There was once upon a time a queen to whom God had given no children. Every morning she went into the garden and prayed to God in heaven to bestow on her a son or a daughter. Then an angel from heaven came to her and said: ‘Be at rest, you shall have a son with the power of wishing, so that whatsoever in the world he wishes for, that shall he have.’ Then she went to the king, and told him the joyful tidings, and when the time was come she gave birth to a son, and the king was filled with gladness.
从前有一位王后，上帝没有赐给她孩子。每天早晨，她都会走进花园，向天上的上帝祈祷，恳求赐予她一个儿子或女儿。随后，一位天使从天而降，对她说：‘请安心吧，你将拥有一个儿子，他拥有许愿的力量，无论他在世间想要什么，都能如愿以偿。’于是，她回到国王身边，将这一喜讯告知了他。当时机成熟时，王后生下了一个儿子，国王欣喜若狂。
Every morning she went with the child to the garden where the wild beasts were kept, and washed herself there in a clear stream. It happened once when the child was a little older, that it was lying in her arms and she fell asleep. Then came the old cook, who knew that the child had the power of wishing, and stole it away, and he took a hen, and cut it in pieces, and dropped some of its blood on the queen’s apron and on her dress. Then he carried the child away to a secret place, where a nurse was obliged to suckle it, and he ran to the king and accused the queen of having allowed her child to be taken from her by the wild beasts. When the king saw the blood on her apron, he believed this, fell into such a passion that he ordered a high tower to be built, in which neither sun nor moon could be seen and had his wife put into it, and walled up. Here she was to stay for seven years without meat or drink, and die of hunger. But God sent two angels from heaven in the shape of white doves, which flew to her twice a day, and carried her food until the seven years were over.
每天早晨，她都会带着孩子去野兽饲养的花园，在清澈的溪流中沐浴。有一次，孩子稍大一些时，躺在她怀里睡着了。这时老厨师来了，他知道这孩子拥有许愿的力量，便偷走了孩子，抓来一只母鸡，将其切成碎片，把鸡血滴在王后的围裙和衣服上。随后，他将孩子带到一处隐秘的地方，那里有一位奶妈被迫哺乳他，而他自己则跑去向国王告发，称王后任由野兽将她的孩子叼走。国王看到围裙上的血迹，便信以为真，勃然大怒，下令建造一座高塔，连阳光和月光都无法透入，并将他的妻子关入其中，砌墙封死。她必须在那里独自度过七年，没有食物也没有饮水，最终活活饿死。但上帝派下两位天使，化作两只白鸽，每天两次飞向她，为她运送食物，直到七年期满。
The cook, however, thought to himself: ‘If the child has the power of wishing, and I am here, he might very easily get me into trouble.’ So he left the palace and went to the boy, who was already big enough to speak, and said to him: ‘Wish for a beautiful palace for yourself with a garden, and all else that pertains to it.’ Scarcely were the words out of the boy’s mouth, when everything was there that he had wished for. After a while the cook said to him: ‘It is not well for you to be so alone, wish for a pretty girl as a companion.’ Then the king’s son wished for one, and she immediately stood before him, and was more beautiful than any painter could have painted her. The two played together, and loved each other with all their hearts, and the old cook went out hunting like a nobleman. The thought occurred to him, however, that the king’s son might some day wish to be with his father, and thus bring him into great peril. So he went out and took the maiden aside, and said: ‘Tonight when the boy is asleep, go to his bed and plunge this knife into his heart, and bring me his heart and tongue, and if you do not do it, you shall lose your life.’ Thereupon he went away, and when he returned next day she had not done it, and said: ‘Why should I shed the blood of an innocent boy who has never harmed anyone?’ The cook once more said: ‘If you do not do it, it shall cost you your own life.’ When he had gone away, she had a little hind brought to her, and ordered her to be killed, and took her heart and tongue, and laid them on a plate, and when she saw the old man coming, she said to the boy: ‘Lie down in your bed, and draw the clothes over you.’ Then the wicked wretch came in and said: ‘Where are the boy’s heart and tongue?’ The girl reached the plate to him, but the king’s son threw off the quilt, and said: ‘You old sinner, why did you want to kill me? Now will I pronounce thy sentence. You shall become a black poodle and have a gold collar round your neck, and shall eat burning coals, till the flames burst forth from your throat.’ And when he had spoken these words, the old man was changed into a poodle dog, and had a gold collar round his neck, and the cooks were ordered to bring up some live coals, and these he ate, until the flames broke forth from his throat. The king’s son remained there a short while longer, and he thought of his mother, and wondered if she were still alive. At length he said to the maiden: ‘I will go home to my own country; if you will go with me, I will provide for you.’ ‘Ah,’ she replied, ‘the way is so long, and what shall I do in a strange land where I am unknown?’ As she did not seem quite willing, and as they could not be parted from each other, he wished that she might be changed into a beautiful pink, and took her with him. Then he went away to his own country, and the poodle had to run after him. He went to the tower in which his mother was confined, and as it was so high, he wished for a ladder which would reach up to the very top. Then he mounted up and looked inside, and cried: ‘Beloved mother, Lady Queen, are you still alive, or are you dead?’ She answered: ‘I have just eaten, and am still satisfied,’ for she thought the angels were there. Said he: ‘I am your dear son, whom the wild beasts were said to have torn from your arms; but I am alive still, and will soon set you free.’ Then he descended again, and went to his father, and caused himself to be announced as a strange huntsman, and asked if he could offer him service. The king said yes, if he was skilful and could get game for him, he should come to him, but that deer had never taken up their quarters in any part of the district or country. Then the huntsman promised to procure as much game for him as he could possibly use at the royal table. So he summoned all the huntsmen together, and bade them go out into the forest with him. And he went with them and made them form a great circle, open at one end where he stationed himself, and began to wish. Two hundred deer and more came running inside the circle at once, and the huntsmen shot them. Then they were all placed on sixty country carts, and driven home to the king, and for once he was able to deck his table with game, after having had none at all for years.
然而，厨师心想：‘这孩子拥有许愿的力量，而我又在这里，他很容易会让我陷入麻烦。’于是，他离开宫殿，走到那个已经大到可以说话的男孩面前，对他说：‘为你自己许下一个美丽的宫殿吧，连同花园以及所有与之相关的一切。’男孩的话音刚落，他所愿望的一切便立刻出现了。过了一会儿，厨师又对他说：‘你如此孤单并非好事，许一个漂亮的姑娘作为你的伴侣吧。’于是，王子的儿子许下了这个愿望，那位姑娘立刻出现在他面前，她的美丽是任何画家都无法描绘的。两人一起玩耍，全心全意地相爱，而那位老厨师则像贵族一样外出打猎。然而，他心中又起念：万一有一天王子想要回到父亲身边，那将给他带来巨大的危险。于是，他叫来那位姑娘，私下对她说：‘今晚男孩睡着时，你去他的床边，用这把刀刺入他的心脏，把他的心和舌头带给我；如果你不这么做，你就得丢掉性命。’于是那人离开了，第二天回来时，她仍未动手，并说：‘我为什么要杀害一个从未伤害过任何人的无辜男孩？’厨师再次威胁道：‘你若不照做，就要付出你自己的性命。’那人走后，她让人牵来一只小鹿，下令将其杀死，取出它的心和舌头放在盘子里。当看到老人走来时，她对男孩说：‘躺到床上，把被子盖好。’接着那恶人走进来问道：‘男孩的心和舌头在哪里？’女孩将盘子递给他，但王子掀开被子说道：‘你这老罪人，为何要杀我？现在我要宣判你的刑罚：你将成为一只黑色的贵宾犬，脖子上戴着金项圈，必须吞食烧红的炭火，直到火焰从你喉咙里喷涌而出。’说完这些话，老人立刻变成了一只狗，脖子上套着金项圈；厨师们被命令端来活着的炭火，他便开始吞食，直到火焰从他口中喷出。王子在那里又待了一会儿，思念起母亲，不知她是否还活着。终于他对那位少女说：‘我要回自己的国家去；如果你愿意跟我走，我会照顾你。’‘啊，’她答道，‘路途太遥远了，我到一个陌生的地方又能做什么呢？’见她似乎不太情愿，而两人又难舍难分，他便希望她能变成一朵美丽的粉玫瑰，于是带着她一同离去。随后他回到自己的国家，那只小猎犬不得不跟在后面奔跑。他来到囚禁母亲的塔楼前，由于塔楼太高，他便祈愿有一架能直通顶端的梯子。接着他登上塔顶向内张望，喊道：‘亲爱的母亲，王后陛下，您还活着吗？还是已经去世？’她回答：‘我刚吃过饭，还很满足呢，’因为她以为是天使在说话。他说：‘我是您深爱的儿子，人们都说我被野兽从您怀中夺走；但我还活着，很快就会救您出来。’随后他再次下山，来到父亲面前，自称是一位陌生的猎人，询问是否能为其效力。国王表示同意，只要他技艺娴熟，能猎获猎物供自己享用，便可前来任职，但多年来这片地区或国家从未有过鹿群栖息。于是这位猎人承诺定能在御膳桌上提供尽可能多的猎物。他随即召集所有猎人同行，命他们随自己进入森林。他与众人一同行动，让他们围成一个巨大的圆圈，仅在入口处留有空隙，他便站在那儿开始许愿。顷刻间，两百多只鹿奔入圈内，猎人们纷纷将其射杀。随后，这些猎物被装载到六十辆乡村马车上，运回王宫。国王终于得以在多年未曾有过猎物的情况下，将餐桌摆满猎物。
Now the king felt great joy at this, and commanded that his entire household should eat with him next day, and made a great feast. When they were all assembled together, he said to the huntsman: ‘As you are so clever, you shall sit by me.’ He replied: ‘Lord King, your majesty must excuse me, I am a poor huntsman.’ But the king insisted on it, and said: ‘You shall sit by me,’ until he did it. Whilst he was sitting there, he thought of his dearest mother, and wished that one of the king’s principal servants would begin to speak of her, and would ask how it was faring with the queen in the tower, and if she were alive still, or had perished. Hardly had he formed the wish than the marshal began, and said: ‘Your majesty, we live joyously here, but how is the queen living in the tower? Is she still alive, or has she died?’ But the king replied: ‘She let my dear son be torn to pieces by wild beasts; I will not have her named.’ Then the huntsman arose and said: ‘Gracious lord father she is alive still, and I am her son, and I was not carried away by wild beasts, but by that wretch the old cook, who tore me from her arms when she was asleep, and sprinkled her apron with the blood of a chicken.’ Thereupon he took the dog with the golden collar, and said: ‘That is the wretch!’ and caused live coals to be brought, and these the dog was compelled to devour before the sight of all, until flames burst forth from its throat. On this the huntsman asked the king if he would like to see the dog in his true shape, and wished him back into the form of the cook, in which he stood immediately, with his white apron, and his knife by his side. When the king saw him he fell into a passion, and ordered him to be cast into the deepest dungeon. Then the huntsman spoke further and said: ‘Father, will you see the maiden who brought me up so tenderly and who was afterwards to murder me, but did not do it, though her own life depended on it?’ The king replied: ‘Yes, I would like to see her.’ The son said: ‘Most gracious father, I will show her to you in the form of a beautiful flower,’ and he thrust his hand into his pocket and brought forth the pink, and placed it on the royal table, and it was so beautiful that the king had never seen one to equal it. Then the son said: ‘Now will I show her to you in her own form,’ and wished that she might become a maiden, and she stood there looking so beautiful that no painter could have made her look more so.
国王听了这番话，心中大喜，便下令次日让全家与他一同进餐，并大摆宴席。众人聚齐后，他对猎人说：‘你如此聪明，就坐在我身边吧。’猎人答道：‘陛下，请您原谅，我不过是个穷猎人罢了。’但国王坚持要他坐下，说道：‘你必须坐在我身边！’直到猎人照做为止。当他坐在那里时，想起了自己最亲爱的母亲，心中希望国王的某位重臣能提起她，询问塔中的王后境况如何，是否还活着，还是已经死去。话音未落，侍卫长便开口说：‘陛下，我们在此过得十分欢乐，但不知塔中的王后过得怎样？她还活着吗，还是已经去世了？’国王却答道：‘她竟让我亲爱的儿子被野兽撕成碎片，我不愿再提她的名字。’于是猎人站起来说：'仁慈的父王，她还活着，我就是她的儿子。我并非被野兽叼走，而是被那个恶毒的老厨娘抢走的；趁她熟睡时，老厨娘从我怀中将我夺走，并割开一只鸡的血洒在她的围裙上。'随后他牵起那条戴着金项圈的狗说：'这就是那个恶人！'于是命人拿来烧红的炭火，强迫这只狗当着众人的面吞下炭火，直到火焰从它喉咙里喷涌而出。这时猎人问国王是否想看看这只狗原本的模样，并请求将它变回老厨娘的样子；瞬间它便恢复了原形，穿着白围裙，腰间还别着一把刀。国王一见大怒，下令将其投入最深的地牢。接着猎人继续说道：'父王，您是否愿意见见那位曾温柔抚养我长大、后来却奉命要杀害我却最终没有下手的女子？尽管她的性命系于此事之上。'国王答道：'是的，我想见她。'儿子说：‘最仁慈的父亲，我将以一朵美丽的花向您展示她。’于是他将手伸进口袋，取出一朵粉红色的花，放在御案上。那花如此美丽，国王从未见过能与之相媲美的。接着儿子说：‘现在我将以她本来的样子向您展示。’他许愿让她变成一位少女，她便站在那里，美丽得连任何画师都无法描绘得更加动人。
And the king sent two waiting-maids and two attendants into the tower, to fetch the queen and bring her to the royal table. But when she was led in she ate nothing, and said: ‘The gracious and merciful God who has supported me in the tower, will soon set me free.’ She lived three days more, and then died happily, and when she was buried, the two white doves which had brought her food to the tower, and were angels of heaven, followed her body and seated themselves on her grave. The aged king ordered the cook to be torn in four pieces, but grief consumed the king’s own heart, and he soon died. His son married the beautiful maiden whom he had brought with him as a flower in his pocket, and whether they are still alive or not, is known to God.
于是国王派了两名侍女和两名侍从进入塔中，去接王后并带她到御前用膳。然而当她被领进来时，却一口未吃，只说道：‘那位在塔中一直扶持我的仁慈怜悯的上帝，很快就会让我重获自由。’她又活了三天，随后安详离世。安葬之后，那两只曾将食物送入塔中的白鸽——它们是天上的天使——跟随她的遗体，停落在她的墓上。年迈的国王下令将厨师撕成四块，但悲痛却吞噬了国王自己的心，不久他便去世了。他的儿子娶了那位被他当作花朵带在口袋里的美丽少女，至于他们是否还活着，唯有上帝知晓。