卡德摩斯与欧罗巴

一、公牛

I. THE BULL.

在亚洲生活着一位国王，他有两个孩子，一男一女。男孩叫卡德摩斯，女孩叫欧罗巴。国王的国家非常小，他站在自家的屋顶上，就能看到整个国家。

In Asia there lived a king who had two children, a boy and a girl. The boy’s name was Cadmus, and the girl’s name was Europa. The king’s country was a very small one. He could stand on his house top and see the whole of it.

国家的一边是高山，另一边是大海。国王以为这里就是世界的中心，对别的土地和人民并不怎么了解。

On one side of it there were mountains, and on the other side was the sea. The king thought that it was the center of the world, and he did not know much about other lands and people.

然而，他在自己的小王国里过得十分快乐，非常喜爱自己的孩子。他也有充分的理由为他们感到骄傲，因为卡德摩斯长大后成了这片土地上最勇敢的年轻人，而欧罗巴则是大家见过的最美丽的少女。

Yet he was very happy in his own little kingdom, and very fond of his children. And he had good reason to be proud of them; for Cadmus grew up to be the bravest young man in the land, and Europa to be the fairest maiden that had ever been seen.

但是，悲伤的日子最终还是降临到了他们所有人身上。

But sad days came to them all at last.

一天早晨，欧罗巴走到海边的一片田野里去采花。她父亲的牛群就在田里，正在甜美的三叶草间吃草。它们都非常温顺，欧罗巴能叫出每一头牛的名字。

One morning Europa went out into a field near the seashore to pick flowers. Her father’s cattle were in the field, grazing among the sweet clover. They were all very tame, and Europa knew every one of them by name.

牧牛人躺在树下的阴凉处，正试着用一根细细的麦秆笛吹出音乐。欧罗巴以前在这片田野里玩过上千次，从来没有人想过会有什么危险落到她头上。

The herdsman was lying in the shade under a tree, trying to make music on a little flute of straw. Europa had played in the field a thousand times before, and no one had ever thought of any harm befalling her.

那天早晨，她注意到牛群里多了一头陌生的公牛。他身躯高大，像雪一样白；他还有一双柔和的棕色眼睛，不知道为什么，让他看起来特别温柔和善。

That morning she noticed that there was a strange bull with the herd. He was very large and as white as snow; and he had soft brown eyes which somehow made him look very gentle and kind.

起初他甚至看都不看欧罗巴一眼，只是到处走动，吃着长在三叶草间的嫩草。但是当她用围裙摘满了雏菊和毛茛花时，他慢慢地朝她走了过来。

At first he did not even look at Europa, but went here and there, eating the tender grass which grew among the clover. But when she had gathered her apron full of daisies and buttercups, he came slowly towards her.

她一点儿也不害怕他，便停下脚步看着他，因为他长得太漂亮了。他走近她，用鼻子蹭了蹭她的手臂，像是在说“早上好！”

She was not at all afraid of him; and so she stopped to look at him, he was so handsome. He came close to her, and rubbed her arm with his nose to say “Good-morning!”

她抚摸着他的头和脖子，他看起来高兴极了。接着，她用雏菊编了一个花环，戴在他的脖子上。他用温柔和善的眼睛看着她，好像在感谢她；过了一会儿，他就在三叶草丛中躺了下来。

She stroked his head and neck, and he seemed much pleased. Then she made a wreath of daisies, and hung it round his neck. He looked at her with his soft kind eyes, and seemed to thank her; and in a little while, he lay down among the clover.

欧罗巴接着编了一个小一点的花环，爬到他的背上，想把花环绕在他的牛角上。可是，他突然一跃而起，飞快地跑开了，欧罗巴完全无法控制自己。

Europa then made a smaller wreath, and climbed upon his back to twine it round his horns. But all at once he sprang up, and ran away so swiftly that Europa could not help herself.

他跑得太快了，她不敢跳下去，脑子里能想到的只有紧紧抱住他的脖子，大声尖叫。

She did not dare to jump off while he was going so fast, and all that she could think to do was to hold fast to his neck and scream very loud.

树下的牧牛人听到了她的尖叫声，跳起来看出了什么事。他看见公牛正带着她朝岸边狂奔。他用最快的速度追赶他们，但这根本没有用。

The herdsman under the tree heard her scream, and jumped up to see what was the matter. He saw the bull running with her towards the shore. He ran after them as fast as he could, but it was of no use.