“When I nodded, he peeled the clothes from my body and let the sweat dry on my skin. Then he pulled off his undershirt and shucked off his pants and covered me.
It hurt, when he moved between my legs. When he pushed inside of me. I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about, why the poets wrote sonnets about this moment, why Penelope had waited for Odysseus, why knights rode off to battle with ribbons from their lovers wrapped around the hilts of their swords. And then, I understood. My heart, batting like a moth under my rib cage, slowed to match the beat of his. I could sense the blood in his veins moving with mine, like the inevitable chorus of a song. I was different, with him, transformed from ugly duckling to snowy swan. I was, for a minute, the girl of someone’s dreams. I was a reason to stay alive.”
这是作家Jodi Picoult 在2013年出版的小说《The Storyteller》中的一段。描述一个二战时身在波兰的犹太女孩，在被抓去集中营前的头一天，找到一个曾经爱慕并且帮助过她的同校男生，一起品尝人世间第一次也很可能是最后一次的滋味。一段关于特殊环境下人间情色的文字。这里翻译成中文。
小说在故事，人物，写作手法上有可圈可点之处。值得一读。
译文：
“看我点了点头，他就把我身上的衣服剥下，让我皮肤上的汗风干。然后他脱下自己的汗衫，除下裤子扔到一旁。压到了我身上。
疼，当他在我的两腿之间移动的时候。当他用力进入我身体的时候。那一瞬我搞不懂这究竟有什么不得了的，为什么诗人们会专门为了这个时刻写洋洋洒洒的十四行诗，为什么佩涅洛佩要热切等待奥德修斯的归来，为什么骑士们冲向战场时挥舞的长剑，要缠绕带着爱人体味的丝带。
然后，我懂了。我的心脏，本来像一只在肋骨做成的牢笼里左冲右突乱撞的飞蛾，慢下来，开始和他的心跳合拍。我能感到他血管里的血液，和我自己的汇成一股奔流，如同一首歌中注定要发生的合唱。和他一起，我不再是我，而是从一个丑小鸭变身成了白天鹅。就在那一刻，我，是某个人梦中的女孩。我，成为了一个活下去的理由。”
原文：
“When I nodded, he peeled the clothes from my body and let the sweat dry
on my skin. Then he pulled off his undershirt and shucked off his pants and
covered me.
It hurt, when he moved between my legs. When he pushed inside of me. I
didn’t understand what all the fuss was about, why the poets wrote sonnets
about this moment, why Penelope had waited for Odysseus, why knights rode
off to battle with ribbons from their lovers wrapped around the hilts of their
swords. And then, I understood. My heart, batting like a moth under my rib
cage, slowed to match the beat of his. I could sense the blood in his veins
moving with mine, like the inevitable chorus of a song. I was different, with
him, transformed from ugly duckling to snowy swan. I was, for a minute, the
girl of someone’s dreams. I was a reason to stay alive.”
欧美当代不少当代文学作品大量引用借用希腊神话
余颔首，示其剥吾衣裙。余香汗淋漓，任其风干。其遂褪衫脱裤，将吾裹于身下。其于吾两股间游移，余感痛甚。其入吾身时，余茫然不知此顿忙活皆是为何。文人墨客缘何为此刻赋诗良多，女神缘何日夜企盼男神归国，骑士征战沙场，缘何将剑柄用知己丝绦缠裹。须臾，余遂顿悟。余心犹如困于肋骨所制牢笼之飞蛾，胡飞乱撞，继之缓缓与其心跳相合。余可觉其脉内血流，与吾脉内血流融合，犹如一首命中注定合唱曲歌。与其同在，余已脱胎换骨，原本丑小鸭一只，而今变成了大白天鹅。转瞬之间，余已成为某君之梦中人也。余不再去寻死觅活。
有出嫁者哭问嫂，此礼何人所制？嫂曰：“周公。”女将周公大骂。及满月归宁，问嫂周公何在？嫂云，寻他做甚？女曰：“欲制一鞋谢之耳。”------明 冯梦龙《笑府 谢周公》
一女未嫁者，私问其嫂曰：“此事颇乐否？”嫂曰：“有甚乐处，只为周公之礼，制定夫妇耳。”及女出嫁后归宁，一见其嫂，即笑骂曰：“好个说谎精。”------清 游戏主人《笑林广记 问嫂》
新姑娘出嫁，母亲遣伴娘同往，伴娘回来，母亲问："姑娘入洞房后说些什么话。"伴娘说：“只听得姑娘说妙。”母亲说：“新过门的人，如何说得妙。”乃用纸条，写“不可言妙”四字，交伴娘带去，给姑娘看。姑娘看了，亦写一纸条回复曰：“妙不可言。”------清 程世爵 《笑林广记 姑娘说妙》