|
[b] 
一群二流子 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 有一次，公鸡对母鸡说：“现在正是核桃成熟的时候，我们要趁着松鼠还没有把核桃全 部吃完，赶紧进山去吃个够。”“对呀，”母鸡答道，“走吧，我们可以好好地享受享 受。”它们于是就上了山，而且因为天气晴朗，一直在山上呆到天黑。不知道它们究竟是因 为吃多了撑着呢，还是因为它们突然变得心高气傲起来，它们竟然不愿意步行回家。公鸡用 核桃壳做了一辆小车。车子做好后，小母鸡坐了上去对公鸡说：“你只管在前面拉车吧。” “让我拉车？”公鸡嚷了起来，“我宁愿步行回家也不愿意拉车。不行，我决不答应！要我 坐在车上当个车夫还可以，可要我拉车，这根本不可能。” 就在它们这样争论的时候，一只鸭子嘎嘎嘎地叫着对它们说：“你们这两个小偷，是谁 同意你们上我的核桃山的？等着，我要让你们吃点苦头！”它说着便张开阔嘴，向公鸡扑过 去。但是公鸡并非等闲之辈，毫不示弱地向鸭子反击，对着鸭子猛踢猛蹬，弄得鸭子只好低 头求饶，并且愿意接受惩罚，给它们拉车。小公鸡坐在车夫的位子上，高高地叫了一声： “鸭子，尽量给我跑快点！”小车便飞快地向前驶去。他们走了一程后，遇到了两个赶路 的，一个是大头针，一个是缝衣针。“停一停，停一停！”它俩喊道。然后又说，天快要黑 了，它们寸步难行，而且路上又脏得要命，所以问能不能搭一会儿车。它俩还说，它们在城 门口裁缝们常去的酒店里喝啤酒，结果呆得太晚了。由于它俩都骨瘦如柴，占不了多少位 子，公鸡便让它们上了车，条件是要它们保证不踩到它和母鸡的脚。天黑了很久以后，它们 来到了一家旅店前。它们不愿意在黑夜里继续赶路，再加上鸭子的脚力又不行，跑起来已经 是左摇右摆，它们便进了店里。店主人起初提出了许多异议，说什么店已经住满了，而且他 觉得它们不是什么高贵的客人。可它们说了很多好话，说要把小母鸡在路上生的鸡蛋给他， 还把每天能生一只蛋的鸭子留给他，他终于答应让它们在店里过夜。第二天清早，天刚蒙蒙 亮，大家都还在睡梦中，公鸡却叫醒了母鸡，取出那只鸡蛋，把它啄破，和母鸡一起把蛋吃 进了肚子，再把蛋壳扔进火炉。然后，它们来到还在沉睡的缝衣针旁，抓住它的脑袋，把它 插进店老板椅子的坐垫中，又把大头针插在店老板的毛巾里。做完这些后，公鸡和母鸡便飞 快地逃走了。鸭子因为喜欢睡在露天，所以晚上一直呆在院子里，没有进屋。它听到公鸡和 母鸡逃跑了，心里万分高兴。它找到一条小溪，顺着它游了下去――这种旅行的方法当然要 比拉车快多了。几个小时之后，店老板才起来。他洗了洗脸，准备用毛巾擦一擦，结果大头 针从他的脸上划过，在他的脸上留下了一道直至耳根的长长的血印。他走进厨房，想点燃烟 斗，可当他走到火炉旁时，鸡蛋壳从火炉里蹦了出来，碰到了他的眼睛。“今天早晨好像什 么都跟我过不去。”他说，同时气呼呼地在他爷爷留给他的椅子上坐了下来。可他立刻又跳 了起来，而且叫着：“哎哟！哎哟！”那缝衣针虽然没有扎着他的脸，却比大头针扎得更厉 害。他现在真的气坏了，不由得怀疑起昨天很晚才住进店来的那帮客人。他去找它们，结果 发现它们早已逃得无影无踪了。他于是发誓说，他的店里今后决不再接待任何二流子，因为 这帮家伙吃得多，不付一分钱，而且还忘恩负义地对你做恶作剧。 ------------------ 
.gif)
[/b] |
|
[b]
11 / Brother and Sister Little brother took his little sister by the hand and said, "Since our mother died we have had no happiness; our step-mother beats us every day, and if we come near her she kicks us away with her foot. Our meals are the hard crusts of bread that are left over; and the little dog under the table is better off, for she often throws it a nice bit. May Heaven pity us. If our mother only knew! Come, we will go forth together into the wide world." They walked the whole day over meadows, fields, and stony places; and when it rained the little sister said, "Heaven and our hearts are weeping together." In the evening they came to a large forest, and they were so weary with sorrow and hunger and the long walk, that they lay down in a hollow tree and fell asleep. The next day when they awoke, the sun was already high in the sky, and shone down hot into the tree. Then the brother said, "Sister, I am thirsty; if I knew of a little brook I would go and just take a drink; I think I hear one running." The brother got up and took the little sister by the hand, and they set off to find the brook. But the wicked step-mother was a witch, and had seen how the two children had gone away, and had crept after them privily, as witches do creep, and had bewitched all the brooks in the forest. Now when they found a little brook leaping brightly over the stones, the brother was going to drink out of it, but the sister heard how it said as it ran, "Who drinks of me will be a tiger; who drinks of me will be a tiger." Then the sister cried, "Pray, dear brother, do not drink, or you will become a wild beast, and tear me to pieces." The brother did not drink, although he was so thirsty, but said, "I will wait for the next spring." When they came to the next brook the sister heard this also say, "Who drinks of me will be a wolf; who drinks of me will be a wolf." Then the sister cried out, "Pray, dear brother, do not drink, or you will become a wolf, and devour me." The brother did not drink, and said, "I will wait until we come to the next spring, but then I must drink, say what you like; for my thirst is too great." And when they came to the third brook the sister heard how it said as it ran, "Who drinks of me will be a roebuck; who drinks of me will be a roebuck." The sister said, "Oh, I pray you, dear brother, do not drink, or you will become a roebuck, and run away from me." But the brother had knelt down at once by the brook, and had bent down and drunk some of the water, and as soon as the first drops touched his lips he lay there a young roebuck. And now the sister wept over her poor bewitched brother, and the little roe wept also, and sat sorrowfully near to her. But at last the girl said, "Be quiet, dear little roe, I will never, never leave you." Then she untied her golden garter and put it round the roebuck's neck, and she plucked rushes and wove them into a soft cord. With this she tied the little beast and led it on, and she walked deeper and deeper into the forest. And when they had gone a very long way they came at last to a little house, and the girl looked in; and as it was empty, she thought, "We can stay here and live." Then she sought for leaves and moss to make a soft bed for the roe; and every morning she went out and gathered roots and berries and nuts for herself, and brought tender grass for the roe, who ate out of her hand, and was content and played round about her. In the evening, when the sister was tired, and had said her prayer, she laid her head upon the roebuck's back: that was her pillow, and she slept softly on it. And if only the brother had had his human form it would have been a delightful life. For some time they were alone like this in the wilderness. But it happened that the King of the country held a great hunt in the forest. Then the blasts of the horns, the barking of dogs, and the merry shouts of the huntsmen rang through the trees, and the roebuck heard all, and was only too anxious to be there. "Oh," said he, to his sister, "let me be off to the hunt, I cannot bear it any longer;" and he begged so much that at last she agreed. "But," said she to him, "come back to me in the evening; I must shut my door for fear of the rough huntsmen, so knock and say, 'My little sister, let me in!' that I may know you; and if you do not say that, I shall not open the door." Then the young roebuck sprang away; so happy was he and so merry in the open air. The King and the huntsmen saw the pretty creature, and started after him, but they could not catch him, and when they thought that they surely had him, away he sprang through the bushes and could not be seen. When it was dark he ran to the cottage, knocked, and said, "My little sister, let me in." Then the door was opened for him, and he jumped in, and rested himself the whole night through upon his soft bed. The next day the hunt went on afresh, and when the roebuck again heard the bugle-horn, and the ho! ho! of the huntsmen, he had no peace, but said, "Sister, let me out, I must be off." His sister opened the door for him, and said, "But you must be here again in the evening and say your pass-word." When the King and his huntsmen again saw the young roebuck with the golden collar, they all chased him, but he was too quick and nimble for them. This went on for the whole day, but at last by the evening the huntsmen had surrounded him, and one of them wounded him a little in the foot, so that he limped and ran slowly. Then a hunter crept after him to the cottage and heard how he said, "My little sister, let me in," and saw that the door was opened for him, and was shut again at once. The huntsman took notice of it all, and went to the King and told him what he had seen and heard. Then the King said, "To-morrow we will hunt once more." The little sister, however, was dreadfully frightened when she saw that her fawn was hurt. She washed the blood off him, laid herbs on the wound, and said, "Go to your bed, dear roe, that you may get well again." But the wound was so slight that the roebuck, next morning, did not feel it any more. And when he again heard the sport outside, he said, "I cannot bear it, I must be there; they shall not find it so easy to catch me." The sister cried, and said, "This time they will kill you, and here am I alone in the forest and forsaken by all the world. I will not let you out." "Then you will have me die of grief," answered the roe; "when I hear the bugle-horns I feel as if I must jump out of my skin." Then the sister could not do otherwise, but opened the door for him with a heavy heart, and the roebuck, full of health and joy, bounded into the forest. When the King saw him, he said to his huntsmen, "Now chase him all day long till night-fall, but take care that no one does him any harm." As soon as the sun had set, the King said to the huntsman, "Now come and show me the cottage in the wood;" and when he was at the door, he knocked and called out, "Dear little sister, let me in." Then the door opened, and the King walked in, and there stood a maiden more lovely than any he had ever seen. The maiden was frightened when she saw, not her little roe, but a man come in who wore a golden crown upon his head. But the King looked kindly at her, stretched out his hand, and said, "Will you go with me to my palace and be my dear wife?" "Yes, indeed," answered the maiden, "but the little roe must go with me, I cannot leave him." The King said, "It shall stay with you as long as you live, and shall want nothing." Just then he came running in, and the sister again tied him with the cord of rushes, took it in her own hand, and went away with the King from the cottage. The King took the lovely maiden upon his horse and carried her to his palace, where the wedding was held with great pomp. She was now the Queen, and they lived for a long time happily together; the roebuck was tended and cherished, and ran about in the palace-garden. But the wicked step-mother, because of whom the children had gone out into the world, thought all the time that the sister had been torn to pieces by the wild beasts in the wood, and that the brother had been shot for a roebuck by the huntsmen. Now when she heard that they were so happy, and so well off, envy and hatred rose in her heart and left her no peace, and she thought of nothing but how she could bring them again to misfortune. Her own daughter, who was ugly as night, and had only one eye, grumbled at her and said, "A Queen! that ought to have been my luck." "Only be quiet," answered the old woman, and comforted her by saying, "when the time comes I shall be ready." As time went on, the Queen had a pretty little boy, and it happened that the King was out hunting; so the old witch took the form of the chamber-maid, went into the room where the Queen lay, and said to her, "Come, the bath is ready; it will do you good, and give you fresh strength; make haste before it gets cold." The daughter also was close by; so they carried the weakly Queen into the bath-room, and put her into the bath; then they shut the door and ran away. But in the bath-room they had made a fire of such deadly heat that the beautiful young Queen was soon suffocated. When this was done the old woman took her daughter, put a nightcap on her head, and laid her in bed in place of the Queen. She gave her too the shape and the look of the Queen, only she could not make good the lost eye. But in order that the King might not see it, she was to lie on the side on which she had no eye. In the evening when he came home and heard that he had a son he was heartily glad, and was going to the bed of his dear wife to see how she was. But the old woman quickly called out, "For your life leave the curtains closed; the Queen ought not to see the light yet, and must have rest." The King went away, and did not find out that a false Queen was lying in the bed. But at midnight, when all slept, the nurse, who was sitting in the nursery by the cradle, and who was the only person awake, saw the door open and the true Queen walk in. She took the child out of the cradle, laid it on her arm, and suckled it. Then she shook up its pillow, laid the child down again, and covered it with the little quilt. And she did not forget the roebuck, but went into the corner where it lay, and stroked its back. Then she went quite silently out of the door again. The next morning the nurse asked the guards whether anyone had come into the palace during the night, but they answered, "No, we have seen no one." She came thus many nights and never spoke a word: the nurse always saw her, but she did not dare to tell anyone about it. When some time had passed in this manner, the Queen began to speak in the night, and said -- "How fares my child, how fares my roe? Twice shall I come, then never more." The nurse did not answer, but when the Queen had gone again, went to the King and told him all. The King said, "Ah, heavens! what is this? To-morrow night I will watch by the child." In the evening he went into the nursery, and at midnight the Queen again appeared and said -- "How fares my child, how fares my roe? Once will I come, then never more." And she nursed the child as she was wont to do before she disappeared. The King dared not speak to her, but on the next night he watched again. Then she said -- "How fares my child, how fares my roe? This time I come, then never more." Then the King could not restrain himself; he sprang towards her, and said, "You can be none other than my dear wife." She answered, "Yes, I am your dear wife," and at the same moment she received life again, and by God's grace became fresh, rosy, and full of health. Then she told the King the evil deed which the wicked witch and her daughter had been guilty of towards her. The King ordered both to be led before the judge, and judgment was delivered against them. The daughter was taken into the forest where she was torn to pieces by wild beasts, but the witch was cast into the fire and miserably burnt. And as soon as she was burnt the roebuck changed his shape, and received his human form again, so the sister and brother lived happily together all their lives.
[/b] |
|
[b]
小弟弟和小姐姐 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 小弟弟拉着小姐姐的手说：“自从妈妈死了之后，我们没有过过幸福的日子。继母天天 打我们，而且只要我们走到她的跟前，她就用脚把我们踢开。我们每天吃的都是硬梆梆的剩 面包皮，连桌子下面的小狗吃的都比我们好，因为她常常丢一些好吃的东西给它。愿上帝可 怜我们，让我们的妈妈知道就好了！走，我们一起逃出去吧。” 他们在草地、田野和石岩中整整走了一天。突然天下起了雨，小姐姐便说：“看哪，天 在和我们的心一起哭泣呢。”傍晚，他们来到了一片大森林，由于伤心和饥饿，再加上走了 这么长的路，他们累坏了，便钻进一棵空心大树，躺在里面睡着了。 当他们第二天醒来时，太阳早已高高地挂在了天上，温暖地照进了这棵空心大树。小弟 弟说：“姐姐，我口渴。要是知道哪里有条小溪，我就去喝点水。我好像听到小溪的流水声 了。”弟弟站起来，拉着小姐姐的手，走过去找那条小溪。可是他们那坏心肠的继母是个女 巫，知道两个孩子逃跑了，便和所有的女巫一样，偷偷地跟在他们的后面，把森林里所有的 小溪都使了妖术。 看到有条清亮的小溪正在岩石间流淌，小弟弟便想过去喝水，可是小姐姐听到小溪的流 水在说话：“谁喝我就会变成老虎！谁喝我就会变成老虎！”小姐姐赶紧叫道：“好弟弟， 我求你千万不要喝这水，要不你会变成一只野兽，把我撕碎的。”小弟弟便忍着口渴，不去 喝那水，但是他说：“我忍着等找到第二条小溪的时候再喝。” 当他们来到第二条小溪前时，小姐姐又听到这条小溪在说：“谁要是喝了我，就会变成 一头狼！谁要是喝了我，就会变成一头狼！”小姐姐于是便叫道：“好弟弟，我求你千万不 要喝这水，不然你会变成一头狼，把我吃掉的。”小弟弟没有喝，说：“我忍着等找到下一 条小溪。到时候不管你说什么，我都是要喝的，因为我实在是渴坏了。” 当他们来到第三条小溪前时，小姐姐听到小溪在说：“谁要喝我就会变成一头鹿！谁要 喝我就会变成一头鹿！”姐姐便说：“好弟弟，我求求你，千万不要喝这水，不然你会变成 一头鹿，从我的身边跑走的。”可是弟弟一见小溪就跪了下去，弯下腰去喝水了。嘴唇刚碰 到几滴水，趴在那里的他就变成了一头小鹿。 看到可怜的弟弟中了魔法，小姐姐哭了起来，小鹿也坐在她的身边伤心地哭着。终于， 小姑娘说道：“亲爱的小鹿，别哭了，我永远不会离开你的。” 她解下一根金袜带，系在小鹿的脖子上，然后又拔了一些灯芯草，编了一根软绳。她给 小鹿拴上这根绳子，牵着它向森林的深处走去。 他们走呀走，终于来到了一座小屋前。小姑娘朝里面望了望，看到里面是空的，便想： “我们可以留下来，住在这里。”于是，她找来许多树叶和青苔，给小鹿铺了一张柔软的 床。她每天早晨出去，为自己采集草根、浆果和坚果，还给小鹿带回来一些嫩草。小鹿吃着 她手里的草，总是高兴地围着她跳来跳去。到了晚上，累了一天的小姐姐做完祈祷后，便把 头靠在小鹿的背上，像靠着枕头一样安静地睡觉。要是她的弟弟还保持着人的形状，这种生 活倒也挺美！ 他们就这样孤单寂寞地在野外生活了一段时间。一天，这个国家的国王来到这片森林里 打猎。森林里到处都是号角声、狗吠声和猎手们的欢笑声。小鹿听到了这些，非常想去看一 看。“哦，”它对姐姐说：“让我去那里吧。我实在忍不住了！”它左请求右请求，姐姐终 于答应了。她对它说：“可是你晚上要回到我的身边来。我很怕那些粗野的猎人，所以会把 门关上，你回来时只要敲门说：‘我的小姐姐，让我进去吧！’，我就知道是你回来了。要 是你不说这句话，我就不开门。”小鹿蹦蹦跳跳地离开了家，来到屋外的世界，它感到真是 又舒服又开心。 国王和猎手们看到这头美丽的小鹿，便追了过来，可他们怎么也抓不住它。每当他们以 为一定能抓到它时，它总是跃进树丛不见了。天黑后，它跑到小屋那里，敲了敲门，说： “我的小姐姐，让我进去吧！”门立刻便开了，它跳进去，在柔软的床上好好睡了一晚。 第二天，围猎又开始了。当小鹿再次听到号角声以及猎手们发出的“嗬嗬嗬”的喊叫声 时，它再也安静不下来了。它说：“姐姐，让我出去吧！我一定要出去！”它的姐姐给它开 了门，对它说：“但是你晚上一定要回来，而且还要讲那句暗语！” 当国王和猎手们再次看到这头带着金项圈的小鹿时，他们又一起朝它追去，只是它对他 们来说太快、太机灵了。他们追了一整天，终于在黄昏时把它围住了。一个猎手还把它的脚 射伤了一点，它只好一瘸一拐地慢慢向前跑。一个猎手悄悄跟着它来到了小屋前，听到它 说：“我的小姐姐，让我进去吧！”猎手看到小屋的门开了一下，小鹿进去后便立刻又关上 了。猎手把这一切看在眼里，回去后把自己的所见所闻告诉了国王。国王说：“我们明天再 去打猎。” 小姐姐看到小鹿受伤后害怕极了，她给它洗去了身上的血迹，在它的伤口敷上药草， 说：“亲爱的小鹿，快去床上躺下，好好养伤。”但是那伤口很轻，小鹿第二天早上就没有 任何感觉了。当它又听到外面打猎的叫喊声时，它说：“我再也忍不住了。我一定要去那 里。我不会让他们轻而易举地抓住我的。”姐姐哭着说：“他们这次肯定会杀死你的，然后 就剩下我一个人孤孤单单、无依无靠地在这森林里，我不能让你出去。”“那我在屋里会憋 死的，”小鹿说，“当我听到号角的声音时，我仿佛感到自己的心脏都要跳出来了。”做姐 姐的再也没有别的办法，只好带着沉重的心情为它打开门。小鹿快乐地朝森林跑去。 国王看到小鹿时，对报信的那个猎手说：“你过来。带我到那座小屋去。”到了小屋 前，他敲门叫道：“我的小姐姐，让我进去吧！”门一打开，国王便走了进去，看到屋里有 一位他所见过的最美丽的姑娘。看到进来的不是小鹿，而是一个头上带着金王冠的男人，姑 娘很害怕，可是国王和善地望着她，向她伸出手去说：“你愿意跟我回去，做我亲爱的妻子 吗？”“愿意，”姑娘说，“可是小鹿得跟我一起去。我离不开它。”国王说：“它可以永 远呆在你的身边，而且什么也不会缺少的。”就在这时，小鹿跑了进来，姐姐给它拴上灯芯 草绳，牵着它，跟着国王一起离开了林中的小屋。 国王把这可爱的姑娘放到马背上，把她带回了王宫，并且在那里举行了盛大的婚礼。她 现在成了王后，和国王一起幸福地生活了许多年。小鹿受到了细心的照料，在王宫的花园里 跑来跑去。 可是那个邪恶的继母，自从两个孩子因为她而离家出走之后，以为小姐姐肯定在森林中 被野兽撕成了碎片，小弟弟也肯定被猎人们当做小鹿射死了，可现在听到他们生活得很幸 福、很美满，嫉妒和怨恨像两把烈火在她的心中燃烧，使她片刻也不得安宁。她成天盘算着 怎么再次给姐弟俩带来不幸。她自己的女儿丑得像黑夜一样，而且只有一只眼睛，这时也责 怪她说：“她当王后！这种好事应该属于我！”“别闹，” 老婆子安慰她说，“等时候一到，我会让你如愿的。” 不久，王后生下了一个漂亮的男孩，而国王碰巧外出打猎去了。老巫婆便打扮成一个使 女，走进王后的卧室，对她说：“来吧，洗澡水已经烧好了。洗一洗对你有好处，能使你恢 复精力。快点，不然水就要凉了。” 她的亲生女儿也在旁边，于是母女俩把虚弱的王后抬进洗澡间，把她放进澡盆，然后锁 上门跑了。她们在洗澡间里生了一堆熊熊燃烧的旺火，不一会儿就使年轻漂亮的王后窒息而 死。 然后，老婆子拉着她的女儿，给她戴上一顶睡帽，让她躺到王后的床上。她还让她的女 儿有了王后一样的身材和长相，只是她无法给女儿一只眼睛。为了不让国王看出破绽，她只 好侧着身子，向着没有眼睛的那一边睡。 傍晚，国王回到家中，得知王后给他生了个儿子，心中非常高兴，马上要去床边看看他 亲爱的妻子。可是老婆子立刻叫道：“千万不要拉开窗帘！王后还不能见光，需要好好休 息！”国王走了出去，没有发觉床上躺着的是个假王后。 可是到了半夜，当所有的人都睡着了时，坐在婴儿室摇篮旁独自守夜的保姆看到门开 了，真的王后走了进来。王后从摇篮里抱起婴儿，搂在怀里给他喂奶。然后她抖一抖孩子的 小枕头，把孩子重新放进摇篮，给他盖上小被子。她也没有忘记小鹿，而是走到它躺的角 落，抚摸着它的背，然后才悄悄地走出房门。第二天早晨，保姆问卫兵晚上有没有人进过 宫，可卫兵们都说：“没有，我们谁也没有看见。”就这样，一连很多天，王后总是在夜里 来到这里，但她从来不说一句话。保姆每次都看见她，可又不敢把这告诉任何人。 这样过了一些时候，王后有天夜里开口说道： “我的孩子怎么办？我的小鹿怎么办？ 我还能再来两次。以后就再也不能来了。” 保姆没有答腔，可等王后一走，她立刻跑到国王那里，把一切都告诉了他。国王说： “啊，上帝呀！这是怎么回事呀？明天晚上我要亲自守在婴儿身旁。”晚上，他进了婴儿 室。到了半夜，王后真的又来了，而且说道： “我的孩子怎么办？我的小鹿怎么办？ 我还能再来一次。以后就再也不能来了。” 她像往常一样给孩子喂了奶，然后就走了。国王不敢和她说话，可第二天晚上仍然去守 夜。只听王后在说： “我的孩子怎么办？我的小鹿怎么办？ 这是我最后一次来这里，以后再也不能来了。” 国王听到这里，再也无法克制自己。他朝她跑去，说：“你肯定是我亲爱的妻子！”她 回答：“是的，我是你亲爱的妻子。”话刚出口，她就立刻恢复了生命，而且，靠着上帝的 恩典，她变得非常健康，脸色非常红润。 她把那邪恶的巫婆和巫婆的女儿对她犯下的罪行告诉了国王。国王立刻命令审判她俩， 对她们作出了判决。女儿被带到了森林里，被野兽撕成了碎片；老巫婆被投进火里可悲地烧 成了灰烬。就在老巫婆被烧成灰烬的一刹那，小鹿也变了，重新恢复了人的形状。从此，姐 姐和弟弟一直幸福地生活在一起，直至白发千古。 ------------------
[/b] |
|
[b]
12 / Rapunzel There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child. At length the woman hoped that God was about to grant her desire. These people had a little window at the back of their house from which a splendid garden could be seen, which was full of the most beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an enchantress, who had great power and was dreaded by all the world. One day the woman was standing by this window and looking down into the garden, when she saw a bed which was planted with the most beautiful rampion (rapunzel), and it looked so fresh and green that she longed for it, and had the greatest desire to eat some. This desire increased every day, and as she knew that she could not get any of it, she quite pined away, and looked pale and miserable. Then her husband was alarmed, and asked, "What aileth thee, dear wife?" "Ah," she replied, "if I can't get some of the rampion, which is in the garden behind our house, to eat, I shall die." The man, who loved her, thought, "Sooner than let thy wife die, bring her some of the rampion thyself, let it cost thee what it will." In the twilight of the evening, he clambered down over the wall into the garden of the enchantress, hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to his wife. She at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it with much relish. She, however, liked it so much -- so very much, that the next day she longed for it three times as much as before. If he was to have any rest, her husband must once more descend into the garden. In the gloom of evening, therefore, he let himself down again; but when he had clambered down the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the enchantress standing before him. "How canst thou dare," said she with angry look, "to descend into my garden and steal my rampion like a thief? Thou shalt suffer for it!" "Ah," answered he, "let mercy take the place of justice, I only made up my mind to do it out of necessity. My wife saw your rampion from the window, and felt such a longing for it that she would have died if she had not got some to eat." Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be softened, and said to him, "If the case be as thou sayest, I will allow thee to take away with thee as much rampion as thou wilt, only I make one condition, thou must give me the child which thy wife will bring into the world; it shall be well treated, and I will care for it like a mother." The man in his terror consented to everything, and when the woman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared at once, gave the child the name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her. Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child beneath the sun. When she was twelve years old, the enchantress shut her into a tower, which lay in a forest, and had neither stairs nor door, but quite at the top was a little window. When the enchantress wanted to go in, she placed herself beneath it and cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down thy hair to me." Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when she heard the voice of the enchantress she unfastened her braided tresses, wound them round one of the hooks of the window above, and then the hair fell twenty ells down, and the enchantress climbed up by it. After a year or two, it came to pass that the King's son rode through the forest and went by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound. The King's son wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest and listened to it. Once when he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress came there, and he heard how she cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down thy hair." Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the enchantress climbed up to her. "If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I will for once try my fortune," said he, and the next day when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down thy hair." Immediately the hair fell down and the King's son climbed up. At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as her eyes had never yet beheld, came to her; but the King's son began to talk to her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought, "He will love me more than old Dame Gothel does;" and she said yes, and laid her hand in his. She said, "I will willingly go away with thee, but I do not know how to get down. Bring with thee a skein of silk every time that thou comest, and I will weave a ladder with it, and when that is ready I will descend, and thou wilt take me on thy horse." They agreed that until that time he should come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day. The enchantress remarked nothing of this, until once Rapunzel said to her, "Tell me, Dame Gothel, how it happens that you are so much heavier for me to draw up than the young King's son -- he is with me in a moment." "Ah! thou wicked child," cried the enchantress "What do I hear thee say! I thought I had separated thee from all the world, and yet thou hast deceived me. In her anger she clutched Rapunzel's beautiful tresses, wrapped them twice round her left hand, seized a pair of scissors with the right, and snip, snap, they were cut off, and the lovely braids lay on the ground. And she was so pitiless that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in great grief and misery. On the same day, however, that she cast out Rapunzel, the enchantress in the evening fastened the braids of hair which she had cut off, to the hook of the window, and when the King's son came and cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down thy hair," she let the hair down. The King's son ascended, but he did not find his dearest Rapunzel above, but the enchantress, who gazed at him with wicked and venomous looks. "Aha!" she cried mockingly, "Thou wouldst fetch thy dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it, and will scratch out thy eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to thee; thou wilt never see her more." The King's son was beside himself with pain, and in his despair he leapt down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell, pierced his eyes. Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries, and did nothing but lament and weep over the loss of his dearest wife. Thus he roamed about in misery for some years, and at length came to the desert where Rapunzel, with the twins to which she had given birth, a boy and a girl, lived in wretchedness. He heard a voice, and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it, and when he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck and wept. Two of her tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear again, and he could see with them as before. He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented.
[/b] |
|
[b]
莴苣姑娘 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 从前有一个男人和一个女人，他俩一直想要个孩子，可总也得不到。最后，女人只好希 望上帝能赐给她一个孩子。他们家的屋子后面有个小窗户，从那里可以看到一个美丽的花 园，里面长满了奇花异草。可是，花园的周围有一道高墙，谁也不敢进去，因为那个花园属 于一个女巫。这个女巫的法力非常大，世界上人人都怕她。一天，妻子站在窗口向花园望 去，看到一块菜地上长着非常漂亮的莴苣。这些莴苣绿油油、水灵灵的，立刻就勾起了她的 食欲，非常想吃它们。这种欲望与日俱增，而当知道自己无论如何也吃不到的时候，她变得 非常憔悴，脸色苍白，痛苦不堪。她丈夫吓坏了，问她：“亲爱的，你哪里不舒服呀？” “啊，”她回答，“我要是吃不到我们家后面那个园子里的莴苣，我就会死掉的。”丈夫因 为非常爱她，便想：“与其说让妻子去死，不如给她弄些莴苣来，管它会发生什么事情 呢。”黄昏时分，他翻过围墙，溜进了女巫的花园，飞快地拔了一把莴苣，带回来给她妻子 吃。妻子立刻把莴苣做成色拉，狼吞虎咽地吃了下去。这莴苣的味道真是太好了，第二天她 想吃的莴苣居然比前一天多了两倍。为了满足妻子，丈夫只好决定再次翻进女巫的园子。于 是，黄昏时分，他偷偷地溜进了园子，可他刚从墙上爬下来，就吓了一跳，因为他看到女巫 就站在他的面前。“你好大的胆子，”她怒气冲冲地说，“竟敢溜进我的园子来，像个贼一 样偷我的莴苣！”“唉，”他回答，“可怜可怜我，饶了我吧。我是没办法才这样做的。我 妻子从窗口看到了你园子中的莴苣，想吃得要命，吃不到就会死掉的。”女巫听了之后气慢 慢消了一些，对他说：“如果事情真像你说的这样，我可以让你随便采多少莴苣，但我有一 个条件：你必须把你妻子将要生的孩子交给我。我会让她过得很好的，而且会像妈妈一样对 待她。”丈夫由于害怕，只好答应女巫的一切条件。妻子刚刚生下孩子，女巫就来了，给孩 子取了个名字叫“莴苣”，然后就把孩子带走了。 “莴苣”慢慢长成了天底下最漂亮的女孩。孩子十二岁那年，女巫把她关进了一座高 塔。这座高塔在森林里，既没有楼梯也没有门，只是在塔顶上有一个小小的窗户。每当女巫 想进去，她就站在塔下叫道： “莴苣，莴苣， 把你的头发垂下来。” 莴苣姑娘长着一头金丝般浓密的长发。一听到女巫的叫声，她便松开她的发辫，把顶端 绕在一个窗钩上，然后放下来二十公尺。女巫便顺着这长发爬上去。 一两年过去了。有一天，王子骑马路过森林，刚好经过这座塔。这时，他突然听到美妙 的歌声，不由得停下来静静地听着。唱歌的正是莴苣姑娘，她在寂寞中只好靠唱歌来打发时 光。王子想爬到塔顶上去见她，便四处找门，可怎么也没有找到。他回到了宫中，那歌声已 经深深地打动了他，他每天都要骑马去森林里听。一天，他站在一棵树后，看到女巫来了， 而且听到她冲着塔顶叫道： “莴苣，莴苣， 把你的头发垂下来。” 莴苣姑娘立刻垂下她的发辫，女巫顺着它爬了上去。王子想：“如果那就是让人爬上去 的梯子，我也可以试试我的运气。”第二天傍晚，他来到塔下叫道： “莴苣，莴苣， 把你的头发垂下来。” 头发立刻垂了下来，王子便顺着爬了上去。 莴苣姑娘看到爬上来的是一个男人时，真的大吃一惊，因为她还从来没有看到过男人。 但是王子和蔼地跟她说话，说他的心如何如何被她的歌声打动，一刻也得不到安宁，非要来 见她。莴苣姑娘慢慢地不再感到害怕，而当他问她愿不愿意嫁给他时，她见王子又年轻又英 俊，便想：“这个人肯定会比那教母更喜欢我。”她于是就答应了，并把手伸给王子。她 说：“我非常愿意跟你一起走，可我不知道怎么下去。你每次来的时候都给我带一根丝线 吧，我要用丝线编一个梯子。等到梯子编好了，我就爬下来，你就把我抱到你的马背上。” 因为老女巫总是在白天来，所以他俩商定让王子每天傍晚时来。女巫什么也没有发现，直到 有一天莴苣姑娘问她：“我问你，教母，我拉你的时候怎么总觉得你比那个年轻的王子重得 多？他可是一下子就上来了。”“啊！你这坏孩子！”女巫嚷道，“你在说什么？我还以为 你与世隔绝了呢，却不想你竟然骗了我！”她怒气冲冲地一把抓住莴苣姑娘漂亮的辫子，在 左手上缠了两道，又用右手操起一把剪刀，喳喳喳几下，美丽的辫子便落在了地上。然后， 她又狠心地把莴苣姑娘送到一片荒野中，让她凄惨痛苦地生活在那里。 莴苣姑娘被送走的当天，女巫把剪下来的辫子绑在塔顶的窗钩上。王子走来喊道： “莴苣，莴苣， 把你的头发垂下来。” 女巫放下头发，王子便顺着爬了上去。然而，他没有见到心爱的莴苣姑娘，却看到女巫 正恶狠狠地瞪着他。“啊哈！”她嘲弄王子说，“你是来接你的心上人的吧？可美丽的鸟儿 不会再在窝里唱歌了。她被猫抓走了，而且猫还要把你的眼睛挖出来。你的莴苣姑娘完蛋 了，你别想再见到她。”王子痛苦极了，绝望地从塔上跳了下去。他掉进了刺丛里，虽然没 有丧生，双眼却被刺扎瞎了。他漫无目的地在森林里走着，吃的只是草根和浆果，每天都为 失去爱人而伤心地痛哭。他就这样痛苦地在森林里转了好几年，最后终于来到了莴苣姑娘受 苦的荒野。莴苣姑娘已经生下了一对双胞胎，一个儿子，一个女儿。王子听到有说话的声 音，而且觉得那声音很耳熟，便朝那里走去。当他走近时，莴苣姑娘立刻认出了他，搂着他 的脖子哭了起来。她的两滴泪水润湿了他的眼睛，使它们重新恢复了光明。他又能像从前一 样看东西了。他带着妻子儿女回到自己的王国，受到了人们热烈的欢迎。他们幸福美满地生 活着，直到永远。 ------------------
[/b] |
|
[b]
13 /The Three Little Men in the Wood There was once a man whose wife died, and a woman whose husband died, and the man had a daughter, and the woman also had a daughter. The girls were acquainted with each other, and went out walking together, and afterwards came to the woman in her house. Then said she to the man's daughter, "Listen, tell thy father that I would like to marry him, and then thou shalt wash thyself in milk every morning, and drink wine, but my own daughter shall wash herself in water and drink water." The girl went home, and told her father what the woman had said. The man said, "What shall I do? Marriage is a joy and also a torment." At length as he could come to no decision, he pulled off his boot, and said, "Take this boot, it has a hole in the sole of it. Go with it up to the loft, hang it on the big nail, and then pour water into it. If it hold the water, then I will again take a wife, but if it run through, I will not." The girl did as she was ordered, but the water drew the hole together, and the boot became full to the top. She informed her father how it had turned out. Then he himself went up, and when he saw that she was right, he went to the widow and wooed her, and the wedding was celebrated. The next morning, when the two girls got up, there stood before the man's daughter milk for her to wash in and wine for her to drink, but before the woman's daughter stood water to wash herself with and water for drinking. On the second morning, stood water for washing and water for drinking before the man's daughter as well as before the woman's daughter. And on the third morning stood water for washing and water for drinking before the man's daughter, and milk for washing and wine for drinking, before the woman's daughter, and so it continued. The woman became bitterly unkind to her step-daughter, and day by day did her best to treat her still worse. She was also envious because her step-daughter was beautiful and lovable, and her own daughter ugly and repulsive. Once, in winter, when everything was frozen as hard as a stone, and hill and vale lay covered with snow, the woman made a frock of paper, called her step-daughter, and said, "Here, put on this dress and go out into the wood, and fetch me a little basketful of strawberries, -- I have a fancy for some." "Good heavens!" said the girl, "no strawberries grow in winter! The ground is frozen, and besides the snow has covered everything. And why am I to go in this paper frock? It is so cold outside that one's very breath freezes! The wind will blow through the frock, and the thorns will tear it off my body." "Wilt thou contradict me again?" said the stepmother, "See that thou goest, and do not show thy face again until thou hast the basketful of strawberries!" Then she gave her a little piece of hard bread, and said, "This will last thee the day," and thought, "Thou wilt die of cold and hunger outside, and wilt never be seen again by me." Then the maiden was obedient, and put on the paper frock, and went out with the basket. Far and wide there was nothing but snow, and not a green blade to be seen. When she got into the wood she saw a small house out of which peeped three dwarfs. She wished them good day, and knocked modestly at the door. They cried, "Come in," and she entered the room and seated herself on the bench by the stove, where she began to warm herself and eat her breakfast. The elves said, "Give us, too, some of it." "Willingly," she said, and divided her bit of bread in two and gave them the half. They asked, "What dost thou here in the forest in the winter time, in thy thin dress?" "Ah," she answered, "I am to look for a basketful of strawberries, and am not to go home until I can take them with me." When she had eaten her bread, they gave her a broom and said, "Sweep away the snow at the back door with it." But when she was outside, the three little men said to each other, "What shall we give her as she is so good, and has shared her bread with us?" Then said the first, "My gift is, that she shall every day grow more beautiful." The second said, "My gift is, that gold pieces shall fall out of her mouth every time she speaks." The third said, "My gift is, that a king shall come and take her to wife." The girl, however, did as the little men had bidden her, swept away the snow behind the little house with the broom, and what did she find but real ripe strawberries, which came up quite dark-red out of the snow! In her joy she hastily gathered her basket full, thanked the little men, shook hands with each of them, and ran home to take her step-mother what she had longed for so much. When she went in and said good-evening, a piece of gold at once fell from her mouth. Thereupon she related what had happened to her in the wood, but with every word she spoke, gold pieces fell from her mouth, until very soon the whole room was covered with them. "Now look at her arrogance," cried the step-sister, "to throw about gold in that way!" but she was secretly envious of it, and wanted to go into the forest also to seek strawberries. The mother said, "No, my dear little daughter, it is too cold, thou mightest die of cold." However, as her daughter let her have no peace, the mother at last yielded, made her a magnificent dress of fur, which she was obliged to put on, and gave her bread-and-butter and cake with her. The girl went into the forest and straight up to the little house. The three little elves peeped out again, but she did not greet them, and without looking round at them and without speaking to them, she went awkwardly into the room, seated herself by the stove, and began to eat her bread-and-butter and cake. "Give us some of it," cried the little men; but she replied, "There is not enough for myself, so how can I give it away to other people?" When she had done eating, they said, "There is a broom for thee, sweep all clean for us outside by the back-door." "Humph! Sweep for yourselves," she answered, "I am not your servant." When she saw that they were not going to give her anything, she went out by the door. Then the little men said to each other, "What shall we give her as she is so naughty, and has a wicked envious heart, that will never let her do a good turn to any one?" The first said, "I grant that she may grow uglier every day." The second said, "I grant that at every word she says, a toad shall spring out of her mouth." The third said, "I grant that she may die a miserable death." The maiden looked for strawberries outside, but as she found none, she went angrily home. And when she opened her mouth, and was about to tell her mother what had happened to her in the wood, with every word she said, a toad sprang out of her mouth, so that every one was seized with horror of her. Then the step-mother was still more enraged, and thought of nothing but how to do every possible injury to the man's daughter, whose beauty, however, grew daily greater. At length she took a cauldron, set it on the fire, and boiled yarn in it. When it was boiled, she flung it on the poor girl's shoulder, and gave her an axe in order that she might go on the frozen river, cut a hole in the ice, and rinse the yarn. She was obedient, went thither and cut a hole in the ice; and while she was in the midst of her cutting, a splendid carriage came driving up, in which sat the King. The carriage stopped, and the King asked,"My child, who are thou, and what art thou doing here?" "I am a poor girl, and I am rinsing yarn." Then the King felt compassion, and when he saw that she was so very beautiful, he said to her, "Wilt thou go away with me?" "Ah, yes, with all my heart," she answered, for she was glad to get away from the mother and sister. So she got into the carriage and drove away with the King, and when they arrived at his palace, the wedding was celebrated with great pomp, as the little men had granted to the maiden. When a year was over, the young Queen bore a son, and as the step-mother had heard of her great good-fortune, she came with her daughter to the palace and pretended that she wanted to pay her a visit. Once, however, when the King had gone out, and no one else was present, the wicked woman seized the Queen by the head, and her daughter seized her by the feet, and they lifted her out of the bed, and threw her out of the window into the stream which flowed by. Then the ugly daughter laid herself in the bed, and the old woman covered her up over her head. When the King came home again and wanted to speak to his wife, the old woman cried, "Hush, hush, that can't be now, she is lying in a violent perspiration; you must let her rest to-day." The King suspected no evil, and did not come back again till next morning; and as he talked with his wife and she answered him, with every word a toad leaped out, whereas formerly a piece of gold had fallen out. Then he asked what that could be, but the old woman said that she had got that from the violent perspiration, and would soon lose it again. During the night, however, the scullion saw a duck come swimming up the gutter, and it said, "King, what art thou doing now? Sleepest thou, or wakest thou?" And as he returned no answer, it said, "And my guests, What may they do?" The scullion said, "They are sleeping soundly, too." Then it asked again, "What does little baby mine?" He answered, "Sleepeth in her cradle fine." Then she went upstairs in the form of the Queen, nursed the baby, shook up its little bed, covered it over, and then swam away again down the gutter in the shape of a duck. She came thus for two nights; on the third, she said to the scullion, "Go and tell the King to take his sword and swing it three times over me on the threshold." Then the scullion ran and told this to the King, who came with his sword and swung it thrice over the spirit, and at the third time, his wife stood before him strong, living, and healthy as she had been before. Thereupon the King was full of great joy, but he kept the Queen hidden in a chamber until the Sunday, when the baby was to be christened. And when it was christened he said, "What does a person deserve who drags another out of bed and throws him in the water?" "The wretch deserves nothing better," answered the old woman, "than to be taken and put in a barrel stuck full of nails, and rolled down hill into the water." "Then," said the King, "Thou hast pronounced thine own sentence;" and he ordered such a barrel to be brought, and the old woman to be put into it with her daughter, and then the top was hammered on, and the barrel rolled down hill until it went into the river.
[/b] |
|
[b]
森林中的三个小矮人 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 从前，有个男人死了妻子，有个女人死了丈夫。这个男人有个女儿，这个女人也有个女 儿。两个小姑娘互相认识，经常一起出去散步。有一天，她们散完步后一起来到女人的家 里，女人对男人的女儿说：“听着，告诉你爸爸，说我愿意嫁给他，从此你天天早晨都能用 牛奶洗脸，还能喝上葡萄酒，而我自己的女儿只能用水洗脸，也只能喝清水。”小姑娘回到 家中，把女人的话告诉了她爸爸。男人说：“我该怎么办呢？结婚是喜事，可也会带来痛 苦。”他迟迟拿不定主意，最后脱下一只靴子，说：“这只靴子的底上有个洞。你把它拎到 阁楼上去，把它挂在一根大钉子上，然后往里面灌些水。要是水没有漏出来，我就再娶个妻 子；可要是水漏了出来，我就不娶。”姑娘按她父亲所说的办了。可是水使得洞胀拢了，靴 子里灌满了水也没有漏出来。她把结果告诉了她父亲，父亲又亲自上来察看，看到情况果然 如此，便去向那寡妇求婚，然后举行了婚礼。 第一天早晨，两个姑娘起来后，在男人的女儿的面前果然放着洗脸的牛奶和喝的葡萄 酒，而在女人的女儿的面前放着的只有洗脸的清水和喝的清水。第二天早晨，男人的女儿和 女人的女儿的面前都放着洗脸的清水和喝的清水。到了第三天早晨，男人的女儿的面前放着 洗脸用的清水和喝的清水，而女人的女儿的面前却放着洗脸用的牛奶和喝的葡萄酒。以后天 天都是这样。那女人成了她继女的死敌，对她一天坏似一天，她还万分嫉妒她的继女，因为 她的继女美丽可爱，而她自己的女儿又丑又令人讨厌。 冬天到了，一切都冻得像石头一样硬，山顶和山谷都被大雪覆盖着。一天，女人用纸做 了件衣服，把她的继女叫过来，说：“听着，你穿上这件衣服，到森林里去给我采一篮草 莓，我很想吃。”“天哪！”姑娘说，“冬天怎么会有草莓呢？地上都结了冰，大雪把一切 都盖住了，再说，我怎么能穿着这身纸衣服出去呢？外面冷得连呼出的气都能冻起来。风会 往这衣服里面吹，荆棘也会把它挂破的。”“你敢跟我顶嘴？”继母说，“你快给我去！要 是没有采到一篮草莓，你就别想回来！”然后她又给姑娘一小块硬梆梆的面包，说：“这是 你一天的口粮，”心里却在想：“你在外面不会冻死也会饿死的，别想再回来烦我。” 姑娘只好顺从地穿上纸衣服，提着篮子走了出去。外面一片冰天雪地，连一棵绿草都找 不到。她来到森林里后，看到一座小房子，里面有三个小矮人在向外张望。她向他们问好， 然后轻轻地敲了敲门。他们叫“进来”，她便走进屋，坐在炉子旁的长凳上烤火，吃她的早 饭。小矮人们说：“也分一点给我们吧。”“好的，”她说着便把面包掰成两半，给了他们 一半。他们问：“你大冬天穿着这身薄薄的衣服到森林里来干吗？”“唉，”她回答，“我 得采一篮草莓，否则我就回不了家了。”等她吃完面包后，他们递给她一把扫帚，说：“去 帮我们把后门的雪扫掉吧。”可等她出去后，三个小矮人却商量了起来：“她这么可爱，又 把面包分给了我们，我们送她什么好呢？”第一个矮人说：“我送给她的礼物是：她一天比 一天更美丽。”第二个矮人说：“我送给她的礼物是：她一开口说话就吐出金子来。”第三 个矮人说：“我送给她的礼物是：一个国王娶她当王后。” 姑娘这时正按照他们的吩咐，用扫帚把小屋后面的雪扫掉。她看到了什么？雪下面露出 了红彤彤的草莓！她高兴极了，赶紧装了满满一篮子，谢了小矮人，还和他们一一握手道 别，然后带着她继母垂涎的东西跑回家去了。谁知，她进门刚说了声“晚上好”，嘴里就掉 出来一块金子！于是，她把自己在森林里遇到的事情讲了出来，而且每讲一句，嘴里就掉出 来一块金子，弄得家里很快就堆满了金子。“瞧她那副德行！”继母的女儿嚷道，“就这样 乱扔金子！”她心里嫉妒得要命，也渴望着到森林里去采草莓。她母亲却说：“不行，我的 好女儿，外面太冷了，你会冻死的。”可是她女儿缠着不放，她最后只好让步。她给女儿缝 了件皮袄，硬要她穿上；然后又给她抹了黄油的面包和蛋糕，让她带着路上吃。 这个姑娘进了森林之后，径直向小屋走去。三个小矮人又在屋里向外张望，可是她根本 不和他们打招呼，既不看他们，也不和他们说话，大摇大摆地走进屋，一屁股坐到炉子旁， 吃起自己的面包和蛋糕来。“分一点给我们吧，”小矮人们说；可是她却回答：“这都不够 我自己吃的，怎么能分给别人呢？”等她吃完，他们又说：“这里有把扫帚，把后门的雪扫 干净。”她回答：“我又不是你们的佣人。”看到他们不会给她任何礼物了，她便自己冲出 了屋子。三个小矮人商量道：“像她这种坏心肠的小懒鬼，又不肯施舍给别人东西，我们该 送她什么呢？”第一个矮人说：“我让她长得一天比一天丑！”第二个矮人说：“我让她一 开口说话就从嘴里跳出一只癞蛤蟆！”第三个矮人说：“我让她不得好死！”姑娘在屋外找 草莓，可一个也找不到，只好气鼓鼓地回家去了。她开口给母亲讲自己在森林里的遭遇，可 是，她每讲一句话，嘴里就跳出来一只癞蛤蟆，把大家都吓坏了。 这一来继母更是气坏了，千方百计地盘算着怎么折磨丈夫的女儿，可是这姑娘却长得一 天比一天更美。终于，继母取出一只锅子，架在火堆上，在里面煮线团。线团煮过之后，她 把它捞出来，搭在姑娘的肩膀上，然后又给姑娘一把斧头，让她去结冰的小河，在冰面上凿 一个洞，在洞里漂洗线团。姑娘顺从地来到河边，走到河中央凿冰。她正凿着，岸上驶来了 一辆华丽的马车，里面坐着国王。马车停了下来，国王问：“姑娘，你是谁？在这里干什 么？”“我是个可怜的女孩，在这里漂洗线团。”国王很同情她，而且又看到她长得这么美 丽，便对她说：“你愿意和我一起走吗？”“当然愿意啦。”她回答，因为她非常高兴能离 开继母和继母的女儿。姑娘坐到国王的马车上，和国王一起回到宫中。他俩立刻就举行了婚 礼，正像三个小矮人许诺过的一样。一年后，年轻的王后生下了一个儿子。她的继母早已听 说她交上了好运，这时也带着亲生女儿来到王宫，假装是来看王后的。可是看到国王刚出 去，而且旁边又没有别人，这坏心肠的女人就抓住王后的头，她的女儿抓住王后的脚，把她 从床上抬下来，从窗口把她扔进了外面的大河里。然后，继母的丑女儿躺在床上，老婆子从 头到脚把她盖了起来。当国王回到房间，想和他的妻子说话的时候，老婆子叫了起来： “嘘，唬，不要打搅她，她现在正在发汗。今天不要打搅她。”国王丝毫没有怀疑，一直等 到第二天早晨才过来。他和妻子说话，谁知她刚开口，嘴里就跳出来一只癞蛤蟆，而不像从 前那样掉出金子来。国王问这是怎么回事，老婆子便说这是发汗发出来的，很快就会好的。 但是当天夜里，王宫里的小帮工看见一只鸭子从下水道里游了出来，而且听见它说： “国王，你在做什么？ 你是睡着了还是醒着？” 看到小帮工没有回答，它又说： “我的两位客人在做什么？” 小帮工说： “她们睡熟了。” 鸭子又问： “我的小宝宝在做什么？” 小帮工回答： “他在摇篮里睡得好好的。” 鸭子变成了王后的模样，上去给孩子喂奶，摇着他的小床，给他盖好被子，然后又变成 鸭子，从下水道游走了。她这样一连来了两个晚上，第三天晚上，她对小帮工说：“你去告 诉国王，让他带上他的宝剑，站在门槛上，在我的头上挥舞三下。”小帮工赶紧跑去告诉国 王，国王提着宝剑来了，在那幽灵的头顶上挥舞了三下。他刚舞到第三下，她的妻子就站在 了他的面前，像以前一样健康强壮。国王高兴极了，可他仍然把王后藏进密室，等着礼拜天 婴儿受洗的日子到来。洗礼结束之后，他说：“要是有人把别人从床上拖下来，并且扔进河 里，这个人该受到什么样的惩罚？”老婆子说：“对这样坏心肠的人，最好的惩罚是把他装 进里面插满了钉子的木桶，从山坡上滚到河里去。”“那么，”国王说，“你已经为自己做 出了判决。”国王命令搬来一只这样的木桶，把老婆子和她的女儿装进去，并且把桶盖钉 死，把桶从山坡上滚了下去，一直滚到河心。 ------------------
[/b] |
|
[b]
14 / The Three Spinners There was once a girl who was idle and would not spin, and let her mother say what she would, she could not bring her to it. At last the mother was once so overcome with anger and impatience, that she beat her, on which the girl began to weep loudly. Now at this very moment the Queen drove by, and when she heard the weeping she stopped her carriage, went into the house and asked the mother why she was beating her daughter so that the cries could be heard out on the road? Then the woman was ashamed to reveal the laziness of her daughter and said, "I cannot get her to leave off spinning. She insists on spinning for ever and ever, and I am poor, and cannot procure the flax." Then answered the Queen, "There is nothing that I like better to hear than spinning, and I am never happier than when the wheels are humming. Let me have your daughter with me in the palace. I have flax enough, and there she shall spin as much as she likes." The mother was heartily satisfied with this, and the Queen took the girl with her. When they had arrived at the palace, she led her up into three rooms which were filled from the bottom to the top with the finest flax. "Now spin me this flax," said she, "and when thou hast done it, thou shalt have my eldest son for a husband, even if thou art poor. I care not for that, thy indefatigable industry is dowry enough." The girl was secretly terrified, for she could not have spun the flax, no, not if she had lived till she was three hundred years old, and had sat at it every day from morning till night. When therefore she was alone, she began to weep, and sat thus for three days without moving a finger. On the third day came the Queen, and when she saw that nothing had been spun yet, she was surprised; but the girl excused herself by saying that she had not been able to begin because of her great distress at leaving her mother's house. The queen was satisfied with this, but said when she was going away,"To-morrow thou must begin to work." When the girl was alone again, she did not know what to do, and in her distress went to the window. Then she saw three women coming towards her, the first of whom had a broad flat foot, the second had such a great underlip that it hung down over her chin, and the third had a broad thumb. They remained standing before the window, looked up, and asked the girl what was amiss with her? She complained of her trouble, and then they offered her their help and said, "If thou wilt invite us to the wedding, not be ashamed of us, and wilt call us thine aunts, and likewise wilt place us at thy table, we will spin up the flax for thee, and that in a very short time." "With all my heart," she replied, "do but come in and begin the work at once." Then she let in the three strange women, and cleared a place in the first room, where they seated themselves and began their spinning. The one drew the thread and trod the wheel, the other wetted the thread, the third twisted it, and struck the table with her finger, and as often as she struck it, a skein of thread fell to the ground that was spun in the finest manner possible. The girl concealed the three spinners from the Queen, and showed her whenever she came the great quantity of spun thread, until the latter could not praise her enough. When the first room was empty she went to the second, and at last to the third, and that too was quickly cleared. Then the three women took leave and said to the girl, "Do not forget what thou hast promised us, -- it will make thy fortune. When the maiden showed the Queen the empty rooms, and the great heap of yarn, she gave orders for the wedding, and the bridegroom rejoiced that he was to have such a clever and industrious wife, and praised her mightily. "I have three aunts," said the girl, "and as they have been very kind to me, I should not like to forget them in my good fortune; allow me to invite them to the wedding, and let them sit with us at table." The Queen and the bridegroom said, "Why should we not allow that?" Therefore when the feast began, the three women entered in strange apparel, and the bride said, "Welcome, dear aunts." "Ah," said the bridegroom, "how comest thou by these odious friends?" Thereupon he went to the one with the broad flat foot, and said, "How do you come by such a broad foot?" "By treading," she answered, "by treading.""Then the bridegroom went to the second, and said, "How do you come by your falling lip?" "By licking," she answered, "by licking." Then he asked the third, "How do you come by your broad thumb?" "By twisting the thread," she answered, "by twisting the thread." On this the King's son was alarmed and said, "Neither now nor ever shall my beautiful bride touch a spinning-wheel." And thus she got rid of the hateful flax-spinning.
[/b] |
|
[b]
三个纺纱女 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 从前有个女孩，非常懒惰，怎么着都不愿意纺纱。 终于有一天，母亲感到忍无可忍，就打了她一顿，她于是嚎啕大哭起来。正巧这时王后 乘车从门前经过，听见了哭声，吩咐把车停下来，进屋问那位母亲为什么打女儿。做母亲的 怎好意思说自己的女儿如何如何的懒惰，于是就回答说：“我叫她不要再纺了，可她就是不 听，在纺车上仍然纺个不停。 我穷啊，哪买得起那么多的亚麻呀。” 王后听了说道：“我最爱纺纱。让你的女儿随我进宫去吧，我有的是亚麻，她愿意纺多 少就纺多少。” 母亲听了这话，打心眼儿里高兴，满口答应下来，王后便带着女孩走了。 她们到了王宫之后，王后领着女孩上了楼，把三间库房指给她看，只见库房里装满了最 好的亚麻。“喏，你就为我纺这些亚麻吧，”王后说道，“你什么时候纺完了，就嫁给我的 长子。” 女孩听了心里一阵惊恐――即使她每天从早纺到晚，纺到她三百岁的时候，也休想把那 么多的亚麻纺完。剩下女孩独自一人时，她就哭了起来。她就这样哭哭啼啼地坐着，一晃儿 三天过去了，还没动手纺纱呢。第三天，女孩不知如何是好，忧心忡忡地来到窗前。恰在这 时她看见有三个女人走了过来：第一个女人的一个脚板又宽又平；第二个的下嘴唇很长，耷 拉到下巴上；而第三个的一只大拇指非常宽大。这三个女人走到窗下停住了脚，问女孩为什 么忧心忡忡，她就向她们诉说了自己的苦恼。“只要你不嫌我们丢人，”他们对女孩说道， “请我们参加你的婚礼，说我们是你的表姐，并且让我们与你同桌喝喜酒，我们就帮你把这 些亚麻纺完。” “我非常乐意。”女孩回答说。 说罢，女孩就让这三个长相奇特的女人进屋来。她们进来后刚一坐下就开始纺纱。每次 王后来，女孩生怕王后发现，便把那三个纺纱女藏起来，而让王后看已经纺好的纱。王后看 了之后，对她赞不绝口。 库房里所有的亚麻都纺完了，这三个纺织女便跟女孩告别，临行前对她说道：“你可千 万不要忘记了对我们许下的诺言，这关系到你自己的幸福啊。” 女孩领着王后看了三间空荡荡的库房和堆得像小山似的纱线，王后于是就安排了婚礼。 “我有三位表姐，”女孩说，“她们待我非常好。在我自己幸福如意的时候，怎么也不 愿意冷漠了她们。请允许我邀请她们来参加婚礼，并且让她们在婚宴上和我们坐在一起。” 王后和王子欣然同意。婚礼那天，三个纺纱女果然来了。她们打扮得怪模怪样的，很令 人发笑。新娘马上迎上去说： “欢迎你们，亲爱的表姐们。” “你的几个表姐怎么长得这么丑？”王子问道。随后，他转身走到那个大脚板女人身 边，问道：“您的一只脚怎么会这样大呢？” “踏纺车踏的呗。”她回答道。 新郎又走到第二个女人身旁，问道：“您的嘴唇怎么会耷拉着呢？” “舔麻线舔的呗。”她回答说。 然后他问第三个女人：“您的大拇指怎么会这样宽呢？” “捻麻线捻的呗。”她回答说。 王子听罢三人的回答，大惊失色，于是就说：“我美丽的新娘今后绝不再碰纺车一下。” 就这样，女孩从此再也用不着干纺纱这个讨厌的活儿了。 ------------------
[/b] |
|
[b]
15 / Hansel and Grethel Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children. The boy was called Hansel and the girl Grethel. He had little to bite and to break, and once when great scarcity fell on the land, he could no longer procure daily bread. Now when he thought over this by night in his bed, and tossed about in his anxiety, he groaned and said to his wife, "What is to become of us? How are we to feed our poor children, when we no longer have anything even for ourselves?" "I'll tell you what, husband," answered the woman, "Early to-morrow morning we will take the children out into the forest to where it is the thickest, there we will light a fire for them, and give each of them one piece of bread more, and then we will go to our work and leave them alone. They will not find the way home again, and we shall be rid of them." "No, wife," said the man, "I will not do that; how can I bear to leave my children alone in the forest? -- the wild animals would soon come and tear them to pieces." "O, thou fool!" said she, "Then we must all four die of hunger, thou mayest as well plane the planks for our coffins," and she left him no peace until he consented. "But I feel very sorry for the poor children, all the same," said the man. The two children had also not been able to sleep for hunger, and had heard what their step-mother had said to their father. Grethel wept bitter tears, and said to Hansel, "Now all is over with us." "Be quiet, Grethel," said Hansel, "do not distress thyself, I will soon find a way to help us." And when the old folks had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the door below, and crept outside. The moon shone brightly, and the white pebbles which lay in front of the house glittered like real silver pennies. Hansel stooped and put as many of them in the little pocket of his coat as he could possibly get in. Then he went back and said to Grethel, "Be comforted, dear little sister, and sleep in peace, God will not forsake us," and he lay down again in his bed. When day dawned, but before the sun had risen, the woman came and awoke the two children, saying "Get up, you sluggards! we are going into the forest to fetch wood." She gave each a little piece of bread, and said, "There is something for your dinner, but do not eat it up before then, for you will get nothing else." Grethel took the bread under her apron, as Hansel had the stones in his pocket. Then they all set out together on the way to the forest. When they had walked a short time, Hansel stood still and peeped back at the house, and did so again and again. His father said, "Hansel, what art thou looking at there and staying behind for? Mind what thou art about, and do not forget how to use thy legs." "Ah, father," said Hansel, "I am looking at my little white cat, which is sitting up on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me." The wife said, "Fool, that is not thy little cat, that is the morning sun which is shining on the chimneys." Hansel, however, had not been looking back at the cat, but had been constantly throwing one of the white pebble-stones out of his pocket on the road. When they had reached the middle of the forest, the father said, "Now, children, pile up some wood, and I will light a fire that you may not be cold." Hansel and Grethel gathered brushwood together, as high as a little hill. The brushwood was lighted, and when the flames were burning very high, the woman said, "Now, children, lay yourselves down by the fire and rest, we will go into the forest and cut some wood. When we have done, we will come back and fetch you away." Hansel and Grethel sat by the fire, and when noon came, each ate a little piece of bread, and as they heard the strokes of the wood-axe they believed that their father was near. It was not, however, the axe, it was a branch which he had fastened to a withered tree which the wind was blowing backwards and forwards. And as they had been sitting such a long time, their eyes shut with fatigue, and they fell fast asleep. When at last they awoke, it was already dark night. Grethel began to cry and said, "How are we to get out of the forest now?" But Hansel comforted her and said, "Just wait a little, until the moon has risen, and then we will soon find the way." And when the full moon had risen, Hansel took his little sister by the hand, and followed the pebbles which shone like newly-coined silver pieces, and showed them the way. They walked the whole night long, and by break of day came once more to their father's house. They knocked at the door, and when the woman opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Grethel, she said, "You naughty children, why have you slept so long in the forest? -- we thought you were never coming back at all!" The father, however, rejoiced, for it had cut him to the heart to leave them behind alone. Not long afterwards, there was once more great scarcity in all parts, and the children heard their mother saying at night to their father, "Everything is eaten again, we have one half loaf left, and after that there is an end. The children must go, we will take them farther into the wood, so that they will not find their way out again; there is no other means of saving ourselves!" The man's heart was heavy, and he thought "it would be better for thee to share the last mouthful with thy children." The woman, however, would listen to nothing that he had to say, but scolded and reproached him. He who says A must say B, likewise, and as he had yielded the first time, he had to do so a second time also. The children were, however, still awake and had heard the conversation. When the old folks were asleep, Hansel again got up, and wanted to go out and pick up pebbles as he had done before, but the woman had locked the door, and Hansel could not get out. Nevertheless he comforted his little sister, and said, "Do not cry, Grethel, go to sleep quietly, the good God will help us." Early in the morning came the woman, and took the children out of their beds. Their bit of bread was given to them, but it was still smaller than the time before. On the way into the forest Hansel crumbled his in his pocket, and often stood still and threw a morsel on the ground. "Hansel, why dost thou stop and look round?" said the father, "go on." "I am looking back at my little pigeon which is sitting on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me," answered Hansel. "Simpleton!" said the woman, "that is not thy little pigeon, that is the morning sun that is shining on the chimney." Hansel, however, little by little, threw all the crumbs on the path. The woman led the children still deeper into the forest, where they had never in their lives been before. Then a great fire was again made, and the mother said, "Just sit there, you children, and when you are tired you may sleep a little; we are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the evening when we are done, we will come and fetch you away." When it was noon, Grethel shared her piece of bread with Hansel, who had scattered his by the way. Then they fell asleep and evening came and went, but no one came to the poor children. They did not awake until it was dark night, and Hansel comforted his little sister and said, "Just wait, Grethel, until the moon rises, and then we shall see the crumbs of bread which I have strewn about, they will show us our way home again." When the moon came they set out, but they found no crumbs, for the many thousands of birds which fly about in the woods and fields had picked them all up. Hansel said to Grethel, "We shall soon find the way," but they did not find it. They walked the whole night and all the next day too from morning till evening, but they did not get out of the forest, and were very hungry, for they had nothing to eat but two or three berries, which grew on the ground. And as they were so weary that their legs would carry them no longer, they lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep. It was now three mornings since they had left their father's house. They began to walk again, but they always got deeper into the forest, and if help did not come soon, they must die of hunger and weariness. When it was mid-day, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a bough, which sang so delightfully that they stood still and listened to it. And when it had finished its song, it spread its wings and flew away before them, and they followed it until they reached a little house, on the roof of which it alighted; and when they came quite up to little house they saw that it was built of bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clear sugar. "We will set to work on that," said Hansel, "and have a good meal. I will eat a bit of the roof, and thou, Grethel, canst eat some of the window, it will taste sweet." Hansel reached up above, and broke off a little of the roof to try how it tasted, and Grethel leant against the window and nibbled at the panes. Then a soft voice cried from the room, "Nibble, nibble, gnaw, Who is nibbling at my little house?" The children answered, "The wind, the wind, The heaven-born wind," and went on eating without disturbing themselves. Hansel, who thought the roof tasted very nice, tore down a great piece of it, and Grethel pushed out the whole of one round window-pane, sat down, and enjoyed herself with it. Suddenly the door opened, and a very, very old woman, who supported herself on crutches, came creeping out. Hansel and Grethel were so terribly frightened that they let fall what they had in their hands. The old woman, however, nodded her head, and said, "Oh, you dear children, who has brought you here? Do come in, and stay with me. No harm shall happen to you." She took them both by the hand, and led them into her little house. Then good food was set before them, milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts. Afterwards two pretty little beds were covered with clean white linen, and Hansel and Grethel lay down in them, and thought they were in heaven. The old woman had only pretended to be so kind; she was in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had only built the little house of bread in order to entice them there. When a child fell into her power, she killed it, cooked and ate it, and that was a feast day with her. Witches have red eyes, and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near. When Hansel and Grethel came into her neighborhood, she laughed maliciously, and said mockingly, "I have them, they shall not escape me again!" Early in the morning before the children were awake, she was already up, and when she saw both of them sleeping and looking so pretty, with their plump red cheeks, she muttered to herself, "That will be a dainty mouthful!" Then she seized Hansel with her shrivelled hand, carried him into a little stable, and shut him in with a grated door. He might scream as he liked, that was of no use. Then she went to Grethel, shook her till she awoke, and cried, "Get up, lazy thing, fetch some water, and cook something good for thy brother, he is in the stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him." Grethel began to weep bitterly, but it was all in vain, she was forced to do what the wicked witch ordered her. And now the best food was cooked for poor Hansel, but Grethel got nothing but crab-shells. Every morning the woman crept to the little stable, and cried, "Hansel, stretch out thy finger that I may feel if thou wilt soon be fat." Hansel, however, stretched out a little bone to her, and the old woman, who had dim eyes, could not see it, and thought it was Hansel's finger, and was astonished that there was no way of fattening him. When four weeks had gone by, and Hansel still continued thin, she was seized with impatience and would not wait any longer. "Hola, Grethel," she cried to the girl, "be active, and bring some water. Let Hansel be fat or lean, to-morrow I will kill him, and cook him." Ah, how the poor little sister did lament when she had to fetch the water, and how her tears did flow down over her cheeks! "Dear God, do help us," she cried. "If the wild beasts in the forest had but devoured us, we should at any rate have died together." "Just keep thy noise to thyself," said the old woman, "all that won't help thee at all." Early in the morning, Grethel had to go out and hang up the cauldron with the water, and light the fire. "We will bake first," said the old woman, "I have already heated the oven, and kneaded the dough." She pushed poor Grethel out to the oven, from which flames of fire were already darting. "Creep in," said the witch, "and see if it is properly heated, so that we can shut the bread in." And when once Grethel was inside, she intended to shut the oven and let her bake in it, and then she would eat her, too. But Grethel saw what she had in her mind, and said, "I do not know how I am to do it; how do you get in?" "Silly goose," said the old woman, "The door is big enough; just look, I can get in myself!" and she crept up and thrust her head into the oven. Then Grethel gave her a push that drove her far into it, and shut the iron door, and fastened the bolt. Oh! then she began to howl quite horribly, but Grethel ran away, and the godless witch was miserably burnt to death. Grethel, however, ran like lightning to Hansel, opened his little stable, and cried, "Hansel, we are saved! The old witch is dead!" Then Hansel sprang out like a bird from its cage when the door is opened for it. How they did rejoice and embrace each other, and dance about and kiss each other! And as they had no longer any need to fear her, they went into the witch's house, and in every corner there stood chests full of pearls and jewels. "These are far better than pebbles!" said Hansel, and thrust into his pockets whatever could be got in, and Grethel said, "I, too, will take something home with me," and filled her pinafore full. "But now we will go away." said Hansel, "that we may get out of the witch's forest." When they had walked for two hours, they came to a great piece of water. "We cannot get over," said Hansel, "I see no foot-plank, and no bridge." "And no boat crosses either," answered Grethel, "but a white duck is swimming there; if I ask her, she will help us over." Then she cried, "Little duck, little duck, dost thou see, Hansel and Grethel are waiting for thee? There's never a plank, or bridge in sight, Take us across on thy back so white." The duck came to them, and Hansel seated himself on its back, and told his sister to sit by him. "No," replied Grethel, "that will be too heavy for the little duck; she shall take us across, one after the other." The good little duck did so, and when they were once safely across and had walked for a short time, the forest seemed to be more and more familiar to them, and at length they saw from afar their father's house. Then they began to run, rushed into the parlour, and threw themselves into their father's arms. The man had not known one happy hour since he had left the children in the forest; the woman, however, was dead. Grethel emptied her pinafore until pearls and precious stones ran about the room, and Hansel threw one handful after another out of his pocket to add to them. Then all anxiety was at an end, and they lived together in perfect happiness. My tale is done, there runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make himself a big fur cap out of it.
[/b] |
|
[b]
汉赛尔与格莱特 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 在大森林的边上，住着一个贫穷的樵夫，他妻子和两个孩子与他相依为命。他的儿子名 叫汉赛尔，女儿名叫格莱特。他们家里原本就缺吃少喝，而这一年正好遇上国内物价飞涨， 樵夫一家更是吃了上顿没下顿，连每天的面包也无法保证。这天夜里，愁得辗转难眠的樵夫 躺在床上大伤脑筋，他又是叹气，又是呻吟。终于他对妻子说：“咱们怎么办哪！自己都没 有一点吃的，又拿什么去养咱们那可怜的孩子啊？” “听我说，孩子他爹，”他老婆回答道：“明天大清早咱们就把孩子们带到远远的密林 中去，在那儿给他们生一堆火，再给他们每人一小块面包，然后咱们就假装去干咱们的活， 把他们单独留在那儿。他们不认识路，回不了家，咱们就不用再养他们啦。” “不行啊，老婆，”樵夫说：“我不能这么干啊。我怎么忍心把我的孩子丢在丛林里喂 野兽呢！” “哎，你这个笨蛋，”他老婆说，“不这样的话，咱们四个全都得饿死！”接着她又叽 哩呱啦、没完没了地劝他，最后，他也就只好默许了。 那时两个孩子正饿得无法入睡，正好听见了继母与父亲的全部对话。听见继母对父亲的 建议，格莱特伤心地哭了起来，对汉赛尔说：“这下咱俩可全完了。” “别吱声，格莱特，”汉赛尔安慰她说，“放心吧，我会有办法的。” 等两个大人睡熟后，他便穿上小外衣，打开后门偷偷溜到了房外。这时月色正明，皎洁 的月光照得房前空地上的那些白色小石子闪闪发光，就像是一块块银币。汉赛尔蹲下身，尽 力在外衣口袋里塞满白石子。然后他回屋对格莱特说：“放心吧，小妹，只管好好睡觉就是 了，上帝会与我们同在的。” 说完，他回到了他的小床上睡觉。 天刚破晓，太阳还未跃出地平线，那个女人就叫醒了两个孩子，“快起来，快起来，你 们这两个懒虫！”她嚷道，“我们要进山砍柴去了。”说着，她给一个孩子一小块面包，并 告诫他们说：“这是你们的午饭，可别提前吃掉了，因为你们再也甭想得到任何东西了。” 格莱特接过面包藏在她的围裙底下，因为汉赛尔的口袋里这时塞满了白石子。 随后，他们全家就朝着森林进发了。汉赛尔总是走一会儿便停下来回头看看自己的家， 走一会儿便停下来回头看自己的家。他的父亲见了便说：“汉赛尔，你老是回头瞅什么？ 专心走你的路。” “哦，爸爸，”汉赛尔回答说：“我在看我的白猫呢，他高高地蹲在屋顶上，想跟我说 ‘再见’呢！” “那不是你的小猫，小笨蛋，”继母讲，“那是早晨的阳光照在烟囱上。”其实汉赛尔 并不是真的在看小猫，他是悄悄地把亮亮的白石子从口袋里掏出来，一粒一粒地丢在走过的 路上。 到了森林的深处，他们的父亲对他们说：“嗨，孩子们，去拾些柴火来，我给你们生一 堆火。” 汉赛尔和格莱特拾来许多枯枝，把它们堆得像小山一样高。当枯枝点着了，火焰升得老 高后，继母就对他们说：“你们两个躺到火堆边上去吧，好好呆着，我和你爸爸到林子里砍 柴。等一干完活，我们就来接你们回家。” 于是汉赛尔和格莱特坐在火堆旁边，等他们的父母干完活再来接他们。到了中午时分， 他们就吃掉了自己的那一小块面包。因为一直能听见斧子砍树的嘭、嘭声，他们相信自己的 父亲就在近旁。其实他们听见的根本就不是斧子发出的声音，那是一根绑在一棵小树上的枯 枝，在风的吹动下撞在树干上发出来的声音。兄妹俩坐了好久好久，疲倦得上眼皮和下眼皮 都打起架来了。没多久，他们俩就呼呼睡着了，等他们从梦中醒来时，已是漆黑的夜晚。格 莱特害怕得哭了起来，说：“这下咱们找不到出森林的路了！” “别着急，”汉赛尔安慰她说，“等一会儿月亮出来了，咱们很快就会找到出森林的 路。” 不久，当一轮满月升起来时，汉赛尔就拉着他妹妹的手，循着那些月光下像银币一样在 地上闪闪发光的白石子指引的路往前走。他们走了整整的一夜，在天刚破晓的时候回到了他 们父亲的家门口。他们敲敲门，来开门的是他们的继母。她打开门一见是汉赛尔和格莱特， 就说：“你们怎么在森林里睡了这么久，我们还以为你们不想回家了呐！” 看到孩子，父亲喜出望外，因为冷酷地抛弃两个孩子，他心中十分难受。 他们一家又在一起艰难地生活了。但时隔不久，又发生了全国性的饥荒。一天夜里，两 个孩子又听见继母对他们的父亲说：“哎呀！能吃的都吃光了，就剩这半个面包，你看以后 可怎么办啊？咱们还是得减轻负担，必须把两个孩子给扔了！这次咱们可以把他们带进更 深、更远的森林中去，叫他们再也找不到路回来。只有这样才能挽救我们自己。” 听见妻子又说要抛弃孩子，樵夫心里十分难过。他心想，大家同甘共苦，共同分享最后 一块面包不是更好吗？但是像天下所有的男人一样，对一个女人说个“不”字那是太难太难 了，樵夫也毫不例外。就像是“谁套上了笼头，谁就必须得拉车”的道理一样，樵夫既然对 妻子作过第一次让步，当然就必然有第二次让步了，他也就不再反对妻子的建议了。 然而，孩子们听到了他们的全部谈话。等父母都睡着后，汉赛尔又从床上爬了起来，想 溜出门去，像上次那样，到外边去捡些小石子，但是这次他发现门让继母给锁死了。但他心 里又有了新的主意，他又安慰他的小妹妹说：“别哭，格莱特，不用担心，好好睡觉。上帝 会帮助咱们的。” 一大清早，继母就把孩子们从床上揪了下来。她给了他们每人一块面包，可是比上次那 块要小多了。 在去森林的途中，汉赛尔在口袋里捏碎了他的面包，并不时地停下脚步，把碎面包屑撒 在路上。 “汉赛尔，你磨磨蹭蹭地在后面看什么？”他的父亲见他老是落在后面就问他。“我在 看我的小鸽子，它正站在屋顶上‘咕咕咕’地跟我说再见呢。”汉赛尔回答说。 “你这个白痴，”他继母叫道，“那不是你的鸽子，那是早晨的阳光照在烟囱上面。” 但是汉赛尔还是在路上一点一点地撒下了他的面包屑。 继母领着他们走了很久很久，来到了一个他们从未到过的森林中。像上次一样，又生起 了一大堆火，继母又对他们说：“好好呆在这儿，孩子们，要是困了就睡一觉，我们要到远 点的地方去砍柴，干完活我们就来接你们。” 到了中午，格莱特把她的面包与汉赛尔分来吃了，因为汉赛尔的面包已经撒在路上了。 然后，他们俩又睡着了。一直到了半夜，仍然没有人来接这两个可怜的孩子，他们醒来已是 一片漆黑。汉赛尔安慰他的妹妹说：“等月亮一出来，我们就看得见我撒在地上的面包屑 了，它一定会指给我们回家的路。” 但是当月亮升起来时，他们在地上却怎么也找不到一点面包屑了，原来它们都被那些在 树林里、田野上飞来飞去的鸟儿一点点地啄食了。 虽然汉赛尔也有些着急了，但他还是安慰妹妹说：“我们一定能找到路的，格莱特。” 但他们没有能够找到路，虽然他们走了一天一夜，可就是出不了森林。他们已经饿得头 昏眼花，因为除了从地上找到的几颗草霉，他们没吃什么东西。这时他们累得连脚都迈不动 了，倒在一颗树下就睡着了。 这已是他们离开父亲家的第三天早晨了，他们深陷丛林，已经迷路了。如果再不能得到 帮助，他们必死无疑。就在这时，他们看到了一只通体雪白的、极其美丽的鸟儿站在一根树 枝上引吭高歌，它唱得动听极了，他们兄妹俩不由自主地停了下来，听它唱。它唱完了歌， 就张开翅膀，飞到了他们的面前，好像示意他们跟它走。他们于是就跟着它往前走，一直走 到了一幢小屋的前面，小鸟停到小屋的房顶上。他俩这时才发现小屋居然是用香喷喷的面包 做的，房顶上是厚厚的蛋糕，窗户却是明亮的糖块。 “让我们放开肚皮吧，”汉赛尔说：“这下我们该美美地吃上一顿了。我要吃一小块房 顶，格莱特，你可以吃窗户，它的味道肯定美极了、甜极了。” 说着，汉赛尔爬上去掰了一小块房顶下来，尝着味道。格莱特却站在窗前，用嘴去啃那 个甜窗户。这时，突然从屋子里传出一个声音： “啃啊！啃啊！啃啊啃！ 谁在啃我的小房子？” 孩子们回答道： “是风啊，是风， 是天堂里的小娃娃。” 他们边吃边回答，一点也不受干扰。 汉赛尔觉得房顶的味道特别美，便又拆下一大块来；格莱特也干脆抠下一扇小圆窗，坐 在地上慢慢享用。突然，房子的门打开了，一个老婆婆拄着拐杖颤颤巍巍的走了出来。汉赛 尔和格莱特吓得双腿打颤，拿在手里的食物也掉到了地上。 那个老婆婆晃着她颤颤巍巍的头说：“好孩子，是谁带你们到这儿来的？来，跟我进屋 去吧，这儿没人会伤害你们！” 她说着就拉着兄妹俩的手，把他们领进了她的小屋，并给他们准备了一顿丰盛的晚餐， 有牛奶、糖饼、苹果，还有坚果。等孩子们吃完了，她又给孩子们铺了两张白色的小床，汉 赛尔和格莱特往床上一躺，马上觉得是进了天堂。 其实这个老婆婆是笑里藏刀，她的友善只是伪装给他们看的，她事实上是一个专门引诱 孩子上当的邪恶的巫婆，她那幢用美食建造的房子就是为了让孩子们落入她的圈套。一旦哪 个孩子落入她的魔掌，她就杀死他，把他煮来吃掉。这个巫婆的红眼睛视力不好，看不远， 但是她的嗅觉却像野兽一样灵敏，老远老远她就能嗅到人的味道。汉赛尔和格莱特刚刚走近 她的房子她就知道了，高兴得一阵狂笑，然后就冷笑着打定了主意：“我要牢牢地抓住他 们，决不让他们跑掉。” 第二天一早，还不等孩子们醒来，她就起床了。看着两个小家伙那红扑扑、圆滚滚的脸 蛋，她忍不住口水直流：“好一顿美餐呐！”说着便抓住汉赛尔的小胳膊，把他扛进了一间 小马厩，并用栅栏把他锁了起来。汉赛尔在里面大喊大叫，可是毫无用处。然后，老巫婆走 过去把格莱特摇醒，冲着她吼道：“起来，懒丫头！快去打水来替你哥哥煮点好吃的。他关 在外面的马厩里，我要把他养得白白胖胖的，然后吃掉他。” 格莱特听了伤心得大哭起来，可她还是不得不按照那个老巫婆的吩咐去干活。于是，汉 赛尔每天都能吃到许多好吃的，而可怜的格莱特每天却只有螃蟹壳吃。每天早晨，老巫婆都 要颤颤巍巍的走到小马厩去喊汉赛尔：“汉赛尔，把你的手指头伸出来，让我摸摸你长胖了 没有！”可是汉赛尔每次都是伸给她一根啃过的小骨头，老眼昏花的老巫婆，根本就看不清 楚，她还真以为是汉赛尔的手指头呢！她心里感到非常纳闷，怎么汉赛尔还没有长胖一点呢？ 又过了四个星期，汉赛尔还是很瘦的样子。老巫婆失去了耐心，便扬言她不想再等了。 “过来，格莱特，”她对小女孩吼道，“快点去打水来！管他是胖还是瘦，明天我一定 要杀死汉赛尔，把他煮来吃了。” 可怜的小妹妹被逼着去打水来准备煮她的哥哥，一路上她伤心万分，眼泪顺着脸颊一串 一串地往下掉！“亲爱的上帝，请帮帮我们吧！”她呼喊道，“还不如当初在森林里就被野 兽吃掉，那我们总还是死在一起的呵！” 趁老巫婆离开一会儿，可怜的格莱特瞅准机会跑到汉赛尔身边，把她所听到的一切都告 诉他： “我们要赶快逃跑，因为这个老太婆是个邪恶的巫婆，她要杀死我们哩。” 可是汉赛尔说：“我知道怎么逃出去，因为我已经把插销给搞开了。不过，你得首先去 把她的魔杖和挂在她房间里的那根笛子偷来，这样万一她追来，我们就不怕她了。” 等格莱特好不容易把魔杖和笛子都偷来之后，两个孩子便逃跑了。 这时，老巫婆走过来看她的美餐是否弄好了，发现两个孩子却不见了。虽说她的眼睛不 好，可她还是从窗口看到了那两个正在逃跑的孩子。 她勃然大怒，赶紧穿上她那双一步就能走上几码远的靴子，不多一会就要赶上那两个孩 子了。格莱特眼看老巫婆就要追上他们了，便用她偷来的那根魔杖把汉赛尔变成了一个湖 泊，而把她自己变成了一只在湖泊中游来游去的小天鹅。老巫婆来到湖边，往湖里扔了些面 包屑想骗那只小天鹅上当。可是小天鹅就是不过来，最后老巫婆只好空着手回去了。 见到老巫婆走了，格莱特便用那根魔杖又把自己和汉赛尔变回了原来的模样。然后，他 们又继续赶路，一直走到天黑。 很快，老巫婆又追了上来。 这时，小姑娘把自己变成了山楂树篱笆中的一朵玫瑰，于是汉赛尔便在这只玫瑰的旁边 坐了下来变成一位笛手。 “吹笛子的好心人，”老巫婆说，“我可以摘下那朵漂亮的玫瑰花吗？” “哦，可以。”汉赛尔说。 于是，非常清楚那朵玫瑰是什么的老巫婆快步走向树篱想飞快地摘下它。就在这时，汉 赛尔拿出他的笛子，吹了起来。 这是一根魔笛，谁听了这笛声都会不由自主地跳起舞来。所以那老巫婆不得不随着笛声 一直不停地旋转起来，再也摘不到那朵玫瑰了。汉赛尔就这样不停地吹着，直吹到那些荆棘 把巫婆的衣服挂破，并深深地刺到她的肉里，直刺得她哇哇乱叫。最后，老巫婆被那些荆棘 给牢牢地缠住了。 这时，格莱特又恢复了自己的原形，和汉赛尔一块儿往家走去。走了长长的一段路程之 后，格莱特累坏了。于是他们便在靠近森林的草地上找到了一棵空心树，就在树洞里躺了下 来。就在他们睡着的时候，那个好不容易从荆棘丛中脱身出来的老巫婆又追了上来。她一看 到自己的魔杖，就得意地一把抓住它。然后，立刻把可怜的汉赛尔变成了一头小鹿。 格莱特醒来之后，看到所发生的一切，伤心地扑到那头可怜的小动物身上哭了起来。这 时，泪水也从小鹿的眼睛里不停地往下流。 格莱特说：“放心吧，亲爱的小鹿，我绝不会离开你。” 说着，她就取下她那长长的金色项链戴到他的脖子上，然后又扯下一些灯芯草把它编成 一条草绳，套住小鹿的脖子，无论她走到哪儿，她都把这头可怜的小鹿带在身边。 终于，有一天他们来到了一个小屋前。格莱特看到这间小屋没有人住，便说：“我们就 在这儿住下吧。” 她采来了很多树叶和青苔替小鹿铺了一张柔软的小床。每天早上，她便出去采摘一些坚 果和浆果来充饥，又替她的哥哥采来很多树叶和青草。她把树叶和青草放在自己的手中喂小 鹿，而那头小鹿就在她的身旁欢快地蹦来蹦去。到了晚上，格莱特累了，就会把头枕在小鹿 的身上睡觉。要是可怜的汉赛尔能够恢复原形，那他们的生活该有多幸福啊！ 他们就这样在森林里生活了许多年，这时，格莱特已经长成了一个少女。有一天，刚好 国王到这儿来打猎。当小鹿听到在森林中回荡的号角声、猎狗汪汪的叫声以及猎人们的大喊 声时，忍不住想去看看是怎么回事。“哦，妹妹，”他说，“让我到森林里去看看吧，我再 也不能待在这儿了。”他不断地恳求着，最后她只好同意让他去了。 “可是，”她说，“一定要在天黑之前回来。我会把门关好不让那些猎人们进来。如果 你敲门并说：‘妹妹，让我进来。’我就知道是你回来了。如果你不说话，我就把门紧紧地 关住。” 于是小鹿便一蹦一跳地跑了出去。当国王和他的猎人们看到这头美丽的小鹿之后，便来 追赶他，可是他们怎么也逮不着他，因为当他们每次认为自己快要抓住他时，他都会跳到树 丛中藏起来。 天黑了下来，小鹿便跑回了小屋，他敲了敲门说：“妹妹，让我进来吧！”于是格莱特 便打开了门，他跳了进来，在他那温软的床上美美地睡了一觉。 第二天早上，围猎又开始了。小鹿一听到猎人们的号角声，他便说：“妹妹，替我把门 打开吧。我一定要出去。” 国王和他的猎人们见到这头小鹿，马上又开始了围捕。他们追了他一整天，最后终于把 他给围住了，其中一个猎人还射中了他的一条脚。他一瘸一拐地好不容易才逃回到了家中。 那个射伤了他的猎人跟踪着他，听到了这头小鹿说：“妹妹，让我进来吧。”还看到了那扇 门开了，小鹿进去后很快又关上了。于是这个猎人就回去向国王禀报了他的所见所闻。国王 说：“那明天我们再围捕一次吧。” 当格莱特看到她那亲爱的小鹿受伤了，感到非常害怕。不过，她还是替他把伤口清洗得 干干净净，敷上了一些草药。第二天早上，那伤口竟已经复原了。当号角再次吹响的时候， 那小东西又说：“我不能待在这儿，我必须出去看看。我会多加小心，不会让他们抓住我 的。” 可是格莱特说：“我肯定他们这一次会杀死你的，我不让你去。” “如果你把我关在这儿的话，那我会遗憾而死。”他说。格莱特不得不让他出去，她心 情沉重地打开门，小鹿便又欢快地向林中奔去。 国王一看到小鹿，便大声下令：“你们今天一定要追到他，可你们谁也不许伤害他。” 然而，太阳落山的时候，他们还是没能抓住他。于是国王对那个曾经跟踪过小鹿的猎人 说：“那么现在领我去那个小屋吧。” 于是他们来到了小屋前，国王敲了敲门，并且说：“妹妹，让我进来吧。” 门儿打开之后，国王走了进去，只见房子里站着一个他生平见过的最美丽的少女。 当格莱特看到来者并非是她的小鹿而是一位戴着皇冠的国王时，感到非常害怕。可是国 王非常友善地拉着她的手，并说：“你愿意和我一起到我的城堡去，做我的妻子吗？” “是的，”格莱特说，“我可以和你一起去你的城堡，可是我不能成为你的妻子，因为 我的小鹿必须和我在一起，我不能和他分开。” “那好吧，”国王说，“他可以和你一起去，永远都不离开你，并且他想要什么就会有 什么。” 正在这时，小鹿跳了进来。于是格莱特把草绳套在他的脖子上，他们便一起离开了小屋。 国王把小格莱特抱上他的高头大马之后，就朝着他的王宫跑去。那头小鹿也欢快地跟在 他们后面。一路上，格莱特告诉了国王有关她的一切，国王认识那个老巫婆，便派人去把她 叫来，命令她恢复小鹿的人形。 当格莱特看到他亲爱的哥哥又恢复了原形，她非常感激国王，便欣然同意嫁给他。他们 就这样幸福地生活着，汉赛尔也成了国王的王宫大臣。 ------------------
[/b] |
|
[b]
16 / The Three Snake-Leaves There was once on a time a poor man, who could no longer support his only son. Then said the son, "Dear father, things go so badly with us that I am a burden to you. I would rather go away and see how I can earn my bread." So the father gave him his blessing, and with great sorrow took leave of him. At this time the King of a mighty empire was at war, and the youth took service with him, and with him went out to fight. And when he came before the enemy, there was a battle, and great danger, and it rained shot until his comrades fell on all sides, and when the leader also was killed, those left were about to take flight, but the youth stepped forth, spoke boldly to them, and cried, "We will not let our fatherland be ruined!" Then the others followed him, and he pressed on and conquered the enemy. When the King heard that he owed the victory to him alone, he raised him above all the others, gave him great treasures, and made him the first in the kingdom. The King had a daughter who was very beautiful, but she was also very strange. She had made a vow to take no one as her lord and husband who did not promise to let himself be buried alive with her if she died first. "If he loves me with all his heart," said she, "of what use will life be to him afterwards?" On her side she would do the same, and if he died first, would go down to the grave with him. This strange oath had up to this time frightened away all wooers, but the youth became so charmed with her beauty that he cared for nothing, but asked her father for her. "But dost thou know what thou must promise?" said the King. "I must be buried with her," he replied, "if I outlive her, but my love is so great that I do not mind the danger." Then the King consented, and the wedding was solemnized with great splendour. They lived now for a while happy and contented with each other, and then it befell that the young Queen was attacked by a severe illness, and no physician could save her. And as she lay there dead, the young King remembered what he had been obliged to promise, and was horrified at having to lie down alive in the grave, but there was no escape. The King had placed sentries at all the gates, and it was not possible to avoid his fate. When the day came when the corpse was to be buried, he was taken down into the royal vault with it and then the door was shut and bolted. Near the coffin stood a table on which were four candles, four loaves of bread, and four bottles of wine, and when this provision came to an end, he would have to die of hunger. And now he sat there full of pain and grief, ate every day only a little piece of bread, drank only a mouthful of wine, and nevertheless saw death daily drawing nearer. Whilst he thus gazed before him, he saw a snake creep out of a corner of the vault and approach the dead body. And as he thought it came to gnaw at it, he drew his sword and said, "As long as I live, thou shalt not touch her," and hewed the snake in three pieces. After a time a second snake crept out of the hole, and when it saw the other lying dead and cut in pieces, it went back, but soon came again with three green leaves in its mouth. Then it took the three pieces of the snake, laid them together, as they ought to go, and placed one of the leaves on each wound. Immediately the severed parts joined themselves together, the snake moved, and became alive again, and both of them hastened away together. The leaves were left lying on the ground, and a desire came into the mind of the unhappy man who had been watching all this, to know if the wondrous power of the leaves which had brought the snake to life again, could not likewise be of service to a human being. So he picked up the leaves and laid one of them on the mouth of his dead wife, and the two others on her eyes. And hardly had he done this than the blood stirred in her veins, rose into her pale face, and coloured it again. Then she drew breath, opened her eyes, and said, "Ah, God, where am I?" "Thou art with me, dear wife," he answered, and told her how everything had happened, and how he had brought her back again to life. Then he gave her some wine and bread, and when she had regained her strength, he raised her up and they went to the door and knocked, and called so loudly that the sentries heard it, and told the King. The King came down himself and opened the door, and there he found both strong and well, and rejoiced with them that now all sorrow was over. The young King, however, took the three snake-leaves with him, gave them to a servant and said, "Keep them for me carefully, and carry them constantly about thee; who knows in what trouble they may yet be of service to us!" A change had, however, taken place in his wife; after she had been restored to life, it seemed as if all love for her husband had gone out of her heart. After some time, when he wanted to make a voyage over the sea, to visit his old father, and they had gone on board a ship, she forgot the great love and fidelity which he had shown her, and which had been the means of rescuing her from death, and conceived a wicked inclination for the skipper. And once when the young King lay there asleep, she called in the skipper and seized the sleeper by the head, and the skipper took him by the feet, and thus they threw him down into the sea. When the shameful deed was done, she said, "Now let us return home, and say that he died on the way. I will extol and praise thee so to my father that he will marry me to thee, and make thee the heir to his crown." But the faithful servant who had seen all that they did, unseen by them, unfastened a little boat from the ship, got into it, sailed after his master, and let the traitors go on their way. He fished up the dead body, and by the help of the three snake-leaves which he carried about with him, and laid on the eyes and mouth, he fortunately brought the young King back to life. They both rowed with all their strength day and night, and their little boat flew so swiftly that they reached the old King before the others did. He was astonished when he saw them come alone, and asked what had happened to them. When he learnt the wickedness of his daughter he said, "I cannot believe that she has behaved so ill, but the truth will soon come to light," and bade both go into a secret chamber and keep themselves hidden from every one. Soon afterwards the great ship came sailing in, and the godless woman appeared before her father with a troubled countenance. He said, "Why dost thou come back alone? Where is thy husband?" "Ah, dear father," she replied, "I come home again in great grief; during the voyage, my husband became suddenly ill and died, and if the good skipper had not given me his help, it would have gone ill with me. He was present at his death, and can tell you all." The King said, "I will make the dead alive again," and opened the chamber, and bade the two come out. When the woman saw her husband, she was thunderstruck, and fell on her knees and begged for mercy. The King said, "There is no mercy. He was ready to die with thee and restored thee to life again, but thou hast murdered him in his sleep, and shalt receive the reward that thou deservest." Then she was placed with her accomplice in a ship which had been pierced with holes, and sent out to sea, where they soon sank amid the waves.
[/b] |
[ 编辑 skymoontourbillion 在 05-12-12 23:33 ]
|
[b]
三片蛇叶 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 从前有个穷人，穷得连自己的儿子都养不活。儿子便对他说：“好爸爸，我们现在的日 子过得太糟了，而我又是你的一个负担。我现在想离开家，看能不能挣到饭吃。”父亲祝福 了他，然后悲痛欲绝地送他出了家门。这时候，一个强大帝国的国王正和人打仗，于是他便 参加了国王的部队，上前线去打仗。他到达前线时正好赶上激烈的战斗，而且情况非常危 急，他的战友们纷纷倒在敌人的弹雨中。当指挥官也牺牲时，剩下的人打算逃跑，可是这位 年轻人站出来大着胆子对他们叫道：“我们决不能让自己的祖国灭亡！”于是其他人跟在他 的后面，在他的带领下打败了敌人。当国王得知这场胜利全靠他一个人时，就把他提升到最 高的位置，给了他许多财富，使他一下子成了全国最显赫的人物。 国王有一个女儿，虽长得非常美丽，脾气却非常古怪，她只答应嫁给一个保证在她死后 愿意被活埋在她身边的人。“如果这个人真心实意地爱我，”她说，“我死了之后他活着还 有什么用？”反过来，她也是一样。如果她丈夫先死，她愿意和他一起被埋进坟墓。她这古 怪的誓言吓得人一直不敢向她求婚，可是这位年轻人被公主的美貌迷住了，不顾一切地请求 国王把女儿嫁给他。“你知道你要作出什么样的承诺吗？”国王问。“要是我活得比她长， 就得为她做陪葬，”他回答，“可是我非常爱她，根本不在乎这种危险。”国王于是便答应 了，他们举行了盛大的婚礼。 这对年轻人幸福美满地生活了一段时间，妻子便突然得了重病，医生们没有一个能治好 她。她死了之后，年轻的丈夫想起了自己的诺言，知道自己得活生生地被关在坟墓里，不由 得惊恐万状，可也没有什么别的办法。国王在王宫的各个大门口都派了岗哨，所以他根本不 可能逃避这厄运。安葬尸体的那一天，他也被带进了王室的陵墓，然后墓门就被关上了，而 且还上了插销。 棺材旁有张桌子，上面放着四支蜡烛、四条面包和四瓶酒。等这些东西消耗完后，他就 会饿死。他万分痛苦、万分伤心地坐在那里，每天只吃一丁点面包，只喝一口酒，可死神还 是一天天地在向他逼近。正当他出神地坐在那里时，他看到一条蛇从墓穴的角落里钻了出 来，向死尸爬去。他以为蛇是去咬她的肉，便拔出宝剑说：“只要我还活着，你就休想碰她 一下。”说完就把蛇砍成了三段。过了一会儿，又一条蛇从洞里爬了出来。当它看到第一条 蛇被砍成了三段，已经死了，它便爬了回去。可不一会儿它又爬了出来，嘴里衔着三片绿色 的叶子。然后，它把死蛇的三段拼在一起，在每一处伤口上盖上一片叶子。顷刻之间，那条 断蛇的的几个部分又长在了一起。蛇动了几下便活了过来，然后和第二条蛇一起逃走了，而 那三片叶子却留在了地上。这位目睹了这一切的不幸青年突然产生了一个想法：不知道这些 把死蛇重新救活的叶子的魔力能不能把人也救活。于是，他捡起叶子，在他亡妻的嘴上放了 一片，又把另外两片放在她的眼睛上。他刚把叶子放好，血液便开始在她的血管里流动，慢 慢涌上了她苍白的脸颊，使它重新变得绯红。接着，她吸了口气，睁开眼睛，说：“啊，上 帝，我这是在哪里呀？”“你和我在一起，亲爱的妻子，”他回答，然后把所发生的一切， 以及他救活她的经过告诉了她。他给她喝了点酒，又给她吃了点面包。等她重新恢复精力 后，他扶她站起来走到墓门口，又是敲门又是叫喊。卫兵们听到后便去报告国王。国王亲自 来打开墓门，发现他俩健康而富有活力，不禁为悲伤的事情终于结束而欣喜万分。年轻人把 那三片蛇叶带了出来，把它们交给一个侍从，说：“给我小心保管好，要时刻带在身边。天 知道我们还会遇到什么麻烦呢？说不定我们还用得着它们呢！” 可他的妻子发生了变化，她死而复生之后好像完全失去了对丈夫的爱。过了一段时间， 年轻人想过海去看看他的老父亲。他们上船之后，她就忘记了她丈夫对她所表现出的深深的 爱和忠诚，也忘记了他对她的救命之恩，可恶地迷上了船长。一天，当年轻人睡着时，她叫 来船长，自己抱住丈夫的头，船长抓住他的脚，两个人一起把他扔进了大海。干完了这可耻 的勾当之后，她说：“我们现在回去，就说他死在路上了。我会在我父亲的面前大大地夸奖 你，赞扬你，使他同意把我嫁给你，并且让你做王位的继承人。”可是那位忠心耿耿的侍从 在暗中目睹了一切。他从大船上解下一只小船，坐上去寻找他的主人，不再管那两个坏家伙 驶向哪里。他从水里捞起年轻人的尸体，把身上带着的三片蛇叶分别放在他的眼睛和嘴巴 上，幸运地救活了他。 他俩日夜奋力地划船，小船行驶如飞，结果他们比其他人先回到老国王的王宫。老国王 看到他俩独自回来自然感到很惊讶，便问发生了什么事。他听说自己女儿的可恶行径后说： “我不相信她会干出这样卑鄙的事情，但是很快就会真相大白的。”他命令他俩躲进一间密 室，不要让任何人看见。不久，大船驶了回来，那个不知羞耻的女人满脸愁容地来见父亲。 老国王问：“你怎么独自回来了？你丈夫呢？”“唉，亲爱的父亲，”她回答，“我的心都 要碎了。我丈夫在途中突然得病死了，要不是这位好心的船长帮助我，我就惨喽！我丈夫死 的时候他也在场，他可以把一切告诉你。”国王说：“我要让死去的人复活！”说着就打开 了密室，叫那主仆二人出来。那女人一看见自己的丈夫，就像被雷打了一样跪了下去，请求 饶恕。国王说：“绝不能饶恕！他愿意和你一起去死，而且把你救活，可你却趁他睡着时害 死他，你是罪有应得。”接着，她和她的帮凶被放在一条凿了洞的船上。船被推到海上，很 快就在汹涌的浪涛中沉没了。 ------------------
[/b] |
|
[b]
17 / The White Snake A long time ago there lived a king who was famed for his wisdom through all the land. Nothing was hidden from him, and it seemed as if news of the most secret things was brought to him through the air. But he had a strange custom; every day after dinner, when the table was cleared, and no one else was present, a trusty servant had to bring him one more dish. It was covered, however, and even the servant did not know what was in it, neither did anyone know, for the King never took off the cover to eat of it until he was quite alone. This had gone on for a long time, when one day the servant, who took away the dish, was overcome with such curiosity that he could not help carrying the dish into his room. When he had carefully locked the door, he lifted up the cover, and saw a white snake lying on the dish. But when he saw it he could not deny himself the pleasure of tasting it, so he cut off a little bit and put it into his mouth. No sooner had it touched his tongue than he heard a strange whispering of little voices outside his window. He went and listened, and then noticed that it was the sparrows who were chattering together, and telling one another of all kinds of things which they had seen in the fields and woods. Eating the snake had given him power of understanding the language of animals. Now it so happened that on this very day the Queen lost her most beautiful ring, and suspicion of having stolen it fell upon this trusty servant, who was allowed to go everywhere. The King ordered the man to be brought before him, and threatened with angry words that unless he could before the morrow point out the thief, he himself should be looked upon as guilty and executed. In vain he declared his innocence; he was dismissed with no better answer. In his trouble and fear he went down into the courtyard and took thought how to help himself out of his trouble. Now some ducks were sitting together quietly by a brook and taking their rest; and, whilst they were making their feathers smooth with their bills, they were having a confidential conversation together. The servant stood by and listened. They were telling one another of all the places where they had been waddling about all the morning, and what good food they had found, and one said in a pitiful tone, "Something lies heavy on my stomach; as I was eating in haste I swallowed a ring which lay under the Queen's window." The servant at once seized her by the neck, carried her to the kitchen, and said to the cook, "Here is a fine duck; pray, kill her." "Yes," said the cook, and weighed her in his hand; "she has spared no trouble to fatten herself, and has been waiting to be roasted long enough." So he cut off her head, and as she was being dressed for the spit, the Queen's ring was found inside her. The servant could now easily prove his innocence; and the King, to make amends for the wrong, allowed him to ask a favor, and promised him the best place in the court that he could wish for. The servant refused everything, and only asked for a horse and some money for traveling, as he had a mind to see the world and go about a little. When his request was granted he set out on his way, and one day came to a pond, where he saw three fishes caught in the reeds and gasping for water. Now, though it is said that fishes are dumb, he heard them lamenting that they must perish so miserably, and, as he had a kind heart, he got off his horse and put the three prisoners back into the water. They quivered with delight, put out their heads, and cried to him, "We will remember you and repay you for saving us!" He rode on, and after a while it seemed to him that he heard a voice in the sand at his feet. He listened, and heard an ant-king complain, "Why cannot folks, with their clumsy beasts, keep off our bodies? That stupid horse, with his heavy hoofs, has been treading down my people without mercy!" So he turned on to a side path and the ant-king cried out to him, 'We will remember you -- one good turn deserves another!" The path led him into a wood, and here he saw two old ravens standing by their nest, and throwing out their young ones. "Out with you, you idle, good-for-nothing creatures!" cried they; "we cannot find food for you any longer; you are big enough, and can provide for yourselves." But the poor young ravens lay upon the ground, flapping their wings, and crying, "Oh, what helpless chicks we are! We must shift for ourselves, and yet we cannot fly! What can we do, but lie here and starve?" So the good young fellow alighted and killed his horse with his sword, and gave it to them for food. Then they came hopping up to it, satisfied their hunger, and cried, "We will remember you -- one good turn deserves another!" And now he had to use his own legs, and when he had walked a long way, he came to a large city. There was a great noise and crowd in the streets, and a man rode up on horseback, crying aloud, "The King's daughter wants a husband; but whoever sues for her hand must perform a hard task, and if he does not succeed he will forfeit his life." Many had already made the attempt, but in vain; nevertheless when the youth saw the King's daughter he was so overcome by her great beauty that he forgot all danger, went before the King, and declared himself a suitor. So he was led out to the sea, and a gold ring was thrown into it, in his sight; then the King ordered him to fetch this ring up from the bottom of the sea, and added, "If you come up again without it you will be thrown in again and again until you perish amid the waves." All the people grieved for the handsome youth; then they went away, leaving him alone by the sea. He stood on the shore and considered what he should do, when suddenly he saw three fishes come swimming towards him, and they were the very fishes whose lives he had saved. The one in the middle held a mussel in its mouth, which it laid on the shore at the youth's feet, and when he had taken it up and opened it, there lay the gold ring in the shell. Full of joy he took it to the King, and expected that he would grant him the promised reward. But when the proud princess perceived that he was not her equal in birth, she scorned him, and required him first to perform another task. She went down into the garden and strewed with her own hands ten sacks-full of millet-seed on the grass; then she said, "To-morrow morning before sunrise these must be picked up, and not a single grain be wanting." The youth sat down in the garden and considered how it might be possible to perform this task, but he could think of nothing, and there he sat sorrowfully awaiting the break of day, when he should be led to death. But as soon as the first rays of the sun shone into the garden he saw all the ten sacks standing side by side, quite full, and not a single grain was missing. The ant-king had come in the night with thousands and thousands of ants, and the grateful creatures had by great industry picked up all the millet-seed and gathered them into the sacks. Presently the King's daughter herself came down into the garden, and was amazed to see that the young man had done the task she had given him. But she could not yet conquer her proud heart, and said, "Although he has performed both the tasks, he shall not be my husband until he has brought me an apple from the Tree of Life." The youth did not know where the Tree of Life stood, but he set out, and would have gone on for ever, as long as his legs would carry him, though he had no hope of finding it. After he had wandered through three kingdoms, he came one evening to a wood, and lay down under a tree to sleep. But he heard a rustling in the branches, and a golden apple fell into his hand. At the same time three ravens flew down to him, perched themselves upon his knee, and said, "We are the three young ravens whom you saved from starving; when we had grown big, and heard that you were seeking the Golden Apple, we flew over the sea to the end of the world, where the Tree of Life stands, and have brought you the apple." The youth, full of joy, set out homewards, and took the Golden Apple to the King's beautiful daughter, who had no more excuses left to make. They cut the Apple of Life in two and ate it together; and then her heart became full of love for him, and they lived in undisturbed happiness to a great age.
[/b] |
|
[b]
白蛇 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 从前有位以他的智慧而闻名全国的国王，世界上的事情他没有不知道的，而且，好像再 秘密的事情也能有风声传到他的耳朵里。不过，这位国王有个古怪的习惯：每天吃完晚饭， 桌子已经收拾干净，而且其他人也都已离开之后，一位忠实的侍从会再给他端来一道菜。不 过，这道菜用盖子盖着，谁也不知道里面装的是什么，就连这侍从也不知道，因为国王每次 都要等到房间里只剩下他一个人时才揭开盖子吃。 这种情况持续了很长一段时间，终于有一天，端碗的侍从再也克制不住好奇心，把这道 菜端进了自己的房间。他小心地锁上门，揭开盖子，看到盘子里的菜是一条白蛇。他看到之 后，就忍不住想尝一尝，于是他用刀子割下一小块送进嘴里。蛇肉刚碰到他的舌头，他就听 到了窗子外面有一些奇怪的小声音在窃窃私语。他走到窗边侧耳细听，发现原来是一群麻雀 在聊天，相互说着在田野和森林里的所见所闻。吃了那块蛇肉之后，他现在居然能听懂动物 语言了！ 说来也巧，也就在这一天，王后最漂亮的戒指不见了，因为这个侍从哪里都可以去，所 以偷戒指的嫌疑也就落到了他的头上。国王把他叫去大骂一通，并且威胁说，要是他第二天 早晨说不出小偷是谁，那么他自己会被判为小偷，并被处死。侍从一再声明自己是清白无辜 的，可没有用，国王还是不改变自己的主意。 侍从的心里又是烦恼又是害怕，便走进院子去想怎样摆脱自己厄运的办法。有几只鸭子 安安静静地坐在院子里的小溪旁，一面用喙梳理羽毛，一面说着悄悄话。侍从站在一旁听 着。它们分别讲述着他们一上午都到过哪些地方，都找到一些什么好东西吃。其中一只鸭子 抱怨说：“我的胃里有样很重的东西。我吃东西的时候匆匆忙忙的，结果把王后窗子下的一 只戒指吞进肚子里去了。”侍从立刻抓住这只鸭子的脖子，把它拿到厨房，对厨师说：“送 你一只肥鸭子。请把它宰了。”“好的，”厨师说，一面用手掂了掂鸭子，“这家伙拼死拼 活地把自己吃得肥肥的，早就等着进烤箱了。”厨师说着便砍下了鸭子的脑袋，在掏鸭内脏 的时候，发现王后的戒指在里面。 这下侍从轻而易举地证明了自己的清白。国王觉得不该那样冤枉他，想作一些弥补，便 允许他提出一个请求，而且还答应，只要他开口，可以把宫中最好的职位给他。可是侍从谢 绝了这一切，只请求给他一匹马和一些旅费，让他出去看看外面的世界。国王答应了他的请 求，他便上了路。一天，他来到了一个池塘边，看到池塘里有三条鱼让芦苇缠住了，嘴一张 一张地想喝水。虽然人们常说鱼都是哑巴，他却听到它们在为自己这样惨死而哀声叹气。他 很善良，下了马，把三条鱼重新放回到水里。鱼高兴极了，从水里探出头来，冲着他喊道： “我们会记住你的，而且会报答你的救命之恩。” 他骑着马继续向前走。过了一会儿，他觉得好像听到脚底下的沙子里有什么声音。他听 了一会儿，听到一只蚁王在抱怨：“那些骑着笨牲口的人类为什么不离我们远一点呢？这匹 蠢马沉重的蹄子踩死了我们多少人呵！”于是，他赶紧把马带到旁边的小路上。蚁王对他叫 道：“我们会记住你的。好心自然会有好报的！” 这条小路把他带进了一座森林。他看到两只老乌鸦站在窝边，正往外扔小乌鸦。“你们 这些好吃懒做、没有用的东西！都给我出去！”老乌鸦在骂着，“我们再也养不活你们了。 你们都长这么大了，应该自己养活自己。”可那些小乌鸦一个个躺在地上，扑打着翅膀喊 着：“我们真是可怜啊！没有谁能帮助我们。要我们自己养活自己，可我们连飞都还不会 啊！除了躺在这里饿死，我们还有什么别的法子呢？”善良的青年从马背上跳下来，拔出宝 剑把马杀了，留给小乌鸦当粮食。小乌鸦们立刻跳过来，一面吃一面叫道：“我们会记住你 的。好心自然会有好报！” 他现在只能靠两条腿步行。他走了很长一段路后，来到了一座大城市。街上叽叽喳喳的 围了一群人，一个人骑在马背上高声叫道：“公主要选丈夫，但求婚者必须完成一项艰巨的 任务，完不成就得送掉自己的性命。”许多人都已经尝试过了，可他们只是白白地送掉了性 命。我们这位年轻人一看到公主，就被她的美貌迷住了，他忘记了危险，到国王面前去求婚。 他被带到海边，一枚戒指当着他的面被扔进了海中。国王命令他从海底把戒指捞上来， 并且说：“要是你捞不上来，我们就把你重新推进大海，直到浪涛把你吞没。”大家都为这 位英俊的小伙子感到惋惜，一个个都悄悄走了，只留下他一个人在海边。 他站在海边，盘算着该怎么办。突然，他看到有三条鱼在向他游来，而且正是他救过的 那三条鱼。中间那条鱼衔着一只贝壳，游到岸边就把它吐在了年轻人的脚边。他捡起贝壳打 开一看，只见那枚金戒指就在里面。他兴冲冲地带着戒指去见国王，以为国王一定会把答应 的奖赏赐给他。 可是，当高傲的公主得知他出身低微时，非常瞧不起他，要他先完成第二项任务。她走 到花园里，亲手撒了十袋小米在草地上，并且说：“明天日出之前，你必须把这些全部捡起 来，一粒也不能少！” 年轻人坐在花园里，盘算着怎样才能完成这项任务。可是他什么办法也没有想出来，只 好难过地坐在那里，等待着天亮被人带去处死。谁知当第一缕阳光照进花园时，他却看到那 十袋小米已经装得满满的排在他的身旁，而且一粒也不少。原来，那只蚁王晚上带着成千上 万的蚂蚁来过了。这些知恩报恩的小动物不辞辛劳地捡起所有的小米，装进了袋子。 不一会儿，公主亲自来到了花园，看到年轻人已经完成了交给他的任务，她不由得感到 万分惊讶。可她那颗高傲的心还没有被征服，于是她说：“虽然他完成了两项任务，我还是 不能嫁给他，除非他能从生命之树上摘来一个苹果。”年轻人根本不知道生命之树长在什么 地方，可他还是出发了，而且准备一直找下去，直到他走不动为止。不过他也不抱多大希 望，他找遍了三个王国，一天来到了一座森林。他躺在一棵树下刚准备睡觉，突然听到树枝 上有沙沙的声音，一个金苹果掉进了他的手里！与其同时，三只乌鸦飞了下来，落在他的膝 盖上，说：“我们就是你救活的三只乌鸦。我们长大了之后，听说你在寻找金苹果，便飞过 大海，到了长着生命之树的世界尽头，给你把苹果摘来了。”年轻人万分高兴地踏上归途， 带着金苹果回到了美丽的公主那里，这下公主再也没有什么可说的了。他俩把生命之果切成 两半，吃了下去，她的心便充满了对他的爱，他们从此过着幸福安宁的生活。 ------------------
[/b] |
|
[b]
18 / The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean In a village dwelt a poor old woman, who had gathered together a dish of beans and wanted to cook them. So she made a fire on her hearth, and that it might burn the quicker, she lighted it with a handful of straw. When she was emptying the beans into the pan, one dropped without her observing it, and lay on the ground beside a straw, and soon afterwards a burning coal from the fire leapt down to the two. Then the straw began and said, "Dear friends, from whence do you come here?" The coal replied, "I fortunately sprang out of the fire, and if I had not escaped by main force, my death would have been certain, -- I should have been burnt to ashes." The bean said, "I too have escaped with a whole skin, but if the old woman had got me into the pan, I should have been made into broth without any mercy, like my comrades." "And would a better fate have fallen to my lot?" said the straw. "The old woman has destroyed all my brethren in fire and smoke; she seized sixty of them at once, and took their lives. I luckily slipped through her fingers." "But what are we to do now?" said the coal. "I think," answered the bean, "that as we have so fortunately escaped death, we should keep together like good companions, and lest a new mischance should overtake us here, we should go away together, and repair to a foreign country." The proposition pleased the two others, and they set out on their way in company. Soon, however, they came to a little brook, and as there was no bridge or foot-plank, they did not know how they were to get over it. The straw hit on a good idea, and said, "I will lay myself straight across, and then you can walk over on me as on a bridge." The straw therefore stretched itself from one bank to the other, and the coal, who was of an impetuous disposition, tripped quite boldly on to the newly-built bridge. But when she had reached the middle, and heard the water rushing beneath her, she was, after all, afraid, and stood still, and ventured no farther. The straw, however, began to burn, broke in two pieces, and fell into the stream. The coal slipped after her, hissed when she got into the water, and breathed her last. The bean, who had prudently stayed behind on the shore, could not but laugh at the event, was unable to stop, and laughed so heartily that she burst. It would have been all over with her, likewise, if, by good fortune, a tailor who was traveling in search of work, had not sat down to rest by the brook. As he had a compassionate heart he pulled out his needle and thread, and sewed her together. The bean thanked him most prettily, but as the tailor used black thread, all beans since then have a black seam.
[/b] |
|
[b]
麦草、煤块和豆子 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 一座村子里住着一位贫穷的老太太，她摘了一盘豆子，准备煮熟了吃。她在炉子里点上 火，为了让炉子烧得快一点，她生炉子的时候用了一把麦草。当把豆子倒进锅里时，她没有 注意到一粒豆子掉了出来，落在地上的一根麦草旁。不一会儿，一块燃烧的煤炭也从炉子中 跳了出来，落在它俩的旁边。于是，麦草开口说：“亲爱的朋友们，你们从哪里来呀？”煤 块答道：“我总算幸运地从火里跳出来了。要是我没有使劲跳出来，我必死无疑，一定会被 烧成灰烬。”豆子说：“我也成功地逃了出来，可要是那老太太把我倒进了锅子，我肯定会 像我的伙伴们一样，被她毫不留情地煮成浓汤。”“难道我不是不幸中之万幸吗？”麦草 问，“那个老太太把我所有的兄弟塞进炉火里，变成了轻烟。她一把就抓住了六十根，要了 它们的命。幸好我从她的指缝里溜掉了。” “可我们现在怎么办呢？”煤块问。 “我觉得，”豆子回答，“既然我们都幸运地死里逃生，我们就应该像好伙伴一样团结 在一起。为了避免在这地方再遭到厄运，我们应该离开这里，到别的地方去。” 另外两位都觉得这是一个好主意，于是它们便结伴而行。没过多久，它们来到了一条小 溪边，小溪上既没有桥，也没有跳磴，它们不知道该怎么过去。麦草灵机一动，说：“让我 横躺在小溪上，你们可以像过桥一样从我身上走过去。”麦草说着便把自己的身子从小溪的 这一边伸到了另一边。煤块性子比较急，立刻大着胆子走上了这座刚刚搭好的桥。可是它走 到桥中间时，听到溪水在脚下哗哗地流淌，不由得害怕起来，站在那里不敢往前走。这下麦 草燃了起来，断成两截掉进了小溪。煤块跟着掉了下去，碰到水发出咝的一声，就送了命。 豆子一直谨慎地呆在岸上，看到这情景不由得放声哈哈大笑。它笑呀笑，笑得裂开了自己的 肚皮。它本来也许就这样完蛋了，但幸运的是，一个外出找活干的裁缝正好坐在小溪旁休 息。这位裁缝心肠很好，取出针线把它的肚子缝在了一起。豆子好好地谢了裁缝，可由于裁 缝用的是黑线，所以豆子的身上至今还留有一条黑缝。 ------------------
[/b] |
|
[b]
19 / The Fisherman and His Wife There was once on a time a Fisherman who lived with his wife in a miserable hovel close by the sea, and every day he went out fishing. And once as he was sitting with his rod, looking at the clear water, his line suddenly went down, far down below, and when he drew it up again he brought out a large Flounder. Then the Flounder said to him, "Hark, you Fisherman, I pray you, let me live, I am no Flounder really, but an enchanted prince. What good will it do you to kill me? I should not be good to eat, put me in the water again, and let me go." "Come," said the Fisherman, "there is no need for so many words about it -- a fish that can talk I should certainly let go, anyhow," with that he put him back again into the clear water, and the Flounder went to the bottom, leaving a long streak of blood behind him. Then the Fisherman got up and went home to his wife in the hovel. "Husband," said the woman, "have you caught nothing to-day?" "No," said the man, "I did catch a Flounder, who said he was an enchanted prince, so I let him go again." "Did you not wish for anything first?" said the woman. "No," said the man; "what should I wish for?" "Ah," said the woman, "it is surely hard to have to live always in this dirty hovel; you might have wished for a small cottage for us. Go back and call him. Tell him we want to have a small cottage, he will certainly give us that." "Ah," said the man, "why should I go there again?" "Why," said the woman, "you did catch him, and you let him go again; he is sure to do it. Go at once." The man still did not quite like to go, but did not like to oppose his wife, and went to the sea. When he got there the sea was all green and yellow, and no longer so smooth; so he stood still and said, "Flounder, flounder in the sea, Come, I pray thee, here to me; For my wife, good Ilsabil, Wills not as I'd have her will." Then the Flounder came swimming to him and said, "Well what does she want, then?" "Ah," said the man, "I did catch you, and my wife says I really ought to have wished for something. She does not like to live in a wretched hovel any longer. She would like to have a cottage." "Go, then," said the Flounder, "she has it already." When the man went home, his wife was no longer in the hovel, but instead of it there stood a small cottage, and she was sitting on a bench before the door. Then she took him by the hand and said to him, "Just come inside, look, now isn't this a great deal better?" So they went in, and there was a small porch, and a pretty little parlor and bedroom, and a kitchen and pantry, with the best of furniture, and fitted up with the most beautiful things made of tin and brass, whatsoever was wanted. And behind the cottage there was a small yard, with hens and ducks, and a little garden with flowers and fruit. "Look," said the wife, "is not that nice!" "Yes," said the husband, "and so we must always think it, -- now we will live quite contented." "We will think about that," said the wife. With that they ate something and went to bed. Everything went well for a week or a fortnight, and then the woman said, "Hark you, husband, this cottage is far too small for us, and the garden and yard are little; the Flounder might just as well have given us a larger house. I should like to live in a great stone castle; go to the Flounder, and tell him to give us a castle." "Ah, wife," said the man, "the cottage is quite good enough; why should we live in a castle?" "What!" said the woman; "just go there, the Flounder can always do that." "No, wife," said the man, "the Flounder has just given us the cottage, I do not like to go back so soon, it might make him angry." "Go," said the woman, "he can do it quite easily, and will be glad to do it; just you go to him." The man's heart grew heavy, and he would not go. He said to himself, "It is not right," and yet he went. And when he came to the sea the water was quite purple and dark-blue, and grey and thick, and no longer so green and yellow, but it was still quiet. And he stood there and said -- "Flounder, flounder in the sea, Come, I pray thee, here to me; For my wife, good Ilsabil, Wills not as I'd have her will." "Well, what does she want, then?" said the Flounder. "Alas," said the man, half scared, "she wants to live in a great stone castle." "Go to it, then, she is standing before the door," said the Flounder. Then the man went away, intending to go home, but when he got there, he found a great stone palace, and his wife was just standing on the steps going in, and she took him by the hand and said, "Come in." So he went in with her, and in the castle was a great hall paved with marble, and many servants, who flung wide the doors; And the walls were all bright with beautiful hangings, and in the rooms were chairs and tables of pure gold, and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and all the rooms and bed-rooms had carpets, and food and wine of the very best were standing on all the tables, so that they nearly broke down beneath it. Behind the house, too, there was a great court-yard, with stables for horses and cows, and the very best of carriages; there was a magnificent large garden, too, with the most beautiful flowers and fruit-trees, and a park quite half a mile long, in which were stags, deer, and hares, and everything that could be desired. "Come," said the woman, "isn't that beautiful?" "Yes, indeed," said the man, "now let it be; and we will live in this beautiful castle and be content." "We will consider about that," said the woman, "and sleep upon it;" thereupon they went to bed. Next morning the wife awoke first, and it was just daybreak, and from her bed she saw the beautiful country lying before her. Her husband was still stretching himself, so she poked him in the side with her elbow, and said, "Get up, husband, and just peep out of the window. Look you, couldn't we be the King over all that land? Go to the Flounder, we will be the King." "Ah, wife," said the man, "why should we be King? I do not want to be King." "Well," said the wife, "if you won't be King, I will; go to the Flounder, for I will be King." "Ah, wife," said the man, "why do you want to be King? I do not like to say that to him." "Why not?" said the woman; "go to him this instant; I must be King!" So the man went, and was quite unhappy because his wife wished to be King. "It is not right; it is not right," thought he. He did not wish to go, but yet he went. And when he came to the sea, it was quite dark-grey, and the water heaved up from below, and smelt putrid. Then he went and stood by it, and said, "Flounder, flounder in the sea, Come, I pray thee, here to me; For my wife, good Ilsabil, Wills not as I'd have her will" "Well, what does she want, then?" said the Flounder. "Alas," said the man, "she wants to be King." "Go to her; she is King already." So the man went, and when he came to the palace, the castle had become much larger, and had a great tower and magnificent ornaments, and the sentinel was standing before the door, and there were numbers of soldiers with kettle-drums and trumpets. And when he went inside the house, everything was of real marble and gold, with velvet covers and great golden tassels. Then the doors of the hall were opened, and there was the court in all its splendour, and his wife was sitting on a high throne of gold and diamonds, with a great crown of gold on her head, and a sceptre of pure gold and jewels in her hand, and on both sides of her stood her maids-in-waiting in a row, each of them always one head shorter than the last. Then he went and stood before her, and said, "Ah, wife, and now you are King." "Yes," said the woman, "now I am King." So he stood and looked at her, and when he had looked at her thus for some time, he said, "And now that you are King, let all else be, now we will wish for nothing more." "Nay, husband," said the woman, quite anxiously, "I find time pass very heavily, I can bear it no longer; go to the Flounder -- I am King, but I must be Emperor, too." "Alas, wife, why do you wish to be Emperor?" "Husband," said she, "go to the Flounder. I will be Emperor." "Alas, wife," said the man, "he cannot make you Emperor; I may not say that to the fish. There is only one Emperor in the land. An Emperor the Flounder cannot make you! I assure you he cannot." "What!" said the woman, "I am the King, and you are nothing but my husband; will you go this moment? go at once! If he can make a King he can make an emperor. I will be Emperor; go instantly." So he was forced to go. As the man went, however, he was troubled in mind, and thought to himself, "It will not end well; it will not end well! Emperor is too shameless! The Flounder will at last be tired out." With that he reached the sea, and the sea was quite black and thick, and began to boil up from below, so that it threw up bubbles, and such a sharp wind blew over it that it curdled, and the man was afraid. Then he went and stood by it, and said, "Flounder, flounder in the sea, Come, I pray thee, here to me; For my wife, good Ilsabil, Wills not as I'd have her will." "Well, what does she want, then?" said the Flounder. "Alas, Flounder," said he, "my wife wants to be Emperor." "Go to her," said the Flounder; "she is Emperor already." So the man went, and when he got there the whole palace was made of polished marble with alabaster figures and golden ornaments, and soldiers were marching before the door blowing trumpets, and beating cymbals and drums; and in the house, barons, and counts, and dukes were going about as servants. Then they opened the doors to him, which were of pure gold. And when he entered, there sat his wife on a throne, which was made of one piece of gold, and was quite two miles high; and she wore a great golden crown that was three yards high, and set with diamonds and carbuncles, and in one hand she had the sceptre, and in the other the imperial orb; and on both sides of her stood the yeomen of the guard in two rows, each being smaller than the one before him, from the biggest giant, who was two miles high, to the very smallest dwarf, just as big as my little finger. And before it stood a number of princes and dukes. Then the man went and stood among them, and said, "Wife, are you Emperor now?" "Yes," said she, "now I am Emperor." Then he stood and looked at her well, and when he had looked at her thus for some time, he said, "Ah, wife, be content, now that you are Emperor." "Husband," said she, "why are you standing there? Now, I am Emperor, but I will be Pope too; go to the Flounder." "Alas, wife," said the man, "what will you not wish for? You cannot be Pope. There is but one in Christendom. He cannot make you Pope." "Husband," said she, "I will be Pope; go immediately, I must be Pope this very day." "No, wife," said the man, "I do not like to say that to him; that would not do, it is too much; the Flounder can't make you Pope." "Husband," said she, "what nonsense! If he can make an emperor he can make a pope. Go to him directly. I am Emperor, and you are nothing but my husband; will you go at once?" Then he was afraid and went; but he was quite faint, and shivered and shook, and his knees and legs trembled. And a high wind blew over the land, and the clouds flew, and towards evening all grew dark, and the leaves fell from the trees, and the water rose and roared as if it were boiling, and splashed upon the shore. And in the distance he saw ships which were firing guns in their sore need, pitching and tossing on the waves. And yet in the midst of the sky there was still a small bit of blue, though on every side it was as red as in a heavy storm. So, full of despair, he went and stood in much fear and said, "Flounder, flounder in the sea, Come, I pray thee, here to me;" For my wife, good Ilsabil, Wills not as I'd have her will. "Well, what does she want, then?" said the Flounder. "Alas," said the man, "she wants to be Pope." "Go to her then," said the Flounder; "she is Pope already." So he went, and when he got there, he saw what seemed to be a large church surrounded by palaces. He pushed his way through the crowd. Inside, however, everything was lighted up with thousands and thousands of candles, and his wife was clad in gold, and she was sitting on a much higher throne, and had three great golden crowns on, and round about her there was much ecclesiastical splendour; and on both sides of her was a row of candles the largest of which was as tall as the very tallest tower, down to the very smallest kitchen candle, and all the emperors and kings were on their knees before her, kissing her shoe. "Wife," said the man, and looked attentively at her, "are you now Pope?" "Yes," said she, "I am Pope." So he stood and looked at her, and it was just as if he was looking at the bright sun. When he had stood looking at her thus for a short time, he said, "Ah, wife, if you are Pope, do let well alone!" But she looked as stiff as a post, and did not move or show any signs of life. Then said he, "Wife, now that you are Pope, be satisfied, you cannot become anything greater now." "I will consider about that," said the woman. Thereupon they both went to bed, but she was not satisfied, and greediness let her have no sleep, for she was continually thinking what there was left for her to be. The man slept well and soundly, for he had run about a great deal during the day; but the woman could not fall asleep at all, and flung herself from one side to the other the whole night through, thinking always what more was left for her to be, but unable to call to mind anything else. At length the sun began to rise, and when the woman saw the red of dawn, she sat up in bed and looked at it. And when, through the window, she saw the sun thus rising, she said, "Cannot I, too, order the sun and moon to rise?" "Husband," she said, poking him in the ribs with her elbows, "wake up! go to the Flounder, for I wish to be even as God is." The man was still half asleep, but he was so horrified that he fell out of bed. He thought he must have heard amiss, and rubbed his eyes, and said, "Alas, wife, what are you saying?" "Husband," said she, "if I can't order the sun and moon to rise, and have to look on and see the sun and moon rising, I can't bear it. I shall not know what it is to have another happy hour, unless I can make them rise myself." Then she looked at him so terribly that a shudder ran over him, and said, "Go at once; I wish to be like unto God." "Alas, wife," said the man, falling on his knees before her, "the Flounder cannot do that; he can make an emperor and a pope; I beseech you, go on as you are, and be Pope." Then she fell into a rage, and her hair flew wildly about her head, and she cried, "I will not endure this, I'll not bear it any longer; wilt thou go?" Then he put on his trousers and ran away like a madman. But outside a great storm was raging, and blowing so hard that he could scarcely keep his feet; houses and trees toppled over, the mountains trembled, rocks rolled into the sea, the sky was pitch black, and it thundered and lightened, and the sea came in with black waves as high as church-towers and mountains, and all with crests of white foam at the top. Then he cried, but could not hear his own words, "Flounder, flounder in the sea, Come, I pray thee, here to me; For my wife, good Ilsabil, Wills not as I'd have her will." "Well, what does she want, then?" said the Flounder. "Alas," said he, "she wants to be like unto God." "Go to her, and you will find her back again in the dirty hovel." And there they are living still at this very time
[/b] |
|
[b]
渔夫和他的妻子 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 从前，有个渔夫，他和妻子住在海边的一所肮脏的小渔舍里。渔夫每天都去钓鱼，他总 是钓啊钓的，不愿休息有一天，他拿着钓竿坐在海边，两眼望着清澈的海水，竟就这样望啊 望的，坐在那里一直发呆。 忽然，钓钩猛地往下沉，沉得很深很深，都快沉到海底了。等他把钓钩拉上来时，发现 钓上来一条很大的比目鱼。谁知比目鱼竟对他说：“听着，渔夫，我恳求你放我一条生路。 我并不是什么比目鱼，我是一位中了魔法的王子，你要是杀死我，对你又有多大好处呢？我 的肉不会对你的口味的。请把我放回水里，让我游走吧。” “哎，”渔夫说，“你不必这么费口舌。一条会说话的比目鱼，我怎么会留下呢？”说 着，他就把比目鱼放回清澈的水里。比目鱼立刻就游走了，身后留下一条长长的血痕。随 后，渔夫回到他的小屋，走到他妻子的身边。 “喂，当家的，”他妻子问道，“今天你什么也没钓到吗？” “钓到了，”他回答说，“怎么说呢，我钓到了一条比目鱼，可他说他是一位中了魔法 的王子，我就把他放了。” “难道你没有提什么愿望吗？”妻子问。 “没有，”丈夫回答说，“我该提什么愿望呢？”“唉，”妻子说，“住在我们这样一 间肮脏的小房子里，实在是受罪。你该提希望得到一座漂亮的小别墅呀。快去告诉他我们要 一幢小别墅，我肯定，他会满足咱们的愿望的。” “可是，”丈夫说，“我怎么好再去哪？” “唉，”妻子说，“你捉住了他，又放走了他。他肯定会满足咱们的愿望的，快去吧。” 渔夫还是不太愿意去，可又不想惹他妻子生气，于是，就去了海边。 他来到海边时，海水绿得泛黄，也不像以往那样平静。他走了过去，站在海岸上说： “比目鱼啊，你在大海里， 恳请你好好听我说仔细， 我捉你放你没提愿望， 老婆对此却不饶又不依。” 那条比目鱼果真朝他游了过来，问道，“她想要什么呀？”“嗨，”渔夫说，“刚才我 把你逮住了，我老婆说，我应该向你提出一个愿望。她不想再住在那个小屋子里了，她想要 一幢小别墅。” “回去吧，”比目鱼说，“她已经有一幢小别墅啦。” 渔夫便回家去了，他妻子已不再住在那个破破烂烂的渔舍里，原地上已矗立起一幢小别 墅，她正坐在门前的一条长凳上。妻子一见丈夫回来了，就拉着他的手说：“快进来看一 看。现在不是好多了吗？” 随即，他们进了屋。小别墅里有一间小前厅，一间漂亮的小客厅，一间干干净净的卧 室、卧室里摆放着一张床还有一间厨房和食物贮藏室，里面摆放着必备的家具，锡制铜制的 餐具一应俱全。还有一个养着鸡鸭的小院子，和一片长满蔬菜水果的小园子。 “瞧，”妻子说，“不漂亮吗？” “漂亮。”丈夫回答说，“咱们就住在这儿，快快乐乐地过日子吧。” “这个嘛，咱们还要想一想，”妻子说。 他们随后吃了晚饭，就上床休息了。 他们就这样生活了一两个星期。有一天，妻子突然时：“听着，当家的，这房子太小 了，院子和园子也太小了。那条比目鱼可以送咱们一幢更大一些的。我要住在一座石头建造 的大宫殿里。快去找比目鱼，叫他送咱们一座宫殿。” “唉，老婆，”丈夫说，“这别墅不是够好的了嘛？咱们干嘛非得要住在宫殿里呢？” “胡说，”妻子回答说，“你只管去找比目鱼好啦，他会完全满足咱们的愿望的。” “不行啊，老婆，”丈夫说，“比目鱼刚刚送给咱们一幢别墅，我实在不想再去找他， 他会不高兴的。” “去吧，快去吧，”妻子大声说，“他办得到，也乐意这么办。快去吧。” 渔夫心情很沉重，本来是不想去的。他低声地反反复复地自言自语道：“这不应该 呀。”可他还是去了。 他来到海边时，海水不再是绿得泛黄，已变得混浊不清，时而暗蓝，时而深紫，时而灰 黑，不过仍然很平静。渔夫站在岸边说： “比目鱼啊，你在大海里， 恳请你好好听我说仔细， 我捉你放你没提愿望 老婆对此却不饶又不依。” “那么，她想要什么呀？”比目鱼问。 “唉，”渔夫说，心里有几分害怕，“她想住在一座石头建造的宫殿里。” “回去吧，”比目鱼说，“她现在正站在宫殿门前呢。” 渔夫于是往回走，心里想着快点儿到家吧。走到了原来的地方一看，那儿真的矗立着一 座石头建造的宫殿，非常宏伟壮观。他老婆站在台阶上，正准备进去，一见丈夫回来了，就 拉着他的手说：“快，快跟我进去。” 他和他老婆走了进去，只见宫殿里的大厅铺着大理石；众多的仆人伺候在那里，为他们 打开一扇又一扇的大门；宫中的墙壁色彩艳丽，精美耀眼；房间里摆放着许多镀金桌椅；大 厅所有的房间都铺了地毯；桌子上摆满了美味佳肴和各种名贵的东西。屋后还有一个大院 子，院子里设有马厩牛棚，有不少马匹和母牛，一辆富丽堂皇的大马车就停在那儿；除了院 子，还有一座美丽的大花园，花园里开满了万紫千红的花朵儿，生长着不少名贵的水果树； 还有一座占地有两英里多长的公园，里面有鹿啊，野兔啊等等，凡能想象出来的里面都有。 “喏，”妻子说，“不漂亮吗？” “漂亮，当然漂亮啦，”丈夫回答说，“这足够好啦。咱们就好好地住在这座美丽的宫 殿里吧，总该心满意足啦。” “这个嘛，咱们还要想一想，”妻子说，“不过，现在可该上床休息了。”说完，他们 就上床休息了。 第二天早晨，妻子先醒了，这时正是黎明时分，她坐在床上看得见眼前的田野，富饶美 丽，一望无际。她用胳膊肘捅了捅丈夫的腰，然后说，“当家的，起床吧，快点儿跟我到窗 前来。瞧啊，咱们难道不可以当一当这个国家的国王吗？快去找比目鱼，说咱们要当国王。” “哎呀，老婆呀！”丈夫说，“咱们干吗要当什么国王呢？ 我才不想干这个。” “喂，”妻子说，“你不想当，我可想当。快去找比目鱼，告诉他说我必须当国王。” “唉，老婆呀，”丈夫嚷嚷着说，“你干吗要当什么国王呢？ 我跟他说不出口的呀。” “为什么说不出口呢？”妻子反驳说，“你给我快点儿去，我非当国王不可。” 渔夫只得走了出去。一想到老婆非要当国王，心里就感到特别担忧。“这不应该呀，这 实在不应该呀。”他打定主意想不去了，可他还是去了。 他来到海边时，海水一片灰黑，波涛汹涌，从海底翻涌上来的海水散发着恶臭。他站在 海边说： “比目鱼啊，你在大海里， 恳请你好好听我说仔细， 我捉你放你没提愿望， 老婆对此却不饶又不依。” “她想要什么呀？”比目鱼问。 “唉，”渔夫回答说，“她要当国王。” “回去吧，”比目鱼说，“她的愿望已经实现了。” 渔夫于是回家去了。来到宫前时，他发现宫殿大了许多，增加了一座高塔，塔身上有漂 亮的雕饰。一排警卫守卫在宫殿门口，附近还有许多士兵，门前还有一支乐队，敲着锣打着 鼓。他走进宫殿，只见样样东西都是金子和大理石做成的；桌椅上铺着天鹅绒，垂挂着很大 的金流苏。一道道的门忽地打开了，整座王宫处处体现着富丽堂皇。他的老婆就坐在镶嵌着 无数钻石的高大的金宝座上，头戴一顶宽大的金冠，手握一根用纯金和宝石做成的王仗。在 宝座的两旁，六名宫女一字排开，一个比另一个矮一头。渔夫走上前去对她说：“喂，老 婆，你现在真的当上了国王吗？” “是的，”妻子回答说，“咱现在就是国王啦。”他站在那里上上下下地打量着妻子， 过了一会儿说：“哎，老婆，如今你当了国王，多么称心如意啊，往后咱们就不用再要什么 了吧？” “当家的，那可不行，”妻子回答说，情绪开始烦躁起来，“我已经感到无聊得很，再 也无法忍受了。快去找比目鱼，告诉他说我要当皇帝。” “哎呀，老婆，”丈夫说，“你干嘛要当皇帝呢？” “当家的，”妻子说，“快去找比目鱼。说我要当皇帝。” “哎，老婆，”丈夫回答说，“比目鱼没法使你当皇帝，我也不想对他提出这个愿望。 整个帝国就一个皇帝呀，比目鱼哪能随便使谁当皇帝呢？他确实不能。” “你说什么！”妻子大声喝道，“我是国王，你不过是我的丈夫而已。你去不去？给我 马上去！他既然可以使我当上国王，他也能使我当皇帝。我一定一定要当皇帝，马上给我 去！” 渔夫不得不去了。他走在路上时，心里感到非常害怕，边走边想，“这不会有好下场 的。要当皇帝！脸皮真是太厚啦！ 到头来，比目鱼就会恼怒啦。” 他就这样一边想着一边走，来到了海边。只见海水一片墨黑，混浊不清，不仅汹涌翻 腾，泡沫飞溅，而且旋风阵阵，令渔夫感到心惊胆战。不过，他还是站在海岸上说： “比目鱼啊，你在大海里， 恳请你好好听我说仔细， 我捉你放你没提愿望， 老婆对此却不饶又不依。” “她想要什么呀？”比目鱼问。 “唉，”渔夫回答说，“她要当皇帝。” “回去吧，”比目鱼说，“她已当上了皇帝。” 于是，渔夫往回走，到家时一看，整座宫殿都由研磨抛光的大理石砌成，石膏浮雕和纯 金装饰四处可见。宫殿门前，士兵们正在列队行进，号角声，锣鼓声，震耳欲聋。在宫殿 里，男爵、伯爵走来走去，个个一副奴才相。纯金铸造的房门为他一道道打开，他走进一 看，妻子正坐在宝座上，宝座用一整块金子锻造而成，有数千英尺高。她头戴一顶宽大的金 冠，足有三码高，上面镶嵌着无数珠宝；她一只手里握着皇仗，另一只手托着金球。在她的 两侧，站着两列侍从，一个比一个矮，最高的看上去像个巨人，最矮的是个小侏儒，还没有 他的手指大。她的面前侍立着不少王孙贵族。 渔夫走了过去，站在他们的中间，说道：“老婆，你这回真的当皇帝啦？” “是的，”她回答说，“我真的当皇帝了。” 渔夫往前移动了几步，想好好看看她。看了一会儿，他说：“哎，老婆，你当上了皇 帝，真是太妙啦！” “喂！”她对渔夫说，“你还站在这里发什么呆？我现在当上了皇帝，可是我还想当教 皇。快去找比目鱼告诉他。” “哎呀，老婆，”渔夫说，“你到底想当什么呀？你当不了教皇。在整个基督教世界教 皇只有一个呀，比目鱼无法使你当教皇。” “我的丈夫呀，”她说，“我要当教皇。快去吧！我今天就要当教皇。” “不行呀，老婆，”渔夫回答说，“我可不想再去告诉比目鱼这个啦，那不行，那太过 分啦。比目鱼无法让你当教皇的呀。” “好啦，别再胡说八道啦！”她说，“他既然能让我当上皇帝，他当然也就能够让我当 教皇了。马上去！我是皇帝，你只不过是我的丈夫而已，你马上就去！” 渔夫胆战心惊，只得去了。他走在路上，感到浑身发软，两腿哆嗦。颤抖不止，海岸边 的山上狂风呼啸，乌云滚滚，一片昏黑。树叶沙沙作响，海水像开锅了似地汹涌澎湃，不断 拍打着他的鞋子。他远远地看见有些船只在狂涛中颠簸跳荡，燃放着求救的信号。天空一片 火红，并且越来越红，只露出中间一点儿蓝色，好像一场暴风雨即将来临。渔夫站在那里， 浑身颤抖，说道： “比目鱼啊，你在大海里， 恳请你好好听我说仔细， 我捉你放你没提愿望， 老婆对此却不饶又不依。” “她想要什么呀？”比目鱼问。 “唉！”渔夫回答说，“她要当教皇。” “回去吧，她已当上了教皇。”比目鱼说。 于是，渔夫往回走，到家时一看，一座大教堂矗立在那里，周围是几座宫殿。人们正潮 水般拥挤着往里走。大教堂里燃着上千支蜡烛，照得四处通明雪亮，他老婆浑身上下穿戴着 金子，坐在更高更大的宝座上，头上戴着三重大金冠。教会中的众多显贵簇拥在她的周围， 她的两侧竖立着两排大蜡烛，最大一根大得就像一座高大的宝塔，而最小的一根则跟普通的 蜡烛差不多。天下所有的皇帝和国王都跪在她的面前，争先恐后地吻她的鞋子。 “老婆，”渔夫看着她说，“你现在真的是教皇了吧？” “是的，”她回答说，“我是教皇。” 说着他凑上前去，好好打量了一番，感觉她像耀眼的太阳一般，光辉灿烂。看了一会儿 之后，他说： “老婆，你当了教皇，这可真是太了不起啦！”可她呢，坐在那里泥雕木刻一样，一动 不动。 接着他又说：“老婆，你已经当上了教皇，这回可该满足了，不可能还有比这更高的什 么啦。” “这个嘛，我还得想一想，”妻子回答说。说完，他们就上床休息了。可是，她还是感 到不满足，她的野心在不断地膨胀，贪欲使她久久不能入睡，她左思右想，想自己还能成为 什么。 丈夫因为白天跑了那么多的路，睡得又香又沉，可妻子呢，在床上辗转反侧，不停地考 虑着自己还能成为什么，却怎么也想不出来了，所以整整一夜没能睡着。这时，太阳快要出 来了，她看见了黎明的曙光，一下从床上坐起身来，望着窗外。透过窗口，她看见一轮红日 冉冉升起，忽然产生了一个念头：“哈哈！我难道不该对太阳和月亮发号施令吗？”“当家 的，”她用胳膊肘捅了捅丈夫的腰，说道，“快起来，去找比目鱼去，告诉他我要控制太阳 和月亮。” 丈夫睡得迷迷糊糊的，一听她这话，吓得从床上滚了下来。他以为是自己听错了，就揉 了揉眼睛，大声地问：“老婆，你说什么来着？” “当家的，”她说，“要是我不能对太阳和月亮发号施令，要他们升他们就升，要他们 落他们就落，我就没法活了。我要按自己的意愿要他们什么时候升起，不然我就难以有一刻 的安宁。” 她极其凶狠地瞪着丈夫，吓得他不寒而? “快去！”她喊叫起来，“我要成为太阳和月亮的主人。”“哎呀呀，我的老婆呀！” 渔夫跪在她面前说，“比目鱼办不到这个呀，他只能使你成为皇帝和教皇。好好想一想，我 求求你啦，就当教皇算啦。” 一听这话，她勃然大怒，脑袋上的头发随即飘荡起来。她撕扯着自己的衣服，朝着丈夫 狠狠地踢了一脚，冲他吼叫道：“我再也无法忍受啦！我再也无法忍受啦！你给我快去！” 渔夫赶紧穿上衣服，发疯似的跑了出去。 外边已是狂风呼啸，刮得他脚都站不住了。一座座的房屋被刮倒，一棵棵大树被吹翻， 连山岳都在震颤着身子，一块块的岩石滚落在大海中。天空雷鸣电闪，一片漆黑，大海掀起 滚滚的黑色巨浪，浪头有山那么高，浪尖上翻涌着白沫。 渔夫嘶声力竭地喊道： “比目鱼啊，你在大海里， 恳请你好好听我说仔细， 我捉你放你没提愿望， 老婆对此却不饶又不依。” “那么，她到底想要什么呀？”比目鱼问。 “唉，”渔夫回答说，“她想要当太阳和月亮的主人。” “回去吧，”比目鱼说，“她又重新住进了那个破渔舍。” 就这样，他们一直在那儿生活到今天。 ------------------
[/b] |
|
[b]
20 / The Valiant Little Tailor One summer's morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by the window; he was in good spirits, and sewed with all his might. Then came a peasant woman down the street crying, "Good jams, cheap! Good jams, cheap!" This rang pleasantly in the tailor's ears; he stretched his delicate head out of the window, and called, "Come up here, dear woman; here you will get rid of your goods." The woman came up the three steps to the tailor with her heavy basket, and he made her unpack the whole of the pots for him. He inspected all of them, lifted them up, put his nose to them, and at length said, "The jam seems to me to be good, so weigh me out four ounces, dear woman, and if it is a quarter of a pound that is of no consequence." The woman who had hoped to find a good sale, gave him what he desired, but went away quite angry and grumbling. "Now, God bless the jam to my use," cried the little tailor, "and give me health and strength;" so he brought the bread out of the cupboard, cut himself a piece right across the loaf and spread the jam over it. "This won't taste bitter," said he, "but I will just finish the jacket before I take a bite." He laid the bread near him, sewed on, and in his joy, made bigger and bigger stitches. In the meantime the smell of the sweet jam ascended so to the wall, where the flies were sitting in great numbers, that they were attracted and descended on it in hosts. "Hola! who invited you?" said the little tailor, and drove the unbidden guests away. The flies, however, who understood no German, would not be turned away, but came back again in ever-increasing companies. The little tailor at last lost all patience, and got a bit of cloth from the hole under his work-table, and saying, "Wait, and I will give it to you," struck it mercilessly on them. When he drew it away and counted, there lay before him no fewer than seven, dead and with legs stretched out. "Art thou a fellow of that sort?" said he, and could not help admiring his own bravery. "The whole town shall know of this!" And the little tailor hastened to cut himself a girdle, stitched it, and embroidered on it in large letters, "Seven at one stroke!" "What, the town!" he continued, "The whole world shall hear of it!" and his heart wagged with joy like a lamb's tail. The tailor put on the girdle, and resolved to go forth into the world, because he thought his workshop was too small for his valour. Before he went away, he sought about in the house to see if there was anything which he could take with him; however, he found nothing but an old cheese, and that he put in his pocket. In front of the door he observed a bird which had caught itself in the thicket. It had to go into his pocket with the cheese. Now he took to the road boldly, and as he was light and nimble, he felt no fatigue. The road led him up a mountain, and when he had reached the highest point of it, there sat a powerful giant looking about him quite comfortably. The little tailor went bravely up, spoke to him, and said, "Good day, comrade, so thou art sitting there overlooking the wide-spread world! I am just on my way thither, and want to try my luck. Hast thou any inclination to go with me?" The giant looked contemptuously at the tailor, and said, "Thou ragamuffin! Thou miserable creature!" "Oh, indeed?" answered the little tailor, and unbuttoned his coat, and showed the giant the girdle, "There mayst thou read what kind of a man I am!" The giant read, "Seven at one stroke," and thought that they had been men whom the tailor had killed, and began to feel a little respect for the tiny fellow. Nevertheless, he wished to try him first, and took a stone in his hand and squeezed it together so that water dropped out of it. "Do that likewise," said the giant, "if thou hast strength?" "Is that all?" said the tailor, "that is child's play with us!" and put his hand into his pocket, brought out the soft cheese, and pressed it until the liquid ran out of it. "Faith," said he, "that was a little better, wasn't it?" The giant did not know what to say, and could not believe it of the little man. Then the giant picked up a stone and threw it so high that the eye could scarcely follow it. "Now, little mite of a man, do that likewise." "Well thrown," said the tailor, "but after all the stone came down to earth again; I will throw you one which shall never come back at all." And he put his hand into his pocket, took out the bird, and threw it into the air. The bird, delighted with its liberty, rose, flew away and did not come back. "How does that shot please you, comrade?" asked the tailor. "Thou canst certainly throw," said the giant, "but now we will see if thou art able to carry anything properly." He took the little tailor to a mighty oak tree which lay there felled on the ground, and said, "If thou art strong enough, help me to carry the tree out of the forest." "Readily," answered the little man; "take thou the trunk on thy shoulders, and I will raise up the branches and twigs; after all, they are the heaviest." The giant took the trunk on his shoulder, but the tailor seated himself on a branch, and the giant who could not look round, had to carry away the whole tree, and the little tailor into the bargain: he behind, was quite merry and happy, and whistled the song, "Three tailors rode forth from the gate," as if carrying the tree were child's play. The giant, after he had dragged the heavy burden part of the way, could go no further, and cried, "Hark you, I shall have to let the tree fall!" The tailor sprang nimbly down, seized the tree with both arms as if he had been carrying it, and said to the giant, "Thou art such a great fellow, and yet canst not even carry the tree!" They went on together, and as they passed a cherry-tree, the giant laid hold of the top of the tree where the ripest fruit was hanging, bent it down, gave it into the tailor's hand, and bade him eat. But the little tailor was much too weak to hold the tree, and when the giant let it go, it sprang back again, and the tailor was hurried into the air with it. When he had fallen down again without injury, the giant said, "What is this? Hast thou not strength enough to hold the weak twig?" "There is no lack of strength," answered the little tailor. "Dost thou think that could be anything to a man who has struck down seven at one blow? I leapt over the tree because the huntsmen are shooting down there in the thicket. Jump as I did, if thou canst do it." The giant made the attempt, but could not get over the tree, and remained hanging in the branches, so that in this also the tailor kept the upper hand. The giant said, "If thou art such a valiant fellow, come with me into our cavern and spend the night with us." The little tailor was willing, and followed him. When they went into the cave, other giants were sitting there by the fire, and each of them had a roasted sheep in his hand and was eating it. The little tailor looked round and thought, "It is much more spacious here than in my workshop." The giant showed him a bed, and said he was to lie down in it and sleep. The bed, however, was too big for the little tailor; he did not lie down in it, but crept into a corner. When it was midnight, and the giant thought that the little tailor was lying in a sound sleep, he got up, took a great iron bar, cut through the bed with one blow, and thought he had given the grasshopper his finishing stroke. With the earliest dawn the giants went into the forest, and had quite forgotten the little tailor, when all at once he walked up to them quite merrily and boldly. The giants were terrified, they were afraid that he would strike them all dead, and ran away in a great hurry. The little tailor went onwards, always following his own pointed nose. After he had walked for a long time, he came to the courtyard of a royal palace, and as he felt weary, he lay down on the grass and fell asleep. Whilst he lay there, the people came and inspected him on all sides, and read on his girdle, "Seven at one stroke." "Ah," said they, "What does the great warrior here in the midst of peace? He must be a mighty lord." They went and announced him to the King, and gave it as their opinion that if war should break out, this would be a weighty and useful man who ought on no account to be allowed to depart. The counsel pleased the King, and he sent one of his courtiers to the little tailor to offer him military service when he awoke. The ambassador remained standing by the sleeper, waited until he stretched his limbs and opened his eyes, and then conveyed to him this proposal. "For this very reason have I come here," the tailor replied, "I am ready to enter the King's service." He was therefore honorably received and a special dwelling was assigned him. The soldiers, however, were set against the little tailor, and wished him a thousand miles away. "What is to be the end of this?" they said amongst themselves. "If we quarrel with him, and he strikes about him, seven of us will fall at every blow; not one of us can stand against him." They came therefore to a decision, betook themselves in a body to the King, and begged for their dismissal. "We are not prepared," said they, "to stay with a man who kills seven at one stroke." The King was sorry that for the sake of one he should lose all his faithful servants, wished that he had never set eyes on the tailor, and would willingly have been rid of him again. But he did not venture to give him his dismissal, for he dreaded lest he should strike him and all his people dead, and place himself on the royal throne. He thought about it for a long time, and at last found good counsel. He sent to the little tailor and caused him to be informed that as he was such a great warrior, he had one request to make to him. In a forest of his country lived two giants who caused great mischief with their robbing, murdering, ravaging, and burning, and no one could approach them without putting himself in danger of death. If the tailor conquered and killed these two giants, he would give him his only daughter to wife, and half of his kingdom as a dowry, likewise one hundred horsemen should go with him to assist him. "That would indeed be a fine thing for a man like me!" thought the little tailor. "One is not offered a beautiful princess and half a kingdom every day of one's life!" "Oh, yes," he replied, "I will soon subdue the giants, and do not require the help of the hundred horsemen to do it; he who can hit seven with one blow has no need to be afraid of two." The little tailor went forth, and the hundred horsemen followed him. When he came to the outskirts of the forest, he said to his followers, "Just stay waiting here, I alone will soon finish off the giants." Then he bounded into the forest and looked about right and left. After a while he perceived both giants. They lay sleeping under a tree, and snored so that the branches waved up and down. The little tailor, not idle, gathered two pocketsful of stones, and with these climbed up the tree. When he was half-way up, he slipped down by a branch, until he sat just above the sleepers, and then let one stone after another fall on the breast of one of the giants. For a long time the giant felt nothing, but at last he awoke, pushed his comrade, and said, "Why art thou knocking me?" "Thou must be dreaming," said the other, "I am not knocking thee." They laid themselves down to sleep again, and then the tailor threw a stone down on the second. "What is the meaning of this?" cried the other. "Why art thou pelting me?" "I am not pelting thee," answered the first, growling. They disputed about it for a time, but as they were weary they let the matter rest, and their eyes closed once more. The little tailor began his game again, picked out the biggest stone, and threw it with all his might on the breast of the first giant. "That is too bad!" cried he, and sprang up like a madman, and pushed his companion against the tree until it shook. The other paid him back in the same coin, and they got into such a rage that they tore up trees and belabored each other so long, that at last they both fell down dead on the ground at the same time. Then the little tailor leapt down. "It is a lucky thing," said he, "that they did not tear up the tree on which I was sitting, or I should have had to spring on to another like a squirrel; but we tailors are nimble." He drew out his sword and gave each of them a couple of thrusts in the breast, and then went out to the horsemen and said, "The work is done; I have given both of them their finishing stroke, but it was hard work! They tore up trees in their sore need, and defended themselves with them, but all that is to no purpose when a man like myself comes, who can kill seven at one blow." "But are you not wounded?" asked the horsemen. "You need not concern yourself about that," answered the tailor, "They have not bent one hair of mine." The horsemen would not believe him, and rode into the forest; there they found the giants swimming in their blood, and all round about lay the torn-up trees. The little tailor demanded of the King the promised reward; he, however, repented of his promise, and again bethought himself how he could get rid of the hero. "Before thou receivest my daughter, and the half of my kingdom," said he to him, "thou must perform one more heroic deed. In the forest roams a unicorn which does great harm, and thou must catch it first." "I fear one unicorn still less than two giants. Seven at one blow, is my kind of affair." He took a rope and an axe with him, went forth into the forest, and again bade those who were sent with him to wait outside. He had to seek long. The unicorn soon came towards him, and rushed directly on the tailor, as if it would spit him on his horn without more ceremony. "Softly, softly; it can't be done as quickly as that," said he, and stood still and waited until the animal was quite close, and then sprang nimbly behind the tree. The unicorn ran against the tree with all its strength, and struck its horn so fast in the trunk that it had not strength enough to draw it out again, and thus it was caught. "Now, I have got the bird," said the tailor, and came out from behind the tree and put the rope round its neck, and then with his axe he hewed the horn out of the tree, and when all was ready he led the beast away and took it to the King. The King still would not give him the promised reward, and made a third demand. Before the wedding the tailor was to catch him a wild boar that made great havoc in the forest, and the huntsmen should give him their help. "Willingly," said the tailor, "that is child's play!" He did not take the huntsmen with him into the forest, and they were well pleased that he did not, for the wild boar had several times received them in such a manner that they had no inclination to lie in wait for him. When the boar perceived the tailor, it ran on him with foaming mouth and whetted tusks, and was about to throw him to the ground, but the active hero sprang into a chapel which was near, and up to the window at once, and in one bound out again. The boar ran in after him, but the tailor ran round outside and shut the door behind it, and then the raging beast, which was much too heavy and awkward to leap out of the window, was caught. The little tailor called the huntsmen thither that they might see the prisoner with their own eyes. The hero, however went to the King, who was now, whether he liked it or not, obliged to keep his promise, and gave him his daughter and the half of his kingdom. Had he known that it was no warlike hero, but a little tailor who was standing before him, it would have gone to his heart still more than it did. The wedding was held with great magnificence and small joy, and out of a tailor a king was made. After some time the young Queen heard her husband say in his dreams at night, "Boy, make me the doublet, and patch the pantaloons, or else I will rap the yard-measure over thine ears." Then she discovered in what state of life the young lord had been born, and next morning complained of her wrongs to her father, and begged him to help her to get rid of her husband, who was nothing else but a tailor. The King comforted her and said, "Leave thy bed-room door open this night, and my servants shall stand outside, and when he has fallen asleep shall go in, bind him, and take him on board a ship which shall carry him into the wide world." The woman was satisfied with this; but the King's armour-bearer, who had heard all, was friendly with the young lord, and informed him of the whole plot. "I'll put a screw into that business," said the little tailor. At night he went to bed with his wife at the usual time, and when she thought that he had fallen asleep, she got up, opened the door, and then lay down again. The little tailor, who was only pretending to be asleep, began to cry out in a clear voice, "Boy, make me the doublet and patch me the pantaloons, or I will rap the yard-measure over thine ears. I smote seven at one blow. I killed two giants, I brought away one unicorn and caught a wild boar, and am I to fear those who are standing outside the room." When these men heard the tailor speaking thus, they were overcome by a great dread, and ran as if the wild huntsman were behind them, and none of them would venture anything further against him. So the little tailor was a king and remained one, to the end of his life.
[/b] |