The Fisherman and His Wife

There was once a fisherman who lived with his wife in a pigsty, close by the seaside. The fisherman used to go out all day long a-fishing; and one day, as he sat on the shore with his rod, looking at the sparkling waves and watching his line, all on a sudden his float was dragged away deep into the water: and in drawing it up he pulled out a great fish.

从前有个渔夫，和他的妻子住在海边一间猪圈似的破屋里。渔夫每天都出门去钓一整天的鱼；有一天，他坐在岸边，拿着钓竿，望着波光粼粼的海浪，注视着自己的钓线，忽然间，他的浮标猛地被拖进了深水里：等他把线拉上来时，钓到了一条大鱼。

But the fish said, ‘Pray let me live! I am not a real fish; I am an enchanted prince: put me in the water again, and let me go!’ ‘Oh, ho!’ said the man, ‘you need not make so many words about the matter; I will have nothing to do with a fish that can talk: so swim away, sir, as soon as you please!’ Then he put him back into the water, and the fish darted straight down to the bottom, and left a long streak of blood behind him on the wave.

可那条鱼却说：“求求你放我一条生路吧！我不是一条真正的鱼，我是一位中了魔法的王子：把我放回水里去，让我走吧！”“哦，哈！”那人说，“你也用不着说这么多废话；我可不想跟一条会说话的鱼打交道：那就快游走吧，先生，随你的便！”说着，他便把鱼放回了水里，那鱼一头直冲到水底，在波浪上留下一道长长的血迹。

When the fisherman went home to his wife in the pigsty, he told her how he had caught a great fish, and how it had told him it was an enchanted prince, and how, on hearing it speak, he had let it go again. ‘Did not you ask it for anything?’ said the wife, ‘we live very wretchedly here, in this nasty dirty pigsty; do go back and tell the fish we want a snug little cottage.’

渔夫回到猪圈似的家里，见了妻子，便把自己钓到一条大鱼的事讲给她听，说那鱼告诉他，它是一位中了魔法的王子，说他一听鱼开口说话，便把它放回去了。“你没向它讨点什么吗？”妻子说，“我们住在这肮脏的猪圈里，日子过得多么凄惨；快回去告诉那条鱼，我们想要一间舒适的小屋。”

The fisherman did not much like the business: however, he went to the seashore; and when he came back there the water looked all yellow and green. And he stood at the water’s edge, and said:

渔夫并不太乐意做这件事：可他还是去了海边；等他到了那儿，海水看上去一片浑黄泛绿。他站在水边，说道：

‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife Ilsabill Will have her own will, And hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’

“大海里的人啊！ 听我说一句！ 我妻子伊尔莎碧儿， 非要她的心愿不可， 差我来向你求个恩惠！”

Then the fish came swimming to him, and said, ‘Well, what is her will? What does your wife want?’ ‘Ah!’ said the fisherman, ‘she says that when I had caught you, I ought to have asked you for something before I let you go; she does not like living any longer in the pigsty, and wants a snug little cottage.’ ‘Go home, then,’ said the fish; ‘she is in the cottage already!’ So the man went home, and saw his wife standing at the door of a nice trim little cottage.

于是那条鱼便游到他跟前，说：“好吧，她想要什么？你妻子想要什么？”“唉！”渔夫说，“她说，我既然钓到了你，就该在放你走之前向你讨点什么才是；她不愿再住在猪圈里了，想要一间舒适的小屋。”“那就回家去吧，”鱼说，“她已经在小屋里了！”于是那人便回了家，只见妻子正站在一间整洁精巧的小屋门口。

‘Come in, come in!’ said she; ‘is not this much better than the filthy pigsty we had?’ And there was a parlour, and a bedchamber, and a kitchen; and behind the cottage there was a little garden, planted with all sorts of flowers and fruits; and there was a courtyard behind, full of ducks and chickens. ‘Ah!’ said the fisherman, ‘how happily we shall live now!’ ‘We will try to do so, at least,’ said his wife.

“进来呀，进来呀！”她说，“这不是比我们从前那间脏兮兮的猪圈好多了吗？”屋里有一间起居室，一间卧房，还有一间厨房；屋子后面有一座小花园，种满了各色花草和果树；后面还有一个院子，养满了鸭子和鸡。“啊！”渔夫说，“往后咱们可要过上快活日子了！”“咱们至少可以试着这样过日子，”他妻子说。

Everything went right for a week or two, and then Dame Ilsabill said, ‘Husband, there is not near room enough for us in this cottage; the courtyard and the garden are a great deal too small; I should like to have a large stone castle to live in: go to the fish again and tell him to give us a castle.’ ‘Wife,’ said the fisherman, ‘I don’t like to go to him again, for perhaps he will be angry; we ought to be easy with this pretty cottage to live in.’ ‘Nonsense!’ said the wife; ‘he will do it very willingly, I know; go along and try!’

一切都顺顺当当地过了一两个星期，然后伊尔莎碧儿夫人便说：“老公啊，这间小屋对咱们来说实在太小了；这院子和花园也小得很；我想要一座石头砌的大城堡来住：再去找那条鱼一趟，叫它给咱们一座城堡。”“老婆，”渔夫说，“我不想再去找它了，它说不定会生气的；咱们能住上这么漂亮的小屋，就该知足了。”“胡说！”妻子说，“它一定很乐意的，我知道；快去试试看！”

The fisherman went, but his heart was very heavy: and when he came to the sea, it looked blue and gloomy, though it was very calm; and he went close to the edge of the waves, and said:

渔夫去了，可他心里十分沉重：等他来到海边，海面虽然十分平静，看上去却是一片阴沉的蓝色；他走到浪花的边缘，说道：

‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife Ilsabill Will have her own will, And hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’

“大海里的人啊！ 听我说一句！ 我妻子伊尔莎碧儿， 非要她的心愿不可， 差我来向你求个恩惠！”

‘Well, what does she want now?’ said the fish. ‘Ah!’ said the man, dolefully, ‘my wife wants to live in a stone castle.’ ‘Go home, then,’ said the fish; ‘she is standing at the gate of it already.’ So away went the fisherman, and found his wife standing before the gate of a great castle. ‘See,’ said she, ‘is not this grand?’

“好吧，她这回又想要什么？”鱼说。“唉！”那人愁眉苦脸地说，“我妻子想住一座石头城堡。”“那就回家去吧，”鱼说，“她已经站在城堡的大门口了。”于是渔夫便走了，果然见妻子正站在一座大城堡的门前。“瞧，”她说，“这不是很气派吗？”

With that they went into the castle together, and found a great many servants there, and the rooms all richly furnished, and full of golden chairs and tables; and behind the castle was a garden, and around it was a park half a mile long, full of sheep, and goats, and hares, and deer; and in the courtyard were stables and cow-houses. ‘Well,’ said the man, ‘now we will live cheerful and happy in this beautiful castle for the rest of our lives.’ ‘Perhaps we may,’ said the wife; ‘but let us sleep upon it, before we make up our minds to that.’ So they went to bed.

说着，两人便一同走进城堡，只见里面有许许多多的仆人，房间里陈设都十分华贵，摆满了金椅金桌；城堡后面有一座花园，周围还有一座方圆半英里的园林，里面养满了绵羊、山羊、野兔和鹿；院子里还有马厩和牛棚。“好啦，”那人说，“往后咱们这辈子，都要在这座漂亮的城堡里快快乐乐地过日子了。”“也许吧，”妻子说，“不过咱们还是先睡一觉再说，容我想想清楚再做决定。”于是他们便去睡了。

The next morning when Dame Ilsabill awoke it was broad daylight, and she jogged the fisherman with her elbow, and said, ‘Get up, husband, and bestir yourself, for we must be king of all the land.’ ‘Wife, wife,’ said the man, ‘why should we wish to be the king? I will not be king.’ ‘Then I will,’ said she. ‘But, wife,’ said the fisherman, ‘how can you be king—the fish cannot make you a king?’

第二天早晨，伊尔莎碧儿夫人醒来时天已大亮，她用胳膊肘捅了捅渔夫，说：“起来，老公，打起精神来，咱们得当全国的国王才行。”“老婆，老婆，”那人说，“咱们干嘛要想当国王呢？我可不当国王。”“那我来当，”她说。“可是，老婆，”渔夫说，“你怎么能当国王呢——那条鱼总不能让你当国王吧？”

‘Husband,’ said she, ‘say no more about it, but go and try! I will be king.’ So the man went away quite sorrowful to think that his wife should want to be king. This time the sea looked a dark grey colour, and was overspread with curling waves and the ridges of foam as he cried out:

“老公，”她说，“别再多说了，快去试试看！我就要当国王。”于是那人便闷闷不乐地走了，心想妻子竟然想当国王，实在太不像话。这一回，海面呈现出一片深灰色，波浪翻卷，浪尖上泛着一道道白沫，他喊道：

‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife Ilsabill Will have her own will, And hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’

“大海里的人啊！ 听我说一句！ 我妻子伊尔莎碧儿， 非要她的心愿不可， 差我来向你求个恩惠！”

‘Well, what would she have now?’ said the fish. ‘Alas!’ said the poor man, ‘my wife wants to be king.’ ‘Go home,’ said the fish; ‘she is king already.’

“好吧，她这回又想要什么？”鱼说。“唉！”可怜的渔夫说，“我妻子想当国王。”“回家去吧，”鱼说，“她已经是国王了。”

Then the fisherman went home; and as he came close to the palace he saw a troop of soldiers, and heard the sound of drums and trumpets. And when he went in he saw his wife sitting on a throne of gold and diamonds, with a golden crown upon her head; and on each side of her stood six fair maidens, each a head taller than the other. ‘Well, wife,’ said the fisherman, ‘are you king?’ ‘Yes,’ said she, ‘I am king.’

于是渔夫便回了家；等他走近王宫，只见一队士兵，还听见鼓声和号角声。他一走进去，便看见妻子正坐在一张用金子和钻石做成的宝座上，头戴一顶金冠；她两旁各站着六位美丽的姑娘，一个比一个高出一个头。“怎么样，老婆，”渔夫说，“你当上国王了吗？”“是啊，”她说，“我当上国王了。”

And when he had looked at her for a long time, he said, ‘Ah, wife! what a fine thing it is to be king! Now we shall never have anything more to wish for as long as we live.’ ‘I don’t know how that may be,’ said she; ‘never is a long time. I am king, it is true; but I begin to be tired of that, and I think I should like to be emperor.’

他望着她看了好一会儿，说道：“啊，老婆！当国王可真是件了不起的事啊！这下咱们这辈子，再也没什么可盼望的了。”“这我可说不准，”她说，“‘再也没有’可是很长很长的时间呢。我现在确实是国王了没错；可我已经开始厌烦了，我想我该当皇帝才是。”

‘Alas, wife! why should you wish to be emperor?’ said the fisherman. ‘Husband,’ said she, ‘go to the fish! I say I will be emperor.’ ‘Ah, wife!’ replied the fisherman, ‘the fish cannot make an emperor, I am sure, and I should not like to ask him for such a thing.’ ‘I am king,’ said Ilsabill, ‘and you are my slave; so go at once!’

“唉，老婆！你怎么又想当皇帝呢？”渔夫说。“老公，”她说，“去找那条鱼！我说我要当皇帝。”“啊，老婆！”渔夫答道，“那条鱼肯定没法让人当皇帝的，我实在不愿意向它开这个口。”“我现在是国王，”伊尔莎碧儿说，“你是我的臣仆；快去，马上就去！”

So the fisherman was forced to go; and he muttered as he went along, ‘This will come to no good, it is too much to ask; the fish will be tired at last, and then we shall be sorry for what we have done.’ He soon came to the seashore; and the water was quite black and muddy, and a mighty whirlwind blew over the waves and rolled them about, but he went as near as he could to the water’s brink, and said:

渔夫没有办法，只得又去了；他边走边嘀咕：“这可没什么好结果，要求得太过分了；那条鱼迟早会厌烦的，到那时咱们就要为自己做过的事后悔了。”不一会儿，他便来到海边；只见海水一片乌黑浑浊，一阵狂风卷着海浪翻滚不已，他尽量走到靠近水边的地方，说道：

‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife Ilsabill Will have her own will, And hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’

“大海里的人啊！ 听我说一句！ 我妻子伊尔莎碧儿， 非要她的心愿不可， 差我来向你求个恩惠！”

‘What would she have now?’ said the fish. ‘Ah!’ said the fisherman, ‘she wants to be emperor.’ ‘Go home,’ said the fish; ‘she is emperor already.’

“她这回又想要什么？”鱼说。“唉！”渔夫说，“她想当皇帝。”“回家去吧，”鱼说，“她已经是皇帝了。”

So he went home again; and as he came near he saw his wife Ilsabill sitting on a very lofty throne made of solid gold, with a great crown on her head full two yards high; and on each side of her stood her guards and attendants in a row, each one smaller than the other, from the tallest giant down to a little dwarf no bigger than my finger. And before her stood princes, and dukes, and earls: and the fisherman went up to her and said, ‘Wife, are you emperor?’ ‘Yes,’ said she, ‘I am emperor.’ ‘Ah!’ said the man, as he gazed upon her, ‘what a fine thing it is to be emperor!’

于是他又回了家；等他走近时，只见妻子伊尔莎碧儿正坐在一张纯金打造的极高的宝座上，头戴一顶足有两码高的大王冠；她两旁站着一排排的卫兵和侍从，一个比一个矮，从最高的巨人一直排到一个不比我的手指还大的小矮人。她面前站着王公贵族和伯爵大臣：渔夫走上前去，说：“老婆，你当上皇帝了吗？”“是啊，”她说，“我当上皇帝了。”“啊！”那人望着她说，“当皇帝可真是件了不起的事啊！”

‘Husband,’ said she, ‘why should we stop at being emperor? I will be pope next.’ ‘O wife, wife!’ said he, ‘how can you be pope? there is but one pope at a time in Christendom.’ ‘Husband,’ said she, ‘I will be pope this very day.’ ‘But,’ replied the husband, ‘the fish cannot make you pope.’ ‘What nonsense!’ said she; ‘if he can make an emperor, he can make a pope: go and try him.’

“老公，”她说，“咱们干嘛只当到皇帝就止步呢？我下一步要当教皇。”“哦，老婆，老婆！”他说，“你怎么能当教皇呢？整个基督教世界同一时间只能有一位教皇啊。”“老公，”她说，“我今天就要当教皇。”“可是，”丈夫答道，“那条鱼没法让你当教皇的。”“胡说八道！”她说，“它既然能让人当皇帝，就能让人当教皇：去试试看吧。”

So the fisherman went. But when he came to the shore the wind was raging and the sea was tossed up and down in boiling waves, and the ships were in trouble, and rolled fearfully upon the tops of the billows. In the middle of the heavens there was a little piece of blue sky, but towards the south all was red, as if a dreadful storm was rising. At this sight the fisherman was dreadfully frightened, and he trembled so that his knees knocked together: but still he went down near to the shore, and said:

于是渔夫便去了。可等他来到岸边，只见狂风大作，海面上下翻腾，波涛汹涌，船只都陷入了险境，在浪尖上可怕地颠簸摇晃。天空中央还留着一小块蓝天，可南边却是一片火红，仿佛一场可怕的风暴正在酝酿。渔夫见了这般景象，吓得魂飞魄散，抖得两个膝盖直打颤：可他还是走近岸边，说道：

‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife Ilsabill Will have her own will, And hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’

“大海里的人啊！ 听我说一句！ 我妻子伊尔莎碧儿， 非要她的心愿不可， 差我来向你求个恩惠！”

‘What does she want now?’ said the fish. ‘Ah!’ said the fisherman, ‘my wife wants to be pope.’ ‘Go home,’ said the fish; ‘she is pope already.’

“她这回又想要什么？”鱼说。“唉！”渔夫说，“我妻子想当教皇。”“回家去吧，”鱼说，“她已经是教皇了。”

Then the fisherman went home, and found Ilsabill sitting on a throne that was two miles high. And she had three great crowns on her head, and around her stood all the pomp and power of the Church. And on each side of her were two rows of burning lights, of all sizes, the greatest as large as the highest and biggest tower in the world, and the least no larger than a small rushlight. ‘Wife,’ said the fisherman, as he looked at all this greatness, ‘are you pope?’ ‘Yes,’ said she, ‘I am pope.’

于是渔夫便回了家，只见伊尔莎碧儿正坐在一座高达两英里的宝座上。她头上戴着三重巨大的皇冠，周围簇拥着教会全部的威仪和权势。她两旁各排着两列燃烧的烛火，大小不一，最大的一支足有世上最高最大的塔那么高，最小的一支却不比一根小小的灯芯草大多少。“老婆，”渔夫望着这一派威严景象，说道，“你当上教皇了吗？”“是啊，”她说，“我当上教皇了。”

‘Well, wife,’ replied he, ‘it is a grand thing to be pope; and now you must be easy, for you can be nothing greater.’ ‘I will think about that,’ said the wife. Then they went to bed: but Dame Ilsabill could not sleep all night for thinking what she should be next.

“好吧，老婆，”他答道，“当教皇可真是件了不起的大事啊；如今你该知足了，因为你再也没法当得比这更大的了。”“这个我要好好想想，”妻子说。于是他们便去睡了：可伊尔莎碧儿夫人一整夜都翻来覆去睡不着，一直在琢磨自己下一步该当些什么。

At last, as she was dropping asleep, morning broke, and the sun rose. ‘Ha!’ thought she, as she woke up and looked at it through the window, ‘after all I cannot prevent the sun rising.’ At this thought she was very angry, and wakened her husband, and said, ‘Husband, go to the fish and tell him I must be lord of the sun and moon.’ The fisherman was half asleep, but the thought frightened him so much that he started and fell out of bed. ‘Alas, wife!’ said he, ‘cannot you be easy with being pope?’ ‘No,’ said she, ‘I am very uneasy as long as the sun and moon rise without my leave. Go to the fish at once!’

终于，就在她快要睡着的时候，天亮了，太阳升了起来。“哈！”她一边醒来，一边透过窗户望着太阳，心想，“说到底，我还是没法阻止太阳升起呀。”想到这里，她十分恼火，便唤醒了丈夫，说：“老公，去找那条鱼，告诉它我要当太阳和月亮的主宰。”渔夫睡得迷迷糊糊，可这个念头把他吓得不轻，他猛地一惊，从床上滚了下来。“唉，老婆！”他说，“你就不能安安稳稳地当你的教皇吗？”“不行，”她说，“只要太阳和月亮不经我的准许就自己升起，我就一天不得安宁。快去找那条鱼，马上就去！”

Then the man went shivering with fear; and as he was going down to the shore a dreadful storm arose, so that the trees and the very rocks shook. And all the heavens became black with stormy clouds, and the lightnings played, and the thunders rolled; and you might have seen in the sea great black waves, swelling up like mountains with crowns of white foam upon their heads. And the fisherman crept towards the sea, and cried out, as well as he could:

于是那人便浑身发抖地去了；他正往岸边走去时，忽然刮起一场可怕的风暴，连树木和岩石都摇晃起来。整个天空被暴风云笼罩得漆黑一片，电光闪烁，雷声滚滚；海面上翻涌着一座座黑黢黢的巨浪，像大山一般高高鼓起，浪头上戴着一顶顶白色的浪花王冠。渔夫蹒跚着走向大海，用尽全身力气喊道：

‘O man of the sea! Hearken to me! My wife Ilsabill Will have her own will, And hath sent me to beg a boon of thee!’

“大海里的人啊！ 听我说一句！ 我妻子伊尔莎碧儿， 非要她的心愿不可， 差我来向你求个恩惠！”

‘What does she want now?’ said the fish. ‘Ah!’ said he, ‘she wants to be lord of the sun and moon.’ ‘Go home,’ said the fish, ‘to your pigsty again.’

“她这回又想要什么？”鱼说。“唉！”他说，“她想当太阳和月亮的主宰。”“回去吧，”鱼说，“回到你那猪圈里去。”

And there they live to this very day.

从那以后，他们便一直住在那里，直到今天。