中国故事（双语）78：The Ox-man Part 3 神农尝百草 3
78 The Ox-man Part 3
神农尝百草 3
神农打开瓦罐，里面是味苦的黑液体，可以用来疾病，却不明白神鞭的用途。回去途中，神农用神鞭劈开草木的阻隔。神农尝了尝神鞭劈开的一棵草木，其中的液体能缓解疼痛。神农顿悟：治病的良药早已在这片山林之中，只待自己来探索。神农之后亲尝百草，为世人治病疗伤，直至被一种草木毒死。
I opened the jar. At first, I smelled old plants. Stinky! I looked inside. It was a dark liquid. I tasted it. I knew this gift must be to help my people get well. It tasted awful, so it had to be good for us. . . .
Wow! I wasn’t tired anymore! I grabbed the rope with one hand. I slid all the way down, cracking the whip over my head! Then I tied the rope to the top of the cliff and slid down again. “Woohoo!” I yelled to my friends.
They raced to get out of my way. I hit the ground and bounced back up.
“I met the Emperor of Heaven, and he looks like all of you!” I yelled, bowing to my friends. They were very startled. “Let’s go! I’ve got medicine! . . . And . . . a whip. Not sure why the Emperor of Heaven gave me a whip, but it’s lots of fun!” I cracked it over my head again!
“Woohoo!”
We hurried toward the village but took a path that ended in a thicket.
There were too many grasses, thorny bushes, and other plants to be able to move forward. I used my whip to slice through the thicket. Then I tasted the juice of the plants I had cut. My tongue stopped feeling anything.
“This juice would be good for pain,” I said. “My tongue is numb.” I now knew why the Emperor of Heaven had given me the whip. I turned to my friends. “All the medicines our people need are already here, growing. I only need to find and share them.”
Our group of friends split up. Some left to bring the medicine jar to the village. Others explored with me. In that thicket, I began eating. My friends helped me make detailed notes about every plant. It was just like I was a baby. My friends watched my see-through stomach as I sampled leaves, barks, and roots.
But they saw me differently. I knew who I was, and so did they. I was Shennong, man and ox and god of plants.
And I knew who they were. Each of my friends had the face of the Emperor of Heaven.
We traveled together across China, looking for medicines. We found the healing red mushroom after I choked on a poisonous plant. We found tea on a very, very good day. And every night, we wrote down what we had learned. “Eat this to help a bad stomach. Don’t eat this, it can kill you.”
We also knew what we had to do. I had to try every plant. My friends had to share the knowledge. Then my people would live, be healthy, and build China. We all knew that one
day I would eat a plant that would kill me. They would write about it. No one else would die from eating that poison. We didn’t talk about what would happen, but we knew.
It happened when I was on top of a cliff. The clouds were hanging low.
The sun was as red as a bird. I took a bite of a plant and felt my insides break. My friends ran to me. Their faces were the face of the Emperor of Heaven. Their faces were all the faces of China. I could not look away from my last view. There was too much beauty.
The End
Question: How can being different from others provide opportunities to help? Please provide a couple of examples.
核心词汇
stinky adj. 臭的，发恶臭的
crack (v) （使）裂开，（使）破裂
ox
bounce v. 弹起，反弹，跳，跃
startle v. （使）惊吓
thicket n. 灌木丛，植丛
slice v. 把……切成（薄）片，切开
sample v. 品尝，试尝
choke v. 窒息，噎住
poisonous adj. 有毒的
poison n. 毒药
以下翻译来自百度翻译：
我打开罐子。起初，我闻到了老植物的味道。发恶臭的！我看了看里面。这是一种黑液体。我尝过了。我知道这份礼物一定是为了帮助我的人民康复。它尝起来很难吃，所以对我
们来说一定很好。
哇！我不再累了！我一只手抓住绳子。我一路滑下去，用鞭子抽打我的头！然后我把绳子系在悬崖顶上，又滑了下来。“呜呜！”我对朋友们喊道。
他们跑来挡我的路。我撞到地上，弹了起来。
“我遇到了天皇，他看起来像你们所有人！”我大声喊道，向朋友们鞠躬致意。他们大吃一惊。“走吧！我有药！……还有……一根鞭子。我不知道天皇为什么给我一根鞭子，但这很有趣！”我又在头上敲打它！
“呜呼！”
我们急忙朝村子走去，但走了一条通向灌木丛的小路。
有太多的草，多刺的灌木丛和其他植物，无法前进。我用鞭子划破灌木丛。然后我尝了尝我切下的植物的汁液。我的舌头什么也感觉不到了。
“这种果汁对止痛有好处，”我说。“我的舌头麻木了。”我现在知道天皇为什么要给我鞭子了。
我转向我的朋友。“我们的人民需要的所有药物都已经在这里生长。我只需要到并分享它们。”
我们这朋友分手了。有些人把药罐带到了村子里。其他人和我一起探索。在那片灌木丛里，我开始吃东西。我的朋友们帮我对每种植物都做了详细的记录。就像我还是个婴儿一样。当我品尝树叶、树皮和树根时，我的朋友们看着我的透明胃。
但他们对我的看法不同。我知道我是谁，他们也知道。我是神农，人与牛，植物之神。
我知道他们是谁。我的每个朋友都有天皇的脸。
我们一起走遍了中国，寻药物。在我被一种有毒植物呛到后，我们发现了正在愈合的红蘑菇。我们在非常非常好的一天到了茶。每天晚上，我们都写下我们学到的东西。“吃这个可以治胃病。别吃这个，它会害死你的。”
我们也知道我们必须做什么。我必须尝试每种植物。我的朋友们不得不分享这些知识。然后我的人民就会生活，健康，建设中国。我们都知道有一天我会吃掉一株会杀死我的植物。他们会写下来。没有人会因为吃了那种毒药而死亡。我们没有谈论会发生什么，但我们知道。
这件事发生在我站在悬崖顶上的时候。乌云低垂。
太阳像鸟一样红。我咬了一口植物，感觉自己的内脏断了。我的朋友们跑向我。他们的脸是天皇的脸。他们的脸都是中国的脸。我不能把目光从我最后的视线移开。太美了。