霍勒太太

霍勒太太

Mother Holle

从前，有一位寡妇，她有两个女儿；一个长得漂亮又勤快，另一个又丑又懒。

Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters; one of them was beautiful and industrious, the other ugly and lazy.

可是，母亲最喜欢那个又丑又懒的女儿，因为那是她亲生的。另一个只是继女，不得不包揽家里所有的粗活，简直就像家里的灰姑娘。

The mother, however, loved the ugly and lazy one best, because she was her own daughter, and so the other, who was only her stepdaughter, was made to do all the work of the house, and was quite the Cinderella of the family.

继母每天都打发她去大路边的水井旁坐着纺线，直到手指纺出了血。

Her stepmother sent her out every day to sit by the well in the high road, there to spin until she made her fingers bleed.

有一天，鲜血沾到了纺锤上。姑娘把身子探到井边，想把血洗掉，纺锤却突然从手里滑落，掉进了井里。

Now it chanced one day that some blood fell on to the spindle, and as the girl stopped over the well to wash it off, the spindle suddenly sprang out of her hand and fell into the well.

她哭着跑回家，把不幸的事告诉了继母。可是继母严厉地训斥她，狠狠地骂了一通后，冷酷地说：“既然你把纺锤掉进了井里，就自己去把它捞出来！”

She ran home crying to tell of her misfortune, but her stepmother spoke harshly to her, and after giving her a violent scolding, said unkindly, ‘As you have let the spindle fall into the well you may go yourself and fetch it out.’

姑娘不知所措地回到井边。最后，在绝望中，她跳进水里去寻那个纺锤。

The girl went back to the well not knowing what to do, and at last in her distress she jumped into the water after the spindle.

之后的事她全记不得了，直到她醒过来，发现自己躺在一片美丽的草地上，阳光明媚，四周到处盛开着无数的花朵。

She remembered nothing more until she awoke and found herself in a beautiful meadow, full of sunshine, and with countless flowers blooming in every direction.

她穿过草地往前走。不久，她看到一个装满面包的烤炉，炉里的面包朝她大喊：“把我们拿出来，快把我们拿出来！不然哎呀，我们要烧焦啦！我们早就烤透了。”

She walked over the meadow, and presently she came upon a baker’s oven full of bread, and the loaves cried out to her, ‘Take us out, take us out, or alas! we shall be burnt to a cinder; we were baked through long ago.’

于是，她拿起面包铲，把面包全都取了出来。

So she took the bread-shovel and drew them all out.

她又往前走了一会儿，走到一棵结满苹果的树前。树喊道：“求求你，摇摇我，摇摇我吧！我的苹果全都熟透了。”

She went on a little farther, till she came to a tree full of apples. ‘Shake me, shake me, I pray,’ cried the tree; ‘my apples, one and all, are ripe.’

于是她用力摇树，苹果像雨点一样纷纷落下来。她一直摇，直到树上一个苹果也不剩。然后，她仔细地把苹果堆在一起，又继续往前走。

So she shook the tree, and the apples came falling down upon her like rain; but she continued shaking until there was not a single apple left upon it. Then she carefully gathered the apples together in a heap and walked on again.

接着，她来到了一座小房子前。她看到一个老太太探出头来，长着一副极大的牙齿，吓得她转身就想逃跑。但老太太在后面喊她：“亲爱的孩子，你怕什么呢？

The next thing she came to was a little house, and there she saw an old woman looking out, with such large teeth, that she was terrified, and turned to run away. But the old woman called after her, ‘What are you afraid of, dear child?

留在我这里吧。要是你能好好替我做家务，我会让你过得很开心的。

Stay with me; if you will do the work of my house properly for me, I will make you very happy.