By the side of a wood, in a country a long way off, ran a fine stream of water; and upon the stream there stood a mill. The miller’s house was close by, and the miller, you must know, had a very beautiful daughter. She was, moreover, very shrewd and clever; and the miller was so proud of her, that he one day told the king of the land, who used to come and hunt in the wood, that his daughter could spin gold out of straw. Now this king was very fond of money; and when he heard the miller’s boast his greediness was raised, and he sent for the girl to be brought before him. Then he led her to a chamber in his palace where there was a great heap of straw, and gave her a spinning-wheel, and said, ‘All this must be spun into gold before morning, as you love your life.’ It was in vain that the poor maiden said that it was only a silly boast of her father, for that she could do no such thing as spin straw into gold: the chamber door was locked, and she was left alone.
在遥远的国度，森林边有一条清澈的溪流，溪上矗立着一座磨坊。磨坊主的家就在旁边，他有一个非常美丽的女儿。她不仅聪慧过人，而且精明能干；磨坊主为此深感自豪，便对常来林中狩猎的国王夸口说，他的女儿能把稻草纺成金子。这位国王酷爱金钱，一听此言，贪念顿起，立刻召那女孩进宫。随后，他带她来到宫殿的一间密室，里面堆满了稻草，并递给她一架纺车，说道：‘你若想保住性命，天亮前必须把这堆稻草全部纺成金子。’可怜的女孩反复辩解，说这不过是父亲一时的吹嘘，她根本不可能把稻草纺成金子，但房门已被锁上，她被独自留在了屋内。
She sat down in one corner of the room, and began to bewail her hard fate; when on a sudden the door opened, and a droll-looking little man hobbled in, and said, ‘Good morrow to you, my good lass; what are you weeping for?’ ‘Alas!’ said she, ‘I must spin this straw into gold, and I know not how.’ ‘What will you give me,’ said the hobgoblin, ‘to do it for you?’ ‘My necklace,’ replied the maiden. He took her at her word, and sat himself down to the wheel, and whistled and sang:
她坐在房间的一个角落里，开始哀叹自己不幸的命运；就在这时，门突然开了，一个模样滑稽的小老头一瘸一拐地走进来，说道：‘早上好，我的好姑娘，你在哭什么呢？’‘唉！’她说，‘我必须把稻草纺成金子，可我不知道该怎么做。’‘你愿意给我什么报酬，让我替你完成这件事呢？’小精灵问道。‘我的项链。’少女答道。他照她说的做了，随即坐在纺车旁，吹着口哨唱起歌来：
‘Round about, round about, Lo and behold! Reel away, reel away, Straw into gold!’
转啊转，瞧一瞧！纺啊纺，稻草变黄金！
And round about the wheel went merrily; the work was quickly done, and the straw was all spun into gold.
车轮周围欢快地旋转着，工作很快便完成了，所有的稻草都变成了金子。
When the king came and saw this, he was greatly astonished and pleased; but his heart grew still more greedy of gain, and he shut up the poor miller’s daughter again with a fresh task. Then she knew not what to do, and sat down once more to weep; but the dwarf soon opened the door, and said, ‘What will you give me to do your task?’ ‘The ring on my finger,’ said she. So her little friend took the ring, and began to work at the wheel again, and whistled and sang:
国王来了，看到这一切，既大为惊讶又十分高兴；但他贪欲更甚，又把可怜的磨坊女儿关起来，让她做新的任务。她不知如何是好，再次坐下哭泣；但小矮人很快打开门，说：'你要给我什么报酬来帮你完成这个任务？'‘我手指上的戒指，’她说。于是她的朋友接过戒指，重新操作起纺车，吹着口哨唱起歌来：
‘Round about, round about, Lo and behold! Reel away, reel away, Straw into gold!’
转啊转，瞧一瞧！纺啊纺，稻草变黄金！
till, long before morning, all was done again.
直到清晨之前，一切又都重新做了一遍。
The king was greatly delighted to see all this glittering treasure; but still he had not enough: so he took the miller’s daughter to a yet larger heap, and said, ‘All this must be spun tonight; and if it is, you shall be my queen.’ As soon as she was alone that dwarf came in, and said, ‘What will you give me to spin gold for you this third time?’ ‘I have nothing left,’ said she. ‘Then say you will give me,’ said the little man, ‘the first little child that you may have when you are queen.’ ‘That may never be,’ thought the miller’s daughter: and as she knew no other way to get her task done, she said she would do what he asked. Round went the wheel again to the old song, and the manikin once more spun the heap into gold. The king came in the morning, and, finding all he wanted, was forced to keep his word; so he married the miller’s daughter, and she really became queen.
国王看到这些闪闪发光的财宝非常高兴，但仍觉得不够。于是他把磨坊主的女儿带到一堆更大的金子旁，说：‘今晚必须把这些全纺完；如果做到了，你就做我的王后。’她一独处，那个小矮人又出现了，问道：‘这次你愿意拿什么来换我帮你纺金？’‘我已经一无所有了，’她说。‘那么答应给我你成为王后后生的第一个孩子吧，’小人说。‘那可能永远不会发生，’磨坊主的女儿心想；由于她找不到其他办法完成任务，便答应了他的要求。纺车再次转动起来，伴随着那首老歌，小矮人又一次将整堆金子纺成了金线。国王第二天早上进来，发现一切如愿以偿，不得不履行诺言，于是娶了磨坊主的女儿，她真的成为了王后。
At the birth of her first little child she was very glad, and forgot the dwarf, and what she had said. But one day he came into her room, where she was sitting playing with her baby, and put her in mind of it. Then she grieved sorely at her misfortune, and said she would give him all the wealth of the kingdom if he would let her off, but in vain; till at last her tears softened him, and he said, ‘I will give you three days’ grace, and if during that time you tell me my name, you shall keep your child.’
她生下第一个孩子时非常高兴，忘记了那个侏儒以及自己说过的话。但有一天，他走进她的房间，当时她正坐在摇篮边逗弄婴儿，他便提醒了她此事。于是她为自己的不幸悲痛欲绝，表示愿将王国的一切财富都给他，只求他放过自己，但无济于事；直到最后，她的泪水打动了他，他说：‘我给你三天宽限，如果在这期间你能说出我的名字，你就可以保住孩子。’
Now the queen lay awake all night, thinking of all the odd names that she had ever heard; and she sent messengers all over the land to find out new ones. The next day the little man came, and she began with TIMOTHY, ICHABOD, BENJAMIN, JEREMIAH, and all the names she could remember; but to all and each of them he said, ‘Madam, that is not my name.’
于是王后整夜未眠，反复思索她曾听过的所有奇特名字；次日，她派人走遍全国去搜寻新的名字。第二天那个小个子来了，她便从蒂莫西、以法莲、本杰明、耶利米等她能记起的名字开始一一询问，但无论哪一个，他都回答：‘夫人，那并非我的名字。’
The second day she began with all the comical names she could hear of, BANDY-LEGS, HUNCHBACK, CROOK-SHANKS, and so on; but the little gentleman still said to every one of them, ‘Madam, that is not my name.’
第二天，她开始尝试她能想到的所有滑稽名字，比如‘瘸腿’、‘驼背’、‘弯腿’等等；但这位小绅士对每一个都回答：‘夫人，那并不是我的名字。’
The third day one of the messengers came back, and said, ‘I have travelled two days without hearing of any other names; but yesterday, as I was climbing a high hill, among the trees of the forest where the fox and the hare bid each other good night, I saw a little hut; and before the hut burnt a fire; and round about the fire a funny little dwarf was dancing upon one leg, and singing:
第三天，一名信使回来了，说："我走了两天，没听说任何其他人的名字；但昨天，当我爬上一座高山时，在狐狸和野兔互道晚安的森林树林中，我看到了一座小茅屋；茅屋前燃着一堆火；火堆周围有一个滑稽的小矮人正单腿跳舞，并唱着：
“Merrily the feast I’ll make. Today I’ll brew, tomorrow bake; Merrily I’ll dance and sing, For next day will a stranger bring. Little does my lady dream Rumpelstiltskin is my name!”
我要欢快地举办盛宴。今日我酿酒，明日我烘焙；我将欢快地起舞歌唱，因为明天将有陌生人到来。我的夫人却不知晓，我就是朗普尔施蒂尔金！
When the queen heard this she jumped for joy, and as soon as her little friend came she sat down upon her throne, and called all her court round to enjoy the fun; and the nurse stood by her side with the baby in her arms, as if it was quite ready to be given up. Then the little man began to chuckle at the thought of having the poor child, to take home with him to his hut in the woods; and he cried out, ‘Now, lady, what is my name?’ ‘Is it JOHN?’ asked she. ‘No, madam!’ ‘Is it TOM?’ ‘No, madam!’ ‘Is it JEMMY?’ ‘It is not.’ ‘Can your name be RUMPELSTILTSKIN?’ said the lady slyly. ‘Some witch told you that!--some witch told you that!’ cried the little man, and dashed his right foot in a rage so deep into the floor, that he was forced to lay hold of it with both hands to pull it out.
女王听到这话后欣喜若狂，等小个子朋友一到，她便坐上王座，召来满朝文武一同取乐；奶妈站在她身旁，怀里抱着婴儿，仿佛随时准备交出孩子。那小个子想到能带走这可怜的孩子回他在树林里的小屋，不禁咯咯笑起来，随即喊道：‘现在，夫人，我的名字是什么？’‘是约翰吗？’她问道。‘不是，夫人！’‘是汤姆吗？’‘不是，夫人！’‘是杰米吗？’‘也不是。’‘难道你的名字是朗普尔斯蒂尔茨金？’这位夫人狡黠地说道。‘有女巫告诉过你——有女巫告诉过你！’小个子尖叫着，愤怒地将右脚深深跺进地板里，不得不双手用力才把它拔出来。
Then he made the best of his way off, while the nurse laughed and the baby crowed; and all the court jeered at him for having had so much trouble for nothing, and said, ‘We wish you a very good morning, and a merry feast, Mr RUMPLESTILTSKIN!’
于是，他匆匆离去，护士笑着，婴儿也咯咯地叫；整个宫廷都嘲笑他白忙活一场，说道：‘祝您早安，祝您的宴会愉快，鲁姆普尔斯蒂尔茨金先生！’