Child of Water and Little Blue Rock水之子與藍(lán)色小石頭

One of the most popular gemstones1 used in American IndianJewelry is turquoise2. This bluish green mineral 3 found in the southwestof the United States is considered by many tribes 4 to be sacred 5.

綠松石是美國(guó)印第安人的珠寶中最受歡迎的寶石之一遙這種發(fā)現(xiàn)于美國(guó)西南部的藍(lán)綠色礦石被許多部落視為圣物。

The Apaches are a member of the Native American people living in thesouthwest of the United States and northern Mexico. Here is a legend6 of how theApaches found good luck.

阿帕奇人是一支居住在美國(guó)西南部和墨西哥北部的美洲原住民。下面是關(guān)于阿帕奇人如何找到好運(yùn)的一則傳說(shuō)。

Once upon a time， four monsters lived on the earth. They were horriblemonsters. They loved to catch the people and eat them.

從前，地球上生活著四個(gè)怪物。他們是可怕的怪物。他們喜歡抓住人類(lèi)并吃掉他們。

One night， a monster stomped7 up to the wickiup8 of Child of Water and hismother. Before his mother could stop him， Child of Water challenged the monster toa contest.

一天晚上，一個(gè)怪物踩壞了水之子和他的母親的小屋。母親還沒(méi)來(lái)得及阻止，水之子就向怪物發(fā)出了挑戰(zhàn)。

“Here are the rules，”said Child of Water. He carefully explained that he wouldbe on one side and the monster would be on the other. Both sides would have achance to shoot four arrows9 at each other， at the same time. Whichever killed theother first would get all the food. “Do you accept these rules and promise to followthem？”chanted Child of Water. Child of Water was only a very small boy. But heknew the chant was binding10. It was a promise that must be kept.

這是規(guī)則，”水之子說(shuō)。他仔細(xì)地解釋說(shuō)，他會(huì)站在一邊，怪物會(huì)站在另一邊。雙方都有機(jī)會(huì)同時(shí)向?qū)Ψ缴涑鏊闹ЪＵl(shuí)先殺死對(duì)方，誰(shuí)就會(huì)得到所有的食物。“你接受并承諾遵守這些規(guī)則嗎？”水之子反復(fù)喊道。水之子只是一個(gè)很小的男孩。但他知道這種反復(fù)呼喊是有約束力的。這是一個(gè)必須遵守的諾言。

“I’ll play your silly game，”laughed the monster. “First I’ll shoot you full ofarrows. Then I’ll eat you， your mother， and all your food！ ”Just thinking aboutthis satisfying treat made the monster smack11 his lips hungrily.

“我會(huì)玩你那愚蠢的游戲。”怪物笑著說(shuō)，“首先，我會(huì)把所有的箭射向你。然后，我會(huì)吃掉你、你母親和你所有的食物！”一想到這令人滿(mǎn)意的款待，怪物就餓得咂著嘴。

As both fighters took their positions， Child of Water leaned12 down andpicked up a turquoise blue rock. The rock was a gift from the gods， a thing ofprotection. But Child of Water did not know that. While he was looking at hisrock， the monster quickly shot four arrows at Child of Water. This was against therules， but the monster did not care. Much to his surprise， all the monster’s arrowsmissed Child of Water. Quickly， before the monster could do anything else againstthe rules， Child of Water shot an arrow at the monster. The arrow pierced themonster’s heart and killed him dead.

當(dāng)兩名戰(zhàn)士各就各位時(shí)，水之子俯身?yè)炱鹨粔K藍(lán)綠色的石頭。這塊石頭是神的禮物，是一件護(hù)身符。但水之子并不知道這一點(diǎn)。就在他看著自己的石頭時(shí)，怪物迅速向水之子射出了四支箭。這是違反規(guī)則的，但怪物并不在乎。令怪物驚訝的是，他所有的箭都沒(méi)有射中水之子。很快，在怪物還沒(méi)來(lái)得及做出任何其他違反規(guī)則的事情時(shí)，水之子向怪物射出了一支箭。……