4 Pandora

CHAPTER 4 Pandora From high up on Mount Olympus, the gods liked to play tricks on the humans below. There was once a shy young woman. She had long, silky hair and large, sky-blue eyes. She was sweet and lovely, and had beauty that shone like the sun. Since she had been blessed with these good qualities, she was called Pandora. Her name means "the gift of all." One day, Zeus saw her through the mist that separated Mount Olympus from the Earth. "Pandora is the most perfect of all

在高高的奥林匹斯山上，众神喜欢捉弄下面的人类。 从前有一个害羞的年轻女子。 她有一头柔顺的长发和一双天蓝色的大眼睛。 她甜美可爱，美丽得像太阳一样闪闪发光。 因为她被赐予了这些美好的品质，所以她被称为潘多拉。 她名字的意思是“所有人的礼物” 一天，宙斯透过将奥林匹斯山与大地隔开的薄雾看到了她。 “潘多拉是最完美的

women," the god said. "She is no better or worse than any other mortal woman," said Hera, Zeus's jealous wife. "She is perfection," Zeus declared. "I say she is just like any mortal woman," Hera insisted. "And I shall prove it." "What are you going to do?" Zeus asked. "I shall give her this beautiful box," Hera said. "I will fill it with all the troubles that a mortal can have: sorrow, mischief, sickness, sadness, and death. When we give it to her, we will tell her not to open it. If she is as perfect as you say, then she will not be tempted. And mortals will have nothing to fear, for all their troubles will remain in the box." "I will throw in hope with the evils you've included," Zeus said. Hera and Zeus both went down from Mount Olympus. They gave

女人，”上帝说。“她并不比其他凡人的女人更好或更差，”宙斯的嫉妒妻子赫拉说。 “她是完美的，”宙斯宣称。 “我说她就像任何一个凡人的女人一样，”赫拉坚持说。 “我会证明的。”“你打算怎么办？”宙斯问道。 “我要把这个漂亮的盒子送给她，”赫拉说。 “我要让它充满凡人所能拥有的一切烦恼：悲伤、恶作剧、疾病、悲伤和死亡。 我们给她的时候，会告诉她不要打开。 如果她像你说的那么完美，那么她就不会被诱惑。 凡人将无所畏惧，因为他们所有的烦恼都将留在盒子里。” 宙斯说：“我将把希望投给你所包括的邪恶。” 赫拉和宙斯都从奥林匹斯山上走了下来。 他们给了

Pandora the magnificent box and warned her not to open it. Then Hera and Zeus returned to Mount Olympus to see what Pandora would do. Day after day, Pandora gazed at the lovely box. Its ruby-red stones sparkled in the moonlight. Its gold cover twinkled in the sunlight. It was beautiful. She should have been happy with it just as it was. But she wanted to know what was inside. Pandora could think of nothing else. Every day, Pandora walked to the box and reached for its lid. Then she'd pull her hand away before she could open it. "See," said Zeus. "I told you Pandora was perfect. She will not open it because we told her not to." "We shall see," Hera said. Many weeks went by. Pandora still gazed at the box every day. One day, she could

潘多拉打开了华丽的盒子，警告她不要打开。 然后赫拉和宙斯回到奥林匹斯山，看看潘多拉会怎么做。 日复一日，潘多拉凝视着这个可爱的盒子。 宝石红色的石头在月光下闪闪发光。 它的金色外壳在阳光下闪闪发光。 它是美丽的。她应该对现在的情况感到满意。 但她想知道里面是什么。 潘多拉想不出别的办法。 每天，潘多拉都走到盒子前，伸手去拿盖子。 然后还没来得及打开，她就把手抽了回来。 “看，”宙斯说。“我告诉过你潘多拉是完美的。 她不肯打开，因为我们叫她不要打开。” “我们走着瞧吧，”赫拉说。 好几个星期过去了。潘多拉仍然每天盯着盒子。 总有一天，她能做到

stand it no longer. She had to know what was inside. Pandora knelt before the box. Slowly, and with great delight, she lifted the heavy lid just a crack. She peeked inside. At once a terrible wind blew the lid wide open. The air was filled with a tornado of shrieks, whistles, moans, and cries. Sorrow, mischief, sickness, sadness, and death all escaped from the box Pandora had opened. In terror, Pandora clapped the lid down. But it was too late. All the evils that would trouble humankind forever flew out of Pandora's box that day. Everything escaped but one thing— hope. The hope that Zeus had put into the box remained. It was the only good thing the box contained. To this day hope is humankind's only comfort in times of trouble. "Now what do you say?" Hera asked Zeus. They watched the disaster that Pandora had

别再忍受了。她一定知道里面有什么。 潘多拉跪在盒子前。 她非常高兴地慢慢地把沉重的盖子打开了一条缝。 她往里面偷看。一阵可怕的风立刻把盖子吹开了。 空气中充满了一阵阵的尖叫、口哨声、呻吟声和哭声。 悲伤、恶作剧、疾病、悲伤和死亡都从潘多拉打开的盒子里逃了出来。 潘多拉惊恐地把盖子拍了下来。 但为时已晚。那天，所有将永远困扰人类的邪恶都从潘多拉的盒子里飞了出来。 一切都逃掉了，只有一样东西——希望。 宙斯放在盒子里的希望依然存在。 这是盒子里唯一的好东西。 直到今天，希望是人类在困难时期唯一的安慰。 “现在你说什么？”赫拉问宙斯。 他们目睹了潘多拉的灾难

let loose upon the world. Zeus took a sip of nectar and a bite of ambrosia. "I'm waiting...," Hera said. "You were right and I was wrong," Zeus told her with a sigh. "But we shall see what happens the next time we play a trick on the mortals." "Yes. We shall see, indeed," Hera said with a satisfied smile.

向世界释放。宙斯喝了一口花蜜，又吃了一口仙果。 “我等待……赫拉说。 宙斯叹了口气对她说：“你是对的，我错了。” “不过，下次我们捉弄人类的时候，我们就知道会发生什么了。” “是的。赫拉满意地笑着说。