我有一个朋友对中国文化很感兴趣，得知著名的七夕节后，就向我询问七夕节的由来。没有半点准备的我支支吾吾答不出来。为了找回场子，我特意向老师请教了怎么用英语讲牛郎织女的故事，大家一起来看看吧！
The legend goes that a poor young man who lived with an old bull was leading a hard life. One day the bull told him that there were some weaver fairies bathing in the lake, and that if he could steal their clothes,?he could have one of them as his wife. 传说一个贫穷的年轻人和一头老牛住在一起，生活很困苦。一天，老牛告诉他，有一些天界织女来到湖中洗澡，假如他能偷走她们的衣服，他便可以娶她们中的一个为妻。
Another night before the fairies came, the cowboy hid in the reeds. When the fairies came to take a bath, they left their clothes at the lakeside. The cowboy found that the youngest fairy was so beautiful that he fell in love with her at first sight. He secretly took away her heavenly clothes while she was bathing. When the fairies finished bathing, they put on their clothes and flew away. But the youngest fairy was left behind because she had no clothes to wear, and without these heavenly clothes she couldn’t fly. 另一日夜晚，在织女们到来之前，牛郎就躲在了芦苇丛中。当织女们来洗澡时，便把衣服留在了湖边。牛郎发现最小的织女非常美丽，第一眼就爱上了她。在她洗澡时，他偷偷地拿走了她的天衣。织女们洗完澡，穿上衣服飞走了。但是最小的织女却被落在了后面，因为她没有天衣，而没有天衣她就不能飞。
The cowboy offered to help the fairy. She thought the young man was so kind, and fell in love with him too. Though later the cowboy told her the truth, she was understanding and?sympathetic, and wanted to marry the cowboy.
牛郎设法帮助了织女。她觉得这个年轻人很善良，也爱上了他。虽然后来牛郎告诉了她真相，但她理解并同情他，并想嫁给牛郎。?
The weaver fairy could make very beautiful clothes of high quality, which made their life better and better. They were happy and later the fairy gave birth to one boy and one girl. They were the perfect family.
由于织女能够做出相当精美的衣服，使他们的生活变得越来越好。他们很幸福，而后仙女生下了一男一女。他们的家庭和睦美满。
However, before long the "heaven" found out about this. How could a fairy marry a human? That was forbidden in the world. The fairy's father and mother who were the king and the queen of heaven wouldn’t allow this, and sent out a team to get her back by force.
可惜不久，天庭就发现了这一切。一个仙女怎么能嫁给一个凡人呢？在世间这是个禁忌。织女的父母是玉皇大帝和王母娘娘，他们决不允许这样的事发生，于是派出一队人马强行把她抓回来。
The cowboy was chasing after the team that caught his wife, the weaver fairy. When he almost reached them, in order to stop him, the weaver's mum, who was the goddess queen of heaven, took off her hairpin and used it to draw out a milky river between them and the cowboy. The sad cowboy had no choice and watched the weaver fairy taken back to heaven against her will.
牛郎拼命地追赶抓走他妻子织女的队伍。而当他快赶到他们跟前时，为了阻止他，织女的母亲，王母娘娘，摘下她的发簪，用它在牛郎和他们之间划出一条银河。悲伤的牛郎别无选择，眼睁睁看着织女不情愿地被带回了天庭。
After that they missed each other so much that the fairy cried each day and would rather die. Finally the queen and the king softened their hearts and agreed that the young couple could get together once a year on July 7th.
在那之后，他们无比思念对方，而仙女每日以泪洗面，甚至宁愿一死了之。最后，王母和天帝终于心软了，同意这对年轻夫妇每年的7月7日可以相聚一次。
So on that night the birds called magpies would fly above the Galaxy and make up a "bridge" for them. The cowboy would take their children walking over the bridge and meet the weaver fairy in the middle.
因此，在那天晚上，喜鹊们会飞到银河上空，为他们架起一座鹊桥。牛郎便带着孩子们在鹊桥上与织女相会。
n fact the "cowboy" and the "weaver" in the myth are two bright stars on each side of the Milky Way, while the bull is a constellation in the sky we can see at?night. Every year on Qixi, people (mostly women) celebrate the festival and pray to the fairy wishing to have better skills in tailoring and also to gain some luck in love.
事实上，神话中的“牛郎”和“织女”是银河两侧的两颗明亮的星星，而老牛则是在夜空中可见的一个星座。每年的七夕节，人们（主要是女性）都会庆祝这个节日，并向织女乞巧（祈祷），希望能拥有更好的女红（裁缝）技能，同时也祈愿能在爱情中获得一些小确幸。