EP.9 善良的水鬼/A Kind Water Ghost

歡迎大家跟Bear老師一起學英文，也多了解中華文化。由於Bear老師還有學校教職，比較忙碌，因此每十天才更新一次喔！如果想知道更多關於每集的英語小知識，請追蹤Bear老師的FB或IG。(欲下載逐字稿PDF檔請加入臉書或IG)
(本集背景音樂：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDZ9fbKDtoM)

Hello, this is teacher Bear. 我是Bear老師。

在上一集當中，Bear老師提到了農曆七月(the seventh lunar month)是華人文化當中的鬼月(the ghost month)。在鬼月的時候，你是不是常聽到老人說別去水邊，因為有水鬼(water ghost)會抓人。小朋友，你一定覺得奇怪，水鬼為什麼要抓人呢？傳說啊~那是因如果一個水鬼能抓一個人來代替祂，那麼，這個水鬼就可以去投胎 (to reincarnate)，重新當一個人。而被抓的那個人就會淹死，也變成水鬼，必須等到抓了下一個人代替祂，才能離開。聽起來真可怕，對不對？(It sounds scary, right?)

不過，你知道嗎？大部分的鬼都不是壞鬼，有的鬼甚至於很善良 (very kind)。今天，Bear老師就要來跟你們說一個善良的水鬼的故事。

有一個水鬼 (There was a water ghost)，等著抓一個人來代替祂 (he was waiting to catch someone to replace him)。可是過了好多年 (But after many years)，祂卻因為不忍心 (because he couldn't be ruthless)，所以一個人都沒抓 (so he didn't catch anyone)。一年一年地過去了 (years passed)，水裡又黑又冷又寂寞 (it was dark, cold, and lonely under the water)，所以啊，今年祂決定一定要離開這條河(so, this year he decided that he must leave this river.)。祂說：「我這次一定要抓一個人來代替我 (I must catch someone to replace me this time)。」

有一天，來了一個抓魚的男孩 (One day, a boy came to catch a fish)，水鬼準備好了 (the water ghost was ready)，正要抓他的時候 (and just as he was about to catch the boy)，忽然這個少年說：「希望今天能抓到一條魚給弟弟吃 (I hope I can catch a fish for my brother to eat today)，這樣他的病就會快一點好了 (so that his illness will get better as soon as possible)。」原來，這個少年是一個孤兒 (It turned out that the boy was an orphan)，家裡有一個生病的弟弟需要他照顧 (and there was a sick younger brother at home who needed him to be cared for)。水鬼不忍心，就放棄了 (The water ghost couldn't be ruthless, and gave up)。

過了幾天，來了一個女人到河邊洗衣服 (A few days later, a woman came to wash clothes by the river)，水鬼正準備要抓她，忽然看見她摸著肚子 (The water ghost was about to catch her, but suddenly saw her touching her belly)。她說：「孩子啊！再過幾個月就能見到你了 (My child! I will see you in a few months)，希望你健康長大 (I hope you grow up healthy) 。」原來，這個女人懷孕了 (It turned out that this woman was pregnant)，這樣是兩條生命啊 ( This is two lives)！水鬼又不忍心，只好再次放棄 (The water ghost couldn't be ruthless, and gave up again)。

又過了幾天，水鬼下定決心，無論如何今天都要抓一個人來代替 (A few days later, the water ghost made up his mind, no matter what, he would catch someone to replace him today)。過了不久，有一個年輕人到河邊來取水 (Not long after, a young man came to the river to fetch water)，水鬼把握機會狠狠地把他拖下水去 (the water ghost took the opportunity and dragged him into the water ruthlessly)。就在這時，水鬼想起了這個年輕人上個月才帶著他的老母親來河邊散步 (At this moment, the water ghost recalled that this young man took his old mother for a walk by the river last month)，如果他死了，那麼他的老母親怎麼辦呢 (If he died, what would happen to his old mother)？想到這裡，水鬼立刻放手了(Thinking of this, the water ghost immediately let him go)。

最後，水鬼還是一個人都沒抓 (In the end, the water ghost caught no one)。又過了好久好久以後，有一天(After a long, long time, one day)，玉皇大帝經過這裡，看見了水鬼，祂很驚訝 (the Emperor of heaven passed by here and saw this water ghost, he was very surprised)，祂說：「已經過了這麼多年，你怎麼還在這裡 (It has been so many years, why are you still here?)？唉~~看來你不適合當水鬼(Alas~~ It seems that you are not suitable to be a water ghost)，這樣吧，最近天上的工作太多 (well - there is too much work in Heaven lately)，我忙不過來 (I am too busy to finish my work)，你來幫我吧(you come to help me)！」就這樣，水鬼變成了神仙，到天上去工作啦 (With that, the water ghost became an angel and went to work in Heaven)！

小朋友，你看這個鬼是不是跟你想的很不一樣呢？特別善良 (especially kind)。不過，不管怎麼樣，不管你相不相信這個傳說，你去水邊玩的時候，還是得注意安全，好好地保護自己，知道嗎？(You have to pay attention to safety and protect yourself, okay? ) 一定一定要注意安全、保護自己喔！永遠記住，安全第一(Safety first)！

你還記得「善良」的英文怎麼說嗎？你怎麼用英文誇獎一個人非常善良呢？你可以說：
“You are very kind.”

你說對了嗎？請跟Bear老師再說一次：
“You are very kind.”

小朋友，希望鬼月不但不讓你害怕，反而讓你有機會認識華人文化中的鬼。
I hope Ghost Month won’t make you scared, but you can learn more about ghosts in Chinese culture.

我們下次見嘍。
See you next time.
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