Urban myths or urban legends?

1 London has the most extensive network of underground tunnels in the world. But for some inhabitants, the tunnels are more than just convenient – they live in them. The London Subterraneans are a race of people who live beneath the streets. They're human, but they don't speak English, and they have their own customs. Occasionally, a few of them come to the surface. They only appear at night through the drains in a dark backstreet, and if they hear footsteps, they hide in a dark alleyway and only come out when it's quiet again. And before sunrise, they go back under ground. Very few Londoners have seen them, but the friend of a friend has seen them several times.

2 True story? Probably not. It's a classic example of what's called in many languages an "urban myth". An urban myth is a story you hear by word of mouth. It usually describes something which might have happened, an apocryphal, second-hand story told as if it were true, just about plausible enough to be credible, about some event which has supposedly happened to a real person. Factual or not, it's likely to rely on expert storytelling and on a trustworthy source, such as "It happened to my brother's friend's mother".

3 However, some academics claim that urban myths are not really myths. According to them, a myth is a story which held some religious or spiritual significance for those who told it or listened in the past to it, and which contributed to the expression of shared beliefs and values. However improbable a myth might be, it's always true for those who belong to that culture from which the myth comes.

4 So should we use the term "urban myths"? Let's look at one of the most durable of urban myths, The Vanishing Hitchhiker. The basic story is that of a driver alone at night on a dark, country road, who sees a young woman hitchhiking. The driver stops and offers her a lift. Soon the driver drops the hitchhiker off at her destination, and they say goodbye. But it's only when the driver stops later that he realizes the young woman has left behind a coat with her wallet, or sometimes an old envelope in the pocket. He then goes to the address to return the coat. An old woman opens the door of the house, and the driver explains what has happened. It turns out that the coat does belong to the old woman's daughter, but she was killed several years before on the same stretch of road where the driver picked her up. That day was the anniversary of the accident.

5 In fact, like many myths, this story can be traced back to some time before the cars and roads of the 20th or 21st century, and to other countries or regions such as Sweden or East Africa. It also has other features common to the myth in its traditional sense. As we have already seen, it's a story for those people who want to believe in it, and who share the same cultural values. It has been told and retold many times over the years, gathering embellishments which are specific to the culture in which it's set. Finally, it's enjoyable, exciting and captivating to the listeners.

6 Another well-known urban myth is about the baby alligators which parents on their return from Florida bring home to their children in New York. As the alligators grow in size, they are no longer cute and the parents have to dispose of them down the toilet. But some of them survive, and as a result there are full-grown alligators living under the streets of Manhattan.

7 This is also a myth in that it describes something of the geography of a city or a region, warning of possible dangers. In Greek mythology, Odysseus sails between Scylla and Charybdis, the narrow and dangerous channel between mainland Italy and the island of Sicily. In the same way, the story of the alligators warns New Yorkers of the dangers which they may face when they use the subway.

8 Urban myths can also be a morality or "cautionary" tale. One of the best-known is the story of the man sitting in a hotel bar. Another person offers to buy him a drink. The next thing the man knows is that he's sitting in his hotel bath, with his body submerged in ice. On the wall is a note telling him not to move, but to call 911. The operator, who is familiar with the situation, tells him to move very slowly, and to feel his lower back. If there's a tube protruding from it, it means that the man's kidney has been removed and sold to be transplanted. The moral of the story is: Be careful of anyone who offers to buy you a drink!

9 Similarly, traditional myths show people how to behave appropriately in their societies. Gods act in such a way as to set the people a good example. Human beings behave nobly and courageously. Sometimes a human hero may be based on a real person, but may become a god because of his noble actions.

10 In recent years, we have seen the rise of the urban myths which are not circulated orally, but by email, in the form of messages, usually about a virus which can wipe out your hard drive. It's usually recognizable by the warnings of dire consequences if you don't pass on the message to others, and by the use of CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation marks!!! There are also web rumours which are based on the merest minor fact or speculation, and which passed around the Web, gathering further fictitious evidence to support them.

11 But is this a myth? No, not in the traditional sense. In fact, a more accurate word for it would be a hoax, something which appears true but turns out to be false and deliberately misleading. True myths are always benign in their intentions.

12 Urban myths have the characteristics common to all myths: They often record events, people believe in them, they have been passed on by word of mouth and exaggerated, they often contain a moral or warn of possible dangers in particular situations or contexts, and they advise people what to do or how to behave. In their way, for listeners in the 21st century, they are just as real as the myths of the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Vikings, Mesopotamians and Chinese from years gone by.

13 But the one difference is that true myths always feature gods or heroic near-gods, or stories about the creation of the world and its natural phenomena, such as lightning or sacred mountains.

14 In contrast, urban myths are more mundane. The London Subterraneans are far from god-like, neither the hitchhiker nor the driver is heroic, the New York alligators don't symbolize natural phenomena, and while the story of the hapless businessman may be a cautionary tale, it hardly acts as a model for heroic behaviour.

15 So in conclusion, the urban myth is not a myth at all, but a legend, which is a story about the more recent past, and is based on historical events and human heroes, or fairies, witches or other fictitious characters. The urban myth is only a myth in the secondary sense of the word: something which turns out to be untrue.

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都市神話還是都市傳奇？

1 倫敦有著世界上最為龐大的地下隧道網(wǎng)絡(luò)。 但是對(duì)某些倫敦居民來(lái)說(shuō)，隧道不僅僅給他們的生活提供了便利——他們還以此為家。 倫敦地下人是生活在街道下面的一族。 他們屬于人類，卻不會(huì)說(shuō)英語(yǔ)，他們有自己的風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣。他們中的幾個(gè)偶爾也會(huì)到地面上來(lái)。 他們只有在晚上才會(huì)從一條黑魆魆的偏僻街道的下水道里鉆出來(lái)，到地面上活動(dòng)，而且一聽(tīng)到腳步聲，他們就會(huì)躲到黑暗的小巷子里，直到?jīng)]有了動(dòng)靜才出來(lái)。 日出之前，他們又會(huì)回到地下。 沒(méi)有幾個(gè)倫敦人真正見(jiàn)過(guò)他們，但是某人的朋友的朋友曾經(jīng)見(jiàn)過(guò)他們好幾次。

2 這是真事嗎？ 很可能不是。 這是在很多語(yǔ)言中被稱為都市神話的一個(gè)典型例子。 都市神話是你通過(guò)口口相傳聽(tīng)來(lái)的故事，講述的是可能發(fā)生過(guò)的事情，杜撰的、從別處聽(tīng)來(lái)的被當(dāng)作真事講的故事，聽(tīng)起來(lái)挺可信的，某些可能發(fā)生在真實(shí)存在的人身上。 不論是真是假，都市神話依賴的是講故事的技巧以及來(lái)源的可靠性，比如“這件事發(fā)生在我弟弟的朋友的母親身上?！?/p>

3 但是，有一些學(xué)者認(rèn)為都市神話并非真正的神話。 在他們看來(lái)，神話故事對(duì)于講故事和過(guò)去聽(tīng)過(guò)這個(gè)故事的人來(lái)說(shuō)都有某種宗教或精神層面的意義，而且神話幫助人們表達(dá)共同的信仰和價(jià)值觀。 不管一個(gè)神話看上去是多么匪夷所思，對(duì)于那些從屬于這些文化的人來(lái)說(shuō)，它們永遠(yuǎn)是真實(shí)可信的。

4 那么我們?cè)摬辉撚谩岸际猩裨挕边@個(gè)說(shuō)法呢？ 讓我們來(lái)看一下經(jīng)久不衰的都市神話之一：“消失的搭車客”。 故事的大概是：一個(gè)司機(jī)獨(dú)自開(kāi)車行駛在漆黑的鄉(xiāng)村公路上，他看到一位年輕女子在路邊要搭車。 司機(jī)停下來(lái)，讓她上了車。 很快司機(jī)就把她送到了目的地，他們相互道別。 可直到后來(lái)停車時(shí)司機(jī)才發(fā)現(xiàn)，這個(gè)年輕女子落了一件外套在車上，兜里還裝著一個(gè)錢包，有的故事是兜里裝著個(gè)舊信封。 于是他回到那個(gè)地址去還外套。 一位老婦人開(kāi)了門，司機(jī)向她講述了事情的經(jīng)過(guò)。 原來(lái)，這件外套是老婦人的女兒的，但老婦人的女兒已經(jīng)在幾年前的車禍中去世了，車禍的地點(diǎn)正是司機(jī)讓她上車的那個(gè)地方。 那一天也正是車禍的周年紀(jì)念日。

5 事實(shí)上，和許多別的神話一樣，這個(gè)故事可以追溯到20世紀(jì)或是21世紀(jì)的汽車和公路出現(xiàn)之前，或是其他國(guó)家和地區(qū)，比如瑞典和東非。 這個(gè)故事還具有傳統(tǒng)神話所共有的其他一些特征。 正如我們所看到的，這個(gè)故事是講給那些愿意相信它并持有相同的文化價(jià)值觀的人聽(tīng)的。 多年以來(lái)，這個(gè)故事被人們講了又講，在不同的地方還被添加了專屬于各地文化的一些元素。 最后，這個(gè)故事變得好玩、刺激，引人入勝。

6 另外一個(gè)很出名的都市神話是關(guān)于佛羅里達(dá)小短吻鱷的故事，大人們?nèi)シ鹆_里達(dá)度假，回紐約的時(shí)候會(huì)給孩子們帶幾條小鱷魚(yú)。 后來(lái)短吻鱷越長(zhǎng)越大，不像小時(shí)候那么可愛(ài)了。大人們只好把它們?nèi)舆M(jìn)抽水馬桶里沖掉。 但是其中一些短吻鱷活了下來(lái)，所以現(xiàn)在有一些成年短吻鱷在紐約曼哈頓街區(qū)下面游蕩。

7 這也是一個(gè)神話，因?yàn)樗枥L了一個(gè)城市或地區(qū)的地理狀況，提醒人們注意某些潛在的危險(xiǎn)。 在希臘神話中，奧德修斯在意大利大陸和西西里島之間狹窄而危險(xiǎn)的海峽里航行，前有女海妖斯庫(kù)拉，后有海妖卡律布狄斯。 短吻鱷的故事也同樣是要提醒紐約人，坐地鐵的時(shí)候要注意安全。

8 都市神話也可以是道德故事或是“警示”故事。 這其中最有名的是，一個(gè)男子坐在旅館的酒吧間喝酒，有一個(gè)人請(qǐng)他喝了一杯。 等他醒來(lái)的時(shí)候，發(fā)現(xiàn)自己躺在房間的浴缸里，身子被埋在冰塊下面。 墻上貼了一張紙條告訴他不要亂動(dòng)，立刻打911。 接線員遇到過(guò)很多這樣的情況，讓他去摸一下后背下部，動(dòng)作一定要緩慢。 如果脊部插著一根管子，那就說(shuō)明他的腎被人摘走了，賣掉供人移植了。 這個(gè)故事的寓意是：如果有人請(qǐng)你喝酒，你一定要提高警惕。

9 同樣，傳統(tǒng)神話也告訴人們?cè)诟髯缘纳鐣?huì)中應(yīng)該如何恰當(dāng)?shù)貫槿颂幨馈?在神話中，神之所以如此行事，是要為人類樹(shù)立一個(gè)好榜樣。 神話中人的行為高尚且勇敢。 有時(shí)候神話中的人類英雄在歷史上可能確有其人，但可能正因?yàn)樗麄兊母呱行袨槎兂闪松瘛?/p>

10 近年來(lái)，越來(lái)越多的都市神話不是通過(guò)口口相傳，而是通過(guò)電子郵件的形式廣為流傳的，這些郵件通常是告訴大家要小心某一種病毒，它會(huì)毀掉你的硬盤。 通常只要看到那種“如果不把這封信轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)給別人，就會(huì)有災(zāi)難性的后果”的警告，而且用了很多大寫字母和驚嘆號(hào)，你就知道這是一個(gè)都市神話。 還有很多網(wǎng)絡(luò)傳言，它們對(duì)一些微不足道的小細(xì)節(jié)添油加醋，或者是捕風(fēng)捉影，在流傳過(guò)程中加入了越來(lái)越多的虛假證據(jù)，以證明它們的真實(shí)性。

11 但這是神話嗎？ 不是，不是傳統(tǒng)意義上的神話。 事實(shí)上，有一個(gè)更為準(zhǔn)確的詞“騙局”，就是一些看上去是真的，而最終發(fā)現(xiàn)是假的，并且是用來(lái)故意誤導(dǎo)人的東西。 真正的神話其動(dòng)機(jī)總是善意的。

12 都市神話具有所有神話所共有的一些特征：它們通常記錄了一些事件，人們相信它們的真實(shí)性，它們以口頭形式代代相傳，并且被逐漸夸大，它們通常包含一個(gè)道德寓意，或是警示某種特定情形或情況下可能存在的危險(xiǎn)，它們告訴人們應(yīng)該做什么、怎么做。 從形式上看，對(duì)于21世紀(jì)的聽(tīng)眾來(lái)說(shuō)，它們和以往的希臘、羅馬、凱爾特、維京、美索不達(dá)米亞以及中國(guó)的神話一樣真實(shí)可信。

13 但不同的是，真正的神話里總是有神或者接近神的英雄人物，有的神話講述了創(chuàng)造世界和世界上的一些自然現(xiàn)象，如雷電、圣山之類的。

14 與之相反，都市神話更為世俗化。 倫敦的地下人和神靈沒(méi)有半點(diǎn)關(guān)系，那個(gè)搭車客和司機(jī)也不是什么英雄，紐約的短吻鱷不代表什么自然現(xiàn)象，那個(gè)倒霉的商人的故事雖然是警示性的，但也絕對(duì)說(shuō)不上是為英雄行為樹(shù)立榜樣。

15 總之，都市神話根本就不是神話，它是一種傳奇，講述一些新近發(fā)生的事情，故事是依據(jù)歷史事件和人類英雄或者仙女、女巫及其他的虛構(gòu)人物來(lái)編排的。 “都市神話”中的“神話”這個(gè)詞我們只能從它的次要意項(xiàng)——一些并非真實(shí)的東西——去理解。

Echo and Narcissus

1 Echo was a beautiful nymph, fond of the woods and hills, where she devoted herself to woodland sports. She was a favourite of Diana, and attended her in the chase. But Echo had one failing: She was fond of talking, and whether in chat or argument, would have the last word. One day Juno was seeking her husband, who, she had reason to fear, was amusing himself among the nymphs. Echo by her talk contrived to detain the goddess till the nymphs made their escape. When Juno discovered it, she passed sentence upon Echo in these words: "You shall forfeit the use of that tongue with which you have cheated me, except for that one purpose you are so fond of – reply. You shall still have the last word, but no power to speak first."

2 This nymph saw Narcissus, a beautiful youth, as he pursued the chase upon the mountains. She loved him and followed his footsteps. Oh, how she longed to address him in the softest accents, and win him to converse! But it was not in her power. She waited with impatience for him to speak first, and had her answer ready. One day the youth, being separated from his companions, shouted aloud, "Who's here?" Echo replied, "Here." Narcissus looked around, but seeing no one, called out, "Come." Echo answered, "Come." As no one came, Narcissus called again, "Why do you shun me?" Echo asked the same question. "Let us join one another," said the youth. The maid answered with all her heart in the same words, and hastened to the spot, ready to throw her arms about his neck. He started back, exclaiming, "Hands off! I would rather die than you should have me!" "Have me," said she; but it was all in vain. He left her, and she went to hide her blushes in the recesses of the woods. From that time forth she lived in caves and among mountain cliffs. Her form faded with grief, till at last all her flesh shrank away. Her bones were changed into rocks, and there was nothing left of her but her voice. With that she is still ready to reply to anyone who calls her, and keeps up her old habit of having the last word.

3 Narcissus' cruelty in this case was not the only instance. He shunned all the rest of the nymphs, as he had done poor Echo. One day a maiden, who had in vain endeavoured to attract him, uttered a prayer that he might sometime or other feel what it was to love and meet no return of affection. The avenging goddess heard and granted the prayer.

4 There was a clear fountain, with water like silver, to which the shepherds never drove their flocks, nor the mountain goats resorted, nor any of the beasts of the forest; neither was it defaced with fallen leaves or branches; but the grass grew fresh around it, and the rocks sheltered it from the sun. Hither came one day the youth fatigued with hunting, heated and thirsty. He stooped down to drink, and saw his own image in the water; he thought it was some beautiful water-spirit living in the fountain. He stood gazing with admiration at those bright eyes, these locks curled like the locks of Bacchus or Apollo, the rounded cheeks, the ivory neck, the parted lips and the glow of health and exercise over all. He fell in love with himself. He brought his lips near to take a kiss; he plunged his arms in to embrace the beloved object. It fled at the touch, but returned again after a moment and renewed the fascination. He could not tear himself away; he lost all thought of food or rest, while he hovered over the brink of the fountain gazing upon his own image. He talked with the supposed spirit: "Why, beautiful being, do you shun me? Surely, my face is not one to repel you. The nymphs love me, and you yourself look not indifferent upon me. When I stretch forth my arms you do the same; and you smile upon me and answer my beckonings with the like." His tears fell into the water and disturbed the image. As he saw it depart, he exclaimed, "Stay, I entreat you! Let me at least gaze upon you, if I may not touch you." With this, and much more of the same kind, he cherished the flame that consumed him, so that by degrees he lost his colour, his vigour, and the beauty which formerly had so charmed the nymph Echo. She kept near him, however, and when he exclaimed, "Alas! Alas!"she answered him with the same words. He pined away and died; and when his shade passed the Stygian river, it leaned over the boat to catch a look of itself in the waters. The nymphs mourned for him, especially the water-nymphs; and when they smote their breasts, Echo smote hers also. They prepared a funeral pile, and would have burned the body, but it was nowhere to be found; but in its place a flower, purple within, and surrounded with white leaves, which bears the name and preserves the memory of Narcissus.

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厄科和那喀索斯

1 厄科是一位美麗的仙女，她喜歡流連于森林和山巒之中，在那兒盡情地游戲。 她最得狄安娜的寵愛(ài)，在追獵時(shí)一直侍奉其左右。 但是厄科有一個(gè)缺點(diǎn)，她喜歡說(shuō)個(gè)不停，不管是閑聊還是爭(zhēng)論，她總要說(shuō)最后一個(gè)字（得由她說(shuō)了算）才肯罷休。 有一天，朱諾正四處尋找她的丈夫，怕他又在仙女中尋花問(wèn)柳，她的擔(dān)憂并非沒(méi)有道理。 厄科上去和朱諾搭話，設(shè)法拖住這位女神，讓仙女們得以脫身。 后來(lái)朱諾得知了事情的真相，她對(duì)厄科施加了懲罰，她說(shuō)：“你用你的舌頭欺騙了我，以后你再也不能用它說(shuō)話了，除了一種情況——回答——這也是你最喜歡的。你可以說(shuō)出最后一個(gè)字，但是你永遠(yuǎn)沒(méi)有辦法先開(kāi)口?！?/p>

2 仙子厄科看見(jiàn)了那喀索斯，一位英俊的青年，當(dāng)時(shí)他正在山上打獵。 她深深地愛(ài)上了他，并一直跟著他。 哦，她多么渴望用最溫柔的話語(yǔ)對(duì)他傾訴衷腸，讓他和自己交談。 但是她沒(méi)有這個(gè)能力。 她急不可耐地等著他先開(kāi)口，并且想好了該如何回答。 有一天，這位青年和他的伙伴們走散了，他高聲呼喊：“誰(shuí)在這里？” “這里，”厄科回答說(shuō)。 那喀索斯環(huán)顧四周，沒(méi)見(jiàn)到半個(gè)人影。于是又喊道：“出來(lái)吧?！?厄科回答：“出來(lái)吧?！?看沒(méi)人出來(lái)，那喀索斯又大聲喊：“你為什么躲著我？” 厄科也問(wèn)了同樣的問(wèn)題。 “讓我們見(jiàn)個(gè)面吧，”青年說(shuō)。 厄科全心全意地用相同的話回答，然后飛速奔向那喀索斯，準(zhǔn)備緊緊地?fù)ё∷牟弊印?他驚得連忙后退，大叫：“放手！我寧死也不想讓你抱我?！?“抱我，” 她說(shuō)，但是沒(méi)有用。 那喀索斯走了，厄科羞愧難當(dāng)，跑進(jìn)樹(shù)林深處躲了起來(lái)。 從那時(shí)起，她就生活在洞穴里和山崖間。 因?yàn)楸瘋諠u消瘦，到最后所有的血肉都萎縮了。 她的骨頭變成了巖石，整個(gè)人只剩下了聲音。 任何人叫她，她都回答，而且就和以前一樣，只說(shuō)最后那句話。

3 那喀索斯不是只對(duì)厄科一個(gè)人無(wú)情。 他像躲著厄科一樣，對(duì)所有的仙女避之不及。 有一天，一位少女竭力想吸引他，但沒(méi)有成功，她祈禱讓那喀索斯嘗到付出了愛(ài)卻得不到回應(yīng)的滋味。 復(fù)仇女神聽(tīng)到了這個(gè)禱告，應(yīng)允了她的祈求。

4 林中有一口清泉，泉水清亮如銀，牧羊人不曾把羊群趕到這里，山羊從不在此駐足，林中的百獸也不在這兒逗留，泉水上沒(méi)有落葉殘枝，但水邊芳草萋萋，還有巖石替它遮蔽烈日。 有一天，那喀索斯打獵之后筋疲力盡，汗流浹背，口干舌燥，于是他來(lái)到泉邊。 正當(dāng)他俯身飲泉水時(shí)，他看見(jiàn)了水中自己的倒影，以為那是一個(gè)住在水中的美麗水精靈。 他滿懷愛(ài)意地注視著水中那雙明亮的眼眸，那像巴克斯和阿波羅一樣卷曲的秀發(fā)，圓潤(rùn)的面頰，象牙般的雪白脖頸，微啟的雙唇，還有全身散發(fā)出的健康與活力。 他愛(ài)上了自己，俯身去吻水中的影子；他把雙臂伸入水中去擁抱這個(gè)心愛(ài)之物。 那影子一碰就立刻消失得無(wú)影無(wú)蹤，但過(guò)一會(huì)又出現(xiàn)了，再一次讓他心馳神迷。 他不舍得離開(kāi)，茶飯不思，徘徊在泉邊凝視著自己的倒影。 他對(duì)著那所謂的水精靈說(shuō)：“為什么，美麗的精靈，你要避開(kāi)我？你不會(huì)討厭我的容貌，仙女們都喜歡我，而你注視我的眼神也并非冷漠無(wú)情。我伸出雙臂，你也伸出雙臂；我向你微笑招手，你也向我微笑招手。” 他的淚水落入泉水中，打散了水中的影子。 看到水精靈離他而去，他呼喊道：“留下來(lái)吧！我求你了，如果我不能觸摸你的話，至少讓我注視著你?！?他還說(shuō)了好多類似的甜言蜜語(yǔ)，珍愛(ài)著這團(tuán)可以“燒毀”他的“火焰”。漸漸地，他那曾經(jīng)讓厄科心醉神迷的氣色、活力以及美貌都逝去了。 厄科一直陪伴在他的身邊，當(dāng)他呼喊：“天哪！天哪！”的時(shí)候，她也以同樣的話語(yǔ)回應(yīng)。 他日漸憔悴，最終死去了；當(dāng)他的幽靈經(jīng)過(guò)冥河時(shí)，他斜倚著探出身子，要再看一眼水中自己的影子。 仙女們?yōu)樗麄拇箿I，尤其是水中的那些仙女；她們捶胸，厄科也捶胸。 她們?yōu)樗麥?zhǔn)備了火葬的柴堆，準(zhǔn)備火化他的遺體，但是哪里也找不著他的尸體；在他的遺體躺過(guò)的地方，仙女找到了一枝花，紫色的花朵外面裹著白色的葉子。這種花就叫那喀索斯，它讓人們永遠(yuǎn)記住了那喀索斯。

Crow brings the daylight: a story from the far north

Long ago, before the dawn of history, the Inuit lived far away from the rest of humanity in the darkness of the north. They had never seen the light of day. But one day Crow arrived. He had travelled from the south and brought news of the daylight.

At first people did not believe him. But they were fascinated by his stories of the light, and they began to think about how life would be different if they had light. They would be able to hunt better, and to see the polar bear before it attacked. So they asked Crow to return to the south and bring light back to them.

Crow complained that he was too old and tired. But in the end he agreed, and began the long flight south. After many miles he saw a pale line on the horizon. Suddenly the whole world burst into light, and Crow came to rest on a tree. Below him there was a snow-covered village. He saw a young girl carrying a box which glowed at the edges. From inside the box she took out a ball of light which was tied to a string, and held it out for her brother to play with. Crow decided to act. He swooped down low, took the string in his beak, and soared back up into the sky, the ball of light trailing behind him as he flapped his wings northwards.

From their icy homeland the Inuit saw a tiny spark of light approaching. Gradually it grew bigger and bigger, and they saw Crow pulling it behind him. Crow dropped the ball, and it shattered on the ground, releasing a flood of light which lit up the dark places and chased away the shadows, causing everyone to gasp with delight. The mountains took on colour, and the ice and snow sparkled.

The people were overjoyed and thanked Crow for what he had done. But Crow told them that the light would not last forever. After six months it would disappear, but it would come back again after another six months. The Inuit, however, didn’t mind. “We’ve lived all our lives in darkness?” they said, “and now we have half a year of light. Half a year of light is better than a year of darkness.” And to this day they are always kind to Crow.

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烏鴉帶來(lái)日光：來(lái)自遙遠(yuǎn)北方的傳說(shuō)

在很久以前的史前時(shí)代，伊努伊特人生活在黑暗籠罩的北方，遠(yuǎn)離其他人類。他們從來(lái)沒(méi)有見(jiàn)過(guò)白晝的亮光。但是有一天，烏鴉飛到了他們居住的地方。它從南方飛來(lái)，告訴他們那兒有日光。

一開(kāi)始人們并不相信它的話。但是人們都被它所講述的光的故事迷住了。他們開(kāi)始想，如果有光的話，那生活就大不一樣了。他們可以打到更多的獵物，在北極熊發(fā)動(dòng)襲擊之前就看見(jiàn)它們。所以他們請(qǐng)烏鴉飛到南方，把光帶回來(lái)給他們。

一開(kāi)始，烏鴉悲嘆說(shuō)自己年事已高，飛不動(dòng)了。但最后它還是答應(yīng)了這個(gè)請(qǐng)求，踏上南飛的漫漫旅途。飛了很長(zhǎng)一段路后，烏鴉看到地平線上有一絲蒼白的亮光。突然整個(gè)世界一片光明。烏鴉落到一棵樹(shù)上休息。它的身下是一個(gè)冰雪覆蓋的村莊。它看到一個(gè)年輕女子，拎著一個(gè)四周發(fā)光的盒子，那個(gè)女子從盒子里拿出一個(gè)光球，光球拴在一根線上，她拿著光球讓她弟弟玩。烏鴉決定采取行動(dòng)。它猛撲下去，一口叼住那根線，接著又飛向高空。它拍著翅膀向北飛去，那個(gè)光球一直拖在它的身后。

在冰雪家園里，伊努伊特人看到一絲微弱的亮光正逐漸靠近。慢慢地，它變得越來(lái)越大，他們看到烏鴉在前面拖著它。烏鴉把光球扔了下來(lái)，它落到地上就碎了，發(fā)出萬(wàn)丈光芒，光點(diǎn)亮了黑暗，驅(qū)走了陰暗，所有的人都高興得說(shuō)不出話來(lái)。山巒披上了美麗的色彩，冰雪開(kāi)始閃閃發(fā)亮。

人們喜出望外，感謝烏鴉為他們所做的一切。但是烏鴉告訴他們，這光亮不會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)都留在這兒，六個(gè)月之后它會(huì)消失，再過(guò)六個(gè)月又會(huì)回來(lái)?？梢僚撂厝瞬⒉辉谝猓麄冋f(shuō)：“我們一輩子都生活在黑暗中，現(xiàn)在我們一年中有一半的時(shí)間能看到光明。半年的光明總比一年的黑暗要好?！彼灾钡浇袢?，他們一直對(duì)烏鴉非常友好。

The term "Greek mythology" refers to the collection of tales belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and their heroes, and which outline their ritual practices and view of the world. Greek mythology includes a large collection of stories, some of which explain the origins of the world, and others of which detail the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, and various mythological creatures. These accounts were initially fashioned and spread in an oral-poetic tradition, though they are known today primarily through Greek literature. Greek mythology has exercised an extensive and profound influence on the culture, arts and literature of Western civilization. Indeed, Greek mythological themes have remained continually relevant throughout Western literary history. Though the ancient Greek religions based upon these tales have long since faded into obscurity, Greek myths remain an important source for much of Western fiction, poetry, film and visual art. Greek mythology has played a pivotal role in the development of modern studies of mythology, psychology and philology, and it continues to be an important part of the cultural heritage of the global community.

“希臘神話”指的是古代希臘關(guān)于神靈和英雄的各種傳說(shuō)的合集，這些傳說(shuō)描述了他們的宗教活動(dòng)和世界觀。希臘神話包含了大量的故事，有些故事解釋了世界的起源，有些則詳細(xì)描述了各種不同的男女神靈、男女英雄和神話動(dòng)物的生活及冒險(xiǎn)奇遇。雖然現(xiàn)在我們主要是通過(guò)書面形式的希臘文學(xué)了解這些故事，但起初它們是以口頭詩(shī)歌的形式創(chuàng)作并傳播的。希臘神話對(duì)西方文明的文化、藝術(shù)和文學(xué)都產(chǎn)生了廣泛、深遠(yuǎn)的影響。的確，在整個(gè)西方文學(xué)史上，希臘神話所涉及的那些主題一直具有重要的意義。雖然建立在這些神話故事之上的古希臘宗教早就湮沒(méi)于歷史之中，但是希臘神話依然是大量西方小說(shuō)、詩(shī)歌、電影和視覺(jué)藝術(shù)的一個(gè)重要的源泉。希臘神話在現(xiàn)代神話、心理學(xué)和語(yǔ)文學(xué)研究的發(fā)展中起到了至關(guān)重要的作用，它仍將是全球文化遺產(chǎn)的重要組成部分。

古希臘神話的最大特點(diǎn)就是神和人形相同、習(xí)相近。古希臘人按照人的形象來(lái)創(chuàng)造神，神有人的感情欲望。而中國(guó)古代神話中的神大多距離人類生活較遠(yuǎn)。中國(guó)神話中正面形象的神多具有崇高的品格、偉大的志向以及為實(shí)現(xiàn)偉大理想而斗爭(zhēng)的不屈不撓的精神。他們承擔(dān)著維護(hù)宇宙秩序的崇高責(zé)任，是社會(huì)道德的楷模?？梢哉f(shuō)中國(guó)古代神話中的神多具有超凡脫俗的品格，神性多于人性。

The most important characteristic of ancient Greek mythology is that gods and humans are similar, both in physical appearance and personality. Ancient Greeks created their gods in their own image, and their gods have human emotions and desires. In Chinese mythology, however, the life of the gods is very different from that of humans. The good gods in Chinese mythology have a noble character, express great aspirations, and show perseverance in fighting for great ideals. They have the noble duty of maintaining the order of the universe; they are social and moral role models. It can be said that the gods in Chinese mythology have extraordinarily noble characters, and possess more of the qualities of gods than of humans.