1. In olden times, when wishing still helped, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which had seen so many things, was always filled with amazement each time it cast its rays upon her face.
(在很久以前,人们的愿望还能够实现的时候,曾经有一位国王,他的女儿每一个都长的十分漂亮,尤其是他的小女儿,更是美如天仙,就连见识很广的太阳每次照在她脸上的时候,都会对她的容颜感到惊诧不已。)
2. Close by the King's castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old linden tree in the forest was a well. whenever the days were very hot, the King's daughter would go into the forest and sit down by the edge of the cool well.
(国王的宫殿附近有一片幽暗的大森林,森林里的一株老菩提树下有一口水井。天气很热的时候,小公主常常来到这片森林,坐在清凉的水井边上。)
3. And when she was dull, she would take a golden ball, and throw it into the air and catch it. More than anything else she loved playing with this ball. Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess's golden ball did not fall into the little hand which she was holding up for it, but on to the ground beyond, and rolled straight into the water.
(当她无聊时,就拿起她最喜欢的玩具,一个金色的小球,把它扔到空中再接住。天有不测风云,这一次小球没有掉在公主等候的手里而是掉在地上,直接滚到了井里。)
4. The King's daughter followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. On this she began to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be comforted.
(小公主的视线没有离开过小球,但是球还是消失在深不见底的井中。见状小公主伤心欲绝,嚎啕不止。)
5. And as she sat there grieving over her loss a voice called out to her, "What's the matter, Princess? Your tears could move even a stone to pity." She looked around to see where the voice was coming from and saw a frog sticking his thick, ugly head out of the water.
(见状小公主伤心欲绝,嚎啕不止。忽然她听到有人对她说:“小公主,什么让你如此伤心?您的哭泣甚至能让石头也心软。”小公主循声望去,看到一只青蛙把它肥厚丑陋的脑袋伸出水面。)
6. "Oh! old water-splasher, is it you?" said she, "I am weeping for my golden ball, which has fallen into the well." "Be quiet and stop crying," the frog responded, "I'm sure I can help you, but what will you give me if I fetch up your ball again?"
(“噢!老蛤蟆,是你吗?”小公主答道,“我在为我掉到井里的小金球流泪。” “别担心,我想我有办法帮助你”青蛙回答,“可要是我把你的金球捞上来了,你拿什么来感谢我呢?”)
7. "Whatever you like, dear frog," she said. "My clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown which I am wearing.""I do not want your clothes, your pearls and jewels, or your golden crown, " the frog replied.
(小公主答道,“你要什么都可以,我的衣服,我的珠宝首饰,甚至我头上的王冠都可以给你。”青蛙答道:“这些东西我都不关心,)
8. "But if you will love me and let me be your companion and playmate, and sit beside you at the little table, and eat from your little golden plate, drink out of your little cup, and sleep in your little bed. If you promise me that I will dive down and retrieve your golden ball."
(但是如果您赐我您的芳心,允许我成为您的玩伴,在您身旁坐拥一席之地,共享美食佳酿,与您共眠,如果您许诺我这一切,我就下去帮您带回您心爱的小金球。” )
9. "Oh yes," said she, "I'll promise you anything you wishest if only you will bring me my ball back!" She, however, thought, "What nonsense that stupid frog talks! He just lives in the water with the other frogs, and croaks. How can he expect a human being to accept him as a companion?"
(“一言为定”公主表面答应,“只要你把小金球给我,我全都答应你。”心里却暗想“这青蛙在说什么蠢话,成天天和青蛙蛤蟆为伍的家伙怎么配和人做朋友。”)
10. But the frog when he had received this promise, put his head into the water and sank down, and in a short while came swimming up again with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. The princess was so delighted to see her pretty plaything once more, and picked it up, and ran away with it.
(青蛙可不知道,一听到承诺它立即潜入水中,不一会儿就含着那小金球浮出水面,把球扔在草地上。小公主一看到自己心爱的玩具就破涕为笑,捡起球转身就跑。)
11. "Wait, wait," cried the frog. "Take me with you. I can't run as you." But what did it avail him to scream his croak, croak, after her, as loudly as he could? She did not listen to it, but ran home and soon forgot the poor frog, who was forced to go back into his well again.
(“等等!等等!”青蛙喊到“带我一起走,我跑不了那么快!”它使出拼尽全力追在公主身后呱呱叫,但这又有什么用?公主权当不知,跑回家就把可怜的青蛙的事都抛到了脑后,而青蛙只能乖乖回到井底。 )
12. The next day when she had seated herself at table with the King and all the courtiers, and was eating from her little golden plate, something came crawling splish splash, splish splash, up the marble staircase, and when it had got t7o the top, it knocked at the door and cried, "Princess, youngest princess, open the door for me."
(第二天当公主和她的父王以及群臣在桌前用餐时,突然听到大理石台阶上传来啪啦啪啦的攀爬声,而当声音的主人爬到顶的时候,它哭喊着敲起了门:“公主啊,最小的公主啊,开开门吧。”)
13. She ran to see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there sat the frog in front of it. Then she slammed the door shut, in great haste, sat down to dinner again, and was quite frightened. The King saw plainly that her heart was beating violently, and said, "My child, what aret you afraid of? Is there a giant outside who wants to carry you away?" "Oh, no," replied she. "It is not a giant but a disgusting frog."
(小公主跑去开门看究竟是谁,她一开门只看到那只坐在门口的青蛙。她匆忙的关上了门,坐回去继续用餐,不过有点心神不宁。国王把公主剧烈的心跳全都看在眼里,就开口问道:“孩子,门外究竟有什么让你这么害怕?难道是个要把你抓走的巨人?”“啊,不是”公主回答,“不是什么巨人,只不过是只丑陋的青蛙。”)
14. "What does a frog want from you?" "Oh, dear father, yesterday as I was in the forest sitting by the well, playing, my golden ball fell into the water. And because I cried so, the frog brought it out again for me, and because he so insisted, I promised him he should be my companion, but I never thought he would be able to come out of his water! And now he is outside there, and wants to come in to me."
(“一只青蛙来这里想干嘛?”“哎,亲爱的父王,昨天我在森林的井边玩的时候,我的小金球掉了进去。我哭得很伤心所以青蛙帮我把球捞了上来,但它坚持要成为我的伙伴,于是我就答应了它,但是我怎么也没想到它能从井里出来。现在它就在门外,等着进屋和我在一起。” )
15. In the meantime it knocked a second time, and cried, "Princess, Princess, youngest princess! Open the door and let me in! Have you forgotten what you promised to me yesterday by the cool waters of the fountain? Princess, youngest princess! Open the door for me!"
(就在这时候,青蛙又开始敲门哭喊着: “公主啊小公主! 您难道忘了昨天在清泉边许下的诺言吗? 公主啊小公主! 快快给我开门啊!” “快点开门!”)
16. Then said the King, "If you've made a promise, you must perform it. Go and let him in."After she went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in the room and followed her, step by step, to her chair. There he sat and cried, "Lift me up beside you." She delayed, until at last the King commanded her to do it.
(国王听了以后命令道:“你的诺言必须兑现。去放它进来。”公主只好去开门,青蛙跟在公主身后慢慢跳到椅子下。青蛙又哭喊道:“把我放到椅子上,好坐在你旁边。”小公主极不情愿地直到国王命令她照做。)
17. When the frog was once on the chair he wanted to be on the table, and when he was on the table he said, "Now, push your little golden plate nearer to me so we may eat together." To be show, she did this, but it was quite clear that she did not do it willingly.
(青蛙一上椅子就想要到桌子上,而它一到桌子上就对公主说:“把你的小金盘推向我一点,这样我们就能一起用餐了。”很显然,小公主不情愿怎么做,但还是把盘子推了过去。)
18. The frog enjoyed what he ate, but almost every mouthful she took choked her. At length he said, "I have eaten and am satisfied; now I am tired, carry me into thy little room and make thy little silken bed ready, and we will both lie down and go to sleep."
(青蛙大快朵颐,小公主却难以下咽。酒足饭饱之后,青蛙又开口了:“我吃得很饱,但现在我累了,带我去你的小房间,整理好你的丝绸床,让我们共枕而眠。”)
19. The King's daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog which she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her pretty, clean little bed. But the King grew angry and said, "He who helped you when you are in trouble, it's not proper to scorn him." So she picked up the frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner.
(一想到她不敢碰的冰冷的青蛙还要睡在她美丽整洁的小床上,小公主哭了起来。国王发怒责怪道:“你不该怠慢曾在你困难时帮过你的青蛙!”小公主只好用两只手指夹着青蛙上楼并把它扔在角落里。 )
20. Soon after she had got into bed he came crawling over to her and said, "I am tired and want to sleep as well as you. Lift me up, or I will tell your father!" This made the princess terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the wall. "Now, you will be quiet, you nasty frog!"
(可是她刚刚在床上躺下,青蛙就爬到床边对她说:“我累了,想和你一样舒舒服服的睡一觉。把我抱上去,不然我就告诉你父亲。”这一来公主气坏了,她一把抓起青蛙,朝墙上狠狠的摔去。“这下你该老实了,你这个讨厌的家伙。”)
21. However, when he fell to the ground, he was no longer a frog but a prince with beautiful kind eyes. He by her father's will was now her dear companion and husband. Then he told her how he had been be witched by a wicked witch, and no one could have got him out of the well except her, and now he intended to take her to his kingdom the next day.
(然而,当青蛙落地的时候竟变成了拥有一双美丽温柔眼睛的王子。王子顺从国王的旨意成为了小公主的伴侣。于是王子告诉小公主他被一个邪恶的巫婆诅咒,除了她没人能将他从那口井中解救出来,而明天他们将回到他的王国。)
22. Then they fell asleep, and next morning when the sun woke them, a carriage came driving up with eight white horses, which had white ostrich feathers on their heads, and were harnessed with golden chains, and behind stood the young King's servant Faithful Henry.
(于是他们一起安睡,直到太阳的光芒让他们醒来。一辆由八匹头上缀着白色鸵鸟毛由金色锁链拴在一起的白马拉着的马车驶来,而赶车的正是王子的忠仆亨利。)
23. Faithful Henry had been so unhappy when his master was changed into a frog, that he had ordered three iron bands to be wrapped around his heart to keep it from bursting from grief and sadness. The carriage was to conduct the young King into his Kingdom. Faithful Henry helped them both in, and placed himself behind again, and was full of joy because of this deliverance.
(忠心的亨利在主人被变成青蛙之后郁郁寡欢,于是他打造了三块铁锭固定在他的心脏周围,唯恐它因为过度伤痛而爆炸。这马车是用来迎接王子回国的,亨利将王子公主迎上马车安顿好,又回去赶车,并为这次护送任务欢欣雀跃。)
24. And when they had traveled some distance, the prince heard a cracking noise behind him as if something had broken. So he turned around and cried out, "Henry, the carriage is breaking!" "No, master, it is not the carriage. It is a band from my heart, which was put there in my great pain when you were a frog and imprisoned in the well."
(在半路上王子听到身后传来什么东西碎裂的声音。于是他转身喊道:“亨利,马车要散架了啊。” “我主不必惊慌,那是我在您被巫婆诅咒变成青蛙困在那口井里时镶在心脏的一块铁箍,我的心当时痛苦的都快碎了”)
25. Again and once again while they were on their way something cracked, and each time the prince thought the carriage was breaking, but it was only the sounds of the bands snapping from the heart of faithful Henry, for his master was set free and was happy.
(相同的情况之后又发生了两次,每次王子都以为是马车坏了,但都只不过是因为亨利因为王子重获自由与幸福太高兴了,心脏欢乐地跳动着,崩掉了铁箍而已。)