格林童话选 英文版 Grimms' Fairy Tales
格林兄弟 Brüder Grimm
THE PINK
There was once upon a time a queen to whom God had given no children.Every morning she went into the garden and prayed to God in heaven tobestow on her a son or a daughter. Then an angel from heaven came toher and said: 'Be at rest, you shall have a son with the power ofwishing, so that whatsoever in the world he wishes for, that shall hehave.' Then she went to the king, and told him the joyful tidings, andwhen the time was come she gave birth to a son, and the king wasfilled with gladness.
Every morning she went with the child to the garden where the wildbeasts were kept, and washed herself there in a clear stream. Ithappened once when the child was a little older, that it was lying inher arms and she fell asleep. Then came the old cook, who knew thatthe child had the power of wishing, and stole it away, and he took ahen, and cut it in pieces, and dropped some of its blood on thequeen's apron and on her dress. Then he carried the child away to asecret place, where a nurse was obliged to suckle it, and he ran tothe king and accused the queen of having allowed her child to be takenfrom her by the wild beasts. When the king saw the blood on her apron,he believed this, fell into such a passion that he ordered a hightower to be built, in which neither sun nor moon could be seen and hadhis wife put into it, and walled up. Here she was to stay for sevenyears without meat or drink, and die of hunger. But God sent twoangels from heaven in the shape of white doves, which flew to hertwice a day, and carried her food until the seven years were over.
The cook, however, thought to himself: 'If the child has the power ofwishing, and I am here, he might very easily get me into trouble.' Sohe left the palace and went to the boy, who was already big enough tospeak, and said to him: 'Wish for a beautiful palace for yourself witha garden, and all else that pertains to it.' Scarcely were the wordsout of the boy's mouth, when everything was there that he had wishedfor. After a while the cook said to him: 'It is not well for you to beso alone, wish for a pretty girl as a companion.' Then the king's sonwished for one, and she immediately stood before him, and was morebeautiful than any painter could have painted her. The two playedtogether, and loved each other with all their hearts, and the old cookwent out hunting like a nobleman. The thought occurred to him,however, that the king's son might some day wish to be with hisfather, and thus bring him into great peril. So he went out and tookthe maiden aside, and said: 'Tonight when the boy is asleep, go to hisbed and plunge this knife into his heart, and bring me his heart andtongue, and if you do not do it, you shall lose your life.' Thereuponhe went away, and when he returned next day she had not done it, andsaid: 'Why should I shed the blood of an innocent boy who has neverharmed anyone?' The cook once more said: 'If you do not do it, itshall cost you your own life.' When he had gone away, she had a littlehind brought to her, and ordered her to be killed, and took her heartand tongue, and laid them on a plate, and when she saw the old mancoming, she said to the boy: 'Lie down in your bed, and draw theclothes over you.' Then the wicked wretch came in and said: 'Where arethe boy's heart and tongue?' The girl reached the plate to him, butthe king's son threw off the quilt, and said: 'You old sinner, why didyou want to kill me? Now will I pronounce thy sentence. You shallbecome a black poodle and have a gold collar round your neck, andshall eat burning coals, till the flames burst forth from yourthroat.' And when he had spoken these words, the old man was changedinto a poodle dog, and had a gold collar round his neck, and the cookswere ordered to bring up some live coals, and these he ate, until theflames broke forth from his throat. The king's son remained there ashort while longer, and he thought of his mother, and wondered if shewere still alive. At length he said to the maiden: 'I will go home tomy own country; if you will go with me, I will provide for you.' 'Ah,'she replied, 'the way is so long, and what shall I do in a strangeland where I am unknown?' As she did not seem quite willing, and asthey could not be parted from each other, he wished that she might bechanged into a beautiful pink, and took her with him. Then he wentaway to his own country, and the poodle had to run after him. He wentto the tower in which his mother was confined, and as it was so high,he wished for a ladder which would reach up to the very top. Then hemounted up and looked inside, and cried: 'Beloved mother, Lady Queen,are you still alive, or are you dead?' She answered: 'I have justeaten, and am still satisfied,' for she thought the angels were there.Said he: 'I am your dear son, whom the wild beasts were said to havetorn from your arms; but I am alive still, and will soon set youfree.' Then he descended again, and went to his father, and causedhimself to be announced as a strange huntsman, and asked if he couldoffer him service. The king said yes, if he was skilful and could getgame for him, he should come to him, but that deer had never taken uptheir quarters in any part of the district or country. Then thehuntsman promised to procure as much game for him as he could possiblyuse at the royal table. So he summoned all the huntsmen together, andbade them go out into the forest with him. And he went with them andmade them form a great circle, open at one end where he stationedhimself, and began to wish. Two hundred deer and more came runninginside the circle at once, and the huntsmen shot them. Then they wereall placed on sixty country carts, and driven home to the king, andfor once he was able to deck his table with game, after having hadnone at all for years.
Now the king felt great joy at this, and commanded that his entirehousehold should eat with him next day, and made a great feast. Whenthey were all assembled together, he said to the huntsman: 'As you areso clever, you shall sit by me.' He replied: 'Lord King, your majestymust excuse me, I am a poor huntsman.' But the king insisted on it,and said: 'You shall sit by me,' until he did it. Whilst he wassitting there, he thought of his dearest mother, and wished that oneof the king's principal servants would begin to speak of her, andwould ask how it was faring with the queen in the tower, and if shewere alive still, or had perished. Hardly had he formed the wish thanthe marshal began, and said: 'Your majesty, we live joyously here, buthow is the queen living in the tower? Is she still alive, or has shedied?' But the king replied: 'She let my dear son be torn to pieces bywild beasts; I will not have her named.' Then the huntsman arose andsaid: 'Gracious lord father she is alive still, and I am her son, andI was not carried away by wild beasts, but by that wretch the oldcook, who tore me from her arms when she was asleep, and sprinkled herapron with the blood of a chicken.' Thereupon he took the dog with thegolden collar, and said: 'That is the wretch!' and caused live coalsto be brought, and these the dog was compelled to devour before thesight of all, until flames burst forth from its throat. On this thehuntsman asked the king if he would like to see the dog in his trueshape, and wished him back into the form of the cook, in the which hestood immediately, with his white apron, and his knife by his side.When the king saw him he fell into a passion, and ordered him to becast into the deepest dungeon. Then the huntsman spoke further andsaid: 'Father, will you see the maiden who brought me up so tenderlyand who was afterwards to murder me, but did not do it, though her ownlife depended on it?' The king replied: 'Yes, I would like to seeher.' The son said: 'Most gracious father, I will show her to you inthe form of a beautiful flower,' and he thrust his hand into hispocket and brought forth the pink, and placed it on the royal table,and it was so beautiful that the king had never seen one to equal it.Then the son said: 'Now will I show her to you in her own form,' andwished that she might become a maiden, and she stood there looking sobeautiful that no painter could have made her look more so.
And the king sent two waiting-maids and two attendants into the tower,to fetch the queen and bring her to the royal table. But when she wasled in she ate nothing, and said: 'The gracious and merciful God whohas supported me in the tower, will soon set me free.' She lived threedays more, and then died happily, and when she was buried, the twowhite doves which had brought her food to the tower, and were angelsof heaven, followed her body and seated themselves on her grave. Theaged king ordered the cook to be torn in four pieces, but griefconsumed the king's own heart, and he soon died. His son married thebeautiful maiden whom he had brought with him as a flower in hispocket, and whether they are still alive or not, is known to God.