向紅

Many years ago， the sun and the moon were always in the sky. There was no nighttime， and there was no daytime. The sun and moon were quite good in the sky together.

很多年以前，太陽和月亮總是掛在天空中。世上沒有夜間，也沒有白天。太陽和月亮在天空中相處融洽。

After a while， the animals called up the sun and the moon and asked them to come and listen to their ideas. The moon came and was followed by the sun.

過了不久，動物們把太陽和月亮叫來，請它們過來聽聽它們的想法。月亮來了，接著是太陽。

“We do not know when to start sleeping，” said the elephant to the moon， “because you are always so full in the sky.”

大象對月亮說：“我們不知道什么時候該去睡覺，因為你總是掛在天空中，那么圓?！?/p>

“And we do not know when to wake，” said the zebra2 to the sun， “because you are always out and never rising.”

斑馬對太陽說：“而且我們不知道什么時候該醒，因為你一直在外面，從不升起（落下）?！?/p>

All but the sleepy-headed bug3. were there to complain4. The sleepy-headed bug looked like a firefly， but he did not glow5. His body was dark and dull6.

除了瞌睡蟲，其他人都在那里抱怨。瞌睡蟲長得像螢火蟲，但它不會發(fā)光，身體黯淡無光。

The sun， because he was always a little brighter than the moon， thought hard about what to do. “I will stay in the sky half of the time，” said the sun， “and the moon will stay in the sky when I am not， so that you may know when to sleep. But one of you will have to signal7 when it is time for us to switch8. If not， we wont know.”

因為太陽總是比月亮明亮一點，它苦苦思索著該怎么做。“我會用一半的時間待在天上，”太陽說，“當我不在時，月亮會待在天上，這樣你們便可以知道何時入睡。但是你們中的一個人必須通知我們該何時替換，不然的話，我們將不知道換班的時間?！?/p>

“It cannot be me，” said the lion. “I am too far and busy.”

獅子說：“我不行，我離得太遠，而且太忙了?！?/p>

“It cannot be me，” said the monkey. “I am too busy picking fruit from the trees.”

猴子說：“我不行，我忙著從樹上采摘水果?！?/p>

One by one， all the animals told why they could not be the one to help the moon and the sun. One by one， until only the sleepy-headed bug left.

所有動物都一一解釋了為什么它們不能幫月亮和太陽這個忙。一個接一個地說完后，只剩下瞌睡蟲。

“Wake up， bug！” called the sun.

“小飛蟲，醒來！”太陽大喊。

“Why do you excuse me？” asked the sleepy-headed bug.

“你為什么打擾我？”瞌睡蟲問。

The sun answered， “My friend the moon and I must part ways， and this makes me unhappy. But it is the only way that the animals can sleep well. So， once a day， you will signal me to rise， and the moon will know that it is time to fall， and we will call it dawn9. And once more， you signal the moon to rise， and I will know that it is time for me to set， and we will call it dusk10.”

太陽回答說：“我的朋友月亮和我必須分開，這讓我很難過。但這是讓動物們能夠睡好的唯一途徑。因此，每天一次，你要發(fā)信號通知我升起，月亮就知道是時候降落了，我們稱之為黎明。然后你再發(fā)出月亮升起的信號，我會知道現(xiàn)在是我落下的時候了，我們稱之為黃昏?！?/p>

“I couldnt do that！” said the sleepy-headed bug. “How could I signal someone， as large as you， when I am so small？ You will not see me！”

“我不行！”瞌睡蟲說道，“我這么小，怎么能發(fā)信號給和你一樣大的人？你都看不到我！”

The sun breathed11 in slowly and then sent a burst12 of light right into the bugs behind where it stayed glowing brightly.

太陽緩慢地吸一口氣，然后放出一陣光，直接射進小飛蟲身后，然后它身后發(fā)出了明亮的光。

“Oww！” shouted the sleepy-headed bug who was now very scared of the sun.

“哦！”瞌睡蟲尖叫著，它現(xiàn)在非常害怕太陽。

The sun told him in a loud voice， “You will fly around and light at dusk and dawn， and the moon and I will know that it is time to switch. The rest13 of the time you may sleep.”

太陽大聲命令它：“你要在黃昏和黎明的時候飛來飛去發(fā)著光，這樣月亮和我就會知道該換班了。剩下的時間你就可以睡覺了?！?/p>

Ever since that day， the sleepy-headed bug has been known as the firefly， and the sun and the moon have risen and set without fail14 because he does his job well.

從那天起，瞌睡蟲就被稱為螢火蟲，太陽和月亮的升起和落下完成得無懈可擊，因為它做得很好。

And so， if you are outside at dawn or dusk and you happen to catch a firefly， you must be sure to let him go because even though he is small， it is he who decides when the sun rises and sets.

因此，如果黎明或黃昏時，你在外面碰巧捉住了螢火蟲，一定要放了它，因為即使它很小，也能決定太陽何時升起和落下。

（英語原文選自：gutenberg.org）

【Notes】

1. firefly ?n. 螢火蟲

2. zebra ?n. 斑馬

3. sleepy-headed bug瞌睡蟲

4. complain ?v. 投訴;發(fā)牢騷;訴說

5. glow ?v. 發(fā)出微弱而穩(wěn)定的光

6. dull ?adj. 鈍的;遲鈍的;無趣的

7. signal ?v. 標志;用信號通知;表示

8. switch ?v. 替換;轉(zhuǎn)換

9. dawn ?n. 黎明

10. dusk ?n. 黃昏

11. breathe ?v. 呼吸

12. burst ?n. （突然的）一陣

13. rest ?n. 剩余部分;其余的人（或物）

14. fail ?n. 失敗，不及格