乔治与恶龙

from British Council

翻译：Crazier

乔治与恶龙

from British Council

翻译：Crazier

George and the Dragon

很久很久以前，巨龙突然出现，王国非常危险，公主命悬一线。这时，勇敢的骑士赶来，杀死了巨龙，解救了公主。相信大家对这类故事都不会感到陌生吧！那你们有没有发现，在西方文化中，龙是邪恶的形象，它无恶不作，和我们中国文化中龙的形象很不一样呢？

Once upon a time, there was a brave1)knight called George. George travelled by horse across many lands.

One day, he came to a small village and met a man who lived in a cave. The man told the knight about the awful things about the village. A terrible dragon had come to live in the lake and attacked the village every day.

The villagers didn’t know what to do. At first, they gave the dragon all their food, but the dragon just took the food and still attacked the village.

So then the villagers gave the dragon all their animals. The dragon took all the animals, but continued to attack the villagers.

So then they gave the dragon all their money. The dragon took all their money, but still was not satisfed.

The king sent his army to2)capture the dragon, but the dragon was too strong and the knights of the army were too scared and they ran away.

With nothing left to give, the king could only think of one thing to help3)protect his people. He sent his only daughter, the princess, to the lake.

When George heard this, he rode as fast as he could to the lake. Just then the dragon jumped out from the lake and was going to eat the princess.

George fought very bravely. He won the fight and killed the dragon. George and the princess returned to the village and everyone was very pleased.

Today, the story of George’s bravery is remembered and George is known as the4)patron saint of many countries.

从前，有位勇敢的骑士名叫乔治。他骑马穿行于各个城邦间。

一天，他来到一个小村庄，遇到了一个住在山洞里的人。这个人向骑士讲述了村庄悲惨的境遇：有一条恶龙住进村子附近的湖里，每天都会袭击他们的村庄。

村民们走投无路。起初，村民们把所有的食物都给了恶龙，但恶龙拿走了食物后仍继续袭击村庄。

后来村民们只得把他们所有的牲畜交给恶龙。恶龙拿走了牲畜，但还是在不停地攻击他们。

于是村民们又把所有的钱都给了恶龙。恶龙拿走了钱，却依然不满足。

国王曾派出军队去捉拿恶龙，但这条恶龙实在是太凶猛，军队的骑士们都被吓得落荒而逃。

最后实在是没有什么东西可以献给恶龙了，为了保护他的子民，国王只得把他唯一的公主送去湖里。

乔治听说这一消息后，立即骑马赶到了湖边。这时恶龙正好窜出水面，准备把公主给吃了。

乔治英勇地同恶龙展开了殊死搏斗，最后成功击杀了恶龙。乔治和公主平安归来，大家都欢欣鼓舞。

至今，乔治的英勇事迹仍广为流传。许多国家都将他奉为守护神。

1) knight [naɪt] n. 骑士

2) capture ['kæptʃə] v. 俘获，捕获

3) protect [prə'tekt] v. 保护

4) patron saint ['peɪtrən seɪnt] n. 守护神