The Cave of Fear恐惧之洞

There was once a town where the thingeveryone feared the most was getting lost atnight in the“Cave of Fear”. No one had everreturned from there， and whenever anyonegot lost and ended up there， the last that washeard was a great cry of terror， followed by afew enormous1 guffaws2. The people livedin fear that one day the monster would leavethe cave. So they regularly left gifts and foodat the mouth of the cave， and these alwayssoon disappeared.

从前，在一个小镇上，每个人最害怕的事情就是晚上在“恐惧之洞”里迷路。从来没有人从那里回来过，每当有人迷路，并最终走到那里去的时候，最后人们听到的是一声恐怖的惊叫，接着是几声狂笑。镇上的居民生活在恐惧中，害怕有一天怪物会离开山洞。所以他们经常在洞口留下礼品和食物，而这些东西总是很快就消失了。

One day， a young man came to the town，and， as he heard about the situation with thecave， he thought that it was unfair. So hedecided to enter the cave and confront3 themonster. The young man asked for some help，but everyone was so afraid that no one wantedto go to the mouth of the cave with him. Hewent inside， finding his way with a torch4，and calling out to the monster， wanting to talkwith it and discuss the situation. At first， the"monster had a good long laugh， and theyoung man followed the sound of themonster’s voice. But then the monsterwent quiet， and the young man had tocarry on， not knowing in which directionto go.

一天，一个年轻人来到镇上，当他听说这个洞穴的情况时，他认为这是不公平的。所以他决定进入洞穴会会那只怪物。年轻人请求帮助，但每个人都很害怕，没有一个人愿意跟他走到洞口。他走了进去，举着火把找路，大声向怪物喊话，想和它谈谈，讨论一下现在的情况。一开始，怪物笑了很久，年轻人跟着怪物的声音走。但之后怪物安静了下来，年轻人只好继续往前走，但不知道该往哪个方向走。

Finally he arrived at a huge cave.At the bottom of the cave he thought hecould make out the figure of the monster，and as he stepped close to it， he felt thatsomething hit him hard on his back. Thispushed him towards a hole in the rock.He couldn’t avoid it， and fell through.Believing that he was about to die， he letout one last cry. Then he heard the greatguffaws.

最后，他来到了一个巨大的洞穴。在洞穴的底部，他觉得自己可以辨认出那个怪物的身影。当他走近它时，他感到有什么东西重重地砸在他的背上。这把他推向岩石上的一个洞。他躲闪不及，掉了下去。他以为自己就要死了，于是最发出了最后一声哀嚎。然后他听到了一阵哄笑。

“Damn it， I think the monster hasswallowed5 me，”he said while falling.

“该死，我想怪物把我吞下去了。”他一边往下掉一边说。

However， as he fell， he heard music，and voices. They got clearer， and when hemade a soft landing at the bottom， heheard a group of people shout，

然而，当他往下掉时，他听到了音乐和人声。声音越来越清晰，当在洞底部安全着陆时，他听到一群人喊道：

“Surprise！ ”

“惊喜！”

Hardly believing it， he found himselfright in the middle of a big party. Thepartygoers were all those people who hadnever returned to the town. Theyexplained to him that this place had beenthe idea of an old mayor6 of the town.That mayor had tried to accomplish greatthings， but was always held back by thefears of the people around him. So themayor invented the story of the monster todemonstrate7 to people how such anattitude was so limiting8. So the youngman stayed there， enjoying the party andthe company of all those who had dared toget into the cave.

难以置信的是，他发现自己正置身于一场盛大的聚会之中。参加聚会的人都是那些再也没有回到镇上的人。他们向他解释说，这个地方是镇上一位老镇长的主意。那位镇长曾想干一番大事业，但他周围人的恐惧总是使他裹足不前。所以镇长编造了这个怪物的故事来向人们证明这种态度是多么的狭隘。那个年轻人就待在那里，享受着这个派对，享受着那些敢于走进洞穴的人的陪伴。

And what about the town？ In the townthey still believe that to enter the Cave ofFear is the worst of all punishments9...

那小镇呢？在镇上，人们仍然认为进入“恐惧之洞”是最糟糕的惩罚……

（英语原文选自：freestoriesforkids.com）