英文童话故事MP3在线听：The Swineherd 猪倌

 
THE SWINEHERD

There was once a poor Prince, who had a kingdom. His kingdom was very small,
but still quite large enough to marry upon; and he wished to marry.

It was certainly rather cool of him to say to the Emperor"s daughter, "Will
you have me?" But so he did; for his name was renowned far and wide; and there
were a hundred princesses who would have answered, "Yes!" and "Thank you
kindly." We shall see what this princess said.

Listen!

It happened that where the Prince"s father lay buried, there grew a rose
tree--a most beautiful rose tree, which blossomed only once in every five
years, and even then bore only one flower, but that was a rose! It smelt so
sweet that all cares and sorrows were forgotten by him who inhaled its
fragrance.

And furthermore, the Prince had a nightingale, who could sing in such a manner
that it seemed as though all sweet melodies dwelt in her little throat. So the
Princess was to have the rose, and the nightingale; and they were accordingly
put into large silver caskets, and sent to her.

The Emperor had them brought into a large hall, where the Princess was playing
at "Visiting," with the ladies of the court; and when she saw the caskets with
the presents, she clapped her hands for joy.

"Ah, if it were but a little pussy-cat!" said she; but the rose tree, with its
beautiful rose came to view.

"Oh, how prettily it is made!" said all the court ladies.

"It is more than pretty," said the Emperor, "it is charming!"

But the Princess touched it, and was almost ready to cry.

"Fie, papa!" said she. "It is not made at all, it is natural!"

"Let us see what is in the other casket, before we get into a bad humor," said
the Emperor. So the nightingale came forth and sang so delightfully that at
first no one could say anything ill-humored of her.

"Superbe! Charmant!" exclaimed the ladies; for they all used to chatter French,
each one worse than her neighbor.

"How much the bird reminds me of the musical box that belonged to our blessed
Empress," said an old knight. "Oh yes! These are the same tones, the same
execution."

"Yes! yes!" said the Emperor, and he wept like a child at the remembrance.

"I will still hope that it is not a real bird," said the Princess.

"Yes, it is a real bird," said those who had brought it. "Well then let the
bird fly," said the Princess; and she positively refused to see the Prince.

However, he was not to be discouraged; he daubed his face over brown and
black; pulled his cap over his ears, and knocked at the door.

"Good day to my lord, the Emperor!" said he. "Can I have employment at the
palace?"

"Why, yes," said the Emperor. "I want some one to take care of the pigs, for
we have a great many of them."

So the Prince was appointed "Imperial Swineherd." He had a dirty little room
close by the pigsty; and there he sat the whole day, and worked. By the
evening he had made a pretty little kitchen-pot. Little bells were hung all
round it; and when the pot was boiling, these bells tinkled in the most
charming manner, and played the old melody,

    "Ach! du lieber Augustin,
    Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"*

    * "Ah! dear Augustine!
    All is gone, gone, gone!"

But what was still more curious, whoever held his finger in the smoke of the
kitchen-pot, immediately smelt all the dishes that were cooking on every
hearth in the city--this, you see, was something quite different from the
rose.

Now the Princess happened to walk that way; and when she heard the tune, she
stood quite still, and seemed pleased; for she could play "Lieber Augustine";
it was the only piece she knew; and she played it with one finger.

"Why there is my piece," said the Princess. "That swineherd must certainly
have been well educated! Go in and ask him the price of the instrument."

So one of the court-ladies must run in; however, she drew on wooden slippers
first.

"What will you take for the kitchen-pot?" said the lady.

"I will have ten kisses from the Princess," said the swineherd.

"Yes, indeed!" said the lady.

"I cannot sell it for less," rejoined the swineherd.

"He is an impudent fellow!" said the Princess, and she walked on; but when she
had gone a little way, the bells tinkled so prettily

    "Ach! du lieber Augustin,
    Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"

"Stay," said the Princess. "Ask him if he will have ten kisses from the ladies
of my court."

"No, thank you!" said the swineherd. "Ten kisses from the Princess, or I keep
the kitchen-pot myself."

"That must not be, either!" said the Princess. "But do you all stand before me
that no one may see us."

And the court-ladies placed themselves in front of her, and spread out their
dresses--the swineherd got ten kisses, and the Princess--the kitchen-pot.

That was delightful! The pot was boiling the whole evening, and the whole of
the following day. They knew perfectly well what was cooking at every fire
throughout the city, from the chamberlain"s to the cobbler"s; the court-ladies
danced and clapped their hands.

"We know who has soup, and who has pancakes for dinner to-day, who has
cutlets, and who has eggs. How interesting!"

"Yes, but keep my secret, for I am an Emperor"s daughter."

The swineherd--that is to say--the Prince, for no one knew that he was other
than an ill-favored swineherd, let not a day pass without working at
something; he at last constructed a rattle, which, when it was swung round,
played all the waltzes and jig tunes, which have ever been heard since the
creation of the world.

"Ah, that is superbe!" said the Princess when she passed by. "I have never
heard prettier compositions! Go in and ask him the price of the instrument;
but mind, he shall have no more kisses!"

"He will have a hundred kisses from the Princess!" said the lady who had been
to ask.

"I think he is not in his right senses!" said the Princess, and walked on, but
when she had gone a little way, she stopped again. "One must encourage art,"
said she, "I am the Emperor"s daughter. Tell him he shall, as on yesterday,
have ten kisses from me, and may take the rest from the ladies of the court."

"Oh--but we should not like that at all!" said they. "What are you muttering?"
asked the Princess. "If I can kiss him, surely you can. Remember that you owe
everything to me." So the ladies were obliged to go to him again.

"A hundred kisses from the Princess," said he, "or else let everyone keep his
own!"

"Stand round!" said she; and all the ladies stood round her whilst the
kissing was going on.

"What can be the reason for such a crowd close by the pigsty?" said the
Emperor, who happened just then to step out on the balcony; he rubbed his
eyes, and put on his spectacles. "They are the ladies of the court; I must go
down and see what they are about!" So he pulled up his slippers at the heel,
for he had trodden them down.

As soon as he had got into the court-yard, he moved very softly, and the
ladies were so much engrossed with counting the kisses, that all might go on
fairly, that they did not perceive the Emperor. He rose on his tiptoes.

"What is all this?" said he, when he saw what was going on, and he boxed the
Princess"s ears with his slipper, just as the swineherd was taking the
eighty-sixth kiss.

"March out!" said the Emperor, for he was very angry; and both Princess and
swineherd were thrust out of the city.

The Princess now stood and wept, the swineherd scolded, and the rain poured
down.

"Alas! Unhappy creature that I am!" said the Princess. "If I had but married
the handsome young Prince! Ah! how unfortunate I am!"

And the swineherd went behind a tree, washed the black and brown color from
his face, threw off his dirty clothes, and stepped forth in his princely
robes; he looked so noble that the Princess could not help bowing before him.

"I am come to despise thee," said he. "Thou would"st not have an honorable
Prince! Thou could"st not prize the rose and the nightingale, but thou wast
ready to kiss the swineherd for the sake of a trumpery plaything. Thou art
rightly served."

He then went back to his own little kingdom, and shut the door of his palace
in her face. Now she might well sing,

    "Ach! du lieber Augustin,
    Alles ist weg, weg, weg!"

猪倌

      从前有一个贫穷的王子，他有一个王国。王国虽然非常小，可是还是够供给他结婚的费用，而结婚正是他现在想要做的事情。

　　他也真有些大胆，居然敢对皇帝的女儿说：“你愿意要我吗？”不过他敢这样说，也正是因为他的名字远近都知道。成千成百的公主都会高高兴兴地说“愿意”。不过我们看看这位公主会不会这样说吧。

　　现在我们听吧，在这王子的父亲的墓上长着一棵玫瑰——一棵很美丽的玫瑰。它五年才开一次花，而且每次只开一朵。但这是一朵多么好的玫瑰花啊！它发出那么芬芳的香气，无论谁只须闻一下，就会忘掉一切忧愁和烦恼。王子还有一只夜莺。这鸟儿唱起歌来，就好像它小小的喉咙里包藏着一切和谐的调子似的，这朵玫瑰花和这只夜莺应该送给那位公主。因此这两件东西就被放在两个大银匣里，送给她了。

　　皇帝下命令叫把这礼物送进大殿，好让他亲眼看看。公主正在大殿里和她的侍女们作“拜客”的游戏，因为她们没有别的事情可做。当她看到大银匣子里的礼品时，就兴高采烈地拍起手来。

　　“我希望那里面是一只小猫！”她说。

　　可是盒子里却是一朵美丽的玫瑰花。

　　“啊，这花做得多么精巧啊！”侍女们齐声说。

　　“它不仅精巧，”皇帝说，“而且美丽。”

　　公主把花摸了一下。她几乎哭出来了。

　　“呸，爸爸！”她说，“这花不是人工做的，它是一朵天然的玫瑰花！”

　　“呸！”所有的宫女都说，“这只是一朵天然的花！”

　　“我们暂且不要生气，让我们先看看另一只盒子里是什么再说吧。”皇帝说。于是那只夜莺就跳出来了。它唱得那么好听，他们一时还想不出什么话来说它不好。

　　“Superbe！Charmant！①”侍女们齐声说，因为她们都喜欢讲法国话，但是一个比一个讲得糟。

　　①这是法语，意思是：“好极了！真迷人！”旧时欧洲的统治阶级都以能讲法语为荣。

　　“这鸟儿真使我记起死去的皇后的那个八音盒，”一位老侍臣说。“是的，它的调子，它的唱法完全跟那个八音盒一样。”

　　“对的。”皇帝说。于是他就像一个小孩子似的哭起来了。

　　“我不相信它是一只天然的鸟儿。”公主说。

　　“不，它是一只天然的鸟儿！”那些送礼物来的人说。

　　“那么就让这只鸟儿飞走吧。”公主说。但是她无论如何不让王子来看她。

　　不过王子并不因此失望。他把自己的脑袋涂成棕里透黑，把帽子拉下来盖住眉毛，于是就来敲门。

　　“日安，皇上！”他说，“我能在宫里找到一个差事吗？”

　　“嗨，找事的人实在太多了，”皇帝说，“不过让我想想看吧——我需要一个会看猪的人，因为我养了很多猪。”

　　这样，王子就被任命为皇家的猪倌了。他们给了他一间猪棚旁边的简陋小屋，他不得不在这里面住下。但是他从早到晚都坐在那里工作。到了晚上，他做好了一口很精致的小锅，边上挂着许多铃。当锅煮开了的时候，这些铃就美妙地响起来，奏出一支和谐的老调：

　　　　啊，我亲爱的奥古斯丁，
　　　　一切都完了，完了，完了！

　　不过这锅巧妙的地方是：假如有人把手指伸到锅中冒出来的蒸气里，他就立刻可以闻到城里每个灶上所煮的食物的味道。这锅跟玫瑰花比起来，完全是两回事儿。

　　公主恰恰跟她的侍女们从这儿走过。当她听到这个调子的时候，就停下来；她显得非常高兴，因为她也会弹“啊，我亲爱的奥古斯丁”这个调子。这是她会弹的惟一的调子，不过她只是用一个指头弹。

　　“嗯，这正是我会弹的一个调子！”她说。“他一定是一个有教养的猪倌！你们听着，进去问问他，这个乐器要多少钱。”

　　因此，一位侍女只好走进去了。可是在进去以前，她先换上了一双木套鞋①。

　　①因为怕把她的脚弄脏了。

　　“你这个锅要多少钱？”侍女问。

　　“我只要公主给我接十个吻就够了。”牧猪人说。

　　“我的老天爷！”侍女说。

　　“是的，少一个吻也不卖。”猪倌说。

　　“唔，他怎么说？”公主问。

　　“我真没有办法传达他的话，”侍女说，“听了真是骇人！”

　　“那么，你就低声一点说吧。”于是侍女就低声说了。

　　“他太没有礼貌啦！”公主说完遍走开了。不过，她没有走多远，铃声又动听地响起来了：

　　　　啊，我亲爱的奥古斯丁，
　　　　一切都完了，完了，完了！

　　“听着，”公主说。“去问问他愿意不愿意让我的侍女给他十个吻。”

　　“谢谢您，不成，”猪倌回答说。“要公主给我十个吻，否则我的锅就不卖。”

　　“这真是一桩讨厌的事情！”公主说。“不过最低限度你们得站在我的周围，免得别人看见我。”

　　于是侍女们都在她的周围站着，同时把她们的裙子撒开。猪倌接了十个吻，她得到了那口锅。

　　她们真是欢天喜地啦！这口锅里整天整夜不停地煮东西；她们现在清清楚楚地知道城里每一个厨房里所煮的东西，包括从鞋匠一直到家臣们的厨房里所煮的东西。侍女们都跳起舞，鼓起掌来。

　　“我们现在完全知道谁家在喝甜汤和吃煎饼，谁家在吃稀饭和肉排啦。这多有趣啊！”

　　“非常有趣！”女管家说。

　　“是的，但不准你们声张，因为我是皇帝的女儿！”

　　“愿上帝保佑我们！”大家齐声说。

　　那个猪倌，也就是说，那位王子——她们当然一点也不知道他是王子，都以为他只是一个猪倌——是决不会让一天白白地过去而不做出一点事情来的。因此他又做了一个能发出嘎嘎声的玩具。你只要把猪倌玩具旋转几下，它就能奏出大家从开天辟地以来就知道的“华尔兹舞曲”、“快步舞曲”和“波兰舞曲”。

　　“这真是Superbe！”公主在旁边走过的时候说。“我从来没有听到过比这更美的音乐！你们听呀！进去问问他这个乐器值多少钱；不过我不能再给他什么吻了。”

　　“他要求公主给他一百个吻。”那个到里面去问了的侍女说。

　　“我想他是疯了！”公主说。于是她就走开了。不过她没有走几步路，便又停了下来。“我们应该鼓励艺术才是！”她说。“我是皇帝的女儿啊！告诉他，像上次一样，他可以得到十个吻，其余的可以由我的侍女给他。”

　　“哎呀！我们可不愿意干这种事情！”侍女们齐声说。

　　“废话！”公主说。“我既然可以让人吻几下，你们当然也可以的。请记住：是我给你们吃饭，给你们钱花的。”

　　这样，侍女们只得又到猪倌那儿去一趟。

　　“我要公主亲自给我一百个吻，”他是，“否则双方不必谈什么交易了。”

　　“你们都站拢来吧！”她说。所有的侍女都围着她站着；于是猪倌就开始接吻了。

　　“围着猪倌的一大群人是干什么的？”皇帝问。他这时已经走到阳台上来了。他揉揉双眼，戴上眼镜。“怎么，原来是侍女们在那儿捣什么鬼！我要亲自下去看一下。”

　　他把便鞋后跟拉上——这本来是一双好鞋子；他喜欢随意把脚伸进去，所以就把后跟踩塌了。

　　天啊，你看他那副匆忙的样子！

　　他一跑进院子，就轻轻地走过去。侍女们都在忙于计算吻的数目，为的是要使交易公平，不使他吻得太多或太少。她们都没有注意到皇帝的到来。皇帝轻轻地踮起脚尖来。

　　“这是怎么一回事呀？”他看到他们接吻的时候说。当猪倌正被吻到第八十六下的时候，他就用拖鞋在他们的头上打了几下。“滚你们的！”皇帝说，因为他真的生气了。于是公主和猪倌一齐被赶出了他的国土。

　　公主站在屋外，哭了起来。猪倌也发起牢骚来。天正下着大雨。

　　“唉，我这个可怜人！”公主说。“我要是答应那个可爱的王子倒好了！唉，我是多么不幸啊！”

　　猪倌于是走到一株大树后面，擦掉脸上的颜色，脱掉身上破烂的衣服，穿上一身王子的服装，又走了出来。他是那么好看，连这位公主都不得不在他面前弯下腰来。

　　“你，我现在有点瞧不起你了，”他说，“一个老老实实的王子你不愿意要，玫瑰和夜莺你也不欣赏；但是为了得到一个玩具，你却愿意去和一个猪倌接吻。现在你总算得到报应了。”

　　于是他走进他的王国，把她关在门外，并且把门闩也插上了。现在只有她站在外边，唱——

　　　　啊，我亲爱的奥古斯丁，
　　　　一切都完了，完了，完了！

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