THERE was once upon a time a poor miller who had a very beautiful daughter. —
曾经有一个贫穷的磨坊主，他有一个非常漂亮的女儿。 —

Now it happened one day that he had an audience with the King, and in order to appear a person of some importance he told him that he had a daughter who could spin straw into gold. —
有一天，他有机会与国王见面，为了显得重要一点，他告诉国王他有一个能把稻草纺成金的女儿。 —

“Now that’s a talent worth having,” said the King to the miller; —
“这可是一个了不起的才能，” 国王对磨坊主说； —

“if your daughter is as clever as you say, bring her to my palace to-morrow, and I’ll put her to the test. —
“如果你女儿真的聪明，明天把她带到我的宫殿，并对她进行测试。 —

” When the girl was brought to him he led her into a room full of straw, gave her a spinning-wheel and spindle, and said: —
” 当女孩被带到他面前时，他把她带进了一个房间，里面堆满了稻草，给了她一个纺车和纺锤，然后说： —

“Now set to work and spin all night till early dawn, and if by that time you haven’t spun the straw into gold you shall die. —
“现在开始工作，整晚纺，直到天亮之前，如果到那时你还没把稻草纺成金，你就会死。 —

” Then he closed the door behind him and left her alone inside.
” 然后他关上门，把她一个人锁在里面。

So the poor miller’s daughter sat down, and didn’t know what in the world she was to do. —
穷磨坊主的女儿坐下来，不知道该怎么办。 —

She hadn’t the least idea of how to spin straw into gold, and became at last so miserable that she began to cry. —
她完全不知道如何将稻草纺成金，变得非常苦恼，最后开始哭泣。 —

Suddenly the door opened, and in stepped a tiny little man and said: —
突然门开了，走进来一个小个子人，他说： —

“Good-evening, Miss Miller-maid; —
“晚上好，米勒女仆； —

why are you crying so bitterly?” “Oh! —
你为什么哭得这么伤心？” “哦！ —

” answered the girl, “I have to spin straw into gold, and haven’t a notion how it’s done. —
”女孩回答道，“我必须把稻草纺成金，可我一点也不知道该怎么做。 —

” “What will you give me if I spin it for you? —
”“如果我帮你纺，你会给我什么作为回报？ —

” asked the manikin. “My necklace,” replied the girl. —
”小人问道。女孩回答说：“我的项链。 —

The little man took the necklace, sat himself down at the wheel, and whir, whir, whir, the wheel went round three times, and the bobbin was full. —
小人拿走了项链，坐到纺车前，呜，呜，呜，纺车转了三圈，纱线筒就装满了。 —

Then he put on another, and whir, whir, whir, the wheel went round three times, and the second too was full; —
然后他又换了一个筒，呜，呜，呜，纺车转了三圈，第二筒也满了； —

and so it went on till the morning, when all the straw was spun away, and all the bobbins were full of gold. —
就这样一直进行下去，直到早上，稻草全都纺成了金，所有的纱线筒都装满了黄金。 —

As soon as the sun rose the King came, and when he perceived the gold he was astonished and delighted, but his heart only lusted more than ever after the precious metal. —
太阳一升起来，国王来了，当他看到那些黄金时，惊讶又高兴，但他的心对这些贵重的金属愈发贪求不已。 —

He had the miller’s daughter put into another room full of straw, much bigger than the first, and bade her, if she valued her life, spin it all into gold before the following morning. —
他让那位磨坊主的女儿被放到另一个比第一个房间还要大的装满稻草的房间里，并吩咐她：如果她爱惜自己的生命，她必须在第二天早上之前把它全部纺成金线。 —

The girl didn’t know what to do, and began to cry; —
这个女孩不知道该怎么办，开始哭起来。 —

then the door opened as before, and the tiny little man appeared and said: —
然后门又像之前一样打开了，一个又小又矮的人出现了，说道： —

“What’ll you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you? —
“如果我帮你把稻草纺成金线，你愿意给我什么？ —

” “The ring from my finger,” answered the girl. —
“我手指上的戒指，”女孩回答道。 —

The manikin took the ring, and whir! —
这个小矮人拿走了戒指，然后嗖的一声！ —

round went the spinning-wheel again, and when morning broke he had spun all the straw into glittering gold. —
纺轮再次快速转动起来，当早晨来临时，他已经把所有的稻草纺成了闪闪发光的金线。 —

The King was pleased beyond measure at the sights but his greed for gold was still not satisfied, and he had the miller’s daughter brought into a yet bigger room full of straw, and said: —
国王非常高兴地看着这一切，但他对金子的贪婪还未满足，于是他让磨坊主的女儿进入一个更大的房间，里面满是稻草，并说道： —

“You must spin all this away in the night; —
“你必须在一夜之间将它全部纺尽； —

but if you succeed this time you shall become my wife. —
但如果你这次成功了，你将成为我的妻子。 —

” “She’s only a miller’s daughter, it’s true,” he thought; —
“她只是个磨坊主的女儿，没错，”他想道； —

“but I couldn’t find a richer wife if I were to search the whole world over. —
“但是如果我要在整个世界上找一个更富有的妻子，我都找不到。” —

” When the girl was alone the little man appeared for the third time, and said: —
当女孩独自一人的时候，小矮人出现了第三次，他说道： —

“What’ll you give me if I spin the straw for you once again? —
“如果我再次替你纺金，你愿意给我什么呢？ —

” “I’ve nothing more to give,” answered the girl. —
“我已经没有东西可以给了，”女孩回答道。 —

“Then promise me when you are Queen to give me your first child. —
“那么许诺我，当你成为皇后时把你的第一个孩子给我。 —

” “Who knows what may not happen before that? —
“谁知道那时候会发生什么事呢？ —

” thought the miller’s daughter; —
”女孩想道；而且，她也看不到其他办法，于是她答应了那个小矮人的要求，他再次开始纺金。 —

and besides, she saw no other way out of it, so she promised the manikin what he demanded, and he set to work once more and spun the straw into gold. —
当国王早上进来时，发现一切都如他所愿，于是他立即娶了她为妻，那个磨坊主的女儿成为了一位皇后。 —

When the King came in the morning, and found everything as he had desired, he straightway made her his wife, and the miller’s daughter became a queen.
一年过去了，她生了一个漂亮的儿子，她再也没有想起小矮人，直到有一天他突然走进她的房间说：

When a year had passed a beautiful son was born to her, and she thought no more of the little man, till all of a sudden one day he stepped into her room and said: —
“现在给我你答应的东西。 —

“Now give me what you promised. —
(保持原文不变) —

” The Queen was in a great state, and offered the little man all the riches in her kingdom if he would only leave her the child. —
女王陷入了极度的困境，答应给那个小男人全国所有的财富，只要他把孩子留给她。 —

But the manikin said: “No, a living creature is dearer to me than all the treasures in the world. —
但那个小人说：“不，活着的生命对我来说比世界上所有的财宝都更重要。” —

” Then the Queen began to cry and sob so bitterly that the little man was sorry for her, and said: —
于是女王开始哭泣，痛苦地哀求那个小男人，小男人对她感到可怜，说道： —

“I’ll give you three days to guess my name, and if you find it out in that time you may keep your child.”
“我给你三天的时间来猜出我的名字，如果你在那个期限内猜出我的名字，你可以保留你的孩子。”

Then the Queen pondered the whole night over all the names she had ever heard, and sent a messenger to scour the land, and to pick up far and near any names he could come across. —
于是女王整夜考虑她曾经听过的所有名字，派遣使者到处寻找、收集任何他能找到的名字。 —

When the little man arrived on the following day she began with Kasper, Melchior, Belshazzar, and all the other names she knew, in a string, but at each one the manikin called out: —
第二天小男人回来时，她从卡斯帕、米尔奇奥、伯尔沙撒等所有她知道的名字开始，但是每次小男人都喊道： —

“That’s not my name. —
“那不是我的名字。” —

” The next day she sent to inquire the names of all the people in the neighborhood, and had a long list of the most uncommon and extraordinary for the little man when he made his appearance. —
第二天，她打发人去打听附近所有人的名字，并为小人准备了一份最不寻常和特别的名字列表，以备他的出场。 —

“Is your name, perhaps, Sheepshanks Cruickshanks, Spindleshanks? —
“也许，你的名字是Sheepshanks Cruickshanks, Spindleshanks吗？” —

” but he always replied: “That’s not my name. —
但他总是回答：“那不是我的名字。” —

” On the third day the messenger returned and announced: —
第三天，信使回来报告：“我没有找到任何新的名字，但当我走过森林转角的高山时，那里的狐狸和野兔互道晚安，我看到一座小屋，小屋前有一堆火，围着火的地方跳着一个最怪异的小人，单腿跳跃着，喊道：” —

“I have not been able to find any new names, but as I came upon a high hill round the corner of the wood, where the foxes and hares bid each other good-night, I saw a little house, and in front of the house burned a fire, and round the fire sprang the most grotesque little man, hopping on one leg and crying:
“明天我酿酒，今天我烤面包，

“To-morrow I brew, to-day I bake,
然后我会带走孩子；

And then the child away I’ll take;
“

For little deems my royal dame
对于我可爱的女王陛下

That Rumpelstiltzkin is my name!”
拉姆波斯蒂金是我的名字！”

You can imagine the Queen’s delight at hearing the name, and when the little man stepped in shortly afterward and asked: —
你可以想象女王听到这个名字时的喜悦，当那个小人随后走进来，问道： —

“Now, my lady Queen, what’s my name? —
“现在，我的女王陛下，我的名字是什么？ —

” she asked first: “Is your name Conrad? —
”她首先问：“你的名字是康拉德吗？ —

” “NO.” “Is your name Harry? —
” “不是。” “你的名字叫哈里吗？ —

” “No.” “Is your name perhaps, Rumpelstiltzkin? —
” “不是。” “你的名字或许是拉姆波斯蒂金吗？ —

” “Some demon has told you that! —
” “某个巫婆告诉了你这个！ —

some demon has told you that! —
某个巫婆告诉了你这个！ —

” screamed the little man, and in his rage drove his right foot so far into the ground that it sank in up to his waist; —
”小人尖叫道，愤怒之下，他将右脚狠狠地插入地面，直到腰部为止。 —

then in a passion he seized the left foot with both hands and tore himself in two.
然后他愤怒地双手抓住左脚，将自己撕成两半。