格林童話(huà)：玫瑰公主(英)

　　Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　In past times there were a king and a queen, who said every day, "Oh, if only we had a child!" but they never received one.

　　Then it happened one day while the queen was sitting in her bath, that a frog crept out of the water onto the ground and said to her, "Your wish shall be fulfilled, and before a year passes you will bring a daughter into the world."

　　What the frog said did happen, and the queen gave birth to a girl who was so beautiful that the king could not contain himself for joy, and he ordered a great celebration. He invited not only his relatives, friends, and acquaintances, but also the wise women so that they would be kindly disposed toward the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but because he had only twelve golden plates from which they were to eat, one of them had to remain at home.

　　The feast was celebrated with great splendor, and at its conclusion the wise women presented the child with their magic gifts. The one gave her virtue, the second one beauty, the third one wealth, and so on with everything that one could wish for on earth.

　　The eleventh one had just pronounced her blessing when the thirteenth one suddenly walked in. She wanted to avenge herself for not having been invited, and without greeting anyone or even looking at them she cried out with a loud voice, "In the princess's fifteenth year she shall prick herself with a spindle and fall over dead." And without saying another word she turned around and left the hall.

　　Everyone was horrified, and the twelfth wise woman, who had not yet offered her wish, stepped foreward. Because she was unable to undo the wicked wish, but only to soften it, she said, "It shall not be her death. The princess will only fall into a hundred-year deep sleep."

　　The king, wanting to rescue his dear child, issued an order that all spindles in the entire kingdom should be burned. The wise women's gifts were all fulfilled on the girl, for she was so beautiful, well behaved, friendly, and intelligent that everyone who saw her had to love her.

　　Now it happened that on the day when she turned fifteen years of age the king and the queen were not at home, and the girl was all alone in the castle. She walked around from one place to the next, looking into rooms and chambers as her heart desired. Finally she came to an old tower. She climbed up the narrow, winding stairs and arrived at a small door. In the lock there was a rusty key, and when she turned it the door sprang open. There in a small room sat an old woman with a spindle busily spinning her flax.

　　"Good day, old woman," said the princess. "What are you doing there?"

　　"I am spinning," said the old woman, nodding her head.

　　"What is that thing that is so merrily bouncing about?" asked the girl, taking hold of the spindle, for she too wanted to spin.

　　She had no sooner touched the spindle when the magic curse was fulfilled, and she pricked herself in the finger. The instant that she felt the prick she fell onto a bed that was standing there, and she lay there in a deep sleep. And this sleep spread throughout the entire castle. The king and queen, who had just returned home, walked into the hall and began falling asleep, and all of their attendants as well. The horses fell asleep in their stalls, the dogs in the courtyard, the pigeons on the roof, the flies on the walls, and even the fire on the hearth flickered, stopped moving, and fell asleep. The roast stopped sizzling. The cook, who was about to pull kitchen boy's hair for having done something wrong, let him loose and fell asleep. The wind stopped blowing, and outside the castle not a leaf was stirring in the trees.

　　Round about the castle a thorn hedge began to grow, and every year it became higher, until it finally surrounded and covered the entire castle. Finally nothing at all could be seen of it, not even the flag on the roof.

　　A legend circulated throughout the land about the beautiful sleeping Little Brier-Rose, for so the princess was called. Legends also told that from time to time princes came, wanting to force their way through the hedge into the castle. However, they did not succeed, for the thorns held firmly together, as though they had hands, and the young men became stuck in them, could not free themselves, and died miserably.

　　Many long, long years later, once again a prince came to the country. He heard an old man telling about the thorn hedge. It was said that there was a castle behind it, in which a beautiful princess named Little Brier-Rose had been asleep for a hundred years, and with her the king and the queen and all the royal attendants were sleeping. He also knew from his grandfather that many princes had come and tried to penetrate the thorn hedge, but they had become stuck in it and died a sorrowful death.

　　Then the young man said, "I am not afraid. I will go there and see the beautiful Little Brier-Rose."

　　However much the good old man tried to dissuade him, the prince would not listen to his words.

　　The hundred years had just passed, and the day had come when Little Brier-Rose was to awaken. When the prince approached the thorn hedge, it was nothing but large, beautiful flowers that separated by themselves, allowing him to pass through without harm, but then behind him closed back into a hedge.

　　In the courtyard he saw the horses and spotted hunting dogs lying there asleep, and on the roof the pigeons, perched with their little heads tucked under they wings. When he walked inside the flies were asleep on the wall, the cook in the kitchen was still holding up his hand as if he wanted to grab the boy, and the maid was sitting in front of the black chicken that was supposed to be plucked. He walked further and saw all the attendants lying asleep in the hall, and above them near the throne the king and the queen were lying. He walked on still further, and it was so quiet that he could hear his own breath. Finally he came to the tower and opened the door to the little room where Little Brier-Rose was sleeping.

　　There she lay and was so beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her. He bent over and gave her a kiss. When he touched her with the kiss Little Brier-Rose opened her eyes, awoke, and looked at him kindly.

　　They went downstairs together, and the king awoke, and the queen, and all the royal attendants, and they looked at one another in amazement. The horses in the courtyard stood up and shook themselves. The hunting dogs jumped and wagged their tails. The pigeons on the roof pulled their little heads out from beneath their wings, looked around, and flew into the field. The flies on the walls crept about again. The fire in the kitchen rose up, broke into flames, and cooked the food. The roast began to sizzle once again. The cook boxed the boy's ears, causing him to cry, and the maid finished plucking the chicken.

　　And then the prince's marriage to Little Brier-Rose was celebrated with great splendor, and they lived happily until they died.

　　以前，有個(gè)國(guó)王和王后一直沒(méi)有孩子，他們?yōu)榇朔浅目鄲?。有一天，王后正在河邊散步，一條小魚(yú)把頭浮出水面對(duì)她說(shuō)：「你的愿望就會(huì)實(shí)現(xiàn)了，不久你就會(huì)生下一個(gè)女兒的?！惯^(guò)了一段時(shí)間，那條小魚(yú)所預(yù)言的情況真的實(shí)現(xiàn)了，王后真的生下了一個(gè)非常漂亮的女兒。國(guó)王高興得時(shí)時(shí)刻刻愛(ài)不釋手，決定舉行一個(gè)大型宴會(huì)。他不僅邀請(qǐng)了他的親戚、朋友和外賓，而且邀來(lái)了幾乎所有的女巫師，讓她們?yōu)樗呐畠核蛠?lái)善良美好的祝愿。他的王國(guó)里一共有十三個(gè)女巫師，而他只有十二個(gè)金盤(pán)子來(lái)招待她們進(jìn)餐，所以他只邀請(qǐng)了十二個(gè)女巫師，留下一個(gè)沒(méi)有邀請(qǐng)。

　　盛大的宴會(huì)結(jié)束后，各位來(lái)賓都給這個(gè)小公主送上了最好的禮物。女巫師們一個(gè)送給她美德，另一個(gè)送給她美貌，還有一個(gè)送給她富有，她們把世人所希望的，世上所有的優(yōu)點(diǎn)和期盼都送給了她。當(dāng)?shù)谑粋€(gè)女巫師剛剛為她祝福之后，第十三個(gè)女巫師，也就是那個(gè)沒(méi)有被邀請(qǐng)的女巫師走了進(jìn)來(lái)，她對(duì)沒(méi)有被邀請(qǐng)感到非常憤怒，她要對(duì)此進(jìn)行報(bào)復(fù)，要獻(xiàn)上她惡毒的咒語(yǔ)。所以她進(jìn)來(lái)后就大聲叫道：「國(guó)王的女兒在十五歲時(shí)會(huì)被一個(gè)紡錘弄傷，最后死去?！顾性趫?chǎng)的人都大驚失色?？墒堑谑€(gè)女巫師還沒(méi)有獻(xiàn)上她的禮物，便走上前來(lái)說(shuō)：「這個(gè)兇險(xiǎn)的咒語(yǔ)的確會(huì)應(yīng)驗(yàn)，但公主能夠化險(xiǎn)為夷。她不會(huì)死去，而只是昏睡過(guò)去，而且一睡就是一百年?！?/p>

　　國(guó)王為了不使他的女兒遭到那種不幸，命令將王國(guó)里的所有紡錘都收上來(lái)，又把它們?nèi)夸N(xiāo)毀。隨著時(shí)間的流逝，女巫師們的所有祝福都在公主身上應(yīng)驗(yàn)了：她聰明美麗，性格溫柔，舉止優(yōu)雅，真是人見(jiàn)人愛(ài)。但恰恰在她十五歲的那一天，國(guó)王和王后都不在家，公主單獨(dú)一個(gè)人被留在王宮里。她在宮里到處穿來(lái)穿去，大小房間都看完了，最后，她來(lái)到了一個(gè)古老的宮樓。宮樓里面有一座很狹窄的樓梯，樓梯盡頭有一扇門(mén)，門(mén)上插著一把金鑰匙。當(dāng)她轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)金鑰匙時(shí)，門(mén)一下子就彈開(kāi)了，一個(gè)老太婆坐在里面在忙著紡紗。公主見(jiàn)了說(shuō)道：「喂!老媽媽?zhuān)?您這是在干甚么呀?」「紡紗?！估咸呕卮鹫f(shuō)，接著又點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭?！高@小東西轉(zhuǎn)起來(lái)真有意思!」說(shuō)著，公主上前也想拿起紡錘紡紗，但她剛一碰到它，立即就倒在地上失去了知覺(jué)，以前的咒語(yǔ)真的應(yīng)驗(yàn)了。

　　然而，她并沒(méi)有死，只是倒在那里沉沉地睡去了。國(guó)王和王后正在這時(shí)回來(lái)了，他們剛走進(jìn)大廳也跟著睡著了;馬廄里的馬，院子里的狗，屋頂上的鴿子，墻上的蒼蠅，也都跟著睡著了;甚至連火爐里的火也停止燃燒入睡了;燒烤的肉不炸響了;廚師此刻正抓住一個(gè)做錯(cuò)了事的童工的頭發(fā)，要給他一耳光，讓他滾出去，他們兩個(gè)也定在那兒睡過(guò)去了。所有的一切都不動(dòng)了，全都沉沉地睡去。

　　不久，王宮的四周長(zhǎng)出了一道蒺藜組成的大籬笆，年復(fù)一年，它們?cè)介L(zhǎng)越高，越長(zhǎng)越茂密，最后竟將整座宮殿遮得嚴(yán)嚴(yán)實(shí)實(shí)，甚至連屋頂和煙囪也看不見(jiàn)了。

　　於是，關(guān)於這個(gè)王國(guó)流傳開(kāi)了這樣一個(gè)傳說(shuō)，一個(gè)漂亮的正在睡覺(jué)的玫瑰公主的傳說(shuō)，人們所說(shuō)的玫瑰公主其實(shí)就是國(guó)王的女兒。從那以后，有不少王子來(lái)探險(xiǎn)，他們披荊斬棘想穿過(guò)樹(shù)籬到王宮里去，但都沒(méi)有成功，不是被蒺藜纏住就是被樹(shù)叢跘倒在里面，就像是有無(wú)數(shù)只手牢牢地抓住他們難以脫身一樣，他們最終都痛苦地死去。

　　許多許多年過(guò)去了，一天，又有一位王子踏上了這塊土地。一位老大爺向他講起了蒺藜樹(shù)叢的故事，說(shuō)樹(shù)籬之內(nèi)有一座漂亮的王宮，王宮里有一位仙女般的公主，她的名字叫玫瑰公主，她和整座王宮及里面的人都在沉睡。他還說(shuō)，他曾聽(tīng)他的爺爺談起有許許多多的王子來(lái)過(guò)這兒，他們都想穿過(guò)樹(shù)籬，但都被纏在里面死去了。聽(tīng)了這些，這位王子說(shuō)：「所有這些都嚇不倒我，我要看玫瑰公主去!」老人勸他不要去試，可他卻堅(jiān)持要去。

　　這天，時(shí)間正好過(guò)去了一百年，所以當(dāng)王子來(lái)到樹(shù)籬叢時(shí)，他看到的全是盛開(kāi)著美麗花朵的灌木，他很輕松地就穿過(guò)了樹(shù)籬。隨著他在前面走，身后樹(shù)籬又密密地合攏了。最后，他到達(dá)了王宮，看見(jiàn)大院內(nèi)狗躺在那兒沉睡，馬廄里的馬在沉睡，屋頂上的鴿子將頭埋在翅膀下沉睡。他走進(jìn)王宮內(nèi)，看見(jiàn)墻上的蒼蠅在沉睡，廚房里的廚師向上舉著手，似乎是要打那童工一耳光，一個(gè)女仆手里抓著一只黑母雞準(zhǔn)備拔毛。

　　他繼續(xù)向里尋去，一切都靜得出奇，連自己的呼吸都清晰可聞。終於，他來(lái)到古老的宮樓，推開(kāi)了玫瑰公主在的那個(gè)小房間的門(mén)。玫瑰公主睡得正香，她是那么美麗動(dòng)人，他瞪大眼睛，連眨也舍不得眨一下，看著看著，禁不住俯下身去吻了她一下。就這一吻，玫瑰小姐一下子蘇醒過(guò)來(lái)，她張開(kāi)雙眼，微笑著充滿(mǎn)深情地注視著他，王子抱著她一起走出了宮樓。

　　此刻，國(guó)王和王后也醒過(guò)來(lái)了，王宮里所有的人都醒過(guò)來(lái)了。他們懷著極大的好奇心互相凝視著，似乎還不明白到底發(fā)生了甚么事情。馬站了起來(lái)，搖擺著身體;狗兒歡跳不止，汪汪吠叫;鴿子由翅膀下抬起了頭，昂首四顧，振翅飛向田野;墻上的蒼蠅嗡嗡地飛了開(kāi)去;廚房里的火又竄起了火苗開(kāi)始燒飯，燒烤的肉又吱吱作響;廚師怒吼著扇了童工一個(gè)耳光;女仆繼續(xù)給雞拔毛，一切都恢復(fù)了往日的模樣。不久，王子和玫瑰公主舉行了盛大的結(jié)婚典禮，他們幸福歡樂(lè)地生活在一起，一直白頭到老。