每個國家都有一個“灰姑娘”的故事

導讀：迪士尼和格林童話都不是灰姑娘故事的起源。事實上，灰姑娘的故事非常久遠，幾乎每個國家都有自己的版本。據記載，灰姑娘最古老的版本之一出現在約公元860年的中國。

One of the oldest documented versions of the story appeared in China， around 860. In that version， Ye Xian is an incredibly beautiful， kind and gentle girl， who is gifted in many skills such as pottery and poetry. She befriends a fish which embodies the spirit of her mother， but Ye Xians stepmother kills the fish.

據記載，灰姑娘最古老的一個版本出現在約公元860年的中國。在這一版本的故事中，女主人公名叫葉限，是個善良溫柔、多才多藝的美麗姑娘，她擅長陶藝、作詩等。葉限和母親化身的魚成了好朋友，但她的繼母把魚給殺了。

Ye Xian saves the bones of the fish which are magical and creates her a gown for the New Year Festival where she is recognized by her stepmother and stepsister. While running away from them， she loses her slipper. The king finds the slipper， falls in love with Ye Xian and saves her from the cruelty she lives in.

葉限將魚骨保存起來，這些有魔力的魚骨為她變出了一件參加新年慶典的禮服。葉限在慶典上被繼母和同父異母的姐姐認了出來，在逃走的時候，她的鞋子跑丟了。君王拾得了鞋子，愛上了葉限，并將她從水深火熱之中救了出來。

There are also a few interesting versions of the story from Iran and the Middle East. One of them is titled as the “Maah Pishànih” which means “The Girl With The Moon On Her Forehead.” These versions have a different beginning of the story—Cinderella kills her mother so that her father could marry the Quran observer in the neighborhood. But her new stepmother is very cruel and her stepsister is stupid and mean.

伊朗和中東地區也有幾個很有意思的版本，其中一個版本叫作“額頭戴月的女孩”。這些版本的情節一開始有些不一樣。灰姑娘殺死了自己的母親，這樣父親就可以和信奉伊斯蘭教的鄰居結婚。而她的繼母非常惡毒，繼母的女兒也愚蠢自私。

She is harassed and lonely， so she befriends either a cow （her mothers spirit） or a 1000-year-old， underground female demon which becomes her helper.

灰姑娘受盡屈辱，孤獨寂寞，于是她跟一頭牛（她母親的化身）成了朋友。在另一版本中，灰姑娘和一個神秘的千年女妖成了朋友，她后來成了灰姑娘的幫手。

After working hard for her stepmother， she is rewarded with a moon-shaped jewel on her forehead. Then， one day， respectively to the culture， the Sultan， eventually the King， sees her face at a celebration. She escapes as she feels embarrassed （Islamic women should hide their face and stay reserved in front of men） but the King falls in love with her. The plot is pretty similar to the familiar story.

灰姑娘辛辛苦苦為繼母工作，終于得到了一個月亮形狀的額飾。一天，蘇丹（某些伊斯蘭國家對統治者的稱呼）在一場慶典上看到了灰姑娘的容貌，灰姑娘覺得很害羞（在伊斯蘭文化中，女性應該遮面，且在男性面前表現得矜持），于是她逃走了。但蘇丹對她一見鐘情，后面的故事情節就是我們熟知的了。

Also， there are some elements of the story that vary in the different versions and make it creepy and frightening. For example， Disneys motion picture from 1950 is based on the Brothers Grimm version but the original Grimms story is scarier than the movie.endprint

在不同版本的灰姑娘故事里，也有一些恐怖嚇人的情節。例如，1950年改編自《格林童話》的迪士尼動畫版《灰姑娘》，其原版故事比電影更加恐怖。

In this version， Cinderellas stepsisters cut off their toes so the golden slipper would fit their feet. Also， instead of a godmother， there is a wishing tree next to her mothers grave.

在原來的版本中，灰姑娘的姐姐們為了穿上水晶鞋，切掉自己的腳趾；另外，幫助灰姑娘的也不是仙女教母，而是她母親墳墓旁的一棵許愿樹。

Considering Cinderellas father， in some versions， he stands with his wife （Cinderellas stepmother） and humiliates his daughter. In other， he isnt aware of the situation or hes presented as being away on a trip or as deceased.

在某些版本中，灰姑娘的父親與繼母一同羞辱自己的女兒。而在另外一些版本中，灰姑娘的父親要么對灰姑娘的遭遇全然不知，要么就是出門在外，或是已經去世。

There are versions of the story where the stepmother doesnt appear at all and Cinderella is harassed by her stepsisters. Sometimes the antagonist is rather a stepfather who oppresses her because he wants to enlarge the dowry of his daughters on account of Cinderellas belongings.

在有些版本中，繼母根本沒有出現，虐待灰姑娘的是她同父異母的姐妹。而在有些版本中，欺負灰姑娘的是繼父，因為他覬覦她的財產，想給自己的女兒爭得更多嫁妝。

Word Study

version /'v????n/ n. 版本；改寫本

The English version of the novel is due for publication next year.

cruelty /'kru??lti/ n. 殘忍；殘暴

The cruelty of his words cut her like a knife.

humiliate /hju?'m?lie?t/ v. 羞辱；使喪失尊嚴

I didnt want to humiliate her in front of her colleagues.

oppress /?'pres/ v. 壓迫；欺壓

The gloomy atmosphere in the office oppressed me.endprint