雙語閱讀：十字路口的幽靈

雙語閱讀：十字路口的幽靈

　　There is a village with several households in a wild land. Nobody from the village would go near the crossroads after midnight. Everyone said the place was haunted,and lots of people said they had seen a white woman figure there—a horrible one-eyed woman with a big black cat.

　　荒野上有個小村，住著少數幾戶人家。每逢午夜過后就無人敢去村旁的十字路口。人人都說那里鬧鬼，并且許多人看到過懷里抱著一只大黑貓，只長著一只恐怖眼睛的白衣女人。

　　One night, Tom and Mick were in the village pub having a drink. They were talking about the ghost at the crossroads. "I don't believe in ghosts," said Tom with a smile. "I bet you won't go to the crossroads, by yourself, after midnight," said Mick.

　　一天晚上，湯姆和麥克在村里的酒吧喝酒。談起了十字路口的幽靈。湯姆笑著說：“我不相信有鬼。”麥克說：“我打賭你自己不敢半夜到十字路口去。”

　　Tom laughed and said, "I'll go if you will." So the two men agreed to meet at midnight at the crossroads.

　　“你敢，我就敢。”湯姆大笑著說。于是兩人約好，午夜時分在十字路口會面。

　　Tom wanted to play a trick on Mick. He went to the crossroads just before midnight. He took a bag of flour and put it all over his face, hair. It was a very dark and quite night.As the village clock struck twelve, a shrill cry from bird broke the black and made your blood run cold and your flesh creep.Then he heard Mick calling,"Tom, Tom are you there?"Tom didn't speak.He sat on the stone, very still ,as well as held back to laugh. When Mick came close enough to see Tom, he took one look and ran off down the road screaming. Tom laughed so much he fell off the stone.

　　湯姆想戲弄麥克一下，就在午夜前來到了十字路口，拿了一袋子面把自己渾身上下都涂白了。這是一個漆黑的夜晚，荒野上一片寂靜，村里，午夜的鐘聲敲響了，一聲凄厲的鳥叫，撕裂黑暗，讓人毛骨悚然。他聽到麥克喊：“湯姆，湯姆，你……你來了么?”湯姆忍住笑意，一聲不吭，坐在石頭上一動也不動。麥克慢慢走近，瞧了一眼石頭就慘叫一聲，大喊著救命跑掉了。湯姆捧腹大笑從石頭上掉了下來。

　　Early the next day, Tom went to Mick's house.Mick was in the kitchen.He had locked all the doors and windows. He had a shot-gun on the table.He opened the door and let Tom in. Then he locked the door again.He was tired and frightened. He had not been to bed.

　　第二天早晨，湯姆去麥克家找他，發現麥克躲在廚房里，門窗緊鎖，桌上放著一把槍。他讓湯姆進去后又把門鎖上了。他看上去一夜沒睡。

　　"Well," said Tom trying not to laugh, "did you see the ghost last night?" "Oh yes," whispered Mick, "I saw her as plain as day." Then Tom said,"You fool! That was me you saw sitting on the stone by the crossroads!"

　　湯姆強忍住笑問：“喂，你昨晚看到幽靈了嗎?”麥克壓低嗓子回答：“是的，我非常清楚地看到了。”“傻瓜!你看到的那個坐在十字路口的人是我!”湯姆說。

　　"Oh yes," said Mick, "I saw you on the stone, and I also saw that evil one-eyed witch with her cat, standing right behind you."

　　麥克說：“是的，我看到你坐在石頭上了，我還看到一個手里抱著貓的獨眼幽靈，她一直站在你的后面。”

　　When he heard this,Tom went quite white,as if someone had dusted his face with flour...

　　湯姆聽到此處時，臉色慘白，就像有人撒了他一臉面粉……