The myth of the moon goddess - Cynthia Fay Davis

翻译人员: Yuwei Wu 校对人员: Helen Chang

The moon goddess, Ix Chel, patiently watched a spider at work.

月亮女神伊希切尔 耐心地看着一只在织网的蜘蛛。

She could make use of it skills, she thought.

女神认为 她可以利用它的技能。

Through careful observation and imitation, she soon became a skilled weaver.

通过仔细观察及仿效 她很快成为一名优秀织布工。

The sun god, Kinich Ahau, was impressed with her work,

太阳神奇尼奇. 阿豪 对她所做的一切印象深刻。

and admired her from afar.

并且从远处欣赏她。

But the goddess’ grandfather was very possessive

可是，女神的祖父占有欲太强。

and would not let the sun god anywhere near his beloved granddaughter.

并不会同意让太阳神 接近他亲爱的孙女。

To get past the grandfather, the sun god disguised himself

太阳伪装自己 以便巧妙地越过祖父。

as a hummingbird.

伪装成一只蜂雀。

As he took a drink of tobacco flower honey,

当他喝烟草花蜜时，

the moon goddess spotted him and asked her grandfather

月亮女神发现了他， 并让她的祖父

to capture the bird for her.

为她捕捉那只鸟。

The grandfather shot the disguised sun god with a blow dart, stunning him.

祖父用吹镖射中了伪装的太阳神， 把他打晕了。

Ix Chel nursed the wounded bird back to health,

伊希切尔悉心照料这只受伤的鸟， 使他恢复了健康

and soon, he was able to spread his wings and fly again.

很快，他又能张开翅膀再次飞翔了。

He transformed back into the sun god and invited the moon goddess

他变回了太阳神， 并邀请月亮女神

to escape with him.

和他一起逃走。

The two rowed away in a canoe,

两人划着独木舟离开了，

but the grandfather called upon the powerful storm god

但祖父请求强大的风暴之神

to help him stop them.

帮助他阻止他们。

Sensing danger, the moon goddess jumped from the canoe into the water below

月亮女神感觉到了危险， 便从独木舟上跳下水，

and transformed into a crab.

变成了一只螃蟹。

But the storm god had already thrown a lightning bolt,

但风暴之神已经放出一道闪电，

which hit the crab and pierced her through her heart, killing her.

击中了那只螃蟹， 刺穿了她的心脏，杀死了她。

Hundreds and hundreds of dragonflies gathered,

成百上千的蜻蜓聚集在一起，

buzzing songs and fluttering their transparent wings.

嗡嗡地唱着歌， 拍打着透明的翅膀。

They formed a thick, magical cloud over the moon goddess’ body.

它们在月亮女神的身体上 形成了厚厚的、神奇的云。

For thirteen days the dragonflies cut, cleaned, and hollowed thirteen logs.

十三天来，蜻蜓们切割、 清理并挖空了十三根原木。

On the thirteenth night, the logs burst open,

到了第十三天的晚上， 木头裂开了，

and the moon goddess emerged— alive and more brilliant than ever.

月亮女神出现了—她活了过来， 比以前更灿烂了。

The sun god wasted no time in proposing marriage.

太阳神不失时机地向她求婚。

The moon goddess happily agreed.

月女神欣然允诺。

Side-by-side, they were ready to light up the sky with their powerful rays.

他们肩并肩地准备用 强烈的光芒照亮天空。

Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there.

不幸的是，故事还没有结束。

The sun god’s brother visited often.

太阳神的兄弟经常来拜访。

Sensing he was also in love with Ix Chel, the sun god grew jealous,

太阳神察觉到自己兄弟 也爱上了伊希切尔，于是醋意大发，

and began to mistreat her.

开始虐待她。

One day, Ix Chel was sitting on the riverbank,

一天，伊希切尔坐在河边，

furious at her husband.

对丈夫感到愤怒。

A huge bird came gliding down

一只大鸟滑翔而下，

and offered to take her to the high mountain peaks.

提出要带她去高高的山峰。

To get away from the cruel sun god, she agreed.

为了远离残酷的太阳神，她同意了。

There, she met the king of the vultures.

在那里，她遇到了秃鹫之王。

The vulture king was kind and fun-loving—

秃鹫王是一个 善良、有趣、钟情的人—

a much better partner than the violent sun god.

比暴烈的太阳神要好得多。

The moon goddess made a new home with him in the mountains.

月亮女神和他在山里建立了新家。

When the sun god heard, he was distraught.

当太阳神听到这个消息时， 他悲痛欲绝。

He hid inside a deer carcass until a hungry vulture came swooping down,

他躲在一具鹿的尸体里， 直到一只饥饿的秃鹫扑了下来，

then hopped onto its back and rode to the mountain kingdom

他跳上秃鹫的背上， 骑到了山地王国，

where the moon goddess now lived with the vulture king.

那里是月亮女神和秃鹫王 现在住在那里。

He begged her to come home with him, apologizing for how he had treated her.

他请求女神和他一起回家， 为他对她的态度道歉。

The kind and forgiving goddess took pity on him and agreed to go back.

仁慈的女神原谅了他， 可怜他并同意回去。

But Kinich Ahau soon began to show his true nature again.

但是奇尼奇·阿豪很快又开始 显露出他的本性。

He struck her, scarring her face and dimming her bright rays.

他打了她，在她脸上留下疤痕， 使她的光芒暗淡下来。

Ix Chel flew off into the dark.

伊希切尔飞进了黑暗中。

From then on, she vowed to appear only at night.

从那时起，她发誓只在晚上出现。

She befriended the stars, and combined her pale blue rays with their light

她和星星成为朋友，把她淡蓝色的光 和星星的光结合在一起，

to guide night travelers to safety.

导夜间的旅行者到安全的地方。

She used her healing gift,

她用她的治愈天赋，

which she had once used on the wounded sun god,

她曾经用在受伤的 太阳神身上的天赋，

to cure people who were ill.

来治愈生病的人。

Today, Ix Chel is so widely known

如今，伊希切尔已广为人知

that she’s become a symbol of Maya culture.

成为玛雅文化的象征。

But archeological evidence suggests that for the ancient Maya

但考古证据表明， 对于古玛雅人来说，

Ix Chel and the moon goddess were separate deities.

伊希切尔和月亮女神是不同的神。

In the retellings of Maya people and the records of anthropologists,

在玛雅人的复述和人类学家的记录中，

the two have merged so that Ix Chel’s story extends

这两者已经融合在一起， 因此伊希切尔的故事

beyond the limits of the historical record.

超越了历史记录的限制。

Her story, like all myths, isn’t just one story:

她的故事，就像所有的神话一样， 并不只是一个故事:

the variations, ancient and modern, speak to what people value,

这些故事的变化，无论什么时期， 都说明了人们所看重的东西，

and how they see themselves in their mythological heroes.

以及他们如何 从神话英雄身上看到自己。