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，以至于至高无上的神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Cupid却对她一见钟情……

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.

* neglect：“忽视”、“忽略”的意思。Psyche长的太漂亮了，以至于人们开始忽视爱神Venus的美貌，转而崇拜Psyche了。这使得Venus非常嫉妒，从而想设法（sought，原形是seek）报复她。

* hideous：“极丑的”、“令人生厌的”等意思。Venus真是妒心太重了，竟然要求她的儿子Cupid帮忙，让Psyche爱上一个丑陋无比的怪物。传说中，Cupid有一种箭，他向任何人射一支，都会使这个人晕倒，等他醒来时，就会爱上所看到的第一个人。所以要Psyche爱上一个魔鬼是很容易的。

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.

* consult：“请教”、“咨询”的意思。

* oracle：“神谕”。Psyche太漂亮了，以至于没人敢娶她，她的父亲急得去请教Apollo 的神谕。女孩子长的太漂亮了原来也嫁不出去，嗬！

* serpent：“毒蛇”。Serpent也指“魔鬼”、“撒旦”等，在基督教《创世纪》中就有一段，描述魔鬼变成毒蛇引诱夏娃，从而使她和亚当偷吃了禁果。

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.

* intrigue：intrigue除了表示“阴谋”外，还有“引起……好奇心”、“迷住”的意思。Psyche的好奇心很大，这次她交了好运，进了一个金碧辉煌的宫殿。而后来，她的好奇心却差点使她永睡不起。

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."

* threshold：“门槛”的意思。

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.