一个国王统治的时代就像日升日落，总有起止，总有边界——老国王木法沙（Mufasa）语重心长地告诉小狮子辛巴（Simba）——要懂得大自然的微妙平衡，要尊重每一种生物；永远不要灰心，永远不要放弃，那些已经故去的伟大人物正从星星上看着你！

        Mufasa: A king's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, Simba, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the new king.
        Simba: And this will all be mine?
        Mufasa: Everything.
        Simba: Everything the light touches. What about that shadowy place?
        Mufasa: That's beyond our borders. You must never go there, Simba.
        Simba: But I thought a king can do whatever he wants.
        Mufasa: Oh, there's more to being king than... getting your way all the time.
        Simba: There's more?
        Mufasa: Simba... Everything you see exists together, in a delicate¹ balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures --- from the crawling³ ant to the leaping antelope⁴. 
        Simba: But, Dad, don't we eat the antelope?
        Mufasa: Yes, Simba but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass. And the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life. Simba let me tell you something that my father told me. Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars.
        Simba: Really?
        Mufasa: Yes, so whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you, and so am I. 

重点讲解

        木法沙以“光照不到的地方”（shadowy a. 有阴影的）为比喻，告诉小辛巴，国王的权力不是无限大，永远不要越过边界（border），一个国王该懂得的远远超越于“时时刻刻随心所欲（getting your way all the time）”。

        对小狮子来说，这些道理太深奥了。老国王接着解释说，从爬行的蚂蚁（crawl² vi 爬，ant 蚂蚁）到跳跃的羚羊（leap v. 跳，antelope羚羊），大自然是环环相扣（be connected in the Circle of Life）的：虽然我们捕食羚羊，可我们死去以后会化为青草，成为羚羊们的美味。

        最后，老狮子叮嘱他的孩子，永远不要灰心，无论什么时候感觉到孤单无助，就仰望星空，那些业已故去的伟大国王们——包括他（so am I，一个表示“也……”的倒装句式）——会看着你，指引你，永远。

        另外，特别需要记住的几个动词或词组：set on 使开始；rise and fall 太阳升起和落下，都是不及物动词；touch原意是触摸，这里指光之所及、所照耀；look at 看。

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