三國演義雙語故事(12):馬躍檀溪

A Leap Over the Tanxi River

Liu Bei captured an excellent horse in a battle. When Liu Biao marveled at the steed， Liu Bei gave it to him as a gift. Under Liu Biao， there was a horse expert who said， “This horse， though excellent， tends to harm its owner； you'd better return it to Liu Bei.” Following the expert's advice， Liu Biao returned the horse to Liu Bei. Liu Biao's wife Cai and her brother had long wished to Xiangyang to meet some officiAls. Cai and her brother decided it was an good opportunity. They sent troops to guard every city gate except the western one， for outside that gate， the wide Tanxi River， with its rapid water， blocked the road. At the banquet for officials， a man hinted to Liu Bei that Liu Biao planned to kill him. Liu Bei followed the man to the back garden， where he whispered into his ear the details of plan Cai and her brother had set. “Every gate but the western one is heavily guarded，” the man added. “The western gate is your only chance.” Alarmed， Liu Bei mounted the horse and fled. Outside the gate the river blocked his way. Soldiers were fast approaching. Liu Bei whipped the horse like mad， the animal moved forward， but after just a few steps into the river it stumbled. “Surely you harm your master，” Liu Bei cried in despair. At this， oddly， the horse made a vigorous leap to the other side of the river， leaving the soldiers behind.

Note： Liu Biao was a governor of Jingzhou and a Han royal family member.

馬躍檀溪

有次打仗，劉備繳獲一匹名叫“ 的盧”的千里馬。荊州刺史劉表看後禁不住連聲稱讚。劉備見劉表如此喜歡，將此馬送給了劉表。劉表手下有一人頗懂相馬術，言此馬有妨主之相，勸劉表將馬還給劉備。劉表的夫人蔡氏和其兄蔡瑁早有殺害劉備之心。一次，劉表請劉備代替他到襄陽去會見百官，蔡氏兄妹覺得這是殺害劉備的好機會。該城西門外有一條檀溪河，河寬水急，不易通過。蔡氏兄妹在東、南、北門派重兵把守，只留西門，等待下手。席間，一個叫伊籍的人來到劉備面前暗示，劉備假借更衣來到了後花園，伊籍附耳告訴劉備：“蔡瑁設計害你，已在東南北三個門派人把守，你只能出西門，快逃！”劉備大驚，策馬跑出西門，行數裏被檀溪河阻住去路，這時追兵趕來，劉備急打馬過溪，沒走幾步，馬失前蹄。劉備大呼：“的盧，的盧，今日果然害我！”話音剛落，只見馬從水中一躍數丈，飛身上了西岸，擺脫了追兵。