The Demon's Bridge

恶魔的桥

A young woman's cow had crossed the river in the morning when the water level was moderate. But when the woman returned with her dog to get the cow, she was overwhelmed by how high the water had risen. Even if she crossed, she still couldn't tow her cow back through the river.

早晨水位适中时，一位年轻妇女的母牛已经渡过了河。但是当这位妇女带着她的狗回来取牛的时候，她被涨起的水位高度惊呆了。即使她过了河，她仍然不能把她的牛拖过河去。

What am I going to do? she wondered.

“我该怎么办?”她想。

Suddenly, a man appeared across the river. "A fragile young lady like you shouldn't have to struggle across a river," he said. "I'll build you a bridge."

突然，一个男人出现在河的对岸。“像你这样脆弱的年轻女士不应该挣扎着过河，”他说。“我来给你搭一座桥。”

The man was an enigma. The young woman's perception of him was that he was a sociable person. He was talkative, yet something was strange about him.

这个人很神秘。这位年轻女士对他的看法是他是一个善于交际的人。他很健谈，但有些奇怪。

I don't want to be a burden to you, sir, the woman replied.

“我不想成为你的负担，先生，”女人回答。

Don't worry, he told her as he began crafting a bridge. He merged the pieces of the bridge together with amazing speed. Soon, it was finished.

“别担心，”他一边开始搭桥，一边对她说。他以惊人的速度把桥上的碎片合在一起。很快就完工了。

Oh, but how can I pay you for your work? Let's compromise. I am sure that we can find a fair solution. What do you think? The woman asked.

“哦，但是我怎么付你的工钱呢?我们商量一下吧，我相信我们能找到一个公平的解决办法。你觉得怎么样?”女人问。

The only currency I need is the first living thing that crosses the bridge, the man replied.

“我唯一需要的酬劳是第一个过桥的活物，”那人回答。

She thought, "This deal sounds weird. Maybe he's actually a river demon. " She shivered because she realized that he had taken advantage of her innocence and rigged the deal somehow. But she had a plan of her own. She pulled a piece of bread from her pocket and threw it across the bridge. Her dog ran after it.

她想，“这笔交易听起来很奇怪。也许他实际上是个河妖。”她打了个寒颤，因为她意识到他利用了她的天真无知，以某种方式操纵了这笔交易。但她有自己的计划。她从口袋里掏出一块面包扔过了桥。她的狗追着它跑。

The dog is the first living thing across the bridge, she said to the man.

“狗是第一个过桥的生物，”她对男人说。

The man was angry. He suddenly changed into a hybrid of a human and a fish. "You crook!" he shouted. "You tricked me. I have no use for your dog!" He screamed and dove into the river.

那人很生气。他突然变成了人与鱼的混合体。“你这个骗子!”“你骗我。我不需要你的狗!”他尖叫着跳进河里。

The woman tramped across the bridge to the other side and had a happy reunion with her dog and cow.

女人迈着沉重的步伐穿过桥走到另一边，和她的狗和牛快乐地团聚在一起。

核心单词表

burden n. 负担

compromise v. 妥协

craft v. 精巧地制作

crook n. 骗子

currency n. 货币

enigma n. 不可思议的东西

fragile adj. 脆的

hybrid n. 混合物

innocence n. 无知

merge v. 合并

moderate adj. 适中的

overwhelm v. 淹没

perception n. 认识能力

reunion n. 重聚

rig v. 操纵

shiver n. 颤抖

sociable adj. 社交的

talkative adj. 爱说话的

tow v. 拖

tramp v. 踩

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