兴夫和孬夫

两兄弟

Two Brothers

很久以前，在韩国的一个村子里住着两兄弟。孬夫是哥哥，兴夫是弟弟。

Long ago, two brothers lived in a village in Korea. Nolbu was the older brother, and Heungbu was the younger one.

他们的父亲去世时，留下了一座大房子、稻田和很多动物。

When their father died, he left a big house, rice fields and many animals.

孬夫把所有的东西都拿走了。“我是大儿子，”他说，“这些全都是我的。”

Nolbu took everything for himself. “I’m the older son,” he said. “All of this is mine.”

然后他转头对弟弟说：“带上你的老婆孩子走吧。这里没有你们住的地方。”

Then he turned to his brother. “Take your wife and children and go. There’s no place for you here.”

孬夫很有钱，但是他很贪心，对人也不好。兴夫很穷，但是心肠很好。

Nolbu was rich, but he was greedy and unkind. Heungbu was poor, but he had a good heart.

兴夫在村子边上盖了一间小草屋。屋子太小了，晚上睡觉他的脚都会伸到墙外面。一下雨，水就从屋顶漏进来。

Heungbu built a little straw hut at the edge of the village. It was so small that his feet went through the wall at night. When it rained, water came in through the roof.

兴夫和他的妻子努力工作。他们做草鞋，拿到集市上去卖。但是饭菜从来不够所有孩子吃。

Heungbu and his wife worked hard. They made straw shoes and sold them at the market. But there was never enough food for all their children.

有一年冬天，家里一点米也没有了。孩子们饿得哭了。

One winter there was no rice in the house at all. The children cried with hunger.

“我去哥哥家吧，”兴夫说，“也许他会给我们一点米。”

“I’ll go to my brother,” said Heungbu. “Maybe he’ll give us a little rice.”

孬夫的院子里有肥猪、牛和鸡。狗冲着兴夫跑过来，汪汪叫。

In Nolbu’s yard there were fat pigs, cows and chickens. The dogs ran at Heungbu and barked.

“哥哥，请帮帮我们吧，”兴夫说，“我的孩子们三天没吃饭了。你能借我们一点米吗？我会还给你的。”

“Brother, please help us,” said Heungbu. “My children haven’t eaten for three days. Can you lend us some rice? I’ll pay you back.”

“我没有米给你，”孬夫说，“走开，不要再来了！”

“I have no rice for you,” said Nolbu. “Go away and don’t come back!”

厨房里，孬夫的妻子正在做饭。兴夫也向她要一点米。她生气了，用湿米勺打了他的脸。

In the kitchen, Nolbu’s wife was cooking rice. Heungbu asked her for a little too. She got angry and hit his cheek with her wet rice paddle.