2 Demeter and Persephone

CHAPTER 2 Demeter and Persephone Most of the gods lived happily on Mount Olympus. One goddess did not. Her name was Demeter. She was the goddess of the corn, summertime, and harvest. When Demeter was happy, the world was filled with golden light. The stalks in the cornfields grew thick and tall. Everyone in the world had enough to eat. But every year after the corn harvest, Demeter became sad. A frost would blanket the fields. The ground became hard and frozen. Every bit of life was squeezed out of

第二章得墨忒尔和珀尔塞福涅大多数的神都幸福地生活在奥林匹斯山上。 有一位女神没有。她的名字叫得墨忒耳。 她是玉米、夏天和收获的女神。 当得墨忒耳快乐时，世界充满了金色的光芒。 玉米地里的茎秆长得又粗又高。 世界上每个人都有足够的食物。 但每年玉米收获后，得墨忒耳都会变得悲伤。 霜冻将覆盖田野。 地面变得坚硬并结了冰。 每一点生命都被榨干了

the earth. This is why it happened. Demeter had a daughter. Her name was Persephone, the maiden of spring. Throughout the world, she was known as the most beautiful girl. A golden glow of sunlight surrounded her. Persephone's hair was the pale yellow color of freshly cut corn. Her cheeks were rosy pink. Her voice was like a bird's song. Persephone's musical laughter could be heard everywhere. Her laughter even reached down to where Hades ruled as lord of the underworld. I wish Persephone was my wife. If she lived here with me, she would bring light and music to this lonely, terrible place, Hades thought. But he knew that Demeter would never allow Persephone to marry him. He had asked the goddess once before and was

地球。这就是它发生的原因。 得墨忒耳有一个女儿。她的名字是珀尔塞福涅，春天的少女。 在全世界，她被认为是最美丽的女孩。 金色的阳光包围着她。 珀尔塞福涅的头发是刚割下的玉米的淡黄色。 她的双颊呈玫瑰色。 她的声音像鸟儿的歌声。 到处都能听到珀尔塞福涅悦耳的笑声。 她的笑声甚至传到了冥王哈迪斯统治的地方。 我希望佩尔塞福涅是我的妻子。 如果她和我住在一起，她会给这个孤独、可怕的地方带来光明和音乐，哈迪斯想。 但他知道得墨忒耳绝不会允许珀尔塞福涅嫁给他。 他曾经问过女神一次，结果她答应了

refused. So he came up with a plan. Hades had to wait for just the right moment. Then he would take Persephone as his bride. One day, Persephone was out with her friends in the meadow. A perfect flower had caught her eye, and she wandered far away. Persephone wanted to give the flower to Demeter to put in her hair. Suddenly the earth beneath Persephone's feet began to shake. The ground cracked in half at her feet. Hades burst up from the underworld. He rode a dark chariot drawn by four coal-black horses. He grabbed Persephone by the hand. Before she could call out, he pulled her close to him. Hades raced the chariot back to the underworld. Persephone wept and shouted for her mother. Persephone's cries echoed throughout the world. Her sobs were heard from the highest

拒绝了。所以他想出了一个计划。 哈迪斯必须等待合适的时机。 然后他会娶珀尔塞福涅为新娘。 一天，珀尔塞福涅和她的朋友们在草地上。 一朵美丽的花引起了她的注意，她走远了。 珀尔塞福涅想把这朵花送给得墨忒耳，让他插在她的头发上。 珀尔塞福涅脚下的大地突然开始颤抖。 她脚下的地面裂成了两半。 哈迪斯从地下世界里突然冒了出来。 他骑着一辆由四匹深黑色的马拉着的深色马车。 他抓住珀尔塞福涅的手。 她还没来得及叫，他就把她拉到自己身边。 哈迪斯驾着战车跑回了冥界。 珀尔塞福涅哭着喊着她的母亲。 珀尔塞福涅的哭声响彻世界。 她的啜泣声从最高层都能听到

hills to the deepest parts of the sea. Demeter heard Persephone weeping. She flew like a bird over land and sea to find her daughter. "Where is Persephone?" she asked everyone she met. "Have you seen her? Where has she gone?" No one would tell Demeter what had happened. The truth was just too terrible. Demeter searched for Persephone for nine days. She refused to eat or drink. At last Demeter went to Mount Olympus. She wanted to speak with Apollo, the sun god. He saw everything and would know where her daughter was. Apollo told her everything. "Persephone is down in the underworld. She will live there among the shadows forever," he said to her. Demeter's heart filled with sorrow. She flew away from Mount Olympus. For one whole year, Demeter grieved for

山一直延伸到海的最深处。 得墨忒耳听到珀尔塞福涅在哭泣。 她像鸟儿一样飞越陆地和海洋去寻找她的女儿。 “珀尔塞福涅在哪里？”她问每一个她遇到的人。 “你见过她吗？”她到哪儿去了？”没有人告诉得墨忒耳发生了什么事。 真相太可怕了。 得墨忒耳花了九天时间寻找珀尔塞福涅。 她拒绝吃喝。 最后，得墨忒耳去了奥林匹斯山。 她想和太阳神阿波罗说话。 他看到了一切，也知道她女儿在哪里。 阿波罗把一切都告诉了她。 “珀尔塞福涅在冥界。 她将永远生活在那里的阴影中，”他对她说。 得墨忒耳的心里充满了悲伤。 她飞离了奥林匹斯山。 整整一年，得墨忒耳伤心不已

Persephone. She disguised herself as a human and wandered the Earth. Without her daughter, there was no happiness for Demeter. The goddess then decided there would be no spring, summer, or harvest. That year was dreadful and cruel for humankind all over Earth. Nothing grew anywhere. Everyone nearly died of hunger. Zeus sent the gods from Mount Olympus to plead with Demeter. They asked her to stop punishing the world with her sorrow. They begged her to allow the fruits and vegetables to grow again. But Demeter said she would not do it. The world would remain this way until she could see Persephone again. Finally, Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld with a message to Hades: "Return Persephone to Demeter." When Hermes arrived, he found Persephone curled up in a dark corner. She

珀尔塞福涅。她把自己伪装成人类在地球上游荡。 没有女儿，得墨忒耳就没有幸福。 于是，女神决定不再有春天、夏天和丰收。 那一年对全世界的人类来说都是可怕而残酷的。 任何地方都没有生长。每个人几乎都饿死了。 宙斯从奥林匹斯山派众神去恳求得墨忒耳。 他们要求她不要再用悲伤来惩罚这个世界。 他们恳求她让水果和蔬菜重新生长。 但得墨忒尔说她不会这么做。 在她能再次见到珀尔塞福涅之前，世界将一直如此。 最后，宙斯派赫尔墨斯去阴间，给哈迪斯捎信：“把珀尔塞福涅还给得墨忒耳。” 当赫尔墨斯到达时，他发现珀尔塞福涅蜷缩在一个黑暗的角落里。 她

was small and thin. Since being kidnapped to the underworld she had eaten nothing. She knew not to eat anything while she was there. If she did, she would never be able to return to the Earth and to her mother. Persephone heard Hermes's message to Hades. She sprang up joyfully, and was eager to leave. Hades knew he had to obey Zeus. But there was one thing he could do to make Persephone return to him. "Dear Persephone, think kindly of me when you return to Earth. Please, take this pomegranate to eat on your way." Hades slipped the pomegranate into the hand of Persephone. Then he ordered his chariot to return both Hermes and Persephone to the world above. Persephone forgot that she wasn't supposed to eat anything from the underworld. She was too excited, and the

又小又瘦。自从被绑架到地下世界，她就没吃过东西。 她知道在那里的时候不能吃任何东西。 如果她这样做了，她将永远无法回到地球和她的母亲身边。 珀尔塞福涅听到了赫尔墨斯给哈迪斯的消息。 她高兴地跳了起来，急于离开。 哈迪斯知道他必须服从宙斯。 但有一件事他可以做，让珀尔塞福涅回到他身边。 "亲爱的珀尔塞福涅，你回到人间时请替我着想。 请你把这个石榴带在路上吃吧。” 哈迪斯把石榴塞进珀尔塞福涅的手里。 然后他命令他的战车把赫尔墨斯和珀尔塞福涅送回上面的世界。 珀尔塞福涅忘记了她不应该吃冥界的东西。 她太激动了，而且