诗翁彼豆故事集 第8期:好运泉(3)

 　　Before they could reach it, however, they came to a stream that ran round the hilltop, barring their way. 可是，没等他们来到泉边，却遇到了一条小溪。这条溪流环绕山顶，挡住了他们的去路。

　　In the depths of the clear water lay a smooth stone bearing the words: Pay me the treasure of your past. 在清澈的水深处，有一块光滑的石头，上面显出这样一行字：把你过去的财富给我。
　　Sir Luckless attempted to float across the stream on his shield, but it sank. 倒霉爵士想乘着他的盾牌漂流过，可是盾牌沉入了水中。
　　The three witches pulled him from the water, then tried to leap the brook 1 themselves, but it would not let them cross, and all the while the sun was sinking lower in the sky. 三个女巫把爵士从河里拉了上来，然后她们想从小溪上一跃而过，然而溪流不让她们通过，这时太阳在天空中越落越低了。
　　So they fell to pondering the meaning of the stone's message, and Amata was the first to understand. 于是他们开始思索石头上那句话的意思，阿玛塔第一个明白过来。
　　Taking her wand, she drew from her mind all the memories of happy times she had spent with her vanished lover, and dropped them into the rushing waters. 她拔出魔杖，从脑海里抽出她和她已离去的情人一起度过的所有快乐时光，把它们丢进了流淌的河水。
　　The stream swept them away, and stepping stones appeared, and the three witches and the knight 2 were able to pass at last on to the summit of the hill. 溪流把这些记忆带走了，河里出现了几块踏脚石，三个女巫和骑士终于能过河去山顶了。
　　The Fountain shimmered 3 before them, set amidst herbs and flowers rarer and more beautiful than any they had yet seen. 好运泉在他们面前闪闪发亮，四周环绕着奇花异草，美艳稀有实属平生罕见。
　　The sky burned ruby 4, and it was time to decide which of them would bathe. 天空翻涌着红宝石般的光芒，现在应该决定让谁洗浴了。
　　Before they could make their decision, however, frail 5 Asha fell to the ground. 就在他们作出决定前，虚弱的阿莎昏倒在地上。
　　Exhausted 6 by their struggle to the summit, she was close to death. 到达山顶的这一路把她累垮了，她已经奄奄一息。
　　Her three friends would have carried her to the Fountain, but Asha was in mortal agony and begged them not to touch her. 她的三个朋友想把她抬到好运泉旁，可是阿莎正处濒死之痛，恳求他们不要碰她。
　　Then Altheda hastened to pick all those herbs she thought most hopeful, and mixed them in Sir Luckless's gourd 7 of water, and poured the potion into Asha's mouth. 于是艾尔蒂达赶紧去采摘所有她认为有效的草药，把它们和倒霉爵士葫芦里的水调匀了，喂进阿莎的嘴里。
　　At once, Asha was able to stand. What was more, all symptoms of her dread 8 malady 9 had vanished. 阿莎立马能够站起来了。而且，她绝症的所有症状都消失了。
　　'I am cured!' she cried. 'I have no need of the Fountain – let Altheda bathe!' “我痊愈了！”她大声说，“我不需要好运泉了——让艾尔蒂达洗浴吧！”
　　But Altheda was busy collecting more herbs in her apron 10. 可是艾尔蒂达正忙着采摘更多的草药，放在她的围裙里。
　　'If I can cure this disease, I shall earn gold aplenty! Let Amata bathe!' “既然我能治愈这种疾病，我就能挣到很多金子！让阿玛塔洗浴吧！”
　　Sir Luckless bowed, and gestured Amata towards the Fountain, but she shook her head. 倒霉爵士鞠了一个躬，示意阿玛塔朝泉水走去，可是阿玛塔摇了摇头。
　　The stream had washed away all regret for her lover, and she saw now that he had been cruel and faithless, and that it was happiness enough to be rid of him. 河水冲走了她对恋人的所有思念，她这才发现他是多么冷酷无忠，能够摆脱他实在是一种幸福。
　　'Good sir, you must bathe, as a reward for all your chivalry 11!' she told Sir Luckless. “善良的先生，你去洗浴吧，作为对你侠义行为的报偿！”她对倒霉爵士说。
　　So the knight clanked forth 12 in the last rays of the setting sun, and bathed in the Fountain of Fair Fortune, astonished that he was the chosen one of hundreds and giddy with his incredible luck. 于是，在夕阳的最后几道余晖中，骑士铿铿锵锵地走上前去，在好运泉里洗了澡，他惊讶地发现自己成了千里挑一的幸运儿，并为这不可思议的好运气感到飘飘然。
　　As the sun fell below the horizon, Sir Luckless emerged from the waters with the glory of his triumph upon him, and flung himself in his rusted 13 armour 14 at the feet of Amata, who was the kindest and most beautiful woman he had ever beheld 15. 太阳沉落到地平线下，倒霉爵士从泉水里走出来，周身闪耀着喜悦的光芒，他穿着锈迹斑斑的盔甲，扑倒在阿玛塔脚下，觉得阿玛塔是他见过的最善良最美丽的女人。
　　Flushed with success, he begged for her hand and her heart, and Amata, no less delighted, realised that she had found a man worthy 16 of them. 他春风得意地向她求婚，请求得到她的芳心。阿玛塔也非常高兴，意识到自己发现了一个值得以心相许的男人。
　　The three witches and the knight set off down the hill together, arm in arm, and all four led long and happy lives, and none of them ever knew or suspected that the Fountain's waters carried no enchantment 17 at all. 三个女巫和骑士手挽手，一起朝山下走去。四个人非常幸福地活了很久，可他们谁也不知道，也从未怀疑过，其实好运泉的泉水一点魔法也没有。