恶魔猫（初级）

你在万圣节会做什么？

What do you do on Halloween?

出门吗？

Go out?

去玩'不给糖就捣蛋'吗？

Go trick or treating?

看恐怖电影吗？

Watch scary films?

你大概不会去钓鱼吧。

You probably don't go fishing.

在今天的这个故事里，我们将了解为什么万圣夜去钓鱼是个坏主意。

And in today's story, we will learn why going fishing on Halloween night is a bad idea.

继续收听以学习英语。

Keep listening to learn English.

亲爱的听众朋友们，欢迎收听《轻松英语故事》，这个播客将让你的英语从一般到良好，从良好到优秀。

Hello my lovely learners and welcome to Easy Stories in English, the podcast that will take your English from okay to good and from good to great.

我是主持人Ariel Goodbody。

I am Ariel Goodbody, your host for this show.

今天的初级故事叫做《恶魔猫》。

Today's beginner level story is called The Demon Cats.

和往常一样，文字稿和PDF可以在easystoriesinenglish.com获取，你可以在描述中找到链接。

As always, the transcript and PDF are available at easystoriesinenglish.com and you can find the link to that in the description.

我录制这段内容时，万圣节刚过，所以没有比现在更适合讲恐怖故事的时候了。

As I'm recording this, Halloween has just been, so what better time for a scary story.

我说是万圣节，但在我工作的学校，我们称之为南瓜节。

I say Halloween, but at my school where I work, we call it Pumpkin Day.

因为我们是一所双语学校，遵循中国课程体系，不允许宣传西方宗教节日。

Because we are a bilingual school and we follow the Chinese curriculum, we are not allowed to promote Western religious festivals.

所以我们不庆祝圣诞节，也不庆祝万圣节，但我们庆祝南瓜节。

So we don't celebrate Christmas and we don't celebrate Halloween, but we do celebrate Pumpkin Day.

现在我希望能告诉你南瓜节会发生什么，但我是提前录制的这期节目，所以我还不知道。

Now I wish I could tell you what happens on Pumpkin Day, but I am recording this episode in advance, so I don't know yet.

也许我会在通讯稿或下期播客中谈论这个话题。

Maybe I'll talk about it on the newsletter or in the next episode of the podcast.

总之，今天的节目是一个恐怖的万圣节故事。

Anyway, today's episode is a scary Halloween story.

这个故事改编自汤姆·缪尔的《苏格兰海岸与海洋民间故事集》。

It is an adaptation from the book Scottish Folktales of Coast and Sea by Tom Muir.

今年我已在播客中讲过这本书里的其他几个故事。

I've done some other stories from that book this year on the podcast.

所以再次提醒，你会听到一些苏格兰口音——就是英国本土北部苏格兰地区的口音。

So once again, you can expect some Scottish accents as in accents from Scotland, the northern part of the British Mainland.

希望你们能喜欢并且听懂这些口音。

Hopefully, you enjoy them and you are able to understand them.

好的。

Okay.

我先解释一下今天故事中的一些词汇。

I'll just explain some words that are in today's story.

恶魔（demon，d e m o n），是一种在所有宗教中都能找到的怪物。

A demon, d e m o n, is a type of monster that is found in all religions.

恶魔通常居住在地下或地狱里，它们喜欢伤害人类。

Demons usually live underground or in hell and they like to hurt humans.

在某些故事中，人们可以召唤恶魔，将它们从地狱唤出。

In some stories, people can summon demons, They can call the demons up from hell.

然后恶魔会为召唤者施展魔法。

Then the demons use magic for the person who summoned them.

在基督教中，撒旦或魔鬼是恶魔之王。

In Christianity, Satan or the devil is the king of the demons.

在这个故事中，使用了'老克鲁提'这个名字，这是苏格兰人对魔鬼的称呼。

In this story, the name Old Clooty is used, which is a Scottish way of referring to the devil.

渔夫是以捕鱼为生的人。

A fisherman is someone who catches fish.

渔夫在船上工作，他们用渔网捕鱼。

Fishermen work in boats and they use nets to catch fish.

过去当渔夫非常危险，但现在渔夫使用许多机械设备使捕鱼变得更容易。

Being a fisherman used to be very dangerous, but now fishermen use lots of machinery that makes catching fish easier.

迷信（s u p e r s t I t I o n s）是指那些不真实但非常流行的信仰。

Superstitions, s u p e r s t I t I o n s, are beliefs that are not real, but they are very popular.

在所有文化中都能找到迷信。

You find superstitions in all cultures.

例如在英国，我们有个迷信说法是不要踩到路面裂缝。

For example in The UK we have a superstition that you shouldn't step on a crack in the road.

另一个迷信说法是打碎镜子会带来七年厄运，或者看到黑猫会带来霉运。

Another superstition is that if you break a mirror you'll have seven years bad luck or if you see a black cat, you'll have bad luck.

如今人们不像过去那么迷信了，因为科学可以证明这些迷信并不真实。

These days people are less superstitious than in the past because we can use science to show that the superstitions aren't true.

动物的皮毛（f u r）就是它们的毛发。

An animal's fur f u r is its hair.

如果你养了长毛的狗或猫，就得经常用吸尘器清理掉落的毛发。

If you have a dog or a cat with long fur, you'll have to hoover vacuum a lot to clean up all the fur.

当某物离开或停止存在时，它就消失了。

When something goes away or stops being, it disappears.

例如，有些人能用魔法让自己消失。

For example, some people can use magic to make themselves disappear.

如果你正在躲避危险动物，你大概会想消失不见。

If you are hiding from a dangerous animal, you probably want to disappear.

如果你在我面前放一块巧克力蛋糕，它会很快消失。

If you put a chocolate cake in front of me, it will quickly disappear.

骨头是我们体内坚硬的白色物质。

Bones are hard white things that we have inside our bodies.

骨头位于我们的皮肤和肌肉之下。

Bones are beneath our skin and muscles.

如果你用力撞击自己，可能会骨折。

If you hit yourself very hard, you might break a bone.

饮食中摄入钙很重要，因为钙能让骨骼健康强壮。

It's important to have calcium in your diet as calcium makes your bones healthy and strong.

当某人用刀刺入某物时，就是在捅刺它。

When someone puts a knife into something, they stab it.

被捅刺非常危险，可能很快致命。

Getting stabbed is very dangerous as you can quickly die from it.

古罗马皇帝之一尤利乌斯·凯撒被刺23刀而死。

Julius Caesar, one of the emperors of ancient Rome, was stabbed 23 times and died.

你也可以用铅笔这样不太尖锐的东西捅人，但依然会疼。

You can also stab someone with something less sharp like a pencil, but it will still hurt.

抓挠是用指甲攻击，而撕咬是用牙齿攻击。

Scratching is attacking something with your nails and biting is attacking something with your teeth.

猫喜欢抓挠和撕咬，这让养猫变得相当危险。

Cats like to scratch and bite, which can make having a cat quite dangerous.

如果蚊子叮咬你，你会想抓挠自己。

If a mosquito bites you, you will want to scratch yourself.

如果你咬了蚊子，干得漂亮。

If you bite a mosquito, well done.

那件事非常难办。

That's very hard to do.

它们速度很快。

They're fast.

牧师是在教堂工作的男性神职人员。

A priest is a man who works at a church.

牧师在教堂中非常重要。

Priests are very important in the church.

牧师会向众人诵读圣经，并为有宗教困惑的人们提供指引。

Priests read to everyone from the Bible, and they talk to people who are having religious problems.

圣水是经过牧师祝圣的特殊之水。

Holy water is special water that has been blessed by a priest.

基本流程是牧师将手悬于圣水之上，诵念特定祷词后，水即被视为神圣或特殊。

Basically, the priest puts their hand over the holy water, says some special words, and then the water is considered holy or special.

圣水在宗教中有多种用途，例如洗礼仪式。

Holy water is used for various purposes in religion such as baptism.

如果你遇到恶魔，应该向其泼洒圣水，这通常能消灭它们。

If you meet a demon, you should throw holy water on them as that usually kills them.

好的。

Okay.

那么请聆听并享受这个故事。

So listen and enjoy.

恶魔猫群。

The demon cats.

从前有个名叫默多·麦克塔格的渔夫。

Once there was a fisherman called Murdo MacTaggart.

默多·麦克塔格住在苏格兰西部的一个小村庄里。

Murdo MacTaggart lived in a small village in the West Of Scotland.

与海为生的人们非常迷信。

People who worked with the sea were very superstitious.

毕竟，大海随时可能夺走他们的生命。

After all, the sea could take their lives any day.

所以他们迷信，因为他们认为遵循这些迷信或许能活得更久。

So they were superstitious because they thought that if they followed the superstitions, they might live longer.

但默多·麦克塔加特一点也不迷信。

But Murdo McTaggart was not superstitious at all.

他觉得迷信很愚蠢。

He thought superstitions were stupid.

喜欢在夜晚捕鱼，因为许多鱼会在夜间出来觅食。

Liked fishing at night because many fish came out at night to eat.

大多数渔夫因迷信而不敢夜间捕鱼，这意味着他可以独享月光星光下的渔获，清晨再运到市场售卖。

Most fishermen would not fish at night because of their superstitions, which meant could go and catch fish under the moon and the stars and then bring the fish to market to sell in the morning.

有一年万圣节，默多夜间出海捕鱼。

One year at Halloween, Murdo went out to fish at night.

人们看见他离开时说：'默多，万圣节不能捕鱼啊！'

People saw him leave and said, Murdo, you can't fish on Halloween?

万圣节是妖魔鬼怪出没的夜晚。

Halloween is a night of ghosts and demons.

跟我们去教堂吧，那里安全。

Come to church with us where it's safe.

'啊，别吵，'默多说。

Ah, hushed, said Murdo.

鬼怪都不是真的。

Ghosts and demons aren't real.

我明早再去教堂。

I'll go to church in the morning.

于是默多去钓鱼了。

And Murdo went to fish.

但他本该听从人们的劝告，因为那晚恶魔正在作祟。

But he should have listened to the people because that night demons were at work.

当默多钓鱼时，天气骤变。

While Murdo was fishing, the weather changed.

狂风大作，开始下起雨来。

A strong wind blew and it started to rain.

很快天气变得太恶劣，默多不得不返回岸边。

Soon the weather was too bad and Murdo had to go back to land.

他跑进渔民们存放物品的小屋。

He ran to a small house where the fishermen kept their things.

他打算在小屋里坐着等雨停。

He would sit in the small house and wait for the rain to stop.

他生起一小堆火，让自己舒服些。

He made a small fire and got comfortable.

当他听着风声时，又听到了另一个声音。

As listened to the wind, he heard another sound.

屋门突然打开，12只黑猫跑了进来。

The door to the house suddenly opened, and 12 black cats ran inside.

这些可不是普通的猫。

These were not any ordinary cats.

它们体型巨大如恶魔，毛发漆黑如夜。

They were huge, like demons, and their fur was as black as the night.

最后，第十三只猫走了进来。

Finally, a thirteenth cat came inside.

第十三只猫比其他猫更庞大，它的毛发如火焰般鲜红。

The thirteenth cat was even bigger than the others, and its fur was red like fire.

门关上了，13只猫围坐在火堆旁。

The door closed, and the 13 cats sat around the fire.

穆尔多害怕得说不出话来。

Murdo was so scared, he could not speak.

那些恶魔般的猫都盯着他看。

The demon cats all watched him.

最后，那只红猫开口了。

Finally, the red cat spoke.

我们为什么沉默地坐着？

Why are we sitting in silence?

来吧，为穆尔多·麦克塔格特唱首库玛歌。

Come, let's sing a kooma for Mordo McTaggart.

接着猫儿们开始唱歌。

And then the cats began to sing.

库玛是一种葬礼歌曲。

A kooma is a funeral song.

猫儿们唱着歌，但歌声糟糕透顶。

The cat sang the but their singing was awful.

穆尔多恨不得捂住耳朵。

And Murdo wanted to put his hands on his ears.

最后，猫儿们停下歌声，齐刷刷看向穆尔多。

Finally, the cat stopped and they looked at Murdo.

红猫说道：'好了穆尔多，我们给你唱了首美妙的治愈之歌，现在你该付钱了'。

Well now Murdo, said the red cat, we have sent you a lovely cure and now you must pay for it.

'付钱？'

Pay?

穆多尔说道。

Said Mordor.

我为什么要付钱？

Why should I pay?

我又没死，这也不是我的葬礼。

I'm not dead and it's not my funeral.

而且我怎么付钱给你呢？

And how can I pay you anyway?

噢，我不知道，红猫说道，但唱歌会让人非常饿。

Oh, I don't know, said the red cat, but singing makes one very hungry.

默多看着那12只黑猫。

Murdo looked at the 12 black cats.

它们的眼睛因饥饿而发亮。

Their eyes shone with hunger.

他环顾屋子四周。

He looked around the house.

他找不到任何能用来支付给猫的东西。

He couldn't see anything that he could use to pay the cats.

他打开门往外看。

He opened the door and looked outside.

雨中站着一只绵羊和一头老奶牛。

There, sitting in the rain, were a sheep and an old cow.

给，拿去吧，他说。

There, take that, he said.

默多指向绵羊，黑猫们立刻冲了出去。

Murdo pointed to the sheep, and the black cats ran.

它们扑向绵羊，那只可怜的动物瞬间被黑色皮毛淹没。

They jumped on the sheep and the poor animal disappeared under their black fur.

咩，咩，绵羊惨叫着。

Me, me, the sheep cried.

但几秒钟后，购买停止了，猫群散开了。

But a few seconds later, the buying stopped and the cats moved away.

除了一堆骨头外什么都没剩下。

There was nothing left but a pile of bones.

猫群平静地回到屋内，关上了身后的门。

The cats calmly came back inside and shut the door behind them.

一切发生得太快，默多只能坐着旁观。

It all happened so quickly that Murdo could only sit and watch.

“多美好啊，”红猫说道。

How lovely, said the red cat.

“来吧，我们为米尔顿·麦克塔格特唱个提示曲。”

Come, let's sing a cue for Mirdon McTaggart.

猫群再次歌唱，这次唱得更加难听。

And the cats sang again, this time they sang even worse.

之后，黑猫们都看着红猫，红猫开口说话了。

Afterwards, the black cats all looked at and the red cat spoke.

“好了，默多，我们给你唱了首美妙的曲子，现在你该付钱了。”

Well now, Murdo, we have sung you a lovely cune, and now you must pay for it.

默多打开门，指了指那头老牛。

Murdo opened the door and pointed to the old cow.

“那儿，拿那个吧，”他说。

There, take that, he said.

这次猫群动作更快，因为那头牛很老，没多少肉。

This time the cats moved even more quickly as the cow was old and did not have much meat.

一分钟前还有头牛在吃草，转眼间只剩下一堆骨头。

One minute there was a cow eating grass, and the next minute there was only a pile of bones.

还没等默多动一根手指，猫群就回来了。

Before could even move a finger, the cats were back.

又一次，黑猫们齐刷刷看向红猫，红猫开口了。

Once more, the black cats all looked at and the red cat spoke.

过来。

Come.

让我们唱一首歌吧，于是猫儿们又唱了起来。

Let's sing a for And the cats sang again.

这是最糟糕的时刻。

This was the worst time.

猫的歌声太难听，让他觉得自己可能会因此丧命。

The cat singing was so bad that thought he might die from that.

之后，黑猫们再次齐刷刷看向红猫，红猫开口了。

Afterwards, the black cats all looked at and the red cat spoke.

好了，我们已经为你献上了美妙的歌声，现在你必须为此付出代价。

Well now, we have sung you our lovely and now you must pay for it.

环顾四周。

Looked around.

这次他实在拿不出任何东西了。

This time there was nothing to give.

他心想自己的骨头很快就要散落在地板上了，但这时他听到外面传来声响。

He thought that it would soon be his bones on the floor, but then he heard a sound outside.

他望去，看见一条狗。

He looked and saw a dog.

那是条跑得很快的小狗。

It was a young dog that could run fast.

‘给，拿去吧’，他说道。

There, take that, he said.

黑猫们追着狗跑，但狗比它们更快。

The black cats ran after the dog, but the dog was faster than them.

默多抓住机会逃跑了。

Murdo took his chance and ran.

他跑向树林，以为可以躲在树丛里。

He ran towards the woods thinking he could hide in the trees.

但很快，默多就听到猫群在身后追赶。

But soon, Murdo heard the cats running after him.

它们太慢了抓不住狗，现在又饿又想要他。

They were too slow to catch the dog, and now they were hungry and wanted him.

你要跑去哪里，默多？

Where are you running to, Murdo?

红猫说道。

Said the red cat.

不想和朋友们共进晚餐吗？

Don't you want to share a meal with your friends?

默多冲进树林，片刻间消失在黑暗中。

Murdo ran into the woods and for a minute he disappeared into the darkness.

趁着猫群看不见他，他找到一棵高树爬了上去。

While the cats couldn't see him, he found a tall tree and climbed it.

他这辈子从没爬得这么快过。

He had never climbed so fast in his life.

猫群在昏暗的树林里四处寻找，却找不到他。

The cats looked around the dark woods, and they couldn't find him.

这时红猫走到了他藏身的树下。

But then the red cat walked up to his tree.

他在这儿，红猫说道。

He's here, said the red cat.

他躲在树上呢。

He's hiding up a tree.

别上来，穆尔多喊道。

Don't come up here, shouted Murdo.

我是认真的。

I'm serious.

但其中一只黑猫开始爬树。

But one of the black cats started to climb the tree.

当它靠近时，穆尔多拔出刀刺入了黑猫的心脏。

When it came near, Murdo pulled out his knife and stabbed the black cat in the heart.

黑猫惨叫一声倒地身亡。

The black cat screamed and fell down dead.

接着又一只黑猫爬上树，穆尔多再次用刀刺入它的心脏。

Then another black cat climbed the tree, and again, Murdo stabbed it in the heart with his knife.

第三只猫来了，他也用刀刺穿了它的心脏。

A third cat came, and he stabbed that one in the heart too.

停下，红猫说道。

Stop, said the red cat.

如果我们继续这样，他会把我们全杀光的。

If we keep on doing this, he will kill all of us.

如果我们无法靠近他，就把他引到我们这边来。

If we can't go to him, let's bring him to us.

攻击那棵树。

Attack the tree.

于是猫群开始攻击树干底部。

And the cats attacked the bottom of the tree.

它们又抓又咬那棵树。

They scratched and bit the tree.

明白了它们的意图。

Understood what they were doing.

如果他们不停地抓咬树根，那棵树就会倒下。

If they scratched and bit the bottom of the tree enough, then the tree would fall down.

救命。

Help.

救命。

Help.

默多哭喊着。

Murdo cried.

他知道所有人都在教堂里，但也许，只是也许，会有人听到他的声音。

He knew all the people would be in the church, but maybe, just maybe, someone would hear him.

事实上，就在那时礼拜刚结束，人们正往家走，牧师出来时听到了默多的呼救声。

In fact, just at that time the church service was ending and people were going home, the priest came out and heard Murdo's cries.

我听到有人在喊救命，牧师说道。

I hear a man crying for help, said the priest.

他在树林里。

He's in the woods.

别去，神父，一个男人说。

Don't go, father, said a man.

今天是万圣节，那肯定是个恶魔。

It is Halloween and surely it is a demon.

恶魔想引你去树林，好吃掉你。

The demon wants you to go to the woods so it can eat you.

救命，默多再次哭喊。

Help, cried Murdo again.

树开始倾倒，那些猫抓咬得越来越快。

The tree was starting to fall down, and the cats were scratching and biting faster and faster.

我必须去，牧师说着便冲进了树林。

I must go, said the priest, and he ran into the woods.

就在牧师赶到时，那棵树开始倒下。

Just as the priest arrived, the tree started to fall.

但还没等猫群扑向可怜的老默多·麦塔格特，牧师就掏出了一瓶圣水。

But before the cats could jump on poor old Mirdo McTaggart, the priest pulled out a bottle of holy water.

他高喊道：“撒旦，退散！”

Begone, Satan, he cried.

牧师将圣水泼向那群猫。

The priest threw the holy water on the cats.

那只猫尖叫着跳向空中，随后便一动不动了。

The cat screamed and jumped in the air and then stopped moving.

你没事吧？

Are you alright?

牧师说着，把默多从树上扶下来。

Said the priest, helping Murdo off the tree.

“呃，我没事，”他说道，“只是有点受惊。”

Ugh, I'm fine, he said, just a little shaken.

当他们前去查看那些猫时，只发现空荡荡的猫皮，里面没有骨头。

When they went to look at the cats, they found nothing but empty cat skins with no bones inside.

原来这些猫其实是恶魔。

So the cats had in fact been demons.

恶魔们钻进了猫皮里，而那只大红猫正是老恶魔撒旦本尊。

The demons had climbed inside the cat skins, and the big red cat had been none other than old clooty, Satan himself.

“噢，我吸取教训了，”默多说。

Oh, I've learned my lesson, said Murdo.

“我以后再也不会在万圣节去钓鱼了。”

I'll never go fishing on Halloween again.

“而且不仅如此。”

And not only that.

自那天起，默多克就成了一个迷信的人。

From that day onward, Murdoch was a superstitious man.

他严格遵守所有迷信习俗，幸运的是，他再也没遇到过老克鲁提。

He followed all the superstitions closely, and fortunately, he never met old Clooty again.

故事结束。

The end.

希望这是个令人毛骨悚然的精彩故事，记得如果你收听了今天的节目，也可以在YouTube上观看视频，只需前往YouTube上的Easy Stories in English频道。

Well, I hope that was a delightfully spooky story and remember if you listen to today's episode you can also watch it as a video on YouTube just go to Easy Stories in English on YouTube.

祝你有美好的一天，我们下周见！

Have a great day and I'll see you next week!

再见！

Bye!