When Hercules was walking in the forest, he saw a ball lying on the ground. He kicked it because it blocked¹ his way.

赫尔克里斯在森林里漫步时，看到前面地上有一个球挡住了路，他就一脚把它踢开了。

To his surprise, the ball did not roll away, but grew much bigger than before. So he kicked it again much harder.

令他惊讶的是，球不但没有滚开，反而越来越大，于是他更用力地踢它。

The harder he kicked, the bigger the ball grew. At last it completely² filled up the road.

他越用力地踢，球变得越大，后来球竟将路完全堵住了。

Pallas then appeared. "Stop, Hercules," she said. "Stop kicking. The ball’s name is Strife³.Let it alone and it will soon become small again."

这时，雅典娜出现了，她对他说：“不要再踢了，赫尔克里斯，这个球叫冲突，不去管它，它很快就变小了。”