John Ruskin, the author of this story, was one of England's greatest writers and thinkers. 约翰·拉斯金是这篇故事的作者，也是英格兰著名的作家和思想家。

He spent many years of his life and a great part of his wealth in helping poor people to have better homes and to live happier lives. 他花费了许多年和大量金钱帮助穷人，让他们有更好的住所，有幸福的生活。

Ruskin at one time said that being kind and true, helping needy or distressed people, 拉斯金有一次说道，友善真实，帮助需要帮助或痛苦的人，

and enjoying the beautiful things of the outdoor world were the only true riches. 享受户外世界的美丽，这些是唯一且真正的财富。

Keep in mind what Ruskin said as you read this story of the strange adventures that happened to the three brothers—Schwartz, Hans, and Gluck. 这篇故事围绕三兄弟，施瓦兹，汉斯以及格拉克展开，描述了发生在他们身上的奇怪旅程，在阅读时记住拉斯金说过的话。

Chapter One A STRANGE VISITOR COMES TO TREASURE VALLEY 第一章 一名奇怪的访客来到宝藏谷

In a mountainous part of Styria there was, in old time, a valley of the most surprising fertility. 施蒂里亚州曾经有一片多山的地区，那里有座山谷，山谷土地肥沃得十分惊人。

It was surrounded on all sides by steep and rocky mountains which were always covered with snow. 四面都是陡峭的山峰，而且总是被雪覆盖着。

From the peaks of these mountains streams of water poured constantly in rushing waterfalls. 山顶会倾下瀑布似的水流，而且一直如此。

One of these fell westward over the face of a crag so high that, when the sun had set and all below was darkness, 其中一股水流向西倾泻，它的表面是高耸的悬崖，当太阳落山，下面全部黑暗时，

his beams still shone upon this waterfall so that it looked like a shower of gold. 它的水流依然照耀着瀑布，看起来很像金色瀑布。

It was therefore called by the people of the neighborhood, the Golden River. 周围的居民都称之为金河。

It was strange that none of these streams fell into the valley itself. 很奇怪的是，没有水流流向河谷。

They all rushed down the other side of the mountains and wound their way through broad plains and past busy cities. 它们都流向了山峰的另一侧，流经宽广的平原和繁忙的城市。

But the clouds were drawn so constantly to the snowy hills, and rested so softly in the valley, 但云彩一直被雪峰所吸引，安静地栖息在山谷上方，

that in time of drought and heat, when all the country round was burned up, there was still rain in the little valley. 当遇到干旱或高温天气，当周围像被烧灼一样炎热时，山谷中依然会下雨。

Its crops were so heavy, and its hay so high, and its apples so red, and its grapes so blue, 作物大丰收，干草很高，苹果很红，葡萄很蓝，

and its wine so rich, and its honey so sweet, that it was called the Treasure Valley. 葡萄酒很浓郁，蜂蜜很甜美，这里被叫做宝藏谷。