THERE were ance twa widows that lived on a small bit o’ ground, which they rented from a farmer. —
从前有两个寡妇住在一块小地上，那块地是从一个农夫那里租来的。 —

Ane of them had twa sons, and the other had ane; —
其中一个有两个儿子，另一个只有一个。 —

and by-and-by it was time for the wife that had twa sons to send them away to seeke their fortune. —
不久，该有两个儿子的妇人该是时候让他们外出寻找自己的命运了。 —

So she told her eldest son ae day to take a can and bring her water from the well, that she might bake a cake for him; —
所以有一天，她告诉她的大儿子拿个罐子去井里取水，这样她就可以为他烤一个蛋糕。 —

and however much or however little water he might bring, the cake would be great or sma’ accordingly; —
不论他取了多少水，蛋糕的大小都会相应地变化。 —

and that cake was to be a’ that she could gie him when he went on his travels.
而那个蛋糕将是她在儿子出门旅行时能给他的全部。

The lad gaed away wi’ the can to the well, and filled it wi’ water, and then came away hame again; —
那个小伙子拿着罐子去井边，装满了水，然后回到家里。 —

but the can being broken the maist part of the water had run out before he got back. —
但是罐子破了，所以大部分的水在他回来之前都漏掉了。 —

So his cake was very sma’; —
所以他的蛋糕很小。 —

yet sma’ as it was, his mother asked if he was willing to take the half of it with her blessing, telling him that, if he chose rather to have the hale, he would only get it wi’ her curse. —
尽管很小，他母亲问他是否愿意带上一半，同时得到她的祝福，并告诉他，如果他宁愿要全部，那么他将只得到带有她咒诅的蛋糕。 —

The young man, thinking he might hae to travel a far way, and not knowing when or how he might get other provisions, said he would like to hae the hale cake, com of his mother’s malison what like; —
这个年轻人想到可能要走很远的路程，不知道何时何地能获得其他生活必需品，便说他想要整个蛋糕，母亲的诅咒就随之而来； —

so she gave him the hale cake, and her malison alang wi’t. Then he took his brither aside, and gave him a knife to keep till he should come back, desiring him to look at it every morning, and as lang as it continued to be clear, then he might be sure that the owner of it was well; —
于是她给了他整个蛋糕，连同她的诅咒。然后他把刀交给了他的兄弟，让他保管，每天早上看一看。只要刀保持清晰，他就可以确定刀的主人安好； —

but if it grew dim and rusty, then for certain some ill had befallen him.
但是如果刀变暗了，生锈了，那么肯定发生了不幸。

So the young man set out to seek his fortune. —
于是这个年轻人出发寻找他的命运。 —

And he gaed a’ that day, and a’ the next day; —
他走了一整天，又走了第二天； —

and on the third day, in the afternoon, he came up to where a shepherd was sitting with a flock o’ sheep. —
第三天下午，他来到一个放羊人与一群绵羊一起坐着的地方。 —

And he gaed up to the shepherd and asked him wha the sheep belanged to; —
他走近放羊人，问他这些羊是谁的； —

and the man answered:
放羊人回答道：

“The Red Etin of Ireland
“来自爱尔兰的红色巨人，曾经在贝利甘居住，

Ance lived in Bellygan,
并绑架了苏格兰国王马尔科姆的女儿。

And stole King Malcolm’s daughter,
苏格兰国王。

The King of fair Scotland.

He beats her, he binds her,
他打她，他捆绑她，

He lays her on a band;
他把她放在一块带子上；

And every day he dings her
每天他用一根明亮的银棒敲打她，

With a bright silver wand
就像朱利安那位罗马人；

Like Julian the Roman
他是一个不畏惧任何人的人。

He’s one that fears no man.
有人说有个被预定的人，

It’s said there’s ane predestinate
注定成为他的受害者。

To be his mortal foe;
成为他的致命敌人；

But that man is yet unborn
但那个人尚未出生

And lang may it be so.”
但愿他久等。

The young man then went on his journey; —
这个年轻人继续他的旅程； —

and he had not gone far when he espied an old man with white locks herding a flock of swine; —
当他走了一段路时，他看到一个白发苍苍的老人在放养一群猪； —

and he gaed up to him and asked whose swine these were, when the man answered:
他走近问这些猪是谁的，老人回答说：

“The Red Etin of Ireland”—
“爱尔兰的红巨人” —

(Repeat the verses above.)
（重复前面的诗句。）

Then the young man gaed on a bit farther, and came to another very old man herding goats; —
然后年轻人继续走了一段距离，来到另一个放养山羊的非常老的人那里； —

and when he asked whose goats they were, the answer was:
当他问这些山羊是谁的时，回答是：

“The Red Etin of Ireland”—
“爱尔兰的红巨人” —

(Repeat the verses again.)
（再次重复前面的诗句。）

This old man also told him to beware of the next beasts that he should meet, for they were of a very different kind from any he had yet seen.
这个老人还告诉他要小心他接下来会遇到的动物，因为它们与他之前见过的任何动物都非常不同。

So the young man went on, and by-and-by he saw a multitude of very dreadfu’ beasts, ilk ane o’ them wi’ twa heads, and on every head four horns. —
所以这个年轻人继续走，过了一会儿他看到了一群非常可怕的野兽，每只野兽都有两个头，每个头上有四只角。 —

And he was sore frightened, and ran away from them as fast as he could; —
他非常害怕，飞快地逃离了它们； —

and glad was he when he came to a castle that stood on a hillock, wi’ the door standing wide to the wa’. —
当他来到一个坐落在小山丘上的城堡时，他感到非常高兴，大门敞开着。 —

And he gaed into the castle for shelter, and there he saw an auld wife sitting beside the kitchen fire. —
他进了城堡寻找庇护，看到一个年老的妇人坐在厨房的火堆旁。 —

He asked the wife if he might stay there for the night, as he was tired wi’ a lang journey; —
他请求妇人是否可以在这里过夜，因为他已经劳累了一整天的旅程。 —

and the wife said he might, but it was not a good place for him to be in, as it belanged to the Red Etin, who was a very terrible beast, wi’ three heads, that spared no living man he could get hold of. —
妇人告诉他可以留下，但这对他来说并不是一个好地方，因为这里属于红色巨人，他是一只非常可怕的野兽，有着三个头，他抓到的任何生物都不会放过。 —

The young man would have gone away, but he was afraid of the beasts on the outside of the castle; —
年轻人本想离开，但他害怕城堡外的野兽。 —

so he beseeched the old woman to conceal him as well as she could, and not to tell the Etin that he was there. —
因此，他恳求老妇人尽可能地隐藏他，不要告诉巨人他在这里。 —

He thought, if he could put over the night, he might get away in the morning without meeting wi’ the beasts, and so escape. —
他想，如果能度过这一晚，早上就可以逃离，不用遇到那些野兽，从而逃生。 —

But he had not been long in his hidy-hole before the awful Etin came in; —
但他刚躲藏了一会儿，可怕的巨人就闯了进来。 —

and nae sooner was he in than he was heard crying:
他一进来就大声哭喊着：

“Snouk but and snouk ben,
“踱步而踱步，我嗅到了人类的气味；

I find the smell of an earthly man;
无论他是活着还是死了，

Be he living, or be he dead,
今晚他的心将调味我的饭菜。

His heart this night shall kitchen* my bread.
“调味”即“陶瓷”。

• “Kitchen,” that is, “season.”
  怪兽很快找到了可怜的年轻人，并把他从洞里拉了出来。
  

The monster soon found the poor young man, and pulled him from his hole. —
当把他拉出来后，怪兽告诉他，只要回答他三个问题，他的生命就能得到保留。 —

And when he had got him out he told him that if he could answer him three questions his life should be spared. —
第一个问题是：爱尔兰或苏格兰哪个地方首先有人类居住？ —

The first was: Whether Ireland or Scotland was first inhabited? —
第二个问题是：男人是为女人而存在，还是女人是为男人而存在？ —

The second was: Whether man was made for woman, or woman for man? —
第三个问题是：人类还是兽类首先被创造出来？ —

The third was: Whether men or brutes were made first? —
这个年轻人没有能力回答这其中的任何一个问题，红色怪人拿起一根权杖将他击中头部，并将他变成一根石柱。 —

The lad not being able to answer one of these questions, the Red Etin took a mace and knocked him on the head, and turned him into a pillar of stone.
事件发生后的第二天早上，弟弟拿出那把刀来观察，然而看到它已经被锈蚀得发黑了。

On the morning after this happened the younger brither took out the knife to look at it, and he was grieved to find it a’ brown wi’ rust. —
他告诉他妈妈，现在是时候他也要开始去旅行了； —

He told his mother that the time was now come for him to go away upon his travels also; —
他也离开了家园去寻找刀的来源。”, —

so she requested him to take the can to the well for water, that she might bake a cake for him. —
所以她请求他把罐子拿去井里打水，以便为他烤个蛋糕。 —

The can being broken, he brought hame as little water as the other had done, and the cake was as little. —
由于罐子坏了，他拿回来的水和前一个人一样少，蛋糕也很小。 —

She asked whether he would have the hale cake wi’ her malison, or the half wi’ her blessing; —
她问他是要带着她的诅咒一起吃整个蛋糕，还是带着她的祝福吃一半。 —

and, like his brither, he thought it best to have the hale cake, come o’ the malison what might. —
像他哥哥一样，他觉得最好还是把整个蛋糕拿着，无论遭受什么诅咒。 —

So he gaed away; and everything happened to him that had happened to his brother!
所以他离开了；他遇到了哥哥遇到的一切！

The other widow and her son heard of a’ that had happened frae a fairy, and the young man determined that he would also go upon his travels, and see if he could do anything to relieve his twa friends. —
另一个寡妇和她的儿子从一个仙女那里听说了所发生的一切，年轻人决定他也要去旅行，看看能否帮助他的两个朋友。 —

So his mother gave him a can to go to the well and bring home water, that she might bake him a cake for his journey. —
所以他的母亲给他一个罐子，让他去井里打水，以便她为他的旅行烤个蛋糕。 —

And he gaed, and as he was bringing hame the water, a raven owre abune his head cried to him to look, and he would see that the water was running out. —
他去了，当他拿着水回家的时候，头上一只乌鸦叫他看，他会看到水流出来了。 —

And he was a young man of sense, and seeing the water running out, he took some clay and patched up the holes, so that he brought home enough water to bake a large cake. —
他是个聪明的年轻人，看到水漏了，他拿了一些泥巴补上了漏洞，这样他带回了足够的水来烤一个大蛋糕。 —

When his mother put it to him to take the half-cake wi’ her blessing, he took it in preference to having the hale wi’ her malison; —
当他的母亲让他带着半个蛋糕和她的祝福走时，他选择了带着祝福的半个蛋糕，而不是带着诅咒的全个蛋糕； —

and yet the half was bigger than what the other lads had got a’thegither.
然而半个蛋糕比其他小伙伴一起得到的还要大。

So he gaed away on his journey; —
于是他开始了旅程； —

and after he had traveled a far way he met wi’ an auld woman, that asked him if he would give her a bit of his bannock. —
在他走了很远的路之后，他遇到了一个老妇人，她问他是否愿意给她一块蛋糕。 —

And he said he would gladly do that, and so he gave her a piece of the bannock; —
他说他愿意这样做，然后给了她一块蛋糕； —

and for that she gied him a magical wand, that she said might yet be of service to him if he took care to use it rightly. —
作为回报，她给了他一根魔法棒，她说如果他小心正确使用，它可能会对他有用。 —

Then the auld woman, who was a fairy, told him a great deal that whould happen to him, and what he ought to do in a’ circumstances; —
然后这位老妇人，她是一个仙女，告诉他很多将会发生在他身上的事情，以及他在各种情况下应该做什么； —

and after that she vanished in an instant out o’ his sight. —
在那之后，她立刻从他的视线中消失了。 —

He gaed on a great way farther, and then he came up to the old man herding the sheep; —
他沿着一条很长的路继续前行，然后他来到了放羊的老人面前； —

and when he asked whose sheep these were, the answer was:
当他问这些羊是谁的时候，得到的回答是：

“The Red Etin of Ireland
“爱尔兰的红巨人

Ance lived in Bellygan,
曾经住在贝利甘，

And stole King Malcolm’s daughter,
偷走了苏格兰的美丽玛尔康公主。

The King of fair Scotland.
苏格兰公王

He beats her, he binds her,
殴打她，捆绑她，

He lays her on a band;
将她放在牢笼里。

And every day he dings her
每天他用一根明亮的银棍抽打她。

With a bright silver wand.
像罗马的朱利安一样，

Like Julian the Roman,
他是一个不怕任何人的人，

He’s one that fears no man,
但现在我害怕他的结局已经接近，

But now I fear his end is near,
命运已经到来；

And destiny at hand;
而你将成为，我清楚地看到，

And you’re to be, I plainly see,
终结他的人。

The heir of all his land.”
他是他所有土地的继承人。”

(Repeat the same inquiries to the man attending the swine and the man attending the goats, with the same answer in each case.)
（对于照料猪的人和照料山羊的人发出相同的询问，并得到相同的答案。）

When he came to the place where the monstrous beasts were standing, he did not stop nor run away, but went boldly through among them. —
当他来到那些巨兽站立的地方时，他没有停下，也没有逃跑，而是勇敢地穿过它们当中。 —

One came up roaring with open mouth to devour him, when he struck it with his wand, and laid it in an instant dead at his feet. —
一只兽怪张着大嘴向他扑来，他用魔杖击打它，一瞬间将它打死在他脚下。 —

He soon came to the Etin’s castle, where he knocked, and was admitted. —
他很快就来到了Etin的城堡，敲门后被允许进入。 —

The auld woman that sat by the fire warned him of the terrible Etin, and what had been the fate of the twa brithers; —
坐在火边的老妇人警告他关于可怕的Etin，以及那两个兄弟的命运； —

but he was not to be daunted. —
但他丝毫不被吓倒。 —

The monster soon came in, saying:
怪物很快进来，说道：

“Snouk but and snouk ben,
“在里面走过走过，

I find the smell of an earthly man;
我闻到了世间人的气味；

Be he living, or be he dead,
无论他是活着还是死了，

His heart shall be kitchen to my bread.”
他的心将成为我享用的食物。”

He quickly espied the young man, and bade him come forth on the floor. —
他很快就发现了年轻人，并命令他走到地板上。 —

And then he put the three questions to him, but the young man had been told everything by the good fairy, so he was able to answer all the questions. —
然后他向他提出了这三个问题，但这个年轻人已经被善良的仙女告知了一切，所以他能回答所有的问题。 —

When the Etin found this he knew that his power was gone. —
当巨人发现这一点时，他知道他的力量已经消失了。 —

The young man then took up the axe and hewed off the monster’s three heads. —
然后年轻人拿起斧头，砍下了怪物的三个头。 —

He next asked the old woman to show him where the King’s daughters lay; —
接着他问老妇人把国王的女儿们带给他看； —

and the old woman took him upstairs and opened a great many doors, and out of every door came a beautiful lady who had been imprisoned there by the Etin; —
并且老妇人带他上楼，打开了很多扇门，每扇门后面都走出来一个被巨人囚禁的美丽女子； —

and ane o’ the ladies was the King’s daughter. —
其中一个女子就是国王的女儿。 —

She also took him down into a low room, and there stood two stone pillars that he had only to touch wi’ his wand, when his two friends and neighbors started into life. —
她还带他到一个低矮的房间，那里有两根石柱，他只需用魔法棒触摸一下，他的两个朋友和邻居就活了过来。 —

And the hale o’ the prisoners were overjoyed at their deliverance, which they all acknowledged to be owing to the prudent young man. —
所有的囚犯都因为得到解救而欢欣鼓舞，他们都承认这要归功于聪明的年轻人。 —

Next day they a’ set out for the King’s Court, and a gallant company they made. —
第二天，他们都前往国王的宫廷，他们成了一支英勇的队伍。 —

And the King married his daughter to the young man that had delivered her, and gave a noble’s daughter to ilk ane o’ the other young men; —
国王将自己的女儿嫁给了救她的年轻人，并将一个贵族的女儿嫁给了其他年轻人之一； —

and so they a’ lived happily a’ the rest o’ their days.
于是他们所有人都幸福地度过了余生。