是與否的故事

向紅

In a small kingdom， a boy named Yes lived in a small village. Yes was good at many things. He was the best， smartest and most liked person in the village.

在一個(gè)小王國(guó)里，有一個(gè)住在小村莊里名叫“是”的男孩。是擅長(zhǎng)做很多事情。他是這個(gè)村莊里面最好、最聰明也是最受人喜愛(ài)的人。

Yes had a brother， and his name was No. No was jealous1 of his brother because he was not much good at anything himself. Whenever the villagers asked No for help， he says no because he didnt like people very much. Whenever someone asked Yes for a help， he would happily help， and he didnt know that it make No unhappy when he did.

是有一個(gè)弟弟，名叫“否”。否嫉妒他的哥哥，因?yàn)樗约菏裁匆膊簧瞄L(zhǎng)。不管何時(shí)村民們找否尋求幫助的時(shí)候，他都會(huì)拒絕，因?yàn)樗幌矚g這些人。但是當(dāng)村民們向是尋求幫助的話，他會(huì)很樂(lè)意幫助他們。他并不知道當(dāng)他這樣做的時(shí)候，否會(huì)不高興。

One day， Yes and Nos father， Okay， went on a long journey and he left his two sons take care of all the animals. Yes took good care of the duck， the monkey， and the three-toed dog. No didnt want to do the boring things like taking care of the animals. So， No went down to the lake and threw2 stones into the water， not helping his brother.

有一天，是和否的父親，好，要出門(mén)遠(yuǎn)行。他把所有的動(dòng)物交給兩個(gè)兒子照顧，是照顧一只鴨子、一只猴子，還有一只三趾小狗。否不愿意做這些照顧動(dòng)物的無(wú)聊工作，所以他并沒(méi)有幫助哥哥做這些，而是坐在湖邊，向里面扔石頭。

A few days after his father left， Yes asked his brother to watch the three-toed dog while he went to find some food to eat. Not doing what Yes had asked， No went to bed， closed his eyes， and forgot about the dog.

父親離開(kāi)后的幾天，是讓弟弟幫他照看那只三趾的小狗，因?yàn)樗鋈フ倚┏缘幕貋?lái)。不管是跟他交代了什么，否依舊躺在床上，閉上眼睛，完全忘記了小狗的事情。

The King had a personal3 road nearby， and he traveled on it often. That day， the three-toed dog walked onto the road. The Kings carriage4 was passing by and had to turn to avoid5 hitting it. The King was thrown from the carriage and was badly injured6.

國(guó)王在附近有一條私人的道路，而且他經(jīng)常在上面馳騁。那天，這只三趾小狗跑到這條路中間去了，國(guó)王的馬車(chē)剛好經(jīng)過(guò)，為了不撞到這只小狗，馬車(chē)不得不急轉(zhuǎn)彎。國(guó)王從馬車(chē)上摔下來(lái)了，受了很?chē)?yán)重的傷。

The King wanted to know why a three-toed dog had been on his road alone and he asked all the villagers for an explanation7. Yes was always honest8， so he told the King the story.

國(guó)王想知道為什么會(huì)有一只三趾小狗獨(dú)自出現(xiàn)在他的路上，就問(wèn)當(dāng)?shù)氐拇迕褚獋€(gè)說(shuō)法。是很誠(chéng)實(shí)，就把整件事告訴了國(guó)王。

The King thought for a minute， and then he came up with an idea that he was quite happy with. Yes and No were to work in the castle9 as his personal servants10 as punishment11.

國(guó)王想了想，然后想出了一個(gè)他覺(jué)得很好的主意：讓是和否都去他的城堡里給他做仆人，以示懲罰。

The King needed help with many things around the castle because a King cannot be bothered12 with things of a kingdom. However， soon after his idea about the two brothers， the King knew that only Yes would be of any use to him as a servant.

城堡里的國(guó)王需要人幫他做很多事情，因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)國(guó)王不能在治理國(guó)家的時(shí)候被打攪。然而，在那兩兄弟給他當(dāng)仆人之后，國(guó)王很快就知道只有是才是真正有用的仆人。

Whenever the King asked No to bring him anything， it would get thrown away or broken， without exception13. The King was quite sure that No was the worst servant in the world.

每當(dāng)國(guó)王叫否去拿東西的時(shí)候，那東西一定會(huì)被弄丟或者損壞，無(wú)一例外。國(guó)王非?？隙ǚ袷沁@個(gè)世界上最糟糕的仆人。

For the brothers the most important thing was to help pick the food for a great party. Cooks from all over the kingdom at the castles door were to give the King their food for the party. Of course， the King could not go and take the food himself， so he asked Yes and No to do it for him.

這兩兄弟最重要的任務(wù)就是幫忙為一個(gè)盛大的宴會(huì)挑選食物。來(lái)自這個(gè)國(guó)家各地的廚師會(huì)為國(guó)王的這個(gè)宴會(huì)獻(xiàn)上自己做的食物。當(dāng)然，國(guó)王自己肯定不會(huì)親自去做這件事，所以他讓是和否替他做。

The first cook came up to the door and said， “I bring my delicious strawberry pie for King！” The King heard this and thought that strawberry pie would be good for such an party. And he knew that he would love to eat. So， the King yelled14 “Yes！” and then asked him to take it.

第一個(gè)廚師走到大門(mén)前，說(shuō)：“我給國(guó)王帶來(lái)了美味的草莓餡餅?！眹?guó)王聽(tīng)見(jiàn)后，他覺(jué)得草莓餡餅很適合這個(gè)宴會(huì)，他知道自己很喜歡吃。所以，國(guó)王喊了一聲：“是！”然后叫他把這道菜取過(guò)來(lái)。

The next cook was close to the door. “I offer the King fish soup！” he said. The King didnt like fish soup very much. “No！” he yelled and then sent No out to take away the soup. No took away the soup before the King could even smell15 it.

第二個(gè)廚師離門(mén)口很近，他說(shuō)：“我給國(guó)王帶來(lái)了魚(yú)湯！”國(guó)王非常不喜歡魚(yú)湯?！胺瘢　彼械?，然后叫否把湯拿走。否在國(guó)王聞到味道之前就把湯拿走了。

This went on for hours. If the King liked a dish， he would yell “Yes！” and it would be in the nights party. If he did not， everyone would hear a “No！” and the dish would be taken away by a servant with a very bad mood16.

這個(gè)過(guò)程持續(xù)了好幾個(gè)小時(shí)。如果國(guó)王喜歡一道菜，他會(huì)叫“是！”然后這個(gè)菜就會(huì)被選入今晚的宴會(huì)。如果他不喜歡，大家就會(huì)聽(tīng)見(jiàn)他喊“否！”然后這道菜就會(huì)被一個(gè)脾氣很不好的侍從拿走。

Pretty soon this started to be popular around the kingdom. If a king does something， his servants are never far behind. If the villagers didnt want some potatoes， they would say， “No.” And if they liked what someone gives， they would say， “Yes.” And ever since that day in a small village in a small kingdom， Yes has meant17 yes， and No has meant no.

這種情況在這個(gè)國(guó)家開(kāi)始流行起來(lái)，因?yàn)閲?guó)王喜歡這個(gè)件事情，他的侍從們自然也不會(huì)落后。如果村民們不想要土豆了，他們也會(huì)說(shuō)：“否?！比绻麄兿胍橙私o的什么東西，他們就會(huì)說(shuō)：“是。”自此以后，在這個(gè)小王國(guó)的小村莊里面，是就代表了要，否就代表了不要。

（英語(yǔ)原文選自： freechildrenstories.com）