奥黛丽·赫本 | 讲童话故事《瓷偶女王莱德罗纳》

The afternoon is getting quite windy, perhaps I should take a walk later on. I love to walk in the wind, Monsieur Ravel used to love to walk as well, he did not enjoy the wind as I did.

午后起风了，也许我接下来该散散步了。我喜欢在风中漫步，莫里斯·拉威尔过去也喜欢这样做，但他不像我那样喜欢风。

I remember one day in particular, I had been reading a book about pythoness. I was walking along, and a twig snapped by my foot. I screamed, imagining it was a dread python come to devour me. Monsieur Ravel tried to reassure me, But I was still terrified.

我记得那是个十分特别的日子，我一直在读一本关于女巫的书。我向前走着，一根树枝夹到了我的脚。我尖叫着，想象着那是一只可怕的蟒蛇来吞食我。莫里斯·拉威尔试图安抚我，但我还是吓坏了。

Finally, he said he knew a story about a very wonderful green snake, and if I would only please stop carrying on, he could tell it to me. My crying stopped instantly. We sat down together on a bank full of wild flours, and he began to tell me the story, Of...Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas.

最后他说他知道一个非常奇妙的关于青蛇的故事，如果我停止哭泣的话他就会讲给我听，我立马停止了哭泣。我们一起坐在一个满是野花的河岸上，他开始给我讲这瓷偶女王莱德罗纳的故事。

Once upon a time, there lived a good hearted King and Queen who had twin baby girls. When it was time for them to be christened, all the important people and fairies in the kingdom were invited. But, as so often happens when people plan a big event, something gets forgotten. And what got forgotten in this case, Was the fairy Magotine.

很久以前，一个王国里住着一位心地善良的国王和他的王后，他们有一对双胞胎女儿。当她们到了接受洗礼年龄时，王国里所有重要的人物和仙女都被邀请来参加典礼。但是，当人们准备一个大盛典时，有一种情况经常发生：就是有些事情被忘记了。这件被忘记的事情就是，魔女Magotine。

Magotine was the most black-hearted and sour fairy in the world. And even though she was not invited to the christening, she came anyway, in a black and sour puff of smoke.

Magotine是这个世界上最心黑尖酸的魔女。虽然她没有被邀请，但她还是在一股黑色酸臭的浓烟的包裹下来到了洗礼仪式上。

All the fairies but one had already offered their wishes to the baby princesses. When Magotine appeared, she hobbled up to the cradle, touched one of the babies on the cheek and cried: "My wish for you is perfect ugliness." And then she disappeared.

所有的仙女除了其中一个以外都已经向小公主献上祝福了，当Magotine出现时，她蹒跚着走向摇篮，抚摸着其中一个婴儿的脸颊并叫道：“我要赐予你绝对的丑陋。”然后她便消失了。

The queen cried and screamed until the last fairy, the one who has not to give her wish said: "Your Majesty, maybe I can help. Here is my gift to the Princess: But although she will be ugly, she will still find great happiness." And the Queen had to be happy with that.

王后哭泣并尖叫着，直到最后那位还没有赐予祝福的仙女出现，说道：“我的陛下，也许我能帮到你。这是我送给公主的礼物，尽管我无法改变她丑陋的事实，她仍然能找到属于她的幸福。”皇后也只能寄希望于这个祝福了。

Time passed, and the two little Princesses grew up. The pretty one, Bellet was as jewellery and freshly-colored as her rose. But the other one, Laideronnette, grow up to be so hideous that no one could bear to look at her.

时间流逝，两位小公主也慢慢长大了。漂亮的那个女儿贝莱，就像她的珠宝美玉和玫瑰一样娇艳欲滴。但是另一个呢，莱德罗纳，她长得如此令人惊骇的丑陋，以至于没人能忍受看见她。

Finally, when she was 18 years old, she said to her parents: "I love you so much, but I cannot stand living here anymore. Please let me live as mistress of the castle by the sea. I should be all by myself there. And there will be nobody's eyes to remind me of how ugly I am."

最终，当她18岁的时候她对她的父母说：“我非常爱你们，但我再也忍受不了在这里居住下去了。请让我作为城堡的主人住在海边，我需要自己一个人待在那儿，这样一来就没有任何一双眼睛时刻提醒着我长得多么丑陋。”

The King and Queen grieved, but they love their daughter, but they let her go.

国王和王后感到非常伤心，但是他们爱他们的女儿，所以他们让莱德罗纳离开了。

Laideronnette was happy at the castle. She was not lonely, for she had books to read, walks to take, her harps to go to play, And her pet kitten to giggle at.

莱德罗纳在城堡里感到非常开心。她一点儿都不觉得孤独，因为她有书可以阅读，可以随时随地出去散心，她可以肆意的玩耍，和她的小猫咪一起傻笑。

One day she was taking her favorite walk through a leafy forest. When suddenly a huge green squirmy serpent reared up in front of her. She screamed in terror and ran shuddering back to the castle. She never took the leafy forest walk again.

有一天她像往常一样，高兴地去一片茂密的森林散步。当一条巨大的绿色的蛇蠕动着出现在她前面的时候，她惊恐的尖叫着逃回了城堡，从那以后她再也没有去那片森林散过步。

The following week, Laideronnette decided to take a swim at the seashore. Suddenly, as she was swimming, a wicked storm struck. The waves grew larger and larger, and Laideronnette was afraid she was going to drown!

接下来的一周，莱德罗纳决定到海边去游泳。当她正游泳时，一场猛烈的暴风雨突然袭来，波浪愈演愈大，莱德罗纳很害怕她将会淹死在这里。

Luckily, she saw a green log floating there. She reached the log, threw herself up. And to a horror, felt the log move under her! It was none other than a green serpent! Laidernnette fainted.

幸运的是，她看到一块绿色的木头漂在海里。她赶忙到达了木头那里，并趴在上面呕吐起来。但令她感到更为惊恐的是，她感觉到身下的绿色木块蠕动了起来，不是其他东西，正是那条绿蛇，莱德罗纳直接昏倒了。

The next thing she knew, she was lying on a couch. In a splendid white bedroom she had never seen before. And around her, smiling, were dozens of tiny creatures. They looked like Chinese idles. When she sat up they bowed and curtsied to her. The bells on the little hats chimed most adorably.

她醒来的第一件事，就是发觉自己躺在沙发上。她躺在一个她从卫见过的，辉煌华丽的白色卧室里。而在她身旁，许多小生物正围着她微笑，他们看起来就像中国的小瓷人。当她坐起来时，他们或向她弯腰或向她行屈膝礼，小帽子上的铃铛敲击出来的声音十分可爱。

"We are the Pagodas", they said. "We are here to make you happy." And they danced and sang for Laideronnette, and she was enchanted. They led her to an even more beautiful apartment, which they said it was for her. And they told her to call them anytime she needed anything.“

我们是瓷偶，”他们说，“我们是为了让你感到快乐才出现在这里的。”然后他们围着莱德罗纳唱歌跳舞，她被这番景象迷住了。他们把莱德罗纳带到一个甚至更为漂亮的房间，并告诉她这是赠与她的，还告诉她需要他们的时候，可以随时呼叫。

Laideronnette remained in Pagoda, for that was the name of the country. For several months, she was very happy there. But the longer she stayed, the more curious she became.

莱德罗纳留在了瓷偶国，这正是这个国度的名字。在那几个月里，她过得非常开心。但待的时间越长，她的好奇心就越发强烈。

"Who is your ruler?" she asked one day. "The King!" the Pagoda said, "It is he who told us to take such good care of you! "I would like to meet him and thank him", Laideronnette said.

“你们的统领是谁呢？”有一天她问道，“国王！”瓷偶们说道，“他告诉我们要好好照顾你的！”“我想要见见他并向他当面致谢。”莱德罗纳说道。

The next day, she was taken to the throne room of the Palace. The room was very grand, but the great throne was empty. "I hear you wish to see me", said a beautiful voice, "But it cannot be, the fairy Magotine had put a curse on me.”

第二天，她被带到皇宫中的王室宫殿里。这个宫殿非常宏伟，但巨大的王座上面确是空的。“我听说你希望见到我，”一个十分好听的声音传了出来，“但是恕我不能满足你的想法，因为魔女Magotine曾经诅咒过我。”

“For seven years, no one can see me. Five of the years have already past, and there are two to go. I have been watching you these weeks, Laideronnette.” he went on, "And I have grown to love you. Will you be my wife?"

“在七年之内，没有人能看见我。如今已经五年过去了，我还有两年要熬过去。这几周我一直在看着你，莱德罗纳，”他继续说道，“然后我发现我渐渐爱上你了。你愿意做我的妻子吗？”

Laideronnette was very pleased by his offer, and said that if she were given a chance to know him better, She might agree to it.

听到国王的求婚，莱德罗纳非常欣喜，并说道如果她有机会更好地了解他的话，她也许会答应他的。

For the next few weeks, she spent a lot of time with the King. Laideronnette never saw him, but his voice was so beautiful and kind. His words so intelligent, that she finds herself falling in love.

在接下来的几周时间里，她花了很多时间和国王待在一起。虽然莱德罗纳从未见过他，但是他的声音是如此的动听而温柔。他的话语是如此的睿智，她发现自己已经坠入爱河。

The night before the wedding, The King said to her: “Remember the curse, my dear. For two more years I must stay invisible. If you try to see me before then, A terrible thing would happen. Do you understand?"

在他们的婚礼的前一夜，国王对她说道，“请记住这个诅咒，亲爱的。这接下来两年的时间我必须保持隐身，如果你尝试在这之前看到我，就会有可怕的事情发生，你明白了吗？”

"Oh, yes,” she said: “I promise not to be curious." It was an easy promise to make, but it was not an easy promise to keep. For as the months went on, And Laideronnette grew to love her husband more and more, more and more she wish to see him.

“噢，好的，”她说，“我保证不会那么好奇的。”可承诺总是很容易许下的，想遵守自己的承诺却不是一件容易的事。一个月又一个月过去了，莱德罗纳变得越来越爱她的丈夫，而她也随之越来越希望能看见他。

One day, she was in the garden gathering roses, and the King was behind a trellis. Laideronnette slipped quietly up and peeped through at him. And then she shrieked with terror and fell back. For there was her husband, the green serpent.

有一天，她正在花园采集玫瑰，而国王则在花棚后面。因为想要偷偷看看她的丈夫，莱德罗纳悄悄地跑开了。她满怀惊惧地尖叫然后跌倒在地，因为她看见了她的丈夫，一条绿色巨蛇。

"You have betrayed me!" he cried in a sad terrible voice. And then he disappeared. Miserable and ashamed of herself, Laideronnette left the castle. For two years, she wondered around at Pagodia.

“你背叛了我！”他用一种伤心的、可怕的声音叫喊着，然后他消失了。怀着痛苦和内疚，莱德罗纳离开了这座城堡。接下来的两年，她一直对瓷偶国念念不忘。

One winter night, exhausted, she came to a small stream. A tiny fairy stood beside it. "This is the stream of discretion," the fairy said, "If you drink from it, you will one second be beautiful." But Laideronnette was no longer interested in being beautiful.

在一个冬夜，身心疲惫的她来到一条小河边。一个小精灵站在旁边，“这是真理之河，”小精灵说，“如果你喝了它，你会在一秒钟内变得美丽。”但是莱德罗纳已经对变得美丽不再感兴趣。

"The steam of discretion," she said, "If I had had discretion 2 years ago, I would have never broken my promise. I would never have looked at my husband. I would never have brought this tragedy upon us. Discretion is something I need. Perhaps the stream can give it to me."

“这是一条真理之河，”她自言自语，“如果我能考虑得再周全一点，两年前我绝不会去违背我的诺言，我绝不会去偷看我的丈夫，我绝不会把这场悲剧带给我们。谨慎便是我想要的，也许这条河能将它给我。”

So she thanked and drank. And the fairy smiled: "I'm very pleased with you, Laideronnette", she said, "Instead of caring about being beautiful, your only thought was to be a better person. And so you shall be rewarded."

她道过谢后喝了河水。这时候小精灵笑了，“我对你非常满意，莱德罗纳，”小精灵说，“你对于美貌的在意已经不复存在，如今你只在乎怎么成为一个更好的人。这样的你将得到奖赏。”

Laideronnette was given two wonderful rewards. The first was when she saw her reflection in the water, she gasped at the sight. She was absolutely beautiful now! Golden and pink and perfect.

莱德罗纳被赐予了两个美妙的奖赏：第一个奖励，当她通过水的倒映看到自己时，她惊讶得忘记了呼吸，如今的她已经变得无与伦比的美丽！一个无可挑剔的完美的人。

And the second reward was the young man who came up and kneed beside her. As he spoke through happy tears, Laideronnette recognized him by his voice. He was her lost and loved husband. The two of them embraced and cried and kissed. And they were happy together until the end of their time.

第二个奖励更加令她喜悦，一个年轻人走过来并在她身旁跪下。他的眼里盈满了喜悦的泪水，一开口说话，莱德罗纳就立马通过声音认出了他。他就是那个她爱的深沉，又被她弄丢的丈夫。他们两个拥抱、哭泣、亲吻，永远幸福快乐地生活在一起了。