又中又英 | Greek mythology | 褚简宁

　　What walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening? It is a riddle, which means a difficult and confusing question which has a clever answer. I came across this riddle recently while reading a book about Greek mythology. The word “mythology” comes from the word “myth”, which means an ancient story that is based on beliefs instead of reality. Greek mythology has gods, heroes, and monsters. The hit movie The Odyssey is part of Greek mythology. I loved reading books about Greek mythology as a young boy.

　　I have started reading them again to jog my memory, which means to remind me of something. The Greek mythology book I am now reading jogged my memory about what walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening. The riddle’s answer is man or, to be politically correct, a human. A human crawls on arms and legs as a baby, walks with two legs as an adult, and uses a walking stick as a third foot when old.

　　The Sphinx, a mythical monster with a woman’s head, a lion’s body, and a bird’s wings, prevented anyone from leaving or entering the city of Thebes. People who wanted to enter must correctly answer the monster’s riddle about what walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening. It kills or eats those who give wrong answers. The mythical Greek hero Oedipus, king of Thebes, wanted to enter the city after a long exile. He correctly answered The Sphinx’s riddle. The Sphinx was so enraged that it jumped off a cliff and died.

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　　有甚么是早上四脚走路，中午两脚走路，晚上三脚走路？这是个 riddle，意即谜语，谜题隐晦、曲折但有着巧妙的答案。我最近读到一本关于Greek mythology的书时，就遇上这个谜语（riddle）。Mythology一字来自myth，它是指基于信念而非真实的古代神话故事。希腊神话（Greek mythology）当中有神祇、英雄与怪兽。大热电影《奥德赛》说的也是希腊神话（Greek mythology）的一部分。我还是年轻小伙子时，就喜爱阅读关于希腊神话（Greek mythology）的书籍。

　　我又开始读起这些书以 jog my memory，意即唤醒我的记忆。我现在阅读的希腊神话（Greek mythology）书提醒了我（jog my memory），甚么是早上四脚走路，中午两脚走路，晚上三脚走路。谜语（riddle）的答案是man（人，有时可单指男人），或政治正确来说human（人类）。人在婴儿时会手脚并用在地上爬行，成年时用两条腿走路，暮年则用拐杖作为第三条腿辅助走路。

　　斯芬克斯（the Sphinx）是有女人头面、狮身和雀鸟翅膀的神话（mythical）怪物，阻止任何人离开或进入底比斯之城。希望入城的人必须正确回答怪物的谜题（riddle）：甚么是早上四脚走路，中午两脚走路，晚上三脚走路？牠会杀害或吃掉所有答错的人。神话中的（mythical）希腊英雄，底比斯之王伊底帕斯，在漫长的放逐后想进城，他正确地回答了斯芬克斯的谜语（the Sphinx’s riddle）。斯芬克斯（the Sphinx）愤怒得跳下悬崖而死。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻