PROLOGUE / 前言

Long ago, the peacocks of Gongmen City created a thing of great beauty: fireworks. For generations the fireworks brought joy to the city. But one young peacock wondered if the flames held even greater power.

很久以前，宫门城的孔雀家族发明了一种无比美丽的东西：“烟花”。它为世世代代在这座城市居住的人们带来了欢乐和喜悦。但是，有一只年轻孔雀，它成天在琢磨，烟花会不会还有更大的威力呢？

Shen was a peacock with feathers as white as the winter snow. He spent hours in the darkness of his room experimenting with the black powder that created the dazzling light shows in the sky. But Shen wasn't making fireworks. Instead he imagined great weapons capable of deadly force.

小沈王爷，是一只羽毛洁白如雪的孔雀。他在黑暗的房间里花了好几个小时试验一些黑色粉末，正是这些粉末，让烟花在天空中发出耀眼的光芒。但小沈王爷并不是在研制烟花。相反，他想要的，是研制出一种致命的武器。

Lord and Lady Peacock turned to wise Soothsayer. An old goat, Soothsayer mixed herbs and oils until a cloud of smoke shot up, forming the black and white symbol of yin and yang. Soothsayer warned that if Shen continued down the path he was on, he would be stopped by a warrior of black and white.

孔雀家族的沈老爷和沈夫人（也就是小沈的父母）去找一位智慧的占卜师问卦。这位老山羊将药草和精油混合在一起，一团烟雾升起，代表阴和阳的黑白图案出现了。老山羊警告说，如果沈王爷继续一意孤行，最终会有一个浑身都是黑白图案的大侠阻止他。

Young Shen tried to change his fate, but what he did next only sealed it. He gathered a small army of wolf guards and attacked a village of peaceful panda farmers.

年轻的沈王爷企图改变自己的命运，但他接下来做的，断送了自己的一生。他纠集了一小队狼兵，袭击了一个宁静的熊猫村。

His parents were horrified by what their son had done. They banished him from the city. As he stormed away from the palace, Shen swore he would return and bring his fiery vengeance(['faɪərɪ]  ['ven(d)ʒ(ə)ns]) upon all of China.

沈王爷的父母被他们儿子的所作所为吓坏了。他们把他赶出了宫门城。当他怒气冲冲地离开宫殿时，沈王爷发誓他一定会回来的，回来向整个神州实施激烈的报复。

Years later, Shen was ready to keep his promise. Clouds of hot steam puffed, hissed, and billowed(['bɪləʊd]) inside an old fireworks factory. Sparks flew as workers shaped the red-hot metal with their hammers.

多年以后，这位沈王爷长大了，准备实施他的誓言。在一家老旧的烟花工厂里，热气腾腾、蒸汽嘶嘶作响，工人们用锤子敲打着烧红的金属，火花四溅。

One of the wolf leaders kneeled before his master, a cloaked figure with metal claws.

一个狼兵首领跪在他的主人面前，他的主人是一个披着斗篷、戴着金属爪子的人（沈王爷）。

"It's almost done, Lord Shen," the wolf leader reported, "But we need more metal."

“差不多了，沈王爷，”狼兵首领报告说，“但我们需要更多的金属。”

Shen nodded. "Go to the farthest(['fɑːðɪst]) village and get the metal," he replied. "Then we get the black powder. Then...We get the world."

沈王爷点点头。“去最远的村子去，把金属弄来，”他说，“然后，我们就有了黑火药，然后，世界就归我们了！”

(To be continued)

补：以上是昨天自己根据英文原版翻译的中文，有的地方需要继续润色改进，所幸今天晚上已收到网购寄来的双语对照版，以后会根据以下版本来校准笔者的翻译，持续改进，迭代提高，感谢大小朋友们、读者们、听众们的大力支持！

Kung Fu Panda2 功夫熊猫2（双语有声故事） Kung Fu Panda2 功夫熊猫2（双语有声故事）