THE FROG KING,
OR IRON HEINRICH
青蛙王子或鎖心鐵亨利
In the olden days, when wishing still worked, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful; but the youngest daughter was so lovely that even the sun, who has seen many things, was struck with wonder every time he shone on her face. Not far away from the king’s palace there was a deep dark forest, and under a lime tree in the forest there was a well. In the heat of the day the princess used to go into the forest and sit by the edge of the well, from which a marvellous coolness seemed to flow.
在很久以前，願望還能如願成真的時候，有位國王他有著許多貌美天仙的女兒，其中最小的女兒最為可愛，就連見過許多事物的太陽，每當在照耀著她的臉龐時，都被她的美妙給震懾住。而在國王宮殿的不遠處，有個暗不見天日的森林，裡面有一棵菩提樹，樹下有一口井。在一個烈日當空的日子裡，這個最小的公主如往常地進入了森林，並坐在井口上，井口流動著不可思議的涼爽。
To pass the time she had a golden ball, which she used to throw up in the air and catch. It was her favorite game. Now one day it happened that she threw it a little carelessly, and she couldn’t catch it. Instead the ball rolled away from her and towards the well, and then it ran right over the edge and disappeared.
為了打發時間，她都會拿著金球往天空拋上去再接住。這是她最喜歡的遊戲。但這天她在丟金球的時候有點恍神，沒接到金球。反而這球滾得離她更遠，滾向井子，接著又滾過了井口消失不見。
The princess ran after it, and looked down into the water; but it was so deep that she couldn’t see the ball. She couldn’t even see the bottom of the well.
公主追著金球，低頭望著井水；但井水實在太深了，根本看不到球。她甚至看不到井底。
She began to cry, and she cried louder and louder, inconsolably. But as she wept and sobbed, someone spoke to her. ‘What’s the matter, princess? You’re crying so bitterly, you’d move a stone to pity.’
她開始哭泣，且傷心欲絕地越來越大聲。但就在她嗚咽啜泣的時候，有人說話了。「怎麼了公主?你哭得這麼悲痛，連石頭都想同情你了。」
She looked round to see where the voice was coming from, and saw a frog who’d stuck his big ugly head out of the water.
她看向四周找著聲音的來源，結果看到一隻青蛙又大又醜的頭伸出在水面上。
‘Oh, it’s you, you old splasher,’ she said. ‘I’m crying because my golden ball’s fallen into the water and it’s so deep and I can’t see it.’
「噢！原來是你，你這把水濺來濺去的傢伙！」她說。「我哭是因為我的金球掉進水裡了，水又太深，我根本看不見它。」
‘Well, you can stop crying now,’ said the frog. ‘I can help you, but what will you give me if I fetch your ball for you?’
「那你現在可以不用再哭啦！」青蛙說。「我可以幫你！但要是我幫你把球撿回來，你要用什麼回報我呢？」
‘Whatever you want, frog! Anything! My clothes, my peals, my jewels, even the golden crown I’m wearing.’
「不管你要什麼，全部都可以給你！我的衣服、珍珠、寶石，甚至是我頭上的皇冠。」
‘I don’t want your clothes, and your jewels and your golden crown are no good to me, but if you love me and take me as your companion and playmate, if you let me sit next to you at the table and eat from your dish and drink from your cup and sleep in your bed, then I’ll dive down and bring up your golden ball.’
「我不要妳的衣服、首飾，也不要你的皇冠，那都不適合我！但如果你愛我，把我當作是你的朋友和玩伴，假如你讓我在餐桌上坐在你身旁、吃你餐盤裡的食物、用你喝的杯子，還讓我睡你的床，我就潛下去，把你的金球撈上來。」
The princess thought, ‘What is this stupid frog saying? Whatever he thinks, he’ll have to stay in the water where he belongs. Perhaps he can get my ball.’ But of course she didn’t say that. Instead she said, ‘Yes, yes, I’ll promise you all of that if you just bring my ball.’
公主心裡想著，「這隻愚蠢的青蛙在說什麼鬼話？不管它怎麼妄想，它都必須待在它的水裡。或許它可以幫我把球撿回來。」當然，公主並沒有把這些話說出來。她反倒說:「好啊！好啊！我答應你所有的要求，只要你幫我撿球。」
As soon as the frog heard her say ‘Yes’, he put his head under the water and dived to the bottom. A moment later he came swimming back up with the ball in his mouth, and he threw it on to the grass.
青蛙一聽到她說好，它就把頭伸進水裡，潛到井底去了。不一會兒，它就嘴裡銜著金球游回來，把球丟在草叢裡。
The princess was so happy to see it that she snatched it up and ran off at once.
看到金球的公主非常開心，她馬上就把金球撿起來跑走了。
待續
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