世上最美之物

\"I am bored，\" announced the queen.

Her advisor pressed his fingers together. \"Some music， Your Majesty？\"

The queen gave a slight nod. But when the court musicians started playing something she had heard a dozen times before， she sent them away.

Her advisor tugged1） at his moustache. \"The court acrobats2）， then？\"

The queen nodded again. But their flips and turns did not raise her spirits.

\"What you need，\" said the advisor， \"is a true diversion3）. A contest， perhaps.\"

The queen sat a little taller. \"A contest， you say？\" Then she sank back into her throne. \"Whatever of？\"

Her advisor furrowed4） his brow. \"New music， perhaps？\"

The queen waved her hand.

\"A baking competition？\"

The queen frowned.

Her advisor started to sweat. \"I know！ A contest of the best portrait of Her Highness.\"

The queen chortled5）. \"Please. I already know what I look like. Besides， the hall is brimming6） with portraits.\"

She rose and started pacing7）. \"I am tired of all this，\" she said， gesturing to the room. \"I need a different sort of beauty. Something that can take one's breath away8）.\"

She gestured to her scribe9）. \"Let everyone know that the Queen is holding a contest for the most beautiful thing in the world. And the prize，\" she paused， \"the prize shall be this crown.\"

Her staff gasped10）. The queen's crown was pure gold， studded with magnificent gems. There was no treasure like it in the whole country.

The announcement was made. Before long， a constant line of hopefuls formed. People showed their poetry， their daughters， even their animals. After several days， the queen had a pounding headache.

\"This is hopeless，\" she muttered.

\"Not quite hopeless， Your Majesty.\"

The queen sat up， wondering who dare contradict11） her.

A bearded man stood behind the palace guards. \"I can put an end to this madness， Your Highness.\"

The queen raised an eyebrow. \"You have brought me the most beautiful thing？\"

The man laughed. \"Not I. Nor anyone here. I have stood in line for two days as your faithful servant to tell you that you seek that which cannot be brought to you. You must go to it.\" The man gave a deep bow. \"That is all.\"

The queen paused， astonished. When she found her voice again she asked， \"Whatever do you mean？\" But the man was gone.

The queen's advisor twisted his hat. \"Do not bother yourself with the prattle12） of a madman， Your Highness，\" he said.

But the fever of an idea had struck the queen. \"Send the rest home，\" she ordered， pointing to the people still waiting in line. \"I must prepare for a trip.\"

The advisor nearly dropped his hat. \"A trip？ Where？\"

The queen smiled as she had not done since she was a child. \"Elsewhere！\"

A royal trip， even one as odd as this， doesn't just happen. Wardrobes13） and food wagons must be prepared. Soldiers， footmen， and ladies-in-waiting must ready themselves. But after several days of bustle， the royal procession was ready. By now， the Queen was cured of her boredom， and almost delirious14） to see what awaited.

The queen was not sure what she was seeking， or where to find it. But as her entourage15） rounded a hill， she looked back to her royal home and felt something stir16） within her. Between the glow of the setting sun and the gleam of the white towers， the scene looked like something out of a storybook. \"Why，\" she wondered， \"have I never seen my home this way before？\"

The queen spent weeks travelling. She saw beauty in the peasants coaxing17） life out of the dirt. She saw it in the birds taking one last flight before roosting18） for the night. In a newly born calf. In the stars twinkling at night. But what was the most beautiful thing？

One day， the queen sailed a lake. In the middle of the water， she realized that she was at peace—and that she had been for many days. Suddenly， she understood. With all her might， she tore a piece of her crown off. She tossed the fragment into the lake and watched it slowly sink. \"I am ready to return home，\" she announced.

As she journeyed back， the queen left a piece of crown at a small country church. She left a piece at the root of a centuries-old tree. She placed a piece at the bottom of a lush valley and the top of a snow-capped mountain. When her procession stumbled upon a spring， bubbling water from the ground， she added a piece there. She dug a piece into the newly turned dirt in a field. She threaded a piece into the mane19） of a fine filly20）. Little by little， the queen's crown got smaller until nothing was left.

She had found the most beautiful thing. It was the world.

“好無聊啊。”女王宣稱。

女王的顧問對壓了一下十指。“陛下，要奏樂嗎？”

女王輕輕點點頭。但是，當宮廷樂師們開始演奏某首她已聽過十幾遍的樂曲時，女王就讓他們退下了。

顧問扯了扯自己的八字胡。“那，要不召宮里的雜技演員來？”

女王又點點頭。但他們的跳轉翻騰也沒有讓她提起精神。

“您需要的，”顧問說，“是一種真正的消遣。或許是一場比賽。”

女王稍稍坐直了些。“你是說，一場比賽？”然后她又往后一靠坐回了王位。“什么比賽？”

顧問皺了皺眉。“要不，編奏新的樂曲？”

女王擺了擺手。

“烘焙比賽？”

女王蹙起了眉頭。

她的顧問開始冒汗。“我知道了！就比誰能為陛下畫出最好的畫像。”

女王咯咯地笑起來。“拜托，我已經知道我長什么樣子了。再說，這大殿里已經掛滿了我的畫像。”

女王站起來，開始踱來踱去。“我厭倦了所有這一切，”她指著皇宮說，“我需要一種不一樣的美，一種能動人心魄的美。”

她擺手向自己的書吏示意。“昭告天下，女王將舉辦比賽，評選世上最美的事物。獎品，”她頓了一下說，“獎品將會是這個王冠。”

她的臣子們倒抽了一口氣。女王的王冠是純金打造的，上面鑲嵌著華麗的寶石。全國上下沒有一件比這還珍貴的寶物。

告示發布下去了。沒過多久，就源源不斷地來了很多滿懷希望的參賽者。人們展示他們的詩歌、女兒，甚至是動物。幾天之后，女王就頭痛得厲害。

“沒希望了。”她喃喃自語。

“陛下，也并不是那么沒有希望。”

女王坐起來，想知道是誰膽敢反駁她。

一個大胡子男人站在宮廷侍衛的身后。“陛下，我可以結束這場瘋狂的競爭。”

女王揚起一只眉毛。“你給我帶來了最美的東西？”

男子笑了起來。“我沒有，這里的任何人都沒有。作為您忠實的仆人，我在此排隊兩天，只為告訴您，您所尋求的東西人們無法給您帶來。您必須自己去尋找。”這位男子深深地鞠了一躬。“我要說的就這么多。”

女王頓住了，驚愕萬分。當她再次可以開口說話時，她問道：“你說的是什么意思？”可是那人已經離開了。

女王的顧問胡亂揉著自己的帽子。“陛下，不要為了一個瘋子的胡言亂語煩惱。”他說。

但是女王的心里已然蹦出來一個狂熱的想法。“讓剩下的參選者回去吧。”她指著仍在排隊等候的人們下了命令。“我必須準備一次旅行。”

顧問手里的帽子差點掉在地上。“旅行？去哪兒？”

女王微微一笑，那種笑是她自從孩童時代以后就再沒有過的。“其他地方！”

皇家出行——即使是像這么奇怪的一次——也不能立馬成行。衣櫥和糧車需要準備好。士兵、侍者以及侍女也都需要做好準備。不過經過幾天的忙碌后，皇家出行隊伍準備就緒了。事到如今，女王已不再覺得無聊，甚至幾乎欣喜若狂地想看到等待她的是什么。

女王并不清楚自己在尋找什么，或是在哪里可以找到。但是，當她的隨從隊伍翻過一座山時，她回頭望了望她的王宮，感到有什么東西觸動了她的內心。在夕陽的斜照和那些白色塔樓的微光之中，王宮的景色看上去就像是從故事書里出來的一樣。“為什么我之前從來沒有這樣看過我的家？”她很好奇。

女王旅行了好幾個星期。 在從泥土里耐心培育出生命的農民身上，她看到了美。在小鳥們夜晚歸巢前的最后一次飛翔中，她看到了美。在一頭剛出生的牛犢身上，在夜空一閃一閃的群星中，她也看到了美。但什么才是最美麗的呢？

有一天，女王乘船游湖。在湖中心，她意識到自己的內心很安寧——而且許多天以來，她一直都是這樣。突然之間，她明白了。女王用盡全力從自己的王冠上掰下了一小片，將它扔進了湖里，看著它慢慢沉了下去。“準備回宮。”女王宣布。

在回宮的途中，女王在一座鄉村小教堂留下了一塊王冠碎片，在一棵數百年老樹的樹根下留下了一塊碎片，在一處郁郁蔥蔥的山谷谷底、在一座白雪皚皚的大山的山頂各留下了一塊。當她的出行隊伍碰巧遇上一處從地底汩汩冒出的溫泉時，她在那里留下了一塊。她將一塊王冠碎片埋進了一片新犁過的土地里，還將一塊王冠碎片穿到了一匹漂亮小雌馬的鬃毛里。漸漸地，女王的王冠越來越小，直到一塊也沒有了。

她已經找到了最美的事物。那就是世界。