The Skilful Huntsman

There was once a young fellow who had learnt the trade of locksmith, and told his father he would now go out into the world and seek his fortune. “Very well,” said the father, “I am quite content with that,” and gave him some money for his journey. So he travelled about and looked for work. After a time he resolved not to follow the trade of locksmith any more, for he no longer liked it, but he took a fancy for hunting.

从前有个年轻小伙子，学会了锁匠的手艺，他对父亲说，他现在要出去闯荡世界，寻求自己的运气。“很好，”父亲说，“我对此十分满意，”便给了他一些盘缠。于是他四处游历，寻找工作。过了一段时间，他决定不再从事锁匠这一行了，因为他不再喜欢这门手艺，反倒喜欢上了打猎。

Then there met him in his rambles a huntsman dressed in green, who asked whence he came and whither he was going? The youth said he was a locksmith’s apprentice, but that the trade no longer pleased him, and he had a liking for huntsmanship, would he teach it to him? “Oh, yes,” said the huntsman, “if thou wilt go with me.” Then the young fellow went with him, bound himself to him for some years, and learnt the art of hunting.

在他四处漫游时，遇见了一位身穿绿衣的猎人，那猎人问他从哪里来，又要到哪里去。年轻人说他原是锁匠的学徒，可这门手艺已不再合他的心意，他喜欢上了打猎，问猎人能不能教他这门本事。“哦，好啊，”猎人说，“只要你愿意跟着我。”于是年轻人便跟他去了，与他签约当了好几年学徒，学会了狩猎的技艺。

After this he wished to try his luck elsewhere, and the huntsman gave him nothing in the way of payment but an air-gun, which had, however, this property, that it hit its mark without fail whenever he shot with it.

在这之后，他想到别处去碰碰运气，猎人给他的酬劳，除了一支气枪之外，什么也没有，不过这支气枪有个特性，那就是无论他用它瞄准什么，都能百发百中。

Then he set out and found himself in a very large forest, which he could not get to the end of in one day. When evening came he seated himself in a high tree in order to escape from the wild beasts. Towards midnight, it seemed to him as if a tiny little light glimmered in the distance. Then he looked down through the branches towards it, and kept well in his mind where it was. But in the first place he took off his hat and threw it down in the direction of the light, so that he might go to the hat as a mark when he had descended.

于是他出发上路，来到一片极其广袤的森林，一天之内都走不到头。夜幕降临时，他爬上一棵高树，好躲避野兽。将近半夜时分，他仿佛看见远处闪烁着一星微弱的光。于是他透过枝叶往那边望去，牢牢记住了那光的方位。不过他先脱下帽子，朝着那光的方向扔了下去，好让自己下树后能以帽子为标记。

Then he got down and went to his hat, put it on again and went straight forwards. The farther he went, the larger the light grew, and when he got close to it he saw that it was an enormous fire, and that three giants were sitting by it, who had an ox on the spit, and were roasting it.

随后他爬下树来，走到帽子那儿，重新戴上，径直往前走去。他走得越远，那光就显得越大，等他走近了，才看清那是一堆巨大的篝火，旁边坐着三个巨人，正把一头牛架在铁叉上烤着。

Presently one of them said, “I must just taste if the meat will soon be fit to eat,” and pulled a piece off, and was about to put it in his mouth when the huntsman shot it out of his hand. “Well, really,” said the giant, “if the wind has not blown the bit out of my hand!” and helped himself to another. But when he was just about to bite into it, the huntsman again shot it away from him.

不一会儿，其中一个说道：“我得先尝尝，看这肉是不是快熟了，”说着扯下一块肉，正要往嘴里送，猎人便一枪把肉从他手里打飞了。“真是怪事，”那巨人说，“难道是风把这块肉从我手里吹走了不成！”于是他又拿了一块。可他正要咬下去时，猎人又一枪把肉打飞了。

On this the giant gave the one who was sitting next him a box on the ear, and cried angrily, “Why art thou snatching my piece away from me?” “I have not snatched it away,” said the other, “a sharpshooter must have shot it away from thee.” The giant took another piece, but could not, however, keep it in his hand, for the huntsman shot it out.

这下巨人朝坐在他旁边的同伴脸上就是一巴掌，怒气冲冲地喊道：“你为什么要抢我的肉？”“我没抢你的肉啊，”另一个说，“一定是有个神枪手把肉从你手里打飞了。”巨人又拿了一块，可还是没能拿稳，猎人又是一枪把它打飞了。

Then the giant said, “That must be a good shot to shoot the bit out of one’s very mouth, such an one would be useful to us.” And he cried aloud, “Come here, thou sharpshooter, seat thyself at the fire beside us and eat thy fill, we will not hurt thee; but if thou wilt not come, and we have to bring thee by force, thou art a lost man!” On this the youth went up to them and told them he was a skilled huntsman, and that whatever he aimed at with his gun, he was certain to hit.

于是巨人说道：“这枪法一定了得，竟能把东西从人嘴边打飞，这样的人对我们大有用处。”他便高声喊道：“过来吧，神枪手，坐到我们这堆火边来，尽情吃个够，我们不会伤害你；可你要是不肯来，非得我们动手把你抓来不可，你就没命了！”于是年轻人便走到他们跟前，告诉他们自己是个技艺高超的猎人，凡是他用枪瞄准的东西，必定百发百中。

Then they said if he would go with them he should be well treated, and they told him that outside the forest there was a great lake, behind which stood a tower, and in the tower was imprisoned a lovely princess, whom they wished very much to carry off. “Yes,” said he, “I will soon get her for you.”

于是他们说，只要他肯跟他们同去，就会好好待他，还告诉他，森林外面有一片大湖，湖后面立着一座塔，塔里囚禁着一位美丽的公主，他们非常想把她掳走。“好啊，”他说，“我很快就能替你们把她弄到手。”

Then they added, “But there is still something else, there is a tiny little dog, which begins to bark directly any one goes near, and as soon as it barks every one in the royal palace wakens up, and for this reason we cannot get there; canst thou undertake to shoot it dead?” “Yes,” said he, “that will be a little bit of fun for me.”

他们又补充道：“可还有一件麻烦事，那儿有一只小狗，谁一靠近它就会叫起来，它一叫，王宫里的人便都会惊醒，因此我们没法靠近；你能不能一枪把它打死？”“行，”他说，“这对我来说不过是件小小的趣事罢了。”

After this he got into a boat and rowed over the lake, and as soon as he landed, the little dog came running out, and was about to bark, but the huntsman took his air-gun and shot it dead. When the giants saw that, they rejoiced, and thought they already had the King’s daughter safe, but the huntsman wished first to see how matters stood, and told them that they must stay outside until he called them.

说完他便乘上一条船，划过湖去，一上岸，那只小狗便跑了出来，正要叫唤，猎人拿起气枪，一枪把它打死了。巨人们见状，欢喜不已，以为公主已经稳稳到手了，可猎人却想先弄清楚情况如何，便叫他们在外面等着，等他招呼再进来。

Then he went into the castle, and all was perfectly quiet within, and every one was asleep. When he opened the door of the first room, a sword was hanging on the wall which was made of pure silver, and there was a golden star on it, and the name of the King, and on a table near it lay a sealed letter which he broke open, and inside it was written that whosoever had the sword could kill everything which opposed him.

于是他走进城堡，里面一片寂静，人人都已熟睡。他打开第一间房间的门，见墙上挂着一把纯银打造的剑，上面刻着一颗金星和国王的名字，剑旁的桌上放着一封封了口的信，他把信拆开，里面写着，凡是拥有这把剑的人，皆可战胜一切阻挡他的东西。

So he took the sword from the wall, hung it at his side and went onwards: then he entered the room where the King’s daughter was lying sleeping, and she was so beautiful that he stood still and, holding his breath, looked at her.

于是他把剑从墙上取下，佩在腰间，继续往前走；接着他走进公主熟睡的房间，只见她美丽异常，他不禁站住了脚，屏住呼吸，凝视着她。

He thought to himself, “How can I give an innocent maiden into the power of the wild giants, who have evil in their minds?” He looked about further, and under the bed stood a pair of slippers, on the right one was her father’s name with a star, and on the left her own name with a star. She wore also a great neck-kerchief of silk embroidered with gold, and on the right side was her father’s name, and on the left her own, all in golden letters.

他心里想道：“我怎能把一个无辜的姑娘交到那些心怀恶意的野蛮巨人手中呢？”他又四下张望，见床下放着一双拖鞋，右边那只上绣着她父亲的名字和一颗星，左边那只上绣着她自己的名字和一颗星。她脖子上还围着一条绣金丝绸大领巾，右边绣着她父亲的名字，左边绣着她自己的名字，全都是金线绣成的字。

Then the huntsman took a pair of scissors and cut the right corner off, and put it in his knapsack, and then he also took the right slipper with the King’s name, and thrust that in. Now the maiden still lay sleeping, and she was quite sewn into her night-dress, and he cut a morsel from this also, and thrust it in with the rest, but he did all without touching her.

猎人于是拿出一把剪刀，剪下右边的一角，收进他的行囊，接着又拿了那只绣有国王名字的右脚拖鞋，也塞了进去。这时姑娘仍旧熟睡着，她的睡衣是整个缝在身上的，他也从上面剪下一小块，一并塞进行囊，可这一切他都做得没有碰到她分毫。

Then he went forth and left her lying asleep undisturbed, and when he came to the gate again, the giants were still standing outside waiting for him, and expecting that he was bringing the princess. But he cried to them that they were to come in, for the maiden was already in their power, that he could not open the gate to them, but there was a hole through which they must creep.

随后他退了出去，让她安然无恙地继续熟睡，等他再回到大门口时，巨人们仍站在外面等着他，以为他会把公主带出来。可他却对他们喊道，让他们进来吧，因为姑娘已经落入他们手中了，只是他没法为他们打开大门，不过有个洞可以让他们爬进来。

Then the first approached, and the huntsman wound the giant’s hair round his hand, pulled the head in, and cut it off at one stroke with his sword, and then drew the rest of him in. He called to the second and cut his head off likewise, and then he killed the third also, and he was well pleased that he had freed the beautiful maiden from her enemies, and he cut out their tongues and put them in his knapsack.

于是第一个巨人靠近了，猎人把巨人的头发缠在自己手上，把他的头拉进洞里，一剑便砍了下来，随后把他余下的身子也拖了进来。他又招呼第二个，同样砍下了他的头，接着把第三个也杀了，他心中十分欣慰，总算把这位美丽的姑娘从敌人手中解救了出来，随后他割下他们的舌头，装进了自己的行囊。

Then thought he, “I will go home to my father and let him see what I have already done, and afterwards I will travel about the world; the luck which God is pleased to grant me will easily find me.”

他心想：“我要回家去见我父亲，让他看看我已经做成了什么事，之后我还要去周游世界；上帝乐意赐给我的运气，自会轻易地找上我。”

But when the King in the castle awoke, he saw the three giants lying there dead. So he went into the sleeping-room of his daughter, awoke her, and asked who could have killed the giants? Then said she, “Dear father, I know not, I have been asleep.” But when she arose and would have put on her slippers, the right one was gone, and when she looked at her neck-kerchief it was cut, and the right corner was missing, and when she looked at her night-dress a piece was cut out of it.

可是城堡里的国王醒来后，看见那三个巨人倒在那里死了。他便走进女儿的寝室，把她唤醒，问她是谁杀了那些巨人？她说：“亲爱的父亲，我不知道，我一直在睡觉。”可是当她起身要穿拖鞋时，却发现右边那只不见了；她又看了看自己的领巾，发现被剪去了，右边一角也不见了；再看她的睡衣，也被剪去了一块。

The King summoned his whole court together, soldiers and every one else who was there, and asked who had set his daughter at liberty, and killed the giants? Now it happened that he had a captain, who was one-eyed and a hideous man, and he said that he had done it. Then the old King said that as he had accomplished this, he should marry his daughter. But the maiden said, “Rather than marry him, dear father, I will go away into the world as far as my legs can carry me.”

国王把全体朝臣、士兵以及在场的所有人都召集起来，问是谁救出了他的女儿、杀了那些巨人？恰巧他手下有个上尉，独眼，相貌丑陋，他站出来说是他干的。于是老国王便说，既然他立下了这样的功劳，就该娶他的女儿为妻。可公主却说：“亲爱的父亲，与其嫁给他，我宁愿走到天涯海角，走得两腿再也走不动为止。”

But the King said that if she would not marry him she should take off her royal garments and wear peasant’s clothing, and go forth, and that she should go to a potter, and begin a trade in earthen vessels. So she put off her royal apparel, and went to a potter and borrowed crockery enough for a stall, and she promised him also that if she had sold it by the evening, she would pay for it.

国王便说，她若不肯嫁给他，就得脱下王家的衣裳，换上农妇的衣服，出宫而去，去投奔一个陶匠，做起卖陶器的营生。于是她脱下华服，去找一个陶匠，向他借了够摆一个摊子的陶器，还答应他，如果傍晚之前卖完了，就付钱给他。

Then the King said she was to seat herself in a corner with it and sell it, and he arranged with some peasants to drive over it with their carts, so that everything should be broken into a thousand pieces. When therefore the King’s daughter had placed her stall in the street, by came the carts, and broke all she had into tiny fragments. She began to weep and said, “Alas, how shall I ever pay for the pots now?”

国王又吩咐她把陶器摆在街角一处叫卖，同时他私下安排了几个农夫，赶着他们的大车从那儿碾过去，好把一切都砸成千万片碎片。于是等公主把摊子摆到街上时，那些大车便驶了过来，把她所有的陶器都砸得粉碎。她哭了起来，说道：“唉，我现在可怎么赔这些陶罐的钱呢？”

The King had, however, wished by this to force her to marry the captain; but instead of that, she again went to the potter, and asked him if he would lend to her once more. He said, “No,” she must first pay for the things she had already had. Then she went to her father and cried and lamented, and said she would go forth into the world.

国王原本是想借此逼她嫁给那个上尉；可她并没有屈服，而是又去找那个陶匠，问他能不能再借她一次。陶匠说：“不行，”她得先把先前欠的东西赔清才行。于是她回到父亲那里，哭诉哀求，说她要出走去周游世界了。

Then said he, “I will have a little hut built for thee in the forest outside, and in it thou shalt stay all thy life long and cook for every one, but thou shalt take no money for it.” When the hut was ready, a sign was hung on the door whereon was written, “To-day given, to-morrow sold.” There she remained a long time, and it was rumored about the world that a maiden was there who cooked without asking for payment, and that this was set forth on a sign outside her door.

于是国王说道：“我要在外面的森林里给你盖一间小屋，你要在那儿住上一辈子，给每个人做饭吃，但不许收一分钱。”小屋盖好后，门上挂了一块牌子，上面写着：“今日施舍，明日出售。”她在那儿住了很长一段时间，世间渐渐传开了消息，说那儿有位姑娘替人做饭却分文不取，这事就写在她门口的牌子上。

The huntsman heard it likewise, and thought to himself, “That would suit thee. Thou art poor, and hast no money.” So he took his air-gun and his knapsack, wherein all the things which he had formerly carried away with him from the castle as tokens of his truthfulness were still lying, and went into the forest, and found the hut with the sign, “To-day given, to-morrow sold.” He had put on the sword with which he had cut off the heads of the three giants, and thus entered the hut, and ordered something to eat to be given to him.

猎人也听到了这个消息，心里想道：“这倒挺适合你的。你如今身无分文，正穷困潦倒。”于是他带上气枪和行囊——里面依旧装着他先前从城堡里带走的那些作为凭证的东西——走进森林，找到了那间挂着“今日施舍，明日出售”牌子的小屋。他佩上了那把曾用来砍下三个巨人脑袋的剑，就这样走进小屋，吩咐给他弄点吃的来。

He was charmed with the beautiful maiden, who was indeed as lovely as any picture. She asked him whence he came and whither he was going, and he said, “I am roaming about the world.” Then she asked him where he had got the sword, for that truly her father’s name was on it. He asked her if she were the King’s daughter. “Yes,” answered she. “With this sword,” said he, “did I cut off the heads of three giants.” And he took their tongues out of his knapsack in proof.

他为这位美丽的姑娘所倾倒，她的确美得如画中人一般。她问他从哪里来，要到哪里去，他答道：“我正周游世界四处漫游。”她又问他那把剑是从哪儿得来的，因为剑上分明刻着她父亲的名字。他便问她是不是公主。“正是，”她答道。“正是用这把剑，”他说，“我砍下了三个巨人的脑袋。”说着他从行囊里取出巨人的舌头，作为证明。

Then he also showed her the slipper, and the corner of the neck-kerchief, and the bit of the night-dress. Hereupon she was overjoyed, and said that he was the one who had delivered her. On this they went together to the old King, and fetched him to the hut, and she led him into her room, and told him that the huntsman was the man who had really set her free from the giants. And when the aged King saw all the proofs of this, he could no longer doubt, and said that he was very glad he knew how everything had happened, and that the huntsman should have her to wife, on which the maiden was glad at heart.

接着他又给她看了那只拖鞋、领巾的一角，以及睡衣上剪下的那块布。姑娘见状大喜过望，说他正是那个解救了她的人。于是两人一同去见老国王，把他请到小屋，她把他领进自己的房间，告诉他，正是这位猎人真正把她从巨人手中救了出来。老国王见到了所有这些证据，再也不能怀疑，说他很高兴终于明白了事情的原委，猎人理应娶她为妻，公主听了心中大喜。

Then she dressed the huntsman as if he were a foreign lord, and the King ordered a feast to be prepared. When they went to table, the captain sat on the left side of the King’s daughter, but the huntsman was on the right, and the captain thought he was a foreign lord who had come on a visit.

于是她把猎人打扮成一位外邦贵族的模样，国王吩咐准备一场盛宴。他们入席就座时，那位上尉坐在公主的左边，猎人坐在右边，上尉还以为他是位前来拜访的外邦贵族。

When they had eaten and drunk, the old King said to the captain that he would set before him something which he must guess. “Supposing any one said that he had killed the three giants and he were asked where the giants’ tongues were, and he were forced to go and look, and there were none in their heads, how could that happen?” The captain said, “Then they cannot have had any.” “Not so,” said the King. “Every animal has a tongue,” and then he likewise asked what any one would deserve who made such an answer?

他们吃喝完毕后，老国王对上尉说，他要出一道题让他猜。“假设有人说他杀了那三个巨人，有人问他巨人的舌头在哪儿，他被迫前去查看，却发现巨人们的头颅里一条舌头也没有，这该作何解释？”上尉答道：“那一定是它们本来就没有舌头。”“不对，”国王说。“每个动物都有舌头，”接着他又问，若有人这样回答，该当受到什么惩罚？

The captain replied, “He ought to be torn in pieces.” Then the King said he had pronounced his own sentence, and the captain was put in prison and then torn in four pieces; but the King’s daughter was married to the huntsman. After this he brought his father and mother, and they lived with their son in happiness, and after the death of the old King he received the kingdom.

上尉答道：“应该把他碎尸万段。”国王便说，他这是自己给自己判了刑，于是那上尉被关进牢里，随后被处以碎尸之刑；而公主则嫁给了猎人。此后，猎人把自己的父母接了来，一家人和儿子幸福地生活在一起，老国王去世后，他便继承了王位。