..续本文上一页捶鼓似地传入了牠的耳朵；他们所燃的火，更是烧透了牠的壳！

　　And so it went until one day the giant turtle was awakened by the pain from the fires.He wanted to cool himself, so he began to crawl toward the sea.He did not hear the people cry, "Earthquake! Earthquake!" or see them run hither and yon.

　　所以有一天，大龟王从烧灼的痛苦中醒来了，牠想要凉快自己，就开始往海里爬。但是牠没听到人们哭喊着：「地震！地震！」也没看到人们四处狂奔着。

　　When the giant turtle reached the sea, he immersed himself in the cool water to ease his pain.As the dwellers on his back saw water rising all around them, they screamed, "Flood! Flood! We will drown!"

　　当大龟王回到海里时，牠将自己浸在冷水中，以解除痛苦；而牠背上的居民一看到水涨到身边，都尖叫起来：「洪水！洪水！我们快淹死了！」

　　For the first time, the giant turtle realized that there were people living on his back.Not wanting to bring pain into their lives, he crawled back onto the beach.

　　这一次，大龟王总算知道有人住在牠的背上了！为了不给人们带来痛苦，牠又爬回到海滩上。

　　For another thousand years, he let the fires burn his skin and the rumble of the city shake him.During the days he held back the tears, but in the night he let them flow.So great was his pain and so silent were his tears that no one knew of his sacrifice.

　　另一个一千年又过去了，牠还是任由火烧灼着牠，任由城市隆隆的声音震动着牠。白天牠的泪水往内吞，晚上牠则让泪水静静地流下来。牠的痛苦是如此的巨大，可是牠的泪水却如此的无声无息，以至于没有人知道牠的牺牲。

　　Finally the giant turtle decided that he needed to return to the sea.Slowly raising his head, he spoke to the people, "Do not be afraid.I will not hurt you.You see, I am a giant turtle, and you are living on my shell.I must go back into the water, or I will die."

　　One by one, the people gathered their belongings and moved back onto the beach.The giant turtle eased their buildings and homes and palaces off his back.The people created new villages and cities on the earth and their lives went on as before.

　　最后，大龟王决定牠必须回到海里去，所以慢慢地抬起头来对人们说：「不要害怕！我不会伤害你们的。你看！我是一只巨大的乌龟，可是你们却住在我的背壳上；现在我必须回到水里，否则我会死的。」

　　这时，人们一个接一个收拾他们的财物，然后搬到岸上。当背上的建筑物、家园、宫殿被除去后，大龟王也感到舒服了。人们在陆地上建立了新的村落和城市，就如同以前一样地过日子。

　　All were grateful for the kindness of the giant turtle.They bowed to him, saying, "For thousands of years, you gave us your back on which to build our world, and now you save our lives.You are king turtle!Surely, you will become a Buddha in the future."

　　大龟王的慈悲，令大家都非常感激，人们礼拜牠说：「数千年来，你让我们在你的背上建立我们的世界，现在还救了我们的生命，你真是一位王者呀！将来一定会成佛的！」

　　Then the birds flew high above the turtle and placed garlands of fragrant flowers around his neck.Monkeys rubbed his sores with healing herbs, and elephants trumpeted sweet music to soothe his ears.

　　接着鸟儿也来到牠的上空飞翔，将香花鬘挂在牠的颈子上；猴子们用了药草来帮牠敷愈伤口；大象们竖起长鼻子，奏着甜美的音乐，来抚慰牠的耳朵。

　　The people swept the sand from his back with peacock feathers, and the giant turtle crawled back into the sea.

　　人们则拿着孔雀的羽毛扫除了牠背上的沙；最后大龟王又回到海里了！

　　After the telling of this tale, the Buddha said, "I was the king turtle, and the people that lived on my back became my disciples."

　　讲完了这个故事后，佛陀就说：「我就是那只大龟王，那些住在我背上的人，后来就变成我的弟子。」

《大龟王(佛陀本生故事)The Giant Turtle》全文阅读结束。