澳大利亞，一個迷人的國度，因其地理位置特殊而散發(fā)出一種神秘與夢幻的氣息，令世界其他地區(qū)的人對其種種八卦和冒險故事充滿天馬行空的想象。同其他文化一樣，澳大利亞人也喜歡往史實里“添油加醋”，故弄玄虛。下面一起來看看那些有關(guān)澳大利亞的神話與傳說吧，

姑且不論其是真是假，還是亦真亦假。

Lasseter's Reef1) 拉塞特金礦

#8195;Lasseter's Reef is， allegedly2)， a place of unimaginable riches somewhere in Central Australia. Since 1897， Lasseter had been trying to raise funds to travel back to the interior of the continent where he claimed he found an enormous gold deposit. In 1930， Australian financiers were apparently either tired of hearing Harold Bell Lasseter talk， or they finally believed his story， and gave him 50，000 for the trip. Sadly， he was unable to find his fabled3) mine. His team left him behind， and Lasseter eventually died from malnutrition4) and exhaustion.

No maps of the mine have ever been found， but the reef remains a Holy Grail5) among explorers who hope to either prove it 1 or revel6) in its riches.

據(jù)說拉塞特金礦位于澳大利亞中部某地，那里蘊藏著令人無法想象的寶藏。從1897年開始，拉塞特就一直在設(shè)法籌集資金，想要重返那個他聲稱發(fā)現(xiàn)有個巨大金礦的內(nèi)陸。1930年，澳大利亞的一些財閥顯然是聽夠了哈羅德·貝爾·拉塞特的聒噪，要不就是最終相信了拉塞特所說的事，給了他五萬英鎊作經(jīng)費?？上Ю夭]有找到他口中所說的那個金礦。隨行的隊伍離他而去，拉塞特最終死于營養(yǎng)不良、過度勞累。

盡管人們從未找到這處金礦的任何藏寶圖，這處金礦卻仍然是探險家們的圣地——不管他們是想證實此地純屬虛構(gòu)，還是想發(fā)現(xiàn)寶藏歡喜一番。

The Min Min Lights7) of the Outback8) 澳大利亞內(nèi)陸的“冥冥光”

When exploring in the outback， be sure to travel by daylight as much as you can. At night， you run the risk of being taken by one of Australia's mysteries. It's not undiscovered bands of Aborigines9) that are a threat. Instead， it's the Min Min lights.

Walk toward the Min Min lights (small bright lights that seem to have a mind of their own)， and you can follow them forever. Once you start walking towards them， you'll never reach their source. But turn away from them， and they will follow you.

Some scientists say that energy has the capacity to possess consciousness， and there are plans to test whether these lights display true interactive behavior.

到澳大利亞內(nèi)陸地區(qū)去探險時，一定要盡量在白天上路，因為到了晚上，你可能會遭遇被澳大利亞一種神秘之物盯上的危險。這神秘之物并非那些未知的、對人們構(gòu)成威脅的土著部落，而是“冥冥光”。

“冥冥光”是一種微小而又明亮的光，自身似乎存在著思維意識。朝這些光走去，你就能永遠(yuǎn)跟著它們。一旦你走向它們，你就永遠(yuǎn)也別想到達它們的源頭；要是你轉(zhuǎn)而避之，它們反倒會如影隨形地跟著你。

一些科學(xué)家認(rèn)為能量具備自我感知能力，并已計劃測試“冥冥光”是否真能表現(xiàn)出與人的這種交互行為。

Tiddalik the Thirsty Frog 口渴青蛙提達利克

While we have a good idea of how the earth came to be， it's still fun to see how people arrived at these answers before microscopes and TED10) Talks.

Tiddalik the Thirsty Frog is one of the stories the Aborigines tell about The Dreamtime11)—the time before humans. In this story， Tiddalik， a frog， was thirsty; very thirsty. So thirsty， in fact， that he drank up all the water that was in all the lakes and ponds and rivers. Consequently， none of the other animals had any water to drink or swim and bathe in. Seeing this， all the other animals decided they needed to make Tiddalik laugh. If he laughed， they hoped he'd open his mouth and all the water would go back to where it belonged.

The kookaburra12) (an Australian bird that is known to make a laughing sound) tried first. He told lots of jokes. So many， that he himself started laughing like crazy. Tiddalik did not laugh. The kangaroos went next. They played leapfrog13) with each other—jumping higher and higher and higher—eventually learning to jump as high as they do today. Tiddalik still did not laugh. Next the frilled lizard14) tried sticking out his frill as far as it would go， but Tiddalik was still silent. Finally the eel slithered15) by. He twisted and turned himself into all sorts of crazy shapes， eventually tying himself into a knot. That did it for Tiddalik. The big frog laughed and laughed， and all the water went back to where it belonged.

盡管我們都明白地球萬物如何而來，但了解一下在顯微鏡和TED演講這些東西未出現(xiàn)之前人們所給出的解答仍不失為一種樂趣。

關(guān)于洪荒時代，即人類誕生之前的時代，澳大利亞土著居民留下了許許多多的神話故事，口渴青蛙提達利克的故事便是其中之一。故事里，一只名叫提達利克的青蛙口渴了，特別渴。事實上，它已經(jīng)渴到喝光了所有的水——湖泊里的水、池塘里的水和河流里的水。結(jié)果，其他動物都沒有水喝，沒水游泳，也沒水洗澡。面對這種情況，其他動物一致決定，它們要想辦法讓提達利克大笑，希望它大笑時能張開嘴，那樣它喝下的水就能回到原處。

笑翠鳥(生活在澳大利亞的一種鳥，據(jù)說能發(fā)出笑聲)首先上陣。它講了很多很多笑話，多到它自己都開始瘋了似地笑起來，但提達利克卻沒有笑。接下來上場的是袋鼠。它們玩起了跳背游戲，跳的一次比一次高——最終掌握了它們現(xiàn)在的跳高本領(lǐng)，但提達利克仍然沒有笑。接著，摺鰓蜥蜴試著盡量伸長自己的脖子，一直伸到不能再伸為止，想以此來逗笑提達利克，但提達利克仍然無動于衷。最后，鰻魚滑了過來。它不停地扭轉(zhuǎn)身體，擺出千奇百怪的各種夸張姿勢，最后身子扭成了一個結(jié)。這招奏效了。提達利克這只巨蛙笑了起來，大笑個不停，被它喝下的水又都流回了原來的地方。

Mirram and Wareen 袋鼠米蓮和袋熊沃倫

Mirram and Wareen is another story about The Dreamtime that explains how wombats16) got their flat heads， and how kangaroos got their long tails.

Before either of those animals had those attributes， Mirram， a kangaroo， and Wareen， a wombat， were best friends. Wareen built a hut for the two of them to sleep in， but Mirram liked sleeping under the stars better and occasionally made fun of Wareen for sleeping indoors. When a cold， wet winter storm came， Mirram wanted a warm， dry place to sleep. He banged on the door and asked Wareen to let him in， but Wareen was tired of Mirram making fun of him， so he refused to let him in， claiming there wasn't enough room. Mirram pushed his way in anyway and slept indoors.

The next day， the two friends woke up feeling awful. Mirram was mad that Wareen didn't make a fire for him， and Wareen was mad that Mirram was such a bully17). Mirram found a large flat rock and dropped it smack on Wareen's head， squashing it as flat as the rock. That， Mirram explained， would teach Wareen not to be so selfish. To get him back， Wareen threw a spear at Mirram's backside. When the kangaroo pulled it out， it stretched his backside into a tail—a lifelong reminder of his selfishness.

Since then， wombats have always had flat heads and lived indoors， and kangaroos have always been long-tailed nomads18).

袋鼠米蓮和袋熊沃倫是發(fā)生在洪荒時代的另一個神話故事，講述了袋熊頂著扁平腦袋、袋鼠拖著長長尾巴的緣由。

在還未變成扁腦袋和長尾巴之前，袋鼠米蓮和袋熊沃倫是十分要好的朋友。沃倫為它倆建了一間睡覺的小屋，但米蓮卻喜歡睡在星空下，還時不時地嘲笑睡在屋里的沃倫。一場又冷又濕的冬季暴風(fēng)來襲時，米蓮想找個溫暖干燥的地方睡覺，于是就拍拍屋門，求沃倫讓它進去。但受夠了米蓮嘲笑的沃倫推托說屋里地方不夠，拒絕開門，于是米蓮硬闖進來睡在了屋里。

第二天，這兩位朋友一覺醒來就鬧起了別扭。米蓮氣沃倫沒有給它生火取暖，沃倫則氣米蓮太蠻橫霸道。米蓮于是找了一塊又大又平的石板，不偏不倚地往沃倫的腦袋砸去，砸得沃倫的腦袋像石板一樣平。米蓮說，這是為了給沃倫一個教訓(xùn)，讓它別那么自私。沃倫也不甘示弱，朝米蓮的屁股扔去一根長矛。米蓮?fù)獍伍L矛時，長矛將它的屁股拉長成了一條尾巴，終身提醒著它別那么自私。

從此，袋熊就一直頂著扁平的腦袋穴居生活，而袋鼠則一直拖著長長的尾巴到處流浪。

Baby-Eating Dingoes 吃嬰兒的澳洲野狗

On the night of August 17th， 1980， while on a camping trip with her family， nine-week old Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain was reported missing by her parents Lindy and Michael Chamberlain. Although tragic， this is not beyond the realm19) of probability. However， there is a reason why this case is internationally-known. The National Museum of Australia has in its collection over 250 items related to this case， and its story has been translated into books， movies， and an opera. On the night the baby went missing， the mom reported a dingo (a wild dog found in the outback) took her baby.

Although it's quite possible that a dingo did in fact take her baby， the evidence， at the time， left many questions unanswered. Why was the baby's blood found in the car? Why were the baby's clothes， which were later recovered， found inside out? The jury， perplexed20) by these findings， found Lindy Chamberlain guilty， sentencing her to life in prison.

In 1986， however， while uncovering the body of a fallen rock climber， police found， amongst a pile of bones in a dingo lair， the jacket Azaria was wearing the night she disappeared. Lindy was exonerated21) and awarded $1.3 million dollars (only a fraction of her actual legal costs).

Even though Lindy has been found innocent of the crime， her story continues to live on in Australia and abroad. In 2004， a man claimed he had shot a dingo with a baby in its mouth， in 1980. His claims were found 1. In 2005， a 25-year-old woman claimed to be Azaria. Her claims were also found to be 1. Beyond Australia， this case has been referenced in everything from the feature film Tropic Thunder to the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

1980年8月17日夜，琳迪和邁克爾·張伯倫夫婦向警方報案說，他們九周大的女兒阿扎里亞·尚特爾·洛倫·張伯倫在全家野外露營時失蹤。盡管頗為不幸，但這種事也不是沒有可能發(fā)生。不過，這一事件能弄得世人皆知——澳大利亞國家博物館的館藏品中有250多件物品與此相關(guān)；此事還被寫成書，拍成電影，編成歌劇——背后不無原因。原來，女嬰的母親聲稱，那晚一只澳洲野狗(生活在澳大利亞內(nèi)陸地區(qū)的一種野狗)叼走了她的孩子。

澳洲野狗確有可能叼走她的孩子，但當(dāng)時的證物仍存在許多疑點：為什么在車上發(fā)現(xiàn)了女嬰的血跡？為什么后來找到的女嬰的衣服里外是反的？這些發(fā)現(xiàn)令陪審團迷惑不解，最終陪審團認(rèn)定琳迪·張伯倫有罪，判處她終身監(jiān)禁。

然而，1986年，警方在搜尋一位跌落山崖的攀巖者時，在一個澳洲野狗的巢穴中發(fā)現(xiàn)了一堆白骨，里面就有阿扎里亞失蹤那晚穿的外套。琳迪被無罪釋放，并獲得了130萬美元的賠償(這只是她為這場官司所花費的一小部分)。

盡管琳迪已洗脫罪名，但她的故事在澳大利亞和海外仍然在繼續(xù)。2004年，一名男子聲稱，他曾在1980年用槍打死過一只嘴里叼著一個嬰兒的野狗。但他的說法被證明并不屬實。 2005年，一名25歲的女子聲稱她就是當(dāng)年的女嬰阿扎里亞。這一說法也被證實子虛烏有。在海外，從故事片《熱帶驚雷》到電視劇《捉鬼者巴菲》的各種影視作品中均提及了此案。

1.Lasseter's Reef: 1929 年，澳大利亞一個叫哈羅德·貝爾·拉塞特(Harold Bell Lasseter)的男子聲稱，1897年他在澳大利亞中部策馬行進時曾撞見一處金礦，但之后不幸遇險，后又被路過的駝隊所救并帶離了那個地方。后來拉塞特帶探險隊去尋找金礦，但沒有任何結(jié)果。這個傳說中的金礦的地理位置至今仍是一大謎團。

2.allegedly: 參見P65注釋25

3.fabled [#712;fe#618;bld] adj. 虛構(gòu)的，不真實的

4.malnutrition [#716;maelig;lnju#720;#712;tr#618;#643;n] n. 營養(yǎng)不良

5.Holy Grail: = grail [ɡre#618;l] n. 長期追求的目標(biāo)，渴望得到的東西

6.revel [#712;revl] vi. 陶醉，著迷；飽嘗(in)

7.Min Min Lights: 冥冥光，一種類似于中國的“鬼火”的發(fā)光現(xiàn)象。

8.the Outback: (尤指澳大利亞的)內(nèi)地(亦可作the outback)

9.Aborigine [#716;aelig;b#601;#712;r#618;d#658;#601;ni] n. 澳大利亞土著居民

10.TED: 全稱Technology， Entertainment and Design，是一個致力于“用思想的力量改變世界”的非營利性組織。它于1984年由理查德·沃爾曼和哈里·馬克思共同創(chuàng)辦，從1990年開始每年在美國加州的蒙特雷舉辦一次會議，如今在世界的其他城市也會每半年舉辦一次。它最初主要邀請科技、娛樂和設(shè)計領(lǐng)域的領(lǐng)軍人物來分享他們對自己最熱衷的事業(yè)的見解，如今會議的內(nèi)容幾乎涉及各個領(lǐng)域。

11.The Dreamtime: 洪荒時代，實際上是指澳大利亞土著人所想象的人類未誕生前的時空，后文所提到的故事皆系土著人關(guān)于這一時空的種種神話故事。

12.kookaburra [#712;k#650;k#601;b#652;r#601;] n. 【鳥】笑翠鳥

13.leapfrog [#712;li#720;pfr#594;ɡ] n. 跳背游戲(分開兩腿從彎背站立的人身上跳過)

14.frilled lizard: 【動】澳洲熱帶蜥蜴；摺鰓蜥蜴

15.slither [#712;sl#618;eth;#601;(r)] vi. (尤指搖晃著發(fā)著響聲)滑下，滑動；(蜿蜒地)滑行

16.wombat [#712;w#594;mbaelig;t] n. 【動】毛鼻袋熊

17.bully [#712;b#650;li] n. 強橫霸道者

18.nomad [#712;n#601;#650;maelig;d] n. 游牧部落的一員；流浪者

19.realm: 參見P23注釋19

20.perplexed [p#601;#712;plekst] adj. 困惑的，茫然的；費解的

21.exonerate [#618;ɡ#712;z#594;n#601;re#618;t] vt. 證明……無罪，宣布……無罪