Origin: Russia Roza译

青蛙公主

Origin: Russia Roza译

寓言·童话

In Imperial Russia, there lived a Tsar. He had three sons, the youngest of which was named Ivan.

One day the Tsar asked each of his sons to shoot an arrow. In whatever court it falls, in that court there will be a wife for them.

The arrow of the oldest1)Tsarevitch fell on a2)boyarhouse; the arrow of the second Tsarevitch few to the porch of a rich merchant, and there stood a girl, the merchant’s daughter. The youngest, Ivan Tsarevitch, had the bad luck of sending his arrow into a swamp, where it was caught by a croaking frog.

“How can I marry the frog?” complained Ivan. “Is she my equal? Certainly not!”

在沙皇俄国，曾有一位沙皇。他有三个儿子，年纪最小的名叫伊万。

一天，沙皇让他的每个儿子各射一支箭。箭坠落到哪里，皇子们就要娶那儿的女子为妻。

皇太子的箭坠落到一位贵族的宅邸；二皇子的箭落到了一位富商的门廊里，那儿站着一位姑娘，是个富商的女儿。最年轻的伊万皇子，却不幸把箭射到一片沼泽里，被一只呱呱叫的青蛙捡到了。

“我怎么能娶一只青蛙为妻？”伊万抱怨道。“她配得上我吗？当然不！”

1) tsarevitch [俄] n. （俄国沙皇的）儿子，尤指长子

2) boyar-house n. 沙俄特权贵族的宅邸

“Never mind,” replied his father, “you have to marry the frog, for it is evidently your destiny.”

Thus the oldest Tsarevitch was married to a nobleman’s daughter; the second to the merchant’s daughter, and the youngest, Ivan, to a croaking frog.

After a while the Tsar called his three sons and said:

“Have each of your wives bake a loaf of bread by tomorrow morning.”

Ivan returned home, with his brow clouded.

“C-R-O-A-K! Dear husband, why so sad?” gently asked the frog. “Was there anything disagreeable in the palace?”

“Disagreeable indeed. My father wants you to bake a loaf of bread by tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry. Go to bed. The morning hour is a better advisor than the dark evening.”

Ivan went to sleep. Then the frog threw off her frogskin and turned into a beautiful, sweet girl, Vassilisa by name. She stepped out on the porch and called aloud:

“Nurses and waitresses, come to me at once and prepare a loaf of white bread for tomorrow morning, a loaf exactly like those I used to eat in my royal father’s palace!”

In the morning, Ivan awoke, the loaf was already made. It was adorned all about with pretty fgures of towns and3)fortresses, and within it was white as snow and light as a feather.

The Tsar was pleased and Ivan received his special thanks. And the Tsar gave another order—have his daughters-in-law weave a rug. The frog prepared a rug with threads of silver and gold interwoven among bright-colored silk.

But now, he wished for his sons to present their brides the next day.

Ivan returned home, and cloudier was his brow than ever.

“配不上也没关系，”他的父皇回应道，“你必须娶这只青蛙，因为显然这就是你的命运。”

因此，皇太子娶了贵族的女儿；二皇子娶了商人的女儿；而最年轻的伊万皇子，娶了一只呱呱叫的青蛙。

过了一段时间，沙皇召来他的三个儿子，说：

“让你们各自的妻子在明天早上之前烤好一条面包。”

伊万愁眉紧锁地回到了家里。

“呱呱！亲爱的丈夫，为什么这么伤心？”青蛙温柔地问。“宫里有什么让你不顺心的事吗？”

“确实让我不顺心。我父皇想要你在明天之前烤好一条面包。”

“别担心。去睡吧。清早比黑夜更易解决问题。”

伊万就去睡觉了。然后青蛙脱下她的蛙皮，摇身变成一位美丽可爱的姑娘，名叫瓦茜里莎。她走出门廊大声召唤：

“保姆和侍女们，马上来为我准备明天早上要吃的一条白面包，要和从前我在父皇的宫殿里吃的面包一模一样！”

早上，伊万醒来时，面包已经做好了。整条面包外部都装饰着漂亮的城镇和堡垒图案，里面则洁白如雪花，松软如羽毛。……