梅布尔·雷　凯文·邝　张琛/译

The tale of Changes ascent1 to the moon is one long associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival， but there are many versions of this Chinese legend. Here are two that have been widely told.

长久以来，嫦娥奔月的故事都与中秋节有关，不过这一中国传说的版本众多。下面是广为流传的两个版本。

Many moons ago， there were 10 suns in the sky and they took turns travelling across the sky. One day， they decided to rebel and they all came out at once.

很久以前，天上有十个太阳，它们轮流现身天空，东升西落。一天，这些太阳决定造反，它们同时出动了。

The suns scorched2 the Earth so much that the planet was left in a permanent drought， crops withered and died， humans faced the possibility of dying out completely and there was no evening.

太阳炙烤着地球，整个星球陷入长时间的干旱，庄稼枯萎绝收，人类濒临灭绝，人间永昼无夜。

A brave and valiant3 archer4 named Hou Yi was called upon by the Emperor of Heaven to save the planet. Raising his bow and arrow to the suns， he shot nine of the suns—leaving one to rise and set—saving the planet and human life.

天帝召来勇敢无畏的弓箭手后羿拯救地球。后羿瞄准太阳拉弓射箭，射落九个——留下一个朝升夕落——地球和人类都得救了。

He was hailed as a hero and the Queen Mother of the West， a goddess also known as Xiwangmu， gifted him the elixir5 of immortality.

后羿被誉为英雄，西王母还赐予他一瓶长生不老药。

The prized bottle contained just enough elixir for one person， and Hou could not bear the thought of leaving his beloved and beautiful wife， Change， behind for eternity. He made the difficult decision to stay mortal， and hid the elixir under his bed.

這瓶珍贵的长生不老药仅够一人服用。想到要永远抛下自己深爱的美丽妻子嫦娥，后羿无法忍受。他做出了艰难的抉择，决定继续做凡人，并将药藏在了床下。

On one fateful day—August 15 on the lunar calendar—something happened that changed their lives forever. Here is also where the legend diverges.

农历八月十五，在这个决定命运的日子，发生了永远改变他们生活的事。这个传说也是在这个地方出现了不同的版本。

In the version that has a more positive ending， Change sensed a presence and saw a man in the bedroom. It was Peng Meng， one of Hous archery apprentices. The cunning student had learned about the elixir of immortality and wanted to steal it for himself.

在结局更美好的版本里，嫦娥当时感到不对劲，接着看到卧室里有个男子。原来是跟着后羿学射箭的逢蒙。这个狡猾的徒弟探听到了长生不老药的消息，欲将药据为己有。

To do so， Peng pretended to feel unwell before an outdoor hunting session， using the time Hou was away to sneak into the couples bedroom to find the elixir.

为此，逢蒙在外出打猎前假装身体不适，之后趁着后羿不在，溜进后羿与嫦娥的卧室寻找灵药。

Thankfully， Change found him in time to stop his scheming antics6. She grabbed the elixir， but Peng， unwilling to give up， tried to force her to hand it over. Change was left with no choice but to drink the potion so that Hous apprentice could not reap its benefits.

幸好，嫦娥及时发现了逢蒙，阻止了他的阴谋诡计。嫦娥紧握那瓶灵药，但逢蒙不甘就此罢休，试图迫使嫦娥交出灵药。嫦娥别无选择，只得喝下药水，如此逢蒙才无法得逞。

Change began ascending into the sky， flying past the heavens and leaving her husband on Earth. She settled on the moon and became its goddess so that she could live close to her husband， her one true love.

嫦娥向天空飘去，飞过九霄云外，丈夫后羿则留在了地球上。她在月亮上居住下来，成为月亮女神，这样可以离丈夫——她此生挚爱——近一些。

After finding out what had transpired7， Hou was heartbroken. To pay tribute to her， the archer went to his garden and prepared an incense8 table on which he laid all of Changes favourite foods. These included mooncakes， which Hou had previously prepared for Change during the mid-autumn harvest season.

得知事情的原委，后羿肝肠寸断。为纪念嫦娥，后羿来到花园，准备了香案，摆上嫦娥爱吃的所有东西。其中就有月饼，那是后羿之前每逢中秋丰收季都会为嫦娥准备的。

From then on， people began worshipping Change as the goddess of the moon， paying tribute to her every year with food and fruit.

从那时起，人们始将嫦娥敬奉为月亮女神，每年用食物和水果纪念她。

In the darker version of the lore9， Change had grown increasingly curious and greedy upon finding out about her husbands gift. Wanting to become immortal herself， she decided to take the elixir without Hous knowledge.

在这个传说更暗黑的版本里，嫦娥在得知丈夫所获赏赐后，变得愈发好奇和贪婪。嫦娥只想要自己长生不老，她决定背着后羿服下灵药。

Change took the potion from where it had been hidden under the bed and drank the entire bottle and began to drift away into the sky. Her husband spotted her and ran outside with his bow and arrow. He aimed directly at her but missed with every shot.

嫦娥从藏药的床下取出灵药，喝下了整瓶，然后便开始飘上天空。她的丈夫看到了她，带着弓箭跑出来。他瞄准了妻子，却箭箭失手。

Change eventually landed on the moon， ensuring that her husband could not follow her or shoot at her again.

最终，嫦娥落在月亮上，确保丈夫追不过来，或者说，无法再向她射箭了。

Out of pity， a white rabbit decided to accompany Change to the moon. The goddess became addicted to the elixir of immortality， and she would spend her days on the moon brewing it. Her rabbit companion would help her make the elixir by pounding herbs into fine powder.

出于同情，一只白兔决定陪嫦娥去月亮。嫦娥沉迷于长生不老药，她整日在月亮上熬制这种药。陪伴她的兔子负责把药草捣成细粉，帮助嫦娥制作灵药。

At first， Hou was furious at what Change had done， but the archer soon started to miss his wife. In the evenings， he would look longingly at the moon， worrying that his wife might feel lonely all by herself.

起初，后羿对嫦娥的所作所为怒不可遏，但他很快开始思念妻子。夜晚，他会带着渴望的神情凝视着月亮，担心妻子一个人也许会孤单。

To show her that he was still keeping her company， Hou began preparing Changes favourite foods and fruit and leaving them out every night， a tradition he kept up until the day of his death.

為了表示自己依然与妻子相伴，后羿开始准备嫦娥最爱的食物和水果，夜夜摆出——他一直坚持这么做，直到去世。

Other people followed suit， leaving Change offerings on the Mid-Autumn Festival every year.

人们效仿后羿，每年在中秋节为嫦娥献上祭品。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）