The Chinese myth of the immortal white snake - Shunan Teng

Prevodilac: Kristina Radosavljević Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

The talented young herbalist named Xu Xian was in trouble.

Talentovanog mladog travara po imenu Sju Sjen je zadesila nedaća.

It should have been a victorious moment–

To je trebalo biti pobedonosni momenat -

he had just opened his very own medicine shop.

upravo je otvorio svoju apoteku,

But he bought his supplies from his former employer,

ali je kupio robu od svog bivšeg poslodavca,

and the resentful man sold him rotten herbs.

a uvređen čovek mu je prodao trule biljke.

As Xu Xian wondered what to do with this useless inventory,

Dok se Sju Sjen pitao šta da radi sa svojim beskorisnim inventarom,

patients flooded into his shop.

pacijenti su nagrnuli u njegovu apoteku.

A plague had stricken the city,

Kuga je pogodila grad,

and he had nothing to treat them.

a on nije imao ništa čime bi ih lečio.

Just as he was starting to panic,

Kada ga je uhvatila panika,

his wife, Bai Su Zhen, produced a recipe to use the rotten herbs as medicine.

njegova žena, Baj Su Džen, napravila je recept za lek od trulih biljaka.

Her remedy cured all the plague-afflicted citizens immediately.

Njen lek je momentalno izlečio sve kugom zaražene građane.

Xu Xian’s former boss even had to buy back some of the rotten herbs

Sju Sjenov bivši gazda je čak morao da otkupi neke od trulih biljaka

to treat his own family.

kako bi izlečio svoju porodicu.

Shortly after, a monk named Fa Hai approached Xu Xian,

Nedugo potom, monah po imenu Fa Haj prišao je Sju Sjenu

warning him that there was a demon in his house.

i upozorio ga da se demon nalazi u njegovoj kući.

The demon, he said, was Bai Su Zhen.

Taj demon je, po njegovim rečima, bila Baj Su Džen.

Xu Xian laughed.

Sju Sjen se na to nasmejao.

His kindhearted, resourceful wife was not a demon.

Njegova dobrodušna i snalažljiva žena nije bila nikakav demon.

Fa Hai insisted.

Fa Haj je bio uporan.

He told Xu Xian to serve his wife realgar wine on the 5th day of the 5th month,

Rekao je Sju Sjenu da posluži svojoj ženi aromatično vino petog dana u petom mesecu,

when demons’ powers are weakest.

kada je snaga demona najmanja.

If she wasn’t a demon, he explained, it wouldn’t hurt her.

Ako nije demon, objasnio je, ne bi trebalo da joj naškodi.

Xu Xian dismissed the monk politely,

Sju Sjen je ljubazno odbio monaha,

with no intention of serving Bai Su Zhen the wine.

bez ikakve namere da posluži to vino Baj Su Džen.

But as the day approached, he decided to try it.

Ali kako se taj dan približavao, ipak je odlučio da proba.

As soon as the wine touched Bai Su Zhen’s lips,

Čim je vino dotaklo usne Baj Su Džen,

she ran to the bedroom, claiming she wasn’t feeling well.

ona je otrčala u spavaću sobu, tvrdeći da se ne oseća dobro.

Xu Xian prepared some medicine and went to check on her.

Sju Sjen je spremio neki lek i otišao da proveri kako je.

But instead of his wife,

Ali umesto svoje žene,

he found a giant white serpent with a bloody forked tongue in the bed.

pronašao je ogromnu belu zmiju koja je palacala jezikom u krevetu.

He collapsed, killed by the shock.

Srušio se i umro od šoka.

When Bai Su Zhen opened her eyes,

Kada je Baj Su Džen otvorila oči,

she realized immediately what must have happened.

odmah je shvatila šta se verovatno desilo.

The truth was that Bai Su Zhen was an immortal snake

Istina je da je Baj Su Džen bila besmrtna zmija

with formidable magical powers.

sa ogromnim magičnim moćima.

She had used her powers to take a human form

Ona je iskoristila svoje moći da preuzme ljudski oblik

and improve her and her husband’s fortunes.

i poveća svoje i muževljevo bogatstvo.

Her magic couldn’t revive Xu Xian,

Njena magija nije mogla da oživi Sju Sjena,

but she had one more idea to save him:

ali je imala još jednu ideju kako da ga spasi -

an herb that could grant longevity and even bring the dead back to life,

da nađe biljku koja je davala dugovečnost i mogla čak mrtve da vrati u život,

guarded by the Old Man of the South Pole

čuvanu od strane Starca sa Južnog pola,

in the forbidden peaks of the Kun Lun Mountains.

na zabranjenim vrhovima planine Kuenluen.

She rode to the mountains on a cloud,

Otplovila je do planine na oblaku,

then continued on foot passed gateways and arches

zatim nastavila pešice, prošavši prolaze i lukove,

until she reached one marked “beyond mortals”

dok nije stigla do natpisa „nedostupno smrtnicima”

hanging over a silver bridge.

koji je visio iznad srebrnog mosta.

On the other side,

Na drugoj strani,

two of the Old Man’s disciples guarded the herb.

dva sledbenika Starca su čuvali biljku.

Bai Su Zhen disguised herself as a monk

Baj Su Džen se prerušila u monaha

and told them she’d come to invite the Old Man to a gathering of the gods.

i rekla im da je došla da pozove Starca na okupljanje bogova.

While they relayed her message,

Dok su prenosili njenu poruku,

she plucked some leaves from the herb and ran.

ubrala je nekoliko listova sa biljke i pobegla.

The servants realized they had been tricked and chased her.

Sluge su shvatile da su bile prevarene i pojurile za njom.

Bai Su Zhen coughed up a magic ball and threw it at one.

Baj Su Džen je iskašljala magičnu loptu i bacila je na jednog.

As the other closed in on her,

Dok joj se drugi približavao,

she put the herb under her tongue for safekeeping,

stavila je biljku pod jezik kako bi je sakrila,

but its magic forced both of them into their true forms.

ali je magija biljke oboje vratila u njihov pravi oblik.

As the crane’s long beak clamped around her,

Dok se ždralov dugački kljun obavijao oko nje,

the Old Man appeared.

pojavio se Starac.

Why, he asked, would she risk her life to steal his herb

Pitao je zašto bi ona rizikovala svoj život da ukrade biljku

when she was already immortal?

kada je već besmrtna?

Bai Su Zhen explained her love for Xu Xian.

Baj Su Džen je ispričala priču o svojoj ljubavi prema Sju Sjenu.

Even if he didn’t want to be with her now that he knew she was a demon,

Čak i ako on ne bi želeo više da bude sa njom, znajući da je demon,

she was determined to bring him back to life.

bila je odlučna da ga povrati u život.

The two had a karmic connection dating back more than a thousand years.

Njih dvoje su bili karmički povezani već više od hiljadu godina.

When Bai Su Zhen was a small snake,

Kada je Baj Su Džen bila mala zmija,

a beggar was about to kill her,

prosjak je želeo da je ubije,

but a kind passerby rescued her.

ali ju je spasio slučajni prolaznik.

Her rescuer was Xu Xian in a past life.

Njen spasilac je bio Sju Sjen iz prošlog života.

Touched by her willingness to risk her life for him,

Dirnut njenom odlučnošću da rizikuje svoj život zbog njega,

the Old Man permitted her to leave the mountain with the immortal herb.

Starac joj je dozvolio da ode sa planine sa besmrtnom biljkom.

Bai Su Zhen returned home to revive Xu Xian.

Baj Su Džen se vratila kući da oživi Sju Sjena.

When he opened his eyes,

Kada je otvorio oči,

the terrified look frozen on his face became a smile.

njegov užasnuti smrznuti pogled je prerastao u osmeh.

Demon or not,

Bila ona demon ili ne,

he was still happy to see his wife.

bio je srećan što vidi svoju ženu.