Alcides

The agora was crowded when Brody and the others arrived. Humans and gods gathered in small groups, most of them chattering about Alcides. “ Is he here yet?” Hermes called out. His winged sandals fluttered, and he flew up and away, over the crowd. “ Where’s the mighty champion Alcides?” “ Hey! ” Brody called. “ Where are you going? Don’t forget about us! ” “ Never mind, ” Julia said. “ We’ll never catch up to him in this crowd. ” She stood on tiptoes. “ We’ll never see anything either. ” Markos pointed to the wooden roof of a nearby stall. “ Let’s climb up there. Then we’ll be able to see everything. ”

布罗迪和其他人到达时，集市上人满为患。人类和神灵聚成一小群，大多数都在喋喋不休地谈论阿尔西德斯。 “他来了吗？”赫尔墨斯喊道。他那双带翼凉鞋飘动着，他飞了起来，越过人群。“强大的冠军阿尔西德斯在哪里？” “嘿！”布罗迪喊道。“你要去哪里？别忘了我们！” “别在意，”茱莉亚说。“在这群人中，我们永远追不上他。”她踮起脚尖。“我们也什么都看不到。” 马库斯指着附近一个摊位的木屋顶。“我们爬上去吧。然后我们就能什么都看到了。”

“ Good idea. ” Brody jumped up and grabbed the edge of the roof, preparing to swing himself up. But looking back at Julia, he hesitated. She was shorter than he was; she’d probably never be able to reach the tall roof. “ Here, ” he said, letting go of the roof. “ I’ll give you a lift. ” He made a step with his hands. Julia hesitated for a second. “ Thanks, ” she said at last.

“好主意。”布罗迪跳起来，抓住屋顶的边缘，准备把自己晃上去。但回头看看茱莉亚，他犹豫了。 她比他矮；她可能永远无法上到高高的屋顶。 “这里，”他说着，松开了屋顶。“我把你送你上去。”他向前迈了一步，伸出了他的双手。 茱莉亚犹豫了一下。“谢谢，”她最后说。

She stepped onto Brody’s cupped hands. He hoisted her up until she could grab the edge of the roof and pull herself onto it. Then he scrambled up and pulled Markos up after him. Markos was right. Brody could see the entire agora from the roof. “ Look, there’s Hermes, ” Julia said, pointing. “ Over there with Apollo and Artemis. ” Markos shaded his eyes. “ I see Aphrodite and Ares too. I wonder if Hera is here. Maybe she decided to stay away—to annoy Zeus. ” “ Never mind them, ” Brody said. “ I want to see Alcides. ” He flexed his muscles. “ I have to beat this guy. ”

她踩上布罗迪环成杯状的双手。他把她抬起来，直到她能抓住屋顶的边缘，然后自己爬上去。然后他爬起来，把在他身后的马库斯拉了上来。 马库斯就位了。布罗迪可以从屋顶看到整个集市。 “看，这是赫尔墨斯，”茱莉亚边说边指。“阿波罗和阿尔忒弥斯在那边。” 马库斯遮住了眼睛。“我也看到了阿芙罗狄蒂和阿瑞斯。我想知道赫拉是否在这里。也许她决定远离——惹恼宙斯。” “别管他们了，”布罗迪说。“我想看看阿尔西德斯。”他展示了自己的肌肉。“我必须打败这个家伙。”

At that moment a hush fell over the crowd. Then Zeus stepped onto the dais at one end of the agora. Behind him were two teenage boys. “ Is that Alcides?” Brody peered at the taller and more muscular of the boys. “ Hey, he doesn’t look much older than me. ” “ Who’s the other kid?” Julia asked. Brody glanced at the second youth. He was hanging back behind Zeus and the larger boy. “ He’s kind of scrawny. I doubt he’s an athlete. ”

就在这时，人群安静了下来。然后宙斯走上了集市一端的台子。他身后是两个十几岁的男孩。 “那是阿尔西德斯吗？”布罗迪凝视着那个个子更高、肌肉更强壮的男孩。“嘿嘿，他看起来比我大不了多少。” “另一个孩子是谁？”茱莉亚问道。 布罗迪瞥了第二个青年一眼。他躲在宙斯和大点的男孩身后。“他有点太瘦了。我怀疑他是不是个运动员。”

“ Greetings, visitors and citizens of Olympia! ” Zeus’ deep voice boomed out over the crowd. “ The moment you’ve awaited is here. I present to you my mortal champion—Alcides! ” The larger youth stepped forward. Most of the humans in the agora cheered, while the gods murmured or jeered. Brody leaned forward, trying to get a good look at Alcides. Zeus’ champion was built like a football player. But Brody knew that most of his teammates back home would probably make fun of Alcides’ long, flowing brown hair. “ This is the mighty Alcides?” Apollo called out. “ He doesn’t look very mighty to me! ”

“你们好，奥林匹亚的游客和市民们！”宙斯低沉的声音在人群中响起。“你们期待的那一刻就是现在。让我来为你们展示我的凡人冠军——阿尔西德斯！” 大一点的青年走上前。广场上的大多数人类都在欢呼，而众神则喃喃或嘲笑。 布罗迪向前探了探身子，想仔细地看看阿尔西德斯。宙斯的冠军像个足球运动员。 但布罗迪知道，他家乡的大多数队友可能会取笑阿尔西德斯飘逸的棕色长发。 “这就是强大的阿尔西德斯？”阿波罗喊道。“在我看来，他看起来并不是很强大！”

Zeus smiled. “ Fear not, sun god. Alcides might look mild-mannered, but he has the heart of a lion and the strength of an ox. Show them, my boy. ” Alcides nodded and looked around. A large wooden wagon stacked high with logs was parked near the dais. Hopping down gracefully, Alcides bent—and lifted the wagon over his head in one easy motion. “ Whoa! ” Brody said. “ How’d he do that?” “ So he’s strong, ” Artemis called out. “ Very impressive. But strength won’t help him win a footrace. ”

宙斯笑了。“别害怕，太阳神。阿尔西德斯可能看起来很温和，但他有狮子的心脏和牛的力量。给他们看看，我的孩子。” 阿尔西德斯点了点头，环顾四周。一辆堆满原木的大型木车停在台子附近。 阿尔西迪斯优雅地跳了下来，弯下腰，轻松地将车举过头顶。 “哇哦！”布罗迪说。“他是怎么做到的？” “所以他很强壮，”阿尔忒弥斯喊道。“非常令人印象深刻。但力量并不能帮助他赢得比赛。”