Long ago a beautiful boy named Narcissus was born. An oracle(1) told his mother that he could live forever, but only if (只要)he never saw his reflection(2).

Echo(3), a nymph(4), used to be the goddess(5) Juno’s servant(6). Echo liked to gossip(7), and often told lies(8) about the gods(9). One day, Juno became angry and sent Echo away to live in the forest, saying, “As punishment(10) for your lies, from this day forth (从今天开始)you will only be able to repeat what others have spoken.”

One day Echo saw Narcissus. She fell in love with him at first sight(11). Echo quietly began to follow him. How she wished to be able to say to him, “I love you.” She started to cry.

Narcissus turned. “Is someone here?”

“Here,” Echo answered in a gentle voice(用温柔的嗓音).

Narcissus saw no one. “Come here,” he cried.

“Come here,” Echo repeated.

Now the young man became angry. “Who are you? What do you want?”

The nymph rushed out from her hiding place and tried to kiss him, but Narcissus pushed her away. “No! Go away! I will die before I love you!”(在爱你前我就死了,意为我不可能爱你)

“I love you!” she answered with her broken heart(12).

Narcissus ran away and came to a stream(13). When he leaned over(14) to take a drink, he saw his beautiful face reflected in the water. He had never seen his reflection before, so he thought that his reflection must be someone who lived in the stream. He fell in love with this beautiful person.

He leaned over to kiss the person in the stream, but when he did, the person disappeared(15).

“Come back, please!” Narcissus cried, but every time he tried to kiss his love, the reflection disappeared. Narcissus could not bear(16) to leave his love, and so he began to waste away(17). Finally, he died(18).

Echo, too, wasted away, leaving behind (未能带走,只留下)only her voice. It is Echo’s voice that sometimes reply to cry in the mountains.(强调句,意为在山谷里回应我们的正是那个回声的声音啊)

Narcissus’ body disappeared, and in his place beside the stream grew some beautiful flowers with silvery-green leaves and golden petals(19). These flowers have been known ever since as narcissus.(从那以后,我们就把这些花叫做水仙｡)