the Young Donkey 小驢兒

the Young Donkey
小驢兒

    Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who were rich and had all they wanted except that they had no children. The queen bewailed this day and night, saying: "I am like a field on which nothing grows. "At last God granted her wish, but when the baby was born it didn't look like a human child: it was a little donkey foal. When its mother saw this she began to weep and wail all all the more, saying: "she would rather have had no child at all than a donkey," and telling the servants to throw it in the river for the fish to eat. But the king said: "No, since God has given it to us it shall be my son and heir, and he shall sit on the royal throne after my death and wear the royal crown." So the baby donkey was reared and GREw up, and his ears grew up nice and straight too. But he was a merry little creature, jumping about and playing, and in particular he was very fond of music; so he went to a famous minstrel and said: "Teach me your skill and make me able to play the lute as well as you." "Oh, my dear little sir," answered the minstrel, "I think you would find that difficult; after all, sir, your fingers are not the right shape, they are much too big, and I'm afraid they'd break the strings." But the donkey wouldn't take no for an answer-play the lute he would and he must, he was patient and worked hard, and learnt in the end to play as well as his master. One day the young gentleman was pensively taking a walk and came to a spring, and looking into its clear bright water he saw he was shaped like a donkey. This upset him so much that he set off into the world, taking only one faithful companion with him. They wandered hither and thither: finally they reached a kingdom ruled by an old king who had only one daughter, but she was of great beauty. "We'll stay here," said the donkey. So he knocked at the gate and called out: "A guest has come, open up and let him in." But when they didn't open the gate he sat down, took his lute and played enchanting music on it with his two forefeet. At this the gatekeeper opened his eyes very wide, and ran to the king and said: "There's a young donkey sitting outside the gate, playing the lute like a past master." "Well, bring the musician in to see me," said the king. But when the minstrel donkey trotted in, they all burst out laughing at him. They were going to put him downstairs to eat with the servants, but this angered him and he said: "I'm no ordinary ass from any old stable, I'm of noble birth." So they said: "If that's so, then you can sit among the soldiers." "No," he said, "I want to sit beside the king." The king laughed and said good-humouredly: "Very well, it shall be as you wish, my young donkey; come and sit beside me." Then he asked: "My good young ass, how do you like my daughter?" The donkey turned his head and looked at her, then nodded and said: "Very well indeed, she is more beautiful than any girl I have seen." "Well, then you shall sit next to her," said the king. "That suits me," said the donkey, and he sat by her side and ate and drank and showed very good clean table-manners. When the noble little beast had spent some time at the king's court, he thought: What's the use, I must just ho home again. And he hung his head sadly, went to the king and asked to take his leave. But the king had become fond of him and said: "My dear donkey, what's the matter? You look as sour as a jar of vinegar. Stay with me and I'll give you whatever you want. Do you want gold?" "No," said the donkey and shook his head. "Do you want jewellery and precious things?" "No." "Do you want half of my kingdom?" "Oh no." Then the king said: "if only knew what would content you! Would you like to marry my beautiful daughter?" "Oh yes," said the good spirits, for this was exactly what he had been longing for. So a great wedding feast was held. That evening, when the bride and bridegroom were in their bedchamber, the king wanted to find out whether the donkey would behave in a gentle and well-bred manner and he ordered a servant to hide in the room. So when they had both entered the bride groom bolted the door, looked about him and thinking that they were all by themselves, suddenly cast off his donkey skin, and there he stood in the form of a handsome young prince. "Now you see who I am," he said to his bride, "and as you see, I was not unworthy of you." Then she was glad and kissed him and loved him with all her heart. But when morning came he jumped out of bed, put on his animal skin again, and no one would ever have guessed what its real wearer looked like. And presently along came the old king. "My word, the donkey's up and about already!" He exclaimed, and said to his daughter: " I suppose you're very sad not to have married a proper man?" "Oh no, father dea4r, I love him as if he were the handsomest of men, and I want to live with him all my life." The king was astonished, but the servant who had hidden in the bedroom came and told him everything. The king said: "That can't possibly be true." "Then keep watch tomorrow night yourself, sir, you will see it with your own eyes. And, my lord, let me tell you something: take away his skin and throw it into the fire, and then I think he will have to show himself in his true shape." "Your advice is good," said the king. And that night when they were asleep, he crept into the room, went over to the bed, and there in the moonlight lay a fine young man, with the cast-off skin on the floor beside him. So he took it away and had a blazing fire lit and the skin thrown into it, and stayed there himself until it was completely burnt to ashes. But he wanted to see what the young man would do now that he had lost his skin, so he stayed awake for the rest of the night and listened at the door. At daybreak, when the young man had slept his fill, he got up and was going to put on his donkey skin, but it was nowhere to be found. at this he took fright and said in great sorrow and alarm. "Now I must make good my escape." But when he opened the door the king was standing there and said to him: "My son, what are you thinking of, where are you off to in such a hurry? Stay here! You are such a fine-looking man that I won't let you leave me again. I'll give you half my kingdom now, and after my death you'll get the whole of it." "Then I wish," said the young prince, "that all may end as well as it has begun; I will stay with you, sir." So the old man gave him half the kingdom and when he died a year later the prince got the rest, and another one in addition after the death of his own father; and so he lived happy and glorious.

    從前，有一對國王和王后。他們很富有，想要什么有什么，只是沒孩子。王后為了這事，日夜哭泣傷心，說：“我是一塊什么也不長的土地。”上帝終于滿足了她的心愿，可是，孩子生下來，沒有孩子樣，是一頭小驢。媽媽一看，越發(fā)傷心，連哭帶喊地說：我寧愿不要孩子，也不要頭驢兒。她叫人把小驢兒扔到河里去喂魚，但是國王說：“不！既然上帝把它給了我們，這頭小驢兒就應該是我的兒子，我的繼承人。我死了之后，他就應當坐王位，戴王冠。”于是，小驢兒被撫養(yǎng)起來，慢慢長大了，耳朵長得也是又直又好，小驢兒總是快快樂樂的，又蹦又跳，還特別喜歡音樂。小驢兒走到有名的音樂家那里，說：“請你把你的技能教給我吧，讓我彈的琵琶和你的一樣好聽。”音樂家回答說：“不行?。⌒〉钕?！我想你會發(fā)覺彈琵琶太難了，你的蹄子太大，我擔心你會彈斷琴弦。”可是小驢兒不管音樂家怎么解釋，還是相信它必須，并且能學會，它耐心，努力地學，終于像老師－－音樂家那樣，彈奏得非常好。一天，小驢兒悶悶不樂若有所思地散步，走到了泉水旁邊。他往水清如鏡的泉水里一看，看見了自己驢子的身影。他非常傷心，就帶著一個忠實的奴仆離家出走了。他們四處游蕩，后來，來到了一個老國王治理的國家。國王就只有一個女兒，非常漂亮。小驢兒說：“我們就住在這里吧！”小驢兒敲敲門，大聲喊起來：“有客人來了。請把門打開，讓他進來。”門沒開，于是，小驢兒坐下來，拿出琵琶，用兩只前腳彈奏動聽的音樂。守門人吃驚地瞪大了眼睛，跑到國王那兒，報告說：“門外坐著一頭小驢兒，琵琶彈得像音樂家一樣好聽。”國王說：“那么，你把這位音樂家?guī)нM來見我。”小驢兒走進來了，人們一看見他，就爆發(fā)出一陣狂笑。他們只讓小驢兒坐在下邊，和仆人們一起吃飯。小驢兒生氣地說：“我不是普普通通的小驢兒，是身份高貴的小驢兒。”于是，人們說：“那么，你就和士兵們坐在一起吃去吧！”“不，我要坐在國王身邊。”小驢兒說，國王笑著說：“好啊！如你愿！來，到我身邊來，”然后，國王問：“小驢兒，你看我的女兒怎么樣？”小驢兒把腦袋轉(zhuǎn)向公主，看了看，點點頭說：“真不錯！她美極了，我還從沒見過這么美麗的姑娘呢！”國王說：“那么，你就坐在我女兒身邊去吧！”“我正想這樣呢！”小驢兒說著，就坐到了公主身邊，又吃有喝，餐桌禮儀處處表現(xiàn)得文雅，高貴。高貴的小驢兒在王宮里呆了很久，心想：這樣呆著可不行。我得回家去。小驢兒垂頭喪氣地走到國王那兒去告別。國王已經(jīng)開始喜歡小驢兒了，他說：“小驢兒呀，你怎么了？臉色這么難看，留下吧，你想要什么，我給你什么。你想要金子嗎？”“不！”小驢兒搖搖頭說。你想要寶石和什么貴重的東西嗎？”“不！”“你想要我的半個國家嗎？”“不，哪里的話。”然后，國王說：“我真想知道，我怎么才能讓你滿意高興，你想要我那漂亮懂得女兒做妻子嗎？”“是的，那正是我所希望的，”小驢兒說。小驢兒一下子高興起來。因為，這正是他長期以來的愿望。于是，他們舉行了隆重盛大的婚宴。那天晚上，新郎和新娘進了臥房。國王想知道小驢兒是不是那么溫雅，體貼，有教養(yǎng)，就派了一個仆人藏在新房里。他們夫婦走進新房，新郎把門插上栓。他向四下看了看，以為只有他們兩個人呢，一下子就把驢皮脫了下來，站在那里，變成了一個漂亮的王子。他說：“喂！看看我是誰？明白了吧，我配得上你。”于是，新娘高興起來，吻了他，真心實意地愛他?？墒堑搅嗽缟希w身起了床，又披上了驢皮。沒有人猜得到，驢皮里的人是什么樣子。這時，老國王走過來，說：“喂！小驢兒已經(jīng)睡醒了吧！”他大喊著，對女兒說：“我想，你嫁給了一個不合適的人，一定難過吧！”公主說：“不，親愛的爸爸，他是世界上最俊美的男人，我愛他。我一輩子都和他生活在一起。”國王非常吃驚，那個藏起來的仆人走過來，把他看到的一切告訴了國王。國王說：“這是不可能。”“那么，國王，你今天晚上親自去看看，就會明白了。國王，你要把那驢皮拿走，扔到火里，我想這樣一來，他就必須露出真面目了。”“這是個好主意！”國王說。晚上，人們都睡著了，國王悄悄地溜進了新房，他走到床邊，借著月光看見了一個儀表堂堂的年輕人，脫掉的驢皮放在地上。國王拿起驢皮，叫人升起火，把驢皮扔進去燒了，他在旁邊看著，一直看到驢皮燒成灰。國王想看看年輕人丟失了驢皮怎么辦，后半夜一直沒睡，聽聽有什么動靜。早晨，年輕人睡醒了，起床來想穿驢皮，可是，怎么也找不著。他嚇得要死，非常難過地說：“哎呀！我只好逃了。”年輕人打開門，國王正站在面前，對年輕人說：“我的孩子，你有心事嗎？你這么急急忙忙要到哪兒去？留在我這兒吧！你是個英俊的男子漢，我不會讓你離開的，我現(xiàn)在把半個王國給你，我死了后，全留給你。”于是，國王把半個國家給了年輕人。一年后，岳父國王死了。整個國家都歸年輕人所有。年輕人的生父死了以后，他又繼承了父親的王位。他過著幸福美滿的生活。