獨(dú)眼兄妹

T wo little children， a boy and a girl， lived long ago with their widowed mother in the Canadian forest. The woman was very poor. She often had to go far from home in search of fish and 1）game for her family. At times she was absent for many days and left her children behind， and thus they were allowed to grow up with very little 2）oversight or 3）discipline or care. They soon became very unruly. As they grew older they became more 4）headstrong and 5）disobedient， and their mother could do very little to control them. And she said， “Some day they will suffer for their 6）waywardness.”

One day the woman went to visit a neighbour. She left a large pot of bear-fat boiling on the fire. And she said to the children， “Do not 7）meddle with the pot while I am gone， for the fat may harm you if it catches fire.” But she was not gone long when the boy said to the girl， “Let us see if the fat will burn.” So they took a burning stick of wood and dropped it into the fat， and stood looking into the large pot to see what would happen. The fat 8）sputtered for an instant； then there was a sudden flash， and a tongue of flame shot upwards from the pot into the faces of the children. The fire had 9）scorched their faces and blinded their eyes. They stumbled around in darkness， crying loudly for help. But no help came.

When their mother came home she tried every remedy she thought might restore their sight. But all her medicine was unavailing， and she said， “You will always be blind. That is the punishment for your disobedience.”

So the children lived in darkness for a long time. But they were no longer headstrong and unruly. They did not now refuse to do their mother’s bidding.

One day， when their mother was far away hunting， an old woman came along and asked the children for food. And they brought good food to her. After she had eaten， she said，“You are blind， but I can help you， for I am from the Land of the Little People. I cannot give you four eyes， but I will give you one eye between you. You can each use it at different times， and it will be better than no sight at all. But handle it with great care and do not leave it lying on the ground.”Then she gave them an eye which she took from her pocket， and disappeared. So they used the one eye between them， and when the boy had the eye and the girl wished to see anything， she would say， “Give me the eye，” and her brother would carefully pass it to her. When their mother came home she was very glad， for they had now some means of sight.

One day the boy went into the forest with his bow and arrows. He carried the eye with him. He saw a fat young deer and killed it. The deer was too heavy for him to carry home alone. So he said， “I will go and get my sister， and we shall cut it up and put it in a basket and carry it home together.” He went home and led his sister to where the deer lay， and they began to cut up the body. But they had forgotten to bring a basket or a bag. He called to his sister saying， “You must weave a basket into which we can put the meat to carry it home.” And his sister said， “How can I make a basket when I cannot see？ I must have the eye.” The boy brought the eye to her and she made a large basket from green twigs.

When she had finished making the basket the boy said， “I must finish cutting up the meat. Give me the eye.” So she brought him the eye， and he proceeded to chop up the meat and put it in the basket. Then he said， “Why can we not have a meal here？ I am very hungry.” His sister agreed that this was a good idea， and he said， “You cook the meal while I pack the meat.” The girl made a fire， but she was afraid she would burn the meat， so she said， “I cannot see to cook. I must have the eye.” Her brother brought her the eye. The fire was low and she said， “Bring me some dry pine.” The boy wandered off into the forest in search of wood， but he had not gone far when he stumbled over a log and fell to the ground. He called to his sister in anger， saying， “You always want the eye for yourself. How can I gather dry pine when I cannot see？”

His sister ran to him and gave him the eye. She found her way back to the fire， but smelled the meat burning on the 10）spit. She shouted， “The meat is burning and our dinner will be spoiled！ Give me the eye at once！” The boy was some distance away， and in his anger he threw the eye to her， saying， “Find it！ I am not going to walk to you with it if you are too lazy to come and get it！” The eye fell to the ground， and neither of them knew where it lay. They 11）groped for it among the dead leaves， meanwhile， a 12）wood-pecker， watching from a branch of a tree nearby， 13）swooped suddenly down and 14）gobbled it up and flew away.

As they were still searching for it， the old woman who had given it to them came along. She had been hiding among the trees， and she had seen the wood-pecker flying away with her gift. She said， “Where is the eye I gave you？” “It dropped from my head，” answered the boy， “and I cannot find it in the grass.” “Yes，” said the girl， “it dropped from his head.”“You have lied to me，” said the old woman， “and you have disobeyed， and for that I shall punish you.” And with her magic power she changed the boy into a mole and the girl into a bat， and said， “Now live blind upon the earth， with only your sense of sound to guide you.” At once the boy and the girl were changed. And so the 15）Mole and the Bat appeared upon the earth.

很久以前，有一位寡婦和她一男一女兩個(gè)小孩住在加拿大的森林里。這位寡婦很貧窮。她經(jīng)常需要到離家很遠(yuǎn)的地方為一家人捉魚(yú)、尋找野味。有時(shí)候她一連幾天都不回來(lái)，把孩子們留在家里，任由孩子們?cè)谌狈φ展?、紀(jì)律約束和關(guān)愛(ài)的環(huán)境下長(zhǎng)大。很快，他們就變得非常任性。隨著年歲的增長(zhǎng)，他們變得愈發(fā)頑固和忤逆，他們的媽媽基本上管不住他們。她說(shuō)：“終有一天他們會(huì)嘗到任性的苦果。”

一天，寡婦出門(mén)拜訪一個(gè)鄰居。她留下一大鍋在火上燒得沸騰的熊脂。她對(duì)孩子們說(shuō)：“我走了以后，別亂動(dòng)這鍋，因?yàn)樾苤侵鹂赡軙?huì)燙傷你們?！钡€沒(méi)走遠(yuǎn)，男孩就對(duì)女孩說(shuō)：“讓我們看看油脂會(huì)不會(huì)燒起來(lái)吧?！庇谑撬麄兡脕?lái)一根著火的樹(shù)枝，把它扔進(jìn)熊脂里，站在一旁往鍋里瞧，好奇會(huì)發(fā)生什么。一瞬間，油花噼啪飛濺；隨后，突然閃現(xiàn)一束火光，一道火舌從鍋里朝兄妹倆的臉直沖而去。烈火燒焦了他們的臉，弄瞎了他們的眼睛。兄妹倆在黑暗中磕磕碰碰，大聲求助。但沒(méi)有人來(lái)幫忙。

他們的媽媽回到家以后，嘗試了各種有可能恢復(fù)他們視力的藥物。但都沒(méi)有效果。她說(shuō)：“你們永遠(yuǎn)都會(huì)是盲人了。這就是對(duì)你們忤逆的懲罰?！?/p>

因此，兄妹倆在黑暗中生活了很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間。但他們不再頑固和任性了?，F(xiàn)在他們不再違抗媽媽的吩咐了。

一天，兄妹倆的媽媽出遠(yuǎn)門(mén)打獵去了，有一位老婦人來(lái)向他倆討要食物。兄妹倆給了她美味的食物。她吃完以后，說(shuō)：“你倆雖然失明了，但我能幫助你們，因?yàn)槲襾?lái)自小人國(guó)?！?br>