9.  玉柱汤

JADE CHOPSTICK SOUP　

从前，在浙江温州，有个名叫萧振的男孩。有一天，他梦到一个身穿金甲的神对他说：“孩子，你只能活到18岁。”他醒来后，觉得很害怕。他非常难过自己那么年轻就要死去。　

　　In Wenzhou in Zhejiang, there lived a boy called Xiao Zhen. One night a god in golden armor appeared in a dream and said, "Son, you can only live to be 18 years old." When Xiao Zhen woke up, he was scared. He felt very sad that he would die so young.

萧振的父亲是一名官员，他很诚实，因此被提升并派去四川——一个较远的省份任职。萧振不想离开家乡，因为他知道自己活不了很久。父亲并不知道萧振做的梦，坚持要带他去。　　

　　Xiao Zhen's father was a government official. He was very honest, so he got promoted and sent to Sichuan, another province far away. Xiao Zhen did not want to leave home, because he knew he couldn't live very long. His father didn't know about Chen's dream, and insisted on taking him with him.

他父亲赴任后第二天，当地官员准备了筵席为他接风洗尘，萧振也被邀请同去。 在四川，每当举办非常特殊的筵席，三道菜后，都会上一道叫做玉柱汤的主菜。　　

　　The day after his father got to his new post, the officials there prepared a party to welcome him, and of course Xiao Zhen was invited. For very special parties in Sichuan, after three courses comes the main dish, called Jade Chopstick Soup.

制作玉柱汤的方法非常残忍。他们先把一根铁条烧红，然后把它插到一只母牛的乳房里。乳房里的牛奶就粘到铁条上，当铁条被拔出来时，看起来就像是白玉一样。有些人认为这就是美味。　　

　　The way they made Jade Chopstick Soup was very cruel. They heated an iron chopstick until it was red hot, and then pushed that into a cow's udder. The milk in the udder would stick to the chopstick, so when they pulled out the chopstick, it looked like jade, and some people thought it was delicious.

当萧振等着吃饭时，碰巧走进了厨房。他看到一头母牛被绑在一个桩子上，一根铁条正在火炭上烧着。他问厨子这是在干什么，厨子如实告诉了他。他听后，马上跑回去请求他的父亲阻止他们。他说：“他们要把一根烧红的铁条戳进母牛的乳房里，这仅仅是为了做一道美味。但想想看，那头母牛该会多么痛苦啊！求你了，父亲，阻止他们吧！别让他们做这道恐怖的菜了！”　　

　　While Xiao Zhen was waiting for the dinner to begin, he happened to go into the kitchen. He saw a cow fled to a stake, and an iron chopstick roasting on hot coals. He asked the cook what was happening, and the cook told him just what they were going to do. When Xiao Zhen heard that, he ran back to his father and begged his father to stop them. He said, "They are going to stick a red hot chopstick into a cow's udder just to make a tasty dish, but think how much the cow will suffer! Please, Father, make them stop! Don't let them make this horrible dish!"

他父亲是个仁慈的人，所以他马上让他们改做其它菜，并且放了那头牛。

　　His father was a kind man, so he immediately ordered them to change the menu and release the cow.

几天后，萧振又梦到了那个金甲神人。这次，他说：“孩子，你做了一件好事。你不会早夭，而且你还会功成名就，官至极位，这都是因为你有颗仁慈的心。”　　

　　A few nights later, the god in golden armor again appeared to Xiao Zhen in a dream. This time, he said, "Son, you have done a good deed. You will not die young, what's more, you will be so successful that one day you will be-come one of the highest officials in all of China. This is because you have a kind heart."

萧振长大后，果然在朝廷身居高职，活到了九十多岁。　　

　　Xiao Zhen did grow up to win a very high post in the imperial government, and he lived to be more than ninety years old.