Bopoluchi
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2008-04-30 01:30 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

A number of young girls were drawing water at the village well and telling each other their fantasies of when and whom and how they would marry.
One of them said, "My uncle will come loaded with wedding presents and dress me in brocade, and I'll get married in a palace."

Another said, "My uncle is coming soon with a camel-load of sweets."

The third said, "Oh, my uncle will be here in no time in a golden carriage filled with jewels."

Bopoluchi was the prettiest of them all and she looked sad---she was an orphan1 and had no one in the world to arrange a marriage for her or give her a dowry. Still, not to be outdone by the others, she said, "And my uncle will bring me dresses, sweets, and jewels in golden plates."

A robber, disguised as a peddler selling perfumes to country women, happened to be sitting near the well. He heard what Bopoluchi said. He was so struck by her beauty and spirit that he decided2 to marry her himself. So the very next day, he disguised himself as a rich farmer and came to Bopoluchi's hut with trays full of silken dresses, sweets, and rare jewels---things he had looted and put away.

Bopoluchi could hardly believe her eyes, for it was just as she had fantasized.

The robber even said he was her uncle, her father's long-lost brother, and had come home to arrange his niece's wedding with one of his sons.

Bopoluchi couldn't believe her ears, but she believed him and was ecstatic. She packed up her few belongings3 and set off with the robber.

But as they went along the road, a crow in a tree croaked5:

 

     "Bopoluchi, beware!

     Smell the danger in the air!

     It's no uncle that relieves you

     But a robber who deceives you!"


"Uncle," said Bopoluchi, "that crow croaks6 in a funny way. What does it say?" "Nothing," said the robber. "All the crows in this country croak4 like that."

A little farther on, they met a peacock which, as soon as it caught sight of the pretty girl, began to scream:

 

     "Bopoluchi, beware!

     Smell the danger in the air!

     It's no uncle that relieves you

     But a robber who deceives you!"


"Uncle," said the girl, "that peacock screams in a funny way. What does it say?"
"Oh, nothing," said the robber. "All the peacocks scream like that in this country." Then a jackal slunk across the road and began to howl:

 

     "Bopoluchi, beware!

     Smell the danger in the air!

     It's no uncle that relieves you

     But a robber who deceives you!"


"Uncle," said Bopoluchi, "that jackal howls in such a funny way. What does it say?"
"Oh, nothing," said the robber. "All the jackals howl like that in this country."

So Bopoluchi traveled with him many miles till they reached the robber's house. Once they were inside, he locked the door and told her who he was and how he wanted to marry her himself. She wept and wailed7, but the pitiless robber left her with his ancient crone of a mother and went out to make arrangements for the marriage feast.

Now Bopoluchi had long, beautiful hair that reached down to her ankles, but the mother of the robber was so old she didn't have a hair on her head.

"Daughter," said the old hag, as she was getting the bridal clothes ready, "how did you manage to get such beautiful hair?"

"Well," replied Bopoluchi, "my mother had a way of making it grow by pounding my head in the big mortar8 for husking rice. At every stroke of the pestle9, my hair grew longer and longer. It's a method that never fails."

"Maybe it will work for me, too, and make my hair grow," said the old woman, who had always wanted long hair and never had very much. "Maybe it will. Why don't we try it?" said Bopoluchi.

So the old mother put her head in the mortar, and Bopoluchi pounded away with such force that the old woman died.

Then Bopoluchi dressed the dead body in the scarlet10 bridal dress, seated it on the bridal chair, drew the veil over its face, and put the spinning-wheel in front of it, so that when the robber came home he might think it was his bride. Then she put on the old woman's clothes, picked up her few belongings, and stepped out of the house as quickly as possible.

On her way home, the robber saw her hurrying by. He had stolen a millstone to grind the grain for the feast. She was scared he would recognize her, but he didn't. He thought she was some old woman hobbling along. So Bopoluchi reached home safely.

When the robber came home and saw the figure in the bridal dress sitting in the bridal chair spinning, he thought it was Bopoluchi. He called her to help him with the millstone, but she didn't answer. He called again, but she still didn't answer. After calling a few more times, he flew into a rage and threw the millstone at her head. The figure toppled over, and when he came close, it wasn't Bopoluchi at all but his own old mother with her head bashed in. The robber wept and cried aloud and beat his breast because he thought he had killed his own mother. Soon it became clear to him that Bopoluchi was no longer around and had run away. He was wild with rage and ran out to bring her back, wherever she was.

When she reached home, Bopoluchi knew that the robber would certainly come after her. Every night she begged her neighbors to let her sleep in a different house, leaving her own little bed in her own little house empty. But she couldn't do this forever, as she soon came to the end of friends who would let her sleep in their houses. So she decided to brave it out and sleep in her own bed, with a sharp billhook next to her. Sure enough, in the middle of the night four men crept in, and each seizing a leg of the bed, lifted it up and walked off. The robber himself held the leg close behind her head. Bopoluchi was wide awake, but she pretended to be fast asleep until they came to a deserted11 spot and the thieves were off their guard. Then she whipped out the billhook and in a flash cut off the heads of the two thieves at the foot of the bed. Turning around quickly, she cut off the head of the third thief, but the robber himself ran away in a fright and scrambled12 up a nearby tree like a wild cat before she could get at him.

Bopoluchi cried out to him, brandishing13 her billhook, "Come down, if you are a man, and fight it out!"

But the robber would not come down. So Bopoluchi gathered all the sticks she could find, piled them around the tree, and set fire to them. The tree caught fire, and the robber, stifled14 by the smoke, tried to jump down and broke his neck.

After that, Bopoluchi went to the robber's house and carried off all the gold and silver, jewels, and clothes that were hidden there. She had them brought home to her village in silver and gold platters, on camels and donkeys. She was now so rich she could marry anyone she pleased.

 



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 orphan QJExg     
n.孤儿;adj.无父母的
参考例句:
  • He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大,并且把自己的医术传给了他。
  • The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。
2 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
3 belongings oy6zMv     
n.私人物品,私人财物
参考例句:
  • I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
  • Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。
4 croak yYLzJ     
vi.嘎嘎叫,发牢骚
参考例句:
  • Everyone seemed rather out of sorts and inclined to croak.每个人似乎都有点不对劲,想发发牢骚。
  • Frogs began to croak with the rainfall.蛙随着雨落开始哇哇叫。
5 croaked 9a150c9af3075625e0cba4de8da8f6a9     
v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 );用粗的声音说
参考例句:
  • The crow croaked disaster. 乌鸦呱呱叫预报灾难。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • 'she has a fine head for it," croaked Jacques Three. “她有一个漂亮的脑袋跟着去呢,”雅克三号低沉地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
6 croaks 79095b2606858d4d3d1e57833afa7e65     
v.呱呱地叫( croak的第三人称单数 );用粗的声音说
参考例句:
  • A burst of noisy croaks came from the pond. 从池塘里传来了一阵喧噪的蛙鸣。 来自互联网
  • The noise in the zoo turned out to be the croaks of bullfrogs. 动物园里喧噪得很,原来是一群牛蛙在叫。 来自互联网
7 wailed e27902fd534535a9f82ffa06a5b6937a     
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句
8 mortar 9EsxR     
n.灰浆,灰泥;迫击炮;v.把…用灰浆涂接合
参考例句:
  • The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
  • The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。
9 pestle dMGxX     
n.杵
参考例句:
  • He ground the rock candy with a mortar and pestle.他自己动手用研钵和杵把冰糖研成粉。
  • An iron pestle can be ground down to a needle.只要功夫深,铁杵磨成针。
10 scarlet zD8zv     
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的
参考例句:
  • The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
  • The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了,深红的颜色变成了绯红,绯红又变为浅红。
11 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
12 scrambled 2e4a1c533c25a82f8e80e696225a73f2     
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 brandishing 9a352ce6d3d7e0a224b2fc7c1cfea26c     
v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 );炫耀
参考例句:
  • The horseman came up to Robin Hood, brandishing his sword. 那个骑士挥舞着剑,来到罗宾汉面前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He appeared in the lounge brandishing a knife. 他挥舞着一把小刀,出现在休息室里。 来自辞典例句
14 stifled 20d6c5b702a525920b7425fe94ea26a5     
(使)窒息, (使)窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 ); 镇压,遏制; 堵
参考例句:
  • The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。
  • The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。
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