14 The Trial of the Axes

CHAPTER 14 The Trial of the Axes Penelope had given the matter much thought. As much as it pained her, she decided her husband must be dead. There was no way he was coming back. She had to move on with her life. She had to choose one of the suitors to marry. Penelope decided she would hold a contest —a test of skill for the suitors. She took a small key out from her secret hiding place. She went into the storage room and found what she was looking for. Leaning against the wall was an old, spare bow of her husband's,

佩内洛普对这件事想了很久。 尽管这让她很痛苦，她还是认定她丈夫一定死了。 他不可能再回来了。 她必须继续她的生活。 她必须在求婚者中选择一个结婚。 佩内洛普决定举办一场比赛，考验求婚者的技巧。 她从她的秘密藏身之处拿出一把小钥匙。 她走进储藏室，找到了她要找的东西。 靠在墙上的是她丈夫的一把旧弓，

and a bag full of arrows. Penelope walked into the courtyard where the suitors had gathered after eating. Her maids followed behind her. She reached the center of the circle of men and cleared her throat to make an announcement. "Since it seems you will not give up," she said loudly, "I finally have. Although I will never forget my husband, I will marry one of you." The suitors cheered. Penelope raised her hand to stop them. "Not so fast," she said. "I am not finished. I will marry the one of you who can pass this test. String this bow and send an arrow flying in a straight line. It must fly through the holes of twelve axes. I shall arrange these axes so they stand up in a straight line on the ground." The suitors were excited for the challenge. Telemachus didn't like it, but it was clear his

还有一袋箭。佩内洛普吃完饭后走进了求婚者聚集的院子。 她的女仆跟在她后面。 她走到人群的中心，清了清嗓子，准备宣布一件事。 “既然你似乎不会放弃，”她大声说，“我终于放弃了。” 虽然我永远不会忘记我的丈夫，但我会嫁给你们中的一个。” 追求者们欢呼起来。佩内洛普举起手阻止他们。 “别这么快，”她说。“我还没说完。 你们中谁能通过这个考验，我就娶谁。 把弓系好，把箭沿直线射出。 它必须穿过十二轴的孔。 我要把这些斧子摆好，使它们在地面上立成一条直线。” 求婚者们对这一挑战感到兴奋。 忒勒马科斯不喜欢，但显然是他的

mother was insistent. He was also certain that his father would somehow manage to compete with the suitors. Odysseus would surely beat them all. "Come on, then!" Telemachus said. "Let us get this contest started." The suitors cheered, ready to play. Penelope arranged the axes upright in a straight line on the ground. The holes of the axes were lined up perfectly. All the suitors had to do was shoot the arrow straight through the twelve holes. To Telemachus, it looked easy. He tried first to complete the task, to see if it could be done. But he could barely even string the bow. One after the other, the suitors took their turns with the bow. Some tried warming the bow or softening it with grease to make it easier. But most of the suitors were not strong enough to string the bow. This meant they could not even try to shoot the arrow

母亲很坚持。他也确信他的父亲会设法与追求者竞争。 奥德修斯肯定会打败他们所有人。 “那就来吧！”忒勒马科斯说。 “让我们开始比赛吧。” 求婚者们欢呼起来，准备玩了。 佩内洛普把斧子竖在地上排成一条直线。 轴线上的孔排列得很整齐。 求婚者所要做的就是把箭直接射穿十二个洞。 对忒勒马科斯来说，这看起来很容易。 他先试着完成这项任务，看能否完成。 但他几乎不会拉弓。 求婚者们一个接一个地轮流鞠躬。 有些人试着加热弓，或者用油脂软化它，使它更容易。 但大多数求婚者都不够强壮，无法拉上弓。 这意味着他们甚至不能尝试射出箭

through the axes. The last two suitors to try were the most outspoken and bold. These two men thought they would have no problem completing the challenge. They each bent down to string the bow. Both of them struggled. While the group was distracted, Odysseus stepped out of the courtyard. He asked Eumaeus and another loyal farmhand, Philoetius, to join him. Odysseus asked them, "If somehow Odysseus were to come back today to challenge the suitors, would you stand by him?" They both said "yes" right away. Odysseus told them who he was. "It is I," he said, "your Odysseus. I have suffered much. I have traveled for a long time. Finally, after twenty years, I am back in my own country." As proof, Odysseus showed them the scar

通过坐标轴。最后两名求婚者是最直言不讳、最大胆的。 这两个人认为他们完成挑战没有问题。 他们每个人都弯下腰给弓上弦。 他们俩都挣扎着。正当大家都分心的时候，奥德修斯走出了院子。 他邀请尤迈乌斯和另一个忠诚的农场工人菲洛埃提乌斯加入他的行列。 奥德修斯问他们：“如果奥德修斯今天回来挑战追求者，你们会支持他吗？”他们都立刻答应了。 奥德修斯告诉他们他是谁。 “是我，”他说，“你的奥德修斯。 我受了很多苦。我已经旅行了很长时间。 二十年后，我终于回到了自己的国家。” 为了证明这一点，奥德修斯给他们看了伤疤

on his leg. Even though he was still disguised as the beggar, the two men recognized his scar. Just like the old nurse had, the men threw their arms around Odysseus. They cried with joy and relief at his return. "Enough," Odysseus said gently. "Let us go back now. I know the suitors will try to stop me. But I want to take my turn stringing that bow." Odysseus instructed Eumaeus to send all of the women, except Penelope, upstairs to a safe place. He explained that a battle might occur. If so, it would be dangerous. "The women must not come back downstairs, even if they hear an uproar," he said. "And lock the doors of the courtyard. None of the suitors should be able to get out." The men went off to complete their tasks. Odysseus returned to the courtyard.

在他腿上。尽管他仍然伪装成乞丐，但两个人认出了他的伤疤。 就像那个老保姆一样，男人们张开双臂拥抱奥德修斯。 他回来了，他们高兴地松了口气。 “够了，”奥德修斯温和地说。 “我们现在回去吧。我知道追求者会阻止我。 但我想轮到我来拉弓。” 奥德修斯命令欧迈乌斯把除了佩内洛普以外的所有女人送到楼上一个安全的地方。 他解释说可能会发生战斗。 如果是这样，那将是危险的。 他说：“妇女们即使听到喧闹声，也不能回到楼下。” “把院子的门锁上。 没有一个追求者能逃出去。” 男人们去完成他们的任务了。 奥德修斯回到院子里。

Meanwhile, the suitors were still trying to string the bow. One of them was warming it by the fire. Even though he was the strongest of all the suitors, he could not string it, either. He looked very frustrated. "I don't even mind that I can't marry Penelope," he confessed. "What I mind is that Odysseus strung this bow, and we cannot!" Odysseus, still disguised, had made his way back into the courtyard. He walked over to the row of axes. "Let me try my hand at this challenge," he said to the suitors. The men laughed at him, but nervously. After all, it would be humiliating if this beggar could string the bow. One of the suitors spoke. "Wretched creature," he said. "Why even bother? Even if you string it, do you really think the fair Penelope would ever choose you?"

与此同时，求婚者们还在努力系弓。 他们中的一个人在火炉旁烤火。 即使他是所有求婚者中最强壮的，他也不能把它串起来。 他看起来很沮丧。 “我甚至不介意我不能和佩内洛普结婚，”他坦白道。 “我在意的是奥德修斯拉上了这把弓，而我们不能！”奥德修斯仍然乔装打扮，回到了院子里。 他走向那排斧头。 “让我试试这个挑战，”他对求婚者说。 那些人嘲笑他，但很紧张。 毕竟，如果这个乞丐会拉弓，那就太丢脸了。 一个求婚者说话了。“可怜的家伙，”他说。 “何必麻烦呢？”即使你把它串起来，你真的认为美丽的佩内洛普会选择你吗？”