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陈枉 《九色鹿》
古时候有一只鹿，是神抵的化身，它身披九种鲜艳的毛色，一双鹿角洁白如雪，闪闪发光，明亮似玉，漂亮极了！人称九色鹿。
有一天，九色鹿正在河边嚼食嫩草的时候，突然听到绝望的叫喊声，“救命啊，救命！” “山神啊，树神啊，海龙王啊，天上的神啊，都快来救救我吧！”九色鹿抬头一看，只见一个人抱着根木头顺流而下，正在汹涌的波浪中奋力挣扎。
心地善良的九色鹿不顾自己安危，跳进河中，朝落水人游去。九色鹿费尽九牛二虎之力， 终于将落水人救上岸来。凉魂未定的落水人名叫调达，他非常感激九色鹿的救命之恩，便跪倒在地，频频向九色鹿磕头，并感激地说，“谢谢你的救命之恩。我对天起誓，永作你的奴仆，永远为你寻青草觅美食，作为我永久的报答……”
九色鹿打断调达的话说，“救人让我很快乐，你的心意我领了。快回家与亲人团聚吧。只要你不向任何人泄露我的住处，就算是知恩图报了。”
调达再次起誓，“请相信我，我不会把你的行踪告诉任何人的。如果我背信弃义，就让我头上长疮，脚底流脓！再次谢谢你救了我，千言万语也表达不了您对我的救命之恩。”说完，热泪盈眶地走了。话说这个国家有一位妩媚动人的王妃。一天晚上，她梦到了毛色九种、鹿角银白的九色鹿。
次日醒来就想得到这只鹿，眼中充满了贪婪的神色。心想，如果用此鹿的皮毛做件衣服穿上，我定会是皇宫里最漂亮迷人的女人！于是，她娇嗅地对国王诉说了美梦，要国王立即捕捉九色鹿。不然，就死在他面前。
国王无奈，只好在皇宫外墙张贴皇榜，悬重赏捕鹿，“任何人，不管用什么方法，能得知九色鹿行踪或将其捕获者，赠国土一半，并用银碗装满金豆、金碗装满银豆作为重赏”。
其实，全国上下只有一人知道九色鹿的行踪，刀体就是调达。
调达看了皇榜，喜出望外，他想，“我发大财的机会到了”，于是就揭了榜文，飞快地赶到皇宫，要求勤见国王。国王闻言大喜，“啊哈，你真的知道九色鹿的落脚地！”
“我不仅知道此兽的落脚地，而且对它的整个情况了解甚详，” 调达吹嘘说。
于是调达领着国王和士兵，来到恒河岸边，那里绿草如茵，树木茂密，九色鹿果然休憩其间。国王的士兵将九色鹿团团围住，正当众兵弯弓搭箭时，九色鹿飞矢般地跳到国王面前说道，“我并不怕死，但在我临死前有个请求，请问陛下您是如何知道我的住处的！”
“是他告诉我的。”国王指着调达说。
九色鹿愤怒至极，严责调达。他将如何冒死把掉进河中、险些丧命的调达救上岸，调达如何发誓不暴露它的行踪等等，一五一十告诉国王，然后提高声音对国王说，“陛下，调达曾许诺不对任何人暴露我的行踪，但却背信弃义。他是个卑鄙无耻，恩将仇报的小人，国中有如此小人，岂不辱没了您的英明！可叹可叹！现在我准备一死。”
明白了事实真相后，国王惭傀至极，严厉责斥调达，最后叱道，“你这个卑鄙肮脏的小人，快滚！”
离开之时，调达感到无地自容，后来浑身上下长满烂疮，臭不可闻，遭到了报应。
国王一回到皇宫，就昭示全国，任何人不得伤害九色鹿一丝一毫。
作品译文
The Deer of Nine Colors
Long ago there lived a deity that took the form of a deer. It was a divine creature, with a gay coat of nine different colors and its majestic antlers shone brightly white, glittering and glistening like jade. What a lovely deer! It was known as the Deer of Nine Colors.
One day, as the deer was browsing along the riverbank, it suddenly heard desperate cries coming from the river. “Help! Help! Mountain gods, tree god, dragon god, and gods in heaven, please be quick and come to my rescue!” The deer raised his head and saw a man rushing downstream by the turbulent current as he clutched a log for fear of drowning.
Regardless of the danger in which he might be involved, the kind-hearted deer jumped into the river and swam to the man. The deer used every ounce of his strength and struggled out of the river with the man to the safety of the riverbank.
The man, called Devadatta, who had not yet recovered from his plight, was very grateful for the deer’s help. He got down on his knees before the deer and kowtowed many times. “A thousand thanks for saving my life! I swear I’m your willing servant until the day I die! You have saved my life! I shall seek green grass for you as my everlasting thanks…” he said.
“It is my pleasure to save the life of a person,” the deer cut him short. “I understand your good intention, but go back to your home and celebrate with your family. The debt of gratitude that you will pay me is, don’ t tell anyone about this area in which I live.”
Devadatta made an oath again, saying; “Trust me. I’ll never tell anyone your whereabouts. If I break faith with you, I’ll rot from head to foot. Again, I thank you very much for your life-saving assistance. No words can express my debt of gratitude for saving my life.” Then, Devadatta said goodbye to the deer as his eyes filled with thankful tears.
It is told that in the kingdom, there lived a charming imperial concubine. One night, she dreamed of a deer with nine colors and snow-white antlers. When she awoke the next morning, her eyes revealed her strong sense of greed for the coat of the deer in her dreams and she thought, “Only if I had a cloak made of its beautiful coat of the nine colors, I would be the most beautiful and attractive woman in the Palace!”
So she told the king what she had seen in her dream, coquettishly asking His Majesty immediately to capture a deer of nine colors for her, otherwise she would rather die before him.
The king could not help but comply, and then imperial notices were posted on the walls of the Palace, offering a high reward for the capture of the deer. “Anyone who knows the whereabouts of such a deer or the capturer of the deer, no matter the means, will be given half the kingdom and the gold bowls filled with jewels.”
In fact, no one knew where to find such a deer, but one, and that was Devadatta.
When he saw the imperial notice, he was overjoyed. He thought, “I would be very rich soon.” He ripped it down and hurried to the Palace, asking to be received by the king.
“So,” the excited king said, “you know where to find the deer?”
“I am the man who knows not only the beast’s living place, but also the details of his wholeness,” Devadatta bragged.
Devadatta then led the king and his soldiers to the Ganges River, where they found the deer lying in the green and luxuriant grass circled by dense trees beside the water. The king’s soldiers surrounded the deer, but just as they were about to shoot their arrows, the deer dashed over to the king.
“To die is nothing to me. I have one request before you kill me,” he said to the king. “How did Your Majesty come to know where I lived?”
“It was him,” the king responded, pointing his finger at Devadatta.
The deer boiled with rage and angrily denounced Devadatta and related to the king how it had, in danger of losing its own life, saved Devadatta from his drowning in the river and the oath Devadatta had made before it.
Raising his voice, the deer addressed the king, “Your Majesty, Devadatta promised never to reveal my whereabouts to anyone, but now he broke his promise. He is a mean-spirited person who repays kindness with enmity. Your Majesty, to have such a dishonorable person in your country shames you. What a pity! What a pity indeed! That is all. I am ready now to be killed.”
The king felt so ashamed at hearing the true story that he strongly condemned Devadatta, and concluding by saying, “You are despicable. Be gone at once!”
Upon leaving, Devadatta thought it would be better to find a place to hide himself from the shame. Afterwards, he was infested with boils from top of his head to the soles of his feet, running with foul pus, which was a retribution for his own disloyalty to the deer.
After arriving at the Royal Palace, the king proclaimed that no one in his kingdom would be allowed to do any harm to the Deer of Nine Colors.
