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地球上还没有出现人类以前，动物是这个星球的霸主。在这段时期，地球上出现了一个漫长的寒冬。太阳整整三年都没有出来了，天空总是一片漆黑。浓云低悬，遮蔽了整个天空。一直在下雪，动物们在这漫长的寒冬里饱受煎熬。食物极度匮乏，而寒冷却更加令人无法忍受，动物们变得极度恐慌。 于是动物们呼吁召开一次大会。各种各样大大小小的野兽、鸟类和鱼类都应邀参加。大会上，动物们四下环视，发现有一种动物没有来，那就是熊。它们意识到有三年没看到熊了。 动物们很快达成共识，认为最重要的事情就是找到热量的去向，因为没有热量，痛苦就不会停止。是的，一定要找到热量！而且一定要把热量带回来。它们选出几个行动迅速而又勇敢的动物到上界去寻找，它们推选出来参加这次任务的动物是：山猫、狐裡、狼、狼獾、老鼠、梭子鱼，还有狗鲨（一种小型鲨鱼——狗鲨对鲨鱼来说是一个很滑稽的名字，不是吗？）。在空中走了很长时间之后，这队人马终于找到了通往上界的大门，大门非常隐蔽，很难找到。它们兴奋地往这上层世界爬去。 他们在上界侦查了一段时间，看到了一个湖泊。湖边燃着一堆篝火，篝火旁边有一个圆形帐篷，帐篷边上有两只小熊。动物们问两只小熊崽熊妈妈到哪儿去了，它们回答说妈妈觅食去了。帐篷里面挂着一些大圆袋子。造访的动物们指着第一个袋子问小熊：“这里面是什么啊？ ” "那个呀，”他们说，“是妈妈用来保管雨的袋子。" "那这个里面是什么呢？ ”动物们指着第二个袋子问道。 “那是风。”小熊们回答说。 "那这个呢？ ” "这是妈妈用来保管雾的袋子。" “那下一个袋子里是什么呢？ ”动物们说道。 “噢，我们不能告诉你们，”小熊说，“妈妈说这是一个天大的秘密。要是我们说出去，她会很生气，回来就会打我们的头。” “哦，别害怕，”狐狸说，“告诉我们吧，她永远不会知道的。” 然后小熊小声说，“那是她保管热量的袋子。" “啊……”来访者们惊呼道。他们互相看了一眼,就结结巴巴地和小熊们说再见了。出了帐篷，他们跑到一个隐蔽的地方，召开了一个简短的会议。因为母熊随时可能会回来，他们很快达成了第一个一致意见，并立刻付诸行动，找了个更安全的地方藏了起来。下一个任务更加困难，那就是怎样才能拿到装着热量的袋子。 "我们要想办法转移母熊的注意力才行。”狐狸说。 '‘我有办法了！"山猫说。"我到湖的另一边变成一只鹿。” “好主意，”狼獾说。“母熊看到你在湖对岸，就会想抓你。她会划着独木舟到湖对岸去，这样我们就有时间去拿装着热量的袋子了。” "更妙的是，”老鼠说，“我会在母熊的桨上靠近桨叶的地方咬一道很深的口子，那样她就要花更多的时间才能划到对岸。" “对呀，对呀！ ”其他动物喊道。 因此，山猫绕道跑到湖的另一边变成了一只鹿。变成鹿后，他在湖边走来走去以引起熊的注意。同时，老鼠爬进熊的独木舟里，在桨叶附近的桨把上咬出一道很深的口子。其他动物则在熊的帐篷附近藏了起来。 一只熊崽看到湖对岸的假鹿时，大叫道："快看啊，湖对岸有一只鹿。”熊妈妈立刻跳进独木舟，朝着鹿划去。鹿沿着湖岸慢慢散着步，假装没有看到独木舟，引诱熊把船划得离自己更近一些。然后，鹿突然以两倍的速度向相反的方向跑去。母熊使出全身力气划着桨，让船行驶得更快一些，突然船桨被老鼠咬过的地方断了，熊因为用力太大一头栽进了水里。其他动物在湖的另一边留神观察着这场猎杀。他们一看到母熊掉进水中挣扎起来，就跑进帐篷，摘下盛着热量的口袋。他们轮流拖着袋子穿过天空直奔通往下界的出口，他们就是从那儿上来的。 他们匆匆地以最快的速度赶回出口。但是袋子太大了，没人能拖着袋子走很远。每当一个动物累了，另一个就接过袋子。他们用这种方法以最快的速度赶路，因为他们知道大熊妈妈一会儿上岸回到她的帐篷里，就会发现袋子不见了，她就会大发雷霆，顺着脚印来抓他们的！确实，大熊妈妈很快就紧追猛赶过来，在动物们刚看到下界的入口时几乎赶上了他们。那时强壮点的动物都累了，他们都快走不动了。 于是狗鲨（小鲸鱼）接过袋子拖着走了一大段路，最后梭子鱼（淡水鱼）又设法把袋子往前挪了一段路。 正在这时，母熊蹒跚地走向他们。所有的动物一起用力，把袋子推到入口沿着洞翻到下界，随后他们也都及时地安全地跳了下去。袋子一落到下界就碎了，紧紧塞在里面的热量喷涌而出，热气很快散布到世界的各个角落，融化了冰雪，洪水肆虐了好几个星期才退下去。被冰雪覆盖的树木、灌木丛和花儿又长出了绿叶，大地再次春意盎然。从那时起直到现在，每一个寒冷的季节过后，大地总会迎来一个温暖的季节，正如我们今天所看到的一样。 Before any humans walked the earth, when the world was the land of the animals, a very long winter set in. The sun did not come out for three years. The air was always dark. Thick clouds hung low and covered the sky. It snowed all the time. The animals were suffering very much from this long winter. The lack of food was alarming enough, and the lack of heat made it all absolutely unbearable. They became greatly frightened. The animals called for a grand council to be held. All the beasts, birds, and fishes of all sizes and shapes were invited. At the grand gathering, as the animals looked about, they realized that one creature in all the animal world was missing: Bear. Then they realized that no one had seen any bears for three years. All the animals quickly agreed that the most important thing to do was to find out what had become of the heat, for without heat their sufferings would never end. Yes, the heat must be found! And it must be brought back again. They decided several quick and brave animals would go on a search mission to the upper world. That’s where they suspected the heat had been taken. These are the animals chosen for the mission: Lynx, Fox, Wolf, Wolverine, Mouse, Pike (a freshwater fish), and Dogfish (a kind of small sharkdogfish is a ftrnny name for a shark，isn’t it?). After much traveling far and wide through the air, the group finally found the hidden doorway that opened to the upper world. Excited, they all climbed upward to the world above. After exploring the upper world for some time, they saw a lake. By the lake burned a campfire with a tipi beside it. By the tipi were two young bears. They asked the cubs where their mother was, and were told she was off hunting. Inside the tipi, a number of big, round bags were hanging up. The animal visitors pointed to the first bag and asked the cubs, “What is in this bag?” ‘"That,” they said, “is where our mother keeps the rain.” “And what is in this one?” the animals said, pointing to the second bag. “That，” the cubs answered, “is the wind.” “And this one?” “That is where mother keeps the fog.” “And what may be in this next bag?” said the animals. “Oh, we cannot let you know that,” said the cubs, “for our mother told us it was a great secret, and if we tell, she will be very angry and will bop us on our heads when she returns.” “Oh，don’t be afraid.” said the fox. “You can tell us. She will never know.” Then the cubs whispered, “That is the bag where she keeps the heat.” “Aahh …” said the visitors. They glanced at one another, and stammered their good¬byes. Outside the tipi, they rushed to a hidden spot and held a quick council. Their first agreement was once, as the mother bear might return at any time. This they did, and found a safer spot to hide. The next topic was more difficult. How to capture the bag with the heat? “We need to distract the old mother bear somehow.” said Fox. “I know!” said Lynx. “I’ll change myself into a deer on the other side of the lake.” “Good idea!” said Wolverine. “The mother bear will see you across the lake and she’ll want to hunt you. She’ll have to paddle her canoe across the lake, and that will give us time to get the bag with the heat.” “Better yet.” squeaked Mouse, “I’ll chew a deep cut in the bear’s paddle near the blade, so it will take her even longer to canoe across.” “Yes，yes!” cried the others. So Lynx went around to the other side of the lake and turned into a deer. Now as a Deer, he wandered near the edge of the lake to attract Bear’s attention. In the meantime, Mouse scrambled into Bear’s canoe and chewed a deep cut in the handle of her paddle close to the blade. The others hid near Bear，s tipi. When one of the bear cubs saw the supposed deer across the lake he cried out, “look at the deer on the opposite shore!” The old mother Bear immediately jumped into her canoe and paddled toward it. Deer walked slowly along the beach pretending not to see the canoe, so as to tempt Bear to paddle up close to him. Then all at once Deer doubled about and ran the opposite way. Old Bear threw her whole weight on the paddle to make it go faster, and the paddle broke suddenly where Mouse had gnawed it. The force of Bear’s weight threw her into the water. The other animals were watching the hunt from the other side, and as soon as they saw the mother Bear floundering’ in the water, they ran into the tipi and pulled down the bag containing the heat. One at a time, they tugged the bag through the air toward the opening to the lower world from where they had come. They hurried to get back to the opening as fast as they could, but the bag was very large, and none of them was able to keep up the pace for long. Whenever one tired out, another would take the bag, and in this way they hastened along as quickly as they could, for they knew that the old mother Bear would soon get ashore and return to her tipi, and that when she did she would discover the missing bag. Then she'd be furious and follow their footprints to catch them! Sure enough, the old mother Bear was soon in hot pursuit, and had almost overtaken6 the animals when they spied just up ahead the opening to the world below. By this time the stronger animals were all so tired, they could hardly move at all. Now Dogfish (the small shark) took the bag and pulled it along a good way, and finally Pike (the freshwater fish) managed to inch it along some more. At that very moment, Bear lurched7 toward them. All the animals together pushed the bag until it tipped through the hole to the lower world and they each jumped in after it to safety, just in time. As soon as the bag dropped to the world below, it broke and all the heat crammed8 inside the bag rushed out. Warmth spread at once to all parts of the world and quickly thawed the ice and snow. Flood waters ran high for many weeks, but then the waters subsided9. The trees and bushes and flowers which had been covered by ice grew green leaves once more, and springtime bloomed anew. From that time till now，the world has always seen a warm season returning after a cold one, just as we see it today. |
