Talking to the Enemy

Grab it, boy! ” Hermes shouted. Brody grunted and pushed himself up on his hands and knees again. An hour earlier Hermes had finished plotting with some other gods and dragged Brody away from the agora. They’d returned to the gymnasium to continue Brody’s training. At the moment Hermes was making Brody practice wrestling. But instead of wrestling another athlete, or Hermes, Brody was following Hermes’ orders and wrestling a greased pig! The creature was slippery and mean. It had already bitten Brody twice. Plus it was nearly impossible for Brody to get a grip on its slick skin.

抓住它，小子！”赫尔墨斯喊道。 布罗迪咕哝了一声，再次用手和膝盖撑起身子。一个小时前，赫尔墨斯结束了与其他神的密谋，并拖着布罗迪离开了集市。 他们回到体育馆继续布罗迪的训练。此时，赫尔墨斯正在让布罗迪练习摔跤。 但布罗迪并没有和另一名运动员或赫尔墨斯摔跤，而是听从赫尔墨斯的命令，和一头涂了油的猪摔跤！ 这家伙又滑又卑鄙。它已经咬了布罗迪两次了。此外，布罗迪几乎不可能抓住它光滑的皮肤。

“ Try grabbing its legs! ” Markos shouted helpfully from the sidelines. He stood there with Julia and Caerus, along with a small crowd. “ Every time I try that, the pig kicks me! ” Brody complained. Apollo roared with laughter. “ Thanks for the show, Hermes, ” he said, clapping the messenger god on the shoulder. “ I was in a foul mood after getting a look at Zeus’ impressive hero. But watching your champion make a fool of himself has lightened my mood! ” “ Don’t get too happy, sun god, ” Hermes warned. “ You won’t be laughing when my mortal beats yours in the Games. ”

“试着抓住它的腿！”马库斯在场边大声喊道。他和茱莉亚，卡埃罗斯还有一小群人站在那里。 “每次我试的时候，猪都会踢我！”布罗迪抱怨道。 阿波罗大笑起来。“谢谢你的表演，赫尔墨斯，”他边说，边拍了拍信使神的肩膀。 “看了宙斯那令人印象深刻的英雄之后，我的心情很不好。但看着你们的冠军出丑，我的心情轻松多了!” “别太高兴了，太阳神，”赫尔墨斯警告道。“当我的凡人在奥运会上击败你的凡人时，你就不会笑了。”

“ Neither mortal is likely to beat Heracles, ” Artemis chimed in. “ After what we saw today, I’m certain that Heracles cannot be defeated in the Games. ” “ Speak for your own champion, moon goddess, ” Hermes said. Then he strode over and grabbed the pig. He placed the animal down. “ Get back to work, boy, ” he snapped at Brody. Brody glanced at his audience with a frown. He didn’t like being laughed at. But he didn’t dare disobey Hermes. So he wrapped his arms around the pig again.

“没人能打败赫拉克勒斯，”阿尔忒弥斯插了一嘴。“看到今天发生的一切后，我确信赫拉克勒斯在奥运会上不可能被击败。” “为你自己的冠军说话，月亮女神，”赫尔墨斯说。然后他大步走过去，抓住了猪。 他把猪放下。“回去训练，小子，”他对布罗迪厉声说。 布罗迪皱着眉头瞥了观众一眼。他不喜欢被人嘲笑，但他不敢违抗赫尔墨斯的命令。于是，他又用胳膊搂住了猪。

It squealed and tried to bite him on the ear. Brody’s hands almost slipped again, but he finally managed to pin down the pig. “ There! ” he yelled triumphantly. He let the pig go and jumped to his feet. “ Now what?” “ Well done. ” Hermes sounded a little happier with Brody. “ Now we return to improving your running. Your times in the short races still aren’t satisfactory. ” “ Brody’s times will have to be better than satisfactory if he expects to beat Heracles, ” Julia muttered to Markos.

它尖叫着，试图咬他的耳朵。布罗迪的手差点又滑了，但他最终还是成功地抓住了猪。 “好了！”他得意洋洋地喊道。他放开猪，跳了起来。“现在怎么办？” “做得好”。赫尔墨斯对布洛迪似乎满意了点。“现在我们继续提高你的赛跑。你在短距离比赛中的成绩还是不尽如人意。” “如果布罗迪想打败赫拉克勒斯，他完成项目的时间就必须要更令人满意。”茱莉亚对马库斯低声说。

Hermes didn’t seem to hear her, but Brody did. He scowled as he walked past her, following Hermes. For the next hour, Hermes kept Brody working hard, making him sprint and do various other exercises. Just as Brody was about to ask for a break to catch his breath, Caerus hurried toward Hermes. “ Dionysus has invited us to dine with him, ” he said. “ Come. Let us see if he has new ideas about how to solve the Heracles problem. ” Hermes nodded. “ Dionysus is lazy, but he does have a creative mind. ” He glanced at Brody. “ I’ll be back soon. Keep training while I’m gone. ”

赫尔墨斯好像没听见，但布罗迪听见了。他跟在赫尔墨斯后面从她身边走过时，一脸不满。 接下来的一个小时里，赫尔墨斯让布罗迪继续努力训练，让他冲刺并做各种其他练习。就在布罗迪准备休息一下喘口气时，卡埃罗斯匆匆向赫尔墨斯走去。 “狄俄尼索斯邀请我们与他共进晚餐。”他说。“来吧。让我们看看他对如何解决赫拉克勒斯问题是否有新的想法。” 赫尔墨斯点点头。“狄俄尼索斯很懒，但他确实有创造性的头脑。”他瞥了布罗迪一眼。“我很快就会回来。我离开的这段时间你继续训练。”

“ Okay, ” Brody said. But as soon as the two gods were out of sight, Brody collapsed onto the ground near Julia and Markos. “ Wake me up when you see Hermes coming back, ” he said, closing his eyes. “ Are you sure you don’t want to keep training?” Markos sounded nervous. “ Some of the other gods might tell Hermes you disobeyed him. ” “ Yeah, ” Julia added. “ And I thought you were trying your hardest to beat Heracles. ” “ I am. ” Brody opened his eyes and then jumped to his feet. “ Thanks for the reminder, Julia. Back to training. I was just getting in the zone, anyway. ”

“好的，”布罗迪说。 但两位神一离开视线，布罗迪就瘫倒在茱莉亚和马库斯附近的地上。“当你看到赫尔墨斯回来时叫醒我，”他说着，闭上了眼睛。 “你确定不想继续训练了吗?”马库斯的声音听起来很紧张。“别的神可能会告诉赫尔墨斯你违抗了他的命令。” “对啊，”茱莉亚补充道。“我还以为你在尽最大努力打败赫拉克勒斯呢。” “我在。”布罗迪睁开眼睛，然后跳了起来。“谢谢你的提醒，茱莉亚。继续训练。而且我只是正在进入状态而已。”