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第20章 没有手的女孩(2)

The devil came for the third time,but she had wept so long and so much on the stumps(stump n.树桩,残余,烟头),that after all they were quite clean.Then he had to give in,and had lost all right over her.The miller said to her,“I have by means of you received such great wealth that I will keep you most handsomely(handsomely adv.帅气地,熟练地)as long as you live.”But she replied,“Here I cannot stay,I will go forth,compassionate(compassionate adj.富于同情心的)people will give me as much as I require.”Thereupon she caused her maimed(maimed adj.受伤的,残废的)arms to be bound to her back,and by sunrise she set out on her way,and walked the whole day until night fell.Then she came to a royal garden,and by the shimmering(shimmer vi.,vt.(使)微微发亮[光];(使)闪烁)of the moon she saw that trees covered with beautiful fruits grew in it,but she could not enter,for it was surrounded by water.And as she had walked the whole day and not eaten one mouthful,and hunger tormented(torment v.折磨)her,she thought,“Ah,if I were but inside,that I might eat of the fruit,else must I die of hunger.”Then she knelt down,called on God the Lord,and prayed.And suddenly an angel came towards her,who made a dam in the water,so that the moat became dry and she could walk through it.And now she went into the garden and the angel went with her.She saw a tree covered with beautiful pears,but they were all counted.Then she went to them,and to still her hunger,ate one with her mouth from the tree,but no more.The gardener was watching,but as the angel was standing by,he was afraid and thought the maiden was a spirit,and was silent,neither did he dare to cry out(cry out v.大声呼喊,大声抱怨),or to speak to the spirit.When she had eaten the pear,she was satisfied,and went and concealed herself among the bushes.The king to whom the garden belonged,came down to it next morning,and counted,and saw that one of the pears was missing,and asked the gardener what had become of it,as it was not lying beneath the tree,but was gone.Then answered the gardener,“Last night,a spirit came in,who had no hands,and ate off one of the pears with its mouth.”The king said,“How did the spirit get over the water,and where did it go after it had eaten the pear.”The gardener answered,“Someone came in a snowwhite garment from heaven who made a dam,and kept back the water,that the spirit might walk through the moat(moat n.护城河,城壕).And as it must have been an angel,I was afraid,and asked no questions,and did not cry out.When the spirit had eaten the pear,it went back again.”The king said,“If it be as you say,I will watch with you tonight.”

第三次魔鬼又来了,可是姑娘先已对着自己的断臂哭啊,哭啊,结果身子仍然被冲洗得干干净净。这一来,魔鬼只好认输,失去了控制她的一切权利。磨坊主对女儿说:“多亏你,我获得了巨大的财富,我要一生一世供你过最舒适的生活。”女儿却回答:“不,这儿我呆不下去,我想离开。好心的人们会给我需要的一切。”说完,她请人把断臂绑在她背后,等太阳一升起就上了路,走了一整天,直到黑夜降临。这时候,她来到了国王的一片花园外。月光下,她看见园内的树木结满了鲜美的果实。可是她进不去,园子周围有一条小河。她呢,走了一整天没吃一口东西,饿得很难受,就想:“唉,要能上里边吃几个果子才行,不然我会饿死的。”想着想着她跪在了地上,呼唤着上帝,向他发出祈祷。突然面前来了一位天使,他关住水中的一道闸门,河沟干了,姑娘走了过去。她随即进了园子,天使仍陪着她。她看见一棵果树结着漂亮的梨子,可全是点了数的。她走到树下,用嘴咬下一个来吃掉了,解了解饥,对别的梨却一个未碰。园丁发现了,但因为有天使在旁边,心怀敬畏,以为她也是个仙女,安静地既不敢叫喊,也不敢与仙女搭话。姑娘吃下梨后觉得饱了,就走进小树丛中藏起来。第二天早晨,国王来到他的园子里,数树上的梨子发现少了一个,便问然而园丁到哪儿去了。国王认为树下没梨子,准是被偷走了。园丁回答:“昨天夜里来了一位仙女,没有手,用嘴咬下一个梨子吃了。”“仙女怎么过得了河?”国王问,“她吃完梨又上哪儿去了呢?”园丁回答;“一个穿着雪白衣服的什么人从天上降下来,关住闸门,放干河水,好让仙女走过护城河。那想必是天使,我害怕了,没敢问,也没敢喊。仙女吃完梨,便回去了。”国王说:“如果像你所说的,今天夜里我就和你在一起守园子。”

When it grew dark the king came into the garden and brought a priest with him,who was to speak to the spirit.All three seated themselves beneath the tree and watched.At midnight the maiden came creeping out of the thicket(thicket n.灌木丛),went to the tree,and again ate one pear off it with her mouth,and beside her stood the angel in white garments(garment n.衣服,外衣,外表).Then the priest went out to them and said,“Do you come from heaven or from earth?Are you a spirit,or a human being?”She replied,“I am no spirit,but an unhappy mortal deserted by all but God.”The king said,“If you are forsaken(forsaken adj.被弃的,孤独的,被抛弃的)by all the world,yet will I not forsake you.”He took her with him into his royal palace,and as she was so beautiful and good,he loved her with all his heart,had silver hands made for her,and took her to wife.

天黑了,国王来到园中,并带着一位准备与仙女谈话的祭师。三个人坐到树下,注意着动静。半夜,姑娘从小树丛中钻出来,走到树跟前,又用嘴咬梨子吃。在她旁边,站着穿着一身衣服雪白的天使。这时祭师走出来,问:“你是来自天国,还是来自人世?你是神,还是人?”姑娘回答:“我不是神,而是一个被大家抛弃了的可怜人,只有上帝没有把我遗弃。”国王说:“世人都抛弃了你,我不愿意抛弃你。”说完把她带回宫里。由于她美丽又虔诚,国王深深地爱上她,让人用银子替她打了一双假手,娶她做了妻子。

After a year the king had to go on a journey,so he commended his young queen to the care of his mother and said,“If she is brought to childbed take care of her,nurse her well,and tell me of it at once in a letter.”Then she gave birth to a fine boy.So the old mother made haste to write and announce the joyful news to him.But the messenger rested by a brook on the way,and as he was fatigued(fatigue vt.使疲劳,使心智衰弱)by the great distance,he fell asleep.Then came the devil,who was always seeking to injure the good queen,and exchanged the letter for another,in which was written that the queen had brought a monster into the world.When the king read the letter he was shocked and much troubled,but he wrote in answer that they were to take great care of the queen and nurse her well until his arrival.The messenger went back with the letter,but rested at the same place and again fell asleep.Then came the devil once more,and put a different letter in his pocket,in which it was written that they were to put the queen and her child to death.The old mother was terribly shocked when she received the letter,and could not believe it.She wrote back again to the king,but received no other answer,because each time the devil substituted(substitute v.代替,替换,替代)a false letter,and in the last letter it was also written that she was to preserve the queen"s tongue and eyes as a token that she had obeyed.