The Sleeping Beauty

There were once a King and Queen who had no children, though they had been married for many years. At last, however, a little daughter was born to them, and this was a matter of great rejoicing through all the kingdom.

从前有一位国王和一位王后，他们结婚多年，却一直没有孩子。终于，他们有了一个小女儿，全国上下都为此欢欣鼓舞。

When the time came for the little Princess to be christened, a grand feast was prepared, and six powerful fairies were asked to stand as her godmothers. Unfortunately the Queen forgot to invite the seventh fairy, who was the most powerful of them all, and was also very wicked and malicious.

到了小公主受洗的日子，宫中准备了一场盛大的宴会，并请来六位法力高强的仙女做她的教母。不巧的是，王后忘了邀请第七位仙女，而她恰恰是所有仙女中法力最强的一位，同时也十分邪恶阴险。

On the day of the christening the six good fairies came early, in chariots drawn by butterflies, or by doves or wrens or other birds. They were made welcome by the King and Queen, and after some talk they were led to the hall where the feast had been set out.

受洗那天，六位好心的仙女早早就到了，她们乘坐由蝴蝶、鸽子、鹪鹩或其他鸟儿拉着的车辇而来。国王和王后热情地迎接了她们，寒暄之后，众人被引到摆好宴席的大厅。

Everything there was very magnificent. There were delicious fruits and meats and pastries and game and everything that could be thought of. The dishes were all of gold, and for each fairy there was a goblet cut from a single precious stone. One was a diamond, one a sapphire, one a ruby, one an emerald, one an amethyst, and one a topaz. The fairies were delighted with the beauty of everything. Even in their own fairy palaces they had no such goblets as those the King had had made for them.

大厅里一切都富丽堂皇。桌上摆着美味的水果、肉食、糕点、野味，凡是能想到的美食应有尽有。餐具全是金制的，每位仙女面前都有一只用整块宝石雕成的酒杯。一只是钻石的，一只是蓝宝石的，一只是红宝石的，一只是祖母绿的，一只是紫水晶的，还有一只是黄玉的。仙女们对眼前的美丽景象赞叹不已，即便在她们自己的仙宫里，也从未见过国王为她们特制的这般酒杯。

They were just about to take their places at the table when a great noise was heard outside on the terrace. The Queen looked from the window and almost fainted at the sight she saw. The bad fairy had arrived. She had come uninvited, and the Queen guessed that it was for no good that she came. Her chariot was of black iron, and was drawn by four dragons with flaming eyes and brass scales. The fairy sprang from her chariot in haste, and came tapping into the hall with her staff in her hand.

她们正要入座时，忽然听见露台外传来一阵巨响。王后从窗口望去，几乎被眼前的景象吓晕过去。那位邪恶的仙女到了。她不请自来，王后猜到她此行绝无好意。她的车辇是黑铁打造的，由四条喷着火焰、鳞片如铜的巨龙拉着。仙女匆忙从车辇上跳下来，拄着手杖，笃笃地走进大厅。

“How is this? How is this?” she cried to the Queen. “Here all my sisters have been invited to come and bring their gifts to the Princess, and I alone have been forgotten.”

“这是怎么回事？这是怎么回事？”她冲着王后喊道，“我所有的姐妹都被请来为公主献上礼物，唯独把我忘了！”

The Queen did not know what to answer. She was frightened. However, she tried to hide her fear, and made the seventh fairy as welcome as the others. A place was set for her at the King’s right hand, and he and the Queen tried to pretend they had expected her to come. But for her there was no precious goblet, and when she saw the ones that had been given to the six other fairies her face grew green with envy, and her eyes flashed fire. She ate and drank, but she said never a word.

王后不知该如何作答，她吓坏了。可她还是竭力掩饰自己的恐惧，尽量像欢迎其他人一样欢迎这第七位仙女。她在国王右手边为她安排了一个座位，国王和王后都装作早就盼着她到来的样子。可是没有为她准备珍贵的酒杯，当她看到另外六位仙女得到的酒杯时，脸色因嫉妒而发青，双眼喷出怒火。她吃了，也喝了，却一言不发。

After the feast the little Princess was brought into the room, and she smiled so sweetly and looked so innocent that only a wicked heart could have planned evil against her.

宴席结束后，小公主被抱进厅中，她笑得那样甜美，看起来那样天真无邪，唯有一颗邪恶的心才会对她心生歹意。

The first fairy took the child in her arms and said, “My gift to the Princess shall be that of contentment, for contentment is better than gold.”

第一位仙女把孩子抱在怀里，说：“我要送给公主的礼物是知足常乐，因为知足胜过黄金。”

“Yet gold is good,” said the second fairy, “and I will give her the gift of wealth.”

“可黄金也是好东西，”第二位仙女说，“我要赐给她财富的礼物。”

“Health shall be hers,” said the third, “for wealth is of little use without it.”

“健康归她所有，”第三位说道，“因为没有健康，财富也没什么用。”

“And I,” said the fourth, “will gift her with beauty to win all hearts.”

“而我，”第四位说，“要赐给她美貌，让她赢得所有人的心。”

“And wit to charm all ears,” said the fifth. “That is my gift to her.”

“还有能迷倒众人的机智，”第五位说，“这就是我送给她的礼物。”

The sixth fairy hesitated, and in that moment the wicked one stepped forward. While the others had spoken she had been swelling with spite like a toad. “And I say,” cried she, “that in her seventeenth year she shall prick her finger with a spindle and fall dead.”

第六位仙女犹豫了一下，就在这一瞬间，那位邪恶的仙女走上前来。在其他人说话的时候，她一直像癞蛤蟆一样满腔怨毒地鼓胀着。“而我要说，”她喊道，“公主到了十七岁那年，会被纺锤刺破手指，倒地身亡。”

When the Queen heard this she shrieked aloud, and the King grew as pale as death. But the sixth fairy stepped forward.

王后听到这话，尖声惊叫起来，国王的脸色也变得像死人一样苍白。可这时第六位仙女走上前来。

“Wait a bit,” said she. “I have not spoken yet. I cannot undo what our sister has done, but I say that the Princess shall not really die. She shall fall into a deep sleep that shall last a hundred years, and all in the castle shall sleep with her. At the end of that time she shall be awakened by a kiss.”

“且慢，”她说，“我还没有说出我的礼物呢。我无法收回姐姐所做的事，但我要说，公主并不会真正死去。她将陷入长达一百年的沉睡，城堡里的一切也将随她一同沉睡。百年之期一到，她将被一个吻唤醒。”

When the wicked fairy heard this she was filled with rage, but she had already spoken; she could do no more. She rushed out of the castle and jumped into her chariot, and the dragons carried her away, and where she went no one either knew nor cared.

那位邪恶的仙女听了这话，怒火中烧，但她已经说出了自己的诅咒，再无法更改。她冲出城堡，跳上她的车辇，巨龙载着她远去，谁也不知道，也不关心她去了哪里。

The other fairies also went away, and they were sad because of what was to happen to the Princess.

其余的仙女也都离开了，她们都为公主将来的命运感到悲伤。

But at once the King gave orders that every spinning-wheel and spindle in the land should be destroyed, and when this was done he felt quite happy again. For if all the spindles were gone the Princess could not prick her finger with one; and if she did not prick her finger she would not fall into the enchanted sleep.

但国王立刻下令，将全国境内所有的纺车和纺锤统统销毁，等这件事办妥之后，他才重新感到安心。因为只要所有的纺锤都不复存在，公主就不可能被纺锤刺破手指；而只要她的手指不被刺破，她就不会陷入那被施了魔法的沉睡。

So the King and Queen were at peace, and all went well in the castle for seventeen years. All that the fairies had promised to the Princess came true. She was so beautiful that she was the wonder of all who saw her, and so witty and gentle-hearted that everyone loved her. Beside this she had health, wealth, and contentment, and was smiling and joyous from morn till night.

于是国王和王后安下心来，此后十七年间，城堡里一切太平。仙女们对公主的祝福一一应验。她美丽得让所有见过她的人都为之惊叹，又机智又温柔，人人都喜爱她。此外，她还拥有健康、财富与知足，从早到晚都笑意盈盈，快乐无比。

One day the King and Queen went away on a journey, and the Princess took it into her head to mount to a high tower where she had never been before, and to watch for their return from there.

有一天，国王和王后外出远行，公主忽然起了兴致，想登上一座她从未去过的高塔，好从那里眺望，等候他们归来。

She found the stairs that led to the tower, and then she mounted them, up and up and up, until she was high above the roofs of the castle. At last she reached the very top of the tower, and there was an iron door with a rusty key in it.

她找到通往塔楼的楼梯，便一路向上攀登，一层又一层，直到高出城堡的屋顶。终于，她登上了塔楼的最顶端，那里有一扇铁门，门上插着一把生锈的钥匙。

The Princess turned the key and the door swung open. Beyond she saw a room, and an old, old, wrinkled woman sat there at a wheel spinning.

公主转动钥匙，门应声打开。门里是一间屋子，一个又老又皱的老妇人坐在那里纺纱。

The Princess had never seen a spinning-wheel before. It seemed a curious thing to her. She went in and stood close to the old woman so as to see it better.

公主从未见过纺车，在她看来这是件稀奇的东西。她走进屋子，站到老妇人身边，想看得更清楚些。

“What is that you are doing?” she asked.

“你在做什么呀？”她问道。

“I am spinning,” answered the old woman.

“我在纺纱，”老妇人答道。

“And what is that little thing that flies around so fast?”

“那个飞快转动的小东西是什么？”

“That is a spindle.”

“那是纺锤。”

“It is a curious little thing,” said the Princess, and she reached out her hand to touch it. Then the point of the spindle pricked her finger, and at once the Princess sighed, and her eyes closed, and she sank back on a couch in a deep sleep.

“真是个稀奇的小东西，”公主说着，伸手去摸它。就在这时，纺锤的尖端刺破了她的手指，公主立刻叹息一声，双眼闭上，倒在一张长榻上沉沉睡去。

Immediately a silence fell also upon all in the castle. The King and Queen had just returned from their journey; they had alighted from their horses and had entered the castle, and just then sleep fell upon them. The courtiers who followed them also fell asleep. The dogs and horses in the courtyard slept, and the pigeons on the eaves. The boy who turned the spit in the kitchen slept and the cook did not scold him, for she too was asleep. The meat did not burn, for the fire was sleeping. Even the flies in the castle and the bees among the flowers hung motionless. All slept.

刹那间，整座城堡也陷入一片寂静。国王和王后刚刚结束旅程归来，他们下了马，走进城堡，正在此时睡意突然降临到他们身上。跟随他们的侍臣们也都睡着了。庭院里的狗和马睡着了，屋檐上的鸽子也睡着了。厨房里转动烤肉铁叉的男孩睡着了，厨娘也没有责骂他，因为她自己也睡着了。肉没有烧焦，因为炉火也睡着了。就连城堡里的苍蝇和花丛中的蜜蜂也一动不动。一切都沉睡了。

Then all about the castle sprang up an enchanted forest that shut it in like a wall. The forest grew so dark and high that at last not even the top-most tower of the castle could be seen.

随即，城堡四周长出了一片魔法森林，像一堵墙一样把它团团围住。森林长得又高又密，最后连城堡最高的塔楼也再看不见了。

But though the Princess slept she was not forgotten. Many brave princes and heroes came and tried to cut their way through the forest to rescue her, but the boughs and branches were as hard as iron, and moreover as fast as they were cut away they grew again; also they were twisted so closely together that no one could creep between them. Then as years passed by, the brave heroes who had sought the Princess grew old and had children of their own. These, too, grew to be men and married, and at last the Princess was forgotten by all, or was remembered only as an old tale.

尽管公主沉睡不醒，人们却没有忘记她。许多勇敢的王子和英雄前来，试图砍出一条路穿过森林去救她，可那些枝条坚硬如铁，而且刚被砍断又立刻重新长出；枝条彼此紧紧缠绕，谁也无法从中间挤过去。就这样一年年过去，那些曾经寻找公主的勇士渐渐老去，有了自己的儿女。这些儿女也长大成人，娶妻生子，最后公主终于被众人遗忘，只在古老的传说中被人提起。

At last a hundred years had slipped away, and then a young and handsome Prince came by that way. He had been hunting, and he had ridden so fast and eagerly that he had left his huntsmen far behind. Now he was hot and weary, and seeing a hut he stopped and asked for a drink of water.

终于，一百年过去了，一位年轻英俊的王子路过那里。他外出打猎，骑得又快又急，把他的猎手们远远甩在了后面。此刻他又热又乏，看见一间小屋，便停下来讨一口水喝。

The man who lived in the hut was very old. He brought the water the Prince asked for, and after the Prince had drank, he sat awhile and looked about him. “What is that darkness, like a cloud, that I see over yonder?” he asked.

住在那小屋里的是一位十分年迈的老人。他把王子要的水端来，王子喝完水后坐了一会儿，四下打量。“那边像云一样的黑影是什么？”他问道。

“I cannot tell you for sure,” said the old man, “for it is a long distance away and I have never gone to see. But my grandfather told me once that it was an enchanted forest. He said there was a castle hidden deep in the midst of it, and that in that castle lay a Princess asleep. That Princess, so he said, was the most beautiful Princess in all the world, but a spell had been laid on her, and she was to sleep a hundred years. At the end of that time a Prince was to come and waken her with a kiss.”

“我也说不准，”老人说，“那地方太远了，我从没去看过。不过我祖父曾经跟我说过，那是一片魔法森林。他说森林深处藏着一座城堡，城堡里睡着一位公主。据他说，那位公主是天下最美丽的公主，可她中了魔咒，要沉睡一百年。百年之后，会有一位王子前来，用一个吻将她唤醒。”

“And how long has she slept now?” asked the Prince, and his heart beat in his breast like a bird.

“那她已经睡了多久了？”王子问道，他的心像小鸟一样在胸中怦怦直跳。

“That I cannot say,” answered the old man, “but a long, long time. My grandfather was an old man when he told me, and he could not remember her.”

“这我说不准，”老人答道，“不过已经很久很久了。我祖父跟我说这话的时候已经很老了，他也记不清她了。”

The Prince thanked the old man for what he had told him, and then he rode away toward the enchanted forest, and he could not go fast enough, he was in such haste.

王子谢过老人告诉他的一切，随即策马朝那片魔法森林奔去，他心急如焚，恨不能立刻赶到。

When he was at a distance from the forest, it looked like a dark cloud, but as he came nearer it began to grow rosy. All the boughs and briers had begun to bud. By the time he was close to them they were in full flower, and when he reached the edge of the forest the branches divided, leaving an open path before him. Along this path the Prince rode and before long he came to the palace. He entered the courtyard and looked about him wondering. The dogs lay sleeping in the sunshine and never wakened at his coming. The horses stood like statues. The guards slept leaning on their arms.

当他离森林还有一段距离时，那森林看起来像一片乌云，可当他渐渐靠近，森林开始泛出玫瑰般的红色。所有的枝条和荆棘都开始抽芽。等他走近时，它们已经全部盛开，而当他抵达森林边缘时，枝条竟自动分开，为他让出一条道路。王子沿着这条路骑行，不久便来到了城堡前。他进入庭院，四下张望，满心惊奇。狗儿躺在阳光下沉睡，他到来也没有惊醒它们。马匹像雕像一样立着不动。守卫们靠着武器打盹。

The Prince dismounted and went on into the palace; on he went through one room after another, and no one woke to stop nor stay him. At last he came to the stairway that led to the tower and he went on up it,—up and up, as the Princess had done before him. He reached the tower-room, and then he stopped, and stood amazed. There on the couch lay a maiden more beautiful than he had ever dreamed of. He could scarcely believe there was such beauty in the world. He looked and looked and then he stooped and kissed her.

王子下了马，走进城堡；他穿过一个个房间，没有一个人醒来阻拦他。终于，他来到通往塔楼的楼梯，沿着楼梯一路向上，就像当年公主所做的那样。他来到塔楼里的房间，随即停下脚步，惊呆当场。榻上躺着一位少女，美丽得超乎他从前所有的想象。他简直不敢相信世上竟有如此美丽的女子。他看了又看，随即俯下身，吻了她。

At once—on the moment—all through the castle sounded the hum of waking life. The King and Queen, down in the throne-room stirred and rubbed their eyes. The guards started from sleep. The horses stamped, the dogs sprang up barking. The meat in the kitchen began to burn, and the cook boxed the boy’s ears. The courtiers smiled and bowed and simpered.

刹那间——就在那一瞬——整座城堡都响起了苏醒的嗡嗡声。国王和王后在楼下的宝座厅里动了动，揉了揉眼睛。守卫们从睡梦中惊起。马儿跺着蹄子，狗儿跳起来汪汪直叫。厨房里的肉开始烧焦，厨娘打了那男孩的耳光。侍臣们微笑着，鞠躬作揖，满脸堆笑。

Up in the tower the Princess opened her eyes, and as soon as she saw the Prince she loved him. He took her hand and raised her from the couch. “Will you be my own dear bride?” said he. And the Princess answered yes.

塔楼上，公主睁开了眼睛，一见到王子便爱上了他。他握住她的手，将她从榻上扶起。“你愿意做我心爱的新娘吗？”他问道。公主答应了。

And so they were married with great rejoicings, and the six fairies came to the wedding and brought with them gifts more beautiful than ever were seen before. As for the seventh fairy, if she did not burst with spite she may be living still. But the Prince and Princess lived happily forever after.

于是他们举行了盛大的婚礼，六位仙女都来参加婚礼，还带来了从未见过的美丽礼物。至于那第七位仙女，如果她没有被自己的怨毒气炸，说不定至今仍活在世上。而王子和公主则从此幸福快乐地生活下去。