双语故事:仙女的的礼物

 "Choose again."It was the fairy speaking."The years have you wisdow-surely it must be so.There gifts remain.Only one of them has anyworth-remember it ,and choose warily."
“你在选一次吧。”仙女又一次说话了，“这些年已经教予你智慧——也理当如此。这里还有三份礼物，其中只有一份是有价值的——切记，你好好挑吧。”

The man reflected long,then chose Fame;and the fairy,sighing,went her way.Years went by and she came again,and stood behind the man where he sat solitary in the fading day,thinking.And she knew his thought:"My name filled the world,and its praiss were on every tongue,and it seemed well with me for a littlewhile.How little a while it was!Then came envy;then detraction;then hate;then persecution.Then derision,which is the begining of the end.And last of all came pity,which is the funeral of fame.Oh ,the bitterness and misery of renown!"
他想了很久，然而选择了名声。仙女叹了口气，径自离开了。岁月流转，仙女又回来了，站到他的身旁。已迈入迟暮之年的他孑然一身，心情重重。他在想些什么，她都了然于心。“我的名字传遍世界，每个人都争相赞颂，有一阵子好像让我心满足。可那是多么短暂的一阵子啊！随之而来的是妒忌；然后是诋毁；然后是憎恶；然后是迫害。之后是嘲讽，从一切开始步入完结。最后便是怜悯，这也是我的名声的葬礼。啊，名声原来是这般苦涩和痛苦！”

"Choose yet again."It was the fairy's voice.
“不过你还可以重新现挑一次。”仙女的声音再度响起。

 "Two gifts remain.And do not despair .In the begining there was but one that was precious, and it is still here.
“还剩下两份礼物。不要灰心丧气，从一开始就只有一份是宝贵的，而现在它还在那里啊。”

"Wealth-which is power! How blind i was!" Said the man, "Now,at last,life will be worth the living.I will spend.squander.These mockers and despisers will crawl in the dirt before me,and i will feed my hungry heart with their envy,I will have all luxuries,all joys,all enchant-times of the spirit I will buy,buy,buy!I have lost much time,and chosen badly heretofore,but let that pass;I was ignorant then,and could but take for best what seemed so."
“财富——财富就是力量！我过去多盲目啊！”他说，“现在，终于，我的生命将要变得有意义。我要纵情欢度此生，我要挥霍我的人生。那些对我冷嘲热讽，轻蔑诋毁我的人将要在我面前的泥土里挣扎，而我空乏的心也将因为他们的妒忌而得到满足。我将要享尽荣华富贵，所有欢乐和所有销魂的时光。我要买，买！以前我做错了选择，失去了许多时间，就让它过去吧；当时我很无知，我只能选我觉得最好的东西。”

Three short years went by,and a day came when the man sat shivering in a mean garret;and he was gaunt and wan and hollow-eyed,and clothed in rags;and he was gnawing a dry crust and mumbling:"Curse all the world's gifts for mockeries and gilded lies!And miscalled,every one,They are not gifts,but merely lendings.Pleasure.Love,Fame.Riches:they are but temporary disguises for lasting realities Pain,Grief,Shame,Poverty.The fairy said true;in all her store there was but one gift which was precious,only one that was not valueless,How poor and cheap and mean i know those others now to be,Bring it!I am weary.I would rest."
短短的三年又过去了。到了这么一天，这个人蜷缩在一个简陋的小阁楼里，古瘦如柴，苍白无力，双眼深陷，身上裹着碎布衣衫，浑身颤抖不停。他一边啃着一块干面包皮，一边咕哝着：“该死的礼物，都是为了让我受人嘲笑和欺诈！每一样都叫错了！它们都不是礼物，根本只是租借品！快乐，爱情，名声还有财富－都只不过是长久现实的暂时伪装－它们其实是永远的痛苦，悲哀，耻辱和贫穷！那个仙女说的没错啊，她所有的东西里只有一样是珍贵的，只有那么一样不是毫无价值的。我现在才明白，其它礼物是多么低贱与卑劣！把它带来吧－那真正宝贵的礼物！我累了，我想休息了。”

The fairy came,bringing again four of the gifts,but Death was wanting.She said:"I gave it to a mother's pet, a little child.It was ignorant,but trusted me,asking me to choose for it.You did not ask me to choose."
仙女出现了，带着以前的那四件礼物，但惟独没有最后那一件——死亡。她说道：“我把它给了一位母亲的宠儿子：一个小孩子。他什么也不懂，但他相信我，让我来帮他挑选。而你并没有这么做。”

"Oh,miserable me!What is left for me ?"
“啊，我多可悲啊！那还剩下什么给我呢？”

"What not even you have deserved: the wantoninsult of Old Age."
“一件你也不配得到的东西：接受年老体衰的折磨。”