格林童話：萵苣姑娘(英)

　　Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who had long, but to no avail, wished for a child. Finally the woman came to believe that the good Lord would fulfill her wish. Through the small rear window of these people's house they could see into a splendid garden that was filled with the most beautiful flowers and herbs. The garden was surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared enter, because it belonged to a sorceress who possessed great power and was feared by everyone.

　　One day the woman was standing at this window, and she saw a bed planted with the most beautiful rapunzel. It looked so fresh and green that she longed for some. It was her greatest desire to eat some of the rapunzel. This desire increased with every day, and not knowing how to get any, she became miserably ill.

　　Her husband was frightened, and asked her, "What ails you, dear wife?"

　　"Oh," she answered, " if I do not get some rapunzel from the garden behind our house, I shall die."

　　The man, who loved her dearly, thought, "Before you let your wife die, you must get her some of the rapunzel, whatever the cost."

　　So just as it was getting dark he climbed over the high wall into the sorceress's garden, hastily dug up a handful of rapunzel, and took it to his wife. She immediately made a salad from it, which she devoured eagerly. It tasted so very good to her that by the next day her desire for more had grown threefold. If she were to have any peace, the man would have to climb into the garden once again. Thus he set forth once again just as it was getting dark. But no sooner than he had climbed over the wall than, to his horror, he saw the sorceress standing there before him.

　　"How can you dare," she asked with an angry look, "to climb into my garden and like a thief to steal my rapunzel? You will pay for this."

　　"Oh," he answered, "Let mercy overrule justice. I cam to do this out of necessity. My wife saw your rapunzel from our window, and such a longing came over her, that she would die, if she did not get some to eat."

　　The sorceress's anger abated somewhat, and she said, "If things are as you say, I will allow you to take as much rapunzel as you want. But under one condition: You must give me the child that your wife will bring to the world. It will do well, and I will take care of it like a mother."

　　In his fear the man agreed to everything.

　　When the woman gave birth, the sorceress appeared, named the little girl Rapunzel, and took her away. Rapunzel became the most beautiful child under the sun. When she was twelve years old, the fairy locked her in a tower that stood in a forest and that had neither a door nor a stairway, but only a tiny little window at the very top.

　　When the sorceress wanted to enter, she stood below and called out: Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair to me. Rapunzel had splendid long hair, as fine as spun gold. When she heard the sorceress's voice, she untied her braids, wound them around a window hook, let her hair fall twenty yards to the ground, and the sorceress climbed up it.

　　A few years later it happened that a king's son was riding through the forest. As he approached the tower he heard a song so beautiful that he stopped to listen. It was Rapunzel, who was passing the time by singing with her sweet voice. The prince wanted to climb up to her, and looked for a door in the tower, but none was to be found.

　　He rode home, but the song had so touched his heart that he returned to the forest every day and listened to it. One time, as he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw the sorceress approach, and heard her say: Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair. Then Rapunzel let down her strands of hair, and the sorceress climbed up them to her.

　　"If that is the ladder into the tower, then sometime I will try my luck."

　　And the next day, just as it was beginning to get dark, he went to the tower and called out: Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair. The hair fell down, and the prince climbed up.

　　At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as she had never seen before came in to her. However, the prince began talking to her in a very friendly manner, telling her that his heart had been so touched by her singing that he could have no peace until he had seen her in person. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him as her husband, she thought, "He would rather have me than would old Frau Gothel." She said yes and placed her hand into his. She said, "I would go with you gladly, but I do not know how to get down. Every time that you come, bring a strand of silk, from which I will weave a ladder. When it is finished I will climb down, and you can take me away on your horse. They arranged that he would come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day.

　　The sorceress did not notice what was happening until one day Rapunzel said to her, "Frau Gothel, tell me why it is that you are more difficult to pull up than is the young prince, who will be arriving any moment now?"

　　"You godless child," cried the sorceress. "What am I hearing from you? I thought I had removed you from the whole world, but you have deceived me nonetheless."

　　In her anger she grabbed Rapunzel's beautiful hair, wrapped it a few times around her left hand, grasped a pair of scissors with her right hand, and snip snap, cut it off. And she was so unmerciful that she took Rapunzel into a wilderness where she suffered greatly.

　　On the evening of the same day that she sent Rapunzel away, the fairy tied the cut-off hair to the hook at the top of the tower, and when the prince called out: Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair. she let down the hair.

　　The prince climbed up, but above, instead of his beloved Rapunzel, he found the sorceress, who peered at him with poisonous and evil looks.

　　"Aha!" she cried scornfully. "You have come for your Mistress Darling, but that beautiful bird is no longer sitting in her nest, nor is she singing any more. The cat got her, and will scratch your eyes out as well. You have lost Rapunzel. You will never see her again."

　　The prince was overcome with grief, and in his despair he threw himself from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell poked out his eyes. Blind, he wandered about in the forest, eating nothing but grass and roots, and doing nothing but weeping and wailing over the loss of his beloved wife. Thus he wandered about miserably for some years, finally happening into the wilderness where Rapunzel lived miserably with the twins that she had given birth to.

　　He heard a voice and thought it was familiar. He advanced toward it, and as he approached, Rapunzel recognized him, and crying, through her arms around his neck. Two of her tears fell into his eyes, and they became clear once again, and he could see as well as before. He led her into his kingdom, where he was received with joy, and for a long time they lived happily and satisfied.

　　從前有一個男人和一個女人，他倆一直想要個孩子，可總也得不到。最后，女人只好希望上帝能賜給她一個孩子。他們家的屋子后面有個小窗戶，從那里可以看到一個美麗的花園，里面長滿了奇花異草?？墒牵▓@的周圍有一道高墻，誰也不敢進(jìn)去，因?yàn)槟莻€花園屬於一個女巫。這個女巫的法力非常大，世界上人人都怕她。一天，妻子站在窗口向花園望去，看到一塊菜地上長著非常漂亮的萵苣。這些萵苣綠油油、水靈靈的，立刻就勾起了她的食欲，非常想吃它們。這種欲望與日俱增，而當(dāng)知道自己無論如何也吃不到的時候，她變得非常憔悴，臉色蒼白，痛苦不堪。她丈夫嚇壞了，問她：「親愛的，你哪里不舒服呀?」「啊，」她回答，「我要是吃不到我們家后面那個園子里的萵苣，我就會死掉的。」丈夫因?yàn)榉浅鬯?，便想：「與其說讓妻子去死，不如給她弄些萵苣來，管它會發(fā)生甚么事情呢?！裹S昏時分，他翻過圍墻，溜進(jìn)了女巫的花園，飛快地拔了一把萵苣，帶回來給她妻子吃。妻子立刻把萵苣做成色拉，狼吞虎嚥地吃了下去。這萵苣的味道真是太好了，第二天她想吃的萵苣居然比前一天多了兩倍。為了滿足妻子，丈夫只好決定再次翻進(jìn)女巫的園子。於是，黃昏時分，他偷偷地溜進(jìn)了園子，可他剛從墻上爬下來，就嚇了一跳，因?yàn)樗吹脚拙驼驹谒拿媲?。「你好大的膽子，」她怒氣沖沖地說，「竟敢溜進(jìn)我的園子來，像個賊一樣偷我的萵苣!」「唉，」他回答，「可憐可憐我，饒了我吧。我是沒辦法才這樣做的。我妻子從窗口看到了你園子中的萵苣，想吃得要命，吃不到就會死掉的?！古茁犃酥髿饴艘恍?，對他說：「如果事情真像你說的這樣，我可以讓你隨便采多少萵苣，但我有一個條件：你必須把你妻子將要生的孩子交給我。我會讓她過得很好的，而且會像媽媽一樣對待她?！拐煞蛴伸逗ε?，只好答應(yīng)女巫的一切條件。妻子剛剛生下孩子，女巫就來了，給孩子取了個名字叫「萵苣」，然后就把孩子帶走了。

　　「萵苣」慢慢長成了天底下最漂亮的女孩。孩子十二歲那年，女巫把她關(guān)進(jìn)了一座高塔。這座高塔在森林里，既沒有樓梯也沒有門，只是在塔頂上有一個小小的窗戶。每當(dāng)女巫想進(jìn)去，她就站在塔下叫道：

　　「萵苣，萵苣，

　　把你的頭發(fā)垂下來?！?/p>

　　萵苣姑娘長著一頭金絲般濃密的長發(fā)。一聽到女巫的叫聲，她便松開她的發(fā)辮，把頂端繞在一個窗鉤上，然后放下來二十公尺。女巫便順著這長發(fā)爬上去。

　　一兩年過去了。有一天，王子騎馬路過森林，剛好經(jīng)過這座塔。這時，他突然聽到美妙的歌聲，不由得停下來靜靜地聽著。唱歌的正是萵苣姑娘，她在寂寞中只好靠唱歌來打發(fā)時光。王子想爬到塔頂上去見她，便四處找門，可怎么也沒有找到。他回到了宮中，那歌聲已經(jīng)深深地打動了他，他每天都要騎馬去森林里聽。一天，他站在一棵樹后，看到女巫來了，而且聽到她沖著塔頂叫道：

　　「萵苣，萵苣，

　　把你的頭發(fā)垂下來。」

　　萵苣姑娘立刻垂下她的發(fā)辮，女巫順著它爬了上去。王子想：「如果那就是讓人爬上去的梯子，我也可以試試我的運(yùn)氣?！沟诙彀?，他來到塔下叫道：

　　「萵苣，萵苣，

　　把你的頭發(fā)垂下來?！?/p>

　　頭發(fā)立刻垂了下來，王子便順著爬了上去。

　　萵苣姑娘看到爬上來的是一個男人時，真的大吃一驚，因?yàn)樗€從來沒有看到過男人。但是王子和藹地跟她說話，說他的心如何如何被她的歌聲打動，一刻也得不到安寧，非要來見她。萵苣姑娘慢慢地不再感到害怕，而當(dāng)他問她愿不愿意嫁給他時，她見王子又年輕又英俊，便想：「這個人肯定會比那教母更喜歡我?！顾妒蔷痛饝?yīng)了，并把手伸給王子。她說：「我非常愿意跟你一起走，可我不知道怎么下去。你每次來的時候都給我?guī)б桓z線吧，我要用絲線編一個梯子。等到梯子編好了，我就爬下來，你就把我抱到你的馬背上。」因?yàn)槔吓卓偸窃诎滋靵恚运麄z商定讓王子每天傍晚時來。女巫甚么也沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)，直到有一天萵苣姑娘問她：「我問你，教母，我拉你的時候怎么總覺得你比那個年輕的王子重得多?他可是一下子就上來了?！埂赴?你這壞孩子!」女巫嚷道，「你在說甚么?我還以為你與世隔絕了呢，卻不想你竟然騙了我!」她怒氣沖沖地一把抓住萵苣姑娘漂亮的辮子，在左手上纏了兩道，又用右手操起一把剪刀，喳喳喳幾下，美麗的辮子便落在了地上。然后，她又狠心地把萵苣姑娘送到一片荒野中，讓她淒慘痛苦地生活在那里。

　　萵苣姑娘被送走的當(dāng)天，女巫把剪下來的辮子綁在塔頂?shù)拇般^上。王子走來喊道：

　　「萵苣，萵苣，

　　把你的頭發(fā)垂下來?！?/p>

　　女巫放下頭發(fā)，王子便順著爬了上去。然而，他沒有見到心愛的萵苣姑娘，卻看到女巫正惡狠狠地瞪著他。「啊哈!」她嘲弄王子說，「你是來接你的心上人的吧?可美麗的鳥兒不會再在窩里唱歌了。她被貓抓走了，而且貓還要把你的眼睛挖出來。你的萵苣姑娘完蛋了，你別想再見到她?！雇踝油纯鄻O了，絕望地從塔上跳了下去。他掉進(jìn)了刺叢里，雖然沒有喪生，雙眼卻被刺扎瞎了。他漫無目的地在森林里走著，吃的只是草根和漿果，每天都為失去愛人而傷心地痛哭。他就這樣痛苦地在森林里轉(zhuǎn)了好幾年，最后終於來到了萵苣姑娘受苦的荒野。萵苣姑娘已經(jīng)生下了一對雙胞胎，一個兒子，一個女兒。王子聽到有說話的聲音，而且覺得那聲音很耳熟，便朝那里走去。當(dāng)他走近時，萵苣姑娘立刻認(rèn)出了他，摟著他的脖子哭了起來。她的兩滴淚水潤濕了他的眼睛，使它們重新恢復(fù)了光明。他又能像從前一樣看東西了。他帶著妻子兒女回到自己的王國，受到了人們熱烈的歡迎。他們幸福美滿地生活著，直到永遠(yuǎn)。