中国故事89 | The River God’s Gifts Part 2 金斧头银斧头2

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89. The River God’s Gifts Part 2

金斧头银斧头2

河神先后向程实提供了金、银两把斧头，但程实都诚实地表示：这把斧头不是自己的。于是，河神找到了程实的斧头，用石头打磨使之更加锋利，用鲤鱼的蛋摩擦刀面，使刀用起来更快，最后将斧头还给了程实。第二日，张扒皮有意将一把旧斧头丢入河中，企图换得一把金斧头，他能够如愿吗？

Usually I collect things people drop in my river. “Finders, keepers— losers, weepers!” is my motto. I’m a river god, so I get to keep what I like.

But one day, Cheng Shi accidentally dropped his axe in the water. It was a useful tool, but I didn’t want to keep it. Instead, I offered him a golden axe to replace the one he had lost. His eyes grew big as he stared first at me and my long white beard, and then the axe.

He shook his head. “Thank you, Grandfather River, but that is not my axe. Mine is not as fancy.”

I nodded and dove under the water. Gold is very soft, not good for chopping wood.

I found a shiny silver axe. “Go on,” I said to the crab crawling along the blade. It waved a claw at me, then hopped off.

I surfaced. “How about this one?”

He shook his head, disappointed. “It’s beautiful, but no. Mine is made for hard work. I want to be a master carver someday.”

I dove under the log and found Cheng Shi’s axe in the sand.

I sharpened it with a stone. The balance was off, so I fixed that. Then Irubbed a few silver carp eggs on it to make the axe faster and better. I’m a bit of a handyman, you see.

“Here it is,” I said, handing it to Cheng Shi.

“Thank you, Grandfather River!” he shouted, smiling. He took the axe, bowed to me, and trotted off.

“Don’t swing it!” I called after him. “Don’t run with the axe!”

The next day, Zhang Bapi came to the log bridge. He dangled an old axe over the river. He sang a little tune, “Gold is the thing that has all the bling! Gold and silver make me want to sing! Gold, gold, gold!” Then he dropped the axe into the water.

“Grandfather River,” he cried. “I’ve lost my axe. Please help me. It’s golden. Priceless.'

“One axe, coming right up,” I said.

I gave him his axe. He shook his head. “That’s not it.”

He sniffed and dabbed his eyes.

I kicked as I dove, splashing Zhang Bapi’s feet.

He shook his head when I showed him the silver axe. “Gold,” he said.

“G-O-L-D.

How rude! I gave a big kick as I dove. From under the log, I laughed as water dowsed Zhang Bapi from head to feet.

I sprinkled a few red carp eggs on the gold axe, then surfaced.

Zhang Bapi’s eyes bugged out like the eyes of a goldfish. His mouth flapped open like a hungry carp. “Gold, gold!” he sputtered, reaching for the axe.

I handed it to him. He struggled to keep ahold of the slippery axe.

I dove, kicking the water as hard as I could. I looked upward to see a wave of water rising over Zhang Bapi’s head. Zhang Bapi hugged the axe and lost his balance. The wave pulled him off the log. He fell into the river and sank quickly. He drowned.

I stored the gold axe under “G.” It is too soft to be good as an axe, but it is good as gold. I stored Zhang Bapi under “G” too, for “greed.” If Zhang Bapi knew he would spend forever with my golden treasure, I think he would be happy.

Cheng Shi worked hard with his axe. Over time, he progressed from a wood chopper to a master wood carver. He often stopped on the log and thanked me. I saw that his axe became even more a part of him.

Everything he carved contained a bit of his goodness and his freedom.

One day, he released some wooden fish that he had carved into the river. I swear I saw them leap over the bridge and swim away.

The End

Question: Do you think the River God is good, bad, or both? Explain your answer by discussing how The River God treats Cheng Shi and Zhang Bapi.

核心词汇

chop v. 砍，劈，斩，剁

crawl v. 爬，爬行

blade n. 刀身，刀片

claw n. （蟹、虾、蝎等的）螯

hop v. 快速行走，跳

carver n. 雕刻者

sharpen v. 削尖，磨快

balance n. 平衡

trot v. 快步走，匆匆忙忙地走

dangle v. 垂着摆动，悬荡

sniff v. （吸着气）嗅，闻

dab v. 轻搽，轻击

dowse v. （口）把……浸入水中

sprinkle v. 洒（液体），撒（粉沫状物）

surface v. （使）升到地面（或水面等）

sputter v. （因激动、愤怒等）气急败坏（或结结巴巴、语无伦次）地说

greed n. 贪婪，贪心

以下翻译来自百度翻译：

通常我收集人们掉在我河里的东西。“发现者，守护者——失败者，哭泣者！”是我的座右铭。我是河神，所以我可以保留我喜欢的东西。

但是有一天，程氏不小心把斧子掉到了水里。这是一个有用的工具，但我不想保留它。相反，我给了他一把金斧子来代替他丢失的那把。当他先盯着我和我长长的白胡子，然后是斧头时，他的眼睛变大了。

他摇摇头。“谢谢你，里弗爷爷，但那不是我的斧头。我的斧头没那么花哨。”

我点了点头，跳入水中。金子很软，不适合劈柴。

我发现了一把闪亮的银斧子。“继续，”我对沿着刀刃爬行的螃蟹说。它向我挥舞着爪子，然后跳了出去。

我浮出水面。“这个怎么样？”

他失望地摇摇头。“它很漂亮，但不是。我的是为辛勤工作而做的。我想有一天成为一名雕刻大师。”

我潜到原木下，在沙子里找到了程氏的斧头。

我用石头把它磨快了。天平坏了，所以我把它修好了。然后在斧头上涂上一些鲢鱼卵，使斧头更快更好。你看，我有点杂工。

“给你，”我说，把它交给程石。

“谢谢你，河爷爷！”他笑着喊道。他拿起斧头，向我鞠躬，然后小跑走了。

“别摇晃它！”我在他身后喊道。“别拿斧头跑！”

第二天，张霸皮来到了木桥。他把一把旧斧子悬在河上。他唱了一首小曲子，“金子是最有光泽的东西！金子和银子让我想唱歌！金子，金子，金子！”然后他把斧子扔进水里。

“祖父河，”他喊道。“我的斧子丢了。请帮帮我。它是金色的，无价之宝。”

“一把斧头，马上就上来，”我说。

我把斧头给了他。他摇了摇头。“不是这样的。”

他嗅了嗅，擦了擦眼睛。

我一边跳伞一边踢，溅到了张八皮的脚上。

当我给他看那把银斧头时，他摇了摇头。“金子，”他说。

“G-O-L-D。

太粗鲁了！我在跳伞的时候踢了一个大脚。在圆木下面，我笑了，水从头到脚地把张八皮打翻了。

我在金斧上撒了几个红鲤鱼蛋，然后浮出水面。

张八皮的眼睛像金鱼的眼睛一样瞪大。他的嘴像饥饿的鲤鱼一样张开。“金子，金子！”他伸手去拿斧头，发出劈啪声。

我把它递给他。他挣扎着抓住那把光滑的斧头。

我跳入水中，使劲踢水。我向上看，一股水波从张八皮的头上升起。张八皮抱住斧头，失去了平衡。波浪把他从圆木上拉了下来。他掉进河里，很快就沉了下去。他淹死了。

我把金斧放在“G”下。它太软了，不能当斧头用，但却像金子一样好。我把张八皮也放在“G”下，是为了“贪婪”。如果张八皮知道他会永远和我的金宝在一起，我想他会很高兴的。

程氏用他的斧头努力工作。随着时间的推移，他从一名伐木工人发展成为一名木雕大师。他经常停在原木上向我道谢。我看到他的斧头更像是他的一部分。

他雕刻的每一样东西都包含着他的善良和自由。

有一天，他放了一些他刻在河里的木鱼。我发誓我看见他们跳过桥游走了。

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