萵苣姑娘

湖北省荊門市掇刀中學 吳文江編譯

Once upon a time,there lived a man and a woman.Behind their house was a garden full of exotic flowers and herbs.However,the garden belonged to a witch,and it had a high wall,so no one dared to go in.從前有一對夫婦，他們家后面有一個美麗的花園，里面長滿了奇花異草。可是，這個花園是女巫的，花園的周圍有一道高墻，誰也不敢進去。

One day,the wife saw the green and fresh lettuce,and her appetite was aroused.But when she knew that she could never eat the lettuce,she became very sad.She told her husband if she couldn’t eat the lettuce in the garden,she would die.一天，妻子看到了花園里綠油油、水靈靈的萵苣，她的食欲突然膨脹。當她知道自己吃不到它們的時候，痛苦不堪。她對丈夫說如果她吃不到后園里的萵苣，她就會死。

The man loved his wife so much that he decided to get some lettuce for her.At dusk,he climbed over the wall and slipped into the garden.Rapidly,he pulled up some lettuce.The wife made a salad with the lettuce and devoured it.丈夫非常愛她，決定給她弄些萵苣來。黃昏時分，他翻過圍墻，溜進了花園，飛快地拔了一把萵苣回來。妻子把萵苣做成沙拉，狼吞虎咽地吃了下去。

The lettuce was so tasty that she wanted to eat it the next day.To satisfy his wife,he slipped into the garden again.But when he came down,he was startled,for the witch was just in front of him.萵苣的味道好極了，第二天她又想吃萵苣了。為了滿足妻子，丈夫再次翻進女巫的花園。可當他從墻上爬下來時嚇了一跳，因為女巫就站在他的面前。

“How dare you steal my lettuce!”shouted the witch angrily.“Please have mercy on me.I do this because I have no choice.My wife saw your lettuce and wanted to eat,or she would die.”她怒氣沖沖地說：“你好大的膽子，竟敢偷我的萵苣！”他回答說：“可憐可憐我吧，我是沒辦法才這樣做的。我妻子看到了你的萵苣就想吃，吃不到就會死去。”

Then the witch said,“You can get my lettuce.But you must give me your future child.”Much frightened,the husband agreed.女巫說：“你可以采我的萵苣，但你必須把你們將來的孩子交給我。”丈夫害怕了，只好答應了女巫。

As soon as the wife gave birth to a daughter,the witch came,named her Lettuce Girl,and left with the child.妻子剛剛生下他們的女兒，女巫就來了，給孩子取名“萵苣”，然后就把孩子帶走了。

16 years passed,Lettuce Girl grew into a most beautiful girl.The witch shut her in a high tower without stairs and doors，with only a small window.Whenever the witch wanted to go in,she shouted,“Lettuce Girl,droop your hair.”十六年過去了，他們的女兒長成了一個漂亮的女孩。女巫把她關進了一座既沒有樓梯也沒有門，只有一扇小窗戶的高塔里。每當女巫想進去，她就站在塔下叫道：“萵苣姑娘，把你的頭發垂下來。”

Lettuce Girl had bushy hair.Upon hearing the call,she loosened her hair,rolled the top around a window hook,and droopped down her hair.Then,the witch climbed up along the hair.萵苣姑娘有著濃密的長發。每當她聽到女巫的命令，便松開她的頭發，把頂端繞在一個窗鉤上放下來。女巫便順著長發爬上去。

One day,a prince rode by the tower.He stopped when he heard the beautiful singing.It was Lettuce Girl who was singing.The prince wanted to climb up to see her,but he could not find the door.一天，一位王子騎馬路過這座塔。他聽到美妙的歌聲，不由得停了下來。唱歌的正是萵苣姑娘，王子想爬到塔頂上去看她，可怎么也找不到門。

The next day,he saw the witch shout,“Lettuce Girl,droop your hair.”Then she climbed up along the hair.At dusk,the prince shouted in the same way.第二天，他看到女巫沖著塔頂叫道：“萵苣姑娘，把你的頭發垂下來。”女巫順著垂下的發辮爬了上去。傍晚，王子也說了同樣的話。

The hair was drooped down at once.Then he climbed up.Lettuce Girl was scared.The prince told her that he was moved by her singing.The Prince asked if she was willing to marry him,she agreed.頭發立刻垂了下來，王子爬了上去，萵苣姑娘嚇壞了。王子說他被她的歌聲打動了。他問萵苣姑娘愿不愿意嫁給他，她答應了。

“I want to go with you.But I don’t know how.Please bring me a thread each time you come.And I will make a ladder.”The witch always came at daytime,so the prince decided to come at night.她說：“我愿意跟你一起走，可我不知道怎么下去。你每次來的時候都給我帶一根線吧，我要編一個梯子。”因為女巫總是白天來，所以他倆商定王子每天傍晚來。

Everything went on well until one day Lettuce Girl asked why the witch was heavier than the prince.“You dare cheat me!”shouted the witch.She angrily cut Lettuce Girl’s hair.Then,she sent Lettuce Girl to the wilds.一切進展順利，直到有一天萵苣姑娘不小心說了句女巫比王子重多了。女巫嚷道：“你竟敢欺騙我！”她怒氣沖沖地剪掉了萵苣姑娘的頭發。然后，把她送到荒野中。

The day Lettuce Girl was sent away，the witch tied the hair to a window hook.When the prince came,the witch drooped the hair to let him climb up.萵苣姑娘被送走的當天，女巫把剪下來的辮子綁在塔頂的窗鉤上。王子來了，女巫放下頭發，王子爬了上去。

However,he didn’t see Lettuce Girl.“Ah! ”the witch laughed,“You came to meet your lover?She was caught by a cat.”The prince was so angry that he rushed to the witch,but the witch threw him out of the tower.His eyes became blind because of thorns.然而，他沒有見到萵苣姑娘。“啊哈！”女巫嘲弄王子說，“你是來見你的心上人的吧？她被貓抓走了。”王子十分生氣，朝女巫沖過去，但是被女巫扔出塔外，雙眼被荊棘扎瞎了。

Several years passed,Lettuce Girl already had a twin daughter and a twin son.The prince cried in the forest every day.One day Lettuce Girl recognized the prince in the forest and cried.The tears wetted his eyes that they restored light.好幾年過去了，萵苣姑娘已經生下了一對雙胞胎兒女。王子每天在森林里哭泣。有一天，萵苣姑娘在森林里認出了王子，哭了起來。她的眼淚潤濕了他的眼睛，王子恢復了光明。

Then the prince returned to his kingdom with Lettuce Girl and their children.From then on,they lived a happy life.王子帶著萵苣姑娘和他們的兒女回到自己的王國。從此，他們過著幸福的生活。