The Greek myth of Demeter's revenge - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Jinnie Sun 校对人员: Sue Lu

Mestra, Princess of Thessaly, was far from home.

色萨利公主梅斯特拉被迫远离家乡。

She had watched her father, King Erysichthon,

她曾眼睁睁看着父亲厄律西克同国王

plunge into a ruin of his own making.

坠入自己一手造成的废墟。

Now, to save himself, he sold his own daughter to the highest bidder.

现在，国王为了自保，

竟把亲生女儿卖给出价最高的人。

But Mestra refused to accept this fate.

但是梅斯特拉拒绝接受这种命运。

Finding herself momentarily alone, she began to plan her escape.

她发现自己暂时孤身一人后，

开始计划逃跑。

Months earlier, Erysichthon had decided to build himself a gleaming new hall,

数月前，国王决定建个金碧辉煌的礼堂，

declaring that only the finest wood would suffice.

他宣布只用最好的木材。

The king was well known for spurning the gods,

国王以不尊敬众神而闻名，

as he was more interested in honoring himself.

因为他更感兴趣让自己高高在上。

But in an unprecedented act of disrespect,

但是，在一次前所未有的不敬行为中，

he marched his men into the sacred grove of Demeter,

他带领手下闯入得墨忒耳的神圣树林。

goddess of food and agriculture.

得墨忒耳是粮食和农业女神。

Ignoring the prayer offerings that hung from the trees,

国王无视树上悬挂的祈祷品，

Erysichthon headed straight for the most magnificent oak.

直奔那棵最壮丽的橡树。

As he swung his axe, the tree trembled and turned pale.

当他挥舞斧头时，

这棵树颤抖起来，颜色变得苍白。

Blood gushed from the wound, and a strangled cry rung out.

鲜血从伤口里涌出，

一声哽咽的哭泣响起，

It was the voice of one of Demeter’s wood nymphs who resided in the tree.

发自住在树上的得墨忒耳的木仙女。

With her last breaths, she called out to her patron for revenge.

她在咽下最后一口气前，

呼叫她的庇护人为她报仇。

Erysichthon, though, was unfazed.

但是，国王仍无动于衷。

He decimated the rest of the forest and dragged the wood back to his palace.

他摧毁了森林，

然后将木头拖回宫殿。

Upon learning of the loss and destruction,

得知森林被摧残后，

Demeter quaked the earth with her anger.

得墨忒耳以愤怒震动了大地。

Swiftly, she ordered a mountain nymph to go and enlist the help

很快，她命令一位山仙女去寻求

of another fearsome goddess.

另一位令人生畏的女神的帮助。

In a dragon-drawn chariot,

乘着神龙驾驭的战车，

the mountain nymph soared over barren lands and icy seas.

山仙女飞越了贫瘠的土地 和冰冷的海洋，

At last, she reached the remote lair of Hunger, goddess of famine.

最后到达名为饥饿的 饥荒女神的偏远巢穴。

She found her picking through weeds with her rotten nails and teeth,

饥饿正用腐烂的指甲和牙齿捡杂草，

clutching her hollow stomach and twisting her knotted limbs.

抓着她空空的肚子，

扭动着打结的四肢。

Not daring to come too close,

仙女不敢靠近，

the nymph called for Hunger and shared Demeter’s vengeful plan.

远远地向饥饿喊话，

告诉她得墨忒耳的复仇计划。

Hunger usually kept to her lair— but she relished this gruesome mission.

饥饿通常待在她的巢穴里足不出户，

但她喜欢这个恐怖的任务。

Under the cover of night, she crept into the palace

在夜幕的掩护下，

她潜入宫殿，

and released her famished breath into the sleeping king.

向沉睡中的国王 释放了令人饥饿的呼吸。

Erysichthon immediately began to dream of a lavish feast,

国王立刻开始梦到一场奢华的盛宴，

gulping air and grinding his teeth.

他大口呼吸空气，还开始磨牙。

He awoke to a ravenous hunger, which only seemed to increase as he ate.

当他醒来时，感到极度饥饿，

这种饥饿感随着他的进食而增加。

As Mestra looked on in horror,

梅斯特拉惊恐地看着这一幕，

her father devoured all the food in the palace,

她的父亲吃光了宫殿里所有食物，

before calling for the city’s crops and goods.

然后开始征集城市里的农作物和食品。

But no matter how many feasts he devoured, he felt empty and weak.

但是，无论他吃了多少大餐，

他还是感到虚弱，腹中空空。

Before long, Erysichthon had sold his entire estate for food—

不久国王就为换取食物卖掉了全部资产，

with only Mestra left by his side.

只剩下梅斯特拉在他身边。

But not even his loyal daughter could escape the depths of his greed,

但他忠诚的女儿也无法逃脱他的贪婪，

and he shamelessly sold her into slavery.

他无耻地将她卖为奴隶。

As she set sail with her captor, Mestra stared at the sea.

当她和俘虏她的人启航时，

梅斯特拉凝视着大海。

This wasn’t the first time she’d suffered at the hands of men—

这不是她第一次 在男人手中受尽折磨了——

years before, she’d been violently pursued and assaulted by the god Poseidon.

几年前，她曾遭到海神波塞冬的 暴力追捕和侵袭。

Now, she demanded his help.

现在，她要求他相助。

As an act of repentance,

为表示悔改，

Poseidon granted her the power to change her shape at will.

波塞冬赋予了她 随意改变自己外形的能力。

With this, Mestra immediately transformed into a fisherman.

于是梅斯特拉立即变成渔民，

And distracting her captor with a bounty of fish, she escaped.

用大量的鱼扰乱绑架者的注意，

然后逃走了。

For the first time, Mestra was in control,

有生第一次，梅斯特拉掌控了主动权，

able to freely adapt and slip away from any situation.

能够自由适应或摆脱任何情况。

But she felt compelled to return to her tortured father.

但她感觉必须回到饱受折磨的父亲身边。

However, when Erysichthon discovered Mestra’s new powers,

当国王发现梅斯特拉的新能力时，

he only saw an opportunity for himself.

他只看到了自保的机会。

He exploited his talented daughter, selling her again and again for food.

他剥削着能够千变的女儿，

一次次地卖掉她以换取食物。

Each time, she gracefully transformed herself—

每次，她都优美地变换自己——

morphing into a swift-footed mare, a soaring bird, or an elusive deer

变成一只敏捷的母马、

一只翱翔的鸟

或一只神出鬼没的鹿，

to steal more meals while evading capture.

以在躲避追捕同时偷取更多食物。

But as her father continued to sell her at higher and higher prices,

父亲继续以越来越高的价格出售她，

Mestra was left with little hope.

梅斯特拉感觉几乎绝望。

One day, when arriving home in one of her many forms,

有天，当她以千变中的一种外形回到家，

Mestra entered the hollow palace only to discover the king’s lifeless body—

进入空荡荡的宫殿，

却只发现国王已无生气的尸体——

Erysichthon’s hunger had grown so great that he had consumed his own limbs.

他的饥饿感变得如此强烈，

以至于最后吃掉了自己的四肢。

Gazing upon her wasted father, Mestra’s hope returned.

看着她那枯槁的父亲，

梅斯特拉重又燃起了希望。

She was no longer unfairly burdened with the wrath of the gods

她不用再承受国王招致的

that the king had courted.

众神的愤怒，

Untethered from her father’s selfish agenda

从此从父亲自私的安排中解脱出来，

and buoyed by her ability to transform herself at will,

随意改变自己的能力使她倍受鼓舞，

Mestra was finally free.

梅斯特拉终于自由了。