第29章 黃金腰帶

從前，有一天，有兩個在大路上遇見的人，結伴向科倫斯的薩拉密斯城走去。中午時分，他們來到一條寬闊的大河邊，可沒有渡河的橋。他們非游泳不可；不然就是另找一條路徑，可他們又不認識路。 他們互相商量："讓我們游過去吧。說到底，這河面也不算太寬。"於是他們便投身水中，遊起來了。 兩人中有一個生平熟悉江湖，也識得水性，他到了那大河中流倒迷糊了，被洶湧的流水捲走了；另一個從來沒有游過泳的人竟筆直地渡過了河，站在那一邊的岸上了。他看到自己的同伴還在河裡掙扎，就重新跳到水里，把那人也安全地帶到了岸上。 於是那曾被激流捲走的人問道："可你告訴過我，你不會游泳。那末，你又怎麼這樣大膽地游過河的呢？"第二個人答道："我的朋友，你可曾看見我圍在身上的這條腰帶？腰帶裡裝滿了金幣，那是我足足乾了一年的活兒，為我的妻子和兒女掙來的。推動我渡過河、到我的妻子和兒女身邊去的，就是那腰帶裡的金幣的份量。我游泳的時候，我的妻子和兒女都在我的肩膀上。"

於是那兩個人繼續結伴同行，向薩拉密斯走去。 The Golden Belt Once upon a day two men who met on the road were walking together toward Salamis, the City of Columns. In the mid-afternoon they came to a wide river and there was no bridge to cross it. They must needs swim, or seek another road unknown to them. And they said to one another, "Let us swim. After all, the river is not so wide." And they threw themselves into the water and swam.

And one of the men who had always known rivers and the ways of rivers, in mid-stream suddenly began to lose himself; and to be carried away by the rushing waters; while the other who had never swum before crossed the river straight-way and stood upon the farther bank. Then seeing his companion still wrestling with the stream, he threw himself again into the waters and brought him also safely to the shore.

And the man who had been swept away by the current said, "But you told me you could not swim. How then did you cross that river with such assurance?" And the second man answered, "My friend, do you see this belt which girdles me? It is full of golden coins that I have earned for my wife and my children, a full years work. It is the weight of this belt of gold that carried me across the river, to my wife and my children. And my wife and my children were upon my shoulders as I swam."

And the two men walked on together toward Salamis.