Raven and the Flood

Raven and the Flood, written by William Harriman, illustrated by Terry Herman.

《渡鸦与大洪水》，作者：威廉·哈里曼 绘者：特里·赫尔曼

A long time ago, before the world was as we know it now, there was a great storm. Blades of lightning cut through the sky. Thunder shook the ground. The rain fell and kept falling for 80 days and 80 nights.

很久很久以前，世界还不是我们现在熟悉的样子，那时发生了一场特大风暴。 一道道闪电像利刃般划破天空。 雷声震得大地都在晃动。 大雨下个不停，一连下了八十天八十夜。

As rain fell day and night, the water kept rising. Rivers flowed over their banks, lakes rose and drove people from their homes, the ocean swelled, and large waves flooded the small towns near the coast. People feared that if the rain did not stop, there would be no land left.

雨水没日没夜地下，水位不停上涨。 河水漫过了堤岸，湖泊水位升高，把人们赶出了家园，海水暴涨，巨浪淹没了靠近海岸的小镇。 人们都害怕要是雨不停，最后就一点陆地都剩不下了。

A wise sea captain with a very large boat took action. He collected his crew and invited their families onto his boat. Before lifting anchor, the captain and his crew gathered one male and one female of each animal. They wanted to be sure that every kind of creature survived the storm.

一位拥有超大船只的聪明船长行动了起来。 他召集了所有船员，还邀请船员的家人们都上船。 起锚出发前，船长和船员们为每一种动物都收集了一只雄性和一只雌性。 他们想确保每一种生物都能在这场风暴中活下来。

When the rain finally stopped, not one patch of ground was visible anywhere. The captain and his crew stood on deck, amazed by all the water. A pod of dolphins swam alongside the giant boat. In the distance, the clouds parted to reveal a blue sky.

雨终于停的时候，放眼望去连一小块陆地都看不见。 船长和船员们站在甲板上，看着一望无际的水惊呆了。 一群海豚跟着大船并肩游着。 远处的云层散开，露出了湛蓝的天空。

The captain knew they could not live on the boat forever, so he found Raven, the smartest of all the birds. Mr. Raven, the captain said, I need to talk with you. The captain spoke to Raven with respect because what he wanted Raven to do was serious.

船长知道他们不能永远住在船上，于是他找来了所有鸟类里最聪明的渡鸦。 "渡鸦先生，"船长说，"我有件事要和你说。" 船长和渡鸦说话的时候语气很恭敬，因为他要渡鸦去做的事非常重要。