Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him, but was moved by Arthur 8217;s youthful happiness. So he offered him freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer; if, after a year, he still had no answer, he would be killed.
国王亚瑟被俘，本应被处死，但对方国王见他年轻乐观，十分欣赏，他要求亚瑟回答一个十分难的问题，答出来就可以得到自由。
The question was: What do women really want?
这个问题就是：“女人真正想要的是什么?”
Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and, to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. Well, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch 8217;s proposition to have an answer by year 8217;s end. He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everybody: the princess, the prostitutes, the priests, the wise men, the court jester. In all, he spoke with everyone but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.
这样的问题甚至能难倒最有见识的男人。对年轻的阿瑟来说，这个问题似乎是不可解答的。但选择回答总比死好。于是阿瑟接受了君主的提议，答应一年后给出答案。于是，阿瑟回到自己的国家，并开始向每个人征询答案，他问了了公主、妓女、牧师、智者，还有法官和小丑。他问了每个人这个问题，但是没有人能给他一个满意的答案。
What most people did tell him was to consult the old witch, as only she would know the answer. The price would be high, since the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.
有人告诉亚瑟，郊外的阴森城堡里住着一个老女巫，据说她无所不知，但收费高昂，且要求离奇。
The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no alter native but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer his question, but he 8217;d have to accept her price first: The old witch wanted to marry Gawain, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur 8217;s closest friend!
期限马上就要到了，亚瑟别无选择，只好去找女巫。女巫答应回答他的问题，但条件是，要和亚瑟最高贵的圆桌骑士之一，他最亲近的朋友——嘉文——结婚。