Origin: Russia Roza譯

青蛙公主

Origin: Russia Roza譯

寓言·童話

In Imperial Russia, there lived a Tsar. He had three sons, the youngest of which was named Ivan.

One day the Tsar asked each of his sons to shoot an arrow. In whatever court it falls, in that court there will be a wife for them.

The arrow of the oldest1)Tsarevitch fell on a2)boyarhouse; the arrow of the second Tsarevitch few to the porch of a rich merchant, and there stood a girl, the merchant’s daughter. The youngest, Ivan Tsarevitch, had the bad luck of sending his arrow into a swamp, where it was caught by a croaking frog.

“How can I marry the frog?” complained Ivan. “Is she my equal? Certainly not!”

在沙皇俄國(guó)，曾有一位沙皇。他有三個(gè)兒子，年紀(jì)最小的名叫伊萬(wàn)。

一天，沙皇讓他的每個(gè)兒子各射一支箭。箭墜落到哪里，皇子們就要娶那兒的女子為妻。

皇太子的箭墜落到一位貴族的宅邸；二皇子的箭落到了一位富商的門(mén)廊里，那兒站著一位姑娘，是個(gè)富商的女兒。最年輕的伊萬(wàn)皇子，卻不幸把箭射到一片沼澤里，被一只呱呱叫的青蛙撿到了。

“我怎么能娶一只青蛙為妻？”伊萬(wàn)抱怨道?！八涞蒙衔覇?？當(dāng)然不！”

1) tsarevitch [俄] n. （俄國(guó)沙皇的）兒子，尤指長(zhǎng)子

2) boyar-house n. 沙俄特權(quán)貴族的宅邸

“Never mind,” replied his father, “you have to marry the frog, for it is evidently your destiny.”

Thus the oldest Tsarevitch was married to a nobleman’s daughter; the second to the merchant’s daughter, and the youngest, Ivan, to a croaking frog.

After a while the Tsar called his three sons and said:

“Have each of your wives bake a loaf of bread by tomorrow morning.”

Ivan returned home, with his brow clouded.

“C-R-O-A-K! Dear husband, why so sad?” gently asked the frog. “Was there anything disagreeable in the palace?”

“Disagreeable indeed. My father wants you to bake a loaf of bread by tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry. Go to bed. The morning hour is a better advisor than the dark evening.”

Ivan went to sleep. Then the frog threw off her frogskin and turned into a beautiful, sweet girl, Vassilisa by name. She stepped out on the porch and called aloud:

“Nurses and waitresses, come to me at once and prepare a loaf of white bread for tomorrow morning, a loaf exactly like those I used to eat in my royal father’s palace!”

In the morning, Ivan awoke, the loaf was already made. It was adorned all about with pretty fgures of towns and3)fortresses, and within it was white as snow and light as a feather.

The Tsar was pleased and Ivan received his special thanks. And the Tsar gave another order—have his daughters-in-law weave a rug. The frog prepared a rug with threads of silver and gold interwoven among bright-colored silk.

But now, he wished for his sons to present their brides the next day.

Ivan returned home, and cloudier was his brow than ever.

“配不上也沒(méi)關(guān)系，”他的父皇回應(yīng)道，“你必須娶這只青蛙，因?yàn)轱@然這就是你的命運(yùn)?！?/p>

因此，皇太子娶了貴族的女兒；二皇子娶了商人的女兒；而最年輕的伊萬(wàn)皇子，娶了一只呱呱叫的青蛙。

過(guò)了一段時(shí)間，沙皇召來(lái)他的三個(gè)兒子，說(shuō)：

“讓你們各自的妻子在明天早上之前烤好一條面包。”

伊萬(wàn)愁眉緊鎖地回到了家里。

“呱呱！親愛(ài)的丈夫，為什么這么傷心？”青蛙溫柔地問(wèn)?！皩m里有什么讓你不順心的事嗎？”

“確實(shí)讓我不順心。我父皇想要你在明天之前烤好一條面包?！?/p>

“別擔(dān)心。去睡吧。清早比黑夜更易解決問(wèn)題。”

伊萬(wàn)就去睡覺(jué)了。然后青蛙脫下她的蛙皮，搖身變成一位美麗可愛(ài)的姑娘，名叫瓦茜里莎。她走出門(mén)廊大聲召喚：

“保姆和侍女們，馬上來(lái)為我準(zhǔn)備明天早上要吃的一條白面包，要和從前我在父皇的宮殿里吃的面包一模一樣！”

早上，伊萬(wàn)醒來(lái)時(shí)，面包已經(jīng)做好了。整條面包外部都裝飾著漂亮的城鎮(zhèn)和堡壘圖案，里面則潔白如雪花，松軟如羽毛。

沙皇很滿意，伊萬(wàn)收獲了特別感謝。沙皇又下了另一個(gè)命令——讓每位兒媳織一塊地毯。青蛙準(zhǔn)備了一塊混紡著金銀絲的艷麗絲綢地毯。

但現(xiàn)在，沙皇讓兒子們第二天帶各自的新婚妻子來(lái)朝見(jiàn)他。

伊萬(wàn)回到家里，比之前更加愁眉緊鎖。

3) fortress ['f??tr?s] n. 堡壘，防御陣地

The frog said:

“It’s not so bad after all. You should go alone and I will follow you. When you hear a great noise, don’t be afraid; simply say: ‘There is my miserable froggy coming in her miserable box.’”

The two elder brothers arrived first with their wives, beautiful, and dressed in rich garments. Both the happy bridegrooms made fun of Ivan.

“Why alone, brother? Why did you not bring your wife along? We wager that in all the swamps it would be hard to fnd another one like her!”

Suddenly there came a noise! The palace trembled, the guests were all frightened. Though Ivan alone remained quiet and said:

“No danger; it’s my froggy coming in her box.”

To the red porch came fying a golden carriage drawn by six splendid white horses, and Vassilisa, beautiful beyond all description, gently reached her hand to her husband. He led her with him to the table. Vassilisa poured some wine into her left sleeve. She ate some fried swan, and the bones she threw into her right sleeve. Her sisters-in-law watched her and did the same.

After the dinner, the guests began dancing and singing. Vassilisa came forward, as bright as a star, and danced with her husband.

青蛙說(shuō)：

“情況倒也沒(méi)那么糟糕。你先獨(dú)自前去，我隨后就到。當(dāng)你聽(tīng)到一聲巨響，不要害怕；只需說(shuō)：‘我可憐的的青蛙兒坐在她粗陋的盒子里來(lái)了?！?/p>

兩位皇兄?jǐn)y著嬌妻先到了，他們的妻子很美麗，身著華貴的衣裙。這兩位得意的新郎都取笑伊萬(wàn)。

“皇弟，怎么自己一個(gè)人？怎么不帶你妻子來(lái)？我們打賭在所有的沼澤里都找不到第二個(gè)像她這樣的妻子了！”

突然間一聲巨響！宮殿被撼動(dòng)了，所有賓客都受到了驚嚇。唯獨(dú)伊萬(wàn)保持了鎮(zhèn)定，說(shuō)道：

“沒(méi)有危險(xiǎn)；是我的青蛙兒坐在盒子里來(lái)了。”

六匹華麗的白馬拉著一輛金色的馬車飛到了紅色的門(mén)廊里，美麗不可方物的瓦茜里莎款款伸出手，由丈夫牽著。伊萬(wàn)帶她入席就座。瓦茜里莎把一些紅酒倒進(jìn)了自己的左衣袖。她吃了一些烤天鵝，把骨頭扔進(jìn)了自己的右衣袖。她的妯娌們看她這樣做，也效仿她。

宴會(huì)之后，賓客們開(kāi)始唱歌跳舞。瓦茜里莎走上前來(lái)，和丈夫翩翩起舞，她像星星般光彩照人。

While dancing, Vassilisa waved her left sleeve and a pretty lake appeared in the midst of the hall and cooled the air. She waved her right sleeve and white swans swam on the water. The Tsar, the guests, the servants, and even a cat were all amazed. Her two sisters-in-law envied her. They also waved their sleeves, but instead, sprinkled wine all around and the swan bones few in the face of the Tsar, which enraged him.

In the meantime, Ivan ran home unseen, and burned the frogskin. When Vassilisa came back and found the skin lost, she cried to her husband, “Oh, dear Tsarevitch, what have you done? There was but a short time left for me to wear the ugly frogskin. The moment was near when we could have been happy together forever. But now I must bid you goodbye.” Vassilisa turned into a white swan and few away through the window.

Ivan wept bitterly. Then he went on a mysterious journey to look for her.

One day he met an old man and told him all about his misfortune.

“Vassilisa was born wiser than her own father, and as he envied his daughter’s wisdom he condemned her to be a frog for three long years. You shouldn’t burn the frogskin. But I pity you and want to help you. Here is a magic ball. In whatever direction it rolls, follow without fear,” said the old man.

Ivan followed the magic ball. In a fowery feld he met a big bear. Ivan took his bow and was ready to shoot.

“Don’t kill me, kind Tsarevitch,” said the bear. “Who knows but that I may be useful to you?” And Ivan did not shoot the bear.

Along his journey, he also came across a white duck and a blinking hare. He let them go, too.

He followed the ball to the deep blue sea where, on the sand, there lay a big dying fsh.

“O Ivan Tsarevitch!” prayed the fsh, “have mercy upon me and push me back into the sea.”

跳舞過(guò)程中，瓦茜里莎揮揮左衣袖，一片美麗的湖泊就出現(xiàn)在了大廳中央，空氣變得涼爽起來(lái)。她揮揮右衣袖，就有白天鵝在湖面暢游。沙皇、賓客們、仆人們，甚至在場(chǎng)的一只貓，全都感到很驚訝。她的兩個(gè)妯娌眼紅她，于是她們也揮動(dòng)衣袖，但不見(jiàn)湖泊和天鵝，反而把酒灑得到處都是，把天鵝骨頭甩到了沙皇臉上，令沙皇大為惱火。

在此期間，伊萬(wàn)趁著沒(méi)人看見(jiàn)溜回了家，燒掉了青蛙皮。等瓦茜里莎回到家，發(fā)現(xiàn)青蛙皮沒(méi)了，就哭著跟丈夫說(shuō)：“噢，親愛(ài)的皇子，你都做了什么？本來(lái)我必須穿著丑陋青蛙皮的時(shí)間已經(jīng)所剩無(wú)幾。本來(lái)我們獲得永恒幸福的時(shí)刻已經(jīng)指日可待。但如今我必須和你道別。”瓦茜里莎變成一只白天鵝，從窗戶飛走了。

伊萬(wàn)痛苦地哭了。隨后他踏上了尋找她的未知旅途。

有一天，他遇到一位老人，就把自己的不幸遭遇告訴了他。

“瓦茜里莎天生比她自己的父親更有智慧。她父親出于嫉妒，把她貶為一只青蛙，時(shí)間長(zhǎng)達(dá)三年。你不應(yīng)該燒掉青蛙皮。不過(guò)我可憐你，想幫助你。這兒有一個(gè)魔法球。它滾到哪兒，你就跟到哪兒，不要畏懼?！崩先苏f(shuō)。

伊萬(wàn)跟著魔法球走。他在一片繁花茂盛的曠野遇到了一只大熊。伊萬(wàn)拿出弓箭準(zhǔn)備射殺它。

“不要?dú)⑽?，善良的皇子?！贝笮苷f(shuō)?！罢l(shuí)知道，也許我會(huì)對(duì)你有用呢？”于是伊萬(wàn)沒(méi)有射殺這只熊。

在途中，伊萬(wàn)還遇到了一只白鴨和一只眨著眼睛的野兔。他也把它們放走了。

他跟著魔法球來(lái)到一片藍(lán)色的深海旁邊，沙灘上躺著一條快死的大魚(yú)。

“噢，伊萬(wàn)皇子！”大魚(yú)祈求說(shuō)，“發(fā)發(fā)慈悲把我推回海里吧?！?/p>

Ivan did so. Then the ball led Ivan to a strange, little wooden hut standing on hen’s feet, in which lived a most ugly witch. Ivan told the witch the story of his marriage, and that his only desire was to fnd her.

“She is now in the palace of the horrible Koschei the Immortal. He watches her day and night and no one can ever conquer him. His death depends on a magic needle. That needle is within a hare; that hare is within a large trunk; that trunk is hidden in the branches of an old oak tree; and that oak tree is watched by Koschei as closely as Vassilisa herself, which means closer than any treasure he has.”

Under her guidance, Ivan found the oak tree. But he was discouraged, not knowing what to do. Just then, an old acquaintance of his, the bear, came uprooting the tree. A hare jumped out of the trunk and ran fast; but another hare, Ivan’s friend, caught it and tore it into pieces. Out of the hare there flew high into the sky a grey duck, but the white duck struck it, and it lost an egg. When the egg fell into the deep sea and disappeared, Ivan couldn’t help but weep. Then, all of a sudden, the big fsh he had saved came swimming up, and brought the egg in his mouth. How happy Ivan Tsarevitch was! He broke the egg and found the magic needle inside.

Ivan Tsarevitch entered the dominions of Koschei, killed him with the magic needle, and found his dear Vassilisa. He took her home and they lived happily ever after.

伊萬(wàn)照做了。隨后魔法球把他帶到了一個(gè)長(zhǎng)著雞腳的奇怪小木屋里，屋里住著一個(gè)極其丑陋的女巫。伊萬(wàn)把自己的婚姻故事告訴了女巫，并說(shuō)他唯一的愿望就是找到自己的妻子。

“她現(xiàn)在身處可怕的不死魔王科謝伊的宮殿里。他日夜看守著她，而且他不曾被任何人打敗過(guò)。想要他死，就要拿到一根魔法針。這根針藏在一只野兔的身體里；野兔藏在一棵大樹(shù)的樹(shù)干里；樹(shù)干藏在一棵老橡樹(shù)的枝椏間；老橡樹(shù)被不死魔王緊緊看守著，就像看守瓦茜里莎那么緊，這意味著看守得比他的任何財(cái)寶都要緊?！?/p>

在女巫的指引下，伊萬(wàn)找到了橡樹(shù)。但他不知該如何對(duì)付這棵樹(shù)，一下子泄了氣。這時(shí)，他的舊相識(shí)——大熊——來(lái)把樹(shù)連根拔了起來(lái)。一只野兔從樹(shù)干里跳了出來(lái)，跑得很快；但另一只野兔——伊萬(wàn)的朋友——抓住了這只野兔并把它撕碎了。一只灰鴨從野兔肚子里飛出來(lái)，飛到了高空中，但白鴨攻擊了灰鴨，使它丟掉了一枚鴨蛋。鴨蛋掉進(jìn)了深海里，不知所蹤，伊萬(wàn)禁不住哭了起來(lái)。然后，突然間，他救過(guò)的大魚(yú)游上來(lái)，嘴里銜著那顆鴨蛋。伊萬(wàn)王子高興極了！他打破了鴨蛋，找到了里面的魔法針。

伊萬(wàn)進(jìn)入了不死魔王的領(lǐng)地，用魔法針殺死了他，并找到了他親愛(ài)的瓦茜里莎。他把她帶回了家，從此兩人幸福地生活著。

The Frog Princess