The myth of the stolen eyeballs - Nathan D. Horowitz

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

Deep in the Amazon rainforest in the river Nea’ocoyá,

在亞馬遜雨林深處， 尼歐冠亞河附近，

lived, according to Siekopai legend,

根據賽科派傳說，住著

a school of particularly big and tasty fish.

一群特別美味的大型魚類。

When the rains came and the water rose, the fish appeared,

下雨時，水位上升，

這些魚類就會出現；

swimming away as the waters fell again.

當水位再次下降時，牠們就會游走。

The villagers along the river reveled in this occasional bounty—

沿岸的村民很享受 這種偶爾的大豐收——

and wanted more.

且還想要更多。

They followed them upriver deep into the jungle

他們溯溪追蹤這些魚，深入叢林，

to a lagoon that thundered with the sound of flapping fish.

到了一個潟湖， 魚鳍拍打的聲音震耳欲聾。

The whole village set up camp by the lagoon,

全村的人在潟湖邊搭起營地，

bringing barbasco, a poison they would put in the water to stun the fish.

並帶來了巴巴斯可，一種毒素，

投入水中會讓魚類昏迷。

Meanwhile, their young shaman took a walk.

同時，他們的年輕巫師到附近走走。

He sensed he might not be completely alone.

他感受到他可能並不孤單。

Then, he came to a monse tree humming so loudly

接著，他碰見了一棵大樹，

發出很大的聲響，

he could hear it even above the thunder of the fish.

大到魚類如雷的聲音也無法蓋過它。

With that, he was sure: spirits lived here.

因此，他很確定，

有精靈住在這裡。

Back at camp, he warned his people these fish had an owner.

回到營地之後，他警告 他的族人這些魚類是有主人的。

He would find the owner.

他會找到這位主人。

Until he returned, no one should fish.

在他回來之前，大家都不可以捕魚。

He went to the humming tree.

他前往那棵發出聲響的樹木。

Inside was a hollow as big as a house, full of busy weavers.

樹木內部是中空的， 空間和房子一樣大，

裡面滿是忙碌的編織工人。

Their chief invited him in,

他們的首領邀請他進入，

explaining that the juicy little siripia fruits were ripening,

解釋說多汁的西瑞皮亞 小果實就要成熟了，

and they were weaving baskets to collect them.

他們在編織籃子，用來採集果實。

Though they looked and acted like people,

雖然他們的外觀和行為都像是人，

the shaman knew they were juri, or air goblins,

巫師知道他們是飛妖精，

who could fly and control the winds.

他們會飛且能控制風。

They taught him how to weave.

他們教他如何編織。

Before the shaman left,

在巫師離開前，

the goblin chief whispered some cryptic instructions in his ear.

妖精首領在他耳邊低聲 說了一些難懂的指示。

Finally, he told him to tie a pineapple shoot outside a hollow log

最後，首領告訴他， 找一根中空的圓木，

在外面綁上一根鳳梨芽， 當晚要睡在那圓木中。

and sleep inside that night.

Back at camp, the villagers were fishing with barbasco poison, cooking, and eating.

在營地那一頭，村民已經

在用巴巴斯可捕魚煮來吃。

Only the shaman’s little sister refrained.

只有巫師的妹妹忍住沒有破戒。

Then, everyone else fell into a deep sleep.

接著，其他人通通陷入沉睡。

The shaman and his sister yelled and shook them,

巫師和他的妹妹邊喊邊搖他們，

but they wouldn’t wake.

但他們就是不會醒來。

It was getting dark, so the shaman and his sister

天色漸暗，巫師和他的妹妹

tied the pineapple sprout outside the hollow log and crawled inside.

在中空的圓木外面綁上 鳳梨的芽之後便爬進去。

A strong wind rose— the mark of the air goblins.

一陣強風吹來—— 這是飛妖精的標誌。

It broke branches and brought down trees.

強風吹斷樹枝，吹倒樹木。

Caymans, boas and jaguars roared.

鱷魚、蟒蛇、豹通通都在吼叫。

The water began to rise.

水位開始上升。

The fish flopped off the drying racks and swam away.

魚翻下晾乾架後立刻游走。

The pineapple sprout turned into a dog.

鳳梨的芽變成了一隻狗。

All night it barked, keeping the jungle creatures away from the fallen tree.

狗吠了整夜，

確保叢林的生物不會靠近 這棵倒下的樹木。

When dawn broke, the flood receded.

黎明時，潮水退去。

The fish were gone, and most of the people were, too:

魚都不見了，大部分的人也不見了：

the jungle animals had devoured them.

叢林的動物把他們吃了。

Only the shaman’s relatives survived.

只有巫師的親戚存活下來。

When his family turned toward him,

當他的家人轉身面向他時，

the shaman realized what the goblins meant when they said the fruits were ripening:

他終於了解了妖精說 果實成熟是什麼意思：

they weren’t really collecting siripia fruits at all,

他們要採收的不是西瑞皮亞果實，

but human eyes.

而是人類的眼睛。

The shaman’s older sister called him over,

巫師的姐姐叫他過去，

trying to touch his face with her long, sharp nails.

試圖用她又長又尖的 指甲觸碰他的臉。

He backed away and, remembering the goblin chief’s instructions,

他退開了，他還記得 妖精首領的指示，

threw palm seeds at her face.

把棕櫚種子朝她的臉丟過去。

The seeds became eyes.

種子變成了眼睛。

But then she transformed into a white-lipped peccary and ran away—

但接著，她變身成了白色嘴脣的野豬

並且跑走了——

still alive, but no longer human.

她還活著，卻不再是人。

The shaman and his little sister’s whole community was gone.

巫師和他的妹妹失去了全族的人。

They went to live with another village,

他們到另一個村落去住，

where he taught everyone to weave baskets, as the air goblins had taught him.

他在那裡教大家編籃子， 把飛妖精教他的再傳授出去。

But he couldn’t forget the last of the goblin chief’s words,

但他仍然忘不了妖精首領最後的話，

which told him how to get revenge.

首領告訴他要如何復仇。

He returned to the air goblins’ home carrying chili peppers wrapped in leaves.

他回到飛妖精的家，

帶著用樹葉包起來的辣椒。

As the goblins watched through their peepholes,

當妖精透過窺視孔看出去時，

the shaman made a fire and put the chili peppers on it.

巫師生了火，將辣椒放在火上。

The fire began to smoke the tree out.

火產生的煙充滿了那棵樹。

The goblins who had eaten people’s eyes died.

吃了人眼的妖精死了。

Those who hadn’t were light enough to fly away.

沒有吃的妖精還夠輕，得以飛走。

So the goblins, like the humans, paid a steep price.

所以，那些妖精和人類一樣，

付出了很大的代價。

But they also lived to tell the tale, like the shaman.

但他們也存活下來， 和巫師一樣將故事傳下去。

In Siekopai legend, where the spirit and human worlds meet,

在賽科派傳說中， 當精靈和人類的世界交會時，

there are no clear victors,

不會有明確的贏家，

and even death is an opportunity for renewal.

就連死亡也是更新的機會。