本文是一篇希臘神話，講述了一個凄婉動人的故事。主人公Dryope因誤傷了一位化身為荷花的女神而被變成了同樣的植物。文章語言生動，情節感人，從主人公幸福的生活入手，更增添了故事的悲劇色彩。我想人人都會為Dryope傷心落淚的……

Dryope and Iole were sisters. The former was the wife of Andraemon, beloved by her husband, and happy in the birth of her first child. One day the sisters strolled to the bank of a stream that sloped gradually down to the water's edge, while the upland was overgrown with myrtles.

* beloved by：beloved by也用做beloved of，表示"所鐘愛的"、"受愛戴的"等意思。A person beloved by all就是"大家喜歡的人"。She was beloved of all who knew her表示"認識她的人都喜歡她"，嗬！一定是個極其可愛的姑娘。

* stroll："散步"、"溜達"、"閑逛"等意思，姐妹倆沿小溪散步，本來是多么的愉快和閑適啊！沒想到……

* slope："傾斜"的意思，the bank of a stream that sloped gradually down to the water's edge是"河岸緩緩向水邊傾斜"的意思。

* upland："高地"的意思，常用做uplands, broad sunlit uplands是"陽光普照的開闊高地"的意思。

* myrtle：一種矮樹，香桃木，番櫻桃；在美語中還特指"常春花"和"香楊梅"。

They were intending to gather flowers for forming garlands for the altars of the nymphs, and Dryope carried her child at her bosom, precious burden, and nursed him as she walked.Near the water grew a lotus plant, full of purple flowers. Dryope gathered some and offered them to the baby, and Iole was about to do the same, when she perceived blood dropping from the places where her sister had broken them off the stem. The plant was none other than the nymph Lotis, who, running from a base pursuer [Priapus], had been changed into this form. This they learned from the country people when it was too late.

* garlands："花環"、"花冠"的意思。原來她們采鮮花是為了裝飾仙女們的祭壇。

* perceive："察覺"、"發覺"的意思。當妹妹發現斷枝的花桿上竟有血流出時，才知道這花是一位女神的化身。但一切都已經太遲了。

Dryope, horror-struck when she perceived what she had done, would gladly have hastened from the spot, but found her feet rooted to the ground. She tried to pull them away, but moved nothing but her upper limbs. The woodiness crept upward and by degrees invested her body.

* hasten："催促"、"促進"的意思，在這里的意思是"急忙"， Dryope發現自己犯了錯，并意識到了問題的嚴重性，此時急于離開的心情用hasten這一動作來表達，真是太恰當不過了。

* root：root是指"植物的根部"，用做動詞講就是"生根"的意思。Rooted由"生根"引申而來，意思是"象生了根一樣紋絲不動"。

* creep："爬行"、"蔓延"等意思。

* invest：大家都知道invest是"投資"的意思，那么這里The woodiness crept upward and by degrees invested her body可以翻譯成"木質的東西逐漸向上爬投資了她的身體"嗎？顯然是不對的，因為invest還有一個意思，表示"侵占"、"占領"等。因此，上句應翻譯成"她的身體由下往上，逐漸變成了木質的東西"。

In anguish she attempted to tear her hair, but found her hands filled with leaves.The infant felt his mother's bosom begin to harden, and the milk cease to flow. Iole looked on at the sad fate of her sister, and could render no assistance. She embraced the growing trunk, as if she would hold back the advancing wood, and would gladly have been enveloped in the same bark. At this moment Andraemon, the husband of Dryope, with her father, approached; and when they asked for Dryope, Iole pointed them to the new-formed lotus. They embraced the trunk of the yet warm tree, and showered their kisses on its leaves.

* anguish：是"極大的痛苦"的意思。好端端的一個人被變成了植物，可想而知是多大的痛苦啊！