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鼉怒護短 誇強拒命
The Alligator's Wrath; Boasting His Strength, He Defies the Order
那怪鼉聞此言，心中大怒道：「我與你嫡親的姑表，你倒反護他人。聽你所言，就教把唐僧送出。天地間那裡有這等容易事也？你便怕他，莫成我也怕他？他若有手段，敢來我水府門前與我交戰三合，我才與他師父；若敵不過我，就連他也拿來，一齊蒸熟，也沒甚麼親人，也不去請客，自家關了門，教小的們唱唱舞舞，我坐在上面，自自在在，吃他娘不是。」那怪鼍闻此言，心中大怒道：「我与你嫡亲的姑表，你倒反护他人。听你所言，就教把唐僧送出。天地间那里有这等容易事也？你便怕他，莫成我也怕他？他若有手段，敢来我水府门前与我交战三合，我才与他师父；若敌不过我，就连他也拿来，一齐蒸熟，也没甚么亲人，也不去请客，自家关了门，教小的们唱唱舞舞，我坐在上面，自自在在，吃他娘不是。」
逐句解 Line by line
那怪鼉聞此言，心中大怒道：「我與你嫡親的姑表，你倒反護他人。
那怪鼍闻此言，心中大怒道：「我与你嫡亲的姑表，你倒反护他人。
When the alligator-fiend heard this, his heart blazed with rage: 'You and I are close cousins by blood, yet you turn instead to shield an outsider!'
聽你所言，就教把唐僧送出。
听你所言，就教把唐僧送出。
'By your account, I am simply to hand the Tang Monk over.'
天地間那裡有這等容易事也？
天地间那里有这等容易事也？
'Where in heaven or earth is there so easy a matter?'
你便怕他，莫成我也怕他？
你便怕他，莫成我也怕他？
'You may fear him — do you take it that I fear him too?'
他若有手段，敢來我水府門前與我交戰三合，我才與他師父；
他若有手段，敢来我水府门前与我交战三合，我才与他师父；
'If he has any skill, let him come to my water-palace gate and fight me three bouts, and then I will give up his master;'
若敵不過我，就連他也拿來，一齊蒸熟，也沒甚麼親人，也不去請客，自家關了門，教小的們唱唱舞舞，我坐在上面，自自在在，吃他娘不是。」
若敌不过我，就连他也拿来，一齐蒸熟，也没甚么亲人，也不去请客，自家关了门，教小的们唱唱舞舞，我坐在上面，自自在在，吃他娘不是。」
'and if he cannot beat me, I'll take him too, steam them all together — no kinfolk to consider, no guests to invite — bar my own door, set my imps to sing and dance, and sit above at my ease, and eat the lot of them, hang it all.'
總評 Commentary
Kinship inflames rather than restrains the fiend: he rounds on his cousin for siding with an outsider and flings down his own challenge — three bouts against Pilgrim for the master. His swaggering vision of a private feast on the pilgrims measures the arrogance about to be broken.