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从前有一个小女孩，她的妈妈死了，后母对她很冷酷。一天，当她在妈妈的坟前哭时，她看到墓上的泥土裂开了，一棵小茎伸出来，长成一棵小树苗，很快就成了一棵树。风吹树叶沙沙作响,树低声告诉她说她的妈妈离她很近，她应该吃掉树上的果子。女孩吃了果子，味道好极了，她心情感觉好了点。 从那以后，同样的情况每天都会发生，但是残忍的继母一发现这件事，就去找她的丈夫，也就是女孩的父亲，坚持要他把树砍掉。树干枯萎地躺在地上，女孩在它残留的树干上哭了很久，直到她听到沙沙的声音，看到一小块泥土从坟墓上鼓了起来。它长啊长，长成了一个南瓜。南瓜上有个洞，流出一滴一滴的汁液。女孩舔了几滴，发现很美味，但是，她的继母又发现了。在一个漆黑的夜里，她砍掉了南瓜,把它扔到了粪堆上。第二天，女孩哭啊哭，一直哭到她听到汩汩的声音，看到一条小溪，小溪偷偷地说着：“喝掉我，喝掉我！”她照做了，感觉很精神。但是继母又让女孩的父亲在小溪上撒了沙子，掩埋了它。 女孩回到了墓旁，哭啊哭。她坐在那儿很长时间，这时一个男人从树丛里出现了。 他看到了死掉的树，认为那就是他需要用来做弓箭的东西，因为他是一个猎人。他和女孩交谈，女孩告诉他那棵树曾经长在她妈妈的坟墓上。他很喜欢这个女孩，决定去她父亲那里，请求与她结婚。她父亲同意了，但条件是猎人必须打死12只野牛作为婚礼的筵席。猎人从来没有一次打死过一头以上的野牛，太难了！但是这次,他带着他的新弓箭，在丛林里呆了没多久就看到一群野牛在湖里休息。他把箭搭在弓上射了出去。第一只野牛死了。第二只，第三只。一个小时后，猎人回来告诉女孩的父亲，让他带人把野牛带回村里。猎人和失去妈妈的可怜女孩结婚时摆了一个盛大的筵席。 The Spirit in the Tree There was once a girl whose mother had died and whose stepmother was very cruel to her. One day, when she was crying at her mother，s grave, she saw that the earth of the grave parted and a stalk came out, which grew into a sapling and soon into a tree. The wind rustled its leaves and the tree whispered to the girl, telling her that her mother was near and that she should eat the fruits of the tree. The girl did and the fruits were very tasty and made her feel much better. This happened every day from then on, but as soon as the cruel step-mother discovered what was happening, she went to her husband, the girl' s father, and insisted that he should have the tree cut down. The tree lay withering and the girl wept on its maimed trunk for a long time，until she heard a whisper and saw a lump growing up from the grave. It grew and grew until it was a pumpkin. There was a hole in it, from which leaked a trickle of juice. The girl licked up a few drops and found them very nourishing, but again her stepmother soon found out and, one dark night, cut the pumpkin off and threw it on the dungheap. Next day the girl wept and wept until she heard a trickling sound and saw a little stream, which whisperedDrink me, drink me!" She did, and felt much refreshed, but now the step-mother made the girl，s father throw sand in the stream and bury it. The girl went back to the grave where she cried and cried. She had been sitting there a long time when a man appeared from the bush. He saw the dead tree anddecided it was just what he needed to make a bow and arrows，for he was a hunter. He talked to the girl, who told him that the tree had once grown on her mother，s grave. He liked her and decided to go to her father and ask for her hand in marriage. The father consented on condition that the hunter killed a dozen buffalo for the wedding feast. The hunter had never killed more than one buffalo at a time — that was difficult enough. But this time, taking his new bow and arrows, he had not been in the bush long when he saw a herd of a dozen buffalo resting in the shade. Setting one of his new arrows to his bow, he let fly. The first buffalo sank down dead. And the second，and the third. An hour later the hunter came back to tell the father to send men to bring the meat to the village. There was a big feast when the hunter married the poor girl who had lost her mother. |
