張恒

Onions and Garlic

洋蔥和大蒜

Long ago there lived two brothers， Joshua and Eli. They lived on a farm and were very poor. Joshua worked hard every day. Eli was lazy and didnt like to work.

很久以前，有兩個(gè)兄弟，約書(shū)亞和伊萊。他們住在農(nóng)場(chǎng)里，家里很窮。約書(shū)亞每天都努力工作；伊萊很懶，不喜歡工作。

One day， Joshua heard of a kingdom far away. This kingdom didnt have onions！Hmmmm， thought Joshua. If I could sell them onions， theyd pay a lot of money！He asked to see the king and was granted an audience1. Joshua told the king about the onions and the king was curious2. He invited Joshua to make a big feast3 with many dishes prepared with onions.

有一天，約書(shū)亞聽(tīng)說(shuō)遠(yuǎn)方有一個(gè)王國(guó)，這個(gè)王國(guó)里沒(méi)有洋蔥！“嗯，”約書(shū)亞想，“如果我能把洋蔥賣(mài)給他們，他們會(huì)付很多錢(qián)！”他請(qǐng)求覲見(jiàn)國(guó)王，之后獲得接見(jiàn)。約書(shū)亞和國(guó)王談到了洋蔥，國(guó)王很好奇。他邀請(qǐng)約書(shū)亞用洋蔥為一場(chǎng)盛大宴會(huì)準(zhǔn)備了很多菜。

That evening， the king and his guests tasted the dishes. Everyone agreed， the onion made everything taste so much better！The king smiled from ear to ear. He said to Joshua， “These onions are the most precious4 thing in my kingdom. In return for them， I will give you their equal weight in the most precious thing I have—diamonds.” Joshua was rich at once and returned to his village with a wagon full of diamonds.

那天晚上，國(guó)王和他的客人品嘗了這些菜肴。每個(gè)人都贊同，加了洋蔥的菜美味多了！國(guó)王不由地滿面笑容，他對(duì)約書(shū)亞說(shuō)：“這些洋蔥是我國(guó)最寶貴的東西。作為回報(bào)，我會(huì)給你重量相等的我所擁有的最珍貴的東西——鉆石?！奔s書(shū)亞立刻變得很富有，他帶著裝滿鉆石的馬車(chē)回到了村莊。

Joshua shared his wealth but his brother Eli was still very jealous5. He asked Joshua if this kingdom has garlic. Joshua thought and said， “In fact， they dont have any garlic.” Hmmmm， thought Eli. If I could sell them garlic， Id be very rich. Garlic is much tastier than onions.

約書(shū)亞分享了他的財(cái)富，但他的兄弟伊萊仍然非常嫉妒。他問(wèn)約書(shū)亞那個(gè)王國(guó)有沒(méi)有大蒜。約書(shū)亞想了想，說(shuō)：“老實(shí)說(shuō)，他們沒(méi)有蒜。”“嗯，”伊萊想，“如果我把大蒜賣(mài)給他們，我就會(huì)變得富有。大蒜可比洋蔥美味多了?！?/p>

Eli traveled to the kingdom as his brother had done. Just like Joshua， he got an audience with the king and made a feast. And just like Joshua， the king announced garlic the most precious thing in his kingdom. The king said， “I will give you their equal weight in the most precious thing in my kingdom. Onions！”

伊萊和他的兄弟一樣去了那個(gè)王國(guó)。就像約書(shū)亞一樣，他得到了國(guó)王的接見(jiàn)并準(zhǔn)備了一場(chǎng)盛宴。又像約書(shū)亞那樣，國(guó)王宣稱大蒜是王國(guó)里最寶貴的東西。國(guó)王說(shuō)：“我會(huì)給你同等重量的我國(guó)最寶貴的東西——洋蔥！”

Notes：

1. grant an audience接見(jiàn)，召見(jiàn) 2. curious adj. 好奇的，有求知欲的

3. feast n. 筵席，宴會(huì) 4. precious adj. 寶貴的；珍貴的

5. jealous adj. 妒忌的；猜疑的