0 Prologue

The Story of King Arthur

亚瑟王的故事

Prologue In ancient days there lived a king named Uther-Pendragon who ruled over all of Britain. In beating his enemies, Uther- Pendragon relied strongly on two men in his court. One, Merlin the Wise, was a powerful wizard who was able to see the future. The other, Sir Ulfius, was a noble knight who had led many great wars. King Uther-Pendragon's wife, the gentle Igraine, had two daughters from another marriage. One of the daughters, Morgana le Fay, was a famous witch. Soon Igraine had a

在古代，有一位名叫乌瑟-彭德拉根的国王统治着整个英国。 在击败敌人的过程中，乌瑟-彭德拉根非常依赖他的两个人。 其中一个是聪明的梅林，他是一个强大的巫师，能够预见未来。 另一位是乌尔菲乌斯爵士，他是一位领导过许多伟大战争的高贵骑士。 乌瑟-彭德拉根国王的妻子，温文尔雅的伊格兰，在另一段婚姻中有两个女儿。 其中一个女儿，莫嘉娜·勒·费伊，是一个著名的女巫。 很快，伊朗就有了

baby boy. When Merlin came to meet the child, he stood over the baby's cradle and shut his eyes. "Lord," he told Uther- Pendragon, "I am sorry to tell you that I see bad things in the future. You will soon become sick with a fever and die. I see your kingdom falling into great confusion. Your baby's life will be in great danger from enemies that would try to take what is rightfully his. I beg you, let Ulfius and me take the baby away. We will hide him in a safe place until he is grown!" Uther-Pendragon had great faith both in Merlin's advice and in the gifts he thought his son would someday bring to the world. And so, he let Merlin and Ulfius take the child and hide him. Shortly after that, Uther- Pendragon indeed became sick and died. Just as Merlin had seen, the kingdom fell into a state of confusion. A thousand lesser kings wanted to rule. A thousand other knights and

男婴。当梅林来迎接孩子时，他站在婴儿的摇篮前，闭上了眼睛。 “主啊，”他对乌瑟-彭德拉根说，“我很遗憾地告诉你，我看到未来会有不好的事情发生。 你很快就会发烧而死。 我看到你的王国陷入混乱。 你孩子的生命将处于极大的危险之中因为敌人会试图夺走属于他的东西。 我求你，让我和乌尔菲斯把孩子带走吧。 我们要把他藏在一个安全的地方，直到他长大！”乌瑟-彭德拉根对梅林的建议和他认为他的儿子有一天会带给这个世界的礼物都很有信心。 所以，他让梅林和乌尔菲斯把孩子藏起来。 不久之后，乌瑟-彭德拉根真的生病死了。 正如梅林所见，整个王国陷入了混乱。 一千个小国王想要统治。 还有一千个骑士和

barons hid by the sides of highways. From there they attacked and robbed helpless travelers. Almost eighteen long years passed like this. The land positively groaned with the trouble that lay upon it. Finally, the Archbishop of Canterbury called Merlin to him. "Merlin," he begged. "Some say you are the smartest man in the world. Surely you can use your gifts to find us a new king so that we may enjoy happiness as we did in the days of Uther- Pendragon?" Merlin shut his magical eyes again. After a while he spoke. "My lord," he said, "I am happy to tell you that I see great things in the future. This country shall soon have a new king, and he shall be even wiser and greater than was our old friend Uther-Pendragon. He shall bring order and peace where there is now confusion and war. And, best of all, this new king shall be Uther-Pendragon's own

男爵们躲在公路边上。 从那里，他们袭击和抢劫无助的旅行者。 差不多漫长的18年就这样过去了。 这片土地确实在为降临在它身上的麻烦而呻吟。 最后，坎特伯雷大主教把梅林叫到他跟前。 “梅林。”他恳求道。“有人说你是世界上最聪明的人。 当然你可以用你的天赋给我们找一个新国王，这样我们就可以像乌瑟彭德拉根时代那样享受幸福了。”梅林又闭上了他那带魔法的眼睛。 过了一会儿，他说话了。“我的主人，”他说，“我很高兴地告诉你，我看到了伟大的未来。 这个国家很快就会有一位新国王，他会比我们的老朋友乌瑟-彭德拉根更聪明，更伟大。 他将在混乱和战争中带来秩序与和平。 最重要的是，这个新国王将是乌瑟-彭德拉根自己的

flesh and blood." The Archbishop was very happy, but he was confused. "Merlin," he asked, "when will this new king come? And how will we know him when he arrives? How will we tell him apart from all of the others who would do anything to rule in his place?" Merlin had a twinkle in his eye. "Do you trust me?" he asked. The Archbishop nodded. "With your permission," Merlin continued, "I will set into motion a grand adventure. By the time it is over, the court will know its rightful king." Merlin waved his hands and there appeared before him a huge marble stone. When he waved his hands once more, an anvil of solid steel appeared upon the block of marble. Merlin then pushed a large blue sword into the anvil. The sword was bright and shiny. Its gold handle was carefully carved and held many precious stones. And on the blade itself

血肉之躯。”大主教很高兴，但他很困惑。 “梅林，”他问道，“新国王什么时候会来？ 他来的时候我们怎么认识他？ 我们怎样才能把他和那些愿意做任何事来代替他统治的人区别开来呢？”梅林眼里闪着光。 “你相信我吗？”他问。 大主教点点头。“如果你允许的话，”梅林继续说道，“我将开始一场大冒险。 等这一切结束，朝廷就会选出真正的国王。” 梅林挥挥手，一块巨大的大理石出现在他面前。 当他再次挥动双手时，一块坚硬的铁砧出现在大理石上。 然后梅林把一把蓝色的大剑插进了铁砧。 这把剑闪闪发亮。 它的金把手是精心雕刻的，上面装着许多宝石。 也在刀刃上

were carved the following words, in letters of gold: WHOEVER SHALL PULL THIS SWORD OUT FROM THE ANVIL SHALL BE THE RIGHTFUL KING OF BRITAIN. At Merlin's request, the Archbishop announced a contest to everyone in the land. At Christmas, any man who wanted to could try to pull the sword from the anvil. Whoever was able to do so would be the new king of Britain. The kingdom buzzed with excitement. Many people thought King Lot would become King. Some people thought that King Urien of Gore would be King. Others believed King Leodegrance of Camiliard would be the one to free the sword. Still others said that it would be King Ryence of North Wales. When Christmas came, it seemed like the entire world had found its way to London for the contest. The highways and inns and castles were bursting with travelers. Kings

上面刻着金字：谁能把这把剑从铁砧上拔出来，谁就是英国的合法国王。 在梅林的要求下，大主教向全国人民宣布了一场比赛。 在圣诞节，任何想要的人都可以试着把剑从铁砧上拔出来。 谁能做到这一点，谁就是英国的新国王。 整个王国充满了兴奋。 许多人认为罗得国王会成为国王。 有些人认为戈尔的国王乌连会成为国王。 另一些人则认为卡米利亚德的利奥格伦斯国王会是释放剑的人。 还有人说是北威尔士的赖恩斯国王。 当圣诞节到来的时候，似乎全世界的人都来到了伦敦参加比赛。 公路上、旅馆里和城堡里挤满了旅客。 国王