儿童英文故事:伐木巨人保罗·班扬

【英文原文】

摘要：保罗·班扬是美国传说中的英雄，他是个伐木工，住在美国西北的伐木营地里。他由于力大无穷，伐木快如割草而威震四方。

Paul Bunyan was a hero in American folk tales. He was a lumberjack, living in lumber camps of the American Northwest. He became famous for his great strength and great skill in cutting trees. According to legend, Paul Bunyan was a giant. He was so big that a small step he took was about three city blocks. He created much of America. He dug Puget Sound in Washington to float huge logs to the mill. He cleared trees from North and South Dakota and made the land in those states suitable for farming. He dragged his huge ax in the field of Colorado, and thus created the Grand Canyon. He also scooped out the Great Lakes to provide drinking water for his giant blue ox, Babe. Babe weighed fifteen tons before breakfast and stood sixty feet tall. From the tip of one horn to the tip of the other, it measured 42 ax handles and a plug of chewing tobacco. The ox ate tremendous amounts of hay and potato peels and could haul a whole forest of logs. When Babe needed new shoes, the blacksmith had to open a new iron mine in Minnesota. The shoes were so heavy that the blacksmith sank knee-deep into solid rock while carrying them. Babe hadn’t always been blue. But nobody knew for sure how it had come to be that colour. Some said it had turned blue from playing outdoors too long during the Winter of the Blue Snow.

【中文译文】

保罗·班扬是美国传说中的英雄。他是个伐木工，住在美国西北的伐木营地里。他由于力大无穷，伐木快如割草而威震四方。保罗是个巨人，他只须迈一小步就能跨过三条街。美国的大部分山山水水据说都是他创造的。他掘出了华盛顿州的皮尤吉特湾，好把木材从水路运到锯木场。他伐光了南北达科他所有的树木，将林地改做农田。他在科罗拉多的田野里拖了一下他的巨斧，结果划出了大峡谷。他的蓝牛贝贝口渴时，他就从五大湖里舀出水来给他喝。蓝牛贝贝高六十英尺，早饭前重十五吨。两角之间的长度为四十二斧柄外加一块嚼烟。贝贝饭量极大，须为他准备大量干草和土豆皮。但它的力气也极大，一次就能拉走一座森林的木材。贝贝需要钉掌时，铁匠就得在明尼苏达新开一座铁矿。那副牛蹄铁重得吓人，铁匠搬它们时，两腿陷在坚硬的岩石里，深达膝盖。蓝牛并非生下来就是蓝色的。它究竟是怎么变蓝的，谁也说不清。有人说这是因为下蓝雪那年冬天，贝贝贪玩儿，在外头待得太久了。

题外话：旧大陆的人初到北美，常被它的巨大所震惊。那里有巨大的峡谷、巨大的瀑布、巨大的湖泊、巨大的平原、巨大的森林。一切似乎都是大号的。难怪移民们喜欢这些牛皮故事。