本帖最后由 ヮ成熟、羙° 于 2014-5-6 06:52 编辑
魔马（五） 荷叶/译 此时，印度人调整了魔马的方向，几小时后，他们进入了靠近克什米尔王国的一片森林。印度人觉得饿了，他想公主想必也想吃东西，就把魔马降落下来，把公主放在一个清澈的小溪旁阴凉的地方。 当公主发现只剩她一人的时候，便萌生了逃走躲起来的的念头。但自从离开孟加拉国后，她就没吃过东西，她觉得自己太虚弱了，不能冒险走远，被迫放弃这个想法。印度人回来时，带了许多肉食，公主开始狼吞虎咽地吃起来，很快就有了足够的勇气和精神来对付他无礼的言辞了。受他威胁刺激，她站起大声求助。很幸运，她的呼喊被一个马队听到，他们骑马过来询问怎么回事。 这个马队的首领是刚刚打猎回来的克什米尔国王，他立刻转身问印度人是谁，和谁在一起。印度人粗鲁地回答这是他妻子，任何人也没有理由干涉他们。 公主不知当然不知恩人的身份，但她矢口否认。“大人，”她哭着说：“无论你是谁，请不要相信这个骗子的话。他是个可恶的魔术师，今天他把我和我命中注定的丈夫波斯王子生生拆散，用这匹魔马把我带到这里来。”要不是她哽咽难言，她还会继续说下去。由于她的美貌和高贵的气质，克什米尔国王相信了她的话，他命令手下人砍掉印度人的头，他们立刻照办了。 但她好象刚出狼窝，又入虎穴。国王命令给她一匹马，把她带回自己的宫殿。他领她进了一个漂亮的公寓，挑选女奴来伺候她，挑选太监来守护她。然后，没有给她时间感谢他所做的一切，便吩咐她去休息，说第二天再听她讲述她的奇遇。 公主入睡了，自以为只需向国王讲述自己的故事，他就会因同情而感动，毫不迟疑地把自己送还王子。但几个小时后，她的梦就醒了。 当克什米尔国王前一天晚上离开她时，他坚信没有公主做他妻子，第二天太阳就不会升起。第二天破晓时分，他精心策划，用鼓声，号声，铙声和其它乐器把自己的意愿宣告全城，让大家分享他心中的欢乐。孟加拉国公主一大早就被吵醒，但她一刻也没想过这和她有任何关系。她刚穿好衣服，国王就来向她问安，通知她听到的号声是他们庄严婚礼的一部分，并请求她做好准备。这个意外的通知吓坏了公主，使她昏了过去。 侍候她的奴隶过来帮忙，国王也尽最大努力使她恢复知觉，但过了很长时间，所有的努力都是徒劳。最后，她慢慢地自行恢复了意识，那时，她不愿答应这桩婚事，失信于王子，便决定装疯。因此，她讲各种各样荒谬的话，做各种各样奇怪的手势，国王在一旁注视着，既伤心又吃惊。但由于这突然的发作没有一点减弱的迹象，他离开了她，让女奴们精心照料她。公主的病似乎越来越厉害，到夜里几乎变得很暴烈了。 这样过了几天，国王决定召集所有御医来就公主糟糕的状态来会诊。大家的回答是发疯种类很多，不见公主，没法对症下药。因此，国王下令，按照等级把他们一个一个地带进公主的房间。 公主已预料到了这样的结果，她深知一旦让医生给她把脉，其中最无知的人也知道她相当健康，她是在装疯。因此，当每个人接近她时，她都会狂暴地发作，就没有人敢给她把脉了。有几个故作聪明的，宣称他们可以通过看气色诊病，给她开了些药，她没表示反对就服用了，因为她相信这些药是无害的。 当克什米尔国王见御医一筹莫展，医不好公主时，他召来了城里的医生，他们同样治不好公主的病。接着，他又求助于大些的城镇里的名医，发现这项任务超出了他们的医术。最后，他派信使带上公主发疯的详细文书，到邻国去，提出只要能亲自来看病的就付钱，如能医好公主，酬金优厚。响应这份文告，许多外国教授云集克什米尔，但他们自然不比其他人更有成效。因为医好公主的病，既不取决他们是谁，也不取决于他们的医术，而是取决于公主本人。 此时，因悲伤和无助到处游荡菲鲁王子来到了印度，他听人们正在大谈特谈孟加拉国公主，她在要嫁给克什米尔国王的当天发了疯。这足以把他指引到克什米尔来，他在入住的第一个旅店询问故事的来龙去脉。当他得知自己终于找到失散已久的公主时，便着手筹划一个营救计划。 他做的第一件事就是搞到一件医生的长袍，那样，他的装束，加上他旅途中长出的胡子，就能明白无误地表明他的身份。然后，他立即去了王宫，约见了总管。他声称自己有些百试不爽的独家秘方，能医好那么多人都治不好的公主的病，尽管他深感冒昧和歉意。 总管向他保证，他衷心欢迎他，国王也会乐意接待他，如果成功的话，他会得到大笔的酬劳。 当化妆成医生的波斯王子被带到国王面前时，国王没有多说，只谈到只要一见到医生，公主就会情绪激动，非常生气。然后他把王子带到屋顶上的一个房间里，屋顶上开了一个洞，通过这个洞，王子可以看见下面的公主，可公主却看不到他。 附：原文 Meanwhile the Indian had turned the horse in such a direction that, beforemany hours had passed, it had entered a wood close to the capital of the kingdom of Cashmere. Feeling very hungry, and supposing that the princess also might be in want of food, he brought his steed down to the earth, and left the princess in a shady place, on the banks of aclear stream. At first, when the princess had found herself alone, the idea had occurredto her of trying to escape and hide herself. But as she had eaten scarcelyanything since she had left Bengal, she feltshe was too weak to venture far, and was obliged to abandon her design. On thereturn of the Indian with meats of various kinds, she began to eat voraciously,and soon had regained sufficient courage to reply with spirit to his insolentremarks. Goaded by his threats she sprang to her feet, calling loudly for help,and luckily her cries were heard by a troop of horsemen, who rode up to inquirewhat was the matter. Now the leader of these horsemen was the Sultan of Cashmere,returning from the chase, and he instantly turned to the Indian to inquire whohe was, and whom he had with him. The Indian rudely answered that it was hiswife, and there was no occasion for anyone else to interfere between them. The princess, who, of course, was ignorant of the rank of her deliverer,denied altogether the Indian's story. "My lord," she cried,"whoever you may be, put no faith in this impostor. He is an abominable magician, who hasthis day torn me from the Prince of Persia, my destined husband, andhas brought me here on this enchanted horse." She would have continued,but her tears choked her, and the Sultan of Cashmere,convinced by her beauty and her distinguished air of the truth of her tale,ordered his followers to cut off the Indian's head, which was done immediately. But rescued though she was from one peril, it seemed as if she had only fallen into another. The Sultan commanded a horse to be given her, andconducted her to his own palace, where he led her to a beautiful apartment, andselected female slaves to wait on her, and eunuchs to be her guard. Then,without allowing her time to thank him for all he had done, he bade her repose, saying she should tell him her adventures on the following day. The princess fell asleep, flattering herself that she had only to relateher story for the Sultan to be touched by compassion, and to restore her to theprince without delay. But a few hours were to undeceive her. When the King of Cashmere had quitted her presence the evening before, hehad resolved that the sun should not set again without the princess becoming his wife, and at daybreak proclamation of his intention was made throughout the town, by the sound of drums, trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments calculated to fill the heart with joy. The Princess of Bengal was early awakened by the noise, but she did not for one moment imagine that it had anything to do with her, till the Sultan, arriving as soon as she was dressedto inquire after her health, informed her that the trumpet blasts she heard were part of the solemn marriage ceremonies, for which he begged her toprepare. This unexpected announcement caused the princess such terror that shesank down in a dead faint. The slaves that were in waiting ran to her aid, and the Sultan himself did his best to bring her back to consciousness, but for a long while it was all to no purpose. At length her senses began slowly to come back to her, and then, rather than break faith with the Prince of Persia by consenting to such amarriage, she determined to feign madness. So she began by saying all sorts of absurdities, and using all kinds of strange gestures, while the Sultan stood watching her with sorrow and surprise. But as this sudden seizure showed nosign of abating, he left her to her women, ordering them to take the greatest care of her. Still, as the day went on, the malady seemed to become worse, and by night it was almostviolent. Days passed in this manner, till at last the Sultan of Cashmere decided to summon all the doctors of his court to consult together over her sadstate. Their answer was that madness is of so many different kinds that it wasimpossible to give an opinion on the case without seeing the princess, so theSultan gave orders that they were to be introduced into her chamber, one byone, every man according to his rank. This decision had been foreseen by the princess, who knew quite well thatif once she allowed the physicians to feel her pulse, the most ignorant of them would discover that she was in perfectly good health, and that her madness wasfeigned, so as each man approached, she broke out into such violent paroxysms,that not one dared to lay a finger on her. A few, who pretended to be clevererthan the rest, declared that they could diagnose sick people only from sight,ordered her certain potions, which she made no difficulty about taking, as shewas persuaded they were all harmless. When the Sultan of Cashmere saw that thecourt doctors could do nothing towards curing the princess, he called in those of the city, who fared no better. Then he had recourse to the most celebrated physicians in the other large towns, but finding that the task was beyond theirscience, he finally sent messengers into the other neighbouring states, with a memorandum containing full particulars of the princess's madness, offering at the same time to pay the expenses of any physician who would come and see for himself, and a handsome reward to the one who should cure her. In answer tothis proclamation many foreign professors flocked into Cashmere,but they naturally were not more successful than the rest had been, as the curedepended neither on them nor their skill, but only on the princess herself. It was during this time that Prince Firouz Schah, wandering sadly and hopelessly from place to place, arrived in a large city of India, where heheard a great deal of talk about the Princess of Bengal who had gone out of her senses, on the very day that she was to have been married to the Sultan ofCashmere. This was quite enough to induce him to take the road to Cashmere, and to inquire at the first inn at which he lodged in the capital the full particulars of the story. When he knew that hehad at last found the princess whom he had so long lost, he set about devising a plan for her rescue. The first thing he did was to procure a doctor's robe, so that his dress,added to the long beard he had allowed to grow on his travels, might unmistakably proclaim his profession. He then lost no time in going to thepalace, where he obtained an audience of the chief usher, and while apologising for his boldness in presuming to think that he could cure the princess, where so many others had failed, declared that he had the secret of certain remedies,which had hitherto never failed of their effect. The chief usher assured him that he was heartily welcome, and that theSultan would receive him with pleasure; and in case of success, he would gain a magnificent reward. When the Prince of Persia,in the disguise of a physician, was brought before him, the Sultan wasted no time in talking, beyond remarking that the mere sight of a doctor threw theprincess into transports of rage. He then led the prince up to a room under theroof, which had an opening through which he might observe the princess, without himself being seen. | 
发表于 2014-5-6 06:44:04
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