普赛克（Psyche）在希腊神话中是人类灵魂的化身，她是一个非常漂亮的姑娘，以至于至高无上的爱神维纳斯（Venus）都对她产生了嫉妒。Venus叫她的儿子Cupid去使Psyche爱上一个魔鬼，没想到丘比特（Cupid）却对她一见钟情……

Cupid and Psyche(1)

Once there was a king who had three daughters. Psyche was the youngest and most beautiful. She was so beautiful that the people in her land began to neglect Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, to worship Psyche instead. Venus became jealous and eventually so angry that she sought revenge. Venus went to her son, Cupid, and asked him to make Psyche fall in love with a hideous monster.

Cupid agreed but upon setting his eyes on Psyche, he fell in love with her. He was unable to carry out his mother's wishes. Meanwhile, Psyche's father, the king, was trying to marry her off with her sisters. Unfortunately, no one wanted to marry Psyche because she was too beautiful. The king was very upset, and consulted Apollo 's oracle. The Oracle told him to leave Psyche on a mountainside where a serpent would take her away.

On the mountain, Psyche waited patiently in despair. She sat and sat, but the serpent never came for her. Instead, Zephyr, the most gentle of winds, carried her away. In the morning, Psyche awoke. She looked around her and saw a castle. Intrigued, she wandered toward it. As she got closer, Psyche noticed that the palace was empty.

Psyche neared the threshold and was surprised to hear voices calling her name. She entered the palace and listened as the voices directed her about her new home. "We are your servants. Everything you see around you is yours."

Psyche had everything she had ever wanted, but something was missing, or rather someone. As evening neared, the voices told Psyche that her husband would be returning. He came to her in total darkness, but she wasn't afraid. Psyche knew that he couldn't be a monster.

参考译文——丘比特和普赛克(1)

　　从前有个国王，他有三个女儿。普赛克是最小的也是最漂亮的一个。她实在太漂亮了，以致她那个国家的人都忽视了爱与美的女神维纳斯，转而崇拜普赛克。维纳斯开始的时候是嫉妒，后来就试图寻找报复的办法。她向自己的儿子丘比特求助，让他设法使普赛克爱上一个可怕的魔鬼。

　　丘比特同意了。但当他看到普赛克的时候，他即可爱上了她。他不能行使他妈妈的意愿。同时，普赛克作国王的父亲，想把普赛克嫁出去。不幸的是，普赛克太漂亮了，没有人愿意娶她。她的父亲非常沮丧，向阿波罗的神喻祈求办法。神喻说，将普赛克置于 山腰，一条大毒蛇会将她带走。

　　在山里，普赛克在绝望中耐心等待着。她就这样坐着，坐着，但并没有什么毒蛇靠近她。相反，风向中最温和的西风，将她带走了。清晨，普赛克醒来。她环顾左右，发现了一座城堡里。充满了好奇，她向城堡走去。走得近了，她发现，那座城堡是空的。

　　她惊奇地发现有人在叫她的名字。她走进这个新发现的地方，跟着那个声音的指导她查看自己的新家。“我们都是你的仆人，你所看到的一切都是你的。”

　　普赛克拥有了她想拥有的一切，但总觉得缺了什么，或者缺了什么人。夜晚临近，那些声音告诉普赛克，她的丈夫要回来了。他只能在完全的黑暗中走近她，可她不必害怕。普赛克知道他一定不是个魔鬼。

（未完，待续）