The Colors of Friendship　友誼的顏色

The Colors of Friendship　友誼的顏色

◎ Anonymous

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel.

很久以前，世界上的各種顏色進行過一次激烈的爭吵。

All claimed that they were the best. The most important. The most useful. The favorite.

每一種顏色都說自己是最好的、最重要的、最有用的、最討人喜歡的。

Green said:

綠色說：

“Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.”

“顯然，我是最重要的。我是生命和希望的標志。我被選作青草、樹木以及葉子的顏色。沒有了我，所有的動物都會死去。展望田野吧，你會看到，到處都有我。”

Blue interrupted:

藍色打斷了它的話：

“You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing.”

“你只考慮了地上，想想天空和海洋吧。水才是生命的基礎(chǔ)呀，云彩把水分從深邃的大海帶到了天空。天空給了人們空間、和平和寧謐。沒有我的和平，你們將不復存在?！?

Yellow chuckled:

黃色咯咯地笑出了聲：

“You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun.”

“你們都太嚴肅了。我給這個世界帶來了笑聲、歡樂和溫暖。太陽是黃色的，月亮是黃色的，星星是黃色的。每一次你看向日葵的時候，整個世界也跟隨著它開始歡笑。沒有我就沒有快樂。”

Orange started next to blow her trumpet:

橙色馬上開始自吹自擂：

“I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I don’t hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you.”

“我可是健康和力量的顏色。我可能比較少見，但是我非常寶貴，因為我滿足了人們生活的需要。我攜帶了最重要的維生素。想想胡蘿卜、南瓜、柑橘、芒果和番木瓜。我并不經(jīng)常出沒在天空，但日出日落我在天際登場時，我的美麗足以驚世，極為引人注目，沒有人還會想起你們?！?

Red could stand it no longer he shouted out:

紅色再也忍不下去了，它喊道：

“I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood—life’s blood！I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy.”

“我，是你們所有人的主宰。我是血液——生命的血液！我是危險和勇敢的顏色。我愿意為了一個目標而斗爭。我把烈火帶入血液。沒有了我，地球會像月亮一樣變得空虛。我是激情和愛的顏色，是紅玫瑰、猩猩木和罌粟的顏色?！?

Purple rose up to his full height:

紫色站起身來：

He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: “I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey.”

它非常高，說起話來風度十足：“我是王權(quán)和力量的象征。國王、酋長、主教都選擇了我，因為我象征著權(quán)威和智慧。人們不會質(zhì)疑我！他們只能遵行和服從。”

Finally Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination:

最后，靛青說話了，它的聲音比其他人都輕，但卻比其他人都斬釘截鐵：

“Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.”

“想想我吧。我是沉默的顏色。你們幾乎注意不到我，但是如果沒有我，你們?nèi)紩兊媚w淺。我代表著思想和反省，代表著黎明的曙光和深邃的海水。你們需要我來平衡和比較，來祈禱和獲得內(nèi)心的安寧?！?

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear，drawing close to one another for comfort.

就這樣，各種顏色都在不停地吹噓自己，每個人都深信自己無比優(yōu)越。它們的爭吵聲越來越大。忽然，天地間電閃雷鳴。大雨無情地傾盆而下。顏色們驚恐地蜷縮起來，彼此擠在一起互相安慰，挨過這恐怖的時刻。

In the midst of the clamor，rain began to speak:

在一片喧囂聲中，雨開始說話了：

“You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come tome.”

“你們這些愚蠢的顏色，彼此相互爭斗，每個人都想支配別人。你們不知道每個人都是天造地設(shè)、獨一無二、彼此不同的嗎？大家攜起手來吧。”

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. The rain continued:

那些顏色都乖乖按照著雨的話，手牽著手團結(jié)在一起。雨接著說：

“From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow.” And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.

“從現(xiàn)在開始，每次下雨的時候，你們都要變成一個巨大的彩色弓形橫跨天空，以證明你們能夠和平相處。彩虹就是一個標志，明天的希望！”因此，每當下了一場及時雨沖刷這個世界時，就會有一道彩虹出現(xiàn)在天空，讓我們記住，要彼此珍惜。

超多雙語閱讀，盡在聽力課堂