尼诺和忠狗——阿波罗与海辛瑟斯

Apollo, the son of Zeus, was fond of a young man named Hyacinthus. Apollo and Hyacinthus enjoyed playing different kinds of sports together. Hyacinthus enjoyed doing things for Apollo. Even though Apollo was a god, he and Hyacinthus were the best of friends.

One day Apollo decided to practice throwing the discus. Apollo and Hyacinthus went to the big field near Apollo's house. Apollo lifted the discus and threw it high and far in the air. The discus seemed to fly forever.

Hyacinthus watched it fly and chased after it. He wanted to throw the discus back to Apollo. But when the discus finally fell, it struck him on the head.

Apollo saw what had happened and called to him, but Hyacinthus could not answer. Hyacinthus was dying. He had been wounded very badly.

Apollo tried every possible way to save his faithful friend, but to no avail! Apollo said to Hyacinthus, "My friend, Hyacinthus, you were robbed of your youth by me. I can do nothing for you. From now on you will live with me in my heart and in my song. My harp will play for you, and I will write a song describing your death. And you will become a flower to tell of my sadness."

As Apollo spoke these words, the blood flowing from Hyacinthus' wound turned the ground red. Wonderfully, a beautiful lily-like flower sprang up. To this day the flower is called the hyacinth. When spring comes, seeing this flower may remind us of this tale.

阿波罗是宙斯之子，他喜欢一个名叫海辛瑟斯的少年。他们两人喜欢在一起做各种不同的运动。海辛瑟斯喜欢为阿波罗做事。即使阿波罗是神，他和海辛瑟斯仍是最好的朋友。

有一天阿波罗决定练习掷铁饼。阿波罗和海辛瑟斯到阿波罗家附近的大田径场。阿波罗举起铁饼向空中掷去，掷得又高又远。铁饼似乎不断地在飞行。

海辛瑟斯一边望着铁饼飞行一边追着，想要把它丢回给阿波罗。但当铁饼最后掉落时，打中了他的头部。

阿波罗看到当时的情景，于是大声叫他，但是海辛瑟斯一句话也未答。他快死了，他伤得很重。

阿波罗想尽各种办法要救他的挚友，但已回天乏术！阿波罗对海辛瑟斯说：『我的朋友啊！我夺走了你年轻的生命，却束手无策，从现在起你将活在我的心中和我的歌里。我会为你弹奏竖琴，并写一首歌来歌颂你的英年早逝。而你也会变成一朵花来述说我心中的悲恸。』

就当阿波罗说这些话时，海辛瑟斯伤口的鲜血流到地上，染成了一片红。很奇妙的是，一枝百合般的美丽花朵长了出来。这就是今天我们所称的『风信子』。每当春天来临时，我们看到这些花朵就会想起这个故事。