帶翻譯的英文勵(lì)志故事(2)
帶翻譯的英文勵(lì)志故事：十二個(gè)跳舞的公主
The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Once upon a time there was a king who had twelve daughters, each one more beautiful than the others. They slept together in one room, where their beds stood next to each other. At night when they were lying there, the king closed their door and barred it. However, when he opened it the next morning he saw that their shoes had been danced to pieces. No one could determine how it had happened. Then the king proclaimed that whoever could discover where they went dancing each night could chose one of them for his wife and become king after his death. However, anyone who attempted this, but failed to make the discovery after three days and nights, would forfeit his life.
A prince soon presented himself, offering to undertake the venture. He was well received, and that evening was taken to a room adjacent to the bedroom. A bed was made for him there, and he was told to watch where they went and danced. So they would not be able to do anything in secret, or go out to some other place, the door to their room was left open. However, the prince's eyes felt as heavy as lead, and he fell asleep. When he awoke the next morning, the twelve had been dancing, for their shoes all had holes in their soles. The same thing happened the second and the third evenings, and his head was chopped off without mercy. Many others came to try this risky venture, but they too all lost their lives.
Now it happened that a poor soldier, who was wounded and could no longer serve in the army, was making his way to the city where the king lived. An old woman met him and asked him where he was going. "I'm not exactly sure myself," he said, then jokingly added, "But I would like to discover where the princesses are dancing their shoes to pieces, and then become king."
"That is not so difficult," said the old woman. "Do not drink the wine that they will bring you in the evening." Then she gave him a cloak and said, "When you put this on you will become invisible, and you can follow the twelve."
Having receiving this good advice, the soldier became serious, took heart, went to the king, and announced himself as a suitor. He, like the others, was well received, and was given royal clothes to wear. That evening at bedtime he was escorted to the anteroom. Just as he was going to bed, the oldest princess brought him a goblet of wine. However, he had tied a sponge beneath his chin and let the wine run into it, drinking not a single drop himself. He lay down, and after a little while began to snore as if he were in the deepest sleep. The twelve princesses heard him and laughed. The oldest one said, "He could have spared his life as well!"
Then they got up, opened their wardrobes, chests, and closets, took out their best clothes, and made themselves beautiful in front of their mirrors, all the time jumping about in anticipation of the dance. Only the youngest one said, "I'm not sure. You are all very happy, but I'm afraid that something bad is going to happen!"
"You snow goose," said the oldest one. "You are always afraid! Have you forgotten how many princes have been here for nothing? I wouldn't even have had to give this soldier a sleeping potion. He would never have woken up."
When they were ready, they first approached the soldier, but he did not move at all, and as soon as they thought it was safe, the oldest one went to her bed and knocked on it. It immediately sank beneath the floor, and they all climbed down through the opening, one after the other, the oldest one leading the way. The soldier saw everything, and without hesitating he put on the cloak and followed after the youngest one. Halfway down the stairs he stepped on her dress. Frightened, she called out, "Who's there? Who is holding my dress?"
"Don't be so stupid," said the oldest one. "You just caught yourself on a hook."
They continued until they came to a magnificent walkway between rows of trees. Their leaves were all made of silver, and they shone and glistened. The soldier thought to himself, "You'd better take some proof," and he broke off a twig.
A loud cracking sound came from the tree. The youngest one called out again, "It's not right. Didn't you hear that sound?"
The oldest one said, "That is just a joyful salute that they are firing because soon we will have disenchanted our princes."
Then they came to a walkway where the trees were all made of gold, and finally to a third one, where they were made of clear diamonds. He broke a twig from each of these. The cracking sound frightened the youngest one each time, but the oldest one insisted that it was only the sounds of joyful salutes. They continued on until they came to a large body of water. Twelve boats were there, and in each boat there sat a handsome prince waiting for them. Each prince took a princess into his boat.
The soldier sat next to the youngest princess, and her prince said, "I don't know why the boat is so much heavier today. I have to row with all my strength in order to make it go."
"It must be the warm weather," said the youngest princess. "It's too hot for me as well."
On the other side of the water there was a beautiful, brightly illuminated castle. Joyful music, kettle drums, and trumpets sounded forth. They rowed over and went inside. Each prince danced with his princess. The invisible soldier danced along as well, and whenever a princess held up a goblet of wine, he drank it empty as she lifted it to her mouth. This always frightened the youngest one, but the oldest one silenced her every time. They danced there until three o'clock the next morning when their shoes were danced to pieces and they had to stop. The princes rowed them back across the water. This time the soldier took a seat next to the oldest princess in the lead boat. They took leave from their princes on the bank and promised to come back the next night.
When they were on the steps the soldier ran ahead and got into bed. When the twelve tired princesses came in slowly, he was again snoring so loudly that they all could hear him. "We are safe from him," they said. Then they took off their beautiful clothes and put them away, placed their worn out shoes under their beds, and went to bed.
The next morning the soldier said nothing, for he wanted to see the amazing thing once again. He went along the second and third nights, and everything happened as before. Each time they danced until their shoes were in pieces. The third time he also took along a goblet as a piece of evidence.
The hour came when he was to give his answer, and he brought the three twigs and the goblet before the king. The twelve princesses stood behind the door and listened to what he had to say. The king asked, "Where did my daughters dance their shoes to pieces?"
He answered, "in an underground castle with twelve princes." Then he told the whole story and brought forth the pieces of evidence. The king summoned his daughters and asked them if the soldier had told the truth. Seeing that they had been betrayed, and that their denials did no good, they had to admit everything.
Then the king asked him which one he wanted for a wife. He answered, "I myself am no longer young, so give me the oldest one."
Their wedding was held the same day, and the kingdom was promised to him following the king's death. But the princes had as many days added to their curse as they had spent nights dancing with the twelve princesses.
有個(gè)國(guó)王，他有十二個(gè)女兒，個(gè)個(gè)長(zhǎng)得如花似玉。她們都在同一個(gè)房間睡覺(jué)，十二張床并排放著，晚上上床睡覺(jué)后，房門(mén)就被關(guān)起來(lái)鎖上了。有一個(gè)時(shí)期，每天早上起來(lái)后，國(guó)王發(fā)現(xiàn)她們的鞋子都磨破了，就像她們跳了一整夜舞似的。到底發(fā)生了甚么事，她們到哪兒去過(guò)了，沒(méi)有人知道。
於是，國(guó)王通告全國(guó)：如果有人能解開(kāi)這個(gè)秘密，找出這些公主整夜在哪兒跳舞，他就可以娶一個(gè)他最喜歡的公主作妻子，還可以繼承王位。但要是這人在三天以后沒(méi)查清結(jié)果，他就得被處死。
不久從鄰國(guó)來(lái)了一位王子，受到了熱情的接待。晚上他被帶到了一個(gè)房間里，這房間正在公主們臥室的隔壁。為了能聽(tīng)到看到可能發(fā)生的一切，他坐下后將房門(mén)敞開(kāi)，一刻也不停地注視著?？刹痪眠@位王子就睡著了，第二天早上醒來(lái)后，可以看出，公主們還是跳了一整夜的舞，因?yàn)樗齻兊男咨隙加心テ频亩囱?。接著兩個(gè)晚上都發(fā)生了相同的情況，王子沒(méi)能解開(kāi)這個(gè)謎。國(guó)王下令將他的頭砍了下來(lái)。繼他之后，又有幾個(gè)人來(lái)試過(guò)，但他們的命運(yùn)和這位王子一樣，都沒(méi)有找出結(jié)果而丟了性命。
恰好有一個(gè)老兵經(jīng)過(guò)這個(gè)國(guó)王的領(lǐng)地，他在作戰(zhàn)中受了傷，不能再參加戰(zhàn)斗了。一天，他在穿越樹(shù)林時(shí)，遇到了一個(gè)老婆婆，老婆婆問(wèn)他要到哪里去，這位老兵回答說(shuō)：“我也不知道我去哪兒，該干甚么去。”接著又自我嘲弄地說(shuō)：“也許我該去探聽(tīng)那些公主是在哪兒跳舞才對(duì)，這樣的話，將來(lái)還可以當(dāng)國(guó)王呢。”老太婆一聽(tīng)，說(shuō)道：“對(duì)，對(duì)!這不是甚么難事，只要留心不喝公主給你的酒之類(lèi)的東西，并且在她們要離去時(shí)，你假裝睡熟了就成。”
臨別，她送給他一件披風(fēng)，說(shuō)道：“只要你把這件披風(fēng)披在身上，她們就看不見(jiàn)你的蹤影了。然后，你就可以跟著公主到她們?nèi)サ娜魏蔚胤健?rdquo;老兵聽(tīng)了這些忠告后，決定去試一試自己的運(yùn)氣。
他來(lái)到國(guó)王面前，說(shuō)他愿意接受這項(xiàng)冒險(xiǎn)的任務(wù)。和其他應(yīng)試的人一樣，他也受到了熱情的款待，國(guó)王還下令把漂亮的王室禮服給他穿上。到了晚上，他被帶到了外室。進(jìn)房后，他剛準(zhǔn)備躺下，國(guó)王的大公主就給他端來(lái)了一杯葡萄酒，但這位士兵悄悄地把酒全倒掉了，一滴也沒(méi)有喝下。然后躺在床上，不久就大聲地打起鼾來(lái)，好像睡得很沉似的。十二個(gè)公主聽(tīng)到他的鼾聲，都開(kāi)心地大笑起來(lái)，大公主說(shuō)：“這傢伙本來(lái)還可以干一些更聰明一點(diǎn)的事，不必到這兒來(lái)送死的。”說(shuō)完，她們都起床打開(kāi)各自的抽屜和箱子，拿出了漂亮的衣服，對(duì)著鏡子打扮起來(lái)。這時(shí)，最小的公主說(shuō)道：“我感到有些不對(duì)勁，你們這么興奮，可我覺(jué)得非常不安，我想一定有不幸的事情將降臨到我們頭上。”“你犯甚么傻呀!”大公主說(shuō)，“你老是擔(dān)心這，擔(dān)心那，難道你忘了那么多王子想窺探我們，結(jié)果都徒勞送命了嗎?瞧這老兵，即使我不給他安眠藥吃，他也會(huì)呼呼大睡的。”
公主們打扮完畢后，再去看了看士兵，只見(jiàn)他鼾聲依舊，睡在床上一動(dòng)也不動(dòng)。這一來(lái)，她們便自以為無(wú)人知曉，相當(dāng)安全了。大公主走到自己的床前拍了拍手，床馬上沉到地板里面，一扇地板門(mén)突然打開(kāi)了。士兵看見(jiàn)大公主領(lǐng)頭，她們一個(gè)接一個(gè)地鉆進(jìn)了地板門(mén)。他想到再不能耽誤時(shí)間了，馬上跳起來(lái)，披上老太婆送給他的那件披風(fēng)，緊隨她們而去。在下樓梯時(shí)，一不小心，他踩到了小公主的禮服。她對(duì)她的姐妹們大聲說(shuō)道：“怎么搞的，誰(shuí)抓住了我的禮服了?”大公主說(shuō)道：“你別疑神疑鬼了，肯定是被墻上的釘子掛著了。”她們下去后，走進(jìn)了一片令人賞心悅目的小樹(shù)林，樹(shù)葉全是銀子做的，閃爍著美麗的光芒。士兵想找一個(gè)來(lái)過(guò)這地方的證物，所以他折了一段樹(shù)枝，樹(shù)枝“卡嚓!”“嘩啦!”地發(fā)出了聲響，小公主又說(shuō)道：“我覺(jué)得有些反常，你們聽(tīng)到這聲音了嗎?這聲音以前可沒(méi)有聽(tīng)到過(guò)。”大公主說(shuō)：“這聲音一定是我們的王子發(fā)出的，只有他們才會(huì)對(duì)我們的到來(lái)歡呼雀躍。”
說(shuō)著，她們又走進(jìn)了另一片小樹(shù)林，這片樹(shù)林的葉子都是金子做的。再往前，到了第三片小樹(shù)林，所有的葉子都是用光采奪目的鉆石做的。士兵每到一片樹(shù)林，都要折下一根樹(shù)枝留作證物，每次也都發(fā)出了“卡嚓!”“嘩啦!”的聲響，這響動(dòng)總是使小公主擔(dān)驚受怕，而大公主又總是說(shuō)這是王子們?cè)跉g呼。
她們不停地往前走，最后來(lái)到了一個(gè)大湖邊，湖上有十二條小船，每條船上都有一個(gè)英俊的王子，他們似乎一直在這兒等公主的到來(lái)。到了岸邊，每個(gè)公主都各自上了一條船，士兵則跟著小公主上了同一條船。
當(dāng)他們?cè)诤蟿潉?dòng)小船時(shí)，與小公主和士兵在一條船上的那個(gè)王子說(shuō)：“怎么會(huì)是這樣啊!好像這船今天特別重似的，我盡力劃動(dòng)，船卻沒(méi)有平時(shí)前進(jìn)那么快，我都累壞了。”小公主說(shuō)：“這只是天氣有點(diǎn)暖和，我也覺(jué)得非常熱。”
湖泊的對(duì)岸，矗立著一座美麗的宮殿，宮殿里燈火輝煌，從里面還傳來(lái)了愉快的音樂(lè)，有管聲和號(hào)聲，還有喇叭聲。他們上岸后，一起走進(jìn)宮殿，十二個(gè)王子都開(kāi)始與公主們跳起舞來(lái)。他們一直看不見(jiàn)那位士兵，士兵跟著他們一起跳舞，他們也不知道。每當(dāng)有公主端起葡萄酒時(shí)，士兵總是暗暗上前將酒喝完。待公主把酒杯端到嘴邊時(shí)，杯子已空了。見(jiàn)到這樣情況，那小公主更感到害怕了，大公主卻老是要她不要做聲。
舞一直跳到了凌晨三點(diǎn)鐘，所有的鞋子都已磨穿了，到這時(shí)，她們才念念不舍地離開(kāi)。王子們又用船把她們送過(guò)湖來(lái)，這次，士兵上的是大公主的那條船。到了湖岸，公主和王子互相道別，她們答應(yīng)第二天晚上再來(lái)。
當(dāng)她們回到樓梯口時(shí)，士兵立即跑到她們的前面，自己先到床上去躺下了。當(dāng)這十二姊妹拖著疲憊不堪的身子慢慢上來(lái)后，立即就聽(tīng)到了睡在床上的士兵所發(fā)出的鼾聲。她們說(shuō)道：“現(xiàn)在可以安心了。”說(shuō)完，各自寬衣解帶，脫掉鞋子，扔在床下，都躺下睡覺(jué)了。
早晨起來(lái)，士兵對(duì)晚上的所見(jiàn)所聞只字不提，他還想多看幾次這樣的奇遇，所以接連第二個(gè)夜晚和第三個(gè)夜晚他又去了。每次所發(fā)生的一切都和前一次一樣，公主們每次跳舞都要跳到她們的鞋子穿眼才回到臥室。不過(guò)，在第三個(gè)晚上，士兵又拿走了一只金盃作為他到過(guò)那里的證物。
第四天，他解開(kāi)這秘密的期限到了，他帶著那三根樹(shù)枝和那只金盃，來(lái)到國(guó)王面前。此時(shí)，十二個(gè)公主都站在門(mén)后張著耳朵，想聽(tīng)聽(tīng)他究竟說(shuō)些甚么。國(guó)王問(wèn)道：“我的十二個(gè)女兒晚上是在哪兒跳舞?”士兵回答道：“她們是在地下的一座宮殿里與十二個(gè)王子跳舞。”接著，他告訴了國(guó)王自己所看見(jiàn)和發(fā)生的一切，拿出了他帶來(lái)的三根樹(shù)枝和金盃給國(guó)王看。國(guó)王把公主都叫來(lái)，問(wèn)她們士兵說(shuō)的這些是不是都是真的。她們見(jiàn)一切都已經(jīng)被發(fā)現(xiàn)，再否認(rèn)所發(fā)生的事也沒(méi)有用了，只好全部承認(rèn)了。
秘密解開(kāi)了，國(guó)王問(wèn)士兵他想選擇哪一個(gè)公主作他的妻子，他回答說(shuō)：“我年紀(jì)不小了，你就把大公主許配給我吧!”於是，他們當(dāng)天就舉行了婚禮，士兵還被選定為王位的繼承人。
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