9 Perseus

CHAPTER 9 Perseus Perseus was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, Danae. Perseus lived with his very beautiful mother in a fishing village on a small island. Polydectes, the ruler of the island, admired Danae's great beauty. He decided he wanted her as his wife. But he did not want Perseus to live with them. Polydectes knew how much Danae and Perseus loved each other. They would never want to live apart. So he made a plan to get rid of Perseus and marry Danae.

珀尔修斯是宙斯和凡人女人达那厄的儿子。 珀尔修斯和他非常美丽的母亲住在一个小岛上的渔村里。 岛上的统治者波吕狄克忒斯非常欣赏达那厄的美貌。 他决定娶她为妻。 但他不想让珀尔修斯和他们住在一起。 波吕得克忒斯知道达那厄和珀尔修斯是多么相爱。 他们永远不会想要分开生活。 于是他制定了一个计划，摆脱珀尔修斯，娶达娜厄为妻。

On a nearby island, there lived terrible monsters called Gorgons. They were known for their deadly powers. One day, Polydectes told Perseus about them. "There are three of them. Each has wings and snakes for hair. They have golden scales that are as hard as armor. Any man who looks at them never breathes again. He turns instantly into stone," Polydectes said. "Medusa is the fiercest of the Gorgons. To tell you the truth," he added to Perseus in a low voice, "I would rather have the head of Medusa than anything else in the world." The next day, Polydectes announced he would marry Danae. He invited all his friends, including Perseus, to the marriage celebration. All of Polydectes's friends brought great gifts. Perseus sadly had nothing to give. But he was young, proud, and embarrassed. Perseus stood up at the wedding to make an announcement. He did

在附近的一个岛上，住着可怕的怪物，叫做蛇发怪。 他们以其致命的力量而闻名。 一天，波吕得克忒斯把他们的事告诉了珀尔修斯。 “他们有三个人。每个都有翅膀和蛇的头发。 它们有像盔甲一样坚硬的金色鳞片。 任何看到它们的人都会窒息。 他立刻变成了石头，”波吕狄忒斯说。 "美杜莎是最凶猛的蛇发女怪。 告诉你吧，”他低声对珀尔修斯补充道，“我宁愿要美杜莎的头，也不愿要世界上任何东西。” 第二天，波吕狄克忒斯宣布他将与达那厄结婚。 他邀请了他所有的朋友，包括珀尔修斯，来参加婚礼。 波吕忒克特的朋友们都带来了贵重的礼物。 遗憾的是，珀尔修斯没有什么可给的。 但他很年轻，骄傲，也很尴尬。 珀尔修斯在婚礼上站起来宣布了一个消息。 他做了

exactly what Polydectes hoped he would do. "I will give you and my mother the best present of all. I will go and kill Medusa the Gorgon. I will bring back her head as your gift," Perseus promised Polydectes. "Splendid!" Polydectes said, patting Perseus on the back. "Nothing will make us happier." Perseus had let his pride and shame take over. His offer was empty. No mortal man could kill Medusa. But two of the most powerful gods, Hermes and Athena, watched over him. Perseus set sail the next day for the island of the Gorgons. When he arrived, he realized he did not know where the Gorgons lived. No one was able to tell him, either. Perseus searched high and low. Still nobody would direct him to the Gorgons' home. At last, the gods decided to help him. Perseus soon met a young man who had a

这正是波吕忒克特希望他做的。 “我要给你们和我妈妈最好的礼物。 我要去杀蛇发女怪美杜莎。 我会把她的头拿回来作为礼物送给你。”珀尔修斯向波吕忒克特保证。 “精彩!”波吕狄克忒斯拍着珀尔修斯的背说。 “没有什么能让我们更快乐。” 珀尔修斯让他的骄傲和羞耻占据了上风。 他的提议是空的。没有凡人能杀死美杜莎。 但两个最强大的神，赫尔墨斯和雅典娜，看着他。 珀尔修斯第二天启航前往戈尔贡岛。 当他到达时，他意识到他不知道蛇发女怪住在哪里。 也没人能告诉他。 珀尔修斯到处寻找。 仍然没有人指引他去蛇发女怪的家。 最后，众神决定帮助他。 珀尔修斯很快遇到了一个年轻人

golden wand with wings. He wore a winged hat and winged sandals. It was Hermes, guide and giver of good. Athena had sent him to help Perseus find the Gorgons. "Before you attack Medusa, you must have the right tools," Hermes explained. "The fairies of the North will know what you need," he added. "But first, we must look for the Gray Women. Only they know where to find the fairies of the North." Hermes led Perseus through a shadowy forest. All was dim and covered in twilight. No ray of sun or glimmer of moonlight ever shone there. In that gray place lived the three Gray Women. They were old and withered. The women were strange creatures. Among them they had only one eye. They took turns using it. When each woman was done with it, she removed it from her forehead and passed it to the next woman.

带翅膀的金魔杖。他戴着带翼的帽子，穿着带翼的凉鞋。 它是赫耳墨斯，善的向导和给予者。 雅典娜派他去帮助珀尔修斯找到蛇发怪。 “在你攻击美杜莎之前，你必须有合适的工具，”赫尔墨斯解释说。 “北方的仙女会知道你需要什么，”他补充说。 “但首先，我们必须找到灰色女人。 只有他们知道到哪里去找北方的仙女。” 赫尔墨斯领着珀尔修斯穿过一片阴暗的森林。 一切都是昏暗的，笼罩在暮色中。 那里没有一丝阳光，也没有一丝月光。 在那个灰色的地方住着三个灰色的女人。 他们又老又干瘪。 这些女人都是些奇怪的生物。 他们当中只有一只眼睛。 他们轮流使用它。当每个女人用完后，她把它从额头上取下来，递给下一个女人。

"Now, listen carefully, Perseus," Hermes whispered as they came upon the Gray Women. "Stay hidden until you see one of the women take the eye from her forehead. That's when the women cannot see anything. At that moment you must rush forward and grab the eye. Refuse to give it back until they tell you how to reach the fairies of the North." Perseus and Hermes found the Gray Women at last. In the dim light, the women were in the shape of gray swans. But their heads were human. Beneath their wings they had arms and legs. Perseus did just as Hermes had instructed him. He stayed back until he saw one of the women take the eye out of her forehead. Before she could give it to her sister, Perseus grabbed the eye from her hand. It took a moment for the women to realize they had lost the eye. Each one thought the other had

“现在，仔细听着，珀尔修斯，”当他们来到灰衣女人面前时，赫尔墨斯低声说。 “躲起来，直到你看到其中一个女人把眼睛从额头上取下来。 那就是女人什么也看不见的时候。 在那一刻，你必须冲上前抓住眼睛。 除非他们告诉你怎么去找北方的仙女，否则不要还给他们。” 珀尔修斯和赫尔墨斯终于找到了灰衣女人。 在昏暗的灯光下，妇女们呈灰色天鹅的形状。 但他们的头是人的。 翅膀下面有胳膊和腿。 珀尔修斯照赫尔墨斯的吩咐做了。 他一直呆在后面，直到他看到其中一个女人从额头上取下了眼睛。 她还没来得及把它交给妹妹，珀尔修斯就从她手里夺过了那只眼睛。 过了一会儿，她们才意识到自己失去了一只眼睛。 每个人都认为对方有

it. They began to bicker about it. Just then Perseus spoke up. He demanded to know where the fairies of the North were. Perseus promised to return the eye as soon as they told him. They gave him directions at once. The Gray Women would have done anything to get their eye back. As soon as he had his directions, Perseus returned it to them. "Good job," Hermes said to Perseus. "Now let's find the fairies of the North." They continued their journey. Hermes kept talking. "Once the fairies tell you where the Gorgons live, I will give you a sword to attack Medusa. The sword cannot be bent or broken by the Gorgons' golden scales." Hermes's sword was a wonderful gift. But what good will this sword be when the Gorgons can turn me to stone instantly? Perseus thought.

它。他们开始为这件事争吵起来。 就在这时，珀尔修斯说话了。 他要求知道北方的仙女们在哪里。 珀尔修斯答应他们一告诉他，他就把眼睛还给他们。 他们立刻给他指路。 灰衣女人会不惜一切代价要回自己的眼睛。 珀尔修斯一得到指示，就把指示还给了他们。 “干得好，”赫尔墨斯对珀尔修斯说。 “现在让我们去找北方的仙女吧。” 他们继续他们的旅程。 赫尔墨斯一直在说。“一旦仙女们告诉你蛇发女怪住在哪里，我就给你一把剑，让你去攻击美杜莎。 这把剑不会被蛇发女妖的金鳞弄弯或折断。” 赫尔墨斯的剑是一件很棒的礼物。 但如果蛇发怪能立刻把我变成石头这把剑还有什么用？ 珀尔修斯的想法。