格林童话选 英文版 Grimms' Fairy Tales
格林兄弟 Brüder Grimm
SWEETHEART ROLAND
There was once upon a time a woman who was a real witch and had twodaughters, one ugly and wicked, and this one she loved because she washer own daughter, and one beautiful and good, and this one she hated,because she was her stepdaughter. The stepdaughter once had a prettyapron, which the other fancied so much that she became envious, andtold her mother that she must and would have that apron. 'Be quiet, mychild,' said the old woman, 'and you shall have it. Your stepsisterhas long deserved death; tonight when she is asleep I will come andcut her head off. Only be careful that you are at the far side of thebed, and push her well to the front.' It would have been all over withthe poor girl if she had not just then been standing in a corner, andheard everything. All day long she dared not go out of doors, and whenbedtime had come, the witch's daughter got into bed first, so as tolie at the far side, but when she was asleep, the other pushed hergently to the front, and took for herself the place at the back, closeby the wall. In the night, the old woman came creeping in, she held anaxe in her right hand, and felt with her left to see if anyone werelying at the outside, and then she grasped the axe with both hands,and cut her own child's head off.
When she had gone away, the girl got up and went to her sweetheart,who was called Roland, and knocked at his door. When he came out, shesaid to him: 'Listen, dearest Roland, we must fly in all haste; mystepmother wanted to kill me, but has struck her own child. Whendaylight comes, and she sees what she has done, we shall be lost.''But,' said Roland, 'I counsel you first to take away her magic wand,or we cannot escape if she pursues us.' The maiden fetched the magicwand, and she took the dead girl's head and dropped three drops ofblood on the ground, one in front of the bed, one in the kitchen, andone on the stairs. Then she hurried away with her lover.
When the old witch got up next morning, she called her daughter, andwanted to give her the apron, but she did not come. Then the witchcried: 'Where are you?' 'Here, on the stairs, I am sweeping,' answeredthe first drop of blood. The old woman went out, but saw no one on thestairs, and cried again: 'Where are you?' 'Here in the kitchen, I amwarming myself,' cried the second drop of blood. She went into thekitchen, but found no one. Then she cried again: 'Where are you?' 'Ah,here in the bed, I am sleeping,' cried the third drop of blood. Shewent into the room to the bed. What did she see there? Her own child,whose head she had cut off, bathed in her blood. The witch fell into apassion, sprang to the window, and as she could look forth quite farinto the world, she perceived her stepdaughter hurrying away with hersweetheart Roland. 'That shall not help you,' cried she, 'even if youhave got a long way off, you shall still not escape me.' She put onher many-league boots, in which she covered an hour's walk at everystep, and it was not long before she overtook them. The girl, however,when she saw the old woman striding towards her, changed, with hermagic wand, her sweetheart Roland into a lake, and herself into a duckswimming in the middle of it. The witch placed herself on the shore,threw breadcrumbs in, and went to endless trouble to entice the duck;but the duck did not let herself be enticed, and the old woman had togo home at night as she had come. At this the girl and her sweetheartRoland resumed their natural shapes again, and they walked on thewhole night until daybreak. Then the maiden changed herself into abeautiful flower which stood in the midst of a briar hedge, and hersweetheart Roland into a fiddler. It was not long before the witchcame striding up towards them, and said to the musician: 'Dearmusician, may I pluck that beautiful flower for myself?' 'Oh, yes,' hereplied, 'I will play to you while you do it.' As she was hastilycreeping into the hedge and was just going to pluck the flower,knowing perfectly well who the flower was, he began to play, andwhether she would or not, she was forced to dance, for it was amagical dance. The faster he played, the more violent springs was sheforced to make, and the thorns tore her clothes from her body, andpricked her and wounded her till she bled, and as he did not stop, shehad to dance till she lay dead on the ground.
As they were now set free, Roland said: 'Now I will go to my fatherand arrange for the wedding.' 'Then in the meantime I will stay hereand wait for you,' said the girl, 'and that no one may recognize me, Iwill change myself into a red stone landmark.' Then Roland went away,and the girl stood like a red landmark in the field and waited for herbeloved. But when Roland got home, he fell into the snares of another,who so fascinated him that he forgot the maiden. The poor girlremained there a long time, but at length, as he did not return atall, she was sad, and changed herself into a flower, and thought:'Someone will surely come this way, and trample me down.'
It befell, however, that a shepherd kept his sheep in the field andsaw the flower, and as it was so pretty, plucked it, took it with him,and laid it away in his chest. From that time forth, strange thingshappened in the shepherd's house. When he arose in the morning, allthe work was already done, the room was swept, the table and benchescleaned, the fire in the hearth was lighted, and the water wasfetched, and at noon, when he came home, the table was laid, and agood dinner served. He could not conceive how this came to pass, forhe never saw a human being in his house, and no one could haveconcealed himself in it. He was certainly pleased with this goodattendance, but still at last he was so afraid that he went to a wisewoman and asked for her advice. The wise woman said: 'There is someenchantment behind it, listen very early some morning if anything ismoving in the room, and if you see anything, no matter what it is,throw a white cloth over it, and then the magic will be stopped.'
The shepherd did as she bade him, and next morning just as day dawned,he saw the chest open, and the flower come out. Swiftly he sprangtowards it, and threw a white cloth over it. Instantly thetransformation came to an end, and a beautiful girl stood before him,who admitted to him that she had been the flower, and that up to thistime she had attended to his house-keeping. She told him her story,and as she pleased him he asked her if she would marry him, but sheanswered: 'No,' for she wanted to remain faithful to her sweetheartRoland, although he had deserted her. Nevertheless, she promised notto go away, but to continue keeping house for the shepherd.
And now the time drew near when Roland's wedding was to be celebrated,and then, according to an old custom in the country, it was announcedthat all the girls were to be present at it, and sing in honour of thebridal pair. When the faithful maiden heard of this, she grew so sadthat she thought her heart would break, and she would not go thither,but the other girls came and took her. When it came to her turn tosing, she stepped back, until at last she was the only one left, andthen she could not refuse. But when she began her song, and it reachedRoland's ears, he sprang up and cried: 'I know the voice, that is thetrue bride, I will have no other!' Everything he had forgotten, andwhich had vanished from his mind, had suddenly come home again to hisheart. Then the faithful maiden held her wedding with her sweetheartRoland, and grief came to an end and joy began.