美國語文第四冊 第07期：海水為什么是咸的（04）
At length, a great foreign merchant came, and when he had seen the mill, inquired whether it would grind salt.
終于有一天，一位外國富商來到這里。當他看到磨粉機時，詢問它是否能夠用來出鹽。
Being told that it would, he wanted to buy it;
得到肯定答復(fù)后，他想要買下它。
for he traded in salt, and thought that if he owned it he could supply all his customers without taking long and dangerous voyages.
因為他從事的是鹽業(yè)貿(mào)易，想著如果擁有了這臺機器，他不用冒著危險遠渡涉水就能為顧客供應(yīng)食鹽了。
The man would not sell it, of course.
磨粉機的所有者當然不會賣掉它。
He was so rich now that he did not want to use it for himself;
他現(xiàn)在家境富裕，根本不想為了自己的利益去使用它了，
but every Christmas he ground out food and clothes and coal for the poor, and nice presents for the little children.
而是在每年圣誕節(jié)時用它為窮人們磨出衣服和煤火，為小孩子們磨出漂亮的禮物。
So he rejected all the offers of the rich merchant.
因此，他拒絕了富商的一切出價。
The merchant, however, determined to have it;
但富商一心想得到磨粉機，
he bribed one of the man's servants to let him go into the castle at night, and he stole the mill and sailed away with it in triumph.
于是他賄賂了富人身邊的一名侍從，在夜間放他進入了城堡。他真的偷到了磨粉機，帶著勝利的喜悅乘船離去。
He had scarcely got out to sea, before he determined to set the mill to work.
他坐的船剛到海上，他就打算開始讓磨粉機工作了。
"Now, mill, grind salt," said he; "grind salt with all your might!— salt, salt, and nothing but salt!"
“磨粉機，現(xiàn)在出鹽，”他說，“開足馬力出鹽嘍！——鹽、鹽、除了鹽還是鹽！”
The mill began to grind and the sailors to fill the sacks;
磨粉機開始不停地出鹽，水手們則把鹽都裝進了麻袋；
but these were soon full, and in spite of all that could be done, it began to fill the ship.
這些袋子不一會兒就全裝滿了，盡管所有能做的都做了，但鹽還是把整艘船全裝滿了。
The dishonest merchant was now very much frightened. What was to be done?
這個不誠實的富商現(xiàn)在開始感覺非常害怕了。還能做些什么呢？
The mill would not stop grinding; and at last the ship was overloaded, and down it went, making a great whirlpool where it sank.
磨粉機不停地出鹽，最后船變得極度超重，整個翻了過去，船沉沒時掀起了巨大的旋渦。
The ship soon went to pieces; but the mill stands on the bottom of the sea, and keeps grinding out salt, salt, nothing but salt!
不一會兒，船身四分五裂，但磨粉機留在了深深的海底，還在不停地出著鹽。鹽、鹽、除了鹽還是鹽，
That is the reason, say the peasants of Denmark and Norway, why the sea is salt.
丹麥和挪威的農(nóng)民常說，海水為什么是咸的，這就是原因所在。
