艾伦·瑞克曼 | 朗读非洲民间故事《狮子、野兔和鬣狗》

A lion named Simba once lived alone in a cave. In his younger days, the solitude had not worried him, but not very long before this tale begins, he had hurt his leg so badly that he was not unable to provide food for himself.

从前，有只名叫辛巴的狮子独自生活在一个山洞里，年轻的时候，孤独并不是他所担心的事。但在这个故事开始之前不久，他的腿已经受伤了，而且伤得很重，以至于无法为自己捕食。

Eventually, he began to realise that companionship had its advantages. Things would have gone very badly for him, had not Sunguru the hare happened to be passing his cave one day. Looking inside, Sunguru realised that the lion was starving. At once, he set about caring for his sick friend and seeing to his comfort.

最终，他开始意识到友谊的好处。要不是那天野兔桑格鲁碰巧路过他的山洞，事情对他来说可能会变得更加糟糕。桑格鲁朝辛巴住的山洞里看了看，知道他此时正在挨饿，桑格鲁即刻开始照顾这位生病的朋友，并安慰他。

Under the hare's careful nursing, Simba gradually regained his strength until finally he was well enough to catch small game for the two of them to eat. Soon, quite a large pile of bones began to accumulate outside the entrance to the lion's cave.

在桑格鲁的精心照料下，辛巴逐渐恢复了体力，最后身体好到可以抓到些小东西让他们填饱肚子。不久，辛巴洞口外就开始累起了一大堆剩骨。

One day, Nyangau the hyena, while sniffing around in a hope of scrounging something for his supper, caught the appetising smell of marrow-bones. His nose led him to Simba's cave, but as the bones could be seen clearly from inside, he could not steal them with safety. Being a cowardly fellow, like the rest of his kind, he decided that the only way to gain possession of the tasty morsels would be to make friends with Simba.

有一天，鬣狗尼高在四处嗅着，希望晚餐能找到点吃的东西，却闻到了令人胃口大开的骨髓味。骨头的味道把他带到辛巴的洞口，但从洞内可以清楚地看到洞口的骨头，他就无法安全地将骨头偷走。和其他同类一样，胆小的尼高觉得要想获得美味的骨头，唯一途径就是和辛巴交朋友。

He therefore crept up to the entrance of the cave and gave a cough. "Who makes the evening hideous with his dreadful croakings?" demanded the lion, rising to his feet and preparing to investigate the noise.

于是尼高蹑手蹑脚地走到洞口，咳嗽了一声。“谁发出这令人憎恶的叫声让夜晚变得可怕？“狮子问到，并起身朝着声音的方向走去。

"It is I, your friend Nyangau," faltered the hyena, losing what little courage he possessed. "I have come to tell you how sadly you have been missed by the animals and how greatly we are looking forward to your early return to good health!"

“是我啊，你的朋友尼高”，尼高支支吾吾地说，失去了他仅有的一点勇气，“我是来告诉你，动物们是多么的想念你，我们多么希望你早日恢复健康啊！”

"Well, get out!" growled the lion, "for it seems to me that a friend would have enquired about  my health long before this, instead of waiting until I could be of use to him once more. Get out, I say!"

“出去！”狮子咆哮道，“在我看来，如果作为一个朋友早就应该询问我的健康状况，而不是等到我对他有利用价值的时候再来慰问。我说，出去！”

The hyena shuffled off with alacrity, his scruffy tail tucked between his bandy legs, followed by the insulting giggles of the hare. But he could not forget the pile of tempting bones outside the entrance to the lion's cave.

鬣狗尼高夹起他邋遢的尾巴，迅速地拖着脚步悻悻地走了，后面传来野兔桑格鲁咯咯的嘲笑声，但他仍忘不了狮子洞口那堆诱人的骨头。

"I shall try again." resolved the thick-skinned hyena. A few days later, he made a point of paying his visit while the hare was away fetching water to cook the evening meal.

厚脸皮的鬣狗尼高暗下决心道：“我会再试一次。”几天后，他趁野兔桑格鲁去打水做饭的时间再一次来到了辛巴的洞口。

He found the lion dozing at the entrance to his cave. "Friend," simpered Nyangau, "I am led to believe that the wound on your leg is making poor progress due to the underhand treatment that you are receiving from your so-called friend Sunguru."

尼高发现辛巴正在洞口打盹。“朋友”，尼高扭捏地笑着说，“我认为你腿上的伤口恢复的不好，是因为你从所谓的朋友桑格鲁那里接受了不当的治疗所导致的。”

"What do you mean?" snarled the lion malevolently. "I have to thank Sunguru that I did not starve to death during the worst of my illness, while you and your companions were conspicuous by your absence!"

“你什么意思？狮子凶恶地咆哮道，“我要感谢桑格鲁，在我病的最严重的时候，我没有饿死，而你和你的同伴却因为你的缺席而格外惹人注意！”

"Nevertheless, what I have told you is true." confided the hyena, "It is well known throughout the countryside that Sunguru is purposely giving you the wrong treatment for your wound, to prevent your recovery - for when you are well, he will lose his position as your housekeeper. A very comfortable living for him, to be sure! Let me warn you, good friend, that Sunguru is not acting in your best interests."

“然而，我告诉您的都是真的。”尼高说， “这整片地区，大家都知道桑格鲁是故意给您的伤口提供了不当的治疗，来防止您康复。因为如果您身体好了，他将失去您管家的职位。 可以肯定的是，他的生活很安逸！亲爱的朋友，让我提醒您，桑格鲁的举动并非出于您最大利益的考虑。”

At that moment the hare returned from the river with his gourd filled of water. "Well," he said, addressing the hyena as he put down his load. "I did not expect to see you here, after your hasty and inglorious departure from our presence the other day. Tell me, what do you want this time?"

这时，桑格鲁带着装满水的葫芦从河里回来了。“好吧，”他一边放下东西，一边对尼高说，“前几天你灰溜溜从我们面前逃走，我没想今天还会在这见到你。告诉我，这次你想要什么？”

Simba turned to the hare, "I have been listening," he said, "to Nyangau's tales about you. He tells me that you are renowned throughout the countryside for your skill and cunning as a doctor. He also tells me that the medicines you prescribe are without rival: but he insists that you could have cured the wound upon my leg a long time ago, had it been in your interests to do so. Is this true?"

辛巴转身对桑格鲁说：“我一直在听，”他说，“我听尼高在讲关于你的传说。尼高告诉我，你以医术高明而闻名于全国；他还告诉我，你开的药在这片地区绝对无出其右。但尼高坚持说，如果你不是没有在我这得到好处，你早就可以治好我腿上的伤了，这是真的吗？”

Sunguru thought for a moment. He knew that he had to treat this situation with care, for he had a strong suspicion that Nyangau was trying to trick him. "Well," he answered with hesitation, "yes, and no. You see, I am only a very small animal, and sometimes the medicines that I require are very big, and I am unable to procure them - as for instance, in your case, good Simba."

桑格鲁想了一会儿，他必须谨慎对待这种情况，因为他强烈怀疑尼高是想欺骗他。“好吧，”桑格鲁犹豫地回答，“是的，但也不是。您看，我只是一只很小的动物，有时我需要的药物很大，例如像您这样的情况，辛巴大人，所以有些药物我无法获得它们。”

"What do you mean?" spluttered the lion, sitting up and at once showing interest. "Just this," replied the hare, "I need a piece of skin off the back of a full-grown hyena to place on your wound, before it can be completely healed."

“什么意思？辛巴扑腾一声坐了起来，对此立刻表现出兴趣。“就是这个。”桑格鲁回答,“我需要一块成年鬣狗背部的皮肤贴在你的伤口上，然后它才能完全愈合。”

Hearing this, the lion sprang upon Nyangau before the surprised creature had time to get away. He tore a strip of skin off the foolish fellow's back from his head to his tail, and clapped it on the wound on his leg.

听到这里，还没等吃惊的尼高反应过来，辛巴就扑到了他身上，从那傻瓜背上从头到尾撕下一大块皮，拍在他自己腿上的伤口上。

As the skin came away from the hyena's back, the hairs that remained stretched and stood on end. To this day, Nyangau and his kind still have long, coarse hairs standing upon the crests of their misshapen bodies.

自从鬣狗尼高丢了一大块皮之后，它背上的毛发就一直参差不齐地竖着。直到今天，尼高和他同类畸形的背部，仍然长着粗糙不堪，参差不齐竖着的毛发。

Sunguru's fame as a doctor spread far and wide after this episode, for the wound on Simba's leg healed without further trouble, but it was very many weeks before the hyena had the courage to show himself in public again.

至那以后，桑格鲁作为医生的名声更加广为流传，因为从那次之后辛巴腿上的伤口愈合了，再也没有复发过。然而鬣狗尼高，过了数周才有勇气再次出现在大家面前。