The Merchant of Venice 베니스의 상인 / Shakespeare 셰익스피어
Long ago, in the beautiful city of Venice, there lived a kind merchant named Antonio. He was a very generous man and often helped his friends. Antonio's best friend was a young man named Bassanio, who wanted to travel to marry a wealthy and kind lady named Portia.
To travel in style and impress Portia, Bassanio needed money. He asked Antonio for help, but all of Antonio's ships carrying his goods were at sea. So, Antonio went to a moneylender named Shylock, who was known to be very unkind and who disliked Antonio.
Shylock agreed to lend Antonio the money, but he made a very strange and cruel condition. If Antonio could not pay back the money within three months, Shylock would take a pound of Antonio's flesh from wherever he wanted. Antonio, being sure his ships would return in time, agreed to this.
Bassanio got the money and went to Portia. She lived in a faraway place, and many wealthy men wanted to marry her. Portia's father had set up a test: whoever could choose the correct chest out of three - one made of gold, one of silver, and one of lead - would win her hand in marriage. Bassanio, choosing the lead chest, was the one who chose correctly, and Portia loved him too.
Meanwhile, Antonio's ships were lost at sea, and he could not repay Shylock. Shylock was furious and insisted on taking his pound of flesh. Antonio was arrested, and it looked like he would die.
When Bassanio heard this terrible news, he rushed back to Venice with money to repay Shylock. Portia, who was very clever, disguised herself as a young lawyer and went to the court to help Antonio.
In the court, Shylock demanded his pound of flesh. Portia, as the lawyer, said that Shylock was within his rights to take it, but she warned him that if he shed even a single drop of Antonio's blood while taking the flesh, the law would punish him severely. Because it was impossible to take a pound of flesh without shedding blood, Shylock could not go through with his plan.
The court then punished Shylock for trying to harm Antonio. In the end, Antonio was saved, Bassanio and Portia were happily married, and everyone was relieved that the cruel condition was avoided. It was a very difficult and scary situation, but kindness and cleverness won in the end.
( N.B. 위 콘텐츠는 Google AI Studio 로 제작한 것입니다 )