At this time, men lived in dark gloomy caves. Their friend, Prometheus taught them to build simple houses, which were much more comfortable than the caves had been. This was a GREat step forward. but men needed more help yet from the Titan. The beasts in the forests, and the great birds that build their nests on the rocks were strong; but men were weak. The lion had sharp claws and teeth; the eagle had wings; the turtle had a hard shell; but man, although he stood upright with his face toward the stars, had no weapon with which he could defend himself.
Prometheus said that man should have Zeus’s wonderful flower of fire, which shone so brightly in the sky. So he took a hollow reed, went up to Olympus, stole the red flower of fire, and brought it down to earth in his reed.
After this, all the other creatures were afraid of man, for this red flower had made him strong than they. Man dug iron out of the earth and by the help of his new fire made weapons that were sharper than the lion’s teeth; he tamed the wild cattle by the fear of it, yoked them together, and taught them how to draw the plough; he sharpened strong stakes, hardening them in its heat, and set them around his house as a defence from his enemies; he did many other things besides with the red flower that Prometheus had made to blossom at the end of the reed.
Zeus, sitting on his throne, saw with alarm how strong man was becoming. One day he discovered the theft of his shining red flower, and knew tat Promethwus was the thief. He was GREatly displeased with this act.
"Prometheus loves man too well," said he, "he shall be punished." Then he called his two slaves, Strength and Force, and told them to take Prometheus and bind him fast to a GREat rock in the lonely Caucasian Mountains. At the same time he ordered Hephaestus to lock the Titan’s chains-in a cunning way that only Hephaestus knew.
There Prometheus hung on the rock for hundreds of years. The sun shone on him pitilessly, by day-only the king night gave him shade. He heard the rushing wings of the seagulls, as they came to feed their young who cried from the rocks below. The sea nymphs floated up to his rock to give him their pity. An eagle, cruel as the king of the gods, came daily and tore him with his claws and beak.
But this frightful punishment did not last forever. Prometheus himself knew that some day he should be set free, and his knowledge made him strong to endure.
At last the time came when Zeus’s throne was in danger, and Prometheus, pitying his enemy, told him a secret which helped him to make everything safe again. After this, Zeus sent Hercules to shoot the eagle and to break the Titan’s chains. So Prometheus was set free.
中文
泰坦们无法制造任何麻烦以后，尘世变得较为和平宁静。可是，宙斯说虽然尘世间其余的人类没有泰坦们强壮，但他们却是愚昧阴险的种族。于是，他宣布要把他们毁灭--永远扫除，毁灭他们。
当众神之王说完此话时，众神都不敢为人类说话。但是，那个生长在人间并热爱人类的泰坦普罗米修斯，却很诚恳地请求宙斯宽恕他们。宙斯答应了他的请求。
这时，人类还生活在漆黑的洞穴里。人类的朋友普罗米修斯教他们建造比洞穴舒适的简易房屋。虽然这已经是一个很大的进步，可人类还需要泰坦更多的帮助。森林中的野兽和在岩石上筑巢穴的鸟都很强壮，但人类却很虚弱。狮子有锐利的爪和牙齿；老鹰有翅膀；乌龟有坚硬的外壳；尽管人类脸朝着星星直立行走，却没有武器来保护自己。
普罗米修斯认为人类应该拥有宙斯那种能照亮天空的奇妙火花。于是，他带了一根空心的芦苇到奥林匹斯山去偷红色的火花，并把火花装入芦管带到了人间。
有了火花以后，其他所有的动物都开始害怕起人类来，因为这红色的火花使人类比它们更加强大。人类从地里挖出铁矿，用火炼成比狮子尖锐的牙齿更坚韧的武器；人类凭着野牛怕火，把牛驯服并套在一起，教它们犁地耕田；人类将削尖的围桩用活加热，使之更加坚固，插在房屋周围，用以防御敌人。此外，人类还用普罗米修斯那朵使芦苇端部绽放的红色火花制造出不少其他东西。
宙斯坐在宝座上看到人类逐渐强大起来，非常惊讶。一天，他发现他那会发光的红火花被盗，并且知道普罗米修斯就是窃贼，对此十分恼火。
“普罗米修斯对人类的感情太深了。他应该受到惩罚。”他说。于是，他命令力气和武力两个奴隶去捉拿普罗米修斯，把他牢牢地绑在荒芜的高加索山上的一块巨石上。他又命令赫菲斯托斯用一种只有赫菲斯托斯知道的巧妙方法锁牢铁链。
普罗米修斯就这样被绑在石头上好几百年。白天，太阳无情地炙烤他--只有仁慈的夜晚给他遮阴。当海鸥衔来食物喂岩石下号叫的幼鸟时，普罗米修斯倾听着它们拍翅的声音。海仙女有时会到岩石上安慰他。只有一只跟众神之王一样残忍的老鹰，天天用爪和嘴啄他。
不过，这种残酷的惩罚不会持久的。普罗米修斯知道，终有一天他会获得自由的，正是这个想法使他勇敢地忍受着。
当宙斯的王位岌岌可危时，这个时刻终于到来了。普罗米修斯同情他的敌人，再次告诉宙斯一个能帮助他转危为安的秘诀。局势平定后，宙斯派赫拉克勒斯把那只老鹰杀死并且解开铁链。于是，普罗米修斯又自由了。
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