THE HERO

 MOTHER, let us imagine we are travelling, and passing through a strange and dangerous country.

 

You are riding in a palanquin and I am trotting¹ by you on a red horse.

 

It is evening and the sun goes down. The waste of Joradighi lies wan² and grey before us. The land is desolate³ and barren.

 

You are frightened and thinking--"I know not where we have come to."

 

I say to you, "Mother, do not be afraid."

 

The meadow is prickly with spiky⁴ grass, and through it runs a narrow broken path.

 

There are no cattle to be seen in the wide field; they have gone to their village stalls.

 

It grows dark and dim on the land and sky, and we cannot tell where we are going.

 

Suddenly you call me and ask me in a whisper, "What light is that near the bank?"

 

Just then there bursts out a fearful yell, and figures come running towards us.

 

You sit crouched⁵ in your palanquin and repeat the names of the gods in prayer.

 

The bearers, shaking in terror, hide themselves in the thorny⁶ bush.

 

I shout to you, "Don't be afraid, mother. I am here."

 

With long sticks in their hands and hair all wild about their heads, they come nearer and nearer.

 

I shout, "Have a care! you villains⁷! One step more and you are dead men."

 

They give another terrible yell and rush forward.

 

You clutch my hand and say, "Dear boy, for heaven's sake, keep away from them."

 

I say, "Mother, just you watch me."

 

Then I spur my horse for a wild gallop⁸, and my sword and buckler clash against each other.

 

The fight becomes so fearful, mother, that it would give you a cold shudder⁹ could you see it from your palanquin.

 

Many of them fly, and a great number are cut to pieces.

 

I know you are thinking, sitting all by yourself, that your boy must be dead by this time.

 

But I come to you all stained with blood, and say, "Mother, the fight is over now."

 

You come out and kiss me, pressing me to your heart, and you say to yourself,

 

"I don't know what I should do if I hadn't my boy to escort me."

 

A thousand useless things happen day after day, and why couldn't such a thing come true by chance?

 

It would be like a story in a book.

 

My brother would say, "Is it possible? I always thought he was so delicate!"

 

Our village people would all say in amazement¹⁰, "Was it not lucky that the boy was with his mother?"

1 trotting   

小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
• Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳，小马开始慢跑起来。

2 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

3 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

4 spiky   

adj.长而尖的，大钉似的

参考例句：

• Your hairbrush is too spiky for me.你的发刷，我觉得太尖了。
• The spiky handwriting on the airmail envelope from London was obviously hers.发自伦敦的航空信封上的尖长字迹分明是她的。

5 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

6 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

7 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。

9 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

10 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。