狼人的新娘

There once was a beautiful girl engaged to a soldier who caught the eye of an evil woodsman who had sold his soul for the ability to turn himself into a wolf at will. He lay in wait for the girl when she was walking home one day and accosted her， begging her to elope with him. The maiden refused， spurning his love and crying out to her love to save her from hisadvances.

從前有一個(gè)美麗的女孩與一個(gè)士兵訂了婚，這個(gè)士兵引起了一個(gè)邪惡的林中人的注意，這個(gè)人出賣(mài)了自己的靈魂，擁有了一種可以按照自己的意愿把自己變成一只狼的能力。一天，在這個(gè)女孩回家的路上，他藏起來(lái)等著她，和她搭話(huà)，求她和他一起私奔。新娘一口回絕了，拒絕了他的愛(ài)，然后大喊著愛(ài)人的名字，希望他能來(lái)解救自己。

The girl's cries were heard by her eager fiance who had come searching for her when she was late returning to her parent's home. The soldier drove the woodsman away， threatening him with dire consequences if he ever approached the maiden again.

因?yàn)榕⒒丶彝砹?，焦急的未婚夫出?lái)尋找她，聽(tīng)到了女孩的喊叫。士兵趕走了這個(gè)林中人，并威脅他說(shuō)，如果他再敢接近他的未婚妻就會(huì)有一個(gè)怎樣可怕的結(jié)果。

The furious woodsman lay low for a few days， waiting for his chance. It came on the girl's wedding day. She was dancing happily at her wedding reception with a group of her friends when the woodsman， in the form of a wolf， leapt upon her and dragged her away with him.

憤怒的林中人安靜了幾天，他在等待時(shí)機(jī)。機(jī)會(huì)來(lái)了，就在女孩結(jié)婚的那天。她在婚禮上和她的好朋友們正跳得高興，林中人變成了一只狼將女孩撲倒，拖著她跑了。

The enraged bridegroom gave chase， but the wolf and his bride had disappeared into the thick forest and were not seen again. For many days， the distraught soldier and his friends， armed with silver bullets， scoured the woods，searching forthe maiden and her captor. Once the soldier thought he saw the wolf and shot at it. Upon reaching the location， he found a piece of a wolf's tail lying upon the ground. But of the wolf to which it belonged there was no sign.

被激怒的新郎馬上追了上去，但是那只狼和他的新娘已經(jīng)消失在了密林之中，看不見(jiàn)了。幾天之后，發(fā)狂的士兵叫上了他的朋友們，帶上了手槍、子彈等全副武裝搜尋整個(gè)山林尋找他的未婚妻和那擄走她的家伙。士兵曾想過(guò)，一旦看到那只狼一定會(huì)一槍要了它的命。在到達(dá)確切位置的時(shí)候，他看到地上有一條狼的尾巴。但是這條尾巴到底是不是那只狼的，還看不出來(lái)。

After months of searching， his friends begged him to let the girl go and get on with living. But the soldier was half-mad with grief and refused to give up. And that very day， he found the cave where the werewolf lived. Within it lay the preserved body of his beloved wife. The girl had refused the werewolf's advances to the very end， and had died for it. After his murderous fury haddied away ， the werewolf had tenderly laid the body of the girl he had loved and had killed into a wooden coffin， where it would be safe from predators， and he came to visit her grave every day.

搜索了幾個(gè)月之后，他的朋友們都勸他說(shuō)：算了，就由她去吧，你還得過(guò)日子呢。但是士兵因?yàn)檫^(guò)度憂(yōu)傷已經(jīng)到了半瘋的狀態(tài)，他拒絕放棄。后來(lái)，有一天，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了狼人住的山洞。里面存放著他曾摯愛(ài)的妻子的尸體。女孩至死都沒(méi)有答應(yīng)狼人的求愛(ài)。當(dāng)他試圖殺人的狂躁漸漸消失之后，狼人溫和地躺在他曾愛(ài)的女孩身邊，身旁還有一具已經(jīng)做好的木頭棺材，那里應(yīng)該不會(huì)有野獸侵襲。然后，狼人每天都到女孩的墳?zāi)骨笆刂?/p>

Lying in wait for him， the soldier shot the werewolf several times as he entered the cavern， chasing him down until the maddened and dying werewolf leapt into the lake and disappeared from view. The soldier sat by the lake with his gun， staring into the rippling waters for hours as the catfish ate the bloody bits of the wolf that were floating on the surface of the water.

士兵藏好等著狼人，當(dāng)狼人進(jìn)入洞穴的時(shí)候，他開(kāi)了好幾槍?zhuān)恢卑褞捉偪窈痛顾赖睦侨俗返揭粋€(gè)湖邊，然后眼看著他消失不見(jiàn)。士兵拿著槍坐在岸邊，一直注視著波光粼粼的湖面幾個(gè)小時(shí)，直到一只鯰魚(yú)咬著一塊帶血的狼肉浮出水面。

When his friends found him， the soldier's mind was gone. He babbled insanely about a werewolf that had been eaten by a catfish when it leapt into the water， and he sobered only long enough to lead the men to the body of hisbelovedbefore he collapsed forevermore into insanity.

當(dāng)他的朋友發(fā)現(xiàn)士兵的時(shí)候，他已經(jīng)沒(méi)有了思維。他一直瘋瘋癲癲地說(shuō)著一只浮在水面上被一只鯰魚(yú)撕咬的狼的情形，然后，在他崩潰前清醒的那段時(shí)間，他帶著人們?nèi)チ怂膼?ài)人那，之后就真的瘋了。

He died a few days later， and was buried beside his bride in a little glen where they had planned to build there house. Their grave is long forgotten， and the place where it stands is covered with daisies in the spring. But to this day， the people of the area have a prejudice against eating catfish， though no one remember why.

幾天之后他就死了，和他的新娘一起被埋在了他們?cè)?jīng)想蓋房子的小峽谷里。他們的墳?zāi)挂呀?jīng)被遺忘很久了，一到春天，那里就開(kāi)滿(mǎn)了雛菊。直到今天，那里的人們還對(duì)吃鯰魚(yú)有偏見(jiàn)，盡管人們都不知道那是為什么。

能說(shuō)會(huì)用

advances: n. 作友好表示， 求愛(ài)， 獻(xiàn)殷勤

She rejected his advances.

她拒絕了他的追求。

search for : 搜尋，找尋

Scientists are searching for answers.

科學(xué)家們正在搜尋著答案。

die away: 減弱，消失

The wind had died away.

風(fēng)已經(jīng)停息。

The sounds died away.

聲音消失了。

◆編輯：劉芳