英語沙龍十年合集珍藏版第三輯The Shepherd’s1) Daughter
The Shepherd’s1) Daughter
It is the opinion of my grandmother，God bless her，that all men should labour，and at the table，a moment ago，she said to me ：You must learn to do some good work，the ma king of some item useful to man，something out of clay，or out of wood，or metal，or cloth．It is not proper for a young man to be ignorant2) of an honourable craft3)．Is there anything you can make？Can you make a simple table，a chair，a plain dish，a rug，a coffee pot？If there anything you can do？
And my grandmother looked at me with anger．I know，she said，you are supposed to be a writer，and I suppose you are．You certainly smoke enough cigarettes to be anything，and the whole house is full of the smoke，but you must learn to make solid things，things that can be used，that can be seen and touched．
There was a king of the Persians，said my grandmother，and he had a son，and this son fell in love with a shepherd’s daughter．He went to his father and he said，My Lord，I love a shepherd’s daughter，and I would have her for my wife．And the king said，I am king and you are my son，and when I die you shall be king，how can it be that you would marry the daughter of a shepherd？And the son said，My Lord，I do not know but I know that I love this girl and would have her for my queen．
The king saw that his son’s love for the girl was from God，and he said，I will send a message to her．And he called a messenger to him and he said，Go to the shepherd’ s daughter and say that my son loves her and would have her for his wife．And the messenger went to the girl and he said，The king’s son loves you and would have you for his wife．And the girl said，What labour does he do？And the messenger said，Why，he is the son of the king；he does no labour．And the girl said，He must learn to do some labour．And the messenger returned to the king and spoke the words of the shepherd’s daughter．
The king said to his son，The shepherd’s daughter wishes you to learn some craft．Would you still have her for your wife？And t he son said，Yes，I will learn to weave straw rugs．And the boy was taught to weave rugs4) of straw，in patterns and in colours and with ornamental5) designs，and at the end of three days he was making very fine straw rugs，and the messenger returned to the shepherd’s daughter，and he said，These rugs of straw are the work of the king’s son．And the girl went with the messenger to the king’s palace，and she became the wife of the king’s son．
One day，said my grandmother，the king’s son was walking through the streets of Baghdad，and he came upon an eating place which was so clean and cool that he entered it and sat at a table．
This place，said my grandmother，was a place of thieves and murderers，and they took the king’s son and placed him in a large dungeon where many great men of the city were being held，and the thieves and murderers were killing the fattest of the men and fee ding them to the leanest of them，and making sport of it．The king’s son was of the leanest of the men，and it was not known that he was the son of the king of the Persians，so his life was s pared，and he said to the thieves and murderers，I am a weaver of straw rugs and these rugs have great value．And they brought him straw and asked him to weave and in three days he weaved three rugs，and he said，Carry these to the palace of the king of the Persians，and for each rug he will give you a hundred gold pieces of money．And the rugs were carried to the palace of the king，and when the king saw the rugs he saw that they were the work of his son and he took the rugs to the shepherd’s daughter and he said，These rugs were brought to the palace and they are the work of my son who is lost．And the shepherd’s daughter took each rug and looked at it closely and in the design of each rug she saw in the written language of the Persians a message from her husband，and she related this message to the king．
And the king，said my grandmother，sent many soldiers to the place of the thieves and murderers，and the soldiers rescued6) all the captives7) and killed all the thieves and murderers，and the king’s son was returned safely to the palace of his father，and to the company of his wife，the little shepherd’ s daughter．And when the boy went into the palace and saw again his wife，he humbled himself before her and he embraced her feet，and he said，My love，it is because of you that I am alive，and the king was greatly pleased with the shepherd’s daughter．
Now，said my grandmother，do you see why every man should learn an honourable craft？
I see very clearly，I said，and as soon as I earn enough money to buy a saw and a hammer and a piece of lumber I shall do my best to make a simple chair or a shelf for books．
□by William Saroyan
牧羊人的女兒
我祖母，上帝保佑她，認(rèn)為所有的人都應(yīng)當(dāng)勞動，剛才在吃飯時她對我說，你必須學(xué)會做一些好事，用粘土、木頭、金屬或布匹做材料，制作一種對人類有用的東西。青年人應(yīng)該掌握一門體面的手藝。你能制作什么嗎？能制做一張簡單的桌子、一把椅子、一個普通的盤子、一條毯子或者一把咖啡壺嗎？你能干什么呢？
祖母生氣地看著我，她說，我知道你期望當(dāng)個作家，我看你該，你吸了那么多香煙，也沒干出點兒名堂，看你抽得滿屋子都是煙。但你必須學(xué)著做點實在的東西，有用的、看得見摸得著的東西。
祖母說，從前波斯有一個國王，他有個兒子，兒子愛上了一個牧羊人的女兒。于是他去見父親說，父王，我愛上了一個牧羊人的女兒，我想娶她為妻。國王說，我是國王，你是我的兒子，我死后你要繼位，你怎么能娶一個牧羊人的女兒呢？兒子說，父王，我也不明白，我只知道我愛這個姑娘，將來要讓她當(dāng)王后。
國王明白了他兒子愛那個姑娘是接受了神的旨意，他說，我要給她送個口信。于是他叫來信使說，到牧羊人女兒那兒去說，我兒子喜歡她，想要娶她為妻。信使去見那個姑娘說，國王的兒子喜歡你，想要娶你為妻。姑娘問道，他做什么活計？信使說，什么？他是國王的兒子，什么活也不做。姑娘說，他必須學(xué)會做一種活計。信使回來向國王匯報了牧羊人女兒所說的話。
國王對他的兒子說，牧羊人女兒要你學(xué)會一種手藝，你還想娶她為妻嗎？兒子說，想，我打算學(xué)習(xí)編織稻草席子。于是這個男孩學(xué)習(xí)用稻草編織各種花樣各種顏色并有裝飾圖案的席子。三天之后，他已在編織挺不錯的草席了。信使又去見牧羊人女兒，他說，這些席子是國王兒子的作品。于是這個姑娘跟著信使到了王宮，和國王兒子結(jié)為夫妻。
祖母說，有一天國王的兒子在巴格達(dá)街上游逛，見到一個飯鋪又干凈又涼爽，他便走進(jìn)去，在一張飯桌旁坐了下來。
祖母說，這個飯鋪是強(qiáng)盜和殺人犯藏身之處，他們把國王的兒子抓起來，關(guān)進(jìn)了一個很大的地牢。城里的許多大人物也關(guān)在這里。強(qiáng)盜和殺人犯把這些人里最胖的殺了，供給其中最瘦的人吃，拿這個當(dāng)兒戲。國王的兒子是其中最瘦的，而且他們不知道他是波斯國王的兒子，因此保住了性命。他對強(qiáng)盜和殺人犯說，我是稻草席子編織工，編的席子很值錢。于是他們弄來一些稻草要他編織。三天之后他編成了三條席子，他說，把這些席子送到波斯國王的宮里去，每條席子會給１００塊金元。席子送到了王宮，國王看到席子知道了是他兒子編的。他把席子拿給牧羊人女兒，說這些席子送到宮里來了，是我失蹤兒子的制品。牧羊人女兒極其仔細(xì)地查看每條席子，發(fā)現(xiàn)在每條席子的圖案里有她丈夫用波斯語寫的信，她把信的內(nèi)容講給了國王。
祖母說，國王派了許多士兵到強(qiáng)盜和殺人犯藏身的地方，殺掉了所有的強(qiáng)盜和殺人犯，把所有被囚禁的人都解救出來。國王的兒子安全地返回他父親的宮里，和妻子---可愛的牧羊人女兒獲得團(tuán)圓。當(dāng)他走進(jìn)王宮又見到妻子時，他走上前去謙恭地抱住她的雙腳說，親愛的，就是因為有你我現(xiàn)在還活著。國王對牧羊人女兒非常滿意。
祖母說，現(xiàn)在你明白為什么每個人都應(yīng)該學(xué)會一項體面的手藝了嗎？
我說，我徹底明白了，等我掙夠了錢買到一把鋸子、一個錘子和一塊木料后，我就好好地做一把簡單的椅子和一個書架。
NOTE 注釋：
shepherd [5FepEd] n. 牧羊人
ignorant [5i^nErEnt] adj. 無知的
craft [krB:ft] n. 工藝, 手藝
rug [rQ^] n. (小)地毯, 墊子，席子
ornamental [7C:nE5mentl] adj. 裝飾性的, 裝飾的, 裝飾用的
rescue [5reskju:] vt. 援救, 營救
captive [5kAptiv] n. 俘虜
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