格林童话-谜语 THE RIDDLE

THE RIDDLE
Once upon a time there was a prince who had a sudden desire to travel around the world. He took no one with him except a faithful(忠诚) servant(仆人). One day he came to a great forest, and when evening fell, he could find no shelter, he didn’t know where he and his servant would spend the night. Then he saw a girl who was walking toward a little house, when he came nearer, he saw that the girl was young and beautiful.

The prince spoke to her, saying, "Dear child, can my servant and I find shelter(居所) for the night in this little house?"

"Oh, yes," said the girl in a sad voice, "You certainly can, but I do not advise you to do so. Do not go inside."

"Why not?" asked the prince.

The girl sighed and said, "My stepmother practices evil arts (魔法), and she does not like strangers."

Then the prince realised that he had come to a witch's house, but because it was dark, and he could go no further, and not really feeling afraid, he and his servant entered.

The old woman was sitting in an armchair by the fire. She looked at the stranger with her red eyes. "Good evening," she croaked(沙哑的声音), pretending(假装) to be quite friendly. "Sit down and rest."

She blew into the coals on which she was cooking something in a small pot. Because the daughter had warned the two to be cautious(小心谨慎), to eat nothing, and to drink nothing, they refused offers of sustenance(食物,养料) and slept soundly until early morning.

While they were getting ready to leave the next morning, and the prince had already mounted(备好马) his horse, the old woman said, "Wait a moment. Let me give you a farewell(告别) drink."

While she was getting it the prince rode away, but the servant, who had to tighten his saddle, was there alone when the wicked witch came with the drink.

"Take this to your master," she said.

But that instant the glass broke and the poison spilled onto the horse. It was so strong that the animal immediately fell down dead. The servant ran after his master and told him what had happened. However, scared though he was, the servant did not want to abandon(抛弃) his saddle(马鞍), so he ran back to get it. When he reached the dead horse, a raven(渡鸦) was already sitting on the horse, pecking out its eyes.

"Who knows if we shall find anything better to eat today?" said the servant. So, he killed the raven(乌鸦) and took it with him.

The prince and his servant wandered (转悠) in the woods the whole day, but could not find their way out. As night fell, they found an inn and went inside. The servant gave the raven to the innkeeper(客栈老板) to prepare for supper.

Now, they had stumbled into(无意中卷入) a den of(洞穴) murderers, and twelve murderers arrived in the dark, intending to kill the strangers and rob them. But before doing so they sat down to supper, and the innkeeper and the witch sat down with them. Together they ate a dish of soup into which they had cut up the raven meat. They had scarcely swallowed(吞下) a few spoonful’s when they all fell down dead, for the raven had passed on to them the poison(毒) from the horsemeat.

 Now there was no one left in the house but the innkeeper's daughter. She meant well and had not taken part in the evil deeds(邪恶的行动)of the witch and the outlaws(不合法). She opened all the doors for the stranger and showed him piles of treasure. However, the prince said that she should keep everything. He wanted none of it, and with his servant he rode on his way.

After traveling about for a long time, they came to a town where there was a beautiful but proud princess. She had made it known that she would marry any man who could ask her a riddle that she could not solve. However, if she solved it his head would be cut off. She had three days to think about it, but was so clever that she always solved the riddle that she had been given before the deadline(最后期限). When the prince arrived nine men had already died in this manner. However, he was blinded by her great beauty and was willing to risk his life for it.

He went before her and asked her his riddle: "What is this?" he said. "One killed none, but still killed twelve?"

She did not know what it was. She thought and thought, but she could not solve it. She opened her riddle books, but it was not there. She had no idea how to solve the riddle, her wisdom was at an end.

Not knowing how to help herself, she ordered her maid to sneak into the prince's bedroom. There the maid was to listen to his dreams, for the princess thought that the prince might talk in his sleep and reveal the answer to the riddle. However, the prince's clever servant had placed himself in the bed instead of his master, and when the maid came in, he ripped off the robe that she had covered herself with, and then chased her out with a big stick.

The second night the princess sent her chambermaid(打扫房间的女工), who was to see if she would be more successful in listening, but the servant took her robe away from her as well, and then chased(追赶) her out with an even bigger stick.

The master now believed that he would be safe for the third night, and he lay down in his own bed. This time the princess herself came. She had on a mist-grey robe and sat down next to him. When she thought that he was asleep and dreaming, she spoke to him, hoping that he would answer in his sleep, like some people are supposed to do. However, he was still awake and understood the princess’s cunning plan.

The princess asked, "One killed none. What is that?"

He answered, "A raven(渡鸦) that ate from a dead and poisoned horse, and died of it."

“Ooh,” she thought, “I’m getting somewhere now!” She asked further, "But still killed twelve. What is that?"

He answered, "Those are twelve murderers who ate the raven cooked in a soup, and died of it."

Now that she knew the riddle she wanted to sneak away, but he held her robe so fast that she had to leave it behind.

The next morning, the princess announced that she had guessed the riddle and sent for the twelve judges, all of them riddle experts, and solved it before them.

But the prince asked for a hearing, saying, "She sneaked into my room during the night and questioned me. Otherwise she would not have guessed it."

The judges said, "Bring us proof."

Then the prince's servant brought in the three robes, and when the judges saw the mist-grey one which only the princess wore, they said, "Have this robe(礼袍) embroidered(点缀着) with gold and silver, and then it will be your wedding robe. The young man has won." And so, the princess married the wandering prince. Of course, it wasn’t a happy marriage, she was a horrible woman, as you know. After some years the prince caught her trying to cut the heads off some more poor innocent(无辜) people, so he cut her head off, and then married the witch’s stepdaughter, for whom he’d always had a soft spot in his heart.

THE END