格林童话： 侏儒妖

Rumpelstiltskin

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm



　　Once upon a time there was a miller who was poor, but who had a beautiful daughter. Now it happened that he got into a conversation with the king, and to make an impression on him he said, \"I have a daughter who can spin straw into gold.\"
　　The king said to the miller, \"That is an art that I really like. If your daughter is as skillful as you say, then bring her to my castle tomorrow, and I will put her to the test.\"
　　When the girl was brought to him he led her into a room that was entirely filled with straw. Giving her a spinning wheel and a reel, he said, \"Get to work now. Spin all night, and if by morning you have not spun this straw into gold, then you will have to die.\" Then he himself locked the room, and she was there all alone.
　　The poor miller's daughter sat there, and for her life she did not know what to do. She had no idea how to spin straw into gold. She became more and more afraid, and finally began to cry.
　　Then suddenly the door opened. A little man stepped inside and said, \"Good evening, Mistress Miller, why are you crying so?\"
　　\"Oh,\" answered the girl, \"I am supposed to spin straw into gold, and I do not know how to do it.\"
　　The little man said, \"What will you give me if I spin it for you?\"
　　\"My necklace,\" said the girl.
　　The little man took the necklace, sat down before the spinning wheel, and whir, whir, whir, three times pulled, and the spool was full. Then he put another one on, and whir, whir, whir, three times pulled, and the second one was full as well. So it went until morning, and then all the straw was spun, and all the spools were filled with gold.
　　At sunrise the king came, and when he saw the gold he was surprised and happy, but his heart became even more greedy for gold. He had the miller's daughter taken to another room filled with straw. It was even larger, and he ordered her to spin it in one night, if she valued her life.
　　The girl did not know what to do, and she cried. Once again the door opened, and the little man appeared. He said, \"What will you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you?\"
　　\"The ring from my finger,\" answered the girl.
　　The little man took the ring, and began once again to whir with the spinning wheel. By morning he had spun all the straw into glistening gold. The king was happy beyond measure when he saw it, but he still did not have his fill of gold. He had the miller's daughter taken to a still larger room filled with straw, and said, \"Tonight you must spin this too. If you succeed you shall become my wife.\" He thought, \"Even if she is only a miller's daughter, I will not find a richer wife in all the world.\"
　　When the girl was alone the little man returned for a third time. He said, \"What will you give me if I spin the straw this time?\"
　　\"I have nothing more that I could give you,\" answered the girl.
　　\"Then promise me, after you are queen, your first child.\"
　　\"Who knows what will happen,\" thought the miller's daughter, and not knowing what else to do, she promised the little man what he demanded. In return the little man once again spun the straw into gold.
　　When in the morning the king came and found everything just as he desired, he married her, and the beautiful miller's daughter became queen.
　　A year later she brought a beautiful child to the world. She thought no more about the little man, but suddenly he appeared in her room and said, \"Now give me that which you promised.\"
　　The queen took fright and offered the little man all the wealth of the kingdom if he would let her keep the child, but the little man said, \"No. Something living is dearer to me than all the treasures of the world.\"
　　Then the queen began lamenting and crying so much that the little man took pity on her and said, \"I will give you three days' time. If by then you know my name, then you shall keep your child.\"
　　The queen spent the entire night thinking of all the names she had ever heard. Then she sent a messenger into the country to inquire far and wide what other names there were. When the little man returned the next day she began with Kaspar, Melchior, Balzer, and said in order all the names she knew. After each one the little man said, \"That is not my name.\"
　　The second day she sent inquiries into the neighborhood as to what names people had. She recited the most unusual and most curious names to the little man: \"Is your name perhaps Beastrib? Or Muttoncalf? Or Legstring?\"
　　But he always answered, \"That is not my name.\"
　　On the third day the messenger returned and said, \"I have not been able to find a single new name, but when I was approaching a high mountain in the corner of the woods, there where the fox and the hare say good-night, I saw a little house. A fire was burning in front of the house, and an altogether comical little man was jumping around the fire, hopping on one leg and calling out:
　　Today I'll bake; tomorrow I'll brew, Then I'll fetch the queen's new child, It is good that no one knows, Rumpelstiltskin is my name.
　　You can imagine how happy the queen was when she heard that name. Soon afterward the little man came in and asked, \"Now, Madame Queen, what is my name?\"
　　She first asked, \"Is your name Kunz?\"
　　\"No.\"
　　\"Is your name Heinz?\"
　　\"No.\"
　　\"Is your name perhaps Rumpelstiltskin?\"
　　\"The devil told you that! The devil told you that!\" shouted the little man, and with anger he stomped his right foot so hard into the ground that he fell in up to his waist. Then with both hands he took hold of his left foot and ripped himself up the middle in two.




　　从前，有个磨坊主，他的女儿长得美丽无比，而且聪明伶俐，为人精明，因而她父亲总是不厌其烦地吹嘘她，把她吹得天花乱坠。
　　有一天，磨坊主应召进宫，他对国王吹牛说，他女儿能把稻草纺成金子。
　　谁知国王是个见钱眼开的人，一听磨坊主的话，马上就吩咐召见姑娘。姑娘进宫之后，国王把她领到一间装满了稻草的屋子，然后给她一架纺车，吩咐她道：「明天天亮之前，你必须把稻草全给我纺成金子，不然的话，就处死你。」
　　尽管姑娘一再说明她根本没有这种本领，可是国王听也不听，把门一锁，扬长而去，屋子里就剩下了她一个人。
　　姑娘坐在屋角里，面对自己的厄运，愁肠百结，於是就放声大哭起来。正在这时，屋门突然打开了，一瘸一拐地走进来一个小矮子，样子滑稽可笑，他对姑娘说：「晚上好，姑娘。干嘛哭得这样伤心呢？」
　　「唉，」姑娘回答说，「我必须把这么多的稻草全都纺成金子，可我哪儿会这个呀！」
　　「要是我替你纺，」小矬子说，「你拿甚么酬谢我呢？」
　　「把我漂亮的项炼送给你。」姑娘回答道。
　　小矮矮相信姑娘说的话，於是就坐到了纺车前。纺车不停地转啊转，发出欢快的声音。不大一会儿，活儿就干完了，满屋稻草全都纺成了金子。
　　国王进屋一看，真是又惊又喜，可他的心却变得更加贪婪。他把磨坊主的女儿关进另一间有更多稻草的屋子，吩咐她再把这间屋子里的稻草纺成金子。可怜的姑娘不知如何是好，坐在那里又哭了起来。谁知正在这时，小矮子打开屋门问道：「要是我帮你纺，你拿甚么酬谢我呢？」
　　「把这枚钻石戒指送给你。」姑娘回答说。
　　於是，她的这个矮小的朋友接过了戒指，然后走到纺车前，纺了起来。他不停地纺啊纺，天亮之前，终於把屋里的稻草全都纺成了金子。
　　国王一见这么多闪闪发光的金子，满心欢喜，可他仍然不满足，就把磨坊主的女儿带到了另一间更大的屋子，并且对她说：「要是你今晚把这里的稻草全都纺成金子，我就娶你做王后。」
　　国王走了，剩下姑娘一个人的时候，小矮子又来了，问姑娘说：「要是我第三次还替你纺金子，你拿甚么酬谢我呢？」
　　「我再也没甚么可送给你啦。」她回答说。
　　「那么，你得答应我，」小矮子接着说道，「等你做了王后，把你生的第一个孩子送给我。」
　　「那可万万不行。」姑娘心里想，可是她现在已走投无路，就答应了他的要求。小矮子又一次把稻草全都纺成了金子。
　　次日清晨，国王又来了，发现一切如愿以偿，就娶了磨坊主的女儿做王后。
　　王后的第一个孩子出生了，她欢天喜地，却把小矮子和她自己的诺言给忘了。谁知有一天，小矮子突然来到她的房间，提醒她不要忘记了自己许下的诺言。对这突如其来的不幸，她悲痛欲绝，只得提出将王国所有的金银财宝都给他，作为交换的条件，可是小矮子说甚么也不答应。王后失声痛哭，哭得像个泪人似的，小矮子见了心也就软了下来，对她说道：「我宽限你三天时间，要是你在这三天之内能说出我的名字，你就把孩子留下。」
　　於是，王后派遣很多信使去全国各地，打听没有听说过的名字。
　　次日，小矮子又来了，她就开始把所有记得起来的名字都说了出来，甚么迪姆斯啦，本傑明啦，简罗米啦，等等。可是小矮子每听一个都说：「我不叫这个。」
　　第二天，她把听到过的滑稽名字都说了出来，甚么罗圈腿啦，小罗锅啦，八字脚啦，诸如此类。可是小矮子每听一个还是说：「我不叫这个。」
　　第三天，有个信使回来说：「我正在上山的时候，发现森林中有一个小棚子，棚子前燃着一堆篝火，一个滑稽可笑的小矮子用一只脚围着火堆蹦过来，跳过去，一边蹦跳一边唱着：
　　'今天我酿酒，明天露一手；又唱又跳多快活，明天小孩就归我；王后绞尽脑汁儿却说不准，本人名叫龙佩尔斯迪尔钦！'」
　　王后听了高兴得跳了起来。过了一会儿，小矮子又来了，进门便问：「王后，我叫甚么名字啊？」王后回答说：「你是不是叫约翰哪？」「不对！」「那你是不是叫汤姆呢？」「也不对！」
　　「也许你叫龙佩尔斯迪尔钦吧？」
　　「肯定是巫婆告诉你的！肯定是巫婆告诉你的！」小矮子喊叫着，气得直跺脚，结果右脚深深地陷进了地里。他不得不弯下腰去，用双手紧紧抱住小腿，用尽全身力气才拔了出来。随后，他便急急忙忙溜走了，这场虚惊也就结束了，大伙於是开怀大笑。王后后来再也没有见到过他。