St. Joseph in the Forest

THERE WAS once upon a time a mother who had three daughters， the eldest of whom was rude and wicked， the second much better. although she had her faults， but the youngest was a pious， good child. The mother， however， was so strange， that it was just the eldest daughter whom she most loved， and she could not bear the youngest. On this account， she often sent the poor girl out into the great forest in order to get rid of her， for she thought she would lose herself and never come back again. But the guardianangel which every good child has， did not forsake her. Once， however， the gardianangel behaved as if he were not there， and the child could not find her way out of the forest again. She walked on constantly until evening came， and then she saw a tiny light burning in the distance， ran up to it at once， and came to a little hut. She knocked， the door opened. An old man， who had a snow-white beard and looked venerable， opened it for her； and he was no other than St. Joseph. He said quite kindly： “Come， dear child， seat yourself on my little chair by the fire， and warm yourself； I will fetch you clear water if you are thirsty； but here in the forest， I have nothing for you to eat but a couple of little roots， which you must first scrape and boil.”

很久以前，有一個母親，她養了三個女兒。老大粗魯邪惡；老二就好多了，盡管她有自己的不足；老三是一個虔誠的好孩子。可是母親挺奇怪，她最喜歡長女，受不了小女兒。因此，她經常打發這個可憐的姑娘到大森林里，為的就是擺脫她，因為她想這樣女兒走丟了就再也不回來了。每一個善良的孩子都有的保護天使沒有背棄她。可是有一回，好像保護天使不在似的，這個孩子找不到離開森林的路了。傍晚來臨，她還在不停地走。就在這時她在遠處看到亮著一點光，立刻跑向它，來到一間小房子跟前。她敲了敲門，門開了。一個老漢為她打開了門。只見他胡須雪白，一臉莊嚴，正是圣·約瑟夫。他說話非常溫柔：“請進，親愛的孩子。坐在爐子旁邊的小椅子上暖和一下吧。如果你渴了， 我給你取干凈水來。可是在森林里沒有什么吃的，只有一些小根，你可以先削皮再放水煮。”

St. Joseph gave her the roots. The girl scraped them clean， then she brought a piece of pancake and the bread that her mother had given her to take with her； mixed all together in a pan， and cooked herself a thick soup. When it was ready， St. Joseph said： "I am so hungry； give me some of your food." The child was quite willing， and gave him more than she kept for herself， but God's blessing was with her， so that she was satisfied. When they had eaten， St. Joseph said： "Now we will go to bed； I have， however， only one bed， lay yourself in it. I will lie on the ground on the straw.” “No，” answered she， “stay in your own bed， the straw is soft enough for me.” But St. Joseph took the child in his arms， and carried her into the little bed， and there she said her prayers， and fell asleep. Next morning when she awoke， she wanted to say good morning to St. Joseph， but she didnt see him. Then she got up and looked for him， but could not find him anywhere； at last she perceived， behind the door， a bag with money so heavy that she could just carry it， and on it was written that it was for the child who had slept there that night. On this she took the bag， bounded away with it， and got safely to her mother， and as she gave her mother all the money， she could not help being satisfied with her.

圣·約瑟夫給了她根。這個姑娘把它們刮好，然后用隨身攜帶的母親準備好的一塊烙餅和面包跟它們拌起來，給自己做了一份濃湯。做好湯后，圣·約瑟夫說：“我太餓了，把你的食物給我些。”這個孩子非常樂意，并給了他一多半。由于上帝保佑他，她很滿足。他們一起吃完了晚餐，圣·約瑟夫說：“我們該上床睡覺了；可是我只有一張床，你用吧。我躺在地上的稻草上睡就行了。” 圣·約瑟夫抱起孩子，放到小床上。女孩在那做了禱告，睡著了，第二天早上她醒來后，想跟圣·約瑟夫問好，但是到處找不到他。最后，她在門后發現一個錢袋，好沉，但她恰好能背動，上面寫著錢給昨晚睡在這里的孩子。看到這句話，她帶上袋子，綁好它，安全地返回家。她把所有的錢都給了母親，母親禁不住對她產生了好感。

The next day， the second child also took a fancy to go into the forest. It happened with her just as with the first child. So she took the little bag and ran home with it， and took it to her mother， but she secretly kept two pieces for herself.

第二天，第二個孩子也開心地走進森林。在她身上發生了和第一個孩子一樣的事情。于是帶上了小袋子，跑回家，把錢給了母親。可是她偷偷地給自己藏了兩個硬幣。

The eldest daughter had by this time grown inquisitive， and the next morning also insisted on going out into the forest. In the evening she found St. Joseph in his little hut. When the soup was ready and St. Joseph said： "I am so hungry， give me some of the food，" the girl answered： "Wait until I am satisfied； then if there is anything left you shall have it." But she ate nearly the whole of it， and St. Joseph had to scrape the dish. Afterwards， the good old man offered her his bed， and wanted to lie on the straw. She took it without making any opposition， laid herself down in the little bed， and left the hard straw to the white-haired man. Next morning when she awoke， St Joseph was not to be found， but she did not trouble herself about that. She looked behind the door for a money-bag. She fancied something was lying on the ground， but as she could not very well distinguish what it was， she stooped down， so that she touched it with her nose， where it remained hanging， and when she got up again， she saw， to her horror， that it was a second nose， which was hanging fast to her own. Then she began to scream and howl， but that did no good； she always had to look at her nose， for it stretched out so far. Then she ran out and screamed without stopping till she met St. Joseph， at whose feet she fell and begged until out of pity， he took the nose off her again， and even gave her two farthings. When she got home， her mother was standing before the door， and asked： "What have you had given to you？ Then she lied and said： "A great bag of money， but I have lost it on the way.” "Lost it！" cried the mother； "oh， but we will soon find it again，" and took her by the hand， and wanted to seek it with her. At first she began to cry， and did not wish to go， but at last she went. On the way， however so many lizards and snakes broke loose on both of them， that they did not know how to save themselves. At last they stung the wicked child to death， and they stung the mother in the foot， because she had not brought her up better.

這次長女非常好奇，第二天早上她也堅持要到森林里。傍晚時分，她發現圣·約瑟夫在他的小房子里。做好湯的時候，圣·約瑟夫說：“我餓了，請給我一些食物。”姑娘回答道：“等我吃好了，要是還有剩的，你再吃。”結果她吃完了幾乎所有的，圣·約瑟夫只能喝個盤子底。后來，好心的老漢讓她睡自己的床，表示自己睡稻草。她沒有表示任何異議，理所當然地接受了。自己躺在小床上睡覺，卻讓白胡子老人睡在硬硬的草上。第二天早上醒來后，她再也沒有找到圣·約瑟夫，可是她才不會為此心煩呢。她徑直看門后找錢袋。她心里想著什么東西正在地上。但由于她分不清那是什么。她俯身下去，鼻子碰了它，一切還好。等到她再起身的時候，她害怕地看見又一個鼻子牢牢地貼在自己的上面。然后她開始哀號吼叫，卻沒有起到任何作用。她不自然地看著她的鼻子，它伸出去好長。然后她跑出屋，不停地喊，直到遇到圣·約瑟夫才停下來。她跪在他的腳邊乞求幫助，直到她從內心發出同情她的苦苦哀求，圣·約瑟夫又幫她取下了第二個鼻子，還給了她二分之一便士。等到她到家時，母親站在門前問：“人家給了你什么，你帶回來了？”她撒了個謊，說：“一大袋錢，可是在路上丟了。”“丟了！”母親大叫，“哦，我們快點再把它找回來。”母親抓住她的手，想跟她一起找錢袋去。起先她開始大聲嚷叫，不愿意去，但后來她去尋找了。在路上，很多蜥蜴和蛇出現，可是她們不知道如何制服它們，進行自救。 最后它們蟄死了壞孩子，刺傷了母親的腳，因為她沒有管教好孩子。

【作者簡介】趙婷，中國礦業大學，張家口學院。