本帖最后由 ヮ成熟、羙° 于 2014-3-23 16:35 编辑
忠诚的约翰
荷叶/译
从前有个老国王生病了，他想：“我已命悬一线，”他说：“让忠诚的约翰来见我。”忠实的约翰是他最喜欢的奴仆，之所以叫这个名字，是因为他一生都对国王很忠态诚。因此，当他来到国王床边时，国王对他说：“我最忠诚的约翰，我感觉大限将至，除了儿子，我已一无所虑。他还少不更事，有时把握不了自己。你若不答应做他的养父，教他未知的一切，我就不会安心地闭上眼睛。”忠诚的约翰回答：“我不会抛弃他，我会忠诚地为他服务，纵万死而不辞。”听到这里，国王说：“这样我就安心了。”过了一会儿，他接着说：“我死后，你要带他参观所有的城堡，所有的亭堂馆室以及里面所有的财宝，但长廊尽头的那间不能看，里面有金宅公主的画像。如果他见到那张画像，定会疯狂地爱上公主，会昏厥，会因为公主历尽危险，因此，你不能让他看到。”当忠诚的约翰再次向老国王做出保证时，国王没有再说话，把头向枕头上一靠，他去世了。 把老国王送到墓地时，忠诚的约翰告诉了新王自己在老王临终时所做的承诺，他说：“我一定会执行这些承诺，我会像忠诚于老王一样对陛下忠心，纵万死而不辞。”葬礼结束时，忠诚的约翰对他说：“现在您该看看您的遗产了。我会带领您参观您父王的宫殿。随后他带领新王，上上下下，到处参观，看了所有的财富和富丽堂皇的公寓，只有一个屋子的门他没有打开，就是里面挂着危险画像的那间。这张画像是放置得很醒目，只要一打开门，一眼就能看到它，它画得栩栩如生，似乎能感到她的呼吸。全世界再也没有比这更迷人更美丽的东西了。年轻的国王注意到忠诚的约翰总是径直走过这个门而不打开，就问：“你为什么从不为我打开这扇门？”“里面有件东西，”他回答，“会使你极度惊恐。”但国王却说：“所有的宫殿我都见过了，我也想知道这个房间里有什么。”他走过去试图强行打开。这时，忠诚的约翰拦住说：“你父亲临终前，我向他保证过你不会看到这个房间里的东西，这可能会给你也给我带来巨大的不幸。”“啊，不会，”年轻的国王说：“如果不让我进去，我一定会毁掉。我不亲眼看看，就会日夜不宁。你不打开这道门，我就不离开这儿。” 这时，忠诚的约翰万般无奈，他叹息了几声，心情沉重地从一大串钥匙中找出了一把，打开门后，他先走了进去，想站在前面挡住这张画像，不让国王从正面看到，但这哪有可能呢？国王踮起脚尖儿，从他肩膀上望过去，当他看到这张少女的画像时，如此高贵典雅，珠光宝气，他跌倒在地，昏了过去。忠诚的约翰把他扶起，抬到床上，伤心地想：“不幸已经降临在我们头上，主啊，何时才是尽头？”然后，他给他喝了点酒提神，等他苏醒过来。国王说的第一句话是：“啊，美丽的画像，这是谁？”“这是金宅公主。”忠诚的约翰回答。国王接着说：“我太爱她了，假使每棵树的每一片叶子都会说话，都无法表白我对她的爱。为了得到她，我会不惜自己的生命。你是我最忠诚实的约翰，你一定要帮我。” 这位忠诚的奴仆独自思考了很长时间，不知如何是好，因为即使和公主见一面都很难。最后，他想出了一个主意，对国王说：“她身边的每一样东西都是金的，包括桌椅板凳，杯盘碗盏，家居用品。您的财宝中有五吨金子，让王国里的金匠把它们打造成各种各样的容器和餐具，珍禽异兽，这样也许会令她高兴，然后，我们带上这些东西去碰碰运气。”
附：原文 There was once on a time an old king who was ill, and thought to himself,"I am lying on what must be my death-bed." Then said he, " Tell Faithful John to come to me." Faithful John was his favourite servant, and was socalled, because he had for his whole life long been so true to him. When therefore he came beside the bed, the King said to him, "Most Faithful John, I feel my end approaching, and have no anxiety except about my son. He isstill of tender age, and cannot always know how to guide himself. If thou dost not promise me to teach him everything that he ought to know, and to be hisfoster-father, I cannot close my eyes in peace." Then answered Faithful John, "I will not forsake him, and will serve him with fidelity, even ifit should cost me my life." On this, the old King said, "Now I die in comfort and peace." Then he added, "After my death, thou shalt show him the whole castle: all the chambers, halls, and vaults, and all the treasures which lie therein, but the last chamber in the long gallery, in which is the picture of the princess of the Golden Dwelling, shalt thou not show. If he sees that picture, he will fall violently in love with her, and will drop down in a swoon, and go through great danger for her sake, therefore thou must preserve him from that." And when faithful John had once more given his promise tothe old King about this, the King said no more, but laid his head on his pillow, and died. When the old King had been carried to his grave, Faithful John told the young King all that he had promised his father on his deathbed, and said, "This will I assuredly perform, and will be faithful to thee as I have been faithful to him, even ifit should cost me my life." When the mourning was over, Faithful John saidto him, "It is now time that thou shouldst see thine inheritance. I will show thee thy father's palace." Then he took him about everywhere, up and down, and let him see all the riches, and the magnificent apartments, only there was one room which he did not open, that in which hung the dangerous picture. The picture was, however,so placed that when the door was opened you looked straight on it, and it was so admirably painted that it seemed to breathe and live, and there was nothing more charming or more beautiful in the whole world. The young King, however,plainly remarked that Faithful John always walked past this one door, and said,"Why dost thou never open this one for me?" "There is something within it," he replied, "." But the King answered, "I have seen all the palace, and I will know what is in this room also," and hewent and tried to break open the door by force. Then Faithful John held him back and said, " I promised thy father before his death that thou shouldstnot see that which is in this chamber, it might bring the greatest misfortune on thee and on me." "Ah, no," replied the young King, "if I do not go in, it will be my certain destruction. I should have no rest day or night until I had seen it with my own eyes. I shall not leave the place now until thou hast unlocked the door." Then Faithful John saw that there was no help for it now, and with a heavy heart and many sighs, sought out the key from the great bunch. When he had opened the door, he went in first, and thought by standing before him he could hide the portrait so that the King should not see it in front of him, but what availed that? The King stood on tip-toe and saw it over his shoulder. Andwhen he saw the portrait of the maiden, which was so magnificent and shone with gold and precious stones, he fell fainting to the ground. Faithful John took him up, carried him to his bed, and sorrowfully thought, "The misfortune has befallen us, Lord God, what will be the endof it?" Then he strengthened him with wine, until he came to himself again. The first words the King said were, "Ah, the beautiful portrait! whose it it?" "That is the princess of the Golden Dwelling,"answered Faithful John. Then the King continued, "My love for her is sogreat, that if all the leaves on all the trees were tongues, they could not declare it. I will give my life to win her. Thou art my most Faithful John,thou must help me." The faithful servant considered within himself for a long time how to set about the matter, for it was difficult even to obtain a sight of theKing's daughter. At length he thought of a way, and said to the King,"Everything which she has about her is of gold -- tables, chairs, dishes,glasses, bowls, and household furniture. Among thy treasures are five tons ofgold; let one of the goldsmiths of the Kingdom work these up into all manner of vessels and utensils, into all kinds of birds, wild beasts and strange animals,such as may please her, and we will go there with them and try our luck."
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发表于 2014-3-21 18:40:22
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