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The monster Year (part II) 年獸（二）

ILLUSTRATIONS: COURTESY OF EXPLORER PUBLICATIONS

ILLUSTRATIONS: COURTESY OF EXPLORER PUBLICATIONS

» Continued from yesterday.

The people started to call this monster Year as it came out only once a year. They tried so many ways to frighten Year away, but every method failed. They tried firecrackers, hoping the noise would scare the monster away. It did scare Year, but still they woke up with children who were gone and taken by the monster. They made special cakes, which they called Year Cake, hoping that the monster would eat the cakes. It did eat the cakes, but some children were also eaten. They tried to stay up all night and hoped that they would be able to catch the monster. But that also did not work. The people were trying to look for a way to stop this monster as they were losing too many children each year. But they were out of ideas. Just when they were about to give up, a new family moved into the village. This family was a poor family with only one young son. The father went around, begging for work. He did whatever strange jobs the people offered him. So, the villagers had an idea. What if they paid the man to give up his son? Would that stop the monster? On New Year’s Eve, the people set the boy in the middle of the village square, with year cakes around him. The father’s heart could not stand leaving the child alone in the square. He loved his son so much. So, he decided to stay with the boy and prayed that perhaps Year would eat him instead. Throughout the night, the father and the son waited for Year to come.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

» 接續昨日.

因為這個怪獸一年只出現一次，所以人們就開始稱牠為「年」！他們嘗試各種方法想要嚇跑牠，卻都徒勞無功。他們嘗試用鞭炮，希望這種噪音能嚇走牠；這招確實奏效，但隔天一覺醒來還是有小孩被抓走。 他們又做了稱之為「年糕」的特別糕點，希望「年」會吃年糕；牠的確吃了年糕，但還是有小孩被牠吃掉。他們再嘗試整夜不睡希望能抓住牠，可惜又失敗了。 因為每年失去太多孩子，所以他們試圖找出阻止「年」的方法，就在他們無計可施準備要放棄時，有個新的家庭搬到村裡來。這家人很窮，只有一個小男孩，做爸爸的到處懇求工作機會，他接受各式各樣人們提供的奇怪工作；於是村民們有了個主意：如果付錢請這名男子犧牲他的兒子，這樣能阻止怪獸嗎？ 除夕當晚，村民們將小男孩放在村裡的廣場中央，四周還放了年糕；這個爸爸因為太愛兒子，不忍心讓他獨自在廣場上，所以決定陪著他，並祈禱「年」會吃掉自己而不是兒子。他們整晚都在等待「年」的出現。

(明日待續...)

Extracted from: 內容選錄自： From Monsters to Mooncakes WRITTEN BY: Lovely Ko-Alagata Published by: Cengage/ c. 2006

重要單字片語 1. firecracker n. — a small paper tube containing powder which when set off causes a small explosion, usually done for amusement 鞭炮 (bian1 pao4) 例: During Lunar New Year, people often set off firecrackers. (人們在農曆新年時常放鞭炮。) 2. scare v. — to be afraid or to become frightened 害怕 (hai4 pa4) ，驚嚇 (jing1 xia4) 例: Many children are scared of the dark. (許多小孩很怕黑。) 3. stay up v. phr. — to not go to sleep until after one’s usual bedtime 熬夜 (ao2 ye4) 例: I stayed up all night preparing for my final exams. (我整晚熬夜準備期末考。) 4. look for v. phr. — to search 尋找 (xun2 zhao3) 例: The bride is looking for the perfect dress for her wedding ceremony. (新娘正在找尋完美的婚紗禮服。) 5. be out of v. phr. — to run out of, to not have 用光 (yong4 guang1) ， 賣完 (mai4 wan2) 例: The store was all out of milk when I went earlier this evening. (我傍晚去店裡時，牛奶已經賣完了。) 6. beg v. — to plead, to ask for help 乞求 (qi3 qiu2) 例: He begged me to type his report for him. (他求我幫他打報告。) 7. villager n. — a person who lives in a small area 村民 (cun1 min2) 例: The new villager decided to build his house right next to the village school. (新來的村民決定把家蓋在村內的學校旁。)

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