Telling Tales

Brody stared at Hera and froze. Markos looked nervous too, but he stepped forward and bowed deeply to her. “ Greetings, Queen of the Heights and Goddess of Cattle, ” he said. “ It’s our good fortune that we’ve encountered you this evening. We’re searching for a calf that wandered away from the herd and got lost. ” Brody was confused. Why was Markos blabbing about cows? Hera was a goddess—the most powerful one around according to Julia, who seemed to know everything about that stuff. Why would someone like Hera care about some lost calf? Especially if she had truly been trying to poison Brody earlier.

布罗迪盯着赫拉，愣住了。马库斯看上去也很紧张，但他走上前，深深地向她鞠了一躬。 “诚恳地问候您，高地女王和牛的女神，”他说。“今晚遇到您，我们太幸运了。 我们正在寻找一头离开牛群迷路的小牛。” 布罗迪感到困惑。马科斯为什么要胡乱瞎扯奶牛？ 赫拉是一个女神——据茱莉亚所说，她是最强大的女神，她似乎对那些东西了如指掌。 为什么像赫拉这样的人会关心丢失的小牛？特别是如果她之前真的想毒死布罗迪的话。

To Brody’s surprise, Hera’s stern features relaxed into an expression of concern. “ I see, ” she said. “ Our meeting is most fortunate indeed, young mortals. Where did you last see the unfortunate creature?” “ That way. ” Markos pointed down the hillside. “ Perhaps I could show you while my friends continue to search in this direction?” “ Yes, of course. ” Hera barely glanced at Brody and Julia before turning her attention back to Markos. “ Lead the way, boy. ” Markos and Hera disappeared into the darkness.

令布罗迪惊讶的是，赫拉严肃的神情变得一脸担忧。 “我明白了，”她说。“我们的相遇真是太幸运了，年轻人。你最后一次见到这个不幸的小家伙是在哪里？” “那边。”马库斯指着山坡。“也许我可以带你看看，而我的朋友继续朝这个方向搜索？” “当然可以。”赫拉勉强瞥了布罗迪和茱莉亚一眼，就把注意力转回马库斯身上。“带路吧，小子。” 马库斯和赫拉消失在黑暗中。

Brody stared after them, still confused. “ What was that all about?” he asked. “ Didn’t you hear Markos? Hera is the goddess of cattle, ” Julia reminded Brody. “ That seemed strange to me when I read it in our textbook. But I guess it’s true. Markos must have guessed she’d want to help a lost calf. ” “ The goddess of cattle?” Brody scratched his head. “ I thought she was the queen of the gods. ” “ She is. Most of them are the gods of more than one thing. Like Hermes, for instance. He’s the messenger of the gods, but he’s also the god of travelers and literature and I think sports . . . Oh, never mind. ” Julia grabbed Brody’s arm.

布罗迪盯着他们，仍然困惑不解。“这是怎么回事？”他问道。 茱莉亚提醒布罗迪：“你没听到马库斯说的吗？赫拉是牛的女神。” “当我在课本上读到这一点时，我觉得很奇怪。但我想这是真的。马库斯肯定猜到她想帮助一只迷路的小牛。” “牛的女神？”布罗迪挠了挠头。“我以为她是众神之后。” “她是。他们中大多数是不止一件事物的神。例如赫尔墨斯。 他是众神的使者，但他也是旅者和文学之神，我认为还有体育。哦，不要在意了。”茱莉亚抓住布罗迪的胳膊。

“ We’ve got to get to the temple before Hera comes back. ” She bit her lip and glanced in the direction Hera had gone. “ I just hope she doesn’t figure out that Markos was lying to her to help us escape. Otherwise . . . ” “ Otherwise what?” Brody asked. “ Never mind. Just come on. ” Brody was getting tired of Julia’s “ never minds, ” but she was already hurrying up the path, so all he could do was follow. When they neared the temple, Julia stopped so abruptly that Brody almost bumped into her. “ I’m walking here, ” he complained.

“我们必须在赫拉回来之前赶到神庙。”她咬了咬嘴唇，朝赫拉走的方向看了一眼。 “我只是希望她不要发现马库斯在骗她来帮助我们逃跑。否则。。。 “否则什么？”布罗迪问。“别在意。来吧。” 布罗迪已经厌倦了茱莉亚的“别在意”，但她已经匆忙上路了，所以他只能跟着。 当他们到神庙附近时，茱莉亚突然停下，布罗迪差点撞到她。“我正走着呢，”他抱怨道。

“ Shh! ” She pointed. “ There’s a guard. ” Brody peered at the figure slumped at the top of the temple steps. “ Looks like he’s asleep, ” he whispered. “ We can just sneak past. ” “ Are you sure?” Julia asked. “ What if he wakes up and catches us?” Brody shrugged. “ He won’t if we’re quiet. ” Without waiting for an answer, he started forward. He moved lightly but quickly, as if carrying a football through a tough defensive line of football players.

“嘘！”她指了指。“有守卫。” 布罗迪凝视着瘫倒在神庙台阶顶端的身影。“看起来他睡着了，”他低声说。“我们可以偷偷溜过去。” “你确定？”茱莉亚问道。“如果他醒来抓住我们怎么办？” 布罗迪耸了耸肩。“如果我们安静些，他不会的。” 不等回答，他就往前走。他的动作轻盈而快速，仿佛带着足球穿过了足球运动员的强硬防线。

Julia’s footsteps were louder, but the guard didn’t wake up, and soon the kids were inside. “ I think the passage is back there, ” Julia whispered, pointing to an inner chamber. Brody nodded and hurried in. He smiled when he caught a glimpse of sunshine through the crack in the wall. A bird flew past, and Brody could see his school’s playing fields and the familiar row of buildings on the far side. “ Awesome, ” he said. “ What are we waiting for? Let’s go home! ” When Brody neared the crack in the wall, it seemed to pull him forward.

茱莉亚的脚步声更大些，但守卫没有醒来，很快孩子们就进去了。 “我想通道就在后面，”茱莉亚指着一个内室小声说。 布罗迪点了点头，匆匆走了进去。当他从墙上的裂缝处瞥见阳光时，他笑了。 一只鸟儿飞过，布罗迪可以看到学校的操场和远处熟悉的一排建筑。 “太棒了，”他说。“我们还等什么？我们回家吧！” 当布罗迪靠近墙上的裂缝时，它似乎在把他向前拉。