14 Atalanta

CHAPTER 14 Atalanta Long ago, a little girl was born in the land of Arcady, in Greece. Her name was Atalanta. When she was a baby, her father brought her with him on a hunting trip. He left her alone on a wild mountainside while he went off to hunt. Night came and the baby girl grew cold and hungry. Her father did not return. She began to cry. A she-bear broke through the wild bushes and trees. The animal headed straight for the crying baby. The she-bear scooped up the little girl. Gently, she cradled the baby in her

第十四章亚特兰大很久以前，一个小女孩出生在希腊阿卡迪的土地上。 她的名字叫亚特兰大。当她还是个婴儿的时候，她父亲带她去打猎。 他出去打猎时，把她一个人留在荒凉的山腰上。 夜幕降临，女婴又冷又饿。 她的父亲没有回来。 她哭了起来。一头母熊冲破了野生的灌木丛和树木。 那动物径直向哭闹的婴儿扑去。 母熊抱起了小女孩。 她轻轻地把婴儿抱在怀里

paws and brought her back to the bear cave. The she-bear nursed the baby girl, kept her warm, and raised her as if she was her very own bear cub. Soon Atalanta was old enough to move freely on her own over the mountainside. The she-bear had raised her to be a daring and mischievous little girl. Atalanta loved to run fast and play hideand- seek with the bears. No matter where Atalanta hid, the she-bear could always find her. Early one morning, before the bears awoke, Atalanta left the bear cave. She went to search for a new hiding place. Atalanta went far away to find the perfect spot. At last she came to a deep hole in the ground. It was covered with branches and leaves. This is the perfect hiding place, she thought to herself. She-bear and the cubs

用爪子把她带回熊洞。 母熊照顾小女孩，让她温暖，把她当作自己的熊宝宝一样抚养。 不久，亚特兰大就长大了，可以自己在山腰上自由活动了。 母熊把她培养成一个勇敢而淘气的小女孩。 亚特兰大喜欢快速奔跑，和熊玩捉迷藏。 无论亚特兰大躲到哪里，母熊总能找到她。 一天清晨，在熊们醒来之前，亚特兰大离开了熊洞。 她去寻找一个新的藏身之处。 亚特兰大走了很远才找到了一个完美的地点。 最后她来到了地上的一个深洞。 它被树枝和树叶覆盖着。 这是一个完美的藏身之处，她心想。 母熊和小熊们

will never find me here. Atalanta giggled. Then she jumped right in. The deep, dark hole smelled of wet leaves and earth. Atalanta waited and waited. The she-bear and the cubs did not come. The sun moved across the sky. It was now the middle of the day. Atalanta began to get hungry. And still the she-bear and the cubs did not come. Suddenly Atalanta heard footsteps. She stayed very still. Then she heard a shifting of earth and the scraping of branches. A bit of sunlight fell into the dark hole. Atalanta looked up. Instead of the she- bear, Atalanta saw an unfamiliar sight. "It's not a bear cub we've been tracking at all," said a deep voice. "Why, it's a little girl," exclaimed another. Two pairs of strong arms pulled Atalanta from the deep hole. She was curious about the strange creatures.

永远不会在这里找到我。亚特兰大咯咯笑了。 然后她就跳了进去。又深又黑的洞里弥漫着潮湿的树叶和泥土的味道。 亚特兰大等啊等啊。 母熊和熊宝宝没有来。 太阳在天空中移动。 现在是中午。 亚特兰大开始饿了。 母熊和小熊们仍然没有来。 突然，亚特兰大听到了脚步声。 她一动不动地呆着。接着，她听到了泥土移动和树枝刮擦的声音。 一点点阳光落进了黑洞。 亚特兰大抬起头来。亚特兰大看到的不是母熊，而是一个陌生的景象。 “我们追踪的根本不是一只熊宝宝。”一个低沉的声音说。 “咦，是个小姑娘！”另一个叫道。 两双有力的手臂把亚特兰大从深洞里拉了出来。 她对这些奇怪的生物很好奇。

"Here you go," said one of them. He held up a loaf of bread in one hand and a sweet honey treat in the other. Atalanta was so hungry that she ate the food quickly. The two kind men smiled at her. "A little girl like you shouldn't be in the woods by herself," one of the men said. "We'll take you home. Our families will care for you properly," said the other. The two kind men and their wives took Atalanta in. They taught her to hunt and fish. Soon she became more skilled than them. By the time Atalanta was a young woman, she could run, hunt, and wrestle better than any young man in all of Greece. One day Atalanta was walking in the woods. Two Centaurs caught sight of her. Centaurs were creatures that were half human, half horse. They had nasty tempers and often attacked humans. Atalanta saw the

“给你，”其中一个说。 他一只手拿着一块面包，另一只手拿着一份甜甜的蜂蜜。 亚特兰大太饿了，她很快就把食物吃光了。 那两个善良的男人对她微笑。 “像你这样的小女孩不应该一个人在树林里，”其中一个男人说。 “我们送你回家。我们的家人会好好照顾你的。”另一个说。 这两个善良的男人和他们的妻子接纳了亚特兰大。 他们教她打猎和钓鱼。 很快，她就比他们更熟练了。 当亚特兰大还是个年轻女子的时候，她就比全希腊的任何年轻男子都能跑、能打猎、能摔跤了。 一天，亚特兰大在树林里散步。 两个马人看见了她。 半人马是半人半马的生物。 它们脾气很坏，经常攻击人类。 亚特兰大看到了

two creatures running toward her at full speed. It was a terrifying sight. But Atalanta was not afraid. Did she turn and run? She did not.

两个生物全速向她跑来。 这是一幅可怕的景象。 但是亚特兰大并不害怕。 她转身就跑了吗？她没有。

Atalanta stood perfectly still. Calmly, she fitted an arrow to her bow. She pulled back the bowstring and sent the first arrow whistling through the air. Down went the first Centaur. Without a pause, Atalanta restrung her bow. She sent a second arrow through the air. Down went the second Centaur. The terrible creatures were dead. The people of the land were finally safe. One day, Atalanta learned that the king of Caledonia had sent out a call for help. All the young men in Greece got his message. His land was troubled by a great boar. Years ago, he had forgotten to make a sacrifice to Artemis in thanks for their harvest. Artemis was angry with the kingdom. She sent the boar to punish the king. Atalanta traveled to Caledonia. She wanted to see if she could help the king and his people. When Atalanta arrived, she saw

亚特兰大一动不动地站着。 她平静地把箭装在弓上。 她拉开弓弦，第一支箭呼啸着射向空中。 第一个人马倒下了。 亚特兰大没有停顿，重新拉紧了她的弓。 她又向空中射出了一箭。 第二个人马倒下了。 那些可怕的生物已经死了。 这片土地上的人们终于安全了。 一天，亚特兰大得知喀里多尼亚国王发出了求救信号。 希腊所有的年轻人都明白了他的意思。 他的土地受到一头野猪的侵扰。 多年前，他忘了向阿尔忒弥斯献祭以感谢他们的丰收。 阿尔忒弥斯对这个王国很生气。 她派野猪去惩罚国王。 亚特兰大前往喀里多尼亚。 她想看看自己是否能帮助国王和他的人民。 亚特兰大到了以后，她看见了