張恒

Onions and Garlic

洋蔥和大蒜

Long ago there lived two brothers， Joshua and Eli. They lived on a farm and were very poor. Joshua worked hard every day. Eli was lazy and didnt like to work.

很久以前，有兩個兄弟，約書亞和伊萊。他們住在農(nóng)場里，家里很窮。約書亞每天都努力工作；伊萊很懶，不喜歡工作。

One day， Joshua heard of a kingdom far away. This kingdom didnt have onions！Hmmmm， thought Joshua. If I could sell them onions， theyd pay a lot of money！He asked to see the king and was granted an audience1. Joshua told the king about the onions and the king was curious2. He invited Joshua to make a big feast3 with many dishes prepared with onions.

有一天，約書亞聽說遠(yuǎn)方有一個王國，這個王國里沒有洋蔥！“嗯，”約書亞想，“如果我能把洋蔥賣給他們，他們會付很多錢！”他請求覲見國王，之后獲得接見。約書亞和國王談到了洋蔥，國王很好奇。他邀請約書亞用洋蔥為一場盛大宴會準(zhǔn)備了很多菜。

That evening， the king and his guests tasted the dishes. Everyone agreed， the onion made everything taste so much better！The king smiled from ear to ear. He said to Joshua， “These onions are the most precious4 thing in my kingdom. In return for them， I will give you their equal weight in the most precious thing I have—diamonds.” Joshua was rich at once and returned to his village with a wagon full of diamonds.

那天晚上，國王和他的客人品嘗了這些菜肴。每個人都贊同，加了洋蔥的菜美味多了！國王不由地滿面笑容，他對約書亞說：“這些洋蔥是我國最寶貴的東西。作為回報，我會給你重量相等的我所擁有的最珍貴的東西——鉆石?！奔s書亞立刻變得很富有，他帶著裝滿鉆石的馬車回到了村莊。

Joshua shared his wealth but his brother Eli was still very jealous5. He asked Joshua if this kingdom has garlic. Joshua thought and said， “In fact， they dont have any garlic.” Hmmmm， thought Eli. If I could sell them garlic， Id be very rich. Garlic is much tastier than onions.

約書亞分享了他的財富，但他的兄弟伊萊仍然非常嫉妒。他問約書亞那個王國有沒有大蒜。約書亞想了想，說：“老實說，他們沒有蒜?！薄班牛币寥R想，“如果我把大蒜賣給他們，我就會變得富有。大蒜可比洋蔥美味多了?！?/p>

Eli traveled to the kingdom as his brother had done. Just like Joshua， he got an audience with the king and made a feast. And just like Joshua， the king announced garlic the most precious thing in his kingdom. The king said， “I will give you their equal weight in the most precious thing in my kingdom. Onions！”

伊萊和他的兄弟一樣去了那個王國。就像約書亞一樣，他得到了國王的接見并準(zhǔn)備了一場盛宴。又像約書亞那樣，國王宣稱大蒜是王國里最寶貴的東西。國王說：“我會給你同等重量的我國最寶貴的東西——洋蔥！”

Notes：

1. grant an audience接見，召見 2. curious adj. 好奇的，有求知欲的

3. feast n. 筵席，宴會 4. precious adj. 寶貴的；珍貴的

5. jealous adj. 妒忌的；猜疑的