螢火蟲(chóng)是怎么發(fā)光的？

向紅

Many years ago， the sun and the moon were always in the sky. There was no nighttime， and there was no daytime. The sun and moon were quite good in the sky together.

很多年以前，太陽(yáng)和月亮總是掛在天空中。世上沒(méi)有夜間，也沒(méi)有白天。太陽(yáng)和月亮在天空中相處融洽。

After a while， the animals called up the sun and the moon and asked them to come and listen to their ideas. The moon came and was followed by the sun.

過(guò)了不久，動(dòng)物們把太陽(yáng)和月亮叫來(lái)，請(qǐng)它們過(guò)來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)它們的想法。月亮來(lái)了，接著是太陽(yáng)。

“We do not know when to start sleeping，” said the elephant to the moon， “because you are always so full in the sky.”

大象對(duì)月亮說(shuō)：“我們不知道什么時(shí)候該去睡覺(jué)，因?yàn)槟憧偸菕煸谔炜罩?，那么圓?！?/p>

“And we do not know when to wake，” said the zebra2 to the sun， “because you are always out and never rising.”

斑馬對(duì)太陽(yáng)說(shuō)：“而且我們不知道什么時(shí)候該醒，因?yàn)槟阋恢痹谕饷妫瑥牟簧穑湎拢??！?/p>

All but the sleepy-headed bug3. were there to complain4. The sleepy-headed bug looked like a firefly， but he did not glow5. His body was dark and dull6.

除了瞌睡蟲(chóng)，其他人都在那里抱怨。瞌睡蟲(chóng)長(zhǎng)得像螢火蟲(chóng)，但它不會(huì)發(fā)光，身體黯淡無(wú)光。

The sun， because he was always a little brighter than the moon， thought hard about what to do. “I will stay in the sky half of the time，” said the sun， “and the moon will stay in the sky when I am not， so that you may know when to sleep. But one of you will have to signal7 when it is time for us to switch8. If not， we wont know.”

因?yàn)樘?yáng)總是比月亮明亮一點(diǎn)，它苦苦思索著該怎么做?！拔視?huì)用一半的時(shí)間待在天上，”太陽(yáng)說(shuō)，“當(dāng)我不在時(shí)，月亮?xí)谔焐希@樣你們便可以知道何時(shí)入睡。但是你們中的一個(gè)人必須通知我們?cè)摵螘r(shí)替換，不然的話(huà)，我們將不知道換班的時(shí)間?！?/p>

“It cannot be me，” said the lion. “I am too far and busy.”

獅子說(shuō)：“我不行，我離得太遠(yuǎn)，而且太忙了?！?/p>

“It cannot be me，” said the monkey. “I am too busy picking fruit from the trees.”

猴子說(shuō)：“我不行，我忙著從樹(shù)上采摘水果?！?/p>

One by one， all the animals told why they could not be the one to help the moon and the sun. One by one， until only the sleepy-headed bug left.

所有動(dòng)物都一一解釋了為什么它們不能幫月亮和太陽(yáng)這個(gè)忙。一個(gè)接一個(gè)地說(shuō)完后，只剩下瞌睡蟲(chóng)。

“Wake up， bug！” called the sun.

“小飛蟲(chóng)，醒來(lái)！”太陽(yáng)大喊。

“Why do you excuse me？” asked the sleepy-headed bug.

“你為什么打擾我？”瞌睡蟲(chóng)問(wèn)。

The sun answered， “My friend the moon and I must part ways， and this makes me unhappy. But it is the only way that the animals can sleep well. So， once a day， you will signal me to rise， and the moon will know that it is time to fall， and we will call it dawn9. And once more， you signal the moon to rise， and I will know that it is time for me to set， and we will call it dusk10.”

太陽(yáng)回答說(shuō)：“我的朋友月亮和我必須分開(kāi)，這讓我很難過(guò)。但這是讓動(dòng)物們能夠睡好的唯一途徑。因此，每天一次，你要發(fā)信號(hào)通知我升起，月亮就知道是時(shí)候降落了，我們稱(chēng)之為黎明。然后你再發(fā)出月亮升起的信號(hào)，我會(huì)知道現(xiàn)在是我落下的時(shí)候了，我們稱(chēng)之為黃昏?！?/p>

“I couldnt do that！” said the sleepy-headed bug. “How could I signal someone， as large as you， when I am so small？ You will not see me！”

“我不行！”瞌睡蟲(chóng)說(shuō)道，“我這么小，怎么能發(fā)信號(hào)給和你一樣大的人？你都看不到我！”

The sun breathed11 in slowly and then sent a burst12 of light right into the bugs behind where it stayed glowing brightly.

太陽(yáng)緩慢地吸一口氣，然后放出一陣光，直接射進(jìn)小飛蟲(chóng)身后，然后它身后發(fā)出了明亮的光。

“Oww！” shouted the sleepy-headed bug who was now very scared of the sun.

“哦！”瞌睡蟲(chóng)尖叫著，它現(xiàn)在非常害怕太陽(yáng)。

The sun told him in a loud voice， “You will fly around and light at dusk and dawn， and the moon and I will know that it is time to switch. The rest13 of the time you may sleep.”

太陽(yáng)大聲命令它：“你要在黃昏和黎明的時(shí)候飛來(lái)飛去發(fā)著光，這樣月亮和我就會(huì)知道該換班了。剩下的時(shí)間你就可以睡覺(jué)了?！?/p>

Ever since that day， the sleepy-headed bug has been known as the firefly， and the sun and the moon have risen and set without fail14 because he does his job well.

從那天起，瞌睡蟲(chóng)就被稱(chēng)為螢火蟲(chóng)，太陽(yáng)和月亮的升起和落下完成得無(wú)懈可擊，因?yàn)樗龅煤芎谩?/p>

And so， if you are outside at dawn or dusk and you happen to catch a firefly， you must be sure to let him go because even though he is small， it is he who decides when the sun rises and sets.

因此，如果黎明或黃昏時(shí)，你在外面碰巧捉住了螢火蟲(chóng)，一定要放了它，因?yàn)榧词顾苄?，也能決定太陽(yáng)何時(shí)升起和落下。

（英語(yǔ)原文選自：gutenberg.org）

【Notes】

1. firefly ?n. 螢火蟲(chóng)

2. zebra ?n. 斑馬

3. sleepy-headed bug瞌睡蟲(chóng)

4. complain ?v. 投訴;發(fā)牢騷;訴說(shuō)

5. glow ?v. 發(fā)出微弱而穩(wěn)定的光

6. dull ?adj. 鈍的;遲鈍的;無(wú)趣的

7. signal ?v. 標(biāo)志;用信號(hào)通知;表示

8. switch ?v. 替換;轉(zhuǎn)換

9. dawn ?n. 黎明

10. dusk ?n. 黃昏

11. breathe ?v. 呼吸

12. burst ?n. （突然的）一陣

13. rest ?n. 剩余部分;其余的人（或物）

14. fail ?n. 失敗，不及格