Chariot Racing

I haven’t seen Poseidon yet, ” Julia whispered to Markos. “ What’s he like?” The two of them were following Hermes and Brody toward the hippodrome. That was the stadium where the chariot races would take place. Hermes had arranged to meet Poseidon there. “ We don’t see Poseidon as much as the other gods, ” Markos told Julia. “ As the god of the sea, he prefers to stay beneath the waters. Well, except when he wants to spend time with horses, that is. ” “ I didn’t even know Poseidon was the god of horses, ” Julia said. “ We didn’t learn that in class. ”

“我还没见过波塞冬，”茱莉亚低声对马库斯说。“他是什么样的？” 他们两个跟着赫尔墨斯和布罗迪向赛马场走去。那是举行战车比赛的体育场。赫尔墨斯已安排和波塞冬在那里会面。 马库斯告诉茱莉亚：“我们看到波塞冬的次数不像其他神那么多。” “作为海神，他更喜欢呆在水下。好吧，除非他想花时间和马在一起，就是这样。” “我甚至不知道波塞冬是掌管马匹的神，”茱莉亚说。“我们在课堂上没有学到这些。”

“ He created the horse out of sea foam to impress the goddess Demeter, ” Markos said. “ Oh, cool. ” Julia looked around as they entered the hippodrome. The place was deserted. “ So where’s Poseidon?” she murmured. Suddenly they heard a crack of thunder, and rain poured down on all of them. Julia ducked and covered her head with her hands. A second later the rain stopped as quickly as if someone had turned off a faucet. Standing before them was Poseidon. He had a flowing beard tangled with seaweed, and he was holding a trident.

马科斯说：“为了打动女神德墨忒耳，他用海中的泡沫创造了这匹马。” “哦，太酷了。” 当他们进入赛马场时，茱莉亚环顾四周。这个地方空无一人。“波塞冬呢？”她喃喃地说。 突然，他们听到了一阵雷声，雨水倾盆而下。茱莉亚蹲下来，用手捂住了头。 刹那间，雨就停了，就像有人把水龙头关了一样。 站在他们面前的是波塞冬。他留着飘逸的胡须，上面缠绕着海藻，手里拿着一把三叉戟。

Behind him were two teams of snorting horses. Each team was hitched to a chariot. “ Poseidon, my friend! ” Hermes greeted him . “ You’re right on time. ” “ You always deliver my messages quickly, Hermes, ” Poseidon replied with a nod. “ Of course I’m on time when you need a favor. ” “ This is the champion I told you about, ” Hermes said, gesturing at Brody. “ I’m sure he’s destined to beat Zeus’ mystery mortal. ” “ Hmm. ” Poseidon looked Brody up and down.

在他身后是两队喷着鼻息的马。每队都被拴在一辆战车上。 “波塞冬，我的朋友！”赫尔墨斯向他打招呼。“你来的刚好。” “你总是迅速的传达我的消息，赫尔墨斯。”波塞冬点头回答。“当你需要帮忙的时候，我当然会准时。” “这就是我和你说过的冠军，”赫尔墨斯指着布罗迪说。“我相信他就是注定要打败宙斯的神秘凡人。” “嗯...”波塞冬上下打量着布罗迪。

“ Allow me to introduce my own champion. ” A man jumped out of one of the chariots. He was very tall, with broad shoulders and curly dark hair. “ This is Drakon, ” Poseidon said. “ I thought it would be interesting for our mortal heroes to train against each other. ” “ An excellent idea! ” Hermes agreed. Julia wasn’t so sure. “ Brody isn’t ready to train against anyone yet, ” she whispered to Markos. “ First he needs to learn what he’s supposed to be doing! ” But Brody was already striding toward the chariots. “ Is this one mine?” he asked.

“请允许我介绍一下我自己的冠军。” 一个男人从一辆战车上跳了下来。他很高，有着宽阔的肩膀和卷曲的黑发。 “这是德拉孔，”波塞冬说。“我认为让我们的凡人英雄们进行对抗训练会很有趣。” “绝妙的主意！”赫尔墨斯同意了。 茱莉亚不太有把握。“布罗迪还没有准备好与任何人进行对抗训练，”她低声对马库斯说。“首先，他需要了解他应该做什么！” 但布罗迪已经大步走向战车。“这是我的吗？”他问。

“ Brody, look out! ” Julia cried as a horse lunged toward him. Brody jumped away just in time to avoid a bite on the shoulder. “ Wow, this horse is pretty aggressive, ” he said. “ They don’t like standing around, ” Poseidon said. “ They’ll settle once they get moving. Won’t you, my pets?” He stepped over and stroked the nose of the horse that had tried to bite Brody. The animal nuzzled him happily. Brody climbed into the chariot . “ Giddyup! ” he called, whipping the reins up and down so they slapped the horses’ rumps.

“布罗迪，当心！”茱莉亚喊道，一匹马向他扑来。 布罗迪及时跳开，没有被咬到肩膀。“哇，这匹马很好斗啊，”他说。 “它们不喜欢干站着，”波塞冬说。“只要动起来，它们就会平静下来。不是吗，我的宠物们？” 他走过去，抚摸那只试图咬布罗迪的马的鼻子。马儿愉快地用鼻子碰了碰他。 布罗迪爬上战车。“驾！”他叫道，上下鞭打，让缰绳拍打马的臀部。

The animals didn’t seem to like that. All four horses leaped in place. One of them reared, while another kicked at the chariot. “ Easy, boy, ” Hermes called to Brody. “ We don’t want the horses to dump you before you get started. ” Julia was growing more and more worried. “ Is this safe?” she asked Markos as both teams sprang into a gallop. “ Of course not, ” Markos said. “ It’s the most dangerous event in the Games. The crowd loves it, which is why it comes last. ”

马儿们似乎不喜欢这样。四匹马在原地跃起。其中一只用后脚站起，另一只踢着战车。 “放松点，孩子，”赫尔墨斯对布罗迪喊道。“我们不希望在你开始之前马儿先把你甩了。” 茱莉亚越来越担心了。“这安全吗？”当两支队伍开始疾驰时，她问马库斯。 “当然不，”马库斯说。“这是奥运会上最危险的比赛。观众们都很喜欢，这就是为什么它会排在最后。”