bubble50 DH Freelance 中翻英 英翻中

       This story comes from the Mossi people. Before the colonization of Africa, the Mossi lived in the Mogho kingdom, which today would be in Upper Volta. The story was first written down by Frederic Guirma, who learned it from his Mossi ancestors.

       這個故事來自莫西族人。在非洲被殖民統治之前，莫西族居住在莫高王國，現今大概在上伏塔[1]。這個故事最初由Frederic Guirma寫下來，這個故事是他從他的莫西族祖先那裡知道的。

The Naba Zid-Wendé[2]

Naba Zid-Wendé

      In the beginning there was no earth, no day or night, and not even time itself. All that existed was the Kingdom of Everlasting Truth, which was ruled by the Naba Zid-Wendé. The Naba Zid-Wendé made the earth, and then they made the day and the night. To make the day a time to be busy, they made the sun, and to make the night a time of rest, they made the moon. In doing so, they made time itself.

      起初，沒有地球、沒有白天、沒有黑夜，甚至沒有時間。唯一存在的是由Naba Zid-Wendé所統治的永恆真理王國。Naba Zid-Wendé創造出地球，然後他們製造出白天和黑夜。為了讓白天成為忙碌的時間，他們製造出太陽；為了讓黑夜成為休息的時間，他們製造出月亮。就這樣，他們製造出時間。

      At first the earth was covered with fire, but the Naba Zid-Wendé blew on the earth to cool the fire. They ordered the fire to live inside the earth, so that the surface would be safe for the humans they were going to make. Only very resentfully did the fire go into the earth.

      一開始，大火覆蓋著地球，但Naba Zid-Wendé對著地球吹了吹，將大火給熄滅了。他們命令大火住在地球的內部，這樣一來，就可以讓他們接下來要製造出的人類可以安全的居住在地表上。大火也只能憤恨地進入地球裡面。

      First the Naba Zid-Wendé made a chameleon, to see if the earth's outer crust would hold it up. When the crust held it up, the Naba Zid-Wendé made snakes to crawl on the earth, to see if it was cool enough to live on. When the snakes did not complain about their bellies, the Naba Zid-Wendé made the large animals, the elephant, the rhinoceros, and the buffalo. The crust was strong enough to hold up even them, and so the crust was solid and cool.

      Naba Zid-Wendé先製造出一隻變色龍，看看地球的外殼能不能承受住牠的重量。當確定了地殼可以承受住時，Naba Zid-Wendé製造出蛇，讓牠在地上爬行，看看它冷卻的夠不夠，能不能讓生物居住在上面。當確定蛇沒有抱怨肚子太熱時，Naba Zid-Wendé製造出各種大型動物，大象、犀牛和水牛。地殼也夠硬，可以承受住他們的重量，所以地殼已經相當堅固而涼爽了。

      Finally the Naba Zid-Wendé were ready to create humans. They made them very black, because black is a strong color, and to make them different from the sun, which is red, and from the moon, which is white. The Naba Zid-Wendé used their breath to blow a soul into the humans that they had made.

      終於，Naba Zid-Wendé準備好要創造出人類了。他們製造出的人類相當黑，因為黑色是一種強烈的色彩，而且可以與紅色的太陽和白色的月亮有所不同。Naba Zid-Wendé用他們的氣息將靈魂吹進了他們所製造出的人類體內。

      The smile of the Naba Zid-Wendé at their human creations became the sky, and they hung the sky so low that humans could reach it and eat it for their food. They made stars out beyond the sky, and they made many other wonderful things for their humans. The humans nonetheless became arrogant and suspicious, and the humans began to claim that the Naba Zid-Wendé had hidden something valuable from them under the mountains. The humans dug under the mountains, but they only found a leper living there, and they let the leper go free from his subterranean prison.

      Naba Zid-Wendé對著他們所創造出來的人類微笑，這個微笑變成了天空，他們將天空掛得低到人類可以觸碰到它，還可以把它當成食物吃掉。他們在天空之外製造出星辰，也為人類製造出許許多多奇妙的東西。儘管如此，人類還是變得傲慢而多疑，人類開始稱Naba Zid-Wendé在群山之下埋藏了某個珍貴的東西。人類在群山之下挖掘，卻只在那裡找到一名麻風病人，並把這個麻風病人從地下監獄中放出。

      This leper, however, was really the fire, and he soon burst into flames. Still angry at the Naba Zid-Wendé and jealous of the humans, the fire was evil, and it burned the sky. The sky withdrew in pain, and withdrew all the way beyond the stars, back to the Kingdom of Everlasting Truth.

      但是，其實這個麻風病人是大火，很快地它就熊熊燃燒了起來。它還在生Naba Zid-Wendé的氣，也嫉妒著人類。大火是邪惡的一方，它把天空給燒掉了。天空痛苦地縮了回去，一路退到星辰之外，回到永恆真理王國之中。

      No longer could the humans get their food from the sky. Their arrogance had ended that. The Naba Zid-Wendé nonetheless made clouds and rivers and streams to keep the earth wet, and they made plants for humans to have food and trees that produce fruit for them. They made flowers to make the earth beautiful, and made the scents of the flowers to provide the smell of life.

      由於人類的傲慢，使他們無法再從天空取得食物。儘管這樣，Naba Zid-Wendé還是製造出雲朵、河流和溪流，讓地球可以保持濕潤，他們還為人類製造出植物，給他們當食物，也製造出樹木，讓它們長出果實給人類吃。他們製造出花朵，讓地球變得美麗，也製造出花朵中的香味，散發出生命的氣息。

      The humans, however, multiplied and became more and more arrogant. To wash away the arrogance, the Naba Zid-Wendé made a big blue lake in which the humans should bathe. The humans were too busy to come to the lake, however, and that gave the evil fire time to throw hatred and envy in the lake. Only when the Naba Zid-Wendé sent the sun to dry up the lake did the humans finally go there to bathe. The first group that went in bathed in the waters of hatred and division, and they came out white from head to toe. The second group that went in come out yellow from head to toe. The same happened to third group that went in, except that they came out copper-red. By the time the last group went in, only a little water was left from the sun's efforts to dry up the lake, and the last group could only wash their hands and feet. They came out with soles and palms of white, yellow, or red, but the rest of their bodies were still black.

      但是，人類的數量變多之後，也變得越來越傲慢。為了消除這股傲慢，Naba Zid-Wendé製造出一個藍色大湖，要人類來這裡沐浴。可是人類卻忙到無法來湖邊，這讓邪惡的大火有時間可以在湖中投入仇恨和嫉妒。只有在Naba Zid-Wendé將太陽送到湖上，讓這個湖枯竭時，人類才終於到那裡沐浴。第一批浸泡在仇恨與分裂的湖水之中的人，在他們出來後，從頭到腳都變成白色的。第二批進入的人，出來後，從頭到腳都是黃色的。第三批的情況也是如此，但是他們出來後是變成銅紅色的。當最後一批人進去的時候，只剩下一點點的水，因為太陽把湖水都曬乾了，所以最後一批的人只能洗手和洗腳。他們出來後，腳底和手掌變成白色、黃色或紅色，但身體的其他部位還是黑色的。

      The Naba Zid-Wendé came to earth later to see what they had created, and they were shaping one last animal out of a lump of clay as they came. The plants and animals celebrated the coming of the Naba Zid-Wendé, but the human races were too busy dividing up the land and enslaving each other to notice. The Naba Zid-Wendé were so sad to see what the humans were doing that they forgot their last creation, until it cried out to be given a head, legs, and a tail. The Naba Zid-Wendé sadly finished their lump of clay, which is why the turtle has the shape it has.

      之後，Naba Zid-Wendé來到地球上，看看他們的創造物，當他們來時，他們正在用一塊黏土塑造出最後一隻動物。植物和動物慶祝著Naba Zid-Wendé的到來，但是人類卻因為忙著劃分土地和奴役彼此而沒有注意到。難過於看到人類的所作所為，Naba Zid-Wendé甚至忘記了他們最後的創造物，直到它大喊著它也要有頭、有腳、有尾巴。Naba Zid-Wendé難過地完成了這塊黏土，這就是為什麼烏龜會長成這樣。