豌豆公主

from Andersen’s Fairy Tales

選自《安徒生童話》

There was once a Prince who wanted to marry a princess， but she had to be a real princess. So he travelled about， all through the world， to find a real one， but everywhere there was something in the way. There were princesses enough， but whether they were real princesses he could not quite make out： there was always something that did not seem quite right. So he came home again， and was quite sad； for he wished so much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on. It lightened and thundered， and the rain streamed down； it was quite fearful！ Then there was a knocking at the town-gate， and the old King went out to open it.

It was a beautiful Princess who stood outside the gate. But， mercy！ How she looked， from the rain and the rough weather！ The water ran down her hair and her clothes； it ran in at the points of her shoes， and out at the heels； and yet she declared that she was a real princess.

“Yes， we will soon find that out，” thought the old Queen. But she said nothing， only went into the bedchamber， took all the bedding off， and put a pea on the bottom of the bedstead； then she took twenty mattresses and laid them upon the pea， and then twenty eider-down quilts upon the mattresses. On this the Princess had to lie all night.

In the morning she was asked how she had slept. “Oh， miserably！” said the Princess. “I scarcely closed my eyes all night long. Goodness knows what was in my bed. I lay upon something hard， so that I am black and blue all over. It is quite dreadful！ ”

Now they saw that she was a real princess， for through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down quilts she had felt the pea. No one but a real princess could be so tender-skinned.

So the Prince took her for his wife， for now he knew that he had a true princess and the pea was put in the museum， and it is still to be seen there， unless somebody has carried it off.

從前有一位王子，他想找一位公主結婚，但是她必須是一位真正的公主。他走遍了全世界，想要尋找到一位真正的公主，但不論走到什么地方，總碰到一些障礙。公主倒有的是，但王子無法判斷她們究竟是不是真正的公主：她們總有一些地方不大對頭。所以他只好又回到家，心中很不快活；因為他是多么渴望得到一位真正的公主。

有一天晚上，忽然來了一場可怕的暴風雨。天空在掣電，在打雷，還下著大雨，這真使人有些害怕！這時，有人在敲城門，老國王就走過去開了門。

站在城門外的是一位美麗的公主。可是，天哪！經過風吹雨打之后，她的樣子是多么難看啊！水沿著她的頭發和衣服往下流，流進鞋尖，又從腳跟流出來。而她說她是一位真正的公主。

老皇后心想：“是的，這點我們馬上就可以查出來。”可她什么也沒說，只是走進臥房，把所有的被褥全部搬開，在床榻上放了一粒豌豆；接著她搬出二十張床墊子，把它們壓在豌豆上，隨后又在這些墊子上放了二十床鴨絨被。夜里這位公主就不得不睡在這些東西上面。

早上大家問她昨晚睡得怎樣。“啊，不舒服極了！”公主說，“我差不多整夜都沒有合上眼！天曉得床下有什么東西。有一粒很硬的東西硌著我，弄的我全身發紫，這太可怕了！”

現在大家看出來了，她的確是一位真正的公主。因為壓在這二十層床墊子和二十床鴨絨被下面的一粒豌豆，她居然還能感覺得出來。除了真正的公主以外，任何人都不會有這么稚嫩的皮膚的。

因此那位王子就選她做妻子了，因為他知道他得到了一位真正的公主。而這粒豌豆也因此送進了博物館。如果沒有人把它拿走的話，人們現在還可以在那兒看到它呢。

Vocabulary

stream：流，流動

mercy：寬容，憐憫

declare：宣布，聲明

mattress：床墊，褥墊

eider-down：鴨絨毛的

tender-skinned：皮膚嬌嫩的