格林童话：Godfather Death 死神教父
Jacob and Wilhelm GrimmA poor man had twelve children and had to work day and night in order just to feed them. Thus when the thirteenth came into the world, not knowing what to do in his need, he ran out into the highway, intending to ask the first person whom he met to be the godfather.
The first person who came his way was our dear God, who already knew what was in his heart, and God said to him, \"Poor man, I pity you. I will hold your child at his baptism, and care for him, and make him happy on earth.\"
The man said, \"Who are you?\"
\"I am God.\"
\"Then I do not wish to have you for a godfather,\" said the man. \"You give to the rich, and let the poor starve.\"
Thus spoke the man, for he did not know how wisely God divides out wealth and poverty. Then he turned away from the Lord, and went on his way.
Then the devil came to him and said, \"What are you looking for? If you will take me as your child's godfather, I will give him an abundance of gold and all the joys of the world as well.\"
The man asked, \"Who are you?\"
\"I am the devil.\"
\"Then I do not wish to have you for a godfather,\" said the man. You deceive mankind and lead them astray.\"
He went on his way, and then Death, on his withered legs, came walking toward him, and said, \"Take me as your child's godfather.\"
The man asked, \"Who are you?\"
\"I am Death, who makes everyone equal.\"
Then the man said, \"You are the right one. You take away the rich as well as the poor, without distinction. You shall be my child's godfather.
Death answered, \"I will make your child rich and famous, for he who has me for a friend cannot fail.\"
The man said, \"Next Sunday is the baptism. Be there on time.\"
Death appeared as he had promised, and served as godfather in an orderly manner.
After the boy came of age his godfather appeared to him one day and asked him to go with him. He took him out into the woods and showed him an herb that grew there, saying, \"Now you shall receive your godfather's present. I will turn you into a famous physician. Whenever you are called to a sick person I will appear to you. If I stand at the sick person's head, you may say with confidence that you can make him well again; then give him some of this herb, and he will recover. But if I stand at the sick person's feet, he is mine, and you must say that he is beyond help, and that no physician in the world could save him. But beware of using this herb against my will, or something very bad will happen to you.\"
It was not long before the young man had become the most famous physician in the whole world. People said of him, \"He only needs to look at the sick in order to immediately know their condition, whether they will regain their health, or are doomed to die.\" And people came to him from far and wide, taking him to their sick, and giving him so much money that he soon became a wealthy man.
Now it came to pass that the king became ill. The physician was summoned and was told to say if a recovery were possible. However, when he approached the bed, Death was standing at the sick man's feet, and so no herb on earth would be able to help him.
\"If I could only deceive death for once,\" thought the physician. \"He will be angry, of course, but because I am his godson he will shut one eye. I will risk it.\" He therefore took hold of the sick man and laid him the other way around, so that Death was now standing at his head. Then he gave the king some of the herb, and he recovered and became healthy again.
However, Death came to the physician, made a dark and angry face, threatened him with his finger, and said, \"You have betrayed me. I will overlook it this time because you are my godson, but if you dare to do it again, it will cost you your neck, for I will take you yourself away with me.\"
Soon afterward the king's daughter became seriously ill. She was his only child, and he cried day and night until his eyes were going blind. Then he proclaimed that whosoever rescued her from death should become her husband and inherit the crown.
When the physician came to the sick girl's bed he saw Death at her feet. He should have remembered his godfather's warning, but he was so infatuated by the princess's great beauty and the prospect of becoming her husband that he threw all thought to the winds. He did not see that Death was looking at him angrily, lifting his hand into the air, and threatening him with his withered fist. He lifted up the sick girl and placed her head where her feet had been. Then he gave her some of the herb, and her cheeks immediately turned red, and life stirred in her once again.
Death, seeing that he had been cheated out of his property for a second time, approached the physician with long strides and said, \"You are finished. Now it is your turn.\"
Then Death seized him so firmly with his ice-cold hand that he could not resist, and led him into an underground cavern. There the physician saw how thousands and thousands of candles were burning in endless rows, some large, others medium-sized, others small. Every instant some died out, and others were relit, so that the little flames seemed to be jumping about in constant change.
\"See,\" said Death, \"these are the life-lights of mankind. The large ones belong to children, the medium-sized ones to married people in their best years, and the little ones to old people. However, even children and young people often have only a tiny candle.\"
\"Show me my life-light,\" said the physician, thinking that it still would be very large.
Death pointed to a little stump that was just threatening to go out, and said, \"See, there it is.\"
\"Oh, dear godfather,\" said the horrified physician, \"light a new one for me. Do it as a favor to me, so that I can enjoy my life, and become king and the husband of the beautiful princess.\"
\"I cannot,\" answered Death. \"One must go out before a new one is lighted.\"
\"Then set the old one onto a new one that will go on burning after the old one is finished,\" begged the physician.
Death pretended that he was going to fulfill this wish and took hold of a large new candle, but, desiring revenge, he purposely made a mistake in relighting it, and the little piece fell down and went out. The physician immediately fell to the ground, and he too was now in the hands of Death.
从前有一个穷人，他有十二个孩子。他必须起早贪黑地干活才能养活他们。眼看第十三个孩子又要出世了，他在困境中一筹莫展，不知所措。他来到大路上，想请他碰到的第一个人在孩子命名受洗时当他的教父。他首先遇到的是仁慈的上帝。上帝已经知道他的心事，便对他说：「可怜的人，我怜悯你。让我当你孩子的教父吧，我会照应他，给他带来人世间的幸福。」
穷人问：「你是谁？」
「我是仁慈的上帝。」
穷人便说：「那我就不求你给孩子做教父了。你把甚么都给了富人，而让穷人挨饿。」说完转身继续朝前走。不久他遇到了魔鬼。魔鬼说：「你还找甚么？只要你让我给孩子当教父，我会给他用不完的金子，让他享受世界上一切欢乐。」
穷人问：「你是谁？」
「我是魔鬼。」
穷人便说：「那我不愿意你给孩子做教父，你骗人，并且害人。」说着继续朝前走。瘦骨嶙峋的死神朝他大步走来，说：
「让我做孩子的教父吧。」
穷人问：「你是谁？」
「我是使人人平等的死神。」
穷人便说：「那我就让你给孩子做教父吧。」
死神回答：“我要把你的孩子变得又有钱又有名，因为谁拿我当朋友，谁就该过美满丰足的日子。”穷人说：“下个礼拜天行洗礼，你请准时来吧!”死神真就如他许诺的来了，并且像模像样地帮孩子受了洗礼。
男孩长大了。教父有一天来叫他一块儿出去。他把孩子带进森林里，指给他看一种长在林中的草，说：“现在该让你得到教父的礼物啦。我要把你变成一位名医。每次有人请你看病，我都会为你显形：我要是站在病人脑袋旁边，你就可以大胆地说，你决心把他治好，然后你再给他服一点这种草，他便会恢复健康；可是，我要是站在他脚旁边，那他已经归我所有，你必须说，一切治疗都是枉然，世界上再没任何医生救得了他。可你要当心，别不按我的意思使用这药草，不然你会倒霉的!”
不久，小伙子果然成了全世界最有名的医生。人们都说：“他只需看一下病人，就知道情况如何，病人是还能康复呢，还是一定会死。”于是，远远近近的人都来接他去看病，给了他许多钱，使他很快成为一个富翁。这时候，国王正巧生了病，派人来接医生去，要他讲还能不能康复。可当他走到病榻前，死神呢已经站在病人的脚边上，也就是说国王已没治了。谁料这时小伙子却在心里嘀咕：“要是我欺骗一回死神呢，他自然很不高兴。不过，我是他教子，他大概会睁一只眼，闭一只眼。我要大胆试一次!”他扶起病人，让他掉了个个儿，这样死神就站在国王的头旁边了。随后他给国王服了一点药草，他便渐渐好起来，最后又恢复了健康。可死神却去医生那儿，阴沉着脸，举起食指模样挺凶地威胁说：“你小子骗了我!这一次嘛我原谅你，因为你是我的教子，可你再敢来一次，我就要你的命，把你一起抓走！”
不久以后，国王的女儿患了重病。她是他的独生孩子，国王因此没日没夜地哭啊哭啊，哭得眼睛都瞎了。他于是告示天下，谁要治好公主，谁就可以娶她做妻子，并且继承王位。医生走到病人的床前，看见死神站在她的脚旁边。他本该想一想教父的警告才是啊!可是公主的无比美丽和做她丈夫的幸福，使他昏了头脑，把教父的话忘记得千干净净。他看不见死神向他投来愤怒的目光，举起手臂，幌着瘦骨嶙嶙的拳头在威胁他。他扶起病人，让她的头睡到原本放脚的地方。随后他给她服药草，她的脸颊马上便泛起红色，生命重新复苏了。
眼看自己的所有物第二次被夺走，死神气得跑到医生那儿，吼道：“你小子完啦，现在就轮到了你!”说着伸出他那冰冷的手来一把抓住教子，叫他反抗不得，随后就把他拽进了脚底下地狱里。
在那儿，他看见千千万万朵烛光，一长排一长排地燃烧着不见头尾，有一些大，有一些小一点，还有一些很小很小。每一瞬间都有一些熄灭掉，有另一些重新燃烧起来，于是，看上去就像那些火苗在不断替换，在不断地跳过来蹦过去。“你瞧，”死神对他说，“这就是人类的生命之光。大的属于孩子，小一些的属于结了婚的中年男女，最小的属于老年人。不过，经常有些孩子和青年也只有一朵小小的生命之火。”“请让我看看我的生命之火吧，”医生说，他以为它的一定还挺大哩。死神却指了指一点儿即将全熄灭的小蜡烛头，回答：“瞧吧，这就是。”“哎呀，亲爱的教父，”吓坏了的医生说，“快请给我点一支新的；行行好吧，让我去享受我的生命，去当国王，做美丽的公主的丈夫!”“我办不到，”死神回答，“在点新的之前，必须有旧的熄掉。”“那就把旧的接在新的上，让旧的没烧完新的立刻燃起来吧!”医生请求。死神做出愿满足他的愿望的样子，拿起一支没动过的大蜡烛；其实呢，却存心报复，在接蜡烛时故意失手，让小蜡烛头儿翻倒在地，熄灭了。医生立刻倒在地上，自己也落进了死神的手心。
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