梅布爾·雷　凱文·鄺　張琛/譯

The tale of Changes ascent1 to the moon is one long associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival， but there are many versions of this Chinese legend. Here are two that have been widely told.

長久以來，嫦娥奔月的故事都與中秋節(jié)有關，不過這一中國傳說的版本眾多。下面是廣為流傳的兩個版本。

Many moons ago， there were 10 suns in the sky and they took turns travelling across the sky. One day， they decided to rebel and they all came out at once.

很久以前，天上有十個太陽，它們輪流現(xiàn)身天空，東升西落。一天，這些太陽決定造反，它們同時出動了。

The suns scorched2 the Earth so much that the planet was left in a permanent drought， crops withered and died， humans faced the possibility of dying out completely and there was no evening.

太陽炙烤著地球，整個星球陷入長時間的干旱，莊稼枯萎絕收，人類瀕臨滅絕，人間永晝無夜。

A brave and valiant3 archer4 named Hou Yi was called upon by the Emperor of Heaven to save the planet. Raising his bow and arrow to the suns， he shot nine of the suns—leaving one to rise and set—saving the planet and human life.

天帝召來勇敢無畏的弓箭手后羿拯救地球。后羿瞄準太陽拉弓射箭，射落九個——留下一個朝升夕落——地球和人類都得救了。

He was hailed as a hero and the Queen Mother of the West， a goddess also known as Xiwangmu， gifted him the elixir5 of immortality.

后羿被譽為英雄，西王母還賜予他一瓶長生不老藥。

The prized bottle contained just enough elixir for one person， and Hou could not bear the thought of leaving his beloved and beautiful wife， Change， behind for eternity. He made the difficult decision to stay mortal， and hid the elixir under his bed.

這瓶珍貴的長生不老藥僅夠一人服用。想到要永遠拋下自己深愛的美麗妻子嫦娥，后羿無法忍受。他做出了艱難的抉擇，決定繼續(xù)做凡人，并將藥藏在了床下。

On one fateful day—August 15 on the lunar calendar—something happened that changed their lives forever. Here is also where the legend diverges.

農(nóng)歷八月十五，在這個決定命運的日子，發(fā)生了永遠改變他們生活的事。這個傳說也是在這個地方出現(xiàn)了不同的版本。

In the version that has a more positive ending， Change sensed a presence and saw a man in the bedroom. It was Peng Meng， one of Hous archery apprentices. The cunning student had learned about the elixir of immortality and wanted to steal it for himself.

在結局更美好的版本里，嫦娥當時感到不對勁，接著看到臥室里有個男子。原來是跟著后羿學射箭的逢蒙。這個狡猾的徒弟探聽到了長生不老藥的消息，欲將藥據(jù)為己有。

To do so， Peng pretended to feel unwell before an outdoor hunting session， using the time Hou was away to sneak into the couples bedroom to find the elixir.

為此，逢蒙在外出打獵前假裝身體不適，之后趁著后羿不在，溜進后羿與嫦娥的臥室尋找靈藥。

Thankfully， Change found him in time to stop his scheming antics6. She grabbed the elixir， but Peng， unwilling to give up， tried to force her to hand it over. Change was left with no choice but to drink the potion so that Hous apprentice could not reap its benefits.

幸好，嫦娥及時發(fā)現(xiàn)了逢蒙，阻止了他的陰謀詭計。嫦娥緊握那瓶靈藥，但逢蒙不甘就此罷休，試圖迫使嫦娥交出靈藥。嫦娥別無選擇，只得喝下藥水，如此逢蒙才無法得逞。

Change began ascending into the sky， flying past the heavens and leaving her husband on Earth. She settled on the moon and became its goddess so that she could live close to her husband， her one true love.

嫦娥向天空飄去，飛過九霄云外，丈夫后羿則留在了地球上。她在月亮上居住下來，成為月亮女神，這樣可以離丈夫——她此生摯愛——近一些。

After finding out what had transpired7， Hou was heartbroken. To pay tribute to her， the archer went to his garden and prepared an incense8 table on which he laid all of Changes favourite foods. These included mooncakes， which Hou had previously prepared for Change during the mid-autumn harvest season.

得知事情的原委，后羿肝腸寸斷。為紀念嫦娥，后羿來到花園，準備了香案，擺上嫦娥愛吃的所有東西。其中就有月餅，那是后羿之前每逢中秋豐收季都會為嫦娥準備的。

From then on， people began worshipping Change as the goddess of the moon， paying tribute to her every year with food and fruit.

從那時起，人們始將嫦娥敬奉為月亮女神，每年用食物和水果紀念她。

In the darker version of the lore9， Change had grown increasingly curious and greedy upon finding out about her husbands gift. Wanting to become immortal herself， she decided to take the elixir without Hous knowledge.

在這個傳說更暗黑的版本里，嫦娥在得知丈夫所獲賞賜后，變得愈發(fā)好奇和貪婪。嫦娥只想要自己長生不老，她決定背著后羿服下靈藥。

Change took the potion from where it had been hidden under the bed and drank the entire bottle and began to drift away into the sky. Her husband spotted her and ran outside with his bow and arrow. He aimed directly at her but missed with every shot.

嫦娥從藏藥的床下取出靈藥，喝下了整瓶，然后便開始飄上天空。她的丈夫看到了她，帶著弓箭跑出來。他瞄準了妻子，卻箭箭失手。

Change eventually landed on the moon， ensuring that her husband could not follow her or shoot at her again.

最終，嫦娥落在月亮上，確保丈夫追不過來，或者說，無法再向她射箭了。

Out of pity， a white rabbit decided to accompany Change to the moon. The goddess became addicted to the elixir of immortality， and she would spend her days on the moon brewing it. Her rabbit companion would help her make the elixir by pounding herbs into fine powder.

出于同情，一只白兔決定陪嫦娥去月亮。嫦娥沉迷于長生不老藥，她整日在月亮上熬制這種藥。陪伴她的兔子負責把藥草搗成細粉，幫助嫦娥制作靈藥。

At first， Hou was furious at what Change had done， but the archer soon started to miss his wife. In the evenings， he would look longingly at the moon， worrying that his wife might feel lonely all by herself.

起初，后羿對嫦娥的所作所為怒不可遏，但他很快開始思念妻子。夜晚，他會帶著渴望的神情凝視著月亮，擔心妻子一個人也許會孤單。

To show her that he was still keeping her company， Hou began preparing Changes favourite foods and fruit and leaving them out every night， a tradition he kept up until the day of his death.

為了表示自己依然與妻子相伴，后羿開始準備嫦娥最愛的食物和水果，夜夜擺出——他一直堅持這么做，直到去世。

Other people followed suit， leaving Change offerings on the Mid-Autumn Festival every year.

人們效仿后羿，每年在中秋節(jié)為嫦娥獻上祭品。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）