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很久很久以前，男人沿着海边去捕海豹。让他高兴的是，许多海豹都沿着河岸挤在一起。他觉得一定能带一些回家给女人和儿子饱餐一顿。他小心翼翼地朝一只海豹爬过去。海豹变得很躁动。男人就放慢了速度。突然，海豹溜进了水里。男人心里顿时很慌乱，因为一顿美餐就要跑掉了。 这时男人看到队伍后面有一只海豹，它跑得没有其他的快。啊！机会来了！他甚至可以想象出女人脸上的骄傲和儿子眼中的喜悦。这样一只海豹够他们吃很多天了！ 男人朝那只海豹爬过去，海豹没有看到他，至少他这么认为。突然，海豹跳起来，溜到了水里。男人站起来，心里充满了一种莫名其妙的感觉。他感到水就要从他的眼里冒出来了。他摸了一下眼睛，舔了舔那水珠，咸咸的。嘴里和胸膛里还有一种奇怪的窒息般的声音。 儿子听到男人的叫喊，就叫来女人，一起跑到海边看看男人怎么了。女人和儿子很吃惊地看到男人的泪水从眼里涌出来。 男人告诉他们岸边有很多海豹，他是怎么捕的，海豹又是怎么从他的刀下逃脱的。他说着，泪水又从女人和儿子的眼里流出来，他们和男人一起哭。就这样，人们第一次学会了哭。 后来，男人和儿子一起捕海豹，杀掉它们，用皮做了网，可以捕更多的海豹。 The First Tears Once long ago, Man went hunting along the water's edge for seals. To Man’s delight, many seals were crowded together along the seashore. He would certainly bring home a great feast for Woman and Son. He crept cautiously towards the seals. The seals grew restless. Man slowed down. Suddenly, the seals began to slip into the water. Man was frantic. His feast was getting away. Then Man saw a single seal towards the back of the group. It was not moving as quickly as the others. Ah! Here was his prize. He imagined the pride on Woman’s face, the joy in Son's eyes. Their bellies would be filled for many days from such a seal. Man crept towards the last seal. It did not see him, or so Man thought. Suddenly, it sprang away and slipped into the water. Man rose to his feet. He was filled with a strange emotion. He felt water begin to drip from his eyes. He touched his eyes and tasted the drops. Yes, they tasted like salty water. Strange choking sounds were coming from his mouth and chest. Son heard the cries of Man and called Woman. They ran to the seashore to find out what was wrong with Man. Woman and Son were alarmed to see water flowing out of Man’s eyes. Man told them about the shore filled with seals. He told how he had hunted them, and how every seal had escaped his knife. As he spoke, water began to flow from the eyes of Woman and Son, and they cried with Man. In this way, people first learned to weep. Later, Man and Son hunted a seal together. They killed it and used its skin to make snares for more seals. |
