The Moon Lake 月亮湖

楊丹

Once a large herd of elephants lived in a jungle. Their king was a giant tusker1. He looked after all the members of the herd with utmost2 love and care.

Once， a severe drought hit the area. All the birds and the animals started dying out of thirst. The elephant king knew that he had to find water as quickly as possible. He asked the members of the herd to go in different directions to look for water. One of them found a large lake full of water in the woods far away. The king was very happy and ordered all the elephants to make their way to the lake.

The elephants started clearing up the way to the lake for all the members of the herd. There was a colony3 of rabbits also on the way to the jungle. In their excitement of reaching the lake as soon as possible， the elephants trampled4 many rabbits under their feet. All the elephants were very happy to reach the lake. They had fun and frolicked5 in the water the entire day in the lake and once they were thoroughly satisfied， they left.

The rabbits were in a state of panic as they knew that the elephants would return soon. Their king called a meeting. He said， “A herd of wild elephants has homed in on the lake near our colony. They have already killed or injured thousands of us. I am sure， they will come back soon. So， we must think of a way to stop them and prevent more deaths.” One little rabbit stood up and said， “I do have a plan to drive away the elephants from this forest. I will go to meet the king of the elephants when he will come again this side.”

The next day when the rabbit saw the herd of elephants coming towards their side again， he climbed up a huge rock and shouted at the top of his voice， “Oh king of the elephants， hear me， please.” The king heard his voice and turned towards him. “Well， who are you？” he asked. “I am a messenger of the moon，” replied the rabbit. He further added in a firm tone， “I have come here to tell you that the moon is very upset with you as you have soiled6 his lake. He is thinking of punishing you strictly for your deed.” Upon hearing this， the elephant king got frightened. He said， “Please take me to God Moon. I will seek his forgiveness.” The clever rabbit said， “All right！ Meet me alone tonight at the lake.”

That night， the king elephant as told by the rabbit， reached the lake alone. The rabbit and the elephant both stood near the edge of the lake. It was a moonlit night and a mild breeze7 was blowing. The rabbit asked the elephant to look carefully into the water of the lake.

When the king elephant looked into the water， he saw the reflection of the moon. Just then a mild breeze blew and created ripples in the water of the lake. With the ripples， the reflection of the moon in the water also became wavy and disturbed8. Pointing to the disturbed reflection of the moon， the little rabbit said， “Look for yourself， how annoyed God Moon is with you！He may even curse9 you to death， if you do not ask for his forgiveness.”

The king elephant became extremely frightened and promised that he or any member of his herd would never visit the Moons lake again.

The clever trick of the little rabbit worked and all the rabbits lived happily， thereafter. The story tells us that intelligence is superior to might10.

從前，有一大群大象住在叢林里。他們的國(guó)王是一頭巨大的長(zhǎng)牙象。他以極大的愛和關(guān)懷照顧著象群的所有成員。

一次，這個(gè)地區(qū)遭受了一場(chǎng)嚴(yán)重的干旱。所有的鳥和動(dòng)物都開始陸續(xù)渴死。象王知道他必須盡快找到水。他讓象群的成員去不同的方向?qū)ふ宜?。其中的一個(gè)在遠(yuǎn)處的樹林里發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)滿是水的大湖。象王非常高興，命令所有的大象都向那個(gè)湖進(jìn)發(fā)。

大象開始為象群中的所有成員清理通往湖邊的道路。在去叢林的路上還有一群兔子。懷著盡快到達(dá)湖邊的激動(dòng)之情，大象們的腳下踩到了許多兔子。所有的大象都很高興到達(dá)了湖邊。他們?cè)诤锿媪艘徽?，在水里嬉戲，一旦完全盡興了，他們就離開了。

兔子們驚慌失措，因?yàn)樗麄冎来笙髠兒芸炀蜁?huì)回來。他們的國(guó)王召開了一個(gè)會(huì)議。他說：“一群野蠻的象已經(jīng)在我們領(lǐng)地附近的湖邊安家了。他們已經(jīng)殺死或弄傷了我們數(shù)千國(guó)民。我相信，他們很快就會(huì)回來的。因此，我們必須想個(gè)辦法阻止他們以避免更多的傷亡?！币恢恍⊥米诱酒饋碚f：“我有一個(gè)計(jì)劃，可以把大象趕出這片森林。等象王再來這邊的時(shí)候，我要去見他?！?/p>

第二天，當(dāng)這只兔子看到大象群再次向他們這邊走來時(shí)，他爬上一塊巨大的巖石，大聲喊道：“大象之王，請(qǐng)聽我說?！毕笸趼牭搅怂穆曇簦D(zhuǎn)過身來。“你是誰(shuí)？”他問道?！拔沂窃铝恋氖拐??！蓖米踊卮鹫f。他又用堅(jiān)定的語(yǔ)氣補(bǔ)充道：“我來這里是要告訴你，月亮對(duì)你很生氣，因?yàn)槟闩K了他的湖水。他正在考慮嚴(yán)厲懲罰你的行為?！毕笸趼牭竭@話，嚇了一跳。他說：“請(qǐng)帶我去月亮神那里吧。我想尋求他的寬恕?！边@只聰明的兔子說：“好吧！今晚獨(dú)自在湖邊和我見面?！?/p>

那天晚上，象王按照兔子說的獨(dú)自來到了湖邊。兔子和大象都站在湖邊。那是一個(gè)月光明亮的夜晚，微風(fēng)習(xí)習(xí)。兔子讓大象仔細(xì)觀察湖水。

當(dāng)象王往水里看時(shí)，他看到了月亮的倒影。就在這時(shí)，一陣微風(fēng)吹來，湖水泛起漣漪。隨著漣漪，月亮在水中的倒影也變得起伏動(dòng)蕩。指著晃蕩的月亮倒影，小兔子說：“你自己看看，月亮神對(duì)你多惱火?。∪绻悴徽?qǐng)求他的寬恕，他甚至可能會(huì)詛咒你死?！?/p>

象王變得極其害怕，并承諾他或他的象群中的任何一個(gè)成員再也不會(huì)造訪月亮湖了。

小兔子的聰明伎倆奏效了，從此以后所有的兔子都過著幸福的生活。這個(gè)故事告訴我們，智勝于力。

（英語(yǔ)原文選自：mocomi.com）

【Notes】

1. tusker [■] n. 有長(zhǎng)牙的動(dòng)物（象，野豬等） 2. utmost [■] adj. 極度的;最遠(yuǎn)的

3. colony [■] n. 聚集地;動(dòng)物棲息地 4. trample [■] v. 踐踏

5. frolic [■] v. 嬉戲 6. soil [■] v. 弄臟

7. breeze [■] n. 微風(fēng) 8. disturbed [■] adj. 擾亂的;動(dòng)蕩不安的

9. curse [■] v. 詛咒 10. might [■] n. 強(qiáng)大力量，勢(shì)力