The myth of Anansi, the trickster spider - Emily Zobel Marshall

翻译人员: Elena W 校对人员: Helen Chang

As the sun sets on a plantation in Jamaica,

牙买加种植园的日落时分，

children flock to Mr. Kwaku for a story.

一群孩子围在夸库先生 身边听他讲故事。

They all know he’s full of tales from Ghana, the land of their ancestors.

孩子们的祖先来自加纳， 而夸库知道那里的许多故事。

But what they don’t know, Kwaku winks,

夸库眨了眼，但孩子们不知道

is how their ancestors got those stories in the first place.

他们的祖先们是如何 得到这些故事的。

Long ago, all stories belonged to Nyame, the all-seeing Sky God.

很久以前，所有故事属于 天空之神尼亚美。

People on Earth were bored and knew nothing about their history.

地球上的人们觉得无趣， 他们对自己的历史一无所知，。

But one creature decided enough was enough.

但有一个生物 想要改变这一切。

Anansi, the tricky, shapeshifting spider,

一只狡猾，会变形的蜘蛛

resolved to bring the stories down to Earth.

阿南西想把这些 故事带给人们。

He spun a web that stretched into the clouds

牠织了一张伸进云层的网，

and climbed up to confront the Sky God.

与天空之神对峙。

Crouching at Nyame’s feet, Anansi shouted at the top of his lungs

阿南西对尼亚美大声喊道，

that he had come to take ownership of the world’s stories.

自己要抢走世界上 所有的故事。

Looking down from his golden stool,

尼亚美从金色的 王座往下看，

Nyame hooted with laughter at the spider’s absurd request.

对蜘蛛荒谬的要求哈哈大笑。

Nyame told Anansi that he could have all the stories he wished—

尼亚美告诉阿南西， 想要得到所有的故事

but only if he could complete an impossible task.

就必须完成一项 不可能完成的任务。

If Anansi brought him Osebo the Leopard, Onini the Python,

如果阿南西给牠带来了 豹子Osebo、蟒蛇Onini、

Mmoboro the Hornet, and Mmoatia the Forest Spirit,

大黄蜂Mmoboro 和森林精灵Mmoatia，

then he could take the stories.

牠就可以把故事带走。

Anansi humbly accepted.

阿南西谦虚地接受了挑战。

Nyame didn’t see him grinning as he scuttled away.

尼亚美没有看到 阿南西离开时的笑容。

Back on Earth, Anansi grabbed his magic bag and set to work.

回到地球上，阿南西 拿上魔法包开始工作。

Anansi found Onini the Python bathing in the sun.

牠先找到了正在 晒太阳的蟒蛇Onini。

Anansi scoffed that Onini couldn’t be the longest animal,

阿南西挑衅Onini，说牠不可能 是世界上最长的动物，

saying he looked no longer than a piece of bamboo cane.

说牠比一根竹竿还短。

Enraged, Onini stretched himself across the bamboo to prove his lengthiness.

愤怒之下，Onini在竹子上 把身体伸直，来证明自己的长度。

Anansi quickly bound him tight-tight to each end and placed him in his bag.

阿南西乘机紧紧地绑住牠， 然后把Onini放进包里。

Next, Anansi dug a great pit in the middle of the path

接着，阿南西在豹子Osebo 会经过的路中间

Osebo the Leopard usually prowled, and covered it with banana leaves.

挖了个大坑， 并用香蕉叶覆盖住。

Sure enough, mighty Osebo soon fell in.

果不其然，强大的Osebo 很快就掉进了洞里。

Anansi scolded Osebo for his carelessness, but offered to rescue him.

阿南西责备了粗心大意的Osebo， 但表示自己愿意救牠出来。

As he helped Osebo out of the pit, Anansi swiftly jabbed him with his knife.

当牠帮助Osebo爬出来时， 阿南西迅速用刀捅了牠。

Osebo fell back to the ground

Osebo掉回洞里，

where Anansi wound him up tight-tight in spider thread.

被阿南西用蜘蛛丝紧紧裹住。

Then, Anansi heard Mmoboro and his hornets buzzing.

然后，阿南西听到Mmoboro 和黄蜂们的声音。

He cautiously approached them.

牠小心翼翼地走近他牠们。

This would be tricky— their stings could make someone swell up and die—

这很不容易， 黄蜂的刺带有剧毒可能致命，

but Anansi knew they hated rain.

但阿南西知道 牠们讨厌雨水。

He filled his mouth with water and spat it at the swarm.

牠往嘴里灌满水， 朝蜂群吐去。

As they panicked, Anansi urged the hornets to shelter in his gourd,

黄蜂们惊慌失措的 躲进阿南西的葫芦里，

where they found themselves trapped.

被困在里面。

Anansi had one more task: to capture Mmoatia

阿南西的最后一项 任务是捕捉

the elusive and mischievous Forest Spirit.

难以捉摸且顽皮的 森林精灵Mmoatia。

She usually hid herself deep in the woods, but Anansi knew she was lonely.

她通常躲在树林深处， 但阿南西知道她很孤独。

So, he made a little doll covered in sap and left it in her path.

于是，牠做了一个娃娃， 用树液覆盖后留在路中。

When she came upon it, Mmoatia spoke to the doll

Mmoatia上前来 与娃娃说话，

but became enraged when it didn’t answer.

因为娃娃没有 回答而生气。

She hit the disrespectful doll

她挥起拳头砸向娃娃，

and her small fists stuck to its sticky surface.

却把手黏在了娃娃 粘糊糊的表面。

Anansi wrapped Mmoatia up tight-tight and scooped her into his bag

阿南西把Mmoatia裹紧，

along with the other creatures.

与其牠生物一起 丢进了牠的包里。

Triumphantly, he climbed his web back into the clouds.

牠得意洋洋地回到云端。

When the Sky God saw that Anansi had completed the impossible task,

当天空之神看到阿南西 完成了这项棘手的任务时，

he was amazed.

他惊讶不已。

Nyame told Anansi that he had earned the world’s stories.

尼亚美告诉阿南西 牠赢得了全世界的故事。

Dancing for joy, Anansi gathered them up, stuffed the stories into his bag,

阿南西高兴地把故事 收起来，塞进包里，

and descended to Earth.

然后回到地上。

There, he scattered the stories throughout the world for people to share.

牠把故事散布到 世界各地，供人们分享。

And they did, Kwaku tells the children.

而夸库告诉孩子们， 人们成功地分享了这些故事。

Generations have continued telling and reimagining Anansi’s stories

后人们仍在讲述 阿南西的故事，

even after being stolen from Africa and enslaved.

即使因被奴役而离开非洲。

Anansi may be small, but “cunning’s better than strong,” Kwaku says,

夸库说，阿南西虽然小， 但“狡猾总比强壮好”，

and tells the children to take Anansi’s stories with them wherever they go.

并告诉孩子们无论走到哪里， 都要带上阿南西的故事。

Looking at his audience, Kwaku knows that Anansi will persist

看着他的听众， 夸库知道阿南西将作为

as a symbol of resourcefulness and resistance in the face of oppression,

一个足智多谋、反抗压迫的象征，

and a testament to the enduring power of storytelling.

以及故事持久力量的证明活下去。