The Leprechaun Legend Lives On  尋找拉布列康

by Bruce E. Bagnell

 

精英翻譯社轉自: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0061/337318/web/

 

If you’re in the United States on March 17, you may notice an unexpectedlylarge number of Americans are wearing at least one article of clothing that is green. These people are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, the day of the patron saint of Ireland. In the US, Irish-Americans make up one of the country’s largest ancestry groups. In fact, the number of people that claim Irish heritage in the US is far greater than the population of Ireland!

  如果你三月十七日人在美國的話,你可能會意想不到有許多美國人身穿至少一件綠色衣物。這些人正在慶祝聖派翠克節,這是愛爾蘭守護神的節日。在美國,愛爾蘭裔美國人是該國最大的族群之一。實際上,在美國宣稱擁有愛爾蘭血統的人數還比愛爾蘭的人口要多得多!
 

  With more than 35 million US citizens claiming Irish ancestry, it should not be astonishing that the Irish have had a great influence on US culture. Besides St. Patrick’s Day, another charming piece of Gaelic culture that was brought to America is the myth of the leprechaun. Living in forests, caves, and even people’s gardens, leprechauns are said to be meter-tall, bearded men who have a penchant for wearing leather shoes, trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, and an overcoat, all topped with a wide-brimmed hat, often with a buckle centered on the front. They are somewhat mischievous and like to play tricks on people. As legend goes, if a human should catch a leprechaun, the little man will grantthree wishes to gain his freedom.

  三千五百多萬名美國公民宣稱擁有愛爾蘭血統,那愛爾蘭人對美國文化產生了巨大的影響也就不足為奇了。除了聖派翠克節,另一個也被帶進美國的迷人蓋爾(編按:愛爾蘭的別稱。)文化即是矮精靈拉布列康的傳說。拉布列康住在森林、山洞,甚至是人們的花園裡,據說他們是一公尺高、有著鬍子的男人,他們熱愛穿皮鞋、皮褲、長袖襯衫以及長大衣,而且全都會戴著前面中間通常有一個扣環的寬邊帽。他們有些淘氣,且喜歡捉弄人們。根據傳說,如果有人抓到拉布列康,那麼這個小精靈就會給那個人三個願望以換取自己的自由。
 

  In some families, schools, and communities, parents and teachers help children build leprechaun traps. These are set up on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, much like when children leave milk and cookies out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Since leprechauns fancy gold, gold-colored objects are placed in the traps to lure the little fellows in. The next day, children will miraculously find evidence, like chocolates and sweets, left behind by a curious leprechaun who visited but managed to escape.

  在某些家庭、學校和社區裡,父母和老師會幫助孩子們打造矮精靈陷阱。這些陷阱會在聖派翠克節的前一個晚上設置,與孩子們在平安夜為聖誕老公公留下牛奶和餅乾十分相像。由於拉布列康喜歡黃金,因此陷阱裡會放著金色的物品以誘惑這些矮精靈進來。隔天,孩子們就會很神奇地發現像是巧克力和甜點等的證據,是由到訪過卻設法逃脫、充滿好奇心的拉布列康所留下的。
 

  Leprechauns are even featured as mascots for the University of Notre Dame and the Boston Celtics basketball team. It seems that adults also enjoy the legendary little leprechaun.

  拉布列康甚至還是聖母大學和波士頓塞爾提克籃球隊的吉祥物。看來連大人們都很喜歡這個充滿傳奇的矮精靈拉布列康。

 

 

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