[翻译大赛NO2.]汉斯和他的四个巨人

原文链接：http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=harrison&book=storyland&story=hans
作者：
Elizabeth Harrison189519世纪末20世纪初，伊丽莎白.哈里森是国家童话运动的先驱。她的部分著作被列于国家圣路易斯大学的介绍里，这所大学的前身是哈里森小姐在1886年建立的师范学校。

《汉斯和他的四个巨人》      从前有一个小男孩的名字是汉斯。在他的家乡，高耸的树木围绕着每一户人家，林荫间长满丰盛的绿草。汉斯热爱他的家。他喜欢听鸟儿唱歌，喜欢看他们在空中翱翔，他常常把面包屑扔地上给鸟儿们喂食。他喜欢种在他们家后花园里那些鲜红色，蓝色和黄色的花朵。那些花蕊里散发出来的，让人捉摸不到的香气使他心旷神怡。因此，当它们看起来很干渴时，他总是会很乐意地去给它们浇水。后来他的母亲便教他如何在孱弱的葡萄藤旁边插入坚硬的木棒，好让它们往有阳光的地方攀爬。汉斯还喜欢那只可爱的老母鸡和那些毛茸茸的小鸡，而它们也不怕啄他手掌里的谷物颗粒。事实上，汉斯喜爱所有的事物，所有和他有关的人，上至在他头顶闪烁的美丽星空，下至在泥里蠕动的小毛毛虫。
      他就是一个开心的小家伙，总是在忙碌，总是想为别人做点什么。
      不久，他长成一个又高又壮的小伙子。因为家里穷又很需要钱，所以他便常常和他爸爸一起去森林里砍柴，好多赚点钱来给他妈妈还有三个弟弟买吃的穿的。
      直到有一天，小汉斯终于变得如此高大，已经可以被称为年轻人了的时候，他的爸爸对他说：“汉斯，我的好男孩，现在是时候让你自己出门去独立生活了。你的二弟会帮我砍柴，三弟可以帮妈妈在家里做些家务活。你必须去社会闯荡一番，要学会照顾自己，总有一天，我和你妈妈都会老到不能工作，到时就轮到你来照顾我们啦。”
      因此汉斯的妈妈帮他把衣物打包好，然后和他吻别，说：“汉斯，我亲爱的儿子，你要一直做个勇敢正直的人，上帝会保佑你的。”汉斯告别了他的父母亲和弟弟们后，便踏上了旅途。

他走了很长的路，不久来到一座大城市，那座城市里的房屋座落在昏暗的烟雾里，马路上车水马龙鸣笛不停。过了一段时间，他找到了一份在一个铁匠铺里打工的工作。虽然这份工作又脏又累，当他把铁锤砸在那烫得发红的铁上时总会迸发出些火花，但汉斯慢慢就适应了。最终他终于能像铁匠老板那样，把一块硬铁塑造成一块完好的马蹄铁，他觉得自己还挺不错的。汉斯不知道，因为这份艰难的工作，他的手臂在慢慢地变结实，肩膀也在慢慢地变宽，愈发显得有男子汉气概。

每天，汉斯都会看到一个漂亮的公主乘着马车从铁匠铺前经过。她是世上最美的公主，大家都被她的金发碧眼所吸引，但最迷人的是她甜美的笑容。汉斯经常在心里默念：“要是我能服侍这个可爱的小公主那该多好啊！”后来，有一天，他来到皇宫大门口，问门卫在皇宫里是否有他可以做的活。
      “你会做什么？”门卫问。
      “我愿意做任何国王希望有人帮他完成的事情。 ”汉斯回答。
      于是门卫便把他应到国王寝宫的门卫那儿。
      “你会做什么？”国王寝宫的门卫问了同样的问题。
      “我愿意做任何国王希望有人帮他完成的事情。 ”汉斯回答。

于是国王寝宫的门将告诉国王，有一个又高又壮，一心想服侍他的年轻人想见他。“带他来见我。”国王说。当汉斯来到国王面前时，国王将他上下打量了一番，问：“你会做什么，年轻人？”汉斯还是依旧回答道：“我愿誓死为陛下效力。服侍美丽的公主。”
      “你保证你会？”国王质疑。“好，现在先让我来考考你。在北海的海底，有一串施了魔法的珍珠。如果你能给我拿到那串珍珠，那你就能来照顾我的公主女儿，而且也有有一天我还能让你来统治一个省份。哈，天晓得哟！” 国王说着自己哈哈大笑起来。

汉斯天生就是个乐观的人，转身就出了皇宫。第二天他便启程去北海。不停地走啊走，长途跋涉，直到他累得不行才停下来。当他停下里休息时，他看到前面有个穿着奇装异服的巨人正匆匆忙忙地赶路。

“早上好。”汉斯追上那个巨人，说道。“你好高大啊！””
      “是的。”巨人低头看着汉斯，回答道。“我得又威猛又强壮。你要去哪呢年轻人？”
      “你能走多块？”汉斯问。
      “我走起路来比一条长腿猎狗跑的还快。”巨人说，“当我跑起来，奔腾的河流都赶不上我。”
      “真的？”汉斯惊呼。 
      “哈，那你一定是个好伴侣！要是你能跟我一起走多好啊！我正赶着去为国王取回一条珍珠项链呢，因为我想服侍那漂亮的公主。”
“要真是那样，”巨人说道，“我倒愿意跟你一起走。”

两人便一边赶路一边聊天，走着走着，汉斯看到一块躺在路边像是大圆石的东西。然而当他们走上前去看时，他才发现原来是另外一个巨人，正躺在路边睡觉呢。火辣辣的阳光直射在那巨人的脸上。“在这等我，”汉斯说，“我去砍些树枝来，帮这个可怜的人挡挡阳光。阳光这么毒辣，会把他烤焦的。”
      听到这些话，那个巨人大笑起来。“哈哈！”他笑着说，“你不知道他是谁？他是我的一个邻居，他的视力可强了，连1米外在树叶间飞的苍蝇他都能看到！”
      巨人的大笑声把那个正在睡觉的巨人吵醒了。他睁开他的大眼，盯着汉斯。“喂小子，你在干嘛？”他生气地咆哮道。
      “噢，没什么没什么，”汉斯说，“我只是想把这些树枝插进土里，好帮你的眼睛抵挡阳光。”
      “呸！”那个大巨人坐起身来，“难道你不知道我的眼睛是可以强悍到直视正午的阳光吗？”
      “是的是的。”汉斯赶忙说，“你肯定是个无比厉害的巨人！我希望你能和我们一起走。我也许需要你那厉害的视力来帮忙，因为我正要去北海寻找那条躺在海底的魔法珍珠项链。”
      “噢！如果是这样，我想我可以和你们一起走。”

于是，汉斯和两个大巨人变走在了一起。他们走了没三四百米，汉斯又瞥见一个巨人坐在大树下乘凉。当他们往他走去时，一阵风把巨人的帽子吹走了。“我帮你拿回来。”汉斯喊道，追着那顶帽子跑去。然而还没等他跑到帽子落下的地方，巨人一伸手就把帽子捡回来，重新戴到头上。三个巨人都被汉斯逗得捧腹大笑。
    “难道你不知道他是那个可以把手伸到500码远的巨人？”那个长腿巨人问。
      “不不，”汉斯辩解，高兴地拍起手。“你正是我需要的巨人啊！等我到了北海，你就可以伸手帮我从海底把被施了魔法的珍珠项链捞起来。你愿意和我一起走帮助我吗？”
      这个新认识的巨人想了一会说：“噢，行。如果我对你有帮助的话，那我就和你们一起走。”

于是汉斯和其他3个巨人欢欢喜喜地继续前往北海的旅程。他们还没走多远，汉斯看到在不远处又有一个巨人正安静地倚靠在一块巨石上。在他们走到他那儿之前，他似乎一直在沉思，因此并没有看到汉斯和他的旅伴。汉斯注意到，这个巨人的两只耳朵都被棉花塞着。“你耳朵痛吗？”汉斯问。“也许我可以帮你减轻耳痛。”
      “噢，不用，”巨人说道，“我只想用棉花塞耳朵来阻止某些我不想听到的声音。如果不这么做，百米外的人在说什么我都能听得清清楚楚。”
“哇，你真是个有用的巨人！”汉斯惊叹。“你愿意和我一起走吗？等我拿到珍珠项链，你就能告诉我把它带回皇宫是否安全。”
这个巨人脾气很好，说：“你觉得你会需要到我，真的吗？好，我和你一起走。”

所以，汉斯和四个巨人一路来到了北海。他们踏上一艘小船，把它划到海中央。那个有着千里眼的巨人很快就发现了珍珠项链躺在海底的哪个位置。然后那个长臂巨人便伸手把它从海里捞起来放到船里。这样，汉斯和巨人们拿到项链后便把船划回岸边。
      他们一踏上岸，那个有着顺风耳的巨人就把塞在他右耳里的棉花取出来，听听皇宫里正在说些什么。他听见宫殿里议论纷纷，说是明晚那儿将为美丽的公主举行盛大的生日庆典，全城瞩目。于是他把这些告诉汉斯，那个飞毛腿巨人还停下来让汉斯爬到他背上坐在他肩膀上，三步并作两步地，比鸟飞得还快。他们及时地赶到了宫殿，就在国王正准备让他宝贝女儿在他旁边坐下时，汉斯出现了——他手捧魔法珍珠项链，毕恭毕敬地把它献给国王。
    国王拿到那串项链，非常开心，马上就允许汉斯做公主的侍卫。后来，汉斯对公主一直忠心耿耿，公主因此也被打动了，深深地爱上了他。终于有一天，他们结婚了。而老国王死后，汉斯便当上了国王，公主变成了王后。如你所知，汉斯细心照顾他的老父亲老母亲，而他和王后两人还认真治国，使他的臣民们生活勤勉而身心愉悦。
      汉斯还挽留他的四个朋友，就是那些巨人，来他的王国住下。而且在他们的帮助下，他的王国变成地球上最繁华富有的国度，世界各地的游人都争相来游览。

------------------------------------
原文：

Elizabeth Harrison1895Elizabeth Harrison was a leader in the Kindergarten movement in this country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of her achievements are listed in this Introduction to National-Louis University, that evolved from Miss Harrison's Training School that she founded in 1886.
HANS AND THE FOUR BIG GIANTS
[86] Once upon a time there lived a little boy whose name was Hans. His home was in a village where the tall trees shaded the green grass that grew around the houses. Hans loved his home very much. He loved to hear the birds sing and to watch them fly high in the air, and he often threw crumbs upon the ground for them to eat. He loved the bright red and blue and yellow flowers which grew in the garden behind the house. He delighted in the sweet odors which came all unseen from their very hearts. So he gladly watered them when they looked thirsty. His mother soon taught him how to place strong straight sticks beside the weak vines so that they, too, could climb up and get the sunlight. Hans loved the dear old hens and their downy little chickens that were not afraid to peck the grain out of his hand. In fact, Hans loved everything and everybody about him, from the small naked worms which crawled about among the clods of earth, up to the strange and [87] beautiful stars which shone so high above his head.

He was a very happy, little fellow, always busy, always finding something to do for somebody.

By and by, when he grew to be a tall, strong lad, he used to go with his father to the forest to chop wood and thus help earn money which went to buy food and clothes for his mother and his three younger brothers, for Hans' father was poor and money was scarce in his family.

After a time, when Hans had grown so tall that you and I would call him a young man, his father said to him: "Hans, my boy, it is time now that you started out to hunt some work for yourself. Your next younger brother can help me with the wood chopping and the smaller ones can help the mother in the work about the house. You must go out into the world and learn how to take care of yourself, and perhaps some day you may have to take care of your mother and me when we grow too old to work."

So Hans' mother packed his clothes in a little bundle, and, as she kissed him good-bye, she said: "Hans, my precious son, always be brave and true, and the good God will take [88] care of you." Hans then bade farewell to his father and his younger brothers and started on his journey.

He walked a long way until by and by he came to a great city, where the houses looked dingy with smoke and the rattle of the carts and wagons made an incessant roar. After a time he found some work in the shop of a blacksmith, and although the work was grimy and rather hard to do Hans used to like to see the sparks fly from the red hot iron every time he struck a blow with his heavy hammer. He was very proud when at last he could shape the hard iron into a fine horseshoe almost as well as the smith himself. Hans did not know it, but this very work was making his arms grow big and strong and his chest broad and full.

Every day Hans used to see a beautiful princess drive past the blacksmith's shop. She was the most beautiful princess in the world, and although her blue eyes and golden hair were admired by everyone, she was chiefly beloved because of her sweet smile. Hans used often to say to himself: "How I wish I could serve this lovely young princess." At last one day he went to the palace gate and asked the gatekeeper if there was not some work in the palace which he could do.

[89] "What can you do?" asked the gatekeeper.

"I am willing to do any kind of work which the king may need to have done," answered Hans.

Then the gatekeeper passed him on to the keeper of the king's palace.

"What can you do?" again asked the keeper of the king's palace.

"I am willing to do any kind of work which the king may need to have done," replied Hans.

So the keeper of the palace told the king that there was a strong, tall young man without who wanted to serve him. "Bring him to me," said the king. When Hans came into the presence of the mighty king the monarch looked at him very hard for a few moments and then said: "What can you do, young man?" And again Hans replied: "I am willing to do anything that you may need to have done. I would like to serve the beautiful princess."

"You would, would you?" cried the king. "Now I will test you. In the bottom of the North Sea there lies a string of enchanted pearls. If you will get those pearls and bring them to me you shall serve my daughter, the [90] princess, and in time I may make you governor over one of my provinces; who knows?" And the king laughed to himself.

Hans was wild with delight and, turning, hastened out of the palace. The very next day he started on his journey to the North Sea. He walked and walked a long way until he was very tired. At length, just ahead of him, he saw a big giant rushing along in the strangest fashion.

"Good morning," said Hans, as he caught up with the giant. "What a very large giant you are!"

"Yes," replied the giant, looking down at Hans, "I have need to be both large and strong. Where are you going, young man?"

"I am going," answered Hans, "to the North Sea to try to get a string of enchanted pearls which lies at the bottom of the sea."

"Ah!" said the tall giant, "it will take you a long time to get there. Now if you could walk as fast as I can, it would be an easy matter."

"How fast can you walk?" asked Hans.

"I can walk faster than a greyhound can run," said the giant, "and when I run, the swift river cannot keep pace with me."

"Can you, indeed?" exclaimed Hans.

[91] "What a fine fellow you are! I wish you would come along with me. After I find the string of pearls I want to get back to the king's palace as soon as possible, for I am to serve the beautiful princess."

"If that's the case," said the giant, "I think I will go along with you."

The two walked along, chatting together, until they saw what Hans thought must be a huge round stone lying in the road. When, however, they came up to it, he saw that it was another big giant lying asleep by the road side. The hot sun was pouring down upon his face. "Stay here," said Hans, "until I can cut a branch from some tree to shade that poor fellow's face. The sun is so hot it will soon blister him."

At these words the tall giant laughed aloud. "Ho, ho!" he cried, "don't you know who that is? He is a neighbor of mine. He has such strong eyes that he can see a fly on a leaf of a tree a mile away."

The loud laugh of the tall giant awoke the sleeping giant, and he opened his great eyes and stared at Hans. "What are you doing, young man?" growled he.

"Oh, nothing," said Hans. "I was merely sticking these branches into the ground so that they might keep the sun out of your eyes."

"Bah!" cried the great giant, sitting up, "did you not know that my eyes were so strong that I could look the noonday sun straight in the face?"

"Indeed! Indeed!" said Hans. "What a wonderful giant you must be. I wish you would come with me. I may need your strong eyes, for I am on my way to the North Sea to search for an enchanted necklace of pearls which lies at the bottom of the sea."

"Oh ho!" said the giant, "if that's the case I think I will go with you."

So Hans and the two big giants walked on together. They had not gone more than three or four miles when Hans spied another great giant sitting under a tall tree. As they came up to him the wind blew his hat off his head. "I will fetch it for you," cried Hans, as he ran forward after the hat; but before he could get to the spot where the hat lay, the big giant reached out his long arm and himself picked up his hat and put it again on his head. At this all three of the huge giants laughed.

"Didn't you know that he was the giant who could reach 500 yards?" asked the long-legged giant.

[93] "No," exclaimed Hans, clapping his hands with delight. "You are just the giant I need. When I get to the North Sea you can reach down to the bottom of it and pick up the enchanted necklace of pearls. Will you not come and help me?"

The new giant thought for a minute or two and then said: "Oh, yes; I will go along if I can be of any use to you."

So Hans and the three big giants started gayly forward on their journey to the North Sea. They had not gone far before Hans saw in the distance another giant quietly leaning up against a very large rock. He seemed so deep in thought that he did not see Hans and his fellow travelers until they came near to where he stood. Hans noticed that both of this giant's ears were stopped with cotton. "Have you the earache?" asked Hans. "Perhaps I can do something to ease your pain."

"Oh, no," said the giant, "I merely stuffed cotton into my ears to shut off some of the sounds about me. I can hear so well that I can tell what men are saying a hundred miles away from me."

"What a valuable giant you must be!" exclaimed Hans. "Will you not come with me? When I get the enchanted necklace of [94] pearls you can tell me whether it will be safe to take it back to the king's palace."

The giant being very good-natured, said: "You think you will need me, do you? Well, I'll go along."

So Hans and the four big giants walked until they came to the North Sea. Then they got into a boat and rowed out to the deep water. The giant who could see so far soon found the place where the necklace lay on the sand at the bottom of the sea. Then the giant whose arms were so long reached down and picked up the necklace and laid it in the boat. Hans and the giants now rowed back to the shore.

As soon as they had landed, the giant who could hear so well took the cotton out of his right ear and listened to what was being said at the king's palace. He heard the people in the palace talking of a grand festival which was to take place the next night in honor of the birthday of the beautiful princess. He then told Hans of what he had heard, and the giant who could run so fast stooped down and let Hans climb up and seat himself on his great shoulders and away the two sped, faster than a bird could fly. They reached the palace in time for Hans to give the enchanted [95] necklace of pearls to the king, just as he was about to seat his beautiful daughter upon a throne beside his own.

The king was so pleased to get the necklace that he at once gave Hans the office of serving the beautiful princess. Hans served her so faithfully that she learned to love him dearly, and in time they were married. When the old king died Hans was made king and the beautiful princess was a queen. Hans, you may be sure, took good care of his old father and mother and both he and his queen did everything they could to make all the people in their kingdom industrious and happy.

Hans persuaded his four friends, the giants, to come and live in his kingdom, and through them it became the richest and most prosperous country on the face of the earth, so that travelers came from all over the world to visit it.