双语格林童话：没有手的姑娘(2)

　　从前有位磨房主，他越来越穷，除了磨房后有棵大大的苹果树外一无所有。有一天，他到森林里去砍柴，一个他从没见过的老头走近前来对他说：「你何苦这么辛苦地砍柴呀?

　　只要你答应把你磨房后的东西给我，我就让你过富人的日子。」

　　「磨房后面不就是那棵苹果树吗?」磨房主想。「行。」他说着就写了个承诺给陌生人。陌生人嘲笑地说：「三年之后，我会来取走属於我的东西。」说完便走了。

　　磨房主回到家中，妻子迎出来对他说：「快告诉我，咱们家这些财富突然从甚么地方来的?家里所有的箱笼一下子全被装满了，又没人来过，到底是怎么回事呀?」磨房主回答说：「是我在森林里碰到的一个陌生人给的。他只要我们磨房后的东西作为回报。我们把那棵大苹果树给他不就得了。」

　　「唉呀，老公，」妻子吓坏了，「那准是恶魔!他不是要苹果树，他要的是我们女儿，她正在磨房后面扫院子呢。」

　　磨房主的女儿是个美丽、虔诚的姑娘，她敬畏上帝、没犯任何过失。三年过去了，在恶魔要来带她走那天，她将自己从头到脚洗得乾乾净净，用粉笔绕着自己画了一个圈。恶魔很早就来了，可就是没法靠近姑娘。他怒气沖沖地对磨房主说：「把水全给我拿走!让她没法洗得那么乾净。要不然我对她就没有魔法了。」

　　磨房主害怕，只得照办。第二天，恶魔又来了。可姑娘的泪水把她的手沖得十分乾净。恶魔还是没法靠近她，因此气势汹汹地对磨房主说：「把她的手砍掉，要不然我对她就没有魔力了!」磨房主吓了一跳，回答说：「我怎么能砍自己孩子的手呢!」恶魔威胁说：「如果你不这么做，你就是我的，我就要把你带走。」这位父亲吓坏了，答应照他说的去做。他走到女儿跟前，对她说：「我的孩子，假如我不砍掉你的手，恶魔就要把我抓走，我吓坏了，就答应了他。现在请你帮帮我，饶恕我对你的伤害吧。」姑娘回答说：「亲爱的父亲，尽管砍吧，我是你的孩子。」说着，她伸出了双手，让父亲砍下了。

　　恶魔第三次来到磨房。可是姑娘一直在哭泣，泪水将残肢沖洗得十分洁净。恶魔只好放弃了，而且对姑娘失去了所有权。

　　磨房主对女儿说：「我以你为代价换取了这么多财富。只要你活着，我就会让你过得舒舒服服的。」可是姑娘回答说：「我不能住在这里，我情愿出去，有同情心的人们会给我所需要的东西的，」她请人将她残废的手绑到身后，等太阳升起来的时候，便出发了。她走了一整天，太阳下山时她来到一个皇家花园，在闪烁的月光中，她看到园子里挂满了诱人的果子的果树。但是她无法进去，因为果园被一道满是水的深壕围住了。

　　姑娘已经走了整整一天了，而且没吃过任何东西。她饿得要命。「啊，如果我在果园里面就能吃到水果了，」她想，「否则我准会饿死的!」她跪到地上向上帝祈祷。忽然，有个天使向她走来，在水中筑起一道堤坝。这样一来，壕中的水干了，姑娘就可以走到果园去了，天使陪着她一起进了果园。果园的树上挂满了迷人的梨子，可每个上面都编了号，姑娘来到梨子树前，用嘴咬下一只吃了，然后满足地钻进了灌木丛。园丁看到了这一切，可见天使站在姑娘身边，便以为是幽灵，有些害怕，所以不敢出声，更不敢大声喊叫。

　　The king who owned this garden came the next morning. He counted the fruit and saw that one of the pears was missing. He asked the gardener what had happened to it. It was not lying under the tree, but had somehow disappeared.

　　The gardener answered, "Last night a spirit came here. It had no hands and ate one of the pears with its mouth."

　　The king said, "How did the spirit get across the water? And where did it go after it had eaten the pear?"

　　The gardener answered, "Someone dressed in snow-white came from heaven and closed the head gate so the spirit could walk through the moat. Because it must have been an angel I was afraid, and I asked no questions, and I did not call out. After the spirit had eaten the pear it went away again."

　　The king said, "If what you said is true, I will keep watch with you tonight."

　　After it was dark the king entered the garden, bringing a priest with him who was to talk to the spirit. All three sat down under the tree and kept watch. At midnight the girl came creeping out of the brush, stepped up to the tree, and again ate off a pear with her mouth. An angel dressed in white was standing next to her.

　　The priest walked up to them and said, "Have you come from God, or from the world? Are you a spirit or a human?"

　　She answered, "I am not a spirit, but a poor human who has been abandoned by everyone except God."

　　The king said, "Even if you have been abandoned by the whole world, I will not abandon you."

　　He took her home with him to his royal castle, and because she was so beautiful and pure he loved her with all his heart, had silver hands made for her, and took her as his wife.

　　After a year the king had to go out into the battlefield, and he left the young queen in the care of his mother, saying, "If she has a child, support her and take good care of her, and immediately send me the news in a letter."

　　She gave birth to a beautiful son. The old mother quickly wrote this in a letter, giving thejoyful13 news to the king.

　　Now on the way the messenger stopped at a brook14 to rest. Tired from his long journey, he fell asleep. Then the devil came to him. He still wanted to harm the pious queen, and he took the letter, putting in its place one that stated that the queen had brought a changeling into the world. When the king read this letter he was frightened and saddened, but nevertheless he wrote an answer that they should take good care of the queen until his return. The messenger returned with this letter, but he rested at the same place, and again fell asleep. The devil came again and placed a different letter in his bag. This letter said that they should kill the queen with her child.

　　The old mother was terribly frightened when she received this letter. She could not believe it, and wrote to the king again, but she got back the same answer, because each time the devil substituted a false letter. And the last letter even stated that they should keep the queen's tongue and eyes as proof.