泰西50軼事(十一)：哥坦的其他聰明人 江銘輝 五夢網
泰西50軼事(Fifty Famous Stories Retold)，是永恆的短篇故事，它收集的故事：包括浩瀚歷史的著名英雄和他們的羅曼史，故事內容有勇氣、毅力和情感。故事人物包括拿破崙、羅賓漢，喬治華盛頓、成吉思汗等人。這些故事都是老少咸宜的故事，我將它逐篇翻譯，並配合圖畫，供大家欣賞。
泰西50軼事 (十一)：哥坦的其他聰明人
原文及翻譯如下：
Other Wise Men of Gotham
哥坦的其他聰明人
ONE day, news was brought of Gotham that the king was coming that way, and that he would pass through the town. This did not please the men of Gotham at all.
一天，有消息傳到哥坦，說國王將要經過這條路，並穿過這個城鎮。這對哥坦人來說真不是一件好事情。
They hated the king，for they knew that he was a cruel, bad man. If he came to their town, they would have to find food and lodging for him and his men; and if he saw anything that pleased him, he would be sure to take it for his own. What should they do?
他們憎恨國王，因為他們知道他是個殘暴的惡人。如果他來到了他們的城鎮裡，他們必須要為他和他的隨員提供精美的膳食和住宿，而且他看到任何他喜歡的東西，他一定據為己有，他們將怎麼辦呢？
They met together to talk the matter over.
“Let us chop down the big trees in the woods，so that they will block up all the roads that lead into the town,”said one of the wise men.
“Good,”said all the rest.
So they went out with their axes, and soon all the roads and paths tothe town were filled with logs and brush. The king s horsemen would have a
hard time of it getting into Gotham.
他們集合在一起來討論這個事情。
“讓我們把樹林裡的大樹砍倒，這樣便會堵塞所有通往城鎮裡的的道路。”其中一個聰明人說。
“好極了！”其餘的人都說道。
於是他們帶著斧頭出發了，很快所有通往這城鎮的道路都被木頭和樹枝覆堵塞了。國王的馬隊將很難進入哥坦城。(圖1)
圖1：很快所有通往這城的道路都被木頭堵塞了。國王的馬隊將很難進入哥坦城。
They would either have to make a new road, or give up the plan altogether, and go on to some other place.
When the king came, and saw that the road had been blocked up, he
was very angry.
“Who chopped those trees down in my way?”he asked of two country lads that were passing by.
“The men of Gotham,”said the lads.
“Well,”said the king, “go and tell the men of Gotham that I shall send my sheriff into their town, and have all their noses cut off.”
The two lads ran to the town as fast as they could, and made known
what the king had said.
他們要麼開闢一條新路，不然放棄他們的計畫到別的地方去。
當國王來到這裡，看到道路都被堵死了，非常生氣。
“誰砍這些樹擋住了我的去路？”他問兩個從旁經過的鄉下小孩。
“是哥坦人，”小孩們說。
“好啊，”國王說，“去告訴哥坦人，我要派我的郡長到他們的城鎮裡，把他們的鼻子都割下來。”
這兩個小孩拼命地跑回城鎮裡，把國王的話通知給大家。
Everybody was in great fright. The men ran from house to house，
carrying the news, and asking one another what they should do.
每個人都十分恐懼。人們挨家挨戶地奔相走告，大家相問應該怎麼辦。
“Our wits have kept the king out of the town,”said one; “and so now“our wits must save our noses.”
我們已經用智慧阻止了國王進城，”有一個人說，“現在我們必須用智慧拯救我們的鼻子。”
“True, true!”said the others.“But what shall we do?”
Then one, whose name was Dobbin, and who was thought to be the wisest of them all, said, “Let me tell you something. Many a man has been punished because he was wise, but I have never heard of any one being harmed because he was a fool. So, when the king’s sheriff comes, let us all act like fools.”
“不錯！不錯！”其他人說，“但是現在我們該怎麼辦呢？”
接著，他們當中一個被公認為最聰明的，名叫多賓的人說：“讓我來告訴你們一些吧。許多人因為聰明而受到懲罰，可我還沒聽說過有人因為傻而被傷害的。所以，當國王的郡長到來時，我們都裝成傻瓜吧。
“Good, good!”cried the others.“We will all act like fools.”
It was no easy thing for the king’s men to open the roads; and while they were doing it, the king grew tired of waiting, and went back to London.
“好極了，好極了！”其他人都叫了起來，“我們都裝傻。”
要國王的部下打通道路真不是一件容易的事，當部下們還在開路的時候，國王已等得不耐煩回倫敦去了。
But very early one morning, the sheriff with a party of fierce soldiers rode through the woods, and between the fields, toward Gotham. Just before theyreached the town, they saw a queer sight. The old men were rolling big stones up the hill, and all the young men were looking on, and gruntingvery loudly.
可是在一個清晨，那郡長帶著一隊兇惡的士兵騎著馬穿過樹林，踏過田野，向著哥坦城前進。就在他們快要到達城裡之前，他們看到一件奇怪的事。老人們正在把大石頭滾上山去，而所有的年輕人都站在旁邊觀望大聲呐喊(圖2)。
圖2：老人正在把大石頭滾上山去，而所有的年輕人都站在旁邊觀望大聲呐喊
The sheriff stopped his horses, and asked what they were doing.
“We are rolling stones uphill to make the sun rise,”said one of the old men.
“You foolish fellow!”said the sheriff. “Don’t you know that the sun will rise without any help?”
“Ah! will it?”said the old man. “Well, I never thought of that. How wise you are!”
“And what are you doing?”said the sheriff to the young men.
“Oh, we do the grunting while our fathers do the working,”they
answered.
郡長勒住他的馬，問他們在做什麼。
“我們正在把石頭滾到山上去，好讓太陽升起來，”其中一個老人說。
“你們這些傻瓜！”郡長說，“難道你們不知道太陽無需借助任何力量，自然就會升起嗎？”
“啊，真的嗎？”一個老人說，“很好，我們從沒想過。你真聰明啊！”
“那你們又在做什麼呢？”郡長問那些年輕人。
“噢，當我們的父輩工作時，我們就在旁邊呐喊助威啊！”他們回答道。
“I see,”said the sheriff. “Well, that is the way the world goes everywhere.”And he rode on toward the town.
“我明白了，”郡長說，“這裡的人以為全世界都這麼做的。”他又騎著馬向城裡走去。
He soon came to a field where a number of men were building a stone wall.
“What are you doing?”he asked.
“Why, master,”they answered,“there is a cuckoo in this field, and we are building a wall around it so as to keep the bird from straying away.”
“You foolish fellows,”said the sheriff. “Don,t you know that the bird will fly over the top of your wall, no matter how high you build it?”
“Why, no,”they said.“We never thought of that. How very wise
you are!”
很快他到了一片田野，那兒有許多人在築一道石頭牆。(圖3)
“你們在做什麼啊？”他問。
“噢，長官，”他們答道，“田裡有一隻杜鵑，我們築一道牆把它圍起來，它就跑不了了。”
“你們這些傻瓜！”郡長說，“難道你們不知道，無論砌得多高，鳥都可以從牆頭上飛出去嗎？”
“哎呀，不錯，”他們說，“我們怎麼從來沒想到這一點。你真聰明啊！”
圖3：郡長很快的到了一片田野，那兒有許多人在築一道石頭牆。
The sheriff next met a man who was carrying a door on his back.
“What are you doing?”he asked.
“I have just started on a long journey,”said the man.
“But why do you carry that door?”asked the sheriff.
“I left my money at home.”
然後，郡長官又遇到一個人，背上扛著一扇門。(圖4)
“你在幹什麼？”他問。
“我正要開始一段長途旅行，”這個人回答。
“但你為什麼背著那扇門？”郡長官又問。
“我把錢放在家裡。”
圖4：郡長官又遇到一個人，背上扛著一扇門。
“Then why didn’t you leave the door at home too?”
“I was afraid of thieves; and you see, if I have the door with me, they Can’t break it open and get in.”
“You foolish follow!”said the sheriff. “It would be safer to leave the door at home, and carry the money with you.”
“那你為什麼不把門也留在家裡呢？”
“我怕有賊啊。你看，如果我把門帶在身邊，他們就不能破門而入了。”
“真蠢啊！”郡長說，“你應該把門留在家裡，把錢帶在身上，
這樣會更安全。”
“Ah, would it, though?”said the man. “Now, I never thought of that. You are the wisest man that I ever saw.”
“啊，真是這樣的，”這個人說，“可我竟然沒有想到這一點。你是我見過的最聰明的人。”
Then the sheriff rode on with his men; but every one that they met was doing some silly thing.
“Truly I believe that the people of Gotham are all fools,”said one of
the horsemen.
“That is true,”said another.“It would be a shame to harm such simple people.”
郡長和他的部下騎著馬繼續前進，可是他們所遇到的每一個人都在做著愚蠢的事。
“真的，我確信哥坦人都是傻瓜，”其中一個騎兵說。
“一點也不錯，”另一個說，“傷害那麼蠢的人是可恥的。”
“Let us ride back to London, and tell the king all about them,”said the sheriff.
“讓我們騎回倫敦吧，把有關他們的事都告訴國王。”郡長說。
“Yes, let us do so,”said the horsemen.
So they went back, and told the king that Gotham was a town of fools;
and the king laughed, and said that if that was the case, he would not harm them, but would let them keep their noses.
“是啊，就這麼辦吧，”騎兵說。
於是他們回去告訴國王，哥坦是一個愚人城。國王聽了哈哈大笑，
並說如果真是那樣，他就不去傷害他們，就讓他們留著自己的鼻子吧。
哥坦簡介：
哥坦城是一個虛構的城市，因此哥坦人到底是聰明還是笨的，到現在一直有不同的講法。
早期哥坦村的人，人們給他的是高智慧的人，但也有人叫它是愚人村，如此二極化，可是哥坦村的人是不簡單的人。
有關講哥坦的人很聰明，據說是約翰國王打算穿越哥坦村去旅行。當時在英國，任何國王要通過的地方都要打通成為公共的快速大道，但哥坦人不想有一條高速公共道路通過他們的村莊。當國王的信使到達時，哥坦人假裝低能。（他們真的這樣做嗎？）。無論信使到哪裡，他們看到村民做一些荒唐的事。約翰國王看了這份報告，決定另外尋找住的地點，但歌坦村的聰明人吹噓，“我們認為來到這裡的傻瓜必比住在這裡的傻瓜還多”
根據1874年版的布朗特說，約翰王的使者“看到了一些居民費力的用一盆水要淹死一隻鰻魚，有些人受僱拖著一輛二輪車，車的上面放著一個大穀倉，說要遮住照在樹林的太陽，一些人正將奶酪從山上滾下來，他們認為這是他們拿到諾丁漢出售的方式，一群人被僱用包圍棲息在巢裡的杜鵑，但這隻杜鵑正棲息在一棵灌木上，現在就有一個人站在那裡。
總之，他們都受僱於想說服國王使者的人，假裝哥坦村都是愚人，因此後來出現了一句老諺語，“智者”或“傻瓜”的哥坦村。”
這個城市是“智者”或“傻瓜”的謎，早在十五世紀也提到“ 愚笨的高坦”，他們在十六世紀以高坦的瘋子作笑柄的的故事印出。
愚昧在每個國家都可看到，除了哥坦外，在英國還有許多其他著名的地方。諸如：有科格索爾(Coggeshall)，埃塞克斯(Essex)，人民奧斯威克(Austwick )的粗野人，約克郡(Yorkshire)，戈登(Gordon)的傻瓜，貝里克希爾(Berwickshir)。
回憶哥坦的聰明人，最受歡迎的流行童謠是：三個水手的故事，歌詞是：
英文是：
Three wise men of Gotham,
They went to sea in a bowl,
And if the bowl had been stronger,
My song had been longer.
中文翻譯：
三個聰明的哥坦人，乘坐一隻木碗去遠航，若不是那木碗非常堅固，我的這首歌會更長。 (圖5)
這首韻歌，被印出在1765年出版的鵝媽媽的旋律中，從此以後出現了眾多的文集。
這首韻歌導致了哥坦成為紐約市的綽號，這個名字第一次出現後，提醒人民哥坦居民的巧思愚蠢，華盛頓·歐文(Washington Irving) 在他的大雜燴論文（ 1807 ）給紐約命名為哥坦。但最顯著的名稱使用，是鮑勃·凱恩(Bob Kane)虛擬新澤西州的哥坦市是蝙蝠俠的家。哥坦市開始建造房子的目的，是給犯罪的瘋子住的，但羅賓讀到一本日記，講述了哥坦市是如何得到它的名字，他說“對於它，是根據英國的一個村莊的名字，命名的，把它稱作'哥坦'，大家的觀念，哥坦人是喪失一切智慧的人“
對於諾丁漢郡的哥坦市和紐約市的哥坦之間的關連作回應，紐約市的前市長朱利安尼(Rudolph Giuliani)，説“很高興有這個機會承認的文化和歷史的聯繫兩地”
在DC的漫畫“阿甘(Arkham)的蝙蝠俠”小丑特別背誦“智者哥坦市”的韻詩。
總之哥坦人到底是智者或笨伯，永遠是一個謎。