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曼提斯神认为人类还不能接受火这份礼物，于是把它给了一只鸵鸟。鸵鸟把火放在翅膀底下，很安全。 一个丛林居民得知火在轮鸟那儿，决定把它偷过来。一天，他去拜访轮鸟。 “我是来告诉你我的梦的。”他说。 “我为什么要对你的梦感兴趣？”鸵鸟问。 “因为它和你有关。”丛林人说，我从梦中得知，如旲你站在黎明前的大风中张开翅膀的话，你就可以像鹰一样翱翔于天空。” "有趣。"鸵鸟窃喜道。它最大的梦想就是飞翔。 “别放弃能够飞翔的机会。”丛林人离开之前说。 第二天，天还未破晓，鸵鸟就展开翅膀,等着被送上天空。这时，丛林人蹑手蹑脚地靠近它，夺过火跑了。 这就是人们如何得到火的故事。据丛林人说，这也是鸵鸟为什么比其他鸟笨的原因。失去火的鸵鸟过于伤心，变得迟钝了。 The Ostrich Stretches Its Wings Mantis, the creator-god, felt that mankind was not ready for the gift of fire. So he entrusted it to the ostrich who kept it safely under one of its wings. A Bushman learnt that the ostrich had fire and made up his mind to steal it. So one day he paid the ostrich a visit. “I’ve come to tell you my dream,” he said. “Why should your dream interest me?” asked the os¬trich. “Because it concerns you’，，said the Bushman. “In my dream I learnt that if you were to stand with your wings spread out in the strong wind preceding dawn, you would soar into the sky like an eagle. ” “That’s interesting," said the ostrich, secretly thrilled. Its greatest wish was to be able to fly. “Do not pass up this chance to get the gift of flight,” advised the Bushman before leaving. Before dawn the next day, the ostrich spread out its wings and waited to be lifted in¬to the sky. As it waited, the Bushman crept up to it, grabbed the fire and ran. That is how people got fire and that is why, say he Bushmen, the ostrich is not as smart as other birds. The loss of the fire upset it so much that it became feeble¬minded. |
