Audiobook Dictation: “They bowed low to the priest…”

They bowed low to the priest, and greeted him in the most respectful manner.

他们向僧人深深鞠躬，极其恭敬地向他问候。

Kwairyo wondered that persons so poor, and dwelling in such a solitude, should be aware of the polite forms of greeting.

回龙暗自奇怪，如此贫穷、住在如此荒僻之地的人，竟懂得彬彬有礼的问候礼节。

"From the kindness of your speech, and from the very polite welcome given me by your household, I imagine that you have not always been a woodcutter.

“从您言谈的和善，以及府上对我极其礼貌的款待来看，我想您并非一向都是樵夫吧。

Perhaps you formerly belonged to one of the upper classes?"

也许您从前是上等阶层的人吧？”

Smiling, the woodcutter answered:--

樵夫微笑着答道：——

"Sir, you are not mistaken.

“大师，您说得没错。

My story is the story of a ruined life--ruined by my own fault.

我的经历是一个毁掉的人生——毁在我自己的过错上。

I used to be in the service of a daimyo; and my rank in that service was not inconsiderable.

我从前侍奉一位大名，在他手下的地位也不算低。

Retribution followed me; and I long remained a fugitive in the land.

报应紧随着我，我在这片土地上逃亡了很久。

Now I often pray that I may be able to make some atonement for the evil which I did, and to reestablish the ancestral home.

如今我常常祈祷，愿能为自己犯下的罪恶有所赎补，并重振祖上的家业。