11.Other Wise Men of Gotham哥坦城其他的聪明人-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《西方老故事50篇Fifty Famous Stories Retold》

Fifty Famous Stories Retold 11.Other Wise Men of Gotham One day,news was brought to Gotham that the king was coming that way, and that he would pass through the town.This did not please the men of Gotham at all.They hated the king,for they knew that he was a cruel,bad man.If he came to their town,they would have to find food and lodging for him and his men;and if he saw anything that pleased him,he would be sure to take it for his own.What should they do? They met together to talk the matter over. "Let us chop down the big trees in the woods,so that they will block up all the roads that lead into the town,"said one of the wise men. “Good!”said all the rest.. So they went out with their axes,and soon all the roads and paths to the town were filled with logs and brush.The king's horse-men would have a hard time of it getting into Gotham.They would either have to make a new road,or give up the plan altogether,and go on to some other place. When the king came,and saw that the road had been blocked up,he was very angry. "Who chopped those trees down in my way?"he asked of two country lads that were passing by. “The men of Gotham,”said the lads. ·066· 西方老故事50篇 11.哥坦城其他的聪明人 一天，有消息传到哥坦城，说国王很快要从这里经 过。得到消息的哥坦城的人一点也高兴不起来。他们憎 恨国王，因为大家都知道国王是一个残暴的恶人。如果 国王来到这里，哥坦城的人就要给他和一起随行的人准 备膳食和住宿，而且凡是国王喜欢的东西，就一定要据 为己有。他们该怎么办呢？ 于是，哥坦城的人聚在一起商量这件事情。 ①chop [tfop]g砍 “我们把树林里的大树砍倒，堵住所有通向城里的 道路。”一个聪明人说。 “这个主意好！”其他人附和道。 于是，他们带着斧头出发了。很快，所有通往城里 ②1ogbg]n.木材 的道路都被木头和树枝堵住了。国王的马队要进哥坦城 ③bush[brJ]n.断落（或 将会十分困难，他们要么需要开辟一条新路，要么就得 砍下】的树枝 放弃原来的计划到别处去。 国王看见道路都被堵死了，便十分生气。 “是谁砍倒这些树挡住了我的路？”国王询问两个 经过的乡下小孩。 “是哥坦人。”小孩们说。 ·067· Fifty Famous Stories Retold “Wel,”said the king,“go and tell the men of Gotham that I shall send my sheriff into their town,and have all their noses cut off." The two lads ran to the town as fast as they could,and made known what the king had said. Everybody was in great fright.The men ran from house to house,carrying the news,and asking one another what they should do. "Our wits have kept the king out of the town,"said one;"and so now our wits must save our noses..” "True,true!"said the others."But what shall we do?" Then one,whose name was Dobbin,and who was thought to be the wisest of them all,said,"Let me tell you something.Many a man has been punished because he was wise,but I have never heard of any one being harmed because he was a fool.So,when the king's sheriff comes,let us all act like fools." “Good,good!”cried the others.“We will all act like fools.” It was no easy thing for the king's men to open the roads;and while they were doing it,the king grew tired of waiting,and went back to London.But very early one morning,the sheriff with a party of fierce soldiers rode through the woods,and between the fields,toward Gotham.Just before they reached the town,they saw a queer sight.The old men were rolling big stones up the hill,and all the young men were looking on,and grunting very loudly. The sheriff stopped his horses,and asked what they were doing. "We are rolling stones uphill to make the sun rise,"said one of the old men. "You foolish fellow!"said the sheriff."Don't you know that the sun will rise without any help?" "Ah!will it?"said the old man."Well,I never thought of that.How wise you are!" "And what are you doing?"said the sheriff to the young men. ·068· 西方老故事50篇 “好啊！”国王说，“你们去告诉哥坦人，就说我 ①sheriff[feri0n.郡长 要派郡长来把他们的鼻子割掉。” 两个小孩吓得拼命跑回城里，把国王的话转告给了 大家。 哥坦城的人个个都感到十分恐惧。人们挨家挨户奔 走相告，都不知道该怎么应对。 “既然我们能够用智慧阻止国王进城，”有个人说， “现在我们就要用智慧来挽救我们的鼻子。” “就是！就是！”其他人附和说，“那我们该怎么 做呢？” 这时，他们当中被公认为最聪明的人多宾说：“我 想让大家明白，很多人都是因为太聪明才遭受到惩罚， 可是我还没听说过有人因为愚蠢而受到伤害的。所以国 王的郡长来后，我们大家都要装成傻瓜。 “好主意！好主意！”其他人都叫了起来，“我们 都装成傻瓜。” 要打通进城的道路绝非易事。国王的部下还没把路 开完，国王已经等得不耐烦返回伦敦去了。一天清晨， 郡长带着人马气势汹汹地穿过树林，从田野里径直向哥 ②grunt[grnt]k发哼声 坦城赶来。快到城里的时候，他们见到一副奇怪的景象： 老人们正在把大石头往山上推，年轻人却站在一边袖手 旁观，嘴里还在大声呻吟着。 郡长勒住马，问这些人在干什么。 “我们把石头往山上推，好让太阳升起来。”一个 老人回答说。 “你们这群傻瓜！”郡长说，“难道你们不知道太 阳无须借助任何力量，自然就会升起吗？” “啊，真的吗？”那个老人说，“太好了，我们怎 么从来没有想到过。你真聪明啊！” “那你们又在做什么呢？”郡长又问那些年轻人。 ·069· Fifty Famous Stories Retold "Oh,we do the grunting while our fathers do the working,"they answered. “Isee,”said the sheriff..“Wel,that is the way the world goes everywhere.” And he rode on toward the town. He soon came to a field where a number of men were building a stone wall. “What are you doing?”he asked. “Whyo,master,.”they answered,“there is a cuckoo②in this field,and we are building a wall around it so as to keep the bird from straying away . "You foolish fellows!"said the sheriff."Don't you know that the bird will fly over the top of your wall,no matter how high you build it?" “Why,no,”they said.“We never thought of that.How very wise you are!” The sheriff next met a man who was carrying a door on his back. "What are you doing?"he asked. "I have just started on a long journey,"said the man. "But why do you carry that door?"asked the sheriff. "I left my money at home." "Then why didn't you leave the door at home too?" "I was afraid of thieves;and you see,if I have the door with me,they can't break it open and get in." "You foolish fellow!"said the sheriff."It would be safer to leave the door at home,and carry the money with you." "Ah,would it,though?"said the man."Now,I never thought of that.You are the wisest man that I ever saw." Then the sheriff rode on with his men;but every one that they met was doing some silly thing. "Truly.I believe that the people of Gotham are all fools,"said one of the horsemen. "That is true,"said another."It would be a shame to harm such simple people." ·070· 西方老故事50篇 “噢，父辈们在忙碌，我们年轻人站在旁边哼哼。” 他们回答道。 “我明白了，”郡长说，“很好，这种事情全世界都 一样。” 说完，他继续往城里骑去。 ①why [hwai]it.噢I 很快，郡长走到一片田野，看见很多人正在修一道 ②cuckoo[ku:ku:]m.布谷 鸟 石墙。 ③stray away走失 “你们在做什么？”他又问。 “噢，长官，”他们答道，“田野里有一只杜鹃，我 们想修一道墙围起来，这样它就跑不掉了。” “你们这群傻瓜！”郡长说，“你们难道不知道不 管墙砌得有多高，鸟都能从墙头上飞出去吗？” “哎呀，不错。”他们说，“我们怎么从来没有想到 过。你真聪明啊！” 接着，郡长又遇到一个人，此人的背上正扛着一扇门。 “你在干什么？”郡长问。 “我正要出一趟远门。”此人答道。 “那你为什么背着门？”郡长又问。 “我把钱留在家里了。” “那你为什么不把门也留在家里呢？” “我怕有贼偷！你看，如果我把门带在身边，贼就 不能破门而入了。” “你这个意货！”郡长说，“你应该把门留在家里， 把钱带在身上，这样不是更安全吗？” “啊，真是这样。”这个人说，“我居然没有想到这 一点。你是我见过的最聪明的人。” 郡长和他的部下骑着马继续往前走，他们遇到的每 一个人都在做着一些愚蠢的事情。 “真的，我敢肯定哥坦城的人都是些傻瓜。”一个 骑兵说。 ·071· Fifty Famous Stories Retold "Let us ride back to London,and tell the king all about them,"said the sheriff. “Yes,let us do so,”said the horsemen. So they went back,and told the king that Gotham was a town of fools;and the king laughed,and said that if that was the case,he would not harm them,but would let them keep their noses. ·072· 西方老故事50篇 “一点也不错。”另一个骑兵说，“伤害那些蠢蛋可 不是什么光彩的事。” “我们回伦敦吧，把大家看到的禀告给国王，”郡 长说。 “好吧，就这么办！”骑兵们说。 于是郡长和他的手下返回伦敦，告诉国王哥坦城是 一个愚人城。国王听后便哈哈大笑起来，说如果果真如 此，就不去伤害那些人了，就让他们留着自己的鼻子吧！ ·073·