中国故事（双语）55：Magic Gold and Old Ding Part 1 聚宝盆1

55. Magic Gold and Old Ding Part 1

聚宝盆1

张路及爷爷的稻田收成很糟糕，两人回家途中却意外发现一大块盐石，稻谷糟糕的长势也有了解释。回家后，两人用仅有的一点米和水孝敬祖先。隔壁，王扒皮却得意洋洋地向祖宗炫耀自己如何偷偷占据邻居家的地，并偷偷在稻谷上撒盐致其死亡。在河的另一边是地方官的家，这位地方官不仅不敬祖先，还暗暗希望父亲再病一场。三家人的结局将会如何呢？

The old man bent over the rice plants struggling to grow in the muddy rice paddy. “I guess I shouldn’t mind that Wang Bapi keeps taking more of our land,” he said to his grandson Lu. “The bigger the farm, the more we have to work. And the more we have to give the magistrate. But I wish we had more rice.”

“Me too,” said Lu. “I’m tired of us being hungry.” Lu’s real name was Zhang Lu, but everyone called him Lu for short.

As they walked back to the house, Grandpa Zhang stepped on something hard. “I think it might be a big piece of rock salt,” he told Lu.

“That would explain why the rice has been dying.” They tried digging it up with their hands.

“The mud keeps covering it up!” said Lu.

“What?” asked Grandpa. He cupped his ears with his muddy hands.

“The mud, it’s all over!” complained Lu.

“What?” asked Grandpa. He rubbed his ears with his muddy hands.

“Grandpa, you have mud in your ears!” said Lu.

“What?” said Grandpa, wiping his ears. “I can’t hear you. I’ve got mud in my ears.”

“Grandpa,” laughed Lu. “Let’s finish the house chores. Then we can get the shovel and try again.”

After cleaning up, they headed inside to the family shrine. They dusted it and bowed to their ancestors.

“I’m sorry, Grandpa, Great Grandpa, and all the family,” said Grandpa Zhang. “We don’t have any fruit to share with you today. But we have a little bit of rice and cool water.” His grandson lit the incense and candles.

“Do you really think I’m like your great grandpa?” asked Lu.

“Just as smart,” said the old man, smiling. “And just as big a nose. And if you are just as hardworking, then you’ll be a great man like he was.”

Great Grandpa’s portrait hung over the shrine. He had a serious expression, but his eyes seemed to twinkle in the candlelight.

Wang Bapi was Lu and Grandpa Zhang’s neighbor. His fields began on the other side of their yard. The fields stretched all the way to the river. In his big home, Wang Bapi stacked up the gold yuanbao in front of his family shrine.

“You would be proud of me,” he said to the pictures of his ancestors.

“You gave me a nice farm, and I’ve turned it into a big farm!” He lit a candle. “My neighbors’ farms have all gotten smaller because I am so clever. I move the fences a little bit each night! If anyone notices and complains, I salt their fields. Then nothing grows!” The ancestors’

portraits glimmered darkly in the golden light.

On the other side of the river from Wang Bapi’s fields was the border of the magistrate’s land. His land stretched from the river across a wide valley. It went over a mountain and to the end of another valley. In that green valley, the magistrate lived with his old father.

“Son!” said the magistrate’s father. “You didn’t take care of the shrine while I was sick! The ancestors’ portraits are covered in dust. This peach has a worm in it!”

“Father,” said the magistrate. “I said I’d take care of it. Give me time. You don’t need to nag me!”

“Are you waiting for the rotten peach to become a tree? For the worm to become a butterfly?” scolded the magistrate’s father. He tapped his son with his walking cane.

The magistrate threw away the rotten fruit and rolled his eyes. When his father was sick, the maid had taken care of him. The magistrate had enjoyed a few peaceful days to do as he wished. The magistrate eyed the large pot, called a ding, sitting in front of the shrine. What if his father were to bend over and hit his head on the ding? That would be a shame.

However, the maid would have to take care of him again. Perhaps for a week or more this time! The magistrate was pulled out of his daydream by his father’s harsh voice.

“Son, go get some fresh fruit and drink for our ancestors. You’ll have to go to the store for more incense and candles.”

As the magistrate rode to the store, he went past Grandpa Zhang’s small plot of land. He noticed the grandpa and grandson in the rice paddy, working. The rice didn’t look healthy. “Oh no,” he grumbled. “I bet they won’t want to pay their full share to me next harvest.”

In the rice paddy, Grandpa Zhang and Lu struggled to dig. “Whatever it is, it’s big and heavy!” said Lu.

The End

Question: What do you think they found?

核心词汇

magistrate n. 地方行政官，治安官

shovel n. 铲，铁锹

shrine n. 圣坛，神殿

incense n. 香，（祭供等）焚香时的烟（或香气）

portrait n. 肖像，画像，人像

expression n. 表情，腔调

twinkle v. （眼睛因欢乐、欣喜等而）闪亮

stretch v. 延续，延伸

stack v. 把……叠成堆，堆放于

glimmer v. 发微光

nag v. 指责不休，唠叨

rotten adj. 腐烂的，发臭的

tap v. 用……轻轻叩击

cane n. 手杖，竹杖

plot n. （作特定用途的）小块地皮

grumble v. 抱怨，发牢骚

paddy n. 稻田，水田

The bigger the farm, the more we have to work. And the more

we have to give the magistrate.农田越大，我们的工作就越多。

我们给县官的粮食也就越多。本句的句式为 the+比较级，the+比较级，表示越……越……

Are you waiting for the rotten peach to become a tree? For theworm to become a butterfly?”你是在等烂桃子变成树么？在等虫子变成蝴蝶么？第二句为省略句，省略了 Are you waiting.

What if his father were to bend over and hit his head on theding?如果他的父亲弯腰的时候头碰到鼎上怎么办？本句句式为what if+句子，表示如果……会怎样？

以下翻译来自百度翻译：

老人俯身在泥泞的稻田里挣扎着生长的水稻上。“我想我不介意王八皮继续占据我们更多的土地，”他对他的孙子陆说。“农场越大，我们要干的活就越多。我们要给县长的钱就越多。但我希望我们有更多的大米。”

“我也是，”陆说。“我受够我们挨饿了。”陆的真名是张路，但大家都简称他为陆。

当他们走回房子时，张爷爷踩到了一个硬东西。“我想这可能是一大块岩盐，”他告诉陆。

“这就解释了为什么大米已经死了。”他们试着用手把它挖起来。

“泥巴一直在掩盖它！”陆说。

“什么？”爷爷问。他用泥泞的双手捂住耳朵。

“泥巴，都完了！”陆抱怨道。

“什么？”爷爷问。他用泥泞的手揉耳朵。

“爷爷，你耳朵里有泥！”陆说。

“什么？”爷爷擦着耳朵说。“我听不见你说话。我耳朵里有泥。”

“爷爷，”陆笑着说。“让我们把家务做完。然后我们可以拿铲子再试一次。“

清理完毕后，他们进入家庭神殿。他们掸去灰尘，向祖先鞠躬致意。

“我很抱歉，爷爷，曾爷爷和全家，”张爷爷说。“我们今天没有水果和你们分享。但是我们有一点米饭和凉水。”他的孙子点燃了香和蜡烛。

“你真的认为我像你的曾祖父吗？”陆问。

“同样聪明，”老人笑着说。“还有一样大的鼻子。如果你也一样勤奋，那么你就会像他一样成为一个伟人。”

神殿上方悬挂着曾祖父的肖像。他表情严肃，但他的眼睛似乎在烛光下闪闪发光。

王八皮是陆和张爷爷的邻居。他的田地从他们院子的另一边开始。田野一直延伸到河边。在王八皮的大房子里，他把金元宝堆在自己的祠堂前。

“你会为我感到骄傲的，”他对他祖先的照片说。

“你给了我一个漂亮的农场，我把它变成了一个大农场！”他点燃了一支蜡烛。“我邻居的农场都变小了，因为我太聪明了。我每天晚上都会把篱笆挪动一点！如果有人注意到并抱怨，我会给他们的地上撒盐。然后什么也不会长出来！”祖先们说

肖像在金光中黯淡地闪烁。

在王八陂田地的河对岸，是县令土地的边界。他的土地从河边延伸到一个宽阔的山谷。它越过一座山，到达另一个山谷的尽头。在那个绿色的山谷里，治安法官和他的老父亲住在一起。

“儿子！”法官的父亲说。“我生病的时候，你没有看管神殿！祖先的画像上都是灰尘。这桃子里有虫！”

“父亲，”法官说。“我说过我会处理的。给我时间。你不必唠叨我！”

“你是在等烂桃变成树吗？等虫子变成蝴蝶吗？”县长的父亲责备道。他用拐杖轻拍他的儿子。

法官扔掉了腐烂的水果，翻了翻眼睛。他父亲生病时，女仆照顾他。治安法官过了几天平静的日子，可以随心所欲。县长盯着神龛前那只叫阿丁的大罐子。如果他的父亲弯下腰来，头撞在丁当上怎么办？那将是一种耻辱。

然而，女仆将不得不再次照顾他。这次可能要一个星期或更长时间！法官被他父亲刺耳的声音从他的白日梦中拉了出来。

“儿子，去给我们的祖先买些新鲜水果和饮料。你得去商店买更多的香和蜡烛。”

县长骑马去商店时，路过了张爷爷的一小块地。他注意到爷爷和孙子在稻田里干活。米饭看起来不健康。“哦，不，”他抱怨道。“我打赌他们不会想在下一次收获时把他们的全部份额付给我。”

在稻田里，张爷爷和陆爷爷挣扎着挖掘。“不管它是什么，它又大又重！”陆说。