8 The challenge

Chapter 8 The challenge When they arrived at the palace, Odysseus found things were just as Athena had said. The great hall of the palace was full of men lazing around and eating and drinking, ordering his servants to bring them the finest things in the kitchen. Odysseus had to restrain himself from killing them all instantly.

当他们到达宫殿时，奥德修斯发现事情正如雅典娜所说的那样。 宫殿的大厅里坐满了懒洋洋地吃喝的人，吩咐仆人把厨房里最好的东西拿来给他们。 奥德修斯不得不克制自己，没有立即把他们全部杀死。

Then he saw her: Penelope, his beloved wife. Wrinkles marked the corners of her eyes, but he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He was bursting to kiss her, but he thought, "Steady, Odysseus. You have to get rid of these suitors before you can claim your wife again." Penelope saw him- or rather, she saw a ragged old beggar. She called for her maid to take care of him. "Welcome, stranger. Please, rest a while." She looked around at the suitors with a wry smile. "Everyone else is making themselves at home, after all."

然后他看到了她：佩内洛普，他深爱的妻子。 她的眼角布满了皱纹，但他认为她是他所见过的最美丽的女人。 他很想吻她，但他想：“冷静点，奥德修斯。 你必须先除掉这些追求者，才能再次娶回你的妻子。” 佩内洛普看到了他——或者说，她看到了一个衣衫褴褛的老乞丐。 她叫女仆来照顾他。 “欢迎你,陌生人。请休息一会儿。” 她苦笑着环顾四周的追求者。 “毕竟，其他人都把自己当成了自己的家。”

Odysseus followed the old maid upstairs, where she prepared a bowl of hot water to bathe his feet. As she did so, he realized he knew her- she was the maid who had taken care of him when he was a baby. "There, that's better," she said, gently rubbing his feet and legs. All of a sudden, she stopped. "That scar on your knee looks awfully familiar. My master has one just like it..."

奥德修斯跟着老处女上了楼，她准备了一碗热水给他洗脚。 当她这样做的时候，他意识到他认识她——她是在他还是个婴儿的时候照顾他的女仆。 “好了，好多了，”她说着，轻轻地揉着他的脚和腿。 突然，她停了下来。 “你膝盖上的伤疤看起来很眼熟。 我主人也有一只一模一样的……”

"Master?" she gasped. She put a hand up to his face and stroked it gently. "How..?" Odysseus grinned and put a finger to his lips. "Shh! Everything will be revealed in time. Don't ruin my surprise!" When Odysseus went downstairs, he saw Penelope walk into the middle of the great hall carrying a huge wooden bow. Behind her, servants came, carrying a number of axes. They set them up in a line. "I have decided," said Penelope. "It's been long enough. I think Odysseus must be dead... so I will now marry whoever can string my husband's old bow and shoot an arrow through the line of axes. All the suitors rushed forward, each one convinced that he would be able to do it easily. Each one tried. Each one failed. "Let me try," said Odysseus, at last. The suitors yelled insults, but Penelope hushed them and Odysseus took the bow. He bent it, strung it, and fired an arrow, in the time it takes to blink.

“主人？”她喘着气说。她把一只手放在他的脸上，轻轻地抚摸着。 “怎么……?”奥德修斯咧嘴一笑，把一根手指放在嘴唇上。 “嘘!一切都会及时揭示的。 别毁了我的惊喜！”当奥德修斯下楼时，他看见佩内洛普拿着一把巨大的木弓走进大厅中央。 在她身后，仆人们拿着几把斧头走了过来。 他们把他们排成一行。 “我已经决定了，”佩内洛普说。 “时间已经够长了。我想奥德修斯一定是死了…… 所以现在谁能把我丈夫的旧弓系好，把箭射穿一排斧头，我就嫁给谁。 所有的求婚者都冲上前，每个人都相信他能轻松地做到这一点。 每个人都试了。每一个都失败了。 “让我试试，”奥德修斯最后说。 求婚者大声辱骂，但佩内洛普让他们安静下来，奥德修斯鞠躬。 他把箭弄弯，串好，然后射出了一箭，只花了眨眼的时间。

As the arrow sailed through each one of the axes, everyone in the room gasped. "Who ARE you?" said Penelope. "There's something familiar about you." Odysseus took her hand and kissed it, then turned to address the whole room. "I am King Odysseus!" he said. "And I'm here to claim my kingdom!" The suitors roared in confusion and anger. Odysseus strung his bow once more and fired it into the crowd of suitors.

当箭穿过每把斧头时，房间里的每个人都倒吸了一口气。 “你是谁？”佩内洛普问。 “你有点眼熟。” 奥德修斯握住她的手，吻了一下，然后转身对整个房间的人讲话。 “我是奥德修斯国王！”他说。 “我在这里要夺回我的王国！”求婚者们困惑而愤怒地咆哮着。 奥德修斯再次系好弓，向一群求婚者射击。