格林童話:Foundling Bird鳥棄兒

Foundling-Bird

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time there was a forester. He went into the woods to hunt, and after entering the woods he heard a sound of crying, as though it were a little child. Following the sound, he finally came to a tall tree, at the top of which a little child was sitting. His mother had fallen asleep under the tree with the child. A bird of prey had seen him in her arms, flown down, picked him up in its beak, and then set him on the tall tree.

the forester climbed the tree, brought the child down, and thought, "I will take the child home with me, and bring him up with my Lenchen."

So he took him home, and the two children GREw up together. The child whom he had found on the tree was called Foundling-Bird, because a bird had carried him away. Foundling-Bird and Lenchen loved each other so much, ever so much, that whenever they did not see one another they were sad.

Now the forester had an old cook. One evening she took two buckets and began to fetch water. She did not go out to the well just once, but many times.

Lenchen saw this and said, "Listen, old Sanna, why are you fetching so much water?"

"If you won't tell anyone, I will tell you."

So Lenchen said that she would not tell anyone, and then the cook said, "Early tomorrow morning when the forester is out hunting I will heat the water, and when it is boiling in the kettle I will throw Foundling-Bird into it and cook him.

the forester got up very early the next morning and went out hunting. When he left, the children were still in bed.

then Lenchen said to Foundling-Bird, "If you will never leave me, I will never leave you either."

Foundling-Bird said, "Never, ever."

then Lenchen said, "Then I will tell you that last night old Sanna carried so many buckets of water into the house that I asked her why she was doing that. She said that if I would not tell anyone she would tell me. I said that I would be sure not to tell anyone, and she said that early tomorrow morning when father was out hunting, she would boil a kettle full of water, throw you into it, and cook you. But let us hurry and get up, get dressed, and run away together.

So the two children got up, hurriedly got dressed, and went away.

When the water in the kettle was boiling, the cook went into the bedroom to get Foundling-Bird and throw him into it. But when she went to their room and to their beds, both the children were gone.

then she became terribly frightened and said to herself, "What will I say when the forester comes home and sees that the children are gone. I must hurry and follow them and get them back again."

then the cook sent out three servants who were to run after the children and bring them back. The children were sitting at the edge of the woods when they saw the three servants running toward them from afar.

Lenchen said to Foundling-Bird, "Never leave me, and I will never leave you."

Foundling-Bird said, "Never, ever."

then Lenchen said, "You, turn into a rosebush, and I to a rose on it."

When the three servants reached the edge of the woods nothing was there but a rosebush with one rose on it, but the children were nowhere."

then they said, "There is nothing to be done here," and they went home and told the cook that they had seen nothing out there but a little rosebush with one rose on it.

then the old cook scolded them, saying, "You simpletons, you should have cut the rosebush in two and then broken off the rose and brought it home with you. Hurry up and do it."

So they had to go out and look for the second time. The children, however, saw them coming from afar.

Lenchen said, "Foundling-Bird, never leave me, and I will never leave you."

Foundling-Bird said, "Never, ever."

Lenchen said, "You, turn into a church, and I to the chandelier in it."

When the three servants arrived, nothing was there but a church with a chandelier in it. So they said to one another, "What can we do here? Let us go home."

When they reached home, the cook asked if they had found them, and they said that they had found nothing but a church with a chandelier in it.

the cook scolded them, saying, "You fools, why didn't you break down the church and bring the chandelier home with you?"

This time the old cook herself got up and with the three servants went out after the children.

the children, however, saw from afar that the three servants were coming, with the cook tottering after them.

then Lenchen said, "Foundling-Bird, never leave me, and I will never leave you."

Foundling-Bird said, "Never, ever."

Lenchen said, "Turn into a pond, and I to a duck upon it."

the cook came up to them, and when she saw the pond she leaned out over it and was about to drink it up. But the duck quickly came swimming toward her, took hold of her head with its beak, and pulled her into the water, where the old witch drowned.

then the children went home together, and were very happy, and if they have not died, they are still alive.

從前，有一位林務員到森林裏去狩獵。他剛走進森林，就聽見尖聲的哭叫，好像不遠處有個小孩兒。他循着哭聲往前走，最後來到一棵大樹前，只見樹上坐着一個小孩兒。原來有位母親帶着小孩兒在一棵樹下睡着了，一隻老鷹發現了她懷裏的小孩兒，就猛撲下來把小孩兒叼走了，放在了眼前這棵大樹上。

林務員爬到樹上，把小孩從樹上接了下來，心裏想：「你就把這孩子帶回家去吧，把他和你的小莉娜一塊兒撫養成人。」他真的就把小孩兒帶回家裏，於是兩個小傢伙便一塊兒成長。他從樹上撿回來的那個孩子，因爲是被鳥叼走的，所以就起名叫鳥棄兒。鳥棄兒和小莉娜相親相愛，倆人只要不在一起，就會感到難過。

在護林人的家裏，有個老廚娘。一天傍晚，她提着兩隻桶去泉邊打水，一連去了許多次。小莉娜見了就問：「老桑娜，你幹嗎打這麼多的水？」「要是你對誰也不說，我就告訴你。」小莉娜答應了她，老廚娘於是就說：「明兒一大早，等林務員外出打獵去了，我就燒水；水燒開以後，我就把鳥棄兒扔進鍋裏煮了。」

第二天清早，林務員起身後就出去打獵了。他走的時候，兩個孩子還沒起牀。小莉娜對鳥棄兒說：「要是你永遠不離開我，我也永遠不離開你。」鳥棄兒回答說：「我絕不會離開你。」於是，小莉娜就對他說：「那麼，我很情願告訴你一件事。昨天晚上，老桑娜提回來好多桶水，我問她提那麼多水乾甚麼，她說要是我保證對誰也不說就告訴我，我說我一定誰也不告訴，她纔對我說，明天一大早，爸爸出去打獵的時候，她要燒一大鍋水，把你扔進鍋裏煮了。咱們可得快點兒起牀，穿好衣服一快兒逃吧。」

兩個孩子於是下了牀，飛快地穿好衣服，拔腿就跑了出去。鍋裏的水燒開了，廚娘準備到臥室去把鳥棄兒抓來下鍋。可是當她走進臥室，來到牀邊一看，兩個孩子全都逃走了，她不禁驚慌起來，自言自語道：「等林務員回來發現兩個孩子不見了，我可怎麼交代呢？得趕快去追，把他們弄回來。」

說罷，老廚娘打發三個幫工去追趕他們。兩個孩子這時正坐在森林前面，遠遠地看見那三個幫工朝這邊奔跑過來，小莉娜便對鳥棄兒說：「你永遠不要離開我，我也永遠不離開你。」鳥棄兒回答說：「永遠不離開。」接着小莉娜說：「你變成一棵玫瑰，我變成枝頭上的一朵鮮花。」

三個幫工追趕到森林跟前，只發現一棵玫瑰樹和枝頭上的一朵花兒，卻不見兩個孩子的蹤影。因此他們說道：「這兒沒啥可乾的事。」說完就回去了，告訴廚娘說，他們在森林只發現了一棵玫瑰，枝頭上還開了一朵花兒，再沒看見別的甚麼。老廚娘一聽破口大罵：「你們這羣蠢豬！你們應該砍斷那棵玫瑰樹，摘下那朵花兒隨身帶回來纔是。快去！趕快照我說的去做！」他們只好再次出去尋找。可是，兩個孩子老遠看見他們又來了，小莉娜說：「鳥棄兒，你永遠不要離開我，我也永遠不離開你。」鳥棄兒回答她說：「永遠不離開。」

小莉娜於是說：「那麼你變成一座教堂，我變成裏面的大吊燈。」三個幫工趕到時，只看見一座教堂和教堂裏的大吊燈，於是他們異口同聲地說：「咱們在這兒能幹啥呢？還是回去吧。」回去後，廚娘問他們是不是甚麼也沒找到，他們說沒有，但只發現了一座教堂，教堂裏還有個大吊燈。廚娘對着他們又是一通大罵：「你們這幫笨蛋！你們爲甚麼不把教堂拆了呢？爲甚麼不把大吊燈隨身帶回來呢？」老廚娘這回親自出馬，帶着三個幫工去追趕鳥棄兒和小莉娜。可兩個孩子遠遠就看見了三個幫工朝這邊走來了，老廚娘一搖一擺地跟在後面。見此情景，小莉娜說：「鳥棄兒，你永遠不要離開我，我也永遠不離開你。」鳥棄兒回答說：「永遠不離開。」小莉娜又說：「你變成魚塘，我變成在水上游來游去的鴨子。」老廚娘終於趕了過來，她一見魚塘就趴在了塘邊上，打算把塘裏的水喝乾。誰知那隻鴨子很快遊了過來，用嘴死死地咬住她的腦袋，把她拖進了水裏，老巫婆就這樣在魚塘裏淹死了。然後，兩個孩子一塊兒回到了家裏，心裏有說不出的高興。要是他們倆沒有去世，現在一定還活着呢。