The Irish myth of the Giant's Causeway - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Sally Yang 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

On the coast of Northern Ireland,

在北爱尔兰的海岸，

a vast plateau of basalt slabs and columns

有一大片玄武岩石板和石柱绵延入海，

called the Giant’s Causeway

其名为巨人堤道。

stretches into the ocean.

The scientific explanation for this

科学表明，

is that it’s the result of molten lava contracting and fracturing

这是在火山喷发之后，

灼热的熔岩反复冷却收缩并爆裂所形成的景观。

as it cooled in the wake of a volcanic eruption.

But an ancient Irish myth has a different accounting.

但是，一个古爱尔兰传说 却对其有着不同的诠释。

According to legend,

传说是这样讲的：

the giant Finn MacCool lived happily on the North Antrim coast

爱尔兰巨人芬·麦库尔与他的妻子乌娜 幸福地生活在北安特里姆的海岸上。

with his wife Oonagh.

Their only disturbance came from the taunts and threats

唯一的烦恼来自 巨人贝南德纳的嘲讽和挑衅。

of the giant Benandonner,

or the red man, who lived across the sea in Scotland.

贝南德纳别名红色巨人， 他住在海的彼岸的苏格兰。

The two roared insults and hurled rocks at each other

两个人互相嘲讽， 为了展现自己的实力

in dramatic shows of strength.

甚至向对方投掷石块。

Once, Finn tore up a great clump of land and heaved it at his rival,

有一次，芬挖起了一块巨石掷向了对手，

but it fell short of reaching land.

但巨石落在了海里。

Instead, the clump became the Isle of Man,

于是，那块巨石变成了如今的马恩岛，

and the crater left from the disturbed earth filled with water

而石块原先所在的地方留下的坑 渐渐装满了水，

to become Lough Neagh.

变成了内伊湖。

The giants’ tough talk continued,

两个巨人之间的争吵还在继续。

until one day Benandonner challenged Finn to a fight, face to face.

直到一日，贝南德纳 要求芬和他面对面单挑。

And so the Irish giant tossed enough boulders into the sea

于是芬不断地将一块块石头丢到海里，

to create a bridge of stepping stones to the Scottish coast.

搭起了一座通往苏格兰海岸的石桥。

Finn marched across in a fit of rage.

芬愤怒地跨过了大海。

When Scotland loomed before him,

当他总算抵达苏格兰时，

he made out the figure of Benandonner from afar.

他看到了在远处的贝南德纳的身影。

Finn was a substantial size,

芬自己也身高马大，

but at the sight of his colossal enemy thundering towards him,

但当他看到比他还魁梧高大的 贝南德纳向他走来时，

his courage faltered.

他的勇气一下子没了。

With one look at Benandonner’s thick neck and crushing fists, Finn turned and ran.

芬看了一眼贝南德纳粗壮的脖子 和坚不可摧的双拳，转头就跑。

Back home, with Benandonner fast approaching,

他跑回了家，贝南德纳紧追在后。

Finn trembled as he described his enemy’s bulk to Oonagh.

芬一边颤抖着， 一边向乌娜形容了敌人的个头。

They knew that if he faced Benandonner head on,

他们明白若他正面迎上贝南德纳，

he’d be crushed.

他是赢不了的。

And so Oonagh hatched a cunning plan -

于是乌娜想出了一个狡猾的计策——

they needed to create an illusion of size,

他们必须诱导敌人的思维，

to suggest Finn was a mountain of a man whilst keeping him out of sight.

在芬不在场的情况下， 让他以为芬是一个不可战胜的人。

As Benandonner neared the end of the bridge,

随着贝南德尔走下石桥，

Oonagh stuffed her husband in a huge cradle.

乌纳将丈夫塞进了 一个巨大的婴儿摇篮里。

Disguised as an enormous baby,

芬假装自己是一个巨大的婴儿，

Finn lay quiet as Benandonnner pounded on the door.

在贝南德尔敲门时一语不发。

The house shook as he stepped inside.

当贝南德尔进门时，房子都抖了起来。

Oonagh told the enraged visitor that her husband wasn’t home,

乌娜告诉愤怒的来访者她的丈夫不在家，

but welcomed him to sit and eat while he waited.

但欢迎他坐下来吃点东西， 一起等芬回来。

When Benandonner tore into the cakes placed before him,

贝南德尔对着面前的蛋糕一阵狼吞虎咽，

he cried out in pain

却痛得叫出声来。

for he’d shattered his teeth on the metal Oonagh had concealed inside.

乌娜提前将金属藏在了蛋糕里， 导致他的牙齿都碎裂了。

She told him that this was Finn’s favorite bread,

她告诉贝南德尔这是芬最喜欢的面包，

sowing a seed of doubt in Benandonner’s mind

使得贝南德尔开始怀疑

that he was any match for his rival.

自己是否真的敌得过对方。

When Finn let out a squawk,

芬一声尖叫，

Benandonner’s attention was drawn to the gigantic baby in the corner.

使得贝南德尔注意到了 角落里巨大的婴孩。

So hefty was the infant swaddled under piles of blankets,

裹在一层层被子里的婴儿显得那么魁梧，

Benandonner shuddered at the thought of what the father would look like.

贝南德尔甚至无法想象 其父亲的体型将有多么恐怖。

He decided he’d rather not find out.

他决定自己还是不知道为妙。

As he fled, Benandonner tore up the rocks connecting the shores,

贝南德尔逃之夭夭， 途中他故意拆断了堤道。

breaking up the causeway.

What remains are two identical rock formations:

剩下的便是两个完全相同的岩石构成：

one on the North Antrim coast of Ireland

一个在爱尔兰北安特里姆的海岸上，

and one at Fingal’s Cave in Scotland, right across the sea.

另一个则在海的彼岸， 苏格兰的芬格洞穴里。