a vast plateau of basalt slabs and columns

茫茫玄武岩臺地

called the Giant's Causeway

巨人堤

stretches into the ocean.

延伸到海里。

The scientific explanation for this

對此的科學解釋是

is that it's the result of molten lava contracting and fracturing

是熔岩收縮和斷裂的結果。

as it cooled in the wake of a volcanic eruption.

因為它在火山噴發後冷卻了。

But an ancient Irish myth has a different accounting.

但一個古老的愛爾蘭神話卻有不同的記載。

According to legend,

據傳說。

the giant Finn MacCool lived happily on the North Antrim coast

巨人Finn MacCool在北安特里姆海岸快樂地生活著。

with his wife Oonagh.

與他的妻子奧納赫。

Their only disturbance came from the taunts and threats

他們唯一的困擾來自於嘲諷和威脅。

of the giant Benandonner,

的巨人貝南頓納。

or the red man, who lived across the sea in Scotland.

或紅人，住在海對面的蘇格蘭。

The two roared insults and hurled rocks at each other

兩人互相辱罵，互相投擲石塊。

in dramatic shows of strength.

在戲劇性的力量展示中。

Once, Finn tore up a great clump of land and heaved it at his rival,

有一次，費恩撕起一大塊土地，重重地砸向對手。

but it fell short of reaching land.

但它卻沒有達到陸地。

Instead, the clump became the Isle of Man,

相反，這團東西卻成了馬恩島。

and the crater left from the disturbed earth filled with water

地動山搖，水漫金山

to become Lough Neagh.

成為尼格湖。

The giants' tough talk continued,

巨頭們的強硬言論還在繼續。

until one day Benandonner challenged Finn to a fight, face to face.

直到有一天，貝南頓納向芬恩發起挑戰，面對面地打一場。

And so the Irish giant tossed enough boulders into the sea

於是愛爾蘭巨人把足夠多的巨石扔進了海里

to create a bridge of stepping stones to the Scottish coast.

以打造一座通往蘇格蘭海岸的踏腳石之橋。

Finn marched across in a fit of rage.

芬恩怒氣衝衝地走了過去。

When Scotland loomed before him,

當蘇格蘭在他面前若隱若現。

he made out the figure of Benandonner from afar.

他遠遠地就看清了貝南頓納的身影。

Finn was a substantial size,

費恩是一個相當大的體型。

but at the sight of his colossal enemy thundering towards him,

但在看到他的巨大敵人雷霆萬鈞地朝他走來時。

his courage faltered.

他的勇氣動搖了。

With one look at Benandonner's thick neck and crushing fists, Finn turned and ran.

看了一眼貝南頓納粗壯的脖子和粉碎的拳頭，芬恩轉身就跑。

Back home, with Benandonner fast approaching,

回到家，班頓納快到了。

Finn trembled as he described his enemy's bulk to Oonagh.

芬恩顫抖著向奧納格描述敵人的體型。

They knew that if he faced Benandonner head on,

他們知道，如果他正面面對貝南頓納。

he'd be crushed.

他將會被粉碎。

And so Oonagh hatched a cunning plan -

於是，歐那赫想出了一個狡猾的計劃--。

they needed to create an illusion of size,

他們需要創造一種大小的錯覺。

to suggest Finn was a mountain of a man whilst keeping him out of sight.

暗示Finn是個大人物，同時又不讓他看見。

As Benandonner neared the end of the bridge,

當貝南頓納接近橋的盡頭時。

Oonagh stuffed her husband in a huge cradle.

歐納格把丈夫塞進了一個巨大的搖籃裡。

Disguised as an enormous baby,

偽裝成一個巨大的嬰兒。

Finn lay quiet as Benandonnner pounded on the door.

芬恩靜靜地躺在床上，貝南頓納敲著門。

The house shook as he stepped inside.

當他走進去的時候，房子在搖晃。

Oonagh told the enraged visitor that her husband wasn't home,

歐納告訴憤怒的來訪者，她的丈夫不在家。

but welcomed him to sit and eat while he waited.

但歡迎他坐下來，邊等邊吃。

When Benandonner tore into the cakes placed before him,

當貝南頓納撕開擺在面前的蛋糕時。

he cried out in pain

他痛哭流涕

for he'd shattered his teeth on the metal Oonagh had concealed inside.

因為他的牙齒被歐那格藏在裡面的金屬打碎了。

She told him that this was Finn's favorite bread,

她告訴他，這是Finn最喜歡的麵包。

sewing a seed of doubt in Benandonner's mind

在班南頓納的腦海裡埋下了懷疑的種子。

that he was any match for his rival.

他是任何對手的對手。

When Finn let out a squawk,

當芬恩發出一聲叫聲的時候。

Benandonner's attention was drawn to the gigantic baby in the corner.

貝南頓納的注意力被角落裡的巨大嬰兒吸引。

So hefty was the infant swaddled under piles of blankets,

襁褓中的嬰兒就這麼重重地躺在一堆毯子下。

Benandonner shuddered at the thought of what the father would look like.

貝南頓納想到父親的模樣就不寒而慄。

He decided he'd rather not find out.

他決定寧可不知道。

As he fled, Benandonner tore up the rocks connecting the shores,

在他逃跑的時候，貝南頓納撕毀了連接海岸的岩石。

breaking up the causeway.

打破了堤道。

What remains are two identical rock formations:

留下的是兩塊相同的岩層。

one on the North Antrim coast of Ireland

一個在愛爾蘭北安特里姆海岸

and one at Fingal's Cave in Scotland, right across the sea.

還有一個在蘇格蘭的Fingal's Cave，就在海對面。