英文故事:圣杯的故事

The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail is the cup that Jesus Christ used at the Last Supper. Joseph of Arimathea, the man who gave up his own tomb so that Jesus could be buried in it, kept the Grail and collected Jesus’ blood in it when Jesus was put to death on a cross. Joseph was wupposed to have taken it to Britain, where the cup was passed down from generation to generation in his family. Because the Holy Grail had belonged to Jesus, it had magic powers. It could supply food for those without sin, and make people who were not pure enough blind or mute when they came close to it. Later, however, when the Grail fell into the hands of a man who was evil and unworthy of owning it, it disappeared.

One day, when the Round Table Knights gathered in a hall in Arthur’s castle, the Grail appeared for a moment in the air accompanied with lightning, though most of the knights could not see it. Then 150 knights decided to sarch throughout Britain for the Grail. The knights went through many dangerous adventures during their search. Lancelot failed in the search, because of the sin of his love affair with Guenevere; Gawain gave up the search. Only three knights---Bors, Galahad, and Perceval---were pure enough in life to find the Grail in the castle of Corbenic. They took the Grail to the distant city of Sarras. There, after Galahad died, Bors and Perceval saw the Grail rise into heaven. According to the legend, no one has been seen the Holy Grail since that time.