2022-06-17 09:16:45来源：学习啦
(资料图片仅供参考)
人和动物之间总有说不清的情，
翠绿的树林里，一条小溪潺潺流过，灿烂的野花装点着林间的小屋。
The murmuring brook in the green forest flowed past glorious wild flowers which decorated the little house there.
红日当空，忽然，一只鹿闯进了小屋的院子里，院里有个小男孩正在玩耍。那只鹿用它的角勾住了男孩的衣服。这把孩子吓住了，于是他放声大哭起来。他妈妈听到后赶紧跑出来看发生了什么事。她出来时刚好看到那只鹿正拖着孩子向山里跑去。
The sun shone high in the sky. Suddenly, a deer raced into the courtyard of the house, where a little boy was playing. The deer hooked the boy"s clothing with its antlers. This scared the little boy so much he let out a howl that brought his mother running out to see what the matter was. She came out just in time to see the deer running off toward the mountains with her little boy.
孩子的妈妈感到十分恐慌。她尽全力去追那只鹿，但在没跑多远的地方，就发现她的孩子正安然无恙地坐在草地上。当看到他的妈妈来时，小男孩笑着向妈妈伸出手臂。她把他一把抱起，高兴得哭了。
Of course the boy"s mother was horrified! She ran after the deer as fast as she could go, and not too far away, she found her little boy sitting safely on the grass. When he saw his mother coming, the little boy laughed and stretched out his arms to her. His mother scooped him up. She was so happy that she cried.
她匆匆忙忙地把她的宝贝儿子带回家。当回到家时，她停下了脚步，浑身僵硬，被眼前的景象惊呆了。当她出门追赶她的儿子时，屋后的一棵大树倒了下来。在树的重压下，整个屋子都被压垮了。所有的墙都被碾碎了，所有的瓦片都被砸成了粉末，屋里的鸡和狗都死了。如果那时她和她的儿子都在家……
She hurried back to their home with her precious son. When she got there, she stopped dead in her tracks, amazed at what she saw. The huge tree in back of their house had toppled over while she was out chasing after her son. The whole house was crushed under its enormous weight. The walls were squashed, and all the roofing tiles were smashed into powder. The chickens and dogs in the house were all dead. If she and her little boy had been home...
随后，小男孩的妈妈想起了大约一年前的一天，一只躲避猎人的鹿跑到了她的屋子里。她很同情那只可怜的、受了惊吓的鹿，所以她用一些衣服把鹿盖了起来。当猎人尾随他的猎物冲进来时，没找到那只鹿。他想它一定是从后门跑掉了，所以就继续追赶去了。当猎人走得很远的时候，她放出鹿，让它重返树林。
Then the little boy"s mother remembered the day about a year before when a deer fleeing a hunter had run into her house. She felt sorry for the poor, frightened deer, so she covered it with some clothes. When the hunter rushed in after his quarry, he couldn"t find it. He thought it must have gone out the back door, so he kept chasing it, and when he was far, far away, she uncovered the deer and let it return to the forest.
那只鹿好像明白是她救了它的命，当它离开的时候，一直向她点头，好像在感谢她的仁慈。
The deer seemed to understand that she had saved its life, because as it left, it kept bowing its head to her, as if thanking her for her mercy.
她从来没想过那只鹿会记得她的恩情。那只鹿不知何故，知道了那棵树将会倒下砸向她，所以就回来报恩了。
She never imagined that the deer could remember her kindness. The deer somehow knew the tree was going to fall and crush her, so it came back to show its gratitude.
当那个小男孩的妈妈回想起来这一切后，她说：“救别的生命就等于是救你自己的生命。”
When the boy"s mother remembered all this, she said, "Saving the life of another is the same as saving your own life."
约两千多年前，古印度有一条小河，其中有个满是鱼儿的水塘。鱼儿们在清澈的水里快乐地生活着。它们时时在水中跳跃、穿梭或浮在水面上，尽情徜徉在它们的水上家园。
Some two thousand years ago, in a river in ancient India, there was a pond full of fish. They lived happily in the clear water. They jumped and swam or just floated around enjoying their watery home.
已经有很长一段时间没下雨了。每天都有越来越多的水被蒸发掉，最后池塘基本上都干了。如果池塘干涸，所有的鱼将会被烈日晒死。
Then for a long time it didn"t rain. Every day some more water evaporated, until the pond had almost dried up. If the pond dried up, all of the fish would die under the hot, dry sun.
太阳持续烘烤着干旱的大地。一个老人碰巧经过池塘。他看到水差不多没了，心里充满了悲悯。他径直找到国王，说：“鱼塘里的水差不多干了，鱼儿们的处境十分危险。如果陛下乐意，请您分派二十头大象运水过去救救这些鱼吧。”
The sun kept beating down on the dry earth. An old man happened to walk by the pond. He saw the water was almost gone. His heart filled with mercy. He went straight to the king and said, "The water in the fish"s pond is almost dry, and the fish are in great danger. If it pleases your majesty, you might send twenty elephants to tote water to save those fish."
国王是个佛教徒，听完老人的请求，说道：“您有一颗善良慈悲的心灵，这真是太好了。去御象厩领象吧，你觉得需要多少头就领多少头。”
The king was a Buddhist, so as soon as he heard the old man"s request, he said, "It is wonderful that you have such a kind and merciful heart. Go to the royal elephant stables and take as many elephants as you feel you need to to the water to save those poor, suffering fish."
老人听到国王的答复后，就带着他的两个儿子去了皇家象厩，挑选了二十头最健壮的大象。然后他就去酿酒厂，并借了尽可能多的皮囊——在那时候的印度，酒是用皮囊装运的。他们三个就带领着那二十头大象去这个地区最大的河边，将皮囊都装满了水。二十头御象把这些装满水的沉重皮囊运到鱼塘后，他们就把所有的水倒进池里。
When the old man heard the king"s reply, he took his two sons to the royal elephant stables and selected twenty of the best elephants. Then he went to the breweries and borrowed as many skins as he could -- in India in those days, liquor was stored and transported in skins. Then the three of them led the twenty elephants to the biggest river in the region, and filled all the skins with water. The twenty royal elephants carried the heavy skins full of water to the fish pond, and they poured all the water into the pond.
这样运了很多趟，池子又满了，就像没有干涸前一样。池子里的鱼得救了!它们在水里跳跃、玩耍、来回穿梭。
After many trips, the pond was full again, just as it had been before the drought. The fish in the pond were saved! They leapt and played and swam back and forth.
当老人看到鱼儿是那么的欢快，水面上荡起阵阵涟漪，他苍老疲惫的心中多年来所积聚的忧愁和哀伤都被一扫而空。
When the old man saw how happy the fish were, and watched the ripples on the water"s surface, all of the worries and sadness that the long years had gathered in his tired old heart were immediately swept away.
夜幕降临时，他和儿子们高高兴兴地把那二十头大象带回了象厩，并且向国王汇报了这个好消息。
As the day turned into night, he and his sons cheerfully led the twenty elephants back to the royal stables and went to tell their king the good news.
