罗宾汉的故事
2010-11-01 20:11阅读：
In the rude days of King Rich-ard and King John there were many
great
woods in England. The most famous of these was Sher-wood forest,
where
the king often went to hunt deer. In this forest there lived a band
of
daring men called out-laws.
They had done something that was against the laws of the land, and
had
been forced to hide themselves in the woods to save their lives.
There
they spent their time in roaming about among the trees, in hunting
the
king's deer, and in robbing rich trav-el-ers that came that
way.
There were nearly a hundred of these outlaws, and their leader was
a
bold fellow called Robin Hood. They were dressed in suits of
green,
and armed with bows and arrows; and sometimes they carried long
wooden
lances and broad-swords, which they knew how to handle well.
When-ever
they had taken anything, it was brought and laid at the feet of
Robin
Hood, whom they called their king. He then di-vid
-ed it fairly among
them, giving to each man his just share.
Robin never allowed his men to harm any-body but the rich men
who
lived in great houses and did no work. He was always kind to the
poor,
and he often sent help to them; and for that reason the common
people
looked upon him as their friend.
Long after he was dead, men liked to talk about his deeds.
Some
praised him, and some blamed him. He was, indeed, a rude,
lawless
fellow; but at that time, people did not think of right and wrong
as
they do now.
A great many songs were made up about Robin Hood, and these songs
were
sung in the cot-ta-ges and huts all over the land for hundreds
of
years after-ward.
Here is a little story that is told in one of those songs:--
Robin Hood was standing one day under a green tree by the
road-side.
While he was lis-ten-ing to the birds among the leaves, he saw a
young
man passing by. This young man was dressed in a fine suit of
bright
red cloth; and, as he tripped gayly along the road, he seemed to be
as
happy as the day.
'I will not trou-ble him,' said Robin Hood, 'for I think he is on
his
way to his wedding.
'
The next day Robin stood in the same place. He had not been there
long
when he saw the same young man coming down the road. But he did
not
seem to be so happy this time. He had left his scarlet coat at
home,
and at every step he sighed and groaned.
'Ah the sad day! the sad day!' he kept saying to himself.
Then Robin Hood stepped out from under the tree, and said,--
'I say, young man! Have you any money to spare for my merry men
and
me?'
'I have nothing at all,' said the young man, 'but five shil-lings
and
a ring.'
'A gold ring?' asked Robin.
'Yes?' said the young man, 'it is a gold ring. Here it is.'
'Ah, I see!' said Robin: 'it is a wedding ring.'
'I have kept it these seven years,' said the young man; 'I have
kept
it to give to my bride on our wedding day. We were going to be
married
yes-ter-day. But her father has prom-ised her to a rich old man
whom
she never saw. And now my heart is broken.'
'What is your name?' asked Robin.
'My name is Allin-a-Dale,' said the young man.
'What will you give me, in gold or fee,' said Robin, 'if I will
help
you win your bride again in spite of the rich old man to whom she
has
been promised?'
'I have no money,' said Allin, 'but I will promise to be your
servant. '
'How many miles is it to the place where the maiden lives?'
asked
Robin.
'It is not far,' said Allin. 'But she is to be married this very
day,
and the church is five miles away.'
Then Robin made haste to dress himself as a harper; and in
the
after-noon he stood in the door of the church.
'Who are you?' said the bishop, 'and what are you doing
here?'
'I am a bold harper,' said Robin, 'the best in the north
country.'
'I am glad you have come,' said the bishop kindly. 'There is no
music
that I like so well as that of the harp. Come in, and play for
us.'
'I will go in,' said Robin Hood; 'but I will not give you any
music
until I see the bride and bridegroom.'
Just then an old man came in. He was dressed in rich clothing, but
was
bent with age, and was feeble and gray. By his side walked a
fair
young girl. Her cheeks were very pale, and her eyes were full
of
tears.yingyuyuedu-by 'This is no match,' said Robin. 'Let the bride
choose for herself.'
Then he put his horn to his lips, and blew three times. The very
next
minute, four and twenty men, all dressed in green, and car-ry-ing
long
bows in their hands, came running across the fields. And as
they
marched into the church, all in a row, the fore-most among them
was
Allin-a-Dale.
'Now whom do you choose?' said Robin to the maiden.
'I choose Allin-a-Dale,' she said, blushing.
'And Allin-a-Dale you shall have,' said Robin; 'and he that takes
you
from Allin-a-Dale shall find that he has Robin Hood to deal
with.'
And so the fair maiden and Allin-a-Dale were married then and
there,
and the rich old man went home in a great rage.
'And thus having ended this merry wedding,
The bride looked like a queen:
And so they re-turned to the merry green wood,
Amongst the leaves so green.'
Baldwin, James, 1841-1925
'Fifty Famous Stories Retold'
翻译：
在理查德国王和约翰国王统治下的残暴年代，英格兰有许多大森林，其中最著名的是舍伍德森林，国王常常去那里狩猎。在这片森林中，居住着一群很大胆的人，被称为逃犯。
他们做了一些违反那个国家法律的事情，为了保住性命，迫不得已藏身于这片森林中。他们在树林中闲逛、猎捕国王的鹿，并抢劫从那里路过的富裕的旅行者，以这种方式打发时间。
那里住着将近100个逃犯，他们的首领是一个名叫罗宾汉的勇敢家伙。他们穿着一身绿色的衣服，装备着弓和箭。有时，他们携带着长矛和腰刀，而且很会舞弄这些家伙。
无论什么时候，只要有所收获，他们就会带回来放到罗宾汉的脚下，他们称呼他为国王。于是，他就在他们之间公平地划分，分给他们每个人应得的一份。
罗宾汉从不允许他的人伤害任何人，但是除了那些住在大房子中不劳动的富人。他总是很和善地对待穷人，并且常常帮助他们。也正是由于这个原因，平民们都把他当成了自己的朋友。
他死后很久，人们仍然喜欢谈论他的事迹。一些人称赞他，一些人责备他。事实上，他就是一个粗鲁、不守法的家伙。但是，在那个年代，人们不像现在这样评价对和错。
人们谱写了大量关于罗宾汉的歌曲，几百年以后，这些歌曲依旧在全国各地的村舍和小屋中传唱。
其中有一首歌曲讲述了这样一个故事：
一天，罗宾汉站在路边一棵枝叶茂盛的树底下。当他正在听着枝叶间鸟儿的歌唱时，看见一个年轻人从这里路过。年轻人穿着一身猩红色的精美套装，沿着大道快乐地走着，看起来就像明媚的天气一样，非常快乐。
“我不会打扰他，”罗宾汉说道，“因为，我认为他正赶往他的婚礼。”
第二天，罗宾汉又站在昨天的那个地方。刚刚站了一会儿，他看见昨天那个年轻人沿着大道走来。然而，今天他看起来不那么高兴。他把猩红色的外套留在了家里，并且每走一步，就叹息、呻吟一次。
“啊，悲伤的一天！”他不停地对自己说。
罗宾汉从树下走出去，然后说道：“我说，年轻人！给我和我可爱的兄弟们一些钱花吧？”
“我什么都没有，”年轻人说道，“除了5个先令和1枚戒指”。
“1枚金戒指？”罗宾问道。
“是的，”年轻人说道，“这是1枚金戒指，给你。”
“啊，我知道了！”罗宾说道，“这是1枚结婚戒指。”
“这7年以来，我一直保存着它，就是为了在结婚那天送给我的新娘。昨天，我们本打算结婚。但是，他的父亲却把她许配给了一个从来没有见过面的有钱老头。现在，我的心都碎了。”
“你叫什么名字？”罗宾问道。
“我叫阿林·戴尔。”年轻人说道。
“你将会给我什么，金子或酬金，”罗宾说道，“如果我去找那个有钱老头，帮助你把新娘夺回来？”
“我没有钱，”阿林说道，“但是，我可以承诺做你的仆人。”
“到那个少女住的地方有多少英里？”罗宾问道。
“不远，”阿林说道，“但是，她今天就要结婚了，教堂在5英里远的地方。”
罗宾急忙把自己打扮成一个竖琴师。下午，他站在了教堂的门口。
“你是谁？”主教问道，“你在这里做什么？”
“我是一个勇敢的竖琴师，”罗宾说道，“这个国家北方最出色的竖琴师。”
“很高兴你能来，”主教和善地说道，“与其他任何一种音乐相比，我最喜欢竖琴了。进来，请为我们演奏吧。”
“我会进去，”罗宾汉说道，“但是，在我看见新娘和新郎之前，我是不会给你们演奏任何乐曲的。”
正在那时，一个老头走了进来。他穿着华贵的衣服，但是年龄大了点，看起来又老又衰弱。站在他旁边的是一位年轻美丽的姑娘。她脸色苍白，眼中噙着泪。
“根本不般配，”罗宾说道，“让新娘自己选择新郎。”
然后，他把喇叭放在嘴唇之间，吹了3声。仅仅1分钟之后，24个穿着绿衣服的男子跑步穿过田野，他们手里都握着长弓。当他们走进教堂，排成一列，站在最前面的就是阿林·戴尔。
“现在，你选择谁？”罗宾向少女问道。
“我选阿林·戴尔。”她涨红了脸说道。
“那么阿林·戴尔就属于你了，”罗宾说道，“如果谁把你从阿林·戴尔身边抢走，你就告诉他，罗宾汉会修理他的。”
于是，美丽的少女和阿林·戴尔就在教堂喜结连理，那个有钱的老头气急败坏地回家去了。
令人愉快的婚礼结束后，
新娘看起来就像一个王后；
他们返回到美丽的绿林，
消失在枝叶茂盛的树木间。
（罗宾汉的故事)
