獨眼兄妹

Two little children， a boy and a girl， lived long ago with their widowed mother in the Canadian forest. The woman was very poor. She often had to go far from home in search of fish and game for her family. At times she was absent for many days and left her children behind， and thus they were allowed to grow up with very little oversight or discipline or care. They soon became very unruly. As they grew older they became more headstrong and disobedient， and their mother could do very little to control them. And she said， “Some day they will suffer for their waywardness.”

One day the woman went to visit a neighbour. She left a large pot of bear-fat boiling on the fire. And she said to the children， “Do not meddle with the pot while I am gone， for the fat may harm you if it catches fire.” But she was not gone long when the boy said to the girl， “Let us see if the fat will burn.” So they took a burning stick of wood and dropped it into the fat， and stood looking into the large pot to see what would happen. The fat sputtered for an instant; then there was a sudden flash， and a tongue of flame shot upwards from the pot into the faces of the children. The fire had scorched their faces and blinded their eyes. They stumbled around in darkness， crying loudly for help. But no help came.

When their mother came home she tried every remedy she thought might restore their sight. But all her medicine was unavailing， and she said， “You will always be blind. That is the punishment for your disobedience.”

So the children lived in darkness for a long time. But they were no longer headstrong and unruly. They did not now refuse to do their mothers bidding.

One day， when their mother was far away hunting， an old woman came along and asked the children for food. And they brought good food to her. After she had eaten， she said，“You are blind， but I can help you， for I am from the Land of the Little People. I cannot give you four eyes， but I will give you one eye between you. You can each use it at different times， and it will be better than no sight at all. But handle it with great care and do not leave it lying on the ground.”Then she gave them an eye which she took from her pocket， and disappeared. So they used the one eye between them， and when the boy had the eye and the girl wished to see anything， she would say， “Give me the eye，” and her brother would carefully pass it to her. When their mother came home she was very glad， for they had now some means of sight.

One day the boy went into the forest with his bow and arrows. He carried the eye with him. He saw a fat young deer and killed it. The deer was too heavy for him to carry home alone. So he said， “I will go and get my sister， and we shall cut it up and put it in a basket and carry it home together.” He went home and led his sister to where the deer lay， and they began to cut up the body. But they had forgotten to bring a basket or a bag. He called to his sister saying， “You must weave a basket into which we can put the meat to carry it home.” And his sister said， “How can I make a basket when I cannot see？ I must have the eye.” The boy brought the eye to her and she made a large basket from green twigs.

When she had finished making the basket the boy said， “I must finish cutting up the meat. Give me the eye.” So she brought him the eye， and he proceeded to chop up the meat and put it in the basket. Then he said， “Why can we not have a meal here？ I am very hungry.” His sister agreed that this was a good idea， and he said， “You cook the meal while I pack the meat.” The girl made a fire， but she was afraid she would burn the meat， so she said， “I cannot see to cook. I must have the eye.” Her brother brought her the eye. The fire was low and she said， “Bring me some dry pine.” The boy wandered off into the forest in search of wood， but he had not gone far when he stumbled over a log and fell to the ground. He called to his sister in anger， saying， “You always want the eye for yourself. How can I gather dry pine when I cannot see？”

His sister ran to him and gave him the eye. She found her way back to the fire， but smelled the meat burning on the spit. She shouted， “The meat is burning and our dinner will be spoiled！ Give me the eye at once！” The boy was some distance away， and in his anger he threw the eye to her， saying， “Find it！ I am not going to walk to you with it if you are too lazy to come and get it！” The eye fell to the ground， and neither of them knew where it lay. They groped for it among the dead leaves， meanwhile， a wood-pecker， watching from a branch of a tree nearby， swooped suddenly down and gobbled it up and flew away.

As they were still searching for it， the old woman who had given it to them came along. She had been hiding among the trees， and she had seen the wood-pecker flying away with her gift. She said， “Where is the eye I gave you？” “It dropped from my head，” answered the boy， “and I cannot find it in the grass.” “Yes，” said the girl， “it dropped from his head.”“You have lied to me，” said the old woman， “and you have disobeyed， and for that I shall punish you.” And with her magic power she changed the boy into a mole and the girl into a bat， and said， “Now live blind upon the earth， with only your sense of sound to guide you.” At once the boy and the girl were changed. And so the Mole and the Bat appeared upon the earth.

很久以前，有一位寡婦和她一男一女兩個小孩住在加拿大的森林里。這位寡婦很貧窮。她經(jīng)常需要到離家很遠(yuǎn)的地方為一家人捉魚、尋找野味。有時候她一連幾天都不回來，把孩子們留在家里，任由孩子們在缺乏照管、紀(jì)律約束和關(guān)愛的環(huán)境下長大。很快，他們就變得非常任性。隨著年歲的增長，他們變得愈發(fā)頑固和忤逆，他們的媽媽基本上管不住他們。她說：“終有一天他們會嘗到任性的苦果。”

一天，寡婦出門拜訪一個鄰居。她留下一大鍋在火上燒得沸騰的熊脂。她對孩子們說：“我走了以后，別亂動這鍋，因為熊脂要是著火可能會燙傷你們?！钡€沒走遠(yuǎn)，男孩就對女孩說：“讓我們看看油脂會不會燒起來吧。”于是他們拿來一根著火的樹枝，把它扔進(jìn)熊脂里，站在一旁往鍋里瞧，好奇會發(fā)生什么。一瞬間，油花噼啪飛濺;隨后，突然閃現(xiàn)一束火光，一道火舌從鍋里朝兄妹倆的臉直沖而去。烈火燒焦了他們的臉，弄瞎了他們的眼睛。兄妹倆在黑暗中磕磕碰碰，大聲求助。但沒有人來幫忙。

他們的媽媽回到家以后，嘗試了各種有可能恢復(fù)他們視力的藥物。但都沒有效果。她說：“你們永遠(yuǎn)都會是盲人了。這就是對你們忤逆的懲罰?！?/p>

因此，兄妹倆在黑暗中生活了很長一段時間。但他們不再頑固和任性了?，F(xiàn)在他們不再違抗媽媽的吩咐了。

一天，兄妹倆的媽媽出遠(yuǎn)門打獵去了，有一位老婦人來向他倆討要食物。兄妹倆給了她美味的食物。她吃完以后，說：“你倆雖然失明了，但我能幫助你們，因為我來自小人國。我沒法給你們四只眼睛，但我能讓你們倆共用一只眼睛。你們可以錯開使用時間，這樣也比完全沒有視力要好。但要很小心地愛護(hù)這只眼睛，不要把它丟在地面上?！比缓笏龔目诖锬贸鲆恢谎劬o了他們，就消失了。于是兄妹倆輪流使用這只眼睛，當(dāng)男孩在使用眼睛而女孩想要看什么時，女孩就會說：“給我眼睛?！彼绺缇蜁⌒囊硪淼匕蜒劬f給她。他們的媽媽回到家得知事情的原委之后，感到很欣慰，因為孩子們現(xiàn)在多少恢復(fù)了一點視力。

一天，男孩帶上弓箭去了森林里。當(dāng)然他也帶上了眼睛。他看見了一只肥美的小鹿，便把它殺掉了。小鹿對于男孩來說太重了，他沒法獨自搬運(yùn)回家。于是他自語道：“我要回去叫上妹妹，然后我們可以把鹿肉切成塊放進(jìn)籃子里一起提回家。”他回了家，把妹妹帶到小鹿所在的地方，然后他們開始切鹿肉。但是他們忘了帶籃子或者袋子來。他對妹妹喊道：“你必須織一個籃子，好讓我們把鹿肉放進(jìn)去提回家?！彼拿妹谜f：“我看不見怎么織籃子？我必須用那只眼睛?！蹦泻蜒劬δ媒o了妹妹，妹妹用生枝條織了一個大籃子。

妹妹織完籃子后，哥哥說：“我得把肉切完。給我眼睛?！泵妹镁桶蜒劬δ媒o哥哥，哥哥繼續(xù)把肉切完放進(jìn)籃子里。然后他說：“我們?yōu)槭裁床荒茉谶@吃飯呢？我很餓了?！泵妹糜X得這是個好主意，同意了。哥哥說：“你做飯，我來裝好剩下的鹿肉?！泵妹蒙嘶?，但她怕肉會烤糊，因此說：“我看不見沒法做飯。我必須用眼睛?！备绺绨蜒劬δ媒o了她?；鹈绾苋?，妹妹說：“去給我拿些干松樹枝來?！备绺珲膺M(jìn)了森林里去找木柴，但他沒走多遠(yuǎn)就被一段木頭絆到了，摔倒在地上。他生氣地對妹妹喊道：“你總想自己霸占眼睛。我看不見怎么撿干松樹枝？”

妹妹跑過去給了他眼睛，然后摸索著回到火堆旁，但她聞到叉上的肉燒焦了。她喊叫道：“肉燒焦了，我們的晚餐就要毀啦！馬上把眼睛給我！”哥哥離妹妹有一段距離，他生氣地把眼睛往妹妹那邊扔，說著：“你自己找吧！你要是懶得過來拿，我是不會拿過去給你的！”眼睛掉到了地上，他倆誰也不知道掉到哪里了。他們在落葉中摸索著找眼睛，與此同時，一只在附近的樹枝上觀望的啄木鳥突然俯沖下來，一口吞掉眼睛就飛走了。

當(dāng)兄妹倆還在找眼睛時，送給他們眼睛的老婦人出現(xiàn)了。她一直躲在樹林間，看著啄木鳥帶著她的贈禮飛走了。她問：“我給你們的眼睛在哪里？”“眼睛從我頭上掉下去了，”男孩回答，“在草叢里，我找不到了。”“對，”女孩說，“從他頭上掉下去了?！薄澳銈儗ξ艺f了謊，”老婦人說，“而且你們不遵從我的叮囑，因此我將懲罰你們。”老婦人運(yùn)用她的魔力，把男孩變成一只鼴鼠，把女孩變成一只蝙蝠。她說道：“現(xiàn)在去過失明的生活吧，只有聽覺能指引你們?！蹦泻⒑团ⅠR上就變了形。于是，地球上開始有了鼴鼠和蝙蝠。