A woman whose husband often came home drunk decided to cure him of the habit. One Halloween night, she put on a devil suit and hid behind a tree to intercept him on the way home.

When her husband came by, she jumped out and stood before him with her red horns, long tail, and pitchfork.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm the Devil!" she responded.

"Well, come on home with me," he said, "I married your sister!"

一位妇人发现丈夫回家的时候总是烂醉如泥，她决定为丈夫治好这个毛病。一个万圣节夜里，她穿上一套魔鬼戏服，躲在树后，准备在丈夫返家时拦截他的去路。

当丈夫走近时，她从树后跳出来，站到他面前，头上带着红色的羊角、身后有长长的尾巴，手中握着钢叉。

“你是谁?”丈夫问到。

“我是魔鬼!”她回答到。

“噢，那你跟我一起回家吧，”丈夫说，“我娶了你的姐妹!”

【注释】

1. cure of 是一个在各种英语阅读文章中经常出现的习语，它的意思有两大分支，一是医疗范畴上的对疾病的救治;二是生活习惯范畴上的对坏习惯的矫正。

The medicine should cure you of your cold. 这药应该能治好你的感冒。

Parents try to cure their children of bad habits. 父母们想办法纠正孩子们的坏习惯。

2. 西方文化中的魔鬼形象：

在西方国家的文献、小说、影视作品中，魔鬼常被描述为一个有角有尾巴、手拿长柄叉、在烈火熊熊的地狱里折磨人的怪物。