从丑小鸭到白天鹅 (From the Ugly Duckling to the White Swan)

Yueyin Sun wrote:

偶而发现此网站。有兴趣者可从此网站下载安徒生童话有声读物给自己的孩子听。

http://www.52en.com/yy/html/20050327_013.asp

Wenjer Leuschel wrote:



刚才发现，都要两年了，你还记得有这么一栏？！

lai an wrote:

给大家欣赏

Nine Springs Spring

Green pebble green, blue pebble blue,
on Hengling Mountain there's a Nine Springs Spring.
Even though its name is Nine Springs Spring,
one spring has water, and eight springs have none.

Yes! Since it is called the Nine Springs Spring, why is there only one spring?…

Well, if you want to know the reason, we'll have to start at the beginning.

The Xihe have a Hengling Mountain,
On its back sleeping it touches the sky!

This is a two-line song which the Xihe people's ancestors have passed down, what it is talking about is the Hengling Mountain of long ago. The Hengling Mountain of long ago was not like it is nowadays, mountain not like a mountain, ridges not like ridges, just a flat old tumble-down earthern mound. In those days, strange peaks pierced the cloudy sky, thick forests hid the red sun, tigers and leopards walked in the undergrowth, flood dragons hid in the deep pools, and round about for several hundred li it was a very famous mountain. On the mountain there weren't many tracks, and at the bottom of the mountain there weren't many houses. There was just one family who lived at the foot of the mountain beside the river. It was the Li family, the old man, with his two sons and a daughter, four people altogether. People living on a mountain live off the mountain. The old man was a hunter, and the two sons knew how to catch dragons and hunt tigers. The older son called Da Lang, and the younger son was called Er Lang, the daughter's name was Kuihua. The old man had been at Hengling Mountain all his life, chopping down poisonous snakes and getting rid of beasts of prey, eating in the wind and sleeping in the dew, breaking through brambles and thorns. Old, and with his strength failing, his back bent and his hair white, he could no longer go up into the mountain. One day, he took his sons and daughter by the hand, and pointing to the strange peaks and odd ridges shrouded in mist, he said:

"The nine springs on the mountain are sea springs. There are nine evil dragons hiding in them, and they often stir up trouble. In my life I have not been able to get rid of them, but you are young and strong. You must think of a way to get rid of these nine scourges, to be sure for ever that all will be well in this place."

Not long after he had finished saying these words, the old man died, leaving the three of them, the brothers and sister, to manage by themselves. The older brother tilled the land at the bottom of the slope, the younger brother cut firewood on the mountain, the younger sister gathered herbs by the cliffs, and they managed to get by not too badly.

Hengling Mountain's cluster of peaks surrounded a 10,000 zhang deep pool; the water was as black as lacquer, and its stink soared up to the sky. Every year at the time when the spring thunder rolled and the Peach Blossom River rose and the carp were fat, the nine evil dragons would visit the pool. They stirred up the clouds and the rain, and breathed out mists and fogs. When they were in good spirits, it was calm and nothing would happen, but if their tempers rose, immediately there would be three zhang high muddy waves below Hengling Mountain, and boats going about on dry land.

That year in the summer, the wheat on Older Brother's land was ripe, a bright yellow stretch of gold. The three of them, the brothers and sister, wielding their sickles, came in high spirits to gather in the wheat. Their field songs made heaven ring, and drifted into Hengling Mountain. When the nine dragons heard the harvesters as happy as all that, their hearts were so jealous that they threshed their tails, and black clouds immediately tossed and tumbled. Out of a clear boundless sky, a thunderbolt, and torrential rain along with hailstones as big as hens' eggs came pelting down. The three of them, the brothers and sister, were so angry their eyes smouldered. As they looked on, a year's sweat and toil was gobbled up by the dragons!

The next day, Older Brother, Da Lang, took up his father's bow and arrow and his younger brother's woodcutter's knife to go into the mountain to settle accounts with the evil dragons. His brother and sister tried to pull him back but they couldn't. They wanted to go with him, but he wouldn't agree to it. He just told them:

"You're still young, stay here. Supposing the dragons do kill me, wait until you're grown up and then avenge me!"

The brother and sister looked at the path their older brother had taken, but the path was cut off by white cloud. They called out to their older brother again and again, but all they could hear was the valleys echoing the mountains, they couldn't hear Older Brother calling back. They looked and looked, they looked and bored through the thousand-layered rocks, they looked and the maple leaves all over the mountain turned red, they looked and stopped the wild geese from flying south, but they couldn't look their brother back - Older Brother, poor Older Brother! He must have fought bravely all by himself, and couldn't escape the dragons, and been cruelly killed by the ferocious dragons!

Older Brother Da Lang was gone never to return. Er Lang and Kuihua were planning how to avenge him. Suddenly from the east a white crane with a red bill flew in, landed in the big pine tree in front of the gate, and sang to the two of them:

Li Er Lang, Li Er Lang,
to take revenge go to the East,
wear out invincible shoes a hundred pairs,
at the Eastern Sea find the fairy soles.

When Er Lang heard the words of the white crane's song, he was both happy and sad. Happy that there was a way to take revenge, and sad that he would have to go far away to the Eastern Sea to look for a treasure. His younger sister would have to stay there all by herself, and who would look after her? But Kuihua girl could handle it, she was little but her will was strong, and after she saw what her brother was thinking, she said briskly:

"My brother! Rest easy, just go. I won't be lonely. I have the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky for companions, and I have the bees, the butterflies, the flowers and the birds on the earth for neighbours. As long as every day, when the sun rises, you turn around and look at me, all will be well and nothing will happen. But I hope you'll hurry there and hurry back, and take revenge and get rid of the scourges."

When Li Er Lang saw that his sister was quite firm in her resolve, he was very happy, and putting his dry rations on his back, and facing into the just risen sun, he left. Kuihua saw him off as far as the top of East Mountain, and the two, brother and sister, finally parted.

On and on, but Li Er Lang could handle it, climbing high mountains, crossing great rivers, thirsty and a mouthful of long-running water, hungry and a handful of pineseeds, braving the sun and moon's three rays and out in the wind, the frost, the rain and the dew, the soles of his feet full of thorns and each step a bloodstain, wearing out who knows how many pairs of straw sandals. On and on, the further he went the hotter it got, the further he went the more tired he was. The sun burnt his skin all over and the sandals rubbed his feet raw, his clothes were blown to tatters by the wind and the dry rations he had with him were all gone. But he still kept facing towards the place the sun rose, and keeping on, keeping on. Whenever the sun rose, he would turn around and look at his sister. On and on, the moon waxed and waned and the flowers bloomed and withered, who knows how many days or years he had travelled, when he finally got to the blue, blue sky, and the hazy, hazy water, where the edges of the sky and the earth meet, at the shore of the Eastern Sea.

The sun was still sleeping in the Eastern Sea, it hadn't woken up. The mighty waves beat down on the shore, sending up piles of snow-white spray. On the barren beach there wasn't a single clump of grass to be seen, let alone any fairy soles! Li Er Lang was hungry and thirsty, tired and weary; he tossed away the broken straw sandals on his feet, threw himself down on a big black rock, and fell asleep immediately. He had just gone into a deep sleep, when suddenly he heard someone calling him. He opened his eyes to have a look, only to see a rosy glow filling the sky, and bright golden light. He was lying in a golden-domed, silver-walled, white jade tiled crystal palace. The bed was made of ivory, inlaid with 10,000 jewels, shining and dazzling him. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up in the bed, and saw a white-bearded old man looking at him with a smile on his face. The old man, walking with a coral walking stick, led him by the hand out of the palace, and pointing to a reef in the mighty waves, said with a smile: "Li Er Lang, look at your straw sandals."

Li Er Lang raised his head to look, only to see, squeezing out of the solid rock and facing into the strong sea wind, on that reef which couldn't raise a cun of grass, there were some strange things growing, like flowers but not flowers, like grass but not grass, they looked exactly like shoe soles. The dark green soles were full of spines, hard and sharp, dotted thickly, like countless needles. As he looked on, one sole then the next, they grew higher like a pyramid.

The white-bearded old man seeing that Li Er Lang was staring blankly, spellbound, patted his shoulder and said: "These are the fairy soles. If you wear out invincible shoes you can find them. Getting them depends completely on effort, but once you have them, your heart's desires can be yours."

With that, the old man pointed with his coral walking stick, and a fairy sole flew down into his hand. The old man handed over the fairy sole to Li Er Lang, and with a "We'll meet again some day!" he disappeared. Holding the fairy sole in both hands, Li Er Lang looked all around, but there was no crystal palace to be seen! And he was standing on the beach. There was only a resplendent red sun already risen from the Eastern Sea, and groups of seagulls bathed in the sunlight, chasing the waves and sporting with them, circling freely.

Li Er Lang took up the fairy sole to return home, only to feel a gust of wind was roaring past his ears, and then he was back in his native place. He went down in front of the gate of his own home and had a look: the thatched cottage had collapsed a long time ago, hares were running round inside the vents of the kang, and the top of the kitchen range had green grass all growing in it. He called out, "Little Sister!" so shocked that the trees swayed and leaves fell down. He called out, "Little Sister!" a second time so stunned that the wind and the clouds changed colour, and when he was just going to open his mouth to call out a third time, he suddenly heard someone on the top of East Mountain calling back. He looked to the left, and couldn't see his sister. He looked to the right, and couldn't see his sister. All he could see was that, on a straight-up-and-down green stalk, there was a magnificent golden flower, just like a round, round face, greeting him and merrily laughing, and the green leaves all over its stem were waving to him. He walked over to the flower, and with both hands holding the round, round flower disc, he asked, "Can it be that you are my little sister? If you are Little Sister, nod your head three times. If you're not Little Sister, don't nod."

That uncommon flower nodded its head three times.

It turned out that this flower was Kuihua girl turned into a flower. From when her brother had faced into the early risen sun and left, she had stood on the top of East Mountain and looked fixedly to the east. Every time she saw the sun rise over the mountains, she thought of her parting words to her brother, and her heart was full of happiness. When the wind came, she stretched her feet out into the earth, and her toes put down roots into it. When the rain came, she held out her skirts in her hands to keep the rain off, and they turned into green leaves. In the daytime, she greeted the sun with a hearty laugh. At night she sang songs to the stars. The soft breeze combed her hair, and the dewdrops moistened her face. The bees and butterflies came and had heart-to-heart talks with her. Winter passed, spring came, one year, two years, and slowly she had turned into this kind of uncommon flower.

Li Er Lang gave an account to the flower of how he had found the fairy soles, and then turned and went up Hengling Mountain. He shouted "Change!" and the fairy sole in his hand changed into a bright, shining double-edged sword. Hand rising, sword falling, and the strange peaks piercing the sky were whittled down to a mound, and the 10,000 zhang deep pool was filled in as well. The nine evil dragons had lost their deep pool, and they shot into the sky and rushed at him. Each one bared its fangs and brandished its claws, its mouth spurting out black clouds. They were so annoyed that the rivers turned over and the seas tipped out, the ground moved and the mountains swayed. But Li Er Lang could handle it! He faced the nine dragons without the least sign of fear, and waving his sword, cut to the east and thrust to the west. When the sword was raised, it seemed to startle the thunder and lightning, and when it fell, it was as if the earth split open and the mountains collapsed. He kept on fighting the nine dragons until there were eight dragon heads on the ground, the muddy blood turning into a river, and just one injured one had escaped!

Li Er Lang chased the evil dragon closely, chasing it to the bottom of Tazi Mountain. There was a cave at Tazi Mountain. The dragon had no way of escape, and when it saw the cave it wriggled in. With a swish of his sword Li Er Lang chopped it, chopping two deep gullies out of the 10,000 zhang cliff. It turned out that the dragon which had killed Li Da Lang was this very one. From its belly Li Er Lang picked out a rusty woodcutter's knife.

After Li Er Lang had killed the nine dragons, with nine large millstones on his hand like a tray, he went to Hengling Mountain again. He used the millstones to dam up eight of the springs, and was just going to dam up the ninth, when suddenly, the white-bearded old man he had met on the shore of the Eastern Sea, dropped down from the sky, riding a white crane. He held his hand fast, and said laughing in astonishment, "Li Er Lang, leave one for the children of the future to use."

Li Er Lang stayed his hand. And that's why nowadays the Nine Springs Spring only has one spring left.

After Li Er Lang had got rid of the scourges and taken revenge, the white-bearded old man ushered him away. He followed the old man to the Eastern Sea, and went to drive the sun's carriage for him. The sun rode in a solid gold cast carriage with six fire dragons to pull it, and going from the Eastern Sea to the Western Sea every day, he had to have a valiant and industrious, faithful and reliable driver. The previous few drivers had often caused delays, and so the old man recommended Li Er Lang to the sun. When Li Er Lang drove for the sun, he never caused delays, every day he always rose from the sea on time. Whenever he drove the carriage through the space of his native place, he would always lean out towards the top of East Mountain and have a look. And the flower on top of East Mountain, it would always spread out its round, round flower disc, and laugh merrily towards him and open its magnificent golden flower. And that's why the people who came later gave the flower a name, and called it "Sunflower".

Sunflower always followed the sun and laughed heartily, Li Er Lang always drove the sun's carriage for him. And this story too, just like the water in the spring at Nine Springs Spring, it is always, always being passed on down.

(Circulated in Gansu)
Collected and arranged by Huang Ying

Translated from Dong Sen, Xiao Li, eds., Folk Literature Office, Literature Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Selected Children's Folk Stories, Beijing Publishing House, Beijing, 1983

Wenjer Leuschel wrote:

這短文的試譯真如紅百合綻放。姑娘的中文流暢易讀，報社發表的文稿也不過如此。看來有點兒功夫。

標題那個譯法或許會有人說不符原文，但因與文旨相符，我倒認為是正確的標題譯法：通俗、簡潔、達意、有力。老實說，這種譯法，我大多在翻譯老手的譯稿裡看到的，姑娘有膽識如此譯法，佩服、佩服。

不過，第一段裡的 "以他的生日庆典为始" 一則掉了 "bicentenary"，再則 "to coincide with" 並非 "以...為始"。因此，建議改為 "為了慶祝他的兩百週年生日"，不知姑娘以為然否？

再者，原諒我吹毛求疵，festivities 顯然並非只有這麼一個活動，而是一系列的慶祝活動。因此，建議整段改為："包括以安徒生童话故事为灵感所创作的音乐、舞蹈和喜剧表演的这些庆祝活动，于其真实生日當天，在帕根国家体育场开幕，約有四萬人参加，其中包括玛格丽特二世女王。" 這個建議姑娘以為然否？或許還不夠流暢，請多多包涵，自行調整。

其它地方都譯得不錯，就看看其他同仁有否意見了。

ysun wrote:
光凭“紅百合綻放”这一句，Wenjer的功底就可见一斑。Red_Lily见了肯定会芳心大悦。我同意Wenjer的意见，且提出三点意见，供参考。

Xiaoping Fu wrote:

此外，Denmark’s native son ，译为“丹麦本土作家”不能算错，但把“son”译丢了，意义上打了折扣。要知道，说某人是一个国家的“native son”可不是一件小事，大概是说他是民族的骄傲，或某种民族精神的代表。譬如说，一篇英语文章称台湾的陈水扁为“Native Son of Taiwan”，我把他译为“台湾的本土政治家”，阿扁不“扁”我才怪！

Laura Liu wrote:

。。。

native son =>本地人，没有民族骄傲那么严重吧。

Last Hermit wrote:

　　安徒生－－一个由工人阶级的优秀儿子堕落为资产阶级的乏走狗

　　恨死·克里斯蒂安·安徒生的一生，可以说是丹麦资产阶级的至爱，封建王朝的宠儿，万千宠幸集于一身。他的童话故事本来已让他名利双收。可是，这位经不起资产阶级糖衣炮弹攻击的工人阶级的叛徒、内奸、工贼，竟还不知足，终日忧心死后便被人遗忘。其实，他实在没有这个必要。手上沾满无产阶级鲜血的丹麦贵族和没落的资产阶级，为迎接他二百周年生日，竟要花八个月时间来庆祝。全世界受尽剥削和压迫的人以呆滞的却又蕴含无穷力量而必将翻身作资产阶级掘墓人的目光，正擦亮其最先进、最革命的无产阶级的眼睛看着资产阶级的穷奢极欲的表演！
　　这场靠疯狂赚取无产阶级剩余利润来支撑的表演，就在专门用来发泄剥削阶级兽欲的斗兽场进行。出席人数竟有四万之众，当中还包括四体不勤、五谷不分的女王玛格烈特二世全家。剥削阶级的代言人们或载歌载舞，或表演叛徒安徒生故事，演得如痴如醉，好一派歌舞升平的景象。据称，日后还将有一拨接一拨的什么小资音乐会、袒胸露背的歌舞剧、赤身裸体的芭蕾舞、展览和不知廉耻的巡游以及猫哭老鼠的教育扶贫等等，耗资将达四千万美元。每一个美元都沾满了是我们工人阶级的鲜血！

　　隐士顿首，并借此向所有无产阶级请罪！