泰西50轶事(三)：海边的凯努特王 江铭辉 五梦网
泰西50轶事(Fifty Famous Stories Retold)，是永恒的短篇故事，它收集的故事：包括浩瀚历史的著名英雄和他们的罗曼史，故事内容有勇气、毅力和情感。故事人物包括拿破仑、罗宾汉，乔治华盛顿、成吉思汗等人。这些故事都是老少咸宜的故事，我将它逐篇翻译，并配合图画，供大家欣赏。
泰西50轶事第三篇：海边的凯努特王
原文及翻译如下：
King Canute on the seashore
海边的凯努特王
A Hundred years or more after the time of Alfred the Great there was a king of England named Canute. King Canute was a Dane; but the Danes were not so fierce and cruel then as they had been when they were at war with King Alfred.
在阿尔弗雷德大帝以后一百多年。英国有一个国王，名叫做凯努特(图1)，凯努特国王是丹麦人，但是那时侯的丹麦人没有跟阿尔弗雷德国王战争时那样的凶猛和残酷。
图1：凯努特国王
The great men and officers who were around King Canute were always praising' him.
凯努特王左右的那些大人物和官员们，常常都赞美凯努特。
"You are the greatest man that ever lived, "one would say.
"你是有生以来最伟大的人物，常常有人会这样说。
Then another would say, "O king! there can never be another man so mighty as you."
然后，另有人说，"啊，国王!从来没有任何一个人像你这样有权威的。"
And another would say, " Great Canute, there is nothing, in the world that dares to disobey you."
另外又有一个人说，"伟大的凯努特国王，世界上没有一样东西敢不服从你。
The king was a man of sense, and he grew very tired of hearing such foolish speeches.
国王是一位很有理智的人，他听到这些多么愚笨的言辞，心里很厌倦。
One day he was by the seashore, and his officers were with' him. They were praising him, as they were in the habit of doing. He thought that now he would teach them a lesson,and so he bade them set his chair on the beach close by the edge of the water.
一天，他和他的官员们一同到海边上。他们正又习惯地赞美他。他想现在他可以给他们一个教训。于是他吩咐他们把他的椅子安放在靠近水边的海滩上。
"Am I. the greatest man in the world?" he asked.
"我是世界上最伟大的人吗? "他问。
" O King ! " they cried, " there is no one so mighty as you."
"啊。国王! "他们大声喊道，没有一个人像你这样的有权威。
"Do all things obey me?" he asked.
"所有的东西都服从我吗? " 他问。
" There is nothing that dares to disobey you, O King ! " they said. " "The world bows before you'', and "gives you honour."
"没有一样东西敢不服从你，啊，国王? " 他们说，"全世界的东西都向你鞠躬，而且尊敬你。
" Will the sea obey me ? he asked; and he looked down at the little waves which were lapping the sand at his feet.
"海会服从我吗? "他问;同时他低头看着沙滩上正在拍打他脚下的小浪花。
The foolish officers were puzzled, but they did not dare to say "No."
这些愚笨的官员们被难住了，但是他们都不敢说"不字。"
"Command it, O king! and it will obey," said one.
"Sea, " cried Canute, "I command you to come no farther"! Waves, stop your rolling, and do not dare to touch my feet!"
"命令它吧，啊，国王!它会服从的"一个官员说。
"海呀，"凯努特大声喊道，"我命令你不要再过来！浪阿，停止你的滚动，不可碰到我的脚！"
But the tide came in, just as it always did.
The water rose higher and higher. It came up around the king's chair; and wet not only his feet but also his robe. His officers stood about him, alarmed, and wondering whether he was not mad.
然而潮水(海浪)还是和平常一样涌上来。终于潮水愈涨愈高。它围住了国王椅子的四周，不仅湿透了他的脚而且弄湿了他的外衣(图2)。他的官员们站立在他身边，都惊骇起来，而怀疑他是否发会大怒。
图2：凯努特喊道，"浪阿，我命令你不要再过来！然而潮水还是和平常一样涌上来，湿透了他的脚而且弄湿了他的外衣。
Then Canute took off hia crown, and threw it down upon the sand.
于是凯努特脱下他的王冠，把它丢在沙滩上(图3)。
" I shall never wear it again," he said. " And do you, my men, learn a lesson from what you have seen. There is only one King who is all-powerful; and it is he who rules the sea, and holds the ocean in the hollow of his hand. It is he whom you ought to praiae and serve above all others."
「我将永远不再戴它了。」他说，"我的臣民们呀，从你们刚才所看到的情形中，你们学习了一个教训。世界上仅有一个全能的王;只有他才能统冶海，将海洋掌握在他的手掌中。仅有他才值得你们去赞美和侍奉，他在万物之上。
图3：凯努特脱下他的王冠，把它丢在沙滩上。
凯努特国王简介：
凯努特大帝（Canute；985－1035），经常被称为盎格鲁－斯堪的纳维亚或北海帝国的国王。他去世后，他的继承人在十年之内也死亡，英国在1066年被诺曼(Norman)征服，历史学家诺曼·康托尔说，尽管他并非盎格鲁 - 撒克逊人，但他是英国历史上“最有成效的国王”克努特是丹麦和斯拉夫血统。
凯努特大帝的父亲是丹麦国王。作为丹麦的王子，凯努特在几世纪西北欧海盗活动之后，于1016年赢得了英格兰王位。1018年也获得丹麦的王位。凯努特是由在富裕和文化来统治丹麦和英国，他不是用残暴来统治丹麦人和英国人。
十年来与对手在斯堪的纳维亚半岛的战争后，凯努特在1028年做挪威的国王。瑞典城市锡格蒂纳(Sigtuna)也被凯努特掌握。那里有叫他为王的硬币。
凯努特拥有英格兰的教区和大陆的丹麦主教二个管区，他有对神圣罗马帝国的汉堡不来梅的大主教管区的权力。这是他在教区很大的影响力的来源，获得教宗本笃八世和他的继任者约翰十九的尊敬。凯努特也获得了他的人民在参加神圣罗马帝国皇帝的加冕时，到罗马，经过别的富豪人家土地，可减免通行费。在他1026战胜挪威和瑞典，在他到罗马加冕的途中，凯努特，为他臣民的利益写了一封信，表示自己是英格兰和丹麦和挪威人及一些瑞典人的国王。