pronouncement - provoke Greedy heirs

贪婪的继承人

The provenance of the book of prose was clear;

那本散文集的历史 由来很清楚：

it had belonged to aristocrats, a provincial Duke and even a King.

它曾经属于几位贵族， 一位外省伯爵， 甚至一位国王。

Now, however, it was the property of a common man.

但现在，它是一个普通 人的财产，

And he wanted to keep it to himself.

而且他还不想把 它转让给别人。

The heirs of the former owners,

先前那些主人的 继承者们

who had already received the much larger proportion of the inheritance,

虽然已经得到了 绝大部分遗产，

were proponents of having it published so that they could make even more money.

但为了得到更多的钱， 他们成了出版这本书 的建议者。

But the new owner had obtained the book as a provision of the will of the former owner.

但新主人是根据旧主人 遗嘱中的一项条文 得到此书的，

He refused each of their propositions.

因此他们的建议他 一概没有接受。

Their prospects were looking bleak

他们的前景看起来 十分渺茫

when they discovered that the new owner

他们发现新主人

was letting a professor's assistant proofread the book as part of her research.

正让一名教授的助手校 对这本书，因为她的研 究就包含了这方面的内 容，

This assistant thought the book was the prototype of a whole literary genre.

这名助手认为此书 乃是整个一种文学 体裁的原型。

She had even written a grant proposal to conduct research

她甚至写了一份资助建 议书，以便进行相关研 究，

that she was sure would propel her to academic acclaim.

她相信这项研究将 激励她赢得学术界 的赞扬。

The heirs saw this assistant

那些继承人把这名 助手看成

as an opportunity to increase their prosperity by getting access to the book.

是接近那本书从而 变得更加富有的机会。

They found her proposal

他们找到了她的 建议书，

and agreed to fund her research provided she share a photocopy of the book.

同意为她的研究提供 资金，条件是她让 他们复印这本书。

The assistant did not protest and was ecstatic about her prospective supporters

那位助手没有反对， 并为她即将有赞助商 欣喜若狂。

But the strange names that the heirs had written

但那些继承人写的 一些奇怪的名字

provoked the curiosity of the new owner.

引起了新主人的好奇。

He discovered what was happening and made the pronouncement

他弄清楚了是 怎么一回事，声明

that he would take his prosperous opponents to court.

他要把那些富有的 对手送上法庭。

He was sad to find the assistant the next day dead,

第二天，他伤心地发现 那名助手已经死了，

lying on a floor with an ax protruding from her head.

她躺在地板上，一把 斧头从她头上突出来。

All evidence of the proposal had disappeared! As had the book!

所有关于建议书的证据 都消失了! 那本书也不见了!