thought that strawberry pie would be good for such an party. And he knew that he would love to eat. So， the King yelled14 “Yes！” and then asked him to take it.

第一個廚師走到大門前，說：“我給國王帶來了美味的草莓餡餅。”國王聽見后，他覺得草莓餡餅很適合這個宴會，他知道自己很喜歡吃。所以，國王喊了一聲：“是！”然后叫他把這道菜取過來。

The next cook was close to the door. “I offer the King fish soup！” he said. The King didnt like fish soup very much. “No！” he yelled and then sent No out to take away the soup. No took away the soup before the King could even smell15 it.

第二個廚師離門口很近，他說：“我給國王帶來了魚湯！”國王非常不喜歡魚湯。“否！”他叫道，然后叫否把湯拿走。否在國王聞到味道之前就把湯拿走了。

This went on for hours. If the King liked a dish， he would yell “Yes！” and it would be in the nights party. If he did not， everyone would hear a “No！” and the dish would be taken away by a servant with a very bad mood16.

這個過程持續(xù)了好幾個小時。如果國王喜歡一道菜，他會叫“是！”然后這個菜就會被選入今晚的宴會。如果他不喜歡，大家就會聽見他喊“否！”然后這道菜就會被一個脾氣很不好的侍從拿走。

Pretty soon this started to be popular around the kingdom. If a king does something， his servants are never far behind. If the villagers didnt want some potatoes， they would say， “No.” And if they liked what someone gives， they would say， “Yes.” And ever since that day in a small village in a small kingdom， Yes has meant17 yes， and No has meant no.

這種情況在這個國家開始流行起來，因為國王喜歡這個件事情，他的侍從們自然也不會落后。如果村民們不想要土豆了，他們也會說：“否。”如果他們想要某人給的什么東西，他們就會說：“是。”自此以后，在這個小王國的小村莊里面，是就代表了要，否就代表了不要。

（英語原文選自： freechildrenstories.com）