格林童話：愛人羅蘭(英)

　　Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　Once upon a time there was a miller who was poor, but who had a beautiful daughter. Now it happened that he got into a conversation with the king, and to make an impression on him he said, "I have a daughter who can spin straw into gold."

　　The king said to the miller, "That is an art that I really like. If your daughter is as skillful as you say, then bring her to my castle tomorrow, and I will put her to the test."

　　When the girl was brought to him he led her into a room that was entirely filled with straw. Giving her a spinning wheel and a reel, he said, "Get to work now. Spin all night, and if by morning you have not spun this straw into gold, then you will have to die." Then he himself locked the room, and she was there all alone.

　　The poor miller's daughter sat there, and for her life she did not know what to do. She had no idea how to spin straw into gold. She became more and more afraid, and finally began to cry.

　　Then suddenly the door opened. A little man stepped inside and said, "Good evening, Mistress Miller, why are you crying so?"

　　"Oh," answered the girl, "I am supposed to spin straw into gold, and I do not know how to do it."

　　The little man said, "What will you give me if I spin it for you?"

　　"My necklace," said the girl.

　　The little man took the necklace, sat down before the spinning wheel, and whir, whir, whir, three times pulled, and the spool was full. Then he put another one on, and whir, whir, whir, three times pulled, and the second one was full as well. So it went until morning, and then all the straw was spun, and all the spools were filled with gold.

　　At sunrise the king came, and when he saw the gold he was surprised and happy, but his heart became even more greedy for gold. He had the miller's daughter taken to another room filled with straw. It was even larger, and he ordered her to spin it in one night, if she valued her life.

　　The girl did not know what to do, and she cried. Once again the door opened, and the little man appeared. He said, "What will you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you?"

　　"The ring from my finger," answered the girl.

　　The little man took the ring, and began once again to whir with the spinning wheel. By morning he had spun all the straw into glistening gold. The king was happy beyond measure when he saw it, but he still did not have his fill of gold. He had the miller's daughter taken to a still larger room filled with straw, and said, "Tonight you must spin this too. If you succeed you shall become my wife." He thought, "Even if she is only a miller's daughter, I will not find a richer wife in all the world."

　　When the girl was alone the little man returned for a third time. He said, "What will you give me if I spin the straw this time?"

　　"I have nothing more that I could give you," answered the girl.

　　"Then promise me, after you are queen, your first child."

　　"Who knows what will happen," thought the miller's daughter, and not knowing what else to do, she promised the little man what he demanded. In return the little man once again spun the straw into gold.

　　When in the morning the king came and found everything just as he desired, he married her, and the beautiful miller's daughter became queen.

　　A year later she brought a beautiful child to the world. She thought no more about the little man, but suddenly he appeared in her room and said, "Now give me that which you promised."

　　The queen took fright and offered the little man all the wealth of the kingdom if he would let her keep the child, but the little man said, "No. Something living is dearer to me than all the treasures of the world."

　　Then the queen began lamenting and crying so much that the little man took pity on her and said, "I will give you three days' time. If by then you know my name, then you shall keep your child."

　　The queen spent the entire night thinking of all the names she had ever heard. Then she sent a messenger into the country to inquire far and wide what other names there were. When the little man returned the next day she began with Kaspar, Melchior, Balzer, and said in order all the names she knew. After each one the little man said, "That is not my name."

　　The second day she sent inquiries into the neighborhood as to what names people had. She recited the most unusual and most curious names to the little man: "Is your name perhaps Beastrib? Or Muttoncalf? Or Legstring?"

　　But he always answered, "That is not my name."

　　On the third day the messenger returned and said, "I have not been able to find a single new name, but when I was approaching a high mountain in the corner of the woods, there where the fox and the hare say good-night, I saw a little house. A fire was burning in front of the house, and an altogether comical little man was jumping around the fire, hopping on one leg and calling out:

　　Today I'll bake; tomorrow I'll brew, Then I'll fetch the queen's new child, It is good that no one knows, Rumpelstiltskin is my name.

　　You can imagine how happy the queen was when she heard that name. Soon afterward the little man came in and asked, "Now, Madame Queen, what is my name?"

　　She first asked, "Is your name Kunz?"

　　"No."

　　"Is your name Heinz?"

　　"No."

　　"Is your name perhaps Rumpelstiltskin?"

　　"The devil told you that! The devil told you that!" shouted the little man, and with anger he stomped his right foot so hard into the ground that he fell in up to his waist. Then with both hands he took hold of his left foot and ripped himself up the middle in two.

　　從前，有個女人，是個地地道道的巫婆。她養(yǎng)育了兩個女兒，一個是她親生的女兒，長得很丑，人又很壞，可她特別疼愛她;另一個是她的繼女，容貌出眾，心地善良，她卻一點兒也不喜歡。有一次，她的繼女買了一條漂亮的裙子，她的親生女兒見了非常喜歡，很是眼紅，於是就對她母親說，她想要那條裙子，非弄到手不可?！竸e著急，我的孩子，」老巫婆說，「你會弄到手的。你姐姐早該死啦。今天夜里，等她睡著以后，我就去把她的腦袋砍下來。不過，你得當心才是。你要靠里邊睡，把她盡量推到外邊來?！挂皇沁@個可憐的女孩當時碰巧站在屋角里，聽見了那母女倆說的話，就真的沒命啦。一整天，老巫婆的女兒都不敢跨出房門一步，到了睡覺的時候，她搶先上了床，為的是睡在床里邊，可是等她睡著了，繼女便輕輕地把她推到床外邊，而自己睡到了靠墻的地方。夜深了，老巫婆躡手躡腳地走了進來，右頭提著斧頭，用左手摸了摸，看是不是有人睡在外邊，隨后就雙手舉起斧頭，一斧下去，把自己親生女兒的腦袋砍了下來。

　　老巫婆走了以后，繼女從床上爬起來，去了她愛人的家，她愛人名叫羅蘭。她敲了敲房門，羅蘭出來了，她對他說：「親愛的羅蘭，你聽好了，咱們得趕快逃走。我的繼母想殺死我，卻錯殺了她的親生女兒。天一亮，一旦她發(fā)覺自己干的蠢事，咱們就沒命啦?！埂覆贿^，」羅蘭說，「我勸你先去把她的魔杖偷出來，不然她要是來追趕咱們，咱們還是逃不脫?！构媚锿档搅四д?，隨手拎起砍掉的腦袋，在地上滴了三滴血：床前一滴，廚房一滴，樓梯一滴。然后，她就跟著自己的愛人趕忙離開了。

　　第二天早上，老巫婆起床后去叫自己的女兒，打算把裙子給她，卻不見她過來。老巫婆於是放開嗓子喊道;「你在哪兒啊?」「我在這兒，在打掃樓梯呢。」第一滴血回答道。老巫婆出去一看，樓梯上連個人影兒都沒有，就再喊道：「你在哪兒啊?」「我在廚房里，在烤火呢?！沟诙窝舐暬卮鹫f。她進了廚房，卻不見人影兒，於是她又喊道：「你在哪兒啊?」「唉，我在床上，在睡覺呢?！沟谌窝敖兄卮鸬溃衔灼抛哌M臥室，來到床前。她看見了甚么呢?她的親生女兒，躺在血泊之中，是她自己砍掉了親生女兒的腦袋!老巫婆勃然大怒，一步跳到窗前。老巫婆長著千里眼，一下就看見了她的繼女，正跟著自己的愛人羅蘭匆匆忙忙地遠去。「你們這是枉費心機，」她叫喊著，「你們逃得再遠，也逃不出我的手心!」說著她穿上了千里靴。穿上這種靴子，走一步就相當於一個小時的路程，所以，沒多久，她就追上了他們。姑娘一見老巫婆大步流星地追來，就用魔仗把愛人羅蘭變成了一片湖，自己則變成了一只在湖中央游來游去的鴨子。老巫婆站在湖邊上，往湖里扔麵包屑，不遺余力地想引誘鴨子游過來，誰知鴨子對她的這套把戲置之不理。天黑了，老巫婆只好回去了。她一走，姑娘和愛人羅蘭又恢復了人形，繼續(xù)趕路。他們走了整整一個通宵，天亮了才停下腳步。然后姑娘變成了一朵美麗的鮮花，開放在一道荊棘籬笆的中間，她的愛人羅蘭則變成了一位小提琴手。不一會兒，老巫婆就朝他們狂奔過來，問小提琴手說：「親愛的提琴家，我想摘下那朵美麗的鮮花，可以嗎?」「呵，當然可以，」他回答道，「我還愿意在您摘花時為您伴奏呢?！估衔灼判睦锖芮宄嵌浠▋菏钦l，於是就急急忙忙爬上籬笆，就在她要摘那朵花兒的節(jié)骨眼兒上，羅蘭拉響了提琴，於是不論老巫婆愿意不愿意，都得隨著音樂跳舞了。這可是一種魔舞，羅蘭拉得越快，老巫婆就跳得越狂?；h笆上的刺劃破了她的衣服，扎得她遍體鱗傷，鮮血淋淋。羅蘭還是一個勁兒地拉，老巫婆只好跟著樂曲不斷地一跳啊跳，一直跳到倒地身亡。

　　這樣一來，他們就無憂無慮了。於是羅蘭說：「現(xiàn)在我去找我父親，安排咱們的婚禮?！埂改俏揖驮谶@兒等你吧，」姑娘對他說，「為了不讓人認出我來，我將變成一個紅色的石頭路標?！沽_蘭走了以后，姑娘變成了一個紅色的石頭路標，站在野地里等待自己心愛的人回來。誰知羅蘭到家后，卻落入另一個巫婆的圈套：他被巫婆弄得神魂顛倒，結果把姑娘給忘記了?？蓱z的姑娘站在那里等了很久，始終不見他歸來的身影兒，心里特別難過，於是就變成了一朵鮮花，心里想道：

　　「一定會有人路過這兒，就讓他把我踩死算啦。」

　　說來也巧，有個牧羊人到野外放牧，發(fā)現(xiàn)了這朵鮮花，覺得花兒特別好看，就摘了下來，隨身帶回家，放進自己的大箱子里。打那以后，牧羊人家里便怪事迭出。他每天早上起身，所有的家務事全都做好啦：房間已打掃過了，桌子凳子都已擦乾凈了，爐火已生好了，水也打回來了;到了中午，他一進屋，桌上已擺好刀叉，還有可口的飯菜。他不明白這到底是怎么一回事?壓根兒沒見屋子里有人哪，而且屋里也沒有藏身之處哇。有這么殷勤的伺候，他當然感到很開心。可是日子一久，他卻害怕起來，於是就去找一個巫婆給他指點迷津。巫婆對他說：「有一種魔法在暗中作怪。哪天一大清早，你聽聽屋子里有沒有甚么動靜。要是你看見甚么，不管是甚么，就扔過去一快白布把它蓋起來，這樣魔法就破了?！?/p>

　　牧羊人依照巫婆的吩咐行動起來：第二天，天剛破曉，他便發(fā)現(xiàn)箱子打開了，他摘回的那朵鮮花從里邊跳了出來。說時遲，那時快，他幾步就跳了過去，扔了一快白布把花兒蓋住。眨眼之間，魔法解除了，一位美麗動人的姑娘站在他的面前。姑娘向牧羊人承認，那朵花兒是她變成的，還承認她一直在為他料理家務。她向牧羊人訴說了自己的身世，牧羊人對她一見鍾情，就問她愿意不愿意嫁給他，姑娘卻回答說：「不愿意?！乖瓉砉媚镆獙ψ约旱膼廴肆_蘭堅貞不渝，盡管他已拋棄了她。雖說如此，姑娘仍答應不離開牧羊人，繼續(xù)替他料理家務。

　　就在那幾天，羅蘭舉行婚禮的日子快到了。按照當地的古老風俗，每個年輕的姑娘都要去參加婚禮，唱歌為新婚情侶祝賀。忠心耿耿的姑娘聽到這個消息，難過得心都快要碎了，她不想去參加婚禮，可是別的姑娘跑來硬是把她拖走了。輪到她唱歌了，她卻往后退，最后只剩下她一個人了，她不得不硬著頭皮唱了起來。誰知，她剛唱了一句，羅蘭一聽到這歌聲便一躍而起，大聲喊叫道：「這聲音我太熟悉啦!那才是我真正的新娘子，我非她不娶!」就在這一瞬間，他所遺忘的一切突然又回到了他的心中。於是，這位堅貞不渝的姑娘和自己的愛人羅蘭舉行了婚禮。苦去甘來，他們開始了快樂的生活。