The Hare Herder魔笛唤兔闯情关
编者按：一个穷帅哥，为了追求一位颜值爆表的皇家俏公主，幸遇一位高人赠魔笛相助，成功通过国王和公主设立的三道情关——赶兔、分豆、吃面包。在闯关过程中，帅哥机智地识破国王和公主干预他成功的阴谋，并对其“居庙堂之高”却一副狭隘的心胸给予了绝妙而滑稽地耍讽。
The Lad Encountered a Helper During Breaking Pass
抛金果美女选准婿，闯头关帅哥遇神妪
A wealthy king had a very beautiful daughter. When the time came for her to marry, all the suitors gathered in a large green meadow1. She repeatedly threw a golden apple into the air, agreeing to marry the one who caught it and then fulfilled2 three tasks that she herself would assign. Many suitors caught the apple, including a good-looking, lively shepherd lad, but none of the others were able to fulfill the tasks.
Finally it was the shepherd’s turn, the last and the lowest of all the suitors. The first task was as follows: The king had a hundred hares in a stall. The shepherd was to drive them out to a pasture, herd them, and then bring them all back home in the evening.
When the shepherd heard this he wanted a day’s time to think about whether or not he could undertake the venture. He wandered into the surrounding hills, filled with sorrow, for he was afraid that he would not succeed. Then he met a little old woman who asked him why he was sad.
He said, “No one can help me.”
The little gray woman said, “Don’t be so quick to judge. Tell me what is the matter, and perhaps I can help.”
So he explained the task to her.
Then the woman gave him a little flute, saying, “Take good care of this. It will be of value to you.”
Before the lad could thank her, she disappeared.
Now in good spirits, he went to the king and said, “I want to herd the hares.”
They were released from the stall, and by the time that the last one came out, the first one was nowhere to be seen. They had scattered in all directions. The lad went out, sat down on a green hill, and thought, “What should I do now?”
Then he remembered his flute. He took it out and blew into it. Suddenly all hundred of the hares ran toward him and began to graze3 peacefully near him on the green hill.
从前，一位家资丰厚的国王膝下有位颜值爆表的千金。时值她论嫁之期，所有的追求者都聚集在一个宽阔的大草场上。公主一遍又一遍地向空中抛一枚金苹果，她允诺，如果有谁能捉到苹果，并顺利闯过她设下的三道任务关，便将自己终身许配给此人。许多追求者抢到了苹果——其中包括一位超帅的牧羊小伙，可到了闯关时，几乎无一不栽在三道关卡上。最后，轮到这位出身最卑微的帅哥过关了。
第一项任务如下：国王圈养了一百只野兔。帅哥需将它们从窝中一并逐到牧场中，之后在傍晚时分再将其悉数赶回窝棚。帅哥闻听后，心内生惧，恐闯关有闪失。于是他抽出一天时间在山丘闲逛。正在他满心悲闷之时，他偶遇一位老妪，老妪得知此事后，赠予他一支小笛子，并告诫他要妥善保管，此笛能助他一臂之力。随后老人转眼间踪迹不见。帅哥信心满满去请示国王闯关。一百只野兔被驱出窝，四散逃窜，刹那间全部没了踪影。帅哥干坐在小山中，苦苦寻思，如之奈何？此时他想起老妪的笛子，于是便取出来，吹奏起来。突然一百只野兔全都奔向了他，之后开始在山丘上安静地牧草。
The Flute Made Tricks Fail and the Lad Through
生嫌恶父女立障阻，识解数魔笛启通途
The king and the princess did not want him to fulfill the task because he was such a poor sucker4, not high-born at all, and they thought about ways to prevent him from bringing all the hares back home.
Thus the princess disguised5 herself and changed her appearance so that he would not know her, but he recognized her nonetheless.
Seeing that all the hares were still there, she asked, “Could I buy one of the hares?”
The lad said, “The hares are not for sale, but one can be earned.”
She asked further, “How am I to understand that?”
The lad said, “If you will be my sweetheart and spend a cuddly6 hour with me!”
She did not want to do this, but she did want one of the hares, so finally she gave in and did what the lad wanted. After he had cuddled with her and kissed her enough, he caught a hare for her and put it into her basket, and then she went away.
A quarter-hour later the shepherd blew into his flute, and the hare pushed up the basket’s lid, jumped out, and ran back to him.
Not long afterward the old king, also disguised, came to the shepherd, but the lad recognized him as well. The king was riding a donkey with a basket hanging on either side.
The king asked, “Will you sell me a hare?”
“No, the hares are not for sale, but one can be earned.”
“How am I to understand that?” asked the king.
“Just kiss the donkey beneath its tail,” began the lad, “and you can have one.”
The king did not want to do this and offered the shepherd good money if he would sell him one, but the lad refused. Seeing that he could not buy a hare for money the king finally gave in and kissed the donkey a good one right beneath its tail. Then a hare was caught and put into one of the baskets on the donkey, and the king went on his way. He hadn’t gone very far when the lad blew into his flute. The hare jumped out of the basket and ran back.
Arriving home, the king said, “He is a stubborn7 fellow. I couldn’t get a hare from him.” But the king did not say what he had done.
“Yes,” answered the princess, “I couldn’t get one either.” But she too did not admit what she had done.
That evening the lad returned with his hares and counted them for the king, all hundred of them were back in the stall.
“You have fulfilled the first task,” said the king, “and now for the second one. Pay attention! One hundred bushels8 of peas and one hundred bushels of lentils are lying in my loft. I had them all mixed up together. If you can separate them in one night, without light, then you will have fulfilled the second task.”
The lad said, “I can do it!”
He was locked inside the loft, and the door was securely fastened. When everything was quiet in the castle, he blew into his flute, then many thousands of ants appeared and scurried9 back and forth until they had piled all the peas in one heap and all the lentils in a separate one.
When the king looked in early the next morning and saw that the task had been fulfilled, he did not see any ants, for they had all gone away.
Then he said, “In the coming night if you can eat your way through a large room filled with bread, so that nothing is left over, then you will have fulfilled the third task, and you can have my daughter.”
When it was dark the lad was put into the room filled with bread. It was so full that there was only a tiny space for him next to the door. When everything was quiet in the castle he once again blew into his flute, and so many mice appeared that it almost frightened him. At daybreak all the bread had been eaten, with not a single crumb left over.
He pounded on the door and shouted, “Open up! I’m hungry!” And with that the third task had been fulfilled.
第一关帅哥眼看就要拿下，可谁知国王和公主都嫌弃他的出身，随即他们想方设法从中作梗，不让帅哥得逞。公主换了装扮，伪饰身份，却被帅哥识穿。公主看见野兔一只不落地呆在原地，便请求买一只野兔，帅哥回复，只要她肯做自己的“小苹果”，并与自己温存一小时，他便答应送给她一只。公主虽不情愿，却为了长远打算不得不妥协，最后她得到一只野兔后离去。一刻钟过后，帅哥吹起魔笛，公主辛苦换来的野兔从篮子里蹦出来，重归帅哥处。此后不久，老国王也乔装改扮，骑着一头驴，来到牧羊小伙处，他同样没逃出帅哥的法眼。国王请求相同的问题，帅哥提出，只要国王能吻一下驴屁股，便可得到一只野兔。国王心中有十个不乐意，再次供以丰厚的钱资欲买之，却遭到帅哥否决。无奈之下，国王只好妥协。随后得到一只野兔离去。还没等他走远，帅哥便奏魔笛召回野兔。
国王和公主各自抱怨妙计落空，却又为了保存颜面，不敢互提各自被帅哥耍过。傍晚，帅哥遣百只野兔归窝，顺利通关。接下来，国王颁布第二关细则：国王的阁楼内存有100蒲式耳的豌豆和另100蒲式耳的小扁豆。国王把两种豆全数搅混在一起。帅哥需要在一夜之间将两种豆子完全挑拣分开，一粒都不能出错。他听后爽快地应下。当夜，他被牢牢地锁在阁楼内。此时，城内万籁俱静，帅哥吹起魔笛，楼内竟爬出上千只蚂蚁，只见蚂蚁你来我往，前后疾步，最终将豌豆与扁豆清分为两大堆。第二日大早，国王查验，第二关轻松告捷。第三关接踵而至，帅哥需要在当夜设法吃完满满一大屋子的面包，丁点儿不能剩。夜幕拉下，在一个放满面包的屋内，帅哥只能置身于紧挨门口的容身之地。他又一次唤起魔笛，这次引来成群的老鼠。翌日破晓时分，面包被吃得一干二净，片屑不留。最后一关成功收官。
The King Finally Gave in Under the True Lie
心不甘国王续刁难，吐“谎”言帅哥吃通关
However, the king said, “Just for the fun of it, tell us a sack full of lies, and then you can have my daughter.”
So the lad told them a terrible lie for half the day, but he could not fill the sack, so finally he related, “I have already spent a cuddly hour with the princess, my bride-to-be.”
Hearing these words, the princess turned fire-red. The king looked at her, and although it was supposed to be a lie, he believed it to be true, putting together in his own mind where and how it had happened.
“The sack is not full yet!” he shouted.
Then the lad began, “And furthermore, the king kissed...”
“It’s full! It’s full! Tie it shut!” shouted the king. He was ashamed and did not want anyone to know how the donkey had been honored with the king’s royal mouth, for all of his courtiers were standing around in a circle.
So the shepherd lad married the princess, and the wedding was celebrated for fourteen days. Such a grand time was had by all that the person who told this story wishes that he had been a guest there as well.
可是，心有不甘的国王继续施以刁难，要求帅哥非得当场撒一篓子谎话，方可迎娶公主。小伙子费了半天劲才撒了一个蹩脚的谎言，但是没有达到要求。于是他最后说出来自己已与公主拥抱了一小时。听到此，公主的脸腾得火烧一般透红。国王看在眼里，想在心里。虽然这本属谎话，国王却思来想去，信以为真。但国王大喝谎话依然不够。随后，帅哥继续“说谎”，即将说破国王吻驴臀的丑事之际，国王碍于颜面，不想让任何人得知那头驴子曾被自己圣口敬过，于是急忙打住帅哥，同意过关。帅哥凭神笛相助以及自己的智慧，终于抱得美人归。
注释：
1. meadow [ˈmedəʊ] n. 草场；牧场
2. fulfill [fʊl'fɪl] vt. 履行；实现；完成
3. graze [greɪz] vi. （牛、羊等）啃食牧草
4. sucker [ˈsʌkə(r)] n. <俚> 吸血鬼，寄生虫
5. disguise [dɪsˈgaɪz] vt. 假扮，化装
6. cuddly [ˈkʌdlɪ] a. 喜欢搂搂抱抱的
7. stubborn [ˈstʌbən] a. 难驾驭的；难对付的
8. bushel ['bʊʃəl] n. 蒲式耳（谷物、水果、蔬菜等的容量单位，在英国等于36.368升，在美国等于35.238升）
9. scurry [ˈskʌrɪ] vi. 急匆匆地走，急赶，奔忙
以上内容选自《英语沙龙》（高中版）2015年05期
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