018 苹果树人的传说

旁白 neutral

Do you like apples?

你喜欢苹果吗？

旁白 neutral

If so, you have a very special man to thank─or so legend would have you believe

如果是这样，你可得感谢一个非常特别的人——至少传说是这么说的。

旁白 neutral

In 1774 when America was about to become a new nation, a man named John Chapman was born─a man who would change the face of the American frontier

1774年，当美国即将成为一个新国家时，一个名叫约翰·查普曼的人出生了——他日后将改变美国边疆的面貌。

旁白 neutral

Not much is known about his childhood or his family

关于他的童年或家庭，人们所知甚少。

旁白 neutral

However, history books do tell us that he went to school and became very skilled with plants

不过，历史书确实告诉我们，他上过学，并且变得非常擅长与植物打交道。

旁白 neutral

There was one plant, however, that John preferred above all other plants: the apple tree

然而，在所有植物中，有一种是约翰最钟爱的：苹果树。

旁白 neutral

To him, the apple tree was a sign of hope─the way it blossomed in the spring and produced enough apples in the fall to feed a person for a full year

对他来说，苹果树是希望的象征——它在春天开花，在秋天结出足够多的苹果，能供一个人吃一整年。

旁白 neutral

He was a Christian man and was interested in sharing his apple trees and his love for God

他是一名基督徒，热衷于分享他的苹果树以及他对上帝的爱。

旁白 neutral

Since he had no wife or children, he decided to leave his home in Massachusetts and travel west to plant apple trees

由于没有妻儿，他决定离开马萨诸塞州的家，向西旅行去种植苹果树。

旁白 neutral

Like many settlers, John had heard rumors that the soil out West was dark and rich and ready for a good planting

和许多定居者一样，约翰听说西部的土壤又黑又肥沃，非常适合耕种。

旁白 neutral

This was all he needed to know to pack his bag

知道了这些，他就打点好行装，准备出发了。

旁白 neutral

In his small bag, he carried a blanket, some apple seeds, his Bible, and a pot

他小小的行囊里，装了一条毯子、一些苹果种子、《圣经》和一口锅。

旁白 neutral

It wasn't much, but it was all he needed to survive

东西不多，但足够他生存所需了。

旁白 neutral

John moved from town to town, from plain to plain, from wilderness to wilderness, planting apple seeds

约翰从一个城镇走到另一个城镇，穿过一片片平原，越过一片片荒野，到处播撒苹果种子。

旁白 neutral

First, he would look for ground that was near water so the seeds would have something to drink

首先，他会找靠近水源的土地，这样种子才能有水喝。

旁白 neutral

Then he would pull out the weeds or tall grasses from the soil, move large rocks and small stones

然后，他会拔除土里的杂草或高草，搬开大大小小的石块，

旁白 neutral

and then plow the field so the seedlings could plant their roots

接着再翻耕土地，好让幼苗能够扎根。

旁白 neutral

After the seedlings had broken through the soil, John would build a fence around them to keep animals from eating the baby trees

等到幼苗破土而出，约翰就会在它们周围筑起篱笆，免得动物来啃食这些小树苗。

旁白 neutral

In time the trees would become tall and strong

随着时间推移，这些树就会长得又高又壮。

旁白 neutral

Then John would sell the trees to settlers as they moved west

然后，约翰就会把这些树卖给向西迁徙的定居者。

旁白 neutral

The settlers would plant and eat from the trees at their new homes

移民们会在新家种下这些树，并从树上采摘果实。

旁白 neutral

After all of the trees were sold, John would move farther west himself and begin the plantings again

树苗全部卖完后，约翰自己会再往西走，重新开始种植。

旁白 neutral

Many settlers paid him a penny or two for each tree

许多移民为每棵树付给他一两便士。

旁白 neutral

However, some settlers didn't have any money and could only promise to pay him later

然而，有些移民没有钱，只能承诺以后付钱。

旁白 neutral

Other settlers were moving on and couldn't make that promise, so they paid John with used clothing or free meals

还有一些移民要继续赶路，没法许下这样的承诺，于是他们用旧衣服或请吃饭来支付给约翰。

旁白 neutral

John Chapman was loved by all the settlers who knew him

约翰·查普曼深受所有认识他的移民的喜爱。

旁白 neutral

Wherever he traveled, people spoke about the Apple Tree Man or, as he is popularly known, Johnny Appleseed

无论他走到哪里，人们都会谈论这位"苹果树人"，或者按大家更熟悉的叫法——"苹果籽约翰尼"。

旁白 neutral

People loved him because he was a kind and gentle man, and because he was generous with what little he had

人们爱戴他，因为他是个善良温和的人，也因为他虽然自己所有不多，却非常慷慨。

旁白 neutral

However, as people continued to travel west, stories about Johnny Appleseed sprouted up everywhere

然而，随着人们继续西行，关于苹果籽约翰尼的故事开始到处流传。

旁白 neutral

Some said that he used to talk to animals while he worked, and that he was such a gentle man the animals actually listened

有人说，他干活时常常会和动物说话，而因为他是个如此温柔的人，动物们真的会倾听。

旁白 neutral

In one story, a snowstorm took Johnny Appleseed by surprise, and he had no warm place to sleep

在一个故事里，一场暴风雪让苹果籽约翰尼措手不及，他没找到暖和的地方睡觉。

旁白 neutral

So he crawled into a hollow log with a mother bear and her cubs and spent the night, or so the story goes

于是，他爬进一根空心圆木，和一头母熊及她的幼崽共度了一夜，故事是这么说的。

旁白 neutral

Another story said that because Johnny Appleseed didn't wear any shoes, he had very tough feet

另一个故事说，因为苹果籽约翰尼不穿鞋，他的脚非常结实。

旁白 neutral

In fact, his feet were so tough that one afternoon, while he was working in the field, a rattlesnake tried to bite him but couldn't get through his skin!

事实上，他的脚结实到有一天下午在田里干活时，一条响尾蛇想咬他，却咬不透他的皮肤！

旁白 neutral

There is no historical record to prove that any of these Johnny Appleseed stories are true

没有历史记录能证明这些苹果籽约翰尼的故事是真实的。

旁白 neutral

Still, all accounts do agree about John Chapman's character

尽管如此，所有记述都对约翰·查普曼的品格有一致看法。

旁白 neutral

He was a man who was kind to the Indians and sincere in his Christian faith

他是一个对印第安人友善、秉持着真诚基督教信仰的人。

旁白 neutral

He loved God, and would happily tell anyone about God as he sold them apple trees or gave them some apples to eat

他敬爱上帝，在卖给人们苹果树或给他们苹果吃的时候，会很乐意跟他们讲述关于上帝的事。

旁白 neutral

John faithfully planted apple trees all across the wilderness of America, which later became the states of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois

约翰忠实地在美国的荒野各地种植苹果树，这些地方后来成为了印第安纳州、密歇根州、俄亥俄州和伊利诺伊州。

旁白 neutral

No one knows how many trees he planted, but the count is definitely in the millions

没人知道他种了多少棵树，但数量肯定以百万计。

旁白 neutral

Despite all the trees he planted, he was a very poor man who lived simply, but he seemed to like it that way

尽管种了那么多树，他仍是个生活简朴、非常贫穷的人，但他似乎喜欢这样。

旁白 neutral

He was welcomed at any settler's table for dinner, and would happily play with the children and read them Bible stories when the meal was finished

他在任何移民的餐桌边都受到欢迎，吃完饭还会开心地和孩子们玩耍，给他们读《圣经》故事。

旁白 neutral

Somewhere around the age of seventy, John Chapman died of the winter plague

大约七十岁时，约翰·查普曼死于冬季瘟疫。

旁白 neutral

Settlers mourned his death, but his generosity blooms each spring

移民们哀悼他的离世，但他的慷慨精神，每个春天都随花朵一同绽放。

旁白 neutral

As apple trees sprout up across the nation, the legend of Johnny Appleseed lives on

随着苹果树在全国各地生根发芽，苹果籽约翰尼的传奇得以延续。